DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF THE EMBELLISHMENTS. (continued 4)

“Notwithstanding, however, as Strype tells us, in his most interesting ‘Life of John Stow,’ prefixed to his ‘Survey,’ volume i., page 15, that the worthy old Citizen, and Master Rouge Dragon, were well acquainted, and communicated their labours to each other, yet he says also, that Stow would not be persuaded concerning the Dutch blazon of the London Arms, but affirmed them to have been always the same. I have but two other proofs to bring forward concerning these bearings; and then I will no longer trespass upon your long-tried patience, but return back with all speed to our memorabilia of London Bridge.

“The first of these is, that in Mr. J. B. Nichols’s ‘Brief Account of the Guildhall of the City of London,’ London, 1819, octavo, we are told, at page 34, that in the Eastern Crypt of that building, the groinings of the roof meet in bosses carved with Armorial Ensigns; some being those of King Edward the Confessor, and others those of the City of London. ‘It is worthy of remark,’ adds the Author of this volume, in the same place, ‘that the Arms of London represented in the bosses on the side aisles have the dagger, while all those in the centre aisle are without it.’ I will make no other commentary upon this, than, that part of the crypt is said to have been built antecedent to the reign of King Richard II., or, probably, formed part of the ancient Guildhall, erected, as some suppose, in 1189; the present building being commenced, as Stow tells us in his ‘Survey,’ volume i., page 558, in 1411, during the reign of Henry IV. The last evidence which I have to cite on this subject, is a small, but rare tract in the British Museum, entitled ‘The Citie’s Advocate in this Case, or Question of Honour and Armes; whether Apprenticeship extinguisheth Gentry?’ London, 1629, 4to. The Author of this volume is supposed to have been that John Philipot, or Philpott, whom I before mentioned, who was created Somerset Herald, on July the 8th, 1624, and who died on the 25th of November, 1645. He engraves both the banner of St. Paul, supported by an effigy of Robert Fitz-Walter, and the Arms as they are now borne, for the Ensigns of London; and states that they were ‘a copy of that which an old imperfect larger volume at the Office of Armes containeth.’ He cites this record in proof of Stow’s veracity in explaining the weapon to signify the Sword of St. Paul; and adds that his effigy as ‘titularie patron of London, aduanced itself into the standard, and upon the shield were those well-known armories of the crosse and weapon.’ It is, perhaps, almost unworthy of mention, that Edward Hatton, in his ‘New View of London,’ London, 1708, 8vo., volume i., in the inscription to the frontispiece representing the City Arms, blazons them ‘Argent, a Cross Gules: on y^e 1st quarter a sword (by some falsly called y^t of St. Paul, by others y^e dagger of Sr. Wm. Walworth; but I take it to represent y^t of Justice) of y^e 2nd:’ this idea, however, is without the slightest support either in reason, history, research, or heraldry. Such is the chief evidence now extant concerning our Civic Ensigns, which you will find very fully and wittily considered, by a learned and facetious gentleman, an intimate of mine, in a paper signed R. S., printed in a periodical of much merit, entitled the ‘New European Magazine,’ volume iv., May, 1824, pages 397-401.

“Mr. Barnaby Postern,” said I, as I concluded this discourse on our Civic Heraldry, “I have spoken somewhat at length on this subject, partly on account of its great interest, and partly because you ever and anon remind me of the sentiment uttered by that talkative knave, Gratiano, in the ‘Merchant of Venice;’ who says,—

But, as we have now gotten through our wanderings for the present, let me recall to your mind that our Bridge history was brought down to the period when——”

“To the time,” interrupted the Antiquary, “when the prompt courage and prudence of the youthful Richard, after the death of the rebel Tyler, the valour of the famous Henry Spencer, Bishop of Norwich, and the united efforts of the King’s Armies and Councils, had succeeded in putting an end to one of the most extensive and dangerous insurrections ever known in England. During these turbulent times at home, the King’s Ambassadors abroad had been vainly endeavouring to negociate a marriage between their Sovereign, and a daughter of the Duke of Milan. On the failure of which negociation, he demanded the hand of Anne of Luxemburg, daughter of the Emperor Charles IV., and sister to Wenceslaus, Emperor and King of Bohemia; with whom, on May the 2nd, 1381, his marriage was formally concluded at Nuremburg. I mention this only to remind you, to whom the Pageants were presented which I shall very speedily have to notice. Before, however, that we arrive at any events so entertaining as these, I must mention some other circumstances, and repeat to you another extract from a Patent Roll concerning the appointment of a Gate-Keeper to London Bridge, recorded in the eighth Year of King Richard II., A. D. 1385., Membrane the 22nd. It is addressed, ‘For Walter Fesecock,’ and in English runs in the following terms; the original Latin being printed in Hearne’s ‘Liber Niger,’ volume i., page *486.

“‘The King to all to whom these presents shall come,—Greeting. Know ye, that of our special grace, and for the good service of our beloved Walter Fesecock, one of our Bargemen, we grant to the same Walter, for as much as in us lieth, the Officer of Gate-keeper of the Bridge of our City of London; he being near to us, and paying to us a price not exceeding thirteen shillings and four pence by the year: that is to say, he is to have the said office, with the profits belonging thereto, for the term of his life; in the manner that John Chese, deceased, had the office aforesaid, by the grant of our most dear Lord and grandfather deceased. In testimony of which thing, Witness the King, at Westminster, on the eighth day of April. By Writ of Privy Seal.’

“I am next, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, to speak of a famous action on London Bridge, which most authors who have written the history of that edifice, place five or six, and some even eight, years later, than it really happened; which I cannot imagine to have arisen from any other cause, than that of their carelessly following each other, or else copying Stow, in his ‘Survey,’ page 61, without turning to the original ancient Author, whom he cites in the margin of his ‘Annals,’ pages 312-313, as his authority for the fact. This memorable exhibition was a solemn Justing between an English and a Scottish Knight, as a display of the valour of their different countries; which was held on St. George’s day, the 23d of April, 1390; and not, as Stow has most unaccountably stated, in the works which I have quoted, either in 1395 or 1396. The authorities with which I shall support my argument, are ancient, and some of them even contemporary; but we will first relate the plain story from the elegant Latin of Hector Boethius, a Scottish Historian, who was born at Dundee in 1470: the best edition of whose ‘Scotorum Historiæ’ is that printed at Paris in folio, 1575; where, on page 335 b, the passage commencing ‘Durante inter Anglos Scotosque pace publica,’ is, in English, to the following effect.

“‘During the general peace between the Scots and the English, many of the English, who were of Knightly rank, and who excelled in military arts and prowess, frequented Scotland, and there also came many Scots into England; producing, on both parts, many honourable tournaments, to which mutual challenges were published. Of these feats, the most worthy of memory was accounted that victory on London Bridge, by David Lindesay, Earl of Crawfurd. An Englishman, the Lord Wells, was then the Ambassador of King Richard, in Scotland, and was attending at a solemn banquet, where many persons, both Scots and English, were discoursing upon courage and arms. ‘Away with this strife of words,’ said the Englishman; ‘whoever would experience the valour of the English, let his name be declared, and also a time and place be appointed, wherever ye list, for a single passage of arms, and I am ready. I call on thee,’ said he to David, ‘who hast spent many words against me, and thou shalt have to just with me rather than all the rest.’ ‘Yea, truly,’ said David, ‘and I will do it blithely, if thou canst bring the King to consent to it.’ The King agreeing, the Englishman made choice of the place, and, because it should be in another country, he selected London Bridge: David named the time, the holy St. George’s day, because he was the chief patron of soldiers. Thereupon the Lord Wells returned to London, and David provided himself with arms, as well as he might. As the day was approaching, he made a journey with thirty-two persons in his train, immediately to London,’—this, however, is an error, for there were but twenty-nine in all, as I shall presently shew,—‘coming to King Richard, who received them with great honour.’

“Of the actual time when Sir David Lindsay came to England to engage in this passage of arms, we have the most authentic proof, in the original writs granted for his safe conduct, which are yet extant in that interesting body of Scots’ Records, entitled ‘Rotuli Scotiæ,’ or the Rolls of Scotland. These invaluable historical documents contain,—says the Rev. Thomas Hartwell Horne, in his excellent notices of them attached to the printed copies, published by the Commissioners of the Public Records, London, 1819, folio, volume ii., page 7,—‘an important collection of Records, illustrative of the Political Transactions between England and Scotland.’ They commence with the nineteenth year of King Edward I.—A. D. 1290,—and terminate with the eighth year of King Henry VIII.—1516. With the exception of two Rolls of 1339 and 1360, the 13th and 34th of Edward III., which are in the Chapter House at Westminster, all the remainder are deposited in the Wakefield Tower, in the Tower of London. The character in which they are written, of course, varies according to the different reigns, but it is, in general, a small and clear current Court-hand, with a moderate proportion of contractions; and their contents are composed of Treaties, Ransoms, Attainders, Grants, Licenses, and Passes of Safe Conduct for persons during war, some of which I am about to mention to you, as being proof of the Justing on London Bridge, in 1390. In the Second Volume then of the printed ‘Rotuli Scotiæ,’ page 103, Column 1; or on Membrane 3 of the original Roll of the 13th of Richard II.,—1389-90 you will find the first of these instruments, a translation of which runs thus.

“‘Safe conduct for David de Lyndesey, Knight, for the duel to be fought with John de Welles.

‘The King to all and singular, our Sheriffs, Mayors, Bailiffs, Ministers, and faithful subjects, within and without our liberties, to whom these present letters shall come, Greeting. Know ye, that because our beloved and faithful John de Welles,—for the perfecting of a certain Passage of Arms within our Kingdom of England, against David de Lyndeseye, of Scotland, Knight, as he appears to have been calumniated by the said David,—he is petitioner to us for the security of the said David, with his followers and servants coming into our Kingdom aforesaid, for the cause aforesaid, and graciously to provide for their remaining here, and returning again to their own country. We therefore, inclined at the supplication and urgent request of our liegemen who are at this time assisting to us, do undertake for the coming of the said David, with twenty and nine persons of his company and retinue, in armour, David himself being in the said number, and twelve other Knights, with their Esquires, Varlets, and Pages also accounted, and with thirty horses, into our kingdom aforesaid, for the completing of the aforesaid Passage of Arms with the said John, from the sixth day of May next approaching; for the coming of the same, and for their cause of remaining, and for their going out and returning to their own parts: nevertheless upon condition, that if any of the aforesaid who may be outlaws to us or our kingdom, shall present themselves in our Kingdom aforesaid, under the colour and protection of the company of David, they shall not enter nor remain in our safe and secure conduct. We will also, that the said David be sufficiently armed for himself: with trusses’—most probably couches, or beds—‘for himself, and also during the completing of the Passage of Arms aforesaid, to carry, conduct, and have such with him, to be used for him upon any attack. And therefore we command you, and all of you whatsoever, that the said David, with his men, arms, and horses aforesaid, with all their harness coming into our Kingdom aforesaid, in the manner and for the cause aforesaid, is, in remaining here, and in returning to his own country, to be in friendship, protection, and defence; not bringing upon them, nor permitting to be brought upon them, any injury, molestation, damage, or grievance. In testimony of which, this shall last from the first day of April next to come, for the two months then immediately following; to be accounted from the first day of the same. Witness the King, at Westminster, the twenty-second day of January. By Letter of Privy Seal.’

“And now, Sir, let us suppose the parapet of London Bridge decorated with rich hangings of tapestry and cloth of gold, such as we know it was customary to adorn those edifices with on occasions of rejoicing and triumph. The lists for a Justing, you remember, were sixty paces in length, by forty in breadth, but as the whole width of the Bridge was but forty feet, this rule, though made by Thomas, Duke of Gloucester, Uncle to Richard II., the King in whose reign we now are, must have been dispensed with; for, estimating the pace at two feet and an half, the measurement amounts to 150 feet by 100. The ground within the lists was to be paved with large stones, hard, level, and firm; and the entrances, which were commonly erected East and West, were to be fenced with bars, seven feet, or more, in height, that a horse might not be able to leap over them. At either end of the lists were erected the tents of the tilters, having their shields suspended over the entrances; which it was also customary to hang up at the windows of the houses where they lodged, at once to denote their residence, and to declare their Knightly intentions. We find, however, in that very curious and sumptuous work by Dr. Samuel Rush Meyrick, entitled ‘A Critical Enquiry into Ancient Armour,’ London, 1824, folio, volume ii., page 59, Note, that he supposes that the lists for this Justing upon London Bridge, were without the centre paling between the Knights, called, in France, the double Lists, because, he imagines, one of the champions was overthrown by the concussion of their steeds.

“We will, however, now return to the account of this Justing given by Boethius; ‘When the day of battle was come,’ continues he, ‘both parties being armed, were most honourably conducted to the Bridge, which was filled in all parts with noble spectators, with whom Richard was seated in an eminent place; though a great concourse of the common people also was collected, excited by the novelty of the event, and the fame of the champions. The signal being given, tearing their barbed horses with their spurs, they rushed hastily together with a mighty force, and with square-ground spears, to the conflict. Neither party was moved by the vehement impulse and breaking of the spears; so that the common people affected to cry out that David was bound to the saddle of his horse, contrary to the law of arms, because he sat unmoved, amidst the splintering of the lances on his helmet and visage. When Earl David heard this, he presently leaped off his charger, and then as quickly vaulted again upon his back without any assistance; and, taking a second hasty course, the spears were a second time shivered by the shock, through their burning desire to conquer. And now a third time were these valorous enemies stretched out and running together: but then the English Knight was cast down breathless to the earth, with great sounds of mourning from his countrymen that he was killed. Earl David, when victory appeared, hastened to leap suddenly to the ground; for he had fought without anger, and but for glory, that he might shew himself to be the strongest of the champions, and casting himself upon Lord Wells, tenderly embraced him until he revived, and the surgeon came to attend him. Nor, after this, did he omit one day to visit him in the gentlest manner during his sickness, even like the most courteous companion. He remained in England three months by the King’s desire, and there was not one person of nobility who was not well-affected towards him.’

“This extended residence of Sir David Lindsay in England, is also proved by a renewal of his safe conduct, which was granted him in the following terms; the original instrument being recorded on Membrane 3 of the Roll for the Year already mentioned; and a copy is inserted on page 104, column 1, of the printed edition of the ‘Rotuli Scotiæ.’

“‘Renewal of the Safe Conduct of David de Lyndeseye, Knight.

‘The King to all and singular the Sheriffs, Mayors, Bailiffs, Officers, and our faithful subjects within and without our liberties, to whom these present letters shall come, Greeting. Know ye, that David de Lyndeseye of Scotland, Knight, hath lately come, by authority of our safe conduct into our Kingdom, for the perfecting of some certain passages of arms within the same, with nine and twenty persons in his company and retinue, David himself being of their number; and because he yet appears in our said Kingdom, and purposes for a short space of time to remain and continue within our Kingdom, some certain impediment and affairs of great importance touching his own person being in the mean while to be concluded: We, at the immediate request of David himself, to whom we are at this time graciously inclined, do undertake for the remaining of the said David, with the aforesaid twenty and nine persons of his society and retinue, David himself being accounted of their number, with their horses and harness, for the matter aforesaid; and afterwards for their returning into their own parts under our safe and secure conduct. Nevertheless, upon condition that if any traitors to us or our Kingdom, or any outlaws from the same, present them in our Kingdom under pretence and protection of David’s company, they shall not enter nor remain therein. We will also, however, that the said David be sufficiently armed, with trusses for his own person, for the perfecting of the aforesaid passage of arms, to carry, conduct, and have with him, to be used for him upon any attack whatsoever. And therefore we will and command you, and all of you, that the said David, with his men, arms, and horses aforesaid, with all their harness, in our Kingdom, in the manner and for the cause aforesaid, is, in remaining, and afterwards in returning to his own countries, to be in friendship, protection, and defence,’ &c. as before. ‘In testimony of which, these presents shall last for the two months immediately following. Witness the King at Westminster, on the thirteenth day of May. By the King himself.’

“That I may the better complete the narrative of this Knight’s residence in England, I will yet give you the translations of two writs more, recorded on the Second Membrane of the same Roll, and printed upon the same page as the last, Column 2.

“‘Another Renewal of the same Safe Conduct.

‘The King by his Letters Patents, which shall last from the first day of June next to come, for the two months then immediately ensuing, to be accounted from the first day of the same, undertakes for his safe and secure conduct, and for the King’s special protection and defence to David Lyndesey, of Scotland, Knight, coming into the King’s realm of England, with twenty and nine persons of his company and retinue, David himself being accounted in their number, to be confirmed in Towns by virtue of the license of the Mayors, Bailiffs, and Keepers of the same, on his entering and returning towards the countries of Scotland, with his familiar people, their horses, harness, and all goods whatsoever. Witness the King, at Westminster, on the twenty-fifth day of May. By Bill of Privy Seal.’

“We have lastly, in the following warrant, an authentic notice of his departure for Scotland.

“‘Safe Conduct for the Scottish Ship for the carriage of the Armour of David Lyndesey.

‘The King by his Letters Patents, which shall last from the first day of June next to come, for the two months then immediately ensuing, to be accounted from the first day of the same, engages for his safe and secure conduct, and for his special protection and defence to a certain vessel of Scotland, called Seinte Marie, Ship of Dundee, whereof William Snelle is Master, with twelve Mariners crossing the seas for trading, the said Master and Mariners not carrying with them any property or goods whatsoever, nor any illicit goods, or prohibited merchandise, out of the Kingdom of the King aforesaid, excepting only one complete Armour of War for the body of David Lyndesey of Scotland, Knight. Witness the King, at Westminster, the twenty-fifth day of May. By Letter of Privy Seal.’

“Such, then, are the particulars of this memorable event, as related by Boethius, and supported by proofs from the most undoubted records, which fix it in the Year 1390; illustrated also by the addition of some curious particulars from Stow’s translation of the passage given in his ‘Annals,’ which I have already cited; though it is far beyond my ability to give you either the elegance or strength of expression, which the original author has infused into his narrative. Now, for the time when this Justing took place, let me observe that Boethius does not mention any year; Stow has called it 1395 and 1396; Raphael Holinshed, who professed to have translated the Scottish Historian in the Second part of his ‘Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland,’ London, 1585-86, volume i., page 252, makes it 1398; and James Howell, whose account of London Bridge is a verbatim reprint of Stow’s, in his ‘Londinopolis,’ London, 1657, folio, page 22, sets it down as 1381. So far, then, all are at variance: but these are only the later and English Authors; whilst, on the other hand, we have the following positive assurance of John de Fordun, a Scottish Priest, who is said in 1377 to have dedicated his History of Scotland to the Cardinal Walter Wardlaw, Bishop of Glasgow; the best edition of whose work, ‘Johannis de Fordun Scotichronicon,’ with the Continuation of Walter Bower, Abbot of St. Columb’s Isle, in 1424, is that of Walter Goodall, Edinburgh, 1759, folio; where, in volume ii., book xv., chapter iv., page 422, is the passage to which I have alluded. ‘In the same year, and on the 21st of the month,’—it commences, these being 1390, and April,—‘the Lord David Lindesay is made first Earl of Crawfurd, a valiant Knight, and in all warlike virtues most highly commended; who, with other proofs of them, had a glorious triumph over the Lord Wells of England, in his days a most famous soldier, at London, in the presence of King Richard II., in the year 1390, in a warlike pastime with spears: of which proof of military prowess, the fame hath hitherto been widely celebrated throughout England.’

“The next authority which I shall adduce is that of Andrew of Wyntoun, a Scottish Chronicler, who was Canon Regular of St. Andrews, and Prior of the Monastery of St. Serf in Loch-leven; and who died about the year 1420. The best edition of his labours is that beautiful one, entitled ‘The Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland, be Androw of Wyntown, Priowr of Sanct Serfis Ynche,’—that is Isle,—‘in Loch levyn. Now first published with Notes and a Glossary, by David Macpherson,’ London, 1815, 8vo., 2 volumes. In the Second Volume of this work then, at page 353, the commencement of Chapter xi. reads thus,—

“This Author, indeed, never mentions London Bridge, and assigns a different day for the encounter, as we read in the verses on the next page.

“We have, however, sufficient authority for believing that this Justing did actually take place on St. George’s day, for Hector Boethius states, on page 336 b. of his ‘History,’ that because it was through the protection of St. George, on whose day Sir David, or rather Earl, Lindsay fought, he had gained this victory, he founded a Chantry, with a gift of 48 marks,—£32 yearly,’—for seven Priests, with divers Virgins, for ever to sing holy Anthems to the Saintly Soldier in the Church of Dundee. ‘The which,’ adds he, ‘they did unto our time,’—that is, about eighty years afterwards—‘not without singular commendations to the Earl.’

“The Poem also speaks of the use of other weapons than lances; and gives both Sir David Lindsay and King Richard a less degree of courtesy than we find mentioned elsewhere, as you will discover in the following passage.

“Let me finish this story, Mr. Postern,” said I, as he concluded his repetition of these old Scottish verses; “if it be to have a finish, and you do not really intend to keep me all night in the year 1390 for we must not, certainly, let two such champions pass without one word concerning their families and their Arms; nor leave without distinction the actual Sir David Lindsay, and Lord Wells, who were engaged in this very famous passage of arms. You must, I am sure, remember, Mr. Barnaby, that the immortal Sir William Dugdale, Garter King of Arms, hath, in his ‘Baronage of England,’ London, 1676, folio, volume ii., page 11, a memoir of Lord Wells, very meet to be mentioned here. His Lordship was the descendant of Adam de Welles, who lived in the time of Richard I. and he had served in the wars in Flanders, France, and Scotland, under the Kings Edward III., and Richard II., and the valiant John, Duke of Lancaster. As he was ten years old at his father’s death in 1360, he must have been about forty when he justed on London Bridge; and after having been summoned to Parliament from 1376 to 1420, he is supposed to have died in the following year, on the Tuesday next after the Feast of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, which being Sunday, August the 24th, 1421, made it the 26th of the month. Andrew of Wyntown, whom you have quoted, says of this Lord, you remember, in his Chronicle, volume ii., page 354, alluding to the Justing on London Bridge:—

“He bore for Arms, Or, a Lion rampant double queuée, Sable. Of Sir David Lindsay, of Glenesk, commonly called Earl of Crawfurd, you may see some notices with proofs, in ‘The Peerage of Scotland,’ by Sir Robert Douglas, Edited by John Philip Wood, Esq., Edinburgh, 1813, folio, volume i., page 375. He married Catherine, fifth daughter of Robert II., King of Scotland, and his brother-in-law, Robert III., created him Earl of Crawfurd, April 21st, 1398; though Hector Boethius, on page 336 b of his ‘History,’ denies this, saying:—‘There are who write, that the before-named David was created the first Earl of Craufurd by King Robert the Third; but because we discover by the witness of ancient volumes, that James his father,’—rather his uncle, who was created Baron of Crawfurd, January 1st, 1382,—‘was made Earl by Robert the Second, we have followed a different manner in the history of this family.’ Earl David was, however, twice a Commissioner and Ambassador to England, in 1404 and 1406; and it is probable that he died before 1412. The arms borne by the Lindsays were Gules, a fesse Chequé Argent and Azure; but his victorious banner has long since fallen a prey to a mightier conqueror: the lance and the falchion which struck down all before them, have been in their turn overcome by slow-consuming decay: the champion himself lives but in these scattered fragments; remembered only by descendants, or antiquaries; his tomb, and that of his rival, are alike unknown, and even if they could be traced,—

I must own that I thought it a little uncivil in Mr. Barnaby Postern, as I finished these reflections with an air of great philosophical wisdom, to give a short dry cough, push the tankard towards me, and then to say, “Sorrow is dry, Mr. Geoffrey, and morality is musty; so do you take another draught of the sack, and I’ll give you another chapter from the Chronicles of London Bridge.”

“And now, Sir,” recommenced my visitor, “that our history may not be without the mention of at least one strange fish, connected with London Bridge, let me tell you, that on Christmas day in the year 1391, as Stow tells us in his ‘Annals,’ page 30 b, ‘a Dolphin came forth of the Sea, and played himself in the Thames at London to the Bridge; foreshewing, happily, the tempests that were to follow within a weeke after; the which Dolphin being seene of Citizens, and followed, was, with much difficulty, intercepted and brought againe to London, shewing a spectacle to many of the height of his body, for he was tenne foote in length. These Dolphins are fishes of the sea, that follow the voices of men, and reioyce in playing of instruments, and are wont to gather themselves at musick. These, when they play in rivers, with hasty springings or leapings, doe signifie tempests to follow. The seas containe nothing more swift nor nimble, for oftentimes with their skips, they mount ouer the sailes of ships.’ The original of this story is to be found, with many more particulars concerning Dolphins, in the ‘Historia Brevis,’ of Thomas Walsingham, London, 1574, folio, the admirable edition by Archbishop Parker, page 380.

“As the political troubles which succeeded the appearance of this monster, were productive of a very sumptuous triumph upon London Bridge, I shall take the freedom to remind you, that King Richard being greatly attached to regal magnificence and banquets, naturally found his revenues very insufficient to support the splendours of his Court; for, as Walsingham and Knyghton, the best historians of the time, assert, he valued himself upon surpassing all the other Sovereigns of Europe in magnificence; they add that he daily entertained no less than six thousand individuals; that three hundred servants were employed in his kitchen alone; and that his Queen had an equal number of females in her service. To supply the means for this extraordinary splendour, he endeavoured to procure aid from the Citizens of London; and sent to borrow from them the large sum of £1000; but it then was an unhappy time in England, for a dreadful Plague and Famine had overspread the land, and they not only refused his Majesty’s request, but, upon a Merchant of Lombardy offering to comply with it, they violently attacked, and almost slew him. This was early in the year 1392; and on the 25th of May following, the King, incensed to a very great degree, summoned a Parliament at Stamford, when the City Charter was seized; the Law Courts were removed to York; and the Mayor, Sheriffs, and principal Citizens, deposed and imprisoned; until, by the mediation of Queen Anne, the Bishop of London, and the Duke of Gloucester, the King’s anger was in some degree pacified, and he consented to indulge the Londoners with an audience at Windsor. At this interview the Citizens, after submitting themselves to the King’s pleasure, offered him £10,000 for the redemption of their privileges; but were dismissed in dejection and uncertainty; though when Richard was informed of their sorrow, he determined to proceed immediately to London, to re-assure them of his favour. It was upon this occasion, that the Bridge bore a very important part in the triumph; though the ceremony of receiving the King and Queen with great splendour and a considerable train, began at Wandsworth; where four hundred of the Citizens well mounted, and habited in one livery, entreated him to ride through his Chamber of London. At St. George’s Church, in Southwark, the procession was met by Robert Braybrooke, Bishop of London, and his Clergy of the City, followed by five hundred boys in surplices, who attended them through the streets towards Westminster. When the train arrived at the Gate of London Bridge, nearly the whole of the inhabitants, orderly arranged according to their age, rank, and sex, advanced to receive it, and presented the King with a fair milk-white steed, harnessed and caparisoned in cloth of gold, brocaded in red and white, and hung full of silver bells; whilst to the Queen was presented a palfrey, also of white, caparisoned likewise in white and red. The other streets of London, too, put on all their bravery; the windows and walls being hung with cloths of gold, silver, and silk; the Conduit in Cheapside poured out floods of red and white wine; a child, habited like an angel, crowned the King and Queen with golden crowns, from a sumptuous stage covered with performers in rich dresses; a table of the Trinity wrought in gold, and valued at £800, was given to the King, and another of St. Anne to his consort; and truly I know of nothing which might so well express the splendours of that day, as the passage with which Walsingham concludes his notice of it. ‘There was so much glory,’ says he, ‘so much pomp, so great variety of divers furniture provided, that to have undertaken it might have been a triumph to any King. For horses and trappings, plate of gold and silver, clothes of gold, silk, and velvet, ewers and basons of yellow gold, gold in coin, precious stones, and jewels so rich, excellent, and beautiful, were given to him, that their value and price might not easily be estimated.’

“This gorgeous scene took place on the 29th of August, and you will find my authorities for this account of it in Henry Knyghton’s books ‘De Eventibus Angliæ,’ printed in Twysden’s ‘Scriptores,’ already cited, page 2740; in Robert Fabyan’s ‘Chronicles of England and Fraunce,’ London, 1559, folio, volume ii., page 334; in Stow’s ‘Annals,’ page 307; and in Maitland’s ‘History,’ volume i., page 180. I will but observe, to finish this portion of history, that the Citizens redeemed their Charter by the payment of £10,000; and the King, by his Letters Patent, dated at Westminster, in February 1392-93, restored them to his favour; and so, observes Stow in his ‘Annals,’ ‘the troubles of the Citizens came to quietnesse; which troubles, the Dolphin in the Thames at Christmas last past, did happily signifie afar off.’ Though Maitland, at page 180 of his ‘History,’ volume i., most unaccountably makes the Dolphin appear the Christmas after this fine was paid.

“I can scarcely imagine, worthy Mr. Barbican, what could induce the accurate Stow,—and of course all other Authors of London history,—to remark, when speaking of the year 1395, our next eminent epoch in the Chronicles of London Bridge, that, because the Justing which we have already spoken of was, as he says, then holden upon it, such ‘history proveth that at that time, the Bridge being coaped on either side, was not replenished with houses built thereupon, as since it hath been, and now is.’ You will observe that this passage, which occurs in volume i., page 61, of his ‘Survey,’ is no interpolation of later, or more unskilful, Editors, because it is to be found in the first black-letter edition of that most valuable work, 1598, small folio. Now, in most of his preceding pages he has been giving proofs of the Bridge being built upon at an early period to some extent; and I also, after him and others, have adduced to you abundant evidence that such was the case. I have shewn that the Gate and Towers were certainly as ancient as 1264; that in the Patent granted to Isenbert of Xainctes, in 1201, it is stated ‘that the rents and profits of the several houses, which the said Master of the Schools shall cause to be erected on the Bridge, shall be for ever appropriated to repair, maintain, and uphold the same;’ that in the Patent of relief granted by Edward I., in 1280, it is observed that the dilapidations of the Bridge may occasion not only its sudden fall, ‘but also the destruction of innumerable people dwelling on it;’ and that in the reign of the same Edward, the Assize Rolls mention the very rents and situations of houses then standing on London Bridge. All this, I imagine, might be received as fair and conclusive evidence that this part of the City was built upon and inhabited, long before 1395; to which let me add, that Richard Bloome, one of the continuators of Stow, observes, on page 62, when speaking of the dreadful conflagration of the Bridge in 1632-33, that some of the houses remained unbuilt until the year 1666, when the Great Fire of London destroyed all the new edifices. ‘But,’ rejoins he, ‘the old ones at the South end, some of which were built in the reign of King John,’—and he died, you will remember in 1215,—‘were not burnt.’ It is, however, extremely probable, that London Bridge did not even in 1395 present that form of a continued street which was afterward its most celebrated and peculiar character. There were, I doubt not, several places open to the water, perhaps, as Stow says, ‘plainly coped with stone;’ and in one of these, it is most probable, that the Justing, which he erroneously mentions in that year, took place.

“Anne of Bohemia, the Queen of Richard II., dying in 1394, his sorrow for her loss was both passionately expressed, and deservedly bestowed; though, so early afterwards as in 1396, during an interview between him and that insane Monarch, Charles VI. of France, a truce was concluded betwixt the two Kingdoms for twenty-eight years, and Richard espoused Isabel, the French King’s eldest daughter, although she was then under eight years of age; whence she was called ‘The Little,’ and the English Sovereign was about thirty. This marriage was solemnized by Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Church of St. Nicholas, at Calais, on Wednesday, October the 31st, or rather the 1st of November, when Richard is said to have expended on the occasion, the immense sum of three hundred thousand marks, or in modern coinage £200,000. On the 2nd of November they sailed for England, and on arriving at Blackheath the Royal train was met by the usual procession of the Mayor and Aldermen of London, habited in scarlet, who attended the King to Newington, where he dismissed them, as he was to rest for a short time at Kennington. On the 13th, however, Richard and his Consort entered the City on their way to the Tower; when so vast a multitude was collected on London Bridge to see the young Queen pass, that nine persons were killed in the crowd, of whom the Prior of the Austin Canons at Tiptree, in Essex, was one, and a worshipful matron of Cornhill was another. John Stow is commonly cited as the authority for this circumstance, and it may be seen related in his ‘Annals,’ page 315; though it is also to be found in ‘The Chronicle of Fabian,’ London, 1559, small folio, page 338. Robert Fabian, as you must well remember, was, in 1493, an eminent Merchant and Sheriff of London, and died in 1512, about thirteen years previously to the birth of John Stow. You will also see the following notice of the event in the Harleian Manuscripts, No. 565, article 5, page 61 a, which consists of ‘A Chronicle of English Affairs, and especially of those relating to the City of London, from the first year of King Richard I., 1189, to the 21st of Henry VI., 1442, inclusive’—‘In yis yere, a bouzte y^e feste of Alhalwen, Isabell y^e Kynges doughter of Fraunce was spoused to Kyng Richard at Caleys: whiche afterward on y^e viij day of Januer was crowned Quene at Westm^r. At whos comynge to London, y^e Priour of Typtre in Essex, with other viij persones vp on London bregge in y^e gret prees weren crowsed to y^e deth.’ Now, as I shall hereafter frequently, have to cite this Chronicle for some particulars of events not to be found in any other Annals, I must observe that it is a small quarto, fairly written on parchment, in a current Court-hand of the time of Edward IV., and decorated with vermillion lines and ornaments.

“It was, you will recollect, in 1397, that Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, and uncle to Richard II., being charged with disaffection and conspiracy, was suddenly carried to Calais; in which confinement and exile he died, on the 24th of September in the same year, of an apoplectic fit, as some Historians relate, although the greater number charge Richard with his murder, and assert that he was smothered, or strangled: for he was rude and overbearing in his disposition, and usually opposed the King in most of his measures; censured his extravagant expenditure, and on several occasions is said to have reproached and upbraided him with great severity of language. On these accounts is the Duke’s death charged upon the King, and his favourites; and you have a very curious and interesting examination of the circumstance, in Richard Gough’s ‘History and Antiquities of Pleshy, in the County of Essex,’ London, 1803, quarto, pages 85-123. The reign of this unfortunate Monarch was, however, nearly at a close; for, on the 29th of September, 1399, he resigned the ensigns of Royalty to the Duke of Lancaster, afterwards Henry IV., and in the formal accusation, consisting of 33 Articles, drawn up for his deposition, in the fourth he is charged with having caused the murder of the Duke of Gloucester. When these accusations were read over to Richard, and he had named his principal advisers in each action, it was Henry of Lancaster’s care to discover the four Knights who actually strangled the Duke of Gloucester in the Castle of Calais; and having done so, he confined them in four separate prisons in London, ‘and would not,’ says Sir John Froissart, ‘have taken twenty thousand nobles for their deliverance.’ Sir Thomas Knolles, the Mayor, and the Citizens of London, were next acquainted with the Articles of Deposition, and the King’s confession concerning the four Knights; when the crowds, which had assembled in the Guildhall, cried out with execrations against them, and loudly demanded their immediate condemnation. This very speedily followed, and old London Bridge, which has in its days witnessed so many scenes of blood, was appointed the place for the exhibition of their heads; but in giving you a short narrative of this execution, we can go to no better authority than to the Herodotus of his time, Sir John Froissart, who, as you will doubtless recollect, was born at Valenciennes in 1337, and was Priest, Canon, and Treasurer of the Collegiate Church of Chimay; he died about 1401, and his Chronicles of his own time were compiled from the most authentic sources.

“The French of that part of Froissart’s Chronicles to which I have alluded, commences ‘A donc se tirerent ensemble le Maire de Londres,’ &c., volume iv., chapter cxii.; but we shall take the excellent English of Colonel Johnes’ translation, Hafod Press, 1803, quarto, volume iv., pages 663-664. ‘The Mayor and Lawyers,’ says he, ‘retired to the judgment-seat, and the four Knights were condemned to death. They were sentenced to be brought before the apartment of the Tower of London in which King Richard was confined, that he might see them from the windows, and thence drawn on sledges by horses to Cheapside, each person separately, and there beheaded, their heads affixed to spikes on London Bridge, and their bodies hung upon a gibbet, and there left. When this sentence was pronounced, they hastened to execute it. Every thing being prepared, the Mayor of London, and the Lords who had assisted him in this judgment, set out from Guildhall with a large body of people, and came to the Tower of London, where they seized the four Knights of the King, Sir Bernard Brocas, the Lord Marclais, Master John Derby, Receiver of Lincoln, and the Lord Stelle, Steward of the King’s Household. They were all brought into the court, and each tied to two horses, in the sight of all in the Tower, who were eye-witnesses of it as well as the King, who was much displeased, and in despair; for the remainder of the King’s Knights that were with him looked for similar treatment, so cruel and revengeful did they know the Londoners. Without saying a word, these four were dragged from the streets to Cheapside, and on a fishmonger’s stall had their heads struck off, which were placed over the Gate on London Bridge, and their bodies hung on a gibbet. After this execution, every man retired to his home.’

“The fatal tragedy of the reign of King Richard II. was at length consummated by his murder at Pontefract Castle, February 14th, 1399-1400; for whether he died of grief, starvation, or by the weapon of Sir Piers Exton, his death cannot be called by any other name; though Henry of Lancaster was not yet so firmly seated on the throne as to prevent numerous insurrections throughout the realm, on behalf of the younger Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, the legitimate heir to the crown. For about the year 1386, King Richard had appointed as his successor Roger Mortimer, the son of Edmond, second Earl of March, and Philippa his Countess, who was daughter and heiress to Lionel, Duke of Clarence, third son of King Edward III.: whereas Henry of Lancaster was the son of John of Ghent, who was only fourth son of that Monarch. One of the most famous of these insurrections, was that raised by Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, which was overthrown by Sir Thomas Rokeby, Sheriff of York, at Horselwood, on February the 19th, 1407-1408. In which encounter, Lord Thomas Bardolf,—who is a character in Shakspeare’s ‘Second Part of King Henry the Fourth,’—was mortally wounded, and died soon afterwards; but being on the party of the Earl, his body was quartered as a traitor’s, and set up at several places, with the Earl’s, one of which was London Bridge. This you find identified by Thomas of Walsingham, in his ‘Historiæ Angliæ,’ page 419; for there he says, with considerable pathos: ‘The root of Percy dies in ruin wild! for surely this Nobleman was altogether the living stock of the Percy name; and of most of the various others who were lost in his defeat. For whose unhappy end the common people did not grieve the least; recalling that famous, glorious, and magnificent man, and applying to him the mournful song of Lucan, where he says,

Pharsalia, ix. 136.

For his venerable head adorned with its silver locks, set upon a pole, was publicly carried through London, and regardlessly placed upon the Bridge.’

“Sir William Dugdale, in his ‘Baronage,’ volume i., page 683, says that Lord Bardolf’s head was erected over a gate at Lincoln; and this is partly supported by the Chronicle in the Harleian Collection, No. 565, page 68 a, which states that in the ninth year of Henry IV., ‘the Erle of Northumberland and y^e Lord Bardolf, which arysyn a yeynis y^e Kyng, were taken in y^e north cuntre, and be heded, and y^e hed of y^e forsaid Erle, and a quarter of y^e Lord Bardolf, were sent to London, and sett vp on London Brigge.’ Dugdale adds, however, from the authority of the Close Rolls, that Avicia, the widow of that Baron, was permitted by the King to take down his body and bury it.

“The only historical notice which I find connected with London Bridge, immediately succeeding the last unhappy story, is of a light and even trivial nature, being nothing greater than a dispute in the Bridge-Street, between Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence, and John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, the second and third sons of Henry IV., their followers and the Citizens. Stow, in relating this circumstance, in his ‘Annals,’ page 338, makes no farther mention of the place than that they ‘being in East-Cheape, in London, at supper, after midnight, a great debate hapned betweene their men and men of the Court, lasting an houre, till the Maior and Sheriffs, with other Citizens, ceased the same:’ and Maitland adds, in volume i., of his ‘History,’ page 185, that these Officers were, in consequence, summoned before Sir William Gascoigne, the Chief Justice, to submit themselves to the King’s mercy on behalf of the Citizens. Richard Marlow, however, the then Lord Mayor, and John Law and William Chicheley, the Sheriffs, with the Aldermen, strenuously asserted their innocence, alleging that they had only done their duty in preserving the peace of the City; and the King being fully satisfied with this answer, the Corporation returned to London. I have only farther to remark, that Prince Thomas of Clarence was engaged in a similar fray in East-Cheap in the year previous to the present, namely 1407-8; and that it is to him that Shakspeare makes the dying King Henry deliver that noble speech in the ‘Second Part of King Henry IV.,’ Act 4, Scene 4. We derive, however, such a character of John of Lancaster from Falstaff, that we wonder to find him either in East-Cheap or Bridge-Street; for in that very same dramatic history, and in the preceding scene, he says of him: ‘Good faith, this same young sober-blooded boy doth not love me; nor a man cannot make him laugh;—but that’s no marvel, he drinks no wine.’ Here, then, close all the events of London Bridge which have come under my reading, in the year 1409.

“The Festival of St. Mary Magdalen, July 22nd, in the first year of Henry V., A. D. 1413, brings to us the recollection of a very ancient and curious Saxon law, namely that of Sanctuary: by which privilege, if a person accused of any crime,—excepting Treason and Sacrilege, in which the Crown and the Church were too nearly concerned,—had fled to any Church, or Church-Yard, and within forty days after went before the Coroner, made a full confession of his crime, and took the oath provided in that case, that he would quit the realm, and never return again, without leave of the King, his life should be safe. At the taking of this oath he was brought to the Church-door, where being branded with an A, signifying Abjured, upon the brawn of the thumb of his right hand, a port was then assigned him, from which he was to leave the realm, and to which he was to make all speed, holding a cross in his hand, and not turning out of the highway, either to the right hand or the left. At this port he was diligently to seek for passage, waiting there but one ebb and flood, if he could immediately procure it; and if not, he was to go every day into the sea up to his knees, essaying to pass over. If this could not be accomplished within forty days, he was again to put himself into Sanctuary. These privileges of Sanctuary and Abjuration were taken away in 1624, by the Statute of the 21st of James I., chapter 28: but you will find the ancient law on these points fully set forth in William Rastall’s ‘Collection in English of the Statutes now in force,’ London, 1594, folio, under their proper titles, folios 2 a, 399 b, and also in Andrew Horne’s learned work of ‘La Somme, appellé Mirroir des Justices,’ London, 1624, 12mo., chapter 1, section xiii., page 102. Rastall, you will recollect, was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas under Queen Mary; and Horne was a Lawyer of great erudition and eminence, in the reigns of the First and Second Edwards.

“Well, Sir, having brought to your remembrance these ancient privileges, I am next to tell you that in 1413, a train of five abjurants of the realm crossed London Bridge on their way to Calais; having issued from a member of the famous Sanctuary of St. Martin’s le Grand, which was founded by Ingelric, Earl of Essex, and his brother Girardus, in 1056, and confirmed by Pope Alexander II., and King William I., in 1068. For these facts I must refer you to Stow’s ‘Survey,’ volume i., pages 605-606; and to page 16, &c. of a modest little volume of much curious information by Mr. Alfred John Kempe, entitled ‘Historical Notices of the Collegiate Church, or Royal Chapel and Sanctuary, of St. Martin’s le Grand,’ London, 1825, 8vo. As for the circumstance which caused these worthies to fly their country, we have it set down in the following terms, in that Chronicle contained in the Harleian Manuscript, No. 565, folio 74 a. ‘And in the same yere, on Seynt Marie Maudeleyn day,’—July 22nd.—‘John Nyaunser, Squyer, and his men, sclowen Maist^r. Tybbay, Clerk,’—Archdeacon of Huntingdon, and Chancellor to Joan, Queen of Henry IV.—‘as he passyd thorugh lad lane. For the whiche deth the same John Nyaunser and iiij of his men fledden in to Seynt Anne’s Chirche with inne Aldrich gate,’—that is to say, St. Anne in the Willows, as we now call it, though without exactly knowing why,—‘And with inne the said Church they were mured vp. And men of diuers wardes wacched them nyzt and day. And y^e forsaid John Nyaunser and his men for suoren the Kynges lond, and passyd through the Citee of London,’—on August the 21st,—‘toward Caleys, in there schertes and breches,’—a purse about their necks,—‘and ich of them a cross in ther hand.’ Let me add, that you will also find this circumstance recorded in Stow’s ‘Annals,’ page 345.”

“My worthy Mr. Postern!” exclaimed I, for I now began to grow exceedingly impatient, “I really can bear this no longer: you promise to give me a descriptive history of London Bridge, and here you tell me of nothing but a riot which took place in the street near to it, and of a troop of knaves which probably walked over it. Positively, my good Sir, it’s too bad; and unless your story mend, why——”

“‘It shall be mended, Mr. Barbican,’” answered the imperturbable Antiquary, in much the same tone of voice as that with which Lope Tocho calmed the enraged Muleteer, in the same words;—“‘It shall be mended,’ and our Chronicles too, Mr. Geoffrey; but sweeten your disposition, my good friend, I pray you. Remember, that an Antiquary may ruffle his shirt, but never his temper; for though I confess to you that the collateral events which I am obliged to introduce, are somewhat like—

yet, when we consider how little the tooth of Time hath left to us of continuous History, we should labour to supply that defect by joining all the fragments with which we meet, wherever they may be united to the principal, but still imperfect, chain. We are, however, now arrived at a period, which our Bridge Historians do in general pass over, with little information to their readers, and less labour to themselves; yet even here, although we have no pictorial delineations to refer to, yet, with a little research, we have enough of descriptive story to call up the very scenes before our eyes, and to bring the actors again living before us.

“The year 1415 is not only immortalized in History by the famous Battle of Agincourt, fought on the 25th of October, but even in the Chronicles of London Bridge it is a most memorable era, on account of the splendid Pageants which welcomed the victorious Henry V., as he returned over that edifice to his Palace at Westminster. About the middle of November, or, as some tell us, the 16th, the King embarked for England, bringing his principal prisoners with him; and you may remember, by the way, that his fleet being encountered by a violent storm, two of his ships were sunk, and all were in extreme danger. You will find a few particulars of these facts in Stow’s ‘Annals,’ page 351, and also in that Chronicle which I have so often quoted, in the Harleian Manuscript, No. 565; of which latter, the following are the words, from page 76 b.

“‘Also in this yere, that is to say the xxviij day of Octobr., the Kyng com to his Town of Caleys, and was there til y^e xvj day of Nouembr. And that same day y^e King schypped fro his Town of Caleys toward Engelond: And he landed y^e same day at nyzt, at Douerre, and com forth all y^e woke after toward London. And y^e fryday at nyzt, y^e King come to Eltham, and there he lay all that nyzt; and on y^e morwe was Satyrday, y^e xxiij day of Nouembr. The Maire of London, and alle y^e Aldermen, with all y^e Craftes of London, reden euery man in reed, with hodes reed and white, and mette with y^e Kyng on y^e Blake heth comyng from Eltham ward, toward his Citee of London; and ayens his comynge was ordeyned moche ryalte in London: that is to weten, at London Bregge, at y^e Conduyt in Cornhill, at the grete Conduyt in Chepe; and at y^e Crosse in Chepe was mad a Ryall Castell with Angells and Virgynes, syngynge there jnne. And so y^e Kyng and hise presoners of Frensshmen reden thorugh London vn to Westminster to mete.’

“It is fortunate for us Antiquaries, however, that we have still better descriptions of these Pageants, and especially of that exhibited on London Bridge; and if in relating them to you, I seem to speak over much upon one subject, I pray you to remember, as I said, how very slightly that subject—at least so far as concerns the Bridge,—has been treated by Historians in general; and how many of those who have pretended to write of this edifice, have omitted it altogether. Give me your patience, then, whilst I translate for you two curious accounts of those Pageants, which welcomed King Henry into the best and the greatest of Cities.

“The first which I shall cite, is, most probably, from the pen of an eye-witness, both of the King’s valour abroad, and of his triumphs at home; since it is from a Latin Manuscript in the Cottonian Library, marked Julius, E. IV., Article 4, which the Catalogue at page 17 calls ‘The Acts of King Henry V.: the Author, a Chaplain in the Royal Army, who saw them for himself.’ This Manuscript is written on paper, in a very small and fair current black-letter, full of contractions; and on page 122 b, the account of the Bridge Pageants runs thus. ‘And therewith, about the hour of ten in the day, the King came in the midst of them all; and the Citizens gave glory and honour to God, and many congratulations and blessings to the King, for the victories he had brought them, and for the public works which he had wrought; and the King was followed by the Citizens towards the City, with a proper, but a moderate, protection. And for the praise and glory of the City, out of so many magnificent acts of the noble Citizens, some things worthy of note the pen records with applause. On the top of the Tower at the entrance of the Bridge, which stands, as it were, on going into the strength of the City, there stood on high a figure of gigantic magnitude, fearlessly looking in the King’s face, as if he would do battle; but on his right and left hand, were the great keys of the City hanging to a staff, as though he had been Gate-keeper. Upon his right, stood the figure of a woman not much less in size, habited in the gown, tunic, and ornaments of a female, as if they had been meant for a man and his wife, who appeared favourers of the King, and desired that they might see his face, and receive him with many plaudits. And the towers about them were ornamented with halberts and the Royal Arms; and trumpeters stood aloft in the turrets, which were resounding with horns and clarions in winding and expanding melody. And in the front of the fortress this appropriate and elegant writing was imprinted, ‘The King’s City of Justice.’ And there appeared, on both sides, all the way along the Bridge, very little youths; and, also, on both sides, out of the stone-work before them, was a lofty column, the height of the smaller towers, made of wood, not less delicate than elegant, which was covered over with a linen cloth painted the colour of white marble and green jasper, as if it had been of a square shape, and formed of stones cut out of the quarries. And upon the summit of the column on the right side, was the figure of an Antelope rampant, having a splendid shield of the Royal Arms hanging about his neck, and in his right foot he held a sceptre extended, and offered it to the King. Upon the top of the other column was the image of a lion, also rampant, which carried a spear having the King’s banner displayed upon the upper end, which he held aloft in his dexter claw. And across, at the foot of the Bridge, was erected the fabric of a Tower, the height of the aforesaid columns, and painted; in the midst of which, under a superb tabernacle, stood a most beautiful effigy of St. George, all in armour, excepting his head, which was adorned with laurel interwoven with gems, which shone between it like precious stones for their brightness. Behind him was a tapestry of cotton, having his Arms resplendently embroidered in a multitude of escutcheons. Upon his right was suspended his triumphal helmet; upon his left his shield of Arms of a correspondent magnitude; and he had his right hand upon the handle of his sword, which was girt about him. Upon the tower was raised an extended scroll, containing these words, ‘To God only be honour and glory;’ and in front of the building, this congratulatory prophecy,—Psalm xlvi. 4.—‘The streams of the River make glad the City of God:’ and all the principal towers were gallantly adorned with the Royal Arms embossed upon them, or displayed in banners upon lances reared above them. In the house adjoining to the fortress behind, were innumerable children representing the English Priesthood, in radiant garments with shining countenances: others were like virgins, having their hair adorned with laurels interwoven with gold; and they continued singing from the coming in of the King, with modulation of voice and melody of organs, according to the words of this song in English.’

“I know very well that it is most common for the events of the reign of Henry V., to be cited from the ‘History of his Life and Actions,’ written in Latin verse by Thomas, a Monk of Elmham, in Norfolk, in his time Prior of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity at Lenton, in the County of Nottingham. As that part of his Poem, however, which treats ‘De adventu Regis ad Pontem Londoniarum,’—concerning the King’s entrance at the Bridge of London,—is considerably inferior to the account which I have already given you, I shall dispense with your labour in listening to it, and mine in translating it; and only observe to you, that an authentic copy of Thomas of Elmham’s ‘Historia de Vitâ et Gestâ Henrici V. Anglorum Regis,’ is preserved in the Cottonian Manuscript which I last cited, article 3, fairly written on parchment, in the small black text-hand of the latter part of the fifteenth century; and that the passage will be found at folio 101 b. Capitulum xliiii. I would remind you, also, that a printed edition of this work was published by Tom Hearne, Oxford, 1727, 8vo., which is not one of his most common books; the text was taken from several old Manuscripts, and the value of a large-paper copy fluctuates between four and six guineas. The next authority, therefore, whom I shall quote upon this subject, is supposed to have been the production of the justly famous old John Lydgate, who was in his days a very eminent English Poet; being born about 1375, and dying about 1461. He was a Monk of the Abbey of Bury, in Suffolk; and of these historical verses by him there is a Manuscript copy, written on parchment in an old Court-hand, ornamented with vermillion chorusses and lines, in No. 565, of the Harleian Manuscripts, in the British Museum. You will find them forming Articles 8 and 9 of that volume, and thus entered in the Catalogue, volume i. page 351. ‘A Poem upon the Wars of King Henry the V. in France; and his return to England, after the battle of Agincoure; composed perhaps by John Lidgate.’—‘The making of (i. e. Poem upon) the comynge of the Kynge (Henry V.) out of Fraunce, to London. By John Lidgate, the Monke of Bury.’ Such are the titles of these verses, from which I shall repeat to you all that concerns the King’s entry at London Bridge; and, firstly, at page 111 b. the story runs thus, beginning at the second stanza of ‘Passus Tercius.’

“Thus finish Lydgate’s verses, so far as they relate to these Pageants on London Bridge; but as they tell us nothing of the Royal display upon that occasion, let me remark to you, that we are told, in an Heraldical Manuscript in the Harleian Collection, No. 6079, folio 24 a, that ‘At the cominge in of Kinge Henry the V^th out of Fraunce into Englande, his coursers were trapped w^th trappers of partye colours: scilicet, one syde blewe velute embroudered w^th Antellopes sittinge vpon stayres w^th longe flowers springinge betwixt their horns.’ Which trappings were, by the King’s order, subsequently given to the Abbey of Westminster for the vestry, where they were converted into copes and other Ecclesiastical habits.”

“But before you quite shut up your account of these Pageants, my good Mr. Postern,” said I, as he came to a close, “let me say a word or two, touching those Royal supporters, which sat upon the columns on London Bridge; since there are many curious little points of Antiquity to be met with in the history of Heraldic bearings. The first use of an Antelope as a supporter to the King’s Arms, is doubtfully hinted at in a Manuscript in the Harleian Library in the British Museum, No. 2259, as having been so ancient as the reign of King Richard II.; though we are much more certain that King Henry IV. entertained a Pursuivant named Antelope, and probably adopted such an animal as his dexter supporter, from the family of Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex, into which he married. The instance of a Lion also appearing as a supporter, is mentioned in Gough’s ‘Sepulchral Monuments,’ which you have already quoted, volume ii., part ii., page 68, from the information of John Charles Brooke, Esq., Somerset Herald, who says that when Henry V. became King, he bore on the dexter side of his Arms, a Lion rampant guardant, and on the sinister, an Antelope. We read also that he bore an Antelope and a Swan, and two Antelopes; and you may see all these excellently drawn and described in Mr. Thomas Willement’s ‘Regal Heraldry,’ London, 1821, 4to., pages 21, 28, 30, 33, and 36.”

“Many thanks to you, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican,” recommenced my visitor, “for this most opportune display of your Heraldical learning: and, in returning to London Bridge, I must observe, that as all history is but a record of the evanescent scenes of human life, it must, of course, be formed of all those strong lights and shades which are so very conspicuous in its original; and hence arises that striking contrast of events, which so frequently fills us with solemnity and awe. We retire, perchance, from a banquet to a prison, or from a triumph to an execution; at least, such is the nature of the next event which I find for our Chronicles, for the Towers of London Bridge usually claimed a portion in most of the victims of the axe and the scaffold. The principles of the Lollards, as they were invidiously called, were then rapidly spreading; and Sir John Oldcastle, commonly called the good Lord Cobham, was one of the most active leaders in the religious reform commenced by Wickliffe: as he was not only at a very considerable cost in collecting and transcribing his works, which he caused to be widely distributed, but he also maintained many of his disciples as itinerant preachers throughout the country. Oldcastle had, however, escaped from the power of the Clergy who had condemned him as a heretic, and confined him in the Tower; when King Henry being persuaded by them that he headed 20,000 Lollards for his destruction, he was attainted, and a large reward offered for his head: in confirmation of which Stow informs us, in his ‘Annals,’ page 352, that on the ‘viii day of October’—1416—‘was a Parchment maker of Trill-melle Streete drawne, hanged, and headed, for that he had harboured Sir John Oldcastle:’ and the Harleian Chronicle, No. 565, page 77 a, adds, that his head ‘was set upon London Bridge for tretory.’ Another obscure person, most probably concerned in the same unhappy society, is also recorded as coming to a similar end: for, ‘John Benet, Woolman,’ says Stow, in the place I last cited, ‘who had in London scattered sceduls full of sedition, was drawne, hanged, and beheaded on Michaelmas-day:’ and the Harleian Chronicle adds, that his head was also fixed upon London Bridge.

“Our next ceremonial procession over this edifice was the solemn and splendid funeral of King Henry V.; when that gallant Sovereign had departed this life, on Monday, the last day of August, 1422, at the Castle of Bois de Vinciennes, a short distance from Paris. That sumptuous spectacle is described in several places, although I do not find it mentioned either in the Life by Thomas of Elmham, or in that by Henry’s Chaplain; but Stow, in his ‘Annals,’ page 363, says that the Royal body arrived in London about the tenth of November, and so was conveyed by London Bridge through Cheapside, to the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, where funereal exequies were performed; and thence it was carried and interred in Westminster Abbey. As the corse advanced in rich and solemn procession over the Bridge, it was truly a magnificent and imposing spectacle. On a royal chariot, decorated with cloth of gold like a bed of state, was laid a figure exactly representing the late King, habited in a robe of purple velvet, lined with ermine; wearing an imperial diadem of gold and jewels on the head, and bearing in the hands, the regal sceptre, and the mound and cross. The face, which was painted exactly to resemble the life, was uncovered, and looking towards Heaven; and on the bed lay a covering of red silk beaten with gold. The chariot was drawn by six stout horses, richly harnessed, with heraldic devices upon their housings: thus, the first bore the Arms of St. George; the second, of Normandy; the third, those of King Arthur; the fourth, those of St. Edward the Confessor; the fifth, the coat of France, alone; and the sixth, those of France and England quarterly. When the chariot passed through any town of eminence, a rich and costly canopy was held over it, by some of its more honourable attendants; and it was surrounded by three hundred torch-bearers habited in white; by five thousand men-at-arms on horseback in black armour, holding their spears reversed; and by a multitude of Lords bearing pennons, banners, and bannerolls; whilst twelve captains went before carrying the King’s achievement. After the body followed the servants of the Household all in black; then came James I., King of Scotland, as Chief Mourner, with the Princes and Lords of the Royal blood, in mourning habits; and lastly, at the distance of two miles in the rear, followed Queen Katharine, no less honourably attended.

“We learn, also, from a very interesting history of King Henry V. in English, contained in the Harleian Manuscripts, No. 35, folio 138 a, that when the funeral ‘should enter the Cittye, ten Bishopps, w^th their pontificall adornments revested, and many Abbotts mytored, and other men of the Church in greate number, with a right great multitude of Cittizens of the same Cittie, went out thereof to meet the Corps, and receaued it with due honnour. And all y^e saide Spiritualls singinge, the officers accustomed in like case, conveyed the same Corps by London Bridge, and by Lumbart Streete, thoroughe the Cheape vnto y^e Cathedrall Churche of Saint Paule.’ This life of King Henry is partly a translation from the Latin of Titus Livius, an Historian of his reign, who called himself by that name, and the French Chronicles of Enguerrant. The other particulars you will find set down in Stow, as I have already cited him, and in two Manuscript volumes of Heraldic ceremonies, in the Harleian Library, No. 2076, folio 6 b, and No. 6079, folio 23 b; and in finishing our imperfect notices of this reign, let me close with almost the very words of the good old London Historian to whom we are so much indebted—‘Thus this most victorious and renowned King entred the way decreed for every creature, in the flower and most lusty time of his age, to wit, when he was six and twenty years old, when he had reigned nine years, and five months with glory.’

“You must, doubtless, worthy Mr. Barbican, well remember the discord which Shakspeare represents to have existed between the Protector, Humphrey Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester; and Cardinal Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester: and the fray which takes place between their serving-men in blue coats and tawny coats, on Tower-hill. This is in his ‘First Part of Henry the Sixth,’ Act I, Scene 3; but we learn from Fabyan’s ‘Chronicle,’ page 413, that they once disturbed London Bridge with a brawl that wore a much darker aspect. It was customary in the more ancient days of this City, that the Lord Mayor should be elected on the Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, on the 28th of October; and that on the day following he should be sworn in at Westminster. It was then, during the subsequent banquet of Sir John Coventry, Citizen and Mercer, that the Protector sent for him in great haste, and commanded him to watch the City securely during the night following; and on Tuesday, the 30th of October,—for, in 1425, St. Simon and St. Jude’s day happened on a Sunday, and therefore the Lord Mayor was elected the day after,—about nine in the morning, some of the Bishop’s servants came from his Palace on the Bankside, to enter at the Bridge Gate, when the warders, as they were commanded, kept them out by force. Upon which repulse, they retired in great discontent, and, gathering together a larger body of Archers and men-at-arms than that which kept the gate, assaulted it as a hostile City. All London was immediately alarmed; the Citizens shut their shops and hastened down to the Bridge in great multitudes; and a conflict would speedily have commenced, had it not been for the prudence and mediation of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, Henry Chicheley, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Prince of Portugal; who rode between the Protector and the Bishop, eight several times, ere they could bring them to any agreement; until, at length, they both consented to refer their dispute to the decision of John Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford, and Regent of France. The quarrel was, however, not concluded until the following Easter, which began on the last day of March. In defending London Bridge, the Protector appeared to be only retaliating upon the Bishop; for, in the third article of his charges against him, he stated, that once, when he was quietly riding to attend the King, the Bishop attempted his death at the Bridge foot, by assembling archers and soldiers in Southwark; by setting up engines to stop his way; by drawing the chain, used in ancient fortifications, across the Bridge; and by placing men in windows and turrets to cast down stones upon the heads of him and his followers.

“I have already mentioned to you, that there were several Towers erected on London Bridge, both for defence and ornament; although we have not any authentic historical notice concerning them, until we arrive at the year 1426, when Stow tells us in his ‘Survey,’ volume i., pages 61, 65, that the Tower at the North end of the Drawbridge, over which the heads of Traitors were wont to be set, was then began to be newly built, in the Mayoralty of Sir John Raynewell, Citizen and Fishmonger; who bore for his Arms, Parted per pale indented Argent and Sable, a Chevron Gules. He laid one of the first stones of the edifice, and the Bridge-Master, with John Arnold and John Higham, the Sheriffs, laid the others. Upon each of these four stones, the name IHESUS was engraven in fair Roman characters, and at the rebuilding of this Gate and Tower in April 1577, they were laid up as Memorials in the Bridge House. The Drawbridge over which it was erected, was, at this period, readily raised up or lowered, that ships might pass up the River to Queenhithe; which was, during the use of this convenience, a principal strand for their lading and unlading, as being in the centre and heart of the City.

“In the year 1428, we find a short, but certain proof, that the passing beneath London Bridge was not less dangerous, than it is at present. You will see the circumstance mentioned in Stow’s ‘Annals.’ page 369, but I prefer giving it you in the words of the often-mentioned Harleian Manuscript, No. 565, folio 87 b, which was, very probably, the original authority of the good old Chronicler. ‘Also this same yere,’—says the record,—‘the viij day of Nouember, the Duke of Norfolk, with many a gentil man, squyer, and yoman, tok his barge at Seynt Marye Ouerye be twen iiij and v of y^e belle a yens nyzt, and proposyd to passe thorugh London Bregge. Where of the forseid barge, thorugh mysgouernance of stearyng, fell vp on the pyles and ouerwhelmyd. The whyche was cause of spyllyng many a gentil man and othere; the more ruthe was! But as God wolde, y^e Duke him self and too or iij othere gentyl men, seying that myschief, leped vp on y^e pyles, and so were saved thorugh helpe of them that weren a bove y^e Brigge with castyng downe of ropes.’ The Duke of Norfolk, to whom this misfortune happened, was John Mowbray, the second of that title, who had served under King Henry V. in France, and who died October the 19th, 1432.

“We next come down to the April of 1431, when an association was formed at Abingdon, in Berkshire, headed by one William Mandeville, a weaver, and Bailiff of the Town, who entitled himself Jack Sharp, of Wigmore’s land, in Wales. The Protector took instant order for his apprehension, and when examined, he confessed that it was intended ‘to have made Priests’ heads as plenty as Sheeps’ heads, ten for a penny.’ His own, however, did not remain on his shoulders long after, for he was executed as a traitor, at Abingdon, and his head erected on London Bridge, whilst his companions were also hanged and quartered in other places. You find this fact related by Fabyan in his ‘Chronicle,’ page 422.

“From these scanty notices of misery, infatuation, and crime, it is with much delight that we turn to a spectacle of the greatest magnificence, and the most distinguished character, which London Bridge ever witnessed: the entrance of King Henry VI. to the City, after his Coronation as King of France, in the Church of Nôtre Dame, at Paris, on Friday, the 7th of December, 1431. On the 9th of the February following, he landed at Dover, and upon Thursday, the 21st of the same month, he was met by the Mayor and Corporation of London at Blackheath. Of their ceremony in conducting him towards the City, and the numerous Pageants which they had prepared to meet him at London Bridge, I shall now proceed to give you an account, extracted from Alderman Fabyan’s ‘Chronicle,’ volume ii., pages 423-425, and from Lydgate’s Poem on the ‘Comynge of y^e Kynge out of Fraunce to London;’ of which a very fair copy is preserved in that Harleian Manuscript which I have already quoted, No. 565, folio 114 b. The verses by Lydgate are not very common in any form, and they have, as I think, been but once printed in connection with the history of London Bridge, which is in Malcolm’s ‘Londinum Redivivum,’ already cited, volume ii., page 397; and, although you may conceive that I quote too much of them, I cannot deny myself the pleasure of beginning at the very commencement, since it is but little less beautiful than Chaucer’s immortal Tales. Listen, then, Mr. Barbican, I pray you listen; if you have ears for either Poesy or Romance.

‘Souereigne Lord and noble Kyng ze be wolcome out of youre Rem of Fraunce in to this zoure blessyd Rem of Jngelond, and in especial vn to zoure most notable Citee of London, other wise called youre chambre; we thankynge Almyghty God of the good and gracious acheuyng of zoure crowne of Fraunce: Besechynge of his mercyful grace to sende zow prosperite and many yeris to the comfort of alle zoure lovyng pepille.’

“So came the procession to London Bridge; and I very much suspect that the Corporation of our good City was so economical, as to entertain King Henry with some of the very same pageants which it had displayed to his father seventeen years before: for we find Fabyan stating, that ‘when the Kyng was comen to y^e Bridge, there was deuised a mightie Gyaunt, standyng with a sweard drawen.’ However, Lydgate will tell the story in the more interesting terms, and he continues thus:—

“‘And when,’ says Fabyan, ‘the Kyng was passed the first gate, and was comen to the Draw-bridge, there was ordeined a goodly tower, hanged and apparailed with silke and clothes of arras, in most riche wise.’ Of which building thus speaks Lydgate.