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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ee985be --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #67771 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67771) diff --git a/old/67771-0.txt b/old/67771-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index a3e013d..0000000 --- a/old/67771-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3999 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Key to the Family Deed Chest, by -Emma Elizabeth Thoyts - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Key to the Family Deed Chest - How to Decipher and Study Old Documents, Being a Guide to the - Reading of Ancient Manuscripts - -Author: Emma Elizabeth Thoyts - -Commentator: C. Trice Martin - -Release Date: April 4, 2022 [eBook #67771] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Karin Spence and The Online Distributed Proofreading Team - at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KEY TO THE FAMILY DEED -CHEST *** - - - - - - HOW TO DECIPHER AND STUDY OLD - DOCUMENTS. - - [Illustration] - - - - - _THE KEY TO THE FAMILY DEED CHEST_ - - HOW TO DECIPHER - - AND - - STUDY OLD DOCUMENTS - - _BEING A GUIDE TO THE READING OF - ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS_ - - BY - - E. E. THOYTS - (MRS. JOHN HAUTENVILLE COPE) - - _WITH AN INTRODUCTION_ - BY - C. TRICE MARTIN - ASSISTANT KEEPER OF H.M. RECORDS - - SECOND EDITION - - LONDON - ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW - 1903 - - [Illustration] - - - - - PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. - - -Just ten years ago this little volume made its first appearance. -Although many books on similar subjects have been written in that -time, none have exactly given the same information, and this second -edition has been decided upon. Additions and corrections to bring -the book up to date have been made, but much still remains, and must -remain, imperfect in so small a work on so large a subject, and the -present pages only profess to help beginners over some of the initial -difficulties they will meet with. - -It has been urged that handwriting and its characteristics have nothing -to do with old deeds, but careful study of every line and letter is -useful, especially with regard to private letters, or when any question -arises as to whether the manuscripts are genuine or forgeries. That is -why the second chapter, on handwriting and descriptions of old ink, -paper, and paper marks and seals, was written, for all such items -_are_ of great importance. - -A recent celebrated trial (the Shipway case, in which an old register -was altered) shows that careful attention to minute details is -necessary. Parish registers have not, and are not, at the present -moment protected against frauds of this kind, which are far less common -than might be supposed. - -Old deeds are now bought and sold; it is a trade quite as much as -that in old books. Some years ago, in Edinburgh, a number of clever -forgeries were sold as genuine, which if they had been so would have -cleared up a historical question of great importance. - -Many friends who helped me when I first wrote the book are, alas! dead; -only their letters remain, and from these I have used extracts in -revising this edition. - -Mr. Trice Martin has most kindly read it through and criticised it, as -he did ten years ago, and if mistakes still remain, I trust my readers -will be lenient. It must, however, be remembered that I am writing only -about the class of deeds which are usually met with in old houses, and -not attempting to describe every description of charter or deed. - - EMMA ELIZABETH COPE. - - 130, HYDE PARK MANSIONS, W. - _September, 1903._ - - [Illustration] - - - - - AUTHOR’S PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. - - -In the following pages I have tried to describe the things which -puzzled me when, as a beginner, I first essayed to read and understand -the old records of bygone times. Written in a language I knew not, -relating to customs no longer existing, all was strange and unfamiliar. -I toiled on; by degrees light dawned and the difficulties melted -away. The knowledge thus gained I have endeavoured, in all humility, -to write down as a possible guide and help to others who may, like -myself, prefer to follow antiquarian research by means of old deeds and -other manuscripts, as being the original source and most trustworthy -fountain-head of knowledge, and by this means to avoid as much as -possible repeating the assertions and mistakes of previous writers. - -In the chapter on Paleography I have named the books which were -my guides, and in these pages I have tried to supply information -supplementary to what is already printed on the subject, rather than -repeat what has previously been explained. The growing fashion for all -kinds of antiquarianism creates a desire for books treating upon such -subjects, and this has induced me to write this book. - - E. E. THOYTS. - - SULHAMSTEAD, - _May, 1893_. - - [Illustration] - - [Illustration] - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - INTRODUCTION xi - - I. HINTS TO THE BEGINNER 1 - - II. CHARACTER BY HANDWRITING 14 - - III. SAXON, NORMAN-FRENCH AND LAW LATIN 28 - - IV. OLD DEEDS 41 - - V. LAW TECHNICALITIES 53 - - VI. MANOR AND COURT ROLLS 70 - - VII. MONASTIC CHARTERS 86 - - VIII. PARISH REGISTERS 103 - - IX. PARISH OFFICERS AND THEIR ACCOUNT BOOKS 112 - - X. BOOKS ON PALEOGRAPHY 127 - - XI. OLD LETTERS 135 - - XII. ABBREVIATIONS, ETC. 142 - - [Illustration] - - [Illustration] - - - - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE - - SIGNATURE 23 - - EXTRACT FROM DOMESDAY 29 - - NORMAN-FRENCH DEED 34 - - FORM OF FINE 56 - - SHERIFF’S ROLL (NEVILLE MSS.) 65 - - COURT ROLL 76 - - ARABIC NUMERALS 79 - - READING ABBEY CHARTER 92 - - READING ABBEY CHARTULARY 94 - - PAPER-MAKERS’ INITIALS 136 - - SOME QUAINT LETTERS FROM OLD PARISH REGISTERS 137 - - [Illustration] - - [Illustration] - - - - - INTRODUCTION. - - -Books written to teach any branch of human knowledge are, in most -cases, written by persons who have long known and used the knowledge -which they impart, and, perhaps for that reason, have more or less -forgotten the steps of the ladder up which they have climbed; but in -this case the process has been so recent that the difficulties and -dangers of each step have been remembered, and the reader accordingly -warned against them. - -The meaning of the various kinds of documents which are likely to be -found among the title-deeds of an estate, or among the archives of a -parish or a corporation, are described without needless technicalities, -in a practical way, which will appeal to those who begin to work among -such material without previous knowledge. - -The first step, of course, is to learn to read. This wants -perseverance and a quick eye, but regular practice will soon enable -the student to read any ordinary documents, which at first seemed -utterly unintelligible, and gradually the power of understanding really -difficult and obscure MSS. will be acquired. But this first step must -be thoroughly mastered, for to attempt to get information from old -writings without thoroughly knowing the forms of the letters, and the -different systems of abbreviations and contractions, would be like -trying to keep accounts without knowing how to add up a column of -figures. - -And indeed paleography is the foundation of all history. There may be -historians, like the late Mr. Freeman, who have but little knowledge -of the science (he, I believe, boasted of his inability to read a -manuscript), but then such writers rely on the paleographic knowledge -of others, who have edited the manuscripts which they desire to use, -and they have, or ought to have, sufficient scholarship to judge -which are the best editions, and even occasionally to detect editors’ -mistakes. - -But an acquaintance with this branch of knowledge is often of the -greatest use to biographers and historians. It is much better, for -instance, to be able to judge whether a certain document is of the age -which it professes, or in whose hand a draft of a treaty is, than to -have to accept the opinion of someone else. - -The mistakes made through want of this knowledge are common, and -sometimes very amusing. Familiar enough is the old story of the parish -priest in the time of King Henry VIII., who in the canon of the Mass, -in the prayer after taking the wine, read the word ‘_sumpsimus_’ -as _mumpsimus_, because he had a thirteenth-century missal in -which _s_ and _m_ are much alike, and refused to alter his -mistake when it was pointed out to him. It was referred to by King -Henry VIII. in his speech to the Parliament in 1545, and, in fact, this -ignorant priest has ‘made himself an everlasting name’ for conservative -stupidity. - -In more recent times, the historian of one of our beautiful -north-country abbeys talks of a gift of a silver chest by the founder -in the eleventh century. The reader wonders what this chest could have -been--was it a native work or imported? was it some ecclesiastical -ornament or merely a strong box? But on turning to the document on -which the account is based, the meaning is clear. It was not a chest -of silver, but an ordinary coin known as a mark of silver. The MS. -reads _unāmarcāargenti_. The writer of the book had not noticed -the contraction over the first _a_, divided the words wrongly, and -read it _unam arcam_, instead of _unam marcam_. - -In another similar book the story is narrated of the ill-treatment -by a forester of an abbot whose house was near a royal forest. The -abbot was no doubt like the monk who made the celebrated pilgrimage to -Canterbury-- - - ‘An outrydere that lovede venerye. - - * * * * * - - He yaf nat of that text a pulled hen - That seith that hunters been nat holy men.’ - -And perhaps the forester had good reason to complain of him. But in -the account of the quarrel, the forester is said to have gone into the -abbot’s kitchen and taken away his cabbages--not very likely things -for a forester to take, as he probably would have found something -far better worth carrying off. However, on looking at the MS. it -appears almost certain that what was read as _chous_ is really -_chens_, that is, _chiens_. In fact, they were the - - ‘Grehoundes he hadde as swifte as fowel in flight, - For priking and for hunting for the hare,’ - -who were perhaps lying before the fire asleep after a long afternoon’s -coursing. - -In the same case it is said that the forester’s treatment of the -tenants on one of the abbey farms is so bad that no one dare die there; -it is suggested, because the forester would not allow anyone to come -to administer the last consolations of religion. But the words _de -murir_, on which the observation is based, are merely a careless -scribe’s writing of _demeurer_. - -In another book farmers are represented as using stones for fuel, which -are suggested to have been coal; but this results from mis-reading -_pet^arum_ (peat), as if it were _pet^arum_, a contracted form -of _petrarum_ (stones). - -The spreading desire to know something of paleography is very -remarkable, and is much to be commended. For all persons who interest -themselves in the documents to which they may have access in the -possession of private persons, or in repositories not generally known, -are helping in the grand work of making clear the laws and customs -and mode of living of our ancestors, and thus constantly come across -information, not to be found in our more public collections of records, -which often throws light on many dark passages of history. - - C. T. MARTIN. - - [Illustration] - - [Illustration] - - - - - HOW TO DECIPHER AND STUDY OLD DOCUMENTS. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - HINTS TO BEGINNERS. - - -Fashion changes in everything; but these alterations go on so -imperceptibly, so gradually, that ofttimes we fail to recognise their -progress except by glancing backwards into the past. But the fashion -of handwriting and its changes are very forcibly brought home to us -when confronted for the first time with some old deed or paper; and a -feeling of helplessness reduces the amateur to the verge of despair as -the pages of unintelligible hieroglyphics are spread out, as unfamiliar -as Sanscrit or Egyptian characters. But perseverance conquers all -difficulties. - -Every generation has its own particular type of writing. Compare, for -instance, any bundle of letters taken, hap-hazard, out of an old desk -or secrétaire; it is quite easy to sort them into bundles in sequence -of dates, and also guess accurately the age and position of the writers. - -The flowing Italian hand, used by educated women early in the last -century, changed with fashion into the freer style of the succeeding -generation; this in the third generation had further developed into -the bold, decisive, almost masculine writing adopted by the more -strong-minded females of the latter end of the nineteenth century. - -Of course, school-teaching is responsible to a certain extent for -handwriting. Our University men of to-day all, with few exceptions, -use a neat scholarly form of writing, free from flourishes, and with -simple capital letters and the small broken-backed Greek letter ε. -Compared with the scholar’s, the soldier’s writing is bolder and -rounder, while the clerk’s is still more distinct in type in its open -lettering, interspersed with curls and twists. So with most professions -it will be found that each has special characteristics; but these are -liable to change according to circumstances; thus, the clerk will -form his letters less distinctly after the need of great legibility -no longer compels him to carefulness. Self-education will often alter -a vulgar, ill-formed writing to a better, more studied style; and -writing is the clearest proof of both bodily and mental condition, for -in cases of paralysis or mental aberration the doctor takes it as a -certain guide. The writing of feeble-minded persons is like that of a -scarcely-educated child. - -Looking back to the days when writing was a profession of itself, it -can easily be understood how it is that we find less variety among -old writings. For in those days, before printing was discovered, or -at least but imperfectly executed and understood, all books had to -be produced by hand, and were the work either of paid scribes, whose -duty it was to reproduce copies of well-known authors; or else copied -out by clerks or private secretaries at the dictation of the authors -themselves, who could seldom spare the time to commit their ideas to -paper, or, even if they did so, it was customary to have additional -copies made by professed scribes. Unacquainted with the subjects of -the books, and copying merely from verbal dictation, it is no wonder -that mistakes and misunderstandings often occurred, especially in -the spelling of place and personal names; for one man reading aloud -to several scribes, each would write down the names and words as -they sounded to his individual sense of hearing, for the constant -interruption necessary to ensure complete accuracy would cause the -process to be tedious and very lengthy. - -Private correspondence, even, was carried on as a profession; writing -shops existed up to a comparatively late period; at present, in -out-of-the-way streets in London, one reads the notice ‘Letters written -here,’ though this generally means that letters may be sent to that -address. - -Authors who indited or dictated their own books had them afterwards -transcribed neatly for preservation, and probably destroyed the -original notes, for of these comparatively few, if any, exist. - -All the earliest scribes had a special education for their profession, -being sent to some monastery for that purpose; hence they were -either foreigners, or educated under foreign monks, either French or -Italian, and the effect of this teaching is clearly demonstrated by -the similitude which exists all over Europe between manuscripts of the -early Middle Ages. - -In England the Norman Conquest overruled most of the previous customs -and styles. Vast crowds of Normans emigrated continuously to our -shores. This went on more or less for at least three or four centuries, -and then prejudice against foreigners asserted itself, and the Saxon -element, which still remained among the lower classes of the people, -gained the ascendant. In the reign of Henry V. alien priories were -suppressed, and foreign monks and priests no longer travelled backwards -and forwards from the Norman abbeys to the junior houses or cells in -England. The rich merchants, who resorted here from the Low Countries -and Germany, brought with them their own customs and fashions; and at -this time will first be noticed the use of a written character, like -the modern German, which steadily came more and more into use until the -end of the seventeenth century, when it died out and the style altered -to a rounder, freer hand. - -So long as education was almost entirely monastic, or at least -conducted by teachers trained in monastic institutions, we find (as we -should naturally expect to do) a regularity, carefulness and formality -in the handwriting of the period; but so soon as England had shaken off -the authority of Rome and the educated communities had been scattered -and disbanded, a marked change took place in the quantity and quality -of all kinds of writing. The monks and nuns, rendered homeless by -the Reformation, returned to their native villages, thus spreading -education among all classes and creating a desire after learning. But -the primary cause of the alteration in handwriting, so very marked in -the sixteenth century, was perhaps attributable to the introduction -of the art of printing, which naturally was fatal to handwriting -as a profession. The scribe was no longer required to multiply the -author’s productions; so that lawyers and public office clerks only -remained out of the large class who had formerly earned their living -as professional writers. In the actual writing, also, a change took -place. The old elaborate letters were supplanted by the simple capitals -copied from the printer’s blocks. Some day, maybe, writing will die -out altogether; every year fresh improvements and inventions are -increasing; now type-writers and multiplying machines are used in place -of handwriting in many offices, while sooner or later typing by machine -will be universal. - -A hundred years ago, very few if any of the labourers could either -read or write; even now, in out-of-the-way country places, there exist -people ignorant of these (to us) necessary arts. The marriage registers -of the eighteenth century prove to us the ignorance of the country -folk; frequently neither the contracting parties nor their witnesses -could write their names, using instead either some eccentric monogram -bearing a faint resemblance to initials--a memory perhaps of a bygone -and very slight amount of teaching--or oftener still we find in lieu of -name the old Christian cross, which has been in use by the illiterate -from Saxon times as a pledge of good faith and consent. - -Previous to the nineteenth century, education in country places was -either altogether absent or provided out of the bounty of the squire or -parson, the teacher being some old ignorant person prevented by age or -bodily infirmity from pursuing active labour, and whose qualifications -were merely a smattering of the ‘three R’s,’ which, with plain sewing, -was the whole of his or her useful though scanty répertoire. Children -then were sent out to work at the age of nine or ten years, and earlier -if anybody could be found to employ them in service. When once placed -out, they had no opportunities of gaining further book knowledge, -and soon forgot the little they had learnt for want of practice or -stimulation, nor had they sufficient mental capacity to study by -themselves, except in very exceptional cases of natural genius. - -If this was the state of things within the memory of those still alive, -we can well believe how very limited was the knowledge of handwriting -some hundreds of years ago, and can more fully understand that the -scribe was a very important personage, and took great pride in his work. - -It is very rare to find mistakes or erasures in the lettering of old -charters. Varieties of spelling occur everywhere; a name is often -found spelt two or three different ways on the same page; but this is -easily explained if the work was written from dictation, especially if -pronounced to or by a foreigner. Our English language being so full of -unexpected variations of spelling, it is no wonder that names of people -and places suffered at the hands of a transcriber unacquainted with -the localities, and who merely wrote down the words as they sounded to -him. The actual spelling of words remained fairly constant. Certainly -to us they look very curious, for English orthography has undergone -innumerable changes; in course of time new words are being coined, -and old words alter not only in spelling, but also in meaning and -significance. If we wish for an example of Old English phraseology, -we have our present version of the Bible--which, being translated -into English in the seventeenth century, now sounds quaint, and in -many parts the sense of the words is a matter of dispute. If it be -compared with the Revised Version the changes which have taken place in -our language in the two past centuries become very evident. All this -must be borne in mind when the task of transcribing and translating -old writing is undertaken, and allowance must be made for all such -alterations both in style and spelling. - -It has been said that a knowledge of Latin is indispensable to the -would-be transcriber of old deeds; this is not really the case for -ordinary antiquarian research, for the meaning can be discovered easily -with only very slight knowledge. Legal Latin consists so entirely of -set forms that when once these forms are familiar to the reader, they -are without any difficulty recognised, and are so little liable to -any variations that they are easily rendered into English. The most -important points being a correct and accurate attention to the names of -people and places, with the descriptions of the localities referred to. -As the use of Latin for legal transactions almost entirely superseded -the Norman-French language after the reign of Edward III. (although -it is an open question whether deeds were not duplicated into the two -languages), very few old deeds are met with in the latter language, and -those few are usually so well written and legible that they can easily -be understood with the help of a slight knowledge of modern French. - -Indeed, a transcriber’s work properly consists chiefly in correctly -putting into modern handwriting the deeds which are only illegible -to those unfamiliar with the handwriting; in consequence an actual -acquaintance with the Latin grammar is less important than a correct -eye, quick to note every minute difference in letters. Every stroke -of the pen means something; bars or curves are the representatives of -absent words or syllables, and are never dashed down hap-hazard or -by accident. Therefore it is possible to understand the meaning of -the abbreviated portions correctly, although extension with absolute -grammatical correctness can never be ensured without study of the -language and a knowledge of its grammar. - -One of the best methods of learning to read courthand is first to -devote a short time to the study of shorthand; any system will do, -it being merely a means of training the eye and brain into speedily -noticing small shades of difference, undetected except by comparison. -For in all kinds of shorthand the least stroke or dot, or even a change -in the position of a line, will entirely alter the spelling or meaning -of a word. - -Next, I would advise the careful study of an old deed, one of those -written late in the seventeenth or early in the eighteenth century, -because these deeds give the phraseology or form of sentences, and -are often written in English in a fairly clear hand, freer from -contractions than earlier manuscripts, and the beginner has so many -new things to discover and learn that it is well to commence by not -attempting too much at the first start. An acquaintance with the style -of words used in legal language is a good groundwork to commence with. -Spread out the parchment before you; never mind the fact that only a -word or two, or even only a chance letter here and there catches your -eye. Then set to work to compare the letters of the words you do know -with the letters in other words which at the commencement looked so -strange to you. - -It was in this way that Egyptian hieroglyphics were first successfully -studied. - -Remember that three consonants seldom come together; no word is formed -without the help of one or more vowels; the final letter or letters -more often supply a clue than the capital letter or beginning syllable, -especially in the so-called courthands. - -Beware of too imaginative guesses. Although this fault is easily -remedied, still, it is better to spell a word out letter by letter, -however unintelligible and depressing the result at first may be. It -is so easy to take a name or word for granted, and an idea once seized -upon is not quickly eradicated, and may bring about absurd results and -deductions. - -Do not ponder too long over a word which puzzles you, but go on, -leaving gaps in your copy with a stroke underneath corresponding with -or leaving sufficient space for the missing word. These spaces can then -be filled in afterwards, when the general sense of the document has -been mastered, and the aspect of the particular style of writing has -become familiar. Then it will be found that words hitherto seemingly -unintelligible resolve themselves into readable form, and although -apparently impossible to decipher at the first reading, later on they -present no difficulty. A little practice and patience soon overcome the -difficulties of the first start, and after that the progress is rapid. - -To begin by learning a variety of old alphabets seems to me so much -waste of time, although it would be a valuable groundwork to commence -with. The true alphabet for beginners lies in the contracted words, -whose missing portions must be supplied by the reader from the few -letters given, which are often not even one connected syllable, but -instead merely one or two letters out of the missing syllable clustered -together. - -The reason for this style of writing was to save time and material. -With use, it grew into a complete system, a language of its own. At the -time it was penned, these contractions were no doubt perfectly familiar -to all, just as our modern abbreviations are. Of these last there are -more contractions in use nowadays than would at first be realized--our -daily correspondence is full of them; these may have originated from -the older system of contractions, relics of it, still left lingering on. - -A few examples of modern abbreviations will not be out of place here, -as showing that a contracted form of writing is not so very difficult -or extraordinary after all. - -=&=, and, derived from the Latin _et_; the second example, -which is still in use, can be traced in very old documents from et, -till gradually it assumed its modern shape. - -=M^r=, mister or master; =S^r= for sir was formerly in common -use. - -=C^o=, company; =C^{ie}=, _compagnie_ (French). - -=etc.=, derived from the first three letters of the Latin word -_etcetera_. - -The words ‘with, which, whereof, where,’ etc., were formerly -abbreviated; also =yr= for your, =ye= the, and many others -now obsolete. - -Pounds, shillings and pence we still designate by the Latin £ s. d. - -The long word ‘affectionate’ is seldom written in full; so, too, with -many other words there are recognised forms of contraction, and when -this is borne in mind the abbreviations of old deeds appear in quite a -different light, and we attack their difficulties with less dread of -failure. - - [Illustration] - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - HANDWRITING. - - -Many books have been recently published on the subject of ‘Character -by Handwriting,’ but they are not very descriptive in detail, although -the theories and rules for character-describing by this means are both -clear and decided. - -It is now no longer the rule to teach children to write entirely by -the aid of set copies, as was the case with our forefathers, who wrote -after one approved pattern, which children copied as nearly as possible -from the original set for them; therefore characteristic peculiarities -were longer in asserting themselves, and what is now considered a -‘formed’ handwriting was not developed till late in life. - -There were, and still are, two divisions or classes of handwriting--the -professional and the personal; with the first the action was -mechanical, and exhibits few, if any, traces of personality. Yet even -in the oldest manuscripts there are certain defined characteristics -plainly shown. The handwritings of historical and celebrated personages -coincide to a remarkable degree with their known virtues and vices, as -criticised and detailed by their biographers. - -As the art of writing became general, its form varied more and more, -becoming gradually less formal, and each person wrote as was easiest to -himself. Education, as a rule, has a far from beneficial effect upon -handwriting; an active brain creates ideas too fast to give the hand -time to form the letters clearly, patiently and evenly, the matter, not -the material, being to the writer of primary importance. - -So, as study increased among all classes, writing degenerated from its -originally clear, regular lettering into every style of penmanship. - -Of course a child’s writing resembles only the copy-book, of which it -is supposed to be an exact imitation; soon, however, the round curves -sharpen, the disconnected letters join without any breaks in the words; -the even lines and distances are no longer so carefully measured and -considered; eccentricities of style creep in, with sundry loops and -twirls, giving the whole a grown-up appearance--a decided individuality -of its own. - -If the subject of handwriting as a test of character is carefully -studied it will be found that immediate circumstances greatly -influence it: anxiety or great excitement of any kind, illness or any -violent emotion, will for the moment greatly affect the writing. From -handwriting the doctor can hazard an opinion as to the mental state -of his patient. In all cases of paralysis the writing is temporarily -affected, and the patient is usually at first deprived of the power -of writing; when the mind recovers its consciousness and the muscles -their strength, the power returns, but with a feebleness not formerly -observed. Writing depends upon so many things--a firm grasp of the pen, -a pliability of the muscles, clearness of vision and brain-power--even -the writing materials, pens, ink and paper, all make a difference. It -is not strange, then, that with so many causes upon which it depends, -writing should be an excellent test of temperament and bodily health. - -Any school-teacher or head of a college, through whose hands a large -correspondence passes, usually contracts a habit of forming conclusions -as to the mental and moral calibre of the writers, their social status -and natural bias of disposition. A round, childish handwriting is said -to show conceit and self-satisfaction. Ignorance and conceit are often -closely linked together. The uneducated generally have a very good -opinion of their own personal qualifications. The most youthful form of -writing is not, therefore, indicative of talent or general capacity, -and seldom shows any originality. - -All needless flourishes and ornamentation are the result of egotism -and vanity. But be it remembered that any virtue exaggerated at -once becomes a fault; that whereas a little conceit is necessary to -stimulate ambition, the same in too great excess becomes egotistic -vanity. Genius is apt to overestimate its own depth and originality, -yet without any self-appreciation there is danger of a lack of effort; -despair prevents perseverance, and is a bar to any success. - -Excitability, hastiness, and impatience are all seen in the handwriting -at a glance. A quick brain suggests words and sentences so fast, one -upon another, that though the pen races along the page it cannot -write down the ideas quickly enough to satisfy the author. With a -calm, calculating disposition this frantic haste is neither known -nor understood--such persons do not rush to conclusions, but ponder -over every subject. Intuitive perception in the excitable person -becomes judgment in a tranquil mind. Temper depends upon temperament. -The crosses of the letter ‘t’ are the index whereby to judge of it. -If these strokes are regular through a whole page of writing, the -writer may be assumed to have an even-placed temper; if dashed off -at random--quick short strokes, somewhat higher than the letter -itself--quick outbursts of anger may be expected, but of short -duration, unless the stroke is firm and black, in which case great -violence may safely be predicted. - -Uncertainty of character and temper is shown by the variation of these -strokes to the letter ‘t’. Sometimes the cross is firm and black, then -next time it is light; sometimes it is omitted altogether, varying -with each repetition of the letter like the opinions and sentiments -of an undecided person. The up and down strokes of the letters tell -of strength or weakness of will; gradations of light and shade, too, -may be observed in these strokes. The sloping Italian handwriting of -our grandmothers is just what might be expected from women refined and -sensitive, grounded in several branches of study, well educated as a -whole, but not especially so in any one particular line. The absence of -any self-assertion is very strongly marked. The independence of their -granddaughters can be traced in every line and stroke of their pens. -Little or no distinction is observable between the writing of young -men and women nowadays. Even the graphologist dare scarcely hazard an -opinion as to the sex of the writer, but indulges in vague wording, -avoiding any direct use of personal pronouns. - -Capital letters tell us many points of interest. By them originality, -talent, and mental capacity are displayed, as well as any latent -vulgarity or want of education. There are two styles of capital -letters at present in use. The high-class style employed by persons of -education is plain and often eccentric, but without much ornamentation. -The other may be called the middle class, for it is used by servants -and tradespeople having a fair amount of education, mingled with a -good deal of conceited ignorance and false pride. With these last -the capital letters are much adorned by loops, hooks, and curves, -noticeable principally in the heads of the letters or at their -commencement. Perhaps, for purposes of character delineation, it will -be better to give the characteristics, pointing out the style and form -of the letters peculiar to each. - -Plain, neatly-formed handwriting shows an orderly mind, the result of -education. The whole tendency of education is to regulate the mind and -restrain the impulses. Education checks conceit, for the more anyone -knows, the more aware does he become of the wide amount there is to -be learnt, and how little is the knowledge possessed by the cleverest -scholars in the world. - -It will generally be found that with writing having much resemblance, a -characteristic similarity also exists; therefore, to become proficient -as a graphologist, a careful study must be made of the writings -of those whose whole life and character, together with personal -peculiarities, are intimately known and understood, and from this -conclusions may be drawn and rules arrived at for future use. - -Affection is marked by open loops and a general slant or slope of -the writing. A hard nature, unsympathetic and unimpressionable, has -very little artistic feeling or love of the fine arts; therefore the -same things which indicate a soft, affectionate disposition will also -indicate poetry, music, and painting, or one or other kindred subjects. -The first of these accompanies a loving, impulsive nature; with music -the impulse is replaced by perseverance; for natural genius cannot -expand without patient study. In painting three things are absolutely -necessary to produce an artist. Form, colour, light and shade--all -these three will influence the writing; but art of any kind is very -complex. Success implies a certain degree of ambition, and consequent -upon it is vanity and egotism; hence the artist’s signature is -generally peculiar and often unreadable, from its originality, egotism, -and exuberance of creative power. - -Imagination and impulse do not tend to improve handwriting. The -strokes are too erratic, and the capital letters never follow the -copy-book pattern. Over-haste is visible in every line. A warm-hearted, -impulsive person feels deeply and passionately at the moment of -writing, and dashes off the words without regard to the effect they -will produce upon the reader. What is generally lacking is judgment -and the power of analytical thought. These important qualities may be -detected in disjoined words, which here and there may be seen even -with a handwriting in which impulse and sequence of ideas are leading -characteristics. The writer has evidently paused to think, although -unaware of it himself. These breaks give a power of criticism, combined -with clearness of intellect. Without breaks no common-sense is found, -but if they appear too often it shows a wearying and needless worry -over trivial details, and self-torment as to the opinions of other -people. - -Truth and straightforwardness give even lines running across the -page and regular distances from one word to another. Tact is very -essential. This quality requires often slight deceptions to be allowed -or practised, white lies, or delusive silence; hence an unevenness in -the writing is observed. It is a deviation, although slight, from the -path of truth, and here and there the letters rise or fall below the -lines. Untruthfulness gives greater unevenness still; but do not rush -to conclusions on this point, for an unformed handwriting shows this -peculiarity very often, being merely due, not to evil qualities, but to -an unsteady hand employed in work to which it is unused. - -Very round even writing in which the vowels are not closed, denotes -candour and openness of disposition, with an aptitude for giving -advice, whether asked or unasked, not always of a complimentary kind. -Blunt, crabbed writing suggests obstinacy and a selfish love of power, -without thought for the feelings of others. True selfishness gives -every curve an inward bend, very marked in the commencement of words or -capital letters. - -Perseverance and patience are closely allied. In the former the -letter ‘t’ is hooked at the top, and also its stroke has a dark -curved end, showing that when once an idea has been entertained no -earthly persuasion will alter or eradicate it. Such writers have -strongly-defined prejudices, and are apt to take very strong dislikes -without much cause. - -Calmness and patience also are frequently linked together--more often -in later life, when adversity has blunted the faculties, or the dull -routine of uneventful existence has destroyed all romance. Then the -writing has short up-and-down strokes, the curves are round, the -bars short and straight; there are no loops or flourishes; the whole -writing exhibits great neatness and regularity. Economy of living, -curiously enough, is marked by a spare use of ink. The terminals are -abrupt and blunt, leaving off short. Where economy is the result of -circumstances, not disposition, only some of the words are thus ended, -while others have open, free curves, and the long letters are looped. -Generosity and liberality may be seen likewise in the end curve of -every word. Where these characteristics are inconstant and variable, -the disposition will be found to be uncertain--liberal in some matters, -while needlessly economical and stingy in others. - - [Illustration] - -A person fond of society writes the capital letter ‘M’ with the three -upper curves on the same level. If the tail of this letter is carried -far below the line, there is vulgarity of mind and imperfect education. -Bars used instead of stops are the result of caution. The writer fears -lest his sentences should be misinterpreted by being run into each -other. When a bar is placed below the signature, it means tenacity -of purpose, coupled with extreme caution; perhaps, also, a dread -of criticism and adverse opinions. No dots to the letter ‘i’ means -negligence, a want of attention to details, with but a small faculty of -observation. When the dots are placed at random, neither above nor in -proximity to the letter to which they belong, impressionability, want -of reflection, and impulsiveness may be anticipated. - -Ambition and gratified happiness give to the whole writing an upward -tendency. Hopefulness lacks the firmness of ambition, and appears only -in the signature which curves upwards, while the rest of the writing is -impulsive, without much firmness. - -Sorrow gives every line of the writing a downward inclination. -Temporary affliction will at once show in the writing: a preoccupied -mind, full of trouble, cares little whether the letter then written -is legible or neat; hence the writing is erratic, uncertain, and the -confusion of mind is clearly exhibited in every line. Irritable and -touchy persons slope the flourishes only, such as the cross of the -letter ‘t’ and the upper parts of the capital letters. When the capital -letters stand alone in front of the words, and the final letters also -are isolated, it betokens great creative power and ideality, such as -would form an author and clever writer. - -The most personal part of a letter or document is, of course, the -signature, but alone it is not a safe guide to character. The lines -placed below or after it tell a great deal more than the actual name. - -A curved bending line, ending in a hook, indicates coquetry, love of -effect, and ideality. - -An exaggerated, comma-like form of line means caprice, tempered by -gravity of thought, and versatility of ideas. - -An unyielding will--fiery, and at the same time determined--draws a -firm hooked line after the name. - -A wavy line shows great variety in mental power, with originality. - -Resolution is shown by a plain line; and extreme caution, with full -power to calculate effect and reason a subject from every point of -view, is shown by two lines and dots, thus----:----. - -To sum up the matter briefly, it will be observed that a clever person -cares very little about the form of his writing--it is the matter alone -which concerns him; whereas, with a limited brain-power, great care as -to appearance is taken. But human nature is never a simple combination -of elements, it is dependable upon a complexity of changes and chances. - -It is said that with everyone a complete change takes place every seven -years. Motives and circumstances all leave decided marks upon the -character and mind of an individual. Not perhaps for years will innate -virtues or vices become apparent, which have lain dormant, awaiting -circumstances to develop them. - -A collection of any person’s old letters is very curious. Written from -earliest childhood to extreme old age, a veritable life’s history lies -in the faded ink; and to study character from handwriting fairly it can -only be done from such authenticated examples. - -Old letters written two or three hundred years ago are of great value -for the purpose, because, so far as they are concerned, all party -spirit and prejudice is dead, buried, and forgotten. Their biographers -no longer fear the consequence of a too candid and personal account, -and are therefore more likely to give a just and calm criticism of -character, weighing evenly in the balance both virtues and vices. -With historical characters it is curious to contrast the contemporary -biographies with the graphologist’s opinion of their handwriting, given -without knowing whose the writing was. - -Any collection of old MSS. is interesting, as showing the various -styles of writing in vogue at different periods. Fashion or -circumstances had some influence on this point. Royal marriages with -foreign princesses brought England into contact with different nations. -Wars in strange lands introduced alien words into our vocabulary, -some of which speedily became naturalized, while others, voted slang, -remained only for a short while and then disappeared. New words are -constantly being coined, and take the place of others. This may seem a -trivial matter, and irrelevant to the subject of old writing, but any -points bearing on the subject must throw new light upon it and help to -elucidate it. - -The personality of a writer can never be wholly separated from his -works. And in any question of date or authenticity of a document being -called in question, the value of graphology and its theories will be -found of the utmost importance; for the various changes in the style of -handwriting, or in the spelling of words, although perhaps so minute -and gradual as seldom to be remarked, are, nevertheless, links in a -chain which it would be extremely hard to forge successfully so as -to deceive those acquainted with the matter and well versed in its -peculiarities. - -Marked characteristics are noticeable in the old Black Letter MSS. of -the early days before printing, and the authenticity of a deed, etc., -may be decided by some slight peculiarity in its lettering. - - [Illustration] - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - ANGLO-SAXON, NORMAN-FRENCH, LATIN, AND OLD ENGLISH. - - -Although we are always told that our present English language is -directly derived from that of our Saxon forefathers, this information -gives us very little, if any, help towards deciphering the old -Anglo-Saxon documents. The Saxons, we are told, were not one nation, -but rather composed of an aggregate of tribes of Germanic and -Scandinavian origin, whose piratical instincts led them to seek -adventure by sea and land and form new colonies, just as at the present -day Englishmen go forth in search of fame and fortune in the uttermost -parts of the earth. - - [Illustration: EXTRACT FROM DOMESDAY.[1]] - -Thus the Saxon language, although derived from one identical base, was -a collection of dialects banded together, which, in its educated and -scholastic form, greatly resembled German in its construction. - -The language of the Anglo-Saxon (so far as Great Britain is concerned) -has been classified under three distinct headings, the first being pure -Anglo-Saxon, _i.e._, the language as spoken by the first settlers, -with an admixture of Celtic or British; secondly, this same combination -with the addition of Danish; and thirdly, the three above-named -languages combined, with the further addition of Norman-French, having -in all a Saxon dialect for the basis, to which were afterwards added -new words brought into it by foreign invaders or emigrants from over -the seas. Since the invention of printing great changes have taken -place in our language, and to go back prior to that epoch reveals -greater changes still. - -The writings of early chroniclers and poets are so full of words -and phrases now obsolete that many books and dictionaries have been -compiled to explain their meanings. - -The Lord’s Prayer, as given in the Durham Book. This is a copy of the -Gospels of the Anglo-Saxon period. It was formerly in the Cottonian -Library, now in the Manuscript Department of the British Museum. It -is known as ‘Nero D. iv.’ Old Sir Robert Cotton had busts of the -Roman Emperors over his book-shelves, and the names survive), looks -to us hopelessly foreign--only a few words are familiar. The personal -pronouns ‘us,’ ‘we,’ ‘he,’ ‘him,’ and the preposition ‘to,’ as well -as the conjunction ‘and,’ are unchanged, but the verbs are conjugated -quite differently to the correct English of to-day; still, if we -would seek for a living example resembling old Saxon dialect, it can -easily be found in several parts of England, such as Devonshire, -Dorsetshire, and other counties, the country-folk still speaking almost -pure Anglo-Saxon, though this is fast dying out before the advance -of education and Board-school science. The Anglo-Saxon alphabetical -characters differ only from the Roman in the letter ‘w,’ written ƿ. -In their alphabet there are also two additional double letters--‘th,’ -represented by the following letter þ, and ‘dh,’ ð, these last being -frequently used in the construction of words. - -The early Saxon handwriting was bold and clear. Most of it now existing -consists of monastic copies of books or charters. The Saxons were a -clever and industrious people, plodding and practical. Their abbeys -were more of the nature of large seminaries or colleges, where learning -was carried on; and in this respect the northern parts of England -were better supplied than the south, a result caused probably by each -fresh influx of tribes landing on the northern and eastern coasts of -the country, and spreading inland from thence. There seems to be no -doubt that the reign of King Alfred did much to promote study and an -increased attention to literature, previously neglected except among a -few professed scholars. - -A learned King would naturally set the fashion to his subjects, and -Alfred must have possessed immense energy. It was an extraordinary -thing for a middle-aged man to be able to educate himself sufficiently -to master the difficulties of a foreign language so opposed in -construction to his own native tongue as Latin, which in nowise -resembles Saxon. He must have toiled hard to have completed the many -translations from Latin into Saxon which are accredited to him. - -Alfred was a popular hero, and, like all heroes, was invested by -tradition with the credit of every improvement in literature or art -which took place within his era. Be this as it may, there is no doubt -that he did stimulate his fellow-countrymen to make efforts towards -self-improvement, by setting them a practical example in himself. Such -examples are unfortunately rare; they must always be productive of good -results--an ‘ounce of practice is worth a pound of precept.’ - -From the time of King Alfred’s re-introduction of Latin into this -country it gradually gained ground as the language of scholars. Learned -ecclesiastics coming to England found it convenient as the medium for -exchange of thoughts and ideas. It was for many centuries the accepted -‘Volapuk,’ understood by all who professed any learning. - -Rome was the light of the Western world, the centre from whence -religion and learning was disseminated to the less enlightened parts of -Europe. Careful study of the old authors necessitated an acquaintance -with both Greek and Latin. The emissaries of the Pope, either as -legates or missionaries, spread all over civilized Europe, and carried -with them the learning of their age. - -Intercourse between England and France was somewhat checked by -dissensions and wars both at home and abroad, but with the Conquest -came a large body of monks. The chief wealth of Normandy was invested -in its rich abbeys, from whence Duke William had borrowed large sums -of money to fit out his expedition upon the security of his future -possession of England. These loans he honestly and amply repaid by -large grants of land out of his new kingdom; hence new abbeys sprang up -in England, filled with foreign monks, who brought over their language, -arts and sciences, to teach in the new country they had adopted as -their own. The language of the court was of necessity Norman-French, -which differs as much from the French of to-day as ancient from modern -English. But a knowledge of French makes these early deeds easy to -understand. - - [Illustration: NORMAN-FRENCH DEED.] - -The lower orders of the people clung persistently to their own old -Saxon tongue, a fact clearly demonstrated by the way the old Saxon -field-names are to the present day retained, and flowers, animals, and -matters of everyday country-life bear names of evident Saxon origin. -The Saxons were a conquered race, and as such became the servants of -their conquerors. The animals which in life they tended were eaten by -the Norman nobles, who called them, when used as food, by names of -French derivation. Thus the Saxon ‘sheep’ when dead became ‘mutton’; -‘pig’ turned into ‘pork’; ‘calf’ into ‘veal,’ etc. - -With the names of many wildflowers French origin is traceable, -especially with cultivated sorts. We know the monks of the Middle -Ages were clever gardeners, and probably by them the wildflowers were -named. In Berkshire the village children call field-daisies ‘margs,’ -abbreviated, without doubt, from the French _marguerite_. Among -garden flowers there are pansies, French _pensé_; gillyflower, -_giroflél_, and many others; but as a whole there are few words of -distinctly Latin origin to be found in the English dialects relating -to everyday affairs. Norman-French did not come into immediate use in -legal documents after the Conquest. The earliest deeds of the Norman -kings were written in Latin, but after a while French, the everyday -language of the upper classes, superseded it for law work--possibly -there were duplicate copies of the deeds in both languages--but -only for a comparatively short period, a statute being passed in the -thirty-sixth year of King Edward III. deciding upon Latin as the law -language of the realm, and from this date the use of Norman-French died -out, and the English language may be said to have commenced. - -The growing dislike of the English to foreign prelates led to a -steady resistance of their claims, culminating in the Statutes of -Mortmain, Provisors and Præmunire, and finally in the suppression -of all alien priories and foreign cells. This stopped the influx of -French and Italian monks to our shores; so it was that, after nearly -four centuries, the Norman-French language died out and was forgotten. -During the Middle Ages, and until the time of the Reformation, the -monasteries still continued to be the principal seats of learning -throughout the country, and Latin held its ground among scholars and -lawyers. - -The introduction of printing, and, finally, the changes wrought by the -Reformation, disturbed the pre-existing course of things. The English -language was gradually settling down into its present form, and about -the end of the fifteenth century it began more and more to be used for -law business transactions. - -The law-Latin, as used in England, degenerated greatly; it became -interspersed with words of native origin, Latinized by the lawyer. -Old court-rolls especially are full of obsolete words; so, too, are -the public rolls, but there are now many dictionaries explaining their -meanings. Although of course, here and there an unknown word may occur, -yet the context will usually explain or help towards its significance. - -The legal Latin became, finally, merely a series of mechanical forms; -these at last were translated into English. For this reason a careful -study of the wording of a deed of the eighteenth century in English -will show that it is the counterpart of the same class of document in -its older Latin form. - -Latin, like Norman-French, had had its day and was dying out. Finally, -by George III.’s Act of Parliament the native language was ordered to -be used for law work, and now Latin has become obsolete, so far as -practical work is concerned. Understanding old legal Latin--once a -necessity for a lawyer--has now become an antiquarian profession. One -relic of Anglo-Saxon remained on in our language for many centuries. -The double letter þ, ‘th,’ will be found in the written copies of -monkish chartularies for place-names beginning with ‘th.’ Even so -late as the fifteenth century we find it freely employed in English -documents. I possess a copy of the criminal charges made against De -la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, for high treason, 1450. Throughout the -manuscript the Saxon þ appears in such words as ‘other,’ ‘that,’ ‘the,’ -etc., which look curious written ‘oþer,’ ‘þt,’ ‘þe.’ - -The þ in some words was printed ‘y,’ which continued in use until the -last century. I am not aware of any place-names having been altered -by this change of lettering, but it is quite possible that some -changes may have occurred through it. It would be easy for a person -unaccustomed to the Saxon þ to mistake it for other letters, as ‘th,’ -‘p,’ or ‘y’ must be followed either by a vowel or the consonant ‘r,’ -‘ph’ in old documents being usually replaced by an ‘f.’ - -Of late years many absurd mistakes have been made by the Ordnance -Surveyors in their maps, who, mistaking the local dialect, or from -preconceived ideas as to what the names ought to be, have set down -many incorrectly. On this subject I wrote formerly in a paper in -the _Berkshire Archæological Magazine_. A man from the South -of England fails to comprehend the Northern or Western dialects. -Country-folk from the North cannot understand a word spoken by -Southerners; this also would account for errors. Spelling, of course, -has so much altered that it is no safe guide towards derivation; -phonetic pronunciation of a word is more likely to give a clue to the -origin. Field-names have been handed down orally from generation -to generation; and it is very curious to observe how faithfully the -phonetic sounds have been preserved among an illiterate people, long -after the meanings of the words have disappeared. - -The Saxons named their fields from ordinary things, or surroundings, or -the animals who fed in the meadows. The following Saxon words may be -found occurring constantly as field-names: - - _Æcne_, fruitful; _Æcer_, field; _Æbesn_ or _Æfesne_, pasture; - _Ata_, _Atih_, tares, or oats--the latter were common. - - _Birce_, birch-tree. - - _Cyrc_, _Cyrce_, _Cyrice_, _Circ_, _Circe_, church--the last two - most common; _Culfre_, a dove; _Cealc_, chalk; _Ceorl_, churl or - husbandman. - - _Ent_, a giant; _Eorisc_, a bulrush; _Errich_, stubble; _Enid_ - or _Ened_, a duck; _Emn_, even. - - _Fearras_, _Ferris_, oxen; _Fearh_, a little pig; _Fearh-Cwæl_, - swine-fever. - - _Getreminc_, fortress; _Gat_ or _Yat_, a Goat. - - _Halga_, a saint; _halig_, holy; _Hyd_, hide, a land measure; - _Ham_, home, homestead; _Hurst_, or _Hyrst_, a wood; _Holt_, a - grove; _Hleotan_, to cast lots (meadows were held in lots, or - allotments, from a very early period, and so continued up to the - time of the Enclosure Acts); _Hluton_, part allotted; _Halm_, - stubble. - - _Ith Yrnth_, arable; _Ilt_, a sow. - - _Ley_, _Lea_, _Leaze_ or _Lay_, _Lye_, meadow or grassland. - - _Neolnes_, more properly spelt _Neowlnes_, an abyss. - - _On-œl_, a burning. - - _Riip_, harvest. - - _Sul_, a plough; _Stret_, or _Stræt_, a street or public highway. - - _Wong_, a meadow; _Welig_, a willow; _Wegleast_, a going out of - the way; _Wer_, an enclosure. - -As a whole the English language has changed more during the past -century than at any time of the preceding ages. Railway and telegraph -have brought all parts of the kingdom into closer contact, and -intercourse with foreign countries accounts for constant alterations in -language and customs. New words are introduced and old ones die out; it -is the same in every language. - - [Illustration] - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - OLD DEEDS. - - -Among old family papers it is rare to meet with many dating further -back than the Reformation; first of all, this may be accounted for -by the enormous amount of land possessed by the monks, who, instead -of having to search through deeds, entered these grants and gifts of -property into their charter-book. The monastic estates, after the -Dissolution, were managed through the Augmentation Office; many of the -original deeds were destroyed or lost in the general confusion, and a -new distribution of the lands took place by the King irrespective of -the former owners, whose claims were totally ignored, although in such -grants or deeds of gift the name of the monastery formerly owning the -property is usually named. - -The King must have realized large sums of money by these transactions, -which were carried out through, and in the names of, his commissioners -or agents, and not usually granted direct from the Crown; very little -of the land confiscated from the abbeys was retained as royal property, -but appears to have been almost immediately sold or granted away. - -But to begin from the oldest reliable period at which deeds may refer -to, is to go back to the Norman Conquest, or, rather, to the time when -the lands had been distributed among the Norman noblemen, as described -in the famous Domesday Book, compiled, it is said, between 1080 and -1085. Reference is therein made to previous Saxon possessors; but -only in very few instances can any certain information be obtained of -private property prior to the eleventh century. - -Private deeds do exist between the time of William I. and Richard I.; -from this latter King’s reign, about A.D. 1179, legal memory -dates[2]; but usually the earliest family deeds are of Edward I., -because then it was that the legal era was fixed to commence. This -King has been, so far as regards manorial rights and customs, rightly -called the ‘English Solon.’ He passed innumerable Acts of Parliament -on the subject of legal matters; he revised the whole of the national -laws, retaining but improving existing arrangements. A most interesting -account of early English law and manorial customs is published by the -Selden Society. It is very rare indeed to discover private deeds -earlier than this; but, of course, every rule has its exception. - -To prove a title to property it is now only requisite to show a twenty -years’ possession of it. Papers forming the title deeds to farms or -small holdings are seldom of any great age. The custom of depositing -estate records in the care of the family lawyer has tended to preserve -a few deeds; but, on the other hand, has resulted in much wholesale -destruction of useless but curious documentary evidence. - -Vast numbers of deeds have been and are being sold when a lawyer’s -office has been broken up. These papers, having lain for years -unclaimed until the ownership was lost or forgotten, finally were -sold to some antiquarian bookseller or antiquary, or else the skin -was cleansed and used again, parchment being a valuable substance. It -is employed in many trades. From it size is prepared. Gold-beaters -employ it largely, and also to the book-binder’s trade it is essential, -besides having many other and varied uses. - -Even now lawyers find great difficulty in preserving and storing the -deeds entrusted to their charge. The dangers of fire and damp are -conflicting, and to avoid the one may bring about greater risk from the -other cause. - -Parchment being an animal substance (usually made from the skin of -sheep), if kept in a damp place, soon begins to decay and become -offensive, mites readily attack it, dirt and dust accumulate rapidly on -its external woolly surface--all these make a search among hoards of -old deeds anything but a pleasant or a cleanly occupation. - -The usual storehouse for such collections was some unused garret or -stable-loft, where rats and mice ran riot and birds flew in and out as -they liked. Forgotten, perhaps, for several generations, the old papers -lay untouched till death or removal brought changes, and the deeds -were either placed in safer keeping, or else--alas! the most usual -course--were consigned to the flames as useless rubbish. - -The quality of parchment varies much. That upon which early -deeds--those about the thirteenth century--are written, is in small -pieces, woolly in texture and of a dark brown shade. In the sixteenth -century the sheets are larger, smoother, and yellow, becoming whiter -in colour and more even as its preparation was better understood and -practised. - -Vellum was a finer sort of parchment prepared from the skins of very -young or still-born animals. Of it the old manuscript books were made, -adorned with illuminations and miniature paintings, which required -a fine, smooth surface, and vellum was free from the flaws which -frequently occur in the skins of mature animals. - -With the history of paper-making we have nothing to do. Paper was known -as early as the thirteenth century, but for law work in England it was -seldom, if ever, employed before the fourteenth century. The earliest -known examples are described as being made of silk manufactured abroad. -On the Continent it was used for illuminated work in the place of -vellum--at least, so Prou states, but does not tell us of any notable -examples. - -The history of English-made paper is somewhat obscure. Ordinary -lesson-books, published for the enlightenment of the young, state -that the first English paper-mill was erected at Dartford, in Kent, -by Speilman, a German, in 1588. This, however, must be wrong, for in -that popular educator of the past generation, the _Saturday Magazine_, -a short account is given of early paper and its water-marks, and John -Tate is named as having a mill at Hertford, his device being a star -of five points enclosed within a double circle. John Tate the younger -is here stated to have made the paper for the first book printed on -English-made paper about the year 1496. It was written in Latin, and -entitled ‘Bartholomeus de Proprietatibus Rerum.’ His mark upon it was a -wheel. This mill existed for thirty-five years--1460 to 1496. This same -account goes on to say that the paper used by the early printers bore -great variety of marks: a bull, fifteenth century: the oxhead, with the -star between the horns, late fifteenth century; the black letter p; -the shears; an open hand, surmounted by a star; a collared dog’s head, -with a trefoil above it; a crown, an orb, a shield charged with a bend, -and many other devices. Hone, in his ‘Everyday Book,’ also gives a few -other marks. He mentions the orb as a foreign paper-mark existing as -early as 1301, and says it is the ‘oldest known mark.’ - -Hand-paper is the kind usually found used for early documents. It -was a convenient size for court-rolls or legal writings. The name -arose from its water-mark, that of an open hand with a star above the -middle finger. This is found both in England and Germany. Its date of -manufacture was certainly older than 1450. The actual device varied. -Sometimes the fingers were raised in blessing, sometimes it was a hand -encased in a glove or gauntlet. The star had sometimes five and at -others six points. On the wrist are the maker’s initials. - -On some coarse whitish-brown paper of 1465 a garter was used; about -the same date a bull or bull’s head appears. This is found on some of -Faust’s earliest printed books. These were detached sheets: there was -no distinction then between book or letter paper. - -A careful study of paper-marks would be interesting and valuable if -the authenticity or age of old papers or drawings were doubted, though -the question of forgery scarcely ever arises, for so much knowledge and -ingenuity would be required to produce a manuscript which would deceive -an adept and pass muster as a veritable antique, that fraud of this -kind is well-nigh impossible. - -Paper was not known in France, and consequently not used, before 1130. -It did not reach as far north as Normandy until the fourteenth century; -therefore it is improbable that it found its way into England till -after this date, or, if so, only in very small quantities. The oldest -paper is coarse and rough, scarcely sized at all, so that the ink sank -into it like blotting-paper, making erasures impossible. - -Supposing even that paper was made in England in the fifteenth and -sixteenth centuries, the quantities produced here were very small and -inadequate to meet the demand; hence the chief supply was of foreign -manufacture even until a comparatively recent period. The tax on -English paper may have interfered with its production. - -The Netherlands and Germany were the great paper-producing countries. -It was a State privilege, and the water-marks used were either the -arms of the royal patron or a crest or badge of the manufacturer, -so by this means the precise locality of some of these ancient -manufacturers may be ascertained. The Dutch paper bore the arms of the -country--_i.e._, the lion rampant, holding the sabre in one paw -and the arrows (?) in the other. - -The history of old paper-marks sadly needs a Chaffers or a Cripps to -investigate the matter. No such collection has ever been attempted, -nor has the subject hitherto met with the attention it demands and -deserves. Perhaps, now that antiquarianism is becoming so fashionable, -this, like other kindred sciences, will find some followers. - -In the _Antiquary_ magazine for November and December, 1895, may -be seen two articles I wrote on old water-marks of paper. The marks -were chiefly collected from the old family papers belonging to the -Pulestons of Emral. These papers were, I fear, burnt after the death of -my uncle, the late Sir Gresley Puleston, Bart. - -As regards paper and paper-making, Mr. S. L. Sotheby published a costly -work. There is also a small book written by Mr. Richard Herring in 1863. - -Another important part of a deed is the ink with which it was written. -Each scribe had his own particular receipt for making it, the principal -ingredients being oak-galls and sulphate of iron. Many chemicals -are recommended as restoratives for faded ink, but these should be -avoided as far as possible, as they are liable to stain and disfigure -the parchment, and in the end make matters worse. Familiarity with -particular handwritings after some practice will enable the reader to -make out otherwise unintelligible words without any other assistant -than a powerful magnifying glass. - -If the ink is very faint the simplest and most harmless restorative is -sulphate of ammonia; but its loathsome smell once endured is not easily -forgotten; the experiment in consequence is very seldom repeated, for -the result is scarcely good enough to risk a repetition of so horrible -a smell, and it is liable to affect the MSS. - -Coloured inks or pigments were seldom, if ever, employed for legal -documents. The use of these was restricted to the cloister, requiring -manipulation by an illuminator instead of a mere scribe. Red, blue, and -green were in use; these were mineral colours. The red was composed -either of red-lead or oxide of iron, the green from copper, and the -blue from lapis lazuli finely powdered, or else it, too, like the -green, was prepared from an oxide of copper. - -Illuminating was a separate profession apart from that of writing. The -charter or missal was finished by the scribe, and then handed over to -the artist to be adorned with fanciful capital letters and elaborate -scroll-works. Such ornamentation was unnecessary for legal documents, -yet sometimes these had fancy headings, which, like the illuminations, -were put in after the writing was finished, as is proved by the -occasional omission of them, although space is left where they ought to -have been filled in. - -Seals and sealing-wax deserve a few words. These came into use -gradually. The earliest deeds are very small, and have very small -insignificant seals. There are some very fine seals in the Record -Office Museum (formerly the Rolls Chapel). - -It is said that neither the Saxon nor Norman noblemen could sign their -own names, but instead employed the Christian sign of the cross (still -in use among the illiterate) as their pledge of good faith, and to -witness their consent and approval. The use of seals as appendices -to deeds was a further proof that the deed itself was approved and -executed. A man’s seal or signet was always regarded as his most sacred -possession. It was destroyed after death to avoid its being used for -fraudulent purposes. - -The use of signet-rings is very ancient. Many old Roman and Saxon -signet-rings have been dug up from time to time in various parts of -England. Small private seals bearing devices appear to have been -attached to deeds of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. - -Many of the large wax seals are very beautiful, but few, alas! in -private collections of deeds exist in any state of perfection. The wax -used for them was either its natural colour or else a sealing-wax -of a very dark green, also black, or red; white, also, was used, now -discoloured by age into a dingy yellow. Besides the royal seals, each -abbey had its own particular seal, bearing either a view of the abbey, -a portrait of its patron saint, or its badge or shield. Many of these -are described by Dugdale in the ‘Monasticon,’ but he was unable to -discover the devices pertaining to the lesser houses or cells. The -fashion for large seals died out, till at last only royal grants or -similar documents of the sixteenth century have them attached. In the -Georgian period we find small private seals placed on the margins of -deeds. These were not always the arms and crest of the person against -whose signature they appear--perhaps belonged to the lawyer or one of -the contracting parties. Here it is that a knowledge of heraldry is -extremely useful. - -The size and shape of a deed at first glance goes far with the -experienced reader to determine its age, even before a single word of -it has been read; likewise the general aspect will give a slight hint -as to the possible contents without deciphering any of it. - -The deeds relative to the earliest grants of land are very small -in size, a marked contrast to the voluminous sheets of parchment -considered necessary to a modern conveyance or deed. The writing often -was minute, but each letter was carefully formed. Many early deeds are -in far better preservation than some of those written several centuries -later, when less attention was paid to the materials on which they were -indited, or the ink used. - - [Illustration] - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - LAW TECHNICALITIES. - - -The two chief divisions into which all law deeds may be roughly -classified are the deed-pole and the indenture. The former is a square -piece of parchment, made by one person, such as a will or a bond, the -indenture being the work of several parties. Of this latter kind are -deeds of trusteeship, marriage settlements, mortgages, and sales or -transfers of land. - -The indenture was so called from the fact that its upper edge was -vandyked, or indented--a very secure but primitive method of testing -authenticity; each party had a copy. These duplicates were written on -a single strip of parchment merely cut asunder afterwards, through a -word written between the two copies, such as ‘chirographum,’ so that -when required to be produced as evidence the two divided portions and -words would fit each other exactly--indisputable evidence of their -originality, both simple and ingenious. - -A very common form of deed, met with among title-deeds, is the ‘Fine,’ -technically so-called from its opening sentence: ‘Hic est finalis -concordia facta in curia Domini Regis’; the Sovereign’s name follows -with the year of accession, after which are the names of the buyer and -seller of the property, a full description of the amount of acreage, -tenements, etc. After warranting the whole for life to its purchaser, -the deed concludes with the sum of money paid for the property; this -is written in words, not figures. These deeds are more puzzling to -amateurs than any other. The ‘Fines’ are narrow strips of parchment, -two in number; they are closely covered with black lettering, making -them at first difficult to decipher. - -This transfer of land by ‘fine’ originated at first from an actual suit -at law commenced to recover possession of the lands, and by this means -to establish a clear indisputable title to it; in course of time the -suit was discontinued, but the form of wording was retained by custom. - -‘A “fine,”’ says Blackstone, ‘is so called because it puts an end -to the suit (from the Latin word _finis_, an end), which, when -once decided, puts an end not only to that suit, but also to all -other controversies concerning the same matter, for by this means an -absolute sale was effected, and all previous claims upon the property -were made void.’ - -Sale by fine is of very ancient date. Instances of it are said to be -known prior to the Norman invasion. We may, therefore, conclude that -it was probably an old Saxon custom, or was devised in later times -as a certain means to avoid dispute and disagreement arising from an -imperfect title of possession. - -There are several legal varieties of ‘fines,’ but these are of little -consequence to the antiquary, whose interest lies only in the names, -dates, and localities mentioned, and, so long as the land changed -its ownership, cares little about the technical process by which the -transfer was made. - -Another way of making a good title so as to legalize and effect a -complete sale of property was that known as ‘Sale by Recovery.’ This -also consisted of a law-suit, at first real, then imaginary. - - [Illustration: FORM OF FINE] - -The prescribed form was very complicated. Explanations of it are to be -found in most books on law subjects, but the matter lies in a nutshell. -One man desired to sell certain land which another man was anxious to -purchase, whereupon the would-be purchaser issued a writ, in which he -pretended to claim the land. At this stage of the affair a third party, -not really concerned in any way in it, was brought forward to warrant -the title of the real owner, who then came forward bringing a witness -proving ownership to his property; thus an undisputable title to the -land was established. A deed of recovery was then issued rehearsing the -whole transaction, agreeing that a certain sum of money, equivalent to -the value of the land, should be paid by the purchaser; and here the -bargain was concluded, and the curtain fell on the legal farce. - -Some of these recovery deeds are quite works of art. They are written -in courthand on large squares of parchment, smooth and white. The -heading and capital letter are ornamented with scroll-work in pen -and ink. Generally an engraved portrait of the reigning Sovereign -was added. Part of this ornamentation was done by hand, and the rest -completed with steel engraving. The most elaborate deeds are those of -the Stuart monarchs, especially towards the end of the seventeenth -century, but after the time of the second George these well-executed -deeds disappear. - -The oldest statute relating to Recoveries of which I find any mention -is of the commencement of the reign of Henry VII., but I have not met -with any as early in date as this. - -A beginner finds much difficulty in deciding between deeds of sale -or appointment of trustees for the safe custody of land to secure -marriage portions and deeds of mortgage. All these three deeds are, in -point of size and general outline, nearly identical; the experienced -lawyer can detect them at once; he needs only to study what is called -the operative part of the document, avoiding any waste of time which -wading through the technical phrases involves. - -One of the commonest forms of deeds met with relative to the sale -of land is that known as ‘Lease and Release,’ a method invented by -Serjeant Moore in the reign of Henry VIII., which, from its simplicity, -speedily became very popular, and superseded the other forms of sale. - -The principal deeds referring to a Lease and Release are two in number. -The smaller of these is generally found wrapped up within the larger -parchment, as the two had to be kept together, being in reality part -and parcel of each other. The smaller parchment was the lease drawn up -between the parties; by it a formal lease for a year of the premises -or land was granted by the owner to the purchaser, but no mention of -any rent or sum of money is made in it, and herein is the difference -between the sale-lease and an ordinary lease, for in this latter both -the term of years and the yearly rental are expressly named. - -The ‘Release,’ or larger parchment, is dated a day following the -lease which it cancels, hereby gaining its name of ‘release.’ It is in -reality the actual deed of sale, for the price paid for the land will -be found in it, and a full and complete warranty securing it for ever -to the purchaser. - -An ordinary lease of premises is worded similarly to the above, -but differs from it in several ways; usually it is a larger sheet -of parchment. The term of years varies from three, five, seven, to -twenty-one, at a fixed rent paid either half-yearly or quarterly at -the four principal feasts, Lady Day, or the Feast of the Annunciation, -the Feast of St. John, or Midsummer, St. Michael and All Angels, -better known as Michaelmas, and the Feast of the Nativity, popularly -called Christmas Day. These deeds commence with the date of the day, -month and year, followed by the names of the persons contracting the -agreement, with those of their co-trustees, or witnesses, usually -selected from among relatives or connections by marriage, or else -immediate neighbours. An exact terrier of the land is given, its -locality, field-names, and acreage. Three parts of the way down the -sheet of parchment will be found the rent and term of years for which -the land is granted, together with stipulations as to repairs, rights -of ingress and egress; any services, customs or heriots, whether due in -kind or by payment; last of all comes the warrant against intruders. -Of course, with deeds of sale there are other legal documentary forms, -with variations of wording, but the two last above described are those -generally met with. - -The oldest form of sale is called a ‘feoffment,’ or grant. Externally -it differs little in appearance from a ‘fine,’ at least as regards its -earliest form, both being very small, closely-written deeds; the first -was in the set lawyer type of handwriting, while a ‘fine’ was indited -in courthand. - -A ‘feoffment,’ or grant, was the oldest and simplest form of document; -but in later times it was followed by a deed ‘of Uses,’ which required -many other deeds to follow in its wake before a permanent and -satisfactory sale was effected. - -It is all these legal formalities which make the reading of old deeds -so unnecessarily confusing; their intricacies can only be mastered -by careful study of books on legal matters, and a comparison of the -several kinds of deeds above enumerated. A mortgage deed differs from -the sales or leases in several particulars: firstly, the term of years -granted is usually absurdly long--nine hundred or a thousand years, -perhaps; while in lieu of money the nominal rent of one peppercorn -yearly, or some equally insignificant equivalent, was demanded. In -place of the rent in an ordinary lease the real reason of the mortgage -is given in full, with the date and appointed place where and when the -borrowed money is to be repaid. Often the vicarage, or the parson’s -house, was chosen--perhaps considered as an additional guard against -fraud, and that the clergyman as a witness, being a disinterested -party, would see justice done on both sides. No mortgage deeds are old; -the older ones, if they existed, were probably destroyed as soon as the -transaction was finished. Most of those found among family papers are -of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and refer to small pieces -of land or cottages, showing that even then the small owners became -involved in debts and difficulties, being obliged to raise money upon -their holdings, until finally the land itself had to be sold to satisfy -the demands of the creditors, the purchaser usually being the nearest -large landed proprietor, who paid a better price for what would join -on to and complete the area of his estate. These small holdings had -probably been accumulated bit by bit out of the waste. First, perhaps, -the settler rigged up a primitive dwelling, or hut, the old tradition -being that if a roofed dwelling with a chimney could be erected in one -night a claim to the land was thereby established. If undisturbed, the -squatter would gradually extend his boundaries; but a small rent was -generally demanded by the lord of the manor as an acknowledgment of the -encroachment; these little holdings are called ‘key-holdings,’ and are -to be found in all parts of England. - -At present there is a growing desire to increase the number of small -proprietors; ‘fashion,’ it is said, ‘repeats itself periodically.’ -Former experience showed the result of small holders to be a failure; -no land, however small in acreage, can be worked without capital; a -succession of bad seasons causes immediate loss and continuous outlay -without a compensating return; debts once begun are apt to accumulate; -all trades are worked cheaper on a wholesale scale. Bit by bit, as -failure comes, the small pieces of land will roll up into large -properties again, like balls of quicksilver separated only for awhile. - -Many of the deeds of mortgage are sad and silent witnesses of the -gradual decay and downfall of old families. The squire raised money to -pay off trusts, legacies, and dowers. He pledged his mansion; and in -the inventory of his household effects we can study many queer facts. -Our ancestors’ homes were scantily furnished; such lists surprise -us, for they show what a very small amount of furniture was formerly -considered necessary to render a house habitable. - -Among family papers there is often another class of deeds altogether: -one is a small square piece of parchment, with a huge seal attached; -this is often enclosed in a rough tin case or box. These are advowson -deeds, or presentation of Church preferment. The gifts of many Church -livings are in private hands. It was originally an hereditary property, -and there are cases of it of very great antiquity; but private family -deeds referring to church property are seldom found earlier than the -Jacobean period, and very seldom as old as that. - -The earliest presentations or appointments to parochial duty were -no doubt purely ecclesiastical, but with the Norman accession the -secular and ecclesiastical affairs merged into closer proximity; it -was considered a religious privilege to rebuild or erect a church. -This the lord of the manor generally undertook, perhaps originally as -a private chapel or chantry. The appointment of an officiating priest -became an ecclesiastical matter, being often granted to the monasteries -by the patrons. To avoid the encroachment of lay interference, -Thomas à Beckett was the first to order that no clergyman should be -instituted to a living without a bishop’s approval and permission; -but there were often disputes on this subject. Few neighbourhoods -existed without a monastery somewhere in the locality, and from the -nearest religious house a candidate was probably selected; finally, the -right of presentation was claimed by the monastery, with whom it may -have, by custom or by deed of gift, previously rested. Some education -and a knowledge of Latin was essential for a priest, and education -was almost entirely confined to the monks or their pupils. Thomas à -Beckett, as Archbishop, issued his mandate on the subject of parochial -presentations as a means of retaining such institutions in episcopal -hands, and so avoiding any appeals to the Pope which might be made by -his legates or the abbots. With the monasteries the chantries also -passed away, soon being forgotten; numberless small unbeneficed chapels -were then allowed to fall into ruins, the sites even of these now -having been lost. - -Deeds recounting the appointment of chantry priests are rare, and -always possess some points of interest; often chantry priests were -appointed by bequest, and sums of money left for their maintenance. -These appear, however, to have been entirely distinct from the parish -priest, although perhaps the office may eventually have merged into one -and the same. - -There seems from earliest times to have existed a jealousy between -Cathedral bodies and the monks; but as the monastic orders waxed more -and more wealthy and influential, we lose sight of the contention, and -on all questions of early Church history there yet needs an impartial -writer to decide many matters which at present are still uncertain, -and are viewed by different writers according to their own particular -religious bias, whether Anglican or Roman; hence as history they are -too prejudiced to be entirely relied upon. - - [Illustration: SHERIFF’S ROLL (NEVILLE MSS.). (_See page 66._)] - -A sheriff formerly was the most important personage in his county, -being the ambassador or representative of the Sovereign. He was -appointed directly by the Crown; even at the present day the names of -three county gentlemen are written down and supposed to be presented -to the King, who pricks the name of the man chosen to be sheriff; but -really the names follow in sequence, each out-going sheriff adding -a fresh name to the list previous to his own being erased as having -served his turn. - -The formal deed of appointment as sheriff was a narrow parchment strip, -with a fine seal attached to it; his discharge from office was a very -unimportant-looking document. - -The sheriff’s roll was the yearly bill of expenses incurred in the -King’s name by his sheriff or representative; as a rule they are not -very interesting, although here and there the names of men appointed -to local offices may appear, facts which might interest the local -historian; but he would have to wade through the contents of many rolls -before he extracted any information worth his attention, and much -time would have to be expended over such a search. These rolls are -long broad strips of parchment stitched together; the upper edge is -sometimes cut square, and at others cut into a point or peak. - -The wording runs as follows: - - ‘In Magno Rotulo de anno ... Regis ... in Comitatu----’ - -A list of the sheriffs of England (Henry I. to fourth year of Edward -III.) is to be found in the thirty-first report, page 262, of the -Deputy Keeper of the Public Records. A list of sheriffs is published -(Public Record Office: Lists and Indices, No. IX.). In some counties -sheriff-lists with additional genealogies and notes have been compiled, -giving a very good county history of the oldest families of the shire. - -A royal pardon was a deed-poll with a beautiful seal attached to it. -It commenced with the Sovereign’s name. The writing was exact and -well executed. The deed was divided into clauses or sections, the -commencing word of each being written in very clear black letters. -After the word ‘Sciatis’ comes the royal license and the name of its -recipient, who is forgiven ‘all rebellion and insurrection against the -Crown, all homicide, felony, robbery or participation with such,’ and -the pardoned subject is permitted to retain his possessions: the word -‘Perdonamus’ coming about the centre of the document. Unfortunately no -information is given in the charter in any way as to the particular -cause for pardon being granted or the offence committed. This can only -be guessed at by the help of English history, and a probable reason be -assigned from among the many disputed accessions, civil wars, religious -controversies of bygone centuries, all probable sources of high treason -against the Crown. - -Few old families were exempt from charges of treason if they chanced -to take any part in public affairs or were known to have been stanch -adherents to prohibited religion. - -A bond is a small paper or parchment--on one side written in English, -on the other in Latin--the promise to repay or pay money due; generally -the bond is in Latin, and the conditions of it written in English. -Bonds were made out on the sale of property, or for mortgages or -legacies; they occur in numbers among family papers. - -If the deed does not begin with the King’s name in whose reign it -was made, the year of the reign will be found at the end. It must be -remembered that Henry VI. and Charles II. are both puzzling, owing -to civil wars, and both reckoned from the date of the death of the -previous Sovereign. Henry VI. is reckoned from 1422, and includes the -whole period till his death--forty-nine and a half years--of which only -thirty-eight and a half years he actually was King. Charles II. is -reckoned from the year 1649. - -These are the principal kinds of deeds met with among family papers, -being the commonest legal forms. If others are found of an unusual -character they should be put aside for closer investigation when -practice has given greater experience, or be submitted to an expert for -examination. - - [Illustration] - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - MANOR AND COURT ROLLS. - - -The oldest account of an estate is to be obtained, not from deeds of -purchase and mortgage, but from its own private records, called court -rolls, a most curious class of documents, puzzling to the antiquary -because they contain local words obsolete and not recognisable through -derivation. Manor rolls are a study in themselves, a subject hitherto -overlooked. They give us an insight into the most primitive form of -local government, showing the manner in which lawlessness and disregard -of laws were kept under before a regular magisterial jurisdiction -came into existence. The local manor court occupied the position and -did the work now undertaken by the magistrates, County Court judges, -and County Councils. When complaints are raised as to an excessive -imposition of fines for trivial misdemeanours by any of these modern -means of justice, I would advise the complainants to study some old -court rolls, wherein may be read the fines imposed for offences no -longer punishable. The villager was fined if he kept dogs or pigeons, -for trespass in the woods, stealing brushwood, for illegal fishing, -for fighting, for allowing animals to stray and become impounded. Nor, -unless he was a freedman, was he allowed to marry or give in marriage -without his lord’s permission. All this sounds very arbitrary and -severe; in reality it probably was not so. The bond between landlord -and tenant must have been a very close one. They were drawn into near -connection one with another; the well-being of one meant the welfare -of the other. Nor was the meting forth of justice left solely in the -hands of the lord of the manor, but rather to the twelve jurymen who -formed the court itself. Certainly this self-government opened a means -for unfair influence and revenge of petty quarrels. This was guarded -against as far as possible. A very common item brought before the court -was the accusation of wrongful information laid by a man against his -neighbour in direct opposition to the ninth commandment. - -There were two sections of manor courts--the Court Leet and the Court -Baron. The former dealt with offences committed by the tenantry, and -contained much that is entertaining and curious; the other was occupied -with the tenants and their holdings, of which they had every year to -give account to the lord of the manor. Upon the death of a tenant, or -the expiration of the lease, new presentments were made to the landlord -for admission to the premises, or a fresh life added to the lease from -time to time. In these rolls we find notices of heriots and other old -services due from the tenants of certain lands; indeed, these old -customs are not yet wholly extinct, though they have frequently fallen -into abeyance. On some estates heriots are still due, but, as a rule, -have for many generations been compounded for by a money payment, just -in the same way that feudal service passed into small sums of money and -finally died out, or eventually took the form of money rent. - -On many farms it was part of the rent to give the landlord yearly, -geese or cheese. In a small farm of ours in Cheshire the tenant had to -give a cheese yearly, cart coals, keep a dog and a fighting-cock for -his landlord. - -The manorial history of England would carry us back very far did we -attempt to trace it to its earliest beginnings. Perhaps the very -first step towards it was the settlement of the Saxon tribes, who, -in appropriating and distributing the land, laid the foundation of -hereditary ownership. There is no rule or limit as to how many manors -there might be in each parish. Clearly the parish was the older -division of the two; nor can the creation of a manor be dated in any -way, for many of the old manors were subsequently split up into two -or more lesser ones. The affixes or manorial names are known to have, -in some instances, varied with the family who held the land. Almost -without exception these manorial names were directly derived from -the possessors. Few are older than the Norman period, perhaps having -supplanted those in existence previously. Where double parochial -names are used, the first is usually Saxon, the affix being a Norman -addition, showing the fusion of the two races, which, though living in -close proximity, were yet totally distinct from each other. - -During the Middle Ages manors were further subdivided, easily to be -accounted for in this way: The owner of a manor was at first start the -tenant of some wealthy and powerful nobleman, who, owning vast tracts -of land, sublet it out in manors, which were after some generations -bought outright, or looked upon almost as freehold. The tenant was the -resident squire of the place, living on the land, and farming it with -the assistance of his children and dependents. After a time the family -grew up, the sons married and needed homes of their own. In those days -no one moved far away from the birthplace. What was more natural than -that the squire should provide homes for his children close around -the old manor-house, and, dividing off the property by the manorial -boundaries, give to each a portion for self-maintenance? This accounts -for the large, old-fashioned farmhouses to be found in most country -parishes. The history of each farm, if investigated, will furnish a -curious proof of the conservatism with which certain boundaries were -preserved, and the manors regarded as sections seldom subdivided except -into recognised lesser manors. - -Society was very primitive two or three hundred years ago. It was -then possible to live comfortably and make a living out of the land. -No foreign grain was imported to affect the prices of corn in country -places. Competition was unknown, and the people led a quiet, uneventful -existence, following in the footsteps of their forefathers. Gradually -changes have come about. The old race of yeomen has died out; the few -that are left make us forcibly regret that this should be the case. - -The yeoman was a man of good education and long pedigree; he belonged -to the largest section of English society, called ‘middle class.’ -Agriculture was his profession; he seldom left home, consequently had -few opportunities of spending money; the character and personal history -of every human being on the place was intimately known to him, for -the villagers lived and died in their native villages. The roads were -bad, therefore traffic from place to place was restricted to what was -absolutely necessary. Posts and passenger coaches were rarities, and -when first started met with little patronage from the majority of the -people. - -To return to the manorial courts. These were held but once during the -year. It was the annual audit of the freemen on the estate, the ‘Visus -franciplegii,’ as the opening words of the court roll states. - -Quarter sessions were held four times in the year, while the sheriff’s -tourn took place half-yearly. These inquired into matters of public -interest and public expense, whereas the manor court dealt with trivial -matters pertaining to the manor itself. The sheriff’s tourn and the -manorial court were almost identical in object; the first was the -representative of the Crown dispensing justice to the King’s subjects; -in a lesser radius and degree the lord of the manor had a similar -office to fulfil. - - [Illustration: COURT ROLL. (_See page 75._)] - -Manors were ruled by custom, and customs varied in different places. -The general aspect of a court roll will always be found to be -identical. The older rolls are in Latin, but, like the deeds, the later -ones are written in English. The earliest ones are literally ‘rolls’ -closely written on parchment in the handwriting called by the French -‘minuscule.’ - -Every court roll has at its commencement the name of the manor written -either above or on the margin. The opening words read thus: ‘Visus -franciplegii cum curia.’ After this is the name of the lord of the -manor, the date of the day and month, followed by the King’s name and -the number of years since he ascended the throne. - -_Esson._, on the margin, is the abbreviation for _essonium_, -an excuse--namely, the jurymen who pleaded absence from the court. -Following this are the names of the twelve jurymen present, and then -the work begins. - -In the older rolls the presentment of offences are the principal items; -latterly only the tenants and their leases employed the attention of -the court at its annual sitting. - -The first thing to consider was usually the assize--licensing, so to -speak, of bread and ale. By this means fraud and adulteration were held -in check. The right of brewing ale was a privilege not to be infringed -without penalty; the fine imposed was at the rate of 1_d._ for -each illegal brewing; the offenders are generally women. - -Any damage to crops or fences, highways needing repair, quarrels ending -in bloodshed, neglect by which animals were permitted to stray and -become seized by the hayward or pinder--all such offences are found -chronicled in the court roll. Last of all is the sum total received -in fines, signed by the names of the two officers appointed to -superintend the assize. - -A court roll is always written throughout in one handwriting, without -any private marks or signatures. From the writing, they are generally -the work of a professional scribe or clerk who must have had a regular -education--first as a Latin scholar, secondly as an accountant, and -thirdly probably learnt to write before he learnt Latin. Mistakes or -erasures are seldom to be detected; therefore the rolls must have -been carefully copied at leisure from rough notes made at the time; -moreover, the spelling of the surnames is fairly constant, which would -not be if written from dictation. - -Up to the Reformation period the court rolls were cherished as being -valuable records, providing standards for future reference; hence we -find, until then, a fairly perfect sequence of these yearly rolls, -after which a break occurs, and only a casual roll here and there is -preserved. No guide to court rolls would be complete unless the oldest -form of the Arabic numerals is given and explained. - -The Roman numerals are the oldest method of writing figures in Europe, -but gradually the so-called Arabic figures (really of Indian origin) -were introduced, superseding the former style. To Gerbert, otherwise -known as Pope Silvester II. (he died in 1003), is attributed their -introduction - - [Illustration: xiith century. xiiith century. xivth century. xvth - century.] - -from the East to the West; anyway, from the twelfth century, the Arabic -numerals rapidly came into use. The 0 was not invented before the -twelfth century. A curious resemblance is traceable between the figures -of the alternate centuries. Our present style of figures has grown out -of the older ones, but is bolder in outline and curve. The figure -5 has passed through most variation, while 6, 8 and 9 have scarcely -altered at all. - -It must be remembered that before 1752 the Old Style was still used -in England. The year therefore commenced on March 25th instead of, as -it does at present, on January 1st. When the calendar was corrected -in 1752 eleven days were omitted, and September 2nd was followed by -September 14th. The people bewailed it, and contemporary skits are -numerous, echoing the popular cry of ‘Give us back our lost eleven -days.’ On the Continent the alteration had taken place long before. In -some English parish church registers we find confusion as to the actual -year date to be used for the months between Christmas and Lady Day. -This uncertainty may be observed before 1750. In many country places -the old style was maintained long after the year 1752. - -I have a very curious old calendar of 1483; in it the saints’ days are -veritable red-letter days. Many of the saints named are unknown to us -either by name or legend, but in court rolls only the principal saints’ -days are mentioned as those on which the court sat. - -Some months seem to have been more favoured with saints’ days than -others. The following list, though by no means complete, gives the -chief English saints: - - - _January._ - - 1. Circumcisio Domini. - 13. St. Veronica. - 13. St. Hilary. - 25. Conversion of St. Paul. - - - _February._ - - 1. St. Bride, or Bridget. - 2. Purification of the Virgin, or Candlemas Day. - 24. St. Matthias the Apostle. - - - _March._ - - 1. St. David. - 2. St. Chad. - 4. St. Lucius, Pope and Martyr, A.D. 253. - 14. St. Benet, or Benedict. - 18. St. Edward. - 19. St. Joseph, the Virgin’s husband. - 20. St. Cuthbert. - 25. Annunciation of the Virgin. Lady-Day. - - - _April._ - - 23. St. George. - 25. St. Mark the Evangelist. - - - _May._ - - 1. St. Philip and St. James the Less, Apostles. - 2. St. Athanasius. - 3. Invention (or discovery) of the Holy Cross. - 5. St. Hilary, Bishop of Arles. The two saints of this name are - confusing, but this St. Hilary is rarely mentioned in English - documents. - 26. St. Augustine. - - - _June._ - - 11. St. Barnabas, Apostle. - 13. St. Anthony of Padua. - 22. St. Alban. - 24. Nativity of St. John the Baptist. Midsummer Day. - 29. Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles. - 30. St. Paul, Apostle. - - - _July._ - - 2. Visitation of the Blessed Virgin. - 15. St. Swithin. - 22. St. Mary Magdalen. - 25. St. James the Great, Apostle. - 25. St. Christopher. Lammastide. - - - _August._ - - 1. St. Peter ad Vincula, or St. Peter in chains. - 5. St. Oswald. - 6. The Transfiguration of our Lord. - 15. The Assumption of the Virgin. - 21. St. Bernard. - 24. St. Bartholomew, Apostle. - 28. St. Austin, or Augustine. - 29. Beheading of St. John the Baptist. - - - _September._ - - 1. St. Egidius, or Giles. - 8. The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. - 14. Exaltation of the Holy Cross. - 21. St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. - 29. St. Michael and All Angels. Michaelmas. - - - _October._ - - 4. St. Francis of Assisi. - 9. St. Denis, or Dionysius of Paris. - 17. St. Audry, or Etheldreda. - 18. St. Luke the Evangelist. - 21. St. Ursula, and 11,000 virgins. - 25. St. Crispin. - 28. St. Simon the Canaanite, Apostle. - - - _November._ - - 1. All Saints’ Day. - 2. All Souls’ Day. - 11. St. Martin. Martinmas. - 16. St. Edmund. - 21. Presentation of the Blessed Virgin. - 22. St. Cecilia. - 25. St. Catherine. - 30. St. Andrew, Apostle. - - - _December._ - - 6. St. Nicholas. - 8. The Conception of the Blessed Virgin. - 13. St. Lucy. - 21. St. Thomas, Apostle. - 25. The Nativity of our Blessed Lord. Christmas. - 26. St. Stephen. - 27. St. John, Evangelist and Apostle. - 28. The Holy Innocents. - 29. St. Thomas à Beckett. - -The saints’ days were brought before the people in many ways--in the -village feasts, or the dedication of churches, in the mural paintings -which covered the church walls, and in the Christian names given at -baptism. In the old rolls the date of the month is never mentioned, -the principal feast-day nearest to it being used instead. - -Saints’ days, as holidays, were probably the most convenient days for -assembling together for business. - - [Illustration] - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - MONASTIC CHARTERS. - - -Every abbey of any importance kept a chartulary--in other words, a -catalogue of its possessions in the copies of grants of land all -collected within one or more volumes--a carefully compiled work, giving -all the benefactions and privileges of the foundation, entered by the -scribe or secretary of the establishment, who must have spent many -hours of his life over the work, for these books are rarely found to -be the work of more than one, or at most two, men--one handwriting -continuing on until replaced by another. Great care and neatness was -used in the formation of each black letter--even and perfect as the -most exact printing ever done by machinery. Each charter was emphasized -with an elaborate capital letter, and the index or headings to them -were filled in after the writing was finished, as is proved by the -fact that these were sometimes never completed. The probability is that -they were the work of another artist or illuminator, and appear to have -been sketched in with a brush or hair pencil, the writing having been -executed with a quill pen. Colour is sometimes employed to embellish -and ornament the work, but in the oldest chartularies colour, usually -red, is only used to mark special passages, or, as in Domesday Book, -to point out names of persons or places. The largest work on English -monasteries was compiled by Sir William Dugdale; but in so extensive a -work as the ‘Monasticon’ too much was undertaken; it was impossible to -search deeply enough into existing records for information concerning -every religious house throughout England. Therefore, although a -valuable foundation to start with, much more may still be ascertained -from manuscripts, public and private, particularly with regard to the -lesser religious houses or cells to foreign abbeys. - -Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons was a missionary undertaking, -therefore it encouraged the foundation of organizing centres; but -these seem at first to have rather taken the form of bishoprics than -abbeys; still, information as to the early Church in England does not -exist sufficiently in detail to permit us to state clearly the actual -religious work or its method of working. - -Later on the Saxon abbeys partook rather of the nature of large -training colleges, where learning was carried on. - -The mission of St. Augustine extended the monastic system, and spread -Christianity to a wider extent. It also encouraged the resort hither of -foreign monks. Great rivalry existed between the English bishops and -these foreign missionary priests, a feud which never seems entirely to -have died out. The largest number of English abbeys sprang up after the -Norman Conquest. The invaders manifested their religion by bestowing -large grants of lands as votive offerings and in token of gratitude, -while Duke William’s honest repayment of the loans given him for the -equipment of his armada brought over hundreds of priests and monks -to take possession of their new territories. Church building was a -religious work often undertaken for the expiation of sins. Voluntary -work is always the best of its kind. To this day the remains of the -old Norman abbeys surprise us with their solidity of structure and -elegance of design. They must, indeed, have been beautiful when the -interiors were fitted up with corresponding magnificence. At first -the monks were poor--they were given land, not always of the best, -often in wild and unfrequented regions; but by frugality, skill and -industry, they soon brought it into a fertile state, and lived on its -produce and the gifts of their patrons. The Cistercians were great -wool-dealers, and we know how much English cloth was prized at home -and abroad for its goodness of quality. In course of time the monks, -by their labours, became rich. The need for toil being over, they sank -into indolent affluence; instead of hard-working communities, they -became wealthy landowners. The abbots were miniature kings, ruling over -their vassals and dependents, living in almost royal state, surrounded -by their court. The history of monastic England extends over very many -centuries, even if its commencement is only placed at the arrival of -St. Augustine in A.D. 597, or later still, with the Norman -invasion. - -Changes of all kinds took place in those long centuries. Large abbeys -had sunk into poverty, and others arisen in their places. The monks -had been subdivided into orders, each having its own peculiar rules. -The oldest of these was the Benedictine, or Black Monks, who held most -of the largest monasteries--as many as 156 in number. From this Order -arose the Cistercians, even more severe in their regulations--popular -in England, probably from having had an Englishman as their founder, -Stephen Harding, head of the Monastery of Citeaux (Cistercium) about -the year 1125. This order had been approved by the Pope twenty-five -years previously. Gasquet gives the names of 86 Cistercian houses -in England, the Cluniac as 26, and Carthusian as 9. These lesser -orders had each its own distinctive rules, but, as the above figures -show, were less popular than the older orders of monks. The number -of nunneries was also very large (Gasquet gives 140). These were -principally of the Benedictine Order. I have seen it stated that there -was only one house of White Nuns in England, that of Grace Dieu, in -Leicestershire, but this is not correct. - -As the old Benedictine Order relaxed in severity, the Cistercians -came forward, and when these were no longer conspicuous for piety and -austerity, there arose the wandering missionaries known as Friars, who -were also eloquent preachers, a marked contrast to the half-educated -clergy. These friars were mendicants, bound by oath neither to possess -land nor money, nor to enjoy luxury. They went about preaching -throughout the country; it was the old story of the ‘house divided -against itself being unable to stand.’ The friars preached against the -monks, and the monks opposed the clergy, ending in the downfall of the -three rivals under Henry VIII. - -The first order of friars was of Spanish origin, founded by Dominic -A.D. 1204, and confirmed in 1215. They wore a brown habit of -coarse hair-cloth. A few years later St. Francis of Assisi founded -the Grey Friars, called after him Franciscans. These came to England -A.D. 1224, where they became very popular. Like the monks, -lesser orders arose out of these. The Premonstratensians gained little -ground in England, but the Augustinian or Austin Friars had many -followers, both men and women. - -Henry VIII.’s first attack on religious houses was made upon those -whose yearly incomes did not exceed £200. But the work thus begun -did not end here. It is said that 376 small monasteries were doomed; -of these 123 escaped immediate dissolution. Throughout 1535 and -the succeeding five years the work of suppression was carried on. -During that time the monks foresaw that ultimately they were doomed, -and had time to sell or hide their choicest possessions before the -Commissioners appeared to claim them. Then no doubt many valuable -manuscripts and papers were destroyed, or else either hidden or removed -out of the country. In several places some of these buried treasures -have come to light after being concealed for a long time. In this way -a beautiful copy of the Reading Abbey Chartulary was preserved for two -hundred years, having been concealed in a secret chamber adjoining a -chimney-stack in an old manor-house at Shinfield, only discovered by -workmen during some repairs in the eighteenth century. - - [Illustration: READING ABBEY CHARTER. - - (_Photographed by Mr. A. A. Harrison, of Theale. Kindly lent by Lord - Fingall._)] - -This book[3] is a good example of its kind, being perfect as the day -when it was first hidden away. In it are written the grants of lands -from the Abbey’s second foundation by Henry I.[4] Vast possessions -given bit by bit--generally by those families whose ancestors lay -buried in the abbey church, for whose souls prayers were desired. The -inventories of relics are very curious, and the vestments also are -described. There is a long list of the books in the abbey libraries of -Reading and Leominster. All the books in this long list disappeared, no -one knows where or how. Two volumes, a missal and a book of hours, said -once to have been part of the abbey library, were sold by auction in -1889. Nor was Reading the only instance of the total disappearance of -valuable monastic manuscripts. Gasquet speaks of the wanton destruction -of manuscripts at this period, and says that they were sold for all -kinds of uses. - -Mr. Maskell, ‘Monumentæ Ritualia Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ,’ reckons there -must have been more than 250,000 volumes of Church service books -in use, and that they must have been destroyed to prevent men from -following the worship of their forefathers. A most interesting article -on ‘Ancient Prymers,’ the service books of the people, appeared in the -_Antiquary_ of March, 1892, written by Mr. Henry Littlehales. - - [Illustration: READING ABBEY CHARTULARY. - - (_Photographed by Mr. A. A. Harrison, of Theale._)] - -The original deeds or grants of land to abbeys are seldom met with -among private documents. The wording differs little from that of an -ordinary grant, except that the donor gives for the good of his soul -and the souls of his ancestors. Sometimes very interesting details -may be gathered from the foundation deeds of chantries, with the -appointment of a priest to celebrate Mass and offer up prayers for the -dead, receiving in return a salary derived from lands or else given at -once in money. - -Original grants from the Crown to abbeys are seldom dated the day or -year they were written, except that they conclude with the names of the -bishops attesting them and the witnesses who were present, although -sometimes the King’s reign is given, or the episcopal year of the -archbishop or diocesan bishop. - -The names of the English archbishops and bishops are important as -supplying the date of undated charters. Of the latter the contracted -names of the sees are all given in Wright’s ‘Court-hand Restored,’ -but neither there nor in any other book is mention made of the Norman -bishops,[5] who frequently appear as witnesses to monastic charters. - - - _Bishoprics of Normandy, etc._ - - Name of See. Modern Name. - Archbishopric: Rothomagensis. Rouen. - Bishopric: Baiocensis. Bayeux. - „ Abrincatensis. Avranches. - „ Lexoviensis. Lisieux. - „ Ebroicensis. Evreux. - „ Cadomensis. Caen. - „ Sylvanectensis. Senliz. - „ Bellovacensis. Beauvais. - „ Atrebatensis. Arras. - „ Constantiensis. Coutances - „ Sagiensis. Séez. - „ Ambianensis or - Samarobrivensis. Amiens. - -As likely to be a help towards affixing the date of undated charters I -append a list of the archbishops and chancellors of England from the -Conquest to the fourteenth century; also a few of the bishops of the -same period. - - - _Archbishops of Canterbury._ - - Stigand 1052–1070 - Lanfranc 1070–1089 - Anselm 1093–1109 - Ralph of Escures 1114–1122 - William of Corbeil 1123–1136 - Theobald 1139–1161 - Thomas à Beckett 1162–1170 - Richard 1174–1184 - Baldwin 1185–1190 - Reginald Fitz Joscelin 1191 - Hubert Walter 1193–1205 - Stephen Langton 1207–1229 - Richard le Grand 1229–1231 - Edmund Rich 1234–1240 - Boniface of Savoy 1245–1270 - Robert Kilwardby 1273–1278 - John Peckham 1279–1292 - Robert Winchelsey 1294–1313 - -Next to Canterbury came the important bishopric of London. The latter -was a very large and powerful diocese, originating first at Dorchester -A.D. 634, dividing into two sees, Winchester and Sherborne, A.D. 705, -which were further subdivided, the latter into Sherborne and Wells, -and the Winchester see into Selsey and Ramsbury (Corvinensis); all -reuniting in 1075 into the powerful bishopric of Old Sarum, eventually -removed to Salisbury, 1218. Thus it will be seen that Winchester and -Sherborne were the chief bishoprics, the others being offshoots of -later creation. - - * * * * * - -The Bishops of Salisbury commenced under Herman (died 1077), previously -known as Bishop of Sherborne (Scirburniensis). - - Osmund, died Dec. 3, 1099. - Roger, elected 1102, consecrated 1107, died 1139. - Jocelin de Bailul, died a Cistercian Monk at Waverley Abbey, - 1184. - Hubert Walter, 1189, translated to Canterbury, 1193. - Herbert Poore, 1194. - Richard Poore, 1217. The see then transferred to New Sarum or - Salisbury. - Robert Bingham, 1228. - William of York, 1246. - Giles de Bridport, 1256. - Walter de La Wyle, 1263. - Robert de Wykehampton, 1271. - Walter Scammel, 1284. - Henry de Braundeston, 1287. - William de La Corner, 1289. - Nicolas Longespée, 1293. - Simon of Ghent, 1207. - Roger de Mortival, 1315. - - - _Bishops of Winchester who were Chancellors of England._ - - William Giffard, introduced the Cistercian Monks into - England 1100–1129 - Nicholas Ely 1268–1282 - John Sandall 1316–1320 - Adam Orlton 1333–1345 - William Edyngdon, first Prelate of the Order of the - Garter; the Bishops of Winchester have ever since - retained this honour 1345–1367 - William de Wykeham. Introduced the Perpendicular - architecture into England; built Winchester - College and New College, Oxford; rebuilt part - of his Cathedral. A great reformer of abuses 1367–1404 - Henry Beaufort (Cardinal) increased the St. Cross - Almshouses; took a prominent part in the burning - of Joan of Arc. See Shakespeare’s ‘Henry VI.’ 1404–1447 - William de Waynflete, first Provost of Eton. - Founded Magdalen College, Oxford; continued his - master’s (William de Wykeham’s) reformation of - abuses, etc. 1447–1487 - Thomas Wolsey, the celebrated Cardinal Wolsey of - history. Held the see _in commendam_ 1528–1530 - Stephen Gardiner. He figures as one of the most - prominent ecclesiastics during the reigns of - Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Mary. His life is - part of the history of those times 1531–1550 - - - _Chief Justices of England._ - - Odo of Bayeux and William Fitz Osbern, Earl of - Hereford 1067 - William de Warren and Richard Fitz Gilbert 1073 - Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey, Bishop - of Coutances, and Robert, Count of Mortain 1078 - Odo, Bishop of Bayeux 1087–1088 - William de St. Carileph, Bishop of Durham 1088 - Ranulph Flambard, Bishop of Durham 1094–1100 - Robert Bloett, Bishop of Lincoln 1100–1107 - Roger Le Poor, Bishop of Salisbury 1107–1139 - Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester 1154–1167 - Richard de Luci 1154–1179 - Ranulph Glanville 1180–1189 - Hugh, Bishop of Durham, and William, Earl of Essex 1189 - Hugh, Bishop of Durham, and William Longchamp, - Bishop of Ely 1190 - William Longchamp alone 1190 - Walter of Coutances, Archbishop of Rouen 1191–1193 - Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury 1194–1198 - Geoffrey Fitz Peter, Earl of Essex 1198–1213 - Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, native of - Poitiers 1214–1215 - Hubert de Burgh 1215–1232 - Stephen Segrave 1232–1234 - Hugh Bigot 1258–1260 - Hugh Le Despenser 1260 - Philip Basset 1261 - Ralph de Hengham 1273–1289 - Gilbert de Thornton 1289–1295 - Roger Brabazon 1295 - - - _Chancellors of England._ - - Herfast, afterwards Bishop of Elmham 1068 - Osbern, afterwards Bishop of Exeter 1070–1074 - Osmund, afterwards Bishop of Salisbury 1074–1078 - Maurice, afterwards Bishop of London 1078–1083 - William de Beaufoe, afterwards Bishop of Thetford 1083–1085 - William Giffard 1086–1090 - Robert Bloett 1090 - Walderic 1093 - William Giffard 1094–1101 - Roger Le Poor 1101–1103 - William Giffard 1103–1104 - Walderic 1104 - Ranulph 1108–1123 - Geoffrey Rufus 1124–1135 - Roger Le Poor 1135–1139 - Philip 1139 - Thomas à Beckett 1154–1162 - Ralph de Warneville 1173–1181 - Geoffrey, the King’s son 1181–1189 - William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely 1189–1197 - Eustace, Bishop of Ely 1197–1199 - Hubert Walter 1199–1205 - Walter Grey 1205–1213 - Peter des Roches 1213–1214 - Walter Grey 1214 - Richard de Marisco 1214–1226 - Ralph Neville 1226–1244 - Walter de Merton 1261 - Nicolas de Ely 1263 - Thomas Cantelupe 1265 - Walter Giffard 1265 - Godfrey Giffard 1267 - Richard Middleton 1269–1272 - Walter de Merton 1272 - Robert Burnell 1273–1292 - John Langton 1292 - William Greenfield 1302 - William of Hamilton 1304 - Ralph Baldock 1307 - -The witnesses were chosen from the King’s chief officers, with a few -local magnates. This will sometimes be a valuable guide to locality -when the county is not named. But as a rule the name of the county is -written on the margin, and also the name of the place, together with a -brief index of the contents of the charter. - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - PARISH REGISTERS. - - -The study of parish registers is quite apart from that of old deeds. -The writing of the former begins at the period where the latter usually -end, for deeds written in the seventeenth century are regarded by the -antiquary as ‘modern’; but then comes the most difficult handwriting of -all to decipher, because the old race of scholarly clerks had died out -and been replaced by less educated men. - -Parish registers are unique in many ways. They contain information -nowhere else obtainable. Sometimes, besides the mere repetition of -names, there are inserted scraps of original information, for the -clergyman had undisputed control of the volumes until 1652, which -remained usually in the keeping of his deputy, the parish clerk, and -either of them could enter in the books whatever he pleased. - -Every now and then an outcry arises as to the condition and care of -parish registers, and desire is expressed that they should be deposited -in a large public office similar to the Public Record Office; but -anyone who has wished to make or obtain extracts from the registers -at the diocesan registries is well aware of the trouble and expense -involved. Search fees soon mount up. As regards expense and difficulty -of searching, the Registers of Ireland are far worse than England. Many -are the known instances where the precious volumes have been purposely -mutilated, or by neglect suffered to fall into decay and illegibility; -but, as a whole, it is wonderful to see the excellent condition and -preservation of these old records, which, if once removed out of -their own parishes into a large public collection, would lose all -individuality, and become merged in the mass of manuscripts which are -more or less buried in every large library. - -It is a pity that some arrangement cannot be made to ensure -preservation by a few copies being printed of each register. -Transcribing is gradually being undertaken privately, but ought to be -worked on a more systematic plan with uniformity throughout England. -The Parish Register Society prints volumes, but there is no special -library or collection of transcripts, printed or MS., and the British -Museum refuses to buy any because they are not ‘original,’ which, by -the way, could not legally be bought or possessed by anyone. - -The printing of a few copies would not in any way affect the fees -accruing to the clergy from researches, but rather tend to increase -them, for at present much information is lost because its whereabouts -is unknown. It is this question of search-fees which causes such a -steady resistance on the part of the resident clergy to any such -project. But in spite of this the work has been begun already, and some -day will be a public affair, and not left to private enterprise. The -registers of many parishes are printed, or have MS. transcripts all -ready for the press; nor is the expense as great as might be imagined. -A few copies unbound may be produced at a cost of from £3 to £10, and -can easily be covered by subscription. - -It is not unusual, when applying by letter for extracts from an old -register, to receive a reply of apology from the clergyman recommending -a personal search on the part of the inquirer, as the information could -not be sent owing to inability to read the unfamiliar old handwriting. -This would be avoided if a typed or printed copy properly indexed -were at hand for reference, while on any important matter, where an -attested copy from the original was necessary, it could be obtained -as heretofore, for legal work the original must be consulted, and a -certificate obtained from the clergyman. - -The history of English parish registers commences from the Reformation -year of 1536, copied from the Spanish idea. Whether any previous system -had existed we are unable to say, for information on the subject is -lacking. Here and there fragments of registers are known earlier than -the above-quoted date, but these are the exception, not the rule. -Deaths noted down by the chantry priests or monks are found on the -margins of old monastic breviaries, when prayers for the souls of the -departed had been desired. - -The subject is one of vast importance, for without proper registration -it is impossible to decide the legality of a marriage or prove -legitimacy of offspring, both necessary points of law where inheritance -of landed property is concerned. - -The scheme of parochial registration, as devised by Henry VIII.’s -shrewd minister Cromwell, was only copied from a like plan long in use -abroad. - -The idea at first, being new to the English people, met with much -opposition, being mistaken for a new species of taxation. Nevertheless, -Parliament ordered it to be carried out under penalty of fines, and, -being found a valuable institution, was submitted to, until custom -fully established it. Thus our parish registers cannot be older than -1536. Though in a few instances earlier MSS. exist they are the -exception, for the order did not become general till two years later, -therefore 1538 may be reckoned as the year when registers may be said -to have in reality begun in England. - -At first the registers were carefully written, the entries being in -Latin. After a while less care was taken. The notes were made on -rough strips of paper called ‘clerk’s notes,’ and were supposed to be -entered at fixed intervals in the book; but often this was irregularly -performed, and the strips were mislaid and lost before they could be -copied. In some parishes both the clerk’s notes as well as the old -register book may still be seen and compared. Very few persons know -that these are the original entries, and I believe ignorance of the -fact excludes them as legal evidence. The religious uncertainty of the -succeeding reigns caused the question of registration to be ignored, -but Queen Elizabeth issued several commands on the subject, notably -that by which transcripts were yearly sent at Easter to be preserved -among the diocesan records. - -Most of the old parish register books now existing are transcripts made -according to Queen Elizabeth’s command, as can be seen at a glance, for -the handwriting is uniform throughout, which could not have been the -case if the notes made by the clerk had been periodically copied into -the book. Curiously, the date of these Acts is not known. The bulk of -the transcripts date from 1558. Another more stringent Act, to ensure -yearly copies being made, was passed upon James I.’s accession to the -throne, and the clergyman’s name was to be affixed to each page as -witness that the copy was faithfully exact. Had these wise regulations -been carried out to the letter, and in the spirit that was intended, -we should now possess an invaluable corroboration of the accuracy of -the parish registers; but alas! the transcripts to be found in the -diocesan registries are meagre and imperfect. Years and series of -years are missing, and the entries are so lacking in detail as to be -practically useless. In some dioceses no transcripts remain--Rochester, -for instance. - -Personal search can, of course, be made among the diocesan registers, -and this is strongly to be recommended, for any mistakes in a -transcript render it not only valueless, but mischievous. Extracts from -registers are the most dangerous material a genealogist has to deal -with. Unless further authenticated by wills and old deeds to confirm -the relationship, it will be found no easy job to piece together -these broken links in the chain of evidence, and without wilful -misrepresentation being intended, mistakes may and will occur. - -Take, for instance, any name, and try to trace out the pedigree with -the help of the parish register only. At first it is easy enough, -whether worked backwards or forwards, but after the first three or -four generations have been worked out all certainty of relationship is -lost, and becomes confused. - -The handwriting of the parish registers is a combination of the old set -law-hand and the personal handwritings mentioned in the second chapter. -Original entries (_i.e._, entries made at the time of performing -the religious ceremony) are seldom met with before the middle of James -I.’s reign, by which time the Latin language had fallen into disuse. - -The Commonwealth Government passed an Act of Parliament appointing -paid registrars to every village (1653). These were often illiterate -men, whose only accomplishments consisted of being able to read and -write, and whose zeal and discretion alone regulated the keeping of -the register books. This duty was often but ill-performed, especially -when age and infirmity overtook the registrar, who continued in office -until death relieved him of his duties. No second registrar seemed in -any case to have been appointed, nor did the Act of Parliament provide -for such a contingency, and the work of keeping the registers devolved -again upon the clergyman and his assistant clerk. - -For several years after the Restoration of 1660 the registers were -irregularly kept, and very erratic. The old race of educated clerks -was gone. Formerly, when the registers first began, clerkships may -have been filled by men educated in the monasteries, who, when turned -adrift, were glad to employ themselves as priests’ chaplains or private -tutors as a means of livelihood. - -Until the last century very few small schools of any kind existed for -the poorer classes, except those provided by charitable bequests. These -were few and far between, and could be of little benefit to the masses -of the people. No wonder, then, that the ill-paid clergy were obliged -to be content with very uneducated men to serve in the capacity of -clerk. The registers of the latter part of the seventeenth century are -indited in every variety of illegibly bad writing. - -The chief difficulty of reading the old registers lies in the immense -variety of forms a name was capable of passing through, owing to the -laxity of English spelling and pronunciation. The people only knew -their own surnames by oral tradition, and were entirely dependent upon -the parish clerk, who wrote down the name as it sounded to him, and -as sounds have a different effect on different persons, the commonest -names often appeared in very strange and unrecognisable disguises -before they finally crystallized into their modern forms. Eeles, -Yeeles, became Wells. - -It is not unusual to find items of miscellaneous information jotted -down at random by the clergyman among the entries of births, -marriages, and deaths. Heavy falls of snow, disastrous floods, -periods of drought, storms of any kind, were all events of great -local importance in country places, and would remain for a long time -as traditional landmarks in their annals. Alas! such items are rare, -and are now rendered impossible in the printed columns of the modern -register books. - -The most useful and least troublesome way to catalogue the contents of -a parish register for reference is to write out the year, and below it -enter the births, marriages, and deaths, with the names occurring under -each heading, but without taking the time or trouble to copy the dates -of day or month, these last being only required for law investigations, -and for which purpose a signed certificate from the clergyman direct -from the originals only would be received as evidence. - -Parliamentary blue-books have been issued on the subject of parochial -registers, and a most useful pamphlet is issued by the Parish Register -Society every few years, giving as complete a catalogue as possible of -all registers of which up to the present day printed copies or indexes -have been made. - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - PARISH OFFICERS AND THEIR BOOKS. - - -Among the contents of the parish deed-chest wherein registers are -supposed to be safely kept are often found other books and papers, -seemingly of little interest or importance, but in reality very likely -to yield curious and original scraps of information, with glimpses -into the life of the poorer classes during the past centuries. Some -day these old account books, now flung aside as worthless, will be of -great importance in an antiquary’s eyes, for they give lists of all the -residents in the parish, from the squire to the lowest and poorest, -showing the social status of each; and further, are of value when -compared with the parish registers, as giving a clue to the length of -residence of inhabitants who, if of the middle class, sooner or later -served their turn as parish officers; and if paupers, were entered as -recipients of parochial charity. - -Previous to this century the churchwardens, overseers, road surveyors -and parish constables held office for one year only, being elected at -the annual Easter vestry; now re-election is _supposed_ to take -place, but the post is usually carried on from year to year without -opposition. - -Apparently some rule of yearly income or rental governed the election, -or else certain tenements were represented in rotation by their -tenants, for widows were liable to serve, in which case a son or some -near neighbour was deputed to act in the woman’s name. - -Now the custom of yearly change has died out, and a churchwarden once -elected goes on from year to year, until sickness, old age, or death -renders some fresh arrangement absolutely necessary. This statement -was ‘caught up’ by the reviewers of this book, but, nevertheless, it -is perfectly true. Surely, if in those old days, when education was -so sparsely distributed, and even reading and writing looked upon -as sciences--if then it was possible to find men able and capable -of directing local affairs, it seems strange that now so few are -considered fit for the post, when every day-labourer’s son is taught -drawing and essay-writing in addition to his elementary studies. - -The office of churchwarden is very old. Now it has lost most of its -prestige, and the churchwarden is almost forgotten except on the -Sundays when collections are made; formerly each villager took a -personal interest in affairs which some day he himself would probably -be called upon to manage. - -The two churchwardens of a parish represented the rival interests of -its inhabitants: the parson _versus_ the squire and his tenants. -Each officer had his clients’ interests to uphold and consider. The -most onerous duty before the present system of Poor Law, however, fell -upon the overseer of the poor, in whose hands rested the responsibility -of the proper distribution of the public funds in the shape of bequests -and legacies; to him came applications for relief, and with him also -were mooted all questions relating to the disposal of paupers, both -dead and alive. Edward III. forbade the giving of alms to able-bodied -men, but no regular Poor Laws were invented till Henry VIII. was King. - -The first Acts of Parliament relating to Poor Laws were passed towards -the conclusion of Queen Elizabeth’s long reign. It was absolutely -necessary to make some fresh statutes applicable to the new state -of affairs consequent upon the Reformation. Previously most of the -charity had been distributed or directed by the monks, and after these -were dispersed and their lands seized by the Crown and sold, their -unfortunate dependents were rendered still more dependent, and all the -severe laws against vagrancy and beggars made by the Tudor sovereigns -could not abate the nuisance or solve the difficult question, while -doles and gifts of bread or alms served only to increase the evil -through toleration. - -Worse and worse the state of things became, till towards the end of the -last century the climax was reached; there were then whole families -of paupers who, generation after generation, made no effort towards -self-support either for themselves or their offspring. These last were -brought up entirely on charity, clothed, fed, and apprenticed, till -finally married by charity, the fees being paid out of the charity -money; nor did the matter end there, for, probably, after the lapse of -years the wedded couple with their children (if they became chargeable -to the parish) were returned to their native village, again to become -recipients of its charity till death claimed them, and the parish paid -the funeral expenses. - -The first commission upon the Poor Laws took place in William IV.’s -reign, and since then reform has gradually been at work. In many places -public charity is still abused; but no real good can be effected at -once, and every effort must be proved by long and fair trial, under -which all unsuitable experiments will fail, and only the practical -and beneficial ones will survive the test. Of course, relief and -outdoor assistance were left very much to the discretion and honesty -of the overseer, whose accounts were yearly scrutinized at the Easter -vestry, when the parochial accounts were discussed. Sometimes these -discussions were considered of sufficient importance to be entered in -the parish books. Questions as to the ownership and distribution of -pews in the church, repairs to the edifice, by whom they were to be -done, boundaries, and whose business it was to keep in order certain -roads lying between rival parishes--all such matters came forward for -consideration, and, finally, the officers for the ensuing year were -elected, and the books handed over to the new churchwardens. - -Perhaps a further check upon miscellaneous entries being made in the -books was that all the accounts had ‘to be passed’ at the nearest -Sessions and signed by the presiding magistrate, who was some -neighbouring squire. - -The parish constable is now replaced by the policeman supplied by the -county, as visible representative of the law in rural places. - -One entry often found among the old accounts was of repairs done to the -village stocks, frequently used to punish petty offences, especially -drunkenness. The pound, too, often needed mending; fines for allowing -animals to stray and become empounded are among the most frequent -entries in old manor court rolls. In many places a hayward was a -regularly appointed officer for this purpose, whose duty it was to -capture the animals and attend to them until they were reclaimed by -their owner or sold to defray expenses. In Berkshire the hayward, or -pinder, gave a tally to the person who brought the beast found on his -land, and he did not deliver the beast until its owner produced the -tally, proving that compensation for damage had been properly paid, as -well as expenses for keep during its detention. - -The offices of overseer of the poor and of road surveyor, the latter -called waywarden, are not of any great antiquity; nor are they of -consequence so far as regards the old account books, in which their -elections are often not even mentioned. As to the constable, we only -get a casual glimpse of his duties when we read a list of his expenses -incurred in conveying some delinquent parishioner to the county gaol, -or of journeys taken to distant places to enquire into the antecedents -of paupers, or in taking them back to their own villages. - -It is the overseers’ accounts which are really curious--those long -lists of garments bought to clothe the paupers and their children, the -old apprentice forms by which the children were placed out in service -so soon as they were capable of earning a stray sixpence towards their -own keep. Cruel as it seemed to be to send out such young children -to work, it was, in reality, the kindest thing that could be done -for them, for it gave them a chance of thoroughly learning a trade -and so becoming independent and working for themselves. With all our -modern Poor Law organization and schemes of education, I believe in -the end we shall eventually return to the old system of juvenile -apprenticeships--a far more practical method of teaching than any mere -class instruction. - -Maybe a bundle of old papers are rolled together among the account -books. These may be the orders for the removal of paupers back to -the village they called ‘home,’ a custom first originated by some -Acts of Parliament passed by Charles II. At the same time the parish -officers were commanded and forced by penalties to provide for paupers -removed back into their parish, and, to prevent fraud, written proofs -as to the proper home or residence of the paupers had to be obtained -and produced; these papers are called ‘settlements.’ Paupers are now -removed back to the workhouse of their own district if they can prove a -certain length of residence. - -The parish officers did their best for the welfare of their charges: -they provided the old women with spinning-wheels, so that they could -earn a trifle for themselves, while the men were set to work on the -road; when failing in health they were tended by a parish nurse, -and if sick the doctor saw them. Sometimes they were sent to Bath or -Cheltenham to be cured by the far-famed waters. For many years these -old annuitants lingered on, till we read the last entry paid for -burying Goody or Goodman So-and-so. - -Any public event which required to be celebrated by the ringing of the -church bells is sure to be mentioned among the ordinary expenses. - -There are in the old books (those of that unsettled time when the -religion of the State varied according to the Sovereign in power, -during the Tudor and Stuart dynasties) many notices of the alterations -wrought both in town and country places. The church goods were first -catalogued by order of Edward VI.’s Ministers; rich vestments, altar -hangings, and numerous vessels are named in the first list, but later -on, under Queen Elizabeth, the parish churches were further despoiled, -till there was little left for the Puritans to remove, and in the later -lists only the old service books and books of religious instruction -are left to the churchwardens to chronicle. Although instances as -early as 1287 are on record, the erection of pews was an innovation -only introduced by degrees after the Reformation. The destruction of -screens and the removal of altars caused altar rails and communion -tables to be used instead. Then came the terrors of civil war. Upon -the churchwardens devolved the duty of providing burial for soldiers -slain in battle. Such burials were not often in the churchyard, but -on the boundaries of parishes, the expenses being defrayed equally -by both parishes; this was probably an old custom in warfare, but it -was carried out as late as the Commonwealth. A battle was a public -calamity, and the responsibility of providing interment for the slain -was therefore a public duty. - -After the Restoration of Charles II. the churches were repaired and -the royal arms restored. Later on we find some parsons resigning their -work from nonconforming scruples; at this time, too, are notices -of excommunicated persons. The Puritan zeal was aroused by James -II.’s injudicious attempt to restore Catholicism; and attendance at -church, first commanded by Queen Elizabeth, was further enforced by -an order that taking of the Sacrament should be regarded as a test -of conformity; for disobedience the punishment of excommunication -was inflicted upon the churchwardens’ application to the bishop. The -Recusants, as papists were called, were treated with great severity and -injustice, and heavily fined for their religious beliefs. - -Any fresh Act of Parliament with reference to fees or taxes was soon -noted in the parish books. Fees varied in different places, according -to custom. Prior to the eighteenth century fees for burial within the -church were payable to the churchwardens, but afterwards became the -parson’s perquisite. These entries in the churchwardens’ books may -lead to the identification of vaults and interments not noted in the -parish register, and consequently forgotten. The burial of strangers -was always charged for at a higher rate; for paupers the parish paid -the expenses, and the tax of 3d. on each burial, as levied by Act of -Parliament, was not enforced. Taxes were levied on many things under -the Georges, but none were more obnoxious to the people than the birth, -marriage, and death taxes, of which the clergyman was made to act as a -most unwilling tax-gatherer. - -The window-tax fell heavily on old manor houses pierced with -innumerable windows and skylights. It was then that many windows were -blocked up to avoid payment. - -In the last century are many entries of payment for the release of men -seized for service in the army or navy; when the father of a family -went away, his wife and children were left to be provided for by -charity, and the first payment by the churchwardens for his release was -in the end the cheapest. - -A list of rails (spelt usually ‘rayles’) surrounding the churchyard -reminds one of another almost obsolete custom, that of each person -repairing the rail in the fence next to his property or for which -he was liable. The liability was attached to the land, though custom -decided whether the owner or the occupier was the person to do such -repairs. - -Last, not least, in the parish chest were bundles of old papers, -technically known as ‘briefs.’ In the account books all church -collections were duly entered. Originally collections were more of the -nature of voluntary rates, for the name of each donor is given and the -sum he gave, varying in accordance with his social position and means. - -The origin of church collections is obscure; no doubt the offerings -given at the Sacrament were always devoted to the relief of poverty and -distress. - -To regulate and restrict the right of levying collections Acts of -Parliament were passed, and no collection was allowed to be made -without a proper license called a ‘brief’; but the issuing of these -grew to an alarming extent. Briefs were issued for all sorts of -emergencies and disasters, principally for damage by fire, there being -then no insurance offices; and the old buildings, once set alight, were -seldom rescued from total demolition. A complete list of early briefs -would be curious, but would be so extensive as to fill a large volume. -The subject has not met with the interest it deserves, but I believe -now it is beginning to be studied. - -The churchwardens probably kept few, if any, accounts prior to -the sixteenth century, therefore any older church collections are -unrecorded or only mentioned by chance. - -In an old parish book of Sulhamstead are entries of the following -collections: - -1670. Collected towards the redemption of English captives in Turkey; -and, again, in 1680, a similar collection took place. It puzzled me -much why such a small Berkshire parish should subscribe so liberally -for the release of slaves; but this was explained on discovering that -Turkish pirates infested the seas, and even landed with impunity on -the Western coasts, and carried off prisoners, both men and women, -to become slaves. The main road to the West ran through Berkshire; -travellers along it doubtless brought tales of such wild deeds, -which lost nothing in the telling, and excited the sympathy of the -country-folk. - -In 1699 money was again collected; this time to redeem 300 captives -detained by the King of Morocco. - -In 1678 funds were collected towards the rebuilding of St. Paul’s -Cathedral, destroyed twelve years previously in the Great Fire of -London. Many papists all over England added their contributions to this -collection. - -1699. Collection was made for the French refugees and Vaudois settled -in Switzerland, who had fled at the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. -To inhabitants of Sulhamstead village this may have had a keener -interest in that Samuel Morland, afterwards made a baronet, the son -of a former rector, Rev. Thomas Morland, was sent out by Government -in 1655 to inquire into the condition of the Waldenses, and he wrote -thereon a book descriptive of the country and its inhabitants. Martin -Morland, another son of the rector, had returned to his old home--at -the Restoration; he resigned his living in 1665--for here two of his -sons were born. - - 1687. Brief for loss by fire in Aylesford. - - 1689. Loss by fire at Bishops Lavington, Wilts. - - 1690. Ditto, East Smithfield. - - Town of Stafford. - - Town of Bungay, Suffolk. - - 1690. In the parish of St. George’s, in the borough of Southwark. - - In the Town of St. Ives, Huntingdonshire. - -Five collections for fires in different counties made in one small -parish within a year! - -In 1703, brief for refugees in the Principality of Orange. - -After 1703 the givers’ names are no longer entered. - -The parish doctor was regularly engaged by the churchwardens. In 1774 -the agreement for Sulhamstead was made and signed by the doctor, and -witnessed that he ‘should do the business of surgery and apothecary, -broken bones excepted, for the yearly sum of five guineas’! No wonder -that these hard-worked physicians lacked skill, and relied more upon -practice than education for what talent they did possess. - -The perambulation of parish bounds was another vestry question, upon -which rested disputed tithes. In entries of tithe old field-names, -now forgotten, may often be recovered. The commutation of tithe also -was discussed, and in some places the parson made agreements with his -parishioners on the subject. Visitation fees came before the vestry, -and sending copies of the register to the Diocesan Registry was, or -ought to have been, an annual occurrence. Any dispute seems to have -come within the vestry’s jurisdiction, and all dry subjects were washed -down with plenty of ale, an item regularly entered among the expenses. - -Perhaps it was at the vestry that the village urchins came up to claim -rewards offered for the extermination of vermin, their instinctive love -of sport being further developed by their love of gain. Foxes are among -the animals named on the list, together with stoats, sparrows, etc., -and the prices paid for this wholesale destruction seem very high. - -The spelling of many of the old account books is decidedly phonetic -and original, but as a whole they are legible and neatly kept. They -need nothing to explain their meanings as to what class of information -their pages will yield, except a guide such as I have endeavoured to -give, for the books of one parish closely resemble all others. - -The history of a parish can never properly be written if the parish -books are missing. The value of these books is not fully appreciated, -and they are too often thrown aside as useless rubbish. - - [Illustration] - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - BOOKS ON PALEOGRAPHY AND KINDRED SUBJECTS. - - -Part of a guidebook’s business is to direct people’s attention to other -similar works likely to be of use to them. - -Few accomplishments can be learnt with the aid of only one book on -the subject, and paleography is a combination of many elements. Few -English writers have expended their genius in books on handwriting; -it has not in this country been looked upon as one of the sciences. -Abroad the subject has been more studied, especially by the French, in -whose language many valuable books on it have been compiled. The type -required for the abbreviations is expensive; small editions only were -issued, and many valuable works are in consequence rare and little -known, being only met with in public libraries or among collections of -old books. Thus seventeen volumes of ‘La Bibliothèque de l’École des -Chartres,’ published in Paris between the years 1839 and 1886, will -fetch as much as £30; ‘Album de la Paléographie’ (Quantin, 1887), £6; -‘Elements de la Paléographie,’ par Natalis de Wailly, two volumes, -1838, £3 3s.; ‘Musée des Archives Nationales,’ 1872, £1 10s. - -A very useful book, less expensive than the above, was written by Prou, -published in Paris by Alphonse Picard, éditeur, 82, Rue Bonaparte; -and cheaper still than this is the ‘Paléographie des Chartes et des -Manuscrits du XI. au XVII. Siècles,’ par Alphonse Chassant, published -by Auguste Aubry, Rue Dauphine 16, Paris. The best-known cheap book on -the subject, however, is a small paper-bound volume, ‘Dictionnaire des -Abbréviations Latines et Françaises,’ par Alphonse Chassant, published -by Jules Martin, 19, Boulevard Haussmann, Paris, at the low price of 2 -francs 50 centimes; it has already reached a fifth edition. - -There are also books on paleography written in German, Spanish and -Italian, but these are seldom met with in England. - -Now let us see what our own countrymen have done towards elucidating -our national manuscripts. The list will not be a long one. - -It must be borne in mind that first of all four separate languages are -required, namely, Anglo-Saxon, Norman-French, Latin and Old English. -For the first of these, the standard work is Bosworth’s Anglo-Saxon -dictionary; a second-hand copy may be bought for 8s. 6d. It contains -the alphabet and grammatical peculiarities of the Anglo-Saxon language, -besides the dictionary of words. - -For Norman-French, all that is required at first start is a familiarity -with the modern language. Any good, old-fashioned dictionary will be of -assistance, and later on Roquefort’s dictionary, Lacombe’s Burguy, and -the glossary in the Supplement to Ducange, may be resorted to, to solve -difficulties. - -Latin and English may be studied together, the one being translated -verbatim from the other. - -The standard English work upon handwriting as a whole is called ‘The -Origin and Progress of Handwriting,’ by Astle; it was published in -the beginning of this century. A good copy is now worth two or three -sovereigns, though I have seen it advertised for 12s. 6d. This book -deals with every kind of known writing from its earliest existence. -There are facsimiles of Hebrew, Sanscrit, Greek, Latin, and other -languages, besides specimens of English charters of each century. - -The Paleographic Society was started in 1873, and their yearly volumes -contain exact representations of the old documents, but these cost £1 -1s. each. They are valuable as having the facsimile and its transcript -side by side, but as yet they have only selected very old charters, -not considering mediæval English deeds worthy of consideration. -Bosworth’s Anglo-Saxon dictionary is the standard work on this subject. - -Some Anglo-Saxon manuscripts were published in 1878 by command of -the Queen, upon the recommendation of the Master of the Rolls, the -work being undertaken by General Cameron, director of the Ordnance -Survey, with translations added by W. Basevi-Saunders. The charters -selected were those among the archives of Canterbury Cathedral, as -they give three centuries of Anglo-Saxon history, A.D. 742 to -A.D. 1049. This work now fetches £2 2s. - -A collection of early Anglo-Saxon charters, those of Abingdon Abbey, -has been issued in the ‘Rolls Series’ in two volumes.[6] Other -Anglo-Saxon documents have been printed and translated at various times. - -Domesday Survey has been reproduced by a photographic process, and is -extremely clear and well executed; it is also published in four volumes -in a more readable type, but still abbreviated. Each county can be -obtained in a separate volume. The translations are not given; this for -the student is rather an advantage than otherwise. - -No subject has been more studied than Domesday Book. Translations, -explanations and dictionaries have been written upon it. These are -very valuable as explaining the obscure points and giving the modern -acreage, as compared with the carucate, bovate and hide. To understand -a county history these must be closely compared. Many of the manors -named in the old Survey are now lost. It must be remembered that waste -lands and commons were not always mentioned, nor were churches or -any property which was not taxable. For this reason Domesday often -disappoints us by its meagreness of detail, but it forms the beginning -or basis from which an inquiry may be started, and to pursue it through -the centuries which followed, the public rolls and manuscripts are the -only means of information; of these Domesday will prove valuable as a -key. - -The really practical book on old English writing best known and most -popular, because neither complicated nor expensive, is Wright’s -‘Court-hand Restored,’ price £1, compiled in 1846 to meet a long-felt -want, for Latin having ceased as the law language, lawyers no longer -were obliged to know old legal forms and words as part of their -profession, although they often felt the need of understanding them -where any search through old deeds was requisite. Since then this book -has passed through nine editions, the last of which was brought out in -1879, edited and improved by Mr. C. T. Martin, of the Public Record -Office.[7] It contains alphabets in all styles, facsimiles of all -classes of English writing, with translations, a glossary of obsolete -words and place-names, supplying a valuable textbook to paleography, -giving the reader all the information necessary for studying old deeds. -Since then (1892) Mr. Martin has compiled a fuller and more elaborate -glossary, called ‘The Record Interpreter,’ 10s. 6d. The amateur will -need no other books if he is provided with these two volumes. A list -of abbreviations taken from the Pipe Rolls was issued among the yearly -volumes of the Pipe Rolls Society, price 12s. 6d. The fourth volume of -‘The Registrum Palatinum Dunelmense,’ edited by the late Sir Thomas -Duffus Hardy, in the Rolls Series of ‘Chronicles and Memorials,’ also -contains a list of contracted words and their explanations. Its price -is 10s. 6d. - -The study of old deeds brings in its train a multiplicity of other -subjects bearing upon old customs and legal formulæ, some of which were -complicated. All the writers upon the law explain these formalities; -‘though now antiquated so far as the actual law work and procedure -is concerned,’ they give the ancient methods; of these ‘Blackstone’s -Commentaries’ is the best known. - -Jacobs’ ‘Law Dictionary’ is another similar book; also ‘A New Law -Dictionary,’ by J. Nicholson. But these books are now out of date; they -may by chance be met with at sales or on bookstalls, where they may be -bought for a few shillings. Perhaps an advertisement in the _Exchange -and Mart_ might be successful in obtaining replies. Of guides to -various branches of archæology there are plenty lately issued since the -subject became fashionable. - -‘Record Searching,’ by W. Rye, gives a glimpse into the various public -collections of books and MSS., and the class of information likely to -be derived from manuscripts. - -‘How to write the History of a Family,’ by Phillimore, is a similar -work, useful to genealogists. - -‘How to write the History of a Parish,’ by J. C. Cox, LL.D. - -The information contained in all these three last books might be with -advantage remodelled and extended. They are in reality indices to help -the archæologist and put him in the way of obtaining information. - -A charming little book, full of information, has been written by Mr. -Chester Waters, upon Parish Registers, price 3s. 9d. Every clergyman -should possess a copy of it.[8] On Church History there are recently -published two very good 1s. volumes, called ‘Illustrated Notes on -English Church History,’ by Rev. Arthur Lane; small engravings of all -the English cathedrals and many handsome and celebrated churches are -given, but no descriptions of them. A very good series of Diocesan -Histories has been brought out by the Society for Promoting Christian -Knowledge. These may now be bought second-hand at 1s. per volume. - -For derivation of words and place-names there is no better guide than -Taylor’s ‘Words and Places,’ and Edmunds’ ‘Place-names’; both these -are trustworthy, and have become recognised authorities; and also -Bosworth’s Anglo-Saxon dictionary. - -Quality rather than quantity should be the antiquary’s motto in his -choice of a library, but antiquarianism and archæology require many -books of reference, and it is well to know those books most likely to -be of permanent use instead of wasting room upon volumes not required -after the first reading. Upon Manor Rolls there is a very clever work -lately issued by the Selden Society (volume ii.). It gives much new -information on Manorial Customs. All the volumes issued by this society -are very interesting. They are edited by F. W. Maitland. Upon Monastic -History there are many very interesting books, mostly published by -Burns and Oates, London. - -A list of useful books might be extended indefinitely, especially if -brought up to date. Archæology is a cumulative science gleaned from -varied sources. The antiquary usually is possessed of more brains than -money, but if he is fortunate enough to possess both, a large library -will be to him a never-ending source of amusement. - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - OLD LETTERS. - - -There were always two divisions of handwriting: the formal hand, -employed for clerk’s work, and a freer, less mechanical, less careful -style, used for private correspondence. Writing was a profession, and, -as late as the sixteenth century, when it was necessary to communicate -with persons at a distance, a professional scribe was employed to -write the letter. Even now in slums may be seen the notice of ‘Letters -written here,’ though this chiefly refers to it being a shop address -to which letters may be directed. But letter-writing was rare, and did -not become general till after the sixteenth century; even then it was -restricted to the upper classes of society. I have in Chapter IV. given -a brief account of the paper used in England. Letter or post paper was -made of a square uniform sheet, folded; it was known as ‘Pot paper,’ -from its water-mark. This varied slightly, the jug or water-pot being -much more elaborate in some examples. It came principally from abroad, -either the Low Countries or Germany; each separate factory very likely -adopted a distinct shape; the makers’ initials are to be found upon the -band across the pot, but are difficult to read, nor so far as I know is -anything known about the manufacturers or their names. - - [Illustration: (1561) (1563) (1623)] - -The three above marks are taken from some old letters, and are good -types of their kind; a more careful study of water-marks would show the -dates of undated papers, and be a safeguard against forgery. - -The writing of old letters I have placed after the chapter on -registers, because the latter forms a link between the clerical and -personal handwritings. The letters have changed entirely from the -old black-letter style to a similar style, like that still in use in -Germany, and assuming a distinct character. - - [Illustration: SOME QUAINT LETTERS FROM OLD PARISH REGISTERS.] - -Therefore, not only was the material for letter-writing (_i.e._, -paper) of foreign manufacture, but also the handwriting bore close -resemblance to foreign styles. This may have resulted from the original -Anglo-Saxon element in the nationality of the people, aided by the -constant immigration of merchants from the Low Countries, who came -over to England during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and -established various branches of trade, chiefly in linen or woollen -goods. They naturally introduced also the fashions and customs of -their own nations. Added to this was the marriage of the King, Richard -II., with the German Princess Anne of Bohemia, followed closely by -the religious zeal of the Reformers, bringing Germans and German -ideas strongly to the fore in English politics. The earliest printers -were German, and about the time of this invention the small letter e -written backwards first came into use. Family deeds are usually only -legal matter, but here and there are found among them old letters -and papers of value. Lifelong imprisonment was often the result of -a thoughtless committal of ideas into tangible form. Letters were -dangerous witnesses, and as such were destroyed as soon as read. The -posts and messengers were not safe from inspection; spies were employed -freely on all sides, and men, not afraid to suffer for their opinions, -nevertheless did not care to risk their necks by needless imprudence. - -The earliest newspapers had a blank column left to be filled by the -sender with the latest intelligence or local news. These were fitly -called ‘News letters.’ The phraseology of a seventeenth-century letter -seems to us strange on account of the conjugation of the verbs, the -use of ‘hath’ in place of ‘has,’ and the absence of all unnecessary -adverbs; the sentences, too, are longer. The commencing words and the -final winding up of letters have both changed in the past two hundred -years. - -With the eighteenth century we see these changes gradually settling -down and altering into the modern forms. The old English y^e for ‘the,’ -and the abbreviated & for ‘and,’ and the (symbol) (d) written in its -antiquated shape, still remain, but the German letters by degrees are -given up. - -The writing of each generation is most distinctly marked; the dates -from it may be approximately fixed without any difficulty, as well as -the age and character of the writer. - -It has been said that the introduction of cheap postage, and the -immense increase of everyday correspondence, has ruined handwriting, -while the typewriter is quickly becoming universal, and banished -for ever the art of composition. True, the short letters of to-day -will not bear comparison with the neat, voluminous diary-letters, -full of graphic scenic descriptions, which our grandparents were -wont to compile for the benefit of relations left at home; now, -when similar correspondence is undertaken, it is copied out by the -typewriter or printed, for few people will take the trouble to read -manuscript compositions. Looking beyond the opening years of the -nineteenth century, we see a marked paucity of ideas and carelessness -of calligraphy in the correspondence. In the seventeenth century men -were the chief correspondents on matters of business; few letters are -preserved except on such topics, which is a pity, for a letter must -always be a unique production, the best evidence procurable of the -writer and his times. - -There is little to be said on the subject of old letters. Practice in -reading them makes the lettering familiar, and gives facility which no -guidebook could explain; letters, both ancient and modern, will assume -a new interest when the little trifling, characteristic peculiarities -of the writer are examined by their aid. Old receipts, expense-books, -and farm accounts are found in plenty among old papers. These are -valuable as giving long-lost field-names and other details of parochial -history; but what we should prize now would be descriptions of people -and places as they existed some hundreds of years ago. - - [Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - ABBREVIATIONS, ETC. - - -In most books treating of ancient handwriting, the abbreviations and -contractions are put forward as the most important part; certainly it -is necessary to study them carefully, but it was never intended by the -old scribes that they should be regarded as a language in themselves. -At first they were used to save time and space, then, by degrees, -they increased in multiplicity as well as complexity, till banished -altogether by the invention of printing, upon the advance of which the -professional scribe disappeared. - -The contracted words most frequently used are not always necessary to -the sense of the sentence, which may be arrived at without them. It -is a waste of time to puzzle over a word after its meaning has been -arrived at. Many persons who require MS. extracts from public offices -take rough notes with the letters of the contracted word; these can be -extended afterwards at home, when there is time to seek in dictionaries -for the abbreviation or its meaning; with practice the opening words -of a sentence will very often supply the context. The oldest forms of -contraction are a straight line over a word or a curve; these indicate -that a portion of the word only is present, but no clue is given as to -the letters left out, or else the straight line may mean _m_ or -_n_. - -Later on the straight line above a word came to represent the letters -_m_ and _n_. In words where these letters were duplicated -the second one was omitted and the line placed above to indicate its -absence. This continued in use until late in the eighteenth century. -Com̄on meant ‘common,’ and com̄endation ‘commendation.’ If a curved -line was over the end syllable of a word, it meant one or more letters -omitted at the end of a word. - -Verbs are the most troublesome class of contracted words, for a -contraction over a verb may mean any syllable, according to the proper -grammatical conjugation. Here it is that knowledge of the Latin grammar -is a necessity. The meaning of the sentences may often be deciphered -without extending the words, and the correct conjugation of the verbs -can be added afterwards by another person, if the student’s knowledge -of Latin is too limited to accomplish this with accuracy. Certain signs -or contractions are fairly constant in their meanings, always taking -the place of special syllables. Thus a bold apostrophe above the line -will be found to indicate ‘er,’ ‘ir,’ ‘or,’ ‘re.’ - - [Symbol] = ur. - - ʒ = et, us. In Domesday ‘et’ is written ⁊. - - [Symbol] = ram, ras, ris. - - [Symbol] = is. - - ꝰ = us, ous, os. - -A small letter over a word shows that a syllable is left out of which -this letter formed part. - -The letter ‘p’ had a system of its own, frequently used in old deeds -and also in old letters: - - ꝑ = per, par, por. - - [Symbol] = pre. - - ꝓ = pro. - -In old court rolls ‘and’ is written ‘[Symbol]t,’ and ‘est’ appears -as ‘÷,’ especially in courthand law deeds. - -A line drawn through the head of the letter ‘[Symbol]’ means also the -addition of other letters, as _is_, _e_, etc. This contraction in names -is apt to be confused with double ‘tt.’ - -It is said that our alphabet did not formerly contain as many letters -as at present. The letters ‘i’ and ‘j’ were identical until a recent -period. ‘W’ is said to have been derived from two ‘u’s,’ and is always -so written in old deeds, joined together, while ‘u’ and ‘v’ were used -indiscriminately. In old manuscripts the shortstroke letters were -formed alike; thus ‘n,’ ‘u,’ ‘w,’ ‘i,’ are merely strokes or minims, -difficult to distinguish, more particularly where any of these letters -occur side by side in the formation of words; to count the strokes is -the only guide. Practice and a knowledge of likely words to be employed -solve the knotty point. - -The chief difficulty of all lies in the correct rendering of names, -for these have perpetually changed in their spelling. In a single -deed several different forms may be observed, the result of clerical -copying. Even with names the system of abbreviation was carried on, -especially among court rolls; this will be noticed in such surnames as -‘Couper’ written ‘Coup,’ ‘Shepherd’ as ‘Shep.’ - -In certain styles of mediæval writing the terminals of words are -carried upwards with a long sweep, and are confusing in their -resemblance to abbreviation marks. Here, again, practice alone -accustoms the eye to decide whether a word is complete or not. - -Dots and other kinds of stops in writing have only come gradually into -use in their present significance, and the use of these is now less -observed than early in the last century. - -In the Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, as in Roman inscriptions, the dot is -freely used to denote contractions as well as to divide the words -from each other. In Domesday this is also noticed; but with later -manuscripts the dot, or point, such as is used in Norman times, fell -into disuse in favour of lines or curves for the abbreviated syllables. -Upon the introduction of printing our various kinds of stops are first -observed. It is said that the Elzevirs invented some of them. The -reversed semicolon is commonly observed in some manuscripts. - -Sooner or later, in any antiquarian search, the printed sources of -information will be exhausted, and are not unfrequently found to be -untrustworthy, especially existing county histories, which, being -compiled by men unacquainted with every minor detail of the locality, -are naturally liable to confuse places of similar names. Nor is it -possible in so large a subject as a county history to enter minutely -into the separate parish histories of places and people. Thus after -awhile the untrustworthiness and insufficiency of book-knowledge will -be discovered, and some more original source of information become -desired. Manuscripts exist in plenty, but are of little value unless -studied personally; for professional readers, although able to read -quickly and correctly, only give the information desired; whereas in a -personal search one subject opens out fresh clues to others of equal -importance, and new light is continually being thrown upon hitherto -unnoticed points; moreover, only by a personal investigation can the -antiquary be certain that he has obtained _exactly_ what he -required. There are now plenty of opportunities open to the public of -seeing the old documents pertaining to various offices and societies, -besides private collections, but without some previous knowledge of -the old handwritings, etc., this permission is practically valueless. -Therefore, ‘Persevere and practise’ is the best motto I can give to -those interested in the matter, for proficiency comes quickly to those -who seek it; and, as in all subjects, ‘Nothing succeeds like success.’ - - [Illustration] - - [Illustration] - - - - - APPENDIX. - - LEGAL MEMORY. - - (_See page 42._) - - - ‘WHITCHURCH RECTORY, - ‘READING, - ‘_October 12, 1892_. - - ‘DEAR MISS THOYTS, - -‘I must even send you an instant reply to your note, in order to -satisfy your perplexity. - -‘I was many years searching for the reason why legal memory began with -Richard I. I once asked an eminent Q.C. the question, and though he had -been a Law Lecturer, and was shortly afterwards put upon the Bench, he -could not tell me why--he only knew the fact. - -‘It is one of the signs, good or bad, of the present times, that your -sex will not, like their mothers and grandmothers, be satisfied with -being told the fact, but will be told why. - -‘Now the “why” of this is just as follows: The Norman Conquest upset a -great many Saxon titles to estates, but not all. And on the voidance -of a Norman who had no title but his own right hand, the Saxon would -try to recover, and, I suppose, not unfrequently succeeded, by reason -of being on the spot and putting on the Norman’s shoes while they were -warm. Hence endless litigations, because the more distant Norman kin -inherited at least this much--contempt for a Saxon. - -‘By A.D. 1179 things began to settle down and Norman and -Saxon to be amalgamated, and it was then, or perhaps rather later, -_agreed_, in the High Courts, that in questions of title you -should not go behind the above date. - -‘Now this is not inconsistent with what you may have read in Selden, -vol. ii. I have not read it, but I offer this solution--that it -(_i.e._, Selden, vol. ii.) does not mean to speak of manorial -law in respect of the High Court of Justice of the Realm, but of the -intra-manorial regulations of court leets and court barons. - - ‘Yours sincerely, - ‘JOHN SLATER.’ - - - THE END. - - - _Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, London._ - - [Illustration] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] From photos kindly lent by Mr. A. Harrison, of Theale. - -[2] See Appendix. - -[3] The property of the Earl of Fingall from his ancestors the -Wollascots. - -[4] A complete copy of the Chartulary was made by me through the -kindness of the Earl of Fingall. - -[5] A list of French Bishops will be found in ‘Gallia Christiana,’ or -in ‘Neustria Pia.’ - -[6] This also contains a good glossary of Anglo-Saxon words. - -[7] Who has kindly revised this little volume. - -[8] Only procurable second-hand. - - -Transcriber’s Notes: - -1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been -corrected silently. - -2. Italics are shown as _xxx_. - -3. Bold print is shown as =xxx=. - -4. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have -been retained as in the original. - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KEY TO THE FAMILY DEED -CHEST *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. 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} - -td.chn { -text-align: right; -vertical-align: top; -padding-right: 1em; } - -td.cht { -text-align: left; -vertical-align: top; -padding-left: 1em; -text-indent: -1em;} - -td.cht1 { -text-align: left; -vertical-align: top; -padding-left: 2em; -text-indent: -1em;} - -td.cht2 { -text-align: left; -vertical-align: bottom; -padding-left: 2.5em;} - -td.pag { -text-align: right; -vertical-align: bottom; -padding-left: 2em;} - - td.ctr { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - vertical-align: top; - padding-left: 0em; } - -td.header { -padding: 1.5em .2em .2em .2em; -text-align: center; -text-indent: 0em;} - -td.right { -text-align: right; -vertical-align: top; -padding-left: 1em;} - - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; -} /* page numbers */ - - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 5%; - margin-right: 10%; - font-size: 90%; -} - - -.center {text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.r1 {text-align: right; - margin-right: 1em;} - -.r2 {text-align: right; - margin-right: 2em;} - -.r3 {text-align: right; - margin-right: 3em;} - -.left1 {text-align: left; - text-indent: 3em;} - -.xs { font-size: x-small;} - -.sm { font-size: small;} - -.lg { font-size: large;} - -.smaller {font-size: 80%; } - -.smaller1 {font-size: 90%; } - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.allsmcap {font-variant: small-caps; text-transform: lowercase;} - -.u {text-decoration: underline;} - -/* Images */ - -img { - max-width: 100%; - height: auto; -} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - -/* Footnotes */ -.footnotes {border: 1px dashed;} - -.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} - -.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} - -.fnanchor { - vertical-align: super; - font-size: .8em; - text-decoration: - none; -} - -/* Poetry */ - -.poetry-container -{ -text-align: center; -font-size: 90%; -} - -.poetry -{ -display: inline-block; -text-align: left; -margin-left: 2.5em; -line-height: 100%; -} - -.poetry .stanza -{ -margin: 1em 0em 1em 1em; -} - -.poetry .ih {margin-left: -.3em;} - -@media print { .poetry {display: block;} } -.x-ebookmaker .poetry {display: block;} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - - </style> - </head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Key to the Family Deed Chest, by Emma Elizabeth Thoyts</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Key to the Family Deed Chest</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>How to Decipher and Study Old Documents, Being a Guide to the Reading of Ancient Manuscripts</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Emma Elizabeth Thoyts</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Commentator: C. Trice Martin</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: April 4, 2022 [eBook #67771]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Karin Spence and The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KEY TO THE FAMILY DEED CHEST ***</div> - - -<p id="half-title" class="p6">HOW TO DECIPHER AND STUDY OLD<br /> -DOCUMENTS.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i002" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i002.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p class="center u"><i>THE KEY TO THE FAMILY DEED CHEST</i></p></div> - -<h1>HOW TO DECIPHER<br /> - -<span class="xs">AND</span><br /> - -STUDY OLD DOCUMENTS</h1> - -<p class="center sm p2"><i>BEING A GUIDE TO THE READING OF<br /> -ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS</i></p> - -<p class="center xs p4">BY</p> - -<p class="center">E. E. THOYTS</p> - -<p class="center xs">(MRS. JOHN HAUTENVILLE COPE)</p> - -<p class="center sm p4"><i>WITH AN INTRODUCTION</i></p> - -<p class="center xs">BY</p> - -<p class="center sm">C. TRICE MARTIN</p> - -<p class="center xs">ASSISTANT KEEPER OF H.M. RECORDS</p> - -<p class="center p4 sm">SECOND EDITION</p> - -<p class="center sm p4">LONDON<br /> -ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW<br /> -1903</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i005" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i005.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_v">[v]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.</h2> -</div> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">Just ten years ago this little volume made its first appearance. -Although many books on similar subjects have been written in that -time, none have exactly given the same information, and this second -edition has been decided upon. Additions and corrections to bring -the book up to date have been made, but much still remains, and must -remain, imperfect in so small a work on so large a subject, and the -present pages only profess to help beginners over some of the initial -difficulties they will meet with.</p> - -<p>It has been urged that handwriting and its characteristics have nothing -to do with old deeds, but careful study of every line and letter is -useful, especially with regard to private letters, or when any question -arises as to whether the manuscripts are genuine or forgeries. That is -why the second chapter, on handwriting and descriptions of old ink, -paper, and paper marks and seals, was written, for all such items -<i>are</i> of great importance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vi">[vi]</span></p> - -<p>A recent celebrated trial (the Shipway case, in which an old register -was altered) shows that careful attention to minute details is -necessary. Parish registers have not, and are not, at the present -moment protected against frauds of this kind, which are far less common -than might be supposed.</p> - -<p>Old deeds are now bought and sold; it is a trade quite as much as -that in old books. Some years ago, in Edinburgh, a number of clever -forgeries were sold as genuine, which if they had been so would have -cleared up a historical question of great importance.</p> - -<p>Many friends who helped me when I first wrote the book are, alas! dead; -only their letters remain, and from these I have used extracts in -revising this edition.</p> - -<p>Mr. Trice Martin has most kindly read it through and criticised it, as -he did ten years ago, and if mistakes still remain, I trust my readers -will be lenient. It must, however, be remembered that I am writing only -about the class of deeds which are usually met with in old houses, and -not attempting to describe every description of charter or deed.</p> - -<p class="r2">EMMA ELIZABETH COPE.</p> - -<p class="xs p2">130, <span class="smcap">Hyde Park Mansions, W.</span></p> - -<p class="xs left1"><i>September, 1903.</i></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">[vii]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i007" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i007.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - - -<h2>AUTHOR’S PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">In the following pages I have tried to describe the things which -puzzled me when, as a beginner, I first essayed to read and understand -the old records of bygone times. Written in a language I knew not, -relating to customs no longer existing, all was strange and unfamiliar. -I toiled on; by degrees light dawned and the difficulties melted -away. The knowledge thus gained I have endeavoured, in all humility, -to write down as a possible guide and help to others who may, like -myself, prefer to follow antiquarian research by means of old deeds and -other manuscripts, as being the original source and most trustworthy -fountain-head of knowledge, and by this means to avoid as much as -possible repeating the assertions and mistakes of previous writers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">[viii]</span></p> - -<p>In the chapter on Paleography I have named the books which were -my guides, and in these pages I have tried to supply information -supplementary to what is already printed on the subject, rather than -repeat what has previously been explained. The growing fashion for all -kinds of antiquarianism creates a desire for books treating upon such -subjects, and this has induced me to write this book.</p> - -<p class="r2 p-min">E. E. THOYTS.</p> - -<p class="smcap p-left p-min">Sulhamstead,</p> -<p class="p-min"><i>May,</i> 1893.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i008" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i008.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_ix">[ix]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i009a" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i009a.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> - -<table summary="contents" class="smaller"> - <tr> - <th class="chap">CHAPTER</th> - <th></th> - <th class="pag">PAGE</th> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="chn"></td> - <td class="cht">INTRODUCTION</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_xi">xi</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="chn">I.</td> - <td class="cht">HINTS TO THE BEGINNER</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="chn">II.</td> - <td class="cht">CHARACTER BY HANDWRITING</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="chn">III.</td> - <td class="cht">SAXON, NORMAN-FRENCH AND LAW LATIN</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_28">28</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="chn">IV.</td> - <td class="cht">OLD DEEDS</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="chn">V.</td> - <td class="cht">LAW TECHNICALITIES</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="chn">VI.</td> - <td class="cht">MANOR AND COURT ROLLS</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="chn">VII.</td> - <td class="cht">MONASTIC CHARTERS</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="chn">VIII.</td> - <td class="cht">PARISH REGISTERS</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="chn">IX.</td> - <td class="cht">PARISH OFFICERS AND THEIR ACCOUNT BOOKS</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="chn">X.</td> - <td class="cht">BOOKS ON PALEOGRAPHY</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_127">127</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="chn">XI.</td> - <td class="cht">OLD LETTERS</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="chn">XII.</td> - <td class="cht">ABBREVIATIONS, ETC.</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#Page_142">142</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i009b" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i009b.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_x">[x]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i010a" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i010a.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> -</div> - -<table summary="illustrations" class="smaller"> - <tr> - <th></th> - <th class="pag">PAGE</th> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">SIGNATURE</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#i041">23</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">EXTRACT FROM DOMESDAY</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#i047">29</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">NORMAN-FRENCH DEED</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#i052">34</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">FORM OF FINE</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#i074">56</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">SHERIFF’S ROLL (NEVILLE MSS.)</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#i083">65</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">COURT ROLL</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#i094">76</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">ARABIC NUMERALS</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#i097">79</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">READING ABBEY CHARTER</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#i110">92</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">READING ABBEY CHARTULARY</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#i112">94</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">PAPER-MAKERS’ INITIALS</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#i154">136</a></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">SOME QUAINT LETTERS FROM OLD PARISH REGISTERS</td> - <td class="pag"><a href="#i155">137</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i010b" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i010b.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xi">[xi]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i011" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i011.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<h2>INTRODUCTION.</h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">Books written to teach any branch of human knowledge are, in most -cases, written by persons who have long known and used the knowledge -which they impart, and, perhaps for that reason, have more or less -forgotten the steps of the ladder up which they have climbed; but in -this case the process has been so recent that the difficulties and -dangers of each step have been remembered, and the reader accordingly -warned against them.</p> - -<p>The meaning of the various kinds of documents which are likely to be -found among the title-deeds of an estate, or among the archives of a -parish or a corporation, are described without needless technicalities, -in a practical way, which will appeal to those who begin to work among -such material without previous knowledge.</p> - -<p>The first step, of course, is to learn to read.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xii">[xii]</span> This wants -perseverance and a quick eye, but regular practice will soon enable -the student to read any ordinary documents, which at first seemed -utterly unintelligible, and gradually the power of understanding really -difficult and obscure MSS. will be acquired. But this first step must -be thoroughly mastered, for to attempt to get information from old -writings without thoroughly knowing the forms of the letters, and the -different systems of abbreviations and contractions, would be like -trying to keep accounts without knowing how to add up a column of -figures.</p> - -<p>And indeed paleography is the foundation of all history. There may be -historians, like the late Mr. Freeman, who have but little knowledge -of the science (he, I believe, boasted of his inability to read a -manuscript), but then such writers rely on the paleographic knowledge -of others, who have edited the manuscripts which they desire to use, -and they have, or ought to have, sufficient scholarship to judge -which are the best editions, and even occasionally to detect editors’ -mistakes.</p> - -<p>But an acquaintance with this branch of knowledge is often of the -greatest use to biographers and historians. It is much better, for -instance, to be able to judge whether a certain document is of the age -which it professes, or in whose hand<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xiii">[xiii]</span> a draft of a treaty is, than to -have to accept the opinion of someone else.</p> - -<p>The mistakes made through want of this knowledge are common, and -sometimes very amusing. Familiar enough is the old story of the parish -priest in the time of King Henry VIII., who in the canon of the Mass, -in the prayer after taking the wine, read the word ‘<i>sumpsimus</i>’ -as <i>mumpsimus</i>, because he had a thirteenth-century missal in -which <i>s</i> and <i>m</i> are much alike, and refused to alter his -mistake when it was pointed out to him. It was referred to by King -Henry VIII. in his speech to the Parliament in 1545, and, in fact, this -ignorant priest has ‘made himself an everlasting name’ for conservative -stupidity.</p> - -<p>In more recent times, the historian of one of our beautiful -north-country abbeys talks of a gift of a silver chest by the founder -in the eleventh century. The reader wonders what this chest could have -been—was it a native work or imported? was it some ecclesiastical -ornament or merely a strong box? But on turning to the document on -which the account is based, the meaning is clear. It was not a chest -of silver, but an ordinary coin known as a mark of silver. The MS. -reads <i>unāmarcāargenti</i>. The writer of the book had not noticed -the contraction over the first <i>a</i>, divided the words wrongly, and -read it <i>unam arcam</i>, instead of <i>unam marcam</i>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xiv">[xiv]</span></p> - -<p>In another similar book the story is narrated of the ill-treatment -by a forester of an abbot whose house was near a royal forest. The -abbot was no doubt like the monk who made the celebrated pilgrimage to -Canterbury—</p> - - <div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="ih">‘An outrydere that lovede venerye.</div> - </div> - - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="spacing">*****</div> - </div> - - <div class="stanza"> - <div>He yaf nat of that text a pulled hen</div> - <div>That seith that hunters been nat holy men.’</div> - </div> - </div> - </div> - -<p class="p-left">And perhaps the forester had good reason to complain of him. But in -the account of the quarrel, the forester is said to have gone into the -abbot’s kitchen and taken away his cabbages—not very likely things -for a forester to take, as he probably would have found something -far better worth carrying off. However, on looking at the MS. it -appears almost certain that what was read as <i>chous</i> is really -<i>chens</i>, that is, <i>chiens</i>. In fact, they were the</p> - - <div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="ih">‘Grehoundes he hadde as swifte as fowel in flight,</div> - <div>For priking and for hunting for the hare,’</div> - </div> - </div> - </div> - -<p class="p-left">who were perhaps lying before the fire asleep after a long afternoon’s -coursing.</p> - -<p>In the same case it is said that the forester’s treatment of the -tenants on one of the abbey farms is so bad that no one dare die there; -it is suggested, because the forester would not allow anyone to come -to administer the last consolations of religion. But the words <i>de -murir</i>, on which the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xv">[xv]</span> observation is based, are merely a careless -scribe’s writing of <i>demeurer</i>.</p> - -<p>In another book farmers are represented as using stones for fuel, which -are suggested to have been coal; but this results from mis-reading -<i>petarum</i> (peat), as if it were <i>pet<sup>a</sup>rum</i>, a contracted form -of <i>petrarum</i> (stones).</p> - -<p>The spreading desire to know something of paleography is very -remarkable, and is much to be commended. For all persons who interest -themselves in the documents to which they may have access in the -possession of private persons, or in repositories not generally known, -are helping in the grand work of making clear the laws and customs -and mode of living of our ancestors, and thus constantly come across -information, not to be found in our more public collections of records, -which often throws light on many dark passages of history.</p> - -<p class="r2 p-min">C. T. MARTIN.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i015" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i015.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[1]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i017" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i017.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<p class="center lg">HOW TO DECIPHER AND STUDY OLD DOCUMENTS.</p> - - -<hr class="r25" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2>CHAPTER I.<br /> -<span class="subhed">HINTS TO BEGINNERS.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">Fashion changes in everything; but these alterations go on so -imperceptibly, so gradually, that ofttimes we fail to recognise their -progress except by glancing backwards into the past. But the fashion -of handwriting and its changes are very forcibly brought home to us -when confronted for the first time with some old deed or paper; and a -feeling of helplessness reduces the amateur to the verge of despair as -the pages of unintelligible hieroglyphics are spread out, as unfamiliar -as Sanscrit or Egyptian characters. But perseverance conquers all -difficulties.</p> - -<p>Every generation has its own particular type of writing. Compare, for -instance, any bundle<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[2]</span> of letters taken, hap-hazard, out of an old desk -or secrétaire; it is quite easy to sort them into bundles in sequence -of dates, and also guess accurately the age and position of the writers.</p> - -<p>The flowing Italian hand, used by educated women early in the last -century, changed with fashion into the freer style of the succeeding -generation; this in the third generation had further developed into -the bold, decisive, almost masculine writing adopted by the more -strong-minded females of the latter end of the nineteenth century.</p> - -<p>Of course, school-teaching is responsible to a certain extent for -handwriting. Our University men of to-day all, with few exceptions, -use a neat scholarly form of writing, free from flourishes, and with -simple capital letters and the small broken-backed Greek letter ε. -Compared with the scholar’s, the soldier’s writing is bolder and -rounder, while the clerk’s is still more distinct in type in its open -lettering, interspersed with curls and twists. So with most professions -it will be found that each has special characteristics; but these are -liable to change according to circumstances; thus, the clerk will -form his letters less distinctly after the need of great legibility -no longer compels him to carefulness. Self-education will often alter -a vulgar, ill-formed writing to a better, more studied style;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[3]</span> and -writing is the clearest proof of both bodily and mental condition, for -in cases of paralysis or mental aberration the doctor takes it as a -certain guide. The writing of feeble-minded persons is like that of a -scarcely-educated child.</p> - -<p>Looking back to the days when writing was a profession of itself, it -can easily be understood how it is that we find less variety among -old writings. For in those days, before printing was discovered, or -at least but imperfectly executed and understood, all books had to -be produced by hand, and were the work either of paid scribes, whose -duty it was to reproduce copies of well-known authors; or else copied -out by clerks or private secretaries at the dictation of the authors -themselves, who could seldom spare the time to commit their ideas to -paper, or, even if they did so, it was customary to have additional -copies made by professed scribes. Unacquainted with the subjects of -the books, and copying merely from verbal dictation, it is no wonder -that mistakes and misunderstandings often occurred, especially in -the spelling of place and personal names; for one man reading aloud -to several scribes, each would write down the names and words as -they sounded to his individual sense of hearing, for the constant -interruption necessary to ensure complete accuracy would cause the -process to be tedious and very lengthy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[4]</span></p> - -<p>Private correspondence, even, was carried on as a profession; writing -shops existed up to a comparatively late period; at present, in -out-of-the-way streets in London, one reads the notice ‘Letters written -here,’ though this generally means that letters may be sent to that -address.</p> - -<p>Authors who indited or dictated their own books had them afterwards -transcribed neatly for preservation, and probably destroyed the -original notes, for of these comparatively few, if any, exist.</p> - -<p>All the earliest scribes had a special education for their profession, -being sent to some monastery for that purpose; hence they were -either foreigners, or educated under foreign monks, either French or -Italian, and the effect of this teaching is clearly demonstrated by -the similitude which exists all over Europe between manuscripts of the -early Middle Ages.</p> - -<p>In England the Norman Conquest overruled most of the previous customs -and styles. Vast crowds of Normans emigrated continuously to our -shores. This went on more or less for at least three or four centuries, -and then prejudice against foreigners asserted itself, and the Saxon -element, which still remained among the lower classes of the people, -gained the ascendant. In the reign of Henry V. alien priories were -suppressed, and foreign monks and priests no longer travelled backwards -and forwards from the Norman abbeys<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[5]</span> to the junior houses or cells in -England. The rich merchants, who resorted here from the Low Countries -and Germany, brought with them their own customs and fashions; and at -this time will first be noticed the use of a written character, like -the modern German, which steadily came more and more into use until the -end of the seventeenth century, when it died out and the style altered -to a rounder, freer hand.</p> - -<p>So long as education was almost entirely monastic, or at least -conducted by teachers trained in monastic institutions, we find (as we -should naturally expect to do) a regularity, carefulness and formality -in the handwriting of the period; but so soon as England had shaken off -the authority of Rome and the educated communities had been scattered -and disbanded, a marked change took place in the quantity and quality -of all kinds of writing. The monks and nuns, rendered homeless by -the Reformation, returned to their native villages, thus spreading -education among all classes and creating a desire after learning. But -the primary cause of the alteration in handwriting, so very marked in -the sixteenth century, was perhaps attributable to the introduction -of the art of printing, which naturally was fatal to handwriting -as a profession. The scribe was no longer required to multiply the -author’s productions; so that lawyers and public<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[6]</span> office clerks only -remained out of the large class who had formerly earned their living -as professional writers. In the actual writing, also, a change took -place. The old elaborate letters were supplanted by the simple capitals -copied from the printer’s blocks. Some day, maybe, writing will die -out altogether; every year fresh improvements and inventions are -increasing; now type-writers and multiplying machines are used in place -of handwriting in many offices, while sooner or later typing by machine -will be universal.</p> - -<p>A hundred years ago, very few if any of the labourers could either -read or write; even now, in out-of-the-way country places, there exist -people ignorant of these (to us) necessary arts. The marriage registers -of the eighteenth century prove to us the ignorance of the country -folk; frequently neither the contracting parties nor their witnesses -could write their names, using instead either some eccentric monogram -bearing a faint resemblance to initials—a memory perhaps of a bygone -and very slight amount of teaching—or oftener still we find in lieu of -name the old Christian cross, which has been in use by the illiterate -from Saxon times as a pledge of good faith and consent.</p> - -<p>Previous to the nineteenth century, education in country places was -either altogether absent or provided out of the bounty of the squire or -parson, the teacher being some old ignorant person prevented<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span> by age or -bodily infirmity from pursuing active labour, and whose qualifications -were merely a smattering of the ‘three R’s,’ which, with plain sewing, -was the whole of his or her useful though scanty répertoire. Children -then were sent out to work at the age of nine or ten years, and earlier -if anybody could be found to employ them in service. When once placed -out, they had no opportunities of gaining further book knowledge, -and soon forgot the little they had learnt for want of practice or -stimulation, nor had they sufficient mental capacity to study by -themselves, except in very exceptional cases of natural genius.</p> - -<p>If this was the state of things within the memory of those still alive, -we can well believe how very limited was the knowledge of handwriting -some hundreds of years ago, and can more fully understand that the -scribe was a very important personage, and took great pride in his work.</p> - -<p>It is very rare to find mistakes or erasures in the lettering of old -charters. Varieties of spelling occur everywhere; a name is often -found spelt two or three different ways on the same page; but this is -easily explained if the work was written from dictation, especially if -pronounced to or by a foreigner. Our English language being so full of -unexpected variations of spelling, it is no wonder that names of people -and places<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span> suffered at the hands of a transcriber unacquainted with -the localities, and who merely wrote down the words as they sounded to -him. The actual spelling of words remained fairly constant. Certainly -to us they look very curious, for English orthography has undergone -innumerable changes; in course of time new words are being coined, -and old words alter not only in spelling, but also in meaning and -significance. If we wish for an example of Old English phraseology, -we have our present version of the Bible—which, being translated -into English in the seventeenth century, now sounds quaint, and in -many parts the sense of the words is a matter of dispute. If it be -compared with the Revised Version the changes which have taken place in -our language in the two past centuries become very evident. All this -must be borne in mind when the task of transcribing and translating -old writing is undertaken, and allowance must be made for all such -alterations both in style and spelling.</p> - -<p>It has been said that a knowledge of Latin is indispensable to the -would-be transcriber of old deeds; this is not really the case for -ordinary antiquarian research, for the meaning can be discovered easily -with only very slight knowledge. Legal Latin consists so entirely of -set forms that when once these forms are familiar to the reader, they -are without any difficulty recognised, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span> are so little liable to -any variations that they are easily rendered into English. The most -important points being a correct and accurate attention to the names of -people and places, with the descriptions of the localities referred to. -As the use of Latin for legal transactions almost entirely superseded -the Norman-French language after the reign of Edward III. (although -it is an open question whether deeds were not duplicated into the two -languages), very few old deeds are met with in the latter language, and -those few are usually so well written and legible that they can easily -be understood with the help of a slight knowledge of modern French.</p> - -<p>Indeed, a transcriber’s work properly consists chiefly in correctly -putting into modern handwriting the deeds which are only illegible -to those unfamiliar with the handwriting; in consequence an actual -acquaintance with the Latin grammar is less important than a correct -eye, quick to note every minute difference in letters. Every stroke -of the pen means something; bars or curves are the representatives of -absent words or syllables, and are never dashed down hap-hazard or -by accident. Therefore it is possible to understand the meaning of -the abbreviated portions correctly, although extension with absolute -grammatical correctness can never be ensured without study of the -language and a knowledge of its grammar.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span></p> - -<p>One of the best methods of learning to read courthand is first to -devote a short time to the study of shorthand; any system will do, -it being merely a means of training the eye and brain into speedily -noticing small shades of difference, undetected except by comparison. -For in all kinds of shorthand the least stroke or dot, or even a change -in the position of a line, will entirely alter the spelling or meaning -of a word.</p> - -<p>Next, I would advise the careful study of an old deed, one of those -written late in the seventeenth or early in the eighteenth century, -because these deeds give the phraseology or form of sentences, and -are often written in English in a fairly clear hand, freer from -contractions than earlier manuscripts, and the beginner has so many -new things to discover and learn that it is well to commence by not -attempting too much at the first start. An acquaintance with the style -of words used in legal language is a good groundwork to commence with. -Spread out the parchment before you; never mind the fact that only a -word or two, or even only a chance letter here and there catches your -eye. Then set to work to compare the letters of the words you do know -with the letters in other words which at the commencement looked so -strange to you.</p> - -<p>It was in this way that Egyptian hieroglyphics were first successfully -studied.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span></p> - -<p>Remember that three consonants seldom come together; no word is formed -without the help of one or more vowels; the final letter or letters -more often supply a clue than the capital letter or beginning syllable, -especially in the so-called courthands.</p> - -<p>Beware of too imaginative guesses. Although this fault is easily -remedied, still, it is better to spell a word out letter by letter, -however unintelligible and depressing the result at first may be. It -is so easy to take a name or word for granted, and an idea once seized -upon is not quickly eradicated, and may bring about absurd results and -deductions.</p> - -<p>Do not ponder too long over a word which puzzles you, but go on, -leaving gaps in your copy with a stroke underneath corresponding with -or leaving sufficient space for the missing word. These spaces can then -be filled in afterwards, when the general sense of the document has -been mastered, and the aspect of the particular style of writing has -become familiar. Then it will be found that words hitherto seemingly -unintelligible resolve themselves into readable form, and although -apparently impossible to decipher at the first reading, later on they -present no difficulty. A little practice and patience soon overcome the -difficulties of the first start, and after that the progress is rapid.</p> - -<p>To begin by learning a variety of old alphabets<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span> seems to me so much -waste of time, although it would be a valuable groundwork to commence -with. The true alphabet for beginners lies in the contracted words, -whose missing portions must be supplied by the reader from the few -letters given, which are often not even one connected syllable, but -instead merely one or two letters out of the missing syllable clustered -together.</p> - -<p>The reason for this style of writing was to save time and material. -With use, it grew into a complete system, a language of its own. At the -time it was penned, these contractions were no doubt perfectly familiar -to all, just as our modern abbreviations are. Of these last there are -more contractions in use nowadays than would at first be realized—our -daily correspondence is full of them; these may have originated from -the older system of contractions, relics of it, still left lingering on.</p> - -<p>A few examples of modern abbreviations will not be out of place here, -as showing that a contracted form of writing is not so very difficult -or extraordinary after all.</p> - -<p><b>&</b>, and, derived from the Latin <i>et</i>; the second example, -which is still in use, can be traced in very old documents from et, -till gradually it assumed its modern shape.</p> - -<p><b>M<sup>r</sup></b>, mister or master; <b>S<sup>r</sup></b> for sir was formerly in common -use.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span></p> - -<p><b>C<sup>o</sup></b>, company; <b>C<sup>ie</sup></b>, <i>compagnie</i> (French).</p> - -<p><b>etc.</b>, derived from the first three letters of the Latin word -<i>etcetera</i>.</p> - -<p>The words ‘with, which, whereof, where,’ etc., were formerly -abbreviated; also <b>yr</b> for your, <b>ye</b> the, and many others -now obsolete.</p> - -<p>Pounds, shillings and pence we still designate by the Latin £ s. d.</p> - -<p>The long word ‘affectionate’ is seldom written in full; so, too, with -many other words there are recognised forms of contraction, and when -this is borne in mind the abbreviations of old deeds appear in quite a -different light, and we attack their difficulties with less dread of -failure.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i029" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i029.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i032" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i032.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<h2>CHAPTER II.<br /> -<span class="subhed">HANDWRITING.</span></h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">Many books have been recently published on the subject of ‘Character -by Handwriting,’ but they are not very descriptive in detail, although -the theories and rules for character-describing by this means are both -clear and decided.</p> - -<p>It is now no longer the rule to teach children to write entirely by -the aid of set copies, as was the case with our forefathers, who wrote -after one approved pattern, which children copied as nearly as possible -from the original set for them; therefore characteristic peculiarities -were longer in asserting themselves, and what is now considered a -‘formed’ handwriting was not developed till late in life.</p> - -<p>There were, and still are, two divisions or classes of handwriting—the -professional and the personal; with the first the action was -mechanical, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span> exhibits few, if any, traces of personality. Yet even -in the oldest manuscripts there are certain defined characteristics -plainly shown. The handwritings of historical and celebrated personages -coincide to a remarkable degree with their known virtues and vices, as -criticised and detailed by their biographers.</p> - -<p>As the art of writing became general, its form varied more and more, -becoming gradually less formal, and each person wrote as was easiest to -himself. Education, as a rule, has a far from beneficial effect upon -handwriting; an active brain creates ideas too fast to give the hand -time to form the letters clearly, patiently and evenly, the matter, not -the material, being to the writer of primary importance.</p> - -<p>So, as study increased among all classes, writing degenerated from its -originally clear, regular lettering into every style of penmanship.</p> - -<p>Of course a child’s writing resembles only the copy-book, of which it -is supposed to be an exact imitation; soon, however, the round curves -sharpen, the disconnected letters join without any breaks in the words; -the even lines and distances are no longer so carefully measured and -considered; eccentricities of style creep in, with sundry loops and -twirls, giving the whole a grown-up appearance—a decided individuality -of its own.</p> - -<p>If the subject of handwriting as a test of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span> character is carefully -studied it will be found that immediate circumstances greatly -influence it: anxiety or great excitement of any kind, illness or any -violent emotion, will for the moment greatly affect the writing. From -handwriting the doctor can hazard an opinion as to the mental state -of his patient. In all cases of paralysis the writing is temporarily -affected, and the patient is usually at first deprived of the power -of writing; when the mind recovers its consciousness and the muscles -their strength, the power returns, but with a feebleness not formerly -observed. Writing depends upon so many things—a firm grasp of the pen, -a pliability of the muscles, clearness of vision and brain-power—even -the writing materials, pens, ink and paper, all make a difference. It -is not strange, then, that with so many causes upon which it depends, -writing should be an excellent test of temperament and bodily health.</p> - -<p>Any school-teacher or head of a college, through whose hands a large -correspondence passes, usually contracts a habit of forming conclusions -as to the mental and moral calibre of the writers, their social status -and natural bias of disposition. A round, childish handwriting is said -to show conceit and self-satisfaction. Ignorance and conceit are often -closely linked together. The uneducated generally have a very good -opinion of their own personal qualifications. The most youthful form of -writing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span> is not, therefore, indicative of talent or general capacity, -and seldom shows any originality.</p> - -<p>All needless flourishes and ornamentation are the result of egotism -and vanity. But be it remembered that any virtue exaggerated at -once becomes a fault; that whereas a little conceit is necessary to -stimulate ambition, the same in too great excess becomes egotistic -vanity. Genius is apt to overestimate its own depth and originality, -yet without any self-appreciation there is danger of a lack of effort; -despair prevents perseverance, and is a bar to any success.</p> - -<p>Excitability, hastiness, and impatience are all seen in the handwriting -at a glance. A quick brain suggests words and sentences so fast, one -upon another, that though the pen races along the page it cannot -write down the ideas quickly enough to satisfy the author. With a -calm, calculating disposition this frantic haste is neither known -nor understood—such persons do not rush to conclusions, but ponder -over every subject. Intuitive perception in the excitable person -becomes judgment in a tranquil mind. Temper depends upon temperament. -The crosses of the letter ‘t’ are the index whereby to judge of it. -If these strokes are regular through a whole page of writing, the -writer may be assumed to have an even-placed temper; if dashed off -at random—quick short strokes, somewhat higher than the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span> letter -itself—quick outbursts of anger may be expected, but of short -duration, unless the stroke is firm and black, in which case great -violence may safely be predicted.</p> - -<p>Uncertainty of character and temper is shown by the variation of these -strokes to the letter ‘t’. Sometimes the cross is firm and black, then -next time it is light; sometimes it is omitted altogether, varying -with each repetition of the letter like the opinions and sentiments -of an undecided person. The up and down strokes of the letters tell -of strength or weakness of will; gradations of light and shade, too, -may be observed in these strokes. The sloping Italian handwriting of -our grandmothers is just what might be expected from women refined and -sensitive, grounded in several branches of study, well educated as a -whole, but not especially so in any one particular line. The absence of -any self-assertion is very strongly marked. The independence of their -granddaughters can be traced in every line and stroke of their pens. -Little or no distinction is observable between the writing of young -men and women nowadays. Even the graphologist dare scarcely hazard an -opinion as to the sex of the writer, but indulges in vague wording, -avoiding any direct use of personal pronouns.</p> - -<p>Capital letters tell us many points of interest. By them originality, -talent, and mental capacity<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span> are displayed, as well as any latent -vulgarity or want of education. There are two styles of capital -letters at present in use. The high-class style employed by persons of -education is plain and often eccentric, but without much ornamentation. -The other may be called the middle class, for it is used by servants -and tradespeople having a fair amount of education, mingled with a -good deal of conceited ignorance and false pride. With these last -the capital letters are much adorned by loops, hooks, and curves, -noticeable principally in the heads of the letters or at their -commencement. Perhaps, for purposes of character delineation, it will -be better to give the characteristics, pointing out the style and form -of the letters peculiar to each.</p> - -<p>Plain, neatly-formed handwriting shows an orderly mind, the result of -education. The whole tendency of education is to regulate the mind and -restrain the impulses. Education checks conceit, for the more anyone -knows, the more aware does he become of the wide amount there is to -be learnt, and how little is the knowledge possessed by the cleverest -scholars in the world.</p> - -<p>It will generally be found that with writing having much resemblance, a -characteristic similarity also exists; therefore, to become proficient -as a graphologist, a careful study must be made of the writings -of those whose whole life and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span> character, together with personal -peculiarities, are intimately known and understood, and from this -conclusions may be drawn and rules arrived at for future use.</p> - -<p>Affection is marked by open loops and a general slant or slope of -the writing. A hard nature, unsympathetic and unimpressionable, has -very little artistic feeling or love of the fine arts; therefore the -same things which indicate a soft, affectionate disposition will also -indicate poetry, music, and painting, or one or other kindred subjects. -The first of these accompanies a loving, impulsive nature; with music -the impulse is replaced by perseverance; for natural genius cannot -expand without patient study. In painting three things are absolutely -necessary to produce an artist. Form, colour, light and shade—all -these three will influence the writing; but art of any kind is very -complex. Success implies a certain degree of ambition, and consequent -upon it is vanity and egotism; hence the artist’s signature is -generally peculiar and often unreadable, from its originality, egotism, -and exuberance of creative power.</p> - -<p>Imagination and impulse do not tend to improve handwriting. The -strokes are too erratic, and the capital letters never follow the -copy-book pattern. Over-haste is visible in every line. A warm-hearted, -impulsive person feels deeply and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span> passionately at the moment of -writing, and dashes off the words without regard to the effect they -will produce upon the reader. What is generally lacking is judgment -and the power of analytical thought. These important qualities may be -detected in disjoined words, which here and there may be seen even -with a handwriting in which impulse and sequence of ideas are leading -characteristics. The writer has evidently paused to think, although -unaware of it himself. These breaks give a power of criticism, combined -with clearness of intellect. Without breaks no common-sense is found, -but if they appear too often it shows a wearying and needless worry -over trivial details, and self-torment as to the opinions of other -people.</p> - -<p>Truth and straightforwardness give even lines running across the -page and regular distances from one word to another. Tact is very -essential. This quality requires often slight deceptions to be allowed -or practised, white lies, or delusive silence; hence an unevenness in -the writing is observed. It is a deviation, although slight, from the -path of truth, and here and there the letters rise or fall below the -lines. Untruthfulness gives greater unevenness still; but do not rush -to conclusions on this point, for an unformed handwriting shows this -peculiarity very often, being merely due, not to evil qualities, but to -an unsteady hand employed in work to which it is unused.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span></p> - -<p>Very round even writing in which the vowels are not closed, denotes -candour and openness of disposition, with an aptitude for giving -advice, whether asked or unasked, not always of a complimentary kind. -Blunt, crabbed writing suggests obstinacy and a selfish love of power, -without thought for the feelings of others. True selfishness gives -every curve an inward bend, very marked in the commencement of words or -capital letters.</p> - -<p>Perseverance and patience are closely allied. In the former the -letter ‘t’ is hooked at the top, and also its stroke has a dark -curved end, showing that when once an idea has been entertained no -earthly persuasion will alter or eradicate it. Such writers have -strongly-defined prejudices, and are apt to take very strong dislikes -without much cause.</p> - -<p>Calmness and patience also are frequently linked together—more often -in later life, when adversity has blunted the faculties, or the dull -routine of uneventful existence has destroyed all romance. Then the -writing has short up-and-down strokes, the curves are round, the -bars short and straight; there are no loops or flourishes; the whole -writing exhibits great neatness and regularity. Economy of living, -curiously enough, is marked by a spare use of ink. The terminals are -abrupt and blunt, leaving off short. Where<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span> economy is the result of -circumstances, not disposition, only some of the words are thus ended, -while others have open, free curves, and the long letters are looped. -Generosity and liberality may be seen likewise in the end curve of -every word. Where these characteristics are inconstant and variable, -the disposition will be found to be uncertain—liberal in some matters, -while needlessly economical and stingy in others.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i041" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i041.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<p>A person fond of society writes the capital letter ‘M’ with the three -upper curves on the same level. If the tail of this letter is carried -far below the line, there is vulgarity of mind and imperfect education. -Bars used instead of stops are the result of caution. The writer fears -lest his sentences should be misinterpreted by being run into each -other. When a bar is placed below the signature, it means tenacity -of purpose, coupled with extreme caution; perhaps, also, a dread -of criticism and adverse opinions. No dots to the letter ‘i’ means -negligence, a want of attention to details, with but a small faculty of -observation.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span> When the dots are placed at random, neither above nor in -proximity to the letter to which they belong, impressionability, want -of reflection, and impulsiveness may be anticipated.</p> - -<p>Ambition and gratified happiness give to the whole writing an upward -tendency. Hopefulness lacks the firmness of ambition, and appears only -in the signature which curves upwards, while the rest of the writing is -impulsive, without much firmness.</p> - -<p>Sorrow gives every line of the writing a downward inclination. -Temporary affliction will at once show in the writing: a preoccupied -mind, full of trouble, cares little whether the letter then written -is legible or neat; hence the writing is erratic, uncertain, and the -confusion of mind is clearly exhibited in every line. Irritable and -touchy persons slope the flourishes only, such as the cross of the -letter ‘t’ and the upper parts of the capital letters. When the capital -letters stand alone in front of the words, and the final letters also -are isolated, it betokens great creative power and ideality, such as -would form an author and clever writer.</p> - -<p>The most personal part of a letter or document is, of course, the -signature, but alone it is not a safe guide to character. The lines -placed below or after it tell a great deal more than the actual name.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span></p> - -<p>A curved bending line, ending in a hook, indicates coquetry, love of -effect, and ideality.</p> - -<p>An exaggerated, comma-like form of line means caprice, tempered by -gravity of thought, and versatility of ideas.</p> - -<p>An unyielding will—fiery, and at the same time determined—draws a -firm hooked line after the name.</p> - -<p>A wavy line shows great variety in mental power, with originality.</p> - -<p>Resolution is shown by a plain line; and extreme caution, with full -power to calculate effect and reason a subject from every point of -view, is shown by two lines and dots, thus——:——.</p> - -<p>To sum up the matter briefly, it will be observed that a clever person -cares very little about the form of his writing—it is the matter alone -which concerns him; whereas, with a limited brain-power, great care as -to appearance is taken. But human nature is never a simple combination -of elements, it is dependable upon a complexity of changes and chances.</p> - -<p>It is said that with everyone a complete change takes place every seven -years. Motives and circumstances all leave decided marks upon the -character and mind of an individual. Not perhaps for years will innate -virtues or vices become apparent, which have lain dormant, awaiting -circumstances to develop them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span></p> - -<p>A collection of any person’s old letters is very curious. Written from -earliest childhood to extreme old age, a veritable life’s history lies -in the faded ink; and to study character from handwriting fairly it can -only be done from such authenticated examples.</p> - -<p>Old letters written two or three hundred years ago are of great value -for the purpose, because, so far as they are concerned, all party -spirit and prejudice is dead, buried, and forgotten. Their biographers -no longer fear the consequence of a too candid and personal account, -and are therefore more likely to give a just and calm criticism of -character, weighing evenly in the balance both virtues and vices. -With historical characters it is curious to contrast the contemporary -biographies with the graphologist’s opinion of their handwriting, given -without knowing whose the writing was.</p> - -<p>Any collection of old MSS. is interesting, as showing the various -styles of writing in vogue at different periods. Fashion or -circumstances had some influence on this point. Royal marriages with -foreign princesses brought England into contact with different nations. -Wars in strange lands introduced alien words into our vocabulary, -some of which speedily became naturalized, while others, voted slang, -remained only for a short while and then disappeared. New words are -constantly being<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span> coined, and take the place of others. This may seem a -trivial matter, and irrelevant to the subject of old writing, but any -points bearing on the subject must throw new light upon it and help to -elucidate it.</p> - -<p>The personality of a writer can never be wholly separated from his -works. And in any question of date or authenticity of a document being -called in question, the value of graphology and its theories will be -found of the utmost importance; for the various changes in the style of -handwriting, or in the spelling of words, although perhaps so minute -and gradual as seldom to be remarked, are, nevertheless, links in a -chain which it would be extremely hard to forge successfully so as -to deceive those acquainted with the matter and well versed in its -peculiarities.</p> - -<p>Marked characteristics are noticeable in the old Black Letter MSS. of -the early days before printing, and the authenticity of a deed, etc., -may be decided by some slight peculiarity in its lettering.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i045" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i045.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i046" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i046.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<h2>CHAPTER III.<br /> -<span class="subhed">ANGLO-SAXON, NORMAN-FRENCH, LATIN, AND OLD ENGLISH.</span></h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">Although we are always told that our present English language is -directly derived from that of our Saxon forefathers, this information -gives us very little, if any, help towards deciphering the old -Anglo-Saxon documents. The Saxons, we are told, were not one nation, -but rather composed of an aggregate of tribes of Germanic and -Scandinavian origin, whose piratical instincts led them to seek -adventure by sea and land and form new colonies, just as at the present -day Englishmen go forth in search of fame and fortune in the uttermost -parts of the earth.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i047"> - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i047.jpg" - alt="" /> - <p class="center p0 sm">EXTRACT FROM DOMESDAY.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - </div> - -<p>Thus the Saxon language, although derived from one identical base, was -a collection of dialects banded together, which, in its educated and -scholastic form, greatly resembled German in its construction.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span></p> - -<p>The language of the Anglo-Saxon (so far as Great Britain is concerned) -has been classified under three distinct headings, the first being pure -Anglo-Saxon, <i>i.e.</i>, the language as spoken by the first settlers, -with an admixture of Celtic or British; secondly, this same combination -with the addition of Danish; and thirdly, the three above-named -languages combined, with the further addition of Norman-French, having -in all a Saxon dialect for the basis, to which were afterwards added -new words brought into it by foreign invaders or emigrants from over -the seas. Since the invention of printing great changes have taken -place in our language, and to go back prior to that epoch reveals -greater changes still.</p> - -<p>The writings of early chroniclers and poets are so full of words -and phrases now obsolete that many books and dictionaries have been -compiled to explain their meanings.</p> - -<p>The Lord’s Prayer, as given in the Durham Book. This is a copy of the -Gospels of the Anglo-Saxon period. It was formerly in the Cottonian -Library, now in the Manuscript Department of the British Museum. It -is known as ‘Nero D. iv.’ Old Sir Robert Cotton had busts of the -Roman Emperors over his book-shelves, and the names survive), looks -to us hopelessly foreign—only a few words are familiar. The personal -pronouns ‘us,’ ‘we,’ ‘he,’ ‘him,’ and the preposition ‘to,’ as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span> well -as the conjunction ‘and,’ are unchanged, but the verbs are conjugated -quite differently to the correct English of to-day; still, if we -would seek for a living example resembling old Saxon dialect, it can -easily be found in several parts of England, such as Devonshire, -Dorsetshire, and other counties, the country-folk still speaking almost -pure Anglo-Saxon, though this is fast dying out before the advance -of education and Board-school science. The Anglo-Saxon alphabetical -characters differ only from the Roman in the letter ‘w,’ written ƿ. -In their alphabet there are also two additional double letters—‘th,’ -represented by the following letter þ, and ‘dh,’ ð, these last being -frequently used in the construction of words.</p> - -<p>The early Saxon handwriting was bold and clear. Most of it now existing -consists of monastic copies of books or charters. The Saxons were a -clever and industrious people, plodding and practical. Their abbeys -were more of the nature of large seminaries or colleges, where learning -was carried on; and in this respect the northern parts of England -were better supplied than the south, a result caused probably by each -fresh influx of tribes landing on the northern and eastern coasts of -the country, and spreading inland from thence. There seems to be no -doubt that the reign of King Alfred did much to promote study and an -increased attention to literature,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span> previously neglected except among a -few professed scholars.</p> - -<p>A learned King would naturally set the fashion to his subjects, and -Alfred must have possessed immense energy. It was an extraordinary -thing for a middle-aged man to be able to educate himself sufficiently -to master the difficulties of a foreign language so opposed in -construction to his own native tongue as Latin, which in nowise -resembles Saxon. He must have toiled hard to have completed the many -translations from Latin into Saxon which are accredited to him.</p> - -<p>Alfred was a popular hero, and, like all heroes, was invested by -tradition with the credit of every improvement in literature or art -which took place within his era. Be this as it may, there is no doubt -that he did stimulate his fellow-countrymen to make efforts towards -self-improvement, by setting them a practical example in himself. Such -examples are unfortunately rare; they must always be productive of good -results—an ‘ounce of practice is worth a pound of precept.’</p> - -<p>From the time of King Alfred’s re-introduction of Latin into this -country it gradually gained ground as the language of scholars. Learned -ecclesiastics coming to England found it convenient as the medium for -exchange of thoughts and ideas. It was for many centuries the accepted -‘Volapuk,’ understood by all who professed any learning.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span></p> - -<p>Rome was the light of the Western world, the centre from whence -religion and learning was disseminated to the less enlightened parts of -Europe. Careful study of the old authors necessitated an acquaintance -with both Greek and Latin. The emissaries of the Pope, either as -legates or missionaries, spread all over civilized Europe, and carried -with them the learning of their age.</p> - -<p>Intercourse between England and France was somewhat checked by -dissensions and wars both at home and abroad, but with the Conquest -came a large body of monks. The chief wealth of Normandy was invested -in its rich abbeys, from whence Duke William had borrowed large sums -of money to fit out his expedition upon the security of his future -possession of England. These loans he honestly and amply repaid by -large grants of land out of his new kingdom; hence new abbeys sprang up -in England, filled with foreign monks, who brought over their language, -arts and sciences, to teach in the new country they had adopted as -their own. The language of the court was of necessity Norman-French, -which differs as much from the French of to-day as ancient from modern -English. But a knowledge of French makes these early deeds easy to -understand.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i052"> - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i052.jpg" - alt="" /> - <p class="center p0 sm">NORMAN-FRENCH DEED.</p> - </div> - -<p>The lower orders of the people clung persistently<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span><span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span> to their own old -Saxon tongue, a fact clearly demonstrated by the way the old Saxon -field-names are to the present day retained, and flowers, animals, and -matters of everyday country-life bear names of evident Saxon origin. -The Saxons were a conquered race, and as such became the servants of -their conquerors. The animals which in life they tended were eaten by -the Norman nobles, who called them, when used as food, by names of -French derivation. Thus the Saxon ‘sheep’ when dead became ‘mutton’; -‘pig’ turned into ‘pork’; ‘calf’ into ‘veal,’ etc.</p> - -<p>With the names of many wildflowers French origin is traceable, -especially with cultivated sorts. We know the monks of the Middle -Ages were clever gardeners, and probably by them the wildflowers were -named. In Berkshire the village children call field-daisies ‘margs,’ -abbreviated, without doubt, from the French <i>marguerite</i>. Among -garden flowers there are pansies, French <i>pensé</i>; gillyflower, -<i>giroflél</i>, and many others; but as a whole there are few words of -distinctly Latin origin to be found in the English dialects relating -to everyday affairs. Norman-French did not come into immediate use in -legal documents after the Conquest. The earliest deeds of the Norman -kings were written in Latin, but after a while French, the everyday -language of the upper classes, superseded it for law work—possibly -there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span> were duplicate copies of the deeds in both languages—but -only for a comparatively short period, a statute being passed in the -thirty-sixth year of King Edward III. deciding upon Latin as the law -language of the realm, and from this date the use of Norman-French died -out, and the English language may be said to have commenced.</p> - -<p>The growing dislike of the English to foreign prelates led to a -steady resistance of their claims, culminating in the Statutes of -Mortmain, Provisors and Præmunire, and finally in the suppression -of all alien priories and foreign cells. This stopped the influx of -French and Italian monks to our shores; so it was that, after nearly -four centuries, the Norman-French language died out and was forgotten. -During the Middle Ages, and until the time of the Reformation, the -monasteries still continued to be the principal seats of learning -throughout the country, and Latin held its ground among scholars and -lawyers.</p> - -<p>The introduction of printing, and, finally, the changes wrought by the -Reformation, disturbed the pre-existing course of things. The English -language was gradually settling down into its present form, and about -the end of the fifteenth century it began more and more to be used for -law business transactions.</p> - -<p>The law-Latin, as used in England, degenerated greatly; it became -interspersed with words of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span> native origin, Latinized by the lawyer. -Old court-rolls especially are full of obsolete words; so, too, are -the public rolls, but there are now many dictionaries explaining their -meanings. Although of course, here and there an unknown word may occur, -yet the context will usually explain or help towards its significance.</p> - -<p>The legal Latin became, finally, merely a series of mechanical forms; -these at last were translated into English. For this reason a careful -study of the wording of a deed of the eighteenth century in English -will show that it is the counterpart of the same class of document in -its older Latin form.</p> - -<p>Latin, like Norman-French, had had its day and was dying out. Finally, -by George III.’s Act of Parliament the native language was ordered to -be used for law work, and now Latin has become obsolete, so far as -practical work is concerned. Understanding old legal Latin—once a -necessity for a lawyer—has now become an antiquarian profession. One -relic of Anglo-Saxon remained on in our language for many centuries. -The double letter þ, ‘th,’ will be found in the written copies of -monkish chartularies for place-names beginning with ‘th.’ Even so -late as the fifteenth century we find it freely employed in English -documents. I possess a copy of the criminal charges made against De -la Pole, Duke<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span> of Suffolk, for high treason, 1450. Throughout the -manuscript the Saxon þ appears in such words as ‘other,’ ‘that,’ ‘the,’ -etc., which look curious written ‘oþer,’ ‘þt,’ ‘þe.’</p> - -<p>The þ in some words was printed ‘y,’ which continued in use until the -last century. I am not aware of any place-names having been altered -by this change of lettering, but it is quite possible that some -changes may have occurred through it. It would be easy for a person -unaccustomed to the Saxon þ to mistake it for other letters, as ‘th,’ -‘p,’ or ‘y’ must be followed either by a vowel or the consonant ‘r,’ -‘ph’ in old documents being usually replaced by an ‘f.’</p> - -<p>Of late years many absurd mistakes have been made by the Ordnance -Surveyors in their maps, who, mistaking the local dialect, or from -preconceived ideas as to what the names ought to be, have set down -many incorrectly. On this subject I wrote formerly in a paper in -the <i>Berkshire Archæological Magazine</i>. A man from the South -of England fails to comprehend the Northern or Western dialects. -Country-folk from the North cannot understand a word spoken by -Southerners; this also would account for errors. Spelling, of course, -has so much altered that it is no safe guide towards derivation; -phonetic pronunciation of a word is more likely to give a clue to the -origin. Field-names have been handed down orally from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span> generation -to generation; and it is very curious to observe how faithfully the -phonetic sounds have been preserved among an illiterate people, long -after the meanings of the words have disappeared.</p> - -<p>The Saxons named their fields from ordinary things, or surroundings, or -the animals who fed in the meadows. The following Saxon words may be -found occurring constantly as field-names:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><i>Æcne</i>, fruitful; <i>Æcer</i>, field; <i>Æbesn</i> or -<i>Æfesne</i>, pasture; <i>Ata</i>, <i>Atih</i>, tares, or -oats—the latter were common.</p> - -<p><i>Birce</i>, birch-tree.</p> - -<p><i>Cyrc</i>, <i>Cyrce</i>, <i>Cyrice</i>, <i>Circ</i>, -<i>Circe</i>, church—the last two most common; <i>Culfre</i>, a -dove; <i>Cealc</i>, chalk; <i>Ceorl</i>, churl or husbandman.</p> - -<p><i>Ent</i>, a giant; <i>Eorisc</i>, a bulrush; <i>Errich</i>, -stubble; <i>Enid</i> or <i>Ened</i>, a duck; <i>Emn</i>, even.</p> - -<p><i>Fearras</i>, <i>Ferris</i>, oxen; <i>Fearh</i>, a little pig; -<i>Fearh-Cwæl</i>, swine-fever.</p> - -<p><i>Getreminc</i>, fortress; <i>Gat</i> or <i>Yat</i>, a Goat.</p> - -<p><i>Halga</i>, a saint; <i>halig</i>, holy; <i>Hyd</i>, hide, -a land measure; <i>Ham</i>, home, homestead; <i>Hurst</i>, or -<i>Hyrst</i>, a wood; <i>Holt</i>, a grove; <i>Hleotan</i>, to -cast lots (meadows were held in lots, or allotments, from a very -early period, and so continued up to the time of the Enclosure -Acts); <i>Hluton</i>, part allotted; <i>Halm</i>, stubble.</p> - -<p><i>Ith Yrnth</i>, arable; <i>Ilt</i>, a sow.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span></p> - -<p><i>Ley</i>, <i>Lea</i>, <i>Leaze</i> or <i>Lay</i>, <i>Lye</i>, -meadow or grassland.</p> - -<p><i>Neolnes</i>, more properly spelt <i>Neowlnes</i>, an abyss.</p> - -<p><i>On-œl</i>, a burning.</p> - -<p><i>Riip</i>, harvest.</p> - -<p><i>Sul</i>, a plough; <i>Stret</i>, or <i>Stræt</i>, a street or -public highway.</p> - -<p><i>Wong</i>, a meadow; <i>Welig</i>, a willow; <i>Wegleast</i>, -a going out of the way; <i>Wer</i>, an enclosure.</p> -</div> - -<p>As a whole the English language has changed more during the past -century than at any time of the preceding ages. Railway and telegraph -have brought all parts of the kingdom into closer contact, and -intercourse with foreign countries accounts for constant alterations in -language and customs. New words are introduced and old ones die out; it -is the same in every language.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i058" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i058.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i059" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i059.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<h2>CHAPTER IV.<br /> -<span class="subhed">OLD DEEDS.</span></h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">Among old family papers it is rare to meet with many dating further -back than the Reformation; first of all, this may be accounted for -by the enormous amount of land possessed by the monks, who, instead -of having to search through deeds, entered these grants and gifts of -property into their charter-book. The monastic estates, after the -Dissolution, were managed through the Augmentation Office; many of the -original deeds were destroyed or lost in the general confusion, and a -new distribution of the lands took place by the King irrespective of -the former owners, whose claims were totally ignored, although in such -grants or deeds of gift the name of the monastery formerly owning the -property is usually named.</p> - -<p>The King must have realized large sums of money by these transactions, -which were carried<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span> out through, and in the names of, his commissioners -or agents, and not usually granted direct from the Crown; very little -of the land confiscated from the abbeys was retained as royal property, -but appears to have been almost immediately sold or granted away.</p> - -<p>But to begin from the oldest reliable period at which deeds may refer -to, is to go back to the Norman Conquest, or, rather, to the time when -the lands had been distributed among the Norman noblemen, as described -in the famous Domesday Book, compiled, it is said, between 1080 and -1085. Reference is therein made to previous Saxon possessors; but -only in very few instances can any certain information be obtained of -private property prior to the eleventh century.</p> - -<p>Private deeds do exist between the time of William I. and Richard I.; -from this latter King’s reign, about <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 1179, legal memory -dates<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a>; but usually the earliest family deeds are of Edward I., -because then it was that the legal era was fixed to commence. This -King has been, so far as regards manorial rights and customs, rightly -called the ‘English Solon.’ He passed innumerable Acts of Parliament -on the subject of legal matters; he revised the whole of the national -laws, retaining but improving existing arrangements. A most interesting -account of early English law and manorial customs is published by the -Selden<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span> Society. It is very rare indeed to discover private deeds -earlier than this; but, of course, every rule has its exception.</p> - -<p>To prove a title to property it is now only requisite to show a twenty -years’ possession of it. Papers forming the title deeds to farms or -small holdings are seldom of any great age. The custom of depositing -estate records in the care of the family lawyer has tended to preserve -a few deeds; but, on the other hand, has resulted in much wholesale -destruction of useless but curious documentary evidence.</p> - -<p>Vast numbers of deeds have been and are being sold when a lawyer’s -office has been broken up. These papers, having lain for years -unclaimed until the ownership was lost or forgotten, finally were -sold to some antiquarian bookseller or antiquary, or else the skin -was cleansed and used again, parchment being a valuable substance. It -is employed in many trades. From it size is prepared. Gold-beaters -employ it largely, and also to the book-binder’s trade it is essential, -besides having many other and varied uses.</p> - -<p>Even now lawyers find great difficulty in preserving and storing the -deeds entrusted to their charge. The dangers of fire and damp are -conflicting, and to avoid the one may bring about greater risk from the -other cause.</p> - -<p>Parchment being an animal substance (usually<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span> made from the skin of -sheep), if kept in a damp place, soon begins to decay and become -offensive, mites readily attack it, dirt and dust accumulate rapidly on -its external woolly surface—all these make a search among hoards of -old deeds anything but a pleasant or a cleanly occupation.</p> - -<p>The usual storehouse for such collections was some unused garret or -stable-loft, where rats and mice ran riot and birds flew in and out as -they liked. Forgotten, perhaps, for several generations, the old papers -lay untouched till death or removal brought changes, and the deeds -were either placed in safer keeping, or else—alas! the most usual -course—were consigned to the flames as useless rubbish.</p> - -<p>The quality of parchment varies much. That upon which early -deeds—those about the thirteenth century—are written, is in small -pieces, woolly in texture and of a dark brown shade. In the sixteenth -century the sheets are larger, smoother, and yellow, becoming whiter -in colour and more even as its preparation was better understood and -practised.</p> - -<p>Vellum was a finer sort of parchment prepared from the skins of very -young or still-born animals. Of it the old manuscript books were made, -adorned with illuminations and miniature paintings, which required -a fine, smooth surface, and vellum was free from the flaws which -frequently occur in the skins of mature animals.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span></p> - -<p>With the history of paper-making we have nothing to do. Paper was known -as early as the thirteenth century, but for law work in England it was -seldom, if ever, employed before the fourteenth century. The earliest -known examples are described as being made of silk manufactured abroad. -On the Continent it was used for illuminated work in the place of -vellum—at least, so Prou states, but does not tell us of any notable -examples.</p> - -<p>The history of English-made paper is somewhat obscure. Ordinary -lesson-books, published for the enlightenment of the young, state that -the first English paper-mill was erected at Dartford, in Kent, by -Speilman, a German, in 1588. This, however, must be wrong, for in that -popular educator of the past generation, the <i>Saturday Magazine</i>, -a short account is given of early paper and its water-marks, and John -Tate is named as having a mill at Hertford, his device being a star -of five points enclosed within a double circle. John Tate the younger -is here stated to have made the paper for the first book printed on -English-made paper about the year 1496. It was written in Latin, and -entitled ‘Bartholomeus de Proprietatibus Rerum.’ His mark upon it was -a wheel. This mill existed for thirty-five years—1460 to 1496. This -same account goes on to say that the paper used by the early printers -bore<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span> great variety of marks: a bull, fifteenth century: the oxhead, -with the star between the horns, late fifteenth century; the black -letter <img src="images/i_46.jpg" alt="p" -style="height:1em; padding:0 0em 0 0em;" />; -the shears; an open hand, -surmounted by a star; a collared dog’s head, with a trefoil above it; -a crown, an orb, a shield charged with a bend, and many other devices. -Hone, in his ‘Everyday Book,’ also gives a few other marks. He mentions -the orb as a foreign paper-mark existing as early as 1301, and says it -is the ‘oldest known mark.’</p> - -<p>Hand-paper is the kind usually found used for early documents. It -was a convenient size for court-rolls or legal writings. The name -arose from its water-mark, that of an open hand with a star above the -middle finger. This is found both in England and Germany. Its date of -manufacture was certainly older than 1450. The actual device varied. -Sometimes the fingers were raised in blessing, sometimes it was a hand -encased in a glove or gauntlet. The star had sometimes five and at -others six points. On the wrist are the maker’s initials.</p> - -<p>On some coarse whitish-brown paper of 1465 a garter was used; about -the same date a bull or bull’s head appears. This is found on some of -Faust’s earliest printed books. These were detached sheets: there was -no distinction then between book or letter paper.</p> - -<p>A careful study of paper-marks would be interesting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span> and valuable if -the authenticity or age of old papers or drawings were doubted, though -the question of forgery scarcely ever arises, for so much knowledge and -ingenuity would be required to produce a manuscript which would deceive -an adept and pass muster as a veritable antique, that fraud of this -kind is well-nigh impossible.</p> - -<p>Paper was not known in France, and consequently not used, before 1130. -It did not reach as far north as Normandy until the fourteenth century; -therefore it is improbable that it found its way into England till -after this date, or, if so, only in very small quantities. The oldest -paper is coarse and rough, scarcely sized at all, so that the ink sank -into it like blotting-paper, making erasures impossible.</p> - -<p>Supposing even that paper was made in England in the fifteenth and -sixteenth centuries, the quantities produced here were very small and -inadequate to meet the demand; hence the chief supply was of foreign -manufacture even until a comparatively recent period. The tax on -English paper may have interfered with its production.</p> - -<p>The Netherlands and Germany were the great paper-producing countries. -It was a State privilege, and the water-marks used were either the -arms of the royal patron or a crest or badge of the manufacturer, -so by this means the precise locality of some of these ancient -manufacturers may be ascertained.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span> The Dutch paper bore the arms of the -country—<i>i.e.</i>, the lion rampant, holding the sabre in one paw -and the arrows (?) in the other.</p> - -<p>The history of old paper-marks sadly needs a Chaffers or a Cripps to -investigate the matter. No such collection has ever been attempted, -nor has the subject hitherto met with the attention it demands and -deserves. Perhaps, now that antiquarianism is becoming so fashionable, -this, like other kindred sciences, will find some followers.</p> - -<p>In the <i>Antiquary</i> magazine for November and December, 1895, may -be seen two articles I wrote on old water-marks of paper. The marks -were chiefly collected from the old family papers belonging to the -Pulestons of Emral. These papers were, I fear, burnt after the death of -my uncle, the late Sir Gresley Puleston, Bart.</p> - -<p>As regards paper and paper-making, Mr. S. L. Sotheby published a costly -work. There is also a small book written by Mr. Richard Herring in 1863.</p> - -<p>Another important part of a deed is the ink with which it was written. -Each scribe had his own particular receipt for making it, the principal -ingredients being oak-galls and sulphate of iron. Many chemicals -are recommended as restoratives for faded ink, but these should be -avoided as far as possible, as they are liable to stain and disfigure -the parchment, and in the end make matters worse.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span> Familiarity with -particular handwritings after some practice will enable the reader to -make out otherwise unintelligible words without any other assistant -than a powerful magnifying glass.</p> - -<p>If the ink is very faint the simplest and most harmless restorative is -sulphate of ammonia; but its loathsome smell once endured is not easily -forgotten; the experiment in consequence is very seldom repeated, for -the result is scarcely good enough to risk a repetition of so horrible -a smell, and it is liable to affect the MSS.</p> - -<p>Coloured inks or pigments were seldom, if ever, employed for legal -documents. The use of these was restricted to the cloister, requiring -manipulation by an illuminator instead of a mere scribe. Red, blue, and -green were in use; these were mineral colours. The red was composed -either of red-lead or oxide of iron, the green from copper, and the -blue from lapis lazuli finely powdered, or else it, too, like the -green, was prepared from an oxide of copper.</p> - -<p>Illuminating was a separate profession apart from that of writing. The -charter or missal was finished by the scribe, and then handed over to -the artist to be adorned with fanciful capital letters and elaborate -scroll-works. Such ornamentation was unnecessary for legal documents, -yet sometimes these had fancy headings, which, like the illuminations, -were put in after the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span> writing was finished, as is proved by the -occasional omission of them, although space is left where they ought to -have been filled in.</p> - -<p>Seals and sealing-wax deserve a few words. These came into use -gradually. The earliest deeds are very small, and have very small -insignificant seals. There are some very fine seals in the Record -Office Museum (formerly the Rolls Chapel).</p> - -<p>It is said that neither the Saxon nor Norman noblemen could sign their -own names, but instead employed the Christian sign of the cross (still -in use among the illiterate) as their pledge of good faith, and to -witness their consent and approval. The use of seals as appendices -to deeds was a further proof that the deed itself was approved and -executed. A man’s seal or signet was always regarded as his most sacred -possession. It was destroyed after death to avoid its being used for -fraudulent purposes.</p> - -<p>The use of signet-rings is very ancient. Many old Roman and Saxon -signet-rings have been dug up from time to time in various parts of -England. Small private seals bearing devices appear to have been -attached to deeds of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.</p> - -<p>Many of the large wax seals are very beautiful, but few, alas! in -private collections of deeds exist in any state of perfection. The wax -used for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span> them was either its natural colour or else a sealing-wax -of a very dark green, also black, or red; white, also, was used, now -discoloured by age into a dingy yellow. Besides the royal seals, each -abbey had its own particular seal, bearing either a view of the abbey, -a portrait of its patron saint, or its badge or shield. Many of these -are described by Dugdale in the ‘Monasticon,’ but he was unable to -discover the devices pertaining to the lesser houses or cells. The -fashion for large seals died out, till at last only royal grants or -similar documents of the sixteenth century have them attached. In the -Georgian period we find small private seals placed on the margins of -deeds. These were not always the arms and crest of the person against -whose signature they appear—perhaps belonged to the lawyer or one of -the contracting parties. Here it is that a knowledge of heraldry is -extremely useful.</p> - -<p>The size and shape of a deed at first glance goes far with the -experienced reader to determine its age, even before a single word of -it has been read; likewise the general aspect will give a slight hint -as to the possible contents without deciphering any of it.</p> - -<p>The deeds relative to the earliest grants of land are very small -in size, a marked contrast to the voluminous sheets of parchment -considered necessary to a modern conveyance or deed. The writing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span> often -was minute, but each letter was carefully formed. Many early deeds are -in far better preservation than some of those written several centuries -later, when less attention was paid to the materials on which they were -indited, or the ink used.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i070" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i070.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i071" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i071.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<h2>CHAPTER V.<br /> -<span class="subhed">LAW TECHNICALITIES.</span></h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The two chief divisions into which all law deeds may be roughly -classified are the deed-pole and the indenture. The former is a square -piece of parchment, made by one person, such as a will or a bond, the -indenture being the work of several parties. Of this latter kind are -deeds of trusteeship, marriage settlements, mortgages, and sales or -transfers of land.</p> - -<p>The indenture was so called from the fact that its upper edge was -vandyked, or indented—a very secure but primitive method of testing -authenticity; each party had a copy. These duplicates were written on -a single strip of parchment merely cut asunder afterwards, through a -word written between the two copies, such as ‘chirographum,’ so that -when required to be produced as evidence the two divided portions and -words would fit each other exactly—indisputable evidence<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span> of their -originality, both simple and ingenious.</p> - -<p>A very common form of deed, met with among title-deeds, is the ‘Fine,’ -technically so-called from its opening sentence: ‘Hic est finalis -concordia facta in curia Domini Regis’; the Sovereign’s name follows -with the year of accession, after which are the names of the buyer and -seller of the property, a full description of the amount of acreage, -tenements, etc. After warranting the whole for life to its purchaser, -the deed concludes with the sum of money paid for the property; this -is written in words, not figures. These deeds are more puzzling to -amateurs than any other. The ‘Fines’ are narrow strips of parchment, -two in number; they are closely covered with black lettering, making -them at first difficult to decipher.</p> - -<p>This transfer of land by ‘fine’ originated at first from an actual suit -at law commenced to recover possession of the lands, and by this means -to establish a clear indisputable title to it; in course of time the -suit was discontinued, but the form of wording was retained by custom.</p> - -<p>‘A “fine,”’ says Blackstone, ‘is so called because it puts an end -to the suit (from the Latin word <i>finis</i>, an end), which, when -once decided, puts an end not only to that suit, but also to all -other controversies concerning the same matter,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span> for by this means an -absolute sale was effected, and all previous claims upon the property -were made void.’</p> - -<p>Sale by fine is of very ancient date. Instances of it are said to be -known prior to the Norman invasion. We may, therefore, conclude that -it was probably an old Saxon custom, or was devised in later times -as a certain means to avoid dispute and disagreement arising from an -imperfect title of possession.</p> - -<p>There are several legal varieties of ‘fines,’ but these are of little -consequence to the antiquary, whose interest lies only in the names, -dates, and localities mentioned, and, so long as the land changed -its ownership, cares little about the technical process by which the -transfer was made.</p> - -<p>Another way of making a good title so as to legalize and effect a -complete sale of property was that known as ‘Sale by Recovery.’ This -also consisted of a law-suit, at first real, then imaginary.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i074"> - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i074.jpg" - alt="" /> - <p class="center p0 sm">FORM OF FINE</p> - </div> - -<p>The prescribed form was very complicated. Explanations of it are to be -found in most books on law subjects, but the matter lies in a nutshell. -One man desired to sell certain land which another man was anxious to -purchase, whereupon the would-be purchaser issued a writ, in which he -pretended to claim the land. At this stage of the affair a third party, -not really concerned<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span><span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span> in any way in it, was brought forward to warrant -the title of the real owner, who then came forward bringing a witness -proving ownership to his property; thus an undisputable title to the -land was established. A deed of recovery was then issued rehearsing the -whole transaction, agreeing that a certain sum of money, equivalent to -the value of the land, should be paid by the purchaser; and here the -bargain was concluded, and the curtain fell on the legal farce.</p> - -<p>Some of these recovery deeds are quite works of art. They are written -in courthand on large squares of parchment, smooth and white. The -heading and capital letter are ornamented with scroll-work in pen -and ink. Generally an engraved portrait of the reigning Sovereign -was added. Part of this ornamentation was done by hand, and the rest -completed with steel engraving. The most elaborate deeds are those of -the Stuart monarchs, especially towards the end of the seventeenth -century, but after the time of the second George these well-executed -deeds disappear.</p> - -<p>The oldest statute relating to Recoveries of which I find any mention -is of the commencement of the reign of Henry VII., but I have not met -with any as early in date as this.</p> - -<p>A beginner finds much difficulty in deciding between deeds of sale -or appointment of trustees<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span> for the safe custody of land to secure -marriage portions and deeds of mortgage. All these three deeds are, in -point of size and general outline, nearly identical; the experienced -lawyer can detect them at once; he needs only to study what is called -the operative part of the document, avoiding any waste of time which -wading through the technical phrases involves.</p> - -<p>One of the commonest forms of deeds met with relative to the sale -of land is that known as ‘Lease and Release,’ a method invented by -Serjeant Moore in the reign of Henry VIII., which, from its simplicity, -speedily became very popular, and superseded the other forms of sale.</p> - -<p>The principal deeds referring to a Lease and Release are two in number. -The smaller of these is generally found wrapped up within the larger -parchment, as the two had to be kept together, being in reality part -and parcel of each other. The smaller parchment was the lease drawn up -between the parties; by it a formal lease for a year of the premises -or land was granted by the owner to the purchaser, but no mention of -any rent or sum of money is made in it, and herein is the difference -between the sale-lease and an ordinary lease, for in this latter both -the term of years and the yearly rental are expressly named.</p> - -<p>The ‘Release,’ or larger parchment, is dated a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span> day following the -lease which it cancels, hereby gaining its name of ‘release.’ It is in -reality the actual deed of sale, for the price paid for the land will -be found in it, and a full and complete warranty securing it for ever -to the purchaser.</p> - -<p>An ordinary lease of premises is worded similarly to the above, -but differs from it in several ways; usually it is a larger sheet -of parchment. The term of years varies from three, five, seven, to -twenty-one, at a fixed rent paid either half-yearly or quarterly at -the four principal feasts, Lady Day, or the Feast of the Annunciation, -the Feast of St. John, or Midsummer, St. Michael and All Angels, -better known as Michaelmas, and the Feast of the Nativity, popularly -called Christmas Day. These deeds commence with the date of the day, -month and year, followed by the names of the persons contracting the -agreement, with those of their co-trustees, or witnesses, usually -selected from among relatives or connections by marriage, or else -immediate neighbours. An exact terrier of the land is given, its -locality, field-names, and acreage. Three parts of the way down the -sheet of parchment will be found the rent and term of years for which -the land is granted, together with stipulations as to repairs, rights -of ingress and egress; any services, customs or heriots, whether due in -kind or by payment; last of all comes the warrant against intruders.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span> -Of course, with deeds of sale there are other legal documentary forms, -with variations of wording, but the two last above described are those -generally met with.</p> - -<p>The oldest form of sale is called a ‘feoffment,’ or grant. Externally -it differs little in appearance from a ‘fine,’ at least as regards its -earliest form, both being very small, closely-written deeds; the first -was in the set lawyer type of handwriting, while a ‘fine’ was indited -in courthand.</p> - -<p>A ‘feoffment,’ or grant, was the oldest and simplest form of document; -but in later times it was followed by a deed ‘of Uses,’ which required -many other deeds to follow in its wake before a permanent and -satisfactory sale was effected.</p> - -<p>It is all these legal formalities which make the reading of old deeds -so unnecessarily confusing; their intricacies can only be mastered -by careful study of books on legal matters, and a comparison of the -several kinds of deeds above enumerated. A mortgage deed differs from -the sales or leases in several particulars: firstly, the term of years -granted is usually absurdly long—nine hundred or a thousand years, -perhaps; while in lieu of money the nominal rent of one peppercorn -yearly, or some equally insignificant equivalent, was demanded. In -place of the rent in an ordinary lease the real reason of the mortgage -is given in full, with the date and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span> appointed place where and when the -borrowed money is to be repaid. Often the vicarage, or the parson’s -house, was chosen—perhaps considered as an additional guard against -fraud, and that the clergyman as a witness, being a disinterested -party, would see justice done on both sides. No mortgage deeds are old; -the older ones, if they existed, were probably destroyed as soon as the -transaction was finished. Most of those found among family papers are -of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and refer to small pieces -of land or cottages, showing that even then the small owners became -involved in debts and difficulties, being obliged to raise money upon -their holdings, until finally the land itself had to be sold to satisfy -the demands of the creditors, the purchaser usually being the nearest -large landed proprietor, who paid a better price for what would join -on to and complete the area of his estate. These small holdings had -probably been accumulated bit by bit out of the waste. First, perhaps, -the settler rigged up a primitive dwelling, or hut, the old tradition -being that if a roofed dwelling with a chimney could be erected in one -night a claim to the land was thereby established. If undisturbed, the -squatter would gradually extend his boundaries; but a small rent was -generally demanded by the lord of the manor as an acknowledgment of the -encroachment; these little holdings<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span> are called ‘key-holdings,’ and are -to be found in all parts of England.</p> - -<p>At present there is a growing desire to increase the number of small -proprietors; ‘fashion,’ it is said, ‘repeats itself periodically.’ -Former experience showed the result of small holders to be a failure; -no land, however small in acreage, can be worked without capital; a -succession of bad seasons causes immediate loss and continuous outlay -without a compensating return; debts once begun are apt to accumulate; -all trades are worked cheaper on a wholesale scale. Bit by bit, as -failure comes, the small pieces of land will roll up into large -properties again, like balls of quicksilver separated only for awhile.</p> - -<p>Many of the deeds of mortgage are sad and silent witnesses of the -gradual decay and downfall of old families. The squire raised money to -pay off trusts, legacies, and dowers. He pledged his mansion; and in -the inventory of his household effects we can study many queer facts. -Our ancestors’ homes were scantily furnished; such lists surprise -us, for they show what a very small amount of furniture was formerly -considered necessary to render a house habitable.</p> - -<p>Among family papers there is often another class of deeds altogether: -one is a small square piece of parchment, with a huge seal attached; -this is often enclosed in a rough tin case or box. These<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span> are advowson -deeds, or presentation of Church preferment. The gifts of many Church -livings are in private hands. It was originally an hereditary property, -and there are cases of it of very great antiquity; but private family -deeds referring to church property are seldom found earlier than the -Jacobean period, and very seldom as old as that.</p> - -<p>The earliest presentations or appointments to parochial duty were -no doubt purely ecclesiastical, but with the Norman accession the -secular and ecclesiastical affairs merged into closer proximity; it -was considered a religious privilege to rebuild or erect a church. -This the lord of the manor generally undertook, perhaps originally as -a private chapel or chantry. The appointment of an officiating priest -became an ecclesiastical matter, being often granted to the monasteries -by the patrons. To avoid the encroachment of lay interference, -Thomas à Beckett was the first to order that no clergyman should be -instituted to a living without a bishop’s approval and permission; -but there were often disputes on this subject. Few neighbourhoods -existed without a monastery somewhere in the locality, and from the -nearest religious house a candidate was probably selected; finally, the -right of presentation was claimed by the monastery, with whom it may -have, by custom or by deed of gift, previously rested. Some education -and a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span> knowledge of Latin was essential for a priest, and education -was almost entirely confined to the monks or their pupils. Thomas à -Beckett, as Archbishop, issued his mandate on the subject of parochial -presentations as a means of retaining such institutions in episcopal -hands, and so avoiding any appeals to the Pope which might be made by -his legates or the abbots. With the monasteries the chantries also -passed away, soon being forgotten; numberless small unbeneficed chapels -were then allowed to fall into ruins, the sites even of these now -having been lost.</p> - -<p>Deeds recounting the appointment of chantry priests are rare, and -always possess some points of interest; often chantry priests were -appointed by bequest, and sums of money left for their maintenance. -These appear, however, to have been entirely distinct from the parish -priest, although perhaps the office may eventually have merged into one -and the same.</p> - -<p>There seems from earliest times to have existed a jealousy between -Cathedral bodies and the monks; but as the monastic orders waxed more -and more wealthy and influential, we lose sight of the contention, and -on all questions of early Church history there yet needs an impartial -writer to decide many matters which at present are still uncertain, -and are viewed by different writers according to their own particular -religious bias,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span> whether Anglican or Roman; hence as history they are -too prejudiced to be entirely relied upon.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i083"> - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i083.jpg" - alt="" /> - <p class="center p0 sm">SHERIFF’S ROLL (NEVILLE MSS.).</p> - <p class="center p-min sm">(<i>See page <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</i>)</p> - </div> - -<p>A sheriff formerly was the most important personage in his county, -being the ambassador or representative of the Sovereign. He was -appointed directly by the Crown; even at the present day the names of -three county gentlemen are written down and supposed to be presented -to the King, who pricks the name of the man chosen to be sheriff; but -really the names follow in sequence, each out-going sheriff adding -a fresh name to the list previous to his own being erased as having -served his turn.</p> - -<p>The formal deed of appointment as sheriff was a narrow parchment strip, -with a fine seal attached to it; his discharge from office was a very -unimportant-looking document.</p> - -<p>The sheriff’s roll was the yearly bill of expenses incurred in the -King’s name by his sheriff or representative; as a rule they are not -very interesting, although here and there the names of men appointed -to local offices may appear, facts which might interest the local -historian; but he would have to wade through the contents of many rolls -before he extracted any information worth his attention, and much -time would have to be expended over such a search. These rolls are -long broad strips of parchment stitched<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span> together; the upper edge is -sometimes cut square, and at others cut into a point or peak.</p> - -<p>The wording runs as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘In Magno Rotulo de anno ... Regis ... in Comitatu——’</p> -</div> - -<p>A list of the sheriffs of England (Henry I. to fourth year of Edward -III.) is to be found in the thirty-first report, page 262, of the -Deputy Keeper of the Public Records. A list of sheriffs is published -(Public Record Office: Lists and Indices, No. IX.). In some counties -sheriff-lists with additional genealogies and notes have been compiled, -giving a very good county history of the oldest families of the shire.</p> - -<p>A royal pardon was a deed-poll with a beautiful seal attached to it. -It commenced with the Sovereign’s name. The writing was exact and -well executed. The deed was divided into clauses or sections, the -commencing word of each being written in very clear black letters. -After the word ‘Sciatis’ comes the royal license and the name of its -recipient, who is forgiven ‘all rebellion and insurrection against the -Crown, all homicide, felony, robbery or participation with such,’ and -the pardoned subject is permitted to retain his possessions: the word -‘Perdonamus’ coming about the centre of the document. Unfortunately no -information is given in the charter in any way as to the particular -cause for pardon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span> being granted or the offence committed. This can only -be guessed at by the help of English history, and a probable reason be -assigned from among the many disputed accessions, civil wars, religious -controversies of bygone centuries, all probable sources of high treason -against the Crown.</p> - -<p>Few old families were exempt from charges of treason if they chanced -to take any part in public affairs or were known to have been stanch -adherents to prohibited religion.</p> - -<p>A bond is a small paper or parchment—on one side written in English, -on the other in Latin—the promise to repay or pay money due; generally -the bond is in Latin, and the conditions of it written in English. -Bonds were made out on the sale of property, or for mortgages or -legacies; they occur in numbers among family papers.</p> - -<p>If the deed does not begin with the King’s name in whose reign it -was made, the year of the reign will be found at the end. It must be -remembered that Henry VI. and Charles II. are both puzzling, owing -to civil wars, and both reckoned from the date of the death of the -previous Sovereign. Henry VI. is reckoned from 1422, and includes the -whole period till his death—forty-nine and a half years—of which only -thirty-eight and a half years he actually was King. Charles II. is -reckoned from the year 1649.</p> - -<p>These are the principal kinds of deeds met<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span> with among family papers, -being the commonest legal forms. If others are found of an unusual -character they should be put aside for closer investigation when -practice has given greater experience, or be submitted to an expert for -examination.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i087" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i087.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i088" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i088.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<h2>CHAPTER VI.<br /> -<span class="subhed">MANOR AND COURT ROLLS.</span></h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The oldest account of an estate is to be obtained, not from deeds of -purchase and mortgage, but from its own private records, called court -rolls, a most curious class of documents, puzzling to the antiquary -because they contain local words obsolete and not recognisable through -derivation. Manor rolls are a study in themselves, a subject hitherto -overlooked. They give us an insight into the most primitive form of -local government, showing the manner in which lawlessness and disregard -of laws were kept under before a regular magisterial jurisdiction -came into existence. The local manor court occupied the position and -did the work now undertaken by the magistrates, County Court judges, -and County Councils. When complaints are raised as to an excessive -imposition of fines for trivial misdemeanours by any of these modern -means of justice, I would advise the complainants<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span> to study some old -court rolls, wherein may be read the fines imposed for offences no -longer punishable. The villager was fined if he kept dogs or pigeons, -for trespass in the woods, stealing brushwood, for illegal fishing, -for fighting, for allowing animals to stray and become impounded. Nor, -unless he was a freedman, was he allowed to marry or give in marriage -without his lord’s permission. All this sounds very arbitrary and -severe; in reality it probably was not so. The bond between landlord -and tenant must have been a very close one. They were drawn into near -connection one with another; the well-being of one meant the welfare -of the other. Nor was the meting forth of justice left solely in the -hands of the lord of the manor, but rather to the twelve jurymen who -formed the court itself. Certainly this self-government opened a means -for unfair influence and revenge of petty quarrels. This was guarded -against as far as possible. A very common item brought before the court -was the accusation of wrongful information laid by a man against his -neighbour in direct opposition to the ninth commandment.</p> - -<p>There were two sections of manor courts—the Court Leet and the Court -Baron. The former dealt with offences committed by the tenantry, and -contained much that is entertaining and curious; the other was occupied -with the tenants and their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span> holdings, of which they had every year to -give account to the lord of the manor. Upon the death of a tenant, or -the expiration of the lease, new presentments were made to the landlord -for admission to the premises, or a fresh life added to the lease from -time to time. In these rolls we find notices of heriots and other old -services due from the tenants of certain lands; indeed, these old -customs are not yet wholly extinct, though they have frequently fallen -into abeyance. On some estates heriots are still due, but, as a rule, -have for many generations been compounded for by a money payment, just -in the same way that feudal service passed into small sums of money and -finally died out, or eventually took the form of money rent.</p> - -<p>On many farms it was part of the rent to give the landlord yearly, -geese or cheese. In a small farm of ours in Cheshire the tenant had to -give a cheese yearly, cart coals, keep a dog and a fighting-cock for -his landlord.</p> - -<p>The manorial history of England would carry us back very far did we -attempt to trace it to its earliest beginnings. Perhaps the very -first step towards it was the settlement of the Saxon tribes, who, -in appropriating and distributing the land, laid the foundation of -hereditary ownership. There is no rule or limit as to how many manors -there might be in each parish. Clearly the parish was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span> the older -division of the two; nor can the creation of a manor be dated in any -way, for many of the old manors were subsequently split up into two -or more lesser ones. The affixes or manorial names are known to have, -in some instances, varied with the family who held the land. Almost -without exception these manorial names were directly derived from -the possessors. Few are older than the Norman period, perhaps having -supplanted those in existence previously. Where double parochial -names are used, the first is usually Saxon, the affix being a Norman -addition, showing the fusion of the two races, which, though living in -close proximity, were yet totally distinct from each other.</p> - -<p>During the Middle Ages manors were further subdivided, easily to be -accounted for in this way: The owner of a manor was at first start the -tenant of some wealthy and powerful nobleman, who, owning vast tracts -of land, sublet it out in manors, which were after some generations -bought outright, or looked upon almost as freehold. The tenant was the -resident squire of the place, living on the land, and farming it with -the assistance of his children and dependents. After a time the family -grew up, the sons married and needed homes of their own. In those days -no one moved far away from the birthplace. What was more natural than -that the squire should provide homes for his children close around -the old manor-house,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span> and, dividing off the property by the manorial -boundaries, give to each a portion for self-maintenance? This accounts -for the large, old-fashioned farmhouses to be found in most country -parishes. The history of each farm, if investigated, will furnish a -curious proof of the conservatism with which certain boundaries were -preserved, and the manors regarded as sections seldom subdivided except -into recognised lesser manors.</p> - -<p>Society was very primitive two or three hundred years ago. It was -then possible to live comfortably and make a living out of the land. -No foreign grain was imported to affect the prices of corn in country -places. Competition was unknown, and the people led a quiet, uneventful -existence, following in the footsteps of their forefathers. Gradually -changes have come about. The old race of yeomen has died out; the few -that are left make us forcibly regret that this should be the case.</p> - -<p>The yeoman was a man of good education and long pedigree; he belonged -to the largest section of English society, called ‘middle class.’ -Agriculture was his profession; he seldom left home, consequently had -few opportunities of spending money; the character and personal history -of every human being on the place was intimately known to him, for -the villagers lived and died in their native villages. The roads were -bad, therefore<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span> traffic from place to place was restricted to what was -absolutely necessary. Posts and passenger coaches were rarities, and -when first started met with little patronage from the majority of the -people.</p> - -<p>To return to the manorial courts. These were held but once during the -year. It was the annual audit of the freemen on the estate, the ‘Visus -franciplegii,’ as the opening words of the court roll states.</p> - -<p>Quarter sessions were held four times in the year, while the sheriff’s -tourn took place half-yearly. These inquired into matters of public -interest and public expense, whereas the manor court dealt with trivial -matters pertaining to the manor itself. The sheriff’s tourn and the -manorial court were almost identical in object; the first was the -representative of the Crown dispensing justice to the King’s subjects; -in a lesser radius and degree the lord of the manor had a similar -office to fulfil.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i094"> - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i094.jpg" - alt="" /> - <p class="center p0 sm">COURT ROLL.</p> - <p class="center p-min sm">(<i>See page <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</i>)</p> - </div> - -<p>Manors were ruled by custom, and customs varied in different places. -The general aspect of a court roll will always be found to be -identical. The older rolls are in Latin, but, like the deeds, the later -ones are written in English. The earliest ones are literally ‘rolls’ -closely written on parchment in the handwriting called by the French -‘minuscule.’</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span></p> - -<p>Every court roll has at its commencement the name of the manor written -either above or on the margin. The opening words read thus: ‘Visus -franciplegii cum curia.’ After this is the name of the lord of the -manor, the date of the day and month, followed by the King’s name and -the number of years since he ascended the throne.</p> - -<p><i>Esson.</i>, on the margin, is the abbreviation for <i>essonium</i>, -an excuse—namely, the jurymen who pleaded absence from the court. -Following this are the names of the twelve jurymen present, and then -the work begins.</p> - -<p>In the older rolls the presentment of offences are the principal items; -latterly only the tenants and their leases employed the attention of -the court at its annual sitting.</p> - -<p>The first thing to consider was usually the assize—licensing, so to -speak, of bread and ale. By this means fraud and adulteration were held -in check. The right of brewing ale was a privilege not to be infringed -without penalty; the fine imposed was at the rate of 1<i>d.</i> for -each illegal brewing; the offenders are generally women.</p> - -<p>Any damage to crops or fences, highways needing repair, quarrels ending -in bloodshed, neglect by which animals were permitted to stray and -become seized by the hayward or pinder—all such offences are found -chronicled in the court roll. Last of all is the sum total received -in fines, signed by the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span> names of the two officers appointed to -superintend the assize.</p> - -<p>A court roll is always written throughout in one handwriting, without -any private marks or signatures. From the writing, they are generally -the work of a professional scribe or clerk who must have had a regular -education—first as a Latin scholar, secondly as an accountant, and -thirdly probably learnt to write before he learnt Latin. Mistakes or -erasures are seldom to be detected; therefore the rolls must have -been carefully copied at leisure from rough notes made at the time; -moreover, the spelling of the surnames is fairly constant, which would -not be if written from dictation.</p> - -<p>Up to the Reformation period the court rolls were cherished as being -valuable records, providing standards for future reference; hence we -find, until then, a fairly perfect sequence of these yearly rolls, -after which a break occurs, and only a casual roll here and there is -preserved. No guide to court rolls would be complete unless the oldest -form of the Arabic numerals is given and explained.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i097"> - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i097.jpg" - alt="" /> - <p class="center p0 sm">xiith century. xiiith century. xivth century. xvth century.</p> - </div> - -<p>The Roman numerals are the oldest method of writing figures in Europe, -but gradually the so-called Arabic figures (really of Indian origin) -were introduced, superseding the former style. To Gerbert, otherwise -known as Pope Silvester II. (he died in 1003), is attributed their -introduction<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span> -from the East to the West; anyway, from the twelfth century, the Arabic -numerals rapidly came into use. The 0 was not invented before the -twelfth century. A curious resemblance is traceable between the figures -of the alternate centuries. Our present style of figures has grown out -of the older ones, but is bolder in outline and curve. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span> figure -5 has passed through most variation, while 6, 8 and 9 have scarcely -altered at all.</p> - -<p>It must be remembered that before 1752 the Old Style was still used -in England. The year therefore commenced on March 25th instead of, as -it does at present, on January 1st. When the calendar was corrected -in 1752 eleven days were omitted, and September 2nd was followed by -September 14th. The people bewailed it, and contemporary skits are -numerous, echoing the popular cry of ‘Give us back our lost eleven -days.’ On the Continent the alteration had taken place long before. In -some English parish church registers we find confusion as to the actual -year date to be used for the months between Christmas and Lady Day. -This uncertainty may be observed before 1750. In many country places -the old style was maintained long after the year 1752.</p> - -<p>I have a very curious old calendar of 1483; in it the saints’ days are -veritable red-letter days. Many of the saints named are unknown to us -either by name or legend, but in court rolls only the principal saints’ -days are mentioned as those on which the court sat.</p> - -<p>Some months seem to have been more favoured with saints’ days than -others. The following list, though by no means complete, gives the -chief English saints:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span></p> - -<table summary="casualties" class="smaller1"> - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>January.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">1.</td> - <td class="cht">Circumcisio Domini.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">13.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Veronica.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">13.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Hilary.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">25.</td> - <td class="cht">Conversion of St. Paul.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>February.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">1.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Bride, or Bridget.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">2.</td> - <td class="cht">Purification of the Virgin, or Candlemas Day.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">24.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Matthias the Apostle.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>March.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">1.</td> - <td class="cht">St. David.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">2.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Chad.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">4.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Lucius, Pope and Martyr, <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 253.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">14.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Benet, or Benedict.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">18.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Edward.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">19.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Joseph, the Virgin’s husband.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">20.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Cuthbert.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">25.</td> - <td class="cht">Annunciation of the Virgin. Lady-Day.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>April.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">23.</td> - <td class="cht">St. George.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">25.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Mark the Evangelist.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>May.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">1.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Philip and St. James the Less, Apostles.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">2.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Athanasius.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">3.</td> - <td class="cht">Invention (or discovery) of the Holy Cross.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">5.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Hilary, Bishop of Arles. The two saints of this name - are confusing, but this St. Hilary is rarely mentioned in - English documents.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">26.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Augustine.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>June.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">11.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Barnabas, Apostle.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">13.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Anthony of Padua.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">22.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Alban.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">24.</td> - <td class="cht">Nativity of St. John the Baptist. Midsummer Day.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">29.</td> - <td class="cht">Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">30.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Paul, Apostle.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>July.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">2.</td> - <td class="cht">Visitation of the Blessed Virgin.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">15.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Swithin.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">22.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Mary Magdalen.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">25.</td> - <td class="cht">St. James the Great, Apostle.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">25.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Christopher. Lammastide.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>August.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">1.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Peter ad Vincula, or St. Peter in chains.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">5.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Oswald.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">6.</td> - <td class="cht">The Transfiguration of our Lord.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">15.</td> - <td class="cht">The Assumption of the Virgin.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">21.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Bernard.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">24.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Bartholomew, Apostle.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">28.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Austin, or Augustine.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">29.</td> - <td class="cht">Beheading of St. John the Baptist.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>September.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">1.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Egidius, or Giles.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">8.</td> - <td class="cht">The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">14.</td> - <td class="cht">Exaltation of the Holy Cross.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">21.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">29.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Michael and All Angels. Michaelmas.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>October.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">4.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Francis of Assisi.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">9.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Denis, or Dionysius of Paris.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">17.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Audry, or Etheldreda.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">18.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Luke the Evangelist.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">21.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Ursula, and 11,000 virgins.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">25.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Crispin.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">28.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Simon the Canaanite, Apostle.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>November.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">1.</td> - <td class="cht">All Saints’ Day.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">2.</td> - <td class="cht">All Souls’ Day.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">11.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Martin. Martinmas.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">16.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Edmund.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">21.</td> - <td class="cht">Presentation of the Blessed Virgin.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">22.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Cecilia.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">25.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Catherine.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">30.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Andrew, Apostle.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>December.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">6.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Nicholas.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">8.</td> - <td class="cht">The Conception of the Blessed Virgin.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">13.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Lucy.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">21.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Thomas, Apostle.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">25.</td> - <td class="cht">The Nativity of our Blessed Lord. Christmas.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">26.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Stephen.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">27.</td> - <td class="cht">St. John, Evangelist and Apostle.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">28.</td> - <td class="cht">The Holy Innocents.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="right">29.</td> - <td class="cht">St. Thomas à Beckett.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>The saints’ days were brought before the people in many ways—in the -village feasts, or the dedication of churches, in the mural paintings -which covered the church walls, and in the Christian names given at -baptism. In the old rolls the date<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span> of the month is never mentioned, -the principal feast-day nearest to it being used instead.</p> - -<p>Saints’ days, as holidays, were probably the most convenient days for -assembling together for business.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i103" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i103.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i104" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i104.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<h2>CHAPTER VII.<br /> -<span class="subhed">MONASTIC CHARTERS.</span></h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">Every abbey of any importance kept a chartulary—in other words, a -catalogue of its possessions in the copies of grants of land all -collected within one or more volumes—a carefully compiled work, giving -all the benefactions and privileges of the foundation, entered by the -scribe or secretary of the establishment, who must have spent many -hours of his life over the work, for these books are rarely found to -be the work of more than one, or at most two, men—one handwriting -continuing on until replaced by another. Great care and neatness was -used in the formation of each black letter—even and perfect as the -most exact printing ever done by machinery. Each charter was emphasized -with an elaborate capital letter, and the index or headings to them -were filled in after the writing was finished, as is proved by the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span> -fact that these were sometimes never completed. The probability is that -they were the work of another artist or illuminator, and appear to have -been sketched in with a brush or hair pencil, the writing having been -executed with a quill pen. Colour is sometimes employed to embellish -and ornament the work, but in the oldest chartularies colour, usually -red, is only used to mark special passages, or, as in Domesday Book, -to point out names of persons or places. The largest work on English -monasteries was compiled by Sir William Dugdale; but in so extensive a -work as the ‘Monasticon’ too much was undertaken; it was impossible to -search deeply enough into existing records for information concerning -every religious house throughout England. Therefore, although a -valuable foundation to start with, much more may still be ascertained -from manuscripts, public and private, particularly with regard to the -lesser religious houses or cells to foreign abbeys.</p> - -<p>Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons was a missionary undertaking, -therefore it encouraged the foundation of organizing centres; but -these seem at first to have rather taken the form of bishoprics than -abbeys; still, information as to the early Church in England does not -exist sufficiently in detail to permit us to state clearly the actual -religious work or its method of working.</p> - -<p>Later on the Saxon abbeys partook rather of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span> the nature of large -training colleges, where learning was carried on.</p> - -<p>The mission of St. Augustine extended the monastic system, and spread -Christianity to a wider extent. It also encouraged the resort hither of -foreign monks. Great rivalry existed between the English bishops and -these foreign missionary priests, a feud which never seems entirely to -have died out. The largest number of English abbeys sprang up after the -Norman Conquest. The invaders manifested their religion by bestowing -large grants of lands as votive offerings and in token of gratitude, -while Duke William’s honest repayment of the loans given him for the -equipment of his armada brought over hundreds of priests and monks -to take possession of their new territories. Church building was a -religious work often undertaken for the expiation of sins. Voluntary -work is always the best of its kind. To this day the remains of the -old Norman abbeys surprise us with their solidity of structure and -elegance of design. They must, indeed, have been beautiful when the -interiors were fitted up with corresponding magnificence. At first -the monks were poor—they were given land, not always of the best, -often in wild and unfrequented regions; but by frugality, skill and -industry, they soon brought it into a fertile state, and lived on its -produce and the gifts<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span> of their patrons. The Cistercians were great -wool-dealers, and we know how much English cloth was prized at home -and abroad for its goodness of quality. In course of time the monks, -by their labours, became rich. The need for toil being over, they sank -into indolent affluence; instead of hard-working communities, they -became wealthy landowners. The abbots were miniature kings, ruling over -their vassals and dependents, living in almost royal state, surrounded -by their court. The history of monastic England extends over very many -centuries, even if its commencement is only placed at the arrival of -St. Augustine in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 597, or later still, with the Norman -invasion.</p> - -<p>Changes of all kinds took place in those long centuries. Large abbeys -had sunk into poverty, and others arisen in their places. The monks -had been subdivided into orders, each having its own peculiar rules. -The oldest of these was the Benedictine, or Black Monks, who held most -of the largest monasteries—as many as 156 in number. From this Order -arose the Cistercians, even more severe in their regulations—popular -in England, probably from having had an Englishman as their founder, -Stephen Harding, head of the Monastery of Citeaux (Cistercium) about -the year 1125. This order had been approved by the Pope twenty-five -years previously. Gasquet gives the names of 86<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span> Cistercian houses -in England, the Cluniac as 26, and Carthusian as 9. These lesser -orders had each its own distinctive rules, but, as the above figures -show, were less popular than the older orders of monks. The number -of nunneries was also very large (Gasquet gives 140). These were -principally of the Benedictine Order. I have seen it stated that there -was only one house of White Nuns in England, that of Grace Dieu, in -Leicestershire, but this is not correct.</p> - -<p>As the old Benedictine Order relaxed in severity, the Cistercians -came forward, and when these were no longer conspicuous for piety and -austerity, there arose the wandering missionaries known as Friars, who -were also eloquent preachers, a marked contrast to the half-educated -clergy. These friars were mendicants, bound by oath neither to possess -land nor money, nor to enjoy luxury. They went about preaching -throughout the country; it was the old story of the ‘house divided -against itself being unable to stand.’ The friars preached against the -monks, and the monks opposed the clergy, ending in the downfall of the -three rivals under Henry VIII.</p> - -<p>The first order of friars was of Spanish origin, founded by Dominic -<span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 1204, and confirmed in 1215. They wore a brown habit of -coarse hair-cloth. A few years later St. Francis of Assisi founded -the Grey Friars, called after him Franciscans. These came to England -<span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 1224, where<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span> they became very popular. Like the monks, -lesser orders arose out of these. The Premonstratensians gained little -ground in England, but the Augustinian or Austin Friars had many -followers, both men and women.</p> - -<p>Henry VIII.’s first attack on religious houses was made upon those -whose yearly incomes did not exceed £200. But the work thus begun -did not end here. It is said that 376 small monasteries were doomed; -of these 123 escaped immediate dissolution. Throughout 1535 and -the succeeding five years the work of suppression was carried on. -During that time the monks foresaw that ultimately they were doomed, -and had time to sell or hide their choicest possessions before the -Commissioners appeared to claim them. Then no doubt many valuable -manuscripts and papers were destroyed, or else either hidden or removed -out of the country. In several places some of these buried treasures -have come to light after being concealed for a long time. In this way -a beautiful copy of the Reading Abbey Chartulary was preserved for two -hundred years, having been concealed in a secret chamber adjoining a -chimney-stack in an old manor-house at Shinfield, only discovered by -workmen during some repairs in the eighteenth century.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i110" style="width: 750px"> - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i110.jpg" - alt="" /> - <p class="center p0 sm">READING ABBEY CHARTER.</p> - <p class="center p-min sm">(<i>Photographed by Mr. A. A. Harrison, of Theale. Kindly lent by Lord -Fingall.</i>)</p> - </div> - -<p>This book<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> is a good example of its kind, being perfect as the day -when it was first hidden away.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span> In it are written the grants of lands -from the Abbey’s second foundation by Henry I.<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> Vast possessions -given bit by bit—generally by those families whose ancestors lay -buried in the abbey church, for whose souls prayers were desired. The -inventories of relics are very curious, and the vestments also are -described. There is a long list of the books in the abbey libraries of -Reading and Leominster. All the books in this long list disappeared, no -one knows where or how. Two volumes, a missal and a book of hours, said -once to have been part of the abbey library, were sold by auction in -1889. Nor was Reading the only instance of the total disappearance of -valuable monastic manuscripts. Gasquet speaks of the wanton destruction -of manuscripts at this period, and says that they were sold for all -kinds of uses.</p> - -<p>Mr. Maskell, ‘Monumentæ Ritualia Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ,’ reckons there -must have been more than 250,000 volumes of Church service books -in use, and that they must have been destroyed to prevent men from -following the worship of their forefathers. A most interesting article -on ‘Ancient Prymers,’ the service books of the people, appeared in the -<i>Antiquary</i> of March, 1892, written by Mr. Henry Littlehales.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i112" style="width: 750px"> - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i112.jpg" - alt="" /> - <p class="center p0 sm">READING ABBEY CHARTULARY.</p> - <p class="center p-min sm">(<i>Photographed by Mr. A. A. Harrison, of Theale.</i>)</p> - </div> - -<p>The original deeds or grants of land to abbeys are seldom met with -among private documents.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span> The wording differs little from that of an -ordinary grant, except that the donor gives for the good of his soul -and the souls of his ancestors. Sometimes very interesting details -may be gathered from the foundation deeds of chantries, with the -appointment of a priest to celebrate Mass and offer up prayers for the -dead, receiving in return a salary derived from lands or else given at -once in money.</p> - -<p>Original grants from the Crown to abbeys are seldom dated the day or -year they were written, except that they conclude with the names of the -bishops attesting them and the witnesses who were present, although -sometimes the King’s reign is given, or the episcopal year of the -archbishop or diocesan bishop.</p> - -<p>The names of the English archbishops and bishops are important as -supplying the date of undated charters. Of the latter the contracted -names of the sees are all given in Wright’s ‘Court-hand Restored,’ -but neither there nor in any other book is mention made of the Norman -bishops,<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> who frequently appear as witnesses to monastic charters.</p> - -<table summary="bishoprics" class="smaller1"> - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="3"><i>Bishoprics of Normandy, etc.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr"></td> - <td class="ctr">Name of See.</td> - <td class="ctr">Modern Name.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Archbishopric:</td> - <td class="cht1">Rothomagensis.</td> - <td class="cht">Rouen.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Bishopric:</td> - <td class="cht1">Baiocensis.</td> - <td class="cht">Bayeux.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr">„</td> - <td class="cht1">Abrincatensis.</td> - <td class="cht">Avranches.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr">„</td> - <td class="cht1">Lexoviensis.</td> - <td class="cht">Lisieux.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr">„</td> - <td class="cht1">Ebroicensis.</td> - <td class="cht">Evreux.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr">„</td> - <td class="cht1">Cadomensis.</td> - <td class="cht">Caen.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr">„</td> - <td class="cht1">Sylvanectensis.</td> - <td class="cht">Senliz.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr">„</td> - <td class="cht1">Bellovacensis.</td> - <td class="cht">Beauvais.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr">„</td> - <td class="cht1">Atrebatensis.</td> - <td class="cht">Arras.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr">„</td> - <td class="cht1">Constantiensis.</td> - <td class="cht">Coutances</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr">„</td> - <td class="cht1">Sagiensis.</td> - <td class="cht">Séez.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr">„</td> - <td class="cht1">Ambianensis or Samarobrivensis.</td> - <td class="cht">Amiens.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>As likely to be a help towards affixing the date of undated charters I -append a list of the archbishops and chancellors of England from the -Conquest to the fourteenth century; also a few of the bishops of the -same period.</p> - -<table summary="archbishops" class="smaller1"> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>Archbishops of Canterbury.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Stigand</td> - <td class="cht">1052–1070</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Lanfranc</td> - <td class="cht">1070–1089</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Anselm</td> - <td class="cht">1093–1109</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Ralph of Escures</td> - <td class="cht">1114–1122</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">William of Corbeil</td> - <td class="cht">1123–1136</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Theobald</td> - <td class="cht">1139–1161</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Thomas à Beckett</td> - <td class="cht">1162–1170</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Richard</td> - <td class="cht">1174–1184</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Baldwin</td> - <td class="cht">1185–1190</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Reginald Fitz Joscelin</td> - <td class="cht">1191</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Hubert Walter</td> - <td class="cht">1193–1205</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Stephen Langton</td> - <td class="cht">1207–1229<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Richard le Grand</td> - <td class="cht">1229–1231</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Edmund Rich</td> - <td class="cht">1234–1240</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Boniface of Savoy</td> - <td class="cht">1245–1270</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Robert Kilwardby</td> - <td class="cht">1273–1278</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">John Peckham</td> - <td class="cht">1279–1292</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Robert Winchelsey</td> - <td class="cht">1294–1313</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>Next to Canterbury came the important bishopric of London. The latter -was a very large and powerful diocese, originating first at Dorchester -<span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 634, dividing into two sees, Winchester and Sherborne, -<span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 705, which were further subdivided, the latter into -Sherborne and Wells, and the Winchester see into Selsey and Ramsbury -(Corvinensis); all reuniting in 1075 into the powerful bishopric of Old -Sarum, eventually removed to Salisbury, 1218. Thus it will be seen that -Winchester and Sherborne were the chief bishoprics, the others being -offshoots of later creation.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Bishops of Salisbury commenced under Herman (died 1077), previously -known as Bishop of Sherborne (Scirburniensis).</p> - -<ul> - <li>Osmund, died Dec. 3, 1099.</li> - <li>Roger, elected 1102, consecrated 1107, died 1139.</li> - <li class="hangingindent">Jocelin de Bailul, died a Cistercian Monk at Waverley Abbey, 1184.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span></li> - <li>Hubert Walter, 1189, translated to Canterbury, 1193.</li> - <li>Herbert Poore, 1194.</li> - <li class="hangingindent">Richard Poore, 1217. The see then transferred to New Sarum or Salisbury.</li> - <li>Robert Bingham, 1228.</li> - <li>William of York, 1246.</li> - <li>Giles de Bridport, 1256.</li> - <li>Walter de La Wyle, 1263.</li> - <li>Robert de Wykehampton, 1271.</li> - <li>Walter Scammel, 1284.</li> - <li>Henry de Braundeston, 1287.</li> - <li>William de La Corner, 1289.</li> - <li>Nicolas Longespée, 1293.</li> - <li>Simon of Ghent, 1207.</li> - <li>Roger de Mortival, 1315.</li> -</ul> - -<table summary="bishops" class="smaller1" style="max-width: 50em"> - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>Bishops of Winchester who were Chancellors of England.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">William Giffard, introduced the Cistercian Monks into England</td> - <td class="cht2">1100–1129</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Nicholas Ely</td> - <td class="cht2">1268–1282</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">John Sandall</td> - <td class="cht2">1316–1320</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Adam Orlton</td> - <td class="cht2">1333–1345</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">William Edyngdon, first Prelate of the Order of the Garter; the Bishops -of Winchester have ever since retained this honour</td> - <td class="cht2">1345–1367<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">William de Wykeham. Introduced the Perpendicular architecture into England; -built Winchester College and New College, Oxford; rebuilt part -of his Cathedral. A great reformer of abuses</td> - <td class="cht2">1367–1404</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Henry Beaufort (Cardinal) increased the St. Cross Almshouses; took a -prominent part in the burning of Joan of Arc. See Shakespeare’s -‘Henry VI.’</td> - <td class="cht2">1404–1447</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">William de Waynflete, first Provost of Eton. Founded Magdalen College, -Oxford; continued his master’s (William de Wykeham’s) reformation -of abuses, etc.</td> - <td class="cht2">1447–1487</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Thomas Wolsey, the celebrated Cardinal Wolsey of history. Held -the see <i>in commendam</i></td> - <td class="cht2">1528–1530</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Stephen Gardiner. He figures as one of the most prominent ecclesiastics -during the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Mary. His life is -part of the history of those times</td> - <td class="cht2">1531–1550</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>Chief Justices of England.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Odo of Bayeux and William Fitz Osbern, Earl of Hereford</td> - <td class="cht2">1067<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">William de Warren and Richard Fitz Gilbert</td> - <td class="cht2">1073</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey, Bishop of Coutances, and -Robert, Count of Mortain</td> - <td class="cht2">1078</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Odo, Bishop of Bayeux</td> - <td class="cht2">1087–1088</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">William de St. Carileph, Bishop of Durham</td> - <td class="cht2">1088</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Ranulph Flambard, Bishop of Durham</td> - <td class="cht2">1094–1100</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Robert Bloett, Bishop of Lincoln</td> - <td class="cht2">1100–1107</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Roger Le Poor, Bishop of Salisbury</td> - <td class="cht2">1107–1139</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester</td> - <td class="cht2">1154–1167</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Richard de Luci</td> - <td class="cht2">1154–1179</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Ranulph Glanville</td> - <td class="cht2">1180–1189</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Hugh, Bishop of Durham, and William, Earl of Essex</td> - <td class="cht2">1189</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Hugh, Bishop of Durham, and William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely</td> - <td class="cht2">1190</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">William Longchamp alone</td> - <td class="cht2">1190</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Walter of Coutances, Archbishop of Rouen</td> - <td class="cht2">1191–1193</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury</td> - <td class="cht2">1194–1198</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Geoffrey Fitz Peter, Earl of Essex</td> - <td class="cht2">1198–1213</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, native of Poitiers</td> - <td class="cht2">1214–1215</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Hubert de Burgh</td> - <td class="cht2">1215–1232</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Stephen Segrave</td> - <td class="cht2">1232–1234<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Hugh Bigot</td> - <td class="cht2">1258–1260</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Hugh Le Despenser</td> - <td class="cht2">1260</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Philip Basset</td> - <td class="cht2">1261</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Ralph de Hengham</td> - <td class="cht2">1273–1289</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Gilbert de Thornton</td> - <td class="cht2">1289–1295</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Roger Brabazon</td> - <td class="cht2">1295</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="header" colspan="2"><i>Chancellors of England.</i></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Herfast, afterwards Bishop of Elmham</td> - <td class="cht2">1068</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Osbern, afterwards Bishop of Exeter</td> - <td class="cht2">1070–1074</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Osmund, afterwards Bishop of Salisbury</td> - <td class="cht2">1074–1078</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Maurice, afterwards Bishop of London</td> - <td class="cht2">1078–1083</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">William de Beaufoe, afterwards Bishop of Thetford</td> - <td class="cht2">1083–1085</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">William Giffard</td> - <td class="cht2">1086–1090</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Robert Bloett</td> - <td class="cht2">1090</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Walderic</td> - <td class="cht2">1093</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">William Giffard</td> - <td class="cht2">1094–1101</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Roger Le Poor</td> - <td class="cht2">1101–1103</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">William Giffard</td> - <td class="cht2">1103–1104</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Walderic</td> - <td class="cht2">1104</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Ranulph</td> - <td class="cht2">1108–1123</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Geoffrey Rufus</td> - <td class="cht2">1124–1135</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Roger Le Poor</td> - <td class="cht2">1135–1139</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Philip</td> - <td class="cht2">1139</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Thomas à Beckett</td> - <td class="cht2">1154–1162</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Ralph de Warneville</td> - <td class="cht2">1173–1181<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span></td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Geoffrey, the King’s son</td> - <td class="cht2">1181–1189</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely</td> - <td class="cht2">1189–1197</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Eustace, Bishop of Ely</td> - <td class="cht2">1197–1199</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Hubert Walter</td> - <td class="cht2">1199–1205</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Walter Grey</td> - <td class="cht2">1205–1213</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Peter des Roches</td> - <td class="cht2">1213–1214</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Walter Grey</td> - <td class="cht2">1214</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Richard de Marisco</td> - <td class="cht2">1214–1226</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Ralph Neville</td> - <td class="cht2">1226–1244</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Walter de Merton</td> - <td class="cht2">1261</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Nicolas de Ely</td> - <td class="cht2">1263</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Thomas Cantelupe</td> - <td class="cht2">1265</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Walter Giffard</td> - <td class="cht2">1265</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Godfrey Giffard</td> - <td class="cht2">1267</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Richard Middleton</td> - <td class="cht2">1269–1272</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Walter de Merton</td> - <td class="cht2">1272</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Robert Burnell</td> - <td class="cht2">1273–1292</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">John Langton</td> - <td class="cht2">1292</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">William Greenfield</td> - <td class="cht2">1302</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">William of Hamilton</td> - <td class="cht2">1304</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">Ralph Baldock</td> - <td class="cht2">1307</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>The witnesses were chosen from the King’s chief officers, with a few -local magnates. This will sometimes be a valuable guide to locality -when the county is not named. But as a rule the name of the county is -written on the margin, and also the name of the place, together with a -brief index of the contents of the charter.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i121" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i121.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<h2>CHAPTER VIII.<br /> -<span class="subhed">PARISH REGISTERS.</span></h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">The study of parish registers is quite apart from that of old deeds. -The writing of the former begins at the period where the latter usually -end, for deeds written in the seventeenth century are regarded by the -antiquary as ‘modern’; but then comes the most difficult handwriting of -all to decipher, because the old race of scholarly clerks had died out -and been replaced by less educated men.</p> - -<p>Parish registers are unique in many ways. They contain information -nowhere else obtainable. Sometimes, besides the mere repetition of -names, there are inserted scraps of original information, for the -clergyman had undisputed control of the volumes until 1652, which -remained usually in the keeping of his deputy, the parish clerk, and -either of them could enter in the books whatever he pleased.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span></p> - -<p>Every now and then an outcry arises as to the condition and care of -parish registers, and desire is expressed that they should be deposited -in a large public office similar to the Public Record Office; but -anyone who has wished to make or obtain extracts from the registers -at the diocesan registries is well aware of the trouble and expense -involved. Search fees soon mount up. As regards expense and difficulty -of searching, the Registers of Ireland are far worse than England. Many -are the known instances where the precious volumes have been purposely -mutilated, or by neglect suffered to fall into decay and illegibility; -but, as a whole, it is wonderful to see the excellent condition and -preservation of these old records, which, if once removed out of -their own parishes into a large public collection, would lose all -individuality, and become merged in the mass of manuscripts which are -more or less buried in every large library.</p> - -<p>It is a pity that some arrangement cannot be made to ensure -preservation by a few copies being printed of each register. -Transcribing is gradually being undertaken privately, but ought to be -worked on a more systematic plan with uniformity throughout England. -The Parish Register Society prints volumes, but there is no special -library or collection of transcripts, printed or MS., and the British -Museum refuses to buy any because they are not ‘original,’<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span> which, by -the way, could not legally be bought or possessed by anyone.</p> - -<p>The printing of a few copies would not in any way affect the fees -accruing to the clergy from researches, but rather tend to increase -them, for at present much information is lost because its whereabouts -is unknown. It is this question of search-fees which causes such a -steady resistance on the part of the resident clergy to any such -project. But in spite of this the work has been begun already, and some -day will be a public affair, and not left to private enterprise. The -registers of many parishes are printed, or have MS. transcripts all -ready for the press; nor is the expense as great as might be imagined. -A few copies unbound may be produced at a cost of from £3 to £10, and -can easily be covered by subscription.</p> - -<p>It is not unusual, when applying by letter for extracts from an old -register, to receive a reply of apology from the clergyman recommending -a personal search on the part of the inquirer, as the information could -not be sent owing to inability to read the unfamiliar old handwriting. -This would be avoided if a typed or printed copy properly indexed -were at hand for reference, while on any important matter, where an -attested copy from the original was necessary, it could be obtained -as heretofore, for legal work the original must be consulted, and a -certificate obtained from the clergyman.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span></p> - -<p>The history of English parish registers commences from the Reformation -year of 1536, copied from the Spanish idea. Whether any previous system -had existed we are unable to say, for information on the subject is -lacking. Here and there fragments of registers are known earlier than -the above-quoted date, but these are the exception, not the rule. -Deaths noted down by the chantry priests or monks are found on the -margins of old monastic breviaries, when prayers for the souls of the -departed had been desired.</p> - -<p>The subject is one of vast importance, for without proper registration -it is impossible to decide the legality of a marriage or prove -legitimacy of offspring, both necessary points of law where inheritance -of landed property is concerned.</p> - -<p>The scheme of parochial registration, as devised by Henry VIII.’s -shrewd minister Cromwell, was only copied from a like plan long in use -abroad.</p> - -<p>The idea at first, being new to the English people, met with much -opposition, being mistaken for a new species of taxation. Nevertheless, -Parliament ordered it to be carried out under penalty of fines, and, -being found a valuable institution, was submitted to, until custom -fully established it. Thus our parish registers cannot be older than -1536. Though in a few instances earlier MSS. exist they are the -exception, for the order did not become general till two years later,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span> -therefore 1538 may be reckoned as the year when registers may be said -to have in reality begun in England.</p> - -<p>At first the registers were carefully written, the entries being in -Latin. After a while less care was taken. The notes were made on -rough strips of paper called ‘clerk’s notes,’ and were supposed to be -entered at fixed intervals in the book; but often this was irregularly -performed, and the strips were mislaid and lost before they could be -copied. In some parishes both the clerk’s notes as well as the old -register book may still be seen and compared. Very few persons know -that these are the original entries, and I believe ignorance of the -fact excludes them as legal evidence. The religious uncertainty of the -succeeding reigns caused the question of registration to be ignored, -but Queen Elizabeth issued several commands on the subject, notably -that by which transcripts were yearly sent at Easter to be preserved -among the diocesan records.</p> - -<p>Most of the old parish register books now existing are transcripts made -according to Queen Elizabeth’s command, as can be seen at a glance, for -the handwriting is uniform throughout, which could not have been the -case if the notes made by the clerk had been periodically copied into -the book. Curiously, the date of these Acts is not known. The bulk of -the transcripts date from 1558.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span> Another more stringent Act, to ensure -yearly copies being made, was passed upon James I.’s accession to the -throne, and the clergyman’s name was to be affixed to each page as -witness that the copy was faithfully exact. Had these wise regulations -been carried out to the letter, and in the spirit that was intended, -we should now possess an invaluable corroboration of the accuracy of -the parish registers; but alas! the transcripts to be found in the -diocesan registries are meagre and imperfect. Years and series of -years are missing, and the entries are so lacking in detail as to be -practically useless. In some dioceses no transcripts remain—Rochester, -for instance.</p> - -<p>Personal search can, of course, be made among the diocesan registers, -and this is strongly to be recommended, for any mistakes in a -transcript render it not only valueless, but mischievous. Extracts from -registers are the most dangerous material a genealogist has to deal -with. Unless further authenticated by wills and old deeds to confirm -the relationship, it will be found no easy job to piece together -these broken links in the chain of evidence, and without wilful -misrepresentation being intended, mistakes may and will occur.</p> - -<p>Take, for instance, any name, and try to trace out the pedigree with -the help of the parish register only. At first it is easy enough, -whether worked backwards or forwards, but after the first<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span> three or -four generations have been worked out all certainty of relationship is -lost, and becomes confused.</p> - -<p>The handwriting of the parish registers is a combination of the old set -law-hand and the personal handwritings mentioned in the second chapter. -Original entries (<i>i.e.</i>, entries made at the time of performing -the religious ceremony) are seldom met with before the middle of James -I.’s reign, by which time the Latin language had fallen into disuse.</p> - -<p>The Commonwealth Government passed an Act of Parliament appointing -paid registrars to every village (1653). These were often illiterate -men, whose only accomplishments consisted of being able to read and -write, and whose zeal and discretion alone regulated the keeping of -the register books. This duty was often but ill-performed, especially -when age and infirmity overtook the registrar, who continued in office -until death relieved him of his duties. No second registrar seemed in -any case to have been appointed, nor did the Act of Parliament provide -for such a contingency, and the work of keeping the registers devolved -again upon the clergyman and his assistant clerk.</p> - -<p>For several years after the Restoration of 1660 the registers were -irregularly kept, and very erratic. The old race of educated clerks -was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span> gone. Formerly, when the registers first began, clerkships may -have been filled by men educated in the monasteries, who, when turned -adrift, were glad to employ themselves as priests’ chaplains or private -tutors as a means of livelihood.</p> - -<p>Until the last century very few small schools of any kind existed for -the poorer classes, except those provided by charitable bequests. These -were few and far between, and could be of little benefit to the masses -of the people. No wonder, then, that the ill-paid clergy were obliged -to be content with very uneducated men to serve in the capacity of -clerk. The registers of the latter part of the seventeenth century are -indited in every variety of illegibly bad writing.</p> - -<p>The chief difficulty of reading the old registers lies in the immense -variety of forms a name was capable of passing through, owing to the -laxity of English spelling and pronunciation. The people only knew -their own surnames by oral tradition, and were entirely dependent upon -the parish clerk, who wrote down the name as it sounded to him, and -as sounds have a different effect on different persons, the commonest -names often appeared in very strange and unrecognisable disguises -before they finally crystallized into their modern forms. Eeles, -Yeeles, became Wells.</p> - -<p>It is not unusual to find items of miscellaneous information jotted -down at random by the clergyman<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span> among the entries of births, -marriages, and deaths. Heavy falls of snow, disastrous floods, -periods of drought, storms of any kind, were all events of great -local importance in country places, and would remain for a long time -as traditional landmarks in their annals. Alas! such items are rare, -and are now rendered impossible in the printed columns of the modern -register books.</p> - -<p>The most useful and least troublesome way to catalogue the contents of -a parish register for reference is to write out the year, and below it -enter the births, marriages, and deaths, with the names occurring under -each heading, but without taking the time or trouble to copy the dates -of day or month, these last being only required for law investigations, -and for which purpose a signed certificate from the clergyman direct -from the originals only would be received as evidence.</p> - -<p>Parliamentary blue-books have been issued on the subject of parochial -registers, and a most useful pamphlet is issued by the Parish Register -Society every few years, giving as complete a catalogue as possible of -all registers of which up to the present day printed copies or indexes -have been made.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i130" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i130.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<h2>CHAPTER IX.<br /> -<span class="subhed">PARISH OFFICERS AND THEIR BOOKS.</span></h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">Among the contents of the parish deed-chest wherein registers are -supposed to be safely kept are often found other books and papers, -seemingly of little interest or importance, but in reality very likely -to yield curious and original scraps of information, with glimpses -into the life of the poorer classes during the past centuries. Some -day these old account books, now flung aside as worthless, will be of -great importance in an antiquary’s eyes, for they give lists of all the -residents in the parish, from the squire to the lowest and poorest, -showing the social status of each; and further, are of value when -compared with the parish registers, as giving a clue to the length of -residence of inhabitants who, if of the middle class, sooner or later -served their turn as parish officers; and if paupers, were entered as -recipients of parochial charity.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span></p> - -<p>Previous to this century the churchwardens, overseers, road surveyors -and parish constables held office for one year only, being elected at -the annual Easter vestry; now re-election is <i>supposed</i> to take -place, but the post is usually carried on from year to year without -opposition.</p> - -<p>Apparently some rule of yearly income or rental governed the election, -or else certain tenements were represented in rotation by their -tenants, for widows were liable to serve, in which case a son or some -near neighbour was deputed to act in the woman’s name.</p> - -<p>Now the custom of yearly change has died out, and a churchwarden once -elected goes on from year to year, until sickness, old age, or death -renders some fresh arrangement absolutely necessary. This statement -was ‘caught up’ by the reviewers of this book, but, nevertheless, it -is perfectly true. Surely, if in those old days, when education was -so sparsely distributed, and even reading and writing looked upon -as sciences—if then it was possible to find men able and capable -of directing local affairs, it seems strange that now so few are -considered fit for the post, when every day-labourer’s son is taught -drawing and essay-writing in addition to his elementary studies.</p> - -<p>The office of churchwarden is very old. Now it has lost most of its -prestige, and the churchwarden is almost forgotten except on the -Sundays<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span> when collections are made; formerly each villager took a -personal interest in affairs which some day he himself would probably -be called upon to manage.</p> - -<p>The two churchwardens of a parish represented the rival interests of -its inhabitants: the parson <i>versus</i> the squire and his tenants. -Each officer had his clients’ interests to uphold and consider. The -most onerous duty before the present system of Poor Law, however, fell -upon the overseer of the poor, in whose hands rested the responsibility -of the proper distribution of the public funds in the shape of bequests -and legacies; to him came applications for relief, and with him also -were mooted all questions relating to the disposal of paupers, both -dead and alive. Edward III. forbade the giving of alms to able-bodied -men, but no regular Poor Laws were invented till Henry VIII. was King.</p> - -<p>The first Acts of Parliament relating to Poor Laws were passed towards -the conclusion of Queen Elizabeth’s long reign. It was absolutely -necessary to make some fresh statutes applicable to the new state -of affairs consequent upon the Reformation. Previously most of the -charity had been distributed or directed by the monks, and after these -were dispersed and their lands seized by the Crown and sold, their -unfortunate dependents were rendered still more dependent, and all the -severe<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span> laws against vagrancy and beggars made by the Tudor sovereigns -could not abate the nuisance or solve the difficult question, while -doles and gifts of bread or alms served only to increase the evil -through toleration.</p> - -<p>Worse and worse the state of things became, till towards the end of the -last century the climax was reached; there were then whole families -of paupers who, generation after generation, made no effort towards -self-support either for themselves or their offspring. These last were -brought up entirely on charity, clothed, fed, and apprenticed, till -finally married by charity, the fees being paid out of the charity -money; nor did the matter end there, for, probably, after the lapse of -years the wedded couple with their children (if they became chargeable -to the parish) were returned to their native village, again to become -recipients of its charity till death claimed them, and the parish paid -the funeral expenses.</p> - -<p>The first commission upon the Poor Laws took place in William IV.’s -reign, and since then reform has gradually been at work. In many places -public charity is still abused; but no real good can be effected at -once, and every effort must be proved by long and fair trial, under -which all unsuitable experiments will fail, and only the practical -and beneficial ones will survive the test. Of course, relief and -outdoor assistance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span> were left very much to the discretion and honesty -of the overseer, whose accounts were yearly scrutinized at the Easter -vestry, when the parochial accounts were discussed. Sometimes these -discussions were considered of sufficient importance to be entered in -the parish books. Questions as to the ownership and distribution of -pews in the church, repairs to the edifice, by whom they were to be -done, boundaries, and whose business it was to keep in order certain -roads lying between rival parishes—all such matters came forward for -consideration, and, finally, the officers for the ensuing year were -elected, and the books handed over to the new churchwardens.</p> - -<p>Perhaps a further check upon miscellaneous entries being made in the -books was that all the accounts had ‘to be passed’ at the nearest -Sessions and signed by the presiding magistrate, who was some -neighbouring squire.</p> - -<p>The parish constable is now replaced by the policeman supplied by the -county, as visible representative of the law in rural places.</p> - -<p>One entry often found among the old accounts was of repairs done to the -village stocks, frequently used to punish petty offences, especially -drunkenness. The pound, too, often needed mending; fines for allowing -animals to stray and become empounded are among the most frequent -entries in old manor court rolls. In many places<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span> a hayward was a -regularly appointed officer for this purpose, whose duty it was to -capture the animals and attend to them until they were reclaimed by -their owner or sold to defray expenses. In Berkshire the hayward, or -pinder, gave a tally to the person who brought the beast found on his -land, and he did not deliver the beast until its owner produced the -tally, proving that compensation for damage had been properly paid, as -well as expenses for keep during its detention.</p> - -<p>The offices of overseer of the poor and of road surveyor, the latter -called waywarden, are not of any great antiquity; nor are they of -consequence so far as regards the old account books, in which their -elections are often not even mentioned. As to the constable, we only -get a casual glimpse of his duties when we read a list of his expenses -incurred in conveying some delinquent parishioner to the county gaol, -or of journeys taken to distant places to enquire into the antecedents -of paupers, or in taking them back to their own villages.</p> - -<p>It is the overseers’ accounts which are really curious—those long -lists of garments bought to clothe the paupers and their children, the -old apprentice forms by which the children were placed out in service -so soon as they were capable of earning a stray sixpence towards their -own keep. Cruel as it seemed to be to send out such<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span> young children -to work, it was, in reality, the kindest thing that could be done -for them, for it gave them a chance of thoroughly learning a trade -and so becoming independent and working for themselves. With all our -modern Poor Law organization and schemes of education, I believe in -the end we shall eventually return to the old system of juvenile -apprenticeships—a far more practical method of teaching than any mere -class instruction.</p> - -<p>Maybe a bundle of old papers are rolled together among the account -books. These may be the orders for the removal of paupers back to -the village they called ‘home,’ a custom first originated by some -Acts of Parliament passed by Charles II. At the same time the parish -officers were commanded and forced by penalties to provide for paupers -removed back into their parish, and, to prevent fraud, written proofs -as to the proper home or residence of the paupers had to be obtained -and produced; these papers are called ‘settlements.’ Paupers are now -removed back to the workhouse of their own district if they can prove a -certain length of residence.</p> - -<p>The parish officers did their best for the welfare of their charges: -they provided the old women with spinning-wheels, so that they could -earn a trifle for themselves, while the men were set to work on the -road; when failing in health they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span> were tended by a parish nurse, -and if sick the doctor saw them. Sometimes they were sent to Bath or -Cheltenham to be cured by the far-famed waters. For many years these -old annuitants lingered on, till we read the last entry paid for -burying Goody or Goodman So-and-so.</p> - -<p>Any public event which required to be celebrated by the ringing of the -church bells is sure to be mentioned among the ordinary expenses.</p> - -<p>There are in the old books (those of that unsettled time when the -religion of the State varied according to the Sovereign in power, -during the Tudor and Stuart dynasties) many notices of the alterations -wrought both in town and country places. The church goods were first -catalogued by order of Edward VI.’s Ministers; rich vestments, altar -hangings, and numerous vessels are named in the first list, but later -on, under Queen Elizabeth, the parish churches were further despoiled, -till there was little left for the Puritans to remove, and in the later -lists only the old service books and books of religious instruction -are left to the churchwardens to chronicle. Although instances as -early as 1287 are on record, the erection of pews was an innovation -only introduced by degrees after the Reformation. The destruction of -screens and the removal of altars caused altar rails and communion -tables to be used instead. Then came the terrors of civil<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span> war. Upon -the churchwardens devolved the duty of providing burial for soldiers -slain in battle. Such burials were not often in the churchyard, but -on the boundaries of parishes, the expenses being defrayed equally -by both parishes; this was probably an old custom in warfare, but it -was carried out as late as the Commonwealth. A battle was a public -calamity, and the responsibility of providing interment for the slain -was therefore a public duty.</p> - -<p>After the Restoration of Charles II. the churches were repaired and -the royal arms restored. Later on we find some parsons resigning their -work from nonconforming scruples; at this time, too, are notices -of excommunicated persons. The Puritan zeal was aroused by James -II.’s injudicious attempt to restore Catholicism; and attendance at -church, first commanded by Queen Elizabeth, was further enforced by -an order that taking of the Sacrament should be regarded as a test -of conformity; for disobedience the punishment of excommunication -was inflicted upon the churchwardens’ application to the bishop. The -Recusants, as papists were called, were treated with great severity and -injustice, and heavily fined for their religious beliefs.</p> - -<p>Any fresh Act of Parliament with reference to fees or taxes was soon -noted in the parish books. Fees varied in different places, according -to custom. Prior to the eighteenth century fees for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span> burial within the -church were payable to the churchwardens, but afterwards became the -parson’s perquisite. These entries in the churchwardens’ books may -lead to the identification of vaults and interments not noted in the -parish register, and consequently forgotten. The burial of strangers -was always charged for at a higher rate; for paupers the parish paid -the expenses, and the tax of 3d. on each burial, as levied by Act of -Parliament, was not enforced. Taxes were levied on many things under -the Georges, but none were more obnoxious to the people than the birth, -marriage, and death taxes, of which the clergyman was made to act as a -most unwilling tax-gatherer.</p> - -<p>The window-tax fell heavily on old manor houses pierced with -innumerable windows and skylights. It was then that many windows were -blocked up to avoid payment.</p> - -<p>In the last century are many entries of payment for the release of men -seized for service in the army or navy; when the father of a family -went away, his wife and children were left to be provided for by -charity, and the first payment by the churchwardens for his release was -in the end the cheapest.</p> - -<p>A list of rails (spelt usually ‘rayles’) surrounding the churchyard -reminds one of another almost obsolete custom, that of each person -repairing the rail in the fence next to his property or for which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span> -he was liable. The liability was attached to the land, though custom -decided whether the owner or the occupier was the person to do such -repairs.</p> - -<p>Last, not least, in the parish chest were bundles of old papers, -technically known as ‘briefs.’ In the account books all church -collections were duly entered. Originally collections were more of the -nature of voluntary rates, for the name of each donor is given and the -sum he gave, varying in accordance with his social position and means.</p> - -<p>The origin of church collections is obscure; no doubt the offerings -given at the Sacrament were always devoted to the relief of poverty and -distress.</p> - -<p>To regulate and restrict the right of levying collections Acts of -Parliament were passed, and no collection was allowed to be made -without a proper license called a ‘brief’; but the issuing of these -grew to an alarming extent. Briefs were issued for all sorts of -emergencies and disasters, principally for damage by fire, there being -then no insurance offices; and the old buildings, once set alight, were -seldom rescued from total demolition. A complete list of early briefs -would be curious, but would be so extensive as to fill a large volume. -The subject has not met with the interest it deserves, but I believe -now it is beginning to be studied.</p> - -<p>The churchwardens probably kept few, if any,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span> accounts prior to -the sixteenth century, therefore any older church collections are -unrecorded or only mentioned by chance.</p> - -<p>In an old parish book of Sulhamstead are entries of the following -collections:</p> - -<p>1670. Collected towards the redemption of English captives in Turkey; -and, again, in 1680, a similar collection took place. It puzzled me -much why such a small Berkshire parish should subscribe so liberally -for the release of slaves; but this was explained on discovering that -Turkish pirates infested the seas, and even landed with impunity on -the Western coasts, and carried off prisoners, both men and women, -to become slaves. The main road to the West ran through Berkshire; -travellers along it doubtless brought tales of such wild deeds, -which lost nothing in the telling, and excited the sympathy of the -country-folk.</p> - -<p>In 1699 money was again collected; this time to redeem 300 captives -detained by the King of Morocco.</p> - -<p>In 1678 funds were collected towards the rebuilding of St. Paul’s -Cathedral, destroyed twelve years previously in the Great Fire of -London. Many papists all over England added their contributions to this -collection.</p> - -<p>1699. Collection was made for the French refugees and Vaudois settled -in Switzerland, who had fled at the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span> -To inhabitants of Sulhamstead village this may have had a keener -interest in that Samuel Morland, afterwards made a baronet, the son -of a former rector, Rev. Thomas Morland, was sent out by Government -in 1655 to inquire into the condition of the Waldenses, and he wrote -thereon a book descriptive of the country and its inhabitants. Martin -Morland, another son of the rector, had returned to his old home—at -the Restoration; he resigned his living in 1665—for here two of his -sons were born.</p> - -<table summary="casualties" class="smaller1"> - <tr> - <td class="cht">1687.</td> - <td class="cht2">Brief for loss by fire in Aylesford.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">1689.</td> - <td class="cht2">Loss by fire at Bishops Lavington, Wilts.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">1690.</td> - <td class="cht2">Ditto, East Smithfield.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht"></td> - <td class="cht2">Town of Stafford.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht"></td> - <td class="cht2">Town of Bungay, Suffolk.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht">1690.</td> - <td class="cht2">In the parish of St. George’s, in the borough of Southwark.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="cht"></td> - <td class="cht2">In the Town of St. Ives, Huntingdonshire.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>Five collections for fires in different counties made in one small -parish within a year!</p> - -<p>In 1703, brief for refugees in the Principality of Orange.</p> - -<p>After 1703 the givers’ names are no longer entered.</p> - -<p>The parish doctor was regularly engaged by the churchwardens. In 1774 -the agreement for Sulhamstead was made and signed by the doctor,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span> and -witnessed that he ‘should do the business of surgery and apothecary, -broken bones excepted, for the yearly sum of five guineas’! No wonder -that these hard-worked physicians lacked skill, and relied more upon -practice than education for what talent they did possess.</p> - -<p>The perambulation of parish bounds was another vestry question, upon -which rested disputed tithes. In entries of tithe old field-names, -now forgotten, may often be recovered. The commutation of tithe also -was discussed, and in some places the parson made agreements with his -parishioners on the subject. Visitation fees came before the vestry, -and sending copies of the register to the Diocesan Registry was, or -ought to have been, an annual occurrence. Any dispute seems to have -come within the vestry’s jurisdiction, and all dry subjects were washed -down with plenty of ale, an item regularly entered among the expenses.</p> - -<p>Perhaps it was at the vestry that the village urchins came up to claim -rewards offered for the extermination of vermin, their instinctive love -of sport being further developed by their love of gain. Foxes are among -the animals named on the list, together with stoats, sparrows, etc., -and the prices paid for this wholesale destruction seem very high.</p> - -<p>The spelling of many of the old account books<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span> is decidedly phonetic -and original, but as a whole they are legible and neatly kept. They -need nothing to explain their meanings as to what class of information -their pages will yield, except a guide such as I have endeavoured to -give, for the books of one parish closely resemble all others.</p> - -<p>The history of a parish can never properly be written if the parish -books are missing. The value of these books is not fully appreciated, -and they are too often thrown aside as useless rubbish.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i144" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i144.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i145" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i145.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<h2>CHAPTER X.<br /> -<span class="subhed">BOOKS ON PALEOGRAPHY AND KINDRED SUBJECTS.</span></h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">Part of a guidebook’s business is to direct people’s attention to other -similar works likely to be of use to them.</p> - -<p>Few accomplishments can be learnt with the aid of only one book on -the subject, and paleography is a combination of many elements. Few -English writers have expended their genius in books on handwriting; -it has not in this country been looked upon as one of the sciences. -Abroad the subject has been more studied, especially by the French, in -whose language many valuable books on it have been compiled. The type -required for the abbreviations is expensive; small editions only were -issued, and many valuable works are in consequence rare and little -known, being only met with in public libraries or among collections of -old books. Thus seventeen volumes of ‘La Bibliothèque de l’École des -Chartres,’<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span> published in Paris between the years 1839 and 1886, will -fetch as much as £30; ‘Album de la Paléographie’ (Quantin, 1887), £6; -‘Elements de la Paléographie,’ par Natalis de Wailly, two volumes, -1838, £3 3s.; ‘Musée des Archives Nationales,’ 1872, £1 10s.</p> - -<p>A very useful book, less expensive than the above, was written by Prou, -published in Paris by Alphonse Picard, éditeur, 82, Rue Bonaparte; -and cheaper still than this is the ‘Paléographie des Chartes et des -Manuscrits du XI. au XVII. Siècles,’ par Alphonse Chassant, published -by Auguste Aubry, Rue Dauphine 16, Paris. The best-known cheap book on -the subject, however, is a small paper-bound volume, ‘Dictionnaire des -Abbréviations Latines et Françaises,’ par Alphonse Chassant, published -by Jules Martin, 19, Boulevard Haussmann, Paris, at the low price of 2 -francs 50 centimes; it has already reached a fifth edition.</p> - -<p>There are also books on paleography written in German, Spanish and -Italian, but these are seldom met with in England.</p> - -<p>Now let us see what our own countrymen have done towards elucidating -our national manuscripts. The list will not be a long one.</p> - -<p>It must be borne in mind that first of all four separate languages are -required, namely, Anglo-Saxon, Norman-French, Latin and Old English.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span> -For the first of these, the standard work is Bosworth’s Anglo-Saxon -dictionary; a second-hand copy may be bought for 8s. 6d. It contains -the alphabet and grammatical peculiarities of the Anglo-Saxon language, -besides the dictionary of words.</p> - -<p>For Norman-French, all that is required at first start is a familiarity -with the modern language. Any good, old-fashioned dictionary will be of -assistance, and later on Roquefort’s dictionary, Lacombe’s Burguy, and -the glossary in the Supplement to Ducange, may be resorted to, to solve -difficulties.</p> - -<p>Latin and English may be studied together, the one being translated -verbatim from the other.</p> - -<p>The standard English work upon handwriting as a whole is called ‘The -Origin and Progress of Handwriting,’ by Astle; it was published in -the beginning of this century. A good copy is now worth two or three -sovereigns, though I have seen it advertised for 12s. 6d. This book -deals with every kind of known writing from its earliest existence. -There are facsimiles of Hebrew, Sanscrit, Greek, Latin, and other -languages, besides specimens of English charters of each century.</p> - -<p>The Paleographic Society was started in 1873, and their yearly volumes -contain exact representations of the old documents, but these cost £1 -1s. each. They are valuable as having the facsimile and its transcript -side by side, but as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span> yet they have only selected very old charters, -not considering mediæval English deeds worthy of consideration. -Bosworth’s Anglo-Saxon dictionary is the standard work on this subject.</p> - -<p>Some Anglo-Saxon manuscripts were published in 1878 by command of -the Queen, upon the recommendation of the Master of the Rolls, the -work being undertaken by General Cameron, director of the Ordnance -Survey, with translations added by W. Basevi-Saunders. The charters -selected were those among the archives of Canterbury Cathedral, as -they give three centuries of Anglo-Saxon history, <span class="allsmcap">A.D</span>. 742 to -<span class="allsmcap">A.D</span>. 1049. This work now fetches £2 2s.</p> - -<p>A collection of early Anglo-Saxon charters, those of Abingdon Abbey, -has been issued in the ‘Rolls Series’ in two volumes.<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> Other -Anglo-Saxon documents have been printed and translated at various times.</p> - -<p>Domesday Survey has been reproduced by a photographic process, and is -extremely clear and well executed; it is also published in four volumes -in a more readable type, but still abbreviated. Each county can be -obtained in a separate volume. The translations are not given; this for -the student is rather an advantage than otherwise.</p> - -<p>No subject has been more studied than Domesday Book. Translations, -explanations and dictionaries have been written upon it. These are<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span> -very valuable as explaining the obscure points and giving the modern -acreage, as compared with the carucate, bovate and hide. To understand -a county history these must be closely compared. Many of the manors -named in the old Survey are now lost. It must be remembered that waste -lands and commons were not always mentioned, nor were churches or -any property which was not taxable. For this reason Domesday often -disappoints us by its meagreness of detail, but it forms the beginning -or basis from which an inquiry may be started, and to pursue it through -the centuries which followed, the public rolls and manuscripts are the -only means of information; of these Domesday will prove valuable as a -key.</p> - -<p>The really practical book on old English writing best known and most -popular, because neither complicated nor expensive, is Wright’s -‘Court-hand Restored,’ price £1, compiled in 1846 to meet a long-felt -want, for Latin having ceased as the law language, lawyers no longer -were obliged to know old legal forms and words as part of their -profession, although they often felt the need of understanding them -where any search through old deeds was requisite. Since then this book -has passed through nine editions, the last of which was brought out in -1879, edited and improved by Mr. C. T. Martin, of the Public Record -Office.<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> It contains alphabets<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span> in all styles, facsimiles of all -classes of English writing, with translations, a glossary of obsolete -words and place-names, supplying a valuable textbook to paleography, -giving the reader all the information necessary for studying old deeds. -Since then (1892) Mr. Martin has compiled a fuller and more elaborate -glossary, called ‘The Record Interpreter,’ 10s. 6d. The amateur will -need no other books if he is provided with these two volumes. A list -of abbreviations taken from the Pipe Rolls was issued among the yearly -volumes of the Pipe Rolls Society, price 12s. 6d. The fourth volume of -‘The Registrum Palatinum Dunelmense,’ edited by the late Sir Thomas -Duffus Hardy, in the Rolls Series of ‘Chronicles and Memorials,’ also -contains a list of contracted words and their explanations. Its price -is 10s. 6d.</p> - -<p>The study of old deeds brings in its train a multiplicity of other -subjects bearing upon old customs and legal formulæ, some of which were -complicated. All the writers upon the law explain these formalities; -‘though now antiquated so far as the actual law work and procedure -is concerned,’ they give the ancient methods; of these ‘Blackstone’s -Commentaries’ is the best known.</p> - -<p>Jacobs’ ‘Law Dictionary’ is another similar book; also ‘A New Law -Dictionary,’ by J. Nicholson. But these books are now out of date; they -may by chance be met with at sales or on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span> bookstalls, where they may be -bought for a few shillings. Perhaps an advertisement in the <i>Exchange -and Mart</i> might be successful in obtaining replies. Of guides to -various branches of archæology there are plenty lately issued since the -subject became fashionable.</p> - -<p>‘Record Searching,’ by W. Rye, gives a glimpse into the various public -collections of books and MSS., and the class of information likely to -be derived from manuscripts.</p> - -<p>‘How to write the History of a Family,’ by Phillimore, is a similar -work, useful to genealogists.</p> - -<p>‘How to write the History of a Parish,’ by J. C. Cox, LL.D.</p> - -<p>The information contained in all these three last books might be with -advantage remodelled and extended. They are in reality indices to help -the archæologist and put him in the way of obtaining information.</p> - -<p>A charming little book, full of information, has been written by Mr. -Chester Waters, upon Parish Registers, price 3s. 9d. Every clergyman -should possess a copy of it.<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> On Church History there are recently -published two very good 1s. volumes, called ‘Illustrated Notes on -English Church History,’ by Rev. Arthur Lane; small engravings of all -the English cathedrals and many handsome and celebrated churches are -given, but no descriptions of them. A very good series of Diocesan -Histories<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span> has been brought out by the Society for Promoting Christian -Knowledge. These may now be bought second-hand at 1s. per volume.</p> - -<p>For derivation of words and place-names there is no better guide than -Taylor’s ‘Words and Places,’ and Edmunds’ ‘Place-names’; both these -are trustworthy, and have become recognised authorities; and also -Bosworth’s Anglo-Saxon dictionary.</p> - -<p>Quality rather than quantity should be the antiquary’s motto in his -choice of a library, but antiquarianism and archæology require many -books of reference, and it is well to know those books most likely to -be of permanent use instead of wasting room upon volumes not required -after the first reading. Upon Manor Rolls there is a very clever work -lately issued by the Selden Society (volume ii.). It gives much new -information on Manorial Customs. All the volumes issued by this society -are very interesting. They are edited by F. W. Maitland. Upon Monastic -History there are many very interesting books, mostly published by -Burns and Oates, London.</p> - -<p>A list of useful books might be extended indefinitely, especially if -brought up to date. Archæology is a cumulative science gleaned from -varied sources. The antiquary usually is possessed of more brains than -money, but if he is fortunate enough to possess both, a large library -will be to him a never-ending source of amusement.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i153" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i153.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<h2>CHAPTER XI.<br /> -<span class="subhed">OLD LETTERS.</span></h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">There were always two divisions of handwriting: the formal hand, -employed for clerk’s work, and a freer, less mechanical, less careful -style, used for private correspondence. Writing was a profession, and, -as late as the sixteenth century, when it was necessary to communicate -with persons at a distance, a professional scribe was employed to -write the letter. Even now in slums may be seen the notice of ‘Letters -written here,’ though this chiefly refers to it being a shop address -to which letters may be directed. But letter-writing was rare, and did -not become general till after the sixteenth century; even then it was -restricted to the upper classes of society. I have in Chapter IV. given -a brief account of the paper used in England. Letter or post paper was -made of a square uniform sheet, folded; it was known as ‘Pot paper,’ -from its water-mark. This varied slightly, the jug or water-pot being -much more<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span> elaborate in some examples. It came principally from abroad, -either the Low Countries or Germany; each separate factory very likely -adopted a distinct shape; the makers’ initials are to be found upon the -band across the pot, but are difficult to read, nor so far as I know is -anything known about the manufacturers or their names.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i154"> - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i154.jpg" - alt="" /> - <p class="center p0 sm">(1561)  (1563)  (1623)</p> - </div> - -<p>The three above marks are taken from some old letters, and are good -types of their kind; a more careful study of water-marks would show the -dates of undated papers, and be a safeguard against forgery.</p> - -<p>The writing of old letters I have placed after the chapter on -registers, because the latter forms a link between the clerical and -personal handwritings. <span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span>The letters have changed entirely from the -old black-letter style to a similar style, like that still in use in -Germany, and assuming a distinct character.</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i155"> - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i155.jpg" - alt="" /> - <p class="center p0 sm">SOME QUAINT LETTERS FROM OLD PARISH REGISTERS.</p> - </div> - -<p>Therefore, not only was the material for letter-writing (<i>i.e.</i>, -paper) of foreign manufacture, but also the handwriting bore close -resemblance to foreign styles. This may have resulted from the original -Anglo-Saxon element in the nationality of the people, aided by the -constant immigration of merchants from the Low Countries, who came -over to England during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and -established various branches of trade, chiefly in linen or woollen -goods. They naturally introduced also the fashions and customs of -their own nations. Added to this was the marriage of the King, Richard -II., with the German Princess Anne of Bohemia, followed closely by -the religious zeal of the Reformers, bringing Germans and German -ideas strongly to the fore in English politics. The earliest printers -were German, and about the time of this invention the small letter e -written backwards first came into use. Family deeds are usually only -legal matter, but here and there are found among them old letters -and papers of value. Lifelong imprisonment was often the result of -a thoughtless committal of ideas into tangible form. Letters were -dangerous witnesses, and as such were destroyed as soon as read. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span> -posts and messengers were not safe from inspection; spies were employed -freely on all sides, and men, not afraid to suffer for their opinions, -nevertheless did not care to risk their necks by needless imprudence.</p> - -<p>The earliest newspapers had a blank column left to be filled by the -sender with the latest intelligence or local news. These were fitly -called ‘News letters.’ The phraseology of a seventeenth-century letter -seems to us strange on account of the conjugation of the verbs, the -use of ‘hath’ in place of ‘has,’ and the absence of all unnecessary -adverbs; the sentences, too, are longer. The commencing words and the -final winding up of letters have both changed in the past two hundred -years.</p> - -<p>With the eighteenth century we see these changes gradually settling -down and altering into the modern forms. The old English y<sup>e</sup> for ‘the,’ -and the abbreviated & for ‘and,’ and the <img src="images/i_140.jpg" alt="d" -style="height:1em; padding:0 0em 0 0em;" /> - (d) written in its -antiquated shape, still remain, but the German letters by degrees are -given up.</p> - -<p>The writing of each generation is most distinctly marked; the dates -from it may be approximately fixed without any difficulty, as well as -the age and character of the writer.</p> - -<p>It has been said that the introduction of cheap postage, and the -immense increase of everyday correspondence, has ruined handwriting, -while the typewriter is quickly becoming universal, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span> banished -for ever the art of composition. True, the short letters of to-day -will not bear comparison with the neat, voluminous diary-letters, -full of graphic scenic descriptions, which our grandparents were -wont to compile for the benefit of relations left at home; now, -when similar correspondence is undertaken, it is copied out by the -typewriter or printed, for few people will take the trouble to read -manuscript compositions. Looking beyond the opening years of the -nineteenth century, we see a marked paucity of ideas and carelessness -of calligraphy in the correspondence. In the seventeenth century men -were the chief correspondents on matters of business; few letters are -preserved except on such topics, which is a pity, for a letter must -always be a unique production, the best evidence procurable of the -writer and his times.</p> - -<p>There is little to be said on the subject of old letters. Practice in -reading them makes the lettering familiar, and gives facility which no -guidebook could explain; letters, both ancient and modern, will assume -a new interest when the little trifling, characteristic peculiarities -of the writer are examined by their aid. Old receipts, expense-books, -and farm accounts are found in plenty among old papers. These are -valuable as giving long-lost field-names and other details of parochial -history; but what we should prize now would be descriptions of people -and places as they existed some hundreds of years ago.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i160" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i160.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<h2>CHAPTER XII.<br /> -<span class="subhed">ABBREVIATIONS, ETC.</span></h2> - - -<p class="drop-cap p-left">In most books treating of ancient handwriting, the abbreviations and -contractions are put forward as the most important part; certainly it -is necessary to study them carefully, but it was never intended by the -old scribes that they should be regarded as a language in themselves. -At first they were used to save time and space, then, by degrees, -they increased in multiplicity as well as complexity, till banished -altogether by the invention of printing, upon the advance of which the -professional scribe disappeared.</p> - -<p>The contracted words most frequently used are not always necessary to -the sense of the sentence, which may be arrived at without them. It -is a waste of time to puzzle over a word after its meaning has been -arrived at. Many persons who require MS. extracts from public offices -take rough notes with the letters of the contracted word; these<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span> can be -extended afterwards at home, when there is time to seek in dictionaries -for the abbreviation or its meaning; with practice the opening words -of a sentence will very often supply the context. The oldest forms of -contraction are a straight line over a word or a curve; these indicate -that a portion of the word only is present, but no clue is given as to -the letters left out, or else the straight line may mean <i>m</i> or -<i>n</i>.</p> - -<p>Later on the straight line above a word came to represent the letters -<i>m</i> and <i>n</i>. In words where these letters were duplicated -the second one was omitted and the line placed above to indicate its -absence. This continued in use until late in the eighteenth century. -Com̄on meant ‘common,’ and com̄endation ‘commendation.’ If a curved -line was over the end syllable of a word, it meant one or more letters -omitted at the end of a word.</p> - -<p>Verbs are the most troublesome class of contracted words, for a -contraction over a verb may mean any syllable, according to the proper -grammatical conjugation. Here it is that knowledge of the Latin grammar -is a necessity. The meaning of the sentences may often be deciphered -without extending the words, and the correct conjugation of the verbs -can be added afterwards by another person, if the student’s knowledge -of Latin is too limited to accomplish this with accuracy. Certain signs -or contractions are fairly constant in their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span> meanings, always taking -the place of special syllables. Thus a bold apostrophe above the line -will be found to indicate ‘er,’ ‘ir,’ ‘or,’ ‘re.’</p> - -<table summary="symbols" class="smaller1"> - <tr> - <td class="ctr"><img src="images/i_144a.jpg" alt="ur" -style="height:1em; padding:0 0em 0 0em;" /> -</td> - <td class="ctr">=</td> - <td class="cht">ur.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr">ʒ</td> - <td class="ctr">=</td> - <td class="cht">et, us. In Domesday ‘et’ is written ⁊.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="ctr"><img src="images/i_144b.jpg" alt="ram" -style="height:1em; padding:0 0em 0 0em;" /> -</td> - <td class="ctr">=</td> - <td class="cht">ram, ras, ris.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr"><img src="images/i_144c.jpg" alt="is" -style="height:1em; padding:0 0em 0 0em;" /> -</td> - <td class="ctr">=</td> - <td class="cht">is.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr">ꝰ</td> - <td class="ctr">=</td> - <td class="cht">us, ous, os.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>A small letter over a word shows that a syllable is left out of which -this letter formed part.</p> - -<p>The letter ‘p’ had a system of its own, frequently used in old deeds -and also in old letters:</p> - -<table summary="symbols" class="smaller1"> - <tr> - <td class="ctr">ꝑ</td> - <td class="ctr">=</td> - <td class="cht">per, par, por.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr"><img src="images/i_144d.jpg" alt="pre" -style="height:1em; padding:0 0em 0 0em;" /> -</td> - <td class="ctr">=</td> - <td class="cht">pre.</td> - </tr> - - <tr> - <td class="ctr"><img src="images/i_144e.jpg" alt="" -style="height:1em; padding:0 0em 0 0em;" /> -</td> - <td class="ctr">=</td> - <td class="cht">pro.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>In old court rolls ‘and’ is written ‘<img src="images/i_144f.jpg" alt="" -style="height:1em; padding:0 0em 0 0em;" />’ -and ‘est’ appears as ‘÷,’ especially in courthand law deeds.</p> - -<p>A line drawn through the head of the letter ‘<img src="images/i_144g.jpg" alt="" -style="height:1em; padding:0 0em 0 0em;" />’ -means also the addition of other letters, as <i>is</i>, <i>e</i>, etc. This -contraction in names is apt to be confused with double ‘tt.’</p> - -<p>It is said that our alphabet did not formerly contain as many letters -as at present. The letters ‘i’ and ‘j’ were identical until a recent -period. ‘W’ is said to have been derived from two ‘u’s,’ and is always -so written in old deeds, joined together, while ‘u’ and ‘v’ were used -indiscriminately. In old manuscripts the shortstroke<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span> letters were -formed alike; thus ‘n,’ ‘u,’ ‘w,’ ‘i,’ are merely strokes or minims, -difficult to distinguish, more particularly where any of these letters -occur side by side in the formation of words; to count the strokes is -the only guide. Practice and a knowledge of likely words to be employed -solve the knotty point.</p> - -<p>The chief difficulty of all lies in the correct rendering of names, -for these have perpetually changed in their spelling. In a single -deed several different forms may be observed, the result of clerical -copying. Even with names the system of abbreviation was carried on, -especially among court rolls; this will be noticed in such surnames as -‘Couper’ written ‘Coup,’ ‘Shepherd’ as ‘Shep.’</p> - -<p>In certain styles of mediæval writing the terminals of words are -carried upwards with a long sweep, and are confusing in their -resemblance to abbreviation marks. Here, again, practice alone -accustoms the eye to decide whether a word is complete or not.</p> - -<p>Dots and other kinds of stops in writing have only come gradually into -use in their present significance, and the use of these is now less -observed than early in the last century.</p> - -<p>In the Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, as in Roman inscriptions, the dot is -freely used to denote contractions as well as to divide the words -from each other. In Domesday this is also noticed; but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span> with later -manuscripts the dot, or point, such as is used in Norman times, fell -into disuse in favour of lines or curves for the abbreviated syllables. -Upon the introduction of printing our various kinds of stops are first -observed. It is said that the Elzevirs invented some of them. The -reversed semicolon is commonly observed in some manuscripts.</p> - -<p>Sooner or later, in any antiquarian search, the printed sources of -information will be exhausted, and are not unfrequently found to be -untrustworthy, especially existing county histories, which, being -compiled by men unacquainted with every minor detail of the locality, -are naturally liable to confuse places of similar names. Nor is it -possible in so large a subject as a county history to enter minutely -into the separate parish histories of places and people. Thus after -awhile the untrustworthiness and insufficiency of book-knowledge will -be discovered, and some more original source of information become -desired. Manuscripts exist in plenty, but are of little value unless -studied personally; for professional readers, although able to read -quickly and correctly, only give the information desired; whereas in a -personal search one subject opens out fresh clues to others of equal -importance, and new light is continually being thrown upon hitherto -unnoticed points; moreover, only by a personal investigation can the -antiquary be certain that he has obtained <i>exactly</i> what he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span> -required. There are now plenty of opportunities open to the public of -seeing the old documents pertaining to various offices and societies, -besides private collections, but without some previous knowledge of -the old handwritings, etc., this permission is practically valueless. -Therefore, ‘Persevere and practise’ is the best motto I can give to -those interested in the matter, for proficiency comes quickly to those -who seek it; and, as in all subjects, ‘Nothing succeeds like success.’</p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i165" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i165.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span></p></div> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i166" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i166.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - -<h2>APPENDIX.<br /> -<span class="subhed">LEGAL MEMORY.</span><br /> -<span class="subhed1">(<i>See page <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</i>)</span> -</h2> - - -<p class="smcap r2">‘Whitchurch Rectory,</p> - -<p class="smcap r3 p-min">‘Reading,</p> - -<p class="r1 p-min">‘<i>October 12, 1892</i>.</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Dear Miss Thoyts</span>,</p> - -<p class="left1">‘I must even send you an instant reply to your note, in order to -satisfy your perplexity.</p> - -<p>‘I was many years searching for the reason why legal memory began with -Richard I. I once asked an eminent Q.C. the question, and though he had -been a Law Lecturer, and was shortly afterwards put upon the Bench, he -could not tell me why—he only knew the fact.</p> - -<p>‘It is one of the signs, good or bad, of the present times, that your -sex will not, like their mothers and grandmothers, be satisfied with -being told the fact, but will be told why.</p> - -<p>‘Now the “why” of this is just as follows: The Norman Conquest upset a -great many Saxon titles to estates, but not all. And on the voidance -of a Norman who had no title but his own right hand, the Saxon would -try to recover, and, I suppose, not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span> unfrequently succeeded, by reason -of being on the spot and putting on the Norman’s shoes while they were -warm. Hence endless litigations, because the more distant Norman kin -inherited at least this much—contempt for a Saxon.</p> - -<p>‘By <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 1179 things began to settle down and Norman and -Saxon to be amalgamated, and it was then, or perhaps rather later, -<i>agreed</i>, in the High Courts, that in questions of title you -should not go behind the above date.</p> - -<p>‘Now this is not inconsistent with what you may have read in Selden, -vol. ii. I have not read it, but I offer this solution—that it -(<i>i.e.</i>, Selden, vol. ii.) does not mean to speak of manorial -law in respect of the High Court of Justice of the Realm, but of the -intra-manorial regulations of court leets and court barons.</p> - -<p class="r3 p-min">‘Yours sincerely,</p> - -<p class="r1 p-min">‘JOHN SLATER.’</p> - - -<p class="center p4 sm">THE END.</p> - - -<p class="center p4 xs"><i>Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, London.</i></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span></p> - - <div class="figcenter" id="i168" > - <img - class="p2" - src="images/i168.jpg" - alt="" /> - </div> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h2>FOOTNOTES:</h2> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> From photos kindly lent by Mr. A. Harrison, of Theale.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> See Appendix.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> The property of the Earl of Fingall from his ancestors the -Wollascots.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[4]</a> A complete copy of the Chartulary was made by me through -the kindness of the Earl of Fingall.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">[5]</a> A list of French Bishops will be found in ‘Gallia -Christiana,’ or in ‘Neustria Pia.’</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">[6]</a> This also contains a good glossary of Anglo-Saxon words.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">[7]</a> Who has kindly revised this little volume.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">[8]</a> Only procurable second-hand.</p> - -</div> -</div> - - -<p class="transnote">Transcriber’s Notes:<br /> - -1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been corrected silently.<br /> - -2. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have been -retained as in the original.</p> - - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KEY TO THE FAMILY DEED CHEST ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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