# Archaeological Journal/Volume 11/Proceedings at the Meetings of the Archaeological Institute (Part 2)

Proceedings at the Meeting of the Archeological institute.
March 3, 1854.
William H. Blaauw, Esq., F.S.A., in the Chair.
Mr. Yates read a notice, by Dr. C. Leemans, of axe-heads, wedges and other ancient implements of stone, discovered in Java and Borneo, and preserved in the Museum at Leyden, of which Dr. Leemans is the Curator. Mr. Yates invited attention to the remarkable series of the stone weapons and implements of Scandinavia, presented by the King of Denmark to Mr. C. Roach Smith, who had kindly sent them for the inspection of the Institute.
Mr. Morgan observed, that the comparison of such vestiges of the rudest conditions of society in various and remote quarters of the globe presents a subject of very interesting enquiry. He had been struck with the similarity to forms familiar to European antiquaries on examining the stone reliques which he had obtained from North America, exhibited at the Meeting in June last. Amongst these he noticed one which appeared analogous to some of the stone objects described by Dr. Leemans; it had been described as a skinning knife, and possibly the antiquities discovered in Java might comprise implements intended for a similar purpose. Mr. Franks stated, in reference to remarks made by Dr. Leemans on the popular superstition of the natives, by whom these stone weapons were preserved as amulets, and suspended in their houses, that to an Etruscan necklace in the British Museum is appended an arrow-head of flint, probably with some notion of its talismanic virtue.
Mr. O'Neill offered further observations on sculptured crosses in Ireland, and explained some curious subjects presented by that at Kilklispeen, on which is represented a funeral procession, accompanied by seven bishops, the headless corpse being conveyed on the back of a horse. He produced rubbings from this cross, and from that recently brought to light at Tuam. The base only had remained in the Market Place, and it had been customary to attach the bull to it at bull-baitings. The shaft had disappeared, but in preparing models for the Industrial Exhibition in Dublin, the broken portions were, with one exception, discovered. The original height of this remarkable example, which is of very slender proportions, is not less than thirty feet. It bears two inscriptions, requesting prayers for Turlogh O'Conor, the King, who lived in the XIIth century, and for Edan O'Hoisin the Abbot. The sculptor's name, Gillu-Christ, is also recorded. The ​cast of this cross, which has an additional value as being a dated example, will be placed in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham.
Mr. Westwood expressed his opinion of the very great value of these sculptured monuments as the only existing materials of their class for the History of early art. Mr. O'Neill would render good service to the archaeologist by collecting and publishing accurate representations of the Irish crosses, and Mr. Westwood could not urge too strongly the necessity of the most conscientious fidelity in reproducing the details of sculpture, which, in their present weather-worn condition, frequently demand the closest attention and study in order to comprehend the character and motives of their ornamentation.
Mr. Chantrell remarked that many early sculptures exist in the northern counties, not less deserving of attention than those in Ireland. He had in his possession some valuable fragments of a sculptured cross discovered in Yorkshire, which he had brought before the Institute at their Meeting in York.
Mr. Nesbitt gave the following description of several fine Sepulchral Brasses in Saxony, Prussia, and Poland, hitherto wholly unknown in England, of which he exhibited rubbings.
In the Cathedral of Erfurt there exists a brass commemorating Johan von Heringen, a canon of that church. The upper part of the figure is engraved upon a plate of brass measuring 2 ft. 41/2 by 1 ft. 11, while the lower is sculptured in low relief in the slab of stone into which the brass is inserted. A sort of canopy is formed over the head by the interlacing of branchwork, an arrangement very frequent in late German architecture. A curtain hanging from a rod fills up the background.
The head of the effigy is covered by a cap, and the shoulders by the furred cape or aumuse usually worn by canons; a chalice is held in both hands. The stone portion of the figure is extremely worn; but it would seem that the vestments represented are those composing the usual sacramental dress. The effigy is surrounded by broad fillets of brass bearing the following inscription in a very bold black letter:—"Anno dni M.CCCCC. quīto die XXVIII. mensis septēbris decessit Veñabilis et Egregius vir Johannes de heringen In decrets licenciatus huj ecclie Cātor et canonicus Cuius aīa requiescat In pace Amen." At the angles of the inscription are escutcheons bearing the following arms:—
1. A lion rampant contourné, or counter-rampant.
2. Two sceptres, with fleur-de-lis heads in saltire.
3. A bend sinister counter-compony.
4. Per pale, three charges, resembling hoe-irons, with rounded edges, two and one.
Two other brasses from which the rubbings exhibited by Mr. Nesbitt were made are in the choir of the Cathedral of Breslau, where they lie near the high altar.
The earlier of the two commemorates Peter the second Bishop of Breslau of that name, called of Nowagk from the place of his birth, a village in Silesia, not far from Neisse. His origin was humble, but having entered the Church, he gradually rose until be became Præpositus, or (Provost) Dean of the Cathedral of Breslau. On the vacancy of that see in 1447, ho was elected bishop by the unanimous vote of the canons, and their choice was approved of and confirmed by the Metropolitan Vincentius, Archbishop of Gnesen. The new Bishop is said to have owed his election ​to his reputation for virtue, learning, and prudence in business. Notwithstanding his merits, his elevation displeased some of the Silesian magnates, and William, Duke of Oppeln, did not confine himself to showing his displeasure merely by words, but turned the opportunity to account by invading and plundering the episcopal estates, and exerted himself with so much diligence, that in a few days he laid waste almost the whole of them. Wladizlaus, Duke of Teschen, (and Glogan?) however, espoused the cause of the bishop, and after a battle, William of Oppeln condescended to submit to a reconciliation with the church. Bishop Peter held the see for nine years, during which he managed the affairs of the church with prudence, and relieved it from much of the weight of debt with which it was burdened. He obtained from Ladislaus, King of Bohemia, the right of coining money, and from the Pope two bulls, one respecting the sale of Schweidnitz ale in the isle of St. John (the island in the Oder on which the Cathedral of Breslau stands); the other to relieve the inhabitants of the island from paying toll on eatables, drinkables, and building materials. The first matter seems scarcely "dignus vindice nodus," but it had been the cause of many very serious quarrels between the authorities of the city and the cathedral, and in 1381 had led to an interdict being placed on the city, the flight of the ecclesiastics, and the plunder of their houses by the force which Wenceslaus, King of Bohemia, brought down in order to settle the dispute.
Such appear to have been the chief memorable acts of Bishop Peter; and on the 6th of February, 1456, he died in the Castle of Ottmuchau, near Neisse, and on the 9th was buried in his cathedral. The inscription runs:—"Reverendus in Xpo Pater ac Dns, Petrus Dei Gracia Epus Wratislaviensis obiit anno Dni MCCC L VI$^o$. mensis february die sexta."
The execution of this brass is coarse and irregular, far inferior to that of some of about the same date which are in the Cathedral of Bamberg. Neither is the drawing at all good. The face is not incised, but in low relief; it is now somewhat worn, but originally the point of the nose was probably raised about three-fourths of an inch above the general surface. This is probably one of the earliest examples of the use of this method of representation, there is, however, a curious female figure in the church of St. Mary at Cracow, which, judging from the style and costume (as no inscription remains), may perhaps be as early as the commencement of the fifteenth century. In later times the system of low relief was very much used in Germany, and many magnificent works of the kind still remain; they are often of great size and the most finished execution, and the heads have frequently much character and expression. The earliest noticed in which the system is fully developed is one of a bishop in the Cathedral of Bamberg, dated 1475. There are many fine examples at Bamberg, Marburg, Cracow, and a fine one by one of the Vischers of Nuremberg, in the eastern chapel of the Cathedral of Breslau. The background by the sides of the bishop's figure is curiously ornamented; on the right side of the head is the Textus, below arc two dragon's heads, and on the right side of the figure is a nondescript fish, and on the left two dragons with intertwining tails.
​It is a curious question in this, as in many like cases, whether these monstrous figures are to be considered as merely ornamental, or whether any symbolical meaning is to be looked for. If in this instance a symbolical allusion was intended, it is certainly not very clearly brought out.
The niches on each side of the bishop contain twelve small figures. Those on the right represent canons, or other ecclesiastical officers; those on the left, officers of the bishop's household.
The first series consists of
1. A figure habited in a large cap, long gown, and almuse, probably the præpositus of the cathedral.
2. A figure in a gown, almuse, and cap, pointed at the top, a book held in the right hand.
3 & 4. Two figures in capes and caps, with large falling tops; each holds an immense candle, and No. 3, what seems to be a thurible.
5. A figure in a gown and almuse, the hood of the latter over the head, the hands joined.
6. A figure in a gown and almuse, and cap, pointed at the top; carrying a large book on the left shoulder.
The other scries contains—
1. A figure in a long robe and hat, holding a scroll and a book, probably the bishop's chancellor.
2. A figure habited in a short coat, over which is a belt worn below the hips, and attached to the belt are a sword and a purse. This figure holds in the right hand a cup, and in the left a bunch of keys, and no doubt represents the bishop's chief butler. The head is covered by a cap with a falling top.
3. This figure is habited in a sleeveless cloak, reaching below the knee, and a cap like those of the canons. It holds a scroll, and may possibly represent the steward.
4. A figure bareheaded, carrying a miner's pick and a wallet on the back. The legs appear to be covered by boots lined with fur. This pro- bably represents the Berg Hauptmann, or chief miner.
5. A figure in a cloak reaching to the knees, and with long sleeves. Though the head has much the appearance of being tonsured, probably a small flat cap is meant. A dog is at the feet held in a leash. This, no doubt, represents the chief huntsman.
7. A figure with tonsured head, habited in a long gown, much like a monk's frock. In the right hand is what seems to be a bottle—probably the physician.
The arms on the escutcheon on the right side of the effigy at the top, are those of the Duchy of Silesia: Argent, an eagle displayed, sable, on which a crescent of the field. Those on the left, six fleur-de-lis, three, two, and one, will be seen to occur again on the other brass, and appear to be those of the see or of the chapter. In the Deutsches Wappenbuch the arms of the Bishop of Breslau are given as quarterly, 1st and 4th, gules, six fleur-de-lis, argt.; 2nd and 3rd, those of the Duchy of Silesia. The arms of the see of Gnesen, the archbishop of which was metropolitan of Breslau, are three fleur-de-lis.
The arms on the shield, at the right angle at the bottom, are said by Dlugossi and the author of the anonymous lives of the Bishops of Breslau, published in the collection of Rer$^m$ Siles$^m$ Scriptores, edited by Von Sommersberg, to have been borne by this bishop, and are given as—Gules, a rose argent.
​The remaining coat, a wolf salient, is not so easy to assign. The arms of the Bishopric of Passau are—Argent, a wolf salient gules; and those of a Silesian family, Wolfen, are given in the Wappenbuch as—Or, a wolf salient, probably proper, as no colour is given.
The prelate commemorated by the other brass, Rudolph, the first Bishop of Breslau of the name, bore an active and distinguished part in the political and ecclesiastical transactions of his time in Poland, Bohemia, and Silesia.
He is said to have been a native of Rüdisheim, on the Rhine, and of good family, but though Dlugossi says that his father's name was Henry, and his mother's Catherine, he appears not to have known his family name, nor is the information to be found either in the Series Epis$^m$ Wrat$^m$ of Henelius von Hennenberg, or in the anonymous lives before referred to. He seems to have gone early to Rome, as at the age of twenty-four he was Auditor of the Rota, soon after Auditor Cameræ: according to Henelius, he was chosen Auditor Cameræ at the Council of Basle. He was Referendarius to the Popes Pius the Second and Paul the Second, and afterwards Bishop of Lavamund in Cariuthia. After the election of George of Podiebrad in 1459 to the crown of Bohemia, the Silesian Magnates and the City of Breslau, on account of his leaning to the Hussite opinions, refused to recognise him as King; and about this time Rudolph seems to have been sent as legate to Breslau. In 1466, he appears as the chief agent in the conclusion of peace between Casimir the Fourth of Poland and the Teutonic Knights; the conditions of this peace were very favourable to the former, and in token of his gratitude the King offered to Rudolph many valuable gifts, among which are enumerated four silver dishes and two basins, four hundred florins in gold, four gilt cups, many garments of purple or scarlet lined with sable and martin, fine horses, &c. These, however, he refused; but he afterwards accepted a pension of 200 florins per annum, assigned to him from the salt mines of Cracow or Bochnia, and the title of Conciliarius Regius.
In the same year the Pope (Paul the Second) excommunicated George Podiebrad, and pronounced his deposition from the throne of Bohemia. In 1467, an assembly of the Bohemian magnates of the Roman Catholic party was held at Iglau, by direction of the Pope, and in this Casimir was elected King of Bohemia, to which dignity he had indeed some claim through his wife. The office of tendering the crown of Bohemia was deputed to Rudolph, but to his vexation the King of Poland, after much deliberation and consulting the diet, determined to decline the offer.
In 1471, upon the vacancy of the see of Breslau, he was chosen bishop and held that dignity until his death in 1482. During that period he was actively employed either in the affairs of his church, or in various embassies and negotiations between the Teutonic Knights and the King of Poland, and Matthias Corvinus and the Emperor Frederic.
​He is described as having been dark-haired and swarthy, of good stature, of a benignant and religious disposition, and especially learned in the law.
Some points in his history, it will be seen, are alluded to in his epitaph, which runs as follows:—
"Missus ab urbc fuit, legatus presul ad istas Rudulphus terras, Renus eum genuit. Ex Levantina clero auctus atque popell . . . . . . . s mitis accipit hic cathedram. Actus ab adversis quam fauste rexerat et post Mortuus in Domino clauditur hoc tumulo. 1482."
It will be seen that the brass has received an injury at the bottom, by which a word has been lost, only the letter s remaining. If this gap be filled by the word "suffragiis," and meritis be read for mitis, the sense would be tolerably made out.
The year of the death, it will be observed, is in Arabic numerals, and the whole of the date is in a very unfinished state, the plate, no doubt, having been laid down in the life of the bishop, and a space left for the insertion of the date of his decease. This brass is executed upon a system quite different from that in use either in England or in Flanders, the whole, with the exception only of the ornaments on the mitre, and those in the spandrels of the foliations, being in very low relief. The letters of the inscription are not merely raised above the ground, but all, except the capitals, are so formed as to imitate ribbons, or similar articles, bent across at their ends.
The face of the effigy of the bishop is in higher relief; the nose has been a good deal worn down, but it seems to have been originally raised about 11/2 in.
The saints, figures of which occupy niches at the sides, are, St. John the Baptist, to whom the Cathedral is dedicated, St. John the Evangelist, and St. Hedwiga, wife of Henry the Bearded, Duke of Silesia, and Great Poland. She died in 1243, and was canonized in 1266. The church which the figure holds probably refers to the monastery of Trzebnitz, not far from Breslau, which she founded. St. Hedwiga and St. John are considered the Patron Saints of Silesia.
The arms are, Silesia on the right hand of the effigy, and those of the see or the chapter of Breslau on the left. Those in the centre are said by Dlugossi and others to be his paternal coat.
Another fine brass, brought before the notice of the Institute by Mr. Nesbitt, commemorates Frederic the Sixth, son of Casimir IV., King of Poland, who was Bishop of Cracow, Archbishop of Gnesen, and a cardinal. He was born in 1468, made Bishop of Cracow in 1488, Archbishop of Gnesen and cardinal by the title of St. Lucia in Septifolio, in 1493, and died in the reign of his brother, Alexander, in 1503, aged thirty-five years.
This monument was erected to his memory in 1510, by his brother Sigismund, who became King of Poland in 1506, as appears from an inscription upon it. It is placed in the middle of the choir of the Cathedral of Cracow. The eastern part of the choir is raised a few feet above the western, and on this raised part the coronation of the Kings of Poland used to take place. The brass in question lies on this raised platform, which in reached by steps on each side. On the upright end of the tomb, which is between the steps, is a work in relief in brass, or other mixed ​metal, representing a figure in a mitre and episcopal vestments, kneeling before the Virgin Mary, who is seated, with the infant Saviour in her arms; behind the kneeling figure stands another bishop. The subject probably is, the presentation of the cardinal to the Virgin by St. Stanislaus. This relief is well designed, the heads have much character, and that of the Virgin much beauty, and the execution is very careful and finished. Over it is the inscription:—
"Hoc opus Federico Cardinali Cazimiri filio (qui quinque et triginta annis exactis MDIII. March XIII. obiit) fratri carissimo Divus Sigismundus Rex Poloniæ pientissimus posuit, ab incarnatione Domini MDX."
The engraved plate or "brass" is level with the pavement of the raised part of the choir, and as may be seen by the rubbing, is of large size, measuring about 9 feet 2 inches, by 5 feet 3 inches. It is drawn in a free and unconventional manner, and must have been the work of an artist of considerable ability; the execution also is very good, being delicate or bold as the nature of the various parts required. It is quite free from the coarseness of execution which is observable in the contemporaneous English brasses, and none of the Flemish ones, hitherto noticed, can be considered equal to it as a work of art. The face of the cardinal is evidently a portrait, and is finished with great delicacy; the figure is no doubt above life size, as it measures 6 feet 8 inches from the ground to the point where the top of the head may be supposed to be. Although he is recorded to have been of lofty stature, he was probably not of this gigantic height. From the ground to the top of the mitre is 7 feet 4 inches.
Near the top are escutcheons surmounted by crosses and cardinals' hats. The arms on these escutcheons are those of the kingdom of Poland—Gules, an eagle displayed argent, regally crowned or.
In niches on each side are figures of St. Stanislaus (written Stentzlaus) patron saint of Poland, bishop of Cracow, and murdered there in 1079, by Boleslaus; and of St. Albert, or Adalbert, the second archbishop of Gnesen, martyred in 997, on the coast of the Baltic by the heathen Prussians.
Near the base are two escutcheons, over the one of which, which is on the right side, is an archiepiscopal cross, surmounted by a mitre; over the other is a crozier, also surmounted by a mitre. The first escutcheon bears three fleur-de-lis, the second three crowns. It appears from Okolski (Orbis Polonus, art. Korony), that the chapter of Cracow used as arms—Argent, three regal crowns or. The other shield is for the archbishopric of Gnesen.
The inscription which runs round the plate is as follows:—
"Hic Federicus adest, Cazimiri clara propago. Regis et augustæ spes erat alta Domus. Namque sacer culmen cardo venisset in altum Ni tantum raperet mors properata decus. Sed dum sæva tamen voluit fortuna nocere Profuit, humanis cessit et astra tenet."
In this the rule "De mortuis nil nisi bonum," has been followed without much attention to that of "De mortuis nil nisi verum," for the character ​given of the cardinal by historians does not at all justify the eulogistic phrases which fraternal affection has inscribed upon his tomb. The following is the account given of him by Cromerus (De Orig$^e$ et Rebus gestis Pol$^m$, p. 451)—"Fuit Federicus procera statura, aspectu decoro, ac dignitatis pleno, ceterum ingenio nullo, iners, ignavo ocio crapulæ et assiduis compotationibus in fumo et sordibus cum gregalibus suis quibusdam marcescens, et ad extremum morbo Gallico confectus est, teste Mathia Miechoviensi Medico. Unum illud nominis sui monumentum in basilica Cracoviensi reliquit quod thecam calvæ divi Stanislai martyris auream et multis preciosis gemmis distinctam contulit."—Stanislaus Sarnicius (Ann$^m$. Pol$^m$. Lib. VII. apud Dlugossi), suggests some excuse for his unworthy way of life in the following words:—
"Erat Fridericus aspectu decoro ac dignitatis pleno sed animi mœrore cito consenuit. Cruciabatur enim quod fortuna eum cum fratribus non æquasset regios honores ei denegando. Ideo velut despondens animum inertiæ sese dediderat, in compotationibus turpique luxu ac sordibus cum quibusdam suis marcescens."
As, however, he was the sixth son, and had elder brothers living at the time of his death, his vexation at his not having succeeded to the throne does not seem well founded. If, however, we are to suppose that there is any truth in this statement, the passage taken in conjunction with the third line of the epitaph—"Namque sacer culmen cardo venisset in altum," suggests the idea that his brother Sigismund may have been accustomed to console him by placing before him the prospect of a possible accession to the papacy.
It is somewhat curious to remember that the grandfather of this prince of the church, although an European potentate in the fourteenth century, was a pagan up to the time of his marriage; Jagjel, or Jagello, Duke of Lithuania, not having been converted to Christianity until his marriage with Hedwiga, in 1386.
This memorial possesses some additional interest from its connection with Sigismund, so distinguished a patron of letters and of arts, and himself a worker in metals, if the reliefs in silver over the altar of the chapel built by him in the Cathedral of Cracow, which represent the events of the life of our Saviour, are, as they are said to be, the work of his own hands.
The Rev. Edward Trollope, communicated an account of a Decorative Pavement originally in the church of St. Niçaise at Rheims. (Given in this volume, p. 38.)
Mr. Hawkins desired to call the attention of the Institute to a subject which appeared of urgent importance, and in which every member of a society founded not less for the conservation than the study of all national memorials, must feel a deep interest. There were many who shared with himself the feelings of regret and painful apprehension which the proposed Bill now before Parliament must unavoidably occasion, in contemplating the reckless destruction and devastation of so many parish churches with the cemeteries attached to them, converting the latter, according to the arrangement contemplated by some parties, into public gardens or places of recreation. No provision appeared to have been made for the preservation of monuments or inscriptions in these churches or their burial-grounds; and whilst in many instances such memorials possess a considerable antiquarian or historical interest, their sacrifice, as in other ​cases, cited by Mr. Hawkins, of the removal of churches for alleged purposes of modern convenience, appeared on various grounds highly reprehensible and injurious to public as well as private interests. Mr. Hawkins considered that this was an emergency in which the Institute might with great propriety request the consideration of the Government to the evils which must accompany the proposed measure, unless averted by the enactment of suitable conservative precautions. He would accordingly submit to the meeting the following memorial:—
To the Right Hon. Henry John, Lord Viscount Palmerston, G.C.B., Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department.
The Memorial of the Archæological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.
Your Memorialists beg leave to call the attention of your Lordship to the very great importance at the present time of preserving Monumental Inscriptions and Tombstones, those more especially which are threatened with destruction in consequence of the permanent closing of churchyards, and the removal of churches in course of the execution of public works, or for other causes.
In the City of London, according to the arrangement recently proposed, it is to be apprehended that a large number of parish churches will be destroyed or closed, and propositions have been formally and officially entertained to pave some of the churchyards, and to convert others into gardens and shrubberies. No provision appears to have been contemplated for the preservation of the monumental inscriptions, many of which in the city churches and churchyards are not only of much interest and value in genealogical and biographical researches, but of the first importance as legal evidence in support of rights to property and personal privileges. It may be unnecessary to remind your Lordship that, even in a legal point of view, the Registers would not supply the loss of these inscriptions, because they contain many statements of material facts of which they would be admissible as evidence, that are not generally found in the Registers, and which even when inserted in the Registers could not be proved by them. On which account monumental inscriptions often form a considerable part of the proofs adduced in support of pedigrees before courts of justice, not less than on other occasions.
This projected destruction of memorials so valuable in themselves, as well as dear to the feelings of surviving relatives and friends, and to the descendants of the deceased, is not limited to the metropolis, or consequent only on the closing of churchyards.
Your Memorialists beg to submit the following facts in reference to this subject.
The church of St. Benet's, Threadneedle-street, was demolished, and the churchyard destroyed, when the Royal Exchange was rebuilt.
The churchyard of St. Martin's in the Fields was destroyed about twenty years since, and the monumental records have perished.
The churchyard of St. Clement's Danes has been sold to King's College Hospital, and is at the present time a place for the deposit of building materials, no precautions having been taken for the preservation of the sepulchral memorials.
The church of St. Michael's, near London Bridge, was removed, and the churchyard destroyed in making the approaches to the New London Bridge.
​Many Monumental Inscriptions mentioned by the Topographer Lysons, in his well known works on London and the adjacent parishes, as existing about sixty or seventy years since, have disappeared. Even in Westminster Abbey several inscribed memorials are actually concealed under the pavement of the choir. Numerous other instances might be adduced not only of the destruction of Monumental Inscriptions in London and in the country, through the recklessness of individuals, but also of the sacrifice of churches and churchyards, to the alleged requirements of local convenience.
In none of these cases, as your Memorialists believe, has any authenticated record been preserved of the inscriptions thus destroyed or concealed from view; and even if in any of them copies have been preserved, it is apprehended they may be of no avail in a court of justice.
A further destruction of such memorials is actually threatened by the Bill, about to be brought before Parliament by the Metropolitan Railway Company, with the object of obtaining the power of purchasing several churches and churchyards, and no provision appears to be contemplated for the preservation of the monumental memorials.
Your Memorialists are of opinion that the destruction of these Monumental Inscriptions must greatly facilitate the fabrication of fictitious and falsified memorials, such as have been adduced as evidence even in courts of justice on more than one occasion in recent times.
Your Memorialists beg therefore to request your Lordship's consideration of a matter in which, in common with a large class of Her Majesty's subjects, they feel deeply interested. They would submit to your Lordship's judgment whether a remedy for the alleged evils may not be found in the establishment of some system by which the preservation of sacred edifices and the Monumental Memorials themselves might be as far as possible ensured. And also whether carefully authenticated copies of the inscriptions on such memorials, more especially on those threatened with injury or destruction through requirements of public convenience, might not be preserved and registered under Government authority, and made by Act of Parliament legal evidence in all cases when the originals would have been admissible.
And your Memorialists will ever pray, &c.
The Rev. Joseph Hunter expressed his cordial interest in the object under consideration. He considered it highly desirable that some system should be brought into operation throughout the kingdom to preserve sepulchral inscriptions, a class of evidence constantly liable to be lost through the decay of time or wanton injury. Some persons might entertain a doubt as regarded the value of such memorials in a legal point of view, but they were on various grounds well deserving of preservation, and he thought that the charge of registration might well be intrusted to the incumbents of parishes.
It was then moved by Mr. J. H. Matthews, seconded by Mr. W. S. Walford, and carried unanimously that the Memorial proposed by Mr. Hawkins be adopted, and that the noble President of the Institute should be requested to add his signature thereto, on behalf of the Society.
Antiquities and Works of Art Exhibited
By Mr. C. Roach Smith.—Two large celts or axe-heads of flint, found at Hillyards, near Shanklin, in the Isle of Wight, one of them measuring 9 in. in length by 3 in. greatest diameter; the other nearly 8 in, by 23/4. Their form is similar to that of celts occurring in all parts of Great Britain (compare the second example in Mr. Dunoyer's Classification of Celts, Archæol. Journal, vol. iv. p. 2); they are of unusually large dimensions, and shaped with remarkable symmetry and skill. A collection of stone weapons, chisels, wedges, &c., from Denmark, illustrative of the chief varieties of form occurring in the North of Europe, and presented to Mr. Roach Smith's Museum by the King of Denmark. Also, a cast of a chisel of bone (of the Bos Urus), found in a bog in Seeland, near Kallundborg. It has been regarded as showing that the Urox existed in that country within historical times after the settlement of inhabitants there.
By Mr. Westwood.—Two combs of sculptured ivory, brought by kind permission of the possessor, Mr. Boöcke. One of them, a relic of Greek art, was found, as stated, at Pompeii; on one of its sides are sculptured the Three Graces, on the other a naked goddess in a car drawn by two leopards. The second comb, found in Wales, is unusually large; it is carved with foliage, figures, and riband ornament, and bears an inscription in which the monograms IHC. and XRS. occur.
By Mr. W. W. Wynne, M.P.—A bronze disc of unknown use, diam. 31/5 in., thickness about 1/5 in. It is marked on one side only with three concentric circles engraved upon it. Found in the excavations made by Mr. Wynne at Castell y Bere, July, 1853. A similar disc, found on Wolsonburg Hill, Sussex, where Celts and various ancient reliques have occurred, was sent by Mrs. Weekes to the Museum at the Chichester Meeting of the Institute. Also a leaden dove, with extended wings; there are traces of gilding and silver on the surface, and the body is perforated with two holes, for a chain or cord, so that the dove might, it is supposed, be adjusted as the counterpoise of a lamp, or possibly some sacred object, which it might be requisite to raise and lower at pleasure. Found at Valle Crucis Abbey, Denbighshire. Another found there is now at Corsygedol. Several leaden birds, closely similar to this, have been found, occasionally with or near Roman remains, which has naturally led to the supposition that they may have been eagles attached to a Roman standard. There are three in the Hon. Richard Neville's Museum at Audley End, discovered in the Roman Station at Chesterford, and described in his "Antiqua Explorata;" another was found at Dunstable, by Mr. Inskip, and is now in the Museum of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society.
​By Mr. Octavius Morgan,M.P.—A circular plate of brass, representing the Agnus, with a cross-nimb around its head, and a circle thus inscribed: "AGNVS DEI QUI TOLLIS PECCATA MVNDI, MISERERE NOBIS," the last word being in the field, under the head of the lamb, and the letters not reversed. A border of foliated ornament surrounds the whole. This plate was probably used for bossing out ornamental metal work, such as the lid of a pyx, which being hammered up on this mould would present the Agnus in relief, with the letters of the legend in their proper direction. Diam. 2 in. Mr. Morgan received it from a watchmaker at Newport, Monmouthshire; it had been in his possession upwards of thirty years; its origin or place of discovery could not be traced.
By Mr. C. Desborough Bedford.—Fragments of "Samian" and other pottery of various periods, including portions of a fine salver of Moorish ware with metallic lustre in the decorations, found under Haberdashers' Hall during excavations recently made; also several pavement tiles of the XIVth century, one of them bearing a representation of a mounted knight. These reliques lay at a depth of about seventeen feet. A silver betrothal ring, parcel-gilt; the hoop formed with hands conjoined, and inscribed, IHC' NAZAREN'. Found in ploughing near the ruins at Sudbury.
By Miss Julia M. Buckett.—A silver tetradrachm; a medal relating to the victory by the King of Prussia, at Rosbach, in 1757, dug up at Hurst, near Reading; and a pack of playing-cards, each card bearing an engraved subject connected with the history of the Spanish Armada. The description of each is engraved underneath. The costume of the figures appears to assign these cards to the time of Charles II. They may possibly have been produced by Randal Taylor, a dealer near Stationers' Hall, who about 1679 put forth an advertisement of a pack of cards, price one shilling, forming a history of all the Popish plots from those in Queen Elizabeth's time to that against Charles II., with the manner of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey's murder. Mr. Chatto, the author of the most complete work "On the origin of Playing Cards," had not been able to discover a pack of these, of which he found the advertisement only in the Bagford Collections, British Museum. Mr. Chatto describes many fanciful packs of cards published about the close of the XVIIth century, some of them being political or satirical, whilst others related to costume, mathematics, astronomy, and even the art of carving at table.
By Mr. Le Keux.—A series of engravings representing the restored Cathedral of Trondhjem, or Drontheim, in Norway, assigned to the XIth century. That city was long the residence of the Norwegian kings, and their ancient throne may still be seen in the palace, now an arsenal. The Cathedral was a remarkable structure, partly destroyed by fire in 1710; it has been partly rebuilt, and the choir is still used. Many portions of the building are remarkable for the details and sculptured ornaments, the massive piers, and other architectural features of good Norman character, as also of a subsequent period. The earlier work bears much resemblance to that which is found in certain buildings in the North of Scotland. Since the union with Sweden, this cathedral has had the privilege of being the place where coronations are performed.
by Mr. Nesbitt.—A collection of casts from Medieval ivory carvings of ​various periods, taken by Mr. Franchi, and comprising two mirror-cases in the possession of Mr. Fountaine; also some choice specimens in the Museum of M. Sauvageot, at Paris. Amongst the latter is a folding tablet sculptured in hold relief, representing the Coronation of the Virgin and St. John the Evangelist. In the spandrels of each portion are introduced a flower and an escutcheon charged with a cross; and some French antiquaries, regarding these as the English rose and St. George's cross, had inclined to suppose the sculpture to be of English work.
By the Rev. Walter Sneyd.—Two remarkable bosses of gilt copper (diam. 41/2 in.) ornaments probably of a shrine or tomb, with an enamelled escutcheon in the centre of each, surrounded by open work formed of five dragons curiously interlaced. One of the escutcheons is charged with the bearing of Créquy; Or, a tree of seven branches, gules, called a Crequier by the French heralds, each branch terminating in a fruit like a small pine-cone. On the other escutcheon is the bearing of La Tremouille,—Or, a chevron between three leaves (?) azure. Date, XIIIth century. A small carving in ivory, portion of a coffer, representing three figures in high relief; the date, from the costume and design, may be as early as the IVth or Vth century. A carving in ivory, of rude execution, representing the Saviour enthroned; part of a coffer, probably of North German work, of Xth or XIth century. A carved mirror-case of ivory, XIVth century, representing a hawking party on horseback. A small silver pendant ornament, representing the crucifix between the Virgin and St. John; it has a little ring above and below, and was possibly intended to be attached to a rosary. Date XVth century. A small piece of carved mother o'pearl, in open work, representing the Entombment of our Lord. Date XVth century. Early European work in this material is very rare.
By Mr. W. J. Bernhard Smith.—A collection of tobacco-pipes, showing the progress of the manufacture and the forms of the bowl from the earliest period of their use in England. These specimens had been chiefly obtained in Surrey, Middlesex, Staffordshire, and Shropshire; the manufacture having been chiefly practised, probably, in the county last mentioned, at the little town of Brosely, whence the popular name of "a brosely" for a tobacco-pipe, in various parts of England, as stated by Mr. Hartshorne in his "Salopia Antiqua," p. 338. He observes that the diminutive bowls turned up by the spade or the plough are called in Shropshire "Fairishes pipes," as also in the North of England, according to Brockett. They are so termed, also, in Ireland, where they are often found, and have sometimes been assigned to a remote period, under the supposition even that they may have been brought by the Danish marauders of the Xth century. Mr. Crofton Croker has refuted this absurd notion, and gives representations of several examples in his collection from the times of Elizabeth to the reign of William III. (" Dublin Penny Journal," vol. iv. p. 28.) In Scotland they are known as Celtic or Elfin Pipes. The occasional juxta-position of these reliques with objects of more remote antiquity, has, indeed, occasionally given an appearance of probability to the supposition that they may be more ancient than the introduction of tobacco in the reign of Elizabeth; thus the talented Historian of the Roman Wall seems reluctant to recognise ​those found in the Roman stations of the North as undeniably medieval. The pipes in Mr. Bernhard Smith's collection bear various makers' marks stamped on the spur, amongst which occur the names and initials, John Roberts—Mich. Brown—Joseph Hughes—Thomas Evans—W. G.—W. S.—C. B.—P. C.—I. H.—within a heart; E. E. and W. B., a hand being in the last two instances placed between the initials. They were found at Much Wenlock. The significance of this symbol appears to be set forth by Fuller, who in his account of the manufacture of pipes, the best being made at Amesbury in Wilts, asserts the superior excellence of "Gauntlet- pipes, which have that mark on their heel," and relates the ingenious defence of a maker who was sued for pirating the mark, and alleged that the thumb of his gauntlet stood differently to the plaintiff's, and the same hand given dexter or sinister in heraldry is a sufficient difference. The tobacco-pipe makers were incorporated in 1619; at a later period they petitioned in vain to become a livery company of the City of London.
By Mr. M. A. Lower.—Impressions from a brass seal of pointed-oval form, presented to Mr. Lower by the Rev. J. Carnegie, of Seaford. In the centre in a circular compartment appears the tonsured head of an ecclesiastic, seen in profile to the left; the spandrels above and below the circle being filled with tracery. The inscription around is as follows: ＋ BENEDICTIO D'NI SVPER CAPVT WALTERI. Date XIVth cent.
By the Rev. Walter Sneyd.—Brass matrix, presented to him by the Duke of Hamilton, by whom it had been found amongst the collections at Hamilton Palace. The device is a demi-figure of St. Catharine, with the head and arms of an ecclesiastic in a suppliant attitude beneath.—LAVEDI SAINT KATERIN' PRAI FOR IO. . . . . . . Pointed-oval, XIVth cent.
By the Hon. W. Fox Strangways.—Impressions from matrices of seals in the possession of Mr. Walrond. Silver matrix of the fraternity of tailors at Exeter. It is of circular form; the work elaborately finished. It represents the Baptist, clad in camel's skin, and holding the agnus; this figure is placed in a quatrefoiled panel, with an escutcheon at each side, each charged with a pair of shears. The inscription is as follows:—
Sigillum commune fraternitatis . sissorum . civitas . exonie.
The handle is attached by a hinge, so as to fall flat on the reverse of the seal, which is of circular form. The ancient guild of tailors has been recently broken up; their documents passed into private hands, and their seal came into the hands of a pawnbroker, by whom it was sold to a working silversmith in the west. The date of this seal may be assigned to 1475, when the corporation of tailors in Exeter obtained a new charter from Edward IV., which gave great offence to the mayor and common council as a supposed infringement on their liberties, and they commenced a suit, which was terminated by the interference of the crown after two years, but the animosity continued for a considerable time.—Seal of ​pointed-oval form, XIVth cent., the device is the Virgin with the infant Saviour, within rich tabernacle work; under an arch beneath are four figures in the attitude of supplication, S' COLLEGII. DOCTORVM (LEGIS?) CANONICI, STVDII. BONONIĒSIS.—Pointed-oval seal, XIVth cent., the device being two figures, probably of saints, under a double arched canopy surmounted by a cross—＋ S' PRIORISSE ET CONVENTt' MōN D' CASSANDRA. This may be the seal of a Priory at Cassandra, or Pallœnæ, in Macedonia.
April 7, 1854.
Octavius Morgan, Esq., M.P., Vice-President, in the Chair.
The subject of the memorial regarding the preservation of sepulchral memorials and monumental inscriptions was again brought under the notice of the Society, and the following reply received from the Home Office, was read—
Whitehall, March 15th, 1854.
Sir, I am directed by Viscount Palmerston to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 7th inst., forwarding a Memorial from the Archæological Institute of Great Britain, calling attention to the great importance of preserving monumental inscriptions and tombstones, with reference to the dosing of church-yards and the removal of churches in the execution of public works, &c.
I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, Henry Fitzroy.
George Vulliamy, Esq.
A communication was received, in reference to this subject, from Mr. Markland, expressing his strong feeling in regard to the reckless demolition of churches to be apprehended from the proposed measure. He anxiously hoped that the emergency of the occasion might call forth the most earnest endeavours on the part of the Central Committee, as also of the members of the Institute at large, in order that every available influence might be exerted to avert, if possible, the desecration of churches and grave-yards in a manner so repugnant to the feelings of a large class of the community, and which must be viewed with deep regret by all who sincerely appreciate the value of all national as well as personal memorials. Mr. Markland fully concurred in the object of the memorial submitted to the Home Office. If the London churches, he observed, are to be pulled down, nothing could be more judicious than a compliance with that memorial, and he suggested that not only the inscriptions should be carefully copied, but that an outline representation of the monuments or tablets should be preserved. In the course of the discussion which ensued, it was stated by the Rev. Thomas Hugo, that he had witnessed within the previous week the removal of sepulchral memorials which had been carted away through the streets of the city, as he believed, from the grave-yard of St. Benet's Fink. Amongst the most interesting city churches, he observed, are St. Ethelburga's and St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, both of which present valuable architectural features of early Decorated work; and the latter contains effigies and memorials of no ordinary historical value, namely, those of Sir John Crosby, of Gresham, of Sir William Pickering and of Sir Julius Cæsar, now in jeopardy though the project of church-destruction, the effects of which it was feared would not be limited to the city of London.
​It was finally suggested and determined that the Central Committee should request the Bishop of London to receive a deputation composed of influential members of the Institute, who should urgently solicit his consideration of the evils apprehended through this threatened sacrifice of so many consecrated sites, and the painful profanation of the resting-places of the dead by which it must be accompanied.
The Rev. Dr. Todd gave an account of the recent discovery of a remarkable hoard of gold ornaments in the county Clare, in the course of railway operations. He produced some of the most curious specimens, which had been acquired for the collection of the Royal Irish Academy, presenting certain unusual features, and valuable as additions to the series of ancient ornaments intended apparently to be worn as collars or gorgets. The precise spot, he remarked, where the discovery had occurred, had not been ascertained, and a small part only of the treasure had been produced. In this, as in too many cases, the apprehension of the claims of "treasure-trove" had rendered it impracticable to preserve the evidence of essential value for the purposes of science. Such discoveries in Ireland, are usually attended with much mystery, and the relics hastily condemned to the crucible; in the present instance, Dr. Todd had reason to believe that the mass of treasure found had been very great; but the greater portion had been sold to a jeweller in Limerick and immediately melted down. The unusual forms presented by the few pieces which he was enabled to lay before the Meeting, must cause great regret that the entire hoard had not been examined by some antiquary competent to make a selection of the novel types. The ornaments consisted chiefly, as it is believed, of massive gold armlets with dilated or cup-shaped terminations; three examples of these were exhibited, as also two remarkable objects of thin gold plate, which may have been worn upon the neck; these are of novel types.
Mr. Hawkins made some observations on the serious injuries in regard to the advance of science constantly experienced from apprehension on the part of the finders of being compelled to give up the treasure, and he observed that the successful results which had attended the more liberal regulations introduced in Denmark claimed the serious consideration of government.
Mr. Clayton, of Newcastle, stated certain facts which had occurred in the North, showing the prejudicial results which arise from the existing law; and the Rev. John Webb offered some remarks to the same effect, citing, especially, an important discovery of Roman gold coins in Worcestershire, of which the greater portion had been speedily sold at Evesham, he observed that the fact seemed worthy of note, in connection with a question of so much moment to archaeologists, that the gallant career of Richard Cœur de Lion had been brought to an untimely end at Chaluz, through his determination to enforce this feudal claim.
Mr. Hawkins gave an account of the recent discovery of a mosaic pavement on the site of the Excise Office, Old Broad Street. Bishopsgate. The floor in its perfect state had measured not less than 28 ft. square; the central subject appeared to be Ariadne seated on a panther, and the accompanying designs are of a Bacchanalian character, suggesting the supposition that the pavement had decorated a banqueting chamber. The work is of fine character, and Mr. Hawkins had entertained the hope that this pavement might have been obtained for the British Museum, where a good example of mosaic work would form a valuable accession to the col​lections of National Antiquities: it was, however, destined to be removed to the Sydenham Crystal Palace. The Rev. Thomas Hugo stated that vestiges of another pavement had been found adjoining that first discovered, and apparently even of greater antiquarian interest.
Mr. Westwood remarked that the recent excavations in the city had brought to light some vestiges of another period, deserving of mention. Upon the site of the church of St. Benet's Fink, portions of two sepulchral slabs had been found, one of them with riband ornament of Anglo-Saxon character; this lay at a depth of ten feet, and five feet lower was discovered a fragment of a slab with a foliated cross, and part of an inscription on the edge, as follows—LEM : BRVN : PRIEZ : PATER : ✠, supposed to have been the memorial of Willem or William Brun.
Mr. H. O'Neill resumed his remarks upon sculptured crosses in Ireland, and produced rubbings from certain details upon those at Monasterboice and Termonfechin. The latter presents a very singular example of the serpent-ornamentation; the crucified figure of the Saviour appears on one side of the head of this cross, and on the other is a naked figure holding a cross in the left hand, and a staff with a double volute in the right: on the transverse limbs are introduced human heads, possibly representing angels. This sculpture may possibly typify the Ascension, in accordance with the notion to which allusion was made by Mr. Westwood at a previous meeting. (See p. 64, ante.) Mr. O'Neill sought to demonstrate, by certain examples selected from the materials of his work on Irish Crosses, that the origin of the interlaced or riband ornament had been, as technically termed "zoomorphic," or derived from animal forms, and that the serpent-patterns had been suggestive of the singular "triple-whorl" ornament. He illustrated this curious subject of enquiry by details taken from the crosses above mentioned, showing first, intertwined serpents, then interlaced designs, in which serpent-forms are partially combined, and lastly, interlaced ornaments and triple-whorls devoid of any trace of animal forms.
Dr. Todd, in reference to the curious symbol of a staff with double volutes, shown upon the cross at Termonfechin, described a very curious relic which ho had recently seen in Ireland, and of which a full account would soon be given in the Transactions of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society. This unique object had excited much attention; it is a short staff of metal, originally of longer dimensions, richly wrought in the same style as the shrines and sacred objects, with interlaced work chased and partially enamelled. The head is formed like a crutch, of which the handle or cross-piece presents two animal heads turned upwards and recurved. By some antiquaries this singular object, of which Dr. Todd showed a sketch, had been regarded as analogous to the pastoral staff used by the bishops and abbots of the Greek church. Mr. Westwood remarked that examples of objects of this description now used in the Russo-Greek church, are represented in the magnificent work on the Antiquities of Russia. Mr. Nightingale stated that the pastoral staff which he had seen commonly used in the oriental churches, bears much resemblance in its general form to that lately found in Ireland; the construction of that staff, however, appeared rather to indicate that it had served as the handle of a cross or other sacred object, which was fixed between the dragon-like beads of the cross-piece above mentioned. ​Mr. Howlett, chief draftsman to the Board of Ordnance, gave a description of the various mechanical means which had been devised for facilitating the accurate delineation of buildings, landscapes, &c., and explained the objections to which each is liable, he wished to invite the attention of antiquaries to a method which he had devised, and used with advantage, well suited, as he believed, to assist those who are not adepts in the arts of design, or who might desire some aid in correctly producing representations of ancient buildings and objects of smaller dimensions. Mr. Howlett's mode of proceeding is to draw with a crayon upon a glass placed in an erect frame, so that the eye being fixed by means of a stationary sight or point of view in front, the objects seen through the transparent plane may be delineated, and the crayon lines afterwards traced on paper.
Antiquities and Works of Art Exhibited
By Mr. W. J. Bernhard Smith.—A celt of cream-coloured flint or chert lately found at Sunning Hill, Berkshire, under the roots of a tree on the property of Mr. Forbes, by whom it was presented to Mr. Bernhard Smith. A bronze spear-head with side-loops, and the point slightly bulbous, a peculiarity of form, possibly intentional, in order to inflict a more dangerous wound: it was stated to have been found at Littlemore, near Oxford.—Two Oriental weapons, one being a Malay dagger in its sheath of wood coated with leather (compare Skelton's Goodrich Court Armory, vol. ii., pl. 147, fig. 11); the other is an Indian weapon known as the "Paiscush," of which Skelton gives examples, differing chiefly in being formed with a knuckle-guard (Ibid. pl. 139, 141).
By the Rev. Thomas Hugo.—A bronze armilla of Roman workmanship, described as found in Bucklersbury, in the present year.
By Mr. Forrest.—A tablet of alabaster, sculptured in high relief, and in perfect preservation. It represents the martyrdom of St. Thomas of Canterbury, who is represented kneeling on the steps of an altar; the four knights stand behind him ; one, most in front, is in the act of striking the head of Becket, whilst another, holding his sword with both hands, stirs the brains with savage cruelty; the other two knights are seen in the back-ground with their swords drawn. On the altar is placed a chalice, and in a small ambry at the side of the altar are seen the two cruets. Beyond, on the other side, stands Edward Grim, holding a cross-staff and a book. The date of this sculpture is about 1450. It was obtained from France, and is possibly a work of the artificers of Lagny.—Four enamelled plates, bearing the evangelistic symbols.—A covered tankard of pewter, from the collection of Robert Napier, Esq., of Glasgow; it is engraved with the signs of the zodiac and figures of heathen deities.—A round covered vessel of bell-metal, a beautiful specimen of casting, ornamented with arabesques in relief, and demi-figures of Faith and Hope. The name of the owner is introduced, and an escutcheon charged with a dimidiated fleur-de-lys.—HANS HEINRICH SCHALCH SECKEL MEIST'R. 1635. Seckelmeister signifies the "Treasurer." Several Moorish pavement tiles, from Spain.
Ancient cup, of silver-gilt. Date, XVth cent. IN THE COLLECTION OF HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF HAMILTON.
The Hon. Robert Curzon, jun., stated, in regard to these curious cups, that in the Pitti Palace at Florence, in a glazed case placed in a passage leading from one of the back rooms in the picture gallery, there are six or eight vessels of this sort, all made of a light-coloured wood, very richly mounted in gold; they are double, that is, as if a second cup was used in each case as a cover. Mr. Curzon supposes that they were the common drinking cups of Austria, the north of Italy, and the south of France, and that they took the place of our mazers in those countries. In a MS. of the "Livre de Genese," date about 1380-1400, in Mr. Curzon's collection at Parham Park, there are three representations of cups of this description, the bowls being melon-shaped, the covers are smaller cups of similar fashion but of smaller size, and the lower portion only has a handle on one side. He observed that about the same period when these double cups were in vogue, it was the fashion to use double basons for food, one inverted upon the other. It is probable that the curious piece of ancient plate exhibited by the Duke of Hamilton, had originally a globular cover, like those described by Mr. Curzon; this peculiar form of cup is well shown in the woodcuts in an edition of Virgil, printed at Lyons, 1529, from which the upper woodcut has been copied, occurring in the third Eclogue. This form may be noticed likewise amongst the charges of ancient German heraldry. The second example here given is taken from the works of Spener, where it occurs amongst Calices sive scyphi, as the bearing of the Carinthian family of Leininger; and three such vessels are given with the family name of Brock. (Spener, Pars Generalis, plates, No. 19).
By Mr. Franks.—A small tripod pedestal of bronze, elaborately worked, and representing animals grotesquely contorted, thirteenth century. Also a gold ring of beautiful workmanship, bearing on the facets figures of St. Christopher and St. Margaret (?) and the posy—tout mon cuer auez.
By Mr. Figg.—A representation of a small bronze relique from a tunmlus near Mount Harry, Lewes: probably portion of a buckle, and enamelled with saltires, gules.
By Sir John G. Reeve de la Pole, Bart.—An iron prick-spur, found in the moat of a castle near Tharaud in Saxony: it is probably of the twelfth century, and was intended apparently to be attached by means of a single strap; the shanks are much curved, the point pyramidal, measuring 11/2 inch in length.—An iron arrow-head, found in the walls of the Château les Cles, on the confines of France and the Canton de Vaud : its length is 31/2 inches. The point is forged pyramidally, somewhat like the English piles of arrows in the Goodrich Court armory, Skelton, vol. i. pl. 34, but the socket, in all instances slit open at the side, is much shorter in proportion to the point. Arrow-heads, attributed to the time of Edward I., and precisely similar to that now produced, were found by Mr. Wynne in his excavations at Castell y Bere.
By Mr. Charles Tucker.—A massive gold ring set with a sapphire, and ​bearing the posy—droit . asaye . pur . fere . quere . gaye.—Another gold ring engraved with a representation of the Trinity, the words,—nul . cy . bien,—and flowers, originally enamelled. Both these rings were found at Exeter.—A small oval watch, in form of a shell of silver enamelled, with a crystal over the face. The maker's name, Henry Beraud fecit. A curious little piece of old German plate, of silver ornamented with sacred subjects in repoussé work; it is in the form of a cabinet with moveable drawers.
By Mr. Blackburn.—A remarkable ivory drinking horn, elaborately sculptured in longitudinal bands, with figures of various animals,—dragons, an elephant with caparisons, hares, antelopes, peacocks, an harpy, &c., Two human figures are introduced, each holding a sword and a small very convex buckler; they wear dresses reaching to the knee, the upper part being possibly intended to represent mail or padded work, and the waist surrounded by a sash or girdle. The mouth is raised on an eagle's gamb of silver boldly chased, and the smaller end on two little wyverns, which as also the tip, mouth-piece, &c., are of silver. The whole of the workmanship has an oriental character. The length is 27 inches. Mr. Blackburn stated that this relic, long preserved in his family, had been regarded as a tenure-horn, like the celebrated horn of Ulphus at York Minster. He exhibited at the same time another relique which had been handed down in his family. It is a large shirt or tunic of linen, elaborately worked with lace, and ornamented with small bows of blue and red riband. The tradition had always been that it was worn by Charles I. at his execution. It bears stains, supposed to be of blood. With this garment were produced various articles of linen for an infant, of very fine quality and manufacture, supposed to have been worn by Charles in his childhood. These reliques, with the horn, had descended to Mr. Blackburn's mother from the family of Hare, of Stow Hall, Norfolk, descended from the Harcourts of Lorraine. Sir John Hare, knighted by James I., married the only daughter of the lord Keeper Coventry; and their eldest son, Sir Ralph Hare, was created a baronet by Charles I., in 1641. It had not been ascertained by what means these royal reliques had come into the possession of the family.
by Mr. V. V. Hellyer.—A set of silver toilet implements, viz. tooth- pick, ear-pick, nail-pick, and tongue-scraper, united together so as to turn on one pivot. United with them is a seal of crystal on coloured foils. The date 1589 is engraved upon this little object. Other examples of such implements may be seen in Sussex Archæol. Coll., vol. v., p. 201, and Gent. Mag., vol. xcix., part 2, p. 401. The last was found in Lancashire, near Furness Abbey.
By Mr. Rohde Hawkins.—A collection of azulcios, or Moorish paving-tiles, of vivid colouring, from Spain.
By Mr. C. C. Babington.—Impression in gutta percha, from a gold ring of the XVth century, lately found under Nottingham bridge. It is now in the possession of Mr. Litchfield, at Cambridge. Around the hasp is engraved thrice, the posy,—pernez en gre, with foliated ornaments tastefully introduced in the intervening spaces.
​By the Rev. Edward Trollope.—Drawings of a sepulchral arch and incised cross-slab lately brought to light through the removal of woodwork &c. in Rauceby Church, near Sleaford. It appears to have formed the monument of the builder of the south aisle of that church, towards the east end of which it is situated. The name is unfortunately illegible, although the date, 1385, is preserved. The slab (see woodcut) has suffered much from friction, and a portion has been cut away from one side in order to make the slab fit in better, probably with some later work. The slab measures 7 feet by 2 feet 7 inches. The design of the cross differs, Mr. Trollope observed, in some features from all examples known to him, and it is of graceful character. The cross had never been filled in with the black composition which still remains in the surrounding lines and inscription, so that it has a lighter and more subdued appearance than the surrounding border.
By the Rev. C. R. Manning.—A sketch of a portion of wooden frame ​found in situ, in unblocking a small circular-headed, double-splayed window in the chancel of Framingham Earl Church, Norfolk. It is pierced with eyelet holes, in different directions, round the edge, doubtless for the purpose of affixing some kind of lacing. Fragments of similar frames were found in the other double-splayed windows, but very much decayed. Mr. Manning thought it possible that this might have served for fixing a substitute for glass in early times, and that the material might have been canvas, which is mentioned by the late Mr. Hudson Turner as having been used at Westminster Abbey about 1270. It had also been supposed that these holes were merely for cords to be passed through to keep the birds out, the rain being sufficiently excluded by the double splay. Contrivances of this kind appear to have been termed fenestralls, fenestralia. Horman in his Vulgaria says that "glasen wyndow is to let in the lyght and kepe out the winde. Paper or lyn clothe straked acrosse with losyngys mak fenestrals instede of glasen wyndowes." Possibly the "losyngys" in this case imply a net-work of cords stretched across to preserve the paper or linen from damage.
By Mr. Edward Hoare.—Representations of a singular silver crucifix, originally gilt, having the image of the Saviour on both sides; the cross is curiously formed of open work in a lozengy pattern, and a spiral twist all round the edges. Date, XVIth century. It was probably intended to be attached to a string of paternosters, and it was found in digging a deep grave, in 1844, at St. Cronan's Abbey, Roscrea, co. Tipperary. This relique is now in Mr. Hoare's Collection.
Mr. Blaauw presented a cast from the glazed surface of a block of terracotta, part of the external decoration of the ancient residence of the Pelhams at Laughton Place, near Lewes. This moated mansion was erected by Sir William Pelham in 1534, and it was for two centuries the seat of the family. The buckle which was their badge, appears in several places amongst the ornaments, which, as also window cases and other dressings of moulded brick, are of very skilful workmanship. The block from which the cast was taken measures 8 inches in thickness, and it displays the buckle with the initials of the builder of the house—W. P. and upon the buckle is this inscription—LAN DE GRACE 1534 FVT CEST MAYSO' FAITE. A representation of this badge is given by Mr. Lower in his Memoir on the Badges of the families of Pelham and De la Warr, Sussex Archæol. Coll., vol. iii., p. 228; and in his "Curiosities of Heraldry," p. 161. A model of one of the windows, ornamented with arabesques, was exhibited by Mr. Blaauw in the Museum formed during the meeting of the Institute at Chichester.
By Mr. Nightingale.—Two reliques of baked clay found in digging graves in the churchyard of St. Nicholas', Wilton. One of them is a perforated disc, diameter about 41/2 inches, diameter of perforation 13/4 inches. It resembles one represented in "Artis' Durobrivæ," plate 29, fig. 6, found with Roman remains and described as a weight, possibly from its being marked with three impressed cavities at equal distances, a peculiarity occurring in other examples. A massive ring of baked clay, closely similar to that found at Wilton, was dug up in the churchyard at Hurst Pierpoint, ​Sussex, and it is in the possession of the Rev. C. Borrer, of that place. It has been supposed that those objects served to support large candles, which may have been thus ranged on the floor of a church around the corpse in funeral obsequies. The other resembles a salt-cellar or a small saucer raised on a stem; it had, however, probably served as a rude funereal lamp or cresset; a Roman relique of rude ware, very similar in form but furnished with a nozzle, was found in a sepulchral cist at Avisford, Sussex, now in the Chichester Museum, and exhibited at the meeting of the Institute in that city by Lady Elizabeth Reynell.
By the Rev. John Byron.—A rubbing from a small sepulchral brass found in Newark Church under the pews, during restorations now in progress; it represents a man, probably a merchant, in a long gown; date, XVIth century. Also an escutcheon of the arms of the Drapers' Company: three clouds radiated in base, each surmounted by a triple crown. The Company was incorporated 17th Henry VI., and received a grant of arras in 1561. Mr. Byron presented these rubbings to the collection of the Institute.
Impressions from Seals.—By Mr. Caton.—Seal of Sir John de Burgh, Sheriff of Shropshire, 1442; he was son of Hugh de Burgh, Sheriff 8th Henry VI., and married the heiress of Sir William Clopton, of Radbrooke, Gloucestershire. The seal bears an escutcheon placed diagonally, charged with three fleurs-de-lys ermine; on the helm is a crest, a falcon ducally gorged, with wings expanded. The legend is—S : I : burgh' S' : dolonde : p' : le chastel : de chibourgh'. Sir John de Burgh, Mr. Caton stated, entitled himself Seigneur d'Olonde, from a lordship possessed by him in Normandy; he was probably captain or governor of Cherbourg, and this was his official seal for that post. That place was taken by Henry V. in 1418, and it was the last fortress given up by the English in 1450, after a spirited resistance by Thomas Gonville, who at that time was captain there.—Seal of Sir Thomas More, probably engraved on his appointment by Henry VIII. as Treasurer of the Exchequer, in 1520. It bears an escutcheon, quarterly, a chevron engrailed between three moor-cocks, and, on a chevron between three unicorns' heads erased, as many bezants. The crest, placed upon a helm, is a Moor's head in pro- file. Legend—SIGILLV. T. MORE. EQVITIS. AVRATI. SVBTHESAVRARII. ANGL.—The matrix is in the possession of a gentleman in Northamptonshire. Seal of Anthony Gell, of Hopton, Derbyshire, date about 1600. It represents a man in a long robe, with a ruff, a flat bonnet on his head, his right hand raised. Under his feet is an escutcheon charged with three mullets in bend : crest, a greyhound statant—IMAGO : ANTHONII : GELI : DE : HOPTON : ARMIGERI.—Official seal of Sir Job Charlton, Bart., of Ludford, Herefordshire, and Park Hall, Salop., Chief Justice of Chester, in the reign of Charles II., Speaker of the House of Commons, 1673. He died in 1697. The seal bears an escutcheon of the Royal Arms within a garter, and surmounted by a crown, with the initials C. R. On a label underneath is inscribed, CONCILIVN MARCHIAR: and around the margin, CAROLVS II. D.G. MAG. BRIT. FRA. ET. HIB. REX. F.D.
By Mr. Benjamin Williams.—Impressions from the Mayoralty Seal of London, in its present singularly defaced condition: the matrix appears to have been rubbed down until only the deepest intaglios remain. A representation of this fine seal, in its perfect state, has been given in this Journal, vol. iii., p. 74. The matrix is now kept at the Mansion House, ​in the custody of the Gate Porter.—Copies in gutta percha of several seals appended to documents relating to the Channel Islands, in the possession of M. Metivier, of Guernsey. They comprise—S'. BALLIVIE. INSVLE. DE. GERNEREYE, (sic) used in 1215 and 1329; —S' BALLIVIE. INSVLARVM PRO REGE ANGLIE, in 1286;—the seals of Sir William de Chayne. 1153, and of Edmond de Chaeney, Gardein des Isles, 1365;—of Masse de la Court, Bailiff of Guernsey, 1315; of John de Pratellis, 1200; and of Sir Thomas de Pratellis, 1276;—of Sir Otho de Gransson, 1316;—of Richard de St. Martin, Bailiff of Jersey, 1317;—of Hugh de Turbelvile (sic);—and of Philip de Albignei, 1218.
By Mr. Way.—Copies in gutta percha from seals in the treasuries at Queen's and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, taken by Mr. Ready, to whom access has recently been permitted by the authorities of several colleges (Pembroke, Gonville and Caius, and Queen's), and an extensive collection of fine examples thus obtained. Those now produced comprised a seal of John de Balliol, not described in Laing's Catalogue of Scottish Seals; a fine seal of Sir Peter de Courtenay, 14th Richard II., 1391, bearing an escutcheon of the arms of that family suspended to a tree; the hearing differenced by a label of three points, each charged with three annulets; and a beautiful seal of John Avenell, of a Cambridgeshire family, 26th Edward III. The bearing is a fesse between six annulets, the crest being a demi-dragon, with wings expanded. Amongst several remarkable seals of the De Veres obtained at Cambridge by Mr. Ready, that of Maud, daughter of Sir Ralph de Ufford, and wife of Thomas de Vere, Earl of Oxford, deserves especial notice. It is of circular form, and displays an escutcheon of the arms of Vere impaling Ufford, borne by an eagle with its wings displayed.—* Sigillum : mauled : ber : comitisse : oronie : she survived her husband, who died in 1370, and died in prison in 1404.
* ↑ Printed in this volume, ante, p. 116. Dr. Leeman's Memoir "Over steenen Wiggen op Java," appeared in the Dutch periodical entitled, "Tijdschrift voor de Wis-en Natuurkundige Wetenschappen," with three lithographic plates.
* ↑ Archaeol. Journ., vol. x., p. 260.
* ↑ Dlugossi, Hist. Pol. Book x. p. 24.
* ↑ Wratislava, in Latin VVratislavia, is the original name of which Breslau is a corruption.
* ↑ By this treaty of peace, the Knights ceded West Prussia, with Dantzig, Marienburg, &c. to Poland, and consented to hold East Prussia as a fief of the Polish crown.
* ↑ Longe acrior (i.e. than Pius the Second) acerbiorque in Georgium apparuit interdietis, censuris, execrationibus in cum desæviens, postremo anathemate eundem feriens abrogata ei Regia dignitate, Regisque Bohemiæ titulo ad Mathiam Regem Hungariæ connivente ipso Cæsare translato. Dubravius, Hist. Boh. b. xxx., p. 781.
* ↑ Dlugossi, Hist. Pol. b. xiii. "Juxta unanimem electionem de eo (Casimir) Iglauiæ per Barones Bohemiæ de mandato S. P. celebratam.
* ↑ Daughter of Albert, king of Bohemia.
* ↑ See also the celts found on Upton Lovel Down, "Hoare's Ancient Wilts," vol. i. pl. iv. and v. Similar celts of large size found in the Channel Islands are figured in Journal Archæol. Assoc., vol. iii., p. 128.
* ↑ An extensive series of the various forms of stone antiquities in the North may be seen in the plates accompanying a Memoir published in 1832, by the Northern Antiquaries in the "Nordisk Tidskrift for Oldkyndighed," b. i., p. 421.
* ↑ Journ. Archæol. Assoc, vol. iii., p. 177. Mr. Roach Smith states that he knew of three others in Cambridgeshire, all precisely similar, and he is inclined to think them doves for mediæval lamps. One found near the bridge at Lewes, and described as a Roman eagle, was exhibited in the museum at the Chichester meeting.
* ↑ Harl. MS. 5947. See a memoir on a remarkable pack of political cards, t. Charles II., Archæol. Assoc. vol. ix., p. 121.
* ↑ See his "Glossary of North Country Words," v. Fairy Pipes. He cites a curious memoir on the subject of the discovery of such pipes near entrenchments, &c. in Ireland, in the "Anthologia Hibernica," for May, 1793.
* ↑ See Dr. Bruce's account of Minor Antiquities, "Roman Wall," sec. edit., p. 141, where two of these fairy pipes are represented—one bears the stamp G. C. Dr. Wilson, in his "Prehistoric Annals," seems inclined to assign such pipes to an age long prior to that of Elizabeth and Sir Walter Raleigh. See a "Celtic pipe" figured, p. 679. Compare Brongniart's remarks on pipes of the XVIIth century, "traité des Arts Ceramiques," vol ii., p. 189.
* ↑ Fuller's "Worthies of Wiltshire," Manufactures
* ↑ Jenkyns' "History of Exeter," p. 85.
* ↑ See Mr. Westwood's memoir on Irish ornamentation, in this Journal, vol. x. p. 297.
* ↑ Figured in the Guide to York Cathedral, by Rev. G. Poole, p. 191. Several tenure-horns are represented in the Archæologia, vol. iii. A remarkable sculptured horn presented by Frederic III. to the antiquary, Wormius, is figured in the description of his Museum, p. 380. It is probably oriental.
* ↑ Pipe Rolls, 50, 55, Henry III., cited in the Introduction to Domestic Architecture in England, p. xxx. A payment occurs also in 1293, "Pro canabo ad fenestrallas ad scaccarium Regine apud Westmonast,. iijd."
* ↑ Impressions from any of these seals may be procured from Mr. Ready, 2, St. Botolph's lane, Cambridge, at very moderate cost.