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sras 


Presented  to  the 
LIBRARY  of  the 

UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO 

by 


ONTARIO  LEGISLATIVE 
LIBRARY 


TRANSACTIONS 


OF   THE 


ROYAL  HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

VOL.  IX. 


%      * 


TRANSACTIONS 


OF   THE 


C 


ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


BEING 


PAPERS    ORDERED    TO    BE    PRINTED    BY   THE 


PUBLISHING  COMMITTEE. 


ix. 


LONDON: 

PRINTED    FOR    THE    ROYAL   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

1881. 


[It  will  be  quite  understood  that  this  Council  does  not  hold  itself 
responsible  for  the  opinions  of  the  individual  writers  whose  papers  are 
included  in  this  or  any  other  of  the  volumes  of  the  Transactions  of 
the  Society.] 


PREFACE. 

THE  Council  having,  with  the  aid  of  the  Publishing  Com- 
mittee, at  last  succeeded  in  carrying  the  present  volume 
through  the  press,  regret  the  delay  in  its  production,  and  are 
fully  aware  of  its  other  shortcomings.  Their  apology  is,  that 
part  of  the  papers  only  came  into  their  possession  during  the 
early  months  of  the  present  year,  and  that  the  remainder, 
having  escaped  notice  among  the  multifarious  records  of  the 
Society  during  their  late  transference,  have  but  quite  recently 
come  to  hand.  This  has,  in  some  instances,  interfered  with 
the  chronological  sequence  of  the  papers  ;  which  would,  had 
circumstances  permitted,  have  been  printed  in  the  order  in 
which  they  were  read. 

The  Council  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Society  to  the 
fact  that  they  especially  desire  to  encourage  original  investi- 
gations. 

Many  papers  that  are  extremely  valuable  for  purposes  of 
debate,  and  highly  interesting  to  those  present  at  the  evening 
meetings,  are  not  entirely  suited  for  publication  in  the 
Transactions,  which  should  contain  such  papers  only  as  are 
desirable  for  future  reference. 


IV 


PREFACE. 


It  is  requested  that  papers  intended  for  reading  at  the 
monthly  meetings  be  sent  to  the  Hon.  Secretary  at  least  one 
month  previously  to  the  date  at  which  they  are  proposed 
to  be  read,  in  order  that  they  may  be  submitted  to  the 
Council  or  referees  appointed  by  them.  This  will  greatly 
facilitate  the  work  of  the  Publishing  Committee. 

The  appended  Roll  of  Fellows  (with  addresses)  is  believed 
to  be  correct  ;  but  if  any  error  be  discovered,  early  intimation 
to  the  Hon.  Secretary  will  oblige. 

For  the  laborious  and  too  often  unappreciated  task  of  pre- 
paring an  Index,  the  Society  is  indebted  to  Mr.  J.  H.  Chap- 
man, M.A.,  F.S.A.,  &c. 


LONDON,  May   5,    1881. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

PREFACE        .         .         .         ..•'..-' iii 

LIST  OF  FELLOWS  .         .         ....         .         .  xi 

THE    SCIENCE     OF     HISTORY,    INAUGURAL      ADDRESS     By 

GUSTAVUS  GEORGE  ZERFFI,  ESQ.,  PHD.,  F.R.S.L.          .         i 

THE    PERSECUTION     UNDER     ELIZABETH.      By     JOHN     H. 
CHAPMAN,  M.A.,  F.S.A.,  of  Pembroke  College,   Oxford, 
and  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  Barrister-at-Law          .         .         .         21 
ON  THE  ACTOR  LISTS,  1578 — 1642.     By  F.  G.  FLEAY,  M.A.        44 
OUTLINE  HISTORY  OF  THE  HANSEATIC  LEAGUE,  MORE  PAR- 
TICULARLY IN  ITS  BEARINGS  UPON  ENGLISH  COMMERCE. 
By  CORNELIUS  WALFORD,  F.I.A.  F.S.S.,  F.R.  Hist.  Soc.         82 

LIFE  AND  WRITINGS  OF  DUBRAVIUS,  BISHOP  OF  OLMUTZ, 
1542 — 1553.  By  the  Rev.  ALBERT  H.  WRATISLAW,  M.A., 
F.R.  Hist.  Soc.,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Bohemia.  137 

THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  WEST, 
FROM  CHARLEMAGNE  (Transitio  Imperil)  TO  THE  ERA  OF 
THE  CRUSADES  (AND  CONCORDAT,  1122).  By  the  Rev. 
W.  J.  IRONS,  D.D.,  BAMPTON  LECTURER,  1870,  PREBEN- 
DARY OF  ST.  PAUL'S,  F. R.  Hist.  Soc.  .  .  .  .152 

THE  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  SWEDEN.     By  HENRY  H.  HOWORTH, 

F.S.A 174 

NARRATIVE  OF  THE  TRANSFERENCE  OF  THE  GERMAN 
WEIMARIAN  ARMY  TO  THE  CROWN  OF  FRANCE  IN  THE 
SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  By  JAMES  HEYWOOD,  F.R. S.  .  216 

DOMESTIC  EVERYDAY  LIFE,  MANNERS,  .AND  CUSTOMS  IN  THIS 
COUNTRY,  FROM  THE  EARLIEST  PERIOD  TO  THE  END  OF 
THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  By  GEORGE  HARRIS,  Esq., 
LL.D.,  F.S.A 224 


^iatoriral 


OFFICERS  AND  COUNCIL-MAY,  1881, 


THE  RIGHT  HONOURABLE  LORD  ABERDARE,  F.R.S. 


His  GRACE  THE  DUKE  OF  WESTMINSTER,  K.G. 
THE  RIGHT  HON.  THE  EARL  OF  ROSEBERY. 
RIGHT  HON.  LORD  DE  LISLE  AND  DUDLEY. 
THE  RIGHT  HON.  LORD  SELBORNE. 
SIR  JOHN  LUBBOCK,  BART.,  M.P.,  D.C.L. 
JAMES  HEYWOOD,  ESQ.,  F.R.S. 
GEORGE  HARRIS,  ESQ.,  LL.D.,  F.I.A. 
CORNELIUS  WALFORD,  ESQ.,  F.I.A. 

(EounciL 

GUSTAVUS  GEORGE  ZERFFI,  ESQ.,  Ph.D.,  F.R.S.L.,  Chairman. 

SIR  CHARLES  FARQUHAR  SHAND,  LL.D.,  Vice-Chairman. 

RIGHT  HON.  EARL  FERRERS. 

THE  RIGHT  HON.  LORD  RONALD  GOWER. 

JOHN  H.  CHAPMAN,  ESQ.,  M.A.,  F.S.A. 

HYDE  CLARKE,  ESQ.,  D.C.L. 

REV.  J.  M.  CROMBIE,  F.G.S.,  F.L.S. 

J.  BAKER  GREENE,  ESQ.,  M.B.,  LL.B. 

HENRY  H.  HOWORTH,  ESQ.,  F.S.A. 

ALDERMAN  HURST. 

CAPTAIN  E.  C.  JOHNSON. 

TITO  PAGLIARDINI,  ESQ. 

F.  K.  J.  SHENTON,  ESQ. 

REV.  ROBINSON  THORNTON,  D.D.  (Oxon). 

BRYCE  MCMURDO  WRIGHT,  ESQ.,  F.R.G.S. 

JOHN  RUSSELL,  ESQ. 

J^onotatg  Secretary  anto  Cteaautet. 

WILLIAM  HERBAGE,   Esq.,  F.S.S.,  London  and  South-Western  Bank, 
7,  Fenchurch  Street,  London,  E.C. 

ILtbtauan. 

W.  S.  W.  VAUX,  ESQ.,  M.A.,  F.R.S.L.,  Society's  Rooms,  22,  Albemarle 

Street,  W. 


AN    OUTLINE    OF 

THE  OBJECTS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

THE  "Historical  Society"  was  established  in  1868,  and  was 
authorized  in  1872,  by  the  permission  of  Her  Most  Gracious  Majesty 
the  Queen  to  use  the  title  : — 

"  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY." 
The  principal  objects  of  the  Society  are  : — 

I.  To  promote  and  foster  the  study  of  History  on  general  scientific 
principles. 

II.  To  encourage  researches  on  important  special  historical  facts 
concerning  Great  Britain  and  other  countries. 

III.  To  assist  in  the  publication  of  rare  and  valuable  State  papers, 
or  any  other  documents  throwing  light  on  the  customs,  manners,  and 
mode  of  life  of  different  nations. 

IV.  To  publish  translations  of  standard  historical  works. 

V.  To  hold  monthly  meetings  for  the  reading  and  discussion  of 
papers  on  historical  subjects. 

VI.  To  publish  a  selection  of  the  papers  read.     This  has   been 
done,  hitherto,  by  annual  publications  of  the  Transactions  of  the 
Society,   of   which  nine  volumes  have  been  printed.     "The  New 
Series"  of  the  publications  of  the    "Royal  Historical  Society"  will 
shortly  be  issued  in   QUARTERLY  PARTS,  containing  papers  by  the 
Fellows,    and  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES   of  the  more   important 
English  and   foreign  historical   publications. 

VII.  To  grant  from  time  to  time  prizes  for  Historical  Essays. 


The  Society's  Library  is  open  to  Fellows  from   10  o'clock  A.M.  to 
4  o'clock  P.M.,  except  on  Saturdays,   when    it  closes  at  2  o'clock 


X  OBJECTS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

P.M.  The  Librarian  resides  on  the  premises.  Fellows  are  allowed 
the  use  of  the  Books  at  their  private  residences.  Donations  of  Books 
to  the  Library  are  received  by  the  Librarian. 

The  Annual  Subscription  to  the  Society  is  One  Guinea  per 
annum,  and  is  payable  to  the  Treasurer  on  the  first  day  of  the  session, 
viz.  ist  of  November.  The  Entrance  Fee  at  present  is  One  Guinea. 

The  Monthly  Meetings  are  held  in  the  Society's  Rooms, 
22,  Albemarle  Street,  Piccadilly,  London,  W.,  at  8  o'clock  P.M., 
every  third  THURSDAY  of  the  month,  from  NOVEMBER  to  JUNE 
inclusive.  Fellows  are  supplied  with  Order-books  to  enable  them  to 
admit  friends  to  the  meetings. 

Nomination  Forms,  and  any  further  information,  will  be  furnished 
on  application  to  the  Honorary  Secretary  and  Treasurer, 

WILLIAM  HERBAGE,  ESQ., 

London  and  South-Western  Bank, 

7,  Fenchurch  Street,  London,  E.G. 


5///  May,   1881. 


LIST  OF  FELLOWS. 


Names  of  Members  of  Council  are  printed  in  SMALL  CAPITALS. 
Those  marked  *  have  compounded  for  their  Annual  Subscriptions. 
Those  marked  f  have  contributed  Papers. 
Those  marked  "  p  "  have  presented  Books  to  the  Library. 

Abbott,  Richard,  Esq.,  Forcett,  near  Darlington. 

fABERDARE,    RIGHT    HONOURABLE,   LORD,    F.R.S.,   I   Queen's  Gate,  S.W.  ; 

Duffryn,   Aberdare,   Glamorganshire. 
Abram,  W.  A.  Esq.,  42  Adelaide  Terrace,  Blackburn, 
t  *  Ackers,    B.    St.   John,    Esq.,  Prinknash    Park,    Painswick,  and  85  Wigmore 

Street,  W. 

Adams,  Ernest,  Esq.,  Victoria  Park,  Manchester. 
Addyman,  Alderman,  Hare  Hills,  Leeds. 
Ainslie,    Oliver    Alexander,    Esq.,    Barrister-at-Law   of  the   Inner   Temple,    48 

Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  W.C. 

Albright,  Arthur,  Esq.,  Mariemont,  Birmingham. 
Alexander,    Henry  M.,  Esq.,    16  West  Twenty-fifth  Street,  New  York,  United 

States. 

Alexander,  Rev.  J.  F.,  Dunalastair,  Northern  Grove,  Didsbury,  Manchester. 
Allen,  Charles  J.,  Esq.,  North  House,  Alexandra  Road,  St.  John's  Wood,  N.W. 
/  Allen,  Honourable  Stephen  Merrill,  Boston,  Mass.,  United  States. 
/Altschul,    Dr.,   F.R.G.S.,   F.R.S.L.,  M.C.P.,  M.  Philolog.  Soc.,  9  Old  Bond 

Street,  W. 

Andrews,  William,  Esq.,  10  Colonial  Street,  Hull. 
Anthony,  Charles,  Esq.,  The  Elms,  Hereford. 
Anderson,  J.  Alexander,  Esq.,  2   Clifton  Villas,  Henslowe  Road,  East  Dulwich, 

S.E. 

Archer,  Thomas,  Esq.,  13  Chatham  Place,  Hackney,  E. 
Ashbee,  H.  S.,  Esq.,  46  Upper  Bedford  Street,  W.C. 
Ashworth,  John  J.,  Esq.,  Clifton  House,  Great  Lever,  near  Bolton. 
Atwool,  Josiah,  Esq.,  9  Altenberg  Gardens,  Clapham  Common,  S.W. 

Backhouse,  Jonathan  E.,  Esq.,  Bank,  Darlington. 

/*Backler,    Henry   M'Lauchlan,    Esq.,    F.R.G.S.,    Norland,    Champion    Park, 

Denmark  Hill,  S.E. 
Bacon,  Rev.  J.  H.,  Great  Gonerby  Rectory,  Grantham. 

*  Baguley,  Henry,  Esq.,  247  Southwark  Bridge  Road,  London. 
Baily,  Rev.  Johnson,  M.A.,  Pallion  Vicarage,  Sunderland. 
Barker,  Rev.  Philip  C.,  M.A.,  LL.B.,  Rotherham. 

*  Barnard,  John,  Esq.,  Spring  Hall,  Sanbridgeworth,  Herts. 
Barrett,  F.  T.,  Esq.,  Mitchell  Library,  Ingram  Street  East,  Glasgow. 
Barrett,  T.  Squire,  Esq.,  108  Clapham  Road,  S.W. 

Bate,  George, Esq.,  F.S.S.,  Paragon  Villa,  Northumberland  Park,  Tottenham,  N. 
Bates,  Rev.  Joseph  Chadwick,  M.A.,  F.R.A.S.,  Castleton  Vicarage,  near  Man- 
chester. 


Xll  LIST   OF   FELLOWS. 

Belk,  Thomas,  Esq.,  Hartlepool. 

Bell,  J.  Carter,  Esq.,  F.C.S.,  etc.,  Kersal  Clough,  Higher  Broughton,  Manchester. 

Bellingham,  Alan  Henry,  Esq.,M.A.,  Oxon,  M.P.,  9  Cavendish  Square,W.,  and 

Exton  House,  Oakham. 
Bennett,  C.,  Esq.,  9  Victoria  Terrace,  Heavitree,  Exeter. 

*  Bennett,  Captain  H.  A.,  Nelson  House,  Manchester. 
Bettany,  G.,  Esq.,  107  Fleet  Street,  London. 
Bevington,  Major  S.  R.,  Neckinger  Mills,  Bermondsey,  S.E. 
p  *  Biden,  Lewis,  Esq.,  28  Lion  Terrace,  Portsea. 

Billing,  Rev.  F.  A.,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.L.,  7  St.  Donatt's    Road,  New  Cross, 

O.  -Crf» 

Billington,  Rev.  James,  334  Strand,  W.C. 

Binns,  E.  K.,  Esq.,  F.G.S.,  216  Heavigate  Road,  Sheffield. 

t  Black,  William  Thomas,  Esq.,  25  Charles  St.,  St.  James's,  and  2  George  Square, 

Edinburgh. 

Blaquiere,  Right  Hon.  Lord  de,  Springfield,  Crawley,  Sussex. 
Blenkinsopp,  Rev.  E.  C.  Leaton,  M.A.,  Springthorpe  Rectory,  Gainsborough. 
p  *  Boguoshevsky,  Baron  Nicholas  Casimer  de,  Pskow,  Russia. 
Bond,  John  J.,  Public  Record  Office,  Fetter  Lane,  E.G. 
Booker,  William  Henry,  Esq.,  Short  Hill,  Hollow  Stone,  Nottingham. 
Boyes,  Rev.  J.,  A.M.,  18  Lee  Street,  Louth. 

Boyle,  Edmund  Montagu,  Esq.,  14  Hill  Street,  Berkeley  Square,  W. 
Boynton,  Thomas,  Esq.,  Ulcome  Grange,  Lowthorpe,  Hull. 
Braikenridge,  Rev.  George  Weare,  A.M.,  F.S.A.,  Scot,  Claremont,  Clevedon. 
Braithwaite,  Isaac,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S.,  4  Gloucester  Square,  London. 
Bramley,  Thomas,  Esq.,  Nottingham  Journal Office,  Nottingham. 
Bramley-Moore,  J.,   Esq.,   J.P.,    D.L.,   F.R.G.S.,    Langley  Lodge,    Gerrard's 

Cross,  Bucks. 

Bramwell,  F.  J.,  Esq.,  37  Great  George  Street,  Westminster,  S.Wr. 
Brayshay,  William  Hutton,  Esq.,   15  Devonshire  Terrace,    Kensington,  W.,  and 

Dale  House,  Malham,  Yorkshire. 
Brent,  Francis,  Esq.,  19  Clarendon  Place,  Plymouth. 
Bridgeman,  Hon.  and  Rev.  J.  R.  O.,  Weston-under-Lizzard,  Shifnal. 
/  f  Briscoe,  John  Potter,  Esq.,  Free  Library,  Nottingham. 
Brittain,  W.  H.,  Esq.,  Alma  Works,  Sheffield. 
Britten,  Lieut. -Col.  John,  R.L.M.,  i8A  Basinghall  Street,  E.G. 

*  Broomhead,  Barnard  P.,  Esq.,  Bank  Chambers,  George  Street,  Sheffield. 
Brough,  William  S.,  Esq.,  Fowlchurch,  Leek,  Staffordshire. 

t  Brown,  J.  Main  waring,  Esq.,  B.A.,  2  Rectory  Place,  Chislehurst. 
Brown,  John  Marshall,  Esq.,  Portland,  Maine,  U.S.A. 
Brown,  R.  Weir  Esq.,  3  Aubrey  Road,  Holland  Park,  W. 
Brown,  Thomas  Forster,  Esq.,  Guildhall  Chambers,  Cardiff. 
Browne,  Harold  E.  G.,  Esq.,  6  New  Square,  Lincoln's  Inn,  W.C. 
Brunt,  E.,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S.,  Mechanics'  Institute,  Hanley. 
Buck,  J.  H.  Watson,  Esq.,  4  Albert  Street,  Rugby. 

Bunbury,  Sir  Charles  J.  F.,  Bart.,  F.R.S.,  Barton  Hall,  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  and 
48  Eaton  Place,  S.W. 

*  p  Burdett-Coutts,  Right  Hon.  the  Baroness,  I  Stratton  Street,  W. 
Burges,  Rev.  J.  Hart,  D.D.,  The  Rectory,  Devizes. 
Burroughs,  Wm.  Henry,  Esq.,  Montpellier,  Brecknock  Road,  N. 
Burton,  H.,  Esq.,  Newport,  Monmouthshire. 

Burton,  J.  H.,  Esq.,  5  Trafalgar  Square,  Ashton-under-Lyne. 
Butler,  Rev.  Charles  Wesley,  Eastwood,  Notts. 

*  Butt,  Arthur  N.,  Esq.,  London  Institution,  Finsbury  Circus,  E.G. 

Cadman,   Rev.   William,   Prebendary  of  St.   Paul's,   6  Albany  Street,   Regent's 

Park,  N.W. 
Campobianco,  The  Marquess  de,  29  Montague  Street,  Russell  Square,  W.C. 


LIST   OF   FELLOWS.  xill 

Cann,  W.,  Esq.,  9  Southernhay,  Exeter. 

*  Cardale,  George,  Esq.,  2  Bedford  Row,  W.C. 

Card  well,  Thomas,  Esq.,  32  Park  Street,  Grosvenor  Square,  W. 

*  Carillon,  J.  Wilson,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  Wormhill,  Buxton. 
Ca-rnell,  George  Frederick,  Esq.,  Sevenoaks. 

f  CHAPMAN,  JOHN  H.,  Esq.,  M.A.,  F.S.A.,38  St.  Charles  Square,  North  Kensing- 
ton, W. 

Chappell,  John,  Esq.,  21  Gresham  Street,  E.G. 
Chase,  George  B.,  Esq.,  A.M.,  Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 
Chester,  The  Lord  Bishop  of,  The  Palace,  Chester. 
Chesterman,  W.,  Esq.,  Broomgrove,  Sheffield. 
Chorley,  H.  B.  K.,  Esq.,  69  Jeffrey's  Road,  Clapham,  S.W. 
Chorlton,  Thomas,  Esq.,  32  Brazenose  Street,  Manchester. 
Christie,  Edward  R.,  Esq.,  Madeley  Street,  Tunstall,  Stoke-on-Trent. 
f  Christie,  Captain  J.  E.,  I  Regent  Road,  Edinburgh. 
Claiborne,  Honourable  J.  F.  H.,  LL.D.,  Natchez,  Miss., U.S.A. 
Christian,  J.  R.,  Esq.,  M.D.,  Holly  Springs,  Miss.,  U.S.A. 
Clark,  A.  C.,  Esq.,  Haileybury  College,  Hertford. 
Clarke,  Rev.  George  P.,  75  Belgrave  Road,  Edgbaston,  Birmingham, 
/t  CLARKE,  HYDE,  Esq.,  D.C.L.,  32  St.  George's  Square,  S.W. 
Clements,  Rev.  G.  W.,  Grey's  Hill,  Henley-on-Thames. 

*  Cliff,  John,  Esq.,  F.G.S.,  Linnburne,  Ilkley,  near  Leeds. 
Clinton,  H.  R.,  Esq.,  Hollywood,  Eliot  Bank,  Forest  Hill,  S.E. 
Clode,  William,  Esq.,  5  St  Andrew's  Square,  Surbiton,  Surrey. 
Close,  Thomas,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  Nottingham. 

Coales,  Robert,  Esq.,  M.A.,  LL.D.,  119  Gower  Street,  W.C. 

Coleman,  Everard  Home,  Esq.,  F.R.A.S.,  F.R.G.S.,  82  Basinghall  Street,  E.C 

*  Cole,  James  Edwin,  Esq.,  St.  Stephen's  Club,  Westminster,  S.W. 
Collingridge,  William,  Esq.,  M.B.,   B.A.,  M.R.C.S.E.,  Selwood,  Mayow  Road 

Forest  Hill,  S.E. 

Collins,  William  Job,  Esq.,  M.D.,  I  Albert  Terrace,  Regent's  Park,  N.W. 
Compston,  Samuel,  Esq.,  105  Crosscliffe  Street,  Alexandra  Park,  Manchester. 
Congress  Library,  Washington,  United  States. 
Cook,  John,  Esq.,  14  Parliament  Street,  Hull. 
Cooke,  Rev.  William,  D.D.,  Burslem  House,  Dartmouth  Park,  Forest  Hill,  S.E. 

*  Cookson,  Faithful,  Esq.,  25  Grand  Parade,  Brighton. 

Copeland,  Rev.  G.  D.,  B.D.,  Boyson  Road,  Camberwell  Green,  S.E. 

Corbett,  John,  Esq.,  M.P.,  Imprey,  Droitwich. 

Cottam,  Samuel,   Esq.,  F.R.A.S.,  F.G.A.,  6  Essex  Street,  King  Street,  Man 

Chester. 

Courtauld,  George,  Esq.,  M.P.,  Cut  Hedge,  near  Halstead,  Essex. 
Cowell,  Peter,  Esq.,  Free  Public  Library,  Liverpool. 
Cox,  George  R.,  Esq.,  Princes  Park,  Liverpool. 
Coxe,  Rev.  H.  O.,  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford. 
Crake,  Rev.  A.  D.,  Haven  Street  Vicarage,  Ryde. 

*  Crawford,  J.  W.,  Esq.,  East  Street  Mills,  Leeds. 
Crawford,  William  Horatio,  Esq.,  Lakelands,  Cork,  Ireland. 
Crawhall,  Joseph,  Esq.,  Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

Crockford,  Frederick,  Esq.,  Silverdale,  Sydenham. 

*Crofton,  Henry  M.,  Esq.,  F.R.A.S.,  M.R.I.A.,  Inchmappa,  Ashford,  County 
Wicklow. 

CROMBIE,  Rev.  J.  M.,  F.L.S.,  F.G.S.,  12  Coleherne  Road,  West  Brompton,  S.W. 

Crowe,  Francis,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  F.R.G.S.,  22  WTestbourne  Park  Road,  Bayswater. 

Crutwell,  Alfred,  Esq.,  C.E.,  F.G.S.,  29  John  Street,  Penarth,  near  Cardiff. 

Cruttfield,  Rev.  C.  F.,  Bradfield  College,  Reading. 

Cuffe,  Moore  A.,  Esq.,  LL.D.,F.R.S.L.,  15  Earl's  Court  Gardens,  South  Ken- 
sington, S.W. 

Cullen,  Rev.  John,  Trin.  Coll.,  Dublin  ;  The  Vicarage,  Radcliffe-on-Trent. 


XIV 


LIST   OF   FELLOWS. 


Dallas,  James,  Esq.,  21  Alma  Square,  St.  John's  Wood,  N.W. 

Dalton,  C.,  Esq.,  Percy  House,  Twickenham  Park. 

Davidson,  William  James,  Esq.,  97  West  George  Street,  Glasgow. 

Davies,  Rev.  Henry  Harris,  M.A.,  Ph.D.,  Llangoecl  Vicarage,  Beaumaris. 

?  Davies,  Rev.  John  Hamilton,  B.A.,  St.  Nicholas  Rectory,  Worcester. 

Davy,  C.  R.,  Esq.,  Tracey  Park,  Bath. 

Dawson,  Thomas,  Esq.,  Caledonia  Mount,  Leeds. 

Dawson,  Rev.  W.,  M.A.,  St.  John's  Rectory,  Clerkenwell. 

*  Dees,  Robert  Richardson,  Esq.,  The  Hall,  Wallsend,  Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

DE  L'IsLE  AND  DUDLEY,  Right  Hon.  Lord,  Penshurst  Place,  Tunbridge,  Kent. 

Denham,  Edward,  Esq.,  384  Acushnet  Avenue,  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 

p  Denison,  Major  Frederick  C.,  Toronto,  Canada. 

Digby,  G.  Wingfield,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S.,  Sherborne  Castle,  Sherborne. 

Dillon,  Lin,  Esq.,  22  Booth  Street,  Manchester. 

*  Dimelow,  John  Gartside,  Esq.,  Lansdowne  Villas,  Witherington,  Manchester. 
Dothie,  Rev.  Elvery,  24  Rectory  Road,  Stoke  Newington,  N. 

Drew,  Joseph,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  F.R.A.S.,  F.G.S.,  Weymouth. 

Dublin,  Trinity  College  Library. 

Dyson,  William  Colbeck,  Esq.,  Belmont  Terrace,  Wilton  Park,  Batley. 

Eales,  Rev.  George,  M.A.,  Claremont  Road,  Dewsbury. 

Eddy,  Robert  Henry,  Esq.,  76  State  Street,  Boston,  Mass.,  United  States. 

Edwards,  Rev.  Griffith,  Llangadflan  Rectory,  Welshpool. 

*  Elliot,  John,  Esq.,  Free  Library,  Wolverhampton. 

Emmett,  Albert,  Esq.,  Savings  Bank  Department,  General  Post  Office,  E.G. 
p  Erskine,  William,  Esq.,  19  St.  James  Square,  Edinburgh. 

*  Evans,  E.  Bickerton,  Esq.,  Whitbourne  Hall,  near  Worcester. 
Evans,  Rev.  J.,  B.A.,  2  Rosedale  Villas,  King's  Road,  Cheltenham. 

*  Evans,  W.,  Esq.,  Ellerslie,  Edgbaston,  Birmingham. 

Faulkner,  C.  DufTell,  Esq.,  Deddington,  Oxfordshire. 
/Ferguson,  Robert,  Esq.,  M.P.,  Morton,  Carlisle. 

*  FERRERS,  Right  Hon.  Earl,  Staunton  Harold,  Melbourne,  Derby. 
Field,  Rev.  Edmund,  M.A.,  Lancing  College,  Shoreham. 

Fitch,  Edwin  F.,  Esq.,  66  Bishopsgate  Street,  E.G. 
Fleay,  F.  G.,  Esq.,  M.A.,  33  Avondale  Square,  S.E. 

*  Fletcher,  John  S.,  Esq.,  Treherne  House,  Hampstead,  N.W. 
Fooks,  William,  Esq.,  M.A.,  LL.B.,  49  Chancery  Lane,  W.C. 
Follows,  William,  Esq.,  7  New  Hampton  Road,  Wolverhampton. 
Ford,  John  Rawlinson,  Esq.,  Adel  Grange,  near  Leeds. 
Francis,  Swinford,  Esq.,  21  Richmond  Villas,  Holloway,  N. 

Fryer,  Alfred  C.,  Esq.,  F.G.S.,  Elm  Hirst,  near  Wilmslow,  Cheshire. 
Fuller,  George  John,  Esq.,  Clarendon  House,  North  Park,  \Vest  Croydon. 

p  Galloway,  Rev.  W.  B.,  M.A.,  54  Fitzroy  Road,  N.W. 

*  Garstin,  John  Ribton,  Esq.,   M.A.,  F.S.A.,  M.R.I.A.,  Braganstown,    Castle 

Bellingham,  co.  Louth. 

Gee,  William,  Esq.,  Denbigh  Meadows,  Heaton  Chapel,  Manchester. 
Gill,  John,  Esq.,  Penryn,  Cornwall. 

Gordon,  Rev.  Henry  D.,  Harting  Vicarage,  Petersfield,  Sussex. 
Gorrie,  Daniel,  Esq.,  La  Belle  Sauvage  Yard,  E.G. 
Gotch,  H.  G.,  Esq.,  Kettering. 
Gould,  Frederick,  Esq.,  F.L.S.,  F.S.A.,  The  Elms,  Kingston-on-Thames. 

*  Gowen,  Franklin  B.,  Esq.,  Philadelphia,  U.S.A. 

GOWER,  Right  Hon.  Lord  RONALD,  Stafford  House,  St.  James's,  London. 

Graham,  James,  Esq.,  71  Holland  Road,  Netting  Hill,  W. 

Gratton,  John,  Esq.,  The  Hollies,  Sneyd  Green,  Stoke-on-Trent. 

/  Grazebrook,  H.  Sydney,  Esq.,  Middleton  Villa,  Grove  Park,  Chiswick. 

Green,  Samuel  S.,  Esq.,  Free  Public  Library,  Worcester,  Mass.,  United  States. 


LIST   OF   FELLOWS.  XV 

Green,  W.  J.,  Esq.,  24  Spring  Gardens,  S.W. 

GREENE,  J.  BAKER,  Esq.,  M.B.  LL.B.,   13  Clement's  Inn,  Strand,  W.C. 

Greenhough,  William  H.,  Esq.,  Central  Free  Library,  Stockport. 

Greenwood,  A.,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.L.,  F.S.A.,  Flaxfield  College,  Basingstoke. 

Griffith,  Richard  C.,  Esq.,  M.D.,  F.R.G.S.,  20  Gower  Street,  W.C. 

Grimsey,  Benjamin  Page,  Esq.,  Stoke  Lodge,  Ipswich. 

Gunn,  Rev.  W.  E.  B.,  7  Falkland  Road,  Egremont,  Birkenhead. 

Haddock,  John,  Esq.,  16  Marine  Crescent,  Waterloo,  Liverpool. 
Hadley,  Alderman  S.  C.,  157  Kennington  Park  Road,  S.E. 

*  Halkett,  Rev.  Dunbar  Stuart,  M.A.,  Rector  of  Little  Bookham,  near  Leather- 

head,  Surrey. 

Hall,  Hugh  F.,  Esq.,  F.G.S.,  17  Dale  Street,  Liverpool. 
Hall,  William  Robert,  Esq.,  Broxbourne,  Herts, 
t  Hamilton,  Walter,  Esq.,  90  Cannon  Street,  E.G. 
Harben,  Henry,  Esq.,  Seaford  Lodge,  Fellows  Road,  N.W. 
Hargreaves,  John,  Esq.,  Ravenswood,  Rock  Ferry,  Cheshire. 
/  *  HARRIS,  GEORGE,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  F.S.A.,  Iselipps  Manor,  Northolt,  Southall,W. 
Hart,  William  Fairburn,  Esq.,  17  Woodsley  Road,  Leeds. 
Harvey,  Henry,  Esq.,  50  Glebe  Place,  King's  Road,  S.W. 

*  Harvey,  William  Marsh,  Esq.,  Goldington  Hall,  Bedford. 

Hatton,  W.  H.,  Esq.,  Office  of  Daily  Chronicle,  Chapel  Lane,  Bradford. 
Hawkes,  George,  Esq.,  St.  Winifred's,  Salisbury  Road,  Brighton. 
Hay,  James  A.  C.,  Esq.,  M.I.M.E.,  Royal  Arsenal,  WToolwich. 
Healey,  Edward  Charles,  Esq.,  Wyphurst,  near  Guildford. 
Healey,  Captain  J.  H.  C.,  Marlintown  House,  Mullingar,  Ireland. 

*  Heap,  John,  Esq.,  Times  Office,  Bury. 
Heginbotham,  Henry,  Esq.,  Millgate  House,  Stockport. 

f  Heinemann,  Dr.,  80  Upper  Gloucester  Place,  Portman  Square,  W. 

/  Henderson,  William,  Esq.,  Ashford  Court,  Ludlow,  Shropshire. 

p  Hepburn,  William  C.,  Esq.,  The  Miller  Office,  69  Mark  Lane,  E.C. 

HERBAGE,  WILLIAM,  Esq.,  F.S.S.,  Honorary  Secretary  and  Treasurer^  7  Fen- 
church  Street,  E.C. 

t  HEYWOOD,  JAMES,  Esq.,  F.R.S.,  26  Kensington  Palace  Gardens,  W. 

Hick,  Wm.  Henry,  Esq.,  Longfield  Cottage,  Dark  Lane,  Batley. 

Higgin,  James,  Esq.,  Woodhey,  Cavendish  Road,  Higher  Broughton,  Manchester. 

Hill,  George  W.,  Esq.,  South  East  Corner,  Fourth  Walnut  Street,  Philadelphia, 
U.S.A. 

fHill,  John  Wingtham,  Esq.,  M.A.,  Lynton  Villa,  Virginia  Road,  Leeds. 

Hinmers,  William,  Esq.,   Cleveland  House,  Lancaster  Road,  Eccles,  Manchester. 

Hoare,  Rev.  J.  N.,  255  King's  Road,  Chelsea,  S.W. 

Hocking,  Rev.  Silas  K.,  13  Brampton  Grove,  Cheetham,  Manchester. 

Hodgson,  William  Pickering,  Esq.,  231  Penn  Street,  Brooklyn,  New  York. 

Hooper,  George  N.,  Esq.,  Elmleigh,  Hayne  Road,  Beckenham,  S.E. 

Hopkins,  J.  Satchell,  Esq.,  Jesmond  Grove,  Edgbaston,  Birmingham. 

*Horniman,  F.  J.,  Esq.,  Surrey  Mount,  Forest  Hill,  S.E. 

*  Hovenden,  Frederick,  Esq.,  93-5  City  Road,  London. 
Hovenden,  Robert,  Esq.,  Heathcote  Park,  Hill  Road,  Croydon. 
HOWORTH,  HENRY  H.,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  Derby  House,  Eccles,  Manchester. 
Hudson,  Edward,  Esq.,  East  Cliff,  Sheffield. 

Hughes,  William,  Esq.,  General  Printing  Office,  24  Wardour  Street,  W. 

Hume,  David  A.,  Esq.,  2  East  India  Avenue,  Leadenhall  Street,  E.C. 

Hulme,  Rev.  Samuel,  Hartwood  Road,  Southport. 

Hunt,  William,  Esq.,  2  College  Gardens,  Hull. 

Hunter,  Henry,  Esq.,  Engineers'  Office,  Weare  Navigation,  Northwich. 

t  HURST,  GEORGE,  Esq.,  Kingsbrook  House,  St.  Mary's,  Bedford. 

Hutchinson,  Robert  Hopwood,  Esq.,  Tenter  House,  near  Rochdale. 

Hyde,  Rev.  H.  Barry,  B.A.,  A.K.C.,  Ashford,  Kent. 

Hyde,  John,  Esq.,  F.R.S.L.,  84  George  Street,  Chetham  Hill,  Manchester. 


xvi  LIST  OF   FELLOWS. 

f  Irons,  Rev.  William  Josiah,  D.D.,  Prebendary  of  St.  Paul's,  20  Gordon  Square, 

W.C. 

Jackson,  Henry  B.,  Esq.,  Basford  House,  Whalley  Range,  Manchester. 
James,  Ralph  N.,  Esq.,  Harding  Road,  Ashford,  Kent. 

*  James,  Rev.  T.,  F.S.A.,  Netherthong  Vicarage,  Huddersfield. 

/  *  Jenkinson,  Henry  Irwin,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S.,  Keswick,  Cumberland. 

Jervis,  Rev.  Prebendary,  M.A.,  28  Holland  Park,  W. 

JOHNSON,  Captain  E.  C.,  12  Cadogan  Place,  S.W. 

Johnson,  Jabez,  Esq.,  Kenyon  Hall,  Kenyon,  near  Manchester. 

Johnson,  William  George,  Esq.,  24  Oxford  Terrace,  Hyde  Park,  W. 

Jones,  Charles  J.,  Esq.,  Compton  Road,  Chesterfield. 

Jones,  David,  Esq.,  12  Little  Tower  Street,  E.G. 

Jones,  Henry  Watson,  Esq.,  Park  House,  Grosvenor  Park  Road,  Chester. 

Judd,  James,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  St.  Andrew's  Hill,  Doctors'  Commons,  London. 

Kaye,  W.  J.,  Esq.,  Park  Parade,  Harrogate. 

/f  Kelly,  William,   Esq.,   F.S.A.,    Ivy   Lodge,  Alexandra   Road,    Stoneygate, 
Leicester. 

*  Kemm,  Miss  Annie,  Whitlands  College,  Chelsea. 

Kent,  Frederick,  Esq.,  Binfield  Lodge,  Clapham  Road,  S.W. 

Kerr,  Robert,  Esq.,  23  Milton  Place,  Halifax. 

Kerslake,  Thomas,  Esq.,  14  West  Park,  Bristol. 

King,  Rev.  Edward,  B.A.,  F.S.A.  Scot.,  Launceston,  Cornwall. 

*  King,  Kelburne,  Esq.,  M.D.,  27  George  Street,  Hull. 
Kingsley,  Mrs.  Henry,  Laurel  Bank,  Hillbrow,  Liss,  Hants. 
Knibbs,  Rev.  Charles,  Heatherdon,  Tor  Vale,  Torquay. 

Knox,  Captain  Samuel  Richardson,  Everett,  Mass.,  United  States. 

Lach-Szyrma,  Rev.  W.  S.,  The  Vicarage,  Newlyn,  Penzance. 

Lancey,  Edward  F.  De,  Esq.,  24  Park  Place,  New  York. 

Langford,  J.  A.,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  Sparkbrook,  Birmingham. 

Lawton,  William,  Esq.,  Nunthorpe,  York. 

p  Lea,  John  Walter,  Esq.,  F.G.S.,  9  St.  Julian's  Road,  Kilburn,  N.W. 

Lee,  John  Dunkin,  Esq.,  The  Oaks,  Belvedere,  Kent. 

Lees,  William,  Esq.,  10  Norfolk  Street,  Manchester. 

*  Leuville,  The  Marquis  de,  30  York  Terrace,  Regent's  Park,  N.W. 
Lewis,  Rev.  Evan,  M.A.,  The  Rectory,  Dolgelly. 

Lilley,  Rev.  W.  Osborne,  Gorsey  House,  Heywood,  Lancashire. 
Linn,  Richard,  Esq.,  Karapoi,  Canterbury,  New  Zealand. 

*  Lloyd,  Lieut. -Colonel  Edward,  Lillesden,  Hawkhurst,  Kent. 
Lloyd,  Rev.  George,  F.S.A.,  Old  Trimden,  County  Durham. 

*  Lloyd,  Rev.  John,  M.A.,  Llanvapley  Rectory,  Abergavenny. 

*  Lobb,  John,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S.,  Christian  Age  Office,  St.  Bride's  Street,  E.C. 
Longstaffe,  Samuel  F.,  Esq.,  19  Queen's  Terrace,  Middlesbrough. 
Loraine,  Rev.  Nevison,  The  Vicarage,  Grove  Park  West,  W. 

Lubbock,  Sir  John,  Bart.,  M.P.,  D.C.L.,  F.R.S.,  F.L.S.,  High  Elms,  Farn- 

borough,  Kent. 

Liidemann,  Augustus  W.  H.,  Esq.,  16  Rutland  Terrace,  Hammersmith,  W. 
Lupton,  Henry,  Esq.,  The  Elms,  Chapel  Allerton,  Leeds. 

*  Lyle,  Thomas,  Esq.,  B.A.,  Fern  House,  48  Navarino  Road,  Dalston. 

*  Macandrew,  W.,  Esq.,  Westwood,  near  Colchester. 

Macgregor,  Patrick  Comyn,  Esq.  (of  Brediland),  Lonend  House,  Paisley. 
Mackay,  Henry  Ramsay,  Esq.,  Petham,  Kent. 
Mackie,  A.,  Esq.,  Guardian  Office,  Warrington. 

*  Mackeson,  Edward,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  13  Hyde  Park  Square,  W. 

Maclean,  William,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S.,  31  Camperdown  Place,  Great  Yarmouth. 
Macpherson,  James  A.,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  74  Worcester  Street,  Gloucester. 


LIST  OF   FELLOWS.  xvii 

McKay,  James,  Esq.,  Preston. 

M'Niven,  Rev.  Charles  M.,  Perrysfield,  Godstone,  Redhill. 

t  Maiden,  Henry  Elliot,  Esq.,  M.A.,  Kitlands,  Holmwood,  Surrey. 

Manchester  Free  Library. 

Mar,  Right  Hon.  the  Earl  of,  Wilton  Hall,  near  Ross,  Herefordshire. 

Marshall,  John,  Esq.,  F.R.A.S.,  F.G.S.,  Leeds  Church  Institute,  Leeds. 

Marshall,  Miss  Sarah,  92  Warwick  Gardens,  Kensington,  W. 

Maw,  James,  Esq.,  Park  Villa,  Margery  Park  Road,  Stratford,  E. 

Maybank,  John  Thomas,  Esq. ,  High  Street,  Dorking. 

Mayhall,  John,  Esq.,  Rose  Villa,  Horsforth,  near  Leeds. 

Maynard,  Rev.  Newland,  Rector  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  Brooklyn,  New  York. 

Meadows,  Barr  C.  J.,  Esq.,  M.D.,  F.A.S.L.,  47,  Victoria  Street,  Westminster, 

S.W. 

Meek,  Sir  James,  Middlethorpe  Lodge,  York. 
Merritt,  W.  J.,  Esq.,  Northampton  Road,  Market  Harborough. 
Metcalfe,  Rev.  James,  M.A.,  Vicarage,  West  Teignmouth. 
Michelsen,  H.  E.,  Esq.,  9  James  Street,  Bayswater,  W. 
Millais,  Mrs.  Everett,  2  Palace  Gate,  Kensington,  S.W. 
tMilligan,  Joseph,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S.,  F.L.S.,  F.R.A.S.,  6,  Craven  Street,  Strand, 

W.C. 

Mills,  Rev.  J.,  Burton  Villa,  Loughborough. 
Milman,  Rev.  W.  H.,  M.A.,  Sion  College,  London  Wall,  E.G. 

*  Mil  ward,  R.  H.,  Esq.,  41  Waterloo  Street,  Birmingham. 

Moggridge,  M.,  Esq.,  F.G.S.,  F.L.S.,  8  Bina  Gardens,  S.  Kensington,  S.W. 

Moore,  A.  W.,  Esq.,  M.A.,  J.P.,  Crankbourne,  Isle  of  Man. 

Moore,  Major  R.  W.,  3  Woodhouse  Square,  Leeds. 

t  Morgan,  Thomas,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  Treasurer  of  the  British  Archaeological  Asso 

ciation,  Hillside  House,  Palace  Road,  Streatham  Hill,  S.E. 
Morris,  J.  W.,  Esq.,  16  Belmont,  Bath. 
Morrison,  Richard,  Esq.,  Wirksworth,  Derbyshire. 
Moser,  George  E.,  Esq.,  Kendal. 
Mosley,  George,  Esq.,  F.G.S.,  The  Commercial  College,  York. 

*  Moss,  John  James,  Esq.,  East  Lydford  Hall,  Somerton,  Somerset. 
Mossman,  Rev.  T.  W.,  B.A.,  Torrington  Rectory,  Wragby. 
Mudie,  Miss,  i  Wiseton  Villas,  Wiseton  Road,  Upper  Tooting. 
Mulford,  W.  R.,  Esq.,  451  Broadway,  New  York. 

Mullins,  J.  D.,  Esq.,  Ratcliffe  Place,  Birmingham. 
Murray,  Duncan,  Esq.,  37  Great  Castle  Street,  Oxford  Circus,  W. 
Murray,  John,  Esq.,  Lincoln  Villa,  Sothern  Road,  Lee. 
Murton,  James,  Esq.,  Highfield,  Silverdale,  near  Carnforth. 

Nankivell,  Edward,  E.  J.,  Esq.,  107  Fleet  Street,  E.G. 

Nanson,  Henry,  Esq.,  25  Pembroke  Road,  Kensington. 

Nelson,  William  Magson,  Esq. ,  Wood  Lea,  Cliff  Road,  Leeds. 

Newbon,  Joseph,  Esq.,  I  Wardrobe  Place,  Doctors'  Commons,  E.G. 

t  Newman,  E.  Oakley,  Esq.,  Billiter  House,  Billiter  Street,  E.G. 

/Newton,  T.  W.,  Esq.,  Library,  Museum  of  Practical  Geology,  Jermyn  Street, 

London. 
Nichols,  Rev.  W.  L.,  M.A.,  F.S.A.,  Woodlands,  near  Bridgewater. 

*  Noldwritt,  John   Spencer,   Esq.,   44  Benhill  Road,  Brunswick  Square,  Cam- 

berwell. 

Norris,  G.  M.  Esq.,  Birkbeck  Institution,  Southampton  Buildings,  Chancery  Lane. 
Nugee,  Rev.  George,  M.A.,  St.  Austin's  Priory,  New  Kent  Road,  S.E. 

*  O'Donnaven,  William,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  54  Kenilworth  Square,  Rathgar,   Dublin. 
Oelsner,  Isidor,  Esq.,  Highfield,  West  wood  Park,  Forest  Hill. 

O'Looney,  Brian,  Esq.,  M.R.I. A.,  Grove  Villa  House,  Crumlin,  County  Dublin, 
t  Old,  William  Watkins,  Esq.,  Meyrick  House,  White  Cross,  Hereford. 

B 


xvill  LIST   OF   FELLOWS. 

Otway,  Walter,  Arthur's  Club,  St.  James's,  S.W. 

Overall,  W.  H.,  Esq.,  Corporation  Library,  Guildhall,  E.G. 

PAGLIARDINI,  TITO,  Esq.,  75  Upper  Berkeley  Street,  Portman  Square. 
Paine,  William  Dunkley,  Esq.,  Cockshot  Hill,  Reigate,  Surrey. 
Parker,  F.  H.,  Esq.,  3,  Frederick's  Place,  Old  Jewry,  E.G. 
Parkinson,  Rev.  T.,  North  Otterington  Vicarage,  Northallerton. 

*  Parr,  J.  Charlton,  Esq.,  Grappenhall  Heyes,  Warrington. 

Parrish,  Rev.  Henry,  Birmingham  Road,  Broomsgrove,  Worcestershire. 

Passenger,  Alderman  George  Mason,  42  Above  Bar,  Southampton. 

Patterson,  James  K.,  Esq.,  Ph.D.,  President  of  the  Agricultural  College,  Lexing- 

ton, Kentucky,  United  States. 

t  Pennington,  Rev.  A.R.,  M.A.,  Utterby  Rectory,  South  Lincolnshire. 
Perkes,  Richard  M.,  Esq.,  4  Albert  Road,  Southport. 

*  Peyster,  Watts  de,  General  John,  59  East  2ist  Street,  New  York. 

Pfoundes,  C.,  Esq.,  Secretary,  Nipon  Institute,  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  Albemarle 

Street,  W.,  and  I  Cleveland  Row,  St.  James,  S.W 

Phillimore,  The  Worshipful  Walter  G.  F.,  D.C.L.,  86,  Eaton  Place,  S.W. 
Phillipps,  Henry,  M.,  Esq.,  The  Hall,  Beckenham. 
Phillips,  Henry,  Esq.,  Ph.D.,  304  South  iiith  Street,  Philadelphia,  U.S.A. 

*  Phoenix,  S.  Whitney,  Esq.,  22  West  23rd  Street,  New  York,  U.S.A. 

*  Pickering,  J.,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S.,  Springfield  Mount,  Leeds. 
Pilcher,  William.  Esq.,  4  Belsize  Road,  Swiss  Cottage,  N.W. 
Pink,  William  J.  D.,  Esq.,  5  King  Street,  Leigh,  Manchester. 
Platt,  George  Taylor,  Esq.,  Jenkyn  Street,  Burslem,  Staffordshire. 
Pocklington,  C.,  Esq.,  22  Cunliffe  Villas,  Manningham,  Bradford,  Yorks. 
Pollard,  Mrs.  A.  D.,  5  Belsize  Crescent,  N.W. 

Pooley,  Frank,  Esq.,  18  Hacken's  Hey,  Liverpool. 

Pope,  G.  Harrison,  Esq.,  Central  Hill  College,  Upper  Norwood,  S.E. 

Potts,  Lewis  W.,  21  St.  Philip's  Road,  Dalston,  E. 

Price,  William  Nicholson,  Esq.,  Mount  Pleasant,  Leeds. 

Pryce,  Rev.  John,  M.A.,  Bangor. 

Radford,  George,  Esq.,  M.A.,  Ben  Rhydding,  near  Leeds. 
p  Rae,  John,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  F.S.A.,  9  Mincing  Lane,  E.G. 
p  Raikes,  Captain  G.A.,  F.S.A.,  63  Belsize  Park,  Hampstead,  N. 
*Read,    His    Excellency    the     Hon.     General    John  Meredith,  LL.B, 

M.R.I.A,,  United  States  Minister,  Athens,  c/o  B.  F.  Stevens,  Esq.,  Trafal- 


gar Square,  W.C. 
hel, 


Reichel,  Rev.  Oswald  J.,  M.A.,  Sparsholt  Vicarage,  Wantage,  Berks. 

Rendell,  A.,  Esq.,  12  Scarsdale  Terrace,  Kensington. 

Rich,  Arthur  J.,  Esq.,  7  Fassett  Road,  Dalston,  E. 

Richardson,  Charles,  Esq.,  10  Berkely  Square,  Bristol. 

Richardson,  Captain  J.G.  F.,  Ph.D.  J.P.,  Houghton  House,  Stoneygate,  Leicester. 

Richardson,  Hon.  W.  A.,  LL.D.,  Washington,  D.C.,  United  States. 

Rider,  William,  Esq.,  14  Bartholomew  Close,  E.G. 

Rigg,  George  W.,  Esq.,  22A  South  King  Street,  Manchester. 

Robertson,  Mrs.  Johnstone,  14  Berners  Street,  Oxford  Street,  W. 

Robertson,  Rev.  William,  The  Manse,  Romsey,  Hants. 

Robinson,  William,  Esq.,  Mount  Pleasant,  Wembdon,  Bridgewater. 

fRobjohns,  Sydney,  Esq.,  2  Serjeants'  Inn,  Fleet  Street,  E.G. 

/Rollins,  John  R.,  Esq.,  Lawrence,  Mass.,  United  States. 

Rose,  J.  Anderson,  Esq.,  II  Salisbury  Street,  Strand,  W.C. 

Rose,  Josiah,  Esq.,  Chronicle  Office,  Leigh,  Lancashire. 

*ROSEBERY,  Right  Honourable  the  Earl  of,  Dalmeny  Park,  Linlithgowshire. 

Ross,  Frederick,  Esq.,  4  Tinsley  Terrace,  Stamford  Hill,  South  Tottenham. 

Ross,  Lewis  Buttle,  Esq.,  Driffield,  Yorkshire. 

Rowley,  Rev.  Adam  Clarke,  M.A.,  Sutterton  Vicarage,  Spalding. 


LIST   OF   FELLOWS.  XIX 

Rusby,  James,  Esq.,  18  Oppidan's  Road,  Regent's  Park,  N.W. 
RUSSELL,  JOHN,  Esq.,  229  Burridge  Road,  Plumstead,  S.E. 

*  Ryder,  Charles,  Esq.,  The  Brewery,  Leeds. 

Rylands,  W.  H.,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  11  Hart  Street,  Bloomsbury,  W.C. 
Rymer,  Samuel  Lee,  Esq.,  Northend  Lodge,  Croydon. 

*  Safford,  John  Burham,  Esq.,  F.G.S.,  Guildford. 
Sampson,  Thomas,  Esq.,  252  Marylebone  Road,  N.W. 
Sanford,  Frederick  C.,  Esq.,  Nantucket,  MasS1:,  United  States. 
Saunders,  C.  T. ,  Esq.,  20  Temple  Row,  Birmingham. 

Sayle,  Robert,  Esq.,  n  St.  Andrew  Street,  Cambridge. 
Scattergood,  Peter  Jr.,  Esq.,  Nottingham  Road,  Stapleford,  Notts. 

*  Schwartze,  Helmuth,  Esq.,  Osnabruck  House,  Denmark  Hill,  S.E. 
Scrope,  Simon  T.,  Esq.,  Danby  Hall,  Bedale. 

Seath,  Thomas  B.,  Esq.,  Sunnyoaks,  Langbank,  Renfrewshire. 

SELBORNE,  Right  Honourable  Lord,  30  Portland  Place,  W. 

SHAND,  Sir  CHARLES  FARQUHAR,  LL.D.D.,  4  Albany,  Piccadilly,  S.W. 

Sharp,  J.  Fox,  Esq.,  The  Park,  Hull. 

SHENTON,  FRANCIS  KINGSTON  JOHN,  Esq.,  Literary  Department,  Crystal  Palace 

Norwood. 

Sikes,  Rev.  Thomas  B.,  M.A.,  Burston  Rectory,  Crawley,  Sussex. 
Simpson,  J.  Wainhouse,  Esq.,  94  Petherton  Road,  Highbury  New  Park. 
Singleton,  Alex.  H.,  Esq.,  Maiden  College,  New  Maiden,  Surrey. 
Skrine,  Henry  Duncan,  Esq.,  Warleigh  Manor,  near  Bath. 
Smith,    Rev.    Daniel,    Sandiacre  Rectory,  Nottingham,    and    Fortescue  Lodge, 

Enfield. 

Smith,  E.  Cozens,  Esq.,  F.S.S.,  I  Old  Broad  Street,  E.G. 
/Smith,  Hubert,  Esq.,  Belmont  House,  Bridgnorth,  Shropshire. 

*  Smith,  W.  Bickford,  Esq.,  Trevarno,  Helston,  Cornwall. 

Solly,  Edward,  Esq.,  F.R.S.  F.S.A.,  Park  House,  Sutton,  Surrey. 

Sorrell,  Rev.  J.,  14  Albion  Road,  Stoke  Newington,  N. 

Sowler,  Lieut. -Colonel  Thomas,  Manchester  Courier  Office,  Manchester. 

Spence,  Rev.  R.  M.,  M.A.,  Manse,  Arbuthnott,  Fordoun,  N.B. 

Spooner,  Mrs.,  68  Westbourne  Terrace,  W. 

Stanley,  Walmsley,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S.,  The  Knowle,  Leigham  Court  Road,  Streat- 

ham,  S.E. 

Stead,  Richard,  Esq.,  Grammar  School,  Folkstone. 
Stevens,  David  M'Cluer,  Esq.,  The  Mount,  Guildford, 
Stockdale,  Thomas,  Esq.,  Clarendon  Road,  Leeds. 
Stone,  J.  B.,  Esq.,  F.G.S.,  The  Grange,  Erdington. 
Stone,  James  Henry,   Esq.,  Cavendish  House,  Grosvenor  Road,   Handsworth, 

Staffordshire. 
Stopes,  H.,  Esq.,  F.G.S.,  F.L.S.  Eagle  Brewery,  Colchester. 

*  Story,  Edwin,  Esq.,  M.A.,  F.Z.S.,  88  Oldfield  Road,  Stoke  Newington. 

*  Stewart,  Alexander  P.,  General,  LL.D.,  Oxford,  Miss.,  U.S.A. 
Stuart,  Lieut. -Col.  W.,  Tempsford  Hall,  Sandy,  Bedfordshire. 

*  Sturgis,  Julian  Russell,  Esq.,  17  Carlton  House  Terrace,  S.W. 
Stubbs,  S.,  Esq.,  269  Hampstead  Road,  N.W. 

Swaine,  Rev.  S.A.,  14  Bramerton  Street,  Chelsea. 

Swallow,  John  Charles,  Esq.,  12  Barossa  Place,  Fulham  Road,  S.W. 

Tapling,  Thomas,  Esq.,  Kingswood,  South  Dulwich,  S.E. 

Tate,  Rev.  William  R.,  Worplesdon,  Guildford. 

*tTaylor,  Edward,  Esq.,  F.L.S.,  Castle  Cottage,  Hockhill,  Bishop's-Stortford. 

Taylor,  George,  Esq.,  Manor  Road,  Forest  Hill,  S.E. 

Taylor,  Miss  Helen,  10  Albert  Mansions,  Victoria  Street,  S.W. 

Taylor,  Rev.  Richard  V.,  B.A.,  The  Vicarage,  Melbechs,  Richmond,  Yorkshire. 

Taylor,  Rear- Admiral  William  Rogers,  Newport,  R.  I.,  United  States. 


XX  LIST  OF   FELLOWS. 

*  Teele,  Rev.  Albert  K.,  D.D.,  Milton,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 

P  Tegg,  William,  Esq.,  13  Doughty  Street,  Mecklenburgh  Square,  London. 
Tew,  Rev.  Edmund,  M.A.,  Patching  Rectory,  Arunclel. 
Thomas,  Christopher  J.,  Esq.,  Drayton  Lodge,  Redland,  Bristol. 
Thomas,  Rev.  D.  R.,  M.A.,  Oxon.,  Meiford  Vicarage,  Welsh  Pool. 
THORNTON,   Rev.    ROBINSON,  D.D.   (Oxon),  Vicar  of  St.  John's,  Notting  Hill, 

Boyle    Lecturer  ;    Vice-President   of  the   Victoria  Institute ;    65    Laclbroke 

Grove,  Notting  Hill,  W. 

Thrupp,  George  A.,  Esq.,  in  Maida  Vale,  W. 
Timmins,  Samuel,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  Elvatham  Lodge,  Birmingham. 
/  Tovey,  Charles,  Esq.,  2  Royal  York  Crescent,  Clifton,  Bristol. 
*Travers,  Archibald,  Esq.,  28A  Addison  Road,  Kensington,  W. 

Udal,  John  Symonds,  Esq.,  4  Harcourt  Buildings,  Temple,  E.G. 
Underdown,  R.  G.,  Esq.,  Northleigh,  Whalley  Range,  Manchester. 
Usill,    Rev.  James  H.,  Kent  Lodge,  Eastbourne. 
Urwick,  Rev.  W.,  M.A.,  49  Belsize  Park  Gardens,  N.W. 

Vaux,  W.  S.  W.  Esq.,  F.R.S.,  22  Albemarle  Street,  W. 
Ventura,  M.,  Esq.,  18  Coleman  Street,  E.G. 

*  Vernon,  G.  V.,  Esq.,  F.R.A.S.,  Osborne  Place,  Old  Trafford,  Manchester. 
Vincent,  J.  A.,  Esq.,  Needham  Market,  Suffolk. 

Wadling,  Henry,  Esq.,  Architect,  Lambe  Buildings,  Temple,  E.C. 

Wager,  Rev.  James,  Hereford. 

/  *  Wagner,  Henry,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  13  Half  Moon  Street,  Piccadilly,  W. 

Wagner,  O.  H.,  Esq.,  Montague  House,  Hertford. 

Wagstaff,  Rev.  Frederick,  Church  Hill,  Wednesbury. 

/*  WALFORD,  CORNELIUS,  Esq.,  F.I. A.,  86  Belsize  Park  Gardens,  N.W. 

*  Walker,  Fountaine,  Esq.  (of  Foyers),  Ness  Castle,  Inverness. 
Walker,  Rev.  James,  Johnson's  Square,  Congleton. 

Wall,  William  H.,  Esq.,  The  Larches,  Pembury,  Tunbridge  Wells. 

Wallace,  J.  W.,  Esq.,  728  Spruce  Street,  Philadelphia,  U.S.A. 

Waller,  J.  Rowell,  Esq.,  Houghton-le-Spring,  Durham. 

Wallis,  John,  Esq.,  Kettering. 

Ward,  Rev.  C.  D.,  D.D.,  23  Cambridge  Terrace,  Bramber  Rd.,  W.  Kensington. 

*  Ward,  Joseph  Pilkington,  Esq.,  Whalley  Range,  Manchester. 

f  Warren,  Lieut. -Colonel  Charles,  R.E.,  Brompton  Barracks,  Chatham. 
Waterston,  Rev.  Robert  C.,  Boston,  Mass.,  United  States. 

Watson,  Robert  Spence,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S.,  101  Pilgrim  Street,  Newcastle-on-Tyne. 
Watts,  Rev.  J.  A.,  D.D.,  3  Sharrowstead  Terrace,  Sheffield. 
West,  James,  Esq.,  Storrington,  Sussex. 

WESTMINSTER,  His  GRACE  THE  DUKE  OF,  K.G.,  Grosvenor  House,  W. 
Wheeler,  Henry,  Esq.,  31  Upper  Fant  Road,  Maidstone. 
White,  George,  Esq.,  Ashley  House,  Epsom. 

White,    Rev.    F.    Le    Grix,   M.A.,  F.R.S.E.,    F.G.S.,   Learning,    Ulleswater, 
Penrith. 

*  Whitehead,  Rev.  J.  H.,  3  West  High  Street,  Cross  Lane,  Manchester. 
Williams,  Adin,  Esq.,  Caxton  Cottage,  Lechdale,  Gloucestershire. 
Williams,  E.  P.,  Esq.,  3  Essex  Villas,  Watcombe  Park,  Blackheath. 
Williams,  Rev.  J.  D.,  M.A.,  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  The  Vicarage,    Botti- 

sham,  Cambridge. 

Williams,  Sparks  Henderson,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  5  Essex  Court,  Temple,  E.C. 
Williamson,  John  M.,  Esq.,  Melville  House,  Overhill  Road,  Dulwich. 


Wonnacott,  J.,  Esq.,  F.G.S.,  F.R.G.S.,  Wadham  House,  Liskeard,  Cornwall. 


CORRESPONDING   MEMBERS.  XXI 

Wood,  William,  Esq.,  3  Clifton  Terrace,  Denmark  Park,  Camberwell. 

Wood,  William,  Esq.,  5  Park  Lane,  Stoke  Newington,  N. 

Woodford,  Rev.  Adolphus  F.,  253  Norfolk  Crescent,  Hyde  Park,  W. 

Woodhouse,  Alderman  S.,  50  High  Street,  Hull. 

Woodward,  Ashbel,  Esq.,  M.D.,  Franklin,  Connecticut,  United  States. 

Woolbert,  Frederick,  Esq.,  12  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  W.C. 

Worsnop,  Thomas,  Esq.,  Adelaide. 

p  *  Wratislaw,  Rev.  Albert  H.,  M.A.,  Vicarage,  Manorbere,  Pembrokeshire. 

WRIGHT  BRYCE  M'MURDO,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S.,  90  Great  Russell  Street,  W.C. 

Wright,  Edward,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  M.R.I. A.,  The  Cedars,  Ealing,  London. 

Wright,  W.  H.  K.,  Esq.,  Free  Library,  Plymouth. 

Wyles,  Thomas,  Esq.,  F.G.S.,  Allesley  Park  College,  Coventry. 

Yates,  James,  Esq.,  Public  Library,  Leeds. 

Yates,  Richard,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  The  Ford,  Beddington,  Croydon. 

p  f  ZERFFI,  GUSTAVUS  GEORGE,  Esq.,  Ph.D.,  F.R.S.L.,  3  Warrington  Gardens, 

Maida  Hill,  W. 
Zerffi.    Henry   Charles,   Esq.,   Wentworth    House,    St.    Mark's    Road,   Netting 

Hill,  W. 

The  Council  request  that  any  inaccuracy  in  the  foregoing  list  may  be  pointed 
out  to  the  Honorary  Secretary,  and  that  all  changes  of  address  may  be  notified  to 
him,  so  that  delay  in  fonvarding  communications  and  the  Publications  of  the 
Society  may  be  avoided. 


CORRESPONDING  MEMBERS. 

Allibone,  S.  Austin,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  Lenox  Library,  Central  Park,  New  York. 

Boehm,  Dr.  Willy,  President  of  the  Historical  Society,  Berlin. 

Brock,  R.  A.,  Esq.,  Richmond,  Virginia. 

Bishop,  Levi,  Esq.,  Detroit,  Michigan,  U.S.A. 

Cooke,  Samuel,  M.A.,  F.G.S.,  Poona,  India. 

Drowne,  Henry  T.,  Esq.,  Secretary,  New  York  Historical  Society,  52  Wall  Street, 

New  York,  U.S.A. 

Drowne,  Rev.  T.  Stafford,  D.D.,  Gordon  City,  Long  Island,  New  York,  U.S.A. 
Edward,  Thomas,  Esq.,  Associate  of  the  Linnean  Society  of  London,  Banff. 
Gilman,  M.  D.,  Esq.,  Montpelier,  Vermont,  U.S.A. 
Jewett,  Llewellyn,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 
Lapham,  William  B.,  Esq.,  Augusta,  Maine. 
Latto,  Thomas  C.,  Esq.,  Brooklyn,  U.S.A. 
Lawrence,  G.  W.,  Esq.,  St.  John,  New  Brunswick. 
Lee,  G.  H.,  Esq.,  St.  John,  New  Brunswick. 
Morris,  Rev.  John  G.,  D.D.,  Baltimore,  U.S.A. 
O'Reilly,  P.  S.,  Esq.,  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  U.S.A. 
Parkard,  A.   S.,  Esq.,  Brunswick,  Maine,  U.S.A. 
Prendergast,  John,  Esq.,  Dublin. 

Ravenill,  H.  E.,  Esq.,  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  U.S.A. 
Stone,  Rev.  E.  M.,  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  U.S.A. 
Whitehead,  W.,  Esq.,  Newark,  New  Jersey,  U.S.A. 
Williams,  J.  F.,  Esq.,  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  U.S.A. 


XX11 


HONORARY   FELLOWS. 


HONORARY  FELLOWS. 


His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Brazil. 

Her  Majesty  the  Empress  of  Brazil. 

His  Majesty  Leopold  II.,  King  of  the  Belgians. 

His  Majesty  Oscar  II.,  King  of  Sweden  and  Norway. 

Bismarck,  von  Prince,  H.E. 

Agnew,  J.  W.,  Esq.,  M.D.,  Royal  Society  of  Tasmania. 

Arnold,  Hon.  Isaac,  President,  Historical  Society  of  Chicago,  U.S.A. 

Bancroft,  Hon.  George,  Washington,  U.S.A. 

Bell,   Hon.   Charles  H.,  President  of  the  New  Hampshire  Historical  Society, 

Exeter,  New  Hampshire. 

Beust,  Count  Von,  formerly  Austrian  Ambassador  at  the  Court  of  London. 
*  Bogoushevsky,  The  Baron  Nicholas  Casimir  de,  Pskow,  Russia. 
Bowring,  Lady,  Exeter. 

Burton,  John  Hill,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.,  Historiographer  Royal  for  Scotland. 
Bytschkoff,  His  Excellency  Athanasius  Th.   de,   Vice- Director  of  the  Imperial 

Library,  St.  Petersburg. 

Cameron,  Commander  Verney  Lovett,  C.B.,  I  Savile  Row,  W. 
Calderari,  Rev.  Giulio  Casare,  Milan. 

Coelho,  Lieut. -Colonel  Jose  Maria  Latino,  Professor  of  Geology,  Lisbon. 
Dana,  Edward  S.,  Esq.,   Ph.D.,  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,   Connecticut, 

United  States. 

Dalrymple,  Rev.  E.  A.,  D.D.,  Sec.  Hist.  Society  of  Maryland,  U.S.A. 
Engelhardt,     Professor      Conrad,     Royal     Society    of    Northern     Antiquaries, 

Copenhagen. 

Ewell,  The  Very  Rev.  Benjamin  S.,  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  U.S.A. 
Farr,  William,  Esq.,  M.D.,  Somerset  House,  W.C. 
Fayrer,  Sir  Joseph,  K.C.S.I.,  F.R.S.,  London. 
Froude,  James  Anthony,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  London. 
Gorostiraga,  Don  Angel  de,  National  Archaeological  Society,  Madrid. 
Grant,  His  Excellency  General,  Ex-President  of  the  United  States. 
Grewengk,  His  Excellency  Dr.  Constantin,  Dorpat  University,  Russia. 
Guasti,  Professor  Cesare,  Keeper  of  the  State  Archives  of  Tuscany. 
Hildebrand,  Herr  Emil,  Royal  Society  of  Antiquaries,  Sweden. 
Jereczek,  M.  Josef,  President  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Bohemia,  Prague. 
Jones,  Hon.  Horatio  Gates,  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 
Kip,  The  Right  Rev.  Bishop,  San  Francisco. 

Latour,  Major,  L.A.H.,  M.A.,  36  McGill  College  Avenue,  Montreal. 
Liagre,  Major-General  J.  B.  J.,  Royal  Society  of  Fine  Arts,  Brussels. 
Liveridge,  Professor  A.,  Royal  Society  of  New  South  Wales. 
Longfellow,  Professor  H.  W.,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 
Meldahl,  Herr,  President  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Arts,  Copenhagen. 
Moffat,  Rev.  Robert,  D.D.,  F.R.G.S.,  Park  Cottage,  Leigh,  Tunbridge,  Kent. 
Montelius,  Herr  Dr.  Oscar,  Society  of  Antiquaries,  Sweden. 
Montjau,  M.  Edouard  M.  de,  Society  of  Ethnography,  Paris. 
Muller,  Professor  Max,  M.A.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Comparative  Philology  in  the 

University  of  Oxford. 
Nares,  Captain  Sir  George,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S.,  5  Westminster  Chambers,  Victoria 

Street,  S.W. 
Oppert,    M.  Julius,    Professor   of  Assyrian  Philology,    and   Archaeology,  in  'the 

College  of  France. 
Peyster,  de  Frederic,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Historical  Society  of  New  York. 


FOREIGN   ASSOCIATIONS.  XXlll 

Pomialovsky,    His   Excellency   Professor  John   Bas,   Secretary  of   the  Imperial 

Archgeological  Society  of  Russia. 

Rawlinson,  Major-General  Sir  Henry  Creswicke,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S.,  F.R.G.S. 
Rawlinson,  Rev.  Canon,  M.A.,  Camden  Professor  of  History,  Oxford. 
Richardson,  Benjamin,  W.,  Esq.,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  London. 
Roberts,  General  Sir  Frederick. 
Schliemann,  Dr.,  London. 
Schliemann,  Mrs.,  London. 
Semevsky,  His  Excellency  Michael  Jv.  de,  Imperial  Under-Secretary  of  State, 

St.   Petersburg,  Russia. 

Siegel,  Dr.  Heinrich,  Imperial  Academy  of  Sciences,  Vienna. 
Sigurdsson,  Herr  Jon,  Archivarius,  Copenhagen. 
Slafter,  Rev.   Edmund  F.,  A.M.,  New  England  Historic- Genealogical  Society, 

Boston. 

Stanley,  Very  Rev.  Dean,  D.D.,  London. 
Stanley,  Henry  M.,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S.,  London. 

Stephens,  Dr.  George,  Professor  of  English  Liternture,  Copenhagen. 
Stephenson,  J.,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Historical  Society,  Quebec. 
Stieda,    His    Excellency    Professor   Dr.    Ludwig,    Dorpat    University,    Russia, 

Secretary  of  the  Esthoniaa  Society. 
Stubbs,    Rev.    Professor,    M.A.,    Regius   Professor  of  Modern  History,    in   the 

University  of  Oxford. 

Ward,  Townsend,  Esq.,  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 
Wilder,  Hon.Jtf.  P.,  Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 

Wilson,  Daniel,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  History,  in  the  College  of  Toronto. 
Wmthrop,    Hon.    Robert   C.,   LL.D.,    President   of  the    Historical    Society   of 

Massachusetts. 
Worsaae,  Etatsraad  Hans  J.,  F.S.A.,  London  and  Scotland,  Director  of  Museum, 

and  late  Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  Copenhagen. 


FOREIGN   ASSOCIATIONS 

WHICH   EXCHANGE  TRANSACTIONS  WITH   THE  SOCIETY. 

AMERICA 

New  England  Historic-Genealogical  Society,  Boston. 

The  Historical  Society  of  New  York. 

The  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  Philadelphia 

The  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  Connecticut. 

The  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  Boston. 

The  Historical  Society  of  Rhode  Island. 

The  Historical  Society  of  Virginia,  Richmond. 

The  Historical  Society  of  Maryland. 

The  Historical  Society  of  Missouri. 

The  Historical  Society  of  Minnesota. 

The  Historical  Society  of  South  Carolina. 

The  Historical  Society  of  Vermont. 

The  Historical  Society  of  Michigan. 

The  Historical  Society  of  New  Jersey. 

The  Historical  Society  of  Maine. 


xxiy  FOREIGN   ASSOCIATIONS. 

.-:•;'•'"  '.•"••  •'•'•" 

AUSTRALIA. 

'•      '••  '.  • 

'  The  Royal  Society  of  New  South  Wales. 

AUSTRIA. 
The  Imperial  Academy  of  Sciences,  Vienna. 

BELGIUM. 
The  Royal  Society  of  Science  and  Arts,  Brussels. 

BOHEMIA. 
The  Royal  Society  of  Bohemia,  Prague. 

CANADA. 

The  Literary  and  Historical  Society,  Quebec. 

DENMARK. 
The  Royal  Society  of  Northern  Antiquaries,  Copenhagen. 

FRANCE. 

The  Ethnographical  Society  of  Paris. 

GERMANY. 
The  Historical  Society  of  Berlin. 

ITALY. 

The  State  Archives  of  Tuscany. 

PORTUGAL. 

The  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences,  Lisbon. 

RUSSIA. 
The  Imperial  Archaeological  Society,  St.  Petersburg. 

SPAIN. 

The  Royal  Historical  Society,  Madrid. 
The  National  Archaeological  Society,  Madrid. 

SWEDEN. 

The  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Sweden,  Stockholm. 
The  Academy  of  Belles  Lettres,  History,  and  Antiquities,  Stockholm. 

TASMANIA. 

The  Royal  Society  of  Tasmania. 
The  Harlean  Society. 
The  Surrey  Archaeological  Society. 


TRANSACTIONS 

OF  THE 

ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  HISTORY. 

INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 
BY  GUSTAVUS  GEORGE  ZERFFI,  ESQ.,  Ph.D.,  F.R.S.L., 

CHAIRMAN  OF  COUNCIL. 

Read  i$th  November,  1879. 

Six  years  ago  I  had  the  pleasure  of  reading  a  paper  "  On  the 
Possibility  of  a  strictly  Scientific  Treatment  of  Universal 
History,"  and  that  which  was  at  that  time  a  mere  suggestion, 
has  since  become  a  firm  conviction,  based  on  indefatigable 
study,  and  the  collection  of  innumerable  facts. 

When  called  upon  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Council  of  the 
Royal  Historical  Society  this  session,  to  read  an  inaugural 
paper  before  the  Fellows,  I  thought  I  could  not  do  better  than 
bring  this  conviction  before  you,  so  as,  if  possible,  to  make 
it  your  own. 

I  have  had  the  satisfaction  of  lecturing  during  the  last  six 
years  to,  at  least,  45,576  persons,  and  this  proves  that  there  is 
an  increasing  demand  for  the  supply  of  historical  knowledge. 
Six  years  ago  there  were  303  Fellows  on  the  rolls  of  this 
Society ;  we  have  since  increased  more  than  a  hundred  per 
cent,  and  more  than  doubled  our  income  ;  all  this  shows,  if 
statistical  facts  are  of  any  value,  that  the  first  Royal  Historical 

Society  of  England  has  made  some  progress.     I  am,  however, 

B 


2      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

sorry  to  say  that  a  deplorable  neglect  of  the  study  of  General 
History  is  still  only  too  evident.  Not  one  of  our  large 
influential  and  wealthy  seats  of  learning  includes  "  General 
History"  in  its  "curriculum,"  as  a  subject  in  which  candidates 
for  University  honours  ought  to  be  examined. 

The  "British  Association"  sternly  and  obstinately  refuses 
to  give  "General  History"  a  special  section,  denying  history 
a  scientific  status.  Whilst  Japanese  scholars  in  the  farthest 
East  feel  the  necessity  of  the  study  of  history,  we,  the  first 
and  most  powerful  nation,  are  still  afraid  of  it,  or  treat  it  as 
the  fanciful  crotchet  of  some  whimsical  dreamer.  We  allow 
papers  to  be  read  at  our  great  annual  gatherings,  "for  the 
promotion  of  science,"  on  bees,  ants,  and  dogs,  on  their  ways 
and  manners ;  their  high  artistic  powers ;  their  intellectual 
faculties  and  social  organization ;  their  moral  sense  of  duty, 
and  deep  feeling  of  gratitude ;  but  man — the  crowning  product 
of  Creation — the  maker  of  his  own  destiny,  is  considered 
unworthy  of  a  strictly  scientific  treatment. 

In  Germany,  Austro-Hungary,  Italy,  France  and  America, 
HISTORY  is  at  all  the  Colleges  and  Universities  the  most 
important  subject,  and  with  us,  it  is  the  most  neglected. 
And  yet  history  is  the  mighty  record  of  God's  True  Revela- 
tion, for  His  spirit  manifests  itself  as  law  in  the  religious, 
social,  political,  and  artistic  deeds  of  man,  the  active  or  passive 
agent  of  the  histories  of  all  countries,  races  and  nations. 

Man  consists  of  matter,  forming  the  constituent  particles 
of  his  body  ;  and  of  mind,  the  cause  of  his  perceptions,  sen- 
sations and  consciousness.  If  we  are  able  to  treat  matter  and 
mind  in  the  unit-man  scientifically,  what  can  prevent  us  from 
treating  the  collective  actions  of  any  number  of  such  units  in 
a  scientific  way  ?  If  anatomy,  physiology  and  psychology 
are  sciences,  why  not  history,  which  is  but  a  systematized 
record  of  man's  individual  and  collective  development  ?  If 
man  in  his  isolation  as  savage  or  prehistoric  man,  in  anthro- 
pology and  archaeology,  may  be  treated  scientifically,  why 
not  the  whole  of  humanity  in  history  ?  Do  the  laws  of 
causation  apply  to  everything  in  nature,  except  to  man,  so 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   HISTORY. 

soon  as  he  leaves  his  savage  state,  and  enters,  in  accordance 
with  his  very  organization,  into  social  bonds,  no  longer  acting 
isolatedly  but  collectively  as  family,  tribe,  or  nation  ?  Action 
which  we  can  trace  in  man,  like  in  all  other  phenomena,  must 
be  the  result  of  force  ;  and  wherever  forces  are  at  work,  they 
must  be  subject  to  laws  which  may  be  more  or  less  com- 
plicated but  which  we  ought  to  be  able  to  trace  on  the 
reliable  basis  of  causation. 

All  our  physical  sciences  are  founded  on  an  inquiry  into  the 
working  of  acting  and  counteracting  forces.  Can  we  deny 
man  to  be  a  physically  constituted  being,  whose  organization 
engenders  mental  action,  the  outgrowth  of  his  vital  force  ? 
Motion  or  action  is  the  sign  of  life  ;  life  in  man  is  the  primary 
cause  of  all  his  thoughts,  words  and  deeds.  All  phenomena  in 
the  universe  are  the  results  of  either  a  static  or  dynamic  force, 
or  of  a  combination  of  both.  The  former  manifests  itself  as 
the  law  of  conservation  of  energy;  the  latter  as  the  ever- 
varying  force  of  moving  activity.  Applying  these  elements  to 
humanity  we  find  that  morals  correspond  to  the  static, 
restraining,  corrective  force,  which  is  in  fact  the  passive 
element  in  our  nature.  Moral  laws  are  generally  given  in 
the  negative  form  ;  whilst  mind  with  its  intellectual  and 
reasoning  power  is  undoubtedly  the  dynamic,  pushing,  in- 
quiring, thinking,  arguing,  inventing  force — the  active  element; 
for  all  human  efforts  in  arts,  sciences,  discoveries  and  inven- 
tions are  of  a  positive  nature.  To  trace  the  working  of  these 
two  undoubtedly  existing  forces  in  the  development  of 
humanity  must  be  the  task  of  history,  and  we  may  thus 
scientifically  reduce  all  the  complicated  phenomena  of  history 
to  &plus  or  minus  of  their  relative  qualities  and  quantities. 

As  the  universe  strives  to  attain  harmony,  and  as  all  its 
infinite  particles  work  to  this  aim — so  the  historian  finds  that 
humanity  endeavours  unconsciously  or  consciously  to  reach 
one  goal — civilization,  which  can  only  be  the  attainment  of  a 
perfect  balance  between  the  static  and  dynamic,  or  the  moral 
and  intellectual  forces  working  in  humanity. 

The  whole    study  of  history,  from  a  higher  general  and 


4       TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

scientific  point  of  view,  resolves  itself  into  a  correct  tracing 
of  the  disturbances  in  the  two  forces.  All  the  phenomena  in 
the  flowing  and  ebbing  ocean  of  the  past  and  present ;  all 
religious,  social,  political,  artistic  and  scientific  events,  may 
philosophically  be  referred  to  a  conflict  of  morals  with  intel- 
lect, or  of  intellect  with  morals.  Wars,  revolutions,  the  down- 
fall of  empires,  changes  in  dynasties,  religious  and  scientific 
controversies,  are  simply  endeavours  to  re-adjust  and  discover 
the  equipoise  between  the  static  and  dynamic  forces,  perva- 
ding not  only  the  material  universe,  but  also  intellectual, 
self-conscious  humanity. 

In  history,  as  throughout  nature,  there  is  a  certain  oneness, 
engendered  by  the  law  of  causation  to  which  the  forces  work- 
ing in  humanity  are  as  subject  as  all  other  forces,  but  there  is 
at  the  same  time  an  eternal  change  and  life — an  expanding 
life,  that  is  never  to-day  what  it  was  yesterday  ;  that,  in  spite 
of  thousands  of  survivals  in  savage  prejudices,  and  inherited 
false  notions,  continually  extends,  drawing  larger  numbers 
into  the  vortex  of  a  self-conscious  life  of  higher  moral  and 
mental  culture. 

It  is  still  thought  extremely  doubtful  in  certain  quarters, 
whether  Ethics  and  ^Esthetics  can  be  brought  d  priori 
under  fixed  rules  and  be  reduced  to  first  principles  ;  history  as 
the  "  Science  of  Sciences  "  d  posteriori  gains  in  tracing  these 
first  principles  in  importance  and  power  day  by  day.  In  fact 
everything  in  the  development  of  humanity  resolves  itself  into 
history.  Not  history  that  receives  its  garbled  facts  from 
narrow-minded  Annalists,  Chroniclers  and  Compilers  ;  who 
generally  note  down  only  what  serves  their  purposes  ;  leave 
out  what  does  not  suit  them  ;  colour  incidents  with  the  gloomy 
tints  and  views  of  their  sectarian,  national,  political,  or  social 
prejudices  ; — but  history  based  on  the  eternal  cosmical  laws 
of  man's  true  and  undefiled  nature.  For  nature  is  truth  which 
does  not  exclusively  reveal  itself  to  the  inner  consciousness  of 
some  chosen  metaphysician,  or  the  untutored  thoughtlessness 
of  the  savage,  but  speaks  audibly  and  intelligibly  through  the 
mighty  voice  of  history,  forcing  man  from  the  lofty  height  of 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  HISTORY.  5 

speculations  to  the  firm  ground  of  reality,  showing  eternal 
law  in  his  gradual  development.  "The  History  of  mankind 
is  a  continuation  of  the  Natural  History  of  the  Universe,  and 
must  have  discoverable  laws/'  says  Dr.  Maudsley,  one  of  the 
keenest  thinkers  of  our  times. 

More  than  2,000  years  ago,  Aristotle  attempted  to  system- 
atize the  study  of  poetry  and  even  that  of  art,  by  tracing  laws 
in  the  products  of  playful  imagination  ;  but  the  study  and 
composition  of  history  is  still  left  to  mere  Chance,  whether 
clad  in  the  garb  of  self-interest,  religious  prejudice  or  political 
expediency,  and  whether  called  Providence  or  Predestination. 
"  Chance  has  been  recognised  alike  in  all  ages  and  in  all  climes  ; 
by  the  peasant  in  his  cottage,  and  by  the  king  on  his  throne. 
Chance  is  apparently  the  mainspring  of  industry,  of  trade,  of 
party  politics,  and  of  international  diplomacy."  But  this 
assumption  of  chance,  this  radical  belief  in  chance  (Predestina- 
tion or  Providence),  is  virtual  unbelief  in  universal  order, 
producing  self-deception,  and  a  negation  of  all  moral  law, 
for  it  does  away  with  the  fundamental  element  of  science,  and 
a  strict  concatenation  of  cause  and  effect.  History,  studied 
or  written  from  the  providential  chance  point  of  view,  is 
certainly  nothing  but  an  unconnected,  and  therefore  dry 
register  of  detached  facts  which  might  have  happened  quite 
differently,  if  it  had  so  pleased  chance.  But  the  most  impor- 
tant duty  of  an  Historian  is  to  show  to  conviction  that  the 
facts  could  not  have  happened  differently,  and  that,  if  the 
same  causes  were  to  be  at  work,  they  would  inevitably  again 
produce  the  same  effects. 

The  palm  of  having  attempted  to  place  history  on  a  higher 
scientific  basis  must  be  given  to  the  German,  SAMUEL 
PUFENDORF  (1632—1690),  who  laid  down  the  principles  of 
European  international  law,  illustrated  by  historical  facts 
and  statistical  records,  in  his  great  work, "  Elementa  Juris 
prudentiae  Universalis,"  published  1660.  Pufendorfs  works 
are  still  considered  of  great  importance,  and  though  he 
intended  to  write  for  diplomatists  only,  starting  from  a 
strictly  practical  and  political  point  of  view,  they  must  be 


6      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

looked  upon  as  the  first  after  the  Reformation  in  which  the 
composition  of  history  was  attempted  on  new  and  scientific 
principles.  Assisted  by  the  generous  Elector  Palatine, 
Charles  Louis,  Pufendorf  established  the  first  special  chair  for 
the  study  of  "  National  and  Natural  Law  based  on  History  " 
in  the  University  of  Heidelberg.  This  was  1661 — 218  years 
ago,  and  he  must  be  put  down  as  the  founder  of  "  Sociology,'* 
which  science  begins  to  be  timidly  mentioned  now  in  our 
educational  establishments. 

Chronologically  next  to  Pufendorf  stands  the  Italian, 
GIOVANNI  BATTISTA  Vico  (1660  or  1670—1744),  who,  65  years 
after  the  publication  of  Pufendorf's  great  work,  issued  his 
"  Principles  of  History  "  in  1725,  under  the  title  "  Principij  di 
una  scienza  nuova  d'interno  alia  comune  naturadelle  nazioni." 
In  this  work  he  pleaded  the  necessity  of  a  more  philosophical 
method  in  the  composition  of  history,  and  propounded  the 
theory  that  there  is  an  organic  development  in  the  different 
epochs  which  can  only  be  understood  through  a  correct  know- 
ledge of  the  social  and  political  condition  of  any  nation  ;  the 
most  important  condition,  the  religious,  he  could  not  well 
touch  upon  under  Papal  authority.  Yet  in  a  broad  spirit  he 
endeavoured  to  trace  evidences  of  a  moral  government  all 
over  the  world,  and  assumed  that  there  is  an  interdependence 
between  cause  and  effect  in  the  complex  actions  of  man  ;  that 
justice  and  progress  are  the  results  of  ruling  forces,  and  that 
our  intellectual  and  political  life  is  guided  by  a  harmony  of 
feelings  which  pervades  the  whole  of  humanity. 

He  was  followed  in  England  by  Viscount  BOLINGBROKE 
(1672 — 175 1),  who  published  ten  years  later,  1735,  his  "  Letters 
on  the  Study  and  Use  of  History."  How  far  Pufendorf  and 
Bolingbroke's  earlier  works  influenced  Vico,  or  how  far  Pufendorf 
and  Vico  were  instrumental  in  the  composition  of  Boling- 
broke's work  on  history,  it  would  be  equally  difficult  to  decide. 
It  is  an  historical  fact  that  Bolingbroke  was  the  forerunner  of 
VOLTAIRE  in  France,  and  of  LESSING  and  HERDER  in 
Germany.  Whatever  the  failings  of  his  character  may  have 
been,  they  were  the  failings  of  his  social  position  and  education  ; 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  HISTORY.  7 

he  saw  and  felt  deeply  that  the  minds  of  students 
were  stored  "  with  crude,  unruminated  facts  and  sentences/' 
with  meaningless  dates  and  arbitrarily  assumed  incidents, 
obscuring,  rather  than  clearing  up  past  events.  He  deprived 
Scaliger,  Bochart,  Petavius,  Usher,  and  even  Marsham  of  their 
bright  halo  of  authority ;  he  mercilessly  exposed  the  tricks 
of  these  "  historical  jugglers,"  and  asserted  boldly  that  they 
had  joined  disjointed  passages,  and  used  fantastical  allegories 
as  real  facts,  and  similitudes  of  sounds,  though  utterly 
ignorant  of  philology,  to  prop  up  their  preconceived  historical 
systems.  With  a  few  words  he  unmasked  the  pompous 
dignitaries  of  learning,  and  had,  of  course,  the  whole  herd  of 
scholastics  against  him.  They  saw  danger  in  the  study  of 
"  General  History,"  and  up  to  our  own  days  have  succeeded  in 
excluding  it  from  our  educational  establishments. 

What  is  the  use  of  History  ?  To  disturb  the  mind  of 
youth  ;  to  arouse  a  spirit  of  inquiry,  and  to  undermine  time- 
hallowed  authorities.  We  cannot  trade  better,  sleep,  eat  and 
drink  more  efficaciously  with  any  amount  of  historical  know- 
ledge, and  who  is  to  master  all  the  dates  and  facts  of  history  ? 
Bolingbroke  endeavoured  to  answer  these  objections,  in  com- 
paring two  great  captains  in  history,  the  courageous  Lucullus, 
who  was  made  great  by  the  study  of  history,  and  the  Duke 
of  Marlborough,  who  probably  never  read  Xenophon,  or  any 
other  historian.  The  former  became  a  military  genius  through 
historical  training,  and  the  latter,  who  triumphed  over  the 
veteran  armies  of  France,  was  a  born  military  genius.  The 
Roman  commander  had  on  his  side  experience  cultivated  by 
study ;  whilst  Marlborough  had  inborn  genius  united  with 
skill,  acquired  by  actual  practice.  Study  does  not  lessen 
genius,  but  genius  can  do  without  study,  is  the  conclusion  to 
which  the  generality  of  mankind  must  come  from  these  ex- 
amples. "  But  such  examples  are  very  rare,"  says  Boling- 
broke, "  and  when  they  happen,  it  will  still  be  true,  that  they 
could  have  had  fewer  blemishes,  and  would  have  come  nearer 
to  perfection  of  private  and  public  virtue  in  all  the  arts  of 
peace  and  achievements  of  war,  if  the  views  of  such  men  had 


8     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

been  enlarged,  and  their  sentiments  ennobled,  by  acquiring  that 
cast  of  thought  and  the  temper  of  mind  which  will  grow  up 
and  become  habitual  in  every  man  who  applies  himself  early 
to  the  study  of  history." 

Whilst  history,  in  spite  of  the  brilliant  part  England  has 
played  in  the  world's  commercial,  political,  and  scientific  de- 
velopment, and  the  great  isolated  historians,  like  Robertson, 
Hume,  Gibbon,  and  Hallam,  which  she  had  produced,  still 
remains  neglected,  because  we  have  not  yet  altogether  freed 
ourselves  from  those  insular  barriers  which  prevent  us  from 
extending  our  sympathies  to  all  nations  and  races,  to  all  creeds 
and  denominations — the  French  have  used  history  one- 
sidedly  for  national  and  political  purposes. 

MONTESQUIEU  was  constructive  ;  VOLTAIRE  destructive  ; 
and  ROUSSEAU  socialistic  in  the  treatment  of  history ;  they 
all  three  broke  with  the  past ;  they  all  three  saw  it  superseded 
by  a  yet  unknown  future  ;  they  felt  the  terribly  disturbed  state 
of  the  moral  and  intellectual  forces  in  the  French  nation,  and 
attempted  to  restore  the  balance,  or  through  its  more  equit- 
able readjustment  to  transform  France  ;  but  intolerant  priests, 
bigoted  aristocratic  idlers,  ignorant  teachers  of  inherited  false- 
hoods, quarrelling  Jesuits,  debating  Jansenists,  debauched 
official  villains — all  of  them  ignorant  of  history — prevented 
the  restoration  of  the  lost  balance  of  forces,  and  they  had  to 
learn  through  torrents  of  blood,  and  the  sacrifice  of  more  than 
a  million  and  a  half  of  murdered  human  beings,  what  they 
had  refused  to  learn  from  Greek  and  Roman  History ;  the 
long  list  of  sanguinary  deeds,  recorded  in  Mediaeval  History  ; 
the  Thirty  Years'  War,  &c. 

Not  the  wild,  ignorant,  bloodthirsty  rebels  or  the  fanatical 
demagogues  can  be  condemned  by  true  and  honest  historians, 
but  the  blind  aristocrats,  bureaucrats,  priests,  monks,  and  bigot 
who  neglected  their  education  and  drove  them  to  despair  and 
madness,  and  who,  instead  of  studying  history,  and  learning 
from  the  past  lessons  to  guide  the  destinies  of  the  people, 
abused,  vilified  and  cursed  those  who  recognised  the  disturbed 
state  of  the  balance  of  forces  in  the  French  people,  and  tried 


THE  SCIENCE  OF   HISTORY.  9 

to  readjust  it.  They  ought  to  have  known  the  causes  which, 
more  than  a  century  before,  had  produced  the  Grand  Re- 
monstrance in  England,  with  all  its  deplorable  but  wholesome 
consequences.  Those  also  who  wished  to  cure  the  political 
evils  in  France,  ignorant  of  history,  allowed  themselves  to  be 
carried  away  by  the  excitable  and  impatient  character  of  the 
masses.  In  a  truly  French  spirit  all  was  exaggerated. 
Martyrs  were  looked  down  upon  as  individuals  that  expected 
death  ;  whilst  fanatical  "  sans-culottes  "  were  glorified  because 
they  rushed  into  death.  A  feverish  longing  for  a  speedy 
change  in  religion,  political  and  social  relations,  burst  asunder 
all  the  ties  of  society.  The  religiously  blind  were  suddenly 
to  see,  and  the  politically  deaf  and  dumb  to  hear  and  to  speak. 
A  normal  historical  development  in  an  atmosphere  of  passion, 
ignorance,  and  superstition  is  impossible  when  national  pride 
and  wild  fanaticism  rule  supreme.  When  nations  sing  hymns, 
whether  pious  or  revolutionary,  Klio,  the  sober  muse  of 
history,  retires  and  awaits  a  less  emotional  moment  to  make 
her  voice  heard. 

The  French  in  general  have  not  yet  learnt  to  write  history. 
They  always  treat  facts  from  a  one-sided  national  point  of 
view ;  just  as  the  English,  from  a  one-sided  sectarian,  poli- 
tical, party,  or  merely  municipal  point  of  view. 

THIERS  wrote  an  analysis  of  the  Republic  to  prove  the 
necessity  of  the  Empire  which  followed,  and  to  teach  the 
French  that  the  only  possible  government  was  that  at  the 
head  of  which  he  at  last  found  himself  as  President,  namely,  a 
republic,  which  began  its  career  with  the  slaughter  of  more 
than  a  million  of  human  beings.  His  masterly  histories  of 
"  the  Consulate  "  and  "  the  Empire,"  describing  the  glorious 
victories,  the  waste  of  national  treasure,  self-sacrificing 
enthusiasm,  and  human  life,  all  ending  in  the  melancholy 
captivity  and  exile  of  the  originator  and  instigator  of,  and  prin- 
cipal actor  in  this  anachronistic  Imperial  Roman  tragedy, 
ought  to  have  opened  the  eyes  of  all  the  vain-glorious, 
politically  attitudinizing  French  comedians — if  they  had  studied 
history  scientifically.  But  the  leaders,  or  rather  mis-leaders, 


10     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

of  France  started  with  the  false  notion  that  they  might  use 
powder  and  shot  to  play  at  Roman  Emperors,  Consuls,  and 
Praetors,  conquering  half  the  world.  Had  they  carefully  read 
the  records  of  the  past,  they  would  have  prevented  the  last 
spurious  and  still  more  anachronistic  performance  of  the 
second  Franco-Roman  Empire.  So  long  as  the  French  do 
not  study,  write,  read,  and  teach  history  from  an  objective, 
and  purely  scientific  point  of  view,  they  will  have  no  stability, 
and  no  settled  social  and  political  organization.  Like  the 
Romans  who  would  not  understand  that  there  could  be  nations 
who  did  not  deem  it  an  honour  to  be  Romans,  the  French 
cannot  see  that  there  are  countries  beside  their  own,  and 
human  beings  that  have  the  inherited  natural  right  to  defend 
themselves  victoriously,  especially  if  wantonly  attacked. 

Another  example  of  French  historical  one-sidedness  is 
found  in  GuiZOT,  who  was  literally  raised  from  the  historical 
lecture  hall  to  the  highest  State  dignities  in  France,  showing  how 
amply  talent,  study,  and  industry  on  the  field  of  literature  are 
rewarded  in  a  country  that  is  always  alive  to  the  charms  of 
intellect,  wit,  and  rhetorical  power,  if  used  to  flatter  national 
prejudices  and  vanity.  In  all  his  writings  Guizot  was  always 
the  exclusive  Frenchman,  and  could  never  understand  the 
mighty  cosmopolitan  spirit  of  the  Teutonic  nations.  In  his 
"  History  of  the  English  Revolution,"  however,  he  attained 
the  position  of  an  impartial  judge,  and  is  even  more  trust- 
worthy than  many  an  English  writer,  for  he  stands  high  above 
party  spirit  and  theological  bias,  taking  neither  the  views  of  a 
High  or  Low  churchman,  nor  of  a  dissenting  Puritan.  Guizot, 
to  a  certain  degree,  was  a  philosophical  historian,  and 
considered  civilization  the  aim  of  nations  in  particular,  and 
of  humanity  in  general ;  but,  unhappily,  the  most  complete 
of  all  civilizations  in  his  eyes  was  that  of  France,  though  he 
never  tells  us  clearly  what  he  means  by  the  word  civilization. 
He  finds  fault  with  the  English  because  they  are  genial,  but 
unsystematic,  like  their  language.  He  considers  everything 
in  England  practical,  but  bigoted  and  narrow-minded,  and 
asserts  that  the  English  people  have  contributed  nothing 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  HISTORY.  11 

towards  an  extension  of  the  horizon  of  human  intellect.  He 
must  have  forgotten  Francis  Lord  Bacon,  Sir  Isaac  Newton, 
Hooker,  Chillingworth,  Shakespeare,  Milton,  Locke,  Hume, 
and  the  long  list  of  deistic  writers  of  England,  the  fathers  of 
modern  freethought  and  free  inquiry.    "  The  English,"  he  says, 
"  are  great  as  a  nation,  but  not  as  individuals."    In  this  one 
epigrammatic  sentence  we  may  recognise  the  distorted  Franco- 
Roman  spirit,  swaying  French  logicians  and  historians,  who 
look  upon  the  State  abstraction  as  an  entity  without  ever 
taking  the  individual  citizens  and  their  interests  into  considera- 
tion.    Guizot  speaks  of  the  grandeur  of  a  nation,  and  at  the 
same  time  denies  the  existence  of  grandeur  in  the  individuals 
who  compose  the  nation.     Because  the  English  have  learnt,  in 
spite  of  their  insisting  upon  individual  freedom,  to  act  in  com- 
mon whenever  required,  Guizot  blames  them,  and  extols  his 
compatriots  who  have  not  yet  freed  themselves  of  a  very  primi- 
tive tribal  egotism,  and  abhor  to  act  in  common  when  their 
vanity  does  not  serve  as  the   mainspring  of  their  combined 
action.     Dialectical  sophistry  in  the   annals  of  history  has 
done  more  harm  than   correct  reasoners  can    readily  make 
good.     If  the  whole  be  iron  or  steel,  the  particles  must  be 
iron  or  steel  also.     The  Roman  spirit,  mode  of  thinking  and 
rhetoric  have  gradually  pervaded  modern    French   thought 
through  an  undue  admiration  and  mimicry  of  ancient  Rome, 
and  a  culpable  neglect  of  the  study  of  history.     The  refined 
discernment  and  the  quick  emotional  instinct  of  the  spirited 
French  have  thus  been  directed  into  a  false  groove  of  his- 
torical   reasoning ;    so   long   as   the    French    do   not   divest 
themselves   of   their  exclusively   French  mode   of  thinking, 
we  must  look  upon  their  historical  works  and  historians  as 
national  curiosities  and  peculiarities  ;    but  we  shall  seek  in 
vain  for  true  scientific  historians  amongst  them. 

The  activity  of  the  French  on  the  field  of  history  was  sur- 
passed by  the  Germans,  who  have  gained  the  palm  of  excel- 
lence in  every  branch  of  historiography.  Like  the  ancient 
Greeks,  the  Germans  were  forced  through  their  geographical 
position  to  devote  themselves  to  the  culture  of  intellect,  for 


12     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

they  were  politically  checked  in  the  exercise  of  all  broader 
social  and  commercial  activity.  The  historical  development 
of  Germany  was  slow,  but  sure.  It  was  not  so  brilliant  as 
that  of  England,  but  profounder  ;  it  was  not  so  spirited  as 
that  of  France,  but  more  systematic.  At  a  time  when  the 
English  and  French  possessed  unsurpassed  classical  writers 
in  their  vernaculars,  the  Germans  were  still  struggling  for  a 
common  language.  The  learned  spoke  and  wrote  Latin  ; 
the  upper  classes  conversed  in  French  ;  whilst  the  lower 
prattled  in  innumerable  unintelligible  dialects.  The  Refor- 
mation wrought  extraordinary  changes,  not  only  in  a  religious 
but  also  in  a  lingual  direction.  To  oppose  Romanism  and 
its  Latinizing  influences,  enthusiastic  divines  composed  popular 
hymns,  homilies,  tales,  fables,  and  sermons  in  the  language  of 
the  people ;  they  continued  what  LUTHER  had  begun,  to 
model  and  remodel  the  German  language,  and  -brought  it 
into  a  more  harmonious  and  settled  grammatical  form. 
From  the  time  of  the  Reformation  history  became  the  most 
important  study  of  the  German  nation.  The  old  formulse 
and  most  of  the  dogmas  of  the  Romish  church  had  been 
based  on  prophecy,  revelation,  tradition,  and  history.  The 
apostolic  succession  was  either  true  or  a  fiction  ;  Isidor's 
Decrees  were  either  a  fact  or  an  historical  forgery  ;  the  whole 
theologico-dogmatic  fabric  ;  the  whole  social  and  political 
organization  of  all  the  Christian  nations  in  general,  and  of 
the  German  people  in  particular,  was  therefore  built  on  his- 
tory, either  true  or  false.  If  true,  the  Reformation  had  no 
basis  ;  if  false,  the  Reformation  had  to  disperse  the  historical 
mist,  the  dark  clouds  and  gloomy  night  obscuring  truth,  and 
to  endeavour  to  ascertain  real  facts  upon  which  to  reconstruct 
Christianity. 

These  circumstances  forced  theologians  above  all  to  criti- 
cise, to  inquire  into,  and  to  study  the  past  from  a  more  correct 
historical  point  of  view.  Whilst  in  England  the  Anglican 
establishment  was  a  continuation  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and  only  involved  a  formal  change  of  some  dogmatic 
details  and  ceremonials ;  the  Reformation  in  Germany  was  a 


THE  SCIENCE  OF   HISTORY.  13 

direct  cataclysm  that  swept  away  an  ancient,  spiritual,  reli- 
gious, and  educational  world,  built  up  for  more  than  1500 
years  on  a  basis,  the  correctness  of  which  was  not  only  to  be 
doubted,  but  the  hollowness  of  which  was  to  be  demonstrated 
on  historical  grounds. 

When  in  England  king,  lords,  and  commons  once  had 
agreed  to  be  Anglicans,  Anglicanism  became  an  accom- 
plished political  fact,  protected  by  endless  parliamentary  bills, 
and  the  Church,  thus  strengthened,  required  no  support  either 
from  learned  inquiry  or  history.  The  continuity  was  neither 
interrupted  nor  broken,  and  was  therefore  not  to  be  sought 
for  and  reconstructed  on  a  firm  historical  foundation.  This 
was  quite  different  in  Germany.  Protestantism  had  to  work 
its  way  into  the  hearts  and  brains  of  the  people  by  means  of 
persuasion,  deep  learning,  and,  above  all,  by  a  higher  moral  and 
intellectual  force  which  was  stimulated  to  continuous  activity 
by  an  equally  learned  body  of  antagonists — the  Romish 
priests — who  were  not  silenced  by  penal  laws,  but  appeared  in 
the  arena  of  learning  as  Jesuits,  Benedictines,  and  a  number 
of  other  monastic  associations,  and  continued  to  teach,  to 
argue,  and  to  engage  in  historical,  classical,  and  philosophical 
controversies.  The  struggle  of  the  modern  intellectual  pro- 
gress in  Germany  was  a  free  and  genuine  war,  no  longer  on 
sanguinary  battle-fields  with  guns  and  cannons,  but  in  lecture 
halls,  pulpits,  and  ponderous  learned  books,  where  no  human 
blood,  but  printer's  ink  was  shed  in  incredible  quantities,  to 
foster  peace  and  a  higher  spiritual  life  in  the  people. 

HISTORY  was  the  great  weapon  on  both  sides  ;  written  or 
unwritten,  sacred  or  profane.  Facts  had  to  be  newly  studied 
and  investigated,  and  their  causes  and  effects  in  the  past  had 
to  be  traced  on  different  principles.  This  led  to  a  deeper 
inquiry  into  historical  authorities,  and  aroused  an  unparalleled 
enthusiasm  for  history  in  the  middle  classes  and  religious 
sects.  In  Germany  kings,  princes,  and  dukes  took  only  a 
moderate  interest  in  the  gigantic  movement,  to  arrest  the  pro- 
gress of  which  they  were  powerless.  The  smallness  of  their 
dominions  made  it  easy  for  any  learned  critic  or  historian 


14   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE   ROYAL  HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

whose  sceptical  ideas  were  considered  objectionable  in  one 
state,  to  find  refuge,  and  often  the  very  highest  honours  in 
another. 

When  the  celebrated  philosopher,  Christian  Wolf,  delivered 
a  lecture  at  Halle  :  "  De  Philosophia  Sinensium  Morali"  (on 
the  moral  philosophy  of  the  Chinese),  in  which  he  asserted 
that  Christian  ethics  and  Chinese  morals  were  the  same, 
though  Confucius  lived  nearly  five  centuries  before  Christ, 
Professor  Wolf  was  ordered  in  1723 — 156  years  ago — to  quit 
the  dominions  of  the  first  King  of  Prussia  on  peril  to  be  hanged 
if  found  twenty-four  hours  after  the  issue  of  the  order  within 
the  frontiers  of  the  Prussian  kingdom.  He  went  over  to 
Cassel,  where  he  was  appointed  Professor  of  Philosophy  at 
the  University  of  Marburg. 

The  spirit  of  critical  inquiry  in  the  Germans  was  not  to  be 
checked  or  tired  out.  It  has  just  been  shown  that  the  greater 
historical  activity  in  general  originated  in  theological  and 
scholastic  requirements,  and  was  kept  in  continual  motion  by 
a  wholesome  controversial  energy  which  engaged  the  whole 
thinking  and  reasoning  powers  of  the  German  nation. 

As  the  geographical  position  is  a  most  important  factor  in 
the  development  of  the  character  of  a  nation,  I  will  now  refer 
more  particularly  to  those  territorial  causes  which  necessitated 
a  broader  and  more  correct  study  of  history  in  Germany. 
Encircled  by  Russians,  Sclavons,  Poles,  Magyars,  Servians, 
Croatians,  Italians,  French,  Belgians,  Dutch,  Swedes,  Danes, 
Norwegians,  Livonians,  and  Courlanders,  the  Germans  were 
forced  to  know  something  of  the  customs  and  manners,  mode 
of  living  and  thinking,  reasoning  and  acting  of  these  different 
peoples,  all  of  whom  were  often  seen  as  unwelcome  guests, 
sword  in  hand,  on  the  banks  of  the  Spree,  the  Elbe,  the 
Weser,  the  Rhine,  the  Danube,  or  in  the  plains  of  central 
Germany  in  villages  and  towns,  plundering  and  murdering ; 
though  the  Germans  could  neither  understand  their  languages, 
nor  discover  why  they  came  to  disturbe  the  peace  of  the 
fatherland.  Thus  they  were  practically  forced  to  study  the 
history,  origin,  and  languages  of  at  least  the  most  important  of 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  HISTORY.  15 

these  invading  nations.  This  was  a  further  cause  of  the  univer- 
sality of  learning  prevailing  in  Germany.  There  is  not  a  single 
historical  work  of  any  importance,  written  in  any  European 
or  Asiatic  language,  that  is  not  translated  into  German.  I 
wish  I  could  say  the  same  of  the  English  literature.  All  the 
classical  and  more  prominent  historical  works  of  the  Chinese 
and  Japanese,  Persians,  Indians,  and  Arabs  are  commented 
upon  and  brought  into  systematic  order.  All  that  had  been 
written  worth  reading  and  studying  on  Assyria,  Babylon, 
Egypt,  and  the  Jews  by  French,  Italian,  English,  and  native 
authors  exists  in  German,  augmented  by  a  vast  amount  of 
original  research,  carefully  arranged.  Philological,  mythical, 
religious,  and  historical  similarities  or  differences  are  pointed 
out,  analogies  and  comparisons  are  drawn  with  courageous  im- 
partiality. No  historical  phenomenon — and  nations  are  mere 
embodiments  of  the  phenomena  of  history — has  been  treated 
by  the  Germans  as  insignificant.  Through  a  classical  and 
philosophical  training  they  acquired  a  deeper  insight  into  the 
astounding  sameness  of  human  nature.  In  spiritual  contact 
with  all  the  religious  sects  and  nationalities  of  the  world,  they 
could  not  help  seeing  that  each  nation,  each  religious  sect  had 
good  and  bad,  wise  and  foolish,  learned  and  ignorant  mem- 
bers ;  but  that  in  all  of  them  the  virtuous  and  the  generous 
prevailed,  and  this  sentiment  pre-eminently  qualified  the 
Germans  for  writing  history.  They  broke  through  the  arti- 
ficial barriers  of  tribal  exclusiveness  and  national  egotism. 
Only  such  a  people  can  boast  of  true  historians,  who  above 
all  require  broad  minds  and  large  hearts. 

In  this  spirit  wrote  the  genial  Gotthold  Ephraim  LESSING 
(1729-1781),  who  boldly  attacked  antiquated  traditions,  pre- 
judices, and  fallacies.  He  proclaimed  the  grand  doctrine  of 
tolerance,  not  as  a  mere  emotional  element,  but  as  the  only 
possible  foundation  of  the  higher  culture  of  humanity.  To 
put  an  end  to  sham  learning  and  historical  falsifications  was 
the  great  aim  of  Lessing. 

He  was  supported  by  the  poetical  Johann  Gottfried  HERDER 
(1744-1803),  who  in  his  writings  was  always  refined  and  above 


16   TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

all  humane.  He  was  the  founder  of  humanism  no  longer  in 
the  scholastic,  but  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word.  He  was  the 
first  to  point  out  the  importance  of  physical  geography  in 
connection  with  history.  He  drew  the  attention  of  students 
to  the  configuration  of  the  different  countries,  inhabited  by 
different  nations  ;  to  the  influence  of  plants  and  vegetable 
products  ;  of  animals  and  animal  food  on  the  formation  of  the 
character  of  tribes  and  races,  and  to  man  in  his  bodily  and 
mental  organization.  He  assumed  man  to  be  created  for 
immortality  and  hope,  for  virtue  and  truth.  He  must  be 
further  considered  the  founder  of  ethnology,  in  a  higher  scien- 
tific sense,  for  he  discourses  on  the  various  organizations  of 
the  people  inhabiting  the  highlands  or  plains  of  Asia  ;  of  the 
Africans ;  the  islanders  in  the  tropics,  and  the  American 
aborigines.  He  was  anxious  to  discard  chance ;  and  attempted 
to  treat  history  with  an  universal  grasp,  never  before  attained 
by  any  other  writer. 

Johann  Gottlieb  FlCHTE  (1762-1814)  worked  out  Herder's 
principles,  and  asserted  history  to  be  the  safest  and  the  most 
impressive,  the  truest  and  only  reliable  teacher  of  humanity. 
He  was,  however,  in  every  branch  of  speculative  and  practical 
science  far  surpassed  by  Immanuel  KANT  (1724-1804),  who  in 
his  plan  of  a  "  general  history  from  a  cosmopolitan  point  of 
view"  (Idee  zu  einer  Allgemeinen  Geschichte  in  weltbiirger- 
licher  Absicht,  1784)  laid  down  with  masterly  clearness  the 
distinction  between  opinions,  faith,  and  knowledge.  History 
in  France  is  a  matter  of  opinion,  biassed  by  national  pride ;  in 
England  a  matter  of  faith,  fostered  by  inherited  prejudices  or 
coloured  by  party-spirit ;  and  in  Germany  a  matter  of  know- 
ledge based  on  fearless  research,  and  a  correct  understanding 
of  the  causes  producing  the  different  historical  phenomena. 

Kant's  method  of  treating  physical,  moral,  and  historical 
subjects  brought  about  a  total  revolution  in  the  system  of  our 
studies.  On  his  principles  Schelling,  Stahl,  Hegel,  William 
von  Humboldt,  Schlegel,  and  Gervinus  attempted,  with  more 
or  less  success,  to  solve  the  great  problem  of  a  scientific  treat- 
ment of  history. 


THE   SCIENCE  OF   HISTORY.  17 

To  consider  general  history  as  the  best  means  to  promote 
the  highest  culture  of  our  mind,  to  arouse  our  true  moral 
nature,  to  prevent  all  stagnation  in  science  and  politics,  and  to 
make  us  worthy  of  the  position  which  we  occupy  as  self-con- 
scious human  beings,  is  the  earnest  endeavour  of  all  those  who 
have  made  humanity,  and  not  minerals,  chemical  substances, 
plants  and  animals,  cats  and  dogs,  or  ants  and  caterpillars, 
their  exclusive  study.  Let  specialists  believe  in  the  import- 
ance of  their  particular  pursuits,  but  let  them  not  undervalue 
the  glorious  efforts  of  philosophical  generalizes,  who  bring 
into  order  and  system  their  detached  researches,  promoting 
real  civilization. 

It  will  interest  you  to  hear  that  more  than  336  independent, 
original,  historical  standard  works  have  been  published  in 
Germany  during  this  century,  and  altogether  about  6,288 
works,  making,  on  an  average,  82  historical  publications 
per  annum.  Amongst  the  writers  are  the  names  of  Moser, 
J.  v.  Miiller,  Eichhorn,  Heeren,  Bohlen,  Politz,  Rotteck, 
Schlosser,  Arndt,  Weber,  Becker,  Gesenius,  Neander,  Tuch, 
Dahlman,  Niebuhr,  Curtius,  Lepsius,  Mommsen,  Ranke, 
Gorres,  Hormayer,  Pftster,  Sybel,  Lassen,  Uhlmann,  Spiegel, 
Max  Miiller,  &c.  ;  each  of  them  a  host  of  learning  and  free 
inquiry  in  himself. 

I  think  every  one  who  tells  us  of  our  shortcomings,  though 
we  may  not  like  it,  does  us  a  real  service.  We  shall  never  be 
able  to  remedy  evils,  if  we  are  not  made  acquainted  with 
them.  It  is  of  no  use  to  boast  we  are  making  history ;  let 
the  Germans  study  it,  but  let  us  ponder  over  the  possibility, 
how  much  better  we  would  make  history,  if  we  had  the  same 
historical  training  as  the  Germans.  It  is  only  a  very  short 
time  ago,  since  1851,  when  the  genius  of  the  lamented  Prince 
Consort  destroyed  for  ever  our  insular  and  mere  tribal  posi- 
tion, that  we  began  to  realize  the  fact  that  we  are,  after  all, 
but  completing  particles  of  a  whole—  Humanity.  In  opening 
to  the  inspection  of  all  nations  the  artistic  and  industrial  pro- 
ducts of  the  world,  the  word  "international"  dawned  upon  us, 
for  the  first  time,  in  all  its  glorious  meaning  Timidly  we 

c 


18  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

began  to  quit  our  oystershells  of  national  pride  and  preju- 
dices ;  reluctantly  we  discarded  our  narrow  and  sectarian 
pretensions,  and  our  doleful  contempt  for  everything  intel- 
lectual beyond  our  island.  We  were  suddenly  enabled  to 
discriminate  between  true  national  greatness,  and  mere 
national  presumption.  We  saw  ourselves  far  behind  others. 
We  instituted  Schools  of  Art,  and,  only  nine  years  ago,  forced 
the  youth  of  England  into  Board  Schools,  and  established, 
about  the  same  time,  the  first  Royal  Historical  Society. 

Any  one  who  has  studied  the  historical  productions  of  the 
last  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  must  have  observed  the  remark- 
able change  that  has  come  over  the  spirit  of  historical  inquiry 
in  England.  The  Essayists  and  Reviewers,  Macaulay,  Bishop 
Colenso,  Dean  Stanley,  Carlyle,  Principals  Tulloch  and  Caird, 
Buckle,  Lecky,  J.  R.  Green,  &c.,  have  infused  new  life  into 
history,  and  ventured  fearlessly  on  new  paths  of  independent 
research. 

In  politics,  commerce,  industry,  use  of  inventions,  and  a 
progressive  social  development,  England,  and  England  alone, 
is  the  country  in  which  morals  and  intellect,  stability  and 
progress,  monarchy  and  democracy,  conservatism  and  libe- 
ralism, are,  if  not  perfectly,  at  all  events,  best  balanced  by 
means  of  our  love  of  freedom  and  our  practical  realism.  It 
is,  therefore,  our  peremptory  duty  consistently  to  strive  to 
make  England  stand  at  the  head  of  all  nations  in  independent 
historical  inquiry  and  research  ;  for  the  more  nations  study 
history,  the  more  they  become  acquainted  with  the  causes  of 
the  commotions  and  volcanic  throes  in  other  countries,  the 
more  surely  will  they  be  able  to  master  and  altogether  to 
avoid  them.  "  War  and  its  horrors  will  gradually  disappear, 
private  and  national  rights  will  be  better  understood,  tyranny 
and  oppression  on  the  one  hand,  and  popular  revolutions  and 
violence  on  the  other,  will  be  rendered  powerless,  and  there 
will  be  established  the  incontrovertible  truth  that  historical 
knowledge  is  real  power."  Historians  have,  unhappily,  their 
defilers  and  opponents.  Frederick  SCHILLER,  one  of  the 
greatest  poets,  when  appointed  (1789)  Professor  of  General 


THE   SCIENCE   OF   HISTORY.  19 

History  at   the  University  of  Jena,  proved,  in   a  masterly 
introductory  lecture,  not  only  the  usefulness  of  history,  but 
at  the  same  time  also  pointed  out  the  opposition  which  its 
study  had  to  encounter.  Metaphysicians  and  scientific  pedants 
are  its  greatest  enemies.    They  both  hate  reforms,  they  despise 
inquiry,  and   have  a  horror  of  comparisons  and   analogies. 
There  is  no   more  implacable  enemy  to  progress,  no  more 
envious  opponent  of  research,  than  the  narrow-minded  scho- 
lastic fanatic,  the  learned  "  ignoramus,"  who  knows  only  too 
well  that  free  inquiry  must  scatter  his  cherished  assumptions 
to  the  winds  as  so  many  empty  illusions.   Trembling  for  their 
daily  bread,  dependent  on  antiquated,  long-exploded  chrono- 
logical and  historical  fallacies,  the  bigoted  everywhere  obstruct 
the  path  of  history.     But  the  dynamic  (intellectual)  force  of 
progress  is  continually  and  irresistibly  at  work,  and  drives  us 
to  seek  for  law  in  solar  systems,  in  stars  and  nebulae,  crystal- 
lizations and  chemical  combinations  ;  in  plants  and  vegetables, 
the  rays  of  the  sun,  the  formation  of  the  earth's  crust,  the  very 
origin  of  the  different  species  of  animals.     Everywhere  we  are 
indefatigable  in  tracing  law  and  order.    We  find  it  in  our  sta- 
tistical tables  of  births,  marriages,  and  deaths  ;  in  the  rise  and 
fall  of  our  stocks,  bonds,  railway  and  other  shares.     We  have 
systematized  "  supply  and  demand  "  in  trade  and  commerce. 
Only  the  variegated  stages  of  man's  moral  and  intellectual 
activity,  as  they  present  themselves  in  the  different  epochs  of 
history,  in  different  countries  and  nations  under  different  cir- 
cumstances— man,  in  fact,  "  with  all  his  sublime  yearnings, 
measuring   suns   and   planets,   speaking,   by  means  of  elec- 
tricity, at  distances  of  thousands  of  miles,  reducing  space  in 
its  dimensions  ;  travelling,  by  means  of  fire  and  water,  at  an 
unheard-of  speed,  reducing  time  in  its  duration  ;  man,  in  his 
slow  and  gradual  historical  development,  is  to  be  the  least 
important  of  our  studies,  and  no  object  of  our  scientific  con- 
sideration." 

The  universe  is  ruled  by  gravitation,  manifesting  itself  as 
attraction  and  repulsion.  Harmony  in  the  universe  can  only 
exist  through  a  perfect  balance  of  these  two  forces.  Humanity 


20   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

is  ruled  by  consciousness,  manifesting  itself  in  morals  and 
intellect,  evolving,  by  a  process  of  progressive  continuity,  a 
perfect  balance  between  the  two  forces,  in  order  to  promote 
the  happiness  of  the  greatest  possible  number  of  human  beings, 
driven  by  their  very  nature  to  form  one  common,  loving  bro- 
therhood, enacting  history,  and  striving  to  fulfil  the  true 
destiny  of  mankind,  individually  and  collectively  —  to 
HUMANIZE  HUMANITY. 


i 


THE  PERSECUTION  UNDER  ELIZABETH. 
BY  JOHN  H.  CHAPMAN,  ESQ.,  M.A.,  F.S.A.,  BARRISTER- AT-LAW. 

THIS  subject  has  been  ignored  by  the  majority  of  writers  of 
English  history.  Some  have  assumed  that  the  unfortunate 
persons  who  suffered  death  and  lesser  penalties  for  their  reli- 
gion during  this  reign,  were  also  guilty  of  what  we  should 
admit  to  be  acts  of  treason  against  the  State.  This  theory 
is  not  supported  by  facts.  Modern  research  (and  the  word 
"modern,"  in  this  case,  means  that  of  the  last  ten  or  fifteen 
years)  has  proved  beyond  question  the  utter  falsity  of  Coke's 
statement,  "  That  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  there  was  put  to 
death  for  religion  not  one."  The  most  has  been  made  of  the 
persecution  under  Queen  Mary,,  and  the  names  of  the  sufferers 
have  become  as  household  words,  yet  even  now  but  little  is 
generally  known  of  similar  deeds  that  were  done  in  the  reign 
of  her  sister. 

In  trie  first  place,  the  Penal  Acts  speak  for  themselves. 

Secondly,  there  are  many  well-authenticated  cases  of  persons 
having  been  indicted  under  these  Acts,  condemned,  and  exe- 
cuted, without  any  act  of  treason  having  been  even  alleged, 
still  less  proved,  against  them  at  their  respective  trials,  other 
than  the  fictitious  treason  created  by  the  statutes. 

Thirdly,  there  was  the  merciless  system  of  fines  for  recu- 
sancy which  was  adopted  by  the  Queen's  Government. 

The  chief  statutes  affecting  Catholics  were  these  :  — 

The  1st  of  Eliz.,  c.  I,  which  prohibited  anyone  from  main- 
taining the  jurisdiction  of  the  Pope  by  word,  deed,  or  act 
under  penalties — 


22      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE   ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

For  the  1st  offence,  of  forfeiture  of  all  goods  and  chattels  ; 

For  the  2nd,  of  praemunire  ; 

For  the  3rd,  of  death  and  forfeiture,  as  in  high  treason. 

Chapter  2  enacts  the  compulsory  use  of  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  in  all  cathedrals,  parish  churches,  and  chapels,  and  even 
protects  it  from  adverse  criticism  under  penalties — for  the  1st 
offence,  of  a  fine  of  100  marks  (£363  of  our  money)  ;  for  the 
2nd,  400  marks  (£1,452)  and  one  year's  imprisonment;  for 
the  3rd,  of  forfeiture  of  all  goods  and  chattels,  with  imprison- 
ment for  life.  To  this  is  added : — For  non-attendance  at 
church,  a  fine  of  I2d.  (equal  to  5s.)  for  each  default. 

This  Act,  passed  in  the  first  year  of  her  reign,  is  of  itself 
sufficient  to  place  the  Queen  and  her  advisers  in  the  position 
of  persecutors  for  religion.  With  much  ingenuity  it  is  aimed 
at  two  cardinal  points  of  the  religion  of  Catholics  :  the  unity 
of  the  Church  and  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass.  Its  framers 
knew  well  that  no  Catholic  subject  could  obey  it  with  a  clear 
conscience.  Bad,  however,  as  it  is,  it  was  extended,  both  as 
to  its  application  and  to  its  penalties,  by  that  of  the  5th  of 
Eliz.,  chapter  I,  which  adds  a  praemunire  to  the  penalties  of 
the  former  Act. 

The  judgment  in  a  praemunire  was  to  be  out  of  the  king's 
protection,  lands,  tenements,  goods  and  chattels  to  be  forfeited 
to  the  king  (entailed  lands  but  for  life),  and  perpetual  impri- 
sonment (i  Inst,  129, 1 30) ;  to  be  disabled  as  a  witness  (i  Inst.,6), 
or  to  bring  any  action  (Littleton,  41). 

The  next  Act  of  importance  is  that  of  1571 — the  I3th  of 
Eliz.,  c.  2 — which  forbids  the  putting  in  ure  any  bull,  writing, 
or  instrument  from  the  See  of  Rome.  This  is  to  be  held  to 
be  high  treason  ;  offenders,  with  their  procurers,  abettors,  and 
even  counsellors,  are  to  suffer  death,  and  the  forfeiture  of  all 
lands,  goods  and  chattels  to  the  Queen.  There  is  a  somewhat 
remarkable  provision  in  this  Act :  the  bringing  in  of  tokens 
or  things  called  by  the  name  of  "  Agnus  Dei,"  crosses,  pictures, 
beads ,  &c.,  from  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  and  giving  them  to  any  sub- 
ject of  the  realm  to  be  worn  or  used,  is  visited  with  the  penalties 
of  praemunire,  both  to  giver  and  receiver,  unless  the  receiver 


THE   PERSECUTION    UNDER    ELIZABETH.  23 

gives  notice  of  the  fact  within  three  days  to  a  justice  of  the 
peace;  and  the  justice  incurs  a  praemunire  if  he  does  not 
also  give  notice  to  one  of  the  Privy  Council  within  fourteen 
days.  It  is  difficult  for  us  to  conceive  how  these  objects,  now 
so  frequently  seen,  could  at  any  period  have  been  deemed 
dangerous  to  the  commonwealth,  or  to  require  the  attention 
of  the  Queen's  Government.  The  possession  of  them  will  be 
presently  shown  to  have  been  a  very  serious  matter. 

By  the  23rd  Eliz ,  c.  I,  to  withdraw  anyone  from  the  State 
religion,  or  to  be  so  withdrawn,  is  made  high  treason  ;  to  say 
mass  is  visited  with  a  fine  of  200  marks  (£726)  and  imprison- 
ment for  one  year,  or  until  200  marks  are  paid  in  addition  ; 
to  hear  mass,  with  a  fine  of  100  marks  (£363)  and  one  year's 
imprisonment.  The  penalty  for  non-attendance  at  church  is 
raised  from  I2d.  a  week  to  £20  a  lunar  month,  counting 
thirteen  months  to  the  year,  £260  (or  about  £1,300  of  our 
money). 

The  education  of  the  young  in  the  principles  of  the  State 
Church  is  also  provided  for.  Everyone  who  keeps  a  school- 
master who  is  a  recusant,  and  not  licensed  by  the  bishop  of 
the  diocese,  shall  pay  a  fine  of  £10  (£$o)  a  month,  and  the 
master  himself  shall  be  imprisoned  for  one  year. 

With  the  view  of  adding  to  the  force  of  the  Act,  the  for- 
feitures are  declared  to  be  payable,  not  entirely  to  the  Crown, 
but  one-third  to  the  Queen,  one-third  to  the  poor  of  the 
parish,  and  one-third  to  the  informer.  Thus  these  two  last 
classes  of  persons  were  also  made  parties  interested  in  its  due 
execution,  and  active  agents  in  the  persecution. 

The  next  Act  (that  of  1585),  the  2/th  Eliz.,  c.  2,  is  an 
important  one,  for  it  is  impossible  for  anyone  without  pre- 
judice to  regard  it  otherwise  than  as  a  persecuting  Act. 
Every  person  (and  English  subjects  were  specially  meant)  who 
had  been  ordained  priest  or  deacon  beyond  the  seas,  and  who 
comes  into  the  Queen's  dominions,  is  to  be  dealt  with  as  a 
traitor,  and  anyone  receiving  him,  as  a  felon.  This  most 
oppressive  enactment  was  not  long  permitted  to  remain  upon 
the  statute  book  without  being  put  in  force,  for  upon 


24     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


the  iQth  of  the  following  January,  Nicholas  Deverox  als. 
Woodson,  and  Edward  Barber,  were  condemned  for  being 
made  priests  in  France,  and  two  days  later  were  hanged  at 
Tyburn.  In  the  following  year  two  more  priests,  William 
Thompson  and  Richard  Lea,  were  hanged,  bowelled,  and 
quartered.  Under  this  Act,  in  1588,  at  the  Sessions  Hall, 
Newgate,  eight  priests  and  six  laymen  were  condemned,  and 
executed  two  days  later.  These  few  instances  merely  serve 
to  show  that  the  Act  was  put  in  force  at  once  ;  they  are  by 
no  means  the  only  persons  who  were  indicted  and  executed 
under  the  2/th  Eliz.,  c.  2. 

The  last  Act  worthy  of  note  is  that  of  1598,  the  35th  Eliz., 
c.  2.  This  is  directed  more  especially  against  the  poorer  class 
of  subjects.  It  restricts  such  recusants  to  one  place  of  abode 
under  pain  of  forfeiture  of  goods  and  chattels,  and  in  the  case 
of  a  copyholder,  of  his  copyhold.  We  must  not  suppose  that 
the  humbler  class  of  people  escaped  the  fine  meshes  of  the 
Penal  Acts  :  for  Dr.  Allen  writes  —  "  Such  as  be  of  the  vulgar 
sort  of  honest  husbandmen  and  artizans  (of  which  condition 
great  numbers  be  Catholics  in  our  country),  they  not  being 
able  to  pay  that  impious  mass-mulct  (i.e.,  the  100  marks), 
much  less  the  forfeiture  for  not  coming  to  the  Calvinists' 
preaches  and  service,  are  most  cruelly  and  barbarously  whipped 
in  the  open  market-places,  as  both  elsewhere,  and  specially 
of  late  in  the  city  of  Winchester  they  were  so  used.  Others 
have  their  ears  cut  off,  others  burnt  through  the  ear,  and 
others  of  both  sexes  contumeliously  and  slavishly  abused."  — 
"  Allen's  Answer  to  the  Libel  of  English  Justice,"  p.  174.) 

The  form  of  submission  to  be  made  by  a  recusant  was 
given  in  this  Act,  and  commenced  as  follows  :  —  I,  A.  B.,  do 
humbly  confess  and  acknowledge  that  I  have  grievously 
offended  God  in  contemning  her  Majesty's  godly  and 
lawful  government  and  authority  by  absenting  myself  from 
church,  and  from  hearing  Divine  Service,  contrary  to  the 
godly  laws  and  statutes  of  this  realm,  and  I  am  heartily  sorry 
for  the  same,  &c.  &c. 

This  was  a  most  exacting  form  of  submission,  as  appears 


THE   PERSECUTION    UNDER   ELIZABETH.  25 

from  the  case  of  the  Winchester  blacksmith,  reported  in  a 
letter  to  the  rector  of  the  English  College  at  Rome,  now 
printed  in  the  appendix  to  the  Douai  Diary.  This  man  had 
been  frightened  into  attending  church  once,  but  he  afterwards 
expressed  his  sorrow  at  having  done  so,  and  was  therefore 
ordered  to  be  flogged  once  a  week  till  he  went  again.  He  told 
his  judges  that  once  a  week  was  not  sufficient  to  atone  for  the 
offence  he  had  committed  in  going  to  church.  In  the  words 
of  the  letter,  "  Parva  enim  est  hsec  pcena  ad  diluendum  tantum 
peccatum  quantum  ego  commisi  in  adeunda  vestra  demoniaca 
ecclesia." 

This  incident  will  show  that  the  people  regarded  this 
enforced  attendance  at  church  as  a  serious  strain  upon  their 
conscience,  and  how  difficult  it  must  have  been  for  them  to 
make  the  submission  in  the  form  prescribed  by  the  statute. 
It  is  not  possible  to  challenge  the  legality  of  the  sentences 
under  these  Acts  ;  what  we  may  dispute  is,  their  morality.  If 
we  are  to  regard  only  rules  of  positive  law,  Edmund  Campion, 
and  the  rest  of  the  Elizabethan  martyrs,  were  guilty  of 
treason.  This  is  the  line  of  argument  that  has  been  taken  by 
some  historians,  much  to  the  prejudice  of  their  reputation  for 
impartiality.  Legality  by  them  is  made  the  equivalent  of 
morality,  and  they  practically  say  that,  because  Elizabeth 
prescribed  a  particular  form  of  worship,  and  exacted  a  parti- 
cular declaration  of  faith  from  her  unwilling  subjects,  under 
the  penalties  of  treason,  therefore  those  who,  as  a  matter 
of  conscience,  could  neither  use  that  form,  nor  make  that 
declaration,  are  rightly  to  be  deemed  traitors  to  their  queen 
and  to  their  country. 

If  this  be  so,  the  same  rules  of  positive  law  must  be  applied 
elsewhere.  There  could  have  been  no  persecution  under 
Queen  Mary  for  heresy,  for  the  law,  as  it  then  stood,  had 
clearly  been  broken  ;  nor  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  when 
men  were  required  to  think  exactly  as  the  king  thought ;  nor 
even  in  the  early  church  could  there  have  been  any  martyrs, 
for  the  imperial  Roman  law  was  clearly  against  them.  Thus, 
it  comes  to  this — unless  we  are  prepared  to  maintain  the 


26        TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

position  that  those  who  suffered  under  Mary  and  Henry  VIII., 
and  even  in  early  times,  those  who  perished  in  the  Roman 
Circus  for  the  Christian  faith  were  all  law-breakers,  and  all 
traitors, — we  must  also,  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth,  make  a 
distinction  between  bare  legality  and  morality — we  must 
admit  that  there  may  be  such  a  thing  from  the  point  of  view 
of  morality  as  a  legalized  persecution.  The  number  of  those 
who  suffered  under  these  Penal  Acts  during  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth  is  not  stated  by  most  historians,  by  others  it  has 
been  given  diversely.  Lingard  puts  it  at  147,  Dodd  in  his 
Church  history  at  191,  and  Milner  at  204.  It  is  probable 
that  none  of  these  lists  is  in  itself  complete,  and  that  modern 
research  will  yet  add,  especially  in  the  provinces,  other  names 
to  the  catalogue  of  Elizabethan  martyrs.  This  also  applies  to 
those  who  died  in  prison  from  the  want  of  food,  proper  air,  and 
warmth.  Mr.  Foley,  in  his  recent  valuable  work,  estimates  the 
number  of  these  persons  at  130.  A  very  eminent  antiquary, 
the  late  Canon  Raine,  says  of  the  northern  prisons  at  an  even 
later  date  than  this : — "  They  were  dens  of  iniquity  and 
horror :  the  number  of  persons  who  died  in  them  is  positively 
startling ! ! " 

The  Rev.  J.  Morris  has  published,  amongst  other  contem- 
porary MSS.,one  entitled  "A  Yorkshire  Recusant's  Relation." 
In  this  there  is  a  long  description  of  the  sad  condition  of  the 
prisoners  both  in  York  and  Hull.  The  fees  exacted  from 
them  appear  to  have  been  enormous !  allowing  for  the 
difference  in  the  value  of  money, — the  weekly  chamber  rents 
ranged  from  five  to  twenty  shillings ;  the  weekly  diet  from  £1 
35.  4d.*  to  £$  6s.  8d.,  according  to  the  social  rank  of  the 
prisoner.  There  appears  to  have  been  a  fee  for  fetters,  £2 
i os.  for  a  yeoman  ;  £$  for  a  gentleman  ;  and  £10  for  an 
esquire ;  in  addition  to  this  there  is,  what  almost  reads  like  a 
sarcastic  joke, — an  entrance  fee:  £6  133.  4d.  for  a  yeoman, 
and  £13  6s.  8d.  for  a  gentleman.  The  writer  of  this  contem- 
porary record  is  justly  indignant  at  the  treatment  received  by 
Yorkshire  prisoners.  He  writes  of  Lord  Huntingdon,  the 
*  These  figures  represent  the  modern  values. 


THE   PERSECUTION   UNDER   ELIZABETH.  27 

President  of  the  North  :  "  But  who,  think  you,  was  the  broker 
of  these  villainies  !  who  more  likely  than  the  tyrant  himself 
who,  one  day  sitting  on  the  bench  at  Hull,  where  he  gave 
sentence  of  death  against  a  distracted  Catholic  .  .  .  said 
openly  to  the  keeper,  It  were  more  worthy  to  hang  thee 
than  this  Papist,  for  if  thou  hadst  been  an  honest  man  or  a 
true  subject,  all  the  Papists  in  thy  custody  had  been  des- 
patched ere  this  day."  ("  Morris'  Troubles,"  vol.  3,  p.  76.) 
This  open  suggestion  of  secret  murder  in  prison  should 
perhaps  not  so  much  surprise  us,  coming  from  Lord 
Huntingdon,  the  Queen's  servant  in  the  North,  when  we 
know  that  a  similar  request  was  made  by  command  of  the 
Queen  herself  to  Sir  Amias  Paulet  in  reference  to  Mary 
Queen  of  Scots,  and  was  by  him  very  properly  refused. 
("Letter  Book  of  Sir  Amias  Poulet,"  London,  1874,  p.  358. 
"  Hearne's  MS.  Diary"  Bodleian  ;  and  Harl.  MSS.6Q94,  f.  50. 
British  Museum.)  During  the  period  of  their  imprisonment 
every  effort  was  made  to  shake  the  faith  of  the  prisoners  ;  at 
the  castle  in  York  they  were  compelled  to  hear  sermons  from 
the  Protestant  preachers  ;  if  they  would  not  go  willingly  they 
were  taken  forcibly  ;  when  they  tried  to  stop  their  ears,  their 
hands  were  secured ;  if  they  uttered  any  sound  they  were 
gagged.  These  were  some,  and  only  some  of  the  hardships 
endured  by  those  who  were,  by  comparison  with  others,  the 
more  fortunate  amongst  the  Queen's  Catholic  subjects. 

Of  those  who  actually  suffered  death  for  their  religion  it 
is  only  possible  here  to  give  a  few  instances.  The  first  mis- 
sionary priest  who  suffered  was  Cuthbert  Mayne,  of  St.  John's 
College,  Oxford.  He  was  apprehended  at  the  house  of 
Francis  Tregian,  a  Cornish  gentleman  of  substance  and 
position.  In  his  history  of  Cornwall  David  Gilbert  estimates 
Tregian's  estate  at  the  yearly  value  of  .£3,000.  His  property 
was  seized  by  the  queen  ;  and  his  hospitality  cost  him  much 
suffering,  as  he  passed  twenty- eight  years  of  his  life  in 
prison.  On  his  liberation,  ruined  in  fortune,  and  with  broken 
health,  he  proceeded  to  Lisbon,  and  the  King  of  Spain 
accorded  him  a  small  pension  for  the  short  remnant  of  his  life. 


28     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  to  realize  the  fact  that  this  hard  fate  befel 
an  honourable  English  country  gentleman,  simply  and  solely 
for  entertaining  at  his  house  a  priest  of  that  faith  in  which  he 
had  been  bred,  and  to  which,  we  must  remember,  only  twenty- 
one  years  before,  Queen  Elizabeth  had  herself  publicly  pro- 
fessed to  belong.  His  case  is  historically  interesting  also  in 
another  respect.  His  kinsman,  Francis  Plunkett,  published 
a  history  of  his  life  and  misfortunes,  entitled,  "  Heroum 
speculum  de  vita  Francisci  Tregeon  cujus  corpus  septem- 
decim  post  annos  in  aede  D.  Rochi  integrum  inventum  est. 
Edidit  F.  Franciscus  Plunquetus  Hibernus  Ordinis  S.  Ber- 
nardi  nepos  ejus  maternus.  Olisipone,  1655,  sm-  8vo."  In 
this  book,  now  comparatively  rare,  there  is  given  a  circum- 
stantial account  of  Tregian's  experience  at  Court.  He 
appears  to  have  been,  for  a  time  at  least,  a  favourite  of 
Elizabeth  ;  and  the  story  is  not  only  very  damaging  to  the 
Queen's  personal  reputation,  but  discloses  a  motive  (spretse 
injuria  formae)  for  this  cruel  persecution,  which  is  creditable 
to  Francis  Tregian,  but  is  quite  apart  from  any  question  of 
faith.  To  leave  the  case  of  the  host,  and  to  return  to  that  of 
the  priest,  who  had  been  his  guest,  Cuthbert  Mayne  was 
indicted  at  the  Assizes  held  at  Launceston  on  the  i6th  Sept., 
I577- — Istj  f°r  having  brought  into  the  country  a  printed 
instrument  emanating  from  the  See  of  Rome,  contrary  to  the 
statute  1 3th  Eliz.  (and  it  must  be  noted  that  it  is  not  even 
pretended  that  this  document  was  in  itself  treasonable,  for  it 
was  simply  a  copy  of  the  declaration  of  the  Jubilee  of  Pope 
Greg.  XI I L,  and  had  no  reference  whatever  to  the  state  of 
affairs  in  England).  2ndly,  for  publishing  the  same.  Srdly, 
for  maintaining  the  ecclesiastical  authority  of  the  Bishop  of 
Rome,  contrary  to  the  first  of  the  Penal  Acts.  4thly,  for 
bringing  in  a  certain  vain  sign  and  superstitious  thing  called 
an  Agnus  Dei,  contrary  to  the  I3th  of  Eliz.  5thly,  for 
delivering  the  same  to  Fras.  Tregian.  6thly,  for  saying  a 
certain  public  and  open  prayer^  called  a  Private  Mass,  contrary 
to  the  statute  1st  Eliz.,  c.  ii.  Cuthbert  Mayne  seems  to  have 
had  a  good  defence  to  all  these  alleged  statutory  acts  of 


THE   PERSECUTION    UNDER   ELIZABETH.  29 

treason  ;  nevertheless,  he  was  found  guilty  by  a  pliant  jury, 
and  condemned  as  a  traitor  by  a  time-serving  judge.  The 
several  parts  of  the  indictment  are  purposely  set  out  in  detail : 
for  if  no  other  man's  blood  (cleric  or  layman)  had  been  shed, 
this  one  instance  is  sufficient  to  prove  that  it  is  false  to  say 
that  in  Elizabeth's  reign  there  was  put  to  death  for  religion — 
not  one.  It  will  be  observed  that  Mayne  is  not  indicted  for 
any  offence,  but  those  created  by  the  Penal  Acts,  and  that 
there  is  not  a  shadow  of  evidence  adduced  at  his  trial  to 
prove  that  from  the  time  he  landed  in  England  to  the  day  of 
his  execution  he  ever,  by  word  or  deed,  committed  any  act  of 
treason  against  the  State,  or  in  fact  did  ought  but  what  he 
came  to  England  ta  do — i.e.,  to  minister  to  the  spiritual 
needs  of  his  fellow-countrymen  who  were  Catholics.  In  1577, 
John  Nelson,  priest,  suffered  at  Tyburn,  as  Stowe  says,  "for 
denying  the  Queen's  supremacy,  and  such  other  traitorous 
words  against  her  Majesty/'  He  was  indicted  under  the  1st 
of  Eliz.,  c.  i.  At  his  trial  the  oath  was  tendered  to  him, 
which  he  refused,  saying  "  he  had  never  heard  or  read  that 
any  lay  prince  could  have  that  pre-eminence."  This  was  also 
a  case  in  which  no  act  of  treason  outside  of  the  Penal  Acts 
was  ever  attempted  to  be  proved.  The  same  year,  Thomas 
Sherwood,  a  layman,  who  had  been  a  student  at  Douai,  was 
arrested  on  suspicion  only  ;  and  the  same  question  was  put  to 
him.  His  answer  was,  "  that  he  did  not  believe  the  Queen 
to  be  the  head  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  that  this 
pre-eminence  belonged  to  the  Pope."  Upon  this  he  was 
put  to  the  rack  in  the  Tower  to  make  him  discover  in  whose 
house  he  had  heard  mass,  but  with  no  result.  He  was 
executed  at  Tyburn,  being  cut  down  from  the  gallows,  and 
while  still  alive,  dismembered  and  disembowelled.  In  this 
case  also  there  was  no  offence  proved  or  alleged,  save  the 
denial  of  the  Queen's  supremacy  in  matters  ecclesiastical.  In 
1581,  Everard  Hanse  or  Haunce,  a  native  of  Northampton- 
shire, and  a  member  of  the  University  of  Cambridge,  was 
apprehended.  He  had  been  a  beneficed  minister  of  the  State 
Church,  and,  like  many  others,  had  given  up  his  benefice  and 


30      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

gone  beyond  the  seas.  At  his  trial  before  Mr.  Fleetwood, 
the  Recorder,  he  at  once  avowed  that  he  was  a  priest,  and  the 
following  dialogue  took  place  : — "  Then  you  are  a  subject  of 
the  Pope  ? — So  I  am,  sir. — Then  the  Pope  hath  some  supe- 
riority over  you  ? — That  is  true. — What,  in  England  ? — Yea, 
in  England,  for  he  hath  as  much  authority  and  right  in  spiri- 
tual government  in  this  realm  as  ever  he  had,  and  as  much  as 
he  hath  in  any  country,  or  in  Rome  itself."  He  was  indicted 
under  the  1st  Eliz.,  c.  I,  and  the  23rd  Eliz.,  c.  I,  for  his  priest- 
hood, and  for  reconciling  others  to  the  Church.  He  was 
executed  at  Tyburn  with  unusual  barbarity.  After  he  was 
cut  down  and  was  being  disembowelled,  he  was  distinctly 
heard  by  the  bystanders  to  utter  the  words  :  "  O  happy  day." 
"  Venterque  cultro  carnificis  apertus  cumque  viscera  efifusa 
essent,  et  cor  jam  tremulum  carnifex  manu  attractaret,  hanc 
supremam  edidisse  dictus  est  vocem — O  diem  felicem  ! " 
— Diarium  Secundum  Coll1.  Anglo-Duaceni,  p.  181.  This  is 
another  instance  in  which  no  treasonable  act  against  the 
State  was  even  attempted  to  be  proved. 

The  case  of  Edmund  Campion,  the  son  of  a  citizen  of 
London,  was  a  notable  instance  both  of  the  severity  of  the 
persecution,  and  of  the  fact  that  a  reputation  for  learning, 
eloquence,  and  piety,  could  not  save  one  who  refused  to  con- 
form to  the  Queen's  religion,  though  at  his  trial  and  at  his 
execution  he  professed  himself  in  all  other  matters  to  be  her 
loyal  subject.  In  his  early  youth  he  had  been  a  scholar  at 
Christ's  Hospital,  and  even  there  had  gained  distinction,  for 
when  Queen  Mary  made  her  state  entry  into  London,  on  the 
3rd  of  August,  1553,  and  halted  near  St.  Paul's  School,  it  was 
none  of  the  "Paul's  pigeons"  who  was  selected  to  address 
her,  but  Edmund  Campion,  the  little  Blue-coat  boy  of 
thirteen.  We  are  told  that  the  Queen  was  much  pleased 
with  him,  and  that  the  people  cheered  him  heartily.  In  due 
course  of  time,  at  the  instance  of  the  Grocers'  Company, 
he  was  admitted  as  a  scholar  of  St.  John's  College, 
Oxford,  then  recently  founded  by  Sir  Thomas  White. 
His  career  at  Oxford  was  one  continued  success  :  Anthony 


THE   PERSECUTION   UNDER   ELIZABETH.  31 

A' Wood  testifies  to  his  reputation  as  an  orator ;  and  the 
fact  that  he  was  selected  in  1560,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  to 
deliver  an  English  oration  at  the  funeral  of  Amy  Robsart, 
in  1564  to  make  a  Latin  oration  at  the  funeral  of  Sir  Thomas 
White,*  and  again  in  1566  to  dispute  before  the  Queen  and 
the  Chancellor  of  the  University,  shows  that  his  eloquence 
must  have  been  of  no  mean  order.  At  that  time  there  were 
in  Oxford  many  of  those  who  afterwards  devoted  themselves 
to  the  defence  of  the  old  religion,  and  some  who  subse- 
quently became  victims  of  the  persecution.  Humphrey  Ely, 
Gregory  Martin,  Henry  Holland,  Cuthbert  Mayne,  were  all 
of  his  own  college ;  Stapleton,  Dorman,  Marshall,  Garnett, 
Wallop,  Raynolds,  and  Pitts  were  of  New  College  ;  Lane  of 
Corpus  Christi ;  Parsons  and  Brian  of  Balliol :  Weston  of  All 
Souls  ;  Ford  of  Trinity  ;  William  Holt  of  Oriel ;  R.  Turner, 
afterwards  Rector  of  the  University  of  Ingoldstadt,  and  many 
others.  We  may  be  sure  that  the  events  of  the  day  were 
eagerly  debated  in  their  respective  colleges,  and  amongst 
themselves  by  these  men  and  their  friends.  Oxford  was  near 
enough  to  the  metropolis  to  have  accurate  and  early  informa- 
tion of  what  was  passing  there.  Every  act  of  the  Govern- 
ment, the  facts  as  to  the  consecration  of  Archbishop  Parker, 
and  the  making  of  the  new  bishops,  some  few  years  before, 
must  have  been  much  more  accurately  known  to  them  than 
they  can  possibly  be  to  us.  We  know  from  a  letter,  subse- 
quently written  to  Bishop  Cheney,  of  Gloucester,  and  printed 
in  the  Appendix  to  Mr.  Richard  Simpson's  valuable  work, 
what  was  Campion's  opinion  on  these  matters  ;  and  it  would 
appear  from  this  letter,  which  in  many  ways  is  historically 
valuable,  that  there  was  no  real  difference  of  opinion  between 
Campion  and  Bishop  Cheney.  There  were  many  others  who 
thought  with  them  ;  and  one  by  one  these  Oxford  men  gave 
up  their  chances  of  promotion  in  England,  and  followed 
Dr.  Allen  across  the  seas.  There  were  special  reasons  why 
Campion  should  not  act  hastily :  he  was  in  good  repute  both 
with  Leicester  the  favourite  and  with  Cecil  the  minister,  and  was 
*  This  oration  is  preserved  amongst  the  Stonyhurst  MSS. 


32     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

known  to  the  Queen  herself.  His -popularity  in  the  University 
was  so  great  that,  as  his  biographer,  Mr.  Simpson,  tells  us, 
"  After  he  had  taken  his  degree  he  had  hosts  of  pupils,  who 
followed  not  only  his  teaching  but  his  example,  and  imitated 
not  only  his  phrases  but  his  gait ;  he  filled  Oxford  with 
Campionists  ;  he  became  like  Hotspur,  'the  glass  wherein  the 
youth  did  dress  themselves,  whose  speech,  gait,  and  diet  was 
the  copy  and  book  that  fashioned  others.' "  It  is  probable 
that  there  has  never  been,  until  our  own  day,  another  man 
who  has  exercised  within  the  University  a  personal  influence 
so  great  as  was  that  of  Campion  ;  and  that  to  find  his  suc- 
cessor we  must  look  to  the  reign  of  Queen  Victoria,  and  (we 
can  happily  still  say)  amongst  living  men. 

Cecil,  when  he  heard  of  Campion's  departure  from  England, 
is  reported  to  have  said,  "  It  is  a  very  great  pity  to  see  so 
notable  a  man  leave  his  country,  for  indeed  he  was  one  of  the 
diamonds  of  England  ;"  yet  when  the  question  of  his  life  or 
death  came  before  the  Council  in  1581,  Cecil's  voice  was 
raised  against  him :  perhaps  not  inconsistently  from  the 
statesman's  point  of  view,  for  in  spite  of  his  absence  he  was 
still  at  Oxford  Campianus  noster.  The  citizens  of  London 
regarded  him  as  one  of  themselves,  from  his  parentage  and 
the  facts  of  his  birth  and  early  education  having  been 
amongst  them  ;  his  reputation  for  learning  had  not  dimin- 
ished, and  therefore  he  was  too  dangerous  a  man  to  be  dealt 
with  leniently.  The  circumstances  of  his  return  to  England, 
the  publication  of  the  "  Decem  rationes "  (which  has  been 
published  in  twelve  different  editions,  at  various  places, 
in  Latin,  five  in  French,  two  in  German,  two  in  Flemish, 
one  in  Dutch,  two  in  English,  and  two  in  Polish),  his 
adventures  and  final  capture,  are  too  long  to  be  given 
here  in  detail.  He  was  apprehended  in  Oxfordshire, 
on  the  i;th  of  July,  1581,  brought  to  London,  and 
lodged  in  the  Tower.  Every  effort  was  made  to  induce  him 
to  conform.  He  was  brought  into  the  presence  of  the 
Queen  and  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  and  Hopton,  the  governor 
of  the  Tower,  was  instructed  to  tell  him  that  even  the  Arch- 


THE   PERSECUTION    UNDER   ELIZABETH.  33 

bishoprick  of  Canterbury  was  not  beyond  his  reach.  When 
these  efforts  proved  fruitless,  he  was  twice  tortured  on  the 
rack,  and  on  the  2Oth  November,  1581,  he  was  brought  to 
trial.  No  act  of  treason  was  proved  against  him  :  with  such 
skill  and  logical  force  did  he  conduct  his  defence,  that  even 
the  spectators  in  court  looked  for  an  acquittal ;  but  the  order 
had  been  given,  and  he  was  condemned  to  death  with  the 
rest.  The  general  feeling  that  the  verdict  was  against  the 
evidence  has  been  confirmed  by  recent  research  amongst  the 
State  papers.  The  intelligence  department  of  the  Queen's 
Government  was  at  that  time  admirably  organized  ;  they  had 
their  spies  in  all  foreign  cities,  and  even  in  the  colleges 
abroad  ;  but  neither  from  their  reports,  from  the  letters  of 
politicians,  nor  from  the  memoirs  of  diplomatists,  can  any 
adverse  reference  be  found  to  Campion.  The  names  of 
Parsons  and  Holt  and  others  frequently  occur ;  but  Campion, 
from  first  to  last,  seems  to  have  avoided  everything  that 
might  be  termed  a  matter  of  state,  and  to  have  confined 
himself  strictly  to  the  ministerial  duties  of  his  office.  His 
execution  took  place  at  Tyburn,  with  the  usual  barbarity. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Jessopp,  a  clergyman  of  the  Established 
Church,  and  therefore  not  to  be  suspected  of  a  favourable 
bias,  in  his  admirable  work,  "  One  Generation  of  a  Norfolk 
House,"  gives  us  some  account  of  the  effect  of  Campion's 
death  upon  the  people.  Ballads  appear  to  have  been  com- 
posed, of  one  of  which  the  following  is  a  specimen  verse  : — 
"  Yow  bloodie  Jewrie,  Lee  and  all  the  'leven 

Take  heede  yor  verdite  wich  was  geaven  yn  hast 

do  not  exclude  you  from  the  ioyes  of  heaven 
and  cawse  you  rew  itt,  when  the  tyme  ys  past, 

and  euerie  one  whose  malice  cawsde  hym  saie 
crucifye,  let  hym  dreade  the  terrour  of  that  daie." 

Dr.  Jessopp  also  tells  us  of  the  effect  upon  Henry  Walpole, 
a  student  of  Gray's  Inn  ;  he  was  standing  near  the  execu- 
tioner, and  his  clothes  became  sprinkled  with  Campion's  blood 
(Bartoli  Dell'  Istoria  della  compagnia  di  Giesu  1'Inghilterra. 
In  Roma  nella  Stamperia  del  Varese  1667  fol).  So  impressed 


34    TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

was  he  with  the  horror  of  the  incident  that  from  that  moment 
he  determined  to  give  up  the  profession  of  the  law,  and  to 
devote  himself  to  the  cause  for  which  Campion  died  ;  he,  too, 
ultimately  suffered  the  same  fate  at  York  in  1595.  When 
Edmund  Campion's  execution  was  known  there  was  no 
longer  any  doubt  left  in  the  minds  of  either  Englishmen  or 
foreigners  that  the  Queen  and  her  advisers  had  committed 
themselves  to  a  cruel  and  relentless  persecution  of  all  who 
refused  to  accept  the  State  Church. 

William  Hart,  of  Lincoln  College,  Oxford,  was  apprehended 
at  York,  indicted  for  his  priesthood  and  for  reconciling  certain 
persons  to  the  Church,  and  was  executed  with  the  usual  bar- 
barities. His  last  words  were  to  call  the  people  to  witness 
that  he  died  for  his  religion  and  not  for  any  act  of  treason 
against  the  State. 

I  may  refer  to  two  more  cases  because  they  are  reported  in 
a  very  rare  contemporary  tract,  entitled  "  The  Several  Execu- 
tions and  Confessions  of  John  Slade,  Schoolmaster,  and  John 
Body,  M.A.,"  by  R.  S.  from  Winchester,  printed  in  London, 
1583.  Though  this  was  written  by  a  Protestant,  it  was  so 
distasteful  to  Elizabeth  and  her  ministers,  that  it  was  rigidly 
suppressed,  and  the  printer  was  prosecuted.  These  two  men 
were  condemned  in  a  praemunire  under  the  5th  Elizabeth,  cap. 
I  (1563),  they  remained  in  prison  for  two  years,  and  were 
then  indicted,  arraigned,  and  executed  for  high  treason. 
The  tract  gives  the  following  account  from  the  pen  of  an  eye- 
witness of  their  executions :  "  When  they  had  come  to  the 
place  of  execution,  Sir  Wm.  Kingsmill,  who  was  officially 
present,  said,  '  Slade,  doe  not  thus  delude  the  people  with 
plausible  speeches ;  you  are  come  hither  to  suffer  death  for 
high  treason  against  her  Majestic  ;  you  have  been  lawfully 
and  sufficiently  convicted  thereof,  therefore  you  are  brought 
to  endure  the  punishment  that  law  hath  assigned  you  ;  you 
have  denyed  her  Majestic  to  have  any  supremacie  over  the 
Church  of  Christ  in  England,  which  fact  is  high  treason,  and 
therefore  you  are  worthy  to  suffer,'  a  conclusion  with  which 
it  is  impossible  to  agree.  The  like  also  is  reported  as  to  John 


THE    PERSECUTION    UNDER   ELIZABETH.  35 

Body.  At  the  execution  at  Andover,  Sir  Wm.  Kingsmill  told 
him  he  died  for  high  treason  against  her  Majesty,  whereof 
he  had  been  sufficiently  convicted.  '  Indeede,'  quoth  he,  '  I 
have  been  sufficiently  censured,  for  I  have  been  condemned 
twice  ;  if  you  may  make  the  hearing  of  a  blessed  Mass 
treason,  or  the  saying  of  an  Ave  Maria  treason,  you  may 

make  what  you   please   treason I  acknowledge 

her  my  lawful  Queen  in  all  temporal  causes,  and  none  other.' 
'  You  shall  do  well,  then,'  said  Sir  Wm.  Kingsmill,  '  to  satisfy 
the  people  in  the  cause  of  your  death,  because  otherwise  they 
be  deluded  by  your  faire  speeches.'  'Ye  shall  understand,' 
quoth  he,  'good  people  all,  I  suffer  death  for  not  granting 
her  Majestic  to  be  supreme  head  of  Christ's  Church  in 
England,  which  I  may  not  and  will  not  grant ;  I  pray  God 
long  to  preserve  her  Majestic  in  tranquility  over  you,  even 
Queen  Elizabeth,  your  queen  and  mine  ;  I  desire  you  to  obey 
none  other ; '  at  length  (saying  '  Jesu,  Jesu  esto  mihi  Jesu/ 
three  times)  he  was  put  beside  the  ladder  and  quartered 
according  to  his  judgment." 

These,  a  few  cases  taken  out  of  many  others,  more  or  less 
as  they  occur  in  point  of  time,  are  enough  to  prove  that  it  was 
not  considered  necessary  to  bring  forward  any  evidence  of 
acts  of  what  would  generally  be  termed  treason  against  the 
State,  but  that  the  offences  created  by  the  Penal  Statutes,  i.e., 
to  be  a  priest,  to  exercise  the  ministry  of  a  priest,  to  reconcile 
a  person  to  the  Church  or  to  be  reconciled,  to  say  Mass  or  to 
hear  Mass,  to  possess  or  to  publish  documents  emanating 
from  the  See  of  Rome,  however  innocent  they  might  be  in 
character  (as  in  the  case  of  Cuthbert  Mayne),  to  have  or  to 
distribute  certain  harmless  objects  of  piety,  were  each  and  all 
acts  made  treasonable,  and  which  in  the  cases  cited  here  cost 
the  lives  of  those  who  were  charged  with  them.  In  addition 
to  these,  Dodd  gives  in  his  "Church  History"  the  names  of 
no  less  than  115  others  who  suffered  during  this  reign -with- 
out any  other  charges  being  made  against  them.  What 
indelibly  stamps  this  persecution  as  one  for  religion  only,  is 
this  simple  fact,  that  in  every  case  he  who  was  condemned 


36     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY.       . 

was  offered  his  life  if  he  would  only  conform  to  the  Established 
Church. 

The  system  of  fines  for  recusancy  was  also  in  its  way 
quite  as  real  a  form  of  persecution.  In  the  autobiography 
of  William  Weston,  who  had  been  in  his  earlier  life  a 
student  at  Oxford  with  Edmund  Campion,  we  read  :  "  There 
was  a  saying  spread  abroad,  which  was  supposed  to  have 
come  from  the  lips  of  Cecil,  to  the  effect  that  he  would 
bring  matters  to  such  a  pass  that  in  a  short  time  Catholics 
would  be  reduced  to  such  a  state  of  destitution  that  they 
would  be  unable  to  assist  one  another,  and  would  be  thankful 
if,  like  swine,  they  could  find  husks  therewith  to  assuage  their 
hunger."  Whether  Cecil  said  this  or  no,  it  was  very  near  the 
truth.  In  the  Public  Record  Office  there  are  returns  from 
each  county  of  the  fines  incurred  every  year,  and  in  all  cases 
where  there  seemed  to  be  anything  to  recover,  a  commission 
is  noted  in  the  margin.  These  documents,  extending  over  a 
long  period  of  time,  are  well  worthy  of  careful  attention  ; 
they  show  that  all  was  fish  that  came  into  the  Government 
net ;  even  widows,  spinsters,  labourers,  and  mechanics  were 
not  spared  ;  all  classes  suffered  for  their  religion,  if  only  they 
had  wherewith  to  pay  the  fines  imposed  by  the  statutes.  The 
effect  was  this,  many  of  the  English  country  gentlemen  were 
absolutely  ruined  ;  their  estates,  confiscated  to  the  Crown,  were 
regranted  to  the  favourites  of  Elizabeth  and  to  their  friends. 
The  rightful  owners  fled  beyond  sea,  and  both  in  the  Low 
Countries  and  in  Spain,  there  were  to  be  found  the  heads 
of  ancient  and  honourable  English  families  subsisting,  like 
Francis  Tregian,  upon  the  bounty  of  the  Spanish  Court. 
Those  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  save  their  estates,  did  so 
only  on  conditions  which  imposed  trouble  upon  their  suc- 
cessors. The  ordinary  rules  of  law  as  to  real  property  were 
set  aside  when  a  Catholic  became  entitled.  A  series  of 
enactments,  even  of  a  late  date,  nth  and  1 2th  William  III., 
cap.  4;  3rd  George  I.,  cap.  18  ;  nth  George  II.,  cap.  17, 
made  them,  unless  they  submitted  to  take  the  oath  of 
supremacy,  incapable  of  taking  by  descent  or  purchase  any 


THE   PERSECUTION    UNDER   ELIZABETH.  37 

interest,  real  or  chattel,  in  land  and  other  hereditaments. 
Their  Protestant  next-of-kin  might  enjoy  the  rents  and 
profits,  and  was  not  even  made  accountable  for  waste  other 
than  wilful  waste.  It  was  -not  until  a  period  within  the 
memory  of  many  living  persons  that  these  disabilities  were 
entirely  removed  by  the  Act,  loth  George  IV.,  cap.  7. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  historical  facts  that  go  to  prove 
that  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  there  existed  in  England 
a  persecution  for  religion  as  sharp  and  as  effective  as  any 
that  had  gone  before  it. 

That  it  has  not  been  so  fully  recorded  as  other  facts  of 
English  history  may  be  due  to  several  causes.  Partisan 
writers,  in  their  mistaken  zeal,  no  doubt  have  purposely 
ignored  it ;  another  cause  may  be  the  absence  in  that  day  of 
anything  like  a  free  press.  Every  book  or  pamphlet  that 
contained  matter  distasteful  to  the  Government  was  rigidly 
suppressed,  and  if  the  author  could  not  be  touched,  the 
printer  was  punished.  It  is  probable  that  persons  living  in 
France  or  in  the  Low  Countries,  really  knew  more  of  what 
was  being  done  in  England,  than  did  the  generality  of  men 
who  lived  there. 

At  last,  somewhat  late  in  the  day,  it  must  be  confessed, 
a  writer  in  the  Church  of  England  Quarterly  Review  has 
admitted  the  truth.  The  article  upon  this  subject  in  the 
number  for  April,  1879,  is  written  with  unusual  impar- 
tiality ;  it  boldly  claims  for  the  Catholic  sufferer  in  this 
reign,  the  title  of  "  Martyr,"  and  says,  "  it  is  useless  to  attempt 
to  deny  the  fact  of  a  persecution  for  religion  under  Elizabeth." 
It  deals  with  Mr.  Hallam's  false  statement  that  no  woman 
was  put  to  death  for  religion,  when  it  was  perfectly  well  known 
that  in  1586,  Margaret  Clitherow  was  pressed  to  death  at 
York;  that  in  1588  Margaret  Ward  was  hanged  at  Tyburn 
for  assisting  a  priest  to  escape  from  prison;  and  that  in  1601 
Anne  Line,  an  aged  and  infirm  widow  and  gentlewoman,  was 
first  flogged  and  then  hanged  at  Tyburn,  for  merely  enter- 
taining a  priest.  So  also  it  deals  with  a  more  recent  and 
more  glaring  mistake  made  by  Mr.  Green,  who  says,  writing 


38     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

on  the  statute  of  1581,  that  no  layman  was  executed  during 
the  last  twenty  years  of  this  reign.  ("  History  of  the  English 
People,"  ii.  415.)  As  a  matter  of  fact  a  considerable  number 
suffered,  and  it  is  only  possible  to  point  out  two  years  in 
which  no  execution  of  a  layman  is  recorded.  But  while  the 
writer  in  the  Church  Quarterly  Review  condemns  "  the  re- 
markable inaccuracy  which  seems  to  beset  every  one  who  has 
dealt  with  the  subject,"  he  straightway  goes  on  to  give  us  an 
example  in  his  own  person,  for  he  says,  "  the  Church  of 
England  as  a  Church  had  no  complicity  with  Elizabeth  and 
the  Privy  Council  in  this  miserable  business  ;  those  of  her 
bishops  who  took  an  active  part  in  the  persecution,  did  so  for 
the  most  part  under  compulsion,  and  many  with  obvious 
reluctance."  It  is  impossible  after  the  first  year  of  the  reign 
of  Elizabeth  to  distinguish  the  voice  of  the  State  Church 
from  the  voice  of  the  State ;  if  any  such  there  be,  it  is 
drowned  in  the  tremendous  claim  of  the  sovereign  authority, 
which  from  that  point  of  time  to  the  present  hour  has  never 
ceased  to  put  forward  its  claim  to  ecclesiastical  supremacy  ; 
but  when  we  come  to  the  case  of  the  Elizabethan  bishops, 
the  difficulty  disappears.  Nothing  is  easier  than  to  show 
from  their  own  mouths,  that  they  were  most  of  them  willing 
persecutors.  Lingard  says,  "  In  Haynes  (p.  365)  there  is  a 
singular  letter  to  the  Council  from  the  Bishops  of  London 
and  Ely  who,  having  examined  the  prisoners  taken  at  Mass 
at  Lady  Carew's,  suggested  that  the  priest  should  be  tortured 
to  make  him  confess  the  names  of  those  who  had  attended 
upon  other  occasions."  In  the  "Three  Fifteenth  Century 
Chronicles,"  edited  by  Mr.  Gairdner  for  the  Camden  Society, 
there  is  an  interesting  account  of  the  apprehension  of  this 
priest,  and  of  the  ignominious  way  in  which  he  was  dragged 
to  prison. 

The  Douai  Diary,  under  date  of  February  3,  1579,  says, 
"  One  Tippet,  a  younge  man,  sometyme  student  of  Doway  was 
brought  before  the  Bitesheepe  (sic.)  of  London,  and  Mr. 
Recorder,  when  he  was  straytly  examined  in  matters  of 
conscience.  The  Bitesheepe  (sic,)  and  the  Recorder  beinge 


THE   PERSECUTION    UNDER   ELIZABETH.  39 

outragiously  moved  agaynst  him,  contrary  to  all  law,  they 
condemned  him  to  bee  whipped  at  a  cart's  tayle,  and  to  be 
bored  through  the  eare  with  a  hot  iron,  wch  was  executed 
in  most  despitful  and  cruellest  manner  that  might  be  exe- 
cuted to  any  rooge."  The  third  part  of  the  Rev.  J.  Morris's 
work  is  full  of  references  to  the  active  part  taken  by  both 
the  Archbishop  and  the  Dean  of  York.  In  vol.  153,  Dom.  E., 
P.  R.  O.,  there  is  a  letter  from  the  Bishop  of  Bangor 
•(Robynson)  to  Walsingham,  defending  himself  on  a  charge 
of  Popery,  by  alleging  his  previous  activity  in  the  persecution 
of  Recusants.  In  Strype  (Anns.  vol.  ii.,  pt.  2,  340),  there 
is  a  letter  from  the  Archbishop  of  York  to  the  Lord  Treasurer, 
which  says  :  "  They  had  painfully  travailled  in  this  matter 
and  ....  should  in  a  short  time  clear  all  the  county 
of  perverse  Papists." 

Another  (p.  345)  from  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  which 
seriously  proposes  to  send  a  few  hundreds  of  recusants,  who 
were  too  poor  to  pay  their  fines,  to  Flanders  as  forced 
labourers.  Her  Majesty's  judges  seem  also  to  be  out  of 
favour  both  with  Archbishop  Parker  and  with  Walsingham  ; 
the  Archbishop  suggests  that  letters  should  be  sent  to  them, 
as  he  says,  to  quicken  their  zeal  in  procuring  convictions  ; 
and  Walsingham  says,  "  He  could  not  like  the  Justices  of 
Assize  for  Mass  matters,  and  that  they  would  help  them  to 
escape  punishment  for  that  fault  which  they  would  gladly 
commit  themselves  if  they  dared." 

In  Strype's  "  Life  of  Archbishop  Parker,"  p.  120,  there  is 
given  a  secret  letter  sent  to  the  Lord  Treasurer,  which  shows 
how  the  Bishops  trembled,  and  therefore  urged  further 
cruelties  to  overawe  the  people.  Bishop  Aylmer  writes  to 
Lord  Burleigh,  "  I  speak  to  your  Lordship  as  one  chiefly 
careful  for  the  State,  to  use  more  severity  than  hitherto  hath 
been  used,  or  else  we  shall  smart  for  it"  There  is  a  letter 
from  the  Bishop  of  Chester,  dated  in  January,  1581,  in  which 
he  urges  the  Council  to  bring  in  a  Bill  making  traitors  and 
felons  of  "  All  such  vagrant  priests  as  walk  about  in  disguised 
apparel,  seducing  her  Majesty's  subjects,"  and  making  their 


40     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

receivers  felons  (P.  R.  O.  Dom.  E.,  I4th  January,  1581). 
Archbishop  Sandys  was  a  zealous  persecutor  both  as  Bishop 
of  London  and  afterwards  in  the  North.  A  contemporary 
MS.,  published  by  the  Rev.  J.  Morris,  says  of  him  :  "I  make 
no  mention  of  Mr.  Sands,  the  old  apostata  and  false  Arch- 
bishop, seeing  he  is  well  known  to  be  as  furious  and 
unreasonable  in  all  his  doings  as  any  other."  His  zeal  in 
executing  the  behests  of  the  Government  no  doubt  arose  to 
some  extent  from  a  feeling  of  gratitude.  They  had,  to  use  a 
phrase  very  significant  at  that  time,  "  dealt  with "  certain 
witnesses  of  a  scandalous  transaction  that  had  occurred  at 
Doncaster  during  his  visitation  in  1581,  and  by  so  doing  they 
had  saved  the  Archbishop  from  paying  large  sums  as  hush- 
money  ;  there  are  many  letters  relating  to  this  matter  in  the 
Public  Record  Office. 

When  the  Bishops  were  thus  zealous  in  the  persecution  of 
Catholics,  it  is  only  reasonable  to  suppose  that  their  inferior 
officers,  the  preachers,  were  only  too  ready  to  discover  and  to 
report  cases  of  disaffection  towards  the  State  Church.  Still 
we  are  hardly  prepared  to  find  that  they  were  paid  for  their 
"  painful  preaching  "  on  Sundays  by  the  result  of  their  labours 
during  the  other  days  of  the  week  as  spies  and  informers.  Yet 
this  appears  to  have  been  the  case,  for  in  the  Public  Record 
Office  we  find  a  letter  dated  July,  1584  :  "  From  Sir  Thomas 
Stanhope  and  others  to  Walsingham,  recommending  the  case 
of  John  Heaton,  an  honest  and  diligent  minister,  painfully 
preaching  and  instructing  the  country,  requesting  for  him 
the  grant  of  the  benefit  of  four  recusants,  which  he  shall  find 
out  in  the  counties  of  Stafford  and  Derby." 

The  question  that  these  facts  suggest  is  this  :  What  was 
the  motive  cause  for  such  a  severe  persecution  for  religion 
at  this  particular  time  ?  The  answer  is  becoming  more  evi- 
dent from  each  search  that  is  made  amongst  contemporary 
records,  and  it  appears  to  be  this,  that  the  country  was  not 
(as  we  have  been  taught  to  believe  it  was)  really  in  accord 
with  the  government  with  respect  to  the  change  in  religion. 
The  first  convocation  of  the  clergy  that  assembled  in  Eliza- 


THE   PERSECUTION    UNDER   ELIZABETH.  41 

beth's  reign,  before  she  had  time  to  pack  it  with  her  nominees, 
formally  protested,  in  its  representative  character  on  behalf 
of  the  Church  in  England,  against  the  proposed  changes,  and 
especially  against  the  substitution  of  the  authority  of  the 
Crown  in  ecclesiastical  matters  for  that  of  the  Holy  See. 
(Wilkin's  Concilia,  iv.,  179.)  As  to  the  feeling  of  the  laity 
there  has  come  to  light  some  striking  evidence.  Dr.  Allen 
writes  from  Douai  in  1583  (twenty-four  years  after  Elizabeth's 
accession)  of  his  brother,  "Certainly  it  was  a  pleasure  to 
hear  him  say  that  during  the  whole  three  years  he  had 
been  away  from  me,  never  a  day  past  but  he  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  hearing  Mass."  In  his  answer  to  the  libel  of  English 
Justice,  published  at  Douai  and  at  Ingoldstadt  in  1584 
(p.  171),  he  says  of  the  English  people:  "If  we  go  from 
spirituality  to  temporality  ....  we  shall  find  by 
reason,  experience,  and  substantial  conjecture,  that  the 
whole  being  divided  into  three  parts,  two  of  them  are 
inclined  to  Catholic  religion  in  their  hearts,  and  consequently 
are  discontented  with  the  present  state  of  things."  In  the 
3rd  series  of  "  the  Rev.  J.  Morris's  work,"  we  have  a  picture 
by  a  contemporary  hand  of  the  state  of  the  North  of  England. 
The  writer  says :  "  I  observed  in  the  East  Riding  (of  York- 
shire) that  there  be  scarce  three  or  four  Justices  of  Peace 
or  men  of  authority  in  the  commonwealth  who  are  men  of 
ancient  families  and  great  estate  :  for  all  such  who  are 
suspected  to  be  backward  in  religion  are  barred  from  all 
offices  and  dignities  ;  and  they  who  are  men  of  authority  are 
new  upstarts,  either  of  husbandmen  or  lawyers/'  This  is 
exactly  what  we  should  expect  to  see  as  the  result  of  any 
organized  conspiracy  to  overturn  existing  institutions  which 
had  succeeded  for  the  time  being.  The  same  writer  also  says  : 
"  The  number  of  Catholics  in  these  parts  is  so  great,  I  can 
travel  from  this  side  Lincoln  to  York,  and  go  thirty  miles 
further,  which  is  above  eighty  miles,  and  within  every  six 
miles  come  to  a  Catholic's  house,  and  for  the  most  within 
three  miles,  all  or  most  of  them  gentlemen's  or  gentle- 
women's houses  of  good  repute,  and  for  all  this,  I  will  not 


42     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

in   the   most  go   six   miles    out    of    the  ready  and  nighest 
way." 

That  this  was  true,  not  only  of  the  country  but  also  of  the 
towns,  we  know  from  the  York  House  books  (the  records  of 
proceedings  before  the  Lord  Mayor),  which  are  quoted  in  the 
same  volume.  In  one  return,  dated  the  2Oth  November,  1576, 
there  is  given  a  list  of  sixty-three  persons  in  the  city  of 
York  who  openly  refused  to  go  to  church.  This  return  is 
important  also  when  we  regard  the  date  and  the  nature  of  the 
replies  given  by  the  persons  charged  with  recusancy.  They 
are  in  every  case  nearly  the  same,  and  are  to  this  effect — that 
they  refuse  to  attend  their  parish  church  as  a  matter  of 
conscience,  because,  as  they  say,  there  is  there  neither  priest, 
altar,  nor  sacrifice.  Campion,  in  one  of  his  letters,  says  he 
had  heard  that  50,000  recusants  were  returned  in  one  month. 
In  1581  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  writes  to  Lord  Burghley 
about  the  state  of  the  county  of  Salop,  as  he  says,  "  being  one 
of  the  best  and  conformablest  parts  of  my  diocese,  yet  out  of 
100  recusants  we  could  get  but  one  only  to  be  bound,  the 
rest  refusing  to  come  before  us."  What,  he  asks,  must  it  be 
in  the  other  shires  when  it  is  thus  in  the  best  of  them  ?  (Lans- 
downe  MSS.  33,  No.  14.)  As  to  the  universities,  while 
Douai  and  the  other  English  colleges  abroad  were  full  to 
overflowing,  Oxford  was  drained  of  her  best  and  most 
promising  students.  Anthony  A'Wood  says  that  in  New 
College  alone  twenty-three  of  the  fellows  refused  to  conform. 
Dodd,  in  his  " Church  History,"  gives  a  list  of  twenty-four 
heads  of  houses  at  Oxford,  and  of  six  at  Cambridge,  who 
were  known  to  be  opposed  to  the  change  of  religion. 

All  the  facts  and  the  episcopal  letters  that  have  been 
quoted,  point  to  the  same  conclusion,  that  the  men  in  power — 
Ministers  of  the  Crown,  Bishops  of  the  State  Church — finding 
that  the  people  could  not  easily  be  coerced  in  matters  of 
religion,  were  trembling  for  their  places. 

We  have  often  heard  of  a  political  panic,  followed  by 
severity  and  cruelty,  but  here  we  have  this  remarkable 
circumstance — though  the  rack,  the  cord,  and  the  execu- 


THE   PERSECUTION    UNDER   ELIZABETH.  43 

tioner's  knife  were  all  plied  without  cessation  for  religion 
during  a  considerable  period  of  time,  yet  the  fact  has  been 
generally  ignored  in  this  country  for  nearly  300  years.  It  is 
only  now  since  greater  facilities  have  been  given  for  the 
perusal  of  State  papers  that  truth  has  become  stronger  than 
misrepresentation,  and  that  it  is  possible  to  show  openly  to 
all  what  was  always  whispered  in  secret  by  a  few,  how  in  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth  both  men  and  women  were  put  to  death 
for  conscience  sake.  Whether  in  their  religious  belief  they 
were  right  or  wrong  is  a  matter  upon  which  we  may  differ  in 
opinion,  but  it  is  a  question  for  theologians  to  settle,  and  not 
for  the  historian.  Whether  the  cause  for  which  they  died  was 
good  or  bad,  the  existence  of  the  persecution  is  a  valuable 
fact,  because  it  forms  one  of  a  series  from  which  we  may 
argue  up  to  a  general  principle. 

To  take  a  parallel  case  as  an  illustration,  the  execution  of 
Charles  I.  for  making  war  upon  the  people,  taken  by  itself  is 
a  passing  event  and  nothing  more,  but  taken  in  its  connection 
with  other  and  subsequent  events,  it  becomes  the  first  practical 
expression  of  a  political  idea  which  has  now  become  uni- 
versally recognised  amongst  English-speaking  people.  The 
question  of  the  Elizabethan  persecution  is  in  exactly  the 
same  position  ;  it  must  be  considered  in  its  relation  to  other 
similar  facts.  It  matters  nothing  for  the  purpose  of  historical 
generalization  whether  the  sufferers  were  Reformers  under 
Queen  Mary,  Catholics  under  Elizabeth,  Puritans,  or  Members 
of  the  Society  of  Friends  whose  sufferings  under  the  later 
Stuart  kings  are  but  too  little  known, — Campion  the  Catholic, 
Cartwright  the  Puritan,  Fox  the  Quaker,  and  many  others, 
unlike  in  creed,  are  alike  in  this,  that  through  their  perse- 
cution at  the  hands  of  the  respective  governments  of  the  day 
the  principle  has  now  become  firmly  established,  that  the 
State,  neither  directly  nor  indirectly,  shall  compel  any  man's 
conscience. 


ON  THE  ACTOR  LISTS,  1578—1642. 

BY  F.  G.  FLEAY,  M.A., 

Fellow  of  the  Royal  Historical  Society. 

IT  is  singular  that  no  attempt  had  been  made  to  gather  up 
these  documents  so  fertile  in  suggestion  and  still  more  rich  in 
definite  evidence  on  many  disputed  critical  and  historical 
questions  prior  to  the  publication  of  my  "  Shakespeare 
Manual"  in  1876.  Collier  had  printed  many  lists  in  his 
"  History  of  the  Stage,"  but  had  not  compared  them  or 
arranged  them  for  comparison.  My  own  former  attempt  is 
incomplete,  partly  because  at  that  date  I  had  no  access  to 
public  libraries,  and  had  to  work  on  imperfect  materials  ; 
partly  because  additional  lists  have  been  still  more  recently 
discovered.  I  have  not  wittingly  neglected  any  data  for  the 
present  essay,  which,  whatever  its  faults  may  be,  claims  at  any 
rate  to  be  the  only  thing  of  its  kind  at  present  existing. 

I  have  gathered  a  dozen  complete  casts  of  plays  with 
actors'  parts  fully  assigned.  These  unfortunately  all  belong 
to  dates,  subsequent  to  Shakespeare's  death,  between  1616 
and  1631.  There  exist  also  three  plots  of  non-extant  plays, 
with  complete  casts,  but  two  of  these  did  not  belong  to 
Shakespeare's  company,  and  the  third  cannot  be  shewn  to 
contain  his  name.  But,  besides  these,  I  have  brought  to- 
gether from  various  sources  more  than  six  dozen  lists  of 
various  companies  within  our  date-limits  ;  and,  by  so  doing, 
have,  I  trust,  got  materials  for  more  than  one  important 
decision  in  the  much  debated,  but  really  little  studied, 
dramatic  history  of  the  greatest  literary  period  that  the 


ON   THE   ACTOR   LISTS,    1578  —  1642.  45 

world  has  yet  seen.  And,  which  is  of  more  general  interest, 
I  have  thrown  a  little  additional  light  on  the  career  of  one 
we  never  tire  of  discussing  —though  I  fear  many  of  us  do 
tire  of  studying  as  we  should  —  the  career  of  William 
Shakespeare. 

Of  the  earliest  companies  of  actors,  which  were  for  the 
most  part  composed  of  children,  I  can  find  no  lists.  The 
names  of  their  "masters"  are  however  attainable. 

Sebastian  Westcott  was  master  of  the  Paul's  Boys,  1561-1582. 

Thomas  Giles  „  ,,  „  1587-1588. 

Richard  Farrant  ,,  „       Windsor  Boys,  1568-1570. 

Richard  Mulcaster         „  „       Merchant  Taylors'  Boys, 

1573-1582. 

John  Taylor  „  „       Westminster  Boys, 


William  Elderton  „  „  „  1573-1574. 

William  Honnis  ,,  „       Chapel  Boys,  1569-1575. 

All  these  are  taken  either  from  the  accounts  of  the  "  Revels 
at  Court,"  or  from  Malone's  Shakespeare,  iii.  423,  &c.  In 
one  entry,  I2th  January,  1572-3,  John  Honnys  appears, 
apparently  in  mistake,  for  William  Honnys. 

Passing  from  these  boy  players  to  men's  companies,  we 
find  on  the  same  authority  that  Laurence  Dutton  was 
manager  of  Sir  R.  Lane's  company  from  1571  to  1573,  and 
that  in  conjunction  with  John  Dutton,  he  was  manager  of  the 
Earl  of  Warwick's  company  from  1574  to  1580.  We  also 
find  from  a  patent  dating  7th  May,  1584,  printed  in  Collier's 
"Annals  of  the  Stage,"  i.  210,  that  James  Burbadge,  John 
Perkyn,  John  Lanham,  William  Johnson  and  Robert  Wilson, 
were  then  servants  to  the  Earl  of  Leicester. 

In  March,  1582-3,  twelve  players  were  chosen  from 
Warwick's  and  Leicester's  men,  to  form  the  Queen's  players. 
Robert  Wilson,  Richard  Tarleton,  Laurence  Dutton,  John 
Dutton,  John  Lanham,  were  certainly  among  these  twelve,  so 
were  Bentley  and  Singer  ;  *  James  Burbadge  was  almost 
certainly  another  ;  the  other  four  were  possibly  William 

*  See  Halliwell's  "  Illustrations  of  the  Life  of  Shakespeare,"  p.  119. 


46     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Johnson,  and  three  of  the  actors  abroad  in  1586-7,  whom  we 
have  next  to  mention,  but  this  is  conjecture  on  my  part,  not 
history. 

In  1586,  William  [Kempe?]  and  Dan  Jones'  boy  were  at 
the  court  of  Denmark  from  January  to  September,  and  in 
October,  Bryan,  Pope,  Stevens,  King,  Percy  [or  Pierst,  or 
rather  Preston,  I  think  ;  the  name  is  written  Perston]  were  in 
Saxony  (Cohn's  "Shakespeare  in  Germany,"  p.  xxxvi.,  &c.). 
Mr.  Richard  Simpson  in  his  "  School  of  Shakespeare "  has 
shown  that  William  the  Conqueror  in  the  play  of  Fair  Em, 
represents  William  Kempe,  and  traces  him  from  Denmark  to 
Saxony,  where  he  probably  joined  the  other  players  named 
above.  They  returned  to  England  in  1587,  and  in  the  next 
year  Kempe  succeeded  to  Richard  Tarleton  as  principal 
extempore  comedian  among  the  Queen's  men.  Tarleton  died 
on  3rd  September,  1588.  We  shall  next  meet  with  Kempe, 
Bryan  and  Pope,  as  members  of  L.  Strange's  company  in 
1593  ;  and  I  have  already  shown  in  my  edition  of  Shake- 
speare's "  King  John,"  that  the  first  appearance  of  L.  Strange's 
men  is  on  27th  December,  1591,  and  the  last  appearance  of 
the  Queen's  men  on  26th  December  in  that  year.  Putting  all 
these  facts  together  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  avoid  the  in- 
ference that  L.  Strange's  company  was  substantially  the 
same  as  the  Queen's,  which  then  changed  its  name  and  patron 
for  reasons  unknown  to  us,  although  a  fag-end  of  the  Queen's 
troupe  afterwards  joined  the  company  of  the  Earl  of  Sussex, 
and  acted  with  them  in  1593-4  as  "The  Queen's  men  and 
my  lord  of  Sussex'  men  together." 

In  confirmation  of  this  induction  we  may  add  that  Robert 
Greene,  the  poet  of  the  Queen's  company,  was  almost  certainly 
on  the  continent  in  1586,  and  that  the  Christmas,  1586-7,  was 
the  only  one  during  the  eight  years  that  this  company 
existed  at  which  it  did  not  present  any  plays  at  Court. 

But  this  company  of  actors  (L.  Strange's),  as  we  shall  see, 
was  Shakespeare's  company,  and  as  it  visited  Denmark  and 
Saxony,  he  in  all  probability  accompanied  them  ;  we  are 
not  told  which  way  they  came  home,  but  if  Kempe  took  the 


ON   THE  ACTOR   LISTS,    1578—1642.  47 

same  route  as  he  did  in   1601  he  came  through  Italy.     This 
would  account  for  such  local  knowledge  of  Italy  as  Shake- 
speare shows,  and  would  remove  a  difficulty  from  the  critic's 
path  ;  but  it  is  far  more  important  to  notice  that  his  residence 
in  Saxony  would  explain  how  it  came  to  pass  that  versions 
of  the  following  plays,  very  different  and  far  inferior  to  those 
we    have,    were    acted    in    Germany   by    English   players  : 
Hamlet,  Romeo   and  Juliet,   Titus  and  Vtspasian  (the  same 
story  as  Titus  Andronicus],  not  to  mention  the  more  doubtful 
cases  of  Much  Ado  About  Nothing  and  The   Two  Gentlemen 
of   Verona.     A  close  examination   of  these  German  versions 
convinces  me  that  they  were  rough  drafts   by  juvenile  hands 
in  which  great  licence  was  left  to  the  actors  to  fill  up  or  alter 
extemporaneously  at  their  option.      Successive  changes  made 
in  this  way  have  greatly  defaced  them  ;  but  enough  of  the 
originals  remains  to  show  that  they  were  certainly  in  some 
cases,  probably  in  others,  the  earliest  forms  of  our  great  drama- 
tist's plays.     I  have  no  doubt  he  drew  up  the  plots  for  them 
while  in   Germany.     I  should  also  note  that  the  successive 
mention  of  (i),  John  Button  and  John  Lanham,  (2)  Laurence 
Button  and  John  Button,  (3)  John  Lanham,  as  managers  of  the 
Queen's    men   shows    conclusively   that    these    three    actors 
belonged  to  one  company,  and  disprove  the  figment  of  Messrs. 
Cunningham  and   Collier  that  there  were  two  Queen's  com- 
panies at  the  same  time. 

The  next  list  I  come  to  I  have  not  included  in  my 
table,  as  it  is  demonstrably  a  forgery.  It  was  put  forth 
unwarily  by  Mr.  Collier  as  a  memorial  of  Blackfriars 
players,  dating  November,  1589.  The  documents  in  Mr. 
Halliwell's  "  Illustrations,"  prove  that  "  Blackfriars  "  was  not 
used  as  a  theatre  till  1596.  Nevertheless  in  this  and  other 
similar  instances,  Mr.  Collier's  statements  have  been  re- 
iterated in  an  unaltered  form  in  his  new  edition  of  his 
"  Annals  of  the  Stage."  In  other  cases,  however,  of  spurious 
documents  that  have  been  incautiously  issued  by  Mr,  Collier 
there  has  been  a  genuine  basis  on  which  the  forgery  has  been 
founded.  Indeed,  were  it  not  so,  it  is  hardly  possible  that 


48    TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

so  learned  an  antiquary  should  so  often  have  been  deceived. 
I  believe  the  foundation  of  the  present  document  to  have 
been  one  connected  with  the  Theatre  in  Shoreditc  h,  and 
that  the  list  of  players  is  a  genuine  one  ;  but  this  being  mere 
conjecture,  I  append  it  here  as  apocryphal. 

1.  James  Burbadge  [belonged  to  the  Theatre,  1577-1592]. 

2.  Richard  Burbadge  [with  L.  Strange's  men,  1593]. 

3.  John  Lanham  [with  Queen's  men,  1589]. 

4.  Thomas  Greene  [with  Queen  Anne's  men,  1603]. 

5.  Robert  Wilson  [with  Queen's  men,  1589]. 

6.  John  Taylor  [query  mistake  for  Joseph  Taylor]. 

7.  Anthony  Wadeson  [with  Admiral's  men,  1601], 

8.  Thomas  Pope  [with  L.   Strange's  men,    1593  ;  abroad  with 

Kempe,  1587]. 

9.  George  Peele  [writing  for  Queen's  men,  1589]. 

10.  Augustine  Phillipps  [with  L.  Strange's  men,  1593]. 

11.  Nicholas  Towley  [probably  with  L.  Strange's,  1593,  certainly 

with  Chamberlain's,  1605]. 

12.  William  Shakespeare  [with  Chamberlain's  men,  1594]. 

13.  William  Kempe  [with  Queen's  men,  1589]. 

14.  William  Johnson. 

15.  Baptiste  Goodale. 

1 6.  Robert  Armyn  [with  Chamberlain's  men,  1603]. 

It  will  be  seen  that  I,  3,  5,  9,  13,  belonged  to  the  Queen's ; 
2,  8,  10,  II,  12,  16,  to  L.  Strange's,  afterwards  called  the 
Chamberlain's ;  4, 6,  14,  1 5,  may,  for  all  we  know,  have  belonged 
to  either,  and  7  may  have  shifted  his  company  during  the 
twelve  years  that  elapsed  before  our  notice  of  him.  Hence 
these  men  may  all  have  been  members  of  the  Queen's  in 
1589,  acting  at  the  Theatre.  Five  of  them  were  certainly  so  ; 
and  as  my  conjecture  of  the  identity  of  L.  Strange's  men  and 
the  Chamberlain's  (afterwards  shown  to  be  certain  by  Mr. 
Halliwell's  discoveries)  had  not  been  made  when  this  list 
was  put  forth,  I  think  it  unlikely  that  a  forger  should  have 
had  recourse  to  these  names  to  make  up  one  list ;  hence  my 
opinion  that  the  list  is  genuine,  though  the  document  to 
which  it  is  appended  is  not  so. 

The  next  column  is  from  the  plot  of  the  old  play  called  the 


ON   THE  ACTOR   LISTS,    1578 — 1642.  49 

Seven  Deadly  Sins,  preserved  at  Dulwich  College,  and  printed 
in  Malone's  "  Shakespeare,"  vol.  iii.  p.  356.  The  numbers  that 
follow  the  names  of  the  characters  performed  show  which  of 
the  "four  plays  in  one"  the  actors  appeared  in.  I.  (induc- 
tion) indicates  the  presentation  in  which  Lydgate  expounds 
the  extemporary  shew  to  Henry  VI  ;  I,  the  Envy  play  of 
Gorboduc ;  2,  the  Sloth  play  of  Sardanapalus ;  3,  the 
Lechery  play  of  Tereus.  An  (?)  shows  that  the  identification 
of  the  actors  is  doubtful,  only  Christian  names  being  given — 
namely,  Will,  Ned,  Kitt,  Sander,  Nick,  Harry.  The  date  of 
this  cast  has  hitherto  been  most  absurdly  assigned  to  1588, 
or  earlier,  because  the  plot  was  made  by  Tarleton.  It  is  clear 
from  the  actors'  names  that  this  is  not  the  original  scheme, 
but  that  of  a  revival ;  even  Tarleton's  own  name  not  appearing 
in  it.  It  dates  probably  1593,  when  L.  Strange's  men  were 
travelling  on  account  of  the  Plague.  We  have  here  in  the 
Queen's-man  author  and  Strange's  players  another  link 
between  the  two  companies. 

The  next  column  is  from  a  precept,  dating  6th  May,  1593, 
printed  in  Halliwell's  "Illustrations," p.  33.  The  same  authority 
(p.  31)  gives  us  a  warrant  showing  that — I,  Kempe  ;  2,  Shake- 
speare; 3,  Burbadge,  acted  before  Elizabeth  at  Christmas,  1594. 

The  numbers  in  all  these  columns  indicate  the  order  in 
which  the  actors  are  mentioned,  and  when  the  lists  are  in  the 
originals  printed  in  two  columns  they  are  counted  by  cross 
reading,  not  by  reading  down  the  columns  successively,  so 
that  all  names  printed  in  the  second  column  appear  with  even 
numbers.  That  this  is  the  right  way  to  read  them  is  clear 
from  the  fact  that  the  most  celebrated  names  always  appear 
at  the  heads  of  the  two  columns. 

Columns  iv.,  v.,  vii.,  x.,  xii.,  xiii.,  are  taken  from  the  first 
folio  of  Ben  Jonson's  works  (1616)  ;  vi.,  from  the  License 
printed  in  Collier's  "Annals  of  the  Stage,"  i.  347 ;  viii.  is  gathered 
from  the  Induction  to  Webster's  "Malcontent  ;"  ix.  is  taken 
from  the  New  Shakspere  Society  ;  and  xi.,  from  A.  Phillipps' 
Will  (Malone's  "  Shakespeare,"  iii.  470).  In  this  column  W 
stands  for  witness,  E  for  executor,  and  the  numbers  indicate 

£ 


50     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  order  of  mention  of  the  legatees ;  the  other  columns  are 
self-explanatory. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Shakespeare's  name  only  occurs 
under  the  dates  of  1598  and  1603.  It  has  usually  been  in- 
ferred from  this  that  he  did  not  act  after  the  later  date.  This 
is  a  rash  conclusion.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  acted 
regularly  like  any  other  member  of  the  company  until  then  ; 
and  before  we  decide  that  he  did  not  afterwards,  we  should 
take  account  of  the  fact  that  we  have  no  further  cast  or  list 
of  the  actors  in  any  play  of  the  Chamberlain's  men  anterior 
to  161 1,  except  in  those  written  by  Ben  Jonson.  We  know  that 
Shakespeare  did  not  act  in  Every  Man  out  of  his  Humour, 
and  we  have  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  cause  was  that 
Jonson  had  satirized  him  in  the  previous  year.  In  1603  he 
did  act  in  Sejamis.  In  1604  Jonson  and  his  friends  satirized 
his  Hamlet  and  Eastward  Ho  !  Hence  I  think  he  did  not  act 
in  the  Fox  in  1605,  and  by  the  date  of  the  next  list  in  1610 
(The  Alchemist),  Shakespeare  had  either  written  or  was 
writing  his  farewell  to  the  stage.  He  was  preparing  to  break 
his  staff,  drown  his  book,  abjure  his  magic,  and  thence  retire 
him  to  his  Stratford,  where  every  third  thought  should  be 
his  grave.  I  see  no  reason  for  inferring  that,  because  he  did 
not  act  in  one  play  of  Jonson's  in  1605  after  the  renewed 
insults  of  that  envious  and  self-exalting  spirit  in  1604,  it 
necessarily  follows  that  he  did  not  act  in  plays  written  by 
Tourneur,  Fletcher,  Beaumont,  or  himself.  Nevertheless  the 
question  is  quite  an  open  one.  There  is  no  proof  that  he  did 
act  during  the  time  in  question,  and  there  is,  as  I  shall  note 
elsewhere,  good  reason  assignable  in  defence  of  his  withdrawal 
from  the  stage,  if  withdraw  he  really  did. 

We  find  also  from  the  accounts  of  the  "  Revels  at  Court," 
that  Hemings  was  usually  the  manager  or  treasurer,  Burbadge 
only  receiving  money  once  in  an  exceptional  case  in  1604. 
Pope  being  joined  with  Hemings  twice  in  1597-9,  and  Cowley 
once  in  1601.  The  next  table  is  one  in  which  not  merely 
the  actors'  names,  but  also  their  cast,  is  given,  from  plays  by 
Webster,  Fletcher,  Massinger,  and  Carlell.  The  most  inte- 


ON   THE  ACTOR   LISTS,    1578  — 1642.  51 

resting  of  these  is  the  double  cast  of  the  Duchess  of  Malfy, 
from  which  it  appears  that  Taylor  succeeded  to  Burbadge  (as 
head  of  the  company),  Benfield  to  Ostler,  and  Robinson  to 
Condell.  Another  interesting  cast  is  that  of  the  Wild  Goose 
Chase,  as  teaching  caution  in  criticism.  The  play  was  pro- 
duced in  1621  ;  but  the  cast  is  not  of  that  date ;  Swanston, 
for  instance,  was  still  with  the  Lady  Elizabeth's  players  in 
1622.  The  cast  is  probably  that  of  the  revival  for  Herbert's 
benefit  in  1631.  It  is  taken  from  the  Quarto  of  1652,  and  is 
not  like  those  in  the  Folio,  which  we  shall  notice  presently, 
taken  from  an  original  prompter's  copy.  That  had  been  lost 
in  the  case  of  this  play,  and  was  not  found  till  Moseley  put  out 
a  si  quis  for  it. 

The  next  table  is  taken  entirely  from  the  second  folio  of 
Beaumont  and  Fletcher's  plays,  1679.  The  chief  interest  in 
this  table  lies  in  the  head  actor.  It  will  be  seen  that 
Burbadge  from  1613  to  1618  (he  died  in  1619)  always 
took  the  head  place,  never  the  second.  After  his  death  or 
retirement,  Condell  once  takes  the  head  place,  and  then  retires 
altogether.  For  the  rest  of  the  lists,  and  unfortunately  we 
have  no  list  arranged  in  order  after  1624,  Taylor  stands  first, 
except  in  one  short  interregnum,  when  Lowin  is  first  and  Taylor 
second.  Now  recurring  to  our  first  table  we  find  that  in 
every  play  but  one  Burbadge  still  stands  first,  but  in  that  one 
he  is  replaced  by  Shakespeare,  who  in  the  only  other  play-list 
in  which  we  have  mention  of  him,  takes  the  second  place. 
The  order  of  succession  then  among  these  chief  actors  is 
this:  1598,  Shakespeare;  1603-1618,  Burbadge;  1619, 
Condell  ;  1620-1624,  Taylor,  with  a  short  abdication  in 
favour  of  Lowin  in  1622.  This  position  of  Shakespeare's 
name  effectually  disposes  of  the  nonsense  that  has  been 
written  about  his  poor  acting,  taking  inferior  parts,  and 
the  like.  All  actors  at  that  time  doubled,  and  good  actors 
took  poor  parts  as  well  as  good  ones,  and  that  Shake- 
speare was  fit  to  head  the  company  in  acting  as  well  as  in 
writing,  see  what  John  Davies  says  in  his  Scourge  of  Folly  > 
1611  : —  • 


52     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

"  Some  say,  good  Will,  which  I  in  sport  do  sing, 

Hadst  thou  not  played  some  kingly  parts  in  sport, 
Thou  hadst  been  a  companion  for  a  king, 
And  been  a  king  among  the  meaner  sort." 

There  is  I  think  little  doubt  from  this  that  Shakespeare 
played  the  parts  of  Richard  II.  and  James  I.  in  the  two 
plays  that  got  his  company  into  so  much  trouble  in  1601  and 
1 604,  viz.,  Richard  II.  and  the  Gowry  Conspiracy.  I  believe 
his  adulation  of  James  in  Macbeth  was  an  attempted  atone- 
ment for  this  latter  business,  but  we  have  no  record  of  his 
ever  acting  again. 

This  table  gives  us  another  caution  in  criticism  in  the 
opposite  direction  to  that  previously  noticed.  It  has  always 
been  taken  for  granted  that  the  dates  at  which  plays  were 
licensed  were  nearly  the  same  as  those  of  original  production. 
This  was  usually  the  case,  but  .not  always.  A  Wife  for  a 
Month  was  licensed  2/th  May,  1624,  but  it  must  have  been 
acted  before  June,  1623,  the  date  of  Tooley's  death,  as  he  was 
one  of  the  chief  actors  in  it.  This  inclines  me  to  believe  that 
the  Prophetess  in  like  manner  may  have  been  acted  some  time 
before  it  was  licensed,  in  which  case  I  should  date  it  with 
the  Island  Princess  and  the  False  One  (the  three  plays  in 
which  Lowin  was  head  actor),  in  1619-20,  giving  us  the 
regular  succession  of  chief  actors,  Shakespeare,  Burbadge, 
Condell,  Lowin,  Taylor,  with  no  break  whatever  in  the  reign 
of  any  of  them, 

We  have  yet  one  more  table  connected  with  this  company. 
The  first  column  is  taken  from  Collier's  "  Annals  of  the 
Stage,"  vol  i-,  p.  415.  This  is  said  to  be  from  a  patent  dating 
27th  March,  1619-20.  This  document  is  suspicious,  i. 
Burbadge  is  mentioned  in  it,  who  died  i6th  March,  1618-19. 
2.  It  was  unknown  to  Malone  and  Chalmers,  though  extant 
in  the  State  Paper  Office.  3.  The  words  "  When  the  infec- 
tion of  the  Plague  shall  not  weekly  exceed  the  number  of 
forty,"  would  have  suited  such  a  document  well  in  1609  or 
1625,  which  were  great  Plague  years,  but  probably  would  not 
have  been  exceptionally  inserted  in  1620.  4.  Joseph  Taylor, 


ON  THE  ACTOR  LISTS,    1578 — 1642.  53 

who  was  at  the  head  of  the  company  in  1620,  is  not  men- 
tioned. In  any  case,  however,  the  2/th  March,  in  the  i/th 
year  of  James  I.,  means  1619-20.  He  became  King  on  the 
death  of  Elizabeth,  24th  March,  1603-4.  I  nave  dated  this 
column  then  1619-20.  This  would  fix  the  date  of  Fletcher's 
Humorous  Lieutenant  as  subsequent  to  27th  March, 
1619-20. 

The  next  column  is  taken  from  Tooley's  Will,  printed  in 
Malone's  "Shakespeare,"  vol.  iii,,  484. 

The  next  column  is  from  Malone's  "  Shakespeare,"  vol.  iii., 
p.  210.  It  is  a  list  of  signatures  of  the  players  to  an  apology 
for  acting  without  permission. 

The  next  is  from  a  list  printed  in  the  New  Shakspere 
Society's  "  Transactions." 

.The  next  is  from  a  patent  24th  June,  1625,  printed  in 
Collier's  "  Annals  of  the  Stage,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  2. 

The  next  from  Ford's  play  of  the  Lover's  Melancholy. 
The  next  from  Collier's  "Annals  of  the  Stage,"  vol.   ii., 
p.  20. 

The  next  from  a  "Player's  Pass"  printed  in  Collier's 
"  Annals  of  the  Stage,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  75.  It  dates  I7th  May, 
1636. 

The  next  column  is  from  the  dedication  to  Beaumont 
and  Fletcher's  works,  First  Folio,  1647.  One  noticeable 
point  in  these  tables  is  the  presence  of  William  Rowley  in 
1623-24-25.  This  disproves  Mr.  Halliwell's  statement  that 
he  remained  with  the  Prince's  players  till  the  death  of 
James  I.  (See  "Illustrations,"  p.  30.) 

The  final  column  is  from  Wright's  "  Historia  Histrionica." 
In  addition  to  these  lists  we  have  a  number  of  isolated 
mentions  and  allusions  relating  to  individual  players,  some 
of  which  are  worth  gathering  together.  I  will  first  take  the 
players  of  Shakespeare's  plays  as  given  in  the  list  of 
the  First  Folio  : — 

1.  Shakespeare.     Died  23rd  April,  1616. 

2.  Burbadge.     Died  I3th  March,  1618-19.     Acted  Richard 
III.  in  1595  (Corbet's  "  Iter  Boreale") ;  Malevole  in  Marston's 


54     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Malcontent  (Induction  to  the  play)  in  1603;  Hamlet  in 
1599  (Elegy  in  Heath's  MS.,  printed  in  Ingleby's  "Century 
of  Praise")  ;*  Jeronimo  in  the  Spanish  Tragedy,  in  1592-1604  ; 
Lear  in  1605  ;  Othello  in  1604  (a  second  MS.  of  the  same 
Elegy).  He  is  introduced  in  the  Return  from  Parnassus, 
1 60 1-2.  He  is  in  a  third  version  of  the  above-named  Elegy 
set  down  as  the  actor  of  Philaster  (by  Fletcher)  ;  Vendice  (in 
Tourneur's  Revenger's  Tragedy) ;  Malevole  (as  above) ;  Edward 
II.  in  1590  (by  Marlowe,  a  play  belonging  to  Pembroke's 
men) ;  Antonio  in  1599  (in  Marston's  Antonio  and  Mellida, 
which  belonged  to  the  Paul's  children);  Brachiano  in  1611  (in 
Webster's  White  Devil,  which  belonged  to  Queen  Anne's 
company)  ;  and  Frankford  in  1603  (in  Hey  wood's  Woman 
Killed  with  Kindness,  which  was  written  for  Worcester's 
players).  The  simplicity  with  which  this  monstrous  absurdity 
has  been  swallowed  by  Shakespearian  critics  of  the  New 
School  is  only  to  be  equalled  by  the  impudence  of  the  forger 
who  palmed  off  this  invention  on  the  credulity  of  Mr.  Collier. 
The  notion  of  the  chief  player  of  the  principal  company  in 
London,  running  about  to  act  at  the  inferior  theatres,  and 
even  with  a  children's  company,  is  to  a  real  student  of  stage 
history  at  once  a  gauge  of  the  honesty  of  the  proposer  of  such 
a  statement,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  those  who  accept  it  as 
true.  I  must  note  here  that  Cuthbert  Burbadge,  brother  of 
the  actor,  was  not  the  same  person  as  Cuthbert  Burby  the 
stationer  ;  that  the  theatrical  Burbadges  were  sons  of  James 
Burbadge,  is  shown  by  the  documents  in  H  alii  well's  "  Illus- 
trations." Mr.  Collier's  statements  in  his  new  edition  of  his 
"  History  of  the  Drama "  (Preface)  are  absolutely  untrust- 
worthy. 

3.  Hemings.   Died  loth  Oct.,  1630.    Acted  in  i  Henry  IV., 
1597  (Stokes'  "  Chronology  of  Shakespeare's  Plays  "). 

4.  Phillipps.   Died  May,  1605.    Acted  in  Two  Gentlemen  of 
Verona  in  1594  (Stokes). 

*  This  refutes  Gifford's  absurd  argument  that  Jonson  could  not  have  acted 
Jeronimo  in  the  Spanish  Tragedy,  because  Jeronimo  in  the  earlier  First  Part  of  the 
play  is  a  little  man.  Burbadge  was  no  dwarf.  This  nonsense  has  been  repeated 
by  all  editors  of  Jonson  to  this  day. 


ON   THE  ACTOR  LISTS,    1578—1642.  55 

5.  Kempe.    Died  1608.  Acted  in  Much  Ado  About  Nothing, 
as  Dogberry,  in  1598-9;  in  Romeo  and  Juliet  as  Peter,  1596 
[?  1591],  as  we  learn  from  the  stage  directions  ;  perhaps  in 
2  Henry  IV.,  as  Shallow  (cf.  his  quotation  in  the  Return  from 
Parnassus -,  in    1601-2)  ;    in    The  Knack  to  Know  a  Knave, 
June,  1592,  as  the  Cobbler. 

I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  remarks  in  Hamlet  on 
extemporizing  clowns  (iii.  2,  43)  refer  to  Kempe,  and  were 
written  immediately  after  his  leaving  Shakespeare's  company 
in  1599;  while  the  eulogy  on  Yorick  (v.  I,  203)  refers  to 
Tarleton,  Kempe's  predecessor,  by  way  of  contrast.  The 
document  on  which  Mr.  Collier  relies  to  show  that  Kempe 
returned  to  the  King's  company  before  1605  is  one  of  the 
many  forgeries  by  which  he  has  been  so  unfortunately  taken  in. 

6.  Pope.    Died  Feb.,  1603-4.    Acted  in  Love's  Labours  Lost 
(Stokes),  1597  [?  1590]. 

7.  Bryan.     Still  alive  in  1600 ;  but  he  does  not  appear  in 
our  lists  after  1593. 

8.  Condell.      Died   Dec.,   1627.     Acted  in    The    Tempest, 
1610-11  (Stokes) ;  quitted  the  stage,  1619. 

9.  Sly.    Died  Aug.,  1608.    Possibly  acted  Osric  in  Hamlet 
(cf.  his  quotation  in  the  Induction  to  The  Malcontent) .     This 
is  very  dubious. 

10.  Cowley.     Died  Mar.,  1618-19.   Acted  either  as  Conrad 
or  Verges  in  Much  Ado  About  Nothing,   1598-9  (stage  direc- 
tions). 

11.  Lowin.     Died  Mar.,  1658-9.     Acted  Falstaff  (but  not 
originally)  ;  Volpone,in  The  Fox,  1605  ;  Morose,  in  The  Silent 

Woman  (?  when  this  play  belonged  to  the  Children  of  the 
Revels  originally  in  1609)  \  Mammon,  in  The  Alchemist,  1610  ; 
Melantius,  in  The  Maids  Tragedy,\n  1609-10.  [All  these  are 
from  Wright's  "  Historia  Histrionica."  They  refer  to  a  time 
when  Hammerton  had  given  up  playing  women  (as  he  did  in 
1631),  and  had  taken  to  playing  lovers'  parts,  probably  in 
1635-40.] 

12.  Cross.     Died  in  1600,     Acted  in  Comedy  of  Errors  in 
1593  (Stokes;  who  adds  that  his  name  is  not  in  the  First  Folio 


56     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

list  (!).    This  gentleman's  information  is  often,  but  not  in  this 
instance,  derived  from  Halliwell. 

13.  Cooke.      Died  Feb.,  1613-14.     Acted  in  Midsummer's 
Nighfs  Dream,  1592  (Stokes). 

14.  Gilburne.     Alive  in  1605  (Phillipps  mentions  him  as 
"his  late  apprentice"  in  his  Will).      Acted  in  All's  Well  that 
Ends  Well,  1601  (Stokes  after  Halliwell). 

15.  Armin.     Alive  in   1610.     Succeeded  Kempe  as  Dog- 
berry, 1599,  in  Much  Ado  About  Nothing  (Collier's  "  Life  of 
Armin  "). 

1 6.  Ostler.      Alive   in    1616.     Acted  in  King  John — not 
originally.     (Stokes). 

17.  Field.     Died  Feb.,  1632-3.     Acted  in  Othello  (Stokes). 

1 8.  Underwood,       Died   1624  (winter).     Acted  in  Othello 
(Stokes). 

19.  Tooley  (alias  Wilkinson).     Died  June,  1623.     Acted  in 
The    Taming  of  the  Shrew   (?  1596).      He  was   Burbadge's 
apprentice. 

20.  Ecclestone.     Alive  in  1623  (Tooley's  Will).     Acted  in 
Airs  Well  that  Ends  Well,  1601. 

21.  Taylor.     Died  1653.     Probably  acted  Hamlet,  but  not, 
as    Downes   the   prompter  says,  originally.       He   did   play 
I  ago ;    Mosca,  in   The  Fox;  Truewit,  in  The  Silent  Woman; 
Face,  in  The  Alchemist ;  but  none  of  these  originally  (Wright's 
"  Historia  Histrionica  "). 

22.  Benfield.      Alive    in    1647.      Acted    in    The    Tempest 
(Stokes),  but  not  originally. 

23.  Gough  (Robert).      Died   Feb.,    1624-5.      He   acted  in 
The   Second  Maiden's    Tragedy    (stage   directions) ;    he  also 
acted  in  Alt's  Well  that  Ends  Well  (Stokes). 

24.  Robinson.      Died  Mar.,  1647-8.     Acted  in   Cymbeline, 
1609  (Stokes);  and  in  The  Second  Maiden's   Tragedy,  1611 
(stage  directions)  ;   mentioned  by  Wright. 

25.  Shank.     Died  Jan.,  1635-6  (Collier).    Acted  in  Twelfth 
Night,  1600  (Stokes)  ;    and  as   the   Curate,  in  The  Scornful 
Lady,  1609-12  (Wright's  "  Historia  Histrionica").     This  latter 
play  belonged   to  the  Revels   Children   originally ;    but  in 


ON   THE  ACTOR  LISTS,    1578 — 1642.  57 

1625  to  the  King's  company.  Shank  must  have  acted  in  it 
about  the  later  date.  He  was  with  the  Palsgrave's  company 
in  1613. 

26.  Rice.  Alive  in  1625.  Acted  in  The  Tempest  (Stokes)  ; 
not  originally. 

These  twenty-six  in  the  above  order  constitute  the  principal 
actors  in  Shakespeare's  plays  of  the  First  Folio  list.  It  is  clear 
that  this  can  only  refer,  in  many  instances,  to  casts  after  1616. 

We  also  learn  from  Wright's  "  Historia  Histrionica,"  that 
Hart  was  Robinson's  boy,  and  acted  the  Duchess  in  The 
Cardinal. 

Burt  was  Shank's  boy. 

Clun  was  a  boy  actor. 

Swanston  acted  Othello. 

From  stage  directions  in  King  and  No  King,  v.  3  (Qto, 
1625),  we  find  that  William  Adkinson  acted  a  servant's  part. 

I  must  also  notice  Laurence  Fletcher,  who  was  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Globe  shareholders,  although  there  is  no  proof 
that  he  ever  trod  the  boards  ;  for  he  is  intimately  connected 
with  stage  history.  On  Qth  Oct.,  1601,  he  occurs  as  "  Come- 
dian to  his  Majesty,"  James  VI.,  on  the  Aberdeen  register.  He 
and  his  company  (the  King's  servants)  had  been  acting  there 
in  that  year.  This  is  absolute  proof  that  Shakespeare's 
company  visited  Scotland  ;  yet  critics  will  have  it  (why  ?) 
that  he  remained  at  home.  This  is,  verily,  perverse  love  of 
disputation.  There  is  no  more  doubt  that  these  players  did 
visit  Scotland  than  there  is  that  on  their  way  they  stopped 
and  acted  at  Cambridge  the  plays  of  Julius  Ccesar  and 
Hamlet. 

We  have  also  some  few  notices  of  other  actors  belonging  to 
this  company, 

Tawyer  (Heming's  apprentice)  acted  in  Midsummer  Night's 
Dream,  1592  (Stokes). 

James  Sandes  is  mentioned  in  Phillipps'  will,  1605,  as  ms 
apprentice. 

Andrew  performed  in  Much  Ado  about  Nothing,  1599. 

Richard  Hoope,  William  Ferney,  William  Blackwage,  and 


58     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Ralph  Raye  are  mentioned  in  Henslow's  Diary  as  Chamber- 
lain's men,  1594-5. 

Rowland  and  Ashton  occur  in  the  stage  directions  of 
Love's  Pilgrimage,  1623. 

[Hugh]  Clark,  in  a  revival  of  The  Custom  of  the  Country, 
spoke  the  Prologue. 

Pollard  spoke  the  Epilogue  to  The  Cardinal,  1641.  He  is 
mentioned  by  Wright. 

Andrew  Pennycuicke,  who  wrote  the  dedication  of  The 
City  Madam  in  1659,  is  said  by  Gifford  to  have  been  one 
of  the  actors  in  it.  I  doubt  it. 

We  now  pass  to  another  group  of  actors  altogether. 

Table  V.,  column  I,  is  taken  from  the  "  Shakespeare 
Society's  Papers,"  vol.  iv.,  p.  145.  It  is  a  list  of  Worcester's 
men,  I4th  J  an.,  1586. 

Column  2  is  from  "  Henslow's  Diary,"  p.  6 ;  a  list  of  the 
Admiral's  men,  Christmas,  1594. 

Column  3  is  from  the  old  plot  of  Frederick  and  Basilea, 
printed  in  the  "Variorum  Shakespeare,"  1821.  It  dates 
June— July,  1597.  (See  "  Henslow's  Diary.") 

Column  4  is  from  "  Henslow's  Diary,"  p.  1 1 5  ;  a  list  of 
the  Admiral's  men,  nth  Oct.,  1597. 

Column  5  is  from  "Henslow's  Diary,"  p.  120;  a  list  of 
Admiral's  men,  8-i3th  March,  1597-8. 

Column  6  is  from  "Henslow's  Diary,"  p.  172  ;  a  list  of 
the  Admiral's  men,  July,  1600. 

Column  7  is  from  the  "Shakespeare  Society's  Papers," 
vol.  iv.,  p.  114.  It  is  a  list  of  the  actors  in  the  Gentle 
Craft,  or  Shoemakers'  Holiday,  by  T.  Dekker ;  purchased  by 
Henslow  for  the  Admiral's  men,  I5th  July,  1599;  acted  at 
Court,  Christmas,  1599-1600. 

Column  8  is  from  "Henslow's  Diary,"  p.  218;  a  list  oi 
the  Admiral's  men,  February,  1601-2. 

Column  9  is  from  the  plot  of  "  Tamar  Cam,"  Part  2, 
printed  in  the  1821  "  Variorum  Shakespeare,"  vol.  iii.  The 
performance  dates  2nd  October,  1602.  That  both  the 
Admiral's  and  Worcester's  men  were  concerned  with  it 
appears  from  "Henslow's  Diary,"'  pp.  227,  241. 


ON  THE  ACTOR  LISTS,    1578—1642.  59 

Column  10  is  taken  from  Collier's  "  Annals  of  the  Stage," 
vol.  i.,  p.  351.  It  gives  Prince  Henry's  players  in  1603,  from 
the  Book  of  his  Household  Establishment. 

Column  1 1  is  from  the  "  New  Shakspere  Society's  Trans- 
actions ; "  a  list  of  Prince  Henry's  players  in  1603. 

Column  12  from  the  "Shakespeare  Society's  Papers,"  vol. 
iv.  p.  44,  is  a  similar  list  for  1607,  April  3Oth. 

Column  13  from  Collier's  "  Annals  of  the  Stage,"  vol.  i.,  p. 
381,  is  a  list  of  the  Palsgrave's  men  ;  taken  from  their  licence, 
4th  Jan.,  1612-3. 

Column  14  is  from  Collier's  "  Memoirs  of  Alleyn,"  p.  155  ; 
taken  from  the  lease  of  the  Fortune  Theatre,  3ist  Oct.,  1618. 

Column  15  is  from  Collier's  "Annals  of  the  Stage,"  vol.  i., 
p.  427;  taken  from  Sir  H.  Herbert's  Office  Book,  1622. 

In  this  table  there  is  nothing  so  interesting  as  the  change 
that  took  place  in  1597.  It  appears  from  "  Henslow's  Diary  " 
that  Pembroke's  company  were  incorporated  with  the 
Admiral's  on  nth  Oct.,  1597.  (Compare  the  entries  p.  91, 
103,  115.)  The  new  names  in  the  list  of  that  date  are  Gabriel 
Spencer,  Robert  Shaw,  Humphrey  Jeffes  and  Antony  Jeffes. 
It  can  hardly  be  doubted,  then,  that  these  were  among  the 
new  recruits  from  the  players  formerly  called  L.  Pembroke's. 
Moreover,  there  are  no  other  players  known  whose  Christian 
names  were  Humphrey  or  Gabriel.  A  Gabriel  Singer 
appears  in  various  writings  of  Mr.  Collier,  but  he  is  a 
creation  of  Mr.  Collier's  fertile  imagination.  But  a  Gabriel 
and  a  Humphrey  do  occur  in  the  stage  directions  of  3 
Henry  VI.  These  are  names  of  the  actors,  Gabriel  acting  as 
messenger,  and  Humphrey  as  keeper.  This  play,  then,  as 
we  have  it  in  the  Folio,  was  printed  from  a  prompter's  copy 
belonging  to  a  company  with  actors  whose  names  were 
Humphrey  and  Gabriel.  No  such  actors  are  known,  except 
Jeffes  and  Spencer.  These  actors  are  traceable  to  two  com- 
panies, the  Admiral's  after  date  1597,  and  Pembroke's  before 
that  date.  But  the  play  of  3  Henry  VI.  was  acted  by 
Pembroke's  men  before  1595  (see  the  title-page  of  the 
surreptitious  quarto  edition).  There  can  then  be  no  reasonable 


60    TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

doubt  that  the  prompter's  copy  from  which  the  Folio  was 
printed  was  the  copy  used  by  Pembroke's  men,  and  therefore 
could  not  have  been  written  by  Shakespeare  at  any  date, 
nor  corrected  by  him  in  the  years  1592-3,  as  the  New 
Shakspere  critics  maintain.  He  can  at  most  have  revised 
it  after  the  partial  break-up  of  Pembroke's  men  in  1597,  or 
at  their  final  disappearance  in  1600. 

It  appears  from  the  Revels  account  that  in  1597-8  Shaw 
and  Downton  were  the  managers;  1599-1600,  Shaw  alone; 
1600-1603,  E.  Alleyn  ;  and  after  this  date,  E.  Juby. 

In  1599  the  boys'  company,  called  the  Children  of  the 
Chapel,  was  revived.  These  were  the  "  eyases  "  (so  distasteful 
to  Shakespeare)  who  for  three  years  supported  at  Blackfriars 
an  unequal  struggle,  by  the  aid  of  Ben  Jonson,  against  the 
men's  companies  of  the  Globe  and  Fortune.  We  have  two 
lists  of  them,  both  from  Jonson's  First  Folio. 

Cynthia's  Revels.  Poetaster. 

1600.  1601. 

Nathaniel  Field        .         .         i  .         .         .  i 

John  Underwood     .         .         2  .         .         .  2 

Salathiel  Pavy          .         .3  •         .         .  3 

Robert  Baxter ...         4  ... 

Thomas  Day   .                  .         5  .         .         .  5 

John  Frost                                   6  .         .         ,  — 

William  Ostler         .         .  ...  4 

Thomas  Martin        .         .  ...  6 

Field  acted  with  the  Paul's  boys  after  the  breaking  up  of 
the  Chapel  Children  in  1601,  in  the  character  of  Bussy 
d'Amboise,  in  Chapman's  play,  in  1602. 

In  1603-4,  Jan.  3Oth,  Edward  Kirkham,  Alexander  Hawkins, 
Thomas  Kendall,  and  Robert  Payne,  were  appointed  mana- 
gers of  the  new  Children's  Company  of  the  Queen's  Revels 
(Collier,  i.  352.)  These  children  were  not  at  enmity  with 
the  Globe  players,  and  the  statements  on  that  head  by  Mr. 
Aldis  Wright  and  others  are  quite  erroneous.  Kirkham 
appears  as  manager  in  the  Revels  Accounts,  3oth  April,  1604; 


ON   THE  ACTOR  LISTS,    1578—1642.  61 

but  by  24th  Feb.,  1604-5,  tne  management  had  changed — 
Samuel  Daniel  and  Henry  Evans  being  then  at  their  head. 
Kirkham  became  manager  of  the  Paul's  Boys,  and  so  appears 
3  ist  Mar.,  1606. 

An  entirely  different  company,  but  with  the  same  name 
(Children  of  the  Queen's  Revels),  was  established  under 
Robert  Daborne,  Philip  Rossiter,  John  Tarbook,  Richard 
Jones,  Robert  Brown,  4th  Jan.,  1609-10  (Ingleby).  They 
continued  under  Rossiter  till  24th  Nov.,  1612  ("Revels 
Accounts,"  p.  xlii.). 

The  Duke  of  York's  Company  was  established  3Oth  Mar., 
1610  ("  Shakespeare  Society's  Papers,"  iv.  47.)  These  ap- 
pear in  the  Revels  Accounts,  under  William  Rowley,  from 
Qth  Feb.,  1609-10  to  7th  June,  1613,  when  the  Duke  of  York 
had  become  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

There  was  a  company  called  the  "  Princess  Elizabeth's," 
under  Alexander  Foster,  in  1612  (Revels  Accounts). 

In  the  first  column  of  the  sixth  table  will  be  found  the 
names  of  the  Duke  of  York's  players,  3Oth  Mar.,  1609-10. 

In  the  next,  the  Chapel  Children  {alias  the  Queen's  Revels], 
who  acted  in  Jonson's  Epicene,  1609,  from  the  Folio  Edition. 

In  the  next,  a  list  of  the  Queen's  Revels  Children,  in  a 
mutilated  obligation  between  them  and  Henslow,  printed  in 
Collier's  "  Life  of  Alleyn,"  p.  98,  and  absurdly  called  by  him 
a  list  of  Prince  Henry's  players. 

The  next  two  columns  are  from  Fletcher's  plays,  Second 
Folio,  and  date  1612-13. 

The  next  two  columns  are  from  articles  of  grievance 
against  Mr.  Henslow,  printed  in  Malone's  "  Shakespeare," 
xxi.  417.  It  appears  from  these  that  Henslow's  Company, 
i.e.,  the  Duke  of  York's  (or  Prince's  in  1613),  did  not  join 
company  with  Rossiter's,  i.e.,  the  Revels  Children,  till  March, 
1612-13,  and  that  before  the  end  of  1615  he  had  "broken" 
five  companies.  This  date  of  junction  throws  great  doubt  on 
the  date  assigned  by  Mr.  Collier  to  the  list  in  the  third 
column.  He  says  it  dates  29th  Aug.,  1611  ;  I  believe  it 
cannot  be  earlier  than  1613. 


62     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

The  next  column  is  from  a  letter  to  Alleyn,  printed  in 
Malone's  "  Shakespeare,"  xxi.  405.  It  has  no  date,  but  must 
have  been  written  in  the  winter  of  1614. 

The  next  column  is  from  an  agreement  printed  in  Collier's 
"  Life  of  Alleyn,"  p.  127.  He  again  wrongly  calls  the  com- 
pany the  Prince  Palatine's.  The  date  of  the  letter  is  2Oth 
Mar.,  1615-16. 

The  next  column  is  from  the  Inner  Temple  Masque,  1618 
(Dyce's  "  Middleton  "). 

The  final  column  is  from  the  "  New  Shakspere  Society's 
Transactions." 

It  is  necessary  for  clearness  of  understanding  to  sum  up 
the  changes  in  these  companies  during  1613-15,  when  Hen- 
slow  had  to  do  with  them.  In  March,  1612-13,  the  companies 
of  the  Revels  under  Rossiter,  and  the  Prince's  under  Taylor, 
joined  :  in  Aug.,  1613  (in  my  opinion),  the  Lady  Elizabeth's, 
under  Foster,  were  united  also  with  them.  The  payments  of 
these  three  separate  companies  extend  to  June,  1613,  which 
implies  their  separate  action  during  the  Christmas  festivities 
of  1612-13.  The  name  of  the  united  companies  was  the  Lady 
Elizabeth's  players.  Their  manager  was  Taylor  during 
1613-14.  During  this  Christmas  Field  does  not  appear  in 
the  company ;  but  in  1614-15  a  new  company  was  formed  of 
which  he  was  the  head  ;  he  left  it  during  1615. 

All  this  comes  out  of  comparison  of  the  Revels  at  Court 
entries,  1613-15  (which  see).  Hence  we  can  make  out  the 
five  companies  broken  by  Henslow :  (i)  The  Prince's  of 
1612-13  ;  (2)  the  Revels,  1612-13  ;  (3)  the  Lady  Elizabeth's, 
1612-13;  (4)  the  united  companies  of  1613;  (5)  the  Lady 
Elizabeth's  of  1613-14. 

On  1615,  May  3ist(not  1616  as  Mr.  Collier  says,  "Annals," 
i.  395),  a  patent  was  granted  to  Philip  Rossiter,  Philip  King- 
man,  Robert  Jones,  and  Ralph  Reeve,  to  build  a  theatre,  but 
the  design  was  not  carried  out. 

On  2Qth  Mar.,  1615-16,  performances  were  stopped,  and 
the  following  managers  were  summoned  before  the  Privy 
Council  : — John  Hemings,  Richard  Burbadge  [of  the  King's 


ON   THE    ACTOR    LISTS,    1578—1642.     ,  €3 

men]  ;  Christopher  Beeston,  Robert  Lee  [of  Queen  Anne's]  ; 
William  Rowley,  John  Newton  [of  Prince  Charles's]  ;  Thomas 
Downton  and  Humphrey  Jeffes  [of  the  Palsgrave's]  ;  (Collier's 
"  Annals,"  i.  394).  The  Princess  Elizabeth's  company  is  not 
represented,  and  probably  had  not  been  reconstituted ;  but  by 
nth  July,  1617,  they  must  have  been  so,  as  a  company  under 
John  Townsend  and  Joseph  Moore  appears  in  the  Revels 
Accounts  at  that  date.  But  before  passing  to  the  next  table 
with  which  these  players  are  connected,  I  must  add  a  note  or 
two  to  the  preceding. 

In  The  Coxcomb,  besides  the  actors  mentioned  in  the  list, 
we  learn  from  the  stage  directions  that  one  Rowland  acted. 
This  Rowland  was,  I  think,  William  Rowley,  for  that  name 
is  often  spelled  Rowland,  and  if  so,  my  conjecture  of  the 
identity  of  The  Wandering  Lovers  by  Fletcher  with  Loves 
Pilgrimage,  in  which  Rowland  was  an  actor,  is  strongly 
confirmed. 

Another  point  is  the  name  of  Robert  Hanten  or  Hamlet, 
for  we  find  both  spellings.  In  "Eastward  Ho,"  iii.  2  (1604), 
Hamlet  a  footman  enters  in  haste,  and  calls  for  my  lady's 
coach.  Potkin,  a  tankard-bearer,  then  comes  in  and  says  : 
"'S  foot,  Hamlet,  are  you  mad?"  Editors  have  pointed  out 
this  allusion  to  Hamlet's  madness,  but  have  failed  to  see 
the  joke,  such  as  it  is.  Hamlet  was  the  player's  real  name. 
In  fact  the  Lady  Elizabeth's  company  of  1611  was  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  company  of  the  Queen's  Revels  children 
of  1604,  just  as  the  Duke  of  York's  of  1610  was  of  the 
King's  Revels  children  of  1607  ;  while  the  Revels  children 
of  1610  were  an  entirely  new  company. 

In  Table  VII.  the  first  column  is  compiled  from  stray 
notices  in  Henslow's  Diary  of  Lord  Worcester's  men,  1602—3. 
Browne  had  been  with  Derby's  men  in  1598-9. 

The  next  column  is  from  a  rough  draft  of  a  patent  to  the 
Queen's  men  in  1603,  when  they  were  acting  at  the  Curtain 
and  the  Boar's  Head. 

The  third  column  is  from  the  "  New  Shakspere  Society's 
Transactions  ;"  it  relates  to  a  grant  of  cloak,  &c.,  made  I5th 
March,  1603-4,  to  Queen  Anne's  men. 


64     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

The  fourth  column  is  from  a  Privy  Seal,  dated  I5th  April, 
1609  (printed  in  the  "  Shakespeare  Society's  Papers,"  iv.  45), 
granted  to  Queen  Anne's  men. 

The  fifth  is  a  list  of  the  Revels  company,  who,  under  the 
assumed  name  of  "  late  comedians  of  Queen  Anne,  deceased," 
got  a  warrant  on  8th  July,  1622,  to  bring  up  children  for 
the  stage  (Collier,  "Annals,"  i.  429).  They  played  at  the 
Red  Bull. 

The  last  column  is  from  Malone's  "  Shakespeare,"  iii.  59. 
It  is  a  list  of  the  Lady  Elizabeth's  men  in  1622,  then  playing 
at  the  Phoenix.  These  two  last  lists  are  from  Herbert's  MSS. 
The  Revels  Accounts  confirm  these  lists,  and  show  us  Duke 
as  manager  from  1603  to  1606;  Greene  from  1590  to  1612  ; 
and  Lee  in  1613-14. 

The  eighth  table  gives  lists  of  actors  in  Shirley's  Wedding, 
Massinger's  Renegado,  Hey  wood's  Fair  Maid  of  the  West 
(in  which  a  2  prefixed  means  actor  in  the  second  part  of 
the  play),  Rankings  Hannibal  and  Scipio,  and  Davenport's 
John  and  Matilda.  A.  Pennycuicke  acted  Matilda  in  this 
last  play  (Halliwell,  "  Dictionary  of  Old  English  Plays").  He 
also  published  the  "  City  Madam,"  and  possibly,  therefore, 
acted  in  it.  All  these  plays  were  acted  by  Queen  Henrietta's 
men. 

Wright,  in  his  "  Historia  Histrionica,"  mentions  Perkins, 
Bowyer,  Sumner,  Robinson,  Allen,  and  Bird  (Bourne)  as 
among  the  best  of  these  actors. 

It  appears  from  Herbert's  MSS.  (Malone's  "Shakespeare," 
vol.  iii.)  that '  Christopher  Beeston  was  manager  in  1635, 
and  from  Collier,  ii.  79,  that  Henry  Turner  was  so  in  1637. 

On  the  connection  of  C.  Beeston  and  his  son  (not  brother, 
as  Collier  says,  ii.  12)  William  with  the  Cockpit  company, 
see  the  Epilogue  to  Browne's  "  Court  Beggar,"  written  after 
1638  ("The  Antipodes"  is  alluded  to  in  it),  the  statement 
on  the  title-page  notwithstanding. 

On  1 2th  May,  1637,  the  two  Beestons,  Bird,  Fenn,  and 
Michael  Moone  (Mohun),  still  belonged  to  the  Queen's 
company  (Collier,  ii.  81),  but  on  the  2nd  October,  1637,  C' 


ON   THE  ACTOR   LISTS,    1578—1642. 


65 


Beeston's  new  company  of  boys  played  at  the  Cockpit 
(Malone's  "Shakespeare/'  iii.  240),  and  Perkins,  Sumner, 
Sherlock,  and  Turner,  were  sent  to  Salisbury  Court. 

Wright  ("  Historia  Histrionica")  mentions  also  as  Salisbury 
Court  players,  Cartwright  [? junior],  Wintershal,  and  three 
of  Beeston's  players  from  the  Cockpit.  Burt  (Clariana  in 
Love's  Cruelty],  Mohun  (Bellamente  in  the  same  play)  and 
Shatterel.  Burt  had  been  under  Shank  at  the  Blackfriars. 
Of  later  companies  we  have  scarcely  any  lists.  One,  how- 
ever, is  prefixed  to  Shakerley  Marmion's  Holland's  Leaguer, 
acted  at  Salisbury  Court  by  the  Prince's  (Charles  II.)  men, 
in  1631.  Another  is  prefixed  with  cast  of  parts  to  N. 
Richards'  Messalina,  acted  by  His  Majesty's  company  of 
Revels,  and  published  in  1640. 


Messalina. 

William  Cartwright,  sen. 
Christopher  Goad 
John  Robinson 
Samuel  Tomson 
Richard  Johnson 
William  Hall 
John  Barret 
Thomas  Jordan 
Mathias  Morris 


Claudius 

Silh's 

Saufellus 

Manester 

Montanus 

Mela 

Messalina 

Lepida 

Sylana 

tfc. 


Holland's  Leaguer. 
William  Browne 
Ellis  Worth 
Andrew  Keyne 
Matthew  Smith 
James  Sneller 
Henry  Gradwell 
Thomas  Bond 
Richard  Fowler 
Edward  May 
Robert  Huyt 
Robert  Stafford 
Richard  Godwin 
John  Wright 
Richard  Fouch 
Arthur  Savile 
Samuel  Mannery 

The  next  group  of  facts  demanding  notice  is  that  of  the 
changes  made  from  one  company  to  another.  Not  many  are 
traceable,  but  some  of  those  that  are,  are  important. 

Kempe,  Duke,  and  Beeston,  who  acted  in  Jonson's  Every 
Man  in  his  Humour,  in  1598,  did  not  act  in  Every  Man  out  of 
his  Humour,  in  1599  >  nor  d°  tnev  appear  again  in  connection 

9 


66     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

with  the  Chamberlain's  company.  They  all  appear  .as  mem- 
bers of  Worcester's  company,  on  i/th  Aug.,  1602 ;  and 
Kempe  is  known  to  have  been  travelling  on  the  Continent  in. 
1600-1.  Probably  they  all  kept  company  during  these  two 
years  ;  and  as  no  other  English  company  is  known  to  have 
been  away  from  London  at  that  date,  they  and  their  fellows 
may  safely  be  identified  with  the  English  players  who  were 
in  Saxony  (Oct.  1600),  at  Memmingen  (Feb.  1600),  at  Dresden 
(June  1601),  at  Ulm  (1602).  This  still  leaves  their  occupa- 
tion in  1599  unaccounted  for;  but  in  the  play  of  Histriomastix\ 
written  in  the  winter  of  that  year,  we  find  a  small  band  of 
players  (i  Incle  or  Gulch;  2  Belch  ;  3  Gut;  4  Clout)  travel- 
ling in  the  country,  who  at  the  end  of  the  play  are  shipped  off 
for  the  Continent.  This  seems  at  once  to  refer  to  Kempe, 
Duke,  Beeston,  and  some  inferior  player  unknown.  For 
Kempe  is,  as  above  stated,  the  only  actor  positively  known 
to  have  then  left  England,  and  the  others  most  likely  did  not 
separate  from  him.  But  the  actors  in  Histriomastix,  who  say 
of  themselves,  "  we  that  travel  with  our  pumps  full  of  gravel," 
are  by  that  description  identified  with  the  actors  in  the 
Poetaster  (1601),  who  like  them  are  described  as  a  company 
of  politicians.  From  all  this  it  seems  probable  that  Kempe 
(the  Frisker  of  Jonson)  and  the  rest,  on  leaving  the  Chamber- 
lain's men,  joined  the  Earl  of  Derby's  players  during  1599, 
and  were  sent  as  a  detachment  from  them  on  to  the  Con- 
tinent in  the  winter  of  that  year.  That  this  company  was  the 
same  as  the  Earl  of  Worcester's  of  1602  appears  from  the 
Revels  accounts,  where  Robert  Brown  appears  as  manager  of 
Derby's  men  in  Feb.  1599-1600,  and  we  know  from  our  tables 
that  he  was  manager  of  Worcester's  men  in  1602.  But  in  any 
case  these  facts  disprove  the  hypothesis  of  the  late  Mr. 
Richard  Simpson  that  the  poet  connected  with  the  actors  iri 
Histriomastix  represents  William  Shakespeare.  He  is  re- 
peatedly satirized  as  an  extemporary  ballad  writer  ;  and  when 
the  players  go  abroad  he  takes  to  his  old  trade  of  balladry 
again.  The  only  man  to  whom  this  description  can  apply  is 
Antony  Munday  (the  Antonio  Balladino  of  Jonson),  and  on 


ON   THE  ACTOR   LISTS,    1578—1642.  67 

reference  to  my  tables  (in  MS.)  compiled  from  Henslow's 
Diary,  I  find  that  from  August  1598  to  October  1599  he  was 
not  employed  by  Henslow  in  his  usual  hack  work  for  the 
Admiral's  men.  But  as  he  was  not  an  actor  I  must  pass  this 
matter  over  slightly  here.  Mr.  Collier  traces  Kempe  back 
again  to  the  King's  company  in  1605.  But  the  document  from 
which  he  obtains  this  information  is  demonstrably  a  forgery. 
Beeston,  however,  can  be  traced  further.  He  remained  with 
Queen  Anne's  players  till  1609  at  least,  probably  till  her 
death  in  1619.  In  1622  he  was  one  of  the  Lady  Elizabeth's 
men ;  in  1635  with  Queen  Henrietta's  company  ;  and  in 
January  1636-37  manager  of  the  King  and  Queen's  boys, 
otherwise  called  Beeston's. 

Edward  Alleyn,  one  of  Worcester's  players  in  1586,  who 
was  at  the  head  of  L.  Strange's  men  in  1592,  left  them  for  the 
Admiral's  in  1594 ;  he  continued  to  manage  this  company  till 
1603,  although  he  gave  up  playing  himself  from  1597  to 
1602. 

Ostler  and  Underwood,  who  were  boys  in  the  Chapel 
Children  in  1601,  were  taken,  when  they  grew  to  be  men,  into 
the  King's  company,  and  acted  with  them  in  1610. 

Sinkler,  who  acted  with  L.  Strange's  men  in  1593,  probably 
came  to  them  from  Pembroke's  company  in  1592. 

Armin  came  to  the  Chamberlain's  in  1602  from  L.  Chandos' 
I  know  nothing  of  this  latter  company  except  that  its  patron 
died  in  1602.  Armin  wrote  for  the  King's  Revels  Children 
between  1605  and  1610. 

Field  belonged  to  the  Chapel  Children  in  1600-1  ;  to  the 
*Queen's  Revels  Children  in  1609-13;  to  the  King's,  in  and 
after  1618. 

Eccleston  was  with  the  King's,  1610-11  ;  with  the  Queen's 
Revels  and  Lady  Elizabeth's,  1613  ;  back  with  the  King's,  1614. 

Taylor  was  with  the  Duke  of  York's,  1610  ;  with  the  Queen's 
Revels,  1612-13  ;  with  Prince  Charles's,  1615-18;  and  finally 
with  the  King's,  in  and  after  1619. 

Pallant  (if  there  were  not  two  Robert  Pallants  ;  Richard  is  a 

*  Note  that  several  companies  were  called  by  this  name  between  1609  and  1613. 


68    TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

mere  miswriting  in  one  list)  was  with  L.  Strange's  men  in 
J593  ;  Queen  Anne's,  1603-9  ;  the  King's  in  1616-23. 

Benfield  was  with  the  Queen's  Revels  Children,  1612-13  ; 
joined  the  King's  in  1614. 

Lowin  was  with  Worcester's  in  1602-3  ;  joined  King's  in 
1603-4. 

Shank  belonged  to  Prince  Henry's,  1603-13.  He  acted  in 
The  Scornful  Lady  in  1624,  when  the  King's  men  reproduced 
it  (not  in  its  original  cast  by  the  Revels  Children),  hence  he 
joined  the  King's  men  between  1613  and  1624,  probably  in 
1614. 

William  Rowley  was  with  the  Duke  of  York's  in  1610  ; 
not  with  them  when  united  with  the  Revels  Children  ;  but 
with  them  again  when  separated  and  called  Prince  Charles's, 
1614-22  ;  with  the  King's  in  1623  ;  and  again  with  the  Prince's 
in  1624-25. 

Penn  was  with  the  Queen's  Revels  in  1609 ;  with  Prince 
Charles's,  Mar.  1615-16  ;  and  with  the  King's  by  1629. 

Swanston  was  with  Lady  Elizabeth's  in  1622,  and  with  the 
King's  before  1629. 

Greville  was  with  the  Lady  Elizabeth's  in  1622,  and  with 
the  Palsgrave's  at  the  same  date ;  with  the  King's  in  1626. 
This  and  the  preceding  seem  to  point  to  a  great  change  in 
the  companies  at  Charles  the  First's  Accession. 

Robert  Baxter  of  the  Chapel,  1601,  and  Richard  Baxter  of 
the  King's  in  1631,  may  be  identical.  Compare  the  mistake 
of  Richard  for  Robert  Pallant. 

Clerk  and  Theophilus  Bourne,  Bird,  or  Barne,  who  were 
with  Queen  Henrietta's  men  between  1624  and  1629,  appear 
in  the  list  of  1647  >  Dut  ft  does  not  follow  from  their  signing 
the  dedication  to  Fletcher's  plays  that  they  had  ever  acted 
with  the  King's  company. 

So  far,  these  changes  are  connected  with  the  King's  com- 
pany. Among  the  minor  ones  we  may  note  Hamlet,  alluded 
to  in  Eastward  Ho,  acted  by  Queen's  Revels,  1604.  He  was 
with  Prince  Charles's,  1613-16. 

Spenser,  Shaw,  and  the  two  Jeffes,  appear,  from  inductive 


ON   THE  ACTOR   LISTS,    1578—1642.  69 

evidence,  to  have  joined  the  Admiral's  company  from  Pem- 
broke's in  1597. 

The  two  Brownes  were  with  Worcester's  men  in  1586, 
Derby's  in  1599,  and  with  the  Second  Worcester's  company  in 
1602. 

Lee  was  with  Queen  Anne's  men,  1603-9 ;  with  the  Revels 
company,  1622. 

Worth,  with  the  Revels  company  in  1622,  was  with 
Prince  Charles's  in  1633. 

Blaney,  with  the  Queen's  Revels  Children  in  1609,  was 
with  the  Revels  company  in  1622,  and  with  Queen  Hen- 
rietta's, 1625. 

Basse,  with  the  Queen's  Revels  Children  in  1613,  was  with 
the  Revels  company  in  1622. 

Perkins,  with  the  Queen  Anne's  men,  1603-9,  was  w^ 
the  Revels  company  of  1622,  and  afterwards  with  Queen 
Henrietta's  players. 

Sherlock  and  Turner  were  with  Lady  Elizabeth's  men  in 
1622;  then  with  Queen  Henrietta's;  and  were  removed  to 
Salisbury  Court  c.  1637,  along  with  Perkins  and  Sumner. 

Richard  Allen  was  with  the  Admiral's  men  from  1599  to 
1602  ;  with  the  Queen's  Revels  Children,  1609, 1613. 

Fowler  (or  Flower)  was  with  the  Palsgrave's  men,  1622 
(probably  with  the  Admiral's  as  early  as  1600),  and  with 
Prince  Charles'  (ii.)  in  1633. 

Cane  (or  Kayne)  was  with  the  Lady  Elizabeth's  men  in 

1622,  and  with  the  Palsgrave's  at  the  same  date  ;   with   Prince 
Charles'  (ii.)  in  1633. 

In  explanation  of  this  strange  phenomenon  of  a  player 
belonging  to  two  companies,  it  should  be  noted  that  the 
Fortune  Theatre  was  burnt  in  1621,  and  not  re-erected  till 

1623,  so  that  during   1622  the    Palsgrave's  men,  having  no 
theatre,  probably  acted  at  the  Phoenix  along  with  the  Lady 
Elizabeth's.     Hence  some  confusion  between  the  companies. 

In  "  Henslow's  Diary  "  are  some  isolated  notices  which  I 
must  not  omit. 

Richard   Hoope,  William  Blackway,  and   Ralph   Raye,  are 


70   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 


noticed  with  the  Chamberlain's  men,  I4th  Jan.,  1595-6  (Diary, 
p.  7).  These  were  probably  mere  supers. 

John  Tovvne,  Hugh  Davies,  Richard  Allen,  and  Francis 
Henslow,  are  mentioned  as  Queen's  men,  3rd  May,  1593 
(Diary,  p.  5).  But  a  comparison  with  p.  34  shows  that 
Henslow's  entries  for  April,  1594,  are  in  six  instances  put 
down  as  1593;  moreover,  he  had'  an  apparent  connection 
with  the  Queen's  men  till  Easter,  1593.  Hence  I  take  it,  we 
should  read  3rd  May,  1594,  and  interpret  the  Queen's  men  as 
meaning  "  The  Queen's  men  and  my  Lord  of  Sussex',  to- 
gether," who  did  certainly  leave  Henslow,  April,  1594.  In 
March,  1593,  the  tag  of  the  Queen's  company,  who  had  not 
been  retained  as  L.  Strange's  men,  probably  joined  the 
players  patronized  by  Sussex.  In  1596,  on  ist  June,  we  find 
Francis  Henslow,  William  Smith,  George  Attewell,  and 
Robert  Nicolls,  mentioned  in  the  Diary  (p.  8) ;  most  likely 
as  members  of  the  same  company.  From  an  undated  docu- 
ment (but  written  c.  1604)  in  "Henslow's  Diary,"  p.  214, 
compared  with  Collier's  "  Life  of  Allen,"  p.  70,  it  appears 
that  F.  Henslow,  John  Garland,  Abraham  Savery,  and 
Simcox,  were  players  to  the  Duke  of  Lennox. 

It  is  a  matter  of  great  interest  to  notice  the  various 
spellings  of  many  names  above  mentioned ;  thus  we  meet 
with  the  following  forms  used  quite  indiscriminately : — 


Burby  and  Burbadge 
Ecclestone  and  Egglestone 
Rowland  and  Rowley 
Marlow  and  Marley 
Cundall  and  Condell 
Toole  and  Tooley 
Turner  and  Tourneur 
Burght  and  Birch 
Robins  and  Robinson 
Bird  and  Bourne  and  Barne 
Dunstan  and  Tunstall 
Moone  and  Mohun 


Broome  and  Bourne  and  Burne 

Button  and  Downton 

Slaughter  and  Slater 

Fowler  and  Flower 

Price  and  Pryor 

Henslow  and  Hinchlow  and 

Hinchley 
Kane  and  Cane 
Hawood  and  Heywood 
Axell  and  Axen 
Goad  and  Goat 
Hamlet  and  Hanten 


ON   THE  ACTOR   LISTS,    15/8—1642.  71 

And  in  addition  to  these,  such  differences  of  spelling  as 
Jube  and  Juby  in  almost  every  name.  It  is  clear  that  actors 
and  writers  were  quite  indifferent  as  to  the  spelling  of  their 
signatures.  In  the  face  of  this  our  New  Shaksperians  would 
have  us  alter  the  time-honoured  Shake-speare — the  only 
literary  spelling  of  the  name  known  to  authors,  printers  or 
publishers  of  his  own  time — to  Shak-spere,  because,  forsooth, 
his  hurried  signatures,  made  in  weakness  and  distraction, 
differ  from  the  usual  spelling  of  other  members  of  the 
family.  If  we  must  alter  his  name,  let  us  do  so,  not  as  those 
sciolists  would  have  us,  in  a  spirit  of  hypercriticism  ;  nor  as 
R.  Greene  did,  in  malice  when  he  called  him  Shake-scene ;  but 
in  fervent  love  and  admiration,  as  some  of  his  contemporaries 
did  when  they  called  him  Shake-sphere,  implying  that  he  was 
no  mere  shaker  of  the  stage  at  the  old  Theatre  at  Shoreditch, 
nor  of  the  Globe  in  Bankside,  but  of  the  whole  habitable 
world  as  long  as  it  remains  the  inheritance  of  man,  not  of 
an  age,  but  for  all  time. 

On  the  succeeding  pages  will  be  found  the  tables  referred  to  in  the 
course  of  this  paper.  As  it  was  found  inconvenient  to  print  Tables 
I.  &  II.  in  one  page  each,  italic  letters,  a,  bt  &c.,  are  inserted  on  the 
inner  margin  as  a  guide  for  the  eye  of  the  reader. 


72  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE   ROYAL  HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 


I 

•SJ 
2£ 
<? 

Seren  Deadly 
Sins,  c.  1593. 

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ll 

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t,ES 

M  HH    "-" 

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Thomas       Stevens  .  .  . 

"* 

Thomas       King    

* 

Robert         Preston  ... 

George        Bryan     ... 

... 

6 

William      Kempe  ... 

?  itys,  3 

2 

9 

Thomas       Pope  

Arbactus,  2 

6 

6 

Holland 

t 

Attendant,  &c.,  I.  I,  2 

Vincent         

Messenger,  2 

T.               Belt 

| 

Servant,  I,  Panthea,  3 

T.               Goodall 

Lucius,  &c.,  I,  2,  3 

R.               Pallant 

!  f 

Warder  ;  Nicanor 

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Philomela,  &c.,  I.  I,  2,  3 

Robert         Gough   ... 

Aspatia,  2 

... 

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. 

?  Rhodope,  2 

I 

Tolin            Dulcc 

Pursuivant   &c.  *  I.  I  2  "5 

10 

Christopher  Beeston 
John             Sinkler  ... 

?  Attendant,  &c.,  I.  2 
Keeper;  Julio,&c.,1.  1,2,3 

... 

8 

... 

Richard       Cowley  ... 

, 

Lieutenant,  &c.  I.  I,  2,  3 

... 

... 

... 

Augustine   Phillipps 
William       Sly 

• 

Sardanapalus,  2 
Porrex,  Lord,  I,  3 

5 

3 

7 

3 

Sander        Cooke    ... 

j 

?  Videna,  Progne,  I,  3 

/ 

Richard       Burbadge 

. 

Gorbodoc,  Tereus,  I,  3 

... 

2 

i 

Nicholas     Tooley   ... 

. 

?  Lady,  Pompeia,  I,  2 

Henry         Condell... 

. 

?  Ferrex,  Lord,  I,  3 

... 

5 

4 

William  Shakespeare 

. 

... 

... 

i 

John            Hemings 

. 

... 

4 

4 

2 

John            Lowin    ... 

, 

... 

... 

Robert        Armin    ... 

, 

...         ... 

... 

... 

... 

Laurence    Fletcher 

t 

... 

... 

William      Eccleston 

t 

... 

... 

John          Underwood 

, 

... 

... 

William      Ostler    ... 

, 

... 

... 

Richard      Robinson 

( 

... 

... 

Samuel        Gilburne 

. 

... 

... 

James          Sandes  ... 



... 

... 

... 

i 

ii 

iii 

iv 

V 

ON   THE   ACTOR   LISTS,    1578—1642. 


73 


fu 

1 

oT 

5 

•£» 

+r 
c 

«    CO 

II 

o  "•* 

II 

If 

i 

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[chemist,  1610. 

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7 

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6 

5 

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6 

7 

9 

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3 

i 

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8 

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8 

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5 

4 

2 

2 

... 

i 

... 

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4 

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2 

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4 

3 

5 

8 

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10 

10 

... 

... 

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6 

6 

... 

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7 

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9 

... 

... 

... 

9 

... 

... 

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... 

... 

10 

vi 

vii 

viii 

ix 

X 

xi 

xii 

xiii 

74   TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 


II 

Duchess  of 
Malfy,  1616. 

Duchess  of 
Malfy,  c.  1623. 

Richard 
William 
Henry 
Robert 
Nicholas 
John 
John 
John 
Thomas 
Richard 
John 
Joseph 
Robert 
Richard 
William 

Hiliard 
Stephen 
William 
Sander 
John 
John 
William 

Curtis 
Antony 
George 
James 
Rowland 

Thomas 

Nick 
W. 

Harry 
Edward 

Burbadge 
Ostler 
Condell 
Pallant 
Tooley 
Underwood 
Lowin 
Rice 
Pollard 
Sharp 
Thomson 
Taylor 
Benfield 
Robinson 
Penn 

Swanston 
Hamerton 
Trigg 
Gough 
Shank 
Honyman 
Patrick 

Greville 
Smith 
Vernon 
Home 

Ferdinand 
Antonio 
Cardinal 
Doctor 
Madman 
Delio 
Bosola 
Pescara 
Silvio 
Duchess 
Julia 

Cariola 
Madman 

Ferdinand 
Antonio 
Cardinal 

Hobbes 
Baxter 

Balls    

Mago 
Gascoigne 
Herbert 
Wilson 
Horton 

' 

ii 

ON  THE  ACTOR  LISTS,    1578—1642. 


75 


Wild  Goose 
Chase, 
?  1631. 

Roman 
Actor,  ii 
October, 
1626. 

Picture, 
8  June, 
1629. 

Believe 
as  you  list, 
II  January, 
1630-1. 

Deserving 
Favorite, 
1629. 

Bel>ur 
Pinac 

Domitian 

Lamia 
Parthenius 

Eubulus 

Ubaldo 
Ferdinand 

Flaminius 
Berecynthus 

Jacomo 
Lysander 

Domitia 

Honoria 

Cleonarda 

Mirabel 
De  Gard 
La  Castre 

Paris 
Rusticus 
Esopus 

Mathias 
Ladislaus 

Antiochus 
Marcellus 
Lentulus 

Duke 
King 
Orsinio  ;  Hermit 

Nantolet 

Baptista 

(  Merchant 

Lugier 
Oriana 
Rosalura 
Lilia  Bianca 

Aretinus 

Julia 
Csenis 

Ricardo 

Corisca 
Acanthe 
Hilario 

j  Jailor 
Chrysalus 

Utrante 

Factor 

Domitilla 
Sura 

Sophia 

Merchant 
(  Demetrius 

Clarinda 

Latinus 

j  Captain 
Merchant 

Philargus 

Guard 

Entellus 

(  Hamilcar 

|  Prusias,  &c. 
Calistus 

f  Titus  ;  Officer 

{  Servant 
Queen 

Cornelia 

# 

# 

* 

Musician 

Mariana 

iii 

iv 

V 

vi 

vii 

76  TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 


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1'^       a 

ON   THE  ACTOR   LISTS,    1578 — 1642. 


77 


IV 

Patent, 
27  March,  1629. 

Tooley's  Will, 
3  June,  1623. 

•«• 
>;\S 

|| 

'r>  u 

IP 

i\ 

n 

t+> 

10 

«\o 

1  f 

^ 

Lovers'  Melancholy, 
14  November,  1628. 

4 

•£  £ 

|l 

« 

</TVO' 

l! 

££ 
H 

5s- 

Dedication  B.  and  F. 
1647. 

|4 

°3 

PH 

John               Hemings... 
Richard         Burbadge 
Henry            Condell   .  .  . 
John               Lowin  
Nicholas        Tooley  
John              Underwood 
Nathan          Field    
Robert           Benfield  ... 
Robert           Gough  
William         Eccleston 
Richard         Robinson 
John               Shank  
Joseph           Taylor  
Elyard     £A    Swanston 
Thomas         Pollard    ... 
George          Birch   
John              Rice  
William         Rowley 

I 
2 

3 
4 

8 
9 

10 

ii 

12 

* 
* 

2 

9 

3 

4 

I 

5 
7 
ii 
6 

8 

i 

2 
15 

II 

6 
8 
10 
9 
14 
4 

12 

I 

2 
3 

6 

5 
7 
4 

10 

13 
ii 

I 

I 

4 

2 

i 

2 

6 

4 
5 

9 

... 

I 

4 
3 

2 

6 

Aubrey 

Rollo 

Cook 
Latorch 

Richard  Sharp  
Richard  Perkins  .  .  . 
George  Vernon 

... 

... 

10 

5 
3 

7 

12 

7 
ii 

7 
ii 

James  Home 

13 

1C 

14 

Antony  Smith 

6J 

IO 

William  Penn 

12 

i 

Curtis  Greville 

10 

Richard  Baxter 

12 

<> 

John  Thomson 

*3 

William  Trigg 

16 

3 

Sander  Gough 

17 

6 

Thomas  Hobbes 

II 

2 

William  Patrick 

4 

William  Hart 

7 

Otto 

Richard  Hawley 

8 

Hugh  Clerk 

7 

Stephen  Hamerton 

... 

William  Allen 

g 

Theophilus  Bird 

10 

i 

ii 

iii 

iv 

V 

vi 

vii 

viii 

ix 

X 

78      TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


V 

vO 
00 
vr> 

1 

t^. 

$ 

§ 

§ 

1 

C\ 
£ 

N 

S 

1 

£ 

re 
vS 

o* 

VO 

PO 

>o 

00 
5 

§ 

^0 

Robert        Browne    .  .  . 
James          Dunstan  ... 
Edward      Alleyn 

2 

7 

8 

T 

* 

* 

I 

William       Harrison  .  .  . 
Thomas       Cooke  
Richard      Jones   
Edward       Browne 

4 
5 
6 

7 

3 

? 

4 

s 

10 

* 

* 

Richard      Andrews 

8 

* 

John            Singer 

a 

8 

I 

I 

* 

I 

* 

Thomas       Towne  
Martin         Slaughter  .. 
Edward       Juby  . 

... 

4 
5 
6 

* 

? 

* 

7 
6 

6 

8 
ii 

* 
* 

5 

4 

* 

t; 

3 
6 

2 

A 

3 

T 

Thomas       Button   .... 
William      Bird 

7 

* 

5 
i 

2 
-J 

2 

* 
* 

2 

* 

2 

-2 

4 

2 

•5 

I 
?, 

fl 

Charles        Massey  .... 
Samuel        Rowley  . 

... 

? 
? 

9 

TO 

5 
6 

* 

9 

8 

? 

? 

6 
4 

8 

c 

7 
c 

5 
/I 

5 

3 

Gabriel        Spenser 

9 

C 

Robert        Shaw 

7 

7 

* 

Humphrey  Jeflfes   .  .  . 

p 

7 

•3 

HI 

6 

* 

7 

7 

6 

6 

Antony       Jeffes   .  .  . 

TO 

* 

7 

* 

8 

Richard       Price 

* 

TO 

M 

8 

/I 

William       Parr     ... 

* 

n 

TO 

0 

William       Cartwright 

* 

8 

7 

Edward       Colbrand... 

8 

Q 

William       Stratford  . 

TT 

TT 

6 

Francis        Grace  . 

T? 

7 

3 

2 

John            Shank 

I? 

n 

Richard      GunneJl   .  .  . 

T2 

4 

I 

Richard       Fowler 

TO 

e 

Andrew       Cane    

6 

Curtis          Greville  ... 

7 

- 

:s 

•3 

> 

> 

'> 

rfl 
> 

"> 

X 

X 

'* 

'x 

'x 

.^ 
"x 

> 

X 

*  To  column  iii  add  these  :  E.  Button's  boy  Bick  (Richard  Button)  ;  Griffin, 
Thomas  Hunt,  Richard  Allen,  Robert  Leadbeater,  and  Pig  ;  to  column  ix  add 
Benyghten,  Thomas  Marbeck,  Parsons,  George,  Bick  Juby,  Thomas  Parsons, 
Jack  Gregory,  Denyghten's  little  boy,  Gideon,  Gibbs,  Thomas  Rowley,  The  red- 
faced  fellow,  Kester,  James,  Giles's  boy,  and  little  Will  Barne  ;  to  column  vii  add 
Bay,  Flower  and  Wilson. 


ON   THE  ACTOR   LISTS,    15/8  —  1642. 


79 


o 

1 

M 

rQ*      • 

1* 

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CO 

4 

4 

^rj*      , 

~(5 

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VI 

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rt 

a 

£ 

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l^s 

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1 

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Efc 

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[ohn          Garland... 

i 

William     Rowley  .  .  . 

2 

... 

... 

I 

I 

* 

3 

Thomas     Hobbes  .  .  . 

•3 

8 

8 

Robert       Dawes 

.1 

* 

Joseph       Taylor   .  .  . 

5 

3 

2 

2 

* 

3 

3 

* 

John          Newton 

6 

4 

c 

* 

6 

Giilbert       Reason  .  .  . 

7 

J 

7 

Nathan      Field   .  . 

/ 

I 

I 

I 

* 

/ 

Giles          Gary    

e 

•J 

Hugh         Attawel 

5 

3 

o 
6 

6 

6 

* 

John          Smith, 

J 

or  Antony 

7 

7 

0 

2 

William     Barksted.. 

... 

/ 
2 

2 

8 

... 

* 

y 

7 

William     Penn  

4* 

10 

Richard     Allen  

... 

6 

... 

5 

John          Blaney  ... 

... 

8 

Emanuel   Read  

4 

• 

Robert       Benfield... 

... 

... 

7 

3 

William    Egglestone 

... 

4 

4 

* 

Thomas     Basse  

ii 

6 

J  ohn          Townsenc 

i 

Robert       Hamlet, 

or  Hanten 

6 

5 

4 

I 

Thomas     Hunt  

7 

Joseph       Moore    .  .  . 

8 

John           Rice  

0 

William     Carpenter 

? 
10 

* 

Alexander  Foster    .  .  . 

"! 

12 

Robert       Pallant 

* 

2 

2 

i 

ii 

iii 

iv 

V 

vi 

vii 

viii 

ix 

X 

xi 

80    TRANSACTIONS   OF  THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


rn 

rf> 

ir>4 

jf  8 

] 

VII 

enslowes 
y,  1602- 

I 

1 

Jrf 

mmission 
1609. 

£§>  » 

s  «  s 

s-s.g 

rt  J5 

^ic 

ffi  § 
5 

1 

.0  !3 

0 

U 

£   N 
at    N 

&"% 

J5 

Christopher    Beeston  .... 

H 

I 

I 

2 

j 

Robert            Lee    

2 

8 

I 

John                Duke 

e 

7~ 

Robert             Pallant  

H 

4 

4 

5 

Richard           Perkins  

H 

3 

5 

4 

2 

Thomas          Hawood    ... 

H 

2 

6 

3 

James              Hoe  

7 

7 

*  Thomas           Swinnerton 

6 

8 

6 

Thomas           Greene  

... 

9 

i 

Robert            Beeston  

8 

10 

10 

Thomas          Blackwood 

H 

William          Kempe  

H 

John               Thayer  

H 

Edward           Alleyn   

H 

John                Lowin    

H 

Ellis                Worth    

7 

Thomas          Basse  

4 

John                Blaney  

c 

John               Cumber  

6 

William          Robins  

7 

Joseph            Mote  

2 

Hilliard           Swanston  ... 

Andrew           Cane  

4 

Curtis             Greville  

5 

William           Sherlock    ... 

5 

Antony           Turner  

i 

ii 

in 

iv 

v 

vi 

ON    THE   ACTOR   LISTS,    1578  —  1642. 


81 


33 


1 


cJ  " 


s 


i  a 


wo 


-a 

JS 


a.s-3 


s 


G     OH   2  ^  C3 

SS     K 


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c/} 


fa  03  Q* 
^ 


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& 


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3 


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lllli'^  lyjpil 


AN  OUTLINE  HISTORY  OF  THE  HANSEATIC 
LEAGUE,  MORE  PARTICULARLY  IN  ITS 
BEARINGS  UPON  ENGLISH  COMMERCE. 

BY  CORNELIUS  WALFORD,  F.I.A.,  F.S.S.,  F.R.Hisx.Soc. 
[Read  before  Royal  Historical  Society ',  igth  Feb.,  1880.] 

IN  calling  the  attention  of  the  fellows  to  some  of  the  leading 
points  in  the  history  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  confedera- 
tions which  the  world  has  ever  seen,  and  in  endeavouring  to 
arrange  these  into  an  harmonious  and  intelligent  narrative, 
I  feel  that  I  owe  no  apology,  except  at  least  to  the  extent 
to  which  my  labours  may  be  found  deficient  or  defective  :  for 
it  is  in  the  direction  of  such  original  inquiries  as  the  present 
that  our  Society  may  perform  its  more  useful  offices.  Eng- 
land played  a  most  prominent  part  in  the  history  of  the 
Hanseatic  League ;  but  in  this  regard  has  found  heretofore 
no  historian,  while  Germany  has  several.  Hence  the  present 
attempt,  the  results  of  which,  gathered  from  many  sources, 
are  presented  without  further  preface. 

EARLY  TRADING   COMMUNITIES   IN    LONDON. 

LONDON,  EIGHTH  CENTURY. — Even  at  this  date — that  is, 
under  the  Saxon  rule — there  is  believed  to  have  been  com- 
munities of  strangers  settled  in  London  for  the  purposes  of 
commerce ;  but  from  whence  they  came  has  not  been  accu- 
rately determined. —  Trans,  of  London  and  Midx.Arch&ological 
Society,  iii.,  p.  67. 

The  Cologne  merchants  were  soon  after  this  period  estab- 
lished in  Dowgate,  and  they  made  complaints  of  their 
privileges  being  interfered  with  by  later  traders  who  had 
arrived  [see  1234].  And  mention  is  made  in  the  early 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.       83 

records  of  this  country,  at  varying  dates,  of  Germans, 
Teutons,  Almains,  Garpar,  and  Vandals.  Further  specific 
mention  of  some  of  these  will  occur  as  we  proceed.  English 
merchants  at  this,  or  a  slightly  later  period,  had  "  factories  " 
on  the  Baltic  coast  as  far  as  Prussia,  and  in  the  dominions  of 
Denmark. 

979.  At  about  this  date — time  of  Ethelred  II. — a  body  of 
German  traders,  understood  to  be  really  an  Order  of  Monks 
long  engaged  alternately  in  commerce  and  in  warfare,  had 
established  themselves  in  London,  and  had  met  with  Royal 
patronage.  They  are  spoken  of  in  the  old  chronicles  as 
coming  with  many  ships  to  Billingsgate,  and  in  return  for 
some  slight  presents  and  tolls  were  deemed  worthy  of 
extraordinary  privileges,  which  were  continued  by  succeeding 
monarchs. 

MERCHANTS    OF    THE    "STEELYARD." 

It  is  probably  as  far  back  as  this  period  that  we  must  look 
for  the  establishment  of  the  Merchants  of  the  "  Steelyard  " — 
a  name,  perhaps,  but  slightly  corrupted  from  its  original 
meaning  of  the  stiliard  or  beam  for  weighing  goods  imported 
into  London — sometimes  called  the  "  King's  Beam."  It  was 
natural  that  those  who  were  largely  engaged  in  commerce, 
particularly  in  bulky  merchandise,  should  establish  themselves 
near  to  the  spot  whereon  such  an  operation  was  conducted. 
But  when  the  "  tonnage  "  was  transferred  to  the  Corporation 
of  London,  the  king's  beam  was  removed — some  authorities 
say  to  Cornhill — but  certainly,  at  a  later  date  to  Weigh-house 
Yard,  at  Little  Eastcheap,  which  was  at  this  time  probably 
by  the  river.  The  king's  beam  being  removed,  the  Merchants 
of  the  Steelyard  most  likely  took  possession  of  the  entire 
spot,  and  there  established  their  factory.  This  famous  location 
lay  between  Thames-street  and  the  river.  It  was  of  consider- 
able extent  ;  and  at  one  period  protected  with  high  and  strong 
walls,  and  probably  fortified.  Several  centuries  later  it  became 
known  as  the  Gilhalda  Tutonicorum — the  Guildhall  of  the 
Germans. 


84:      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

These  early  "  steelyard  ''  merchants  (confirming  their 
monastic  origin)  conducted  their  affairs  with  the  utmost 
secrecy,  and  lived  personally  in  a  state  of  entire  seclusion, 
like  the  inmates  of  a  monastery.  Indeed,  the  Steelyard  was 
a  monastery — the  only  difference  being  that  its  brotherhood 
were  devoted  to  money-making  instead  of  religious  exercises. 
The  vast  buildings  on  the  river-side,  in  the  parts  not  used  for 
storage,  were  divided  into  separate  cells  for  single  men — the 
whole  of  the  ranges  opening  into  common  reception-rooms. 
No  inmate  of  the  Steelyard  was  allowed  to  marry,  or  even  to 
visit  any  person  of  the  opposite  sex,  and  a  breach  of  this  law, 
however  slight,  was  followed  by  immediate  expulsion,  if  not 
by  more  severe  penalties.  At  a  fixed  hour  every  evening  all 
the  brothers  were  expected  to  be  at  home  ;  the  gates  were 
then  rigidly  closed  ;  and  at  a  certain  hour  in  the  morning, 
varying  with  the  seasons,  were  open  again  for  the  transaction 
of  business.  When  we  come  to  speak  more  directly  of  the 
Hanseatic  League  we  shall  see  that  many  of  these  regulations 
were  in  conformity  with  their  practice. 

These  early  trading  monks  established  themselves  in  other 
cities  than  London,  as  we  have  very  abundant  evidence  in 
the  ordinances  of  the  Great  Gild  of  St.  John  of  Beverley  of  the 
Hanshonse,  whereof  the  introduction  is  as  follows  : — 

"  Thurston,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  Archbishop  of  York,  to  all  the 
faithful  in  Christ,  as  well  now  as  hereafter,  greeting,  and  God's 
blessing,  and  his  own.  Be  it  known  to  you  that  I  have  given  and 
granted,  and  with  the  advice  of  this  Chapter  of  York  and  Beverley 
and  of  my  barons,  have  by  my  Charter  confirmed  to  the  men  of 
Beverley  all  liberties,  with  the  same  laws  that  the  men  of  York  have 
in  their  city.  Moreover,  be  it  not  unknown  to  you  that  the  Lord  Henry 
our  King  [Henry  I.]  has,  with  a  good  will,  granted  to  us  the  power 
of  making  [this  charter],  and  has,  by  his  own  charter,  confirmed  our 
statutes  and  our  laws,  after  the  manner  of  the  laws  of  the  Burgesses 
of  York,  saving  what  behoves  to  God  and  St.  John,  and  myself  and 
the  canons;  that  so  he  might  uphold  and  enlarge  the  honour  of  the 
alms-deeds  of  his  predecessors.  With  all  these  free  customs  I  will 
that  my  Bourgesses  of  Beverley  shall  have  their  '  Hanshus ; '  which 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC    LEAGUE.       85 

I  give  and  grant  to  them  in  order  that  therein  their  common  business 
may  be  done  \ut  ibi  sua  statuta  pertractent\  in  honour  of  God  and 
S.  John  and  the  canons,  and  for  this  amendment  of  the  whole  town 
with  the  same  freedom  that  the  men  of  York  have  in  their 
'  Hanshus.'  I  also  grant  to  them  toll  for  ever,  for  xviij.  marks  a 
year ;  saving  on  the  three  feasts  on  which  toll  belongs  to  us  and  the 
canons — namely,  on  the  feast  of  St.  John  the  Confessor  in  May,  and 
the  feast  of  the  Translation  of  St.  John,  and  the  Nativity  of  St.  John 
the  Baptist.  On  these  three  feasts  I  have  made  all  the  Burgesses  of 
Beverley  free  and  quit  of  every  toll.  This  charter  also  bears  witness 
that  I  have  granted  to  the  same  burgesses  free  right  of  coming  in 
and  going  out — namely,  within  the  town  and  beyond  the  town,  in 
plain  and  wood  and  marsh,  in  ways  and  paths  and  o^her  easements, 
save  in  meadows  and  cornfields,  as  good,  free,  and  large  as  anyone 
can  grant  and  confirm.  And  know  ye  that  they  shall  be  free  and 
quit  of  any  toll  all  through  the  whole  shire  of  York,  like  as  the  men 
of  York  are.  And  I  will  that  whosoever  gainsays  this  shall  be 
accursed,  as  the  manner  of  cursing  is  in  the  church  of  St.  John,  as 
shall  be  adjudged  in  the  church  of  St.  John.  These  are  witnesses ; 
Geoffry  Mirdoc,  Nigel  Ffossard,  Urnald  Perci,  Walter  Spec,  Eustace 
son  of  John,  Thomas  the  provost,  Thurstin  the  archdeacon,  Herbert 
the  canon,  William  the  son  of  Tole,  William  of  Bajus ;  before  the 
household,  both  clergy  and  laity,  of  the  Archbishop  of  York." 

This  charter  was  confirmed  by  the  successor  to  Thurston. 


BALTIC    CITIES. 

The  first  town  erected  on  the  coasts  of  the  Baltic  was 
Lubeck,  which  owes  its  foundation  to  Adolphus,  Count  of 
Holstein.  After  several  vicissitudes  it  became  independent 
of  any  sovereign  but  the  emperor  in  the  I3th  century. 
Hamburg  and  Bremen,  upon  the  other  side  of  the  Cimbric 
peninsula,  emulated  the  prosperity  of  Lubeck  ;  the  former 
city  purchased  independence  of  its  Bishop  in  1225.  A  colony 
from  Bremen  founded  Riga  in  Livonia,  about  1162.  The 
city  of  Dantzic  grew  into  importance  about  the  end  of  the 
following  century.  Koningsberg  was  founded  by  Ottacar, 
King  of  Bohemia,  in  the  same  age. 


86      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

FIRST   INDICATIONS   OF   THE   LEAGUE. 

But  the  real  importance  of  these  cities  is  to  be  dated  from 
their  famous  union  with  the  Hanseatic  Confederacy.  The 
origin  of  this  is  rather  obscure  ;  but  it  certainly  may  be  nearly 
referred  in  point  of  time  to  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
and  accounted  for  by  the  necessity  of  mutual  defence,  which 
piracy  by  sea,  and  pillage  by  land,  had  taught  the  merchants 
of  Germany.  The  nobles  endeavoured  to  obstruct  the 
formation  of  this  league,  which,  indeed,  was  in  great  measure 
designed  to  withstand  their  exactions.  It  powerfully  main- 
tained the  influence  which  the  free  imperial  cities  were  at  this 
time  acquiring.  Eighty  of  the  most  considerable  places  con- 
stituted the  Hanseatic  Confederacy,  divided  into  four  colleges, 
whereof  Lubeck,  Cologne,  Brunswick,  and  Dantzic,  were  the 
leading  towns.  Lubeck  held  the  chief  rank,  and  became,  as 
it  were,  the  patriarchal  see  of  the  League  ;  whose  province  it 
was  to  preside  in  all  general  discussions  for  mercantile, 
political,  or  military  purposes,  and  to  carry  them  into  execu- 
tion. The  League  .had  four  principal  factories  in  foreign 
parts — at  London,  Bruges,  Bergen,  and  Novogorod  ;  indorsed 
by  the  sovereigns  of  these  cities  with  considerable  privileges 
to  which  every  merchant  belonging  to  a  Hanseatic  town  was 
entitled. 

We  shall  have  to  review  some  of  the  later  incidents  in 
more  detail ;  but  the  immediate  purpose  before  us  at  this 
point  being  to  fix  the  date  of  the  origin  of  the  League,  we 
think  we  must  now  consider  it  as  having  really  taken  definite 
shape  in  the  thirteenth,  and  not  the  preceding,  century.  This 
appears  to  conform  to  the  views  of  the  later  historians  of  the 
League.  The  progress  of  the  League  is  admitted  to  have 
been  very  slow  during  its  first  century. 

We  now  resume  our  chronological  narrative. 

1169.  Oddy,  in  his  "European  Commerce"  (London, 
1805),  which  contains  a  large  body  of  facts  connected  with 
the  history  of  the  League,  after  stating  (p.  11)  that  Lubeck 
was  founded  in  1 140,  and  "  very  soon  increased  so  as  to 


OUTLINE  HISTORY  OF   THE  HANSEATIC  LEAGUE.       87 

become  the  first  commercial  city  of  the  north  of  Germany 
owing  to  its  convenient  situation  on  the  Baltic  Sea,"  pro- 
ceeds : 

"The  rapid  prosperity  of  Lubeck  excited  both  envy  and  emula- 
tion ;  and  the  envy  soon  was  extended  to  all  the  towns  that  by  their 
efforts  to  equal  Lubeck  became  prosperous.  Denmark  and  Sweden, 
Holstein  and  Saxony,  by  becoming  enemies  of  those  trading  towns, 
forced  them  to  enter  into  the  Hanseatic  League,  of  which  Lubeck 
was  from  the  beginning  considered  as  the  chief."  .  .  . 

It  was  about  the  year  1169,  when  the  commercial  cities  of 
Julin  and  Winnet  had  been  destroyed  by  the  Danes  and 
other  pirates,  and  when  Lubeck,  Rostock,  and  other  cities  had 
received  their  dispersed  inhabitants,  that  the  Hanseatic  Con- 
federacy acquired  force.  The  cities  wished  to  protect  themselves 
from  a  similar  calamity.  The  first  towns  were  Lubeck, 
Wismar,  Rostock,  Stralsund,  Grypeswald,  Ankam,  Stettin, 
Colberg,  Stolpe,  Dantzic,  Elbing,  and  Koningsberg.  //  was 
a  standing  rule  of  this  League,  that  no  city  should  be  admitted  into 
it  that  was  not  situated  on  the  sea,  or  on  a  navigable  river,  and 
that  did  not  keep  the  keys  of  its  own  gates.  The  cities  must 
likewise  have  the  civil  jurisdiction  in  their  own  hands  ;  but 
they  were  allowed  to  acknowledge  a  superior  lord. 

He  adds  : 

"  The  policy  of  those  trading  republics  at  a  time  when  war  and 
chivalrous  expedition  were  the  occupation  and  glory  of  kings  and 
princes  could  not  but  be  productive  of  good.  It  was  necessary  to 
have  some  head,  and  they  chose  for  their  protectors  the  Grand  Master 
and  German  Knights  of  the  Cross,  established  in  Prussia,  who  had 
made  a  conquest  of  Livonia. 

"  By  this  means  the  Hanse  Towns  commanded  the  commerce  of  the 
Baltic,  from  Denmark  to  the  bottom  of  the  Gulf  of  Finland,  together 
with  that  of  the  rivers  which  run  into  that  sea,  from  the  interior  of 
an  extensive  country,  producing  a  vast  variety  of  articles  of  great 
importance  in  the  commerce  of  the  world." 

1170.  The  great  confederacy  of  the  Hanse  Towns  (com- 
menced the  year  before)  is  confirmed.  Twelve  towns  on  the 
Baltic  shore — "  Lubec,  Wismar,  Rostoc,  Straelsund,  Grypes- 


88      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

wald,  Anklam,  Stedin,  Colberg,  Stolpe,  Danzic,  Elbing,  and 
Konisberg,"  unite  in  a  League  for  their  mutual  protection  ; 
they  agree  to  hold  a  general  assembly  once  every  ten  years 
in  order  to  admit  or  exclude  members,  and  to  confirm  the 
Association.  They  choose  for  their  protectors  the  Master  and 
Knights  of  the  Teutonic  Order ;  and  admit  the  Teutonic 
towns  in  Prussia  and  Livonia  to  participate  of  their  institution. 
By  degrees  many  German  and  Flemish  towns  (seated  on  navi- 
gable rivers)  are  admitted  to  the  League.  Lubeck  is  allowed 
to  take  the  lead. —  Vide  Andrews,  quoted  from  Werdenhagen, 
"  the  prolix  historian  "  of  the  League. 

ENGLISH   PRIVILEGES   TO   FOREIGN    MERCHANTS. 

1232.  The  English  monarch  Henry  III.  granted  a  charter 
of  privileges  to  the  merchants  of  the  Steelyard  at  this  date, 
the  effect  of  which  was  to  constitute  them  into  a  Trading 
Gild,  after  the  manner  of  the  period.  This  was  for  services 
they  had  done  him  beyond  the  seas.  [Some  German  writers 
give  the  date  at  1206,  but  Henry  III.  did  not  ascend  the 
throne  until  1216].  This  charter  was  renewed  by  his  son, 
Edward  I.  Stow,  in  his  famous  "  Survey,"  under  date  1259, 
gives  the  following  account  of  this  Charter,  which  is 
important  on  points  of  identification  : 

1232.  "Then  to  these  merchants  [of  Almaine]  .  ... 
Henry  III.  at  the  request  of  his  brother  Richard,  Earl  of 
Cornwall,  King  of  Almaine  [Germany],  granted  that  all  and 
singular  the  merchants  having  a  house  in  the  City  of  London, 
commonly  called  Guilda  Aula  Theutonicorum,  should  be 
maintained  and  upholden  through  the  whole  realm  by  all 
such  freedoms  and  free  usages,  or  liberties  as  by  the  king 
and  his  noble  progenitors'  time  they  had,  and  enjoyed,"  &c. 

There  is  preserved  among  the  Harleian  MSS.  in  the 
British  Museum,  a  paper  inscribed  Grannies  of  Privileges  by 
Kings  of  England  from  Henry  III.  to  King  Edward  IV.,  to 
the  Haunces  of  the  Steelyard,  which  shows  the  vast  extent 
and  importance  of  the  immunities  from  tolls  and  other 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC    LEAGUE.        89 

vexations  which  these  escaped,  and  which  it  may  be  pre- 
sumed, therefore,  others  had  to  bear  ! 

That  the  "  Easterlings " — a  designation  attached  to  the 
merchants  from  the  more  eastern  shores  of  the  Baltic — 
carried  on  a  considerable  trade  with  London  at  this  date,  is 
generally  recorded.  They  are  said  to  have  coined  money  in 
this  reign,  which  on  account  of  its  goodness,  was  named  after 
these  merchants,  but  afterwards  became  corrupted  into 
"  Sterling,"  a  word  which  is  still  significant  in  its  meaning 
in  all  commercial  matters. 

1234.  Henry  III.  is  reputed  to  have  granted  a  charter  to 
the  merchants  of  Cologne  then  settled  in  London,  this,  the 
eighteenth  year  of  his  reign.  Mention  is  made  of  these 
merchants  as  settled  in  London  during  the  ninth  century. 

1257.  Henry  III.  is  said  to  have  granted  charters  to  the 
merchants  of  Lubeck,  Brunswick  and  Denmark,  settled  in 
London,  in  this  the  forty- first  year  of  his  reign. 

1269.  The  same  monarch  (Henry  III.)  granted  a  charter 
to  the  merchants  of  the  Teutonic  Guildhall,  in  this  the  forty- 
fourth  year  of  his  reign. 

HANSEATIC   LEAGUE. 

1239.  The  actual  establishment  of  the  Hanseatic  League  is 
usually  now  attributed  to  this  date — the  name  being  derived 
from  the  old  German  Hansa,  a  union  or  confederacy.  The 
League  is  said  to  have  been  limited  to  three  cities  only,  in  its 
inception,  viz.,  to  Hamburg,  Ditmarsh,  and  Hameln.  It  is 
further  recorded  that  the  conditions  of  this  early  treaty  were 
that  this  city  of  Hamburg  should  clear  the  country  of  vagabonds 
and  robbers,  between  the  river  Trene  and  the  city,  and 
prevent  pirates  cruising  on  the  Elbe  as  far  as  the  ocean. 
This,  however,  seems  such  a  purely  local  purpose  that  we 
cannot  but  think  that  some  error  is  involved.  As  other 
discrepancies  in  date  and  circumstance  exist,  we  propose  to 
review  the  several  conflicting  authorities  briefly. 

1241.  Macpherson,  in  his  "Annals  of  Commerce,"  &c.,  a 
work  of  known  repute,  says,  it  seems  probable  that  the  League 


90      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

derived  its  origin  from  an  agreement  which  was  entered  into 
this  year  by  the  merchants  of  Hamburg  and  Lubeck,  to 
establish  a  guard  for  the  protection  of  their  merchandise 
against  pirates  and  robbers  in  the  inland  carriage  between 
their  cities.  "  A  precaution  very  necessary  in  those  days  of 
rapine,  when  men  of  the  first  rank  having  no  useful  employ- 
ment, or  elegant  amusement  to  relieve  them  from  the 
languor  of  idleness  in  times  of  peace,  openly  professed  the 
trade  of  robbery "  (Vol.  i.  p.  393).  He  says  in  a  note : 
"  This  is  the  date  assumed  by  Lambecius,  Struvius,  Pfeffel, 
&c.,  and  surely  the  German  writers,  from  local  situation  as 
well  as  industry  in  research  are  well  qualified  for  the  exami- 
nation of  such  a  matter."  But  authorities  differ,  and 
certainly  here  there  is  much  room  for  it. 

1255.  The  Confederacy,  under  the  name  of  ti\z  League  of  the 
Rhine,  was  sanctioned  by  the  approbation  of  the  Emperor 
William,  and  confirmed  in  a  general  assembly  of  his 
allies,  held  at  Oppenheim.  It  was  determined  that  assem- 
blies be  held  once  every  three  months,  in  order  to  deliberate 
on  the  interests  of  the  League.  The  country  soon  ex- 
perienced the  good  effect  of  this  association  ;  a  count  was 
hanged  for  violating  the  public  peace,  and  the  nobles  desisted 
from  robbing  on  the  highway.  The  cities  of  Lubeck  and 
Hamburg,  already  confederated  for  the  protection  of  their 
commerce,  do  not  seem  to  have  had  any  connection  with 
this  association,  which  did  not  extend  beyond  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Rhine.  But  a  coalition  afterwards  took 
place  ;  and  the  union  of  other  small  confederacies  and  single 
towns  seems  to  have  afterwards  produced  the  powerful 
association  of  the  Hanse,  which  (says  Macpherson)  "does 
not  appear  from  any  good  authority  to  have  existed  at  this 
time!' — "Annals  of  Commerce/'  p.  405. 

1262.  Some  German  writers  say  that  the  Hanse  Associa- 
tion about  this  time  made  choice  of  Bruges  (in  Flanders)  to 
be  a  station  for  their  trade,  and  an  entrepot  between  the 
coasts  of  the  Baltic  and  the  Mediterranean — a  voyage  from 
one  sea  to  the  other  and  back  again  being  too  arduous  an 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.        91 

undertaking  to  be  accomplished  in  one  season.  It  is,  more- 
over, said  that  the  advantages  of  storage,  commission,  &c., 
continued  to  enrich  the  inhabitants  of  Bruges,  till  the 
Emperor  Frederick  III.  was  provoked  by  an  insult  put  upon 
his  son  to  block  up  their  port,  whereby  the  Hanse  merchants 
were  obliged  to  transfer  their  commerce  to  Antwerp. 
Macpherson,  however,  still  doubts  whether  the  Hanse  Asso- 
ciation, under  that  name,  was  yet  in  existence ;  or  if  there 
were  any  maritime  cities  yet  added  to  the  confederacy 
entered  into  by  Lubeck  and  Hamburg  in  the  year  1241. 

1270.  We  now  discover  in  Norway  the  operations  of  the  tra- 
ding monks  of  North  Germany  who  obtained  leave  from  the  king 
to  "  fix  the  staple  of  their  northern  trade  in  the  city  of  Bergen" 
At  first  their  commerce  was  restricted  to  the  summer  months 
— from  3rd  May  to  1 4th  September, — and  the  citizens  were 
not  allowed  to  let  their  houses  to  them  for  more  than  six 
weeks,  to  which,  however,  three  were  added  for  bringing  in 
their  goods,  and  three  more  for  carrying  out  their  returns.  In 
process  of  time  (says  Macpherson)  the  Vandalic  cities  of  Ger- 
many obtained  permission  to  establish  a  permanent  seat  of 
their  trade,  called  a  contovi,  in  the  city :  and  in  consequence 
of  that  indulgence  the  bridge  was  covered  with  twenty-one 
large  houses  or  factories,  each  of  them  capable  of  accommodat- 
ing about  a  hundred  merchants  or  factors,  with  their  servants. 
They  were  bound  to  keep  the  houses  and  also  the  bridge  in 
repair,  and  to  perform  watch  and  ward  in  that  part  of  the  city 
wherein  they  lived.  The  merchants  were  chiefly  from  Lubeck, 
Hamburg,  Rostock,  Bremen,  and  Deventer,  and  imported 
flax,  cloth,  corn,  flour,  biscuits,  malt,  ale,  wine,  spirituous 
liquors,  copper,  silver,  &c.,  and  received  in  return  butter, 
salmon,  dried  cod,  fish-oil,  fine  furs,  timber,  &c.  They  were 
obliged  to  confine  their  operations  to  Bergen,  the  trade  of  the 
rest  of  the  country  being  reserved  to  the  native  merchants,  to 
whom  they  gave  credit  of  their  goods  till  the  ensuing  season. 
By  this  commerce,  while  it  continued  in  its  most  flourishing 
state,  Bergen  was  so  much  enriched  that  no  other  city  in  the 
three  northern  kingdoms  could  be  compared  to  it. 


92      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

The  identity  with  the  early  trading  monks  who  settled  in 
London  is  made  complete  by  a  foot  note,  "  They  were  all 
unmarried,  and  lived  together  in  masses  within  their  own 
factories."  Among  the  early  traders  who  settled  in  Bergen 
were  those  called  Germans,  Teutons,  Almains,  Garpar, 
Vandals,  and  at  a  later  period  Hansards  or  Hanseatics. 

That  great  scholar,  Sir  Travers  Twiss,  Q.C.,  D.C.L., 
in  his  introduction  to  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Black  Book  of 
the  Admiralty  [Master  of  the  Rolls  Series],  1876  (p.  Ixxviii.), 
says  : 

.  .  .  "  a  political  confederation,  the  origin  probably  does  not 
date  further  back  than  A.D.  1270  ;  but  the  Great  League  was  made  up 
of  minor  associations,  of  which  the  most  important  in  Western  Ger- 
many had  come  into  existence  when  the  commercial  cities  on  the 
Lower  Rhine  ranged  themselves  on  the  side  of  William,  Count  of 
Holland,  who  on  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Frederick  II.,  in  1250, 
disputed  the  Imperial  crown  with  Conrad,  the  son  of  the  late 
Emperor.  Mayence  was  at  first  the  centre  of  this  association,  which 
included  the  merchants  and  shipmasters  of  Friesland  and  of  Holland  ; 
but  Cologne  subsequently  became  the  headquarters  of  what  may  be 
appropriately  described  as  the  Rhenish  branch  of  the  Great  Hanse 
League,  which  kept  up  its  old  headquarters  as  its  departmental 
centre ;  whilst  Lubeck,  Bergen,  and  Novgorod,  became  in  a  similar 
manner  the  departmental  centres  of  the  Saxon  or  Low  German,  the 
Scandinavian,  and  the  Russian  branches  of  the  Great  League 
respectively — Lubeck  being,  in  addition,  the  great  centre  of  the 
united  League." 

1280.  Edward  I.  granted  a  charter  to  the  merchants  of  the 
Teutonic  Gildhall,  which  was,  however,  but  a  confirmation  of 
the  charter  granted  by  his  father  in  1259.  In  this  charter 
the  term  "  Hanse  "  does  not  appear.  But  concerning  this  it 
need  only  be  remarked  that  there  was  in  truth  no  new 
organization  in  London.  The  "  Hanseatic  League "  being 
formed  in  the  north  of  Europe,  it  had  appointed  as  its  agents 
in  London  a  body  long  established,  and  known  under  the 
title  of  the  "Teutonic  Merchants"  or  the  "Gild  of  the 
Teutons  ; "  there  was  no  object  to  be  gained  in  assuming  a 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE    IIANSEATIC    LEAGUE.        93 

new  title :  and,  besides,  in  truth  the  German  merchants 
resident  in  London  never  became  part  or  parcel  of  the 
Confederation  of  the  Hanseatic  League  (see  1314). 

The  King  of  Norway  having  refused  the  Hanse 
Towns  a  continuation  of  the  privileges  they  had  enjoyed  in 
his  ports,  the  League  for  the  first  time  exerted  its  strength  in 
a  collective  body  ;  blocked  up  the  ports  of  Norway,  and  com- 
pelled the  king  to  renew  their  privileges,  and  make  them  a 
compensation  in  money.  Oddy,  p.  15. 

1282.  This  year  (10  Edward  I.)  Henry  Waleys  Lord 
Mayor,  a  great  controversy  (says  Stow)  between  the  said 
mayor  and  the  merchants  of  the  Haunce  of  Almaine,  about 
the  reparations  of  Bishopsgate,  then  likely  to  fall  ;  for  that 
the  said  merchants  enjoyed  divers  privileges  in  respect  of 
maintaining  the  said  gate,  which  they  now  denied  to  repair  ; 
for  the  appeasing  of  which  controversy  the  king  sent  his  writ 
to  the  Treasurer  and  Barons  of  his  Exchequer,  commanding 
that  they  should  make  inquisition  thereof ;  before  whom  the 
merchants  being  called,  when  they  were  not  able  to  discharge 
themselves,  sith  they  enjoyed  the  liberties  to  them  granted  for 
the  same,  a  precept  was  sent  to  the  mayor  and  sheriff  to 
distrain  the  said  merchants  to  make  reparations — namely, 
Gerard  Marbod,  Alderman  of  the  Haunce,  Ralph  de  Cusarde, 
a  citizen  of  Culm,  Tudero  de  Denevar,  a  burgess  of  Trivar, 
John  of  Aras,  a  burgess  of  Trivon,  Bartram  of  Hamburdge, 
Godestalke  of  Hundondale,  a  burgess  of  Trivon,  John  de  Dale, 
a  burgess  of  Munstar,  then  remaining  in  the  said  city  of 
London,  for  themselves,  and  all  other  merchants  of  the 
Haunce  ;  and  so  they  granted  210  marks  to  the  mayor  and 
citizens,  and  undertook  that  they  and  their  successors  should 
from  time  to  time  repair  the  said  gate,  and  bear  the  third 
part  of  the  charges  in  money  and  men  to  defend  it  when  need 
were.  And  for  this  agreement  the  said  mayor  and  citizens 
granted  to  the  said  merchants  their  liberties  ....  amongst 
others  that  they  might  lay  up  their  grain  which  they  brought 
into  this  realm  in  inns  and  sell  it  in  their  garners,  by  the  space 
of  forty  days  after  they  had  laid  it  up,  except  by  the  mayor 


94      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

and  citizens  they  were  expressly  forbidden,  because  of  dearth 
or  other  reasonable  occasions. 

1284.  The  League  was  solemnly  renewed  at  this  date.  It 
had  been  part  of  its  original  scheme  to  hold  an  extraordinary 
general  assembly  every  ten  years  ;  admitting  new  members 
— i.e.,  Towns,  and  excluding  old  ones,  if  there  were  judged  to 
be  good  reasons  for  doing  so.  We  may  here  with  advantage 
review  the  internal  constitution  of  the  League  so  far  as  may 
be  necessary,  in  view  of  understanding  points  in  its  paternal 
history. 

The  confederacy  was  divided  into  four  distinct  classes,  over 
each  of  which  one  city  was  to  preside.  At  the  head  of  the 
first  division,  as  well  as  of  the  whole  League,  was  Lubeck  ; 
here  the  general  assemblies  were  to  be  held,  the  records,  and 
the  common  stock,  kept.  Cologne  was  at  the  head  of  the 
second  class ;  Brunswick  was  at  the  head  of  the  third ; 
Dantzic  of  the  fourth  class.  Thus  united,  they  were  to  sup- 
port themselves  against  their  common  enemy  ;  and  thus 
united  they  certainly  did  procure  the  protection  and  friend- 
ship of  many  princes  who  would  probably  not  have  granted 
this  to  the  individual  cities.  The  Townes  lying  on  the  shores 
of  the  Baltic  were  termed  Easterlings^  and  those  towards  the 
Rhine,  of  which  Cologne  was  the  chief,  the  Westerns,  after- 
wards the  Western  Hanse  Towns. 

It  has  further  to  be  noted  that  every  Hanseatic  citizen  who, 
being  resident  in  one  of  the  factories  abroad,  there  contracted 
marriage  with  a  stranger,  forfeited  his  political  status  as  such. 
No  merchant  could  enter  into  a  commercial  partnership  with 
strangers.  In  the  cities  of  the  League  sales  could  not  take  place 
between  two  persons,  of  whom  neither  was  a  member  of  the 
confederation,  which  law  forced  foreigners  to  employ  the  latter 
as  intermediate  agents  in  all  matters  of  business  they  had  to 
transact.  Grain  coming  from  the  Elbe  and  the  Vistula, 
could  not  be  transported  to  other  countries  if  it  was  not  dis- 
patched in  a  vessel  cleared  out  from  a  city  in  League.  And 
there  were  also  several  maritime  regulations  dictated  by  the 
same  spirit  of  monopoly,  and  founded  on  an  exclusive  com- 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.         95 

mercial  system.  Reddie's  "  Historical  View  of  the  Law  of 
Maritime  Commerce,"  p.  253. 

The  number  of  cities  stated  to  have  been  in  union  at  the 
commencement  is  sixty-two,  but  a  complete  list  of  these  we 
have  never  seen.  Of  the  many  historians  and  writers  upon 
the  League,  no  two  agree  either  as  to  number  or  names.  This, 
however,  may  well  be,  from  the  circumstance  of  their  all 
assuming  different  dates.  That  continual  changes  occurred 
is  probable  for  many  reasons.  The  towns  which  became 
members  of  the  confederation  received  the  dignity  of  "  Free 
Cities  ;  "  perhaps,  indeed,  not  in  all  cases — but  the  regulation 
in  this  regard  we  do  not  find.  All  cities  in  actual  confedera- 
tion had  the  right  to  trade  freely  with  all  other  of  the  cities, 
as  also  with  the  great  "  factories  "  associated.  The  geo- 
graphical constitution  of  the  League  at  two  other  important 
periods  in  its  history,  1364  and  1476,  will  be  given  under 
those  dates. 

An  able  American  writer,  a  few  years  since,  gave  the 
following  outline  of  the  position  of  the  confederation  at  about 
this  period  : 

"  The  League  dictated  to  princes,  raised  troops,  and  made  war  against 
cities  and  states.  The  lords  paramount  who  governed  the  Flemish 
and  German  provinces,  being  jealous  of  the  authority  of  the  League, 
often  molested  the  Hanse  Towns  and  went  to  war  with  them.  The 
towns  then  appealed  to  the  League,  which,  having  forces  much 
superior  to  those  of  any  of  the  petty  princes,  peace  was  soon  made, 
and  the  grievances  of  all  under  the  protection  of  the  League  quickly 
redressed.  So  well  convinced  were  the  cities  and  towns  of  the 
advantage  of  such  support,  that  the  political  and  commercial  rela- 
tions of  the  Hanse  became  very  extensive,  and  in  a  comparatively 
short  time.  All  was  not  delightful  in  this  compact,  however,  for 
many  forms  were  necessary  before  relief  could  be  obtained  from  the 
League,  and  it  often  came  too  late  to  be  available.  No  city  could 
declare  war  without  the  consent  of  the  four  nearest  towns,  and  it  was 
the  general  assembly  at  Lubeck  which  decided  whether  the  whole 
Hanseatic  confederacy  was  to  take  part  in  it.  If  the  relief  demanded 
consisted  in  troops,  they  were  ordered  to  be  in  readiness  to  march 
before  the  expiration  of  fourteen  days.  In  1348  it  conquered  Eric 


96      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

and  Hakon  of  Norway,  and  Waldemar  III.  of  Denmark.  After  the 
peace  of  1370,  by  which  Denmark  became  a  province  of  the  League, 
no  king  could  be  elected  without  its  approbation.  It  deposed  Magnus, 
King  of  Sweden,  and  gave  his  kingdom  to  his  nephew  Albert,  duke  of 
Mecklenburg.  In  1428,  Denmark  becoming  rebellious,  it  declared 
war  against  that  kingdom,  and  invaded  the  country,  sending  thither 
248  ships  manned  by  12,000  troops. — Exchange  and  Review^  Phila- 
delphia." 

But  these  later  dates  have  overlapped  our  English  narrative, 
and  I  must  pursue  my  chronological  line. 

1312.  About  this  date  the  English  Edward  II.  complained 
to  the  King  of  Norway  of  his  suffering  several  English 
merchants  to  be  imprisoned,  and  their  goods  seized  to  the 
value  of  .£310  sterling,  at  the  instigation  of  the  Eastland 
merchants  :  who  by  all  possible  ways  strove  to  obstruct  the 
advantages  of  the  English  merchants. 

1314.  A  grant  entered  in  the  Patent  Rolls  (sec.  7  Edw.  II. 
m.  12)  was  made  to  the  merchants  of  Germany,  "  mercatores 
Alemannice"  of  the  coming  securely  into  the  kingdom  and 
selling  their  merchandise  ;  but  in  the  following  year  direct 
mention  is  made  of  the  merchants  of  the  Hanseof  Germany  ; 
but  three  years  later,  when  other  privileges  are  granted,  they 
are  described  as  being  to  the  merchants  of  the  "  Teutonic 
Gild." — Macpherson,  p.  48. 

THE   LEAGUE  AND   DENMARK. 

1348.  A  naval  war  began  between  the  Hanse  Towns  and 
Waldemar  III.,  King  of  Denmark,  occasioned  by  that 
monarch  demanding  toll  for  vessels  passing  the  Sound. 
The  circumstances  of  the  contest  are  not  clearly  recorded  ; 
but  that  it  terminated  in  favour  of  the  League  seems  clear, 
from  the  circumstance  that  the  king  granted  them  the 
province  of  Schonen  for  thirteen  years  by  way  of  a  peace 
indemnity.  This  is  the  first  known  account  of  any  toll 
demanded  for  passing  the  Sound  :  it  has  since  been  a  bone 
of  great  contention. 

Oddy  says  that  soon  after  this  date  another  war  broke  out 
between  these  same  merchants,  and  the  King  of  Denmark, 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF  THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.        97 

"  which  ended  much  more  gloriously  for  the  former."  This 
probably  was  the  engagement  which  we  speak  of  under 
date  1361. 

1361.  Wisby,  the  capital  of  Gothland,  which  had  become  one 
of  the  Hanse  Towns  in  1241  (and  was  fortified  in  1289),  was 
this  year  pillaged  by  Waldemar  III.  The  League  in  conse- 
quence declared  war  against  Denmark,  forming  an  alliance 
with  the  King  of  Norway,  Duke  of  Mecklenburg,  and  Earl  of 
Holstein,  which  latter  commanded  the  whole  fleet,  except  the 
divisions  belonging  to  Lubeck,  for  which  that  city  named  a 
commander  itself.  This  federal  fleet  in  1362,  attacked  and 
took  Copenhagen  and  its  castle ;  but  the  Danish  fleet  over- 
came the  Lubeck  squadron,  took  six  ships,  burned  others, 
and  compelled  the  remainder  to  fly  to  the  port  of  Trave- 
munde.  The  defeat  of  the  Lubeck  squadron  was  soon 
repaired,  and  in  1364  the  Hanseatic  fleet  totally  destroyed 
the  whole  fleet  of  Denmark,  in  or  near  the  haven  or  road  of 
Wismar.  Though  the  Danish  King  could  /  not  resist  longer 
by  sea,  the  Hanse  Towns  contrived  to  engage  the  King  of 
Sweden  in  the  quarrel ;  and  Holstein  and  Jutland  assisting 
the  Danes,  were  compelled  to  make  peace ;  and  besides 
making  new  regulations  for  the  toll  payable  in  passing  the 
Sound,  great  privileges  were  granted  to  the  Hanse  Towns 
throughout  the  Danish  dominions. 

DOMAIN    OF    THE    LEAGUE. 

1364.  Some  modern  writers  have  been  disposed  to  lay 
great  stress  upon  this  period  in  the  history  of  the  League. 
It  is  the  date  of  the  first  meeting  of  the  confederation  held  at 
Cologne,  and  certainly  was  the  most  important  since  that 
held  at  Lubeck  in  1284.  It  is  further  stated  that  the  funda- 
mental act  of  confederation  was  drawn  up — a  document 
since  believed  to  be  entirely  lost  to  history.  And  it  is 
also  said  that  it  was  at  this  date  that  the  general  title  of 
Hanse  was  adopted.  The  zenith  of  its  splendour  is  believed 
to  have  been  reached  towards  the  close  of  this  century,  when 
there  were  eighty-six  cities  in  confederation,  viz. : — 

H 


98      TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


Andernach, 

Duisburg, 

Keil, 

Salzwedel, 

Anklam, 

Eimbeck, 

Konigsberg, 

Seehausen, 

Aschersleben, 

Elbing, 

Kosfeld, 

Soest, 

Bergen, 

Elburg, 

Lemgo, 

Stade, 

Berlin, 

Emmerich, 

Lixheim, 

Stargard, 

Bielefeld, 

Frankfort-on- 

Lubeck, 

Stavoren, 

Bolsward, 

the-Oder, 

Luneburg, 

Stendal, 

Brandenburg, 

Golnow, 

Magdeburg, 

Stettin, 

Braunsberg, 

Goslar, 

Munden, 

Stolpe, 

Bremen, 

Gottingen, 

Munster, 

Stralsund, 

Brunswick, 

Greifswald, 

Nimeguen, 

Thorn, 

Buxtehude, 

Groningen, 

Nordheim, 

Uelten, 

Campen, 

Halberstadt, 

Novgorod, 

Unna, 

Colberg, 

Halle, 

Osnabruck, 

Venloo, 

Cologne, 

Hamburg, 

Osterburg, 

Warburg, 

Cracow, 

Hameln, 

Paderborn, 

Werben, 

Culm, 

Hamm, 

Quedlinburg, 

Wesel, 

Dantzic, 

Hanover, 

Revel, 

Wisby, 

Demmin, 

Harderwyk, 

Riga, 

Wismar, 

Deventer, 

Helmstedt, 

Roermond, 

Zutpen, 

Dorpat, 

Hervorden, 

Rostock, 

Zwolle. 

Dortmund, 

Hildesheim, 

Rugenwalde, 

The  following  cities  were  also  connected  with  the  League, 
but  did  not  have  representation  in  the  Diet,  nor  responsibility: — 


Amsterdam, 

Bordeaux, 

Lisbon, 

Ostend, 

Antwerp, 

Cadiz, 

London, 

Rotterdam, 

Bayonne, 

Dort, 

Marseilles, 

Rouen, 

Bruges, 

Dunkirk, 

Messina, 

Seville,   - 

Barcelona, 

Leghorn, 

Naples, 

St.  Malo. 

Verdenhagen  (vol.  ii.,  chap,  xxvi.,  p.  89)  gives  a  list  of  sixty- 
four  towns,  with  the  annual  quota,  ranging  from  8  to  100  imperial 
dollars,  which  each  paid  towards  the  usual  current  expenses, 
salaries,  etc.,  amounting  to  about  ^400 ;  also  a  list  of  44 
other  towns  and  cities  allied  to  the  Hanseatic  League,  but 
some  are  doubtful. 

The  four  great  comptoirs  or  factories  of  the  League,  but 
which  were  not  in  confederation,  were  London,  attached  in 
1250;  Bruges,  1252;  Novgorod  (Russia),  1272;  and  Bergen 


OUTLINE   HISTORY  OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.        99 

(Norway),  1278.  Acting  chiefly  from  these  centres,  and 
negotiating  advantageous  treaties  with  the  different  nations 
of  Europe,  the  League  gathered  into  its  confederated  cities 
in  course  of  two  centuries  of  trading,  the  chief  part  of  the 
wealth  of  Europe.  The  comptoir  of  Novgorod  had  many 
privileges,  was  regarded  as  a  model,  and  was  looked  up  to 
for  support  by  all  the  towns  in  its  region.  This,  I  ought  to 
state,  is  not  the  Nijni  Novgorod,  where  the  great  fair  is  now 
held,  but  Novgorod  on  the  Ilmen,  in  North-western  Russia. 
Bergen  was  one  of  the  most  flourishing  comptoirs,  and  the 
number  of  persons  in  its  service  was  so  considerable  that  a 
separate  quarter  consisting  of  twenty-one  great  buildings 
could  hardly  contain  them.  It  had  dependent  upon  it  forty- 
eight  chambers  of  Hanseatic  merchants,  having  each  its 
agents,  clerks,  &c.  Besides  leather,  skins,  furs,  butter,  wood, 
train  oil,  whales  and  cod,  and  other  fish  from  the  northern 
countries  and  islands,  this  was  the  great  dep6t  for  salt, 
which  was  indispensable  to  the  great  herring  fishery  then 
carried  on  in  the  North  Sea.  The  profits  of  the  League  upon 
salt  were  said  to  be  enormous.  It  had  an  entire  monopoly  of 
the  trade.  The  comptoir  of  Bruges  maintained  at  one  time 
three  hundred  merchants,  factors,  and  journeymen,  all  told. 
After  being  employed  here  for  several  successive  years,  they  were 
appointed  to  the  more  eminent  posts  of  the  League,  and  were 
generally  of  such  ability  that  directors  and  magistrates  were 
selected  from  amongst  them.  This  custom  of  promotion  was 
long  adhered  to  in  all  the  comptoirs. 

The  League  never  had  any  commercial  stations  in  Den- 
mark or  Sweden,  hence  the  conflicts  in  which  it  was  per- 
petually involved  with  those  countries  ;  in  the  ordinary  way, 
however,  it  carried  on  very  extensive  trade  with  those  king- 
doms. The  principal  Baltic  Staplehouse  of  the  League  was 
at  Wisby,  in  the  Isle  of  Gothland.  This  town  became  so 
famous  for  its  riches  that  it  was  finally  sacked  and  destroyed 
by  Waldemar,  King  of  Denmark,  about  1361. 

1 376.  The  magistrates  and  community  of  London  petitioned 
the  Parliament  that  they  might  enjoy  their  liberties,  and  that 


100   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

strangers  might  not  be  allowed  to  have  houses,  or  to  be 
brokers,  or  to  sell  goods  by  retail.  Soon  after,  in  the  same 
Parliament,  the  community  of  the  city  represented  to  the 
King  and  Council  that  their  franchises  were  invaded — mer- 
chant strangers  acted  as  brokers,  and  sold  goods  by  retail, 
and  also  discovered  secrets  to  the  enemy ;  and  they  prayed 
that  a  stop  might  be  put  to  those  enormities.  Their  petition 
was  granted — "  Saving  to  the  German  merchants  of  the 
Hanse,  the  franchises  granted  and  confirmed  to  them  by  the 
King  and  his  progenitors." — Cottons  Abridgment,  p.  133. 

1383.  Stow  says  these  merchants  of  the  Haunce  had  their 
Guildhall   in  Thames  street,  in  place  aforesaid  by  the  said 
Cosin  Lane.      Their  hall  is  large,  built  of  stone,  with  three 
arched    gates  towards   the   street,    the   middlemost   whereof 
is  far  bigger  than  the  others,  and  is  seldom  opened.     The 
other  two  be  enured  ;  the  same  is  now  called  the  old  hall. 
At   the   date   here  given   (6th  Richard   II.)   they  hired  one 
house  next  adjoining  to  their  old  hall     .     .     .     this  was  also 
a  great  house  with  a  large  wharf  on  the  Thames,  and  the 
way  thereunto  was  called  Windgoose,  or  Wildgoose  Lane, 
which  is  now  called  Wildgoose  Alley,  for  that  the  same  alley 
is  for  the  most  part  built  on  by  the  stilyard  merchants. 

1384.  The  Hanse  Towns  defeated  those  notorious  pirates, 
known   as   the   Vitaliens,  who  hailed  from   East  and  West 
Friesland,  and   who  infested  the  Baltic,  and  interrupted  the 
herring  fishery.     These  pirates  were  afterwards  used  by  the 
Hanse  Towns  in  their  conflict  with  Queen  Margaret  in  1395 
(see  that  date). 

Dr.  Lujo  Brentano,  in  the  introduction  to  his  "  Essay  on 
the  History  and  Development  of  Gilds,"  printed  by  way  of 
preliminary  essay  to  Mr.  Toulmin  Smith's  "  English  Gilds  " 
(1870),  says: 

"  But  I  strongly  believe  that  the  continual  intercourse  between  the 
Towns  of  the  several  trading  countries  of  the  middle  ages,  kept 
up  especially  by  the  Hanse  Towns,  may  not  have  been  without 
influence  in  producing  a  general  similarity  of  development  of 
burgensic  life  in  them  all  "  (p.  liv.) 


OUTLINE   HISTORY  OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.     101 

1392.  The  merchants  of  this  Hanse  obtained  from  the 
king  a  declaration  that  they  should  be  subjected  to  no  new 
impositions  in  any  town.  [Rd.  pat,  sec.  15,  Richard  II.  m.  36.] 

About  the  close  of  this  century  the  city  of  Brunswick 
incurred  the  sore  displeasure  of  the  League.  The  Trading 
Companies  of  the  city  rose  in  rebellion  against  the 
magistrates,  putting  some  to  death,  and  exiling  others  ;  and 
they  induced  other  Towns  also  dependent  upon  the  League 
to  take  a  like  course.  The  League  came  to  the  aid  of  the 
Dukes  of  Brunswick,  and  issued  the  most  severe  decree 
against  the  city,  forbidding  every  communication  between 
the  inhabitants  and  the  League,  and  depriving  them  of  all 
the  privileges  theretofore  enjoyed.  Brunswick  soon  felt  the 
effect  of  this  ban.  Commerce  was  destroyed,  manufactories 
forsaken,  the  markets  were  empty,  and  a  dreadful  famine 
ensued.  It  was  only  upon  the  most  abject  repentance  of  the 
authorities,  and  the  intercession  of  the  Emperor  Charles  IV., 
that  the  Hanseatic  Diet  restored  the  privileges  debarred  for  six 
years.  Two  burgomasters  and  eight  of  the  principal  citizens 
were  condemned  to  walk  in  procession,  bareheaded  and  bare- 
footed, each  with  a  lighted  taper  in  his  hand,  from  St.  Mary's 
church  to  the  Town-hall,  where  they  were  to  confess  their 
crime  upon  their  knees  before  the  Diet  of  Lubeck,  and  also 
to  make  sundry  promises,  and  do  other  acts  of  penance. 

1395.  The  League  triumphed  over  Queen  Margaret  of 
Denmark — a  woman  of  great  ability  and  enterprise — who 
had  united  under  her  single  authority,  Denmark,  Sweden,  and 
Norway.  They  compelled  her  to  deliver  up  King  Albert  and 
his  son,  who  were  her  prisoners  ;  and  also  to  give  them 
Stockholm.  The  cities  of  Lubeck,  Hamburg,  Dantzic,  and 
five  others  of  the  League,  bound  themselves  in  the  sum  of. 
60,000  marks  that  King  Albert  should  within  three  years 
resign  the  whole  kingdom  of  Sweden.  In  this  war  England 
had  granted  three  large  warlike  ships  of  Lynn,  with  their 
commanders  and  mariners,  to  enter  into  the  service  of  the 
Queen. 

Disputes  with  England. — It  was    about    this    period    that 


102   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

England  had  various  disputes  and  commercial  differences 
with  the  League,  through  its  then  head,  the  Grand  (or  Great) 
Master  of  Prussia  ;  but  they  were  all  amicably  settled.  This 
affords  an  indication  that  England  was  now  becoming  a  rising 
commercial  power;  and  some  of  the  towns  of  the  League 
indicated  jealousy  thereat.  There  had  come  to  be  a  notion 
among  some  of  the  Baltic  towns  that  they  were  really 
masters  of  that  sea  ;  and  that,  therefore,  all  who  presumed  to 
navigate  the  Baltic  were  invading  their  rights. 

1399.  King  Henry  IV.  summoned  the  Grand  Master  of 
Prussia,  and  the  Governors  of  Lubeck,  Wismar,  Rostock, 
Stralsund,  and  Gripwald,  to  appear  in  person  or  by  deputies 
before  his  council  to  answer  to  the  merchants  of  England, 
who  complained  that  they  were  not  treated  in  those  places  so 
well  as  the  merchants  from  them  were  treated  in  England, 
though  the  express  condition  upon  which  they  had  obtained 
their  privileges  in  England  was  that  English  merchants  should 
enjoy  the  same  advantages  in  their  countries.  He  also  warned 
the  merchants  of  the  Hanse,  that  if  they  allowed  others  to 
enjoy,  under  colour  of  their  name,  the  privileges  granted  only 
to  themselves,  he  would  totally  abolish  and  annul  their 
charter.  ("  Fcedera,"  viii.,  p.  112.)  Macpherson,  who  quotes  the 
preceding,  adds  by  way  of  note :  "  When  those  conditions 
were  stipulated  the  reciprocity  was  merely  nominal,  for  there 
were  very  few  Englishmen  who  traded  to  foreign  countries  ; 
but  there  were  now  many,  and  thence  more  frequent  occasions 
of  quarrel"  (i.  p.  610). 

1403.  The  Hanse  Towns  complained,in  a  General  Assembly, 
but  in  very  respectful  terms,  to  Henry  IV.  (of  England),  that 
the  Gascons  (who  were  then  subjects  of  England)  had  seized 
a  ship  belonging  to  Stettin  ;  Lubeck  complained  in  the  same 
year  of  a  similar  injustice  done  on  the  coast  of  Great  Britain. 
The  League  in  these  matters  treated  as  a  Sovereign  with  a 
Sovereign — being  represented  by  its  head,  who  at  this  date 
was  designated  the  Master-General  of  the  Teutonic  Order  of 
Prussia,  thus  reviving  earlier  associations  than  the  League 
itself. 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.     103 

1409.  In  respect  of  damages  awarded  out  of  some  of  the 
complaints  already  noted,  Henry  IV.  this  year  gave  his  obli- 
gation to  the  Master-General  for  5,3i8|  golden  nobles,  and 
1 3d.  to  be  paid  next  St.  Martin's  Day,  on  the  express  condition 
that  when  the  money  should  be  paid  to  the  envoy  of  the 
Master- General  in  England  it  should  be  sent  out  of  the  country 
by  bills  of  exchange,  and  not  in  bullion  or  coin,  except  so  much 
as  was  necessary  for  expenses. 

1411.  The  same  English  monarch  arrested  several  Han- 
seatic  merchants  in  the  port  of  Boston,  until  satisfaction 
should  be  made  for  divers  losses  and  murders  committed  by 
them  on  English  merchants  trading  to  Bergen.  On  giving 
security  to  the  amount  of  2,000  marks,  they  were  however 
released  the  following  year. 

1417.  At  this  date  the  Herring  Fishery  appears  to  have 
deserted  the  North  Sea,  and  to  have  become  established  in 
Flanders.  This  was  apparently  one  of  the  first  steps  which 
operated  towards  the  decadence  of  the  League.  The  Dutch 
were  now  rapidly  increasing  in  wealth  and  rising  in  maritime 
importance  ;  and  this  event  had  considerable  influence  on  the 
fortunes  of  the  confederation.  (See  1431.) 

1428.  The  Hanse  Towns  of  the  Baltic  fitted  out,  at  the 
Port  of  Wisinar,  a  fleet  of  260  ships,  carrying  12,000,  which 
were  intended  a  second  time  to  destroy  Copenhagen  ;  but 
notwithstanding  their  numbers  and  force  they  did  not  suc- 
ceed. After  this  Erickson  X.,  King  of  Denmark,  contrived  by 
intrigue  to  render  the  people  in  some  of  the  Hanse  Towns 
jealous  of  their  magistrates,  by  which  he  gained  over  some  of 
them. 

1426.  Formerly  one  of  the  aldermen  of  London  used  to 
act  as  judge  in  mercantile  causes,  wherein  the  German  mer- 
chants of  the  Hanse  residing  in  England  were  parties  ;  but 
for  above  seven  years  the  magistrates  of  London  had  refused 
to  appoint  any  one  of  their  number  to  sit  in  that  capacity. 
After  repeated  applications  of  the  Hanse  merchants  to  Parlia- 
ment, the  King  now  nominated  Crowmer  to  the  office  of 
alderman  and  judge  of  the  Hanse  merchants. 


104  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

We  have  already  seen  [1282]  that  an  alderman  of  London 
was  designated  "  Alderman  of  the  Haunce."  His  office  was 
that  last  indicated. 

BEGINNING  OF   TROUBLES. 

1431.  The  League  was  again  at  war  with  the  King  of  Den- 
mark, and  were  in  the  end  obliged  to  sue  for  that  peace  they 
had  so  long  refused.     Ships   of  foreign    nations  seized  the 
opportunity,  while  the  Towns  which  had  maintained  certain 
special  trades  were  engaged  in  war,  of  passing  through  the 
Sound  and  obtaining  trading  advantages  for  themselves. 

1432.  The   Commons   in    Parliament    proposed    (or   peti- 
tioned) that  the  Hanse  merchants  settled  in  London  should  be 
made  liable  for  compensation  to  those  whose  property  should 
be  seized   by  the   Hanse  merchants  in  their  own  countries. 
But  the  King  could  not  consent. — Cotton's  "  Abridgment," 
p.  604. 

1436.  Early  in  this  year  the  English  merchants  were  so 
much  offended  at  being  prohibited  from  sailing  to  Iceland 
that  they  got  a  petition  presented  to  Parliament  praying  the 
abolition  of  the  privileges  of  the  Easterlings  (or  Hanse  mer- 
chants) in  England.  But  the  King  would  not  agree  to  it. 

A  few  months Jtater  the  commissioners  of  King  Henry  VI. 
settled  a  treaty  with  those  of  the  Grand  Master  of  Prussia, 
the  cities  of  Lubeck  and  Hamburg,  and  the  Hanse  Towns, 
whereby  the  ancient  privileges  were  confirmed  on  both  sides. 
The  merchants  of  Prussia  and  the  Hanse  Towns  were 
exempted  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Admiral  of  England  ; 
and  were  indulged  with  an  option  of  having  any  causes, 
wherein  they  should  be  concerned,  tried  with  despatch,  and 
without  the  bustle  and  formality  of  a  law  suit,  by  two  or  more 
judges  to  be  appointed  by  the  king :  and  a  similar  mode  of 
trial  was  stipulated  for  the  causes  of  English  merchants  in 
their  countries.  It  was  further  stipulated  on  both  sides,  that 
in  case  of  any  depredation  at  sea,  the  inhabitants  of  the  port, 
from  which  the  piratical  vessel  sailed,  should  be  obliged  to 
make  compensation,  agreeably  to  an  order  of  King  Edward, 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE    HANSEATIC    LEAGUE.     105 

and  that  sufficient  security  to  that  effect  should  be  given 
before  any  armed  vessel  should  go  out  of  port, — "  Fcedera," 
vol.  x.,  p.  666. 

1437.  England,  through  her  monarch  Henry  VI.,  showed  a 
sudden  disposition,  either  through  fear  or  interest,  to  cultivate 
amicable  relations  with  the  League.  He  granted  to  the 
Hanse  Towns  all  the  privileges  they  had  formerly  enjoyed 
in  England,  in  the  fullest  manner,  and  also  agreed  to  pay 
19,274^  nobles  to  the  Grand  Master,  in  annual  sums  of  1,000. 
This  appears  to  us  to  have  been,  not  unlikely,  in  view  of  sup- 
pressing the  growing  commercial  power  of  Holland. 

1440.  King  Henry  VI.  addressed  an  expostulatory  letter 
to  the  Grand  Master  of  Prussia,  stating  that  in  former  times 
no  duties  were  exacted  for  vessels  or  cargoes  in  Prussia,  but 
of  late  the  merchants  of  England  had  often  been  compelled 
to  pay  a  duty  upon  the  value  of  their  vessels  and  cargoes  in 
Dantzic,  and  been  oppressed  with  other  arbitrary  exactions, 
detention  of  their  vessels,  &c.  Some  English  merchants  also 
having  complained  of  being  wrongfully  imprisoned  and 
plundered  in  the  towns  of  Stettin  and  Cosselyn,  the  King 
wrote  also  to  the  Burgomasters,  Proconsuls,  &c.,  of  the  Hanse 
Towns,  demanding  redress.  ("  Fcedera,"  x.,  pp.  753 — 5.) 

1447.  We  have  seen  it  stated  that  an  English  statute  made 
this  year  (26  Henry  VI.)  prohibited  the  exportation  of  mer- 
chandise in  any  other  vessels  than  those  belonging  to  the 
League,  but  we  cannot   find   any  such.     It  may  have  been 
simply  a  proclamation.     As  a  matter  of  fact  no  statutes  were 
enacted  this  year. 

1448.  Disputes  had  again  arisen  between  England  and  the 
League,  and  Commissioners  were  appointed  to  meet  those  of 
the  Grand  Master  of  Prussia  and  settle  all  differences. 

1452.  In  a  Diet  which  had  been  held  at  Utrecht  by  the 
Commissioners  [those  appointed  in  1448,  we  presume]  the 
matters  in  dispute  were  adjusted  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to 
the  King  and  the  Grand  Master.  But  the  citizens  of  Lubeck 
refused  to  abide  by  the  determination  of  the  Diet,  retained  a 
number  of  English  subjects  in  prison,  and  even 


106   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

the  King  rules  for  the  conduct  of  his  subjects.  The  other 
Hanse  Towns  appear,  in  complaisance  to  Lubeck,  to  have 
also  neglected  to  accept  or  ratify  the  acts  of  the  Diet.  The 
magistrates  of  Cologne,  however,  apprehending  the  displeasure 
of  the  English  Sovereign,  had  written  to  him  requesting  the 
continuance  of  his  favour,  and  the  merchants  of  the  Teutonic 
Guildhall  in  London  importuned  him  to  the  same  effect. 
The  King  now  wrote,  in  answer  to  the  magistrates,  that 
nothing  should  be  wanting  on  his  side  to  the  faithful  preser- 
vation of  the  ancient  friendship  between  England  and 
Cologne  ;  and  he  desired  to  know  whether  the  Hanse  Towns 
were  to  take  part  with  Lubeck  in  the  hostile  conduct  of  that 
city  towards  England,  or  to  comply  with  the  decrees  of  the 
Diet.  He  also  wrote  in  the  same  manner  to  the  Grand 
Master,  in  answer  to  his  letter,  signifying  his  approbation  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  Diet. — "Fcedera,"  xi.,  pp.  304 — 5. 

1454.  The  Grand  Master  of  the  Teutonic  Order,  by  laying 
heavy  taxes  upon  new  towns  in  the  north  of  Germany,  gave 
rise  to  much  dissatisfaction,  and  remonstrance  not  availing,  the 
inhabitants  joined  with  the  nobles  in  a  league  of  self-defence. 
The  Emperor  Frederick  III.  took  the  Grand  Master  under 
his  protection,  while  the  opposition  had  recourse  to  Casimir, 
King  of  Poland,  for  assistance.  The  war  lasted  twelve  years, 
and  Poland,  in  1466,  got  possession  of  the  country  afterwards 
known  as  Polish  Prussia,  with  the  city  of  Culm.  The 
Teutonic  knights  became  so  reduced  that  they  had  to  submit 
to  hold  the  remainder  of  their  territory  as  a  fief  of  the  crown 
of  Poland.  This  was  a  great  blow  to  the  League. 

1463.  King  Edward  IV.  gave  the  merchants  of  the 
Teutonic  Guildhall  in  London  a  confirmation  of  all  the 
privileges  granted  by  his  predecessors  ;  and  he  also  exempted 
them  from  all  new  taxes  imposed,  or  to  be  imposed,  on 
imports  or  exports.  These  privileges  they  were  to  enjoy 
during  two  years  and  a  half,  to  be  computed  from  Christmas, 
1462,  provided  they  should  not  attempt  to  pass  the  goods  of 
others  as  their  own,  nor  commit  hostilities  or  depredations 
against  himself  or  his  subjects. 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.     107 

But  notwithstanding  this  the  Parliament  which  sat  this 
year  for  the  defence  of  the  realm,  and  especially  for  the  guard 
of  the  sea,  granted  the  king  for  life  a  subsidy,  called  tonnage, 
of  33.  upon  every  tun  of  wine  imported,  and  33.  more  upon 
every  tun  of  sweet  wine  imported  by  any  foreign  merchants, 
those  of  the  Hanse  not  excepted.  They  also  granted  a  poundage 
duty  of  I2d.  on  the  prime  cost  value  of  all  goods  exported  or 
imported,  to  be  paid  by  natives  as  well  as  merchants  of  the 
Hanse,  and  other  strangers,  who  should,  however,  pay  double 
poundage  on  tin.  From  this  duty  were  excepted  woollen 
cloths  made  by  English-born  subjects,  wool,  wool-fells,  hides, 
and  provisions  for  Calais  exported  ;  also  the  flour  of  all  kinds 
of  corn,  fresh  fish,  animals,  and  wine  imported.  These 
impositions  are  said  to  have  been  made  under  the  authority 
of  3  Edward  IV.,  but  no  such  act  appears  in  the  Statute 
Eook.  There  is  just  a  supposition  of  intended  distinction 
between  the  merchants  of  the  Teutonic  Guildhall  and  those 
of  the  Hanse  League  ;  but  it  is  not  very  probable. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  protective  legislation  in  the 
matter  of  food  in  this  country  was  this  year  directed  against 
the  customs  of  the  "  Easterlings  "  (as  declared  established  by 
them  in  1252),  viz.,  the  3  Edward  IV.,  c.  2,  under  which 
grain  ("  corn ")  was  forfeited  if  imported  when  the  price  of 
wheat  here  was  under  6s.  8d.  the  quarter,  rye  43.  and  barley  33. 
This  act  was  continued  in  force  for  a  very  considerable  period. 
The  other  articles  of  commerce  imported  by  the  Easterlings 
at  this  date  were  cordage,  linen,  cloth,  hemp,  flax,  pitch,  tar, 
masts,  pipe-staves,  steel,  iron,  wax,  and  wainscot. 

1 469.  The  Grand  Duke  of  Muscovy  began  to  make  conquests, 
and  amongst  others  obtained  the  commercial  city  of  Novgorod, 
which  he  pillaged  and  destroyed.  The  Hanse  Towns  then 
removed  their  emporium  to  Revel,  where  it  remained  about 
half  a  century,  from  whence  it  was  removed  to  Narva. 

TREATY  WITH   ENGLAND. 

1475.  The  citizens  of  Lubeck,  who  had  latterly  distinguished 
themselves  beyond  their  confederates  by  a  spirit  of  hostility 


108  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

to  England,  had,  in  April,  1473,  sent  deputies  to  a  general 
assembly  of  the  representatives  of  the  Hanse  Towns  held  at 
Bruges,  with  instructions  to  ratify  the  articles  agreed  upon 
with  King  Edward's  commissioners  [in  1452,  or  subsequently]  ! 
After  several  adjournments  three  commissioners  from  the  King, 
with  the  representatives  of  Lubeck,  and  two  or  three  from 
each  of  the  cities  of  Bremen,  Hamburg,  Dortmund,  Munster, 
Dantzic,  Daventer,  Campen,  and  Bruges,  the  Society  of  the 
Merchants'  Hanse  in  London,  and  the  Society  of  those  in 
Bergen,  met  at  Utrecht,  in  order  to  settle  the  terms  of  a 
permanent  amicable  intercourse,  and  now  concluded  a  treaty 
in  substance  as  follows  : — 

"  Heads  of  Treaty. — All  hostilities  should  cease,  and  a  free  inter- 
course by  land  and  water  should  be  restored.  All  suits  for  compensa- 
tion on  either  side  should  be  dropped,  and  all  injuries  be  buried  in 
oblivion.  No  claims  should  be  made  upon  vessels  or  other  property 
by  those  from  whom  they  had  been  taken,  nor  the  captains  of  ships 
or  others  be  liable  to  arrest  for  any  past  quarrels.  This  general 
amnesty  should  be  confirmed  by  the  King  and  Parliament  of  Eng- 
land, and  all  obligations  entered  into  by  the  Hanse  merchants  in 
England  for  compensation  of  damages  should  be  cancelled.  The 
merchants  of  England  might  trade  to  Prussia  and  other  places  of  the 
Hanse  freely  as  in  former  times,  and  should  be  charged  with  no 
customs  or  exactions  but  what  had  been  a  hundred  years  established, 
and  the  merchants  of  the  Hanse  should  enjoy  all  the  privileges  in 
England  granted  by  any  of  the  kings  to  their  predecessors.  The 
King  and  Parliament  of  England  and  the  Hanse  Confederacy,  by 
Letters  under  the  seal  of  the  city  of  Lubeck,  should  certify  that  no 
pretence  of  forfeiture  of  privileges  on  account  of  the  late  hostilities 
should  be  advanced  on  either  side.  In  civil  or  criminal  causes 
wherein  the  Hanse  merchants  might  be  concerned  in  England  the 
King  should  appoint  two  or  more  judges,  who,  without  the  formalities 
of  law,  should  do  speedy  justice  between  the  parties,  the  merchants 
and  mariners  of  the  Hanse  being  entirely  exempted  from  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Admiralty  and  other  Courts  ;  and  similar  provision 
should  be  made  for  the  easy  and  speedy  dispensation  of  justice  in 
the  Hanse  countries.  As  part  of  the  recompense  found  due  by  the 
English  to  the  Hansards,  the  King  should  convey  to  them  the 
absolute  property  of  the  courtyard,  called  the  Staelhoef  or  Steelyard, 


OUTLINE    HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.      109 

with  the  buildings  adhering  to  it  extending  to  the  Teutonic  Guildhall 
in  London,  and  also  a  court-yard,  called  the  Slaelhof  or  Steelyard,  in 
Boston,  and  a  proper  house  for  their  accommodation  near  the  water 
in  Lynne,  they  becoming  bound  to  bear  all  the  burdens  for  pious 
purposes  to  which  the  Staelhoef  was  made  liable  by  ancient  founda- 
tion, or  the  bequests  of  the  faithful,  and  having  full  power  to  pull 
down  and  rebuild  as  they  might  find  convenient.  After  discussing 
the  claims  for  pillages  of  ships  and  cargoes  and  other  outrages 
committed  on  both  sides,  the  sum  of  ,£15,000  sterling  was  found 
due  as  a  balance  of  compensation  from  the  English  to  the  Hansards, 
besides  the  above-mentioned  houses ;  but  in  consideration  of  the 
protection  against  suits  for  by-past  grievances  assured  to  them  by  the 
King,  they  agreed  to  reduce  the  sum  to  £10,000,  and  to  receive  the 
payment  in  the  customs  falling  due  on  their  subsequent  imports  and 
exports.  If  any  city  should  be  dismembered  from  the  Association 
of  the  Hanse,  the  King,  upon  receiving  due  intimation,  should  put 
the  merchants  of  that  city  upon  a  footing  with  other  foreigners  till  he 
should  be  duly  certified  that  they  were  re-admitted  into  the  Associa- 
tion. The  City  of  London  should  be  bound  by  the  present  Treaty 
in  transactions  with  the  Hanse  merchants,  whose  ancient  privileges 
should  not  be  impaired  by  any  later  grants  made  to  the  city,  and  the 
Hanse  merchants  should  still  have  the  keeping  of  Bishopsgate  as 
formerly.  The  King  should  oblige  the  public  weighers  and  mea- 
surers to  do  justice  between  the  buyers  and  sellers,  and  he  should 
prevent  vexatious  delays  at  the  Custom  House,  and  the  repeated 
opening  of  the  packages  containing  federatures  and  other  precious 
furs  and  merchandise  [after  being  sealed  as  having  paid  the  customs] 
at  Canterbury,  Rochester,  Gravesend,  and  elsewhere,  and  should 
abolish  the  exaction  of  prince-money  and  some  other  unlawful 
charges.  Wrecked  vessels  should  be  preserved  for  their  owners  on 
the  usual  conditions.  The  King  should  make  diligent  provision 
against  defects  in  the  length  or  breadth  of  cloths,  in  the  quality  of 
the  wool.  The  merchants  of  the  Hanse,  after  giving  security  to 
abide  the  law  in  such  cases,  as  their  property  used  to  be  arrested  for, 
should  have  perfect  liberty  of  selling  their  goods  as  they  pleased,  and 
of  retailing  Rhenish  wine,  according  to  ancient  usage ;  neither  should 
the  Mayor  of  London  claim  a  portion  of  their  salt  as  he  used  to  do." 

I  have  set  out  the  heads  of  this  treaty  thus  in  detail  as 
indicating   very   distinctly   what    had    been   the    previously 


110   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

existing  grievances,  and  feel  bound  to  add  that  the  great 
majority  of  the  offences  appear  to  have  been  committed  by 
the  English. 

1476.  Under  date  1452  we  have  seen  the  citizens  of 
Cologne  in  friendship  with  England,  when  all  the  members 
of  the  Hanse  Association  were  hostile,  or  at  least  unfriendly  : 
and  the  former  alone  enjoyed  the  privileges  of  the  Hanse  in 
England  :  though  for  very  short  terms,  and  subject  to  the 
trouble  and  expense  of  frequent  renewals.  In  consequence  of 
that  distinction  Cologne  had  either  withdrawn  itself  or  been 
expelled  from  the  confederacy.  But  now  that  all  the  Hanse 
Towns  were  in  friendship  with  England,  Cologne  was  again 
received  into  the  association  ;  and,  agreeably  to  the  treaty  of 
the  preceding  year,  due  notice  was  sent  to  King  Edward  by 
the  magistrates  of  Lubeck,  in  the  name  of  the  whole  Teutonic 
Hanse.  ("  Fcedera,"  xii.  p.  36.) 

DOMINION   OF   THE   LEAGUE  AT   THIS   DATE. 
The  geographical  constitutionof  the  League,  at  this  date,  ap- 
pears to  have  consisted  of  the  following  divisions — the  Towns 
varying  from  those  given  in  1364  in  some  details.     LUBECK, 
chief  city  of  the  first  region  ;  other  cities  attached  thereto : 
Hamburg  Lunenberg  Grips  wald 

Rostock  Stettin  Colberg 

Wismar  Anclam  Stargard 

Stralsund  Golnow  Stolpe 

COLOGNE,  chief  city  of  the  second  region,  in  which  were 
comprehended  : 

Wesel  Hervorden  Venlo 

Duesberg  Paderborn  Elburg 

Emmerich  Lemgon  Harderwick 

Warburg  Bilefeld  Daventer 

Unna  Lipstadt  Campen 

Ham  Coesfeld  Swolle 

Munster  Nimeguen  Groningen 

Osnaburg  Zutphen  Bolswert 

Dortmund  Ruremond  Stavern 

Soest  (Zoist  ?)  Arnheim 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.      Ill 


BRUNSWICK,  the  capital  of  the  third  region,  had  under  its 
command  : 

Magdeburg  Hildesheim  Stade 

Goslar  Hanover  Bremen 

Einbeck  Ulsa  Hamelen 

Gottengen  Buxtehude  Minden 

DANTZIC,  the  chief  city  of  Prussia,  was  at  the  head  of  the 
fourth  region,  consisting  of : 

Konirigsberg  Brunsberg  (  and  also 

Colmar  Riga  sundry 

Thorn  Dorpt  '    Towns  in 

Elbing  Reval  1   Slavonia 

There  was  also  another  class  of  cities  whose  right  to  the 
privileges  of  the  League  were  controverted,  viz. : — 

Stendale  Breslau  Halberstadt 

Stoltwedale  Cracow  Helmstadt 

Berlin  Halle  Ryla 

Brandenburg  Sschersleben  Nordheim 

Frankfort-on-the-  Quedlinburg  Dinant 

Oder 

Werdenhagen  extends  the  number  of  cities  of  this  last  class 
to  forty-four,  among  which  were  Lisbon  and  Stockholm. 

The  four  chief  "  Factories  "  of  the  Hanse  were  Novgorod, 
London,  Bruges,  and  Bergen  ;  but  the  London  Factory  had 
branches,  or  depots,  at  Lynn  and  Boston,  then  important 
maritime  towns.  All  the  merchants  of  every  one  of  the  Hanse 
Towns  had  a  right  to  trade  to  those  factories  and  enjoy 
all  the  privileges  obtained  from  the  Sovereigns  of  the  coun- 
tries conforming  to  the  regulations  enacted  for  the  general 
good  of  the  whole  confederacy. 

1491.  Notwithstanding  the  treaty  so  formally  concluded 
with  the  Hanse  Confederacy  in  1475,  the  jealousies  and 
collisions  which  became  more  frequent  as  the  English  came 
more  and  more  into  the  situation  of  rivals  in  trade,  had  again 
broken  out  in  hostilities,  captures,  and  slaughters.  A  meeting 
of  deputies  from  both  sides  was  now  held  in  Antwerp,  in 


^   TRANSACTION  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

order  to  adjust  the  pretensions  and  compensate  damages. 
But  the  assembly  broke  up  without  coming  to  any  accom- 
modation (vide  Werdenhagen  II.,  part  iv.,  c.  10). 

1493.   Henry  VII.  of  England  broke  off  commercial  rela- 
tions with  the  Netherlands,  and  banished  the   Flemings  out 
of  England :  whereupon  the  Archduke    Philip  banished    the 
English  out  of  Flanders,  which  carried  all  the  English  trade 
directly  to   Calais.     This  rupture  was  of  serious  consequence 
to  both  countries.     It  gave  the  merchants  of  the  Steelyard 
a  very  great  advantage,  by  their  importing  from  their  own 
Hanse  Towns  great  quantities  of  Flemish  merchandise  into 
England,  to  the  considerable  detriment  of  the  Company  of 
English  Merchant  Adventurers,  who  were  wont  to    import 
such  directly  from  the  Netherlands ;  whereupon  the  London 
journeymen,  apprentices  and  mob    attacked  and  razed  their 
warehouses  in  the  Steelyard  ;  but  those  rioters  were  soon  sup- 
pressed and  duly  punished  (vide  Macpherson,  ii.,  p.  6). 

1502.  There  were  differences  between  the  Hanse  Towns  and 
the  King  of  Denmark  ;  who  having  been  driven  out  of  Sweden 
by  the  Regent,  insisted  that  the  Hanse   Towns  should  for- 
bear trading  to   Sweden.     The  Hanse  merchants  contended 
that  it  was  their  business   to  push  commerce  wherever  they 
could.     The  King  was  assisted  by  the  Ambassador  of  his 
uncle  James  IV.,  King  of  Scotland,  who  sent  an  aid  of  two 
stout  ships  of  war.     At  a  General  Assembly  the  merchants 
convinced  the  King   of  the  unreasonable  nature  of  the  de- 
mand, as  the  League  had  great  business  ventures  in  Sweden. 

1503.  There   was  enacted,    iQth  Henry  VIL,  c.  23,    "For 
the  merchants  of  the  Hanse  : " 

"  Be  it  ordained,  established,  enacted,  and  provided  by  the  King, 
our  Sovereign  Lord,  by  the  advice  of  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Tem- 
poral, and  the  Commons  of  the  same,  in  the  present  Parliament 
assembled,  for  merchants  of  the  Hansea  of  Almain,  having  the 
Hanse  in  the  City  of  London,  commonly  called  Guildhallda  Teu- 
tonicorum.  That  by  the  authority  of  this  said  Parliament  every  Act, 
Statute,  or  Ordinance,  Acts,  Statutes,  or  Ordinances,  heretofore  made 
concerning  Merchants,  Merchandise,  or  other  wares,  extend  not  to 


OUTLINE   HISTORY  OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.        113 

the  Prejudice,  Hurt  or  Charge  of  the  said  Merchants  of  the  Hanse 
contrary  to  their  ancient  Liberties,  Privileges,  free  Usages,  and 
Customs  of  Old  Time  granted  to  the  said  Merchants  of  the 
Hanse,  as  well  by  the  King's  noble  Progenitors,  and  ratified  and 
confirmed  by  the  King's  Grace,  or  by  Authority  of  divers  Parlia- 
ments (2)  but  that  all  such  Act,  Statute  and  Ordinance,  Acts,  Statutes, 
and  Ordinances  made  or  to  be  made  in  derogation  of  their  said 
Liberties,  Privileges,  and  Free  Usages  and  Customs  stand  to  be,  as 
against  the  said  merchants  and  their  successors,  and  every  one  of 
them,  void,  repealed,  and  annulled  and  of  none  effect ;  any  Act, 
Statute,  or  Ordinance,  Acts,  Statutes,  or  Ordinances  to  the  contrary 
made  or  to  be  made  notwithstanding.  (3)  Provided  alway,  That  this 
Act  or  anything  therein  contained,  extend  not,  nor  be  in  any  wise 
prejudicial  or  hurtful  to  the  Mayor,  Sheriffs,  Citizens,  or  Common- 
alty of  the  City  of  London,  or  any  of  them,  or  the  successors  or  any 
of  them,  or  of  any  Entries,  Liberties,  Privileges,  Franchises,  or  other 
Thing  to  them  or  any  of  them  given,  or  granted  by  the  King's  most 
noble  Progenitors  or  Predecessors,  Kings  of  this  Realm,  or  by 
authority  of  Parliament,  or  otherwise  j  this  present  Act  or  any  Thing 
therein  contained  notwithstanding." 

This  and  a  similar  one  passed  in  1523  are  the  only  Acts  which 
we  find  in  the  English  Statute  Book  relating  to  this  fraternity. 

1505.  A  conflict  now  arose — it  had  been  smouldering  for 
some  time — between  the  English  Company  of  Merchant 
Adventurers  and  the  League.  The  Easterlings  had  been 
entering  upon  the  trade  of  woollen  cloths  with  the  Nether- 
lands. King  Henry  VII.  had  reserved  this  branch  of  trade 
to  the  first-named  company,  and  he  not  only  strictly  pro- 
hibited the  merchants  of  the  Steelyard  from  entering,  or 
rather  from  continuing  it,  but  he  obliged  the  Aldermen  of  the 
Steelyard  to  enter  a  recognisance  of  2,000  merks  that  the 
Steelyard  merchants  should  not  carry  any  English  cloth  to 
the  place  of  residence  of  the  Merchant  Adventurers  in  the  Low 
Countries.  This  remedy  was  only  effective  for  a  short  time. 

1510.  Ships  from  all  parts  of  Europe  were  now  trading  in 
the  Baltic  ;  and  the  city  of  Lubeck  having  imprudently 
attacked  the  King  of  Denmark,  and  burned  several  places 
on  the  coast,  that  monarch  pressed  into  his  service  the  ships 

I 


1]4    TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

of  England,  Scotland,  and  France.  Sweden  joined  the  Han- 
seatics  ;  and  Denmark  hired  at  a  high  charge  further  aid  by 
ships  from  the  three  countries  that  had  espoused  her  cause, 
and  thereby  obtained  a  larger  fleet  than  her  opponents.  The 
port  of  Lubeck,  with  all  the  ships  in  it,  was  burned ;  as  was 
likewise  that  of  Wismar,  together  with  the  suburbs  of  the 
town.  Warnemunde  was  destroyed,  and  the  suburbs  of 
Travemunde,  together  with  many  villages  belonging  to  Stral- 
sund  and  Rostock. 

These  events  constituted  another  serious  blow  to  the 
League  ;  and  others  were  soon  to  follow.  It  appears  from 
De  Witt's  "  True  Interest  of  Holland,"  that  that  nation  aided 
Denmark  in  this  warfare — eight  of  her  ships  having  been 
previously  taken  by  the  Lubeckers — and  that  this  war  cost 
the  province  of  Holland  no  less  than  fifty  ships.  The  cir- 
cumstances are  set  forth  in  considerable  detail  in  Macpherson's 
"Annals  of  Commerce  "  (ii.,  p.  38). 

The  rapid  rise  in  commercial  importance  of  Copenhagen 
was  regarded  as  another  blow  to  the  League,  although  it  was 
really  brought  about  very  much  by  the  policy  of  the  League 
itself.  The  Hanse  Towns  had  long  oppressed  the  Danish 
merchants  who  came  into  their  ports  with  goods :  they  fixed 
an  arbitrary  price  on  their  merchandise,  and  refused  to  the 
Danes  the  right  of  carrying  away  what  they  could  not  sell  to 
advantage.  The  only  remedy,  therefore,  was  to  warehouse 
their  goods  with  some  person  in  the  town  till  circumstances 
might  become  more  favourable.  To  revenge  as  well  as  remedy 
this,  it  was  ordered  by  the  King  of  Denmark  that  all  such 
merchandise  should  in  future  be  exposed  for  sale  only  at 
Copenhagen,  to  which  place  he  invited  foreign  merchants  ;  so 
that  it  became  an  emporium  for  all  Danish  merchandise, 
to  the  great  detriment  of  all  the  Hanse  towns  in  the  Baltic. — 
Oddy,  p.  24. 

1516.  This  year  terminated  a  six  years'  war  between  Den-. 
mark  and  the  merchants  of  Lubeck,  which  affected  the  com- 
merce of   one  section  of   the  Hanse  Towns  seriously  ;    for 
during  this  period  the  city  of  Hamburg  carried  on  all  the 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.    115 

trade  with  Denmark  and  Norway,  to  the  exclusion  of  Lubeck 
and  the  other  Vandalic  cities  which  had  joined  her.  Here, 
then,  we  see  divided  interests  cropping  up  in  the  several  sec- 
tions of  which  the  League  was  composed.  Hamburg's  trade 
with  the  Netherlands,  and  with  England,  vastly  increased 
during  this  period. 

1518.  At  this  date  fourteen  of  the  Hanse  Towns  were  cut 
off  from  the  League  or  general  confederacy ;  which  they  were, 
or  what  was  the  precise  cause,  we  are  not  informed.     We  do, 
however,  know  that  the  League  still  consisted  of  sixty-six 
cities   in    confederation,   viz.,   six   Vandalic    cities,   eight   of 
Pomerania,  six  of  Prussia,  three  of  Livonia,  thirteen  Saxon 
cities,  ten  of  Westphalia,  seven  of  Cleves  or  Marck,  three  of 
Overyssel,   seven   of  Guelderland,    and    three   of  Friesland. 
This  number,  with  the  fourteen  which  had  been  cut  off,  make 
a  total  of  eighty.     Over  a  period  of  many  centuries,  with  new 
political   and    mercantile   combinations,   there   must   almost 
necessarily  have  been  many  changes. 

Another  significant  fact  which  transpired  at  this  period  was 
that  in  the  Commercial  Treaties  which  England  had  made 
with  other  Powers,  and  with  France  especially,  had  been 
generally  comprehended  the  community  and  society  of  the 
"  Teutonic  Hanse,"  and  this  had  been  so  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent  for  a  century  past.  In  a  treaty  made  this  year  with 
France  against  piracy  this  association  was  expressly  compre- 
hended. This  could  not  in  any  way  mean  the  Hanseatic 
League  ? 

1519.  King  Henry  VIII.  of  England  issued  a  commission 
for  a  congress  at  Bruges  to  treat  with  Commissioners  from 
the  Hanse  Towns,  concerning  the  abuses,  unjust  uses,  exten- 
sions, enlargements,  interpretations  and  restrictions  made  by 
the  Hanseatic  merchants,  concerning  the  several  privileges  at 
any  time  granted  to  the  Hanseatic  League  by  the  King  or 
his  predecessors,  and  to  remove  all  the  said  abuses  ;  also  to 
demand  and  receive  whatever  sums  of  money,  and  how  large 
soever  they  may  be  due  to  him  on  that  account.     And  finally 
to  renew  and  conclude  an  intercourse  of  commerce  between 


116    TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

England  and  the  said  Hanse  League.  The  issue  of  this 
Congress  does  not  appear  ;  and  it  is  more  than  probable  that 
nothing  was  done. 

1 522.  We  are  told  by  Oddy  ("  European  Commerce  ")  that  the 
League  was  about  this  date  so  much  engaged  in  quarrels  with 
various  powers  that  the  danger  of  membership  became  nearly 
a  counterpoise  to  the  protection  it  afforded.  On  the  other 
hand  the  League  received  considerable  advantage  from  a 
quarrel  which  broke  out  between  Denmark  and  Sweden,  when 
Lubeck  and  Dantzic  lent  to  Gustavus  Vasa  nine  ships  of 
war,  which  turned  the  fortune  of  the  day  ;  so  that  the  Hanse 
Towns  received  in  recompense  great  privileges  from  the 
Swedish  monarch,  as  being  allowed  the  sole  trade  of  Sweden, 
and  to  pay  no  custom  there  for  merchandise  imported,  &c. 

1525.  So  rapidly  does  the  kaleidoscope  of  history  change 
that  we  find  recorded  by  Macpherson  the  occurrence  of  three 
important  incidents  this  year  : 

1.  The  Hanse  Towns  were  still  so  powerful  that  Frederick 
I.,  King  of  Denmark,  was  induced  to   desire  a  union  with 
them,  being  herein  seconded  by  the  Great  Master  of  Prussia. 

2.  Even  the  Lubeckers  alone   fancied  themselves   so   far 
masters  of  the  northern  kingdoms,  that  they  had  already  sold 
Denmark  to  Henry  VIII.,  King  of  England,  who  had  actually 
advanced  to  them  20,000  crowns  on  this  account ;  but  wisely 
put  off  payment  of  the  remainder  till  they  should  fulfil  their 
engagement.     [This  upon  the  authority  of  Puffendorf  s  "  His- 
tory of  Sweden."] 

3.  King  Gustavus  Erickson,  of  Sweden,  about  this  time 
agreed  with  Frederick  I.,  of  Denmark,  to  refer  their  differences 
about  the  Island  of  Gothland  and  the  Province  of  Blekinga, 
&c.,    to   the   six     following    Hanse    Towns,    viz.,     Lubeck, 
Hamburg,    Dantzic,    Rostock,    Wismar,    and    Lunenburg ; 
between  which  towns  and  those  two  kings  an  alliance  was 
made  against  the  expelled  King  Christian  II.,  who  claimed 
all  the  northern  crowns  ;  by  which  alliance  a  final  period  was 
put  to  the  union  of  these  three  kingdoms,  which  the  Swedes 
alleged  had  ever  been  prejudicial  to  them,  but  beneficial  to 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.     117 

the  Danes,  who,  whilst  they  commanded  in  Sweden,  lived  like 
opulent  lords,  whereas  the  native  Swedes  were  slaves  and 
beggars.  ("Annals  of  Commerce,"  ii.,  p.  64.) 

1535.  England  again  favoured  the  League  with  her  coun- 
tenance, although  it  was  only  in  the  way  of  retaining  its 
services.  Relying  on  its  former  renown,  probably,  Henry 
VIII.  offered  100,000  crowns  for  the  aid  of  the  League  in 
placing  a  king  of  his  liking  on  the  throne  of  Denmark.  The 
merchants  undertook  this  political  speculation  ;  but  Gustavus 
of  Sweden,  to  whom  the  Towns  had  been  insolent  since  the 
time  they  had  assisted  him,  joined  the  Danes  ;  the  Hanseatics 
were  defeated  in  an  engagement  at  sea,  and  lost  a  vast 
number  of  their  ships,  thereby  hastening  the  decline  of  the 
League. 

DECLINE  OF   PRIVILEGES    AND    POWER. 

1552.  We  now  arrive  at  another  important  stage  in  the  history 
of  the  League.  To  make  events  clear  we  had  better  fall  back 
upon  the  summary  given  by  Macpherson  at  this  juncture : 

"  The  time  was  now  at  length  come  when  the  eyes  of  the  English 
were  to  be  opened  to  discern  the  immense  damage  sustained  by 
suffering  the  German  merchants  of  the  Hanse  or  College  in  London, 
called  the  Steelyard,  so  long  to  enjoy  advantages  in  the  Duty  or 
Custom  of  exported  English  cloths,  far  beyond  what  the  native 
English  enjoyed,  which  superior  advantage  enjoyed  by  those 
foreigners  began  about  this  time  to  be  more  evidently  seen  and 
felt,  as  the  foreign  commerce  of  England  became  more  diffused. 

"  The  Cities  of  Antwerp  and  Hamburg  possessed  at  this  time  the 
principal  commerce  of  the  northern  and  middle  parts  of  Europe ; 
and  their  factors  of  the  Steelyard  usually  stt  what  prices  they  pleased 
both  on  their  imports  and  exports  ;  and  having  the  command  of  all  the 
markets  in  England,  with  joint  or  united  stocks  they  broke  all  other 
merchants.  Upon  these  considerations,  the  English  Company  of 
Merchants  Adventurers  made  pressing  remonstrances  to  the  Privy 
Council.  These  Hanseatics  were  moreover  accused  (and  particularly 
the  Dantzicers)  of  defrauding  the  Customs  by  colouring  (i.e.,  taking 
under  their  own  names,  as  they  paid  little  or  no  Custom)  great 
quantities  of  the  merchandise  of  other  Foreigners  not  entitled  to 


118    TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

their  immunities.  They  were  also  accused  of  having  frequently 
exceeded  the  bounds  of  even  the  great  privileges  granted  to  them  ; 
yet  by  the  force  of  great  presents,  they  had  purchased  new  grants. 
They  traded  in  a  body,  and  thereby  undersold  and  ruined  others. 
And  having  for  the  last  45  years  had  the  sole  command  of  our 
commerce,  they  had  reduced  the  price  of  English  wool  to  is.  6d.  per  stone. 
.  .  .  In  the  preceding  year  they  had  exported  no  fewer  than 
44,000  woollen  cloths  of  all  sorts,  whilst  all  the  English  merchants 
together  had  in  the  same  exported  but  1,100  cloths.  The  Steelyard 
merchants  were  also  exempted  from  aliens'  duties,  and  yet  all  their 
exports  and  imports  were  made  in  foreign  bottoms ; — a  very  consider- 
able loss  to  the  nation." 

Upon  mature  consideration  of  these,  and  such  like  reasons 
and  arguments,  as  well  as  of  the  answer  thereto  by  the 
Steelyard  or  Hanseatic  Merchants  ;  and  of  Records,  Charters, 
Treaties,  Depositions  of  Witnesses,  and  other  proofs,  it  was 
made  apparent  to  the  King's  [Edward  VI.]  Privy  Council : 

1.  That    all   the   liberties   and  privileges   claimed  by,   or 
pretended  to   be   granted  to  the  merchants  of  the   Hanse, 
are  void  by  the  laws  of  this  Realm,  forasmuch  as  they  have  no 
sufficient  corporation  to  receive  the  same. 

2.  That  such  grants  and  privileges  claimed  by  them  do 
not  extend  to  any  persons  or  Towns  certain,  and  therefore  it 
is  uncertain  what  persons  or  what  Towns   should  or  ought 
to  enjoy  the  said  privileges,  by  reason  of  which  uncertainty 
they  admit  to  their  freedom  and  immunities  as  many  as  they 
list  to  the  great  prejudice   of  the  King's  customs  and   the 
common  hurt  of  the  Realm. 

3.  That  supposing  the  pretended  grants  were  good  in  law, 
as  indeed  they  were  not,  yet  the  same  were  made  on  con- 
dition that  they  should  not  colour  any  other  foreigners'  mer- 
chandize, as  by  sufficient  proofs  it  appears  they  have  done. 

4.  That  above  one  hundred  years  after  the  pretended  privi- 
leges granted  to  them  they  used  to  transport  no  merchandise 
out  of  this  realm,  but  only  to  their  own  countries  ;  neither  did 
they  import  any  merchandise  but  from  their  own  countries  : 
whereas  at  present  they  not  only  convey  English  merchandise 


OUTLINE  HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.     119 

into  the  Netherlands,  and  there  sell  them  to  the  great  damage 
of  the  King's  own  subjects,  but  they  all  import  merchandise 
of  all  foreign  countries,  contrary  to  the  true  intent  and  mean- 
ing of  their  privileges. 

5.  That  in  the  time  of  King  Edward  IV.  they  had  forfeited 
their  pretended  privileges  by  means  of  war  between  the  realm 
and  them  (i.e.  the  Hanse  Towns),  whereupon  treaty  was  made 
[see  1475]  stipulating  that  our  English  subjects  should  enjoy 
the  like  privileges  in  Prussia,  and  other  Hanseatic  ports,  and 
that  no  new  exactions  should  be  laid  upon  their  persons  or 
goods.  Which  treaty  has  been  much  broken  in  several  parts, 
and  especially  at  Dantzic,  where  no  redress  could  ever  bs 
obtained  either  by  the  requests  of  the  King's  father  or  him- 
self, for  the  said  wrongs. 

In  consideration  of  all  which,  the  council  decreed  that  the 
privileges,  liberties  and  franchises  claimed  by  the  said  merchants 
of  the  Steelyard  shall  from  henceforth  be  and  remain  seised 
and  resumed  into  the  King's  grace's  hands  until  the  said 
merchants  of  the  Steelyard  shall  declare  and  prove  better  and 
more  sufficient  matter  for  their  claim  in  the  premises  ;  saving, 
however,  to  the  said  merchants  all  such  liberty  of  coming  into 
this  realm  and  trafficking,  in  as  ample  manner  as  any  other 
merchant  strangers  have  within  the  same. 

It  appears  that  this  decision  was  immediately  followed  by 
the  imposition  of  a  heavy  duty  upon  the  merchandise  imported 
and  exported  by  the  League — 20  per  cent,  instead  of  I  per 
cent.,  their  ancient  duty  since  Henry  III.  We  find  no  trace 
of  it ;  but  it  may  have  been  effected  by  proclamation.  It  is 
certain  that  the  Regent  of  Flanders,  as  also  the  City  of  Ham- 
burg, made  representations  in  view  of  having  the  privileges  of 
the  Steelyard  merchants  reinstated,  but  without  effect. 

1553.  Misfortunes  rarely  come  singly,  and  so  we  must  be 
prepared  to  find  that  events  were  transpiring  in  other 
directions  similar  to  those  last  recorded — the  incidents  of 
diplomacy  frequently  react  upon  each  other,  and  it  may  have 
been  so  in  this  case.  We  learn  from  Wardenhagen  that  there 
was  at  this  date  trouble  at  two  other  comptoirs  of  the  League 


120   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

— viz.,  at  Novgorod,  which  "by  reason  of  the  Czar's  arbitrary 
and  tyrannical  proceedings  (who  without  any  just  grounds, 
assumed  a  power  to  imprison  the  German  merchants,  and  to 
seize  on  their  effects)  was  now  quite  abandoned  ; "  and  at 
Bergen — where  the  marks  of  the  once  important  commerce  of 
the  League  are  more  clearly  seen  than  elsewhere — which  had 
also  become  deserted  by  the  Hanseatics  by  reason  of  the  like 
arbitrary  proceedings  of  the  King  of  Denmark.  The  remain- 
ing comptoir  had  originally  been  at  Bruges,  but  by  reason  of 
the  decay  of  that  once  most  opulent  city,  it  had  been  first 
removed  to  Dort,  and  afterwards  to  Antwerp,  where  it  con- 
tinued to  prosper  for  a  considerable  time  hereafter. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  real  decline  of  the  power  of 
the  League  is  to  be  traced  to  the  fact  of  its  having  become 
political  and  warlike  instead  of  remaining  commercial  and 
peaceful ;  for  if  the  latter  policy  had  been  pursued  it  might, 
and  probably  would,  have  rivalled  and  distanced  all  other 
trading  enterprises  of  early  date.  Mr.  Oddy's  summing  up 
on  this  point  is  instructive : 

The  Hanseatic  Towns  had,  in  those  days,  when  they  under- 
stood the  nature  and  importance  of  commerce  better  than  other 
nations,  obtained  from  their  merchants  privileges  that  in  times 
when  those  latter  grew  more  enlightened,  became  burdensome 
and  obnoxious  ;  but  the  members  of  the  League,  by  a  fatality 
(if  it  may  be  so  called),  or  at  least  by  a  conduct  which  is  very 
common  to  nations  and  States  in  the  time  of  prosperity,  never 
took  into  account  the  changes  that  time  and  circumstances 
had  brought  about ;  they  never  considered  that  the  time  was 
past  when  they  could  either  deceive,  cajole,  or  coerce  other 
Powers,  and  that  therefore  they  must  depend  on  prudent 
management  for  the  preservation  of  those  advantages  they 
had  obtained  under  more  favourable  circumstances. 

The  sort  of  treatment  political  resentment  brought  upon 
the  League  is  very  well  shown  in  the  following  case.  The 
ancient  toll  for  passing  the  Sound  had  only  been  a  golden 
rose-noble  on  every  sail,  which  was  always  understood  to  be 
meant  on  every  ship  [the  only  reasonable  construction] ;  but 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.     121 

the  Court  of  Denmark  had  for  some  time  past  put  a  new  and 
arbitrary  construction  on  the  word  sail,  by  obliging  all  ships 
to  pay  a  rose-noble  for  every  sail  in  or  belonging  to  each 
ship.  Moreover,  not  content  with  this  imposition,  the  same 
Government  proceeded  to  lay  a  duty  on  the  grain  and  other 
merchandise  per  last  or  ton,  distinct  from  that  on  sails  ; 
which  burdens  obliged  the  Vandalic  Hanse  Towns  to 
relinquish  the  Norway  trade.  And  as  they  had  vast  dealings 
in  transporting  the  grain  of  Poland  and  Livonia  to  other 
parts  of  Europe,  these  high  tolls  so  discouraged  them  that 
they  gradually  left  off  that  commerce,  to  which  the 
Hollanders  succeeded,  and  conducted  with  great  advantage. 
As  we  have  said,  this  is  but  one  instance  of  a  class. 

1554.  The  English  Mary  having  in  the  previous  year 
married  Philip,  son  of  the  Emperor,  the  prospects  of  the 
Hanseatics  began,  at  least  for  the  moment,  to  revive  in 
England.  Her  first  act  in  their  behalf  was  to  suspend  the 
operation  of  the  regulations  imposing  the  higher  duty  upon 
their  imports  and  exports  for  a  period  of  three  years.  This 
led  the  ambassadors  of  the  Free  Cities  of  the  League  to  point 
out  that,  by  an  act  of  the  first  year  of  her  reign  (1553)  imposing 
certain  customs  or  subsidies,  called  Tonnage  and  Poundage,  they 
were  more  burdened  than  heretofore,  "  contrary  to  the  effect 
of  such  charters  and  privileges  as  by  sundry  of  her  prede- 
cessors, Kings  of  England,  had  heretofore  been  granted  to 
them."  And  the  Queen  being  informed  that  the  said  declara- 
tion or  complaint  contained  truth,  and  she  being  also  desirous 
to  observe  and  continue  in  equitable  and  reasonable  sort  the 
antient  amity  and  intercourse  which  had  been  betwixt  her 
dominions  and  the  free  cities  of  the  Hanse  Towns,  commanded 
her  Treasurers  and  Barons  of  the  Exchequer,  her  Customers, 
Comptrollers,  Searchers,  &c.,  in  London  and  other  ports, 
freely  to  permit  the  said  merchants  of  the  Steelyard  to 
import  and  export  all  merchandise  not  prohibited,  without 
requiring  any  greater  subsidy  or  custom  than  in  the  time  of 
her  father  or  brother.  She  also  granted  them  a  licence  to 
export  woollen  cloths  made  in  England,  of  the  value  of  £6 


122   TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

sterling,  or  under,  unrowed,  unbarbed,  and  unshorn,  without 
any  penalty  or  forfeiture  on  account  of  certain  Statutes  of  the 
2/th  and  33rd  years  of  King  Henry  VIIL,  prohibiting  the 
said  exportation  ;  the  merchants  of  the  Steelyard  represent- 
ing to  the  Queen  that  the  price  of  cloths  was  now  so  enhanced 
that  they  could  send  over  none  at  all  without  incurring  the 
penalties  of  those  Acts. 

The  last  portion  of  this  record  is  not  by  any  means  so  clear 
as  it  might  be,  but  we  have  preferred  to  follow  our  authority 
("  Fcedera,"  xv.,  p.  364).  The  most  remarkable  portion,  how- 
ever, of  the  history  in  this  reign  remains  yet  to  be  told.  The 
Queen  afterwards  revoked  the  said  privileges,  for  that  the 
Hanses  had  broken  promises  with  her,  in  continuing  an 
unlawful  trade  in  the  Low  Countries,  whereby  she  lost  in 
eleven  months,  in  her  customs,  more  than  ^9,660,  besides 
great  damage  to  her  subjects  in  their  trade. —  Vide  Wheeler's 
"  Treaties  of  Commerce,"  p.  100. 

1558.  Queen  Elizabeth  ascended  the  English  throne.  She 
and  her  advisers  speedily  found  themselves  involved  in  mis- 
understandings with  the  League  ;  and  it  seems  quite  probable, 
from  the  recent  course  of  events,  that  some  so-called  religious 
feeling  was  becoming  introduced  into  the  constantly  recurring 
disputes.  We  shall,  however,  confine  ourselves  entirely  to 
the  commercial  and  political  aspects,  under  their  appropriate 
dates  (see  1568  and  1578). 

1568.  We  obtain  in  the  following  passage  from  Macpherson 
a  more  clear  view  of  the  causes  of  the  disputes  in  this  reign 
with  the  League  than  we  have  elsewhere  seen : 

"  As  England  produced  no  military  stores,  Queen  Elizabeth  was 
obliged  to  buy  all  her  gunpowder  and  naval  stores  from  the  German 
Steelyard  merchants,  at  their  own  prices,  there  being  as  yet  but  few 
English  merchants  dealing  in  that  way,  and  this  was  one  of  her 
greatest  inducements  to  encourage  commercial  companies,  whereby 
her  own  Merchants  of  Russia,  and  of  the  two  Elder  Companies  of 
the  Staple,  and  the  Merchant  Adventurers,  were  considerably 
increasing  in  trade — the  former  in  the  exportation  of  wool  (not  as 
yet  legally  prohibited) ;  and  the  latter,  of  cloth,  both  to  the  great 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF  THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.     123 

advantage  of  the  revenue.  This  made  the  Hanseatics  labour  to 
render  these  companies  obnoxious  to  other  nations  by  various 
calumnies ;  yet,  in  spite  of  their  malice,  an  universal  spirit  of  adven- 
turing in  foreign  parts  for  discovery  and  traffic,  as  well  as  for 
improving  manufactures  at  home,  daily  increased  in  England, 
whereby  they  soon  became  an  overmatch  in  naval  strength,  commerce, 
and  riches,  for  the  declining  Hanseatics,  whose  threatenings, 
therefore,  the  Queen  disregarded ;  and  Werdenhagen,  their  historian, 
a  few  years  after  this,  acknowledges,  that  the  English,  in  all  those 
respects,  as  also  in  the  bravery  of  their  commanders  and  sailors, 
excelled  the  Hanse  Towns ;  and  Hamburg,  though  a  potent  Hanse 
Town,  which  had  formerly  rejected  the  English  merchants,  now 
began  to  court  their  residence,  in  consequence  of  which,  they  [the 
English  merchants]  removed  from  Emden  to  Hamburg,  whence  they 
soon  extended  their  commerce  into  Saxony,  Prussia,  and  Russia, 
which  gave  great  umbrage  to  the  Danes." — "  Annals  of  Commerce," 
ii.,  p.  150  (see  1578). 

1572.  The  League  was  again  in  dispute.  This  time  it 
arose  out  of  a  peace  concluded  between  the  city  of  Lubeck 
and  King  John  of  Sweden,  after  a  war  of  eight  years ;  one 
of  the  articles  of  which  was,  that  the  Lubeckers  might  freely 
trade  with  Livonian  Narva,  then  in  the  hands  of  Russia. 
This  the  Swedish  monarch  afterwards  disregarded,  he  being 
himself  at  war  with  Russia.  A  Grand  Assembly  of  the 
Deputies  of  the  Hanse  Towns  was  hereupon  convened  ;  but  it 
does  not  appear  that  any  effectual  measures  were  devised  or 
applied.  This  indicates  the  declining  power  of  the  League. 

1578.  It  had  been  the  manifest  policy  of  the  Queen  to 
keep  the  Hanseatics  in  suspense  regarding  the  renewal  of 
their  privileges,  until  her  own  subjects  had  felt  their  way  in 
respect  to  the  increase  of  their  foreign  trade  and  shipping — 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  the  progress  in  these  respects  was  most 
satisfactory.  The  League,  finding  it  could  not  shake  her 
firmness,  applied  to  the  Emperor  Rodolph  II.,  as  their 
sovereign,  urging  the  necessity  of  compelling  her  to  reinstate 
them  in  their  immunities,  and  particularly  that  of  paying 
only  the  ancient  custom  of  I  per  cent.  The  Queen  replied 
to  that  Emperor's  remonstrances,  that  she  had  done  the 


124  TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

Hanseatics  no  kind  of  wrong,  having  treated  them  on  the 
same  footing  in  which  she  had  found  them  at  her  accession 
to  the  crown  ;  it  was  her  sister  who  had  abolished  the  old 
duty,  and  laid  on  that  now  subsisting. 

This  answer  was  deemed  to  be  far  from  satisfactory,  and 
led  to  retaliatory  measures  on  each  side.  The  Hanseatics 
growing  louder  in  their  complaints  all  over  Germany,  they  at 
length  issued  a  prohibition  of  the  English  merchants  to  reside 
any  longer  in  Hamburg  ;  whereupon  the  Queen  published 
a  declaration,  annulling  all  the  ancient  immunities  of  the 
League  in  England,  and  only  allowing  them  the  same 
commercial  privileges  that  other  foreigners  enjoyed.  Soon 
after,  she  prohibited  all  foreigners,  and  particularly  the  Hanse 
or  Steelyard  merchants  by  name,  from  exporting  English 
wool.  This  prohibition  was  said  to  be  greatly  owing  to  the 
industrious  Protestant  Netherlanders,  lately  driven  out  by  the 
Spanish  governors,  and  settled  in  England,  having  advised 
the  prohibition  of  unmanufactured  wool.  It  was  a  great 
blow  to  the  Hanseatics. 

1579.  A  general  assembly  of  the  Hanse  delegates  assembled 
at  Lunenburg  this  year,  laid  a  duty  of  7f  per  cent,  on  all 
goods  imported  into  their  territories  by  Englishmen,  or 
exported  by  them  ;  whereupon  Queen  Elizabeth  laid  a  like 
duty  of  7f  per  cent,  on  all  merchandise  imported  or  exported 
by  the  German  Steelyard  merchants.  Thus  matters  became 
more  and  more  embroiled  between  England  and  the  German 
Hanse  Towns,  "  the  magnanimous  Queen  (says  Macpherson) 
being  firmly  determined  never  to  yield  to  their  unreasonable 
demands." 

1587.  About  this  time  the  Queen  granted  to  the  Steelyard 
merchants  the  same  commercial  privileges  and  immunities,  in 
point  of  customs  on  commerce,  as  were  enjoyed  by  her  own 
natural-born  subjects ;  provided,  however,  that  her  English 
merchants  at  Hamburg  were  equally  well  treated,  which  yet 
did  not  give  them  entire  content.  In  the  meantime,  the 
Queen  being  at  war  with  Spain,  gave  the  Hanse  Towns  due 
notice  not  to  carry  into  Spain,  Portugal,  nor  Italy,  provisions, 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.      125 

naval  stores,  or  implements  of  war,  for  the  King  of  Spain's  use, 
under  forfeiture  thereof,  and  even  of  corporal  punishment. 

1589.  The  final  breach  between  Elizabeth  and  the  Hanse 
Towns  arose  out  of  the  events  of  this  year,  in  the  following 
shape.  The  Queen  determined  to  avenge  the  Armada  of 
last  year  by  a  return  cruise  of  private  adventurers,  led  and 
protected  by  six  vessels  of  the  Royal  Navy,  and  some  Dutch 
ships.  The  number  of  ships  so  collected  is  stated  to  have 
been  146.  In  the  Tagus,  this  expedition  took  some  60  hulks 
(or  Fly-boats)  of  the  German  Hanse  Towns,  laden  with  wheat 
and  warlike  stores,  to  furnish  the  new  armada  against 
England.  The  cargoes  were  retained,  but  the  ships  were 
released.  These  ships  had  sailed  from  their  ports  by  way  of 
the  North  Sea,  and  the  West  Coast  of  Ireland,  and  so  had 
escaped  observation,  and  earlier  capture.  The  Queen  having 
forewarned  the  Hanse  Towns  in  1587  (as  we  have  seen)  against 
sending  any  such  stores,  the  capture  was  quite  legal,  but 
it  involved  several  years  of  correspondence  and  remonstrance 
from  some  of  the  Towns  of  the  Empire,  and  of  Poland  and 
Dantzic— they  being  deeply  interested  in  this  seizure.  In 
the  end  it  led  to  a  final  breach  between  England  and  the 
Hanse  Towns,  as  will  be  seen. 

1591.  An  assemblage  of  some  of  the  principal  mem- 
bers of  the  League  took  place  at  Lubeck  this  year.  Its 
immediate  object  was  to  remonstrate  with  Elizabeth  for  the 
course  she  had  taken.  They  embodied  a  style  of  indigna- 
tion, reproach  and  menace,  in  their  communications  to  which 
the  Queen  answered  :  that  she  was  willing  to  attribute  their 
want  of  respect  to  their  amanuensis  or  secretary,  but  that  she 
set  no  sort  of  value  upon  their  hostile  intentions.  The 
Hanseatics  then  set  to  work  in  another  manner,  not  indeed 
new  to  them,  by  depreciating  the  company  of  English 
Merchant  Adventurers.  Such  an  attempt  being  made  at  Elbing, 
the  Elbingers  wrote  a  respectful  letter  to  the  Queen  inform- 
ing her  of  what  had  occurred,  and  of  their  intention  to  abide 
by  the  decision  of  the  King  and  Diet  of  Poland  ;  but  in 
the  meantime  they  would,  under  Her  Majesty's  protection 


1 26  TRANSACTIONS   OF  THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

and  authority,  go  on  as  their  inclination  led  them  in  favour 
of  her  merchants.  And  King  Sigismund  of  Poland,  in  a 
respectful  letter  to  the  Queen,  also  declared  his  approbation 
of  the  English  Merchant  Adventurers  residing  at  Elbing,  or 
anywhere  in  Poland. 

This  year,  too,  there  was  compiled  a  code  of  laws  for  the 
regulation  of  the  maritime  affairs  of  the  League.  The 
deputies  called  to  their  aid  representatives  from  the  free  and 
maritime  towns  of  the  German  Empire,  whether  in  the  Confe- 
deration or  not.  The  League  had  first  used  the  Laws  of  Oleron, 
and  afterwards  those  of  Wisby.  It  now  found  a  code  adapted 
to  its  own  circumstances  desirable.  It  is  a  remarkable  feature 
of  this  Code  that  it  makes  no  reference  whatever  to  marine 
insurance,  other  than  in  its  old  form  of  Bottomry.  The  reason 
for  this  may  well  be,  that  the  maritime  operations  of  the  Con- 
federation were  so  large  that  the  League  undertook  its  own 
maritime  risks,  like  some  of  the  great  steam  shipping  com- 
panies of  the  present  day.  Mr.  Reddie  thinks  it  possible  that 
"  its  influential  leaders  may  have  seen  in  the  transactions  of 
insurance  only  a  great  innovation,  of  which  the  advantages 
were  still  not  sufficiently  developed  to  admit  of  any  attempt 
to  subject  them  to  positive  rules,  and  of  which  the  conditions 
behoved  in  each  case  to  be  regulated  by  special  contract." 

1594.  The  Emperor  Rodolph  II.  having  written  to  the 
Queen  in  the  preceding  year  respecting  the  grievances  of  the 
Hanse  Towns — therein  styled  the  "  Maritime  Cities  of  the 
Baltic  League  " — and  to  which  position  they  were  now  indeed 
fast  reverting,  Elizabeth  sent  a  special  envoy  to  the  Em- 
peror to  vindicate  her  conduct  in  the  matter.  He  explained 
that  the  ancient  privileges  which  the  League  formerly  had  in 
England,  because  of  their  abuse  of  them,  and  in  consideration 
that  they  were  incompatible  with  the  good  government  of  the 
realm,  had  been  abrogated  by  Edward  VI.,  yet  the  Queen 
had,  in  the  beginning  of  her  reign,  granted  them  to  trade  on 
the  same  terms  as  her  own  subjects,  and  so  on,  as  I  have 
already  set  forth.  He  urged  that  in  all  kingdoms  some  old 
usages  and  privileges  are  by  change  of  circumstances  taken 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.     127 

away,  particularly  for  the  abuse  of  them.     The  Hanses  had 
no  cause  to  complain  of  England,  but  of  themselves  ! 

1595.  This  year  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London  received  from 
the  Lords  of  the  Council  a  letter,  dated  5th  October,  directing 
him  to  appoint  some  of  the  Aldermen  of  the  City  to  consult 
with  the  Alderman  of  the  Steelyard  with  reference  to  the  saltpetre 
men  appointed  to  dig  and  make  saltpetre  in  their  house. 

The  Lord  Mayor  replied  on  the  following  day  that  certain 
Aldermen  and  others,  with  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Ordnance 
had  viewed  the  rooms  within  the  Steelyard,  where  the 
saltpetre  men  were  to  dig,  under  warrant  for  saltpetre,  and 
had  delivered  a  certificate  enclosed.  They  found  by  the  complaints 
of  the  citizens  that  the  said  saltpetre  men  entered  into  houses, 
shops,  and  warehouses  of  poor  artificers  within  the  city  to  dig  for 
saltpetre  to  the  great  hindrance  of  their  trade.  He,  therefore, 
requested  that  they  might  be  admonished  and  charged  to  use 
more  discretion  and  moderation  in  the  execution  of  their 
warrant.* — Remembrancia,  214—15  (see  again  1613). 

*  There  is  a  remarkable  history  concerning  this  question  of  saltpetre. 
Before  the  discover}'  and  importation  of  Indian  nitre,  saltpetre  was 
manufactured  from  earth  impregnated  with  animal  matter,  and  being 
the  chief  ingredient  of  gunpowder,  was  claimed  by  the  Government,  and 
in  most  countries  became  a  State  monopoly.  Patents  for  making  salt- 
petre were  specially  exempted  in  1624  from  the  statute  against  mono- 
polies (21  Jac.  I.  c.  iii.  s.  10),  and  the  saltpetre  man  was  empowered  to 
break  open  all  premises,  and  to  dig  up  the  floors  of  stables,  and  even 
dwelling-houses.  This  privilege  was  very  scrupulously  exercised,  an 
instance  of  which  may  be  seen  in  Archbishop  Laud's  "Diary"  (1624, 
Dec.  1 3th),  that  the  "Saltpetre  men  had  digged  in  the  Colledge  Church 
of  Brecknock  for  his  work  [material]  bearing  too  bold  upon  his  com- 
mission." Charles  I.,  in  1625,  and  again  in  1664,  commanded  by  Pro- 
clamation, that  no  dovehouse  or  stable  should  be  paved,  but  should  lie 
open  for  the  growth  of  saltpetre,  and  that  none  should  presume  to  hinder 
any  saltpetre  man  from  digging  where  he  thought  proper.  The  vexation 
and  oppression  of  the  King's  subjects  by  the  saltpetre  men  is  especially 
mentioned  in  the  famous  "  Remonstrance  of  the  State  of  the  Kingdom  " 
in  1641,  and  no  effectual  remedy  was  applied  until  1656,  when  it  was 
enacted  that  no  saltpetre  man  should  dig  within  any  houses  or  lands 
without  previously  obtaining  the  leave  of  the  owner.  This  vexatious 
prerogative  of  the  Crown  was  maintained  in  France  until  1778,  and  was 
not  abolished  in  Prussia  until  1798. — Waters's  Parish  'Registers,  p.  37. 


128  TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

EXPULSION    FROM    ENGLAND. 

1597.  The  merchants  of  the  League  still  pursued  their  later 
policy  of  opposing  the  operations  of  the  English  Merchant 
Adventurers  in  Germany,  in  the  belief  that  the  Queen  would 
gladly  restore  the  ancient  privileges  of  the  Hanse  merchants 
in  England,  in  order  to  protect  those  of  the  company  named. 
Herein  they  greatly  erred,  for  such  was  not  the  policy  of  the 
Crown.  The  Queen,  as  a  matter  of  decorum,  demanded  a 
revocation  of  the  Imperial  edict,  by  which  the  comptoir  of 
the  English  company  was  to  be  excluded  from  Staden,  and 
the  merchants  from  other  parts  of  Germany.  She  then,  with- 
out further  delay,  directed  a  Commission  to  the  Mayor  and 
Sheriffs  of  London  to  shut  up  the  house  inhabited  by  the 
merchants  of  the  Hanse  Towns  in  the  Steelyard,  London. 
And,  moreover,  ordered  all  the  Germans  there,  and  every- 
where else  throughout  England,  to  quit  her  dominions  on  the 
very  day  on  which  the  English  were  obliged  to  leave  Staden  ! 

1601.  At  the  beginning  of  this  century  the  merchants  of 
Hamburg  and  other  of  the  Hanse  Towns  made  regular 
annual  voyages  up  the  Mediterranean  as  far  as  Venice,  to 
their  great  profit.  But  Amsterdam  was  now  fast  absorbing 
this  trade,  and  finally  monopolized  it.  Formerly  the  League 
had  traded  to  Florence,  Genoa,  and  Messina  for  silk,  in  ex- 
change for  their  grain  ;  and  the  ships  of  Lubeck,  Wismar,  and 
Straelsund  then  also  used  to  frequent  the  ports  of  Spain,  till 
supplanted  therein  also  by  the  more  dexterous  Hollanders. 

Wheeler,  first  the  secretary,  then  the  advocate,  and  finally 
historian  of  the  English  Merchant  Adventurers'  Company— 
which  company  unquestionably  did  much  to  hasten  the  down- 
fall of  the  League — became,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  great 
antagonist  of  the  Hanseatics.  In  his  "Commerce,"  written 
this  year,  he  makes  no  attempt  to  conceal  his  pleasure  that 
the  power  and  strength  of  the  League  were  so  much  decayed 
that  the  State  need  not  greatly  fear  it.  For  the  causes  which 
made  the  Hanse  Towns  of  estimation  and  account  in  old 
times  were  (he  truly  says)  the  multitude  of  their  ships  and 
sea  trade,  whereby  they  stored  all  (European)  countries  with 


OUTLINE   HISTORY  OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.     129 

flax,  hemp,  linen,  iron,  copper,  grain,  and  naval  stores,  etc., 
and  served  princes  with  their  large  and  stout  ships  in  time  of 
war.  It  would  be  found  they  had  now  lost  these  advantages. 
If  her  majesty  should  forbid  all  trade  into  Spain,  as  other 
princes  had  done,  further  advantages  to  the  League  would  be 
lost ;  for  that  trade  was  now  its  chiefest  support.  "  Besides 
of  the  seventy-two  Confederate  Hanse  Towns  so  much  vaunted 
of,  what  remains  almost  but  the  report  ?  And  those  which 
remain,  and  appear  by  their  deputies  when  there  is  any 
assembly,  are  they  able,  but  with  much  ado,  to  bring  up  the 
charges  and  contributions,  &c.,  for  the  defence  and  main- 
tenance of  their  League,  privileges,  and  trade,  in  foreign 
parts  and  at  home  ?  Surely  no  !  for  most  of  their  teeth  are 
out,  and  the  rest  but  loose  ! "  etc. 

It  is  curious  to  note  the  influence  of  the  disruption  of  the 
League  upon  certain  cities  which  had  belonged  to  the  con- 
federation. Hamburg,  which  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the 
first  towns  which  took  any  steps  in  the  direction  of  the  for- 
mation of  the  League,  but  which  in  the  days  of  its  power 
appeared  to  be  treated  with  coolness — was  this  through  the 
jealousy  of  Lubeck  ? — Hamburg  now  rose  to  a  greater  point 
of  importance  than  it  had  ever  occupied  previously,  and  at  the 
close  of  this  century  was  ranked  next  to  London  and  Amster- 
dam. It  had  still  continued  to  increase.  Lubeck,  it  was 
evident,  owed  much  of  its  importance  to  the  influence  of  the 
League  ;  and  declined  rapidly  on  its  dissolution.  Bremen  the 
same.  Dantzic  became  rapidly  advanced  in  importance.  Many 
of  the  Baltic  cities  lost  their  importance  almost  entirely. 
Trade  now  followed,  in  fact,  its  natural  and  unrestricted 
channels.  First  England,  and  then  Holland,  gained  most  by 
the  change. 

ATTEMPTED   RESUSCITATION. 

1604.  An  Assembly  of  Hanseatic  Deputies  now  appointed 
a  solemn  Embassy  to  foreign  nations  for  the  renewal  of  their 
mercantile  privileges,  in  the  name  of  the  cities  of  Lubeck, 
Dantzic,  Cologne,  Hamburg,  and  Bremen.  They  first  ad- 
dressed the  English  monarch,  King  James,  who  because  they 

K 


130  TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

brought  no  letters  from  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  soon 
dismissed  them  with  the  following  answer  from  his  Privy 
Council : — That  as  their  privileges  were  heretofore  adjudged 
to  be  forfeited,  and  thereupon  resumed  by  the  King's  pre- 
decessors, in  respect  of  the  breach  of  conditions  on  their  part, 
so  it  can  no  way  stand  with  the  good  of  the  State  to  restore 
them  again  to  the  said  privileges."  And  with  this  answer  they 
departed,  nothing  contented. 

The  Hanseatics  went  thence  to  the  Court  of  France,  where 
they  met  with  abundance  of  good  words,  but  nothing  else  ;  and 
then  they  went  to  the  Court  of  Spain,  where,  probably  for  the 
Emperor's  sake,  they  had  some  success. — Macpherson,  ii.,p.24O. 
1612.  The  Baltic  Hanse  Towns  were  greatly  oppressed 
in  their  commerce  by  the  additional  dues  which  Denmark 
(again  at  war  with  Sweden)  had  imposed  upon  all  ships 
passing  the  Sound.  The  Lubeckers  made  a  league  with 
Holland  for  the  mutual  protection  of  their  commerce  and 
navigation — determining  to  send  an  armed  force  to  the 
Sound  for  that  end.  Other  of  the  Hanse  Towns  soon  came  in- 
to the  arrangement.  The  King  of  Denmark  now  claimed  that 
he  was  Lord  of  the  Baltic  Sea.  This  circumstance  (as  affect- 
ing the  growing  commerce  of  England)  probably  induced 
King  James  to  join  with  Holland  and  the  Hanse  Towns  in  a 
complaint ;  and  the  tolls  were  now  reduced  to  the  same  rate 
as  before  the  present  war.  It  certainly  was  a  remarkable  in- 
cident to  find  England  so  soon  operating  in  conjunction  with 
the  League  ;  but  as  we  have  before  remarked,  it  is  impossible 
to  predict  the  shape  or  direction  political  or  commercial 
interests  may  assume.  We  must  see  what  followed. 

1613.  In  order  to  guard  against  future  encroachments  by 
Denmark  the  Dutch  this  year  contracted  an  alliance  with  the 
Hanse  Towns  in  general — and  a  more  special  one  with 
Lubeck  two  years  later  (1615),  wherein  they  agreed  to  stand 
by  each  other  against  all  impositions.  Macpherson  remarks 
hereon : 

"  This  effort  of  the  declining  Hanse  Towns  to  draw  the  Dutch 
into  a  confederacy  with  them  for  the  freedom  of  commerce,  did,  by 


OUTLINE   HISTORY  OF  THE   HANSEATIC  LEAGUE.     131 

the  powerful  conjunction  of  England,  produce  the  desired  effect. 
Yet,  in  general,  it  was  unlikely  that  any  durable  confederacy  (and 
much  less  an  union,  as  some  then  proposed)  could  take  place 
between  the  Dutch  and  so  great  a  number  of  widely  dispersed  towns, 
with  interests  almost  as  different  as  their  situations ;  overawed,  too,  by 
the  greater  potentates  near  them,  since  they  have  become  so  strong 
in  shipping.  Such  an  union,  therefore,  could  not  be  advantageous 
to  the  Dutch,  whose  aim  always  was  to  gain  ground  everywhere  in 
commerce,  and  who  now  for  more  than  a  century  have  engrossed  the 
greatest  part  of  the  commerce  of  the  Baltic,  and  thereby  have 
rendered  most  of  the  Hanseatic  powers  on  that  sea  as  empty  of 
good  shipping  as  their  exchanges  are  now  of  rich  merchants." 

It  turned  out  in  truth  that  this  present  effort  was  but  a 
parting  flicker ;  for  Werdenhagen  records  that  "  about  this 
time  the  Swedes  treated  as  enemies  all  such  merchants  as  did 
not  take  out  licences  from  their  king  for  liberty  to  trade 
thither ;  so  that  the  Easterling  Hanse  Towns,  being  pressed 
with  difficulties  on  every  side,  were  obliged  to  relinquish  a  great 
part  of  their  ancient  commerce,  which  gradually  brought  on  their 
great  present  declension."  This  was  written  in  1630. 

The  saltpetre  question,  which  had  come  up  in  1595, 
was  again  brought  to  the  front  this  year  in  the  following 
manner.  The  Earl  of  Worcester  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
Lord  Mayor  (date  "  Sept.")  informing  him  that  the  King  had 
by  Letters  Patent  committed  to  his  charge  the  making  of 
Saltpetre  and  Gunpowder  for  the  use  of  his  majesty  within 
his  dominions,  with  power  to  appoint  deputies,  and  requiring 
the  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen  to  prevent  any  persons  digging 
for,  or  making,  Saltpetre  within  the  City  and  Liberties,  except 
John  Evelyn,  Esq.,  of  Godstone,  Surrey,  his  factor,  servants, 
etc.,  to  aid  him  in  the  performance  of  the  business,  and  in  the 
event  of  any  other  person  being  found  working  to  require  them 
to  cease,  taking  bond  from  them  either  to  do  so,  or  appear  before 
the  Privy  Council.*  This  was  evidently  a  curtailment  of  the 
privileges  of  the  League  in  England. 

*  A  licence  was  granted  to  the  Earl  of  Worcester  for  the  sole  making 
of  Saltpetre  and  Gunpowder  in  England  and  Ireland  for  twenty-one 


132  TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

1622.  The  progress  of  the  English  Russian,  the  East  India, 
and  the  Merchant  Adventurers'  Companies,  and  their  building 
"  many  stout  ships,"  had  further  interfered  with  the  commerce 
of  the  Hanse  Towns  ;  and  those  on  the  southern  shores  of 
the  Baltic  were  reported  as  greatly  decayed  at  this  date. 

1630.  This  year  Gustavus  Adolphus,  King  of  Sweden, 
having  entered  Germany  with  an  army,  occasioned  much 
damage  to  the  commerce  of  the  Hanse  Towns  by  the  devas- 
tations committed  by  his  troops.  In  that  King's  manifesto 
he  accuses  the  Imperialists  "  of  forbidding  his  merchants  all 
freedom  of  commerce  ;  seizing  on  their  merchandise,  and 
confiscating  their  ships,  under  the  pretence  of  establishing  a 
general  commerce  at  Lubeck  for  the  Hanse  Towns  ;  which, 
in  effect,  was  driving  the  Swedes  from  the  whole  commerce  of 
the  Baltic,  and  erecting  a  naval  force  at  the  expense  of  his 
merchants,  in  order  freely  to  ravage  and  pirate  in  that  sea  ; 
having  newly  created  an  unheard-of  dignity  of  a  General  of 
thq  Seas  for  that  purpose,  and  possessed  themselves  of  the 
forts  and  fortified  places  of  Mecklenburg  and  Pomerania  : 
fortifying  the  port  of  the  Free  Hanseatic  City  of  Straelsund 
for  a  receptacle  and  retreat  to  their  pirates."  This  was 
probably  an  overdrawn  view ;  but  it  at  least  goes  to  show  that 
the  Baltic  portion  of  the  League  was  "  dying  hard." 

THE  END. 

It  is  stated  that  in  consequence  of  this  manifesto,  a 
General  Diet  was  this  year  convened  at  Lubeck,  but  that 
none  of  the  cities  sent  their  representatives,  except  to  notify  the 
resolution  which  they  had  taken  to  abandon  it.  This  statement 

years,  revocable  at  pleasure,  dated  May  8,  1607.  An  Indenture  was 
signed  by  the  King  and  the  Earl  of  Worcester,  the  latter  agreeing  to 
deliver  eighty  lasts  of  gunpowder  per  annum  at  the  Tower  of  London,  at 
8d.  per  pound,  and  as  much  more  as  might  be  required  at  9d.,  dated 
May  8,  1607.  See  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  1603 — 10.  Another  grant 
was  made  to  the  Earl,  with  some  alterations  from  his  former  commission 
in  1616;  of  which  he  gave  notice  to  the  Lord  Mayor  in  a  letter  dated 
"Worcester  House,  June  13,  1617."  Remembrancia,  pp.  218,  219. 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF   THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.        133 

I  take  upon  the  authority  of  Mr.  Reddie  ("  Historical  View 
of  the  Law  of  Maritime  Commerce,  1841"),  who  does  not  give 
any  authority  for  it ;  but  his  name  will  be  deemed 
sufficient  by  all  who  know  his  works.  He  adds  : — 

This  dissolution  of  the  confederacy,  however,  proved  so  far 
beneficial  to  some  of  its  parts.  The  cities  of  Hamburg  and  Lubeck, 
in  particular,  gained  in  opulence  what  they  had  lost  in  power. 
Finding  themselves  no  longer  at  the  head  of  an  ambitious  League, 
which  had  enabled  them  to  exercise  a  kind  of  commercial  despotism 
over  their  neighbours,  they  adopted  milder  maxims  of  trade ;  and 
contenting  themselves  with  the  peaceful  interchange  of  commodities, 
preserved,  with  a  recent  temporary  interruption,  their  liberties  and 
political  independence. 

1647.  It  seems  probable  that  the  alliance  formed  between 
various  cities  of  the  League  and  Holland  in  1612,  continued 
all  through  the  long  and  sanguinary  wars  between  Austria  on 
the  one  side,  and  France  and  Sweden  on  the  other,  and  the 
less  tardy  warfare  between  the  United  Provinces  of  the 
Netherlands  on  the  one  side  and  Spain  on  the  other.  The 
famous  Treaty  of  Westphalia,  concluded  this  year,  terminated 
these  contentions,  and  pacified  for  the  moment  the  great 
potentates  of  Europe — England  (who  was  not  a  party  to  the 
treaty)  perhaps  alone  excepted.  It  was  stipulated  that  the 
Hanse  Towns  should  enjoy  all  the  same  rights,  privileges, 
etc.,  in  the  dominions  of  Spain,  which  by  this  treaty  were  or 
should  be  granted  to  the  subjects  of  the  States-General  ;  and 
reciprocally  the  subjects  of  the  States-General  were  to  enjoy 
the  same  privileges,  etc.,  in  Spain  as  the  Hanseatics  :  whether 
for  established  consultation  in  the  capital  forts  of  Spain,  or 
elsewhere,  as  should  be  needful,  or  for  the  freedom  of  their 
merchants,  factors,  etc.,  and  in  like  sort  as  the  Hanse  Towns 
had  formerly  enjoyed,  or  should  hereafter  obtain  for  the 
security  of  their  navigation  and  commerce!  Here  was  the 
only  spirit  still  retained.  It  was  battling  for  the  shadow 
only :  the  substance  was  already  gone  !  From  that  hour  I 
trace  no  more,  even  a  mention  of  the  League,  in  the  great 


134  TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

commercial  history  of  Europe.     It  had  played  its  part ;  it  was 
now  dead  ;  but  will  never  be  forgotten  ! 

I  confess  I  cannot  write  these  last  words  without  a  feel- 
ing of  sorrow,  of  real  regret,  at  the  mutability  of  worldly 
affairs,  as  evinced  in  the  preceding  history.     Here  is  a  com- 
bination which  had  played  a  most  important  part,  not  only  in 
the  commercial  progress,  but  more  or  less  in   the  political 
supremacy  of  Europe  for  four  centuries — a  longer  period,  I 
believe  I  am  right  in  saying,  than  is  claimed  for  any  other 
known  combination,  commercial  or  political.     It  had,  during 
the  greater  portion  of  that  period,  been  a  most  potent  power. 
It  had,  without  much  doubt,  subsidized  our  kings  in  earlier 
times.     Our  English  Henry  III.  indeed  had  incorporated  its 
representatives  in  England  as  a  Trading  Guild,  in  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  assistance  of  the  League  in  his  naval  wars,  and  also 
for  money  lent  him !     The  French  Kings,  Louis  XL,  Charles 
VIII.,  Louis  XII.,  and  Francis  I.  had  bestowed  great  privi- 
leges on  it.     The  Emperor  Charles  V.  had  availed  himself  of 
its  bounty.     It  had  aided  in  creating,  as  in  dethroning,  many 
Kings  and  Princes  ;  and  the  only  monument  of  its  own  great- 
ness lives  in  the  memories  of  the  few  who  have  made  its  real 
history  a  matter  of  personal  study  I 

NOTE. 

I  think  it  better  to  add  the  enactment  of  1523,   which  I  have 
referred  to  under  date  1503,  but  have  not  included  in  the  text. 

1523.  By  14  &  15  Hen.  VIII.  c.  29,  "per  M'catoribz  de  Hansa," 
it  was  enacted  as  follows  : — 

"  Provyded  always  that  none  Acte,  Statute,  or  Ordenaunce  had 
made  or  to  be  made  in  this  present  Parliament  in  any  manner  of 
wyse  extend  or  be  prejudiciall  or  hurtfull  unto  the  merchauntes  of 
the  Hanse  of  Almayn  or  to  any  of  them  havyng  the  House  withyn 
the  Citie  of  London,  commonly  called  Guyldhalda  Theotonicorum, 
by  what  name  or  names  they  or  any  of  them  be  named  or  called : 
any  Acte,  Statutes  or  Ordenaunces  made  or  to  be  made  to  the 
contrary  in  anywise  notwithstondying." 
The  Acts  against  which  this  is  intended  to  give  exemption  were 


OUTLINE   HISTORY   OF  THE   HANSEATIC   LEAGUE.      135 

probably  the  following,  but  many  like  exemptions  will  be  found  in 
various  statutes  : — 

Cha.  I.  The  Act  concernyng  the  conveying,  transportyng  and 
cariyng  of  Erode  Whyte  Wollen  Clothes  out  of  this  Realme. 

Cha.  IV.  An  Acte  for  payment  of  Custome. 

The  following  additional  notes  as  to  the  internal  regulations  of  the 
League  will  help  to  complete  our  outline. 

The  discipline  at  the  Factories  was  of  the  strictest  nature,  and  the 
ordeals  the  acolyte  merchants  underwent  would  be  deemed  incredible, 
if  they  were  not  vouched  on  authority.  The  initiations  were  termed 
"plays,"  and  were  more  than  thirty  in  number,  but  the  three  principal 
ones  were  smoke^  water,  and  the  scourge ;  these  were  exercised  with 
such  seventy  that  the  candidates  sometimes  sank  under  the  operation. 

In  London,  as  in  the  other  Hanseatic  comptoirs,  all  the  meals 
were  taken  at  a  common  table,  but  these  merchants  lived  well,  and 
ate  and  drank  the  best  of  everything  the  world  could  afford.  The 
government  of  the  Steelyard  was  through  a  council  of  twelve 
members — a  master  or  alderman,  two  assessors,  and  nine  common 
councilmen,  elected  annually.  This  was  in  fact  an  independent  civil 
government^  not  subject  to  the  common  law  of  England.  Every  New 
Year's  eve  there  was  a  general  meeting  for  the  transaction  of  business 
and  election  of  officers.  The  oath  of  installation  was  as  follows  : — 

"  We  promise  and  swear  to  keep  and  uphold,  all  and  every,  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  Hanse  merchants  in  England,  as  well  as 
to  obey  the  laws  and  regulations  made  for  them,  all  to  the  best  of 
our  abilities  ;  and  we  promise  and  swear  to  deal  justly  towards  every 
one,  whether  powerful  or  humble,  rich  or  poor,  so  help  us  God  and 
His  saints." 

It  would  seem  but  reasonable  that  a  society  which  required  such 
an  oath,  and  officers  who  subscribed  to  it,  must  have  been  honourable 
in  nature  and  intentions ;  and,  indeed,  it  must  be  admitted  to  the 
credit  of  these  merchants,  that  their  dealings  were  honorable  to  a 
degree  which  would  shame  much  of  the  business  of  the  present  day. 
They  endeavoured  to  monopolize  trade,  as  they  felt  to  be  their  duty 
towards  their  principals,  and  they  stood  stoutly  for  rights  and  privi- 
leges which,  by  long  use,  they  had  considered  as  absolutely  vested  in 
their  League.  They  did  not  appreciate  the  fact  that  they  were  absorb- 
ing rights  and  business  which  belonged  to  the  nation  at  large,  and  in 
this  feeling  they  were  not  one  whit  worse  than  many  of  their  com- 


136  TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

mercial  descendants,  who  do  not ,  monopolize  trade  simply  because 
they  cannot. —  Vide  Exchange  and  Review. 

As  I  have  already  said,  the  enactments  of  the  League  attest  the 
importance  in  which  it  held  fidelity  in  the  execution  of  mercantile 
engagements,  without  which  there  cannot  exist  any  true  or  genuine 
credit.  He  who,  having  borrowed  in  one  city  of  the  confederacy, 
did  not  pay  his  debt,  or  who,  having  lent  money  upon  pledges  in 
security,  carried  off  what  his  debtor  had  thus  entrusted  to  him, 
forfeited  the  status  of  a  Hanseatic  citizen.  A  debtor,  excluded  from 
one  of  the  confederated  cities  on  account  of  his  debts,  could  not 
find  an  asylum  in  any  other  of  these  cities.  The  bankrupt  whose 
flight  had  been  advertised,  with  a  description  of  his  person,  behoved 
to  be  arrested  wherever  he  could  be  found,  and,  if  fraudulent,  exposed 
in  public,  loaded  with  irons,  if  not  punished  with  death  ! 

The  ordinances  of  the  League  also  contain  numerous  regulations 
relative  to  fidelity  in  weights  and  measures,  and  the  quality  of 
different  kinds  of  merchandise,  relative  to  the  capacity  and  exterior 
marks  of  casks  in  which  were  contained  certain  commodities  that 
were  purchased  and  re-sold  by  wholesale ;  and  against  the  debase- 
ment of  coined  money.  Some  also  related  to  the  good  order  of 
corporations  of  tradesmen,  to  apprenticeships,  and  to  the  obligations 
of  agents  and  commission  men  (fr&positi)  to  render  accounts  to 
their  principals  or  constituents. 

Nor  are  we  surprised  to  find  special  regulations  for  the  commerce 
of  salt ;  prohibitions  against  the  sale  of  herrings  not  yet  caught,  of 
grain  not  yet  reaped,  and  of  cloth  not  yet  woven;  against  the 
exportation  of  cloth  to  be  dyed  in  another  place  than  that  in  which  it 
was  woven  ;  against  the  exportation  of  gold  and  silver  to  be  wrought 
and  manufactured  in  a  foreign  country ;  against  selling  cloths  with 
a  false  dye,  or  perfume  of  which  the  quality  was  adulterated  ! 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  contract  of  exchanges  was 
practised  amongst  the  inhabitants  of  the  Hanse  Towns.  —  Vide 
Reddie's  Maritime  Commerce^  p.  256-7. 

In  the  great  "  staplehouses  "  in  London,  as  well  as  in  the  smaller 
ones  at  Boston  and  Lynn,  there  were  stored  immense  quantities  of 
raw  products,  principally  wool,  tin,  and  hides — which  were  exported 
from  England — as  also  numerous  articles  received  in  exchange 
from  abroad,  enumerated  by  Stow,  as  "  wheat,  rye,  and  other  grain ; 
cables,  ropes,  masts,  pitch,  tar,  flax,  hemp,  linen  cloth  waistcoats,  wax, 
:steel,  and  other  profitable  merchandise." 


LIFE   AND   WRITINGS   OF   DUBRAVIUS,   BISHOP 
OF  OLMUTZ  (1542—1553). 

BY  THE  REV.  ALBERT  H.  WRATISLAW,  M.A.,  F.R.   HIST.  Soc., 
FELLOW  OF  THE  ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  BOHEMIA. 

WHAT  angler  has  not  been,  if  he  be  not  still,  a  reader  of 
Izaak  Walton  ?  And  what  reader  of  Izaak  Walton  has  not 
observed  his  frequent  quotations  from  Dubravius,  and  been 
amused  by  that  wonderful  account  of  the  victory  of  a  frog 
over  a  pike,  of  which  Dubravius  declares  he  was  himself  an 
eye-witness,  but  which  reads  far  more  like  a  dream  than  a 
reality  ?  And  the  name  of  this  same  Dubravius  has  lately 
been  brought  before  the  public  by  Mr.  Frank  Buckland,  as 
that  of  the  author  of  an  excellent  recommendation  in  the 
management  of  fish-ponds,  a  means  of  producing  food  so 
sadly  neglected  in  this  country,  viz. :  to  draw  off  the  water 
every  third  or  fourth  year  and  sow  a  crop  of  oats  on  the  rich 
mud  collected  at  the  bottom.  It  may  not  therefore  be  un- 
interesting, if  I  give  a  brief  account  of  the  life  and  writings  of 
Dubravius,  who  was  a  man  of  considerable  mark  in  his 
day  in  the  political  and  ecclesiastical,  as  well  as  in  the  pisci- 
cultural  world. 

JOHN  of  DOUBRAVKA  and  HRADISCH  was  born  about  the 
year  1489  in  the  town  of  Pilsen  in  Bohemia,  of  Catholic 
parents,  who  appear  to  have  been  fairly  well-to-do  people. 
His  father  is  said  to  have  borne  the  name  of  SKALA  (Rock),  a 
name  of  which  he  himself  made  use  until  he  acquired  the 
arms  and  addition  of  Doubravka  and  Hradisch.  He  was 
brought  up  in  the  Catholic  faith,  and  received  his  elementary 
education  in  the  grammar  school  at  Pilsen,  but,  as  he  soon 
exhibited  unusual  aptitude  and  intelligence,  he  was  sent  abroad 
for  his  higher  education,  the  University  of  Prague  being  at 


138   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

that  time  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Utraquists.  He  studied 
for  some  time  in  the  gymnasium  at  Vienna,  where  a  well- 
known  classical  scholar,  Conrad  Celtes,  was  teaching.  Here 
he  made  such  progress  in  classical  oratory  and  poetry,  and  in 
all  branches  of  the  <%  Humanities,"  that  some  of  his  produc- 
tions attracted  the  especial  attention  of  the  scholars  there 
residing.  In  particular  he  wrote  a  learned  and  ingenious 
commentary  on  Martianus  Capella's  "  Nuptials  of  Mercury  and 
Philology/'which  he  afterwards  printed  (1526)  and  dedicated 
to  Bishop  Stanislas  Thurzo. 

From  Vienna  Dubravius  went  into  Italy,  where  he  visited 
the  seats  of  the  higher  learning,  and  obtained  at  Padua  the 
dignity  of  Doctor  of  Ecclesiastical  Law.  Towards  the  end 
of  1511  or  beginning  of  1512  he  returned  to  Bohemia,  and 
was  immediately  invited  to  the  Palace  of  the  then  Bishop  of 
Olmiitz,  Stanislas  Thurzo,  an  educated  and  enlightened  man, 
who  was  the  friend  and  patron  of  the  most  important 
"  Humanists  "  of  that  date,  such  as  Erasmus  of  Rotterdam, 
Conrad  Celtes,  and  others,  whose  names  are  better  known  in 
the  East  than  in  the  West  of  Europe.  Thurzo,  observing  his 
talent,  made  him  his  private  secretary  and  procured  his 
nomination  to  a  canonry  in  the  chapter  of  Olmiitz.  Ere  long 
the  office  of  Archdeacon  of  Olmiitz  fell  vacant,  and  the 
Bishop  procured  his  promotion  to  that  Archdeaconcy  as  well 
as  to  the  office  of  Provost  at  Kremsier  and  Olbramskastel. 
Being  now  regularly  attached  to  the  household  of  Bishop 
Thurzo,  he  had  every  opportunity  of  making  the  acquaintance 
not  only  of  the  learned  living  in  Moravia,  but  of  many  power- 
ful and  influential  people,  whose  houses  he  visited  in 
attendance  on  his  Bishop. 

In  1515  King  Sigismund  of  Poland,  on  his  return  from  a 
conference  at  Vienna  with  his  brother  Vladislaw,  King  of 
Bohemia  and  Hungary,  and  the  Emperor  Maximilian  I., 
respecting  reciprocal  family  alliances,  was  splendidly  enter- 
tained by  Bishop  Thurzo  in  his  palaces  at  Kremsier  and 
Vyskow.  By  his  versatility  and  eloquence  Dubravius  so 
attracted  Sigismund 's  attention,  that  in  1518  Sigismund  sent 


LIFE    AND    WRITINGS   OF   DUBRAVIUS.  139 

him  with  several  Polish  lords  and  Lord  William  of  Kunstat 
to  the  town  of  Bari  in  Naples  and  to  the  court  of  Francesco 
Sforza,  Duke  of  Milan,  to  obtain  for  Sigismund  the  hand  of 
Bona,  the  Duke's  daughter,  in  marriage.  The  negotiation  was 
successfuly  conducted  by  Dubravius,  and  the  gratitude  and 
favour  of  the  King  of  Poland  earned  by  him  for  life. 

In  1517  King  Lewis  of  Bohemia  was  crowned  at  Prague. 
The  Archbishopric  of  Prague  being  still  in  abeyance  owing 
to  the  persistent  refusal  of  successive  Popes  to  execute  the 
"  compactata "  agreed  upon  by  the  Council  of  Basle 
Stanislas  Thurzo,  Bishop  of  Olmiitz,  officiated,  and  his  con- 
stant attendant  Dubravius  was  among  the  persons  then 
raised  to  the  dignity  of  Knighthood,  thus  becoming  an 
" eques  auratus"  On  the  petition  of  Kasper  Eberwein  of 
Hradisch,  a  little  village  about  3^  English  miles  north  of 
Pilsen,  King  Lewis  in  1522  granted  the  arms  of  Eberwein  and 
the  addition  of  Doubravka  (a  larger  village  about  44  miles 
east  of  Pilsen)  and  Hradisch  to  JOHN  SKALA  (our  Dubravius) 
and  others,  whom  he  also  raised  to  the  social  dignity  of 
Vladyky  or  Esquires. 

About  this  time  the  new  doctrines  of  Luther  began  to 
spread  in  Moravia  in  general,  and  the  town  of  Iglau  in  parti- 
cular. The  town  council  of  that  place  had  invited  Paulus 
Speratus  from  Germany  to  take  the  position  of  Curd  there, 
and  he,  in  spite  of  mandates  and  prohibitions,  persevered  in 
preaching  and  promulgating  the  new  doctrines  in  the  sur- 
rounding district  and  the  neighbouring  towns.  He  was 
accordingly  arrested  by  orders  of  the  king,  and  delivered  to 
Bishop  Stanislas  Thurzo  to  be  better  instructed,  and,  if 
possible,  induced  to  return  into  the  bosom  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  This  duty  was  entrusted  to  Dubravius,  now  the 
bishop's  chancellor,  whose  most  zealous  endeavours  were,  how- 
ever, in  vain,  and  Speratus  was  condemned  by  the  king  and 
his  council  to  death  at  the  stake,  as  a  heretic,  a  sentence 
which,  at  the  intercession  of  many  Bohemian  and  Moravian 
nobles,  was  commuted  for  one  of  perpetual  banishment  from 
all  lands  appertaining  to  the  Bohemian  crown. 


140   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Dubravius  took  part  in  various  meetings  and  conferences 
occasioned  by  the  inroads  of  the  Turkish  Sultan  Soliman  into 
H  ungary,  which  preceded  the  fatal  battle  of  Mohacs,  in  which 
King  Lewis  lost  his  life  (November  28,  1526).  For  his 
services  the  king  granted  him  the  castle  and  town  of  Bretz- 
slaw  in  fee  and  freehold,  releasing  them  from  all  seignorial 
rights. 

When,   after   that   fatal   battle,  Ferdinand,    Archduke   of 
Austria,  husband  of  the  Bohemian  Princess,  Anna  Jagellovna, 
was  elected  King  of  Bohemia,  the  royal    pair — the    Arch- 
bishopric of  Prague  being  still  in  abeyance — were  crowned  by 
the  Bishop  of  Olmiitz,  in  attendance  on  whom  we  find  of 
course   our   friend    Dubravius.      Not    long   afterwards   John 
Zapolsky  was  elected  King  of  Hungary  by  some  of  the  Hun- 
garian magnates,  and  accepted  the  crown  in    fief  from  the 
victorious   Sultan   Soliman,   but  received   such  an  overthrow 
from    Ferdinand,   that   he    fled    for   refuge    to    his  relative, 
Sigismund,  King  of  Poland,  an  event  which  was  considered 
very  threatening  to  all  the  lands  of  the   Bohemian  crown. 
The  Estates  therefore  met  at  Prague  in  1528,  and  determined 
to  send  an  embassy  to  the  King  of  Poland,  requesting  his 
aid  and  especially  the  assistance  of  his  light  cavalry  against 
the  common   enemy  of  Christendom.      Dubravius  was  with 
one  assent  placed  at  the  head  of  the  embassy,  not  only  as  a 
man  of  ability  and  celebrity  in  such  matters,  but  also  as  enjoy- 
ing the  especial  favour  of  the  King  of  Poland  on  account  of 
his  successful  conduct  of  the  negotiations  respecting  Sigis- 
mund's  marriage  with  the  Italian  Princess  Bona.      Dubravius 
pronounced  a  magnificent  oration  before  the  king,  but  was 
unable  to  obtain  from  him  more  than  a  promise  of  neutrality 
between  Ferdinand  and  Zapolsky,  a  promise  which  he  also 
kept  faithfully. 

In  1529  Sultan  Soliman  invaded  Hungary  again,  marched 
up  to  the  walls  of  Vienna,  and  commenced  to  besiege  it,  and 
his  wild  hordes  made  plundering  forays  into  Bohemia.  The 
Bohemian  and  Moravian  Estates  sent  a  considerable  force  to 
the  relief  of  Vienna,  and  in  the  Moravian  contingent  was  a 


LIFE  AND   WRITINGS   OF   DUBRAVIUS.  141 

regiment  furnished  by  the  Bishop  of  Olmiitz,  at  the  head  of 
which  was  Dubravius,  who  distinguished  himself  now  as  a 
military  commander  as  much  as  he  had  formerly  done  in  a 
civil  capacity. 

In  1531,  "Doctor  John,  of  Doubravka  and  Blansko,  arch- 
deacon and  vassal  of  the  Bishop  of  Olmiitz,"  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  committee  for  drawing  up  the  rules  and  regu- 
lations for  the  conduct  of  the  Grand  Court  of  Justice  of  Mo- 
ravia. He  was  also  made  a  member  of  a  similar  committee 
for  the  regulation  of  the  country  in  1535. 

In  1540  Bishop  Stanislas  Thurzo  died,  and  Bernard  Boubek, 
of  Detin,  was  elected  his  successor.  He,  however,  also  died 
before  receiving  the  papal  confirmation  of  his  election.  The 
bishopric  of  Olmiitz  was,  therefore,  again  vacant,  and  there 
were  two  rival  candidates  for  the  office — on  the  one  hand, 
John  Horak,  of  Milesovka,  canon  of  Olmiitz  and  Breslau  and 
tutor  of  King  Ferdinand's  children,  and,  on  the  other,  Dubra- 
vius. These  candidates  were  so  equal  in  merit,  and  in  the 
support  they  respectively  received  in  the  chapter,  that  it  was 
much  feared  the  nomination  to  the  See  might  lapse  to  the 
Roman  Curia,  and  a  foreigner  be  appointed.  The  rivals, 
therefore,  came  to  an  agreement  together,  by  which  Horak 
resigned  all  claim  to  the  bishopric,  and  Dubravius  engaged, 
if  elected  bishop,  to  procure  the  nomination  of  Horak  as  his 
coadjutor,  with  an  annual  salary  of  600  Moravian  florins,  and 
apply  to  the  Pope  for  his  confirmation  as  such.  Thus  Horak 
withdrew  from  his  candidature,  and  Dubravius  was  unani- 
mously elected  Bishop  of  Olmiitz.  His  election  was  con- 
firmed by  Pope  Paul  III.  by  a  Bull  dated  June  27,  1541,  and 
he  was  consecrated  by  the  Suffragan  Bishop  of  Cracow,  and 
solemnly  installed  in  his  See  on  January  2,  1542.  The 
arrangement  with  regard  to  Horak  was  also  confirmed  and 
carried  into  execution. 

But  no  sooner  was  Dubravius  placed  in  possession  of  his 
episcopal  See  and  the  estates  thereto  appertaining,  than  he 
was  brought  into  no  small  financial  distress.  King  Ferdinand, 
who,  owing  to  the  disturbances  and  wars  both  in  the  empire 


142   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

and  in  Hungary,  was  perpetually  in  pecuniary  difficulties,  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  applying  for  assistance  to  the  Bishops  of 
Olmiitz,  and  Dubravius's  predecessors  had  already  burthened 
the  landed  property  of  the  See  with  considerable  mortgages. 
On  the  present  occasion  Ferdinand  applied  for  an  advance  of 
3,000  Moravian  florins,  which  was  very  hard  upon  Dubravius, 
who  had  already  lent  him  large  sums  out  of  his  own  pocket, 
and  even  sold  for  that  purpose  part  of  his  private  property, 
and  who  was  now,  moreover,  obliged  to  pay  an  annual  salary 
to  his  coadjutor.  He,  therefore,  requested  his  chapter  to 
undertake  to  provide  the  sum  demanded,  or  at  any  rate  half 
of  it,  but  we  have  no  further  direct  information  respecting 
the  matter.  Nevertheless,  subsequent  circumstances  would 
appear  to  indicate  that  the  king's  wishes  had  been  satisfied, 
and  that  he  was  duly  grateful  for  the  assistance  rendered 
him. 

Asbishop,  also,  Dubravius  continued  to  be  employed  inimpor- 
tant  negotiations  and  on  important  embassies.  In  1543  he  ac- 
companied Ferdinand's  eldest  daughter,  Elizabeth,  at  the  head 
of  a  numerous  and  splendid  suite,  to  Cracow,  where  her  nuptials 
were  celebrated,  on  May  23,  with  the  young  King  of  Poland, 
Sigismund  Augustus.  On  this  occasion  Dubravius  delivered 
an  elaborate  Latin  oration,  in  which  he  depicted,  with  fervid 
and  almost  poetic  eloquence,  the  noble  character  and  extra- 
ordinary attractions  of  the  bride,  and  pointed  out  how  bene- 
ficial the  alliance  was  likely  to  be  to  the  kingdom  of  Poland, 
giving,  as  it  did,  the  prospect  of  the  valuable  aid,  not  only 
of  her  father,  Ferdinand,  the  powerful  King  of  Bohemia  and 
Hungary,  but  also  of  her  still  more  powerful  cousin,  the 
Emperor  Charles  V. 

The  next  year  (1544)  Bishop  Dubravius  was  sent,  in  the 
month  of  February,  to  Prague  to  urge  the  Estates,  then  in 
Parliament  assembled,  to  send  an  auxiliary  force  against  the 
Turks,  who  were  incessantly  ravaging  the  land  of  Hungary. 
The  Estates  of  Bohemia  and  Moravia  granted  a  contingent 
of  3,000  cavalry  and  5,000  infantry,  and  afterwards  of  500 
more  cavalry,  who  marched  against  the  Turks  .under  the 


LIFE  AND  WRITINGS   OF   DUBRAVIUS.  143 

command  of  Lord  Charles  of  Zerotin,  a  celebrated  general 
and  hero  in  those  days.  Dubravius  took  advantage  of  the 
occasion  to  converse  with  the  principal  Utraquist  nobles  and 
officials,  as  well  as  with  the  administrators  of  the  Utraquist 
Consistory,  and  urge  them  to  put  an  end  to  the  long-con- 
tinued religious  differences,  pointing  out  to  them  that  the 
General  Council  then  assembled  at  Trent  offered  an  excellent 
opportunity  of  so  doing.  He  particularly  insisted  upon  the 
importance  of  placing  an  archbishop  again  in  the  See  of 
Prague,  it  being  highly  inconvenient  that  so  great  and 
glorious  a  realm  should  remain  without  a  spiritual  head. 
Nor  did  his  representations  appear  to  be  unsuccessful  at  the 
moment ;  but  on  his  return  home  he  learned  that,  though  the 
Estates  were  willing  enough  to  take  up  the  question  of  the 
long-vacant  archbishopric  at  their  next  meeting,  yet  they 
wanted  to  elect  the  archbishop  according  to  their  own  will, 
and  of  their  own  authority  in  Parliament  assembled,  which 
Dubravius  did  not  consider  agreeable  to  the  rules  of  the 
Church  or  suited  to  the  requirements  and  interests  of  the 
country.  He  therefore  wrote  a  formal  letter  from  Kremsier 
in  September,  1545,  to  the  Estates  and  the  Utraquist  Con- 
sistory, detailing  the  evils  that  had  arisen  from  the  dissensions 
between  the  Greek  and  Roman  Churches,  appealing  to  the 
history  of  the  Bohemian  Church,  which  had  always  been 
connected  with  that  of  Rome  and  with  the  Pope  until  the 
Hussite  times,  and  contending  that  it  was  impossible  to  find 
safety  save  in  complete  union  with  the  Church  of  Rome, 
which  would  gladly  receive  the  Bohemians  into  its  bosom  if 
they  would  but  request  it  so  to  do.  This,  however,  naturally, 
remained  without  effect,  as  the  Bohemians  were  no  more 
likely  to  surrender  the  Compactata,  won  at  the  point  of  the 
sword  and  solemnly  granted  to  them  by  the  Council  of  Basle, 
than  the  Pops  was  to  fulfil  the  stipulations  arid  engagements 
thereof. 

A  truce  having  been  made  with  the  Turks,  it  became 
incumbent  upon  King  Ferdinand  to  settle  the  dispute  be- 
tween the  Estates  of  Bohemia  and  those  of  the  principalities 


144  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

of  Silesia  as  to  the  appointment  of  the  chief  officials  in  Silesia. 
"  Matters,"  as  the  Silesian  historian  Henelius  says,  "  were 
looking  warlike,"  until  the  king  commissioned  Dubravius  to 
act  as  mediator  between  the  parties,  and  by  him  "they  were 
settled  with  great  dexterity." 

Sectarianism  was  now  spreading  rapidly  in  Moravia,  and,  in 
particular,  the  Bohemian  Brethren,  or  "Picards,"  the  ances- 
tors of  the  present  "  Moravian"  Church,  were  daily  increasing, 
finding  not  merely  adherents  among  the  common  people,  but 
zealous  protectors  among  the  higher  and  lower  orders  of 
nobility.  Dubravius's  predecessor,  Stanislas  Thurzo,  had 
endeavoured  to  stem  the  current,  but  in  vain ;  and  now 
Dubravius  himself  took  the  matter  up,  and  never  rested  till 
King  Ferdinand  issued  a  mandate,  in  1546,  by  which  the 
bishops  and  elders  of  the  "  Unitas  fratrum  "  were  exiled  from 
the  lands  of  the  Bohemian  crown.  They  obeyed  the  mandate, 
and  emigrated  into  Prussia,  but  ere  long  returned,  and  found 
protection  both  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia  from  their  friends 
and  favourers. 

When  the  Bohemian  Estates  were  preparing,  in  1546,  to 
resist  King  Ferdinand,  who  they  well  knew  was  plotting  against 
both  their  civil  and  religious  liberties,  Dubravius  was  sent, 
along  with  the  imperial  Vice-Chancellor,  into  Bohemia  to 
endeavour  to  induce  the  Estates  to  give  up  their  alliance 
with  the  evangelical  German  princes  against  King  Ferdinand. 
But  his  exertions  were  in  vain  as  regards  the  majority, 
although  successful  in  the  case  of  many  individuals,  and  the 
Estates  refused  Ferdinand  all  aid  against  the  German  princes, 
so  that  he  was  obliged  to  take  the  field  with  only  the  Mora- 
vian contingent  in  addition  to  his  own  forces.  This  was,  as 
before,  commanded  by  Lord  Charles  of  Zerotin.  Ferdinand 
was  victorious  over  Frederic  of  Saxony  at  Mlihlberg,  and  the 
Bohemian  Estates  had  to  pay  the  penalty  justly  incurred  by 
their  wavering  and  ambiguous  conduct.  It  was  clear  enough 
that  only  two  alternatives  lay  before  them  with  any  prospect 
of  success,  viz.,  the  giving  of  vigorous  and  active  aid  to 
Frederic  of  Saxony  and  his  allies  or  to  their  own  king  and 


LIFE  AND  WRITINGS  OF  DUBRAVIUS.  145 

the  emperor.  They  took  up  a  position  of  armed  neutrality, 
and  allowed  their  friends  to  be  destroyed  before  their  eyes, 
while  at  the  same  time  they  hampered  and  inconvenienced 
their  king  in  no  inconsiderable  degree.  Bloody  and  cruel 
was  the  vengeance  taken  by  Ferdinand,  both  by  death  and 
torture,  upon  the  nobles  and  towns  that  had  resisted  him  at 
what  was  termed  "the  bloody  Parliament"  (sniem  krvavy), 
and  heavy  the  confiscations  inflicted  and  fines  levied  upon 
them  ;  but  it  is  gratifying  to  find  that  the  influence  of  Dubra- 
vius  was  exerted  on  the  side  of  clemency  and  lenity,  and  that 
he  did  his  best  to  lighten  the  heavy  burthens  imposed  upon 
the  now  defenceless  adversaries  of  the  ruthless  Hapsburg. 

The  next  year,  1548,  Bishop  Dubravius  was  vexed  by  a 
contest  with  the  Estates  of  Moravia,  respecting  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  the  See  of  Olmiitz.  All  that  we  know  of  this 
dispute  is,  that  he  sent  two  of  his  canons,  with  a  letter  dated 
October  loth,  1548,  to  the  Bishop  of  Vienna,  asking  him  for 
his  intercession  with  Ferdinand  for  the  preservation  of  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  his  See  in  their  entirety  and  fulness. 
"We  consider,"  writes  he,  "it  to  be  a  part  of  our  duty  to 
endeavour  with  all  zeal  to  keep  inviolate  such  privileges  as 
have  been  obtained  by  our  predecessors  from  the  Kings  of 
Bohemia,  and  Margraves  of  Moravia,  and  handed  down,  as  it 
were,  to  us."  It  seems  probable  that  Dubravius  was  not 
altogether  unsuccessful,  as  in  1550 — from  gratitude — he  gave 
up  to  King  Ferdinand  the  village  of  Ujezd  near  Chyrlitz, 
receiving  in  return  the  tithe  upon  the  mines  of  Polesovitz. 

It  is  well  known  how  cruel  a  persecution  was  carried  on 
after  the  battle  of  Miihlberg  against  the  "  Unitas  Fratrum," 
the  Bohemian  Brethren,  how  their  priests  and  elders  were 
prosecuted,  imprisoned,  and  exiled,  and  how,  in  particular, 
their  chief  Bishop,  John  Augusta,  was  kept  for  sixteen  years, 
and  his  companion,  Jacob  Bitek,  for  thirteen  years  in  close 
and  severe  imprisonment  at  Krivoklat  and  elsewhere.  But, 
although  Dubravius  had  obtained  from  Ferdinand,  as  above 
mentioned,  an  edict  for  the  expulsion  of  the  Bishops  of  the 
Brethren  from  Moravia,  yet  he  now  exhibited  great  and 

L 


146  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

unlooked-for  toleration  in  their  case.  Finding  that  other 
elements  besides  the  "  Unitas  "  had  been  at  work  in  the  rebel- 
lion, he  took  upon  himself  the  part  of  a  mediator  at  the 
request  of  the  Estates  in  their  Parliament,  held  at  Prague  after 
the  Epiphany  in  1552,  and  presented  to  Ferdinand  their 
petition  for  the  liberation  of  the  imprisoned  Brethren,  and  in 
particular  of  John  Augusta.  It  was  doubtless  on  account  of 
this  unexpected  tolerance  that  some  of  the  more  zealous  and 
fanatical  Catholics  did  not  hesitate  to  charge  Dubravius  with 
"  neglecting  his  spouse,  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  failing  to 
proceed  with  severity  and  energy  against  all  apostates  and 
heretics." 

Having  previously  enjoyed  excellent  health  and  strength 
during  life,  Dubravius  was  on  the  Qth  of  September,  1553, 
struck  with  apoplexy,  just  as  he  was  on  the  point  of  retiring 
from  the  dinner-table  to  his  own  room,  and  died  the  same  day 
in  his  palace  at  Kremsier.  His  corpse  was  on  the  I2th 
removed  from  Kremsier  to  Olmiitz  in  solemn  procession,  and 
there  met  by  the  chapter,  the  clergy,  the  town  council,  the 
guilds  and  orders  of  artizans,  and  large  numbers  of  people 
from  the  town  and  neighbourhood.  It  was  then  borne  to 
St.  Peter's  Church,  outside  the  walls  of  Olmiitz,  and  there 
interred,  having  been  attended  to  the  grave  by  the  Lord 
Lieutenant  of  the  province,  by  the  lords  and  gentry  then 
assembled  in  sessions,  and  by  the  soldiers  quartered  in 
Olmiitz.  Later  it  was  transferred  to  the  Cathedral  Church 
where  it  was  placed  in  a  tomb  by  itself,  next  to  that  of 
Dubravius's  predecessor,  Stanislas  Thurzo. 

Dubravius  had,  as  Bishop,  been  a  considerable  benefactor 
to  his  See,  both  by  the  erection  of  new  buildings  and  by 
improvements  in  the  farming  and  management  of  the  epis- 
copal estates.  But  it  is  as  a  literary  man  that  he  is  most 
interesting,  and  on  his  literary  works  that  his  memory  among 
posterity  principally  depends.  Busied  as  he  was  with  im- 
portant political  and  ecclesiastical  engagements,  some  of 
which  necessitated  long  journeys  into  foreign  countries,  his 
contributions  to  literature  were  very  numerous,  although 


LIFE  AND  WRITINGS  OF  DUBRAVIUS.  147 

unfortunately,  as  was  too  customary  in  those  days,  especially 
with  Catholic  literati,  they  are  all  in  the  Latin  language,  his 
own  being  completely  neglected. 

His  first  work  was,  as  I  have  said,  his  commentary  on 
Martianus  Capella's  "Nuptials  of  Mercury  and  Philology," 
published  at  Vienna  in  1526,  and  dedicated  to  Bishop 
Stanislas  Thurzo.  In  1549  he  printed,  at  Prostejoro  (Prossnitz) 
in  Moravia,  his  most  important  orations  and  letters,  i.e., 
"  Oration  addressed  to  Sigismund,  King  of  Poland,  against 
the  Turks;"  "Brief  Oration  on  the  Marriage  of  Sigismund  the 
younger,  King  of  Poland ; "  "  Letter  to  the  College  at  Prague, 
the  members  whereof  call  themselves  Calixtines,  concerning 
the  Economy  of  the  Church;"  "Funeral  Oration  at  the  Burial 
of  Sigismund,  King  of  Poland."  He  also  published  a  "  Letter 
to  Christopher  of  Zvola,  canon  of  Olmiitz,  on  the  Liturgy," 
in  which  he  writes  learnedly  and  impressively  of  the  signi- 
ficance and  value  of  the  various  ceremonies,  customs,  and 
solemnities  observed  in  the  Catholic  Church.  Also  a  "  Com- 
mentary on  Psalm  V.,"  dedicated  to  the  Chapter  of  Olmiitz, 
in  which  he  analyzes  and  explains  the  psalm  verse  by  verse, 
comparing  passages  of  scripture  and  former  explanations  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  show  that  he  was  well  versed  in  scripture, 
and  well  read  in  the  fathers,  and  in  ecclesiastical  literature  in 
general. 

When  secretary  of  Bishop  Stanislas  and  canon  of  Olmiitz, 
Dubravius  wrote  a  didactic  work  in  Latin  verse,  entitled  : 
"  Theriobulia  de  regiis  prseceptis,"  dedicated  to  Louis,  King 
of  Hungary.  In  the  dedication  he  says,  "  that  he  had  long 
thought  what  he  could  compose  for  the  king  in  proof  of  his 
faithful  devotion  to  him.  Then  a  little  book  chanced  to  fall 
into  his  hands,  written  in  verse  in  his  mother  tongue,  con- 
taining the  counsel  given  by  the  birds  and  quadrupeds  for  the 
benefit  of  their  good  king,  whereby  he  should  regulate  his 
conduct.  This  composition  he  turned  into  Latin  verse,  and 
dedicated  to  the  young  king."  The  Bohemian  work  in  ques- 
tion is  the  "Nova  Rada,"  or  "New  Council,"  of  Lord  Smil 
Flaska  of  Pardubitz,  which  Dubravius  rendered  very  freely, 


148   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

with  many  embellishments  and  additions,  into  Latin  verse. 
This  was  seen  in  MS.  by  Dubravius's  relative,  Leonard  of 
Doubravka  and  Hradisch,  who  obtained  permission  to  copy 
but  not  to  publish  it,  but  who  did  print  and  publish  it  at 
Nuremberg  in  1520,  and  again  at  Cracow  in  1521,  dedicating 
it  to  Peter  Krafft,  Bishop  of  Ratisbon.  It  was  a  third  time 
printed  at  Breslau  in  1614,  and  appeared  for  the  fourth  time 
in  J.  H.  Alstedius's  "  Compendium  lexici  philosophici, 
Herbornae  1620."  The  simplicity  and  nai'vete  of  Smil's 
work 1  is,  however,  terribly  overlaid  by  the  classical  learning 
and  excessive  pedantry  of  Dubravius. 

Dubravius's  next  considerable  work  is  his  treatise  on  fish- 
ponds and  fish-culture,  which  he  wrote  in  early  life  at  the 
request  of  Bishop  Stanislas  Thurzo,  but  would  not  publish 
when  promoted  to  ecclesiastical  office,  lest  he  should  be 
thought  too  devoted  to  secular  affairs,  until  at  length  he  was 
prevailed  upon  by  the  importunity  of  his  friends  and  relations 
to  commit  it  to  the  press.  It  appeared  in  1547  at  Breslau, 
under  the  title :  "  Libellus  de  piscinis  et  piscium,  qui  in  eis 
aluntur,  natura."  Ad  Antonium  Fuggerum.  Vratislaviae, 
typis  Vinklerianis,  XLVII.  (1547)  I2mo.  pp.  93.  Dubravius 
had  in  his  younger  days  been  intimate  with  the  lords  of 
Pernstein,  who  towards  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  and  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century  had  constructed  a  great  many  fish- 
ponds on  their  estates  in  Moravia  and  Bohemia,  especially  at 
Pardubitz  in  Bohemia,  and  had  obtained  great  wealth  from 
them.  Dubravius  was  thus  led  to  pay  considerable  attention 
to  this  branch  of  farming,  which  was  then  greatly  neglected  in 
Moravia  and  Hungary,  where  his  relative  Antonius  Fugger 
possessed  large  estates  and  extensive  fish-ponds.  He  pub- 
lished the  work  when  already  Bishop  of  Olmiitz,  with  a  two- 
fold dedication,  addressing  himself  on  the  one  hand  to  Francis 
Thurzo,  Bishop  of  Neutra  and  nephew  of  the  late  Bishop 

1  An  account  of  Smil  Flaska's  "  Novel  Rada,"  with  specimens,  will  be 
found  in  my  "  Lectures  on  the  native  Literature  of  Bohemia  in  the  four- 
teenth century,  delivered  before  the  University  of  Oxford  in  1877." 


LIFE  AND  WRITINGS   OF   DUBRAVIUS.  149 

Stanislas  Thurzo,  and  on  the  other  to  Antonius  Fugger, 
possessor  of  a  lordship  in  Hungary,  with  an  ancient  castle 
built  by  Constance,  wife  of  the.  whilome  King  of  Bohemia, 
Otakar  I.  (ob.  1230). 

This  work  of  Dubravius  is  divided  into  five  books.  In  the 
first  he  treats  of  fish-ponds  in  general,  their  advantages  and 
antiquity,  and  enumerates  the  various  kinds  of  fish  kept  in 
them.  In  the  second  he  deals  with  the  situation  and  con- 
struction of  fish-ponds  and  the  manner  in,  and  the  materials 
with,  which  they  ought  to  be  enclosed.  In  the  third  he 
explains  how  the  water  should  be  let  in  and  let  off,  with  what 
kinds  of  fish  they  should  be  stocked,  what  proportion  the 
different  kinds  should  bear  to  one  another,  and  what  rules 
ought  especially  to  be  observed  with  regard  to  pike.  The 
fourth  book  contains  the  duties  of  the  fisherman  or  fish-pond 
manager,  and  points  out  what  he  ought  to  attend  to  at 
different  seasons  of  the  year,  and  how  he  should  manage  in 
case  diseases  arose  among  the  fish.  In'  the  fifth  book  he 
gives  instructions  how  the  fish-ponds  ought  to  be  drawn,  the 
preparations  to  be  made,  and  rules  observed  in  drawing 
them ;  how  to  draw  them  when  the  water  is  frozen  ;  how 
old  fish-ponds  should  be  renovated  ;  how  often  a  pond  ought 
to  be  drawn  ;  and  how  the  fish  thus  obtained  should 
be  kept  in  preserves  (in  vivariis),  and  that  with  especial 
reference  to  the  ponds  and  preserves  at  Pardubitz,  which 
was  the  model  place  of  pisciculture  in  his  days.  Finally 
the  excellent  writer — unforgetful  of  his  clerical  office — exhorts 
the  owners  and  proprietors  of  estates,  however  much  they 
may  desire  to  increase  their  revenues  by  the  establishment 
of  fish-ponds,  not  to  do  it  to  the  detriment  of  their  serfs,  but 
to  compensate  them  duly  for  all  losses  and  inconveniences, 
and,  speaking  generally,  not  to  desire  to  enrich  themselves 
by  another's  loss. 

This  work  obtained  deserved  celebrity,  had  considerable 
influence  in  Moravia,  where  pisciculture  made  rapid  advances, 
and  was  reprinted  in  1596  at  Nuremberg,  in  1671  at  Helm- 
stadt,  and  once  more  without  mention  of  any  locality.  It  was 


150   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE   ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

translated  into  Polish  by  Andrew  Praga,  and  published  at 
Cracow  in  1600,  whence  some  of  the  historians  of  Polish 
literature  have  taken  occasion  to  claim  Dubravius  himself  for 
their  own.  It  was  also  translated  into  English — a  fact  which 
appears  unknown  in  Bohemia — and  published  in  4to.  in  1599 
by  George  Churchey,  fellow  of  Lion's  Inn,  under  the  title : 
"  A  new  book  of  good  Husbandry,  very  pleasant,  and  of  great 
profit,  both  for  gentlemen  and  yeomen,  containing  the 
order  and  making  of  fish-ponds,  &c." 

But  Dubravius's  most  extensive  work  was  his  "  History  of 
Bohemia,"  in  twenty-three  books,  from  the  earliest  times  to 
the  reign  of  Ferdinand  I.  The  first  edition  was  limited  to 
100  copies,  and  printed  by  John  Giinther,  at  Prossnitz,  in 
1552,  and  was  dedicated  to  the  newly-elected  King  of  Bohe- 
mia, Maximilian,  son  of  Ferdinand  I.,  as  a  small  but  oppor- 
tune present"  ("  munus  exiguum  sed  opportunum  ").  In  the 
early  portions  Dubravius  exhibits  himself  as  a  florid  and 
uncritical  writer,  making  no  distinction  between  legend  and 
fact ;  but  the  part  relating  to  his  own  days  and  the  reigns  of 
the  Jagellon  dynasty  is  of  the  highest  value,  and  from  him 
we  learn  the  terrible  state  of  moral  decay  into  which  both 
Bohemia  and  Hungary  had  fallen,  and  the  contemptuous 
neglect  with  which  the  kings  were  treated  by  the  arrogant 
Hungarian  magnates.  A  second  edition  appeared  at  Basle  in 
1570,  a  third  at  Hanau  in  1602,  and  a  fourth  along  with  the 
Bohemian  "  History  of  ^Eneas  Silvius,"  at  Frankfort-on-the- 
Maine,  in  1687. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Dubravius  was  well  acquainted  with 
his  mother  tongue,  but,  in  common  with  the  majority  of 
"  Humanists "  and  "  Classicists "  of  his  day  in  the  east  of 
Europe,  he  preferred  to  exhibit  his  skill  in  theLatin  tongue, 
and  that  the  more  as  the  great  mass  of  Bohemian  literature, 
and  the  majority  of  its  readers,  were  undoubtedly  Utraquist, 
and  in  opposition  to  the  Church  of  which  he  was  a  bishop. 

Finally,  we  may  safely  conclude  that  Dubravius,  though  not 
exactly  a  saintly,  was  yet  a  good  and  useful  bishop,  an 
upright  and  honourable  man  and  statesman,  a  first-rate  diplo- 


LIFE  AND  WRITINGS  OF  DUBRAVIUS.  151 

matist,  well  versed  in  literature  both  sacred  and  profane, 
accomplished  and  skilful  in  the  use  of  his  pen,  though  not 
above  the  faults  and  failings  of  the  Latin  writers  of  his  day, 
attentive  to  the  improvement  of  the  temporalities,  as  well  as 
the  spiritualities  of  his  see,  alive  to  the  temporal  as  well  as 
spiritual  interests  of  his  country  and  his  neighbours,  and  one 
on  whom  the  only  stigma  that  anybody  has  endeavoured  to 
fasten  is,  that,  when  in  power,  he  was  unwilling  to  persecute.* 

*  I  must  acknowledge  my  obligations  to  two  articles  on  Dubravius  by  A. 
Rybiczka  in  the  Czasopis  of  the  Bohemian  Museum  for  1878,  and  to  Karel  Tief- 
trunk's  account  of  the  resistance  of  the  Estates  of  Bohemia  to  King  Ferdinand  I. 
in  1574.  Odpor  stavuv  czeskych  proti  Ferdinandovi  I.  L.  1547.  A.  H.  W. 


THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CIVILIZATION 
OF  THE  WEST,  FROM  CHARLEMAGNE  (Transitio 
Imperil}  TO  THE  ERA  OF  THE  CRUSADES  (AND 
CONCORDAT,  1122). 

BY  THE  REV.  W.  J.  IRONS,  D.D.,  BAMPTON  LECTURER,  1870, 
PREBENDARY  OF  ST.  PAUL'S,  F.R.  HIST.  Soc. 

THE  influence  of  Christianity  on  the  Roman  Empire,  and  so 
ultimately  on  modern  Civilization,  was  immediately  felt,  as  we 
first  observed,  in  its  action  on  the  social  system  ;  and  even- 
tually in  the  formation  of  better  public  opinion  in  morals  and 
Religion.  The  ideas  of  individual  right  and  personal  freedom 
(absolutely  essential  to  the  new  faith  which  had  appeared  as 
the  teacher  of  conscience),  found  their  echo,  and  also  in  some 
sense  a  defined  limit,  in  the  advancing  Roman  Law ;  but  the 
more  active  relations  of  the  gradually-formed  Christian  Society 
to  the  State  in  which  it  took  its  mission  would,  as  we  saw,  be 
much  determined  by  the  course  of  events,  and  by  the  action 
and  development  of  the  State  itself.  We  must  recall  this. — 

After  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  Christianity  had  no  political  or 
local  centre,  and  naturally  gravitated  to  Rome,  the  ruler  of 
the  nations,  since  the  mission  of  the  Church  was  to  "  all  the 
world."  Christianity,  in  carrying  out  her  religious  mission, 
was  at  once  the  enemy  of  Roman  as  well  as  other  Paganism  ; 
but  it  took  time  specially  to  disengage  itself  from  Judaism  as 
a  national  Religion.  Perhaps  it  were  more  exact  to  say  that 
it  chiefly  outlived  Judaistic  ideas  while  forming  cosmopolite 
settlements  in  the  great  cities  of  the  West.  The  "  Perpetual 
Edict," — followed  by  the  social  reforms  of  Hadrian, — reflected, 
even  if  unconsciously,  the  Ethical  growth  stimulated  by 
Christianity.  The  Pagan  Religions  known  to  Rome  really 
admitted  of  no  revival ;  and  Rome,  as  the  head  and  law- 


RECONSTRUCTION   OF   CIVILIZATION   OF   THE  WEST.    153 

giver  of  the  Empire,  while  dropping  the  old  superstitions,  still 
naturally  attracted  to  itself  all  that  was  found  most  influential 
in  moral  and  political  life.  Religious  Eclecticism,  as  at 
Alexandria,  was  a  dream  ;  and  it  came  too  late. — So,  from  the 
first,  the  union  of  Christianity  with  the  Empire  seemed 
inevitable,  and  events  tended  to  make  the  two  conterminous 
for  the  time.  A  State  always  has  a  Religious  understanding 
with  Conscience. 

It  has  been  fancifully  supposed  by  recent  speculators  in 
history,  that  Rome  had  always  some  mysterious  instinct,  ap- 
propriating, both  imperially  and  locally,  the  elements  of  future 
power  and  moral  greatness ;  in  which  speculation  M.  Renan 
follows  close  on  the  mild  fanaticism  of  Mr.  Formby  (one  of 
the  most  interesting  converts  to  modern  "  Catholicism "). 
But  the  transfer  of  the  seat  of  Empire  to  Constantinople  (339), 
and  then  the  divisions  of  East  and  West,  and  the  abortive 
attempts  to  re-assert  the  City  of  Rome  as,  necessarily,  the 
capital  of  the  world,  sufficiently  dissipate  this  fancy,  whether 
of  ecclesiastic  or  sceptic  (quite  apart  from  the  consideration 
of  the  present  condition  and  prospects  of  Germany,  or  France, 
or  the  Italian  peninsula).  Still  the  fact  remains,  that  the 
great  Empire  itself,  wherever  its  seat  was  held,  and  whether 
divided  or  not,  really  drew  to  itself,  and  long  retained,  the 
reverence  of  the  world ;  and  Christianity  from  the  first  had, 
in  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  to  acquire  and  establish  relations 
with  it,  as  the  Civil  Power,  "  the  minister  of  God  for  good," — 
(as  it  admitted), — without  which  its  immediate  mission  could 
hardly  proceed  to  mankind. 

I.  We  have  briefly,  in  former  pages,  traced  the  course  of 
those  advancing  relations  of  the  religious  and  political  elements 
from  the  days  of  the  Caesars  to  those  of  Charlemagne  ;  and 
have  found  the  Code  of  the  Christian  Church  gradually  incor- 
porated into  that  of  the  Empire  by  the  time  of  Theodosius. 
As  a  consequence,  the  general  organization  of  the  Church 
in  the  whole  Empire  was  recognised  ;  and  at  last  it  pene- 
trated more  or  less  the  laws  and  institutions  of  the  invading 


154  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE   ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

barbarians, — to  some  extent  morally  subdued  by  the  grand 
power  which  they  so  rudely  shattered.  During  these  eight 
centuries  the  State  (in  its  own  belief)  ruled  the  Church, 
and  the  Church  (on  its  own  view  also)  acquiesced  as  in  duty  ; 
though  scarcely  with  a  clear  understanding. 

The  relations  no  doubt  were  theoretically  indefinite,  but 
jurists  and  ecclesiastics  had  inevitably  to  work  together  in 
that  most  trying  period  of  the  Education  of  the  nations.  The 
de  facto  governors  of  the  uncultivated  masses  of  men  found 
churchmen  even  essential  at  the  time  ;  and  so  Emperors  and 
Kings  learnt  how  to  work  with  the  Church  and  her  Councils, 
Government  could  not,  in  fact,  go  on  in  any  other  way. 

The  coronation  of  Charlemagne  at  length  gave  to  Civiliza- 
tion a  new  point  of  departure.  There  had  been"  confusion  in 
the  minds  of  all  men  as  to  the  fundamental  principle,  Religious 
or  Civil,  on  which  the  great  order  of  human  society  should 
proceed.  The  Roman  Civilization  had  actually,  since  476, 
become,  through  the  barbarians,  more  demoralized  than  it 
had  probably  ever  been  since  Augustus.  The  Episcopal  and 
Monastic  schools,  which  at  first  were  doing  so  much  to  form 
and  instruct  the  people  generally,  had  after  the  sixth  century 
well-nigh  ceased  to  exist.  The  "  dignity  of  Rome"  and  of  the 
"  Imperial  law"  still  penetrated  the  rude  multitude ;  and  this 
became  even  as  an  instinct,  not  long  afterwards  expressed  in 
the  historical  title,  "  Holy  Roman  Empire."  It  was  a  name 
implying  the  sacredness  of  the  LAW,  i.e.,  the  secular  dominion, 
as  such  ; — (a  phrase  indirectly  illuminating,  for  coming  times, 
the  "  Holy  See"  of  the  Imperial  city  of  the  West).  Meanwhile, 
all  was  deteriorating.  Facts,  however,  by  the  8th  century, 
determined  themselves  ;  for  the  nations  could  no  more  wait. 
Events  pressed.  Leo  III.  had,  almost  by  the  accident  of  the 
hour,  crowned  Charlemagne  (800).  The  people  were  fasci- 
nated, and  some  thought  "  the  less  was  blessed  by  the  better." 
And  now  the  question,  always  latent,  was  to  be  brought  into 
the  light  of  day,  "  Which  was  to  rule  the  world, — the  ecclesias- 
tical power  or  the  civil  ? " 

The  great  Emperor  seems  to  have  understood  his   mission 


RECONSTRUCTION  OF  CIVILIZATION   OF  THE  WEST.  155 

from  the  first.  He  had  need  of  Ecclesiastics,  and  also  of 
their  few  co-adjutors  that  remained  in  the  ranks  of  the  laity ; 
and  they  were  no  reluctant  instruments  provided  to  his  hand. 
He  found  the  Laws,  the  Education,  and  even  the  local  institu- 
tions of  his  Empire,  in  many  parts,  in  entire  abeyance.  The 
military  classes,  with  the  slaves,  and  retainers  of  various  name, 
could  of  course  do  nothing  to  organize  his  vast,  growing,  and 
heterogeneous  dominion. — The  Emperor  himself  could  not,  it 
is  said,  well  write  his  name.  But  among  Charlemagne's  first 
resolves  (786)  had  been  this, — that  he  would  set  up  Schools  for 
the  people  in  all  the  West. 

Before  Charlemagne  was  crowned  as  "  Emperor  of  Rome," 
he  had  been  "King  of  the  Franks"  (Germans)  thirty-two 
years.  His  kingdom  was  then  by  far  the  most  powerful  of 
all  the  (at  first)  half-dependent  monarchies  which  rose,  or 
tried  to  rise,  on  the  ruins  of  so  much  of  Rome  in  the  West. 
He  may  be  said  also  to  have  inherited  the  friendship  of  the 
Roman  see ;  and  the  mutual  relations  of  the  Popes  and  the 
Prankish  kings,  his  ancestors,  had  been  strengthened  by  their 
common  necessities,  and  by  the  state  of  the  times,  from  the 
days,  at  least,  of  Pepin  who  had  been  sanctioned  by  the  Pope 
in  dethroning  the  last  of  the  Merovingian  Franks  (768). 
Pepin  was  a  Patrician,  and  had  been  the  defender  and  Patron 
of  Rome  ;  and  thus  his  son  Charlemagne,  also  a  Patrician,  at 
the  request  of  Pope  Hadrian  had  undertaken,  for  Rome's  sake, 
the  subjugation  of  the  aggressive  Lombards.  This  kind  of 
protectorate  implied  no  less,  practically,  than  Imperial  power; 
for  the  Emperors  of  the  East,  whatever  their  theory,  had 
utterly  allowed  the  West  to  drift  away  from  them  ;  meanwhile 
power  had  everywhere,  as  was  natural,  localized  itself.  When 
at  length  the  Byzantine  throne  was  occupied  by  an  Empress 
(797),  Charlemagne,  at  the  head  of  the  great  Western  mo- 
narchy, was  apparently  willing  to  marry  her,  and  so  naturally 
occupy  the  old  Imperial  position.  But  this  failing,  he  still  was 
at  once  accepted  as  "  Emperor  of  the  Roman  world," — having 
to  make  such  terms  with  ensuing  Byzantine  monarchs  as  the 
powerful  can  generally  offer  to  the  tolerated,  adopting  methods 


156   TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE  ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

of  connivance,  such  as  the  nations  of  both  East  and  West  had 
already  been  accustomed  to. — The  Roman,  clearly  was  to 
grow  stronger,  and  the  Byzantine  weaker  continually. — Even 
in  the  East,  Charlemagne  had  privileges  conceded  to  him  by 
the  Caliph  Haroun  al  Raschid  ;  who  now  utterly  despised  the 
Greek  "  Emperor,"  not  only  his  tributary,  but  Charlemagne's 
titular  ally.  The  "  coronation  "  was  even  superfluous,  and 
submitted  to  rather  than  chosen  at  first  ;  and  Charlemagne 
in  accepting  it,  only  did  what  his  Franco-German  predecessors 
had  thought  they  strengthened  themselves  by  doing.  But  he 
always  knew  that  the  world  owned  but  one  Imperial  power, 
and  he  claimed  to  be  that ;  and  maintained,  both  before  and 
after  the  year  800,  that  Imperial  Supremacy  which  had  always 
carried  with  it  the  Ecclesiastical  also. 

In  pausing  upon  this,  we  at  once  note  that  he  dealt,  for 
example,  with  the  Iconoclastic  controversy  with  a  high  hand, 
and  in  the  Council  of  Frankfort  which  he  summoned  (794)  he 
condemned  the  decrees  of  the  Deuteronicene  Council  (though 
approved  by  Pope  Hadrian),  and  had  the  "  Caroline  Books  " 
issued,  probably  with  Alcuin's  concurrence,  to  show  the 
heresy  of  those  decrees.  (It  is  even  said  that  the  West  owes 
to  Charlemagne  the  Veni  Creator,  and  the  acceptance  of  the 
Filioque.)  But  further: — 

Just  as,  before  the  fall  of  the  West  (476),  the  Imperial 
"  Constitutions "  from  time  to  time  were  added  to  the 
Theodosian  laws  ;  so  now,  in  the  newly  rising  nations,  the 
"  Capitularies  "  of  kings  had  been  issued  as  laws  to  the  bishops 
and  other  magnates  for  practical  adoption  ;  without  at  all 
abrogating  the  old  Imperial  Code,  where  it  prevailed.  The 
ancestors  of  Charlemagne  had  for  ages — (more  than  two 
centuries  at  least) — summoned  Synods  of  Bishops,  together 
with  the  great  men  of  their  people,  and  with  their  consent  put 
forth  Constitutions  and  Capitularies  on  all  subjects  of  Civil 
and  Ecclesiastical  interest,  which  immediately  became  laws  of 
the  realm. 

No  doubt,  to  overlook  the  administration  of  these  laws  was 
often  a  more  difficult  matter  than  to  promulge  them.  The 


RECONSTRUCTION   OF   CIVILIZATION   OF  THE  WEST.   157 

confusions  of  the  times,  so  continually  deplored,  had,  in  the 
eighth  century,  thrown,  and  even  forced,  the  powers  of 
administration,  necessarily,  into  the  hands  of  local  eccle- 
siastics ;  with  the  effect,  at  length,  of  further  secularizing  the 
clergy  themselves,  and  not  by  any  means  spiritualizing  their 
magistracy.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  exaggerate  the  abate- 
ment of  the  Episcopate  in  the  West  which  had  thus  ensued, 
during  the  times  immediately  preceding  Charlemagne. 

Papal  decrees  and  synods,  even  from  the  time  of  Pope 
Siricius  (398),  had  been  allowed  to  assist  in  holding  things 
together.  The  Emperor  Phocas  in  the  East  (150  years  before 
Charlemagne),  regarding  the  West  as  still,  in  theory,  part  of 
the  Byzantine-Roman  Empire,  may  have  hoped  to  assert 
himself,  and  also  arrest  disorders,  by  conceding  a  sort  of 
distant  religious  exarchate  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome  (in  a  quasi- 
Republic,  as  Rome  so  often  was)  ;  but  this  did  not  succeed  in 
really  ruling  the  local  Episcopacies  and  people.  The  generally 
painful  list  of  Pontiffs  from  Boniface  III.  (606)  to  Honorius 
(638),  on  to  Leo  III.  (795),  is  sufficient  to  show  the  moral 
powerlessness  of  this  State-made  primacy  ;  but  doubtless  it 
may  have  seemed  to  answer  awhile  an  Imperial  purpose,  in 
keeping  in  check  the  heresies  and  pretensions  of  Constanti- 
nople (as  "  New  Rome  "),  some  of  which  the  Eastern  Emperor 
had  found  inconvenient.  It  left,  however,  in  the  West  a 
demoralized  Episcopacy  in  the  magistrate's  office,  without 
immediate  remedy. 

In  this  state  of  things,  and  soon  after  his  coronation  (802), 
Charlemagne  once  more  called  together  the  leading  ecclesi- 
astics and  laity,  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  and  thoroughly  revised  the 
laws  of  the  subject  nations  under  his  control — (the  Ripuarii, 
the  Allemanni,  Burgundians,  Lombards,  and  the  rest),  and 
required  all  Ecclesiastical  and  other  Magnates  and  their 
dependents,  to  swear  to  him  as  "  Caesar,"  and  as  directly 
Supreme.  Alcuin  of  York,  whom  the  Emperor  had  met  at 
Parma  some  twenty  years  before  (781),  carrying  the  pallium 
to  the  Archbishop  of  York,  from  Pope  Hadrian,  was  now  the 
Emperor's  adviser.  He  had  become  for  some  time,  at  his 


158  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

request,  the  organizer  of  the  Western  Schools  of  the  Empire  ; 
Schools  which  have  influenced,  since  then,  the  whole  intellectual 
culture  of  Europe.  A  Supremacy,  like  this  of  Charlemagne's, 
over  the  instruction  and  discipline  of  Church  and  State,  over 
the  Creed  of  the  nations  (cap.  i.  an.  802,  c.  41),  and  over  all  the 
Schools  of  secular  learning,  could  not  but  put  into  distinctest 
prominence  the  question  (practically  unraised  since  the  days 
of  the  pagan  Emperors),  as  to  the  independent  spiritual  claims 
of  the  Church  in  his  Empire. 

Civilization  thus  had  clearly  entered  on  its  new  phase. 
The  Emperor  at  Aachen  was  acting  no  doubt  under  urgent 
necessity,  which  all  must  have  seen ;  but  it  was  by  his  own 
surprising  energy  that  he  succeeded  in  securing  the  wonted 
homage  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  and  of  the  Episcopacy  in  all 
his  dominions — never  really  withheld  from  Christian  Em- 
perors ;  and  thus  his  Empire  was  founded. 

His  son,  Louis  the  Pious,  followed  him  (814).  It  had  been 
probably  the  policy  of  Charlemagne  to  divide  the  Empire  (as 
Constantine  and  Theodosius  had  done)  among  his  posterity  ; 
hoping  so  to  retain  and  enhance  that  theoretical  Unity  of  the 
Roman  world  which  all  men  desired.  But  the  division  proved 
to  be  as  disastrous  as  in  the  former  cases.  After  Louis  the 
Pious,  Lothair  II.  (840),  Louis  II.  (855),  Charles  the  Bald 
(875),  and  Charles  the  Fat  (888),  through  their  dynastic 
divisions,  brought  the  Carlovingian  Empire  to  utter  destruc- 
tion in  less  than  a  hundred  years. — 

Meanwhile  the  Photian  schism  in  the  East,  and  the  Eighth 
General  Council  (Constantinople,  869),  were  occupying  atten- 
tion there ;  but  were  of  course  untouched  by  the  Emperors 
in  the  again  distracted  West ;  and  during  the  then  ensuing 
seventy  years  (of  the  feeble  and  less  direct  members  of  the 
house  of  Charlemagne),  there  was,  as  described  by  Gibbon, 
a  "  kind  of  Vacancy  of  the  Empire  itself." 

A  new  barbarism  was  threatened  even  in  Italy.  Popes,  as 
a  rule,  however,  demanded  all  along  "the  protection"  of  the 
Western  Emperors  ;  and  the  Emperors,  one  after  the  other, 
as  in  return,  claimed  when  they  could,  to  be  "  crowned  "  by 


RECONSTRUCTION   OF  CIVILIZATION   OF   THE  WEST.    159 

the  Popes  ;  the  latent  problem  of  their  mutual  relations  being 
really  unsolved  as  much  as  ever.  No  Emperor,  indeed, 
appeared  for  a  long  time  after  Charlemagne  strong  enough 
to  rule  imperially  with  a  high  hand  as  he  did  ;  and  there  was 
worse  than  feebleness  all  the  while  on  the  side  of  the  Ecclesi- 
astical power.  For  then,  if  ever,  would  have  been  the  time  to 
show,  if  it  could  be,  that  a  Spiritual  hierarchy  was,  as  it  had 
now  believed  itself,  the  true  government  for  mankind.  But 
history  has  no  more  disappointing  story  to  tell  than  in  the 
lives  of  a  large  portion  of  the  fifty  pontiffs  (if  we  may  so  call 
them),  from  Leo  III.  to  John  XVIII. —  a  period  of  two 
hundred  years. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  during  this  pro- 
longed political  struggle  the  nations  lapsed  into  such 
degradation  as  in  the  eighth  century.  A  forward  step  had 
been  taken.  Great  names  appear,  and  assure  us  at  once  that 
the  Imperial  Schools  had  not  existed  in  vain.  Now  (as  not 
before)  another  life  was  successfully  being  lived,  full  of  intel- 
lectual promise.  Our  former  British  missionaries,  Colamban 
in  Austrasia,  and  Boniface  in  Frankland,  and  the  rest,  had 
been  followed,  as  we  have  said,  by  our  Alcuin  ;  and  then  John 
Scot  Erigena  became  in  due  succession  master  of  the 
"  Schools  of  the  Palace,"  which  held  on  in  the  quiet  vale  of 
literature  much  apart  at  least  from  the  heights  of  empire  ; 
and  they  transmitted  the  light  of  truth,  and  earnest  thought, 
to  centuries  yet  to  come ;  a  light  still  destined  to  penetrate 
mankind.  The  "  trivium  "  and  "  quadrivium  "  bore  their  fruit 
naturally.  The  Schools  of  the  diocese,  or  of  the  monastery, 
acquired  also  a  recognised  sacredness,  which  made  them 
henceforth  refuges  amidst  the  political  confusions. 

Here,  too,  perhaps  we  may  mention,  as  a  practical  example 
of  mental  growth,  the  great  Predestinarian  Controversy  long 
ago  bequeathed  by  Augustine,  apart  from  its  philosophy,  and 
now  raised  by  Gotteschalcus.  We  see  it  bringing  into  activity 
such  men  as  Rabanus,  Maurus,  Erigena  and  Hincmar,  with 
their  throngs  of  eager  disciples  filling  Europe,  and  in  them- 
selves sufficient  proof  that  the  human  mind  was  moving  on, 


160   TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

and  that  at  least  the  old  hopeless  chasm  of  barbaric  ignorance 
was  really  passed. 

The  needs  of  the  Roman  Episcopate,  amidst  the  struggles 
of  local  potentates,  obliged,  in  the  tenth  century  (as  of  old,  in 
similar  cases),  an  appeal  to  the  Civil  Power.  The  Carlovin- 
gians  were  passed,  and  Otho  was  now  King  of  Germany. 
After  the  extinction  of  the  old  imperial  line,  the  territory  of 
the  Roman  see  and  City  fell,  for  half  a  century,  into  inex- 
tricable disasters.  The  imperial  power  itself  had  there  seemed 
again  as  if  suspended.  The  city,  with  its  immediate  depen- 
dencies, was  again  governed,  more  than  half  that  time,  as  a 
republic,  by  a  so-called  "  Consul."  Octavian,  who  held  that 
office  at  sixteen  years  of  age  (after  Alberic,  the  Patrician), 
made  himself  Pope  also,  young  as  he  was,  under  the  title  of 
John  XII.,  and  he  was  accepted  by  the  Church.  Finding  the 
security  of  his  quasi-rule  threatened  by  Berengar  (915),  who 
had  succeeded  for  a  short  time  in  being  Emperor  in  Italy, 
(but  was  now  holding  power  as  vassal  of  the  great  German 
monarch),  this  John  XII.  appealed  to  Otho,  who,  no  doubt, 
effectually  interfered  ;  and  was  himself,  in  due  course,  crowned 
"  Emperor  "  by  the  Pope,  who  had  invoked  his  aid  (962). 

A  succession  of  infamous,  or  unworthy,  ecclesiastics  (not 
wholly  unbroken  by  better  men),  who  held  the  popedom,  had 
made  all  come  to  feel  that  the  secular  Empire,  suspended 
only  too  long,  was  a  necessity ;  and  Otho  the  Great  was  thus 
hailed  as  a  deliverer — another  Charlemagne — "  Imperator, 
Augustus,  Pater  Patriae." 

The  world,  also,  beyond  Italy,  began  to  apprehend  once 
more  that  the  "  Holy  Roman  Imperium  "  was  a  reality,  and 
that,  with  it,  society  had  something  to  rest  on.  The  cause  of 
the  Ecclesiastical  Supremacy  had  (not  for  the  first  time)  been 
tried,  and  was  clearly  lost ;  and  the  Empire  held  its  former 
place. 

Otho  "  the  Great "  (as  he  is  justly  named)  confirmed  to  the 
Roman  prelate,  however,  the  "donations"  of  Pepin,  Charle- 
magne, and  Louis  I.,  which  had  been  so  great  a  snare  to  the 
Ecclesiastics,  though  so  opportune  at  times,  as  constituting  a 


RECONSTRUCTION   OF   CIVILIZATION  OF   THE  WEST.    161 

lieutenancy  for  the  too-distant  "Emperor;"  but  Otho  specially 
obliged  John  XII.  to  admit  the  Imperial  Supremacy;  and 
soon  after,  on  the  same  Pope's  rebellion,  he  called  a  Council 
of  Bishops,  requiring  them  to  depose  John  "  for  his  many 
crimes,"  and  to  elect  in  his  place,  and  at  the  imperial  bidding, 
Leo  VIII. 

Unhappily  for  Rome,  John  XII.  was  not  the  last  who 
shocked  the  conscience  of  mankind,  and,  finally,  made  Su- 
preme hierarchical  rule  impossible  in  the  order  of  the  world. 
For  the  Popes,  from  John  VIII.  to  John  XVIIL— ten 
Popes  of  that  name  in  the  tenth  Christian  century — were  of 
themselves  enough  to  destroy  any  cause  (without  specifying 
other  prelates  of  the  time,  such  as  Benedict  VI.,  Stephen  VI., 
and  Sergius  III.) 

Otho  the  Great  died  in  972,  only  ten  years  after  his  coro- 
nation. In  ten  years  more  Otho  II.  passed  away  (983). 
Otho  III.  was  but  a  child,  the  son  of  Otho  II.  by  the  Greek 
Princess  Theophano.  At  sixteen  he  took  from  his  mother 
the  reins  of  government,  but  he  died  before  attaining  ripe 
manhood.  As  noble  as  his  grandfather,  and  more  devout, 
courageous  and  lofty  in  his  character  (notwithstanding  the 
fearful  sternness  of  his  outset),  possibly  Rome  might  have 
been  raised  by  him  to  greatness,  more  than  Justinian's  (whose 
Code  he  commanded  to  be  restored  as  the  Law  of  the  Empire) ; 
but  it  was  not  to  be. 

The  Othos  were  followed  in  the  empire  by  the  Henries — 
on  the  whole  an  heroic  set  of  men,  yet  none  of  them  equal 
to  the  struggle  which  they  inherited,  or  able  to  settle  the 
modus  vivendi  of  the  two  Powers.  The  strength  of  the  Papal 
cause  at  the  time,  as  often  before,  lay  in  the  Monasteries  and 
Schools,  which  had  given  it  a  new  Unity.  The  Imperial  defence 
was  in  the  minor  landholders  of  various  States,  whose  power 
was  increasingly  despotic,  whether  they  ruled  as  an  aristocracy, 
in  a  lax  subjection  to  the  Roman  imperium,  or  asserted  more 
independence. 

The  immediate  form  which  the  dispute  for  Supremacy  (so 
vital  to  the  Empire)  always  took  during  the  eleventh  century 

M 


162   TRANSACTIONS   OF  THE  ROYAL   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

was  twofold  ;  first,  as  to  the  election  of  the  Emperor  by  the 
Pope's  consent,  or  of  the  Pope  by  the  Emperor's ;  and  next, 
and  in  natural  sequence,  as  to  the  forms  of  Investiture  in  the 
case  of  all  Ecclesiastics. 

The  election  itself,  as  to  the  Popes,  had  been  secured  to  the 
College  of  Cardinals  by  Nicholas  II.  (1059) — a  serious  change 
in  the  papal  position — only  fourteen  years  before  the  ponti- 
ficate of  Gregory  VII.  But  .the  Imperial  consent  was  not 
formally  conceded. 

The  most  disastrous,  because  exasperating,  episode  of  this 
part  of  the  struggle  is  the  melancholy  account  of  the  meeting 
of  Henry  IV.  at  Canossa,  with  Pope  Gregory  VII.  It  seemed, 
at  one  moment,  that  the  ignominious  penance  of  this  Emperor 
had  finally  conceded  the  Ecclesiastical  supremacy  in  things 
secular.  But  no  ;  the  penance  failed,  for  it  was  wrung  from 
Henry  IV.  by  his  necessities,  viz.,  by  the  practical  difficulties 
in  which  he  was  involved  through  the  papal  excommunication. 
To  be  relieved  from  these,  Henry  went  through  an  act  of  hy- 
pocrisy, which  we  can  but  wonder  at,  as  we  read  of  it.  How 
he  could  possibly  do  it  (as  we  should  now  say),  as  a  "  gentle- 
man," and,  after  attaining  his  object,  break  all  his  plighted 
faith,  and  persecute  to  the  end  the  Pontiff  to  whom  he  had 
vowed  his  allegiance  before  all  Europe,  we  cannot  comprehend. 
Or  how  Gregory  VII.,  with  the  awful  recollections,  as  well  as 
immediate  experience,  of  the  abominable  baseness  of  the 
Papacy  of  the  preceding  generations,  could  claim  for  the 
Pope  the  plenitude  of  Divine  authority  here  on  earth,  must 
ever  remain  among  the  enigmas  of  the  human  conscience. 
The  next  generation  cruelly  avenged  both  the  Pontiff  who  died 
in  exile  (1085)  and  the  Emperor  who  sank  (1105),  dethroned 
by  his  unnatural  son  and  successor,  Henry  V.  But  the 
grounds  of  the  struggle  still  remained  just  as  before  between 
the  Church  and  the  Empire. 

And  when  Henry  V.  came  to  be  crowned  (in  1112)  by 
Pope  Pascal  II.,  the  stern  conflict  of  centuries  arrived  only 
at  a  poor  compromise.  Practically  passing  by  the  question 
of  the  Imperial  and  Papal  Elections,  the  Concordat  of  Worms 


RECONSTRUCTION  OF  CIVILIZATION  OF   THE  WEST.    163 

(1122),  as  if  in  irony  of  both  Pope  and  Emperor,  had  adopted 
the  discreditable  hypothesis  that  the  Church  and  Empire  had, 
in  this  long  controversy,  been  disputing  about  the  symbols 
and  forms  of  Investiture,  and  not  concerning  the  entire  reali- 
ties of  government.  Pope  Calixtus,  who  had  followed  Pas- 
cal II.  (in 8),  conceded,  however,  at  that  time  that  no 
bishop,  or  even  abbot,  should  be  consecrated  in  future  until 
invested  by  the  Emperor,  and  swearing  allegiance  to  him — 
only  the  Investiture  was  to  be  by  the  "Sceptre,"  and  not  by 
the  Staff  and  Ring.  The  ninth  General  Council  of  the  Church 
was  convoked  in  the  following  year  (1123)  to  promulgate  to 
Christendom  this  hollow  truce. 

The  question,  who  should  choose  the  Pope  ?  was  henceforth 
to  be  formally  untouched,  and  only  had  a  piecemeal  decision 
in  the  mingled  events  of  the  time.  The  difficulty  as  to  the 
choice  of  the  Emperor  brought  into  existence,  later  on,  an 
Electoral  system  among  the  leading  potentates  of  the  West, 
very  similar  to  that  of  the  electoral  Papacy,  fatally  vested  in 
the  Cardinals.  On  the  growing  theory  that  all  minor  states 
were  feofs  of  the  empire — (a  theory  encouraged  by  the  long 
disorders  of  the  reign  of  Henry  IV.), — certain  kings  and  dukes 
became  "Prince  Electors  of  the  Empire"  (1156);  and  upon 
this  the  papal  assent  to  the  Imperial  election  came  somewhat 
as  a  matter  of  course.  For  two  hundred  years  after  this  the 
Electoral  system  grew,  till  formally  settled  by  the  "  Golden 
Bull"  (1356), 

The  brief  and  troubled  interval  from  the  Council  of  Lateran 
(1123)  to  the  rise  of  the  great  house  of  the  Hohenstaufens — 
(Conrad  III.,  1138,  whom  St.  Bernard  influenced  to  take  up 
the  Crusades), — conducts  us  speedily  to  Frederick  the  Great  ; 
— bringing  us  to  another  era,  on  which  we  do  not  at  present 
enter. 

II.  In  the  meanwhile  our  subject  obliges  us  to  remember 
other  great  events  which  could  not  but  throw  their  influence 
on  the  difficult  controversy  as  to  the  organization  of  Civilization 
which  was  to  be  the  inheritance  of  later  times. 


164  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

The  "  Crusades"  (from  1096)  had  attraction  for  both  states- 
men and  churchmen.  To  the  former  they  had  a  fascination 
as  promising  a  recovery  of  the  East  to  the  Empire ;  to  the  latter 
as  regaining  the  "  Holy  Places"  of  Christianity  from  the  power 
of  the  Mahometans.  The  Crusades  had  also  the  effect  of 
partly  diverting  attention  from  the  political  divisions  among 
the  princes  and  prelates  of  the  West  ;  while  yet  they  accen- 
tuated the  religious  animosities  of  Greeks  and  Latins.  They 
had,  however,  a  charm  for  the  greatest  minds  (like  St. 
Bernard),  though  they  distracted  the  Empire,  and  misled  the 
Church  from  her  great  work  of  instruction  and  Civilization, 
which,  as  we  may  say,  was  thrown  back  awhile  almost  hope- 
lessly. The  power  and  encroachments  of  the  local  nobility  at 
the  same  time  became  greater,  and  the  reign  of  Imperial  law 
more  disturbed  ;  while  the  possessors  of  the  land  gradually 
reduced  to  deeper  serfdom  the  masses  of  the  people  who 
remained  on  their  estates.  The  Crusades  were  a  great  paren- 
thesis in  European  civilization. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  in  these  pages  to  trace  other  historical 
outlines  of  the  Roman  Empire  of  the  West,  only  so  far  as  to 
follow  certain  chief  developments  affecting  the  progress  of  the 
Civilization.  We  pause  to  mark,  that  the  intellectual  advance- 
ment of  Europe  happily  was,  in  a  large  degree,  distinct  from 
many  of  the  political  movements;  and  we  must  turn  our 
thoughts  specially  in  that  direction.  Education,  notwithstand- 
ing the  Crusades,  we  may  observe,  was  still  doing  its  work  in 
Europe  ;  and  we  must  refer  to  this. 

People  are  in  the  habit  of  loosely  describing  the  ages  from 
Charlemagne  onwards,  as  the  "  dark  ages,"  and  writers  have 
too  commonly  spoken  of  the  Trivium,  of  Grammar,  Rhetoric, 
and  Logic,and  \L\\Q  Quadrivium,Qi  Arithmetic, Geometry,  Music, 
and  Astronomy,  as  a  somewhat  narrow  training  for  the  elemen- 
tary Schools  founded  in  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries.  This  is 
exaggeration,  and  indeed  something  worse.  The  times  of  the 
Carlovingians  and  their  successors  were  "  light"  compared  with 
the  8th  century.  Perhaps  every  age  is  a  ''dark  age  "  if  judged 
by  the  amount  of  knowledge,  and  power  of  thought,  in  the  over- 


RECONSTRUCTION   OF  CIVILIZATION   OF  THE  WEST.    165 

whelming  majority  of  the  people ;  but  if  Grammar,  Arithmetic, 
Geometry, 'and  Astronomy,  and  so  on,  were  to  be  the  subjects 
universally  taught  even  in  our  own  times  (say  under  the 
Elementary  Code,  Act  1870),  instead  of  any  complaint  of  the 
"  darkness/'  we  should  hear  no  small  outcry  as  to  our  over- 
educating  the  people  ;  and  if  further,  there  were  free  access  to 
all  these  subjects  secured  by  the  Clergy  for  all  classes,  many 
politicians  would  childishly  think  our  condition  even  danger- 
ous. The  truth  is  that  people  who  speak  of  certain  ages  as 
"  dark  "  seem  here  to  need  education  themselves.  They  have 
a  sort  of  superstition,  that  there  had  been  somehow  and  some- 
where a  determined  suppression  of  "  light,"  in  the  interest  of 
ignorance.  The  facts  are  the  reverse  of  this  imagination. 
The  irruption  of  the  barbarians  of  the  North  and  East 
destroyed,  no  doubt,  the  ancient  cities  of  the  Empire  ;  and  the 
Saracens  at  first  burnt  the  Libraries.  But  the  Monasteries  of 
the  Church  saved  all  they  could  of  the  old  literature  ;  while  the 
Clergy  deplored  the  devastation,  and  long  worked  on  with 
silent  industry  in  the  Schools,  seeking,  almost  single-handed,  to 
preserve  and  copy  the  precious  manuscripts  they  could  secure. 
The  eager  population  were  encouraged  by  their  lords  to  be 
constantly  at  war,  and  even  the  old  desire  of  learning  was 
lost.  From  Sidonius  Apollinarius  (450)  to  Gregory  of  Tours 
570),  from  Gregory  to  Hincmar  (846),  there  had  been  a  time 
of  growing  barbaric  encroachment,  to  which,  perforce,  even 
Ecclesiastics  at  length  succumbed.  Schools  both  Episcopal  and 
Monastic  were,  for  want  of  protection,  nearly  extinct  at  last,  ex 
cept  in  our  own  land,  at  the  time  Charlemagne  met  Alcuin  a 
Parma  (and  later  to  Alfred — 900).  But  now,  and  for  above  300 
years  the  imperial  schools  were  to  become  once  more  the  agency 
which  mainly  formed  anew  the  Civilization  of  Europe.  Just 
as,  from  Lactantius  to  Boethius  (520),  Christianity  had  been 
reviving  the  Empire,  until  the  crushing  barbarian  irruptions  ; 
so  now,  on  the  contrary  (780),  the  revived  schools  with  Charle- 
magne's protectorate  began  a  work  which  was  never  to  be  so 
fatally  interrupted  ;  and  which  was  all  along  the  life  of  the 
Civilization  of  the  West,  if  regarded  as  an  advancing  whole. 


166   TRANSACTIONS  OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

At  the  same  time  there  were  other  elements, — those  of 
political  thought  among  the  nations, — arising  out  of  the 
Education,  which  influenced  the  growing  course  of  Civiliza- 
tion. 

That  the  freedom  and  justice  which  should  rule  among  men 
should  be  uniform  "  Law  "  had  been  indeed  the  common  con- 
viction which  gave  strength  to  the  respect  for  the  Roman 
power,  and  its  Code  of  just  legislation,  which  pervaded  even 
barbarians  as  they  advanced  ;  and  this  conviction,  as  we  have 
been  observing,  had  long  made  the  Empire  appear  a  kind  of 
human  necessity.  That  the  Religion,  also  (which  should  de- 
velope  the  human  conscience),  should  be  true,  and  therefore 
one  and  the  same  everywhere,  was  for  ages  accepted  with  rigor 
in  Europe  as  self-evident ;  and  with  that  mixed  feeling  the  Civil 
and  Ecclesiastical  Codes  were  intermingled.  The  "One  Empire" 
and  the  "  One  Church" — ("  Eternal  Rome"  and  "  Catholic  Reli- 
gion ") — seemed  thus  to  be  natural  constituents  of  the  highest 
Civilization.  These  convictions  had  been  shaken  to  the  founda- 
tion by  the  division  of  the  secular,  and  by  the  heresies  of  the 
ecclesiastical  power,  as  also  by  the  inroads  of  Mahometanism, 
after  the  fall  of  the  West,  and  onwards  to  the  "  Transition  of 
the  Empire  "  (as  it  was  called)  in  the  Carlovingian  days.  But 
the  convictions  still  existed,  though  so  deeply  shaken  ;  and 
destined  to  be  further  shaken  in  the  I2th  century.  The  se- 
paration of  the  two  codes,  by  the  "  Decretum "  of  Gratian 
required  to  be  taught  in  all  universities  of  Europe,  was  in  the 
same  direction. 

Charlemagne,  indeed,  had  found  the  old  Empire,  which  was 
deemed  One  and  sacred,  practically  dissevered  from  the  nominal 
head  at  Constantinople,  and  (with  the  assistance  of  the  Bishop 
of  Rome)  acted  on  the  belief  that  the  Roman  Empire,  which 
had,  if  it  may  be  so  expressed,  emigrated  to  Constantinople  in 
339,  only  returned  as  the  same  Roman  Imperium  to  its  true 
home  in  the  West,  when  he  was  monarch.  To  him  there  was 
but  one  Rome  and  One  true  Christianity.  He  endeavoured 
always  to  regard  the  Greek  Emperors  as  holding  outlying  posts 
of  the  Roman  world  (very  much  as  the  East  had,  from  476,  long 


RECONSTRUCTION   OF  CIVILIZATION   OF  THE  WEST.    167 

imagined  the  Ostrogothic,  Prankish  and  Lombardian  kings, 
and  exarchs,  to  be  their  deputies  in  the  West).  Had  not 
Charlemagne,  however,  been  great  enough  to  attempt  the  free 
and  almost  compulsory  Education  of  the  West,  he  could  not 
have  succeeded  in  upholding  this  "  Unity,"  or  arresting  the 
barbarism  which  was  destroying  it.  In  another  hundred  years 
the  ruin  must  have  been  fatally  consummated,  which  however 
was  averted. 

But  there  were  other  causes  (including  Education  itself), 
which  mingled  in  producing  the  changes  which  were  to  super- 
sede the  old  ideas  at  last.  The  Empire,  after  Charlemagne's 
own  time,  we  have  seen  split  up  into  divisions  which  tended 
more  and  more  to  independence  and  disruption.  But  cer- 
tainly they  aimed  no  barbarous  blow  at  Education,  the 
great  Civilizer,  and  now  the  Uniting  power.  The  formation 
of  the  new  languages  of  the  West,  as  shown  later  on,  also 
contributed  to  the  inevitable  disintegration  of  the  old  and 
long  attempted  "  Roman  Unity,"  encouraging  separation  into 
Nationalities.  But  all  this  change  rather  promoted  Education. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  "  Catholic  "  idea  of  Religion,  true  for 
all  alike  (as  hitherto  interpreted),  was  the  instrument  of  all 
Education,  and  naturally  was  in  collision  with  secular  Na- 
tionalism, imperilling  Unity  on  every  side. 

Thus  the  old  Roman  organization  was  receding,  together 
with  the  old  ideas.  Not,  indeed,  till  the  beginning  of  our 
own  century,  was  the  history  worked  out ;  so  that  the  shadow 
of  the  title  of  the  "  Roman  Emperor"  (as  the  ideal  head  of 
law  and  civilization)  finally  passed  away.  It  was  then  (1806) 
formally  resigned  by  the  Emperor  Francis  II.  ;  and  Europe 
began  to  be  readjusted  by  new  ideas — and  by  the  French 
Revolution. 

Civilization,  in  fact,  has  not  since  then  marked  out  its  own 
future ;  but  it  has  shown  what  it  will  not  be  ;  it  will  not 
repeat  the  past.  The  position  latent  in  the  "  States  of  the 
Church,"  i.e.,  the  whole  Ecclesiastico-secular  claim,  as  well  as 
in  that  of  the  Empire,  has  finally  changed.  The  "Roman 
world,"  whether  Secular  or  Spiritual,  Imperial  or  Pontifical,  will 


168   TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

rule  the  nations  no  more  ;  though  the  influence  of  "  Roman 
Law  "  will  long  be  felt,  and  of  "  Catholic  Religion  "  for  ever. 
The  antagonism  of  the  two  "  Roman "  powers,  as  such,  was 
essentially  at  an  end.  As  they  for  1500  years  had  lived,  so 
now  they  practically  died  together.  —  (From  Pius  VII. — 
Leo  XIII.  we  have  Concordats,  quasi-Pragmatic  Sanctions, 
and  then  the  Syllabus,  the  Falke  Laws,  and  now  the  expul- 
sion of  Religious,  &c.) 

Reverting,  however,  to  the  Civilization  of  the  Carlovingian 
Empire  yet  once  more,  we  have  to  emphasize  the  fact  of  the 
ordinary  connection  through  all  political  changes  of  its  great 
agent,  the  Schools,  with  the  Palace,  the  Cathedral,  and  the 
Monastery,  whatever  were  the  failures  of  each.  The  Schools 
were,  no  doubt,  intensely  secular,  but  they  were  Ecclesiastical 
even  more ;  and  this  latter  characteristic  was  often,  as  we 
have  said,  their  protection.  We  must  not  turn  away  from 
facts  which  so  deeply  interest  us. 

Christian  Monasticism  had  begun  in  an  age  of  disorder, 
war,  crime,  and  social  uprooting.  It  never  remained  in  one 
stay,  but  seemed  itself,  in  all  its  various  orders,  to  be  easily 
corrupted,  even  when  only  in  its  second  generation,  and 
always  to  need  speedy  reform,  new  rules,  and  sometimes  re- 
foundation. Meanwhile,  it  was  always  a  protest  against 
barbarism,  whether  by  its  looking  back  into  the  silent  past 
for  a  model  of  a  better  life,  or  looking  on  dimly  into  the 
desired  future,  as  containing  the  undeveloped  hopes  of  man. 
Amidst  the  divisions  of  the  striving  world  it  held  forth  a 
vision  of  peace.  It  was  as  a  voice  in  the  wilderness  of  often 
decaying  Civilization,  and  had  eventually  the  reverence  of 
even  the  turbulent.  Monasticism  soon  became  actively  an 
Educator,  and  it  was  never  a  dry  Expositor  of  learning. 

The  monastic  orders  grew  to  be  educators  in  many  ways, 
not  one  only.  They  may  be  said  to  have  created  new  Litera- 
ture as  a  common  right,  or  they  revived  the  old  ;  or  they  were 
Preachers  to  the  masses,  like  our  English  Boniface,  or  pious 
teachers,  like  those  at  Fulda  ;  who  put  forth  the  "BibliaGlos- 
sata,"  with  the  comments  of  a  hundred  Fathers  (Qth  century), 


RECONSTRUCTION   OF  CIVILIZATION  OF   THE  WEST.   169 

after  the  schools  of  Alcuin  were  founded.  The  monks  were 
also  the  thinkers,  who  made  men  feel  (what  barbarians  never 
felt,  and  some  still  do  not  know  among  ourselves)  that  truth 
is  worth  pursuing  for  its  own  sake.  If  Alcuin  himself  were 
more  an  organizer  than  a  thinker,  the  monk  Rabanus,  who 
succeeded  him  in  the  "  School  of  the  Palace,"  was  not  so  ; 
nor,  again,  the  acute  successor  of  Rabanus,  John  Scot  Erigena 
— in  will  a  very  martyr  of  free  thought.  The  Schools  which 
produced  this  Erigena,  the  author  of  the  necessary  "  Con- 
sistency of  Reason  and  Religion,"  the  defender  of  moral 
responsibility  against  the  fatalism  of  Gotteschalcus,  and  a 
bright  line  of  teachers,  onwards  to  that  grandest  of  thinkers, 
St.  Anselm,  cannot  but  be  regarded  as  chief  factors  in  that 
permanent  Civilization,  which  soldiers  and  tyrants  could  not 
henceforth  destroy. 

It  would  be  wrong  to  imagine,  indeed,  that  the  advance- 
ment of  the  world  cannot  again  be  thrown  back  by  barbarism  ; 
for  the  animal  still  dominates  too  much  over  the  moral  and 
intellectual  in  the  human  family;  and  there  are  schemes 
fostered,  which  sober  greatly  all  enthusiasm  for  our  immediate 
future.  But  the  ultimate  prevalence  of  truth  and  righteous- 
ness is  an  indestructible  faith  of  the  human  heart  ;  and  an 
ever-growing  "cloud  of  witnesses"  certifies  that  humanity  is 
waiting  for  "  better  things." 

But,  looking  finally  at  our  chief  subject,  what  shall  we  say 
of  the  Civilized  position  at  the  close  of  the  era  we  have  been 
considering  ?  Taking  leave  of  Anselm  and  the  Imperial 
Schools,  and  Bernard  the  "  last  of  the  Fathers,"  who  died 
(1153)  just  when  the  "Master  of  the  Sentences  "  had  com- 
pleted his  work  (so  destined  to  influence  the  Schools  of  the 
centuries  that  followed),  let  us  give  a  summary  glance  at  the 
practical  result  thus  far  reached,  by  the  two  disputants  in  the 
Roman  world  claiming  the  Supreme  government  of  men,  the 
Ecclesiastical  and  the  Temporal,  and  asking  to  order  the 
Civilization  of  the  West. 

Each  of  the  contending  Powers  had  more  than  once  had 
the  opportunity  of  showing  what  it  could  achieve  for  Society, 


170  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

or  for  the  Empire  ;  and  we  see  that  not  one  Emperor  attained 
even  a  minimum  of  success  as  a  Ruler,  unless  (to  use  a  com- 
mon phrase)  he  "  took  the  law  into  his  own  hands,"  and 
resolutely  used  the  Ecclesiastical  power  as  his  subordinate. 
From  the  first  Christian  Emperor  to  Charlemagne,  as  we  look 
back,  most  of  the  Emperors  were  admitted  as  Supreme,  and, 
had  they  been  resisted,  they  might  probably  have  been  unable 
to  vindicate  their  real  claim ;  for,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
great  men  (like  the  Theodosiuses),  they  were  personally 
unequal  to  the  moral  position  ;  but  they  would  actually,  no 
doubt,  have  been  upheld  at  the  time  by  the  imperial  code. 
But,  after  the  question  had  been  practically  raised,  no  Emperors 
but  Charlemagne,  and  the  Othos,  and  Henry  III.  had  wisdom 
or  vigour  enough  fully  to  maintain  the  de  jure  or  even  de  facto 
Supremacy  of  the  Temporal  power.  This  Imperial  feebleness 
was  probably  inherent  in  the  Imperial  institution ;  for  even 
when  successful,  the  Secular  Supremacy  was  maintained  by 
might  only,  and  not  by  demonstrated  right.  There  was,  thus 
far,  no  intelligent  solution  of  the  difficulty.  It  was  simply 
"submit  to  authority" — this  or  that.  Human  society  thus 
subsisted  under  a  perpetual  apology.  The  conscience  of  man, 
socially  and  morally,  could  not  finally  or  really  surrender  itself 
to  the  Temporal  Authority  of  the  Civil  Ruler ;  and  yet  the 
Civil  ruler  was  obliged,  if  he  would  have  peace,  to  act  publicly 
as  if  it  could,  though  he  felt  the  impossibility. 

But  the  Ecclesiastical  power,  which  in  the  time  of 
Gregory  VII.,  claimed  universal  submission  from  all  men, 
made  the  same  practical  assumption,  of  course,  as  the  Empire 
made,  as  to  the  claims  of  "  authority/'  It  assumed  that 
because  of  the  Divine  origin  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Power,  the 
conscience  of  man  was  to  surrender  to  its  "authority,"  in 
things  spiritual  and  moral, — which  include  everything ;  a 
theory  as  subversive  ultimately  of  the  ground  of  moral  good- 
ness, as  Imperialism  itself  could  be. 

Then  the  actual  qualifications  of  the  line  of  Ecclesiastics, 
who  claimed  this  lofty  character  as  the  hierarchs  of  the  world, 
were  even  more  flagrantly  at  variance  with  their  asserted 


' 


RECONSTRUCTION   OF  CIVILIZATION   OF  THE  WEST.   171 

calling  than  those  of  the  worst  and  feeblest  Emperors.  If 
the  Imperial  power  commonly  exhibits  its  own  unfitness,  from 
Charlemagne  to  Henry  V.,  still  more  impossible  is  the  power 
of  the  Ecclesiastical  Hierarchy  as  seen  in  the  light  of  the  facts, 
down  to  the  poor  compromise  effected  at  Worms  (1122). 

Nearly  sixty  popes  succeeded,  one  after  the  other,  in  these 
300  years  from  Leo  III.  to  Pascal  II.  There  were  some 
great  men  ;  but  they  were  very  few.  Baronius  would  allow 
that  the  greatest  was  Gregory  VII.,  virtually  the  guide  of 
several  of  his  predecessors,  and  the  nominator  of  Victor  III., 
who  succeeded  him  as  Pope,  to  hand  on  his  principles.  The 
subjugation  of  both  the  Church  and  the  world  to  the  Papacy 
was  the  object  of  Gregory's  life.  His  theory  was  clear ;  but 
he  died  in  defeat  and  exile.  Not  one  besides  approached 
him  in  vigour,  though  there  was  spasmodic  action  here  and 
there.  Victor  III.  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  witness  of  the 
condition  to  which  the  Roman  See  had  come,  just  before 
Gregory's  time : — (and  no  one  could  refer  with  pride  to 
other  Popes  of  the  age,  to  1 123).  Victor  III.,  in  his  dialogues, 
delineates  the  position,  when  describing  one  of  his  pre- 
decessors: — "Benedict  IX.  (1023),  terrified  by  the  outcry 
"  against  his  crimes,  given  up  to  voluptuous  pleasures,  and  more 
"  disposed  to  live  as  an  epicurean  than  as  a  pontiff,  adopted  the 
"resolution  of  selling  the  pontificate!" — This  Benedict  IX. 
was  nephew  of  the  preceding  Pope,  John  XIX.,  who  was 
brother  to  Benedict  VIII.  When  the  Emperor  Henry  III. 
came  to  Rome,  he  found  the  three  popes  there  ;  Benedict  IX., 
at  the  Lateran  ;  Sylvester  III.,  at  the  Vatican  ;  and  Gregory 
VI.,  at  St.  Maria  Maggiore.  The  Emperor  deposed  them  all, 
and  a  fourth  was  elected  as  Clement  II. ! 

It  is  needless  to  continue  the  mournful  story.  Enough 
has  been  said  to  show  that  the  Gregorian  Ecclesiastical 
Supremacy  of  the  world  had  been  tried  and  found  wanting. 

In  conclusion  :  We  have  seen  that  the  project  of  One 
Empire,  and  One  Established  Faith  in  combination,  was  thus 
far  thwarted  by  the  history  of  the  nations.  But  the  battle 
was  by  no  means  fought  out.  The  Empire,  however  low, 


172   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

was  not  yet  extinct  even  in  the  East.  In  the  West  the 
Roman  Imperium  had  to  struggle  for  centuries  for  its  ideal 
place  ampng  the  growing  nationalities.  The  Church  had  to 
learn,  whether  it  could  be  at  the  same  time  Catholic  and 
National.  The  mind  of  the  various  peoples  had  to  be  trained 
to  freedom  and  law. — Some  began  to  ask,  "Is  there  a  lex 
gentium  in  Religion  ?  " 

The  Schools  of  the  next  300  years  will  conduct  to  the 
Renaissance  ;  and,  after  that,  400  more  will  be  needed  to 
disentangle  the  mingled  Imperial  Christianity  from  the  rough 
accidents  of  all  the  eighteen  centuries,  and  open  the  way  to 
the  Polity  and  Christianity  of  the  future. 

Further  on,  we  may  be  able  to  watch  this  great  problem 
of  the  relations  of  Society  and  Religion, — onwards  from  the 
time  of  Frederick  the  Great  to  the  fall  of  Constantinople ;  and 
after  that  our  inquiry  might  be  completed  by  observing  the 
development  of  our  mixed  Civilization  from  the  I5th  century 
to  the  I  Qth,  bringing  the  final  disruption  of  Feudalism  at  the 
French  Revolution. 

The  harmony  of  the  Social  basis  of  our  common  Civilization, 
and  the  freedom  of  the  Religious  conscience  of  man,  will  have 
to  be  worked  out  by  the  law  and  philosophy  of  the  coming 
generation,  if  a  chaos  of  Society  and  for  a  time  of  Religion 
itself  is  to  be  avoided.  The  watchwords  of  party  will  avail 
nothing  in  the  end,  nor  will  an  interregnum  of  compromise  long 
be  possible.  Reason  and  right  ought  to  prevail,  and  will  pre- 
vail. Our  Christianity  will  demand  no  less. 

It  would  be  unphilosophical  and  ignorant  to  sanction  the 
coarse  supposition,  that  in  the  opposition  of  the  Empire  and 
the  Church,  as  gradually  developed,  there  was  nothing  but  a 
struggle  for  rule.  The  matter  to  be  decided  always  was, 
How  shall  Religion  and  Natural  Society  co-exist  ?  Christianity 
began  its  work  on  the  human  conscience  by  penetrating  the 
Roman  world.  The  kingdoms  within  reach  of  the  Roman 
Empire  were  absorbed  as  much  as  possible ;  and  the  Unity 
asserted  for  the  Empire  made  it  easier  for  the  Church  to  press 
its  own  Unity,  in  it  and  with  it.  When  the  Roman  world 


RECONSTRUCTION   OF   CIVILIZATION   OF   THE   WEST.   173 

began  to  break  up  once  more,  and  divided  laws,  and  divided 
territories,  and  lost  Latinity,  and  lost  provinces,  East  and  West, 
asserted  permanent  changes  in  Civilization, — with  the  revival 
of  separate  kingdoms  and  republics, — then  the  difficulty 
inherent  in  the  whole  Ethical  and  Religious  position  became 
more  and  more  apparent. — "  How  far  the  State  should  fix 
even  the  needful  morality  of  a  people?" — and, — "  Where  the 
function  of  the  individual  should  begin  ? " — had  henceforth 
to  be  worked  out  under  matured  conditions. 


THE  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  SWEDEN. 

BY  HENRY  H.  HOWORTH,  F.S.A. 

IN  the  previous  papers  which  I  have  had  the  honour  of  reading 
before  the  Royal  Historical  Society,  I  have  tried  to  elucidate 
the  first  adventures  of  the  Norse  pirates  in  the  west,  as  related 
in  the  contemporary  Frank  and  Irish  annals,  and  have  thus 
laid  the  foundation  for  an  examination  of  the  earlier  story 
as  contained  in  the  Sagas.  This  is  a  singularly  difficult  field 
of  inquiry,  and  one  which  has  baffled  many  explorers.  I  can 
only  hope  to  throw  a  few  more  rays  of  light  into  a  very  dark 
and  perplexed  subject.  The  Sagas  are  divided  by  Mr. 
Laing  into  two  classes,  historical  (including  biographical)  and 
fabulous.  Of  the  former,  the  most  important  were  the  Sagas, 
included  in  the  works  of  Saxo  Grammaticus,  and  Snorro  the 
son  of  Sturle — two  works  of  world-wide  repute,  and  which 
have  been  (especially  the  former)  a  riddle  and  puzzle  to  most 
inquirers.  Before  we  grapple  with  the  problem  before  us, 
we  must  first  dissect  these  two  famous  compilations. 

The  work  of  Saxo  Grammaticus  was  written  by  Saxo, 
called  the  Grammarian,  on  account  of  his  learning.  He 
flourished  during  the  reigns  of  Valdemar  the  Great,  and 
his  son  Knut  the  6th  (1157-1202).  He  was  provost  of 
Roskilde,  and  secretary  to  Absalon,  archbishop  of  Lund. 
The  date  of  his  birth  and  the  particular  circumstances  of  his 
life  are  uncertain  ;  but  he  died  in  1204,  having  spent  twenty 
years  in  the  composition  of  his  history  of  Denmark 
from  the  earliest  ages  to  his  own.  (Scandinavia,  ancient 
and  modern,  by  Crichton  and  Wheaton,  163,  note.)  His 
famous  work  has  had  a  singular  fate.  Throughout  the 
middle  ages,  and  before  the  days  of  criticism,  it  was  accepted 


THE   EARLY   HISTORY   OF   SWEDEN.  175 

as  perfectly  genuine  history,  and  treated  as  an  authority 
of  almost  indisputable  value ;  and  we  find  the  mediaeval 
historians  of  Denmark,  one  after  another,  copying  its  list 
and  order  of  Kings,  and  condensing  or  abstracting  its 
narrative  without  hesitation,  nor  did  its  authority  cease  with 
the  introduction  of  criticism  into  the  domain  of  History. 
Such  famous  and  learned  critics  of  northern  antiquities  as 
Torfseus  and  Suhm  followed  Saxo's  lead  as  blindly  ;  and 
constructed  their  extraordinary  chronologies  and  narratives 
from  his  account.  Later,  the  German  method  of  treating 
history  was  applied  to.-'Saxo,  and  his  authority  speedily 
gave  way.  It  needs  but  a  very  cursory  glance  at  his 
pages  to  see  how  purely  artificial  the  whole  arrangement, 
how  full  of  incongruities  and  contradictions  and  how  im- 
possible the  sequence  of  events  are,  and  if  we  pass  from  an 
internal  criticism  to  an  external  one,  and  try  and  realize  the 
poverty  of  the  authorities  Saxo  had  before  him  when  he  sat 
down  to  write  in  the  latter  part  of  the  twelfth  century,  we 
shall  not  cease  to  wonder  that  amidst  so  much  learning  and 
research  his  narrative  should  have  held  its  own  so  long. 

When  criticism  was  duly  applied  to  it,  a  natural  conse- 
quence followed.  The  story  which  had  received  everybody's 
assent  was  pronounced  to  be  utterly  worthless,  to  be  a  mere 
concoction  of  the  old  grammarian's,  to  have  no  value  at  all 
save  in  its  later  chapters,  where  it  was  more  or  less  contem- 
porary, and  a  profound  scepticism  replaced  a  wide-spread 
credulity,  the  pendulum  swinging  to  the  opposite  extreme. 

The  latter  view  seems  as  erroneous  as  the  former  one. 
Saxo's  narrative  is  apparently  not  a  dishonest  one,  but  is 
transparently  artificial  and  inconsequent.  When  he  sat  down 
to  write  at  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century,  Christianity  had 
conquered  Scandinavia,  and  the  Scalds  and  pagan  poets  were 
pretty  nearly,  if  not  entirely,  extinct  there.  Of  a  continuous 
history  of  Denmark  there  seems  to  have  been  none  available 
to  him,  for  the  so-called  Scioldung  Saga,  of  which  the 
Sogubrot  is  apparently  a  fragment,  was  probably  not  then 
composed  (vide  infra).  There  were  available  only  such 


176    TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

works  as  Paulus  Diaconus,  Bede,  Eginhardt,    Dudo   de  St. 
Quentin,  and  Adam  of  Bremen,  all  of  whom  he  used  ;  as  well 
as  some  entries  in  the  contemporary  Prankish  chronicles,  a 
number  of  detached  songs  and  poems  relating  to  particular 
events,  chiefly  battles,   and  unconnected  by  any  thread,  and 
such    portions    of     Jornandes,     the    Anglo-Saxon     Sagas, 
etc.,    as    in    the   eyes  of    the    Provost    of  Roskilde   might 
fairly  claim    to    relate    to    his    country.      These    were   his 
materials,  and   his   only  materials.     He   had   no   regal  lists 
apparently,  for  all  those  which  are  now  extant,  except  the 
Langfedgatal,  which  he  seems  not  to  have  seen,  were  palpably 
constructed  after  his  researches,  and  compiled  from  his  work. 
He  had  no  scaffolding   upon  which  to  build  his  narrative. 
He    had    to   construct    one    for    himself,    in   the  best   way 
he  could,  and  to  piece  together  the  various  fragments  before 
him,  into  a  continuous  patchwork.    His  was  not  a  critical  age, 
and  we  are  not  therefore  surprised  to  find  that  his  handiwork 
was  exceedingly  rude.     A  piece  of  the  history  of  the  Lom- 
bards by  Paul  the  Deacon,  and  another  taken  from  the  Edda, 
are  thrust  in  after  narratives  evidently  relating  to  the  ninth 
century,   when    Ireland   had  been    more   or   less   conquered 
by  the  Norsemen.     Icelanders  are  introduced  in  the   story 
a  long  time  before  the  discovery  of  Iceland.     Christianity  is 
professed  by  Danish  Kings  long  before  it  had  reached  the 
borders  of  Denmark.     The  events  belonging  to  one  Harald 
(Harald    Blaatand)   are    transferred  to  another  Harald  who 
lived  two  or  three  centuries  earlier,  and    the  joints  in   the 
patchwork    narrative    are    filled    up    by  the  introduction  of 
plausible  links.     We  can  thus  dissect  more  or  less  closely  the 
method  of  Saxo's  handiwork,  and  to  some  extent  break  up 
again  and  disintegrate  what  he  has  put  together,  and  perhaps 
when  a  really  critical  edition  of  his  work  is  forthcoming,  a 
work  which  is  sorely  needed,  we  shall  be  able  to  detach  from 
its  contents   the   majority  of  the   separate  and  substantive 
stories  out  of  which  it  has  been  compounded.     How  bald  his 
story  must  have  been  if  he  had  relied  on  the  purely  Danish 
traditions  which  survived  in  Denmark,  we  may  gather   from 


THE   EARLY   HISTORY   OF   SWEDEN.  177 

the  contemporary  and  valuable  narrative  of  Sueno  Aggeson 
to  which  we  shall  refer  presently.  Meanwhile,  there  are  two 
cardinal  facts  which  force  themselves  upon  our  attention  in 
Saxo's  story.  The  first  is  that  his  chronology  is  altogether 
artificial,  and  the  course  of  events,  as  he  tells  it,  is  utterly 
arbitrary  ;  jumping  from  century  to  century,  either  backwards 
or  forwards  without  any  notice ;  separating  events  which 
succeeded  one  another  closely,  by  long  parentheses,  involving 
perhaps  centuries  of  time  to  compass,  and  bringing  together 
other  events  which  were  as  widely  separated.  The  other 
important  fact  to  remember  is  that  our  author  was  patriotic 
enough  to  lay  under  contribution,  not  only  materials  relating 
to  Denmark,  but  to  transfer  to  Denmark  the  history  of  other 
countries.  To  appropriate  not  only  the  traditions  of  the 
Anglo-Saxons,  the  Lombards  and  the  common  Scandinavian 
heritage  of  the  Edda,  but  also  the  particular  histories  of 
Sweden  and  Norway,  and  that  a  good  deal  of  what  passes 
for  Danish  history  in  his  pages  is  not  Danish  at  all,  but 
Swedish,  and  relates  to  the  rulers  of  Upsala,  and  not  to  those 
of  Lethra ;  topographical  boundaries  being  as  lightly 
skipped  over  by  the  patriotic  old  chronicler,  whose  home 
materials  were  so  scanty,  as  chronological  ones. 

Let  us  now  consider  shortly  the  narrative  of  Snorro 
Sturleson.  Snorro  was  born  in  the  year  1178  at  Huam,  in 
the  modern  bailiwick  of  Dale,  in  Western  Iceland.  He 
belonged  to  the  old  royal  stock  of  the  north,  and  his  father 
held  the  hereditary  rank  of  a  godar,  i.e.  of  a  priest  and  judge, 
as  belonging  to  a  family  descended  from  one  of  the  twelve 
godars  or  companions  of  Odin.  Snorro  was  well-to-do  and 
learned.  He  visited  Norway  more  than  once,  was  nomi- 
nated as  cup-bearer  by  Hakon,  King  of  Norway,  and  after 
an  adventurous  and  tempestuous  life  was  murdered  in 
September,  1241.  He  is  best  known  as  the  author  of  the 
famous  "  Heimskringla."  The  word  means  "the  world's 
circle,"  being  the  first  prominent  word  of  the  manuscript 
that  catches  the  eye,  and  which  has  been  used  by  the  northern 
antiquaries  to  designate  the  work  itself. 

N 


178  TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

Snorro  calls  this  his  magnum  opus  the  saga  or  story  of  the 
Kings  of  Norway,  and  it  extends  from  the  earliest  times  down 
to  1178,  shortly  before  his  own  birth  (Laing's  "  Heims- 
kringla,"  i.  I  and  2).  The  copy  of  the  work  on  which  subse- 
quent editicns  are  chiefly  based  was  written  in  1230  by 
Snorro's  nephew  Sturla  (id.  201).  Snorro's  work,  therefore, 
is  nearly  contemporary  with  that  of  Saxo,  having  been  written 
only  a  few  years  later. 

While  Saxo  lived  and  wrote  where  the  old  traditions  of  the 
north  had  become  very  largely  extinct,  and  been  displaced  by 
Christianity,  and  had  to  collect  his  materials  here  and  there 
where  he  could  ;  Snorro  lived  in  the  very  arcana  of  Norse 
traditions  and  culture,  where  many  scores  of  old  sagas  were 
preserved,  where  the  Scalds  still  survived  as  a  living  element 
in  the  community,  and  where  the  old  traditions  had  taken 
shelter  when  driven  out  of  the  Scandinavian  peninsula  by 
Christianity.  Not  only  were  his  surroundings  infinitely  more 
favourable,  but  his  ,  materials  were  also  more  valuable. 
There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  earlier  part  of  his  history, 
the  first  saga  which  relates  the  history  of  the  Inglings  down 
to  the  time  of  "  Rognvald  Mountain  High,"  was  founded 
upon,  and  incorporates  the  famous  Inglingatal,  composed  by 
Thiodolf-hin-Frode,  or  the  Wise,  the  Scald  of  King  Harald 
Fairhair,  and  that  his  first  saga,  therefore,  dates  as  to  its 
matter  from  the  ninth  century,  and  was  composed  some- 
what earlier  than  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,  as  we  now 
have  it.  Besides  this,  Snorro  no  doubt  had  before  him  several 
of  the  famous  biographical  sagas,  and  especially  the  works  of 
Are-hin-Frode,  who  was  born  in  Iceland  in  1067,  and  lived 
till  1148,  and  according  to  some  till  1158,  and  whom  he 
specially  quotes  as  an  authority. 

The  passage  in  which  he  enumerates  the  qualifications  of 
Are-hin-Frode  is  singularly  interesting  as  showing  the  means 
of  information  commanded  by  that  old  historian.  He  says  "  he 
was  the  son  of  Thorgils,  the  son  of  Gellis,  and  was  the  first 
man  in  this  country  (i.e.  in  Iceland)  who  wrote  down  in  the 
Norse  language  narratives  of  events  both  old  and  new.  In 


THE   EARLY   HISTORY   OF   SWEDEN.  179 

the  beginning  of  his  book  he  wrote  principally  about  the  first 
settlements  in  Iceland,  the  laws  and  government,  and  next  of 
the  lagmen,  and  how  long  each  had  administered  the  law,  and 
he  reckoned  the  years  at  first,  until  the  time  when  Chris- 
tianity was  introduced  into  Iceland,  and  afterwards  reckoned 
from  that  to  his  own  times.  To  this  he  added  many  other 
subjects,  such  as  the  lives  and  times  of  the  Kings  of  Norway 
and  Denmark,  and  also  of  England  ;  beside  accounts  of  great 
events  which  have  taken  place  in  this  country  (i.e.  Iceland)  also. 
His  narratives  are  considered  by  many  men  of  knowledge  to 
be  the  most  remarkable  of  all ;  because  he  was  a  man  of  good 
understanding,  and  so  old  that  his  birth  was  as  far  back  as  the 
year  after  Harald  Sigurdson's  fall.  He  wrote,  as  he  himself 
says,  the  lives  and  times  .of  the  Kings  of  Norway,  from  the 
report  of  Odd  Kollason,  a  grandson  of  Hall  of  Sidu.  Odd 
again  took  his  information  from  Thorgeir  Afradskoll,  who  was 
an  intelligent  man,  and  so  old  that  when  Earl  Hakon  the 
Great  was  killed  he  was  dwelling  at  Nidaros  (i.e.  Drontheim). 
Are  went  when  three  years  old  to  live  with  Hall 
Thorarinson,  with  whom  he  lived  fourteen  years.  Hall  was  a 
man  of  great  knowledge  and  an  excellent  memory;  and  he 
could  even  remember  being  baptized,  when  he  was  three 
years  old,  by  the  priest  Thangbrand,  the  year  before  Chris- 
tianity was  established  in  Iceland.  .  .  .  Hall  had  traded 
between  the  two  countries,  and  had  been  in  partnership  in 
trading-concerns  with  King  Olaf  the  Saint,  by  which  his 
circumstances  had  been  greatly  improved,  and  he  had  be- 
come well  acquainted  with  the  kingdom  of  Norway.  .  .  . 
Teit,  a  son  of  Bishop  Isleif,  was  fostered  in  the  house  of  Hall 
of  Haukadal,  and  afterwards  dwelt  there  himself.  He  taught 
Are  the  priest,  and  gave  him  information  about  many  circum- 
stances which  Are  afterwards  wrote  down.  Are  also  got 
many  a  piece  of  information  from  Thurid,  a  daughter  of  the 
Godar,  Snorro.  She  was  wise  and  intelligent,  and  remem- 
bered her  father  Snorro,  who  was  nearly  thirty-five  years  of 
age  when  Christianity  was  introduced  into  Iceland,  and  died 
a  year  after  King  Olaf's  fall,  i.e.  in  1030.  So  it  is  not  wonderful 


180   TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

that   Are   the   priest   had   good    information   about   ancient 
events,    both    here    and   in    Iceland,    and  abroad,    being    a 
man    anxious  for  information,  intelligent,    and   of  excellent 
memory,  and  having  besides  learnt  much  from  old  intelligent 
persons"  (Laing's  "  Heimskringla."     Snorro's  preface,  213 — 
215).    Of  Are's  works  the  Landnama  bok,  the  Islandinga  bok, 
and  the  Flateyiar  Ann  all,  are  still  extant.     But  he  was  not 
the  only  author  of  the  eleventh  century  who  wrote  history  in 
Iceland.    Isleif,  already  named  the  first  Bishop  of  Iceland,  who 
died  in  1080,  is  said  to  have  written  a  history  of  Harald  Fair- 
hair  and  his  successors,  down  to  Magnus  the  Good,  who  died 
about    1047,  compiled  from  ancient  sagas,  and  his  son,  also  a 
Bishop,  is  said  to  have  collected  and  written  down  histories 
in  the  common  tongue.     Saemund-hin-Frode,  who  was  born 
in  1056,  and  was  a  contemporary  of  Are,  is  supposed  to  have 
written   the   "  Elder    Edda,"    and   to   have   commenced   the 
Annals  known  as  the  "  Annales  Oddenses."  Kolskegg,  another 
contemporary  of  Are,  and  Brand,  Bishop  of  Holen  in  Iceland, 
who  died  in  1206,  are  also  known  to  have  compiled  sagas. 
We  thus  see  that  when  Snorro  wrote  his  master  work,  he  had 
abundant   materials  upon  which  to  found  it.     It  was  from 
Iceland  also  that  Saxo  himself  had  to  draw  his  chief  informa- 
tion.    "Nor  is  the  industry  of  the   Tylenses   (i.e.  the  Ice- 
landers), to  be  passed  over  in  silence,"  he  says,  "  who,  from 
the   sterility  of  their  native   soil,   being   deprived   of  every 
luxury  of  food,  exercise  a  perpetual  sobriety,  and  turn  every 
moment  of  their  lives  to  the  cultivation  of  a  knowledge  of  the 
affairs  of  other  countries,  and  compensating  their  poverty  by 
their  ingenuity,  consider  it  their  pleasure  to  become  acquainted 
with  the  transactions  of  other  nations,  and  hold  it  to  be  not 
less  honourable  to  record  the  virtues  of  others  than  to  exhibit 
their  own  ;  and  whose  treasures  in  the  records  of  historical 
transactions  I  have  carefully  consulted,  and  have  composed  no 
small  portion  of  the  present  work  according  to  their  relations, 
not  despising,  as  authorities,  those  whom  I  know  to  be  so 
deeply  imbued  with  a  knowledge  of  antiquity."      (Op.  cit.  30 


THE   EARLY   HISTORY   OF    SWEDEN,  181 

The  facts  here  mentioned  leave  us  no  other  alternative 
than  to  rely  on  Snorro  and  the  Icelanders  in  preference  to 
Saxo.  The  latter  in  questions  of  chronology,  the  order  of 
kings,  etc.,  is  absolutely  worthless,  and  his  narrative  in  these 
respects  is  purely  artificial.  When  we  have  broken  up  his 
story  into  its  initial  fragments  we  may,  no  doubt,  find  some 
very  valuable  matter  in  them  to  fill  up  the  gaps  in  our  story ; 
for,  as  Mr.  Laing  says,  "he  appears  to  have  had  access  to 
many  sagas,  either  in  manuscript  or  in  vivd  voce  relation, 
which  are  not  now  extant"  (id.  32).  In  this  way  we  shall  use 
him,  but  not  attempt  the  futile  and  absurd  task  of  reconciling 
his  narrative  with  that  of  the  Icelanders,  or  his  arbitrary 
arrangement  and  dubious  and  artificial  lists  of  kings  with 
theirs.  Having  said  this,  we  must  guard  ourselves  against 
being  supposed  to  hold  the  notion  that  the  Icelandic  nar- 
ratives are  themselves  infallible.  Not  even  contemporary 
annals  written  year  by  year  are  so,  much  less  sagas  handed 
down  traditionally,  and  not  written  down  till  long  after  the 
events.  Even  though  their  narratives  be  protected  by  the 
artificial  language  in  which  they  are  framed,  and  by  the  fact 
that  they  embody  a  common  tradition  of  a  school  of  Scalds 
which  can  correct  any  individual  errors. 

When  the  sagas  were  written  down  in  an  orderly  fashion, 
as  in  the  "  Heimskringla/'  etc.,  we  have  the  further  difficulty 
that  the  glosses  and  theories  of  their  writers  were  incorporated 
with  them,  and  thus  the  events  of  some  heroes  were  trans- 
ferred to  others  of  the  name.  An  example  or  two  from 
Snorro' s  own  pages  will  act  as  a  warning  in  this  respect.  In 
speaking  of  Ivar  Vidfame,  Snorro  says  he  subdued  the 
whole  of  Sweden  ;  he  brought  in  subjection  to  himself  all 
the  Danish  dominions,  a  great  deal  of  Saxonland,  all  the 
East  country,  and  a  fifth  part  of  England.  Now,  in  regard 
to  England,  at  all  events,  this  is  an  anachronism.  The 
phrase  "  the  fifth  part  of  England "  means  Northumbria  in 
the  sagas.  Northumbria  was  not  conquered  nor  ruled  by 
a  Norse  king  before  the  ninth  century,  and  it  is  clear  that 
the  deeds  of  Ivar,  the  son  of  Ragner  Lodbrog,  who  did 


182   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

conquer  Northumbria,  have  been  transferred  to  his  ancestor 
Ivar  Vidfame.  Again,  Snorro  identifies  the  Turgesius,  or 
Thorgils,  who  is  named  in  the  Irish  annals  as  having  captured 
Dublin  in  the  year  839,  and  who  occupied  us  somewhat  in  the 
last  paper,  with  Thorgils,  the  son  of  Harald  Fairhair  ("Heims- 
kringla,"  $.304).  This  again  is  a  great  anachronism ;  for  Harald 
Fairhair,  according  to  the  best  calculations,  was  not  born 
until  about  the  year  851,  so  that  his  son  could  not  have  taken 
Dublin  in  839.  There  are  several  other  anachronisms  of  this 
kind,  which  put  us  on  our  guard  against  trusting  Snorro  too 
implicitly.  I  must  now  say  a  few  words  about  a  fragment  of 
a  saga,  known  as  the  Sogubrot,  which  I  shall  quote  largely 
presently,  and  which  has  been  given  much  too  high  an  autho- 
rity by  Geijer  and  other  inquirers.  Suhm,  the  Danish  historian, 
deemed  it  a  fragment  of  a  lost  Sciolding  saga,  in  which  the 
history  of  Denmark  was  told  in  a  similar  fashion  to  that  of 
Norway  in  the  "  Heimskringla."  Muller,  in  his  Saga  Bibliothek, 
long  ago  argued  that  this  saga  was  written  after  the  days  of 
Saxo,  and  assigned  it  to  the  fourteenth  century.  In  putting 
it  at  a  late  date  he  is  followed  by  Dahlmann,  the  famous 
Danish  historian  ("  Forschungen  auf  dem  gebiete  der 
Geschichte,"  i.  307).  I  believe  myself  it  was  actually  composed 
by  Snorro.  It  is  singular  that  it  contains  precisely  the  same 
genealogy  of  Ivar  Vidfame  as  the  "  Heimskringla ;  "  and  what 
Js  more  curious  is  that  while  the  latter  makes  Ivar  Vidfame 
conquer  a  fifth  part  of  England,  thus  confusing  him  with  Ivar 
Beinlaus,  the  Sogubrot  does  precisely  the  same  thing,  and 
identifies  him  and  his  predecessor,  Halfdane  of  Scania,  with 
Halfdane  and  Ivar,  who  succeeded  one  another  inNorthumbria. 
It  also  makes  a  pointed  reference  to  King  Granmar,  whose 
story  is  told  in  the  "  Heimskringla."  It  lastly  has  an  almost 
identical  phrase  about  Sigurd  Ring  having  been  succeeded  by 
Ragnar  Lodbrog.  The  first  of  these  statements  enclosing  a 
notable  anachronism  points  out  the  fragment  as  in  fact  being 
far  from  a  contemporary  document,  and  I  believe  it  was  written 
by  Snorro  himself  as  a  companion  to  the  "  Heimskringla." 
There  is  one  other  document  which  is  looked  upon  with 


THE   EARLY   HISTORY  OF   SWEDEN.  183 

especial  veneration  by  Norse  antiquaries  as  the  fons  et  origo 
of  their  reasoning  on  the  genealogies  of  the  Northern  Royal. 
This  is  the  famous  table  called  the  Lanfedgatal.  Because  it 
terminates  with  Harold  Fairhair  it  was  treated  by  Langebek 
as  a  work  of  great  antiquity,  and  it  apparently  was  also  so 
treated  and  used  by  Snorro.  Yet  when  we  come  to  examine 
it  closely,  we  shall  find  little  reason  for  considering  it  as  of 
any  high  authority.  It  begins  the  genealogy  with  Noah  and 
Japhet,  showing  that  it  was  constructed  after  Christianity  had 
been  introduced  into  Iceland  ;  it  then  passes  on  to  Saturn 
and  Jupiter,  and  then  to  Memnon  and  the  Trojan  war,  show- 
ing it  was  also  written  after  the  Norsemen  not  only  became 
Christians,  but  were  also  imbued  with  classical  culture.  The 
introduction  of  the  Trojans  is  probably  due,  as  Dahlmann  says, 
to  the  author  treating  Thor  as  an  eponymos  ;  and  it  is  curious 
that  he  names  him  thus  :  "  Tror  whom  we  call  Thor."  After 
Thor  follow  seventeen  names,  the  greater  portion  of  which  are 
taken  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  genealogical  tables,  which  is  clearly 
shown  when  we  reach  the  name  of  Odin,  which  is  written  thus 
"Voden  whom  we  call  Odin"  (Dahlmann,  op.  cit.  357 — 359). 
All  this  shows  conclusively  that  the  table  is  not  of  older  date 
than  the  tenth  century,  and  more  probably  of  the  eleventh. 

From  these  facts  it  may  be  gathered  that  those  who  lean 
implicitly  on  the  chief  props  supplied  by  the  Old  Norse  litera- 
ture for  the  early  history  and  genealogy  of  the  North  lean 
on  very  unsafe  supports.  The  fact  is,  we  must  treat  these 
genealogies  and  these  continuous  histories  as  compilations 
made  up  from  isolated  and  detached  traditions — epics  in 
which  some  individual  or  some  battle  was  described,  and  in 
which  the  links  and  the  connections  between  the  pieces  have 
been  supplied  according  to  the  ingenuity  of  the  com- 
pilers; in  which  the  arrangement  and  chronology  are  to  a 
large  extent  arbitrary ;  and  in  which  it  has  been  a  great 
temptation  to  transfer  the  deeds  of  one  hero  to  another  of 
the  same  name. 

Under  these  circumstances  what  is  a  modern  historian 
to  do  ?  In  the  first  place  he  must  take  the  contemporary 


184  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

chronicles — Frank,  English,  and  Irish — as  his  supreme  guides, 
and  not  allow  their  statements  to  be  perverted  by  the  false  or 
delusive  testimony  of  the  sagas,  and  where  the  two  are  at 
issue,  sacrifice  the  latter  without  scruple,  while  in  those  cases 
where  we  have  no  contemporary  and  independent  evidence 
then  to  construct  as  best  we  can  our  story  from  the  glimmers 
of  light  that  have  reached  us.  I  propose  to  take  this  course  in 
a  small  corner  of  our  great  subject  this  evening. 

I  would  first  postulate  two  important  factors.  The  Norse- 
men were  an  intensely  feudal  race.  Their  kings  were  also 
their  priests,  and  the  royal  stock  was  also  a  sacred  stock,  far 
removed  in  the  popular  eyes  from  the  commonalty.  Descended 
from  the  sacred  companions  of  Odin,  claiming  kin  directly 
with  the  Gods  themselves,  there  was  in  consequence  an  extra- 
ordinary loyalty  and  devotion  towards  them.  This  feeling  of 
caste  made  it  impossible  for  novi  homines,  those  without  blood 
or  descent,  to  rule  in  the  North.  Such  a  thing  was  there 
unknown,  and,  consequently,  when  we  meet  with  the  mention 
of  rulers  and  leaders  in  the  chronicles,  we  may  be  sure  they 
belonged  to  the  royal  stock. 

Secondly,  this  royal  stock  in  Scandinavia  comprised  at  least 
two  great  branches.  The  Inglings,  who  ruled  originally  at 
Upsala  in  Sweden,  and  the  Scioldungs,  who  similarly  ruled  at 
Lethra  in  Denmark.  The  theory  which  I  have  adopted  for 
explaining  the  revolutions  in  the  North  at  the  very  dawn  of 
history  is  that  there  was  a  continuous  feud  between  these  two 
stocks  for  supremacy.  I  shall  begin  at  the  point  where  this 
feud  first  seems  to  have  commenced,  or  perhaps  only  culminated, 
namely,  with  the  overthrow  of  Ingiald  the  Ill-ruler  by  Ivar 
Vidfame,  by  which  feud  the  family  of  the  Inglings  was  thrust 
out  of  Sweden,  and  was  succeeded  there,  for  awhile  at  least, 
by  that  of  the  Scioldungs.  The  history  of  this  event  is  told  in 
the  "  Heimskringla,"  on  the  authority  of  Thiodolf,  who  lived  at 
the  court  of  Harald  Fairhair  of  Norway  in  the  ninth  century, 
and  who  was  therefore  a  very  respectable  witness  ;  but  I  would 
add  that  his  testimony  is  corroborated  by  Sueno  Aggeson, 
the  contemporary  of  Saxo,  who  in  naming  Ingild,  as  he  calls 
Ingiald,  says  that  after  his  time  for  many  years  sons  did  not 


THE  EARLY   HISTORY  OF   SWEDEN.  185 

succeed  their  fathers  in  the  kingdom,  but  grandsons.  This  is 
precisely  what  took  place,  since  Ingiald  was  suceeded  by  his 
grandson  Ivar  Vidfame,  and  Ivar  Vidfame  by  his  grandson 
Harald  Hildetand.  Sueno  also  says  Ingild  was  succeeded 
by  Olans,  which  is  in  accord  with  Snorro's  statement  that 
Ingiald's  son  Olaf,  the  Tree-feller,  having  fled  to  Norway, 
began  a  new  line  of  sovereigns  there,  while  his  grandon  Ivar 
succeeded  to  the  crown  of  Sweden.  It  is  also  supported  pro 
tanto  by  Saxo,  for  there  can  be  small  doubt  that  his  Ingellus 
is  the  same  person  as  the  Ingiald  of  Snorro  and  the  Ingild 
of  Sueno.  Like  Snorro,  he  makes  Ingiald  the  son  of  Frotho, 
and  like  Snorro,  he  makes  him  be  succeeded  by  Olaf,  whom 
he  calls  his  son,  while  he  adds  that  some  old  traditions  make 
him  his  nephew  (Saxo,  by  Muller,  i.  318).  He  also  speaks 
of  Aasa,  whom  we  shall  mention  presently,  but  makes  her  the 
sister  instead  of  the  daughter  of  Ingiald.  The  history  of 
Ingiald's  reign,  it  is  no  part  of  my  present  purpose  to  describe, 
and  I  shall  merely  deal  with  the  concluding  acts  of  his  life  as 
told  by  Snorro.  He  says  that  by  his  wife,  Ingiald  had  two. 
children,  Aasa  and  Olaf.  Ingiald  was  king  over  the  greater 
part  of  Sweden.  He  married  his  daughter  Aasa  to  Gudrod, 
king  of  Scania.  She  was  like  her  father  in  disposition, 
and  brought  it  about  that  Gudrod  killed  his  brother  Halfdane, 
father  of  Ivar  Vidfadme  ;  she  also  brought  about  the  death 
of  her  husband  Gudrod,  and  then  fled  to  her  father ;  thence 
she  got  the  name  of  Aasa  the  Evil-adviser. 

Ivar  Vidfadme  came  to  Scania  after  the  fall  of  his  uncle 
Gudrod,  collected  an  army  in  all  haste,  and  moved  with  it 
into  Sweden.  Aasa  had  before  this  returned  to  her  father. 
King  Ingiald  was  at  a  feast  in  Raening  when  he  heard  that 
Ivar's  army  was  in  the  neighbourhood.  Ingiald  thought  he 
had  not  strength  to  go  into  battle  against  Ivar,  and  he  saw  well 
that  if  he  betook  himself  to  flight  his  enemies  would  swarm 
around  him  from  all  corners.  He  and  Aasa  took  a  resolution 
which  has  become  celebrated.  They  drank  until  all  their 
people  were  dead  drunk,  and  then  put  fire  to  the  hall  and  it 
was  consumed  with  all  who  were  in  it,  including  themselves, 
Ingiald  and  Aasa.  Thus  says  Thiodolf  : 


186   TRANSACTIONS   OF  THE  ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

"  With  fiery  feet  devouring  flame 
Has  hunted  down  a  royal  game 
At  Raening,  where  King  Ingiald  gave 
To  all  his  men  one  glowing  grave. 
On  his  own  hearth  the  fire  he  raised — 
A  deed  his  foemen  even  praised — 
By  his  own  hand  he  perished  so, 
And  life  for  freedom  did  forego." 

— Laing's  "  Heimskringla,"  i.  254. 

Ivar  now  seems  to  have  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Sweden 
and  Denmark  proper,  while,  as  it  would  appear,  Jutland 
remained  under  its  own  reguli.  It  has  often  been  noted  as  a 
remarkable  circumstance  that  Ivar  is  not  named  among 
the  kings  of  Denmark,  as  given  by  Saxo,  but  the  fact  is 
that  his  narrative  at  this  time  is  so  confused  it  is  impossible 
to  make  one's  way  through  it.  It  would  seem,  however,  that 
he  refers  to  Ivar  as  Alver  Sueticz  rex  and  as  Alver  tyrannus 
(op.  cit.  i.  352,  355). 

Let  us,  however,  go  on  with  our  story.  Of  the  details  of  Ivar's 
reign,  except  of  its  concluding  phases,  we  know  nothing. 
These  are  described  for  us  in  the  Sogubrot,  and  unfortunately 
that  document  is  mutilated. 

The  story  in  the  "  Sogubrot "  begins  in  a  broken  sentence 
in  the  midst  of  a  description  of  a  curious  dramatic  scene,  in 
which  the  Swedish  king  is  seen  trying  to  create  discord  in 
Denmark.  Jutland  was  then  ruled  by  two  brothers,  named 
Rurik  and  Helge,  or  Helgius. 

It  would  seem  that  Helgius  had  made  his  way  to  the 
Swedish  Court,  and  had  there  become  a  suitor  for  the  hand 
of  Audr,  the  daughter  of  Ivar.  She  viewed  him  favour- 
ably, but  Ivar  urged  that  there  were  many  other  kings 
better  endowed  by  nature  and  art  than  Helgius  ;  and  that  it 
had  not  been  the  custom  with  kings'  daughters  previously,  to 
accept  the  first  suitor.  Audr  replied,  it  was  no  use  arguing, 
as  it  was  clear  he  had  made  up  his  mind.  Having  summoned 
Helgius,  Ivar  said  his  daughter  had  told  him  there  was  no 
king's  son  whom  she  deemed  worthy  of  herself,  and  he  enlarged 


THE  EARLY   HISTORY  OF   SWEDEN.  187 

on  her  pride,  ending  up  with  the  deceitful  statement  that 
he  would  prosecute  the  matter  further  at  a  more  convenient 
season.  Helgius  now  returned  home.  Meanwhile,  his  brother 
Rurik  was  urged  to  marry  by  his  counsellors,  who  recommended 
him  also  to  seek  the  hand  of  Ivar's  daughter.  He  told  them  that 
it  was  unlikely  he  could  succeed,  where  his  brother  who  was 
so  much  his  superior,  had  so  conspicuously  failed.  They  urged 
that  he  clearly  could  not  win  unless  he  made  a  venture,  nor 
would  it  be  a  disgrace  to  him  to  fail.  He,  accordingly,  deter- 
mined to  try  his  fortune,  and  sent  Helgius  as  his  ambassador 
for  the  purpose.  Helgius  set  out,  and  was  well  received  by 
Ivar,  to  whom  he  opened  his  business,  demanding  the  hand 
of  Audr.  The  king  grew  angry,  and  said  that  the  request  was 
inopportune,  and  that  it  was  not  probable  Rurik  would  suc- 
ceed with  his  daughter  when  she  had  refused  him,  who  was  in 
every  way  his  superior.  Helgius  denied  this  last  statement, 
and  contended  that  his  brother's  qualities  were  less  known 
than  his  own,  because  he  stayed  at  home,  and  was  not  so 
adventurous,  and  he  asked  him  to  name  the  matter  to 
his  daughter.  The  next  day  Ivar  accordingly  summoned 
Audr,  who  indignant  at  the  fickleness  of  Helgius  at  once 
agreed  that  she  would  marry  Rurik.  This  answer  much 
surprised  her  father,  who  reproached  her  for  her  wayward- 
ness ;  but  as  she  insisted,  Helgius  was  sent  for,  and  Ivar 
craftily  told  him  he  could  not  understand  how  she,  who 
had  refused  so  great  a  king  as  himself,  now  consented  to 
marry  Rurik. 

It  was  arranged  that  Helgius  should  escort  her.  When 
they  had  travelled  beyond  the  borders  of  Sweden,  they  began 
to  talk  about  how  the  matter  had  been  arranged,  and  disclosed 
what  Ivar  had  said  to  each  of  them. 

When  they  arrived  in  Seland,  Rurik  sent  a  cavalcade  out 
to  meet  them,  and  arranged  a  feast,  at  which  he  married 
Audr.  That  winter  Helgius  stayed  at  home  in  Seland,  and 
the  next  year  set  out,  as  usual,  on  a  piratical  expedition. 

By  Audr,  Rurik  had  a  son,  named  Harald.  His  eye-teeth 
were  prominent,  and  of  a  yellow  colour,  whence  he  was  called 


188   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Hildetand  or  War- tooth.  He  was  of  great  stature,  and  fair  to 
look  upon ;  and  when  he  was  three  years  old  he  excelled  other 
boys  of  ten. 

On  one  occasion  when  Ivar  went  with  his  fleet  from  Sweden 
to  Reidgothia,  he  went  to  Seland,  and  sent  word  to  Rurik  to 
go  and  meet  him.  Rurik  told  his  wife  Audr  of  the  invitation 
he  had  received.  When  he  went  to  bed  that  night  he  was 
provided  by  her  with  a  new  couch  with  new  ornaments. 
This  was  put  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  She  asked  her 
husband  to  take  notice  of  his  dreams,  and  report  them  to 
herself  the  following  morning.  He  reported  that  in  the  night 
a  vision  appeared  to  him.  There  was  a  fertile  plain  near  a 
wood ;  on  this  plain  a  stag  was  standing,  when  a  leopard  with 
a  golden-coloured  mane  came  out  of  the  wood,  which  having 
been  transfixed  in  the  shoulders  by  the  horns  of  the  stag, 
fell  lifeless  to  the  ground.  After  this  a  huge  dragon  swooped 
down  on  the  spot  where  the  stag  was,  seized  him  with  his 
claws  and  tore  him  to  pieces.  Then  came  out  a  she  bear  with 
a  whelp ;  the  dragon  wished  to  seize  the  whelp,  but  the 
mother  protected  it.  He  then  awoke.  Audr  said,  "This  is  an 
extraordinary  dream ;  and  when  you  meet  my  father,  mind  he 
does  not  circumvent  you  with  his  wiles,  for  it  would  seem 
that  the  animals  in  your  dream  were  the  tutelary  genii  of 
kings  who  are  to  fight  together,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  the 
stag  was  not  your  genius,  although  it  seems  very  probable/' 

On  the  same  day  a  great  crowd  had  assembled  together 
to  go  and  meet  King  Ivar,  and  having  entered  his  ship  went 
into  the  poop  and  saluted  him.  When  he  saw  them  he  did 
not  speak.  Thereupon  Rurik  said  he  had  prepared  a  feast  for 
him,  notwithstanding  his  enmity  towards  him.  Ivar  went  on 
to  say  that  he  was  enraged  because  Helgius  and  Audr  had 
behaved  so  badly,  since  it  was  in  the  mouths  of  all  men 
that  Harald  was  in  fact  the  son  of  Helgius,  and  that  he 
had  gone  to  make  inquiries  about  the  matter.  Rurik  said 
he  had  not  heard  of  it  before,  and  asked  Ivar  what  he 
should  do  ?  Ivar  replied  that  there  were  but  two  courses 
open  to  him  :  he  must  either  kill  Helgius  or  surrender  his 


THE   EARLY  HISTORY  OF   SWEDEN.  189 

wife  to  him.  Soon  after  Ivar  set  out  for  Reidgothia.  The 
following  autumn,  when  Helgius  returned  home,  Rurik  was 
very  down-spirited.  Meanwhile  Audr  prepared  a  grand  feast 
at  which  different  games  were  arranged.  Helgius  was  much 
touched  by  his  brother's  sadness,  and  proposed  they  should 
play  together,  and  it  was  agreed  they  should  have  a 
struggle.  Rurik  thereupon  put  on  his  armour,  his  helmet, 
cuirass,  sword  and  spear,  and  mounted  his  horse ;  the  other 
horsemen  carried  poles  :  Helgius  also  carried  a  pole,  Rurik 
now  ran  up  to  his  brother,  with  his  lance  under  his  shield, 
and  he  thrust  it  into  him  and  killed  him.  Those  who  were 
about  galloped  up  and  inquired  why  he  had  committed  this 
crime.  He  replied  that  there  were  abundant  reasons,  and 
especially  that  his  wife  had  been  unfaithful  to  him.  They  all 
denied  it,  and  declared  it  to  be  false.  Audr  herself  was 
satisfied  that  the  whole  thing  was  a  design  of  her  father's,  and 
she  set  off,  with  a  considerable  company,  with  her  son  Harald. 

Ivar  presently  returned  from  the  south  and  Rurik  rode  to 
meet  him.  Ivar  professed  to  be  outraged  by  the  murder  of 
Helgius,  and  ordered  his  men  to  make  ready  their  arms  to 
avenge  him.  He  planted  some  bodies  of  troops  in  ambush  in 
a  wood,  who  fell  on  Rurik  and  his  company  and  killed  them 
all,  and  thus  Ivar  possessed  himself  of  the  kingdom,  those 
present  submitting  to  him.  Audr  escaped  towards  the  south, 
i.e.  probably  towards  Reidgothia,  and  Ivar  not  being  strong 
enough  to  pursue  her,  returned  to  Sweden.  The  same  winter 
having  collected  all  the  gold  and  precious  objects  which  had 
belonged  to  Rurik,  she  sent  them  to  the  island  of  Gothland. 
She  followed  her  treasures  there,  and  thence  went  eastwards 
to  Gardariki,  that  is  to  the  Scandinavian  kingdom  about  the 
Gulf  of  Finland.  At  this  time  Radbard  was  king  there.  He 
received  the  fugitives  very  hospitably,  and  proposed  to  marry 
Audr,  who,  in  the  hope  of  receiving  assistance  to  enable  her 
son  Harald  to  recover  his  own  again,  agreed  to  his  proposals. 

When  Ivar  heard  that  Radbard  had  married  his  daughter 
without  his  consent,  he  collected  a  vast  army  from  all  his 
kingdom,  both  Sweden  and  Denmark,  and  set  sail  east- 


190   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

wards  for  Gardariki,  and  threatened  to  devastate  it  with 
fire  and  sword.  When  he  neared  the  recesess  of  the 
Carelian  gulf  (recessus  Karialanos,  i.e.  the  Gulf  of  Finland), 
where  King  Radbard's  dominions  commenced,  it  fell  out,  we  are 
told,  "  that  one  night  the  king  was  reposing  on  the  poop  of  his 
ship  and  he  dreamt  that  a  huge  dragon  came  out  of  the  sea 
with  its  skin  shining  like  burnished  gold,  and  spitting  forth  a 
shower  of  sparks  towards  the  sky,  so  that  the  neighbouring 
shores  were  lit  up  with  the  light.  The  dragon  seemed  attended 
by  all  the  birds  which  lived  in  the  northern  regions.  Presently 
a  cloud  appeared  to  rise  from  the  sea  in  the  north,  and  such  a 
storm  of  rain  and  hurricane  came  on  that  the  neighbouringwoods 
and  land  were  flooded  with  water,  and  there  was  also  a  violent 
display  of  thunder  and  lightning.  Thereupon  the  dragon  just 
named  seemed  to  rush  at  the  raincloud  ;  but  it  as  well  as  the 
birds  were  speedily  hidden  by  thick  clouds.  The  king  heard 
a  great  clap  of  thunder  in  the  south  and  west,  and  the  ships  of 
the  fleet  seemed  to  be  converted  into  sea  monsters,  and  to  be 
gliding  into  the  water.  Awaking  from  his  sleep  he  sum- 
moned his  foster-parent  Hordus  (i.e.  the  God  Hordr)  to  inter- 
pret the  dream,  Hordus  replied  that  he  was  so  old  that  he  could 
not  explain  dreams.  He  stood  on  a  rock  overlooking  the  tide, 
while  the  king  lay  sick  under  the  canopy  in  the  poop  of  the 
ship,  and  a  conversation  began  between  them.  The  king 
urged  strongly  that  he  should  interpret  the  dream ;  but 
Hordus  replied  it  was  unnecessary  he  should  interpret  it,  for 
Ivar  could  himself  understand  that  it  meant  that  shortly  the 
affairs  of  Denmark  and  Suecia  would  receive  a  new  turn, 
and  that  he  would  die.  The  king  bade  him  join  him  on  the 
ship  and  continue  his  interpretation,  but  he  said  he  would 
stay  where  he  was  and  speak.  The  king  then  asked  who 
Halfdane  the  courageous  had  been  transmigrated  into  among 
the  Asirs.  He  is  now  Balder,  he  replied,  whom  the  gods  regret, 
and  who  is  most  unlike  thee.  Very  well,  said  the  king,  and 
again  invited  him  on  to  the  deck  ;  he  again  said  he  preferred 
to  stay  where  he  was.  The  king  continued.  Who  had  Rurik 
become  ?  He  replied  Haener  the  most  timid  of  the  Asirs  ;  and 


THE   EARLY   HISTORY  OF   SWEDEN.  191 

who  was  Helgius  now  ?  Hordus  replied  that  he  had  been 
changed  into  Hermodus,  who  was  endowed  with  a  great 
mind ;  and  who  had  Gudrod  (z>.,  Gudrod,  Ivar's  uncle, 
the  brother  of  his  father  Halfdane)  become  ?  Hemidallus,  said 
Hordus,  the  most  stupid  of  the  Asirs.  And  what  shall  I  be 
among  the  Asirs  ?  Thee,  said  Hordus,  I  take  to  be  the  vilest 
serpent  living,  namely,  the  serpent  of  Midgard.  The  king,  in 
a  rage,  replied  "  If  thou  foretellest  my  coming  death,  I  tell 
thee  that  thou  shalt  not  long  survive  me.  Come  nearer  to  the 
serpent  of  Midgard,  and  feel  his  strength."  Thereupon  the 
king  threw  himself  from  the  poop  into  the  water.  Hordus  at 
the  same  time  jumped  out  from  the  rock  into  the  sea,  and  they 
were  seen  no  more."  Surely  this  is  a  fierce  and  wild  story  ; 
reporting  a  fitting  end  to  the  great  pirate  chief. 

After  his  death  an  assembly  was  summoned  on  the  land, 
where  it  was  discussed  what  should  be  done,  and  it  was 
decided  that  Ivar  being  dead,  as  his  people  had  no  special 
grievance  against  King  Radbard,  that  consequently  each  one 
should  make  his  way  home  by  the  first  favourable  wind. 
This  was  accordingly  done.  Thereupon  Radbard  gave  his 
stepson  Harald  a  contingent  of  troops,  which  he  took  away 
with  htm  to  Seland,  where  he  was  elected  king  ;  thence  he 
passed  into  Scania,  into  the  kingdom  which  had  belonged  to 
his  maternal  ancestors,  where  he  was  well  received  and  his 
following  was  greatly  augmented.  Thence  he  went  to  Suecia 
and  subdued  all  Swedia  and  Gothia,  which  had  been  ruled 
by  his  grandfather  Ivar.  We  are  told  that  a  number  of  petty 
reguli  who  had  been  deprived  of  their  inheritance  by  Ingiald 
and  Ivar  deemed  it  a  fitting  opportunity  while  Harald  was  so 
young  to  recover  their  own.  He  was  but  fifteen  years  old 
when  he  mounted  the  throne.  His  counsellors,  fearing  that 
on  account  of  his  youth  he  might  be  undone  by  some  of  his 
enemies,  prepared  a  great  incantation  or  spell,  by  which  he 
was  rendered  proof  against  weapons,  and  he  always  after- 
wards dispensed  with  body-armour.  He  fought  a  great 
number  of  successful  battles  and  appointed  kings  and  vice- 
gerents, and  levied  tribute ;  inter  alios,  he  nominated 


192   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Hiormund,  the  son  of  Hervard  the  living,  to  the  throne  of 
Eastern  Gothland,  which  his  father  Granmar  had  held  before 
him. 

Harald  Hildetand  was,  no  doubt,  the  most  prominent  figure 
in  Scandinavian  history  at  the  close  of  the  heroic  period,  and 
he  fills  a  notable  space  in  the  very  crooked  narrative  of  Saxo. 
It  is  a  typical  instance  of  the  perversity  and  carelessness  of 
that  author  that  he  gives  Harald  Hildetand  two  fathers  and 
mothers.     In  one  place  he  makes  him  the  son  of  Borkar  and 
Groa,  the  countess  of  Alvilda  (pp.  cit.  337),  while  in  another 
place  he  makes  him  the  son  of  Haldan  and  Guritha  (ed.  361). 
The  former  must  be  discarded  as  a  slip  of  the  pen  or  mistake, 
as  the  sentence  in  which  it  occurs   is  only  a  parenthetical 
one,  while  the  latter  is  part  of  the  narrative,  and  is  found 
at  the  beginning  of  Saxo's  account  of  the  reign  of  Harald 
Hildetand.     We, must  take  it,  therefore,  that  his  theory  was 
that  Harald  was  the  son  of  Haldan  and  Guritha.  There  seems 
to  be  a  grain  of   truth,  however,  in  the  former    statement. 
"  A Ivildce  comitem  Gro  nomine"  is  his  phrase,  and  it  seems  to  be 
built  up  out  of  some  misunderstood  phrase,  for  on  turning 
to  the  Hervavar  saga,  we  find  it  stated  that  Harald  Hildetand 
was  the   son  of    Valdar,  King  of    Denmark,   and   his   wife 
Alvilda,      This   Alvilda  is  surely   the   same   person    as   the 
Audr  of  the  Sogubrot     The  statement  of  the  latter  authority 
as  to  the  parentage  of  Harald  is  supported  by  the  Langfed- 
gatal,  which  calls  him  the  son  of  Hraerekr  Slavngvanbavgi, 
and    also    by  an   old  list,    known   as    the    Huersu    Noregr 
bygdest,  and  by  the  early  poem  called  Hyndluljod  cited  in 
Rafn's  notes  to  the  Sogubrot.       As    the    latter    ends   with 
Harald  Hildetand,  it  was  probably  composed  not  much  later 
than  his   time.      It  may  be  added  that  the  Hervavar  saga 
also  calls  Alfhilda  the  daughter  of  Ivar  Vidfadme,  and  makes 
her  husband  a  King  of  Denmark  as  Hraerekr  or  Rurik  was,  and 
I  have  small  hesitation  in  accepting  the  genealogy  of  the  Sogu- 
brot as  at  least  tentatively  the  most  probable.  Let  us  now  con- 
tinue our  notice  of  Harald.     Although  Saxo's  notice  of  him  is 
long,  it  will  be  found  to  contain  scarcely  anything  about  him. 


THE   EARLY   HISTORY   OF   SWEDEN.  193 

It  is  filled  up  with  parenthetical  stories  about  other  people, 
referring  doubtless  to  other  times  altogether,  while  the  stories 
it  contains  about  his  exploits  in  Aquitania,  and  Britain,  and 
Northumbria,  show  very  clearly,  as  Miiller  has  pointed  out, 
that  he  has  confused  his  doings  with  those  of  another,  and 
much  later  Harald,  probably  Harald  Blaatand  (pp.  cit.  366, 
note  3).  It  is  only  when  we  come  to  the  close  of  his  reign 
that  we  have  a  more  detailed  and  valuable  story.  This  is 
the  account  of  the  famous  fight  at  Bravalla,  of  which  we 
have  two  recensions,  one  in  Saxo,  and  the  other  in  the 
Sogubrot,  and  which  have  preserved  for  us  one  of  the  most 
romantic  epical  stones  in  the  history  of  the  north.  The 
story  was  recorded  in  verse  by  the  famous  champion  Star- 
kadr,  whom  Saxo  quotes  as  his  authority,  and  whom  he  seems 
closely  to  follow.  Dahlmann  has,  I  think,  argued  very  forcibly 
that  the  form  and  matter  of  this  saga  as  told  by  Saxo  is 
more  ancient,  and  preserves  more  of  the  local  colour  of  the 
original  than  that  in  the  Sogubrot  (Forsch,  etc.,  307,  308). 

And  yet  the  story  as  it  stands  is  very  incongruous,  and 
makes  it  impossible  for  us  to  believe  that  it  was  written  by  a 
contemporary  at  all.  How  can  we  understand  Icelanders 
fighting  in  a  battle  a  hundred  years  before  Iceland  was  dis- 
covered, and  what  are  we  to  make  of  such  champions  as  Orm 
the  Englishman,  Brat  the  Hibernian,  etc.,  among  the  followers 
of  Harald  ?  It  would  seem  that  on  such  points  the  story  has 
been  somewhat  sophisticated,  perhaps,  as  in  the  Roll  of  Battle 
Abbey,  names  have  been  added  to  flatter  later  heroes  ;  but 
let  us  condense  what  it  has  to  tell  us. 

It  would  seem  that  Harald's  mother  had  by  her  second 
husband  Radbard,  a  son  Randver,  who,  we  are  told,  was  married 
to  a  Norwegian  princess,  and  by  her  became  the  father  of 
Sigurd  Ring.  When  he  became  an  old  man,  Harald  gave  Sigurd 
the  command  of  his  army,  and  after  he  had  lived  a  long  time 
with  him  he  appointed  him  his  deputy  or  vicegerent  over 
Sweden  and  West  Gothland,  with  his  capital  at  Upsala, 
while  he  himself  retained  Denmark  and  East  Gothland. 
As  he  grew  old  and  feeble,  we  are  told  in  the  Sogubrot, 

O 


194   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

his  followers,  who  feared  the  realm  might  go  to  pieces  in 
his  hands,  determined  to  kill  him  in  his  bath.  Having  heard  of 
their  plot  he  decided  upon  a  more  glorious  death,  and  wrote 
to  his  nephew  Sigurd  to  challenge  him  to  a  mortal  fight 
According  to  Saxo,  Odin  himself  appeared  in  the  form  of 
Brune,  and  having  the  confidence  of  both  kinsmen,  he  made 
them  fight,  Harald  willingly  consenting.  It  was  better,  he 
deemed,  for  him  to  die  in  battle  than  on  a  sick  bed,  that  he 
might  arrive  at  Valhalla  with  an  ample  retinue. 

The  two  relatives  now  summoned  their  forces  from  all  sides, 
and  a  long  list  of  the  champions  on  either  side  is  recorded — 
each  man  by  his  name  and  some  descriptive  epithet  denoting 
his  country  or  some  peculiarity,  as  Orm  the  Englishman, 
Ubbo  the  Friesian,  Dal  the  Fat,  Hythin  the  Graceful,  etc.  On 
Harald's  side  Brunnius  was  the  standard-bearer.  There  were 
champions  from  many  quarters  and  contingents  from  many 
lands — Danes  and  East  Goths,  Saxons,  Norwegians,  and 
Wends,  which  last,  we  are  told,  used  long  swords  and  short 
shields  ;  there  were  also  Berserkers  and  Amazons.  Harald's 
armament  was  so  vast  that  it  covered  all  the  Sound  from 
Seland  to  Scania  like  a  bridge. 

On  the  side  of  Sigurd  were  the  forces  of  Sweden  and  West 
Gothland  and  many  from  Norway.  Among  his  champions 
was  the  poet  Starkadr ;  Syvaldus,  who  furnished  a  contingent 
of  eleven  ships  ;  Thrygir  and  Torwil,  who  supplied  twelve ; 
and  Eric  the  Helsinger,  who  brought  an  enormous  "  dragon," 
or  war  galley ;  together  with  many  famous  Berserkers  from 
Telemarken.  Sigurd's  fleet,  as  it  passed  through  Stock  Soundj 
where  Stockholm  now  stands,  numbered  2,500  ships.  He  led 
his  army  overland,  and  marched  through  the  Kolmarker 
Forest,  which  divides  Suithiod  or  Sweden  proper  from  East 
Gothland  ;  and  when  he  had  come  out  of  the  wood  to  the 
Bay  of  Bra  he  found  his  fleet  waiting  his  arrival,  and  pitched 
his  camp  between  the  forest  and  the  sea  (Geijer,  n).  King 
Harald's  fleet,  sailing  with  a  gentle  wind,  reached  Calmar  in 
even  days.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  fog,  which  hid  the 
sky  from  his  men,  but  they  kept  close-in  shore;  they  were  guided 


THE  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  SWEDEN.  195 

by  the  Scanians,  who  marched  overland.  They  were  joined  en 
route  by  the  contingents  from  the  Slaves  and  Livonians  and 
by  7,000  Saxons.  The  battle  was  fought  on  land.  When  the 
two  forces  came  in  view  of  one  another  we  are  told  that  Sigurd 
bade  his  men  remain  quiet  till  they  received  the  order  to  join 
issue.  He  told  them  that  Harald  was  feeble  with  age,  and 
well-nigh  blind  ;  that  the  Swedes  were  about  to  fight  for 
liberty,  for  their  country,  and  their  children  ;  while,  on  the 
other  side,  there  were  but  few  Danes,  but  a  great  number  of 
Saxons  and  other  effeminate  peoples  ;  and  he  excited  them  by 
contrasting  the  vigour  of  the  Scandinavians  with  the  feeble 
qualities  of  Germans  and  Slaves  (Saxo,  op.  cit.  386,  387). 
Harald,  on  the  other  hand,  according  to  the  Sogubrot,  rode  in 
his  chariot  into  the  battle,  and  sent  Brunnius  and  Huda  to 
inquire  how  Sigurd  had  planted  his  men,  and,  being  told  in 
the  wedge-shape-formation  (acium  cuneatmn),  he  asked  who 
had  taught  him  this,  for  he  thought  no  one  knew  it  but  Odin 
and  himself.  At  length  the  trumpets  sounded,  and  the  two 
armies  joined  issue.  The  narrative  bristles  with  Homeric 
touches  about  the  deeds  of  single  champions,  male  and 
female,  but  we  must  not  detail  them,  and  will  conclude  the 
account  in  the  words  of  Geijer,  who  has  well  condensed  this 
part  of  the  narrative  : — "  At  length,"  he  says,  "  when  victory 
appears  to  have  declared  for  the  foe,  King  Harald  causes  his 
horses  to  be  urged  to  their  utmost  speed,  seizes  two  swords, 
and  cuts,  desperately  among  their  ranks,  till  the  stroke  of  a 
mace  hurls  him  dead  from  his  car.  Odin  himself,  in  the  form 
of  Brune,  was  the  slayer  of  Harald.  The  empty  chariot  tells 
Sigurd  that  the  old  king  has  fallen  ;  he  therefore  orders  his 
men  to  cease  from  the  fight,  and  searches  for  the  body  of  his 
relative,  which  is  found  under  a  heap  of  slain.  Then  he 
causes  a  funeral  pile  to  be  raised,  and  commands  the  Danes 
to  lay  upon  it  the  prow  of  King  Harald's  ship.  Next  he 
devotes  to  his  ghost  a  horse  with  splendid  trappings,  prays  to 
the  gods,  and  utters  the  wish  that  Harald  Hildetand  might 
ride  to  Valhalla  first  among  all  the  troops  of  the  fallen,  and 
prepare  for  friend  and  foe  a  welcome  in  the  hall  of  Odin. 


196    TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

When  the  corpse  is  laid  on  the  pyre,  and  the  flames  are 
kindled,  and  the  chiefs  of  the  war  walk  round  lamenting, 
King  Sigurd  calls  upon  every  man  to  bring  gold  and  all 
his  most  costly  arms  to  feed  the  fire  which  was  consuming 
so  great  and  honoured  a  king,  and  so  all  the  chieftains  did  " 
(pp.  cit.  n).  Saxo  says  there  fell  12,000  men  in  Sigurd's 
army  and  30,000  in  that  of  Harald  (op.  cit.  i.  390).  Thus 
passed  away  the  old  king.  The  battle  is  one  of  the  most 
famous  in  the  world's  history,  and  marks  a  critical  point  in 
the  chronology  of  Scandinavia.  My  friend  M.  Kunik,  who 
has  devoted  much  time  to  its  discussion,  fixes  it  at  about 
775  A.D.  Harald  Hildetand  is  generally  considered  to  be  the 
"  Haraldus  quondam  rex  "  mentioned  by  Eginhardt  in  his 
Annals  under  the  year  812. 

With  the  death  of  Harald,  the  saga  of  the  Bravalla  fight 
seems  to  have  naturally  ended,  and  we  accordingly  find  that 
immediately  after,  our  authorities  are  again  at  variance.  From 
this  point  to  the  reign  of  Godfred  the  narrative  of  Saxo  is 
singularly  crooked,  taking  us  back  at  a  long  leap  to  the 
legends  of  the  Edda  and  of  the  Lombards  in  the  fifth,  sixth, 
and  seventh  centuries,  and  being  apparently  quite  regardless 
of  chronology  or  sequence  in  its  narrative  of  events.  The 
Sogubrot  and  northern  writers  are  at  least  consistent  with 
probability.  The  former  authority  says  that  after  Harald's 
death  Sigurd  Ring  was  King  of  Sweden  and  Denmark,  and 
this  is  consistent  with  the  Prankish  writers,  who,  as  I  have 
shown  in  a  former  paper,  make  Sigfred  or  Sigurd  the  King  of 
Denmark,  who  was  reigning  at  the  end  of  the  eighth  century, 
and  who  is  first  mentioned  in  the  year  777  (Eginhardt's  An- 
nals, Pertz  i.  157 — 159). 

Sigurd  Ring,  according  to  the  Sogubrot,  married  Alvilda, 
the  daughter  of  King  Alf,  who  ruled  in  the  district  be- 
tween the  rivers  Gotha  and  Glommen  in  Raumariki,  which 
was  called  Alfheim,  and  by  her  he  had  an  only  son,  Ragnar 
Lodbrog.  Sigurd  Ring  apparently  succeeded  also  to  his 
mother's  heritage ;  for  we  find  in  the  "  Heimskringla "  a 
passage  in  which  it  is  stated  that  the  Swedish  King  Eric 


THE   EARLY   HISTORY   OF   SWEDEN.  197 

Eymundson  claimed  to  have  as  great  a  kingdom  in  Viken  as 
Sigurd  Ring  or  his  son  Ragnar  Lodbrog  had  possessed,  and 
that  was  Raumariki  and  Westfold  all  the  way  to  the  island 
Grenmar,  and  also  Vingulmark,  and  all  that  lay  south  of  it 
(Laing's  "  Heimskringla,"  i.  282).  It  would  seem,  in  fact,  that 
Harald  Hildetand  left  sons  ;  one  of  them,  Eystein,  is  pointedly 
referred  to  in  the  saga  of  Ragnar  Lodbrog  and  the  Lod- 
broker  Quida  as  reigning  at  Upsala.  Another  one  I  believe 
to  have  been  Halfdane,  to  whom  I  shall  revert  presently,  and 
who  may  perhaps  have  been  the  person  referred  to  by  Saxo 
as  Olo.  The  author  says  that  on  Harald's  death,  Scania  was 
separated  from  Denmark,  and  was  ruled  over  by  Harald's  son 
Olo.  Dahlmann  understands  this  to  mean  that  Sigurd  Ring 
put  his  cousin  Olo,  or  Halfdane,  as  I  would  correct  it,  over 
Scania.  Meanwhile  he  was  doubtless  over-king  over  both 
Sweden  and  Denmark  during  his  life. 

I  ought  to  add  that  Saxo  distinctly  makes  the  king  who 
fought  against  Harald,  his  nephew,  but  by  a  sister  who  had 
married  Ingeld,  a  son  of  Alver,  King  of  Sweden  (op.  cit.  363 
—367).  While  he  makes  "  Sivardus  styled  Ring  "  (the  father 
of  Ragnar  Lodbrog),  whom  he  confusedly  makes  another 
person,  a  son  of  a  Norwegian  leader  of  the  same  name  by  a 
daughter  of  King  Gotric  or  Godfred,  and  tells  us  he  reigned 
over  Scania  and  Seland.  It  is  far  from  improbable  that 
Randver,  the  father  of  Sigurd,  married  a  daughter  of  Godfred, 
and  that  the  latter,  as  well  as  Harald,  was  Sigurd  Ring's 
grandfather. 

Of  the  facts  of  his  reign  we  unfortunately  know  scarcely 
anything.  I  have  elsewhere  detailed  the  notices  of  him  con- 
tained in  the  Prankish  chronicles.  Among  them  the  most 
interesting  perhaps  is  the  one  contained  in  the  "Annales 
Laurissenses,"  where  we  have  under  the  year  782  the  enig- 
matical statement  that  Charlemagne,  in  that  year  holding  a 
convention  at  Cologne,  envoys  went  to  him  from  Sigfred — 
"  Missi  Sigifridi  regis  id  est  Halpdani  cum  sociis  ejus" 
This  phrase  has  given  rise  to  a  great  controversy,  in  which 
my  friend  M.  Kuink  has  taken  a  prominent  part,  and  in  which 


198  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

he  maintains  that  Halfdane  is  here  used  as  a  synonym  for 
Sigfred,  and  that  the  phrase  ought  to  be  translated  the 
envoys  of  King  Sigfred,  that  is,  of  Halfdane.  In  this  view  I 
cannot  concur.  Not  only  does  the  phrase  cum  sociis  ejus 
preclude  such  a  conclusion,  but  Halfdane  was,  I  believe,  his- 
torically a  different  person  altogether  from  Sigfred,  and,  as  I 
have  said,  I  take  him  to  have  been  a  son  of  Harald  Hildetand. 
The  Sogubrot  breaks  off  abruptly  in  an  account  of  how 
Sigurd,  when  an  old  man,  was  asked  by  his  relative,  the  son 
of  Gandalf,  to  grant  him  assistance  against  King  Eystein,  who 
then  reigned  over  Westmar  or  Westfold,  and  he  says  that  at 
this  time  sacrifices  were  being  held  in  Skiringsal  (i.e.  in  Westfold 
in  Norway)  for  all  Viken.  Here  it  breaks  off.  This  Eystein  is 
probably  the  Eystein,  son  of  Harald  Huitbein,  King  of  West- 
fold,  mentioned  in  the  "  Heimskringla "  (Laing's  ^.1.257). 
King  Sigurd  or  Sigfred  is  mentioned  for  the  last  time  in  the 
Frank  chronicles  as  King  of  Denmark  in  the  year  798  (Egin- 
hardt  Annales,  Pertz  i.  185 ;  Kruse,  32).  This  does  not  mean 
exactly  that  he  died  then.  I  believe  that  at  this  time  a  great 
revolution  took  place  in  the  North.  The  family  of  the  Ing- 
lings,  which  had  been  so  long  in  security  in  Westfold,  greatly 
enlarged  its  power,  and,  under  Gudrod  the  Magnificent,  whom 
I  have  elsewhere  identified  with  the  Godfred  of  the  Frankish 
writers,  succeeded  in  appropriating  Denmark  and  Scania. 
He  continued  to  rule  there  till  810.  This  revolution  probably 
took  place  on  Sigurd  Ring's  death,  and  Godfred  displaced  not 
only  Ragnar  Lodbrog,  but  Halfdane,  the  son  of  Harald,  who 
became  a  vagabond  on  a  large  scale,  and  who,  as  I  have 
shown  before,  went  with  a  large  fleet  in  806,  and  submitted 
to  the  Frank  Emperor  (Poeta  Saxo,  Pertz  i.  263).  Godfred 
was  succeeded  by  his  nephew  Hemming,  who  died  two  years 
later,  i.e.  in  812,  and  thereupon  a  struggle  ensued  for  the 
throne  between  Anulo,  by  whom  Sigurd  Ring  has  certainly  been 
understood  by  Saxo  and  nearly  all  other  commentators  (annu- 
lus,  of  course,  meaning  a  ring ;  anulo,  however,  is  conjugated 
anulo,  anulonis).  He  is  expressly  called  "  nepos  Herioldi  quondam 
regis"  by  which  I  understand  not  the  nephew  but  the  grand- 


THE  EARLY   HISTORY  OF   SWEDEN.  199 

son  of  Harald  Hildetand  (nepos  meaning  both  nephew  and 
grandson).  This  Anulo  fought  on  the  one  side,  and  Sigurd, 
the  nepos  Godofridi  (where  nepos  perhaps  means  nephew), 
and  who  would  thus  be  the  brother  of  Hemming,  on  the  other. 
The  story  would  then  read  that  on  the  death  of  Hemming  a 
struggle  ensued  for  the  Danish  crown  between  the  family  of 
the  Inglings,  represented  by  Hemming's  brother  Sigurd,  and 
the  Scioldings,  by  Halfdane's  son  Anulo. 

Saxo,  as  might  have  been  expected,  in  weaving  the  sagas 
before  him  with  the  narrative  in  the  Frank  Chronicle,  identifies 
Sigurd  Ring  and  Anulo  ;  but  this  seems  impossible,  for  we 
are  expressly  told  by  Eginhardt  that  the  brothers  of  Anulo 
were  Harald  (Le.t  Harald  Klak)  and  Reginfred,  who  were 
certainly  no  brothers  of  Sigurd  Ring,  and  it  would  seem  that 
Anulo  is  the  corrupt  form  of  some  Norse  name,  which  has 
only  a  superficial  resemblance  to  annulus.  Saxo  further 
applies  the  epithet  kings  to  both  rivals,  calling  one  "  Syvar- 
dus  cognomento  Ring,"  and  the  other  "consobrimus  ejus 
Ring."  According  to  Saxo,  whose  account  is  altogether  very 
suspicious,  on  the  death  of  Hemming  the  kingdom  was 
divided  between  Sigurd  Ring  and  Godfred's  nephew,  the 
former  taking  Scania  and  Seland  and  the  latter  Jutland. 
He  goes  on  to  say  that  the  former  not  being  very  popular 
left  home,  peregrina  bella  civilibus  praferrendo,  i.e.  in  English, 
"  he  preferred  the  life  of  a  Viking."  His  rival,  taking 
advantage  of  his  absence,  tried  to  conquer  the  whole  king- 
dom. The  Selanders,  however,  gathered  round  Ragnar, 
Sigurd's  son.  Sigurd,  meanwhile,  returned  home,  and  a 
battle  ensued  between  the  rivals  (op.  cit.  439 — 441),  in  which 
Sigurd  was  killed,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Ragnar. 
Harold  and  Reginfred,  as  I  have  shown  in  a  former  paper, 
were  the  sons  of  Halfdane  and,  according  to  my  theory,  grand- 
sons of  Harald  Hildetand,  and,  therefore,  represented  the  stock 
of  the  Scioldungs,  who  by  their  victory  now  regained  supremacy 
in  Denmark.  This  was  only  transient,  however.  On  the 
defeat  of  their  party  the  sons  of  Godfred  went  among  the 
Swedes  accompanied  by  a  considerable  number  of  the  Danish 


200   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

grandees,  and  collected  a  large  force.  This  means  doubtless 
that  the  Inglings,  as  represented  by  Godfred's  family,  retained 
their  hold  upon  Sweden  although  they  lost  Denmark.  They 
returned  in  813  with  a  large  force  and  drove  out  Harald  and 
his  brother  (Eginhardt  Annals,  Pertz  i.  200  ;  Kruse,  69),  and 
thus  united  the  two  kingdoms  once  more  under  the  Inglings. 
I  have  described  elsewhere  in  detail  the  struggle  that  now 
ensued  between  Godfred's  sons  and  the  exile  Harald.  From 
the  way  in  which  they  are  always  named  it  would  seem  that 
the  former  had  a  joint  authority,  owing  doubtless  some  kind  of 
allegiance  to  Eric,  who  appears  for  the  first  time  by  name  in  827. 

Godfred  had  at  least  five  sons.  The  death  of  one  of  them, 
the  oldest,  is  mentioned  in  Eginhardt's  Annals  in  the  year 
814;  while  four  others  are  referred  to  in  819  by  the  same 
author,  where  he  tells  us  that  two  of  the  sons  of  Godfred 
were  driven  out  of  the  kingdom,  while  two  others  stayed  at 
home  and  shared  it  with  Harald  (Kruse,  78).  In  neither 
instance  are  any  of  them  mentioned  by  name.  I  believe 
that  they  divided  the  empire  between  them,  and  that 
while  two  of  them  remained  in  Denmark  two  others  went  to 
Sweden.  The  two  latter  I  believe  to  have  been  Biorn  and 
Olaf,  who  occur  so  conspicuously  in  the  narrative  of  St. 
Rembert  to  be  cited  presently.  This  Biorn  has  been  generally 
identified  with  the  Biorn  Hauge,  or  Biorn  of  the  Hill  of  the 
Hervavar  saga,  and  it  is  very  curious  that  that  saga  in  fact  gives 
him  a  brother  called  Eric  whom  it  styles  Eric  Upsallensis. 
This  theory  makes  clear  why  Eric  should  have  been  on  terms 
of  such  close  intimacy  with  the  kings  of  Sweden  as  is  shown 
by  Rembert's  narrative,  and  accounts  also  for  the  long- 
continued  peace  between  the  two  countries.  The  Amund  of 
Rembert's  narrative  I  take  to  have  been  the  son  of  Biorn, 
a  view  supported  by  Amund's  attachment  to  Christianity. 
This  will  appear  more  clearly  later  on. 

After  a  silence  of  some  years  we  again  find  mention  of 
Sweden  in  the  year  829,  and  it  is  a  very  remarkable  notice. 
We  are  told  that  in  that  year  some  envoys  went  from  the 
Swedes  to  the  Emperor  Louis,  who  reported  to  him  that  there 


THE   EARLY   HISTORY    OF    SWEDEN.  201 

were  many  among  them  who  wished  to  adopt  the  Christian 
faith,  and  that  their  king  desired  that  he  would  send  them 
some  priests  (Rembert's  Life  of  St.  Anskarius,  Pertz  ii.  696, 
etc.).  We  are  told  that  this  greatly  delighted  the  Emperor, 
who  set  about  finding  a  suitable  person  to  undertake  such 
a  mission.  He  was  not  long  in  difficulty  ;  Anskar,  whose 
journey  with  Harald  I  described  in  a  former  paper  and  who 
had  now  been  living  some  time  on  the  borders  of  Denmark, 
eagerly  volunteered  to  go.  Another  monk  of  Corbey  named 
Withmar  agreed  to  be  his  companion.  Anskar  left  a  friend 
behind  in  charge  of  his  flock  on  the  Danish  March.  His 
was  a  very  strange  and  a  very  romantic  journey,  and  it  would 
be  interesting  to  know  by  which  route  he  went.  He  seems 
to  have  set  sail  direct  for  the  Malar  Lake. 

He  travelled  with  a  number  of  merchants  who  apparently 
had  several  ships.  It  was  necessary  to  go  thus  in  convoy 
because  of  the  pirates  who  then  frequented  the  Baltic,  but 
even  this  was  poor  protection,  as  our  travellers  found  to  their 
cost.  For  when  but  half-way  on  their  journey,  they  were 
attacked  by  the  corsairs.  The  merchants,  we  are  told, 
defended  themselves  vigorously,  and  at  first  even  beat  off  the 
enemy,  but  afterwards  they  were  in  turn  beaten  and  lost 
their  ships  and  all  that  they  had.  It  is  curious  to  read  of 
these  merchant  fleets  then  traversing  the  Baltic.  We  are  too 
apt  to  consider  all  the  Danes  and  Norsemen  of  those  days 
as  mere  pirates,  the  fact  being  that  piracy  was  at  that  date 
probably  only  beginning  to  develop  itself,  and  that  it  was 
only  in  later  days  when  every  seaman  in  the  North  Sea  and 
Baltic  was  also  a  buccaneer.  The  great  trysting-place  of  the 
pirates  was  probably  the  Isle  of  Gothland,  and  it  was  probably 
in  the  narrow  channel  between  it  and  the  main  that  the 
travellers  were  attacked.  The  missionaries  escaped  with 
their  lives,  but  lost  the  presents  which  their  masters  had  sent 
to  the  Swedish  king,  and  lost  also  some  £40  of  their  own 
which  had  been  collected  for  their  needs.  Having  reached 
the  land,  they  had  a  long  and  wearying  journey  overland 
before  they  reached  the  royal  port  called  Birka. 


202     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

The  position  of  this  port  has  been  much  contested,  and  it 
is  only  in  recent  years  that  its  site  has  been  placed  beyond 
all  question. 

Among  the  many  islets  which  dot  the  beautiful  Malar 
Gulf,  whose  rocky  bosses  covered  with  many-coloured  lichens 
and  draped  with  birch  and  pine  form  one  of  the  most  striking 
pictures  in  the  memory,  is  an  obscure  island  still  called 
Biorke,  i.e.,  "the  Birch  Island."  Here,  a  few  years  ago,  a  won- 
derful mine  of  archaeological  treasures  was  discovered  in  the 
site  of  an  old  city,  strewn  with  burnt  wood,  the  remains  of 
domestic  animals,  ornaments  and  arms,  and  extending  over 
many  acres.  This  is  now  being  explored  by  the  Swedish 
antiquaries,  and  it  no  doubt  represents  the  site  of  the  ancient 
mart  of  Birka. 

Let  us  now  revert  to  our  story.  Having  arrived  at 
Birka,  Anskar  and  his  companions  were  courteously 
welcomed  by  the  king,  who  was  called  Biorn.  Who  was  this 
Biorn  ?  A  number  of  writers  have  identified  him  with  Biorn 
Ironside,  the  son  of  Ragnar  Lodbrog;  but  this  is  chrono- 
logically and  otherwise  impossible.  Geijer,  with  whom  I 
agree,  identifies  him  with  Biorn  Hauge,  or  Biorn  of  the  Hill, 
who  is  mentioned  in  the  Hervavar  saga.  I  further  hold  him 
to  have  been  a  son  of  Godfred. 

The  Icelanders  tell  us  that  Brage  the  aged,  one  of  the  most 
famous  of  the  old  Scalds,  lived  at  his  court  (Geijer,  op.  cit.  35). 
Having  learnt  the  object  of  their  mission  and  consulted 
with  his  counsellors,  he  at  length  gave  them  permission 
to  stay  and  preach  the  Gospel,  and  also  permitted  any 
to  become  their  followers  who  pleased.  Many  listened 
to  them  gladly,  for  the  Christian  captives  who  lived 
there  had  already  tried  to  share  their  faith  with  the  Norse- 
men among  whom  they  dwelt.  Many  of  the  latter  were 
baptized.  Among  others  Herigar  (i.e.,  Hergeir),  the  prefect 
of  the  place,  and  one  of  the  king's  chief  councillors,  who 
shortly  afterwards  built  a  church  on  his  own  property,  the 
first  Christian  temple  set  up  on  the  mainland  of  Scandinavia. 
He  afterwards  became  a  zealous  furtherer  of  the  faith 


THE  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  SWEDEN.  203 

(Rembert,  "  Life  of  St.  Anskar,"  Pertz  ii.  696,  697  ;  Kruse, 
op.  cit.  no).  These  events  occurred  in  the  year  830.  Having 
stayed  in  Sweden  for  a  year  and  a  half,  Anskar  in  832  returned 
homewards,  bearing  with  him  letters  for  the  emperor  written 
in  the  Swedish  king's  own  hand.  Anskar,  on  his  return,  was 
received  with  a  cordial  welcome  by  the  emperor,  who  set  about 
the  fixing  of  some  site  where  a  new  bishopric  might  be  founded, 
which  should  have  charge  of  the  evangelization  of  these 
northern  lands.  The  land  beyond  the  Elbe  had  hitherto,  it 
would  seem,  been  outside  episcopal  jurisdiction.  A  church 
had  been  built  there  and  consecrated  by  a  Gallic  bishop 
named  Amalhar  in  the  time  of  Karl  the  Great.  The  district 
attached  to  this  church  had  been  afterwards  assigned  to  a 
priest  called  Heridag,  whom  the  Emperor  Karl  intended  to 
have  consecrated  as  bishop,  but  Heridag's  death  prevented 
this.  Louis,  the  son  of  Karl,  now  determined  to  enlarge  the 
mere  parish,  and  accordingly  with  the  consent  of  the  bishops, 
etc.,  he  founded  the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Hamburgh,  and 
subjected  to  its  jurisdiction  all  the  country  north  of  the  Elbe, 
with  the  especial  duty  of  evangelizing  Scandinavia. 

To  this  See  Anskar  was  now  consecrated  by  Drogo,  arch- 
bishop of  Metz,  Ebbo,  archbishop  of  Rheims,  Hetti,  of 
Treves,  and  Otgar,  of  Mayence.  At  the  same  time  Willeric 
was  consecrated  bishop  of  Bremen,  which  See,  with  that  of 
Verden,  were  made  subject  to  him.  %  . 

As  Hamburgh  was  situated  in  a  dangerous  locality  from  its 
proximity  to  the  barbarians,  and  as  it  was  also  but  small  in 
extent,  a  certain  foundation,  called  Turholt  (now  Torout),  in 
Flanders,  between  Bruges  and  Ypres,  was  attached  to  it,  appa- 
rently as  a  kind  of  endowment  (Pertz  ii.  698).  Anskar  having 
repaired  to  Rome,  received  the  pall  from  Pope  Gregory,  and  was 
nominated  Apostolic  Legate  to  the  Swedes,  Danes,  Slaves,  and 
other  northern  nations.  A  joint  commission  was  apparently 
given  to  Ebbo,  Archbishop  of  Rheims,  who  had  been  a  very 
ardent  missionary,  and  to  whom  the  Emperor  assigned  the  little 
district  of  Welanas  (now  called  Munsterdorf),  on  the  Stur,  to 
defray  his  expenses  when  he  should  go  to  those  parts  (id.  699). 


204  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

After  the  consecration  of  Anskar,  it  was  thought  prudent, 
as  Sweden  was  so  far  off  and  so  entirely  apart,  that  a  special 
bishop  should  be  consecrated  to  act  as  his  vicar  there. 
Ebbo  accordingly  recommended  a  relation  of  his  (Adam  of 
Bremen  calls  him  his  nephew),  named  Gauzbert,  who  having 
been  supplied  by  him  and  the  Emperor  with  the  necessary 
surroundings  (i.e.  books,  vessels,  etc.,  etc.),  set  out  on  his 
journey.  The  district  of  Welanas  already  mentioned  was 
assigned  to  him  as  a  place  of  shelter  in  case  of  necessity  (id. 
699,700;  Kruse,  op.  cit.  115).  It  would  seem  that  Gauz- 
bert, at  his  consecration,  took  the  name  of  Simeon.  He 
was  well  received  by  the  King  of  the  Swedes  (i.e.  by  Biorn) 
and  his  people ;  and  began,  with  the  goodwill  of  all,  to  build 
a  church,  and  publicly  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  was  joined 
by  numbers  of  converts  (Pertz,  ii.  700).  Meanwhile, 
Anskar  worked  ardently  in  the  conversion  of  his  neigh- 
bours, and  redeemed  from  slavery  numbers  of  boys  who  had 
been  captured  by  the  Danes  and  Slaves,  whom  he  brought  up 
in  the  service  of  the  Church,  retaining  some  of  them  by  him, 
and  sending  others  to  Turholt,  already  mentioned,  to  be 
brought  up. 

Rembert  then  goes  on  to  describe  how  Hamburgh  was 
attacked  by  the  pirates.  This  happened  when  the  Mar- 
quis of  the  frontier,  Bernhard,  was  dead,  and  although  the 
bishop  tried  to  inspire  his  flock  with  courage,  they  were  over- 
powered and  obliged  to  flee ;  he  not  even  saving  his  cope 
(etiam  sine  cappa  sua  vix  evasif).  Many  of  the  people  were 
killed,  and  others  fled.  The  pirates  captured  the  town  and 
plundered  the  neighbourhood  ;  they  burnt  the  cathedral  and 
monastery,  and  set  fire  to  the  library,  which  had  been 
presented  by  the  Emperor  ;  and  his  biographer  tells  us,  that 
although  so  much  of  his  life's  work  was  thus  destroyed,  Saint 
Anskar  made  no  complaints,  nor  did  he  revile  his  enemies, 
but  humbly  confessed  that  it  was  God  who  had  given,  and 
God  might  equally  take  away. 

The  date  of  this  burning  of  Hamburgh  is  not  very  clear. 
Pertz  dates  it  in  837  (id.  notes)  ;  Kruse,  as  I  think  with 


THE    EARLY    HISTORY    OF    SWEDEN.  205 

much  greater  probability,  in  845  (op.  cit.  169).  The  bishop 
and  his  people  were  now  vagabonds,  and  wandered  about  for 
some  time,  bearing  with  them  the  precious  relics  of  the  saints. 
About  the  same  time,  we  are  told,  the  Swedes,  seized  with 
diabolical  frenzy,  began  to  persecute  their  bishop  Gauzbert, 
and  a  number  of  them  broke  into  his  house,  and  slew  his 
nephew,  Nithard.  They  plundered  the  house,  and  drove 
the  rest  of  the  inmates  into  exile.  These  things  were  not 
done  at  the  instance  of  the  King,  but  by  a  popular  out- 
break (id.  701  ;  Kruse,  168-9).  This  King  was  probably 
Biorn.  After  these  events  there  were  no  priests  in 
Sweden  for  a  space  of  seven  years.  Then  Anskar,  anxious 
for  the  Christians  there,  and  especially  for  his  godson 
Herigar,  determined  to  send  a  certain  anchorite,  named 
Ardgar,  to  them.  He  speedily  sought  out  Herigar  and  the 
rest,  to  whom  he  distributed  the  consolations  of  religion.  By 
Herigar's  influence  the  Christians  obtained  the  royal  licence 
to  propagate  their  faith,  and  he  also  protected  them  from  insult, 
notwithstanding  the  popular  feeling.  At  an  out-of-door  as- 
sembly, the  missionary  held  a  controversy  with  the  Swedes, 
who  lauded  the  virtues  of  their  gods,  and  boasted  of  the 
blessings  they  had  conferred  on  them.  The  missionary,  in 
order  to  confound  them,  we  are  told  in  the  ingenuous  phrases  of 
Rembert,  invoked  a  miracle.  As  a  storm  was  impending,  he 
bade  them  pray  to  their  gods  that  the  rain  might  not  wet 
them — he  also  would  pray  to  his  God  that  it  should  not  wet 
him ;  and  the  test  of  who  was  the  true  God  was  to  depend  on 
the  issue  of  the  miracle.  They  accepted  the  proof,  and  we  are 
told,  sat  down  in  a  body,  while  he  sat  apart  with  a  boy.  The 
rain  was  not  long  in  coming,  and  it  deluged  them,  while 
not  a  drop  fell  on  him.  On  another  occasion,  says  his 
much-believing  biographer,  Ardgar  having  lamed  his  leg  and 
being  prostrate,  the  Swedes  jeered  him  and  advised  him  to 
pray  to  their  gods  if  he  wished  to  be  cured.  Goaded  into 
reply  he  appealed  to  Christ  and  was  restored  to  health  as 
before,  thus  confounding  his  enemies  (id.  702). 

At    this    time      it     happened      that    a   certain     Swedish 


206   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

King,  named  Amund,  having  been  exiled  from  the  kingdom 
had  sought  shelter  among  the  Danes.  I  am  pretty  sure  from 
the  subsequent  narrative,  that  Amund  was  a  comparatively 
unimportant  person.  It  seems  clear  that  Olaf  was  at  this 
time  King  of  Sweden,  and  Amund  was  only  a  king  in  the 
Norse  sense,  that  is,  a  district  or  subordinate  king.  I  believe, 
as  I  have  read,  that  he  was  Olaf  s  nephew,  and  the  nephew 
also  of  Eric  of  Denmark. 

To  continue  our  story.  Amund  being  anxious  to  return 
home,  began  to  collect  recruits,  promising  to  reward  them 
handsomely  when  they  returned  to  Birka,  since  there  were 
many  rich  merchants  and  much  wealth  and  treasure  there. 
Eager  to  plunder  so  famous  a  mart,  they  supplied  him  with 
twenty-one  ships,  besides  which  he  had  eleven  of  his  own.  With 
this  fleet  he  duly  set  sail  from  Denmark,  and  arrived  at  Birka. 
The  king  (?  Olaf)  was  not  at  home,  and  there  was  no  force  at 
hand  competent  to  resist  him.  Herigar,  the  governor  of  the 
town,  with  some  merchants  and  others  were  alone.  When  hard 
pressed  they  determined  to  retire  to  a  city  near  at  hand 
(probably  Sigtuna),  and  began  to  offer  prayers  to  their  Gods 
for  help.  Feeling  still  weak,  they  sent  away  to  the  invaders 
to  ask  for  peace.  This  they  at  length  bought  by  a  fine  of  100 
pounds  of  silver.  The  Danes  were  not  satisfied,  and  deter- 
mined to  sack  the  town.  The  citizens  in  their  distress  pro- 
posed to  immolate  a  victim  to  propitiate  their  gods,  a  view 
which  was  sternly  opposed  by  Herigar,  who  counselled  them  to 
abandon  their  useless  deities  and  to  turn  to  the  Christian  God. 
This  they  accordingly  did,  and  we  are  told  they  offered  prayers 
and  alms  voluntarily  and  by  one  consent  in  an  assembly  held 
in  the  open  air. 

Meanwhile,  according  to  Rembert,  Amund  addressed  his 
followers,  and  informed  them  that  in  this  place  were  the  shrines 
of  many  powerful  gods,  including  the  God  of  the  Christians, 
who  was  the  most  powerful  of  all,  and  that  they  had  better 
beware  how  they  incurred  his  resentment.  They  determined 
to  decide  the  matter  by  an  appeal  to  necromancy.  The  answer 
was  that  they  should  not  molest  the  place,  and  that  they  should 


THE   EARLY   HISTORY   OF   SWEDEN.  207 

leave  what  they  had  captured.  They  were  not  to  return  home 
empty-handed,  however,  but  were  to  repair  to  a  distant  city,  on 
the  borders  of  the  Slaves.  They  went  there  and  captured  the 
town,  and  made  a  great  booty,  with  which  they  returned  safely 
home  again.  Amund  returned  a  portion  of  the  silver 
(to  the  Swedes  ?),  and  made  a  treaty  with  them  and  lived 
there  for  some  time  as  he  wished  to  conciliate  them  (Pertz  ii. 
704).  From  this  account,  it  would  seem  probable  that  Amund 
was  a  Christian,  and  probably  a  friend  of  Herigar's.  The 
latter  did  not  let  his  vantage  slip,  but  seems  to  have  used  his 
triumph  for  the  furtherance  of  the  faith.  He  died  an  old  man, 
a  Christian,  and  received  the  last  sacrament  from  Ardgar 
(Pertz  ii.  704  ;  Kruse,  201,  202). 

Rembert  mentions  that  among  the  Swedish  converts  was  a 
woman  called  Frideburg  or  Fretheburg,  who  resisted  all  the 
importunities  of  her  people  to  sacrifice  to  idols,  etc.,  and 
remained  a  faithful  Christian.  As  she  was  nearing  her  term  of 
life,  and  there  was  no  longer  a  priest  there,  Gauzbert  being 
dead  ;  knowing  that  Christians  before  they  died  consoled 
themselves  by  taking  the  viaticum  or  last  communion,  and 
there  being  no  priest  who  could  duly  consecrate  the  elements, 
she  bought,  and  set  apart  some  wine,  and  ordered  her  daughter 
to  give  it  to  her  when  she  was  dying,  in  the  hope  that  this 
sacrifice  might  be  acceptable  in  her  difficult  circumstances. 
This  was  three  years  before  the  arrival  of  Ardgar.  She  lived 
on,  however,  and  only  died  after  receiving  the  sacrament  duly 
from  him,  and  ordering  her  daughter  Calla  to  distribute  some 
of  her  wealth  as  alms  among  the  poor,  and  in  case  she  found 
but  few  poor,  she  recommended  her  to  take  the  money  to 
Dorestadt,  where  there  were  many  churches,  priests,  and  poor, 
and  there  to  distribute  her  alms.  She  went  there*  and 
performed  her  mother's  behests  (Pertz,  op.  cit.  ii.  704,  705). 
After  the  death  of  Herigar,  Ardgar  left  Sweden,  which  was 
again  therefore  left  without  spiritual  control. 

In  846  Pope  Sergius  issued  a  commission  to  Anskar  con- 
firming him  as  apostle  of  the  Wigmodians,  Nordalbingians, 
Danes,  Norveni,  Suecii,  and  whatever  nations  he  should 


208  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

subject  to  the  faith,  and  granting  him  the  use  of  the  pallium 
at  his  see  of  Hamburgh  (Kruse,  176).  As  I  have  mentioned, 
that  missionary  see  on  the  borders  of  the  heathen  was  too 
poor  to  support  itself,  and  the  emperor  had  accordingly 
assigned  it  the  revenues  of  the  monastery  of  Turholt  for  its 
support.  On  the  death  of  Louis  the  Pious,  Turholt  fell  to 
the  share  of  his  son  Charles,  while  Hamburgh  belonged, 
if  to  anybody,  to  Louis  the  German.  Charles  accordingly 
detached  the  monastery  from  the  see  and  gave  it  to  one  Reg- 
inar  (Pertz  ii.  706).  The  consequence  of  this,  added  to  the 
previous  ravage  of  the  Danes,  was  that  the  see  of  Hamburgh 
was  reduced  to  desolation.  About  this  time  the  bishopric  of 
Bremen  becoming  vacant,  it  was  determined  at  a  synod  of 
bishops,  held  at  Mayence  in  the  autumn  of  847,  to  appoint 
Anskar  to  the  post,  and  thus  unite  Bremen  and  Hamburgh, 
which  was  accordingly  done.  This  introduced  a  new  difficulty. 
Bremen  was  a  suffragan  see  of  Cologne,  while  Hamburgh 
had  been  constituted  an  independent  archbishopric. 

The  Archbishop  of  Cologne  now  claimed  Anskar  as  one 
of  his  suffragans,  which  the  latter  resented.  The  matter 
was  discussed  at  a  synod  at  Worms,  attended  by  the  two 
brothers,  Lothaire  and  Louis,  and  it  was  determined  to 
remit  the  matter  to  the  decision  of  the  Holy  See.  Louis 
accordingly  appointed  Salomon  bishop  of  Constance  (Con- 
stantice  civitatis  episcopus)  to  go  there,  and  Anskar  was 
represented  by  a  priest  named  Nordfrid,  who  is  described 
by  Rembert  ambiguously  as  filium  suum  (i.e.  of  Anskar) 
fratrem  nostrum  (i.e.  of  Rembert).  The  matter  having  been 
duly  brought  before  Pope  Nicholas,  he  issued  a  bull  uniting 
the  two  dioceses  of  Hamburgh  and  Bremen,  and  constituting 
them  an  archiepiscopal  see,  independent  of  that  of  Cologne, 
while  the  diocese  of  Verden,  of  which  Waldgar  was  bishop, 
was  detached  from  them  (Pertz  ii.  706,  708). 

Anskar  now  resumed  his  efforts  for  the  conversion  of  the 
Danes.  We  are  told  he  endeavoured  to  conciliate  the  good 
will  of  Eric,  who  was  now  sole  king  of  the  country,  by 
presents  and  otherwise,  in  order  to  gain  permission  to  preach 


THE   EARLY   HISTORY   OF   SWEDEN.  209 

the  faith,  and  seems  to  have  had  some  interviews  with  him. 
Anskar  also  seems  to  have  exerted  himself  to  create  a  good 
feeling  between  the  Danes  and  Franks,  and  to  have  been  an 
intermediary  in  their  negotiations.  In  consequence  Eric 
became  much  attached  to  him,  and  even  initiated  him  in 
his  State  secrets.  Anskar  now  introduced  the  question  of 
Christianity,  and  tried  to  persuade  Eric  to  be  baptized. 
He  seems  to  have  had  considerable  effect  on  the  king, 
and  at  last  persuaded  him  to  allow  a  church  to  be  built 
within  his  borders.  The  site  was  fixed  at  Schleswig, 
a  port,  says  Rembert,  much  frequented  by  merchants,  and 
there  was  accordingly  founded  the  first  Christian  temple 
within  the  borders  of  Denmark.  The  king  also  granted 
permission  to  any  of  his  subjects  who  pleased  to  be 
baptized.  The  church  was  duly  dedicated  to  the  Virgin, 
and  a  priest  appointed  to  it.  Rembert  says  there  were 
already  many  Christians  there  who  had  been  baptized  at 
Hamburgh  or  Dorestadt,  among  whom  were  some  of  the 
officials  of  the  town,  who  accordingly  encouraged  the  move- 
ment, and  many,  both  men  and  women,  now  followed  their 
example  (id.  709).  It  will  be  remarked  that  Rembert 
nowhere  says  that  King  Eric  himself  was  baptized,  nor  that 
he  became  a  Christian.  This  fact  is  mentioned  by  Adam 
of  Bremen,  who  was  a  very  late  and  irregularly  inaccurate 
chronicler  of  the  events  of  this  time,  and  whose  authority  as 
compared  with  Rembert  is  nil.  I  cannot  doubt  that  if  Eric 
had  really  become  a  Christian,  that  such  a  proof  of  the 
triumphant  campaign  of  his  master  would  not  have  been 
overlooked  by  his  scholar  and  biographer. 

Anskar    was    now   much   troubled   for  the    condition    of 
Sweden,  where  there  was  no  longer  any  priest,  and  he  per- 

tsuaded  King  Eric  to  assist  him  in  the  matter.  After  a 
conference  with  Gauzbert,  who  had  been  there  before,  and 
had  been  driven  away,  and  who  seems  to  have  dreaded 
similar  treatment,  it  was  determined  that  the  latter  should 
go,  and  Eric  sent  a  letter  with  him,  commending  him  to  the 
Swedish  King  Olaf,  a  proof,  as  I  take  it,  that  Eric  and  Olaf, 
' 


210  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

who  were  according  to  my  contention  nearly  related,  if  not 
actually  brothers,  were  good  friends,  and  in  no  sense  rivals 
and  enemies.  In  his  letter  he  referred  to  him  as  sent  by 
King  Louis,  as  one  anxious  to  serve  the  cause  of  religion, 
and  wishful  to  spread  the  Gospel  in  Sweden.  Having  set  out 
they  reached  Birka  in  about  twenty  days,  where  they  met  the 
king  and  a  large  number  of  people.  Rembert  goes  on  to  say 
that  the  crowd  was  much  elated  about  their  arrival,  for  one 
who  claimed  to  have  been  sent  from  the  very  council  of  the 
northern  gods,  had  addressed  the  crowd  in  terms  like  these: 
"  By  your  zeal  for  us  you  have  secured  our  goodwill,  and 
in  consequence  peace  and  plenty  have  flourished  in  the  land. 
Now  you  propose  to  rob  us  of  sacrifices  and  other  offerings, 
and  what  we  deem  even  worse,  to  supplant  us  by  another 
god.  If  you  wish  us  to  continue  propitious  to  you,  continue 
the  old  sacrifices,  and  to  pay  us  the  dues  as  formerly,  and  do 
not  receive  this  other  god,  who  denounces  us,  among  you, 
nor  worship  him:  If  needs  be  that  you  are  anxious  for  other 
gods,  and  that  we  do  not  suffice  for  you,  then  choose  Eric, 
who  was  formerly  your  king,  and  whom  we  will  unani- 
mously welcome  among  us  to  be  a  god."  This  Eric  it  has 
been  argued  was  Eric  of  Upsala,  who  by  some  is  made  a 
brother  of  Biorn  of  the  Hill,  but  this  is  hardly  likely.  So 
recent  a  king  would  hardly  in  the  north  have  been  suggested 
as  a  god.  He  was  rather  in  all  probability  some  semi- 
fabulous  hero  of  the  Heroic  age. 

The  address  just  named  seems  to  have  greatly  excited  the 
mob,  who  in  accordance  with  it  nominated  the  Eric  just 
named  as  one  of  their  gods,  and  thereupon  began  to  offer 
gifts  and  sacrifices  to  him.  Bishop  Gauzbert  now  consulted 
jiis  old  friends  as  to  the  course  he  should  pursue,  and  what 
were  the  king's  sympathies  in  the  matter.  They  counselled 
him  to  withdraw  at  once,  and  if  he  had  anything  of  value 
about  him  to  present  it  to  the  king  so  as  to  be  permitted  to 
go  away  alive.  Gauzbert  refused  to  comply,  and  said  he  was 
prepared  for  martyrdom.  At  length  by  the  advice  of  his 
friends  he  invited  the  king,  who  was  no  doubt  the  Olaf  already 


THE   EARLY   HISTORY  OF   SWEDEN.  211 

named,  to  his  house.  He  there  offered  him  hospitality  and 
presents  and  presented  his  commission,  which  had  already 
been  named  to  him  by  his  own  friends  and  by  the  envoy  of 
Eric  of  Denmark.  The  king  seemed  very  gracious,  and  will- 
ing to  comply  with  his  wishes  ;  but  he  added,  "  There  were 
priests  here  before  who  were  driven  away,  not  by  the  royal 
mandate,  but  by  a  popular  outbreak.  Before  I  can  or  dare 
confirm  your  mission  I  must  consult  the  auguries  of  our  gods, 
and  see  what  the  wish  of  the  people  is.  Attend  the  next 
meeting  of  the  assembly  (placitum)  and  I  will  advocate  your 
cause  to  the  people,  and  if  the  gods  are  willing  then  your 
wishes  shall  be  carried,  if  not  then  the  contrary/'  This,  says 
Rembert,  was  according  to  their  custom,  for  among  them 
matters  of  public  moment  were  decided  by  the  popular  will 
rather  than  by  the  royal  wish.  Gauzbert  consented  to  this 
and  prepared  himself  by  prayer  and  fasting  for  the  interview 
(id.  711,  712).  The  king  having  assembled  his  grandees 
discussed  the  matter  with  them,  and  they  proceeded  to  test  by 
lots  what  the  will  of  the  gods  was.  The  lots  were  cast  on  the 
open  field,  and  they  fell  that  it  was  the  will  of  the  gods  that 
the  Christian  religion  should  be  established  there.  This  news 
was  taken  to  Gauzbert  by  one  of  his  friends,  and  the  latter 
accordingly  prepared  to  attend  the  general  assembly  with 
confidence.  The  assembly  was  held  at  Birka,  and  the  king 
having  caused  the  decision  just  mentioned  to  be  announced 
there  was  considerable  uproar,  when  there  uprose  an  elderly 
man  who  addressed  the  crowd,  saying,  "  Hear  me,  king  and 
people.  The  worship  of  this  God  is  well  known  to  many  of 
us  who  have  received  benefits  from  Him,  for  many  of  us  have 
proved  His  goodness  in  perils  on  the  sea.  Formerly  several  of 
us  who  have  been  to  Dorestadt  have  there  adopted  the  faith. 
Now  on  account  of  the  many  pirates  and  dangers  that  infest 
the  way,  we  hardly  ever  make  our  way  there."  * 

The  orator  bade  his  audience  attend  to  their  own  interests, 

*  This  is  surely  a  graphic  proof  of  what  I  have  elsewhere  urged,  that  the 
Norsemen  were  originally  traders  and  not  buccaneers,  and  that  piracy  was  an 
accomplishment  they  learnt  later  on. 


212  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

and  in  those  cases  where  their  gods  were  not  propitious  to 
court  the  favour  of  this  one  who  was  always  willing  to  help 
those  who  asked  Him.  This  speech  had  its  due  effect,  and  it 
was  agreed  that  priests  should  settle  among  them,  and  that 
the  mysteries  of  Christianity  should  be  practised  without 
hindrance.  The  king  had  this  conclusion  announced  to  the 
bishop,  but  he  still  withheld  his  own  consent  until  another 
placitum  or  assembly  had  been  held  in  another  part  of  the 
country.  This  was  probably  for  Gothland,  as  the  former  one 
was  for  Sweden  proper.  This  followed  the  example,  and 
confirmed  the  decision  of  the  former  assembly.  The  king 
now  proclaimed  the  decision  of  the  two  meetings,  granting 
the  right  to  build  churches  and  to  make  converts  freely. 
Gauzbert  then  commended  Erimbert,  the  nephew  of  Anskar, 
to  the  good  graces  of  the  king,  and  asking  for  his  patronage 
for  him.  The  king  thereupon  ordered  a  hall  (atrium]  to  be 
built  for  an  oratory,  and  the  bishop  bought  another  for  him  to 
live  in.  These  were  both  at  Birka.  The  bishop  then  once 
more  returned  home, 

About  this  time  Rembert  reports  an  expedition  undertaken 
by  the  Swedes  against  the  Cori,  whom  he  describes  as  a 
people  situated  a  long  way  off,  and  who  were  clearly  the 
Curones  or  people  of  Curland.  He  says  they  had  formerly 
been  subject  to  the  Swedes,  but  this  was  a  considerable 
time  before  (jam  tune  diu  erat). 

The  Danes  having  learnt  this,  determined  about  the  time 
when  the  bishop  (i.e.  Gauzbert)  was  among  the  Swedes  to 
send  a  large  fleet  there  to  plunder  and  subdue  them.  The 
kingdom  of  the  Cori  then  comprised  five  different  states 
(civitates),  whose  inhabitants  united  together  to  repel  the 
invaders.  They  were  successful.  One  half  of  the  Danes 
were  killed,  and  their  fleet  was  plundered  of  its  gold  and  silver. 
The  expedition  in  fact  seemed  to  have  been  a  disastrous  failure. 
King  Olaf  and  the  Swedes  having  heard  of  this,  and  wishing  to 
acquire  fame,  and  to  compass  what  the  Danes  had  failed  in 
doing,  piqued  also,  inasmuch  as  the  Curlander-s  were  formerly 
their  subjects,  collected  a  very  large  force  and  crossed 


THE   EARLY   HISTORY  OF   SWEDEN.  213 

the  Baltic  to  Curland  to  a  city  then  called  Seeburg,  where  there 
were  7,000  warriors  collected.  This  town  some  have  identified 
with  Seleburg  in  Semgallia  at  the  mouth  of  the  Duna,  others 
with  Segeburg  in  the  south  of  Livonia  (Pertz  ii.  714,  note 
60;  Kruse,  227,  note  i).  Kruse  also  suggests  from  the  fact 
of  the  town  having  so  large  a  garrison  that  it  was  the  capital 
of  Curland.  Other  possible  sites  are  Libau,  which  from  its  situ- 
ation on  the  coast  may  have  been  called  Seeburg  by  the  Danes, 
or,  perhaps,  Pills  Callns  near  Kapsehden  (op.  cit.  227,  note  2). 

Having  captured,  sacked,  and  burnt  the  town,  they  went  on 
a  five  days'  journey  to  another  town,  called  Apulia,  which,  as 
Pertz  suggests,  was,  doubtless,  Pillen  on  the  river  Windav,  in 
Curland.  There  were  assembled  15,000  warriors,  who  shut 
themselves  up  in  the  town  and  defended  it  bravely. 

For  eight  days  the  siege  was  prosecuted  with  great  vigour. 
The  Swedes  then  began  to  grow  weary,  and  as  they  were  five 
days'  journey  from  the  port  where  their  ships  lay,  they  were 
much  troubled  in  their  minds  as  to  what  they  should  do,  they 
determined  to  cast  lots  and  see  whether  their  gods  meant  to 
assist  them,  or  intended  that  they  should  retire.  These  lots 
having  been  cast,  it  was  found  that  none  of  the  gods  were 
willing  to  help  them  ;  whereupon  a  terrible  wailing  arose  in 
the  camp.  "  What  miserable  creatures  are  we  !  "  they  said  ; 
"  our  gods  have  forsaken  us,  and  none  of  them  will  support 
us  !  Whither  must  we  fly  ?  Our  ships  are  a  long  way  off ;  if 
we  retire  to  them,  those  who  follow  in  pursuit  will  destroy  us. 
Where,  then,  is  our  hope  ?  "  In  this  difficulty,  some  merchants 
who  were  with  them,  and  who  remembered  the  teaching  of 
the  bishop,  spoke  out,  and  said,  "  The  God  of  the  Christians  is 
mighty  in  assisting  those  who  seek  Him.  Let  us  see  if  He 
is  with  us,  and  if  so,  let  us  obey  Him."  The  lots  were  again 
cast,  and  it  was  found  that  Christ  was  in  fact  with  them. 
This  news  greatly  raised  their  drooping  spirits.  With  joyful 
hearts  they  again  closely  beleaguered  the  town,  which  it 
appears  began  to  run  short  of  provisions,  and  some  propositions 
were  made  by  the  garrison,  that  they  wished  for  peace 
rather  than  war,  and  were  ready  to  make  a  truce  with  the 


214   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Swedes  and  to  surrender  some  of  the  booty  which  they  had 
captured  during  the  previous  year  from  the  Danes.  They 
offered  a  ransom  of  half-a-pound  of  silver  for  each  man  in 
the  garrison,  to  renew  the  homage  they  formerly  did,  and  to 
give  hostages,  and  in  future  to  deem  themselves  subjects 
of  the  Swedish  king.  Some  of  the  more  bellicose  Swedes  were 
not  for  accepting  these  terms,  but  rather  for  insisting  upon 
the  capture  of  the  town,  and  upon  its  plunder  ;  but  this  was 
overruled  by  the  king  and  his  more  prudent  counsellors  ;  and 
having  collected  a  great  ransom,  and  received  thirty  hostages, 
they  made  their  way  back  to  their  ships.  The  delighted 
Swedes  now  inquired  from  the  merchants,  whose  advice  they 
had  previously  sought,  what  the  God  of  the  Christians  would 
deem  a  grateful  return  for  the  benefits  he  had  conferred  on  them. 
It  was  determined  that  they  should  fast  for  seven  days,  and 
then  abstain  from  meat  for  seven  days  ;  and  after  an  interval 
of  forty  days  should  by  a  general  assembly  decree  a  similar 
abstention  of  forty  days.  After  this  we  are  told  they  were 
very  friendly  disposed  to  Christianity,  and  adopted  the  Christian 
mode  of  fasting,  and  the  fashion  of  distributing  alms  to  the 
poor,  and  in  consequence  the  priest  Erimbert,  whom  I  have 
mentioned,  continued  to  live  among  them  in  peace  and  quiet 
(Pertz  ii.  714,  715).  This  is  a  fitting  close  to  the  present 
paper ;  we  have  carried  down  the  history  of  Sweden  to  the 
date  when  the  battle  took  place  in  Denmark,  where  Eric 
was  killed,  and  which  was  the  great  turning-point  in  northern 
history,  and  I  will  in  conclusion  give  a  short  genealogy  of  the 
kings  before  mentioned,  in  order  to  make  my  story  more 
plain. 


THE   EARLY   HISTORY   OF   SWEDEN. 


215 


Ingiald  the  Illdoer, 
King  at  Upsala. 


Gudrod 
King  of  Scania  Aasa 


Ivan  Vidfame 

Rurik  Audr     Harald 
Radbard 

Harald 
Hildetand 


Olaf  the  Treefeller 


Halfdane  Huilbein 


Randver 

r      -,     I 

Eystein        Halfdane        Sigurd  Ring 

Harald 
Klak 


Eystein 


Halfdane 
the  Mild 


Gudrod  the 
Magnanimous 


I         i          I          I 
—    Eric     —    Biorn  Olaf 

I 
Amund 


Reginer         Anulo     Lodbrog 


NARRATIVE  OF  THE    TRANSFERENCE  OF   THE 
GERMAN  WEIMARIAN  ARMY  TO  THE  CROWN 
OF  FRANCE  IN  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. 
BY  JAMES  HEYWOOD,  F.R.S. 

(Read  to  the  Royal  Historical  Society  on  the  i&h  December,  1880.) 

DURING  the  varied  events  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  a  constant  struggle  for  power  in  central 
Europe  was  maintained  between  the  Emperor  of  Germany, 
whose  seat  of  government  was  at  Vienna,  and  the  King 
of  France. 

Cardinal  Richelieu,  the  prime  minister  of  France  during  a 
great  part  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIII.,  had  the  sagacity  to 
see  that  French  interests  were  promoted  by  aiding  the  Protes- 
tant princes  of  northern  Europe  against  the  Austrian 
Imperialists. 

Wallenstein,  the  principal  general  of  Austria,  advanced 
northwards  as  far  as  the  Baltic,  and  obtained  from  the 
German  Emperor  the  title  of  "  General  of  the  Ocean  and  of 
the  Baltic." 

Sweden  at  that  time  included  several  provinces  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Baltic,  and  when  Wallenstein  laid  siege  to 
the  Danish  town  of  Stralsund,  the  inhabitants  of  that  city 
solicited  the  aid  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  King  of  Sweden, 
against  their  Imperial  enemy.  Gustavus  sent  to  them  a  party 
of  Swedish  soldiers,  and  an  ample  supply  of  ammunition. 
The  independence  of  Stralsund  was -thus  preserved. 

Shortly  afterwards,  a  treaty  was  negotiated  at  Liibeck,  to 
which  Gustavus  sent  a  plenipotentiary ;  but  his  pride  was 
wounded,  as  Wallenstein  forbade  the  entrance  of  the  Swedish 
ambassador  into  the  congress,  on  account  of  the  assistance 
which  the  king  of  Sweden  had  recently  afforded  to  Stralsund. 

In  1629  Gustavus  Adolphus  was  engaged  in   a  war  with 


TRANSFERENCE   OF   THE   GERMAN   WEIMARIAN   ARMY.  217 

Sigismund,  King  of  Poland.  Richelieu  privately  sent  into 
Polish  Silesia  his  confidential  agent  Charnace,  who  had  inter- 
views with  each  of  the  contending  sovereigns,  and  persuaded 
both  the  kings  of  Sweden  and  Poland  to  consent  to  a  truce 
for  six  years.  Charnace  also,  in  the  name  of  Cardinal 
Richelieu,  negotiated  a  treaty  in  January,  1631,  with  the  king 
of  Sweden  for  five  years,  by  which  Gustavus  Adolphus 
agreed  to  maintain  an  army  of  30,000  men  in  Germany,  and 
France  engaged  to  furnish  £40,000  a  year,  towards  the 
maintenance  of  this  army.  Venice  also  forwarded  a  large 
contribution  for  the  same  object.  The  treaty  stipulated  that 
if  the  arms  of  Gustavus  Adolphus  were  successful,  he  was 
to  respect, the  Catholic  religion  and  the  constitution  of  the 
German  empire  in  all  the  conquered  places. 

Shortly  after  landing  in  Pomerania,  the  gates  of  Stettin  were 
opened  to  the  King  of  Sweden,  who  thus  obtained  the  com- 
mand of  the  river  Oder,  as  well  as  a  magazine  for  his  troops. 

Gustavus  had  taken  the  precaution  of  providing  his  soldiers 
with  dresses  of  sheepskin,  which  enabled  them  to  keep  the 
field  even  in  the  most  inclement  season. 

The  Imperialists  were  driven  out  of  Pomerania  with  great 
loss  in  artillery,  baggage,  and  men. 

Gustavus  Adolphus  appeared  with  his  army  before  Berlin, 
and  as  there  was  great  hesitation  on  the  part  of  the  Elector 
of  Brandenburg  about  his  reception,  the  King  of  Sweden 
sent  to  him  a  message,  concluding  with  the  words :  "  My 
brother,  the  Elector,  must  determine  at  once,  to  have  me  as 
a  friend,  or  to  see  his  capital  plundered."  The  pointing  of 
the  Swedish  cannon  against  the  city  of  Berlin  put  an  end  to 
the  doubts  of  George  William.  The  Elector  agreed  to  furnish 
a  monthly  subsidy  of  30,000  dollars,  and  a  decisive  alliance 
was  formed  between  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg  and  the 
Swedes.  Uninterrupted  success  followed  the  progress  of  the 
Swedish  monarch.  He  was  the  first  General  of  the  age.  In 
September,  1631,  the  battle  of  Leipzig  was  fought,  ending  in 
a  complete  victory  of  the  Swedes  and  Saxons  over  the 
Imperialists. 


218  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

The  Saxon  division  of  the  army,  under  Gustavus,  was  after- 
wards commanded  by  Bernard,  Duke  of  Weimar,  and  in  1632, 
a  few  days  before  the  battle  of  Lutzen,  a  violent  scene  took 
place  between  Bernard  and  the  King  of  Sweden,  in  consequence 
of  which  the  Duke  of  Weimar  resigned  his  generalship, 
declaring  that  he  would  not  be  a  servant,  but  only  an  ally  of 
Sweden. 

Victory  declared  itself  on  the  side  of  Sweden  at  the  battle 
of  Lutzen,  but  Gustavus  Adolphus  lost  his  life  in  the  engage- 
ment. 

In  1633,  Bernard,  Duke  of  Weimar,  was  defeated  by  the 
Imperialists  in  the  battle  of  Nordlingen,  and  lost  12,000  men, 
300  standards,  and  80  guns.  A  treaty  was  concluded  in  1634, 
at  Paris,  by  which  France  engaged  to  maintain  12,000  men, 
Germans  or  others,  under  the  command  of  a  German  prince. 

By  a  treaty  in  1635,  the  Duke  of  Weimar  promised  to 
command  the  army,  under  the  authority  of  the  King  of 
France,  on  condition  that  he  (Duke  Bernard)  should  retain 
the  direction  of  military  operations,  with  power  to  resolve  and 
execute,  as  he  should  think  best  for  the  furtherance  of  the 
common  cause,  with  counsel  and  judgment  of  His  Majesty 
the  King  of  France  and  the  confederate  princes ;  except  in 
such  cases  as  it  should  be  proposed  to  march  across  the 
Rhine,  or  into  a  new  country,  or  to  undertake  a  siege  of  any 
importance  ;  on  which  occasions  the  Duke  promised  to 
inform  His  Majesty  of  such  intentions,  and  to  receive  orders 
from  His  Majesty,  so  that  the  King  of  France  might  arrange 
his  other  plans  accordingly. 

Rheinfelden  and  several  other  towns  of  the  Black  Forest 
country  were  taken  by  the  Duke  of  Weimar ;  and,  with  the 
aid  of  the  French  General  Gue*briant,  after  a  long  and  obsti- 
nate siege  of  old  Breisach,  in  the  Brisgau,  he  obtained 
possession  of  that  important  fortress  in  1638. 

Cardinal  Richelieu  was  a  statesman  who  never  lost  sight  of 
the  aggrandizement  of  France.  He  thus  described  his  own 
public  character  to  a  confidant*  : — 

*  Aikin's  "  General  Biography,"  Art.  Richelieu,  p.  544. 


TRANSFERENCE   OF   THE  GERMAN   WEIMARIAN   ARMY.  219 

"  I  venture  upon  nothing  until  I  have  well  considered  it,  but  when 
I  have  taken  my  resolution,  I  go  directly  to  my  object ;  I  overthrow 
and  mow  down  all  that  stands  in  my  way,  and  cover  the  whole  with 
my  red  mantle." 

After  the  taking  of  Breisach,  the  French  government  sent 
instructions  to  General  Guebriant,  commander  of  the  forces  of 
the  King  of  France  on  the  Rhine,  under  the  Duke  of  Weimar, 
as  to  the  main  subject  for  a  negotiation,  in  consequence  of 
the  capture  of  the  fortress  of  Breisach.  M.  de  Gonzenbach, 
in  the  appendix  to  his  Memoir  of  General  D'Erlach,  gives 
these  instructions,  in  which  General  Guebriant  was  directed, 
in  the  most  polite  manner,  to  inquire  from  Duke  Bernard,  if, 
in  his  opinion,  the  French,  who  had  contributed  to  the  con- 
quest of  Breisach,  should  have  a  share  in  the  glory  of  pre- 
serving that  fortress. 

General  Guebriant  was  not  to  manifest  any  want  of  con- 
fidence as  to  the  intentions  of  Duke  Bernard,  and  he  was 
to  explain  to  the  Duke  that,  in  what ,  the  King  of  France 
desired  of  Bernard,  he  merely  sought  for  the  good  of  the 
common  cause. 

If  the  Duke  of  Weimar  should  consent  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  French  governor  of  Breisach,  it  would  be  requisite, 
for  more  complete  security,  that  two-thirds,  or  at  least  one- 
half  of  the  garrison  should  be  French  ;  the  other  half  should 
be  Germans,  under  a  French  governor,  and  General  Guebriant 
should  possess  the  supreme  direction  over  both  the  divisions. 

These  proposals  could  not  possibly  be  agreeable  to  the 
Duke  of  Weimar,  and  about  that  time  Colonel  Ehm  gave  a 
banquet  at  Pontarslier,  to  Bernard,  who  was  taken  ill  at  the 
dinner.  In  March,  1639,  the  Duke  of  Weimar,  when  he  was 
a  little  recovering  from  his  malady,  wrote  a  letter  to  Cardinal 
Richelieu,  which  is  given  in  M.  de  Gonzenbach's  work  on 
General  D'Erlach.  The  Duke  of  Weimar  mentioned  in  his 
letter  that  he  had  sent  General  D'Erlach  to  inform  the  Car- 
dinal on  various  matters,  such  as  the  want  of  money  to 
preserve  the  conquest  which  had  been  made.  No  practical 
benefit  arose  from  General  D'Erlach's  mission. 


220  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

The  Duke  of  Weimar  died  in  July,  1639.  By  his  will  he 
left  the  places  he  had  conquered  to  his  brothers,  who  declined 
this  inheritance.  Next  to  them  the  Duke  gave  precedence  to 
the  Crown  of  France,  on  condition  that  the  garrisons  should 
be  retained,  and  in  the  event  of  a  general  peace  he  wished  the 
conquered  lands  to  be  restored  to  the  German  Empire. 

The  Duke's  army  was,  according  to  Bernard's  will,  to  be 
commanded  by  General  D'Erlach,  Colonel  Ehm,  the  Count  of 
Nassau,  and  Colonel  Rosen.  These  officers  were  called  the 
Directory,  and  General  d'Erlach  held  the  principal  position. 

A  fresh  negotiation  began  between  General  Gudbriant,  with 
two  other  Frenchmen,  D'Oisonville  and  Choisy,  on  the  side 
of  France,  and  General  D'Erlach  and  his  friends.  D'Erlach 
was  the  Governor  of  Breisach. 

On  the  basis  of  the  French  instructions,  according  to 
M.  de  Gonzenbach,  Guebriant  and  his  colleagues  suggested 
to  the  Weimar  generals  : — 

That  the  Weimarian  army  should  be  transferred,  in  single 
regiments,  to  the  service  of  France. 

The  colonels  were  to  be  treated  with  individually,  and  to  be 
offered  yearly  pensions  in  addition  to  their  usual  pay.  The 
governors  of  fortresses  were  to  be  gained  over  in  like  manner ; 
the  sums  offered  being  in  proportion  to  the  importance  of  the 
fortresses  given  up. 

The  Governor  of  Breisach  was  offered  £4,000  if  he  promised 
to  hold  the  fortress  under  the  authority  of  France,  and  either 
£6,000  or  £8,000,  if  he  gave  up  the  fortress  altogether  to 
France. 

Negotiations  were  carried  on  at  Breisach,  and  afterward 
at  Colmar,  the  head-quarters  of  the  Duke  de  Longueville  ;  and 
subsequently  they  were  renewed  at  Breisach.  Finally,  a 
mutiny  in  the  Weimarian  army  was  apprehended,  if  the 
soldiers  should  be  longer  kept  in  a  state  of  uncertainty,  and 
the  French  ambassadors  and  the  generals  of  the  Weimarian 
army  concluded  their  arrangement  in  the  following 
form : — 

The  King  of  France  was  to  have  free  choice  in  the  appoint- 


TRANSFERENCE   OF   THE   GERMAN   WEIMARIAN   ARMY.  221 

ment  of  governors  for  the  fortresses  of  Freiburg  in  Brisgau 
and  Breisach  ;  and  it  was  further  agreed,  by  a  secret  treaty, 
that  the  same  governors,  who  had  been  in  office  under  the 
Duke  of  Weimar,  should  remain  at  Breisach  and  Freiburg, 
and  that  each  of  them  should  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
hold  the  fortress  over  which  he  presided  in  the  service  of  the 
King  of  France,  and  to  obey  the  orders  of  the  Lieutenant- 
General  who  should  command  the  King's  army  in  Germany. 

The  Duke  of  Longueville  assisted  the  French  ambassadors 
in  concluding  the  negotiations.  France  became  the  supreme 
power  over  the  greater  part  of  Alsace,  as  well  as  over  Breisach 
and  Freiburg,  in  Brisgau,  and  in  addition,  over  Rheinfelden 
and  some  other  Black  Forest  towns.  Gueb  riant  held  the 
office  of  general  in  the  Weimarian  army.  In  1642  he  gained 
the  victory  of  Kemper,  in  the  electorate  of  Cologne,  which 
obtained  for  him  the  reward  of  a  marshal's  baton.  Richelieu 
died  in  December,  1642.  Cardinal  Mazarin  was  appointed 
prime  minister.  Louis  XIII.  died  in  1643. 

General  Mercy,  in  1644,  on  the  side  of  the  Imperialists, 
commanded  the  Bavarian  army,  and  marched  towards  the 
Rhine.  Marshal  Turenne,  the  French  commander,  ordered 
General  Rosen  to  attack  the  Bavarian  advanced  guard,  and 
the  Bavarians  were  defeated.  General  Mercy  laid  siege  to 
Freiburg  in  Brisgau,  and  took  that  fortress.  The  Duke 
d'Enghien,  French  commander,  received  orders  to  march 
towards  the  Rhine,  where  he  joined  Marshal  Turenne.  The 
French  army  numbered  20,000  men  :  that  of  Mercy  comprised 
15,000,  occupying  a  strong  position.  Between  the  Brisgau 
and  Wirtemberg  there  was  only  one  road  from  Freiburg  in 
Brisgau  to  Villingen,  leading  into  Wirtemberg,  and  on  that 
road  was  the  abbey  of  St.  Peter.  General  Mercy  took  care  to 
station  troops  near  the  road  to  Villingen,  that  he  might  have 
the  power  of  retreat  into  Germany. 

A  council  of  war  on  the  French  side  was  summoned  by  the 
Duke  d'Enghien,  and,  at  this  conference,  General  D'Erlach 
advised  a  French  movement  to  take  possession  of  the  Glotter 
valley,  north-east  of  Freiburg,  so  as  to  stop  the  Bavarians 


222  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

from  using  the  road  to  St.  Peter's  Abbey  and  Villingen. 
Marshal  de  Guiche  supported  D'Erlach,  but  Turenne  recom- 
mended an  attack  of  the  Bavarians,  in  front,  up  the  steep 
footpath  of  the  Schwinberg.  The  Duke  d'Enghien  (about  24 
years  old)  sided  with  Marshal  Turenne,  and  the  council 
decided  for  the  attack  in  front. 

The  Bavarian  camp  was  strongly  fortified.  Turenne  had 
to  make  a  long  circuit,  in  a  defile,  to  attack  the  rear  of  the 
camp  with  the  Weimarian  army,  and  it  was  agreed  to  wait 
until  four  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  main  body  of  the  French 
army  charged  up  the  hill.  They  were  received  by  a  tremendous 
fire.  The  Duke  d'Enghien  got  off  his  horse,  and  marched 
first,  and  his  gallant  soldiers  followed  :  they  forced  a  passage. 
The  troops  of  Marshal  Turenne,  who  had  gone  round,  were 
fatigued  with  their  long  march,  and  could  only  skirmish  at 
the  rear  of  the  Bavarian  army. 

Heavy  rain  fell  during  the  night.  General  Mercy  had  the 
skill  to  withdraw  his  troops  not  actually  engaged  with 
Turenne,  and  in  the  morning  his  army,  with  their  cannon, 
were  posted  on  an  eminence  north-east  of  Freiburg.  The 
skirmishing  with  Turenne  ceased  in  the  night,  and  the 
Bavarian  soldiers,  who  were  alive,  had  moved  to  the  new 
ground,  and  a  fresh  battle  commenced.  The  Duke  d'Enghien 
had  the  pommel  of  his  saddle  carried  away  by  a  cannon  ball, 
and  a  musket  ball  broke  the  scabbard  of  his  sword.  Others 
incurred  similar  dangers.  The  two  armies  fought  all  day, 
but  the  French  were  unable  to  carry  the  Bavarian  intrench- 
ments.  They  had  to  adopt  the  plan  proposed  by  D'Erlach, 
and  to  take  the  route  north-east  of  Freiburg  by  the  Glotter 
valley,  so  as  to  endeavour  to  come  up  with  the  Bavarian 
troops  retreating  on  the  road  to  Villingen.  Mercy  moved  his 
army  to  St.  Peter's  valley ;  his  troops  were  reduced  to  6,000 
men.  General  Rosen  was  ordered,  with  eight  squadrons  of 
Weimarian  cavalry,  to  go  in  pursuit  of  the  Bavarians.  Part 
of  the  Weimarian  horse-soldiers  seized  on  the  baggage  of 
General  Mercy,  and  part  of  the  Weimarians  were  repulsed  by 
the  Bavarian  infantry.  Mercy's  cavalry  for  some  days  had 


TRANSFERENCE   OF   THE  GERMAN   WEIMARIAN   ARMY.  223 

only  fed  on  leaves  of  trees,  and  were  unequal  to  engage  in  a 
severe  fight.  The  Duke  d'Enghien  shortly  afterwards  reached 
the  field  of  battle,  and  Mercy  did  not  prolong  the  contest, 
but  marched  on  to  Villingen ;  he  had  shown  coolness, 
prudence,  and  determination.  In  his  retreat  into  Wirtem- 
berg,  he  left  his  cannon  and  baggage  behind  him,  being  no 
longer  able  to  take  charge  of  them. 

The  French  burnt  the  baggage  and  took  the  cannon  to 
Breisach.  In  these  engagements  near  Freiburg,  in  Brisgau, 
15,000  soldiers  were  killed,  of  whom  9,000  were  Bavarians 
and  6,000  Weimarians.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  infantry  on 
both  sides  perished. 

M.  Cheruel,  in  his  history  of  France,  during  the  minority  of 
Louis  XIV.  (vol.  I.  chap,  iv.)  gives  a  graphic  account  of  the 
battles  of  Freiburg  in  Brisgau,  in  August,  1644. 

The  loss  of  so  many  valuable  lives  accelerated  the  time 
when  the  French  and  the  Imperialists  became  willing  to 
consent  to  a  general  peace. 

In  1648  the  peace  of  Westphalia  was  agreed  to,  and  was 
signed  at  Munster.  Breisach  in  Brisgau,  and  its  dependencies, 
as  well  as  Alsace,  were  confirmed  to  France,  but  by  the  treaty 
of  Ryswick,  in  1697,  Breisach  was  restored  to  Germany. 

According  to  Mr.  Seguin,  in  his  work  on  the  Black  Forest, 
the  fortress  of  old  Breisach  was  utterly  destroyed  in  1793,  by 
the  French,  and  at  present  it  is  chiefly  occupied  by  a  poor 
Jewish  population. 

Old  Breisach  possesses  a  magnificent  church,  St.  Stephen's 
Minster,  which  crowns  the  rocky  height,  and  from  which  an 
extensive  panorama  is  obtained  over  the  Rhine,  the  hills  of 
Alsace,  the  Dreisam  valley,  and  the  Kaiserstuhl.  "  The 
church  is  being  completely  restored,  and  there  are  some  good 
modern  paintings  in  the  choir." 

The  railroad  train  from  Colmar  to  Freiburg  in  Brisgau, 
stops  at  Alt-Breisach  (Old  Breisach)  several  times  every 
day. 


IE    rrr^a:    jmLHUL-^LC 

:^  arzssni  i&L 
:  z  3ii^r 


Te 


•  -       : ". 


226   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

mode  of  edifice   then  adopted,   which    continued  unaltered 
so  long  as  timber  was  the  principal  material  used. 

An  illustration  of  the  style  of  building  in  vogue  at  this 
period  is  afforded  by  the  diagrams  among  the  archives  of  this 
Society,  representing  houses  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
centuries,  such  as  were  abundant  in  London,  and  all  our 
large  towns  at  the  period  of  which  I  am  now  speaking,  but 
very  few  of  which,  I  regret  to  say,  now  remain. 

In  my  former  papers  I  endeavoured  to  trace  the  origin 
and  progress  of  London,  until  our  vast  capital  became  a  city 
of  great  importance,  though  far  below  many  ordinary  towns 
of  the  present  day.  London  went  on  increasing  during  the 
period  of  which  I  am  now  speaking,  although  repeated  pro- 
clamations were  from  time  to  time  published  by  Queen 
Elizabeth,  James  the  First,  and  Charles  the  First,  in  the 
hopeless  expectation  of  checking  the  further  enlargement  of 
the  metropolis. 

The  Strand  is  mentioned,  in  the  year  1657,  as  formerly 
consisting  of  mud  walls  and  thatched  cottages,  but  as 
having  then  acquired  a  perfection  of  building.  St.  Giles's-in- 
the- Fields  is  referred  to  as  a  town  separate  from  London. 
Drury  Lane,  leading  from  St.  Giles's  to  the  Strand,  is  de- 
scribed as  "  of  late  years,  by  occasion  of  the  continual  road 
there,  and  often  carriages,  become  deep,  foul,  and  dangerous 
to  all  that  pass  those  ways."  But  before  the  beginning  of 
the  civil  wars,J5t.  Giles's  had  become  completely  united  to 
the  main  body  of  London.  St.  Martin's  Lane  was  at  this 
time  a  quickset  hedge,  High  Holborn  and  Drury  Lane  were 
filled  with  noblemen's  and  gentlemen's  houses.* 

Persons  afflicted  with  the  leprosy  were  not  allowed  to  remain 
in   the  city,  but  were  removed  to  lazar-houses  or  hospitals 
provided  for   them    in  the    suburbs.      The  one  at  Holborn 
was    the  hospital  of  St.  Giles's-in-the- Fields ;  the  Lock  was 
in    Southwark,   at  the  end  of  Kent  Street.      A  district  in 
the  neighbourhood  is  still  called  Locks's  Fields. t 
*  See  Anderson's  "  History  of  Comm."  ii.  390. 
t  Stow's  Surrey,  pp.  444—500. 


EVERYDAY   LIFE,    MANNERS,   CUSTOMS,   ETC.  227 

The  improvements  of  the  dwellings  in  London  do  not  ap- 
pear to  have  kept  pace  with  the  increase  in  its  size.  The 
greater  part  of  the  houses  were  still  sheds  of  wood,  or 
of  wood  and  brick,  the  wretchedness  of  which  was  only 
brought  into  strong  relief  by  the  stately  buildings  that 
here  and  there  intervened.  The  streets  were  crooked 
and  narrow,  and  generally  overshadowed  by  a  perpetual 
twilight,  from  the  abutments  overhead,  that  rose,  story 
above  story,  until  they  almost  closed  upon  each  other  ; 
and  being  unpaved,  they  were  damp  and  dirty  even  in  dry 
weather,  and  in  rainy,  were  almost  knee-deep  in  mud.* 

As  regards  the  domestic  arrangements  of  this  period,  I 
find  the  following  good  and  wholesome,  though  somewhat 
quaint  regulations,  laid  down  for  the  government  of  the 
household  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  during  the 
sixteenth  century : — 

"  For  uttering  an  oath,  a  fine  of  id.  The  same  for  leaving 
a  door  open. 

"  A  fine  of  2d.  from  Lady-day  to  Michaelmas,  for  all  who 
are  in  bed  after  six,  or  out  after  ten. 

"A  fine  of  id.  for  any  man  waiting  without  a  trencher,  or 
who  is  absent  at  a  meal. 

"  For  any  follower  visiting  the  cook,  id."  f 

People  of  rank  and  fashion  lived  at  this  time  in  the  Strand, 
Drury  Lane,  and  the  neighbourhood  of  Covent  Garden, 
which  was  as  yet  only  an  inclosed  field.  Merchants  resided 
between  Temple  Bar  and  the  Exchange.  Bullies,  broken 
spendthrifts,  and  criminals  of  every  shade,  collected  in  White- 
friars.  Alsatia,  as  it  was  called,  possessed  the  right  of 
sanctuary,  and  the  avenues  of  it  were  watched  by  scouts, 
who,  on  the  approach  of  the  messengers,  sounded  a  horn,  and 
raised  the  cry  of  "  an  arrest,"  J  to  warn  the  Alsatians  for  flight 
or  resistance.  The  chief  place  of  common  resort  at  this 

*  On  this  subject,  see   Moryson,  Stow,   Lord  Somer's   "  Tracts,"  and 
"  Pictorial  History  of  England." 

t  "  Shakespeare's  England,"  by  Thornbury 

\  ShadwelPs  "  Comedy  of  the  Squire  of  Alsatia." 


228   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

period  was  the  middle  'aisle  of  St.  Paul's,  the  hours  of 
public  concourse  there  being  from  eleven  to  twelve  at  noon, 
and  after  dinner  from  three  to  six  in  the  evening.  Here, 
lords,  merchants,  and  men  of  all  professions  ;  the  fashionable, 
the  busy,  and  the  idle,  were  wont  to  meet  and  mingle  ;  and 
he  who  had  no  companion,  might  amuse  or  edify  himself 
with  the  numerous  placards  and  intimations  suspended  from 
the  pillars.* 

Disorder  of  every  kind  appears  to  have  prevailed  in  the 
streets  of  London  at  this  period  ;  and  when  night  came  on, 
and  the  decently  disposed  citizens  were  housed,  and  the 
throngs  of  links  and  torches  had  given  place  to  the  solitary 
twinklings  of  the  watchmen's  lanterns,  we  are  told  that  Alsatia 
disgorged  its  refugees,  and  the  taverns  their  inmates.  Stray 
passengers  were  insulted,  wounded,  and  often  killed  ;  and  the 
roofs  of  rich  citizens  were  untiled  for  the  purposes  of  plunder. 
It  was  unsafe  to  walk  in  the  streets  of  London  after  nine 
o'clock.!  Indeed,  the  streets  were  never  lighted  after  this 
hour,  even  in  winter,  and  not  at  all  during  the  summer 
months.  Every  person  whose  house  fronted  the  street  was, 
however,  ordered  to  "  hang  out  candles  or  lights  in  lanterns 
or  otherwise,  in  some  part  of  his  house  next  the  street,"  every 
night  between  Michaelmas  and  Lady-day,  from  dark  until 
nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  under  the  penalty  of  one  shilling. 
Things  did,  however,  a  little  improve  in  this  respect  in  course 
of  time  ;  and  in  the  last  year  of  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  a 
person  obtained  a  patent,  securing  to  him  for  a  term  of  years 
the  exclusive  privilege  of  lighting  up  London.  He  under- 
took, for  a  moderate  consideration,  to  place  a  light  before 
every  tenth  door,  on  moonless  nights,  from  Michaelmas  to 
Lady-day,  and  from  six  to  twelve  of  the  clock.J 

The  continued  progress  of  building  in  London  during  the 
time  of  which  I  have  been  speaking,  overflowed  the  ancient 
fields  and  vacant  spaces  within  and  around  the  city,  so  that 

*  See  Osborne's  "  Letters  to  his  Son." 

f  See  Lord  Somers'  "  Tracts." — First  fourteen  years  of  King  James'  reign. 

J  Macaulay's  "  History  of  England,"  vol.  i.  c.  3,  p.  356. 


EVERYDAY   LIFE,   MANNERS,   CUSTOMS,   ETC.  229 

tilt-yards,  shooting-grounds,  and  race-courses,  were  covered 
with  streets  and  alleys  ;  and  thus  active  civic  sports  were,  of 
necessity,  in  a  great  degree  laid  aside. 

The  citizens,  however,  betook  themselves  to  quiet  lounges 
on  Sundays,  with  their  wives  and  families  to  the  villages  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  London,  where  they  might  enjoy  cakes 
and  ale,  and  the  fresh  breezes  of  the  fields. 

While  the  places  set  apart  for  public  out-of-doors  sports 
eventually  decreased,  those  for  indoors  and  sedentary  amuse- 
ments multiplied  in  still  greater  proportion.  Besides  the 
cockpit,  the  theatre,  and  the  bear-gardens,  eating-houses, 
taverns,  tennis-courts,  dicing-houses,  bowling-greens,  and 
smoking-ordinaries  were  to  be  found  in  every  street.  Hunting 
and  hawking  still,  however,  continued  to  be  followed  ;  and  in 
shooting  the  game,  the  long-bow  and  cross-bow  were  used 
indifferently,  as  well  as  the  musket,  until  the  end  of  Queen 
Elizabeth's  reign. 

During  the  piesent  period,  hawking  both  attained  its  height 
and  fell  into  disuse.  The  amusement  was  found  too  ex- 
pensive for  any  but  the  wealthiest,  and  after  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  it  was  but  little  followed.  Horse-racing, 
however,  appears  to  have  commenced  about  this  time. 
Dancing,  too,  was  reckoned  one  of  the  chief  accomplishments 
of  the  age.  And  Henry  VIII.,  notwithstanding  his  great 
size,  as  also  Queen  Elizabeth,  were  famous  dancers.  High 
leaping  and  stately  movements  were  considered  essentials  in 
fashionable  dancing  at  that  time,  though  both  of  these  feats 
must  have  been  rather  difficult  of  accomplishment  in  the  case 
of  burly  King  Harry.  Merrymakings  and  fairs  had  also  their 
dances  ;  and,  we  are  told,  made  up  in  noise  and  agility  for 
the  want  of  more  refined  graces.  Bear-baiting  and  bull- 
baiting  were  fashionable  out-door  amusements,  and  Queen 
Elizabeth  was  enthusiastically  devoted  to  these  sports.  Some- 
times the  bear  was  baited,  hood-winked,  or  blindfolded.  Apes 
were  also  occasionally  baited.  Bear-gardens  abounded  in 
London  ;  and  in  the  public  places  of  the  principal  towns  and 
villages  of  England,  rings  to  which  the  bull  was  fastened  were 


230    TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

not  long  ago  to  be  seen.*     A  part  of  Birmingham  still  goes 
by  the  name  of  the  Bull-ring. 

Christmas  was  accustomed,  at  this  period,  to  be  celebrated 
with  very  boisterous  mirth,  and  England  rang  from  one  end 
to  the  other  with  festivity  and  jollity.  Christmas  carols  were 
trolled  in  every  street ;  masquerades  and  plays  took  possession 
of  houses  and  churches  indifferently ;  a  Lord  of  Misrule, 
whose  reign  lasted  from  All- Hallow  Eve  till  the  day  after 
Pentecost,  was  elected  in  every  noble  household,  to  preside 
over  the  sports.  Both  the  houses  and  churches  were  dressed 
with  ivy  and  holly.  The  boar's  head  was  a  dish  peculiar  to 
Christmas,  and  was  placed  upon  the  table  in  a  large  silver 
platter,  amidst  a  flourish  of  musical  instruments. 

Plough  Monday,  which  fell  on  the  first  Monday  after  Twelfth- 
day,  was  the  holiday  of  the  ploughmen,  who  used  to  go  about 
from  house  to  house  begging  for  plough- money  to  drink, 
while  one  of  the  party,  called  the  Bessey,  was  dressed  for 
the  occasion  like  an  old  woman  ;  and  another,  who  was  the 
fool  of  the  pageant,  was  almost  covered  with  skins,  and  wore 
the  tail  of  some  animal  dangling  down  his  back.  This 
custom  is  still  kept  up  in  many  parts  of  the  country.  What 
was  termed  the  yule-log  consisted  of  the  largest  log  of  wood 
that  could  be  found,  and  which  was  placed  on  the  hearth  on 
Christmas  Eve  ;  and  if  it  continued  to  burn  for  the  whole 
night  and  the  ensuing  day,  it  was  a  happy  omen  for  the 
household ;  if  it  burned  out  or  ceased  to  burn  before  that 
time,  this  was  regarded  as  an  unlucky  omen.f 

Next  to  Christmas,  May-day  was  considered  as  the  most 
important  festival.  On  the  midnight  preceding  the  first  of 
May,  the  people  of  each  parish  assembled,  and  after  dividing 
themselves  into  companies,  repaired  to  the  woods,  groves,  and 
hills,  where  they  spent  the  rest  of  the  night  in  sports  and 
pastimes.  When  they  returned,  they  brought  with  thern 
birch-boughs  and  branches  of  trees,  with  which  they  adorned 
the  places  where  they  meant  to  hold  their  festival. 

*  Stubbs,  Strutt.  t  Brand,  Strutt. 


EVERYDAY   LIFE,   MANNERS,   CUSTOMS,   ETC.  231 

"  But,"  says  an  old  writer,*  "  the  chiefest  jewels  they  bring  from 
thence  is  the  May-pole,  which  they  bring  home  with  great  veneration, 
as  thus  :  They  have  twenty  or  forty  yoke  of  oxen,  every  ox  having  a 
sweet  nosegay  of  flowers  tied  to  the  tip  of  his  horns  ;  and  these  oxen 
draw  home  the  May-pole,  their  stinking  idol  rather,  which  they 
covered  all  over  with  flowers  and  herbs,  bound  round  with  strings 
from  the  top  to  the  bottom ;  and  sometimes  it  was  painted  with 
variable  colours,  having  two  or  three  hundred  men,  women  and 
children  following  it  with  great  devotion.  And  thus  equipped,  it  was 
received  with  handkerchiefs  and  flags  streaming  on  the  top ;  they 
straw  the  ground  round  about  it ;  they  bind  green  boughs  about  it ; 
they  set  up  summer  halls,  bowers,  and  harbours  hard  by  it ;  and  then 
fall  they  to  banqueting  and  feasting,  to  leaping  and  dancing  about  it, 
as  the  heathen  people  did  at  the  dedication  of  their  idols." 

In  London,  one  of  the  festivities  of  May-day  was  to  set 
up  the  great  shaft,  or  principal  May-pole,  in  Cornhill,  before 
the  parish  church  of  St.  Andrew  ;  and  as  the  pole  was  higher 
than  the  steeple  itself,  the  church  was  called  St.  Andrew 
Undershaft.  A  Lord  and  Lady  of  May  were  chosen  to  pre- 
side over  the  festival,  who  were  richly  decorated  with  scarfs, 
ribbons,  and  other  finery.  Other  festivals  were  also  observed, 
of  which  we  have  still  some  remains  in  the  rural  districts. 

Among  the  miscellanous  papers  of  the  celebrated  philoso- 
pher Locke,  is  the  following  notice  of  the  sports  of  England 
in  the  year  1679  : — 

"At  Marebone  and  Putney  a  curious  stranger  may  see  several 
persons  of  quality  bowling  two  or  three  times  a  week,  all  the  summer; 
wrestling  in  Lincoln's  Inne-Field  every  evening,  all  the  summer;  bear 
and  bull-baiting,  and  sometimes  prizes,  at  the  Bear  Garden ;  shooting 
in  the  long-bow  and  stob-ball,  in  Tothill  Fields ;  cudgel  playing,  in 
several  places  in  the  country;  and  hurling  in  Cornwall.''! 

As  regards  other  amusements  which  were  followed  at  this 
time,  I  may  mention  that  the  court  of  Henry  VII.,  during  the 
earlier  part  of  the  period  embraced  by  the  present  paper,  was 
distinguished  for  the  most  splendid  tilts,  joustings,  and  tourna- 
ments, in  which  the  king  himself  frequently  took  a  part, 

*  Stubbs,  Strutt.  t  Lord  King's  "  Life  of  Locke,"  p.  134. 


232   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

though  the  drama  had  then  made  but  little  advance.  The 
entertainments  called  pageants  increased  from  this  period, 
and  usually  consisted  of  a  high  stage  bearing  some  great 
figure,  as  a  ship,  castle,  or  mountain,  with  persons  richly  or 
quaintly  dressed,  who  held  an  allegorical  dialogue  to  welcome 
the  sovereign  in  his  progress  through  the  country.  They 
were  retained  in  England  down  to  the  seventeenth  century, 
and  often  exhibited  a  great  degree  of  splendour.* 

The  court  of  James  I.  was  particularly  distinguished  for  its 
pageants  and  masques,  which  made,  as  Wilson  terms  it,  "  a 
continual  masquerade,"  in  which  the  queen  and  her  ladies 
frequently  appeared  as  nymphs  or  nereids,  in  various  dresses, 
"  to  the  ravishment  of  her  beholders."  In  the  reign  of  Charles 
I.  this  taste  had  not  waned,  and  in  the  year  1633,  the  four 
Inns  of  Court,  the  Middle  and  Inner  Temple,  Lincoln's  Inn, 
and  Gray's  Inn,  united  in  exhibiting  a  masque  before  the 
king  and  queen  at  Whitehall,  the  poetry  of  which  was  written 
by  Ben  Jonson.  The  scenic  decorations  were  designed  by 
Inigo  Jones ;  Lord  Bacon  and  Mr.  Selden  settled  the  dresses 
and  devices  ;  and  Whitelocke,  afterwards  Lord  Keeper,  had 
the  care  of  the  music.  In  his  Memorials  he  says,  "it  was 
so  performed  that  it  excelled  any  previously  heard  in  England. 
The  dances,  figures,  properties,  voices,  instruments,  songs,  airs, 
composures,  and  actions,  passed  without  any  failure." 

The  harshness,  want  of  feeling  and  of  refinement,  which 
characterized  our  worthy  forefathers,  even  down  to  the  end  of 
the  period  of  which  I  am  now  speaking,  is  remarked  by  Lord 
Macaulay,  who  tells  us  that  at  this  time,  "  masters,  well  born 
and  bred,  were  in  the  habit  of  beating  their  servants  .... 
husbands,  of  decent  standing,  were  not  ashamed  to  beat  their 
wives." 

I  have  hitherto  considered  mainly  the  condition  of  London 
during  the  period  embraced  in  the  present  paper.  I  will  now, 
however,  proceed  to  refer  to  the  state  of  the  different  pro- 
vincial towns,  and  of  the  country  generally.  Plymouth  is 
described,  in  the  year  1607,  as  having  grown  up  in  the  last 
*  Thompson's  "  Illustrations  of  History  of  Great  Britain,"  vol.  ii.  p.  314. 


EVERYDAY  LIFE,    MANNERS,  CUSTOMS,   ETC.  233 

age  from  a  small  fishing  village.  Birmingham,  called 
Bremicham,  is  mentioned  as  already  "swarming  with  inha- 
bitants, and  echoing  with  the  work  of  anvils."  Liverpool  is 
merely  noticed  under  the  name  of  Litherpoole,  commonly 
shortened  into  Lirpool,  as  "  the  most  convenient  and  usual 
place  for  setting  sail  into  Ireland."*  Pepys,  who  visited  Bristol 
about  the  year  1660,  noted  down  as  a  wonder  the  circum- 
stance that,  in  Bristol,  a  man  might  look  round  him  and  see 
nothing  but  houses.  It  appears  that  in  no  other  place  with 
which  he  was  acquainted,  except  London,  did  the  buildings 
completely  shut  out  the  woods  and  fields.  The  late  Thomas 
Hood  remarked,  however,  of  London  in  our  day,  which  will  I 
believe  be  found  on  examination  to  be  strictly  true,  that  there 
was  no  street  in  it  from  which  a  tree  might  not  be  seen  in  some 
part.  In  Bristol,  at  the  period  of  which  I  am  speaking,  a  few 
churches  of  eminent  beauty  rose  out  of  a  labyrinth  of  narrow 
lanes  built  upon  vaults  of  no  great  solidity.  If  a  coach  or  a 
cart  entered  those  alleys,  there  was  danger  that  it  would  be 
wedged  between  the  houses,  and  danger  also  that  it  would 
break  in  the  cellars.  Goods  were  therefore  conveyed  about 
the  town  almost  exclusively  in  trucks  drawn  by  dogs ;  and 
the  richest  inhabitants  exhibited  their  wealth,  not  by  riding 
in  gilded  carriages,  but  by  walking  the  streets  with  trains 
of  servants  in  rich  liveries,  and  by  keeping  tables  loaded 
with  good  cheer.  The  pomp  of  the  christenings  and  burials 
at  Bristol  far  exceeded  what  was  seen  at  any  other  place  in 
England.!  Norwich  is  said  at  this  time  to  have  possessed 
quite  a  court  in  miniature.  In  the  heart  of  the  city  stood  an 
old  palace  of  the  Dukes  of  Norfolk,  asserted  to  be  the  largest 
town  house  in  the  kingdom  out  of  London.  In  this  mansion, 
to  which  was  annexed  a  tennis-court,  a  bowling-green,  and  a 
wilderness,  stretching  along  the  banks  of  the  Wansum,  the 
noble  family  of  Howard  resided,  and  kept  a  state  resembling 
that  of  petty  sovereigns. 

In  the  age  of  which  we  are  now  speaking,  it  was  seldom  that 

*  See  "  Pictorial  History  of  England,"  vol.  iii.  pp.  655,  656. 
t  Macaulay's  "History  of  England,"  vol.  i.  c.  3,  pp.  330,  331. 


234    TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

a  country  gentleman  went  up  with  his  family  to  London.  The 
county  town  was  his  metropolis.  He  sometimes  made  it  his 
residence  during  part  of  the  year.*  In  many  of  our  county 
towns  may  yet  be  seen  fine  stone-built  mansions,  which  were 
once  the  winter  houses  of  the  nobility  and  principal  gentlemen 
of  the  neighbourhood. 

Some  of  the  domestic  customs  of  the  period,  of  which  I  am 
now  speaking,  appear  to  us  somewhat  harsh  and  barbarous. 
The  absolute  authority  exercised  by  the  head  of  a  house 
over  the  members  of  his  family,  as  also  the  extensive  hospi- 
tality which  was  wont  to  be  lavished  on  certain  domestic 
occasions,  is  strikingly  exhibited  by  some  documents  now 
before  me  belonging  to  the  Catesby  family,  in  the  time  of 
James  I.,  which  are  still  preserved  among  the  archives  of 
Chastleton  House,  in  Oxfordshire,  formerly  the  property  of 
that  family.  It  is  here  mentioned  that  arrangements  have 
been  made  by  the  parents,  without  however,  it  seems,  consulting 
the  immediate  parties  to  the  transaction,  for  the  marriage  of 
Mr.  Catesby's  eldest  daughter  with  the  son  of  a  neighbouring 
squire ;  and  it  is  provided  by  the  marriage  settlement,  that 
in  case  of  the  young  lady,  on  the  arrangements  being  an- 
nounced to  her,  objecting  to  the  choice  made  of  her  future 
husband,  the  offer  shall  be  passed  on  to  the  second,  third,  and 
other  daughters  in  succession,  for  whom  the  stipulations  as 
to  the  settlement  of  the  property  shall  be  made  applicable. 
Provisions  are  also  inserted  in  the  documents  relating  to  the 
marriage,  not  only  for  an  entertainment  on  a  very  large  scale 
to  be  given  to  the  neighbouring  families,  and  the  tenants  on 
the  estate,  but  as  to  the  precise  mode  in  which  the  expenses 
of  the  feast  are  to  be  defrayed,  and  also  as  to  the  parties  by 
whom  it  is  to  be  borne. 

Lord  Macaulay  has  humorously  and  graphically  described 
the  adventures  which  a  country  squire  who  visited  London 
early  in  the  last  century,  was  apt  to  encounter  : — 

"  When  the  lord  of  a  Lincolnshire  or  Shropshire  manor,  appeared 
*  Macaulay's  "  History  of  England,"  vol.  i.  p.  333. 


EVERYDAY   LIFE,   MANNERS,   CUSTOMS,    ETC.  235 

in  Fleet  Street,  he  was  as  easily  distinguished  from  the  resident  popu- 
lation as  a  Turk  or  a  Lascar.  His  dress,  his  gait,  his  accent,  the 
manner  in  which  he  stared  at  the  shops,  stumbled  into  the  gutters, 
ran  against  the  porters,  and  stood  under  the  waterspouts,  marked 
him  out  as  an  excellent  subject  for  the  operations  of  swindlers  and 
banterers.  Bullies  jostled  him  into  the  kennel.  Hackney  coachmen 
splashed  him  from  head  to  foot.  Thieves  explored  with  perfect 
security  the  huge  pockets  of  his  horseman's  coat,  while  he  stood 
entranced  by  the  splendour  of  the  Lord  Mayor's  Show.  Money- 
droppers,  sore  from  the  cart's  tail,  introduced  themselves  to  him,  and 
appeared  to  him  the  most  honest  friendly  gentlemen  that  he  had  ever 
seen.  Painted  women,  the  refuse  of  Lewkner  Lane  and  Whetstone 
Park,  passed  themselves  on  him  for  countesses  and  maids  of  honour. 
If  he  asked  his  way  to  St.  James's,  his  informants  sent  him  to  Mile 
End.  If  he  went  into  a  shop,  he  was  instantly  discerned  to  be  a  fit 
purchaser  of  everything  that  nobody  else  would  buy,  of  second-hand 

embroidery,  copper  rings,  and  watches  that  would  not  go 

Enraged  and  mortified,  he  soon  returned  to  his  mansion,  and  there, 
in  the  homage  of  his  tenants,  and  the  conversation  of  his  boon  com- 
panions, found  consolation  for  the  vexations  and  humiliations  which 
he  had  undergone.  There  he  once  more  felt  himself  a  great  man  ; 
and  he  saw  nothing  above  him  except  when  at  the  assizes  he  took  his 
seat  on  the  bench  near  the  judge,  or  when  at  the  muster  of  the  militia 
he  saluted  the  Lord  Lieutenant."  * 

The  gentry  of  Derbyshire  and  of  the  neighbouring  counties 
repaired  to  Buxton,  where  they  were  crowded  into  low 
wooden  sheds,  and  regaled  with  oat-cake,  and  with  a  viand 
which  the  hosts  called  mutton,  but  which  the  guests  strongly 
suspected  to  be  dog.-f 

Bath  was,  at  this  period,  a  maze  of  only  four  or  five  hundred 
houses,  crowded  within  an  old  wall  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Avon. 
Pictures  of  what  were  considered  as  the  finest  of  those  houses 
are  still  extant,  and  greatly  resemble  the  lowest  rag-shops  and 
pot-houses  of  Ratcliffe  Highway.  Hedgerows  intersected 
the  space  which  is  now  covered  by  the  Crescent  and  the 
Circus.  The  poor  patients,  to  whom  the  waters  had  been 

*  Macaulay's  "  History  of  England,"  vol.  i.  c.  3,  p.  340. 
t  Ibid.  pp.  364,  365. 


236   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

recommended,  lay  on  straw  in  a  place  which,  to  use  the  lan- 
guage of  a  contemporary  physician,  was  a  covert  rather  than 
a  lodging.  One  writer  assures  us  that  the  gentlemen  who 
visited  the  springs,  slept  in  rooms  hardly  as  good  as  the 
garrets  which  he  lived  to  see  occupied  by  footmen.  The 
floors  of  the  dining-rooms  were  uncarpeted,  and  were  coloured 
brown  with  a  wash  made  of  soot  and  small  beer,  in  order  to 
hide  the  dirt* 

As  regards  the  general  costume  and  mode  of  dress  during 
the  period  now  under  consideration,  it  may  be  mentioned  as 
a  ridiculous  instance  of  the  servility  with  which  people  of 
fashion  occasionally  ape  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
Court,  that,  when  the  person  of  King  Henry  VIII.  increased  in 
size,  the  clothes  of  his  courtiers  were  often  stuffed  out  to  make 
them  resemble  him  ;  and  this  custom  extended  even  to  their 
servants,  and  is  still  partly  commemorated  in  the  habits  of 
the  Yeomen  of  the  Guard. 

About  the  year  1565,  the  enormous  trunk  breeches  intro- 
duced under  Henry  VIII.  began  to  disappear;  but  whilst 
they  lasted,  they  were  carried  to  such  an  absurd  degree  of 
magnitude,  that  in  the  Parliament  House  there  were  certain 
holes  about  two  inches  square  in  the  walls,  having  posts  in 
them,  supporting  a  scaffold  all  round  the  building,  for  those 
Members  to  sit  upon  who  wore  great  breeches  stuffed  with 
hair,  like  woolsacks.  Swords  were,  during  this  period, 
generally  worn,  but  they  were  forbidden  to  be  above  a  cer- 
tain length.f  From  what  we  have  already  heard  of  the 
manners  of  the  times,  these  weapons  must  have  been  found 
serviceable,  not  only  for  ornament  but  for  protection. 

An  interesting  manuscript  is  among  the  archives  of  this 
Society,  being  the  ledger  kept  by  a  maker  of  Court  dresses 
during  the  seventeenth  century,  and  which  sets  forth  the 
costumes  prepared  for  the  members  of  the  royal,  and  for  those 
of  various  leading  families  at  the  time. 

The  English  tables  in  the  sixteenth  and  following  centuries 

*  Macaulay's  "  History  of  England,"  vol.  i.  c.  3,  pp.  341,  342. 

t  Thompson's  "Illustrations  of  Great  Britain,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  316 — 318. 


EVERYDAY   LIFE,   MANNERS,   CUSTOMS,   ETC.  237 

were  in  general  hospitable  and  well  supplied,  but  salted  pro- 
visions still  continued  to  form  a  very  principal  article  of  food 
between  Michaelmas  and  Whitsuntide  ;  not  only  pike,  stur- 
geon, and  venison  were  served  up  at  table,  but  also  peacocks, 
swans,  and  herons*,  the  two  latter  of  which  must,  I  suspect, 
have  proved  rather  tough  and  coarse-flavoured. 

In  Locke's  Diary,  already  quoted  from,  he  mentions  : — 
"The  veal  and  beef  aie  excellent  good  in  London;  the  mutton 
better  in  several  counties  in  England.  A  venison  pasty  and  a  chine  of 
beef  are  good  everywhere,  and  so  are  crammed  capons  and  fat  chickens. 
Railes  and  heath-polts,  ruffs  and  reeves,  are  excellent  meat  wherever 
they  can  be  met  with.  Puddings  of  several  sorts,  and  creams  of 
several  fashions,  both  excellent,  but  they  are  seldom  to  be  found,  at 
least  in  their  perfection,  at  common  eating  houses."  f 

It  is  pleasant  to  find  that  our  excellent  philosopher  had  so 
proper  a  regard  for  creature  comforts. 

Among  the  vegetables  in  use  at  this  period  potatoes  are 
spoken  of  as  not  uncommon.  John  Gerarde,  an  eminent 
botanist,  who  was  born  in  1545,  describes  them  as  "a  meate 
for  pleasure,  being  either  rosted  in  the  embers,  or  boiled  and 
eaten  with  oile,  vinegar,  and  pepper,  or  dressed  some  other 
way  by  the  hand  of  a  skilful  cooke."  J 

An  Englishman  visiting  Scotland  about  the  year  1688  made 
the  following  note  on  the  habits  of  the  people  at  this  period  : — 

"  Their  drink  is  beer,  sometimes  so  new  that  it  is  scarce  cold  when 
brought  to  table.  But  their  gentry  are  better  provided,  and  give  it 
age,  yet  think  not  so  well  of  it  as  to  let  it  go  alone,  and  therefore 
add  brandy,  cherry  brandy,  or  brandy  and  sugar;  and  this  is  the 
nectar  of  their  country  at  their  feasts  and  entertainments,  and  carries 
with  it  a  mark  of  great  esteem  and  affection."  § 

The  "esteem  and  affection "  of  these  good  people  for  whisky 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  at  this  period  developed. 

On  the  subject  of  the  beverages  of  various  kinds  in  use  in 
England  during  this  period,  Locke  says,  in  his  Diary : — 
*  Thompson's  "  Illustrations  of  Great  Britain,"  vol.  ii.  p.  317. 
t  Lord  King's  "Life  of  Locke,"  p.  134. 

t  Thompson's  "  Illustrations  of  Great  Britain,"  vol.  ii.  p.  180. 
§  Chambers's  "  Domestic  History  of  Scotland,"  vol.  ii.  p.  494. 


238    TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

"  Home-made  drinks  of  England  are  beer  and  ale,  strong  and 
small ;  those  of  most  note,  that  are  to  be  sold,  are  Lambeth  ale, 
Margaret  ale,  and  Derby  ale ;  Herefordshire  cider,  perry,  meed. 
There  are  also  several  sorts  of  compounded  ales,  as  cock-ale,  worm- 
wood-ale, lemon-ale,  scurvy-grass  ale,  college-ale,  &c.  These  are  to 
be  had  at  'Hercules'  Pillars,'  near  the  Temple  ;  at  the  '  Trumpet'  and 
other  houses  in  Sheer  Lane,  Bell  Alley  •  and,  as  I  remember,  at  the 
English  Tavern,  near  Charing  Cross."  * 

One  writer  records  of  a  banquet  given  by  the  Earl  of  Car- 
lisle of  that  day,  to  the  French  Ambassador,  at  Essex  House, 
that  fish  of  such  huge  size  were  served  up,  which  had  been 
brought  all  the  way  from  Russia,that  no  dishes  in  Englandcould 
hold  them,  until  several  were  made  for  the  express  purpose.! 

An  inventory,  lately  in  my  possession,  of  the  household  goods 
and  effects  of  a  country  squire,  who  died  in  the  early  part  of  the 
reign  of  Charles  I.,  affords  some  notion  of  the  style  of  living  and 
domestic  arrangements  of  the  period.  Of  all  the  apartments 
the  kitchen  appears  to  have  been  by  far  the  best  stocked ;  and 
the  value  of  the  utensils  there  considerably  exceeded  that  of 
the  books  in  the  library.  The  cellars  were  amply  supplied  with 
beer — "  beare,"  as  it  is  spelt — but  I  find  no  account  of  mad- 
dog,  or  dragon's  milk,  or  any  of  the  startling  names  of  the 
tipple  in  use  at  that  time.  In  the  men's  chamber  are  "  armes 
for  a  horsman,  two  petronells,  and  two  old  halberds."  A 
"pudding  coffin"  is  among  the  articles  enumerated  in  the 
kitchen  utensils. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  topics  connected  with  the 
domestic  life  of  our  forefathers  is  the  mode  of  travelling 
adopted  by  them,  when  the  roads  across  the  country  were 
little  better  than  rude  tracks,  very  uneven,  and  consequently 
perilous  for  vehicles  of  any  description  to  attempt  to  pass. 

In  former  papers  I  alluded  to  the  early  mode  of  travelling 
in  this  country,  and  the  contrivances  adopted  for  the  purpose, 
illustrating  the  subject  by  diagrams. 

*  Lord  King's  "Life  of  Locke,"  p.  135. 

t  See  Gascoigne's  "Delicate  Diets,"  Edis's  "Collection,"  Decher's 
"  Gull's  Farmbook." 


EVERYDAY   LIFE,    MANNERS,    CUSTOMS,    ETC.  239 

For  a  long  time  travelling  in  England  continued  to  be  both 
difficult  and  dangerous.  During  the  period  of  our  history 
embraced  by  the  present  paper — 

"The  high-roads  in  this  country  (observes  Lord  Macaulay)  appear 
to  have  been  in  a  much  worse  condition  at  this  time  than  might  have 
been  expected  from  the  degree  of  wealth  and  civilization  which  the 
nation  had  even  then  attained.  On  the  best  lines  of  communication 
the  ruts  were  deep,  the  descents  precipitous,  and  the  way  often  such 
as  it  was  hardly  possible  to  distinguish  in  the  dusk  from  the  unin- 
closed  heath  and  fen  which  lay  on  both  sides.  It  was  only  in  fine 
weather  that  the  whole  breadth  of  the  road  was  available  for  vehicles 
with  wheels.  Often  the  mud  lay  deep  on  the  right  and  the  left,  and 
only  a  narrow  track  of  firm  ground  rose  above  the  quagmire.  It 
happened,  almost  every  day,  that  coaches  stuck  fast  until  a  team  of 
cattle  could  be  procured  from  some  neighbouring  farm  to  tug  them 
out  of  the  slough.  On  the  roads  of  Derbyshire,  travellers  were  in 
constant  fear  for  their  necks,  and  were  frequently  compelled  to  alight 
and  lead  their  beasts.  The  great  route  through  Wales  to  Holyhead 
was  in  such  a  state  that,  in  1685,  a  viceroy  going  to  Ireland,  was  five 
hours  in  travelling  fourteen  miles,  from  St.  Asaph  to  Conway. 
Between  Conway  and  Beaumaris  he  was  forced  to  walk  great  part  of 
the  way,  and  his  lady  was  carried  in  a  litter ;  his  coach  was,  with 
great  difficulty  and  by  the  help  of  many  hands,  brought  after  him 
entire.  In  general,  carriages  were  taken  to  pieces  at  Conway,  and 
borne  on  the  shoulders  of  stout  Welsh  peasants,  to  the  Menai  Straits.* 

"  On  the  best  highways  heavy  articles  were,  in  the  time  of  Charles 
the  Second,  generally  conveyed  from  place  to  place  by  stage  waggons. 
In  the  straw  of  these  vehicles  nestled  a  crowd  of  passengers  who 
could  not  afford  to  travel  by  coach  or  on  horseback,  and  who  were 
prevented  by  infirmity,  or  by  the  weight  of  their  luggage,  from  going 
on  foot.  On  by-roads,  and  generally  throughout  the  country  north  of 
York  and  west  of  Exeter,  goods  were  carried  by  long  trains  of  pack- 
horses,  f 

"  The  rich  commonly  travelled  in  their  own  carriages,  with  at 
least  four  horses.  People,  in  the  time  of  Charles  the  Second, 
travelled  with  six  horses,  because  with  a  smaller  number  there  wa 
great  danger  of  sticking  fast  in  the  mire.  Nor  were  even  six  horses 
always  sufficient.  Vanbrugh,  in  the  succeeding  generation,  described 
*  Macaulay's  "  Hist,  of  England,"  vol.  i.  c.  3,  pp.  366—368.  t  Ibid.  370. 


240  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

with  great  humour  the  way  in  which  a  country  gentleman,  newly 
chosen  a  Member  of  Parliament,  went  up  to  London.  On  that 
occasion  all  the  exertions  of  six  beasts,  two  of  which  had  been  taken 
from  the  plough,  could  not  save  the  family  from  being  imbedded  in  a 
quagmire."  * 

As  regards  the  origin  of  the  introduction  of  carnages  for- 
travelling,  into  this  country,  it  is  recorded  in  Howes' 
"  Chronicle,"  that— 

"In  the  year  1564,  Guilliam  Boonen,  a  Dutchman,  became  the 
Queen's  coachman,  and  was  the  first  that  brought  the  use  of  coachen 
into  England.  After  a  while,  divers  great  ladies,  with  as  great 
jealousy  of  the  Queen's  displeasure,  made  them  coaches,  and  rid  in 
them  up  and  down  the  countries,  to  the  great  admiration  of  all  the 
beholders ;  but  then,  by  little  and  little,  they  grew  usual  among  the 
nobility  and  others  of  sort,  and  within  twenty  years  became  a  great 
trade  of  coachmaking."  j- 

"  Public  carriages  had,  however,  been  recently  much  improved. 
During  the  years  which  immediately  followed  the  Restoration,  a 
diligence  ran  between  London  and  Oxford  in  two  days.  The 
passengers  slept  at  Beaconsfield.  At  length  (says  Lord  Macaulay) 
in  the  spring  of  1669,  a  great  and  daring  innovation  was  attempted. 
It  was  announced  that  a  vehicle,  described  as  the  Flying  Coach, 
would  perform  the  whole  journey  between  sunrise  and  sunset.  This 
spirited  undertaking  was  solemnly  considered  and  sanctioned  by  the 
heads  of  the  university,  and  appears  to  have  excited  the  same  sort  of 
interest  which  is  excited  in  our  own  time  by  the  opening  of  a  new 
railway.  The  Vice-Chancellor,  by  a  notice  affixed  in  all  public 
places,  prescribed  the  hour  and  place  of  departure.  The  success  of 
the  experiment  was  complete.  At  six  in  the  morning  the  carriage 
began  to  move  from  before  the  ancient  front  of  All  Souls  College, 
and  at  seven  in  the  evening  the  adventurous  gentlemen  who  had  run 
the  first  risk  were  safely  deposited  at  their  inn  in  London.  At  the 
close  of  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Second,  flying  carriages  ran  thrice 
a  week  from  London  to  the  chief  towns.  But  no  stage  coach, 
indeed,  no  stage  waggon  appears  to  have  proceeded  farther  north 
than  York,  or  farther  west  than  Exeter.  The  ordinary  day's  journey 
of  a  flying  coach  was  about  fifty  miles  in  the  summer ;  but  in  winter, 
*  Macaulay's  "  History  of  England,"  vol.  i.  c.  3,  p.  371. 
t  Chambers's  "  Domestic  Annals  of  Scotland,"  vol.  i.  p.  20. 


EVERYDAY   LIFE,   MANNERS,   CUSTOMS,   ETC.  241 

when  the  ways  were  bad  and  the  nights  long,  little  more  than  thirty. 
The  Chester  coach,  the  York  coach,  and  the  Exeter  coach  generally 
reached  London  in  four  days  during  the  fine  season,  but  at  Christmas 
not  till  the  sixth  day.  The  passengers,  six  in  number,  were  all  seated 
in  the  carriage,  for  accidents  were  so  frequent  that  it  would  have  been 
most  perilous  to  mount  the  roof.* 

"  This  mode  of  travelling  (continues  Lord  Macaulay),  which  by 
Englishmen  of  the  present  day  would  be  regarded  as  insufferably 
slow,  seemed  to  our  ancestors  wonderfully  and,  indeed,  alarmingly 
rapid.  In  a  work  published  a  few  months  before  the  death  of  Charles 
the  Second,  the  flying  coaches  are  extolled  as  far  superior  to  any 
similar  vehicles  ever  known  to  the  world.  Their  velocity  is  the 
subject  of  special  commendation,  and  is  triumphantly  contrasted  with 
the  sluggish  pace  of  the  continental  posts."  f 

A  good  many  clamours,  however,  appear  to  have  been 
raised  against  this  dangerous  innovation  on  settled  sober  habits 
in  the  way  of  travelling,  which  was  denounced  as  fatal  to 
horsemanship,  and  injurious  to  trade,  especially  to  that  of 
innkeepers.  It  was  further  objected  that  these  new-fangled — 

"  Carriages  were  too  hot  in  summer  and  too  cold  in  winter ;  that  the 
passengers  were  grievously  annoyed  by  invalids  and  crying  children ; 
that  the  coach  sometimes  reached  the  inn  so  late  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  get  supper,  and  sometimes  started  so  early  that  it  was 
impossible  to  get  breakfast.  On  these  grounds,  it  was  gravely 
recommended  that  no  public  carriage  should  be  permitted  to  have 
more  than  four  horses,  to  start  oftener  than  once  a  week,  or  to  go 
more  than  thirty  miles  a  day.  It  was  hoped  that,  if  this  regulation 
were  adopted,  all  except  the  sick  and  lame  would  return  to  the  old 
mode  of  travelling.  Petitions,  embodying  such  opinions  as  these, 
were  presented  to  the  king  in  council  from  several  companies  of  the 
city  of  London,  from  several  provincial  towns,  and  from  the  justices 
of  several  counties."  $ 

Nevertheless,  Lord  Macaulay  observes  that — 

"  In  spite  of  the  attractions  of  the  flying  coaches,  it  was  still  usual  for 

*  Macaulay's  "  Hist,  of  England,"  vol.  i.  c.  3,  pp.  371,  372. 
t  Ibid.  pp.  372,  373.  |  Ibid.  p.  373. 

R 


242   TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

men  who  enjoyed  health  and  vigour,  and  who  were  not  encumbered 
by  much  baggage,  to  perform  long  journeys  on  horseback.  If  the 
traveller  wished  to  move  expeditiously,  he  rode  post.  Fresh  saddle- 
horses  and  guides  were  to  be  procured  at  convenient  distances  along 
all  the  great  lines  of  road."  * 

A  traveller  in  Scotland  in  1688,  tells  us, 

"  Stage  coaches  they  have  none The  truth  is,  the  roads  will 

hardly  allow  them  those  conveniences,  which  is  the  reason  that  their 
gentry,  men  and  women,  choose  rather  to  use  their  horses.  However, 
their  great  men  often  travel  with  coach  and  six,  but  with  so  much 
caution,  that  besides  their  other  attendance,  they  have  a  lusty  running 
footman  on  each  side  of  the  coach,  to  manage  and  keep  it  up  in 
rough  places."  f 

Lord  Macaulay  observes  that — 

"  Whatever  might  be  the  way  in  which  a  journey  was  performed,  the 
travellers,  unless  they  were  numerous  and  well-armed,  ran  consider-, 
able  risk  of  being  stopped  and  plundered.  The  mounted  highway- 
man, a  marauder  known  to  our  generation  only  from  books,  was  to 
be  found  on  every  main  road.  The  waste  tracts  which  lay  on  the 
great  routes  near  London  were  especially  haunted  by  plunderers  of 
this  class.  Hounslow  Heath,  on  the  Great  Western  Road,  and 
Finchley  Common,  on  the  Great  Northern  Road,  were  perhaps  the 
most  celebrated  of  these  spots.  At  one  time  it  was  announced  in  the 
Gazette  that  several  persons,  who  were  strongly  suspected  of  being 
highwaymen,  but  against  whom  there  was  not  sufficient  evidence, 
would  be  paraded  at  Newgate  in  riding  dresses ;  their  horses  would 
also  be  shown;  ,and  all  gentlemen  who  had  been  robbed  were 
invited  to  inspect  this  singular  exhibition."} 

At  this  period,  indeed,  there  was  still  in  the  North  of 
England  a  large  body  of  lawless  people  called  moss-troopers, 
whose  calling  was  to  plunder  dwellings,  and  to  drive  away 
whole  herds  of  cattle.  Laws  of  great  severity  were 
found  necessary  for  the  prevention  of  these  outrages.  The 
magistrates  of  the  northern  counties  were  authorized  to  raise 

*  Macaulay's  "  History  of  England,"  vol.  i.  c.  3,  p.  374. 
|  Chambers's  "  Domestic  Annals  of  Scotland,"  vol.  ii.  p.  392. 
J  Macaulay's  "  History  of  England,"  vol.  i.  c.  3,  pp.  374,  375- 


EVERYDAY   LIFE,   MANNERS,   CUSTOMS,  ETC.  243 

bands  of  armed  men  for  the  defence  of  property  and  order. 
The  parishes  were  required  to  keep  bloodhounds  for  the 
purpose  of  hunting  the  freebooters. 

"  Many  old  men  (says  Lord  Macaulay),  who  were  living  in  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  could  well  remember  the  time 
when  those  ferocious  dogs  were  common.  Yet,  even  with  such 
auxiliaries,  it  was  often  found  impossible  to  track  the  robbers  to  their 
retreats  among  the  hills  and  morasses."  * 

The  seats  of  the  gentry,  and  the  larger  farmhouses,  at 
this  period,  were  fortified. 

"  Oxen  were  penned  at  night  beneath  the  overhanging  battlements  of 
the  residence.  The  inmates  slept  with  arms  at  their  sides.  Huge 
stones  and  boiling  water  were  in  readiness  to  crush  and  scald  the 
plunderer  who  might  venture  to  assail  the  little  garrison.  No 
traveller  ventured  into  that  country  without  making  his  will.  The 
judges  on  circuit,  with  the  whole  body  of  barristers,  attornies, 
clerks,  and  serving-men,  rode  on  horseback  from  Newcastle  to 
Carlisle,  armed  and  escorted  by  a  strong  guard  under  the  command 
of  the  sheriffs.  It  was  necessary  to  carry  provisions  ;  for  the  country 
was  a  wilderness  which  afforded  no  supplies.  The  spot  where  the 
cavalcade  halted  to  dine,  under  an  immense  oak,  is  not  yet 
forgotten,  "f 

So  late  as  the  year  1685,  only  about  half  the  land  in 
England  was  in  cultivation.  The  rest  consisted  of  moor, 
forest,  and  fen — 

"  Many  routes  which  now  pass  through  a  succession  of  orchards, 
hay-fields,  and  bean-fields,  then  ran  through  nothing  but  heath, 
swamp,  and  warren.  In  the  drawings  of  English  landscapes,  made  in 
that  age  for  the  Grand  Duke  Cosmo,  scarce  a  hedgerow  is  to  be 
seen,  and  numerous  tracts,  now  rich  with  cultivation,  appear  as  bare 
as  Salisbury  Plain.  From  Abingdon  to  Gloucester,  a  distance  of  forty 
or  fifty  miles,  there  was  not  a  single  inclosure,  and  scarcely  one 
inclosure  between  Biggleswade  and  Lincoln.  At  Enfield,  hardly 
out  of  sight  of  the  smoke  of  the  capital,  was  a  region  of  five-and- 
twenty  miles  in  circumference,  which  contained  only  three  houses, 

*  Macaulay's  "  History  of  England,"  vol.  i.  c.  3,  p.  280. 
f  Ibid.  p.  281. 


244  TRANSACTIONS   OF   THE   ROYAL   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

and  scarcely  any  inclosed  fields.     Deer,  as  free  as  in  an  American 
forest,  wandered  there  by  thousands." 

The  last  wild  boars  in  this  country,  which  had  been  pre- 
served for  the  royal  diversion,  were  slaughtered  during  the 
civil  wars.  The  last  wolf  in  this  island  was  slain  in  Scotland, 
a  short  time  before  the  end  of  Charles  the  Second's  reign. 

"  Wild  bulls  at  this  time  wandered  in  some  of  the  southern  forests, 
and  wild  cats  were  frequently  heard  by  night  wailing  round  the  lodges 
of  Whittlebury  and  Needwood.  Fen  eagles,  measuring  more  than 
nine  feet  between  the  extremities  of  the  wings,  preyed  on  fish  along 
the  coast  of  Norfolk.  On  all  the  downs,  from  the  British  Channel  to 
Yorkshire,  huge  bustards  strayed  in  troops  of  fifty  or  sixty,  and  were 
often  hunted  with  greyhounds.  The  marshes  of  Cambridgeshire  and 
Lincolnshire  were  covered  during  some  months  of  every  year  by 
immense  clouds  of  cranes."  * 

As  the  rude  farmers  of  these  days  were  not  sufficiently 
skilful  to  be  able,  without  great  difficulty,  to  keep  their  cattle 
alive  during  the  winter,  they  killed  and  salted  them — 

"  in  great  numbers  at  the  beginning  of  the  cold  weather ;  and 
during  several  months,  even  the  gentry  tasted  scarce  any  fresh  animal 
food  except  game  and  river  fish,  which  were  consequently  much  more 
important  articles  in  housekeeping  than  at  present.  It  appears  from 
the  '  Northumberland  Household  Book,'  that,  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
the  Seventh,  fresh  meat  was  never  eaten  even  by  the  gentlemen 
attendant  on  a  great  earl,  except  during  the  short  interval  between 
Midsummer  and  Michaelmas.  But  in  the  course  of  two  centuries  an 
improvement  had  taken  place ;  and  under  Charles  the  Second,  it  was 
not  till  the  beginning  of  November  that  families  laid  in  their  stock  of 
salt  provisions,  then  called  Martinmas  beef."  t 

The  first  establishment  of  a  regular  post  in  this  country 
for  the  conveyance  of  letters,  appears  to  have  taken  place  in 
the  year  1635.  Up  to  this  time,  it  was  observed  in  a  proclama- 
tion on  the  subject,  that  there  had  been  no  certain  intercourse 
between  England  and  Scotland  ;  wherefore,  His  Majesty 
commanded  his  postmaster  of  England  for  foreign  parts  to 

*  Macaulay's  "  History  of  England,"  vol.  i.  c.  3,  pp.  306—308. 

t  Ibid.  pp.  309,  310. 


EVERYDAY   LIFE,   MANNERS,  CUSTOMS,   ETC.  245 

settle  a  running  post  or  two,  to  run  night  and  day  between 
Edinburgh  and  London,  to  go  thither  and  come  back  again 
in  six  days,  and  to  take  with  them  all  such  letters  as  should  be 
directed  to  any  post  town  in  or  near  that  road.  Bye-posts 
were  at  the  same  time  ordered  to  be  connected  with  several 
places  on  the  main  line.  In  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Second, 
however,  a  penny  post  was  set  up  which  delivered  letters  and 
parcels  six  or  eight  times  a  day  in  London  ;  but  it  was 
strenuously  denounced,  the  placards  announcing  it  were 
pulled  down,  and  a  cry  was  raised  that  it  was  a  Popish  con- 
trivance. In  the  end,  however,  it  was  found  so  useful  that 
all  opposition  to  it  was  overcome,  and  the  post  office  was 
eventually  established  on  a  regular  system.* 

Lord  Macaulay  observes  that — 

"  No  part  of  the  load  which  the  old  mails  carried  out  was  more 
important  than  the  news-letters.  In  1685,  nothing  like  the  London 
daily  papers  of  our  time  existed.  The  London  Gazette  came  out 
only  on  Mondays  and  Thursdays.  The  contents  generally  were  a 

royal  proclamation, a  description  of  a  highwayman, 

an  announcement  of  a  grand  cock-fight  between  two  persons  of 
honour,  and  an  advertisement  offering  a  reward  for  a  strayed  dog. 
The  whole  made  up  two  pages  of  moderate  size.  Whatever  was 
communicated  respecting  matters  of  the  highest  moment,  was  com- 
municated in  the  most  meagre  and  formal  style.  To  the  capital,  the 
coffee-houses  supplied  in  some  measure  the  place  of  a  journal. 
Thither  the  Londoners  nocked,  as  the  Athenians  of  old  flocked  to 
the  market-place  to  hear  whether  there  was  any  news.  But  people 
who  lived  at  a  distance  from  the  great  theatre  of  political  contention, 
could  be  kept  regularly  informed  of  what  was  passing  there  only  by 
means  of  news-letters.  To  prepare  such  letters  became  a  calling  in 
London,  as  it  now  is  among  the  natives  of  India.  The  news-writer 
rambled  from  coffee-room  to  coffee-room  collecting  reports,  squeezed 
himself  into  the  Sessions  House  at  the  Old  Bailey  if  there  was  an 
interesting  trial — nay,  perhaps  obtained  admission  to  the  gallery  of 
Whitehall,  and  noticed  how  the  King  and  the  Duke  looked.  In  this 
way  he  gathered  materials  for  weekly  epistles  destined  to  enlighten 

*  Macaulay's  "  History  of  England,"  vol.  i.  c.  3,  pp.  280,  281. 


246  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

some  country  town,  or  some  bench  of  rustic  magistrates.  That  was 
a  memorable  day  (observes  Lord  Macaulay)  on  which  the  first 
news-letter  from  London  was  laid  on  the  table  of  the  only  coffee-room 
in  Cambridge.  At  the  seat  of  a  man  of  fortune,  in  the  country,  the 
news-letter  was  impatiently  expected.  Within  a  week  after  it  had 
arrived,  it  had  been  thumbed  by  twenty  families.  It  furnished  the 
neighbouring  squires  with  matter  for  talk  over  their  '  October.'  Many 
of  these  curious  journals  might,  doubtless,  still  be  detected  by  a 
diligent  search  in  the  archives  of  old  families.  It  is  scarcely  neces- 
sary to  say  that  there  were  then  no  provincial  newspapers.  Indeed, 
except  in  the  capital  and  at  the  two  Universities,  there  was  scarcely 
a  printer  in  the  kingdom.  The  only  press  in  England  north  of 
Trent,  appears  to  have  been  at  York."* 

The  mention  of  travelling,  and  of  coffee-houses  also,  reminds 
me  to  say  something  about  the  inns  of  those  days.  Lord 
Macaulay  states  that — 

"  From  a  very  early  period  the  inns  of  England  had  been  renowned. 
Our  first  great  poet  had  described  the  excellent  accommodation  which 
they  afforded  to  the  pilgrims  of  the  fourteenth  century.  Nine-and- 
twenty  persons,  with  their  horses,  found  room  in  the  wide  chambers 
and  stables  of  the  Tabard,  in  South wark.  The  food  was  of  the  best, 
and  the  wines  such  as  drew  the  company  on  to  drink  largely.  Two 
hundred  years  later,  under  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  William  Harrison 
gave  a  lively  description  of  the  plenty  and  comfort  of  the  great 
hostelries.  The  Continent  of  Europe,  he  said,  could  show  nothing 
like  them.  There  were  some  in  which  two  or  three  hundred  people, 
with  their  horses,  could  without  difficulty  be  lodged  and  fed.  The 
bedding,  the  tapestry — above  all,  the  abundance  of  clean  and  fine 
linen — was  matter  of  wonder.  Valuable  plate  was  often  set  on  the 
tables.  Nay,  there  were  signs  which  had  cost  thirty  or  forty  pounds. 
In  the  seventeenth  century,  England  abounded  with  excellent  inns 
of  every  rank.  The  traveller  sometimes,  in  a  small  village,  lighted 
on  a  public-house,  such  as  Walton  has  described,  where  the  brick 
floor  was  swept  clean,  where  the  walls  were  stuck  round  with  ballads 
where  the  sheets  smelt  of  lavender,  and  where  a  blazing  fire,  a  cup  of 
good  ale,  and  a  dish  of  trout  fresh  from  the  neighbouring  brook,  were 
to  be  procured  at  small  charge.  At  the  larger  houses  of  entertainment 
*  Macaulay's  "History  of  England,"  vol.  i.  c.  3,  pp.  383—385. 


EVERYDAY  LIFE,   MANNERS,  CUSTOMS,  ETC.  247 

were  to  be  found  beds  hung  with  silk,  choice  cookery,  and  claret 
equal  to  the  best  which  was  drunk  in  London.  The  innkeepers,  too, 
it  was  said,  were  not  like  other  innkeepers.  On  the  Continent,  the 
landlord,  was  the  tyrant  of  those  who  crossed  the  threshold ;  in  Eng- 
land he  was  a  servant.  Never  was  an  Englishman  more  at  home 
than  when  he  took  his  ease  in  his  inn.  Even  men  of  fortune,  who 
might  in  their  own  mansions  have  enjoyed  every  luxury,  were  often 
in  the  habit  of  passing  their  evenings  in  the  parlour  of  some  neigh- 
bouring house  of  public  entertainment.  They  seem  to  have  thought 
that  comfort  and  freedom  could  in  no  other  place  be  enjoyed  in 
equal  perfection.  This  feeling  continued,  during  many  generations, 
to  be  a  national  peculiarity.  The  liberty  and  jollity  of  inns  long 
furnished  matter  to  our  novelists  and  dramatists.  Johnson  declared 
that  a  tavern  chair  was  the  throne  of  human  felicity ;  and  Shenstone 
gently  complained  that  no  private  roof,  however  friendly,  gave  the 
wanderer  so  warm  a  welcome  as  that  which  was  to  be  found  at  an 
inn."* 

In  a  former  paper  I  alluded  to  the  mode  of  dealing  with 
criminals  in  this  country  during  the  fifteenth  century,  and 
exhibited  some  diagrams  illustrative  of  this  part  of  my  sub- 
ject, which  are  now  deposited  among  the  archives  of  this 
Society.  Crime  appears  to  have  gone  on  increasing  with  the 
increase  of  the  population,  and  the  number  of  offenders 
increased  also.  Hanging  was  the  usual  mode  of  punishment 
of  criminals  for  serious  offences.  On  this  subject  and  the 
prevalence  of  crime  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centu- 
ries, especially  in  the  metropolis  and  its  neighbourhood,  and 
the  mode  of  dealing  with  criminals,  I  shall  have  much  to  say, 
quoting  from  authentic  historical  sources  on  this  head,  in  my 
next  paper. 

Closely  connected  with  the  subject  now  under  consideration 
is  that  of  the  application  of  torture  to  criminals,  which  was 
long  practised  both  in  this  country  and  on  the  Continent.  I 
am  proud,  however,  as  a  lawyer,  to  be  able  to  state  that  the 
infliction  of  this  punishment  in  England  was  always  contrary 
to  law  ;  though  as  a  lawyer  I  am  ashamed  to  confess  that  the 
*  Macaulay's  "History  of  England,"  vol.  i.  c.  3,  pp.  377,  378. 


248     TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

judges,  who  declared  its  illegality,  frequently  sanctioned  its  in- 
fliction. It  was  resorted  to  both  for  extorting  confessions 
from  prisoners,  and  discoveries  from  witnesses.  It  is  supposed 
to  have  been  first  used  in  England  about  the  year  1468,  and 
that  a  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  Sir  Thomas  Coke,  was  one  of 
the  first  who  suffered  from  it.  In  1628  the  judges  unanimously 
resolved  that  Felton,  who  had  murdered  the  Duke  of  Bucking- 
ham, "  ought  not  to  be  tortured  by  the  rack,  for  no  such  punish- 
ment is  known  or  allowed  by  our  law/;  *  And  yet  several  of  the 
judges  who  joined  in  this  resolution,  had  themselves  executed 
the  warrants  for  torture  when  they  held  ministerial  offices 
under  the  crown.  The  famous  Chief  Justice,  Sir  Edward 
Coke,  declared,  "  there  is  no  law  to  warrant  tortures  in  this 
land,  and  there  is  no  opinion  in  our  books,  or  judicial  record 
for  the  maintenance  of  them."t  But  Coke  many  times 
acted  as  a  commissioner  for  interrogating  prisoners  by  torture. 
There  is  no  doubt,  indeed,  that,  from  the  time  of  its  intro- 
duction until  the  Commonwealth,  torture  was  frequently 
resorted  to.  Indeed,  honest  John  Selden,  who  lived  in  times 
when  torture  was  in  use,  says  that  the  rack  was  nowhere  used 
as  in  England,  for  here  they  take  a  man  and  rack  him,  not 
for  any  legal  purpose,  but  merely  because  somebody  bids 
them  do  it.J  The  last  instance  on  record  occurred  in  1640, 
when  one  Archer,  a  glover,  who  was  supposed  to  have  been 
concerned  in  the  riotous  attack  upon  Archbishop  Laud's 
palace,  at  Lambeth,  was  "  racked  in  the  Tower  to  make  him 
confess  his  companions."  A  copy  of  the  warrant  under  the 
Privy  Seal,  authorizing  the  torture  in  this  case,  may  be  seen 
at  the  State  Paper  Office.  The  rack  was  said  to  have  been 
brought  into  the  Tower  by  the  Duke  of  Exeter,  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  VI.,  and  was  thence  called  the  Duke  of  Exeter's 
daughter.*  In  Scotland,  the  use  of  torture  was  not  abolished 
until  the  year  1708. 

Torture  was  in  general  use  all  over  the  Continent,  and  a 
species  of  torture  was  employed  in  Germany  to  a  very  great 

*  Rushworth's  "  Collections,"  vol.  i.  p.  638. 

t  3  "  Inst."  35,  J  "  Table  Talk."— Trial.  *  3  "  Inst."  36. 


EVERYDAY   LIFE,   MANNERS,   CUSTOMS,   ETC.  249 

extent  during  the  Middle  Ages,  of  which  there  are  traces  and 
traditions  connected  with  the  torture  chambers  and  instruments 
still  exhibited  in  Nuremberg,  Salzburg,  and  Ratisbon,  each 
of  which  I  have  seen,  and  representations  of  several  of  which 
I  have  deposited  among  the  archives  of  this  Society.  The 
torture  chamber  at  Salzburg,  of  the  interior  of  which  the 
diagram  will  afford  a  notion,  is  a  small  square  chamber 
with  one  window,  in  a  tower  of  the  castle,  formerly  the 
archiepiscopal  palace  of  that  city.  Two  perpendicular  racks 
are  seen  still  standing  in  it,  to  which  victims  were  attached, 
and  a  beam  passes  through  one  of  them,  by  which  the  un- 
happy victim  was  raised,  while  the  large  stone  with  a  ring 
attached  to  it  was  tied  to  his  feet.  There  is  also  a  ring  in 
the  wall,  to  which  persons  confined  there  were  chained.  An 
iron  grating  may  be  observed  which  covers  the  opening  to  the 
oubliette,  or  deep  well,  down  which  the  mangled  victims  were  at 
last  thrown,  at  the  bottom  of  which  was  a  wheel  armed  with 
blades,  by  which  they  were  cut  to  pieces,  and  they  were  then 
left  to  die  there,  being  out  of  hearing  of  all  who  could  relieve 
them.  Torture,  however,  was  not  resorted  to  in  chambers  of 
this  kind  for  legal  or  judicial  purposes,  but  for  the  proceedings  of 
those  secret  religious  tribunals  which  abounded  at  that  period. 

Torture  of  the  ordinary  kind,  for  legal  and  judicial  purposes, 
continued  in  several  countries  on  the  Continent  until  the 
middle  of  the  last  century.  In  France,  it  was  abolished  only 
in  1789;  in  Russia,  not  until  1801 ;  in  Bavaria,  torture  formed 
part  of  the  laws  until  about  fifty  years  ago. 

A  representation  of  a  rack  of  the  ordinary  kind,  termed  the 
horizontal  rack,  copied  from  that  in  the  dungeon  at  Ratisbon, 
in  Bavaria,  is  among  the  archives  of  this  Society.  It  some- 
what resembles  a  mangle.  The  person  to  be  punished  was 
stretched  upon  it  and  bound.  Cords  were  then  attached  to 
his  extremities,  and  a  windlass  was  gradually  turned,  till  the 
operation  dislocated  the  joints  of  the  wrists  and  ankles.  The 
spiked  roller  in  the  middle,  termed  the  "  larded  Sara,"  caused 
additional  agony  by  moving  round  as  the  victim  was  drawn 
over  it,  and  tearing  the  skin  off. 


250  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

Certain  other  instruments  of  torture  are  also  represented 
by  the  diagrams.  The  wooden  triangle,  or  "bad  Bess,"  in 
which  a  person  was  suspended,  with  the  stone  having  the  ring 
attached  tied  to  his  feet :  the  spiked  chair,  termed  the  "  con- 
fessional," or  "  maiden's  lap,"  in  which  he  was  made  to  sit  with 
heavy  weights  on  his  knees ;  and  the  wooden  collar  and 
handcuffs,  which  were  fastened  round  his  neck  and  wrists. 

Another  species  of  punishment,  which  was  very  nearly 
allied  to  torture,  and  the  infliction  of  which  was  sanctioned  by 
our  laws,  was  what  was  termed  the  " peine  fort  et  dure"  and 
which  was  exercised  on  criminals  who  refused  to  plead  either 
guilty  or  not  guilty.  The  culprit  was  stripped  and  laid  on 
his  back,  and  his  limbs  were  secured  by  cords,  and  stretched 
out  to  staples  in  the  floor :  he  was  laid  in  a  low  chamber 
with  little  air  or  light,  then  a  weight  of  iron,  or  a  board  with 
weights  upon  it,  as  much  as  he  could  bear,  was  placed  upon 
him,  and  he  was  fed  upon  black  bread,  and  water  from  the 
nearest  puddle,  until  he  either  pleaded  or  died.  This  custom 
continued  until  the  year  17/2,  when  it  was  finally  abolished. 
A  great  many  persons  have  suffered  death  in  this  mode.  The 
object  of  refusing  to  plead  was  that  thereby  the  prisoner 
escaped  trial,  and  so  no  forfeiture  of  his  goods  and  chattels 
could  take  place,  which  were,  therefore,  saved  to  his  family. 
It  is  from  this  circumstance  that  the  "  press  yard,"  in  Newgate, 
and  several  other  prisons,  takes  its  name.* 

The  execution  of  malefactors  was,  during  the  present 
period  of  our  history,  a  matter  of  very  common  occurrence. 
Besides  common  criminals,  who  weekly  and  almost  daily 
were  exhibited  on  the  gibbet,  there  were  the  heads  of  traitors 
over  the  City  gates,  and  -sometimes  the  bodies  of  heretics 
burning  in  the  flames.  Independently,  too,  of  the  rope  and 
the  axe,  there  were  the  cleaver,  the  branding-iron,  and  the 
scourge,  all  kept  in  restless  activity  for  the  punishment  of 
minor  offenders.  One  strange  refinement  in  capital  punish- 
ment was  used  at  Halifax,  where  criminals  were  beheaded  by 

*  "  Horrors  of  the  Gallows."     By  the  late  Chaplain  of  Newgate. 


EVERYDAY  LIFE,   MANNERS,   CUSTOMS,   ETC.  251 

an  instrument  called  the  "Maiden,"  which  was  similar  to  the 
French  guillotine.  Executions  were  performed  there  on  the 
market  days  ;  and  when  the  condemned  person  had  placed 
his  head  on  the  block,  those  who  stood  by  put  their  hands 
to  the  rope  and  drew  out  the  pin  by  which  the  axe  fell,  there- 
by signifying  their  consent  to  the  carrying  out  of  the  sen- 
tence by  becoming  its  executioners.  A  custom  still  more 
singular  was  followed,  where  the  person  to  be  put  to  death  had 
incurred  this  fate  by  stealing  an  animal.  In  this  case,  the  rope 
was  fixed  to  the  animal  in  question,  so  that  it  was  made  to 
cause  the  death  of  the  criminal  whenever  it  moved  from  its 
position.* 

Throughout  the  Middle  Ages,  and  down  to  the  commence- 
ment of  the  eighteenth  century,  a  belief  in  witchcraft  and 
witches,  and  persecutions  of  persons  suspected  of  crimes  of 
this  nature  were  generally  prevalent.  In  two  of  the  diagrams, 
now  belonging  to  this  Society,  which  are  copied  from  draw- 
ings of  the  time  preserved  in  the  British  Museum,  you  have 
a  representation  of  a  sorceress  in  her  cave  during  the  fifteenth 
century,  exercising  her  enchantments.  The  outline  of  the 
form  of  a  spirit  is  dimly  seen  through  the  flames  from  the 
torch  which  she  holds  in  her  hand.  The  altar,  with  the 
sacred  vessels  upon  it,  is  observed  in  the  foreground,  and  the 
magic  jar  in  the  centre  of  the  picture.  The  other  compart- 
ment represents  the  baptism  of  a  child.  In  our  early  liturgies 
exorcism,  or  casting  out  the  evil  spirits,  always  preceded  the 
rite  of  baptism. 

Burning  witches  and  placing  others  in  the  pillory  is  repre- 
sented in  the  other  diagram,  which  is  of  the  same  period.  The 
youthful  appearance  of  some  of  the  witches  will  excite  surprise ; 
but  children  as  well  as  old  women  occasionally  suffered  for 
this  crime. 

A  belief  in  witches,  after  the  accession  of  James  I.  became 
the  master  superstition  of  the  age  in  this  country.  James 
had  indeed  embarked  in  a  personal  quarrel  with  the  whole  race 
*  Hollinshed's  "  Chronicles." 


252  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

of  witches.  During  his  matrimonial  voyage  to  Denmark,  he 
chanced  to  encounter  a  violent  storm.  This  was  not  a  very 
unusual,  or  by  any  means  an  unnatural  occurrence.  An  im- 
pression, however,  was  created  in  the  royal  mind,  by  what 
means  history  fails  to  record,  that  the  storm  in  question  had 
been  raised  by  witches  in  consequence  of  their  baptizing  a 
cat ;  and  so  from  that  period  he  lost  no  opportunity  of  de- 
nouncing witchcraft,  and  persecuting  witches.  Professed 
witch-finders  came  into  fashion,  and  numerous  innocent  victims 
suffered  in  consequence  of  the  superstition  of  the  king. 

Although  the  consideration  of  politics,  and  the  record  of 
political  events,  are  by  design  excluded  from  these  discourses 
on  the  pursuits  and  mode  of  life  of  our  forefathers,  yet,  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  present  period  of  our  history,  I  may  not  do 
amiss  in  pointing  out  that  it  was  mainly  through  the  mighty 
political  convulsions  by  which  this  country  was  for  a  time 
distracted  and  tortured  during  the  era  we  have  now 
passed  through — when  the  billows  of  popular  turbulence  and 
disaffection  burst  their  accustomed  bounds,  and  for  a  time 
spread  desolation  far  and  wide  over  the  land,  until  they  were 
at  length  brought  back  and  made  to  flow  smoothly  and 
regularly  through  their  proper  channels,  in  which  they  have 
ever  since  kept  their  course — that  the  grand  and  magnificent 
constitutional  fabric  of  this  country,  the  pride  of  this  great 
nation  and  the  wonder  of  the  civilized  world,  the  guardian  of 
our  rights  and  the  fortress  of  our  liberties,  uprose  and  assumed 
its  present  shape,  and  acquired  those  noble  and  beauteous 
proportions  it  now  possesses.  Out  of  anarchy  sprung  order, 
and  misrule  became  the  parent  of  good  government.  Like 
the  splendid  and  venerable  fabric,  Westminster  Abbey,  whose 
rise  is  so  associated  with  our  national  history,  and  whose  aisles 
contain  the  ashes  of  the  greatest  men  by  whom  that  history 
has  been  adorned,  our  constitutional  and  jurisprudential  system 
uprose,  by  small  beginnings,  and  gradually  acquired  symmetry 
and  order.  Even  now  are  we  able  to  trace  the  uncouth  hand 
of  the  almost  barbaric  Saxon,  who  in  the  one  case  exercised 
his  rude  ingenuity  in  the  arches  which  he  reared  and  the  sculp- 


EVERYDAY   LIFE,    MANNERS,    CUSTOMS,   ETC.  253 

tures  which  he  carved  ;  and  in  the  other  exhibited  his  penetra- 
tion and  sagacity  in  the  framing  of  those  wise  and  subtle  rules 
of  policy  which  have  ever  since  served  as  the  superstructure  on 
which  a  more  refined  and  complete  jurisprudential  code  has 
been  erected.  By  slow  degrees,  by  the  labour  of  successive 
ages,  and  by  the  genius  of  various  minds,  the  fabric  has  in 
each  case  at  length  been  brought  to  its  full  maturity,  and 
to  attain  that  stupendous  majesty  and  sublimity  it  now 
possesses.  Defects  may  belong  to  each,  as  to  everything  human, 
and  are  what  mainly  attest  their  origin  from  man  ;  although 
these  very  defects  are  in  turn  eclipsed  by  the  varied  excellences 
of  each,  and  by  the  perfection  of  the  whole.  To  lasting  ages 
may  these  stupendous  structures  continue  to  endure,  not  only 
undefaced  by  time,  but  by  us  corrected  and  repaired  from  the 
defects  which  time  may  have  effected  in  them — a  duty  we 
owe  alike  to  our  progenitors  and  our  posterity — and  to  the 
remotest  periods  which  time  reaches  may  they  stand,  by  age 
becoming  not  only  more  venerable  but  more  solid ;  monuments 
alike  of  the  genius  and  wisdom  of  those  who  upraised  them, 
and  no  less  so  of  the  piety  and  patriotism  of  those  who  spared 
no  sacrifice  to  prevent  their  falling  into  ruin. 


INDEX. 


AASA  the  evil  adviser,  her  death  with 

Ingiald,   185. 

Absalon,  Archbishop  of  Lund,  174. 
Actors'  lists,  The,  from  1578  to  1642, 

A  paper  on,  by  Mr.  F.  G.  Fleay, 

44-81. 
Acts    of   Parliament    relating   to    the 

Hanseatic  league,  113. 
Adam  of  Bremen,  The  authority  of  his 

works,  209. 

Admiral's  men,  The,  58,  67,  69. 
Adolphus,  Count  of  Holstein,  founds 

Lubeck,  85. 
Aix  -  la  -  Chapelle,    The  conference  at, 

convoked  by  Charlemagne,  157. 
Alcuin  of  York,  156,  157,  159,  169. 
Alderman  of  the  Haunce,  The,  93,  104, 

135- 

Alexandria,     Religious    electicism    at, 

153. 

Allen,  Dr.,  24,  31. 
Alsatia,  its  right  of  sanctuary,  227. 
Alvilda,  wife  of  Sigurd  Ring,  196. 
Amalhar,  a  Gallic  bishop,  203. 
Amsterdam,  The  trade  of,  128. 
Amund,  a  king  amongst  the  Swedes, 

206. 

Anglo-Saxon  sagas,  The,  176. 
Annales  Laurissenses,  The,  197. 
Annales  Oddenses,  The,  commenced  by 

Saemund,  180. 
Anselm,  St.,  169. 
Anskar,    a  missionary  to  the  Swedes, 

20 1  ;  Archbishop  of  Hamburg,  203, 

207,  209. 
Antwerp, — connected  with  the  League, 

91,  98  ;  its  commerce,  117  ;  became 

a  comptoir,  120. 
Anulo,  understood  to  be  Sigurd  Ring, 

198  ;  probably  the  corrupt  form  of  a 

Norse  name,  199. 

Apulia  or  Pillen,  The  siege  of,  213. 
Aras,    John    of,    a  merchant   of    the 

Haunce,  in  London,  93. 

re-hin-Frode,  The  works  of,  178,  180. 


Ardgar,   the   anchorite,  miracles  attri- 
buted to,  205. 
Aristotle  systematized,    the  studies   of 

poetry  and  art,  5- 
Armada,  The,  provided  with  stores  by 

the  league,  125. 

Arms,  The,  of  the  Wends,  194. 
Assassination  of  Catholics  in    prison, 

urged  by  Lord  Huntingdon,  the  Lord 

President  of  the  North,  27. 
Audr,  the  daughter  of  Ivar,  the  story 

of  her  marriage,  186. 
Augusta,   John,    chief  Bishop    of  the 

Unitas  fratrum,  imprisoned,  145. 
Aylmer,  Bishop,  39. 

BALLADS  on  the  death  of  Campion,  33. 

Barber,  Edward,  priest,  executed,  24. 

Bari,  in  Naples,  139. 

Bath,  The  town  of,  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  235. 

Bear-gardens  in  London,  229. 

Beer,  the  national  drink  in  Scotland  in 
1688,  237. 

Benedict  IX.,  Pope — his  character  de- 
scribed by  Victor  III.,  171. 

Berengar,  Emperor  in  Italy,  160. 

Bergen,  a  trading  town  of  the  Hanse- 
atic league,  91,  99,  103. 

Berlin,  The  city  of,  receives  the  Swedes, 
217. 

Bernard,  Duke  of  Weimar,  218. 

Bernard,  St.,  163,  164. 

Berserkers,  The,  from  Telemarken,  194. 

Beverley,  The  Gild  of  St.  John  of,  84. 

Biblia  Glossata,  The,  put  forth  by 
monks,  168. 

Billingsgate,  a  place  of  foreign  trade  in 
979,  83. 

Bills  of  Exchange,  Money  to  be  paid 
by  (1409),  103. 

Biorn  Hauge,  King,  200,  202,  212. 

Birka,  The  royal  port  of,  201 ;  its  site, 
202  ;  assembly  held  at,  to  establish 
Christianity,  212. 


256 


INDEX. 


Bishops  and  abbots  to  be  invested  by 

the  Emperor,  163. 
.Bishops,    The    Elizabethan,    31  ;  were 

persecutors  of  Catholics,  38  —  40. 
Bishopsgate,  —  the  controversy  respecting 

the  repair  of,  93  ;  custody  of,  settled 

by  treaty,  109. 
Bitek,  Jacob,  imprisoned  at  Krivoklat, 

145- 

Blackfriars'  players,  The  list  of,  47. 
Bloodhounds  kept  to  hunt  freebooters, 

243- 
Boar's  Head,  The  Queen's  men  acted  at 

the,  63. 
Bolingbroke,    Viscount,    6;    advocated 

the  study  of  general  history,  6  ;  com- 

pared Lucullus  with  Marlborough,  7  ; 

forerunner  of  Voltaire,  Lessing,  and 

Herder,  6  ;    exposed  historical  jug- 

glers, 7. 
Bona,  The  Princess,  her  marriage  to  the 

King  of  Poland,  139. 
Boonen,    Guillaume,  the  first  Queen's 

coachman,  240. 
Boston,  a  depot  of  the  Hanseatic  league, 

in,  136. 
Bottomry,  the  only  form  of  insurance 

recognised  in  the  code  of  the  Hanse- 

atic league,  126. 

Boy-players,  The,  45,  54,  55,  56,  60,61. 
Brage  the  Aged,  the  Scald,  202. 
Brand,  Bishop  of  Holen,  the  writings 

of,  1  80. 
Brandenburg,  The  Elector  of,  his  alliance 

with  Gustavus  Adolphus,  217, 
Bravalla,  The  fight  at,  193,  195. 
Breisach  in  the  Brisgau,  —  the  capture 

of,  218  ;  negotiations  at,  220  Descrip- 

tion of  the  church  of  St.  Stephen  at, 

223. 
Bremen,  —  the  city  of,  85;  its  decline, 

129;  the  see  of,  208  ;  Adam  of,  209. 
Bretzslaw,  The  castle   of,  granted    to 

Dubravius,  140. 

Bristol,  The  town  of,  in  1660,  233. 
British  missionaries,  The  early,  159. 
Bruges,—  a    factory    of  the   Hanseatic 

league,  90,  98,  99  ;  the  congress  at, 

115  ;  its  decay    120. 
Brunswick,  The  city  of,  at  war  with  the 

Hanseatic  league,  101. 
Burbadge,   James,   the   father    of  the 

actors,  54. 
Buxton,  a  place  of  resort  in  the  seven- 

teenth century,  235. 


,  the  title  of,  granted  to  Charle- 
magne, 157. 


Campion, — Edmund,  his  youth,  30  ; 
success  at  Oxford,  31  ;  in  favour 
with  the  Queen's  Ministers,  31  ;  his 
letter  to  Bishop  Cheney,  31  ;  his 
personal  influence  at  Oxford,  32  ; 
departure  from  England,  32  ;  return 
as  a  priest  and  capture,  32  ;  offer 
made  to  him  to  conform,  32  ;  tor- 
tured on  the  rack,  33  ;  his  trial,  33  ; 
execution,  33  ;  popular  ballads  on 
his  death,  33. 

Canossa,  meeting  at,  between  Henry  IV. 
and  Gregory  VII.,  162. 

Carlovingian  Kings,  The,  158. 

Caroline  books,  The,  issued  by  Charle- 
magne, 156. 

Carriages,  The  introduction  of,  into 
England,  240. 

Casimir,  King  of  Poland,  captured 
Culm,  106. 

Catesby  family,  The  documents  of  the, 

234- 

Catholic  religion,  The,  was  the  instru- 
ment of  education,  167  ;  its  lasting 
influence,  168. 

Catholics,The  number  of,  in  the  North, 
41. 

Catholic  prisoners,  The  sufferings  of,  26, 
27. 

Cecil,  Secretary,  31,  32. 

Celtes,  Conrad,  the  teacher  of  Dubra- 
vius, 138. 

Chamberlain's,  The,  company  of  actors, 
48,  67,  70. 

Chance,  the  doctrine  of,  5* 

Chandos',  Lord,  company  of  actors,  67. 

Changes  of  actors  from  one  company 
to  another,  45,  48,  59,  62,  65. 

Chapel,  the  children  of  the,  60. 

Chapman,  Mr.  John  H.,  a  paper  by,  on 
the  Persecution  under  Elizabeth,  21- 

43- 
Characters,  sustained  by  Shakespeare, 

50,  52  ;  by  Burbage,  53  ;  by  Kempe, 

55  ;  by  Cowley,  55  ;  by  Lowin,   55  ; 

by  Armin,  56  ;   by  Taylor,    56  ;  by 

Shank,  57  ;  by  Swanston,  57. 
Charlemagne — crowned,  154  ;  his  policy, 

155  ;  issued  the  Caroline  books,  156  ; 

revised  existing  laws,  157  ;  established 

free  education,  167  ;  envoys  sent  to, 

by  Sigfred,  197. 

Charles',  Prince,  company  of  actors,  67. 
Charnace,  an  agent  of  Richelieu  217, 
Charters  granted  to  foreign  merchants 

88,  89,  92. 

Chastleton  House,  in  Oxfordhire,  234. 
Cheney,  shop  of  Gloucester,  31. 


INDEX. 


257 


Cheruel,  M.,  his  account  of  the  battles  of 

Freiburg,   223. 
Chief  actors,  The   order   of  succession 

among,  5r,  52. 
Children,  Companies  of,  as  actors,  45  ; 

the  names  of  their  masters,  45  ;  the 

Paul's  children,  54  ;  children  of  the 

revels,    55,   56,  61  ;  children  of  the 

chapel,  60. 
Chinese  morals,  the  same  as  Christian 

ethics,  14 
Christian    Church,    The  first,    on    the 

Scandinavian  mainland,  202  ;  in  Den- 
mark, 209. 
Christian  Monasticism,  a  protest  against 

barbarism,     168 ;    was    actively    an 

educator,  168. 

Christmas  festivities  and  customs,  230. 
Church ey,  George,  of  Lions   Inn,    the 

translator  of  Dubravius'   work,  "  A 

new  book  of  good  Husbandry,  &c.," 

150. 
Church  of  England   Quarterly  Review 

quoted,  37. 
Cities  of  the  League,  The,   87,  89,  95, 

97,     no,     115  ;    divided    into    four 

classes,  94. 
Clitherow,  Margaret,  pressed  to  death, 

37- 
Cloth,  The  trade  in  English,   113,  117, 

121,   122. 

Cockpit  Theatre,  the,  65. 

Coinage,  The,  of  the  Easterlings,  89. 

Coke's  false  statement,  that  there  were 
no  deaths  for  religion  in  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  21,  29. 

Collier,  Mr., — his  history  of  the  stage, 
44 ;  annals  of  the  stage,  45,  47,  49, 
52»  53>  59  5  Life  of  Armin,  56  ;  Life 
of  Alleyn,  62,  70  ;  the  errors  in  his 
works,  47,  52,  54,  55,  59,  61,  67, 

Cologne,  a  city  of  the  Hanseatic  league, 
98 ;  chief  city  of  the  second  region, 
no;  friendly  with  England,  106, 
no. 

Cologne  merchants,  The,  established 
in  Dowgate,  82  ;  a  charter  granted 
to,  89. 

Commerce,  The,  of  the  Hanseatic  league 
in  1600,  128. 

Compactata,  The,  granted  by  the 
Council  of  Basle,  139,  143. 

Companies  of  Actors,  The, — Lane's,  45  ; 
Earl  of  Warwick's,  45  ;  Earl  of  Lei- 
cester's, 45  ;  Queen's  players,  45,  48, 
49»  63,  64,  70 ;  Strange's  company, 
46,  48,  49,  67,  68,  70;  Earl  of 
Sussex',  46,  70  ;  the  Chamberlain's, 


48,  67,  70  ;  the  Paul's  ch  Idren,  54  ; 
the  King's  company,  55,  67;  the 
children  of  the  Revels,  55,  56,  61, 
67,  68,  69;  the  Palsgrave's  com- 
pany, 57  ;  Earl  of  Worcester's,  or 
Earl  of  Derby's  company,  58,  63,  66, 
67  ;  the  Admiral's  men,  58,  67,  69  ; 
Prince  Henry's  players,  59,  68  ;  Pem- 
broke's company,  59  ;  the  children  of 
the  chapel,  60,  67  ;  Duke  of  York's 
company,  61,  63,67,68;  Princess 
Elizabeth's  company,  61,  63  ;  Lady 
Elizabeth's,  or  united  company, 
62,  64,  67,  68,  69  ;  Queen  Anne's 
men,  63,  64,  67,  69;  Queen  Hen- 
rietta's men,  64, 67, 68 ;  His  Majesty's 
company  of  revels,  65 ;  Lord  Chandos' 
company,  67  ;  Prince  Charles'  com- 
pany, 67  ;  Duke  of  Lennox'  players, 
70. 

Concordat,  The,  of  Worms,  162. 

Constantinople,  the  transfer  of  the 
Empire  to,  153  ;  General  Council  at, 
158. 

Contrast,  The,  between  the  methods  of 
English,  French,  and  German  his- 
torical writers,  9,  16. 

Copenhagen  captured,  97  ',  its  rise  in 
commercial  importance,  114. 

Cori,  or  Curones,  The  expeditions 
against,  212. 

Corn,  an  early  instance  of  protective 
import  duty  on,  107. 

Cornhill  noted  for  receivers  of  stolen 
goods,  225. 

Costume,  the,  of  the  i6th  and  I7th 
centuries,  236. 

Cracow,  the  marriage  at,  of  Elizabeth 
of  Bohemia  to  Sigismund,  King  of 
Poland,  142. 

Criminals,  how  dealt  with  in  England 
in  the  i6th  and  I7th  centuries,  248. 

Crusades,  Effect  of  the,  on  civilization, 
164 

Culm  captured  from  the  Hanseatic 
league  by  Casimir,  King  of  Poland, 
1 06. 

Curtain  Theatre,  The,  63. 

Cusarde,  Ralph  de  (citizen  of  Culm),  a 
merchant  of  the  Haunce,  in  London, 
93- 

DAHLMANN,    the    Danish    historian, 

182. 

Dal,  the  Fat,  194. 
Dale,   John    de,    a    merchant   of   the 

Haunce,  in  London,  93. 
Dale,  The  bailiwick  of,  in  Iceland,  177. 


258 


INDEX. 


Dantzic,  85,  129. 

Dark   Ages,   The,    inaccuracy   of   the 

term,  165. 
Davies,  John,  his  "Scourge  of  Folly" 

quoted,  51. 
Dealings,  Ihe,  of  the  Hanse  merchants, 

honourable  in  their  nature,  135. 
Decem  Rationes,  The  various  editions 

of  the,  32. 
Decline,  The,  of  the  Hanseatic  league, 

117 ;  its  cause,  120. 
Decretum,  The,  of  Gratian,  166. 
Deistic  writers  of  England,  The,  1 1 . 
Denevar,  Tudero  de,  a  merchant  of  the 

Haunce,  in  London,  93. 
D'Enghien,  The  Duke,  221-223. 
Denmark,  English  actors  at  the  Court 

of,  46. 
D'Erlach,  General,  The  memoir  of,  by 

M.  de  Gonzenbach,  219. 
Deuteronicene  Council,  The  decrees  of 

the,  condemned,  156. 
Deveroxals  Woodson,  Nicholas,  priest, 

executed,  24. 
Disabilities  of  Catholics,  in  respect  of 

property,  36 ;  removed,  37. 
Disputes  between   English   merchants 
and    the    Hanseatic    league,    102  ; 
arrest  of  foreign  merchants  at  Bos- 
ton, 103,  105  ;   conference  as  to,  at 
Antwerp,  112;  as  to  trade  in  woollen 
cloths,  113,  124. 
Ditmarsh,  one  of  the  three  original  cities 

of  the  Hanseatic  league,  89. 
Dream,  The,  of  Rurick,   188 ;  of  Ivar 

Vidfame,  190. 
Dresden,   English  actors  at,  in   1601, 

66. 
Drontheim  anciently  called    Nidaros, 

179. 
Drury  Lane,  The  condition  of  in  the 

1 7th  century,  226. 

Domestic  Everyday  Life,  Manners,  and 

Customs,  during  the  sixteenth  and 

seventeenth    centuries,    a   paper   by 

Dr.  G.  Harris,  F.S.A.,  224—253. 

Donations,  The,  of  Pepin,  Charlemagne, 

and  Louis  I.,  160. 

Dorestadt,  Christian  conveits  at,  209. 
Dort,  a  comptoir  of  the  Hanseatic  league, 

120. 

Dubravius,  Bishop  of  Olmiitz,  The  life 
and  writings  of,  a  paper  by  the  Rev. 
A.  H.  Wratislaw,  M.A.,  137 — 151  ; 
his  birth,  137  ;  studied  at  Vienna  and 
Padua,  138;  canon  and  archdeacon 
of  Olmiitz,  138 ;  ambassador  to  the 
of  Milan,  139  ;  to  the  King  of 


Poland,  140  ;  commanded  the  regi- 
ment of  the  Bishop  of  Olmiitz,  141  ; 
elected  Bishop  of  Olmiitz,  141  ;  ac- 
companied the  Princess  Elizabeth  to 
Cracow,  142  ;  his  conference  with  the 
Utraquists,  143  ;  his  toleration  to- 
wards heretics,  146  ;  his  death,  146  ; 
his  numerous  literary  works,  a  list 
of,  147 — 151  ;  his  character,  151. 

"Duchess  of  Malfy,"  Double  cast  of 
the  play  of,  51. 

Duties,  import  and  export,  imposed  by 
England,  119,  124. 

EASTERLINGS,  The,  89,  94  ;  obstruct 
English  merchants,  96  ;  a  petition 
against,  104;  statute  against  the 
customs  of,  107. 

Ebbo,  Archbishop  of  Rheims,  203. 
Ecclesiastical  and  civil  authority,  The, 
relations  between,  153;  were  indefi- 
nite, 154,  159;  under  Charlemagne, 
158  ;  under  Otho   the   Great,    160  ; 
under  Henry  IV.,   162;    settlement 
of,  by  the  Concordat  of  Worms,  162 ; 
in  modern  times,  172. 
Edda,  The,  176,  196. 
Edward  I.  of  England,  his  charter  to 
the  merchants  of  the  Teutonic  Gild- 
hall,  92. 

Effeminacy,  The,  of  German  and  Slavo- 
nic races,  when  compared  with  Scan- 
dinavians, 195. 

Eginhardt's,  annals,  176,  196,  200. 
Ehm,  Colonel,  A  banquet  given  by,  at 

Pontarslier,  219. 
Elbing,  English  merchants  allowed  to 

reside  at,  126. 
Elder  Edda,  The,  written  by  Saemund, 

1 80. 

Elementary  Code  Act,  1870,  The,  com- 
pared with  the  Trivium  and  Quad- 
rivium,  165. 

Elderton,  William,  master  of  the  West- 
minster boys,  45. 

Elizabeth  s,  Princess,  company  of  actors, 
6l,  63  ;  Lady  Elizabeth's,  or  united 
company,  62,  64,  67-69. 
Elizabeth,  Queen  of  England,  The  per- 
secution for  religion  under,  21-43  J 
proposed  the  secret  assassination  of 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  27  ;  personal 
motive  of,  for  the  persecution  of  Tre- 
gian,  28 ;  Shakespeare  and  others 
acted  before,  49 ;  her  disputes  with 
the  Hanseatic  league,  124  ;  her  expe- 
dition to  avenge  the  Armada,  125  ; 
expelled  the  Hanse  merchants,  128. 


INDEX. 


259 


Enfield,  The  scarcity  of  houses  at,  243. 

England,  The  study  of  history  has  been 
neglected  in,  2,  8  ;  only  now  com- 
mencing, 1 8. 

English  actors  in  Denmark,  46 ;  Saxony, 
46,  66  ;  at  Memmingen,  66  ;  at  Dres- 
den, 66  ;  at  Ulm,  66. 

English  historical  writers — Bolingbroke, 
6 ;  Robertson,  Hume,  Gibbon,  and 
Hallam,  8  ;  recent  authors,  18  ;  effect 
of  their  writings,  1 8. 

Eric,  King  of  Denmark,  208. 

Eric,  the  Helsinger,  194. 

Erigena,  John  Scot,  159,  169. 

Errors,  The,  of  Mr.  Collier,  in  his  works 
on  the  stage,  47,  52,  54,  55,  59,  61, 
67. 

Essayists  and  Reviewers,  18. 

Evelyn,  John,  Esq.,  privileged  to  dig 
for  saltpetre,  131. 

Executions,  the,  number  of,  for  religion, 
in  Elizabeth's  reign,  26,  35. 

Eyases,  the,  boy  actors,  60. 

FACTORIES  of  the  league,  The  chief,  86, 

98,  107,  in. 
Factories,  The  English,  on  the  Baltic 

coast,  83. 
Facts  are  treated  by  English  historians 

from  a  sectarian  point  of  view,  9,  16, 

"  Fair  Em,"  The  play  of,  46. 

Famine  in  Brunswick,  The,  caused  by 
the  enmity  of  the  Hanseatic  league, 
101. 

Farm  Houses,  The,  were  fortified  in  the 
i6th  century,  243. 

Farrant,  Richard,  Master  of  the  Windsor 
Boys,  45. 

Fees,  The,  exacted  from  prisoners  at 
York  and  Hull,  26. 

Fellows  of  colleges,  the,  at  Oxford  were 
opposed  to  the  change  of  religion,  31, 
42. 

Fen  Eagles,  The,  in  Norfolk,  244. 

Ferdinand,  Archduke  of  Austria, 
crowned  king  of  Bohemia,  140;  applied 
to  Dubravius  for  money,  142. 

Fichte,  Johann  Gottlieb,  16 

Filioque,  The,  in  the  creed,  owes  accept- 
ance to  Charlemagne,  156. 

Fines  for  recusancy,  22,  24 ;  the  effect 
of,  36- 

Fish-ponds  and  fish-culture,  a  work  on, 
by  Dubravius,  149  ;  translated  into 
English,  150  ;  quoted  by  Isaak 
Walton  and  Mr.  Buckland,  135. 

Flateyiar  Annall,  The,  180, 


Fleay,  Mr.  F.  G.,  a  paper  by, on  actors' 
lists,  1578-1642,  44-81  ;  the  Shake- 
speare manual  by,  44;  edition  of 
King  John  by,  46. 

Fleetwood.  Mr. ,  Recorder,  30. 

Flemings,  The,  banished  from  England, 

112. 

Fletcher,  Lawrence,  a  shareholder  of  the 
Globe,  comedian  to  his  Majesty,  57. 

Flying  Coach,  The,  240. 

Food,  The,  in  use  in  the  i6th  century, 
237. 

Formby,  Mr.,  a  convert  to  Catholicism, 
153- 

Fortune  Theatre,  The,  60;  burnt  in  1621, 
69. 

Francis  II.  resigned  the  title  of  Roman 
Emperor,  167. 

Franco-Roman  empire,  The,  was  im- 
-  possible,  if  history  had  been  rightly 
studied,  9,  10. 

Frankfort,  The  council  of,  156. 

Freiburg,  The  fortress  of, — surrendered 
to  France,  221  ;  captured  by  the  Im- 
perialists, 221 ;  victory  of  the  French 
near,  223. 

French  historical  writers,  Montesquieu, 
Voltaire,  and  Rousseau,  8  ;  Thiers, 
9;  Guizot,  10  ;  defects  of,  9 — -n. 

Fresh  meat  seldom  eaten  in  England 
in  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.,  244. 

Frideburg,  or  Fretheburg,  a  Swedish 
Christian  convert  and  confessor,  207. 

Fugger,  Antonius,  149. 

GARDARIKI,  the  kingdom  of,  189. 

Gascons,  The,  subjects  of  England, 
seize  a  ship  of  Stettin,  102. 

Gauzbert,  or  Simeon,  Bishop,  204,  205, 
209. 

Genealogical  table,  The,  of  early  Kings 
of  Sweden.  215. 

General  history,  The  study  of,  is 
neglected  in  England,  2,  7,  8;  but 
is  encouraged  abroad,  2. 

Germany,  The  geographical  position  of, 
furthered  the  study  of  history,  14. 

German  language,  The,  affected  by  the 
Reformation,  12;  versions  of  Shake- 
speare's plays  in  the,  47. 

historical  writers,  the  method 

of,  5,  12,  14,  15,  i6j  names  of 
standard  writers  of  the  present  cen- 
tury, 17 ;  surpass  the  French  in 
activity,  II. 

and  Slavonic  races,  the  effemi- 
nacy of,  compared  with  Scandina- 
vians, 195. 


260 


INDEX. 


Gildhalda  Tutonicorum,   The,  83,  88, 

IOO,    112,    134. 

Giles,    Thomas,    master  of  the  Paul's 

Boys,  45. 
Globe  Theatre,  The,  71  ;  shareholders 

of,  57- 

Godfred    The  sons  of,  200. 
Golden  Bull,  The,  163. 
Gotteschalcus, — raised     the     Predesti- 

narian  controversy,  1 59  ;  the  fatalism 

of,  169. 

Gratian,  The  Decretum  of,   166. 
Gianmar,  King,  182. 
Green's  History  of  the  English  people, 

an  inaccurate  statement  in,  38 
Greene,  Robt,  the  poet  of  the  Queen's 

company,  46. 
Gregory  VII.,  Pope. — Penance  of  the 

Emperor,    Henry    VII.,     162;     his 

claims,  170,  171. 
Gudrod  the  Magnificent,  198. 
Guebriant,    General,    218,     219,    22O, 

221 

Guiche,  Marshal  de,  222. 
Guildhall,  the,  of  the  Haunce  merchants, 

in  Thames-street,  100 
Guizot,    his    History    of  the    English 

Revolution,  10. 
Gunpowder  and  naval  stores  sold  only 

by  the  German  Steelyard  merchants  in 
1568,  122. 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  king  of  Sweden, 

216,  217,  218. 
Gustavus  Erickson,  King    of  Sweden, 

alliance  of,  with   the    Hanse  towns, 
116. 

HADRIAN,  the  social  reforms  of,  152. 
Hakon,  King  of  Norway,  177. 
Halfdane,  the  son  of  Harald,  a  pirate, 

198. 
HallofSidu,  179; — Thorarinson,  179; 

— of  Haukadal,  179. 
Hallam,  Mr.,  An  inaccurate  statement 

of,  37- 

Halliwell,  Mr.,  Illustrations,  47,  48,  49, 
53  ;  Dictionary  of  old  English  plays, 
64. 

Hamburg,  85;  one  of  the  original  cities 
of  the  Hanseatic  league,  89 ;  the 
trade  of,  with  Denmark  and  Norway, 
115  ;  its  commerce,  117  ;  English 
merchants  expelled  from,  124  ;  arch 
bishopric  created  at,  203;  the  capture 
and  burning  of,  by  pirates,  204;  the 
see  of,  united  to  that  of  Bremen,  208. 

Hamburdge,  Bartram  of,  a  merchant  o: 
the  Haunce,  in  London,  93, 


Hameln,  one  of  the  three  original  cities 

of  the  Hanseatic  league,  89. 
Samlet's  madness  explained,  63. 
Hance,  or  Haunce,  Everard,  priest,  30; 

the  barbarity  of  his  execution,  30. 
Hanseatic  confederacy,  The, — was 
monastic  in  its  character,  83,  84,  92; 
its  rise,  86;  its  cause,  87;  conditions  of 
membership  of,  87;  formal  establish- 
ment of,  89;  limited  at  first  to  three 
cities,  89;  settlement  of,  in  Norway, 
91;  in  England,  92;  blockaded  the 
Norwegian  ports,  93;  its  internal con- 
'  ?titution,94;  rights  and  obligations  of 
its  members,  94;  war  with  Denmark, 
96;  its  domain,  97,  no;  war  with  the 
city  of  Brunswick,  101 ;  with  Queen 
Margaret  of  Denmark,  101;  14  towns 
cut  off  from,  115;  assists  Gustavus 
Vasa,  1 1 6;  sold  Denmark  to  England, 
116;  defeated  by  Danes  and  Swedes, 
117  ;  decline  of  its  privileges  and 
power ,117,119,123;  its  commerce  in 
1600,  128  ;  expelled  from  England, 
128;  an  attempted  resuscitation  of, 
129;  alliance  with  the  Dutch,  131 ; 
its  dissolution,  133  ;  its  historical 
importance,  134;  subsidized  English 
kings,  134;  was  an  organized  attempt 
to  monopolize  trade,  135. 
Hanseatic  league,  An  outline  history  of 
the,  more  particularly  in  its  bearings 
upon  English  commerce,  a  paper  by 
Mr.  Cornelius  Walford,  82—136. 
Hanshus,  The, — at  Beverley,  84  ;  at 

York,  85. 

Harald  Blaatand,  King,  176,  193. 
Harald  Fairhair,  King,  178,  180,  182. 
Harald  Hildetand,  King,  185,  187, 191, 

192.  195. 
Harald   Huitbein,    King  of   Westfold, 

198. 

Harald  Sigurdson,  179. 
Haroun-al-Raschid,     the   Caliph,  con- 
ceded   privileges    to     Charlemagne, 
156. 

Harris,  Dr.  G.,  a  paper  by,  on  domes- 
tic every-day  life,  manners,  and  cus- 
toms in  this  country  during  the  six- 
teenth   and     seventeenth     centuries 
(partV.)  224—253. 
Hart,  William,  of  Lincoln  College,  Ox- 
ford, priest,  executed,  34. 
Haukadal,  Hall  of,  179, 
Hawking,  The  sport  of,  229. 
Heidelberg,  The  University  of,  6. 
Heimskringla,  The,  177,  181,  182,  184, 
186,  197,  198. 


INDEX. 


261 


Helgius,  the  ruler  of  Jutland  with 
Ruric,  186  ;  the  murder  of,  189. 

Henrietta's,  Queen,  men,  64,  67,  68. 

Henry  IV.,  The  Emperor,  his  pen- 
ance, 162. 

Henry  III.  of  England,  his  charter  to 
the  Steelyard  merchants,  88  ;  to  the 
Cologne  merchants,  89. 

Henry's,  Prince,  company  of  actors, 
59,  68. 

Henlow's  Diary,  58,  59,  63,  67,  69. 

Herbert's,  Sir  H.,  office  book,   1622, 

59- 

Hercules'  Pillars,  The  tavern  called, 
238. 

Herder,  Johann  Gottfried,  founder  of 
Humanism,  1 6 ;  his  writings  on  ethno- 
logy, 1 6. 

Herigar,  or  Hergeir,  a  supporter  of  the 
Christians  in  Sweden,  202,  205,  206. 

Herring  Fishery,  The,  established  in 
Flanders,  103. 

Hervavar  Saga,  The,  192,  200,  202. 

Heywood,  Mr.  James,  A  Paper  by,  on 
the  transference  of  the  German 
Weimarian  army  to  the  Crown  of 
France  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
216 — 223. 

High  roads,  The,  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  239. 

History, — a  science,  3  ;  defined,  4  ;  its 
importance,  4 ;  its  treatment  by 
English,  French,  and  German  writers 
contrasted,  16  ;  its  greatest  enemies, 

19  ;  is  the  study  of  humanity,  17,  19, 

20  ;  its  great  practical  use,  18. 
Histriomastix,  The,  actors  in,  66. 
Hohenstaufens,  The  house  of  the,  163. 
Holland's    Leaguer,    list  of   actors   in 

(1631),  65. 
Holy  places,  The,  were  the  objects  of  the 

Crusades,  164. 
Holy  Roman  Empire, — meaning  of  the 

term,  154;  finally  passed  away,  167. 
Home-made  drinks,  The,  of  England, 

238- 
Honnis,  William,  master  of  the  chapel 

boys,  45. 

Hopton,  governor  of  the  Tower,  32. 
Horak,  John,  of  Milesovka,  his  agree- 
ment as  to  the  bishopric  of  Olmutz, 

141. 

Hordus,  the  God,  190. 
Howorth,  Mr.  H.  H.,  a  paper  by,  on 

the  Early  History  of  Sweden,   174- 

—215. 
Huam,  the  birthplace  of  Snorro  Sturle- 

son,  177. 


Huersu  Noregr  bygdest,  The,  192. 
Humanism  founded  by  Herder,  16. 
Humanity,  The  study  of,  19,  20. 
"Humorous  Lieutenant,"  the  play  of, 

its  date  fixed,  53. 
Hundondale,  Godestalke  of,  a  merchant 

of  the  Haunce,  in  London,  93. 
Huntingdon,  Lord,  advised  the  murder 

of  Catholics  in  prison,  27. 
"  Hyndluljod,"  The  poem  called,  192. 
Hythin  the  Graceful,  194. 

ICELAND,  The  first  bishop  in,  180. 

Icelandic  writers,  The, — Are-hin-Frode, 
178, 180  ;  Isleif,  Saemund-hin-Frode, 
Kolskegg,  Brand,  180. 

Imperialists,  The,  defeated  by  the 
Swedes.  217;  victory  of,  at  Nordlingen, 
218 

Ingiald  the  Ill-ruler,  184;  his  death,  185. 

Inglingatal,  The,  178. 

Inglings,  The,  178,  184,  198,  199,  200. 

Inns,  The,  in  England,  246. 

Inaugural  Address,  The,  by  Dr.  G.  G. 
Zerffi,  on  the  Science  of  History,  I. 

Inner  Temple  Masque,  The,  62. 

Insularity,  The,  of  Englishmen,  18. 

Insurance,  Marine,  not  referred  to  in  the 
code  of  the  Hanseatic  league.  126. 

International  Idea,  The,  compared  with 
the  national,  17. 

Inventory,  An,  of  the  goods  of  a  country 
squire,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I  ,  238. 

Investiture  of  Ecclesiastics  by  the  sceptre, 
163. 

Irons,  The  Rev.W.J.,  D.D.,  a  paper  by 
on  the  Reconstruction  of  the  Civiliza- 
tion of  the  West,  from  Charlemagne 
(transitio  imperil]  to  the  era  of  the 
Crusades  (and  Concordat,  1122),  152, 

173- 

Islandinga  bok,  The,  180. 

Islif,  179;  the   first  bishop  in  Iceland, 

1 80. 
Ivar,  Vidfame,  King,  181,  182,  185,  188; 

his  dream,  190;  the  death  of,  191. 

JAMES  I., the  adulation  of,in" Macbeth" 

explained,  52. 
Jena,  The  university  of,  19;  Schiller  one 

of  its  professors,  19. 
Jessopp,  the  Rev.  Dr.,  his  work,  "One 

Generation  of  a  Norfolk  House,"  33* 
John  XII.,  Pope,  deposed,  161. 
Judaism,  Theinfluenceof,onChristianity, 

152. 
Julin,  The  city  of,  destroyed  by  the  Danes, 

87. 


262 


INDEX. 


Jutland,  The  kingdom  of,  186. 

KANT,  Imnianuel, bis  method  cosmopo- 
litan, 16;  followed  by  Schilling,  Stahl, 
Hegel,  Humboldt,  Schlegel,  and  Ger- 
vinus,  16. 

Kempe,  Win.,  actor,  46,  55,  65,  66,  67. 

Kemper,  The  battle  of,  221. 

Kiny's-Beam,  The,  or  stiliard,  83.' 

King's  company  of  actors,  The,  55,  67. 

Kingsmill,  Sir  William,  his  speech  at 
the  execution  of  Slade,  34  ;  of  Body, 

35- 
"King  John,"  Mr.  Fleay's  edition  of, 

46. 

Kolmarker  Forest,  The,  194. 
Kolskegg,  The  works  of,  180. 
Konigsberg  founded,  85. 
Krafft,  Peter,  Bishop  of  Ratisbon,  148. 
Kremsier,  the  palace  of  the  Bishop  of 

Olmutz,  138 — 146. 
Krivoklat,  Jacob  Bitek  imprisoned  at, 

H5- 

Kunstat,  Lord  William  of,  ambassador 
of  the  King  of  Poland  to  the  court  of 
the  Duke  of  Milan,  139. 


LAND  in  England  only  half  cultivated 
in  1685,  243. 

Landnama  bok,  The,  1 80. 

Lane's  company  of  actors,  45. 

Lanfedgatal,  The  famous  table  called 
the,  176,  183,  192. 

Larded  Sara,  The,  an  instrument  of 
torture,  250. 

Lagmen,  The,  179. 

Laymen — executed  in  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  38  ;  in  the  North  opposed 
to  the  change  of  religion,  41. 

Lazar-houses,  The,  226- 

Lea,  Richard,  piiest,  executed,  24. 

Leicester,  The  Earl  of,  31,  32;  his 
company  of  actors,  45. 

Leipzig,  The  battle  of,  217. 

Lennox,  Duke  of,  players,  70. 

Leo  III.,  Pope,  crowned  Charlemagne, 
I5.4- 

Lessing,  Gotthold  Ephraim,  proclaimed 
the  doctrine  of  tolerance,  15. 

Lethra,  the  seat  of  government  of  the 
Scio'dunjjs,  184. 

Letters  from  Bishops  urging  measures 
against  Catholics,  38,  39. 

Library,  The,  of  Hamburgh  burnt,  204. 

Licence  to  make  saltpetre  and  gun- 
powder granted  to  the  Earl  of  Wor- 
cester for  21  years,  131. 


Lighting,  The,  of  the  streets  of  London 
in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  228. 

Line,  Anne,  flogged  and  hanged,  37. 

Liverpool,  The  town  of,  233. 

Lombards,  The,  subdued  by  Charle- 
magne, 155  ;  History  of  the,  176, 
196. 

London,  The  progress  of,  in  the  i6th 
and  1 7th  centuries,  226  ;  Disorders 
in  the  streets  of,  228  ;  Lighting  of 
its  streets,  228. 

"London  Lickpenny,"  The  ballad  called 
the,  225. 

Longueville,  The  Duke  of,  220,  221. 

Louis,  The  Emperor,  founded  the  see  of 
Hamburg,  203. 

Louis  the  Pious  succeeded  Charlemagne, 
158. 

Lubeck,  The  city  of,  erected,  85;  the 
chief  city  of  the  league,  86;  its  pro- 
gress, 87;  burnt  by  Danes,  114;  de- 
cline of,  129;  a  treaty  negotiated  at, 
216. 

Lund,  Absalon  Archbishop  of,  174. 

Lutzen,  The  battle  of,  218. 

Lydgate,  John,  A  ballad  by,  225. 

Lynn,  Three  ships  of,  sent  to  assist 
Denmark,  101;  a  depot  of  the  Han- 
seatic  league,  in,  136. 


MAGNUS,  King  of  Sweden,  deposed  by 

the  Hanseatic  league,  96. 
Mahometanism,  Effect  of  the  inroads  of, 

1 66. 
Managers,  The,  of  the  Queen's  company 

of  actors,  47. 
Managers,  The,  of  Actors'    companies 

summoned  before  the  Privy  Council, 

63- 

Marbod,  Gerard,  alderman  of  the  Haunce, 

93- 

Marburg,  The  university  of,  14. 

Margaret,  Queen  of  Denmark,  the  con- 
flict of,  with  the  Hanseatic  league,  101 . 

Martinmas  beef,  244. 

Mary,  Queen  of  England,  her  State 
entry  into  London,  30. 

Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  The  proposed 
assassination  of,  in  prison,  27. 

Master  of  the  Sentences,  The,  169. 

Masque,  The,  of  the  Inns  of  Court,  in 
1633,  232. 

May-day,  The  festival  of,  230. 

May-pole,  The,  in  Cornhill,  231. 

Mayence,  the  city  of,  the  centre  of  an 
association  of  towns  of  Friesland  and 
Holland,  92. 


INDEX, 


263 


Mayne,  Cuthbert,  27,  his  indictment, 
28  ;  Statutory  treason  only  alleged 
-against  him,  29,  35. 

Mazarin,  Cardinal,  221. 

Memmingen,  English  actors  at,  in  1600, 
66. 

Mercatores  Alemannise,  A  grant  to,  96. 

Merchant  Adventurers,  The  English 
company  of,  112,  113,  117,  122,  125, 
126. 

Merchant  Fleets  in  the  Baltic,  early 
notice  of,  201. 

Mercy,  General,  221,  222. 

"Messalina,"  The  cast  of  parts  in,  65. 

Metaphysicians  are  the  enemies  of  his- 
tory, 19. 

Ministers  of  the  State  Church  received 
recusants'  fines,  40. 

Miracle,  The,  attributed  to  Ardgar,  the 
anchorite,  205. 

Misrule,  The  Lord  of,  230. 

Missionaries,  The,  from  Britain — Co- 
lumban,  Boniface,  Alcuin,  Erigena, 

159- 

Modern  English  historical  writers,  1 8  ; 
have  effected  a  change  in  the  spirit 
of  historical  inquiry,  18  ;  their  names, 
1 8. 

Modern  German  historical  writers,  The 
number  of,  17  ;  the  names  of,  17. 

Mohars,  The  battle  of,  and  death  of 
King  Louis  of  Bohemia,  140. 

Monastic  Orders, — the  influence  of,  on 
education,  154,  168  ;  their  great  ser- 
vices to  literature,  165,  168;  supported 
the  Papacy,  161  ;  were  the  fathers  of 
free  thought,  169. 

Montesquieu,  constructive  in  method,  8. 

Morris,  Rev.  J.,  his  works  quoted,  26, 
27,  39—41. 

Moss-troopers,  The,  242. 

Motive,  The,  of  the  Elizabethan  per- 
secution, 40. 

Muhlberg,  Victory  at,  144. 

Mulcaster,  Richard,  master  of  the  mer- 
chant taylors'  boys,  45. 

Midler,  The  "Saga  Bibliothek"  of, 
182. 

Munday,  Anthony,  ballad  writer,  66. 

Munster,  The  peace  of  Westphalia  signed 
at,  223. 

Muscovy,  The  Grand  Duke  of,  destroys 
Novgorod,  a  factory  of  the  Hanseatic 
league,  107. 


NAMES  of  Actors,  The  various  spelling 
of,  70  ;  tables  of,  72 — 81. 


Narrative,  The,  of  the  transference  of 
the  German  Weimarian  army  to  the 
Crown  of  France  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  a  paper  by  Mr.  James  Hey- 
wood,  F.R.S.,  F.S.A.,  216-223. 

Nassau,  The  Count  of,  220. 

Nelson.  John,  priest,  executed,  29. 

News-letters,  The,  245. 

New  Shakespeare  Society,  The  trans- 
actions of,  49,  58,  59,  62,  63. 

Nicholas,  Pope,  unites  the  sees  of  Ham- 
burg and  Bremen,  208. 

Nidaros  or  Drontheim,  179. 

Nordlingen,  The  battle  of,  218. 

Norse  Kings,  The,  a  sacred  caste,  184. 

Norse  literature,  The  authority  of,  183. 

Norsemen,  The,  were  traders,  179,  201, 

211. 

Northumbria,  The  date  of  the  conquest 
of,  by  Norsemen,  181. 

Norwich,  The  town  of,  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  233. 

Novgorod  (on  the  Ilmen\  a  factory  of 
the  Hanseatic  league,  86,  99 ;  de- 
stroyed by  the  Grand  Duke  of  Mus- 
covy, 107. 

Nuremberg,  Torture  chamber  at,  249. 

OCTAVIAN,  the  Consul,  made  himself 

Pope,  160. 

Olaf,  the  Tree-feller,  185. 
Olaf  the  Saint,  King,  was  a  trader,  179. 
Opinion,  faith,  knowledge,  The  distinc- 
tion between,  laid  down  by  Kant, 

16. 
Oppenheim,  A  general  assembly  of  the 

league  of  the  Rhine  held  at,  90. 
Orm,  the  Englishman,  194, 
Otho,  the  Great,  160,  161. 
Ottacar,     King    of    Bohemia,    founds 

Konigsberg,  85. 
Oxford  University,  in  Queen  Elizabeth's 

time,  was  opposed  to  the  change  in 

religion,  31,  42. 

PAGEANTS  in  the  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth centuries,  232. 

Palsgrave's,  The,  company  of  actors,  57. 

Papal  decrees  and  synods  from  the 
time  of  Pope  Siricius,  The  impor- 
tance of,  157. 

Pardubitz,  in  Bohemia,  The  fish-ponds 
at,  148. 

Parker,  Archbishop,  his  consecration 
canvassed  at  Oxford,  31  ;  letter  of, 

•2Q. 

Patent  Rolls,  A  grant  to  German  mer- 
chants, entered  on  the,  96. 


264 


INDEX. 


Patents,  Theatrical,  52,  62. 

Paul  the  Deacon,  History  of  the 
Lombards  by,  176. 

Paul's  children,  54,  61. 

Paulet,  Sir  Amias,  refused  to  assassi- 
nate Mary  Queen  of  Scots  in  prison, 
27. 

"  Peine  fort  et  dure,"  The,  250. 

Pembroke's  company  of  actors,  59. 

Penal  laws,  13  ;  against  Catholics,  21, 
24 ;  number  of  sufferers  under,  26, 
35  ;  include  poor  people,  24,  36. 

Pepin,  King  of  the  Franks,  155 ; 
donation  of,  160. 

Perpetual  Edict,  The,  152. 

Persecution,  The,  under  Elizabeth ;  a 
paper,  by  Mr.  John  H.  Chapman, 
21—43. 

Petitions,  against  foreigners,  of  the 
citizens  of  London,  100 ;  of  the 
Commons  in  Parliament,  104 ;  of 
merchants,  104. 

Phoenix  Theatre,  The,  64,  69. 

Phocas  the  Emperor,  157. 

Photian  Schism,  The,  158. 

Picards,  The,  or  Bohemian  brethren, 
144. 

Pillen,  or  Apulia,  The  siege  of,  213. 

Pilsen,   The  birthplace  of  Dubravius, 

137. 

Pirates,  The  Norse,  201. 

Plague,   Effect  of   the,  on  the  Stage, 

45.  52. 

Plough-Monday,  Old  customs  on,  230. 
Plymouth,  The  town  of,  in  1607,  233. 
Political  power,  The,  of  the  Hanseatic 

League,  95,  102,  134. 
Pomerania,  Military  operations  of  the 

Swedes  in,  217. 
Pontarslier,  A  banquet  at,  to  the  Duke 

of  Weimar,  219. 
Popes,  The  election  of,  by  the  College 

of  Cardinals,  162. 
Post,  The  establishment  of  a  regular, 

244. 

Praemunire,  The  effect  of,  22. 
Predestinarian  controversy,  The,  159. 
Press  Yard,  The,  in  Newgate,  250. 
Prince  Electors  of  the  Empire,  The, 

163. 
Privileges  granted  to  foreign  merchants 

in  England,  88,  89,  92,  96,  100,  101, 

104,  105,  106,  113. 
Protective  legislation  as  to  importation 

of  corn,  Early  instance  of,  107. 
Pufendorf,     Samuel,     established    the 

first   special   chair   for   the   study  of 

History,  6  ;  founder  of  Sociology,  6. 


QUEEN  ANNE'smen,The,  63,64,67,69. 
Queen's   players,   The,   45,  48,  49,  63, 
64,  70. 

RABANUS,  the  monk,  succeeded  Alcuin, 
169. 

Radbard,  King  of  Gardariki,  189. 

Ragnar  Lodbrog,  King,  182,  197,  2O2. 

Randver,  the  son  of  Radbard,  193. 

Ratisbon,  Torture  chamber  at,  249. 

Raumariki,  The  kingdom  of,  196. 

Reconstruction,  The,  of  the  civilization 
of  the  West,  from  Charlemagne  (tran- 
sitio  imperii)  to  the  era  of  the  Cru- 
sades (and  Concordat,  1122),  a  paper 
by  the  Rev.  W.  J.  Irons,  D.D.  152- 

173- 

Recusants,  The  number  of,  24,  42. 

Red  Bull,  The  theatre  at  the,  64. 

Reidgothia,  188,  189. 

Reformation,  The,  in  Germany,  an  in- 
tellectual movement,  12 ;  its  effect 
on  the  German  language,  12  ;  gave 
an  impulse  to  the  study  of  history, 
13  ;  in  England  a  political  move- 
ment, 13. 

Rembert,  St.,  The  narrative  of,  200, 
203,  207,  208,  211,  212;  a  miracle 
narrated  by,  205. 

Revels  at  Court,  The  accounts  of,  45, 
50,  60-62. 

Revels,  The  children  of  the,  55,  56,  61. 

Revolution,  The,  in  France,  due  to 
aristocrats,  bureaucrats,  and  bigots, 
8  ;  displayed  ignorance  of  history,  9. 

Rheims,  Ebbo,  Archbishop  of,  203. 

Rheinfelden,  The,  town  of,  taken  by  the 
Duke  of  Weimar,  218  ;  surrendered 
to  France,  221. 

Rhine,  The  league  of  the,  90. 

Richelieu,  Cardinal,  2i6j  his  character, 
described  by  himself,  219;  his  death, 

221. 

Riga  founded,  85. 

Robsart,  Amy,  The  funeral  of,  31. 

Rodolph  II.,  The  Emperor,  remon- 
strates with  Queen  Elizabeth  on 
behalf  of  the  Hanseatic  league,  123  ; 
special  envoy  sent  to,  126. 

Roman  Emperor,  The  title  of,  finally 
resigned  by  Francis  II.,  of  Austria, 
167. 

Roman  law,  The  influence  of,  152,  162, 
1 68. 

Rome  the  natural  centre  of  Christianity, 
152. 

Rosen,  General,  220,  221. 

Rousseau  Socialistic  in  method,  8. 


INDEX. 


265 


Royal  Historical  Society,  The  progress 

of  the,  i. 
Rurick,    King    of   Jutland,    186 ;    his 

dream,  188. 
Ryswick,  The,  treaty  of,  223. 

SAEMUND-HIN-FRODE,  The  works  of, 

1 80. 
Sacrifices  for  all  Viken   held  at  Skir- 

ingsal,  198. 
St.   Giles-in-the-Fields    separate    from 

London,  226. 
St.  Martin's  Lane,  The  condition  of,  in 

the  seventeenth  century,  226. 
St.  Quentin,    Dudo  de,  The  works  of, 

176. 
Sagas,  The,  are  of  two    classes,   174  ; 

their  authority,  184. 
Salisbury  Court  players,  The,  65. 
Salt,  The  trade  in,   was  a  monopoly  of 

the  Hanseatic  league,  99. 
Saltpetre  men,  The,  127,  131. 
Salzburg,  Torture  chamber  at,  249. 
Sandys,     Archbishop,  —  a    persecutor, 

40  ;  scandalous  transaction  of,  40. 
Saxo   Grammaticus, — his  birth,      174  ; 

the   authority   of  his   writings,   175  ; 

the  manifest  errors  of,  176,  177,   192, 

193,  196,  198,  199. 
Saxony,  English  actors  in,  46,  66. 
Saxony,    Frederick   of,  his   victory   at 

Miihlberg,  144. 
Scalds,  The,  175,  178,  202. 
Scania  separated  from  Denmark,  197. 
Schiller,    Frederick,    1 8 ;    professor    of 

history   at   the    University   of  Jena, 

19  ;  showed  the  usefulness  of  history, 

19  ;  its  chief  opponents,  19. 
Schleswig,   The  first    church  in  Den- 
mark built  at,  209. 
Schools,  The  influence  of,  in  the  West, 

*54>      J55>     165  ;      reorganized    by 

Alcuin,  158. 

School  of  the  Palace,  The,  159,  169. 
Schonen,  The  province  of,  granted  by 

Waldemar    III.    to     the    Hanseatic 

league,  96. 

Scioldung  Saga,  The,  175. 
Scioldungs,  The,  184,  199. 
Scotland  visited  by  Shakespeare  in 

1601,  57. 
Seguin,  Mr.,  the  work  of,  on  the  Black 

Forest,  223. 

Seeburg,  The  site  of  the  town  of,  213. 
"  Seven  Deadly  Sins,"  The  cast  of  the 

play  of,  49. 
Sforza,    Francesco,    Duke    of    Milan, 

139- 


Shakespeare,  William, — 45  ;  probably 
visited  Denmark  and  Saxony  with 
Strange's  company,  46 ;  his  plays 
acted  in  Germany,  47  ;  acted  before 
Queen  Elizabeth,  49  ;  date  of  his  re- 
tirement, 50 ;  satirized .  by  Jonson, 
50  ;  chief  actor,  5 1  ;  probably  visited 
Scotland,  57  ;  the  proper  method  of 
spelling  his  name,  71. 

Shakespeare  Manual,  The,  by  Mr. 
Fleay,  44. 

Sherwood,  Thomas, — suspected  of  being 
a  Catholic,  and  arrested,  29 ;  barbar- 
ously executed,  29. 

Shoreditch  Theatre,  The,  48,  71. 

Shoreditch  players,  The  supposed  list  of, 
48. 

Sidu,  Hall  of,  179. 

Sigismund,  King  of  Poland,  his  letter 
to  Elizabeth,  admitting  the  English 
merchant  adventurers,  126. 

Sigurd  Ring,  King,  182,  193,  196. 

Simpson,  Richard,  his  works  quoted, 
31,  32,  46,  66. 

Skala,  a  name  of  Dubravius,  139. 

Skiringsal,  Sacrifices  held  at,  198. 

Slade,  John,  schoolmaster,  and  John 
Body,  M.A.,  The  trial  and  execution 
of,  reported  in  a  rare  tract,  by  R.  S., 
from  Winchester,  34. 

Slaughter,  The  Great,  at  the  Battle  of 
Freiburg,  223. 

Snorro  Sturleson,  174  ;  his  birth,  177  ; 
the  authority  of  his  works,  181,  185. 

Sociology  founded  by  Pufendorf,  6. 

Sogubrot,  A  Saga  called  the,  175  ;  its 
date,  182  ;  the  story  of  Audr,  the 
daughter  of  Ivar,  186;  the  Fight  at 
Bravalla,  193  ;  Sigurd  Ring,  196. 

Soliman,  Sultan,  invades  Hungary,  140. 

Sound,  The,  vessels  passing,  paid  tolls, 

96,   120 — 130. 

Specialists  and  generalizers,  17. 

Spelling  of  Actors'  names,  The  uncer- 
tainty of  the,  70. 

Speratus,  Paulus,  a  teacher  of  Lutheran- 
ism  in  Moravia,  139;  condemned  as 
a  heretic,  139. 

Spies,  The,  of  Queen  Elizabeth's 
Government  in  Foreign  countries,  33. 

Staden,  English  merchants  excluded 
from,  128. 

Staple,  The  company  of  the,  122. 

Staple  Houses  of  the  Hanseatic  league, 
The,  91,  99- 

Starkadr,  the  Poet,  194. 

Static  and  dynamic  forces,  3  ;  conflict 
between,  produces  history,  4. 


266 


INDEX. 


Steelyard,  fThe, — merchants  of  the,  83; 
rules  of  "the,  84  ;  charter  granted  by 
Henry  III.  to,  88 ;  attacked  by  a 
London  mob,  112;  prohibited  from 
carrying  English  cloth,  113;  privileges 
withdrawn  by  Edward  VL,  119  ;  re- 
granted  and  again  revoked  by  Mary, 
122  ;  sellers  of  gunpowder  and  naval 
stores,  122  ;  expelled  from  England  in 
1597, 128;  the  discipline  and  internal 
government  of,  135  ;  oath  of  installa- 
tion of,  135. 

Sterling,  Origin  of  the  term,  89. 

Stettin,  The  gates  of,  opened  to  the 
Swedes,  217. 

Stolen  Goods,  The  receivers  of,  at 
Cornhill,  225. 

Storm,  The  on  the  voyage  of  James 
I.  to  Denmark,  supposed  to  be 
caused  by  witchcraft,  252. 

Stralsund,  The  siege  of,  216. 

Strange's  company  of  actors,  46,  48,  49, 
67—70. 

Strand,  The,  in  1657,  226. 

Submission,  The  form  of,  for  a  recu- 
sant, 24. 

Sueno  Aggeson,  The  works  of,  I77> 
184. 

Suhm,  The  chronologies  of,  175,  182. 

Sussex',  Earl  of,  company  of  actors,  46, 
70. 

Sweden,  The  early  history  of,  a  paper 
by  Mr.  H.  H.  Howorth,  F.S.A., 
174—215. 

Swedes,  The,— desire  instruction  in  the 
Christian  faith,  201  ;  a  second  mis- 
sion to,  204  ;  popular  outbreak  of, 
against  Christianity,  205. 

Synods  of  Bishops  summoned  by  the 
civil  power,  156. 

TABLES  of  Actors — names,  plays,  cha- 
racters sustained,  dates,  &c.,  72-81. 

Tagus,  The  capture  of  fly-boats  in  the, 
125. 

Tarleton,  Richard,  comedian,  46. 

Taylor,  John,  master  of  the  Westminster 
boys,  45. 

Telemarken,  Berserkers  from,  194. 

Terms,  The,  of  the  surrender  of  the 
Weimarian  army  to  France,  221. 

Teutonic  Hanse,  The,  distinct  from 
the  league,  115. 

Teutonic  knights,  The,  88,  102,  106. 

Theatres, — Blackfriars,  47 ;  Shoreditch, 
48,  71  ;  patent  granted  to  build  a 
theatre,  62  ;  The  Red  Bull,  64  ;  The 
Globe,  in  Bankside,  71 ;  The  Fortune. 


60,  69 ;  The  Cockpit,  65 ;  The  Phoe- 
nix, 69 ;  The  Curtain,  63 ;  The  Boar's 
Head,  63. 

Theodosius,  The  Emperor,  153. 

Theophano,  The  Princess,  mother  of 
Otho  III.,  161. 

Thiers,  M.,  his  works,  9. 

Thiodolf-hin-Frode,  the  composer  of 
the  Inglingatal,  178. 

Thompson, William,  priest,executed,24. 

Thorarinson,  Hall,  179. 

Thorgils,  the  son  of  Gellis,  178. 

Thurston,  Archbishop,  The  charter  of, 
to  the  Gild  of  St.  John  of  Beverley, 
84. 

Thurzo,"  Francis,  Bishop  of  Neutra, 
148. 

Thurzo,  Stanislas,  Bishop  of  Olmutz — • 
patron  of  Dubravius,  138;  entertained 
the  King  of  Poland,   138;  crowned' 
King   Louis   of  Bohemia,    139;   his 
death,  141. 

Tippet,  one,  a  student  of  Douai,  38  ; 
tortured  and  executed,  39. 

Traders,  The  German  (979),  were 
monks,  83. 

Traitors  in  law  are  not  always  traitors 
in  fact,  25,  35. 

Travelling  in  England  during  the  six- 
teenth and  seventeenth  centuries, 
239-242  ;  in  Scotland,  in  1688,  242. 

Treaty,  The,  at  Utrecht,  between 
England  and  the  Hanseatic  league, 
1 08. 

Tregian,  Francis,  27  ;  life  of,  by 
Plunquet,  28  ;  his  experience  at 
Court,  28  ;  and  persecution,  28. 

Trent,  The  Council  at,  143. 

Trivium  and  quadrivium,  The,  159, 
164. 

Trumpet,  The  Tavern  called  the,  238. 

Tolerance,  The  doctrine  of,  proclaimed 
by  Lessing,  15. 

Toll  levied  on  vessels  passing  the 
Sound,  96,  120 — 130. 

Tonnage  and  poundage  imposed  on  the 
Hanse  merchants,  107,  121,  122. 

Torfseus,  The  chronologies  of,  175. 

Torture  inflicted  upon  Catholic  pri- 
soners, 24,  33-39. 

Torture — used  in  England  up  to  1640  ; 
abolished  in  Scotland  in  1708,  248  ; 
in  France  in  1789;  Russia,  1801  ; 
Bavaria,  249. 

Turenne,  Marshal,  221,  222. 

Turholt,  in  Flanders,  The  monastery  of, 
attached  to  the  See  of  Hamburg, 
203  ;  given  to  Reginar,  208. 


INDEX. 


267 


Twiss,  Sir  Travers,  On  the  Hanseatic 
league,  92. 

UBBO,  The  Fresian,  194. 

Ujezd,    The   village   of,   given   up   by 

Dubravius  to  King  Ferdinand,  145. 
Ulm,  English  Actors  at,  in  1602,  66. 
Unitas   fratrum,  The,  144,  145. 
Upsala,  The  seat  of  government  of  the 

Inglings,  184  ;  Eric  of,  210. 
Utraquists,  The,  138,  143,  150. 
Utrecht,  A  Diet  held  at,  105  ;  treaty 

made  at,  108. 

VASA,   GUSTAVUS,   King  of  Sweden, 

assisted  by  the  League,  116. 
Vegetables,   The,  in  use  in   the    i6th 

century,  237. 
Veni  Creator,  The,  owed  by  the  West 

to  Charlemagne,  156. 
Vico,  Giovanni  Battista,  his  method,  6. 
Vitaliens,  The,  defeated  by  the  Hanse 

towns,  loo. 
Voltaire,  destructive  in  method,  8. 

WALDEMAR,   King  of    Denmark,  his 

war  with  the   League,    96  ;    sacked 

Wisby,  99. 
Waleys,    Henry,    Lord     Mayor ;     his 

controversy  with  the  Hanse  merchants 

in  London,  93. 
Walford,  Mr.   Cornelius,  A  paper  by, 

on   the    History    of    the    Hanseatic 

League,    more     particularly    in    its 

bearings    upon    English   commerce, 

82—136. 

Wallenstein,  The  title  of,  216. 
Walpole,  Henry,  student  of  Gray's  Inn, 

33  ;  executed  at  York,  34. 
"  Wandering   Lovers,"   The    play   of, 

identical  with  "Love's  Pilgrimage," 

63- 

Wansum,  The  river,  233. 

Ward,  Margaret,  hanged  at  Tyburn,  37. 

Warwick's,  Earl  of,  company  of  actors, 

45- 

Weigh-house  Yard,  83. 
Weights  and  measures,  The  regularity 

of,  provided  for  in  the  rules  of  the 

Hanse  merchants,  136. 
Weimar,  Bernard,  Duke  of,  2 1 8,  219  ; 

his  death  and  will,  220. 
Wends,  The  arms  of  the,  194. 
Westcott,    Sebastian,    master    of    the 

Paul's  boys,  45. 
Westminster  Gate,  A  public  dinner  at, 

225. 
Westphalia,  The  treaty  of,  contains  the 


last  mention  of  the  Hanseatic  league, 

!33  >  signed  at  Munster,  223. 
Whipping  for  religion,  24,  25,  37. 
White,    Sir    Thomas,    founder   of    St. 

John's    College,    Oxford,    30;     the 

funeral  of,  31. 
Wild  boars  and  wild  bulls,  The  last  in 

England,  244. 
Wild  Goose  Alley,  100. 
"  Wild  Goose  Chase,"  The  cast  of  the 

play  of,  51. 
Winchester,  The  blacksmith  at,  flogged 

for  refusing  to   attend   church,    25  J 

Tract  by  R.   S.  from,  34 ;  Letter  of 

the  Bishop  of,  39. 
Winnet,  The  city  of,  destroyed  by  the 

Danes,  87. 
Wisby,  the  capital   of  Gothland,    97  ; 

Staple-house   of  the  league   sacked, 

99  ;  The  laws  of,  126. 
Wismar,  The  haven  of,  97  ;  fleet  fitted 

out   at,    103  j   destroyed   by   Danes, 

114. 

Witchcraft,  The  belief  in,  251. 
Witch-finders,  The,  252. 
Withmar,  a  monk  of  Corbey,  20 1. 
Wolf,  the  last  in  England,  244. 
Wolf,     Christian,     his     work,      "  De 

Philosophia  Sinensium  Morali,"  14. 
Women   executed   for   religion   in   the 

reign  of  Elizabeth,  37. 
Wool,  The   price   of,  reduced   by   the 

Hanseatics,   118;   the  export  of,  by 

foreigners,  prohibited,  124. 
Worcester's,  Earl  of,  company  of  actors, 

58,63,66,67. 

Worms,  the  Concordat  of,  162,  208. 
Wratislaw,  Rev.  A.  H.,  a  paper  by,  on 

the  life  and   writings  of   Dubravius, 

Bishop  of  Olmtitz,  137 — 151. 
Wright's   "  Historia    Histrionica,"  53, 

55,  56,  57,  64,  65. 

YORK'S,  Duke  of,  company  of  actors, 

61,  63,  67,  68. 

York  House,  books  quoted,  42. 
York  press,  The,  246. 
Yorkshire    recusant's   relation  quoted, 

26. 
Yule-log,  The,  230. 

ZAPOLSKY,    John,    elected     King    of 

Hungary,  140. 
Zerotin,    Lord   Charles   of,  general  of 

the  Bohemian  and  Moravian  army, 

143,  144. 
Zerffi,   Dr.    G.    G.,  Inaugural  Address 

by,  i. 


LONDON : 

J.    AND   W.   RIDER,    PRINTERS, 
BARTHOLOMEW    CLOSE. 


REPORT  OF  THE  COUNCIL. 


THE  ROYAL  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY, 

22,  ALBEMARLE  STREET,  W. 

\2th  May,  1881. 

fKj 

tN  presenting  their  Report  on  the  past  year  to  the  General 
Meeting  of  the  Fellows,  the  Council  of  the  Royal 
Historical  Society  gladly  give  the  first  place  to  their  expres- 
sion of  thanks  to  the  Committee  of  Inquiry  (appointed  1 8th 
November,  1880),  for  their  valuable  assistance,  for  although 
nearly  every  suggestion  of  theirs  for  the  future  management  of 
the  Society  has  been  anticipated  in  resolutions  already  passed 
by  the  Council,  still  they  feel  that  had  not  such  a  Committee 
been  instituted  they  would  probably  not  have  had  it  in  their 
power  to  have  obtained  the  information  on  which  the  resolu- 
tions have  been  based.  The  Council  have  further  to  report 
that  on  the  5th  January,  1881,  the  Rev.  Charles  Rogers  asked 
the  Council  to  be  permitted  to  resign  the  appointments  of 
Historiographer  and  Secretary  of  the  Society  then  and  there, 


and  under  the  circumstances  he  was  permitted  to  do  so,  and 
the  resignation  was  accepted.  His  connection  with  the 
Society  in  any  capacity  therefore  ceased. 

The  Council  on  the  .same  day  appointed  to  the  post  of 
Hon.  Secretary  Mr.  Wm.  Herbage,  who  has  performed  the 
duties  with  great  assiduity  since  that  date. 

A  Publishing  Committee  was  also  appointed  to  superintend 
the  preparation  of  the  Volume  of  Transactions  for  the  past 
year.  This  Committee  consists,  of  Dr.  Zerffi,  Mr.  Walford, 
and  Mr.  Fleay,  who  have  performed  their  duties  as  efficiently 
as  the  circumstances  would  permit. 

The  most  important  item  of  information  recently  acquired 
by  the  Council  is  probably  the  fact  that  on  5th  January,  1881 
(the  date  of  the  resignation  of  the  late  Secretary),  the  Society 
was,  and  had  been  since  3ist  October  last,  in  debt  to  the 
amount  of  £254  55.  6d.  in  addition  to  the  expense  that  they 
would"  necessarily  have  to  incur  for  printing  Vol.  IX.  of  the 
Transactions,  1880.  The  liability  of  £254  55.  6d.  has  within 
the  last  four  months  been  discharged,  all  current  expenses 
have  been  paid,  and  the  total  debt  of  the  Society  has  been 
reduced  to  two  items  :  (i)  The  sum  of  £72  143.  due  to  the 
Treasurer,  and  (2)  The  Printers'  Bill  for  the  Transactions 
(Vol.  IX.)  both  of  which  will,  it  is  estimated,  as  well  as 
all  current  expenses,  be  about  covered  by  the  Subscriptions 
still  due  to  the  Society. 


The  Council  may  therefore  reasonably  expect  to  start  next 
session  free  from  debt,  and  with  no  liability  beyond  the 
expenses  for  printing  the  Transactions. 

This  improvement  in  the  financial  position  of  the  Society  is, 
however,  not  the  only  cause  of  congratulation ;  there  has  been 
a  corresponding  improvement  in  the  number  of  the  Fellows  : 
there  are  now  on  the  Roll  fifteen  Ordinary  and  one  Life 
Member  more  than  there  were  on  ist  January  of  the  present 
year,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  list : — 

Number  of  Fellows  on  the  Roll 


1st  Jan.,  1881. 

I2tk  May,  1  88  1. 

Ordinary  Fellows  
Life  „  

424 
74 

439 
75 

Honorary  and  Ex-Officio  ... 
Corresponding  Fellows 

61 

22 

60 

22 

TOTALS  ... 

58l 

596 

The  Council  have,  according  to  custom,  filled  up  six 
vacancies  in  their  body  by  electing  the  following  gentle- 
men :— 

J.  H.  CHAPMAN,  Esq.,  M.A.,  F.S.A. 

BAKER  GREENE,  Esq.,  LL.B.,  M.B. 

HENRY  H.  HOWORTH,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 

*  SYDNEY  ROBJOHNS,  Esq. 

Rev.  Dr.  THORNTON. 

BRYCE  MCMURDO  WRIGHT,  Esq.,  F.R.G.S. 

The  bust  of  the    President,  the  Right  Honourable  Lord 
*  Mr.  ROBJOHNS  does  not  accept  the  nomination. 


4 

ABERDARE,  F.R.S.,  from  the  studio  of  Mr.  H.  HARVEY, 
F.R.H.S.,  which  was  unveiled  at  the  Meeting  in  last 
November,  will  henceforth  hold  an  honoured  place  in  the 
rooms  of  the  Society. 

The  Council  have  much  pleasure  in  stating  that,  under  the 
sanction  of  the  Society,  a  course  of  thirty  Lectures  is  now 
being  delivered  by  Dr.  ZERFFI,  the  Chairman  of  the  Council, 
at  the  Lecture  Theatre  of  the  South  Kensington  Museum, 
and  that  from  a  return  made  to  them,  there  have  been  at  the 
twenty-two  Lectures  already  delivered,  4,187  attendances, 
giving  an  average  of  190  persons  at  each  Lecture. 

Finally,  the  Council  append  the  Treasurer's  Receipts  and 
Disbursements  for  the  last  year ;  also  a  Financial  Statement, 
and  the  Honorary  Secretary's  Account  up  to  date  of  this 
Report. 


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FINANCIAL     STATEMENT    of    CASH     ASSETS    and    OUT- 
STANDING LIABILITIES,  on  3ist  October,  1880. 


1880.  £    s.    d. 

Oct.  31.  Balance  in  hands  of 

Treasurer        ...     38    5     5 


*  Balance     against 
the  Society      ...  216    o     i 


£254    5    6 


1880.  £    s.    d. 

Oct.  31.  J.  &W.  Rider  for 

Printing  ...  239  1 6    6 

McFarlane 
&  Co.  for 
Printing  £3  18 
Do.  Rules       4    6 


Chetham  Society 
for  Subscription, 
1880  

Subscriptions 
twice  paid 


8    4 


100 


550 


£254    5    6 


*  Besides  the  Liability  to  Fellows  for  Volume  IX.  for  1880,  estimated 
at  about  ^"200. 

WM.  HERBAGE, 

Hon.  Sec.  and  Treasurer. 


TREASURER'S    ACCOUNT    of    RECEIPTS    and    DISBURSEMENTS 
From  ist  November,  1880,  to  I2th  May,  1881,  the  date  of  this  Report. 


RECEIPTS. 

£   *    d. 
Balance   from  last 

account    

Subscriptions  received — 

Life  Subscriptions     31    10  o 
Ordinary  do  ,  and 

Entrance  Fees...  290     2  6 
Sale  of  Transactions     10  10  o 


£ 

38 


f.  d. 
5     5 


332    2    6 


Balance  due  to  Trea- 
surer     


72  14    o 


£443 


DISBURSEMENTS. 

Liabilities  out- 
standing 3  ist 
Oct.,  1880,  viz.— 

J.  &  W.  Rider- 
Printing  ace....  239  1 6  6 

McFarlane&Co.'s 
Printing  ace. ... 

Subscriptions  to 
the  Chetham 
Society,  1880  . 

Subscriptions  re- 
funded ., 


£    s.  d. 


40 


I     o    o 


5     5 


254    5     6 


89  10    8 


Liabilities  contracted 

since  1st  Nov.,  1880— 
Rev.  Dr.  Rogers' 
Salary  as  Sec- 
retary to   Jan. 

5th,  1881 79    o  10 

Do.  for  Petty 
Expenditure  to 
Jan.  5th,  1 88 1  10  9  10 

Rent  to  Lady- 
day,  1881 22  3  2 

Printing  and  Sta- 
tionery    30  17  o 

Circulars,  Post- 
ages, and  Petty 
Expenses  23  19  7 

Advertisements..     15     o    o 

Subscriptions — 
Camden  Society     i     o    o 
Chetham    do.         I     o    o 

Refreshments  at 
Monthly  Meet- 
ings    560 

99    5    9 

£443     i  n 

WM.  HERBAGE. 

Hon.  Sec.  and  Treasurer. 


8 

It  can  hardly  be  doubted  from  the  facts  before  mentioned, 
that  the  Society  has  entered  on  a  new  career  of  usefulness 
under  the  most  favourable  auspices,  not  the  least  of  which  is 
the  remarkable  unanimity  between  the  reforms  proposed  by 
the  Committee  of  Inquiry  and  those  independently  instituted 
by  the  Council ;  of  equal  importance  is  the  cordiality  with 
which  the  work  of  the  Society  has  been  noticed  by  the  Press  ; 
and  if  the  Members  will  continue  to  co-operate  with  the 
efforts  of  the  Council  as  vigorously  as  they  have  done  during 
the  last  four  months,  the  Society  must  attain  an  influence 
worthy  of  its  high  name,  and  the  important  Science,  the  study 
of  which  it  was  instituted  to  promote. 

By  order, 

G.  G.  ZERFFI,  PH.D.,  F.R.S.L., 

Chairman  of  the  Council. 
WM.  HERBAGE,  Honorary  Secretary. 


DA 
20 
R9 
v.9 


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London 

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