Volume 4 — Queries.

COINAGE OF VABALATHUS, PRINCE OF PALMYRA.

A great boon would be conferred on numismatists if some of your correspondents would endeavour to elucidate the puzzling legend sometimes found on coins of this prince.

Vabalathus, or Vhabalathus, Athenodorus (which Mionnet and Akerman make to be the Greek translation of Vabalathus), was the son of the celebrated Zenobia, by an Arab prince, and was raised to the imperial dignity by his mother. His sway extended over some parts of Syria and Egypt, A.D. 266-273.

Aurelian gave to Vabalathus a petty province of Armenia, of which he made him king, though perhaps this arose from the mistake of Occo and Salmasius (in Vopisc. p. 380.) in reading ΑΡΜΕΝΙΑϹ for ΑΥΓ . ΕΡΜΙΑϹ on his Egyptian coins (Vide infra).

His portrait appears on the reverse of coins of Aurelian, with the legend VABALATHVS . VCRIMDR. Frölich and Corsini have unsuccessfully attempted the interpretation of this word. Père Hardouin, considering, VCRIMOR as the correct reading, divides it V. C. R. IM. OR., i.e. Vice Cæsaris Rector Imperii Orientis; but, as Banduri rightly observes, the existence of this legend is extremely doubtful, VCRIMDR being the authorised one, and is undoubtedly so in a specimen in my cabinet; and though the worthy Jesuit remarks, "Barbaram vocem aliquam arbitrari sub hisce Notis Latinis latere, frigidum genus exceptionis est, ac desperantium," I am inclined to think that the true interpretation is to be sought in the Syriac, or some of the Oriental languages.

I have two others in my collection, of the rude third brass of the Egyptian mint: Obv. AURELIAN, &c.

The first and three final letters of this last legend are very indistinct, and I should much like a correct reading of it, as it is, I believe, inedited. Other legends are given by Banduri: VABALATHVS . alii REX. VCRIM. P.P.—VABALATVS. VCRIMOR.—VABALATHVS . ITER. IMP. R.—IM. C. VHABALATHVS. AVG.—Α . ΕΡΜΙΑϹ . ΟΥΑΒΑΛΛΑΘΟϹ . ΑΘΗΝΥ .—ΑΥ . Κ . ΕΡΜΙΑϹ . ΟΥΑΒΑΛΛΑΘΟϹ . ΑΘΗΝΟΥ . ΟΥΑΒΑΛΑΘΟϹ . ΑΘΗΝΟΥ . ΑΥΓ . ΕΡΜΙΑϹ.

E. S. TAYLOR.

Minor Queries.

195. Chaucer, how pronounced.

—What is, or was, the original pronunciation of the name of the poet Chaucer? Was, or was not, the ch in his day a guttural? And was not the name Hawker or Howker?

JAMES LAURIE.

196. The Island of Ægina.

—Having occasion to make some inquiry about the island of Ægina, in Greece, I have been sadly perplexed by the discrepancies of the modern authorities I have had an opportunity of consulting. The principal of these relates to the site of the temple of Jupiter, or Zeus Panhellenios, which Dr. Smith's Classical Dictionary, and M'Culloch's and Fullerton's Gazetteers, place in the N.E. part of the island; Fullerton, however, saying also that Mount St. Elias lies in the south part, though he does not say that the temple is built on that mount. But Blaikie's Gazetteer says that the temple stands on Mount St. Elias, which, according to Fullerton, is in the south. With this agrees the map in the Topographisch-historisch Atlas von Hellas, &c. von H. Kiepert, Berlin, 1846, which distinctly places the "Tempel von Zeus Panhellenios" in the south part of the island while the temple in the north-east is called "Tempel von Athena." The Atlas to Anacharsis' Travels places it also in the south. Which of these authorities is right? or, can any of your readers tell me, from personal knowledge, in what part of the island the said Temple of Zeus Panhellenios really stands?

JAMES LAURIE.

197. Statute of Limitations Abroad.

—With so many foreigners sojourning among us, I should be glad if you could, by throwing out a hint in your paper, obtain from them what is the statute of limitations of the several countries to which they belong.

CURIOSUS.

198. Tapestry Story of Justinian.

—There is a series of ancient tapestries in Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, representing certain events in the life of the emperor Justinian. One of these exhibits him in the act of making his celebrated Digest of Law, surrounded by his lawyers; in a second, he is manumitting slaves before the temple of Janus, at the time, I presume, when he proclaimed the eternal peace, which lasted two years; in a third, he appears crowned, on his knees, swearing, it should seem, to observe the Lex Romana, which is held up to him in an open book by two lictors; in the fourth, he is seen in a wild country, with a hunting spear in his hand, coming, as it were by surprise, and in great alarm, upon two hounds in the agonies of death. A dish, from which they may have taken poison, lies on the foreground; and a stream, which may possibly have been poisoned, gushes from a neighbouring rock. Figures in the background seem to be slinking away from the scene here represented.

I shall be much obliged to any of your correspondents who can point out to me the ancient author in whose writings the circumstance alluded to in the last-mentioned picture is detailed.

W. N. DARNELL.

199. Praed's Works.

—Can any reader of "NOTES AND QUERIES" inform me if there be a collected edition of the works of Praed? Many of your readers are familiar with his fugitive pieces published in Knight's Quarterly Magazine, The Etonian, and other periodicals. And all, I am sure, who are acquainted with him, would be glad to see his graceful and elegant productions published in a collected form.

K. S.

200. Folietani.

—Who founded the order of Folietani, or leaf-eaters (to the exclusion of all grain and meat)? where and when? What Pope dissolved the order, and is the Bull extant?

A. N.

201. Berlin Mean Time.

—In the Nautical Almanac the day is supposed to commence at noon according to the custom of English astronomers. Foreigners, however, ordinarily commence the astronomical day at midnight, at least those of France, Germany, Italy, and Spain do. But can you or any of your correspondents tell me whether it is from the midnight succeeding, or the midnight preceding our noon of the same number? For instance, taking the longitude of Berlin to be 0h 53m 35s .5 East, would the present moment, which is September 17, 3h 40m 30s Greenwich mean time, if expressed in Berlin mean time, be September 17, 16h 34m 5s .5, or would it be September 16, 16h 34m 5s .5? (I have reckoned to days by ordinals, as, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, &c., without a 0-day, which, however, the foreigners generally use, employing a cardinal number, the hours minutes, and seconds being considered as a fraction to be added.) I ask this question because so many things now are announced in Berlin mean time.

DX.

202. De Foe's House at Stoke Newington.

—About the year 1722 De Foe built here a large and handsome house for his own residence. Is it still standing, and where? Many mansions in the neighbourhood appear to have been erected about that time.

SPERIEND.

203. Oxford Fellowships.—

"Upon this occasion I might repeat what I have observed before, page 33. of these Annals, where the highest fellowships in Oxford in 1534 or 1535 did not exceed 6l. 13s. 4d., nor the lowest fall under 3l., and that was in Brazen Nose College; at which time New College fellowships were but rated at 3l. 9s. 4d., nor any of Magdalen fellowships (except two for Yorkshire that were obliged to go and preach in the countries abroad) above 3l. 15s. 4d., as may be found in Mr. Twine's MS."—Smith's Annals of Univ. Coll. p. 372.

Can any of your correspondents throw any light upon the parenthetical clause printed in Italics?

E. H. A.

204. Leonard Fell and Judge Fell.

—Mr. Josiah Marsh, in A popular Life of George Fox, 8vo., London, 1847, p. 83., mentions "Leonard Fell of Becliff, a brother of the judge."

I shall be obliged by a reference to the authority on which this statement rests. George Fox frequently mentions both Leonard Fell and Judge Fell; but I cannot find in his Journal the slightest hint that they were in any way connected. Fell is a common name in the north of Lancashire. Leonard Fell was one of the preachers who sometimes accompanied George Fox in his wanderings. Judge Fell was a staunch member of the Church of England.

LLEWELLYN.

205. "Cleanliness is next to Godliness."

—Will you, or one of your correspondents, have the goodness to inform me whence is derived the quotation "Cleanliness is next to Godliness?"

A MUSSULMAN.

206. Davies Queries.

—I shall feel much obliged by a correct description of the monument erected to Sir John Davys, Davis, or Davies, the celebrated lawyer and poet, in St. Martin's church, London, and particularly of the arms, crest, and motto (if any) which are on it.

I wish to know also the correct blazon of the following coats of arms: Thos. Davies, a fess inter three elephants' heads erazed; and Davis of London, on a bend cotissed inter six battle-axes three daggers: there is some mention of these arms in the Har. MSS., but I wish to know the correct colours of the shields and their charges?

LLAW GYFFES.

Minor Queries Answered.

Poet referred to by Bacon.

—To what poet does Bacon refer in the following passage of the Advancement of Learning?—

"The invention of one of the late poets is proper, and doth well enrich the ancient fiction: for he feigneth that at the end of the thread or web of every man's life there was a little medal containing the person's name, and that Time waited upon the shears; and as soon as the thread was cut, caught the medals, and carried them to the river of Lethe; and about the bank there were many birds flying up and down that would get the medals, and carry them in their beak a little while, and then let them fall into the river," &c.—Vol. ii. p. 112. in B. Montagu's edition of Bacon.

E.

[We are inclined to think that Bacon's reference was to the Mirror for Magistrates, and will probably be found in connexion with the following lines:

The Violin.

—Which is the best work hitherto published on the history and construction of the violin?

MUSICUS.

[Certainly the best work on the history of this favourite instrument is the amusing little volume published by Mr. George Dubourg, in 1836, under the title of The Violin, being an Account of that leading Instrument, and its most eminent Professors, from its earliest Date to the present Time: including Hints to Amateurs, &c.]

Sir Thomas Malory, Knt.

—I should feel obliged if any of your correspondents could give me any information relative to Sir Thomas Malory, Knt., who translated into English The most Ancient and Famous History of the renowned Prince Arthur, King of Britaine? Also any particulars relative the original author of that work?

M. P. S.

Inverness.

[Consult Herbert's edition of Ames's Typographical Antiquities, vol. i. pp. 59-61. 134.; Dibdin's Typographical Antiquities, vol. i. pp. 241-255.; and Wharton's History of English Poetry.]

Archbishop of Spalatro.

—In a note to the account of Chelsea College, in Lysons' Environs of London, which contains a list of the first fellows of the college, called by Archbishop Laud "Controversy College," of which Dr. Sutcliffe was founder and provost, I read—

"Many vacancies having occurred by the promotion of some of the fellows above-mentioned to bishoprics, and by the death of others, King James, by his letters patent, Nov. 14, 1622, substituted others in their room, among whom was the celebrated Archbishop of Splalato, then Dean of Windsor."

I wish to ask who this archbishop was? and should be glad to learn any further particulars respecting him, especially as to whether he ever acted as a bishop in England? Splalato is, I presume, an error of the press for Spalatro.

W. FRAZER.

[Mark Antony de Dominis, born about 1561, was educated among the Jesuits, and was Bishop of Segni, and afterwards Archbishop of Spalatro. Bishop Bedell met with him at Venice, and corrected, previous to publication, his celebrated work De Republica Ecclesiastica. When Bedell returned to England, Dominis came over with him. Here he preached and wrote against the Romanists, and the king gave him the Deanery of Windsor, the Mastership of the Savoy, and the rich living of West Ildesley in Berkshire. De Dominis's wish seems to have been to re-unite the Romish and English churches. He returned to Rome in 1622, where he abjured his errors, but on the discovery of a correspondence which he held with some Protestants, he was thrown into prison, where he died in 1625. He was a man of great abilities and learning, although remarkable for a fickleness in religious matters. He was author of a work entitled De Radiis Visus et Lucis in Vitris Perspectivis et Iride Tractatus, and was the first person, according to Sir Isaac Newton, who had explained the phenomena of the colours of the rainbow. We are also indebted to him for Father Paul's History of the Council of Trent, the manuscript of which he procured for Archbishop Abbot.—See Chalmers's Biographical Dictionary, s.v. DOMINIS.]

Play of "The Spaniards in Peru."—John Heywood.

—Who was the author of The Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru, expresst by Instrumentall and Vocall Musick, and by Art of Perspective in Scenes, &c., said to have been represented in the Cock Pit, in Drury Lane, at three in the afternoon punctually, 1658? Thus it stands in Jacob, but is not mentioned by Langbaine. The author of the British Theatre, however, mentions a remarkable circumstance in regard to it, which is, that Oliver Cromwell, who had prohibited all theatrical representations, not only allowed this piece to be performed, but even himself actually read and approved of it.

Also, what are the exact dates of the birth and death of John Heywood, in Henry VIII.'s time?

JAMES F. HASKINS.

[Sir William Davenant was the author of The Spaniards in Peru, which was subsequently incorporated in his piece, Playhouse to be Let. See his Works, fol. 1673, p. 103.; also Genest's Account of the English Stage, vol. i. p. 38.]

Selion.

—I have frequently met with the word "selion" in deeds relating to property in various parts of the Isle of Axholme, co. Lincoln. The term is used in the description of property; for instance, "All that selion piece or parcel of land situate, &c." It does not signify any particular quantity, for I have known it applied to fields of all sizes, from five acres down to a quarter of an acre. Will some of your numerous correspondents furnish an explanation of the word, and from whence derived?

L. L. L.

North Lincolnshire.

[Selion of land, or selio terræ, is derived from the French seillon, a ridge of land, or ground arising between two furrows, and contains no certain quantity, but sometimes more or less. Therefore Crompton says, that a selion of land cannot be in demand, because it is a thing uncertain.]