"

\- n '-'
When Friars, Monks, and Priests of former days
Apocrypha and Scripture turn'd to Plays,
The Festivals of Fools and Asses kept,
Obey'd Boy-Bishops, and to crosses crept,
They made the mumming Church the People's rod,
And held the grinning Bauble for a God.
 DESCRIBED,
ESPECIALLY THB

FOUNDED Oy

APOCRYPHAL NEW TESTAMENT STORY,

EXTANT AMONG THE UNPCBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS IN THE

BRITISH MUSEUM;
INCLUDING NOTICES OF

ECCLESIASTICAL SHOWS,
THE FESTIVALS OF

.FOOLS AND ASSES THE ENGLISH BOY-BTSHOP

THE DESCENT INTO HELL THE LORD MAYOR'S SHOW
THE GUILDHALL GIANTS CHRISTMAS CAROLS, &c.

BY WILLIAM HONE.
WITH ENGRAVINGS ON COPPER AND WOOD.

"Is it possible the ppells of Apocrypha should juggle men info such
strange Myiteriet \" Shakspeare.

LONDON :

PRINTED FOR WILLIAM HONE,

45, LUDGATE HILL.
 CONTENTS.

Page.
I. The Birth of Mary 13
II. Mary's Education in the Temple, and being served
by Angels 20
III. The Miraculous Espousal of Joseph and Mary . . 27
IV. A Council of the Trinity and the Incarnation . . 38
V. Joseph's Jealousy 46
VI. Visit of Mary to Elizabeth 63
VII. The Trial of Mary and Joseph 59
VIII. The Miraculous Birth and the Midwives . . . 67

EllustrattottS an* &iftftion&

I. Council of the Trinity 73
II. The Brethren of the Holy Trinity of St. Botolph
without Aldersgate 77
III. Christmas Carols 90
TV. Engravings of Apocryphal New Testament Subjects 107
V. The Descent into Hell 120
VI. Hearne's Print of the Descent into Hell .... 138
VII. Origin of Mysteries Eeast of Fools Jeast of th

Ass, &c 148

Vin. The Boy Bishop English Mysteries 193
IX. Pageants 232
X. Lord Mayor's Show 246
XI. The Giants in Guildhall 263

Addenda 277
Glossary 289
Index 293
 ORDER OF THE ENGRAVINGS.

1. Fool . to face the Title.

....
. . . . <,

2. Hearne's Descent into Hell page 138

3. Giants in Guildhall .
.
.' . . . . 262

Fools' Morris Dance .'_,-. 270

4.

......
. . .

c
5. Triangular Candle 78 V

6. Triune Head . : . .
fc
- 86

*
V Impressions from two Christmas Carol Blocks . 100
8

two others . . . . 101

142
11. Tail-piece '. .
.;.'_. . .

'

12. St. Nicholas's Miracle ./ . . . 193

....
.

13. Boy Bishop i 'ciS.: . 197

 PREFACE.

TT is related of Johnson,by his pleasant biographer,

that he said, "he loved the old black letter books;

they were rich in matter, though their style was in-

elegant." Deeper read in our early writers, than the
1
great moralist, an erudite antiquary of our own day
'
observes, that with respect to what is often absurdly
denominated black letter learning, the taste which pre-
vails in the present times for this sort of reading, wher-

ever true scholarship and a laudable curiosity are found

united, will aiford the best reply to the hyper-criticisms

and impotent sarcasms of those who, having from in-

dolence or ignorance neglected to cultivate so rich a

field of knowledge, exert the whole of their endea-

vours to depreciate its value." The truth of this has

been subsequently attested by the popularity of the
author of Waverley, who, aided by antient lore, im-

parts to his scenes and portraits of other times the truth

and high finish of Gerard Dow and Denner, and the dig-
nity and grace of Titian and Vandyke. Need I apologize

then for bringing together the results of certain desul-

tory reading, intimately connected with that class of

literature which is
especially dear to me from accidental

acquaintance with it in childhood, and stolen intimacies,

"
during thirty years of a life spent in violating, step

1
Mr. Douce, in his Illustrations of Shakespeare, vol. i.
pref. xi.
11 PREFACE.

after step, the circumscription by which the aristo-

cratic compasses were again and again, with reluctant

extension to successive greater distances, defining the

scope of the knowledge proper for a man of my con-

1
dition."

A memorable period in my humble existence is the

occasion of the ensuing sheets. On the 1 9th of De-
cember 1817, the late Lord Chief Justice Ellenborough
"
observed, that the first scenic performances were

Mysteries or representations of incidents in Sacred

Writ." The remark induced me, about three years
ago, to inquire somewhat on this subject ; and in con-
sequence of a perusal, accidentally simultaneous, of
the religious Coventry Plays or Mysteries in the Bri-
tish Museum, and certain of the Apocryphal Gospels,

together with the possession of engravings by old

masters, from scenes common to each, I hastily com-

"
piled and published the volume entitled The Apo-
cryphal New Testament." Though my main purpose
in producing it was, that for which I stated it to be
of use, namely, to explain the subjects of pictures and
"
prints that are without explanation from any other
2
source," and notwithstanding I conceived that, so far
as the Gospels were concerned, would be regarded
it

as a work of mere curiosity, yet it was dexterously

construed into a cause of attack. The fierceness of
the Quarterly in October 1821, roused me to answer
the assailant, and I sent a sheet of reply to the press
in the following month. To accompany it, but as a
distinct publication, the ensuing pages from 13 to 68

2
Apoc. N. Test. Preface.
1
Foster.
 PREFACE. Ill

inclusive, were then actually printed off, and I re-

ceived a proof from the printer of sixteen pages more
to conclude the tract, when abridgment of my leisure,

but, above all, the subsidence of my resentment into

profound contempt for the flagitious frauds of the re-

verend reviewer, and a conviction that those who

were qualified to judge of his article would see its
mendacity, determined me not to engage in polemics.
Abandoning the proposed refutation, yet towards the
close of last summer recollecting the portion of the

Mysteries in the printer's warehouse, I sat down, in-

tending to complete my notices of these curious
dramas in a few hours, and within the limits that I

originally assigned to myself ; the difficulty however

of wholly relinquishing my pen, while, by fits and

snatches, I could employ it agreeably, enlarged the

proposed pamphlet to the present volume.

Concerning the Coventry Mysteries, Dugdale relates,
in his History of Warwickshire, published in 1656,
"
that, Before the suppression of the monasteries this

city was very famous for the pageants that were play'd
therein, upon Corpus Christi Day (one of their ancient
faires) which occasioning very great confluence of
people thither from far and near, was of no small be-
nefit thereto which pageants being acted with mighty
:

state and reverence by the Grey Friars, had theatres

for the several scenes, very large and high, placed
upon wheels, and drawn to all the eminent parts of

the city, for the better advantage of spectators, and

contained the story of the Old and New Testament,

composed in the old Englishe rithme, as appeareth

IV PREFACE.

by an ancient MS. (in Bibl. Cotton. Vesp. D. VIII.)

intituled, Ludus Corporis Christi, or Ludus Coven trice.
"
I have been told," says Dugdale, by some old people,

who in their younger years were eye-witnesses of these

pageants so acted, that the yearly confluence of people
to see that shew was extraordinary great, and yielded
1
no small advantage to this city." The celebrity of
the performances may be inferred from the rank of
the audiences ; for, at the festival of Corpus Christi,
in 1483, Richard Coventry to see the
III. visited

plays, and at the same season in 1492, they were at-

tended by Henry VII. and his queen, by whom they
were highly conrn e ided.
While at the British Museum I made large extracts
from the Coventry Manuscript mentioned by Dug-
dale. It is remarkable, that in its entire series of

forty mysteries there is not one from the Apocrypha

to the Old Testament, whilst there are so many as

eight that are paraphrases of the New Testament

Apocrypha. Transcripts from these paraphrases com-
pose the early part of the present publication. Some
portions that abridged would have been given
are

entire, perhaps, had I consulted the MS. with a view

to this use; but there is quite enough to .show how

largely the monkish playwright adopted the curious

incidents, and the very language of the spurious Gos-
pels a circumstance alluded to in the Preface to the

Apocryphal New Testament, and which operated in no

small degree to the setting it forth.

Concerning the scenery, machinery, dresses, and

Dugdale's "Warwickshire, p. 116.

 PREFACE. V

decorations, and indeed the stage management of these

1
limes, little is at present known. Yet to what Dug-
dale has said of the Coventry performances, and the
notice from Drake's History of York, of the representa-
2
tions in that city, may be added an account of those
at Chester. The Mysteries acted there, also exist in
the Britsh Museum among the Harleian
They MSS.
are four and twenty in number, and were performed
by the trading companies of the city. "Every company
had his pagiante, or parte, which pagiantcs were a highe
scafolde with two rowmes, a higher and a lower upon
4 wheeles. In the lower they apparelled themselves,
in the higher rowme they played, being all open on
the tope, that all behoulders might heare and see them.
The places where they played them was in every
streete. They begane first at the Abay Gates, and
when the pagiante was played, it was wheeled to the

High Cross before the mayor, and so to every streete ;

and so every streete had a pagiante playing before
them, till all the pagientes for the daye appointed
were played, and when one pagiante was neere
ended, worde was broughte from streete to streete,
that soe the mighte come in place thereof, ex-

cedinge orderlye, and all the streetes had their pa-

giante afore them, all at one time, playing together,
1
Information on some of these points may be expected from a
forthcoming work, by the gentleman mentioned (at p. 218.). as
having favoured his friends with a bibliomaniacal edition
of the Coventry Pageant of the Sheremen and Taylors. I take
this opportunity of observing, that the MS. of this mystery is that
gentleman's property ; it is erroneously represented hereafter as
belonging to the corporation of Coventry.
2 See
p. 20913, post.
VI PREFACE.

to se which playes was great resorte, and also sca-

foldes, and stages made in the streetes, in those places
wheare they determined to playe their pagiantes." 1
Respecting the multiform portion of this volume,
denominated " Illustrations" I have to offer in excuse
that there is enough for good-natured readers to find
something to be amused withy and nothing intended to
offend those that I despair of pleasing. It is altogether

"skimble-skamble stuff," which not aspiring to the

character of an antiquarian treatise, may be allowed
to deprecate antiquarian censure. There is little

appearance of cohesion in the parts, and yet they

scarcely require more than leisure to adapt and con-
"
nect them according to the rules of the schools,"
with a few other particulars, and make a book. The

Boy-Bishop, for instance, whose processions at Nicho-

las-tide, according to Strype, "made
people sothe
fond of keeping this holiday, that every parish almost
had its St. Nicholas/' is associated with the Mys-
teries, by the representations of these religious plays
often taking place during his annual dignity. The
Feast of Fools, and especially the Feast of the Ass,
from their dramatic character, and celebration as ec-

clesiasticalperformances, are equally admissible. To

be sure I have trespassed a little in the articles on the

1
Archdeacon Rogers's MSS. Harl. 1948, quoted in Mr. Orme-
rod's History of Cheshire, (p. 296 302.) In that work there is a
copious notice concerning the Chester Mysteries, which were per-
formed for the last time in 1574. Mr. Ormerod's information con-
cerning Mysteries in general is abundantly curious and useful.
A well written Article on the Early Drama,' with a pleasant
'

notice of Mysteries, is contained in that ably conducted Journal,

the Retrospective Review, voL i.
 PREFACE. VU

Council of the Trinity, and the Brethren of the Trinity

without Aldersgate ; but who, possessing a monkish

legend in MS. or the chartulary of a dissolved fra-

"
ternity, could withstand the temptation of hitching
into print" a quotation or two, on a colourable oppor-

tunity. In however, I acknowledge being in-

this,

fluenced by liking rather than judgment, and so in

the article on the Descent into Hell. Eeviewing my

gossip on the word aroint, I confess that equity would

compel me to dismiss it for impertinence. But it is
printed ; and its existence in these sheets is a lament-
" "
able proof of the fearful estate of him who mounts
a hobby without a rein though there is something
:

like a shadow of excuse too, for saying a little on old

Hearne's plate as a Shakespearian authority.

Concerning Christmas Carols, I have not put down

a tenth of what I wished to ficd room for, nor so much
as think will weary one good hearted
I reader who
remembers with what solemn pleasure he heard them
sung in his childhood. The Pageants, though familiar
to a few will be new to more and as to the account
;

of the Lord Mayors Show, and the Giants of London,

let that citizen, who constantly sees both, and knows
littleregarding the history of either, be angry if he
can, for being informed of several curious particulars

respecting each. Regarding the Giants, indeed, I

formerly inquired too much and too long in vain, to
suppose that a few pages, occupied in authenticating
their origin, will be unwelcome to those who are
" f
merry in Guildhall, when beards wag all."
V1U PREFACE.

In toiling through books and MSS., not in expec-

tation, but with a bare hope of discovering a few
facts respecting manners in the olden time, the mind
glooms on the supposition that stores of information
perished with the destruction of the religious houses
"
in the reign of Henry VIII. He who neither spared
man in his rage, nor woman in his lust," spared not the

literary collections in the libraries of the church. For

though appears that Henry directed a commission
it

to Leland, the antiquary, to search for and preserve

such works belonging to the dissolved monasteries
and colleges as might rescue remarkable English events
and occurrences from oblivion, and though Leland ac-
"
quainted Henry that he had conserved many good
authors the which otherwise had bene lyke to have

peryshed, to no smal incommodite of good letters ; of

"
the which," he tells him, part remayne in the most
magnificent lybraryes of your royal palaces ; part
also remayne in my custodie ;" yet he expressly recites,

that one of his purposes was to expel "the crafty co-

loured doctryne of a rowt of Romayne bysshopps ;"
" "
which too plainly indicates that he conserved but
little concerning ancient customs. Strype, who
praises Henry's commission to Leland, afterwards
"
breaks out, saying, But great pity it was, and a
most irreparable loss, that notwithstanding this pro-
vision, most of the ancient MS. histories and writings
of learned British and Saxon authors were lost. Li-
braries were sold by mercenary men for any
thing
they could get in that confusion and devastation of
 PREFACE. IX

religious houses. Bale, the antiquary, makes mention

of a merchant that bought two noble libraries about
these times for forty shillings; the books whereof
served him for no other use but for waste paper ; and
that he had been ten years consuming them, and
yet there remained store
enough for as many
still

years more. Vast quantities and numbers of these

books, banished with the monks and friars from their
monasteries, were conveyed away and carried be-
yond seas to booksellers there, by whole ship ladings ;

and a great many more were used in shops and kit-

chens." It is not surprising, then, that so little remains
from those immense collections ; or rather it is won-
derful that so much should have escaped the general
devastation. Yet, in the economy of the Keformation,
the ruthless deed was, perhaps, an essential preparation
for the mighty knowledge that submerged the super-
"
stition of a thousand years. The papal hierarchy,
from accident, fanaticism, and policy, pursued too
often a spurious plan of forcing mankind to become
technical automatons of rites and dreams, words and
superstitions ; and supporting a system which, if not
originally framed, was at least applied to enforce a
long continued exertion of transferring the world into
the hands of ecclesiastics, and too often superseding
the Christianity of the Gospels by that of tradition,

policy, half-delirious bigotry, feelings often fantastic,

and unenlightened enthusiasm.' 1 Until the time of
Luther, religion, which in principle is a pure science,
1
Mr. Turner's Hist. Ang. Saxons, vol. iii.
p. 516.
X PREFACE.

was regarded as an art ; it was tho occupation of the

clergy, who taught it as a mystery, and practised it
as a trade.
From the manifold corruptions of religion resulted
the gross practices and delusions which are noticed in
the ensuing pages without comment ; for the work is
a collection of facts, not of inferences. It commences
with the Coventry Mysteries the passages from the
;

Apocryphal Gospels, whereon the scenes are founded,

being printed beneath. By referring to the Glossary
for words that seem difficult, the perusal of the whole
will be easy.
It is proper to statethat a literary gentleman of
the Principality enabled me to mention Welsh Carols,
and favoured me with the translation of the Welsh
Wassail Carol for St. Mary's Eve. To a bibliopolical
friend I am
indebted for the notice of the Castle of
Good Perseverance, which he saw in Dr. Macro's col-
lection. I should with equal readiness acknowledge
other assistance, had I received it.
Lastly I am
bound to confess the existence of a few errors, not

affecting the sense, that were discovered too late for

correction, though in sufficient time to enable me to

affirm, as a warning to others, that the worst editor

of an author's writings
o is himself.

Ludgate Hill,
5th May, 1823.
 13

MYSTERY I.

IN COTTON MS. PAGEAH T VI IL

THE BIRTH OF MARY.

THE PLAY commences with the speaking of a Pro-

logue, beginning thus :

Cryste conserve this congregation,

Fro' perellys past, p'sent, and futur,
And the p'so'nys her pleand.
5

* # * # #

And that non oblocucyon, make this mat'er obsc'ure,

But it may p'fite and plese, eche p'son p'sent,

From the gynnynge, to the endynge, so to endure,
That cryst, and every creatur,' with the conceyte be content.

"
The Prologue proceeds to relate, that the mat'er"
"
is of the modyr of mercy."
In fewe wurdys talkyd, that it shulde nat be ted'yous
To ne lernyd, nyn to lewd, nyn to no man of reson ;

This is the p'cesse : Now p'serve you Jh'us ;

Th'for of this I yow pray, all that ben her' present,

And tak hed to our talkyn, what we shal say :

I be teche yow, that lorde that is evyr omnypotent,

To governe yow in goodnes, as he best may,
In hevyn we may hym se.
 14

Now God, that is hevyn kynge,

Sende us all hese der* blyssynge ;

3
And to his tow ! he mote vs brynge :

Amen, ffor charyte.

"
YSAKER," the high priest, announces the festival,

when all must repair to Jerusalem to sacrifice.

" JOAKIM" enters with ANNE his wife, and calls

substancyall man," says he divides

himself "a his

another to
goods into three parts, one to the temple,
"
the pylg'mys/ the third for his own household ; and
concludes his speech by observing, that

So shulde every curat, in this werde wyde,

Geve a part to his channcel, I wys ;
A part to his parocheners, that to povert slyde j

The thyrd part to kepe, for hy' & his.(

2
)

JOACHIM tells ANNE that he dreads to sacrifice, for

Be cawse that no frute of vs doth p'cede,

I fere me grettly the prest wole me dysspice ;

Than grett slawndyr in the tribus of vs shulde aryse :

But this I avow to God, with all the mekeues I can.

[Passages paralleled ; from the Apocryphal New Testament.]

1
( ) MART, i. 1. The
and blessed divided all their substance into three
ever glorious Virgin Mary, sprung from parts.
the royal race and family of David, 4. One of which they devoted to the
was born in the city of Nazareth, and temple and officers of the temple an- ;

educated at Jerusalem, in the temple other they distributed among stran-

of the Lord. gers, and persons iu poor circum-
2. Her father's name was Joachim, stances and the third they reserved
;

and her mother's Anna. The family for themselves and the uses of their
of her father was of Galilee and the own family.
city of Nazareth. The family of her 7. IT And it came to pass, that when
mother was of Bethlehem. the feast of the dedication drew near,
2 Their lives were plain and
( ) 3. Joachim, with some others of his tribe,
right in the sight of the Lord, pious went up, to Jerusalem, and, at that
and faultless before men. For they time, Issachar was high-priest.
 15

Gyff, of his mercy, he wole a chylde vs devyse,

We shal ofire it vp, i'to the temple, to be goddys man (i)

ANNE declares that his words bring tears down her

face, and endeavours to console her husband with

I wys swete husband the fawte is mine.

she vows that

Corresponding in sentiment with him,
"
if God send frute, and it be a mayde childe," she
"
shall be a foot mayd to mynyster" in the temple,

and salutes Joachim, saying,

Thryes I kysse you, with syghys ful sad.

They inform Issachar they are come to "sacrife."

Then follows this direction to the actors.

[" Here they shal synge theis seg'no, B'N'DICTA SIT B'A TRI-
" NITAS. And that time
ysaker, with his masters, ensensyth
" the
auter; fy then thei make her offry'g."]

ISSACHAR invites all present to come up and offer,

but he Joachim and Anne to stay where they

tells
"
are, that they arn barrany and bare ;" inquires how

they durst presume among fruitful persons that it is ;

a token they are cursed ; and finally, he rejects their

offerings, and charges Joachim to go fast out of the

2
temple. ( )
Next is sung
% PATER % ET FILIUS "I* ET SP'US s'c'us. CJior. Amen.

[Passages paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

(
I
)MART, i. 5. In this manner they on which account they went at every
lived for about twenty years chastely, feast in the year to the temple of the
in the favour of God, and the esteem Lord.
of men, without any children. (
2
)
8. Who, when he saw Joachim
6. But they vowed, if God should along with the rest of his neighbours,
favour them with any issue, they would i
bringing his offerings, despised both
devote it to the service of the Lord ;
I
him and his offerings, and asked him,
 16

ISSACHAR blesses the people in these words :

Now, of god & man, blessyd be ye alle.

Homward agen now returne ye ;

And in this temple abyde we shalle,

To servyn god in trinyte.

JOACHIM, gratly laments his disgrace :

Now wyl I go to my shepherdys, and with hem abyde :

& th'r evyr mor, levyn in sorVe, & in drede :

Shame makyth many man his hed for to hyde^

1
)

He salutes the shepherds with "Ha how do ye,

felas how & iny bestys ?" They answer, " they
far ye
be lusty & fayr, & grettly multyply how do ye,
mayster ?"
This answer touches a sore place he tells them to
do what they list, and see their " bestys not stray."

Praying to God in great bitterness, he says of himself,

What am I ? wretche ! worse than an hownde.

ANNE also prays, and expostulates with God :

Why do ye thus to my'husbond, lord why why why ; 1 ? ?

For my barynes he may amend this y'self, and thou lyste, to

niorVe.

[Her the AUNGEL descendith the hefne, syngyng EXULTET.]

[Passages paralleled; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

9. Why he, who had no children his offerings into the presence of God.
would presume to appear among those (^MARY, But Joachim being
i. 11.
who had ? Adding, that his offerings much confounded with the shame of
could never be acceptable to God, who such reproach, retired to the shepherds
was judged by him unworthy to have who were with the cattle in their pas-
'

children the Scripture having said,

;
tures ;

Cursed is every one who shall not be- 12. For he was not inclined to re-

get a male in Israel. turn home, lest his neighbours, who

10. He further said, that he ought were present and heard all this from
first to be free from that curse by be- j
the high-priest, should publicly re-
gutting some issue, and then come with I
proach him iu the same manner.
 17

THE ANGEL acquaints Joachim, that God, by

"
making barrenness, shews his myth & his mercye
x
bothe reminds him that Sarah was ninety years
; ( )
2
barren and bore Isaac ; ( ) that barren Eachel bore

Joseph,
that of Egypt was kynge,( 3 )
A stronger than Sampson ;

4
that Samuel's mother was barren, till she bore him ; ( )

And, in the lyke wyse, Anne, thy blyssyd wyff,

Sche shal a childe, schal hygth Mary, (5 )
ber*

Whic'h shall be blyssyd in her body, and have joys ffyff,

be full of the holy ghost, inspired, and offered in the

6
temple, ( )

[Passages paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

(*) MART, ii. 1. But when he had till her eightieth year : And yet even
been there for some time, on a certain in the end of her old age brought forth
day when he was alone, the angel of Isaac, in whom the promise was made
the Lord stood by him with a prodi- of a blessing to all nations.
3
gious light, ( ) 7. Rachel also, so much in favour

2. To whom, being troubled at the with God, and beloved so much by

appearance, the angel who had appear- holy Jacob, continued barren for a
ed to him, endeavouring to compose long time, yet afterwards was the mo-
him, said ;
ther of Joseph, who was not only go-
3. Be not afraid, Joachim, nor trou- vernor of Egypt, but delivered many
bled at the sight of me, for I am an nations from perishing with hunger.
angel of the Lord sent by him to you, (*) 8. Who, among the judges, was
that I might inform you, that your more valiant than Sampson, or more
prayers are heard, and your alms as- holy than Samuel ? And yet both their
cended in the sight of God. mothers were barren.
4. For he hath surely seen your 5
But if reason will not convince
) 9.
(

shame, and heard you unjustly re- you of the truth of my words, that
proached for not having children for ;
there are frequent conceptions in ad-
God is the avenger of sin, and not of vanced years, and that those who were
nature ; barren have brought forth to their
5. And so when he shuts the womb great surprise; therefore Anna your
of any person, he does it for this rea- wife shall bring you a daughter, and
son, that he may in a more wonderful you shall call her name Mary ;
manner again open it, and that which ( )
6
10. She shall, according to your
is born appear to be not the product of vow, be devoted to the Lord from her
lust, but the gift of God. infancy, and be filled with the Holy
(-) 6. For the first mother of your Ghost from her mother's womb;
nation Sarah, was she not barren even 11. She shall neither eat nor drink
 18

And as sche sc'hal be bor' of a barrany body,

So, of her, schal be bor', with, out natur', J'hus,
That schal be savyo', vnto al man kende, (*)

"
In tokyn" he prophesies to Joachim, that he shall
2
meet Anne at the gyldyd gate of Jerusalem. ( )
JOACHIM takes his leave of the shepherds, who
being glad to see his spirits revive, say,

"We schal make vs so mery, now this is be stad,

That, a myle on yo' way, ye schal her' vs synge.

THE ANGEL appears to ANNE, tells her that God

hath heard her prayers, that she shall meet her hus-
"
band at the goldyn gate," and conceive, and bear a
3
child, whose destiny he foretels, ( ) and Anne re-
joices,
the Aungel agen to hefne.]
[Her go'tli

[Passages paralleled; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

any thing which is unclean, nor shall much troubled that you returned no
her conversation be without among the sooner, shall then rejoice to see you.
3
common people, but in the temple of C ) Afterwards the angel ap-
iii. 1.
the Lord that so she may not fall un-
; peared to Anna
bis wife, saying Fear :

der any slander or suspicion of what is not, neither think that which you see ia
bad. a spirit ;
2. For I am that
(*) MART,ii. 12. So in the process angel who hath
of her years, as she shall be in a mira- offered up your prayers and alms be-
culous manner born of one that was fore God, and am now sent to you,
barren, so she shall, while yet a virgin, that I may inform you, that a daughter
in a way unparalleled, bring forth the will be born unto you, who shall be
Son of the most High G&d, who shall called Mary, and shall be blessed
be called Jesus, and, according to the above all women.
signification of his name, be the Sa- 6. Arise, therefore, and
go up to
viour of all nations. Jerusalem, and when you shall come to
2
( ) 13. And this shall be a sign to that which is called the golden gate
you of the things which I declare, (because it is gilt with gold), as a wgn
namely, when you come to the golden of what I have told you, you shall meet
gate of Jerusalem, you shall there your husband, for whose safety you
meet your wife Anna, who being very have been so much concerned.
 19

JOACHIM and ANNE meet in great joy, and lie

gives
"
her a kusse of clennesse/'Q
The drama concludes with an intimation that it is

their intention to go home,

To thank god, that sytt in tron',
That thus hath sent us his grace.

[Passages paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

diction, they met each other.

1
( ). MART, iii. 8. IT According
therefore to the command of the an- 11. IT So Anna conceived, and
gel, both of them the places where
left brought forth a daughter, and, accord-
they were, aud when they came to ingto the angel's command, the parents
the place specified in the angel's pre- did call her name Mary.
 MYSTERY II.

IX COTTON MS. PAGEAST IX.

MARY'S EDUCATION IN THE TEMPLE,

AND BEING SERVED BY ANGELS.

THE PLAY opens by Contemplation speaking a Pro-

logue beginning

Sovereynes :
ye have sen shewyd you befor',
Of Joachym & Anne, both ther'e hly metynge ;

How o' lady was conseyved, and how she was bor' ;

We passe ovyr that breffnes of tyme consyderynge.

The Prologue announces the entrance of Mary

and how
as a childe of iij yer' age, her' she schal apper,
That holy mater we wole declare,
Tyl ffortene yer', how sche did far' :

Now of you' speche I pray yow spar,

All that ben in this place.

\Her Joachym and Anne,

with our* lady be twen hem, beynrj
1

al in 'whyte, as a childe of iij yet' age, presente her in to

the temple ; thus seyng Joachym.(^}\

[Passages paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

(*) MART, iv. 1. And when three the Virgin to the temple of the Lord
and the time of with offerings.
years were expired,
her weaning complete, they brought
 JOACHIM exclaims "Blyssyd be our lord, ffayr
finite have we now," and he reminds his wife of their
vow :

The age of Mary, our dowter, is yers three,

Th'for', to thre p'sonys and on god, lete vs her p'sent.

ANNE assents, and says to Mary,

Dowter, the aungel (told) us ye shulde be a qwen ;
Woll ye go se that lord yo' husbond schal ben :

& lerne for to love hym and

;
lede w't hy' yo' lyff?
Telle yo' ffadyr & me her, yo' Answer let sen,
Wole ye be pur' maydy', & also goddys wyff?

Mary answers, that as her father and mother have

vowed,
so ssothly wow I
To be goddys chast seruaunt, whil lyff is mine ;
But to be goddys wyff I was never wurthy.
I am the sympelest that ever was borne of body ;

I haue herd you sey'd god schulde haue a modyr swete,

That I may leve to se hir', god graunt me, for his mercy,
& abyl me to ley my handys vndyr hir' fayr fete.
[JEt genuflectet
ad deumJ\

JOACHIM encourages Mary by observing,

I wys dowter it is wel seyd
Ye answer & ye wer' twenty yer' olde.

JOACHIM and ANNE go to Issachar, and Joachim

addresses him thus :

Her' p'nce of Prestes, & it plese you,

We, that wer' barryn, god hath sent a childe,
To offre her to goddys service we made our' a vow :

Her' is the same mayde, mary most mylde.

4
 22

ISSACHAK, tells Joachim he recollects that he re-

proached them, but he rejoices they are now among

the fruitful ; and he compliments Mary with

Ye have a gracyous face.

JOACHIM, then bowing with great reverence, says

that to

ffadyr, & son, & holy gost,

On god,& p'sonys thre,
he offers Mary to be a servant for ever.

ANNE encourages Mary to go up to the "Pre'st."

She asks their blessing: in answer to which Joseph
"
says, In nomine patris & Jilii & spris sc'i, whereto

Mary answers, "Amen ; now ye good modyr" Anne :

" In
repeats nomine, &c." Mary thanks them, and
intreats forgiveness if ever she offended them.

\Et explexendoosculalitp'rem $ raVew.]

JOACHIM and ANNE congratulate themselves on

"
having suche a chylde."
ISSACHAR tells Mary that she shall be the accepted
daughter of "god eternall," and
If the fyfte'ne grees thou may ascende
l
It is miracle, if thou do. ( )

[Maria fy sic, deinceps iisq. ad find xv t!

psalmor.']

MARY repeats the degrees in quadrats, each pre-

faced by a Latin line.

[Passages paralleled ; from tlie

Apoc. N. Test]

MART, iv. 2. And there were 3. For the temple being built in a
about the temple, according to the mountain, the altar of burnt- offering,
fifteen Psalms of Degrees, fifteen stairs which was without, could not be come
to ascend. near but by stairs.
 23

Ep'us A gracyous lord ! this is a mervelyous thynge

That we se her' all in sygt,

A babe of thre' yer age so zynge,

To come vp these greeys so vp right.
1
It is an hey meraele. ( )

MARY inquires,
How I shall be rewlyd in goddys hous 1

ISSACHAR answers, that God gave ten command-

ments, which may be comprised in two firsfc, the ;

love of God :

Love ffadyr, sone, and holy gost :

Love God the fadyr, for gevyth myght ;

Love God the sone, for he gevyth wysd'm the most ;

Love God the holy gost, for he gevyth love and lyght ;
Thre' personnys and on god.

Than, love thou evy'r crystyn, as y'r self.

"
He further informs her that she shall have may-
denys fyve," Meditac'on, Contrysson, Compassyon,
Clennes, and Fruyssyon. MARY says,
Her' is an holy iFelacha'pp I fele ;

I am
not wurthy amonge he' to be :

Swete systers, to yow all, I knele

To receyve me ;
I beseche yo'r charyte.

[Passages paralleled ; from theApoc. N. Test.]

(!) MART, iv. The parents of

4. the Lord in such a manner went up all
the blessed Virgin and infant Mary the stairs one after another, without
put her upon one of these stairs ; the help of any to lead her or lift her,
5. But while they were putting off that any one would have judged from
their clothes, inwhich they had tra- hence, that she was of perfect age.
velled, and according to custom put- 7. Thus the Lord did, in the infancy

ting on some that were more neat of his Virgin, work this extraordinary
and clean. work, and evidence by his miracle
6. In the mean tima the Virgin of how great she was like to be hereafter.
 24

Ep'us They schal dowter ; And, on the tother syde, so

Ther' ben sefne prestys in dede,
To schryve, to teche, and to mynystryn to the ;
To lerne the goddys lawys, and scryptur' to rede.
Mary. Fadyr, knew I her' namys' well wer' I.

E^'us. Ther is Dyscressyon, Devoc'on, Dylexc'on, and De-

liberac'on.

They schall tende upon you besyly,

Wt Declarac'on, Determynac'on, Dyvynac'on,
Now go ye maydenys, to yo'r occupac'on ;

And loke ye tende this childe tendyrly,

& ye, serys, knelyth, & I schall gyve yow goddy's benyson.
IN NO'NE PR'IS & FILII & SP'US s'ci.
\Et recedent cu' ministris suis v'es virgines dicent. Amen.]

JOACHIM and ANNE leave MARY, who says to her

maidens,
Syster', ye may go do what ye schal
To serve God fyrst her' is
;
almy thought ;
Beforn this holy awter' on my knes I fall.

She prays for obedience and suitable virtues.

1
Her the aungel bryngyth manna, in a cowp of gold, lyJce to

confecc'ons; the hefne syngynge: the cCngel seytli

Merueyle not, mekest mayd'on, of my mynystrac'on ;

I am a good Aungel, sent of god Al mygt,

Wt angelys mete, for yo'r sustentac'on ;

Ye to receyve it ;
ifor natural myght,
We aungellys schul serve yow, day and nyght.
Now fede yow th' with, in goddys name ;

We schal lerne yow the lyberary of our' lordys lawe lyght,

For my sawys in yow, shewyth sygnes of shame.

MARY, accepting the food, observes,

 25

All man'er of savowrs in this mere I fynde ;

l
I felt nevyr none so swete, ner so redolent ( )

"
The ANGELS acquaints her that, at alle howrys,"
angels shall attend on her.

MAEY is greatly astonished, and she is thus allite-

ratively addressed by the ANGEL

In yo'r name, MARIA, ffyve letterys we han :

J$Jl. Mayde, most mercyfull, & mekest i' mende ;

iv(. Auerte of the Anguysch, that Adam began ;

3H. Regina, of Regyon, reyneynge w't owty' ende ;

I, Innocent, be Influens of Jesse's kende ;

J. Adoucat, most autentyk, yo'r Antecer Anna,

Hefne & helle her' kneys down bende,
Whan this holy name of yow is seyd MARIA.
Maria. I quake grettly, for dred, to her' this com'endac'on ;

Good swete Aungel why wole ye sey thus ?

Aungell. For ye schal, hereafter, have a salutac'on
That schall this excede : it is
seyde, amonge vs,
The deyte that dede shall determyn, & dyseris j

Ye schal nevyr, lady, be lefte here a lone.

Mary. I crye ye mercy lorde and thin' erthe cus ;

Recomendynge me to that godhyd, that is tryne, i' tro'ne.

1 1
His osculet terra Her alwey, an Aungel, w't
schal comyn,

dyvers p'sents, goynge and comyng, and in the tyme thei schal
synge, in hefne, this hy'pne J'HU CORONA VIRGINII. And,
1

aft that, comyth a mfsf, fro the busuchop, w't ap's'et.

[Passages paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

(!) MARY, v. 1.
But the Virgin of 2. For she every day had the con-

the Lord, as she advanced in years, versation of angels, and every day re-
increased also in perfections, and ac- ceived visions from God, which pre-
cording to the saying of the Psalmist, served her from all sorts of evil, and
her father and mother forsook her, but caused her to abound with all good
the Lord took care of her. things.
 26

MARY receives the refreshment with thanks, but

gives it to her maidens, requiring them to bestow

"
what they leave on po'r folk faryn god."

CONTEMPLATION speaks the following

Epilogue,

Lo !
sofreynes, lier ye have seyn',

In the temple, of our ladyes presentac'on ;

She was nevyr occapyed in thyngs veyn,

But evyrbesy, in holy occupacyon.

And we be seche yow, of your pacyens,

That we pace these matters so lythly away ;

If thei shulde be do with good prevydens,

Echo on wolde suffyce for an hoole day.

Now schal we p'cede to her dissponsac'on,

Which, after this, was xiiij ye'r ;

Tyme sufficyth not to make pawsac'on,

Hath pacyens w't vs, we be sech yow her* ;

And, in short spaa,

The parlement of hefne sone schal ye se,

& how goddys son com' man schal be,

And how the salutac'on after, schal be,

Be goddys holy gras.

 MYSTEEY III.

THE MIKACULOUS ESPOUSAL OF MAEY

AND JOSEPH.

ISSACHAE, the "BussHOPP," enters, and requests at-

tention from the audience in an address beginning

Lystenyth Lordyngs both hye and lowe.

" sawe"
He says, The lawe of god byddyth this

That at xiiij yer' of age

Every damesel what so sche be

To the encrese of mor' plente

Shulde be browght in good degr'

On to her spowsage. (*)

JOACHIM and ANNE bring MARY to ISSACHAR, who

"
supposing she is come to choose a spowse," wel-
comes her.

MARY says that she is not against the law, but that
"
she will levyn evyr in chastyte."

[Passage paralleled : from the Apoc. N. Test.]

1
C ) MART, v. 4. At that time the as they were now of a proper matu-
high-priest made a public order, That rity, should, according to the custom
all the virgins who had public settle- of their country, endeavour to be mar-
ments in the temple, and were come ried.
to this age, should return home, and,
 23.

"
ISSACHAR inquires why she will not to wedclyng

go?"
MARY relates that her father and mother "were
bothe baryn ;" that

Bycause they hadde nothyr frute nor chylde,

Keprevyed tbei wer' of wykkyd and Avylde :

that they vow'd, if they had a child, it should be de-

dicated to the service of God ;

He herd her longe p'y' s

& than sent hem both seed and flow'r j

Whan I was born in her bow'r

To the temple offryd I was ;

and dedicated to chastity. (*)

ISSACHAR declares that the law is

express, that
all maydens should go to the spowsing; that her
Parents are not to blame for vowing, in their barren-
" frute
ness, to dedicate their ;" that to make a vow

to God is by scripture, and to observe the law

lawful
also is needful ; and beseeches the advice of the
Priests.

A Priest advises that they all pray to God directly,

and that they shall begin VENI CREATOR SP'US.

[And whan veni creat' is doin, the buschop shal seyng Now LORD
GOD OF LORDYS WHYSEST OF ALL &C."J

[Passages paralled; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

1
( ) MART, v. 5. To -which com- she and her parents had devoted her to
mand, though all the other virgina the service of the Lord and besides,
:

readily yielded obedience, Mary the that she had vowed virginity to the
Virgin of the Lord alone answered, Lord, which vow she was resolved
that she could not comply with it, never to break through by lying with
6. Assigning these reasons, that both I man.
 29

Hethen prays to "the lorde, knelynge on kne," for'

"
a solution of this dowteful dowte." (*)

AN ANGEL appears and acquaints the Bishop that

"
his prayer is herd to hyg hevyn halle ;" that God

hath sent him to tell him what to do in the dilemma ;

and he desires the Bishop to

Take tent, & undyrstond,

This is goddys owyn byddyng,
That kynsmen of Dauyd the kyng,
all

To the temple shul brynge, her' an offryng,

"W't whyte yardys in their honde.
1
Loke wele what tyme thei offer* ther ,

All her' yardys in their hand then take ;

Take hede whose yerde doth blome and ber',

And he shal (be) the may deny s make.(

2
)

[Passages paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

(!) MART, v. 7. The high-priest prophecy of Isaiah, to whom the Vir-

being hereby brought into a difficulty, gin should be given and be betrothed ;

8. Seeing he durst neither on the 14 For Isaiah saith, there shall come
one hand dissolve the vow, and disobey forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,
the Scripture, which says, Vow and and a flower shall spring out of ita
pay, root,
9. Nor on the other hand introduce 15. And the Spirit of the Lord shall
a custom, to which the people were rest upon him, the Spirit of Wisdom
strangers, commanded and Understanding, the Spirit of Coun-
10. That at the approaching feast all sel and Might, the Spirit of Know-
the principal persons both of Jerusalem ledge and Piety, and the Spirit of the
and the neighbouring places should fear of the Lord shall fill him.
meet together, that he might have their 16. Then, according to this pro-
advice, how he had best proceed in so phecy, he appointed, that all the men
difficult a case. of the house and family of David, who
11. When they wereaccordinglymet, were marriageable, and not married,
they unanimously agreed to seek the should bring their several rods to the
Lord, and ask counsel from him on this altar,
matter. (2)17. And out of whatsoever person's
12. And when they were all engaged rod after it was brought, a flower
in prayer, the high priest, according to should bud forth, and on the top of it
the usual way, went to consult God, the Spirit of the Lord should sit in the
13. And immediately there was a appearance of a dove, he should be the
voice from the ark and the mercy- man to whom the Virgin should be
seat, which all present heard, that it given and be betrothed.
must be inquired or sought out by a
5
 30
" "
The BISHOP orders Proclamacion to be made
accordingly, and JOSEPH, hearing the announcement,
says,

In gret labor', my lyff I lede,

Myn' ocupasy'on lyth in many place,

For ffebylnesse of age my Jorney I may not spede,
I thank the, gret god', of thi grace.

JOSEPH lies down on the ground from weariness

and exclaims,

Age and febylnesse doth me embras,

That I may nother well goe ne stond.

Proclamation is made that MARY is to be married

to one of the house of David, who. are required to

appear before the Bishop : He is waiting for them, the

Officer says, and

He byddyth yow, ferthermor', in handys that ye hent,

A fayr white yerde, every'ch of yow ye bryng.

Joseph. Benedicite ! I cannot vnder stande

What our p'nce of prests doth me'n,
That every man shuld come and brynge Avith hy' a whande,
Abyl to be maryed that is Not I So Mote I then 1
: ! !

I have be' may don evyr, and evyr mor' wele ben j

I chaungyd not yet, of all my long lyff,

& now to be maryed ! s'n man wold wene,

It is a straunge thynge, an old man to take a yonge wyff !

But, nevyr the lesse, no doute, of we must, forth to towne.

Now neybors & kynnysmen lete us forth go :

I shal take a wand in my hand, and cast of my gowne,

Yf I falle, then I shalle, gronyn for wo.
 31

Ho so take away my staff,I say he wer' my fo ;

Ye be men that may wel ren, go ye be for ;

I am old, & also colde, walkyng doth me wo ;
Th'rfore now, wole I so, my staff holde, I this jurny to wor'.

The BISHOP explains to the men of the house of

t)avid the cause of his assembling them, and why each
was commanded to bear a wand :

All yo' roddys ye shal brynge vp to me,

&, on hese rodde, that the holy gost is syttynge,

He shal the husbonde of this ma'y be.

[Hie portent v'yas.

Joseph. It shal not be, I lay a grotte ;

I shal a byde behynde p'uyly.

Now wolde God I wer' at horn, in my cote ;

I am a schamyd to be seyn, veryly.

Several make their offering. The last man desires

Joseph up his offering; accuses him of

to bring
"
tarrying behind, and says, Com on man for shame !" ;

Joseph. Com ? ya !
ya !
god help, full fayn I wolde,
But I am so agyd, and so olde,
That both my legs gyn to folde ;

I am ny most lame^ 1
)

"
The BISHOP says he can no sygne a spy," and
2
proposes to go to prayer again ( ), to which it is an-
swered, that

[Passages paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

(!) MART, vi. 1. Among the rest sides presented his.
there was a man named Joseph, of the (2) 2. So that when nothing appeared
house and family of David, and a per- agreeable to the heavenly voice, the
son very far advanced in years, who high-priest judged it proper to consult
drew back hia rod, when every one be- God again.
 32

He "brought not up his rodde trewly,

To whom the mayd howyth to be maryed her^ 1 )
JEp'us. ^Whath, Joseph !
why stande ye ther' by hynde 1

I wis, ser, ye be to blame.

Joseph. Ser, I kan not my rodde fynde,

To come th'r in trowth me thynkyht shame.

[Ep'us comyth thens.]

Ep'us. OfFyr up yo' rodde, ser, in goddys name ;
Why do ye not as men yow pray ?

Joseph. Ser, he may euyl go that is ner lame ;

In soth I com' as fast as I may.

JOSEPH, when he presents his rod, prays to be ac-

quitted of sin laments that he can scarcely lift his
:

hands ; and, on a sudden, exclaims with astonish-

ment,

Lo ! lo ! lo ! what se ye now ?

Ep'us. A mercy !
mercy !
mercy !
lord, we crye !

The blyssyd of god we see art thou !

[& clamdt o'es m'cy m'c?/.]

A gracyous god, in hevyn trone 1

Ryht wundyrful thi werkys be.

Her' may we se a merveyl one,

A ded stok beryth flours fire.

Joseph, in hert, with outen mone,

Thou mayst be blyth, with game & gle,
A mayd to
wedde, thou must 'gone,
Be this meracle I do wel se j
Mary is her' name.

[Passages paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

(1) MART, vi. 3.

answered, Who who were brought together, who had
that he to whom the Virgin was to be not brought his rod.
betrothed was the only person of those 4. Joseph therefore was betrayed.
 33

Joseph. What shuld I wedde ? god for bede

! !

I am an old man, so god me spede,

& with a wyff, now to levyn in drede,
It wor' neyther sport ner game.

Ep'us. Agens God, Joseph, thou mayst not stryve ;

God wyl' that thou a wyff haue.

This fayr mayde shal be thi' wyve ;
She is buxum, and whyte as laue.

Joseph. A ! shuld I have her' ye lese my lyff.

Alas ! der god, shuld I now rave ?

An old man may nevyr thryff

With a yonge wyff ; so God me saue !

Nay, nay, ser' lett bene ;

Shuld I now, in age, beg'y'ne to dote,
If I her chyde, she wolde clowte my cote,
Bier' my (ey') & pyke out a mote,
& thus oftyn tymes it is sene.

The BISHOP tells Joseph that God hath assigned

Mary to him, and will not be opposed.

JOSEPH assents, and, turning to the Virgin, says,

But, fayr maydon, I thee p'y,

Kepe thee clene as I shal me,
I am a man of age ;

Therfor', ser busshop, I wyl, that ye wete,

That in bedde we shuld nevyr mete ;

ffor I wys, mayden swete,

An old man may not rage.

Ep'us. ^[ This holyest virgyn shalt thou maryn now ;

Your rodde floreschyth fayrest, that man may se.
[& hi' ca'te't. B'n'd'c'a sit b'a t'nitas.]
 34

The hole gost we se, syttyht on a bow ;(*)

Now yeld we all preysing to the trenyte.
1f Joseph ; wele ye have this maydon to yo' wyff,
& her' hono', & kepe, as ye howe to do ?

Joseph. Nay, ser, so mote I thryff,

I haue ryght no nede therto.

Ep'us. Joseph ;
it is goddys wyl it shuld be so ;

Sey after me, as it is skyL

Joseph. Here, and to p'forme his wyl, I bow thereto,
fibr all thynge owyght to ben at his wyl.

Ep'us fy ide' Joseph.

Sey thouafter me : Her I take thee Mary to wyff,

To hauy' to holdyn, as God his wyll with ws will make,

& as long as be thwyn us, lefty ght our' lyff,
To loue yow as my selff, my trewth I you take.

Mine ad Mariam sic dicens.

E'piis. Mary ; wole ye haue this man,

And hym to kepyn, as yo' lyff;

Maria. In the tenderest wyse, fadyr, as I kan,

& with all my wyttys ffyff.

Ep'us. Joseph ; with this ryng now wedde thi wyff,

& be her hand, now, thou her' take.

Josejih. Ser, with this rynge, I wedde her ryff,

& take her' now her', for my make.-

E^fus. Mary, mayd, with outyn mor' stryff,
2
On to thi spowse, thou hast hym take. ( )

Maria. In chastyte, to leden my lyff,

I shal hym nevyr for sake,

[Passages paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

when he did 2
(1) MART, vi. 5. For, ( Accordingly, the usual cere-
) 6.

bring his rod, and a dove coming from monies of betrothing being over, he
Heaven pitched upon the top of it, returned to his own city of Bethlehem,
every one plainly saw, that the Virgin to set his house in order, and make
was to be betrothed to him : the needful provisions for the marriage.
 35
j/-

But evyr with. Mm a byde ;

And, jentyll spowse, as ye an seyd,

lete me levyn as a clene mayd,
I shal be trewe, be not dysmayd,
Both terme, tyme, and tyde.

Ep'us. Her' is the holyest mat'remony, that evyr was, in this

werde :

The hyg names of our lord we wole now syng hy,

"We all wole this solempn dede record
no' Ha
Devowtly. [Alma chorus d'ni rine pangat summ'.]

1T Xow goth hom all, in godys name,

Wher as yo' wonyng was befor :

Maydenys, to lete her go a lone it wor' shame,

It wold hevy you' herts sor' ;

Ye shal blysse the tyme that sche was bor',

Now loke at hom her brynge.

Maria. To have you' blyssyng ffadyr I falle yow be for'.

Ep'us. He blesse yow that hath non hendyng :

In no'fe p'ris $ filii and sp'us s'ci.

Ep'us. ^[ Joseph ;
thi selph art old of age,

And the wyff of age is yonge,

we redyn, in
&, as old sage,

Many man is sclepyr of tonge ;

Therfor, euyl langage for to swage,

That yo' good fame may leste longe,

iij damysellys schul dwelle with yow i'

stage,
With thi wyff, to be evyr mor a monge,
& schal these iij
her take :

Susanne, the fyrst, schal be ;

Eebecca, the secunde, schal go with the ;

Sephor' the thrydde. Loke that, ye thre,

This maydon nevyr ye for sake.
 35

The " maydenys" declare their readiness to go. Mary

entreats, and obtains, the blessing of her parents, and
ANNE says to her,
I pray to God thee save ;

I pray thee, mary, my swete chylde,

Be lowe, & buxhum, meke, & mylde,
Sad, & &
nothyng wylde,
sobyr,
& goddys blyssynge thou haue.

JOSEPH tells MARY that his kindred will go home

before her that not being rich, he has no house, and
;

he wishes her to abide there, and worship god ; Mary

assents, determining to
sey the holy Psalme of Dauyth,
"Whiche book is cleypd the sawter'.

JOSEPH having departed, MARY appears, saying,

I haue seyd sum of my sawter, & her I am,
At this holy psalme in dede,
jBV dixisti di'ce' terrain tuam :
In this holy labor, lord, me spede.

When JOSEPH returns, he addresses her with

Mary wyff, and mayd, most gracyous :

Displese yow not, I pray yow, so long I haue be ;'

I have hyryd for us a lytyl praty hous,

& ther in, ryght hesely, levyn wole we.

He invites her, and her maidens, to follow, and

says,
I must gon owth hens fer ye' fro,

I wyll go laboryn, in fer co'ntre, d)

With trewth, to maynteyn our householde so.

[Passage paralleled ; from, the Apoc. N. Test.]

(l) FnorEVAN. viii. 16. I must go to mind my trade of building.
 37

This ix monthis thou seyst me nowthj

Kepe the clene, my jentyl spowse,
& all thi maydenys in thi howse,

That evyl langage I her not rowse,

For hese love thatall hath wrought.

MARY prays God to speed him, and concludes,

with
Gracyous God my mayden hed sane
Euyr clene, in chastyte.
 38

MYSTERY IV.
IN COTTON SIS. PAGEAKT XL

A COUNCIL OF THE TRINITY

AND THE INCARNATION.

CONTEMPLATION begins the PLAY with a

Prologue.

Fowr thowsand, sex vndryd, four yer, I telle,

Man for his offens, & fowle foly,

8
Hath leyn yer ,
in the peynes of helle,

And wer' wurthy to ly', there in, endlesly,

But thanne shuld perysche thi grete mercye.

******
"Wolde God thou woldyst (leave) thi hefne wyqhty,
& com down her' in to erth,
& levyn yers thre & threttye,
thyn famy't folke, with thi fode, to fede,
To staunche thi thryste, lete thi syde blede,
ffor erste, wole not be made redemp'c'on.

Virtutes. The Aungel, lord, thou made so glory oils,

Whos synne hath mad hy' a devyl in helle,
He mevyd man to he so contraryous,
Man repentyd, & he, in his obstynacye, doth dwelle.
 39

VIRTUE prays God to repel the malice of the devil,

and take man into grace.

<35o& comes forward, saying, that the supplications of

all have reached him.
TRUTH tells God he will not leave him reminds
God that he promised, when Adam sinned, " that he
"
shulde deye & go to helle that to restore him is im-

possible, and prays that he be tormented for ever.

MERCY intercedes to God for compassion, says, that

all heaven and earth cry for mercy, and calls the devil
"
a helle hownde."

JUSTICE marvels what moves MERCY so much ; and

assigns as a good reason for man's eternal punish-

ment,
That man having offended God, who is endless,

Therfore, his endles punchement may nevyr sees ;

Also, he forsoke his maker, that made hym of clay,

And the devyl to his mayst' he ches,
Shulde he be savyd 1 nay !
nay !
nay !

MERCY says, that there is too much vengeance in

" "
Justice that the frelnesse of mankind should be
considered and that the mercy of God is without
end.

PEACE exhorts them not to quarrel, and says that

she approves Mercy's supplication

For, yff mannys sowle shulde abyde in helle,

Be twen god & man euyr shulde be dyvysyon,

And than myght not I, pes, dwelle.

She proposes to refer the whole to God, to which

 40

the others assent, and .Jpiltus (GoD THE SON) enter-

ing, PEACE says,

Her is God ! now her' is vnyte ;

Hefne & erth is plesyd with pes.

GOD THE SON is inclined to PEACE. He says, that

If Adam had not deyd, peryschyd had ryghtwysnes ;

And also, trewth had be' lost ther by :

Giff another deth come not, mercy shulde perysch,

Than pes wer' exyled ffynyaly ;

So tweyn dethis must be, yow fowr to cherysch.

^[ But he that shal deye, ye must knawe,
That, in hym, may be non iniquyte,
That helle may holde hym be no lawe,
But, that he may pas, at hese lyberte.
Ower swyche, on his p'vyde, & se ;

And hese deth, for mannys deth, schal be redemp'con.

All hefne, & erthe, seke now ye :

Plesyth it
yow this con'clusyon 1

Veritas. I trowth, hane sowte the erthe, with out & with inne,

&, in sothe, there kan non be fownde,

That is of o day byrth, with owt synne ;

!Nor, to that deth, wole be bownde.

M'Va. I, mercy, have ronne the hevynly regyon rownde,

And ther is non of that charyte,

That, ffor man, wole suifre a deadly wounde ;

So I can nott wete how, this schal be.

Jasticia. Sur' ;
I can fynde non sufficyent ;

ffor servauntys vn profytable we be, ech on ;

He love nedyth to be ful ardent,

That, for man, to helle wolde gon.

, That God may is non but on ;

Therfor, this, is be hys a vyse ;
 41

He that gaff this co'nsell, lete hy' geve the comforte a Ion,
For the conclusyon, in hym, of all these lyse,

jptltUS. It peyneth me that man I mad,

That is to seyn, peyne I must suffre for.

& Counsel Of tfje trimtC, must be had,

Whiche of us shal man restor'.

V. In your wysdam, son, man was mad thor,

And in wysdam was his temptac'on,

Therfor, sone, sapyens ye must ordeyn her' for',

& se how, of man, may be salvac'on.

.
ffadyr ; he, that schaldothis, must be both god & man ;
Lete me se how I may wer' that wede ;
Any syth, in my wysdam, he began,
I am redy to do this dede.

jbp'US 8 Vug. I, the holy gost, of yow tweyn, do p'cede ;

This charge I wole take on me :

I, love, to your lover, schal yow lede ;

This is the assent of our unyte.

M'ia. Now is the loveday mad, of us fowr, fynia'ly :

Now may we leve in pes, as we wer wonte,

Misericord'ia fy veritas obvianeruat sibi

Justicia fy pax osculate sunt

[^ liic osculabunt pariter omnes.]

GOD THE FATHER directs the Angel GABRIEL to

go to MARY at Joseph's, in Galilee; and GOD THE

SON instructs Gabriel to

Say that she is with owte wo, & ful of grace,

And that I, the son of the gcdhed, of her schal be bor'.

Hyge the, thou wer' ther' a pace,

ellys we schal be ther, the be for',

I haue so gret hast, to be man thor',

In that mekest & purest virgyne,
Sey her, she shal restor,
Of yow Aungellys, the grett knyne.
 42

GOD THE HOLY GHOST, adds,

^T And, if she aske the howe it myth be,
lette her, I, the
holy gost, schal werke at this ;

Sche schal he savyd thorwe our unyte.

In tokyn, her bareyn cosyn Elyzaheth, is
Qwyk with childe, in her' grett age, I wys ;
Sey her, to vs, is no thynge impossyhle,
Her' body schal be so ful fylt, with blys,
That she schal sone thynke this sownde credytV".

GABRIEL departs. He then appears to the Virgin,

with this salutation :

Heyl ! fful of grace, God is with the !

Amonge all women blyssyd art th'u !

Her' this name Eva, turnyd Aue, is

That is to say, with owte sorwe ar ye no\V t

IT Thow sorwe, in yow, hath no place,

Yet of joy lady ye nede more ;

Th erfore
I adde, and sey, full of grece,
ffor so ful of grace was nevyr non bore ;

Yet who hath grace he nedyth kepyng sor',

Therfor' I sey God is with the,

"Which schal kepe yow endlesly thor' :

So amonge all women blyssyd are ye !

(
1
)

Mary says she is troubled at the greeting with

" 2
grett shamfastnes." ( )

[Passages paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

x
( ) MARY, vii. 3. Hail, Mary ! common thing,
Virgin of the Lord most acceptable ! 5. Was neither terrified with the
Oh Virgin full of grace The Lord is ! vision of the angel, nor astonished
with you, you are blessed above all at the greatness of the light, but
women, you are blessed above all only troubled about the angel's
men, that have been hitherto born. words ;
2
( )
4. But theVirgin, who had be- 6. And
began to consider what so
fore been well acquainted with the extraordinary a salutation should
countenances of angels, and to whom mean, what it did portend, or what
such light from heaven was no un- sort of end it would have.
 43

Gcibryel. Mary, in this, take ye no drede,

For at God, grace fownde hane ye ;
Ye schal conceyve, in yo' wombe, in dede,
A childe, the sone of the trynyte ;
His name, of yow, Jh'u clepyd schal he ; (*)
He schal he grett, the son of the hyest, clepyd of kende,
&, of his fiadyr, davyd, the lord schal geve hy' the se,

Eeynyng i' the hous of Jacoh, of which regne schal be

2
n' ende.
( )

Maria. Aungel, I sey to yow,

In what maner of wyse schal this he ?
fibr know'ng of man I haue non now ;

I haue evyr mor kept, & schal, my virginyte ;

I dowte not the wordys ye han seyd to me,

But, I aske howe it schal be do' 1 3

( )

Galmjel. The holy gost schal com, fro ahove, to the ;

& the vertu of hy', hyest, schal schadu yu. 4

( )

He directs her to visit Elizabeth., her aged cousin,

"
who is in the sexte monyth of her passage."

[Her the Aungel makyth a lytyl restynge, $ Mary beholdytk

hy\ fy the Aungel seyth.]

[Passages paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

YjVii. 7. To this thought born in a mean state on earth,
the angel, divinely inspired, replies ; reigns in an exalted one in heaven.
8. Fear not, Mary, as though I 13. And the Lord shall give him
intended any thing inconsistent the throne of his father David, and
with your chastity in this saluta- he shall reign over the house of
tion: Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom
9. For you have found favour there shall be no end.
with the Lord, because you made 3
( )
15. To this discourse of the

virginity your choice. angel the Virgin replied, not, as

10. Therefore while you are a though she were unbelieving, but
Virgin, you shall conceive without willing to know the manner of it :

sin, and bring forth a son. 16. She said, How can that be ?

( ) 11. He shall be great, because

2
For seeing, according to my vow, I
he shall reign from sea to sea, and never have known any man, how
from the rivers even to the ends of can I bear a child ?
the earth. 4
( )19.
The Holy Ghost shall come
12. And he shall be called the upon you, and the power of the
Son of the Highest ; for he who is Most High shall overshadow you.
 44

The Holy Ghost

Abydyth thin answer, and thin assent,
Thor' we wyse werke of dyvinyte,
the secunde p'sone, verament,
Is mad man, by fraternyte
"With inne thi self, in place present.

"
He acquaints her that all the blyssyd spyrytys, all
the gode levers, the chosyn sowlys that ar in helle &

byde Jesu,"

Thin answer desyr to her ;

And thin assent to the incarnac'on :

Gyff me my' answer', now, lady der' ]

Maria. With all mekenes I 'clyne, to this a corde ;

Bowynge down my face, with all benyngnyte.

Se her, the hand mayden of our lorde,
Aftyr thi worde be it don to me. (x)

Gdbryel. Gramercy !
my lady ffre ;

Gramercy ! of yo' aunswer on hyght ;

Gramercy ! of yo'r grett humylyte ;

Gramercy !
the', lanterne of lyght !

'

[Her* tlie holy gost discendit, with uj. lemys, to o' lady ;

the sane of the godhed, nest, with uj. bemys, to the holy

gost; the ftadyr, godly, with uj. bemys, to tlie sone; Atid
so entre, al thre, to her bosom ; $ Mary seyth^\

A ! now I fele, in my body be,

Parfyte god, & parlyte man ;
Havyng al schapp of chyldly carnalyte :

Evyn, all at onys, thus God be gan !

[Passage paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.

(
1
)MARY, vii. 21. Then Mary Behold the handmaid of the
stretching forth her hands, and Lord Let it be unto me accord-
!

lifting her eyes to heaven, said, ing to thy word,

 45

^[ Nott takynge fFyrst o membyr, & sythe a notlier,

But parfyte childhod ye have a non ;

Of your hand mayden, now, ye have made your modyr,
With owte peyne in fflesche & "bon I

Thus concey ved nevyr woman non,

That evyr was beynge in this lyff ;
my' hyest ffadyr, in your tron,
worthy your son, now
It is my son, have a pr'ogatyff !

^[ I cannot telle what joy, what blysse,

Now I fele in my body.
Aungel Gabryel, I thank yow for thys ;
Most mekely recomende me to my faders mercy.
To haue be' the modyr of God, iful lytyl wend 1,
Now, my' cosyn Elyzabeth iFayn wold I se,

How sche hath conseyvid, as ye dede specyfy.

Now, blyssyd be the hyg trynyte !

Gabryel. Far' Goddys dowter der'

weyl turtyl ;
:

Far' wel Goddys modyr ; I the honowr :

Far' wel Goddys siistyr, & his pleynge fer' ;

Far' wel Goddys chawmer, & his bowr !

MARY returns Gabriel's farewell, and says,

I undyrstande,by inspyrac'on',
That ye knowe, by synguler p'uylage,
Most of my son'ys Incarnac'on :

1 p'y you take it in to vsage,

Be a custom' ocupac'on,
To vesyte me, ofte, be mene passage ;

Your p'sence is my comfortac'on.

GABRIEL courteously accepts the invitation, com-

mends himself to "the trone of the trinyte," and
"
ascends to hefne," with an Ave :

AVE MARIA! gr'a plena )

A ,,. cantando ista seque ntia.
dus tecu uy go sesena }

7
 46

MYSTERY V.
IN COTTON MS. PAGEANT XII.

JOSEPH'S JEALOUSY.

l
( ) Joseph. How dame, how ! vndo your dor' ! vndo !

AT ye at horn 1
why speke ye notht ?

Susanna. Who is ther? why cry ye so?

Telle us your herand :
wyl ye ought 1

Joseph. Vn do your dor ! I sey you to,

ffor to com in is all my thought.

Maria. It is my spowse, that spekyth us to,
On do the dor, his wyl wer' wrought.
^J Well come horn, m'y husbond der !

How have you ferd, in fer co'ntre ?

Joseph. To gete our levynge, with owtyn dwer',

I haAr e sor' laboryd, ffor the & me. 2
( )

Maria. Husbond, ryght gracyously, now come be ye ;

It solacyth me sor', sothly, to se yow in syth.

{Passages paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

1
( )MARY,viii. I.Joseph therefore i months since she was betrothed to
went from Judsea to Galilee, with |
him.
intention to marry the Virgin who
2
( ) PROTEVANGELION, x. 1. Jo-
was betrothed to him ; seph returned from his building
2. For it was now near three houses abroad, which was his trade.
 47

Joseph. Me merveylyth, wyff !

surely your face I can not se,

But as the sonne with his bemys in 'he is most bryth.

Maria. ^f Husbond, it is, as it plesyth our lord, that grace of hy*

grew.
Who that evyr beholdyth me, veryly,
They schal be grettly steryd to vertu ;

tfor this gyfte, and many moo, good lord gramercy !

Joseph. How hast thou ferde, jentyl mayde,

Whyl I have be' out of londe ?

Maria. Sekyr, ser ;

beth nowth dysmayde,

Byth aftyr the wyl of goddys sonde.

Joseph. That semyth evyl, I am afrayd ;
Thi wombe to hyge doth stonde ;
J
( )

I drede me sor' I am be trayd,

S'n other man the had in honde,
2
Hens, sythe, that I went :
( )

Thy wombe is gret, it gynnyth to ryse,

Than has thou be gownne a synfull gyse,
Thy self thou art thus schent.
^| Now, dame,
what thinge menyth this?
With childe thou gynnyst ryth gret to gon ;

Sey me, Mary, this childys fadyr ho is ?

I p'y the telle me, and that anon ?

Maria. The fadyr of hevyn, & se, it is,

Other fadyr hath he non :

I dede nevyr forfete with man, I wys,

Wherefor', I p'y yow, amende yo' rnon,

This childe is goddys, and your'.

[Passages paralleled; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

(!) MARY, viii. 3. At length it talking familiarly with her, he per-

painly appeared she was with child, ceived her to be with child.
and it could not be hid from Joseph :
(") 5. And thereupon began to be
4. For going to the Virgin in a uneasy and doubtful, not knowing
what course it would be best to take
 48

Joseph. Goodys cliilde ! them lyist, in fay' !

God dede nevyr rape so with may'.

* * # *

But yit I say, Mary, whoos childe is this ?

Maria. Goodys and your", I sey, I wys.

Joseph. Ya, ya! all olde men, to me take tent,

& weddyth no wyff, in no kynnys wysc,
That is a yonge wench, be m'y a sent,
For doute & drede & swych servyse.
Alas ! Alas !
my name is shent ;

All men may me now dyspyse,

& seyn- old cokwold !

* * *

Alas, and welaway !

Alas, dame !
why dedyst thou so ?

For thou hast do,

this synne, that

I the for sake, and from the go,

For onys evyr, & dy.

Maria. Alas gode spowse why sey ye thus 1 !

Alas der' hosbund a mende yo' mod !

It is no man, but swete Jhus,

He wyll be clad in flesch and blood,
And of yo' wyff be born.

Saphor. For sothe the A'ngel thus sey'd he,

That goddys sone, in trynite,
For mannys sake, a man wolde be,
To save that is for lorn.

Joseph. An A'ngel !
alas, alas !
fy for schame !

Ye syn now, in that ye to say ;

To puttyn an A'ngel in so gret blame.

Alas ! alas ! let be do way ;

It was boy began this game,

s'n

That clothyd was clene and gay,

& ye geve hym now an A'ngel name.
Alas alas and welaway,
! !

That evyr this game be tydde !

 49

A dame ! what thought haddyst thou?

Her may all men this proverbe trow,

That many a man doth bete the bow,

Another man hath the brydde.

Maria. A gracyous God ! in hefne trone !

Comforte my spowse in this hard cas ;

Merciful god, a mend his mone,

As I dede nevyr so gret trespas.

Joseph. Lo, Lo, sers ! what told I yow,

That it was not for my prow,
A wyff to take me to,
An that is wel sene now ;

For Mary, I make god a vow,

Is grett with childe, lo !

Alas !
why is it so 1

To the busshop I wole it telle,

That he the la we may here do,
With stonys her to qwelle.
^[Nay, nay, yet God forbede !

That I should do that ve'geabyl dede.

But if I wyst, wel away !

I knew nev' with her, so God me spede,

To ky' of thynge, i' word nor dede,
That towchyd velany.
Nevyr the less what for thy,
Thow she be meke & mylde,
With owth mannys company,
She myght not be with childe.
IT But I ensur' my' was it nevyr ;
Thow yet she hath not done her devyr,
Rather than I shuld pleyny' opynly,

Certeynly, yett, had I levyr

For sake the co'ntr', ffor evyr,

& nevyr come her' co'pany. i'

For, & men knew this velany,

 50

In reproff thei wolde me holde,

And yett many bettyr than I,
Ya hath ben made cokolde.
!

^ jtfow, alas !
whedyr schal I gone 1

I wot nevyr whedyr, nor to what place ;

For oftyn tyme sor'we comyth sone,

& longe it is or it pace.
No comfort may I have her'.

I wys wyff thou dedyst me wrongc,

Alas I taryed fro' the to longe,
All men have pety enime amonge,
For to my sor'we is no cher. J
( )

Maria. God ! that in my body art sesyd,

Thou knowist my husbond is dysplesyd,

To se me i' this plight ;

For unknowlage he is desesyd,

& therfor help that he wer' esyd,
That he myght knowe the ful p'f y^hf
For I hane levyr abyde respyt,
To kepe thi sone in p'uite,

Graunted by the holy spyryt,

Than that it shulde be opyn'd by me.

GOD appears and instructs an Angel to desire Jo-

seph will abide with Mary, she being pregnant by God
himself.

Angelus.
2
( ) Joseph !
Joseph ! thou wepyst shyrle,
Fro' thi wyff why comyst thou owte ]

[Passages paralleled from the Apoc. N. Test.]

1 6. For being a just to put an end to their agreement, and

( ) MARY,
viii.

man, he was not willing to expose her, as privately to send her

away.
2 But while he was meditating
nor defame her by the suspicion of be- ( ) 8.

ing a whore, since he was a pious man. these things, behold the angel of the
7. He purposed therefore privately Lord appeared to him.
 51

Joseph. Good ser ! lete me wepe my fly lie ;

Go forthe that wey, & lett me nowght.

THE ANGEL requests him to return and cheer her

Sche is a ful clene may',
I tolle ye God wyl of her be born,
And sche clene mayd as she was be forn,
To save mankynd that is for lorn;
Go cher' her, ther'for', I say.

Joseph A, lord god ! benedicite !

Of thi gret comforte I thank the,

That thou sent me this space ;

I myght wel a wyst parde",

So good a creatur' as sche,
Wold
** nevyr e don' trespace.

JOSEPH then returns to Mary, and under a feeling of

repentance and delight, says,

Joseph. Alas ! for joy, I qwedyr& qwake !

Alas ! what hap now was this 1

A mercy mercy my jentyl make,

! !

mercy I have seyd al a mys ;

!

All that I have seyd her' I for sake,

Your swete fete now let me kys.
Maria. Nay lett be ; my fete not thou' them take ;

My mowth ye may kys, I wys,

& welcome on to me.

Joseph. Gra'mercy !
my' owyn swete wyff !

Gramercy !
myn hert !
my love !
my lyffl

Schal I nevyr mor' mak suche stryff,

Be twyx me & the !

He tells her he is convinced :

Had thou not be' a vertuous wythe,

God wold not a be' the' with inne.
 JOSEPH assures MARY that hereafter he will serve

her, and worship the child ; yet he expresses cu-

riositv/

& therfor' telle me, & nothynge Vhou'de,

The holy mat'er of your concep'ion.

MARY relates, that the Angel Gabriel greeted her,

and said,

God shulde be borne of my bode,

The flendys powste ffor to ffelle,

Thor'we the Holy Gost, as I wel se :

Thus God, in me, wyl byde & dwelle.

JOSEPH expresses satisfaction, thanks God, is re-

conciled to MARY, and the performance concludes.

 53

MYSTERY VI.

IN COTTON MS. PAGE A XT XIII.

VISIT OF MARY TO ELIZABETH.

discoursing with JOSEPH, informs him that

Elizabeth is with Child, and proposes to visit her.

Joseph. A godys sake is she with childe

! ! 1 sche ?

Than wole her husbond zakarye he mery ;

In Montana they dwelle, fer hens, so moty the
In the cety of Juda, I know it veryly,
It is hens, I trowe, myles two & fiyfty.

They prepare for the journey, and on setting off,

"
Mary urges Joseph to go fast, ffor I am schamfast of
the pepyl to be seyne."

Joseph. Amen, Amen, and evyr more,

sic fnsient eta
[& plac'ea.']
Lo wyff ! lo ! how starkly I go befor.

CONTEMPLATION.

Sovereynes !
Vndyrstand, that kyng davyd here
Ordeyned & twenty prestys, of grett devoc'on,
ffour

In the temple of God. <*

And on' was pryace of prestys, havynge d'nacy'on,

8
 54

Anionge which was an old prest, clepyd Zakarye,

& he had an old woman to his wyff, of holy conversac'on,
Whiche hyth Elizabeth, that nevyr had childe, verylye.

CONTEMPLATION then states, that there has

been an annunciation by Gabriel to Zachary that his
wife should conceive, her consequent conception, and

Mary's intended visit to her :

And of her' tweyners metyng,

her gynnyth the proces ;
Now god be our begynnynge,
&, of my tonge, I wole ses.

Joseph. A A ! !
wyff, in feyth I am wery ;

therfore I wole sytt downe & rest me ryght her'.

Lo, wyff! her is the hous of Zakary,

Wole ye I'clepe Elyzabeth to yow to aper 1

'Maria. Nay, husbond, and it plese you, I shal go ner.

Now the blyssyd trynite be in this hous !

A !
cosyn Elizabeth ! swete modyr I what cher 1
Ye grow grett ; A, my God how I
ye be gracyous !
T
( )

Elizabeth. A non, as I herd of yow this holy gretynge,

Mekest mayden, & the modyr of god, Mary,
Be yo' breth, the holy gost vs was inspyrynge,
That the childe in my body
enjoyd gretly,
And turnyd down, on his knes, to our god, reverently,
Whom ye ber' in your body.
2
( )

They congratulate and bless each other. Eliza-

[Passages paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

(*) PROTEVAN. ix. 19. Then Mary, that the mother of my Lord should
filled with joy, went, away to her come unto me ?

cousin Elizabeth, and knocked at the 21. For lo as soon as the voice of
!

door. thy salutation reached my ears, that

2
( )
20. Which when Elizabeth heard, which is in me leaped and blessed
she ran and opened to her, and blessed thee.
her, and said, Whence ia this to me,
 55

both asks Mary what occasioned her visit ; to this

she answers,

Mary. Whan I sat, in my lytyl hous, on to God praynge,

Gabryel come, & seyde to me, Ave;

Ther I conceyvyd God, at my consentynge,
Parfyte god & p'fyte man, at onys beynge;
Than the Aungel seyd on to me,
That it was sex monethys syn your consp.yvynge,
This cawsyth my comynge cosyn, yow to co'fort & se.

ELIZABETH acquaints Mary of her own concep-

tion after Gabriel's salutation, and they sing Magni-
ficat, taking two lines alternately. It is given in the
Latin, and translated into English verse. Mary says
this Psalm ought
to be seyn

Euery day amonge us, at our eve song.

But, cosyn Elyzabeth, I schal you her' kepe,

& this thre monethis abyde her' now,

Tyl ye han childe, to wasche, sko'r, & swepe,

&, in all that I may, to comforte yow.

Elizabeth. A ye !
modyr of God !
ye shewe us her' how
"We schulde be made, that wrecchis her be,
All hefne and herthe wurchepp yow mow,
That ar' trone & tabernakyl of the hyg trinite.

ZACHARY remains speechless during this conver-

sation. Joseph salutes him %

Joseph. A how do ye how do ye, ff.idyr Zacharye

! 1 ]

We ffalle ffast in age with owt oth :

Why shake ye so yo' hed ? hane ye the palsye ?

Why speke ye not ser' 1 I trowe ye ar' not wroth.

 56

Elizabeth. Nay wys, ffadyr Joseph, th'lo ne wer' ful loth ;

It is the vesytac'on of God ; he may not speke, veryly ;

lete us thank god therefor both,

He schal remedy it whan it plesyth his mercy.

JOSEPH tells Mary they have far to go, and had

better return home. After mutual leave taking with

Zachary and Elizabeth, they depart.

[Her Mary fy Elizabet party,' fy Elizabeth goth to

Zakarie $ seyth,]
Good husbond ryse up, I be seke yow, & go we the te'ple now
fast, to worship, because god wyl be born.

Cotepla'on. Lystenyth Sovereynys, her is a conclusyon

How the Ave was mad, her' is lernyd vs ;

The Aungel seyd, Ave g'ia plena d'us tecum,

benedicta tu in mulieribus.

Elyzabeth seyd, et benedict us

fruitis ventris tui. Thus the CHURCH added Maria, and

Jh'us her.
"Who seyth our ladyes sawter dayly, ifor a yer thus,
He hath pardon ten thowsand & eyte hundryd yer.

CONTEMPLACION continues relates that Mary

abode with Elizabeth during three months, till John
"
was born, and that then Zachary and Elizabeth pro-
phecyed."

They made Benedictus them beforn,

& so Magnificat and Benedictus
ffyrst, in that place thei made worn,
whan all was don, our lady fre

Toke her' leve, than after this

At Elizabeth, and Zakarie,
And kyssyd John, & gau hy' blys.
 57

Kow, most raekely we thank you of yowr pacycns,

& beseke yow, of your good supportac'on,
If her' hath he seyd, or do' any i'co'uenyens,
We assygne it, to yowr good deliberac'on ;

Be sek'yn'ge, to crysts p'c'ous passyon,

Co'serue & rewarde yowr hedyr comy'ge,
With Ave we be gun'e, & Ave is our co'clusyon ;

Are Reyia celor to our lady we synge.

The Play concludes and ushers in the succeeding

Pageant by the following sprightly address, which as

a specimen of the language held by the Performers to
their audiences is curious. In the last verse but one,
there a pretty clear intimation that the goodness of
is

the playing was according to the liberality of the

pay.

Tf A voyd sers ! And lete my lorde the buschop come,

And syt in the courte, the lawes for to doo :

And schal gon in this place, them for to somowne,

The that ben in my book, the court ye must com too.

I warne yow her', all a bowte,

That I somown you, all the rowte,

Loke ye fayl, for no dowte,

At the court to " per."

Both John Jurdon', & Geffrey Gyle,

Malkyn Mylkedoke, and fayr Mabyle,

Stevyn Sturdy, & Jak at the style,

& Sawdyr Sadeler.

 58

Thorn Tynker', & Betrys "belle,

Peyrs Potter, & Whatt at tlie welle,

Symme Smalfeyth, & Kate Kelle,

& Bertylmew the bocher'.

Kytt cakeler, & Colett crane,

Gylle fetyse, & fayr Jane,
Powle pewter', & P'nel prane,

& Phelypp the good fleccher.

Cok crane, & Davy drydust,

Luce Lyer, & Letyce lytyl trust,
Miles the miller, and colle crake crust,

Bothe bette the baker, & Robyn Rede.

And loke ye rynge wele in yowr purs,

For ellys yowr cawse may spede the wurs,

Thow that ye slynge goddys curs,

Evy' at my' hede.

Bothe Bontyng the browster', & Sybyly Slynge,

Megge Mery wedyr, & Sabyn Sprynge,

Tyffany Twynkeler, ifayle for no thynge,

flfast co' A way,
The courte schal be this day.
 MYSTERY VII.

IN COTTON MS. PAGEANT XIV.

THE TRIAL OF MARY AND JOSEPH.

J wo SLANDERERS introduce the simple story of this

performance.

Prim. Detractor. A A
! !
serys, God save yow all ;

Her' is a fayr pepyl, in good fay.

***** *

To reyse blawdyr is al my lay,

Bakbyter is my brother of blood.

^j Dede he ought come hedyr in al this day ;

Now wolde God that he wer her',

&, be my trewth, I dar' wel say,

That,we tweyn, to gedyr aper',

if

Mor slawndyr we to schal a rer',

With in an howr', thorwe outh this town,
Than evyr ther was this thowsand yer,
& ellys I shrewe you, bothe vp & down.

5[ Now, be my trewth, I have a syght,

Euyn of my brother, lo wher he is :

"Welcom, der brother !

my trowth I plyght,
Yowr jentyl mowth let me now kys.

S'c'dus Defctor. Gramercy !

brother, so have I blys ;

I am ful glad we met this day,

 CO

1st Detractor. Ryght so am I, brother, I wys,

moch gladder than I kan say.
^[ But yitt, good brother, I yow pray,
Telle, all these pepyl, what is yo' name :

For yf thei knew it, my lyf I lay,

They wole yow wurchep, & spek gret fame.
2d Detractor. I am bakbyter, that spyllyth all game,
bothe hyd and knowyn, in
many a place.
1st Detractor. Be my trowth, I seyd the same ;
& yet sum seyden thou shulde have evyl grace.
Id Detractor. ^[ Herk rey'se sclaundyr canst thou owth
! : telle

of any newe thynge that wrought was late ?

1st Detractor. With in a shorte whyle a thynge befelle,

I trowe thou wylt lawhg ryghtt wel ther ate,

ffor, be trowth, ryght mekyl hate,

If it be wyst, therof wyl growe.

2d Detractor. If I may reyse ther with debate,

I schal not spar' the seyd to sowe.

1st Detractor. Syr, in the tempyl, a mayd ther was.

Calde mayd Mary ;
the trewth to tell,

Sche seruyd so holy, with inne that plas,

men, seyd sche was fedde with holy A'ngell ;
Sche made a vow with man nevyr to melle,
But to leve chast, and clene virgine,
How evyr it be, her wombe doth swelle,
& is as gret as thyne or myne.
They discourse forsome time upon this news very
wittily, but in terms not befitting modern refinement.
"
TheBishop, ABIZACHAR," enters, with two
Doctors of Law. They listen to part of the slander,
"
and at last the Bishop says, Herke ye felawys," and
inquires why they defame the virgin's character
I charge yow ses of your fals cry,

ffor sche is sybbe of my owyn blood.

 61

2d Detractor. 1 Syb of thi kyn thow that she be,

All gret with chylde her wombe doth swelle;
Do calle her hedyr, thi self schal se,
That it is trewthe that I thee telle.

1st Detractor. Ser, for yowr sake, I schal kepe cowncelle,

Yow for to greve I am ryght loth,
But list, syrs, lyst, what sayth the belle ?

Our fayr inayd now gret with childe goth.

Princ. Doct. leg. IT Make good heed, sers, what ye doth say,
A vyse yow wele what ye p'sent,
Gyf this be fownde fals, anothyr day
fful sor' ye schal yowr tale repent.

2d Detractor. Ser, the mayd, forsothe, is good, & gent,

Both comely, & gay, & a fayr wench ;
And, feetly, with help, sche can consent,
To set a cokewolde on the hye benche.
Ej)' us. This ev'y' talys my hert doth greve,
Of hir' to her' suc'h fowle dalyawnce,
If she be fowndyn in such repreve,
She schal sore rewe her governawns.
IT
Sym Somnor', in hast wend thou thi way,

Byd Joseph, and his wyff, be name,

At the coorte to apper this day,
Her' hem to pourge of her defame ;
Sey that I her' of hem grett schame,
& that doth me gret hevynes,
If thei be clene, with owtyn blame,

byd hem come hedyr, & shewe wytt nes.

Den. IT All redy ser I schal hem calle,

Her' at yo' courte for to apper,

And, yf I may hem mete with all,

I hope ryght sone thei schal ben her.

A wey, sers lete me com ner'

!
;

A man of wurchep her' comyth to place.

Of curtesy, me semyth, ye be to ler',

Do of yo hodys, with an evyl grace !,

9
 62

^| Do me su' wurchep be for my face,

or, be my trowth, I schal yow make

If that I rolle yow up. in my race,
ffor fer I schal do yowr limbs qwake,
But yit su' mede, & ye me take,
I wyl with drawe my gret rough toth.
Gold, or sylvyr, I wyl not for sake,
But evyn as all somnors doth.

good day, with thi ffayr spowse

IT
A, Joseph ! :

my lorde, the buschop, hath for yow sent ;

It is hym tolde that in thi' house

A cockolde is

Maria. Of God, in hevyn, I take wyttnes,

That synful werk was nevyr my thought,
I am a mayd yit, of pur' clennes,

Lyke as I was in to this werd brought.

Den. Othyr wyttnes shal non be sought ;
Thou art with childe, eche man may se ;

I charge yow bothe ye tary nought,

But, to the buschop, com forth, with me.
Joseph. To the buschop, with yow, we wende ;

Of our purgac'on hawe we no dowth.

Maria. Almyghty God shal be our frende,
Whan the trewthe is tryed owth.
Den. Ha ! on this wyse, excusyth her', every scowte,

Whan her owyn synne hem doth defame ;

But lowly therin thei gyn to lowth,

Whan thei be gylty, & fowndyn in blame.

Therfore com forth cokewolde.

The SOM'NOE. upbraids them further, and brings

them before the Bishop, whom he thus addresses :

f My lord, the buschop , her* haue I brought

This goodly copyl, at yo' byddyng;

&, as me semyth, as be her', fraught

ffayr chylde, lullay, sone must she syug.
 63

1st Detractor. To her a credyl & ye wolde brynge,

Ye myght saue mony in her purse,

be cawse she is your cosyn (young) thynge,

I pray yow, ser, leteher nevyr far the wers.

Ejfus. ^[ Alas, Mary ! what hast thou wrought 1 T

( )

Tell
am a schamyd evyn

me whohath wrought
*** for thi sake.

this wranke,
How hast thou lost thi holy name 1
Maria. ^[ My name, I hope, is saff and sownde,
God to wyttnes I am a mayd.
* * * * *

Of ffleschly lust & gostly wownde

2
In dede nor thought I nevyr asayd. ( )

2d Doct. leg. Herke thou, Joseph ; I am afrayd

That thou has wrought this opyn synne ; (3)
This woman thou hast thus be trayd,
With gret flaterynge, or su' fals gynne.
* *
2d Detractor.Now, be my trowth, ye hytte the pynne,
With that purpose in feyth I holde,
Tell now how thou thus hir dudyst wynne,
Or knowlych thi self ffor a cockewold ?

Joseph. Sche is, for me, a trewe clene mayde,

And I, for hir, am clene also ;

Of ffleschly synne I nevy' asayde,

Sythyn that sch' was weddyd me to. ( )
4

[Passages paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

(1) PROTEVAN. xi. 8. Both she and seeing I know no man.

Joseph were brought to their trial ; (3) 12 Thenthe priest said to
and the priest said unto her, Mary, Joseph, hast thou done this ?
Why
what hast thou done ? (4) 13. And Joseph answered, as the
(2) 11. To which with a flood of Lord my God liveth, I have not been
tears she answered, As the Lord my concerned with her.
God liveth, lam innocent in his sight,
 64

Ep'its. Thou schalt not schape from vs, yitt so,

ffyrst thou shalte tellyn us a nother lay,

Streyt to the awter thou shalt go,

The drynge of vengeawns ther to a say.

U Her is the hotel of Goddys vengeauns ; ( ) l

This drynk shall he now thi purgac'on ;

This hath suche vertu, by Goddys ordenauns,
That what man drynk of this potac'on,

And goth (straightway) in p'cessyon,

Her' in this place this awter ahowth,
If he he gylty, sum maculacion,
Pleyn in his face, schal shewe it owth.
1

\hic Joseph bibit fy sap'cies ecuiuit altar dice's.]

Joseph. This drynk I take, with meke entent,

As I am gyltles, to God I pray ;

Lord ! as thou art omnypotente,

On me then shewe the trowth this day.

[modo bibit.]
About this awter I take the way ;

gracyous God help thi servaunt,

As, I am gyltles, a
gen you may ;
Thi hand of mercy, this tyme, me graunt.

Den. This old shrewe may not wele gon,

Long he taryeth to go a bowth ;

lyft up thi feet, set forth thi ton,

or, be my trewth, thou getyst a clowte.

JOSEPH is and taunted, by the

sorely upbraided
Som'nor and the Slanderers, whilst he paces round
the altar.

[Passage paralleled; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

(1) PROTEVAN. xi. 17. But he wept the Lord, which is for trial, and so
bitterly,and the priest added, I will your iniquity shall be laid open be-
cause you both to drink the water of fore you.
 65

Joseph. A, gracyous God !

help me this tyde,

Ageyn this pepyl, that doth me defame,

As I nevyr more dede towche her syde,
This day help me, fro werdly schame,
Abowte this awter to kepe my fame.

1J vij. tymes I haue gon rownd abowte,

If I be wurthy to suffyr blame,

0, ryghtful god !
my synne shewe owughte.

Ep'us. Joseph ;
with herte, thank god, thi lorde,
Whos hey' mercy doth the excuse ;

ffor thi purgac'on we schal recorde,

With hyr, of synne, thou dedyst nev' muse ;

But, Mary, thi self mayst not refuse,

All grett with chylde we se the stonde ;

What mystyz man dede the mys vse 1

Why hast thou synnyd A geyn thi husbonde ?

Maria. I trespacyd nevyr, with erthely wyght,

Therof I hope, th'owe goddys sonde,
Her to be purgyd, be for yo' syght,

From all synne clene, lyke as my' husbonde ;

Take me the botel, out of yowr honde ;

Her schal I drynke, beforn yowr face,

A bowth this awter than schal I fonde

vij times to go, by godys grace.

2d Doct. leg. H With

goddys hyg myght loke thou not rape,
Of thi purgac'on wel the a vyse ;
Yf thou be gylty thou mayst not schape,
be war evyr of god that ryghtful justyce.
If God with vengeauns set on the his syse,
Not only thou, but all thi kyn is schamyd
Bettyr it is to telle the trewth devyse,

Than God for to greve, and of hym be gramyd.

Mary drinks of the water of vengeance, and walks

 66

around the altar, saying a prayer to God, which she

concludes thus :

Gabryel me. with wordys, he be forn,

That ye, of your goodnes, would become my chylde ;
Help now of your hyg-ness, my wurchep be not lorn,
A der' sone ! I p'y yow, help yo' modyr mylde.

MARY receives no harm from the potation, and the

High Priest, in astonishment, declares, that

Sche is clene mayde, both modyr and wyff !

The Slanderers suspecting some deceit, express dis-

satisfaction.

1st Detractor. Be my fadyr sowle, her' is gret gyle;

be cause she is syb of yowr kynreed,
The drynk is chaungyd, by su' fals
wyle,
That sche no shame shulde haue this steed.

The High Priest orders the Slanderer to drink of

the same cup.

1st Detractor. Syr, in good feyth, o draught I pulle,

If these to drinkers have not all spent.

He instantly becomes frantic from the draught : the

Bishop and present ask pardon of Mary for their

all

suspicion and detraction, which she grants ; she and

Joseph congratulate each other, and the piece con-
cludes.
 67

MYSTERY VIII.
IN COTTON MS. PAGEANT XV.

THE MIRACULOUS BIRTH, AND THE

MIDWIVES.

THE Play commences by Joseph acquainting Mary,

"
that Octavian having demanded tribute to be cryed in
"
every bourgh & cety be name," he must sekyrnedys
"
in Bedleem" by labor. (*) Mary says she will go
with him, where she may perhaps find some of her
kin.

Joseph. My spowse ye be with childe ; I fer yow to kary ;

For, me semyth, it \ver' werkys wylde :

But yow to plese, ryght fayn wold I ;

Yitt women ben ethe to greve, whan thei be with childe.

Now latt us forth wend, as fast we may,

& al myghty God spede us, in our jurnay.
MARY, while they are travelling, espies a tree, and
inquires of Joseph,
A my swete husbond .! wolde ye telle to me,
What tre is yon, standing vpon yon hylle 1
Joseph. For suthe Mary it is clepyd a chery tre ;

In tyme of yer, ye myght ffede yow theron yowr fylle.

[Passage paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

(l) PROTEVAN. xii. 1. And it came I the Jews should be taxed, who were
to pass, that there went forth a decree of Bethlehem, in Judaea.
from the Emperor Augustus, that all
 68

Maria. Turn a geyn, husbond, & be holde yon tre,

How that it biomyght, now, so swetly.

Joseph. Cum on Mary, that we wern at yon Cyte,

or ellys we may be blamyd, I telle yow lythly.
Maria. ^[ Now my spowse, I pray yow to be hold
How the cheryes growyn vpon yon tre ;

ffor to have them, of ryght, ffayn I Avoid,

& it plesyd yow to labor' so mec'h for me.

Joseph. ^[ Yo' desyr to ffulfylle I schall assay sekyrly :

Ow ! to plucke yow of these cheries, it is a werk wylde !

ffor the tre is so by', itwol not be lyghtly

y for lete hy' pluk yow cheryes, be gatt yow with childe.

Maria. good lord, I pray the, graunt me

IT iSTow, this bonn,

to haue of these cheries, & it be yo' wylle ;

now, I thank it god, yis tre bowyth to me down,
I may now gader'y a nowe, & etyn my ffylle.

JOSEPH perceives, by -the bowing down of the tree,

that in speaking thus reproachfully to the Virgin, he
"
has offended god i' trinyte," and he humbles himself.
"
Meeting Ernes," a citizen of Bethlehem, they are in-
formed the city is full, on account of the persons
resorting to
Yondyr
Amonge

Maria.

of
In
her for to

hym, that
**
pay
is
tribute.

an hous of
the bestys, herberyd

this por' logge

all this
Mary

my chawmer
A byde the blyssyd
werd dude make
says,

haras, that stant be the wey,

may ye be.

I take,

byrth
:

be twyn my' sydys I fele he styrth.

JOSEPH accordingly brings her in. Mary requires

him to depart, and he does so, telling her he will
 69

" He meets two, whose help

seke su' mydwy vys." lie

desires for Mary, which they promise.

Saloinee. My name is Salomee, all men me knowe,
ffor a mydwyff of wurthy fame ;

"Whan women travayl grace doth growe,

There as I come I had nevyr shame.

Zelomye. And I am Zelomye, men knowe my name,

We tweyn, with the, wyl go to gedyr,
& help thy wyff, fro hurt & grame,
Com forth, Joseph, go we streyth thedyr.

THE MIDWIVES, being alarmed at a great light

within, decline entering. Joseph returns ; inquires of
Mary how she fares, and tells her the midwives are
"
without, & dar not come in for lyght that they se." Q
[hie Maria subridendo dicat maria.\

Maria. The myght of the godhede, in his Mageste

wyl not be hyd now, at this whyle;

The chylde that is born wyl p'ue his modyr fre,

A very clene mayde, & th'r for I smyle.

Joseph. Why do ye lawghe, wyff, ye be to blame j

I pray yovv, spowse, do no mor so ;
In happ, the mydwyuys wyl take it to grame,
&, at yo nede, helpe wele non do j
Iff ye haue nede of mydwyuys, lo,

P'auentur, thei wyl gon hens,

Yr for be sad, and ye may so,
And wynnyth all the mydwyuis good diligens.

[Passages paralleled ; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

(!)PROTEVAN. xiv. 9. And the their eyes could not bear it.
midwife went along with him, and 12. But the light gradually decreas-
stood in the cave. ed, until the infant appeared, and suck-
10. Then a bright cloud over- ed the breast of his mother Mary.
shadowed the cave, and the midwife 13. Then the midwife cried out, and
said, This day my soul is magnified, said, How glorious a day is this, where-
for mine eyes have seen surprising in mine eyes have seen this extraor-
things, and salvation is brought forth dinary sight !
to Israel. 14. And the midwife went out from
11. But on a sudden the cloud be- the cave, and Salome met her.
came a great light in the cave, so that
10
 70

Maria. Husbond, I p'y yow, dysplese yow nowth,

You that I lawghe and gret joy haue ;
Her' is the chylde, this worde hath wrought,
born now of me, that all thynge schal saue.

Joseph. I aske yow grace, for I dyde raue.

gracyous childe ! I aske mercy;

As thou art lord, & I but knaue,
ffor geue me now, my gret foly.
If Alas, mydwyuis what haue I seyd ?
!

1 pray yow com to us mor'ner',

ffor her' I fynde my wyff a mayd,
&, in her arme, a chylde hath her*,
both mayd & modyr sch' is, in ffer
That gode wole haue, may nevyr mor' fayle,

Modyr an erth was nevyr non cler,

With owth sche had, in byrth, travayle.
Zelomy. 1T In byrth, travayle must sche nedys haue,
Or ellys no chylde of her' is born.

Joseph. I pray yow, dame, & ye vow'ch sa'ue,

com se the chylde, my wiff beforn.
Salome. ^[ Grete god be in this place !

swete systyr, how far ye ?

Maria. I thank the fadyr, of his hyg grace,

His owyn son, & my chylde, her' ye may se.
Zelomy. IT All heyl Mary & ryght good morn
! !

Who was mydwyfe of this ffayr chylde ?

Maria. he, that no thynge wyl leaue for lorn,
Cent me this babe, & I mayd mylde.
Zelomy. *[[
With honde lete me now towch and fele.

If ye haue nede of medycyn,

I xal you comforte, & help ryght wele,
As other women, yf ye haue pyn.
Maria. ^| Of this fayr byrth, that her is myn,
Peyne ner grevynge fele I ryght non ;
I am clene mayde, pure virgyn,

Tast with yo' hand, yo' self a Ion.

\hio palpat Zelomye beatam v'ginem dicens."]

 71

"
ZELOMY is satisfied that a fayre chylde of a may-
"
don is born," and his modyr nott hurte of virgynite."
Salome. -^ It is not trewe, it may nevyr be,
That bothe be clene I can not be leve.
A mayd's mylke nev' man dyde se,
Ne woman ber' chylde, with owte grett greve.

[hie tangit Sdlomee Marie, fy cu' arescerit man' e?

vlulando fy quasi flendo dicit.]

SALOMEE exclaims, that for her unbelief her hand

"
is ded, & drye, as claye," and "styff, as a stykke." J
( )

She prays to God to be relieved, reminding him of

her alms and other good deeds. ( 2) This draws down
an angel, who desires her to worship the child, and
3
to touch his clothes. ( ) She goes to Mary, arid asks

forgiveness, who repeats the angel's request,

\liic
Salomee tangit fimbriam Christi dicens,]

4
and her hand is immediately restored. ( )

[Passages paralleled; from the Apoc. N. Test.]

1
f ) PROTEVAN. xiv. 18. IT Then 23. Make me not a reproach among
Salome went in, and the midwife said, the children of Israel, but restore me
Mary, shew thyself, for a great con- sound to my parents.
troversy is risen concerning thee. 24. For thou well knowest, Lord,
IQ.AndSalomereceived satisfaction. that I have performed many offices of
20.But her hand was withered, and charity in thy name, and have received
she groaned bitterly, my3reward from thee.
21. And said, Wo to me, because of ( ) PROTEVAN. xiv. 25. Upon this
mine iniquity for I have tempted the
;
an angel of the Lord stood by Salome,
living God, and my hand is ready to and said, The Lord God hath heard thy
drop off. prayer, reach forth thy hand to the
( )
2 Then Salome made her suppli- child, and carry him, and by that
cation to the Lord, and said, O God of means thou shalt be restored.
my fathers, remember me, for I am of ) 28. And straightway Salome was
4
(

the seed of Abraham, and Isaac, and cured.

Jacob.
 THE MIDWIVES take their leave, SALOMEE declar-

ing that,
In every place I schal telle this,

Of a clene mayde that god is born ;

&, in our lyknes, God now clad is,

Mankend to save that was for lorn ;

his modyr a mayde, as sche was beforn ;

Natt fowle polutyd, as other women be,

but fayr, & fresch, as rose on thorn,

Lely whyte, clene with pur virginyte.

EXD OF COVENTRY MYSTERIES,

FROM APOCRYPHAL STORY.
 anir

"
Sir, It is the great excellence of a writer to put into his book as much as
his book will hold." Johnson to JBoswcll.

I.-COUNCIL OF THE TEIOTTY.

" The common definition of man is false he is not a reasoning animal. The
:

best you can predicate of him is, that he is an animal capable of reasoning."
Warburton.

Uttae gftfrfcti: tf)e fcofec tfjat fe

fyt Jfttrrour of tfje Wm% tyttt of our

lorte S'Jw crgste,

A FOLIO volume in MS., written on vellum and bearing the above

title, is in my possession. It gives an account of a great Council in

heaven, which from the ensuing extracts will appear similar to that
in Mystery IV. (*) In some instances the language of each is al-
most literally alike in others, that of the MS. is more amplified.
:

After various opinions during a long discussion between Mercye,

Sothfastnes, Pees, and Kytewisnes, concerning the means of

making satisfaction for the sinful fall of man, "Pees," proposed

that
" for a fynal dome in this matyr, let be made a gode dethe of

man, so that one be fo'nden withouten synne, that may & wolle
innocently, & for charite, suftre deth for man." To this they all
" thei askeden
assented, and amonge hemself whether that one myght
be founden that schulde fulfille and do this dede of charite."
'
" Than
Mercye toke with hur Eeson, and sought among allo

(*) Page 38, ante.

 74

the ordres of Aungeles in heuen, to se whether eny of hem wer'

able to do this dede ; bot there was none. Also Sothfastnes sought
fro heuen to the clowdes bynethen, whether ther were eny creatur
thatmyght p'forme it ;
and
alle vnable.
thei weren
Eyghtwisnes
went down to erthe, and sought amonge the hyghe hilles, & into the
depe pytte of helle, whether ther weren eny man that myght take
thisgood & innocent dethe ; but ther was none fo'nden clene of
synne, ne not the childe of one dayes birthe."
Upon this they were greatly grieved : than seyd pees wot ye
not wele that the p'phet that seyde ther' is none foundin that may
done gode ;
afterward he potteth to more, & seith, till it com to

one; this on man may be he that gafe the sentence aforsaide of

man'es saluacion. Wher'fore prey we hym that he wol help &
fultille it in dede ; for to hym speketh the p'phete aftre in the for-

seyd psalme, saying, Lorde thou schalt saue man, and bestowe aftre
thi mykel mercy. Bot than was a question amonge the sustres,
commyttid to Eeson for to determyn, which p'sone of thre, Fader,
& Sonn, & holi goste, one Gode, schulde be com man' & do this
m'cyfull dede. Then seyde Reson, that, for als mykell as the p'son
of the fader is propurly dredfull & myghty, the p'son of the
son allewyse and witty, ande the p'sone of the holi goste most
benygne and godely, the seconde p'son semeth most conuenient.

^j" Ande,
whan Eeson had seyd this verdyt, the Fader seide it was his
wille that schulde be soe, the Son gafle gladly his assent therto,
it

ande the holi goste seide he wolde worcke ther to also. And than

fallyngdowne alle the holi spirits of heuen, and sou'eynly thonking

the Holi Trinite, the four sustres aforsed weren kyssed ande made
accorde."
The MS. proceeds to relate " what
Seynt Jerome, wrytyng of hir
"
life, seyd concerning the religious education and exercises of the
Virgin Mary in the temple, after she was left there at three years of

age by her parents. It then relates that :

" Whan plente of the tyme of g'ce was com'en, in the whiche the

hyghe trinite ordeyned to save manky'de, that was dampned throughe

the synne of Adam ; for the grete charite that he hadde to man'-
kynde, stirying hym in his g'te m'cye, & also the prayer, & the
 75

instance of alle the blissed spirits of heuen, aft' that the Hissed

maiden marie wedded to Joseph, was gone home to Nazareth, the

fader of heuen called to hym the Archangele Gabriel, and seyd to

hym in this maner ; goo to our der' dought' marye the spouse of
Josep, the which is most cher to vs of alle creatures in erthe, and
saye to hir, that my blissed son hathe coueyted hir schappe and hir
bewte, & chose hir to his moder, & th'fore praye hir that she

resceyue hym gladly ; for, by hir, I haue ordeyned the hele & the
saluacion of all' man'kynde; & I wole forgete & forgyue the
wronge that hath be'done to me of hym her' before. ^[ And so,
anone, Gabriel rysyng vp gladde & ioycunde, toke his fleyte fro' the

hyghe heuen to erthe; ande in a moment he was in mannes

licknes byfore the virgyn marie, that was in hir pruye cham'ber that
tyme closed, & in hir p'yers or in hir meditacions, p'auentur' redying

the p'phecye of ysaye tou^hyng the Incarnacion. And yit also

swyftly as he flowe, his lorde was come before, and he fonde alle the
holi trinite comen or his message. For thou schalt vndirstonde that
this blissed Incarnation was the highe werke of alle the holi trinite,

thoughe be that only the p'sone of the son was incarnate &
it

bycome man. ^[ Bot

now be warr her', that thou erre not in
ymagynacion, th'fore take her' a gen' ale doctryne in this meter, now
what tyme thouherest, orthinkest, of the trinyte, or of the godhed,
or of gostly creatures, as aungels & soules, the which thou maiste not
see with thi bodely eyze, and thi proper kynd, ne fele with thi bodely

wytte, streyne not to ferre in that mat'er, occupye not thi wytte
thererwith, as thou woldest undirstonde it by kyndely resonne, for it

wil not be, while we be in this b'ustouse body, liuynge her' in erthe.
And, th'fore, whan thou herest eny suche thinge, in by leue that
passeth thi kyndely reso'ne, trowe, sothfastly, that is sothe as holi
chirche techeth, & go now forth & so thou schalte bylcue."
After the salutation, which is detailed at great length, the angel,

requests Mary's consent to become "goddes moder," which she

complies with.
" Anone withoute
dwellyng goddes son entred into hir wombe,
and, throwgh worcking of the holi goste, was made man, in ver-
rey flesch and blode, taken of hir body, ande, not as othe' children,
 76

conceyued & born by kynde bene schapen, membre aft' membre,

ande aft' the soule ached into the bodye, bot anon, at the firste
inst'nce, he was schappe in alle membris, and alle hole man in
full

body & soule, but, never the les, ful lytel in quantite ; for aft' he
waxed more & more kyndely than oth' children done : so that, at the

fyrste, he was god and man, as wyse ande as mygty

full perfyte

as he is nowe. Ande, when this was done, Gabriel, knelynge downe

with our ladye, &, sone aft', with hir rysyng up, toke curteysly his
leue of hir, with a devoute & a lowe bowyng to the erthe."

According with the above account of the incarnation is the infor-

mation in Erasmus's Exposition of the Creed, that " the relygyouse

contemplacyon of good and godly men hathe taughte that the holye
ghoste toke one of the moste purest droppes of bloode out of the
vergine Maries herte, and layde it downe into her matrice; and
that hereof, sodeynly, was made the perfighte body of a man, soo
smalle as is a lytle spyder whicheis but euen now cropen forthe

from the egee, but yet with all the membres, fulle fynysshed and
perfyght ; and that, in the same momente, a soule was infused and
putte into it, beynge euen verye than, forthewith, perfyghte in all
powers and qualytyes, as it is now in heuen." (*)
If this, and the last paragraph extracted from the MS. be com-
2
pared with the scene in the Mystery, the similitude between the
curious narration in each will be apparent, as that between the
Council of the Trinity in the Mystery and the same event in the

Speculum Vitce Christi.

Erasmus on the Crede, 8vo, 1533, art. the Descent.

2
( ) Page 44, ante.
 77

II THE BRETHREN OF THE HOLY TRI-

NITY, OF ST. BOTOLPH WITHOUT AL-
DERSGATE.

"The fourme of the Trinity was founden in Manne, that was Adam our
oon personne; and Eve, of Adam, the secunde persone;
forefadir, of earth
and of them both was the third persone. At the deth of a manne three
Bellis shulde be ronge, as his knyll, in worscheppe of the Trinetee and ;

for a womanne, who was the secunde persone of the Trinetee, two Bellis
should be rungen."
Ancient Homily for Trinity Sunday.

AN Episode is often pleasant to the bystander, and always to the

person making it ;
whom it is sometimes the consequence of a
with
"
sudden recollection this puts me in mind of that :" so, while writ
ing the last article of the Council of the Trinity in Heaven, I was
reminded of a Guild of the Holy Trinity of the City of London. If
the reader please hemay look at the following account of it ; if he
have no taste for such matters I am sorry for it ; he can pass to some-
thing more likely to amuse him, and I apologize for the interruption.
This fraternity of the Holy Trinity was founded in the forty-eighth

year of Edward III., 1373, in honour of the body of Christ, and to

maintain thirteen wax lights, burning about the sepulchre in the

time of Easter in the said Church, and to find a Chaplain. Their

chief day of solemnity was on Trinity Day to hear Mass in honour of

the body of Christ, and of the Holy Trinity, and to make their offer-

ings. The Brotherhood consisted of a Messuage House and Tene-

ment called Trinity Hall, otherwise the common Hall of the Frater-

nity or Guild of the Holy Trinity, founded in the Church of St.

Botolph, Aldersgate, and also eight Messuages and Tenements,
commonly called The Trinity, also situate beneath Trinity Hall. (')

Stow's London, vol. 1, p. 613, &c.

11
 78

So far tliis is Stow's account ; to which may he added that,

in Catholic worship thirteen candles are an allegory of Christ and
the twelve apostles, and that in one of its ceremonies, the twelve
candles denoting the twelve apostles are "extinguished at intervals

during successive parts of the service, until one only is left which
represents Christ deserted by the disciples, and in the end that one is
J
put out to signify his death. ( )

" The
(*) Evening-office of the Holy Week which the Church performs on
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday before Easter, 1760," 8vo, of which I
have a copy in my possession, marked " Ex Bibliothecd F. F. MIN. Angl.
" In the
Londini," contains the signification of certain candles. Evening
of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the Church performs a solemn
office called Tenebrce. The name of Tenebrce is given to it from the cere-
mony of extinguishing all the candles during the course of it, till at last
it isfinished in total darkness ; which is the signification of the word
Tenebrce. The six candles on the altar, and the fifteen candles on the
Epistle side, all burning at the beginning of the Office, signify the light
of faith preached by the prophets and Jesus Christ : of which faith the
fundamental article is the BLESSED TRINITY, represented
Mystery of the
by the TRIANGULAR CANDLESTICK. At the repetition of the fourteen Anti-
phons in the matins and lauds, fourteen of the candles in the triangular
candlestick are extinguished ; and at the six last verses of the Bede-
dictus, those on the altar are put out ; to teach us that the Jews were
totally deprived of the light of faith when they put our Saviour to death.
But the fifteenth candle, that represents the light of the world, Jesus
Christ, is onlyhidden for a time under the altar, and afterwards bnnight
out again burning, to signify that though Christ, according to his
still

humanity, died and was laid in the sepulchre, yet he was always alive,
according to his divinity, by which he raised his body again to life." The
"
darkness, signifies the darkness at the crucifixion ; and the noise made
at the end of the Prayer, represents the confusion of nature for the loss
of its author."
As in the above ceremonial the Trinity is represented by a triangular
candlestick, so also it is represented by a triangular candle. An engraving
by Galle, figures the triangular candle as standing in a candlestick held
by an Angel. I subjoin from recollection a sketch of this representation
oi' the Trinity.
 79

From the Chartulary of this religious Guild in my possession, I

am enabled to relate the following particulars concerning it.
The volume commences with the Romish Calendar on Vellum,
in which are marked obytes of the brethren. It is followed by the
statutes of the one ordains, that the priest shall be charged
Order :

by the wardens of the year, for to do his mass, winter and summer, by
"
five o'clock, sayinge by fore masse, duly, fl JttEMOttt Of tft

^IJjnptCE I another directs, " that in' the Sunday next aft' alle sow-
len day, the preste shal rede openlyche, stondynge in the pulpyte, alle

the names of the bretheren and the sustren that ben on lyue." A
" "
dirige was also ordained on the Sunday night after " alle sowlen
morrow " bretheron and
day," and on the a requiem for the dead

sustren," at which each brother and sister should attend and offer

"an halfe-peny," or "be vppon peyne of a pounde of wexe." It was

"
directed, Also, gif eny of the bretherhode be a losed of eny thefte,
or he be an comm' contekour,com'n hasardour, or of eny oth'
or

wycked fame, wherfore by, that the co'pany may ben a apayred, or
defamed, it is ordeyned that thei ben yputte oute of the breth'hode."
It was further ordained that the priest should have "for his lyflode"

ten marks' annually, and "an dowble hode of the colour of the breth'-
hode ;" And also " that he be meke and obedient vnto the qwer' in
alle diuine seruyces dvrynge hys t'me, as custome is in the citee

amonge alle othe' p'stes." The statutes are succeeded by lists of the

brothers and sisters in different years. The first list is preceded by

the form of the Priest's address, on reading their name, in the follow-
" Gode bretheren and susteren it is forto weten and
ing words: :

knowen, that the bygynnynge of this bretherhode of greta deuocio'n,

eu'y ma' paynge a pcny forto fynde xiij taperes about the sepulcre of
c'ste at Estre, in the chirche of seynt Botulphe, withoute Alderesgate,
in Loundon. Aft' that, throug'e more gretter deuocio'n, & sterynge
vnto the worschippe of god, it' was yturne in' to a frat'nyte of {ZTfjC

the
f^olg ^TJjngte, nougt with stondynge the fyndynge eu'y yere,
may'tenynge of the forsayde xiij taper's ; of the whiche breth'hode
" At the
thes' were thei." Then before the names, is this notice ;
 80

bygynynge of this frat'nyte, the whiche was bygun'e in the yere of

kynge EdwarJe the thredde, one andfyfty (J) thes weren the bygy'-
neres tli'of, and maysteres, & gou'nour's for the first yer' ; that is to

sayen: PHILIPPUS AT VYNE; AGNES, vx eius; JOH'ES

j
.

BOCKYNGE. These betheth names of the bretheren, & the sus-

teren, the whiche entreden in to the forsayde bretherhode, i' her

" "
tyme." The names of fifty-three bretheren," and twenty-nine sus-
teren," immediately follow.
In the lists of this fraternity I find in the 10th year of Henry

IV., the names of " Thos.' de Berkyng, Abbas de Seynt Osyes,

Joh'es Eoos, Arraiger. D'us Joh'es
Galfra' Paynell,
Armiger.
Watford, P'or s'ti'D'us Joh'es Yonge, supp'or' s'ti' Barthi'.
Barthi.'

Eic's Lancastre, Eex de Armis. Kat'ina, vx' ej'. Eic's Haye

Armig.' Joh'a, vx' ej'.

Will's Yrby, Armiger P'or' s'ti' Barthi'.

Eic's Maydestone, Armig. Will's Mounsewe, Armig'i, cu' Counte

de Westm'land. Eob's Strangweys, Armiger, Eogerus Audelby,ibid.

Eector de White Chapell. Will's Lasyngby, Armig. D'us Joh'es

" Eic'us
Newport, Eector de Grascherche." In the 2 Henry V.
"
Derh'm, Ep'us landau' was the Master of the Brotherhood.
In the Volume are copies of the grants, charters, patents, feoff-

ments, wills, and other securities for the property of which the
brotherhood were seized ; besides their own deeds of transfer, leases,
and agreements. These Entries shew that the landed property of the
Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity, consisted of houses in Aldersgate-
street,the Barbican, Lamb-alley, Fanchurch-street, and Long-lane ;
one of these was held on the annual payment of a rose, others in fee.

They were proprietors of the Saracen's head inn, and the Falcon on
the hoop brewery. In the 14th year of king Eichard II., Sir Eauff
Kesteven, parson of St. Botolph,and the two Churchwardens, gran ted
a lease for twenty years to John. Hertyshorn of the Saracen's head
with the appurtenances, at the yearly rent of ten marks ; the appurte-
nances were two houses adjoining on the north side, and were
ncluded in that rental as worth eight shillings each by the year, and

(!) Stow says, the forty-eighth year of Edward III.

 81

one on the south was valued at ten shillings.

" In the
side, xxj yer of
kyng Harry the
6
vj* ," the hretheren received, " For the rent of ij yere
of Wyll'm Wylkyns, for the Sarresyn head v. li. vjs. viijd. paynge
"
by the yer liijs. iiijd" and of the Faucon on the hope, for the same
"
ij yer vi. li. that is to say, payng' by the yer' iij. li ;
but the same

year they demised the Falcon brewhouse to Robert Halle and John
Walpole, brewers, for four years, at eighty-four shillings per annum.
Six years before, there is, in the churchwardens' accounts, an item
"
for kerving and pointing of the seigne of the faucon, vi s."

Some of the personals of this fraternity are interesting. By "Bille

de
endented, made the xviij day of Juyn* the iij yere of kyng
th
Edwarde the iiij ," the then master and wardens, acknowledge to
have received from the then late master and wardens the goods
thereinafter described, among which are the following items :

" A myssall, newe bounde, with derys leder, garnysshed wyth

1

sylk ;
whereof the seconde lefe begynneth, Asp git aqua bened'ta,
with claspys & burdens, weying iiij vnc." iij
c'r't and a half.

" A chaleys of sylver &

gilt, with a crucifyx' in the fote & a pa-

teyn' to the same, with the ^rinttfe enamelyd, weying xxv vnc"
" It. Rolle of cou'ed with a goldeskyn, contenyng diu'se
velom',

pagent's paynted and lemenyd with gold, that is to say, of t|)t

P^olj) 3ttntte Seynt Fabyan,

and Seynt Sebastyan, & Seynt Botulff ;

a
For the Trinity, Holy Church hath chosen to make the similitude
( )
'

of the father,an olde man with a long gray beard and for the sonne, a :

man hanging on the crosse and for knowledge of the holie Ghost, a
:

dove." The Beehive of the Romishe Church, Lond. 1579, 8vo, p. 192.
"
God having formerly appeared as the Ancient of Days,
the Father,
xve may paint him The Son took upon him human
in that form now.
nature, and so may be represented as a Man. The Holy Ghost some-
times appeared in the form of a Dove, at another like tongues of fire.
Those who by colours, artificially disposed, represent the Trinity under
such figures as these, do nothing but what the authority of Scripture
permits and commands." Sander, de Ador. Imag. 1. i. c. 4. (Conformity
between Ancient and Modern Ceremonies. Lond. 1745. 8vo. p. 185.)
The Cathedral Churoh of Norwich is dedicated to the Holy Trinity.
 .
-82

and the pagent of the tereiuent,

last & gen'all obyte, of the brether'n
& suster'n, that be passed to god ;
with clayne obseruances &
prayers, to stere the people to the more devotion TOWARD' THE
SEYDE BRETHERHODE.
" A keybande of derys leder, wyth a keveryng of cheverell, jwyth

purses thereuppon," garnysshed, conteyning iij keyes, made and

ordeyned alwey be in the kepyng of the maist' for the tyme beyng,
to

accordyng to the statut's and ordenaunces thereof made, as it appe-

rith in this blake booke, the xxxj lefe."

Then there is the description of the last mentioned book :

namely,
"A 23lafa HUQtStre Bofce with a kalender, in the which is written
the cledes, testament's, wylles, evidences, & other writyng's, conc'nyng'
the lyvelode of the breth'hode ;
& there registred for the well & more
surete of the same." This Blake Registre Boke is that from which
I am transcribing.
The annual accounts of this brotherhood evidence the pains they

took to entice people by their exhibitions. As the beginning of the

fraternity grew out of the glare of thirteen tapers, they kept up wax
" Also there ben
these lights by the following statute ordeyned xiii
:

tapers of Avex, and eu'y taper of sex pounde of wex, Avith dysches of
pewtre, accordynge th'to, forto brenne about the sepulcr' on estrea
cue' & estres day, al so longe as the mane'
holy chirche." They es in'
"
always had store of wax. They enjoined attendance at mass, vpon
peyne of a pound of wex ;" on the transfer of their gear from the old
" " " "
to the new wardens, their paynted cofres and spruce chests
"
conteyned long tapers, short tapers, long torchys, short torches, and

Before the Reformation, the imago principalis, the principal image in

the rood loft, now the organ loft, was an image of the Holy Trinity,
which was represented by a weak old man, with Christ on the cross
between his knees, and a dove on his breast ; this image was richly
gilt. In 1443, Rob. Norwych, Esq., gave to it his silver collar which
was presented to him by the emperor and in 1499, Lady Margaret
;

Shelton put about it a gold chain of 25 SS. weighing eight ounces, with
four small jewels, one great jewel, and a rich enamelled rose in gold,

hanging thereon. Blomefield's Nonvich, 1806, 8vo. vol. ii.

p. 29.
 83
"
(<
wex ;" they always w .gadyred of tlie people for '*
lygth," and there
are numerous charges " for the makyng of of the BBAUNCHE byfbrae
Hie ^tingtfc and waste of toex."
Perhaps the branch was that which, also in olden time, was called
a " Jesse,
1'
from a block of wood being carved into the figure of a man,

representing Jesse, lying on his back, with a tree or branch growing

out of the stomach, as genealogies are sometimes drawn. The carver's
" was a of " There shall come forth a rod out
Jesse," personification
of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots."

(Isaiah, xi. 1.)

From Jesse's root behold a branch arise,

Whose sacred flower with fragrance fills the skies j

Th' aetherial spirit o'er its leaves shall move,

And oil its top descend the mystic dove.
Pope.
The " Jesse" was a distinguished ornament in old pageants and shows:

when introduced into churches, the branch was filled with lighted
tapers ; and, hence, perhaps, the cluster of brass candlesticks in a
church is still called the branch.

In the accounts of the wardens of this brotherhood for " the x yer
te
of king Harry the vi ," there is the charge of an "item, to the wex-

ehaundeler, for making of the sepulcr," lyght iij tymes> and of other
dyuers lyglits, that longyn to the ^ttnttfc in dyu's places in the
chirche, Ivijs. x<." a large sum in those times, and must have pro-
duced a prodigious illumination.
Fromthe third century when, besides adopting other pagan cere-
"
monies, they also lighted torches to the martyrs in the day time as
l
the heathens did to their gods," ( ) the use of torches and tapers in

churches, both by day and night, has prevailed in Catholic worship to

the present hour ;
and Catholic allegorists have contrived to spiritual-

ize these burning ornaments of their temples for the edification of the
devout. According to their account, candles or tapers represent
Christ ;
the wax, signifies his flesh ;
the fire, his deity ;
the wick,
his humanity ;
the light, his doctrine. The wick further signifies

humility ;
the moulded wax obedience ;
the flame, the love of God.

(*) Sir Isaac Newton on Daniel, 4to, p. 207.

 84

Also, tlie wax and wick represent body and soul ; and the light the

shining of the faith. (*)

This brotherhood of the Trinity contributed their share to the vulgar

gratification of the deluded people in other ways. For the years from
the " xxj to the xxv th yer of Eeyn'g of kyng harry the vj th ," there are

charges "for p'stis hir, for repa'c'ons, for eostis on the ^tgngtt bon=
Ijag, $ on the evin for mete & drynk, & Stately Clothes mynstrdlcs,

synfjer" $c. Their inventories evidence that they knew how to get up
popular shows and entertainments ; they had "pillows o/ silke, reed &
yellow knotts, banner clothes, a blake palle of blake damaske with a
white crosse, staynede bordere with the fyve wondys of owre lorde,
and a border of blak with the kyng's armys and estryge ffethers
conteyning' in len'th iij ell's iij q-'rt'rs." Doubtless these fripperies
were borne in their public processions, for one of which there is a
words " Also
positive statute in these :
gif it by falle, that eny of

the breth'hede falle seeke, fyue myle eche wayes aboute London,"

(*)
who had a spite against St. Kentigern, put out all the
Some, one
monastery, whereupon he snatched a green hazel bough, and
fires in his

in the name of the Holy Trinity blessed it and blowed upon it, and
immediately by five sent from Heaven the. bough produced a great flame,
and he lighted the candles for the vigils, " wherefore the light ceased
from the wood." Capgrave Vit. S. Kentig. f. 208 (Patrick's Reflect, on
Devot. of Romish Church, 8vo, 1674, p. 357.)
"
2. February (Candlemas Day) is called Candlemw, because before
mass is said that day, the church blesses her candles for the whole year,
and makes a procession with hallowed or blessed candles in the hands of
the faithful." Posey of Prayers, or the Key of Heaven, 1799, 18mo. p. 15.

The Church ordained, that lighted tapers should be carried upon

Candlemas Day, in order to avail itself of a custom continued from the
ancient Romans, who marched in procession with lighted tapers and
caudles, in honour of Februa, the Mother of Mars, the God of War ; and
sacrificed to Februas, Pluto, the God of Hell, that he might be merciful
to the souls of their friends. The Roman women on the same day kept
the Feast of Candles, in honour of Proserpine, who was so beautiful that
Pluto carried her off, and her parents sought her in Hell, with lights
and tapers. Pope Sergius adopted this practice by ordaining "that
Christians should upon this day, walk round the Church with conse-
crated tapers in their hands, lighted up to the honour of the Mother of
God." The Legend, Fr. (Coiif. A. & M. Cer. p. 113.)
 85

and dycth there, that gif the wardaynes of that yere "ben ysent aft',
than ordeyned that thei schullen wende, and fecche home the
it is

body, to London'; and that alle the bretheren be redy, at her

warnynge, and go agens the body, with outen the citee, townes ende,
for to bry'ge the body in to the place, with worschyppe." These
were means that they seem to have used, according to their own
" to stere the
words, peple to the more devotion TOWARD THE BRK-
THERHODE." Of pure devotion towards the Supreme Being, they
appear to have been wholly ignorant.
No portion of Scripture was ever possessed by this fraternity ;
for

the volume repeatedly registers their entire property at different

periods, and mentions nothing of the kind except their "myssall,"

most likely overlaid by prayers to the saints, notices of indulgences"

for sin, and pictures of unedifyng
superstitions. To be sure there
was their u Rolle of velom with tTie Pagent of tf)t pjolg ^Ttnitn
paynted and lemenyd with gold" and the annual charge for making
the branch and lighting it up ; but whatever f^olg ^rintt)J
was lemenyed on this Pagent, it is impossible to suppose that sucli

display should suggest an idea of Him, who is a Spirit. There is

however, a figure which may have been that upon their pageant.
" and Masse bookes,
It frequently occurs. (*) They in their churches,

doe paint the TRINITIE WITH THREE PACES for our mother the :

holie Church did learne that at Rome, where they were wont to

paint or carve Janus with two faces. And then further, there
is written in John, that there are three in heaven which beare
witnctfse, the Father, the Worde, and the Holie ghost ; and these
three are one, &c. ( ) then, of necessitie, they must be painted
<<!

with THREE HEADS, OR THREE FACES, UPON ONE NECKE."(3 )

I insert an engraving of this Trinity, in all respects the same as

a smaller one, an initial in the Salisbury Missal of 1534, fo. viii.

(t) In Enchirid. Ecclesii Sarum, Paris, 1528, 24mo. vol. i. fol. xiiii. ;

in various other editions ; and in the Horae B.V. Maria continually ;

besides MS. Missals, Lyndewood's Provinciale, &c.

2
( ) 1 John, v. 7.
3
( ) Beehive of the Romishe Church, Lond. 1579, 8vo. p. 191.
 86

The "a
(*) Trinity argent on a shield azure," was
triangle in this cut,
the arms of Trinity Priory, Ipswich, and is figured in Mr. Taylor's
Index Monasticus,} Diocese, Norwich,) 1821, fol. p. 96. May not the
triune head have been originally suggested by the three headed Saxon
deity named Trigla ? There is a wood cut of a triune headed Lucifer
in Dante, ed. Venice, 1491, fol. copied by the Rev. T. F. Dibdin in his
Altiwrpiana, voL ii.
p. 116.
 87

" Four
John Hey wood, in his P's, a very merry Enterlude of a

Palmer, a Pardoner, a Poticary, and a Pedler," brings in the Palmer

relating that in his Pilgrimages he has been at different parts of the

world, and in enumerating them he says,

At Saint Boddphe and Saint Anne of Buckstone

* * * * *

Praying to them to pray for me

Unto the blessed Trinitie. (*)

This was either the Priory of the Holy Trinity of St. Botolph
without Aldgate, or our Brethren of the Holy Trinity of St. Botolph
without Aldersgate. Heywood, though a stern Eoman Catholic,

exposes with the humour of Uliespiegel the tricks played on the

credulous fondness of the ignorant for reliques, and ridicules the

greediness and craft of the preaching friars in their pious frauds.

He makes the Pardoner produce " the blessed Jawbone of All-

halowes," on which the Poticary swears

by All-halowe, yet methinketh

That All-halowe's breath stinkith.
Pardoner.

Nay sirs, beholde heer may ye see

The great toe of the Trinitie.
Who to this toe any money vowth,
And once may role it in his mouth,
All his life after, I undertake,
He shall never be vext with the tooth ake.

By the turn given to the Poticary's answer, it seems likely that

Heywood had in his eye the figure with the three heads in one.

Poticary.

Ipray you turn that relique about :

Either the Trinity had the gout,

Or els, because it is three toes in one,
God made it as much as three toes alone. a
( )

(') Dodsley's Old Plays, edit. 1744, vol. i.

p. 88.
 The Pardoner bids that pass, and climaxes the absurdity by pre-
the " buttock-bone of Pentecost." l Gross as all this is,
senting ( )

Heywood had as little design to scandalize the belief of his own.

church, as his patron, Sir Thomas More, had by his philosophical

romance of Utopia. He was a great favourite with Queen Mary,
and on the restoration of the Protestant ascendancy with Elizabeth,
he fled from his native country to secure the exercise of his faith
2
without hazard to his life, and died in exile. ( )

Personifications of the supreme attributes have been accom-

odated to popular understanding in almost every possible Avay
from the earliest ages. By an inquirer into the ancient worship of
the Deity under the grossest form that, to apprehension in these
times can be represented by the artist, the English reader is

acquainted with two statues at the temple of Hierapolis, respecting

the active productive Power and the passive productive Power.
" Between both was a third
figure with a dove on his head, which
some thought to be Bacchus. This was the Holy Spirit, the first
begotten Love or plastic Nature (of which the Dove was the image
3
when it really deigned to descend upon Man,) ( ) proceeding from
and consubstantial with Both; for all Three were but personifications
1' 4
of One. ( ) Although it is rather foreign to my purpose, yet it is not a
departure from, the subject, to mention a curious anecdote which
Bishop Patrick says is gravely related by the biographers of St.
Clara de Monte Falconis that after her death, there was found in
:

her gall a plain testimony of the Holy Trinity, consisting of three

balls of equal figure, colour, and size, and of equal weight, one

weighing the weight of two and also of three, yet all three weighing

no more than one. ( 5)

(!) Dodsley's old Plays, edit. 1744, vol. i.

p. 101.
2
( )
Bitson's Bibliog. Poetica, p. 242. From whence it appears that
Heywood died at Mechlin in 1544. He evidently took his "Four P's"
from the Pardoner's tale by Chaucer.
3
( ) [" Matt. c. iii. ver. 17."]

(*) A Discourse, &c., by Richard Payne Knight, Esq., London :

printed
by Spilsbury, 4to, 1786., p. 146.
6
( )
Patrick on Devot. of Roin. Church, p. 273.
 89

A desire of relieving the reader's teedium may possibly excuse a

wider deviation. It is well known that the personality of the Devil
liasbeen exemplified by extraordinary personifications of him, and
by under almost every form but a per-
relations of his appearance ;

sonation that he is represented to have assumed in Hertfordshire, is

accompanied by circumstances that have never, perhaps, been paral

leled. In turning over John Bagford's collection of Title-pages at
the British Museum (Harl. MSS. 5419), I find one in his own
writing, from a tract that must have been so rare at that time, that
he could not possess it, or his collecting hand would have mercilessly
torn off the title page ;
and I suspect it to have been almost, if not

quite unique, for its existence is not now traceable by me

after very

long and diligent inquiry. Although, therefore, I can do no more

than lay before the reader the following copy that I made from

Bagford's copy, yet that is sufficient to inform him of all that he

can perhaps ever know of the alleged' event. Here it is :

"THE DEVIL seen at St. ALBAN'S. Being a true relation, how

the Devil was seen there, in a Cellar, in the likenesse of a Earn :

and how a butcher came and cut his throat, and sold some of
it, and dressed the rest for him, inviting many to supper, who
eat of it.

" Attested divers letters of men of very good credit in this

by
towne.
" Printed for the confutation of those that believe there are no
such
things as spirits or devils, 4to, 1648."
 90

III. CHRISTMAS CAROLS.

The lewid peple than algates agre,

And caroles singen everi' criste messe tyde,

Not with schamfastenes hot jocondle,

And holey bowghes aboute ;
and al asyddo
The brenning fyre hem eten, and hem drinke,
And laughen mereli, and maken route,
And pype, and dansen, and hem rage ne swinke, ;

NQ noe thynge els, twalue daye thei wolde not. 1

Lud. Coll. XLV. H.

J\_LARY'S longing for the fruit on the cherry tree, and Joseph's
refusal to gather it for her on the return of his jealousy, a remarkable
1
scene in one of the Coventry Plays, ( )
is the subject of a Christmas
Carol still sung in London, and many parts of England.
From various copies of it printed at different places I am enabled
to present the following version :

Joseph was an old man,

And an old man was he ;

And he married Mary,

. , Queen of Galilee.

When Joseph was married,

And his cousin Mary got,

Mary proved big with child,

By whom Joseph knew not.

Mystery VIII. p. 67, ante.

 91

As Joseph and Mary

Walk'd through the garden gay,
Where the cherries they grew

Upon every tree ;

O ! then bespoke Mary,

With words both meek and mild,
" Gather me some cherries, Joseph,

They run so in my mind ;

Gather me some cherries,

For I am with child."

! then bespoke Joseph,

With words most unkind,
" Let him
gather thee cherries,
That got thee with child."

! then bespoke Jesus,

All in his mother's womb,
" Go to the tree, Mary,
And it shall bow down ;

u Go to the tree, Mary,

And it shall bow to thee,

And the highest branch of all
Shall bow down to Mary's knee,

" And she shall

gather cherries
By one, by two, by three."
" Now you may see, Joseph,
Those cherries were for me."

eat your cherries, Mary ;

! eat your cherries now ;
O !eat your cherries, Mary,

That grow on the bough.

 92

As Joseph was a walking,

He heard an angel sing
" This
night shall be born
Our heavenly king ;
" He neither shall be born
In housen, nor in hall,

Nor in the place of Paradise,

But in an ox's stall ;
" He neither shall be clothed
In purple nor in pall,
But all in fair linen,
As were babies all .

" He neither shall be rock'd

In silver nor in gold,
But in a wooden cradle,
That rocks on the mould ;

" He neither shall be christen'd

In white wine nor in red,

But with the spring water
With which we were christened."

Then Mary took her young Son,

And set him on her knee
"I
pray thee now, dear Child,
Tell how this world shall be?"

" This world shall be like

The stones in the street,

For the sun and the moon

Shall bow down at thy feet j

" And
upon a Wednesday,
'

My vow I will make,

And upon Good Friday

My death I will take ;
 93

" And
upon the third day
My uprising shall be,
And the sun and the moon
Shall rise up with me."

The admiration of my earliest days, for some lines in the Cheiry

carol still remains, nor can I help thinking that the reader will see

somewhat of cause for it :

He neither shall be clothed, in purple nor in pall,

But all in fair linen, as were babies all :

He neither shall be rock'd, in silver nor in gold,

But in a wooden cradle, that rocks ou the mould.

A Warwickshire carol still sung, begins

As I passed by a river side,

And there as I did reign,

In argument I chanced to hear

A carnal and a crane.
The carnal is a bird ;
the word corrupted by the printer into
reign, is the obsolete word rein, formerly used in the sense of run.
This carol has other marks of age.
In a volume of MSS. at the British Museum J
there is
" a
( )

Christmas Caroll," beginning thus :

"When cry st' was borne of mary fre,

In bedlem, i' that fayre cyte,

Angellis songen, with mirth & gle,

In cxceluls gTict,

A second commences in this way :

Puer nolris natus est de virgine maria.

Be glad, lordlings, be ye more & lesse,

I bryng you tydings of gladnesse,

As gabryel me beryth wetnesse.

(') Harl. MSS. 5396.

 94

The same volume contains " a song on the Holly and the Ivy,"
which I mention because there is an old Carol on the same subject
still printed. The MS. begins -with,

,my nay, hyt shal not be I wys,

Let holy hafe the maystry, as the maner ys :

Holy stond in the hall, faire to behold,

Ivy stond without the dore, she ys ful sore acold,

Nay, my nay, $c.

Holy, & hys mery men, they dawnseyn and they syng,
Ivy and hur maydyns, they wepen & they wryng.
Nay, my nay, $c.

The popularity of carol-singing occasioned the publication of

" PSALMES or
a duodecimo volume in 1642, intituled, Songs of
Sion turned into the language and set to the tunes of a strange
land. By W(illiam) S(latyer), intended for Christmas Carols, and
fitted to divers of the most noted and common but solemne tunes,

every where in this land familiarly used and knowne." Upon the
copy of this book in the British Museum a former possessor has
written the names of some of the tunes to which the author de-
for instance, Psalm 6, to the tune of Jane
signed them to be sung ;
Shore; Psalm 19, to Bar. Foster's Dreame ; Psalm 43, to Crimson

Velvet; Psalm 47, to Garden Greene; Psalm 84, to The fairest

l
NympU of the Valleys, &c. ( )

l
( )
Theadaptation of religious poetry to secular melody in England, is
noticed by Shakspeare in the Winter's Tale (Act iv. Sc. 3.). The clown
relates that his sister, being the mistress at his father's shearing feast,
made four-and-twenty nosegays for the sheep-shearers, all good catch-
trebles and basses, with " but one puritan among them,
singers, mostly
and he sings psalms to hornpipes."
There are several collections of carols in the French language ; the
only one that I can on the instant refer to, is a volume that I have,
entitled Noels Nouveau-x sur les Chants des Noels anciens notez pour en foci-
liter le chant, parM. I' Abbe PeUegrin, 8vo, Paris, 1785. Most of the pious
carols in the volume are set to opera airs, and common song tunes.
Clement Marot's translation of the Psalms into French with secular
tunes, was so much in vogue at court that all persons of note had psalms
 95

From a Carol, called Dives and Lazarus, I annex an amusing

extract.

As it fell out, upon a day,

Rich Dives sicken'd and died,

There came two serpents out of hell,
His soul therein to guide.

Rise up, rise up, brother Dives,

And come along with me,
For you've a place provided in hell,
To sit upon a serpent's knee.
However whimsical this may appear to the reader, he can
scarcely conceive its ludicrous effect, when the metre of the last
line is solemnly drawn out to its utmost length
. by a "Warwick-

shire chanter, and by the well disposed

as solemnly listened to

crowd, who seem without difficulty to believe that Dives sits on a

serpent's knee. The idea of sitting on the knee was, perhaps,

conveyed to the poet's mind by old woodcut representations

to their several occasions. King Henry II. chose the 42d. Ainsi qvHon oyt

(Like as the hart doth), which he sung when a hunting

le cerf, : Madame
de Valentinois, who was in love, took the 130th, Du fond de ma pensee
(From the bottom of my heart), which she sung en volte : the queen's
choice was the 6th, Ne vueillez pas, Sire, (Lord, in thy wrath), to an
air of the Chant des buffons: Anthony king of Navarre had the 43d,

Revange inoy, prens ta querelle, (Judge and revenge my cause), which he

tuned to the Brawl of Poictiers ; and the rest in like manner. Flori-
mondRamond, Hist. Hceres. (Rymer's Short View of Tragedy, p. 35).
The most singular measure adopted for circulating the reformed
"
opinions in Scotland, was the composition of Gude and godly ballates
changed out of prophaine sangs, for avoiding of sinne and harlotrie."
The title sufficiently indicates their nature and design. The air, the
measure, the initial line, or the chorus of the ballads most commonly
eung by the people at that time, were transferred to hymns of devotion.
Unnatural, indelicate, and gross as this association appears to us, these
spiritual songs edified multitudes at that time. We
must not think that
this originated in any peculiar depravation of taste in our reforming

countrymen :
spiritual songs constructed upon the same principle were
common in Italy, (Roscoe's Lorenzo de' Medici, i. 309. 4to) at the begin-
:

ning of the Reformation the very same practice was adopted in Holland
as in Scotland. Dr. MCrie's Life of Knox, vol. 1, p. 365.
 96

of Lazarus seated in Abraham's lap. More anciently, Abraham

was frequently drawn holding him up by the sides, to be seen by
Dives in hell. In an old book now before me, (!) they are so
represented, with the addition of a. devil blowing the fire under
Dives with a pair of bellows.
I have a " Christmas Carol on Peko-Tea." 2
( )
It begins with
" Deut. xxxiii. 16. For the good will of Him that dwelt in the
Bush /' and the author proceeds in a strange manner to relate

How .Christ was in a manger born,

And God dwelt in a bush of thorn,
Which bush of thorn appears to me
The same that yields best Peko-tea.

This bush he imagines may be the thorn that blooms in April :

Abundant such in Berks I've seen

Hear Newb'ry, at my native speen.

* *

Now if Christ's bush of thorn we find,

God's bush and tea bush all one kind,
We must confess its full renown,
God to enjoy, and Christ to crown ;

And have its leaves grow so renown' d

As to refresh the world around.

He spiritualizes many subjects in succession, and inveighs with

great bitterness against those,

who, readers to entangle,

The scriptures into pieces
mangle ;
Dividing them, which truth immerses
Into chapters, sects, and verses ;

0) Postilla Guillermi, 4to. Basil, 1491.

(
2
)
A : or, a Sacred Carol, which like Tea
Christmas Carol on Pekoe-Tea
that is perfectly good and
be most grateful and useful all the
fine, will
year round, from Christmas to Christmas for ever. Humbly addressed
to Queen Caroline, and the Princess Carolina, and all the Royal Family.
By Francis Hoffman. London, 1729, 8vo. pp. 16.
 97

Full of religious fervor, and grocer zeal for cups of Peko tea, he
concludes with this devout wish

May all who do these truths condemn

Ne'er taste one single drop of them
Here, or in New Jerusalem.

Carols begin to be spoken of as not belonging to this century (* )

and yet no one, that I am aware of, has attempted a collection of
these fugitives. As the carols now printed will at no distant pe-
riod become obsolete, an alphabetical list of those in my possession
is subjoined. It excludes all that are disused at the present time,

nor does it contain any of the numerous compositions printed by

religious societies under the denomination of Carols.

Christmas Carols now annually Printed.

1. A glorious star from heaven appear'd,

2. A jolly wassel bowl.
3. A Virgin most pure as the Prophets did telL
4. All Christians pray you now attend.
5. All Englishmen I pray you now attend,
6. All hail the ever glad'ning morn.
7. All hail the morn ! loud anthems raise,
8. All honour, glory, might, and power.
9. All you that are to mirth inclined.
10. All you that live must learn to dio.

11. Arise, and hail the sacred day.

12. As I pass'd by a river's side.
13. As I sat on a sunny bank.
14. As it fell out one May morning.
15. As it fell out upon a day, rich Dives made a feast.
1 6. Attend, good people, now I pray.
1 7. Away dark thoughts, awake my joys.

of
1
f )

-
October 3, 1822, at the dinner of a city company I heard Mr.

Christmas had its Christmas carols,

And ladies' sides were hoop'd like
Taylor
Covent Garden Theatre sing a new ballad of " good old times," when

barrels.
 98

18. Behold the grace appears.

1 9.Christians awake salute the happy morn.
!

20. Christmas noAV is drawing near at hand.

21. Come, behold the virgin Mother.
22. Come, ye rich, survey the stable.
23. From the High Priest an armed band.
24. Good Christians all with joyful mirth.
25. Good Christian people, pray attend.
26. Good Christian people, pray give ear.
27. God's dear Son, without beginning.
28. God rest you, merry gentlemen.
29. Hark all around the welkin ring.
!

30. Hark hark what news the angels bring.

! !

31. Hark how the heralds of the Lord.

!

32. Hark the herald angels sing.

!

33. Have you not heard and seen our Saviour's love?
34. Here is a fountain of Christ's blood.
35. Hosanna to the Prince of Light.
!

36. In Bethlehem City in Judea if was.

37. In friendly love and unity.
38. In God let all his Saints rejoice.
39. Inspire me, Heav'n nor in me leave a thought.
!

40. In the Reign of Great Csesar, the Emperor of Rome.

41. Let all good Christian people here.
42. Let all that are to mirth inclined.
43. Let children proclaim their Saviour and king.
44. Let mortals all rejoice.

45. Let Christians all with one accord rejoice.

46. Let Christians now in joyful mirth.
47. Mortals, awake ! with angels join.
48. My gift is small, a dozen of points.
49. My master and dame I well perceive.
50. Now when Joseph and Mary went to Bethelem bound.
51. fair, fair Jerusalem ! when shall I corne to thee?
52. faithful Christians, as you love.
53. !
proud, and sinful man.
faithless,
54. ! see man's Saviour in Bethlehem bora.
55. O ! the Almighty Lord.
56. Of Jesu's birth, lo !
angels sing.
 99

57. On Christmas day in the morn.

58. On Christmas night all Christians sing.
59. One God there is of Wisdom, glory, might.
60. One night as slumbering I lay.
61. Reader, pray do not think I am unkind.
62. Rejoice and be merry, set sorrow aside.
63. Rejoice now all good Christians.
64. See how the blessed Babe on Mother's knco.
65. Shepherds rejoice, liftup your eyes.
66. Sinners, who now do at this time.
67. Sweeter sounds than music knows.
68. The faithless, proud, and sinful man.
69. The first good joy our Lady had.
70. The holly and the ivy, now are both well grown.
71. The King of Glory sends his Son.
72. The moon shines bright, and the stars give a light.
73. The Shepherds amaz'd, the Saviour behold.
74. This second Carol here I sing.
75. This is the truth sent from above.
76. Thus Angels sing, and thus sing we.
77. Turn your eyes that are so fixed.
78. Upon the five and twentieth of December.
79. When bloody Herod reigned king.
80. When Christ the Saviour did appear.
81. When Christ our Lord drew nigh.
82. When Jesus Christ had lived.
83. When Jesus Christ our Lord.
84. When righteous Joseph wedded was.
85. When Zachariah Avas a priest.
86. While shepherds watch'd their flocks by night.
87. Within this rock that rock is laid.
88. Ye mortals all, of high and low degree.
89. Ye young and ye gay.

This Collection I have had little

opportunity of increasing
except when in the country I have heard an old woman singing
an old Carol, and brought back the Carol in my pocket with less
chance of its escape, than the tune in my head.
 100

The attachment of Carol buyers (*) ex-

tends even to the wood cuts by which

they are surrounded. Some of these, on

a sheet of Christmas Carols, in 1820,
were so rude in execution, that I re-

quested the publisher, Mr. T. Batche-

lar, of 115, Long Alley, Moorfields,

to sell me the original blocks. I was

a little by
surprised his telling me that he

was would be impossible to get

afraid it

any of the same kind cut again. "When

I
3 Wise Men.
proffered to get much better engraved,
and give them to him in exchange for his
"
old ones, he said Yes, but better are not
so good ;
I can get better myself : now
these are old favourites, and better cuts will

not please my customers so well." How-

ever, by assuring him that artists could

copy any thing, I obtained them. Those

Avho are fond of specimens of all kinds
of wood engraving, will be amused by
the annexed impressions from these four

blocks, produced in the metropolis of Christ tempted.

Mr. Southey describing the fight " upon the plain of Patay,"
(*) tells

of one who fell, as having

In his lord's castle dwelt, for many a year,

A well-beloved servant he could sing
:

Carols for Shrove-tide, or for Chandlemas,

Songs for the Wassel, and when the Boar's head
Crown'd with gay garlands, and with rosemary,
Smoak'd on the Christmas board.
Joan of Arc, b. x. 1. 466.

These ditties which now exclusively enliven the industrious servant

maid and the humble labourer, gladdened the festivity of royalty in an-
cient times. Henry VII., in the third year of his reign, kept his Christmas

at Greenwich: on the twelfth night, after high mass, the king went to the
 101

England in this advanced state of art.

They almost defy rivalry with the earliest

conceptions, and shew the prevailing taste
in graphic illustration among those who
in due season, as naturally buy Christmas
Carols as they long for mince pies and eat

plum-pudding.
I recollect the sheet of Carols twice
its present size, with more than double
the number of cuts, and sold for a half-

penny : but alas !

"every thing is chang-
ed;" the present half sheets are raised in Christ brought before
Pilate.
price to a whole penny.

I must not omit to observe that Mr. Bat-

chelar was certainly sincere in the belief
he expressed of his customers' attachment
to his wood blocks. When he sold them
to me he expressly stipulated for a reser-
vation of copyright in the designs ;
and
he exercised it last year by publishing a
sheet of Carols, adorned with fac-similes

of the impressions which the reader is

now looking upon.

The inscriptions are placed beneath the
cuts exactly as they stand in the original
Taken down from
sheet. the Cross.

hall and kept his estate at the table ; in the middle sat the Dean, and
those of the king's chapel, who immediately after the king's first course
"
sang a carall." Leland. Collect, vol. iv. p. 237.) Granger innocently
observes that " they that fill the highest and the lowest classes of human
life, seem in many respects to be irore nearly allied than even them-
selves imagine. A skilful anatomist would find little or no difference in

dissecting the body of a king and that of the meanest of his subjects ;

and a judicious philosopher would discover a surprising conformity in

discussing the nature and qualities of their minds." Biog. Hist, of Eiigl,
cd. 1804, vol. iv. p. 356.
14
 102

The earliest collection of Christinas Carols supposed to have

"been published, is only known from the last leaf of a volume

printed by Wynkyn de Worde, in the year 1521. This precious

scrap was picked up by Tom Hearne Dr. Rawlinson, who pur-
;

chased it at his decease in a volume of tracts, bequeathed it to the

Bodleian library. There are two Carols upon it
" a carrol
:
one,
of huntynge," is reprinted in the last edition of Juliana Berners'
Boke of St. Alban's ;
the other, " a Caroll, bringing in the bore's

head," is in Mr. Dibdin's Ames, with a copy of it as it is now

sung in Queen's College, Oxford, every Christmas day, "to the
common chaunt of the prose version of the Psalms in Cathedrals."
Dr. Bliss, of Oxford, also printed on a sheet for private distri-

bution, a few copies of this and Ant. a Wood's version of

it, with notices concerning the custom, from the handwritings
of Wood and Dr. Eawlinson, in the Bodleian library. Eitson,
in his ill-tempered
" Observations on Warton's
History of Eng-
lish Poetry," (1782, 4to, p. 37,) has a Christmas carol upon bring-

ing up the boar's head, from an ancient MS. in his possession ;

"
wholly different from Dr. Bliss's. The Bibliographical Mis-
cellanies," 1813, 4to.) contains seven Carols from a
(Oxford,
collection in one volume in the possession of Dr. Cotton, of
"
Christ Church College, Oxford, imprynted at London, in the
Powltry, by Richard Kele, dwelynge at the longe shop vnder saynt
Myldrede's Chyrche," probably "between 1546 and 1552." I
had an opportunity of perusing this exceedingly curious volume,
which is supposed to be unique, and has since passed into the
hands of Mr. Freeling. There are Carols among the Godly
" Scotish Poems of the six-
$ Spiritual Songs and Balates, in
teenth Century," (1801, 8vo.); and one by Dunbar, from the Ban-
" Ancient Scottish Poems."
natyne MS. in Others are in Mr.
Brand's Popular Antiquities, with several useful
Ellis's edition of

notices. Warton's History of English Poetry contains much con-

cerning old Carols. Mr. Douce, in his Illustrations of Shake-

peare, gives a Specimen of the carol sung by the shepherds on

the birth of Christ in one of the Coventry Plays. There is a
"
sheet of carols, headed thus CHRISTUS NATUS EST
: Christ :
 103

l
is
lorn;( )
with a woodcut, 10 inches high, "by 8| inches wide, re-

presenting the stable at Bethlehem ; Christ in the crib, watched

by the Virgin and Joseph ; shepherds kneeling ; angels attending :

a man playing on the bagpipes ; a woman, with a basket of fruit on

her head ;
a sheep bleating, and an ox lowing on the ground ; a
raven croaking, and a crow cawing on the hayrack ; a cock crow-

ing above them, and angels singing in the sky. The animals have
labels from their mouths, bearing Latin inscriptions. Down the
side of the woodcut is the following account and explanation " A :

religious man inventing the conceits of both birds and beasts,

drawn in the picture of our Saviour's birth, doth thus express
them; The cock croweth, Chriatus natus est, (f)USt IS bom.
The raven asked, Quando ? <53Ji)UX ? The cow replied, Hue
node, f)fe mgf)t. The ox cryeth out, Ubi ? UU ? 32ftf)tre ?

SUiKtC ? The sheep bleated out, Bethlehem, <J3ttf)ld)em.

Voice from heaven sounded, Gloria in Excelsis, (SlotJJ vt Oil

The custom of singing carols at Christmas prevails in Ireland

to the present time. In Scotland, where no church feasts have
been kept since the days of John Knox, the custom is unknown.
In Wales it is still preserved to a greater extent, perhaps, than in
England; at a former period, the Welsh had carols adapted to
most of the ecclesiastical festivals, and the four seasons of the
year,but at this time they are limited to that of Christmas. After
the turn of midnight at Christmas eve, service is performed in the

churches, followed by the singing of carols to the harp. Whilst

the Christmas holidays continue, they are sung in like manner in
the houses, and there are carols especially adapted to be sung at the
2
doors of the houses by visitors before they enter. Lffyr Carolan, ( )

or theBook of Carols, contains sixty-six for Christmas, and five

summer carols ; Blodeugerdd Cymrii, (3 ) or the Anthology of Wales,

(*) London, Printed

and Sold by J. Bradford, in Little Britain, the
Corner House over against the Pump, 1701. Price One Penny.
2
( ) Shrewsbury, 4th edit., 1740, 12mo.
3
( ) Shrewsbury, 1779, 8vo.
 104

contains forty-eight Christmas carols, nine summer carols, three

May carols, carol, one nightingale carol, and a carol to

one winter

Cupid. The following verse of a carol for Christmas is literally

translated from the first mentioned volume. The poem was written
by Hugh Morris, a celebrated song-writer during the Common-
l
wealth, and until the early part of the reign of William III. ( )

To a saint let us not pray, to a pope let us not kneel ;

On Jesu let us depend, and let us discreetly watch
To preserve our souls from Satan with his snares ;

Let us not in a morning invoke any one else.

"With the succeeding translation of a Welsh Wassail song, the

observer of manners will perhaps be pleased. In Welsh, the lines
of each couplet, repeated inversely, still keep the same sense.

A CAROL FOR THE EVE OF ST. MARY'S DAY.

This is the season, when, agreeably to custom,
2
That it was an honour to send icassail ( )

By the old people who were happy

In their time, and loved pleasure ;
And we are now purposing
To be like them, every one merry :

Merry and foolish, youths are wont to be,

Being reproached for squandering abroad.

I know that every mirth will end

Too soon of itself;
Before it is ended, here comes
The wassail of Mary, for the sake of the time :

N 3
( ) place the maid immediately
In the chair before us ;

(*) An edition of Hugh Morris's Works is now in the press.

2
( ) Dyma amser yr oedd arver
Anrhyededd vod o anvon gwirod.
3
( ) Here the master or mistress of the house was called on by name
to officiate.
 105

And letevery body in the house be content that we

May drink wassail to virginity,
To remember the time, in faithfulness,
When fair Mary was at the sacrifice,

After the birth to her of a son,

"Who delivered every one, through his good will
From their sins, without doubt.

Should there be an inquiry who made the carol,

He is a man whose trust is fully on God,
That he shall go to heaven to the effulgent Mary,
Towards filling the orders where she also is.

THOMAS EVANS.

On the Continent, the custom of carolling at Christmas is almost

universal. During the last days of Advent, Calabrian minstrels
enter Rome, and are to be seen in every street saluting the shrines

of the Virgin mother with their wild music, under the traditional
notion of charming her labour pains on the approaching Christmas.

Lady Morgan observed them frequently stopping at the shop of a

carpenter. In reply to questions concerning this, the workmen

who stood at the door said, " that it was done out of respect to
St. Joseph." (*) I have an old print of this practice. Two Calabrian

shepherds are represented devoutly playing at Christmas in a street

of Rome, before a stone shrine, containing a sculpture of the Infant
Jesus in the Virgin's arms lighted up by candles, with a relief
under it of supplicating souls in purgatorial fire, inscribed "Dite

Ave Maria." A youngfemale, with a rosary, is praying on her

knees before the sculpture. The shepherds stand behind and blow
the bagpipes and a clarionet.
If one there be who has proceeded until now without tiring,
he will know how much pleasantness there is in pursuits like
these. To him who inquires of what use they are, I answer,
that I have found them agreeable recreations at leisure moments.

Lady Morgan's Italy, c. xxi.

 106

I love an old MS. and " a ballad in

print," and I know
no distance that I would not travel to obtain
Autolycus's
" 23alla&
of a Jft's!) tfjat appeared upon tftt
coast, on <S2Se&*

ntsfcap tf)e fourscore of &prtl, fortg tfjousantr fatfjom abobe

toatcr, anfc sung t&fe ballati against tfy Imift hearts of

inaftJS." I can scarcely tell why collectors have almost over-
looked Carols, as a class of popular poetry. To me they have been
objects of interest from circumstances which occasionally determine
the direction of pursuit. The woodcuts round the annual sheets,
and the melody of " God rest you merry Gentlemen" delighted my
childhood ; and I still listen with pleasure to the shivering carolist's

evening chaunt towards the clean kitchen window decked with

holly, the flaring fire showing the whitened hearth, and reflecting

gleams of light from the surfaces of the dresser utensils.

Since this sheet was at the printer's, Gilbert Davies, Esq., F.B.S.,
" Ancient Christmas
F.A.S., &c., has published eight Carols, with
the tunes to which they were formerly sung in the West of Eng-
land." This is a laudable and successful effort to rescue from obli-
vion some carol melodies, which in a few years Avill be no more
heard. Mr. Davies says, that " on Christmas-day these carols took
the place of psalms in all the churches, especially at afternoon ser-

vice, the whole congregation joining ; and at the end, it was usual
for the parish clerk to declare, in a loud voice, his wishes for a

merry Christmas and a happy new year. A sentiment similar to

that of the parish clerk's in the West
of England, was expressed,
last year, in a way that leaves little doubt of its former general

adoption at the same season. Just before Christmas-day, I was

awakened in London at the dead of night, by the playing of the
waits on the conclusion of their solemn tunes, one of the per-
:

" God bless

formers exclaimed aloud, you, my masters and mis-
tresses, a merry Christmas to you, and a happy new year."
 107

TV. ENGRAVINGS OF APOCRYPHAL

NEW TESTAMENT SUBJECTS.
Pictures by the best masters, prints by the early engravers, woodcuts
in early black letter and block-books, and illuminations of missals and
monastic MSS. receive immediate elucidation on reference to the Apocry-
phal New Testament, and are without explanation from any other source.

Apoc. N. Test. Pref.

J. HE following is a List of Prints in my own possession, founded

on subjects in the Apocryphal New Testament. The passages to
which they refer are inserted before the descriptions. Several of
these engravings illustrate scenes in the preceding Mysteries.

1. THE MEETING OF JOACHIM AND ANNE AT THE GOLDEN

GATE OF JERUSALEM.

Mary, ii. The angel of the Lord stood by Joachim with a prodigious
1.

2. To whom being troubled at the

light. appearance, the angel
who had appeared to him endeavouring to compose him said 1
9. Anna your wife shall bring you a daughter, and you shall call

her name Mary. 10. She shall according to your vow be devoted
to the Lord from her infancy, and be filled with the Holy Ghost
from her mother's womb. 13. And this shall be a sign to you
of the things which I declare, namely, when you come to the
golden
gate of Jerusalem, you shall there meet your wife Anna.

iii. ] Afterwards the angel appeared to Anna his wife, saying,

.

2. A daughter
shall be born unto you, &c. 6. Arise, therefore,

and go up to Jerusalem, and when you shall come to that which is

called the golden gate, as a sign of what I have told you, you shall
meet your husbandj for whose safety you have been so much con-
cerned.

Joachim and Anne meeting at the gate, and embracing. Men

conversing and looking on. An engraving on wood by Albert
Durer half sheet.
 108

II. THE BIRTH OF THE VIRGIN MART.

Mary, iii. 11. f So Anna conceived and brought forth a daughter.
Protevangelion. 6. And when nine months were fulfilled to Anna, she
brought forth, and said to the midwife, what have I brought forth ]

7. And she told her, a

girl.

1In the back-ground Anne in bed ; an angel above, censing ;

.

two woman administering drink and food to her ; in the foreground

a woman seated, washing the infant ;
nine other women in the

room, drinking and talking with the child. An engraving on wood,

by Albert DurerTaalf sheet.
2. Anne in bed waited on by a female ;
her husband Joachim
seated by the bedside ; God as an old man in the clouds, with
the world in his hand, attended by angels; women dressing the
infant, preparing the cradle, airing linen, &c. Engraved after

B. Spranger, 1584 large upright sheet.

III. THE VIRGIN MARY MIRACULOUSLY ASCENDING THE STEPS
OF THE TEMPLE.

Mary iv. 1. And when three years were expired, and the time of her

weaning complete, they brought the Virgin to the temple with their

offerings. 4. And they put her upon one of the stairs. 6. In

the meantime the Virgin of the Lord in such a manner went up all
the stairs one after another, without the help of any one to lead

her or lift her, that any one would have judged from hence that
she was of perfect age.

Mary ascending the steps of the temple ; the priests waiting at

the door above to receive her; Joachim and Anna in the crowd

below; Eeceivers of the offerings counting money, &c. An en-

graving on wood, by Albert Durer half sheet.

IV. JOSEPH'S MIRACULOUS BUDDED ROD.

Mary, v. 16. Then according to thisprophecy the high-priest

appointed that all men of the house and family of David who were
marriageable, and not married, should bring their several rods to
the altar. 17. And out of whatsoever person's rod after it was
b> ought, a flower should bud forth, and on the top of it the Spirit of
the Lord should in the appearance of a dove, he should be the
sit

man to whom the Virgin should be given and be betrothed.

 109

Protevangelion, viii. 11. And behold a dove proceeded out of the rod
and flew upon the head of Joseph, 12. And the high-priest

said, Joseph, Thou art the person chosen to take the virgin of the

Lord.

1. An interior the birth-place of Christ ; Joseph, with his

*
budded rod ; offerings being presented, &c. Engraved by Jac.
Frey, after Sebast. Gonca. large sheet.
2.Jesus in the Virgin's lap holding Josephs budded rod in both
hands ; the Virgin attracting his attention from it by showing him a
flower. Engraved by Joseph Juster, after Leonardi da Vinci
folio.

3. Joseph seated with his budded rod in his lap, reading a

scroll. Engraved by A. A. Morel, after Wicar quarto.
4. Joseph with his budded rod in his right hand, holding the
child on his left arm. An oval engraving, octavo size, with square
border for illumination, published at Paris by Gautier, 1818.

V. CHRIST'S BIRTH IN A CAVE.

Protevangelion, xiv. 10. Then a bright cloud overshadowed the cave.
1
Infancy, i. 10. And behold it was all filled with lights greater than

the lights of lamps and candles, and greater than the light of the
sun itself.

The birth of Christ in the cave, a great light from the infant ;

Angels adoring him, others in a cloud above praying and praising.

Engraved by Wierix small folio.
VI. FALL OP THE IDOL IN EGYPT.
1 Infancy, iv. 6. And now he drew near to a great city in which there
was an idol. 13. And at the same instant the idol fell down, and
at his fall all the inhabitants of Egypt, besides others, ran together.

1. The flight into Egypt, an idol falling from a bracket attached

to a tree. Engraved by John Sadler, after M. De Vos small
folio.

2. The same subject. Engraved by A. Wierix small 12mo.

VII. FLIGHT OF THE ROBBERS.

1 Infancy, v. They went therefore hence to the secret
3. place of
robbers who robbed travellers, as they pass by, of their carriages

15
 110

and their clothes, and carry them away bound. 4. These thieves

upon their coming heard a great noise, such as the noise of a king
with a great army, and many horse, and the trumpets sounding, at
his departure from his own city ; at which they were so affrighted
as to leave all their booty behind them, and fly away in haste.

The arrival of the Holy Family, and the flight of the robbers.
An etching by Castiglione.

VIII. THE VIRGIN MART -WASHING CHRIST'S CLOTHES.

1 Infancy Viii. 9. 1T Hence they went to that sycamore tree which is now
called Matarea. 10. And in Matarea the Lord Jesus caused a
well to spring forth in which St. Mary washed his coat. 11. And
a balsam produced (or grows) in that country, from the sweat
is

which ran down there from the Lord Jesus.

1. Mary on her knees washing linen at a spring-head, and
Christ taking it to Joseph, who hands it to two angels in a tree to

hang up to dry. Engraved by Vallet, from Albano, a large

sheet.

2. Another by Benoist, from the same picture ; rather smaller.

3. An Orleans Gallery print by Couche, from the same.

IX. JOSEPH CARPENTERING CHRIST ASSISTING HIM.

, 1 Infancy, xvi. And Joseph, wheresoever he went into the city, took
the Lord Jesus with him where he was sent for to make gates, or
milk pails, or sieves or boxes.

1 . The Mary spinning from a distaff; full

infant in the cradle,

grown angels attending them. Joseph working with his hatchet at a

bench. ;
little angels raking together and picking up his chips, and
putting them in a basket. An engraving on wood, by Albert Durer.

2. Joseph working at a bench for the building of a church or

monastery ;
an archangel directing the work ; angels carrying the
boards, and flying up to the steeple with large beams ; the Virgin
seated, rolling a swathe on a table with the child in her arms ; an
angel airing a napkin at the fire, others in the clouds with music-

books singing. Engraved by J. Sadler, after Fred. Sustris small

folio, breadthways.
 Ill

3. The same subject ; reversed, by R. Sadler.

4. The Virgin seated with the child sleeping in her arms ; an
angel making up his bed in the cradle
; another airing his napkin at

the fire-place Joseph leaning over the back of her chair, with a chisel
:

in his right, and a mallet in his left hand. Engraved by Vander

Does, after Guellinus folio.

5. Joseph at his carpenter's bench chiselling wood ; Christ stand-

ing at the end holding a lamp for him to see by ; the Virgin behind.
Engraved by Coelemans, after Bigot quarto.

6.Joseph work-bench making a chalk-line on a board ;

at the

Christ holding one end of the line, and Joseph the other ; the Virgin
seated with work in her lap ; Joseph's budded rod in a vase. A
large engraving by /. Pesne, after An. Caracci.

7.Joseph planeing in a room; the Virgin sewing; Christ

sweeping the shavings together with a broom. A small oval en-
graving, with Latin letter-press beneath, from a foreign devo-
tional book.

8. "JESU CHRISTI DEI DOMINI SALVATORIS NRI INFANTIA."

This a set of small plates beautifully engraved by Jerome
is

Wierix : among them are the following subjects 1. Joseph in a room :

driving a wooden pin into the door sill ; Christ sweeping up chips,
and angels carrying them to Mary, who is at the fire cooking in a
skillet. 2. Joseph and an angel driving nails into the frame-work
of a building ;
Christ with a large augur boring a hole in a plank ;

Mary reeling thread. 3. Joseph chipping a log ; Christ and angels

picking up the chips ; Mary reeling thread. 4. Joseph finishing the

roof of a house ; Christ carrying a plank up a ladder ; Mary comb-

ing flax. 5. Joseph building a boat ; Christ caulking it, assisted by

angels ; Mary
knitting. Joseph 6. driving posts into the
ground ;
Christ nailing the rails, attended by angels. 7. Joseph and Christ

sawing across the trunk of a tree on the ground ; an angel sitting

on each end to steady it ; Mary at a spinning wheel. 8. Joseph
and Christ sawing into planks a large beam, which is elevated on

a scaffold ; Christ holding the saw, on the beam above, as the

 112

topsman ; Joseph pulling below ; angels lifting wood, and Mary

spinning.
A Volume that I have, entitled the "33oecfe ban 3$SUS
hbeit,"
T
( )
contains Apoc. IT. Test, subjects, with engravings on

wood, coloured. 1. A cut that occupies the whole of page 14, at

the top, in one corner, represents Issachar reproaching Joachim

for being without issue, and returning him his offerings; in the other

corner the angel comforts Joachim, and appoints him to meet his
wife Anne at the Golden Gate
below, the angel consoles Anne,
;

and tells her that she shall be no longer barren ; in the other lower
corner appears the gate, with Joachim and Anne embracing. 2.

On page 15, a cut of the Virgin at three years old, walking up the
is

fifteen steps of the temple to the astonishment of the priests. 3. A

cut on page 16, represents the men of the house of David with

rods, standing beside the altar in the temple ; the priest before it

talking to Joseph, whose rod has blossomed, with the Holy Ghost
as adove sitting upon its top. 4. A cut of the flight into Egypt, is
on page 43, with two idols falling from their pillars before Christ and
the Virgin.

Having concluded a brief notice of some of this class of prints in

my possession, the following that I recollect to have seen may be

added :
viz., 1. The Nativity of Christ, with the two midwives pre-
sent ; engraved by Ghisi very large. 2. The marriage of Joseph
and Mary, with Joseph's rod in flower, and the dove ; after a
picture by Parm.egia.no. 3. The same subject with Joseph's rod
budding, and the Holy Ghost coming down as the dove, after N.
Poussin. 4. The same subject, Joseph's rod budding, &c., Jordano.
There are prints of Anne and Joachim her husband, in the
English and foreign editions of the Golden Legend. Among the
Harleian MSS. an inventory of furniture at the old royal palace of
" a tablet of our
Greenwich, in the reign of Henry VIII. contains
Lady and St. Anne."
Gough, in his account of the splendid Bedford Missal, men

0) Folio, Breda, 1495.

 113

tions several of its sumptuous drawings that are clearly Apoc. N".
Test, subjects in particular, " the angel announces to St.
; Anne,
the nativity of our Lady, and that she should bear the mother of our

Saviour.'^
1
)
2. St. Anne and Joachim present the Virgin Mary in
the temple. 3. A representation of the idols falling in the flight
into Egypt. ( 2) 4. Another of the same subject. (3 ) Perhaps Mr.
"
Gough's account of a man with the lily sceptre pursued by men
with staves,"(4 ) may be found to be Joseph with his budded rod, and
the men of the house of David with their rods.

It would weary the reader to enumerate similar illustrations of

these apocryphal subjects. I shall therefore conclude by observing

that in the Salisbury Missal of 1534, there is a prayer with a preface,

stating that Pope Alexander VI. granted to all that said it devoutly
in the worship of St. Anne, and our Lady and her son, ten thousand
years of pardon for deadly sins; and twenty years for venial sins,
" totiens quotiens" also another prayer to be said before the image
"
of Saint Anna, Maria, and Jesus, of the whyche Eaymund the

cardinall and legate hath granted a C days of pardon, totie's quotiens"

Before these prayers is a whole length wood-cut portrait of Anne,

with an emblazonment on the front of her figure of the Virgin

Mary, with the child Jesus in her arms. In the back-ground the
angel appearing to Joachim, and Anne is meeting him at the
is

Golden Gate. On the next page there is a smaller cut of Anne

teaching the Virgin to read. Anne is represented in this way in
Les Ceremonies de la St. Messe. The painters usually so occupy
5
her. ( )

1 ?
C ) Account of the Bedford Missal, 1794, 4to, p. 78. ( ) Ibid, p. 26.
3 4
( ) Ibid, p. 38. ( ) Ibid, p. 28.
5
Kibadeneira, in his Lives of the Saints (fol. 1730, vol. ii. p. 59),
C )

" We
cannot say any thing greater for the glory of St. ANNE,
says,
than to call her the mother of God, and grandmother of Jesus Christ.
For it cannot be questioned, but that the same bountiful Lord hath
furnished, beautified, and ennobled her purest soul with all those trea-
sures of virtues it was fitting she should be enriched and adorned with.
 114

who was to be the grandmother of the Son of God." The same author
thus apostrophises Joachim, her husband " Oh, happy man, that was
:

made worthy to give to God the Father, a most pure and holy daugh-
ter; to God the Son, an incomparable mother; to God the Holy
Ghost, a most chaste spouse, and the rich cabinet of the holy Trinity."
A tract licensed by the Doctors in Divinity of the Faculty of Paris, in
" in order " The Prero-
1643, to maintain devotion to her," is entitled
gatives of St. Anne, Mother of the Mother of God." The Doctors in
setting forth the sanctity of Anne, supposes that an eagle, preparing to
make a nest, flies about to choose a tree surpassing all others in height
and beauty, and makes choice of the strongest branch, and nearest
heaven. Imagine, now, says the author, that God is this eagle, who
running over with his eyes, all the women who were to be, from the
first to the last, perceived not any one so worthy to receive the glori-
ous Virgin who was to be the little nest of the heavenly eaglet who is
the word incarnate, as St. Anne, in whom he rested himself as in the
tree of Paradise ; so that God gave to her merits the glorious advan-
tage of conceiving in her bowels a daughter, who merited the exalted
dignity of becoming the mother of God, and effecting the re-establish-
ment of the universe. Consequently in our need we must address
ourselves by St. Anne to the Virgin, and by the Virgin to Jesus Christ,
and by Jesus Christ to God his Father. By the imitation of her vir-
tues we revere her sanctity, and God seeing that we have no present
to approach his throne, his grandmother desires from the souls who
bear her name, that their hearts be always replenished with grace.

In the London Gazette, from Sept. 8 to Sept. 11, 1722, is the follow-
ing entry: "Hanover, September 7th, N.S. This day died, in the
89th year of his age, M. Gerard Molan, Abbot of Lockumb, Primate of
the States of this Dutchy, Director of the churches and clergy in the
Electorate, Head of his Majesty's ecclesiastical court, and council there,
and a member of the English Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
in foreign parts. " "
Notwithstanding," says the Gazette, his great
age, he enjoyed till his last sickness a firm health, with a vigour of
body and mind equal to his laborious employments. His great abilities,
his prudence, integrity, and the indefatigable application he showed in
discharging the trust reposed in him, gained him the Special favour of
his sovereign, the love of those under his care, and the esteem of all
that knew him. His profound learning, exemplary piety, and truly
Christian moderation rendered him the ornament of the German Evan-
1 '

gelick Clergy, so that his loss is universally lamented.

One of the trusts reposed in the Primate Molan was that of "Keeper
of a Noble Collection of Belies;" and one of his laborious employments, the
drawing up of a Catalogue Eaisonnee in Latin of his precious charge. I
have in my possession an English translation of this catalogue by a
traveller, to whom he presented a Latin copy, and showed the relics.
The MS. contains an account of two Relics of St. ANNE, Mother of tlie
most glorious Virgin Mary ; likewise a piece of her coat ; also another piece
of her coat, and furthermore
"
a great piece of her coat. In the same
"
noble collection are two relics of St. Clement, two of St. Barnabas,
and three of St. Hennas, whose writings are contained in the Apoc.
T
]S Test.
. Their relics are accompanied by others of each of the twelve
Apostles also three relics of St. John the Baptist, and one of his teeth
; ;

two relics of St. Thomas a Becket ; six relics of the eleven thousand
 115

Virgins with three notable hones, and three great bones belonging to
them ;
the shoulder-blade of St. George the Martyr, a piece of his arm,
one of his ribs, and a piece of his back ; an arm of St. Lawrence ; " a
thumb of St. Mark, from his body at Venice, which wants it," the
claws of a crab belonging to St. Peter ; two pieces of Aaron's rol an ;

entire arm of St. Bartholomew an arm of St. Mary Magdalen, and a

;

piece of her head some oil from the breast of the Virgin, some of her
;

hair, several other relics of her, and a piece of her tombstone two
;

pieces of the table at which Christ supped ; some of the ointment he

was anointed with ; three pieces of the pillar at which he was scourged ;
two thorns from his crown nine pieces of his cross ; some of his blood,
;

and his handkerchief. These relics of St. ANNE, and. the rest I have
mentioned, with a multitude of others, are the ancestral property of
his present Majesty King George the Fourth.. The MS. says, that
" this
is most certain, that all travellers, that have been in all parts of
the world, and come to Hanover and seen these relies, with one voice
confess that so vast a treasure of most valuable relics, so finely adorned,
is hardly to be seen, or indeed not at all to be seen together in any one

place whatever and they are now preserved in the Electoral Chapel,
and readily and willingly shown to all that desire to. see them."
JOACHIM,, on his festival, in the old Roman Missal, is thus addressed,
"O, Joachim, husband of St. Anne, and father of the Blessed Virgin,
from hence bestow saving help on thy servants." The last of some
Latin verses in the same service is thus translated by Bp. Patrick
(Devot. ofRom.Ch. p..396).

And now thou'rt placed" among, the blest so high,

Thou canst do every thing thou art inclined to ; i
Thy nephew,- Jesus, sure will not deny,
Much less thy daughter, what thou hast a mind to.

ANNE, his wife, was also supplicated for the remission of sin, and
honoured with hymns, and other devotions. She is spoken of by Eng-
lish writers with great respect. In " the new Notborune mayde upo'
1 "
the passio of cryste (imprynted at London by John Skot, 12mo.), a
rare poem, occasioned by the old ballad of the Not-browne Mayde, in
Arnold's Chronicle, 1521 (of which latter Prior's Nuibrown Maid is an
altered version), ANNE is honoured, by the author making Christ him-
self mention her,, in answer to one of Mary's expostulations in behalf
of mankind:

Lo, thus, good mayde,

The daughter of Saynt Anne,
Man hate exylede
From hyna your chylde,
Ryght as a banysshed man.

That ANNE was in good estimation may be well imagined from there
being in London four churches dedicated to her, besides upwards of
 116

thirty thoroughfares in the metropolis called by her name. In the

Calendar to the Catholic Church Service (Laity's Directory, 1822), her
birthday, the 26th of July, is marked as a high festival of devotion.
The Wedding-Ring of JOACHIM and ANNE has also had its due share
of respect, for it was kept by the nuns of St. Anne at Rome, and worked
miracles. It was stolen during the sacking of that city under the pon-
tificate of Clement VII., but was wonderfully brought back and laid
upon a stone by a crow.
An account of the honours to the Virgin MARY would exceed the
limits of this volume. Some notion of it may be formed from
the fact,
that upwards of three thousand different engravings of her were in the
Collection of Prints, made by the Abbe Marolles. The miracles she is
recorded to have worked are almost innumerable. " At one time they
make her come down from heaven to support an arch thief at the gal-
lows, who was hanged for his rogueries, but was withal a great devotee
of her's at another, she comes to darn Thomas of Canterbury's coat,
;

which happened to be torn upon the shoulders ; then she is at the

pains of wiping the sweat from the faces of the Monks of Clairvaux,
while they are at work at another time she discharges the duty of a
;

certain abbess who was rambling up and down the country with a monk
who had debauched her she sings matins for a monk who had asked
:

her to supply his place and they even make her come down to let a
;

aung fellow blood." (Conform, bet. Anc. and Mod. Cerem., p. 144).
he veneration in which she is held at this day may be gathered from
a perusal of " The Devotion and Office of the Sacred Heart of our Lord
Jesus Christ, with its nature, origin, progress, &c., including the De-
votion to the Sacred Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary," llth edition,
Keating and Co., 1816, 18mo.)

JOSEPH, the husband of Mary, is also highly distinguished by wor-

ship appointed to him. This appears from a recent devotional work,
" Reflections on the
entitled, prerogatives, power, and protection of St.
Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with several devotions to
the said most glorious Patriarch." (Keating, 1812, 18mo.) Worship
to Joseph was first assigned about 1370, in the reign of Pope Gregory
XI., when a chapel being consecrated to St. Joseph in the cathedral
of Avignon, the Pope placed his coat of arms about it in large escut-
cheons of stone. He increased the revenues of the canons, and
ordained that the confraternity of Bachelors and sodality of Virgins
belonging to it, in the procession on his festival, should carry in
their hands posies of flowers emblematical of the fragrance of his
" In our "
virtues. age," says the author, devotion to him is universal
throughout the habitable world but why, says the modern critic, why
;

were the glorious merits of St. Joseph so long concealed ? Why not
generally made known to " Christians before the fourteenth century ?
The author answers that true believers are to tremble at whys and
wherefores in divine government it is unpardonable
presumption to
enter into the Omnipotent's hidden secrets, and damnable curiosity
to dive into his secret decrees." He observes that he cannot for-
bear remarking how unjust the common pencils are to Saint Joseph,
by representing him as to age and features not becoming the
foster-father of Jesus, and the spouse of Mary he says that in
;

all probability the son of God would not provide a husband to

 117

his beloved mother, who had the least personal defect; and that although
he might be forty when the virgin was fourteen, yet he ought not to be
so exposed as leaning on a staff, and so decrepit as almost to be useless,
when he was vigorous and able to work thirty years in serving the sacred
family both at home and abroad. He adds, that St. Barnard thinks
St. Joseph was the likeness of Mary, and that the learned Gerson affirms
that the face of Jesus resembled the face of Joseph; and he remarks,
It would be reviving the blasphemous neresy of stigmatised
'
that, as
Cerinthus to assert, that Jesus was by nature the real son of Joseph,
yet he must be looked on as his legitimate parent and entitled in all
things to the right of paternity, except that of generation, which the
eternal Father supplied, by infusing into the husband of Mary a pater-
nal love for her son Jesus. A
child lawfully conceived in matrimony,
may strictly call the husband
father, which title the Holy Ghost honours
St. Joseph with, by the mouth of the immaculate Virgin, your father
and I have sought you sorrowing (St. Luke ii. 48). Children reputed
by common fame to belong to such a parent, or those who are adopted,
have a right to inherit titles and patrimonies ; much more Jesus, who
was born of Mary, Joseph's wife ; for according to the approved axiom
of the law, whatever grows in, or is built upon another's soil, belongs to
the owner thereof.' The work has many accounts of miracles performed
'
by Joseph; the following may be quoted as an example It is a matter
of fact that a person of quality having lost all his children by witch-
craft a few days after their birth, was counselled by one who had too
great an insight into that black and diabolical art, to name his next son
Joseph it was done, and the child lived to inherit his father's estate
;

and honour.' There are also in this book, directions for choosing St.
Joseph as a patron, with his office, litany, a hymn in his honour, his beads,
seven prayers in honour of his seven dolours and seven joys, and other
exercises. A
prelude to one of the meditations is in these words :
'
Ima-
gine yourself to be in the temple of Jerusalem when the high priest gave
to Joseph the immaculate Virgin Mary. How the patriarch espoused
her, by putting a ring upon her finger, with other ceremonies according
to the written law, in token that he made her partaker of all his goods,
and took her under his protection.
The Wedding-Ring of MARY and JOSEPH was of onyx or amethyst,
wherein was discerned a representation of the flowers that budded on
his rod. It was discovered in the year 996, in this way. Judith, the
wife of Hugo, Maiquiss of Etruria, being a great lover of jewels, em-
ployed one Ranerius, a skilful jeweller and lapidary of Clusium, to go to
Rome to make purchases for her. There he formed an intimacy with a
jeweller from Jerusalem, who, when Ranerius was about to return home,
professed great affection, and offered him a ring as a pledge of friendship.
Ranerius looking upon it as of little value, declined it with a slight com-
pliment but the jeweller from the Holy Land bade him not contemn it,
;

for it was the wedding-ring of Joseph and the blessed Virgin, and made
him take it with an especial charge that it should not fall into the hands
of a wicked person. Ranerius, still careless of what he said, threw it
into a little chest with articles of inferior value, where it remained until
his forgetfulness cost him dear for when his son was only ten years old,
:

(the number of years that his father disregarded the Virgin's ring), the
boy died and was carried to his burial. But, behold as the hearse went
forward, on a sudden the dead child rose from the coffin, ordered tha
bearers to stop, and calling to his father, told him, that by favour of the
16
 blessed Virgin he was come from heaven to tell him that as he had con-
temned religion by concealing her most holy ring in a common heap, he
must immediately send for it, and publicly produce it; that it might be
openly venerated. The chest being brought and delivered into the son's
hand, he presently found the ring, although he had never seen it before ;
then most reverently kissing it, and showing it to the spectators, they
religiously adored it during the joyful pealing of the bells which rung
of their own accord ; whereupon, ordering himself to be carried to the
place where he desired to be buried, he delivered the ring to the curate
of the parish, and then laying himself down in the coffin, he was inter-
red. This ring wrought many miracles ; ivory ones touched with it
worn by women in difficult labour relieved them ; an impression of it in
wax, applied to the hip, removed the sciatica ; it cured diseases of the
eyes, reconciled married people that quarrelled, and drove out devils.
Five centuries afterwards, in 1473, the church of Musthiola, where it
effected these wonders, becoming ruinous, the ring was deposited with a
religious community of the Franciscans at Clusium. One of the
brethren of the order named Wintherus, a crafty German, and very
wicked, having obtained from the magistrates an appointment to shew
the ring, on a certain occasion after exhibiting it at the end of his ser-
mon stooped down, as if he was putting it into the place provided for it,
but instead of doing so he slipped it up his sleeve, and privily conveyed
himself and the ring from the city across the water. All was well so far ;
but when he got into a neighbouring field it suddenly became dark, so
that not knowing which way to go, but well knowing what was the
matter, he hung the ring on a tree, and falling on the ground penitently
confessed his sin to it, and promised to return to Clusium if it would
dispel the darkness. On taking it down it emitted a great light which
he took advantage of to travel to Perusia, where he sojourned with the
Augustan friars till he determined on making another effort to carry it
into Germany. He was again hindered by the darkness returning. It
infested him and the whole city for twenty days. Still he resolved not
to return to Clusium, but told his story in great confidence to his land-
lord, one Lucas Jordanus, who with great cunning represented to him his
danger from the Clusiuns, and the benefits he would receive from the
Perusians if he bestowed the ring on that city. Wintherus followed his
advice. As soon as the ring was shown to the people the darkness dis-
appeared, and Wintherus was well provided for in the house of the
magistrate. Meanwhile the Bishop of Clusium coming to Perusia, endea-
voured in vain to regain the relic. The city of Sena sent an ambassador
to assist the claim of the Clusiuns ; he was entertained by the Perusians
with great respect, but they informed him that having used no sacrile-
gious arts to obtain the blessed Virgin's ring, they respected her too much
to restore it to its owners ; that they received it within their walls with
as much respect as they would do the Ark of the Covenant, and would
defend their holy prize by force of arms. The bereaved Clusians laid the
case before Pope Sixtus IV., and the Perusians did the same. Wintherus
was ordered by the Pope on the importunity of the Clusians, into closer
confinement; but as the heat abated he passed a merry life in Perusia,
and at his death the Franciscans and the canons of St. Lawrence dis-
puted for the possession of his body. This honour was in the end
obtained by the latter, in whose chapel he was buried before an altar
dedicated to St. Joseph and the Virgin ; and a monument was erected
by the Perusians to the ring-stealer's memory, with an inscription which
 119

acknowledged that the receivers were as much indebted to him for it as

if it had been his own property and he had offered it of his own accord.
In the pontificate of Innocent III. A.D. I486, the arbitrament of the
dispute was left to Cardinal Piccolominseus, who adjudged the relic to
Perusia. The important decision was celebrated in that city by every
imaginable expression of joy, and for the greater honour of the sacred
ring a chapel was built for it in the church of St. Lawrence, with an
inscription, informing the reader that there the untouched mother, the
queen of heaven, and her spouse, were worshipped that there in the
;

sanctuary of her wedding ring, she lent a gracious ear to all prayers ;

and, that he that gave the ring (Wintherus), defended it by his protec-
tion. The pencil was called in to grace the more substantial labours of
the architect. A curious picture represented the high priest in the
temple of Jerusalem, taking Joseph and Mary by their hands to espouse
them with the venerated ring one side of the solemnity was graced by
;

a band of virgins, the companions of Mary during her education the ;

other side was occupied by a company of young men, Joseph's kinsmen

of the house of David, holding their withered rods. The imagination of
the artist employed one of these in breaking his own rod across his knee,
as envious of Joseph's, which by its miraculous budding, had ended the
hopes of all who by the proclamation had become candidates for her
hand. In addition to this an altar was raised and dedicated to St.
Joseph ; his statue was placed at its side ; his birth-day was kept with
great pomp ;
a society of seculars called his Fraternity was instituted
to serve in the chapel jointly with the clergy of St. Lawrence ; and on
the joint festival of the Virgin and her spouse, the splendid solemnity
was heightened by the solemn exhibition of their ring, and by the picture
of their miraculous nuptials being uncovered to the eager gaze of the
adoring multitude. Bp. Patrick's Devot. of Bom. Ch. p. 46.
The miracles of the wedding ring of Joseph and Mary were trifling in
comparison to its miraculous powers of multiplying itself. It existed in
different churches of Europe at the same time, and each ring being as
genuine as the other, each was paid the same honours by the devout.
 120

V. THE DESCENT INTO HELL.

'
Mr. Warton, who smiles at the idea of their having anciently com-
mitted to the blacksmiths the handling of the Purification, an old play
so called, would have had still greater reason, could he have assigned
with truth to the company of taylors the Descent into Hell.'
Rev. John Brand, Hist, of Newcastle, v. ii. p. 370. n.

THE Coventry Mystery of Christ's Descent into Hell consists of only

1
six verses j
in one of which Christ expresses his determination to
release the souls
'
from the cindery cell.' Such brevity was occa-
sioned, perhaps, by tho subject being very hacknied. But the
Chester Mystery of the same subject 2 is a tedious paraphrase of
3
circumstances in the Gospel of Nicodemus ;
to which is added in
*
one of the copies by way of epilogue, the lamentation of a cheat-

ing Chester alewife, on being compelled to take up her abode with

the devils, one of whom she endeavours to wheedle by calling him
her '
sweet Mr. Sir Sathanas,' from whom she receives the compli-
'
ment of being called his dear darling.'

In strictness, the prints that I have, which illustrate this event,

should have been described with the other engravings from Apo-

cryphal New Testament story, but it seemed better to connect

them with other particulars on the same subject ;
and accordingly

2
1
Cotton MS. Pageant xxxiiL Harl. MS. 2124
8 14 The Gospel of Nico,
Apoc. N. Test. Nicodemus, xiii. to xx. 14.
demus in Anglo-Saxon, by jElfric Abbot, of St. Albans, in the year 950-
with fragments of the Old Testament in the same language, was pub-
lished by Dr. Hickes at Oxford, in 1698. Lewis's Hist, of Transl. of
the Bible, p. 8.
4 Harl. MS. 2013.
 121

they succeed the following extracts from the Apocryphal Gospel on

which they are founded.

Nicodemus, xii. 3. In the depth of hell in the blackness of darkness

on a sudden there appeared the colour of the sun like gold, and a
substantial purple coloured light, enlightening the
place.
xv. 1. While all the saints of hell were rejoicing, behold Satan the
prince and captain of death, said to the prince of hell. 2. Prepare
to receive Jesus of Nazareth himself, who boasted that he was the
Son of God, and yet was a man afraid of death, and said my soul
is sorrowful even to death.

xvi. The mighty Lord appeared in the form of a man. 20

19.
And with his invincible power visited those who sat in the deep
darkness by iniquity, and the shadow of death by sin.
xvii. 13. Then the king of glory, trampling upon death, seized the
prince of hell, deprived him of all his power.
xix. ] 2. And taking hold of Adam by his right hand, he ascended
from hell, and all the saints of God followed him.

ENGRAVINGS.

1. A
landscape with a view of the earth beneath, containing a
semi-section of hell, which is a globe divided into four parts: 1.
the devil sitting on the body of Judas in the centre surrounded by
a body of fire containing the damned in torment. 2. The compart-

ment surrounding the centre is the flame of purgatory, with its in-
habitants. 3. The next circle is the libo of infants whose heat

seems to be less fierce. 4. The outer circle is the limbo of the

Fathers to which Christ has penetrated from his grave, with a banner
surrounded by a light cloud filled with angels. Engraved by Ant
Wierix, after B. Pass small folio.

2. Christ within the porch of hell bearing a banner in his left hand.
Adam who holds the cross of wood, with Eve and a crowd of others
are behind him ;
he is stooping down to receive persons who are

grasping his right hand from a dark entrance ;

a furious devil is

striking at him with the end of a pointed staff, from a square hole
above ;
hell gates lie broken on the ground, while a demon flying in
the air blows a horn. A fine engraving on wood by Albert Durer,
1570 small folio.

3. The same subject varied a little. An engraving on copper by

A. Durer small square quarto.
 122

4. The same subject further varied. Engraved by A. Durer,-

1512, duodecimo.
5. The same subject more varied. Engraved by Jerome Wierix
small.

6. Christ bursting hell gates ;

a devil throwing stones at him
from the battlement a very early engraving on wood, before the
time of Wolgemuth.

7. A devil holding up the broken gate with his left arm and
beating back Adam and Eve with a large splinter of wood in his
right hand to prevent their escape. Engraved by Martin Schoen.
The Pilgremage
'
of the sowle,' a spiritual romance, with beauties
that delighted our forefathers, was printed by Caxton, in 1483. I
have a MS. in French from which Caxton's work is translated, with

fifty-six coloured drawings interspersed by the amanuensis, three of

which are entire sections of the subterranean hell, divided into com-

partments, conformably to the print by Wierix. This arrangement

of hell is attributed to Cardinal Bellarmine, but the Cardinal only

repeated what had been previously described ; for my MS. was

written in the year 1435, a century before the Cardinal was born.
From an appropriation of punishment to the seven deadly sins it has
sometimes been supposed that hell has been divided into as many
compartments. The goldsmiths Baldini and Boticelli, very early, if
not the earliest engravers, executed a print wherein the damned are

represented in separate places of torment which resemble ovens, each

l
inscribed with a particular vice ;
and Erasmus mentions certain di-

vines who make as many divisions in hell and purgatory, and de-
scribe as many and degrees of punishment as if they
different sorts

were very well acquainted with the soil and situation of these
2
infernal regions.

But to return from this excursion : I would observe that in the

3
'
Boeck van Jhesus leven,' there is a wood engraving of the

1
Landseer's Lectures on Engraving, p. 251.
*
Erasmus's Praise of Folly, 12ino, 1724, p. 109.
s
Mentioned at p. 112.
 123

Descent into Hell, representing Christ standing -with his banner

in front of hell, its gates off the hinges, and Adam and Eve with
other souls praying to him for their release ; by the side of this
cut the devil is depicted on his knees with his claws folded
across his breast, and bending in a posture of supplication. There
are also wood cuts of this subject in two editions of the '
Biblia

Pauperum,' a block book ;

and another in the Speculum Humanae
'

Salvationis,' besides others in works of almost equal curiosity, whose

titles escape my recollection. It seems that there was formerly in

Canterbury Cathedral a painted glass window of Christus spoliat

'

Infernum.' 1 Probably it was put up as a suitable illustration to

the Gospel of Nicodemus which Erasmus, when he visited England,
saw chained to the pillars of that cathedral for the edification of

the visitors. 2 The ancients represented Christ like a mighty cham-

pion entering the territories of hell, and fighting for the space of
three days with the devil he had broken the strength of his
till

malice, and quite destroyed his power and force, and brought him
3
the holy souls he desired to release.

BERNARDINUS DB BUSTIS in his seventeenth sermon on the Eosary,

printed at Hagenaw in 1580, affirms, that the hole wherein the cross
stood went down into limbus, a horrible prison, where the fathers
were near to the horrible devils under the earth, and that the blood
of Christ descended thereby, which when they felt they rejoiced,
and then appeared the soul of Christ which illuminated the whole
place ;
he saluted them, shook them by the hand, blessed them,
4
and drew them out. The concluding scene has been usually
by the artist for the exercise of his pencil. The Gospel of
selected

Nicodemus seems to have been the principal source from whence

poets and painters of former times described the Descent into Hell.
Belief in the event may be traced so far back as the second century.

1
Ornaments of Churches Considered, 4to. appendix, p. 8.
2
Erasmus's Colloquies by Baily, 8vo. 1725, p. 354.
3
King's History of the Apostles' Creed, 8vo. 1737, p. 223.
4
Carlil on the Descent of Christ, 12mo. 1582, p. 98.
 124

Though the various modifications that belief has undergone, rather

belongs to theological inquiry, and would encumber mine, yet
I

propose to lay before the reader a few references concerning its anti-

quity and adaptation to popular understanding.

The Vision of Piers Ploughman, a poem, written according to

Warton, about 1384, but according to Dr. Whitaker about 1362,
and ascribed to Eobert Langland, a secular priest in the county of
Salop, was first printed in 1553, and lastly from a MS. contempo-
1
rary with the author in 1813. This ancient work contains an ela-
borate description of Christ's descent into hell, which on comparison
will be found to have been taken from the Gospel of Nicodemus :

some extracts are annexed, with their paraphrase in modern English

prose subjoined.

'
Wiche a light and wich a leom lay by fore helle.' 2
Wliat a light and a gleam appeared in the front of hell !

*
Lo helle myghte nat holde bote openede tho God tholede
And let out Symonde's sones.' 3

Lo, hell could not contain, but opened to those who awaited God, and let
out the sons of Simeon. (Nicodemus, xiii. 13, &c.)

'
Attolite portas principes vestras, elevamini porte eternales,' &c.
A voys loude in that light to Lucifer seide
Princes of this palys un do the gates,
For here cometh with coronne the kynge of all glorie.
Then syhede Satan, and seide *

'
Lift great gates, and ye everlasting doors be ye opened.'
up your In
that light a
voice cried aloud to Lucifer : Princes of this palace open tlis
gates, for here cometh with his crown the King of glory. Then Satan
groaned and said,
'
Ac rys up Ragamoffyn. and reche me alle the barres
Ar we throw bryghtnesse be blent, barre we the gates
Cheke we and cheyiie we. and eche chyne stoppe
And thow Astrot hot out. and have out knaves
Coltyng and al bus kynne. our catel to save
Brynston boilaunt brenning. out casteth hit

1 The Vision of Piers Ploughman, by Dr. T. D. Whitaker, 1813, 4to.

'Ibid. p. 346. 3
Ibid. p. 353. * Ibid. 354
p.
 125
i

Al hot in here hevedes. that entren in ny the wallea

Setteth bowes of brake, a brasene gonnes
And sheteth out shot e ynowh.'^ 1 )
Arise Ragamuffin and bring all the bars, before we are blinded with the
brightness. Bar we now the gates, bolt we and chain we, and stop up every
chink. And thou Astaroth go forth and muster the servants, Colling and all
his kindred, to save our chattels. Cast boiling and burning brimstone, all
hot, upon their heads who shall enter within these walls. Set the steel boivs,
and brazen guns, and shoot out shot in plenty.
" Yf he reve me of my ryght he robbeth me by mastrie
For by ryght and reson. the reukes that beon here
Body and soule beth myne. bothe good and ille
For he hyms self hit seide. that syre is of helle
That Adam and Eve. and al hus issue
Sholden deye with deol. and here dwelle evere
Yf thei touchede a othr toke ther of an appel
treo.

Thus thees lorde of light such a lawe made

And sutthe he is so leel a lord, ich ley ve that he wol nat
Keven ous of oure ryght. sutthe reson he mdampned
And sutthe we han be seosed. sevene thowsend wynt."(! )

If he bereave me of my right, he shall rob me by force; since by right and

reason the rooks that are here are mine, body and soul, good and bad, for fie
himself who is Lord of hell said, that Adam and Eve and all their issue
should die with sorrow, and dwell here for ever if they touched a tree, or took
an apple therefrom. Thus this Lord of light made such a law, and since he
is a Lord of truth, I believe that he will not deprive us of our right because

they are rightfully damned, and because we have been seized of them seven
thousand yean.
" What lord ert thu
quath Lucifer, a voys a loud seyde
The lord of myght and of man. that made alle thynges
Duke of this dymme place, a non undo the gates
That Crist nowe comen in. the kynges sone of hevene
And with that breth helle brake, with alle Beliales barres
For eny wye other warde. wyde openede ze gates."(3)
What Lord art thou ? said Lucifer. A voice cried aloud, the Lord of
power and of man, who made all things, the ruler of this dark place, open
the gates forthwith, that Christ the son of the King of heaven may come in.
And with that breath hell burst, and all Belial's bars, notwithstanding the
guard, the gates flew wide open.
" Lo me her
quath our lorde. lyf and soule bothe
For alle synful soules. to save oure beyere ryghh."( 4 )
Behold me here quoth our Lord, both life and soul for all sinners to save
dur brethren.

2 3 4
0) Ibid. p. 354. ( )
Ibid. p. 355. ( )
Ibid. p. 358. ( )
Ibid. p. 359.

17
 126

" For the

lesynge that thow Lucifer, lowe til Eve.
Thow shalt abygge bitere quath God. and bond hym with cheynea
Astrott and alleo there, hudden hem in heornes
Thei dorst nat loken on oure Lorde. the leste of hem alle

Bote leot hym leden forth wich hym luste. and leve wiche him lykede.'^ 1 )
For the falsehoods wherewith thou Lucifer liedst unto Eve, thou shalt
abide crushed, quoth God ; and he bound him with chains. Astaroth and
the rest hid themselves in droves. The most distant of them all durst not
look on Christ, but let him take away whom he desired, and leave whom he

A volume in the British Museum (2) containing

a collection of MS.

Poems, dated the 34th year of K. Henry YI. (about 1456), preserves
a poem entituled, What Gliryst hath done for us ; wherein Christ

says,
To helle I went this chartre to schewe,
Before thy fo Sathanas, that schrewc ;
He was schent, and brought to grounde,
Thorow maylys bore, and sperys wounde ;
A charter com'an made was
Bytwene me and Sathanas,
Allmy catel to have away
That he me reft

In the same volume Our Lady's Song of the Cliyld that solccd
lujr brest, relates that after the death of Christ,

Then to helle he toke ye way

Wt woundys wyde & all blody ;
Ye foule fendys to affray
Wt hym he bar ye cros of tre.

Helle gatys full opyn to put fre

When my sone wyth hond hem blest,
Ye fendys roryd when they hym se :

Ye chyld ys resyn that soke my brest.

Adam & Eve wyth hym he take,

Kyng Davyd, Moyses, & Salamon ;
And haryed hell every noke,
Wythyn hyt left he soulys non,
But fendys yn hyt to dwelle allon
Lucyfer ther hard he prest

Ibid, p. 363. (*) Harl. MS. 5396.

 127

Theryn to byde as sty lie as ston:

The chyld is resyn that soke my brest.

Thus 'comyfte he the fendys fele,

And toke hys pray that he had boght ;
And put hym yn to endles wele,
Ther joye & blys fayles noght.

TJie World and the Chylde, a Morality printed in 1522, mentions

the release of the souls. Perseverance, one of the dramatis persons,

" the xii
rehearsing Artycles of the fayth," says

The fyfth artycle I shall yo tell;

Than the spryghte of godhed went to hell,
And brough' ut the soules that there dyde dwell
By the power of his own myght.

In the articles of Pierce Ploughman! s Crede,(i) an old production,

but not so old as the Vision, it is rehearsed that Christ was cruci-
fied

And sythen his blessed body was in a stone byriad

And descended a doun to the derk helle
And fet out our formfaders.

2
of Chryste,( )
a Poem in the Ban-

natyne MS. 1568, begins

Done is a battell on a dragon blak,

Our campioun Chryst confoundit hes his force,
The yettis of hell ar brokin with a crak,
The signe triumphall rasit is of the croce ;

The divillis trymmillis with hiddous voce,

The saulis ar borrowit, and to the bliss can go,
Chryst with his blud our ransoms dois indoce ;
Surrexit Dominus de sepulchre.

The fo is chasit, the battell is done ceis,

The presone brokin, the jevellours fleit and flemit ;
The weir is gon, confermit is the peis, '

The fetteris lowsitr and the dungeon temit, &c.

1
( ) Pierce the Ploughman's Crede was first printed in 1553.
2
( )
Ancient Scottish Poems, 12mo, Edinb. 1770, p. 85.
 BISHOP CORBET, in his witty Itinerary of

Foure Clerkes of Oxford, doctours two, and two

That would be docters,

laments the secularization of church appurtenances at Banbury by

the Puritans, who he describes as,

They which tell

1 That Christ hath nere descended into hell,
But to the grave^ 1 )

"Not to trouble the reader with further poetical recognitions of this

subject, presented with a few opinions more gravely delivered

he is

by persons of higher authority in other respects, and some of them

living in the earliest ages.
JOHN BOYS, Dean of Canterbury, where he died in 1625, says in
one of his sermons, that " hell is under the earth and twofold ;
namely, 1. The pit of the dead or the grave which is upper hell.

2. The pit of the damned, which is the nethermost hell; and that
Christ descended into the nethermost hell where sinners are punished
not to suffer any punishment, but as a conqueror to triumph
eternally,
over death and the devil in their own kingdoms. "( 2)
BISHOP LATIMER in a sermon before King Edward VI., says, " I
offer it unto you to consider and weigh it, there be some great clerks

that take my part, and I perceive not what evil can come of it, in

saying that our Saviour Christ not only in soul descended into hell,
Imt also he suffered in hell such pains as the damned spirits did
suffer there. Surely I believe verily, for my part, that he suffered
the pains of hell proportionally, as it correspondeth and answereth
to the whole sin of the world. He would not suffer only bodily in
the garden and upon the cross, but also in his soul, when it was from
the body, which was a pain due for our sin. Some write so, and I can

(*) Corbett's Poems by Gilchrist, p. 202. Richard Corbet was succes-

sively Chaplain to James I., Dean of Christchurch, Bishop of Oxford and
Bishop of Norwich. He died in 1632.
2
) Boys's Postils, fol. 1629, p. 956.
 129

believe it, that he suffered in the very place, and I cannot tell what
it is, call it what ye
will, even in the scalding-house, in the ugli-
someness of the place, in the presence of the place, such pains as
our capacity cannot attain unto." (1 )
CALVIN held the opinion that the soul of Christy in the descent

into hell, really suffered the pains of the damned, and that those
which are saved by his death should have endured in hell the tor-
ments of the damned, but that he being their surety, suffered those

torments for them.( 2 )

AUGUSTINE, a father of the Cliurch in the kth and 5th century,
says that he could not find where the habitation of the souls of the
just is in Scripture called hell that he never met with the word
:

" Hell " used in a sense in the canonical Scripture ; that it is

good
probable there were two hells divided by the great gulf, one where
the just were at peace ;
the other where the souls were tormented ;

that the ancient saints were in a place remote from torment, yet
that they were in hell till the blood of Christ, and his descent thither,

delivered them ; and that since that time the souls of believers go to
3
hell no more." ( )

JEROME, a father of the Church in the kth century, affirms that

the blood of Christ quenched the flaming sword at the entrance of

paradise, that the thief entered it with Christ, followed by the souls

of all the saints who had been before detained in hell ; and that the
souls of all good men do instantly pass to paradise upon their dis-

solution.^)
ATHANASIUS, a father of the Cliurch in, the th century, has a
piece attributed to him by some, but denied by others, which
enjoins the reader to " remember the twelfth for in that our hour,
Saviour descended into hell ;
hell shuddered in beholding him, and
he that cometh with great power ? who is he
who
1

cried aloud, is

that trampleth on the brazen portals of hell, and unbindeth the

chain of my captives V
5
Bishop Pearson says that Athanasim,

(*) Latimer's Sermons, 4to, 1635, p. 86.

2
( ) Pearson on the Creed, folio. 1741, p. 231.
3 4
( ) King on the Creed, p, 211. ( )
Ibid. p. 210.

Hayley's Essay on Old Maids, v

6
( )
ii.
p. 195.
 130

speaking of Christ triumphing over Satan, mentions hell spoiled,

l
to wit, of those soulswhich} before, it kept in hold. ( )
EPIPHANIUS, a father of the church in the 4th century,
writes that the soul of Christ descended into the nethermost parts
where Death and Hell being ignorant of his divinity, assaulted
his soulthat he broke the sting of death, rent in sunder the ada-
:

mantine bars, loosed the bonds of hell, and brought from thence
SOME of the captive souls, as a pledge to those he left behind,
that they should arrive unto the same liberty. 2
( )

ORIGEN and AMBROSE, fathers of the church in the 3rd

century, were of opinion, that before the death of Christ the
souls of the patriarchs went to hell, where they remained in joy

and happiness till the separated soul of Christ descended into

those infernal regions, and breaking the bonds thereof, freed the

captives and led them into heaven, whither the souls or all be-
lievers do now instantly go. ( ) 3

CLEMENT ALEXANDRINUS, a father of the church in the 2nd

Century, was of opinion that Christ descended down into hell
to preach the Gospel to the departed souls, and that he saved
many of them, that is, all that believed; and that the apostles
also after their death descended likewise into the same place, and
for the same purpose. (4)
PRUDENTIUS, a Christian Poet, who flourished in the fourth
" I remember
century, speaking of Christ's resurrection, says,
that a corporeal God
came up again from Phlegethon," the
easily

place wherein the souls are tormented. In another of his pieces

he addresses Lazarus in these terms, "Tell us whose voice you
heard under the lowest places of the earth, and what force went

through the hidden places where the dead make their abode,
since when Christ recalled you, and ordered you to come fcrth
from the black depth wherein you was, you heard as if you had
been near. By what so neighbouring an abyss is the kingdom of

J
( ) Pearson on Creed, p. 250, n.
2
( ) King on the Creed, p. 223. (^ King on the Creed, p. 209.
(*) Daille's Right Use of the Fathers, 4to, 1675, part ii.
p. 67.
 131

darkness almost joined with, the upper parts of the earth. 1 where
is the dismal Tenarus by which they go down through a vast ex-
tent? and that hidden river which rolls flames in its channel
"
which nothing can fill ? The same Poet speaking in one of his

Hymns of Christ's descent into the place of torment, relates that

" the
spirits of the wicked, the night in which God came from the
lakes of Acheron had some solemn, releases from their torments.
Tartarus languished with milder punishments the people of the ;

shades free front fire-, were glad to have some rest in their prison
and the rivers of brimstone did not boil as they were wont to do.'^ 1 )
From these citations it will appear that the descent of Christ
into hell, and his carrying away the souls, is a most ancient doc-
trine. In one thing all the Fathers agree, that hell is below the
and most of them suppose in its
surface of the earth, centre, where
the souls of the dead both good and bad await the final doom ;

the good in a state of quiescence, the bad in a state of torment.

They all likewise agree that Christ descended into hell, but there
is great diversity of opinion among them as to the part of hell

into which he descended. Some believe that Christ descended

to the souls of those who died in the fear of God, and led them,
with him into heaven : some again think that the souls of the
good are still in a subterranean place which they call Abraham's

bosom, where they are to stay till the day of resurrection ; others,
who are of opinion that hell denotes only a place of torment, say,

that Christ really descended into the place where the devils and
wicked men are tormented, and they believe that he delivered the
souls suffering punishment for their sins. Some again think that
Christ released some only of those souls, others that he altogether

emptied hell ; and this was CYRIL'S opinion, who assures us that
when Christ was risen he left the devil alone in hell. ( 2) They
who thought that hell was wholly emptied and every soul released
from pain, were branded with the name of heretics but to be- ;

lieve that many were delivered was both by them and many others

2
() Le Clerc's Lives, 8vo, 1696, p. 299, 303. ( )
Ibid. p. 301.
 132

counted orthodox. AUGUSTINE in his hook of Heresies reckons

this as the seventy-ninth heresy, for Augustine was one of those
who held that the faithful hefore the death of Christ were with
God and already happy, and needed no translation, and that the
object of Christ's descent into hell was to deliver some who were iu

torment, while others who were in that state he left. (*)

BISHOP PEARSON thinks that for above five hundred years

after Christ there were very few, if any, of those who believed
that Christ delivered the saints from hell, who at the same time
2
believed that he left all the damned there. ( )
At the present time
the schools deliver it as a point of faith and an infallible certainty

that the soul of Christ descending into hell, delivered the souls of
3
all the saints, and conferred upon them actual beatitude.( )
Accord-

ingly in the celebration of mass, the priest takes the cloth from the
chalice to signify the removal of the stone from Christ's tomb ;

immediately afterwards he elevates the host to signify Christ's re-

surrection ;
and he then divides the host into two parts, one of
which signifies the joy in heaven at the resurrection of Christ, and
the other part signifies the joy of the fathers on their being deli-
4
vered. In a child's book containing instructions for hearing inass,( )

the prayer directed to be said by the child at this part of the ser-
" descended into
vice, recites that Christ limbo, and delivered
thence the souls of the fathers till then detained there ;" and the
wood over this prayer, represents the descent and the broken
cut,

gates, Christ lifting out the^ souls, and the terror of the devils.
It appears then that the descent into hell, has been perpetuated

through all ages of the Catholic church in some form or other.

Addressed in former times to the meanest capacities of the igno-
rant by dramatic representations, and by circumstantial relations

from the Gospel of Mcodemus, through a variety of old works

printed for religious instruction and devotional exercise, it is not

(!)
Pearson on the Creed, p. 241.
2
( )
Ibid. p. 26. C) Ibid. p. 245.
(*) Daily Exercises for Children, Keating, 1821, 24nio, p. 70.
 133

wonderful that the bodily descent should have obtained popular

belief. They who desire to inquire concerning the theological tenet,

may consult the books I have cited with advantage, and especially
what Bishop Pearson says in his exposition of the Apostles' Creed.
From that work, which is a storehouse of information upon the
point, and Lord King's History, Bishop Horsley seems to have
obtained every fact and argument that he uses in his celebrated ser-
mon on the descent.
The Eev. WILLIAM CRASHAW, Preacher at the Temple Church,
published in 1616 his
'
Clear Confession of the Christian Faith,

according to the order of the Apostles' Creed,' wherein he says,

'
I
also beleeue, that being vpon the same crosse, dying and yeelding vp

his spirit vnto God his father, hee descended into hell, that is to say,

that he hath truly tasted and experimented the greatest distresse and
dolours of death, together with the paines and flames of hell fire, that
is to say, the fury, wrath, and seuere iudgment of God vpon him, as if

hee had beene a man halfe damned because of the sinnes of the world,
which he bare vpon him. See here that which I simply vnderstand
by the descent of Christ into hell. Moreouer, I know that this article
was not in the beginning, in the Creed, and that it wag otherwise
vuderstood and interpreted by diuers that adjudged Christ truly and
indeed to haue descended into the place of the damned alledging
the text of Saint Peter, which I confess from my selfe to bee
hidden for the present. I neither beleeue nor confesse that there

are any but two places in the other world, that is to say, paradise for
the faithful and chosen with the angels, and hell for the unfaithfull
and reprobate with the diuells.' Between Bishop Horsley's sermon
affirming the subterranean descent of the soul of Christ, and this con-
fession there is a wide difference. Carlil's old treatise, before quoted,

isa learned and excellent exposition of the subject from the passage
in Peter, with abundance of curious information I much regret :

that limitation of room and apprehension that I have already too

1
much diverged, will not suffer me to extract from It.

1
As the Descent of Christ into hell to release the saints, is a doctrine of tha
18
 134

Catholic Church, so it prepares to celebrate his Ascension into heaven by

Litanies and public processions during three days before Holy Thursday,
the anniversary of that event. These are called Rogation days. In these
processions the cross is borne, banners are carried, and the bells are rung
to chase the fiends ; as they are also when it thunders, to abash and drive
away the wicked spirits in the air that cause the tempest. The Golden
Legend says, that the bearing of banner* with the cross on .Rogation
days, is to represent the victory of Christ in hia resurrection and ascen-
sion that the people followed the cross and the banners as Christ was
;

followed when he ascended to heaven with a great prey ; and that in

some churches, especially in France, it was the custom to bear a dragon
with a long tail filled with chaff the first two days it was borne before
:

the cross, with the tail full, but on the third day it was borne after the
cross, with the tail empty ; by which it was understood that on the first
two days the devil reigned in the world, but that on the third day he was
dispossessed of his kingdom,

In this procession it is clear that the devil was represented by the

dragon.
'
There was war in heaven Michael and his angels fought
:

against the dragon ; and the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent
'
called the devil.' (Rev. xii. 7, 9.) Sparke in his Primitive Devotion,'
(1673, 8vo., p. 565,) cites Augustine to show that Michael was allegorical
'
of Christ, so that the meaning (of Rev. xii.) is but briefly this, that
Christ and his members fight against the devil and his.' Seeing that
the dragon in the ecclesiastical procession on Rogation days was made to
allegorise the kingdom of Satan and his overthrow, I with much
deference suggest for the consideration of antiquaries who suppose that
the dragon of the pageants is the dragon of St. George, whether, on the
contrary, this figure may not be in truth the dragon of St. Michael, or
in other words the devil. My notion is strengthened by the statement
in the Golden Legend, that' the dragon was at least as common to the
Rogation processions abroad, as to those in England. But leaving this
subject, I purpose a short discussion concerning Michael, the dragon's
conqueror.

The author of the '

Protestant Beadsman,' (1822, p. 83.) observes,
apparently from Sparke's Devotion, that Michael
'
is noticed by St. Jude
as fighting personally with the devil about the body of Moses ;' and to this
affixes as a note, that 'it has been plausibly conjectured that the body of
Moses signifies the Mosaic law, as the body of Christ is often used for the
Christian church ; and that the attempt of the devil which Michael re-
sisted was to rebuild and restore the temple.' Now concerning this
passage in Jude, there is a difficulty which, it seems to me, had the
author of the Protestant Beadsman been acquainted with, would have
restrained him from attaching much importance to the signification that
he supposes to be 'plausibly conjectured* respecting the body of Moses;
yet in adducing this difficulty I desire to be understood as wishing to
avoid offence to a writer whose amenity bespeaks corresponding civility
of demeanor ; nor is it produced with the slightest view to its
defence,
but simply as it is proposed elsewhere.

The passage in Jude, (verse 9,) is in these words, ' Yet Michael the
archangel when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of
 135

Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord
rebuke thee.' Michaelis says, that the whole history of this dispute has
the appearance of a Jewish fable, which it is not very easy at present to
discover, because the book from which it is supposed to have been taken
by the author of the epistle is no longer extant. Origen found the story
of Michael's dispute with the devil about the body of Moses, in a Jewish
Greek book called the Assumption of Moses, which was extant in his
time, though it is now lost, and he was thoroughly persuaded that Jude's
quotation was from it. In consequence of this he himself quoted another
passage from the Assumption of Moses, as a work of authority, in proof
of the temptation of Adam and Eve by the devil. The Jews imagined
the person of Moses was so holy that God could find no reason for per-
mitting him to die : and that nothing but the sin committed by Adam
and Eve in Paradise, which brought death into the world, was the cause
why Moses did not live for ever. Now, in the dispute between Michael
and the devil about Moses, the devil was the accuser, and demanded the
death of Moses, fficumenius. has a passage which contains a part of the
story related in the Assumption of Moses, and which explains the reason
of the dispute concerning Moses's body. According to this passage,
Michael was employed in burying Moses ; but the devil endeavoured to
prevent it by saying that he had murdered an Egyptian, and was
therefore unworthy of an honourable burial. The ' Phetirath Moshe'
a Hebrew book written in a later age. contains a story which though
probably ancient, is not the same with that cited either by Origen or
CEcumenius, because the devil, Samael, does not dispute about the burial
of Moses, nor does Michael reproach the devil with having possessed the
serpent which seduced Eve, nor with saying to him, 'the Lord rebuke
thee ;
but he himself rebukes the devil, and calls him thou wicked
; '

wretch and Moses calls him the same. This is the reverse of that
;
'

related in the Epistle concerning the dispute of Michael with the devil.
Michaelis having thus expressed himself, proceeds to observe that the
substance of the story related in this book (the Phetirath Moshe), as far
as concerns the present inquiry, is as follows :

*
Moses requests of God, under various pretences, either that he may
not die at all, or at least that he may not die before he comes into
Palestine. This request he makes in so froward and petulant a manner
as is highly unbecoming not only a great prophet, but even any man,
who has expectations of a better life after this. In short, Moses is here
represented in the light of a despicable Jew, begging for a continuance of
life, and devoid both of Christian faith and of heathen courage : and it
is therefore not improbable, that the inventor of this fable made himself
the model, after which he formed the character of Moses. God argue*,
on the contrary, with great patience and forbearance, and replies to what
Moses had alleged relative to the merit of his own good work. Further,
it is God who says to Moses that he must die on account of the sin of
Adam to which Moses answers, that he ought to be excepted, because
:

he was superior in merit to Adam, Abraham, Isaac, &c. In the mean-

time, Samael, that is the angel of death, whom the Jews describe as the
chief of the devils, rejoices at the approaching death of Moses. This is
observed by Michael, who says to him, Thou wicked wretch, I grieve,
'

and thou laughest.' Moses, after his request had been repeatedly re-
fused, invokes heaven and earth and all the creatures around him to
intercede in his behalf. Joshua attempts to pray for him, but the devil
 136

stops his month, and represents to him, really in Scripture style, the
impropriety of such a prayer. The elders of the people, and with them
all the children of Israel, then offer to intercede for Moses, hut their
mouths are likewise stopped by a million eight hundred and forty
thousand devils, which, on a moderate calculation, make three devils to
one man. After this, God commands the angel Gabriel to fetch the
soul of Moses, but Gabriel excuses himself, saying, that Moses was toof
strong for him. Michael receives the same order, and excuses himsel
in the same manner, or, as other accounts say, under pretence that he
had been the instructor of Moses, and therefore could not bear to see
him die. But this last excuse, according to the Phetirath Moshe, was
made by Zingheil, the third angel, who received this command. Samael,
that is,the devil, then offers his services, but God asks him how he
would take hold of Moses, whether by his mouth, or by his hands, or by
his feet, saying that every part of Moses was too holy for him to touch.
The devil, however, insists on bringing the soul of Moses yet he does
:

not accuse him, for, on the contrary, he prizes him higher than Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. The devil then approaches towards Moses to execute
this voluntary commission : but as soon as he sees the shining counte-
nance of Moses he is seized with a violent pain, like that of a woman in
'
labour.' Michaelis continues to relate that Moses, instead of using the
oriental salutation,
'
Peace be with thee,' says to him in the words of
Isaiah, ch. Ivii. 21 (for in this work Moses frequently quotes Isaiah and
the Psalms), there is no peace to the wicked.' The devil replies, that
'

he was come by the order of God to fetch his soul ; but Moses deters
him from the attempt by representing his own strength and holiness,
and saying, Go thou wicked wretch, I will not give thee my soul,' he
'

affrights the devil in such a manner that he immediately retires. The

devil then returns to God and relates what has passed, and receives an
order to go a second time. The devil answers, that he would go every-
where God commanded him, even into hell, and into fire, but not to
Moses. This remonstrance is, however, of no avail, and he is obliged
to go back again. But Moses, who sees him coming with a drawn sword,
meets him with his miraculous rod, and gives him so severe a blow with
it that the devil is
glad to escape. Lastly, God himself comes : and
Moses, having then no further hopes, requests only that his soul may not
be taken out of his body by the devil. This request is granted him.
Zinghiel, Gabriel, and Michael then lay him on a bed ; and the soul of
Moses begins to dispute with God, and objects to its being taken out of
a body, which was so pure and holy that no fly dared to settle upon it.
But God kisses Mose8, and with a kiss extracts his soul from his body.
Upon this, God utters a heavy lamentation, and thus the story in the
Phetirath Moshe ends, without any mention of a dispute about the burial
of Moses's body. This last scene, therefore, which was contained in the
Greek book seen by Origen, is wanting in the Hebrew. But in both of
these works, Michael, as well as the devil, expresses the same sentiments
in respect to Moses ; in both these works the same spirit prevails : and
the concluding scene which was contained in the Greek book is nothing
more than a continuation of the same story which is contained in the
Hebrew.' Michaelis immediately after this puts the following question :
'
I seriously ask every impartial judge whether that person could be an
inspired writer, or an immediate disciple of him who made manifest
distinctions between the history of the Old Testament and the fabulous
traditions of the Jews, who has quoted such a book as that which I
 137

have just described, and selected from it a passage so apparently fabu-

lous. Various attempts have been made to remove this difficulty, but
with very little success.
This extract is from Michaelis's Introduction to the New Testament,
translated and considerably augmented with notes by the present Bishop
of Peterborough (voL iv. p. 378, &c.), printed at the expense of the
University of Cambridge. As the Bishop's notes on the work have
hitherto not extended beyond the Gospels and the Acts, he has not de-
clared his opinion concerning this and other reasons stated by Michaelis,
for hesitating to acknowledge that the Epistle of Jude is canonical The
passage in the Epistle which necessarily caused observation from Micha-
elis as a biblical critic is seldom adduced in our day by protestant theo-

logians. Its explication suggested as 'plausible' by the author of the

Protestant Beadsman, and the introduction, as it appears to me, of
Michael's dragon in the Rogation processions, as an allegorical personifi-
cation of the devil, constitute my apology for introducing Michaelis's
notice of Michael's contention with the devil about the body of Moses.
To this may be added, that as its curiosity attracted my attention, this
was another reason for supposing that some to whom Bishop Marsh's
translation of Michaelis is unknown, would be interested by the story.
 138

VI. HEARNE'S PRINT OF THE DESCENT

INTO HELL.

Witch. A sailor's wife had chesnuts in her lap,

And mouncht, and mouncht, and mouncht Give me, quoth
: I ;

Aroint thee, witch ! the rump-fed ronyon cries.

Macbeth, Act. i. Sc. 3.

Edgar, Saint Withold footed thrice the wold ;

He met the nightmare, and her ninefold ;

Bid her alight,

And troth her plight,
And aroynt. thee, witch, aroynt thee !

King Lear, Act. iii. Sc. 5.

THE Descent into Hell, engraved

original copper-plate of Christ's

by Michael Burghers, from an ancient drawing, for Hearne the

Antiquary, being in existence, I have caused impressions to be taken
from it, and inserted one opposite. This print is raised into im-

portance by Dr. Johnson taking it as an authority for aroint, a

word used twice by Shakspeare, as may be seen in the above
Johnson, in his notes, says, I had met with the word
'

passages.
aroint in no other author till looking into Hearne's Collection, I
found it in a very old drawing that he has published, in which St.

Patrick is represented visiting hell, and putting the devils into

great confusion by his presence, of whom one, that is driving the

damned before him with a prong, has a label issuing out of his
mouth with these words, out, out, arongt ; of which the last is

evidently the same with, aroint, and used in the same sense as in
this passage.'
*
Upon this Steevens remarks : Dr. Johnson's memory on the

present occasion appears to have deceived him in more than a

single instance. The subject of the above-mentioned drawing is
Tlum.. "W/.Vufc Aw/C $.,*.
 139

ascertained by a label affixed to it in Gothic letters, Jesus Christus,

reaurgens d mortuis spoliat infernum. My predecessor indeed

might have been misled by an uncouth abbreviation in the Sacred

Name. The words out, out, arongt, are addressed to our Redeemer

by Satan, who, the better to enforce them, accompanies them with

a blast of the horn he holds in his right hand. Tartareum
intendit cornu. If the instrument he grasps in his left hand was
meant for a prong, it is of singular make.' Steevens then inserts
an engraved fac simile of the instrument, and immediately says,
that '
Satan is not driving the damned before him ; nor any other
is

daemon present to undertake that office. Redemption, and not

punishment, is the subject of the piece. This subject of Christ's

exploit, in his descensus ad inferos (as Mr. Tyrwhitt has observed

in a note on Chauser, 3512), is taken from the Gospel of Nico-
demus, and was called by our ancestors the harrowinge of helle,
under which title it was represented among the Chester Whitsun,
Playes, MS. HarL 2013.'

So far Steevens has corrected Johnson, and substantially stated

the subject of Hearne's print ; but let the reader look at it and say
whether Steevens himself is correct, when he affirms that Christ is
addressed '

by Satan.' The devil that speaks is denoted by the

horn he blows, to be the Porter or warder of hell, an office of high
trust, topographically the highest in hell, yet very inferior in

rank, and consequently filled by a devil of low degree. Nor. is

Steevens's mistake a mere slip of the pen, for he again calls this

spirit Satan, and says, there was no '

other daBmon present. In
Heywood's Four P's,' the Pardoner relates that as soon as he
'

found a female friend of his had gone to the infernal regions, he

went after her to fetch her back :

Not as who saithe by authoritie,

But by the way of intreatie.
And first to the devil that kept the gate
I came,
He knew me wel
For oft, in the play of Corpus Christi
He hath play'd the devil at Coventrie.
* * * *
I said to this devil, good maister porter, &c.
 140

The Porter introduces the Pardoner to Lucifer, who previously

sends him a safe conduct under his hand, stating,

that he may at libertie

Passe safe without any jeopardie,
Till that he be from us extinct,

And cleerly out of belle's precinct.

And, his pardons to keep in save guarde,

Me wil they lie in the PORTER'S warde. 1

Now in this old play both the porter of hell, and the porter's

abiding place are mentioned ; and it may be observed, that, as in

Hearne's print the devil in this employment blows a horn, so a

very ancient Saxon MS. at the British Museum, wherein Christ

is depicted releasing the souls, also represents him addressing a
fiend, whose office of porter of hell is clearly shown by the eyes on
his wings, emblematical of Cerberus- like watchfulness, and by his
warder's horn, which with other implements he lets fall in terror
from his hands. 2 Likewise the Golden Legend says, that
4
&none as 3$ esu cr B*t fcescEn&etr tn to frelle tf) nggfjte

began to foere dere. &nfc anone tf)e porttr black anfc

frorrtble among tftem in science began to murmur." Probably

the notion of this post, and the alarm of its occupiers on Christ's
appearance to deliver the souls, is coeval with the earliest belief of

the subject ;
for in the creed read in the fourth century at the
'
council of Ariminum, a city of Italy, Christ is declared to have
descended into hell, and there to have disposed of all things, at
whose sight the PORTERS of hell TREMBLED.'*

Again : the prong in the devil's left hand of so '

singular make
to Steevens's apprehension, that he engraves it in his note, is as fre-

frently put into the hands of devils by the old masters, as the iron
comb or any other implement of torture. This might be exem-

plified by reference to several engravings, but it is sufficient to refer

1
Dodsley's Old Plays, vol. i, p. 112.
2 Cotton MS. Tiberius VI.
3 Golden Legend, Art, Here begynneth the resurrecyyon.
* Socrates' EccL Hist. fol. 1663, p. 278.
 141

to thevolume of the great Show at Haerlem, wherein is a print repre-

senting Doot, Hell, and the Duivd, as walking in one of the proces-
sions, the Duivel holding a prong of exactly the same make( l).
Steevens's character for erudition in other respects has perhaps not

only induced belief in the general reader that his engraving of it is

a curiosity ; but has occasioned his misconception to be reprinted

in subsequent editions of Shakspeare to the present time.

It is remarkable that Steevens, while trifling and erring in

detecting the inaccuracy of Johnson concerning the figures in the

print appears to have entertained no doubt as to the correctness of
Johnson's statement that the word engraved HTOtt?t, " is evidently
the same with aroint ;" and it is further remarkable that every sub-

"
(!) Const-thoonende Ivweel, by de loflijcke Stadt Haerlem, ten versoecke
van Trow moet blijcken, in't licht gebracht, &c. Tot Zwol by Zacharias Heyns,
Drucker des Landschapes van Over-ijssel, 1607," 4to.
Devils are not only represented with instrument? of torture by painters,
but are sometimes so described by writers. Querela, a Latin poem, " supposed
to be written by S. Bernard from a nightly vision of his," contains such a

description. William Crashaw, the author mentioned before (p. 133) who was
"
father to Crashaw the poet, translated this poem under the title of The Com-
plaint or Dialogue betwixt the Soule and the Bodie of a damned man ; each laying
the fault upon the other." (London, 1616, 24mo.) These are stanaas from it.

The author in vision.

After the Soule had sayd Their eares with running
these mournefull words, sores hung flapping low,
Behold, two Fiends, Foule filthy homes in their
more blacke then pitch or night, blacke browes they wore,
Whose shapes with pen Full of thicke poyson
to write, no wit affordes, which from them did flow,
Nor any hand of Their nayles were like

painter pourtray right. the tushes of a bore.

Sharpe steely priclces These Fiends in chaines

they did in each, hand beare, fast bound this wretched soule,

Sulphure and fire And with them hal'd her

flaming, they breath'd out ; howh'ng into hell :

Tusked their teeth To whom on flockes

like crooked mattockes were, ran other diuels more,

And from their nosthrils And gnashing with their teeth
snakes crawl'd round about. to dancing fell.

19
 142

sequent editor of Shakspeare has also acquiesced in Johnson's

opinion without taking pains to examine the ground he rests it
upon. Had Steevens inquired what piece in " Hearne's collection ?
this print really belonged to, he would have ascertained it to have

been in Forduni Scotichronicon (1722, 5 vols. 8vo.) before p. 1403

of vol. v., and following the direction on the plate to the Preface,

Diuels.
They welcomed her with Svch horror wee do
greetings full of woe, on our seruants load,
Some wrested her with cordes Then as half wearied
senceless of dread, the diuels cryed,
Some snatcht and tore with hooks Now art thou worse
drawne to and fro, then was the crawling toade
Some welcome
for her Yet thousand-fold
powr'd on scalding lead. worse torments thee abide.

The instrument held by the porter-fiend in Hearne's print is formed to use

'
hooks drawn to and fro.'
saw- ways, like
A minute and horrifying account of hell torments, extracted from a modern
'
publication, is in The Miraculous Host tortured by the Jew.' But the binding
of a sinner as an appendix to a devil is unique, I believe, as an infernal punish-
ment. The in a wood cut to a rare work entitled "
representation is 59 tt
" and I end this note with a sketch from it
OC|)EltttEtt ?UHSt (1506, 4to.)

by way of tail-piece.
 143

. 14 in vol. i., lie would not only have met with the account of
the print, but have also seen that Hearne himself gives the real

word, from the drawing in his MS.

Hearne commences the subject by saying, that, of all the calen-
dars in his possession, that which Meetwood, Bishop of Ely, pre-
sented to him, is deserving of the greatest admiration. He ima-

gines itbe one of the magical and astrological ones mentioned

to

by old writers ; describes it to be full of pictures and prophecies ;

and supposes it was written in the reign of Edward III., and that
it was the autograph or only copy. He is surprised that though
it contains the names and portraits of all the saints held in great
veneration throughout the whole year, yet that no mention occurs
in it of St. Patrick. He inquires how this is, and conjectures
that either St. Patrick was of no note with the English, or else
that the author of this calendar, as well as others, considered the

story of his purgatory a fiction. Then he notices some calendars

that have it, probably, he says, out of compliment to the Irish ;

and he observes that, if it be urged that there was no occasion for

the author of this calendar to say any thing of purgatory because
he was not treating concerning hell, that can be proved to be er-

roneous, because he diligently depicts the fall of man and his

liberation from the infernal regions ; " which diligence," says

Hearne, who evidently tattles thus to have an opportunity of giv-

ing engravings to his readers from drawings that the worthy old
man was himself amused with ; " which diligence moreover, upon
this subject you will find to be sufficiently ridiculous from the

pictures which I subjoin in the Appendix fcb the

themselves,
work ; in the which you will read Adam moritur et tran-
first of
sit ad infernum
pro uno porno ; and in the second Jhesus Chris-
tus resurgens a mortuis,
together with these words in our ver-
nacular tongue, by one of the daemons
OUt, OUt, HtOngt, uttered

already very much alarmed, and a 1

blowing horn.'^ )

(l)Hearne's words in his preface are :

"Quam tamen in hae re diligeutiam ri-
diculam satis esse fe
picturis ibsis colliges, quaa in Appendice operis subnectam ;
in quarum prima legitur, Adam moritur et transit ad infernum, pro uno porno ;
in secunda, Ihesus Christus resurgens a mortuis spoliat infernum, una cuin hisce
 144

From this we see that the presumed " ar&ngt? is on Hearne's

own testimony, " arovgt." Independent of this indubitable con-
firmation, there are other reasons for believing arougt to be the
correct word, and consequently that the only authority for aroint

is the twofold mention of it by Shakspeare.

It is well known to every reader of old MSS. that from care-

lessness the copyists frequently formed n and u alike ;

and in

fltOtt^t, as it is spelled in Hearne's print, the letter before the ?( )

may have been so undeterminate in the MS. word, that Burghers,

the engraver of the plate, being unacquainted with the orthography

of the archaism, and preferring decision to correctness, wrote fl

when he shonld have written U, and thus converted the word

aron?t into Hron?t. Or, Burghers' transcript of tt may really

approach the original nearer than I have conjectured ;

for as

Hearne's honest accuracy is not to be outrivalled, it cannot be

supposed that he would allow an engraving from a drawing in the

Fleetwood Calendar, which he so highly commends, to be very
2
wide of exactness. ( ) Though the inscriptions were secondary to
his principal object, that of representing the scene, yet considerable

faithfulness in the whole is to be presumed; and, if Burghers'

engraving be a tolerably fair fac simile of both, it must be obvious
to every one who examines the print, that however rude in design

the drawing appears, the MS. inscriptions upon it were quite as

coarse. For, in that at the top of the plate, U and tt are so

similar that the letters they are intended for are rather to be in-
ferred from their connexion with other letters, than to be per-
ceived from their difference of form. For example ;
it would

verbis (lingua nostra vernacula) ab uno Dsemonum (jam admodum pertubato-

rum) cornu inflante, QUt. OUt. fltOUOt. pronunciatis." Scotichronicon, voL
i. Prsef. p. 1.

1
f )^ is the Saxon g, and sometimes gh, in MSS.
2
( )Ritson, sparing as he was
of praise, yet, while fish-wifing Warton could
afiord to say of Hearne, that "few
if any can boast of such a sacied regard to

truth, and of such unimpeached integrity he has never been detected in a

:

wilful falsehood ; nor been ever charged with the slightest misrepresentation of
the minutest fact. Obs. on Hist, of Eng. Poetry, p. 36.
 145

be doubtful whether n in resurgens were not U ;

and U in mor
tuis is so like tt in anm?t, that it would actually be taken for
n were mortuis a word of equivocal meaning. But in whatever
way the error came upon the plate, Hearne has himself cured it

by quoting the passage, in "our vernacular tongue, OUt, OUt,atOUgt,

as the words of the piint. To this may be added, that arougt
rhymes to out, out, and is the last line of a distich,

Out, Out,

Such a couplet it would be quite natural for a monkish writer

in a rhyming age to conceive a happy thought, and to introduce

on such an occasion. Taking then arougt to be the real word,

I just observe, that in all the engravings that I have seen of the

Descent wherein devils appear, they are represented to be roaring,

or violently clamoring in great fear ;
and to assist the reader, I

beg him to recollect that the terrified devil in the print, accom-

panies the distich, out, out, arougt, with a blast of his horn, as
an alarm to the infernal host.

Arougt I have not been able to find in any dictionary within

reach ;
but there is arout, to assemble together, in Urry's edition
of Chaucer, where it stands thus :

In all that land no Christin durst arout

All Christin folk ben flemed fro that countre. J
( )

Now if arout were really Chaucer's word, it would go nigh

in my opinion to settle the question but on ; looking further it
appears that Chaucer's word is route, and that the letter a is pre-
fixed by Urry, who put initial or final syllables to Chaucer's words
for the purpose of assisting the measure where he supposed it de-
2
ficient. ( )
It reads in Tyrwhitt's, as well as in other editions,

In all that Ibnd no cristen dorste route. 1. 4960.

For the present taking arougt as a summons to assemble, the

l
( ) Urry's Chaucer, p. 53. Man of Lawe's Tale,l. 541.
(*) Ibid. Thomas's Preface.
20
 U6
words that seem most likely to exemplify it are as follow :

Teutonic or old Dutch, rot, a crowd or band of men^ 1 ) rot-

2
ten, to old German, rotte, turba vagabonda, a
congregate :
( )
3
wandering crowd, also a party or faction :( ) old English, route,
4
a company. ( )
The statute 2 Eich. II. cap. 6. speaks of riding in
6
great routes to make entry into lands. ( )
Rout also signifies the

meeting of a large social party invited by a lady ;

the assembly is

called her rout. 6

( )
But leaving this sense, I find in Saxon, reotctn,
r
or wreotan, crepitare, strepere, to clatter, or make a noise :
( ) Scot-

tish, rather, a loud noise, a tumultuous cry, an uproar :

Anglo-
Saxon, hruth, commotion :
Cambro-Britannic, rhuthr, impetus :

rhuthro, cum impetu fern :

Irish, ruattiar, pillage, and hrid, a
combat :
Scottish, rutuor, a spoiler, an oppressor : also rout, rute,
8
a blow, a severe or weighty stroke. ( )
As in Hearne's engraving, the word projects beyond the ruled
border, copied from the page of the calendar, is it not probable
that the word arougt was a contraction of the amanuensis, to*

avoid an unseemly projection into the margin, which seldom or

never occurs in MSS. beyond the extent to which arougt has
exceeded its boundary line. Hearne would not have called the

inscription, "words in our vernacular tongue," if their spelling

and pronunciation had not denoted their sense ; if then, spelt as

arougt is, and recollecting the confined space which had been
transgressed,we discover no one word that can reasonably be ima-
gined to be arougt, may it not be an abbreviation of two words 1
I imagine that a quotation from Spencer, in the Rev. Archdeacon
Uares's glossary, is a clue to these words :

Harrow now, out, and well away ! he cryde. Faery Queen, n. vi. 43.

Mr. ]S"ares defines harrow, an exclamation of sorrow or alarm.

The word out, a common exclamation of grief where we shculd
now say alas is also an interjection expressive of abhorrence
and is used in that sense by Shakspeare :
Queen Margaret says to

2 3 6
Kilian. Skinner. ( ) Kilian. ( ) Wachter. (*) Minsheu. ( ) Ibid.
Jamieson. 7
( ) Lye. (*) Jamieson.
 147

" out devil T

!" ( ) Now omit the second word in Spenser's
Gloster,

line, and we have harrow out, or arougt, a cry suitable to the

porter of hell under his surprise and sudden terror. Jamieson,

among other particulars respecting harro, says, that it is an out-

cry for help, and that it seems to be merely the French word
haro, or harou, a cry used by the Normans,, which when raised
against a capital offender all were bound to pursue and seize him.
2
The Devil in the Newcastle play of Noah's Ark,( )
exclaims

Harro, and wel away,

That ever I uprose this day.

Wel away, means from palapa, Saxon, for woe on woe,( 3 )

alas !

and is therefore with propriety coupled to harro. The word

haro is often used by the devil as an interjection in the old
French and English mysteries. There is a Lancashire word pro-
nounced and spelt areawt, which signifies get out, or away witli
tfiee;(*) probably this provincialism is a reduction of the two words
liaro, out. But the orthography of English manuscripts in the
age of Hearne's calendar was almost arbitrary. Its loose and

undetermined character is sorely lamented by the preface writer

to Bishop Bale's interlude of GocF s Promises ; he says that
" the

same words being so constantly spelled different ways, makes it

very certain they had no fixed rule of right and wrong in spelling ;

provided the letters did but in any manner make out the sound of
the word they would express, it was thought sufficient. "( 5 )

These hints are for consideration, and may be of assistance per-

haps, to others, who with

the same inclination, are happily better

qualified to discover and explain the derivation and meaning of

Hearne's word ;
it would ill become me to further agitate a point,

that the learned alone can finally settle.

2
(*) King Richard III. act, 1. scene 3. ( ) Brand's Newcastle, vol. ii. p. 375.
(3) Nares's Glossary. (*) Boucher's Supp. to Johnson, art. aroint.
6
( ) Dodsley's Old Plays, voL L
 148

VII. OKIGIN OF MYSTERIES FEAST OF

FOOLS FEAST OF THE ASS, &c.

" What does civil history acquaint us with, but the incorrigible rogueries of
mankind ; or, ecclesiastical history more than their follies ?" Warburton.

A. JEWISH Play, of which fragments are still preserved in

Greek Iambics, is the first Drama known to have been written
l
on a scripture subject. ( )
It is taken from the Exodus, or the de-
parture of the Israelites from Egypt under their leader and pro-

phet Moses. The principal characters are " Moses, Sapphora,

and God from the Bush," or God speaking from the burning
bush. Moses delivers the prologue in a speech of sixty lines,
and his rod is turned into a serpent on the stage. The author of
the play is Ezekiel, a Jew, who is called the tragic poet of the

Jews. "Warton supposes that he wrote it after the destruction of

Jerusalem, as a political spectacle to animate his dispersed bre-

thren with the hopes of a future deliverance from their captivity

under the conduct of a new Moses ; and that it was composed
in imitation of the Greek drama at the close of the second cen-
2
tury. ( )

Rymer the antiquary relates, that in the first ages of Christianity

any one concerned with the theatre was not allowed baptism.
" I renounce
Cyril declares that when in our baptism we say,
thee, Satan, and all thy works and pomps," those pomps of the

devil are stage plays and the Wee vanities. Tertullian affirms

that they who in baptism renounce the devil and his pomps, can

(!) Translated into Latin by Fr. Morellus, Paris", 1530.

2
( ) Warton, vol. ii. p. 371.
 149

not to go to a stage play without turning apostates. Hence the

Greek and Latin fathers had an ample field for their eloquence
and declamation, before the Arians-, the Gnostics, and other in-
testine heresies, sprang up to divert them. Cyprian, Basil, and
Clement of Alexandria, are very warm upon the occasion ; and so
in many of his- homilies is Chrysostom, who cries shame that peo-
ple should listen to a comedian with the same ears that they hear

an evangelical preacher. Augustine maintains that they who

go to plays are as bad as those that write or act them. Tertul-
lian in his warmth against the tragedians, observes, that the de-
vil sets them upon- their high pantofles to give Christ the lie, who
said, nobody can add one cubit to his stature. Bymer adds, that
these flashes and drops of heat, from single authors, had no such
wonderful effect, for the tragedian still walked' on in his high
" Yet
shoes. might they well expect a more terrible storm from
the reverend fathers when met in a body together in council
oecumenical. Then indeed began the ecclesiastical thunder to fly

about, and presently the theatres, tragedy, comedy, bear-baiting,

gladiators, and heretics, are given all to the devil, without distinc-
tion. Nor was it sufficient for the zeal' of those times to put
down stage plays. All heathen learning fell under the like cen-
sure and condemnation. One might as well have told them of
the antipodes as persuaded the reading of Tully's Offices they :

were afraid of the Greek philosophy like children of a bugbear,

lest it fetch them away. A council of Carthage would not allow
that a bishop should read any heathen book. How heartily St.
Austin begs God pardon for having read Virgil with delight in
his graver years What a plunge was Jerome put to, by Kuffinus
!

laying to his charge the reading, of heathen authors." ( )

2

(!) Rymer's
short View of Tragedy, 8vo, 1693, p. 32, &c.
The plunge, which Rymer says Jerome was put to by Ruffinus, arose
during a controversy between them, in which Ruffinus charged Jerome
with having perjured himself by reading the classics, after he had
entered into an engagement of a most solemn nature that he would not.
The affair is rather curious. It is told of one Natalis, who lived before
 It was this blind zeal,Rymer says, that gave a pleasant prospect
to the Emperor Julian, who opposed it by literally complying with
it ; for he made a law that no Christian should be taught in the
heathen schools, or make use of that learning.^) There were two
men living at that time, who exerted their talents to supply the

deficiency cf instruction and entertainment that the Christians

experienced from Julian's edict : these were Apollinarius, Bishop

of Laodicea,( 2 ) and his father, a priest of the same city ; they

Jerome's time, that having accepted of a bishopric among the heretics,

he was severely scourged all night by angels, and the next morning
repented and returned to the church. This probably occasioned a
trance, into which, Jerome was thrown. The saint says, that he was
arraigned before the tribunal of heaven, and being asked his profession,
answered that he was a Christian " Thou liest," said Christ, thou art a
:

Ciceronian, for the works of that author possess thy heart ;" whereupon
he was condemned to be scourged by angels, and promised the judge
not to read such wicked books again. The chastisement was so severely in-
flicted, that he declares, he never forgot it ; yet, very unluckily, he some
time afterwards went on quoting the classic writers as usuaL Ruffinus
twitted him with breaking his oath ; and Jerome plunged from the
charge, by answering, that he could not forget what he had read, but
that he had not read the classics since. (Butler's Lives of the Saints,
v. ix. p. 364.) Upon" this, which is the affair alluded to by Rymer, an
Italian " Ciceronian observes, that if Jerome was whipped for writing in
the style and manner of Cicero, he suffered flagellation for what he did
not deserve, and might have safely pleaded not guilty. (Jortin's
Remarks on Eccl. Hist. v. ii. p. 104.) This father, however his talents
commanded admiration, was no great stickler for truth. He openly
avowed that he disputed for victory, and that it was to be won at all
hazards, and by any means. Ruffinus putting a home question to him
that he was obliged to notice, the way in which he did it, was not by
answering it, but by asking Ruffinus, in gross terms, why the lower part
of the human body behind is not placed before. He was greatly the
superior of Ruffinus, to whom he dealt such hard blows, that Daille
pities him ; yet Jerome whimsically read his adversary a long lecture
against mutual railing, and bringing accusations against
each other, as
being more proper at the bar than in the" church, and fitted to stuff a
lawyer's bag than a churchman's papers. But the sport of it is," says
" to see that after he hath
Daille, handsomely belaboured and pricked
this pitiful thing from head to foot, and sometimes till the blood followed,
he at length protesteth that he had spared him for the love of God and !

that he bad not afforded words to his troubled breast, but had set a
watch before his mouth according to the example of the Psalms !

(Daille on the Right Use of the Fathers, pt. ii. p. 93.) After all,
Erasmus says that Jerome had better manners than Augustine.
l
( ) Rymer, p.
32. 2
( )
He died in 382
 151

were both scholars well skilled in oratory and the rules of compcn
sition, and of high literary renown. Apollinarius, the elder, a
profound philologer, translated the five books of Moses into heroic
verse, and in the same measure composed the History of the
Israelites to the time of Saul, into a poem of twenty-four books,

in imitation of Homer. He also wrote religious odes, and turned

and portions of the old and New Testament
particular histories
into comedies and tragedies, after the manner of Menander, Euri-

pides, and Pindar. His son the Bishop, an eloquent rhetorician,

and already an antagonist of Julian's, anxious that the Christians

might not be ignorant of any species of Greek composition, formed

the writings of the Evangelists and the works of the Apostles into

dialogues, in the manner of Plato. ( ! )

About the same time, Gregory Nazianzen, Patriarch and Arch-

bishop of Constantinople, one of the fathers of the Church and

master to the celebrated Jerome, composed plays from the old
and New Testament, which he substituted for the plays of So-
phocles and Euripides at Constantinople, where the old Greek stage
had nourished until that time. If the ancient Greek tragedy was a
2
religious spectacle. ( )
so the sacred dramas of Gregory Nazianzen
were formed on the same model, and the choruses were turned
into Christian hymns. One only of the Archbishop's plays is

0) Shepherd on the Common Prayer, 1801, v. ii.p. 431, note. Socrates

Eccles. Hist. 1663. Fol. p. 305. Socrates observes, that in consequence
of the labours of the Apollinarii, Julian's law was abrogated, and the
Christians resumed their studies in the heathen learning, which he says the
apostle Paul did only not forbid, but is seen not to have despised himself :
" For
where I pray you," inquires Socrates, " borrowed Paul this sentence ?
The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies, (Titus, i. 13.) was
it not out of
Epimenedes, a poet of Crete ? Or where learned he this ?
We are also his offspring (Acts xvii. 28.) was it not out of the Pheno-
mena of Aratue the Astronomer 1 That saying also, Evil communica-
tions corrupt good manners (1 Corinth, i. 33.) sheweth plainly that he
was well seen in the Tragedies of Euripides." Socrates Schol. ibid. p. 306.
2 " All
( ) agree, that in the beginning it was purely a religious worship,
and a solemn service for their holydays ; afterwards it came from the
temples to the theatre, admitted of a secular alloy, and grew to some
image of the world and human life. When it was brought to the
utmost perfection by Sophocles, the chorus continued a necessary part
of the tragedy ; but the music and dancing which came along with the
 152

extant : it is a tragedy called Christ's passion. The prologue

calls it an imitation of Euripides, and, on the same authority,
we learn that the Patriarch has the honour, in this piece, of in-

troducing the Virgin Mary's first appearance on the stage. The

day is preserved in Gregory Nazianzen's works. (*)
The remainder

chorus were mere religion, no part of the tragedy, nor had anything of
philosophy or instruction in them." Rymer, p. 19.
M. Ouvaroff (Essay on the Eleusinian Mysteries, 1817, 8vo.) is dis-
posed to believe that the lesser Mysteries of the ancients comprehended
symbolical representations of the history of Ceres and Proserpine, and
Mr. Christie (in his "Observations," appended to M. Ouvaroff 's Essay)
accords to that opinion. He thinks it probable that the priests at
Eleusis, who in later times contented themselves with shewing and
explaining the machinery within the temple, were at first actors in a
drama, and being persuaded that the paintings of the black and red
Greek vases, originally deposited in tombs, were copied from transparent
scenes in different mysteries, he introduces an engraving from a Sicilian
vase, painted, as he conceives, to represent the four priests or agents in
the Samothracian and Eleusinian shows. Dr. Darwin (Botanic Garden,
note xxii.), assigns reasons for supposing that the reliefs on the Port-
land vase constitute portions of the Eleusinian Mysteries, which he
also affirms, consisted of scenical exhibitions representing and incul-
cating the expectation of a future life after death ; and he explains the
marriage of Cupid and Psyche, as described by Apuleius, on the well-
known beautiful gem, to be originally descriptive of another part of
these exhibitions. Bishop Warburton's proof (in .his Divine Legation
ofMoses) that the sixth book of Virgil's JEneid represents some of these
Elusinian shows, is corroborated by Mr. Thomas Taylor (in a Disser-
tation on the Eleusinian and Bacchic Mysteries. Pamphleteer, No. xv.
and xvi.) M. Ouvaroff quotes Cicero (De Leg. ii. 14.) as affirming that
"
Athens produced nothing more excellent than the Mysteries, which
exalt us from a rude and savage state to true humanity ; they initiate
us into the true principles of life, for they teach us not only to live plea-
santly, but to die with better hopes." Whether Rymer, in the passage
quoted above, alluded to these secret rites, or to certain public ceremo-
nies of ancient polytheism, is not clear. Since his time, so much infor-
mation has been communicated in our own tongue, that a mere English
reader could easily draw up a curious memoir concerning the ancient
customs that illustrate the origin of the drama.
1
( ) Opera Greg. Nazianz., torn. ii. p. 253. Warton, voL ii. p. 368.
Sandy s's Christ's Passion, 1687, 8vo, Preface.
" all inflamed with the love of
Gregory, God, and zeal of his glory,
applied himself to the making of comedies and tragedies, and the writing
of all such verse ; which he performed with so much wit and elegance,
and with such rare and admirable sentences, that the Christians found
in his writings all they could desire in the heathen poets." Ribadeneira's
Lives, vol. i. p. 333.
At this tune acclamations and applauses were used in churches as well
 153

of his dramas have not survived those inimitable compositions over

which they triumphed for a time.
It is not known whether the religious dramas of the Apollinarii

perished so early as some of their other writings that were ordered

to be destroyed for a crime common in all ages, heresy;^) but this

as theatres. Jerome desired Gregory Nazianzen to explain to him what

was meant by the second Sabbath after the first, in Luke (c. vi., v. i.),
"
Gregory answered, I will teach you that at church, where, when all
the people shall applaud me, you will be forced to know what you do
not know for if you, only, keep silence, you will be looked upon as a
;

fool." Le Clerc's Lives, 8vo, 1696, p. 289.

J
( Lardner's works, 4to, vol. ii. p. 463.
)

Heresy, in Greek, signifies election, or choice, and is used for any

opinion which a man chooseth as best or most profitable. Heresy and
heretic are often used by ancient writers as words of indifferent mean-
ing ; and the several ways of philosophising were called sects or heresies.
Johnson defines heresy, an opinion of private men different from that
of the Catholic and Orthodox Church.
Immediately after the Council of Nice, the Emperor Constantine
issued a decree, ordering, that if there was any book extent written by
Arius, that it should be burned to ashes, and the head of any man
found hiding or concealing one should be stricken off from his shoulders.
The church extended the spirit of this edict to other books, for as every
dissenter from its establishment was declared a heretic, pains were
taken to destroy his writings and hence the opinions and characters of
;

these persons are only known to us through the works of their enemies,
the fathers of the church, who in their turn disputed, quarrelled, and
misrepresented each other. (Socrates' Eccl. Hist., folio, 1663, p. 221.)
They had so great a horror of heretics, that they would not so much as
preserve those of their writings that did not contain heresy and which ;

might even have been useful to the church. Upon which account it is
that we have scarce any book of the ancient neretics existing. (Du
Pin's Eccl. Hist. vol. i. p. 215.) Epiphanius, a Greek bishop in the
fourth century, was canonized as a saint for abusing fourscore classes
of men under the name of heretics. (Robinson's Eccles. Researches,
p. 54.) Although Eusebius, and other fathers, and even Irenseus from
whom the rest borrowed, charged the ancient heretics with using witch-
craft and enchantment, it has been questioned by the learned whether
this was any more than a popular charge against men who studied
mathematics, and particularly astronomy, for the ancient fathers perpe-
tually confounded astronomy and astrology with magic. (Lardner's
Works, 4to, vol. iv. p. 514.) It seems that the Lutheran church has been
behind hand with the Catholic. One of its doctors, in a commentary on
heresy and schism has inserted, cataloguewise, no less than six hundred
and thirty-two sorts of heretics, heresiarchs, and schismatics, diversified
as the birds of heaven, and agreeing only in one single point the crime
of not continuing in what is called the church, (Robinsons Eccles. Re-
searches, p. 125,) Heretic is a favourite term of reproach for difference
of opinion. Dr- Daniel Williams, who bequeathed his valuable library
 that the learning they endeavoured to supply gradually
is certain,

disappeared before the progress of Constantine's establishment.

Suddenly acquiring power, and finally assuming infallibility, ob-

serving pagan feasts as religious festivals, consecrating heathen

to the dissenters, and the bulk of his property to public uses, was of
spotless reputation, and the friend of the most enlightened men of his
"
age, yet he was not only reckoned a heretic, but attempts were even
made to injure his moral character." (Chalmers's Biog. Diet. vol. xxxii.

p. 105.) The church of England is a heretic to the catholic church,

which has an office of supplication for our reconversion, (from whence
the following is extracted), entitled

THE LITANY of Intercession FOB ENGLAND.

T) EMEMBER not, O Lord, Our offences, nor those of our Parents ; nor
take Revenge of our Sins.
Lord have Mercy on us, &c.
God the Father, Creator of the World, Have mercy on England.
God the Son, Redeemer of the World, Have Mercy on England.
God the Holy Ghost, Perfecter of the Elect, Have Mercy on England.
O Sacred Trinity, three Persons and one God, Have Mercy on England.
Holy MART, Mother of God, Pray for England.
Holy MARY, Queen of Angels, whose powerful intercession destroys
all HERESIES, Pray for England.
ST. RAPHAEL, faithful guide of those that have LOST THEIR WAY,
Pray for England.
All ye holy Apostles and Evangelists, chief Planters of the Christian
Faith, and zealous MAINTAINERS OF CATHOLIC UNION, Pray for
England.
All ye holy Bishops and Confessors, by whose wisdom and sanctity
this Island was ONCE a flourishing seminary of Religion, Pray for

England.
From presuming on their own private opinions, and contemning the
Authority of THY CHURCH, Deliver England, O Lord.
We sinners, Beseech thee to hear ws.
That it may please thee to hasten the CONVERSION of this OUR
MISERABLE COUNTRY, and RE-UNITE IT TO THE ANCIEHT FAITH and
Communion of THY CHURCH ;
We beseech thee to hear us.
 155

ritesinto Christian solemnities and transforming the non-obser-

vances of primitive simplicity into precedents for gorgeous cere-

mony, the church blazed with a scorching splendour that withered

up the heart of man. Every accession to the dominion of its
ecclesiastics over his property and intellect induced self-relaxation
and sloth ;
to the boldness that seized a liberal supply for spiritual

support succeeded the craft that extended it to a boundless reve-

nue for effeminate indulgence. The miraculous powers of the
church wonderfully multiplied ;
but implicit belief in miracles was
equivocal, unless the act of faith was accompanied by liberal con-

tributions at the altar. The purchase of pardons for sin, and the

worship of the reliques exhibited in sumptuous shrines, were effec-

tual ways of warring with the powers of darkness, and the coffers

overflowed with contributions. These active hostilities against

Satan occasioned him to ascend upon earth, and to terrify the de-

vout, he often appeared to them in the natural ugliness of his

own proper person. When put to flight, by masses and holy
water he took lodgings incog, in the bodies of careless people,
nor would he leave a tenement he occupied, till he was forcibly
turned out of possession by a priest acquainted with the forms of

ejectment. Dislike to clean linen was a peculiar mark of piety,

and dirty hermits emitted the odour of sanctity. Though their

holiness was so violently hated by the devil, that he took the

trouble to assault and tempt them in the holes of the earth and
trunks of old trees where they inhabited, yet it was rewarded with
visits to their chosen abodes from all the orders of heaven ; and
by long familiarity with the powers of the other world, these
" tender-nosed saints could detect the
presence of invisible angels."
They who turned their backs upon the concerns of life wera
especial favourites above. A nun reported that Christ opened
her side with his corporal hands, took out her heart, and then care-

fully placing his own in the chasm, left it there and closed the
wound, at the same time doing her the honour to wear her
shift. Nor did the faithful who believed the former relation,
doubt for an instant that the Virgin descended from heaven to visit
 156

tl e cells of monasteries, and milk her breasts into the mouths of

monks. (*) Doubts were effectually removed by burning doubters.
All who were privileged to shave the top of the head in a circle,
as a token of emancipation from worldly superfluities, were partners
in the profitable trade of granting licences for unmolested existence
at the price of unconditional submission. Ecclesiastical policy ac-

complished purpose ; the human mind was in a deliquium the

its :

hierarchy at the summit of its ascendency.

From the complete establishment of the church until within a
short time before the Reformation, darkness overspread the world,
and a great mass of the clergy themselves were in a state of deplo-
2
rable ignorance. ( ) During this period, in order to wean the people

0) The Miraculous Host, 1822, p. 30, &c.

In 1453, ^neus Sylvius, afterwards Pope Pius II, observed of the
2
( )
Italian priests, that it did not appear that they had ever so much as read
the New Testament, (Hody de Bibl. Textibus, p. 464.) Kobert Stephens
(who died in 1564,) tells us of the Doctors of the Sorbonne that being
asked by him in what place of the New Testament such a thing was
written, they answered, that they had read it in Jerome, or in the
Decrees, but what the New Testament was they did not know. Lewis's
Hist, of Transl. of the Bible, p. 53.
At an entertainment given at Home to the Pope and Cardinals, by
Andrew Forman, bishop of Murray, and papal legate for Scotland, he
blundered so in his latinity when he said grace, that his holiness and
their eminences lost their gravity the disconcerted bishop testily con-
;

cluded the blessing by giving "all the false carles to the devil, in nomine
patris, filii et sancti spiritus ;" to which the company, not understand-
ing his Scoto-Latin, said A men. Many of the Scottish clergy affirmed,
that Martin Luther had lately composed a wicked book called the New
Testament, but that they, for their part, would adhere to the Old Tes-
tament. A
foreign monk, declaiming in the pulpit against Lutherans
and Zuinglians, said to his audience " a new language was invented
:

some time ago, called Greek, which has been the mother of all these
heresies a book is printed in this language, called the New Testament,
;

which contains many dangerous things another language is now form-

;

ing, the Hebrew, whoever learns it immediately becomes a Jew."

The commissioners of the senate of Lucern, confiscated the works of
Aristotle, Plato, and some of the Greek poets, which they found in the
library of a friend of Zuinglius, concluding that every book printed in
that language must be infected with Lutheranism. Dr. M'Orie's Life
of Knox, vol. i. p. 343.
In a synod of the rural deans of Switzerland, only three were found
from the ancient spectacles, particularly the Bacchanalian and
calendary solemnities, religious shows were instituted partaking of
the same spirit of licentiousness. About the year 990, Theophy-
lact, patriarch of Constantinople, caused the Feast of Fools, and
the Feast of tlte Ass, with other religious farces of that sort, to be
exhibited in the Greek church.^)

who had read the Bible ; the others confessed that they were scarcely
acquainted even with the New Testament. Hess's Life of Zuinglius,
by Miss Aikin, p. 23.
An ecclesiastic of eminence was asked what were the ten command-
ments ; he replied there was no such book in the library. Martin
Luther never saw a Bible till after he was twenty-one years old, and
had taken a degree in arts. Carlostadt had been a doctor of divinity
twenty-eight years before he read the Scriptures, and yet when he stood
for a degree in the University of Wittenberg, he obtained an honour,
and it was entered in the University records that he was suffitientis-
simus. Pellican could not procure one Greek Testament in all Germany ;
the first he got was from Italy. Robinson's Eccl. Researches, p. 538.
Erasmus lectured at Cambridge on the Greek Grammar without an
audience. He translated a dialogue of Lucian into Latin, and could not
find a single student there capable of transcribing the Greek. He says,
that when he published his Greek Testament in Greek, it met with
great opposition. One of the colleges at the same university forbad
it to be used, and inflicted a penalty on any one who had it in his

possession ;
nor ceased its resistance, till Henry VIII. interfered by his
injunction.
In the long night of papal gloom, both the Greeks and Latins
enlightened their flocks by erasing the writings of ancient manuscript.;,
and writing ecclesiastical treatises upon them. Jortin's Rem. on Eccl,
Hist. v. iii.
p. 25.
They industriously obliterated the words of Scripture itself, and
supplied the space it occupied upon the parchment by their cloisteral
contemplations. In this way the Mceso-Gothic version of the thirteen
epistles of St. Paul, was concealed under the Latin trumpery of a
monastic writer. The barbarians of the church buried the writings of
Cicero and Frontinus beneath their ravings ; and to the unspeakable
detriment of the republic of letters, such authors as Polybius, Dio-
dorus Siculus, and some others who are quite lost, were metamorphosed
into prayer-books and homilies. Rev. T. Home's Introd. to a Critical
Knowledge of Scripture, edit. 1821, vol. ii. p. 96. Also Lady Morgan's
Italy, vol.
i. c. 5.
Monthly Mag. (Indexes, name Mai) and the Classical
Journal.

(*) The fact is recored by Cedranus, one of the Byzantine historians,

who flourished about the
year 1050, in the following
words " Theopy-
:

lact introduced the practice which prevails even to this day, of scan-
 158

r
Beletus, who lived in 1182, mentions the Feast of Fools, as
celebrated in some places on New-year's day, in others on twelfth
day, and in others the week following. In France, at different
cathedral churches, there was a Bishop or an Archbishop of Fools
elected; and in the churches immediately dependent upon the
papal see,a Pope of Fools. These mock pontiffs had usually a

dalizing God, and the memory of His saints, on the most splendid and
popular by indecent and ridiculous songs, and enormous
festivals,
shoutings, even in the midst of those sacred hymns, which we
ought to offer to the Divine grace with compunction of heart, for
the salvation of our souls. But he, having collected a company of
base fellows, and placing over them one Euthyonius, surnamed
Casnes, whom he also appointed the superintendent of his church,
admitted into the sacred service diabolical dances, exclamations of
ribaldry, and ballads borrowed from the streets and brothels." Two
hundred years after this, Balsamon, patriarch of Alexandria, com-
plains of the gross abominations committed by the priests at Christmas,
and other festivals, even in the great church at Constantinople and ;

that the clergy on certain holidays personated a variety of feigned

characters, and even entered the choir in military habits, and other
enormous disguises. In return he forbids the professed players to
appear on the stage in the habit of monks. Warton. ii. 369.
In 1590, the monks and bishops made a memorable procession at
Paris. Hose, the bishop of Senlis, and the prior of the charter-house,
were in the van as captains each of them had a cross in the left hand,
;

and a halberd in the right, representing, as they said, the Maccabees,

who were the leaders of God's people. After them all the monks of the
mendicant orders, as Cupuchins, Feuillans, Minims, &c., were drawn
up four and four. Their robes were tucked up to their girdles, the
cowl thrown back upon their shoulders, a helmet on their backs some ;

carrying shields and daggers, some partisans, and others carabines,

and such like rusty arms, fit for nothing but to make one laugh. The
oldest marched first, putting on, as well as they could, the airs and
motions of commanding officers. The young followed, every now and
then firing their pieces, to shew how well they understood the soldiers'
exercise. Hamilton, the curate of St. Cosme, was serjeant, and kept
them in their ranks. The merriest figure was one Feuillant, a little
man, who because he was lame, would not keep in any rank, but was
sometimes at the head, sometimes at the tail, with a great two handed
sword, which he flourished about to hide the limp in his gait. This
troop marched along the streets with an affected gravity, stopping from
time to time, and mixing by intervals anthems and hymns, with the
salvos of their fire-arms. Of this procession, representing the church
militant, there is a print in Montfaucon. Mezerai 9. (Conf. bet. Anc.
and Mod. Ceremonies, p. 97.)
 159

proper suite of ecclesiastics, and one of their ridiculous ceremonies

was to shave the precentor of Fools upon a stage erected before
the church in the presence of the populace, who were amused
during the operation by his lewd and vulgar discourses accompa-
nied by actions equally reprehensible. They were mostly attired
in the ridiculous dresses of pantomime players and buffoons, and
so habited entered the church, and performed the service accom-

panied by crowds of laity in masks, representing monsters, or with

their faces smutted to excite fear or laughter, as occasion might

require. Some of them personated females and practised wanton

devices. During divine service they sung indecent songs in the
choir, ate rich puddings on the corner of the altar, played at dice
upon it by the side of the priest while he celebrated mass, incensed
it with smoke from old burnt shoes, and ran leaping all over the
church. The Bishop or Pope of Fools performed the service
habited in pontifical garments, and gave his benediction ; when it
was concluded, he was seated in an open carriage; and drawn
about to different parts of the town followed by a large train
of clergy and laymen, and a cart filled with filth, which they threw

upon the populace assembled to see the procession. These licen-

tious festivities were called the December Liberties, (t) They were

(') The Romans, and many other nations, made superstitious pro-
cessions, and it is from them, no doubt, that the custom came to us-
For in the pomp of our processions it is customary to rank in the first
place something to make an appearance, as some files of soldiers, in-
fantry and cavalry, or some burlesque ridiculous contrivance of a figure,
with a great gaping mouth, and snapping its teeth to frighten folks.
Some other pieces of merriment often precede, as a representation of
the prophets ; one acts David, another Solomon, and others are dis-
guised like queens, and they cause children with wings to sing. Pol.
Virg., c. xi. p. 114. (Conf. bet. Anc. and Mod. Ceremonies, p. 89.)
The heathen were delighted with the festivals of their gods, and
unwilling to part with those delights ; and therefore Gregory (Thau-
maturgus, who died in 265, and was bishop of Neocaesarea) to facilitate
their conversion, instituted annual festivals to the saints and martyrs.
Hence it came to pass, that for exploding the festivals of the heathens,
the principal festivals of the Christians succeeded in their room as the :

keeping of Christmas with joy and feasting, and playing and sports, in
the room of the Bacchanalia and Saturnalia the celebrating of May-
;

day with flowers, in the room of the Floralia ^ and the keeping of fes-
 160

always held at Christmas time, or near to it, but not confined to

one particular day, and seem to have lasted through the chief part
of January. When the ceremony took place upon St. Stephen's

day, they said as part of the mass, a burlesque composition, called

and upon the festival of St. John the Evangelist,
the Fool's prose,

they had another arrangement of ludicrous songs, called the Prose

of the Ox.()
The Feast of the Ass, as was anciently celebrated in France,
it

almost entirely consisted of dramatic show. It was instituted in

honour of Balaam's Ass, and at one of them the clergy walked

on Christmas day in procession, habited to represent the prophets

tivals to theYirgin Mary, John the Baptist, and divers of the Apostles,
in the room of thesolemnities at the entrance of the sun into the signs
of the Zodiac, in the old Julian Calendar. Sir Isaac Newton on Daniel,
p. 204.
The feast of St. Peter ad vincula was instituted to supersede a
splendid Pagan festival, celebrated every year on that day, to comme-
morate the victory of Augustus over Antony at Actium. may We
infer the inevitable corruption of practical Christianity in the middle
ages, from the obstinate attachment of the converted barbarians to their
ancient Pagan customs, and the allowed continuance of many by the
catholic clergy. Boniface complained of German priests, who would
continue, although Christians, to sacrifice bulls and goats to the heathen
idols. Mr. Turner's Hist, of Engl. vol. ii. p. 340.
A letter from Pope Gregory the Great, in the sixth century, to the
Abbot Mellitus, then going to Britain, desires him to tell Augustine,
the first archbishop of Canterbury, that after mature deliberation on
the affair of the English, he was of opinion that the temples of the
idols in that nation ought not to be destroyed, but that the idols should.
He further orders the temples to be sprinkled with holy water, and
relics to be placed in them ; and, because our ancestors sacrificed oxen
in their pagan worship, he directs the object of the sacrificed to be ex-
changed, and permits them to build huts of the boughs of trees about
the temples so transformed into churches, on the day of the dedication,
or nativities of the martyrs whose relics they contain, and there to kill
the cattle, and celebrate the solemnity with religious feasting. Bede's
Eccl. Hist, of Engl. 8vo. p. 94.
" Not
long ago, in the metropolis itself, it was usual to bring up a fat
buck to the altar of St. Paul's, with hunters' horns blowing, &c., in the
middle of Divine service. For on this very spot, or near it, there
formerly stood a temple of Diana." Conform, bet. Anc. and Mod. Cere-
monies, Pref. p. xx. n.
x
( ) Mr. Sharon Turner's Hist .of England, 4to, vol. ii.
p. 367. Strutt's
Sports, p. 303.
 161

and others. Moses appeared in an alb and cope, with a long

beard and rod. David had a green vestment. Balaam, with an
immense pair of spurs, rode on a wooden ass, which inclosed a
speaker. There were also six Jews, and six Gentiles. Among
other characters, the poet Virgil was introduced singing monkish
rhymes, as a Gentile prophet, and a translator of the sybilline
oracles. They thus moved in procession through the body of
the church chanting versicles, and conversing in character on the

nativity andkingdom of Christ, till they came into the choir. (!) The
same ceremony, as it was performed at the same season, in the
cathedral church of Eouen, commenced with a procession in
which the clergy represented the prophets of the Old Testament
who foretold the birth of Christ j then followed Balaam mounted
on his ass, Zachariah, Elizabeth, John the Baptist, the sybil

Erythree, Simeon, Virgil, Nebuchadnezzar, and the three children

in the furnace. After the procession entered the cathedral, several

groups of persons performed the part of Jews and Gentiles, to

whom the choristers addressed speeches ; afterwards they called
on the prophets one by one, who came forward successively and de-
livered a passage relative to the Messiah. The other characters
advanced to occupy their proper situations, and reply in certain

verses to the demands of the choristers. They performed the

miracle of the Furnace; Nebuchadnezzar
sp^ke, the sybil ap-
peared at the last, and then an anthem was sung, which concluded
the ceremony. ( 2)
The Feast ofthe Ass, anciently celebrated at Beauvais every

year on the 14th of January, commemorated the flight of the

Virgin into Egypt with the infant Jesus. To represent the Virgin
the most beautiful girl in the city, with a pretty child in her arms,
was placed on an ass richly caparisoned. Thus mounted she pre-
ceded the Bishop and his clergy, and they all went in grand pro-
cession from the cathedral to the parish church of St. Stephen.

On entering the chancel, they ranged themselves on the right side

J
( ) Wartrn, vol. i.
p. 248.

(*)Diction. Univ. Hist, et Crit. des Mceurs, 1772, 8vo, Paris, torn. i.
p. 50.
22
 162

of the altar ; the mass immediately commenced, and the Introit,

Lord have mercy upon us, Gloria Patri, the Creed, and other
parts of the service were terminated by the burden of Hin-Han,
Hin-Han, in imitation of the braying of an ass : the officiating

priest, instead, of saying It a Missaend of the mass,

est at the

concluded by singing three times Hin-Han, Hin-Han, Hin-

Han, and during the performance hymns were sung in praise of

the Ass.( l )
From the Missal composed for the service of the Feast of the
Ass, by an archbishop of Sens, who died in 1222, M. Millin has
given an account of the ceremony to the following effect. On the
eve of the day appointed for the celebration before vespers, the

clergy went in procession to the door of the cathedral, where two

choristers sung in a minor key, or rather with squeaking voices

1
The Ass figures in Naogeorgus's description of the ceremonies on
Palm Sunday in England from the versification of Barnaby Googe's
:

translation (in Brand, vol i. p. 107,) the following particulars are

extracted. On Palm Sunday, the anniversary festival of Christ's riding
into Jerusalem, a wooden ass, with an image on it, being placed on a
platform, with wheels, and drest up, was drawn by the people bearing
boughs and branches of palm to the church door. On its arrival there,
the priest, blessing the branches, converted them into assurances for a
year against loss or damage by tempest ; and then prostrating himself
before the ass, he lay on his face till another priest roused him by the
application of a rod of the largest size. On his rising, two others fell
on their faces, and sang in that position ; afterwards standing and
pointing at the figure on the ass, they declared that it was he, who,
having come to redeem the faithful, they had strewed olive boughs
before as he rode. This ended, the ass with the figure being moved
along, the people cast branches upon both, and it was drawn into the
church in procession, the priests going before ; the people followed,
struggling for the holy boughs over which the pageant had past. The
whole being concluded, the boys went to the church in the afternoon,
and bargained with the sexton for the use of the ass, which they drew
through the streets, singing verses and gathering money, bread, and
eggs, from the people.
" Palme the foles
Upon Sondaye they play sadely, drawinge after
them an asse in a rope, when they be not moch distant from the woden
asse that they drawe." Pref. to A Dialoge, &c., n. d., a rare work men-
tioned in Ames. Brand, vol. i. p. 107.
In the west of England there is a vulgar notion that the straight stripe
down the shoulders of the ass, intersected by the long one from the neck
to the tail, is a cross of honour conferred upon him by Christ, and that
before he rode upon him the ass was not so distinguished.
 163

Lux hodie, lux letitise, me juclice, tristis

Quisquis erit, removendus erit, solemnibus istis

Sicut hodie, procul invidiae, procul omnia mcesta
Lseta volunt, quicumque celibret asinaria festa.

Light to day, the light of joy I banish every sorrow ;

Wherever found, be it expelled from our solemnities to morrow.
Away be strife and grief and care, from every anxious breast,
And all be joy and glee in those who keep the Ass's Feast.

The Anthem being concluded, two canons were deputed to

fetch the Ass to the table, where the great chanter sat, to read the

order of the ceremonies, and the names of those who were to

assist in them. The animal clad with precious priestly ornaments,

was solemnly conducted to the middle of the choir, during which

procession a hymn in praise of the ass, was sung in a major key.

Its first and last stanzas have been thus Englished :

From the country of the East

Came this strong and handsome beast,
This able Ass beyond compare,
Heavy loads and packs to bear.
Huzza, Seignor Ass, Huzza !

Amen !
bray, most honour'd Ass,
Sated now with grain and grass :

Amen repeat, Amen reply,

And disregard antiquity.
Huzza, Seignor Ass, Huzza !

The original hymn was in the following words :

MENTIS partibus Lentus erat pedibus,

Adventavit Asinus, Nisi foret baculus,
Pulcher et fortissimus, Et eum in clunibus,
Sarcinus aptissimus. Pungeret aculeus.
Hez, sire Asne, car clwmtes, <&c.

Hez, Sire Asne, car chantez,

Belle Bouche rechinez, Ecce magnis auribus,
Vous aurez dufoin assez, Subjugalis filius,

Et de Pavoine a planfcz, Asinus egregius

Asinorum Dominus.
Hez, Sire Asne, car chantez, <&c.
 164

Hie in colibus Sichem, Dum trahit vehicula

Jam nutritus sub rubem : Multa, cum carcinuU,
Transiit per Jordanem, Illius mandibula
Saliit in Bethlehem. Dura terit pabula.

Hem, Sire Asne, car chantes, &c. Hez, Sire Asne, car chantez, <6e.

Saltu vincit hinnuloa Cum aristia hordeum,

Damas et capreolos, Comedit et carduum,
Super dromedarios, Triticum k palea,
Velox Madianeos. Segregat in area.
Hez Sire Asne, car cJiantez, <&c. Hez, Sire Asne, car chantez, c.

Aurum de Arabia.
Thus et myrrham de Saba, (Ici on fl^chissait le g<5nou.)

Tulit in Ecclesia,
Virtus Asinaria.
Hez, Sire Asne, car, chantez, <6c.

Amen, dicas, Assine,

Jam satur de gramine,

Amen, amen itera,

Aspernata vetera.
Hez va ! hez va I hez va ! hez I

Biakc, Sire Asne, car allez,

Belle Byuche, car chantez.

The office being in the same style throughout, was sung in the
most discordant manner possible. The service itself lasted the

whole of the night, and part of the next day it was a rhap- :

sody of whatever was sung in the course of the year at the usual
church festivals, and formed altogether the strangest and most
ridiculousmedley imaginable. When the choristers in this long
performance were thirsty, wine was unsparingly distributed, and
the signal for that part of the ceremony was an anthem commen-
" Conductus ad On the
cing poculum," Brought to the glass.
first evening, after vespers, the grand chanter of Sens, preceded

by an enormous lantern headed the jolly band in the streets, and

on a vast theatre prepared for their reception before the church

they performed indecorous interludes. To conclude the singing and

"
l
( )
This hymn is in Du Cange, and the Dietionnaire des Mceurs."
 165

dancing, a pail of water was thrown on the head of the grand

chanter, and they returned to the church, to begin the morning
office. On that occasion they were sluiced on their naked bodies
with pailfuls of water. At the respective divisions of the service,
the ass was supplied with drink and provender.In the middle of
it,a signal was given by an anthem, beginning, " Conductus ad

ludos," Brought to play, and the ass being conducted into the
nave of the church, the people mixed with the clergy, danced round
him, and strove to imitate his braying^ ) When the dancing was
1

over the ass was carried back into the choir, where the clergy con-
cluded the service. The vespers on the second day were ended
with an invitation to dinner, in the form of an anthem like the
" Conductus ad
rest, prandium," Brought to dinner ; and the
festival terminatedby a repetition of similar theatricals to those

which had taken place the day before.( 2 )

Francis Douce, Esq., Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, sub-
mitted a paper to that body on the 10th of May, 1804, concerning
these ceremonies ; wherein he states, that the Feast of Calends,
which arose out of the Eoman Saturnalia, resembled, in a great
degree, the excesses of a modern carnival, and that the archbishops
and bishops degraded themselves by joining in these sports with
the inferior clergy. An illumination in the celebrated Bedford

Missal, representing several men feasting in a church-yard, is

noticed by Mr. Douce, as referring to an ancient festival on the

21st of February, called the Feralia, or Feast of the Dead, insti-
tuted by Numa in honour of the manes, and sometimes called
Parentalia. This gentleman supposes that many of the grotesque

figures in the illuminated religious manuscripts, generally, but

erroneously, called missals, are allusive to these subjects. The

Feast of Fools, he says, soon made its way into England, but its

(*) Menestrier says, that Spain

has preserved in the church and in
solemn processions the use of dancing, and has theatrical representations
made expressly for great festivals. He saw on Easter Sunday in some
churches of France, the canons take the choristers by the hand, and
dance in the choir while festal hymns were sung. Burney's Hist, of
Music, vol. ii. p. 28.
2
( )
Mr. Turner's Hist, of England, voL ii, p. 367.
 166

vestiges here are by no means so numerous as among our neighbours.

The earliest mention of it traced by Mr. Douce, is under the
reign Henry IV., and he conceives it probable that it was
of
abolished about the end of the fourteenth century. Numerous
imitations of it arose in various places, and on different occasions.

Besides the Feast of the Ass, there were the election of an abbe
des canards or cornards, of an abbe des esdaffards, of an abbe
de malgoverne, whence our abbot or lord of misrule, of a prince
des sots, sometimes called mere folle, or folie, of a prince de

plaisance, a prince de Vestrille, of a privot des etourd'is; a roi

des ribands, and some others of a similar nature. Mr. Douce

describes a girdle, which tradition reports to have been worn by
the abbot of fools, in the cathedral of Dijon, on his election into
office. From the style of its sculpture, he conceives it to belong

to the fourteenth century. It consists of thirty-five square pieces

of wood so contrived as to let into each other, by which means it

easily assumes a circular form. On these are carved a variety of

ludicrousand grotesque figures, consisting of fools, tumblers,

huntsmen, and animals, with others that, from their licentiousness
do not admit of a particular description. They bear, on the
whole, a very striking similitude to the sculptures on the seats or
the stalls in our cathedrals and monastic buildings, which, Mr.
Douce is of opinion, were likewise executed in ridicule of the

clergy in general, but more particularly of the friars ; or, that they

may, in some instances at least, refer to the mockeries that were

x
practised in celebrating the Feast of Fools. ( )
The Boy Bishop was another pastime of the church. In Fran-
conia,the scholars on St. Nicholas day used to elect one of their
number to play the Boy Bishop, and two others for his deacons,

He was escorted to church, with his mitre on, by the other boys
in solemn procession, where he presided at the worship, and after-
wards he and his deacons went about singing from door to door
and collecting money ; not begging alms, but demanding it as his
subsidy. This was a very ancient practice, for, three centuries

(*) Archosologia, vol. xv. p. 225.

 167

before, namely, in 1274, the Council of Strasburgh prohibited the

choosing of the Boy Bishop; though so late as Hospinian, who

wrote in the seventeenth century, it was customary at schools de-

dicated to Pope Gregory the Great, who was

also patron of scho-

lars, one of the boys to be the representative of Gregory on

for

the occasion, and act as bishop, with certain companions as his

clergy.^) But as the Boy Bishop in England will be mentioned

hereafter, further notice is deferred until then.
These were the principal mock festivals of the clergy, yet so
master what he
late as in 1645, a pupil of Gassendi, writing to his

himself witnessed at Aix, on the feast of the Innocents, says, " I

have seen, in some monasteries in this province, extravagan-
cies solemnized, Pagans would not have practised.
which the
Neither the clergy nor the guardians, indeed, go to the choir on
this day, but all is given up to the lay-brethren , the cabbage-cut-

ters, the errand-boys, the cooks and scullions, the gardeners ;

in a

word, all the menials fill their place in the chureh, and insist that

they perform the offices proper for the day. They dress them-
selves with all the sacerdotal ornaments, but torn to rags, or wear

them inside out ; they hold in their hands the books reversed or
sideways, which they pretend to read with large spectacles with-
out glasses, and to which they fix the shells of scooped oranges,
which renders them so hideoxis, that one must have seen these
madmen to form a notion of their appearance ; particularly while

dangling the censors, they keep shaking them in derision, and let-
ting the ashes fly about their heads and faces, one against the
other. In hymns, nor psalms, nor
this equipage they neither sing

masses but mumble a certain gibberish as shrill and squeaking

;

as a herd of pigs whipped on to market. The nonsense- verses

they chaunt are singularly barbarous :

Haec est clara dies, clararum clara dierum,

Haec est festa dies, festarmn festa dierum.( 2)

(*) Brand, vol. i. p. 324.

2
( ) Thiers, Traite des Jeux, p. 449; see D'Israeli's Curiosities of Lite-
rature, vol. iii. p. 2.~
 168

To these sports the clergy added the acting of Mysteries, or

plays representing the miraculous acts of saints, circumstances
from apocryphal story, and subjects from the Old and New Tes-
tament. There are different opinions as to the religious class by
whom they were introduced into Europe, though it seems reason-
able to suppose that they were adopted by the Italians in the

depth of the dark ages from the spiritual dramas of the Apolli-
narii, father and son, and Gregory Nazianzen ; ( ) but however that
l

1
( ) Warton, vol. ii. p. 369. Gregory Nazianzen, is said by Cardinal
John de Medicis, to have corrupted the purity of the Greek tongue, and
by that means to have occasioned the barbarisms of Latin divinity. On
the authority of Demetrius Chalcondylus, who flourished in the fifteenth
century, he relates that the Greek clergy obtained leave from the
Constantinopolitan emperor, to burn many ancient Greek poems, and
that so the plays of Menander, Diphilus, Apollodorus, Philemon and
Alexis, and the verses of Sappho, Erinna, Anacreon, Mimnermus, Bion,
Alcman, and Alcseus, were lost. Their place being supplied by the
poems of Gregory Nazianzen, which though exciting to greater religious
zeal, yet do not teach the true propriety and elegance of the Greek
language. Bayle. Diet. art. Nazianzen.

Menestrier ascribes the Mysteries to the practices of the religious. He

"
says, It is certain, that pilgrimages introduced these devout represen-
tations. Those, who returned from Jerusalem and the Holy Land, from
St. James of Compostella, St. Baume of Provence, St. Reine, Mount St.
Michael, Notre Dame du Puy, and other places of piety, composed songs
on their travels, mixing with them a recital of the life and death of the
Son of God, or of the last judgment, after a gross manner, but which the
singing and simplicity of the times seem to render pathetic :
they sung
the miracles of saints, their martyrdom, and certain fables, to which the
credulity of the people gave the name of visions and apparitions. These
pilgrims, who went in companies, and who took their stands in streets,
and public places, where they sung with their staves in their hands, and
their hats and mantles covered with shells and painted images of divers
:

colours, formed a kind of spectacle, which pleased, and excited the piety
of some citizens of Paris, to raise a fund for purchasing a proper place to
erect a theatre, on which to represent these mysteries on holy days,
as well for the instruction of the people, as their diversion. Italy
had public theatres for the representation of these mysteries ; one
of them I saw at Veletri, in the road from Home to Naples, in a
public place, where it is not forty years since they left off to repre-
sent the mysteries of the life of the Son of God. These pious spec-
tacles appeared so fine in those ignorant ages, that they made them
the principal ornaments of the reception of princes, when they made
their entry into cities ; and as they sung a Christmas Carol, instead of the
 169

may be, there is no room for surprise that all writers concur in

attributing the performance of these mysteries to that body who

were the authors of the Feast of Fools and the Feast of the Ass.
As mysteries arose with Gregory Nazianzen, it is not likely
that his example as a father of the church should be wholly lost
he had succeeded in destroying the performance
sight of as soon as
of the ancient Greek plays; yet English writers do not appear

to have traced sacred representations in a dramatic form until many

centuries after Gregory Kazianzen's death. No inference, however,
is deducible from that circumstance against the likelihood of their
existence nearer to his time. Dramatic historians seldom dig into
ecclesiastical lore for materials, and the learned few have not much
relish for inquiries subordinate to their own.

Dr. Burney, in his researches into the history of music, ascer-

tained that the first dramatic representation in Italy was a spiritual

comedy, performed at Padau in 1243. In 1554, were printed at

Rome, the statutes of a Company instituted in that city in 1264,
whose chief employment was to represent the sufferings of Christ in

passion week.
In 1298, the passion was played at Friuli; and the same
year, the clergy of Civita Vecchia, on the feast of Pentecost,
and the two following holidays, performed the play of Christ,
that is of his passion, resurrection, ascension, judgment, and
the mission of the Holy Ghost; and again in 1304, they acted
the creation of Adam and Eve, the annunciation of the Virgin
Mary, the birth of Christ, and other subjects of sacred his-
1
tory^ ) The Rev. Mr. Croft, and the Hon. Topham Beauclerc,

cries of long live the King, they represented in the streets the good
Samaritan, the wicked rich man, the Passion of Jesus Christ, and several
other Mysteries, at the reception of our kings. The Psalms and prose
devotions of the church were the opera of those times. They walked in
procession before those princes with the banners of the churches, and
Bung to their praise hymns composed of several passages of Scripture,
tacked together, to make allusions to the principal actions of their
reigns." Menestrier. (Bayle. Diet., art. Chocquet.)

(*) Warton, vol. i p. 250.

23
 170

collected a great number of Italian mysteries ;

and at the sale of

their libraries, Dr. Burney purchased many of the most ancient,

which he speaks of as being evidently much earlier than the dis-
covery of printing, from the gross manner in which the subjects are
treated, the coarseness of the dialogue, and the ridiculous situation
intowhich the most sacred persons and things are thrown.^)
In 1313, Philip the Fair gave the most sumptuous entertain-
ment at Paris ever remembered in that city. Edward II. and his

Queen Isabella, crossed over from England with a large retinue

of nobility, and partook of the magnificent festivities. The
pomp and profusion of the banquetings, the variety of the amuse-
ments, and the splendour of the costume were unsurpassed. On
each of the eight days the princes and nobles changed their dresses
three times; while the people were sometimes entertained with

representations of the Glory of the blessed, at other times with the

Torments of the damned, and with various other spectacles, espe-
2
cially the Processionof Raynard the Fox. ( ) In 1402, by an
edict of Charles VI. dated Dec. 4th, the mystery of the concep-

tion, passion, and resurrection of Christ, was performed at St.

Maur, about five miles from Paris. It was written by Jean
Michel, who died in 1447. At the Council of Constance, in the

year 1417, the English fathers gave a mystery of the massacre of

the Holy Innocents. low buffoon was introduced,
In this play a

desiring of his lord to be dubbed a knight that he might be

properly qualified to go on the adventure of killing the mothers of

the children of Bethlehem, which was treated with the most ridi-

culous levity. The good women of Bethlehem attacked the knight-

arrant with their spinning wheels, broke his head with their
distaffs, abused him as a coward and disgrace to chivalry, and

sent him home to Herod as a recreant champion, with much

3
ignominy, ( ) Le Mistere de Notre Seigneur, done to
la Passion de

the life, as the same is figured round the cceur of Notre Dame, at

Paris, was performed on the entrance of the kings of France and

(*) Burney's Hist, of Music, vol. iii.

p. 83.
2 3
( )
Histoire de Paris, fol. p. 523. ( ) Warton, i. 242.
 171

England into that capital, on December 1, 1420, in the street

Kalende, before the palace, upon a raised scaffolding about one
hundred paces in length, reaching from the said street Kalende
1
to the wall of the palace. ( ) Le Mistere de la Passion de Saint

George, was represented by the Parisians in the Hotel de

Nelle, during the festival of the Pentecost, being the last day
of May, in order to shew their love to the King of England, his

queen, and all the nobles of the said country. On the 8th of

September, 1424, Le Mistere du vie'd Testament et du nouvel,

was performed by the youths of Paris, placed like statues against
a wall, without speech or sign, at the entrance into Paris, of John
Duke of Bedford, Regent Le Mistere depuis la
of France.

conception Notre Dame jusque Joseph la mena en Egipte ; was

performed on a scaffolding before the Trinity, reaching from beyond

St. Saviour's to the end of the street called Ernetal. This
was at the entrance of Henry VI. of England into Paris as king

of France, on the firstSunday of Advent, being December

the 2nd, 1431. Vengeance de la Mort de N. S. J. C. et destruc-
tion de la ville de Jerusalem par I'Empereur Vespasian et Titus,

was performed, presented before Charles VIII. (2) In 1486, the

mysteries of the nativity, passion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
3
were acted at Poictiers, with great magnificence. ( )

(*)
Printed in 4to.

( )
The printed copies of this and the three preceeding mysteries specify
2

the time of their representation.

3
Black letter, folio, 1491. Bayle Diet., art. Boucliet.
( )

There are two French Mysteries, entitled, 1. Le Jeu et Mystere de la

Saint Hostie, mis par personnaiges, en rime Franchise. Paris, Jelan
Boufons, black letter, 16mo. 2nd. Le Mystere de la Saint Hostie,
black letter, 12mo, played by twenty-six persons. After the title page
are these four lines,

Li sez ce fait, grand et petit,

Comment un faux et maudit Juif,
Lapida moult cruellement
De 1'Autel le tres Saint Sacrement.
It appears that in almost every nation in Europe the silly Jews have per-
petrated cruelties
on feeling wafers and conscious crucifixes. In the pre-
 172

In the royal library of Paris, No. 4350, is Le Mystere de

la passion Jesus Christ ; Paris, printed by Antoine Verard, 1490,
folio. This is a fine copy on vellum, with every page richly
illuminated, and containing a MS. note in French, purporting to
be an extract from an old Chronicle, entitled, " Histoire de Metz
veritable," whence it appears that its performance was attended
by many foreign lords and ladies whose names are specified, and
that there were lanthorns placed in the windows during the whole
time of the plays : but the most curious part of the MS. note is,
"in the year 1437, on the 3rd of July was represented the
that,

game or play, de la Passion, N. S. in the plain of Veximiel,

sent year, 1822, 1 compiled an account of the Miraculous Host tortured by

tlw Jew at Paris, under the reign of Philip the Fair in 1290. In the
preface to that pamphlet it is affirmed that the people of Brussels every
year on the anniversary of St. Hubert, the patron of dogs, get bread,
with attestations signed by the magistrates, certifying that it has been
consecrated by the priest, and that they give every dog in Brussels this
holy bread, to save him from distemper throughout the year. As this is
the only opportunity I shall have of removing some doubts as to the
accuracy of my statement, I subjoin the copy of an original certificate
attached to the bread consecrated and sold for the dogs last year. The
original is in my possession the practice itself can be verified by any
:

resident at Brussels.

(COPY.)
JE sous SIGNE, declare avoir beni et touche a 1'Etole miraculeuse du
glorieuse SAINT HUBERT, Apotres des Ardennes, les bagues, chapelets,
medailles, croix, cceurs, christs, colliers, boucles d'orielles, petits livres,
petits cornets de devotion, et autres beatilles relatives a la pieuse confiance
des fideles a le grand Saint, dont est porteuse MARIE JOSEPH POTIER,
epouse de CORNELIS JOSEPH, Marechal, domiciliee a Bruxelles.
Votum facio R'dis Confratribus has visuris haec Numis-
mata ver benedicta et miraculosa? Stolse contactu
Lustrata ut supra, etc.
Delivre a St. Hubert, le 28 Janvier, 1821.
L. S. V. THOME Aumonier de PEglise du grand St.
Hubert.
Vu, pare Bourguemestre President de la Regence de la
Ville de Saint Hubert, pour Legalisation de la Signa-
ture de Monsieur Thome, sis dessus Vicaire et
Aumonier de 1'Eglise du GRAND SAINT HUBERT.
L. S. Saint Hubert, le 28 Janvier, 1821.
N. EVITMET.
 173

when the park was arranged in a very noble manner, for there
were nine ranges of seats in height rising by degrees ; all around
and behind were great and long seats for the lords and ladies. To
represent God was the Lord Nicolle, Lord of Neufchatel, in
Lorraine, who was curate of St. Victor of Metz; he was nigh
dead upon the cross if he had not been assisted, and it was deter-

mined that another priest should be placed on the cross to coun-

terfeit the personage of the crucifixion for that day ;
but on the

following day the said curate of St. Victor counterfeited the resur-
rection, and performed his part very highly during the play.
Another priest, who was called Messire Jean de Nicey, and was

chaplain of Metrange, played Judas, and was nearly dead while

hanging, for his heart failed him, wherefore he was very quickly
unhung and carried off and there the Mouth of Hell was very
:

well done ; for it opened and shut when the devils required to
enter and come out, and had two large eyes of steel. ( l ) It further
appears from the MS. note that they played on the 17th of Sep-
tember of the same year in the same place, La Vengeance de N. S.
J. 0., and that
" the same Lord Nicolle was Titus in
la Vengeance"

who nearly lost his life in la Passion.

On the 27th of May, 1509, was performed at Romans, in

Dauphiny, before the Cordeliers' church, the Mystery of the

(*) This Mouth

of Hell is figured in Hearne's print, opposite p. 138 of
the present work. Hell is often shown in this way at the present time.
"
It is so designed in a wood cut to the Christmas carol of Dives and
Lazarus." A
sick man in a wig lies on a bed, with a clergyman praying
beside him ; the indisposed person is Dives, for whom the Mouth of Hell is
wide open in a lower corner of the room, while Lazarus reposes in
Abraham's bosom in the corner above. As it is by no means an uncom-
mon form, so it appears to have been conceived in an early age. The
fine east window of York Cathedral, on which is painted almost the
whole history of the Bible, contains the final doom of the wicked ; and
hell is this enormous mouth. There is also a representation of hell as a
monstrous mouth vomiting forth flames and serpents, with two figures
walking into it, trampling over the naked body of a third lying prostrate,
on an ancient bas relief in the west front of Lincoln Cathedral, which
was founded in 1088. Gough conjectures the workmanship to be more
"
ancient than the cathedral, and thinks it was brought from some old
church and placed in this front when it was first built." It is en-
graved in his Camden, vol. ii., p. 368.
 174

TJiree Dong. In this religious play, which lasted three days, there

are emissaries who undertake very long journeys, and must come
back before the play can be ended. The scene, besmeared with
the blood of the three martyrs, the Dons, is sometimes at Rome,
sometimes at Vienna, soon after at Lyons, and at other times in
the Alps. The stage constantly represents hell and paradise;
and Europe, Asia, and Africa, are cantoned in three towers.
Some metaphysical beings are most curiously personified. Dame
Silence, for instance, speaks the prologue ;
Human Succour,
Divine Grace, and Divine Comfort, are the supporters of the
heroes and heroines of the piece, while Hell exhibits monsters and

devils, to frighten the audience. They are constantly abusing

Proserpine, who is introduced with all the trappings of Tartarean

pomp into this performance, where there are no less than ninety-
two dramatis personse, among whom are the Virgin and God the
l
Father. ( )

The story of Le Mystere du Chevalier qui donne sa Femme

au Diable, played by ten persons in 1505, ( 2 ) is of a dissipated
knight reduced by his profligacy to distress and wickedness. In his
misfortunes the devil appears and proposes to make him richer

than ever if he will assign his wife that the devil may have her in
seven years. After some discussion the knight consents, his pro-
mise is written out, and he signs it with his blood. The seducer
then stipulates that his victim shall deny his God; the knight

stoutly resists for a time, but in the end the devil gains his point,
and emboldened by success ventures to propose that the knight

shall deny the Virgin Mary. This, however, being a still greater

sin, he refuses to commit it with the utmost indignity and vehe-

mence, and the devil walks off baffled. At the end of seven years,
the promise being due, the devil presents it to the knight, who,

considering it a debt of honour, prepares to discharge it im-

mediately. He orders his wife to follow him to a certain spot,

but on their way she perceives a church, which after obtaining

*)
General Evening Post, Sep. 29, 1787, from a MS. at Romans.
2
( ) Black letter, 12mo.
 175

her husband's permission she enters, for the purpose of offering

her devotion ; while thus engaged the Virgin Mary, recollecting
the knight's unsullied allegiance to her, assumes the semblance
and in that character joins him. The moment that
of his wife,

they both appear before the devil he perceives who he has to deal
with, and upbraids the unconscious knight for attempting to deceive
him. The knight protests his ignorance and astonishment, which
the virgin corroborates by telling the devil that it was her own

plan for the rescue of two souls from his power, and she orders
him to give up the knight's promise. He of course obeys so high

an authority, and runs off The Virgin exhorts

in great terror.

the knight to better conduct in future, restores his wife to him, and
the piece concludes.
In the reign of Francis I., 1541, the performance of a grand

Mystery of the Acts of the Apostles, was proclaimed with great

solemnity, and acted at Paris for many successive days before the
nobility, clergy,and a large assemblage in .h.3 Hotel de Flandres,
These plays written in French rhyme by the Brothers Greban,
were printed in 2 vols. folio, black letter, under letters patent of
the king to "William Alabat, a merchant of Bourges. The dra-

matis personse were, God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the
Virgin and Joseph, Archangels, Angels, the apostles and disciples,
Jewish priests, Emperors, Philosophers, Magicians, Lucifer, Satan,
Belzebub, Belial the attorney-general of hell, Cerberus the porter,
and a multitude of other celestial, terrestrial, and infernal personages,
amounting altogether to four hundred and eighty-five characters.

Though the scenes of these plays were chiefly scriptural, yet many
were from Apocryphal ^ew
Testament subjects, and the whole
exhibition was a strange mixture of sacred and profane history.
A scene in which the spirit of God descends in a cloud upon the
" here a noise should be
Apostles as tongues of fire, directs that,

made to imitate thunder resounding through paradise." In the

Play of Pentecost, Mary being assembled with the eleven apostles
and the disciples, altogether one hundred and eleven persons, the
deficiency in the number of the apostles through the treachery of

Judas, is supplied by Peter holding two straws unequally cut between

 176

his finger and thumb, from which one being drawn, the lot fell upon
l
Mathias. This and other scenes which are to be found elsewhere, ( )

may convey some idea of the absurdity and grossuess exhibited

under the government of Francis I. ; yet these plays are enlivened by
boldness of incident, and occasionally there is an unexpected tender-
ness and delicacy of expression. In the Assumption of the Virgin,
she is thus addressed by one of the celestial messengers sent to con-

vey her to heaven

MichaeL Venez liz et rose deslite,

Tres precieuse Marguerite,
Clere resplendissant et belle,
Venez en la vie eternelle,

Ou Jesus votre fils habite.

Mary requests that before they take her soul, her body may be
laid asleep; she gently reclines herself and dies; and virgins enter,
and wrapping the body in a sheet, carry her away. Gabriel receives
her soul, and while he holds it gives directions for the funeral.
At anthem of joy is sung for the blessed Assumption,
his desire an

and a female then comes in and says, they have stripped the body to
wash it as in charity bound to do, but such is the splendour thereof,
and the brilliancy issuing from her limbs, that it is not possible
human eyes can sustain it. Here they all ascend into paradise, and
carry the soul of the Virgin with them.
the Mystere des Actes Apostres, "a
Bayle calls very rare
itself,

and uncommon work." He obtained the loan of a copy from Sir

Hans Sloane in England, and largely describes the volume. It

is, however, more curious than rare. From the public instru-
ment prefixed to the work, and the circumstances related by
Bayle it is evident that there was much importance attached to
these plays: but it cannot so well be conceived from perusing

them, as from the remarkable ceremonial of the public procla-

Bayle gives long extracts that will sur] rise most readers, yet he
(*)

justly observes, that "they are not so grotesque as a multitude of other

passages." Bayk's Diet., art. Chocquet.
 177

mation for their performance, concerning which he says nothing.

Probably from the extreme rarity of the curious descriptive tract,
published at the time, Bayle had not seen it. On account of its
scarcity I subjoin a translation of it entire the words of the pro-
:

clamation itself are retained in the original French.

(TRANSLATION.)
PUBLIC NOTICE AND PEOCLAMATION for playing the MYSTERY OF THE
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, in the Town of Paris, made Thursday the 16th
day of December, in the year 1540, by command of our Lord the King,
FRANCIS THE FIRST of this name, and his Worship the Provost of Paris,
To the end that every one may come to take their characters in the per-
formance of the said mystery. SOLD AT PARIS in the Street Neufue
Nostre Dame, at the Sign of St. John the Baptist, near St. Geneviefve
des Ardens
: in the
Shop of Denys Janoe, ] 541.
On the aforesaid day, about eight o'clock in the morning, the people
assembled in the Hotel de Flandres, the usual place for the performance
of the said mystery. That is to say, as well the managers of the said
mystery, as officers of justice, plebians, and others having the regulation
of these ; rhetoricians, and gentlemen of the long robe, as well as of the
short.
First of all went six trumpeters having banners to their pipes and
bugles bearing the royal arms, amongst which, as for safety, was the
usual herald of the city, accompanied by the sworn crier established
to proclaim all judicial proclamations in the said city, all being suitably
mounted.
After these marched a number of sergeants and archers of the mayor
of Paris, habited in their hocketons diapered with silver, wearing the
liveries of the king and the said mayor. These were to keep order, and
prevent the people pressing in the archers were as usual well mounted,
;

as in such cases is required.

Then afterwards marched a number of the city officers and sergeants,
as well of the merchants as of the better sort of citizens, habited in their
robes then a party with the colours of the city, qui sont les navires
d arget triceulx, all well habited.
Then followed two men appointed to make the said proclamation
dressed in black silk velvet with hanging sleeves of tnree colours,
namely, yellow, grey, and blue, which is the livery of the aforesaid
managers, and these were well mounted on fine horses.
Afterwards came the two directors of the said mystery, rhetoricians,
one an ecclesiastic, the other a layman, both soberly clad and well
mounted according to their station.
Then followed after the four managers of thesaid mystery, (Hamelin,
Potrain, Louvet, Chollet) habited in rich laced sarcenets stitched on
black velvet, well mounted on horses richly caparisoned.
Also after this train marched four commissaries, inspectors of the
Chatelat at Paris, mounted on mules with housings, as followers of the
said managers.
24
 178

In the same order marched a great number of the citizens, merchants

and other gentlemen of the city, as well in long and short robes very ;

well mounted according to their state and circumstances.

It should be noticed that at every cross way or public place where
they made the said proclamation, two of the said managers always
joined with the two appointed to make the proclamation and, after the ;

said six trumpeters had sounded three times, and the exhortation of the
city herald made on the part of the king and the mayor of Paris, the
four persons aforesaid made the proclamation in the manner and form
as follows : viz.

The Announcing and Proclaiming of the undertaking of the said Mystery

of the Acts of the Apostles, addressed to the Citizens of the said city of
.Pans.

Pour ne tumljer en da'nable decours

En nos jours cours aux bibliens discours
Avons recours le temps nous admoneste
Pendant que Paix estant notre secours
:

Nous diet je cours es Royaulmes es cours

En plaisant cours faisons quelle sarreste
La saison preste a souvent chaulve teste
Et pour ce honneste oauvre de catholicques
On scav oir a son et crys publicques
faict

Que dans Paris ung mistere sappreste

Representant Actes Apostolicques.

Nostre bon Eoy que Dieu garde puissant

Bien le consent au faict impartissant
Pouvoir receut de son auctorite
:

Dont chascun doibt vouloir que florissant

Son noble sang des fleurs de Lys yssant
Soit et croissant en sa felicite
Venez, cite, Ville, University
Tout est cit venez gene heroycques
Graves, censeurs, magistraz, politicques
Exercez vous au jeu de verite
Hepresentant Actes Apostolicques.

L'on y semond, Poete*, Orateurs

Vrays precepteurs, d'eloquence Amateurs
Pour directeurs, de si saincte entreprise
Mercuions, et aussi chroniqueurs
Hiches rimeurs des barbares vaincqueurs
Et des erreurs de langue mal apprise
L'heure est precise on se tiendra 1'assise
:

La sera prise au rapport des tragicques

L'eleetion des plus expers senicques
 179

En geste et voix au teatre requise

Representant Actes Apostolicques.

Vouloir n'avons en ce commencement

Des batement fors prendre enseignement
Et jugement sur chascun personnage
Par les roolletz bailies entierement
Et veoir comment Ion jouera proprement
Si fault coment : ou teste d'arantage

Mys ce partage a rostre conseil saige

Doibt tout courage hors les cueurs paganicques
Lutheriens, espritz diabolicques
Auctoriser ce Mistere et ymage
Representant Actes Apostolicqucs.

Prince puissant sans toy toute rencontre

Est mal encontre et nostre ceuvre imparfaict
Nous le prions que par grace se monstre
Puis le meffaict de nos chemins oblicquea
Pardonnes nous apres ce jeu parfaict
Eepresentant Actes Apostolicques.

End of the Proclamation.

And for the fixing of the day, and the usual place for taking charac-
ters in the said mystery, was signified to all, that all should be on the
in Christmas following, in the
feast of St.
Stephen, the first holiday
hall of the Passion, the accustomed place for rehearsals and repetitions
of the Mysteries played in the said city of Paris ; which place, being
well hung with rich tapestry chairs and forms, is for the reception of all
persons of honest and virtuous report, and of all qualities therein
assisting, as well as a great number of citizens and merchants and other
persons, as well clergy as laity, in the presence of the commissaries
and officers of Justice appointed and deputed to hear the speeches of
each personage and these are to make report, according to the merit
;

of their well doing, as in such case required, concerning which have a

gracious reception and from day to day, every day, so to continue to
;
1
do, until the perfection of the said mystery^ )

.
(*) The French title of this tract is, "Le cry et proclamation publicque:

pour jouerle mistere des Actes des Apostres, en laville de Paris faict
:

le Jeudy seiziesme jour de Decembre 1'an mil cinq. cens. quarante Par :

le commendement au Roy nostre sire Francoys premier de ce nom et :

Monsieur le prevost de Paris afBn de venir prendre les roolles pour jouer
le diet mistere. On les vend a Paris, etc. 1541. 5 leaves, 8vo.
By the Register of the Parliament of Paris, it appears, that on the
19th of December, 1541, the Procureur General du Roi on the one part,
complained to the parliament against Francis Hamelin, (notaire au
 180

It "being the purpose of these sheets to give a mere sketch by

way of specimen of these performances, I pass at once to a nio-

Chastelet de Paris,) Francis Pouldrain, (a tapestry-maker,) Leonard

Choblets, (butcher,) and John Louvet, (gardener and florist,) the under-
takers or managers of the Mystery of the Acts of the Apostles, on the
other part For that the defendants having undertaken to represent
:

Christ s passion and the Acts of the Apostles, had employed mean and
illiterate fellows to act, who were not cunning in these matters, and to
lengthen out the time had interlarded apocryphal matters, and by
introducing drolls and farces at the beginning and end had made the
performance last six or seven months by means whereof nobody went
;

to church, charity grew cold, and immoral excesses were occasioned :

Also that at eight or nine o'clock in the morning the people left their
parish churches to take their seats in the playhouse, and staid there
till five in the afternoon, so that the
preachers finding nobody to hear
them, left off preaching and generally, the parsons of the parishes, to
;

have theirpastime at the plays, left off the afternoonprayersonholydays,

or said them alone at noon, and even the king's chaplains in the chapel
of the household, did the same, and ran them off post haste to be gone
to the plays Further, that the defendants played for lucre, and raised
:

the price, which the first year was twenty and twenty-five crowns, the
next thirty and thirty-six crowns, and the then present year
forty
and
fifty crowns of the sum for every box that the plays occasioned jun-
;

ketting and extraordinary expenses among the common people ; that

the contributions to the poor had diminished 6000 livres during the six
months that the plays lasted and that notwithstanding all this, one
;

Hoger, a fish seller, with a carpenter, a cobbler, and others, in order

to get money from the people, had undertaken to act the Old Testa-
ment next year wherefore the king's attorney-general had stopped
:

their proceedings. In answer to this, the counsel on the other side

said, ne appeared not for the company who showed the Acts of the
Apostles, but for the new company of the mystery of the Old Testament,
in whose behalf he answered, that the king, two years before, having
seen them act the Mysteries of the Passwn, and been informed how
well they played the Acts of the Apostles, and that it was worth his
while also to see the representation of the Old Testament, Roger being
present, promised the king to get the Old Testament acted, to which his
majesty accorded and granted him his letters patent for the purpose,
Whereupon by these letters patent it appeared to the parliament that
the new company informed the king what they did was out of devotion,
and to edify the people, whereas their quality and circumstances de-
clared that their object was gain and that in the Old Testament are
;

many things not so proper to be declared to the weak and simple

people, lest for want of understanding they might be drawn in to turn
Jews. Therefore the parliament ordered the new company to pay to the
poor of Paris eight hundred livres out of their profits for playing the
Acts of the Apostles, and prohibited the new company to play the Old
Testament till the king's pleasure should be known. The record at
lingth of these proceedings in the original French is at the end of
llymcrs View of Tragedy.
 181

dern writer, who mentioning the

Theatre at Libson, says that
" Whitaker
gives the following account of a
piece called the
Creation of the World :" he does not tell who " Whitaker " is,
nor can I, but the reader is presented with the account just as it is

cited.
" On our entrance, we found the theatre nearly filled with
well dressed people, the front row of boxes full of ladies most

superbly and tastefully dressed, their hair in braids and ornamented

with a profusion of diamonds and artificial flowers, without caps ;

and upon the whole making a very brilliant appearance. The

band is a good one, and the theatre is worth attending, were it on
no other account than to hear it. When the curtain drew up we
saw the eternal Father descend in a cloud with a long white
beard, with a greatnumber of lights and angels around him he :

then gave orders for the creation of the world ;

over his head
was drawn an equilateral triangle, as an emblem of the Trinity.
The next scene presented us with the serpent tempting Eve to
eat the apple, and his infernal majesty, (the prince of darkness)

paid the most exaggerated encomiums to her beauty, in order to

engage her to eat, which as soon as he had done, and persuaded
Adam to do the same, then came a most terrible storm of thun-
der and lightning, with a dance of infernal spirits with the devil in
the midst, dressed in black with scarlet stockings, and a gold-
laced hat on his head. While the dance was performing, a voice
from behind the scenes pronounced in a hoarse and solemn man-
"
ner, the word Jesus," on which the devils immediately vanished
in a cloud of smoke. After this, the eternal Father descended in

great wrath without any attendant, and called for Noah, (who by
the bye we were much surprised to see, as we did not know before

that he was at that time in existence ; however, appear he did,)

who when he appeared, the eternal Father told him he was sorry
he had created such a set of ungrateful scoundrels, and that for
their wickedness he intended to drown them altogether. Here
Noah interceded for them, and at last it was agreed that he
should build an ark, and he was ordered to go to the king's dock-

yard in Lisbon, and there he would see John Gonzalvez, the

master builder, for he preferred him to either the French or
 182

English builders (this produced great applause). The eternal

Father then went up to heaven, and Noah to build his ark^ 1 )
The representation of a mystery called the Damned Soul, at

l
( )
The Portfolio. By J. R., late Captain in the Royal Lancashire
Militia, and formerly of the Royal Fusileers. Egerton, 1812, 2 vols
8vo, vol. i. p. 33.

In the same work there is an official document, a curious memorial of

which is annexed for the reader's amusement.
superstition,

Translation of a Military Certificate in behalf of St. Anthony as the

Patron of a Regiment.

DON HERCULES ANTONIO CARLOS, Lieut., Joseph Maria de Alber-

querque, Aranjo de Magalnhaens Homen, nobleman to her majesty's
household, &c., <fcc. I do hereby attest and certify, to all who shall see
these presents, written by my command, and signed at the bottom with
my sign manual, and with the broad seal of my arms, close to my said
signature, and a little to the left of it, that the lord SAINT ANTHONY of
Lisbon, but falsely called Padua, has been enlisted and had a place in
this regiment, ever since the 24th of January, of the year of our Lord
Jesus Christ, 1688, as will appear more particularly below. I further
attest that the fifty-nine within certificates, numbered from unity to the
number 59, and with the cypher of my name set close to each number,
do contain and comprehend a true and faithful relation of the miracles
and other eminent exercises, the said St. Anthony has at different times
rendered and performed in this regiment, in consequence of his having a
place in it, as attested by many persons now alive, of whose veracity
there can be no doubt. I do further certify, upon my word of honour, as
a nobleman, a knight, and a Catholic gentleman and Christian (as by
God's grace I am), what hereunto follows : That having read over and
perused attentively all the papers, note-books, and registers of our regi-
ment, ever since its formation, and having copied out of the said papers
every thing relating to the said St. Anthony, it is de verbo ad verbum
what follows here, for the truth of which I refer to the said books and
papers lodged in the archives of our regiment. That on the 24th of
January, 1688, by order of his majesty Don Pedro the Second, St. An-
thony was enlisted as a private soldier in this regiment of infantry of
Lagos, when it was first formed by command of the said prince, and of
such enlistment there was a register found, which now exists in the first
column of the register book of this regiment, folio 1 43, wherein he gave
for his surety the queen of angels, who became answerable that he should
not desert his colours, but always behave like a good soldier in the regi-
ment; and thus did the saint continue to serve, and to do duty as a pri-
vate in the regiment, until Sept. 1693, on which day the same prince, by
the decease of his brother, Alfonso the Sixth, became King of Portugal,
and on the same day his majesty promoted St. Anthony to the rank of
captain. [Then follow the miracles and services of St. Anthony for the
good of the regiment]
 183

Turin, in 1739, is evidence of so large a substrative mass of super-

stition as an Englishman can scarcely imagine to belong to modern
times. It was witnessed by the Rev. Joseph Spenee, who, in a

letter to his mother, dated the 2nd of December in that year, and
1
recently published in a very interesting work^ ) gives a lively de-
scription of the curious performance. He says :

"
As was walking, one evening, under the porticos of the street
I
of the Po7 1 saw an inscription over a great gate, which, as I am
a very curious traveller, you may be sure I did not miss reading,
I found by it. that the house belonged to a set of strollers, and that
the inscription was a bill of the play they were to act that evening.
You may imagine how surprised I was to find it conceived in the fol-
'
lowing words Here, under the porticos of the Charitable Hospital
:

for such as have the venereal disease, will be represented this evening,

The Damned Soul, with proper Decorations.' As this seemed to be

one of the greatest curiosities I could possibly meet with in my travels,
I immediately paid my threepence, was shewed in with great civility,

and took my seat among a number of people, who seemed to ex-

pect the tragedy of the night with great seriousness. At length

the curtain drew up ;
and discovered the Damned Soul, all alone,
with a melancholy aspect. She was, for what reason I do not know,
drest as a fine lady, in a gown of flame-coloured satin. She held a
white handkerchief in. her hand, which she applied often to her

eyes ;
and in this attitude with a lamentable voice, began a prayer
to the holy and ever blessed Trinity to enable her to speak her part

well : afterwards she addressed herself to all the good Christians in

the room, begged them to attend carefully to what she had to
say, and heartily wished they would be the better for it ; she then

gave an account of her life; and, by her own confession, appeared to

have been a very naughty woman in her time. This was the first
scene. At the second, a black curtain was drawn, and gave us a
sight of our Saviour and the blessed Virgin, amidst the clouds.
The poor soul addressed herself to our Saviour first, who rattled her

(*) Spence's Anecdotes of Books and Men, by S. W. Singer, 1820,

8vo, p. 397.
 184

extremely, and was indeed all the while very severe. All she desired
was to be sent to purgatory, instead of going to hell and she at ;

last begged very hard to be sent into the fire of the former for as
many years as there are drops of water in the sea. As no favour
was shown her on that side, she turned to the Virgin and begged
her to intercede for her. The Virgin was a very decent woman,
and answered her gravely, but steadily, that she had angered her
'

son so much, that she could do nothing for her ;' and on this they
both went away together. The third scene consisted of three little
angels and the damned souL She had no better luck with them ;
nor with St. John the Baptist and all the saints in the fourth ;

so, in the fifth, she was left to two devils, seemingly to do what
they would with her. One of these devils was very ill-natured
and fierce to her ; the other was of the droll kind, and for a devil,
I cannot say but what he was good-natured enough, though he

delighted in vexing the poor old lady rather too much. In the
sixth scene matters began to mend a little. St. John the Baptist
(who had been with our Saviour, I believe, behind the scenes)
told her, if she would continue her entreaties, there was yet some

hope for her. She, on this, again besought our Saviour and the
Virgin to have compassion on her. The Virgin was melted with
her tears and desired her son to have pity on her ; on which it
was granted, that she should go into the fire only for sixteen or
seventeen hundred thousand years ; and she was very thankful for
the mildness of the sentence. The seventh (and last) scene, was a
contest between the two infernal devils above mentioned, and her
guardian angel. They came in again ; one grinning, and the other
open-mouthed to devour her. The angel told them that they
should get about their business. He, with some difficulty, at last
drove them off the stage, and handed off the good lady, assuring

her that all would be very well, after some hundred of thousands of
years with her. All this while, in spite of the excellence of the

actors, the greatest part of the entertainment to me was the coun-

tenances of the people in the pit and boxes. "When the devils were
like to carry her off, everybody was in the utmost consternation; and
 185

when St. John spoke so obligingly to her, they were ready to

cry out for joy. When the Virgin appeared on the stage, every

body looked respectful ; and on several words spoke by the actors,

they and crossed themselves. What can you
pulled off their hats
think of a people, where their very farces are religious, and when*

May you be the better for

1

they are so religiously received ?

reading of it, as I was for seeing it There was but one thing that
!

offended me. All the actors except the devils, were women, and
the person who represented the most venerable character in the
whole play, just after the representation, came into the pit ;
and fell a kissing a barber of her acquaintance, before she had
changed her dress. She did me the honour to speak to me too ; but
I would have nothing to say to her. It was from such a play as
this (called Adam and Eve) that Milton, when he was in Italy,

is said to have taken the first hint for his divine poem of Paradise

Lost. What small beginnings are there sometimes to the greatest

things r (i)

An obliging correspondent acquaints me with the representa-

tion of a Mystery- that he saw when a boy at Bamberg, in Ger-
many, about the year 1783. "The end of a house or barn being
taken away, a dark hole appeared hung with old tapestry, the
wrong side outwards ; a curtain running along and dividing the
middle. On this stage the Creation was performed. stu- A
pid looking Capuchin personated the Creator. He entered in a
large full bottomed wig, with a false beard, wearing over the

rusty dress of his order a brocade morning gown, the lining of

light blue silk being
rendered by the pride
visible occasionally

that the wearer took to shew

and he eyed his slippers of the
it,

same material with equal satisfaction. He first came on making

his way through the tapestry, groping about ; and, purposely run-
ning his head against posts, exclaiming with a sort of peevish
" Let there be !" at the same time pushing the ta-
authority, light

(!) I have taken the liberty to alter some peculiarities in the ortho-
graphy of Spence's letter. I should not have extracted it entire from
Mr. Singer's very pleasant volume, if his author's narrative had permitted
abridgment.
25
 186

pestry right and left, and disclosing a glimmer through linen cloths
from candles placed behind them. The creation of the sea was
represented by the pouring of water along the stage; and the
making by the throwing of mould. Angels were
of the dry land,

personated by girls and young priests habited in dresses hired from

a masquerade shop, to which the wings of geese were clumsily
attached near the shoulders. These angels actively assisted the
character in the flowered dressing-gown in producing the stars,

moon, and sun. To represent winged fowl, a number of cocks

and hens were fluttered about : and for other living creatures
some cattle were driven on the stage, with a well-shod horse, and
two pigs having rings in their noses. Soon afterwards Adam
appeared. He was a great clumsy fellow in a strangely shaped wig,
and being closely clad with a sort of course stocking, looked quite as

grotesque as in the worst of the old wood cuts, and something like

Orson, but not so decent. He stalked about wondering at every

thing, and was followed from among the beasts by a large ugly
mastiff" with a brass collar on. When he reclined to sleep, pre-

paratory to the production of Eve, the mastiff Jay down by him.

This occasioned some strife between the old man in brocade,
Adam, and the dog, who refused to quit his post nor would he ;

move when the angels tried to whistle him off. The performance
proceeded to the supposed extraction of a rib from the dog's
master, which being brought forwards, and shewn to the audience,
was carriedback to be succeeded by Eve, who in order to seem
rising from Adam's side, was dragged up from behind his back

through an ill concealed and equally ill contrived trap-door, by

the performer in brocade. As he
her over, the dog being
lifted

trod upon frightened her by a sudden snap so that she tumbled

upon Adam. This obtained a hearty kick from a clumsy angel

to the dog,who consoled himself by discovering the rib produced
before, which being a beef bone, he tried his teeth upon. Eve
was personated by a priest of effeminate look, but awkward in
form, with long locks, composed of something like strands of
rope, which hung stiffly down the back, and were brought round

to fasten in frout below the waist. So many years have elapsed

 187

that I scarcely recollect any more of this singular scene. But

the driving of Adam and Eve out of paradise was entrusted to a

priest dressed as an angel, whose fiery pasteboard sword "being

angrily broken by Adam, in consequence of a blow he received

from iton the head, the angel produced from beneath his habit,
his knotted capuchin rope, which he so applied to Adam's back,
as to effect his expulsion. I am sorry that I do not remember
more of strange performance, bub I assure you that I did
this

not perceive any risibility among the audience, which was com-

posed of persons of all ranks ; I knew most of them, and with the
exception of myself and the persons with me, I believe they were
all Roman Catholics. However, I well recollect seeing also at Bain-

berg a public procession representing the Passion, wherein Jews

and Romans were dressed like Salvator Rosa's banditti, and wore
French small swords. Every thing went off very quietly till it
was discovered that some protestant students from Erlang had in-
sinuated lamp-back into the holy water pots. This produced a

desperate fight, in which the cross was thrown down, and the
young girls who walked in the procession scourging their naked
backs, under a vow to continue this discipline to the end, made
their way to the Amtmann's (headborough's) door, asking him in

terror what they were to do, but lashing themselves all the time.
At last the mischievous students were severely, and I must say,

deservedly beaten; but the priest who bore the cross and per-
sonated Christ, had prudently escaped from the fray, and not be-

ing found to conclude the performance, the rest of his brethren

persuaded a raw countryman to undertake his part. He did very
well until he was to enact the crucifixion. This he found great
fault with, and stoutly resisted, insisting in no very civil language
that he must and would go home. These exhibitions took place
in the neighbourhood of the protestant universities of Erlang and

Altona, where they were the objects of much ridicule as, from
ancient usage, they were the subjects of catholic admiration. Cus-
tom is an amalgam of sense and folly, and should be watched as
jealously as the Inquisition, which after its establishment, com-
 188

most horrible cruelties without exciting sympathy ; for

niitted the

custom alone, in process of time, rendered the mind indifferent to

its dreadful barbarities."

might be supposed that mysteries had made their last appear-

It

ance on any stage ; yet the author of Lallah Eookh records the per-
formance of scriptural and apocryphal subjects at Paris in the year
1817. One of his later pieces l
( ) introduces an English girl, in that

metropolis, relating, epistleways, to her female friend in England,

that at

They call it the play-house I think of St. Martin,

Quite charming and very religious what folly

To say that the French are not pious, dear Dolly,
When here one beholds, so correctly and rightly,
The Testament turn'd into melo-drames nightly ;

And, doubtless, so fond they're of scriptural facts,

2
They will soon get the Pentateuch ( ) up in five acts.
Here Daniel, in pantomine, ( 3) gids gold defiance
To Nebuchadnezzar and all his stuff'd lions;

While pretty young Israelites dance round the prophet,

In very thin clothing, and but little of it :

(') The Fudge Family in Paris, p. 42 and p. 145.

2 " Gazette
( ) [" The Old Testament, says the theatrical critic in the
de France," is a mine of gold for the managers of our small playhouses.
A multitude crowd round the theatre de la Gaiete every evening to see
the Passage of the Bed Sea.
" In the we
Play-bill of one of these sacred melo-drames at Vienna,
find The Voice of Gd
by M. Schwartz:'}
3
( ) ["A piece, very popular last year, (1817,) called Daniel, ou la Fosse

aux Lions. The following scene will give an idea of the daring sub-

limity of these scriptural pantomimes. "Scene 20. La fournaise

devient un berceau de nuages azures, au fond duquel est un grouppe de
nuages plus lumineux, et au milieu Jehovah au centre d'un cercle de
rayons brillans, qui annonce
la presence de 1'Eternal
"J
 189

Here Begrand,(l ) who shines in this scriptural path,

As the lovely Susanna, without ev'n a relic

Of drapery around her, comes out of the bath
In a manner that, Bob says, is quite .Eve-angelic !

To this late instance of such performances may be annexed

a recent proceeding before the tribunal of Correctional Police
at Paris. In October, 1822, M. Michelot, the editor of the
Miroir, was accused of having outraged the religion of the
state, by publishing an article which consisted principally of a
letter written from Dieppe, in the following terms 'Travel- :

ling Shows. You must remember to have seen at St. Cloud,

certain tents in which monkeys, learned dogs, and other pheno-
mena, are shown to such persons as feel interested in these mat-
ters. Walking on the port the other Jay with some friends, I
proposed that we should enter a tent of this kind to see what ani-
mals it contained. We
approached one, and heard the crier, a
trumpet in his hand, calling to the people, and, with the voice of
a Stentor, announcing that the show would commence immedi-
ately, and that it would be more wonderful than any that had
still

before been exhibited. " Walk " Ladies and Gen-

in," said he,
tlemen you will see the Birth of our Saviour, the Doubts of
;

Joseph about the Virgin Mary, his wife, the Passion, the Re-

surrection" &c. We
rushed in, and obtained the front seat with-
out caring for the price, which, however, was full sixpence. The
curtain was soon drawn up, and I saw all the family of Punch
transformed into Jews, Pharisees, and magicians. The Virgin
appeared, and was put to bed and delivered without the pains of
childbirth. Joseph, who did not understand this affair, called his
spouse some hard names, that mightily pleased the audience

[Madame Begrand, a finely formed woman, who

J
( ) acts in Susanna
and L' Amour et la Folie, c&c.]( a )
the Elders.

( )Madame Begrand lately left the pious audiences and congregations

of the Theatre de la Porte St. Martin, and the catholic missionaries at
Paris, for an engagement at the King's Theatre, London, where the
"
apocryphal story of Susanna and the elders is not acted for example of
iue and instruction of manners.''
 190

which was " You

composed of the inhahitants of the port.
chiefly
" that the in-
see," said a married woman who sat behind me,

justice of husbands preceded the birth of the Saviour." This

reflection diverted those who heard it. The " Passion " followed
what we had just seen. The character of Judas was admirable ;

however, every body seemed to be of opinion that it was common,

and might be met with every day. Herod, with a doctor's cap
on his head, interpreted very badly, and discovered in the least
actions of our Saviour sufficient cause for his crucifixion. Pontius
Pilate washed his hands of the business with an air the most be-
coming and indifferent imaginable. The show, according to the
announcement, finished with the Resurrection. The spectators
retired, cracking a thousand jokes, upon the puppets changed into

Jews and Romans, and I for a moment imagined myself carried

back to that remote period of which Boileau speaks, when an
ignorant troop of strollers represented mysteries on temporary
scaffoldings
" Et sottement z^lee en sa
simplicity,
"
Jouait les saints, la Vierge, et Dieu par pit<5.'
The article concluded by some reflections on the abuse of this
kind of and the King's advocate, after minutely criticising
spectacle,

it, called for thecondemnation of M. Michelot, its acknowledged

author. M. Chaix d'Este Ange, advocate for M. Michelot, offered
by the author was
to prove that the scandalous spectacle described

and contended that the description was unaccom-

really exhibited,

panied by comments. Upon which the tribunal gave judgment, that

the article entitled, " Travelling Shows," was only a description of a
theatrical representation which took place in the town of Dieppe, a
fact not denied by the public prosecutor, and that the object of the
article was not to outrage or turn into ridicule the religion of the

state, but rather to shew the impropriety and the abuse of theatrical

representations of holy mysteries, and to denounce them, if not to

authority, at least to public opinion. The complaint was therefore
dismissed.
The Theatre of Strasburg, in 1816, exhibited an improve-
ment on the ancient performance of mysteries. It consisted

of scenes accurately representing particular events in the life

 191

of Christ from the "best pictures of the great masters. Not a word
was spoken, and there was very little motion : the harmonica, an
instrument of dulcet sound, concealed from view, played sacred tunes,
and occasionally the plaintive voices of females sung in parts. In
this way were successively exhibited, tlie annunciation by Guido ;
the adoration of the shepherds, after Domenichino ; the offerings of
the wise men, by Eembrandt ; the raising of the widow's son, by Da
Vinci ; the Disciples at Emmaus, by Titian ;
the last supper, by
Guido ;
the washing of the disciples' feet, by Eubens ;
the scourging,
after S. Rosa ;
the crowning with thorns, by Spagnoletto ;
the cruci-

fixion, by Eubens ;
the descent from the cross, by Eaphael and the ;

Eesurrection, after An. Caracci. The representation was remark-

1
ably impressive^ )

A gentleman educated in the Jesuits' seminary, belonging to

the cathedral of the same city, Strasbourg, informs me that it

was, and still is the custom, during the space of a fortnight pre-
vious to the vacations of that seminary, for the scholars to per-
form sacred plays, in the Latin Language ; and, in particular, he
well recollects the first representation in 1769, of the principal sub-
jects in the Old and New Testament, commencing from the
creation, and ending with, the crucifixion, when he himself played
Pilate, and his brother Christ, before audiences of the first rank
and opulence. The Old Elector Theodore of Bavaria, espe-

cially patronized this species of entertainment, and preferred it

to the legitimate drama. The inhabitants of Munich, Strau-

bingen, Ingolstadt, Passau, and most of the towns on the right of
the Danube, witnessed these exhibitions every Sunday during
Lent, until the French interrupted them ; but they have since been

restored, and the Annunciation, Incarnation, and other Mysteries

are regularly played, at the theatre for concerts and oratorios
in Munich. If I am 'not misinformed the sermons of Father
Parhamer, a Jesuit at the contain very re-
court of Joseph I.

markable anecdotes concerning these plays at that period. In the

time of the Empress Maria Theresa, they were encouraged by
the royal presence, attended by the court, and had the patron-

T
( )
Blackwood'a Magazine, Nov. 1817.
 192

age of her government. At Berlin, in 1804 and 5, the grand

sacred comedy of David, in five acts, with battles and choruses,
was performed by the comedians in the National Theatre.

Throughout March, April, and May, 1810, the same play was
represented atVienna ; and while the Congress was held there
in 1815, it was again performed with the utmost possible splen-
dour. The back of the stage, extending into the open air,

gradually ascended to a distance sufficient to admit carriages and

horses, and the evolutions of at least five hundred Austrian
soldiers, infantry and cavalry, who, Ivabited in the characters
of Jews and Philistines, carried muskets and carbines, denied

and deployed, charged with the bayonet, let off their fire-arms,
and played artillery, to represent the battles described in the
Book of Kings.The Emperor Alexander of Eussia, the king of
Prussia, and other monarchs, with their ministers, and the repre-
sentatives of different courts, at the Congress, attended these plays,

which were exhibited at the great theatre An der Wien to crowded

audiences, at the usual prices of admission.
Dr. Burney says, it is certain that the modern tragedy is taken
from the mysteries, and that the Oratorio is only a mystery, or
morality in music. The Oratorio commenced with the priests of
the Oratory, a brotherhood founded at Home in 1540, by St.

Philip Neri, who in order to draw youth to church, had hymns,

psalms, and spiritual songs, or cantatas, sung either in chorus, or
by a single favourite voice. These pieces were divided into two
parts, the one performed before the sermon, and the other after
it. Sacred stories, or events from scripture, written in verse, and

by way of dialogue, were set to music, and the first part being
performed, the sermon succeeded, which the people were induced
to stay and hear, that they might be present at the performance of
the second part. The subjects in early times were the good Sama-
ritan, the Prodigal Son, Tobit with the angel, his father, and his

wife, and similar

histories, which by the excellence of the composi-

tion, theband of instruments, and the performance, brought the

Oratory into great repute ; and hence this species of musical drama
obtained the general appellation of Oratorio.
 vnr. THE BOY BISHOP ENGLISH
MYSTERIES.

" All tliis was done with solemnity of celebration and appetite of seeing."
Greqorie.

k5r. NICHOLAS, Bishop of Myra in the fourth century, was a

saint of great virtue, and disposed so early in life to conform to
ecclesiastical rule, that when an infant at the breast he fasted on
Wednesday and Friday, and sucked but once on each of those
days, and that towards night. (
l
)
An Asiatic gentleman sending
his two sons to Athens for education, ordered them to wait on
the bishop for his benediction. On arriving at Myra with their

baggage they took up their lodging at an inn, purposing, as it was

late in the day, to defer their visit till the morrow ; but in the

l
( ) Ribadeneira, vol ii.
p. 503.
26
meantime the innkeeper, to secure their effects to himself, killed
the young gentlemen, cut them into pieces, salted them, and in-
tended to sell them for pickled pork. St. Nicholas being favoured
with a sight of these proceedings in a vision, went to the inn, and
reproached the cruel landlord for his crime, who immediately con-
fessing it, entreated the Saint to pray to heaven for his pardon.
The Bishop moved by his confession and contrition, besought for-

giveness for him, and supplicated restoration of life to the children.

He had scarcely finished when the pieces re-united, and the animated
youths threw themselves from the brine-tub at the Bishop's feet :

he raised them up and exhorted them to return thanks to God alone,

gave them good advice for the future, bestowed his blessing on
them, and sent them to Athens with great joy to prosecute their
1
studies. ( )

This miracle, were there no other, sufficiently accounts for St.

Nicholas having been anciently selected by scholars and youth for

their patron, as well as for the children of the choir selecting his

(i)
Eev. W. Cole, (in Gent's Mag. vol. xlvii. p. 158.) from a Life of St.
Nicholas, 3rd edit., 4to. Naples 1645. See Brand, vol. i. p. 325. The
Salisbury Missal of 1534, fol. xxvii. contains a prayer to St. Nicholas,
before which is an engraving on wood of the Bishop with the children
rising from the tub ; but better than all, by a licence that artists for-
merly assumed of representing successive scenes in the same print, the
landlord himself is shown in the act of reducing a limb into sizes suit-
able for his mercenary purpose to be sure there are only two children
:

in the story, and there are three in the tub but it is fairly to be conjec-
:

tured that the story was thought -so good as to be worth making a little
better. As St. Nicholas is the patron of the company of Parish Clerks of
London, of whom from their former performance of Mysteries there will
be occasion to speak hereafter, as well as the patron of scholars, who
also represented these religious plays and likewise personated the Boy
Bishop, I have thought it seemly to precede the above narration by a fac-
simile of the Missal cut. St. Nicholas is likewise the patron of sailors,
for which there are reasons enough in Ribadeneira, if relations of mira-
cles be reasons. That writer also says of St. Nicholas that "being present
at the Council of Nice, among three hundred and eighteen bishops, who
were there assembled together to condemn the heresy of Arius, he shone
among them all with so great clarity, and opinion of sanctity, that he
appeared like a sun amongst so many stars." Lives of the Saints, vol. ii,
p. 507.
 195

anniversary for the exhibition about to be described. Anciently

on the 6th of December the choir boys in cathedral churches (*)
chose one of their number to maintain the state and authority of a

bishop, for which purpose he was habited in rich episcopal robes,

wore a mitre on his head, and bore a crosier in his hand ;
his fel-

lows for the time being assuming the character and dress of priests,

yielding him canonical obedience, taking possession of the church,

and except mass, performing all the ceremonies and offices.

Though the Boy Bishop's election was on the 6th of December,

yet his office and authority lasted till the 28th, being Innocents

day.
>2

( )
From a printed church book containing the service of the
3
Boy Bishop set to music, ( )
we learn that on the eve of Innocents

day, the Boy Bishop and his youthful clergy, in their copes, and
with burning tapers in their hands, went in solemn procession,

chanting and singing versicles as they walked into the choir by the
west door, in such order that the dean and canons went foremost,
the chaplains next, and the Boy Bishop with his priests in the last
and highest place. He then took his seat, and the rest of the chil-

dren disposed themselves upon each side of the choir upon the up-

permost ascent, the canons resident bearing the incense and the
book, and the petit-canons the tapers according to the rubrick,

(*) Brand, vol. i.

p. 330.
2
( ) Innocents day being an anmial commemoration of Herod's murder
of the children, " it hath been a custom, and yet is elsewhere, to whip
np the children upon Innocents day morning, that the memorie of this
murther might stick the closer ; and, in a moderate proportion, to act.
over the cruelty again in kind." This custom is cited from Gregorie, by
Brand, who omits to mention another which Gregorie states on the
authority of an old ritual belonging to the. Abbey of Oseney, communi-
cated to him by his friend Dr. Gerard Langbain, the provost of Queen's
College, from which it appears that at the Church of Oseney, "they
were wont to bring out upon this day the foot of a child prepared after
their fashion, and put upon with red and black colours, as to signify the
dismal part of that day. They put this up in a chest in the vestry,
ready to be produced at the time, and to be solemnly carried about the
church to be adored by the people." Gregorie' s Works, 1684, 4to,
(Episcopus Puerorumin Die Innocentium) p. 113.
3
( ) Processionale ad usum insignis et preclare Ecclesie Sarum, Rotho-
1566, 4to.
 196

Afterwards, lie proceeded to the altar of the Holy Trinity, and All
saints, which he first censed, and next the image of the Holy Tri-

nity, his priests all the while singing. Then they all chanted a
service with prayers and responses, and, in the like manner taking his
seat, the Boy Bishop repeated salutations, prayers, and versicles, and
in conclusion gave his benediction to the people, the chorus answer-

ing, Deo gratias. After he received his crosier from the cross-bearer

other ceremonies were performed, and he chanted the complyn ;

turning toAvards the quire he delivered an exhortation ; and last of

all said, "Benedicat Vos omnipotens Deus, Pater, et Filius, et

spiritus Sanetus." By the statute of Sarum no one was to in-

terrupt or press upon the children during their procession or ser-

vice in the cathedral, upon pain of anathema. It appears that

the Boy Bishop at this cathedral held a kind of visitation, and

maintained a corresponding state and prerogative ; and he is sup-

posed to have had power to dispose of prebends that fell vacant

during his episcopacy. If he died within the month he was
buried like other bishops in his episcopal ornaments, his obse-

quies were solemnized

with great pomp, and a monument was
erected to his memory, with his episcopal effigy.
About a hundred and fifty years ago, a Boy Bishop's monument
in stone was discovered in Salisbury cathedral under the seats
near the pulpit, from whence it was removed to the north part of
the nave, between the pillars, and covered over with a box of

wood, to the great admiration of those who unacquainted with

the anomalous character it designed to commemorate, thought it
" almost
impossible that a bishop should be so small in person,
or a child so great in clothes/' Gregorie, who was a prebendary

of Salisbury, relates the finding of this monument, and inserts a

of it in his treatise from which the sketch on the
representation
ensuing page is a

(vol. L p. 332.) says

that " Gregory in his account of
(*) Brand,
the Episcopus Puerorum, thought he had made a great discovery,
and confined it to Salisbury." This is an incorrect representation,
which I notice the rather as Brand is usxially accurate, and because
been contemptuously spoken of by Bentley,
Gregorie had before
 197

The ceremony of the Boy Bishop is supposed to have existed

not only in collegiate churches, but in almost every parish. He

" one Gregory. "

There is no affec-
in his answer to Collins, as
" "
tation of a great discovery in Gregorie's narrative ; and so far from
4<
his supposing that the Boy Bishop was confined to Salisbury," he
adduces instances to the contrary. It is true that at first he did not
know the occasion of the monument there, and that the bishop of the
diocese (Montague) wishing him to inquire further, he found in the
statutes the title concerning the chorister-bishop, which directed him to
the processional yet he afterwards notices the same custom at York;
:

" that this

cites Molanus as saying, bishop in some places did reditat
census, et capones annuo accipere, receive rents, capons, &c., during his
year, &c.," and that a chorister-bishop in the church of Cambray dis-
posed of a prebend which fell void during his episcopal assumption to
his master ;
and refers to the denunciation of the Boy Bishop by the
council of Basil as a well known custom. Dr. Sharpe (Argura. in def. of
Christianity, 8vo. 1755, p. 156) quotes him as "the learned Mr. John
Gregory of Oxford."
 198

and his companion walked about in procession. A statute of tho

church of St. Mary Offery, in 1337, restrained one of them

collegiate
within the limits of his own parish. On Dec. 7, 1229, the day
after St. Nicholas's day, the Boy Bishop in the chapel of He ton,
near Newcastle upon-Tyne, said vespers before Edward I. on his
way to Scotland,who made a considerable present to him and the
other boys who sang with him. In the reign of king Edward III. he
received a present of nineteen shillings and sixpence for singing
before the king in his private chamber on Innocents day. Dean
Colet in the statutes of the school founded by him in 1512, at St.

Paul's, expressly orders that his scholars shall every Childermas

(Innocents) day, "come to Paulis Churche and hear the Chylde-

Byshop's sermon : and after be at the hygh masse, and each of them
offera penny to the Chylde-Byshop and with them the maisters
:

and surveyors of the scole." By a proclamation of Henry VIII.

dated July 22, 154-2, the show of the Child-Bishop was abrogated,
but in the reign of Mary it was revived. One of the flattering songs

sung before that queen by the Boy Bishop, and printed, was a pa-
negyric on her devotion, and compared her to Judith, Esther, the
Queen of Sheba, and the Virgin Mary. The accounts of St. Mary at
Hill, London, in the 10th Henry VI., and for 1549, and 1550, con-
tain charges for the Boy Bishops of those years. At this period his

'estimation seems to have been undiminished ; for on Nov. 13, 1554,

the Bishop of London issued an order to all the clergy of his diocese

to have a Boy Bishop in procession; and in the same year he went

about St. Andrew's, Holborn, and St Nicholas Olaves, in Bread-street,
and other parishes. In 1556, the Boy Bishop again went abroad

singing in the old fashion, and was received by many ignorant but
well-disposed persons into their houses, and had much good cheer.
Warton affirms that the practice of electing a Boy Bishop subsisted

in common grammar-schools; for St. Nicholas as the patron of

scholars has a double feast at Eton College, where, in the papal

times, the Scholars (to avoid interfering as it should seem

with the Boy Bishop of the College on St. Nicholas day) elected
 199

their Boy Bishop on St. Hugh's day, in the month of November.

Brand is of opinion that the anniversary montem at Eton,
is only

a corruption of the ceremony of the Boy Bishop and his com-

panions, who by the edict of Henry VIII. being prevented from

mimicking any longer their religious superiors, gave a new face
to their festivity, and began their present play at soldiers, and
electing a captain. Even within the memory of persons alive when
Brand wrote, the montem was kept in the winter time a little be-
fore Christmas, although it is now kept on Whit Tuesday. A
former provost of the school remembered when the scholars were
accustomed to cut a passage through the snow from Eton to the
hill called Salt-hill. After the procession had arrived, the chaplain
with his clerk used to read prayers, and then, at the conclusion, the

chaplain kicked the clerk down the hill. ( )

l

During the period of gloom that succeeded the first ages of

ecclesiasticalpower, we have seen the nature of the diversions it
provided for the people on the continent and that one of them,
:

the ceremony of the Boy Bishop, was practised in the churches

here. From the same source England derived the precursors
of its regular drama, the Mysteries. The first trace of theatrical

representations in this country is recorded by Matthew Paris, who

wrote about 1240, and relates that Geoffrey, a learned Norman,
master of the school of the Abbey of D unstable, composed the

play of St. Catherine, which was acted by his scholars. Geoffrey's

(*) Brand, Warton,

and Gregorie, from whom, with the exceptions
noted, these particulars are taken, may be consulted for further infor-
mation concerning the Boy Bishop. Brand has also preserved this
Extract from the St. James's Chronicle, of Nov. 16 to 18, 1797 "From :

Zug in Switzerland, it is observed, that the annual procession of the

Fete of the Bishop and his Scholars, on the fair-day is suppressed by au-
thority. The bishop it seems was only a scholar habited as such. Going
through the streets, he was preceded by a chaplain carrying his crosier,
and followed by a fool in the usual costume, the latter also carrying a
staff with a bladder filled with pease. Other scholars, dressed like
canons with a military guard, made up the procession. After going to
church, it was the Bishop's custom to go and demand money from all
the booths and stands in the fair. The French, and other traders, it is
said, had complained of this absurd exaction, and the bishop, it is added,
means to appeal to the Pope."
 200

performance took place in the year 1110, and he borrowed copes

from the sacrist of the neighbouring abbey of St. Albans, to dress
1
his characters. ( ) Fitzstephen writing in 1174, says, that "London,
for its theatrical exhibitions, has religious plays, either the

representations of miracles wrought by holy confessors, or the

2
sufferings of martyrs. "( ) Besides those of Coventry, there are MSS.
3
of the Chester Mysteries, ( )
ascribed to Ranulph Higden, compiler
of the Polychronicon, and a Benedictine monk of that city, where
they were performed at the expense of the incorporated trades,
with a thousand days of pardon from the Pope, and forty days of

pardon from the Bishop of Chester to all who attended the repre-
sentation, which is supposed to have been first had in the year
1328. (*)

(*) "Warton, vol. L Dissert, ii. Geoffrey was afterwards made abbot of
St. Alban's Priory.
2
( )
"Lundonia pro spectaculis, theatralibiis, pro ludis scenicis, ludos
habet sanctiores, reprsesentationes miraculorum, qua? sancti confessores
operati sunt, seu reprsesentationes papionum, quibus claruit constantia
martyrum." Descript. Nobilit. Civit. Lund, in Vita S. Thomce.
( )
3 Harl. MSS. 2013, 2124.

(*)" About tbe eighth century trade was principally carried on by means
of fairs which lasted several days. Charlemagne established many great
marts of this sort in France, as did William the Conqueror, and his
Norman successors in England. The merchants who frequented these fairs
in numerous caravans or companies, employed every art to draw the people
together. They were therefore accompanied by jugglers, minstrels, and
buffoons ; who were no less interested in giving their attendance, and
exerting all their skill on these occasions. As now but few large towns
existed, no public spectacles or popular amusements were established ;
and as the sedentary pleasures of domestic life and private society were
yet unknown, the fair-time was the season for diversion. In proportion
as these shows were attended and encouraged, they began to be set off
with new decorations and improvements and the arts of buffoonery being
:

rendered still more attractive, by extending their circle of exhibition,

acquired an importance in the eyes of the people. By degrees the clergy
observing that the entertainments of dancing, music, and mimicry, exhibi-
ted at the protracted annual fairs made the people less religious, by promot-
ing idleness and a love of festivity, proscribed these sports and excom-
municated the performers. But finding that no regard was paid to their
censures they changed their plan, and determined to take these recreations
into their own hands. They turned actors, and instead of profane mum-
 It is related in the Museum MS. of these Chester plays,
that the author 'was thrice at Rome before he could obtain
1
leave of the Pope to have them in the English tongue j
from
which fact, Warton '
a presumptive proof arises that all our
thinks,
mysteries before that period were in Latin ; these plays will there-
fore have the merit of being the first English interludes.' 2 After
the well known fondness of our ancestors for shows, it is too

much, perhaps, to say, that on their church festivals and occasions

of public rejoicing, they had no interludes in English ; seeing too
that one hundred and fifty years before, Fitzstephen expressly de-
clares that our theatrical representations in London were of a re-

ligious character. These must have been in English to have been

understood; and so must the miracle play of St. Catherine, in
1110, if, as probably was the case, it was publicly performed on
some feast-day. Though Warton does not allude, probably, to
such early times, when he says, that
'
during the celebration of the
festival of the Boy Bishop moralities were presented, and shows
'
of miracles, with farces, and other sports ; 3 yet, as the festival of
the Boy Bishop was in England under Edward I.,* and doubtless
from its high antiquity on the continent, long antecedent to that
reign, it is reasonable to suppose that English interludes of some
kind, if not coeval with the Boy Bishop, were at least contem-
poraneous with him for a long time before Edward I.
What could occasion the author of the Chester plays to take a
journey thrice to Rome, before he could obtain leave of the Pope
to have them in the English tongue? The subjects of these
plays
'
from the Old and Jfew Testament,' seem to me to supply
the reason for the difficulty in obtaining the Pope's consent.

Scripture in English had been scrupulously withheld from the peo-

ple, and the Pope probably anticipated that if they were made ac-
quainted with a portion of it, the remainder would be demanded ;

presented stories taken from legends or the bible. This was the origin
of sacred comedy. Warton, voL ii. p. 367.
1
MS. 2124. Warton, vol. ii.
p. 180.
* *
Ibid. vol. i.
p. 248. Page 198, ante.

27
 202

while the author of the plays, better acquainted than the Pope
with the more immediate difficulty of altogether repressing the

curiosity that had been excited towards it, conceived perhaps, that
the growing might be delayed by distorted and confusing
desire
1
representations of certain portions. "What for instance can be
more ridiculous than the anachronisms and tone of the following
extract from the play of the Flood, which represents Noah's wife
positively refusing to enter the ark :

Noe.
Good wife, doe now, as I thee bidd.

Noe's Wife.

By Christ not I, ere I see more need,

Though thou stande all day and stare.
Noe.
Lorde ! that Women ben crabed be,
And not are meeke, I dare well saye ;

That is well seene by me, to day,

In witness of ye eichone :

Good wife, let all this be beare,

That thou makest in this place here,

For all they wene thou art master, .

And soe thou arte, by Saint John.

1
It was the prevailing opinion that even the Latin Bibles should not
be common or allowed in every one's hands. Accordingly our poet
Chaucer represents the religious as gathering them up and putting them
in their libraries, and so imprisoning them from secular priests and
curates, and therefore hindering them from preaching the gospel to the
people. When therefore Archbishop Fitz Kalph, 1357, sent three or
four of the secular priests of his diocese of Armagh into England, to
study divinity in Oxford, they were forced very soon to return, because
they could not find there a bible to be sold. And indeed, had the copies
of the bible been more frequent than they were, it is no wonder they
were made so little use of, if what the writers of these times, D. Wiclif,
Archdeacon Clemangis, Beleth, and others, say, be true, that the clergy
were generally so ignorant as not to be able to read Latin or con their
Psalter, Lewies Hist, of Eng. Transl. p. 53.
 203

Such corruptions and absurdities, seconded by the eloquence of

their author, might abate the papal fears concerning the appear-

ance of these scriptural interludes in English, and finally obtain the

sanction for their performance.
It may be supposed that the Chester Plays, written in an
early and dark age, would contain a great mass o apocryphal in
terpolation, and that the Coventry Plays, written much later,
would contain less; yet the contrary is the fact. Among the
Chester Mysteries the Descent into Hell is the only one not
founded on Scripture, and that even has a colourable authority by

implication ; while among the Coventry Mysteries, which were

produced ninety years afterwards, we see that there are, besides
the Descent, no less than eight founded on Apocryphal New
Testament story. This remarkable difference of feature, may, I
think, be accounted for. From the fourth century, when Gre-

gory Nazianzen and the Apollonarii turned portions of the

Bible into tragedies and comedies, the clergy of the continent
must have done much in the same way, and with much of apocry-
phal engraftment; and though 'religious plays' prevailed in England,
yet Scriptural subjects were new to the people, and the Chester
Mystery-maker of 1328, found these so numerous as to render re-
course to the New Testament Apocrypha unnecessary. But the
Coventry/ Mystery-maker of 1416, was under circumstances that
would suggest powerful motives to the cunning of a monkish
mind for apocryphal adoption. He was likely to conceive that a
false glaremight obscure the dawnings of the human mind. The
rising day of the Eeformation had been foretold by the ap-
'
pearance of its morning star,' in the person of the intrepid Wy-
cliffe, who exercised the right of private judgment in England,
a century and a half before Luther taught it as a principle in

Germany. It was a period of fearful foreboding to the church.

In 1404, Henry IV. held a parliament at Coventry, which,
from its compel the clergy to contribute largely to the
desire to

exigencies of the state, was called the Laymen's Parliament. The

country was in imminent danger ; an abundant supply of money
 204

~was immediately necessary ;

the church property and income were
enormous ;
the parliament knew that this profusion of ecclesias-
ticalwealth could only have been acquired from the industiy of
the laity ; and they represented that the clergy had been of little
service to the king, while the laity had served in his wars with

their persons,and by contributions for the same purpose had im-

poverished their estates. The Archbishop of Canterbury said
that if the clergy did not fight in person their tenants fought for
them ;
that their contributions had been in proportion to their

property ;
and that the church had offered prayers and masses day

and night for God's blessing on the king and the army. The
speaker, Sir John Cheyne, answered that the prayers of the
church were a very slender supply. To this the archbishop re-

plied,that it might easily be seen what would become of the

kingdom when such devout addresses were so slighted. The per-

sistence of the archbishop saved the church at that time from
the impending storm ;
but the priests saw that their exactions and
their worship were only tolerated. Wycliffe had then been
dead about twenty years. After a life wonderfully preserved from
the unsparing cruelty of ecclesiastical power, by the protection of
Edward III., his memory was affectionately revered, and, as print-

ing had not been discovered, his writings were scarce and earnestly
sought. The good seed of dissent had germinated, and the appear-
ance of dissenters at intervals, was a specimen of the harvest that
had not yet come. Nothing more fearfully alarmed the establish-
ment than Wycliff 's translation of the New Testament into Eng-
lish. 1All arts were used to suppress it, and to enliven the slum-
' '

bering attachment of the people to the good old customs of the

1
Because writing was dear and expensive, and copies therefore of the
whole New Testament not easy to be purchased by the generality of
persons, Dr. Wiclif s portions of it were often written in small volumes.
Of these we often find mention made in the Bishops' registers as prohi-
bited books, for having and reading which, people were then detected
and prosecuted, and burnt to death, with these little books hanged
about their necks.' Lewies Hist, of Eng. Trans, p. 39.
 205

elmrch. There is abundant evidence of studious endeavours to

both these ends in the Coventry Mysteries. The priests industri-
ously reported that Wycliffe's Testament was a false one that he :

had distorted the language and concealed facts. There was no

printing-press to multiply copies of his book ; biblical criticism was
scarcelyknown but by being denounced ; the ecclesiastics anathe-
matized scriptural inquiry as damnable heresy from their confes-
sionals and pulpits ; and as
'
the churches served as theatres for
1
holy farces,' the Franciscan friars of Coventry shortly after the

meeting of the Laymen's Parliament in. that city, craftily engrafting

storiesfrom the pseudo-gospels upon narratives in the New Testa-
ment, composed and performed the plays called the Coventry
Mysteries. These fraudful productions were calculated to post-
pone the period of illumination, and to stigmatize, by implication,
the labours of Wycliffe. Yet, if the simulation succeeded for awhile
with the vulgar, it reinvigorated the honest and the persevering;
and as the sun breaks forth after a season of cold and darkness,
so truth, finally emerging from the gulf of the papal hierarchy,
animated the torpid intellect,and cheered the long - abused
'

2
sight.'
But to return. Warton says, that in very early times, while
no settled or public theatre was known, and itinerant minstrels

acted in the halls of the nobility at Christmas, plays were per-

(

formed by the boys at the public schools, and have continued

to be so to the present time, of which the practice of acting
Latin plays at Westminster, Eton, and other seminaries, are ex-

amples. In 1538, Ralph Radcliffe, a scholar and a lover of

graceful erudition, wrote plays in Latin and English, which were

exhibited by his pupils. Among his comedies were Dives and
Lazarus, the delivering of Susannah, Job's sufferings, the burning
of John Huss, Patient Grizzle, &c. The ancient consuetudi-
nary, as it is called of Eton school, containing all its old and
original customs, relates that about the 30th of November the
master was accustomed to choose such Latin stage plays as

1 2
Warton, vol. ii.
p. 367. Warton, vol. ii. p. 389.
 206

were most excellent and convenient to be played in the following

Christmas holidays before a public audience. While the people

were amused with Skelton's Trial of Simony, Bale's God's Pro-
mises, and Christ's Descent into Hell, the scholars of the times
were composing and acting dramas on historical subjects ; and

though Warton supposes it probable that on this ground we may

account for plays being acted by singing boys, yet he thinks that

they perhaps acquired a turn for theatrical representations from their

annual exhibition of the ceremonies of the Boy Bishop, which seem
to have been common in almost every religious community that
was capable of supporting a choir. The scholars of St. Paul's
school in London, were, till a comparative late period, in great

celebrity for their theatrical talent, which it appears was in full

exercise upon the Mysteries so early as the reign of Richard II. ;

for in that year, 1378, they presented a petition to his majesty,

'
praying him to prohibit some unexpert people from presenting
the history of the Old and New Testament to the great prejudice
of the said clergy, who have been at great expense in order to
1
represent it publicly at Christmas.
'But the more eminent performers of mysteries in London, were
the society of Parish Clerks. On the 18th, 19th, and 20th of

July, 1390, they played interludes at the Skinner's Well, as the

usual place of their performance, before king Eichard II., his

queen, and their court : and at the same

1490, they place, in

played the Creation of the World, and subjects of the like kind,
for eight successive days, to splendid audiences of the nobility

and gentry from all parts of England. The parish-clerks' an-

cient performances are memorialized in raised letters of iron, upon
a pump on the east side of Rag Street, now called Ray Street,

Dodsley's Old Plays, vol. i, Pref. p. xii. From Mysteries the boys
1

of St. Paul's school proceeded to the more regular dramas ; and at the
commencement of a theatre, were the best and almost the only come-
dians. They became at length so favourite a set of players as often to
act at court, and on particular occasions of festivity, were frequently
removed from London for this purpose only, to the royal houses at some
distance from town. Warton, vol. ii. p. 391.
beyond the Session-house, Clerkenwell. The inscription is as

follows :

'A. D. 1800. WILLIAM BOUND, JOSEPH BIRD, Church-

wardens. For the better accommodation of the Neighbour-
hood, this pump was removed to the spot where it now stands.
The by which it is supplied is
spring, situated four feet eastward ;

and round it, as history informs us, the Parish Clerks of

London, in remote Ages, commonly performed sacred plays.

That custom caused it to be denominated Clerk's-well, and
from which this parish derived its name.
The water was greatly esteemed by the Prior and Brethren of the
order of St. John of Jerusalem, and the Benedictine Nuns in
the neighbourhood.

The pump of the Skinner's well is let into a low dead wall.
On the north side is an earthenware shop j
and on the south a
humble tenement occupied by a bird-seller, whose cages with
their chirping tenants, hang over and around the inscription. The
passing, admirers of linnets and redpoles, now and then stops
awhile to listen to the melody, and refresh his eye with a few

green clover turfs, that stand on a low table for sale by the side
of the door ; while the monument denoting the histrionic fame of
the place, and alluding to miraculous powers of the water for

healing incurable diseases, which formerly attracted multitudes to

the spot, remains unobserved beneath its living attractions. The
present simplicity of the scene powerfully contrasts with the re-
collection of its former splendour. The choral chant of the
Benedictine nuns accompanying the peal of the deep-toned organ

through their cloisteis, and the frankincense curling its perfume

from priestly censors at the altar, are succeeded by the stunning
sounds of numerous quickly plied hammers, and the smith's bel-
lows flashing the fires of Mr. Bound's iron foundry, erected upon
the unrecognised site of the convent. This religious house stood
about half-way down the declivity of the hill, which commencing
near the church on Clerkenwell Green, terminates at the river
 208

Fleet. The prospect then, was uninterrupted by houses, and the

people upon the rising grounds could have had an uninterrupted
view of the performances at the well. About pistol-shot from
thence, on the N". N. E. part of the hill, there was a Bear-Gar-
den ;
and scarcely so far from the well, at the bottom of the hill

westward, and a little to the north, in the hollow of Air Street,

lies Hockley in the Hole, where different rude sports, which

probably arose from the discontinuance of the Parish Clerks'

acting, were carried on, within the recollection of persons still
1
living, to the great annoyance of the suburb.

1
To the ecclesiastical origin of the drama we must refer to the plays
acted by thesociety of the Parish-clerks of London. It was an essential

part of their profession not only to sing but to read ; an accomplishment

almost solely confined to the clergy and on the whole they seemed to
:

come under the denomination of a religious fraternity. They were

incorporated into a guild or fellowship, by King Henry III. about 1240,
under the patronage of St. Nicholas. It was anciently customary for
men and women of the first quality, ecclesiastics, and others who were
lovers of church music, to be admitted into this corporation, and they

gave large gratuities for the support of education of many persons in the
practice of that science. Their public feasts were frequent, and cele-
brated with singing and music ; most commonly at Guildhall chapel
or
college. (Stowe's Survey, Lond. ut supra, lib. v. p. 231.) Before the
reformation this society was constantly hired to assist as a choir at the
magnificent funerals of the nobility or other distinguished personages,
which were celebrated within the city of London or its neighbourhood.
The splendid ceremonies of their annual procession and mass in the year
"
1551, are thus related by Strype from an old chronicle: May the sixth
was a goodly evensong at Guildhall college, by the masters of the clarks
and their fellowship, with singing and playing, and the morrow after
was a great mass, at the same place, and by the same fraternity ; when
jvery clark offered an halfpenny. The mass was sung by divers of the
Queen's (Mary) chapel, and children. And after mass done every clark
went their procession, two and two together ; each having on a surplice
and a rich cope, and a garland. And then fourscore standards,
streamers, and banners ; and each one that bore them had an alb
or a surplice. Then came in order the waits playing ; and then thirty
clarkes sing festa dies. There were four of these choirs. Then came
a canopy, borne over the sacrament by four of the masters of the clarkes,
with staft'e, torches burning, &c." (Strype'a Eccles. Mem. vol. iii. c. xiii.
p. 121.) Their profession, employment, and character, naturally dictated
 209:

The religious guild, or fraternity of Corpus Cliristi at York'

was obliged annually perform a Corpus Christi Play. Drake
to

says, that this ceremony must have been, in its time one of the most

extraordinary entertainments the city could exhibit; and would

necessarily draw a great concourse of people out of the country
city, from the highest to the lowest,
to see it. Every trade in the

to this spiritual brotherhood the representation of plays, especially those

of the scriptural kind and their constant practice in shows, processions,
:

and vocal music, easily accounts for their address in detaining the last
company which England afforded in the fourteenth century at a religious
more than a week." Warton, vol. ii. p. 397.
farce for
I can find no registries of the parish of Clerkenwell early enough to
supply any trace respecting the playing of the Parish Clerks. From
the poor's rate-books I took a few extracts, which, as shewing the
number of houses rated, and the quality of some of the ancient inhabi-
tants, may be interesting, perhaps, to certain readers. In the oldest, for
the year 1666, the only places mentioned, and the number of houses
assessed in each place are as follows Islington 47.
: St. John Street,

(or Swan Alley) 43. St. John's Lane, 41. Garden Alley, 23. St.
John's, 17. Clerkenwell Greene, 47. Turnmill Street, 112. Bowleirg
Alley, 15. Street-side, 4. Clerkenwell Cloase, 43. The Fields, 8.
Out-landlords, 18 Total, 418. The assessments were by lunar months.
In this rate-book, there are the following names among the inhabitants ;

the sums to each are their monthly assessments. The Earle of Carlisle,
8s. The Earle of Essex, 8*. The Earle of Ailesbury, what he pleaseth
according The Lord Barkely, 7s. The Lord Town-
to his desire (10s.)

send, at his honour's pleasure. Lady Crofts, 3*. 6d. The Lord Delia-
war, 2s. Gd. Lady Wordham, 2s. Sir John Keeleing, referred to his
honour's pleasure. Sir John Cropley, 6*. Sir Edward Bannister, 3*. 6d.
Sir Nicholas Stroude, 2s. Sir Gower Barrington, 2*. Dr. King,
2s. 6d. Dr. Sloane, 8d. In the rate-books for 1667 and 8, are the
following additional names : The Duke of Newcastle (not assessed)
Lord Baltimore, 4s. 6d. Lady Wright, 4*. Lady Mary Dormer, 4s
Lady Wyndham, 2*. Sir Erasmus Smith, 4*. Sir Eichard Clivertoir
4*. Sir John Burdish, 3*. 8d. Sir Goddard Nelthorpe, 3*. Sir John

King, 3*. Sir William Bowles, 2*. 6d. Sir William Boulton, 2*. 6rf.
The Mannour house in " the Fields " was assessed at 6d. There were
several bowling-greens in Clerkenwell. The monthly assessment of
''
Mr. Briscoe, at the Ram, in Smithfield, for a felled and bowling-alley
in this parish," was 1*. 6d.
In 1708, when Hatton wrote his "View of London," Clerkenwell
contained 1146 houses. In the present year, 1822, the parish-books
28
 210

was obliged own expense on this

to furnish out a pageant at its

occasion. The were from the history of the Old and

subjects
New Testament, and each trade represented some particular part,
and spoke suitable verses. Many orders and ordinances, existing
in the city's registers, regulate the performance of this religious

ceremony. One of these recites, that Whereas for a long course

of time the artificers and tradesmen of the city of York, have
at their own expense, acted plays; and particularly a certain

sumptuous play, exhibited in several pageants, wherein the history

of the Old and New Testament, in divers places of the said city in
the feast of Corporis Christi, by a solemn procession, is represented
in reverence to the sacrament of the body of Christ; beginning first

at the great gates of the priory of the holy Trinity in York, and so
going in procession to, and into the cathedral church of the same,
and afterwards to the hospital of St. Leonard, in York, leaving the
aforesaid sacrament in that place; preceded by
a vast number of

lighted torches, and a great multitude of priests in their proper

habits and followed by the mayor and citizens, with a prodigious
crowd of the populace attending : And further reciting that

whereas, upon this, a certain very religious father, William Mel-

ton, of the order of the Friars Minors, professor of Holy Page-

antry, and a most famous preacher of the word of God, coming

to the city, in several sermons recommended the aforesaid play to
the people, affirming that it was good in itself, and very commend-
able so to do ; yet also said, that the citizens of the said city, and
other foreigners coming to the said feast, had greatly disgraced the

rate about 6000. Hatton says, that Isabella Sackville, the last prioress
of Clerkenwell, died 21st October, 1570, and was buried in the old church,
destroyed by lire about 30 years ago, with her effigies in brass on a grave-
stone. Also, beneath a curious tomb, Sir William Weston, the last lord
Prior of St. John of Jerusalem, who, upon its dissolution, was allowed
1,0001. per ann. for life, but died, it was supposed of grief, on May the
7th, 1540, the very day the house was dissolved. John Weever. the
antiquary, author of the Funeral Monuments, was likewise buried there,
with a monument and inscription, declaring that,
wberesoe'er a ruin'd tornb he found
His pen hath built it new out of the ground.
 211

play by revellings, drunkenness, shouts, songs, and other inso^

lences, little regarding the divine offices of the said day, and what
Avas to be lamented, losing for that reason the indulgences by the

holy father Pope Urban IV. graciously conceded Therefore, (as :

it seemed most wholesome to the said father William) the people

of the city were inclined that the play should be played on one

day, and the procession on another, so that people might attend

divine service at the churches on the said feast, for the indulgences
aforesaid Wherefore, Peter Buckey, mayor of the city, Eichard
:

Eussell, late mayor of the staple of York, with the sheriffs, alder-

men, and others, of the number of the twenty-four, being met

in thecouncil chamber on the 6th of June, 1426, and by the
said wholesome exhortations and admonitions of the said father
William, being incited that it is no crime, nor can it offend God
if good be converted into better; and having diligently considered
of the premises, unanimously determined to convene the citizens

together in common-hall, for the purpose of having their consent

that the premises should be better reformed; whereupon the
mayor so convened the citizens on the 10th of the same month
and made solemn proclamation that the play of Corpus Christi
shoxdd be played every year on the vigil of the said feast, and the

procession made on the day of the feast." solemn procla-A

mation for the play of Corpus Christi, made on the aforesaid
vigil, commands on behalf of the king, the mayor, and the sheriffs
of the city, that no man go armed to the disturbance of the peace
and the play, and the hindering of the procession, but that they
leave their weapons at their inns, upon pain of forfeiture of their

weapons, and imprisonment of their bodies, save the keepers of

the pageants and officers of the peace ;
that the players in the

pageants play at the places assigned, and no where else, on pain

of forty shillings ;
that men of the crafts, and all others that find

torches, come forth in array as in manner aforetime; that the

craftsmen bring forth their pageants in order and course, by good
players well arrayed, and openly speaking, upon pain of one hun-
dred shillings, to be paid to the chamber without pardon ; and that

every player be ready in his pageant at convenient time, that is to

 212

say, at the (first) betwixt four and five of the clock in the morning,
and then all other pageants following, each after the other in order,
without delay, upon pain of six shillings and eight pence. William

Bowes, mayor, by regulation, dated the 7th of June, 1417, or-

dains, that all the pageants of the play of Corpus Christi should
be brought forth in order by the artificers of the city of York, and

begin to play first at the gates of the priory of the holy Trinity
in Mikelgate, next at the door of Eobert Harpham, next at the
door of the late John Gyseburn, next at Skelder-gate-liend and

North-strete-liend, next at the end of Conyng-strete towards Cas-

tel-gate, next at the end of Jubir-gate, next at the door of Henry

"Wyrnan, deceased, in Conyng-strete, then at the Common-hall

at the end of Conyng-strete, then at the door of Adam del Brigs,

deceased, in Stayne-gate, then at the end of Stayne-gate at the

Minster-gates, then at the end of Girdler-gate in Peter-gate,

and upon the Pavement, &c.
lastly, And father William de
Melton, willing to destroy sin, and a great lover of virtue, having,

oy preaching, exhorted the populace that they would cause to be

removed all public concubines in fornication or adultery, where-
fore the mayor,by consent of the community, ordained that they
should depart the city within eight days, on pain of imprisonment,
unless any of them should find good security that she would not
exercise her illegal vocation for the future.

It appears from the regulation of the pageants for this play at

York, in the mayoralty of William Alne, in 1415, compiled by

Roger Burton, the town-clerk, that they were fifty-four in number.
" God the Father
They commenced with Almighty, creating and
forming the heavens, angels, archangels, Lucifer, and the angels
that fell with him into hell;" the tanners performed this the next :

" God the Father in his own the

being substance, creating earth,
and all which is therein, in the space of five days," was represented
by the plasterers ;
the third " God the Father creating Adam of
the slime of the earth, and making Ece of the rib, and inspiring
them with the spirit of life," was played by the card-makers ;

the fifty-fourth, "J:sns, Mary, twelve apostles, four angels with

trumpets, and four with a lance with two scourges, four good, and
 213

four bad spirits, and six devils," was performed by the mercers.

The to\vn-clerk's entry mentions the torches and torch-bearers in

"
the procession :
Porters, eight torches ; cobblers, four torches ;

cordwainers, fourteen torches ; cottellers, two torches ; weavers,

torches ; carpenters, six torches ; chaloners, four torches ; fullers,

four torches ; girdellers, torches ; taillers, torches ; fifty-eight

citizenshad torches alike on the day of Corpus Christi ; and it
was ordained that the porters and cobblers should go first ; then
of the right the weavers and cordwainers ; on the left the fullers,

cutlers, girdellers, chaloners, carpenters, and taillours : then the

better sort of citizens ;
and after, the twenty-four (common council-

men), the twelve (aldermen), the mayor, and four torches of Mr.
Thomas Buckton."
The fraternity of Corpus Christi at York was very popular.
Several hundreds of persons were annually admitted, and it was

supported chiefly by the annual collection made at the procession.

The religious ceremony of the Corpus Christi play and procession
was instituted there about the year 1250 ; it was to be celebrated
each year on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday ; and this play, as
a piece of religious pageantry, was so much esteemed that it Avas
acted in that city till the twenty-sixth year of Queen Elizabeth,

1584. (*)
The mode of performing the Mysteries at York is thus

minutely particularized, in order to convey some notion of the

general method of representing them in other cities there is little :

doubt that the corporations strove to outvie each other in the elabo-

ration and splendor of their exhibitions.

Corpus Christi day, at Newcastle upon Tyne, was celebrated

with similar exhibitions by the incorporated trades. The earliest
mention of the performance of mysteries there, is in the ordinary
of the coopers for 1426. In 1437, the barbers played the Bap-
tizing of Christ. In 1568, the offering of Abraham and Isaac was
exhibited by the slaters. By the ordinary of the goldsmiths,
plumbers, glaziers, pewterers, and painters, dated 1536, they were

l
( )
Drake's York, pp. 223, 246. App. p. xxix. The town-clerk's order
for the pageants of the play is set out at length in the Appendix.
 214

commanded to play at their feast " the three kings of Coleyn." In

the books of the fullers and dyers, one of the charges for the play
of 1561, is, "Item for 3 yards and ad lyn cloth for God's coat, .

3s 2d. ob." From the ordinary of different trades it seems that

about 1578, the Corpus Christi plays were on the decline, and
never acted but by special command of the magistrates of New-
castle. They are spoken of as the general plays of the town of
Newcastle, and when thought necessary by the mayor to be set
forth and played, the millers were to perform the Deliverance of
Israel ; the house-carpenters, the Burial of Christ ;
the masons,
the Burial of our lady Saint Mary the Virgin. Between the first

and mentioned periods, there are many minutes in the trades'

last

books of the acting in different years, which may be seen in

Brand's History of Newcastle, together with the only vestige
that remains of the Newcastle's Mysteries, entitled,
" Noah's
Ark,
or the shipwright's ancient play, or dirge," wherein God, an
Angel, Noah and his wife, and the Devil, are the characters. In
this, as well as the Chester Mystery of the same subject, the wife
of Noah is a vixen ;
the last words she says to him, are,
The devil of hell thee speed
To ship when thou shalt go.
The performance of miracle plays is noticed in the ancient

piece written against the mendicant friars, entitled, Peres the

Ploughman's Crede
We haunten no taurnes, ne hobelen abouten
At marketes, and miracles we medely vs neuer. (*)

Chaucer, also, in the "Wife of Bath's Prologue, makes her say

Therefore made I my Visitations
To Vigilis and to Processions,

To prechings eke, and to Pilgrimagis,

To plays of Miracles and Manages,
And werid on me my gay skarlit gites, &c. 2
( )

Lydgate, the monk of Bury, and the follower of Chaucer, as

his disciple at an immeasurable "a
distance, composed procession
3
of pageants from the creation." ( )

l 2
(
)
Ed. 1553. Sig. Biij. ( ) Chaucer, Urry's Ed. p. 80, 1. 555-9.
3
( ) Kitson's Bibliog. Poetica, p. 79.
 215

In the reign of Henry VII. 1487, that king, in his castle of

Winchester, was entertained on a Sunday while at dinner with
the performance of Christ's Descent into Hell, by the choir boys

of Hyde Abbey and St. S within' s Priory, two large monasteries

there ;( 1 ) and in the same reign, 1489, there were shows and cere-

monies, and (religious) plays, exhibited in the palace at West-

2
minster. ( )

On the feast of St. Margaret, in 1511, the Miracle play of the

holy Martyr St. George, was acted on a stage in an open field at

Bassingborne, in Cambridgeshire, at which were a minstrel and

three waits hired from Cambridge, with a property-man, and a
3
painter. ( )

It appears from the Earl of Northumberland's Household Book

(1512), that the children of his chapel performed Mysteries during

the twelve days of Christmas, and at Easter, under the direction of
his Master of the Revels. Bishop Percy cites several particulars
"
of the regulated sums payable to " parsones and others for these
performances. The exhibiting Scripture dramas on the great festi-

and formed part of the

vals entered into the regular establishment,
domestic regulations of our ancient nobility ; and what is more

remarkable, it was as much the business of the chaplain in those

days to compose plays for the family, as it is now for him to make
sermons. (*)

At London, in the year 1556, the Passion of Christ was per-

formed at the Grey Friars before the Lord Mayor, the privy-
council, and many great estates of the realm. In 1577, the
same play was performed at the same place, on the day that
war was proclaimed in London against France; and in that
year, the holiday of St. Olave, the patron of the church in Sil-
ver Street dedicated to that saint, being celebrated with great
solemnity, at eight o'clock at night, a play of the miraculous life

of St. Olave, was performed for four hours, and concluded with

many religious plays. The acting of religious plays experienced

O 3
Warton, vol. ii.
p. 206.
(*) Ibid. p. 239. ( Antiq. Repert. and Warton, voL
) iii.
p. 326.
(*) Percy's Reliques, vol. i. p. 139.
 216

interruption during the reign of Elizabeth,

and occasionally at
other periods. Malone thinks that the last Mystery represented
in England was that of Christ's Passion, in the reign of king
James I. Prynne relates that it was performed at Ely House, in
Holborn, when Gondomar, the Spanish Ambassador, lay there, on
Friday, at night, and that thousands were present. ( )
l
Good

J
( ) Prynne
mentions this performance in his Histrio-Mastix, the Player's
Scourge, or Actor's Tragedy, 4to, 1633, p. 117. .
For this work Prynne was pilloried and fined on a star-chamber
prosecution. Some fourteen years afterwards there came out a tract
" Mr. WILLIAM
entitled PRYNNE, his defence of Stage Plays, or a
RETRACTATION of a former book of his called HISTRIO-MASTIX 1649,"
"
four leaves 4to. This piece begins with, Whereas this Tyrannicall
abominable lewd schismaticall hoeretical Army, are bent in a wilful and
forcible way to destroy all Lawfull Government ;" it recites the violence
" for no oifence but
Prynne endured by arrest, onely endeavouring to
discharge my conscience, which is a thing I shall always do, without
fearingany "man, any arm of flesh, any Potentacie, Prelacy, superin-
tendency, or power terrestriall or internall :" then it proceeds to say,
"
that now there is another fresh occasion which hath incited my just in-
dignation against this wicked and Tyrannicall Army they did lately in
;

a most inhumane, cruell, rough, and barbarous manner take away the
poor Players from their Houses, being there met to discharge the duty
of their callings." After inveighing against this proceeding it adds,
" But now I know what
the malicious, ill-spoken, clamorous and obstre-
will object against me ; namely That 1 did once write a
:
perous people
book against Stage-plays called Histrio-Mastix for which I underwent
a cruel censure in the Starchamber. I confesse it is true, I did once so,
but it was when I had not so clear a light as now I have; and it is no
disparagement for any man to alter his judgment upon better informa-
tion ; besides it was done long ago, and when the king (whose virtues I
did not then so perfectly understand,) governed without any controul
which was the time that I took to shew my conscience and courage,
to oppose that power which was the highest." After more of the same
kind, it says, "But that Playes are lawfull things, and are to be allowed
as recreation for honest men, I need not quote many authors to prove
it ;" and then twelve are quoted ; and it being objected that actors
"
men's putting on of womens*
personated females, it declares, that
apparel is not against the Scripture in a plain and ordinary sence."
"I
Finally, may conclude that good Playes which are not profane, lewd,
bad, blasphemous, or ungodly, may be acted ; and that this wicked
and Tyrannical Army ought not to hinder, to impede, let, prohibit,
or forbid the acting of them ; which I dare maintain to all the world,
for I was never afrayed to suffer in a good cause." With these words
the pamphlet ends, but not the story. For after this publication a lar<.e
" From
posting bill, dated the King's Head in the Strand, signed
 217

In Cornwall they had interludes in the Cornish language from

scripture history. These were called the Guary Miracle plays,
and were sometimes performed in the open fields, at the bottom
of earthen amphitheatres, the people standing around on the in-
clined plane, which was usually forty or fifty feet diameter. The
players did not learn their parts, but were followed by a prompter,
called the ordinary, with the book in his hand. Long after the
mysteries had ceased elsewhere, and the regular stage been esta-
blished, they were exhibited in Cornwall to the country people, who
flocked from all sides to hear and see the devils and devices that
were provided to delight the eye, as well as the ear. Two MSS. in
the Bodleian Library contain the Cornish Plays of the Deluge, the
l
Passion, and the Resurrection. ( )

According to Strutt, when mysteries were the only plays, the

stage consisted of three platforms, one above another. On the

uppermost sat God the Father, surrounded by his angels ; on

the second the glorified saints, and on the last and lowest, men
who had not yet passed from this life. On one side of the lowest
platform was the resemblance of a dark pitchy cavern, from
whence issued the appearance of fire and flames and when it was :

necessary, the audience was treated with hideous yellings and noises
in imitation of the bowlings and cries of wretched souls tormented

by relentless demons. From this yawning cave the devils them-

selves constantly ascended to delight and to instruct the spectators.
The reader will doubtless recollect that theatrical Hell has been

mentioned before; an old author, whose description of Hell is

William Prynne," and headed " THE VINDICATION," recites the title of
"
the pamphlet, and declares it to be a mere forgery and imposture. The
"
style of the RETRACTATION," so thoroughly imitates Prynne's that
could occasion
nothing in it but the stultification of his general opinions
a doubt of its genuineness and the imposition might still pass pretty
;

current if one of Prynne's bills were not in existence. copy of this A

fierce denial is in Mr. J. P. Collier's Poetical Decameron, vol. ii. p. 322.
As Mr. Collier says of the Pseudo-Prynne, that it is a rarity which
he had never Iseen", an extract from such a curiosity worth a
thought
corner.
(1) Borlase's Antiq. Cornwall, p. 195. Borlase's Nat. Hist. Cornwall,
p. 295. Carew's Cornwall, p. 71.
2
( ) See the account of the mystery of Veximiel, p. 173, ante.

29
 218

similar, had probably seen it exhibited on the ecclesiastical

stage :

An hideous hole all vaste, withouten shape,

Of endlesse depth, orewhelm'd with ragged stone,
With ougly mouth, and griesly iawes doth gape,
And to our sight confounds itselfe in one. ( )
l

The Mysteries were usually acted in churches or chapels upon

temporary scaffolds : when enough performers could not be found
among the clergy, the churchwardens employed secular players, and
sometimes borrowed dresses from other parishes. (2 )
"
The Pageant of the Company of Sheremen and Taylors in

Coventry, as performed by them on the Festival of Corpus CTiristi,"

is a manuscript belonging to the Corporation of Coventry, bearing
"
the following inscription Thys matter newly correct^ be Eobart
:

th
Croo, the xiiij day of Marche, fenysschid in the yere of owre lord
god MCCCCC & xxxiiij th
A
Coventry gentleman, of curious research in
."

ancient lore, allowed to transcribe it, printed " twelve copies

who was
for the purpose of bringing it more immediately to the knowledge of

his antiquarian friends."( 2 ) Its events are from the Annunciation, to

the murder of the Innocents. Isaiah speaks the Prologue, and

propesies the incarnation. Joseph's Jealousy being a conspicuous

scene, a portion is extracted for comparison with the same subject in

Mystery V.
JOSEPH, perceiving the Virgin's pregnancy, taxes her with incon-
stancy, in his absence and inquires who had been with her. She
:

asserts her innocence, and affirms that she had seen no one, but the

heavenly messenger.

Josoff.Sey not soo, womon, for schame ley he,

Ye be with chyld, soo wondurs grett,
Ye nede no more th'r of to tret
Agense all right ;
.

Forsothe thys childe, dame, ys not myne,

Alas that eyv' with myn yne,
!

1 suld see this syght.

(*) Mirrour for Magistrates SackviFs Induction.

2
( )
Strutt's Sports, p. 144.
3
( )
Printed at Coventry, 1817, 22 leaves, 4to. In the summer of
1819, I was obligingly indulged with the loan of a copy, and permitted
extracts.
 219

Tell, me, womon, whose ys this chyld f

Mare. None but youris, husebond soo myld,

And thatt schalbe seyne.

Josoff. But myne, alias ! alas !

why sey ye soo ?

Wele awey, womon now may ;

I goo
Be gyld, as many a uothur ys.

Mare. Na, truly sir, ye be not be gylde,

Nor yet, with spott of syn, I am no defylde ;

Trust yt well hxise bonde.

Joseff. Huse bond ! in feythe, and that acold !

A weylle awey, Josoff ! as thow ar' olde,

Lyke a fole, now ma I stand and truse.

But in feyth, mare, th'u art in syn,
Soo moche ase I have cheyrischyd the dame and all thei kyn.
Be hynd my bake to s've me thus.
All olde men I Insampull take be me,
How I am be gylid, here may you see,
To wed soo yong a chyld.
Now fare well, Mare, I leyve the here alone,

Worthe the dam and thy warkis ycheone ;

ForI woll noo more be gylid be, for frynd nor fooe.
Now of this ded I am soo dull,
And off my lyff I am so full, no farthur ma I goo.

An Angel, whose explanation removes Joseph's jealousy, desires

him to comfort Mary, for,

a cleyne meydin ys sche

Sche hath conseyved with owt any trayne
The seycond p'son in trenete.

The homely adoration of the infant by the Shepherds is prettily

told. The first Shepherd gives his pipe to him, and says,

Ihave nothyng to present with thi chylde

Butmy pype hold hold take yt in thy hond,
; ! !

Where in moche pleysure that, I have fond.

 The second Shepherd presents his hat

Holde ! take thow, here, hatt on thy hedde,

my
And now, off won thyng, thow art well sped.

The third Shepherd offers his gloves to him

Have here my myttens, to pytt en thi hondis,
Other treysure have I none to present the with.
(*)

With reference to theatrical performances by the clergy, it is

affirmed in the Beehive of the Romish Church, that, " Christ hath
not done anie thing in his death and passion, but they do plaie
and counterfeite the same after him, so trimlie and livelie, that no

plaier nor juggler is able to doe it better. Yea, do we not see

(*) On closing
the notice of the Coventry Mysteries, it may be observed,
that there can be no doubt that Adam and Eve appeared on the stage
naked. In the second Pageant of the Coventry MS. at the British
Museum, Eve on being seduced by the serpent, induces Adam to taste

the forbidden fruit. He immediately perceives their nakedness, and

says to her,
Se us nakyd be for & be hynde,
* * * *

Woman ley this leff on thi pryvyte

And with this leff I shall hyde me.

"
Warton observes, (vol. i.
p. 244.) That this extraordinary spectacle

was beheld by a numerous company of both sexes with great com-

posure they had the authority of scripture for such a representation,
:

and they gave matters just as they found them in third the chapter of
Genesis." They are also naked in the Chester Mystery, and clothe
themselves in the same way.

"The present age rejects as gross and indelicate those free compositions
which our ancestors not only countenanced but admired. Yet, in fact, the morals
of our forefathers were as strict and perhaps purer and sounder than
our own and we have been taught to look up to them as genuine models
;

of the honest, incorruptible character of Englishmen. They were strangers in-

deed to delicacy of taste they beheld the broad and unpruned delineations of
;

nature, and thought no harm while we, on the most distant approach to free-
:

dom of thought and expression, turn away in disgust, and vehemently express
our displeasure. Human nature is ever the same, but society is always progres-
sive, at every stage of refinement the passions require stricter control ; not
and
because they are more violent, but because the circumstances which excite
them are multiplied. If we trace back the progress of society to its primitive
state, we shall find that the innocence of mankind is in an inverse ratio to their
advancement in knowledge." Cromek's Remains, p. 70.
 221

likewise, thatuppon good Friday they liatie a Crucifixc, either of

wood, or of stone, which they laie downe softlie vpon the ground,
that euerie hodie, may come creeping to it, vpon handes and

knees, and so kisse the feet of it, as men are accustomed to doe to

the Pope of Eome : And then they put him in a graue, till

Easter : at which time they take him uppe againe, and sing Re-
surrexit, non est hie, Alleluia : He is risen, he is not here, God
be thanked. Yea, and in some places, they make the graue in a
where men must goe up manie steppes,
hie place in the church
which are decked with blacke cloth from aboue to beneath, and
vpon euery steppe standeth a siluer candlesticke with a waxe
candle burning in it, and there doe walke souldiours in harnesse,
as bright as Saint George, which keepe the graue, till the priests
come and take him vp and then commeth sodenlie a flash of
:

fire, wherwith they are all afraid and fall downe and then :

vpstartes the man, and they begin to sing Alleluia, on all hands,
and then the clock striketh eleuen. Then a gaine vpon Whit-
sunday they begin to play a new Enterlude, for then they send downe
a Doue out of an Owles nest, deuised in the roof of the church;
but first they cast out rosin and gunpouder, w*. wilde fire, to make
the children afraid, and that must needes be the holie ghost, which
commeth with thunder and lightening. Likewise vpon Ascension

day, they pull Christ vp on hie wt. ropes aboue the clouds, by
a vice deuised in the roofe of the church, and they hale him vp, as
ifthey would pull him vp to the gallowes : and there stande the
poore Priests, and looke so pitifully after their God, as a dogge

for his dinner. In summe a man doeth often spende a pennie or

two to see a play of Robin Hood, or a Morisse daunse, which
were a greate deale better bestowed vppon these apishe toies of

these good Priests, which counterfeite all these matters so hand-

somelie, that it will do a man as much good to see them, as in

frostie weather to goe naked.

I speake not of their perambula-

tions, processions, and going about the towne, cariing their cru-
cefixes alongst the streetes, and there play and counterfeite the
whole passion, so trimlie with all the seuen sorrowes of our Lady,
 222

as though it had been nothing else but a simple and plain Entcr-
l
lude.( )

(') Beehive of the Romish Church, p. 201.

The quotation from this curious work is illustrated by the following

notices 1, Creeping to the Cross.
: It is related in Davies's Bites of
the Cathedral of Durham (8vo, 1672, p. 51.) that in that cathedral, over
our Lady of Bolton's altar, there was a marvellous, lively, and beau-
tiful image of the picture of our lady, called the Lady of Bolton, which
picture was made to open with gimmes, (or linked fastenings) from the
breast downward ; and within the said image was wrought and pic-
tured the image of our Saviour marvellously finely gilt, holding up his
hands, and holding betwixt his hands a large fair Crucifix of Christ, all
of gold ; the which crucifix was to be taken forth every Good Friday,
and every man did creep unto it that was in the church at that time ;
and afterwards it was hung up again within the said image ; and every
principal day the said image was opened, that every man might see
pictured within her, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, most
curiously and finely gilt ; and both the sides within her were very finely
varnished with green varnish and flowers of gold, which was a goodly
sight for all the beholders thereof. It is further stated, by the same
author, (p. 21.) that within that Cathedral, upon Good Friday, there
was marvellous solemn service, in which service time, after the Passion
was sung, two of the ancient monks took a goodly large crucifix, all of
gold, of the picture of our Saviour Christ nailed upon the Cross, laying
it upon a velvet cushion, having St. Cuthbert's arms upon it, all
embroidered with gold, bringing it betwixt them upon the cushion to the
lowest greeses or steps in the quire, and there betwixt them did hold the
said picture of our Saviour, sitting on either side of it. And then one
of the said monks did rise, and went a pretty space from it, and setting
himself upon his knees with his shoes put off, very reverently he crept
upon his knees unto the said cross, and most reverently did kiss it and ;

after him the other monk did so likewise, and then they sate down
on either side of the said cross, holding it betwixt them. Afterward,
the prior came forth of his stall, and did sit him down upon his knees with
his shoes off in like sort, and did creep also unto the said cross, and all
the monks after him, one after another in the same manner and order ;

in the mean time, the whole quire singing a hymn. The service being
ended, the said two monks carried the cross to the sepulchre with great
reverence. There are some accounts of creeping to the cross in Brands
Popular Antiquities, (vol. i. p. 129). He mentions, from an ancient
Ceremonial of the kings of England, that on Good Friday, the usher
was to lay a carpet for the king to creep to the cross upon, and that the
queen and her ladies were also to creep.

2. Making of the Sepulchre was a practice founded upon ancient

tradition, that the second coming of Christ would be on Easter-eve, and
therefore Jerome conceived that the people should await in the churcli
until midnight for Christ's appearance. The making of the sepulchre
 223

This citation from the Bee-hive is in part exemplified by a

translation, printed by Copland, from an ancient novel in Dutch,

in the church, and watching it, remained in England till the reformation,
Davies's account of it is worth notice. In the abbey church of Durham,
there was very solemn service upon Easter day, betwixt three and four
o'clock in the morning, in honour of the Resurrection ; when two of the
eldest monks of the quire came to the Sepukhre, set up upon Good Friday
after the Passion, all covered with red velvet, and embroidered with gold,
and then did cense it, either of the monks with a pair of silver censers,
sitting on their knees before the sepulchre. Then they both rising, came to
the sepulchre, out of which, with great reverence, they took a marvellous
beautiful image of our Saviour, representing the Resurrection, with
a cross in his hand, in the breast whereof was inclosed, in most bright
crystal, theholy Sacrament of the altar, through the which crystal the
blessed Host was conspicuous to the beholders. Then after the elevation
of the said picture, carried by the said two monks, upon a fair velvet
cushion all embroidered, singing the anthem of Christus resurgens, they
brought it to the high altar setting it on the midst thereof, the two
monks kneeling before the altar, and censing it all the time that the rest
of the whole quire were singing the aforesaid anthem ; which anthem

being ended, the two monks took up the cushion and picture from the
altar, supporting it betwixt the-r., and proceeding in procession from
the high altar to the south quire door, where there were four ancient
gentlemen belonging to the quire, appointed to attend their coming,
holding up a most rich canopy of purple velvet, tasselled round about with
red silk, and a goodly gold fringe and at every corner of the canopy
;

did stand one of these ancient gentlemen, to bear it over the said images
with the holy sacrament carried by the two monks round about the
church, the whole quire waiting upon it with goodly torches, and great
store of other lights all singing, rejoicing, and praying to God most
;

devoutly they came to the high altar again ; upon which they placed
till

the said image, there to remain till ascension day.

3. The Play of Robin Hood was a performance in the May games, in

which a person, representing that bold outlaw, presided as Lord of

the May, attended by Maid Marian, his faithful mistress, as Lady of
the May, and by persons appropriately
dressed, denominated Robin
Hood's men. Bishop Latimer complains, in one of his sermons, that
coining to preach in a certain town on a holiday, he found the
church-door locked, and was told the parish could not hear him that
day, for they were gone to gather for Robin Hood, it being Robin Hood's
day. The good bishop says, that for all his rochet, he was fain to give
place to Robin Hood. King Henry VIII. was entertained with a May
 224

entitled, a iwrg $t$tt of a man tftat foas called

l
^OfoUjjlaiS," (in the original Ulenspiegle).( ) Bishop Percy
cites it to the following effect. OWLGLASS , whose waggish tricks are

the subject of this work, after many adventures, comes to live with
a priest who makes him his parish clerk. This priest is de-

scribed as keeping a concubine, who had but one eye, to whom

Owlglass owed a grudge for revealing his rogueries to his master.
At Easter, when the Resurrection, was to be played to the illite*
rate people, the priest took his concubine and put her in the se-

pulchre to personate an angel. Upon this, Owlglass provided

three of the simplest persons in the town to play the three Maries ;

the parson himself was to play Christ with a banner in his hand.

Owlglass then said to his three simple performers, when the

angel inquires whom you seek, you are to say the parson's con-

cubine with one eye. At the proper part of the representation

the angel duly inquired whom they sought, who answered as the

Avaggish parish clerk taught them, "the priest's concubine with

one eye." The woman hearing this, appears to have suspected
Owlglass, for, rising from the grave, she aimed a blow at his

cheek, which missed him, and fell upon one of the men per-
sonating the three Maries, who immediately returning it, she
seized him by the hair. The man's wife ran up to assist her
husband ;
the priest himself threw down his banner to help his

game at Shooter's Hill by the officers of his guards, amounting to two

hundred, clothed in green, headed by one who personated Robin Hood.
He met the king as he was taking his morning ride, attended by the
queen, and nobility of both sexes, and inviting his majesty to see how he
and his companions lived, the royal train was forthwith conducted
by the archers, blowing their horns, to a green wood under the hill, and
iishered into an harbour of boughs, formed into chambers covered with
flowers and sweet herbs, where Robin Hood excusing the want of more
delicate refreshment said to the king, " Sir, we outlaws usually break-
fast upon venison, and have no other food to
you ;" and the king and
queen sat down, and were served with venison and wine. They were
well pleased with the entertainment, and on their departure were met
by two ladies, splendidly apparelled, as the Lady May and the Lady
Flora, riding in a rich open chariot, who saluting the king with divers
goodly songs, brought him to Greenwich. A
Play of Robin Hood for
the May Games, is in Dodsley's Collection. Strutt's Sports, p. 314.
l
( ) Percy's Reliques of Anc. Eug. Poetry, vol. i., 132. p.
 225

concubine ;
a general conflict ensued ; and Owlglass seeing them
all together by the ears in the body of the church, went his way from
the village and returned no more.( l ) Bishop Percy thinks the general
name of Mysteries was applied to these performances from the
mysterious subjects that were frequently chosen for representation,
such as the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of Christ, &c.
Warton quotes from Lambarde's Topographical Dictionary,
written about the year 1570, that during the days of ceremonial

religion, the priests at Witney, in Oxfordshire, used to exhibit a

puppet-show of The Resurrection, fyc. The puppets represented

Christ, Mary, and other personages ; one of them in the character
of a waking watchman, espying Christ to arise, made a continual
sound caused by the meeting of two sticks, and was
noise, like the
therefore commonly called Jack Snacker of Wytney. Lambarde,
when a child, saw the like toy in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, on
the feast of Whitsuntide ; where the Descent of the Holy Ghost was

performed by a white pigeon being let to fly out of a hole in the

midst of the roof of the great isle. The pigeon with a long censer,
which came down from the same place almost to the ground, was
swung up and down at such a length, that it reached with one

sweep almost to the west-gate of the church, and with the other to
the choir stairs ; the censer breathing out over the whole church and
the assembled multitude a most pleasant perfume from the sweet

things that burnt within it. Lambarde says that the like dumb-shows
were used every where, to garnish sundry parts of the church service
with spectacles of the nativity, passion, and ascension.

After the Reformation, king Edward VI. wrote a comedy called

The Whore of Babylon. An incredible number of religious

1
( )
There a copy of Howleglas in the British Museum.
is Bishop
Percy, whoappears to have used Garrick's copy, and remarks that
"
Howleglas is said in the preface to have died in M,cccc,i< : at the end
of the book, in M,CCC,L."
When a boy I read the Adventures of Uliespiegel, or the German Rogue,
in a translation, printed in octavo, and I should think, from what I
recollect of its appearance, about 1680. A
copy has not fallen in my
way since.

30
 omedies and tragi-comedies were produced about this time. One
was entitled, Jesus the true Messiah, a comedy ; another, the Neio
German Ass of Balaam ; a third, the Calvinistic Postilion, and so
on. Mysteries of this kind were composed by the once celebrated
John Bale, who having been a catholic of the Carmelite monastery
at Norwich, became a student at Oxford, renounced the tenets of
" never more to serve so execrable a
Rome, and, beast, I took," says
" to
he, Dorothy in obedience to that divine com-
wife, the faithful

mand, Let him that cannot contain marry." He obtained church

preferment, was successively Bishop of- Ossory, and Archbishop of
Dublin, with a prebendal stall at Canterbury, where he died in 1563.
One of this protestant prelate's Mysteries, written in 1538, to vin-
dicate the doctrine of grace against such as held the doctrine of free
will and the merit of works, is entitled, a Tragedy or Enterlude,
manyfestying the chefe promyses of God unto man, fyc.; the charac-

God, Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, and

ters are,

John the Baptist ; and at the end of each act is a kind of chorus
which was performed with voices and instruments.^)

In 1573 was printed " a new Enterlude no less wittie than pleas-
ant, entitled, New Custom" written by another hand, to vindicate
and promote the Eeformation against " Old Custom." The charac-
ters are allegorical, and discuss the comparative merits of the doc-

trine held by the two churches with more earnestness than temper :

0) Dodsley's Old Plays, vol. i. Baker's Biog. Dramat, by Jones, vol. i.

Some of Archbishop Bale's other Mysteries are, 1st. brief comedy or A

interlude of John Baptist's preaching. 2nd, A
brief comedy or inter-

lude of Christ's temptation by Satan. 3rd, Of Christ when he was

twelve years old, one comedy. 4th, Of Baptism and Temptation, two
comedies. 5th, Of Lazarus raised from the Dead one comedy. 6th, Of
the Councils of Bishops, one comedy. 7th, Of Simon the Leper, one

comedy. 8th, Of the Lord's Supper, and washing the feet, one comedy.
9th, Of the Passion of Christ, two comedies. 10th, Of the sepulture and
resurrection, two comedies, &c.
 227

Light of the Gospel (a Minister.)

of Antechrist, and seed of the devyll !
iti.pe
Borne to all wickednesse, and nusled in all evil.
Perverse Doctrine (an old Popish Priest.)
Nay, thou stinking heretike, art thou there in deed ?
According to thy naughtiness thou must look for speed.
New Custome (another Minister.)
Godde's holie woorde in no wise can be heresie,
Though so you terme it never so falsly.
Perverse Doctrine.
Yee precious whoreson, art the there too ?
1 think you have pretended some harme mee to doo.
Helpe, Helpe, I say, let me be gone at once,
Else I will smite thee in the face by Godde's bones.
New Custome.
You must be contented a little season to stay,
Light of the Gospell, for your profile, hath some thing to

"New Custom," however, cannot be properly called a Mystery,

but a Morality. Theatrically considered, Mysteries are dramatic

representations of religious subjects from the Old or New

Testament, or Apocryphal story, or the lives of saints. Moralities
are dramatic allegories, in which the characters personify certain
vices or virtues, with the intent to enforce some moral or religious

principle. Moralities were of later origin than Mysteries, but

they existed together, and sometimes each partook of the nature

of the other. dramatic piece in MS. entitled the " Castle of
A
Good Perseverance" formerly belonging to the late Dr. Cox
Macro,is of this mixed character. In a sort of stage direction

written on the first leaf, the amanuensis has drawn a diagram of

two circles, one within the other; in the space between these
two circles he has written in words, filling the circumference,
this is the watyr a bowte the place, if any dyche may be mad
it schal be pleyed ;
or ellys that it be strongely barryd al a bowt ;
and lete nowth ov'r many stytelerys be w't inne the plase." On
"
the outside of the " dyche or circle at five several stations, are
written the following words denoting the relative positions of five

;caffolds, and the characters that play, namely, "Sowth, Caro

(') Dodsley's Old Plays, vol. i., p. 74.

 228

Skafold West, Mundus Skaffold Northe, Bclyal Skaffold

Northest, Coveytyse Skaifold Est, Deus Skafold." In the middle
of the space surrounded by the double circle denoting the
" "
dyche is drawn the castle, with a sort of bench or table
"
below it, and beneath that is written here mankynde is bed :

schal be under the castel, and there schal the sowle lye, under
the bed, tyl he schal ryse and playe." There are other directions
" the iii dowters
to the players in these words schul be clad
i'metelys mercy with rythwysnesse i' red altogedyr, Trewethe in
:

sad grene, and pes al in blake ; and the'i schal pleye in the

plaie al to gedyr, tyl 'they bringe up the sowle and he that

shal pley belyal, loke that he have gune powd'r, bren'y'g in
pypys i' h's hands, and i' h's eis, and i' h's whane he
gothe to batayle."
Though there is no existing memorial of the representation
of Mysteries in England since the latter end of the sixteenth

century, yet, for some time after the Eeformation, Mysteries and
Moralities continued to be written expressly to promote and secure
thenew order of things. They lashed the catholics unsparingly,

who do not appear to have at all ventured to retort in the same

way, except in the reign of Henry VIII. by a dramatic piece, en-
titled, Every Man, "in manner of a moralle play," (') designed to
reconcile the people to the doctrines and worship of the ancient

church. This effort was fruitless, for notwithstanding that after the
death of Henry, who prohibited the performance of Mysteries,
their representation was restored by Mary, yet no attempts were
made by such means, to stay the fall of the papal power in Eng-

land. had received a mortal shock from the establishment of

It

the printing press, ( 2 ) which enabled the people to read the New

" at London in Poule's Church Yard, by me John

(!) Imprynted
Skot,"4to.
" In
1474, was this art brought into England, by William Caxton, a
native, and a printing press set up by him at Westminster. These
proceedings for the advancement of learning and knowledge, especially
m divine matters, alarmed the ignorant and illiterate monks. The vicar
of Croydon expressed himself to the following purpose in a sermon
which he preached at St. Paul's Cross about this time ; We must root
out printing, or printing will root out its." Lewis's History of Eng.,
Transl. p. 55.
 229

Testament for themselves ;

and the chief trace that the old Hierarchy
dramatic existence was the acting of plays in the churches,
left of its

which was finally ordered to he discontinued hy a proclamation of

Henry VIII. in 1542 ; but their performance on Sundays was con-
tinued hy the choristers of St. Paul's cathedral and the chapel royal,
so late even as the reign of Charles the First.

The difficulty of wholly suppressing an ancient usage is remark-

ably evinced hy examples of recent date.
The Tatler of May 1 4, 1 709, cites a letter from Bath, describing
the rivalry of Prudentia and Florimel, two ladies at that watering

place. Florimel bespoke the play of Alexander the Great, to be acted

by the company of strollers on Thursday evening, and the letter-
writer accepted the lady's invitation to be of her party ; but he says,
u Prudentia had and had bespoke on the same
counter-plotted us,

evening, the poppet-shoAV of the Creation of the World. She had

engaged every body to be there ;
and to turn our leader into ridicule,
had secretly let them know that the poppet Eve was made the most
like Florimel that ever was seen. On Thursday morning the poppet
drummer, Adam and Eve, and several others that lived before the
flood, passed through the streets on horseback to invite us all to the

pastime, and the representation of such things as we all know to be

true ;
and Mr. Mayor was so wise as to prefer these innocent people,

the poppets, who he said were to represent Christians, before

the wicked players who were to show Alexander an heathen phi-
losopher. When we came to Noah's Flood in the show, Punch and
his wife were introduced dancing in the ark. Old Mrs. Petulant
desired both her daughters to mind the moral ;
then whispered to
Mrs. Mayoress, " This is very proper for young people to see." Punch
at the end of the play made Madam Prudentia a bow, and was

very civil to the whole company, making bows till his buttons
touched the ground." Sir Richard Steele in the Spectator of March
16th, 1711, intimates that Powell, the puppet-show man exhibited

religious subjects with his puppets, under the little piazza in Covent
Garden ;
and talks of " his next opera of Susannah, or Innocence
betrayed, which will be exhibited next week with a pair of new
Elders.
 230

Strutt quotes a puppet-showman's bill, in the reign of Anue ; at

the British Museum, which announces scriptural subjects as follows :
" At Craw
ley's Booth, over against the Crown Tavern, in Smithfield,

during the time of Bartholomew Fair, will be presented a little

opera, called the Old Creation of the World, yet newly revived ;
with the addition of Noah's 'Flood ; also several fountains playing
water during the time of the play. The last scene does present
Noah and his family coming out of the ark, with all the beasts two

by two, and allthe fowls of the air seen in a prospect sitting upon
trees ;
likewise over the ark is seen the sun rising in a glorious man-
ner ; moreover a multitude of angels will be seen in a double rank,
which presents a double prospect, one for the sun the other for a
palace, where will be seen six angels ringing of bells. Likewise ma-
chines descend from above, double and treble, with Dives rising out

of hell, and Lazarus seen in Abraham's bosom, besides several figures

dancing jiggs, sarabands, and country dances, to the admiration of
the spectators-; with the merry conceits of Squire Punch, and Sir
John Spendall."

Perhaps the adventures of Punch in the common puppet-show,

gave rise to dramatic performances of greater celebrity. Punch always
comes up gay, heedless, and very well satisfied with himself. He
isa sensual, dissolute, hardened character, who beats his wife and

child, has a thorough contempt for moral reputation, disregards the

advice of the priest, knocks him down, dances with his female
associates, is a little frightened by a spectre, becomes as bad as ever,

does not fear the devil, fights with him, is conquered, and finally
carried off to hell. The adventures of Don Juan, or the Libertine

Destroyed, of the theatres, and the Don Giovanni of the Italian opera,
seem but an amplified representation of the adventures of Punch,
the libertine destroyed, in the puppet-show of the streets.

The English puppet-show was formerly called a motion. Shak-

speare mentions the
performance of
Mysteries by p\ippets ;
his Autolycus frequented wakes, fairs, and bear-baitings, and
"compassed a motion of the Prodigal Son" On a Twelfth
 night, in 1818, a man, making the usual Christmas cry, of
" Gallantee show" was called in to exhibit his
performances for the
amusement of my young folks and their companions. Most unex-
pectedly, he "compassed a motion of the Prodigal Son" by dancii g
his transparencies between the magnifying glass and candle of a

magic lanthorn, the coloured figures greatly enlarged were reflected

on a sheet spread against the wall of a darkened room. The pro-
digal son was represented carousing with his companions at the

Swan Inn, at Stratford ;

while the landlady in the bar, on every
fresh call was seen to score double. There was also Noah's Ark,
with " Putt Devil, Pull Baker" or the just judgment upon a baker
who sold bread short of weight, and was carried to hell in his own
basket. The reader will bear in mind, that this was not a
motion in the dramatic sense of the word, but a puppet-like exhi-
bition of a Mystery, with discrepancies of the same character
as thosewhich peculiarized the Mysteries of five centuries ago.
The Gallantee- showman narrated with astonishing gravity the
incidents of every fresh scene, while his companion in the room
played country-dances and other tunes on the street organ,
during the whole of the performance. The manager informed me
that his show had been the same during many years, and, in
truth, it was unvariable ;
for his entire property consisted of but
this one set of glasses, and his magic lanthorn. I failed in an
endeavour to make him comprehend that its propriety could be
doubted of it was the first time that he had heard of the possibility
:

of objection to an entertainment which his audiences witnessed

every night with uncommon and unbounded applause. Expressing

a hope that I would command his company at a future time, he
"
put his card into my hand, inscribed, The Royal Gallantee Show,
"
provided by Jos. Leverge, 7, Ely Court, Holborn Hill : the

very spot whereon the last theatrical representation of a Mystery,

1
the play of Christ s Passion, is recorded to have been witnessed
in England.
 232

IX. PAGEANTS.

" Not a rack behind."

Shakspeare.

W ARTON thinks that the Pageants, which on civil occasions

derived great part of their decorations and actors from historical

fact, and consequently made profane characters the subject of

public exhibition, dictated ideas of a regular drama much sooner

than the Mysteries. ( a ) Whether this were so or not, the Pageants
sometimes partook of the nature of Mysteries, and were of a
mixed character. This is particularly exemplified in the prints
to the descriptive volume of the great Haerlem show, before
2
mentioned. ( ) There were on that occasion personifications of
Vanity, "Wisdom, "War, Cruelty, Faith, Hope, Charity, Learning,
Pride, Poverty, Blindness, Drunkenness, Evil Conscience, "Wicked-
ness, Despair, Fame, Bad Report, Envy, Hypocrisy, Hunger,
Thirst, Pain :
personations of Christ, Judas, Ananias, Sapphira,
Zaccheus, Cornelius, Tabitha, Tobias, Midas, Mercury, Soldiers,
Murderers, Merchants, Priests, &c. Riches is there represented
as a man richly habited, accompanied by Covetousness, a female

with a high ruff open at the neck in front, from whence springs
a large branch that falls horizontally over her shoulder, to

Achan, Ahab, and Judas, who follow in the procession, plucking

the fruit from the bough. In another of these prints, Christ
barefooted and in a close vest, precedes a penitent-looking man,
and grasps a sword in his right hand which he turns round and
3
points at the devil, who holds a prong, ( ) and is at the man's

2
(*) Warton, vol. ii., p. 202. ( ) Page 141, ante.
3
( ) This is the prong, a fac simile of that in Hearne's print, p. 138, ante.
heels with Hell and Death following. Hell is denoted "by a black
monk-like figure walking without a head, flame and smoke issuing
forth at the top instead ; Death, gaunt and naked, holds a large dart ;
the Devil has a human face with horns, and a blunt tail, rather
thickened at the end, trailing on the ground like a rope. pro- A
cession in one of these plates represents the story of Hatto, Bishop
of Mentz, who, in order that a scarcity might the sooner cease,
assembled the poor that were suffering by famine, in a barn, and
caused them to be burnt alive, saying, that poor people were like mice,

good for nothing but to devour corn ; wherefore God Almighty

raisedup an army of mice to do judgment upon him, from whom
he escaped to a tower in the middle of the Rhine, whither the
mice swam, and miserably devoured him. This story was told
in a pageant by a wooden building apparently on fire; people
enclosed within, put their hands through the bars of the window
imploring relief; a soldier with a torch in one hand, stabs at them

with a dagger grasped in the other ; the archbishop, robed, mitred

and crosiered, follows dignifiedly ;
while Avarice infuses her

thoughts into his ear with a pair of bellows :

lastly, a dart
from which mice are hung by the back, is uplifted against him by
1
death.
Strutt remarks that Pageants, though commonly exhibited in
the great towns and of England on solemn and joyful occa-
cities

sions, were more frequent in London, on account of its being

the theatre for the entertainment of foreign monarchs, and for the

procession of our own kings and queens to their coronation, or

on their return from abroad ;
besides which, there were the cere-
monials incident at stated periods, such as the setting of the mid-
summer watch, and the Lord Mayor's Show. Accordingly a
considerable number of different artificers were kept at the city's

expense to furnish the machinery for the Pageants, and to deco-

rate them ;
and a great part of Leaden Hall was anciently appro-
priated to painting and depositing them. The fronts of the

1
The story is agreeably versified, by Mr. Southey, in a ballad of
God's Judgment on a Bishop. Minor Poems, 1815, vol. iii. p. 66.
31
 234

houses in the streets through which the processions passed, were

covered with rich adornments of tapestry, arras, and cloth of

gold; the chief magistrates and most opulent citizens usually

appeared on horseback in sumptuous habits, and joined the caval-

cade, while the ringing of bells, the sound of music from various

quarters, and the shouts of the populace, nearly stunned the ears

of the spectators. At certain distances, in places appointed for

the purpose, the Pageants were erected, which were temporary
buildings representing castles, palaces, gardens, rocks or forests,
as the occasion required, where nymphs, fauns, satyrs, gods, god-

desses, angels, and devils, appeared in company with giants, sa-

vages, dragons, saints, knights, buffoons, and dwarfs, surrounded
by minstrels and choristers ;
the heathen mythology, the legends
of chivalry, and Christian divinity, were ridiculously jumbled to-

gether without meaning; and the exhibitions usually concluded

with dull pedantic harangues exceedingly tedious, and replete
1
with the grossest adulation. Warton is of opinion, that it was
not until about the reign of Henry VI. that the performers in the

Pageants began to recite. From a few notices some estimate

may be formed of the consequence in which they were held and the
nature of the exhibition.

Strype says, that Pageants were exhibited in London when

2
Queen Eleanor rode through the city to her coronation in 1236,
and again in 1298, on the occasion of the victory obtained by Ed-
3
ward I. over the Scots. There were Pageants in 1357, when
Edward the black prince brought John king of France prisoner
through the city: in 1392, when Eichard II. passed through
London after the citizens, by submission, and the Queen's inter-

cession, had obtained the restoration of their charter ; and again,

in 1415, upon the entry of Henry V. after the battle of Agin-
court.*

In 1431, when Henry VI. entered Paris as king of France, he

1
Strutt's Sports, Introd. p. xxiii.
1
Glory of Regality, by Mr. Arthur Taylor, p. 251. .
Ibid. p. 236.
*
Jones's Biogr. Dram. art. Pageant.
 235

was met there by the national and municipal authorities, accom-

1
panied by the nine worthies on horseback richly armed.
In 1445, on the same king's marriage with queen Margaret,
when she approached London, the mayor, aldermen, sheriffs, and
the crafts, wearing their respective cognizances, went forth to meet

her, and brought her in great state through the city, where were

sumptuous and costly pageants, with verses by Lydgate, and resem-

blance of divers old histories, to the great comfort of the Queen
and her attendants. 2
On the Queen of Henry VI. visiting Coventry in 1455, at Bab-
lake in that city, there was a Jesse over the gate, showing two

speeches made by Isaiah and Jeremiah, in compliment to the

Queen, and comparing her to the root of Jesse. Within the gate
at the east end of the church, St. Edward, and St. John the

Evangelist, were equally polite in their welcome to her majesty.

"
Afterwards the conduit in the " Smythforde-street was right
well arrayed, and there were showed the four speeches of the four
the cross in the " Croschepyng were divers
"
cardinal virtues. At
angels censing ahigh on the cross, and wine running out at divers
places. Between the cross and the conduit were nine pageants,
and in every pageant a speech from one of the nine conquerors.
Joshua in his speech told her majesty that if any one dared
to do her wrong, he would fight for her : David told her that
in dainties he had lived all his life, had slain Goliah, and
would obey her as akind knight for the love of her liege Lord
King Henry. The conduit was arrayed with as many virgins as
might be thereupon ; and there was made a great dragon, and
St. Margaret slaying him by miracle, with a suitable speech from
her.'

On 1474, Prince Edward coming out of

the 24th of April,
Wales was welcomed by the mayor and commonalty.
to Coventry,
There was a station with three partriarchs there standing with
Jacob's twelve sons, with minstrelsy of harp and dulcimers, and a

1 *
Jones's Biogr. Dram. p. 267. Ibid. p. 268.
3
Pageant of the Sheremen and Taylors; Coventry, 1817, 4to.
 236

speech from one of the patriarchs. At the cross were three pro-

phets standing, and upon the cross above were children of Israel
singing and casting down sweet cakes and flowers, and four pipes

running wine. Upon the conduit was St. George and a king's

daughter kneeling before him with a lamb, and the father and
mother in a tower above, beholding St. George saving their daugh-
ter from the dragon, and the conduit running wine in three places,

and minstrelsy of organ playing. 1

In 1486, king Henry VII. after his coronation, made a pro.
gress to the north, with a large attendance of nobility. Three
miles from York the king in a gown of cloth of gold furred with

ermine, was received by the sheriffs and citizens with their recorder
who welcomed him with a speech. Half a mile without the gate
he was received by processions of friars and dignified clergy, who
with an immense multitude attended him to the gate of the city,
where was a pageant of divers persons and minstrelsy, and thereby
stood a crowned king, by name Ebianeus, who had a versified
"
speech. At the hither end of u House Brigge was another pageant
garnished with ships and boats, and Solomon in his habit royally
" "
clothed, had another speech. At the turning into Conyeux-street
there was a pageant of the assumption of our Lady, with her
"
speech. At the end of " Conyeux-street was another stage with a
pageant, wherein stood king David, armed and crowned, with a
naked sword in his hand, also making a speech. In divers parts
of the city were hung tapestry and other cloths, and galleries from
one side of the street over athwart to the other, with casting out of
sweet cakes, wafers, and comfits, in quantity like hailstones, for joy
and rejoicing at the king's coming. 8
On the 25th of November next year, 1487, Elizabeth,

queen to Henry VII. departed from Greenwich by water, to

her coronation. She was attended by the city authorities and
companies in their barges richly decorated, but especially a
barge called the bachelors' barge was garnished passing all the
rest, with a great red dragon spouting flames of fire into the

1
Pageant of the Sheremen and Taylors.
2
Leland, Collect, vol. iv. p. 185.
 237
" "
Thames, and many other gentlemanlie pageants curiously devised
to do her highness sport ; and so attended, she was landed at the

tower, where she slept. On the morrow her progress through the
city to was magnificently welcomed by singing
Westminster
children, some arrayed like angels, and others like virgins, to sing
sweet songs as she passed along. 1
In 1501, on the Princess Catharine of Spain arriving in London
to be married to Prince Arthur, her procession through the city was

very magnificent. In the Pageants, which were numerous and

superbly furnished, the principal actors or speakers were not only
God the Father, St. Catharine, and St. Ursula, but king Alphonsus
the astronomer and an ancestor of the Princess, a senator, an angel,

Job, Boethius, Nobility, and Virtue. These characters sustained a'

2
dialogue.
On St. Paul's day in January, 1502, "James king of Scots,
by his proxy, Patrick Earl of Bothwell, was affianced to the princess
Margaret, daughter of Henry VII. ; on the morning after which
therewas in the hall a goodly pageant, curiously wrought with
"
fenestralis," having many lights burning in the same, in manner
of a lanthorn, out of which sorted divers sorts of " moriskes," 3
The same year, on the arrival of the Princess in Edin-

burgh, as Queen of Scotland, at the entrance of the town was

a painted gate with two " towrells," and a window in the midst,
and at the windows of the " towrells," angels singing joyously,
and at the middle window was likewise an angel presenting the
keys of the town to the queen. In the midst of the town was
a " scarfawst
"
where was represented Paris and the three god-
desses, with Mercury, who gave him the apple of gold for the
fairest. In the " scarfawst " was represented also the salutation of
Gabriel to the Virgyne, and the solemnization of the marriage be-
tween the Virgin and Joseph. Further on was another new made
gate upon which were the four Virtues Justice holding in her :

right hand a naked sword, and the balances in the other, tram-

1 >
Glory of Regality, p. 276. Warton, vol. ii.
p. 202.
3
Leland. Collect, vol. iv. p. 263.
 238

pled upon Nero ;

Fortitude armed, held a shaft, and trod on Holo-
" an
fernes ; Temperance held in her hand the bit of horse," under
her feet was Epicurus ; Prudence held in her hand a " Syerge," and
stood upon Sardanapalus. With these figures were tabrets that
1
played merrily, while the noble company past through.
When Charles V. Emperor of Germany visited Henry VIII. in
England, his reception in the city of London was graced by splendid
8
pageants, the description of which are still in existence.
The coronation of Ann Boleynon the 1st of June 1533, was pre-
ceded by a procession through London, after she landed from Green-
wich, On this occasion the citizens devised marvellous pageants, in
which were Apollo with the muses, and St. Anne, with her children.
The three Graces were on Cornhill, and the cardinal Virtues in Fleet-
3
street.

On the 9th of February, 1546-7, king Edward VI. proceeded

from the city of London, in great state, to his coronation at West-
minster. The crafts and aldermen stood arrayed in order ; priests
and with their crosses and censers, censed him as he passed ;
clerks,

tapestry, arras, and cloths of gold and silver, were hung on the
houses, and rich streamers and banners floated in the air. The
procession was very splendid. In various parts of the city were

goodly pageants and devices, and therein goodly melody, and eloquent
1. At the conduit in Cornhill, was
speeches of noble histories.
a pageant garnished with rich arras, on it were a conduit running
sweet wine, divers instruments, and goodly singing, and two
children pronounced speeches to the king, with a song which con-
tained expressions very like some in the present song of God save
the King. 2. On the pageant at the great conduit in Cheap, were

persons resembling Valentine and Orson, one clothed with moss and
ivy leaves, holding a great club of yew tree, the other as a knight,
and they pronounced speeches. The conduit ran wine, and was
richly garnished ;
near it stood four children, as Grace, Nature,

Fortune, and Charity, who, one after the other, made speeches

1
Lelanrl, Collect, vol. iv. p. 290.
2 3
MS. in Bibl. C.C.C. Cantab. N. vii. 10, Glory of Regality, p. 283.
 239

At a distance round the conduit, stood eight ladies richly appa-

"
relled, representing Sapience," and the seven Liberal Sciences.
At the end of the conduit, towards Cheap, was a double scaffold,
one above the other, hung with cloth and silk, besides rich arras.
The upper contained a heaven, with the sun and stars, and clouds,
that spread abroad, letting down a lesser cloud of white sarcenet

fringed with silk, powdered with stars and beams of gold, from
whence a phcenix descended down to a mount of sweet shrubs on
the lower scaffold, and there setting, a lion of gold crowned made

amity to the phoenix by motions of the head ; between which

came forth a young lion, on whose
familiarity, as it seemed, there

head, two angels from the heaven, placed an imperial crown, and
the old lion and the phoenix vanished, leaving the young lion
crowned alone, and then the aforesaid ladies delivered speeches.
On the nether scaffold, a child royally arrayed, representing the

king, was seated on a throne, supported by four other children,

representing Eoyalty with a sceptre, Justice with a sword, Truth
with a book, and Mercy with a curtana ; these four made speeches.
Also, beside the throne was the golden fleece, kept by two bulls
and a mouths flaming out fire, and six children who
serpent, their
" 3. The little
played upon the regalles," and sang goodly songs.
conduit in Cheap being richly hung and ornamented, at the top
was a tower, with the waits playing in it, an old man sitting in a
chair, crowned, sceptred, and arrayed, represented king Edward
the Confessor, with a lion of gold lying before him which moved
its head. On a stage, at the foot of the conduit, St. George stood
in complete harness, with a page also harnessed, holding his spear
and shield, and a fair maiden holding a lamb in a string ; near
them was a child richly apparelled, to pronounce a Latin oration,
and St. George was to make one in English, but, for lack of time,
it could not be done, his grace made such speed howbeit, there
:

was a song. 4. When the king came to St. George's church, in

St. Paul's churchyard, there was a rope stretched from the battle-
ments of St. Paul's, and with a great anchor, fastened a little
before Paul's house- gate. When the king approached, there
 240

came a man, a native of Arragon, lying on the rope, his head

forward, casting his arms and his legs abroad, running on his
breast on the rope from the battlements to the ground, as it had
been an arrow out of a bow. Then risingfrom the ground, he
went to the king, and kissed his foot, and after certain words to
his Highness, departed, and went upwards upon the rope till he
came over the midst of the church, and there, having a rope
about him, he played certain mysteries on the said rope, as tumb-
one leg from another, tying himself by the right leg
ling, casting
"
a beneath " the wrist
little of the foot, and hanging a while re-
covered himself upon the rope, unknit the knot, and came down

again, which staid the king's majestic, with all the train, a good

space of time. 5. Upon the great conduit in Fleet Street was a

stage, whereon sat a child richly arrayed, to represent Truth, with

two other children before him in red, representing Faith and
Justice, whose names were written on their places. As the king

passed, Truth made a speech, and two hogsheads of wine were

broached, "take who would." The company then proceeded in

goodly order to Temple-bar. The gate was painted with battle-
ments and buttresses of divers colours, richly hung with cloth of

arras, and garnished with fourteen standards. Eight French trum-

peters blew their trumpets after the fashion of their country, and
them were a " and children singing
besides pair of regalles," to

them. The company then proceeded in goodly order till they

1
came to Westminster, to abide the coronation.

On the 1st of October, 1553, the coronation of Queen Mary was

performed by Gardiner, bishop of Winchester. Her progress to
the ceremony through the city was celebrated with similar exhibi-
" one master Heiwood "
tions ;
sat in a pageant under a vine, and
made an oration in Latin and English ; and, as if to outdo the flying
argosine at the last coronation, we have here a Dutchman stand-

ing on the weathercock of St. Paul's steeple, who, holding a

streamer in his hand of five yards long, and waving thereof, stood

1 Collectan. voL
Ldaud, iv. p. 322.
 241

sometimes on one foot and shook the other, and then kneeled on
his knees to the great marvel of the people. ( l)

At the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, on Sunday, January 15,

1558 9, her progress was marked by superb pageants. On her
arrival at Temple-bar, Gogmagog and Corinceus, two giants, were
seen holding above the gate, a table wherein was written in Latin
" the effect of all the
Terse, pageants which the city before had
l
erected. "( )

The encouragement that literature and the Greek language

received from Elizabeth, created a fashion for classical allusion

upon every convenient occasion, and the queen's admiration of this

kind of compliment, caused the mythology of ancient learning to be

introduced into the various -shows and spectacles in her honour.
Warton says, that when she paraded through a country town almost

every pageant was a pantheon. "When she paid a visit at the

house of any of her nobility, on entering the hall she was saluted

by the Penates, and conducted to her privy-chamber by Mercury ;

in the afternoon, when she condescended to walk in the garden, the
lake was covered with tritons and nereids ;
the pages of the family
were converted wood-nymphs, who passed from every
into

bower ;
and the footmen gamboled over the lawn in the figure of
3
satyrs. ( )
On the 15th of March, 1603, when king James I. and Queen
Anne passed from the tower through London, there were various
pageants, with laudatory speeches in English and Latin. On
the 31st of May, 1610, the corporation of London met Prince
Henry on his return from Richmond, and entertained him with a
" "
grand water fight and fire- works. In 1616, the city's love was
manifested by a water entertainment at Chelsea and Whitehall, on
the creation of the Prince of "Wales, who, afterwards, 25th Nov.

1641, when Charles I. was treated with a "triumph on his safe

arrival from Scotland." On the 5th of July, 1660, there were

magnificent triumphs at an entertainment given in the Guildhall

to Charles II., the Dukes of York and Gloucester, the two houses

J
( ) Glory of Regality, p. 287. Ibid. (*) Warton, vol iii.
p. 491.
32
 242

of parliament, the privy council, judges, &e. The passage of Charles

II. through London to his coronation in 1661, was celebrated by
"
pageants, with speeches and impresses illustrated from antiquity ;"
and on the 23rd of August, 1662, the city welcomed his return with
his queen, from Hampton Court, to Whitehall, with shows and
pageants upon the Thames.
The Old Chronicles contain large particulars of these and similar
exhibitions. Certain traces of the processional parts were retained in
London about forty or fifty years ago, in the lord mayor's show :

but the pageants and orations have been long discontinued, and
the show itself is so much contracted, that it is in reality altogether

unworthy of such an appellation.^) However, as the citizens iu

general are so little acquainted with the subject, that most of
those I have inquired of rather express a desire for some informa-
tion regarding this ancient usage, I have endeavoured to contribute
towards their satisfaction in the next article. Before concluding
this it may be proper to observe that there were satirical pageants
accommodated to the amusement of the vulgar. The procession
of the Miserable Scald Masons, of which there is a large print,
was of this kind. Its description, there is not room to insert
without omitting some account of another, more connected with the
" The Solemn Mock
subject, from a pamphlet entitled, Procession,
or the Tryal and Execution of the Pope and his ministers on the
17th of Nov. at Temple Bar, 1680." (4to. 8 pages). It was
a practice on that day, being the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's
accession to the throne, to celebrate the event in London by a
pageant in honour of the established religion, and in ridicule of
" the Arch-Traitor and the head
the Pope, Ingineer not
only of our civil combinations, but also of the lamentable firing
of this famous mother city of our country ;" to commemorate which

conflagration, with equal truth, the monument on Fish Street

Hill,
" Like a tall bully, lifts its head and lies.''

The author of the procession apologetically observes that

(*)
Strutt's Sports, Introd. p. xxiv.
"Erasmus's satyrical drollery was found to be as effectual to bring

down Eomish pageantry as Luther's gravity of argument," and

the

proceeds to describe the show of the day, which though abridged

here, is chiefly given in the words of the tract as follows :

First the Captain of the Pope's guardon horseback followed by

ten pioneers in red caps and coats in ranks, with staves and trun-

cheons, to make way [as whifflers] for the main body. Next a
" Remember
bellman ringing, and saying in a loud doleful
voice,
1
Justice Godfrey.'^ ) Then a dead bloody corpse representing Sir
Edmond Bury Godfrey on horseback, supported by a Jesuit behind
with a bloody dagger in his hand. After this, carried by two per-
sons, a large cloth banner painted in colours, representing the Jesuits
at Wild House all hanging on a gibbit, and among them
" another
"
twelve that would betray their trust or conscience ; on the other
side Gammer with a bloody bladder, and all her other pres-
Celliers

byterian plot-forgers and protestants in masquerade. First Pageant >

In the forepart a meal-tub, Mrs. Cellier in one corner leaning on it,

with her "narrative" in her hand; at the other corner, "one in
"
Hack, bareheaded and playing on a fiddle ; behind, four protestants
in masquerade bi-partite garments of white and black. After the
an " abhorrer" on with the ; then
pageant horseback, his face to tail

a man on horseback bearing a banner " We protestants in

inscribed,

masquerade usher in popery." Second Pageant, Four Franciscan

Friars two being capuchins in grey russet, with a cord about the
;

middle, and long cowls on their heads hanging behind with a tail ;
the other, two minorites, a diminutive species of these Franciscan

birds, in a cinnamon coloured habit with shorter cowls. Tldrd

Pageant. Two Augustine Friars, in black close habits with a leather

girdle ;
and two Dominican bouncing Friars, in black and white gar-
ments, called Brothers Preachers. Fourth Pageant. Here strut out
four Jesuits in a black hue and garb suitable to their manners, with

(*) Few readers require information concerning the circumstances re-

ferred to in this procession. They are mostly well known, or be
may
easily found in the historical works of the times they relate to.
 244

high mounting tip about their necks like a pasty crust.

collars

Fifth Pageant. Here are mounted two bishops, a sort of dis-

ciples of Christ that pretend to take place of ordinary dukes and
princes; "behind are two archbishops in pontificalibus ; they
differ in their crosiers. Sixth Pageant. Two patriarchs with
two forked crosiers, in bishop-like vestments ; and two cardinals
riding in pure scarlet vestments, being next cousins to the scarlet
whore of Babylon. Next his Holiness's master of the ceremonies,

carrying the Pope's triple cross, distributing bulls, pardons, and

indulgences, and crying aloud, " Here you may have heaven for
money." Seventh Pageant. Here comes ANTI-CHRIST himself
arrayed in scarlet robes, furred with ermine, and covered
with gold and silver lace, with a triple crown, inscribed in front
"
Mystery," holding two keys in his hands, pretended to be of a
place he is never likely to get into ; two swords standing at his
right hand, one typifying excommunication, the other civil do-
minion over kings and princes; sprawling under his feet, the

Emperor Frederick, on whose neck he insolently trod at Venice ;

many other crowns and sceptres that he arrogates the disposal of,
also at his feet. A
page in white at one corner of the throne,
" "
brandishing a banner inscribed, This is the king of kings ; another
page at the other corner, holding a streamer inscribed, "thou
art our God the Pope." Eighth Pageant. The Empress Donna
Olympia, the Pope's mistress, surrounded by four nuns ; on the
" Courtezans in Ninth
pageant a streamer inscribed, ordinary."
Pageant. They usher in their religion with fineries, but the sting
of the Inquisition is in the serpent's tail : here is the main scene
of Anti-Christ's cruelties ;
in this pageant you see a seat of judica-
ture whereon a bishop as inquisitor-general, surrounded by
sits

monks as inquisitor's assistants ; a poor martyr condemned before

them, dragged to a stake environed with fagots to burn him,

having a saribenite cap on his head all painted with devils ; the
space around about strewed and hemmed with racks and instru-
" In
ments of torture. this fatal pomp the procession sets out
from Whitechapel-Bars, and on through Bishopsgate, through
Cornhill/ Cheapside, and Ludgate, till it comes to Temple-bar,
 245

where the Pope and his ministers being brought before the figure
of Queen Elizabeth, receives his first sentence, and afterwards

being led before the statue or tribunal of King Charles II., on

the other side, he receives his final doom and downfall, namely, to
be burnt with all his fry before Queen Besses throne, the ashes to
be scattered about, that thence might never spring hereafter, in
"
England one popish phenix ; and, in remembrance of her happy
days, and for the victories that God gives us in our days against the

Pope and his emissaries, the solemnity is closed with fuzees and
1
artificial fires." ( ) In the Solemn Mock Procession of the year
before, 1679, the Devil attended the Pope as his "right-trusty
and well beloved cousin and counsellor;" caressed, hugged,
whispered, and often instructed him aloud. The procession arriving
at the eastern side of Temple-bar, where, the statue of

Queen Elizabeth having been conspicuously ornamented, a song

alluding to the protection of the protestants by that queen was
sung; and his Holiness, after some compliments and reluctances,
was decently toppled from all his grandeur into a vast bonfire
over the Inner " the Devil his
against Temple gate ; crafty leaving
Infallibility in the lurch, and laughing as heartily at his deserved

ignominious end, as subtle Jesuits do at the ruin of bigotted lay

catholicswhom themselves have drawn in." ( 2 ) In Queen Anne's
time the figure of the Pretender was added to that of the Pope and
the Devil.
Avain attempt to revive obsolete prejudices in England by

dressing a statue, was made on the anniversary of King William, in

1821, when a clandestine decoration of his effigy in St. James's
Square was effected during the night. The last Solemn Mock
Procession round the bedizened statue of King William, in College-

green, Dublin, took place the same year. This annual insult to
three-fourths of the people of Ireland was finally suppressed by
Maiquess Wellesley, the Lord Lieutenant.

" sold
(!) This procession is engraved on a copper-plate, by Jonathan
Wilkins at the Star in Cheapside next to Mercer's chapel."
2
( ) Brand,
voL ii., p. 519. Gent. Mag. vol. xxx., p. 515, from Lord
Somers's Tracts.
 X. LORD MAYOR'S SHOW.

Behold
How London did pour out her citizens !

The Mayor, and all his brethren in best sort !

Sliakspeare.

AN historioal description of the annual procession and ceremonial

on the entrance of the Lord Mayor of London into office,

might be a work of some interest to those citizens who unite anti-

quarian with civic feeling. But as an undertaking requiring so
much is scarcely to be expected, and the
labour in the execution
Lord Mayor's show the only stated exhibition in the metropolis
is

that remains as a memorial of the great doings in the time of the

pageants, I purpose some account of its ancient appearance, com-

mencing with a description, on the authority of a MS. quoted by

Dr. Nathan Drake. ( l ) " A breSe
It is description of the Eoyali
London, capital citie of this realme of England, (city arms).
Citie of

Wrytten by me, William Smythe, citizen and haberdasher of

London, 1575." With a slight alteration of the orthography,
the account is as follows :

" The
day of St. Simon and St. Jude, the mayor enters into
his state and office. The next day he goes by water to West-
minster in most triumph-like manner, his barge being garnished
with the arms of the city ; and near it a ship-boat of the Queen's

Majesty being trimmed up and rigged like a ship of war, with

divers pieces of ordnance, standards, pennons and targets of the

proper arms of the said mayor, of his company, and of the mer-

(*) Shakspeare and his Times, vol. ii., p. 164.

 247

chants' adventurers, or of the staple, or of the company of the new

trades next before him goeth the barge of the livery of his own
;

company, decked with their own proper arms, then the bachelors'
barge ;
and so all the companies in London, in order, every one

having their own

proper barge, with the arms of their company.
And so passing along the Thames, he landeth at "Westminster,
where he taketh his oath in the Exchequer before the judge there ;

which done, he returneth by water as aforesaid, and landeth at

Paul's wharf, where he, and the rest of the aldermen take their
horses,and in great pomp pass through Cheapside. And first of
all cometh two great standards, one
having the arms of the city,
and the other the arms of the mayor's company ; next them two
drums and a flute, then an ensign of the city, and then about Ixx
or Ixxx poore men marching two and two, in blue gowns, with
red sleeves and caps, every one bearing a pike and a target
whereon is painted the arms of them that have been mayors of
all

the same company that this new mayor is of. Then two banners,
one of the king's arms, the other of the mayor's own proper
arms. Then a set of hautboys playing, and after them certain
wyfflers,^) in velvet coats and chains of gold, with white staves in

l
( )
Mr. Deuce says (Illustrations of ShaJcspeare, vol. i. p.
Whiffler,
507) isa term undoubtedly borrowed from whiffle, another name for
a fife or small flute for whifflers were originally those who preceded
;

armies or processions, as fifers or pipers; in process of time the term

whiffler, which
had always been used in the sense of a fifer, came
to signify any person who went before in a procession. He observes,
that Minshew defines him to be a club or staflf-bearer, and that it
appears, whifflers carried
white staves, as in the annual feast of the
printers, founders,
and Ink-makers, described by Randle Holme. Mr.
Archdeacon Nares, in his Glossary, cites Grose's mention of the
whifflers at Norwich, who
make way for the corporation by flourishing
their swords. A
friend informs me that the dexterity of the Norwich
whifflers in turning their swords to every possible
direction is amazing.
Mr. Archdeacon Nares remarks, that in the city of London, young
freemen, who march at the head of their proper companies on the Lord
Mayor's day, sometimes with flags, were called whifflers, or bachelor
whifflers, not because they
cleared the way, but because they went first
as whifflers did ; and he quotes a character in the old Play of the City
" I look'd the next lord
Match, saying, mayor's day to see you o' the
livery, or one of the bachelor whifflers."
 248

theirhands ; then the Pageant of Triumph richly decked, where-

upon by certain figures and writings, some matter touching Justice
and the office of a magistrate is represented. Then sixteen trum-
peters, eight and eight, having banners of the mayor's company.
Then certain whiffiers in velvet coats and chains, with white staves
as before. Then the bachelors, two and two, in long gowns,
with crimson hoods on their shoulders of satin ;
which bachelors
are chosen every year of the same company that the mayor is of,

(but not of the living) and serve as gentlemen on that and other
festival days, to wait on the mayor, being in number according to

the quantity of the company, sometimes sixty, or one hundred.

After them twelve trumpeters more, with banners of the mayor's

company ;
then the drum and flute of the city, and an ensign of
the mayor's company ; and after, the waits of the city in blue gowns,
red sleeves and caps, every one having a silver collar about his
neck. Then they of the livery in their long gowns, every one hav-

ing his hood on his left shoulder, half-black and half-red, the
number of them according to the greatness of the company
whereof they are. After them follow sheriffs' officers, and then
the mayor's officers, with other officers of the city, as the Com-
mon Serjeant, and the Chamberlain ; next before the mayor goeth
the sword-bearer, having on his head the cap of honour, and the
sword of the city in his right hand, in a rich scabbard, set with
pearl, and on his left hand goeth the common crier of the city,

with his great mace on his shoulder all gilt. The mayor hath on
a long gown of scarlet, and on his left shoulder a hood of black

velvet, and a rich collar of gold of SS. about his neck, and with
him rideth the old mayor gown, hood of velvet,
also, in his scarlet
and a chain of gold about his neck. Then all the aldermen, two
and two (among whom is the recorder) all in scarlet gowns;
those that have been mayors have chains of gold, the others have
black velvet tippits. The two sheriffs come last of all, in their
black scarlet gowns and chains of gold. In this order they pass
along through the city to the Guildhall, where they dine that day,
to the number of 1000 persons, all at the charge of the mayor and
the two sheriffs. This feast costeth 400Z., whereof the mayor
 249

payeth 200?. and each of the sheriffs, 100?. Immediately after

dinner, they go to St. Paul's church, every one of the aforesaid

poor men bearing staff, torches, and targets, which torches are

lighted when it is late, before they come from evening prayer."

To this account from the MS. may be added that, in still more
ancient times, the procession to and from "Westminster was by
land ; until in 1453, Sir John Norman built a sumptuous barge at
hisown expense, for the purpose of going by water, when the water-
men made a song in his praise, beginning, " Row thy boat, Norman"
and the twelve companies, emulating their chief, have, from that
period, graced the Thames on Lord Mayor's day.
Mr. Stephen Jones, in his edition of the Biographia Drama-
tica, has drawn up a list of printed descriptions of the London

Triumphs, or Lord Mayors' Shows, from whence it seems that the

account of this annual exhibition known to have been published,
first

was written by George Peele, for the inauguration of Sir Wolstone

Dixie, knight, on the 29th of October, 15.85, when children per-
sonified the City, Magnanimity, Loyalty, Science, the Country, and
the river Thames. They also represented a soldier, a sailor, and
nymphs, with appropriate speeches. The show opened with a
moor on the back of a lynx. On Sir Thomas Middleton's may-
oralty, in 1613, the solemnity is described as unparalleled for the

cost, art, and magnificence of the shows, pageants, chariots,

morning, noon, and night triumphs. In 1665, the city pageants,
after a discontinuance of about fourteen years, were revived. Ed-
mund Gay ton, the author of the description for that year, says
that " our metropolis for these planetary pageants, was as famous
and renowned in foreign nations, as for their faith, wealth, and
valour." In the show of 1659, an European, an Egyptian, and a
Persian, were personated. On Lord Mayor's day, 1671, the king,
queen, and duke of York, and most of the nobility being present,
there were " sundry shows, shapes, scenes, speeches, and songs, in

parts;" and the like, in 1672, and 1673, when the king again
" The and duchess
graced the triumphs." king, queen, duke, of

York, Prince Rupert, the duke of Monmouth, foreign ambassa-

dors, the chief nobility, and Secretary of State, were at the
33
 250

celebration 'ofLord Mayor's day in 1674, when there were " em*
blematical figures, artful pieces of architecture, and rural dancing,
with pieces spoken on each pageant." The design of this notice
being merely to acquaint the reader with the ancient character of
this solemnity, it is unnecessary to do more than select such par-
ticulars as may satisfy common curiosity, and be useful to those

who are interested in searching for precedents regarding the pro-

cession.

The printed accounts of the London Pageants are scarce,

and some of such extreme rarity, as to bear a price at the
rate of two and three guineas a leaf. The description of Sir
Patience Ward's show on the 29th of October,1680, com-
posed by Thomas Jordan, is an interesting specimen of the setting
out and pageantry of this procession.^) The Lord Mayor
being of the livery of the merchant-tailors' company, at seven
o'clock in the morning, liverymen of the first rank, appointed
to conduct the business of the day, assembled at merchant-
meet the masters, wardens, and assistants, in their
tailors' hall, to
2
gowns, faced with foyns. ( ) In the second rank, others in gowns
faced with budge,( 3 ) and livery-hoods. In the third rank, a num-
ber of foyns-bachelors, and forty budge-bachelors, both attired

in scarlet hoods and gowns. Sixty gentlemen-ushers, in velvet

coats and chains of gold, bearing white staves. Thirty more
in plush and buff, bearing colours and banners. Thirty-six
of the king's trumpeters, with silver trumpets, headed by the
serjeant-trumpeter, he wearing two scarfs, one the Lord Mayor's,
and the other the company's colours. The king's drum-major,
followed by four of the king's drums and fifes. Seven other
drains and two fifes, wearing vests of buff, with black breeches
and waste scarfs. Two city marshals on horseback, with at-
tendants. The foot-marshal, with a rich broad shoulder-scarf,
to put them in rank and file, attended by six others. The

(*) The printed descriptions are mostly in the present or future tense.
?
( ) Foyns, the skin of the martin.
3
( ) Budge, lambs'-skin, with the wool dressed outwards.
 251

fence-master, with attendants, "bearing bright broadswords drawn.

Poor pensioners, with gowns and bearing standards and
caps,
banners. A troop azure gowns and caps.
of poor persons, in
One hundred more with javelins and targets, bearing the arms of
their benefactors. Being all assembled, they are by e foot-mar-

shal's by two and

judgment, arranged into six divisions, ranked out
two. The First Division contains the ensigns of the company,
followed by the poor company of pensioners. Four drums and
one fife. Pensioners in coats as before described. Persons
of worth, each bearing a standard or banner. Four trumpets
Two merchant-tailor's ensigns, bearing their supporters and
crest. Six gentlemen-ushers. The budge-bachelors, marching
in measured order. Second Division. Six trumpets. Two
gentlemen, bearing the coats of arms of the city, and the mer-
chants-tailor's company. Eight gentlemen, wearing gold chains.
The foyns-bachelors. Third Division. Two Gentlemen in velvet
coats with banners. Ten gentlemen-ushers in coats and chains of
gold as before described. A large body of the livery in their
"
gowns and livery-hoods, followed by all Lord Mayors in the

potential mood." In their rear divers of the city trumpets. Two

gentlemen bearing the arms of the city and the Lord Mayor.
Gentlemen-ushers. The court of assistants. Four drums, six trum-

pets. Three gallants, bearing the banners of the diadem. The

king's, queen's, and ensigns, attended by six gentlemen as
city's

pages. The masters and wardens of the merchant-tailors' com-

pany. Thus formed, they march from merchant-tailors' hall to
the Lord Mayor's house, where his lordship and the aldermen take

horse, according to their degree, and the whole body proceed

in state to Guildhall. Being met at the gate by the old Lord

Mayor, and there attired with the gown, fur hood, and scarf, and
guarded by knights, esquires, and gentlemen, they all march
through King Street ddwn to Three-crane wharf, where the Lord

Mayor and aldermen, discharging some of the attendants, take

barge at the west end of the wharf ; the court of assistants' livery,
and the best of the gentlemen-ushers taking barge at the east-end.,
The rest of the ushers, with the foyns and the budge-bachelors
 252

remain ashore, with others, to await the return of his lordship,

who proceeds with several city companies by water, and is rowed
all along by the Strand to Westminster; a pleasure-boat with
great guns saluting him on the way.
aboard At New Palace
Stairs they disembark, and making a lane to the hall, the Lord

Mayor passes along to take the oath and go through the usual
ceremonies. These being completed, he makes a liberal dona-
tion to the poor at Westminster, reimbarks with all his retinue,
and being rowed back to Blackfriars Stairs, he lands there under
beat ofdrum and a salute of three volleys from the Artillery Com-
pany in their martial ornaments, some in buff, with head-pieces,
many being of massive silver. From Blackfriars they march
before the Lord Mayor and aldermen through Cheapside to Guild-
hall. The pensioners and banners who went not to Westminster,
being set in order to march, the foot marshal in the rear of the
Artillery Company, leads the way along by the channel up Ludgate
Hill, through Ludgate, into St. Paul's church-yard, and so
into Cheapside, where his lordship is entertained by the first

pageant, consisting of a large stage, with the coat armour of the

merchant-tailors' company, eminently erected, consisting of a large
tent royal, gules, fringed and richly garnished, or, lined, faced and
doubled ermine. This stage is winged or flanked by two other
stages, bearing two excellent figures of lively carved camels, the

supporters to the company's coat. On the back of one camel, a

black native Indian, in a golden robe, a purple mantle fringed
with gold, pearl pendants in his ears, coronet of gold with feathers,
and golden buskins laced with scarlet ribbon, holds a golden
bridle in his left, and a banner of the company representing
Treasure in his right hand. On the other camel, a West Indian
in a robe of silver, scarlet mantle, diamonds pendant from his ears
buskins of silver laced with purple ribbon, a golden crown fea-

thered, holds a silver bridle in his left, and. a banner of the Lord

Mayors, representing Traffic, in his right hand. On one of the

camel-stages four figures sit on pedestals, one at each corner,
representing, Diligence, Industry, Ingenuity, and Success; on
the other camel-stage, in like manner. Mediocrity, Amity, Verity -,
 253

Variety, all richly habited in silk or sarcenet, hear splendid em-

blems and banners. The royal tent or imperial pavilion, between
these two stages, is supported on one side by a minister of
state representing Royalty, and on the other side by another repre-
senting Loyalty; each in rich robes of honor gules, wearing
on their left arms shields azure, with this motto in gold, For the
king and kingdom, one bearing a banner of the king's, and the
other, one of the city's banners. On a high and eminent seat of
throne-like ascension, is seated Sovereignty in royal posture and
alone, with black curled hair, wearing an imperial crown, a robe
of purple velvet, lined, faced, and caped with ermine, a collar of
SS with a George pendant ; bearing in one hand a golden globe,
in the other a royal sceptre. On a seat beneath, are Principality,
Nobility, and Honour, all richly habited. On the next seat

gradually descending beneath, are, 1. Gentility, shaped like a

scholar and soldier, holding in one hand, clad with a golden gaunt-
let, a silver spear, in the other a book ; 2. Integrity, wearing an
earl's coronet for the court, a loose robe of scarlet-coloured silk

for the city, underneath a close coat of grass green plush for the

country ;
3. Commonalty, as a knight of the shire in parliamen-
tary robes. On the lowest seat, an ancient English Hero, with
brown curling hair, in ancient armour, as worn by chief com-

manders, the coat of mail richly gilt, crimson and velvet scarf

fringed with gold, a quiver of arrows in a gold belt on one side, a

sword at the other, buskins laced with silver and gold, a silver
helmet with red and white plume ; in one hand a large long boAv,
and a spear in the other. This personage, representing Sir John
Hawkwood, a merchant-tailor of martial renown, under Edward
III., when he conquered France, as
soon as he perceives the lord

mayor prepared, with attention riseth up, and with a martial bow
exhibiteth a speech in verse of thirty-seven lines, in compliment to
the merchant-tailors and the lord mayor. His lordship testifying
his approbation, rideth with his brethren through the throng
of spectators, till at Milk Street end, he is intercepted by The

second Pageant, which is a chariot of ovation, or peaceful triumph

adorned with delightful pieces of curious painting, and drawn by

 254

a golden lion and a lamb. On the lion is mounted a young negro

prince, richly habited, according to the royal mode in India, hold'

ing a golden bridle, and in the other hand St. George's banner
representing Power. On the lamb is mounted a white beautiful
seraphim-like creature, with long bright flaxen curled hair, and on
it a golden coronet of cherubim's heads and wings, a carnation

sarcenet robe, with a silver mantle and wings of gold, silver, purple,

and scarlet, reining the lamb by a silver bridle in his left hand,
and with his right bearing an angelical staff, charged with a red
cross, representing Clemency. In the chariot sitteth seven persons,

1. Concordia, 2. Unanimia, 3. Pacifica, 4. Consentania, 5.

Melodea, 6. Benevolentia, (whose habits, and those of other

characters already and hereafter mentioned, are not described here

for want of room) and 7.

" Harmon ia, a lady of great gravity, with
masculine aspect, wearing a lovely dark brown peruke, curiously

curled, on which is planted a crown imperial ; she wears a robe of

French green velvet, pleasantly embroidered with gold, a crimson
coloured silk and silver mantle, and sitting majestically alone in

front, upon the approach and fixation of my lord mayor, improves

the opportunity, riseth up, and delivereth an oration," of forty-four
lines in verse, wherein she acquaints his lordship that the other
characters are her attributes, recommends unity, because division
is the policy of the Pope and the Jesuits, expresses her belief
that if the lion and the lamb fall out, she should run to ruin,
descants upon magistrate-like virtues, and in the end tells his

lordship,

You have done all things fair, no actions foul,

Your sherevalry gave relish of good rule,
Nor need they doubt your mayoralty, therefore,
Begging your pardon, I shall say no more.
This speech being concluded, his lordship exhibiting a
gracious
aspect of favourable acceptation, advanceth further towards Guild-
hall, but is civilly obstructed by another scene, and in
regard,
his lordship is a merchant, and his company merchant- tailors,
the Third Triumphal Scene, or Pageant, is a ship called the
 255

Patience, with masts, and sails, fully rigged, and manned, the cap-
tain whereof addresseth to my lord a speech beginning.

What cheer, my lord ? I am return'd from sea,

To amplifie your day of Jubilee,

In this tried vessel, &c.

His lordship having surveyed the ship, and the trumpets sounding,
he continueth his determined course towards Guildhall, but by the
way is once more obstructed by another scene, called the Palace

of Pleasure, which is a triumphal Ionic arch of excellent struc-

ture, where, in distinct and perspicuous situations, sitteth nine

beautiful and pleasant ladies, wh ose names, natures, and orna-
ments are consentaneous, 1. Jollity, 2. Delight, 3. Fancy, 4.

Felicity, 5. Wit, 6. Invention, 7. Tumult, 8. Slaughter, 9.

Gladness ; all of them properly enrobed and adorned ; and to

augment their delight, there are several persons properly habited'

playing on sundry loud instruments of music, one of which, with
a voice as loud and as tunable as a treble hautboy, chanteth out a

Ditty in commendation of the Merchant-tailor's Trade, commencing

thus,
Of all the Professions that ever were naru'd
The Taylor's though slighted, is much to be fam'd ;

For various Inventions and Antiquity,

No Trade with the Taylers compared may be ;
For warmth and distinction and Fashion he doth
Provide for both Sexes with Silk, Stuff, and Cloth :

Then do not disdain him or slight him, or flout him,

Since (if well consider'd) you can't live without him.
But let all due praises (that can be) be made
To honour and dignifie the Taylers trade.

When Adam and Eve out of Eden were hurl'd,

They were time king and queen of the world
at that :

Yet this royal couple were forced to play

The Taylers, and put themselves in green Array ;
For Modesty and for Necessity's sake
They had Figs for the Belly, and Leaves for the Back ;

And afterwards Clothing of Sheep-skins they made :

Then judge if a Tayler was not the first Trade.
The oldest Profession ; and they are but Raylers,
'

Who scoff and deride men that be Merchant-Taylery.

 256

This song, containing five more verses, "being ended, the foot-
marshal places the assistants, livery, and the companies on both
sides of King's-street, and the pensioners with their targets hung
on the tops of the javelins ; in the rear of them the ensign-bearers ;

drums and fifes in front ; he then hastens the foins and budge-
bachelors, together with the gentlemen ushers, to Guildhall,
where his Lordship is again saluted by the Artillerymen with three
volleys more, which concludes their duty. His land attendants
pass through the gallery or lane so made, into Guildhall ;
after

which the company repairs to dinner in the hall, and the several
silk-works and triumphs are likewise conveyed into Blackwell-
hall ;
and the officers aforesaid, and the children that sit in the

pageants, there refresh themselves until his Lordship hath dined.

At the dinner in Guildhall, his Lordship and the guests being
all seated,the city music begin to touch their instruments with

very artful fingers. Their ears being as well feasted as their palates,
and a concert lesson or two succeeding, " a sober persons with a good
voice, grave humour, and audible utterance, proper to the condition
of the times," sings a song called The Protestants' Exhortation,
the burden whereof is, Love one another, and the subject against

the catholics. The song being ended, the musicians play divers
new which having done, three or " habit themselves
airs, four,

according to the humour of the song," and one of them chanteth

forth The Plotting Papist's Litany, in ten stanzas, the first of
which ends with

Joyntly then wee '1

agree,
To sing a Litany,
And let the burden be,
Ora pro nobis.

The Litany 1
( ) concluded, and night approaching, the festival

l
( ) Nearly a century and a half after the above mentioned Litany, com-

posed by the City Laureate, was sung in character for the entertain-
ment of the corporation of London, I was necessarily present for three
successive days during certain trials in Guildhall, when the celebration
of Lord Mayor's day by a Mock Litany on the same spot,
might have
been among the serviceable precedents cited to the juries.
 257

terminates. Whereupon his Lordship, attended by a retinue of his

own. company, takes coach and conducted to Skinners'-hall, and
is

being housed, those attendant on him then depart, and the triumphs
and silk-works by the care of the master artificers being lodged for
that night in Blackwell-hall, are on the next day conveyed to Mer-

chant-Taylors' hall.
In 1687 the pageants were very costly, and prepared at the ex-
pense of the company of Goldsmiths, to which Sir John Shorter,
Knt., the Lord Mayor for that year belonged. Matthew Taub-
inan describes the festival as " a liberal and unanimous assembly
of all the chiefs of the imperial city of the most flourishing king
dom in the universe ; this year, adorned with the presence of their
most sacred majesties, the king (James II.), Queen, Queen-dowager,
Prince and Princess of Denmark, with all the chief nobility and

principal officers of the court ; the archbishop of Canterbury, and

chief prelates of the church; the Lord Chancellor, Lord Chief
Justice, and all the learned judges of the laws ; with all foreign

ministers, ambassadors, envoys, residents, who having observed the

tables of the most puissant
princes, and seen the most hospitable

preparations of foreign nations, rest here amazed at the ne plus

ultra of all entertainments !" It should be mentioned that Taub-

man was the City Poet ;

and that since the visit of Charles II. in

1674, the Lord Mayor on the day of his mayoralty had not enter-
tai nedthe king. He says, " we must not omit the stateliness of
the morning procession and progress by water to Westminster,

where his Lordship once a year (as the Duke of Venice to the sea),
weds himself to the Thames with a ring of surrounding barges,
that being also a part of his dominion." The pageants were four
in number and exceedingly splendid, and the principal character in
each delivered a versified address to the Lord Mayor. One of the

pageants, a ship, the Unity of London, a merchant adventurer to

Norway and Denmark, was an honour paid to the Lord Mayor by

Ms company on account of his lordship's mercantile occupation.

This ship, laden with all sorts of timber for ship and house build-

ing, and architecture, represented his lordship's way of traffic. It

measured in length from the poop to the stern an hundred and

34
 258

forty-jive feet, and in lieight forty-five feet from the water to the

stern. She carried twenty-two guns, with ancients, pendents,

streamers, flags, tackling, anchors, and all sorts of rigging, apper-

taining to a merchantman of that burden. On board were a

captain and his mate, a gunner and his mate, a boatswain, and a
fullcompliment of men, care being taken to assign to each man his
proper station ; some at the main tack, others the braces, others
the bow lines ;
some climbing up the ladders to the main-top, and
others sitting across the yard-arm. The mariners were dressed in

Indian and rugged yarn caps, blue, white, and red. The
stripes,

captain, dressed in Indian silk with a rich fur cap, being placed in
the stern with several trumpets, on the boatswain giving a signal

by his whistle, accosted his lordship with a speech. pageant of A

such a description, and of such enormous bulk, it is almost difficult
in our times to conceive as having been erected at so late a period ;

yet structures of corresponding magnitude are described on other

and the fact is beyond all doubt.
occasions,
The Goldsmiths' pageant in this show was equally imposing, and
must have been of amazing size. It was a " Hieroglyphic of the
Company," consisting of a spacious laboratory or workhouse, con-

taining several conveniences and distinct apartments for the differ-

ent operators and artificers, with forges, anvils, hammers, and all

instruments proper for the mystery of the Goldsmiths. In the

middle of the frontispiece, on a rich golden chair of state, sat St.
Dunstan, the ancient patron and tutelar guardian of the company.
He was attired, to express his prelatical dignity and canonization,
in a robe of fine lawn,with a cope over it of shining cloth of gold

reaching to the ground. He wore a golden mitre beset with pre-

cious stones, and bore hand a golden crosier, and in his
in his left

Behind him were Orpheus and

right a pair of Goldsmith's tongs.
Amphion playing on melodious instruments ; standing
more for-
ward were the Cham of Tartary, and the grand Sultan, who being
"
conquered by the Christian harmony seemed to sue for reconcile-
ment." At the steps of the prelatical throne was a goldsmith's

forge and furnace, with fire, crucibles and gold, and a workman
blowing the bellows. On each side was a large press of gold and
 .259

silver plate. Towards the front were shops of artificers and jewel-
lers all at work with anvils, hammers, and instruments for enamel-
ling, beating out gold and silver plate; on a step below St.

Dunstan an assay-master, with his trial-balance and implements.

sat

There were two apartments for the processes of disgrossing, flatting,

and drawing gold and silver wire, and the fining, melting, smelting,
refining, and separating of gold and silver, both by fire and water.
Another apartment contained a forge with miners in canvas
breeches, red waistcoats and red caps, bearing spades, pickaxes,
twibbles, and crows and making adits. The
for sinking shafts
Lord Mayor having approached and viewed the curiosity of the
pageant was addressed in

A SPEECH BY ST. DUNSTAN.

Waked with this music from my silent urn,

Your patron DUNSTAN comes t' attend your turn ;

AMPHION and old ORPHEUS playing by,
To keep our forge in tuneful harmony.
These pontifical ornaments I wear
Are types of rule and order all the year ;

In these white robes none can a fault descry,

Since all have liberty as well as I ;

Nor need you fear the shipwrack of your cause,

Your loss of charter or the penal laws,
Indulgence granted by your bounteous prince,
Makes for that loss too great a recompence.
This charm the Lernsean Hydra will reclaim ;
Your patron shall the tameless rabble tame.
Of the proud CHAM I scorn to be afear'd ;
I'll take the
angry SULTAN by the beard.
Nay, should the DEVIL intrude amongst your foes,
[Enter DEVIL.
DEVIL. What then?
ST. DUNSTAN. Snap, thus, I have him by the nose !

The most prominent feature in the Devil's face being held by

St.Dunstan's tongs, after the prelate had duly spurned the sub-
mission of the Cham of Tartary and the Grand Sultan, a silversmith
with three other workmen proceeding to the great anvil, commenced
 260

woiking a plate of massy metal, singing and keeping time upon the
anvil. Upon, this Taubman says, "the speech being ended, the
pageant moves easily, being led by a guard of twenty-four in the

front, twelve of which are lictors in Roman habits, bearing axes

in their hands, with head-pieces, and leopards' heads on each
shoulder, on their buskins; and twelve yeomen bearing
as also

blunderbusses, apparelled after the same manner with head-pieces

and buskins; besides green men, swabs, satyrs, and attendants,
innumerable." Before the arrival of the Lord Mayor and his train
at Guildhall, his Majesty passed on horseback through the city
with a large guard to attend him, led up by the Duke of Northumber-
land, and the foot guard by the Lord ^Graven. The royal visitants
dined at a table raised upon the hustings at the east end of the hall ;
the foreign ambassadors, the lords of the council, and others of the

peerage and nobility, at the two next tables raised on each side of
the hall ; the Lord Mayor, the citizens of the different liveries at
several tables which filled the whole body of the hall, and the
Aldermen dined at a table raised at the west end. His lordship
beginning their Majesties' healths, the hall was filled with huzzas
and -acclamations. At dinner, before the banquet, a loyal song
was provided for the entertainment of his Majesty.

The printed account of Lord Mayor's Show next year, the year
of that king's abdication, " London's
is entitled Anniversary Fes-
tival, performed on Monday, October 29, 1688, for the entertain-
ment of the Eight Hon. Sir John Chapman, Knight, Lord Mayor
of the City of London ; being their great year of Jubilee with :

a panegyric upon the .restoring of the Charter ; and a sonnet pro-

vided for the entertainment of the King ;" also by Taubman,
the City Laureate. On the following Lord Mayor's day, October
29th, 1689, Prince
the of Orange being seated in the vacant
throne as King William III., he dined at Guildhall with Queen

Mary, the Prince and Princess of Denmark, the whole court,

and both houses of Parliament, when there were "several pa-
geants and speeches, together with a song for the entertainment
of their Majesties." Taubman also prepared this pageant, and
provided the same loyal song to entertain "William III. that he
 261

had caused to be sung for the entertainment of James II. This

was the second mayoralty of Sir Thomas Pilkington ; who being of
the Skinners' company, a pageant in honour of their occupation,
"
consisted of a haunted and inhabited with all
spacious wilderness,
manner of wild beasts and birds of various shapes and colours, even
to beasts of prey, as wolves, bears, panthers, leopards, sables and
beavers; likewise dogs, cats, foxes, and rabbits, which tost up now and
then into a balcony fell oft upon the company's heads, and by
them tost again into the crowd,, afforded great diversion \ melodious

harmony likewise allayed the fury of the wild beasts, who were con-
tinually moving, dancing, curvetting, and tumbling to the music."
At the alteration of the style, the Lord Mayor's show, which had
been on the 29th of October, was changed to the 9th of November.
The speeches in the pageants were usually composed by the city Poet,
an officer of the corporation, with an annual salary, who provided a

printed description for the members of the corporation before the day.
Settle, the last city Poet, wrote the last pamphlet intended to describe
a Lord Mayor's Show
;
it was for Sir Charles
Duncome's, in 1708,
but the Prince of Denmark's death the day before, prevented the
exhibition. The last lord mayor who rode on horseback at his
mayoralty was Sir Gilbert Heathcote in the reign of queen Anne.
The modern exhibitions, bettered as they are by the men in armour
under Mr. Marriott's judicious management, have no pretension to vie
with the grandeur of the " London Triumphs." In 1760, the Court
of Common Council recommended pageants to be exhibited for the
entertainment of their majesties on Lord Mayor's day. Although
such revivals are inexpedient, yet, surely, means may be devised for

improving the appearance of the present procession, without father

expenditure from the city funds, or interfering with the public appro-
priation of the allowance for the support of the civic dignity.
 262

XL THE GIANTS IN GUILDHALL.

" arch'd so high that Giants may get through.

Shakspeare.

ALL of the Lord Mayor's Show, to remind the

that remains

curiously informed of its ancient character, is in the first part of

the procession. These are the poor men of the company to which
the Lord Mayor belongs, habited in long gowns and close caps
of the company's colour, bearing painted shields on their arms,
but without javelins. So many of these head the show, as there
are years in the Lord Mayor's age. Their obsolete costume and

hobbling walk are sport for the unsedate, who, from imper-
fect tradition, year after year, are accustomed to call them old
bachelors. The numerous band of gentlemen-ushers in velvet

coats, wearing chains of gold and bearing white staves, is reduced

to half-a-dozen full-dressed footmen, carrying umbrellas in their

hands. The antiquarian reminiscences occasioned by the throw-

ing of substances that stone-eaters alone would covet, from the
tops of the houses, can arise no more. (*) Even the giants in Guild-
hall, elevated upon octagon stone columns, to watch and ward the
great east window, stand unrecognised, except in their gigantic
capacity.
From the timewhen I was astonished by the information, that,
*'
every day when the giants hear the clock strike twelve, they

.(*) This practice, derived perhaps from the kindly showering of comfits and

sweet cakes peculiar to the pageant, has been abolished by the efforts of suc-
cessive Lord Mayors.
 263

come down, have had something of curiosity towards

to dinner," I

them. How came they there, and what are they for ? In vaiu
have been my examinations of Stow, Howell, Strype, Noorthouck,
Maitland, Seymour, Pennant, and numberless other authors of
books and tracts regarding London. They scarcely deign to men-
tion them, and no one relates a syllable from whence we can
possibly affirm that the giants of their day were the giants that
now exist. To this remark there is a solitary exception. Hat-
ton, whose New View of London bears the date of 1708, says
in that work, " This stately hall being much damnify'd by the
unhappy conflagration of the city in 1666, was rebuilt Anno
1669, and extremely well beautified and repaired both in and
outside, which cost about 2,500Z., and 2 new Figures of Gigantick
l
Magnitude will be as lie/ore" ( ) Presuming on the ephemeral in-
formation of his readers at the time he published, Hatton has
obscured his information by a brevity, which leaves us to sup-
"
pose that the giants were destroyed when Guildhall was much
damnify'd" by the fire of London in 1666 ;
and that from that
period they had not been replaced. Yet it is certain that giants

were there in 1699, when Ned "Ward

published his London
to Guildhall, he says,
" turned down We
Spy. Describing a visit
King Street, and came to the place intended, which we entered
with as great astonishment to see the giants, as the Morocco am-
bassador did London when he saw the snow fall. I asked my

friend the meaning and design of setting up those two lubberly

preposterous figures ;
for I suppose they had some peculiar end

in it. Truly, says my friend, I am wholly ignorant of what they

intended by them, unless they were set up to show the city what

huge loobies their forefathers were, or else to fright stubborn

apprentices into obedience ;
for the dread of appearing before
two such monstrous loggerheads, will sooner reform their man-
ners or mould them into a compliance with their masters' will,
than carrying them before my Lord Mayor, or the Chamberlain
of London ;
for some of them are asmuch frighted at the names

() Ration's New View of London, 1708, 8vo, p. 607.

 264

of Gog and Magog, as little children are at the terrible sound of

Raw-head and Bloody-hones." There is no doubt that at that
time the city giants were far more popular than now; for in
the same work, two passengers, who had slyly alighted from a
coach without discharging it, at Bartholomew Fair, are addressed
"
by the coachman with, Pay me my fare, or by Gog and Magog
"
you shall feel the smart of my whipcord ; an oath which in our
time is though in all probability it was common then,
obsolete,
or it would not have been used by Ward in preference to
his usual indecency. Again as to giants being in Guildhall be
:

fore Hatton wrote, and whether they were the present statues.
On the 24th of April, 1685, there were "wonderful and stupend-
ous fire-works in honour of their majesties' coronation, (James
II. and his queen) and for the high entertainment of their ma-
jesties, the nobility, and City of London, made on the Thames." (*)

Among the devices of this exhibition, erected on a raft in the

middle of the river, were two pyramids : between them was a
figure of the sun in polished brass, below it a great cross, and be-

neath that a crown, all stored with fire works ;

and a little before
the pyramids " were placed the statues of the two Giants of Guild-

hall, inlively colours and proportions facing Whitehall, the backs

of which were all filled with fiery mateiials," and " from the first

deluge of fire till the end of the sport, which lasted near an hour,
the two giants, the cross, and the sun, grew all in a light flame
in the figures described, and burned without abatement of mat-
ter." From mention of " statues of the two giants of Guildhall,"
this

it is to be inferred, that giants were in Guildhall fourteen years

before Ward's book was published, and that, probably, the fire-
work-maker took them for his models, because their forms
being
" London"
familiar to the City of their appearance would be an
attraction as well as a
compliment to his civic audience. Whether
the giants in the Hall then, were our present giants, will be

satisfactorily determined.

"
(*)
See the Narrative," by R. Lowman, folio, half sheet, 1685.
 2G5

Untilthe last reparation of Guildhall, in 1815, the present

giants stood with the old clock and a balcony of iron-work be-
tween them, over the stairs leading from the Hall to the Courts of
Law and the Council Chamber. When they were taken down,
in that year, and placed on the floor of the hall, I thoroughly exa-
l
mined them They are made of wood,( )
as they lay in that situation.

and hollow within, and from the method of joining and gluing
the interior, are evidently of late construction, but they are too

substantially built for the purpose of being either carried or drawn,

or any way exhibited in a pageant. On inspecting them at that
period, I made minute inquiry of an old and respectable officer
of Guildhall, with whom they were favourites, as to what particu-
lars existed in the city archives concerning them ;
he assured me
that he had himself anxiously desired information. on the same sub-

ject, and that after an investigation through the different offices,

there was not a trace of the period when they commenced to be,
nor the least record concerning them. This was subsequently con-
firmed to me by gentlemen belonging to other departments.
Just before 1708, the date of Hatton's book, Guildhall had been
" in the middle of this front are
repaired ; and Hatton says, depen-
siled in gold these words, Reparata et Ornata Thoma JRawlinson,
Milit. Majore, An. Dom. M.DCC.VI." From whence, and his
in the that
" two new
observation, extract, first quoted, figures of

gigantic magnitude will be as before, he intends his reader to

understand that, as before that reparation there had been two giants,
so with the new adornment of the hall there would be two new

giants.
The illustration, or rather proof of Hatton's meaning, is to bd
found in " The Gigantic History of the two famous Giants in
z
Guildhall, London."( ) This very rare book, and I call it so because

(*) Noorthouck writing in 1773 (Hist, of London, 4to, p. 590) erro-

neously affirms that the giants are made of pasteboard.

" Third
(*) Edition, corrected. London Printed for Tho. Boreman,
:

Bookseller, near the Giants in Guildhall, and at the Boot and Crown, on

Ludgate Hill, 1741." 2 vols, 64mo.

 266

the copy I consult is the only one I ever saw, it is unnecessary to

extract more from than is the present purpose.
really essential to
It states, that " Before the present giants inhabited Guildhall, there

were two giants made only of wicker-work and pasteboard, put

together with great art and ingenuity and those two terrible ori-
:

ginal giants- had the honour yearly to grace my Lord Mayor's

show, being carried in great triumph in the time of the pageants ;
and when that eminent annual service was over, remounted their
old stations- in Guildhall by reason of their very great age, old
till

Time, with the help of a number of city rats and mice, had eaten
up all their entrails. The dissolution of the two old, weak, and
feeble giants, gave birth to the two present substantial, and majestic
giants who, by order, and at the city charge, were formed and
;

1
fashioned. Captain Richard Saunders^ ) an eminent carver in King

Street, Cheapside, was their father ; who, afterhe had completely

finished, clothed, and armed these his two sons, they were imme-

diately advanced to those lofty stations in Guildhall, which they

have peacefully enjoyed ever since the year 1708." From the title
" "
of the Gigantic History it appears to have been published within
Guildhall itself, when shops were permitted there 2
;( )
so that Bore-

man, the publisher, had the best means that time and place could
afford of obtaining true information, and for obvious reasons he was

l "
( ) a citizen
Of and renown,
credit
A train band captain
." Cowper.
2
( )There were also shops formerly within Westminster Hall, on each side,
along the whole length of the hall. I have a print of its interior in that
state, about the year 1720, with books, prints, gloves, and other articles
displayed for sale in cases against the walls, and on the counters, at which
people are being served ; lawyers and their clients walk and converse in
"
the middle of the hall ; the judges are sitting in open court," the courts
being merely partitioned off from the body of the hall to the height of
eight or nine feet, with the side bars on the outside, at which the attorneys
moved for their rules of course. Exeter Change now, except as to width,
is a pretty exact resemblance of Westminster-hall then. Ned Ward
relates, that he and his companion visited Westminster hall and walked
down by the sempstresses, who were very nicely digitising and pleating
turnovers and ruffles for Ihe young students, and coaxing them with
their amorous looks, obliging cant, and inviting gestures.''
 267

unlikely to state what was not correct. It is further related in thisr

work that " the first honour which the two ancient wicker-work
giants were promoted to in the city, was at the Eestoration of
King Charles II., when with great pomp and majesty they graced

a triumphal arch which was erected on that happy occasion at the

end of King Street, in Cheapside." This was before the fire of
"
London, "by which the hall was much damnify 'd," hut not burned
down ; for the conflagration was principally confined to the wooden
roof, and, according to this account, the wicker-giants escaped, till
" "
their infirmities, and the labors of the city rats rendered it ne-

cessary to supersede them.

That wicker was used in constructing figures for the London
pageants is certain. Haywood, in his description of the page-
ants of the Lord Mayor, Eaynton's Show in 1632, says that
" the moddellor and
composer of these seueral pieces, Maister
Gerard Christmas, found these pageants and shows of wicker
and paper, and reduc't them to solidity and substance." But to
"
prove the validity of the statement in the Gigantic History,"
that the present giants were put up upon the reparation of the
hall in 1706, an examination of the city archives became neces-

sary, and as the History fortunately mentions Captain Richard

Saunders as the carver, the name became a clue to successful en-
quiry. Accordingly, on examination of the city accounts at
the Chamberlain's office, under the head of "Extraordinary "Works,"
"
for 1707, I discovered among the sums Paid for repairing of the
Guildhall and Chappell," an entry in the following words :

To Richard Saunders, Carver, Seveanty pounds, by x

order of the Co'mittee for Repairing Guildhall, f

dated y6 xth of April, 1707, for work by him (

done,

This entry of the payment confirms the relation of the Gi-

gantic historian. Saunders's bill, which doubtless contained the

charges for the two giants, and aU the vouchers before 1786.,
 268

belonging to the Chamberlain's office, were destroyed by a fire

there in that year. Beyond this single item, corroborating the nar-

rative of the "Gigantic History," there is no information to be

obtained at Guildhall, where my researches were obligingly as-
sistedby the prompt kindness of Henry "Woodthorpe, jun., Esq.,
deputy town-clerk, William Montague, Esq., clerk of the works,
and B. W. Scott, Esq., of the chamberlain's office.
Giants were a part of the pageantry used in different cities of the

kingdom. By an ordinance of the Mayor, aldermen, and common

council of Chester,^) for the setting of the watch on the eve of the
festival of St. John the Baptist, in 1564, it was directed that there

should be annually, according to ancient custom, a pageant, consist-

ing of four giants, with animals, hobby-horses, and other figures,

therein specified.( 2) In 1599, Henry Hardman, Esq., the Mayor
of that year, from religious motives, caused the giants in the
Midsummer show "to be broken, and not to goe the Demi
in his feathers," and he provided a man in complete armour to go

in their stead; but in 1601, John Ratclyffe, a beer-brewer, being

mayor, set out the giants and the Midsummer showas usual. On
the Eestoration of Charles II. new ones were ordered to be made,
and the estimate for finding materials and workmanship of the
four great giants, as they were before, was at five pounds a giant ;

and four men to carry them at two and sixpence each.

shillings
The materials for making these Chester giants were deal-boards,
nails, pasteboard, scaleboard, paper of various sorts, buckram, size

cloth, and old sheets for their bodies, sleeves and shirts, which
were to be coloured ;
also tinsel, tinfoil, gold and silver leaf, and
colours of different kinds. A pair of old sheets were to cover
the father and mother giants, and three yards of buckram were
provided for the mother's and daughter's hoods. There is an entry
in the Chester Charges of one shilling and fourpence for " arsenic

to put into the paste to save the giants from being eaten by the

Harl. MSS. 1368. 2

( )
Harl. MSS. 2125.
 2G9

rats ;''(*)
a precaution which, if adopted in. the formation of the Oi.

wicker-giants of London, was not effectual, though how long they

had ceased to exist before the reparation of the hall, and the carving
of their successors, does not appear. may perhapsOne conjecture
be hazarded, that, as after the Mayor of Chester had ordered the

giants there to be destroyed, he provided a man in armour as a

substitute ;
so perhaps the dissolution of the old London Giants,
and the incapacity of the new ones for the duty of Lord Mayor's
show, occasioned the appearance of the men in armour in that

procession.
However stationary the present ponderous figures were destined
to remain, there can scarcely be a question as to the frequent use of
their wicker predecessors in the corporation shows. The giants
were great favourites in the pageants. (*) Stow, in describing the
ancient setting of the nightly watch in London on St. John's eve,
relates that " the Mayor was surrounded by his footmen and torch-

bearers, and followed by two henchmen on large horses : the Mayor

had, besides his giant, three pageants ; Avhereas the sheriffs had
only two, besides their giants, each with their morris-dance and
3
one henchman." ( ) It is related that, to make the people wonder,
these giants were armed, and marched as if they were alive, to the

great diversion of the boys, who peering under, found them stuffed

with brown paper. ( 4 ) A character in Marston's "Dutch Cour-

tezan," a comedy acted in 1605, says, "Yet all will scarce make

me so high as one of the Gyanfs stilts that stalks before my Lord

5
Mayor's Pageants." ( )

2
(*) Strutt's Sports, Pref. p. xxvi. ( ) Strutt, p. xxiii.
Giants were introduced into the May-games. " On the 26th of
May,
1555, was a gay May-game at St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, with giants
and hobby-horses, drums and guns, morris-dancers, and other min-
strels." (Strype's Memorials.) Burton (in his Anatomy of Melan-
choly) includes giants among the ordinary domestic recreations of win-
ter.
3
( ) Strutt, p. 319. (*) Brand, i.
p. 257.
6
( ) the stature of the giants, and the introduction of the
Stilts to increase
morris-dance, are instances of the desire to gratify the fondness of our
ancestors for strange sights and festive amusements. cock dancing on A
36
 270

It has been already mentioned,^) that on Queen Elizabeth's pro-

gress to her coronation, Gogmagog and Corinaeus, two giants, were
stationed at Temple-bar. It is not certain, yet it is probable, that

these were the wicker giants brought from Guildhall for the occa-
sion. In the reign before, when Queen Mary and Philip II. of
Spain made their public entry, there was at London-bridge a grand
spectacle, with two images representing two giants, the one named

Corinens, and the other Gog-magog, holding between them certain

2
Latin verses. ( )
There is scarcely a likelihood that these were any
other than Guildhall Giants, which on the occasion of a corporation

rejoicing could be removed with the utmost ease.

stilts,to the music of a pipe and tabor, is in Strutt's Sports (plate xxiii.
p. 221), from a book of prayers written towards the close of the thirteenth
century, (Harl. MSS. 6563). Strutt says that in the present day this
may probably be considered as a mere eifort of the illuminator's fancy;
to show, however, that it was probably a real performance, he exempli-
fies the teachableness of birds j to which may be added, that I have seen
a hen, one of whose limbs was broken by accident and replaced by a
wooden leg, walking among her companions apparently without incon-
venience.
A few readers, I know, will pardon me
for introducing an etching (see
plate) of a Fool's Morris Dance, from a picture painted in a sort of stone
colour, shaded with brown. The. principal performer is striding on
stilts, and with a bauble or whip of long bladders in his right hand, flaps
one of his companions lying on the ground, while he bears on high, in
his left hand, two common bladders, which another figure endeavours to
reach. Two of the dancers seem, by their position, to give full effect to
their bells ; and for the same purpose, another puts a barrel in motion,
by treading on it. To each leg of these five dancers are thirty-two bells :
they wear loose coats, cut in a Vandyke form at the bottom, with tassels
on the points tassels are also attached to their hanging sleeves, and to
:

the tops of their caps, which come over in front like the fool's cock's-
comb. This exhibition takes place, to the music of a drum and flute,
on a stage lighted by a branch of four candles from the ceiling. The
principal spectator is a female, whose waist is grasped by a person look-
ing on over her shoulder ; two men in hats and cloaks are to the right
of the flute-player, and in the other corner is a group of uncovered
figures, one of whom seems to be a friar. The arch humour of the
chief actor's countenance, and the dexterity with which he buffets and
stilts, appear to denote
him a joculator. But, without further remark, I
submit this curious scene to the consideration of those who are better able
to judge of its real character. Mr. Cruikshank's etching has preserved
not only the spirit of the figures, but the minutiae of the costume.
s
(!)
At p. 241. ( )
Strutt's Sports, Pref. p. xxvii.
 271

Orator Henley, on the 21st of October, 1730, availed himself of

the anticipated civic festival for that year to deliver a Lecture upon

it, mentioning the Giants, which he announced by newspaper ad-

vertisement as follows :

" At the
ORATORY,
"
rpHE Corner of Lincoln's- Inn-Fields, near Clare-market, this Day,
being Wednesday, at Six o'Clock in the Evening, will be a new
Hiding upon an old Cavalcade, entitled

THE CITY IN ITS GLORY ; Or,

MY LORD MAYOR'S SHEW ;

"Explaining to all Capacities that wonderful Procession, so much

envy'd in Foreign Parts, and nois'd at Paris ; on my Lord Mayor's Day ;

the fine Appearance and splendor of the Companies of Trade ; Bear and
Chain ; the Trumpets, Drums, and Cries, intermix'd ; the qualifications
of my Lord's Horse, the whole Art and History of the City Ladies, and
Beaux at Gape -stare in the Balconies the Airs, Dress, and Motions
; ;

THE TWO GIANTS walking out to keep Holiday like Snails o'er a Cab- ;

bage, says an old Author, they all crept along; admir'd by their Wives,
and huzza'd by the Throng."

There is no stronger evidence of the indifference to playfulness

and wit at City elections, than the almost total silence on those
occasions respecting such ample subjects for allusion and parallel
as the Giants in the Hall. Almost the only instance of their ap-
plication in this way, is to be found in a handbill on occasion
of a mayoralty election, dated October 4, 1816, addressed "To
the London Tavern Livery and their Spouses." It states that
" the Lord Mayor
day after Mr. Alderman is elected

for the year ensuing, the following entertainments will be provided

for your amusement gratis; viz. 1. The Two GIANTS, at the

bottom of the hall, will dance a minuet by steam, attended by

Mr. Alderman in a new wig upon an elastic principle, a
,

Gentleman having bought half of his old one for the purpose of

making a new peruke for the aforesaid GIANTS.'' This is the first

humourous allusion to the Giants after their removal to their pre-

sent station.
 272
"
by the author of the Gigantick History," that
It is supposed,

the Guildhall giants represent Corinseus and Gogmagog, whose

story seems to be to this effect. After the destruction of Troy,

Brutus, who was

the great grandson of ^Eneas, fled to Italy, mar-
ried the daughter of Latinus, king of Latium, and succeeded him

in the kingdom. At fifteen years of age, Brutus accidentally

killing his father while hunting, was banished to Greece, and in

course of time, collected a band of Trojans, on board a large fleet,
and sailed in search of adventures.

in two daies and a night

Upon the He of Lestrigons they light;

And leaving of their ships at roade, to land

They wand'ring went the country for to view :

Loe there a desert old they fand,

citie
And eke a temple (if report be true)
Where Dian dwelt, of whom the Troian crew
In sacrifice their captain counsell gave
For good successe, a seat and soile to craue.

And he no whit mislildng their advice

Went forth, and did before the altar hold
In his right hand a cup to sacrifice,
Fill'dboth with wine, and white hind's-blood scarce cold;
And then before her statue straight he told
Devoutly all his whole petition

When nine times he had spoken this, and went

Foure times the altar round, and staid agen,
He pour"d the wine and blood in hand he hent
Into the fire

He him then downe by the altar's side,

laid
Upon the white hind's skin espred therefore :

Of sweetest sleepe, he gave himselfe the more

To rest surelie. Then seemed him before
Diana chaste, the Goddesse, to appeare,
And spake to him.

She acquainted Brutus, that far to the west, beyond Gaul, was
a sea-girt isle, which he should conquer and rule over, and his sons
 273

after him, to whom other nations should become subject,

raged by this prediction, they continued their adventures,

And sail'd to Tuscans shores on Europe coast that lie.

When at the last amongst the men they did descrie

Foure banisht bands of Troians in distresse,

Companions of An tenor in his flight,

But Corinceus was their captain than,
For counsell graue a wise and worthie wight ;

In wars the praise of valiantnesse he wan.

Lord Brutus liked well this noble man,
With him full oft confer of fates he wold,
And vnto him the oracles he told.

With this reinforcement they again set sail, and landed at the
haven of Loire in France. Being attacked by the king Goffarius,
two hundred Trojans under Corinceus succeeded presently in
utterly routing the Frenchmen ; but Corinceus, eager to pursue the

flying enemy advanced so far before his followers, that the fugitives
returned to slay him

There he alone against them all, and they

Against him one, with all their force did fight :

He achieved prodigies of valour, until Brutus coming up with a

fresh troop, ended the strife ; the French host were wholly discom-
fited, and nearly
all destroyed by the victorious Trojans. Turon,
the valiantnephew of Brutus, was slain in this battle, and being
buried on the spot, gave name to the city of Tours, which the Tro-

jans built to vex the French ; but their force being much weakene 1

by their successes, Brutus and Uormams set sail once more, and

ai rived at Totness in Devonshire, in the island of Albion.

Those mightie people borne of giants brood

That did possesse this ocean-bounded land,
That did subdue, who oft in battell stood
Gainst them in field, until by force of hand
They were made subject unto Brute's command :

Such boldness then did in the Briton dwell,

That they in deeds of valour did excel 1
 274

Unable to cope with these experienced warriors, none escaped,

Save certain giants whom they did pursue,

Which straight to caves in mountains did them get.
So fine were woods, and floods, and fountains set
So cleare the aire, so temperate the clime,
They never saw the like before that time.

Perceiving that this was the country, denoted by the oracle,

wherein they were to settle, Brutus divided the island among

his forowers, which with reference to his own name he called

Britain.

To Corinseus gave he, frank and free,

The land of Cornwall for his service done,
And for because from giants he it won.

Corinseus was the better pleased with this allotment, inasmuch

as he had been used to warfare with such terrible personages.

The employment he liked fell afterwards to his lot. For, as

on the sea-coast of Cornwall, Brutus was accustomed to
keep
a peaceable anniversary of his landing, so on a certain day, being
one of these festivals, a band of the old giants made their appear

ance,and suddenly breaking in upon the mirth and rejoicings,

began another sort of amusement than at such a meeting was
expected. The Trojans seized their arms, and a desperate battle

was fought, wherein the giants were all destroyed, save Goemagog,
the hugest among them, who being in height twelve cubits, was
reserved alive, that Corinceus might try his strength with him in

single combat. Corinseus desired nothing more than such a match,

but the old giant in a wrestle caught him aloft and broke three of
his ribs. Upon this Corinseus being desperately enraged, collected

heaved up Goemagog by main force, and bearing

all his strength,

him on his shoulders to the next high rock, threw him headlong,
all shattered, into the sea, and left his name on the cliif, which
has been ever since called Lan-Goemagog, that is to say, the
Giant's Leap. Thus perished Goemagog, commonly called Gog-

magog, the last of the giants. Brutus afterwards built a city in a

chosen spot, and called it Troja Nova, which changed in time to
 275

Trinovantum, and is now called London. An ancient writer records

these achievements in Britain to have been performed at the time
when Eli was the high-priest in Judea^
1
)

Mr. Archdeacon Nares in his Glossary, corroborates the Gi-

gantick Historian's supposition concerning the personages that the
Guildhall statues represent, by a quotation from the undermen-
tioned work, of some old verses printed on a broad sheet, 1660 :

And such stout Coronceus was, from whom

Cornwall's honor, and her name doth come.
first

For though he sheweth not so great nor tall,

In his dimensions set forth at Guildhall,

Know' tis a poet only can define

A
*****
gyant's posture in a gyant's line.

And thus attended by his direful dog,

The gyant was (God bless us) Gogmagog.

British Bibliogr. iv. p. 277.

The author of the Gigantick History supposes, that as " Cori-

nseus and Gogmagog were two brave giants, who nicely valued their

honour, and exerted their whole strength and force in defence of

their liberty and country ; so the city of London, by placing these

their representatives in their Guildhall, emblematically declare,

that they will, like mighty giants, defend the honour of their coun-

try and liberties of this their city, which excels all others, as much
as those hugh giants exceed in stature the common bulk of mankind."
Each of these Giants, as they now stand, measures upwards of
fourteen feet in height : the young one is believed to be Corinaeus,
and the old one Gog-mago^.
Such being the chief particulars respecting those enormous

carvings, the terror of the children, the wonder of the appren-

tices, and the talk of the multitude of former days, I close the

T
This account of Corinaeus and Gogmagog, is chiefly extracted from
( )

i. and the
Milton's Early History of Britain, b. Mirrourfor Magistrates.
Each of these works deriving most of the facts related from Jeffery
of Monmouth.
 276

subject, satisfied with having authenticated their origin. In order

to perpetuate their appearance, they are drawn and etched by Mr.
George Cruikshank, whose extraordinary talents have been happily
exercised on my more original fancies. As this may be the last
time that I shall ever write Mr. Cruikshank's name for the press, I

cannot but express my astonishment, that a pencil which commands

the admiration of every individual qualified to appreciate art, should
be disregarded by that class whose omission to secure it in their
service, is a remarkable instance of disregard to their own interests
as the mid wives of literature.

And here, Reader, must end our desultory intercourse on these

affairs. It has not been conducted on my part so well as it might,

had time and circumstances permitted me to completely avail

" Thou
myself of the few facilities in my power. wilt, may be,
not thank me for what I have done, and complain of me for having
left so much undone. All this I do believe thou mayest do
justly ; but thou wilt be my witness that I have been at some trouble.
In short, thou ever wert an editor of such books, thou wilt have
if

some compassion on my failings, being sensible of the toils of such

sort of creatures ;
and if thou art not yet an editor, I beg truce of
thee till thou art one, before thou censurest my endeavours."

FAEEWELL
 ADDENDA.
Let it be book'd with the rest." Shakspeare.

J.HE present note is composed of a few scraps, selected from

a parcel thrown into the fire. This saving regard, with the mis-
cellaneousness of the preceding sheets, and the desire to keep the

press going while the plate of the Fools' Morris Dance was in

preparation, are the real occasion and only apology for more last

words.

Brief notice of De Partu Virginis, a Poem, by Sannazarius

Triumph of Death, a Carnival Pageant, by Pietro de Cosimo
Hell Torments on the Arno Harmony and Flagellation of
the Order of St. Philip Neri St. Macarius and his Flea
Natives of Strood in Kent born with tails Strange licence to

a book Ribera and Lessius on the dimensions of Hell Our

Lady of CarmeTs confraternity St. Ignatius 's Vision of
the Trinity Picture of by Rubens
it Origin of the letters
I H S in Churches The Triangle, an emblem of the Trinity
Rammohun Roy's refutation of it Beehive of the Romish
Church Catholic allegory of Bells The Ringer's Guide
Satan and the Soul All for Money.

SANNAZARIUS, born Naples in 1458, ranks with Vida and Fracas-

at
torius, as the first of the Latin poetsamong the Italians, chiefly on
account of a poem called De Partu Virginis. It tookhim several years
to compose, and twenty years to revise and to commemorate the sub-
;
"
ject he founded a church, and dedicated it Al Santissima Parto delict
Gran Madro di Dio" The Poem is particularly described in a Prefatory
Discourse to a new Edition of the Psalms of David translated into ;

Latin verse, by Dr. Arthur Jonston, Physician to King Charles I. (Lon-

don, 1741, 8vo.) Whence it appears that Sannazarius introduces highly
dramtaic scenes from the New Testament Apocrypha, with classical
37
 278

machinery and produces anachronisms strikingly similar to the same

;

incongruity in the representation of the Feast of the Ass. It is won-

derful that with pretension to taste he could have penned so extraordi-
nary a production. Making the virgin, in astonishment at the annun-
ciation, become pale and look down upon the ground, he compares her
surprise to that of a poor damsel, who, seeing a ship under sail coming
towards her, whilst she is gathering cockles on the sea-shore with her
petticoats tucked up, is in such confusion that she neither lets down her
petticoats, nor runs to her companions, but trembles in silence, and is
immoveable with fear. After the conception, Fame descends to the
infernal regions to inform the inhabitants of the approaching birth, and
to acquaint them that they are to leave Tartarus and Acheron, and the
howling and barking of the three-backed dog. This occasions great
joy among the blessed spirits, and David being inspired to sing,
has a prophetic vision, after relating which the blessed shout for
joy, and carry David on their shoulders along the bank of the
river. At this the Furies are troubled, and Cerberus being fright-
ened, frightens the damned with his terrible howling, and hides his
black tail between his legs. Mary's delivery takes place in a cave,
according to the legend of the Protevangelion, xii ; 14, xiv. 4, &c., in
the Apoc. N. Test. She wraps up the child and puts him into her
bosom, the cattle cherish him with their breath, an ox falls on his knees,
and an ass does the same. The poet declaring them both happy, after
many commendations, promises they shall be honoured at all the altars
in Rome, and apostophizes the virgin on occasion of the resp ect the ox
and ass have shewn her. This introduction of the ox and the ass
warming the infant in the crib, with their breath, is a fanciful construc-
" The ox knoweth his
tion by catholic writers on Isaiah i. 3, owner, and
"
the ass his master's crib in engravings they are so represented to the
present day, as may be seen by reference to rude wood-cuts attached to
Christmas carols. After relating the particulars of the virgin's delivery,
the poet makes God assemble the angels, while he sits on a throne with
a large garment flying over his shoulders, which Nature watching day
and night had woven for him :

"
Quam quondam, ut perhibent, vigilans noctesque diesque,
Ipsa suo nevit rerum Natura Tonanti." b. iii. v. 19, 20.

Amongst other things represented upon this garment, are the shapeless
clay out of which the human race arose, birds flying through the air,
beasts wandering in the woods, fishes swimming in the sea, and the sea
itself foaming. God in his speech to the angels, recommends them to
be favorable to mankind, and calls a female to him, named Lsetitia,
who happened at that time not to be employed in dancing.
" Lsetitiam choreis turn forte vacantem
Advocat." v. 93, 94.

He sends her with her train to earth, to give notice of Christ's birth to
the shepherds. She tells them to go and see a queen rocking a cradle,
and a king in straw, and vanishes with her train. The astonished
shepherds cannot imagine what royal persons they are to inquire for,
and wander over the heath all night, till at last they discover the cave
 279

by the braying of the ass. In a transport of joy they pull up a vast

laurel, a huge palm, and olive trees by the roots, and planting them
round the cave, sing and dance, and make various kinds of melody.
Joseph looks out of the cave, and asks what they are doing ? Informing
him by what means they were sent thither, all of them shake hands,
and go into the cave together, where they sing about forty lines, almost
entirely from Virgil's pastorals. Angels then begin skirmishing in the
clouds, and bring a crown of thorns, with naila, singing all the time.
At this juncture, accidentally, Jordan, the azure king, is revolving
things to come. Surrounded by his beautiful daughters, Glauce, Doto,
Proto, and others, he is chiefly employed in noticing several figures
engraven upon his urn, though ignorant of their meaning, when on a
sudden, he sees new springs break out, and perceives the taste of his
river to be changed. Putting his head out of the water, he discovers
the banks all covered with flowers, and hears the shepherds and the
angels shouting, and declaring that a God was come amongst them.
Upon this, Jordan lifts up his hands to heaven, and relates all the
miracles of Christ, which he says he had been informed of by Proteus.
At the conclusion of his speech, he flings about his shoulders the garment
which the beautiful nymphs of the streams formerly wove for him
in their humid caves ; and finally, plunging himself into the river, the
fable ends.
Italy, the birth-place of Sannazarius, the land of classic achievement
in ancient times, and of superstitious fable and ceremony in after time?,
presented to Christian poets and dramatists a rich and various harvest.
From thence they supplied constant amusement to the lovers of the
marvellous if it were seldom selected with elegance, this is rather
!

ascribable to the restrictions prescribed by the sumptuary laws of

spiritual domination, than to want of fancy in the purveyors for public
entertainment.
It is already noticed (at p. 192, ante) that from the Fathers of the
Oratory, at Eome, proceeded the performances called Oratorios. The
rules of this religious order savor of no small severity. By the Institu-
tions of the Oratory (printed at Oxford, 1687, 8vo, p. 49) they are
required to mix corporal punishments with their religious harmony :

" From the first of November to the feast of the

Resurrection, their con-
templation of celestial things shall be heightened by a concert of music ;
and it is also enjoined, that at certain seasons of frequent occurrence,
they all whip themselves in the oratory. And the custom is, that after
half an hour's mental prayer, the officers distribute whips made of small
cords full of knots, put forth the children, if there be any, and carefully
shutting the doors and windows, extinguish the other lights, except only
a small candle so placed in a dark lanthorn upon the altar, that
the crucifix may appear clear and visible, but not reflecting any light,
thus making all the room dark then the priest in a loud and doleful
:

voice, pronounceth the verse Jube Domine benedicere, and going through
an appointed service, comes Apprehendite disciplinam, &c. ; at which
words, taking their whips, they scourge their naked bodies during the
recital of the 50th psalm, Miserere, and the 129th, De profundis, with
several prayers ; at the conclusion of which, upon a sign given, they
end their whipping, and put on their clothes in the dark and in silence."
The Golden Legend relates an anecdote of St. Macarius which must im-
press every one
with certainty, that had the saint lived so late, and
been honoured by admission into the order of the Oratory, he would have
 280
" It
practised its rules. happed on a tyme that he kylled a flee that
bote hym and
;
when he sawe the blode of this flee, he repented hym,
and anone unclothed hym, and wente naked in the deserte vi. monethes,
and suffered hymselfe to be byten of flyes." But the same authority
exemplifies the fact, that saints are not alike forbearing ; for the apostle
of England, St. Austin, came to a certain town inhabited by wicked
" refused
people, who hys doctryne and prechyng uterly, and drof hym
out of the towne, castying on hym toe tayles of thornback, or lyke
fyshes ; wherefore he besought Almighty God to shewe hys judgment
on them ; and God sent to them a shameful token ; for the chyldren
that were born after in the playce had tayles, as it is sayd, tyl they
had repented them. It is s*id comynly that this fyll at Strode in
Kente ; but blyssyd be Gode, at thys daye is no such deformyte."
Religious plays are shewn (at p. 169, ante) to have been common in
Italy during the thirteenth century, where spiritual shows of all sorts
were set forth in almost every possible form. Sir John Hawkins,
(History of Music, iii. 448) from Felibien, has given an account of
a spectacle, invented and exhibited at Florence in the year 1510, by
Pietro Cosimo, the painter, which Hawkins terms the most whimsical
and at the same time the most terrifying that imagination can conceive.
"
Having taken a resolution to exhibit this extraordinary spectacle at
the approaching carnival, Cosimo shut himself up in a great hall, and
there disposed so secretly every thing for the execution of his design,
that no one had the least suspicion of what he was about. In the
evening of a certain day in the carnival season, there appeared in one
of the chief streets of the city a chariot painted black, with white crosses
and dead men's bones, drawn by six buffaloes and upon the end of the
:

pole stood the figure of an angel with the attributes of Death, and hold-
ing a long trumpet in his hands, which he sounded in a shrill and
mournful tone, as if to awaken and raise the dead upon the top of the
:

chariot sat a figure with a scythe in its hand representing Death,

;

having under his feet many graves, from which appeared, half way out,
the bare bones of carcases. A great number of attendants, clothed in
black and white, masked with Death's heads, marched before and
behind the chariot, bearing torches, which enlightened it at distances so
well chosen, that every thing seemed natural. There were heard as
they marched, muffled trumpets, whose hoarse and doleful sounds served
as a signal for the procession to stop. Then the sepulchres were seen to
open, out of which proceeded, as by resurrection, bodies resembling
skeletons, who sung in a sad and melancholy tone, airs suitable to the
subject, as Dolor pianto e Penitenza, and others, composed with all that
art and invention which the Italian music is capable of while the pro-
;

cession stopped in the public place, the musicians sung with a continued
and tremulous voice, tne psalm, Miserere, accompanied with instruments
covered with crape, to render their sounds more dismal. The chariot
was followed by many persons habited like corpses, and mounted upon
the leanest horses that could be found, spread with black housings,
having white crosses and Death's heads painted at the four corners.
Each of the riders had four persons to attend, habited in shrouds like
the dead, each with a torch in one hand, and a standard of black
taffeta, painted with white crosses, bones, and Death's heads in the
other. In short, all that horror can imagine most affecting at the resur-
rection of the dead, was represented at this masquerade, which was
intended to represent the Triumph of Death. A spectacle so sad and
 281

mournful struck a damp through Florence ; and, although in a time of

festivity, madepenitents of some, while others admiring the ingenious
manner in which every thing was conducted, praised the whim of the
inventor, and the execution of a concert so suitahle to the occasion."
Appalling as this exhibition undoubtedly was, yet its terrors must have
been exceeded by one in the same city, from whence Hawkins supposes
that Cossimo's was taken. This was the performance of the Torments of
the Damned, at the festival of the 1st of May, 1304, when, according to
Sismondi, the bed of the river Arno was transformed into a representa-
tion of the Gulf of Hell, and all the variety of suffering that the imagi-
nation of monks or of the poet had invented, were inflicted, by streams
of boiling pitch, flames, ice, and serpents, on real persons, whose cries
and groans rendered the horrors of the scene complete.
Few subjects have exercised curiosity to a greater extent than Hell.
The author of the Discovery of a world in the Moon, (1638, 12mo.)
p. 201.) relates that Francis Kibera, in his Commentary on a passage ir
the Revelations (xiv. 20,) which says that the blood came out of tht
wine-press even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and sia
hundred furlongs, interprets "this number to be meant of Hell, and as
expressive of its concavity, which he reckons at two hundred Italian
miles but Lessius (De Morib. 1. xiii. c. 24,) thinks that this opinion
;

gives them too much room in Hell, and therefore he guesses that it is
not so wide ; for (saith he) the diameter of one league being cubically
multiplied, will make a sphere capable of containing eight hundred
thousand millions of damned bodies, allowing to each six feet in the
square, whereas, says he, it is certain that there shall not be one hun-
dred thousand millions in all that shall be damned." The Golden
"
Legend, allegorises the cross to be a wine press, In such wyse that
the blood of Christ sprang oute ; but our champyon fought soo strongly
and defowled the pressour soo foule, that he brake the bondes of synne
and ascended into heaven ; and after thys he opened the taverne of
heven and poured out the wine of the holy goost." Nearly akin to these
representations and speculations, are the miraculous stories that formerly
obtained credence. A tract printed at Douay, in 1626, called Jardinet
des Delices Celestes ; la plus revelee par N. S. Jesus d Saincte Gertrude,
bears the approbation ' par nostre Sauveur mesme,' who says :
'
All
which is in this book is agreeable to me, and full of the ineffable softness
of my holy love, from which, as from a fountain, all is drawn that
is here written. All that is in this book is composed, arranged, and
written by me, I using the hands of others, according to my good will
and pleasure."
Such were the inventions that created and gratified the craving of
bigotted ignorance not two centuries ago. Indeed we find the most
illustrious devotees practising the grossest follies and propagating the
purposes. If in our days the supply is smaller,
silliest tales to effect their
it is because dotard faith is less ; yetA short Treatise of the Antiquity,
Privileges, &c., of the Confraternity of our Bl'ssed Lady of Mount Carmel,
(London, 1796, 18mo.) revives many absiird tales, apparently with the
hope that they may persuade its readers to become brethren of our Lady
of Carmel. It states that " Good Christians have so great esteem for
religious Sodalities, that they are every where in Catholic countries most
generally frequented ; some enrolling themselves in the confraternity of
the MOST BLESSED TRINITY, others in that of the Rosary, &c." Referring
to the treatise itself for an enumeration of miracles and influences
 282

which no rational person would imagine could now be cited as induce-

ments to such a purpose, it is amusiug to turn to the Life of St.
Ignatius (by Father Bouhours, London, 1686, 8vo, p. 31.) for a Vision
of the Trimty, which the biographer states that the Founder of the
" One
Jesuits was favoured with. day, in a most lively manner there
was represented to him the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Going after-
wards in a solemn procession, all his thoughts were upon that mystery ;

he could not speak but of the Trinity, but he spoke so that the most
learned admired him, and the most ignorant were instructed by him.
He wrote down his conceptions on no less than fourscore leaves, since
lost." A splendid picture from the pencil of Rubens, now in Warwick
Castle, represents the Jesuit in his rapture contemplating this mystery!
His uplifted eyes are fixed on the letters I. H. S. blazing in the centre of
a flame of fire. Yet these letters which are still placed on the pulpits
and altar-pieces of Protestant churches, denote neither Trinity nor
Unity, but only exemplify the ignorance and mistake of manuscript-
writers in the early ages. This is shewn by Mr. Casley, in his preface
the Catalogue of the King's MSS. He "
to (p. xxiii). says that in
Latin MSS. the Greek letters of the word Christus, as also Jesus, are
always retained, except that the terminations are changed accordin.cr_to
the Latin language. Jesus is writen I H
S, or in small characters i ii s,
which is the Greek I H
2, or irj s an abbreviation of lya-ovs. However,
the scribes knew nothing of this for a thousand years before the inven-
tion of printing ;
for if they had, they would not have written i h s, for

irjfTovs ;
but they ignorantly copied, after one another, such letters as they
found put for those two words nay, at length they pretended to find
:

Jesus Hominum Salvator comprehended in the word I H

S ; which is
another proof that they took the middle letter to be h, not 17. The dash
also over the word which is a sign of abbreviation, some have changed
to the sign of the cross." I had observed more on this subject, but
within the present year these letters have been constellated on the altar-
piece of the church belonging to the parish wherein I reside ; and
desiring to owe nothing but good will to my
neighbours, I suppress
further remark, lest some of them may suppose that I design to reflect in
an unfriendly way on a circumstance wherein, as to intention, they have
unknowingly erred. The corruption of the note of abbreviation men-
tioned by Casley is common to Catholic books and in old prints, very
frequently with the addition beneath the letters, of the three nails of
the cross, diverging from the points in a fan-like form. That there
were four nails was maintained at one time, from a supposition that
each foot was separately nailed, instead of both feet being transfixed by
one nail ; but as, by the latter mode, the disposition of the limbs looks
better to the eye, the best painters decide in its favour, while the number,
three, has rendered it convenient as an emblem of the Trinity.
The symbol denoting the co-equality of persons in the Trinity by an
equilateral triangle, has of late years been converted into a triangle, of
which only two sides being equal, the third side is consequently unequal,
This forms the base of a triangle consisting of one perfect rectangle and
two acute angles, and by a strange confusion, the second person of the
Trinity, already supposed to be comprehended in the figure of a triangle,
is here superadded in the form of a dove hovering beneath the base,
with a circle of effulgent rays comprehending the whole. Vast numbers
 283

of prayer-books now
in use are stamped in gold on the covers, with this
senseless device. Indeed the incorrectness of the perfect Triangle as a
symbol, is demonstrated by the celebrated Brahmin, Eammohun Roy,
who having upon deliberate conviction become a Christian, has pub-
lished The Precepts of Jesus, the Guide to Peace and Happiness, (London,
1822, 8vo., p. 306) which contains the refutation alluded to, says that
" The
analogy between the Godhead and a triangle, in the first instance,
denies to God any real existence for extension of all kinds, abstracted
;

from position or relative situation, exists only in idea. Secondly, it

destroys the iinity attempted to be established between Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost ; for the three sides of a triangle are conceived of as sepa-
rate existences. Thirdly, it denies to each of the three persons of God,
the epithet God, inasmuch as each side cannot be designated a triangle,
though the Father of the universe is invariably called God in the strict
sense of the term." Then he shows that the manner of arguing by a
mathematical figure, is adapted to support the polytheism of the Hindoos,
and would in fact " equally suit the Atheist ; for as the Trinity is repre-
sented by the three sides of a triangle, so the eternal revolution of nature
without any divine person, may be compared to the circle, which is con-
sidered as having no sides or angles, or which when considered as a poly-
gon, having an infinite number of sides, the illustration of the Trini-
tarian doctrine by the form of the triangle, will by analogy justify those
sects who maintain the existence of an infinite number of persons in
the Godhead," &c.
By allegory and symbol the papacy ensnared the ignorant. The
author of the Beehive of the Romish Church, says, in defence of his
title, that "our dear and loving mother, the holie Church of Rome,
ought not to scorne or disdaine that wee doe compare her customs and
orders to a Beehive, considering that she herselfe doth compare the
incomprehensible generation of the Sonne of God from his Father,
together with his birth out of the pure and undefiled Virgine Marie,
unto the Bees; which were in verie deede a great blasphernie, if the
bees were not of so great valour and virtue, that by them wee might
liken and compare the holie church of Rome. And seeing, she saith,
that God is delighted with the giftes and presentes of the bees, why
should not shee herselfe exceedinglie rejoyce with our Bee Hive 1 " Two
curious designs on wood, inserted in this book represent the papal crown
as a hive. Bees with shaven heads, mitres, cardinals' hats, &c., are
flying around it, engaged in shriving, burying, saying mass, &c. A
similar representation nearly occupies the title page of the Dutch trans-
lation printed in 1576. Without the explanation already given, it
might be supposed the title was from a story related in Stodford's
Ways of Rome's Advancement, (1675, 8vo. p. 107) : "A woman's bees
not thriving, by the advice of a neighbour, she steals a consecrated
wafer, and placeth it in one of her hives, hoping it would drive away
the disease and bless their undertakings. The devout bees in honour of
such a guest, fall to work, and with their honeycombs make a
pretty
littlechurch, with windows, a door, a belfry, yea, and an altar too, upon
which they laid the Host, and paid great reverence to it."
The worship of the Romish Church consists of allegory, symbol, and
dramatic exhibition. Specimens of allegory are already in these sheets;
but the contemplations of the Catholics in this way, are to an extent
that modern Protestants can scarcely conceive. For instance, the
ancients at a feast of Minerva and Vulcan, consecrated Trumpets for
religious uses, especially as antidotes against demons, thunder, storms, &c.
 284

To the same end the Catholics baptize Bells in the name of the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and dedicate them to the saints, using
holy water, holy oil, incense, and prayers, in the ceremony ; and, ac-
cording to the missal of Salisbury use, there were godfathers and god-
mothers to the bells, who gave them their names. Durandus the great
Catholic authority for the mysterious services of his church, explains the
allegorical signification of bells after their baptism. He says, (Ration,
Divin. Offic. lib. i. cap. 4) that bells being made of brass, and being
therefore more shrill than the trumpets under the law, denote that God
was then known to the Jews only, but now to all the world that as they
:

are more durable, they signify that the preaching of the New Testament
endures longer than the Jewish trumpets and sacrifices, eve.n unto the
end of time, and that they represent preachers which call men to the
faith. The bell denotes the preacher's mouth, according to the words of
St. Paul, I am become as sounding brass, &c. ; the hardness of its metal
implies the fortitude of the preacher's mind, according to the passage,
/ have given thee a forehead more hard than their forehead. The clapper
soxmding the bell by striking on both sides, denotes the preacher's tongue
publishing both the Testaments, and that the preacher should on one
side correct vice in himself, and on the other side, reprove it in his hearers.
The hand that ties the clapper denotes the moderation of the tongue ;
the wood on which the bell hangs signifies the wood of the cross ; the
iron that ties it to the wood denotes the charity of the preacher, who being
"
inseparably connected with the cross, exclaims, Far be it from me to
glory, except in the cross of our Lord." The wheel that puts the bell in
motion signifies the preacher's mind, which connected with the divine
law, passeth it upon the people by constant preaching. The bell-rope
denotes the humility of the preacher's life. The r.ope tied to the wood
wherein the bell hangs, signifies that the scripture descendeth from the
wood of the cross. The rope being formed of three cords, denotes that
the scripture consisteth of a Trinity, viz., History, Allegory, and Morality :

the descent of the rope from the wood to the hand, signifies the descent
of scripture from the mystery of the cross in the preacher's mouth, and
that it comes to his hand, because the scripture should produce good works.
The upward and downward motion of the rope denotes that the scripture
sometimes speaks of high, and at other times of low matters, sometimes
mysteriously, and at other times, plainly. Again, the downward motion,
signifies the preacher's descent from contemplation to action the upward
;

motion, when the scripture is exalted in contemplation ; also the down-

ward motion signifies the scripture when it is expounded literally; and
the upward motion, when it is expounded spiritually.
A specimen is at hand of an attempt from another quarter to spiritualize
Bells. In 1804 a tract was published, entitled " The Ringer's true
Guide" containing a safe Directory for every true Churchman or an ;

affectionate address to Ringers in every Church and Parish ; by S.

"
Beaufoy," (12mo. p. 24). Mr. Beaufoy seeing that on a moderate calcula-
tion we have more than seventy thousand ringers," addresses them thus :

" If
thou, reader, art a ringer, thou has an active part in the church,
and thou shouldest be careful to perform thy part with holy propriety."
"
He explains how : thou shouldest pray that thou mayest always
fill thy office as God exhorts in his holy word, when he says,
JVhatsoever ye do, do ALL to the Glory of God, (1 Cor. x. 31.) Hence
it appears, that whenever thou art employed in ringing, thou
 285

shouldest ring to the glory of God. I recommend to thy most serious

consideration 1st. What are the most material ends to be answered,
:

by ringing ? 2ndly. I would excite thee to examine whether thou hast

practised ringing with a view to these important ends." This, Mr.
Beaumont attempts with more of good purpose than judgment. To
what extent his piece is popular among the seventy thousand prac-
" me
titioners in tintinnabulary clatter," experience does not enable to
say.
Allied to allegory were such old spiritualizing romances as the Pil-
"
grimage of the Sowle, before alluded to (at p. 122) as pregnant with
beauties that delighted our forefathers." The author of that work, as
afterwards old John Bunyan, delivers himself under the similitude of a
dream which, he says, befell him on a St. Laurence' night sleeping in
his bed. He thought that he was travelling towards the City of Jeru-
salem, when Death struck his Body and Soul asunder ; whereupon the
foul and horrible Sathanas comes towards the soul, which being in great
terror, its Warden or Guardian Angel desires Sathanas to flee away and
not meddle with it. Satan refuses, alleging that God had permitted that
no soul which had done wrong should, on its passage, escape from being
" "
and he says, that the Guardian Angel well
snarlyed in his trappe ;
knows that he, the warden, could never withdraw the Soul from evil or
induce it to follow his good counsel; and that even if he had, the Soul
would not have thanked him for it ; he therefore does not know why
the Angel should interfere, and begs he would let him alone to do with
the Soul what he had a right to do, and could not be prevented from
doing. The parley continues, until they agree to carry the Soul before
Michael, the provost of heaven, and abide his award on Satan's claim.
The Soul was then lifted between them both into the transparent air,
wherein the spirits of the newly dead were passing thickly on every
side, to and fro, as motes flitting in the sun-beam. They tarried not
until they arrived at a marvellous place of bright fire, shining with a
brilliant light, surrounded by a great multitude of Souls attending there
for a like purpose. The Guardian Angel entered, leaving Satan
without, and also the Soul, who could hear the voice of his warden
speaking in his behalf, and acquainting Michael that he had brought
from earth a pilgrim, who was without, and with him old Satan his
accuser, abiding judgment. Then Satan began to cry out and said,
" of
right he is mine, and that I shall prove wherefore deliver him to
;

me by judgment, for I abide nought else." This caused proclamation to

be made by sound of trumpet in these words All ye that are without,
:

awaiting your judgment, present yourselves before the Provost to receive

your doom but first ye that have longest waited, and especially those
;

that have no great matter and are not much troubled ; for the plain
and light causes shall first be determined, and then other matters that
need greater tarrying." This proclamation greatly disturbed the souls
without. Satan and his evil spirits were most especially angry, and
" It
holding a consultation, he spoke as follows :
appears we are of
little consequence, and hence our wicked
neighbours do us injustice.
These wardens hinder us from our purpose, and we are without favour.
There is no caitiff pilgrim but hath a warden assigned him from his
birth, to attend him and defend him at all times from our hands, and
" salt
especially from the time that he washed in the lye," ordained by
Grace de Dieu, who hath ever been our enemy ; and then they are
taken, as soon as these wardens come, before the provost, and have
38
 audience at their own pleasure ; while we are kept here without, as
mere ribalds. Let us cry out a rowe [hard] and out upon them all !

they have done us wrong ; and we will speak so loud that in spite of
them they shall hear us." Then Satan and his spirits cried out all at
" Michael
once, !
Provost, Lieutenant, and Commissary of the high
Judge do us right, without exception or favour of any party. You
!

know very well that in every upright court the prosecutor is admitted
to make his accusation and propose his petition ; but you first admit
the defendant to make his excusation. This manner of judging is sus-
picious ; for were these pilgrims innocent, yet, if reason were to be
heard, and right were to prevail, the accusers would have the first
hearing to say what they would, and then the defendants after them, to
excuse themselves if they could : we, then, being the prosecutors, hear
us first, and then the defendants." After Satan's complaint, the Soul
heard within the curtain, "a longe parliament ;" and, at the last, there
was another proclamation ordered by sound of trumpet as follows :

"All ye that are accustomed to come to our judgments, to hear and to see,
as assessors, that right be performed, come forth immediately and take
your seats ye well knowing your own assigned places. Ye also that are
;

without, waiting the sitting of the court, present yourselves forthwith

to the judgment thereof, in order as ye shall be called; so that no one
hinder another, or interrupt another's discourse. Ye pilgrims approach
the entrance of this curtain, awaiting without ; and your wardens,
because they are our equals, belonging to our company, are to appear,
as of right the}* ought, within our presence." After this proclamation
was observed, the Guardian Angel said " Provost Michael I here pre-
!

sent to you this pilgrim committed to my care in the world below he :

has kept his faith to the last, and ought to be received into the heavenly
Jerusalem, whereto his body hath long been travelling." Satan an-
swered " Michael attend to my word and I shall tell you another
!

tale." He urged that the Soul, after baptism, on arriving at mature

" It is " in the
age, defiled himself by sin. written," says Satan, midst
of his visage, read it who that wilL There ye may see the shame and
confusion which he hath wilfully wrapped himself in. By that I ask
judgment that he be delivered "
to me." Satan then enumerated the
Soul's various sins, and asked who is it that ought, or may, or dare
excuse him ? I ask no other witness but he that hath always been next
of his counsel, his own Conscience, who dare not, nor will not lie in the
matter : he is mine by right ;
in heaven hath he nought ; let him
therefore he delivered to me that I may go hence forthwith.'' The Soul
then relates, that in great dread and heaviness he knew not what to do
or say, but when he saw his warden remain silent, he was in still
greater dread. He said to me then, says the Soul, that " I must answer
for myself to the accusation, and if I could defend myself I had the right
to do so, but if I could not or durst not in my own person, I must get
some advocate to speak for me. But I well knew that advocates are not
willing to plead any man's cause without it is a just one, or else that
they hope to be rewarded after ; and for so poor a man as I, there
would no advocate plead without being paid before hand for pleaders
:

in worldly courts have tongues like to the languet of the balance that
draweth him away to the party that will give the best reward." Never-
theless the advocates of heaven were of another kind, and ready to
"
speak for the soul ; yet he still thought, that as he was poor, and had
nothing to give an advocate, and had no acquaintance with any saint,
 287

he had better defend himself. He commences, however, by complaining

that be who is now his accuser was his seducer. He suggests that if he
had been a sinner he ought not to have been suffered to go on so long.
He affirms that he has no wisdom to demean himself, and appeals to
Charity, to Jesus, to the Virgin Mary, and to all the saints against his
enemy, who, while he was in the flesh, by deceits and frauds, drove"him
to misdoing. Then, Justice spoke to the following effect : Sir
Judge Repentance and petition is now useless nor can any advocate
! !

plead here who is not from the earth below, and it is against the law
and custom of the court to attempt to excite and stir favor to himself.
The soul had leisure in his lifetime to have prayed, and obtained procu-
rators to promote his interests, but now it is too late." Proclamation
was accordingly made thus " The manner and
:
usage of the Court is,
that the pilgrim answer for himself personally, and plainly give ac-
count of his journey, and other plea nor process ought not to be heard
nor admitted in this place." The soul thus pressed, endeavoured to
defend himself in the best manner he could. He began by tendering
exceptions to Satan's proceedings that he ought not to answer the
:

action brought against him by satan and others, because they were in-
famous and condemned, and therefore driven from heaven ; because
Satan had always been the defendant's personal enemy, by pursuing,
lying in wait, forestalling, spreading nets, arraying traps and setting
other engines, to take and deceive him. Further, he alleged that Satan
was not a proper person to prosecute the action, he being eternally con-
demned, and therefore could not answer to the soul for the wrong done
him, if the action were disallowed ; and, lastly, he alleged that it was
well known that Satan was then, and ever had been, an open liar, the
author of all falsehood, and untruth, and always ready to do and say the
worst. To these exceptions Satan answered to nearly as follows that the
:

manner and custom of heaven is not the same as upon earth that he had
;

seizin of accusement inasmuch as the Court had accepted his accusation:

that when he was kept standing without, the soul did not then except :

that although, true it was, that if the action were avoided, that he
personally could not be heard by reason of his insufficiency, yet there
was one who could in no way be excepted to, and who knew the soul's in-
most thoughts. Whereupon Satan called Synderesys to testify the truth.
The soul's description of this witness is very curious :
''
Then came
forth by me an old one, that long time had hid himself nigh me, which,
before that time I had not perceived. He was wonderfully hideous, and
of cruel countenance ;
and he began to grin, and shewed me his jaws
and his gums, for teeth he had none, they being all broken and worn
away. And when I espied him, I was full sore abashed. He was dread-
fully loathsome and foul to look upon he had no body, but under his
:

head, he had only a tail, which seemed the tail of a worm, of exceeding
length and greatness. To me this loathsome beast began to speak, and
said: I am come to accuse thee. / am not accustomed to make fables,
nor tell no gabbings, but I am believed of truth. I know well thy
thoughts, thy deeds, and thy words. Thou canst make no exception to
me ; and I shall be believed in this Court better than thee. Often have
I warned thee in private, for thy own sake and advantage, of thy miscon-
duct, both in thoughts and words ; and so often bitten thee that all my
teeth are wasted and brok* "
1
and yet thou hast been so obstinate, that
,

no sore biting could turn thee from thy evil ways. And further, I
 288

counselled thee to go to the priest and shew him the hideousness of thy
soul, which by keeping private is blemished and deformed, although that
priest, upon thy disclosure, would have absolved thee." The Soul in-
" I am the Worm
quiring of the witness who he is, receives for answer ;
of Conscience ; for, like a worm, I am wont to bite and to wound them
that wrong themselves." This specimen, modernized in orthography
and style, shews that the curious piece from whence it is extracted, is
not only pregnant with allegory, but is a theological parody upon pro-
ceedings in courts of law. It is issued, as is elsewhere stated, from the
press of Caxton, the first English printer, in the reign of Edward the
Fifth.
One remark, in conclusion, concerning Mysteries. It seems pretty
well agreed that the performance of these religious plays ceased about
1578. Subjoined is the title of a play, printed at London in that year,
"
with the names of the characters. A moral and pitiful Comedi,
intituled ALL FOR MONET plainly representing the maners of men and
:

fashion of the world now adayes. Compiled by T. LUPTON. The names

of them that plaie this Comoedie. Theologie. Science. Arte. Money.
Adulation. Mischievous helpe. Pleasure. Prest for pleasure. Sinne.
Swifte to sinne. Damnation. Satan. Pryde. Gluttonie. Learn-
ing with Money. Learning without Money. Money without Learning.
All for Money. Neyther Money nor Learning. Money les and Friendles.
Gregorie graceless. Moneyles. William with the two wives. Nychol.
S. Laurence. Mother Crooke. Judas. Dives. Godly admonition.
Vertue. Humilitie. Charitie." Lupton's amalgam of mystery with
morality was an accommodation to the general liking for the old perfor-
mances. From about that period it is easy to trace the rapid improve-
ment of popular taste, in the plays of successive authors, until Shakspeare,
exploring the sources of human action exemplified all possible varieties
of character, and taught the philosophy of social life in his imperishable
dramas.
 GLOSSARY.

Brenning, burning.
ABTL, enable. Brydde, bird.
Agens, to meet. Bryth, bright.
Ageyn, against. Busshop, bishop.
Algates, always, nevertheless,
Alosed, reputed, charged with. Buxham, obedient, gentle.
Alwey, always. Buddyng, order, command.
Amys, ill, badly, amiss. Byth, but.
Antecer, predecessor, forerunner. G.
Apayred, injured.
Catel, goods, chattels.
Arer, raise.
Cent, sent.
Aroint, arongt, p. 138,
At, of, from.
Chawmer, chamber, dwelling.
Cher, cheer, comfort ; also dear.
Auerte, avert.
dies, chose.
Auter, awter, altar.
Cheverell, kid leather.
Avyse, advice, counsel.
B. Clene, chaste, pure.
lennes, chastity, purity.
Barrany, barren.
Clepid, clepyd, called.
Barynes, barrenness.
Clowte, beat.
Beforn, before.
Bemys, rays.
Cokwold, cuckold.
Ben, be, entered.
Comfyte, comyfte, discomfited.
Comyn, come.
Benyson, blessing.
Conceyte, witty device.
Ber', bear.
Bestad, taken place, happened.
Conclusyon, determination, judg-
ment.
Bestys, beasts.
Conserve, preserve.
Beteche, recommend, require.
Beth, be. Contekour, a disturber, maker of
Bewte, beauty. Cou'ed, covered [strife.

Blake, black. Cowp, cup.

Blawdyr, scandal, disturbance. Credyl, cradle.

Bier,' darken, dim.
Cropyn, crept.
C'ste, Christ.
Blvthe, blithe, merry.
Curtana, the blunt sword of mercy,
Bot, but.
used at coronations of kings of
Bote, bit.
Bow, bough, bush. England.
Bower, a chamber, dwelling-place. Cus, kiss.
D.
Brake, 'bows of brake,' p. 125
steel; at least, have so j re-
I Dery's leder, deer's leather, buckskin.
sumed to supply the blank lefc Devyr, endeavour, duty.
by Dr. Whitaker. Authorities Devyse, grant.
cited by Arch. Nares, in his Deye, die.
Glossary, published since p. 1 25 Deyte, deity.
was printed, seem to corroborate Dome, doom, judgment,
my notion. Dowter, daughter.
Bren, burn. Drynge, drink.
290 GLOSSARY.

Dwer, door. Hed, head ; also heed.

Dylexcon, dilection, loving kindness. Hefne, heaven.
Dyser's, desires. Hele, health.
Dysspice, despise. Hendyng, end.
Dyu's, diverse. Hent, held, hold.
E. Her', hear, and here; also there.

Egee, egg. Herand, errand.

Estre, Estres, Easter. Hes, has.
Estryge, ostrich. Hese, his ; also these.

Esyd, eased. Hesely, easily.

Ethe, easy, willing. Hey, high.
Every 'ch, each one, every. Hir, hire.
Eu'y, eiiyr, every. Ho, who.
Ho so, whoso.
Famy't, famished, Hodys, hoods.
Far', fare. Hondis, hands.
Faryn, fearing. Howe, ought.
Feetly, dexterously. Howyth, ought.
Felacha'pp, company, society. Hy, hyg, high.
Felas, fellows, companions. Hyge, hie, make haste.
Fenestrallis, inimitation ofwindows Hygth, named.
Ffendys, fiends. Hy'pne, hymn.
Fer, far. Hytte the pynne, p. 63,
"knocked
Ferd, fared. the right nail on the head," guessed

Fer, fere, fellow, mate. I.

[aright.
Fet, fetched. Insampull, example.
Fonde, try, endeavour.
J.
For, because.
Ffortene, fourteen*. Jentyl, gentle.
K.
Fy\t, filled. Kende, known.
G. Knowlyche, acknowledge.
Gaff, gave. Knyll, knell.
Giff, if. Kusse, kiss.
Gites, gowns. Ky, (kyke, to look).
Gle, mirth, music. L.
Gon, -go, proceed. Lave, water.
Goth, go.
Lawhg, laugh.
Gramercy, (grand mercie, fr.)
Lemenyd, limned, emblazoned.
great thanks. Lerne, to teach.
Gran.e, anger, affliction. Lese, lose, damage.
Gramyd, angered, afflicted. Lett, hinder.
Grees, Greeys, steps, stairs.
Lette, p. 42, is probably a clerical
Grotte, a groat. error for
"
telle," tell.
Gynne, a snare, a trap. live, reside.
Levyn,
Gyff, give ; also, if. Levyr, rather.
Gynnynge, beginning. Lewd, illiterate, ignorant.
TT
Logge, p. 68, lodge.
Hane, have.
Loveday, a day of reconciliation.
Haras, "hous of haras," p. 68, a Lowth, bend, stoop.
resting-place for the fatigued ? Lyberary, library.
Harrowing of Hell ; the release of Lyflode, livelihood.
souls & stripping ofHell by Christ.
Lyste, list, desire, choice.
Haryed, ransacked, pillaged, plun-
'
Lythly, gently, easily.
Hasardour, a gamester. [dered.
M.
He, ye, you.
He', hem, them. Maculation, spot, stain of sin.
 GLOSSARY. 291

Malcc, mate, consort. Praty, pretty.

Matrice, womb. Prest, priest.
5
Ma'y, maydy , maiden ;
also a Prevydens, providence.
Maylys, mail armour. [bidielor Pr'ogatyff, prerogative.
Mayst', master. Prow, honour, profit.
Mede, meed, reward. P'stis, priests.

Mekyl, much. P'vyde, p. 40, a contraction for

Melle, meddle, mix. purveyed?
Mende, mind. Puyly, privily. _

Mene, mine. Pylg'n.ys, pilgrims.

Metelys, p. 228, appropriately in Pyn, pain.
character, meetly. Pypys, pipes.
Mevyd, moved, stirred up. Q.
Modyr, mother. Qwedyr, quiver, quake.
Moty, may, might. Qwelle, to destroy, to kill
Mow, may, must ; also mouth. Qwen, queen.
Muse, think, imagine. Qwer, quire, choir.
Mys, a mys, amiss. Qwyk, quick, alive.
Mystyz, mysterious, unknown, K.
Myth, might, lower.

N. Rage, wanton toying.

Rape, to be in haste.
Natt, not.
Reft, bereft, taken away.
Ne, neither.
Ren, run.
Ner, near, nigh.
Repreve, reproof.
Noke, nook, corner. Reprevyd, reproved.
Noti, known.
neither.
Rewlyd, ruled.
Nother,
nor.
Roddys, rods.
Nvn, Rowte, a company.
0.
Ryff, rife, common, openly.
Gblocucyon, obloquy, false report. Ryghtwysnes,rytewisnes,ri<//ieot-
On, one. ness,
Onys, once. Ryth, right.
Ower, over. S.
Owtli, auyht, any thing.
Sapyens, wisdom.
Owughte, out, outright. Sawe, saw, aft old saying.
Owyght, ought. Sawys, sayings.
P.
Sawter, psalter.
Pace, pass, hasten away. Scarfawst, a scaffold,
Pantofles, slippers; at p. 149, high Schadu, shadow.
heeled shoes. Schape, p. 65, escape.
Parde",par Dieu, a petty oath. Schapp, shape.
Pardoner, a licensed seller of papal Schent, shent, hurt, spoiled, ruined,
pardons. Schryve, shrive, to confess.
Parfyte, perfect. Schul, shall.
Parlement, a conference, a council. Sclepyr, slippery.
Passage, pregnancy. Se, see, a province, a dominion.
Pateyn, patten, a dish for the chalice, Sees, cease.
in Church worship. Sefne, seven.
Pawsac'on, pause, delay. Sekernedys, p. 67, look out for workt
Pes, peace. seek support.
Pety enime, a mean adversary, a Sekyr, p. 47, as usual.
slanderer. Sekyrly, p. 68, to seek them f
Pleand, playing. Sen, see.
Pleynge, recreating. Ser*, sir.
Pleyny*, complain Serys, sirs.

Povvste, power. Ses, cease.

 GLOSSARY.

Sesyd, seised, possessed of. Thryste, thirst.

Sexte, sixth. Thwyn, be thwyn, between.

Seyd, seed ; also said. Thynkyht, think, thought it.

Seyden, had said. To, too.

Seyn, seen, said, saying. To hyge, too high.

Seyng, saying. Tolle, tell.

Shrewe, to curse. Ton, toes.

Shullen, -should. Tow'r, p. 14, heavenly rest.

Shyrle, churl. Trayne, connection.

Slynge, sling, to hurl or throw. Tribus, tribe.
Sofreynes, sovereynes, sovereigns. Tron, throne.
Somnor, a summoner, an apparitor. Trowe, think.
Somowne, summon. Trowth, truth, faith.
Sonde, message, messenger. Tweyn, two.
Songen, sung. Tweynei'smetyngjhemeeting of two
Sor'we, sorrow. U.
Sothfastnes, truth.
Sothly, truly. Unknowledge, ignorance.
Sowlen, souls. Alle Soulen day, V.
All Souls' day.
Ve'geabyl, revengeful.
Sownde, message. Verament, verily, truly.
Sowte, sought.
Spowsage, espousals.
W.
Spyliyth, spoileth. Wede, apparel.
Starkly, strongly. Wend, go.
Stere, stir, to move. Wene, think, guess, conjecture.
Stond, stonde, stand. Werd, werde, world.
Stytelerys, p. 227 1 Werkys, works.
Suster, sister. Wers, worse.
Sustren, sisters. Wete, know, understand.
Swinke, labour. Weten, understood.
Swyche, such. Whyte, white.
Sybbe, a relative by blood. Wis, wys, know, imagine.
Syerge, a wax-taper. Wole, will.
Sygt, sight, presence. Wonyng, dwelling-place.
Syse, assize, judgment. Wrank, p. 63, wrong ?
Syth, p. 46, time. Wrecchis, wretches.
Syth, p. 46, afterwards. Wurchepp, worship.
Syttyth, sitteth. Wurdys, words.
j^-
T.
Xal, shall.
Y.
Take, p. 34, shmo.
Taste, p. 70, feel
Y, sometimes stand for th.
Tende, tend, wait on. Yardys, rods, wands.
Yer, years.
Tent, attention, heed, warning.
Yerd, yard, a rod, a wand.
Thonking, thanking.
Yettis, gates.
Thor'jp. 41, thorough; also therefore.
Yne, eyes.
Thor'we, through.
Yturne, changed, altered.
Thorwe oiith, throughout.
Thretty, thirty. Z.
Thrydde, third. ZyngCj young.

END OF THE GLOSSARY.

 INDEX.
A.

ABRAHAM and Isaac,a mystery acted,

Bacchanalian and Saturnalian
at Newcastle, 213 sports,
succeeded by religious
Actium, anniversary of the battle of, shows, 157, 159
turned into the feast of St. Peter Bale, Bishop, notice of him and of
ad vincula, 160 mysteries he wrote, 226
Acts of the Apostles, a grand mys- Baldini and Boticelli, engrave a cu-
tery, performed at Paris, 175 ; rious print of hell, 122
proclamation for its performance, Bamberg, remarkable performance
177; prohibited by the parlia- of a mystery there, 185 and a
;

ment, 179 religious procession of the Pas-

Adam and Eve naked on the stage, sion, 187
220 Baptizing of Christ, a mystery,
Address to the audience at the per- acted at Newcastle, 213
formance of a mystery, 57 Bartholomew Fair, Creation of the
Albans, St., the Devil seen there, World, Noah's Flood, and Dives
89 ; copes, borrowed from the and Lazarus performed there, 230
Abbey for the miracle play at Bassingborne. miracle play, 215
Dunstable, 200 Bedford Missal, 112, 165
All for Money, a play, 288 Beehive of the Romish Church, 220,
Andrew's, St., Holborn, Boy Bishop, 222, 283
198 Begrande, Mad., plays in the mys-
Ann and Joachim, prints of their tery of Susannah, at Paris, 189
apocryphal story, 107, 112 ; de- Bellarmine, Card., the division of
votional honours to Ann, 113 ; hell into compartments erro-
their wedding-ring, 116 neously attributed to him, 122
Annunciation and Birth of Christ, Bells spiritualized, 284
a mystery, acted at Civita Vec- Benedictine convent at Clerken-
chia, 169 ; at Munich, 191 weU, 207
Anthony, St., of Padua, for miracles Bernard's St., Querela, 141
performed, receives the rank of Bibles, their scarcity formerly, 202
captain in a Portuguese regiment, Birth of Christ, &c., acted in a pup-
189 pet-show at Dieppe, 189
Apocryphal New Testament sub- of Mary, a Coventry mystery,
jects,engravings of, 107 described, 13
Apollinarius Bishop ofLaodicea, and BoarVhead Carols, 100, 102
his father, turn subjects of the Bodleian Library, MSS. of Cornish
Old and New Testament into mysteries of the Deluge, Passion,
plays, 151 and Resurrection there, 217
Applause anciently expressed in Boeck van Jhesus Leven, contains
churches, 153 woodcuts from apocryphal story,
Aroint, arongt, arongt, 138, autho- 112, 122
rities concerning, 146 Botolph, St., without Aldersgate,
Arsenic in the Chester giants, 269 chartulary of the brethren of the
Ass, Feast of the, 160 ; the ass for- Holy Trinity described, 73
merly in Palm Sunday Proces- Boy Bishop, 166 ; the ceremony de-
sions, 162; vulgar notion con- scribed, 193200
cerning his marks ; ibid, hymn Branch in churches, 83
in his praise, 163 Brussels, superstition there concern-
Autolycus's ballad, 136 ing dogs, 172
39
294 INDEX.

Burial of Christ and the Virgin, mys- Clergy, their ignorance in former
teries acted at Newcastle, 214 times, 156 ; they destroy ancient
Buttock-bone of Pentecost, 88 MSS., 157 ; introduce ludicrous
shows into the church, ibid de- ;

cline in power in England, 204

Clerk at the Eton Montem,
Cam bray Boy Bishop, 197 strangely used by the chaplain
Cambridge University, its ignorance after prayers, 199
of Greek in the time of Erasmus, ClerkenweU, mysteries performed
157 there, 206 extracts from the rate
;

Candles, Thirteen, allegorical of books, 207

Christ and the Apostles, 78 a ; Church Service in honour of the
triangular one allegorical of the ass, 162
Trinity, ibid ; candles in Catho- Churchwardens hire players to per-
lic worship borrowed from the form the mysteries, 218
ancient Komans, 84 Colet, Dean, orders the children of
Canterbury Cathedral, the Descent St. Paul's school to attend the Boy
into Hell in one of the windows, Bishop's permon, 198
and the Apocryphal Gospel of Constance, Council of, mysteries
Nicodemus, formerly chained to acted there, 170
the pillars, 123 Conscience, the Worm of, described,
Carols, Christmas, notices concern- 287
ing, 90; lists of those now printed, Cornish Miracle Plays, 217
97 ; specimens of carol-cuts, 100 Coventry mysteries in the British
Castle of Good Preservanse, a mo- Museum, 200; mystery of the
rality, 227 Sheremen and Tailors, 218
Caxton's Pilgrimage of the Sowle, pageants there, 235; the lay-
122, 235 men's parliament held there, 203
Caxton, the monks alarmed at his Council of the Trinity and the In-
press,228 carnation, a Coventry mystery,
Chaplains compose mysteries, 215 described, 38 ; illustrated from a
Chester mysteries in the British MSS., 72
Museum, 200 ; giants, 268 Creation of the World, a mystery,
Chevalier que femme au
donne sa acted at Civita Vecchia, 169 at ;

Diable, a mystery, 174 Lisbon, 181 at Bamberg, 185

; ;

Children, custom to whip them on at Clerkenwell, 206 ; in a

puppet-
Innocents' day, 195 show at Bath, 229 ; at Bartholo-
Christ allegorised by candles, 83 ; mew Fair, 230
prints of his apocryphal story, to the re-
108 ; his blood at his crucifixion surrection, a series of mysteries
said to have descended into hell, acted at York, on Corpus Christi
123 ; his approbation affixed to a day, 213
book, 282 Creeping to the Cross, 221
Christmas, Gerard, improves the Croydon, the Vicar of, preaches
figures in the pageants, 267 against printing, 228
City accounts, entry of the sum paid Cruickshank, Mr. George, his talents
to the carver of the giants, 267 as an artist, 276
first
companies' barges built,
249
election wit on the present D.
London giants, 271
poet, 262 Damned, whether all or only pome

Clara, St., an allegory of the Tri- were released on Christ's descent

nity, found in her gall, 88 into hell. 121
 INDEX. 295

Damned Soul, a mystery, at Turin, Dunstan, St., and the Devil, in a

183 pageant on Lord Mayor's Day, 259
Daniel in the Lion's Den, a mystery, Dunstable, a mystery acted there
acted at Paris, in 1817, 188 by the scholars of the abbey, 199
David, a sacred comedy, performed Durham, creeping to the cross in
at Berlin in 1804, 192 ; at Vi- the cathedral, 222
enna, in 1810, ibid ;
and again,
during the Congress there, in
E.
1815, ibid
Death, Hell, and the Devil, in a
Edinburgh, pageants there, 237
pageant at Haerlem, 233 Edward I., vespers said before him
Death's Triumph, a pageant at Flo-
rence, 280
by a Boy Bishop, 198, 201
December Liberties, 159 VI., author of the Whore of
Deliverance of Israel, a mystery, Babylon, a comedy, 225
Eleusinian Mysteries, scenic, 152
acted at Newcastle, 214
Elizabeth, Queen, her statue at
Descent into Hell, 1 20 ; prints illus-
Temple Bar, 245
trating, 121 ; Hearne's print of it,
138 ; mysteries on this subject Ely House, a mystery, performed
there, 216, 231
acted at Coventry and Chester,
Establishment of the Church, 154
203 ; at Winchester, 215
Eton Boy Bishop, 199. Montem,
of the Holy Ghost repre-
ibid. Latin plays, 205
sented on Whit Sunday, 221
Devil, his strange appearance at St.
Every Man, a morality, 228
Alban's, 89
left alone in hell at the Resur- F.
rection, 131
a tail-piece, 142 Falcon on the Hoop Brewery, Al-
dressed in a mystery in scarlet dersgate Stieet, 80
stockings, an d a gold-la ced hat, 1 8 1 Feast of the Ass, how observed, 159.
Dialogue betwixt the body and soul At Rouen, 161. At Beauvais, ib.
of a damned man, 141 of Fools, its ridiculous obser-
Dieppe, mysteries there, with pup- vances, 159
pets, 190 Flagellation of the Fathers of the
Dives and Lazarus, Job's Sufferings, Oratory, 279
Susannah, &c., mysteries acted by Fools' Morris Dance, 270
Radcliffe's scholars, 205 ; Dives Franciscan Friars at Coventry, 205
and Lazarus in a puppet-show at
Bartholomew Fair, 230
Dogs of Brussels receive consecrated G.
bread annually, 172
Don Juan, founded on Punch in the Gallantee show of the Prodigal Son,
puppet-show, 230 231
Douce, Mr., on the Feast of Fools, Geoffrey the Norman composes a
Feast of the Ass, and other bur- miracle play, 199
lesque ceremonies, 165 his gir-
; George, St., the Holy Martyr, a
dle of an Abbot of Fools, 166 miracle play acted at Bassing-
Dragon's tail allegorical of the king- bourne, 215
dom of Satan, 134 Giants in Guildhall described and
Drama, the ancient, superseded by their origin authenticated, 262
the religious plays of Gregory 276
Nazianzen, &c., 151 in the setting of the London
Dramatic exhibitions denounced by Watch on St. John's Eve, 269
the Fathers, 148 and at Chester, 268
296 INDEX.

Gilbert, Mr. Davies, notice of his Heaven in a pageant, 238

work on Christmas Carols, 106 Hell, how divided, 122. Its dimen-
Glory of the Blessed, acted at Paris, sions, 281
170 Mouth, in prints, in the great
Gogmagog and Corinseus, two giants, windows of York Cathedral, and
in a Pageant at Temple Bar, 241 ;
on the west front of Lincoln Ca-
also at London Bridge, 268. His- thedral, 173. On the stage, ibid.
tory of the personages they repre- 217
sented, 2724 Torments, a pageant on the
Goldsmith's Company, their stu- Arno, 281
pendous pageant on Lord Mayors' Henley, Orator, lectures on Lord
Day, 258 Mayor's Show and the Giants, 271
Grandmother of God, a term ap- Henry VII. entertained on Twelfth
plied to Ann, 114 Night with a Carol, 100. The
Granger, on mental equality, 101 Descent into Hell performed be-
Greek denounced as the mother of fore him, 215
heresies, 156 VIII. abrogates the Boy
poetry destroyed by the clergy, Bishop, 198199. Entertained
168 by Robin Hood in a May Game
Greek studies change the character at Shooter's Hill, 223. Forbids
of popular amusement, 241 the acting of plays in churches,
Gregorie on the Boy Bishop, 195 229
Gregory the Great's instructions to Heresy and Heretics, 153
Austin, concerning pagan temples Herod's murder of the Innocents
in England, 160 commemorated, 195
Nazianzen, Patriarch of Heton, nearNewcastle-on-Tyne,
Constantinople, composes plays vespers there, by a Boy
said
from Scripture, 151, 153 Bishop before Edward I., 198
Gregory Thaumaturgus institutes Heywood, John, his four P.'s, 87,
festivals to saints on heathen an- 139
niversaries, 159 Holly and the Ivy, a Christmas
Grotesque carvings in churches, 166 Carol, 94
Guildhall, shops within it for- Howleglas, his adventure with a
merly, 267 priest at the sepulchre on Easter
.
Chapel, parish clerks' day, 223
feasts there, 208 Hubert, St., patron of dogs, 172

H.
I.

Haerlem, a splendid pageant there,

141 Characters in it, 232
.
I.H.S., origin of the letters, 282
Haro, Harro, Harrow, &c., 147
Harrowing of HeU, 139
Hatto, Bishop of Mentz, his story J.

represented in a pageant, 233

Hatton on the Giants of Guildhall, Jack Snacker of "VVytney, 225
263, 265 James II., fireworks with statues of
Hawkwood, Sir John, represented the London giants exhibited be-
in a Lord Mayor's Pageant, 253 fore him, 264
Hearne's print of the Descent into J iw-bone of All-hallows, 87
Hell considered, 238 Jerome whipped by angels, 150
Heathcote, Sir Gilbert, Lord Mayor, Jesse, the, in pageants, &c., 83
the last who rode on horseback Jesus the true Messiah, a religious
in the show, 261 play, 226
 INDEX. 297

Joachim, see Ann and Joachim Mary, St., at Hill, Boy Bishop, 198
"
Johnson, Dr., on "aroint inShak- , St., Offery (Overy), Boy
speare, 138 Bishop, 198
Joseph's Jealousy, a Coventry my- , Virgin, her Education in the
stery, described, 46. Set forth in Temple and being served by An-
the Coventry mystery <rf the gels, a Coventry mystery, de-
Sheremen and Taylors, 218. scribed, 20. Prints of her apo-
Christmas Carol on, 90. Prints cryphal story, 108, &c. Devo-
of his apocryphal history, 108. tions to her honour, and to her
His miraculous wedding-ring, 116 miraculous wedding-ring, 116
Jude's Epistle, considered by Mi- Mass, the, allegorizes Christ's De-
chaelis, 137 scent into Hell, 132
Julian, the emperor, prohibits libe- Massacre of the Innocents, a my-
ral instruction to Christians, 105. stery, acted by the English fathers
Remarkable consequences, 151 at the Council of Constance, 170
May games, 223
Merchant Taylors, a song to their
K. honour in a pageant, 255
Michael's contention with the Devil
Kentigern, St., works a miracle, 84 for the body of Moses, 134
Knight, Mr. R. P., describes a form Miracle Plays at Cornwall, 217
of the Trinity at Hierapolis, 88 Miraculous Birth, and the mid wives,
a Coventry mystery, described, 67
Espousal of Mary and
Joseph, a Coventry mystery, de-
scribed, 27
Lady of Carmel's confraternity, 282 Host tortured by a Jew
Latimer, Bishop, his complaint of at Paris, 171. Mysteries founded
Robin Hood's day, 223 on it, 172
Leadenhall, machinery for the pa- Miserable Scald Masons, 242
geants kept there, 234 Montem at Eton, 199
Leverge, Jos., gallantee show-man Moore, Mr., on Mysteries at Paris, 1 88
of the Prodigal son, 231 Moralities defined, 227
Litany for the reconversion of Eng- Morris-Dance, 221, 269, a painting
land to the Catholic faith, 154 of one described, 270
"
a mock one, sung to amuse the Mysteries, their origin on the Con-
Corporation and their guests on tinent, 168. In England, 200.
Lord Mayor's day, 256 When first performed in the Eng-
Lord Mayor's Show described, 246 lish tongue, 201. Defined, 227
260
Lucifer, with a triune head, 86
Lydgate, author of "Pageants," N.
214
Nebuchadnezzar's Furnace, acted at
M. the Feast of the Ass at Rouen, 161
Neuf Chatel, lord of, nearly dead on
Macarius, St., and his flea, 280 the cross, while performing in a
Mai recovers lost writings of Cicero, mystery, 173
157 New Custom, a morality, 226
Marriott, Mr., purveyor of the ar- German Ass of Balaam, a
mour used on Lord Mayor's day, comedy, 226
261 Testament, unknown to many
Mary I. revives the Boy Bishop, of the ancient clergy, 156.
Eras-
198. He sings before her, ibid mus's forbidden at Cambridge,
298 INDEX.

157. Persons burnt who pos- Parishes customarily had Boy

sessed Wycliffe'f, 214 Bishops, 197
Newcastle-upon-T} i.e mysteries, Passage of the Red Sea, a mystery
213 acted lately at Paris, 188
Nicey, Jean de, hung in a mystery Passion of Christ, a mystery on this
till almost lifeless, 173 subject, acted at Friuli, 169. At
Nicholas, St., his miraculous resto- Civita Vecchia, ibid. At St.
ration of murdered children, 194; Maur, 170. At Notre Dame,
patron of scholars and parish ibid. At
Poictiers, 171. At
clerks, 194, 208 Veximiel, 172. Again there, 173.
Nicodemus, gospel of, formerly ex- Before the Lord Mayor, at the
posed to be read in Canterbury Greyfriars, London, 215
Cathedral, 123 St. George, a my-
Noah's Flood, a mystery on this stery, acted at Paris, 171
subject at Newcastle, 147. At Paul, St.. quotes the poets, 151
Lisbon, 181. At Chester, 202. 's, St., Cathedral, remarkable-
At Newcastle-on-Tyne, 214. In annual procession to the altar,
a puppet-show at Bath, 229. At 1 60. Descent of the Holy Ghost,
Bartholomew Fair, 230. In a performed at Whitsuntide, 225.
gallantee-show, 231 Descent of a rope-dancer from the
Norman, Sir John, Lord Mayor, the battlements, 239. A
Dutchman
first who went to Westminster by stands on the weathercock, 2 iO.
water, 249 Service there anciently attended
Northumberland, Earl of, his chil- by the Lord Mayor after dinnei
dren of the chapel perform mys- on Lord Mayor's day, 249
teries composed by his chaplains, School, the scholars ordered
215 to hear the Boy Bishop's sermon,
Notborune Mayde, by John Skot, 198. They perform mysteries,
115 206. Are favourite comedians,
ibid. Petition Richard II. in
0.
behalf of their playing, ibid
Olave, St., the Life of, a mystery Peko-tea, Christmas carol on, 96
acted at St. Olave's church, Silver Peirs Ploughman's vision, 124
Street, 215 Peirs Ploughman's creed, 127,
Olave's, St. Nicholas, in Bread Street, 214
Boy Bishop, 198 Pilgremage of the Sowle, a French
Old and New Testament, a series MS. of
it, 122. Specimen of the
of mysteries acted at Paris, 171 story,285
Oratorios, their origin, 192, 279 Pilgrims from Jerusalem played
Oseney, Abbey of, old custom there, mysteries in the streets, 168
195 Porter of Hell, his office and anti-
Owlglass, see Howleglas quity, 139
Ox and Ass, why introduced in Press, the, its effects in promoting
prints of the Nativity, 278 the Reformation, 229. Preached
Oxford University in 1357. No against, 228
Bible there, 202 Proclamation for performing the
Acts of the Apostles at Paris, 178
Prong, held by the porter of Hell,
P. in Hearne's print, 140, 232
Prynne, William, Defence of Stage
Pageants described, 232245 Plays, a rare tract, with his name,
Parish Clerks of London perform 216. His Vindication, 217
mysteries, 206. Their origin, Psalms sung to song tunes, by the
&c., 208 King of France and hia Court, 94.
 INDEX. 299

And by the Reformers of Scot- Shakspeare mentions psalms sung

land, 95 to song tunes, 94 ; and mysteries
Punch, 229. His dramatic character performed by puppets, 230
in the puppet-show, 230. Drama Ship of extraordinary size, a pa-
of Don Juan taken from it, ibid geant in the Lord Mayor's Show,
Puppet-show of the Resurrection at 258
\Vitney, 225. Of the Creation, Shooter's Hill, a May game there,
&c. at Bath, 229. Of Punch in 223
the street, 230. Of the Prodigal Singer, Mr. S. W., 183, 185
Son mentioned by Shakspeare, Skinner's Company, their remark-
ibid.Of mysteries, in 1822, at able pageant on Lord Mayor's
Dieppe, 1G9 day, 261
Well, Clerkenwell, grand
performance of mysteries there,
R. 206. Present appearance of its
site, and inscription on its pump,
Radcliffe, Ralph, writes mysteries, 207
205 Slatyer, William, his psalms for
Ram Inn, Smithfield, 209 Christmas carols, set to song
Rainmohun Roy on Symbols of the tunes, 94
Trinity, 283 Sloane, Sir Hans, lends Bayle the
Relics ridiculed, 87. At Hanover, mvstery of the Acts of the Apos-
114 tles, 176
Reynard the Fox, a procession at Smythe, William, his description,
Paris, 170 in 1575, of the Lord Mayor's
Ritson's honest praise of Hearne, Show, 246
144 Solemn mock processions to ouni
Robin Hood, a play, 221, 224. Ill the Pope at Temple Bar de
the May games, 223. scribed, 242, 245
Rogation days, 134 Southey, Mr., his mention of carols,
Rose, Bishop of Senlis, heads a re- 100. His poetical version of the
ligious dramatic procession at legend of Bishop Hatto, 233
Paris, 158 Speculum Vitse Christi, a MS.,
Ruben's picture of St. Ignatius, 282 73
Spence, Rev. Joseph, his account of
the mystery of the Damned Soul
S. at Turin, 183
Stage whereon mysteries were per-
Sackville, Isabella, prioress of Clerk- formed described, 217
enwell, 209 Steevens on "aroint," 139
Stilts worn by Giants in the Lord
Salisbury Cathedral,BoyBishop,196
Missal, contains cuts from Mayor's pageants, 268 ; and in a
Apocryphal story, 113, 194 morris dance, 269
Sannazarius's poem, de Partu Vir- Strasburg, representation at the
ginis, 227 theatre there of religious sub-
Saracen's Head Inn, Aldersgate from pictures by great mas-
jects,
Street, 80 ters,190. Mysteries performed
Saunders, Richard, carves the giants at the Jesuits' seminary there,
in Guildhall, 267 191
Satan and the Soul, 285 Strood, in Kent, natives born with
Sepulchre, making of it in the tails, 280
church at Easter, 77, 221. De- Susanna and the Elders, a mystery,
scribed, 222 acted lately at Paris, 189
Serpent's knee, 95
300 INDEX.

T. Guildhall, 263 ; and Westminster

Hall, 266. Wedding Ring of
Theophylact, patriarch of Constan- Mary and Joseph, its miracles,
tinople, exhibits the Feast of &c., 117'
Fools and other farces in the Welsh Carols, 103
Greek Church, 157 Wassail Song for St. Mary's
Three Dons, a mystery, acted at Ro- Eve, 104
mans, 173 Westminster Latin Plays, 205
Three Kings of Cologne, a mystery, Religious plays in the
acted at Newcastle, 214 palace, 215
Torments of the damned, repre- Hall, shops within it
sented at Paris, 170 ; and at Flo- formerly, 268
rence, 281 Weston, Sir William, Prior of St.
Trial of Mary and Joseph, a Co- John of Jerusalem, 209
ventry mystery described, 59 Whifflers, 247
Trinity,* the, in Council, 38, 73 Whore of Babylon, a comedy, by
.
Dead knell in honour of, 77 Edward VI., 225
Trinity of St. Botolph without Al- Wicker-word used to construct the
dersgate, account of the Brethren the Old London Giants, 266;
of, 77 and other figures in the London
Personifications of, 78, 81, pageants, 267
85, revealed to St. Ignatius, 282 William III. in 1821, his statute in
St. James's Square dressed, 245.
The last procession round his
V. statue at Dublin, ibid
Winchester, Descent into Hell per-
Valentihe and Orson in a London formed there, 215
pageant, 238 Wintherus, a German, steals the
Vengeance, de N. S. J. C., a mys- Virgin's Wedding Ring from Clu-
tery, acted before Charles VIII., sium, 118. It works miracles;
171 he presents it to the City of Pe-
Veximiel, grand mystery performed rusia, and is greatly honoured at
there, 172 his death, 119
Visit of Mary to Elizabeth, a Co- Witney, in Oxfordshire, Puppet-
ventry mystery, described, 53 show of the Besurrection there,
Voice of God, a mystery, acted lately 225
at Vienna, 188
Y.
York mysteries, 209. Manner of
U.
their performance, 210, 213
pageants there, 236
Uliespiegel, or the German Rogue,
,

225. See Howleglas.

Z.
W.
Zug, in Switzerland, in 1797, a Boy
Ward, Ned, visits the Giants in Bishop there, 199
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Population of the Manufacturing Districts of
South Lancashire, by Samuel Bamford, 12mo,
Second Edition, cloth (pub 3s 6d) 1854 2 6
Northamptonshire. A Glossary of Northamp-
tonshire Words and Phrases, with Examples of
their Colloquial Use, with Illustrations from
various authors to which are added the Customs
of the County, by Miss A. E. Baker, 2 vols, post
8vo, cloth (pub 24s) 1854 12 6
Somersetshire. On the Dialect of Somersetshire,
with a Glossary, Poems,
etc., exemplifying the
Dialect, Jennings, Second Edition by the
by J.
the Rev. K, Jennings, fcap. 8vo, cloth (pub
J.
3s 6d) 1857 2 6
Sussex, A
Glossary of the Provincialisms of the
County of Sussex, by W. D. Cooper, F.S.A., post
Svo, Second Edition' enlarged, cloth (pub 3s 6d)

_
1853 2 6
Westmoreland Dialect (The) in Four Familiar
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to which is added a COPIOUS GLOSSARY of West-
moreland and Cumberland Words, post Svo,
cloth (pub 3s 6d) 1840 2
Yorkshire. A
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hood, with Examinations of their Colloquial Use
and Allusions to Local Ciistoros and Traditions,
by an Inhabitant, F. K. Robinson, 12mo, cloth
(pub 3s 6d) 1855 9
 196, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. 19

continued.

Dickens (Chas.) Sunday under Three Heads,

a reproduction in exact facsimile of the rare origi-
nal, 12mo, wrapper (pub 2s) 1884 1

Dictionary (A) of Poetical Illustrations,

selected with a view to the Needs of
specially
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tram, ivith Indexes, thick roy. 8vo (pub 12s 6d)
1883 9 6
"
Set also'under Cyclopaedia."

Dictionary of Illustrations adapted to Chris

tian Teaching, embracing Mythology, Analogic
Legends, Emblems, Parables, Anecdotes, etc.,
with elaborate Textual and Topical Indexes, 8th
edition, thick roy. " 8vo (pub 12s 6d) 1883 9 6
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JUST PUBLISHED.
Dictionary of Philosophy (A) In the Words of
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with an Introduction, by J.
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Dryden 'John) Dramatic Works Complete,

Notes by Sir Walter Scott, and others, 8 thick
vols, 8vo, cloth (pub 84s) 1883 30
Edmonds (Richard) Cornwall, the Land's
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woodcuts 8vo, cloth (pub 7s 6d) 1862 5

Elyot ( Sir T.) The Boke named the Gouer-

nour, edited from the first edition of 1531, by H.
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Erskine (Thomas, Lord) Speeches, with a
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Eyton's (Rev. R. W.) Domesday Studies, an
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20 REE VES & TURNER
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Eyton (Rev. R. W.) Domesday Studies ; an

Analysis and Digest of the Somerset
N
Survey (ac-
cording to the Oxon Codex), and of the Gheld
Inquest of A.D. 1084, as collated with, and illus-

- trated by, Domesday, 2 vols, crown 4to (pub

(2 12s 6d)
Key to Domesday,
and Exactitude
Precise Meaning
1880 21
showing the Method
of its Mensuration, and the
of its more usual Formulae, the
subject being exemplified by an Analysis and

- Digest of the Dorset Survey, cr. 4to (pub 30s)

of
Taylor & Co., 1878 10
The Court, Household, and Itinerary
King Henry II. instancing also the Chief
,

Agents and Adversaries of the King in his

Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy, cr. 4to (pub
24s) Taylor A Co., 1878 10
See also under " Eyton "
in PUBLICATIONS.

Porsyth (W.) Hortensius an Historical Essay:

on the Office and Duties of an Advocate, 10 icood-

cut illustrations, 8vo (pub 7s 6d) J. Murray, 1879 4
Porster (John) Sir John Eliot, a Biography, 1592
1632, 2 steel portraits, 2 vols, post 8vo (pub 14s)
Chapman <k Hall, 1872 5
Foster's (Joseph) The Royal Lineage of our
Noble and Gentle Families, together with
their Paternal Ancestors, Third Series, contains
Chart Pedigrees of about 90 Families, 2 vola, 4to,
blue cloth Privately printed, 1884 12 6

Greg (Percy) Across the Zodiac the Story of a :

Wrecked Record, Deciphered, translated and

edited by Percy Greg, 2 vols, post 8vo (pub 21s)
Trilbner& Co., 1880 4 6

Shipwreck Outward Bound The Untra veiled Deep A New

World, Language, Laws, and Life An Official Visit Escort Duty
A Fault and its Founders Manners and Customs Women and
Wedlock A Country Drive On the River The Children of Ligb'
By Sea, etc., etc.
 196, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. 21

continued.

Grazebrook (H. S.) Heraldry of "Worcester-

shire, being a Roll of the Arms borne by the
several Noble, Knightly, and Gentle Families
which have had Property or Residence in that
County from the Earlie&t Period to the Present
Time, with Genealogical Notes, 2 vols, sm. 4to
(pub 42s) A. R. Smith, 1873 12
See also " Boutell" Publication.

Grotius, De Jure Belli et Pacis, accompanied

by an Abridged Translation by W. Whewell,
D.D., 3 vols, 8vo (pub 36s 6d) Cambridge 14
On the Rights of War and Peace, an
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17s) 1853 4 6

Hazlitt (Wm.) Essays on the Pine Arts, a New

Edition, edited by W. C. Hazlitt, post 8vo (pub
6s 6d) 1873 2 9

Hazlitt (W. C.) English Proverbs and Proverbial

Phrases, collected from the most Authentic
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greatly enlarged and carefully revised, post 8vo,
cloth (pub 7s 6d) 3 6

Homiletic Encyclopaedia, or
Illustrations in
Theology and Morals, a Handbook of Practical
Divinity, and a Commentary on Holy Scripture,
selected by R. A. Bertram, Sixth Edition, thick
8vo (pub 12s 6d) 1883 9 6
For others of this seriea, see under Dictionaries.

Hooker J. D. Journal of a Tour in Marocco,

( )

and the Great Atlas, by Joseph D. Hooker

and J. Ball, with an Appendix, including a Sketch
of the Geology of Marocco, by George Maw, map
and numerous illustrations, 8vo (pub 21s)
Macmillan, 1878 6 6

Hosack (John) On the Rise and Growth of

the Laws of Nations, as established by
General Usage and Treaties, 8vo, cloth (pub 12s)
1882 2 6
22 REEVES <5r TURNER,
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Jewitt (L. and S. Hall's Stately Homes of

)

England, First Series, with 210 illustrations;

Second Series, with 170 illustrations, 2 vols, sm.
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Landseer (Sir Edwin) Studies, illustrated by 40
plates, with 2 woodcut sketches on each, and 116
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with a History of his Art- Life, by W. C. Monk-
house, roy. 4to, ornamental cloth, gilt leaves (pub
2 2s) 12 6
Leech 'John) Children of the Mobility, 6 plates
and portrait, 4to, cloth (pub 10s 6d) 1875 3 6
Lower (M. A.) Contributions to Literature,,
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284 pp , cloth pub 7s 6d) 1854 3 3

English Surnames, an Essay on Family

Nomenclature Historical, Etymological, and
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Fourth Edition, enlarged, 2 vols, post 8vo, cloth,
(pub 12s) 1875 7 6

Lloyd (W. W.) The Age of Pericles,

a History
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(pub 21s) Macmillan, 1875 8 6

Lytton (Edwd. Lord) Speeches, now first col-

,

lected, with some of his Political Writings,

hitherto unpublished, and a Memoir by his Son, 2
vols, 8vo (pub 24s) Blackwood, 1874 5
Makins (G. A., late one of the Assay ers to the Bank
of England) Manual of Metallurgy, 100
engravings, Second Edition re-written and much
enlarged, square 8vo, clooth (pub 16s)
Ellis & White, 1873 4 6
About half the work is deyoted to the nobler metals.

Morelli (G.) Italian Masters in German

Galleries, a Critical Essay on the Italian Pic-
tures in the Galleries of Munich, Dresden, Berlin,
translated from the German by Mrs. L. Richter,
illustrated, post 8vo, cloth (pub 8s 6d) 1883 2 9
 196, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. 23

Nicholas (T.) The Pedigree of the English

People, an Argument, Historical and Scientific,
on the Formation and Growth of the Nation,
tracing Race- Ad mixture in Britain from the
earliest times, with special reference to the incor-
poration of the Celtic Aborigines, map, 8vo, cloth
(pub 16s) 1878 4 6

Owen (John) Evenings with the Skeptics,

or Free Discussion on Free Thinkers, 2 vols, 8vo,
cloth (pub 32s) 1881 9

Opie and his "Works being a Catalogue of 760

;

Pictures, by J. Opie, R. A. preceded by a Bio-

,

graphical Sketch by J. J Rogers, 8vo, 237 pp. 1878 3 6

Persia, Eastern. An Account of the Journeys of

the Persian Boundary Commission, 1870-71-72 ;

the Geography, with Narratives, by Majors St.

John, Lovett, and E. Smith, and an Introduction
by Major- General Sir F. J. Goldsmid ; the
Zoology and Geology by W. T. Blandford, maps,
28 plates of heasts, birds, etc., some of them
beautifully coloured by hand, 2 vols, 8vo (pub
2 2s) Macmillan & Co., 1876 15
Prickett (Fred. The History and Antiquities
)

of Hlghgate, with maps and illustrations, 8vo,

cloth 1842 4

Randolph (Thos.) Poetical and Dramatic

W^orks, now First Collected, and edited with
Notes, etc., by W. C. Hazlitt, portrait and
plates, post 8vo, half cloth, paper label (pub 12s)
1875 5 6
Rimmer (A Ancient Stone Crosses
) of Eng-
land, 72 fine wood engravings, 8vo (pub 9s) 4
Rowlandsori. Caricature Etchings Illus-
trating Boswell's Tour to the Hebrides
made with Dr. Johnson, in portfolio, with strings 8

- The above
of contents.
consists of twenty plates, complete,

Ditto, the same, on large paper, without port-

folio, and without list of contents
with title and list

8
24 REEVES & TURNER*
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Royal Gallery of Art, Ancient and Modern, 144

steel engravings, from the private collections of
H.M. the Queen, and His late Royal Highness
the Prince Consort; and the Heir-looms of the
Crown, at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace,
and Osborne, edited by S. C. Hall, 2 vols, roy.
4to, gilt leaves (pub 8 8s) 42 6

Sand (George) Letters, translated and edited by

Raphael Ledos de Beaufort, and Biographical
Preface, 6 portraits. 3 vols. 8vo, cloth (pub 31s 6d)
1886 12
Shakespeare. D. Bacon's Philosophy of
the Plays of Shakespeare Unfolded,
with a Preface by N. Hawthorne, 8vo (pub 18s)
Groombridge & Sons, 1857 4

Shakespeare and the Emblem Writers, an

Exposition of their Similarities of Thought and
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devices from the original authors, roy. 8vo, orna-
mental gilt cloth, gilt top (pub 1 lls 6d)
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Shakespeare's Library A
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and Romances, Novels, Poems, and Histories em-
ployed by Shakespeare in the composition of
his Works, with Introduction and Notes, care-
fully revised and greatly enlarged by W. C.
Hazlitt, 6 vols, 12mo, half cloth, paper label (pub
2 2s) 1875 20

Sport. The Year's Sport, a Review of British

Sport and Pastimes for the year 1885, edited by
A. E. Watson, Svo, half roan (puh 21s) 56
Theophilus An Essay upon Various Arts,
in Three Books, byTheophilus,called also Rugerus,
Priest and Monk, forming an Encyclopaedia of
Christian Art of the Eleventh Century, translated
by R. Hendrie, Svo, cloth 1847 5 6
 196, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. 2$

continued.

Southey's Common-Place Book, edited by

J. W. Warter, 4 vols, 8vo (pub 78s)

Longmans, 1876 15
Ditto, half calf, mark edges 26
Contains Choice Passages Collections for English Manners and
Literature Special Collections Analytical Readings Original
Memoranda, &o.
Taylor (Right Rev. Jeremy, D.D.) Whole
^^orks, with an Essay, Biographical and
Critical, steel portrait, 3 vols, roy. 8vo, cloth
(pub 3 15s) 1880 15
Thomas (David, D.D.) The Practical Philoso-
pher, A Daily Monitor for the Business Men of
England, Brief and Suggestive Moral Readings
on the "Book of Proverbs," for Every Day in the
Year, 4th edition, 8vo, cloth (pub 10s 6d), 816 pp.
1885 7 6
Transactions of the Loggerville Literary
Society, 8vo, illustrated, gilt edges
Privately printed, 1867 3 6
CONTENTS. History of England Account of Ancient Implements
Review of Juvenile Literature Neglected Characters of Shakes-
peare A Tour in Cornwall- Cornish Giants, etc.
Turner (J. M. W., R.A.) Works, with a Bio-
graphical Sketch, and Critical and Descriptive
Notes by J. Dafforne, 30 steel plates, roy. 4to,
cloth, gilt leaves (pub 2 2s) 20
Wiltshire (W. H.) An
Introduction to the
Study and Collection of Ancient Prints,
SECOND EDITION, revised and enlarged several
folding plates and others, 2 vols, demy 8vo, half
roan, (pub 28s) 1877 21
Wood (W. S.) An
Eastern Afterglow, or Pre-
sent Aspect of Sacred Scenery, illustrated, 8vo,
cloth, (pub 16s) 1880 3 6
Wilkins (Peter) The Life and Adventures
of, by Robert Paltock, of Clement's Inn, with
Preface by A. H. Btillen, an exact reprint of the
original, with facsimile illustrations, 2 vols, bds. ,
paper label (pub 10s 6d) 5
But little is known of the author, though his romantic de-
" "
scriptions of the Flying Indians have been popular for ome
generations. It is something in the style of Robinson Crusoe and
Gulliver's Travel*.
a6 REEVES & TURNED,

REEVES & TURNER have just bought of

Mr. J. RUSSELL SMITH the Entire Stock of

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they offer at the undermentioned reduced

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The Dramatic and Poetical Works of John

Marston, now first collected and edited by J.
0. Halliwell, F.R.S., etc., 3 vols (pub 15s) 1856 9 6
The Table Talk of John
Selden, with a Bio-
graphical Preface and Notes by S. W. Singer,
3rd Edition, port, (pub 5s) 1860 3
Enchiridion, containing Institutions Divine, Con-
templative, Practical, Moral, Ethical, (Economi-
cal, and Political, by Francis Quarles, portrait
(pub 3s) 1856 2
The Works in Prose and Verse of Sir Tho-
mas Overbury, now first collected, edited,
with Life and Notes, by E. F. Kim ban It, port,
after Pass (pub 5s) 1856 3
Hymns and Songs of the Church, by George
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Farr also the Musical Notes, composed by Or-
;

lando Gibbons, with port, after Hole (pnb 5s) 1856 3

Hallelujah or, Britain's Secpnd Remem-
;

brancer, in Praiseful and Penitential Hymns,

Spiritual Songs, and Moral Odes, by Geo. \V ither,
with Introduction by Edward Farr, port, (pub 6s)
1857 4
The Iliads of Homer, Prince of Poets, never
before in any language truly translated, with a
Comment on some of his chief Places, done ac-
cording to the Greek by George Chapman, with
Introduction and Notes by the Rev. Richard
Hopper, 2 vols, sq. fcap. 8vo, Second and Revised
Edition, with port, of Chapman, and front, (pub
12s) 1865 7 6
 196, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. 27

vtfbW& continued.

The Odysseys of Homer, translated according

to the Greek by George Chapman, with Intro-
duction and Notes by the Rev. Richard Hooper,
2 vols, fcap. 8vo, with facsimile of the rare original
front, (pub 12s) 1857 7 6
The Dramatic Works of John Webster
Edited, with Notes, etc., by William Hazlitt. 4
vols (pub 20s) 1857 12 6
This is the most complete edition, containing two more plays than
in Dyce's edition.

The whole of the Works of Roger Ascham,

now first collected and revised, with Life of the
Author, by the Rev. Dr. Giles, 4 vols (pub 20s) 1866 12 6
Poetical Works of Robt. Southwell, Canon
of LorettO, now first completely edited by W.
B. Turnbull (pub 4s) 1856 2 6
The Dramatic Works of John Lily (The
Buphuist), now tirst collected, with Life and
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Diaries of Thomas Hearne, the Antiquary,
edited by Dr. Bliss, 3 vols, port, (pub 15s) 90
The Poetical
"
Works of Richard Crashaw,
Author of Steps to the Temple," "Sacred Poems,
with other Delights of the Muses," and " Poe-
mata," now first collected, edited by W. B.
Turnbull (pub 5s) 3
La Mort d Arthur. The History of King Arthur
and the Knights of the Round Table, compiled by
Sir Thomas Malory, Knight, edited from the
Edition of 1634, with Introduction and Notes, by
Thomas Wright, M.A., F.S.A, 3 vols, second and
revised edition (pub 15s)
The only non-Bowdlerised
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Dr. Cotton Mather's Wonders of the In-

visible W^orld, being an Account of the Trials
of several Witches lately executed in New Eng-
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of the Tryals, and Cases of Conscience concerning
Witchcrafts, 1693, with an Introductory Preface,
portrait (pub 5s) 1862 3
28 REE VES & TURNER,
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Remains of the Early Popular Poetry of

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Miscellanies, by John Aubrey, F.R.S., the Wilt-

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Amadis of Gaul. The Renowned Romance of
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Lucasta. The Poems of Richard Love-

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Margaret, Duchess of Newcastle's Auto-

biography, and Life of Her Husband, edited
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George Sandy's Poetical "Works, now first

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port, (pub 10s) 1872 6
Michael Drayton's Poetical "Works (com-
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Church), edited by Hooper, 3 vols (pub 15s) 9
Poetical and Dramatic Works of Thomas
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Remains concerning Britain, by William Cam-
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Robert Herrick's Poetical Works, port., 2
vols (pub 8s) 56
Wren (Sir Christopher) His Family and his
Times, with Original Letters and a Discourse
on Architecture, hitherto unpublished, 15851723,
by L. Phillimore, frontispiece, 8vo, cloth 1883 3 6

Bowdan, Hudson & Co., Printers, Bed Lion Street, Holborn, W.C.
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