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It was not until the beginning of the seventeenth century that the fashion of erecting high pews set in, which so disfigured our churches, and were frequently censured by the authorities. Some of these (as at Whalley) resemble four-posted beds; others are like cattle-pens, large square boxes with seats all round, wherein the occupants sit and sleep, screened from the rest of the congregation. The carving of the woodwork of these erections is often very elaborate. Modern pews are happily based upon the more primitive fashion.
Preaching not being considered such an important part of the service in pre-Reformation times, pulpits in churches of that period were not so usual as in modern churches. Monastic refectories had pulpits, which the reader occupied when he read to his brethren during meals. Beaulieu Abbey has the most ancient pulpit in this country, which evidently belongs to the thirteenth century.
The churches of Devonshire and Norfolk have wooden pulpits of the fifteenth century, which were painted and gilded, the figures of the four doctors of the church—SS. Augustine, Ambrose, Gregory, and Jerome—being the favourite subjects. In 1603 the churchwardens were ordered to provide in every church “a comely and decent pulpit.” Hence most of our pulpits date from this period. The sides were panelled and carved with scrollwork; and at the same time a sounding-board was introduced. Occasionally the hour-glass which regulated the length of the preacher’s discourse remains, with its beautiful scroll-worked stand.
The most striking feature of the pre-Reformation Church was the rood-loft, a narrow long gallery above the beautifully decorated screen, which separated the chancel from the nave. In this loft was erected the rood, or figure of our blessed Lord on the cross, together with figures of the Virgin and St. John on each side. Both the screen and the loft were richly panelled and ornamented with tracery and carvings, and before them hung one or more lamps. Sometimes tall candlesticks stood on pillars on each side of the figures. A staircase of stone, constructed in the wall near the chancel-arch, led to the rood-loft, and the blocked-up archway of this rood-stair frequently remains. The priest stood in the rood-loft to read the gospel and epistle, and sometimes preached there; official notices were read, and from it the bishop used to give the Benediction. The rood-cloth, or veil, hid the rood during Lent, and in some churches we have seen the roller which was used to raise this veil. A special altar, called the rood-altar, used to stand under the screen.
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The Reformers played havoc with these old rood-lofts and screens, which were regarded as monuments of idolatry and superstition. The churchwardens’ account-books of many churches bear witness to this destruction. Those of St. Giles’, Reading, tell of certainitems“for pulling down the rood and carting away the rubbish.” Instead of the figure of our Lord they put up the royal arms; and one John Serjente, of Hytchen, is licensed in 1614—
“to paynte in all the Churches and Chappells, within this Realme of England, the Kinges Majesties armes in due forme with helme creste mantell and supporters as they oughte to be—and to wright in fayre text letters the tenn commandments, the beliefe, and the Lord’s prayer, with some other fruitefull and profitable sentences of holye scripture.”
In spite of this destruction of the ancient roods, several lofts still remain,e.g.at Bradninch, Cullompton, Dartmouth, Hartland, Kenton, Ugborough, and Plymtree, in Devonshire; in several places in Somersetshire, and at Charlton-on-Otmoor (erected in 1485) and Handborough, Oxfordshire. A very large number of the old screens remain, ornamented with the arms of Elizabeth or James I.
Proceeding eastward we enter the chancel, so called because it is inclosed withcancelli, or the lattice-work of the screen. If the church was formerly connected with some monastery we shall see some beautifully carved wooden stalls with rich canopies over them. The seats are curiously constructed. They can be turned up, and beneath the seats is a projecting bracket of wood, commonly adorned with carved work—animals, birds, leaves, and flowers, and often with grotesque, satirical, and irreverent devices. They are called miserere-stalls, and were used by the monks or canons to lean against during the portions of the long mediaeval services, when they were not allowed to be seated. As this practice was a concession to human weakness or infirmity, the seats were called in Francemisericordes, and in Englandmisereres. The subjects of the sculptures are often extremely curious. Domestic scenes, fables, such as the “Fox and the Grapes,” demons carrying off monks, “The Seven Deadly Sins,” are some of these subjects. Miss Phipson has published a learned work onChoir Stalls and their Carvings, which contains reproductions of three hundred of her sketches of curiously wroughtmisereres.
ENLARGE
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VILLAGE CHURCH IN THE VALE
The lectern formerly stood in the chancel; and then, as now, was often in the form of a large eagle, emblematic of St. John. Most of these reading-desks belong to the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, and are made of wood, latten, iron, or stone, as well as of brass. There is a very curious wooden one at East Hendred, Berks, representing a foot resting on the head of a dragon, emblematic of the word of God conquering the powers of evil. Ancient wooden double reading-desks are not uncommon. The ornamentation usually denotes the period when they were constructed.
And now we approach the high altar of the church, made of stone, covered with a beautifully worked frontal and cloth, and inclosed at the sides with curtains suspended on iron rods projecting from the wall. A crucifix hangs above the altar, and two candlesticks stand, one on each side. The furniture and accessories of the altar in pre-Reformation times were numerous. There was the pyx, a box or vessel of precious metal, in which the Host was reverently preserved for the purpose of giving communion to the sick and infirm. There were two small cruets or vessels for containing the wine and water used in Holy Communion, one engraved with the letter “V” (vinum), and the other “A” (aqua). Anosculatorium, or pax tablet, of ivory or wood, overlaid with gold, was used for giving the kiss of peace during the High Mass just before the reception of the Host. Of church plate generally we shall write in a subsequent chapter.
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NORMAN PISCINA, ROMSEY CHURCH, HANTS
On the south we see the piscina, which is contained in a beautifully carved niche—a hollow basin with a stone drain, wherein the priest washed his hands before consecrating the elements, and poured the water from the rinsed chalice. Above it in the niche was the credence, a shelf of stone, on which were placed the chalice and paten and all things necessary for the celebration. In some churches there is a separate credence table. On the north side was the aumbry, or locker, where the sacred vessels, altar linen, and service books were kept, guarded by a strong wooden door. The doors have usually disappeared, but a very large number of churches have the hole in the wall which was formerly the aumbry.
On the south side are the sedilia, or stone seats, for the assistant clergy, frequently with canopies richly carved, and usually three in number. Opposite to the sedilia in the north wall is a large arch, within which the holy sepulchre was set up at Easter. This was a wooden structure made for the deposition of the consecrated elements of the Eucharist from the evening of Good Friday until the morning of Easter Day; during which time it was watched by a quasi-guard, after the manner of our Lord’s sepulchre. The books of St. Lawrence, Reading, record:—
"Anno 1498. In primis payed for Wakyng of the Sepulchre viii'd.""Anno 1510. It. payed to Walter Barton to the new Sepulchur iiii'lixiii's x'd."
As this sum of money was a considerable one at that period, the sepulchre must have been an object of unusual magnificence. Sometimes it was a permanent structure of stone, carved with figures of soldiers watching the tomb of our Lord. Behind the altar was the reredos. In village churches these screens were made up of recessed stone panels, surrounded by sculptured wallflowers and other devices; but in large churches they were very ornate, enriched with niches, statues, tabernacle-work, and other adornments. Many of them were destroyed at the Reformation, together with the stone altars. Some were covered up and concealed by plaster, in order to preserve them from iconoclastic violence. They were buried and forgotten, until by some happy accident their existence was revealed in modern times. Nearly all large churches, and some village churches, especially those connected with a monastery, had shrines, or receptacles for the body or relics of a saint. Some of them were fixed, and made of stone or wood, adorned with rich tabernacle-work, such as the shrine of St. Cuthbert at Durham, or of St. Frideswide at Oxford; and others were portable, shaped like coped boxes, covered with precious metal, enamels, and engraving. Sculptured stones in the walls of our churches often mark the spot in the building where relics were stored.
It is evident from the existence of niches and piscinas in other parts of the church, besides in the south wall near the high altar, that there formerly existed many altars in the sacred building. At the east end of each aisle we usually find these indications of the existence of an altar, which belonged to a chantry chapel, separated from the rest of the church by a screen. Here a priest said Mass daily for the soul of the founder of the chantry, his ancestors, and posterity. Ancient stone altars still remain in some of our churches. Sometimes they have been removed from their place, and used as tombstones, or in paving the floor of the church. They can be recognised by the five crosses engraved on them, one at each corner, and one in the centre of the stone.
Hagioscopes, or squints, are openings in the thickness of the wall, enabling worshippers in the chantry chapels to witness the elevation of the Host at the high altar. They are usually plain; but in some churches we find these curious apertures moulded and decorated with architectural designs.
Pre-Reformation churches had several wooden images of saints, most of which were destroyed by the iconoclastic zeal of the Reformers or Puritans. The brackets on which these figures stood often remain, though the images have disappeared.
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Low side windows, commonly called “Lepers’ windows,” are very frequently found in our churches, and usually on the south wall of the chancel. Their object has been, and is, much disputed among antiquaries. The vulgar idea is that poor lepers used to come to this window to see the celebration of the Mass; but unfortunately it is quite impossible in many cases to see the high altar through this window, and moreover lepers were not allowed to enter a churchyard. Another idea is that they were used as confessionals, the priest in the church hearing the confession of the penitent who knelt on the grass in the churchyard. A more inconvenient arrangement could not have been devised; and this idea might be at once dismissed, were it not that one of Henry’s commissioners for suppressing monasteries and chantries wrote: “We think it best that the place where these friars have been wont to hear outward confession of all-comers at certain times of the year, be walled up, and that use to be done for ever.” It appears that sometimes at any rate the low side windows were used for this purpose. However, I am inclined to think that they were intended for the use of the anchorites or recluses, who dwelt in churches. The windows were not glazed, but had iron bars on the outside, and a wooden shutter on the inside of the church. These windows were probably their means of communication with the outside world.
Many village churches then, as now, had no vestry. Where avestiariumexisted it was usually on the north side of the chancel, and its contents were more elaborate than the plain surplice stole and hood of recent times. In the vestry press we should find an alb of fine white linen, somewhat similar to a surplice, ornamented with “apparels,”i.e.embroidery, on the cuffs and skirts; a girdle made of white silk embroidered with colours; an amice, or oblong piece of fine linen, worn on the head or as a collar; a stole with embroidered ends; a maniple, or strip of ornamented linen worn by the priest in his left hand during celebrations; dalmatic, chasuble and other vestments which the ornate ritual of the mediaeval church required.
Before the Reformation the appearance of our churches was certainly splendid, and differed much from the Puritan simplicity of later times. The walls were covered with mural paintings. The windows, soon to be
“Shorn of their glass of a thousand colourings,Through which the deepened glories once could enter,”
were then resplendent with stained glass. Above, the rood looked down on all the worshippers. Everywhere there was beautifully carved woodwork, gilded and painted, tombs of knights and dames all painted and adorned, altars with rich embroidered hangings. The floor was composed of encaustic tiles, and had many memorial brasses. Armour, crests, and banners hung upon the walls. Lights burned before numerous images, and the whole appearance of our churches was gorgeous and magnificent.
Many changes have taken place since. Coatings of whitewash hide the mural paintings. Sacrilegious hands “have broken down all the carved work with axes and hammers.” The stone altars have disappeared, and instead we have “an honest table decently covered.” Reading-pews for the clergy were set up, and in the last century the hideous “three decker,” which hid the altar and utterly disfigured the sacred building. Instead of the low open seats great square high pews filled the nave. Hideous galleries were erected which obstructed the windows and hid the architectural beauties of former days. The old timber roofs were covered, and low flat ceilings substituted. Brasses were torn up and sold by dishonest churchwardens, and old monuments broken and defaced. The old stained-glass windows were destroyed. The Communion table was taken from the east end of the chancel, and seats erected round it. Crosses were defaced everywhere, and crucifixes destroyed. Puritan profanation and wanton destruction devastated our churches to a degree which has never been equalled since the hordes of heathens and barbaric Danish invaders carried fire and sword into the sanctuaries of God.
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Much harm was done by the Goths and Vandals of the nineteenth century. Many old churches, replete with a thousand memories of the past, were pulled down entirely, and modern structures of “Victorian Gothic” style erected in their place, which can have none of the precious associations which the old churches had. Much harm was done to the old features of many churches by so-called “restoration,” carried out by men ignorant of architecture and antiquities. But we are learning better now. The Society of Antiquaries has done much to prevent injudicious restoration and the destruction of our old churches, and if any incumbent and his parishioners are thinking of restoring their church, they cannot do better than to consult the secretaries of that learned body, who will show how best to preserve the interesting memorials of the past which time has spared.
Spoliation—Few remains of pre-Reformation plate—Testimony of inventories—Plate found in graves of bishops—Characteristics of chalices in different periods—Inscriptions—Devices on patens— Censers—Pyx—Monstrance—Chrismatory—Pax—Sacring bell—Elizabethan chalice—Bridal cup—Post-Reformation plate—Hall marks.
We have already mourned over the wanton destruction of much that was of intense interest and value in our churches; but the most systematic robbery and spoliation of our church goods at the time of the Reformation were carried out in the matter of church plate. Henry VIII. stripped our cathedrals and conventual churches of almost all that was valuable, and the unscrupulous commissioners of Edward VI. performed a like office for our parish churches and chantries. A large number of the old chalices were also melted down and converted into Communion cupsduring the reigns of Edward VI. and Elizabeth. Hence of all the vast store of church plate which our churches possessed before the Reformation, at the present time throughout all England only thirty-four chalices and seventy-three patens remain. It is true that not all the ancient vessels fell into the hands of the commissioners of the king. In the churchwardens’ account books of the period we read of sundry sales of church plate. Evidently the parishioners had some presentiment of the coming spoliation; so they sold their valuables, and kept the proceeds of the sale for “the paving of the streets,” or other parochial necessities.
The ancient inventories of church goods show the deplorable loss of the valuables of the church which has taken place. Thus at the church of St. Lawrence, Reading, in the year 1517, the inventory tells us of the following: a cross of silver and gilt; a censer of silver gilt; another censer; a ship of silver for holding incense; another ship of silver; two candlesticks of silver; two books bound in silver; two basins of silver; a pyx of silver gilt, with a silver pin; a monstrance of silver gilt; a silver gilt chrismatory for the holy oil; a pax; two cruets; a bell; a chalice, with a crucifix enamelled on the foot and the Trinity on the paten; another chalice, with a crucifix engraved on the foot and a hand on the paten; another chalice similarly described; another similar to first chalice; and two others, with a crucifix on the foot and a vernicle, orvera icon(a representation of our Lord’s face miraculously delineated on the napkin of St. Veronica). All these vessels were made of silver or silver gilt. Nor were these all the treasures. There were several reliquaries of silver gilt containing parts of the holy cross; a gridiron, with a bone of St. Lawrence, and other articles contained in silver boxes; and many books bound with silver clasps. The total weight of silver in this church amounted to seven hundred ounces.
Village churches were, of course, less sumptuously furnished than this important town church, which being situated under the shadow of one of the largest and most important abbeys in the kingdom, would receive many costly gifts and benefactors. But the inventories of village churches show that there was no lack of plate, rich altar hangings, copes, and vestments, which helped to swell the goodly heap of spoil. In country churches in Oxfordshire there were silver chalices and patens, pyxes, censers, candlesticks, chrismatories, crosses, sanctus bells, and other articles of plate.
It was the practice in mediaeval times to place in the coffin of a bishop a chalice and paten; hence some of the earliest specimens of church plate which we possess have been recovered from episcopal graves.[3] The Rites of Durham enjoin that on the death of a bishop he was to be buried “with a little chalice of silver, other metal, or wax” aid upon his breast within the coffin.[4] Most of these were made of pewter or lead, but some have been found of silver gilt, latten, and tin. It is perhaps scarcely necessary for our present purposes to describe these early specimens of sacred vessels, as the number of them is so limited; and few of my readers will be able to discover any mediaeval examples amongst the plate of their own church. However, I will point out a few peculiarities of the plate of each period.
The earliest chalice, used in the church of Berwick St. James, Wilts, until a few years ago, and now in the British Museum, dates from the beginning of the thirteenth century. Its bowl is broad and shallow, the stem and knot (by which the vessel was held) and foot being plain and circular. Then the makers (from 1250 to 1275) fashioned the stem and knot separately from the bowl and foot, and shaped them polygonally. During the remaining years of the century the foot was worked into ornate lobes. Then the bowl is deepened and made more conical. About 1350 the custom arose of laying the chalice on its side on the paten to drain at the ablutions at Mass; and as the round-footed chalices would have a tendency to roll, the foot was made hexagonal for stability. Henceforth all the mediaeval chalices were fashioned with a six-sided foot. By degrees the bowl became broader and shallower, and instead of the base having six points, its form is a sexfoil without any points. Several old chalices are engraved with the inscription—
Calicem salutaris accipiam et nomen Domini inbocabo.
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In one of the compartments of the base there was a representation of a crucifix, or the Virgin, or ihc, or xpc.
The usual devices on ancient patens were theManus Dei, or hand of God, in the act of blessing; on later ones the vernicle, or face of our Lord; the Holy Trinity; the Holy Lamb; the sacred monogram. The oldest paten in existence is that found at Chichester Cathedral in a coffin, and its date is about the year 1180. In the centre is a rude engraving of theAgnus Dei, and it bears the inscription—
Agnus Dei qui tollis pecata mundi miserere nobis.
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The grave of Bishop Grostete at Lincoln yielded up an ancient paten (1230-53), which has the figure of a bishop vested, the right hand raised in the act of blessing, the left holding a crozier. The oldest piece of church plate still in use is a remarkable paten at Wyke Church, near Winchester, the date of which is about 1280. It bears an engraving of theAgnus Deiholding a banner, and around the rim is the legend—
CUNTA: CREO: VIRTUTE: REGO: PIETATE REFORMO.
Another favourite inscription wasBenedicamus patrem et filium cum spiritu sancto; but on the paten in the church of Great Waltham, Essex, the important wordspirituis omitted for want of room.
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We have already mentioned several of the important pieces of church plate which were in use in mediaeval times. Censers, or thuribles, were common in all our ancient parish churches, sometimes of gold or silver, more usually of brass or latten, and were in the shape of a covered vase or cup, perforated so as to allow the fumes of burning incense to escape. Most of our English censers are now in museums, but several ancient ones are still in use in the private chapels of Roman Catholic families.
Old inventories always mention a pyx, a box or vessel of gold or silver, in which the Host was reserved for the sick and infirm. It often resembles a chalice, except that instead of the bowl there is a covered receptacle for the Host. A beautiful specimen was dug up a few years ago in the churchyard of Yateley, Hants. Another vessel was the monstrance, in which the Blessed Sacrament was carried in procession, and exposed on the altar. The form varied. Sometimes monstrances were made in the shape of a tower, or a covered chalice; sometimes in the form of images carrying silver pyxes, elaborately ornamented with many jewels. Processions were always a great feature of mediaeval worship; hence the monstrance was frequently in use, especially on such occasions as the celebrations of Corpus Christi Day.
Holy oil was much used in the services, as in the Roman Catholic Church at the present time. It was blessed by a bishop on Maundy Thursday, and used in Baptism, Confirmation, and Extreme Unction, as well as at the Consecration of Churches, Ordination, and the Coronation of Kings. The vessel for holding the oil was an important piece of church plate, and was called a chrismatory. Usually there were three distinct vessels, one for holding the oil for the sick, a second for use at confirmations, and a third for the baptismal oil. Sometimes these vessels are labelled with the words EXT. UNC., CAT., and CHR., according to the recommendation of St. Charles Borromeo, in order that each oil might be kept for its proper use, and that no confusion might arise.
The pax was a small tablet of silver or other precious metal, used for giving the kiss of peace during High Mass. The celebrant kissed the tablet, and held it aloft before all the people. It was usually adorned with a representation of theAgnus Dei. Of the cruets containing wine and water for the celebration we have already written. Then there was a sacring bell, often made of silver, which was rung during the service at the time of the elevation of the Host, and at the sound the congregation knelt.
We have now examined the aumbry, and noted its contents, upon which the commissioners in the reign of Edward VI. made such shameful inroads. Henceforth the plate was confined to a chalice and paten, alms-dish, and usually a large silver flagon. The form of the chalice was entirely changed. As we have noticed, the bowl of the pre-Reformation chalices became smaller and shallower, on account of the gradually introduced practice of refusing the wine to the laity. Now in the year 1562 the size of the bowl was greatly enlarged, and the “Communion cup” took the place of the “Massing chalice.” Some poor parishes were obliged to content themselves with pewter vessels. St. Lawrence’s Church, Reading, had a curious bridal cup, which was carried before all brides who were married in that church. The custom of drinking wine in the church at marriages is enjoined in the Hereford Missal, and the Sarum Missal ordered that the bread immersed in the wine, and consumed by the company, should first be blessed by the priest. Some of these post-Reformation vessels are extremely interesting. They record the thankofferings of pious donors on the occasion of some great event in the national annals, such as the Restoration, or of some private mercy vouchsafed to the individual. They record the connection of some family with the parish, the arms they bore; and the Hall marks tell us of their date, which is often anterior to the date of the inscription.
Hall marks were first introduced in 1300 by Edward I. in order to keep up the purity of silver, and consisted of the lion’s or leopard’s head crowned. This was called the king’s mark. The maker’s mark was introduced in 1363, and was some initial or badge chosen by the silversmith. To these were added in 1438 the year letter or assayer’s mark, a different letter being chosen for each year. When the alphabet was exhausted, another with differently shaped letters was begun. In 1545 the lion passant was introduced, and since 1784 the portrait of the reigning sovereign has appeared. With the assistance of Mr. Cripps’Old English Plate, which contains a list of the alphabets used in marking plate, it is not very difficult to discover the date of any piece of silver. Inventories of church plate are being made in many counties and dioceses, and no more useful work can be undertaken by our local antiquarian societies.
[3]Mediaeval Chalices and Patens, by W.H. St. John Hope and T.M. Fallow.
[4] Surtees Society, vol. xv. pp. 45, 49.
Reverence for the dead—Cists—Stone coffins—Devices—Introduction of effigies—Cross-legged effigies—Wooden effigies—Incised effigies—Brasses—Essentially English—Vast number of brasses— Palimpsests—Destruction—Costumes and fashions—Ecclesiastics— Lawyers—Soldiers—Canopies and inscriptions—Punning inscriptions— Contractions—Emblems—Heraldry.
The pious care which we all love to bestow on the mortal remains of our nearest and dearest, and the respect and honour with which all men regard the bodies of departed heroes, kings, saints, and warriors, have produced a remarkable series of sepulchral monuments, examples of which may be found everywhere. The cairns and tumuli of the primitive races which inhabited our island were the results of the same feelings of reverent regard which inspired the beautifully carved mediaeval monuments, the memorial brass, or the cross-shaped tombstone of to-day.
I have already mentioned the cromlechs and barrows and other memorials of the early inhabitants of Britain. We have seen the cists of Saxon times, the coffins formed of several stones placed together in the form of a table. The Normans introduced stone coffins for the sepulchre of their great men, many of which may be seen in our cathedrals and old conventual churches. On the lids of their coffins they frequently cut a single cross. When the style of architecture changed to that of the Early English and Decorated periods, monumental slabs were ornamented with much greater richness and elaboration, and inscriptions were added, and also some device which showed the trade, rank, or profession of the departed. Thus the chalice and paten denoted a priest; a sword showed the knight; an axe, a forester; an ink-horn, a notary; shears, a wool merchant.
At the beginning of the thirteenth century it occurred to someone to preserve the likeness of his departed friend as well as the symbols of his rank and station. So effigies were introduced upon the surface of the slabs, and were carved flat; but ere fifty years had passed away the art of the sculptor produced magnificent monumental effigies. Knights and nobles lie clad in armour with their ladies by their sides. Bishops and abbots bless the spectators with their uplifted right hands. Judges lie in their official garb, and merchants with the emblems of their trade. At their feet lie animals, usually having some heraldic connection with the deceased, or symbolical of his work—e.g.a dragon is trodden down beneath the feet of a bishop, signifying the defeat of sin as the result of his ministry. The heads of effigies usually rest on cushions, which are sometimes supported by two angels.
A peculiar characteristic of the military effigies in England is that the knights are often represented with the legs crossed. Many speculations have been made with regard to the meaning of this fashion of cross-legged effigy. It is a popular superstition, in which for some years the writer shared, that such effigies represented Crusaders. We were told in our young days that when the knight had his legs crossed at the feet he had gone to the Crusades once; when at the knees, that he had been to two Crusades; and when crossed at the thighs, he had been thrice to rescue the Holy City from the hands of the infidels. All this seemed very plausible and interesting, but it is undoubtedly a myth. Many known Crusaders have their effigies with uncrossed legs, and many who never went to the Crusades have cross-legged effigies. Moreover, there are no such monuments in any foreign country which swelled the army of Crusaders. Hence we must abandon the pleasing superstition, and reconcile ourselves to the fact that no particular signification can be assigned to these cross-legged effigies, and that only fashion prompted the mediaeval sculptors to adopt this attitude for their figures. This mode prevailed until about the year 1320.
At the close of the fifteenth century the art of making monumental effigies degenerated together with the skill of the architects of that period. We see the husband and wife kneeling facing each other, with a faldstool before each figure. A company of small figures below the effigies represent the children, the boys on one side, the girls on the other.
Early wooden effigies were also in use. There is one much battered by the careless hands of former generations of villagers in the rural church of my parish of Barkham. The artists often used much colour, gilding, and enamel in making these effigies; and often rich canopies were erected over them, containing fine tabernacle-work and figures of saints in niches.
Another form of effigy was commonly in use, in addition to the figures just described. These are called incised effigies, which were cut in outline upon flat slabs of stone, the lines being filled in with enamelled metals. Thorton Abbey, Lincolnshire, and Brading, in the Isle of Wight, have examples of this work. But the great expense of these enamels, and also their frailty when exposed in the pavements of churches, led to the use of brass; and hence arose the introduction of memorial brasses for which our country is famous.
We owe the application of brass to memorial tablets to the artists of Flanders, and the date of their introduction is about the middle of the thirteenth century. The execution of almost all of our English brasses is due to native artists. Foreign brasses are usually of great size, and consist of a quadrangular sheet of metal, on which is engraved the figure, usually under a canopy, the background being ornamented with rich diaper, foliage, or scrollwork, and the incisions filled with colouring. Several brasses in England conform to this style of workmanship, and are evidently the production of foreign artists. The English brasses, on the contrary, consist of separate pieces, with an irregular outline, corresponding with that of the figure. They have no brass background; and for delicacy of engraving and general appearance the English brasses are by far the best.
The names of the makers of brasses have been almost entirely lost. Two only bear marks which are supposed to be those of the engraver. No other country can boast of so large a number of these memorials as England, in spite of the hard usage they have received and their wanton destruction. About four thousand remain; and constantly we find the matrices cut in stone slabs, from which brasses have been torn; so that we may assume that quite as many have been destroyed as those which survive. The southern and eastern counties are most richly furnished with these monuments, whereas the western and northern counties have but few brasses. Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Kent are the most rich in this respect. The earliest brass of which we have any record is that of Simon de Beauchamp, who died before 1208. This is mentioned by Leland. The earliest brass now in existence is that of Sir John D’Aubernown at Stoke Dabernon, Surrey, which was fashioned in 1277. In the fourteenth century a very large number of brasses, remarkable for their beauty of form and execution, were made. The artistic workmanship began to decline in the fifteenth century, and in the following became utterly degenerate.
It was not an uncommon practice for subsequent generations to appropriate the memorials of their predecessors. Such brasses are called palimpsests. By the carelessness of churchwardens, by fraud, or spoliation, brasses were taken from the churches, and acquired by some maker in the town. When a new one was required, the tradesman would take from his stock, and on the reverse engrave the figure of the individual whose memory he was called upon to perpetuate. Hence when brasses are taken up from the pavements, frequently the remains of a much earlier memorial are found on the reverse side. There is an example of this curious method of procedure at St. Lawrence’s Church, Reading, where on the reverse of a brass to the memory of Walter Barton was found the remains of the brass of Sir John Popham, who was buried at the Charterhouse, London. This monastery was dissolved in 1536, the monuments sold, Sir John Popham’s brass among them, which was evidently soon converted into a memorial of Walter Barton.
Sometimes the original brass was appropriated as it lay, the figure being slightly altered to suit the style of costume prevalent at the later date. In other cases the engraver did not even trouble himself to alter the figure, and simply added a new inscription and shield of arms.
The wanton destruction and gross neglect of churchwardens, both before and after the Reformation, were very great. At St. Mary’s Church, Reading, the accounts tell a sad tale of the disgraceful damage in the year 1547:—
“Receyvid of John Saunders for iii cwt lacking ix’li of metall that was taken upp of the graves, and of olde candlestycks at vi’s the hundred xlvj’s ii’d.”
Evidently a clean sweep was made of most of the memorial brasses in the church, and few escaped destruction. The tale is too familiar. Most churches have suffered in the same way.
The study of brasses throws much light upon the costumes and fashions of the day when they were engraved. We see priests, who may be recognised by the tonsure and vestments, amongst which we find the alb, amice, stole, maniple, and chasuble. The pastoral staff, ring, mitre, sandals, tunic, dalmatic, and gloves mark the graves of bishops and mitred abbots.
A close skull-cap, a long robe with narrow sleeves, a hood, tippet, and mantle buttoned on the right shoulder, compose the dress of judges and officers of the law, as depicted on brasses. The changes in the fashion and style of armour, which took place between the fourteenth and the seventeenth centuries, are all accurately represented in these memorials; and also the picturesque costumes of ladies with their curious headgear; and the no less various fashions of the male civilian’s dress. A study of brasses is an admirable guide to the prevailing style of dress during the periods of their construction.
The beautiful canopies over the heads of the figures are well worthy of attention, and also the inscriptions. These usually take the form of Latin verses; and although many were written by learned abbots and scholars, the classical knowledge displayed is somewhat faulty. Here are a few examples:—
Respice quid prodest precentis temporis aebumOmne quod est, nichil est, preter amare deum.
Sometimes the author of the inscription recorded his name, as did the learned Dame Elizabeth Hobby on a brass at Shottesbrooke, which runs—
O multum dilecte senex, pater atqz bocate,Del quia grandaebis, bel quia probus eras.Annos bixisti nobies decem, atqz satellesFidus eras regum, fidus erasqz tuis.Iam satis functus baleas, sed tu, deus alme,Sic mihi concedas bibere siqz mori.
Variety was added sometimes by jumbling together various languages, Norman-French, Latin, and English being often oddly combined.
People in the Middle Ages loved punning and playing upon the sound of words. Thus a brass to the memory of Thomas Hylle (or Hill) has some verses beginning “Monsin valle jacet.” John Day, the printer, had a very extravagant and jocular epitaph beginning—
“Here lies the Daye that darkness could not blynd.”
“He set a Fox to wright how Martyrs runneBy death to lyfe”—
alluding to his publication of Foxe’sBook of Martyrs. His widow probably married a man named Stone. Hence we read—
“Als was the last encreaser of his store,Who mourning long for being left alone,Sett upp this tombe, her self turned to a Stone.”
“Orate pro anima,” or “of your charite pray for the soul of ——” were usual inscriptions.
It is somewhat difficult for the unpractised eye to read inscriptions on brasses, owing to the contractions and omissions of letters. Thusmandnare often omitted, and a line is placed over the adjoining letter to indicate the omission. Thus a=ia stands foranima, leg=u forlegum. The letterris also left out. Z stands forque, and there are many other contractions, such as D=ns forDominus, D=s forDeus, E=ps forEpiscopus, g=ia forgratia, m=ia formisericordia, and many others.
The study of the emblems and devices is full of interest. Of ecclesiastical emblems we have the symbols of the Holy Trinity—God the Father represented as an aged person, holding a crucifix on which the dove, an emblem of the Holy Spirit, is alighting—representations of our Lord, angels, saints,[5] evangelists, the fylfot cross, roses, and figures of Death. Sometimes the figure on the brass holds a heart in his hand, which indicates a response on the part of the deceased to the old invitatory “Sursum corda.”
The armorial bearings of the deceased are usually represented on brasses, and also personal or professional devices. The founders of churches hold representations in miniature of the churches which they founded. Bishops and abbots have a pastoral staff; priests, a chalice, or a book; wool merchants have woolpacks beneath their feet, and other tradesmen have similar devices denoting their special calling. Merchants’ marks also frequently appear; and the mediaeval taste for punning is shown by frequent rebuses formed on the names of the deceased,e.g.a peacock, for one named Pecok; a fox, for a Foxley; four tuns and a cross, for Master Croston.
England may well be proud of the brass memorials of her worthy sons and daughters. It is, however, terribly sad to see the destruction which fanatical and greedy folk have wrought on these beautiful monuments. As we have already noticed, the spoliators of the Reformation period accomplished much wanton destruction, and removed tombs “for greedinesse of the brasse.” Cromwell’s soldiers and commissioners did a vast deal more damage, violating sepulchres and monuments, and destroying brasses everywhere. A third cause of the defacement and loss of these valuable memorials has been the gross carelessness of churchwardens and incumbents, who during any alterations or restoration of their churches have allowed them to be sold, destroyed, or appropriated by the builders. Truly we have entered upon a diminished inheritance. It behoves us to preserve with the utmost vigilance and care the memorials which fanaticism, greed, and carelessness have spared.
[5] The following are the principal emblems of the Apostles:— St. Andrew, a cross saltier; St. Bartholomew, a knife; St. James the Great, a pilgrim’s staff, wallet, escallop shell; St. James the Less, a fuller’s bat, or saw; St. John, a chalice and serpent; St. Jude, a boat in his hand, or a club; St. Matthew, a club, carpenter’s square, or money-box; St. Matthias, a hatchet, battle-axe, or sword; St. Paul, a sword; St. Peter, keys; St. Philip, a tau cross, or a spear; St. Simon, fishes; St. Thomas, an arrow or spear.
Contents of the parish chest—Parish registers—Effect of Civil War— Burials in woollen—“Not worth £600”—Care bestowed upon registers— Curious entries—Astrology—Gipsies—Jester—Heart-burial—Plagues—Royal visits—Licences for eating flesh, for to be touched for king’s evil— Carelessness of custody of registers—Churchwardens’ account books—Their value—Curious entries—Sports and pastimes—Paschall money—Brief books—Strange entries in registers and account books—Dog-whippers— King’s evil—Treating bishops and poor scholars of Oxford.
The parish chest in the vestry usually contains many documents, which are of profound interest to the student of village antiquities. It contains the old churchwardens’ account books, the parish registers, lists of briefs, and often many other papers and records which bear on the history of the parish. The old register books record the names of past generations of villagers, and many curious facts about the parish and its people, which are not found in the dull dry columns of our modern books.
Parish registers were first ordered by Thomas Cromwell in the year 1538, and from that date many of our registers begin.[6] But all vicars did not obey the injunctions of Viceregent Cromwell; they were renewed by Edward VI. in 1547 and by Queen Elizabeth in 1559, and most of our old register books begin with this date. James I. ordered that the registers should be written over again in a parchment book, the entries previously having been recorded on paper. Hence many of our books, although they begin with the year 1538, are really copies of the paper records made previous to 1603.
The disturbances of the Civil War period caused much neglect in the keeping of the registers. The incumbent was often driven away from his flock, and parish registrars were chosen by the parishioners and approved and sworn before a justice of the peace. Here is a record of this business taken from the books of this parish:—
“Whereas Robtr Williams of the prish of Barkham in the County of Berks was elected and chosen by the inhabitants of the same prish to be there prish Register, he therefore ye sd Ro: Wms was approved and sworne this sixteenth day of November 1653. Ri: Bigg, J.P.”
Henceforth the children are registered as having beenborn, notbaptised, until the Restoration brought back the clergyman to his flock again, and the entries are written in a scholarly hand, and the disorder of the previous years ceases.
In 1679 an Act was passed requiring that the dead should be buried in woollen, the purpose being to lessen “the importation of linen from beyond the seas, and the encouragement of the woollen and paper manufacturers of this kingdom.” A penalty of £5 was inflicted for a violation of this Act; and as frequently people preferred to be buried in linen, a record of the fine appears—e.g.at Gayton, Northamptonshire, where we find in the register—
“1708. Mrs. Dorothy Bellingham was buryed April 5, inLinnen, and the forfeiture of the Act payd fifty shillings to ye informer and fifty shillings to ye poor of the parishe.”
Pope wrote the following lines on the burial of Mrs. Oldfield, the actress, with reference to this custom:—
“Odious! in woollen! ’twould a saint provoke(Were the last words that poor Narcissa spoke);No, let a charming chintz and Brussels laceWrap my cold limbs, and shade my lifeless face.”
Sometimes after the name in the register is added the words, “Not worth £600.” This refers to the Act of William III. in 1694, which required that all persons baptised, married, or buried, having an estate of that value, should pay a tax of twenty shillings. The money was required for carrying on the war with France, and the Act was in force for five years. This description of the personal estate was not intended to be invidious, but was of practical utility in enforcing the Act.
The parish registers reflect with wonderful accuracy the life of the people, and are most valuable to the student of history. Clergymen took great pride in recording “the short and simple annals of the poor.” A Gloucestershire rector (1630 A.D.) wrote in his book the following good advice which might with advantage be taken in many other villages:—
“If you will have this Book last, bee sure to aire it att the fier, or in the Sunne, three or four times a yeare—els it will grow dankish and rott, therefore look to it. It will not be amisse when you find it dankish to wipe over the leaves with a dry wollen cloth. This Place is very much subject to dankishness; therefore I say looke to it.”
A study of the curious entries which we occasionally find conveys much remarkable information. Sometimes, in the days of astrology, in order to assist in casting the nativity, it is recorded that at the time of the child’s birth “the sun was in Libra,” or “in Taurus.” Gipsies were evidently numerous in the sixteenth century, as we constantly find references to “the roguish AEgyptians.” The domestic jester finds his record in the entry: “1580. March 21, William, fool to my Lady Jerningham.” The suicide is “infamously buried.” Heart-burial is often recorded, as at Wooburn, Bucks: “1700. Cadaver Edi Thomas, equitis aurati, hic inhumatum fuit vicessimo tertio die Junii.”
Records of the visitations of the plague are very numerous in all parts of England, as at Egglescliffe, Durham: “1644. In this year there died of the plague in this towne one and twenty people; they are not all buried in the churchyard, and are not in the Register.” Sometimes masses of human bones are found buried in fields outside towns and villages, memorials of this devastating plague.
Parish clerks have not always had very musical voices when they shout out the “Amens.” The Rector of Buxted, Sussex (1666 A.D.), records with a sigh of relief the death of his old clerk, “whose melody warbled forth as if he had been thumped on the back with a stone.”
Sometimes royal visits to the neighbourhood are recorded, even a royal hunt, as when James I. hunted the hare at Fordham, Cambridgeshire. The register of Wolverton gives “a license for eating flesh on prohibited days granted to Sir Tho. Temple, on paying 13s. 4d.” Storms, earthquakes, and floods are described; and records of certificates granted to persons to go before the king to be touched for the disease called the king’s evil.
The Civil War is frequently mentioned, and also caused the omission of many entries. At Tarporley, Cheshire, there is a break from 1643 to 1648, for which the rector thus accounts:—
“This intermission hapned by reason of the great wars obliterating memorials, wasting fortunes, and slaughtering persons of all sorts.”
Parish registers have fared ill and suffered much from the gross carelessness of their custodians. We read of the early books of Christ Church, Hants, being converted into kettle-holders by the curate’s wife. Many have been sold as waste paper, pages ruthlessly cut out, and village schoolbooks covered with the leaves of old registers. The historian of Leicestershire writes of the register of Scraptoft:—
“It has not been a plaything for young pointers—it has not occupied a bacon scratch, or a bread and cheese cupboard—it has not been scribbled on within and without; but it has been treasured ever since 1538, to the honour of a succession of worthy clergymen.”—O si sic omnes!
The churchwardens’ account books are even of greater value to the student of history than the registers, priceless as the latter are for genealogical purposes. The Bishop of Oxford states that “in the old account books and minute books of the churchwardens in town and country we possess a very large but very perishable and rapidly perishing treasury of information on matters the very remembrance of which is passing away, although their practical bearing on the development of the system of local government is indisputable, and is occasionally brought conspicuously before the eye of the people by quaint survivals.... It is well that such materials for the illustration of this economic history as have real value should be preserved in print; and that the customs which they illustrate should be reclaimed by History from the misty region of folklore, whilst they can.” Many of these account books date from pre-Reformation times, and disclose the changes which took place in the fabric of our churches, the removal of roods and other ecclesiastical furniture, during the Reformation. They are usually kept with great exactness, and contain an accurate record of the receipts and expenditure for each year. Some of the entries are very curious, and relate to the sports and pastimes of our ancestors, the mystery plays, and church ales, which were all under the patronage of the churchwardens. The proceeds of these entertainments were devoted to the maintenance of the church, and were included in the accounts, as well as the necessary cost of the merry diversions. Thus in the books of St. Lawrence’s Church, Reading, we find such items as the following:—