' 3 * v v» I## ww“ V ' , W^ W >WV«d! SVV,J3i V’yjUV^V siwU^vg M iai | %L v t mi jgw POP WMR . - If lv J’5f ; '3a « av, >» pg$5 PI IB m v • ;■• v . ■ S.iiJoH^ffl 0f J > * a Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Getty Research Institute https://archive.org/details/palaeographiasacOOwest_O t # * AL M- OGRA- PHIA SACRA PICTORIA. P ALAEOGRAPHIA SACRA PICTORIA BEING A SERIES OF ILLUSTRATIONS OE THE ANCIENT VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE, COPIED EROM JHlummatrti JHanusmpts, EXECUTED BETWEEN THE FOURTH AND SIXTEENTH CENTURIES. BY J. 0. WESTWOOD, F.L.S., HONORARY AND CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE HISTORICAL, PHYSIOGRAPHICAL, PHILOMATIC, AND OTHER SOCIETIES OF PARIS, MOSCOW, LUND, LILLE, QUEBEC, BOSTON (u. S.) ETC. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. PREFACE. The object of the present volume is to lay before the public a series of Illustrations of Ancient Art as varied in their style as could conveniently be obtained consistent with the desire, at the same time entertained, of rendering the work interesting by confining it to a single subject—of all others the most important—namely, the historical investigation of the Sacred Text of the Bible through the darkness of the middle ages. The great truths of our religion are, in fact, so entirely dependent upon the purity of the received versions, and these equally so upon the genuineness and date of manuscripts, that in this respect alone the present volume may claim some degree of interest, forming, as it does, a kind of new Edition of the Vindicise Canonicarum Scripturarum of Blanchini, now more than a hundred years old, with this difference, namely, that the learned Father’s object was to prove the correctness of the text of the Latin Vulgate, the version used by the Church to which he belonged ; whereas mine has been to shew that in all ages versions of the Scriptures have been made into the mother tongue of almost every nation. It is scarcely necessary to enter at any length into the question of the great value of illuminated manuscripts as affording a knowledge of the arts of design, ornamental and pictorial, at the period when executed. In Italy, it is true, the paintings of Herculaneum and Pompeii, and those of many of the catacombs, together with the frescoes and the mosaics of many of the most ancient churches still exist, exclusive of sculptures; but in Cisalpine countries we have but manuscripts and carved stones to tell the tale of ancient arts, and even the latter of these resources are fast disappearing, although worthy of being preserved with almost religious care, evidencing, as they do in many instances, the early state of religion in our land. On the other hand, the vast stores of manuscripts contained in our public and private collections, of the ornaments and drawings of which no fac-similes have yet been published, afford abundant materials to the artist in search of illustrations of the arts of composition, ornamental design, and illumination, through a period of nearly a thousand years, namely, from the 6th or 7th to the 16th or 1 7th centuries. With such invaluable materials, I have been able to offer a much more complete series of illustrations of ancient art, as practised in these islands, than had before been published; and have thereby clearly established the fact of the existence of a native school of religion and art in our sister island, by a series of fac-similes from Irish MSS., executed between the 7th and 10th centuries, although the existence of such documents had been denied, not only by Astle and other palaeographers, but also by the latest Irish historians. The collation of many of these MSS. has also furnished additional (although unlooked for) evidence that the ancient church in these islands was independent of Home, and that it "corresponded, on the contrary, with the Eastern churches. The works published in this country illustrative of the various styles of art employed in manuscripts, arc but few in number. Astle’s excellent volume on the “ Origin and Progress of Writing,” now nearly fifty years old, is, as its title imparts, more expressly devoted to the various styles of writing; and in this respect the 31 plates, with which it is illustrated, form an invaluable series of authorities, especially such as are devoted to the productions of our own country. The “ Illuminated Ornaments” of Shaw are, on the other hand, especially confined to ornamental designs and patterns, as exhibited in MSS. from the 13th to the 16th centuries; whilst the various works of Strutt, and part of the first volume of the “ Bibliographical Decameron” of Dibdin, and Shaw’s “ Dresses and Decorations,” contain many engravings of miniatures from illuminated Mb.:'. b VI PREFACE. On the Continent, D’Agincourt 1 has also furnished us with an elaborate series of materials upon this branch of the subject; but his selections are almost entirely devoted to Greek and Roman art, and are also uiicoloured. Many of the plates of Willemin’s fine work, 2 and some of those of that of Du Sommerard, 3 are also especially devoted to the illustration of art exhibited in MSS. from the 9tli to the 15tli centuries; nor must the excel¬ lent Treatise of Langlois 4 be forgotten. None of these works, however, from their nature and objects, afford a combined idea of the style of writing (or palaeography), ornamental writing (or caligraphy), ornamental details, exclusive of the writing (or illumination) and miniatures of MSS. It is in the superb works of Silvestre and Champollion, 5 and the Comte Bastard, 6 that we find such a combination of objects brought before the public in the highest possible style of art. The object of the present volume is therefore to follow, at a very humble distance, the plan of these last- mentioned works, endeavouring by a more extended illustration of our national palseographic monuments, than their materials could possibly furnish, to give a national character to the book; which indeed was the more indispensable, because the style of art in these islands, from the seventh to the eleventh century, was infinitely more elaborate than that of any other existing, or, indeed, of any subsequent school; and which, having been carried by the Anglo-Saxon missionaries to the Continent, became the origin of the styles employed in the finest MSS. executed abroad in those ages; and even until the revival of art, in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. With this object in view, I determined, in order not to extend the work beyond a moderate limit, to confine my researches to Theological, and indeed, for the most part, to MSS. of the Sacred Scriptures them¬ selves, which, with very few exceptions, comprise a more important series of monuments of early art than those devoted to other subjects; and which the sacred nature of the subject, and the devotion of our ancestors, have caused not only to be the most elegantly ornamented, but also the most carefully preserved. The widely- extended inquiries made at the present day into the early history, antiquities, and writings of the Church, had likewise some weight in determining this selection; whilst the MSS. of the more important versions and translations of the Scriptures into the different languages of Europe and Asia previous to the sixteenth century, would afford an interesting series of specimens of the arts of design, ornamental illumination, and caligraphy, as practised at various periods by the different nations for which these versions were made. In illustrating the means by which a knowledge of the Divine Truths was, from age to age, imparted to the ancient nations of the world in their own tongues (of which great privilege the gift of tongues by the Holy Spirit, on the day of Pentecost, was but another mighty exemplification), it will be convenient to adopt the following classification of the versions of the Holy Scriptures :— § A.—Those written in the Original Languages of Scripture. $ B.—Oriental Versions of the Scriptures. $ C.—Western Versions ; divided into— a. Those which are esteemed ancient, made either from the Greek, or Ante-Hieronymian I-atin Versions. b. Those of a more recent date made from the Vulgate, but antecedent to the invention of Printing. § A-—The Hebrew text of the Old Testament, as the earliest revelation of Divine Truth, of course takes the foremost place in our scries. The Samaritan version of the Pentateuch, written in the original Hebrew characters in use before the Captivity, affords a wonderful confirmation of the history of the Books of Moses ; as it is not to be supposed that the Samaritans would have adopted and translated the books of the Jews, unless 1 Ilistoire de l’Art pas les Monuments, G vols. fol. * Palaeographie Universelle, 4 vols., comprising 300 plates, imperial 1 Monuments Franqais inedits, pour servir a l’Histoire des folio; the price, unbound, being 70 guineas. 6 Miniatures et Ornemens des Manuscrits.—Published at so enor- Les Artsau Moyen Age. mous a price, that I believe there are not more than two copies in Ilsscu guv lu Cali grap hie. Rouen ; 1841 • this country. PREFACE. vii they liad been received prior to the separation and enmity of the two people • the period, at the latest, of the return from the Captivity. The purity of the Hebrew text is thus confirmed; although the Jews, during the Captivity, relinquished their old mode of writing and adopted that of the Chaldees. The Greek text of the New Testament is now almost universally admitted to be the original language in which that portion of the Bible was written (the Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament having been made two or three hundred years previously). The existing manuscripts of the Greek Scriptures have been classified by modern critics according to recensions or families; the most simple and approved of which is that of Professor Scholz, who considers that all the variations which exist in these MSS. are resolvable into their having been transcribed from Constantinopolitan or Alexandrian exemplars. The former he considers to have been, from the earliest times, the most strict and faithful recension. It was that which was principally used in the liturgical offices of the East, and its fidelity is argued from the exact uniformity of all the MSS. which can be traced historically to Constantinople, where the imperial power and patriarchal jurisdiction were so long centred. It is also consistent with the careful discipline of the Constantinopolitan Church, and with the exact quotations of the Greek fathers. On the other hand, the Alexandrian copies have been written with a considerable degree of carelessness, and do not appear to have been intended, even in the country where written, for reading in public service. The former of these recensions has been adopted in the Syraic, Moeso- Gothic and Sclavonic versions, and forms the basis of our modern text; whilst the latter was followed in several Latin, Coptic, and Etliiopic translations. 1 § B.—The command given by our Saviour to his disciples to go into all the nations and preach the Gospel to every creature constitutes the great and leading feature of the Christian, as distinguished from the Jewish dispensation. In obedience to the commands of their Divine Master, his disciples and their followers passed into the countries adjacent to the Holy Land, translating the Scriptures into the languages of each, so that “ every creature ”—“ might be taught of God.” These ancient versions, which were thus executed in the East, are the following;— 1st. The Syriac, of which there are several dialects or revisions; namely, the Peschito, or Literal Version; the Philoxinian Version; the Karkaphensian Version; and the Syro-Estrangelo and Palcestino-Syriac Versions. 2nd. The Egyptian, of which there are also several dialects; namely, the Coptic, Sahidic, Ammonian, and Bashmouric Versions. 3rd. The Ethiopic Version. 4th. The Arabic Version. 5th. The Armenian Version. 6th. The Persian Version, mentioned by Chrysostom and Theodoret; but of which it does not appear that there are any fragments now extant, 2 and of which, therefore, no fac-simile is given in this work. § C.—It was, however, in the countries west of the Holy Land, and especially in imperial Rome, that a mightier revolution was to be effected by the introduction of the Gospel; and to which, in fact, the Chris¬ tianity of Europe is almost entirely to be attributed. a. We possess, indeed, ample proof that, almost at the earliest period of Christianity, translations of the Scriptures were made from the Greek into, 1st. The Latin language; and that, in fact, they had become so numerous, before the time of St. Jerome, that it became requisite that a revision of them should be made with the original Greek, which was 1 The reader will find an excellent view of the different systems of tures (see Horne, ii. p. 233), especially of the Pentateuch executed recensions of Greek manuscripts in the 2nd vol. of Horne’s Intro- about the 9th century, and of the Gospels, a MS. of which latter duction. belonging to Dr. Pococke, dated 1314, supplied the Persian text in 5 There are, however, more modern versions of the Persian Scrip- Walton’s Polyglot. via PREFACE. effected by that learned Father of the Church; and which has ever since been, with several slight revisions, the text of the Scriptures adopted by the Romish Church. These more ancient Latin Versions are termed the Old Italic or ante-Hieronymian, and the corrected Version of St. Jerome that of the Vulgate. At a very early period likewise, translations were made from the Greek or Ante-Hieronymian Versions into the following Western languages :— 2nd. The Sclavonian, which has subsequently become the version of the Grseco-Russian Church. 3rd. The Mieso-Gothic Version of Ulpliilas. 4th. The Theotisc Version of ancient Germany; and 5th. The Anglo-Saxon Version. All of which, from their origin, necessarily possess a far higher importance in Biblical criticism than, b. the following more recent versions, which were for the most part founded upon the Latin Vulgate, and which are, I believe, the whole of those which were executed previous to the invention of printing 1 (which event necessarily forms a terminus to our work). These are— 1st. The Early English Version. 2nd. The Early French Version. 3rd. The Early German Version. 4tli. The Icelandic Version. 5th. The Hungarian Version. 6th. The Bohemian Version. 7th. The Italian Version. The nature of the materials, as well as the palseograpliical peculiarities of ancient MSS. must now shortly engage our attention. Ihe materials of which books have been composed have been extremely varied, in various nations and in different periods of civilization. Plates of lead, brass, 2 and copper; bricks, stone, 3 wood and waxen tablets, 4 were anciently employed for this purpose; and ivory was also used, according to Pomponius, for the laws of the Decemvirs. Chaucer also records its use for tablets, as at the present time :— “ His fellow had a staffe tipped with home, A pair of tables all of iverie, And a pointed polished fetouslie, And wrote always the names . . .’’—Chaucer’s Sompner’s Tale. At a later period the bark of trees (liber) formed the chief material in the composition of books, thence named libri; and this material is still employed in many parts of the East. Leaves also, especially of the palm-tree, were also employed; as in the Sybil leaves, described by Virgil:— “ Fata canit foliisque notas et nomina mandat Quamunque in foil 's descripsit carmina virgo ." — TEneid. lib. iii. 1 See Preface, by the translators of King James’s Bible; Marsh, History of Translations of the Scriptures, 8vo, London, 1812 ; Thomp¬ son and Orme, Historical Sketch of the Translations of the Scriptures, Perth, 1815, 8vo ; Le Long, Bibliotheca Sacra, Paris, 2 vols. fol. 17-3; I)r. Adam Clarke and J. B. B. Clarke, A concise View of the Succession of Sacred Literature, from the Invention of Alphabetic Characters, to 1445, London, 1831-32, 2 vols. 8vo; Townley, Illustra¬ tions of Biblical Literature, London, 1821, 3 vols. 8vo. The twelve tables graven on brass among the Romans; the two tables of brass written before the birth of Christ, discovered at Hera- clea in 1722, and published by Mazochius in 1758; and the seven Eugubian tables, may be cited as instances of this usage. 3 Thus the Decalogue was written on two tables of stone ; and Herodotus mentions a letter sent by Tliemistocles to the Ionians (lib. vu. cap. 22), which was written on plates of stone (evraprtov tvroicn \i9oicn ypappara). “ Dextra tenet ferrum [i. e. stylum] vacuam tenet altera ceram ; Incipit et dubitat scribit damnatque tabellas,” &c. (Ovid Metam.) PREFACE. IX The materials of books were afterwards derived from the Egyptian plant Papyrus, which, owing to its flexibility, was rolled up into a scroll, 1 which was termed by the Romans volumen ; whilst, as more durable and convenient, leather made from the skins of sheep and goats was also employed from the most early ages, as affirmed by Herodotus and Diodorus; and this was succeeded by the use of parchment and vellum, on which European MSS. were chiefly written, until the invention of paper. The finest and whitest vellum is generally indicative of great age in a MS. MSS. also written upon purple vellum are of great age and excessive rarity, having been evidently executed for the use of princes. The origin of letters, the invention of the alphabet, the notation of language, the relative claims of ancient nations to the invention of letters, and the various classifications of language proposed by philologists, are intricate questions, into which, although more or less connected with the purely paleographic portion of this work, I do not consider it necessary to enter in this Preface, further than to observe that, with the exception of our Chaldaic or square Hebrew, Syriac, Ethiopic, and Arabic fac-similes (the letters of which may be traced to the ancient Hebrew or Samaritan alphabet and thence to the Phoenician), the various kinds of writing exhibited in our plates may be referred either to the Greek or Latin alphabets as their source (which latter, indeed, was also derived from the Greek). The most ancient MSS. in Greek and Roman letters, as well as their immediate derivatives, are written in large and fine rounded characters, which have been termed uncials, and of which fine examples may be seen in the plates of purple Greek MSS., Coptic MSS. (sp. 5), Grseco-Latin MSS. (sp. 1, 2, and 4), the Gospels of St. Augustine, and Moesogothic Gospels. Manuscripts written in large square capitals, similar to the fine letters employed upon coins, &c., are of extreme rarity, the finest known specimen being the fragment of Virgil in the collection of M. Pithou, engraved by Mabillon, and in the “ Traite de Diplomatique.” Such capitals we find more ordinarily employed for the headings of books and particular passages, as may be seen in our third plate of Gospels of Mac Durnan, the first plate from the Book of Kells, the Bibles of Alchuine and Charles the Bald, and the Coronation Gospels of the Anglo-Saxon kings. A narrower kind of capitals, more negligently written, and with the tops and bottoms of the letters oblique, termed Rustic Capitals, was of more ordinary occurrence in ancient MSS., as well as in inscriptions; this being, in fact, the principal kind of writing discovered on the walls of Herculaneum, &c. MSS. entirely written in this character, are, however, of extreme rarity; examples exist in Vatican and Florence V irgils, the Prudentius of the Bibliotheque du Roi, and several pages, of which a fac-simile is given in the plate of the Psalter of St. Augustine, which is the only specimen in this country. This kind of capitals was, however, of more common usage for the headings of chapters, &c.; as in the legend over the head of the Evangelist, in the plate from the Gospels of St. Augustine, and that over the miniature of the judgment of our first parents, in the plate from the Bible of Alchuine. These characters were thus partially employed even until the tenth or eleventh century, as in the specimen No. G, in the plate of the Anglo-Saxon Books of Moses. It is not to be supposed, however, that these fine and large characters were employed in ordinary use. A running hand or cursive alphabet was also practised, and this, when very slowly and carefully written, became what is termed the minuscule alphabet; the chief difference between them being, that the former, on account of the celerity with which it was executed required the letters to be conjoined, whilst in the latter the letters were more usually written separate. 2 Our plate of the Greek Gospels will afford a good example of the later 1 Papyrus (whence our name paper) became a principal article of for epistolary correspondence in Italy in the time of Charlemagne, commerce, both in Europe and Asia, it having been in use in Egypt (as and by the popes even in the lltli and 12th centuries. Specimens Pliny asserts, lib. xiii. c. 11 & 13) three centuries before the reign of of early Greek and Coptic Papyri are given in the plates of this work. Alexander. This material was especially in use for charters and 2 Casley’s idea that minuscule letters were not invented before tho other diplomatic acts, many of which are still in existence. It was used 7th century is entirely fallacious. C X PREFACE. Greek minuscule, whilst the finest specimens of Latin minuscule letters are found in the MSS. of the Caroline period, and which having suffered the degradation of the modern Gothic style during the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, were again renovated in the 16th; as may be seen in the plates from the Soanean Clovio, and the Prayer Book of King Sigismund. Of the advantages to be obtained from a knowledge of the particular forms which have been given to the different letters at various periods, and by the scribes of various countries, there cannot, I conceive, be any reasonable doubt. To assert with Maffei, Ottley, &c., that nothing is more fallacious than the idea of being able to determine the ages of MSS. and ancient inscriptions from the particular forms of their characters, and that the existence of various national styles of writing is a mere fanciful suggestion,—are opinions perfectly unten¬ able, and at variance with the truth of all palteographical science. An extreme case (but one which has been strenuously maintained at great length by Mr. Ottley, in the 26tli volume of the Archaeologia,) will be sufficient to prove the futility of the former of these assertions ; this author having wasted great labour in endeavouring to prove that a MS. in the British Museum, written in the renovated Caroline minuscule characters, was executed in the third or fourth century ! As well might he have asserted that a MS. w r ritten in the modern Gothic letters was of the time of Charlemagne. As to the national characteristics of ancient writing, a simple inspection of a varied series of MS. such as are given in the elaborate plates of the Benedictines, or even in those of this work, will be sufficient to disprove the assertion of their non-existence. To affirm that the Anglo-Saxon, Lombardic, Caroline, and Visigotliic styles of writing are not nationally characteristic, because all are derived from the old Latin mode of writing, is not more contrary to the truth than to say that the German and English languages are not nationally distinct, because both are sprung from the same root. The knowledge of these national characteristics in the style of writing, and the various modifications which have been introduced by time in each country, constitute the science of Palaeography, first placed on a solid foundation by Mabillon, 1 subsequently illustrated by Montfaucon, 2 Baringius, 3 Blanchini, 4 Trombelli, 5 the Benedictines Toustain and Tessin, 6 Maffei, 7 the Abbot Yon Bessel, 8 Walther, 9 Hickes, 10 Casley, 11 Astle, 12 Kopp, 13 Wailly; 14 and lastly, Messrs. Silvestre and Cliampollion. Our attention must now be directed to a concise notice of the various manners in which MSS. have been from time to time ornamented. We shall treat this branch of the subject by noticing, 1st, The different modes by which the writing, that is, the letters themselves, were ornamented. 2nd, The miniatures with which the text was illustrated; and, 3rd, The ornamental borders, &c. with which MSS. were decorated. 1st, The simplest mode in which an attempt at ornament was introduced into the most ancient MSS., consisted in the employment of different coloured inks, especially red, vermilion, cinnabar, or purple, and which was employed for writing the first two or three lines of each book, or even the first word—as may be seen in the plates of the Gospels and Psalter of St. Augustine, which are almost the oldest MSS. illustrated in this work. Subsequently the same coloured ink was employed for particular words and passages; sometimes for the heading of chapters (whence the term rubric), sometimes still more generally, as in the 1 The chief work of this author is 1 De Re Diplomatica,’ libri vi.— 1681. 2nd edition, greatly enlarged. Paris, 1709, fol. 2 Palseographia Graeca, fol. Paris, 1708. Ejusd. Diarium Italicum. Paris, 1702. 3 Clavis Diplomatica. Hanover, 1737. 4 Vindicia; Canonicarum Scripturarum, &c. Romm, 1740. fol. Ejusd. Evangel, quadruplex, 4 vols. fol. 1749. Arte di conoscere l’eta de codici, 1778. Nouveau Traite de Diplomatique, 6 vols. 4to, 1784. 7 Istoria Diplomatica, Mantua, 1727. Ejusd. Verona Illustrata, Verona, 173. 8 Chronicon Gottwicense, 2 vols. fol. 1732. 9 Lexicon Diplomaticum, fol. Gotting. 1747. 10 Linguarum veterum septentrionalium Thesaurus, 3 vols. fol. 1705. 11 Catalogue of the King’s MSS., 1734, 4to, with 16 plates. 12 On the Origin of Writing, 4to. 13 Bilder und Schriften der Vorzeit, 1819. Ejusd. Palaeo-Critica, 1817. " Paleographie, 2 vols. fol. with plates, forming portion of the “ Documents inedits de France,” recently published. In addition to which, the illustrated catalogues of the chief Con¬ tinental MS. libraries contain much valuable information. PREFACE. xi Anglo-Saxon Psalter at Cambridge,, in which the Anglo-Saxon version throughout is written in red ink, and a MS. in the Harleian Library (No. 2795) containing a Latin copy of the Gospels entirely written in red ink, in Caroline minuscule letters. In the oldest MSS. executed in this country, the red, and other colours, have been mixed up with some thick kind of varnish, which has rendered them almost imperishable. 1 Other coloured inks were also employed during the middle ages, especially blue and green ; in addition to which, some of the most sumptuous MSS. are written, either partially or entirely, with gold and silver ink. The Golden Gospels in the Harleian library, and in the Bibliotheque du Roi, both written in fine uncials, and another copy of the Gospels in the former library, (No. 2797), in minuscule characters, are written throughout with golden ink. Another mode of ornamenting the letters consisted in forming the initial letters of chapters (capitula, whence such letters are termed capitals ), the first letter in a page, the first line, or title of a book, or even all the letters in the first page of a larger size than the text of the volume, and which were either plainly formed, or executed with a greater or less share of ornamental detail. The earliest MSS. present us with plain capitals, of a size somewhat larger than the text. (See the plates of early Greek and Grseco-Latin MSS.) But in the sixth and seventh centuries we meet with instances in which they are still larger (one or two inches high), and somewhat more ornamented in their design and diversified in their colours, in MSS. written in Italy ; as in the Vatican Virgil, written in the large square capitals of the sixth century, the Tlieodosian Code at Munich of the sixth century, and the Morals of St. Gregory at Munich of the seventh or eighth century,—all figured by Silvestre. Another very early instance is given in our Plate of the Gospels of St Augustine. It is, however, in Irish and Anglo-Saxon MSS. written between the end of the seventh and tenth centuries, that we find the most extraordinary instances of these enlarged and ornamented capitals, several of which are represented in our Plates. The delicacy and decision of the work in these gigantic letters, sometimes nearly a foot in height, are incredible; and the inventive skill displayed in the complicated flourishes, in which are generally intermixed the heads of strange lacertine animals, 2 is both so singularly ingenious and elegant, that they far surpass in neatness, precision, and delicacy, all that is to be found in the ancient MSS. executed by Continental artists ; and as it is well known that missionaries from these countries carried their religion and arts to many parts of the Continent, it is not unreasonable to assert that many of the splendid capital letters of the Caroline period were executed in imitation of the style of our earlier codices. In some of the finest Franco-Gallic MSS. however, we perceive a distinct style of ornaments introduced into these gigantic letters, evidently borrowed from the purer forms of classic art, consisting of elegant foliage, and other arabesque patterns; such indeed as occur in the remains of Herculaneum, and on the walls of the catacombs of the early Christians in Italy. In fine Lombardic MSS. of the eighth to the twelfth centuries, we find the large capital letters blazoned with patches of different colours. The earliest and finest MSS. executed in England and Ireland, are not ornamented with gold; but in the Caroline MSS. we find it abundantly used. Our MSS. also have capitals almost invariably decorated with marginal rows of red dots, and the smaller ones with the open spaces daubed with various colours (as in the 1 For want of some such varnish mixed with their colouring', the miniatures of early Greek MSS. are greatly—often entirely, defaced. 2 The Benedictines favour us with the following- amusing notion :— “ Les ornemens des lettres grises Anglo-Saxonnes semblent n’etre le fruit que d’ imaginations atroces et melancoliques. Jamais d’idees riuntes, tout se ressent de la durete du climat. Lorsque la genie ne manque pas absolument, un fond de rudesse et de barbarie caracterise d’autant mieux les MSS. et les lettres historiees qu’on a plus affecte de les embellir.”!! ! (N. Tr. de Dipl. 2. 122.) Dr. O’Conor, in his Epist. nuncup., has another idea as to the origin of the peculiarities of the Irish capitals scarcely less amusing. Setting aside the idea that the constant introduction of these lacer¬ tine animals was the mere result of the caprice of the artist, it may be suggested that the worship of the ophidian reptiles, of which the Egyptian Euphrates was the founder, circ. A.D. 180, and which was combated by Sts. Irenceus, and Epiphanius, might possibly have had some influence in the matter. XU PREFACE. second plate of the Gospels of MacDurnan). The latter practice was also much in vogue on the Continent. Another equally common fashion was, to conjoin the capital letters of the heading of hooks, often almost unintelligibly. (See especially our plate of the Visigotliic Apocalypse.) At a later period figures were introduced into these large capital letters, illustrating the text, of which an early instance occurs in the plate copied from the Bible of Alclmine. More decided instances might indeed be adduced, as for instance, the initial of the Psalm Exultate Deo, in some MSS. has the open spaces filled with figures, engaged in playing on various instruments; and the initial B of the Book of Psalms often contains in its open spaces, drawings, illustrating the life of the Psalmist, of which a splendid specimen is given by Langlois. In many instances, indeed, the letters were formed of strangely contorted figures of animals, 1 birds, &c. Alien human figures are thus employed, the capitals are termed anthromorphic; if animals, they are zoomorphic ; if bird, ornithoid; if fish, ichtliyomorphic; if serpents, ophiomorphic, and if plants or leaves are introduced, they receive the name of antliophylloid. A singular, and very extensive series of such capitals, is given by the Benedictines in their Yol. II. plate 19. 2 Many curious specimens will also be found in the plates of this work. It would, indeed, be an endless task to describe the peculiar modes in which these letters were ornamented, as they varied with the caprice or taste of the illuminator; but it may be mentioned, that in the eleventh and following centuries, these large capitals were generally painted of a light-blue, green, or red colour, and were often ornamented by a profusion of foliage and branches, interlacing each other in elegant but extremely intricate and curious circles; and that in the fourteenth century, long and often elegant scroll-like patterns were added to the letters, forming marginal ornaments to the page, often drawn with the pen alone, but displaying great freedom and taste. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, these capitals, although much reduced in size, were most elaborately painted in opaque colours, the open spaces of the letters filled in with foliage or flowers touched with opaque and especially white paint, with wonderful effect. 2nd. There is abundance of evidence to prove, that from the earliest period manuscripts have been ornamented with miniature paintings illustrating the text. The splendid papyri of the Egyptians which have survived to our times, show that in eastern Africa the practice prevailed of painting the subjects of their works, and various Roman authors attest the same thing. Thus Pliny mentions (Hist. Nat. lib. xxv., c. 2) chat certain physicians painted, in their works, the plants which they had described; and the same author (lib. xxxv. c. 5) describes the praises which Cicero, in his treatise entitled “ Atticus ” gives to Yarro, who had introduced into his work not only the names, but also the effigies of more than 700 illustrious persons. Seneca also (De Tranquill. Anim. ix.) speaks of books ornamented cum imaginibus. Martial (Epigr. 186), says, “ Quam brevis immensum cepit membrana Maronem, Ipsius vultus prima tabella ger i f .” And Fabricius (Bibl. Lat. cura Ernesti, i. p. 125) gives the title of a work on miniature painting, by Yarro, entitled “ Hebclomadum, sive de imciginibus libri.” The earliest MSS. with miniatures (and they are among the oldest which have survived to our times) simply contain small square drawings let into the text, without any ornamental adjuncts. The Imperial Library at Yienna possesses three of these invaluable relics : namely, a Roman Calendar, described by Lambecius, and 1 The finest instance of this mode of treatment which I have met Leofric, in the Bodleian Library, also contain some very curious with is in the Gospels of Louis le Debonnaire in the Bibliotheque du capitals of this kind. Itoi, in which each Gospel commences with a large letter, formed of the 2 Numerous other instances from Greek and Latin MSS. are cited respective Evangelical symbolical animal. The Gospels of Bishop by the Benedictines (N. Tr. de Dipl. ii. 117—120). PREFACE. xm considered by Schwarz 1 as “ egregium vetustcitis monumentum atque pvlcherrimum Bibl. Vindobon. cimelium,” containing allegorical figures of the Months, eight in number, each about eight inches high, finely draped and exquisitely drawn, and which are supposed to have been executed during the reign of Constantine, the son of Constantine the Great; the famous purple Greek Codex Geneseos, with forty-eight miniatures, and the Dioscorides, written for the empress Juliana Anicia at the beginning of the sixth century, and ornamented with her own portrait and numerous miniatures and drawings of plants, whereof Lambecius gave a series of fac-similes, in nine folio copper plates. The Vatican possesses part of a Virgil 2 profusely ornamented with miniatures, possibly not later than the time of Constantine the Great; whereof copies have been published by D’Agincourt and others, and of which there is a fac-simile among the Lansdowne MSS. in the British Museum, executed by Bartoli. Another MS. of Virgil w'as until lately 3 also in the Vatican library, which is ascribed to the fourth or fifth century by most authors, being written in large fine rustic capitals; but which D’Agincourt, on account of the rudeness of the drawings, places in the twelfth or thirteenth. 4 The Ambrosian Library at Milan contains a MS. of part of the Iliad, of very remote date, with miniatures, which I believe, however, have not yet been published, although long announced by Professor Maio. (Dibdin, Bibl. Dec. I. p. xlii.) The famous Syriac Book of the Gospels in the library of Florence, contains many drawings, also executed in the sixth century, and which is described in the article on Syriac MSS. The libraries of our own country can boast of some relics of not later date than any of the above : namely, the Codex Cottonianus Geneseos, probably of the fourth century; and the Gospels of St. Augustine, with its miniatures, most probably of the sixth (both illustrated in this work); and the Golden Greek Canons (Brit. Mus. MS. Add., No. 5111), elaborately illustrated by Mr. Shaw, and also referred by Sir F. Madden to the sixth century. In most of these MSS. the drawings are not destitute of some of the pure classical taste of former ages; but in Continental MSS. of the two or three succeeding centuries, we find a great decrease in energy of expression and elegance of design : indeed but very few illuminated MSS. can be pointed out as having been certainly executed between the sixth and ninth centuries, at the commencement of which latter period the genius of the great Charlemagne instilled fresh vigour both into literature and the fine arts. In the few, however, which remain to us, a certain influence of the antique art may be traced, although greatly decreasing in purity. In our own country, notwithstanding the extraordinary skill manifested in the ornamenting of MSS., the art of miniature painting had fallen during the seventh and eighth centuries to its lowest ebb; it is, indeed, impossible to imagine anything more childish than the miniatures contained in the splendid Hibernian and Anglo-Saxon MSS. of this period. Neither can it be said to have materially improved between the eighth and eleventh centuries, the drawing of the human figure being rude, and the extremities singularly and awkwardly attenuated, and the draperies fluttering in all directions. The miniatures, indeed, of the splendid Caroline Bibles exhibit a strong influence of Byzantine art; and the engravings of D’Agincourt fully prove that the Greek artists during this period had not fallen so low as their brethren of Western Europe. Our own libraries are, unfortunately, lamentably deficient in illuminated Greek MSS. of this period; the Evangelistiaria (which are the chief ornamented MSS. which we possess), repeating with dull monotony the figures of the Evangelists seated writing, stiff and lifeless in expression. The 1 De ornamentis Librormn veter. 1756, 4to. p. 38. restored to the Bibliotlreque du Roi. 2 The miniatures of the Vatican Terence, described by Dibdin 4 Perhaps it would be impossible to give a greater proof of the (Eibl. Decam. i. p. 40), and others as contemporary with those of the effects produced by almost blindly following out a favourite theory, than Virgil, are of the 9th century ; the Vatican MS., 3226, of the 5th century, is to be found in this supposition of D’Ag-incourt, which is only equalled having been confounded by De la Rue, &c., with No. 3868 of the 9th. by the idea of Mr. Ottley, that the Aratus with miniatures in the 3 It is stated by Langlois and D’Agincourt that this MS. has been British Museum is of the 2nd or 3rd century. d XIV PREFACE. Bibliotheque du Roi possesses two noble Greek MSS. of the ninth and tenth centuries, 1 in which we trace many traditions of classic art. In one a female figure of Night clad in a black robe, and a veil sprinkled with stars, and holding a reversed flambeau, is highly allegorical; nor is the Journey of the Israelites through the desert, protected by the cloud and pillar of fire, less so. In a fine series of Greek drawings in the Vatican (figured by D’Agincourt), there are many similar traditions of ancient art: as, for instance, the city of Gabaon represented as a female full of anxiety; and in a Latin MS. of the ninth century, in the Bibl. du Roi, the river Jordan is typified by two figures holding vases, one bearing the letters ior, and the other dan, from which a flood of water is discharged. (See also the Baptism of Christ, in the Benedictional of St. Etlielwold.) But if the miniatures of Western Europe in these and the one or two succeeding centuries be deficient in artistic skill, they amply compensate us by the invaluable materials which they furnish of the architecture, costume, armour, amusements, ceremonies, &c., of the people at the different periods when executed, because it appears to have been almost the invariable custom to represent the various persons, &c., in the costume of the period. Thus in the Anglo-Saxon copies of the drawings of the MSS. of Aratus above referred to, and engraved in Mr. Ottley’s Memoir, we find that the Anglo-Saxon artist has completely given an Anglo-Saxon character to his Continental originals; and thus at a later period we see (in our plate of early French MSS.) the soldiers of King Herod in helmets furnished with the nasal, and the weeping mothers of Judea clad in the fashions of the twelfth century; whilst the Church of Laodicea is transformed into a Moorish temple in our plate from the Yisigothic Apocalypse. For nearly tw r o centuries previous to the Conquest, most of the miniatures executed in this country were drawn in coloured outlines, often with considerable freedom, although but little skill was evinced in the design and of which specimens are given in several of our Anglo-Saxon plates ; 2 3 but in the twelfth century a totally different style was introduced (possibly brought from the East, where it had long prevailed), namely, employing very rich but opaque colours for the figures, drawn with heavy black outlines with solid, highly burnished gold, backgrounds. Possibly two of the finest examples of this style, are the Bestiarium of the Aslnnolean Museum at Oxford, and the Psalter of St. Louis in the library of the Arsenal at Paris. This style remained in vogue until the second half of the thirteenth century, in which w r e begin to perceive an evident improvement, both in the design and execution of the miniatures of MSS., and correcter perspective in the backgrounds. During the long reign of King Henry III. in England, who was fond of the arts, painting gradually improved, as may be easily conceived from the following singular and interesting entry in the Close Rolls of the thirty-sixth year of his reign“ Mandatum est Radulpho de Duugun custodi librorum regis, quod magistro Willielmo pictori regis habere faciat colores ad depingendum parvam garderobam regime et emendendum picturam magnse camerse regis et camera; regime.” During the fourteenth century the miniatures of Western Europe strongly exhibit the influence of Gothic architecture, in the lively flowing motions of the figures and drapery, and the more natural expression of the features; the outlines being but slightly traced with the pen, the surfaces painted with water-colours, but only with slight indications of the shadows. Towards the end of this century w^e find a beautiful effect produced by the backgrounds of the miniatures being elaborately tesselated in minute patches of gold and contrasted colours, with delicate geometrical patterns formed of paler opaque lines. 1 These two MSS. are cited by AVaagen, to disprove Mr. Ottley’s idea, that the MS. of Aratus, in the Harleian Library is of the 2nd or 3rd century, the miniatures in these Greek MSS. being much nearer to the paintings of Pompeii than those of the Aratus MS. 3 Other instances may be seen in a series of little sketches, of the occupations of each month, in an Anglo-Saxon calendar in the Cotto¬ nian Library, of which Shaw has given excellent fac-similes (Dresses and Decorations, vol. i.), and in a small Psalter of the 10th century, also in the Cottonian Library (Titus, D. xxvii.), a fac-simile from which is given by Dibdin, which was executed at Hyde Abbey or Newmin- ster, which was celebrated for the beauty of its MSS., amongst which may be mentioned the incomparable Benedictional of St. Ethelwold, belonging to the Duke of Devonshire, and fully illustrated (but not in colours) in the 24tli volume of the Archaeologia, which from the splen¬ dour of its execution forms almost an isolated exception to the general characteristics of the later Anglo-Saxon MSS. PREFACE. xv Tlie zeal -with which the fine arts were cultivated in the monasteries during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries—of which our finest churches offer such magnificent examples—is also fully proved by the immense number of illuminated devotional works which have come down to our times. Missals, Breviaries, Hours, Lectionaria, Benedictionals, Pontificalia, and Choral books of immense size (which are still used in some of the cathedrals abroad), occur in every collection, more or less decorated with the monkish painter’s art. “ Oui, certes,” exclaims Langlois, “c’est en robe noire, la tete couverte de cucullus, et ceinte de la couronne monacale, que dans les Gaules” [he might have added, throughout the civilised world], “ la science est descendue des dernieres epoques romaines jusqu’a nos jours.” In addition to these kinds of works, romances, legends and chronicles, formed the standard of lighter reading; and these we accordingly also find brilliantly illuminated, and very frequently adorned with a frontispiece, in which the author is represented presenting his work to the monarch or other patron for whom it was intended. It is chiefly in MSS. executed at this period by French or Flemish artists, that we find the great perfection of the art ; as those executed in Italy, with a few exceptions, still retained much of the dry marrowless style of the later Greek school; in which, with unmeaning figures, a curious effect was produced by the greenish tone of the shades of the flesh tints. The historical circumstances of this period may possibly have contributed to the almost constant employment of Flemish and French artists by the English. The city of Bruges was, indeed, especially celebrated for its illuminators; and it was here that John Van Eyck practised the art of miniature painting. The revival of art by Cimabue, Giotto, &c., indeed, materially influenced the taste and style of the miniature painters of MSS., as it was a common circumstance that they also practised the art of designing the larger productions of the pencil, as was indeed the case with Giotto, Simone Nenni, Pietro Perugino, Lucas van Leyden, Julio Clovio, &c., by whom, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the art of illumination was brought to its highest state of excellence, when it was eclipsed by the printing press. Still for a considerable period the illuminator’s art was called into use to fill up the blanks left in the early printed books, in order that they might have as much the appearance of manuscripts as possible; but after the middle of the sixteenth century the art was almost laid aside, or only taken up for some very particular object. Perhaps the latest illuminated IMS. executed on the Continent is the immense Graduale preserved at Rouen, the wonder of all beholders, and the work of the monk D’Eaubonne, whose entire life (in the seventeenth century) was devoted to its completion. The capitals in this MS. are of very large size, painted to represent the most beautiful marbles, and ornamented with natural flowers, and the miniatures would not have been unworthy of Julio Clovio himself; whilst in our own country a volume of moral sentences, ornamented with “ grace, beauty, and delightful caprice,” and selected by Sir Nicolas Bacon for the Lady Lumley (Brit. Mus. MSS. Reg. 17, A. xxiii.), and the fine Lectionarium of Cardinal Moisey, still preserved at Christ Church College, Oxford, are amongst the latest specimens of the illuminator’s skill. 1 In addition to the various catalogues of the chief MSS. libraries at home and abroad, the works of Montfau 5 on, 2 Strutt, 3 Dibdin, 4 Willemin, 5 D’Agincourt, 6 Du Sommerard, 7 Shaw, 8 Langlois,9 Didron, 10 Silvestre 1 A fac-simile from the latter MS. will be found in our “ Illumi¬ nated Illustrations of the Bible,” which, both in the design and colour¬ ing of the original, reminds us strongly of the subsequent school of Rubens. 2 Monumens de la Monarchic Franqais, 1755, 5 vols., fol. 3 Regal and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of England, 1773, 1793, and 1842, (edited by J. R. Planche). Ejusd. Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants of England, 3 vols., 4to., 1774-6. Dresses and Habits of the People of England, 2 vols. 4to., 1796-9. Sports and Pastimes, 1801, 4to. * Bibliographical Decameron, vol. i.; and Bibliogr. and Antiquarian Tour in France, &c., 3 vols. 8vo. 5 Monumens Fran 9 ais inedits pour servir a 1’IIistoire des Arts. Paris, 2 vols. fol. 6 Histoire de l’Art par les Monuments. 6 vols. fol. 7 Les Arts au Moyen Age. 8 Illuminated Ornaments, copied from MSS. of the Middle Ages, with an Introduction by Sir F. Madden. 1 vol. small folio.—Ejusd. Dresses and Decorations of the Middle Ages, 2 vols., London, 1843. 9 Essai sur la Caligraphie des Manuscrits du Moyen Age. Rouen,1841. 10 Iconographie Chretienne, Histoire de Dieu, 4to., Paris, 1843. XVI PREFACE. and ChampoHion/ Humphreys/ Dcnon and Duval/ Maitland/ the Count Bastard, and our own Illumi¬ nated Illustrations of the Bible above referred to, as well as various Memoirs published in the volumes of the Archseologia, and a series of short papers in the Penny Magazine for 1839,—are worthy of examination in connexion with the subject before us. A work on the subject by Waagen has also been announced. 3rd. The merely ornamental accessories of Manuscripts will not detain our attention long. In the earliest MSS. we find some slight attempt at ornament at the end of the different portions of a work, consisting of crosses or small scrolls in different coloured inks ; as may be seen in the Codex Alexandrinus at the British Museum. The finest early MSS. of the Gospels were also ornamented with ornamental columns of an architectural character enclosing the Eusebian Canons; and upon which, in Anglo-Saxon and Caroline MSS., vast labour was bestowed. Perhaps the earliest instance of this custom appears in the beautiful golden Greek Canons, figured by Shaw ; and in the famous Syriac Gospels of the 6th century, the ornaments of which latter appear indeed to have been the originals of many which are found in the early Anglo-Saxon and Irish MSS., and which certainly have no prototype in the classical ornaments of Italy during the few centuries succeeding the commencement of the Christian era. It is also not a little curious to find the same style of interlaced ribands in Egyptian 5 and Ethiopic MSS. Our plate of the Gospels of St. Augustine, of the sixth century, offers a valuable illustration of the state of art in Italy during that period, and shews that the pure arabesque of the finest period of Roman art was not entirely lost. Early Greek MSS. of the Scriptures are generally ornamented with beautiful headings at the commence¬ ment of each book, running across the top of the page, (a style adopted subsequently in Armenian and Sclavonic MSS.,) the lateral margins of the pages being rarely adorned with arabesques or ornamental borders. In the early illuminated Anglo-Saxon and Irish MSS. we find borders extending entirely or partially round the page; the former generally broken into small portions, each consistiug of a different pattern, and the latter mostly formed to represent some gigantic animal, with the head at the top of the page, and the legs and feet at the bottom : instances of which may be seen in our plates, from the Gospels of Mac Durnan and the Psalter of Ricemarchus. A few of the very finest have a page entirely covered with elaborate tessellations opposite the commencement of each Gospel, of which we find no similar instances in Continental MSS. At a later period a very splendid style of ornamental border was introduced by the Anglo-Saxon artists, of which the Continental MSS. offer no instance, and of which a specimen is given in the plate of the Gospels of King Canute. In the fine MSS. of the Caroline school, we find the pages and columns sometimes entirely surrounded with narrow borders, in which foliage of all kinds is represented in opaque colours. (See the plate from the Evan- gelistiarium of Charlemagne.) At a still later period, (12th, 13tli, and 14th centuries,) the borders of MSS. were ornamented by long scroll-like patterns, springing from the illuminated capitals; often consisting of red and blue lines, drawn with the pen, or broader, more ornamental, and enriched with colours and gold, and in which grotesques of all kinds were introduced with a more or less lavish hand. During the 14th and 15th centuries MSS. were generally ornamented with distinct borders, in which blue and golden Gothic architectural foliage were introduced, with natural flowers, and the open spaces adorned with little golden radiated stars; amongst which, at the foot or sides of the page, were generally emblazoned the arms of the person for whom the volume was written, with the same kind of architectural foliage at the sides, and which is maintained to the present time by heraldic painters. 1 Palreographie Universelle, 4 vols. large fol., Paris. 2 Illuminated Illustrations of Froissart, 2 vols. 8vo.—Ejusd. The Illuminated Books of the Middle Ages, fol., in parts. 3 Monumens des Arts du Dessin chez les Peuple tant anciens que modernes rec. par Denon, et decrites par A. Duval, Paris, 1839, 4 vols. fol. 4 A series of Papers on Sacred Art, published in the Brit. Mag. 1842. See also the Bibliotheque Protypographique, ou Librairies des Fils du Roi Jean, Charles V., Jean de Berri, Philippe de Bourgogne et les siens, 4to. Paris, 1830. J In a little work on Egypt, recently published by C. Knight, there are engravings of torques precisely similar to those found in Ireland. PREFACE. xvi 1 Many of these borders in the 15th century have the backgrounds of gold, which, however, became at length a very slight wash ; with flowers, buds, and insects, painted with great regard to nature, and appearing raised by shades thrown beneath them. These peculiarities are more especially evident in English, French, and Flemish MSS.; whereas, during the 15tli and 16tli centuries, different styles of ornament were employed in the margins of MSS., consisting in many cases of arabesques in a purely classical style, and decorated with miniatures, representations of gems, and marbles, &c., often executed in a marvellously beautiful manner. Complicated scroll-work patterns, enriched with coloured grounds, and with little white dots and golden stars, characterize the borders of many Italian MSS. of the 14th and 15th centuries. ERRATA, Gr.eco-Latin MSS. Page 5, line 59, read o\iyof.*yrr*svnm c /*/*s*-* *c X o «o d x X v \ % ' SAMARITAN AND HEBREW BIBLICAL MANUSCRIPTS. DESCRIPTION 2. > Fac-similes of Samaritan MSS. of the Pentateuch. 4. ) 3. Copy of the Autograph of Archbishop Usher. OF THE PLATE. 5. ) Fac-similes from two of the Duke of Sussex’s Hebrew Pen- 6. $ tateuchs. 7. Fac-simile of the Hebrew Bible, Harl. MS., 5710, 5711. r T , HE authenticity of the books of Scripture, as the foundation of the religion both of the Jew and the Christian, is in a great measure involved in the history of its Biblical monuments. From various passages in the' Old Testament it appears that the sacred hooks of the Jews were written and deposited by the side of the Ark of the Covenant. 1 In the reign of Josiali there was indeed no other hook of the law extant besides that found in the Temple by Hilkiah, from which, by his order, copies were made and distributed among the people, who carried them with them into their Captivity at Babylon. During the Captivity, Daniel alludes to “ the Law of Moses, the servant of God,” 9 and immediately after the return from Captivity we find Ezra, “ a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given,” 3 together with Joshua and others, reading and “ causing the people to understand” the law, 4 by which is to be understood that they translated it out of the old Hebrew, in which it was at first written, into the Chaldee, which had then become the common language of the people. It is indeed a tradition universally adopted by Jews and Christians, that, about fifty years after the Temple was rebuilt, Ezra, assisted by the great synagogue, settled the Canon of the Old Testament. This genuine collection of the sacred text was placed in the Temple, the compositions of Ezra himself, Nehemiah, and Malachi, the last of the prophets, being subsequently added. “ It cannot now be ascertained whether Ezra’s copy of the Scriptures was destroyed hv Antiochus Epiphanes, when he pillaged the Temple, nor is it material, since we know that Judas Maccabeus repaired the temple, and replaced everything requisite for the performance of Divine Worship, 5 which included a correct, if not Ezra’s own, copy of the Scriptures. 6 This copy, whether Ezra’s or not, remained in the Temple till Jerusalem was taken by Titus, and it was then carried in triumph to Rome and laid up with the purple vail in the royal palace of Vespasian.” 7 Numerous passages in the New Testament, Josephus, &c., proving the fact of the collection of the Old Testament Scriptures into a single volume—many quotations from them in the New Testament; and the specification of the books by Origen, who enumerates twenty-two (in which he coincides with Josephus) 8 —all sufficiently attest that the canon of the Old Testament was settled at the commencement of the Christian era. The genuineness of the Hebrew text was preserved after the destruction of Jerusalem by the sedulous care of learned academies, which flourished at Tiberias, Babylon, and other places, from the first to the twelfth century. The date of the Masorah is generally fixed about the fifth century. This work consisted of such a minute enumeration of the sections, verses, words, and letters of the Old Testament, that although there have been discovered upwards of 800 discrepancies between the Eastern and Western Recensions, they all relate with one single exception to the vow r el points. The dispersion of the Jew r s over the face of the earth, and the discovery of the Sacred Volume in the most distant parts (as amongst the black Jews in the interior of India) 9 agreeing with those of the West of Europe, is another proof of their having preserved the original text in great purity, although evidently descended through very different channels. The Hexapla of Origen, the Jerusalem Talmud (circ. 280), the Septuagint Greek version, made about 300 years before the time of our Saviour, and the discovery of a Samaritan version of the Pentateuch written in the characters in use among the Jews before the Babylonian Captivity, are also the strongest evidences of the existence and truth of the Old Testament Scriptures. The opinion that the Jews during the Captivity adopted the Babylonian or square Chaldaic characters, and allow ed their ow n old characters to fall into disuse, is confirmed by coins, struck before the Captivity, and even before the Revolt of the Ten Tribes, the letters engraved upon them being the same w ith the modern 1 See especially Deuteronomy, xxxi. 9, 24, 20, which in our Bibles 8 “ We have not myriads of books which ditier from each other, is rendered in the side of the Ark. but only twenty-two books which comprehend the history of all past 2 Daniel ix. 2, 11, 13. 3 Ezra vii. 6. time, and are justly believed to be divine, and of these five arc the 4 Nehemiah viii. 1 —18. 5 1 Mace. iv. 30—59. books of Moses,” &c.— Josephus. Bishop Tomline’s Elements of Theology, vol. i, p. 11. 9 See Mr. "leates’s Collation of an Indian Copy of the Pentateuch, Josephus, lib. vii., c. 3, § 11. 1 6 SAMARITAN AND HEBREW BIBLICAL MANUSCRIPTS. Samaritan, with some slight variations in form. 1 And as there has been no friendly intercourse between the Jews and Samaritans since the Babylonish Captivity, there can be no doubt that the Pentateuch (which is the only portion of the Old Testament which the Samaritans regarded as inspired) is at the present time precisely in the same condition as it was nearly three thousand years ago. The existence of the Samaritan Pentateuch was known to Eusebius, Jerome, and some other of the early Eatheis, but it afterwards fell into oblivion for nearly a thousand years, until at length its existence began to be ques¬ tioned. The honour of its re-introduction was reserved for the celebrated antiquarian scholar. Archbishop Usher, who obtained six copies from the East, and from his autograph in one of them the fac-simile in my plate numbered 3. has been made. According to Dr. Kennicott (Dissertations prefixed to the Vetus Testamentum Hebraicum), only 17 MSS. of the Samaritan Pentateuch are known to be extant, and of which six are preserved in the Bodleian Library, at Oxford, and one in the Cottonian Library. The specimen in my plate. No. 1, is copied from the Bodleian IMS. ^Pococke, No. 5), which consists of 124 leaves, measuring 3| by 3 inches in size, a page containing 42 lines. The specimen represents the first line of the book of Exodus which is also the case in Nos. 2 and 4. The second specimen is copied from one of the MSS. obtained by Archbishop Usher, and is also now preserved in the Bodleian Library, (No. 139, Arch. C. 2, 3128). It consists of 253 leaves, measures 12 1 by 10 inches (a page containing 37 lines of plain writing), and contains a parallel Arabic version written in Samaritan characters. It is stated to have been written in the thirteenth century. The fac-simile, No. 4, is copied from the Cottonian MS. Claudius, B. 8, which is likewise one of those procured by Archbishop Usher. It consists of 254 pages of vellum, in excellent preservation. It is of the quarto size, and was written in 1362. A fac-simile from a very similar MS. is given by Silvestre. The total number of Chaldaic Hebrew MSS. collated by Dr. Kennicott is about 630; and the number collated by De Rossi is 479. The former of these writers states that almost all the Hebrew MSS. of the Old Testament, at present known to be extant, were written between the years 1000 and 1457 ; he, as well as Bishop Walton, inferring that all the manuscripts written before the years 700 or 800 were destroyed by some decree of the Jewish senate, on account of the many differences from the copies then declared genuine. De Rossi’s Codex, No. 634, appears to be the oldest known MS., being assigned to the eighth century; some parts also of his No. 503 are assigned to the ninth or tenth; and the Bodleian Library possesses another MS. in two parts, also assigned by Dr. Kennicott to the tenth. My specimens, 5, 6, and 7, are apparently of the fifteenth century. No. 5 is from a finely-written Pentateuch in the library of his late R. H. the Duke of Sussex, measuring 13 inches by 9, and having 27 lines in each page, written in an Italian hand, very similar to the Hebrew types used by Ab Conak, at Mantua. The first letters of each book are large, and gilt on a square of blue, lilac, or ' green, or written in coloured ink in an ornamented square, with the sides and upper and lower margin illuminated in arabesques in the Italian style, in opaque colours, with patches and radiated spots of gold. No. 6 is from another Pentateuch in the same library, accompanied by the five Megilloth and Haptorah, measuring 7| inches by 5written in the Oriental Rabbinical character called Rashi, with points, and containing the Masorali in the margin. The text is written in two columns, with 21 lines in each, except the title-pages of the Pentateuch, of which the first letters are in gold inclosed within a foliated space formed of lilac lines, and surrounded by an arabesque border composed of leaves, birds, &c.; one of the borders is scarlet, with a scroll of gold lines, and small green and blue leaves and flowers ; another is inscribed on a blue ground, within a border of golden arabesques; and another on a golden ground, with coloured leaves, flowers, and buds. Each of these illuminations occupies the entire page, and produces a very rich effect. The shorter books are headed by a smaller illumination in the same style, one of which is copied in the Plate. No. 7 is from a remarkably fine MS. of the Old Testament in two folio volumes, contained in the Harleian Library, Nos. 5710, 5711 ; the headings of all the books in which are ornamented with arabesques, often of a singular and grotesque character, but destitute of miniatures. The text is written in very fine characters ; and the illuminated borders correspond with those in Italian MSS. of the period. 1 Walton Proleg'. III., p. 103—125. Carpzov and Bauer, quoted by Horne, Introd. iii., p. 3. o * - .->6)6 6 h-> fljt>- jo*/ j j-v7 ipL -1-* ti^hI .>ij> r '<>io 6 n’% > 0 T >1 ? D^UO'^pS r I7 wW >t -^pStK *TJ32'S : ^3"3^ n's^V *s» y*y rn *><*."> b»-v\j_>r>-j»v**» •]>»at) svaa % x r V’° '» 1 a* X\^ rsy?WK :'3 tCnKWfcrSS? Spanish HEBREW PenlasUuch. % * % \ HEBREW PENTATEUCH OF HIS LATE ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. Figure 1. Commencement of the Book of Genesis; the first line Figure 3. Part of the Dominical sections, written in the Rab¬ in gold, greatly reduced in size; the two following lines are binical character. the Hebrew text of the first verse; and the third and fourth Figure 4. The heading of the book of Lamentations, are the same in the Chaldaic Targum Onkelos. Figure 5. The lower portion of the illuminated title of the book Figure 2. The upper part of the illuminated heading of the book of Numbers. Ecclesiastes. fJHIE venerable character of the Hebrew Scriptures, together with the elegance of the manuscript from whence the accompanying fac-similes have been made, cannot but confer much interest upon the accompanying plate. Without entering, on the present occasion, into the history of the Hebrew language in its origin and changes, or inquiring into the antiquity of the Hebrew characters, it will be necessary to premise that Hebrew manuscripts are divisible into three kinds :— 1st, The Samaritan, which are confined to the Pentateuch alone (all the other sacred books of the Old Testament being rejected by the Samaritans), and written in the ancient Hebrew characters, which were in use previous to the Babylonish captivity. These are of the greatest rarity. 2nd. The Chaldaic, written in the present Hebrew square characters, which were adopted during the seventy years’ captivity. The Chaldaic writing has been employed by the Hebrews ever since the time of Esdras the Scribe, as appears from the Hebrew Sides of the time of the Macliabees, and great numbers ol ancient monumental inscriptions. It consists of 22 letters, all of which, according to the custom of Eastern nations of suppressing the vowels, are syllables. The vowel points, to the number of 14, and 29 accent points, were afterwards added; but these are not of high antiquity, as Origen, Jerome, and the Talmud are silent respecting them. 3rd. The Rabbinical, in the rounded Hebrew characters, used by the Rabbis in their writings, as well as in their commentaries on the different sacred books, the Talmud, &c. This is either written with the letters separated, or united into a cursive hand. In addition to these, might also be added several other kinds of writing of great antiquity, whereof the alphabets are given in the Nouv. Traite de Diplom. 1. pi. 8, Col. IV., as well as others to be tound in the Cottonian MS. Titus, D 18, but that they have been entirely disused for ages. Chaldaic Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament are of two kinds :— 1st. The rolled MSS. which are used in the synagogues, in writing which many minute particulars were obliged to be observed. No vowel points are introduced, the reader not being eligible until he could dispense with them ; nor are any ornaments or flourished letters permitted. 2nd. The square MSS. in private use, in which the vowel points are allowed to be introduced, and the initial letters are occasionally illuminated with colours and gold ; but the latter are of rare occurrence. They have generally the Targums or Chaldee paraphrases written verse by verse alternately with the text, or in parallel columns on the margin of the page; the larger Masorah being placed above and below, and the lesser Masorah between the columns, written in small letters. The writing of these manuscripts is distinguished into two kinds—the Spanish (including that of the Levant) and German; the former perfectly square, simple, and elegant; the latter crooked, intricate, and inelegant. By some writers a third kind, the Italian, is adopted, which is intermediate between these two; but it is generally united with the Spanish. 1 1 Nouv. Tr. de Diplom. vol. i. p. 671 ; Horne, Intvod. vol. ii., p. 80. HEBREW PENTATEUCH OF HIS LATE R. H. THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. Silvestre and Champollion 1 have given a number of specimens of Hebrew MSS. (none of which are illuminated, except in having plain golden initial letters), amongst which are the fine Bible at Bologna (ot which specimens were published by Blanchini, and in the Nouv. Traite de Diplom. 1, pi. 16); and a fine rolled MS. of the Pentateuch lately brought from Algeria by the Duke d’Aumale. Their 4th plate comprises seven specimens from MSS. in the Bibliotheque Royale de Paris, two of which are dated 1208 and 1061 (the latter in the Italian hand, which closely approximates to the Spanish) ; a Bible of the fourteenth century, formerly belonging to Henry IV. of France; a Pentateuch written previous to the fifteenth century, in the German character—“ caracterise par des queues tres-aigues ; 55 a Bible of the fourteenth century, in which " Fextremite des montants termines en battants de cloches annonce un type liebreu d’Espagnewhilst the last is a specimen of modern Hebrew, termed Cursive Rabbinical —“ dont le caractere principal consiste dans l’usage d’arrondir et de pencher la plupart des traits anguleux ou droits.’ 5 The beautiful volume from which the accompanying fac-similes have been taken, formed one of the gems of the library of his late R. H. the Duke of Sussex. It is described by Mr. Pettigrew, 2 with the title Pentateuchus Hebraicus et Chaldaicus, cum quinque Megilloth et Haphtaroth, MS. in Memb. scec. XII. quarto; 55 and is stated to be “ unquestionably one of the most splendid Hebrew manuscripts ever executed. It consists of 360 leaves of very thin delicate white vellum, and has five entire pages of illuminations in gold and colours [all of which are given in outline by Mr. Pettigrew], and four other illuminations, each occupying half a page. The MS. is arranged in three columns/ 5 and is stated by Mr. Pettigrew to be written in the Spanish character; who adds, that the beauty of the penmanship is not to be equalled, and the accuracy of the MS. is equal to the beauty of its execution. The Masorah is placed in fanciful arrangement in the margins, and between the columns. The beauty of the scription will be perceived by an inspection of the plate ; but I must observe respecting it, that, instead of according with the Spanish character, as stated by Mr. Pettigrew, it agrees in the peculiar form of its letters with those of the “ Juifs d 5 Allemagne ou du Nord/ 5 given by the Benedictines, 3 and with the specimen given in the “ Pakeographie Universelle/ 5 as written in the German character. The MS. commences with an illuminated leaf, comprising, in large golden letters, the first words of the book of Genesis, surrounded by stars, and ornamented both above and below with a splendid Gothic architectural device; the sides guarded by dragons, and with the eagle, stag, and lion rampant introduced beneath the arches in the lower compartment of the plate. “ The whole of the Pentateuch is written first in Hebrew, then in Chaldee, verse by verse. Neither the chapters nor verses are numbered. The Pentateuch is divided into paraschte (or divisions, corresponding to the portions of the Prophets read on Sabbath days), each of which commences with a larger character. After every portion, the number of letters contained in it is given. There are occasionally critical notes written in the Rabbinical Hebrew in the margins . 55 The illumination at the commencement of the book of Exodus is composed of three architectural columns, between which are displayed, on diamond-shaped shields, the rampant lion and crowned eagle with expanded wings oft repeated, with the large introductory letters in gold on an oblong shield in the centre, The illumination at the beginning of Leviticus has the introductory letters of gold in a beautiful circle, in the middle of a large circular shield, around which are displayed sixteen small round shields, each with a different animal, amongst which are the elephant bearing a castle, unicorn, and winged dragon; the whole resting on an architectural device, the lower part of which is ornamented with dragons, of which the tails are entwined, and terminated in arabesques. The illumination of the book of Numbers is partially copied in the lower portion ol the accompanying plate, the upper part being composed of three compartments, similar to the lower ones on my plate, representing a warrior with a banner, having on either side a monster with the head of a man, the wings and claws of a bird, and the tail of a dragon, terminated by the head of a beast. I am aware how great is the difficulty of determining the age of Hebrew MSS.; but I cannot avoid suggesting that the age given to this MS. by Mr. Pettigrew, of the twelfth century, is at least two hundred \ eais older than it can in reality claim pretension to. This opinion, which I submit with diffidence, is founded upon the style of the architecture and armour represented in the illuminations. The architectural ornaments, as 1 Palseographie Universelle, vol. i. llibl. ^.issexiana, vol. I. xiv. from which work the descriptive paragraphs quoted in the text are copied. 3 N. Tr. de Dipl. i. pi. 8, col. 2. HEBREW PENTATEUCH OF HIS LATE R. H. THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. shown both in the upper and lower portions of my plate, are florid Gothic, of about the middle of the fourteenth century, whereas in the twelfth the rounded Norman arch had not begun to assume a pointed character. If the MS. were in reality Spanish, and of the age assigned to it, it would afford conclusive proof of the correctness of the opinion of Sir Christopher Wren, 1 that the Gothic architecture is derived from the Saracens, and that they had introduced it into Spain (an opinion which, by the bye, might he supported by the elaboration of the style in the Low Countries whilst under the power of Spain) ; but it unfortunately happens for the theory that there are no Gothic buildings known to have been in existence during so early a period, either in the East or in Spain; 2 and even the ancient Gothic churches in Sicily (so long subject to the Arabs), are not, I believe, earlier than the thirteenth century. The dresses and armour of the knights represented in the plate are also much later than the twelfth century, and ought, judging from the plates in Sir S. R. Meyrick's and other works on armour and ancient dresses, to be ascribed to the end of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century. It was during the first half of the latter century that plate-armour was gradually introduced. Whether Spanish knights of the twelfth century wore armour of the kind here represented, I have been unable to discover; but in the fine Spanish MS. of the Apocalypse, in the British Museum, written a.d. 1109, the armour is quite of a different kind. The banners of these knights is of a very peculiar form, and their heraldic devices and party-coloured surcoats are worthy of notice. The practice of wearing surcoats is supposed to have originated with the Crusaders ; 3 and Sir S. R. Meyrick states that, previous to the time of King John (beginning of the thirteenth century), the Italian knights wore a garment over their armour called armilausa, 4 respecting which Isidorus 5 says: “ Armelausa vulgo vocatur quod ante et retro divisa, atque aperta est, in armis tantum clausa, quasi armiclausa, a, littera ablata." In the Constitution of Frederick King of Sicily (C. 96), we find the surcoat without sleeves mentioned. The monumental effigy of William Longespee (a.d. 1224), in Salisbury Cathedral, represents him encased in mail, with the surcoat adorned with his coat of arms, which is not the case in the figure of Peter Earl of Richmond (a.d. 1248 ; Meyrick, i. 17), nor in that of De Vere, Earl of Oxford (a.d. 12S0), in both which the rings of the armour are fastened on in rows in opposite directions. With the exception of the helmet, the archers and crossbow-men (a.d. 1312), represented in a MS. in the British Museum, 6 are habited exactly as these knights, wearing hauberks, and chausses of gambaised work. From the mystical and allegorical character of the Jewish writings, we may, perhaps, consider the device represented in this illumination as a representation of the soul clad in the armour of spiritual grace, prepared to defend the Word of God against the attacks of the powers of darkness. Were the manuscript a production of the twelfth century, the knights must evidently have been intended as representations of the Crusaders,—a circumstance not very likely to occur in a Jewish manuscript; especially when we remember the relative position and feelings of these two bodies of men, so graphically described by Sir Walter Scott, in his inimitable story of Ivanhoe.” The illumination of the Book of Deuteronomy represents a splendid building, in the Gothic style, having the first three letters in gold, of large size; beneath which, in the middle, within an ornament formed by two equilateral triangles, interlacing each other, is the figure of an elephant, caparisoned, and bearing a low castle ; with heads of various animals in the surrounding spaces. “ After the several books the final Masorali is placed. The two last leaves of the book of Numbers are arranged in two columns, one much larger than the other; but on the recto of the last leaf the MS. is written in long lines. After Deuteronomy is a table of the portions which are read on different sabbaths, festivals, and fast days. The heads of the table are written in red, in the Hebrew character ; the others in black, in the Rabbinical character. This occupies five pages. Then follows a prayer, written in the Rabbinical character with vowel points, used at the removal of the MS. of the Pentateuch from the ark to the reading-desk; after which, in Rabbinical Hebrew, the prayer said by him who is nominated to read the Haplitorah. The initials of these prayers are in a larger Hebrew character, and arc written in green." 1 Wren’s Parentalia, passim ; Rious’s Architecture, See. 4 Crit. Enq. Anc. Armour, i. jd. 99. 2 See Captain Grose’s Essay, in the Preface to the Antiquities of 5 Orig\ lib. xix. c. 22. England ; and in Essays on Gothic Architecture. 6 Royal Lib. 20, D 1; Meyrick, vol. i. pi. 28. 3 Planche, Hist. Brit. Costume, p. 84. 3 HEBREW PENTATEUCH OF HIS LATE R. H. THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. To these succeed the five rolls of Megilloth, the first word of which, ' i s splendidly illuminated in gold and colours. Following this is the Song of Songs, with a similarly illuminated heading, whilst that of the Lamentations which succeeds, is very characteristically written in large black letters, without any illumination (copied in the plate, spec. 4). After this succeed Ecclesiastes and Esther, with beautiful illuminated headings. The whole of this portion of the MS. is only written in Hebrew, with vowel and musical points (negenah). The Haphtorah follows, with an illumination. Every division of this part has its proper commencement in a large character. At the end of the Haphtorah is written— D”n E. chajim * ptn chazah which is probably the name of the writer. On the reverse of the last leaf is written, in Rabbinical characters, the acknowledgment of the sale of the volume, from Jacob the son of Mordecai, to Jachiel the son of Uri, of which the following is a translation, including, what the lawyers term, a covenant for quiet enjoyment :—“ To testify and to make it appear to Rabbi Jachiel, the son of Uri, I acknowledge that I have delivered this Pentateuch unto him, the value of which I have received in ready money from his hand into my hand, and the sale thereof is an everlasting sale. By this I confine myself to remove him from any error or dispute that might put a hindrance to this sale. Done this fourth day, the twenty-eighth of the month Ejar, a.m. 5229 (a.d. 1469). The words of Jacob, the son of Mordecai.To which the latter has affixed his monogram. 4 ? "s» l G 3 i 11^ ,h 5 L ix. ^ o ^ P| ■•■• ft S, , - 1 • j v -* mi £ Cr i x-i % 1* *r£ g 6 *? K ° ) ecttwq irapa rev Xipvrj(v) T'evvcegepet. This specimen, as well as No. 5, exhibits some of the ornamental initial letters which were introduced into the finer Greek MSS. after the eighth century; 2 but which never assumed the size and splendour of the initials of the Anglo-Saxon or Frankish schools. This MS. is also ornamented with full-length figures of the four Evangelists, but, as unfortunately happens with the paintings of the Byzantine school, the colours are very much rubbed off, apparently from not having been mixed up with size or gum. At the heading of each of the Gospels is a beautiful ornamental design, extending across the top of the page ; which it was the ordinary custom of the Greek artists to introduce, but which, although adopted by the Syriac and Sclavonic artists, was never practised by the illuminators of the West of Europe. These headings are generally composed of foliage and flowers, converted into arabesques of great elegance, and beautifully coloured, inclosing the title of the book. In Greek MSS. adorned with miniatures of the Byzantine school of the middle ages, the British Museum 3 collection is by no means rich; the manuscript, however, which has supplied our fac-simile, No. 5, is an important evidence of the state of art in the eleventh century. It is from the Harleian Gospels, No. 1810, collated by Griesbach, and which follow the Alexandrian Recension. It consists of 2G8 leaves, measuring 9 inches by 7 ; and contains about a score miniatures, the figures of which are in general smaller than those in my copy which represents the Annunciation (142 r), accompanied by the first verse of St. Luke’s Gospel, from fo. 140 r, written in alternate lines of gold and black ink, and which is to be read (the letters in the heading being conjoined, and the last word abbreviated) :—To Kara A ovicav ayiov EvayyeXiov E7T£tc)rj7r£p ttoXXo'i EirEyEipiaav avciTatiacrOcu Sifjvriai trEp\ tmv TTETr\ripo(poprip.(vii)v ev r\fiiv irpaypaTwv kcu . . . The golden ground of the miniature before us, together with the Saracenic style of the architecture, are worthy of remark, as well as the purely classical style of the figures themselves, which are infinitely superior as a work of art to the drawings of the contemporary artists in our own country, France, and Germany. One of the miniatures in this MS., repre¬ senting the Death of the Virgin, is precisely similar in design to the same subject in the Cottonian Norman- French Psalter, Nero, C. IV. The writing before us (No. 5), may be considered as a specimen of the minuscule Greek characters, which came into use about the tenth century, and which were afterwards almost universally employed ; as likewise of the mode in which Greek letters were conjoined in cursory writing. The specimen, No 6, is copied from a series of fragments of the Psalter (Ps. 10—34). written upon papyrus, preserved in the British Museum, purchased from Dr. Hogg, who obtained them in Egypt. The specimen before us is the heading and commencement of the 29th Psalm— ^aX/uoc rw BavsiS, &c. Ev£y/car£ tw k :(vpio)v, &c. From the style of the writing, this MS. is not probably more ancient than the eighth or ninth century. The fac-simile, No. 7, is copied from a Psalter now in the library of the Arsenal, written about the beginning of the ninth century, by Sedulius, an Irish scholar, who has signed his name at the end; copied at the foot of my plate. In this respect the MS. is of considerable interest, as affording a contrast with other Greek writings contained in Irish and Anglo-Saxon MSS., of which fac-similes are given in other articles of this work. In tne oiiginal the first line is written in red letters, and the initial of the first Psalm (copied in my plate), is as usual edged with red dots. Alontfaucon has given a detailed account of this curious MS. in his Pal. Gr. 3 Many fine specimens, chiefly from the Vatican, are engraved by B’Agincourt. The Bibliotheque du Roi likewise possesses two or three of the ninth or tenth century, of great beauty ; and the Bodleian Library possesses several of high artistic rank, especially the Canonici MS., No. 110, and the Codex Ebnerianus of the eleventh century, un¬ questionably one of the most beautiful Greek MSS. in existence. It contains several drawings of great beauty, and is in a very extra¬ ordinary state of preservation. 5 I he Paleogiaphia Gr®ca of Montfaucon contains a complete illustration and investigation of the characters of Greek writing. 2 The circumstance that the initial letters of the more ancient. Greek and Latin MSS. were not of so much enlarged a size as to merit notice, is ot itself a sufficient argument (independent of satirical exaggeration) that St. Jerome’s complaint of MSS. written in large letters, is to be read, “ Veteres libros. .uncialibus” (not initialibus) “ literis, onera magis exarata quam codices.” MSS. written in letters of the size of our specimen, No. 4, and those in the plate of Purple Greek MSS. are, truly, written burthens. * / ♦ * PURPLE GREEK MANUSCRIPTS. REFERENCE TO THE PLATE. St. John’s Gospel, iii. 1, from the Vienna Evangelistiarium. Ditto, xiv. 5, 6, 7, from the Cottonian MS., Titus, C xv. "TT was the custom of the Greeks and Romans, during the early ages of Christianity, to write their most valued productions in letters of gold and silver, and upon vellum stained with purple 1 2 , or some analogous colour. That in these early times the sacred Scriptures should in this manner have been especially illustrated, affords the strongest proof of the high degree of respect with which they were regarded. Thus, the bishop and martyr Boniface, in his 28th Epistle, entreats the Abbess Eadburga to write the Epistles of St. Peter in letters of gold, for the greater reverence to be paid to the sacred writings, and Mabillon informs us that it was only for princes and nobles that such manuscripts were rarely written 3 ; whilst in the Spicilegium of Theonas 3 , we are informed that it was rather unseemly to write in this manner, unless at the particular desire of a prince. Ovid, in his first elegy, De Tristibus, “ Ad Librum,” 1. 5, has some lines which have been supposed by some authors to prove that writing on purple materials was not uncommon in his time :— “ Nec te purpureo velent vaccinia succo: Non est conveniens luctibus ille color; Nec titulus minio, nec cedro charta notetur, Candida nec nigra cornua fi’onte geras 4 .” Julius Capitolanus, however, in his Life of the Emperor Maximinus the younger, more expressly states that his mother, on sending him back to his preceptor, gave him a copy of the writings of Homer, written upon purple vellum and in letters of gold. The simple style of the historian leads us to suppose that books thus written were no unheard-of novelty at the commencement of the third century of the Christian era, and the Benedictines have referred the usage to the end of the first century. St. Jerome, towards the close of the fourth century, speaks of the practice of writing books very pompously on parchment of a purple colour, in letters of gold and silver, and that entire works were written in large letters 5 . During the fifth and three following centuries the practice still continued, although it was so little known 1 It is unquestionable that in ancient times the relative superiority of purple to other colours was greater than at present. It was fre¬ quently mentioned in connexion with the works of the Tabernacle and the dresses of the high priests, and among the heathens we know that this colour was considered peculiarly appropriate to the service of the gods : indeed, the Babylonians and other nations used to array their gods in robes of purple. Purple was also the distinguishing mark of great dignities among several nations, and Horner intimates that it was only worn by princes, and this limitation of its use was common among other nations. See also Exodus xxxv. 35; Judges viii. 26. (Pictorial Bible, I. p. 237.) 2 “ Sed liic scribeudi modus principibus et magnatibus peculiaris erat, nec tamen promiscue ab istis usurpatus.” De Be Diplomat, p. 43. 3 Vol. xii. p. 549. 4 The Benedictines (N. Tr. Dipl. ii. p. 99) do not consider this to •mply that the interior of manuscripts, but only their covers, were stained with purple; and by a comparison of this with the corresponding passages in Martial, lib. iii. ep. 2 ; Tibullus, lib. iii., el. 1, and Lucian, “De Pliilo- sopliis mercenariis,” Sir P. Madden also considers that the passage of Ovid has been misunderstood, and that the substance of the volume was 1 of papyrus (charta) unstained, which was rolled up for the sake of ornament or preservation in an outer covering of parchment dyed purple or yellow. Pliny, also, is silent as to the practice in his time, so that it may be doubted whether it was then really employed. So that that “ simple soul” (as Dibdin calls him) Hermannus Hugo,—who in his “ Libellus de prima scribendi Origine,” quoted by Kollarius, thought that purple vellum MSS. only meant books bound in vellum of that colour,—was not, after all, so worthy of ridicule as our English writer would lead us to infer; indeed, “ the laugh must be on the other side of the house” when we read the suggestion of Dr. Dibdin, that little more than a tint of the purple remains, some of these ma¬ nuscripts being still as dark coloured as on the day on which they were executed. 5 “ Habeant qui volunt veteres libros vel in membranis purpureis auro argentoque descriptos vel uncialibus, utvulgo aiunt, literis, onera magis exarata quam codices; dummodo milii meisque permittant pauperes habere scedulas, et non tam pulchros codices quam emen¬ dates.” (Prolog, ad lib. Job.) And again, “ Inficiuntur membran® colore purpureo aururn liquescit in litteras.” (Epist. ad Eustoch.) 1() PURPLE GREEK MANUSCRIPTS. in this country, that when St. Wilfred, Archbishop of York, towards the close of the seventh century, gave a copy of the Gospels thus adorned 1 2 to the church in that city, his biographer, Eddius, described it as a thing almost miraculous—“inauditumante seculis nostris quoddam miraculum” Soon after this period tlieart appears to have fallen into disuse; and although in the reign of Charlemagne a great impulse was given to the arts, and attempts were made to re-introduce the custom of staining MSS., yet it seems generally only to have extended to a partial painting of the leaves in such places as were intended to receive the golden writing; and in the place of the bright violet, deep red, or elegant blue, a daubing of brown or very dark-coloured purple was used. This distinction has not been sufficiently attended to; and we accordingly find manuscripts of the latter class cited by several of our palaeographers J as examples of purple-stained MSo. Manuscripts entirely composed of leaves of purple vellum are of the greatest rarity ; “ sunt autem albo corvo rariores Codices istiusmodi, imprimis Graeci membranacei,” says Breitinger 3 ; since it more frequently occurs that only certain important portions of the volume, as the titles, prefaces, or a few pages at the beginning of each Gospel, or the canon of the Mass, are written on vellum thus prepared, the remainder of the text being on white vellum. It is further to be noticed that manuscripts written in uncial or rounded characters are far rarer than the rest, both on account of their great age and the quantity and value of the materials which would be required in their production; and, lastly, that Codices purpureo-argentei are much rarer than those entirely in golden writing, the latter material being used not only on purple but also on white vellum, whereas the silver letters would not easily be legible, except on a dark ground. Not more than six manuscript fragments of Greek Biblical MSS. on purple vellum are known to be extant 4 . From the preceding remarks the extreme value of the Codex purpureo-argenteus, from which the fac¬ simile in the lower part of the accompanying plate has been made, may be inferred. It is preserved amongst the Cottonian Manuscripts in the British Museum (with the mark Titus, C. xv.), and comprises the following fragments from the Gospels :— St. Matthew.Chap. XXVI., v. 57—65, „ .Chap. XXVII., v. 26—34. St. John .Chap. XIV., v. 2—10. „ .Chap. XV., v. 15—22. The sheets measure 13 inches by 10^, and the writing is in double columns. The specimen here given contains that precious declaration of our Saviour, in which all the truths of the Gospel dispensation are concen¬ trated :—“ I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No man cometh to the Father but by Me.” It comprises the last line of the fifth, the whole of the sixth, and the first line of the 7th verses of the xivth chapter of St. John. The writing is in very large and massive Greek uncials; the words denoting God, Father, Jesus, Lord, Son, and Saviour, beiug, for dignity’s sake, written in golden letters; the words IH'ZOTX (Jesus), GEO% (God), KTPIOX (Lord), &c., being contracted in the same manner as in the Alexandrian and Beza’s Codices. \\ hen we thus see a folio page of manuscript occupied with only two or three verses, we cannot wonder at the complaint of St. Jerome against these “onera magis exarata quam codices •” expressing, in other words, that great books are great evils. Of this specimen the following is a representation in ordinary Greek characters, written as in the original, without any separation between the words, with the corresponding English literal translation :— (nos) AYNOMl ©ATe (N) OAONEIAENAI’ AErEIAYTQ0I(HE0Y)2 . ErQEIMEIHO’ (HOW) AREWEABLETH (e) WAYTOKNow SAITIIUNTOHIMJ (ESU)s IAMTHEW 1 “Quatuor Evangelia de auro purissimo in membranis de purpuratis eoloratis, pro animae suae remedio, scribere jussit.” Eddius, p. 60. And see Fleuri. Hist. Eccl. 1. 39, n. 46 ; and Mabillon, Aot. SS. saee. IV. pi. 2, p. 552. 2 Thus Astle (pp. 197 and 198) mentions tlie Harleian MSS. 2788, 2820, and 2821 : and Sir F. Madden (Introd. to Shaw, Ill. Orn. Pref. p. 5) the Gospels of Athelstan (Tiber A 2), as stained MSS., although the purple colour is only painted on one side of the leaves, and is not seen on the other. 3 De Antiquiss. Turic. Bibl. Grsec. Psalm, libro in membr. purpur. titul. aureis ac litt. arg. exarat. 4to, 1748, p. 7, as quoted by Dibdin. 4 Horne, Introduction, vol. ii., part 1, p. 91. PURPLE GREEK MANUSCRIPTS. 11 aOSKAIH’A’AH ©IA’KAIH’ZQH’ 0YAI2EPXETAI nPOSTONnPA EIMHAlEMOY E1EPNQKEITE’ AYANDTITETEU THANDTHE LIFE j NOMANCOMEth TOTHEF(ATH)er BUTBYMe IFYEHADKNOWn I have introduced the last two lines of the 5th and the first line of the 7th verses, to shew that not only the words are broken in two at the end of the lines without any connecting marks, but that the paragraphs were also undivided into verses. They are, however, separated by aline ce, here appearing simply in the first letter being written rather beyond the perpendicular edge of the other lines, but scarcely larger than the other letters. The rounded E, the acutely angled first stroke of the A, the elongated T and P with the extremity obliquely truncate, the rounded part of the latter scarcely reaching below half the width of the lines, the acute angled M with three of its strokes thickened, and the A with the basal stroke elongated beyond the triangle and knobbed at each end, are peculiarities evidencing the most remote antiquity, in all of which respects it will bear comparison with the most famous codices. The colour is faded into a dingy reddish purple, which has been represented of too brown a tint in some of the impressions of the plate. The silver is greatly tarnished and turned black. This manuscript is stated by ITorne to be one of the oldest (if not the most ancient) manuscript of any part of the New Testament that is extant, and is generally acknowledged to have been executed at the end of the fourth, or, at the latest, at the beginning of the fifth, century; although Dr. Scholz refers it to the seventh or eighth. Casley, however, whose knowledge of the age of manuscripts has never been surpassed, considered that it is as old, or older, than the Codex Cottonianus Geneseos ; and Mr. Baber is inclined to give it chronological precedeney to any previously named MS. Dr. Dibdin 1 states that this manuscript is written in the largest Greek capitals which he had ever seen. The Bodleian Library, however, possesses a noble manu¬ script written in still larger but narrower characters. The Vatican Codices 351 and 1522, of which specimens are given by Blanchini, are also written in larger letters, but these are much more recent than the Cottonian MS. The manuscript from which the upper specimen in the accompanying plate (copied from Silvestre) is taken, is a Greek Evangelistiarium in the Imperial Library of Vienna, which contains short portions of the Gospels which have been selected by the Greek church for each of the feasts of the year, especially for those named AearrorLKal kopral. This volume, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, belonged to the monastery of the Augustines of St. Jean de Carbonaria, at Naples. Shortly afterwards Charles VI., Emperor of Germany, ascended the throne, and during the period that Naples was tributary to that empire, the monks presented this volume to their new sovereign. Afterwards, when the victorious armies of France ransacked Vienna, this manuscript was carried as a precious prize to Paris, where it was placed in the Royal Library, whence it was afterwards restored to Vienna. It is a volume about 7 inches by G in size, with nine lines in a page, and was written at the end of the eighth century, in fine Greek uncials, both round and square, without a mixture of long-formed letter-, which lessen the beauty of many manuscripts. The accents are supposed by Silvestre to be of more recent date than the text; there is no division into verses, a small Greek cross occasionally marking the stops. The fragment is part of the Gospel for Easter, from St. John, chap, iii., v. 1, which is to be read— T>; h [lira to naa(xa) K(ara) lU(ANMlN) TQKAIPQEK.EI . NQAN(©PS2n)()STIS . EKTQNSAPI 2AK2NNIK0(DHM02) The E(pistle) for East(er) according to)JO(HN) ATTHATTI M E ACE RTAIN M (A) N OFTHEPHARI SEESNICO(DEMUS) I presume this to be the Evangelistiarium Kollarii 7, or Forlosia’s No. 23, assigned by Horne to the ninth century. (Introd. ii., 1, p. 185.) 3 1 Bibl. Decam. 1. p. lxviii. 12 PURPLE GREEK MANUSCRIPTS. In addition to the preceding, a slight notice of the three following will, from the extreme rarity of purple Greek manuscripts, be considered interesting: The Codex Argenteo-purpureus Caesareo-Yindobonensis claims the first place : it contains a portion of the book of Genesis (chapters iii. to viii.), and part of the xxivth chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, written in Greek uncials of silver, on purple vellum, and ornamented with forty-eight drawings, which Lambecius assigns to the a-e of Constantine; but by others the MS. is referred to the end of the fifth century. This Vienna manu¬ script has been repeatedly described in detail, and its drawings engraved by Lambecius, Nesselius, Kollarius, Montfaucon, Holmes, Astle, Horne, Dibdin, D’Agincourt, &c. The Codex Turicensis, described by Breitinger (ut supra), is a quarto Greek manuscript of portions of the book of Psalms, consisting of 222 leaves of extremely thin purple vellum, with silver letters and golden initials, which are, however, almost illegible in many parts. A fac-simile of a portion is given in the N. Traite de Diplomat, vol. i. pi. 12. specimen 14. The Palimpsest Codex of Isaiah, St. Matthew’s Gospel, and the Orations of Gregory Nazianzen, belonging to Trinity College, Dublin, and of which the Gospel portion has been edited by Dr. Barrett 1 . The letters of the Codex Vetus were square, and much smaller than in the MS. above mentioned, but larger than those of the Alexandrian Codex, and written on vellum originally of a purple colour, apparently in the sixth century. The Codex Recens, or later writing, consists of parts of various Greek fathers, and is ascribed to the thirteenth century. Blanchini 2 has given notices of several other Greek Manuscripts written in gold and silver letters, amongst which he has, however, incorrectly introduced the Codex Geneseos of the Cottonian Library. Notices of the famous Gothic manuscript of Ulphilas, written about a.d. 360, and various purple Latin MSS., written both in gold and silver letters, will find a place in other portions of this work. 1 Evangelium secundum Mattliseum ex Codice rescripto in Bibl. Coll. S. Trinit. juxta Dublin. 4to., 1801. 2 Evangel. Quadruplex, vol. ii. p. 593. A ^x, GREEK GOSPELS. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. Portrait of St. Mark, and commencement of the Gospel of St. Matthew, with ornamental heading. From Hnrl. MS. 5790. 'J’HE long controversy which existed between the Greek and Romish Churches, the high, and indeed inspired character in which the Latin vulgate version of St. Jerome was regarded by the latter (although made by him from the Greek), combined with the dark and almost general ignorance of the middle ages, resulted in a total disregard of the Greek versions of the Scriptures in the west of Europe for nearly a thousand years. With the revival of literature, however, and the dissemination of knowledge by the printing-press towards the close of the fourteenth century, a spirit of inquiry was raised as to the genuineness of the existing Latin version of the Bible, in the minds of those who took part in the great religious movement which had already commenced for the reformation of the Church. The facts, of the Septuagint version of the Old Testament having been written in Greek, and of the New Testament having been originally composed in that language, were regarded by many of these inquirers as con¬ vincing proofs that the true text of the Sacred Volume was to be found in MSS. of the Greek versions; whilst the violent contests which had taken place between the Greek and Roman Churches rendered an agreement in the versions employed by the respective churches almost as important in sacred criticism as the agreement between the Samaritan and Hebrew versions : which so satisfactorily proves that no material alteration had been made in them during the three thousand years which had elapsed since the origin of the controversy between those two tribes. The total number of Greek MSS. of the New Testament (whether entire or fragments only) known to have been hitherto more or less completely collated, amounts, according to the celebrated Biblical critic Scholz, to 674. Of these MSS. the Alexandrian and Vatican Codices occupy the foremost place, as containing the entire Bible, and being of very high antiquity. The number of Greek MSS. containing the Greek version of the Old Testament in existence is not precisely known; but Dr. Holmes collated 135 for his edition of that version; and of these, the Cottonian Cod. Geneseos and the Cod. Ccesarseus Argenteo-purpureus, both containing miniatures, and written in fine uncial characters of very great antiquity, and the Codex Turicensis, written on purple vellum, are the most interesting in respect to the objects of this work. The manuscripts of the New Testament, or of portions thereof, are far more numerous. The Evangelia contain the four Gospels, while such as contain those portions of the Gospels as were read in the service of the Church are termed Evangelistiaria, or Lectionaria. Of such as contain the New Testament, or portions thereof (not being Lectionaria), thirty-three are enumerated by Horne as written in uncial letters, amongst which the Codices,— Bez.e, Claromomontanus, Laudianus (in the Bodleian Library, containing the Gixeco- Latin Acts of the Apostles); San-Germanensis (of the 7th century, in Gimco-Latin) ; Augiensis (in Trill. Col., Cambridge, written in Graeco-Latin in an Anglo-Saxon hand); Boernerianus, at Dresden (in Graeco- Latin, in an Irish hand) ; Cottonianus (Titus, C. xv., on purple vellum, possibly of the 4tli century) ; and Dublinensis, a palimpsest ]\IS., on purple vellum, published by Dr. Barrett, are palaeograpliically of the highest interest. Of such as are written in minuscule or cursive characters the number is of course far greater, on account of these being much more modern in point of date. Of these Horne has given a list of 469, exclusive of 178 Evangelistiaria, and about 30 others not fully collated. The integrity and faithfulness of the Greek text, although of such immense importance in Biblical criticism, have not prevented various transcribers from altering the Greek text to the Latin. Of this charge 1 GREEK GOSPELS. (first raised by Erasmus, and which was by some of the earlier critics considered as the lesult of a united resolution adopted by both churches, and which was termed the “ Fcedus cum Greeds”)the celebrated passage in 1st John, v. 7, 8; affords several instances, as it occurs in the Codices Montfortianus, at Dublin, written in the 15 th century, in small cursive characters; Ottobianus, in the "V atican, of the 15th century ; Berolinensis, also of the 15th century ; Neapolitans, (being No. 173 in Scholz’s Catalogue of MSS. used in the Epistles,) and the MS. at Wolfenbuttel, numbered 131 in Michaelis’ list by Marsh in all of which the heavenly witnesses are introduced, (being translated from the Gloss added by earlier Latin transcribers of the Vulgate,) although they are wanting in all the other and infinitely more trustworthy Greek MSS. * Amongst the later Evangelia, written in minuscule Greek characters, it is impossible to find a finer example of caligraphy than is afforded by the volume from which the accompanying plate has been copied. This MS. is one of the gems of the Harleian Library in the British Museum. It is numbered 5790, and was written at Rome by one John, a priest, and completed on the 25tli of April, 1478, as appears by a note on the last page of the volume. It measures 12 inches by 8, and consists of the four Gospels, each preceded by a table of sections, written in red ink. Each Gospel is preceded by a figure of its respective Evangelist (that of St. Matthew having been abstracted), and the first page of each gospel is beautifully illuminated with an elegantly-designed heading, and a large coloured initial letter, ornamented with beautiful and delicately- drawn arabesques. The portrait of St. Mark with the Lion is copied in our plate ; St. Luke with the winged Bull is represented in the act of mending his pen, and as aged, with a long grey beard, wearing a blue and violet dress, and seated in his study, with books, candlesticks, writing-case, &c. The miniature of St. John is a charming composition; the evangelist being represented as young and beardless, in the act of writing his Gospel, with the Eagle over his head with expanded wings. The heading of St. Mark’s Gospel consists of three small circular medallions, containing the head of Christ and two of the apostles. That of St. Luke consists of a lozenge-shaped medallion, containing a miniature of the Virgin, with the infant Jesus, encircled with a glory, represented, as the lawyers say, “ en ventre samere,” and with smaller circular medallions at the sides, inclosing heads of angels; and that of St. John contains a medallion of the bust of Christ, invested with the cruciferous nimbus and cross, and in the act of giving the benediction according to the Romish practice ; at the sides are the miniatures of two angels. In the passage copied in the plate the reversed y-like form of the v, the T-like form of the y, the H-like form of the ?/, and the w-form of the omega, are to be noticed. 2 ** A 1-DCcu Ain pl’CP 0AAA.0' fcAAPOC C 0\0 HeAT X Q-Jcr» •O^b^dVeb^ >f^u5&3 «Q..-f<^/W^b *&2a£i 099^06^0 •• • ^JA&aL,^ Q} C3ca\^> V^=3^v^ MV-OkujH^ vxLi^'Cfcw L which is here figured from the verso of the 28th leaf. There are likewise written on the margin various Greek words, in characters of a very peculiar form, quite unlike any of those collected by the Benedictines 3 4 in tiicii long series of Greek letters, and more resembling those of Greek inscriptions before the Christian era. A few of these words are given on either side, at the foot of the Plate (No. 9 and 9*), which are to be read AXHS, KEAP02, 20A0M0N, IY2AAT, BH2AXAP, CAMEOS. ihe Harleian MS. 5512, contains a Missal in the Latin language, written in Syriac characters, having a singularly-drawn cross in the first page. jt lemains to be mentioned, that the specimen (No. 6 and 6*) is taken from a Syriac Pentateuch, brought fiom fravancore, by the Rev. C. Buchanan, in 1806, ivritten upon paper of a small folio size, in charactersunlike those of any of the other specimens given in my Plate, or by Silvestre, or in the plate of fac¬ similes m the first part of the Catalogue of the Oriental MSS. in the British Museum. 1 I lie principle of this design is very simple; requiring, however, the aid of instruments, and consisting of a series of quadrants struck from the four corners of two square areas, (placed side by side,) and interlacing together. * Sec a design in which portions of this ornament may be traced, 4 taken from the tomb of Ibrahim Agi, at Cairo, in Shaw’s “ Cyclo¬ paedia of Ornament.” 3 N. TV. Dipl. tom. i. pi. 10 and 11. 4 This form of the Greek letter A occurs, however, in some very early Anglo-Saxon MSS., as in the Gospels of Lindisfarne. (Bibl. Cotton. Nero, D. IV.) m* <£*>5 'M^sSSiS CSJR pu<. : /^c°k+;a^= l-rtCiHI 0 *V«>iAh‘l!:XA:^fiOO <, IltC «?»/< OJk * i s rtenic^ JDCOTC OTO^pUVC QSM rwuLjy Hr) dTH w wo Y*^TI tnjCAac* c .Armenian Gospels N ! ♦ / * \ 23 THE ARMENIAN GOSPELS. REFERENCE TO THE PLATE. Miniature and commencement of the Gospel of St. John, from the MS. of H.R.II. the Duke of Sussex. 4 FTER the division of Armenia, about the beginning of the fifth century, the western Armenians used the Greek language and characters in their religious offices; but the use of that hostile tongue was prohibited by the Persians in the eastern provinces, which were obliged to use the language of the Syriac Missionaries, by whom the Armenians had previously been converted to Christianity, till the invention of the Armenian letters by Mesrob, Meisrob, Mesrop, or Mesrobes, (which took place shortly afterwards,) and the subsequent version of the Bible into the Armenian language; an event that relaxed the connexion of the church and nation with Constantinople 1 2 , which was soon after entirely broken 3 . The religion of the Armenians, who to this day retain the doctrines of Eutyches, has been briefly described by La Croze 3 ; and to their credit it is recorded that, although so constantly suffering under persecution, their zeal has been fervent and intrepid, neither becoming converts to the doctrines of Mahomet, nor reassuming the rites of the Greek or Roman churches; and Etschmiazim, a monastery near Erivan, on Mount Ararat, is still the seat of the Patriarch of Armenia. 4 The Armenian version of the Old Testament is stated by Biblical writers 5 , to have been made from the Alexandrian Septuagint, whilst the translation of the New Testament is ascribed to Meisrob and his disciples, by desire of the patriarch Isaac the Great. The latter was not completed till the fifth century. It was thrice translated from the Syriac, and then from the Greek. It appears, however, to have been subsequently altered to correspond with the Romish Latin Vulgate version in the thirteenth century. The first edition of the Armenian Bible, printed at Amsterdam in 1606, in quarto, was also altered to render it conformable to the Vulgate, by the then patriarch of Erivan, which, however, led to its not being cordially received by the Armenian Christians. The most complete version of the Armenian Bible is that of Dr. Zohrab, in quarto, published in 1805, at Venice, (a copy of which is in the library of the British Museum,) and for which its editor collated as many as sixty-nine manuscripts 6 . The present Armenian alphabet contains thirty-eight letters 7 , which, although they have been by most writers attributed to Meisrob, have by others 8 been asserted to have been invented by St. Chrysostom, with whom Mesrob corresponded, and in wdiose time the Bible was translated, and who certainly died in banishment in Armenia. Although the Armenian characters are generally supposed to be derived from the Greeks, their forms are very different, and their number exceeds those of the Greek alphabet by more than one third. Their alphabet contains several letters or marks for sounds, which frequently occur in the Hebrew, Arabic, and Syriac languages, but are not found in the Greek. Like that of the Greeks, whose literature was much cultivated by them, their writing is read from left to right. Armenian manuscripts are of great rarity in the libraries of the west of Europe. Silvestre illustrates two destitute of miniatures, contained in the Bibliotheque lloyale at Paris, the first containing the four Gospels in a large, very regular, black, uncial letter, and which is assigned by him to the eleventh century. It is so precisely similar to the two fragments contained in the Burney Collection, No. 277 9 , that it is almost impos- 1 Gibbon, iv. 216. 2 L’Art do Verifier les Dates, p. 35. Pagi, Critica, a.d. 535. 3 Histoire du Christian, de l’Ethiopie et de l’Armfcnie. 4 Morier, &o. 0 Jahn, p. 82; Masch, p. 169-173; Kortholt, p. 301; Horne, ii. p. 233. 3 Horne, vol. ii., part 2, p. 50. 1 7 In the N. Tr. de Dipl. i. pi. 13 x., the alphabet is made to consist of 39 letters, of each of which numerous examples are figured. See also Astle (Orig. of Writing, p. 92) for the letters, with their respective powers. 8 Angelus Rocha, Discourse on the Books of the 3 atican, Sixtus Senensis, and George, Patriarch of Alexandria. 2 These fragments are portions of the Gospels ot St. Matthew and 24 THE ARMENIAN GOSPELS. sible not to believe them part of the same MS. The other MS. is more ornamented, one of the fac-similes from it having a large ornament terminating above in a red Greek cross, and the other specimen with four lines of red letters and a red initial formed of two birds, the remainder being in small black leaning uncial letters, somewhat like, but much larger, than those in the MS. of the Duke of Sussex. These two specimens are from a menologe written at Ispahan, for the Church of Surat, in India, at the end of the sixteenth century. Blanchini 1 has given a fac-simile of a most interesting pentaglot Psalter, written in the year lOoG of the Hegira, in Armenian, Arabic, Coptic, Chaldaic, and Ethiopic letters, the Armenian very much resembling that of the smaller characters in the accompanying plate. The beautiful specimen represented in the accompanying plate is taken from a manuscript of the four Gospels, written in the middle of the thirteenth century, in excellent preservation, and which was one of the chief treasures of the library of his late lamented R. H. the Duke of Sussex. This manuscript comprises 311 leaves of vellum ok inches long, by 3b wide, and is written on both sides in double columns. It is of great value in a biblical point of view, inasmuch as it is of a prior date to those from which the first printed edition was made. It belonged to an Armenian family long resident at Madras, where they settled on their expulsion from Armenia by Tamerlane, and is said to have been highly esteemed by the Armenian Christians. It commences with eight leaves, on which are inscribed the Eusebian Canons, enclosed within ornamental pillars, and the pages have the margin illuminated with birds, trees, &c. The capitals are written in letters of gold, and the initials of the chapters are composed of fanciful figures of various kinds, and in many of the margins are drawings representing birds, beasts, angels, kings, harpies, &c., in gold and colours. On the page preceding each of the Gospels is an illumination, representing the respective Evangelist; (that of St. Luke has, however, been cut out). I have selected that opposite the commencement of the Gospel of St. John, the two figures representing, as I suppose, the Evangelist when young, writing the Gospel, and as old when he wrote the Apocalypse 2 : the hand coming out of the cloud, is a very ordinary method adopted by the Eastern illuminators to indicate the presence of the Almighty. 3 Mr. Pettigrew has published the figure of St. Mark, seated before a desk writing; but his plate does not correctly represent the details of the picture, especially the instruments for writing, which are placed on the desk before the Evangelist. The art adopted iu these drawings is essentially Byzantine. The Evangelist has the nimbus perlatus, or golden glory, around the head, with the margin ornamented with pearls. The first page of each Gospel is also beautifully illuminated with an ornamental heading of strange device, and marginal arabesques of gold and various colours. In the former respect, the style adopted in the Greek manuscripts is followed; the latter, however, rarely occurs in such manuscripts. The marginal arabesques are headed by the evangelical symbol, that of St. John’s Gospel copied in my plate having the eagle thus introduced, with the head ornamented with the cruciferous nimbus, whilst the opposite side of the page has a marginal design, in which the symbols of the other evangelists are strangely introduced, supporting a figure with a cruciferous nimbus, probably intended for St. John himself. The first line in each Gospel is in capital letters formed of birds, placed in grotesque juxtaposition. The specimen at the bottom of the plate marked with a star is a fac-simile of the ordinary character of the writing and width of the columns, being the commencement of the historical part of the 1st chapter of St. Matthews’s Gospel. At the end of the manuscript is an inscription in Armenian, iu which the date is introduced, which is said to be a.d. 1251. The Bodleian Library possesses two small Armenian books of the Gospels (Laud. 34. 35.) the head¬ ings and capitals of which are illuminated, but which will not bear comparison with the MS. of the Duke of Sussex. See also the Codex Regius, 83. (Horne, Intr. ii., p. 16G.) Mark, and in the catalogue are referred to the thirteenth century. The lollowing woodcut is a fac-simile of Mark, ch. viii., the beginning of v. 16, used for the binding of a book: when entire, they must have been of a large folio size, as is the Paris manuscript. 1 Evangel. Quadrupl., vol. ii., part 2, last plate and specimen but one. 2 This mode of representing this Evangelist is very rare: it occurs, however, in the Codex Ebnerianus in the Bodleian Li¬ brary. See Waagen, Art. in Engl. ii. p. 217. 2 On the signification of the hand stretched from the cloud, see N. Tr. de Dipl. iii. 341. 0 ccles i a 6 cj u i6eco\i MeMoyMeu ltAHC'141 u Miue RSxe P6ROmH6(Y) HJOA 6 ACY) cha^aLi leAtv) 0 ns *aco Aiii xcn hAbebanT |uo 6 cn f y 1 x yyz FlAUM KA 0 O\HC THG f OV AA S AG d) B 7 a. rei m e iivihivion oi c toic ltspeVCiN : th AyTviviivtfcp aooaoa ivterjoc Tinj AeprA^o rvier^or^TcucMiBATciJ erneN^Ta^ Ar^iopojTre eiis^eTxioiAAcTi'Troieic , TMAK^ioceieiAeTviHotA Ac etnKATApAToc ** tb$ j j ~* Hi o fTAern TTTJd aaoic Aerropei ooxm rviii’liioj ’ {'hr' ■ \oy Wwimtiy \ ni oiuo/vvdTC kj e i>jxoki^x wwoti'd™ iiOfcfi\sp jfelMi cjr Serfyje^c I ^®001 KOlCTO^ etfHj)PATa o^irocTOcenoi 61 K 141 f fWl CtylP f /If fcilntn it tty]"*™ TfiA \C <\utt Jmnjt biivf Cadut+i edotfmf*' f! Cfccc ^txi bftbl&n fivtiMty tEttif »• vrh(by Ton uptwvtf rfnjin f Vl nn 1 •■■ dbnnYi |in, the tail of the P reaching below the line, and terminating in a hair-stroke, and the G>-shaped Q are worthy of notice in the Greek text; as well as the form of the A, the minuscules b, d and 1, the uncials E, H, and M, the tailed F, P, R, and Q, the horizontal hair-stroke attached to the end of the tails of these letters, and the curious form of the S in the Latin text. Both the Greek and Latin texts exhibit many grammatical errors. Thus we have the words TON AENAPON—COI nOIEIC. ANYrtoCIN. AEH0HTE OYN TON KYPtON ?—Quando non esset ei filium—super umera—secessit ad marem—spirito sancto—suptus pedes—qualum—coxerunt-macika— karissima-xibunt—fratrorum. But, perhaps, the most singular passage in the volume is the one which, at the kind suggestion of the Rev. John Lodge, the learned Librarian of the University Library, (to whose attentions I have been greatly indebted in the course of this work,) I have given in fac-simile No. 2. It occurs 1 In the heading of the pages of the Gospel of St. Luke we find the name written both Sec. Lucam and Lucan. 2 Hug. Introd. to N. Testament, by Wait. 1, p. 138. 3 “Codex Theodori Bezse Cantabrigiensis,” &c. Cantabrig. 1793, 2 vols. fol., which was collated by Porson with the original, and the only fault detected was in a single letter in the margin. 3 1 “ Cseterum cum sit omnibus indiciis vetustatis insignitus hie codex et fortassis omnium qui nunc supersunt antiquissimus.” Proleg. ad Test. Gr., p. 34. 4 “ Textus reperitur Cantabrigiensis Syriacae utraque version! maxime admodum convenire.” Kipling; Micliaelis Einleitung, p. 583. GR/ECO-LATIN MANUSCRIPTS. at the end of the fourth verse of the sixth chapter of St. Luke; the third and fourth verses being given according to the ordinary version, terminating with the words, “OIC OYK ESONHN 4>AriEN El MH MONOlC TOIC IEPEYCIN. « Quibus non licebat manducare si non solis sacerdotibus”— _which it is not lawful for the people to eat, but for the priests alone. Immediately after which is the following singular passage :— -“TH AYTH HMEPA 0EACAMENOC TINA EPTAZOMENON T£2 CABBAT12 EIIdEN AYTQ ANGPOnE EIMEN OIAAC TI UOIEIC MAKAPIOC El El AE ME OIAAC EIIIKATAPATOC KAI nAPABATHC El TOY NOMOY. - “ Eodem die videns quendam operantem sabbato et dixit illi Homo si quidem scis quod facis beatus es, si autern nescis maledictus et trabaricator legis.” __q^pe same day seeing a certain man working on the sabbatli-day, he said to him, Man, if indeed thou knowest what thou doest, blessed art thou: but if thou knowest not, thou art cursed, and become a transgressor of the law.—Sclioltz found this passage only in one other Greek MS. (Nov. Test. p. 231.) In the margin I have added a fac-simile of the mode in which the name of Jesus is written contractedly in the two versions, and the manner in which the name of David is spelt in the Greek text. 1 The specimen No. 1 is copied from Archbishop Laud’s MS. of the Acts of the Apostles, preserved in the Bodleian Library (E. 82). It consists of 227 leaves of vellum, measuring 10^ inches by 8, and is written in double columns, with only one or two words in each line, the first containing the Latin and the second the Greek text, having twenty-five lines in a page. Like the Codex Bezse it has the first three lines at the commencement of the book (in both texts) written in red. As a Biblical MS. it is of great value, Michaelis pronouncing it to be “ indispensable to every man who would examine the important question, whether the Codices Groeco-Latini have been corrupted from the Latin;” and adding, that it was this MS. which convinced him that this charge is without foundation. The Latin text is in one of those versions which differ from that of Jerome. It has been supposed to have been the identical book used by the venerable Bede, because it has all those irregular readings which, in his Commentary on the Acts, he says were in his book, and no other MS. is found to have them. There is an extraordinary coincidence between it and the old Syriac version. It is referred by Astle to the beginning of the fifth century; by Wetstein and Michaelis to the seventh; by Griesbach to the seventh or eighth, and by Hearne 2 to the eighth century. Both the texts are written in a remarkably fine strong uncial character, the alineee (as will be seen from the first line of the specimen) commencing with an uncial letter of a larger size than the rest of the line. The B in the Latin text is always written in the minuscule character. 3 The tailed P and R, and the form of the A and L and T, in the Latin text, are also worthy of notice; as is also the want of distinction between the words where two occur in a line. I have added in the blank space fac-similes of those letters which do not occur in the text, as well as the contractions used for the names of God and the Father. The specimen is from Acts, ch. ix. v. 31, descriptive of the happy state of the church: — 1 The name Jesus is contracted in most Greek MSS. into Jc (as in the purple Cottonian MS.). The name of Christ (ordinarily contracted into Xc) is also written in the Codex Bezse Xpc. “ ‘Le mot Aa/3id n’a dans les MSS. Grecs que la premiere et la der- niere lettre Ad de sorte, que il est tres difficile pour ne pas dire im¬ possible de savoir aujourd’hui comment les Grecs ecriverent ce mot.’ Nous l’avons vu ecrire Acivid dans plusieurs MSS. Grecs.”—Nouv. Tr. de Dipl. 3. 540 note. 5 Acta Apost. Gr.-Lat. E. Cod. Laudiano descr. ediditque T. Hearnius, Oxonii, 1715, 8vo. 3 The same singularity also occurs in the Codex Claromontanus, N. Tr. de Dipl. 3, pi. 42. A minuscule 1 occurs in the Homilies of Origen (Bibl. du R.) which are written in a hand very similar to that of the Laudian MS. under notice. N. Tr. Dipl. 3, p. 193, and sup¬ posed by the Benedictines, to be much older than the 8th century. We have also seen that the Codex Bezse has the b, 1, and d, written in minuscule. 4 GRAECO-LATIN MANUSCRIPTS. Ecclesise quidem universae per omnem Judseam et At plv ovv haeXriaiai navai k aO’oXpg r»R IouSatae icai Galileam et Samarium habebant pacem. T'aXiXatag iccu S a/napeiag ei^ov eipijvr jv. The two last leaves of the MS. hear various short inscriptions in Greek, including an edict of a Sardinian Prince, Flavius Pancratius (whence it has been supposed that the MS. was written in Sardinia), and the Apostles’ Creed, written in Latin uncials, but with various omissions. 1 The specimens in the lower part of the plate are remarkable for having the Greek version written in Latin characters, a peculiarity respecting which various notices will be found in another article of this work. The specimen No. 4, is from the Psalter of Verona, 2 written in fine uncial letters, regarded by the Benedictines as of the sixth century, having the words not very distinct, and being destitute of points. It is in quarto, with the two texts written continuously on the opposite pages. The specimen copied is the commencement of Psalm xevi. (xcvii. according to the Septuagint). 0 quirios ebasileusen agalliasto e g - e eufran- tetosan nesy polite nefele ce gnofos cyolo autu diceosune ce crima. ('O K.upiog efictffiXtvcnv ayaXXiaaroj p yi) ; bvpav91]TO(Jav, vpooi < ttoXXcu vtPATA 0AIN0CT0C El tov tivat. 101 EINAI. Genesis, ch. i., v. 1. In principio fecit dews coelum et terrain ; terra autem erat invisibilis I ittcowipossita, Deuteronomy, ch. xxxii., v. 1. Attende coelum et loquar, audiat terra verba ex ore meo. In the margin is copied, from one of the pages incarnatione dni nri jhu xpi dcccxii.”—proving this par Nos mitem ibimus in no mine domini deinostri. Et tu Betblem domus illius effrata exigua es ut sis. Ev ap\t] tnoipatv o Qtog tov ovpavov iccu rpv ypv, H yp pv En arebi epoeisen o theos ton urunon ce tin gin, I de g'i in aoparog. icai aKaraoKtvaTOQ. aoratos ce acatasceuastos. Ilpoc T£%£ ovpavs icai XaXpaui iccu aKovtro> yt A peparci e\ OToparog Prosceche uranae cue laleso ce acueto g'i remata ec stomatos pov. mu. of the MS. containing lunar tables, &c. : u Anni ab of the MS. to have been written in the year 812. The custom of accompanying the Greek text with an interlineary, or parallel version, was very early adopted, since the Latin Version is in general Ante-Hieronymian, These MSS. are termed Codices Bilingues, or Diglot MSS.; and as there are extant Syriac-Arabic, Gothic-Latin, J and Greek-Russian, (Harl. MS. 5J23) MSS., it is probable, as Michaelis thinks, that there formerly existed Greek-Syriac, Greek-Gothic, and other MSS. of 1 Credo in Dm patrem omnipotem, et in Xpo Jim filium ejs unicum Dominum nostrum, qui uatus est de Spu sco et Maria Virgiue, qui sub Poutio Pilato crucifixus est, et sepultus ; tertia die resurrexit a mortuis, ascendit in coelis, sedet ad dextera patris, unde venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos : et in Spu sco, sea ecclesia, remissione peccatorum, carnis resurrectionis. 5 2 N. Tr. de Dipl. 3 pi. 42. No. 1, and p. 143. 3 This word occurs in the Alexandrian, but not in the Vatican Codex. 4 Thus in the Codex Alex.: okovetw p yp in the Cod. Vaticanua. 5 The Harleian MS. 5786, contains a triglot (viz., Greek—Latin —Arabic) Psalter of the twelfth century. GRiECO-LATIN MANUSCRIPTS. that kind, in which the original and some version were written together. The following, in addition to those above described, are the most interesting Greek-Latin MSS.:— The Codex Sangallensis, belonging to the library of the famous monastery of Saint Gall, in Switzerland, described by Rettig, in his work, entitled “ Antiquissimus quatuor Evangeliorum Canonic. Cod. Sangallensis Gr.-Lat. interlinearis nunquam adliuc collatus ad similitudinem ipsius libri manu-scripti accuratiss. delineadum et lapidibus exprimendum curavit. 4to. Turici, 1836.” The Codex Claramontanus (Bibl. du Roi, No. 107), formerly used by Beza; containing the Pauline Epistles, written in uncials; ascribed by the Benedictines to the fifth or sixth century (N. Tr. de Dipl. 1. pi. 12, f. 8. and 3 pi. 42), but to the seventh by Montfaucon, Champollion, and Silvestre, who have also given a fac-simile of it. The Codex San Germanensis also contains the Pauline Epistles, written in uncial letters; considered by the Benedictines (N. Tr. de Dipl. 1 pi. 12, f. 12, 13, and 3 pi. 43, p. 165) to be older than the Codex Alexandrinus, but referred by other writers to the seventh century. The Codex Augiensis also contains the Pauline Epistles. This is a very interesting MS., having been formerly in the Monastery of Rheinau (originally founded by an Irish missionary), and having the Latin version written in Anglo-Saxon, or more probably, in Irish characters, and having, in all probability, been transported by the original founder of that monastery from this country. It is now in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. It is important to remark, that the Greek follows the Alexandrian Recension. It also coincides in many respects with the next Codex, and has the names Christ and Jesus contracted, as in the Codex Bezie. This Epistle to the Hebrews, formerly rejected by the Church of Rome, is only written in the Latin version. The Codex Boernerianus, in the Dresden Library, also contains the Pauline Epistles (except that to the Hebrews), and having the Latin Ante-Hieronymian text interlined between the Greek ; and written, according to Kuster, in Anglo-Saxon, or, according to Doderlein, in Irish characters. 1 A transcript of it is preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. 2 The Codex Ottobianus of the Vatican, written in the fifteenth century (the Latin text in modern Gothic letters) contains the Acts and Epistles, and possesses the disputed passage concerning the three heavenly witnesses (1 John v. 7, 8). 1 It is not only written in the Irish hand, but at the foot of fol. 23 is an inscription in the old Irish language, which is copied in one of Matthaci’s Plates. 2 Epist. Pauli Cod. Gr. cum Vers. Lat. vet. vulgo Ante-Hierou. olim Boernerianus. Edit, a C. F. Matthnei. Misense. 1791 (reprinted in ISIS). 8 vo. 6 .C03WX ' Yd jQCQL R f>o \ Ift coO tovSl UtlUi l. ^svvy^ t fc^y i ^^sw w ss mini J^miroeuxisi^eLn Ipfe- liker^ ibu^pi piUOT SlCUTSCRlBIUODesT f v „ „ lUpWNCipio envt aeRBua) W esXlXpftOpnetA. |^CTueR»uin enxi xpud do> ecccmi'rio Ajsjqe Ur ' eTC>s eRXT LieR8U0 MrcFJ^'ie cr> T«a>.-v IfwiTiu on eu^vi^elnina SlClXTScRlpTUCneSTIW CSXUpHOpeTJl._- 6 cce cr> itt oaw c, elturxwt a) e u or> ci uipRxe pxp^vBi 'TaiAXnluAT u cn AiJTepci e cn tuao) • -The, GcspcU C|LIlpRXepAHxK?Ip|A fui Si 4 r AupuA tin f fc Cuthbzrt & I f 0 \ \ THE GOSPELS OF SAINTS AUGUSTINE AND CUTHBERT. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. 1. Portrait of St. Luke ; 5. Beginning' of St. Mark's Gospel from the Bodleian Gospels of 2. Four Miniatures of Events in the Life of Christ ; St. Augustine. 3. Beginning of St. Mark’s Gospel, and 6. Beginning of St. John’s Gospel from the Gospels of St. Cuthbert. 4. Inscription in fine Minuscule letters, all from the Cambridge Gospels of St. Augustine. A s already noticed in the article upon the Grseco-Latin Ante-IIieronymian MSS. of the Bible, there were, “ within a few hundred years after Christ, translations many, into the Latin tongue, for this tongue also was very fit to convey the Law and the Gospel by, because in those times very many countries of the West, yea of the South, East, and North, spake or understood Latin, being made provinces to the Romans. But now the Latin translations were too many to be all good, for they were infinite (Latini interpretes nullo modo numerari possunt, saith St. Augustine, de doctr. Christ, lib. 2, cap. ii.). Again, they were not out of the Hebrew fountain (we speak of the Latin translations of the Old Testament), but out of the Greek stream (i.e. the Septuagint) ; therefore, the Greek being not altogether clear, the Latin derived from it must needs be muddy. This moved St. Hierome, a most learned Eatlier, and the best linguist without controversy of his age or of any other that went before him, to undertake the translating of the Old Testament out of the very fountains themselves, which he performed with that evidence of great learning, judgment, industry and faithfulness, that he hath for ever bound the Church unto him in a debt of special remembrance and thankfulness.” 1 It was towards the close of the fourth century that Jerome, under the patronage of Damasus, Pope of Borne, undertook the task of revising these translations, as well as of making a fresh translation, revising the Old Testament from the Hexapla of Origen, and the New Testament from the original Greek. The Preface which he addressed to Pope Damasus, commencing “ Beato Papte Damaso,” is to be found in most of the early copies of his translation. This version, as w T e learn from Augustine, was introduced into the churches by degrees, for fear of offending weak persons; but at length it acquired so great an authority from the approbation it received from Pope Gregory I., that ever since the seventh century it has (with the exception of the Psalter) been exclusively adopted by the Roman Catholic Church under the name of the Vulgate version, 2 being considered as authentic, of divine authority, and more to be regarded than even the original Hebrew and Greek texts. 3 This opinion, supported as it was by a decree of the 4th Session of the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century, was opposed by the early Reformers, who depreciated this version as much below its intrinsic merit, as by the Romanists it was too highly esteemed. In the present day it is, however, admitted by most critics to be in general a faithful version, and sometimes exhibits the sense of Scripture with greater accuracy than the more modern versions, although in various places it is mistranslated, in order to support the peculiar dogmas of the Church of Rome. 4 We have seen above that it v r as chiefly by Gregory the Great, that the Vulgate w r as brought into general use; and, when his zeal for the conversion of the English to Christianity (which resulted in the mission of St. Augustine) is remembered, it will not appear surprising that he should have forwarded to the missionaries of the British nation copies of that version of the Holy Scriptures which he himself so highly esteemed. We learn, in fact, from the life of St. Gregory the Great, written by Joannes Diaconus, lib. 2, cap. 37> that he sent to St. Augustine, not only assistants, but also “ universa quie ad cultum erant ecclesiie necessaria; vasa videlicet sacra, et vestimenta altarium, apostolonuu et multorum sanctorum reliquias et codices multos ;” 3 and 1 Preface to the Bible by King' James’s translators. 4 Horne, ut supra, p. 240. 5 Horne’s Introduction, 2, p. 230. 5 S. Gregorii magni P.P. Opera ed. 2da. Rom. MDCXIII. tom. i. 3 Bishop Lowth’s Translation of Isaiah, vol. i. p. 73. p. 50 ; and see also Bede’s Ilistor. Eccl. 1. cap. 29. 1 THE GOSPELS OF SAINTS AUGUSTINE AND CUTHBERT. in tlie Annals of St. Augustine’s Abbey and tlie Church of Christ at Canterbury, compiled by a monk of the former establishment in the time of King Henry V. (and preserved among the MSS. at Trinity College, Cambridge), we find described several Codices written in the version of Jeiome, and which veie always regarded as having belonged to St. Augustine—(the “ primitie librorum totius ecclesie Anglicane.”) Amongst these MSS. were two “ textus Evangeliorumone of which was thus described— “ In cujus principio X canones annotantur, et vocatur Textus Sancti Mildredi, eoquod quidam rusticus in Thaneto super eundem textum falsum jurans oculos amittere perhibetur;” whilst the other had the 10 Canons, and the Prologus Canonum, at the beginning. 1 Manley, who searched for and examined the MSS. of this kingdom with so much care, was led to believe that a copy of the Gospels preserved in the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (No. 286), and another in a similar style of writing in the Bodleian Library (No. D. 2. 14, Bod. 857), are the two identical Gregorian volumes described above: not only because they are two of the oldest Latin MSS. written in pure Roman uncials, which exist in this country, but also because they contain Anglo-Saxon entries now a thousand years old, which connect them with the Monastery of St. Augustine itself. The specimens in the accompanying plate, numbered 1 to 5, are copied from these two invaluable MSS. ; the first four being from the Cambridge Gospels, which, at the time of the dissolution of religious houses, was preserved by Archbishop Matthew Parker; and the fifth from the Bodleian MS., which bears the signature on the recto of the second leaf, of “ Robertus Cotton Cuningtonensis,’’ and which was subsequently the property of Lord Hatton, amongst whose MSS. it is preserved in the Bodleian Library. The first of these MSS. is of a quarto form, measuring inches by and being about 2| inches thick ; the parchment is thin; the ink of a faded brown; the text written in fine Roman uncials, in double columns, with 25 lines in a page. The commencement of the MS., containing the Prologue and part of the Capitula, or Synopsis of St. Matthew’s Gospel, is wanting, the first leaf being occupied with the latter Capitula; at the end of which is inscribed, in red minuscule characters, “ Explicuerunt, Inc. ipse liber,” with the Anglo-Saxon addition, “ SipejrS q •cute.” This minuscule is very clearly and beautifully written, and comes nearest to several specimens given by the Benedictines in their 51st Plate from Gallican (?) MSS. of the 5th and 6th centuries. The occurrence of a minuscule hand at the early period when this MS. was written, is so rare that I have copied part of it in No. 4, in which the f elevated above the line, the 1 and b with the first stroke gradually clavate, and the peculiar form of the r will be noticed, as well as the dot between the two words placed midway between the top and bottom of the line. The verso of the second leaf bears the words MATTHEUS HOMINEM, written in Roman capitals, evidently in allusion to the portrait of that Evangelist and his Symbolical Emblem, not now in the book. The beginning of St. Matthew’s Gospel occurs at the top of the next leaf, with the heading “ SECUJYD MATTHEUM ,” written in rustic capitals. The first line of this Gospel, “Liber generationis,” is written in red letters not larger than the rest of the text; neither is the commencement of the historical part, “ Xpi autem generatio,” otherwise distinguished than by being written in a line of red letters, as is the case indeed with the first line of each of the principal divisions. At the end of St. Matthew’s Gospel, are the words : EXPL. EUANGELIUM SECUND MATTIiElfi INCIP. EUANGELIUM SECUNDUM MARCH DO GRATIAS. written in alterate lines of red and black capitals. 1 be verso of this leaf was originally blank, but is now occupied by an Anglo-Saxon document, written about the middle ot the 9tli century, containing a donation or grant by Ealhburga, a noble lady, to the 1 Smith’s Bede’s Eccl. Hist. 1. i. c. 29, app. p. 699. THE GOSPELS OF SAINTS AUGUSTINE AND CUTHBERT. Monastery of St. Augustine, at Canterbury, of certain rents and annual proceeds arising out of her estate at Bradanburn. 1 To this succeed the Prologue and Capitula of St. Mark (the other Gospels being also preceded by similar articles), at the end of which is an entry of an agreement made between Abbot Wulfric (A.D. 949), and Ealdred, the son of Lifing, commencing “ In nomine Uni Jesu Christi Hep sputelaS on pipum,’’ &c. 2 The specimen numbered 3, represents the beginning of the Gospel of St. Mark (the marginal references to the Ammonian sections, which^occur throughout the volume, being omitted in the plate). It is to be read f Jnitium euangelii jhu xpi fili di sicut scribtum est in Esaia Proplieta ecce mitto angelu meum ante faciem tua qui prseparabit viam tua.’ The false orthography of the words filii and scriptum, the contractions used in the words angelum and tuam, and the manner in which the omission in the sixth line has been corrected will be observed, as well as the two top lines written in red letters of the ordinary size of the text, which is characteristic of very great antiquity. 3 Each of the chief divisions, or chapters, commences with two or occasionally only a single line of red letters (independent of its situation on the page), and sometimes only one or two of the first words are thus treated. Often also a single word occupies an entire line of the column. From the character of the writing • • • • ^5 ^ and the indistinctness of the words, this MS. may be assigned to the fifth or sixth century at the latest. The following are specimens of the text of the volume :— Matthew, v. 1 — 7~ “ Videns autem turbas ascendit in montem et cum sedisset accesserunt ad eum discipuli ejus et aperiens os suum docebat eos dicens Beati pauperes spiritu quoniam ipsorum est regnum cselorum., Beati mites quoniam ipsi possidebunt terrain. Beati qui lugent quoniam ipsi consolabuntur. Beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam quoniam ipsi saturabuntur. Beati misericordes quoniam ipsi misericordiam consequentur A Matthew, vi. 9 — 13.—“ Pater noster quies in cadis, sanctificetur nomen tuum, veniat 4 regnum tumn, fiat voluntas tua sicut in cselo et in terra. Panem nostrum supersubstantialem da nobis hodie et demitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos demittimus 5 debitoribus nostris et ne inducas nos in tentatione sed libera nos a malo.” 6 John, xxi. 21—23.— “ Hunc ergo cum vidisset Petrus elicit jhu dne hie autem quid elicit ei jlis sic eum volo manere donee veniam 7 quid ad te, tu me sequere, exivit ergo sermo iste in 8 fratres quia discipulus ille non moritur (then, in small letters, are interlined, k. et non elicit ei ills non moritur) seel sic eum volo manere donee veniam 9 quid ad ted’ The drawings with which this MS. is ornamented are of the highest interest, as being the most ancient monuments of Roman pictorial art existing in this country, scarcely yielding in this respect to those of the Vatican Virgil and Terence, or the Roman Calendar at Vienna, illustrated by Lambecius. In fact, with the exception of a leaf containing miniatures of the Four Evangelists, accompanying a page of the Gospel of St. Luke, in 1 The commencement only of this grant being given by Hickes (Thesaurus, vol. iii. Dissert. Epist. p. 10), I have copied it entire:— In nomine Dili. Eallibujih liapsep gepeb my hype ppeonbse pea hrunga ■p manselce gepe agype pain hypu vopcae aguptme op pa lanbe ter bpa&anbupnan. xl ambupa meertep q ealbhpy Sep q ini pepepap. q xlqcc hlapep q ane pmge ppicep q cypep. q mi poppo pu bep q xx lienpngla; ppylcman pe p lanb hebbe p ap Smgeagyp epopealbpebep pauleqpopealhbnpge; q pam pan ap mgan telle bmge aeptep hypapeppe psene pealmpophia exaudiat te dns ppaebpylc man ppapip abpece. pilie apenben ppa gobe q ppa eallum ballgu q ppa pan balgan pepe. on pypu lipe q on ecneppe pon pynrbep tept papa manna naman rogepirneppe pippe geperebneppe p ip pon bpibrnop abb. pp. q opmunb ppb aepelpeb pp pynhepe biacon. bealnnunb. cenheapb. hype, abba caba beapnpepp. beapnhelm. ealbpeb. ealhbuph. ealbpapu. hophepe. leope pealbbelm. bubbe. opa. ope. pigbelm. pullap. eabpealb gip bit pon ppa ge gap ppape nane pypcoS p hpyle bpoc on becumepupb hsepen pole oppe 3 hpylce oSpe eappopneppe p hitman nemsege psep gepep gelaeptun agipe onoppu geape betpeo pealbum. gip pon git nemsege pylle on ^pibbu geapebe^py pealbu gyp be p5 n nemsege nenelle ; agvpe lanb q bee pa hipu to pete aguptme; The names of Drithnoth (misspelt Diernodus), Bewmundus, and Winherus, occur in the annals of the Abbey of St. Augustine, pre¬ served in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge, in the middle of the 9th century (Wanley in Hickes’ Thes. ii. p. 151). And as it was the custom to write these grants in volumes of the Scriptures belonging to the religious establishments to which the donations were made, we have here abundant evidence that this volume was, in 844, the property of the Monastery at Canterbury founded by St. Augustine himself. 2 Hickes, vol. iii. Dissert. Epist. p. 10. 3 The initial letter I of the Gospel of St. John is surmounted with a small cross. 4 Altered to adveniat. 5 Altered to dimittimus. 6 The word Amen is wanting. 7 The letters am have been scratched out and o substituted. 8 The letters ter are here introduced above the line. 9 Altered to venio. THE GOSPELS OF SAINTS AUGUSTINE AND CUTHBERT. Greek, preserved with the illuminated Greek Pentateuch of the fourth century at Vienna, these are the oldest instances of Roman Christian iconography of which I can find any notice those of the famous Syriac INIS., at Florence, being probably not quite so old as this. No account or fac-similes of these invaluable drawings having hitherto been published, it is with the greatest pleasure that I submit the accompanying tracings from them. Their claim to be regarded as coeval with the INIS, rests not only on the style of art which they exhibit, but on the characters of the letters used in the explanations of them, and in the identical nature of the leaves of vellum on which they are drawn with those of the text. Unfortunately only two leaves of these drawings iioav remain, but it is evident that the whole of the events of the life of Christ, as well as the whole of the Four Evangelists were originally represented. The first of these leaves occurs opposite the commencement of the Prologue to St. Luke’s Gospel. It is divided into 12 compartments, each inch square, separated from each other by narrow red margins, and the whole inclosed within a narrow border, painted to imitate bluish marble with red veins. The following are the subjects comprised in these 12 drawings, four of which are introduced into the accompanying Plate :— 1. Christ riding into Jerusalem on the ass, inscribed Osanna filio dd benedictus qui venit. 2. The Last Supper. 3. Christ praying in the Garden. 4. Jesus raising Lazarus, inscribed Ills Lazarum suscitavit. 5. Jesus washing the feet of the Disciples. 6. Judas kissing Jesus, the Soldiers fallen to the ground. 7- Christ seized by the Jews, and Peter cutting off the ear of Malchus—the brook Kedron in the foreground. S. Christ before Caiaphas. 9. Christ led away. 10. Pilate washing his hands. 11. Christ led to Judgment. 12. Christ bearing his Cross. Although the perspective in these little miniatures is rude, and some of the figures ill-proportioned, their designs are very expressive of the subjects, and some of them are treated with much animation—the figure of Our Saviour, for instance, in the two miniatures on the left side of my Plate, are not without dignity, w hilst that of St. Peter and of the man holding the branch, at the right side of the drawing of the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem, are even spiritedly delineated. The cruciferous nimbus of Christ, the beardless features of all the figures, the position of the two fore-fingers of Christ, in the drawing of the raising of Lazarus, the swathed appearance of the corpse of Lazarus, the rounded dome of the Sepulchre, the hooded dress of the sisters of Lazarus, and the dress and armour of the guards of Christ, are all worthy of attention. These drawings appear to have been sketched in with a pen and ink, and then filled up with thick opaque colours, destitute of gloss. The other drawing is that of St. Luke, seated on a throne, within an elaborately ornamented architectural design consisting of marble columns, supporting a rounded arch, and ornamented with the Evangelist’s symbol, the Bull, inscribed with the ancient legend, f Jure sacerdotis Lucas tenet ora juvencibut which is written, ‘ Jura sacerdotii Lucas tenet ora jubenci.’ The substitution of b for v, as in the last word in the line, is of very common occurrence; but the false orthography of the first two words is, perhaps, to be attributed to the ignorance of the illuminator. This line is written in fine Roman rustic capital letters, the words separated by single dots, placed midway between the top and bottom of the line. The entire design is of great elegance, and the figure of the Evangelist easy and well proportioned. The open book in his hand is inscribed with the 6tli verse of the 1st chapter of St. John’s Gospel, in minute red uncial letters.- In the open space between the two columns, on each side of the Evangelist, in the original, is introduced another series of miniatures, smaller than the preceding, comprising the following subjects :—On the left side : 1. Zacharias troubled at the visit of the angel. 2. Christ upbraided by his parents. 3. Christ teaching from the boat. 4. Peter worshipping Christ on the sea-shore. 5. The dead carried out of the city. 6. Christ ordering Matthew to follow him. On the light side : 1. The doctor of laws questioning Christ. 2. The woman kneeling before Christ. 3. Christ and the fig-tree. 4. Christ and the man troubled with the dropsy. 5. Zaccheus in the tree. I cannot conclude my notice of this MS. without tendering my best thanks to the Rev. J. Goodwin, for his kind assistance in my examination of the C.C.C.C. MSS. The specimen No. 5 is copied from the commencement of St. Mark’s Gospel, in the Bodleian Gospels, lcfened to abo\e. It is destitute of miniatures, and consists of 172 leaves, 1 measuring 10 inches by 7i> and is A few leaves, both at tlie beginning - and end of the MS. are wanting. THE GOSPELS OF SAINTS AUGUSTINE AND CUTIIBERT. written in double columns, with 29 lines in a page. The uncial letters in which it is written are comparatively shorter and wider than those of the Cambridge Gospels, 1 and the orthography even more barbarous. The vellum is thin and polished, and the ink is faded brown. The first line in each Gospel, and of the chief divisions, is written in red letters. Sometimes a single word occupies an entire line of one of the columns. The following are specimens of the text of the MS. which bears corrections in Anglo-Saxon characters:— Matth. v. 22. “ Quia omnis qui irascitur fratri suo sine causa/’—vi. 9 . <( Pater noster qui in coelis es— veniat regnum tuum—Panem nostrum supersubstantialem.—Sicut et nos dimitti (mus inserted by a later hand on an erasure (dev 2 itoribus nostris et ne inducas nos in temptationem sed liv 3 era nos a malo.” (Amen wanting.) —xix. 1, 2. “Et factum est cum consummasset ills sermones istos migravit a Galilea et venit in fiiii 4 s judese trans Jordanen et secute sunt eum turbae multae et curavit eos ibi.” John i. 9. “ Hominem venientem in 5 mundum.” The initial letters of each Gospel are plain and red, except that of St. Mark, which is slightly ornamented and surmounted by a cross. 6 The specimen numbered 6 is copied from a fac-simile of a small IMS. of the Gospel of St. John, tradi¬ tionally affirmed to have belonged to St. Cuthbert, the celebrated Patron Saint of Durham, and Bishop of Lindisfarne (ob. 687), and to have been found in his tomb. The Ptev. John Milner has published a notice of this MS. in the 16th volume of the Archseologia, and informs us that it bears the following inscription on the leaf opposite to the beginning of the Gospel, “ Euangelium Johannis quod inventum fuerat ad capud Beati Patris nostri Cuthberti in sepulchro jacens anno translationis ipsius,” in very ancient handwriting, although vastly inferior to that of the Gospel itself. It was for time immemorial preserved in the family of the Lees (one of whom became Earl of Lichfield, temp. Car. II.), as the undoubted manual of St. Cuthbert. It was given by the last Earl of Lichfield to the R,ev. Thomas Philips, who bestowed it on the College of the Jesuits, at Liege, in 1769, whence it was again brought to England after the suppression of their order. The characters of the writing bear intrinsic evidence of an antiquity as high as the age of St. Cuthbert; the text being without chapters, verses, diphthongs, or points of any kind. The letters are all uncials or capitals, for the most part Roman, but with the N often of the Anglo-Saxon form, with the oblique stroke arising very low upon the first perpendicular stroke. The text is stated by Mr. Milner to be the Latin Vulgate, and to agree perfectly with the text of St. John in the Cottonian Gospels of Lindisfarne, (Nero, D. IV.) but as, in the few passages which he had compared with the present Vulgate, there are certain various readings differing from it, he is inclined to think it is of the old Italic version, which existed previous to the corrections of St. Jerome. It contains the history of the woman taken in adultery. A fac-simile of the first page of the Gospel of St. John accompanies the article, whence it appears that the MS. is of a small size, measuring about 5 h inches by 31, and that a page contains nineteen lines of the text. The first word only ‘In’ is written in red letters—and the passage ‘ Fuit homo missus a Do’ commences with a capital F, rather smaller than the initial I; the name Johannes is spelled correctly. I believe it is to this MS. that Dr. Dibdin alludes as being now preserved at Stony hurst. 7 The Rev. J. Milner gives extracts from some ancient accounts published relating to the opening of the tomb of St. Cuthbert, in which there is no mention made of any copy of the Gospels being found with the body, 8 but Dr. Lingard (quoting the very ancient and anonymous author of the life of St. Cuthbert, published by the Bollandists, and the Transl. St. Cuth. in Act. SS. Benedict. Stec. IV., tom. 2, p. 294), states that the Prior Turgot and nine associates, in 1104, upon opening the smaller chest, wrapped in coarse linen cloth and coated with melted wax (in which the body of the Saint was contained), found a copy of the Gospels lying on a second lid, which had not been nailed, and which upon being removed disclosed the body apparently entire. 9 That 1 Astle (pi. x.) has given fac-similes of these two MSS., but his plate is coarsely executed, and does not exhibit the characteristic difference in the scription. 2 Corrected to b. 3 Corrected to b. 4 The letters bu added above the line. 5 The letters he added above the line in a later hand. 6 Ornamented initial letters of this date are of extremely rare 5 occurrence in MSS. The corrections of the word Di in the second line and of the words scribtuin and prmparavit are made in a hand considerably more recent than that of the text itself. 7 Bibliogr. Tour in North of England, i. p. 287. 8 And see Butler’s “ Lives of the Saints,” March 20, p. 228, and O’Conor, Script. Hibern. i p. 287. 9 Lingard, Autiq. Anglo-Saxo'n Church, p. 2G7. THE GOSPELS OF SAINTS AUGUSTINE AND CUTHBERT. the practice of depositing copies of the Gospels in the graves of persons of eminence was not of unusual occur¬ rence we have abundant evidence. In the burial service of the Anglo-Saxons the book of the Gospels and the Cross were placed upon the corpse and covered with the pall (“ Feretrum sacrosanctis evangeliis et crucibus armature”). 1 * On opening the tomb of Charlemagne, by Otho III., the body of the Emperor was found attired in his robes of state and seated on a marble throne, and in his left hand (e a book of the Evangelists, of gold This and the other insignia were removed by Otho, in order that they might be used at the Coronations of future Emperors. This is the famous MS., written in golden letters, upon purple vellum, long kept at Aix-la- Chapelle, of which a specimen is given by Casley. 3 From the inquiries of a friend I learn that this MS. no longer exists at Aix-la-Chapelle, and therefore presume that it is one of the articles which were removed into the interior of Germany on the approach of the French during the late war, and which have not been restored; it will probably, therefore, be found with the sword of Charlemagne, at Vienna. The celebrated book of the Gospels of Wurtzburgh (written in a version different from the Vulgate), was also discovered in 743, in the tomb of St. Kilien, who died in 6S7- It is still preserved with the greatest veneration, and is annually exhibited on the altar of the Cathedral Church on the feast day of the Saint. 4 1 Wolstan, Vit. St. Ethel, in Act. Benedict. Saec. V. p. 623. 4 Chronic. Godwic. p. 34. Eckhart, 1, 451. N. Tr. d. Dipl. 3, 3 Lambinet. Edit. 1798, p. 23. 101, 231, 232. 3 Cat. Royal MSS., pi. xii. No. 1. 6 o c ^ r O W-k C* ft * O ♦ O r* fej*?- ,S _1T ^ J ■ ■ t; § d 3 £ 3 > i-g § / *0 ^ Z<§ v- £? 4> 5 <$ yO ••• .•.'-.'•••^'.v^ -V,::. \: ?vj# v-’ :^:'S:^: •■ --- —— ;•.\\ .*. •• *. • ■ V $ Sn 5. N, |s .5 vii THE GOSPELS OF SAINT CHAD. DESCRIPTION OP THE PLATE, 1. Portrait of St. Luke. 2. Commencement of the Lord’s Prayer. 3. The word Auteui and other angular letters used in the title-pages of the several Gospels. 4. Latin Entry, detailing the dedication of the volume to St. Teilo. 5. One of the Entries in the ancient British language. C. Anglo-Saxon Entry, written at Lichfield. 7. Part of an Entry written in Latin and Greek characters. rp HE Manuscript of the Latin Gospels, from which the accompanying fac-similes have been made, is preserved in the Cathedral of Lichfield, and is highly interesting, not only on account of its very great antiquity, but especially from the'numerous entries which it contains written in Latin and Anglo-Saxon, as well as several in the ancient British language untinctured by the latter tongue, which have been considered by Lluyd 1 and other Welsh scholars to be more ancient, by several centuries, than any other relic of the British (or Welsh) language now in existence. It is on this account that I have preferred giving fac-similes of these curious entries rather than copies of the ornamental details, which entirely correspond with those of the Gospels of Mac Regol, Lindisfarne, and others, in the same style. The volume measures 12 inches by 9u, and at the present time consists of only 110 leaves, the greater portion of St. Luke’s Gospel, and the whole of St. John’s, being wanting. It is written on thick strong vellum, and the leaves are, unfortunately, considerably discoloured ; the ink, however, is, as usual, of perfect blackness. The recto of the first leaf contains the illuminated commencement of the Gospel of St. Matthew—“ Liber generationis jhuxpi filii David.” The initial letters Lib are of very large size, the L andb being of the rounded form, and the i formed into a j seven inches long, similar in character to the same letters given by M. Silvestre from the Gospels in the Bibliotheque Royale, at Paris. The other letters are 1 inch high, and of the angular form represented in the Plate No. 3. The commencement of the historical part of St. Matthew’s Gospel is also elaborately illuminated, precisely in the same style as in the Gospels of Lindisfarne, of which Mr. Shaw has given a fac-simile. The left-hand bottom stroke of the initial X is, however, more elongated, extending to the foot of the page, the letter measuring 9 inches in height. The other letters in this title-page are of the angulated form and 1 inch in height, except the bottom line, of which the letters are rather more than l an inch high. The verso of the 71st leaf is ornamented with a portrait of St. Mark, drawn in the rude style of the early Irish school, as exhibited in the Gospels of Mac Regol, the Book of Kells, &c. The Evangelist is represented as clasping a book with both hands upon the breast, and as clad in robes of many folds; his head is surrounded by a plain nimbus, over which is extended his symbol, the lion, rudely delineated, but still bearing some resemblance to that animal. The chair, or seat, in front of which the Saint is drawn, (and to the side of which his inkstand is fixed, being supported by a slender stem), is of singular form, one side of it representing a quadruped not much unlike a greatly attenuated giraffe, with a long tail, terminated by a curiously folded knot, and the upper part bearing considerable resemblance to the same part of the seat represented in the first plate from the Book of Kells. The commencement of St. Mark’s Gospel occupies the opposite page, and is highly ornamented, the first letters IN being long and narrow, and not less than ] 1 inches in height. At the end of St. Mark’s Gospel, the Pater Nostcr is written on a blank leaf in characters rather wider than those of the text of the volume.. It is from this page that the specimen No. 2 is taken. 2 On the following page (fol. 109 v.) appears the portrait of St. Luke, copied in my No. 1. This curious figure affords an excellent specimen of the style of the early Irish school of art, and may be compared with the 1 Arcboeologia Britannica, 1707. 2 This writing is remarkable for its size and beauty, as well as for the patches of red and yellow colours, with which many of the letters are ornamented. The text is also curious, the word adveniat being written et veniat. Astle (Origin of Writing, pi. XV., sp. V.) has given 1 a specimen of the writing of the ordinary text of the volume, and other fac-similes from it will be found in the Liber Llandavensis, recently published by the Welsh MSS. Society. The account given of this MS, by the Benedictines (N. Tr. de Dipl. 3, p. 86) is entirely erroneous, THE GOSPELS OF SAINT CHAD. Evangelists copied from the Gospels of Mac Durnan, and the Book of Kells. In the original the figure is surmounted by a rudely-drawn winged bull, which has been here omitted for want of space ; the cruciferous nimbus, fine-curled hair, short-trimmed beard, and naked feet, of this figure, are worthy ot notice, as are also especially the two sceptres 1 which he holds, and the curious seat ornamented with dogs’ heads. The recto of folio 110 is ornamented with the four Evangelical symbols inclosed in square compartments, each measuring 4 inches by 3. These figures are almost the rudest specimens of ancient art now existing in any of the copies of the Gospels. It is, indeed, a most extraordinary circumstance, that whilst these early manu¬ scripts exhibit a most marvellous perfection in the mechanical treatment of the ornamental details, the higher branches of the art were in the lowest possible state; hence the contrast between this page and the one following it, which is entirely occupied by an illuminated cross, ornamented in the same style as those in the Gospels of Lindisfarne, is most striking. 2 The commencement of St. Luke’s Gospel occupies the recto of folio 111, the initial letter Q being of large size, the body of the letter forming a highly ornamented oblong square, and the tail of the letter extending to the bottom of the page; the remainder of the page consisting of large angulated letters 1-L inch in height. The first four and last pages of St. Matthew’s Gospel, as well as all the title-pages of each Gospel, are enclosed within a narrow tessellated border. At the end of St. Matthew’s Gospel the scribe has written the words, “ Finit, Finit,” and at the end of St. Mark the same word singly. The following passages will show some of the peculiarities of the text of this MS.:— Mattel i. 1.— “Liber generations jhu xpi filii david filii abracham, abracham autem genuit isac, isac autem genuit iacob, iacob autem genuit iudam et fratres ejus, judas autem genuit fhares et zaram de thamar.— i. 16. Joseph virum marke de qua natus est ilis qui vocatur xps.—iv. 10. Yade retro satanas.—v. ‘2. Et aperuit os suum et docebat eos dicens, Beati pauperes, &c. Beati mites, &c. Beati qui lucent, &c. Beati qui esuriunt.—vi, 4. Et pater tuus qui videt in absconso reddet tibi.—viii. 17- Ipse infirmitates nostras accipit et segrotationes portabit.” The word Johannes was originally written Johannis, but has been subsequently altered. The interpolated passage, Mattli. xxvii. 4S, occurs in this MS. The letter f is always employed in lieu of ph, as in farisei, profeta, &c. I is also occasionally used for y, as in sinagoga, segiptus, &c. Bt are often used instead of pt, as babtizo, babtisma, scribturo. Instances of false orthography are very abundant—e. g., Cessar for Caesar; temptatio for tentatio; thensaurus for thesaurus; torcetur for torquetur; locitur for loquitur; grauatum for grabatum; Gigeptum for vEgyptum; cocurrit for cucurrit; consulari for consolari; regessi for regressi; delussus for delusus; “ stella quern viderant,” “he rusolimita,” “prohero depatre” for “pro lierode patrethe prepositions and other particles being almost always joined to the words which they govern. The text is not divided into sections, but capital letters are occasionally introduced, although not always at the commencement of periods. Three dots thus placed ' • indicate a full stop; a dot placed half-way between the top and bottom of the line a short pause; and two dots and a comma (..,) a longer pause. From the foregoing peculiarities of the text, not less than from the style of the writing and illuminations, I infer that this MS. is one of the productions of the ancient schools of Ireland. Hickes, Llmyd, Astle, and others have indeed considered it to have been written in England, but these authors were unacquainted with the existence of a school of art in Ireland. Moreover, from a comparison between it and the Gospels of Lindisfarne, Mac Regol, &c., there seems no reason to doubt the opinion of Lhuyd, that it was in his days, 1100 (now more than 1200) years old. 3 The various entries in the margins and open spaces of the MS. are, of course, more recent; but tire oldest of these cannot be less than 1000 years old. l our of the most interesting of these entries are copied in the accompanying plate. The first of these (No. 4), records the purchase of the volume by Gelhi, the son of Arihtuid, from Cingal, for his best horse; 1 From one of the drawings in the Book of Kells, I infer that the instrument in the right hand of the figure before us is intended to represent a branch of a tree. The fig’ure upon the jewel of King Alfred, at Oxford, bears two somewhat similar ornaments. 2 These singular, but highly beautiful tessellated cruciferous frontis¬ pieces, also occur in the Book of Kells, the Autograph Gospels of St. Columba at Dublin, and the Gospels of St. Gatien at Tours, affirmed to have been written by St. Uilarius (N. Tr. Dipl. 3, p. 86) o but which is evidently a very early Irish copy of the Gospels; now, I believe, no longer existing in France, having been probably destroyed during the revolution, or carried to Russia, as is also believed to be the case with the Anglo-Saxon Gospels of St. Germain des Pres, No. 108. ■ J There is an ancient tradition that it was written by St. Gildas. See Harwood’s Hist, of Lichfield, p. 10', and O’Conor Script. Vet. Hibern. 1, p. cxcvii. THE GOSPELS OF SAINT CHAD. and the subsequent dedication of the volume to God and St. Teilo, the patron saint of Landaff. 1 This entry is written in Latin, and is to he read:— “ Ostenditur hie quod emit + gelhi + filius Arihtuid hoc euangelium de cingal et dedit illi pro illo equwm optimum et dedit pro anima sua istum euangelium deo et ss Teliaui super altare 4- gelhi + filius Arihtuid,” &c. The second of these entries is partly in the ancient British Language, written in the Anglo-Saxon or Irish minuscule characters— “ Osdendit ista scriptio qtmcl dederwwJ ris et luith gretlii treb guidauc i maliti duch cimarguien eit hie est 2 census ejus,- douceint torth liamaharuin i irham ha douceint forth i irgaem ha huch ha c/ouceint mannuclenn Deo et sco eliudo Ds testis saturnnguid testis.” Then follow the names of other witnesses. Thus rendered by Lliuyd into Latin and modern Welsh : “ Ostendit ista scriptio quod dederunt Rhesus et familia Gretlii Trev wydhog .. . ( nomen loci) qua itur ad confluentiam Cinchi (amnis). Hie est census ejus. Doy kant torth a maharen yn yr liav, a doy kant torth yn y gaev, a liwch, a doy kant, maniodhen (sev Dyskled ymmenym) Deo et Sco Eluido (viz., Teilaw). Deus testis, Sadyrnwydli 3 * testis,” &c. Which is thus Englished. “ This writing sheweth that Rys and the family of Grethi gave to God and St. Teilo, Trevwyddog, which is on the road to the confluence of Cinchi, and its rent payment is 40 loaves and a wether sheep in the summer, and in the winter 40 loaves, a hog, and 40 dishes of butter, God is witness, Sadyrnwydli witness,” &c. The third of these entries is in Anglo-Saxon, and is to be read :—“4-Hep pircelaS an ptet gobpine eappijep punu lisepp jekeb pulle lat>e set: fanunpiht pipe pe leop^ap ft liyne tihte q -p psey lseb sot licitpeloa.” i. e. “ Hie declaratur quod Godwinus Eanvigii filius se publice et plene purgavit de fornicationis suspicione in quam vocatus erat a Leofgaro Episcopo et quod ejus purgatio facta erat Licitfeldse.” (Hickes.) We have here an evidence of an act performed at Lichfield at the beginning of the eleventh 4, century, at which period it is evident that the volume had been transferred to the cathedral of that city, dedicated to St. Chad, who was the first bishop of that See, in the seventh century. It has accordingly been assumed that it, on this account, received the name of the “ Textus Sancti Ceadd.e.” As, however, St. Chad, although by birth a Northumbrian, was educated in Ireland, 5 and as the volume evidently emanated from St. Finan’s Irish school, of which St. Chad was a celebrated disciple, it appears not improbable that tradition referred the writing of the volume to St. Chad himself. Unfortunately the leaves at the end of the Codex, which possibly contained a notice of the original scribe, are lost. 6 The specimen, No. 7, is part of a curious Anglo-Saxon and Latin entry, written in Latin characters mixed with Greek, as follows:—O q mn AocyRNTE q o qui meis iAipnip pcibus q m comenAaverunt, which is to be read :—“ Omiies qui me docuerunt et omnes qui meis indignis precibus et me commendaverunt.” 1 The early connection between Wales and Ireland will account for the volume thus finding its way to Landaff. The curious reader may further consult the recently published “ Liber Landavensis,” as well as Hickes’s “ Thesaurus Dissert. Lpist.” p. xi., and Wanley’s descrip¬ tion of the volume, in the second volume of the “ Thesaurus.” St. Teilo succeeded to the See of Landaff in 51 2, and died 563 or 566. 2 The curious Anglo-Saxon form of the contractions used for these two words is to be noticed. 3 This name, Saturnnguid or Sadyrnwydh, appears again in another entry with the additional title of “ the preist.” I presume this to be the St. Sadwrn to whom the church of Llan Sadwrn in Anglesey is dedicated, and whose sepulchral stone in Roman capitals (in which the name is written BEATUS SATURNINUS) still exists in that very ancient church. Archseol. Journ. 1, p. 124. 4 Bishop Leofgar mentioned in this entry died in 1021. 5 Beda 1, 403. Ceadda and his brother Ceddi are often confounded together. 6 See further, O’Conor, Bibl. Stowensis, 2 vols. 4to. 1818 ; and Rer. Ilibern. Script, vet. i. 104, 196, 203, 211, 275. p, • V ■Sr > ^ 'H ^ ~ R lib I' ti £ ~» j^; ^ S ~ ^S R *_ 1 | r o dp & Is o f M ac Du rn a n ft. 1 I \ / / THE GOSPELS OF MiEIEL BRITH MAC DURNAN. REFERENCES Plate 1. Portrait of Saint John, with the commencement of his Gospel, In principio , &c., beneath which are the symbolical representations of the four Evangelists, and the Irish com¬ ment on the crucifixion. Plate 2. The commencement of the historical part of Saint Matthew’s Gospel —Xpi autem generatio sic crat. The first line of an entry of a grant of King Canute to the Church TO THE PLATES. of Canterbury, together with a grant of the same king to Archbishop iEthelnotli. At the lower part of the plate is an alphabet of Irish capitals. Plate 3. Miniature of the Betrayal of Christ, and St. Peter cutting off the ear of Malchus; and the entry concerning the Abbot Mieiel Brith Mac Durnan, and the grant of the book itself by King Athelstan to Canterbury. fjp HE volume from wliicli the accompanying plates are taken appears to me to be so important in respect to the Archaeological History of Ireland, that I have been induced to depart from the general plan of devoting a single plate only to each MS., and to publish a more ample series of illustrations from it than will be given from other manuscripts. In regarding this volume as executed not later than the beginning of the eighth century, 1 I am aware that I have to contend against several of our highest authorities in the science of palaeography. Thus Mr. Astle, after a careful inquiry into the origin of letters in Ireland, states, more than once in his work, which is our chief English authority upon the subject, that he “had not been able to discover an Irish MS. older than the tenth century ;” 2 w T hilst Moore, the favourite bard and historian of Ireland, speaking of the two or three centuries subsequent to the time of St. Patrick, says, “Not a single manuscript now remains, not a single written relic, such as ought to convince that class of sceptics who look to direct proofs alone, that the art of writing even existed in those days.” 3 4 And even of the Gospels of St. Columbkill, to which “ Dr. O’Conor 1 triumphantly refers, as affording an irrefragable answer to those w r ho deny the existence of any Irish MS. of older date than the tenth century,” Mr. Moore merely remarks, that his countryman’s zeal, in the cause of his country’s antiquities renders even him, with all his zeal, candour, and learning, not always a trustworthy witness. 5 He accordingly adopts the statement of Mr. Astle as the truth. If, in addition to these statements, w r e add the silence of our great authorities, Manley and Casley, as to the existence of any early Irish MS.; the difficulty which the worthy Benedictines 6 had to conceive how the Anglo-Saxon characters could have found their way into Ireland (the English having abandoned them in the eleventh century, a century before the English invasion of Ireland) ; the great similarity which exists between the handwriting of the texts of the Gospels of Mac Durnan and those of Mael Brigid in the Harleian Library,7 written in the twelfth century; together with the actual insertion of notices in the volume itself of circumstances which occurred in the tenth century, I fear that I shall be charged with temerity in estimating it to be of the eighth. The proofs, however, on which I rely, will, I think, be deemed conclusive, although the space to which I am, of course, restricted, wall render it necessary to condense them, and even to omit many authorities, for the review of which an extended memoir would alone afford sufficient space. 1 Dr. Todd even considers it as a MS. of the seventh century. 2 Origin of Writing, p. 116-118. 3 History of Ireland, vol. i. 1835. 4 Script. Veter. Ilerum Hibern. i. 5 In respect to this manuscript, indeed, Dr. O’Conor (whose name, by the by, is constantly mis-spelt by Moore) has fallen into an error, as the fac-similes which he has given of the Gospels of Columbkill, in the 1st volume of the Script. Veter. Rer. Hibern., are not derived 1 therefrom, but from a different MS., as I am informed by the Rev. Dr. Todd, of Trinity College, Dublin, who states that the former MS., is still in existence, in the University Library, and is a most singular volume. 6 Nouv. Traite de Dipl. ii. p. 201. 7 No. 1802. See the elaborate account given of them by V anley in the Harleian Catalogue ; and O’Conor’s additional lemaiks in the first volume of his Script. Veter. Rer. Hibern. THE GOSPELS OF MiEIEL BRITH MAC DURNAN. I shall, indeed, in these introductory remarks, restrict myself to the chief authorities in support of the early introduction of Christianity into Ireland, its flourishing state from the fifth to the eighth and ninth centuries, and the actual statements of the existence of manuscripts executed in Ii eland during that peiiod. The former of these is so peculiarly appropriate a subject of inquiry in a work like the present, whilst the early history, both of the Irish Church and Irish learning, is so intimately blended with that of England, that I need scarcely offer any apology in treating the subject in this manner. The introduction of letteis into Ireland, which the Irish claim to themselves, and as existing there previous to the introduction of Christianity, and the peculiar characteristics of Irish letters, will be noticed in another article on other sacred Irish manuscripts. 1 st. ON THE EARLY INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO IRELAND. It is necessary in the first place, to premise, that by the early historians the Irish were exclusively known by the name of Scots, 1 the modern Scots being called Piets. The statement of Eusebius, that the religion of Christ had been preached in Ireland, has been questioned by Usher as probably originating in the confusion between the name of Hiberia, or Spain, where St. James preached, and Hibernia; but there are other less questionable authorities, even without dwelling on the statements of Theodoret, 2 Venatius Fortiuiatus, 3 Nicephorus, Soplironius, or the Greek records quoted by Sir Wm. Betham. 4 St. Irenteus, who was Bishop of Lyons in the second century, affirms that Christianity had been propagated to the boundaries of the world—signifying the Iberian and Celtic nations : and Tertullian, in his work against the Jews, written a.d. 209, affirms that the regions of Britain, inaccessible the Raman arm*, were subject to the gospel of Christ. 5 ee The existence of a church in Ireland before the mission of Palladius, is proved by the evidence of Prosper, Bede, Ado Viennensis, Freculplius Lexoniensis, Ingulplius of Croyland, Hcrmannus Contractus, Marianus Scotus, Florence of Worcester, Henry of Huntingdon, and others; and mention is made of Albeus, Declan, Ibarus, and Kearan, as four eminent bishops before the mission of Palladius.” This passage is quoted from the interesting work of Sir W. Betliam, 6 who has, moreover, endeavoured at great length to prove, from internal evidence drawn from the Confession of St. Patrick, that the individual by whom it was written was not the St. Patrick of the fifth century, but a missionary previous to the time of St. Jerome; the quotations from the Bible contained in it agreeing with the Ante-IIieronymian version. The very ancient Book of Armagh likewise mentions the existence of Irish bishops at the time of the coming of St. Patrick. The Irish Chronicles, entitled the Annals of the Four Masters, and the very ancient Brehon Laws, the authenticity of which is generally admitted, incidentally mention two circumstances which prove that, in the third century, some of the kings of Ireland had become converts to the new religion:—1st. Cormac, after “ having turned from the Druids to the adoration of God, was killed by the instigation of the Druids.” And 2nd. Donald gained a victory over Congal the Crooked, “ because falsehood must always be conquered by truthwhich Dr. O’Conor 8 considers to allude to a religious war between the Christian King Donald and the Pagan Congal. St. Chrysostom (circa a.d. 388) several times mentions that the knowledge of the Scriptures had passed to Albion and Irene (the ancient name of Ireland), and bears testimony that the British Church maintained the doctrines of Christianity handed down from the apostolical ages. 9 At the beginning of the fifth century, a mission was despatched by Pope Celestine (a.d. 423) to the Scots 1 “ Scotia quse et Hibernia dicitur insula est maris oceani.” Canisius Lection. Antiq. t. iv. p. G19. See Usher Primord. and Serinus’ ed. of the Works of Columbanus. 2 Tom. iv. p. 610 ; 2nd Timoth. v. 16, 17, and p. 116. 3 De Vita Martini, lib. 3. 4 Irish Antiquarian Res. vol. i. 5 “ Britannoruni inaccessa Romanis loca, Christo vero subdita.” 2 Lib. adv. Judseos, cap. vii. 6 Irish Antiquarian Researches, vol. ii. 7 See Mr. Petrie’s excellent article on the History and Antiquities of the famed Hill and Halls of Tara. Trans. Royal Irish Acedemy, vol. xviii. part ii. p. 38. 8 Cat. of MSS. at Stow. 9 Opera, tom. vi. Grcec. Savil. p. 035. THE GOSPELS OF MiEIEL BRITH MAC DURNAN. believing in Christ. The words of Bede, " Palladius ad Scottos in Christum credentes and of Prosper, “ Ad Scottos in Christum credentes, ordinatur a Papa Celestino, Palladius, et primus episcopus mittitur ” 1 2 evidently imply, the existence of a belief in Christ entertained at that time by the Scots (Irish). Notwithstanding this mission, hut at the same time corroborating the existence of a church in these islands we find the Irishman, Pelagius, “professione monaclius, natione non Gallo-Brito, ut Dameus putavit, nec Anglo-Britannus ut scripsit Balseus, sed Scotus,” 3 with the assistance of his disciples Agricola and Celestius zealously disseminating his doctrines throughout the British Islands, which led to the synod of Verulam in A.D. 429; at which they were triumphantly opposed by Germanus and Lupus, Bishops of Auxerreand Troyes, who had been invited by the orthodox English clergy to dispute with them. Without entering into the controversy which has existed amongst Irish historians, as to the supposed identity of Palladius and St. Patrick, or the claims of one or other of the missionaries of the latter name who have been assigned as the Apostle of Ireland, (and which the elaborate researches of Usher and Lanigan have failed to clear up,) we have clearly sufficient evidence, notwithstanding the extraordinary silence of Bede, 4 that in the middle of the fifth century, during the reign of Laogaire, Ireland was visited by a missionary of great acquirements, and who has ever since been regarded as the patron saint of Ireland. He is stated to have died A.D. 465, and to have been succeeded by Benignus, his disciple. St. Columba, or Columbkill, who was born A.D. 521, and studied in the school of Finnian, 5 is another illustrious name, justly revered by the Irish. To him was granted, as a recompense for his labours, the island of Hy, Hii, Iona, Icolmkill, or Icolumbkille, as it has been variously named; the last of which, derived from that of the saint himself, is retained to this day. Here he established a monastery, which soon became illustrious in the labours and triumphs of the Christian church. He subsequently visited Scotland (A. D. 563), where his success was so great that he w T as venerated as the national saint of Scotland, until that honour was conferred upon St. Andrew. From this monastery, Bede informs us, 6 that many religious houses were founded by his followers. The history of this saint, by his follower Adamnan, abbot of Hy in 700, is one of the most excellent biographies which have come down to our time. The honourable character given by Bede of the last-named writer, has rendered his name familiar to the readers of British history; whilst his Cross, which exists to this day upon the royal Hill of Tara, and of which a drawing has been published by Mr. Petrie, proves the reverence entertained for his memory amongst his countrymen. Columbanus, another almost equally celebrated name, and avIio is often confounded with the preceding, was born A.D. 559. It was by this missionary and his companions that the monasteries of Luxen and Fontaine in Burgundy, of Dissentis in the Rhetian Alps, and of Bobbio in north Italy, were founded ; and at the last and most famous of which his mausoleum, body, and personal relics are still preserved. He died A.D. 615. In 605, as we are informed by Bede, 7 Lawrence, the successor of St. Augustine in the bishopric of Canter¬ bury, wrote letters to the “ Scots who inhabited the adjoining island of Ireland, urging them to conform to the Roman mode of keeping Easter, having learned from Bishop Dagamus, and also Columbanus the Abbot (last mentioned above), that the Scots differ not with the (northern) Britons in their conversation.” Letters also were sent, A.D. 634, to the Scots, both by Popes Honorius and John (the 4tli, A.D. 640), upon the same subject, directed to the most dear and holy “ Tomiano, Columbano, Cromano, Dinnao, et Baitliano,” Bishops. 8 The missions of Corman, and especially of Aidan, both jnonks of Iona or Hii (“ the chief of all the religious houses of the northern Scots and Piets,” as Bede terms it), to the Court of Oswald, the king ot Northanhybria (who in his youth had sought both refuge and instruction in that island), A.D. 635, and the 1 Stevenson’s Bede, Engl. Hist. Soc. p. 31. 2 Prosper, in Cliron. an. 431 ; Bass, et Antioch. Coss. Conf. Lanigan, Ecclesiast. History of Ireland, vol. i. p. 9, sec. iv. 3 Vossius Hist. Pelag., lib. i. cap. 3. Moore is very angry -with St. Jerome for throwing into the teeth of Pelagius the Irish flummery : “ Nec recordatus stolidissimus, et Scotorum pultibus preegravatus.” 4 When we consider that Bede was born and lived so close to Lindisfarne or Holy Island, where, for nearly half a century after the establishment of its monastery, in A.D. C35, Irish missionaries presided, 3 it is surprising, to say the least, that no notice of the labours of St. Patrick are recorded by him. Bede died A.D. 735. 5 In this school there are said to have been 3000 scholars. Martyr. Dungal, ad. 12 Decemb. Morn. 242. Quoted by Moore, Hist, of Ireland, vol. i. The monastery of Bangor, near the bay of Carling- ford, in Ireland, which also became a celebrated abode ot science, is said to have been founded by Columba. 6 Hist. Eccl., b.iii. cli. iv. 7 Id.,b. ii. ch. iv. 8 Stevenson’s Bede,” i. 149, gives notices of these bishops. THE GOSPELS OF JVLEIEL BRITH MAC DURNAN. establishment by Aidan of tlie bishopric of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, are so well known and so interwoven with our national history, that I need not detail the circumstances connected therewith. Finanus, also from Ily, succeeded Aidan in the bishopric, and “ he built a church on Lindisfarne, of oak wood and thatch, as the Scotch [Irish] custom was.” 1 He was succeeded by Colman, also from Ireland. It was this bishop who conducted the controversy respecting the time of keeping Easter, tonsure, and other equally important matters, on behalf of the northern church, held at Strenaeslialcli, near YY hitby, in 664; when, being worsted in argument, he returned to Iona. And it was not until the beginning of the eighth century, that the northern and Scottish church adopted the Roman custom, under Adamnan, Abbot of Hy, after his visit to the Court of King Alfred. Alcuin, who flourished at the close of the eighth century, thus mentions the Irish fathers :— “ Patricias, Kieranus, Scotorum gloria gentis, Atque Columbanus, Comgallus, Adamnanus, prseclari patres.” Equally strong evidences of the existence of a church in Ireland, are to be obtained from the records of continental churches ; but as the particulars of these will form the subjects of other articles in this work, it will be sufficient to mention, in addition to the founding of the monastery of Bobbio, one of the most renowned throughout Europe, and others, by Columbanus, above alluded to, 2 that the famous monastery of St. Gall, in Switzerland, which exists to this time, was also established, and which, as well as the entire canton itself, bears the name of Gallus, an Irish missionary of the middle of the seventh century. St. Kilian, the apostle and martyr of Franconia, was also an Irishman of the middle of the seventh century. His book of the Gospels, which was discovered in his tomb, and which is stained with his blood, was still preserved at TV urtzburgh, at the time of the publication of the u Clironicon Godwitcense,” in which it is stated, that it was annually exhibited on the altar of the cathedral, on the day of his martyrdom. 3 In addition to which, the founding of the monasteries of Seckingen by St. Fridolin, and of Rheinau by St. Fendan, may be mentioned; and the reader is referred to Moore’s History of Ireland, vol. i., for an account of the further labours of Irish missionaries, in the seventh and eighth centuries, in France, Brabant, and the countries bordering on the Rhine. Ecgbert and 41 illibrord, two of the early Anglo-Saxon missionaries of Northern Germany (predecessors of St. Boniface) also received their education in the schools of the north of Ireland; and it was from the instruc¬ tions of Irish missionaries also, that both Aldhelm and Dunstan, two of the most renowned Anglo-Saxon scholars, received the rudiments of their education. The monastery of Malmesbury was founded by Maidulf, an Irishman, 4 under whom Aldhelm was instructed, who afterwards became Abbot of the same monastery. It v as also by the Irish clergy who served in the church of Glastonbury, that Dunstan was educated, about a.d. 940. 5 The names of Sedulius, Virgilius, Donatus, Maidulpli, and John Scotus Erigcna, will be sufficient to prove that the fame of the Irish Church was not extinguished in after centuries. I he three centuries, however, which preceded the invasion of Ireland under Henry II.'tell a fearful tale in the annals of that country, and fully prove that Ireland had then, as she has now, greater enemies to her welfaie amongst her own offspring than the hated Saxons. 2 nd. ON THE ANCIENT SACRED MSS. OF THE IRISH. I non proceed, in the second place, shortly to set forth the historical evidences which remain, in proof of t,IL exis l ence of books in Ireland during these early ages ; including,in this branch of our inquiry, a short notice 01 actually existing early manuscripts as have been very recently noticed by the Irish antiquaries. Bede, 1. 111 . cb. 25. This custom appears to have kept its ground in Ireland during several centuries (Vit. St. Malachi®, auct. D. Ber- nardi, c. v. xm.) A curious specimen of a church thus built, still remains at Greenstead in Essex. See Saturday Magaz., vol. i. p. 37. the following passages sufficiently prove the character of the Irish clergy at this early period Fat end um est tamen ejusmodi Episcopos vagantes Hibcrnos plu- nmum Ecclesiae turn Gallicana; turn Germanic® profuisse.”—Mabillon, Act. Benedict, saec. 2, proef. p. xx. And Osbernus makes the following observation respecting the frequent peregrinations of the Irish 4 “ Hicque mos cum plerosque turn vehementer adhuc manet Hiber- nos; quia quod aliis bona voluntas in consuetudinem ; ha?c illis con- suetudo convertit in naturam.”—Osb. Vit. Dunstan. p. 91 ; MS. Cleop. B. 13. “ Scotia—[vel Hibernia]—ex quibus Columbanus gaudet Italia; Gallo ditatur Alemannia; Kiliano Teutonica nobilitatur Francia.”— Cariisius, Lection. Antiq. t. iv. p. 619. 3 See also Mabillon, soec. 2 ; Benedict, p. 993, No. 2. 4 Moore finds fault with Dr. Lingard for stating that it was from a Scottish monk that Aldhelm received his first lessons. 5 Lingard, Hist. Auglo-Sax. Church, p. 395. c r- to c£- -V fcite 5 -“§ s ^i_§ t' s=-P v-§ f- I Ji b S «V 8 s 6 ^ S“S 1 i §:$ ^ F-a §"^ 5^1 *4 M M ** - flirts u |j a a. i«s Cl LI G o -sp c Is o f Ma c Durna n . PL fl THE GOSPELS OF MiEIEL BRITH MAC DURNAN. The existence of schools in Ireland, celebrated both in England and abroad, and the express mention of their ancient manuscripts by historical writers, render the existence of some of them to the present time highly probable. That the Irish must have been provided with manuscripts in great numbers, and that many of these are still in existence, not only in the unexamined stores of our own country, but especially in the libraries in those places abroad where they established themselves, seems to be unquestionable; indeed, the researches of Irish antiquaries during the last twenty-five years have brought to light manuscripts of whose early date no reasonable doubt can be entertained. It would be almost as absurd to contend that a national Church, such as Ireland has been shown to have possessed, existed without manuscripts, as it is to assert that all these precious documents, scattered as they must have been by the Irish missionaries, have perished. Celestius, the disciple of Pelagius, is expressly stated to have been acquainted with the use of writing: “Coelestius antequam dogma Pelagianum incurreret, imo adhuc adolescens, scripsit ad parentes suos de monasterio ejristolas in modvm libellorum tres.” l The following short extract from the tripartite Life of St. Patrick (a compilation of the eighth or ninth century, but supposed to have been originally written by St. Evin in the sixth or seventh century, by Colgan, who published a Latin translation of it,) contains two notices immediately connected with our present inquiry. In describing the visit of St. Patrick and his associates to the Court of Laogliaire, at the halls of Tara, through the midst of the hostile Pagans, attendants of the king, it is recorded, “ Sic ergo mirificus vir sociique cum beato puero Bcnigno sacrum Bibliorum coclicern in liumeris gestanti, 2 per medios liostes salvi et incolumes Temoriam [Tara] usque pervenerunt—Tunc vir sanctus composuit ilium Hymnum patrio idiomcite conscriptum quivulgo Fetli-jiadiia, et ab aliis lorica Pcitricii appellator; et in summo abinde inter Hibernos liabetur pretio,” &c. 3 The manuscript in which this hymn is written, is, notwithstanding the regrets of Dr. O’Conor at its supposed loss, fortunately still preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin : it is a manuscript which, in the opinion of Archbishop Usher, as expressed in a letter to Yossius, w r as in his time a thousand years old. 4 It is regarded by Mr. Petrie, who has very recently, 5 for the first time published a copy and translation of it, as of “ singular interest, whether considered as the oldest undoubted monument of the Irish language remaining, or as an illustrative record of the religious doctrine inculcated by St. Patrick.” Hoping to be able to give a fac-simile of this important document, I shall only observe, that the dialect in which it is written, the language employed, the characters used, and the historical evidences in support of its genuineness, all concur in establish¬ ing the opinion of it expressed by Mr. Petrie. The domnach airgid, a renowned and superstitiously venerated reliquary or Cuvndacli described by Colgan, 6 and in the tripartite Life of St. Patrick, (ascribed to St. Evin, an author of the sixth or seventh century,) as having been given by St. Patrick to Mac Carthen, the first Bishop of Clogher, has recently been opened by Mr. Petrie, 7 and was found to contain a copy of the four Gospels in Latin, written in Irish uncial letters, used in the very ancient manuscripts still preserved in the Library of Trinity College, and which, although agreeing in various respects with the \ r ulgate, possesses several readings which appear peculiar to itself. Dr. Todd considered, after a careful examination of it with the other ancient MSS. at Dublin, that the contractions which it exhibits might have been in use in the fourth or fifth century; and in a subsequent article he states it to be “ probably as old as the fifth century.” The Gospels of Columba, “ picturis passim intersertis miri operis et antiquitatis,” 8 better known by the name of the Book of St. Columbkille, 9 or the Books of Kells, having been mentioned by Tigernach and the IV Masters as existing in the Church of Kells in a.d. 1006, was more recently described by the historians Colgan, (Trias, p. 508,) O’Brien, (sub voce Cumdach ,) Flaherty, Nicholson, Archbishop Usher, and especially by O’Donel, Prince of Tyrconnel in 1520, who took great pains to collect together all the MSS. lie could obtain 1 Gennadius, De Script. Eccl. Catal., quoted by Archbishop Usher. This, together with the amusingly credulous statement of Bede, that water in which the scrapings of books which had been in Ireland (“rasa folia codicum qui de Hibernia fuerant,” Bede, Hist. Eccl. 1.1, c. i. §. 8,) were soaked, was a remedy against the bites of serpents, are incidental proofs that the Irish were at that time familiar with learning and books. 2 The Bible must have been of tolerable size to require carrying on his shoulders. 3 Sept. Vit. Tripart. S. Patricii, part 1, ch. lx. Tr. Th., p. 126. 5 4 Epist. ad Vossium, in Dissert, de Symb. Antiq. 5 Trans. Royal Irish Acad. vol. xviii., part 2, 1836. 6 Vita S. Mac Caerthenni (24 Mart. AA. SS. p. 73.) 7 See Trans. Royal Irish Academy, vol. xviii., part 1, 1838. 8 Lhuyd, quoted by O’Conor, who regrets the supposed loss of this codex. Dr. Todd, however, assures me that it is still extant in the Library of Tr in. Coll., Dublin. 9 Moore (Hist, of Ireland, vol. 1., p.252) mentions this MS. as having belonged to St. Columbanus; in a subsequent page, however, be cor¬ rectly notices it as the Gospels of Columbkille.—Archbishop Usher THE GOSPELS OF MiEIEL BRITH MAC DURNAN. illustrating tlie Acts of St. Columba bis patron, from which he composed his Life, and amongst which were MSS. by many of Columba’s disciples, Baithen, Adamnan, &c.; and in his days fragments of codices written by Columba himself were still in existence, enclosed in golden and silver cases, and highly venerated. Amongst the relics of St. Columba, preserved by the O’Donells, was another Cumdach, called the caah, long highly venerated, and supposed to be endowed with some preternatural merits. On opening this lelic, Sir William Betliam 1 found it to contain a copy of the greater part of the Psalter, written in a small minuscule Irish character, and agreeing nearly verbatim with the Vulgate version. Lanigan 2 has collected various notices of St. Columba having been employed in copying part of the Psalter, which he directed his disciple Baithen to complete after his decease; and as the Caah has been handed down for ages in the O’Donell family, of which Columba was a member. Sir W. Betliam does not hesitate to regard it as a relic of that saint. The Missal of St. Columbanus was discovered at the monastery founded by him at Bobbio ; 3 a specimen of it is given by Mabillon and the Benedictines, and ascribed by them to the sixth or seventh century, and of the writing of which it is said by them, that “ elle tient peut-etre de Fecriture romaine usitee dans les iles Britanniques avant la conversion des Anglois” 4 [by St. Augustine]. This book is now preserved in the Ambrosian Library of Milan ; whilst the Royal Library of Turin contains a copy of Lactantius, written in the Irish characters of the seventh century, and having the following words in the hand-writing, as is supposed, of Saint Columbanus :—“Ex libris Columbani abbatis de Bobbio.-” 5 The leabhar DHiMMA, or Book of Dimma, first described by Mr. Mason, 6 and subsequently by Sir W. Betliam, 7 and now in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, is a small codex containing the four Gospels, and the Office of Visitation of the Sick in Latin, in small minuscule Irish characters, ornamented with large rude-coloured initials and figures of the Evangelists, and which was found enclosed in another Cumdach : at the end of the MS. the scribe has signed his name thus : FINIT AMEN -f DIMMA MACC NATHI + : i.e. Dimma the son of Natlii. This is a most curious corroboration; because in the Life of St. Cronan, whose grandfather was also named Natlii, and who died in the seventh century (being, as I presume, one of the Bishops to whom Pope Honorius wrote in 634, as mentioned above), it is recorded, that he employed a scribe of the name of Dimma to write a copy of the Gospels. 8 Sir W. Betliam does not hesitate, therefore, in regarding this as the MS. written during the lifetime of Cronan; adding, that the MS. was preserved, until the dissolution of monasteries, in the Abbey of Roscrea, of which Cronan was the founder, and whose grave-stone, inscribed with his simple name, was dug up in 1826, in making the foundation for a new church at Roscrea. The Gospels of St. Kilian, still preserved at Wurtzburgli, have been mentioned above, whilst, in the library of Saint Gall, which “ surpassed all the other Benedictine establishments in science and literature,” are preserved to this day, the manuscripts of its first founders “ Scottice scripti ”—that is, written in Irish characters . 9 The Book of Armagh, written by Aidus, Bishop of Slepten, who died a.d. 698, is still preserved in the Library of the University of Dublin, and has been very fully illustrated with fac-similes by Sir W. Betliam, in the 2d volume of his Antiquarian Researches. This is, I presume, the identical volume described as the Gospels of St. Patrick, which was preserved in the church of Armagh in the eleventh century, as appears by St. Bernard’s Life of St. Malacliy. Mr. O’Conor has described 10 a very interesting Irish MS. preserved within its singular Cumdach, or case, in the library of the Duke of Buckingham, at Stowe, comprising a copy of the Gospel of St. John, and a missal according to the service of the early Irish Church, which bears evident marks, from the style of the ornamental illuminations, of having been written about the same period as the Book of Amagh. It was obtained from also describes another copy of the Gospels ascribed to St. Columbkille, which was preserved at Durrow when he published his ‘ Primordia.’ 1 Irish Antiq. Res. vol. i., pi. 1. 2 Eccl. Hist, of Ireland, ch. xii., p. 14, and ch. xxxii., p. 1, note 40. 3 The grants made during the first half of the seventh century to this monastery by Popes Honorius I. and Theodore, (Italia Sacra, tom. iv. & v., p. 329), prove that at this early period it had become renowned in the Christian world. 4 Nouv. Tr.de Dipl. vol. iii., p. 210, pi. 45, sp. II. iii., copied, but not very faithfully, by O’Conor, in the first vol. of liis Script. Rer. Vet. Ilib. 5 O’Conor, Picturesq. and Hist. Recoil, of Switz. p. 205. 6 Trans. Royal Irish Academy, vol. xiii., 1819. 7 Irish Antiq. Res. vol. i. p. 44. 8 “ Beatus pater Cronanus quendam scriptorem rogavit ut sibi quatuor scriberet Evangelia; ipse jam scriptor Dimma vocabatur.” Colgani Act. Sanct., Louv. 1045, vol. i. pp. 10,17. 9 Mabillon, Iter Germanicum, p. 0, 10 Bibliotheca Stowensis, Append., vol. i. The plates illustrating this memoir are published at the end of the 2d volume of his Script. Rer. Hib. Veteres. 6 THE GOSPELS OF MHHEL BRITH MAC DURNAN. Germany, where Mr. O’Conor conjectures that it was carried to the Irish monastery at Ratisbonne, by Tordelbach O’Brien, King of Munster, in a.d. 1130. Another “ wonderful book” was described by Giraldus in the twelfth century, which he saw at Kildare, said to have been written by St. Brigid, who died a.d. 525, containing a Concordance of the Gospels according to St. Jerome’s version, ornamented with as many drawings as there are pages in the book. He terminates his flaming account of it by stating, that “vix Apelles ipse similia efficere posset, et manu potius non mortali efformatse et depict® viderentur.” 1 The schools of St. Finan and of Bangor, have been already alluded to ; whilst at that of the monastery, built by Colman, at Mayo, for his English followers, 2 there were at the time of Adamnan, towards the close of the seventh century, about 100 Saxon or English holy men; whence it was named Maigh-eona Sassen, or Mayo of the Saxons. 3 Many of these are described as young noblemen, and among them was Edilhun, who “ lived in Ireland for learning sake;” and after his return to England was made Bishop of Lindnesse (Lincoln) . 4 The fame of St. Columbanus and his monastery, at Bobbio, in an after age led Dungal, an Irish missionary, to bequeath a number of books to that monastery, which are now in the Ambrosian Library at Milan, and the Royal Library of Turin. Aldhelm, the Anglo-Saxon scholar, in a letter which is still extant, addressed to Eahfrida, on her return from Ireland, alludes to the schools of that country in a manner which shows at once his admiration and jealousy of them; whilst Eric of Auxerre, in his letter to the Emperor Charles the Bald, writes thus :— “ Quod Hiberniam memorem contempto pelagi discrimine pene toto cum grege philosophorum ad littora nostra migrantem.” The notices of the artistical abilities exhibited by some of the ancient Irish MSS. above described, may appear overdrawn; but Bede himself gives us incidental evidence of the splendid red colour which was afforded amongst the natural productions of these islands; 5 whilst we also find notices of artists famed amongst the early Irish scholars. Dagseus, Abbot of Innisccltra, who died a.d. 587 (fen years before the death of Columba), is described as being “scriptorem librorum peritissimum .” 6 Ultan, who died a.d. 655, was also famous for the like talents, as appears from a metrical epistle of Ethelwolf to Egbert, at that time resident in Ireland, with the Hew of collecting MSS.:— “ Ex quibus est Ultan preeclaro nomine dictus, Comptis quipotuit notis ornare libellos.” 7 Whilst Leland 8 more expressly says of him, “ Ultanus scriptor et pictor librorum erat optimus.” Assicus also, the first Bishop of Elfin, is described as having been a skilful adorner of books: “Assicus sanctus Episcopus et Bite filius Assici fecerunt sacros Codices quadrangulares,” Triade, p. 134, c. 39. There is evidence likewise in Adamnan’s Life of St. Columba, written about the end of the seventh century, that Anglo- Saxon artists were employed in the monastery of Iona : “ Religiosus frater, Genereus nomine, Saxo pictor, opus pictorium exercebat in Iona conversatus insula.” 9 Whilst even so early as the fifth century, the decoration of churches is recorded: “ Ecclesia Kildariensis, saec. vto. pictis tabulis et imaginibus depictis ornata.” 10 There still remains another circumstance fully establishing the fact of the existence of a school of cali- grapliy in Ireland long previous to the end of the seventh century. The style of the drawings and ornaments in the various manuscripts which have been shown above to be of Irish origin, is extremely peculiar, and of which nothing similar is to be met with in Continental MSS. (if, indeed, we except such as bear evident proof of having been either obtained from, or executed by, the Irish missionaries themselves). There is, however, a 1 Topogr. Hib. Francof. fol. 1603, De St. 2, c. 38, p. 730, quoted by O’Conor, who regrets the loss of this fine MS. 2 Bede, Hist. Eccl. 1. iv. c. 4. 3 Usher, Eccles. Primord. 4 Bede, Hist. Eccl. 1. iii. ch. 27. 5 “ Exeeptis variorum generibus conchyliorum in quibus sunt et musculee quibus inclusam ssepe margaritam omnis quidem coloris optimam inveniunt, id est, et rubicundi, et purpurei, et jacintini, et prasini sed maxime candidi sunt et cocbleoe satis superque abun- dantes quibus tinctura coccinci coloris conficitur cujus rubor pul- cherrimus nullo unquani solis ardore, nulla valet pluviarum injuria pallescere sed quo vetustior est solet esse venustior.”—Bede, Hist. Eccl. b. i. ch. 1. Dr. O’Conor’s ignorance of natural history has led him to infer that the reflected colours from the pearls found in oysters and muscles, mentioned by Bede, were used as actual pigments. 6 Vit. Antiq. Dagaei in Actis SS. 7 Ethelwolph, Epist. Metr. ad Egbert, in Bibl. Stowen. i. App. i. p. 11. 8 Collectan. ii. p. 364; Harpsfield, Hist. c. 14. 9 Adamnam, De Vita Columb. 1. 3, c. 10; Triade, p. 3GG. 10 In Triade, p. 523. THE GOSPELS OP MiEIEL BRITH MAC DURNAN. great similarity not only in the writing, hut especially in the ornamental decorations, of these Irish MSS. and those known to have been executed in England. 1 Of these, the volume of the Gospels of Lindisfarne 2 is, perhaps, the most important MS. which has been preserved to our times, since both the date and place of its execution are well authenticated, it having been written at the close of the seventh century, at the monastery of Lindisfarne, which we have seen was from its establishment, nearly to this period, presided over by missionaries from Iona. Such a volume most clearly proves that the arts of writing and illumination must have been very long practised, whilst the recent establishment of their religion in Northumbria would neces¬ sarily allow these Irish missionaries hut little leisure for the cultivation of such arts; so that we cannot but refer them to the parent Irish establishment at Iona, and to a period considerably previous to the date of the Gospels of Lindisfarne. Of the various MSS. mentioned above, which have been recently described, the Book of Armagh comes nearest in point of date to that of the Gospels of Lindisfarne ; and it is impossible to contrast the illuminations of the former, figured by Sir W. Betham, with those of the latter, published by Strutt, Astle, and Shaw, and these again with the illuminated page represented in my second plate, without being convinced of their striking resemblance, and at the same time of their want of resemblance to the ornaments of the Irish manuscripts executed after the tenth century. The objection that this book of Armagh, and the Gospels of Mac Durnan, are written in minuscule characters instead of the fine rounded letters used in the Hymn of St. Patrick and the Book of the Domnach Airgid, &c., will be examined in another article. 3rd. DESCRIPTION OF THE GOSPELS OF M.EIEL BRITH MAC BURNAN. I now proceed to describe the volume of the Gospels of Mteiel Brith Mac Durnan, at the present time one of the cliief ornaments of the Manuscript Library of the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth. It is a small volume, written on vellum, 6 j by 4 j inches in size, and comprises the four Gospels, in Latin, written in minuscule Irish characters. The first leaf of the volume, as now bound, is blank on both sides. On the second leaf, in an Italic hand, of the sixteenth or seventeenth century^ are inscribed the following verses in honour of the four Evangelists, and their symbolical representatives :— DE EVANGELISTIS. Hoc Mattlicus agens hominem generaliter implet Marcus ut alta fremit vox per deserta Leonis Jura sacerdotis Lucas tenet ore juventi More volans aquile verbo petit astra Joh(aunejs Mattheus instituit virtutum tramite mores Et bene vivendi justo dedit ordine legem Marcus amat terras inter coelumq. volare Atq. volans Aquila stricto secat om(n)ia lapsu Lucas uberius describit prelia Christi Jure sacer vitulus qui menia fautur auita. These lines are very ancient, and were ordinarily placed over the representations of the Evangelists . 3 They are here evidently copied (at the time the MS. was last bound), from the leaf over which, that, on which they are now written, has been pasted. The latter has probably become almost illegible, as we may judge from the omission of two lines at the end applicable to St. John, which had evidently quite disappeared. On the verso of the second leaf are represented, in an ornamental frame-work, the symbolical figures of the four Evangelists, each in a small oblong compartment, having a pretty central star. The four-winged symbol of St. Matthew is copied in my first plate entire, the heads of the three others only being given , 4 their bodies and wings being 1 The Psalters, of St. Augustine, of St. Salaberg, and of St. Ouen at Rouen; the Gospels of St. Julian at Wurtzburgh, of St. Boniface at Fulda; those of St. Germain des Pres (No. 108), of St. Chad at Lich¬ field, of St. Gall, of Mac Regol at Oxford ; of the Bibl. d. Roi, copied by Silvestre, the Royal MS. 1 E. vi., and the Antiplionarium Bencho- riense ; may be mentioned as specimens of this style. 2 1 he name of the Gospels of St. Cuthbert, by which this incom¬ parable manuscript has been called, implies, and has actually led to an incorrect date having been applied to it (see Sir F. Madden, in Shaw’s Ill. Ornam.) Having been written at Lindisfarne, and not at 8 Durham, I shall speak of it in this work under the name of the Gospels of Lindisfarne; the name of the “ Durham Book ” being, hence also, clearly inappropriate. 3 The second line on St. Mark will be seen inscribed in gold in my plate of the Coronation-book of the Anglo-Saxon kings. They also appear in a Lombardic MS. of the eighth century, at C. C. Coll. Cam¬ bridge, copied by Astle. 4 The portrait of the lion is not the least extraordinary, proving that the artist bad been obliged to have recourse to his own invention in its delineation. ♦ +M£lELBRIf)VSMAC I X gU f w E—' r CC Cx > cr 2 h -1 cC PJ O- £ < eft* Gospels of Mac Daman Pl.Ul. THE GOSPELS OF MiEIEL BRITH MAC DURNAN. similar to that of St. Matthew’s symbol. The extreme rudeness of these drawings render them interesting remains of Irish art. It will be seen that the heads of the man, eagle, and lion, are surmounted by a glory or nimbus of most singular form, for I can offer no other explanation of the appendage . 1 On the recto of the third page is inscribed the commencement of the first chapter of St. Matthew : “ Liber generationis jhu xpi,” &c., the first two letters only enlarged and richly ornamented, closely resembling the same tw r o letters in the Book of Armagh, copied by Sir W. Betliam . 2 The genealogical part of this Gospel, written in the minuscule hand employed throughout the volume, extends to the recto of leaf 4, the verso of which was originally left blank, and upon this we now find written in Anglo-Saxon characters, the inscription copied in my third plate,— -f MZEIELBRIDUSj MAC- DURNANI • ISTU • TEXTU PER • TRIQUADRtl- DO • DIGNE • DOGMITIZAT • .925 AST • AETHELSTANUS * + AN GLOSiEX AN A • REX • ET RECTOR • DORVVERNENSI • METROPOLI • DAT • £ ZEW;. Respecting the signification of this passage, Dr. Todd , 3 in his notice of this volume, observes— “ Dogmatizare , in the latinity of the middle ages signifies, to teach, and is generally used in a bad sense to teach false or erroneous doctrine ; 4 but it can hardly have that meaning in the instance before us. Do is a contraction for Deo or Domino. Triqucidrus when used as an adjective, means trisected, divided into three parts ; it is not a common word, especially when used as a substantive, as it appears to be here. The meaning of the word textus is evident; copies of the Gospels, such as that to which these remarks relate, are always so designated . 5 A learned friend has suggested that dogmatized may, perhaps, mean sanctions, testifies to the accuracy of this copy of the Gospels; but I cannot reconcile this with Deo, digne, and per triquadrum. The rest of the inscription is easity translated, ‘ but Athelstan, King and Governor of the Anglo-Saxons, gives it for ever to the Metropolis of Canterbury.’ The adversative ast seems difficult to explain on any interpretation of the former part of the inscription : it would seem to imply some opposition between the fact of Athelstan giving the volume to the city of Canterbury, and the dogmatizing of the text by Mac Durnan.” It appears to me probable that in this inscription the sense has been slightly sacrificed, in order to preserve the alliterative style, of which the Anglo-Saxons were so much enamoured, and of which it will be seen that this inscription offers a striking example. Mr. Lewis Morris, an excellent Welsh antiquary, in an article upon this MS ., 6 endeavours to translate the inscription in the following manner :—“ Mseielbrith, the son of Durnan, does worthily expound this text by references , 7 but Athelstan, king and ruler of the Anglo-Saxons, makes a present of the book to the Metropolitan Church of Canterbury for ever.” He however admits his iuability to determine the meaning of the words, which he reads “ per triquadrum Dominum,” but which Mr. Samuel Pegge, in a subsequent article , 8 conjectures may mean “ by the assistance of the Trinitysuggesting, however, that Do may be a contraction of Deo instead of Dominum. Mr. Morris, in the article above alluded to, has claimed this MS. as a production of his own country, stating it to be “ written in the aneient British letter now commonly called the Saxon letter. The MS. seems to me to be as old as St. Hierome’s time, with whose version, as in print, I find it to agree in most places. There is a note in it in capital letters, in Latin, which looks but modern in comparison to the book, signifying that it was expounded by Mseielbrith Mac Durnan ; and in the margin, in, I think, a still more modern hand, in figures +925, which was probably inserted about the 15th century, when figures came in use, [Dr. Todd ascribes them to the 16th or 17th century]. I take the book to have belonged originally to the Britons, not 1 The heads of the lion and eagle, in the Book of Armagh, have a 4 “ Textus liber seu codex evangeliorum, qui inter cimelia eccle- similar ornament. siastica reponi solet auro gemmisque ut plurimum ornatus aureis 2 Irish Antiq. Res. vol. ii. In the Gospels of Lindisfarne, and of etiam interdum characteribus exaratus.”—Du Cange, in voce, the Bib. Roy. Paris (described by Silvestre as of the tenth century!) 6 Cambrian Register, 1795, vol. i. p. 358, et seq. the third letter b is added to the ornament. 7 Mistaking the usual Eusebian references for explanations or 3 Brit. Mag. vol. xiv. p. 142. dogmas of Madelbrith. * Du Cange Glossar. in voce. 8 Cambrian Register, i. p. 3C5. 9 THE GOSPELS OF MiEIEL BRITH MAC DURNAN. The recto of the following leaf was also left blank, and is now inscribed with the following statement respecting a grant made by King Canute (the first line of which is copied in PI. 11): “ Cnud rex Anglorum dedit ecclesifE Christi brachium sancti bartholomei apli cum magno pallio et sui capitis auream coronam et portum de Sandevic [Sandwich] et omnes exitus ejusdem aquse ab utraque parte fluminis itaut natante nave influmine cum plenum fuerit quam longius de navi potest securis parvula super terram projici debet a ministris ecclesise xpi rectitudo navis accipi. Nullusque omnino liominum aliquam consuetudinem in eodem portuliabet exceptis monachis ecclie Xpi. Eorum quoque est transfretatio portus et navicula et cheloneum naviculse et omnium navium qute ad Sandevic venerint a Pepernessa usque Nordmutha. Si quid autem in magno mari repertum fuerit delatam Sandevic medietatem ecclesia Xpi habebit reliqua vero pars inventoribus remanebit.” The grant of an arm of St. Bartholomew, a great ecclesiastical mantle (pallium, not a pall), a golden crown, and the dues of the port of Sandwich with its liberties, form a strange admixture in the grant, noticed in this paragraph . 1 On the verso of this leaf is the portrait of St. Mark; very similar in its style, but smaller than that of St. Matthew and John, holding a book in his left hand. His dress, and the singular ornaments on his head, resemble those of St. John, but his feet are naked. On either side, forming at the first sight merely a slender pillar, stands a monstrously attenuated animal, erect on its hind legs, whilst over the head of the Evangelist, and partly hidden by the ornamental frame of the picture, is the winged lion, with ahead not unlike that of a sheep, surmounted with the singular nimbus (?) already noticed in other figures. The following leaf has been interpolated, being a drawing of the Scourging of Christ by the Jews. The Saviour is rejiresented tied by the wrists to a narrow column in the centre of the miniature, with a figure on each side preparing to strike him. They are dressed in short tunics; and one has on a white skull-cap, and his hair is painted blue; as was common about, or rather before, the period assigned to this miniature, which is contemporaneous with that of the Crucifixion, above described. The next leaf comprises the commencement of the Gospel of St. Mark (Initium Evangelii, &c.), the first two letters, In, being enlarged, and formed like the In in my first plate, but more ornamented, the other letters, itium , 2 of the first word, being much less enlarged, and of an uncial form, the remainder of the page being occupied with the minuscule writing. This is enclosed within a very elegant frame, having a large star at the top and a large dog’s head. At the end of this Gospel the scribe has written, “ Finit, amen, finit.” The next three pages were left blank, but are now occupied with four Anglo-Saxon charters of King Canute, one of which is copied in my second plate:— Cnut cymg gpet ealle mine b q mine eoplap q mine gepepan on selcepe pcipe J>e sepelnctS apceJ q pelupeb tet cjuptep cypcean lanb mne babba^ ppeonbbce q ic cySe eop^ic hsebbe geunnen bl ^be beo bip paca q pocne pyjvSe q gpfS bpycep q ba pocne q poppteallep q mpan genep Jieopep q plymena pypiwSe opep bip agene menu bmnan bypig q butan q opep lepprep cypcean q opep ppa peala J>egua ppa ic bi to lsetan ba>bbe q ic uelle semg maun abt J>sep on teo buton be q bip picnepap popjia ic bsebbe cpipte l>apge pilita popgypen mmpe paple to ecepe alvpendneppe q ic uelle ■jteeppe aemg mann Jup abpece be mmun ppeonbpcipe. Of which the following is a translation, the law terms employed for the different kinds of tenure not being translated:— “ I Cnut greet all my Bishops and my Earls and my Reves in every shire that iEthelnotli Archbishop and the Convent at Christ Church have land in, friendly. And I say that I have granted him that he enjoy (beo Jyp^c) his saca and socne, and gryth bryces, and liacsocne and forestealas, and infanges tlieoffes and flymena fyrmthe (so we are to read, instead of fyrintlie) over his own men, within borough and without, and over Christ’s church, and over as many Thanes as I have permitted him to have; and I decree that not any man should anything therein claim but he and his servants, because I have besought Christ’s holy authority to forgive my soul in recompense for the land; and I will not that any man break this, by my friendship” (that is, as he values my friendship ).* In the Library at Stowe is contained the original grant dated anno ab Incarnatio 1023,” by King Canute, of bis crown, and the duties of the port of Sandwich, to the church of Canterbury (Bibl. Stowensis, ii. 135.) The latter “ ab utraque parte fluminis cujuscumque teira sit quam longius de navi potest securis parvula quam Angli vocant 'Japareax, super terram projici, Ministri Christi rectitudines accipiant.” 8 The style of this word Initium exactly corresponds with that of the Book of Armagh, copied by Sir W. Betham. 3 The introductory form of this charter was retained so late as the reigns of Henry I. and II. (see specimens of their charters, given by Astle, pi. xx. 9, 10.) From the elongated tops of the f, and the re¬ curved tops of the e, this was evidently written during the reign of King Canute. (See similar specimens in Astle, pi. 21.) 12 THE GOSPELS OF M.EIEL BllITII MAC DURNAN. The verso of the third of these leaves contains the portrait of St. Lake, scarcely above half the size of that of Sts. Matthew and John. His head-dress and robes are similar to those of the other Evangelists. In his right hand he holds a short plain crosier, hooked at the top, and blunt at the foot. In his right hand he holds a book, with an ornamented cover—if, indeed, it be not intended for a cumdach; and he has shoes on his feet. This is altogether the rudest figure of the four Evangelists. The next leaf has been interpolated, and is now occupied by a miniature representing the Betrayal of Christ on the recto, copied on my third plate, the verso being still left blank. The drawing is much more spirited than either of the others which have been similarly introduced; and, from the armour and highly- polished back-ground, I apprehend that it must be assigned to the thirteenth century. The outlines are entirely formed by black lines, some of which, as in the features, are very delicate, whilst others are very coarse. Then follows the Gospel of St. Luke, the first two words, qm. (quoniam) quidem, nearly similar to those at the beginning of St. John’s Gospel, the q being enlarged, with its tail extended along the left hand margin of the page. The remainder of the writing in this page is in Irish minuscule, and is enclosed within an orna¬ mental frame-work of twisted snakes. At the end of St. Luke’s Gospel is written —“ Ho gtias ago.” On the verso of this leaf is the likeness of St. John, represented in my first plate. This rude design will give a good idea of the figures of the other Evangelists, and which in general design, and in the singular distri¬ bution of the drapery, correspond with those in the Leabhar Dimma, the Gospel of St. John of the Duke ot Buckingham, and in the Gospels of St. Chad, as figured by Ilickes in his Thesaurus (vol. i.) They are entirely unlike the drawings of the Evangelists in other early MSS., such, for instance, as those in the Gospels of Lindisfarne, which clearly exhibit traces of Byzantine art; or those in the Purple MS. (Reg. 1., E. 6), which are evidently of Anglo-Saxon origin. They, in fact, more nearly resemble in general style the strange figures of Northern chessmen, represented in Sir F. Madden’s learned article in the Arcliteologia, vol. xxiv. The ornaments of the head in this figure have been carefully copied, and I am quite unable to explain the two curious appendages on each shoulder—for surely they cannot be intended for the vittee or infuke of the mitre. 1 thought they might, from something similar appearing on the heads of the symbolical emblems, be intended tor appendages of the nimbus or glory, but the head is here surrounded by a distinct one of a yellow colour. 1 The head of St. Luke in the Leabhar Dimma, and that of St. John in the Duke of Buckingham’s codex, have a somewhat similar appendage on each shoulder. The colours are laid on very thick, and have a semi-opake appearance, the face having a thick coat of white, in which the features are represented by black lines. My chief object, however, in selecting this portrait, was to show the articles in his hands which were anciently used in writing; that in his right hand appearing to me to be unquestionably intended for a pen formed of the quill of a bird, some of the web being left at the upper end. 2 The point of the pen is dipped into a small conical utensil filled with red colour, supported on a long slender stem, reaching to the ground. In his other hand he holds another sliaip- pointed instrument. This is a circumstance of much archaeological interest, clearly showing (it my idea of the age of the IMS. be correct) the employment of the pen nearly two centuries earlier than is represented in any existing drawing. From a line of Juvenal— “ Anxia prsecipiti venisset epistola penna ”—Satyr iv. it has been supposed that quills from the wings of birds were in use in his time, but it is more than probable that the poet was but here employing a poetical image. Theodoric, king ot the Ostrogoths in the 5th century, is stated to have used a pen to write the first four letters of his name. 3 St. Isidore ot Seville, who wrote in the middle of the 7th century, precisely describes the pen as one of the two instruments used in writing, “ penna avis cujus acumen dividitur in duo.” 4 Mabillon 5 cites a miniature of the time ot Louis le Debonaire, (9 stec.) and another of the lOtli, in which the Evangelists are represented with pens in then hands; and the same is to be seen in the Harleian MS., No. 2820, of the lOtlx century, in which the ink- stand is represented as in the Irish MS. The thumb of the right hand appears to be ornamented with a ring. The instrument in the left hand may be either a style or a knife; it is unlike any of the instruments used by scribes figured b\ Montfancon 1 I find nothing at all analogous to this in M. Didron's article upon the Nimbus in the Revue Generale de 1’Architecture et des Travaux Publics. 2 That it is not intended for a knife, as described by Dr. Todd, is 13 evident both from this circumstance, and from being dipped into the pot of red colour. 3 Ad ealeem Ammiani Marcell. p. CC7. 4 Isidor. Ilisp. Orig. lib. vi. cap 14. 5 De Re Dipl. Suppl. cap. ii. n. 8. THE GOSPELS OP SLEIEL BRITH MAC DURNAN. and the Benedictines. The ornaments in the different panels of the border are especially Irish, and by far more elaborate than, although in the same style as, those represented from the book of Dliimma, of the Duke of Buckingham’s MS. The next leaf has been introduced, and contains a miniature of the Embalmment of Christ on the recto (the verso remaining plain) : the dead body of the Saviour being laid upon a table, Joseph of Arimathea pouring ointment into the wound in the side from a globular vessel, and with a handkerchief tied round his head; five figures stand round the table weeping, four with nimbi round the heads, and one with a red skull-cap having a conical erect point in the middle. The execution of this miniature corresponds with that of the three others which were introduced at the same period. The next page has the commencement of St. John’s Gospel, copied in my first plate, inclosed within an ornamental frame. It is to be read: “ In principio erat verbum, et verbum erat apud Deum et Deus erat verbum • hoc erat in principio apud Deum Omnia per ipsum facta sunt * et sine illo factum est nihil * quod factum est • in ipso vita est et vita erat lux hominum et lux in tenebris • et tenebrae earn non com- prehenderunt.” This passage possesses several readings quite unlike any of the ancient versions I have yet examined. The conjunction of the first three letters, as in the Leabhar Dhimma and Duke of Bucking¬ ham’s MS., is considered by Mr. O’Conor to represent the Trinity in Unity. The letter N thus formed bespeaks the venerable antiquity of this volume. The irregular manner in which the first three words are written is interesting and peculiar, resembling the Gospels of St. Germain des Pres in this respect.— N. Tr. Dipl. v. ii. pi. 18. The few last lines of this Gospel are written more contractedly than the rest, so as to come into the end of the page without beginning a new leaf. St. Jerome’s prologues to the different Gospels are not copied, and Dr. Todd suggests that the blank leaves left before each were intended to have them introduced. Neither do the tables of the Eusebian Canons appear; the Eusebian Numbers, however, and references to the Ammonian Sections, are given throughout in the margin, enclosed within red lines, as shown in my second plate. In conclusion, it is to be observed that the MS. has been carefully collated, and the modern chapters indicated by coarse red chalk figures, which appear to me to be in the handwriting of the celebrated Archbishop Matthew Parker, whence I infer that the MS. remained at Canterbury until the dissolution of monasteries by Henry VIII. The MS. is not inserted in Mr. Todd’s Catalogue of the Archiepiscopal MSS., published in 1812; but I have not been able to learn from the Rev. Mr. Maitland, the present learned Librarian of Lambeth Palace, from whom, or under what circumstances, it has again fallen into the possession of the Archbishopric of Canterbury. 11 Roc?: Afe fis . A*/. 7 * / * % % THE BOOK OF KELLS. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. Plate 1. Drawing 1 of the Virgin and Child, with attendant Angels, and the words “ Tunc crucifixerant,” Matth. xxvii. part of v. 38— “ Ilora ter(tia),” St. Mark, xv., part of v. 25—“ (Di)cit illis Ihs om(nes),” Matth. xxvi. part of v. 31—and “ Iohannem.” Plate 2. The four Evangelical Symbols—the word “ Nativitas” in lacertine letters—Matthew v. 4, 5, transposed—together with a series of the initial and ordinary letters of the text, each of which is accompanied by its representative in ordinary Italic characters. IVTANY circumstances tend to prove, that, for several centuries, the ancient Christian Church of Ireland formed no integral portion of the Church of Rome ; whilst, in various respects its discipline and other peculiarities seem to have been more analogous to those of the Eastern Churches. 1 That the Irish received Christianity at a very early period is perfectly authenticated, independent of the question, whether it came from the disciples of Iremeus at Lyons direct to Ireland, 2 or from Roman or English missionaries during t’ e earlier part of the period that the Romans were in possession of Great Britain. 3 Placed far apart from the rest of the civilised world, religion in Ireland retained unaltered its early forms ar 1 Ilscipline. 4 Whereas Rome, at the end of six centuries from the first establishment of the Christian religion, had assumed a dominant character, and had, by degrees, introduced a series of discipline, practice, and doctrines, unknown in the first ages of the Church, 5 and of which consequently the Irish were ignorant. 6 Hence the great disputes which took place between the Irish missionaries in the north of England, and the Romisli missionaries and followers of St. Augustine; and hence, whilst the Romish Church, in the sixth century, strenuously endeavoured to substitute the Vulgate translation of the Bible in lieu of the old Italic and Septuagint versions, 7 almost every copy of the Gospels, which, from the style of the writing, orthography, and caligraphy, may be known as having been written in Ireland, now in existence, appears (from the collation which I have made ot a considerable number of them) either to be written in a version distinct from the Vulgate or to have the Vulgate mixed with a preceding version, forming what is termed a mixed text. This circumstance did not escape Archbishop Usher, who states “ certe antiquam Italicam [versionem] in usu fuisse in Hibernia usque ad annum 815.” Ware, also, and Sir W. Betham, assert that the extracts from the Bible in the Confession of St. Patrick, contained in the book of Armagh, written in the year 698, are not in the A ulgate version. 8 There is still another circumstance which singularly, although in an indirect manner, appears to prove the correctness of the preceding remarks—viz., that at a period when the fine arts may be said to have been almost extinct in Italy and other parts of the Continent—namely, from the 5tli to the end ot the 8tli century —a styl jl art had been established and cultivated in Ireland absolutely distinct from that of all other parts of the ci.iiised world. There is abundant evidence to prove that in the 6th and 7tb enturics the art of 1 Thus Si Robert Cotton, Sir Ilenry Spelman, Camden, and Selden, having been appealed to upon the subject of the early monachism in this country, drew up a report, wherein they declared, that previous to the coming of St. Augustine the Egyptian Rule was only in use.— (“ Qui /Egyptiorum mores secuti.” Reyner, Apost. Benedict, p. 202. Ledwich, p. 89.) 2 Ledwich, Antiq. of Ireland, p. 55. 3 Todd, Church of St. Patrick, p. 13. 4 “ The Scottish [Irish] monks had been taught to respect as sacred every institution which had been sanctioned by the Approbation of their ancestors.”—Lingard, Antiq, of Anglo-Saxon Church, p. 34.— “ The doctrines which they had received from their forefathers they considered as their most valuable inheritance.”—Ibid. p. 37. 5 Thus Irenseus, even in the second century, conijilained of the innovations of the Roman Church ; and Eusebius says, “ E^kvavTiag ce tujv stti Piii [ii]C tov vyu) tt]q EKKXr/cnas Oecrpov Trapax^purrovTior, Eippvaiog SiaifiopovQ EirurroXag Gwraavu.'’ —L. 5, c. 20. 6 “Utpote quibus longe extra orbem positis nemo synodalia Pas- chalis observantite decreta porrexerat.”—Bede, Hist. Eccl. L. iii. c. 4. i St. Isidore (Ann. G30] states, that “ Ilieronymi editione gene- 1 ireful collation should be S. of the Gospels written portant results would be case may be easily con- aliter omnes Ecclesioe utuntur pro eo quod --'eracior sit.”'—I. 1. Offic. . 12 . 8 It is very greatly to be desired that a nade and published of the various ancient n Ireland, as I have no doubt that some i hereby obtained. That such would be tin ectured, when it is mentioned that the sight examination which I lave made of the texts of the Dublin MSS has brought to light, in me of them, a passage in St. John’s Gospels, hitherto supposed to be mique in the Vercelli Gospels. I have bu ttle doubt that it will be bund that, from the peculiarities of the tex. as well as ot the cali- ? raphy, the Gospels of MacRegol and MacD. mn, the Book of St. jhad, the Gospels of SS. Luke and John in C.C.C., portion of the loyal MS. 2 A. 20 in the British Museum, t> lospel of St. John, the Gospels of St. Gem ilso the Gospels in the Bibliotheque du Roi, St. Gatien at Tours, the Gospels of St. Bon 1 be ancient Gospels at Dublin (except the .utograph Gospel of St. lolumba), and several at St. Gall, are all Irish MSS., and net written n the Vulgate version. ~> u ke of Buckingham’s •i des Pres, No. 108, it. G93, the Gospels at ■e at Fulda, besides all TIIE BOOK OF KELLS. ornamenting manuscripts of tlie Sacred Scriptures, and especially of the Gospels, had attained a perfection in Ireland almost marvellous, and which in after ages was adopted and imitated by the Continental Schools visited by the Irish missionaries. The chief peculiarities of this school consist in the illumination of the first page of each of the Sacred Books, the letters of the first few words, and more especially the initial, being represented of a very large size, and highly ornamented in patterns of the most intricate design, with marginal rows of red dots; the classical Acanthus being never represented. The principles of these most elaborate ornaments are, however, but few in number, and may be reduced to the four following :—1st. One or more narrow ribbons, diagonally but symmetrically interlaced, forming an endless variety of patterns. 2nd. One, two, or three slender spiral lines, coiling one within another till they meet in the centre of the circle, their opposite ends going off to other circles. 3rd. A vast variety of lacertine animals and birds, hideously attenuated, and coiled one within another, with their tails, tongues, and top-knots forming long narrow ribbons irregularly interlaced. 4th. A series of diagonal lines, forming various kinds of Chinese-like patterns. These ornaments are generally introduced into small compartments, a number of which are arranged so as to form the large initial letters and borders, or tesselated pages, with which the finest manuscripts were decorated. The Irish missionaries brought their national style of art with them from Iona to Lindisfarne in the 7th century, as well as their fine, large, very characteristic style of writing; and as these were adopted by their Anglo-Saxon converts, and as most of the manuscripts which have been hitherto described are of Anglo-Saxon origin, it has been the practice to give the name of Anglo-Saxon to this style of art. Thus several of the finest fac-similes given by Astle as Anglo-Saxon are from Irish MSS.; and thus Silvestre, who has copied them (without acknowledgment 1 ), has fallen into the same error; whilst Wanley, Casely, and others appear never to have had a suspicion of the existence of an ancient school of art in Ireland. In respect to the higher department of art, it was highly important to determine whether a distinct style had also been established, or whether the Byzantine school had pervaded the Sister Island; such being unquestionably the case with the portraits of the Evangelists delineated in the copy of the Gospels written at Lindisfarne, at the close of the 7th century (Cott. Nero, D. IV.). That the former was the case, there was reason to surmise from an inspection of the grotesque portrait of St. Luke, given by Ilickes from the Book of St. Chad, and from those published by Sir W. Betliam from the Leabhar Dimma, and by O’Conor from the Duke of Buckingham’s Gospels, as well as from analogous specimens given in this work. With the view, therefore, of determining this question—as well to trace the distinctions between the early Irish and Anglo-Saxon styles, so as to learn how far the latter was indebted to the former for its existence—I have, by the kindness of the Rev. J. II. Todd, the learned librarian of Trinity College, Dublin, examined the various ancient MSS. in the Library of that establishment. Ireland may justly be proud of the Book of Kells. This copy of the Gospels, traditionally asserted to have belonged to St. Columba, is unquestionably the most elaborately executed IMS. of early art now in existence, far excelling, in the gigantic size of the letters in the frontispieces of the Gospel, the excessive minuteness of the ornamental details, the number of its decorations, the fineness of the writing, and the endless variety of initial capital letters, with which every page is ornamented, the famous Gospels of Lindisfarne in the Cottonian Library. But this MS. is still more valuable, on account of the various pictorial representations of different scenes in the life of our Saviour, delineated in a style totally unlike that of every other school, and of which, I believe, the only other specimens are to be found in the Psalter of St. John’s College, Cambridge, and at St. Gall; the latter, however, being far inferior in execution to those in the Book of Kells. W hen it is further stated, that this magnificent volume is now for the first time described and illustrated, the reader will not be indisposed to underrate the interest of the present article as an addition to the history of the Fine Arts hitherto neglected by all previous writers. 2 In my two Plates such portions of the ornamental details as are peculiar to the volume have been selected, rather than such as are similar to those in the Gospels of MacRegol and Lindisfarne. Antiquaries of publishing fac-similes of the ornamental pages of the Gospels of Lindisfarne. I would, however, beg leave to suggest that the volume now under description is far more worthy of such an under¬ taking, more especially as the annual grant to the Royal Irish Society quite precludes such a step being taken by that body. 1 The mode in which Silvestre has attempted to give a greater air of faithfulness to his copies of Astle s fac-similes, without having seen the originals, is quite fictitious. Thus he has printed the writing in faded brown ink, whereas the ink used in these MSS. has retained its black¬ ness in a wonderful degree. * I believe an intention has been entertained by the Society of THE BOOK OF KELLS. The volume consists of 339 leaves of very thick and finely glazed vellum, measuring (although, sadly cropped) 13 inches by 9|-, a page of text containing 16, 17, or 18 lines, the writing occupying 10 inches by 7. The recto of the first leaf contains in the first column (surrounded by an ornamented border), various Hebrew words with their significations in Latin (the early part of this Glossary being wanting) ; whilst the second column is occupied by the four Evangelical symbols, singularly drawn, but almost obliterated, holding books in their hands. Then follow the Eusebian Canons, which occupy several pages. They are written in narrow columns, inclosed between highly ornamented pillars, in which all the peculiar styles of ornament above described are to be found; these support rounded arches and circles, which are inclosed by larger rounded arches, the open spaces bearing the evangelical symbols in a variety of strange attitudes, according in number with the number of the Evangelists in the several Canons. To these succeed several Charters in the Irish language, written in the strong ordinary Irish minuscule characters, containing grants of lands to the Abbey of Kells, the Bishop of Meath, and the Church of Kells, by Melaglilin, King of Meath, dated a.d. 1152. The verso of fol. 7 contains the drawing of the Virgin and Child, copied in Plate 1, which is inclosed within a highly elaborate border composed of intertwined lacertine animals with dogs 5 heads. This singular composition is interesting from the proof it affords of the veneration of the Virgin Mary in the early Irish Church; the large size in which she is represented, as well as the glory round her head (which singularly bears three small crosses), evidently indicating the high respect with which the Mother of Christ was regarded. The infant Saviour, it will be observed, is destitute of the nimbus; the seat on which the Virgin is seated is not devoid of elegance, terminating above in the dog’s head with an immensely elongated interlaced tongue. The drawing of the whole is entirely puerile, whilst the ingenuity displayed in the intricate patterns at the sides and upper part of the drawing is quite remarkable. This singular interlacing of the limbs of human figures is peculiarly characteristic of the Irish MSS., and it is accordingly found in the Gospels of MacRegol and the Book of St. Chad. The instrument held by the Angel, at the right hand of the foot of the drawing, is worthy of remark, being analogous to one of the sceptres held by St. Luke in the Book of St. Chad. 1 These are followed by the (C breves causae” and “ argumenta” of each of the four Gospels (which extend to fob 25), part of which is beautifully written in a narrower and more recent hand and in various coloured inks, the first page being highly ornamented and containing the words “ Nativitas Xpi in Bethlem iudae. Magi munera offerunt et infantes interficiuntur, regressio—these words being written in rows of angular letters of different sizes separated by highly ornamented bars, the first word (except the large initial N) being formed of lacertine letters copied in my second plate. The headings of the breves causse and argumenta of each of the other Gospels are also ornamented with one or two rows of large similarly formed letters. The 20th leaf is misplaced, being the commencement of the Glossary of Hebrew words, the other part ot which occurs in the first leaf of the volume. The recto of the following leaf contains two inscriptions in the Irish language, containing grants of certain glebe lands in perpetuity for three ounces of gold to the Monastery of Arbraccan, made by King Moriertach O’Laghlyn, and others, witnessed by Gilmacbag, Archbishop ot Armagh; Erthro, Bishop of Meath, and many others. 2 The verso of this leaf is occupied by drawings of the four evangelical symbols, singularly delineated and ornamented, and enclosed within broad elaborate square borders. The verso of the next leaf is entirely occupied by a full length portrait of St. Matthew (seven inches high), inclosed within a highly ornamented border, his head surrounded by a rich nimbus, his right hand placed, beneath his robe, on his breast, and his left hand (naked) holding a book, and with naked feet. The recto of folio 29 contains the first two words of St. Matthew’s Gospel, (C Liber Generationis, in the same style as, but larger and infinitely more elaborate than in the Gospels of Lindisfarne. I he Saint himself is again represented standing in the lower part of the page, holding a book in his left hand, nearing shoes similar to those in the Gospels of MacDurnan. The genealogical history extends to fol. 31, w I lie following leaf has on its verso another portrait inscribed, on an erasure, with the name of Jesus Christina modern hand, but it is evidently misplaced, and is intended for one of the two Evangelists, ’"hose poitiaits arc 1 Mr. Petrie showed me an ancient Irish, relic, which I consider to 2 Dr. Todd is occupied at the pnsuit time in cdit.i 0 have been the handle of one of these instruments. Can this be intended inscriptions, for the “ flabellum muscarium,” used in the early church “ ad muscas a sacrificio abi^endas ?” 3 THE BOOK OF KELLS. wanting. This figure holds a hook in his left hand, which is covered with his robe, and supports the top of it with his naked right hand. It is inclosed within an ornamented border of lacertine animals. The verso of the following leaf is covered with a tesselated ornament in the same style as those of the Gospels of Lindisfarne. The excessive intricacy and delicate execution of this and other similar pages is quite marvellous. The opposite page contains the commencement of the historical part of St. Matthew’s Gospel “ Xpi autem generatio,” magnificently ornamented; the initial letter X being nearly thirteen inches high and nine and a half broad ; the Xpi, in fact, occupy almost the entire page ; every part of the open spaces of the letters, as well as the bodies of the letters themselves, being most minutely ornamented and coloured, the whole forming the most elaborate specimen of caligraphy, which was perhaps ever executed. To this succeeds the text of the Gospel of St. Matthew, written in a fine large hand in a melange of uncial and minuscule characters; a specimen of which, being St. Matthew, v. 4, 5, is given in Plate 2, together with a series of separate letters, in order to complete the alphabet. Each verse or short paragraph is commenced by a finely ornamented, but singularly drawn initial letter, chiefly formed of strange-looking animals, intertwined in the most ingenious and often elegant manner, no two throughout the volume being alike, and several, often many, occurring on each page. Several portions of the latter part of this Gospel are also elaborately ornamented, thus the recto of fo. 114 contains a drawing of Christ seized by two Jews (St. Matthew, xxvi. 30). The Saviour is represented with a beard and curling hair, 7i inches high, the Jews being only 5| inches, the latter wearing mustachios turned up towards the eyes, and pointed beards. r i lie design itself is however puerile. The whole is inclosed between two highly ornamented columns, supporting a rounded arch, the crown of which terminates in two large dogs’ heads. The verso of the same leaf is occupied by the following verse, ‘ Tunc dicit illis ihs omnes,’ &c., written in large square ornamented letters inclosed in ornamental borders, the initial T similar to that represented in Plate 1; the fourth line in Plate 1 being copied from this page, and containing the letters f (di)cit illis ihs om(nes)’, in which the L-like form of the H, the D-like O, and the M, are especially to be noticed. The commencement of the 3Sth verse of the 27th chapter (Tunc cruciferant, &c.), is illuminated in the same manner upon f. 124 recto. The first two words are copied in Plate l. 1 The initial T is formed of a most singular quadruped, vomiting forth horned serpents. The first two words of the 28th chapter are also similarly written. At the beginning of St. Mark’s Gospel (fo. 129, v.) is another representation of the evangelical symbols, copied in Plate 2, but inclosed in a large highly ornamented square, and each accompanied by various singular sceptres, &c. The first few words of this Gospel, Initium evangelii IliuXpi, occupy the entire page (fo. 130, r.), tiie letters IXI being more than a foot high, with all the open spaces minutely ornamented. The 25th verse of the xvtli chapter of this Gospel also occupies an entire page, being written in large square and red letters, inclosed within tesselated ornaments, the head of an angel represented at the top of one side, and his feet at the bottom of the illumination : one of the lines of which, liora ter(tia), is represented in Plate 1. The last page of this Gospel is decorated with two most singular dragon-like monsters, forming lateral diagonal ornaments to the page, an angel and a lion occupying the open side spaces. lhe first page of St. Luke’s Gospel, or rather the single word Qniam, occupies an entire page (fo. 188, r.), the fiist letter, Q, filling nearly two-tliirds of the page; it is of an oblong form, with semicircular projections fiom the middle of each of the four sides, and with a short narrower space terminating in a large circle, extending fiom the middle of the under side of the square. The words f Fuit in diebns Ilerodis,’ as usual, are v litten of a laige size in the following page in square letters but little decorated. The genealogy of Christ (Luke iii.) occupies the pages, every line commencing with the word Qui, (fuit, &c.), ornamented in an endless \ ai icty of foims, witli a pretty arabesque at the end of the chapter across the bottom of fo. 202. ike contio.eisy of Christ (who is here figured with a cruciferous nimbus similar to that of the Virgin in 1 k.tc 1.) and the Deul (Luke iv.) is represented in a most extraordinary drawing, which occupies, with its drcoiated boidci, the entire fo. 202, v. The Devil is represented of small size, extremely attenuated, with two viu 0 s, and is painted black, he however is destitute of the usual caudal appendage : Christ is attended by a nunibci of his disciples on his right side, and two angels hover over his head. Ike fiist 'veise of the 4th and the first verse of the 24tli chapters of this Gospel are also highly ornamented, and occupy sepaiate pages. It is to be observed that the word ‘ Finit’ is not written at the end of e oi tlio 0 i apliy of the "Old cmeifixerant is to be noticed. The Vulgate reading is Tunc crucifixi sunt. 4 SPyrTl Yx VY ' W ^ pfrV] ;r7-// /, ti^v TIIE BOOK OF KELLS. the several Gospels according to the common Irish custom, but at the end of St. Luke’s Gospel is inscribed “ Explicit evangelium secundum lucam Explicit evangelium secundum johannem,” the latter word, showing the mode in which a space at the end of a line was ordinarily filled up by widening the letters, is copied in Plate 1. The four evangelical symbols are again represented at the beginning of St. John’s Gospel, (fo. 290, v.) inclosed in a highly ornamented square framework, and the following leaf bears the portrait of St. John, part of which is copied in the annexed engraving. The nimbus in this drawing is most splendidly orna¬ mented, part only being here copied. The flowing curls of the hair are here particularly to be noticed illustrating (as Mr. Petrie informs me) the ancient habit of the Irish, but the chief object in giving this figure(which will serve as a specimen of the other Evangelists), is to exhibit the pen which is held in the right hand, and which confirms the opinion which I expressed concerning the instru¬ ment in the hand of St. John in the Gospels of MacDurnan. The Saint is represented seated on a large ornamented cushion, and wears sandals on his feet. . The commencement of this Gospel “ In prin- cipio erat verbum et verbum,” occupies the recto of fo. 292, the INP being of gigantic size and conjoined together, in the same style as the begin¬ ning of the other Gospels. The latter part of this Gospel is wanting. The various readings of this MS. are as im¬ portant as its ornamental details. In the first place I lxxay mention that I detected in it the celebrated passage asserting the divinity of the Holy Ghost, which has hitherto been considered as unique in the silver Gospels at Vercelli. It occurs in St. John iii. 5, 6, (fo. 297, v.) and is as follows: “ Quodnatum est ex carne caro est quia de carne natum est et quod natum est ex spu sps est quia ds sps est et ex do natus est.” These words were struck out by the Arians, and Father Simon 1 asserted that there was no Latin MS. in existence in which they were to be found. Matthew i. 1-3. Liber generations ihu Xpi filii david filii abracham. abracham autem genuit isac isac autem genuit iacob iacob autem genuit iudarn et fratres ejus iudas autem genuit fhares et zarad de thamar, fhai’es autem &c.—Ch. i. 16. Joseph virum Marise 2 de qui natus est ills qui vocatur Xps. —Ch. i. 23. Ecce virgo in utero habebit et pariet filium.—Ch. iv. 10. Vade retro Satanas.—Ch. v. 1. Yidens autem ihs turbas ascendit in montem et cum sedisset accesserunt ad eum discipuli eius et aperiens os suuin docebat eos dicens. Beati pauperes spu quoniam ipsorum est regnum ctelorum. Beati mites quoniam ipsi possidebunt terrain. Beati qui lugent nunc quoniam ipsi consulabuntur. Beati qui essuriunt et sitiunt iustitiam quoniam ipsi saturabuntur.—Ch. v. 22. Omnis qui irascitur fratri suo reus erit iudicio.—Ch. vi. 4. Pater tuus qui videt in absconso reddit tibi.—11. Panem nostrum supersubstantialem 3 da nobis hodie.—13. Amen wanting. Ch. viii. 17. Ipse infirmitates nostras accipit et egritudines portavit.—Ch. xix. 1. Et factum est cumsummasset ihs sermones hos transtulit se a galilea et venit in fines iudeae trails iordanem et saecute sunt eum turfite mulLe et curabit eos ibi.—Ch. xxvii. 48. Alius autem accepta lancea 4 pupungit latus ejus et exiit aqua et sangis. John i. 1. In principio erat verbum et verbum erat apud dm et ds erat verbum hoc erat in principle 1 St. Ambrose in iibro de Spiritu Sancto ; Simon, Hist. Crit. du Texte, p. 355 ; Blanchini Vindicia, Roma, 1740, p 373. 5 The diphthong is written with e and a cedilla. 3 Cotidianum in St. Luke’s Gospel. ^ The letter c with three dots occurs after the word “ lancea. THE BOOK OF KELLS. apud dm omnia per ipsum facta sunt et sine ipso factum est nihil quod factum est in ipso vita erat, &c.— Ch. i. 4. Fuit homo misus a do cui nomen erat johannis hie venit in testimonium ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine ut omnes crederent per ilium non erat ille lux sed ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine Erat lux vera venientem in mundum, in mundo erat et mundus per ipsum factus est et mundus eum non cognovit. The following is all the historical evidence I have been able to collect relating to this A olume. Giraldus Cambrensis must evidently have had it before him when he thus described a book of the tour Gospels, at Kildare, in the twelfth century, his description so exactly according with it. “ Liber mirandus inquit tempore Virginis Brigidse ut aiunt Angelo dictante conscriptus, continet T\ . Evangelistarum juxta Hieronymum Concordantiam ubi quot paginse fere sunt tot figurm diversse variisque coloribus distinctissimre. Hie Majestatis Vnltum videas divinitus impressum. Hinc mysticas Evangelistarum formas nunc senas nunc quaternas nunc binas alas habentes. Ilinc aquilam, inde vitulum, hinc hominis faciem, inde leonis aliasque figuras pjene infinitas quas si superficialiter et usuali more minus acute conspexeris, litura potius videbitur quam ligatura nec ullam attendens prorsus subtilitatem ubi nihil tamen prseter subtilitatem. Sin autem ad perspicacius intuendum oculorum aciem invitaveris et longe penitus ad Artis arcana transpenetra- veris tarn delicatas et subtiles, tarn actas et arctas, tam nodosas et vinculatim colligatas, tamque recentibus adhuc coloribus illustratas notare poteris intricaturas ut vere luec omnia Angelica potius quam humana diligentia jam asseveraveris esse composita. Haec equidem quanto frequentius et diligentius intueor semper quasi novis obstupeo, semperque magis ac magis admiranda conspicio, nec Apelles ipse similia efficere posset et manu potius non mortali efformatae ac depictse viderentur.” 1 The Codex appears to be the identical volume alluded to in the Annals of the IV Masters in the Records of the Church of Kells in the year 1006:—Soisccel mor Cholaimcille do dubhgoid issin oidhche as in Erdomh iartharach an Doimhliacc moir Cenannsa Prim mind iartair Domhain ar aoi an chumtaigh daenda *] a foghbhail dia fichetadh for dibh miosaibhiar ngaitt dhe a oir“j foid thairis 11 —i.e. “ Evangelium Magnum Columhce Ecclesiarum furto ablatum nocte ex sacra domo inferiori Cathedralis magni Kellensis Prsecipua reliquia occidentalis mundi ad juramenta prsestanda fuit ista contra perjuria hominum et inventum est sub cespitibus post duos menses postquam furto ablatum esset ejus aurum et cespite involutum.” Dr. O’Conor, who by some strange oversight was unaware of the existence of this magnificent volume, has misapplied this passage to a smaller copy of the Gospels also preserved in Trinity College, Dublin, reported to have been written by St. Columba himself. Archbishop Usher had evidently both these MSS. before him when he says of the monastery of Durrow “ inter cujus Evangeliorum Codex vetustissimus asservabatur quem ipsius Columbse fuisse monachi dictitabant ex quo et non minoris antiquitatis altero eidem Columbte assignato quem in urbe Kelles sive Kcnlis dicta Midenses sacrum habent.” Lhuyd also describes this volume as being “ miri operis et antiquitatis qui liber Colum Kill vulgo dicebatur. 112 It only remains to mention that from a comparison of this volume with the Gospels of Lindisfarne (known to have been written at the close of the seventh century), and bearing in mind that Lindisfarne was colonised by the Monks of Iona, or Icolumkille, in 634, only forty years after the death of Columbkill himself, there seems to be no good reason for doubting that this volume might have belonged to that celebrated Saint. 1 Giralcl. Topogr. Ilibern. Francof. fol. 1G08, Dist. 2, p. 730. 2 Archceolog. Oxford, fol. 1707, p. 43G and 432. 6 ■< 3 . IRISH IRISH MANUSCRIPTS. EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. No. 1. Drawing- of the Crucifixion; and No. 2. Commencement of the Canticle “ Benedicite omnia opera ,” from the Psalter at St. John’s Coll., Cambridge. No. 3. Commencement of the 33rd Psalm, from the Cottonian MS., Galba, A. 5. No. 4. Commencement of the Gospel of St. Mark; No. 5. Entry concerning the scribe Maelbrigte; and No. 6. Drawing of the Lion of St. Mark, from the Harleian Gospels, No. 1802. No. 7. The interpolated Passage in Matth. xxvii. 49 ; and No. 8. The words “ Finit AuT(en) Finit Am(en), at the end of the Harleian Gospels, No. 1023. ^ HE famous Beth-luis-nion, upon which the Irish pride themselves so highly, as affording a proof that they possessed the use of letters before their conversion to Christianity, derives its name from the three first letters of their alphabet, b, 1 and n; the names of these, and indeed of all their letters, being also those of different trees, which are of common occurrence in Ireland; and upon the bark of which, it is asserted, that they were accustomed to write. This alphabet differs from those of all other modern nations, in the names, order, number, and power of its letters; and consists of only eighteen letters, thus agreeing with the most ancient Phoenician, Pelasgic, 1 Greek and Roman alphabets. The Irish alphabet consists of the following letters, arranged Roman-wise: Abcbepjhiirpuoppfcu And although in writing Latin Theological MSS. they used the other Latin letters, they rejected, and still reject them to this day, from their own alphabet. The famous scene in the Pecnulus of Plautus, (act v. sc. 1), wherein Hanno utters a triplicate soliloquy in the Punic, Lybian, and Latin languages, and which has ever excited, since the revival of literature, the attention of the learned, received, during the last century, an additional interest, in consequence of an attempt made by Colonel Yallancey, the Irish antiquary, to explain the passage, on the principle of a supposed affinity between the Punic and Irish languages. The following are two of the verses contrasted with each other in these two languages : Punic. Irish. Bythlym mothym noctotbii nelechanti dasmaohon Beth liom ! mo thime noctaithe nielach an ti daisic mac coinne Yssidele brym tyfel yth chylys chon tern liphul. Is i de leabhraim tafach leith chilis con teampluibh ulla. This is a most striking coincidence ; but the elaborate memoir on this passage by the Rev. J. Hamilton has fully proved the “ affinity, or rather identity, of the Punic with the Hebrew and the Cognate dialects ;* and that the eleven Latin verses which Plautus gives at the end of the Lybian lines, comprise a translation of the Punic ones. It has indeed been asserted by Yallancey (Irish Grammar, 2nd Edit., p. 4), that the Druids employed the Ogham characters, which the Irish retained for writing in cipher or secret, and which consist of lines placed in various positions, but chiefly diagonally or obliquely, in connexion with a principal or horizontal line; and indeed the several Ogham alphabets, collected by Astle (Plate XXXI.), commence with the letters b (bacht), 1 (lacht), f (fecht), s (secht), and n (neclit). and which might thence be assumed to be the characters of the Beth-luis-nion; but no such Druidical writings have ever been seen either by Vallancey or others, nor do the more sober Irish antiquarians consider the Oghams 3 as an ancient invention. 1 On the summit of Tory Hill, or Hill of the Sun, is a circular druidical erection, on one of the stones of which is inscribed Beli Diuose, in ancient Pelasgic letters (which in Britain were only known to the Druids), proving that the Sun, worshiped under the name of Beal, was also there known under the appellation Diunosos. Camden, p. 303; Wood in Trans. Royal Irish Acad., vol. xiii. p. 58. 1 2 Trans. Royal Irish Acad., vol. xviii. Part 1. 3 Vallancey says that authors are at a loss for the derivation of the word Ogham, which occurs in no Irish dictionary. It has since been suggested that the word was derived from the name of the Gallic or Celtic God of Eloquence, Ogmius, as we learn from Lucian, (Piet. Hist. Engl. i. p. 120.) I find, however, that Ogmius was the Celtic IRISH MANUSCRIPTS. The fate, and indeed even the existence, of the Beth-luis-nion 1 as a distinct and written alphabet, is enveloped in darkness, for no inscriptions nor coins have hitherto been found in Ireland executed previous to the coming of the Romans into Britain; and, however it may please the natural pride of the Irish, to affirm that the Romans had no intercourse with Ireland, it seems unquestionable that their acquaintance with the only letters which they can be proved to have ever used, and their knowledge of the Christian religion, were contemporary; and were derived, either immediately or indirectly, from the Roman missionaries, who in the earliest ages of Christianity (probably long before the mission of St. Patrick), diffused a knowledge of the latter through these islands. Thus, Mr. Petrie argues, that it is difficult, if not impossible, to conceive how the minute and apparently accurate accounts found in various MSS. of the names and localities of the Atticotic tribes of Ireland, in the first century, could have been preserved, without coming to the conclusion, that they had been committed to writing in some work, whatever may have been its original name, within a century or two of the times to which they relate. 2 And limes, who on many other points connected with the asserted antiquities of Ireland was so sceptical, says, that “ It may have very well happened, that some of the Irish before the time [even before the introduction of Christianity into Ireland], passing over to Britain, or other parts of the Roman Empire, where the use of letters was common, might have learned to read and write.” 3 The agreement which exists between the early state of the Roman alphabet and that of the Irish, moreover, appears sufficient to prove that it was from the Romans that the Irish received their letters; thus, Mr. Wood informs us, that— By the ancient Romans,— By the ancient Irish,— C was used for G. CC was used for G. D “ “ T. D “ “ T. F, B, and V. commutable. CY pronounced like C for Q. No J. P and B, commutable. II often omitted. CS, used for A, In all Irish words derived from Latin words, beginning; with V, F is used for V ; but in pure Irish words, BH “ *• V. By the Irish, C. No J. P and B, commutable. II, used only as an aspirate. And sometimes by the Irish. As to the form of the letters of the Irish, as they appear in the most ancient MSS., there is no reason for doubting that they were not derived from the Romans. 4 It is true that both the large round-hand species of writing, which O’Conor regarded as the ancient “unadulterated” Irish hand (as it appears in the Gospels of Lindisfarne and St. Chad, St. Columba’s, at Dublin, and the Missal of Columbanus, at Milan, &c.), anti the smaller narrow hand, which Sir W. Betham calls the “pure Irish character” (as it appears in the Leabhar Dimtna, Book of Armagh, and Gospels of Mac Durnan, &c.) are all minuscule characters; the former bordering upon the round uncial characters, and the latter on the cursive. If, therefore, we were to adopt the opinion so long prevalent, that the Romans were unacquainted with minuscule writing, 5 we must regard the Irish characters as the genuine productions of the Irish school, or adopt the opinion of others, that they received them from the Anglo-Saxons, with whose writings they bear so complete an identity. The fact, however, of the existence name of Hercules. (Mercure de France, 1756, vol. ii. p. 112.) Would it not be more in accordance with the views of many Irish antiquaries to consider the name as derived from Ogga, the Phueuicean surname of Minerva?—Cliompre, Diet. abr. Fabl. Paris, 1836, p. 329. 1 Innes, indeed, delivers it as his opinion, that the Beth-luis-nion was nothing but an invention of the Irish Seanacliies, who since they received the use of letters, put the Latin alphabet into a new arbitrary order, and assigned to each the name of some tree, (Essay on the Antiquities of Scotland and Ireland, p. 446); but to this it may be replied, in the words of Moore, that “ if they had letters first from St. Patrick, would they have diverted from the forms of the letters ? would they have altered the order ? would they have sunk seven letters? for in every country they have increased rather than diminished the number of letters.” Moore’s History of Ireland, vol. i. (in Lardner’s Cab. Cycl.) p. 55. If the Phoenician theory of Sir W. Betham (see his Etruria Celtica, 2 v. 8vo. 1842) and others be ad¬ mitted, it might be assumed that the Irish, on the introduction of the Christian religion and Roman letters, adopted only so many of the 2 latter as were equivalent to those which they had received from the Phoenicians. It must, h iwever, be borne in mind, that several of the letters not found in the Irish alphabet (as k, q, v) occur in the Phoenician, Pelasgic, Punic, Etruscan, and most ancient Greek and Roman alphabets. 2 Trans. Royal Acad, of Ireland, xviii., Part ii., p. 46. 3 Essay on the Antiquities of Scotland and Ireland; and see Sir J. AVare’s Antiquities of Ireland, Edit. Harris, vol. ii. passim, and Astle on the Origin of Writing, pp 115—123. (2nd Edit.) 4 Moore implies the reverse when he says, that the letters adapted by them after the coming of St. Patrick, though differing from the Roman in number, order, and power, bear a considerable degree of resemblance to them in shape. Hist, of Ireland, p. 65. 6 Even Casley was of this opinion, observing (Cat. reg. MS., p. vii.) that “ a small alphabet seems to have been first contrived in the seventh century,” and that “ in Jerome’s time there were no other characters made use of for writing but capitals.” IRISH MANUSCRIPTS. amongst the Romans both of minuscule and cursive characters, almost identical in form with those of the Irish, has been so fully proved by the Benedictines, 1 that it is as unreasonable to deny that these characters are derived from the Romans, as to assert, with O’Conor, that those Irish MSS. only which are written in the large round-hand of the Gospels of Lindisfarne, are to be regarded as the most ancient. It is indeed no more to be supposed that the Irish scribes would not, for dispatch, employ a smaller and more cursive character, than that the Romans in their ordinary affairs, would waste the time which writing in capitals or uncials would require. At the time when, in writing the article upon the Gospels of Mac Durnan, I suggested the certainty that numbers of Irish MSS. of great antiquity were still in existence, “not only in the unexamined stores of our own country, but especially in the library of those places abroad where they (the Irish Missionaries) established themselves,” I little supposed that within so short a period I should be able, in the pages of this work, to afford ample evidence of the truth of the remark. It may therefore be easily imagined with what pleasure 1 learned? not only that in the Monastery of St. Gall, in Switzerland (founded by, and named after, one of the Irish Missionaries of the seventh century), are still preserved a number of invaluable MSS. of the Irish school, but that, by the exertions of the Record Commission, fac-similes of many of them, both illuminated and plain, have been obtained, and are now in the custody of the Master of the Rolls. It was with still greater pleasure that I discovered amongst the MSS. in the Library of St. John’s College, Cambridge, a Latin Psalter, executed as it appears to me, unquestionably to have been, in Ireland ; and which, from the style of the writing and illuminations, may, I think without doubt, be referred to the eighth or ninth century. In the catalogue which has recently been published of portion of the MSS. of this College, it is described under the No. C. 9, and merely as a Psalter written about the year 800, very much glossed about the year 1200. It is a handsome volume, of the quarto size, containing the Psalter, Canticles, &c., the text written in a semi-uncial or rounded minuscule kind of hand, of which the specimen, No. 2, in the accompanying plate will serve as a specimen. It is the commencement of one of the Canticles which the Church of England has retained in her Service, and is to be read, “ Benedicite omnia opera do/ami d omimnn hymmim dicite et super exaltate euw in sec?/la.”—the letters printed italics being omitted. The ornamental initial is intended for a minuscule b formed into a capital, and is an example of the initials throughout the volume. It will be observed that the mark of contraction of the word opera is placed beneath the line attached to the tail of the p ; that the y in the word Z/ymnuw is of a very singular form, although not uncommon in Irish and Anglo-Saxon MSS. 2 The reading of this specimen will also be seen to differ from the ordinary version, which runs as follows: “ Benedicite omnia opera Domini Domino , laudnte et super exaltate eum in ssecula.” The word et wall be seen to be written in the form in which it appears in our oldest Anglo-Saxon Codices. 3 The hand in which this MS. is written accords well with its presumed antiquity; since, although it more nearly resembles that of the Gospels of St. Chad, at Lichfield, of the Cottonian Gospels, Nero D. IV., and those at Corpus Cliristi College, Cambridge, (all figured by Astle,) than any other MS. hitherto described, in the roundness of its letters, the e not elevated above the line, the b-form of the d—the Roman capital form of the r and s; yet the n shape of the n, the straight top of the second stroke of the a, and the numerous contrac¬ tions, bespeak a somevdiat more recent date. The mode in which the slender stroke of x is divided is also worthy of observation. It is, however, in its illuminations that this MS. offers the greatest interest to the archaeologist, as it possesses several miniatures drawn in a style which, for singularity and rudeness, is not to be exceeded by that 1 See especially the 29th Plate in the 2d volume of the N. Tr. de Diplom., of itself sufficient to have rendered unnecessary all Mr. Ottley’s laborious arguments on this subject. 2 The Benedictines, in their four most surprising plates of general Alphabets, N. Tr. de Dipl., vol. ii., pi. 20—23, have not represented above half a dozen specimens of y thus formed, and these chiefly Gallican or Merovingian. Some idea may be formed of the laborious nature of these four plates, when it is stated that there are no fewer than 464 different figures of the letter y, whilst of other and more commonly used letters the number of specimens given is more than trebled. 3 The contraction Sc, used for the word “ and” at the present day, will at once be perceived from this specimen to be no other than the two letters e and t joined together, as in the Minuscule Roman and Anglo- Saxon manuscripts, the loop at the top of the Sc being, in fact, the elevated closed top of the e. IRISH MANUSCRIPTS. of the drawings of the most uncultivated nations. It was not without some hesitation that I could bring myself to believe that the drawing represented in the accompanying Plate, numbered 1, was intended for a delineation of the Crucifixion of our Saviour. The extended arms, the sponge, and spear, hold by the grotesque objects at the sides of the chief figure, and the angel above the head of the latter, leave no room to doubt that this is really the case. This drawing is worthy indeed of particular notice, as it is unquestionably the most ancient specimen of Irish pictorial composition which has hitherto been given to the public, or indeed, as far as I can learn, which exists in this country. The large size of the principal figure was intended to indicate that a kind of respect was shown to it. 1 The extraordinary propensity of the Irish school for marginal rows of red dots, and for twisting every possible thing into interlaced and ornamental patterns, will be evident from this drawing of our Saviour’s habiliments, eyes, ears, hair, &c.; whilst the singular acuteness of the thumbs in all the figures—-the grotesque profiles of the soldiers, 2 and the chequered dresses of all the figures, will not fail to create a smile at that poverty of pictorial art, which was able only to delineate the most solemn event which the world has hitherto witnessed, in a manner so liable to be regarded almost as a burlesque. In the original, this and the other miniatures are surrounded by borders, in which we see the singularly intricate diagonal Chinese-like patterns, such as occur in the Leabhar Dimma, the Duke of Buckingham’s Gospel of St. John, and especially in the Lambeth Gospels of Mac Durnan, in which last, however, these patterns are far more intricate than in any other I have hitherto seen I doubted, at first, whether the two figures at the sides of the Saviour’s head were not intended for the two thieves, but I am now able to state that they are also intended for angels; on the authority, first, of an elaborately carved ancient cross found at St. Patrick’s, County Louth, 3 in which the Crucifixion is treated precisely in the same manner; and, second, of a fac-simile of one of the St. Gall manuscripts, obtained by the Record Commission, in which we have also the same general design, but far superior in point of drawing. The specimen numbered 3 in the accompanying plate is taken from a small Cottonian manuscript, which "was almost consumed in the deplorable fire by which so many of the choice manuscripts of that collection were destroyed. It is marked Galba A. 5 ; and, in Smith’s and Planta’s catalogues, is recorded to have formerly belonged to King Orwin. 4 It is written in a very cramped minuscule hand, full of contractions, 5 and (although it is very difficult to determine the date of Irish manuscripts) cannot, in my opinion, be older than the eleventh or twelfth century. 6 The initial letters throughout are ornamented in the style of the one prefixed to my fac-simile, which is also a minuscule b enlarged into a capital. The passage consists of the first four verses of the 33rd Psalm, and is to read as follows: “Benedicam domme 7 in omni tempore sempev laus ejus a in ore meo. In dornno laudabitwr affiwa men, audiant mansweti et 9 laetewtttr. Magnificate Dommwm mecwm et exaltemws 10 no men ejus in idipst/w. Exq?/isivi Ttomiwwn et exaudivit me et ex omnibus tribulationibws 11 meis eripuit me.” In addition to the peculiarities mentioned in the foot-notes, it will be sufficient to direct notice to the forms of the r in the words ore in the first and eripuit in the fifth line, to the elongated terminal i in the word mansueti in the second line, and to its small size in the middle of the word Exqsivi in the fourth line, and to the form of the q in the same word, to the form of the a in the word magnificate, to the divided slender line of the x, and to the occasionally elevated e. Ihe lac-similes numbered 4, 5, and G, are taken from a MS. in the Harleian Collection (Brit. Mus. No. 1S02), which has given rise to a very extended discussion; but which may now be satisfactorily regarded as having been written in the year 1138, and consequently as of great value in affording the means of determining the character of contemporary Irish MSS. 1 So also in the portrait of Dunstnn, drawn by himself, kneeling- at the side of our Saviour, (Bodl. MS. N. E. D. 11. 19); the latter is represented of so large a size compared to the former, that Dr. Dibdin was led to think that the former was in the back-ground . Other examples of this practice are needless. 2 A still more grotesque treatment of the human profile will be given in the illustrations from the Irish Gospels of IVlac Regol, preserved in the Bodleian Library. 3 Engraved in Britton’s Dictionary of Ancient Architecture, in which great doubts are expressed as to its age, although it is stated to be most probably of the twelfth century. I apprehend this Manuscript will go far to prove it to be several hundred years older. 4 4 I find no record of any Irish king of this name in O’Conor’s great work. 5 A fac-simile of another portion of this Manuscript was given by Casley in the Catalogue of the Royal MSS. 6 Casley, 110 years since, described this Manuscript as written in an Irish hand 900 years old. 7 For Dominum. 8 Observe the singular contraction used for this word. 9 Contracted by q throughout. 10 The terminal us in this and other words in the specimen is con¬ tracted by a mark, as usual, something like a tailed z. 11 Mis-spelt thubulationibus. IRISH MANUSCRIPTS. It is a small Codex, measuring 6^ inches by 5, written upon parchment, consisting “ of the four Evangelists, written in the Irish character, by Brigidianus, or Maol Brighte, for the use of Gilla, Coarb or Vicar of the Church of St. Patrick, and supposed by Father Simon, 1 to be 800 years old; though Mr. Wanley will not allow it an earlier date than the 12th century. But whatever difficulties may have arisen in ascertaining the exact date of this curious MS., it is on all hands acknowledged to be one of the most authentic copies of the Latin Gospels which the Irish have ever sent out of their island. It also contains St. Jerome’s Prologue of the Canons of the four Gospels, and explanation of such Hebrew and Syriac names as occur in the Gospels; a Hebrew, Latin, and Irish vocabulary, and the usual prefaces; an interlineary Gloss, and a Catena Patrum. The singularity of this MS. has induced Mr. Wanley to favour us in the Catalogue with a very accurate account of it; and in a laborious and judicious criticism to fix its true age, and explode the opinions of Father Simon, as well in regard thereto as to the characters in which it is written.” 2 The volume commences with the ordinary Prologue, addressed to Pope Damasus by St. Jerome, beginning “ Novum opus facere me cogis,”—followed by the Argument of St. Matthew’s Gospel. Then follows the genealogy of Christ (being the commencement of St. Matthew’s Gospel) wfith notes quite distinct from the historical part of the Gospel, the commencement of the latter part —“ Christi autem generatio”—being illuminated like the headings of the other Gospels. This is not an unusual plan in other ancient copies of the Gospels written in Ireland. Then follow the Prologues of the other Gospels, with the Glossary and explanation of the Hebrew names, Notes from the Fathers, the Comparison of the Apostles to the Elements, &c., and some verses on the Twelve Apostles. To these succeed the text of the four Gospels, with a Catena Patrum, and an irregular interlineary Gloss; those of St. Mark and St. Luke being preceded by a very rude figure of a lion (“ made by one who never saw the creature,” as Wanley quaintly remarks), and of a bull. In one or two places the name of St. Luke is written Lucanus, according to the ancient custom. The initial letters of each Gospel are illuminated in the manner usual in the later Irish MSS., of which the specimen No. 4 will serve as an example. The letters Xpi at the beginning of the historical portion of St. Matthew’s Gospel are larger than the other initials, the X exhibiting a very coarsely drawn and coloured interlaced pattern, terminating in knots and dogs’ heads. The lion of St. Mark (fol. 60, v.), (of which I have given a fac-simile, numbered 6) and the bull of St. Luke (fol. 86, v.), are surrounded by an ornamented border, in which the intricate diagonal patterns of the Irish school are rather loosely drawn. The fac-simile No. 4 (being the commencement of the Gospel of St. Mark) is to be read as follows: u Kfltiumeuan^luiKu xpi * fzlii dei s icut scriptum est in issaia prophetfa Ecce mitto angelum rae«m zute faciew tuam qui preparabit viam tuam Vox clamantis in deserto parate viam domini rectas facite semitas ejus. Fuit joliamqs in deserto babtizans. Here (as well as in the first word of St. John’s Gospel, “ In”) we have the first two letters conjoined, as in the Gospels of MacDurnan; the next letter, I, is, however, distinct and fantastically drawn : the remainder of the line are smaller capitals (such as are used for the commencement of the verses), gradually degenerating into minuscules. They are not materially different from the alphabet of capitals given in my second Plate of Mae Durnan’s Gospels. The remainder of the specimen is written in a comparatively distinct minuscule character, resembling ordinary Anglo-Saxon. The mode of contraction of the words, “sicut” and “est,” in the second line, is worthy of notice; as is also the orthography of the words, “issaia, 1 for Isaiah, “johannis,’ ’ subsequently corrected to joliannes, and “ babtizans;” and also the forms of several of the letters—as the x, in the first line; the a and q, in the fourth line; and the long i and the z, in the last word. 1 Bibliotheca Critica, tom. 1, p. 271. Bishop Nicholson’s Preface to his “ Irish Historical Library,’' pp. 11,12. 2 Preface to the Harleian Catalogue, vol. i., p. 12 ; and see also 3 The word, thus written and uncorrected, occurs in fol. 128. 5 IRISH MANUSCRIPTS. The version in which this MS. is written will be perceived by the following extracts :— Matt. vi. verse 11, “ Panem nostrum supersubstantialem da nobis hodie.” Matt. xix. 1 ., “Et factum est cum consummasset jhs sermones istos migravit a Galilea et venit in fines Judte trans Jordanum, et secutie sunt eum turbse multse et curavit eos ibi,” as in the Vulgate. Matt, xxvii. after v. 49 , a space of a line and a half erased, in which was written the interpolated passage copied in my specimen, No. some of the words being still partially visible. John i. 1 _“In principio erat verbum, et verbum erat apud deum, et deus erat verbum, hoc erat in prin- cipio apud deum : omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil quod factum est, in eo vita est et vita erat, (in ipso added afterwards), lux hominum et lux in tenebris lucet et tenebrse earn non com- prehen derun t.” John xxii. 21 —“ Dominc hie autem 1 quid, dicit ei ills sic e‘ volo manere donee venia quid ad te tu me sequere; exiit ergo sermo iste int fres quia discipul ille n mori-r. ru 2 s sic eum volo manere donee venia. Hie est discipulus,” &c. The letters o and u are sometimes confounded together, as in the words parabula and diabulus. The aspirate H at the beginning or even in the middle of a word is commonly expressed thus h , elevated above the line, a peculiarity which, although not noticed by Mabillon, Mr. Wanley has shown 3 was the use of almost all the ancient Latin grammarians, as Isidore of Sevil, Aulus Gellius, and Quinctilian; and hence Mr. Wanley considers that it was from the Romans that the Irish received this character . 4 * This Manuscript in the comments and glosses, with which it is crowded between the lines and in every vacant space, exhibits some of the allegorical and symbolical ideas which were so common in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries; for instance, at the head of the Evangelists, the reason which is given that they are four in number is, that they represent one church, which is to be extended over the four quarters of the world. The Evangelists themselves are compared to four fluids—St. Matthew, to honey (“ Matthseus, melli”); St. Mark, to wine (“ Marcus, vino”) ; St. Luke, to milk (“ Lucas, lacti”) ; and St. John, to oil (“Johannes, oleo”) ;— and various mystical reasons are then given for these similitudes. So, also, they are referred to the four elements and the four seasons of the year. Some of the glosses are ascribed to Manchanus, au Irish waiter of the middle of the seventh century , 3 one of which, on the subject of Transubstantiation, is as follows (fol. 54):—“ Primo quaeritur si haec assumptio Panis et Calicis, figura, an historia, an sensus ? Figura est: fractio enim panis figurat Corpus ejus fractum a militibus in cruce et in omnibus sanctis iteratur Passio ejus dum patiuntur a Cristo usque ad finem mundi, sed tamen non ut fiebant figurae legis quae ccssavcrunt; haec vero figura codidie iteratur.” But the entries at the foot of the different Gospels, written by the scribe by wdiom the volume w r as copied, form the most interesting particulars in an archaeological point of view. At the end of St. Matthew, the following is inscribed (fol. 60) :— ($>p oo m^elbpijce q pcpibpc ljc l|bftu 6 mop 05 mm Copmc me CApcbAij X>o m^pbAO o I.ApOelbAcb -b* bp|Ap) Meaning, “ Pray for Moelbrigte, who wrote this book. Great was the crime when Cormac Mac Carthy w r as slain by Tardelvach O’Brian.” At the end of St. Mark, the first of these lines is repeated, as it is also at the end of St. Luke, with an addition, as copied in my specimen No. 5,— (£>p Oo m*elbpi 5 ce q pebpe b L in xxvm anno, ecAt|p puAC in 6 ApA bl|<\O.Ai ] qpj 5oe cIjaij mcqp pep A hich means, “ Pray for Moelbrigte, who wrote this book in the twenty-eighth year of his age and in the second year after the building of the great house;” but at tire end of St. John’s Gospel there is a much longer entry 1 Contracted in the ordinary Irish and Anglo-Saxon manner. 2 “ Dix ei ihc h morit,” is added by a later hand in the margin. 3 Ilickes Thes. (Catal. Libr. Sept.),p. 15C. 4 The Greeks also used this for the aspirate, and this for the soft form of H, and it has been suggested that it was from the union of these two forms that the II was produced. G 5 See Ware de Scriptor. Hibern. Dubl. 1689, lib. 1, p. 27 ; O’Sulle- van’s Histor. Cathol. Ibern. Compend. Usher Brit. Eccles. Antiq. Dubl. 1639, p. 864; and the References to MSS. given by Wanley, loc. cit. 6 The words “ q. scribsit lie libru,” being in Latin. IRISH MANUSCRIPTS. (copied in fac-simile by O’Conor in the first volume of his great work),, containing a great variety of histo¬ rical particulars, some of which induced Mr. Toland to infer that the volume w r as written in the year 908 ; but which led Mr. Conry (whose opinion was confirmed by many circumstances collected by Wanlev) to state that it was copied about the year 1140, being the same year wherein Cormac Mac Carthay was slain by Turlough O’Briain, the second year after the building of the great house, when Donchad O’Kervall was King of Argiall; Murchad the son of Neil, son of O’Loglilin, was King of Olichia; Cunlad O’Connor, King of Ulidia; Mur- cliad the son of Malacliias, King of Metli; Dermot Mac Morough, the King of Leinster ; Connor O’Brian, the King of Munster; Tirlough O’Connor, King of Connaught; and Gilla, the son of Liach, a dignitary of the Cathedral Church of Armagh. The determination of this date is a question of great interest, as it will not only afford the means of comparison, as to the age of contemporary Irish MSS., but will also serve indirectly to confirm the histories preserved in some of their Annals. Its solution accordingly exercised the researches of Mr. Wanley and his friends to a very considerable extent, as will be seen in the second Volume of the Catalogue of the Ilarleian MSS.; and a similar date has again been assigned to the MS. by Dr. O’Conor 1 from the concurrence of the historical particulars above inserted, which will apply to no other year than a.d. 1138. The specimens numbered 7 and 8 are copied from the Ilarleian IMS., 1023, in the British Museum, which is a small quarto Volume, containing the Four Gospels in Latin, but written in strong-set Irish minuscule characters, and in the Vulgate version, with, however, various readings. The greater portion of St. Matthew’s Gospel is wanting; at the end of which are some verses upon our Saviour, commencing— “ Sola divina salvandus sum Medicina.” Then follow the Gospels of St. Mark, Luke, and John, preceded by the ordinary Prologues, and by rude delineations of the Lion of St. Mark and the Eagle of St. John. The MS. also contains some short questions respecting Eve, &c., probably from Alcuin; a Table of Succession of the forty-two Egyptian Kings, called Pharaohs; some Verses on the books of both the Old and New Testaments; and the Names of the Seven Sleepers. The initial letters of each Gospel are in the same style as, but much less elaborately ornamented than in the preceding MS. The specimen No. *], from St. Matthew, chapter v., is to be read as follows:— “ Ceteri vero dicebant sine videamws an veniat helias liberare eum. Alms autem 8 accepta lancea pupugit lattts ejus et exiit aqua et sanguis, ilis autem iterxxm damans voce magna emisit spm7?tm.” The interpolated passage in this extract (“ Alius—sanguis”) occurs in most of the copies of the Gospels written in Ireland. The ordinary Irish contractions of us at the end of the words videamus, alius, and latus, and of the words et, autem, and ejus, occur in this extract. The name Johannes is correctly spelt; and the passage, John xxi. v. 21—23, is as follows:—“Dne hie autem qid. dt eijhs sic ego e volo manere donee venia qd ad te tu me seqre. Exivit “ sermo iste it fratres q discipulus ille n morit et n dix ei ihs n morit § sic e volo manere donee venia. Hie est discipulus,” &c. Eacli of the Gospels is terminated by the usual—“ Finit, Amen ; finit, Amen,” as copied in the specimen No. 8. 1 Script, rer. Hibern. vet., vol. i., prol. p. cxlv. 2 Written in the ordinary Irish contraction. • 3 BBSS IRISH BIBLICAL MSS.—PLATE II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. 1. Commencement of the Gospel of St. Matthew and part of the beginning of St. John’s Gospel, from the Gospels of St. Columba. 2. Commencement of the hymn of St, Patrick and part of the Magnificat, from the Liber Hymnorum, Trin. Coll., Dublin. 3. St. Luke VI, 23, 24, from Archbishop Usher’s Gospels. 4. St. Luke XI, 39, 40, from the Antehieronymian Gospels of Trin. Coll. Dublin. 5. Commencement of St. Mark’s Gospel, from fragments found with the Gospels of St. Mulling. 6. The Lord’s Prayer, and other fac-similes from the Gospels of St. Mulling. 7. Beginning of the genealogical and historical portions of St. Matthew’s Gospel, and other fac-similes from the Leabhar Dimma. 8. Commencement of the 90th (91st) Psalm, from the Psalter of the Caah. 9. Part of the heading of the Apocalypse ; and 10. The Lord’s Prayer, from the Book of Armagh. series of manuscripts from which the fac-similes in the accompanying plate have been copied (in conjunction with the Book of Kells), constitute a series of actual proofs, still preserved in Ireland , of the existence of religion and a national school of art in that country, at a period when the rest of Europe was almost involved in mental darkness; and I believe I may fairly affirm that a more varied series of illustrations, or one constituting a more valuable selection of materials towards the history of writing in any individual country, has rarely been exhibited in a single plate. The majority of these MSS. are preserved in Trinity College, Dublin; and it is by the kind permission of the Rev. Dr. Todd that I am enabled to add this series to the preceding plate of Irish MSS., although in point of age the MSS. now under notice have greatly the precedence over those contained in the former plate. The earliest of these MSS. is represented in No. 4, which closely agrees in its characters with various Gallican and Merovingian MSS. of the sixth and seventh centuries, given by the Benedictines. This MS. is in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, and contains an Antehieronymian version of the Gospels, written upon leaves of vellum, of a small quarto size, and which require careful mounting and editing. They are destitute of illumination, except that on one page there is a plain representation of a cross, accompanied by the Greek letters A and (o . The specimen No. 4 consists of part of the 39th and 40tli verses of the eleventh chapter of St. Luke, “ Quod autem intus est vestrum plenum est rapina et iniquitate; stulti nonne qni fecit quod foris est,” &c. The indistinctness of the words, the want of contractions, and the form of many of the letters (as e, n, r, s, &c.) are especially to be noticed in this MS.; and it is on this account that the really Irish origin of the MS. may perhaps be questioned. The specimen No. 3, in the short thick character of the writing, somewhat approaches the former; but the peculiar form of several of the letters, as the g, r, d, &c., and the numerous contractions, bespeak the Hibernian School. This specimen is copied from a very ancient MS., preserved in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, and which belonged to Archbishop Usher; it measures 9i inches by 7, with 26 lines in a page; the writing is rude, and destitute of patches of red colour, so common in Irish MSS. The words and often the syllables are broken at the end of the lines. The IMS. is very imperfect, containing only 86 leaves, the vellum being thick and coarse, almost resembling horn. The first three words of St. Matthew’s Gospel (“ Xpi autem gene —ratio”), and the “ Initum eua (ngelii)” of St. Mark, are represented of a large size (each occupying an entire page, in the style of the Gospels of MacRegol and St. Chad), but far more rudely designed, figures of the Saints being introduced into the body of the ornamental page, each being about three inches in height, and drawn nearly in the style of those in the gospels of MacDurnan. The headings of the other Gospels are wanting. The specimen of the text in No. 3, is copied from St. Luke vi. 23, 24. “ Gaudete et exultate in ilia die Ecce enim 1 merces vestra multain coelo szecundmn hcec etmn facebant profetis patres eorum veruwtr/men vie vobis divitibws (qui habetis consulationem vestram).” This MS. abounds in false orthography, as “ profetis—discendiens—vidians—diciens—essuriunt— langoribus habundaverit—liirascitur—nissi—johannis—pussillis— farisseorum—relincimus—puplicani,” &c. Of the text, the following passages are specimens:—Ecce virgo in utero liabebit—onmis qui liirascitur fratri suo reus &c. The interpolated passage, St. Matthew xxvii. v. 48, is contained in this MS. 1 The words printed in italics are singularly contracted in this MS. 1 IRISH BIBLICAL MSS.—PLATE II. The specimen, No. 1 , is copied from a MS. of the four Gospels also preserved at Trinity College, Dublin, written, as is asserted, in an entry in the MS. by St. Golumbkille himself, in the space of twelve days. It consists of 248 leaves of vellum, 9 | by 6 inches in size, with 25 lines in a page. At the commencement of the volume, and preceding each of the four Gospels, are pages entirely covered with tessellated interlaced ornaments, as in the Book of Kells, &c., the pattern being, however, much larger than in any other MS. which I have examined. Each Gospel is also preceded by a drawing of the symbolical animal of the several Evangelists, inclosed within an ornamental border, occupying the entire page, the four symbols being also represented together in a separate page at the beginning of the book. These drawings are probably thfe rudest and most grotesque delineations of the sacred symbols ever executed; the latter are copied in the wood-cut at the end of this article. The Epistle of Jerome to Damasus (Novum opus, &c.), a series of explanations of Hebrew names, the Eusebian canons (not inclosed within ornamented columns), the “ breves causae” of the Evangelists, and a page of Irish concerning St. Columblcille, occupy the first thirteen leaves ; the remainder of the volume being occupied with the Gospels. The commencement of the Epistle of St. Jerome, and of the Gospels, “ Liber generator's ihu xpi filii dauid filii abracha,” “ Xpi autem generatio,” “ Initium evangelii iliu xpi,” “ Quoniam quidam mu lti_ ’’ “ Euit in diebus herodis,” and “ In principio erat verbum et verbum erat apud dm,” are written in large ornamented letters, of which my specimen No. 1 , and the two fac-similes given by O’Conor (Script, vet. Rer. Hibern.) from the beginning of St. Luke, will afford an idea, the remainder of the page being in the ordinary writing of the volume, which, it will be observed, is in large rounded characters, similar to those of the Book of Kells, Gospels of Mac Regol, &c. The fourth line of my fac-simile contains various words and differently formed letters, and the fifth line is part of the head of St. John’s Gospels, verbum erat apud AM,” the last contracted word deum being in Greek capitals. It will be perceived that the style of the ornaments of this MS. is that of the finest early Irish codices, and especially resembles that of the Gospels in the Bibliotlieque du Roi figured by Silvestre* (as of the lOtli century!) A few passages will serve to show the text of this volume, which, from its agreement with the Vulgate, constitutes a remarkable exception to the other ancient Irish gospels. Ci Joseph virum maria de qua natus est ihs qui vocatur xps—Ecce virgo in utero habebit et pariet fili nm —vade Satanas—aperiens os suum—qui irascitur fratri suo reus erit iudicio.”—Pater tuus qui videt in absconso reddet tibi—panem nostrum supersubstantialem—ipse infirmitates nostras accepit et egritudines portavit—fuit homo misus a do cui nomen erat johannis—venientem in mundum—the lancea passage in St. Matthew xxvii. v. 48 is correctly wanting. Originally this volume was enclosed within a silver case, made by the orders of Flannius, son of Malachy, King of Ireland, circ. a.d. 916, as appears from the Irish inscription on the ancient cover, which was to this effect :—“ The prayer and benediction of St. Columb Kille be upon Flannius, the son of Malachy, King of Ireland, who caused this coyer to be made.” The specimen, No. 2, is copied from the ancient “ Liber Hymnorum,” cited by Archbishop Usher and others, and now contained, in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, and noticed in the article upon the Gospels of MacDurnan. It consists of 34 leaves of very thick smooth vellum, measuring 10| inches by 7, with 28 lines in most of the pages; written in large Irish characters, partly in Latin, and partly in the most ancient known dialect of the Irish language, called the Bearla Feme, in which the Brelion Laws are written; the latter portion being in a more cursive character than the Latin. The large ornamental initials are very complicated and interlaced, but they have none of the elegance of those of the Book of Kells, &c.; they are indeed in a style which does not appear so ancient as in those MSS., according rather with the capitals in the Harleian Gospels of the 11th century, the Brelion Laws in the British Museum, and Bodleian Library at Oxford. Archbishop Usher, however, considered it, in his time, to be at least 1000 years old. The volume consists of 29 short hymns, prayers, and other religious compositions, amongst which are the Magnificat and Benedictus, portion of which is copied in the two lower lines of No. 2 . “ Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est et sanctum, women ejus Et miser?cordia ejus in progenies et progenies timentibws cum.” The two upper lines in this fac-simile are copied from the commencement of the Hymn of St. Patrick, Like the volume before us, the MS. in the Paris library has the animal, the calf being' very similar to that in the Gospels of St. Columb- ^S^ letters at the commencement of each Gospel, occupying- only a kille. I find also, on examining the Paris MS., that it agrees with portion of the page; and each Gospel is preceded by its symbolical the Dublin one, in being written in the Yulgate version. IRISH BIBLICAL MSS.—PLATE II. described by Mr. Petrie as the very oldest undoubted monument of the Irish language remaining, whilst it is equally valuable as evidence of the religious doctrine which St. Patrick inculcated. The specimen is to be read: ‘ A Tomriug in diu murt trentogairm trinoit cretim treodataid foisin oendatad I dulemain dail.’ i. e. ‘ At Temur (Tarali) to-day I invoke the mighty power of the Trinity. I believe in the Trinity under the Unity of the God of the Elements.’ 1 The various fac-similes in the right hand division of the accompanying plate are copied from MSS. preserved in the Cumdachs, or ancient silver cases, and which have for centuries been regarded with super¬ stitious reverence, until, in fact, the knowledge of their contents had become entirely lost. To open one of these cases was indeed considered an act of the greatest sacrilege, which would be certainly attended with evils of the direst nature. The prying curiosity of modern antiquaries has, however, overweighed the fear of unknown evils, and discovered in these cases copies of the Psalter or Gospels, accompanied in some cases by prayers for the visitation of the sick. 2 Sir W. Betham gives in his ‘ Irish Antiquarian Researches/ a very graphic account of the alarm which was occasioned by his desire to open the Caah, one of these venerable relics, which was found to contain the Psalter of St. Columba. This inestimable MS., with its Cumdach, is now, by the kind permission of Sir W. O’Donell, placed in the rich Museum of the Royal Irish Academy. A short notice of it will be found in the 6 th page of the article upon the Gospels of MacDurnan. The volume is of a moderate 8vo size, written in small minuscule characters, with the words indistinct, with the first letter of each Psalm of a large size, but destitute of colours, and but slightly ornamented, and the two or three following letters, also larger than the text, of which the specimen, No. 8, is a fac-simile, being the commencement of the 91st Psalm : “ Qui habitat in adjutorio altissimi in protectione Dei cceli commorabitur,”—in which it will be seen that the d and s are written in their roman form ; occasionally, however, the d is of the uncial form, and the s of the f form, with the top and bottom extending very slightly above and below the line; the r is of the n shape, with the second stroke more oblique, the i final is generally straight, but prolonged below the line. The specimens under No. 7 are copied from the Leabhar Dimma, noticed in the article on the Gospels of MacDurnan (p. 6), and recently purchased from Sir W. Betham by Trinity College, Dublin, for 200/. The MS. measures 7 inches by 5|, and is irregularly written, having 30, 40, or nearly 50 lines in a page, written in double columns. Each Gospel is preceded by a rude representation of the Evangelist, except the last; in which the eagle, with four wings, is represented instead of St. John, each being inclosed within an ornamental border, rudely executed in interlaced ribbon patterns. Sir W. Betham has given copies of these drawings, as well as of the commencement of St. John’s Gospel, and of part of the prayers for the sick, at the end of the volume, the whole of which latter he has also published, although not quite correctly. The first page of St. Matthew’s Gospel is written in a smaller hand, and more carefully than the remainder, the scribe not having used any lines. The genealogical introduction occupies the first column (being itself written in double columns), the historical part commencing at the top of the second column of the first page. The 1 The following are extracts from this singular production, as translated by Mr. Petrie in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy:— “ At Temur to-day may the strength of God pilot me, tnay the power of God preserve me, may the wisdom of God instruct me, may the eye of God view me, may the ear of God hear me, may the word of God render me eloquent, may the hand of God protect me, may the way of God direct me, may the shield of God defend me, may the host of God guard me against the snares of demons, the temptations to vices, the inclinations of the mind against every man who meditates evil to me, far or near, alone or in company. “ I place all these powers between me and every evil unmerciful power directed against my soul and body, as a protection against the incantations of false prophets, against the black laws of Gentilism, against the false laws of heresy, against the preaching of idolatry, against the spells of women, smiths, and druids, against every know¬ ledge which blinds the soul of man. May Christ to-day protect me against poison, against burning, against drowning, against wounding, until I deserve much reward. 3 “ Christ be with me, Christ before me, Christ after me, Christ in me, Christ under me, Christ over me, Christ at my right, Christ at my left, Christ at this side, Christ at that side, Christ at my back. “ Salvation is the Lord’s, salvation is the Lord’s, salvation is Christ’s. May thy salvation, 0 Lord, be always with us.” The magical spells attributed to women, smiths and druids, con¬ tinue, according to Mr. Petrie, in the belief of the people in various jiarts of Ireland up to the present time. 2 Most of these Cumdachs and their contents are noticed in the article on the Gospels of MacDurnan ; besides these, another Cum¬ dach (from which the contents had been unfortunately abstracted) is described in Sir W. Betham’s Irish Antiq. Res., and was in the pos¬ session of the late Duke of Sussex ; at the sale of whose effects it was purchased for the lately established College of St. Columba, near Drogheda. Another Cumdach, containing the Gospels of St. Mulling, is described in a subsequent page of this article. IRISH BIBLICAL MSS.—PLATE II. specimens copied from tliis page are to be read, “ Liber generation^—iac ob autem genuit, ioseph virwm mariae de qua narits est ihc xps cui disponsata virga maria maria autem genuit ihm qui d icitur xps,” (the scribe jumbling together two different readings), “ Xri autem generatio sic erat cum esset disponsata mater maria ioseph antequam.” Below this, from a subsequent page, are copied the following lines:—“ Fuit ioliannis in deserto babtizans et predicans.” At the end of the Gospels the scribe has written his name, also copied in the plate, “ Finit Amen . . , + Dimma macc nathi+ . . —with two lines of Irish, of which the following is the translation made by Mr. Eugene Curry :— “ I desire for myself, in reward of my labour, The tending - of herds with all attention. Nuts, not poisonous, I will crack, And a righteous habitation.” At the end of St. Matthew’s Gospel he has also inscribed his name :—“ Finit. Pray for Dimma, who wrote by the Lord God’s benediction.” The following are a few of the readings of this MS. :—“ Virgo in utero habet et pariet filium”—“vade retro Satanas”—“qui irascitur fratri suo reus erit judicio”—“ panem nostrum cotidianum”—“ipse infirmitates nostras accipit et egretudines nostras portavit.” The “ Znwcea” passage in the xxvii. Chapter of St. Matthew, v. 4S, also exists in this MS., which does not contain any of the Hieronymian Epistles, or Eusebian Canons. The specimens No. 6 are copied from a MS., also preserved with its Cumdach in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, containing the four Gospels written by St. Mulling, who flourished in the 7th century . 1 The Cumdach was described in Yallancey’s Collectanea, under the name of the Leath Meisicith, and Leath Fial, or Stone of Destiny. It was presented to Trin. Coll. Dublin by Mr. Kavanagli, in whose family it had been preserved with religious veneration for ages, and who was descended from the O’Kavanaghs, the chiefs of the district in which St. Mulling flourished . 2 Of the volume itself no account has hitherto been published. It measures 6 ^ inches by 4|, and is written in double columns in very neat minuscule characters, full of contrac¬ tions, with 28 to 36 lines in a page. Many parts of the MS. are discoloured by the action of the metal pins which have been driven into the case from time to time. The scribe has so arranged his text that each Gospel forms a distinct packet of folded leaves (the volume not having any binding). The last and part of the preceding pages of the packet containing St. Matthew’s Gospel having been left blank, the original scribe had filled them up with the Office for the Visitation of the Sick. Each of the Gospels commences with the first word, or first few letters, of a large size (2 or 3 inches long), in the style of the Gospels of St. Chad, not coloured , but with double marginal rows of red dots. The specimens before us arc to be read—“ (Xpi) autem generatio,” being part of the heading of the histori¬ cal part of St. Matthew’s Gospel, each word occupying a separate line of the first column of the verso of leaf 1 ; also the LorcPs Prayer as follows : “Pater noster qui es in coelis scilicet nomen tuu adueniat regnu tuu fiat voluntas tua si in coelo et in terra Pane nostru supsubstantia-lem da nobis hodie et remitte nobis debita nostra si & nos remittems debitoribs nostris et ne patiaris nos induci in temptationem sed libera nos a malo.” The following are a few of the readings of this MS.:—“ Jacob autem genuit joseph cui disponsata erat.q. genuit ihm.”—“Ecce virgo in utero concepiat et pariat filium.”—“ Vade retro Satanas.”— “ Qui irascet fri suo reus erit,” &c.—“ Pater tuus qui vidit in absconso reddet tibi.”—“ Ipse infirmitates nostras accipiet et egritudines nras portabit.”—“ Et factu est cum consumasset ihs sermones ills sermones istos transtulit se a galilea & venit i fines hide® trans jordanem secut. st eu tbse multse & £ curavit eos ibi.”—The lancea passage (St. Matth. xxvii.) is also here interpolated; but each word is marked above with three small dots, placed in a triangle.—“ Fuit homo missus a do cui nomen erat iohannis.”—“Erat autem lux vera q inluminat quse inluminat omnem venientem in lie mondum in hoc monds erat et mondu per ipsum factus est et mondus cum non cognovit.” At the end of St. Matthew and St. Luke, the scribe has written, “ Finit Amen finit;” at the 1 See Ware’s Bishops, Ferns. a It is not determined whether the CORP Nua or Corp Naomh of the Abbey of Tristernach was a reliquary or a Cumdach. It was described 4 by Vallancey. The Meeshac, also described by Yallancey and Sir W. Betham, who figured it, is now in the possession of the New Col¬ lege of St Columba, as above mentioned. IRISH BIBLICAL MSS.-PLATE II. end of St. Mark, “finit;” and at the end of St. John, “ ffilNIT Amen ffilNIT" 11 (copied in my plate). “ O Tu quicunq. scripseris vel scrutatus fueris vel et ia videris h volumen, 11 &c.; and four other lines almost illegible, “Nomen autem scriptoris Mulling dicitur. Finiunt quatuor euangelia” (also copied in the plate). There is also an inscription on the verso of the last page in the same hand as the text, containing the Magnificat, part of the Sermon on the Mount, Apostles’ Creed, “ Patricius cpis,” and a circular table with inscriptions. In the same box was also found the Epistle of St. Jerome to Pope Damasus; the articles on the four Evangelists (“ Hie est Johannes Evangelista,"” &c.) ; the numerical tables of the sections of the Gospels, and three full-length drawings of the Evangelists, in the style of those in the Gospels of MacDurnan; each holding a book, and one a pen with an ink-stand by his side; each also with a circular nimbus, and one with the long curls of hair(?) hanging over his shoulders; all of which evidently formed portions of the Gospels of St. Mulling. In addition to these, was also found a fragment of St. Mark’s Gospel from another MS., of which the specimen No. 5 is a fac-simile of the commencement; and which is remarkable, not only for the curious forms of the capital letters in the first line, but also for the variation in the reading of the second line. It is to be read, “ INItium euangelii ihu xpi filii di sicut scriptum est in profetis ecce mitto angelum meum ante facie.” It remains to notice the two singular specimens represented under the Nos. 9 and 10, which are copied from the Book of Armagh, written at the close of the seventh century, and which, in several of its ornaments, is very similar to the Gospels of Lindisfarne (Cott. Nero, C. IV.) of the same date. The text however is written in minuscule characters, very similar to those of the Gospels of Mac Durnan, the volume being of the 8 vo size. It moreover contains the whole of the New Testament, and also “ the Confession of St. Patrick,” and has been fully described by Sir W. Betham, in the second volume of his Antiquarian Researches, with fac¬ similes of some of the drawings and ornamental initial letters.* The specimen, No. 9, is part of the word “ Apocalipsis,” at the commencement of the Book of the Revelations, the Ap being omitted, or rather, minutely delineated at the commencement of the fac-simile, the A measuring nearly five inches in length, and highly ornamented. I do not recollect any other instance in which the large square form has been applied to a word not written in capitals—these letters being in fact large square minuscules. The specimen, headed No. 10, “ KcCTCl MATTHYM,” is the Lord’s Prayer in Latin, written in singular- formed Irish-Greek letters, in which capitals and minuscules are strangely mingled together. “ naTHR NOCT6R KYI €C IN KaeAtc CKKMKHTYR NU)M€N TYYM aAV€NI I yianfoo yeo yazyt -6L conyac^iOcXU pcrp<3’ aujutto • nuj~Jpi t)no jamcerti • •> TV 3 ^ rvc pi'an o -[pte ^tcgitp • y pi)' pegnairic -goxiasroii -Lj^ VOur}^ ryrjy yrnzti Tnr>fr y acctvccj ^-^mouelnx 3 tyW 'IjCf p o Tv[0y. CnZxLtneaati rabus peacipe cine V^, %JL nTcett15ecla.11 1 oneimn eui n /‘^ptendetioa onaaonis niece :• lietmais ft-dsmeus 1 jd G*y ^ Vj^t> ttnieaatuli clfie- **V titrdii^ immtmm tneutn '[I^cinen|'t1-[3|' meter J 'sctZttr °f R iccm arch us THE PSALTERS OF ST. OUEN AND RICEMARCHUS. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 1. Fac Simile from St. Augustine’s Treatise on the Trinity, in Corpus 3. Commencement of the 92nd (93rd) Psalm ; and Christi College, Cambridge. 4. Initial Lettei’s, from the Psalter of Ricemarchus. 2. Commencement of the 51st (52nd) Psalm ; 5. Commencement of the 5th Psalm, from the Psalter of St. Ouen. ^HE intimate connection which existed for many ages between Ireland, Wales, Cornwall and Armorica, will enable us to account for very many peculiarities, which may be traced from one to another of those countries. Thus of Pagan relics, we find many in these countries perfectly analogous ; such, for instance, are the hare (or boundary) stones of Cornwallthe maen hir of Wales, and the men liars in Armorica 2 . Hence, too, we have such analogous places of defence as Castle an Dinas and Caer Bran, in Cornwall, and Castel Dinas Bran, near Llangollen, in North Wales; and also similar Druidical circles of stones, both in Wales and Ireland, bearing in the language of the people the names of astronomers 1 circles ; and hence, to descend to less important matters, the similarity between the coracle (cwrwgyl) of the Welch and the currach, as the common boat is to this day termed by the Irish, and which, like the coracle, is shaped like a walnut-shell, and rowed by one paddle ; whilst the extraordinary proficiency both of the Welch and Irish on the harp, is well known to all. Indeed, some of the most learned Welch antiquaries admit that their national music is of Irish origin; and the proficiency of the Irish in church music in the seventh century was so great, that the daughter of King Pepin of France sent to Ireland for persons qualified to instruct the nuns of the Abbey of Nivelle in psalmody. The political independence so long maintained by the Irish, Welch, and Cornish, against the Anglo- Saxons, necessarily preserved to them their national characteristics; whilst the long struggles which they made to maintain the religion of their forefathers distinct from that of the Anglo-Saxons converted to Romanism, gave to them a common tie of interest. Of the religious independence of the Britons, we have abundant proof in the accounts recorded of the failure of the negotiations between St. Augustine and the Welch clergy, and the protest of the latter against the Papal supremacy, recorded in Spelman’s Concilia 3 ; whilst their connection with the Irish Church 4 is equally proved by the identity of their tenets, as affirmed by Bede 5 . In like manner, as Camden informs us, “ The people of Cornwall have always borne such veneration to Irish Saints who retired there, that almost all their towns have been consecrated to their memory,” and as St. Patrick is asserted by some historians to have been born G , and also to have laboured for the propagation of the Gospel, in Cornwall , 7 two parishes in that county to this day retain the names, of Petroc-Stow, (contracted into Padstow) and Little Petheric , 8 and hence, the Irish Saint Kieran, or St. Piran, who also laboured in Cornwall, is commemorated in the little church overwhelmed by the sand, thence named ‘ Sci Pyerani in Zabulo 1 or ‘ Sabulo,’ and popularly Perran Zabuloe. From what has been observed above, it will be at once apparent why so intimate a resemblance should be 1 King’s Munimenta Antiqua. 2 See Hamper, in Archseolog., v. 25 ; and especially Higgins’ work on the “ Celtic Druids.” 3 Fuller, Book II., Cent. VII., Sec. iii.; and see Stillingfleet’s Orig. Brit., p. 359. 4 See the Rev. J. Williams’ recently published work on the Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Cymry, its history, doctrine, and rites, p. 263, and passim. 5 “ Scoti nihil discrepabant in conversatione a Britannis—similem 1 vitam et professionem egisse ; ” and see Hanmer’s Cliron., p. 9, for the connexion between the Irish and Welsh. 6 Other authorities give Wales or Armorica as the place of his birth. 7 Even the Saxon name of the county itself, Corn-Wealas, proves the early connexion between the Cornish Britons and those of Wales or Wealas. 8 See the Rev. W. Haslam’s very interesting little work on Perran Zabuloe, recently published, p. 13. THE PSALTERS OF ST. OUEN AND RICEMARCIIUS. traced between the ecclesiastical relics of ancient art still existing in these several divisions of the empire. This is to be found in the remains of the most ancient stone buildings now existing—in the ancient stone crosses scattered so abundantly through all these parts, and in the ornamental details with which they, as well as other relics, are often most elaborately enriched. I believe the opinion that there were no native stone erections in Ireland, England, or Wales, previously to the ninth or tenth century, to be wholly untenable. Where wood abounded, doubtless it would be preferred for building, but in stony districts the natives would, surely, make use of stone for their structures. A careful examination, during the past summer, of the mode of building adopted in several of the most ancient of these remains in Ireland, as at Monaster-boice and Glendaloch, 1 as compared with the Rev. Mr. Haslam’s detailed account of the church at Perran Zabuloe, recently dug out of the sands; and the Rev. TI. L. Jones’s character of the most ancient of the churches in Anglesea 2 , clearly proves an identity both of design and workmanship, quite distinct from Anglo-Saxon or Norman remains 3 . The Crosses, for the most part formed of single blocks of granite, equally indicate the connection between Ireland, Wales, and Cornwall; and at the same time afford a further proof of the early relations existing between the Irish and British Churches, in the Greek form of the Cross carved upon these granite slabs 4 * . Some of the later of these Crosses are, indeed, more elaborately ornamented ; and as the ornaments correspond with those of the illuminated Irish MSS., we have an hitherto unnoticed corroboration of the date of the former. Some of these contain in the centre part of the Cross a representation of the Crucifixion, more or less rude in design, and sometimes (as in some of the Crosses in the western parts of Cornwall 6 ) reduced to the rude sculpture of a single human figure, with the arms extended b . Specimens of the more elaborate of these Crosses occur at Monaster-boice, Tuam, and Clonmacnois, in Ireland; at Margam and Lantwit, in Wales; at Lanherne, in Cornwall; and at Inverary, in Scotland (brought, I believe, from Iona 7 ). Some of these Crosses have the shaft divided into compartments, wherein are sculptured various scriptural events or ornamental work ; and I presume that the sculptured stone at Kilcullen, engraved by Ledwich, and the elaborately carved shaft at Bewcastle, in Northumberland, described by Sir F. Palgrave, in his “ History of England, - ” which has so much puzzled antiquaries to account for its origin, are parts of two of these Crosses 8 . Two similar crosses, 26 and 18 feet high, ornamented with stories or ranges of sculptured bishops, &c. formerly existed at Glastonbury, which it will be remembered was frequented by the Irish. In addition to the ancient carved crosses we may also refer to the ornamental carvings figured by Ledwich as existing in his time at Glendaloch 9 , and which were unique of the kind in Ireland, although exhibiting the interlaced patterns and other analogous Irish designs; to the tomb of Cormack,long used for waking the clergv in 1 I his subject will be treated at great length in Mr. Petrie’s forth¬ coming prize essay on the Round Towers. Archteolog. Journal, i. p. 120. The original church of St. Gervais, at Rouen, which is, I believe, the oldest Christian (Ante- Norman) erection remaining in France, and which now forms the crypt of that church, also perfectly agrees with Mr. Jones’s description of the Anglesea churches. 3 Mr. Bloxam, in his Principles of Ecclesiastical Architecture, considers Perran Zabuloe to be “ probably not of earlier date than the twelfth century. Mr. Haslam, by treating the subject in connexion with its history and analogies, has most satisfactorily l’efuted this opinion. 4 Haslam, ut supra, p. 18. The number of these Crosses in this part of the country must be very great, as Mr. Haslam states that every parish in Cornwall con¬ tains several, and almost every churchyard has one at least; and Pennant informs us that in Iona there were as many as 3G0. I am aware that it is the opinion of writers on Christian Icono¬ graphy (Milman, Hist, of Christianity, vol. i.; Didron, Iconogr. Chret. p. 2G0 > et se Q-) that representations of the Saviour, in his degraded and crucified state, were not executed previous to the tenth century. The several articles in this work upon the Syriac and Irish MSS., and that upon the Gospels of St. Augustine, are sufficient to disprove such an opinion. The Eyam and Bakewell Crosses, in Derbyshire, are probably not 2 of Bi’itish origin, the ornaments on the former not corresponding with those of the Irish school. 8 Some sagacious writers, finding on the Bewcastle shaft chequered or tesselated patterns (in addition to the human figures and interlaced ribbons), have come to the conclusion that they were intended for the arms of the family of Vaux, and that the stone was erected by some of them 1 9 It is to the disgrace of the Irish that these stones no longer exist at Glendaloch. On a recent visit I was not able to find more than one or two of the least interesting. One of these stones afforded Ledwich an opportunity of reviling the Irish clergy ; but a very little knowledge of Christian Irish iconography would have afforded a truer expla¬ nation. The centre figure holding a book is not a Bishop or Priest, but Christ, or one of the four Evangelists. The “ Pilgrim leaning on his staff,” is a Bishop, with his short pastoral staff, or cambatta ; and “ the young man holding a purse to commute it for penance,” is an Ecclesiastic, with the sacred bell used in Ireland. One of these bells is preserved in the collection of the Royal Irish Academy, inscribed in fine large round letters— opoic ApchtmjarcAch m Ailello Pray for Archummascach, the son of Ailello. Cumasach, CEconomist of Armagh, died a.d. 901.—Archseol. Monast. Hibern. Co. Armagh, p. 19. The Welch Saint Illtyd’s Bell, inscribed ‘ Sancte Iltite, ora pro nobis,’ was lately discovered at Lantwit. Williams’ Church of Cymry, p. 188. THE PSALTERS OF ST. OUEN AND RICEMARCIIUS. Cashel cathedral, which exhibits in its carvings the serpentine animals with long interlaced top-knots and tails 1 ; and to the ornamental details upon the cross of Cong, the pastoral staff of the abbot of Clonmacnois, and other beautifully carved metal relics preserved in the collection of the Royal Irish Academy, as well as to the more ancient parts of the silver covers of the Irish cumdachs. Ledwich, indeed, and others, 2 consider the ornamental interlaced patterns, spiral lines, Chinese-like diagonal patterns, and intertwined animals, as “ Runic knots and Scandinavian superstitions,” and as the work of Danish or Saxon workmen. It appears to me, however, to be far more correct to refer them, as Mr. Britton is inclined to do, to the civilised Britons (and Irish). The Cross of Adamnan, on the Hill of Tara, described by Mr. Petrie, is evidence of their existence centuries before the Danes invaded Ireland; whilst the identity in the ornamental details with the undoubted Irish MSS. of the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries, and the total absence of Runic characters in Ireland, as well as the inscriptions which occasionally appear on the crosses, both in Ireland and Wales, 3 in the ancient large rounded Irish or British character ; all prove a common origin, distinct from the Anglo-Saxon or Danish, and which may be traced to the early Christian schools of Ireland or Wales. The preceding observations have appeared necessary, in order to enable us to obtain a more precise idea of the origin and date of the MSS. copied in the accompanying plate, than would have been gained without an inquiry into the relations existing between Ireland and the other countries above referred to. The specimen No. 1 is copied (after Astle ^ from a MS. of St. Augustine’s Treatise “ de Trinitate,” in the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, “ written by John de Gente Ceretica (or Cardiganshire), in the time of Sulgen, who was Bishop of St. David’s in the reign of King Edward the Confessor.”—(Astle ut infra, p. 104.) It is to be read—Incipit nunc prefatio sive prologus 5 . Domino beatisshno et sincerissima auctoritate venerando scmcto patri et consacerdoti Pape Aurilio Augustinus in d exen it erni] ccm octree OCdpnopiH C|u ecu jt> epi m ueojum Coce^o) vu i ri b (: £ .T7~ 6c Yijyplt Ltjtfni (rosp&Lti oJ tiic . i/uj/v • 'itijrori School t X PURPLE-LATIN GOSPELS OF THE ANGLO-SAXON SCHOOL. REFERENCE TO THE PLATE. Portrait of Saint Mark.—First two Words (Quoniam quidem) of Saint Luke’s Gospel, and Cliap. iii., v. 1 and 2 of the Gospel of Saint Matthew. 'J'HE Royal Manuscript preserved in the British Museum (marked 1 E 6,) must be esteemed one of the most precious monuments of early Anglo-Saxon caligrapliy and illumination which have come clown to our times. Its noble size (18 inches by 14), the clearness of the writing, imited with the circumstance that several of its leaves are stained of a very dark purple colour, might lead almost to the presumption that this was the identical copy of the Gospels which St. Wilfred presented to the Church of York, and which his biographer Eddius described as a thing almost miraculous. From an inscription on the fly-leaf in a hand about 500 years old, the volume appears to have belonged to the Monastery of Saint Augustine, at Canterbury. In its present state it comprises the greater portion of the four Gospels in Latin, a few leaves having been sacrilegiously abstracted ; but from the numeration of the quaternions (the first of which marks now remaining appears at the foot of the page, containing the 10th Chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, and is numbered lxxx; the last page of St. John’s Gospel bearing the number lxxxA r iii), I presume that in the original state it must have contained the entire Bible. At present only 77 leaves remain, written on both sides in double columns, each containing forty-two lines. Both Casley 1 and Astle 2 concur in considering it to have been Avritten in the 7th century. The first leaf is stained dark purple, on the reverse of which is inscribed, in letters an inch high, “ Htec est speciosa quadriga luciflua aiae [for animte] sps gratia per os agni Di inlustrata in quo quattuor proceres consona voce magnalia dica [for dicant].” These form eight lines, which are alternately of gold and silver ; and I have not the least doubt that, in the original splendid state of the volume, they were intended to apply to an illumination on an opposite purple leaf containing the symbolical representations of the four Evangelists. The majority of the letters in the inscriptions on this and the other purple leaves are tall Roman capitals well proportioned, with both ends of the thick strokes slightly dilated, and with the F, G, and P short-tailed, but they are intermixed Avith numerous uncial, and occasionally with square, letters, especially the C and G, the diamond-shaped O, and the S often appearing in its reversed Z-like form. The M is occasionally formed of three perpendicular strokes, the first and second united by one or tAVO transverse bars, and the second and third by a single one. Casley (Cat. Roy. MSS., pi. xii.) has given a short specimen of these letters, copied by the Benedictines (N. Tr. de Dipl., vol. iii. pi. 37, IV. iii.), and Astle (pi. 18, v.) has also given a number of these capitals, but many of the most curiously formed ones are still unpublished. The second leaf commences with the Epistle of Jerome to Pope Damasus, the inscription “ Beato Pap* Damaso Hieronimus,” being in large red uncial letters, forming three lines, and the initial N 3 of the first word, (Novum) is ornamented with a row of red dots on the sides of each stroke, the remainder being in the same hand as is employed throughout the Gospels. The last three lines of the Epistle, as well as the first five lines of the following page, containing the Capitula of the Gospel of St. Matthew, are also in red letters. The tables of the Eusebian Canons commence on the recto of leaf 4, preceding which, however, are small portions of tAVO leaves which have been cut out, one of a dark purple colour. The Canons aie inscribed Avithin narroAV columns, most elaborately ornamented, a foot in height, supporting round arches, all being elegantly adorned with knots and scrolls, forming intricate patterns in numerous compartments, and with singular dragon- Cat. MSS. King’s Lib. p. 12. Origin of Writing, p. 99, pi. 18, No. 5. Tlie commencement of this epistle Las been copied in fac-simile by Astle (pi. 18, v.); but be has omitted the red dots round the initial N which are so peculiarly characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon style. PURPLE LATIN GOSPELS OE THE ANGLO-SAXON SCHOOL. like monsters, in the style of the Anglo-Saxon school, and margined with rows of red dots. 1 Five pages are occupied by these ten canons, after which it is evident that several pages have been abstracted, some of which were most probably purple and illuminated, containing the portrait of St. Matthew, and the commence¬ ment of his Gospel, as the 7th leaf commences with the passage, “ Joseph autem vir ejus,” &c. being the 19th verse of Chap. i. of this Gospel. The Gospel of St. Matthew terminates on the verso of leaf 28, and is followed by the ordinary “ Evangelium sec Mattheu explicit. Incip Evangl sec Marcum feliciter”—which are written in large red capitals; the contractions being, as usual, marked by a bar above the word, and followed by a small triangular red dot (occasionally radiated) placed half way between the top and bottom of the lines. The next leaf is occupied with the introductory observations on St. Mark’s Gospel, and is followed by a leaf of vellum stained of a dark purple colour, on the recto of which is inscribed, “ Hie IHS baptizatus est ab Johanne in Jordane ccelis apertis Spu Sco in specie columba discendente sup eum voeeq. paterna Alius alti throni vocicatus.” These words (which were evidently intended to refer to a drawing of the Baptism of Christ in the River Jordan, which must have been cut out from the volume), are written in alternate lines of gold and silver, in capitals an inch high. The verso of this purple leaf is occupied by a portrait of St. Mark, seated between two flesh-coloured, rudely daubed columns, supporting a rounded arch, and bearing a shield at the top, within which is a winged lion painted green, having the base of the wings red, and holding a book in the fore-feet; it is from a portion of this illumination that the portrait of St. Mark in my plate is taken. The Evangelist is represented as seated on a red cushion, holding in his hands a long scroll, which is given to him by a hand extended from a cloud in the top of the drawing, the scroll extending below his feet, where it is very rudely represented as wound romid a roller. On the other side at the top of the drawing hangs a curtain looped up at the side. The colours are thick, and of course opake, and glossy, as though mixed up with some kind of varnish. The under robe of the Evangelist is of a dirty apple-green, and the upper one white, in which the only attempt to represent the folds of the drapery is effected by a number of dark brown or black lines, without any shading; on the under robe the lights are formed by a paler yellow body-colour, but still with the folds indicated by the single lines. The feet are naked, and like the hands greatly attenuated, according to the fashion of the Anglo-Saxon artists. The naked flesh is represented by an opake very pale salmon colour, relieved by opake white laid on in stripes, giving the flesh almost a tattooed appearance. The whole picture is contained within a border of various colours about an inch broad, portions of which are foliated; the angles and centres with circular ornaments, which will, however, bear no comparison with the ornaments of the Eusebian Canons. The Gospel of St. Mark (of which the first three verses are wanting, but which were evidently written originally on another purple ornamented leaf), commences on leaf 31 and extends to leaf 41, when it terminates at the 39th verse of the xvth chapter, the remainder (as well as from chap. iii. v. 32, to chap, v., 14) being cut out. Then follow the Capitula of St. Luke’s Gospel (leaf 42), and these by two purple leaves, before which, however, two others have been cut out close to the binding. The first of these two dark purple leaves is occupied by two most elaborately decorated columns supporting a rounded arch ornamented at the top with a miniature, which Casley considers to be that of St. Luke himself, but which appears to me to be intended for God the Father (as it is most probable that the portrait of St. Luke, painted in the same style as that of St. Mark, occupied one of the stolen purple leaves). Tins poitrait lepresents an aged man with flowing hair and a short beard, and with the first and second fingers of the right hand extended. Beneath this miniature is painted a winged bull, the emblem of St. Luke ; and in the middle of the leaf aie written the two first words of St. Luke’s Gospel, copied in my plate— QNIAM QUIDEM: 1 The style of the ornaments of these columns is very similar to of St. John’s Gospel, from the famous Gospels of St. Germain des those given in the N. Traite de Dipl. vol. ii. pi. 18, in the initial letter Pres, No. 108. PUEPLE LATIN GOSPELS OF THE ANGLO-SAXON SCHOOL. in letters of the most fantastical character, the initial Q exhibiting an excellent specimen of ornamental Saxon letters. 1 In this illumination, we perceive the strong taste of the Anglo-Saxon school for contrasts, not only appearing in the alternation of golden letters in a silver border and silver letters in a golden one, but also in the colouring of the opposite compartments in the rounded part of the Q. The strokes terminating in the heads of animals, with elongated tongues twisted into interlaced ornaments, and the ornaments at the top of the long stroke of the Q, are particularly characteristic of Anglo-Saxon ornaments which were so much admired and imitated by the early Continental illuminators. The more abundant use of gold in the ornaments of this volume and the Psalter of Saint Augustine, distinguishes them from the Gospels of Lindisfarne and Mac Regol. The second purple leaf is occupied by the inscription in gold and silver capitals, ‘ f Hie Gabriel angelus Zacharise sacerdoti in Templo Dni apparuit almumq; prae cursore magni regis ei nasciturum prtedixit,”_which evidently applies to a drawing now no longer in the book, representing the visit of the angel Gabriel to Zacliariah. Then follows the Gospel of St. Luke, extending from leaf 45 to leaf 67, the first four verses wanting, which evidently were originally written on another purple ornamented leaf. At the end of St. Luke’s Gospel another leaf is cut out, and then follow the Capitula of St. John’s Gospel, and the Gospel itself; all the illuminations at its beginning being no longer found in the book. The first five verses, and all after chap, xi., v. 3 7, are also wanting. It will be seen from the specimen at the foot of the plate, as well as from those given by Casley (copied in N. Tr. de Dipl., pi. 55, viii. iv. 2), and Astle (pi. 18, v.), that the text is written in a hand which may be considered partly semiuncial and partly minuscule. My specimen, containing the call to repentance by John the Baptist (Matth. iii., 1, 2), is to be read “ Exinde coepit His praedicare et dicere paenitentiam agite adpropinquavit enim regnum caelorum;” in which we observe—1st, that although the diphthong oe is used in the second word, it is inaccurately altered to ae in pcenitentiam and coelorum; 2nd, that the name Johannes is contracted, like that of Jesus, into Ihs ; and 3rd, that the version does not agree with the Vulgate. 2 Of the writing it is to be observed, that although Astle gives this MS. as a specimen of Roman Saxon (or that kind of Saxon writing which is very similar to the Roman, and may be deemed the oldest, and of which the Gospels, Cott. MS. Otlio C. 5, and Reg. 1, B. 7 ; the Codox Rushworthanus, and the Charters of Kings Sebbi, a.d. 670, and Uihtredus (Withred), a.d. 693, 3 are specimens); yet we nevertheless here see the transition to the more fixed Saxon characters exemplified; the r, for instance, assuming its q or n form, and the e sometimes losing its rounded uncial Roman form, and appearing with the top elevated above the line; the forms of the a, f, g, n, (in enim and regnum) &c., are also worthy of notice. 4 The s, on the contrary, retains its Roman form throughout. The larger letters at the beginning of each paragraph are chiefly [uncial, as shown in my specimen, but various other-formed letters are also used, of which Astle has given an extensive collection (pi. 18, v.). In part of St. John’s Gospel they are painted in the open parts with yellow and green, with marginal rows of red dots. The first page of this Gospel offers a few specimens of the errors, &c., not unfrequently to be met with even in the finest early MSS.: thus,—Chap, i., v. 10, is written, Et mundus per ipsum fuctus (for factus) est et mundus per ip eum non cognovit.” The scribe having discovered his error in again writing per ip after the second word mundus, has not erased those letters with the knife, nor struck them through with the pen, but placed a row of dots above them. The word est is often contracted thus -f-. “ Mosen” is written for Moysen. “ Dm nemo vidit umqua” for unquam. The word Johannes, rightly spelled as a nominative, has been repeatedly altered to Johannis, 5 by a stroke through the e and a small i written above : e.g. “ vidit Jo/iann^s jhm,” John seeth Jesus. The letter b is also often used for v, as in u serbasti” for seroasti, in the MS. under notice. 1 In some of the impressions of the plates the purple ground is represented of too light a tint. 2 The Beatitudes, Matthew v. 3—11, are as follows, according with the Vulgate version :— “ Beati pauperes spu quoniam ipsorum est regnum coeloru. “ Beati mites, quo ipsi possidebunt terra. ‘‘ Beati qui lugunt, quoniam ipsi consolabuntur. “ Beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt justitia, quo ipsi saturabuntur. “ Beati misericordes, quo ipsi misericordiam consequentur. “ Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Dm videbunt/' &c. 3 And the Lord’s Prayer (Matth. vi. 9—13) is as follows :—“ Pater noster qui es in coelis, seificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua sicut in coelo et in terra. Panem nostrum super sub- stantialem da nobis hodie; et demitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos demittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in temptationem, sed libera nos a malo.” 3 A.D. 697, teste O’Conor Bibl. Stow. 2. 112. 4 The single letters at the end of the specimen represent b, e, f, y, z, and &c. 5 This erroneous spelling is occasionally met with in other very PURPLE LATIN GOSPELS OF THE ANGLO-SAXON SCHOOL. From the portions which still remain of the present MS., it is evident that each Gospel was preceded by at least four purple leaves, on which were painted a large portrait of the Evangelist and an historical subject more especially described in an opposite inscription in gold and silver letters, together with one or two pages occupied by the first few verses of each gospel. The loss of these drawings is greatly to be regretted, as they would have afforded a better idea of the style of early Anglo-Saxon composition and higher design than is afforded by any other coeval manuscript of the Gospels now existing. In consequence of researches made since the above has been in part printed off, with a view to determine the identity of the manuscripts sent by Pope Gregory to St. Augustine, I infer that the MS. now under notice is no other than the remains of the Gregorian Bible described at the head of these manuscripts, by a monk of the Abbey of St. Augustine, in the time of Henry V., in a MS. History of the Monastery of Augustine, and the Church of Christ at Canterbury, 1 and where Wanley 2 considered it most probable that the MS. remained until the time of Henry VIII. It is true that Casley, Astle, and Sir F. Madden, describe this MS. merely as a copy of the four Gospels, without any intimation of its being but a small portion of a more extended codex; the last-named writer having, in an opposite note, 3 alluded to the Gregorian Bible and its stained leaves. The following description will, however, be seen to accord completely with the MS. before us:—“ Imprimis habetur in librario, BIBLIA GREGORIANA, in duobus voluminibus : quorum primum habet rubricam in primo folio de capitulis libri Genesis : secundum volumen incipit prologo beati Jerouimi super Ysaiam prophetam. In principio vero librorum in eisdem voluminibus ivseruntur qua dam folia, quorum cdiqua purpurei aliqua rosei sunt colons, quae contra lucem extensa mirabilem reflexionem ostendunt.-” 4. Of all the Augustine MSS.— (the “ primitie librorum totius ecclesie anglicane”—as they are called by the annalist above mentioned;) Wanley justly observes that the “ Biblia Gregoriana duobus voluminibus scripta agmen ducunt :” 5 adding that these volumes were in existence no long time previous to his researches, since, in the Apologetic Petition of the Catholic Laics, presented to King James I. in July, 1604, they were expressly described in these words:—“ bm> original Bible, tfir sselfgame Humero infitrli ©regorj) <5cnt tn Until our Hpogtlc HugujSttne, being a.s net ^rejserbeti bn ©ctr’g Special probitrt nee.” Which words were also cited by Sutcliffe, in his answer to the same petition (p. 87). Hence it is evident that Wanley ^ who travelled through the whole of England, in order to discover MSS. of the Anglo-Saxon age, had failed in discovering any traces of them, and no subsequent author has succeeded in recognising them. The inscription also at the beginning of the volume, “ Liber Sancti Augustini Cantuariensis,” evidently alludes to the tradition of the book having belonged to St. Augustine himself. If, however, the MS. be portion of the Bible of St. Augustine, it is clear that it is not of Continental origin, both from the writing and ornaments : but that it was not executed in England in the time of St. Augustine, 6 and might not actually have belonged to him, is by no means so clear. We may, indeed, easily conceive that our Apostle would have been most anxious to provide his disciples with a standard copy of the Holy Scriptures, upon which he would employ all the talents of his immediate followers. ancient MSS. It occurs in a collection of Canons, made and written in the middle of the 6th century (see N. Tr. de Dipl. 3, pi. 51, III. 3, iii.) and a specimen from the Anglo-Saxon Gospels of St. Germain des Pres, No. 108, is given in the last mentioned work, 3, pi. 47, VI. 3, ii., in which the word was originally written with a capital I, but which has been altered to a square capital E; as is evident not only from the want of space, but also because all the rest of the letter E’s are of the rounded form. It also occurs in the Irish MS. called the Leabhar Dhimma, which Sir W. Betham considers as of the 7th century; in the Cambridge Gospels of the 6th century, (Astle, pi. 15, ii.;) in the Irish Harleian Gospels, No. 1802, and even in the Papyrus Act of Donation to the Church of Ravenna in the 6th century, preserved in the Vatican (N. Tr. de Dipl. 3, pi. 64). 1 The MS. containing this History is preserved in the library of Trinity Coll., Cambridge, and is described by Wanley in Ilickes’ Thesaurus, vol. ii. p. 172. 2 Ilickes Thes. ut supra. 3 Introd. to Shaw’s Ill. Ornaments, p. 4, 5, in notes. H Smith’s Bede, App. p. 690. 5 Hickes Thesaurus, vol. ii. p. 173. 6 Sir F. Madden refers it “ unquestionably to the 8th century,” Mr. Shaw (Alphabets, pi. 1) to the 10th. 4 TVS IIL NOfcJMUJTJNCONSI I t OimpIO RUtTO n^ocuiu^ tiolti tpt J^ctjut^x tvj>^thn i- -ptmr ^cciu- fprt jT'a: 4j3ljJ to ovapa oov tX9tTw p BcunXtia oov ytvr]9>]rw to 9tX>/p,a oov wg tv ovpavoj kcu tm Tijg Pater imon o yn ys uranis agiastitu to onoman su eltlretu e basilia s genitthito to theliman su oss en uuranu ke pi as yrjg tov aprov ppwv tov tTtiovoiov dog ppiv opptpov kcu cuptg ppiv Ta ocptiXppaTa ppwv wg kcu pptig cupitptv Toig otytiXtrcug tjpwv kcu /it) gis ton arton imon ton epiussion doss imin simero ke aflis imin ta offilemata imon os ke imis aftiomen tas ophiletas imon ke mi tigtvtyKrig ppag tig Tctipaopov aXXa pvoai rjpag citto tov Trovppov.] esininkis imas is perasmon ala ryse imas api tu poniru. Dr. Lingard, who has given a (not quite correct) copy of this translation, considers, notwithstanding the evident errors which it presents, that it may hence be inferred that not only the vowel i, but also q, and the diphthongs ei and ot were generally sounded alike, and expressed by the Anglo-Saxon i; and that the diphthong cti had the long slender sound of the present English a, and therefore was always expressed by the Anglo-Saxon letter e. In these respects the pronunciation of our ancestors appears to agree perfectly with the pronunciation of the modern Greeks . 1 The custom of writing one language in the characters of another, is of great antiquity, and the instances of its occurrence in manuscripts and inscriptions are of great rarity. Origen wrote the Hebrew text of the second column of his Ilexapla in Greek characters; and even the Jews themselves sometimes employed the same usage . 2 Maffei speaks of some books written in the German and Italian languages, printed in Hebrew text; and has published, at the end of his “ Diplomatic History” some compositions written in Latin upon papyrus, but in Greek characters, observing that the early Christians often wrote in this manner. Even at the present time, when the Pope performs Mass, the Epistle and Gospel are read both in Latin and Greek, in honour of the Greek Church; and Maffei quotes the following passage from a MS. of the twelfth or thirteenth century :—“ Leguntur in quibusdam ecclesiis xxiv. lcctiones, xii. grsece et xii. latine: grtcce propter auctoritatem lxx. interpretum quorum auctoritas floruit in Grtecia; latine propter auctoritatem Hieronymi cujus translatio prevaluit in Italia.” And as the Greek language was but little studied in the West, it became necessary to write it in Latin for the use of those who were ignorant of the Greek, so as to enable them to recite such passages in the latter language ; and hence the Hymns, Creed, &c., and other Greek articles written in Latin characters, found in ancient books of the Service of the Homan Church. Hence, also, Mabillon derives the ancient practice of saying the Mass in Greek and Latin, in the Abbey of St. Denis, m France , 3 on the five chief feasts of the year. The Bodleian Library possesses a very interesting and ancient MS., “De Officio Missse,” written in early Anglo-Saxon or Irish characters, which also notices this diglot usage in the Church, and which thus commences:—“ Primum in ordine misse antifona ad introitum canitur antifona grace latine vox reciproca interpretatur.”* 1 Lingard, Antiq. of Anglo-Saxon Church, p. 521, who quotes De la Rocca, Precis bistorique sur l’Isle de Syra, p. 159, Paris, 1790. “ Dans, ai, ei, oi, rj, v, les Ellenistes de Paris, pretendent qu’il faut prononcer les trois premieres comme si elles etoient deux lettres ai, ei, oi; a l’egard des deux autres la premiere comme e, la seconde comme i. Nous prononcons au contraire la premiere comme e, et les quatres autres comme i.” 3 2 Maffei, oposc. eccles. col. G4. 3 De re Diplom. p 367. 4 MS. Bodl. Ilatton 56, and see Hickes’ Thes. vol. i. 176, for a fac¬ simile. The ornamental initial letter is very similar to that at the beginning of the Kalendar in the PsLilter of King Athelstan; part of the tail of the P is however omitted by Hickes. PSALTER OF KINO ATHELSTAN. That this custom of writing Greek in Latin characters was not so entirely caused by the ignorance of those for whom the MSS. were written, seems evident from the circumstance that the occurrence of Latin written in Greek characters is more frequent than the reverse case. In many cases, indeed, the custom appears to be but the result of the fancy of the moment, and seems to indicate that the scribe and his readers were as well versed in one as the other language. Instances in support of this opinion, as shewn in the employment of Greek words and letters in Latin inscriptions, and indeed the substitution of Greek for Roman letters in entire passages, will be found in another article of this work. The following, in addition to the instances mentioned in the article on the Graeco-Latin MSS. and the Psalter of King Athelstan above described, are the only notices I have found of the use of Roman instead of Greek letters : — The Cottonian MS., Titus, D. 18, contains the Lord’s Prayer, a Hymn, and short Greek Liturgy, all in the Greek language, but written in Roman characters. Hickes, in the Preface to his Thesaurus (p. 19), has also given the Lord’s Prayer in Greek, but written in Roman characters, from a MS. in the public library of Cambridge, and also from a Sacramentary at Rome. Mabillon 1 has given a specimen from the Codex Dionysianus, supposed to be of the 9th century, which also shows that this mode of writing Greek was not peculiar to the inhabitants of these islands. It is as follows, the true Greek text being here interlined :— [IIi0T£vw eig tva Oeov it artpa Kai eig to 7t vtvpa to ayiov to Kvpiov Kai %ow7 rotor to £/c tov 7 rarpog.] Pisteugo is ena theon patera . .. . ke is to pneuma to agion to kyrion ke zoopion to et tu patros. And [Gla in excelsis do et sup ra pax.] Doxa en upsistys theo ke epi gis irini. The Benedictines have given a few specimens in which Greek was written in Latin characters, as in the Bible of St. Germain des Pres, No. 17, written about the year 822, where we find the Greek Doxology thus ■written:— doxa tatri ke io ke aio peumati ke nin ke ai ke is tos enistos. amin. Ke being written for Kai, io for via), aio for ayia), peumati for 7 rvev/naTi, is tos enistos for eig tovq tviavrovg. Thus showing the mode in which Greek was pronounced in France in the reign of Louis le Debonnaire. 2 Another not less curious instance occurs in the singular IMS. called the Sacramentary of Gelloni, written in the 8tli century, and of which a fac-simile is given by the Benedictines (plate 47, iv. i.). It is as follows :— [Ou Ti)g I3agi\ictg ovk egri t] TtKog Kai ng to tt viv/ia to ayiov Kvpiov Kai Zmottoiov to ek tov Trarpog nropevop.tvov.\ U this basilias uc esti e thelus ke liis tho pneuma to agion kyrion ke os opion tho ec tu patros eeporegomenon. The Benedictines have moreover given numerous examples of inscriptions upon very ancient coins and marbles in which the Latin and Greek letters were intermingled together, both in writing Greek and Latin (N. Tr. Dipl. ii. p. 636, et seq.); and have shown that this practice prevailed in France, Spain, and England, as well as in Italy, from the 5th to the 9th or 10th centuries. 1 De re Diplom. p. 382 and 383 ; tab. 12, fig. 3. 2 N. Tr. Dipl. 3, 129. 4 SCD-M. LuCjVAV comm fum on. I mare ]__iarrtxnonem • cjuaermnou rjr*Tn uominc t) m n j ■u i! CfcfUltS jkLxconx) pp pofiufc&e'. 'I lir pcnrcdDtt multi tvpiium l\Tpecimen of the text, copied in the plate in uncial letters, is to be read—“ Defuncto autem Herode ecce angclus dni apparuit in somnis Joseph in Gilgypto dicens.” (Matth. ii. 19.) At the end of the Gospel-lessons is a calendar from the year 775 to 797; i 11 the margin of which, opposite to the year 78 1, is written, in small rustic capitals, the evidently contemporary entry copied in the middle of the plate —“ In isto anno ivit Dominus Rex Carolus ad scm Petrvm et baptisatus est filius eius Pippinus a Domino apostolico from which it has been conjectured that the volume was written to commemorate the baptism by Pope Adrian of the Emperor’s son, Pippin. The two last pages are occupied by Latin verses, Avritten in golden minuscule letters, strongly tinged with the Lombardic style in the clavate tops to the 1, d, &c., and evidently written before the improvements introduced by Charlemagne had come into use. From these verses (which will be found reprinted in the Decades Pliilosophiques) we learn that the volume Avas finished in 781, that it took seven years to complete it, and that it was written, by order of Charlemagne and his wife Plildegardc, by Godescalc or Godschalcus, 1 Avho is properly identical with Godescalc, Deacon of Liege, mentioned in the middle of the eighth century, 2 in the Hist. Litter, de la France, iv., p. 57 ; and it is evident that these verses indicate that the volume Avas finished in 781, to commemorate the victories of Charlemagne over Didier, King of Lombardy, in 774, when he went Avith his wife to Rome, where he was received with the honours of a triumph by his friend, Pope Adrian. The volume was long preserved in the Abbey of St. Servin, at Toulouse, in a richly-embossed and massive ease of silver. During the French revolution the case Avas, however, stolen; and in 1811 the volume was presented to Napoleon, in the name of the city of Toulouse, on the occasion of the baptism of his son ; it has since been preserved in the private library of the King of France, in the Louvre : and it is by the kind permission of M. Barbier, who uoav occupies the situation so long and worthily held by his father, that I am enabled to offer the accompanying fac-similes of this inestimable MS. It is proper to add, that Dr. Dibdin, in his Bibliogr. Tour, has given a beautiful fac-simile engraving of the entire painting of the Saviour, 3 and that 1 The following are the lines in which these circumstances are narrated: — “ Septies expletus fuerat centessimus annus Octies in decimo sol cum cucurrerat anno Ex quo Christus Ihesus secla beaverat ortu Exuerat totum et tetra caligine mundum. * * * # * “ Septenis cum aperit felix bis fascibus annum Hoc ojius eximium Francorum scribere Karlus Rex pius egregia Hildegarda cum conjuge jussit. * * * * * “ Ultimus hoc famulus studium complere Godescalc.” 2 Sir F. Madden, in Gent. Mag., 1836, p. 587. 3 The heavy black outlines are too much weakened in Dr. Dibdin’s plate. 2 THE EVANGELISTIARIUM OF CHARLEMAGNE. copies of all tlie illuminations are contained in M. Du Sommerard’s work, Les Arts du Moyen Age, and also in the Voyages Pittoresques dans FAncienne France (Languedoc, art. Toulouse). It is also to be observed, that as Alcuin’s recension of the Scriptures was not completed till the year 799, the volume above described exhibits that text of the Vulgate which Blanchini terms its second state; namely, the version of St. Jerome much corrupted, and before its correction by our Anglo-Saxon scholar, Alcuin. The following MSS. are also interesting from their connection with the Great Emperor of the West. A volume of the Gospels given by Charlemagne to Aix-la-Chapelle, written in golden letters upon purple vellum, which was found resting upon his knees when his tomb was first opened, and which was until lately preserved at Aix-la-Chapelle; it was, however, removed into Germany with other relics of Charlemagne during the war—and is now probably at Vienna. A fac-simile of the text is given by Casley (Plate XII., spec. 1), and it appears to be but rudely written. 1 (See Lambinet, edit. 1798, p. 23). The Codex Witikindi, being a copy of the Gospels given by Charlemagne to Witikind, on the (compulsory) conversion of the latter to Christianity. This MS., as I am informed by a friend, is now preserved at Berlin. It is said by the Benedictines (N. Tr. de Dipl. 2, 101) to be written in letters of gold, and to have been pre¬ served in the College of St. John, at Herford (Erfurt ?). The Golden Gospels of St. Medard de Soissons, presented to that Abbey by Charlemagne (as stated by Count Bastard). This fine MS. very closely resembles the Golden Gospels of the Harleian Library, and is written in golden uncials. It contains portraits of the Evangelists, preceded by an illuminated page, containing a representation of a mystical fountain surrounded by stags, birds, &c., drawn with considerable skill, and infinitely superior to the illuminations in the Evangelistiarium of Charlemagne, or the Golden Harleian Gospels. Silvestre has published a plate from the text; and Count Bastard has given not less than six plates of fac¬ similes from this MS., which is preserved in the Bibliotheque du Roi. The Psalter written by order of Charlemagne for his friend. Pope Hadrian, in golden minuscule letters and capitals, very similar to those in the Psalter of King Athelstan. Some of the leaves are stained purple. It contains a number of dedicatory Latin lines, commencing, “ Hadriano summo papse patrique beato Rex Carolus salve,” &c. This MS. is preserved in the Imperial Library at Vienna. Silvestre has given several fac-similes from it. It was written by Daguefus, and at first dedicated to Charlemagne himself, and was afterwards bestowed by him (in consequence of Pope Hadrian’s decease) on the Anglo-Saxon, St. Willehad, first Bishop of Bremen, where it was preserved for eight centuries. (See Thulemas, Bulle Auree, p. 12.) Dr. Dibdin mentions another Evangelistiarium given by Charlemagne to the Abbey of Chremsminster, in the 3rd A r ol. of his Bibliogr. Tour on the Continent. The Gospels of St. Riquier, given by Charlemagne to St. Angilbert, and now preserved (as M. Pottier informs me) in the public library of Abbeville, 2 also merits notice and description: neither must the Bible ot St. Paul at Rome be omitted, although antiquaries are at variance whether the portrait contained therein be intended for Charlemagne, or his grandson, Charles le Chauve. In many respects the latter corresponds with the Alcuin Bible in the British Museum, and the Bible No. 1, of the Bibliotheque du Roi, presented to Charles le Chauve by Count Vivien; but the text of the Caroline Bible at Rome is not in the revised version of Alcuin, which is the case with the two other Bibles compared with it. Having already, in the article upon Purple Greek MSS., 3 and in the account of the Purple Latin Gospels of the Anglo-Saxon school, given some account of the practice of using vellum stained of a purple colour, and golden ink, in MSS. of high rank, I shall take the present opportunity of noticing a few of the most celebrated Latin MSS. written upon vellum of that kind, and which being almost entirely confined to volumes of the sacred Scriptures, and otherwise remarkable for their Palmograpliical peculiarities, are especially worthy of being noticed in this work. Of these MSS. those written in silver letters are by far the rarest, and generally ox the highest antiquity, several of these containing Anteliieronymian versions of the Gospels. Amongst these, the Purple Gospels of 1 This MS. in John xxi. 22 & 23, reads, “ Si sic eom volo manere donee veniam” in both places, whereas most MSS. read only sic, without the si (Casley). 2 See Martene, Voy. Litt. 2e Part. p. 175. 3 Since this article was published, Don Pascual de Gayangos has 3 published the Second Volume of his History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain, which contains an account of a splendid work, written in gold and silver upon a sky-blue ground, sent in the 9th century by the Greek Emperor to Abdu-r-iahman. THE EVANGELISTIARIUM OE CHARLEMAGNE. Verona, Brescia and Perouse, all published (with fac-similes) by Blanchini, as well as the Coclev Bil)l. C sesar. Vindob. (Blanch. 2, pt. 2 , dcxxxiii), formerly belonging to the Monastery of St. John de Carbonari, at Naples, are to be noticed, as well as a fragment of a copy of the Gospels preserved (by the caie of the Rev. I)j Todd) in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, which bears considerable resemblance to the A'ienna MS., and mav be estimated of the 5tli century: it measures 14 inches by 10, and is written in double columns, with 20 lines in a page, the first letter in each column being a plain uncial letter, about H inches high, and indis¬ criminately being that at the beginning of a paragraph, word, or even syllable^ the remaindei of the text being written in uncial letters J of an inch high. 1 All these manuscripts are written in uncial letters, but probably the finest of all in respect to the beauty of the character of the letters, is the famous Gallican Latin Psalter, affirmed to have belonged to St. Germain, Bishop of Paris (a. d. 576), and which is now preserved in the Bibliotheque du Roi; fac-similes of which are given by Blanchini, the Benedictines, (N. Tr. 3, pi. 43, v.) and Silvestre, which is wiitten in silver, except the names of God, and the Diapsalma, which are in gold. Silvestre has also given a fac-simile from a MS. of the New Testament, written in the ninth century, in larse silver Caroline minuscule mixed with uncial and Anglo-Saxon characters, and ornamented with large initials nearly six inches high, and which appears to be the same MS. as is described by the Benedictines, from the library of the Cardinal de Soubise. (N. Tr. de Dipl. 3, p. 122, 196, 351, &c.) The latest instance of the employment of silver and gold is seen in a large Missal written upon black paper, contained in the Imperial Library of Vienna, written in tall stout gothic letters of silver with initial letters of gold, described by Dr. Dibdin in his Bibliographical Tour, by whom also an Evangelistiarium of the fourteenth century, written in tall, broad, Gothic, golden letters on white vellum, is also described. Montfaucon (Diarium Ital. p. 308), describes a purple MS. of Homilies on the Gospels of the seventh or eighth century. Of Latin MSS. written throughout in golden letters upon purple vellum, the finest specimen in England is Mr. Douce’s Psalter, now preserved in the Bodleian, and of which an account has been given in the recently published catalogue of that portion of the library: several of the pages are occupied with large illuminated capitals and with miniatures (the figures about two inches high), in the style of the illuminations of the Frankish school of the ninth century. The volume is a smaU quarto, and the text written in Caroline minuscule letters. The Gospels of St. Germain, No. 663, is entirely written in golden rustic capitals, and is described by the Benedictines (N, Tr. Dipl. ii. 99, iii. 43, 98), and considered by them to be not more recent than the sixth century. On a recent visit to the Bibliotheque du Roi, I was shown a MS. of the Gospels written in similar characters, which I was informed had not been hitherto described, and which appears to me to be of the ninth century, the characters closely resembling those used in the illuminations of the Caroline Bibles. Unfortunately the spaces left for the figures of the Evangelists have never been filled up. Here, also, may be mentioned the Horse of Charles the Bald, of which a beautiful fac-simile has been given by Silvestre. It appears also to have been the custom to introduce a few leaves of purple vellum at the beginning of MSS. of great value, during the ninth and tenth centuries, as in the instance of the Gospels used at the Coronations of the Anglo-Saxon Kings, described in another article of this work—the Golden Harleian Gospels, 2788 ; and in other fine MSS. of the Caroline period, especially the Gospels given by Louis le Debonnaire to the Abbey of St. Medard de Soissons. In many MSS. also, one or more lines are alone stained or painted purple, as in the specimen given, from the Alcuin Bible in the British Museum, in another article of this work. Many other MSS. written in gold upon purple, or in gold upon unstained vellum, are described by the Benedictines, (N. Tr. de Dipl., ii. p. 100-106, iii. 351.) Both Blanchini and Mabillon have given separate chapters to this subject; and others are also mentioned in Lambecius’ catalogue of the Vienna Library. 1 The following- extract from the 13th chapter of St. Matthew will serve to show the version used in this MS., which has not been hitherto described :—“ Vos autem audite parabolus seminantis omnis qui audit verBum regni et non intellect venit tnalus et rapit quod seminatum est in corde eius Hie est juxta viam seminatus super autem petrosam seminatus hie est qui audit verbum et cum gaudio suscipit ilium et non habens radicem in se sed est temporalis Facta 4 autem angustia aut perSecutionem propter verbum contiuuo scandila- zatur qui autem in spinis semiuatur hie est qui audit verbum et sollicitudo sseculi et divitiarum voluntas sufiocat verbum et fit sine fructum. In terrain autem bona qui seminatus est hie est qui audit verbum et intellegit.”—In the above passage I have pi-eserved the faulty spelling of several of the words. Jro m e (j m 1’cj ueUcpfutrfkfomi^nemtp hiJnime' cL anyyinu finefCn^udlr^ :p f '^umcaP Cjn rrr&^ei mf3 q uvcefizm cmixidxxfj^ fpi u furri irefrmi cmuViiorntnu^xrcipitn nf QP lit) cram ge-write ]>o Dunstan arcb. sealde wrum hlaforde rat Cingestune pa on drag pa hine man halgode to cinge, q for-bead him rale wedd to syllanne butan pysan wedde pc he up on Cristes weofud lode, swa se bisceop him dihte;. On psere halgan prynnesse naman. Ic preo ping be-hate c.ris- tenum folce q me under -Seoddum; an rarest / ic Godes cyrice q eall cristen folce minra ge-wealda softe sibbe healde; oper is p ic reaf-lac q ealle unrihte ping eallum hadum for-beode; pridde, pat ic behate q be-beode on eallum ddmum riht q mild-heortnesse ]>rat us eallum arfrast q mild-heort God purh p his ecean miltse forgyfe, se lyfaS q rega'S.” Emit. The Coronation Oath of Ethelred II. at Kingston, in 978, was nearly identical with the above, Dunstan officiating at the ceremony. It will be seen that there is no precise statement in the preceding extract as to the manner in which this Oath was to be taken; but there is abundant proof in the various ancient Coronation services which have been published, that it was taken by the king, his hand at the time being placed upon the Book of the Gospels laid upon the altar, and that it was ratified by the same book being immediately afterwards kissed. The practice has indeed come down to our own times, and it is also used at our coronations ; it exists in all Christian countries, and even in Mahometan nations, when an oath is taken, the right hand is placed over, and the left one beneath, the Koran 1 . Martene in his large work on the Ancient Rituals of the Church, has collected numerous Coronation ceremonials, from which the following have been selected, as bearing upon the present question. In the benediction of the Emperor of Rome, it is stated that before he enters Italy, he should take an Oath with his hand placed upon the Gospels, in the presence of the cardinals. 1 The Library of the East India Company contains a splendid copy of the Koran, on which Sujah Dawlah swore to the treaty of 1768. 1 This writing is copied letter by letter after the writing which Dun- stan, the abbot, delivered to our Lord at Kingston on the day on which they consecrated him king, and he forbad him to give any pledge except this pledge, which he laid on Christ’s altar as the bishop appointed for him. In the name of the Holy Trinity I promise three things to Christian people, and bind myself to them : first, that I will to God’s church and to all Christian people of my realm all true peace; the second is, that I will forbid rapine and all injustice to all classes of society ; the third, that I vow and promise in all [my] judgments justice and mild¬ heartedness [mercy] that the gracious mild-hearted God, through his everlasting mercy, may forgive us all who shall live and reign. 100 THE CORONATION OATH BOOK OF THE ANGLO-SAXON KINGS. Roger of Hoveden, in his Annals, gives the ceremony of the coronation of King Richard ; in which the king is directed to kneel before the altar, on which the Holy Gospels and the relics of many saints were placed ; and then, as was the custom, to make the Oath. The French kings also, after taking the Oath, are directed to place their hands on the Book of the Gospels', whilst the ceremonial of the coronation of Albert, Duke of Austria, and king of Hungary, states, “ Hsec omnia super hsec sacro-sancta Dei Evangelia tacta, me veraciter observare juro V’ The Liber Regalis of Westminster, and the beautiful Coronation Book of Charles V. of France, preserved amongst the Cottonian MSS., (Tiberius, B viii. b), and the ceremonial of the coronation of King Henry VII. 3 may also be referred to as to the practice of swearing upon the Book of the Gospels. The Oath itself was altered by King Henry VIII., and the copy of it, corrected in his own hand¬ writing, is still preserved amongst the Cottonian MSS., and has been engraved as the frontispiece to Sir Henry Ellis's Letters on English History. I have entered into the preceding details, in consequence of the doubts which have been entertained by some writers respecting the employment of the volume from which the accompanying plate is taken, as that upon which the Anglo-Saxon kings took their oaths at the time of their coronation, the like honour having been claimed for King Alfred’s Psalter in the library of the Duke of Buckingham at Stowe. I can, however, find no instance of the Psalter having been thus employed, whence, independent of other circumstances, this tradition may be disputed. There is, indeed, at Stowe, a Passionale, or “ little booke with a crucifixe ” on the cover, comprising those portions of the Gospels which record the events of the passion of our Saviour, which is recorded to be the book upon which the Kings and Queens of England took their coronation oath, previous to the Reformation. But this manuscript is stated by Dr. O'Conor 4 to have been written in the twelfth or thirteenth century. The volume from which my plate is taken consists of 216 sheets of thick vellum, 9 inches by 7 in size, the edges being singed and curled by the Cottonian fire of 1731. It is now preserved in the British Museum, having the mark, Tiberius A 2. The first page of the volume contains a large illuminated frontispiece; in the centre of which is a youthful king, crowned and kneeling in a church, with two courtiers behind him, and in front of a figure of Christ, naked and wounded on the side. The former has been supposed to represent King Richard II.; but it appears to me to be unquestionably intended for the youthful Henry VI., being, in fact, precisely similar to the miniatures of that king, contained in his Psalter in the same library (Cotton. Domitian, xvii.). In the upper part of the illumination, is an aged crowned king, kneeling in the open country, with the devil at his back. There are also eight coats of arms in various parts of the page, and on a blue slab are inscribed the following lines :— “ Saxonidum dux atque decus, primumque monarcliam Inclitus, JElfridum qui numeravit avum Imperii primas quoties meditantur habenas, Me voluit sacrum regibus esse librum.” This illumination is evidently of the early part of the fifteenth century, and the verses above quoted record the tradition that Athelstan, (the grandson of Alfred,) by whom the English monarchy was consolidated and raised to so much importance in the eyes of Europe, had devoted this volume to the service of the coronation of the Anglo-Saxon kings. The second and six following leaves are occupied by the two Epistles of St. Jerome to Pope Damasus, and of Eusebius to Carpianus; and the prologue of the Four Gospels. With the exception of the words ‘ Beatissimo Papae Damaso Hieronimus/ (which are in large golden roman capitals, the initial B being ornamented in the Saxon style), and a few of the introductory words of the other articles, (which are in small golden rustic capitals), 1 Ex MS. Pontificali Eccl. Senonensis, annor. 300. 60. See Wanley, in Hickes’ Thesaurus, vol. ii. and Hickes’ Anglo- " ^ ee t° m - v i- Anecdot. Bernardi Pez. Saxon Grammar, the preface of which contains a copy of a precisely 3 ^ ee ^ ie Rutland Papers, recently published by the Camden similar oath from the Anglo-Saxon MS. Cotton. Cleopatra, B xiii. Society, edited by W. Jerdan, Esq. See also the Royal MSS. 12 D 4 Bibl. MS. Stowensis, ii. p. 35. Dr. Dibden (Bibl. Decam. 1. liv.) iii 6, and 14 C, vi. 4, the Burney MS. 277, and the Cottonian MS. has strangely confounded the Psalter and Passionale as one volume ; 1 iberius B S, a. The Cottonian MS. \ itellius, A 7, which contained a but Dr. O’Conor has fully described both. Astle has given a fac- copv of the coronation oath of the early English kings, was unfortu- simile of the former, (Origin of Writing, vol. xix. No. 6,) and Verrue nately destroyed in the fire of 1731. A copy of it is, however, pre- made a fac-simile from the latter, which he presented to theAntiqua- served amongst the MSS. of Junius iu the Bodleian Library, numbered rian Society, pasted in a folio volume of drawings, p. 25. THE CORONATION OATH BOOK OE THE ANGLO-SAXON KINGS. J 01 the writing of these Epistles, as well as of the text of the Gospels, &c. is the Caroline minuscule 1 2 , so much adopted on the Continent in the ninth and tenth centuries. The 9th to the 12th leaves are occupied by the Argumentum and Breviarius (or synopsis of the breves, or paragraphs) of St. Matthew’s Gospels ; and on the verso of the 12th leaf is the commencement of the apograph of a charter' of King Athelstan, dated 927, whereby he grants to the church of Christ in Canterbury the land of Folcestan super mare, where was formerly a monastery and nunnery, and where Saint Eanswitha was buried. The charter commences thus :—“ Anno dominice incarnationis nongentesimo vicessimo septimo. Ego yEthelstanus rex premuueratione eterne salutis & p. salute mea, & anime patris mei Eduardi, p. quo reverentia et honore archisacerdotis Wlfhelmi concedo eccle xpi in dorobernia,” &c.; and terminating with the following signatures:-Ego iEthelstanus rex, signo crucis confirmavi; +Ego Wlfhelm dorobernensis archi-eps donatione regis, tropheo crucis consignavi; + Ego Tbeodredus epus lundoniensis subscripsi; -f Ego iElfeagus Wiutoniensis eps subscripsi; +Ego Odo Scyrburnensis eps subscripsi; + Ego Wlgaruf dux subscripsi.” This charter is also written in a Caroline minuscule hand, but different from that of the text of the Epistles and Gospels. The latter portion of it is written on the recto of leaf 13 (of which the verso is left blank) ; but which was of the same texture and was ruled in the same manner as the remainder of the volume, so that it is clearly not au interpolation 3 , as is the following leaf 14. This is evident, not only because the latter is differently ruled, but also because on the blank verso of leaf 13 is the “ set-off” of the ornamental pattern of the’design, inclosing the Eusebian Canons, which commence on the recto of leaf 15. Now this interpolated sheet contains on the recto a short Latin poem (partly in rhyme) in honour of Athelstan, written in a hand and ink rather different from the rest of the volume, commencing— “ Bex pius JEdelstan patulo famosus in orbe, Cujus ubique viget gloria lausque manet, Quem ds angligenis solii fundamine nixuin, Constituit regein Terrigenisq Ducem,” &c.; whilst on the verso is written an entry in a strong Anglo-Saxon hand, in which is a declaration that Athelstan had given this volume to the church of Canterbury. “ Yolumen hoc Evangelii aEDELSTAN Anglorum basyleos & curagulus totius bryttanie 4 devota mente dorobernensis cathedre primatui tribuit eccle xpo dicata,” 5 &c. Here, therefore, we have an entry, in strong Anglo-Saxon Characters, of a circumstance which could not have occurred long before the entry itself was made, and which refers the writing of the volume itself to a still earlier period, namely, the beginning of the tenth century, when, in fact, the Caroline minuscule characters were in full employment. Leaves 15 to 22 are occupied on both sides by the Eusebian Canons, or references to parallel passages in the different Gospels, which are written within ornamental architectural columns, and rounded arches. The recto of leaf 23 is occupied by an inscription in large golden roman capitals, “ Incipit evangehu secundu Mattheu,” and beneath this are inscribed the two signatures copied at the bottom of our plate, “ + Odda rex,” and “ +Mihthild mater Regis 6 .” Hence Mr. Turner 7 conjectures that the volume was a present from Otho of Germany, who married Athelstan’s sister, and from Mathilda, the Empress of Henry, and mother of Otho. H. Rosvetha, his contemporary, spells Otho’s name Oddo (Reub. 164, and N. Tr. Dipl. iii. 368, PI. 55. iv. 2). This supposition is partially confirmed, as above suggested, by the style of the writing ot the volume. 1 Or small letters, used during the Caroline or Charlemagne dynasty. 2 The practice of inserting charters in manuscripts of the Scriptures and Liturgies, was common amongst the Anglo-Saxons. Hickes’ Dissert. Epist. p. 9, 10 ; and N. Tr. Dipl. i. 106. 3 Supposing the volume to have been written in Germany (as has been supposed, and as seems most probable from the style of the writing), and sent to England, it is difficult to conceive wherefore this blank 13th leaf should have been inserted between the end of the Breviarius and the Eusebian Canons ; for I presume that the grant of King Athelstan must have been written in England, and not con¬ templated by the original German writer. 4 Athelstan was the first who assumed the title of King of all Eng¬ land. Alfred was merely styled “ Occidentalium Saxonum Hex.” 3 5 A fac-simile of a portion of this inscription is given by Casely in the plates to the catalogue of the Royal Library. The employment of the Saxon letter D for TH in the King’s name is remarkable. 3 These signatures are evidently written in the same hand, which is very similar to the capital letters in Caedmon s Paraphrase at Oxford, (Astle, pi. 19, spec. 8) ; neither this circumstance, nor the identity in the form of the prefixed crosses, however, impeaches their validity (see Bibl. Britann. vol. v. p. 333 ; and N. Tr. Dipl. li. 430). The same formed G, and the three wedge-like marks after the names, appear in the Pontifical of Egbert, Abp. of York, Soec. X. ; now in the Bibl. du Roi at Paris, copied by Silvestre. 7 llist. of Anglo-Saxons, vol. iii p. 98. 102 THE CORONATION OATH BOOK OF THE ANGLO-SAXON KINGS. The verso of leaf 23 consists of a large illumination, representing St. Matthew, (most coarsely painted, and of a larger size than the figures of the other Evangelists), seated on a seat with a style in the right hand, and a desk with an open book before him. The upper part of the illumination on the right side is occupied by an angel; the ground of the painting is of a dirty blue green, and the whole is enclosed in a rude arch, from which hangs a green curtain festooned at the sides. The following page has a large square of purple painted in the centre, on which are the three very large ornamented letters LIB; the remainder of the first verse of St. Matthew’s Gospel being written beneath in small gold letters, f LiBer generationis jhu xpi filii dei.’ The two next pages are painted dark blue, and the continuation of St. Matthew’s Gospel is written thereon in small golden roman uncials; then follows the remainder of the same Gospel to leaf 69, written in the black minuscule hand represented in my specimen, which is the commencement of the Lord’s Prayer; (the sentences beginning with small golden capitals), in which will be perceived the custom of uniting the et in the middle of a word (e.g., sanctifice/ur) into a &, the long stroke following the & being an evident interpolation, and unlike the ordinary t in the text. The Y-like form of the U or Y in Yeniat is also remarkable, and characteristic of the period assigned to this MS., which follows Jerome’s version of the Yulgate. Each of the other Gospels is preceded by the same introductory arguments and breviaries. The portrait copied in my plate, is that of St. Mark, who is represented as looking back to inspect a book which a Lion in the clouds is holding in its paws ; the ground-colour of this illumination,as well as those of St. Luke and St. John, is of a dirty apple-green, and the whole is inclosed within red columns, supporting a portico, within which is written, in small golden rustic capitals, the laudatory words copied in my plate. On the opposite page are the splendid letters copied in the upper part of the plate, being the beginning of St. Mark’s Gospel, “ iNItium Evangelii jeus christi filii dei,” the second and third lines being written in fine-proportioned roman capitals, and the fourth in roman uncial characters. The second and third pages of this and the two other Gospels are written in small roman golden uncials on white vellum. The portrait of St. Luke represents him seated with a desk before him, and his head turned upwards to a flying bull, which is holding a red book. The first page of St. Luke is occupied by a very large and orna¬ mental Q, 1 , the initial of Quoniam, the first word of that Gospel. St. John is represented seated, with the body greatly bent, and looking up to a flying eagle, which is not ill drawn; and the first page of this Gospel is occupied by a noble initial J, and the commencement of the Gospel written in small golden uncials, of which a fac-simile has been given in the Pictorial History of England (vol. i. p. 169). The remainder of the volume is occupied by the regulations for reading the Gospels throughout the year. Although extremely rude in their design, the figures of the Evangelists betray but slight traces of Grecian art, so often to be observed in the drawings of this period. I shall only add that as Athelstan was so great a benefactor to the churches and monasteries of his kingdom 2 , and as the volume supplies contemporary evidence of having been given by him to the Metropolitan Church, it is most probable, independent of other circumstances, that after his decease a volume obtained under such circumstances would be employed in future coronations at which the Metropolitan Archbishop must be supposed to have officiated. 1 A nearly similar Q is contained in the Yallicellian Bible of Alcuin (Blanchini, tab. viii.), as is also tlie same letter in the famous Codex Aureus of the Harleian Library, No. 2788. 2 Mr. Turner (Hist. Anglo-Saxons, vol. iii. p. 98) mentions three volumes which are recorded to have been presented by Athelstan to various ecclesiastical communities, namely, the Cottonian MSS., Tibe¬ rius, A 2 (above described), Claudius, B 5, and Galba, A 18. We are now, however, acquainted with three others, which were similarly bestowed by him, named the Cottonian Otho, B 9, the Royal MS. 1, A 18, and the Gospels of Mac Durnan, now in the library of the Arch¬ bishop of Canterbui’y. (See also the Royal MS. 1 B 7). The Bodleian MS. 2719 (Auct. D 2, 16.) also contains a list of the relics presented by Athelstan to the church of Exeter. That such donations should have insured him a “good report” with his historians, who, in their 4 religious character, were participators of his generosity, is not sur¬ prising ; but, fortunately for his fame, the list of his library has been preserved; and it is recorded of him, infinitely to his greater honour, that, “ like his grandfather Alfred, he was exceedingly fond of the Bible, and p>romoted the translation of it into the spoken language of the people His liberality is also celebrated in the song of his victory at Brunan Buhr. iEthelstan cyning Athelstan, king; Eorla drihten, Of Ebrls, the lord; Beorna beah gifa. Of barons, the rewarder— or ring- given ; beah being considered by some writers to allude to the ancient ring-money of the Celts. (See Gent. Mag. 1837, p. 500). Others, however, translate the line “ of barons the bold chief.”—Ellis, Early Engl. Poets, i. 15. ]rC2^TLUl 5c 1 3 (greum ^|r: uCi4yti 6r^cc Ap u J dm Sect? tfrzxz uer\ytA _|C1 oc Orzzc Inj)nn ctpro Apixd Jtn ^ c>inniA p6r^lpfttm j^cca fttnr CXft n ipf3 Jzs^czum ifib niInL ti oJ pvcxii m utxac €ryzsjc ?.“ruiZA lt?^c komt n tirrt Lef^c trrr^n \itC(3z ( S^v&ri <3Am ti m&cL7*-dtSS- A LOMBARDIC MANUSCRIPTS. DESCRIPTION OP THE PLATE. No. 1. Heading 1 of the Gospel for Easter Day; and No. 2 . Commencement of the Gospel of St. John, from Mr. Douce’s Dominican Gospels, No. 3. The words “ (Incip)iunt questiones” and specimen of Lombardie Minuscule, from MS. of St, Augustine on the Pentateuch, in the Bibliotheque Royale, Paris. T MIE successful inroads of Alboiu from Pannonia into Italy towards the close of the sixth century terminated in the establishment of the kingdom of the Lombards, who thus became masters of the whole of that country, except Ravenna (which retained its Greek Exarchs until the middle of the eighth century) and Rome (which still remained subject to the Bishop or Pope). The kingdom of the Lombards terminated in 774; Didier, the last king, having been conquered by Charlemagne. The name Lombardy has still however been applied to the country south of the Alps to the present time; and, in like manner, the term Lombardie Writing is given to that peculiar character which was used in the north of Italy, from the seventh to the thir¬ teenth or fourteenth century, when it gave way to the modern Gothic of Italy. Roman in its origin, like that of the Anglo-Saxons, Visigoths, &c., it is nevertheless distinguished by a national style, and by peculiar forms acquired during that long period. The initial letters of books, chapters, and sections or alineae, which at first were quite simple and scarcely larger than the rest of the text, began in the seventh century to assume a size and variety of form which has rendered them one of the most simple characters, whereby the age and country of a manuscript may be determined. The capitals of the Lombardie MSS. are generally very massive, blazoned with patches of different colours, or sometimes almost representing very coarse mosaic work, without any of that peculiar intricacy of patterns which distinguishes Anglo-Saxon MSS., except where the influence of some of the Irish or Anglo-Saxon missionaries may justly be presumed. Often these Lombardie capitals are merely Roman in their form, but singularly massive in all their strokes, both ends of which are generally dilated, whilst often whole lines of the headings of MSS. have the letters composed of birds, and especially of fish ; and sometimes of leaves. Often the colours are so arranged as to give the appearance of embroidery work ; and, in other instances, we find the colours contrasted with each other. The illustrations in the accompanying Plate have been selected, in order to represent these different kinds of initial letters. The specimens numbered 1 and 2, are taken from a fine manuscript of the Dominican Latin Gospels, or those portions which were selected for the service of the Sabbath throughout the year. It formerly belonged to Mr. Douce, and is now preserved in the Bodleian Library, at Oxford (No. 1/6). It is a small folio, consisting of 127 leaves of parchment, measuring 11^ inches by 7^iiiGlics^ with 2S lines in a page. The verso of the first leaf is occupied by the inscription in large Zoomorphic and blazoned capitals, Incipit Evangelium de circulo Anni.” 1 The initials throughout the MSS. are small and plain, except the following, On the verso of leaf 2, occurs the commencement of the Gospel of St. John; copied in my specimen, No. 2. On the verso of leaf 61, the initial (V.) of the 28tli Chapter of St. Matthew (Vespere autem Sabbati), is fonned of a dog and fish, tied together by their tails; and on the recto of leaf 62 appears the inscription at the head of my Plate, being the heading of the Gospel for Easter Day, the two lines consisting of the u 01 ds, In Pascha Domini,” beneath which is the initial letter (I) of the Gospel of the day, measuring not less than six inches in length. The peculiar form of the letter A in the second line occurs in many of the specimens of Lombardie capitals given by the Benedictines.- Tlie first large initial I, as well as the large foliated mark of contraction over the end of the second line, is nearly like one given by Silvestre from a Gallican MS. of the eighth century of the life of St. V andrigesile, The latter also often occurs in Merovingian MSS. It is, however, entiiely fiom the capitals that I bate Copied in one of the Plates of the Catalogue of the Doucean Library, lately published. I 2 N. Traite de Diplorn. 3, pi. 36. LOMBARDIC MANUSCRIPTS. considered this MS. as belonging to the Lombardic school; for the text is written in a splendid Caroline minuscule, of, as I presume, the tenth century, and so plain, that I need not transcribe the specimen of it exhibited in No. 2, and shall, therefore, only notice that the e is generally a little elevated above the line; that the words cleus and deiim are contracted as usual by the omission of the two middle letters, and that the conjunctive form of et is applied to those letters even when introduced into a word, as in the word lucet, in the sixth line. On the cover of this manuscript is affixed a beautifully carved ivory Diptych, on which is represented, in high relief, the figure of Christ, four inches high, holding a cross in one hand and an open book in the other, whereon are inscribed the letters IIIS XPS SUP ASP., in allusion to the figures of the asp and lion beneath his feet. Around the principal figure are represented, in twelve compartments, various events in the life of our Saviour elaborately carved, and exhibiting traces of Byzantine art, especially in the figure of the Angel in the scene of the Annunciation, which is very similar to one of the Angels in the famous Purple Greek Book of Genesis, at Vienna. The specimens in the low r er part of the Plate are copied from one of Silvestre’s most elaborate plates, being portion of the heading of a manuscript of the Commentaries of St. Augustine on the Heptateuch, contained in the Bibliotheque Royale de Paris. The entire title-page is occupied by the words :— “ In Dei nomine. Incipiunt questiones Genesis beati Augustini in Eptaticum;” forming nine lines, each differing from the rest in design and size. The initial I is very large, and terminates beneath in a strange lacertine animal of large size, twined into various directions and ornamented with knotted designs. The upper line of my third specimen represents the letters IUNT : the last three of which are conjoined together; the second stroke of the U forming the first of the N, and the last of the N forming the upright stroke of the T; it will be seen that these letters are ornamented with interlaced patterns, terminating in eagles’ heads (ornamented with a kind of crest, similar to that observed in my first Plate of the Gospels of Mac Durnan). Prom these circumstances this manuscript is stated by Silvestre to be “ Saxonne-Lombardique.” The minuscule writing in this specimen is very difficult to decipher, but is to be read :—“ Nam dixit hoc uxoribus suis qnando eas vocavit in campum.” In this specimen the singular form of the a, d, and ri, conjoined together in the word uxoribus is to be noticed. This type of the Lombardic minuscule is of rare occurrence; but there is a fine manuscript of the Homilies of Origen on St. Luke, in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, quite similar, not only in the writing and contractions, but also in the ornamental capitals, especially the letter T, as copied by Astle (Plate XIII. spec. iv.). Silvestre refers this manuscript to the ninth century. LOMBARDIC MANUSCRIPTS. PLATE II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 1. The commencement of the “ Benedictio Cafrei in Pascha,”— 3. Commencement of 3rd Chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel; from the (“ Exultet jam angelica twrba cadorim”); Bodleian MS. Canon. Bibl. 61. 2. “ Dominus vobiscum,” &c., accompanied by musical notes; 4. Commencement of the Apocryphal Psalm of David, with initial an d ' letters from Mr. Douce’s Lombardic Psalter, in the Bod. Lib. fjpHE existence of a distinct national system of writing in Italy, notwithstanding all the arguments of the Marquis Maffei 1 and his disciple Ottley, 2 has been fully established by the elaborate researches of Mabillon, the Benedictines, and Messrs. Silvestre and Champollion. It is true that some palaeographers, not aware of its characteristics, have confounded it with the Merovingian characters of the French, and even with the Anglo- Saxon styles ; 3 some of the peculiarities of which it indeed possesses, especially in its earliest monuments, in common with them, resulting, as it may be at once perceived, from their common origin from the Homan minuscule or cursive characters. 4 We are informed by the Benedictines, that the Cardinal Passionei, who, at their sugges¬ tion, w as occupied for a long period in investigating the history of the Lombardic writings in the most celebrated libraries at Borne, was unable to discover a single INIS., w r ritten in this character, previous to the eighth century. 5 They accordingly consider that the Abbot of Gottwic, who affirmed that the Lombardic characters were chiefly in use in Italy in the seventh and eighth centuries, 6 mistook the Saxon minuscule for Lombardic. The Liturgies published by Muratori proved its existence in the ninth century; whilst in the eleventh its existence was still admitted, although it was then called Boman. 7 Cardinal Bona, in his work, on the Liturgy, 8 informs us that it was the opinion of Italian antiquaries, in the middle of the seventeenth century, that the Lombardic characters ceased to be used in the tenth century. 9 The Vatican Virgil, however, No. 1671, is written in Lombardic characters of the twelfth century, 10 which was at first considered by Mabillon to be its limits. 11 In his visit, however, to the celebrated Monastery de la Cava, near Naples, he found two manuscripts which proved that it was still used in 1227- The library of this monastery has remained for the last six or seven centuries in its primitive state, and has afforded to M. Silvestre nearly the whole of his series of speci¬ mens of Lombardic writing. Of these the Bible, written in a very minute, distinct, and elegant Lombardic minuscule, of the ninth century, with the headings written in small capitals and uncials; the Treatise of Bede, De Temporibus, of the tenth century ; the code of Lombardic laws of the beginning of the eleventh century ; a book of Homilies and Hymns in the twelfth century, the Commentaries of Job, of the thirteenth century, the Book de Septem Sigillis, written about 1213, by Benoit de Bari; and the Vitae Patrum Cavensium, composed at the close of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century 12 (all except the first being written in the broken Lombardic hand), are all contained in the library of this famous monastery, and prove how long this national character resisted the inroads of the modern Gothic; the ornamented flourished capitals and the 1 Verona illustr. col. 330 ; Istor. diplom.; and Oposc. eccles. 2 Archseologia, vol. xxvi. 3 Thus, Mabillon himself was at first of opinion that the Mero¬ vingian of Gennadius, of which he gives a fac-simile, was written in Lombardic (De re Diplom. p. 348, 1349). In like manner Montfaucon considered the writing of a specimen of Papyrus, preserved in the Vatican (written in cursive Roman characters), to be Lombardic, but which Maffei (Oposc. Eccles. p. 60,) determined to have been written in 557, and Keder even in his Commentary on Runic Medals (Acta Erudit. 1705), has confounded the modern Gothic characters with the Lombardic. 4 “ L’ecriture minuscule Lombardique n’est qu’une alteration de la belle minuscule Romaiue, modifiee selon le gout variable de ITtalie, . 1 et sous ce rapport elle peut etre consideree comme une ecriture nationale Italienne depuis le 7eme siecle jusqu’au XIIIe»‘e.” —Champollion. 5 N. Tr. de Dipl. 3, 275. c Chronicon Gottw. p. 16. 7 Mabillon, De re Dipl. p. 52. 8 Lib. 1, Rerum liturg. c. 12, p. 83. 9 “ Ejusdem cevi, decimi nimirum sasculi est Codex Chisius nam caracterem Lombardicum quo scriptus est in fine ejus soeculi desiisse viri periti, a me consulti asseverant.” 10 See “ Antiquissimi Virgiliani Codicis fragmenta et picturoe ex bibliotheca Vaticana,” dedicated to Pope Benedict XIV. 11 De re Diplomat, p. 46. 12 This Manuscript proves, in the style of its ornamental, flourished initials and modern Gothic capitals, that the old Lombardic hand was nearly extinguished by the modern Gothic. LOMBARDIC MANUSCRIPTS. headings of the MS. last mentioned, being written in the style which had then, for nearly a couple of centuries, exercised an almost universal sway over the calligraphy of Europe. The Lombardic minuscule character is distinguished both by the peculiar form of some of its letters, and by the curious mode in which many of them are often conjoined together, so as to present somewhat the appearance of a cursive style. The letter a is generally written with the second stroke curled at the top, more like two letters, cc; the letter c is often formed with a top like our written capital E, the e being similarly formed, but distinguished by a thick horizontal central bar; theg is formed nearly like the Anglo-Saxon 3 , bu^- with the top stroke deflexed so as nearly to form a circle. The i is often elevated above the line almost like 1 . the r is singularly and variously formed, but its variations may be traced (even in its form in the words sursum in my specimen, No. 2 , and era in specimen 4) to the cursive r; it scarcely assumes the Anglo-Saxon form n, neither does the s often take the form of y, being generally more like f. The t is perhaps the most characteristic form, having the top stroke of the t produced downwards, and thickened so as to resemble two letters, cc, united by a thick horizontal stroke at the top. Such are the chief differences in the forms of the minuscule letters, after the Lombardic hand had become most aberrant from its original source. Such is its state in that singular modification which has been termed “ Lombardique brisee,” from the broken appearance of the strokes of which the letters are composed, and of which the accompanying plate offers several specimens, this character being most evident in the specimen. No. 4. This hand was commonly employed in the manuscripts preserved in the ancient Benedictine monasteries of Italy, such as Mount Cassen and De la Cava. Such MSS. are unquestionably of great rarity, since the authors of the “ Nouveau Trai-te” favour us, amongst their numerous Lombardic specimens, with but two examples of this style, which had been procured for them by the Cardinal Passioiiei and the prelate Bottari. D’Agincourt has, however, given nine plates from MSS. at Rome, written in this character, being chiefly liturgical books, from the ninth to the thirteenth century, illustrated with numerous drawings, which are highly valuable as illustrating the state of the art of design in Italy during that period, independent of the Byzantine school. The only drawing contained in the two manuscripts from which the accompanying plate was copied, is a pen- and-ink sketch of the Last Supper in the Canonici MS., of which the following is a copy, and which, as an ancient specimen of Italian art, will be examined with interest. This drawing as well as the fac-similes, Nos. 1 , 2 , and 3, in the accompanying plate, are taken from a beautiful MS. preserved in the Bodleian Library, for an acquaintance with which I am indebted to the kindness of the learned librarian of that establishment, the Rev. Dr. Bandinel. It formed part of the Canonici Library, and is marked Can. Bibl. 61. It consists of 198 leaves of vellum, measuring 11 ^ inches by with 19 lines in a full 2 LOMBARDIC MANUSCRIPTS. page ; and (witli the exception of a few leaves in an Italian modern Gothic hand, which have evidently been introduced to supply the place of others which had become defaced), is written in a fine Lombardic hand bavins- the letters only partially broken. It consists for the most part of the lessons from the Gospels used for Sundays and feasts, the initials of which are formed of interlaced ornaments, and rudely-drawn beasts, men, &c., the scrolls terminating in the heads of birds, with long beaks, evidently sketched by the same hand by which the drawing of the Last Supper was executed. A great deal of ingenuity has been shown in diversifying the ornaments of the letter I, which is so often used in the commencement of these lessons, (in consequence of the addition of the words “ In illo tempore,” 1 ) and which often extend the -whole length of the page. The style of these ornamented letters will be perceived in the specimen No. 3, which is the commencement of the 3rd chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel, and is to be read “ Anno quinto decimo imperii tjberii cesaris; procurante pontio pilato judeam; tetrarcha au tern galjlee herode.” The double stroke of the t, the e formed almost as a written capital E, with a bar, and the c sometimes of the same form, but without the bar, the curious form of the conjoined ri, the e with a cedilla for te, the a formed like cc, the singular form of the r, when written alone, and the i sometimes formed into j, and sometimes like 1, deserve notice. The specimen, No. 1, is the commencement of the Benediction of the Wafer, in the Service of the Mass, which is introduced into the MS., and occupies eight leaves (115 v. to 123), and is accompanied by musical notes. The magnificent initial E is accompanied by a pretty ornament in the open upper space, intended for X, and in the lower space are the letters U and L conjoined, the L formed of the second stroke of the U, united to the dog, which forms the horizontal stroke of the L, the remainder being written in party- coloured Lombardic capitals, “ Exultet jam Angelica tc/kba Cmlokvm— exultent divina misteria et pro tanti regis victoria tuba insonet salutaris .” The specimen No. 2 is to be read “ Dominus vobiscum. Et cum spiritu tuo. Sursuni corda. Habem ; ad dom’nwm,” followed by “ Gratias agamus dno d5 nro. Dignum et justum est. Vere quia dignum et justum est,” and which forms part of the Service of the Mass," which the Church of England has retained in the Com¬ munion Service. “Lift up your hearts. We lift them up unto the Lord. Let us give thanks unto our Lord God. It is meet and right so to do. It is very meet, right,” &c. The initial V, of the word Vere, is of large size, in the same style as the E, but having the Lamb of God supporting the cross within a circle in the middle- The musical notes employed in this MS. are called Neumes, of which the origin dates to the time of Gregory the Great, in the seventh century. They were adopted for the notation of church books, and are of very different forms, of which several examples are given in the course of this work. Here the simple neume consists of a short oblong dash; but sometimes it is merely a round dot or other well-marked figure. According to its greater or less height above the word, it required a higher or lower intonation of the voice. The relative value of each neume still had to be guessed at, which was avoided by Guido d’Arezzo about the middle of the eleventh century, by placing the neumes on or between red, yellow, or green lines, ruled across the page, the red line indicating that the neume written upon it was the fa. It is difficult to assign a date to MSS. written in these broken Lombardic characters; but from a comparison with Silvestre’s Plates, this MS. is probably not earlier than the eleventh or twelfth century. The specimen No. 4 is copied from a charming Latin Psalter, in Mr. Doucc’s Collection, now in the Bodleian Library, containing 158 leaves, measuring 9 inches by 6, with 20 lines in a full page. The first leaf on both sides contained an inscription, now almost erased, written in alternate lines of red and black Roman capitals upon golden bands. Several leaves have been unfortunately abstracted, amongst which is that containing the first Psalm. The capitals of all the rest of the Psalms, Canticles, &c., are in the style ot those copied in my plate, except those of the divisions of the 11 7tli Psalm, which are golden, with red edgings, (two of which are also copied in my plate). All these initial letters are designed w r ith the greatest elegance, the interlaced patterns being arranged with much effect, although far less intricate either than the Anglo-Saxon or Frankish interlaced initials. The verses of each Psalm commence with a small red roman capital, on ' The Greek Church also commence most of their Dominican Gospel Lessons with the words—“ To> tcaipu .> uceivw” 2 This portion of the service of the Eucharistic sacrament was termed the “ Sursum corda” from the first two words. It is of the most remote antiquity. St. Cyprian [In orat. Dornin.] informs us that the priest prepared the minds of the people by saying “ Sursum corda” (lift up your hearts), to which they answered, “ Habemus ad Dominum,” (We lift them up to the Lord).—St. Cyril of Jerusalem, also [Cat. Myst. 5.] St. Chrysostom [Horn, de Encsen.j and St. Augustine [De ver. Relig. cap. 3.] also mention this form. LOMBARDIC MANUSCRIPTS. a small square of gold, and tlie heading of each Psalm is in red Lombardic minuscule characters. The specimen in my plate is the commencement of the Apocryphal Psalm, which does not occur in Hebrew MSS., nor in the Septuagint version, and is as follows :—“ Pusillus eram inter ivatrea meos et adolescentior in domo patris mei.” In this short fac-simile almost every letter is worthy of the attention of the Palseographer. At the commencement of the MS. is this note by Mr. Douce :—"This valuable Psalter was written about the year SOO/’ but I should apprehend that it is antedated at least 150 years. 4 V 1°1 •• * • P oimnuf ficiur formf it red uSttuf fttuarutf’ In J i cccrof 'A, i/joccdi/psc n 1 and in its present state consists of only 52 leaves, with very wide margins, only 18 lines being written on a page, the writing occupying 5 inches by 3. It contains portions only of the Psalms, Prayers, and Lessons from the New Testament. The writing is in a late modern Gothic hand, of which the specimen, No. 2, will give an idea. It is the commencement of the 101st Psalm. The initial letters of each verse are painted in a subdued lilac colour, upon a gold ground, with a crimson margin, the open spaces of the letters occupied by flowers, fruits, animals, &c .; the initial letters of the Psalms being rather larger than those of each verse, but being similarly ornamented. The borders, however, with which every page is ornamented, constitute the great charm ot the Volume. Each consists of a sprig of some flowers painted to the life, but accompanied by ornamental foliage, of various colours, most elaborately finished, the introduction of which cannot be deemed in correct taste. Many of these leaves are heightened with touches of gold, the whole being painted upon a deadened gold ground, with shades to each leaf and stem which give great relief, and produce a very natural and most charming appearance. Some of these borders are not so highly finished as the rest, and bespeak a different hand, and the butterflies, and other insects upon the plants, are entirely the creatures of the artist’s fancy. Our National Library likewise possesses two Volumes of still higher historical interest, having belonged to Henry VIII., and both bearing MS. notes in his own handwriting. One of these subsequently belonged to King George IV., and is now amongst his MSS. at the British Museum, bearing the No. IX. This beautiful Volume measures 7 tt inches by 5, and consists of 28S leaves ol very fine vellum, written in a late modern Gothic hand, similar to that in Henry A Ilth’s Missal, with 16 lines in a page, the greater portion of the pages being destitute of borders. It is, however, very richly adorned with numcious minia¬ tures, and the pages where these occur are enriched with elaborate borders, upon a deadened golden giound, with flowers, (especially with sweet-pea blossoms, and red and white roses the red prepondeiating), biids, insects and strawberries, and ornamental foliage, of a subdued lilac colour, peculiar to this period. At the commencement of the Volume is the Calendar, extending over 24 pages, with lathci ludely drawn emblems, followed by a representation of the Crucifixion, with the A irgin and St. John standing at the sides, and angels holding chalices, catching the blood falling from the wounds of our Saviour. The splendid book of Indentures between the King and the Abbot of Westminster (Harl. MS. No. 1498) may be here alluded to 1 1 PRAYER BOOKS OF KINGS HENRY VII. & VIII. Then follow 15 Prayers to Jesus Christ, and a number of “ Commemorations” of Saints, 18 of whose Portraits (half-lengths) are most elaborately painted on the leaves preceding their several Commemorations. Many of these portraits are so highly characteristic, that it seems unquestionable that they were intended as likenesses of some of Henry’s contemporaries. The portrait in my plate appears opposite the Commemoration of St. Mary Magdalen, It has been selected as a good specimen of the series, and on account of the singular style of the head-dress. Amongst the Saints thus commemorated is Thomas-a-Becket, whose name (unerased) also appears in the Calendar. One of these portraits (that of St. Catherine, on the 86tli page) is especially interesting, representing a fair-featured female, wearing a crown, and with long flowing golden-coloured hair, and habited in a blue dress. This portrait again appears in page 7K6H\e;TC-p f) AC toLJJ M ftb■ T 0 Ye M H£ICp 0 v *■ /It i ^ jc\K; 5 Kf 6 c H th^UjucL jaeiCTjV'A'cb pa}J0 h oi Tau>£aoT^L'5'- ^*V- H’Cl4A,OU)TK0ei0 fcO^KeU/mTmiyZL- % ©flTrenffn aefaiiomif U MS^al ffi?/ol[lil©dtlLWi 3 < n‘HiJiP J jh HHJjK m ft'JU 3 fflta^nAiMA YanfiAiA- Jdhb jfis ^rftadtia li C o )^n) $1 l)V)ll|tOl »/l | r\L> -ih c ^3 )Kr f^6c5^^: croo^^c •:•*> QdB ^SLfr&oo c8 "Qc^DDC^pgi °fV*o6 RPoSQB < j£s^'QQut>’\' b^B tfb/O 6h Qoo op g JM* ^ > )> » Buki, Booke, or B Viedi, Vadi, or V Glakol, Glaghol, or G Dobro, Dobra, or D Jest, Vest, or E in the first letter of the sixth specimen. in the sixth letter of the last fine of the first specimen. thirteenth „ fourth ,, third „ fourth „ eleventh „ last „ eighth ,, fourth „ Zelo, Zico, or Z „ Ziviete, Sevetie, or Zothi, form of Z, i re not represented. Zemla is a small S modified. Zemla, Zemle, a third form of Z, I ninth letter of the third fine in first specimen. Ize, Eie, or I I, E, or Y „ fifth Kako, Kawko, or K „ sixth Ludi, Ludee, or L „ fifth Muislete, Mislete, or M „ first Nasz, Nash, or N „ sixth On, Ohn, or O „ second Pokoi, Pokoy, or P is the Greek n. Irei, Rise, or R „ first Slovo or S ,, second Tuerdo or T .. eighth last first third first fourth fourth » fourth j, last ,, last ,, T or T is not represented, but is“ formed of three equal upright strokes, united at the top by a horizontal hair-line. Phert or F is the Greek 4. 3 Half of these however, at least, are considered by the Benedictine* and Travels in Russia, London, 1826, to be composed of two or more letters united into one. (N. Tr. d# Diplomat, i., p. 707.) 1 123 SCLAVONIC BIBLICAL MANUSCRIPTS. 23. The Sclavonian Oniku or U is represented in the fourth letter of the fifth line of this specimen. Kher or Czer „ tenth „ last ,, Ot is the Greek w. Ci ,, ninth „ second „ Sza is formed of three equal upright strokes, united at the bottom by a horizontal line. Szcza or Stshaw is represented in the fourth letter in the last line. Yerr or Jor is a Z with an oblique stroke uniting the middle of the descending line with the extremity of the bottom one. '^ u ’ X are not represented. Ftita, J Ja is represented in the seventeenth letter of the third line. Jat or Yat „ fifteenth „ fourth line. Jus „ third „ of the last line. The Benedictines give the characters of four of these alphabets, namely the Servian or Cyrillitan, the Russian printed, the cursive Russian, and the Illyrian or Hieronymian. The first of these consists of forty-two letters : namely, A; B ; V ; Gh; D; E; K, Y, or Zh; Z ; Dz; I; Th or Ph ; I; Y; K ; L; M; N; X ; O; P; Ge; The ; R; S ; T; Y; W; F; Chh ; Ps ; O ; Tz or Cz ; Schtsch; Sch ; E mute; Ui; I mute; E or Le; E; Ya ; You ; Yous. In the preceding alphabets, as well as in that which is named the Illyrian or Hieronymian, being ascribed to a Saint Jerome, it will be at once seen that there are several letters “ which seem to be of northern origin, being adapted to sounds peculiar to the languages of the people descended from the Scythians settled in Europe 1 .” In general, the Cyrillitan alphabet was adopted by those Sclavonians who were converted by the missionaries of the Greek church; whilst the Hieronymian alphabet (specially named the Glagolitic, and including that curious species termed the Glagolitique a lunettes) is that of the Sclavonians of the Roman Church 2 ; there are, however, some exceptions to this distinction. The Sclavonian or old Russian version of the New Testament Scriptures, was made from the Greek towards the end of the ninth century, and has been ascribed to the above-mentioned Cyril and Methodius, sons of Leo, a Greek noble of Thessalonica. Of the Old Testament, it has been supposed by Dobrowski that only the book of Psalms was thus early translated: there are, however, frequent quotations from the book of Proverbs, by Nestor, the author of the Russian Chronicle, who died in 1156 ; whilst the remainder of the Old Testament appears stiil later to have been translated, a circumstance confirmed by the extreme rarity and recent date of MSS. of the entire Sclavonic Bible 3 ; and “Dr Henderson has shown by actual collation that the Sclavonic text of the Old Testament in the folio Editio Princeps of the Bible, printed at Ostrog in 1581 4 , was made with the assistance of the Vulgate, or some ancient Latin MSS., found in the Bulgarian monasteries, or that it was at least revised and altered according to them.” "Whereas, in the Sclavonian New Testament, the Greek construction is very frequently retained, even when contrary to the genius of the language, and contains at least three-fourths of the readings which Griesbach has adopted into the text of his critical edition of the New Testament, and possesses few or no lectiones singulares, or readings peculiar to itself. Griesbach has given a list of the Sclavonian MSS. collated for his edition of the New Testament, communicated to him by Dobrowski 5 . Silvestre has given numerous specimens of Sclavonian Biblical MSS., which, on account of their great rarity, merit mention. His first specimen is taken from a History of the “Saints Peres,” written in the eleventh century, and contained in the Bibliotheque Royale de Paris. His second is from a Psalter written at the end of the twelfth century, in Cyrillitan characters, during the reign of the Bulgarian king, Assan, and accom¬ panied by a translation of an allegorical commentary, from the Greek, and attributed to Athanasius, from the library of Saint Saviour, at Bologna : the capital letter in this specimen represents a grotesque griffin-like figure, with a long ornamented snout, and its tail twisted round its neck. His third specimen is from an 24. 99 25. 99 26. 99 27. 99 28. 99 29. 99 30. 99 31. 99 32. 99 33. 99 34. 99 1 Astle, p. 58, 91; and Tab. xxvi. 2 Bishop Walton, in the Prolegomena of his noble Polyglot Bible, states that St. Jerome translated the Bible into the Dalmatian language, that he wrote it in characters approaching those of the ancient Greeks, and that he taught the people of Dalmatia the rise of letters. It appears, however, that this was not the great St. Jerome, but a person of the same name, who lived at a much later period. 3 Henderson, pp. 73, 74; Horne, Introd. ii. p. 245. 2 i Wiwlia sinetz knigi, wetchago i nowago sawieta pojasiku slowen- skuand see Clement (Bibl. Curieuse, iii. p. 441—444) ; Dibdin (Bibl. Spencer, v. i. p. 90—); and especially Henderson, Biblical Researches. 5 Michaelis, v. ii. p. 153—636; Griesbach, Prolegomena, v. i. p. cxxvii.; Beck, Monogrammata Hermeneutices, Nov. Test. 108 ; Hug. vol. i. pp. 513—517. referred to by Horne, op. cit. p. 246. SCLAVONIC BIBLICAL MANUSCRIPTS. 126 ancient copy of the Sclavonian New Testament, attributed to the twelfth or thirteenth century, from the Royal Library of Vienna, and written in large square black and red characters. His fourth specimen is from a selection from an Evangelistiarium of the thirteenth century, in the Vatican, written in Cyrillitan characters, containing lessons from the Gospels throughout the year. By Assemani this MS. has been attributed to the eleventh century; hut Dobrowski assigns it to the thirteenth century, as it contaius lessons not in use in manuscript lectionaries of so ancient a date as is assigned to it by Assemani. Silvestre’s fifth plate of specimens (from which my first and second examples are copied) is taken from a MS. Evangelistiarium of great interest, belonging to the “ Bibliotheque Communale de Reims, vulgairement nomme Texte du Sacre,” the commencement of which is ascribed to the eleventh, and the latter portion to the fourteenth century, and which Silvestre describes thus :—“ Un des plus precieux monuments de notre histoire nationale; car ce serait sur ce meme livre que les rois de France auraient prete serment par le saint evangile touche, le jour de leur onction religieuse dans la cathedrale de Reims.” This assertion appears to have originated in the statement of the Abbe de la Pluche 1 , and to have been partially adopted by the person who made the inventory of the effects of the Cathedral in 1790, attested by the signature of several of the canons of that time; but M. Paris, Librarian of the Cathedral (who has published a long account of this MS.) 2 , has questioned this usage ; supposing that it may, in its original state, when bound in gold and relics (which disappeared at the Revolution), have been used for the Oath Book of the French kings; but adding that there is also another ancient Latin Evangelistiarium at Rheims, which has also lost its precious covering, and which might also have been thus used, and the two thus confounded 3 . When, however, we consider that the former manuscript was, (as appears from the inventory of relics and other valuable articles belonging to the Cathedral at Rheims) not only enclosed in a silver-gilt cover, but also enriched (as it is stated) with a cross formed of the real crucifix 4 , a piece of the sponge and girdle of our Saviour, and other relics, of St. Peter and St. Philip the Apostles, and various saints, and that it traditionally belonged to St. Jerome himself, and was said to have been brought from the treasures of Constantinople, when ravaged by the Turks;—we can scarcely doubt but that such a volume (presented to the Cathedral by the celebrated Cardinal de Lorraine, in 1574) should have been adopted as the book most fit for the usage which has been attributed to it. Moreover, the principle “ omne ignotum pro magnifico” must likewise be supposed to have had some w r eight in the matter; for the contents of the volume, and even the language in which it was written, were unknown until some of the attendants of Peter the Great, who paid a short visit to Rheims in 1717, asserted that the book which was shown to him as one of the precious relics of the Cathedral, contained in the former part of the volume a Sclavonic Evangelistiarium; although the latter part of the MS. was undecipherable by them. Since that period the volume has occupied the researches of many writers. Aller 5 , Silvestre de Sacy 6 , Dobrowski 7 , M. Kopitar 8 , M. Jastrzebski 9 , and Eichhoff 10 , having published various notices respecting this manuscript. It is a volume of a small quarto size, written on forty-seven sheets of vellum in double columns, on both sides of the leaves. The first part of the volume (sixteen sheets) is in the Sclavonic language written in Cyrillitan characters, containing various lessons from the New Testament, according to the Greek catholic church. The specimen marked 1 in my plate is from the third page of this part. The second part of the manuscript (thirty-one sheets) is in the same language, but in angular Glagolitic characters, and likewise contains lessons from the Gospels for Sundays, commencing with Palm Sunday. The second specimen given in the accompanying plate is from the first page of this second part, which is terminated by a notice, dated in 1395, stating the nature of the volume, and that the Cyrillitan portion was written by the hand of St. Procopius himself, and that the Ruthenique version was given by Charles V., Emperor of the Romans, to a monastery dedicated to St. Procopius, and to the Sclavonian St. Jerome. M. Silvestre has given a considerable number of additional Sclavonian specimens in the Cyrillitan character. 1 Spectacle de la Nature. 2 Clironique de Champagne, 1837, pp. 401 et seq. 3 The latter was first published by G. Estau, under the title of Con- secratio et Coronatio Regis Francise, mdx. 4 The oath of the French King at his coronation, as Grand Master of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis, and of the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour, was taken, at least until the revolu¬ tion of 1830, “ on the holy cross and the holy gospels.” 3 5 Melanges de Philologue et de Critique, Yienna, 1799. 6 Magasin Encyclop. de Millin, v. annee 1799, t. vi. p. 457—459. 7 Institutiones Linguaa Slaviese Dialecti Veteris. Yindob. 1822, Svo. 8 Glagolita Clozianus etc. Vindob. Gerold, 183G. 9 Notice sur le Texte du Saere, Journ. du Ministerede TInstruction Publique, 1839. w Histoire de la Langue et de la Littcruture des Slaves. 127 SCLAVONIC BIBLICAL MANUSCRIPTS, —more recent however than those mentioned above,—one of which is a copy of the Gospels at Vienna, of a folio size; the upper portion of the leaf occupied by a splendid square illuminated ornament, with knots interlaced together. The first line in most of these later MSS. has the letters long, attenuated, and distorted, and chiefly gilt, as in my fourth specimen. In addition to these M. Silvestre has given several specimens of Glagolitique manuscripts from the Royal Libraries of Paris and Vienna, of the fourteenth century, and one of that peculiar species of Glagolitic which is termed a lunettes, and which is employed in the most ancient manuscripts (of which a specimen from M. Silvestre’s plates is represented in my third specimen) being part of an Evangelistiarium and Menologe in the Bulgarian language, belonging to the Vatican Library, which has been attributed to the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, and which, although written in the Glagolitic character, is arranged according to the rites of the Greek church, contrary to the general method adopted in the writings of the two churches, and which has led M. Kopitar to believe that the Glagolitic character, a lunettes, was used by both churches in the earlier days of the Christian Sclavonian church. The authors of the Nouv. Tr. de Diplomatique, t. i. p. 708, pl.xiii. col. ix., have given an alphabet from a fragment of this character, which they term Bulgarian, contained in the Royal Library at Paris (No. 2340). Sclavonian MSS. are of great rarity in this country. There are, however, several in the Harleian Collection in the British Museum. From one of these, (No. 6311) a codex bombycinus, or small quarto MS. of the four Gospels on silk paper, of the fifteenth or sixteenth century, the beautiful ornament represented at the head of my plate is taken, together with the fourth specimen, in large golden capitals, being the first line of the beginning of St. Luke’s Gospel; the text being written in Cyrillitan characters. Each of the Gospels is followed by a rudely-drawn hand holding a crucifix, with a superscription in large letters and a rudely-drawn star-like ornament on each side. The singular interlacing of the patterns adopted in this and the majority of Sclavonian illuminated MSS. calls to mind the Anglo-Saxon school; but the drawings are made with far less precision and regularity, although great taste is often employed in their design. One of them, copied by Silvestre, representing the interlacing of a narrow white ribbon, with golden edges and a blue line along the middle, has a charming effect. These ornaments at the head of the page are derived from the Greek illuminators. For higher art the Sciavonians may well be deemed to have had but little taste, and we accordingly possess scarcely any remains of their skill in design. D’Agincourt 1 has, indeed, given specimens of a fine MS. from the Bulgarian Chronicle of the thirteenth or fourteenth century, preserved in the Vatican, which, as well as an illumination from the Byzantine Chronicle, translated into Bulgarian of the fourteenth century, copied by Silvestre, are absolutely Greek in their style of art. The Harleian MS. 5723 is a small Psalter, of the fourteenth century, written in red Cyrillitan characters, with a Greek interlineary translation in black letters; it is destitute of illumination, the capitals alone being very slightly ornamented. My fifth specimen is taken from this manuscript. Numbers 3389 and 7630 in the same library, are also Biblical MSS., as is also, I believe, a single fragment in the Burney collection, No. 277; whilst the Royal Library. No. 16, B 2, has furnished my sixth specimen, being a copy of the first verse of the First Psalm, given in this MS. as a specimen of the writing employed in Russia about 200 years ago. This specimen is to be read thus :— Blazen muz jeze ne ide na sowisty neczestiwick. Blessed (is the) man that not goetk in the council (of the) ungodly. 1 Les Arts, par lesMonum. Peint.,pl. 61. One of D’Agincourt’s en¬ gravings from this manuscript represents the custom adopted amongst the Teutonic and other northern nations of elevating and carrying a newly elected king on a shield, whereof the chairing of newly-elected members of Parliament; the “ lifting” of newly-married couples upon hurdles amongst the shepherds of the South Downs, and carrying them round a flock of sheep ; and the Easter custom of lifting, described by Hone, in the Every-Day Book, p. 423, are perhaps to be considered the only surviving relics. D’Agincourt has also given an engraving from a medal, in which a king thus elevated holds in one hand a sceptre, and in the other a sword. Another engraving represents a kiug thus elevated in the act of being crowned by a priest, who also stands on a shield ; w hilst a fourth engraving, which is also given in Montfaucon’s Auti- 4 quities, represents the king, elevated on a shield, crowned by a figure, in the back-ground, wearing a civic crown of oak leaves. In Navarre, it was the custom for both the king and queen, after being anointed, to set their feet on a shield emblazoned with the arms of the kingdom, and supported on six staves, on which they were then lifted up before the high altar of the cathedral. Imperial Rome and Greece also long retained the same custom, which was likewise adopted by the Yisigothic kings of Spain, as we learn from an ancient law of Don Pelargo. By some writers, our King’s Bench is deemed to have had its origin in the rude elevation of the kings on a marble or stone bench. This, perhaps, ought rather to be considered as a trace of the mode of election and enthronement of the early Danish and Swedish kings. THEOTXSC MANUSCRIPTS. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. 1. Drawing of the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem, and 4. Fac-simile from the Theotisc Gospel Harmony in the Cottonian 2. Fac-simile of the writing from Otfrid’s Paraphrase of the Gospels, Library. at Vienna, of the ninth century; 5. Fac-simile from the diglot fragments of St. Isidore, in the Bibl. du 3. Fac-simile from Willeram’s Paraphrase on the Canticles, at Munich, Roi, at Paris, of the 9th century. of the eleventh century ; r jpHE Theotisc or ancient language of the Franks, from its intimate affinity with the Anglo-Saxon tongue, 1 is highly interesting to the English student; but, unfortunately, its relics are of the greatest rarity, very few being in existence previous to the time of Charlemagne. It has indeed been inferred, both from the assertion of Tacitus, “ Literarum secreta viri pariter ac foeminm ignorant,” and the statement of Otfrid, the contemporary of Charlemagne, that the Teutonic, German, or Frankish tribes had not adopted the use of writing to polish their language. The famous Silver Book of the Gospels, published by Junius, written in the ancient Gothic characters (being chiefly a mixture of Greek and Roman letters slightly modified), and justly regarded by Mabillon 2 and Godefroy Yon Bessel 3 as the most ancient monument of Teutonic literature, as well as the Runic characters employed by these nations, prove however that the use of written characters was not unknown among them. The researches of recent philologists in Germany have also brought to light fragments of MSS. written in the vulgar tongue of the period, supposed to be long previous to the reign of Charlemagne, when the renovated Roman minuscule characters were adopted. The Cathedral of Wurtzburgh 4 possesses several manuscripts written in a Saxo-Teutonic minuscule (originating in the Roman), older than the reign of Pepin the Short (A.D. 752—768). It is worthy of remark that in the different fac-similes of Theotisc MSS. hitherto published we find scarcely any traces of the peculiar forms of the Anglo-Saxon letters. Most of these ancient MSS. are biblical; the oldest being considered to be portions of a version of the Gospel of St. Matthew, of which only two leaves were for a long time known, and which were published by Eckhart in 1720; recently, however, Endlicher and Hoffmann have succeeded in discovering fifteen more leaves of this version, which had been cut into strips and employed in the binding of other volumes now preserved in the Imperial Library of Vienna. 5 These particles, which have been arranged with the greatest care, contain on one side the Theotisc, and on the other the Latin version, written in a Roman minuscule character, strongly tinged with Lombardic, a specimen of which, given by M. Silvestre, is regarded by Champollion as of the middle of the eighth century. The a is formed like the two letters cc, the r not produced below the line, the letters ri, et, en, eri, conjoined as in Lombardic MSS., the words distinct, separated from each other by a point, and destitute of abbreviations. The specimen given by Silvestre commences thus : “ Man auh s in tun augila so fama auZt daz gas amnotun enti fyur forbreum itun so selp,” &c., translated by Endlicher and Hoffmann:—“ Messores autem angeli sunt. Sicut ergo colliguntur zizania et igni comburuntur,” &c. Matth. xiii. 39. Louis le Debonnaire, the son of Charlemagne, ordered that the Gospels should be translated into the Theotisc language, in order that the Franks of his vast empire might the more easily be made acquainted with the Sacred writings, and Otfrid, a Monk of Wiessenburgh, in Alsatia, the disciple of Rliaban Maur, first Abbot of Fulda, and contemporary with Charlemagne, anxious to ameliorate the rugged language of his countrymen, 6 composed a Messiad, or History of Christ, in the Theotisc language, in which were harmonised 1 According to Weekes, the Franco-Teutonic, which was spoken in Germany and Gaul, is derived from the Mseso-Gothic formerly spoken in Bulgaria. 2 De Re Dipl. p. 46. 3 Chronic. Godw. p. 66. 4 Chronic. Godw. 1 pi. i. f. 34. 5 Fragmenta Theotisca, ed. Endlicher et Hoffman, Yindob. Gerold, 1834, fo. 6 “ Lingua inculta et indisciplinabilis atque insueta capi regulari freno grainmaticce artis.”—Otlrid’s Epistle to Luitbert. THEOTISC MANUSCRIPTS. the Four Gospels. This work, which has been greatly famed, is noticed by Trithemius, in his book “ De Scriptoribus EcclesiasticisIt is preceded by a prologue dedicated to Luitbert, Archbishop of Mayence, and was written by desire of a worshipful matron named Judith “ ut aliquantulum hujus cantu lectionis ludum secularium vocum deleret.” It is also preceded by three Epistles in Theotisc verse, dedicated to King Louis of Germany; Salomon, Bishop of Constance; Plartmuat and 'Werinbert, Monks of St. Gall. There exist only three MSS. of Otfrid’s work, namely at Vienna, Munich, and Heidelberg. It is from M. Silvestre’s fac-simile from the first of these MSS. that the Nos. 1 and 2 in the accompanying plate have been copied. It is considered to be of the middle of the ninth century. The text is written in ordinary Caroline minuscule. In the original the preface is written in verses of lines of different length. The two lines in the accompanying plate being as follows :— Nu tbie euuarton bi noti machont thaz girati lob xpec (d)todes thumb not ther Hut sih liabet gieinot. It will be seen that the two liemisticlis of each line rhyme together; and in the original, each alternate line is commenced by a large plain red uncial capital. The drawing represents the entry of Christ into Jerusalem, and from the architecture, costume and form of the cross, is supposed by Silvestre and Champollion to have been copied from a Byzantine model. It has been selected in order to allow comparison with the drawings of the same subject given in this work from the Anglo-Saxon Psalter of the Cottonian Library, and the little miniature from St. Augustine’s Gospels at Cambridge. The Munich MS., of which a fac-simile is also given by Silvestre, differs from the preceding in having the text written in double columns, each line being divided into its two rhyming liemisticlis, which are thus separated from each other. The Vatican copy of Otfrid’s version, written a.d. 8S9 (Cod. Palat. Vatic. 52), from which a fac-simile, together with a particular description of this VIS., was given by Blanchini, 1 and also by the Benedictines, 2 has subsequently passed to the library of the university of Heidelberg. This poem of Otfrid has been repeatedly published, the most recent edition being by VI. Graff, under the title of Krist, at Kcenigsberg, 1831, in 4to. The Gospel of St. Matthew in the Theotisc language, is also preserved in the library of St. Gall, and has been collated by Schmeller, 3 from a IMS. Gospel Harmony of the ninth century, with the Codex Argenteus, and other portions of the Gothic Gospels discovered by Mai and Count Castiglioni. The specimen No. 4 is copied from a manuscript in the Cottonian Library (Caligula, A 7), justly regarded as one of the gems of that collection. It is of a moderate octavo size, measuring about 5^ by 8 inches. It has been recently rebound with great care, and contains at the beginning a series of eight drawings, highly coloured and gilt, executed about the time of King Stephen, representing the early scenes of the Gospel history, evidently taken from some other MS., probably of the Psalter (it being much the custom at that period, to introduce such a series of drawings at the heads of Psalters). But the greatest part of the volume consists of a Harmony of the Evangelists, written in the tenth century, in the old Frankish or Theotisc language, and said by James to have once belonged to King Canute. The volume is thus described by Ilickes : 4 —“ Extat quoque in Bibl. Cotton, quasi ex quatuor Evangelistis consarcinatus, codex unus harmonious, poeticus, et para- phrasticus quem sive Francico-Theotiscus sive Anglo-Theotisc sit, plurimi facio; turn quod cseteros omnes Franco-Theotisce scriptos, verborum copia, et dictionis magnificentia antecellit; turn quod vetustate purissimi sermonis proxime accedit ad c Codicem Argenteum’ cui soli me judice, a veterum linguarum Septentrionalium studiosis post habendus est.” See also Ilickes’ Gramm. Franco-Theot. cap. 22, and Gram. Anglo-Sax. et Mseso-Goth. p. 189. The text is written in a fine large minuscule character, strongly tinged with German-Caroline, 5 and 1 Evangel, quadrupl. pi. DC. 4 Gram. Franco-Theotisca, p. 6. 2 N. Tr. de Dipl. 3, p. 126, pi. XL. 5 Astle has given a very indifferent fac-simile from this MS., 3 Evangelii secundum Matthaaum versio Francica s:ec. ix. necnon Origin of Writing, pi. 27, 1, and places it at the head of the modern Gothica ssec. iv. quoad superest. Ed. J. A. Schmeller, Stuttg. und Gothic writing. Tubing. 1827, 8vo. o r THEOTISC MANUSCRIPTS. quite distinct from the Anglo-Saxon. The letter thorn is here replaced by th, and the wen by uu, as in the words uueroldes and uuordon. The letter d occurs, however, sometimes at the end of a word. With the exception of a few initial letters, in the style of the one in the accompanying specimen (from fol. 126, r.), the text is destitute of illuminations. The character of this initial S agrees with that of various Anglo- Saxon MSS. written about the time of King Canute. The attention of the learned was especially directed to this MS. by Ilickes, at the" beginning of the last century, who made great use of it in his Eranco-Tlieotisc Grammar. Shortly afterwards another copy of it was discovered at Wurtzburgh, which, however, having been long lost, was re-discovered by the Abbe Gley, in the library of the cathedral at Bamberg, whence it has passed into the royal library of Munich. In this MS., as well as in the Cottonian one, the verses are written without any separation in long lines, so that it is difficult to determine the measure. A fac-simile from this MS. is also given by Silvestre. 1 Another very valuable document for the study of the ancient German or Theotisc language is preserved in the Royal Library, Munich, being a glossary or series of interpretations of the Vulgate Bible, written in Latin, with the translation in Theotisc. This MS. is written in the same character as the preceding, and has been edited by M. E. G. Graff. 2 A fac-simile of this MS. has also been given by Silvestre. The Royal Library of Munich also possesses another MS., written by Adalram, Archbishop of Salzburg, at the beginning of the ninth century, for Louis, the third son of Louis le Debonnaire, containing portions of one of the Sermons of St. Jerome, accompanied by a Theotisc translation at the foot of each page, which has been edited by M. Schmeller, and of which a fac-simile has been given by Silvestre. The Bibliotheque du Roi, at Paris, possesses a MS. written partly in the Theotisc language, the text of which has been regarded by the German scholars 3 as anterior by two centuries to the Messiad of Otfrid. It consists of the Epistle of St. Isidore against the Jews and Arians, the Latin text being written in one column, and a Theotisc version in the second, written in Lombardic minuscule, mixed with a melange of Saxon and Caroline, and which is considered by M. Champollion as of the beginning of the ninth century. The MS. measures 9^ inches by 6, a page containing 22 lines. It is from Silvestre’s fac-simile from this MS. that the two lines in No. 5 have been copied. M. Silvestre has also given a fac-simile from another MS. contained in the Royal Library of Munich, containing a short Prayer or Hymn in the Theotisc language, which has been termed Das V essobrunnen Gebet, the Prayer of TVessobrunn, and which has been published by the brothers Grimm, and also by M. Wackernagel, and which in its composition resembles the Anglo-Saxon Paraphrase of Ctedmon. The leaf of parchment on which it is written is attached to a volume, in the same hand, and is regarded as being of the ninth century. The Franconian Abbot Willeram, of Ebesperg, who died in 1085, was the author of a work which has long been greatly esteemed amongst the learned in Germany, entitled “ De Nuptiis Christiet Ecclesim,” being a double paraphrase on the Song of Songs, one being in Latin, and the other in Theotisc, of which there exist ancient MSS. in the Libraries of Heidelberg, Breslau, Vienna, and Munich. It is from M. Silvestre’s fac-simile from the last of these MSS. that my specimen No. 3 is copied, the Latin commentary, which in the original is placed at the left hand of the quarto page, being omitted. The commencement of M. Silvestre’s fac-simile is as follows, the Latin commentary being written in rhyme :— Quern sitio votis nunc oscula porrigat oris quem mihi venturum promiserant organa vatum Oscu- letur me osculo oris sui Cusser mih mit (de mo) cusse sines nnmdes Dicco ge hiezzer mil - sine cuonst per proplietas, &c. The translation of the Theotisc paraphrase being given by the Abbe Gley as follows : “ Osculatur me osculo sui oris ssepius promittebat ipse mihi suum adventum per prophetas, k,c. 1 See also Langue et Litterature des Anciens Francs, par G. Gley. Paris, 1814, 8vo. 2 Tresor theotisque, Berlin, 1834, and Biutiska, t. 1, p. 490, Berlin. 3 3 Schilter. Thesaurus antiq. Teutonic. Jo. Frickii prcef. gener. p. XIV. Pulthenius Tatiani harmon. Theotisc. G. Gley, Lang, et Litter, des Anc. Francs. THEOTISC MANUSCRIPTS. The MS. is written in a fine Capetian Roman minuscule of the eleventh century, this copy being considered by Freher as having been corrected by Willeram himself; the capitals are generally either uncial or Roman, but the initials of the different divisions are elegantly ornamented, although only drawn wfith red ink. The Breslau MS. has been edited by Scherzius, in Schiller’s Antiq. Teutonic, 1. An early Version of part of the Psalms (Ps. 89—95) iu the German language, contained in a MS. of the eleventh or twelfth century, has been also recently discovered. 1 Eckhart has given a fae-simile 2 from an historical MS. written in: the Theotisc language, in the ordinary minuscule characters, but having the Anglo-Saxon letters thorn (d) and wen (p) ; and several other German MSS. of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries are represented by M. Silvestre. 1 See lac. Griu.m, Gott. Gel. Anz. fur Marz. 1833. 2 Copied in the N. Tr. d. Dipl. 3, pi. 55, p. 384, piipf^Tio A^jfcLicr ^ IriucAuwc asgr&relpra) eaIdor auhh i iCmmnD^goO- m^ie h&thb£ -pgo jui tiiD -j’unu tamtfe bfhe^ 0 kcob? *4&nu fiep ip jnfr y la j 'ge (t\x ind e f i m f?t 7 bohtjid* |cicptt’h bjiihrm roan nr- hp t F|iif tib{*l|iobop: baanb _ "majio&e HrijcpmV innar-pejpc&u rcBotfctr tctnmnr bjioo o|i to rnlbon • oacjia^ bfuhzrn cocainr .Oipar bybrpt 8w |?mrp bjinoojil5b><'> ctypa£ uprome opeop&m- btUOF]6y H?5€ODOC feeENEM^ED OHFRREISC- t)Al£ 1MK DCetTSOtjlFDE^ KjaMERpS • Alj D Oi]| fc'MGllSO 6£Tt'l - tJtnylo - Saccoru Books oJ'ojKcsts . \$/ * \ • \ . ANGLO-SAXON BOOKS OF MOSES, &c. DESCRIPTION OE THE PLATE. No. 1'. The first line of the Dedication of iEline's Heptateuch, from tlie Oxford MS. No. 2. Commencement of the Book of Genesis from the same. No. 3. Fac-simile of part of the Bodleian Paraphrase ascribed to Caedmon. No. 4. Miniature o f the Expulsion of Adam and Ere from Para¬ dise, and their instruction in Agriculture, from the Cottonian MS. of iElfric’s Heptateuch, Claudius B. 4. No. 5. Genesis IV. v. 9, 10, from the same MS. No. 6. Part of the Heading of the Book of Numbers, from the same MS. "PREVIOUS to entering upon the history of the ancient versions of the Sacred Scriptures made in this country (before the invention of printing), and more especially of those executed during the Anglo-Saxon period of our history, it will be convenient, and indeed necessary in a paleeographical point of view, to inquire into the opinions which have been entertained as to the origin of writing itself amongst us; and to notice those letters which are especially peculiar to Anglo-Saxon literature. 1. ON THE INTRODUCTION OF LETTERS INTO GREAT BRITAIN. "Without entering into the question of the usage of Phenician characters (or the identity of these with the Oghams of the Irish) by the Druids, or dwelling on the assertions, both of Cicero and Julius Caesar, that this singular body of men used Greek letters, 1 we have abundant evidence, that the conquest of the southern portion of Britain, and the long sway of the Roman conquerors, led to the diffusion of the Latin language and letters amongst the Britons ; 2 and Tacitus tells us, that he took measures for having the sons of the chiefs educated in the liberal arts ; and the poet Ausonius, who flourished in the fourth century, mentions a contemporary British author, whom he names Sylvius Bonus, and whose writings must have been in Latin, or they would not have been understood by the Romans. The most ancient British coins, when bearing inscriptions, are inscribed with Roman capitals. 3 Numerous monumental and other inscriptions, 4 likewise, sufficiently attest the prevalent usage for such purposes of the old Roman capital letters. Hence, as Mr. Astle observes 5 —“ from the coming of Julius Csesar, till the time the Romans left the Island in the year 427, the Roman letters were as familiar to the eyes of the inhabitants as their language to their ears.” He gives it as his opinion, however, that writing was very little practised by the Britons till after the coming of St. Augustine, about the year 596. The long period between the departure of the Romans at the beginning of the fifth century, and the coming of St. Augustine at the close of the sixth, is so much enveloped in obscurity, that no positive statement can be made as to the condition of letters during that time. The history of religion comes to our aid in a slight degree, and teaches us that during this period there were still some learned men in the country; as Pelagius, Celestius, Gildas the Wise (our earliest historian), the Welsh bard Aneurin, and the historian Nennius, who may be mentioned in proof of the assertion, that letters were never entirely lost during this period ; and as most of these authors (some of whose compositions are still extant) wrote in the Latin language, we may infer that they used the old Roman characters. 1 Caesar expressly says of them, “ Neque fas esse existimant ea literis mandare quum in reliquis fere rebus publicis privatisque rationibus Greeds literis utantur.”—De Bell. Gal. VI. 13, 14. 2 “ The useful invention appears from the coins of Durmun, Eburo and Eisu to have reached into the kingdom of Darobriges in the West, and of the Brigantes in the North, before the victories of Vespasian in the one, and of Agricola in the other.”—Whitaker, Hist. Manchester, (2nd edition,) vol. ii. p. 147. 3 Pegge’s Dissertation on the Coins of Cimobelin ; Akermann s Coins of the Romans, relating to Britain ; Davies’ Essays on Britisli Coins. 4 Borlace, Hist, of Cornwall, pp. 391, 386 ; Warburton, Vallum Roman. 1753 ; Pictorial Hist, of England, I. 51, 72, and 106. 5 Origin of Writing, p. 96. 133 ANGLO-SAXON BOOKS OF MOSES, &c. It was during this interval (a.d. 450) that the Saxons conquered the ancient Britons; hut the questions, whether they adopted the letters which they found in use amongst the Britons, being themselves previously ignorant of them; or whether they brought letters with them on their arrival; or, thirdly, whether they obtained their knowledge of letters from the Irish schools of learning,—have been the subject of much discussion amongst our historians. The Rev. Mr. Whitaker 1 very strenuously adopted the first of these views, quoting a passage from Tacitus 2 in support of his opinion, that the Saxons in the wilds of Germany were ignorant of letters; and insisting that the letters which were used by the Anglo-Saxons were adopted by them in this island; and treating, as unreasonable, the opinion of Hickes and Wanley, that the Saxons, instead of borrowing their letters from the Britons, even communicated their own to them . 3 He, accordingly, considers that the Anglo- Saxon characters are in general either Roman, or that the seemingly foreign ones, such as 3 p p e p, and the contractions for and, or, th, and that, are probably i?o/na/z-British, and are all to be referred to the Roman- British modes of writing at the Saxon Conquest. In support of his opinion, he also mentions the epitaphs of Pabo, Eneon, and Cadvan—Welsh princes, who were buried in the sixth century—discovered in the Isle of Anglesea , 4 and written in the language of Italy ; 5 in the last of which inscriptions we find the 6 , p (shaped more like n) p and t; whilst the M has nearly the very peculiar form it presents in the oldest Anglo-Saxon manuscripts—namely, three perpendicular strokes united by two nearly horizontal ones. Mr. Whitaker then endeavours to trace (without much success) the Anglo-Saxon forms of the D 5 ]> f p and -j, as well as the ordinary contraction for the word or, to the Roman letters which they represent; and concludes by asserting, that all the letters of the Anglo-Saxons were really Roman in their origin, and Italian in their structure, at first, but were barbarised in their aspect by the British-Romans and Roman-Britons. These opinions of Mr. Whitaker have been fully adopted by Mr. Astle , 6 but they are opposed to the views of other eminent authors, especially of Hickes and Wanley, whose eminent attainments in the philological learning of the northern tribes of Europe, render their views worthy of the highest respect. These authors contend that the Anglo-Saxons, instead of receiving from the Britons or Irish a knowledge of the letters and learning of Rome, were not so rude as has been affirmed, but brought with them into the country a complete alphabet of Runic letters, which, in ancient times, were in use in those parts of the North of Europe; some of which letters are found mingled with Roman letters in the most ancient Anglo-Saxon MSS., and two of which, namely, the wen (p) and thorn (j> D ft) were subsequently actually adopted into the Roman Alphabet, as Wanley observes, “ob singularem utriusque potestatem, quod ad edendos quosdam sonos valebant qui per nullam Romanarum literarum exprimi potuerunt -” 1 whilst, as to their knowledge of the Roman letters, these authors contend that they, as well as the Britons and Irish, received them from the Romans themselves, or in other words, that the Anglo-Saxons obtained an acquaintance with the Christian religion and Roman letters simultaneously, upon the coming of St. Augustine . 8 A third opinion which has prevailed on the subject is, that it was from the Irish that the Anglo-Saxons received their knowledge of letters. Thus, Camden says, that “ Anglo-Saxones ab Hibernis rationem formandi literas accepisse cum initio eodem plane cliaractere usi fuerint qui hodie Hibernis est in usu ;” 9 and in one of the latest and most valuable histories of our country which has been published, the same idea has been retained . 19 The learned Hr. O’Conor has also laboured to prove the same opinion to be correct, in his invaluable work on the ancient writers of Ireland; asserting, that “Nihil itaque a Britones mutuati sunt Saxones, non ita vero 1 History of Manchester, vol. ii. p. 329. 2 De Mor. Germ. c. 19, and c. 2. 3 Lhuyd’s Letter At a Ivimri, in his Etymologicon, translated in Guthrie’s History of Scotland. 4 Mona, ph 9 and 10. 5 Mr. Whitaker exemplifies the usage of the Roman language amongst the higher classes, by the parental appellationsyiapa and mama, used in genteeler life, whilst dad and mam of the vulgar are genuine British. 6 Origin of Writing, p. 96. 2 7 Wanley, in Hickes’ Thesaurus. Pref. vol. ii. 8 “ Cum fide Christiana Majores nostros Romanarum literarum scientiam et usum accepisse.”—“ Ab adventn Augustini sensim inoles- cere apud Anglo Saxones coepit Romanarum literarum et literature usus.”—Wanley, ut supra. 9 Gough’s Camden, t. 3, p. 467. 10 “ A s the forms of the Saxon alphabetical characters are the same with those of the Irish, it is probable that it was from Ireland the Saxons derived their first knowledge of letters.”—Pictorial History of Engl. i. p. 304. 134 ANGLO-SAXON BOOKS OF MOSES, &c. ab Hibernis a quibus prima literarum Nordanbymbriensiura epocba procul clubio derivata est;” 1 this first epoch being the Anglo-Saxon period previous to the incursions of the Danes. From the facts which have come down to our own times, aided by the assistance which an extended knowledge of the Palteograpliia of our country may afford, I think that, on reviewing those conflicting opinions, we are warranted in adopting the following conclusions :— 1. That the knowledge of letters introduced by the Romans, was not entirely lost amongst the Britons after their departure. 2. That the Saxons, on their arrival in this country, were unacquainted with Roman letters, 2 which they found in partial usage amongst the conquered Britons, and with which they were afterwards more fully made acquainted by St. Augustine and his followers in the South, and by the Irish missionaries of Lindisfarne in the North. 3. That the Saxons, on the contrary, brought with them a system of Runic letters which were long retained and partially employed, and that two of these Runic letters were introduced into the Roman alphabet as being more fitted for the delineation of certain Saxon sounds than any single or compound Roman letter. 4. That the similarity existing between the peculiar forms of the Irish and Anglo-Saxon letters results not from the latter having been first taught them by the former in their schools in the North of England, which were not established until fifty years after the coming of St. Augustine (whose labours in disseminating the Christian religion over the island is well known, and must have been attended with a diffusion of learning), but rather from the circumstance that both people received them from the Roman missionaries ; and that most of those forms of letters, which have been supposed to be especially Irish or Anglo-Saxon, occur in the most ancient miniscule manuscripts of other countries, particularly in the Lombardic and Gallican MSS., thus clearly showing one common origin, namely, the Roman minuscule or cursive hands. 5. That, consequently, the distinctions 3 which have been proposed by Dr. O’Conor between the writings of the Northern schools of England and those of the South, are not historically correct; indeed, some of our most ancient documents which exist, to which unquestionable dates (previous to the year 740) can be attached, were written in the middle, eastern, and southern parts of the country, and are in the well-set Anglo-Saxon minuscule, which has been generally considered as peculiarly Irish, and similar to that in which the Book of Armagh, the Gospels of Mac Durnan, and the Leabhar Dirnma are written, and which Sir W. Betham calls “ the pure Irish character/' 4 and to which Camden alludes as being “ ho die Hibernis in usu/' whilst King Wihthred's charter to Canterbury Cathedral (a.d. G97) is written in wide detached upright minuscule characters, quite like those of the Irish Gospels of Mac Regol and St. Chad, and the Gospels of Lindisfarne, written within a few years after the establishment of the Irish school in that island, which latter hand Dr. O Conor considered as the most ancient “ unadulterated” Irish character. 5 1 Epist. If uncup. p. ccii. 2 Had tlie contrary been the case, we should find the peculiar Anglo- Saxon characters in the most ancient MSS. and inscriptions in the North of Germany, which is not the case, except in the schools of the Anglo-Saxon missionaries. 3 Bibl. Stowensis, vol. ii. p. 117, and in various parts of the first volume of his Script, veter. rer. Hibern. See the Indexes. 4 Had Dr. O’Conor been acquainted with any of these books, he would have been under the necessity of entirely altering his views of the national distinctions of the Irish and Anglo-Saxon writings. 5 Those Saxou MSS. of the seventh century, written in the parts of England where the Irish schools prevailed, are all written in the old Irish characters, without the least affectation of the Saxon style, which latter can be traced chiefly in Kent, and amongst the schools of the southern Saxons, whilst the unadulterated Irish prevails in the MSS. of St. Cuthbert [that is, The Gospels of Lindisfarne, Cotton. MS. Nero D. iv.] and St. Chad, both agreeing with St. Columba’s Gospels in Dubhn, with the Gospels at Durham, and Columbanus’ Missal at 3 Milan.” O’Conor, Bibl. Stow, ii., p. 117. The charter of King Wihthred, above mentioned, at once disproves this assertion. The learned author is, moreover, in error in uniting the Gospels at Durham with the rest, as they are written in fine Roman uncials. See Astle, pi. xiv. B. If, indeed, O’Conor were correct in asserting the Durham Gospels to have been written in Ireland, or the North of England, I may at once refer to the Charter of King Sebbi (a.d. 570), conveying a piece of land to the Abbess of Barking in Essex, and which is in precisely similar characters,) see Casley Cat. Reg. MSS. pi. 1, where the Charter is given entire,) but Dr. O’Conor was evidently misled as to these Gospels having been of Northern origin by their being preserved at Durham, so near to Lindisfarne, whereas they were formerly in the Cottonian Library (Otho B. 9,) and are stated by Smith to have been given to the Dean and Chapter of Durham. (Cat. MSS. Cott. 1G96, p. 44.) These Gospels, therefore, as well as the Charter of Sebbi, I presume to have been written by some of the Roman mission¬ aries, and not by native scribes. 135 ANGLO-SAXON BOOKS OF MOSES, &c. 2. ON THE LETTERS PECULIAR TO THE ANGLO-SAXONS. The following is the Alphabet as used by the Anglo-Saxons : — Capital AA M B L D E6 E GE Hp I K L MOD N 0 P Q R SZ T U,lf U-U,P X Y Z D J? Minuscule a se b c b e p % hiklmnopqrpj-sftu u-u,p x y z $ J> f l q 2 Name 3 a — be ce de — ef ge ache—ca el era en— pe cu er es te — wen exwi—thorn thet and Power aaebcd e f g hiklmnopqrstu w xyzth that and On referring to the minuscule, or ordinary alphabet, given above, it will be seen that the letters most unlike the ordinary Roman minuscule characters are the c p j p f c (the last four of which Spelman considered as pure Saxon letters), and the supplemental letters, y, ]>, D, b, and f. It requires but little effort to trace the first six letters above mentioned to their true Roman prototypes, when written cursively: the b indeed, hardly requires comment; the p is a small long-tailed f, with the upper part of the long stroke made separately, more obliquely, and not carried above the line, and with the bar placed along the lower part of the line, and the p is similarly formed, but wants the bar; the g is a cursive capital g, slightly altered, for celerity in writing; the p is a small r, with the first stroke carried below the line, and the second stroke or dot elongated to the bottom of the line, or, rather, it is a capital R, with the first stroke elongated below, and the second part of the letter written quickly, without the angle in the middle; the t is a kind of hybrid between a capital T and small t. It remains to notice the supplemental letters, which, being in fact absolutely national ones, merit our attention as to their origin and use. Whitaker and Astle, we have seen, consider them no other than Roman letters metamorphosed—the p, for instance, being supposed to be only a v, with the first stroke straight, not oblique, and carried below the line, and the top of the letter closed; and the f only a T and h conjoined, the tail of the second stroke continued below the line, and united to the long straight tail of the first stroke. The p and the J> are, however, pure Runic letters, and are absolutely named as such in various ancient manuscripts 4 —-namely, p, or wen (w), and ]>, or thorn (th). The latter of these, with a mark or bar of contraction above it (thus, p>), indicates an addition to the letter, and stands for the word “that.” D and its minuscule $ are also employed with the same power as j>, namely, th. I have hitherto met with no attempt to explain the origin of this letter, which may have been introduced in the following manner:—When the propensity of the Anglo-Saxons to conjoin their capital letters is considered, it will at once appear that the D is no other than a capital T united with the straight stroke of the D. Td, however, are not Th; we must, there¬ fore, recur to the pronunciation of these letters, which we find nearly similar; and hence, in the early Anglo- Saxon MSS., written before the Anglo-Saxon names had settled down, so to speak, into an uniform orthography, we find Th and Td often employed in lieu of each other. The Charter of iEthelbald, Kiug of Mercia, dated a.d. 736, (Bibl. Cott. Augustus 2, 2 , olim 3 ), offers complete evidence of this. Here we find the king's name spelled Aetdilbalt, Ebilbalt, Ethitbal(t) ; and in the indorsement iEpelbalt, 5 and another similar name, spelled Aethilric ; we find also the word nopbpcup twice wi’itten on the back of the Charter. The indorsed names I presume to be of a more recent date than the Charter itself, because I cannot find that $ or p were used so early as 736. This will appear by the following notices selected from the early charters in the British Museum :— A.D. circ. 670. (Cott. MS. Aug. 2, 29, olim 26. 6 ) Charter of King Sebbi and his son GMilred (K. Ethelred?). Written in Roman uncials. Grant of a piece of land named Widmundesfelt to Hildelburga, Abbess of Berking. Here we find fUidmundes-felt, Ercnicaldus, and IFilfridus, spelled with uu instead of w; but the Saxon names, Hritolaburna and Caentincestriow; are both written with the jp instead of w. 1 “ Hec litera p Anglica thet est nominata et ponitur pro quod." Wanley and Hickes’ Thesaurus, v. 2, Praef. 2 Hec litera q Anglica and est vocata, & ponitur pro istis sex con- j unctionibus, fy, quia, at, atque, ac, ast.” —Wanley, in op. cit. 3 This series of names is from the Cottonian MS., Titus, D. 18, except that of the j). 4 Cotton. MS., Titus, D. 18. Otko, B. 10, (Hickes’ Th.) 4 5 Astle gives a fac-simile of another charter of this King, in which the name is spelt Aedelbald. 6 The numbers of all these charters have, most inconveniently, been altered since Casley published his fac-similes from so many of them, so that I have been unable to discover some of them under their present numbers, and am therefore compelled to be silent respecting them. ANGLO-SAXON BOOKS OB MOSES, &c. 13G A.D. 679. (Cott. MS., Aug. 2, 2, olim 1.) Charter of Hlotharius, King of Kent; dated from Reculver. Written in Roman uncials. The names of the King and of Theodore are spelled with th; and that of the land, called fFestan, is spelled with uu. The name Reculver is spelled Recuulf. A.D. 680. (Cott. MS., Aug. 2, 86, olim 81.) Written in narrow moderate-sized Anglo-Saxon minuscule. Grant of Cmdwalla, whose name is spelled with uu, instead of w or p. A.D. 685. (Cott. MS., Aug. 2, 88.) Charter of King Wihthred. Written in open Anglo-Saxon minuscule characters. This is stated not to he an original document in the Cottonian Catalogue: uu are constantly employed in it, instead of w or p ; the names of the Queen Glthelburga and of Tlieabul are spelt with th; but in the body of the Charter we find the paeS thus written. A.D. 693. Grant of Iv. Wihthred to Canterbury. Written in large round minuscule. In the Library of the Duke of Buckingham, at Stow. The letter p is stated by O’Conor to be once used in it. (Astle, pi. 21,1.) A.D. 704. (Cott. MS., Aug. 2, 82, olim 77.) Grant by Sueabred to Peohthat of land at Twickenham (Tuicanhom, Tuicoanham, in Middelseax), attested by Coenred, King of Mercia. In this we find the name Waldhario spelled palbbapio and uualbhapio: and the names j-ceptjnne and pseojtliach spelled as written, the latter also spelled Peohthat. A.D. 736. (Cott. MS., Aug. 2, 3, olim 2.) Charter of King Etlielbalt, above mentioned, written in uncials; wuth the name of Wilfrid spelled uuilfridus. A.D. 741 and 781. Casley (Plates II. and III.) gives fac-similes from two Latin charters, in which the name, written in Anglo-Saxon characters, of Athelbert is spelled with the th, instead of p or S. A.D. 749. (Cott. MS., Otho, A. 1 : burnt in the Cotton, fire.) Astle, Plate XV., iii., written in large round Anglo-Saxon minuscule, without either p, and S, also, several times introduced into the middle of the text, as in the words pauon, langpibe, o'Spone, opSone, onSone. These two grants are, therefore, the earliest instances in which we find the Runic letter ]> introduced into the Anglo-Saxon alphabet in lieu of th, or tb (S); and it will be perceived, by the last quoted words, that the p and S were used indiscriminately. 1 After the last mentioned period, we find p, ]>, and i5 more constantly employed, as in the Testament of Elfred, of which a fac-simile is given by Astle (Plate XXL), written about a.d. 888 ; and in the 10th and 11th centuries, during the Dano-Saxon period, these letters came into general use uu (toi w), and th, bcin & 'veiy rarely found written. I believe TV illiam the Conqueror introduced the TV . D, howe\er, appears in the Theotisc Gospels, in the Cottonian Library. The series of Charters, &c., copied by Hickes (Thesaurus, Yol. I., p. 169) corroborate these remarks. In one dated 788, we find p and 8 often used. In the indorsement, we find the same letters, and also the p m the 1 It has been asserted by Spelman and others, that p had a hard pmer in the fac-simile No. 5, in the accompanying plate, sufficiently sound as in these, and ft a softer sound as iu that; but this is denied by disprove the former opinion. Hickes; and the specimens last given above, as also the words ftin an 4 5 137 ANGLO-SAXON BOOKS OF MOSES, &c. words faep and ]>a. It is not improbable, however, that, as usual, the indorsement is more recent than the document itself. I have entered into these details, in the first place, because the subject is a national one, which I have not found satisfactorily treated by previous writers; in the second place, because the circumstances above men¬ tioned will, I think, afford one means of determining the age of early Anglo-Saxon MSS.; and thirdly, because it may be supposed also, to afford a proof that the Runic characters were not in frequent use previous to the beginning of the ninth century, and thus enable us to approximate to the true date of these strange inscriptions, which have so much perplexed philologists. 3. THE SACRED POEMS OF CyEDMON. It is to the Venerable Bede , 1 the pride and ornament of the Anglo-Saxon period, that we are indebted for a notice of the first attempt made in this country to render the Word of God intelligible to the ignorant, by translating it into the vernacular language. In his account of the monastery at Whitby (Stpenaej-halh) given in the “His tori a Ecclesiastica,” he states, that during the period whilst its foundress, Hilda, was the abbess , 2 between 660 and 680, there was a certain brother extraordinarily honoured with a divine gift, whereby whatsoever he learned through clerks, of the holy ■writings, he, after a little space, would usually versify, adorning it with the greatest sweetness and feeling, “et in sua, id est anglorum, lingua, proferet ”—and bring it forth in his own, that is, the English 3 tongue. After stating how that this cow-herd, as he was, had become disgusted Avitli the convivial society 4 of his associates, the narrative records, that in a dream he heard a voice, crying, “ Caedmon, canta mihi aliquid ”— Caedmon, sing me something—whereupon, although he “ had never learned any poem,” yet (as the statement proceeds),— Bede. Historia Eccles. Lib. IV. cap. xxiii. Circ. 730 (Bibl. Cott. Tib. c. 2. 5 ) statim ipse ccepit cantare in laudem Dei Conditoris versus quos nunquam audierat quorum iste est sensus :— Nunc laudare debemus Auctorem regni coelestis, potentiam Creatoris, et consilium illius facta Patris gloria. Quomodo ille cum sit eternus Deus, omnium miraculorum auctor, exfitit qui primo filiis hominum coelum pro culmine tecti: dehinc terram, custos humani generis omnipotens, creavit. Bishop Moee’s MS. Now in the public Library at Cambridge (KK. 5.16), supposed to have been written a.d. 737. Ppimo cancauit Ctcbmon lptub capmen* Nu pcylun hep3a.tr hepaen pfcaep uapb* mecubep maeccr enb lnp mobgibanc* uepc uulbuppabup’ pue he uunbpa jihuaep’ eci bpictnr opa pcelibge* he aepept pcopa* elba bapnunr heben Cil hpope' hale;?; pceperr tha mibbun jeajib - moncynnep uapb’ eci bpyctur septep ciabse* pipum polbu 1 ppea aUmecCig 1 King Alpeed s Teanslation. 6 Me. Thoepe’s Teanslation. Circ. a.d. 895. (Caedmon’s Metr Paraph., 8vo. Lond., 183... ba ongan he pona pmyan m then he began forthwith to sing hepeneppe yobep pcyppenbep - in praise of God the Creator, the pa pepp q )?a popb pe he nseppe verses and words, which he had ne gehypbe papa enbe bypbnep never heard, the order of which ip Dp Nu pe pceolan hepian’ heopon-picep peapb- metobep mihte - q hip mob-jeponc* pepa pulbop-psebep - ppa he punbpa jelipajp - ece bpyhten - oopb onpcealbe 1 lie eepept jepceop 1 eopSan beapnunr heopon Co hpope’ lialig scyppend- fa nubbanjeajib - moncynnep peapb - ece bpyhcen - sepcep ceobe’ pipum polban’ ppea aelmihcig- is this— Now we must praise the Guardian of heaven’s kingdom, the Creator’s might, and his mind’s thought, glorious Father of men ! as of every wonder he Lord eternal formed the beginning. He first framed for the children of the earth the heaven as a roof, holy Creator! then mid earth, the guardian of mankind, the eternal Lord, afterwards produced the earth for men, Lord Almighty! 1 Born 672, died 735. 2 The reader will find some curious particulars respecting the double monasteries, such as Whitby, governed by females, in Lingard’s Antiq. Anglo. Sax. Church, p. 120. 3 King Alfred, in his Translation, translates this by the term enjhipc. 4 “ Convivio,” translated by King Alfred into gebeopscipe, literally beer-ship. See “Leges Inse” apud Wilkins, p. 16, and Tacit. Germ. 22. 23, quoted by Mr. Thorpe. 5 I consider this MS. as having been written not later than the end 6 of the eighth century. The capital letters in the first page of the History, and the ornaments in the large initial, more closely resemble those in the Purple Gospels (MS. reg. 1. E. 6, of which I have given a fac-simile) than any other MS. I have hitherto seen; but the hand-writing is a rough minuscule, of the genuine Anglo-Saxon style, with the letter 8 constantly used, although uu are employed instead of p. 6 Chiefly taken by Mr. Thorpe from a Manuscript in the Library of C. C. Col., Oxford. There are other MSS. in C. C. C. C. and the public Library, Camb. The Cotton. MS., Otho B xi., was burnt. 138 ANGLO-SAXON BOOKS OF MOSES, &c. Bede admits that although he thus gave the sense of the verses, it was impossible to transfer their sublimity into any other tongue. This thing being told to the Abbess, Caedmon was ordered to repeat his verses before her, and the “ most learned men and learners;” by whom some holy history was then expounded to him, which by next morning he had adorned with the best poetry. Thereupon he was prevailed upon by the Abbess to turn monk; and “ all that he could learn by hearing he meditated within himself, and as a clean animal, ruminating, turned into the sweetest verse,” the substance of which (as particularly concerns our present inquiry), is thus stated :— (Bede.) Canebat autem de creatione mundi, et origine humani generis, et tota Genesis historia de egressu Israel ex iEgypto et ingressu in terrain repromissionis, de aliis plu- rimis sacrse scriptur® liistoriis, de Incarnatione dominica, passione, resurrectione et ascension e in ccelum, de spiritus sancti adventu et apostolorum doctrina. Item de terrore futuri judicii et hor- rore poense geliennalis ac dulcedine regni coelestis multa carmina fa- ciebat; sed et alia perplura de beneficiis et judieiis divinis in quibus cunctis homines ab am ore scelerum abstrahere ad delec- tionem vero et sollertiam bon® actionis excitare curabat. (Kino Alfeed.) Song he sepesc be mibbangeapbep gesceape. 3 be ppuman moncynnej- 3 eall f j-tseji genepij- f if j-eo sepepte ntoipep hoc. 3 opt be utgonge ippaela polcep op segypca lonbe. 3 be ingonge ]>^p gehac-lonbep. 3 beoSjmm monigum ppellum )nep halgan geppicep canonep bdca. 3 be cpiptep mennipcneppe 3 be hip Jipopunge. 3 be hip up-aptigneppe on heoponap. 3 big peep halgan-gaptep cyme. 3 ]>apa apoptolap tape. 3 ept bi J?am ege ]nup topeapban bomep 3 be pyphto ]>tep tintpeghcan pitep. 3 be ppetneppe p;ep heoponlican picep he monig leoS gepophte. 3 ppylc eac o'Sep momg be pain gobcundum ppemj-um- neppum 3 domuni he gepophte. on ealliun pain lie geopnlice gyinde f he men atuge pparu pynna lupan 3 man baiba 3 to lupan 3 to geopmpullneppe apehte gobpa ba_ j ba. (Translation.) He first sung of earth’s creation and of the origin of mankind, and all the history of Genesis, which is the first book of Moses ; and then of the outgoing of the Israelite-folk from Egypt-land, and the ingoing to the land of promise, and of many other histories of the Canonical books of Holy Writ; and of Christ’s incarnation, and of his passion, and of his ascension into heaven, and of the coming of the Holy Ghost, and the doc¬ trine of the Apostles, and also of the terror of the doom to come, and the fear of hell torment, and the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom he made many poems; and in like manner many others of the divine benefits and judgments he made ; in all which he earnestly took care to draw men from the love of sins and wicked deeds, and to excite to a love and desire of good deeds. Caedmon is supposed to have died in the year G80, or a little later; and Mr. Convbeare 1 gives the year 670 as the date of the poem of which the above fragments are all that have been preserved. The lines copied above from King Alfred’s translation of the Ecclesiastical History have been considered by most authors as a retranslation of Caedmon's Hymn from Bede's Latin, 2 and not the original hymn itself. The question is one of some interest, involving the state of the language of the Anglo-Saxons 200 years before the time of Alfred and the inroads of the Danes; and, consequently, long before it can be supposed that the language of the latter could in any manner have modified the old Anglo-Saxon tongue. Now it happens that, with the exception of the boundaries of property set forth technically in early Anglo-Saxon charter, we possess no other specimen of the genuine old Anglo-Saxon language, except this hymn of Caedmon. “ Nulla, proh dolor! istius aevi [Anglo-Saxonici, i. e. the period previous to the coming of the Danes] literaria monumenta neque membranis inscripta neque lignis saxisve incisa extent quae scio praeterveri Caedmonis fragmentum quod in lib. iv. cap. 24, Eccl. Hist. Bcdae regia versione extat. 3 ” Hickes, it will hence be seen, regarded Alfred's version as containing the genuine hymn of Caedmon, and the version quoted above from Bishop More’s MS. confirms this opinion. As, however, Mr. Conybeare 4 raised a doubt concerning the age of the verses, as given in this MS., observing, that there appeared to him strong 1 Illustrations of Anglo-Saxon Poetry, p. 36. 2 Sir H. Ellis in Arch®ologia, v. 24, p. 331. Thorpe, Preface to his 2nd edition of C®dmon’s Paraphrase. 3 Hickes’ Thesaurus, 1. 38. The Theotisc Gospel Harmony, of the Cottonian Library, can scarcely be deemed an example of this era, being evidently a continental production. The few verses spoken by Bede shortly before his decease, and quoted by Cuthbert of Jarrow, his disciple, must not, however, be overlooked. They are given by Stevenson, in his recent edition of the Historia Ecclesiastica, from nearly contemporary Anglo-Saxon MSS., now preserved at St. Gallen in Switzerland. It is probable that the attention of Baske was not directed to these lines, nor to those of C®dmon contained in Bishop More’s MS., and hence it is not surprising that in the Anglo-Saxon 2 works hitherto published, he should have found no variation of dialect, because all that he had seen were of the Dano-Saxon period of Hickes. We must, however, remember that King Alfred was not very likely to have adopted any Danisms into his translations; and if the same dialect was retained until the Norman Conquest, it is evident that the subsequent settlement of the Danes in Eugland made but little impres¬ sion on the old language. Mr. Thorpe asserts that the only MSS. which exist, in which a provincial dialect can be traced, (Pref. to Csedmon,) are the gloss in the Cottonian Gospels (Nero, D. 4), and in the Psalter (Yesp. A. 1), the Ormulum and a fragment of Bede, to which he refers, but which I am unable to find in his volume. 4 Illust. of Anglo-Saxon Poetry, p. 6. 139 ANGLO-SAXON BOOKS OF MOSES, &c. grounds for thinking them the work of the eleventh or twelfth century; it is necessary to examine whether this supposition is not entirely groundless. The MS. itself is described by Wanlcv 1 as being written in very ancient characters, and “ ad calcem hujus codicis legitur (si non eadem saltern manu ceque antique/) canticum illud Csedmonis " copied above. At the end of which is the statement “ Primo cantavit Coedmon istud carmen/' Then follow three Latin words with their corresponding names in Anglo-Saxon ; and the latter part of the volume is occupied by historical notices, reaching down to the year 737, and is written “ eadem manu qua scribitur Codex/' It is to be observed in the first place, that Wanley, who had more practice in the examination of Anglo- Saxon MSS. than perhaps any other person who has yet studied them, could not have mistaken a MS. of the eighth century for one of the eleventh or twelfth; such a supposition is of itself unworthy of a moment's consideration. 2 ndly. It is expressly stated, that this was the hymn as first sung by Caedmon himself. It is written just where it might have been expected to have been found, and evidently by a writer who had the hymn in his mind long before the birth of King Alfred. 3rdly. It is scarcely possible that the words of a hymn which Bede had rendered so famous should have been lost between his days and those of King Alfred. 4thly. The language in which it is written, although almost corresponding word for word with King Alfred's version, differs from it both in the orthography and the grammatical form of some of its words, which appear to be in a ruder dialect than in the later version of the royal author. Mr. Conybeare alludes to one or two of these peculiarities, as being similar to others found in a more recent period; but I believe it will be found that the orthography bears a much closer resemblance to the ancient Theotisc language. Thus the word in the 10th line, which in later Anglo-Saxon MSS. is always written beam (child, vulgo bairn), is here found spelt barn; and in the Theotisc Gospels (Cott. MS. Cal. A. 7) it is also spelt barn; so also the Anglo-Saxon word selmihtig (almighty, from tel, all) in the last line is here spelt with a simple a, as it is also in the same Gospels. I thus infer that at the time when this MS. was written, the Anglo-Saxon language was more of a Theotisc or continental character than in King Alfred’s time. Moreover, 5thly. These lines are here found written throughout without either y, ]>, or S, which is of itself a sufficient proof that they were not written in the lltli century, and, as I have already shewn in speaking of the usage of these letters, that they must have been written long before the days of King Alfred. 4. THE METRICAL PARAPHRASE BY THE PSEUDO-CHIDMON. About the middle of the 17th century the celebrated antiquary, Archbishop Usher, presented to the equally celebrated Anglo-Saxon scholar, Francis Junius, a MS., consisting of a poem, which, both from its subject and style, was supposed by the latter to be no other than the poem of Csedmon above described, and which was accordingly printed by him, 2 under the name of that poet, in 1655. On the death of Junius, it passed, with the rest of his collection of MSS., to the Bodleian library, where it is still preserved with the number, (Junius, No. 11.) It is written upon 114 leaves of parchment, measuring 12| inches by 8, (a full page containing 25 leaves,) the first 106 leaves in handsome and uniform Anglo-Saxon characters, the remainder of the MS. being in a somewhat diflerent hand; the difierent sections or chapters, commencing with large and singularly ornamented initial letters, 3 mostly composed of birds or dragons, intertwining together, one of them holding the tail of another in its mouth. The text is profusely ornamented with drawings, as subsequently mentioned in more detail. The publication of Junius was unaccompanied by any translation or by any fac-similes of these drawings; but the whole of the latter were engraved by private subscription about the middle of the last century, and at length published in the 24th volume of the Archseologia; the text itself, having been carefully revised by Mr. B. Thorpe, 4 was also published at the same time, accompanied by a literal translation, 1 Hickes’ Thesaurus, vol. ii. 3 After page 75 the initials are merely plain black capital letters. 2 “ Caedmon’s Monachi Paraphrasis pcetica Genesios ac praecipuarum 4 “ Casdmon’s Metrical Paraphrase of parts of the Holy Scriptures in sacree paginoe Historiarum abhinc annos MLXX Anglo-Saxonice Anglo-Saxon, with an English Translation, Notes, and a verbal Index.” conscripta et nunc primum edita a Francisco Junio F. E. Amstelo- By Benjamin Thorpe, F.S.A. London, 1832. 8vo. dami, 1655.” 8 ANGLO-SAXON BOOKS OF MOSES, &c. 140 and preceded by a detailed account of the IMS. itself and its supposed author. The poem opens with the following lines, here copied with a view of contrasting them with the Poem of Caedmon, as given by Bede (and of which Astle has given a fac-simile : tab. xix. 8.):— Us if pihe micel- bseC P e pobepa peapb- pepeba pulbop cminj- popbum hepigen- mdbum lupern he ip mtejna rpe b heapob ealpa- heah-jepeeapca- ppea aelmihtij- naep him ppuma a-ppe - bp jepopben - ne nu enbe cym]r b>nicd>_c:o m&wm mpm. is (wi W,Um £I* 4f W* .sum iNumum pRopuastfJi err fjA>Ct NON" 6 ST SUBSTANTIA- «h p s MHODAHl HSmyllOHEMSmAllS UlSCl PLiNAwEH ab t > ;t Ve«,ob . bf cjttKm*-- p» &n®mas iDHr .1 WD&JXij 5 • ilVOJXWWX i i a-: V' r .1 V 1 <•••' . fc&*{i Ail eoptr- p’tj&tS' I o a ;. v '. • «nt tun p&crem * ommi zejj re < a nwotiw V T jl^ ' /1 4Ut|«f » pC| IwpWwf ftafc- <»ipW A - tut •u* n i;.tf (alluded to in the fourth and fifth pages of the article on the Anglo-Saxon Pentateuch), written in Roman uncials, not very unlike those of the text of the Psalter itself, and dated, a.d. 736. The first leaf of the Codex in its present state is an interpolated illumination of the twelfth century. Its recto is occupied by a figure of Christ, with the symbols of the four Evangelists, painted on a burnished gold ground, and the verso with a very large and elaborate B (being the initial letter of the first Psalm.) The second leaf is a sheet of parchment, entirely different from the rest of the volume, being semi¬ transparent and almost like horn. Its recto is blank, but on the verso is written the commencement of a Latin preface to the Psalms, beginning with the words— OMNIb scriptura divinitus inspirata utilis est ad docendu, hac ipsa de causa ab spu sco conscripta,’ 5 &c. 1 2 This is written in thin rustic Roman capitals, 3 without any separation between the words, and I have the authority of Sir F. Madden for stating that it is the only specimen existing among the MSS. of the British Museum (and probably in the whole kingdom), of this kind of writing, in which are written most of the ancient Latin MSS. (of the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries) which have come down to us; (such as the Florence and Vatican Virgils, the Paris Prudentius, and the Vatican Terence and Sallust, of all of which fac-similes are given by the Benedictines and Silvestre), and which, in fact, is the kind of writing discovered on the walls of Herculaneum. 4 The third leaf is of the ordinary vellum used throughout the volume; on it is continued in the same hand, the remainder of the preface; on the verso the second portion of the preface thus commences (as copied in specimen No. 3, from which it will be seen that this writing very closely resembles that of the Florence Virgil, written in a.d. 498, but differing in the form of the M from every other rustic MS.) “ PSALMI omnimodam institutionem spitalis disciplines liabent, ibi multiplex prophetia, tam de xpo quam de ecclesia quam de prsedicatoribus quam de martyribus, ibi mala declinanda et quee bona sunt sectande docetur/’ &c. The form of the letters A (destitute of a bar), M, N, T (partaking of a minuscula form), and L, elevated above the line, is to be noticed. The eight following leaves are occupied, on both sides, by Epistles, and verses upon the Psalms, by Damasus, Jerome, &c., and other short treatises on the origin, order, interpretation, &c., of the Psalms, including an Exposition of the Alleluia amongst the Hebrews, Chald&eans, Syrians, and Romans. These are also written in small rustic capitals, but the letters are of a much more elegant form, and the words are, for the most part, separated from each other, with the headings and initials in plain red letters, the former in a rude kind of rustic letter like the text itself, and the latter destitute of any ornament. From one of these, the specimen No. 5, is taken, which is to be read as follows :— ‘ Incipit origo Psalmorum. David filius Jesse eum esset in regno suo iiii elegit qui Psalmos facerent— id est Asaph, Email, Ethan, et Idithun, ergo lxxxyiii dicebant Psalmos et ducenti sub Psalma et cithara pcrcutiebat Abiuth cum David rege/ &c. It is difficult to fix a date to this part of the MS., as this form of rustic capitals remained in partial use until driven out by the modern Gothic; but the circumstance of entire pages being written in it is of itself an evidence of very great age, and the nearest resemblance to it which I can discover is the specimen given by the Benedictines, from a MS. of St. Augustine, on the City of God, referred by them to the 5th or 6th century. 5 1 See Stepli. Monast., App. v., 1. 208. 2 The first word Omnis is alone written in plain square Roman capitals, larger than the text. 3 “ L’Ecriture capitale rustique parait venir directement de la plus ancienne des Romains. Cette ecriture parait dans les aucieunes inscrip¬ tions. II est vrai qu’on cesse d’assez bonne heure d’ecrire des MSS. entiers eu cette ecriture ; elle ctait cependaut encore souvent employee 3 a cet usage aux V. et VI;’ siecle. On peut disputer si elle le fut au suivans.” N. Tr. de Dipl., vol. ii. 505. 4 See Dissertationes Isagogicae ad Herculaniensium voluminum ex- plicationem, Pars 1, 1797 ; and Ottley in Archceologia, vol. xxv. 5 N. Tr. de Dipl. 3. p. 92, pi. 37, V. II. ii. THE PSALTER OF ST. AUGUSTINE. The form of the letters A, U, M, G, N, and L, is worthy of observation, as well as the conjoined N and T at the end of the line. The letter H is often Avritten like a K. The twelfth leaf contains the end of the second, and the third and fourth Psalms ; the two previous leaves which evidently contained the first and beginning of the second Psalm, and an illuminated title-page, having been cut out. The Psalms extend to the 140th leaf. The text of the Psalms is written in uncial letters, not exceeded in beauty by any known MS. The Avords are but semi-distinct, and the tails of the letters which reach below the line run into a slender oblique stroke. The letter A varies in its form. The second specimen given by the Benedictines, in their 43rd Plate, from the MS. of St. Prosper, in the Bibliotheque du Roi of the sixth century, come the nearest to our MS. Several others (also in their 44tli Plate) of the 7th century, may also be compared with it; as may also the specimens which Avill be given in this work from the Gospels of St. Augustine, at Oxford and Cambridge; the Charters of Sebbi and rEthelbald, and the Bodleian rule of St. Benedict, also said to have belonged to St. Augustine. The specimen in the accompanying Plate, No. 2, is the commencement of the 68th (69th) Psalm, and is to be read as folloAvs:— LX VIII. In finem pro his qui commutabuntur David. Salvum me fac Dews quo/mmi introierunt aqwae usque ad animam meam ; infixus sum in limum profundi et non est substantia.” 1 The following is a copy of the 53rd (54th) Psalm, of the Latin text, which Avill sIioav the version employed in this MS. “ Ds in nomine tuo salvum me fac et in virtute tua libera me. Ds exaudi orationem meam, auribus percipe verba oris mei. Qum alieni insurrexerunt in me et fortes quesierunt animam meam et non proposuerunt din ante conspectum suum. Ecce enim ds adjuvat me et diis susceptor est anime mee. Averte mala inimicis meis et in veritate tuo disperde illos. Yoluntarie sacrificabo tibi et confitebor nomini tuo due qum bonum est. Qum ex omni tribulatione eripuisti me et super inimicos meos respexit oculus tuns.” It Avill be seen that the Latin text is accompanied by an Anglo-Saxon interlineary version, Avhich bears evident proof of being executed long after the MS. itself. But although it is impossible to determine at what period, I presume that it was subsequent to the ninth century. Mr. Barber (Introduction to the misnamed Wickliffe New Testament) affirms it to be of very high antiquity. Mr. Wright (Biogr. lit. Brittan. i. 51), assigns the name of the Age of Glosses to the earlier part of the ninth century, and regards the frequent occurrence of interlineary Glosses, as a sure decay of Latin scholarship. Ought Ave not rather to consider it as resulting from the practice of reading the Scriptures to the people in their native language ? and are not this and the other Glosses on the Scriptures rather of the tenth, or beginning of the eleventh century ? Mr. B. Thorpe states that this version and that of the Gospels of Lindisfarne (Bibl. Cott. Nero. D. iv.) are the only relics in existence of the ancient Northumberland dialect. The gloss in specimen No. 2, is as follows— : Jhilne mec boa gob, pop^on mpobun pebep oS paple mine : gepepbnab ic earn in lam gpunbep q nip ppoeb. The gloss upon the 53rd Psalm is as folloAvs ; and is here given in order to alloAV this version to be contrasted with that contained in the other Psalters:— Gob m noman &num halne mec boa q m megne Smum geppea mec : gob gehep gebeb memun mib eapum, onpoh popb nnfSep minep pope bjulrcen pe an&ectab : f>e ecne paebep cal eojvSe pup^aS. pe ealle englap pe heopenap q ealle anpealbu.” Would that some of our own Palaeographers were not liable to the same charge. 1 Silvestre,in his extravagantly expensive work, has given three Plates of Anglo-Saxon MSS., including the present one, but omitting the Anglo- Saxon text! all copied from Astle, without a word of acknowledgment. THE PSALTEH OE SAINT AUGUSTINE. The recto of the leaf (30), following the 25tli Psalm is blank, but the verso is entirely occupied by an illumination of the royal Psalmist with his attendants, copied at the head of my Plate. In the original, however, the two dancing figures are placed between the feet of David, and those with the horns, beneath the tw r o figures at the sides of the Psalmist. The style of this drawing is coarse, but not without considerable expression. The colouring is heavy ; the tints consisting of thick layers of body-colour in excellent preservation; the shades produced by deeper strokes of the several local tints, and the lights by broad opakc white 01 other pale colours; the silver in this design is greatly tarnished, and the gold in many places has peeled off, carrying with it the ornamental design which had been painted upon it. The drawing is unquestionably of the same date as the text, and is consequently of great value, as one of the earliest specimens of native art, independent of the illustrations it affords of the dresses and musical instruments of our forefathers. It will be at ouce perceived, that the style of art is totally unlike that of Anglo-Saxon drawings of the lOtli and 11th centuries; and in the short thick-set figures, we perceive a similarity to those in the Codex Geneseos of the Cottonian Library, and in the "V atican A irgil of the 5tli century. It is difficult to conjecture the nature of the instruments held by the figures on either side of the chair on which the Psalmist is seated. Strutt, (who copied the dancing figures in his “ Sports and Pastimes/’) conjectures them to be intended for a kind of tabor or drum, beaten with a single drumstick. Are not the figures rather intended for scribes, each holding a style, and one with a book, and the other with a roll in his hand ? The four trumpeters will, in such case, represent Asaph, Email, Ethan, and Idithun. This group is inclosed between two columns, ornamented with interlaced patterns, and supporting a massive rounded arch of elaborate Anglo-Saxon design, very much in the same character as the ornaments of the Gospels of Lindisfarne. (Nero D. IV.) The base and capitals of the columns are ornamented with painted circles, in which are drawn eagles and dogs; and in the two angles at the top of the page are two foliated arabesque patterns of elegant design. The evidence upon which this MS. is affirmed to have been sent by Pope Gregory to St. Augustine, is, to a certain extent, satisfactory. In the first place, w T e find in the account of the Bibliotheca Gregoriana, or inventory of the “ Primitie librorum totius ecclesie Anglicane,” of the Monastery of St. Augustine, drawn up in the time of Henry Ah, the description of a Psalter perfectly agreeing with the one before us, except that its cover was then ornamented with the effigy of Christ and the Four Evangelists; its contents being as follows :— 1st. The Preface, commencing “ Omnis scriptura divinitus/’ 2nd. The Epistles of Damasus and Jerome; 3rd. The Treatise DeOrigine Psalmorum, with the division of the Psalter into four books, the Exposition of the Alleluia in Hebrew, Chaldaic, Syriac, and Latin, &c.; 4tli. The Psalter itself, with the effigy of Samuel; 5tli. Hymns. AVanley, in his endeavour to detect these Gregorian MSS., considered that the volume to which this description was applicable was lost, but that the Cottonian MS. now before us was a copy of the Gregorian Psalter; 1 because the text is written in Anglo-Saxon characters. 2 This is, however, erroneous ; for the text itself is written throughout in fine Homan uncials ; and, were it not for the illuminated Anglo-Saxon capitals, it would not be distinguishable from a Homan MS. Indeed, Mr. Baber (Introduction to the AVicklifle New Testament) says that it is written in the thin light hand of Italian MSS. Sir F. Madden considers that the annalist above mentioned was deceived by the tradition respecting it, as it clearly exhibits the Hiberno- Saxon character of art of the seventh century. 3 From the very careful examination which I have made of the MS., I do not hesitate, however, to affirm that a portion of it is Homan, and as old, or older, than the time of St. Augustine—namely, those leaves which are written in the rustic Homan capitals, with the words indistinct. The same remark may also, perhaps, be applied to the 4tli and seven following leaves, written in the more elegant rustic capitals; and 1 have no hesitation in suggesting that the text of the Psalms is a copy of the original MS., purposely decorated with all the art of the period, and, in the spirit of veneration, introduced into the place of the old unornamented Homan MS., which, moreover, might probably have become worn out. ' “Unde alteram alterius apograph urn fuisse facile credo.” 2 “ Litteris majoribus Anglo-Saxonicis.” \Y an ley. Wanley in Ilickes’ Thesaurus, vol. ii., p. 173, 3 Preface to Shaw’s Illuminated Ornaments. G V [ D A;SX ph’ ET HiUsl.r; ~r A~^ : I faSlM \£V 1 D 1 TbUH £xaqt>i -ret>e© oaati outfit ^c^ptrnj tn tam r crclamoti p a J^E i> 11 T) 1 . i e-c|xx2L 3 ttutja mm ?>pytir T7|ivujrfu^' T> m' tu|tx ti y mvi’ li x) n p px pi m c un crrc 11 n x mm i teltop^ mm. m ftim tx ntTntrium meiim: | ^ -jJulru. inui 1e q ic and yrre naman J>inu bpihr poppon gob bye ys ; poppon op ealpe geppencebnyppe ]m genepybyir me q opyp pynb mine gelocobe iege Jim. The specimen, No. 3, is taken from a fine MS. in the Bodleian Library, numbered Junius 27, having formerly belonged to that celebrated scholar, who received it from Isaac Yoss, whence it has been named the Codex Vossianus. It measures 10 inches by 6^, and 1| inch in thickness; a full page having 20 lines in Latin, written in beautiful Anglo-Saxon characters, accompanied by an interlineary Anglo-Saxon gloss, written in a small and extremely neat hand, and is supposed by Wanley to have been written about the time of King Athelstan. The volume contains no drawings nor illuminated borders. At the beginning of the volume is the Calendar, which, however, as well as various parts of the MS., has been much defaced by having some of the illuminated capital letters cut out. The strange style of these letters will be best perceived by the specimen in the plate. The initials in the Lambeth Aldhelm, the Bodleian Pseudo-Caedmon, and a fine MS. in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge, are similarly treated. The specimen is the commencement of the 1 7th Psalm, and is to be read :—“In finew? puero Domini Darn'd q ui locutws est domino verba cantici hujusin die qua, &c. Diligam te domine virtus mea dom'nws firmamentum meum et refugium meum. Et liberator mews dews mews adjutor mews sperabo in eum : x> and the Anglo-Saxon gloss is as follows (the first two words not being glossed) :—“ bpyhr msegen nun bpyhr rpymenip min q gebeopg min q onlepenb mm, gob mm, pulru mm ic gehyhre in bine.” This may be compared with the fac-simile of the gloss in the Augustine Psalter, given by Astle, Plate IX. The gloss on the 53d Psalm is as follows: Ds on noman ftinuhalne me bo q on msegene ^inu aliep me gob gehep gebeb min mibeapuonpoh }>opb mwSep minep poppon ppembe apipon on me q prponge poliron paple mine q no popeperron gob bepopan gepilfSe hipa. pelfSe po^lice gob gepultumaS me q bpyhr anbpenga is paple minpe acep ypel peonSu minu q so^paeprneppe Sinpe popppilb hie : pilpumlice ic onpeege "Se q ic on berre noman ciinu bpyhr poppon gob he ip poppon op eallum geppmee Su genepeiSep me q opep pienb mine gelocobe eage cSm. The fourth specimen in the Plate is copied from the British Museum MS., Reg. 2 B. 5. It is a small folio volume, containing the Latin Psalter, written in a fine plain Anglo-Saxon hand, with an interlineary Anglo-Saxon Gloss. It is destitute of miniatures, borders, and illuminated letters; the initials measuring about 1 inch in height, except that of the 1st Psalm, which is a large plain roman B. The specimen given in the Plate is from the commencement of the 20tli Psalm :—“Dne in virtute tua letabitur rex;” the Gloss being partly in Latin and partly in Anglo-Saxon :—q. (id est) pater, on msegene Jnnu blippab (.q. gauber jhs xps). The Gloss upon the 53d Psalm is as follows :— gob on noman Jhnii halne bo q on msegene pmu alype gehyp gebeb mm nnb eapu onpoh popb mujep minep ppebe on apipon on me q prpange poliron paple mine q na popeperron gob bepopan gepih^e hip . poMice gepylpre^S me anbpeng ip paple minpe acyp ypelu op peonbu minu q on poppseprmppe D ne popppil hy pilpumlice ic oppige J>e ic anberre naman pmu poppon gob he ip op eallu geppmee jiu gnepebepr mec q opep pynb mine gelocobe eage J?in. Wanley considers that this MS. was written about the time of King Alfred. It was formerly the property oi Tliomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, whose autograph appears on the first page of the Psalms. 2 4 l^ 1 q j£ ig s r j; 'Ip $ 5*£lS-1hg$e ttH £ - C ^ ^ £ £ s <2' c ** a ^ i it2 5 >g rg g rs sJ k sna : jhlj ti - 3 A ■\ Ck So q.( £ ts « C) ANGLO-SAXON PSALTERS. NO. II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. 1. Commencement of the 38tli (39th) Psalm, and 3. Commencement of the 109th(110th)Psalm from the Lambeth Psalter. 2. Drawing of the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem from the Cottonian 4. Commencement of the 45th (46th) Psalm, and Psalter, Tiberius, C. 6. 5. Copy of the Autograph of the Duke of Berry from the Paris Psalter. r J^HE Manuscripts from which the specimens in the accompanying plate have been taken differ from those represented in the preceding plate of Anglo-Saxon Psalters in having the Latin text written entirely in Roman, without any mixture of Anglo-Saxon characters, the headings being written in uncial or rustic Roman capitals. The first of these specimens is from the Cottonian Psalter, Tiberius, C. 6, which, although much injured by the Cottonian fire, is one of the most important relics of Anglo-Saxon art. It has recently been very carefully repaired and bound, each leaf being mounted on thick paper. It consists of 129 leaves of vellum, measuring 10 inches by 6, a full page comprising 25 lines of the Latin text, with an interlineary Saxon gloss. It is evidently of the latter part of the tenth or beginning of the eleventh century. The ink is particularly black, and the handwriting very elegant. It commences with some tables of the lunar and ecclesiastical computations, enclosed within rounded arches, supported by plain columns with foliated bases and capitals. At the head of one of these pages (fol. 5 b) is represented a party seated at a feast, with servants waiting on their knees, and holding the meat on long spits, from which it is cut by the guests. 1 On fol. 6 v is a singular representation of Life and Death contrasted, the former with a cruciferous nimbus and standing upon the wings of the latter. On the verso of the next leaf commences a series of drawings (eighteen in number) of scriptural subjects, of large size, each design occupying the entire page, one of which, representing the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem, is represented in my plate. The subjects of these drawings, which are executed with great freedom, are as follows :— 1. The Spirit of God upon the face of the water: a singular and highly imaginative design. 2. David killing the Lion. 3. David killing Saul. 4 & 5. David and Saul. 6. David playing on the harp, with the Holy Ghost, in the form of a dove, seated on the top of the sceptre, and with its neck extending to the mouth of the King. 7. The contest between Christ and Satan in the wilderness. 8. The entry of Christ into Jerusalem. 9. Christ washing the Disciples’ feet. An angel from above holds a large napkin over the head of Christ. JO. The betrayal of Christ by Judas. The attitude and astonishment of the former are represented with much effect. 11. Christ bound and brought before Pilate. 12. The Crucifixion. 2 13. The angel appearing to the three Maries; the Tomb itself, representing a tall building ornamented with several series of arcades, and the figure of the angel being finely delineated. 14. The Harrowing of Hell. Christ represented as treading upon the devils, and drawing the souls out of the infernal regions. 15. The incredulity of Thomas. Except in the figure of Christ being too tall, this is perhaps the most pleasing of the series ; the figure of the Apostle is very natural, and the attitude of the Saviour very spiiited, being seven inches high. 1 Copied in Pictorial Hist, of England, I. p. 336. 2 A reduced figure of one of the soldiers is given in Pictorial Hist, of Engl. I. 332. 1 ANGLO-SAXON PSALTERS. 16. The Ascension : the upper part of the figure of the Saviour hidden by the clouds at the top of the pictui'e. 17. The Descent of the Holy Ghost, represented as a dove, with flames of fire issuing from its mouth, the tail held by a hand in the clouds. IS. The Contest between Michael the Archangel and the Devil. A very spirited design. These drawings are, perhaps, the most interesting examples of the peculiar style of Anglo-Saxon art of the period which are now in existence. Drawn with a pen, with great freedom, in different-coloured inks, and destitute of any shading, they teach us the ideas of composition entertained by the artists of the day, who, although so unskilful in the higher branches of Art, were, at the close of the tenth century, as at the beginning of the eighth, unrivalled in their ornamental designs, of which the Benedictional of TEthelwold or the Gospels of Canute is a sufficient proof. The strange want of perspective in the specimen in my plate, the ludicrous manner in which the artist has attempted to delineate the spreading of garments in the path of our Saviour, and the attenuated extremities of the figures, scarcely need comment. To these succeed several pages of illustrations and descriptions of variously-formed musical instruments including a figure of David playing on the Psaltery 1 ; on the verso of the last of which is a miniature of Christ, seated and inclosed within the vesica piscis, with an angel sounding a trumpet on each side, and with the Virgin and two priests standing at the bottom of the drawing. This is highly finished, in thick glazed body-colours, similar to those used in the illuminated initials of the Psalms. The recto of the 19th leaf is surrounded by an illuminated border, somewhat similar to the style of the Canute Gospels, inclosing the commencement of the Treatise on the Origin of the Psalms, “ David filius Jesse cum esset in regno suo,” &c., the D being large and finely illuminated. Then follow various treatises referring to the Psalms, of which the Gallican version is here employed, and which commences on the 31 st leaf, the preceding page having a miniature of David playing on the harp, with his four attendants, enclosed within an ornamented border and coloured in the same style as the miniature of Christ in the vesica piscis. In this curious drawing, which has been several times 2 engraved, two of the attendants are represented playing on the horn, a third on the violin, whilst the fourth acts the part of a juggler 3 engaged in throwing up three knives and three balls. As usual, the king is represented of a much larger size than his attendants. The commencement of the 1st Psalm is highly illuminated witlpa large initial B, copied by Shaw, (who has also given portions of some of the borders from this MS. in his ‘ Illuminated Ornaments ;’) the following words being written in fine Roman capitals, in alternate lines of red, blue, and green; the whole enclosed within a finely-ornamented border, in the same style as the Canute Gospels, but destitute of gold. The commencement of the Psalms “ Quid gloriaris,” and “ Dne exaudi orationem meam,” are similarly ornamented, and the initials of about a dozen of the other Psalms are also illuminated in the same singular, but not inelegant style, one of which I have copied in my specimen, No. 1. The initials of the other Psalms are of moderate size, and plain. Each of these two Psalms (viz. the 52nd and 102nd) is preceded by a page on one of which is drawn a figure of Christ, and on the other a priest richly robed, each standing beneath a rounded arch, and executed in the same style as the drawings at the beginning of the volume. Each Psalm is preceded by a short prayer, as in the Duke of Buckingham’s Psalter, with which this also nearly agrees in the Anglo-Saxon text; whence I infer, as well as from the style of the illuminated capitals (one of which is given by Astle), that the pretended Psalter of King Alfred is coeval with the one now before us. All the Psalms after 114 are wanting. Hie specimen No. 1 is copied from the commencement of the 38th (39th) Psalm ; the Anglo-Saxon gloss being as follows :— Ic cpaeS ic gehealbe pegap mine ic ne agylte on tunga minpie Ic apette muS minu ge heopbunga J>on pe pynpulla ongean me. 1 A reduced copy of this drawing is given in the Pictorial Hist, of Psalter as affording illustrations of the performances of the Anglo- England, 1. 321. Saxon Gligman, or Gleeman. It is curious that he should have over¬ fly Strutt and in 1 ict. Ilist. of England, I. 322. looked another illustration of the Gleeman throwing balls, which is to 3 Strutt adduces this drawing and the frontispiece of the Augustine be found in the Cottonian MS. Claudius, B. iv. fol. 33, verso. ANGLO-SAXON TSALTERS. The Anglo-Saxon version of the 53rd Psalm, given in order to allow collation with the other Anglo- Saxon Psalters, is as follows :— job on naman pmum halne me bo -j on msejene pin .... jehyp jebeb min mib eapu onpoh popb mutSep mine]- popiSon ppembe apipon pi$c onjean me j ptpanje pohcon paple mine—na-poppecton job bepopan jepihSe hip—poftlice jepylpcep me ■j bplh anbpenj paple minpe acyp yuelu onpeonbu rninum on poppseptmppe pina pujenepebepC hy. pinpumlice ic oppije pe q ic anbette naman pinu bpihtene popbon jod he ip. poppon op eallum jeppince pujenepebepc me opep pynb mine eaje mine. The specimen numbered 3 is from a fine MS. in the library of the Archbishop of Canterbury, containing the Gallican version of the Latin Psalter, written apparently about the time of King Edgar, in strong Roman minuscule characters with an interlineary Anglo-Saxon version. It consists of 211 leaves, measuring 8^ by 6^ inches; a page containing sixteen Latin lines with its corresponding Anglo-Saxon interlineations. With the exception of the large initial B of the first Psalm (which is of the Roman form, but ornamented at the top and bottom of the first stroke with interlaced patterns, terminating on each side in eagles’ heads, and in the open parts with foliated ornaments finely drawn with pink ink and shaded with green), all the capitals throughout the volume are of a character similar to those in the specimen in my plate. The initial letters of the other Psalms are in blue, lilac, red, and green colours, and those of the verses are smaller and in red. The specimen before us is the commencement of the 109th Psalm, the Anglo-Saxon Gloss being as follows :—“ Ssebe bpihcen to bpihtne minum pice set j’pybpu mmum op psec ic apecce peonb pine on poc pceamele pota pinpa : jypbe majnep pinep apenbep bpihcen,” &c. It will be seen that some of the words are marked beneath with dots, which, according to Wanley (Hickes’ Thes. 2, preface and p. 268), are intended for musical notes, although quite unlike the Gregorian notes. It is also marked with asterisks and obeli, which are wanting in many MSS. The Anglo-Saxon version of the commencement of the 53rd Psalm is as follows : — “ Eala pu job on naman pinum jehsel me j on mihte pinpe bem me : jehep min jebeb mib eapum undeppoh popb mupep minep pojipam pe selppemebe on apipon Co jsenep me q pa pcpanjan pohcon paple mine q hij nepoppeccon job copopan anpyne heopa.” Astle has given a fac-simile of the commencement of the 101st Psalm, both from this and the Duke of Buckingham’s Psalter, which may be contrasted with my specimen from the Cambridge Psalter in the * j preceding plate. At the end of the MS. are the Canticles, Lord’s Prayer, Creeds, &c., and two leaves of a composition respecting the female Anglo-Saxon Saints, the latter entirely in Anglo-Saxon. The specimen No. 4, and the accompanying autograph, is from the Psalter preserved in the Bibliotheque du Roi, at Paris, formerly belonging to Jean, Duke of Berry, third son of King John of France, and presented by him, in 1406, to the Church of Bourges, and which in a manuscript catalogue, composed in the middle of the last century, was thus described : — “ Les heures du due Jean, reliees en long ; a cote du Latin il y a une colonne d’une traduction qu’on croit d’ancien Anglo-Saxon ou d’HongroisA It is a long and narrow folio, and in the margins are painted many scutcheons of the arms of France and Boulogne. It consists of eighty-six leaves of fine vellum, and comprises the Psalms with a parallel version in Anglo-Saxon, and the usual Canticles. At the end of the volume is inscribed the autograph of its former royal owner, copied at the foot of my plate. The writing, according to Champollion, is a fine Gallican minuscule mixed with some Anglo-Saxon letters in the translation, and which is supposed, by Silvestre, to be of the 13th century. The specimen in my plate is copied from Silvestre, and represents the commencement of the 45th 1 salm —“ Deus noster refugium et justus [virtus],” the Anglo-Saxon text being:— “ Dpyhcen yp upe jebeoph q upe msejen q upe pulcu”—menb. in this manuscript, published in 1835 1. On Janum ]>am halijan naman jebo me halne Gob, alyj-me pjiam latlum ]>urh jnn leope msejen. 2. Gob, min jebeb jeapupe jehyjie anb eapum onpoh mm ajen popb. 3. Foppam me ppembe opc pacne jeptobon, pohran mine ] aple ] pi S f low Ttpljeoy^ a Te y>ev> ♦ ex&udt ottnxtnxti' ^^PjFttltTO zaen nttm^s . mmetuolal aUte inei C) C' name SC enr Uz i miornmamr (tnuce » -turnt? maiuafcerr me O aiiT" exaiidi ora c-to ~ ftmmuwku) -/fie flatter of Hadwint I I * a THE TRIPARTITE AND TRIGLOT PSALTER OF EADWINE. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. Illustration of the 63rd (64th) Psalm and Commencement, of the 53rd ^54th) Psalm. T HE Manuscript from which the illuminations in the accompanying plate have been copied, is preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge, and it is by the kind permission of the Venerable Archdeacon Thorpe, (President of the Camden Society,) that I am enabled to offer these illustrations of one of the most valuable, as it is one of the most splendid volumes which have come down to us, illustrating, as it does, the state, not only of the fine arts, but also of the languages of our country, at that most interesting period, the middle of the 12tli century. The volume is of a large folio size, consisting of 2S0 leaves, measuring 18 inches by 13, and containing a Calendar; the tripartite Latin Psalter of the Hebraic, Roman and Gallican versions—the Gallican holding the chief rank and bearing a Latin gloss—the Roman having an Anglo-Saxon (or rather Norman-Saxon) inter¬ lineary version, and the Hebraic with an old Norman-Frencli interlineary version. To each Psalm is prefixed a short Prayer. At the end of the Psalms are the usual Canticles, Te Deum, Creed, &c. The transition state of the English language during the 12th and first half of the 13th centuries, is of the greatest interest to the philological student; and the true date of so many of the pieces which have been referred to this period being subject of dispute, 1 it will at once be perceived that the present Manuscript is of high i mportance, as its date is satisfactorily fixed by the entries in the Calendar, and yet but little use appears to have been hitherto made of this fine volume. It must be borne in mind that Ilickes applies to the state of our language subsequent to the Norman Conquest, the term Norman-Saxon, and Hr. Johnson states that “the adulteration of the Saxon tongue by a mixture of the Norman, becomes apparent : yet it is not so much altered by the admixture of new words, which might be imputed to commerce with the Continent, as by changes of its own forms and terminations, for which no reason can be given.” It will be seen, however, from the Manuscript before us, that a hundred years’ intercourse with the Normans (even in the south of England, as the Manuscript before us was evidently written at Canterbury,) had scarcely effected any alteration in the old Anglo-Saxon tongue; 2 the gloss on the Roman version of the 53rd Psalm being as follows :— “ Got) on mermen Jnnum htelne me gtebo q on mregne fine geppiolpe me : gob geliip gebeb mime mib eapurn onpoli popb mubep rninep : poppan ppembe on tepipou on me q ptpange pohten paple mine q nai pope gepetton gob bepopsen on pine tpilfSe hip.” The Norman gloss on the Hebraic version is as follows :—“ Heus el tuen num salue mei e en ta force uenge mei Deus oi la meie oreisun ot tes oreilles receit les paroles de ma buclie; kar li estrange sesdrecerent encuntre mei e li fort questrent la meie aneme e ne proposerent deu en leur esgardement tutes ures.” The character of the writing of this Manuscript is not less interesting, since it clearly exhibits the first traces of the modern Gothic hand in the angulated tops and obliquely truncate bases of many of the letters. 1 Thus, of the pieces which Warton gave as specimens of the 12th century, “ there is not one which may not be safely referred to the 13th century, and by far the greater number to the close of that period.”—Ilist. of Engl. Poetry (Ed. of 1824), i. 7. 2 The Arundel MS., No. 57, in the British Museum, dated 1340, written in the dialect of Kent, contains a very interesting proof how long the old Saxon tongue was retained in some parts of the kingdom. The Lord’s Prayer being as follows :—“ Vader oure pet art in heuenes yhalzed bij Y\ name cominde Jn riche, yworpe j)i wil, ase in heune and ine erpe, bread oure eche dayes yef ous today, and ourlet ous oure yeldinges ase and we uorletep oure yelderes and ne ous led nazt into uondinge ac vri ous uram queade.” The following, although at least 15 0 years earlier in date, will be seen to be much nearer to the modern English. It was sent by the English Pope Gregory VIII. (circ. 1187) to King Henry II., and “ was used in all the churches of England with universal approbation.” “ IJre fader in heuene rich Thi name be haliib euerliche Thou bring vs to thi michelblisce Thi will to wirche thu vs wisse Als hit is in heavene ibo Ever in earth ben hit also That holi bred that lasteth ay Thou send hit ous this ilke day Forgiue ous all that we hauith done Als we forgivet vch other mon Ne let us falle in no founding Ak scilde us fro the foule thing Amen.” 1 THE TRIPARTITE AND TRIGLOT PSALTER OF EADWINE. The initial letters of each Psalm are highly illuminated in gold - and rich body colours, the style of which will be seen from the specimen before us to differ entirely from the designs of the Anglo-Saxon calligraphers : the initial letter of the first Psalm, B, is six inches high, and most elaborately coloured. Each Psalm is illustrated by a drawing embodying the subject of the text in a singularly quaint but expres¬ sive manner: thus the specimen in the plate illustrates the 63rd (64th Psalm), where David calls upon God to hide him from the wicked, “ who whet their tongue like a sword and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, ^vcn bitter words.”—“But God shall shoot at them with an arrow.” This extensive series of drawings, of which my specimen is one of the least elaborate, is of great interest, from the many representations of the dresses, habits, customs, &c., of our forefathers, which it affords. The drawings are freely sketched with a pen and black ink, and the colours dashed on with good effect of light and shade—red, blue, green, and brown, alone being employed. The first page is entirely occupied by a large drawing, in two compartments, in the upper of which are given two buildings of handsome elevation; one inscribed “ San eta eccl.,” in which the “ Beatus Vir” is seated; whilst in the opposite one, “ Superbia” is seated. Between these two buildings is a contest between a man and an angel, the latter endeavouring to draw the mortal to the former building. Beneath is a representation of the infernal regions. Two of the pages at the end of the volume are entirely occupied by a large bird’s-eye view of the Monastery of Christ Church, Canterbury, with all its buildings and grounds. This highly curious plan has been engraved in the Yetusta Monumenta, as well as the full-length portrait of Eadwine himself, more than a foot in height, engaged in writing, holding a metallic calamus in his right hand, and a knife in his left, and surrounded by the following jingling Latin verses :— SCRIPTOR. LITERA. Scviptorum princeps ego nee obitura deinceps, Te tua scriptura quem signat picta figura, Laus mea nec fama, que sim mea littera clama. Prredicat Eadwinum fama per secula vivum, Ingenium cuius libri decus indicat huius. The name of the writer also appears in the following Prayer, after the fashion in ancient Psalters :— “ Omnipotens et misericors Deus clementiam tuam suppliciter deprecor ut me, famulum tuum Eadwinum tibi fideliter servire concedas et perseverentiam bonam et felieem consumm ationem miclii largire digneris et hoc Psalterium, quia in conspectu tuo cantavi ad salutem et ad remedium animae mete proficiat sempiternum. Amen.” The date of the volume is ascertained by the following entry in the Calendar :—“XI Kal Maii, obiit pie memopie Anselmus arep,” Anselm having died during the reign of King Stephen. In the Calendar, also, are inserted entries concerning other archbishops, as well as the dedication “ Eccleske Cliristi,” which evidently alludes to the Church of Christ at Canterbury: indeed, we find in the Cottonian MS. (Galba, E. 4) containing an inventory of the books belonging to the Cathedral of Canterbury, drawn up in the year 1315, several books of a certain Edwin :—“ Liber Edwini Anglice”—“ Biblia Edwini”—and “ tripartitum Psalterium Edwini,” —which was doubtless the volume now before us, as suggested by Wanley (Hickes’ Thes. Yol. 2). Silvestre has given a fac-simile from a tripartite Psalter, preserved in the Bibliotlieque Royale de Paris; which, in the style of its writing and illuminated initials, precisely corresponds with Eadwine’s book. It is described by Silvestre as having only the Hebraic Version accompanied by an old French gloss, which is regarded by Champollion as of high importance. Unlike the Cambridge MS., the drawings with which it is ornamented are not contemporary with the text, but were successively executed; so that there is at least two centuries in the difference of the styles of the first and last miniature; all which, moreover, exhibit traces of Italian art. The Ilarleian MS., No. 603 (in the British Museum), is a large folio Latin Psalter, written about the time of King Edgar (but some of the leaves restored about the time of the Conqueror), and interesting from its containing a series of sketches, by different hands, very similar to the drawings in the Psalter of Eadwine, which were apparently copied from them. The sketches are drawn with great freedom, with a pen, and comprise a great fund of illustrations of national manners, dress, &c. Unfortunately, the page containing the 63rd Psalm has been cut out, so that we cannot compare the drawing with that in Eadwine’s Psalter, but some of the sketches are evidently identical in both MSS. The initial letters are plain. Many of the drawings have been published by Strutt, and in the Pictorial History of England (Yol. 1). m VvT> r-'O S&SO&l hxii>6{) kvi r'b.-y mm m ^ t>rr ^ Tiomormsiis pfi am to b & *&llrr» n ama . oCdo cm nomen -p \fip ro)f eRQGG lolaccnms v. I gamu hoe eiiaipefuuin Hb 1> dSCpw fr§ X& 7 |>dj'l>OC j^wy'* &OJ'&b€ r ' biini tlTt Cl ammuC j90'C**xx:tXpad- a jmppenbe injayce popJ>on heopakip heoyunapice-}>a mdse popJ>on J)elne gepircaj) eojvSu..nu pf>on j?e hie beoj) appoeppebe-ba ju hie hyngpi}) 4 r 0 ^ pseycmyye pfon ))elne pulle fie—opfaj)-pu nnloheoprmppe pJ?on )?e hie mdbheoprmppe bejetaJ*- fa claene heojvcan peine gob gpcapab t 5 gepeof. John xxi. 15 —17- cpyeft pimon petpe Se kset. pinion job lypapru mec ppiSop Sippum. cpieS him gee bpih Su papt pte ic lupabe Sec, cpseS him poeb lombop mine. cpieS him epveppona pinion joh lupasr tu cpaeS him gee bpih Su papr Smrre ic lupo Sec. cpseS him poeb lombop mine cpseS him epreppona pimo joh lupap mec; gum popab paip perpup popSon cpaeS him Se Sipba lupaycu mec q cpaeS him Spih Su alle payc J5te ic lufiiS ec cpseS hi peon pcip mine. Of the origin and age of this volume, it is to be observed that Astle, overlooking the Irish name of the scribe, and confounding the large round Irish hand and the Anglo-Saxon together, under the name of Roman- Saxon writing, asserts this MS. to have been written in England in the latter end of the 7th, and the inter¬ lineary gloss in the 10th century; and Wanley states that it was the property of Venerable Bede, which “may be the case, as it seems older than the Cotton MS.” (Nero, D. 4.) Dr. O’Conor, however, succeeded 6 in detecting in the Irish Annals of the year 820 the decease of a scribe of this name-“ Mac Riagoil, nepos Magleni, Scriba et Episcopus Abbas Biror (hodie Birr in Comitatu Regio in Hibernia), periit.” 7 1 Wanley gives the following as the translation of this passage:— “ Qui me (sc. Codicem) versaverit oret pro Owuno qui hunc Codicem glossavit, Fermenni Presbyteri JIarawudensis gratia, jam tandem Codicem perscripsit, Utere mente simili, vera fide, Pax (sit) cuilibet (sive ubique) charissima.”—Ilickes’ Thesaurus, vol. ii. p. 81. 2 It is deserving of notice that Owun omitted to gloss this interpo¬ lation, thence leading us to infer that his gloss was copied from a previous version made from a MS. not containing this passage. 3 It will be seen that this passage, as copied in my plate, No. 4, is precisely similar in the character of the letters and orthography to the specimen given by Astle (plate xv. No. 2) from the C.C.C.C. Gospels of St. Luke and John, and which was inscribed by Arch¬ bishop Parker, “ Hie liber ohm missus a Gregorio Papa ad Augusti- num Archiep.” That the volume may have belonged to St. Augustine is not impossible, but from an examination of the MS. itself, I can affirm it to be a production of the Irish school of art. 4 The W-like contraction is here written for the word autem; the orthography is also Hiberno-Latin—as cotidie for quotidie; Moses for Moyses; Centorio for Centurio; lueiscit for lucescit; velud for velut, &c.; and the Irish abbreviation li for vero occurs in Matth. v. 16. s The Anglo-Saxon contraction used for vel resembles a t, or rather was a written 1 with a bar, being the contraction of the Anglo-Saxon word lice, like, alias, and not of the Latin word vel, as supposed by Whittaker. 6 Script. Vet. Hibern. 1, ccxxxi. 7 Annal. Ult. ann. 821, and Ann. iv. Magistr. ann. 820; and see O’Conor in Annal. Ult. p. 130 etseq on the Irish scribes. J 102 ANGLO-SAXON GOSPELS. DESCBIPTION OF THE ELATE. 1. Initial letter, portrait of Sfc. Matthew, St. Matth. Gosp. Y., vers. 2 4. Commencement of St, Luke’s Gospel, from the Gospels in the and 3, and portion of the entries made by Aldred the Glosser, University Library, Camb. from the gospels of Lindisfarne. 5. Heading and commencement of St. Matthew’s Gospel, from the 2. Heading and commencement of St. Luke’s Gospel, from the Loyal Hatton Gospels in the Bodleian Library. MS., 1, A. 14. 6. Part of the 1st Verse of St. John’s Gospel, from Abp. Parker’s 3. Commencement of St. John’s Gospel, from the Gospels at C. C. C. Bodleian Gospels. Camb. 7. Copy of the Autograph of iElfric, from the C. C. C. C. Gospels. TN former articles upon the Anglo-Saxon versions of the Scripture, we have seen that the Books of Moses and the Psalter were especially the subjects of translation by our forefathers; indeed, with the exception of the Book of Job, part of the History of Judith, and numerous detached passages which occur in the Anglo-Saxon Homilies, I believe no other entire book of the Old Testament now exists in that language. In like manner, I have been unable to find any notice of Anglo-Saxon versions of other books of the New Testament than the four Gospels. Of these, however, we possess a rich store, of which the following is the list:— Cottonian Library, Nero, D. 4, being the famous Gospels of Lindisfarne, Durham Book or Gospels of St. Cuthbert (as it has been named), with a Northumbrian Gloss. * Cottonian Library, Otho, C. 1, written in Anglo-Saxon. * Royal MSS., I.A. 14, written in the Norman-Saxon dialect. Bodleian Library, The Northumbrian Gloss in the Gospels of Mac Regol, separately described in this work. * Bodleian Library, No. 441 (N. E. E. 3, 15), Archbishop Parker’s Anglo-Saxon Gospels. * Bodleian Library, Hatton, No. 38 (65), Gospels written in Norman-Saxon; temp. Henr. II. * Public Library, Cambridge, Leofric’s Anglo-Saxon Gospels, including the Pseudo-Gospel of Nicodemus. * Corpus Christi Coll. Camb., iElfric’s Autograph Saxon Gospels, collated by Abp. Parker. The accompanying plate contains fac-similes from six of these MSS., marked above with an asterisk. Unfortunately we possess no copy of the translation of St. John’s Gospels made by the Venerable Bede (Cuthberti Vita Ven. Bedte),and which was the first portion of the New Testament translated into the Anglo- Saxon dialect. It is probable, however, that literal translations of the lessons selected from the scriptures were read in the daily service of the Anglo-Saxon Church. 1 The Anglo-Saxon Gospels, with the English version, was published in 1571, by the celebrated Archbishop Matthew Parker, with a Preface written by the Martyrologist, Foxe, dedicated to Queen Elizabeth. The presentation copy, given to the Queen by Eoxe himself, is now in the library of the British Museum. Two other editions of the Anglo-Saxon Gospels were published—namely, by W. Lisle, in 1658, at London; and by Thomas Marshall, in 1665, at Dordrecht, together with the Moesogothic version—for the latter six MSS. were collated—namely, the Oxford, Cambridge, Benet, Hatton, Lindisfarne, and Mac Regol; and Mr. Thorpe has recently published another edition of the Anglo-Saxon Gospels (12mo, London, 1812), using as the basis of his text the Cambridge University Library MS., collated with the C. C. C. C. IMS., and occasionally with the Bodleian, No. 441, and the Cottonian Otho, C. 1. I understand it is also his intention to publish in a separate work the Northumbrian version. The Gospels of Lindisfarne, from its pre-eminent interest as one of the most ancient monuments of literature and the arts iu this country, especially merits a detailed description. This noble manuscript, the glory of the Cottonian Library, and the most elaborately ornamented of all the Anglo-Saxon MSS., consists of 258 leaves of thick vellum, measuring 13J inches by 9|, and contains the four Gospels written in double columns, according to the Latin Vulgate, with an interlineary Anglo-Saxon Gloss, preceded by the preface of 1 This is indeed stated to have been the case by Dr. Lingard (Antiq. tongue too “ barbarous ” for the human composition of the prayers of Ann$ no of at i a jt^cp AMio^u j c tymgeof lyefimcof \6 vmvtuu mj fauy e t 20 fete /Ic* ^fimbe titvivmwgd ml btfoiyt ffUE*;yat) of Iujui tuyc tJu *oiimi.'atid tmouikft\v anityrtytuu;* ifTtgl it I he in Cn n tp 14 | ufS V OfMarmtnnAr n icticmnc^ ‘^licc tfjv" tmtv fit]ttutlMtvnbluf Early Enalioh aH JJ . * \ EARLY ENGLISH BIBLICAL MSS. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. ]. Specimen of the Ormulum in the Bodleian Library. Testament late in the Library of the Duke of Sussex, employed 2. Specimen from the Sowle-hele in the same Library. in Bagster’s Ilexapla. 3. Commencement of the Gospel of St. Mark, from the MS. New 4. Commencement of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians from the late Dr. Adam Clarke’s Bible. Brit. Mus. Egerton. MS. No. 618. F several of tlie articles on the Anglo-Saxon versions of the Bible, it has been noticed that for a long period after the Conquest the old Saxon tongue remained in use. Hence, it is not surprising that we should meet with so few MSS., written in the early English dialect, previous to the middle of the 14th century. The earliest of the few which have been recorded is a long, narrow IMS., (20 inches by 8,) preserved in the Bodleian Library, (Junius, No. 1,) called Ormulum, being a paraphrase of the gospel histories, composed by one Orme, or Ormin. By Hickes and Wanley it was considered to be prose, whilst Ellis states that it is really written in verse, of 15 syllables, without rhyme, in imitation of the most common form of the Latin tetrameter iambic. The following is a short specimen from the commencement of the paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer :— Paterr nosterr patt is p g'odess name Beo Rihht lofedd her & puripedd For phase g-odess name matt Rihht lofennn her & purjjenn He jpinnepp spa p he shall ben. The writing of this MS. is large and very coarse, as will be seen in our specimen, No. 1, in which the author tells his name, and that he has written his book in “ Englissh,” that “ Englisshemenn ” might learn. Richard Rolle, the hermit of Hampole, who died in 1349, wrote a metrical paraphrase in English upon the Book of Job, the Lord’s Prayer, and Psalms, (Bibl. Reg. Mus. Brit. 18 D. 1) ; and the Bodleian Library possesses a huge volume of religious poetry, which is known under the name of Sowlehele (No. 779)- It measures not less than 23 inches by 15, and is 5 inches thick, being written with two or three columns in a page, with illuminated capitals, in the style of the 14th century, of which No. 2 is a specimen, which is to be read— Seint Jon in ur gospel seip us pat to bis disciples seide Jhc (Jesus) I go to him pat me g-on sende And no of ou askep whodur I wede (wende). There is another MS. of the Sowlehele in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, in which is also a metrical version of the Psalms, executed about the year 1300, (of which there are also copies in the Bodleian and Cottonian Library, Vespasian, D. 7)- With the exception of one or two glosses and partial translations oi the parts of the Gospels read in the service of the Church, we have no English version of the Bible before the latter part of the 14th century. From a collation made by my friend the late Rev. T. Symonds, I find that the English translation of the Bible, contained in the Bodleian MS., Fairfax, No. 2, considered by Archbishop Usher to have been written at the close of the 13th century, (and of which MSS. are also said to be in Christ Church, and Queen’s Colleges, at Oxford,) is of the Wickliffite period, agreeing with the Arundel MS. 108, and the Lambeth MS., Wickliffe, Wicklef, Wecklef, Wycleve, or Wycliffe, as he has been variously named, (assisted by Nicholas Hereford,) having translated the whole Bible, circ. 13SO. Whether the assertion of More, the opponent of Wickliffe, (that his translation was needless, as theic vas a translation of “the hole byble long before Wickliffe’s dayes,”) was false, or whether he alluded to the old Norman-Saxon versions, still lingering in the land; we have now no means of determining. As, lionet ei, the Church at that period considered the possession of the Scriptures by the laity to be heictical, and as one ot Archbishop Arundel’s constitutions, passed at the Oxford Convocation in 1408, vas diiectcd against M ickliffe by name, and as another prohibited the English translation of the Scriptures, we may easih concei.e the spiiit which would have crushed the wakening energy of the people in matters ot religious contioteist ,.)} withholding from them not only this “ engine of wonderful power,” as Wickliffe’s version has been siUed In a Roinkh writer, but also the older version of the “hole byble,” if, indeed, any such were in existence. EARLY ENGLISH BIBLICAL MSS. It was Mr. Turner, I believe, in bis history of England, ii. p. 561, who first suggested that although Wick- liffe’s ordinary style was somewhat darkened and confused, and less perspicuous than that of the Hermit of Hampole, yet that, with respect to his version of the Scriptures, “ the unrivalled combination of force, simplicity, dignity, and feeling in the original, compel his old English, as they seem to compel every other language into which it is translated, to be clear, interesting, and energetic/’ This observation was, doubtless, founded upon the version published by Lewis and Baber,* being regarded as that of Wickliffe. In like manner in Bagster’s historical account, prefixed to the English Hexapla, the same circumstance is affirmed and ascribed to the Providence of God and the dignity of the Book itself. It is, however, well known that some few of the early English Biblical MSS. differ so materially from the rest, that we are led to believe that there must have been two distinct translations of Scripture (Baber, p. lxix) —and as it has happened that the most perspicuous of these MSS. has been ascribed to Wickliffe, it is not improbable that Archbishop Usher was thence induced to infer that the older and less perspicuous version (agreeing, in fact, with Wickliffe’s ordinary style) was older than Wickliffe. Amongst these MSS. (of which copies occur in most of our libraries) are some which are referred to Wickliffe’s curate, Purnay, or Purvay, and it is, I believe, ascertained that it is the version contained in them that has been published as that of Wickliffe, of whose translation no part has hitherto been published. Well, indeed, might Eabricius long ago exclaim, “ Mirum vero est apud Anglos earn [versionem Wiclivitanam] tarn diu neglexisse, quum vel linguae causa ipsis in pretio esse debeat” (Bibl. Lat. Med. et infr. iEtatis, Vol. V., p. 321, 1754). This reproach, however, will, I trust, be speedily removed, as I am informed that Sir Frederick Madden and Mr. Forshall have investi¬ gated the subject at great length, and have undertaken the printing of the Old Testament of the true Wickliffe version. One of the most important MSS. of this period has been lately obtained by the British Museum, having previously belonged to the celebrated biblical scholar, Dr. Adam Clarke. It is in two large folio volumes (a third, containing the first half of the Old Testament being wanting) written in modern Gothic letters, and with illuminated capitals and borders in the style of the latter end of the 14th century (not unlike those in the Liber Regalis of Westminster), and bearing on its first page the Arms of England, asserted by its late owner to be those of Thomas a Woodstock, youngest son of King Edward III., and brother to John of Gaunt, the great patron of Wickliffe. Sir F. Madden, however, considers that they are the arms of the Good Duke Humphrey. This circumstance of royal ownership, and the fact that “ the language is older than that in most of the copies which pass under the name of Wicklif,”f seems sufficient to prove it to be the genuine Wickliffe version. It is from this MS. that my specimen No. 3 is copied, being the commencement of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians, which is to be read :—“ Poule apostle of iesu crist bi pe wille of God & Thimothe brop to he pat ben at Colotese holy & feipful breper in crist iesu grace to jou & pees of god our fadre and of pe lord iesu crist we don pankingis to god & pe fad of our lord iesu crist eumore for jou preyinge v/e heerynge joure feip in crist iesu and pe loue pat ” &c. The specimen No. 4 is copied from the pretty little MS. employed as the Wickliffe text in the English Hexapla of Bagster, and which then belonged to his late Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex. The fac-simile is from the commencement of St. Mark’s Gospel, and is to be read—“The bigynynge of pe Gospel of ihu cst pe sone of god as it is writun in Isaie pe profete lo I scnde myn aungel befor pi face, pat shal make rcdi pi weye befor pee pe vois of a crier in desert make ^e redi pe weye of pe lord, make je liise papis ri^t Joon was in desert baptisynge and prechynge pe baptym of penaunce in to remyssion of synnes and al pe cuntree of iudee wenten out to hym and al men of Jerusalem and pei weren baptised of hym in pe flu Jordan and know- lechiden her synnes.” J * The New Testament, Ac., translated out of the Latin Vulgat by John Wicklitf, &c. By John Lewis, Lond. 1731, fol. A second Edition was published in 1810, 4to., edited by the Rev. II. H. Baber, with an introductory historical account of the Saxon and English Versions of the Scriptures previous to the 15tli century. f Catal. of MSS. of Dr. A. Clarke, London, 1835, p. 20, wherein it is stated that it was purchased by him at Dr. Fell’s sale, his only opponent being a goldbeater, who bid for it for the purposes of his trade. It cost Dr. A. C. £10, and so overjoyed was he at the purchase, that he bore it off in triumph on his shoulders, notwithstanding- its weight. t The Anglo-Saxon letter p is used in these MSS. for th, instead of the p. It subsequently degenerated into a y, still used by old-fashioned people for th. Ai 0)l£t^ SEltf iVH S£ W&)£6& £S 00F1£S OESTRUS Tjdtyum) pofe Ilefmaifcnemtf:’ | mz- ][l u’lti moult tettttiKs U' dutiiili'y a duiuil 7 t>y Ifunn’lnc mnt Cot) mil- ft)iv ttvdfe f aumed fyoute &krfck uiatt^ I Tributo't led fefte5 ex’ cfjmem^ eflmet aulfi ac tefks & ken • French TICy.s'. 4* 9 4 ANCIENT FRENCH MANUSCRIPTS. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. 1. Drawing' of the Murder of the Innocents, and 3. Commencement of the 1st Psalm, from the Doucean Psalter (in the 2. Commencement of the French Version of the 109th Psalm, from Bodleian Library). the Cottonian MS. ; Nero, C. 4. 4. Illustration of the Apocalypse, cli. ix. 16, 17, and 5. Specimen of the text of the French Version of the Apocalypse. ^LTFIOUGH it doe' not appear that any translation of the Scriptures into the French language was made previous to the beginning of the 14th century, (when Jean de Vignay, or de Vignes, translated the Epistles and Gospels read in the service of the Church, at the request of Jane of Burgundy, Queen of Philip of France) versions of detached parts of the Bible exist, of a previous date, in MS., which are consequently regarded as of great value by the French philologists. Nor are they less esteemed by the English antiquary, considering the long and intimate connection between the French and English nations, especially during the period when our language was undergoing its transformation from the old Anglo-Saxon to the modern English, proving as they do (notwithstanding all the pains taken by the Conqueror and his successors to diffuse the Norman- French language in England, 1 and all the intercourse which must necessarily have taken place between the Norman invaders and their descendants, and the natives), how trifling was the influence of the Norman on the English language. The Psalter seems especially to have been early translated into Norman-Frencli. A fine MS. of the tripartite Latin version of the Psalms (very similar to the Psalter of Eadwine, which also contains a Norman- Frencli version,) exists in the Bibliotheque Royale, one of the versions bearing an ancient French interlineary Gloss. 2 The Cottonian MS. Vitellius, E. 9., also contained an elegantly written Latin-French Psalter of the time of Henry I., but is much damaged by the Cottonian fire. One of the most valuable MSS. of this portion of the sacred volume is a Latin-Frencli MS., contained in the Cottonian Library, (Nero, C. 4,) from which the fac-similes. No. 1 and 2, in the accompanying plate, have been taken. It is a small folio volume, measuring 13 inches by 9, and consists of 122 leaves of vellum, the first 38 of which contain an extensive series of scriptural drawings of singular interest, from the numerous representations which they afford of the dresses, manners and style of art of the Anglo-Norman period, many of which have been engraved by Strutt, Shaw, &c.; a number of them are also given in the Pictorial History of England. 3 The drawing of the Murder of the Innocents, copied in the plate, is one of the most interesting of these designs, in which Herod is represented seated, wearing a golden crown, ornamented with strawberry leaves, a long beard, a long loose tunic, looped on the right shoulder, and having a slit, to allow the arm to pass through, and with the sleeves very wide at the wrist. The tv'o soldiers wear the conical helmet, furnished with the nasal; ringed hauberks; one of them also wears the long tunic beneath. One of these warriors has the face shaven, but the other wears long mustachios, one also has the leg bandaged. The executioner will also be seen to be disguised by a mask of a classic character, and the female figure has the gown fitted close to the figure, with the sleeves tight to the w rist, and then suddenly widening and falling almost to the feet, and the couvre chef (kerchief) on the head very l6ng. This drawing is inscribed “ lei fait IIerode ocirre les InnocensA In the original drawing the arches aie surmounted by the representation of a city strangely out of perspective, and the upper half of the page contains another drawing, representing the Flight into Egypt, (partly copied by Mr. Shaw,) of the same size as the one before us. 1 “ It was from England and Normandy that the French received the first works which deserve to he cited in their language.”—Abbe de la Rue, in Arcliaeolog. 12, p. 50. The only known Norman French poet previous to the time of the Conqueror, is Thibaut de Vernon, Canon of Rouen, who translated from Latin into French verse the lives of St. Wandril and other saints.—Ellis’s Early Engl. Poets, 1, p. 41. The earliest troubadours or Provencal poets, were William of Poictiers, and Raymond of Toulouse, (circ. 1080).—La Combe, Diet, du Vieux Lang. pref. 5 Messrs. Silvestre and Champollion have given a fac-simile from this MS., speaking of it as of the highest importance. 3 Vol. i. pp. 277, 279, 280, 284, 286, 327, 344, 636, 637 ; vol. ii., p. 149. ANCIENT FRENCH MANUSCRIPTS. Some of tlic earlier of these pages liave three, and even four, subjects on each, but in the majority there are only two. The genealogy of Christ, fo. 8 r, occupies the entire leaf, the tree forming a highly ornamental design, very similar in its details to the same subject in the Psalter of St. Louis in the Library of the Arsenal. The Assumption of the Virgin, inscribed “ lei est la symtion de nostre dame,” (fo. 28 r,) and the portrait of the Virgin, on the following page, inscribed “ Ici est faite reine dei del,” respectively occupy the entire page, and are far more highly finished than any of the other miniatures, betraying evident traces of Byzantine art; the Saviour himself occupying the centre of the upper part of the latter painting, bearing in his arms the soul of the dead Virgin, swathed like an infant, and the hand of the Creator, in the act of benediction, according to the Romish Church, being extended out of the clouds. The last of these drawings is an extraordinary representation of Hades, the immense jaws of which are secured by a door, of which an angel holds both the knocker and key inserted into the lock. To this succeeds the Calendar, 1 occupying twelve pages. Many of these drawings are, as will be observed, illustrations of Gospel subjects, whence it might be inferred that they did not originally belong to the remainder of the MS., but as it was the custom of that period to decorate the Psalter with a general series of Bible pictures, this objection is not well founded. The text of the MS. is written in double columns, the Latin on the left side, and the Norman-Frencli on the right. The latter only has been copied in No. 2, which is to be read “ Dist li sire al mien seigneur sede vers les meies destres Desque ieo pose les tuens enemis escamel de tes piez.” Psalm 109, v. 1, the first line being in Roman capitals, (except the final uncial E), the three following in debased rustic capitals, and the remainder in an incipient Gothic minuscule, nearly similar to that used in the Psalter of Eadwine. At the end of the Psalter are the usual Canticles, Lord’s Prayer, 2 Creed, Litany, &c. The initial letters of the Psalms are for the most part either plain green, red, and blue capitals, or have them ornamented with pen flourishes of different colours; the initial of the first Psalm is, however, large, and ornamented with figures of David, writing the Psalms in the upper division, and playing on a violin in the lower part. A few of the other chief Psalms are also distinguished by larger initials, as in the specimen No. 2 in the Plate. The specimen, No. 3, is copied from the first Psalm in Mr. Douce’s French Psalter and Canticles of the 13th century, now in the Bodleian Library, which is a neat MS., consisting of 38 leaves, being 12 inches by 8 in size, with 39 lines in a page. With the exception of the pretty initial copied in the plate, the capitals are small and plain red and green letters. The specimen before us is to be read — ec Beneurez li huem chi ne alat el conseil des feluns et en la ueie des peccheurs ne stout et en la chaere de pestilence ne sist Mais en la lei de nre Seigneur la voluntet de lui et en la sue lei ppenserat par jurn e par nuit. Et iert ensement cume le fust qued e plant et de uiste les decurs des ewes che dunrat sun frut en sun tens.”—Ps. i., 1-3. The following is the 100th Psalm :— “ Cantez a nostre segnor tute terre. Seru£z al segmir en ledece. Entrez en les guardement de lui en esleecement Saciez que li sire meesme e ds il meesme fist nus e neient nus meesme Li poples de lui e les oeilles de la sue pasture entrez les portes de lui en confessiun les aitres de lui en loenges regehisseiz a lui Loez le num de lui kar suefs est li sire en parmanableted la misericorde de lui e clesq. en generaciun e generaciun la verited de lui.”—Comp. Hickes, ii. 168. Other early French Psalters exist, in Trinity College Library, Cambridge, the Arundel Library, No. 230, 3 (and see No. 24S and several others mentioned in the Preface to the Catalogue of that Library,) also the Harleian MSS., No. 273, (of the 13tli century,) 1770; 40/0, 4327, and 4508. Also the additional MS., No. 4906, which contains a rhythmical French version of the Psalms. Samson de Nanteuil translated the Proverbs into French verse, at the instance of Adelaide de Condi, w ife of the governor of Horn Castle, in Lincolnshire, in the reign of King Stephen. This version is preserved in the Harleian IMS. 4388. The name of Thomas-a-Becket does not of course occur in the l’Academie de Caen,” p. 202, from a communication of the Abbe de month of December—the volume being of an earlier date. la Rue. 1 he Lords Prayer is printed in Janvier’s “ Rapport sur 3 A specimen of this Psalter may be seen in Don’s Icon Libellarum, p. 200. o ANCIENT FRENCH MANUSCRIPTS. The Royal MS. 20, B. 5, contains the New Testament in French. But of all the books of this portion of the sacred writings, none appears to have been so greatly in vogue as the Apocalypse, the contents of which well accorded with the propensity of the middle ages, for the fantastical, the wonderful, and the strange. From one of these, which belonged to the Duke of Sussex, the specimens Nos. 4 and 5 were copied. This elegant MS. of the 14tli century consists of 39 leaves (10| inches by 7)> and contains not fewer than 70 miniatures, chiefly occupying the entire width of the page, and very carefully drawn in a style not destitute of spirit and effect. The specimen No. 5 is to be read —“ Et ie ui moult de millrs de chevalrs a cheval & oy leur nobre vint fois mil & dix mille & avoiet liaubers 1 de fer & de jacitte & de souffre & les testes de chevauls estoiet aussi coe testes de leon.”— Rev. ix. 16, 17- Many of these miniatures have the panelled back group, so common at the period when this MS. was executed. Three illuminated copies of the Revelation exist in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge, (one of which contains a very exquisite series of drawings) , 2 Two are in the Library of Corpus Christi Coll. Cambridge, one in verse, of which the following is a specimen of the commencement:— “ La vision ke jhu crist A son serf moustrer fist Ke lost couendra estre feit Par son angel signefieit A Johan ke de jhu crist Porta temonie de ceo qi uit. Benoit soit q la uision lit E oient les moz de ceste escrit E le escripture recendra Kar le tens sei aprochera.” Others also exist in the libraries, of the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace, the British Museum, &c. The Epistle to the Ephesians, and other detached parts of the New Testament, are also preserved amongst the Harleian MSS. Raoul de Presles, or Praelles, translated the Bible into French as far as the Psalms, by order of Charles V. of France, in the 14tli century, a fine copy of which is preserved among the Lansdowne MSS., in the British Museum (No. 1175 ). 3 Guiar de Moulins, Canon of St. Pierre d’Aire, between 1291 and 1294, translated the biblical Ilistoria Scholastica of Peter Comestor into French. 4 The identical copy of Guiar de Moulins’ version, found in the tent of John, King of France, after the Battle of Poictiers, and also the copy which belonged to his son, the Duke of Berry, are both in the Library of the British Museum. 1 In the Laws of William the Conqueror, the hauberk is spelt halbers—“ viii. chevalz selez e entrenez, iiii. halbers,” &c. In the middle figure of the drawing No. 1, the hauberk is seen to be slit upwards on each side ; it also covers the neck and ears. 2 Dr. Waagen speaks of this MS. as the richest and most distin¬ guished Apocalypse MS. he had met with, the design, drawing, and treatment of which indicate the first half of the 13th century. The invention is much in the spirit of the text, highly original, fanciful, and spiritedly dramatic. The various dragons and devils, in parti¬ cular, are everything that can be wished. (Arts and Artists in England, iii., p. 326.) 3 See also the Harleian MS. 4412. 4 Several copies of this translation exist in the Bibliotheque I?ovale at Paris. The Rev. Mr. Tobin also possesses a remarkably fine copy. oj'rn a n • \ i I V THE GERMAN APOCALYPSE OF HIS LATE ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE. Commencement of tlie Apocalypse, with part of the Illumination, illustrating - the beginning- of the 20th Chapter. 1 THE Manuscript from wliicli the accompanying illustrations have been copied belonged to his late Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, and comprises an old German version of the Book of Revelation, accompanied by a commentary in the same language. It is ascribed to the fourteenth century by Mr. Pettigrew in his Catalogue of the Manuscripts of his late Royal Highness. It consists of 38 leaves, measur¬ ing 14 inches by 10 ^; with the writing arranged in double columns. According to Dr. Kuper, as we learn from Mr. Pettigrew’s work, 2 it contains many ancient German Gothic words, especially nouns, which have become obsolete for centuries past. The translation is far from being a literal one, but there are no passages materially differing from the original and modern version. Many errors occur in the interpretation ; in some places words being left out, and in others wrong ones introduced, which has probably arisen from the ignorance or carelessness of the Scribe. The glosses are not numerous, but in some places passages from the original text are interwoven with and introduced among the interpretations. The division of the text does not correspond with the modern arrangement into chapters. In the description of the Heavenly Jerusalem there are several material omissions. The last verse of the final chapter is also left out. The IMS. appears to be also defective, from what should be ch. xviii. 22, to xix. 13, and from ch. xx. G, to xxi. G. The short passage figured in the plate is to be read— " ^CpoMpSiS, bit i§t bie offebarunge jf)e§u crigti. £>ie pine gotf) gegefyen fyat offenbar jeu tune Sine fnecfyten tie e>d)ire gcScfycn Sal.”—i. e.— “ The Apocalypse, that is, the manifestation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass.” The MS. contains 14 Illuminations, in gold and colours, each occupying an entire page, and containing many figures illustrative of the text, many of them very grotesque and singular. The one I have selected is drawn with the greatest spirit, representing the Angel binding Satan, in which the attitude of the former (who has been delineated in the ordinary mode of representation of St. Peter), is not devoid of effect. In the original, St. John stands on the right hand side of the picture, looking up to and with his right hand raised towards the Angel. The figures are drawn with a coarse pen, and the tints shaded off, leaving the lights entirely destitute of colour. The gold is brilliant, and raised on a cretaceous basal layer. In some of the Illuminations the soldiers are armed with basinets or helmets, fitting close to the head, and with side-pieces extending as low as the shoulders ; distinct epaulettes and pointed knee-caps appear, and the shield is small, with the angles rounded off, and a deep notch on one side at the top. r !he capital letters are in blue and red ink, except the first, which is much larger than the rest, and relieved with gold. The following passage, being the commencement of the 20tli chapter of the Revelation, and of which the Illumination of the accompanying Plate is an illustration, will serve as a specimen of the text of the volume : "Unbe id) §ad) cvntc cngcl utber wari won beme !)imclc. ber fyatle epnen Slujil be abgruttbiS, unb ct;nc groje fctlnne in Sitter fjant, unb begreif ben tradjin ben albcn §lagi ber ba fyeijit ber fuftl unb SatfyanaS. un at in tuSint jar. un waif in 1 And I saw an angel come down from lieaven, Laving tlie key of into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the fuisc the bottomless pit, and a great chain in Lis Land. And lie laid hold prophet are.—terse 10. on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and 2 Bibliotheca Sussexiana, v. i. p. ~4~. bound him a thousand years.—Verse 1 & 2. And the Devil was cast 1 THE GERMAN APOCALYPSE OE HIS LATE R. H. THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. burntn be fur unbe beSloS in unb be5cei)d)i be ubtr in baj l;er nid)t mer uotbaS nolcite bie lute big baj irfullit wor bin tugit jar. unb bar nod) go gal inpunbi iobc gatijanag cpnc furtc cjpt. I regret tliat I am unable to give any information as to the author of the version and commentary copied in the MS., or indeed as to any other German version of the sacred Scriptures, previous to the invention of printing, except the following:— Within little more than a century from the mission of St. Augustine to this country, we find Anglo- Saxon missionaries zealously attempting to disseminate the truths of the Gospel on the banks of the Weser, the Rhine, and the Danube. St. Wilfrid in Friesland, Ecgbert in the North of Germany, Willebrod at Utrecht, the brothers Ewald in the territories of the old Saxons, Swidbcrt in the Mark of Brandenberg, Willehad, the founder of the Cathedral of Bremen, were all Anglo-Saxons; and, to the honour of our country, the title of the Apostle of Germany has been bestowed by posterity upou Winfrid (or St. Boniface, as he was afterwards named), a native of Crediton in Devonshire. By him the monasteries of Fritzlar and Am cl burg, and the rich and magnificent Abbey of Fulda 1 were founded, as well as the Convents of Bischofesheim, on the Tuber; Chitzingen or Kissengen, in Franconia; Heidenheim, near the Brentz; and the four episcopal sees at Erford, Burabiu’g, Aichstad, and Wurtzburg. Hence it is not surprising that we find the genius of the Anglo-Saxon Church re-appearing in Germany, and it is to this that I would attribute the existence in Germany of a very ancient version of the Bible, and other theological works in the old dialect, named the Tlieotisc; of which, however, we find no notice in the Rev. T. II. Horne’s Introduction. I shall have occasion, in another portion of this work, to enter into further particulars respecting these relics of ancient Germany. Dr. Dibdin describes a fine manuscript, in the Imperial Library of Vienna, in six folio volumes, which contains, on the authority of M. Kopitar, one of the most ancient German versions of the Bible extant, which was written in the fourteenth century for the Emperor Wenceslaus. 2 tie also describes a curious history of the Bible, in German verse, written in 1381, contained in the public Library of Stuttgart. 3 The first printed German version of the Bible, translated from the Latin Vulgate, appeared in 1466; but the author is unknown, and it is now extremely rare, A Lower Saxon version, also from the Vulgate, was printed at Lubeck in 1494, of both which works an account will be found in Dibdin’s Bibliotheca Spenceriana. The first portion of Luther’s versions appeared in 1517 * 4 The manuscript before us is written in the character known under the name of Modern Gothic, to distinguish it from the writing of the ancient Goths, of which the Gospels of Ulpliilas, still preserved at Upsal, offer a specimen. The modern Gothic was adopted in Germany as early as the ninth or tenth century, according to Astle, 5 although it did not prevail in other parts of Europe till the twelfth or thirteenth. It appears to me to have originated 6 at first in a desire to write the minuscule letters without the top and bottom curves (in order, in fact, to keep these small letters distinct from each other) ; for we find the earliest modern Gothic writing with many of the strokes straight at the bottom, where they are merely obliquely cut off; by degrees, however, the angulated character was more universally adopted, the gradations from the old Roman prototypes of the letters being easily traced. In the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, we find the modern Gothic letters gradually assuming their most elaborate and perfect form. Such is the style which is often called Old English Text, a very improper denomination, as the character prevailed over most of Europe. And here I may be allowed to make an observation, which I have nowhere met with, upon the simul¬ taneous development of this character with that peculiar style of architecture which prevailed after the Norman period, and which is, with equal impropriety, known by the name of the Gothic. 7 1 A friend, recently returned from Germany, informs me that a most beautiful statue of St. Boniface has been erected during- the present year in the Great Square at Fulda. 2 Bibl. Tour, iii. p. 200. 3 Ibid. iii. p. 30. 4 Ilorne, Introduction, vol. ii. part 11, pp. 88, 89. Origin of Writing, p. 147. It is, of course, very difficult to draw the line of distinction between two styles of writing, which so gradually blend together as the Roman minuscule and early modern Gothic; but I think Mr. Astle has at least by two centuries antedated the German origin of the latter, or rather that he has regarded as modern Gothic the writing in MSS. of the ninth or tenth centurv, which have a far greater resemblance to Caroline or Roman minuscule than to the real angulated modern Gothic. For instance the Autograph Evan- gelistiarium of St. Udalrich of Augsburgh (copied by Sylvestre in his 8th Livraison), written in the 10th century, and the Theotisque Gospels of the Cottonian Library (Calig. A. 7); which last Astle himself copies as the first specimen in his plate of Modern Gothic Writing, are much nearer to Caroline minuscule than to modern Gothic. 6 The reader who would seek a much more detailed notice of the origin, progress, and decline of modern Gothic writing must consult the 2nd volume of the Nouv. Traite de Dipl. pp. 658—666. 7 Hence will be seen the impropriety o f introducing into moderp churches, built in the Norman or early English style , texts of Scripture, written in jlorid modern Gothic characters. Recent instances of this might, however, be pointed out. THE GERMAN APOCALYPSE OF HIS LATE R. H. THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. The introduction of this term Gothic, as applied both to architecture and writing, is alike. As to the former, “ it originates with the Italian writers of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, who applied the expression of La maniera Gotica, in contempt 1 to all the works of art of the middle ages. From these writers it w r as borrowed by Sir Christopher Wren, the first English writer who has applied it to English architecture. 1 ’ 2 “It has been well conjectured,” observes another author, 3 “by several eminent antiquarians, that it (the term Gothic) was applied solely for the purpose of casting an opprobrious epithet on it, at the period of introducing the Greek or Roman style into this country ; and where the ancient religion was to be exploded, so also was the ancient style of its sacred edifices.” “Whether they,” (the writers upon architecture of the seventeenth century, who used the term Gothic,) “ had then a retrospect to those particular times, when the Goths ruled in the empire, or only used it as a term of reproach to stigmatise the productions of ignorant and barbarous times, is not certain.” 4 As applied to writing, the Benedictines state that the term Gothic, “ ne lui fut point donnee ni des le terns de sa naissance, ni lors meine qu’il exerjoit une tyrannie absolue, sur presque toutes les ecritures de l’Europe. On croyoit alors voir des agremens et des beautes qu’on n’apercevoit plus dans la noble simplicity des caracteres antiques. Mais a proportion que le gout de la belle litterature reprit ses anciens droits, on sc passionna pour les vraies lettres latines, et l’on trait a de gothiques celles qui s’en etoient ecartees. Sous la plume des premiers restaurateurs des belles lettres, les caracteres qu’ils trouverent en usage furent declares gothiques. Et comme ils ne pouvoient les attribuer aux anciens Remains, Us les mirent sur le compte cles Goths qui avoient renverse lenr empire .” 5 The impropriety of the term Gothic has accordingly led to the suggestion of others. By some the term Saracenic, Pointed, Norman, and English have been severally employed to distinguish the architecture of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, whilst others have styled them Monkish, 6 just as the modern Gothic characters have been named “Monacles,” 7 by some French writers, aud “Monkish English,” by Astle. 8 How far the two arts of Gothic architecture and modern Gothic writing may have exerted an influence upon each other, is, perhaps, unnecessary to inquire; but the fate of both has been identical. Respecting the former, Sir Christopher Wren observes, that, “ about 200 years ago, when ingenious men began to reform the Roman language to the purity which they assigned and affixed to the time of Augustus and that century, the architects also, ashamed of the modern barbarity of building, began to examine carefully the ruins of old Rome and Italy, to search into the orders and proportions, and to establish them by inviolable rules.” 9 And a more recent author observes, “ Imagination seems, after its establishment, to have been tor¬ tured to invent new combinations of ornaments and tracery. It overstepped at length the true bounds of architecture, and was abandoned in the sixteenth century for the introduction and restoration of Roman, or more properly speaking, Italian architecture.” 10 In like manner, of manuscripts written in modern Gothic characters, the Benedictine authors of the incomparable Nouveau Traite de Diplomatique, thus express themselves :— 11 “La pi up art de ceux de XI V e et XV e siecles sont miserables. L’ecriture en est serree, compliquee, lierissee d’angles, de pans, de pointes et de crochets, non moins ridicules qu’inutiles. 12 La cessation presque totale des etudes et des copistes, dans les monasteres ou l’on n’entendoit rien aux questions embarrassees et aux vaines subtilites, que les scholastiques avoient mises a la mode; les abreviations arbitrages et inintelligibles de ceux-ci, l’invention du papier de chiffe au XIII e siecle, le mauvais gout qui regnoit alors, tout ccla a etc cause qu’il ne nous reste de ces terns barbares qu’une multitude de MSS. horriblement laids La difficulte de lire et de peindre le gothique fut une des causes de l’ignorance prodigieuse de la noblesse de ces tems-la, ou les plus grands seigneurs pour la plupart ne savoient ni lire ni ecrire:” whilst of the variations adopted in this style of writing, it is affirmed by the Benedictines, that they “ vont toujours de mal en pis jusqu’a ce que le renou- 1 Ought we not rather to say, in ignorance of the real history, both of the Goths themselves and of early Architecture. 2 Archteologia, vol. xii. 3 Essays on Gothic Architecture, p. viii. 4 Bentham, Hist. Cathedr. Church of Ely, Sect. v. s N. Tr. de Dipl. ii. 659. 6 Evelyn’s Account of Architectures. 7 “ Parce que les moines en ont fait un frequent usage. Mais n’em- ployerent-ils pas encore plus souveut les beaux caracteres; surtout 3 jusqu’au commencement du XIIIe siecle ?” demand the Benedictines, N. Tr. De Depl. iii. 203. 8 Origin of Writing, pp. 148, 149. 9 Wren’s Parentalia, p. 306. 10 Brande’s Dictionary of Science, p. 79. 11 Vol. iii. p. 394. 12 Abbot Godefroy de Bessel of Godwin describes it as “Ingens litterarum sibi connexarum iuvolutarumque Chaos.” THE GERMAN APOCALYPSE OF HIS LATE R. H. THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. vellement de lettres ait reveille le go&t des beaux caracteres that is, as they are described in another place by the same writers, the “ beaux et anciens caracteres romains, renouvelles d’abord en Italie puis en France, ensuite dans les autres royaumes, ou Fecriture latine avoit cours.” 1 “En Italie des Fan 1430 le bon gout des anciens siecles romains s’etoit renouvelle par rapport a Fecriture, comme par rapport aux beaux arts.” 2 Whilst, however, this style has been rejected by most of the countries of Europe, it is remarkable that it is still retained in Germany, where, as we have seen, it (as well as the Gothic style of architecture 3 ) first flourished; in which country not only are modern works in the native language, printed in these characters, but a cursive Gothic, perfectly illegible to the rest of Europe, is ordinarily employed in correspondence, the writers con¬ sidering it almost as unconstitutional to use other characters as to speak another language, and regarding the former as truly national as the latter. It is evidently on this account that the term German Text has been applied to this kind of writing. Its origin, however, in that country is far more recent than the German language; and, indeed, the claim of the Germans to it is denied by the Benedictines, who assert that if the Germans have remained attached to it “ plus long-terns que presque toutes les nations d’Europe; il ne seroit pas difficile de prouver, que loin d’en 6tre les auteurs, ils s’en preservoient encore, ou que du moins ils n’en etoient pas totalement infectes, tandis qu’il dominoit paisiblement chez leurs voisins. II ne seroit done pas juste de leur imputer en particulier une ecriture odieuse, qui leur fut long terns commune avec taut d’autres peuples.” 4 I have dwelt upon the preceding parallel with the view of showing what have been the opinions of men fully qualified to judge on such subjects, and of raising a warning voice (slight though it may be), against the revival, in the construction and adornment of modern temples devoted to the service of the Protestant Church of this country, of those Gothicisms which prevailed during the most extended reign of, and which are so appropriate to and symbolical of, the rites of the Roman Catholic religion; but which, at the same time, are so entirely opposed to the genius of Protestantism. Almost prophetically indeed spake the Benedictines, when they exclaimed, “ Heureux si nous ne voyons pas un join les restes du Gothique, qui la deshonorent, reprendre le dessus et causer une revolution dont nous croyons apercevoir les preludes !” 5 1 N. Tr. de Dipl. ii. p. 664. 2 Biblioth. Univers. de la Polygr. Espanol. Prolog, fol. xiv. 3 “ It appears incontrovertible that the Germans were the first to carry this style of architecture to its highest perfection.”— Brande’s Diet. p. 79. 4 N. Tr. de Dipl. ii. p. 533. 5 N. Tr. de Dipl. ii. 534. P.S. Since the above was written, I have discovered that the parallel between Gothic architecture and writing had been slightly alluded to by the Marquis MafFei, 1 who states that the changes adopted in the former were effected on the same principles as those which were produced in the latter; in fact, he even asserts that Gothic writing rather gave the tone to architecture than took it/rom it. The Benedictines also seem to have had the same parallel in view when they state of modern Gothic writing that “ au XIY e siecle ses exces, pour ne pas dire ses extravagances, furent portes a leur comble en ecriture comme en architecture. >> ~ 1 Verona Illustmta, col. 355. 2 N. Tr. de Dipl. ii. 531. 4 * - • \9 c in i&ybxu ab t iaieb Stt (knb hem 2 rnmupefs ab Va Sdtf&i vbuzl?. (Stf iena i **T ^ 7j buLCigi Avwh&vi J?Tea vaihid yditz *>l( fhal fy fyngta^em tenet? frmtns - oittw^ma tmnfo t Wfiatibt iCcxnyivpe> tv^t^Vnv, Ccctcm^ &elto pionmo Tie tebiedteemmil^ii maUtafoao^nainvtriobd^ iVaTmio amwnl>a mentor Hetefitemrelamoyerrtrlfo proetmoenotditemre elfofmialafoaiaiiallai(a(bapia^oia/eliobo/et Mo aferu)i 10 T^iTemi^dgiiiia co\\ adbe (eatef to pionmo. -/ Urlicon, eJ'USS. cf the Century. I \ ITALIAN MANUSCRIPTS OF HIS LATE ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. The upper portion is an extract from the Apocalypse, Chap. iii. Joshua. The text in the lower part of the Plate, is the v. 7. Et al’angelo, &c. The drawings represent the sister tenth Commandment divided into two ; the first and second of Moses and the women of Israel rejoicing at the overthrow Commandments being united together as usual in the writings of Pharaoh ; and one of the captive kings brought before of the Roman Catholic Church. JHE manuscript from which the lower subjects in the accompanying plate is taken, contains a series of drawings of the historical events recorded in the Old Testament, beginning with the Israelites in bondage in Egypt, and terminating at the 519th miniature, with the Burial of Joseph; each drawing being accompa¬ nied by descriptive text in old Italian, written at the top and bottom, and in the middle of the page. They are drawn upon 85 leaves, of vellum, 18 inches by 9^, each page having generally four miniatures, each measuring 4 inches by 3^; some, however, occupy half the page, and there are five which severally take up the entire page ; to many of the figures the names are attached. These miniatures are freely drawn with a pen, and the colours washed in with considerable vigour. “ In the type, as well as in the whole cast, there appears a strong influence of the school of Giotto, in the manner, however, in which it appeared about the year 1400 l .” This is probably nearly the correct date of the volume, for whilst the late Mr. Ottley, as I learn from Mr. Pettigrew, was of opinion that the miniatures are not later than 1300 or 1370, Sir S. II Meyrick referred them to 1420. In many of the subjects, we perceive a recurrence to a peculiar classical style, as for instance in the figure of the sister of Moses copied in my plate, as also in the fourth and eighteenth subjects; the first of which represents a marriage ceremony. In many places we see God the Father speaking out of a cloud, just as he is represented in the old Mosaics of Italy. Elsewhere, he appears as a middle-aged man, with a short beard and moustaches, his hair parted over the forehead, and with the fore-finger of his left hand extended. The following subjects are also treated in a manner worthy of notice :— The plagues of Frogs, Flies, Lice, and Grasshoppers are very curious, whilst the overthrow of the Egyptians in the Red Sea, with the Israelites on the shore, is quite primitive in its style ; the sea being a great green patch, occupying half the picture. (No 68.) Aaron standing beneath a beautiful arch, is interesting, from his being crowned with a triple diadem. (No. 126.) M oses and the Heads of the Twelve Tribes; and the Oxen drawing Wagons, (No. 169) ; as well as the Israelites viewing the Promised Land, (four turreted castles, surrounded by moats !) No. 219 ; respectively occupy half a page. Moses and his Army clad in Armour, entering into Esebon over the moat, is very spiritedly drawn, (No. 262.) Others are equally interesting as affording delineations of the dresses, manners, and armour of the Italians at the close of the fourteenth century; such are especially No. 307; a party seated at table, beneath a trellis of vines; and various groups of citizens, females, and warriors, from which I have selected the two in the accompanying Plate. The first of these (No. 69), is thus described :— “Como Maria Prophetissa sorore de Moyses e de Aaron, sonava per alegrega un timpano, e si ondaua cantando spiritualmente devanco da tute le femene del pouolo de Israel laldando dio che li aveva libera de le man del re pharaon e che lo aveva mega in lo mare rosso pharaon cum tuto el so exercito.” In this spirited group, we see the general features of Italian citizens of the middle ages; the hinder figures are especially characteristic; the old nobleman, with the hooded nun, portly abbot, and bearded monk, can all 1 Waagen. Art and Artists in England, II. p. 37. 1 ITALIAN MANUSCRIPTS OF IIIS LATE ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. be at once fixed upon ; whilst the figures of the sister of Moses, the mother and baby, and the half-grown girl, are even classically designed. The other miniature (No. 428), inscribed :— “ Como el Re de la Cita de hay vene a presenta liga e prexo devanco a Josue,” and shows us the form of the armour in use among the Italians at the period of the execution of the volume ; in which respect, as we learn from Sir S. R. Meyrick’s notes communicated to Mr. Pettigrew, the present MS. is especially valuable to the Archaeologist. The following observations by this first-rate authority upon everything connected with ancient armour, will be considered interesting. They are incorporated by Mr. Pettigrew, in his description of the volume :— When it is remembered that the MS. is Italian, and that the fashions, generally speaking, arose in Italy, and travelled through Germany and France to England, it may, perhaps, be allowed to be twenty-five years older than Lydgate’s Life of St. Edmund, in the Harleian Collection (No. 2278). Many fashions prevalent in the time of Richard II. and Henry IV., as the Capuchon a la queue, the escalopped sleeves, &c., besides the form of the armour, are here delineated ; but others are introduced which were not known in England until the middle or latter end of the fifteenth century. The total absence of the vizored salade, which, though of German origin, was worn by the military of Europe throughout the reign of Henry VI., chiefly guided Sir S. R. Meyrick in his decision as to the date of this MS. In some of the figures the ventail is attached to the basinet, but the figures do not wear the knight’s military belt of the reign of Henry VI. Others have basinets without the ventail, and sometimes they are ornamented with feathers. The infantry are armed with the ordinary salade, and with a glaive, and trumpets like those of the time of Edward III., but they are used with hoods and pendant sleeves, as in the time of Henry IV. The Turks (for the enemies of the Israelites are so represented) are armed with bows and arrows, and sometimes with scimetars and straight swords. The MS. also affords the earliest instance of lamboys made of steel, instead of cloth, as they may be actually seen in the Tower of London. In the illuminations of Louis XII., given by Montfaucon (Mon. Fr. &c.), the same occurs ; but the rest of the armour in this MS. is of the date of 1420, whereas, in the instances quoted, the square toes, &c., are of the close of the fifteenth, or beginning of the sixteenth century. We have thus here an authority for the invention 80 or 90, if not more than 100, years earlier than previously known. The lamboys are open in front, for convenience in riding, as in Henry the Seventh’s armour. The jupon is laced all the way down in front, or at the side, as in many monumental effigies of the time of Edward III., and in the jupon of the Black Prince, still preserved a Canterbury. Joshua wears epaulettes corresponding with the lamboys, and bears a mace. In some the armour is worn without the sollarets, and consequently exposes the black shoes. The basinets, in some, have coverings for the cheeks, which look as if suggested by some ancient Greek helmet. The dagger and sword, in some, are worn low down ; and the ordinary salade, or helmet, is in some pointed at the top. Oval shields, and a buckler, a pointed shield with the cushion placed longwise instead of across, kite-shaped and oblong pavois, gis-arms, pole-axes, and martels-de-fer, appear in various of the drawings. The architecture in several of the drawings, especially No. 291, corroborates the date assigned to this MS., although in No. 4 it appears of the Norman character. The upper portion of the plate represents an elegant initial E, illuminated in the style which was very prevalent in Italy in the fifteenth century, and which is taken from a folio volume of an exposition of the Apocalypse, by Nicolao de Lyra. The capitals are very variously ornamented, and the text is written in a small kind of Roman-Gothic character. The specimen is to be read— u Et al angelo de la grexia de claodia scrivi. Qui comenza la septima epistola(e) dixe al angielo questo che segue. Questo dixe la veritade de testimonio fidele e vero.”—Revel, iii. v. 7. At the end of the volume is written—“ Explicit la vulgar exposition sopra Fapocalipsi de sco Johane applo evangelista opilada et ordinada p frate frederigo da Vinecia del ordine di p’dichatori magro de la sancta theologia. “ Questi glose over exposition sono de magro Nicolo da Lira del ordine de frati minori e de li altri comendatori cli’ano comendato sopra lapochalipsi.” Another note states it to have been copied “ p me Bardo di Mazi da bressa,” to the honour of the most high God and the most holy St. John ; and that “ Ano dni opleta fuit hoc opus existetei pictura civitatis Urbini anno 145G, Diei 8 Octobris.” TUF KM - . t 4 C ??• L l 0 THE GE^ CE. .tt-< &M6 'M ?p V>j /1^11' ^RiSr-jvy \ i A Aw'' I Jl » kff ,1 !' v In'* \ I? ■'■ TOjSfcaS5 ^'flo'- ( ‘ t«wwSs affir fL