[290]August 18, 1660.[291]See description of the moat, &c.,antep. 158.[292]Tinterne and its Vicinity, page 130.[293]Page 131.[294]Monmouth, Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, Salop, Wilts, Somerset, Devon, Brecon, Glamorgan, Caermarthen, Cardigan, and Radnor; together with the British Channel to some distance beyond the Holms. Near the latter is a Tower called “Kemey’s Folly.” Its founder, boasting to his father that the tower could be seen from thirteen counties, was answered—“I am sorry, my son, that so great an extent of country should be witness to thy consummate folly;” and from that day, we are told, the tower assumed the name which it still retains.[295]Or, according to Mr. Thomas, 1720 feet.[296]“Thomas’s Raglan,” p. 155.[297]A MS. plan, which has just been sent to the Editor from Raglan, in confirmation of the above, seems to complete the evidence which was hitherto wanting.[298]One solitary attempt to imitate the jousts and tournaments of former days, was made a few years ago at the expense of the Earl of Eglinton; but “the burlesque was apparently too extravagant, if not too costly, for repetition.”[299]In the bowling-green attached to the residence of a gentleman at Muswell Hill, Hornsey, the ancient national game is still kept up—ritu majorum.[300]Fosbroke, Nares, Strutt, Gage’s Hengrave Hall.—Encyclopædia of Antiq., vol. ii. p. 674.[301]See “Strutt’s Sports,” p. 97.[302]“Fosbroke’s Gymnastics.” The late Sir S. R. Meyrick gives various kinds of jousts,i. e.where the combat is limited to two rivals.[303]Page 175 of this volume.[304]The contributor of this anecdote is not sufficiently acquainted with the habits of birds as to pronounce that no bird builds its nest of white-thorn; but if such be really the case, that circumstance might surely have led the cavaliers to suspect that the prophecy had received some aid in its fulfilment from the worthy townsmen of Caernarvon. But the explanation given by the Marquess is, as usual, felicitously characteristic, and veiled in a politico-religious guise.[305]Bayly, Apophthegm xix.[306]The woodcut represents the old baronialkitchenwith its appendages, as described page 154.[307]See note, page 138.[308]As an author, he is known by a work relating to that curious monument of former ages, Stonehenge, which he pronounced to be a Roman temple, dedicated to Cœlus; an opinion, however, which antiquaries have decried as erroneous and absurd.—Biog.[309]See account of the King’s visit to Raglan, p. 163.[310]He died in 1348.[311]The lordship of Grosmont was absorbed in the acquisitions of the house of Lancaster, and a court-baron is held for the district, called “the Hundred of the Three Castles”—Grosmont, Skenfreth, and White Castle, or Castle Gwyn.[312]1326.—See Hist. of Monmouth.[313]1387.—Ibid.[314]Life of Henry V.[315]In the “Shakspeare,” edited by the late poet Campbell, it is thought that the parts ofGloucesterandEdgarare taken from the story of the Paphlagonian King in Sir Philip Sydney’s “Arcadia.” There was also a play, entitled “The True Chronicle Historie of King Leare and his 3 Daughters,” entered at Stationers’ Hall in 1594, which kept possession of the stage several years, and must have been familiar to Shakspeare himself.[316]The recent epic poem by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, Bart., entitled “King Arthur,” is one of the few poems of our own times that promises to descend to posterity. What Milton admired, and Dryden projected, as the subject of a national poem, Sir Edward has accomplished with that felicitous taste and ability which have impressed his name on the popular and classic literature of the day. Pope himself had at one period of his life resolved to complete, what Milton and Dryden had only planned—a heroic poem on the same subject.[317]Among the estates thus rejected was the ancient manor of Berkeley, in the Vale of Gloucester. “Nam cum eis aliquando tota provincia de Bergelay a Rege et Regina, gratis offeretur,” etc. etc.[318]Regina verò Matildis sanctitatis ignara quanta videlicet mentis constantia insaturabilem divitiarum fugeret ingluviem; cum aliquandorogare cœpit ut modis omnibus sineret eam manum suam in sinum ejus mittere, etc.[319]The precise year of its foundation has never been ascertained; but there is no doubt that it was commenced after 1108, and completed before 1136, when the greater part of the brotherhood were removed to Hereford, and subsequently to New Llanthony, near Gloucester. We have the testimony of Giraldus Cambrensis that, in 1186, the Mother-Abbey had been long completed. He describes it as covered with lead, and not inelegantly constructed with a roof of stone.[320]Hist. Abbatiæ deLlanthony, in Bibl. Cotton, Sub. Effigie JuliiDXI.fol. 30. B.; also, Monasticon Angl. vol. iii. p. 58. Ed. 1673. It is too long for our purpose; but the article will be interspersed with extracts from it.[321]Translated by the late Sir R. Colt Hoare, Bart., 1806.[322]The name of the place in Welsh, as he explains it, is Nanthodeni.Nantsignifies a running stream, from whence this place is still called by the inhabitants, Llandevi Nantodeni, or, the Church of St. David upon the river Hodeni. By the English, therefore, it is corruptly called Llanthoni; whereas it should either be called Nanthodeni, that is, the brook of the Hodeni, or Lanthodeni, the church upon the Hodeni.[323]This was before theNewAbbey had been thought of; or, in the original words, “Before the Daughter had existence; and I sincerely wish,” adds the devout historian, “that she had never been produced.”[324]Resembling in many respects—though in a less inhospitable region—the Augustine monks of “the Great St. Bernard,” and holding no intercourse with the world around them, unless by means of those pilgrims who resorted to their shrine, and spread abroad the fame of their sanctity.[325]Seneca’s Morals.[326]This anecdote, somewhat differently told, we have already noticed in the sketch of Tinterne Abbey.[327]This reminds us of a visit to a celebrated monastery in Tuscany, where the writer was received by one of the superior monks with great politeness and hospitality. In the course of the evening he mentioned the principal circumstances of his life—“court intrigue, dissipation, extravagance, and moral depravity; at last,” said he, “I became utterly disgusted with the life I had led, and flew for refuge to this sanctuary, where I have lived many years, and found, to my soul’s content, that there is no happiness in this life but in preparing for the next—pensare, pensare, sull’ éternità.”—Ed.[328]Sir R. C. Hoare, quoting Giraldus.[329]Orig. Nova Marchia. Chr. New March?[330]See the account already given of the Clare family.[331]In those times the Wye was considered the boundary between England and Wales.[332]Seeante, founders and benefactors of Tinterne Abbey.[333]Of the strict legal phraseology of this document, the following is a specimen:—Volo et firmiter præcipio quod CanoniciLanthoniæPrimæ, omnia tenementa sua in terra deEwias, tam laica quam ecclesiastica quæcumq: in præsenti habent vel in posterum, emptione, donatione, vel quocumq: alio titulo habituri sunt, bene et in pace, liberè et quietè teneant in omnibus locis et rebus ubicumque fuerint in terra deEwias, quieta de omnibus placitis et querelis, et auxiliis, etsumagiis, etcariagiis, et clausturis; et de pontium et castrorum ædificatione, et de conductu thesauri, et de omni operatione et lestagio et stallagio et summonitionibus, et de assisis, et superassisis; et de omnibus foris functis, quacumque occasione emerserint; et de assartis. Nullus verò de Forestariis nostris quicquam se intromittat de boscis Prioris et CanonicorumLanthoniæPrimæ; sed omnem potestatem et libertatem, quam ego et hæredes mei in boscis nostris habemus, vel habere poterimus, habeant prædicti Prior et Canonici in boscis suis, sint verò et homines et res ipsorum quieta de telonio, et ex omnibus exactionibus, et consuetudinibus in Nundinis, foris, et mercatis; et omnibus locis et rebusper totam terram deEwias. Habeant prædicti Prior et Canonici omnem justiciam deassaultuetmurdroet sanguinis effusione, et pacis infractione et thesauri inventione, et quicquid ad nostram pertinet potestatem.... Concedo quod habeant de hominibus suis et de tota possessione sua, quam habent vel habituri sunt, in terra deEwias, etc. etc. Concedo quod predictiPrioret Canonici omnes libertates prædictas et liberas consuetudines habeant adeo liberè et quietè, pacificè et integrè sicut ego et antecessores mei, ipsius libertatis unquam melius, plenius, et liberiùs habuimus. Concedo etiam quod habeant omnes libertates quas ego et successores mei per Regem Angliæ, vel alium, habere poterimus in terra deEwias, etc. etc.—Datum per nostrum manum apudLangley, Anno regni nostri decimo octavo.[334]These Canons were to live in common; to have but one table, one purse, one dormitory. But as many of them had begun to abate somewhat of the strictness of their first rules, a new set sprang up that pretended to reform upon the rest; and these, from their more pointed observance of the vow, were styledRegular Canons; whereas those who had fallen from the original purity of the Order were called, by way of reproach,Secular Canons. In this manner the monks of New Llanthony, who affected a more exemplary life, called themselves Regulars—which they did not permit those of the parent Abbey, in Wales, to assume, but addressed them only as Canons or Seculars. It was by this distinction—“I am holier than thou”—that they endeavoured to justify their “unfilial conduct,” and promote their own ascendancy, in their connection with Old Llanthony. [But in theChartersthey are often calledRegulars.]It seems uncertain at what precise period the title or designation of Canons was assumed in the church; but the first Regulars we read of were those employed by Pope Alexander II., in his mission to St. John Lateran. But so irregular, says a historian, were those Regulars, and so addicted to crimes, that even Pope Boniface VIII. was forced to drive them away, and placed Secular Canons in their room.They were introduced into England about the middle of the seventh century.[335]The paper is entitled, “Licentia per Regem Edwardum Quartum, pro unione Prioratûs deLlanthonyPrima, in Wallia, Prioratui deLanthonyjuxta Gloucestriam.”[336]In the Original, the contrast between the two monasteries, in their position and outward circumstances, is thus picturesquely and forcibly drawn. Speaking of the introduction of the old Canons to their new cells on the Severn, he says—Nam valdè dissimiliter sibi respondere experti sunt,urbemGloucestriæ et montemHatyre[Hatterilhills], et fluviumSabrinæ, et aquamHodanie;Anglos, ditissimos et Wallenses pauperrimos: Illic, agros fertiles; hîc saltus steriles, unde illorum copia blandientæ illecti; istorum inopia urgente pertæsi locum istum, nec hominum quorum libet nec dum religiosorum inhabitatione dignum censuerunt.The next is quite in keeping:—Audivi quidem dici et ex parte credo, quosdam linguæ levitate (et utinam non odii livore) desiderâsse ut quilibet hujus Ecclesiæ lapislepusforet: alios autem, quod in pace illorum dixerim, ore sacrilego impetisse ut Ecclesia cum omnibus officinis abyssi voragine absorberetur! Omnes veròEcclesiæhujus redditus pro suo arbitrio expenderunt; illic excelsa et decentia officinarum ædificia fabricantes; hìc verò fabricata situ et vetustate deferentes.Et quoniam eis indignissimum videbatur ut locus [old Llanthony] tam antiqua religione sacer et tam amplis possessionibus ditatus, omninò virorum religiosorum residentiâ destitueretur, destinare solebant genes debiles, et abjectiores, qui nec sibi nec aliis multum prodesse valebant, qui non immeritò cumApostolodicere poterant:tanquam purgamenta fratrum facti sumus omnium paripsima usque adhuc.—Pri. de Lanth. ord. S. Aug.[337]In old writings it is spelt Hodenay, Hondy, Hodenie, &c.[338]We have not introduced the original Welsh; but the reader may see the whole in the “Historie ofCambria, now called Wales, a part of the most famous Yland of Brytane, byDavid Powel, Doctor in Divinitie, c̄ privilegio. 1584.”[339]State of Europe during the Middle Ages.—Hallam.[340]Ibid.[341]Hallam’s Middle Ages.[342]Whewel.[343]Sir Thomas More said to his lady that the consideration of the time—for it was Lent—should restrayne her from so scolding her servants. “Tush, tush, my lord,” said she; “Lookye! here is one step to heavenward,”—shewing him a frier’s girdle. “Alas! I fear me,” said he, “thisstepwill not bring you up one step higher.”—Camd. Remains, quoted Brit. Monach. p. 173.[344]Dugdale gives it at £71. 3s.4d.; Speed at £112. 1s.5d.At the Dissolution, John Ambrose was Prior, and with John Nealand and three other Canons subscribed to the Supremacy in 1534.[345]See the notice of Tinterne Abbey.[346]The north aisle is occupied by a wash-house and skittle-ground. The cloisters, dormitories, and other offices are used for the reception of visitors, under the direction of a resident steward. Latterly, the ruins appear to have suffered little from time or desecration. The western front is very perfect and beautiful, but the tracery of the great window is obliterated. The owner of the property is Walter Savage Landor, Esq., the poet.—Archæol. Journ.[347]Edition1806; but serious dilapidations have taken place since then, and even within three or four years. Great credit is due to the house of Beaufort for the pains taken in the conservation of the religious houses and castles that have fallen to its possession and custody; and it is very gratifying to know that the example is followed by the present Proprietor of Llanthony.[348]London: Pickering.[349]Now, in Walter de Troucestre’s Chron., we read, “A.D.1301, on the first day of April, being Easter-eve, the Church of Llanthony, near Gloucester, was entirely burnt to the bare walls, together with itsfourbelfries, nor did any bell remain that was not either broken or melted.”—Roberts.[350]Supposed by some to have been the Sacristy or Vestiary.—See preceding pages.[351]See Tinterne Abbey: Descrip. of Dole.[352]Monasticon Anglicanum, vol. iii. Orat. August.[353]TheRules—of which the above are but a meagre and imperfect outline—are expressed with great beauty and simplicity in the original, to which the reader is again referred. It is worth mentioning that the celebrated Thomas à Kempis was a monk of this Order; and, perhaps, no devotional work has appeared in so many languages, or run through so many editions, as his “De Imitatione Christi.”[354]The tracts written, and supposed to be written, by him, were published by Bertrand Tissier in 1662.[355]Vol. iii. page 66.[356]Conveyances of smoke by holes in the walls are of very ancient date in English castles; but the earliest certain instance of chimneys, properly so called, is understood to occur in some castles abroad, about the year 1347.[357]See Raglan Castle, description and woodcut,ante.[358]The Castle of Grosmont, by a grant of King John, belonged to the family of Breoses, but afterwards to Hubert de Burgh, who, to “calm a court tempest,” resigned it with three others to Edward III. See description of the Castle in this work.[359]Thomas’s Glendower, 132[360]Memoirs of Owen Glendower, 1822.[361]See the preceding account of Raglan Castle.[362]“Secunda urbicula, quam Burrium Antoninus dixit, sedet ubi Brithin profluens Iscae commiscetur, Britannis hodie, transpositis literis, Brumbegie proBurenbegie, et Caer-Uske—Gyraldo Castrum Oscæ—et Anglis Usk, nunc solum Castri ampli ruinas ostendit, quod amænissimé intersidet inter Iscam flumen, et Oilwy rivulum ...”[363]Monuments Antiqua, Kennet’s Rom. Antiq., Tacitus, Vegetius de re Militari, Thomas, p. 141.[364]We do not read of any nuns having been “stolen from the nunnery” of Uske; but as the reader may be aware, poor Sir Osbert Giffard paid severely for his sacrilegious gallantry in stealing not one buttwonuns out of Wilton Abbey. He was ordered never to enter a nunnery more! never to be in the presence of a nun without special leave of his Diocesan. Nor was this enough: he was condemned to go thrice “naked in his shirt and breeches” to the parish church of W., though not, it is said, in presence of the nuns; to be each several time beaten with a rod, much to the comfort of his own soul, and the edification of the by-standers; and so, also, in Salisbury market, and in Shaftesbury church. He was condemned, moreover, to doff the insignia of knighthood, and don a coarse garment of russet, trimmed with lamb or sheep’s wool; to wear calf-skin on his nether extremities, and not to wear any shirt after flagellation. And all this ignominious treatment to be rigorously enforced, until he, the said Osbert, should have been three years in the Holy Land, or recalled by royal authority.—Brit. Monachism, iii. 161.County Hist.[365]The town is incorporated and governed by a portreeve who has concurrent jurisdiction with the county magistrates, a recorder, two bailiffs, and burgesses. The recorder appoints the burgesses, from among whom the portreeve is chosen at a court-leet, on a day previous to St. Luke’s day, or the 29th of October. The recorder is appointed by the lord of the borough. Four constables are chosen at an annual court-leet of the lord of the manor of Uske, who is also lord of the borough, although the latter is no part of the manor. The quarter-sessions are held alternately here and at Monmouth. The town-house, erected by the Duke of Beaufort, is a handsome building. There are monthly fairs, and the inhabitants, besides the japan ware already mentioned, are occupied in the salmon fishery and agriculture. A free grammar-school for boys was founded here in 1621, by Roger Edwards, with almshouses for twelve poor persons, and an exhibition at Oxford. These almshouses, forming three sides of a quadrangle, have been recently rebuilt. In the main street the houses are much scattered, and ornamented by intervening gardens, which give an air of healthy cheerfulness to the place. The Wesleyans, Independents, and Roman Catholics, have all their meeting-houses or chapels.—Parl. Gaz.[366]Or in the elegant lines of Ausonius:—“Nec te puniceo rutilantem viscere salmoTransierim, latæ cujus vaga verbera caudæGurgite de medio summas reseruntur in undas.”[367]See vol i. of this work, art. “Arundel.”[368]A.D. 1189. Hen. Rex ... dedit Maritagium Isabellæ, filiæ RicardiStrongbow. WillelmoMarescalloprimo, et sic factus est Comes totius Pembrochiæ, et dominus totius hæreditatis.—Will. Worcest.[369]See history of Tinterne Abbey,antep. 44.[370]See his character as already given in this work.[371]See the original, as above.—Tinterne, p. 46.[372]Gilbert Mareschal, a principal and most potent peere of the realm, proclaimed here a Disport of running on horseback with launces, which they calledTourneaments, under the name ofFortunie, making a scorne of the King’s authority, whereby these Tourneaments were inhibited. To which place, when a great number of the nobility and gentry were assembled, it fortuned that Gilbert himselfe, as he ranne at tilt, by occasion that his flinging horse brake bridle and cast him, was trampled under foote, and so pitifully died.—Chronicle.[373]Among his other feats “of spirit and prowess,” the following, recorded by the grave monk of St. Albans, is sufficiently “characteristic:”—About this time, William de Valence, residing at Hertfort Castle, as it is said, rode to the parke of Heathfeld, belonging to the Bishop of Ely, and there, hunting without any leave, went to the bishop’s manor-house; and there readily finding nothing to drink but ordinary beer, and, swearing and cursing the drink and those who made it, broke open the butlery doors. After all his company had drunk their fills of the best wines in the bishop’s cellars, he pulled the spigots out of the vessels, and let out the rest upon the floor; and then a servant of the house hearing the noise, and running to see what the matter was, they laughed him to scorn, and so departed.—Dugd.B. 774, Paris, 855.[374]This Earl of Pembroke fell at the battle of Bayonne, in June, 1296, being the 23d of Edw. I., and was buried in St. Edmond’s chapel, Westminster.[375]Scotticé,Peel, or castle.[376]Penbrock, Penbrok, Pembrok, or Pembroke: names of the same places and persons, all variously spelt in the original deeds.[377]These jousts and tournaments were used a long time, says the chronicle, and with such slaughter of gentlemen in all places, but in this England most of all—since that KingStephenbrought them in—that by divers decrees of the Church they were forbidden, upon paine that whosoever therein were slaine should want Christian buriall in church or churchyard: and hiere with us KingHenriethe Third, by advice of his sages, made an Act of Parliament, that their heires who transgressed in this kind should be disinherited. Howbeit, contrary to the said law, so good and wholesome, this naughty and wicked custome was practised a great while, and grew not quite out of use before the happie daies of KingeEdwardthe Third, [Matt. Paris, 1248.] In the present instance, the Earl was a youth of but seventeen; but inspired with the manly courage of his forefathers, adventured to tilt with Syr JohnSt. John, by an unlucky slip of whose lance young Hastings was run through the body, and suddenly died. He was a person of so noble disposition that, in bounty and courtesy, he exceeded most of his degree. But, adds the chronicle, his untimely death was then thought by many to be a judgment upon the family in regard that Aymer de Valence, his ancestor, was one of those who gave sentence of death upon Thomas, Earl of Lancaster; for it was observed, that after that judgment so given,none of the succeedingEarls ever saw his father, nor any father of them took delight in seeing his child![378]The reader may refer to our account of this transaction in the history of Raglan, in which, also, sketches of the Earls ofPembroke, of the house of Herbert, are given.[379]Hywel y Fwyall, a British chieftain, is described by the Welsh bards as having commanded a body of his countrymen, as a corps of reserve, at the battle of Cressy; and by his seasonable advance, and valorous incursion upon the French lines, to have materially added to the acceleration of victory.—Ow. Glendwr, 33.[380]The Plantagenets are at the plough; while the descendants of the knaves that served them are at the helm of public affairs.[381]See Speed, p. 465.[382]See the Drama of Richard III., Act V.[383]See also the Enumeration as given by Shakspeare.[384]Thomas’s “Glendwr,” 1822.[385]It is mentioned as a curious genealogical fact, that Cromwell was descended from Cadwgan, second son of Bleddyn-ap-Cynfyn, founder of the third royal tribe. The family name was anciently Williams; Morgan Williams, of Nantchurch, in Cardiganshire, married the sister of Thomas Cromwell, the minister Earl of Essex, and was succeeded by his son, Sir Richard Cromwell, of Hinchinbroke, in Huntingdonshire, who first assumed the name of Cromwell. He was father to Sir Henry Cromwell, the grandfather, by Robert, the second son of Oliver, the “Protector.” Yorke—Thomas’ Mem. of Owen Glendwr, 225.[386]Caer-Tyf—Castle or fort on the Taafe.—See Warner, p. 46.[387]Powel’s Hist. p. 111; also, Warner’s Tour, p. 47[388]Tanner’s Not. Monast.; Thomas’s Mems. of Glendower; Coxe’s Tour.[389]Excursions in Wales. 1851.[390]Its Welsh name isDynbych-y-Pyscoed,—pisciumcopia admodum celebre, ut Britannicé Tenby-Piscoid denominatur.—Gyrald.[391]Of this inundation, which swamped part of Holland, and sent a new colony to Wales, Drayton sings:—“When wrathful Heaven the clouds so liberally bestowed,The seas—then wanting room to lay their boist’rous load—Upon the Belgian coast their pampered stomachs cast,That peopled cities sank into the mighty waste.TheFlemingswere enforced to take them to their oars,To try the setting main to find out firmer shores.When, as this spacious Isle them entrance did allow,To plant the Belgian stock upon this goodly brow;These nations, that their tongues did naturally affect,Both generally forsook theBritishdialect.”
[290]August 18, 1660.
[290]August 18, 1660.
[291]See description of the moat, &c.,antep. 158.
[291]See description of the moat, &c.,antep. 158.
[292]Tinterne and its Vicinity, page 130.
[292]Tinterne and its Vicinity, page 130.
[293]Page 131.
[293]Page 131.
[294]Monmouth, Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, Salop, Wilts, Somerset, Devon, Brecon, Glamorgan, Caermarthen, Cardigan, and Radnor; together with the British Channel to some distance beyond the Holms. Near the latter is a Tower called “Kemey’s Folly.” Its founder, boasting to his father that the tower could be seen from thirteen counties, was answered—“I am sorry, my son, that so great an extent of country should be witness to thy consummate folly;” and from that day, we are told, the tower assumed the name which it still retains.
[294]Monmouth, Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, Salop, Wilts, Somerset, Devon, Brecon, Glamorgan, Caermarthen, Cardigan, and Radnor; together with the British Channel to some distance beyond the Holms. Near the latter is a Tower called “Kemey’s Folly.” Its founder, boasting to his father that the tower could be seen from thirteen counties, was answered—“I am sorry, my son, that so great an extent of country should be witness to thy consummate folly;” and from that day, we are told, the tower assumed the name which it still retains.
[295]Or, according to Mr. Thomas, 1720 feet.
[295]Or, according to Mr. Thomas, 1720 feet.
[296]“Thomas’s Raglan,” p. 155.
[296]“Thomas’s Raglan,” p. 155.
[297]A MS. plan, which has just been sent to the Editor from Raglan, in confirmation of the above, seems to complete the evidence which was hitherto wanting.
[297]A MS. plan, which has just been sent to the Editor from Raglan, in confirmation of the above, seems to complete the evidence which was hitherto wanting.
[298]One solitary attempt to imitate the jousts and tournaments of former days, was made a few years ago at the expense of the Earl of Eglinton; but “the burlesque was apparently too extravagant, if not too costly, for repetition.”
[298]One solitary attempt to imitate the jousts and tournaments of former days, was made a few years ago at the expense of the Earl of Eglinton; but “the burlesque was apparently too extravagant, if not too costly, for repetition.”
[299]In the bowling-green attached to the residence of a gentleman at Muswell Hill, Hornsey, the ancient national game is still kept up—ritu majorum.
[299]In the bowling-green attached to the residence of a gentleman at Muswell Hill, Hornsey, the ancient national game is still kept up—ritu majorum.
[300]Fosbroke, Nares, Strutt, Gage’s Hengrave Hall.—Encyclopædia of Antiq., vol. ii. p. 674.
[300]Fosbroke, Nares, Strutt, Gage’s Hengrave Hall.—Encyclopædia of Antiq., vol. ii. p. 674.
[301]See “Strutt’s Sports,” p. 97.
[301]See “Strutt’s Sports,” p. 97.
[302]“Fosbroke’s Gymnastics.” The late Sir S. R. Meyrick gives various kinds of jousts,i. e.where the combat is limited to two rivals.
[302]“Fosbroke’s Gymnastics.” The late Sir S. R. Meyrick gives various kinds of jousts,i. e.where the combat is limited to two rivals.
[303]Page 175 of this volume.
[303]Page 175 of this volume.
[304]The contributor of this anecdote is not sufficiently acquainted with the habits of birds as to pronounce that no bird builds its nest of white-thorn; but if such be really the case, that circumstance might surely have led the cavaliers to suspect that the prophecy had received some aid in its fulfilment from the worthy townsmen of Caernarvon. But the explanation given by the Marquess is, as usual, felicitously characteristic, and veiled in a politico-religious guise.
[304]The contributor of this anecdote is not sufficiently acquainted with the habits of birds as to pronounce that no bird builds its nest of white-thorn; but if such be really the case, that circumstance might surely have led the cavaliers to suspect that the prophecy had received some aid in its fulfilment from the worthy townsmen of Caernarvon. But the explanation given by the Marquess is, as usual, felicitously characteristic, and veiled in a politico-religious guise.
[305]Bayly, Apophthegm xix.
[305]Bayly, Apophthegm xix.
[306]The woodcut represents the old baronialkitchenwith its appendages, as described page 154.
[306]The woodcut represents the old baronialkitchenwith its appendages, as described page 154.
[307]See note, page 138.
[307]See note, page 138.
[308]As an author, he is known by a work relating to that curious monument of former ages, Stonehenge, which he pronounced to be a Roman temple, dedicated to Cœlus; an opinion, however, which antiquaries have decried as erroneous and absurd.—Biog.
[308]As an author, he is known by a work relating to that curious monument of former ages, Stonehenge, which he pronounced to be a Roman temple, dedicated to Cœlus; an opinion, however, which antiquaries have decried as erroneous and absurd.—Biog.
[309]See account of the King’s visit to Raglan, p. 163.
[309]See account of the King’s visit to Raglan, p. 163.
[310]He died in 1348.
[310]He died in 1348.
[311]The lordship of Grosmont was absorbed in the acquisitions of the house of Lancaster, and a court-baron is held for the district, called “the Hundred of the Three Castles”—Grosmont, Skenfreth, and White Castle, or Castle Gwyn.
[311]The lordship of Grosmont was absorbed in the acquisitions of the house of Lancaster, and a court-baron is held for the district, called “the Hundred of the Three Castles”—Grosmont, Skenfreth, and White Castle, or Castle Gwyn.
[312]1326.—See Hist. of Monmouth.
[312]1326.—See Hist. of Monmouth.
[313]1387.—Ibid.
[313]1387.—Ibid.
[314]Life of Henry V.
[314]Life of Henry V.
[315]In the “Shakspeare,” edited by the late poet Campbell, it is thought that the parts ofGloucesterandEdgarare taken from the story of the Paphlagonian King in Sir Philip Sydney’s “Arcadia.” There was also a play, entitled “The True Chronicle Historie of King Leare and his 3 Daughters,” entered at Stationers’ Hall in 1594, which kept possession of the stage several years, and must have been familiar to Shakspeare himself.
[315]In the “Shakspeare,” edited by the late poet Campbell, it is thought that the parts ofGloucesterandEdgarare taken from the story of the Paphlagonian King in Sir Philip Sydney’s “Arcadia.” There was also a play, entitled “The True Chronicle Historie of King Leare and his 3 Daughters,” entered at Stationers’ Hall in 1594, which kept possession of the stage several years, and must have been familiar to Shakspeare himself.
[316]The recent epic poem by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, Bart., entitled “King Arthur,” is one of the few poems of our own times that promises to descend to posterity. What Milton admired, and Dryden projected, as the subject of a national poem, Sir Edward has accomplished with that felicitous taste and ability which have impressed his name on the popular and classic literature of the day. Pope himself had at one period of his life resolved to complete, what Milton and Dryden had only planned—a heroic poem on the same subject.
[316]The recent epic poem by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, Bart., entitled “King Arthur,” is one of the few poems of our own times that promises to descend to posterity. What Milton admired, and Dryden projected, as the subject of a national poem, Sir Edward has accomplished with that felicitous taste and ability which have impressed his name on the popular and classic literature of the day. Pope himself had at one period of his life resolved to complete, what Milton and Dryden had only planned—a heroic poem on the same subject.
[317]Among the estates thus rejected was the ancient manor of Berkeley, in the Vale of Gloucester. “Nam cum eis aliquando tota provincia de Bergelay a Rege et Regina, gratis offeretur,” etc. etc.
[317]Among the estates thus rejected was the ancient manor of Berkeley, in the Vale of Gloucester. “Nam cum eis aliquando tota provincia de Bergelay a Rege et Regina, gratis offeretur,” etc. etc.
[318]Regina verò Matildis sanctitatis ignara quanta videlicet mentis constantia insaturabilem divitiarum fugeret ingluviem; cum aliquandorogare cœpit ut modis omnibus sineret eam manum suam in sinum ejus mittere, etc.
[318]Regina verò Matildis sanctitatis ignara quanta videlicet mentis constantia insaturabilem divitiarum fugeret ingluviem; cum aliquandorogare cœpit ut modis omnibus sineret eam manum suam in sinum ejus mittere, etc.
[319]The precise year of its foundation has never been ascertained; but there is no doubt that it was commenced after 1108, and completed before 1136, when the greater part of the brotherhood were removed to Hereford, and subsequently to New Llanthony, near Gloucester. We have the testimony of Giraldus Cambrensis that, in 1186, the Mother-Abbey had been long completed. He describes it as covered with lead, and not inelegantly constructed with a roof of stone.
[319]The precise year of its foundation has never been ascertained; but there is no doubt that it was commenced after 1108, and completed before 1136, when the greater part of the brotherhood were removed to Hereford, and subsequently to New Llanthony, near Gloucester. We have the testimony of Giraldus Cambrensis that, in 1186, the Mother-Abbey had been long completed. He describes it as covered with lead, and not inelegantly constructed with a roof of stone.
[320]Hist. Abbatiæ deLlanthony, in Bibl. Cotton, Sub. Effigie JuliiDXI.fol. 30. B.; also, Monasticon Angl. vol. iii. p. 58. Ed. 1673. It is too long for our purpose; but the article will be interspersed with extracts from it.
[320]Hist. Abbatiæ deLlanthony, in Bibl. Cotton, Sub. Effigie JuliiDXI.fol. 30. B.; also, Monasticon Angl. vol. iii. p. 58. Ed. 1673. It is too long for our purpose; but the article will be interspersed with extracts from it.
[321]Translated by the late Sir R. Colt Hoare, Bart., 1806.
[321]Translated by the late Sir R. Colt Hoare, Bart., 1806.
[322]The name of the place in Welsh, as he explains it, is Nanthodeni.Nantsignifies a running stream, from whence this place is still called by the inhabitants, Llandevi Nantodeni, or, the Church of St. David upon the river Hodeni. By the English, therefore, it is corruptly called Llanthoni; whereas it should either be called Nanthodeni, that is, the brook of the Hodeni, or Lanthodeni, the church upon the Hodeni.
[322]The name of the place in Welsh, as he explains it, is Nanthodeni.Nantsignifies a running stream, from whence this place is still called by the inhabitants, Llandevi Nantodeni, or, the Church of St. David upon the river Hodeni. By the English, therefore, it is corruptly called Llanthoni; whereas it should either be called Nanthodeni, that is, the brook of the Hodeni, or Lanthodeni, the church upon the Hodeni.
[323]This was before theNewAbbey had been thought of; or, in the original words, “Before the Daughter had existence; and I sincerely wish,” adds the devout historian, “that she had never been produced.”
[323]This was before theNewAbbey had been thought of; or, in the original words, “Before the Daughter had existence; and I sincerely wish,” adds the devout historian, “that she had never been produced.”
[324]Resembling in many respects—though in a less inhospitable region—the Augustine monks of “the Great St. Bernard,” and holding no intercourse with the world around them, unless by means of those pilgrims who resorted to their shrine, and spread abroad the fame of their sanctity.
[324]Resembling in many respects—though in a less inhospitable region—the Augustine monks of “the Great St. Bernard,” and holding no intercourse with the world around them, unless by means of those pilgrims who resorted to their shrine, and spread abroad the fame of their sanctity.
[325]Seneca’s Morals.
[325]Seneca’s Morals.
[326]This anecdote, somewhat differently told, we have already noticed in the sketch of Tinterne Abbey.
[326]This anecdote, somewhat differently told, we have already noticed in the sketch of Tinterne Abbey.
[327]This reminds us of a visit to a celebrated monastery in Tuscany, where the writer was received by one of the superior monks with great politeness and hospitality. In the course of the evening he mentioned the principal circumstances of his life—“court intrigue, dissipation, extravagance, and moral depravity; at last,” said he, “I became utterly disgusted with the life I had led, and flew for refuge to this sanctuary, where I have lived many years, and found, to my soul’s content, that there is no happiness in this life but in preparing for the next—pensare, pensare, sull’ éternità.”—Ed.
[327]This reminds us of a visit to a celebrated monastery in Tuscany, where the writer was received by one of the superior monks with great politeness and hospitality. In the course of the evening he mentioned the principal circumstances of his life—“court intrigue, dissipation, extravagance, and moral depravity; at last,” said he, “I became utterly disgusted with the life I had led, and flew for refuge to this sanctuary, where I have lived many years, and found, to my soul’s content, that there is no happiness in this life but in preparing for the next—pensare, pensare, sull’ éternità.”—Ed.
[328]Sir R. C. Hoare, quoting Giraldus.
[328]Sir R. C. Hoare, quoting Giraldus.
[329]Orig. Nova Marchia. Chr. New March?
[329]Orig. Nova Marchia. Chr. New March?
[330]See the account already given of the Clare family.
[330]See the account already given of the Clare family.
[331]In those times the Wye was considered the boundary between England and Wales.
[331]In those times the Wye was considered the boundary between England and Wales.
[332]Seeante, founders and benefactors of Tinterne Abbey.
[332]Seeante, founders and benefactors of Tinterne Abbey.
[333]Of the strict legal phraseology of this document, the following is a specimen:—Volo et firmiter præcipio quod CanoniciLanthoniæPrimæ, omnia tenementa sua in terra deEwias, tam laica quam ecclesiastica quæcumq: in præsenti habent vel in posterum, emptione, donatione, vel quocumq: alio titulo habituri sunt, bene et in pace, liberè et quietè teneant in omnibus locis et rebus ubicumque fuerint in terra deEwias, quieta de omnibus placitis et querelis, et auxiliis, etsumagiis, etcariagiis, et clausturis; et de pontium et castrorum ædificatione, et de conductu thesauri, et de omni operatione et lestagio et stallagio et summonitionibus, et de assisis, et superassisis; et de omnibus foris functis, quacumque occasione emerserint; et de assartis. Nullus verò de Forestariis nostris quicquam se intromittat de boscis Prioris et CanonicorumLanthoniæPrimæ; sed omnem potestatem et libertatem, quam ego et hæredes mei in boscis nostris habemus, vel habere poterimus, habeant prædicti Prior et Canonici in boscis suis, sint verò et homines et res ipsorum quieta de telonio, et ex omnibus exactionibus, et consuetudinibus in Nundinis, foris, et mercatis; et omnibus locis et rebusper totam terram deEwias. Habeant prædicti Prior et Canonici omnem justiciam deassaultuetmurdroet sanguinis effusione, et pacis infractione et thesauri inventione, et quicquid ad nostram pertinet potestatem.... Concedo quod habeant de hominibus suis et de tota possessione sua, quam habent vel habituri sunt, in terra deEwias, etc. etc. Concedo quod predictiPrioret Canonici omnes libertates prædictas et liberas consuetudines habeant adeo liberè et quietè, pacificè et integrè sicut ego et antecessores mei, ipsius libertatis unquam melius, plenius, et liberiùs habuimus. Concedo etiam quod habeant omnes libertates quas ego et successores mei per Regem Angliæ, vel alium, habere poterimus in terra deEwias, etc. etc.—Datum per nostrum manum apudLangley, Anno regni nostri decimo octavo.
[333]Of the strict legal phraseology of this document, the following is a specimen:—Volo et firmiter præcipio quod CanoniciLanthoniæPrimæ, omnia tenementa sua in terra deEwias, tam laica quam ecclesiastica quæcumq: in præsenti habent vel in posterum, emptione, donatione, vel quocumq: alio titulo habituri sunt, bene et in pace, liberè et quietè teneant in omnibus locis et rebus ubicumque fuerint in terra deEwias, quieta de omnibus placitis et querelis, et auxiliis, etsumagiis, etcariagiis, et clausturis; et de pontium et castrorum ædificatione, et de conductu thesauri, et de omni operatione et lestagio et stallagio et summonitionibus, et de assisis, et superassisis; et de omnibus foris functis, quacumque occasione emerserint; et de assartis. Nullus verò de Forestariis nostris quicquam se intromittat de boscis Prioris et CanonicorumLanthoniæPrimæ; sed omnem potestatem et libertatem, quam ego et hæredes mei in boscis nostris habemus, vel habere poterimus, habeant prædicti Prior et Canonici in boscis suis, sint verò et homines et res ipsorum quieta de telonio, et ex omnibus exactionibus, et consuetudinibus in Nundinis, foris, et mercatis; et omnibus locis et rebusper totam terram deEwias. Habeant prædicti Prior et Canonici omnem justiciam deassaultuetmurdroet sanguinis effusione, et pacis infractione et thesauri inventione, et quicquid ad nostram pertinet potestatem.... Concedo quod habeant de hominibus suis et de tota possessione sua, quam habent vel habituri sunt, in terra deEwias, etc. etc. Concedo quod predictiPrioret Canonici omnes libertates prædictas et liberas consuetudines habeant adeo liberè et quietè, pacificè et integrè sicut ego et antecessores mei, ipsius libertatis unquam melius, plenius, et liberiùs habuimus. Concedo etiam quod habeant omnes libertates quas ego et successores mei per Regem Angliæ, vel alium, habere poterimus in terra deEwias, etc. etc.—Datum per nostrum manum apudLangley, Anno regni nostri decimo octavo.
[334]These Canons were to live in common; to have but one table, one purse, one dormitory. But as many of them had begun to abate somewhat of the strictness of their first rules, a new set sprang up that pretended to reform upon the rest; and these, from their more pointed observance of the vow, were styledRegular Canons; whereas those who had fallen from the original purity of the Order were called, by way of reproach,Secular Canons. In this manner the monks of New Llanthony, who affected a more exemplary life, called themselves Regulars—which they did not permit those of the parent Abbey, in Wales, to assume, but addressed them only as Canons or Seculars. It was by this distinction—“I am holier than thou”—that they endeavoured to justify their “unfilial conduct,” and promote their own ascendancy, in their connection with Old Llanthony. [But in theChartersthey are often calledRegulars.]It seems uncertain at what precise period the title or designation of Canons was assumed in the church; but the first Regulars we read of were those employed by Pope Alexander II., in his mission to St. John Lateran. But so irregular, says a historian, were those Regulars, and so addicted to crimes, that even Pope Boniface VIII. was forced to drive them away, and placed Secular Canons in their room.They were introduced into England about the middle of the seventh century.
[334]These Canons were to live in common; to have but one table, one purse, one dormitory. But as many of them had begun to abate somewhat of the strictness of their first rules, a new set sprang up that pretended to reform upon the rest; and these, from their more pointed observance of the vow, were styledRegular Canons; whereas those who had fallen from the original purity of the Order were called, by way of reproach,Secular Canons. In this manner the monks of New Llanthony, who affected a more exemplary life, called themselves Regulars—which they did not permit those of the parent Abbey, in Wales, to assume, but addressed them only as Canons or Seculars. It was by this distinction—“I am holier than thou”—that they endeavoured to justify their “unfilial conduct,” and promote their own ascendancy, in their connection with Old Llanthony. [But in theChartersthey are often calledRegulars.]
It seems uncertain at what precise period the title or designation of Canons was assumed in the church; but the first Regulars we read of were those employed by Pope Alexander II., in his mission to St. John Lateran. But so irregular, says a historian, were those Regulars, and so addicted to crimes, that even Pope Boniface VIII. was forced to drive them away, and placed Secular Canons in their room.
They were introduced into England about the middle of the seventh century.
[335]The paper is entitled, “Licentia per Regem Edwardum Quartum, pro unione Prioratûs deLlanthonyPrima, in Wallia, Prioratui deLanthonyjuxta Gloucestriam.”
[335]The paper is entitled, “Licentia per Regem Edwardum Quartum, pro unione Prioratûs deLlanthonyPrima, in Wallia, Prioratui deLanthonyjuxta Gloucestriam.”
[336]In the Original, the contrast between the two monasteries, in their position and outward circumstances, is thus picturesquely and forcibly drawn. Speaking of the introduction of the old Canons to their new cells on the Severn, he says—Nam valdè dissimiliter sibi respondere experti sunt,urbemGloucestriæ et montemHatyre[Hatterilhills], et fluviumSabrinæ, et aquamHodanie;Anglos, ditissimos et Wallenses pauperrimos: Illic, agros fertiles; hîc saltus steriles, unde illorum copia blandientæ illecti; istorum inopia urgente pertæsi locum istum, nec hominum quorum libet nec dum religiosorum inhabitatione dignum censuerunt.The next is quite in keeping:—Audivi quidem dici et ex parte credo, quosdam linguæ levitate (et utinam non odii livore) desiderâsse ut quilibet hujus Ecclesiæ lapislepusforet: alios autem, quod in pace illorum dixerim, ore sacrilego impetisse ut Ecclesia cum omnibus officinis abyssi voragine absorberetur! Omnes veròEcclesiæhujus redditus pro suo arbitrio expenderunt; illic excelsa et decentia officinarum ædificia fabricantes; hìc verò fabricata situ et vetustate deferentes.Et quoniam eis indignissimum videbatur ut locus [old Llanthony] tam antiqua religione sacer et tam amplis possessionibus ditatus, omninò virorum religiosorum residentiâ destitueretur, destinare solebant genes debiles, et abjectiores, qui nec sibi nec aliis multum prodesse valebant, qui non immeritò cumApostolodicere poterant:tanquam purgamenta fratrum facti sumus omnium paripsima usque adhuc.—Pri. de Lanth. ord. S. Aug.
[336]In the Original, the contrast between the two monasteries, in their position and outward circumstances, is thus picturesquely and forcibly drawn. Speaking of the introduction of the old Canons to their new cells on the Severn, he says—Nam valdè dissimiliter sibi respondere experti sunt,urbemGloucestriæ et montemHatyre[Hatterilhills], et fluviumSabrinæ, et aquamHodanie;Anglos, ditissimos et Wallenses pauperrimos: Illic, agros fertiles; hîc saltus steriles, unde illorum copia blandientæ illecti; istorum inopia urgente pertæsi locum istum, nec hominum quorum libet nec dum religiosorum inhabitatione dignum censuerunt.
The next is quite in keeping:—
Audivi quidem dici et ex parte credo, quosdam linguæ levitate (et utinam non odii livore) desiderâsse ut quilibet hujus Ecclesiæ lapislepusforet: alios autem, quod in pace illorum dixerim, ore sacrilego impetisse ut Ecclesia cum omnibus officinis abyssi voragine absorberetur! Omnes veròEcclesiæhujus redditus pro suo arbitrio expenderunt; illic excelsa et decentia officinarum ædificia fabricantes; hìc verò fabricata situ et vetustate deferentes.
Et quoniam eis indignissimum videbatur ut locus [old Llanthony] tam antiqua religione sacer et tam amplis possessionibus ditatus, omninò virorum religiosorum residentiâ destitueretur, destinare solebant genes debiles, et abjectiores, qui nec sibi nec aliis multum prodesse valebant, qui non immeritò cumApostolodicere poterant:tanquam purgamenta fratrum facti sumus omnium paripsima usque adhuc.—Pri. de Lanth. ord. S. Aug.
[337]In old writings it is spelt Hodenay, Hondy, Hodenie, &c.
[337]In old writings it is spelt Hodenay, Hondy, Hodenie, &c.
[338]We have not introduced the original Welsh; but the reader may see the whole in the “Historie ofCambria, now called Wales, a part of the most famous Yland of Brytane, byDavid Powel, Doctor in Divinitie, c̄ privilegio. 1584.”
[338]We have not introduced the original Welsh; but the reader may see the whole in the “Historie ofCambria, now called Wales, a part of the most famous Yland of Brytane, byDavid Powel, Doctor in Divinitie, c̄ privilegio. 1584.”
[339]State of Europe during the Middle Ages.—Hallam.
[339]State of Europe during the Middle Ages.—Hallam.
[340]Ibid.
[340]Ibid.
[341]Hallam’s Middle Ages.
[341]Hallam’s Middle Ages.
[342]Whewel.
[342]Whewel.
[343]Sir Thomas More said to his lady that the consideration of the time—for it was Lent—should restrayne her from so scolding her servants. “Tush, tush, my lord,” said she; “Lookye! here is one step to heavenward,”—shewing him a frier’s girdle. “Alas! I fear me,” said he, “thisstepwill not bring you up one step higher.”—Camd. Remains, quoted Brit. Monach. p. 173.
[343]Sir Thomas More said to his lady that the consideration of the time—for it was Lent—should restrayne her from so scolding her servants. “Tush, tush, my lord,” said she; “Lookye! here is one step to heavenward,”—shewing him a frier’s girdle. “Alas! I fear me,” said he, “thisstepwill not bring you up one step higher.”—Camd. Remains, quoted Brit. Monach. p. 173.
[344]Dugdale gives it at £71. 3s.4d.; Speed at £112. 1s.5d.At the Dissolution, John Ambrose was Prior, and with John Nealand and three other Canons subscribed to the Supremacy in 1534.
[344]Dugdale gives it at £71. 3s.4d.; Speed at £112. 1s.5d.At the Dissolution, John Ambrose was Prior, and with John Nealand and three other Canons subscribed to the Supremacy in 1534.
[345]See the notice of Tinterne Abbey.
[345]See the notice of Tinterne Abbey.
[346]The north aisle is occupied by a wash-house and skittle-ground. The cloisters, dormitories, and other offices are used for the reception of visitors, under the direction of a resident steward. Latterly, the ruins appear to have suffered little from time or desecration. The western front is very perfect and beautiful, but the tracery of the great window is obliterated. The owner of the property is Walter Savage Landor, Esq., the poet.—Archæol. Journ.
[346]The north aisle is occupied by a wash-house and skittle-ground. The cloisters, dormitories, and other offices are used for the reception of visitors, under the direction of a resident steward. Latterly, the ruins appear to have suffered little from time or desecration. The western front is very perfect and beautiful, but the tracery of the great window is obliterated. The owner of the property is Walter Savage Landor, Esq., the poet.—Archæol. Journ.
[347]Edition1806; but serious dilapidations have taken place since then, and even within three or four years. Great credit is due to the house of Beaufort for the pains taken in the conservation of the religious houses and castles that have fallen to its possession and custody; and it is very gratifying to know that the example is followed by the present Proprietor of Llanthony.
[347]Edition1806; but serious dilapidations have taken place since then, and even within three or four years. Great credit is due to the house of Beaufort for the pains taken in the conservation of the religious houses and castles that have fallen to its possession and custody; and it is very gratifying to know that the example is followed by the present Proprietor of Llanthony.
[348]London: Pickering.
[348]London: Pickering.
[349]Now, in Walter de Troucestre’s Chron., we read, “A.D.1301, on the first day of April, being Easter-eve, the Church of Llanthony, near Gloucester, was entirely burnt to the bare walls, together with itsfourbelfries, nor did any bell remain that was not either broken or melted.”—Roberts.
[349]Now, in Walter de Troucestre’s Chron., we read, “A.D.1301, on the first day of April, being Easter-eve, the Church of Llanthony, near Gloucester, was entirely burnt to the bare walls, together with itsfourbelfries, nor did any bell remain that was not either broken or melted.”—Roberts.
[350]Supposed by some to have been the Sacristy or Vestiary.—See preceding pages.
[350]Supposed by some to have been the Sacristy or Vestiary.—See preceding pages.
[351]See Tinterne Abbey: Descrip. of Dole.
[351]See Tinterne Abbey: Descrip. of Dole.
[352]Monasticon Anglicanum, vol. iii. Orat. August.
[352]Monasticon Anglicanum, vol. iii. Orat. August.
[353]TheRules—of which the above are but a meagre and imperfect outline—are expressed with great beauty and simplicity in the original, to which the reader is again referred. It is worth mentioning that the celebrated Thomas à Kempis was a monk of this Order; and, perhaps, no devotional work has appeared in so many languages, or run through so many editions, as his “De Imitatione Christi.”
[353]TheRules—of which the above are but a meagre and imperfect outline—are expressed with great beauty and simplicity in the original, to which the reader is again referred. It is worth mentioning that the celebrated Thomas à Kempis was a monk of this Order; and, perhaps, no devotional work has appeared in so many languages, or run through so many editions, as his “De Imitatione Christi.”
[354]The tracts written, and supposed to be written, by him, were published by Bertrand Tissier in 1662.
[354]The tracts written, and supposed to be written, by him, were published by Bertrand Tissier in 1662.
[355]Vol. iii. page 66.
[355]Vol. iii. page 66.
[356]Conveyances of smoke by holes in the walls are of very ancient date in English castles; but the earliest certain instance of chimneys, properly so called, is understood to occur in some castles abroad, about the year 1347.
[356]Conveyances of smoke by holes in the walls are of very ancient date in English castles; but the earliest certain instance of chimneys, properly so called, is understood to occur in some castles abroad, about the year 1347.
[357]See Raglan Castle, description and woodcut,ante.
[357]See Raglan Castle, description and woodcut,ante.
[358]The Castle of Grosmont, by a grant of King John, belonged to the family of Breoses, but afterwards to Hubert de Burgh, who, to “calm a court tempest,” resigned it with three others to Edward III. See description of the Castle in this work.
[358]The Castle of Grosmont, by a grant of King John, belonged to the family of Breoses, but afterwards to Hubert de Burgh, who, to “calm a court tempest,” resigned it with three others to Edward III. See description of the Castle in this work.
[359]Thomas’s Glendower, 132
[359]Thomas’s Glendower, 132
[360]Memoirs of Owen Glendower, 1822.
[360]Memoirs of Owen Glendower, 1822.
[361]See the preceding account of Raglan Castle.
[361]See the preceding account of Raglan Castle.
[362]“Secunda urbicula, quam Burrium Antoninus dixit, sedet ubi Brithin profluens Iscae commiscetur, Britannis hodie, transpositis literis, Brumbegie proBurenbegie, et Caer-Uske—Gyraldo Castrum Oscæ—et Anglis Usk, nunc solum Castri ampli ruinas ostendit, quod amænissimé intersidet inter Iscam flumen, et Oilwy rivulum ...”
[362]“Secunda urbicula, quam Burrium Antoninus dixit, sedet ubi Brithin profluens Iscae commiscetur, Britannis hodie, transpositis literis, Brumbegie proBurenbegie, et Caer-Uske—Gyraldo Castrum Oscæ—et Anglis Usk, nunc solum Castri ampli ruinas ostendit, quod amænissimé intersidet inter Iscam flumen, et Oilwy rivulum ...”
[363]Monuments Antiqua, Kennet’s Rom. Antiq., Tacitus, Vegetius de re Militari, Thomas, p. 141.
[363]Monuments Antiqua, Kennet’s Rom. Antiq., Tacitus, Vegetius de re Militari, Thomas, p. 141.
[364]We do not read of any nuns having been “stolen from the nunnery” of Uske; but as the reader may be aware, poor Sir Osbert Giffard paid severely for his sacrilegious gallantry in stealing not one buttwonuns out of Wilton Abbey. He was ordered never to enter a nunnery more! never to be in the presence of a nun without special leave of his Diocesan. Nor was this enough: he was condemned to go thrice “naked in his shirt and breeches” to the parish church of W., though not, it is said, in presence of the nuns; to be each several time beaten with a rod, much to the comfort of his own soul, and the edification of the by-standers; and so, also, in Salisbury market, and in Shaftesbury church. He was condemned, moreover, to doff the insignia of knighthood, and don a coarse garment of russet, trimmed with lamb or sheep’s wool; to wear calf-skin on his nether extremities, and not to wear any shirt after flagellation. And all this ignominious treatment to be rigorously enforced, until he, the said Osbert, should have been three years in the Holy Land, or recalled by royal authority.—Brit. Monachism, iii. 161.County Hist.
[364]We do not read of any nuns having been “stolen from the nunnery” of Uske; but as the reader may be aware, poor Sir Osbert Giffard paid severely for his sacrilegious gallantry in stealing not one buttwonuns out of Wilton Abbey. He was ordered never to enter a nunnery more! never to be in the presence of a nun without special leave of his Diocesan. Nor was this enough: he was condemned to go thrice “naked in his shirt and breeches” to the parish church of W., though not, it is said, in presence of the nuns; to be each several time beaten with a rod, much to the comfort of his own soul, and the edification of the by-standers; and so, also, in Salisbury market, and in Shaftesbury church. He was condemned, moreover, to doff the insignia of knighthood, and don a coarse garment of russet, trimmed with lamb or sheep’s wool; to wear calf-skin on his nether extremities, and not to wear any shirt after flagellation. And all this ignominious treatment to be rigorously enforced, until he, the said Osbert, should have been three years in the Holy Land, or recalled by royal authority.—Brit. Monachism, iii. 161.County Hist.
[365]The town is incorporated and governed by a portreeve who has concurrent jurisdiction with the county magistrates, a recorder, two bailiffs, and burgesses. The recorder appoints the burgesses, from among whom the portreeve is chosen at a court-leet, on a day previous to St. Luke’s day, or the 29th of October. The recorder is appointed by the lord of the borough. Four constables are chosen at an annual court-leet of the lord of the manor of Uske, who is also lord of the borough, although the latter is no part of the manor. The quarter-sessions are held alternately here and at Monmouth. The town-house, erected by the Duke of Beaufort, is a handsome building. There are monthly fairs, and the inhabitants, besides the japan ware already mentioned, are occupied in the salmon fishery and agriculture. A free grammar-school for boys was founded here in 1621, by Roger Edwards, with almshouses for twelve poor persons, and an exhibition at Oxford. These almshouses, forming three sides of a quadrangle, have been recently rebuilt. In the main street the houses are much scattered, and ornamented by intervening gardens, which give an air of healthy cheerfulness to the place. The Wesleyans, Independents, and Roman Catholics, have all their meeting-houses or chapels.—Parl. Gaz.
[365]The town is incorporated and governed by a portreeve who has concurrent jurisdiction with the county magistrates, a recorder, two bailiffs, and burgesses. The recorder appoints the burgesses, from among whom the portreeve is chosen at a court-leet, on a day previous to St. Luke’s day, or the 29th of October. The recorder is appointed by the lord of the borough. Four constables are chosen at an annual court-leet of the lord of the manor of Uske, who is also lord of the borough, although the latter is no part of the manor. The quarter-sessions are held alternately here and at Monmouth. The town-house, erected by the Duke of Beaufort, is a handsome building. There are monthly fairs, and the inhabitants, besides the japan ware already mentioned, are occupied in the salmon fishery and agriculture. A free grammar-school for boys was founded here in 1621, by Roger Edwards, with almshouses for twelve poor persons, and an exhibition at Oxford. These almshouses, forming three sides of a quadrangle, have been recently rebuilt. In the main street the houses are much scattered, and ornamented by intervening gardens, which give an air of healthy cheerfulness to the place. The Wesleyans, Independents, and Roman Catholics, have all their meeting-houses or chapels.—Parl. Gaz.
[366]Or in the elegant lines of Ausonius:—“Nec te puniceo rutilantem viscere salmoTransierim, latæ cujus vaga verbera caudæGurgite de medio summas reseruntur in undas.”
[366]Or in the elegant lines of Ausonius:—
“Nec te puniceo rutilantem viscere salmoTransierim, latæ cujus vaga verbera caudæGurgite de medio summas reseruntur in undas.”
“Nec te puniceo rutilantem viscere salmoTransierim, latæ cujus vaga verbera caudæGurgite de medio summas reseruntur in undas.”
“Nec te puniceo rutilantem viscere salmoTransierim, latæ cujus vaga verbera caudæGurgite de medio summas reseruntur in undas.”
[367]See vol i. of this work, art. “Arundel.”
[367]See vol i. of this work, art. “Arundel.”
[368]A.D. 1189. Hen. Rex ... dedit Maritagium Isabellæ, filiæ RicardiStrongbow. WillelmoMarescalloprimo, et sic factus est Comes totius Pembrochiæ, et dominus totius hæreditatis.—Will. Worcest.
[368]A.D. 1189. Hen. Rex ... dedit Maritagium Isabellæ, filiæ RicardiStrongbow. WillelmoMarescalloprimo, et sic factus est Comes totius Pembrochiæ, et dominus totius hæreditatis.—Will. Worcest.
[369]See history of Tinterne Abbey,antep. 44.
[369]See history of Tinterne Abbey,antep. 44.
[370]See his character as already given in this work.
[370]See his character as already given in this work.
[371]See the original, as above.—Tinterne, p. 46.
[371]See the original, as above.—Tinterne, p. 46.
[372]Gilbert Mareschal, a principal and most potent peere of the realm, proclaimed here a Disport of running on horseback with launces, which they calledTourneaments, under the name ofFortunie, making a scorne of the King’s authority, whereby these Tourneaments were inhibited. To which place, when a great number of the nobility and gentry were assembled, it fortuned that Gilbert himselfe, as he ranne at tilt, by occasion that his flinging horse brake bridle and cast him, was trampled under foote, and so pitifully died.—Chronicle.
[372]Gilbert Mareschal, a principal and most potent peere of the realm, proclaimed here a Disport of running on horseback with launces, which they calledTourneaments, under the name ofFortunie, making a scorne of the King’s authority, whereby these Tourneaments were inhibited. To which place, when a great number of the nobility and gentry were assembled, it fortuned that Gilbert himselfe, as he ranne at tilt, by occasion that his flinging horse brake bridle and cast him, was trampled under foote, and so pitifully died.—Chronicle.
[373]Among his other feats “of spirit and prowess,” the following, recorded by the grave monk of St. Albans, is sufficiently “characteristic:”—About this time, William de Valence, residing at Hertfort Castle, as it is said, rode to the parke of Heathfeld, belonging to the Bishop of Ely, and there, hunting without any leave, went to the bishop’s manor-house; and there readily finding nothing to drink but ordinary beer, and, swearing and cursing the drink and those who made it, broke open the butlery doors. After all his company had drunk their fills of the best wines in the bishop’s cellars, he pulled the spigots out of the vessels, and let out the rest upon the floor; and then a servant of the house hearing the noise, and running to see what the matter was, they laughed him to scorn, and so departed.—Dugd.B. 774, Paris, 855.
[373]Among his other feats “of spirit and prowess,” the following, recorded by the grave monk of St. Albans, is sufficiently “characteristic:”—About this time, William de Valence, residing at Hertfort Castle, as it is said, rode to the parke of Heathfeld, belonging to the Bishop of Ely, and there, hunting without any leave, went to the bishop’s manor-house; and there readily finding nothing to drink but ordinary beer, and, swearing and cursing the drink and those who made it, broke open the butlery doors. After all his company had drunk their fills of the best wines in the bishop’s cellars, he pulled the spigots out of the vessels, and let out the rest upon the floor; and then a servant of the house hearing the noise, and running to see what the matter was, they laughed him to scorn, and so departed.—Dugd.B. 774, Paris, 855.
[374]This Earl of Pembroke fell at the battle of Bayonne, in June, 1296, being the 23d of Edw. I., and was buried in St. Edmond’s chapel, Westminster.
[374]This Earl of Pembroke fell at the battle of Bayonne, in June, 1296, being the 23d of Edw. I., and was buried in St. Edmond’s chapel, Westminster.
[375]Scotticé,Peel, or castle.
[375]Scotticé,Peel, or castle.
[376]Penbrock, Penbrok, Pembrok, or Pembroke: names of the same places and persons, all variously spelt in the original deeds.
[376]Penbrock, Penbrok, Pembrok, or Pembroke: names of the same places and persons, all variously spelt in the original deeds.
[377]These jousts and tournaments were used a long time, says the chronicle, and with such slaughter of gentlemen in all places, but in this England most of all—since that KingStephenbrought them in—that by divers decrees of the Church they were forbidden, upon paine that whosoever therein were slaine should want Christian buriall in church or churchyard: and hiere with us KingHenriethe Third, by advice of his sages, made an Act of Parliament, that their heires who transgressed in this kind should be disinherited. Howbeit, contrary to the said law, so good and wholesome, this naughty and wicked custome was practised a great while, and grew not quite out of use before the happie daies of KingeEdwardthe Third, [Matt. Paris, 1248.] In the present instance, the Earl was a youth of but seventeen; but inspired with the manly courage of his forefathers, adventured to tilt with Syr JohnSt. John, by an unlucky slip of whose lance young Hastings was run through the body, and suddenly died. He was a person of so noble disposition that, in bounty and courtesy, he exceeded most of his degree. But, adds the chronicle, his untimely death was then thought by many to be a judgment upon the family in regard that Aymer de Valence, his ancestor, was one of those who gave sentence of death upon Thomas, Earl of Lancaster; for it was observed, that after that judgment so given,none of the succeedingEarls ever saw his father, nor any father of them took delight in seeing his child!
[377]These jousts and tournaments were used a long time, says the chronicle, and with such slaughter of gentlemen in all places, but in this England most of all—since that KingStephenbrought them in—that by divers decrees of the Church they were forbidden, upon paine that whosoever therein were slaine should want Christian buriall in church or churchyard: and hiere with us KingHenriethe Third, by advice of his sages, made an Act of Parliament, that their heires who transgressed in this kind should be disinherited. Howbeit, contrary to the said law, so good and wholesome, this naughty and wicked custome was practised a great while, and grew not quite out of use before the happie daies of KingeEdwardthe Third, [Matt. Paris, 1248.] In the present instance, the Earl was a youth of but seventeen; but inspired with the manly courage of his forefathers, adventured to tilt with Syr JohnSt. John, by an unlucky slip of whose lance young Hastings was run through the body, and suddenly died. He was a person of so noble disposition that, in bounty and courtesy, he exceeded most of his degree. But, adds the chronicle, his untimely death was then thought by many to be a judgment upon the family in regard that Aymer de Valence, his ancestor, was one of those who gave sentence of death upon Thomas, Earl of Lancaster; for it was observed, that after that judgment so given,none of the succeedingEarls ever saw his father, nor any father of them took delight in seeing his child!
[378]The reader may refer to our account of this transaction in the history of Raglan, in which, also, sketches of the Earls ofPembroke, of the house of Herbert, are given.
[378]The reader may refer to our account of this transaction in the history of Raglan, in which, also, sketches of the Earls ofPembroke, of the house of Herbert, are given.
[379]Hywel y Fwyall, a British chieftain, is described by the Welsh bards as having commanded a body of his countrymen, as a corps of reserve, at the battle of Cressy; and by his seasonable advance, and valorous incursion upon the French lines, to have materially added to the acceleration of victory.—Ow. Glendwr, 33.
[379]Hywel y Fwyall, a British chieftain, is described by the Welsh bards as having commanded a body of his countrymen, as a corps of reserve, at the battle of Cressy; and by his seasonable advance, and valorous incursion upon the French lines, to have materially added to the acceleration of victory.—Ow. Glendwr, 33.
[380]The Plantagenets are at the plough; while the descendants of the knaves that served them are at the helm of public affairs.
[380]The Plantagenets are at the plough; while the descendants of the knaves that served them are at the helm of public affairs.
[381]See Speed, p. 465.
[381]See Speed, p. 465.
[382]See the Drama of Richard III., Act V.
[382]See the Drama of Richard III., Act V.
[383]See also the Enumeration as given by Shakspeare.
[383]See also the Enumeration as given by Shakspeare.
[384]Thomas’s “Glendwr,” 1822.
[384]Thomas’s “Glendwr,” 1822.
[385]It is mentioned as a curious genealogical fact, that Cromwell was descended from Cadwgan, second son of Bleddyn-ap-Cynfyn, founder of the third royal tribe. The family name was anciently Williams; Morgan Williams, of Nantchurch, in Cardiganshire, married the sister of Thomas Cromwell, the minister Earl of Essex, and was succeeded by his son, Sir Richard Cromwell, of Hinchinbroke, in Huntingdonshire, who first assumed the name of Cromwell. He was father to Sir Henry Cromwell, the grandfather, by Robert, the second son of Oliver, the “Protector.” Yorke—Thomas’ Mem. of Owen Glendwr, 225.
[385]It is mentioned as a curious genealogical fact, that Cromwell was descended from Cadwgan, second son of Bleddyn-ap-Cynfyn, founder of the third royal tribe. The family name was anciently Williams; Morgan Williams, of Nantchurch, in Cardiganshire, married the sister of Thomas Cromwell, the minister Earl of Essex, and was succeeded by his son, Sir Richard Cromwell, of Hinchinbroke, in Huntingdonshire, who first assumed the name of Cromwell. He was father to Sir Henry Cromwell, the grandfather, by Robert, the second son of Oliver, the “Protector.” Yorke—Thomas’ Mem. of Owen Glendwr, 225.
[386]Caer-Tyf—Castle or fort on the Taafe.—See Warner, p. 46.
[386]Caer-Tyf—Castle or fort on the Taafe.—See Warner, p. 46.
[387]Powel’s Hist. p. 111; also, Warner’s Tour, p. 47
[387]Powel’s Hist. p. 111; also, Warner’s Tour, p. 47
[388]Tanner’s Not. Monast.; Thomas’s Mems. of Glendower; Coxe’s Tour.
[388]Tanner’s Not. Monast.; Thomas’s Mems. of Glendower; Coxe’s Tour.
[389]Excursions in Wales. 1851.
[389]Excursions in Wales. 1851.
[390]Its Welsh name isDynbych-y-Pyscoed,—pisciumcopia admodum celebre, ut Britannicé Tenby-Piscoid denominatur.—Gyrald.
[390]Its Welsh name isDynbych-y-Pyscoed,—pisciumcopia admodum celebre, ut Britannicé Tenby-Piscoid denominatur.—Gyrald.
[391]Of this inundation, which swamped part of Holland, and sent a new colony to Wales, Drayton sings:—“When wrathful Heaven the clouds so liberally bestowed,The seas—then wanting room to lay their boist’rous load—Upon the Belgian coast their pampered stomachs cast,That peopled cities sank into the mighty waste.TheFlemingswere enforced to take them to their oars,To try the setting main to find out firmer shores.When, as this spacious Isle them entrance did allow,To plant the Belgian stock upon this goodly brow;These nations, that their tongues did naturally affect,Both generally forsook theBritishdialect.”
[391]Of this inundation, which swamped part of Holland, and sent a new colony to Wales, Drayton sings:—
“When wrathful Heaven the clouds so liberally bestowed,The seas—then wanting room to lay their boist’rous load—Upon the Belgian coast their pampered stomachs cast,That peopled cities sank into the mighty waste.TheFlemingswere enforced to take them to their oars,To try the setting main to find out firmer shores.When, as this spacious Isle them entrance did allow,To plant the Belgian stock upon this goodly brow;These nations, that their tongues did naturally affect,Both generally forsook theBritishdialect.”
“When wrathful Heaven the clouds so liberally bestowed,The seas—then wanting room to lay their boist’rous load—Upon the Belgian coast their pampered stomachs cast,That peopled cities sank into the mighty waste.TheFlemingswere enforced to take them to their oars,To try the setting main to find out firmer shores.When, as this spacious Isle them entrance did allow,To plant the Belgian stock upon this goodly brow;These nations, that their tongues did naturally affect,Both generally forsook theBritishdialect.”
“When wrathful Heaven the clouds so liberally bestowed,The seas—then wanting room to lay their boist’rous load—Upon the Belgian coast their pampered stomachs cast,That peopled cities sank into the mighty waste.TheFlemingswere enforced to take them to their oars,To try the setting main to find out firmer shores.When, as this spacious Isle them entrance did allow,To plant the Belgian stock upon this goodly brow;These nations, that their tongues did naturally affect,Both generally forsook theBritishdialect.”