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ROYAL HOUSEHOLD ALLOWANCES

The following warrant for the allowance of the "diet" of a lady of the bedchamber, will be found to be a good and curious illustration of the Note of ANTIQUARIUS upon the domestic establishment of Queen Elizabeth, although more than half a century earlier than the period referred to, as it relates to the time of Elizabeth's majestic sire:—

"HENRY R.—By the King.

"We wol and commaunde you to allowe dailly from hensforth unto our right dere and welbilovede the Lady Lucy into hir chambre the dyat and fare herafter ensuying; Furst every mornyng at brekefast oon chyne of beyf at our kechyn, oon chete loff and oon maunchet at our panatry barre, and a Galon of Ale at our Buttrye barre; Item at dyner a pese of beyfe, a stroke of roste, and a rewarde at our said kechyn, a cast of chete bred at our Panatrye barre, and a Galon of Ale at our Buttry barre; Item at afternone a manchet at our Panatry bar and half a Galon of Ale at our Buttrye barre; Item at supper a messe of Porage, a pese of mutton and a Rewarde at our said kechyn, a cast of chete brede at our Panatrye, and a Galon of Ale at our Buttrye; Item at after supper a chete loff and a maunchet at our Panatry barre, a Galon of Ale at our Buttrye barre, and half a Galon of Wyne at our Seller barre; Item every mornyng at our Wood yarde foure tall shyds and twoo ffagottes; Item at our Chaundrye barre in winter every night oon pryket and foure syses of Waxe with eight candelles white lights and oon torche; Item at our Picherhouse wekely LIX white cuppes; Item at every tyme of our remoeving oon hoole carre for the carriage of her stuff. And these our lettres shal be your sufficient Warrant and discharge in this behalf at all tymes herafter. Yeven under our Signet at our Manour of Esthampstede the xvjth. day of July the xiiijth year of our Reigne.

"To the Lord Steward of our Household, the Treasurer, Comptroller, Cofferer, Clerke of our Grene Clothe, Clerke of our kechyn, and to all other our hed Officers of our seid Houshold and to every of theym."

As to Sir Christopher Hatton, I would refer ANTIQUARIUS, and all other whom it may concern, to Sir Harris Nicolas's ably written Memoirs of the "Dancing Chancellor", published in 1846. Hatton had amble means for the building of Holdenby, as he was appointed one of the Gentlemen Pensioners in 1564, and between that time and his appointment as Vice-Chamberlain in 1577 (five years prior to the period referred to by ANTIQUARIUS), he received numerous other gifts and offices.

JOSEPH BURTT.

ADVERSARIA

Printers' Couplets

It may not perhaps be generally known that the early printers were accustomed to place devices or verses along with their names at the end of the books which they gave to the public. Vigneul-Marville, in his Mélanges d'Histoire et de Littérature, relates that he found the two following lines at the end of the "Decrees of Basle and Bourges," published under the title of "Pragmatic Sanction," with a Commentary by Côme Guymier,—Andre Brocard's Paris edition, 1507:—

 
"Stet liber hic, donec fluctus formica marinos
Ebibat et totum testudo perambulet orbem."
 

The printers, it would appear, not only introduced their own names into these verses, but also the names of the correctors of the press, as may be seen in the work entitled, Commentariis Andreæ de Ysernia super constitutionibus Siciliæ, printed by Sixtus Riffingerus at Naples in 1472:—

 
"Sixtus hoc impressit: sed bis tamen ante revisit
Egregius doctor Petrus Oliverius.
At tu quisque emis, lector studiose, libellum
Lætus emas; mendis nam caret istud opus."
 

G.J.K.

Charles Martel

Mr. Editor,—Perhaps the subjoined note, extracted from M. Collin de Plancy's Bibliothèque des Légendes, may not be without its value, as tending to correct an error into which, according to his account, modern historians have fallen respecting the origin of the surname "Martel," borne by the celebrated Charles Martel, son of Peppin of Herstal, Duke of Austrasia, by his Duchess Alphéide²:—

"It is surprising," he says, "that almost all our modern historians, whose profound researches have been so highly vaunted, have repeated the little tale of the Chronicle of St. Denis, which affirms that the surname of Martel was conferred on Charles for having hammered (martelé) the Saracens. Certain writers of the present day style him, in this sense, Karle-le-Marteau. The word martel, in the ancient Frank language, never bore such a signification, but was, on the contrary, merely an abbreviation of Martellus, Martin."³

From a legend on this subject given by M. de Plancy, it would appear that Charles received the second name, Martel, in honour of his patron saint St. Martin.

Not having at present an opportunity of consulting the works of our own modern writers on early French history, I am ignorant if they also have adopted the version given in the Chronicle of St. Denis. Mr. Ince, in his little work, Outlines of French History, states, that "he received the surname of Martel, or the Hammerer, from the force with which he hammered down the Saracens—martel being the name of a weapon which the ancient Franks used, much resembling a hammer,—and from his strokes falling numberless and effectual on the heads of his enemies." Query.—Which of the two is the more probable version? Perhaps some one of your numerous correspondents may be enabled to throw addition light on this disputed point.

G.J.K.

BODENHAM AND LING

Referring to BOOKWORM's note at p. 29, I beg to observe that the dedication negativing Bodenham's authorship of Politeuphuia is not peculiar to the edition of 1597. I have the edition of 1650, "printed by Ja. Flesher, and are to be sold by Richard Royston, at the Angell in Ivye Lane," in which the dedication is addressed as follows:—"To his very good friend Mr. Bodenham, N.L. wisheth increase of happinesse." The first sentence of this dedication seems to admit that Bodenham was something more than patron of the work:—"What you seriously begun long since, and have always been very careful for the full perfection of, at length thus finished, although perhaps not so well to your expectation, I present you with; as one before all most worthy of the same: bothe in respect of your earnest travaile therein, and the great desire you have continually had for the generall profit."

In Brydges' Censura Literaria, Bodenham is spoken of as the compiler of The Garden of the Muses, and editor of the Wit's Commonwealth, the Wit's Theatre of the Little World, and England's Helicon. He seems to have less claim to be considered the author of the Wit's Theatre than of the Wit's Commonwealth, for in the original edition of the former, "printed by J.R. for N.L., and are to be sold at the West doore of Paules, 1599," the dedication is likewise addressed, "To my most esteemed and approved loving friend, Maister J.B. I wish all happines." After acknowledging his obligations to his patron, the author proceeds: "Besides this History or Theatre of the Little World, suo jure, first challengeth your friendly patronage, by whose motion I undertooke it, and for whose love I am willing to undergoe the heavy burden of censure. I must confesse that it might have been written with more maturitie, and deliberation, but in respect of my promise, I have made this hast, how happy I know not, yet good enough I hope, if you vouchsafe your kind approbation: which with your judgement I hold ominous, and as under which Politeuphuia was so gracious."

I.F.M.

TRAVELLING IN ENGLAND

Sir,—I beg to acknowledge the notice which two of your correspondents have taken of my query on this subject. At the same time I must say that the explanations which they offer appear to me to be quite unsatisfactory. I shall be happy to give my reasons for this, if you think it worth while; but, perhaps, if we wait a little, some other solution may be suggested.

For the sake of the inhabitants, I hope that your work is read at Colchester. Is there nobody there who could inform us at what time the London coach started a century ago? It seems clear that it arrived in the afternoon—but I will not at present trespass further on your columns. I am, &c.,

G.G.

MINOR NOTES

Ancient Inscribed Alms Dish

L.S.B. informs us that in the church of St. Paul, Norwich, is a brass dish, which has been gilt, and has this legend round it four times over:—"HER: I: LIFRID: GRECHº: WART.⁴"

This seems to be another example of the inscription which was satisfactorily explained in No. 5. p. 73.

Blomefeld's Norfolk. Folio. 1739. Vol. ii. p. 803.

The Bishop that burneth

I do not think Major Moor is correct in his application of Tusser's words, "the bishop that burneth," to the lady-bird. Whether lady-birds are unwelcome guests in a dairy I know not, but certainly I never heard of their being accustomed to haunt such places. The true interpretation of Tusser's words must, I think, be obtained by comparison with the following lines from his Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, quoted in Ellis's Brand, iii. 207.:—

 
"Blesse Cisley (good mistress) that bishop doth ban
For burning the milk of her cheese to the pan."
 

The reference here, as well as in the words quoted by Major Moor, is evidently to the proverb relating to burnt milk, broth, &c.—"the bishop has put his foot in it;" which is considered by Ellis to have had its origin in those times when bishops were much in the habit of burning heretics. He confirms this interpretation by the following curious passage from Tyndale's Obedyence of a Crysten Man:—

"If the podech be burned to, or the meate ouer rosted, we saye the Byshope hath put his fote in the potte, or the Byshope hath playd the coke, because the Bishopes burn who they lust, and whosoeuer displeaseth them."

I fear the origin of the appellation "Bishop Barnaby," applied to the lady-bird in Suffolk, has yet to be sought.

D.S.

Iron Manufactures of Sussex

Sir,—I have made two extracts from a once popular, but now forgotten work, illustrative of the iron manufacture which, within the last hundred years, had its main seat in this county, which I think may be interesting to many of your readers who may have seen the review of Mr. Lower's Essay on the Ironworks of Sussex in the recent numbers of the Athenæum and Gentleman's Magazine. The anecdote at the close is curious, as confirming the statements of Macaulay; the roads in Sussex in the 18th century being much in the condition of the roads in England generally in the 17th. "Sowsexe," according to the old proverb, has always been "full of dirt and mier."

"From hence (Eastbourne) it was that, turning north, and traversing the deep, dirty, but rich part of these two counties (Kent and Sussex), I had the curiosity to see the great foundries, or ironworks, which are in this county (Sussex), and where they are carried on at such a prodigious expense of wood, that even in a county almost all overrun with timber, they begin to complain of their consuming it for those furnaces and leaving the next age to want timber for building their navies. I must own, however, that I found that complaint perfectly groundless, the three counties of Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire (all which lye contiguous to one another), being one inexhaustible storehouse of timber, never to be destroyed, but by a general conflagration, and able, at this time, to supply timber to rebuild all the royal navies in Europe, if they were all to be destroyed, and set about the building them together.

"I left Tunbridge … and came to Lewes, through the deepest, dirtiest, but many ways the richest and most profitable country in all that part of England.

"The timber I saw here was prodigious, as well in quantity as in bigness, and seem'd in some places to be suffered to grow only because it was so far off of any navigation, that it was not worth cutting down and carrying away; in dry summers, indeed a great deal is carried away to Maidstone and other parts on the Medway; and sometimes I have seen one tree on a carriage, which they call here a tug, drawn by two-and-twenty oxen, and even then this carried so little a way, and then thrown down and left for other tugs to take up and carry on, that sometimes it is two or three years before it gets to Chatham; for if once the rains come in it stirs no more that year, and sometimes a whole summer is not dry enough to make the roads passable. Here I had a sight which, indeed, I never saw in any other part of England, namely, that going to church at a country village, not far from Lewes, I saw an ancient lady, and a lady of very good quality, I assure you, drawn to church in her coach with six oxen; nor was it done in frolic or humour, but mere necessity, the way being so stiff and deep that no horses could go in it."—A Tour through Great Britain by a Gentleman. London, 1724. Vol. i. p. 54. Letter II.

Factotum

"He was so farre the dominus fac totum in this juncto that his words were laws, all things being acted according to his desire."—p. 76. of Foulis' Hist. of Plots of our Pretended Saints, 2nd edit. 1674

F.M.

Birthplace of Andrew Borde

Hearne says, in Wood's Athenæ, "that the Doctor was not born at Pevensey or Pensey, but at Boonds-hill in Holmsdayle, in Sussex."

Should we not read "Borde-hill?" That place belonged to the family of Borde for many generations. It is in Cuckfield parish. The house may be seen from the Ouse-Valley Viaduct.

J.F.M.

Order of Minerva

"We are informed that his Majesty is about to institute a new order of knighthood, called The Order of Minerva, for the encouragement of literature, the fine arts, and learned professions. The new order is to consist of twenty-four knights and the Sovereign; and is to be next in dignity to the military Order of the Bath. The knights are to wear a silver star with nine points, and a straw-coloured riband from the right shoulder to the left. A figure of Minerva is to be embroidered in the centre of the star, with this motto, 'Omnia posthabita Scientiæ.' Many men eminent in literature, in the fine arts, and in physic, and law, are already thought of to fill the Order, which, it is said, will be instituted before the meeting of parliament."—Perth Magazine, July, 1772.

SCOTUS.

Flaws of Wind

The parish church of Dun-Nechtan, now Dunnichen, was dedicated to St. Causlan, whose festival was held in March. Snow showers in March are locally called "St. Causlan's flaws."