# Archaeological Journal/Volume 9/Proceedings at the Meetings of the Archaeological Institute (Part 2)

Found at Hennock, near Chudleigh, Devon. In the possession of Mr. J. G. Croker. (Dimensions, A—length 241/2 in. greatest width 3 in. B—length 211/2 in. width 3 in.)
Proceedings at the Meetings of the Archaeological Institute.
March 5, 1852.
Octavius Morgan, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair.
The Rev. T. Berkley Portman called the attention of the Society to the remains, traditionally known as the "British Town," situated in the parish of Ingram, Northumberland, on a gentle declivity of Hartside, one of the Cheviot range. The position is about 200 yards above the river Beamish. The circumvallation of the supposed town, together with the ways leading into it, is very distinct, as are also certain circles within, formed by large stones protruding through the turf, doubtless the vestiges of dwellings. It has been stated, although on uncertain authority, that within the last hundred years the walls were standing at a considerable height above the ground, but that they have been removed to form fences on the adjacent moorlands. Mr. Portman sent a plan of these curious remains, carefully made under the direction of J. C Langlands, Esq., of Old Bewick, Eglingham, Alnwick.
Mr. J. G. Croker communicated, through Mr. Tucker, an account of the discovery of two stone moulds, for casting bronze weapons, of which a short notice had been sent to the Bristol Meeting. Mr. Tucker at the same time presented to the Institute casts from these remarkable objects. The long, thin, double-edged weapons which the moulds would produce are not unfrequently found in Ireland, and several examples of analogous types have been laid before the Institute by Mr. Brackstone. We are not aware, however, that any bronze weapons precisely similar in form and dimensions have been found in England.
"The moulds were discovered by the clay men, in a field near the village of Knighton, in the parish of Hennock, near Chudleigh, Devon. The spot is two fields distant from the River Teign, in the delta formed by the junction of the Rivers Bovey and Teign. The moulds were found deposited above the clay of commerce, entire, i. e., both parts in due apposition, but they separated when moved. This is worthy of note, for as there was no adhering matter to keep them in apposition, it might be assumed that they had been placed or left in the position in which they were found; otherwise, being in the direction and course of the water-shed of the River Teign, which traverses a distance of twenty miles from Chagford, with a rapid current, it might be concluded that the force of the waters would have separated them.
"The longest pair was placed vertically, almost in contact with the fine clay. The shorter pair was found in a horizontal position, in fine river or drift sand.
"It may be asked, was the casting from these moulds effected here, and, if so, at what period? for since the time they were so left an accumulation ​of six feet of sedimentary gravel, bouldered pebbles, &c., with two feet of earth, had been formed over them.
"The stone of which the moulds are formed is a strong micaceous schist, of a light greenish colour, similar to that found in Cornwall, and very heavy. The pair of moulds weigh about 12 lb.
"In Mr. Short's 'Collectanea Curiosa Antiqua Damnonii,' p. 25, mention is made of the camps of Preston-Bury, Wooston Castle, and Cranbrook Castle, on the borders of the River Teign, about eight miles above Knighton. May it be supposed that such moulds were used by the tribes who occupied these camps; and that they had been washed down by the waters of the Teign? This must obviously have occurred at a very remote period, when it is considered that since their deposit in the place where they have been recently found, eight feet of surface has been formed over them. The level of the field in which they were discovered is now nearly 50 feet above the present level of the river. The river rises in Dartmoor, above Chagford and Gidley Common, where are many relics of the Celtic period—the Tolmens, stone circle, the Pillar Stone, innumerable circles, the sacred avenue leading to Holy-street, and thence onwards to the Logan Stone and Cromlech, near Drews Teignton.
"The clay beds of the valleys of the Rivers Bovey and Teign are evidently in the direction of the water-shed of these streams, at right angles, before the two rivers join, after which the beds are formed in a uniform deposit through the low lands of King's Teignton to Aller Mills, in King's Kerswell, where it seems that the currents were bayed back by the carboniferous lime hills; and by the eddying of the waters on the soft green sand of Milbourue Down, the course of the Teign was effected to Teignmouth.
"The lignite known as Bovey Coal is interspersed with the clay beds in the King's Teignton Level. The main deposit on Bovey Heath crops up to the surface in the direction of the valley, with a dip of one foot in five feet. But the coal and clay were anterior to the period in which the moulds were deposited.
"A few years since eight celts of bronze were found at Plumley, in Bovey Tracey, about three miles higher up the valley than the spot where the moulds were found; four of them were placed in regular order, under a granite block, the other four scattered about. There were also at Plumley six adjacent stone circles, possibly the remains of a British village, in perfect preservation, which the proprietor demolished for building purposes, although in the midst of a country abounding with granite."
Bronze object, found in Ireland. From Mr. Brackstone's Collection.
It will be noticed in the accompanying representation of the moulds, that at the edge of one of them there is a shallow cavity, which would produce a thin slip of bronze sharply ribbed on one side and flat on the other. In Mr. Brackstone's Collection of Irish Antiquities there is an object of bronze, which he has kindly sent for examination, in some measure analogous, but it is ribbed on both sides: length, about 15 in. (see woodcut). It has been conjectured that these may have served to sharpen bronze weapons, in similar manner to the instrument termed a steel now used.
Mr. Franks stated the following particulars in relation to an "Oculist's ​Stamp," in the British Museum. Four of these curious little objects of the Roman age are there preserved, but the localities where they were found had not been recorded. On looking over an old catalogue of impressions of seals, &c., in the writing of Sir Hans Sloane, Mr. Franks noticed the following entry:—"Impressions of letters carved on the three sides of ash-coloured marble found at Verulam, given me by Mr. Kettle, of St. Alban's." This note reminded him of such a stamp, amongst other Sloane antiquities; and Mr. Franks succeeded in identifying them. They proved to be impressions of one of the oculists' stamps now existing in the Museum, namely the same which was exhibited by Gough to the Society of Antiquaries in 1788, and engraved, Archæologia, vol. ix. p. 227. It is noticed by M. Duchalais as "Lapis Incertus, 11," and by Professor Simpson, "Monthly Medical Journal," March, 1851, p. 245. The history of this interesting relic has thus been ascertained, and it is proved to be identical with the stamp mentioned as found at St. Albans, ("Gent. Mag.," vol. 48, p. 510) no description being there given. It bears three inscriptions, one of them supplying the name of the oculist, Lucius Julius Juvenis, another without any name, and the third giving the name of a different oculist, F. 'Secundus. The first two inscriptions are well cut; the third is very rudely executed. On examining the stone, the edges of the two first inscriptions, which are contiguous, are found to be neatly sloped off, the slope starting from about the opposite corner; the two other sides, on the contrary, arc very abruptly sloped, and the places for the inscriptions are wider. From this it would seem that the stone was originally four times its present size, and that the inscriptions have been cut in half. The accompanying representation will give an idea of what they must have been:—
L IVL IVENIS DIASMYRNES BIS COCTV POST LM PETV EX OVO
L IVL IVENIS DIAPSORICV OP OBALSAMATVM VET CICA
The italics indicating the missing portions.
Since the above was written Mr. Franks has received some information which sets the question of the locality in which the stamp was found completely at rest. It appears from the Minutes of the Society of Antiquaries, that on Nov. 1, 1739, Mr. Kettle, of St. Albans, sent to the Society impressions of this very oculist's stamp, and that on the 6th March the stone itself was exhibited as lately found near St. Albans. Mr. Franks therefore proposes calling the stone Lapis Verolamiensis.
Mr. Tucker communicated the following particulars relating to a fragment of sculpture, probably part of a sepulchral effigy, being the head of a warrior, in armour of mail. It was found, in 1826, in digging the foundations of a house in the Circus, Exeter, and has been since preserved by the owner of the house, Mr. Gidley, the town clerk. Bedford Circus occupies the site of the dissolved Dominican convent, supposed to have been founded by William Briwere, Bishop of Exeter, in the reign of Henry III. Within its walls several persons of distinction were buried, ​especially the members of the Ralegh, Dinham, Martyn, Audeley, and Calwodelegh families. The monastery was dissolved on Sept. 12, 1538, and on the 4th July following, its site, church, belfry, and cemetery were granted by Henry VIII. to the former usher of the royal chamber, then become Lord John Russell. The royal favourite soon demolished the buildings, "to make hym a fair place" or mansion, as Leland informs us. At various periods fragments of sculpture enriched with painting and gilding have been brought to light, but none perhaps more curious than the upper portion of a recumbent statue, of which Mr. Tucker presented a cast to the Institute on the present occasion. The late Sir Samuel Meyrick said that the flattened conical shape of the Coiffe de Mailles would show that it represented a knight of the latter part of Henry the Third's reign, and that it exhibits a very peculiar mode of fastening the over-lapping part of the Coiffe, by a strap and buckle near the left temple. Dr. Oliver had been inclined to think that the figure might have been the memorial of James Lord Audeley, of Redcastle, Shropshire, one of the first Knights of the Garter, who so gallantly signalised himself at the Battle of Poictiers, 1356, and who directed, by his will, that his body should be buried in the choir of this Dominican church, in Exeter, before the high altar. He survived till April 1, 1386. The character of the costume, however, as will be seen by the annexed representation, indicates an earlier period.
Head of an effigy found on the site of the Dominican Convent, Exeter.
By Mr. Nesbitt—Rubbings made from the embroidered altar cloth which covers the high altar of the church of St. Mary, usually called Maria zur Wiese or the Wiesenkirche (meadow church) at Soest, in Westphalia. This remarkable example of mediæval embroidery is 12ft. 4 in. in length, by 4 ft. in width, not including the frontal or antependium, which is 71/2 in. wide, and 9 ft. 4 in. long. The material is a coarse open cloth of flax or hemp, and the embroidery is raised upon it with the needle in a sort of embroidery stitch. It is either of the natural unbleached colour of the material, or has acquired its present colour from age, having ​once been white. No artificial colour is introduced except in the frontal. The ends are terminated by fringes of the thread with which the cloth is woven.
The cloth is divided across, into five compartments by borders from 1 in. to 2 in. wide, of varying patterns. The central portion has within the narrow border a second about 3 in. wide, composed of figures of winged dragons whose tails branch into elegant scrolls of foliage, a part of which is hold in the mouth of the succeeding dragon. The larger part of the space enclosed is filled up by a quatrefoil, with straight-lined cusps between each foil. This encloses a circle within which are figures of the Virgin Mary crowned and seated on a throne at the right hand of our Saviour. The latter holds an orb in the left hand, and has the right raised in benediction. In the circle is the legend, Gloria in excelsis deo et in terra pax ominibus. Within the spaces left by the quatrefoil outside the circle, are, on the sides, St. Peter and St. Paul, and, at the top and bottom two pairs of angels. One of those at the top seems to swing a censer, the other plays on a violin. One of those at the bottom plays on a flageolet, the other on a sort of triangle. As if placed on the cusps are open crowns from which proceed scrolls of foliage. The remainder of the ground is divided by narrow bands into lozenge-shaped compartments, the alternate lines of which are occupied by grotesque animals, dragons or birds, and by letters. Both the monsters and the letters are made to terminate in small sprigs of foliage. The letters are {sc|got.mot.es.volden.dat.vi.ix.neer.}} Owing to the manner in which the letters are placed there are, of course, no stops or breaks to indicate the separation of the words, but if divided as above it may be understood to mean, "May God will that we come near to him." There is, however, a certain irregularity in the placing of the last letters, and it is questionable whether they ought not to stand erne. A most competent authority questions the admissibility of the former reading, but thinks that the latter may mean, "That we desire (yearn after) him."
The two divisions next to the central one have the dragon border only on their sides; the centre is occupied by large quatrefoils (without the cusps which are in the central division) enclosing circles, and with crowns and foliage at the entering angles of the quatrefoils. In one of these divisions the subject within the circle is the appearance of our Saviour to Mary Magdalen in the garden (John xx. 15), when "she took him for the gardener," and he is here represented holding a spade in the left hand, while the right is raised. In the circle are the words—Maria ven sokest du hir Ihesus van Naseret. Two angels with censers and four with violins, a sort of guitar, and a pair of handbells, fill the spaces left within the quatrefoil. The ground of this compartment is filled in a similar manner to that of the central one, except that in addition to the letters and monsters there is a third alternate row which contains alternately fylfots and crosses. The letters in this compartment are omnia.dat.dvs.non. habet.ergo.minvs.minvs. In the lozenge following the one which contains the last s is what may be meant as a contraction for que; supplying, therefore, the e omitted in the third word, the sense would be "God giveth all things, but hath not therefore less and less."
​Of the subject contained in the quatrefoil of the corresponding division no memorandum has been preserved.
The divisions at the ends are covered with branching scrolls of foliage, intermixed with which are figures, representing in one, the adoration of the three kings, and in the other, the discovery of St. Genevieve in the forest. A small part of the first which was not required for the subject contains a figure of an unicorn taking refuge with a maiden from the hunter, according to the well-known legend.
The letters throughout are Lombardic, elegantly formed, and branching out into little sprigs of foliage in a very pretty manner. The form of these letters is much like (exception made of the accessorial foliage) that of the letters of the inscription of the great brass of Abbot Thomas of St. Albans. The human figures are quaintly drawn, the horses and dogs with some spirit. The most remarkable points of the costumes are the extremely long toes of the boots, and the thick belts worn over the hips. The first, it is well known, were introduced into England from Germany at the time of the marriage of Richard the Second with Anne of Bohemia. Here they were called "crackowes" it is believed from the city of Cracow. In Germany they seem to have been in use considerably earlier than in this country. The heavy belt worn over the hips is another well-known 14th century fashion. In this instance it is worn at the extremity of the surcoat, which garment is here represented with sleeves widely puffed out as far as the elbows, and tight from thence to the wrists.
The antependium is of velvet, now of a very dark colour, but probably once blue or purple; it is ornamented with wreaths and trees cut out of cloth (once scarlet?) and sewn on, which are placed alternately. In the middle of each wreath is a nondescript animal, sometimes like a tiger, and sometimes rather like a horse; and at the foot of each tree is a figure probably meant for a stag. These animals are also formed of cloth sewn on, and are studded with thickly set silver spangles. From the style of the foliage, the forms of the letters, the diapering of grotesque monsters, the costumes, and the general character of the work, it seems probable that this piece of embroidery dates from about the middle of the 14th century.
Mr. Nesbitt also gave the following notices of the curious incised effigy of a bishop, exhibited by him, with some other rubbings of incised slabs existing in Germany.
The slab on which the effigy of Otto or Otho twelfth bishop of Bamberg, is incised, is of a hard grey limestone or marble, and forms the top of a raised tomb, which stands in the middle of the eastern choir of the cathedral of that city, and measures 6 ft. 7 in. by 2 ft. 5 in. This prelate died in the year 1192, and as this memorial probably dates from that period, it would seem to be an earlier example of a work of the kind than any which has hitherto been noticed by English antiquaries. The head and mitre, hands and feet were engraved on pieces of metal or of stone or marble let into the slab; these unfortunately have been lost; and only the matrices remain. The rest of the figure is expressed by incised lines. ​The practice of representing parts of an effigy on pieces of brass or of white stone or marble, was common in the 14th and 10th ceiituries, but no other example of the 12th has, it is believed, been hitherto noticed. It may perhaps have been suggested by the Greek works in bronze inlaid with silver (αγεμινα) which in the 11th and 12th centuries were frequently brought into Italy from Constantinople, or manufactured by Greek workmen at Venice, or elsewhere, for the purpose of adorning the doors of churches.
The figure of the bishop is drawn in a rather full manner, with nothing of the Byzantine stiffness and attenuation, and the folds of the drapery are tolerably free and natural. The effigy is not drawn full-faced, but as turned considerably to the right. A book with an ornamented cover is held in the left hand and a crozier in the right. The head of the latter has a crook of a simple form. The mitre is extremely low. The vestments consist of an alb, a tunic or a dalmatic, a chasuble and a pallium. The alb has no apparels or orfrays. The tunic or dalmatic is not fringed as is usually the case, but has an ornamented border running along the whole of its bottom, The chasuble is large and full, and quite without ornament. The pallium is very long, reaching to the bottom of the dalmatic, a fashion which appears to be characteristic of the 12th century, as in the 13th it was shortened so as scarcely to reach to the end of the chasuble. Five crosses are visible upon it, the place of another being concealed by the right hand. Neither stole nor maniple can be traced. The use of the pallium and the cross, (the peculiar insignia of archbishops,) was granted to St. Otho, bishop of Bamberg, and his successors, by Pope Paschal in 1106. The Bishop of Bamberg ranked as first of the German bishops, and was subject to no archiepiscopal jurisdiction.
The inscription which surrounds the efiigy runs as follows:—Otto presul eram requiem pacem michi veram fratres optate precor ore manuque juvate. The characters in which it is engraved are partly the ordinary Roman and partly Lombardic, the same letters taking sometimes the one and some- times the other form. This is particularly the case with the T's and M's. The forms of the letters appear to agree very well with the supposed date, the close of the 12th century. The inscription is engraved as if it had been an afterthought, the letters being placed where the effigy left room for them, and not being surrounded by any lines.
An inscription has been cut across the lower part of the figure at some modern period; it has been filled up with cement, and is now scarcely legible; it seems to have given the name and quality of the bishop, and the date of his death, which is expressed in Arabic numerals.
Mr. Westwood, referring to the episcopal figure above described, made the following remarks on the pallium, cross and pastoral stuff, as affording indications of the difference in rank of the higher dignitaries of the Church.
The exhibition by Mr. Nesbitt, from his valuable collections of foreign sepulchral effigies, of the incised slab of a Bishop of Bamberg of the twelfth century, represented as invested with the pallium, and also as holding in his hand a curved-headed pastoral staff, together with the statement made by that gentleman that the bishops of that city were entitled ​by right to the investiture of the pallium, has induced me to bring under the notice of the Institute various particulars derived from existing monuments, my object being to show, either that the statement of recent writers on ecclesiastical costume—that the bishop is distinguished by the round- headed pastoral staff, whilst the archbishop is to be known by the cross-staff, and occasionally also by the pallium—is not to be depended upon; or, that the contemporary monuments of various prelates are incorrect in their details, having been confided to artists who exercised their own fancy in the delineation of the persons to whose memory such monuments were designed. This latter alternative is, however, one which any person who has studied the contemporary medieval portraitures of deceased individuals, will scarcely be inclined to adopt. The inquiry, it will be observed, may acquire some additional interest from the discovery of the body of an ecclesiastic in the ruins of St. Stephen's Chapel, Westminster; who, chiefly on the authority of the pastoral staff found with the body, has been regarded as one of the Bishops of St. David's, in the fifteenth century.
The few observations which I now beg to offer have been chiefly derived from three classes of monuments—namely, sepulchral representations, illuminated MSS., and seals. Their object is to prove—1st. That arch-bishops are often represented with the curved-headed pastoral staff, instead of the cross-staff; and 2ndly, That bishops are occasionally represented as invested with the pallium.
On opening the tomb of Ataldus, Archbishop of Sens, in the choir of the cathedral of that city, and who died in A.D. 933, a curved-headed pastoral staff was found with the body; the upper part terminating in a very beautiful foliated ornament, composed of three groups of large leaves, and two buds on long footstalks. (Willemin, Mon. Inéd. vol. i.)
In the splendid Benedictional of St. Æthelwald, one of the illuminated pages represents a group of confessors, the three foremost figures being inscribed—"Sc's Gregorius Presul," "Sc's Benedictus Abbas," and "Sc's Cud'berhtus Antistes." None of these figures wear a mitre, nor do they bear any kind of staff; but all three are invested with the pallium, which, in the two former is white with red crosses, and in the last blue with white crosses.
The remarkable Cottonian MS., Nero C. IV., contains several groups of ecclesiastics, amongst which are several evidently representing bishops, having very low mitres and bearing long round-headed pastoral staves in their right hands; one, however, habited in every respect like the others, and bearing a similar staff, is invested with the pallium, reaching only to the waist. This MS. is of the twelfth century.
Amongst the beautiful series of sculptures of the portal of the Cathedral of Chartres, is one of a figure wearing a long pallium, holding in his left hand the base of a pastoral staff or cross, the top of which is destroyed, and who is crowned with a conical kind of cap. Mr. Shaw has given a beautiful representation of this figure, which he describes as an archbishop, and says that the mitre bears a close resemblance to the tiara seen on the head of the pope in an illumination given by Gerbertus. (De Cantu et Musicâ Sacra, tom. i., last plate.) Didron has also engraved this figure in his Iconographie de Dieu, p. 459; but he calls it Pope Gregory the Great, inspired by the Holy Ghost seated as a dove on his right shoulder. In the fine manuscript of Matthew Paris, in the British Museum, several instances occur of ecclesiastics wearing a similarly shaped mitre. May they not be ​intended for the legates of popes? The great reliquary at Aix la Chapelle is also ornamented with a representation of Pope Leo III., wearing a conical tiara and a long pallium. (Cahier et Martin, Melanges d'Arch. No. 1.)
The fine Harleian MS., No. 2908, contains an illumination engraved by Strutt (Dresses, &c, pl. 26), representing an ecclesiastic (accompanied by an attendant holding a round-headed pastoral staff) presenting a book to a nimbed seated figure wearing the pallium. These figures, I know not upon what authority, have been asserted to be Elfnoth, Abbot of Westminster, and St. Augustine. As the manuscript, however, seems to be of German origin, and most probably of the school of St. Udalric, this appropriation may perhaps be doubted, in which case it would be impossible to assert whether the standing figure be intended for an archbishop, bishop, abbot, or sub-abbot. Of abbots bearing the curved-headed pastoral staff, there is an interesting series in Peterborough Cathedral, engraved by Carter (Pl. 39), whilst the very curious sculptured capital represented in Brayley's Graphic Illustrator (p. 88), as having been built into an old demolished wall in the Palace Court, Westminster, commemorating the grant of the Charter by William Rufus to Gislebertus, Sub-abbot of Westminster, contains two figures of the sub-abbot holding a circular-headed staff.
In a bas-relief of the 12th or 13th century, on the Sarcophagus of Duke Etichon, who reigned in Alsace in the 7th century, is the representation of a bishop holding a round-topped staff; he wears a low semi-circular mitre, and is also invested with the pallium. (Schopflinus, Alsatia Illustrata, fol. 1751, v. i., pl. 1.)
The coronation of the King of Italy, by the Archbishop of Monza, is represented on the marble bas-relief of an ambo in the cathedral of that city, of the end of the 13th century. The attendant of the archbishop, however, bears a round-topped pastoral staff. (Frisi, Meniorie de Monza, vol. i., pl. x.)
In the MS. of the 12th century, written and illuminated in honour of the Countess Matilda (Libr. Vatican, No. 4922), one of the drawings represents Gotefridus, Bishop of Brescia, cutting off an arm of St. Appollonius, the former bishop, as a relic. Both bishops are figured with the pallium. In another illumination, the same "Gotefred' Ep's" also wears the pallium, and holds a round-topped pastoral staff. In a third illumination, "Tedaldus Ep's" also wears the pallium, and bears a similar pastoral staff. (D'Agincourt, Hist, de l'Art; Peintures, pl. lxvi.)
The incised monumental slab of Henri Sanglier, Archbishop of Sens, who died in 1144, represents him as wearing the pallium, and also as holding a foliated-headed pastoral staff. (Lenoir, Mon. de la France, pl. xviii., f. 3.)
In the remarkable sculptures on the tomb of King Dagobert, SS. Denis and Martin are represented as bishops with circular-headed staves. (Lenoir, pl. xxii.) In the painting of King John and Blanche de Navarre, given in the same work (pl. xxviii.), St. Denis is represented as invested with the pallium.
The seal of Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, A.D. 1139, is one of the earliest known of the pointed oval form, and presents the full-length figure of that prelate, who is represented without a pallium, and with a round-headed pastoral staff; as is also the case with the seal of Hugo of ​Amiens, Archbishop of Rouen, A.D. 1128—1145. Nouv. Tr. de Dipl. iv. 327.)
I shall only add that the monumental statue of Archhishop Gray, in York Minster, represents that prelate as holding a foliated curved-headed pastoral staff. He died in 1255. (See Britton's York Cath., pl. 36.)
Professor Donaldson, at the request of Mr. Yates, offered some observations on the neglected and defaced condition of the royal tombs at Westminster Abbey, to which he had called the special attention of the Institute of British Architects, at their meeting on Feb. 23rd, ult. He stated, that much interest having been aroused in regard to this subject, it was proposed that the members of that body should assemble in the ensuing week at Westminster, to make inspection of the actual state of the Confessor's shrine and the other royal monuments. He hoped that the members of the Archaeological Institute would join them in that inspection.
Antiquities and Works of Art Exhibited
By Mr. Auldjo.—Seven grotesque masks of terra cotta, from the collection of Robert Goff, Esq., found at the pyramids of San Juan, Teotihuacan, in Mexico. A large assemblage of these curious relics is preserved in the Ethnological Room, at the British Museum.—Also, various objects of obsidian, brought by Mr. Goff from the same locality, in 1839, and comprising barbed arrow-heads and small cutting-tools, &c., interesting to the English antiquary from the analogy in form and mode of fabrication which they evince, as compared with the arrow-heads and flint-flakes found in the British Islands.
By Mr. Clutton, of Hartswood, Reigate.—A celt of mottled white silex, of the most simple form, in remarkably perfect preservation, found by Mr. Glutton during the previous month upon the surface of a ploughed field on his estate near Reigate. No traces of ancient occupation have been noticed in the neighbourhood. Hartswood lies, however, adjacent to a supposed ancient line of way, leading from the coast across Tilgate Forest, towards London. Kimberham Bridge, where this road crosses the River Mole, about four miles south of Hartswood, was the scene, according to tradition, of a sanguinary slaughter of the Danes by the united force of the men of Sussex and Surrey. Mr. Franks stated that Mr. Glutton had liberally presented the celt found on his property to the collections in the British Room at the British Museum; and he further observed that only five of these relics of the "stone period" existed in the national series, which could be identified as found in England. The Irish specimens there deposited are very numerous.
By Mr. Hawkins.—Impressions from an inedited coin of Carausius, (third brass) stated to have been found at Bath, and recently purchased for the British Museum. The obverse bears the head of the emperor; the reverse a trophy of arms, with two captives at its foot,—vict germ.
Bronze Celt with two side loops. (Length 6 in.) From the Collection of the Lord Talbot de Malahide.
Bronze ornament resembling the umbo of a shield. (Diam. 43/4 in.) (see p.200) From Mr. Brackstone's Collection.
By Mr. Rhode Hawkins.—Three bronze brooches, of late Roman workmanship, two of them ornamented with encrusted enamel, the third set with studs of bone or ivory; also the bronze pendant ornament of a girdle, inlaid with silver, bearing the following inscription in Greek characters,—ΚΥΡΙΕ ΒΟΗΘΟς Τω ΦΟΡΟνΝΤΙ. These objects had lately been brought from the continent.—Also, two Italian double matrices of brass, each uniting seal and counterseal or secretum; one at either end of the handle. The principal device on one seal is an eagle displayed, s' nicolai. pavli.; the other matrix bears three lions passant.—A brass medieval ring-brooch, inscribed,—:mou (a heart) aues.
By Mr. Franks.—Three Italian bronze matrices,—s. de. signori. de. sassoforte,—a gilt Seal, with the Resurrection as the device,—bvrgvm. te. pvlcrvm, defendat. sc'm. sepvlcrvm. And, s' pet. d'. po'te. cv'vo. clerici. capelle. d. p. p., the Surname probably taken from Ponte Corvo, a little town in the kingdom of Naples.
By Mr. J. Greville Chester.—A chess-piece, of unusual and early form, elaborately sculptured, supposed to be of the tooth of the walrus. It was dug up in a garden in Norfolk. Date, 12th century.
By Mr. Blaauw.—Three red and yellow tiles, found in 1851, in William Church, Essex, on removing a pew. They are a little more than 8 inches square; two of them heraldic, the third bearing a figure in civil costume, and all much worn. The arms on the heraldic tiles are alike, no doubt intended for those of Philip, Duke of Burgundy, who succeeded to the Duchy in 1419, or those of his son and successor, who died in 1477. They appear on the tiles as follows:—Quarterly, 1st per pale, Brabant and Old Burgundy without the bordure; 2nd and 3rd, Modern Burgundy without the bordure; 4th, per pale, Limbourg and Old Burgundy, as before; and over all on an inescutcheon, Flanders. Below is the Golden Fleece. The collar of the order wanting, but its component parts the briquet (or steel), the caillou (or flint), and the flames, are represented on each side. The caillou is pentagonal instead of the usual noduled form, resembling an elongated quatrefoil. These arms, as was often the case in tile heraldry, had in fact been reversed. The proper arrangement and blazon of them are as follows:—Quarterly 1st and 4th, Modern Burgundy, az. semy of fleurs de lis or within a bordure compony arg. and gu.; 2nd, per pale. Old Burgundy, bendy of 6 or and az. within a bordure gu., and Brabant, sa. a lion rampant or armed and langued gu.: 3rd, per pale. Old Burgundy as before, and Limbourg, arg. a lion rampant gu. with queue fourchy in saltire, crowned and armed or, and langued az.; over all on an inescutcheon, Flanders, or a lion rampant sa langued and armed gu. The bordures of Old and Modern Burgundy were perhaps omitted because not easily executed. These tiles may probably be referred to Sir John Montgomery, of Faulkbourne Hall, near Witham, who also had property in Witham. He died in 1448-9, having been in the service of the Regent Duke of Bedford, who ​married a sister of Philip, Duke of Burgundy. Sir John also commanded a body of English under the Duke of Burgundy himself, and assisted at the siege of Conipiégne, when the Maid of Orleans was taken prisoner by the Burgundians. It may appear probable that these decorations of Witham Church were laid down by Sir John, in compliment to the Duke, or placed after the knight's decease (supposing him to have been there buried), as a memorial of his having been engaged in the service of that distinguished prince. It is almost needless to remark how frequent are the evidences of the use of pavement tiles imported from Flanders, and they would be most commonly used in churches in the eastern counties, through facilities of communication with the Low Countries.
By Mr. Ashurst Majendie.—An ancient plan of Hedingham Castle, and the adjacent town, taken probably in the reign of Elizabeth, but distinct from the plan communicated to the Society by Mr. Majendie, at a previous meeting. That now exhibited indicated various details of which no vestiges are to be traced; and he pointed out certain obscure features, which this ancient ichnography had materially tended to elucidate, during a recent examination of the remains of this fortress,
By Miss Julia Bockett.—Two silver medallions or badges, of oval form, one of them bearing the portraitures of Charles I. and Henrietta Maria; the other presenting the bust and heraldic insignia of Essex, the parliamentary general. Several badges, of oval and circular form, exist, representing the Earl of Essex, with various reverses. They are attributed to Simon, and are represented in Vertue's Catalogue of his Works. That now exhibited presents a full-face portrait, in armour; on the reverse, the arms of Devereux, under a coronet. It is a type of rare occurrence: both these medallions have been subsequently presented by Miss Bockett to the British Museum.
By Mr. W. J. Bernhard Smith.—A Franconian wheel-lock rifle, fitted with a hair trigger, an early and interesting example of this kind of firearm.
By Mr. Charles Landseer, R.A.—A bronze hunting-horn and a German hunting dagger, bearing the date 1684, the sheath curiously ornamented.
April 2, 1852.
Edward Hawkins, Esq., Treasurer, in the Chair.
A communication was read, from Dr. Wilson, Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, requesting the good offices and interest of English archæologists in behalf of the ancient cathedral of St. Magnus, Kirkwall. Considerable sums had been judiciously expended by government, within recent years, in repairing this fabric, but, unhappily, when the work had nearly reached completion, variance had arisen amongst the local authorities, and the further restorations and future appropriation of the cathedral had been resigned into the hands of the corporation. The project had now been entertained by the Presbytery to refit the choir with pews, disfiguring ​the interesting features of the structure; and it was further proposed to construct galleries to be supported by cast-iron pillars; it had even been suggested that the requisite light might be obtained by means of windows, pierced through the ancient groined vaulting. There was also a scheme for cutting off the nave by raising a blank wall, at its junction with the transepts. In consequence of the unseasonable interference which had occurred, government had abandoned the works, although plans had been prepared for completing the choir with suitable fittings. It was alleged that all rights in this venerable structure had been formally vested, some years since, in the town council of Kirkwall. The actual state of the fabric, Dr. Wilson stated, is such that the erection of galleries, irrespectively of their unsightly aspect, must endanger its security; whilst the good work effected by the outlay of public funds would be rendered wholly abortive, if the barbarous projects under consideration by the Presbytery were suffered to take effect.
Sir Henry Dryden, Bart., addressed the meeting, observing that having been informed of the appeal made by Dr. Wilson, and the desire to arouse an interest amongst the antiquaries of the South in behalf of St. Magnus' Cathedral, he had very willingly acceded to the invitation to afford such information as he possessed. No one, perhaps, was more intimately acquainted with its architectural features than himself; he had measured and planned every part; since the year 1845 he had passed not less than 1600 hours at that venerable structure; and the drawings, elevations, sections, &c., which he had brought for the inspection of the meeting on the present occasion, would amply suffice to show its importance and interest as an architectural monument. It would be remembered that only one other cathedral exists in North Britain, namely, the Church of St, Mungo, at Glasgow; but the church of Kirkwall is not only the most remarkable as an early example of architecture, but as the only monument of the kind left by the Northmen in this kingdom, having been erected by direction of a Scandinavian Jarl of the Scottish Isles. The first impulse which had led to its restoration in recent times, by a grant from government, had been due, as Sir Henry believed, to the praiseworthy exertions of Mr. W. H. Fotheringham; but at the disruption of the Free Church, the congregation having become reduced to a hundred persons, a new kirk had been built for the separatists at the east end of the cathedral: upon this a debt of 300l. still remains. Sir Henry knew that liberal propositions had been made in vain from various quarters, but the variance of strong party feeling was most adverse to any adjustment; and as it had been ascertained that the Cathedral had formerly been ceded to the Town Council by special deed, the interference of government could not readily avail in the present occasion. He thought, however, that the influence of the Crown might advantageously be exerted in the emergency; and he had been informed, that such is the actual state of this venerable fabric, that for the present no builder could be found who would hazard the experiment of carrying out the barbarous vandalisms which had been contemplated, as stated by Dr. Wilson.
Sir Henry Dryden then made some remarks upon the curious features of this Cathedral, as shown in the drawings which he brought for examination; he called attention, also, to his sketches, representing various relics discovered during the recent restoration. At the east end had been found a stone cist, measuring about 30 in. by 15 in., enclosing a human skeleton ​doubled up, and therewith an instrument formed of bone and iron, and a leaden plate inscribed—Hic requiescit Wiliamus senex fellcis memorie, and on the reverse—Primus Episcopus. These were, doubtless, the remains of William, first resident bishop of Orkney, removed, as it is stated, after the elongation of the Cathedral at the close of the XIIth century. The tomb of Bishop Thomas de Tulloch, (A.D. 1422) had also been opened, and Sir Henry produced drawings of the pastoral staff, with the chalice and paten formed of wax, found in his grave.
Mr. Worsaae addressed the meeting, and desired to call their attention to the special interest connected with the Cathedral church of the Orkneys. He had recently taken occasion, in his "Account of the Danes and Norwegians" in the British Islands, to describe the settlement of the Jarls in those islands, the central point of the Norwegian power in the north of Scotland. The Jarl Ragnvald, it is recorded, vowed to St. Magnus, that if success attended his endeavours to obtain the mastery over these islands, he would erect a noble church to his honour. Having obtained the dominion in 1137, he forthwith commenced the work. Sir Henry Dryden had kindly placed at his (Mr. Worsaae's) disposal the admirable plans and drawings now before the meeting, and he had thus been enabled in his recent publication to present some representations, although on a very inadequate scale, of this highly interesting building. Its preservation was an object well deserving of the attention of government, as a national monument.
It was unanimously determined, on a proposition by S. R. Solly, Esq., seconded by Ashurst Majendie, Esq., that measures should be adopted, as on further inquiry might be deemed most advisable, to ensure by appeal to government, or by courteous remonstrance with the Town Council of Kirkwall, the conservation of the venerable Cathedral of the Orkneys.
Mr. W. Sidney Gibson sent a memoir descriptive of the remains of Brinkburn Priory, Northumberland, with an account of its foundation and history.
Mr. Berthold Seeman gave an account of inscriptions copied by him from the granite rocks upon the Isthmus of Panama, in the province of Veraguaz, and laid before the meeting several beautifid drawings, representing the ancient remains discovered in that locality. He described, also, the curious sepulchral cists, and accumulations of stones, burial-places of the ancient inhabitants; earthen vessels are found in them, frequently containing small golden eagles. The urns are of glazed ware and good workmanship. Amongst the masses of stones are usually found tripod vessels of granite, used for grinding grain; no ornaments or fictile urns occur in these deposits.
Mr. Worsaae desired to avail himself of the present occasion to invite the attention of English antiquaries to the importance of a careful comparison between the antiquities of Europe and the vestiges of the early occupants of America. He had recently been engaged in examining certain large deposits of the remains of shell-fish on the coasts of Denmark, with which are found implements of bone, pottery, hatchets formed of stags' horns, &c. Considerable doubt had arisen amongst northern antiquaries regarding these accumulations, some regarding them as merely natural deposits, unconnected with the traces of early occupants; and the subject had occasioned so much interest that a committee had been specially ​appointed to investigate the matter. Mr. Worsaae had found in one great deposit of this kind, chiefly consisting of oyster-shells, numerous bones of animals, celts and arrow-heads of flint, some of them broken, bones broken for the purpose of extracting the marrow, charcoal, and other traces of the early occupants of the coasts. He had been much struck by finding that Sir Charles Lyell, in his second "Tour to the United States," had described precisely similar deposits, at no great distance from the shore, consisting of oyster and other shells, amongst which are to he found similar relics of bone, &c, as in Denmark. The comparison of these analogous facts, in quarters of the globe remote from each other, had satisfactorily established the conclusion that these deposits are to be viewed as the vestiges of the earliest settlers on the coasts. The discoveries in certain caverns near the sea, as at Kents' Hole, Torquay, and near Berry Head, deserve notice, as presenting indications of a similar nature.
Mr. Yates alluded to the intended meeting of the Institute in the ensuing summer, in the neighbourhood of one of the most remarkable achievements of the skill and industry of the Romans in this country—the Wall of Hadrian. He hoped that on the occasion of their approaching northern congress some detailed memoir on the Wall of Antoninus might be communicated; and he felt so strongly the interest of bringing together all information which might conduce to illustrate the subject of such defences, that he proposed to make an actual inspection of the great line of wall, raised by Roman perseverance between the Danube and the Rhine. He purposed shortly to set forth with this object in view, intending to commence with the most remote part of the work, in the neighbourhood of Ratisbon. The entire line of wall extended about 160 miles, and Mr. Yates expressed the wish that other antiquaries who might be inclined to share in such an exploration, might have leisure and disposition to take part in this inspection, preliminary to their visit to Newcastle.
Antiquities and Works of Art Exhibited
By Mr. Birch.—A series of coloured drawings, representing the painted decorations of the wooden cases in which the remarkable mummy in the possession of Mr. Hopkinson, of Edgeworth, lately unrolled, had been enclosed: they have been presented by him to the Museum at Gloucester. The deceased appeared to have been one of the navigators of the sacred bark of Amen Ra. Mr. Birch explained the import of the hieroglyphics depicted upon the mummy-chests, admirably reproduced in the drawings exhibited, which were executed by Mr. John Jones, of Gloucester.
By Mr. James Prince Pollard.—A gold British coin, of Cunobeline, Obv., Pegasus to the right, underneath—c v n o. Rev., an ear of wheat between the letters c a—m v. Compare Ruding, pl. 4, fig. 5.
By Mr. Evelyn P. Shirley.—Two beads of glass, found in Ireland, one of them of intense blue colour, discovered in ploughing near Donaghmoyne; the other of a less brilliant blue, ornamented with spiral bands of opaque paste: it was found near the church, at Magheracloony, co. Monaghan. Also a bronze pin, with a singular dilated head, bearing a resemblance to the lotus flower of the Egyptians.
By Mr. Blackstone.—A large collection of Irish antiquities, illustrative of the varied forms of the fibulæ and the bodkin, objects much used in the dress of the ancient Irish, and presenting a remarkable variety of types. ​They were designated by several names, being worn, as it is supposed, in the hair, as well as to fasten the dress. The specimens exhibited were from co. Westmeath, and Galway. Also bronze harp-pins (see woodcut) found in the Shannon, near Athlone, co. Westmeath; bodkins and needles of bone, from co. Down; a bronze object, resembling the umbo of a shield, recently found at Inis Kaltra, an island in Lough Derg, between Clare and Galway. This is an object of great rarity, and Mr. Brackstone observed that no example exists in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy. One of the bronze fibulæ was found in 1849, in opening a tumulus in the parish of Skryne, near Tara, co. Meath. About 7 feet below the surface a large deposit of ashes was discovered, and under this was a layer of flints with calcined bones; near these the fibula was found, (see woodcut). The deep cavities of the flower-like ornaments are chased with interlaced patterns, now indistinctly seen: these were probably filled up with coloured paste, or inlaid metal. Another rare variety of the ring-brooch, is also here represented.
By Mr. James Wardell, of Leeds.—Several ancient relics formed of bone, a fragment of earthen ware, singularly perforated, bone pins, and two disks, or flat beads of stone, found in Lake Ballindery, co. Westmeath.
By Mr. E. J. Willson.—A ring of silver, of late Roman workmanship, found at Lincoln, set with a blue imitative intaglio of nicolo.
By Lieut. Col. Trollope.—A facsimile of a small metal escutcheon, the face chased out to receive enamel, the bearing being, fusily or and azure. It was found in Carisbrooke Castle, and belongs to a class of small enamelled ornaments, apparently intended for suspension to horse-trappings. Date, XIV. cent.
By Mr. Addison.—An impression of a seal of Evesham Abbey, not mentioned in the new edition of the Monasticon. It is on green wax, in very perfect preservation, appended to a grant from Clement, Abbot of Evesham, and the convent of that place, dated 29 Hen. VIII. The seal is of pointed-oval form, and represents a figure, wearing a mitre, kneeling before a person, who holds forth a cross patée in his right hand. In the apex of the seal is a star within a crescent.—✠ sigill' abbatis et convent' eveshamie ad cavsas tantum. The date of the workmanship appears to be early XIVth cent. An impression of this seal is appended to a document amongst the Harleian Charters, date 23 Hen. VIII.
By the Rev. S. Blois Turner.—A series of examples of German seals, imperial, ecclesiastical, and municipal, being a selection from a large assemblage of casts recently acquired from Dr. Roemer, a distinguished collector at Frankfort. They comprised impressions of the curious seals of Charles le Gros, A.D. 800; Lothaire I., A.D. 833; and Louis II., A.D. 876; of oval form, apparently antique gems, set in metal rims, which bear an inscription. Also Frederick II., 1196 (bulla of gold); Otto IV., 1198; Richard, Earl of Cornwall, brother of Henry III., King of England—he was elected King of the Romans in 1257; the Emperors Charles IV., 1347; Sigismund, 1414; Albert II., 1438; Frederic III., 1440; Charles V., 1530; and Mathias, 1612. Also the seals of John, King of Bohemia, 1314; Waleran, Duke of Lemburg, 1225; and an example of extraordinary perfection in workmanship, the seal of George William of Brandenburg, 1622. Valuable illustrations of sacred costume were supplied by the seals of Mayence, representing St. Martin, the patron ​
| Brooch, found in Co. Weatmeath. (Orig. size.) | Bronze harp-pin, found near Athlone. (Orig. size.) |
Brooch, found in a tumulus at Skryne, Co. Meath. (Orig. size.) From Mr. Brackstone's Collection.
By Mr. Wyndham.—A collection of genealogical materials, pedigrees and memorials, chiefly illustrative of the history of foreign families of note in mediæval history. Amongst these collections, a drawing of a tomb, formerly existing at Paris, in the church of St. Antoine des Champs, claims especial notice. The existence of such a memorial appears to have been unknown to Sandford, and the description of it has been preserved in one of Menestrier's rare treatises, entitled, "L'Usage des Armoiries," Paris, 1673. p. 166. It represented Elianor, second daughter of King John, married first to William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, and after his death to Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester. She quitted England after his death at the battle of Evesham, and died in a convent at Montargis. On this tomb she appeared kneeling, and holding a heart between her hands, her heart having been deposited in the church of St. Antoine. Several armorial escutcheons surrounded the figure, which are represented by Menestrier.
By Mr. Nesbitt.—Rubbings of six engraved brasses in various churches in Germany.—The earliest of these is in the Cathedral of Paderborn, and represents Bernard the fifth bishop of that see. He was of the house of Lippe, was chosen bishop in 1320, and died in 1340.
The figure is not engraved on a plate, but cut out and let into a stone, as is the case in England. It is 6 feet long, and represents the bishop in eucharistic vestments, standing on a pedestal; a crozier is held in the left hand, while the right is raised in benediction. The chasuble is covered with embroidery of lions, eagles, and five-leaved roses.
The drawing and engraving resemble the English more than the Flemish works of the same period.
Two escutcheons are placed in a slanting position near the head; the sinister bears the arms of Lippe (az. a five-leaved rose gu.), the dexter, Paderborn (gu. a cross or.), with Lippe on a small inescutcheon.
A fillet of brass surrounds the figure, and bears an inscription, the capitals of which are Lombardic, the remainder in a simple form of Gothic letter. Parts of the inscription have been lost, and others misplaced, but in Schaten's Ann. Pader. (vol. ii., p. 294) it is given as follows, with the exception of the two first lines, which are there omitted,—
Post dupla centena Christi bis bina trigena lustra die, Januarii terdena de luce vani. Mundi translatus de stella floreque natus Bernardus quintus foris hic qui rexit et intus Ut Cato prudenter Machabœi more potenter Ecclesiam pavit in pace suos quia stravit Hostes hic Struxit nova diruta cæpta (capta ?) reduxit Omnia piscinas sylvas vireta (vineta ?) ferinas
Omneque quod movit communiit utile fovit.
Hic lapis ossa tegit animæ quæ tartara fregit
Ut salvus huic detur clerus plebs corde precetur.
​The very poetical origin ascribed to the bishop is, no doubt, an allusion to the bearings of his parents, his father's arms being a rose;—who his mother was does not appear, but it seems not unlikely that she may have been of the house of Swalenburg, which bore a star, and between which and that of Lippe, intermarriages took place at various times.
This memorial was originally laid down in the centre of the church, and a "corona" (a corona lucis?) hung over it; it is now fixed against a pier in the nave.
The second in date was of a part of the engraved table on which lies the effigy of Henry Bockholt, Bishop of Lubeck, in the cathedral of that city. He died A.D. 1347. The greater part is covered by a diaper of fleur-de-lis, but at the sides are small figures of angels, under canopies, holding censers, tapers, &c., and an inscription surrounding the whole; one part of this is in Lombardic and another in Gothic characters.
The third rubbing, like the first, was from an engraved "figure" (i. e. a figure cut out, and not a plate) brass representing a Bishop of Paderborn, and in the south transept of that cathedral. The inscription is lost; but, by means of the arms, it may be identified as the memorial of Henry Spiegel von Dessenberg, who filled the see from 1360 to 1380. The last date seems to correspond very well with the style of the drawing and engraving. He is recorded to have been the first Bishop of Paderborn, who, occupying himself with the temporal concerns of the see, appointed a vicar, to whom he entrusted the spiritual. He waged successful war against the neighbouring robber-knights, and is described as having been more a Prince than a Bishop.
The figure is 5 feet 10 inches long, and represents the bishop in eucharistic vestments, holding a book in the left, and a crozier in the right hand. One of the feet is placed upon a lion, the other on the back of an armed man, who is resting on his knees and elbows, and holds a heavy sword in his right hand.
The inscription, probably, was engraved on a fillet of brass surrounding the figure; the angles were occupied by quatrefoils enclosing escutcheons; two only of these remain. One contains a shield bearing the arms of Paderborn, charged with a small inescutcheon, on which are three mirrors. (Spiegel). The other bears, party per fess, in chief a demy lion rampant; in base a field lozengy.
The lost inscription is given by Schaten (vol. ii, p. 410,) as follows:—
Mille quadringentis bis denis inde retentis Præsul is Henricus procerum flos pacis amator Singula vir prudens justo moderamine gessit Salvus dum vixit hanc Ecclesiam bene rexit Cum triplici speculo projacet in tumulo.
The fourth example was also from the cathedral of Paderborn, and represented a bishop of that see, Robert or Ruprecht, son of Robert William, Duke of Julius and Berg and Count of Ravensberg, and of Anne, daughter of Robert, Duke of Bavaria. He filled the see from 1390 to 1394. The events which occurred at the time of his election are curious proofs of the anarchical condition of Germany at the time. He was then a canon of Cologne, and a very young man, but was elected bishop both by the Chapter of Paderborn and by that of Passau, no doubt in consequence ​of his illustrious and powerful parentage. After some hesitation, he decided to accept the see of Paderborn; but, in the meanwhile, the neighbouring nobles and the vassals attacked and pillaged the diocese, under the leadership of Frederick of Padberg. The canons raised forces to defend the territory, but were defeated. Unable to devise any better plan, they then placed the flock under the care of the wolf, by making Frederick guardian of the diocese. How this experiment answered does not appear. In 1390 Robert entered on the administration, but was not consecrated. In 1391 he appointed Conrad Albieastrensis (Weissenburg?) his vicar as regarded all spiritual matters, and found for himself full occupation in carrying on war against Frederick of Padberg and his associates. One campaign was ended by the death of Frederick, the capture of his brothers, and the wasting of his territory. The snake, however, was only scotched, not killed; and in 1394 the bishop was again obliged to take the field, and, while besieging the castle of Padberg, died of some contagious disease, much regretted by his subjects.
This is a plate brass, and is the earliest example of a German work of the kind which has been noticed,—all the earlier ones being figure brasses. It measures 3 feet 2 inches by 6 feet 11 inches; and represents the prelate in the dress, not of a bishop, but of a canon. A mitre is held over his head by two angels. The figure is placed within an elegant canopy, niches in which are occupied by figures of angels, playing on various musical instruments. Under the feet are two men in complete defensive armour, but without swords or other weapons. They lie on their backs, with the knees raised, and the shoulders supported against the sides of the canopy. Round the whole runs an inscription; at the corners are quatrefoils, containing escutcheons, on which are the following arms:—Berg quartered with Jülich, with Ravensberg on a small inescutcheon; Bavaria quartered with the Palatinate of the Rhine, Ravensberg, and Berg. The sides of the inscription are broken by trefoils, which enclose demi-figures of bearded men holding scrolls. The inscription (divested of contractions) is as follows:—
Annis m Christi quadringentis que minus sex De mundo tristi festo pe pau rapuit nex Rupert electum huic ecclesie bene rectum De montis vectum bavarorum fonte refectum
Cui tu messia rogo confer gaudia diva.
Wherever in the original a contraction is marked, the word has been printed at length; but in the case of the m in the first line, the "pe pau" in the second, the "montis" in the fourth, and the "diva" in the fifth, there is no mark of contraction; and it is obvious that the words must be read as printed, for the sake of the metre. "Pe Pau," it is clear, stand for Petri Pauli, "Montis," probably, for Montibus.
The fifth example is the one represented by the accompanying woodcut. The original is in the western apse of the cathedral of Bamberg, and ​is the memorial of Lambert vou Brunn, Borne, or Bron, who held that see from 1374 until 1398, according to the annalists; but it will be seen that the inscription dates his death in 1399,—the a at the end of the word nona being, no doubt, put by mistake for an o.
This prelate was a man of much importance in his day; originally a monk in the convent of Neuweiler in Alsace, he afterwards became Abbot of Gengenbach (in Baden?). Becoming known to, and esteemed by, the Emperor Charles the Fourth, he was made Chancellor of the Carolinum,— the afterwards so famous university, which that Emperor founded at Prague. He was subsequently appointed Bishop of Brixen; in 1363, Bishop of Spires; in 1371, Bishop of Strassburg; and in 1374, Bishop of Bamberg. In this last see he remained until a short time before his death, when he retired to the Convent of Gengenbach.
These frequent changes seem to have been partly occasioned by an unfortunate disposition for engaging in disputes with his flock, which appears to have belonged to him. A certain testiness seems to be traceable in the lineaments of his face, as given in this brass. The singular mode of representation, a demi-figure surmounting an escutcheon, occurs on several seals of about the same period, and particularly on one of a kinsman of Bishop Lambert, who, in the next century, was Bishop of Würzburg. The bishop, it will be seen, wears a pallium, and holds in the right hand a cross-staff, and in the left a crozier. The use of the pallium and cross, usually the distinctive marks of archiepiscopal rank, was conceded to the Bishops of Bamberg in 1106. (See p. 191). The arras on the escutcheons are: 1st, Strassburg; 2nd, Bamberg; 3rd, Spires; 4th, Brixen. On the small inescutcheon in the centre are the paternal arms of the bishop—a fish-hook. It is singular that the episcopal arms are arranged neither in the order of the importance of the sees, nor in the chronological order of Bishop Lambert's occupancy.
The letters of the inscription, the Evangelistic symbols, and the lines of brass enclosing them, are all detached and separate pieces of brass. The inscription, divested of contractions, runs as follows:—Anno domini milicimo ccc. nonagecimo nona idus iuli obiit reverendus pater dominvs lampertus olim episcopvs babenbergensis hic sepultus.
Lambert von Brunn, Bishop of Bamberg, 1374 to 1399. From his tomb in the Western apse of Bamberg Cathedral.
From these arms it is clear that the person represented must be either Helena, daughter of Magnus Torquatus, Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, and married in 1396 to Albert, Duke of Mecklenburg and King of Sweden, or an unmarried daughter of that lady.
Albert became King of Sweden in 1363; but being attacked by Margaret, Queen of Denmark, was defeated at Falkoping in 1388, and imprisoned at Lindholm until 1395. Authorities differ as to the date of his death; some fix it in 1407, but it was, probably, in 1413. (Art de Vérifier les Dates, vol. xvi., p. 321.) The date of his wife Helena's death is unknown; but as the costume and execution of this effigy agree well with the earliest part of the 15th century, and as the dress does not appear to be that of a widow, it is likely that she died before him.
The costume consists of a kerchief covering the head, folded about the neck, and falling on the shoulders, and a gown lined and edged with fur, and so long as to cover the feet; a girdle is worn round the waist, and the sleeves are extremely full, but diminished in size at the wrists. The edges of the kerchief are scolloped.
The plates which occupied the angles of the inscription remain; they are circular and convex, and of the unusual diameter of 151/2 inches. On them are engraved the Evangelistic symbols. The chapel in which this brass lies was built by Albert; and a curious picture of him hangs against the wall, he is represented in a long gown of scarlet, fastened at the breast by three crowns of gold. In an inscription at the foot he is called King of Sweden, Duke of Mecklenburg, Count of Schwerin, and Lord of Rostock.
* ↑ See De la Beche's Report on the Geology of Devon and Cornwall, p. 114, for an account of the locality.
* ↑ See Dr. Oliver's Monasticon Dioc. Exon , p. 334.
* ↑ Any member of the Institute who may wish to purchase a cast of this fragment may obtain one, at moderate price, from the modeller at Exeter, employed by Mr. Tucker. The address may be obtained at the Office of the Institute.
* ↑ i.e. "Mary, whom seekest thou here?—Jesus of Nazareth."
* ↑ In most of the catalogues of the Bishops of Bamberg, lie is called Poppo; but in the Ann$^m$. Bamb$^m$. Prodromus of Cygnæus (printed in Reinhard's Sammlung Seltener Schriften) he appears under the name of Otto.
* ↑ See Mr. Way's Papers on Incised Slabs, Archæologia, vol. xxxi., Arch. Jour, vii., 48.
* ↑ Examples are to be found in some of the west doors of St. Mark's, Venice; in those of the church of Atroni, near Amalfi; and others existed until recently in the west doors of the Basilica of St. Paul Fuori delle Mure, at Rome.
* ↑ Acta Sanctorum, St. Otho, 2nd July.
* ↑ I have purposely avoided using the word crozier, since the correctness of its use, to designate the cambuca, or curved pastoral staff, has been called in question.
* ↑ The proposed examination of the tombs took place on the following Monday, March 3, when a numerous party of members of both Institutes visited the Abbey, in company with the Professor and Mr. Scott.
* ↑ Archaeol. Journal, vol. iii., p. 257. The Wiltshire specimen is represented in "The Barrow Diggers," pl. v., p. 78.
* ↑ The various badges of Charles I. have been described by Mr. Hawkins, Numismatic Chron., vols, xiii., p. 191; xiv., p. 30.
* ↑ The only sense which this singular way of dating will bear would seem to be 320; to this sum, if 1000 be added, we have 1320, the date of the bishop's accession to the see, or translation from the world. Lustrum, it is obvious, must be taken, not in its classical, but in its medieval acceptation.
* ↑ It seems not improbable that in this instance, as in that of Bishop Spiegel, these armed figures are not simply typical of the spiritual victory of the Church over the world, but are placed in this posture of humiliation with a direct reference to the temporal victories of the bishops over their unruly neighbours. They afford good examples of the armour of the period.
* ↑ These probably represent prophets.
* ↑ See Cygnæus, Ann. Bamb. Prodromus, in Reinhard's Sammlung Seltener Sehriften. Gualterius, Chronicon Chronicorum, &c.
* ↑ Ober Bronn, not far from Haguenau, in lower Alsace. v. Sehœpflin, Alsatia Illust.
* ↑ It will be seen in the cut that the top of the cross-staff is bent to one side; this is, no doubt, occasioned by carelessness in re-setting the brass in its present casement.
* ↑ The coat is simply party per fess. Stargard is given as party per fess gules aud or. Schwerin as party per fess azure, a griffin or, and vert. There is some reason for supposing the griffin to be a later addition, and Stargard only fell to Mecklenburg at a date later than the probable date of this brass.
* ↑ This coat is a griffin; Wenden is given as, az. a griffin or. Where, as is often the case in Germany, neighbouring lords used the same bearing only varied in tincture, it is often very difficult to identify a coat when represented without colour.
* ↑ This is probably that ancient quartering of Brunswick which the German heralds failed to assign.