Volume 4 — Queries.

CROSSES AND CRUCIFIXES.

In the 22nd volume of the Archæologia, p. 58., is the following passage:

"The cross, which does not appear to have been peculiar to Christianity, when introduced on these obelisks, is usually filled with tracery."

The obelisks, or stones of memorial, referred to are the subjects of a very interesting paper communicated by Mr. Logan to the Society of Antiquaries. (See Plates 2, 3, 4, and 5.) I am desirous of being informed what authenticated instances there are of crosses, or stones marked with crosses, being used for landmarks, memorials, or for any other purpose, civil or religious, before the introduction of Christianity? I have met with one instance. Prescott, in his History of Mexico, relates that—

"In the court of one of the temples in the island of Columel he was amazed by the sight of a cross of stone and lime, about ten palms high."

It was the emblem of the god of rain (See vol. i. p. 240., &c.)

In the same paper Mr. Logan observes—

"Crosses, or stones on which the figure was traced, marked a place of meeting for certain districts; and within memory of man a fair was held on this spot. It is not improbable that market-crosses may be deduced from this custom."

It seems that every town that had the privilege of a market or fair (I am speaking of England) had a market-cross. In most of these towns the cross has disappeared, and in its place a ball or globe has been mounted on the shaft; but the term "market-cross" is still in use. In the town of Giggleswick, in the parish of Giggleswick, there is a perfect market-cross, the cross being what is, I believe, called a cross-fleury. In the town of Settle, in the same parish of Giggleswick, the ball or globe is placed on the top of the shaft. Are there other instances of market towns in which the cross is still found?

I passed through a market town lately in which the stone steps, and socket in which the shaft was placed, are preserved; but they have been removed to one corner of the market-place. The shaft and cross have disappeared.

Is not this erection of the cross, in places in which markets and fairs were held, of ecclesiastical origin? Was the cross erected by licence granted by the bishop within whose jurisdiction it was placed? Is there any grant of such licence in existence? Or did these crosses originate in the gratuitous piety of our ancestors? I fear to ask the question, whether the buyers and sellers under the cross are more upright in their dealings than those who buy and sell without the presence of this emblem of all that is true and just. Is the cross erected in the cities and towns of other states, as in England? Was the custom general in Europe?

F. W. J.

Mr. Curzon states, in the introduction to his Monasteries of the Levant, that—

"The crucifix was not known before the fifth or sixth century, though the cross was always the emblem of the Christian faith."

I am persuaded that this assertion is incorrect, and that the crucifix was used in much earlier times. Will some one kindly inform me where the first mention of it is to be found, and what is the date of the earliest examples now known?

DRYASDUST.

MASTER OF THE BUCKHOUNDS.

In reading the Topographer for January 1791 (a work which was published under the editorship of my uncle, Sir Egerton Brydges), I was surprised to find, in an account of the family of Brocas, of Beaurepaire, in the county of Hampshire, that the post of Master of the Buckhounds had been sold in the reign of James I.

Mr. Gough (Sepulchral Monuments, pp. 160, 161.) appears to be the authority quoted who describes the monument of Sir Bernard Brocas, Kt., as existing at Westminster, and having on it an inscription in which is the following sentence:

"Sir Bernard succeeded to the paternal inheritance both in England and France, and having married Mary, daughter and heiress of Sir John de Roche, had a large estate with her, and the hereditary post of Master of the Buckhounds; which was confirmed to him by King Edward the Third, and held by the family, till sold in James the First's reign."

I have no means of ascertaining at the present time whether this monument is still in existence or not; nor indeed has that much to do with the object of my writing, which is to suggest the following Queries, in the hope that some of your correspondents may be able to send satisfactory answers.

1. By whom was the post of Master of the Buckhounds first instituted, and who was the first Master?

2. Is there any list of persons holding this office; and if so, where may it be seen?

3. Is there any instance of an unmarried lady having held it: for in the case before us we see that a lady was able to convey it by inheritance to her husband?

4. By whom was it sold? Was it by the last hereditary possessor; and if so, what was his name? Or was it by the king, on the death of one of the possessors, for the purpose of enriching himself?

5. Is it known whether there is any other instance of its having been sold: and when did it come to be, as now, a ministerial office?

JOHN BRANFILL HARRISON.

Maidstone.

Minor Queries.

300. "No Cross no Crown."

—Where did Penn get the title of his well-known work? St. Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, in allusion to the custom of crowning crosses, has these lines:—

Vide Dr. Rock's Hierurgia. Quarles says, in his Esther:

MARICONDA.

301. Dido and Æneas.—

Who was the author of the above well-known bit of philology?

A. A. D.

302. Pegs and Thongs for Rowing: Torture among the Athenians.

—Dr. Schmitz (in Smith's Antiq., article SHIPS) speaks of "the pegs, σκαλμοί, between which the oars move[d], and to which they were fastened by a thong, τροπωτήρ." What is the authority for two pegs, between which, &c? A single peg and thong, as still in frequent use, would be intelligible!

Dr. Smith observes (ap. id. p. 1139.) that the decree of Scamandrius, which ordained that no free Athenian should be tortured, "does not appear to have interdicted torture as a means of execution, since we find Demosthenes (de Cor. 271.) reminding the judges that they had put Antiphon to death by the rack." Does it not escape him that Antiphon was then an alien, having suffered expulsion from the Lexiarchic list. (See Dem. l.c.)

A. A. D.

303. French Refugees.

—Where is the treaty or act of parliament to be found which guaranteed compensation to the French refugees at the end of the war? Is it possible to obtain a list of those who received compensation, and the amount paid; and if so, where?

S. QUARTO.

304. Isabel, Queen of the Isle of Man.

—In Charles Knight's London mention is made, amongst the noble persons buried in the church of the Grey Friars, of Isabel, wife of Baron Fitzwarren, sometime queen of the Isle of Man. Will you or some of your correspondents be so kind as to tell me who this lady was, and when the Isle of Man ceased to be an independent kingdom?

FANNY.

305. Grand-daughter of John Hampden.

—According to the Friend of India of 4th September, 1851, there is at Cossimbazar the following inscription:—

"SARAH MATTOCKS,

Aged 27.

Much lamented by her husband,

Lieutenant-Colonel JOHN MATTOCKS.

Was the grand-daughter of the

Great JOHN HAMDEN, Esq.,

Of St. James's, Westminster."

In the following number (dated 11th September, 1851), the editor offers an apology for having omitted the date of the decease of Mrs. Mattocks, viz. 1778; and then remarks that—

"As she was twenty-seven years old at her death, she must have been born in 1751; it was therefore impossible that she should have been the grand-daughter of the great John Hampden, that died in 1643, one hundred and eight years before her birth."

Query, Can any of your correspondents give me any information respecting the subject?

SALOPIAN.

306. Cicada or Tettigonia Septemdecim.

—In Latrobe's Rambler in North America, London, 1835, vol. ii. p. 290., is a curious account of this insect, which visits Pennsylvania every seventeenth year, and appears about May 24. It is under an inch in length when it first appears early in the morning, and gains its strength after the sun has risen. These insects live ten or fifteen days, and never seem to eat any food. They come in swarms, and birds, pigs, and poultry fatten on them. The female lays her eggs in the outermost twigs of the forest; these die and drop on the ground. The eggs give birth to a number of small grubs, which are thus enabled to attain the mould without injury, and in it they disappear; they are forgotten till seventeen years pass, and then the memory of them returns, and they rise from the earth, piercing their way through the matted sod, the hard trampled clay, &c. They appeared in 1749, &c., to 1834, and are expected in 1851. Has this expectation been fulfilled?

C. I. R.

307. The British Sidanen.

—Under this title (the proper spelling in which should be Sina or Senena) an article appears in Vol. iv., p. 120., comprising a portion of the genealogy of the Welsh princess, in which three of her sons are mentioned, viz., Owen, Llewellyn, and David. But there was a fourth son, Roderic, who settled in England, and appears to have been residing there for some time, when the fatal rupture occurred between the two countries. It would appear that descendants of his have lived, and are living in our own times; among them, the late Dr. John Mawer, of Middleton Tyas, whose remarkable epitaph was given in a former number of "NOTES AND QUERIES." My first inquiry is, Is there known to exist any genealogy assuming to extend between the Rev. and learned gentleman just named and Prince Roderic? I am told there was one published in the British Peerage for 1706, at which time John Mawer would be three years of age; is such the fact? I wish also to ask, whether Prince Owen was in existence at the time of the deaths of Llewellyn and David—whether in Wales or England? and whether he was the ancestor of Owen Tudor, the proud father of Henry VII.; and, if not, who was Owen Tudor's ancestor?

AMANUENSIS.

308. Jenings or Jennings.

—Was the late Mr. Jenings of Acton Hall, Suffolk, descended from the family of Jenings, formerly of Silsden, Skipton in Craven, and afterwards of Ripon, Yorkshire; and if so, where can information as to the pedigree be obtained?

A. B. C.

Brighton.

309. Caleva Atrebatum, Site of.

—May not the site of Caleva Atrebatum have been at Caversham, on the north of the Thames, near Reading?

The distance of Caleva from Londinium was forty-four Roman miles, making forty English; and from Venta Belgarum, thirty-six Roman or thirty-three English miles.

Caleva, according to Ptolemy's map, was on the north of the Thames; a portion of the present Oxfordshire being in the country assigned by the same geographer to the Atrebates.

G. J.

310. Abigail.

—Whence, or when, originated the application of Abigail, as applied to a lady's maid? It is used by Dean Swift in this sense; but in a way that shows that it was no new phrase in those days.

J. S. WARDEN.

Balica.

311. Etymology of Durden.

—Jacob, in his Law Dictionary, giving Cowel as his authority (who, however, advances no further elucidation), derives the word from dur-den, a coppice in a valley. Does the word dur signify wood, or, if the British dwr, is it not water?

F. R. R.

312. Connecticut Halfpenny.

—I have a halfpenny, apparently American, bearing on the obverse, a head to the right, and "Auctori Connect.;" and on the reverse, "Inde." for independence, and "Lib." for liberty; date in the exerg., 1781 or 1787; and between "Inde." and "Lib." five stars. Can any of your correspondents tell me if my explanation of the reverse is the correct one? and also who was the "Auctori Connect.," or founder of the state of Connecticut?

J. N. C.

King's Lynn.

Minor Queries Answered.

Arms displayed on Spread Eagle.

—For what reason are the arms of Methwen (and some others, I believe) placed on the breast of a two-headed eagle displayed sable?

H. N. E.

[When armorial ensigns are borne upon the breast of an eagle, the general inference is that the bearers thereof are Counts of the Holy Roman Empire, it being the practice in Germany for Counts of the Empire so to display the eagle.

There are some cases in which especial grants have been made to Englishmen so to do, as in the case of the family of Methwen; and persons having received the royal licence in England to accept the dignity of Count of the Empire, so carry their arms, as in the cases of Earl Cowper, Lord Arundel of Wardour, St. Paul, &c.]

St. Beuno.

—Where can I obtain any information respecting St. Beuno, to whom I find several churches dedicated in Wales?

J. D. D.

[In Rees's Essay on the Welsh Saints, p. 268., and Williams's Ecclesiastical Antiquities of the Cymry, p. 137. The college of Beuno is now called Clynog Vawr. See also The Cambro-Briton, vol. iii. p. 14.]

Lists of Knights Bachelor.

—What publication contains a list of the knights bachelor made by George I. and George II. (1714-1760)? With regard to the subsequent reign I have found the Calendar of Knights, by Francis Townsend, London, 1828, very accurate and perfect.

☞ N.

[There is not any continuous list of Knights Bachelors in any published works since Philpot's Catalogue, 1660, until Townsend's Calendar, which commences in 1760. The knights made by Kings George I. and II. will be found only in some of the genealogical publications of the day, such as the British Compendium, published at intervals between 1720 and 1769; Chamberlayne's State of Great Britain; or Heylin's Help to English History, or Phillipps's List of Nobility, and similar works.

Mr Townsend contemplated the publication of a list, and left an imperfect MS., which passed into the hands of Sir Thomas Phillipps, who printed it; but though privately circulated, it was never published. See Moule's Bibliotheca Heraldica for various works of the character referred to.]

Walker.

—An American lady lecturing on Bloomerism last week was much puzzled by the audience bursting into roars of laughter upon her quoting Professor Walker as an authority for some statement. The roars redoubled upon her declaring her belief that Professor Walker was a most respectable and trustworthy person. Can any one explain the origin of the joke that lies in the name "Walker?" Why do people say "Walker" when they wish to express ridicule or disbelief of a questionable statement?

DAVUS.

[The history of the renowned "Hookey Walker," as related by John Bee, Esq., is simply this:—John Walker was an out-door clerk at Longman, Clementi, and Co.'s in Cheapside, where a great number of persons were employed; and "Old Jack," who had a crooked or hooked nose, occupied the post of a spy upon their aberrations, which were manifold. Of course, it was for the interests of the surveillants to throw discredit upon all Jack's reports to the heads of the firm; and numbers could attest that those reports were fabrications, however true. Jack, somehow or other, was constantly outvoted, his evidence superseded, and of course disbelieved; and thus his occupation ceased, but not the fame of "Hookey Walker."]

See of Durham.

—Can any of your readers inform me of "The privileges of, and the ancient customs appertaining to, the See of Durham?"

H. F.

Clapham, Nov. 3. 1851.

[These relate most probably to the palatine rights of the Bishops of Durham, granted by Egfrid, King of Northumbria, in 685; when he gave to St. Cuthbert all the land between the Wear and the Tyne, called "the patrimony of St. Cuthbert," to hold in as full and ample a manner as the king himself holds the same. This donative, with its ancient customs and privileges, was confirmed by the Danes, and afterwards by William the Conqueror; in addition to which, the latter made the church a sanctuary, and the county a palatinate. Its bishop was invested with as great a power and prerogative within his see, as the king exercised without the bounds of it, with regard to forfeitures, &c. Thus it was a kind of royalty subordinate to the crown, and, by way of eminence, was called The Bishoprick. For an account of the ancient customs connected with the cathedral, our correspondent is referred to the curious and interesting work of Davies of Kidwelly, entitled, The Ancient Rites and Monuments of the Monastical and Cathedral Church of Durham, 12mo. 1672, which has been republished by the Surtees Society.]