3 u-o^ -s\ A i. PROCEEDING OV THK YORKSHIRE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. VOL. I. Roman Tomb found at York. LONDON: JOHN CliUKCHILL YORK: HENRY SOTHERAN. 185"). Price 7s. PROCEEDINGS OF TIIK ""^^ YORKSHIRE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. A SELECTION FROM PAPERS UELATIXO TO THE Hntiquitiesi antr iHatural ffii^torg of ^orltstire, read at the monthly meetings of the society, From 1847 to 1854. / MP -' *■" «.- ■■♦* LONDON: JOHN CHUKCHILL. YORK: HENRY SOTHERAN. 1856. 1 CONTENTS. Page On the Statistics of York in the 13th and 14th Centuries.— By RoBEKT Davies, Esq., F. S.A 2 Letter to Professor Phillips, F. R. S,, on the British and Roman Antiquities of Yorkshire, and on a Map of Roman Yorkshire. — By Charles Newton, Esq., M. A 29 Notice of the occurrence, near Tadcaster, of Larus Rossii. — By Edw. Charlesworth, Esq., F. G. S 33 Notice of Zamia Gigas, a fossil plant occurring on the N. E. coast of Yorkshire. — By James Yates, Esq., F. R. S., &c •. 37 On the Fossil Vegetable Heads from Runswick Bay, supposed to belong to Zamia Gigas. — By W. C. Williamson, Esq., M.R. C. S 45 On the Sarcophagus of M. Verecundus Diogenes, and the Civil Administration of Roman York. — By Rev. J. Kenrick, M. A. 52 On the hoard of Stycas discovered in the parish of Bolton Percy. — By Rev. C. Wellbeloved 66 On the Aurora Borealis of the night of October 25th, 1847, as observed at York. — By Prof. Phillips, F. R. S 70 On the Solar Eclipse of the 9th of October, 1847, principally in reference to the determination of the longitude of York. — By W. L. Newman, Esq., F. R. A. S 72 On the Mineral Condition and Affinities of the Zoophytes of the Flamborough Chalk. — By Edw. Charlesworth, Esq., F. G. S. 73 On a discovery of Silver Coins at Deighton. — By Rev. C. Well- beloved , 77 Thoughts on Antient Metallurgy and Mining in Brigantia and other parts of Britain, suggested by a page of PUny's Natural History. — By Prof. Phillips, F. R. S 77 On the occurrence of Larus minutus in perfect plumage at Brid- lington.— By Arthur Strickland, Esq 93 // IV CONTENTS. Page On the occurrence of Otis Mc Queenii, Gray, in England. — By Jno. Gould, Esq., F. E. S 94 On some additions to the Museum of Antiquities. — By Eev. C. Wellbeloved 95 Description of an Ancient Tumiilar Cemetery, at Lamel Hill, near York. — By John Thurnam, M. D 98 Additional Observations on the Egyptian Gnostic Amulet, de- scribed at page 95. — By Rev. Jno. Kenrick, M. A 106 On the Direction of Drifting of the Sandstone Beds of the Oolite Rocks of the Yorkshire Coast. — By Henry Clifton Sorby, Esq., F. G. S Ill On the Sclerotic Ring of the Eyes of Birds and Reptiles. — By Thomas Allis, Esq 114 The Compotus, or Yearly-Account Roll of Thomas Syngleton, Monk, Keeper of the common stock of Spices (Gustos Com- muniae Specierum) and Chamberlain of the Monastery of St. Mary, York, from the Sunday after the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel, 1528, to the same Sunday in tlie year 1529. — With Remarks and Notes by Rev. C. Wellbeloved 122 On Magnetic Phaenomena in Yorkshire. — By John Phillips, F. R. S 155 Report of the Proceedings of the Yorkshire Antiquarian Club, in the Excavation of Barrows from the year 1849. — By William Procter, Esq., M. R. C. S., Hon. Secretary to the Club 176 Communication respecting a Flint Instrament found on FyUng- dales Moor. — By Saml. Anderson, Esq 190 Notices of the York Mints and Coinages. — By Robert Davies, Esq., F. S. a 191 An Account of the Excavation of a Roman Villa near CoUingham. — By William Procter, Esq., M. R. C. S., Hon. Sec. to the York- shire Antiquarian Club 270 Observations on a Roman Inscription, lately discovered in York ; read Nov. 7, 1854. — By Rev. C. Wellbeloved 282 PROCEEDINGS OF THE YORKSHIRE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, 1847. March 2nd. The Rev. C. Wellbeloved, in the Chair. Mr. Thomas Gibson Hartley, of York, was elected a Member of the Society. The Secretary announced the following additions to the Museum and Library. By Donation. From Henry Milner, Esq., a collection of specimens illustra- ting the volcanic and silicious products of Iceland. From William Procter, Esq., an Ammonite with the mouth entire ; from the Oxford-clay of Christian-Malford, Wilts. From Richard Ripley, Esq., a specimen of Avicula cygnipes ; from the Lias of Whitby. From the Rev. C. Wellbeloved, an ancient British Silver Coin. From John Prest, Esq., an antique Seal, found in his gar- den, having the figure of a Pelican feeding its young, with the inscription, " Sum Pelicanus Dei." From the Royal Astronomical Society, Astronomical observa- tions made at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. From the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester, part ii. of vol. 7 of its Memoirs. From Sig. G. Michelotti of Turin, a Memoir on the Rhizopoda (Foraminifera, D' Orbigny) characteristic of the Tertiary Formations. From Mr. Richard Spruce, three Papers on Botanical Sub- jects, published in Sir Wm. Hooker's London Journal of Botany. By Purchase. The Head of an Ichthyosaurus, from the Lias at Staithes, valuable for displaying in a beautiful manner the form of the cranium, and the sclerotic plates of the eye. A remarkably fine Starfish (Asterias) in sandstone (of the Coralline Oolitic Formation ?) from the neighbourhood of Pickering. A specimen of the recent genus Cleidothaerus (CI. chamaoides, Stutchbury), from the Swan River. Some observations were made by Mr. Charlesworth upon the Geological specimens, and Mr. Meynell offered some remarks upon the interesting shell, the Cleidothserus, of which genus the Society's collection previously contained no example. The following Paper was then read, " On the Statistics of York, in the 13M and \^th Centuries." By Robert Davies, Esq., F. S. A. Although some municipalities claim a higher antiquity, there is little doubt that King John was the first English monarch who converted his demesne towns into free burghs, and thus prepared the way for their gradual improvement. Before his reign, the King's collectors made arbitrary levies on the in- habitants of towns, of various talliages and customs for the public service ; but the cities and burghs to which King John granted charters of incorporation, were fireed from these oppres- sive imposts, and intrusted with the government and taxation of their respective communities, subject only to the payment of a specific rent, called the Fee-Farm, which was accounted for annually into the royal exchequer. A permanent revenue of fixed amount and easy recovery was by this means secured to the state : the fee-farm being raised in each town by its own municipal authorities, by way of rateable assessment on all the inhabitants. To the citizens of York, King John granted, soon after his accession to the throne,' a confirmation and renewal of the mercatorial Guild and other privileges they had enjoyed under his predecessors ; but it was not until the latter part of his reisrn that the citizens obtained from the monarch the more important charter, by which the city itself was granted to them in fee-farm, and they were constituted an independent munici- pality, and empowered to manage their own local affairs and civil interests. At first, it may be presumed, every resiant or inhabitant was deemed to be, ipso facto, a citizen, and entitled to participate in the various privileges and immunities of the municipal com- pact : but as these advantages became more apparent, and the knowledge of their value more widely diffused, they would be eagerly sought for by the population of the rural vicinage, as well as of other and more distant places ; and it would become necessary for the civic authorities to adopt some method of registration or inrolment, in order to identify those who were admitted from time to time into the number of citizens, and to acquire the power of subjecting them to such regulation and control, as would be requisite for their mutual benefit. At what period a register of citizens or freemen was originally commenced in York, cannot be positively determined. The earliest now in existence, begins with the reign of King Edward I., viz., in the year 1272. This is little more than half a century after the grant of King John's second charter ; and it is not very improbable, that there was no written register anterior to it. The record is simply a list of the names, and trades or occupations, of the persons who were admitted, in each year, to the privileges of citizenship ; one of the most im- portant of which was the right to carry on trade within the ' King John's first charter is tested at York, 25th March, 1200. The King was in York on that and the three following days. Vide Hardy's Itinerary. b2 4 limits of the city, and under the protection of its municipal government. A careful and minute examination of the contents of this register from its commencement in the first year of Edward I., to the close of the reign of Edward III., comprehending a series of 105 years, has furnished numerous facts, which are calculated to throw considerable light upon the state of trade and manufactures in York, the extent of its population, and the social condition of its inhabitants, at this early period of our history. In considering the results of this investigation, the time over which it has extended will be divided into two nearly equal portions : — the first will embrace the reigns of Edward I. and Edward IL, occupying a period of 55 years : — the second will comprise the long reign of Edward III., which was precisely half a century in duration. During the first of these eras, the trades in which the citizens of York were engaged, appear to have been principally those which supply the common necessaries of social life. By the Butcher] [66], ' the Fisherman [24], and the Fishmonger [25], the Baker [77], and the Cook [30], (or, as they are named in the register, Carnifex, Piscator and Piscarius, Pistor, and Cocus,) the people were provided with the more substantial articles of their diet. A small number of Pulters^ [7], Salters ' [13], and Saucers [6], furnished the wealthier class of citizens with some of the luxuries of the table, and the Specer or Spicer * [22], supplied condiments and probably the few medicinal drugs then known. Towards the close of the reign of Edward II. the admission of a Maltster, a Brewer, and a Camber, ^ denotes the introduction of ale or beer as an article of trade. There are only two Chesers and one Fruter, during this long period. Nine is the whole number of Taverners ; so ' The fibres within brackets denote the number of persons admitted in each trade. 2 Poletarius. (Due.) 'Item, duos magistros Coquorum, Lardenarium, Pole- tarium, Scultellarium, Salsarium," &c. Fleta. lib. 2. c. 14. s. 3. * Salsarius, (Due.) cui salsariae cura commissa est in coquina regi&. * Speciarius, (Due.) qui omne genus species vendit. — Espicier, Fr. * Cambarius. (Due.) Confector cervisise. that houses of public entertainment, or for the reception of travellers, were not in much request. Of the trades and handicrafts for the supply of clothing, it is remarkable that the Girdler [Zonarius] and the Shoemaker and Cobbler [Alutarius — Sutor] are the most numerous. This circumstance combined with the fact that the principal if not the only manufacture existing in York at this time, was that of leather, seems to confirm the opinion of a statistical writer who tells us that *' most of the lower people wore leather doublets and stays or boddice, for cheapness and duration, which were a considerable part of their intire clothing." ' During these 55 years, nearly 100 persons were inroUed as citizens under the designation of Tannator, ^ and Tannour : and about half that number who are called Pelliparius^ and Pelter, with a few Couraours, Dubbers and Tewers. * It may be inferred that the neigh- bourhood of those streets which yet retain the name of Tanner Row, Tanner's Moat, and Barker Hill, was a principal resort of the Tannatores, but it is obvious from the number of persons engaged in it, that the manufacture was carried on in many other places ; and probably the vast number of horns, which have been found, on excavating in various parts of the city, point out the spots where our ancestors had their tan-yards. At this time, the value of horn had scarcely been discovered. The trade of Horner, does not appeared on the register, until the reign of Edward II., and then only three were admitted. ^ In our own times, Horn-breaking and Comb-making have formed an important branch of business in York. It seems probable that the Zonarius or Girdler, ^ was not employed J Anderson I. 298. * Tannare, Coria subigere. — Tanner, Fr. 3 Pelliparii, (Due.) qui peUes parant, prsparant, vendunt. * To tew. [Aug. Sax. Tawian.\ To beat so as to soften. * The art of working in horn is one, in which the English were mucli skilled. In 1464, the Homers presented a petition to Parliament, against strangers who came to "understond the konnyng and feate of making horns." Rot. Pari, IV. 567.— Prompt. Parv. 247. 8 Modem improvements have swept away one side of Girdlergate, the old street of the York Girdlers. The name is altogether abolished, and it is to be lamented that so interesting a memorial of the customs and habits of former times was not permitted to remain. 6 exclusively in the making of girdles or belts, although these were important parts of the simple garb then in use ; but that he was also engaged in the construction of other articles of apparel which were made of leather. It is not be concluded however, that York had no citizens at this period, but such as were clothed in leather doublets. A considerable number of Mercers [73] were admitted, who were general dealers in various articles used for the better sort of apparel, probably similar to those who are now called Haberdashers, a name that was not introduced until the subsequent reign. By these and a few Drapers [6], the higher classes were supplied with, perhaps linen, and the finer sorts of woollen cloth: and we find Cissores ^ [19], and Taillours [23], in sufficient number to convert them into garments. But the admission of only half a dozen Hatters, as many Hosers, and a single Glover, shews that covering for the head, legs, and hands, was not in general use. There were also a few called Parmenters, ^ who were makers or decorators of ecclesiastical vestments ; and this com- pletes the list of tradesmen and handicrafts in the department of clothing. In those days of perpetual warfare, the making of armour, arms, and other military equipments, was an important occupa- tion. We find on the register several Furbours' [10] who were manufacturers of armour and arms, a small number called Armourers [3], a E,e voter, a few Boughers [6], several Lorimers* [14] or dealers in horse furniture. Sellers^ [13] or Saddlers, Sporiers, and 12 or 14 called Cirotecarius^ or Gaunter, who were makers of the iron and other gauntlets worn by the soldiers of that age. 1 C'.ssor, a tailor, both for men and women's apparel. Lib. Quot. 363. 2 Parmentarius, (Due.) qui vestes parat, id est, omat ; nostris olim "Partnentier." 3 Forbator, a Cutler or Forbusher of Armour. — Fourbissier. Ft. Artisan qui fouibit, monte, et vend des 6pees. * Lorenum. (Due.) "Pro sabutis, lorenis, palefridis, et aliis necessariis ad equitandum." — Lorimers make bits for bridles, and such like small iron ware. Stat. I Rich. II. c. 12. * Sellarii. (Due.) Sellarum confectores. * Chirothecffi de guerra. Gantelets de fer (Due.) Of persons employed in the mechanical trades connected with building, the number is very small. During this long series of years, only 8 Carpenters, 11 Masons, 5 Plumbers, 1 Plasterer, 1 Teighler, and 1 Payntor, appear on the register. In the metallic arts we have Mouneours [2] ; Goldsmiths [6] ; and Latoners [6J, who were workers or manufacturers of Latten, a mixed or base metal, much resembling brass, which was largely used in former times, especially in the formation of sepulchral monuments. ' We have also several Cotolers ^ [20], and Fahri or Smiths [10], a few Mareschals [7] or Black- smiths, Ferroniers ^ [9] and Irenmangers ; Ferrours [6], or Far- riers ; and Aguilers [6] or Nedelers, a Loksmyth, a Copperer, and a Wiredragher. Of workers in wood, there are only a Tumour, a Wheelwright, and a few Cowpers. The register affords no indication of either commerce or navigation being in a flourishing state, during these reigns. The thirty, five years of Edward I. give only 2 called Mer~ cator, and 9 Mariners, but in the twenty years of the reign of his successor, the Mercatores amount to 23, and the Mari- ners to 21. Upon a review of these facts it may be concluded, that in the course of the 55 years which elapsed between the accession of King Edward I. in 1272 and the death or deposition of his son in 1327, little improvement had taken place in York. The only manufacture that appears to have been established in the city, was that of leather ; the cultivation of the arts of social life seems to have made little progress ; nor is there any ground to infer from the number of new citizens or the description of trades to which they were admitted, that there had been any considerable increase either of population or buildings. But the long reign of King Edward III. forms a new era in the history of our city. Under the vigorous government of that able monarch, trade, manufactures and commerce received a fresh impulse ; and rapid advances appear to have been made ' Prompt. Parv., 289. » Coutelier, (Ft.) qui fait et vend des couteaux, et autres instruments tranchants. ' Ferronier, (Fr.) q,ui vend des ouvrages de fer. 8 towards a general improvement of the condition of society- The numbers admitted in the several trades connected with the supply of food, increase very considerably during this half century. ' The English names of Bocher, Bakster and Baker, Fyscher and Fyschmanger now first appear, together with the Mele-maker and Milner. Towards the latter part of this reign, occurs the first instance of the Vyntner and the Wyndragher, which are probably synonymous. The Taverners become much more numerous : and perhaps no fact more plainly indicates an improvement in the habits of the people than that the supply of water was of sufficient importance to create a new business called Water-leder, and by that description several persons were admitted. There is a slight increase of the number of Maltsters and Brewsters ^ or Cambers, and a single example occurs of the Braciatrix. In addition to the Saucers [13] of the pre- ceding reigns, there are some called Sausmakers [5], which has probably the same meaning. That the commodity made or sold by these traders, was something very difierent from the stimulating luxuries now used at table under the name of sauces, will be readily believed ; but it is not easy to determine what was meant by sauce, in the 14th century. An eminent Anti- quary thinks that culinary vegetables were designated by this word, ^ and in that case Sausers were what we now call Green-grocers. But the term Sausmaker conveys the idea that some kinds of sauces were manufactured, and not vegetables in their natural state. "* By a sumptuary law made in 1336, ^ ^ Butchers, 120 ; Fishennen, 34 ; Fishmongers, 44 ; Pulters, 11 ; Bakers, 91 ; Cooks, 63 ; Spicers, 44 ; Taverners, 23. 2 Robert de Kilbum was admitted in 1356 by the title of " Braciator Sancti Leonardi." — Braciator, (Due.) Confector cervisiae. — Brace. Graai species ex quo cervisia conficitur. 3 Comp. in expenc. v'sus Londonia, 17ih Edw. I., with notes by theEev. Joseph Hunter. Ret. Rev. I. 271. * "I want cunning, by order to descrive Of every course, the diversities ; The strange sewes, and the subtleties. That were that day served in that place." Lydgate's Siege of Troy, temp. Hen. V. « 10th Edw. III. 9 it was ordained that "no man, of what condition soevef, shall be served at disner manger ne sopere, with more than two courses, each mess of two sorts of victuals at the utmost with the common sorts of pottage, without sauce or any other sort of viaundez." And the act continues, si home voei avoir sawes p' messe, les eit, siq ils ne soient pas faitz de grauntz coustz. During the latter half of this reign, two Colliers are ad- mitted ; from which it may be inferred that Coal had become an article of trade and domestic consumption in York about the middle of the 14th century : although some writers state that it was not brought into common use until the reign of Charles I. The earliest mention of coal is said to be in a document dated in 1245. * In 1807, King Edwatrd I. issued a proclamation^ prohibiting the use of it as fuel in the neighbouthood of London, because it infested the air with a noisome smell and a thick smoke to the great endangering of the health of the inhabitants. It is recorded, that in 1327, ten shillings worth of Newcastle Coal was purchased for the coronation of Edward III., which took place in the month of January. It is only 25 years later, that the first Coillier ^ appears on the register : so that the citizens of York had not been backward in discovering the use- fulness of this valuable mineral. With which they were, doubt- less, supplied by sea from the Port of Newcastle. The circumstance of one of our streets having the name of CoUiergate, by which it was certainly known in the 14th cen- tury, would favour this conclusion. Indeed there is distinct evidence that sea-coal, or, in other words, mineral coal conveyed by sea, and hence called carho marinus^ was an article of^ commerce in York early in the 15th century. In a compotus of 1445, it is recorded that Wm. Stanes paid a fine of 4d. "pro vendicione catbonum maritimorumJ'* * The Wardrobe Account of 28 Edw. I., 1299, contains the following en- tries : — " De 6 quarter' di' carhonum maritimonun recept' de stauro Regis apud Berewycum." p. 151. — " De 96 quarter' carbonum mar' Tend' de stauro predioto-^ precium quarter' 6d §." p. 9 • " Hugo BullSur, Coillier de Boutham." 29th Edw. III. 1352. C 10 The number of persons admitted during this period in the various trades and handicrafts for the supply of clothing, is surprising. So many as nearly 300 Mercers ' and 70 Drapers " in the course of fifty years must have been occasioned by the demand of a large and increasing population. Above 300 Cissores and Taillours, and S20 Cordwainers shew that the operatives kept place with the shopkeepers. A considerable increase of Hatters, Hosiers,^ and Glovers, the appearance of several Capmakers, Pouchmakers, and Pattenmakers, and a decrease of Girdlers, as compared with other trades, indicate a departure from the coarseness and simplicity of apparel prevalent during the preceding reigns, and a more general diffusion of a taste for articles of comfort and convenience. The trade of Haberdascher * appears towards the middle of this period ; and a considerable number of Chapmen * [50], who were a kind of petty merchant. In the various mechanical arts and trades connected with building, a corresponding improvement is manifest. Carpen- ters, Masons, Plumbers, Teighlers or Teighle-makers, Plasterers and Payntors, are admitted in considerable numbers ; and to these are now added Joigneours, Pinners, Sawers, and Glasen- wrights : only five of the last mentioned trade are registered, and those, towards the close of the reign. Besides Cowpers and Tumours, we have now Boilers, Molde- makers, and Cartwrights, and also one Bellows-maker. The invention of the bellows is attributed to the Germans, and an * Mercerius, Mereenarius, (Due.) Mercator; minutae mercis propola, vulgo Mercier. * Some writers suppose that Drapers were makers of cloth, but it seems more probable that they were sellers of it only, 3 Osa. (Due.) Germanis, Hose. Cambro-britt. Hosen. * S^bt ihr doss. Germ. Johnson in voce. * Ang. Sax. Ceapman, mercator. The register contains a single example of the Hukester, which means a person who sold by outcry. The latin name for hukester was ' Auccionaritis,' and hence the modem name ' Auctioneer,' " Hail be ye, hokesteres, dun by the lake, With candles and golokes, and the pottes blak. Tripes and kyne feet, and sheepes heads." . Harl. MS. date 1308. Prompt. Par. 252. 11 artist called Hans Lobsinger, who lived at Nuremberg in 1550, is supposed to have been one of the earliest makers of large and small bellows, which were used for both furnaces and organs. By one writer the discovery is dated as late as in 1630. The York register tells us that we were indebted to a Fleming for the knowledge of this useful machine at a much earlier period. ** Nicholas le Yhonge de Flandres" appears to have been the person who first brought it to York. The admission of about 40 Potters shews that the manufacture of earthenware had become a business of some importance. Of the artificers of armour and weapons there is a great increase ; and to many Furbours, * Armourers, and Boughers, are now added a proportionate number of Flechers or Arrow- smiths, Bladesmiths, Reveters, and Shethers. Lorimers, Sellers or Saddlers, and Sporiers, are also numerous. Of workers in metals, the most important is the Aurifaher, Orfevevy or Goldsmith ; and under one or other of these names nearly 40 persons are registered during this reign : and there are several called Batur, Orbatur, and Goldbeter, terms which are probably synonymous. There are six Mouneours, two of whom were from Italy, viz., Laurentius de Florence, ^ and Bonache de Florence. ^ A few years previous to these foreigners becoming citizens of York, an act of parliament* had authorised " money of gold and silver to be made in the City of York, in the manner as it was made in the Tower of London ;" and it may be presumed that under the sanction of this act, a coinage of some extent and importance would be esta- blished in York. The business of the King's mint was, in early times, carried on within the precincts of the Castle of York, in certain houses and buildings there appropriated ' Several of these were importations from Germany : viz., Amaldus de Almaygne, Furbour ; Ingilbright de Alman, Furbour ; Christianus de Devenesrode, Furbour d'Alman ; Tydkynus van-the-rode, Furbour. s Admitted in 1362. 3 Admitted in 1364. * 18tb Edward III. c. 6. The first coining of gold in England was in 1844. Anderson, I. 317; Rym. Feed. V. 403. c2 to that purpose. In an account of William Haryngton, Sheriff of Yorkshire in the reign of Henry VI. de custubis et expensis per ipsum factis circa reparacionem et emen^ dacionem diversorum domorum pro factura monete regis infra castrum Regis Ebor\ it appears that Bartholomew Goldbeter, magistrum monete regis infra Turrim Regis London^ et civitatem Regis Ebor\ was appointed ad supervidend' et ordinandi domos et edificia pro fac- tura monete Regis infra castrum suum Ehor* necessar\ and that he had certified that the houses aforesaid were so ruinous, and wanted so much repair, that they were not fit for the purpose, and the King wishing to have them put into a state of repair, or if necessary new buildings to be erected, ordered the Sheriflf to find the funds out of the issues of the county. * In addition to the Fabri [35], Mareschals [46], Cotolers [66] , Ferrours, Nedelers, and Latoners of the former reigns, of whom there is a great increase, we have the Bucklemaker, Wire- dragher, Sheregrinder, Filer, Nayler, Foundour, Pewterer, Pinmaker, and Tynkler. Of the trades connected with literature the register does not present many instances. There are some Parcheminers or Parchment-makers, and a few Bookbinders and Scriveners. For her first bookbinder, York seems to have been indebted to one of the universities. " Adam de Oxenforth, Bokebinder," was inrolled in the year 1345. Above 50 are admitted who are styled ClericuSy which would lead to the supposition that it was not unusual for ecclesiastical persons to engage in secular employments, unless we are to take this term to signify scribe or amanuensis. ^ The appearance in the register of three Pipers and two Or- ganisters, a Harper and a Harp-maker, a Trumper and a Fitheler, indicates that the cultivation or practice of the art of music was not wholly confined to churches or monastic \ For this valuable addition to our knowledge of the early history of the city, J am indebted to the kindness of my friend the Eev. Joseph Hunter. 2 Clerici praeterea dicuntur scribse, actuarii, et amanuenses judicum vel offi- pjajiiun regiorum, &c. (Due.) 18 establishments. Dr. Bumey says, that in a legendary life of St. Christopher, written about the year 1200, mention is made of the Fiddle :— ■ Cristofre him served longe ; The Kynge loved melodye of Fithele and of songe." In the verses of Robert Mannyng, commonly called Robert de Brunne, who flourished above a century later, the ** Harpe" and " Organes" are mentioned ; ' and Chaucer, who died in 1400, alludes to both the " Fidel" and " the merry Orgon," and this Dr. Bumey regards ** as a proof that organs were very general in our abbeys and cathedrals at the latter end of the l4th century." It may be doubted whether the organisters of York, in the reign of Edward III., were makers of organs or performers upon the instrument. The common organ of this period (or pair of organs as it was then called) was a portable instrument, somewhat dijfferent from the stately and elaborate piece of mechanism now known by that name. On the occasion of King Henry the Seventh's visit to York, in the first year of his reign, a pair of organs was hired to grace the pageant exhi- bited on the King's entry at Micklegate Bar ; and the sum of 12d. was paid for the loan of the instrument, and the reward of the musician who played upon it. Before the close of this reign 4 persons were registered under the title of Medicus, and one who is called a Leche. ^ It may not be uninteresting to our medical friends to know that the first physician who became a citizen of York was " Johannes Crespyn de Caumbray, medicus." ' The practice of surgery is supposed to have been principally in the hands of the Barbours, of whom more than 30 are admitted by that name during the half century, and nearly as many under the description of Toundour. One of the earliest instances of an apothecary * " Orgues, chymbes, each manner glee, Was drynan ayein that lady free." Adam Davie's Life of Alexander, circa 1312. s " For murderers are many leeches; Lord "hem amend ! They do men die by their drinkes, ere destiny it would." Fierce FlowmftQ's Yisioo, olrca 1300. ' He was admitted in 1338. 14 being mentioned in any English document is in the wardrobe account of the ^8th Edward I. * In the year 1345, Coursus de Gaugeland, apothecarius de Lond\ had attended King Edward III. in one of his Scottish expeditions, and afforded him rehef when he was detained by a grievous sickness ; for which service the monarch rewarded him with a pension of 6d. a day for his life. ^ No apothecarius appears in the York register at this period, but the term medicus signified at that time, as at present, a higher class of practitioners. ^ The progress of commerce and manufacturers yet remains to be noticed. With regard to the former it may suffice to observe that the number of persons registered during this reign, under the names of Mercator and Merchaunt, and of Nautilus and Mariner, as compared with the preceding half century, is nearly in the proportion of five to one ; and from the admission of several under the denomination of Schipwrights, it may be inferred that ship-building was one of the arts then introduced into York. As to manufactures, I may notice, in the first place, that leather continues to be one of the staple articles of produc- tiouc About 150 Tanners and 100 Pelters and Skynners, with an increased number of Couraours and Tewers, manifest to what extent this manufacture was prosecuted; and, in connection with it, a new branch of business occurs, viz., that of Barker, of whom 30 are registered in about as many years. An increase of Horners shews that a greater demand had arisen for the various useful articles formed of that material. But unquestionably the most important feature of this period is the introduction into the city of the manufacture of woollen cloth. It is a well known historical fact, that prior to the early part of the 14thcentury,wool was exported from England in large quantities to various places on the continent of Europe, and espe- cially to the Netherlands. Mr. Frost in his valuable " Notices * " Petro Apotecario Eegine, pro nucibus, piris, pipere, ficubus, et racen' et aliis fructibus et speciarum diversis emptis per eundem," &c. Lib. Quot. p. 58. 2 Foedera II. 61. Ed. 1816. 3 King Edward III. granted a pension of £100 a year to Pontius de Coutrone, whom he calls dikcttis medicus noster, for his services to the King's father and mother. Ibid. 863. 15 for the Early History of Hull," states ' that in little more than two years during the latter part of the reign of King Edward I. upwards of £10,000. was paid for the duties on wool, woolfels, and leather, exported from Hull only. In exchange for their wool, the English obtained the finer sorts of cloth, and other manufac- tured articles, which they were unable to produce themselves. King Edward III. having had the opportunity of personally wit- nessing the vast advantages which the people of the continent derived from their various manufactures, very soon after his accession to the throne commenced those efforts to introduce the cloth manufacture into this country which ultimately proved successful. He laboured incessantly to induce the cloth-workers of Brabant and other provinces of the Netherlands, [to visit his dominions and teach those arts, in which they were so skilful, to his less ingenious subjects ; and the city of York appears to have been a peculiar object of the monarch's solicitude in this respect. In August 1328, the second year of his reign, whilst the King was at York he renewed the statute called the charta mercato- rum, ' which was especially designed for the encouragement of foreign cloth-merchants to settle in England. In July 1331, ' he granted a charter of protection to John Kemp of Flanders, * textor pannorum laneoruniy authorising him and his servants and apprentices to exercise their mystery in England, and promising similar protection to all others of the same mystery, as well as dyers and fullers, who would come from parts beyond the sea and settle in this country. * In December, 1336, the King granted letters of protection to Willielmus de Brabant, and Hanckenius de Brabant, textores, who had already come to England and were at York, qfficium suum ibidem exercentes. ' The names of these indiAriduals do not appear in the York register, nor indeed was it to be expected that they would be inrolled as citizens of a place which they visited for a temporary purpose only. But the appearance of » p. 110. ' 3l8t Edw. I. » Eymer's Foedera, IV. 496. * It is said that Kemp established himself at ELendal, and that bis descendants still remain there. « Bymer's Foedera, IV. 723. 16 the following names iti the register sufficiently prcftes that many of the Netherlanders dnd other foreigners, who catoe to sojourn in the city, were induced to become permanent members of the municipality : — Nicholas de Admare de Brabant, webSter. Robertus de Paris, litestesr. Benesevyn de Florentia. Henricus Morel! de Flandr. Hicardus de Demelthrotbe de Alman. Michael de Newkirk de Flandr, aurifaber. Gotolinus del Haghe, Esterling. Arnaldus de Lakensurchen Goddeskalk de Smithhusen. Goddeskalk Scudik de Alman. Henricus de Oude de Malyns in Brabant. Thomas Braban de Malyns, tixtor. Laurencius Conyng de Flandr', webster. Georgius Fote de Flandr', walker. Johannes Lutyng de Holand. Godfridus de Ulenbergb, webster. Godfridus Overscote de Brabant, mercator. In 1336-7, an act of parliament was passed prohibiting the use* of foreign cloth, and promising that " all clothworkers of strange' lands, of whatsoever country they he, which will come to England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, shall come safely and Surely^ and shall be in the King's protection and safe conduct, and have franchises and privileges granted to them." The public records of his reign cotitain much further evidence that Edward never lost sight of this important objecit. That before the termination of this reign, the manufacture of woollen cloth was established and extensively prosecuted in York, the register affords abundant proof. During the two preceding reigns, scarcely a trace is discernible of any art or occupation connected with cloth-making. There were two or three Saghers, * who were makers or sellers of a coarse sort of hempen cloth, of which a vestige remains in that which i& 1 Sagarius, (Due.) SagonuQ venditor. Sagum, Fanni species. 17 now called Sacking : and three or four persons were admitted by the description of Chaloners, makers of a kind of woollen bed-cloth or coverlid called Chalun, or Chalone. ' Of weavers, dyers, and fullers, not more than two or three were admitted. But the reign of Edward III. furnishes a list of about 170 wea- vers, 100 dyers, 50 fullers, and above 30 chaloners, with a suitable accompaniment of schermen, woUepackers, tapetters, cardmakers, and other trades allied to the woollen cloth manufacture, not one of which is previously mentioned. It is remarkable that during the early part of the reign, in the register the dyer is called Tinctor, or Teinturer, and the weaver Textor or Tistour, whilst the fuller has no other name than FuUour ; but soon the weavers become Websters ; the dyers, Litesters ; and the fullers. Walkers. These words — webster, litester, and walker, are of Teutonic origin, and it seems quite natural that the Netherlanders should have introduced their technical terms to the citizens of York, whilst they were impart- ing to them their skill in the manufacturing arts. The derivation of some of our most common surnames may be traced to this source : — the Websters, the Listers, the Walkers. Perhaps the Chaloners may be surprised to find that their name has so ignoble a paternity. A pleasing illustration of the meaning of the term Walker is afforded by an incident mentioned in Lockhart's memoirs of Sir Walter Scott. ^ In his diary of a voyage to the Hebrides in 1814, Sir Walter records, that whilst he and his party were at Kilmore in the Isle of Sky, " in a cottage at no great distance we heard the women singing as they waulked the cloth by rub- bing it with their hands and feet, and screaming all the while in a sort of chorus. At a distance the sound was wild and sweet * Shalloon is a name still used for a certain description of woollen stuff, said to have been originally manufactured at Chalons, a town in the department of the Mame in France, where at this day a considerable trade is carried on in these and other coarse stuffs. " And in his owen chambre hem made a bedde With shetes and with chaions faire y-spredde." Chaucer. Reve's Tale. Prompt. Panr. 68. « Vol. m. p. 230. D 18 enough, but rather discordant when you approached too near the performers." It seems curious to discover in this remote part of the kingdom, the continuance to this day of the primitive method of fulling cloth as it was practised in York in the 14th century. As to the extent of the population of the city at this period, the materials are too scanty to lead to any safe or satisfactory conclusion. One or two facts may be stated which will perhaps form a basis for some calculation on the subject. During the first half of the reign of King Edward III., viz., from 1327 to 1352, the aggregate number of citizens inroUed was 1760, giving an average of about 70 per annum. During the second half of the same reign, viz., from 1352 to 1377, the aggregate nimiber was 2350, being an average of 94 per annum. Now, during the 75 years which elapsed between the accession of King George III. and the year 1834, ^ the average number of freemen admitted was not more than about 100 per annum ; and it must be taken into account that, whilst in modern times a considerable number of non-residents were inrolled as citizens, there can be no doubt that in the infancy of the municipality, none were admitted to the franchise but such as were, and intended to continue, resident members of the community. The following list of those who were inrolled in the year 1272 (1st Edward I.), will exhibit the manner in which the population of the city was increased by a gradual supply from the towns and villages in the immediate neighbourhood : for, if the opinion of Camden be correct, that the use of surnames was not generally adopted by the mass of the people until the reign of Edward II., the names of the towns attached by the prepo- sition de to the Christian names of these new citizens must be taken to denote the places of their birth or previous residence : — In the time of John le Specer, Mayor. Thomas de Fulford, cordwainer. Robertus de Clifton, pelliparius. Galfridus de Knapton. 1 The population of the City of York in 1831 was about 25,000. 19 Hugo de Moreton, zonarius. Johannes de Moreton. Robertas de Ricale. Robertas de Newton, mercer. Thomas de Thornton, mercer. Nicholas de Clifton. Alanus de Rocliff, zonarius. Rogerus de Eskrik. Johannes de Haxby, mercer. Ricardus de Bottercramb. Willielmus de Fangfoss, alutarius. Willielmus de Thornton. Johannes de Cathall, sellar. Ricardus de Bilbrough, molendinarius. Ricardus de Rughford. Simon de Acum. Robertus de Copmanthorp, tannator. Petrus de Foxholes, zonarius. Jacobus de Pickeryng, pistor. Johannes de Setryngton, pelliparius. Ricardus de Pytyngton, pistor. Johannes de Kirkham, pelliparius. Ricardus de Conyston. Ricardus de Heperhingham, cissor. Willielmus de Alvarthorpe, pistor. Adam de Lede. Although these details are somewhat dry and tedious, Iventure to think that the information they afford will not be considered either uninteresting or unimportant. Facts of this class are very sparingly furnished by our general histories : and the truth of history, as regards the social condition and domestic habits of the people at any given period, must wholly depend upon the fidelity and accuracy with which local transactions and circum- stances are described and narrated. Dr. Henry, in his " History of Great Britain," was the first to adopt the method of giving an account of the civil and domestic affairs of the community separately from the military and poUtical transactions of the state, and his work contains only the following short passage relating d2 20 to York in the reign of King Edward III. — " The slaughter of the Jews at the commencement of Richard the First's reign seems to have been fatal to the trade of York, which declined so fast that it was able to send only one small ship with nine mariners to the fleet of Edward III." ' That there was a mas- sacre of the Jews in York during the reign of Richard I., and that heavy pecuniary penalties were inflicted upon some of the inhabitants who were concerned in the outrage, are facts esta- blished by unexceptionable evidence. ^ But it seems highly improbable that the trade of York should not have overcome the effects of these disastrous circumstances at the distance of more than 170 years from the time when they occurred. " The Roll of the huge Fleet of Edward III. before Calais in 1359," is given in Hakluyt's Voyages ; ^ and on this list, whilst York appears as having furnished only 1 ship and 9 men, New- castle is stated to have sent 17, Hull 16, and Grimsby 11 ships. But the largest number was sent from the port of Great Yarmouth, which furnished 43 ships and 1905 mariners, whilst* London itself sent no more than 25 ships and 662 men. As it would be absurd to infer from this account that Yarmouth then exceeded London in commercial importance, it is obvious that no just conclusion can be drawn from it, as to the condition of the trade of York at this period. ' The Pictorial History of Eng- land,' a well-known publication of the present day, is compiled upon a, plan similar to the work of Dr. Henry, and in the chapter which professes to give an account of the national industry of the English during the 14th century, the following passage occurs : *' In the provincial towns trade was of course conducted on a smaller scale than in London. The exchange of commodities was effected to a great extent at the fairs and at the markets, and » Vol. VI. p. 266. 2 Warinus de Cuningstrat' r. comp. de xl s. xd. pro occis. Judeormn. Erkenbaldus le Waisdier r. comp. de xx s. pro eodem. Walterus filius Eemij r. comp. de xxxij s. pro eodem. Eobertus de Selebi r. comp. de xxxj s. viii d. pro interfectione Judeorum. Jleoricus d« Fiskergat r. comp. de ij m. pro eodem. Eot. Cane. 3rd John. 3 Vol. I. p. 132. 21 they gave an air of animation and life which would strongly contrast with the dulness by which they were preceded and fol- lowed. In the reign of Edward III., Colchester contained 359 houses, some built of mud, others of timber, and none having any but latticed windows, and yet there were only about nine towns in England of greater importance. The number of inha- bitants was about 3000. Colchester was the centre of resort for a large district, and the trades carried on in it were the 29 fol- lowing : — Baker, Barber, Blacksmith, Bowyer, Brewer, Butcher, Carpenter, Carter, Cobbler, Cook, Dyer, Fisherman, Fuller, Furrier, Girdler, Glass-seller, Glover, Linen-draper, Mercer, and Spice-seller, Mustard and Vinegar-seller, Old Clothes- seller, Tailor, Tanner, Tiler, "Weaver, Wood-cutter, and Wool- comber." ' As the whole of the information which the work contains on this particular subject, is comprised in the passage I have quoted, it may be assumed that none other could be got, and consequently that the state of Colchester as here described is given as a fair specimen of the general condition of provincial towns in England in the 14th century. Whether York were one of the " nine towns of greater importance," adverted to by the writer, is left to conjecture. But surely no doubt can be entertained that the condition of the metropolis of the North was then incomparably superior to that of the capital of the county of Essex. The twenty-nine trades of Colchester dwindle into insignificance, when contrasted with the long list of trades, occupations, and professions existing in York during the reign of Edward III. These amount to the surprising number of one hundred and eighty, including among them all the incorporated trades or mysteries of London, of which there were thirty-six prior to the year 1376, when they were increased to forty-eight. This fact appears still more remarkable when we find from the census of 1831 that the whole number of the trades and pro- fessions of York in the early part of the 19th century was only one hundred and twenty-two. It is also stated in the * Pictorial * Pictorial Hist. I. 841. Most of these facts respecting Colchester, are gathered from the Taxation Bolls of the 2ith and 29tb Edward I., printed in Bot Pari. I. 245. et postea. 22 History,' in a passage preceding that above quoted, that " a large portion of the trade of the country was transacted at fairs and markets. The tradesmen of London had shops in the Cheap, which resembled sheds, and many of them had simply stalls, and travelling occasionally from place to place they may be consi- dered as having been pedlers as well as tradesmen."' Dr. Whitaker in his * History of Craven,' represents that " in those times" (alluding to the commencement of the 14th century), " there were few or no shops, and that the necessaries of life were purchased at the great annual fairs." '^ The correctness of Dr. Whitaker's statement is questioned by Mr. Frost, who observes that the rents of shops at Hull were mentioned in an account rendered to the Archbishopric of York in 1294; and two shops in the Market-place are the subject of a grant dated in 1303 ; and in 1317 six shops are described as situate in the High-street ; but he suggests a doubt whether the shops were allowed to be used at any other time than during the holding of the fairs, because a statute, passed in 1332, commanded that the merchants attending fairs should shut up their shops and stalls at the close of the fair. ^ Possibly Dr. Whitaker's opinion was correct as to the scarcity of shops in small towns during the reign of Edward I., but it is obvious that a very diifeient state of things prevailed in York not more than half a century later. A compotus of the date of 1376 enumerates more than sixty shops within the city then let to different tradesmen at rents varying from 10s. to 30s. per annum each ; and the rent of one of larger dimensions than the rest was 36s. * Many of these shops were situate upon Ouse- bridge, and several in Nessgate and other adjacent streets. Fifteen of them were in ' Hosier's Rawe,' a place near the Pavement. Several shops near Foss-bridge are also mentioned in the same document ; and it is reasonable to suppose that other parts of the city were equally well supplied, as the shops would necessarily bear a due proportion to the number of tradesmen, » Pict. Hist. I. 840. 2 Whitaker's History of Craven, p. 326. 3 Hist. Not. of Hull, p. 19. * " De Boberto Wrenche pro magna shoppa juxta le Maysendieu, xzxvi s." 23 and the amount of the rents paid for them proves that they were something superior to the sheds or stalls described in the * Pictorial History.' It need not be contended that the York shops of the 14th century bore any resemblance to the spacious and elegant Depot or Boutique of the present day. It is apparent that many of these shops formed no part of the dwell- ing-houses, but were detached and separate : and most probably many of them were huddled together in the more frequented streets and thoroughfares, which from their gloominess and narrowness would resemble in some respects the bazaar of an Eastern city in modem times. It may not be deemed an inappropriate illustration of the preceding facts, if I attempt to present to you a sketch, neces- sarily shght and imperfect, of the external aspect of York towards the close of the 14th century. I will commence with the Minster, which must always possess the first claim to our regard and admiration. To the refined taste and religious zeal of those eminent prelates, Romayne, Melton, and Thoresby, we are indebted for the nave, the chapter-house, and the choir : and the munificence of Skirlaw gave a noble finish to the whole by raising the central tower. The contract for executing the glazier's work of the great East window is dated in 1405, so that the fabric of the choir was, most probably, intire before that time ; and as the "Western towers were erected a few years afterwards, it is but a slight anachronism to say that at the period chosen for our imaginary survey, our beautiful cathedral was nearly as com- plete as we see it at this day. Next to the Minster in importance was St. Mary's Abbey, the great Benedictine monastery among the interesting ruins of which we are now assembled. The most eminent of its abbots, Simon de Warwick, died in the preceding century. To him are ascribed the construction of the boundary walls and towers, and the completion of the church. The chapter-house, and the lodge and gateway, and great part of the abbatial buildings were of a still earlier date; and although there were some subsequent erections, we may safely assert that the magnificence of this 24 splendid monastery, and (to use the words of its learned and venerable historian) "the exquisite taste and unrivalled ele- gance" of its various parts, were at no period displayed in greater perfection than at the close of thel4th century. ' Separated from St. Mary's Abbey only by that most interest- ing relic of a more remote antiquity, the Roman vallum and tower, stood the wealthy Hospital of St. Leonard, which Drake calls " one of the antientest as well as noblest foundations of that kind in Britain." The few remains now existing of the buildings that belonged to this establishment, and especially the elegant gable of the infirmary chapel which is once more restored to the light of day, shew that in architectural style and decoration, it was not unworthy of being in the immediate vicinity of St. Mary's Abbey. The fortifications of the city were at this time probably in their most entire and perfect form. It was in the year 1327 that King Edward III., whilst on one of his progresses against the Scots, issued his mandate to the citizens of York, requiring them to put the city and her walls ditches and towers into a sufficient state of defence, for the safety of his mother brother and sisters, while they abided in it. We cannot doubt that the citizens would readily obey the command of a monarch who was their frequent visitor and liberal benefactor. In the opinion of antiquaries, the superstructure of the principal bars or gates, especially of Micklegate Bar and Monkgate Bar, ^ which are singularly fine specimens of military architecture, bears evident marks of being of the age of Edward III. Let us imagine ourselves citizens of York four centuries and a half ago, and desirous of taking a general view of the city. We will embark in the ferry-boat at St. Leonard's landing near the Water-tower, and cross the river to the tower of North- street Postern, at this period called Barker-tower. On our passage we shall not fail to observe the church and conventual buildings of the Friars Eremites, commonly called the ' Austyn Freres/ occupying a considerable space on the brink of the river ^ " Account of the Abbey of St. Mary, York," by the Kev. C. Wellbeloved. Vetusta Mon. Vol. V. 2 Monkgate Bax is the old name. It is now usually called Monk Bar. 25 between St. Leonard's hill and the Common-hall ; or as Leland quaintly describes it " betwixt the tower on Ouse-ripe and Ouse bridge." From Barker-tower we will ascend to the terrace walk of the city wall, and proceed at once to the angular bastion at the highest part of the ramparts, (that which forms a striking point from these grounds,) and through an embrasure in one of its northerly faces what a magnificent coup d'oeil ii afforded us ! Looking across the river, the abbey church and the whole of the abbatial buildings within the inclosure of St. Mary's — the hospital and church of St. Leonard's — and in the back ground, the Minster itself — ^form an assemblage of picturesque and archi- tectural objects of surpassing beauty and grandeur. Having sated our eyes with gazing on this scene, we will turn from the bastion ; and immediately below the walls, the Dominican monastery of the Friars Preachers* to whom this scite was granted by King Henry III. will engage our attention for a few moments. Passing onwards to the city-wall on the easterly side of the gate or bar called Mickel-hythe, with its " lofty turrets and handsome battlements," we stop to admire the extensive monastic buildings, stately church, and luxurious gardens be- longing to the establishment of Benedictine Monks, called the Priory of the Holy Trinity, extending from the ramparts to Trinity-lane, and from the street of Micklegate to the precincts of the antient prison or vetus hallium belonging to the Arch- bishops of York, which is the next object to attract our notice. Having passed its gloomy dungeons we find ourselves on the summit of an artificial mount raised within the circuit of the walls, commanding an extensive view of the river and the various objects on its left or northerly bank, the most conspicuous of which is the royal castle of the county of York with its em- battled walls and numerous towers, and on an artificial hill of corresponding magnitude to that on which we now stand, rises pre-eminent in beauty and picturesque effect, the fortress or citadel which afterwards acquired the name of Clifford's Tower. Under the shelter and protection of this tower, and occupying a large space between it and the river, is the important establish- * The scite of this monastery is now occupied hj the Bailway station. 26 ment of monks of the order of St. Francis commonly called the Friars Minors, or Freres Menours, which, according to Froissart, was upon so extensive and princely a scale as to be capable of accommodating King Edward III. and his queen-mother who at the same time held their separate courts within its walls. Still retaining our position upon the hill above the vetus halliurriy we shall perceive that besides the Castle and the Friars Minors, several other objects, although of less importance, are comprised in our prospect. Below us, on the same side of the river, we see the Nunnery of St. Clement founded by King Henry I., and on the opposite shore, near to the sally-port on the western side of the castle-wall, are the house and chapel of the Guild of St. George, with the water-milns adjoining, which formerly be- longed to the order of Knights Templars. Carrying our view a little further we may discern the Priory of Gilbertine Monks, dedicated to St. Andrew, standing on the opposite bank of the river Foss, near its confluence with the Ouse. ' Turning our faces towards the West, we shall see emerging from the general mass of the buildings of the city, the innumerable spires and towers of the parochial churches, and other public edifices, in every direction, presenting a wonderful variety of form and structure. Descending from this eminence, and proceeding through Skeldergate, we arrive at Ouse-bridge, where are several ob- jects of curiosity and interest. The chantry chapel dedicated to St. William, an exquisite specimen of Anglo-Norman architec- ture ; and adjoining to it, or under the same roof, the courts of law and justice, and the municipal hall ; and beneath these the Kid-cote or prison for criminals and other offenders : the fronts of all these buildings and the bridge itself being covered and choked up with clusters of shops in every part. Passing, not without due reverence, the Cross * erected on the summit of the 1 Of the Nunnery of St. Clement, or the Priory of St. Andrew, scarcely a vestige remains to show where they stood, but a solitary shield bearing the cross of the chivalric St. George, sculptured in stone, still marks the entrance to the religious guild of which he was the patron saint. ^ " A cruce super pontem Use." Document dated 1380. 27 bridge, we soon find ourselves on the eastern side of the river, threading the narrow streets of a closely built and thickly peo^ pled city. And now, having concluded our rapid survey, may I presume to ask whether enough has not been said to justify us in believ- ing that at the period in question, the city of York was inhab- ited by a numerous, industrious, and wealthy community,? It might be absurd to compare her condition at the close of the 14th century with that of London, or of any of the great com- mercial cities of Italy which had then attained their highest pitch of grandeur and prosperity. Probably she had no preten- sion to be put upon a level at this period either as to extent or population, commercial importance or architectural beauty, with Genoa or Pisa, Milan or Florence ; but it will not perhaps be denied that some grounds have been advanced for supporting her claim to be placed in a much higher position than has yet been assigned to her by any writers of the history of those times. Jpril 6th. Dr. Goldie, V. P., in the Chair. John Bell, Esq., M.P. of Thirsk, and the Rev. Chas. Hawkins, Canon Residentiary of York, were elected Subscribing Members. The following additions made to the Museum, &c., since the previous Meeting, were announced by the Secretary. Bi/ Donation. From Randall Hatfeild, Esq., two fine examples of the Brain Coral (Meandrina cerebriformis), and a large piece of double- refracting Spar. From the Rev. G. R. Read, (Sutton-on-Derwent,) two very remarkable Sponges. From William Rudston Read, Esq., his entire collection of British Birds' Eggs, with the Cabinet, and a Skin of the Glaucous Gull, from Iceland. (Troceedings Y. P. S., 1847.) F 28 From Edward Wilson, Esq., (Lydstip House, near Tenby,) six Skins of Birds, new to the collection, from New Grenada. From Dr. Lee, (Hartwell House, Aylesbury,) two Skins of Birds, new to the collection. From William Moberley, Esq., specimen of Wood, from the Lias, at Sands-end, near Whitby. From J. W. Whittell, Esq., a Lias species of Plagiostoma, from the railway cutting at Upper Helmsley. From Mrs. Barker, a specimen of the little Woodpecker. From Mr. Tesseyman, of Scarboro', Eggs of the Penguin, found in guano, at Ichaboe. From John Wood, Esq. (London), sixty packets of Seeds, sent out by the Horticultural Society of London. From Joseph Dent, Esq., High Sheriff of the County, Monu- mental Stone of the Roman Standard-bearer, L. Dvccivs B-VF- riNvs. (See page 42.) From the Rev. C. Sykes, a Northumberland Styca of Ethelred, one of a hoard lately discovered at UUeskelf, near Tadcaster. From W. Rudston Read, Esq., a small brass Coin, probably British. From Mr. Cluderay, a Balloting Box for the use of the Society. From Mr. H. Chapman, a small Roman earthen vessel, found in the excavations now in progress at the top of one of Severus's Hills. From Edwin Smith, Esq., a defaced Roman coin from the same spot. From Randall Hatfeild, Esq., a splendid Anatomical Work, in 4 vols, elephant folio, plates, and 4 vols, quarto, text, entitled *'Icones Anatomicae ex optimis neotericorum operibus summa diligentia depromptse et coUectse opera et studio Leopoldi Marci Antonii et Floriani Caldani, Venetiis, 1801 — 13 ; and a German Manual of the art of Manufacturing Iron, in 4 vols. 8vo. Berlin, 1827. From Thomas Meynell, Jun., Esq., " Select Remains of the learned John Ray, with his Life, by the late William Derham, D.D;" London, 1760 j and " the Historic of Plants," trans- 29 lated from the Dutch of D. Rembert Dodoens, by John Lite, 1578. FromT. W.Wilson, Esq., the "York Herald," Nos. 1 to 157, (1790 to 1792), half bound, in one volume, folio. From Edward Charlesworth, Esq., No. 2 of The London Geological Journal (Duplicate.) By Purchase. A specimen of the Black Swan, from Australia. From the Ray Society, " Burmeister on the Organization, &c., of Trilobites," — " Nudibranchiate MoUusca," by Messrs. Alder and Hancock, part 3. The Chairman, after remarking upon the value of the donations, announced to the meeting that F. J. Copsie, Esq., lately deceased, one of the earliest members and warmest supporters of the society, had by will bequeathed to it a legacy of £100. The following letter from Chas. Newton, Esq., of the British Museum, addressed to John Phillips, Esq., was then read :— British Museum, March 13, 1847. My Dear Sir, — As you are good enough to give me an opportunity of addressing the Members of the Yorkshire Philo- sophical Society once more on the subject of British and Roman antiquities in this county, I will, in the first place, briefly recapi- tulate what I stated in my Memoir at the Meeting of the Archaeological Institute. On that occasion I pointed out that by a series of dated monuments, the occupation of Yorkshire by the Romans from the time of Domitian to the third century, a. d. was satisfactorily proved, and that the extent and permanence of that occupation was further shewn by the number and importance of the Roman roads, camps, and other military works. That while the Roman population was gathered together in large towns, placed so as to command the navigable rivers, JC fV 30 mines, and most fertile parts of the country, and to protect the two great lines of communication from Lancashire to the eastern coast, and from north to south, the Britons appear to have retreated to the high ground on the east side of the county, where we trace their presence hy the harrows, camps, and other remains of the districts about Whitby, Scarborough, and Malton. After having stated the general evidence to be deduced from the permanent British and Roman remains, such as camps, roads, entrenchments, barrows, architectural remains, I took a brief sur- vey of such other antiquities of the same early period as I had ascertained to have been from time to time discovered in York- shire, such as weapons, ornaments, coins, pottery, &c. Of such objects there has not yet been collected together in one place a number sufficient to enable us to form extensive generalizations ; but we may see in the Roman antiquities, evi- dence rather of a military settlement than of a highly civilized province, such as we may suppose Gaul and Spain to have been ; while in the British remains may be traced that transition from an age of stone to an age of bronze, from an age antecedent to Roman civilization to an age subsequent to it, which is much more strongly marked where the evidence is more abundant and admits of more complete classification. Such were the general and obvious inductions from the evi- dence I had got together. Much remained for more systematic research carried on with more leisure. I pointed out that many lines of Roman roads had never been duly investigated ; that the Roman towns in Antoninus, Ptolemy, and the Notitia were not all satisfactorily identified, notwith- standing the labours and acumen of successive topographers; that there existed in difierent parts of the county vast anomalous earthworks, such as those at Stanwick, at Kirklington, on Seamer Moor near Scarborough, on Settrington "Wold, near Millington, and those at Wincobank, Mexborough, and other places in the southern part of the county, entrenchments of which the purpose is unknown, and which we cannot assign with cer- tainty to any definite race or period ; that in the immediate 31 vicinity of some of these were groups of barrows probably connected with them, but the contents of which have never been examined ; and that there have been discovered in this county many antiquities of not less uncertain attribution in regard to race and period, and only to be explained by a comparison with many similar specimens. Such was the brief sketch of the subject which I drew up from the valuable information supplied to me by the kindness of cor- respondents in the county, from the notices in topographical works, and from the evidence of such antiquities found in Yorkshire as I was able personally to examine. This introductory Memoir, with an accompanying Map, will shortly be published in the Volume of Proceedings of the Institute at York ; but to carry out fully the inquiry I have commenced, there will be required — 1. An accurate examination of the lines of Roman roads throughout the county, before these remains are finally efiaced by the plough. 2. Plans of all the camps and entrenchments, with sections of their earthworks, so as to enable us to classify them according to the varieties in their form and disposition. 3. A systematic excavation of barrows where they occur in groups, and in apparent relation to earthworks. 4. An accurate registration of all future discoveries of British and Roman remains throughout the county, carried on by an organized correspondence. 5. The permanent collection into one Museum generally accessible, of all antiquities so found, and their classification according to periods and races. The two first of these desiderata will, I trust, be soon supplied by the researches of the Ordnance Surveyors. The plan of excavation I hope to see directed by the York- shire Philosophical Society, when a general fund for such a purpose shall have been raised. The registration of discoveries may be carried on by a number of persons resident in the county, each being responsible for a particular district. The record would be most clearly kept on 32 a skeleton map of the district traced from Teesdale's larger map, the remains of each race being inscribed in ink of a different colour. From time to time returns should be made from each district, and registered on a map of the whole county, preserved in some central spot like the Museum at York. The permanent assemblage in one collection of all antiquities thus found is as essential to the advancement of Archaeology, as a scientific arrangement of fossils is to Geology : in the latter study the self-denying liberality of private collectors has done much for the formation of public Museums, and it is hoped that archaeologists will not be less mindful of the true interests of knowledge by contributing antiquities to one common stock, instead of isolating specimens, prized because rare, but of no real value unless generally accessible for purposes of comparison and combination. If the suggestions here offered be thought worthy to be put into execution, I should hope that a very few years of survey, registration, and classification, would lead to a far more accurate knowledge not only of the condition of British and Roman York- shire, but of the whole British race before and after the Roman conquest. It is surely not an uninteresting or trifling labour to seek to know what was the precise social condition of our savage ances- tors ; whether at the time of the Roman invasion, the hunter, the shepherd, and the agricultural mode of life prevailed among them simultaneously, in what relative proportions in the whole population, and according to what differences of climate and soil ; what progress they had made towards permanent social improve- ment at the moment of contact with exotic civilization ; what they gained and what they lost from their conquerors ; how far the benefits of social order maintained by the strong arm of the empire compensated for the loss of independence and the corrup- tion of the manly virtue of the savage ; what tribes retained their native ideas and mode of life longest, whether through greater natural strength of character, or from the circumstance of inhabiting a more inaccessible district. It is by the patient examination of the military works, dwell- ings, places of sepulture, and works of art of the primeval period. 33 that we must seek the answer to such inquiries as these : it is hy the patient accumulation of facts, and hy their interpretation according to the sound laws of archaeological criticism, not through the premature speculations and misdirected erudition of the antiquaries of the last century, that we can hope to supply those details which are wanting to complete the delineation of ancient British life. I remain, my dear Sir, Yours very truly, CHARLES NEWTON. John Phillips, Esq., &c., &c. The following paper was then read hy Mr. Charlesworth, " on the occurrence near Tadcaster of a specimen of Larus Rossii, (Ross's Rosy Gull), one of the rarest known birds and new to British Ornithology.''* A short time since I was shewn by Mr. Graham, (the very excellent bird-preserver in Spurriergate,) a beautiful Gull which had been shot near Tadcaster, and its characters not agreeing with those of any species appearing in Mr. Yarrell's History of British Birds, with the permission of its owner, and of William Milner, Esq., of Nun Appleton, to whom the opportunity of purchasing the specimen had been promised, I sent it to Mr. Yarrell, stating at the same time, that if the Gull were new or rare as a British Bird, any information upon the subject would be highly acceptable for publication in the " Proceedings" of this Society. From Mr. Yarrell's acknowledgment* of the receipt of the Bird, and obliging reply to my inquiries, I make the following extract : — " The sight of the Gull enables me to send you so many references to this species that any remarks from me will be superfluous, beyond noticing that, as far as I am aware, it is not only a very rare bird, but also quite new to our British Cata- logue. This last remark may require explanation, because • Dated Byder-street, St. James's, March 23rd, 1847. 34 Mr. WilKam Macgillivray includes this species in his Manual of British Ornithology, with the remark that " this species has once occurred in Ireland." — Vol ii. p. 254. " I remember some years ago to have seen a notice in print, that this bird had been once taken in Ireland, but from the countries visited or known to the writer of that notice, and from the circumstance that this species had only occurred in high northern latitudes, I came to the conclusion that the printer had made a mistake of one letter, and that for Ireland we ought to read Iceland. Add to this, that the Birds of Ireland have been carefully worked-out by Mr. Thompson of Belfast, who is one of the best authorities for Irish Birds, and this species is not included by him in his Fauna of Ireland." The following are the references to this species, which Mr. YarreU is so good as to supply at the end of his letter. Larus Rossii. Ross's Rosy Gull — Cuneate-tailed Gull — Wedge-tailed G. &c., j&rst noticed by Dr. Richardson in a paper read by the Wernerian Society, in January, 1824. FaunaBoreali Americana, Swains, and Eich., 1831. .page 427. sp. 192. Nuttall'sMan.Ornith. of U. S. and Canada, 1834. ..page 295 and 6. Audubon's Ornith. Biog. 1839 vol. 5. page 324. „ Synopsis of Birds of N. A. 1 839 page 323. sp. 442. Macgillivray's Man. of Brit. Ornith. 1842. vol. S.page 252. Audubon's Birds of Amer. 1844 vol. 7- page 296. Richardson's App. to Parry's Second Voyage page 359. Ross's App. to Parry's Polar Voyage page 195. Appendix to Ross's Last Voyage, 1835 page 36. sp. 26. Wilson's Illust. Zool. vol. 1. pi. 8. Jardine and Selby Orn. Illust. p. 1. plate 14. See also Gray and Mitchell's Genera of Birds, part 19, Nov. 1845, for a figure on plate 180 of the head and form of the tail. The Fauna Boreali Americana, not being accessible to me, I consulted Audubon's American Ornithological Biography, of which there is a copy in the library of the Society. Under the head of Larus Rossii, Audubon remarks that he has never met with " this beautiful little Gull," and that he is conse- 35 quently obliged to quote the following description from Dr. Richardson's work : — " Cuneate-tailed Gull, with a pearl-grey mantle. Wings longer than the cuneiform tail. The outer web of the first tail-feather blackish ; a slender black bill, tarsi an inch long, and, as well as the feet, vermilion red. " Two specimens of this Gull were killed on the coast of Mel- ville Peninsula, on Sir Edward Parry's second voyage, one of which is preserved in the Museum of the University of Edin- burgh, and the other was presented to Joseph Sabine, Esq. No other examples are known to exist in collections ; but Commander Ross, in his Zoological Appendix to Sir Edward Parry's narra- tive of his most adventurous boat-voyage towards the Pole, relates that several were seen during the journey over the ice north of Spitzbergen, and that Lieutenant Forster also found the species in Waygait Straits, which is probably one of its breeding places. It is to Commander Ross, who killed the first specimen which was obtained, that the species is dedicated, as a tribute for his unwearied exertions in the promotion of natural history on the late Arctic voyages, in all of which he bore a part. Of the peculiar habits or winter retreat of this species nothing is known. " Description of a specimen killed, June 1823, at Alagnak, Melville Peninsula, Lat. 69^° N. " Colour. — Scapulars, inter-scapulars, and both surfaces of the wings clear pearl grey ; outer web of the first quill blackish- brown to its tip, which is grey ; tips of the scapulars and lesser quills whitish. Some small feathers near the eye, and a collar round the middle of the neck pitch black. Rest of the plumage white, the neck above and the whole under plumage deeply tinged with peach-blossom-red in recent specimens. Bill black ; its rictus and the edges of the eyelids reddish-orange. Legs and feet vermilion-red ; nails blackish. " Form. — Bill slender, weak, with a scarcely perceptible salient angle beneath ; the upper mandible slightly arched and com- pressed towards the point ; the commissure slightly curved at the tip. Wings an inch longer than the decidedly cuneiform tail, of which the central feathers are an inch longer than the 36 lateral. Tarsi rather stout; the thumh very distinct, armed with a nail as large as that of the outer toe. " The other specimen killed hy Mr. Sherer a few days later, differs only in the first primary coverts having the same dark colour with the outer web of the first primary itself." It would appear that the fate of the specimen of Larus E,ossii, given to Mr. Sabine, is not known, and that none of our public Museums have since been able to obtain examples, for Mr. Mitchell, the Secretary of the Zoological Society, and joint- author with Mr. G. E>. Gray, of the beautiful work now pub- lishing on the genera of Birds, in writing to me upon the subject remarks, " The only specimen I could hear of when I wanted it [Larus B-ossii] for the " Genera of Birds" was one at Edin- burgh, from which I obtained a drawing." Being anxious to know upon what evidence Professor Mac- gillivray had inserted Larus Rossii, in his Manual of British Ornithology, I wrote to this gentleman for information upon the point, but at present no reply to my inquiry has reached me. Messrs. Gray and Mitchell adopt for this species the subgeneric name Rhodostethia, with the following characters : — Rhodostethia, Macgxllivray. " IBill short, slender, straight, with the culmen straight at the base, and curved at the tip, the sides compressed, the gonys short, advancing upwards, and scarcely angulated ; the nostrils lateral and submedial. Wings lengthened and pointed, with the first quill the longest. Tail moderate and wedge-shaped. Tarsi strong, as long as the middle toe. Toes moderate, the anterior ones united by a full web ; the hind toe short and elevated." Mr. Yarrell, in a subsequent letter, put me In possession of the following notes which he had taken of the winter plumage, &c., of this specimen.* • Its capture is authenticated in the following memorandum, received from Henry Milner, Esq. (Nun Apple ton) : — "Eoss's Gull was killed by Horner, Lord Howden's head keeper, in February last (1847), in a ploughed field, near the hamlet of Milford cum Kirby, in the parish of Kirby : its flight resembled according to Homer's account, the flight of any other gull, and it did not seem at all shy." 37 " Beak black ; eyes with a narrow line of dark feathers around them ; head, whole of the neck and breast delicate rose colour, mixed or clouded with French grey ; wings and back French grey ; outer web of the first primary only, dark grey ; the shafts bluish grey; upper tail, coverts; tail feathers, and all the under surface of the body, delicate rose-colour ; under surface of the wings, French grey ; the shafts of the primaries, white ; central pair of tail feathers the longest ; the remainder gradu- ated, forming a wedge-shaped tail ; legs, toes, and interdigital membranes, vermillion ; the claws black. Whole length of the bird about 14 inches ; wing, from the anterior bird to the end of the first primary, which is the longest, 10^ ; beak, from the point to the feathers on the top, three-fourths of an inch ; length of the tarsus, 1|." A communication was then read, entitled "Notice of Zamia Gigas,'' hy James Yates, Esq., M. A., F. R. S., &c. The fossil plant, of which I have attempted a re-construction in the drawing that accompanies this paper, (fig. 1.) is found at several places along the coast of Yorkshire between Staithes and Scarborough. It always occurs in the shale or sandstone be- longing to the Lower Oolite, or, to speak more precisely, in the "Lower Sandstone, Shale, and Coal, No. 13," of Professor Phillips's arrangement.* Very fine specimens of the leaves are found at Saltwick, near Whitby. But by far the most remark- able locality for the occurrence both of leaves, and of the various parts supposed to belong to the inflorescence, is a spot of very limited extent about a mile to the N. W. of Runsvrick. I have been told, that the plant also appears between this spot and Staithes. The attention of geologists was first directed to the leaves, which are of large size, being sometimes 18 inches or more in length. They are pinnate and cycadiform, and have evidently been characterised by the rigidity which belongs to the recent Cycadese. On comparing the two recent Linnean genera, which constitute this Natural Order, viz., Cycas and Zamia, there can • Geology of Yorkshire, Vol. I. pp. 33, 38, 39, 96, 98. 38 be no hesitation in referring the fossil leaves to the latter rather than to the former. The leaflet of Cycas is distinguished by a strong nervure which runs along the middle ; that of Zamia Eestoration of Zamia Gigas. has no such strong nervure along the middle, but a considerable number of fine nervures, which proceed from the base of the leaflet, then run parallel to one another, and terminate, not at the apex, as is the case with most other plants, but along the margin of the leaflet. This remarkable pecuharity may be ob- served most distinctly in the leaflets of the fossil. Hence it was referred to the genus Zamia ; and the species, found so abun- dantly at Runswick, was called by M. Adolphe Brongniart, Zamia Mantellii. He mentions it under this name, together with makiy other species, in his Prodrome (Vune Histoire des Vegetaux Fossiles, published in 1828. Almost coincidently Pro- fessor Phillips employed for these plants the generic denomination 39 of Cycadites, in compliance probably with the authority of Brown and Buckland, and he has figured a portion of a frond under the name of Cycadites lanceolatus* , which appears to be iden- tical with the Zamia Mantellii of Brongniart, or Z. Gigas of Lindley. Several years afterwards it received from our coun- tryman, Dr. Lindley, who published the figure of part of a frond in the Fossil Flora of Great Britain (I. 165), the name of Zamia Gigas. Hence it has been commonly known by this name among us, although, I confess, the specific name Gigas does not seem to me appropriate, since the whole plant probably did not exceed three feet in height, being of the ordi- nary dimensions of our recent species. Besides these figures of the leaves, representations of various parts supposed to belong to the inflorescence were published by the Rev. Dr. Young of "Whitby, in his Geological Survey of the Yorkshire Coast, after drawings by Mr. Bird. The occurrence of cycadiform plants in the Yorkshire Oolite derives a high degree of interest from the fact, that stems of plants belonging to the same natural order are found in the Oolite on the southern shores of our island. These have been described and illustrated in a most instructive manner by Professor Buckland in the Geological Transactions, (New Series, vol. II. 1828,) and in his Bridge water Treatise, (vol. I. p. 496, 503.) We are, however, deprived of the anticipated satisfaction of connecting these facts together by the considera- tion that, whilst the cycadiform stems of the Portland Oolite are destitute of leaves, on the other hand the leaves of the Yorkshire Oolite are not connected with stems at all re- sembling those of the south of England. The pinnate leaves of the fossil Zamia of the Yorkshire coast have unquestionably a very close resemblance to the leaves of a recent Zamia. But here the analogy seems to cease. The stem of the fossil does not resemble the stem, or the mode of growth, of any recent species of Zamia, that I have ever seen. The fossil stem is much smaller in diameter and more elongated, and the leaves are placed much more widely apart than in the recent • Geology of Yorkshire, I. p. 164, 168. Plate X. Fig. 8. 40 species ; nor have I been able to discover any trace of those radiating plates, which both in the recent Cycadeee and in the Portland specimens are perfectly manifest to the naked eye. But a still greater difficulty presents itself, to which I beg to direct the attention of any geologists or botanists, who may have the opportunity of aiding in the study of this fossil. My re- construction of the plant is founded upon the examination of about 300 specimens, some of them found by me at Runswick, others preserved in various Museums, both public and private. I think there can be no doubt, that the appearance, both of the lower plant, consisting of the stem with the leaves proceeding from it, and of the upper part, consisting of a branched fruit- stalk with its inflorescence, was such as I now exhibit in the drawing. But the evidence, though very considerable and sufficient to produce conviction in ordinary cases, is not so com- plete as might be desired in reference to the question whether the upper and the lower part belonged to the same plant. The heads or flowers of the upper part do not at all resemble the flowers of Cycadea?, either in their external form or in their internal structure. M. Brongniart long ago pronounced the opinion, that notwithstanding the exact resemblance of the fossil leaves to those of the recent Zamia, the fructification may have been difierent. * Nevertheless, judging, as we must do in the absence of other evidence, from the analogy of the living plant, these fossil leaves would have induced us to expect a flower in the form of a cone or a catkin. But we perceive nothing of the kind. The head of the Zamia Gigas, found at Runs wick, consists of a considerable number of scales, resembling sepals, petals, or perhaps dilated stamens, all growing from the top of the fruit-stalk, and overlapping one another. They sur- round an oval or pyriform cavity, which is dilated at the top, and which appears to have contained the germen. This, so far as I • Comparing the leaves of Z. Mantellii to those of the recent Zamia, he says (^Prodrome dune Histoire, dtc.) "Cette identite est telle que nous ne pouvons pas nous empecher de placer ces plantes dans le genre Zamia, tout en etablissant qu'il etoit possible, que ces plantes, tout-a-fait semblables par leurs feuilles, fussent differentes par leur fructification." 41 can judge from numerous specimens, which I have examined in various states of destruction and decay, was of a form, which may be compared to the capsule of a poppy, or the berry of a nymphaea. See the accompanying drawing (fig. 2.) I should be glad of any further informa- tion or evidence re- garding this part of the subject ; but the great question is, whe- ther this flower or fruit belonged to the stem and leaves of Zamia Gigas. They are found together at Runswick in great quantities, and no other fruit or flower presents itself, which can be supposed to have belonged to the stem and leaves. In one specimen also, but only in one, I saw, as it appeared to me, a leaf-stalk in con- nection with a fruit-stalk, both proceeding from the same stem. Moreover, the stems, from which the leaves grow, and those which bear the fruit, have a strong resemblance to one another, being striated in the same manner outwardly, and filled within with the same brown amorphous friable substance, which seems to have been derived from the decomposition of pith. It is probable, therefore, that the universal belief of the workmen and fossilists of Whitby may be correct, viz., that all the variety of specimens, which they call Zamias, belonged to one and the same plant. But on so essential a point it is desirable to have the best possible evidence. I conclude these remarks with observing, that the whole collection of specimens, which I have been able to make, amounting to about 130, will be submitted to the judgment of 42 M. Adolphe Brongniart. Although they seem to me to contain a mass of very curious evidence, into the details of which I do not enter, but which will, I trust, enable that distinguished botanist to assign to this plant its proper place in the system of vegetables, yet I shall be extremely gratified and obliged by any further assistance, which I may be able to obtain in the investi- gation of the subject. Norton Hall, Derbyshire, April 2nd, 1847r Mr. Wellbeloved, as Curator of the Antiquarian department of the Museum, congratulated the Members upon having received from Joseph Dent, Esq., the High Sheriff, the very valuable present of the monumental stone, erected to the memory of the Roman standard-bearer Lucius Duccius Ruffinus, almost the only existing relic of Roman times of that kind known to have been discovered in York, not already in the possession of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society. A brief history of the stone, from Horsley and Drake, was then given, and some peculiarities in the inscription pointed out and explained. A small fictile vessel, nearly perfect, and a coin much defaced, both Roman, having been presented, the former by Mr. Chap- man, the latter by Edwin Smith, Esq., as lately found near the top of one of Severus' hills, on which the Waterworks' Com- pany are making preparations for a reservoir, Mr. Wellbeloved observed, that supposing these relics to have been found there, which was by no means certain, it was not to be imagined that such a circumstance gave any countenance to the old fable of the artificial origin of these hills, or cast any doubt upon the opinion of Professor Phillips, that " they are reliques of great geological interest, marks of ancient watery forces in the vale of York." Severus foimd them there when he came to York, and left them certainly as he found them — there being " no mark of any distinct earthwork, modifying even slightly the form left by nature."* • See "Eburacum," by the Kev. C. WeUbeloved, page 113, and pi. xiii. 43 May 4th. Dr. Goldie, V. P., in the Chair. John Wilson, Esq., (Solicitor,) and William Webster, Esq., both of York, were elected Subscribing Members. The following additions were announced to the Museum and Library. By Donation. From the Rev. G. R. Read, two specimens of fan-coral, from the East Indies. From John Wood, Esq., a Roman or Roman-British vase, found about four feet below the surface at Scoreby. From H. Tuke Holmes, Esq., a large fragment of a Roman (Samian) bowl, found in York, and belonging to the late F. J. Copsie, Esq. From Dr. Goldie, a Saxon sceatta, according to Ruding, of Egbert, King of Kent, A. D. 665-674 ; but according to Haw- kins, of Eadbert, King of Northumbria, 737-758. From F. B. Hacket, Esq., a coin of Gallienus, third brass, found in the Garden of the donor, Bootham. From the Directors of the East India Company, per Dr. Forbes Royle, twelve species of Orchidea?, from the Botanic Garden at Calcutta. From Sir Roderick Impey Murchison (the Author), " On the Silurian Rocks of part of Sweden," extracted from the Journal of the Geological Society ; and " A brief review of the Classifi- cation of the Sedimentary Rocks of Cornwall," from the Trans- actions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall. From the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society, their Four- teenth Annual Report. From Giles Mimby, Esq. (the author), " Flore de I'Alg^rie ou Catalogue des Plantes indigenes du Royaume d' Alger, accom- pagne des descriptions de quelques especes nouvelles ou peu connues, par G. Munby, Colon d' Alger," Paris, 8vo., 1847. (Froceedinga T. P, S., 1M7.) G 44 By Purchase. The Silurian System, founded on geological researches in the counties of Salop, Hereford, Radnor, Montgomery, Caer- marthen, Brecon, Pembroke, Monmouth, Gloucester, Worcester, and Stafford, with descriptions of the coal fields and overlying formations. By Roderick Impey Murchison, F.R.S., F.L.S. 3 vols, and separate map, 4to. London, 1839. Odontography, or a Treatise on the Comparative Anatomy of the Teeth : their Physiological relations, mode of develope- ment, and microscopic structure in the vertebrate animals, illustrated by upwards of 150 plates. By Richard Owen, F. R. S., &c. London, 1841, royal 8vo. Memoirs of Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, with numerous Plates, by Thomas Hawkins, F. G. S., London, 1834 ; and the book of the Great Sea Dragons, by the same, 1840 ', bound together in one vol. folio. A Conchological Manual, by G. B. Sowerby, Jun., illustrated by upwards of five hundred figures, (coloured copy), 1 vol. 8vo., London, 1839. A History of British Birds, by William Yarrell, F. L. S., illustrated by 520 wood engravings ', 3 vols, and supplement, 8vo. London, 1843. A Manual of the Land and Fresh- Water Shells of the British Islands, with figures of each of the kinds, by William Turton ; a new edition, thoroughly revised and much enlarged, by John Edward Gray, F.R. S., &c., 8vo., London, 1840. Nomenclator Zoologicus continens Nomina Systematica Generum Animalium tam viventium quam fossilium, secundum ordinem alphabeticum disposita, adjectis auctoribus, libris in quibus reperiuntur, anno editionis, etymologia, et familiis ad quas pertinent, in variis classibus, Auctore L. Agassiz : — Fasciculus I. continens Mammalia, Echinodermata et Acalephas ; II. Aves ; III. et IV. Crustacea et Vermes, i. e. Entozoa, Turbellaria et Annulata ; Hemiptera et Infusoria ; Polygastrica et Rotatoria ; 45 V. Neuroptera, Orthoptera et Polypos ; VI. Reptilia; VII. et VIII. Pisces, et Hymenoptera ; Monographies D'Echinodermes vivans et Fossiles, par L. Agassiz : — 1. Livraison, contenant Les Sal^nies ; 2. Les Scutelles ; 8. Les Gal^rites et Les Dysaster, par E. Desor ; 4. L'Anatomie du genre Echinus, par G. Valentin, (avec un Atlas de 8 planches in folio, et 1 pi. in 4to.) Description des Echinodermes Fossiles de la Suisse; par L. Agassiz : — Premiere partie, Spatangoides et Clypeastroides ; seconde partie, Cidarides. 4to., Neuchatel, 1839. Traite Elementaire de Pal^ontologie ou Histoire Naturelle des Animaux Fossiles, par F. J. Pictet. 4 vols. 8vo., Paris, 1844. Description des Coquilles et des Polypiers Fossiles des Ter- rains Tertiaires de la Belgique, par P. H. Nyst. 4to., BruxeUes, 1844. The Chairman stated that these valuable books on Natural History, hadbeen purchased by the Council on very advantageous terms, and for practical purposes as well as for reference, consti- tuted a most desirable accession to the Library. One of the specimens of brain-coral (Meandrina), presented at a former meeting by Randall Hatfeild, Esq., was upon the table ; and Mr. Charlesworth stated that upon chipping away portions of the base so as display the interior, it was found to contain a colony of boring MoUusca, among which he had determined the following genera: Lithodomus, Gastrocheena (two species), Petricola (two species), Modiola, and Area. Most of the above were so beautifully displayed in situ, that Mr. C. regarded the specimen as by far the most valuable and instruc- tive of the kind he had seen. The following communication was then read from "W. C. Williamson, Esq., entitled, " On the scaly vegetable heads or g2 46 collars from Runswick Bay, supposed to belong to Zamia Gigas." Since the year 1833, 1 have attempted to elucidate the nature of the interesting vegetable bodies found in the oolite of the Yorkshire Coast, and supposed to belong to Zamia Gigas ; and though it was my intention not to publish the conclusions I had formed, until I should have more completely veorked-out the history of these curious fossils, I am induced to submit a few remarks to the Society, from having just perused the paper upon the subject by my friend Mr. Yates, published in the last number of the Society's Proceedings. My attention was first drawn to these fossils by the figures in the first plate of the Geology of the Yorkshire Coast, by Messrs. Young and Bird. Soon afterwards my father was so fortunate as to collect some beautiful specimens at Runswick Bay, which he placed in my hands for examination ; but unable to decide anything from these few isolated specimens, I visited the locality of their occurrence for the purpose of ascertaining what other vegetable remains were associated with them. The result was a satisfactory conclusion in my own mind that these heads or '' collars," as I conceive they may more properly be desig- nated, were part of the fructification of some Cycadean Plant. On examining the rocks in which they occurred, I only found, in any abundance, the leaves of Zamia Gigas, of Lindley and Hutton — (Zamia Mantellii of Brongniart), — some stems of a Calamite, and fragments of Coniferous wood. Of these three, the " collars" must in all probability have belonged, if to any, either to the first or the last. To ascertain which required further examination. I soon found specimens which established two or three material points in the inquiry. — First, that these curious bodies had been supported by a straight, scaly pedicle, around the upper part of which the curved scales constituting the head, or collar, were arranged like the petals of a flower. — Secondly, that a prolongation of this pedicle sometimes passed through the collar, forming its axis, and becoming much narrower 47 towards its upper part, — thirdly, that after passing completely through the circlet of scales, it again expanded in a funnel- shaped form, terminating superiorly in a well-defined circle, which had evidently articulated with, and supported, some addi- tional appendage. The next thing to be ascertained was the nature of this appendage. Amongst a great variety of forms, two specimens came under my notice deserving especial atten- tion. One of these was a scaly cone resembling the ordinary cones of a Cycadean plant. It had evidently been several inches long, and about an inch in diameter, consisting of a series of large rhomboidal scales. This specimen is in my own cabinet. The other (in the Scarborough Museum) is considerably larger than my own, and much more pyriform, being thickest at the base, and tapering to an obtuse point. It has evidently been more or less covered by leafy bracteas, and attached to a pedicle much narrower than itself, of which well-marked evidence exists at its thick extremity. These two specimens suggested to me the probability that the additional appendage, which had origi- nally surmounted the upper part of my other examples, had been a cone or spike of fructification, and that the whole was a beautiful form of Cycadean inflorescence. This is not the place to give detailed descriptions of the various specimens which led me to this conclusion ; and the necessity for so doing is less urgent, since I have placed in the hands of M. Adolphe Brongniart, drawings and specimens of the more remarkable examples that have come under my notice; and I have no doubt but that when the attention of this distinguished Botanist is given to the subject, he will speedily clear up much that is now obscure and doubtful. At the same time I would refer to the ac- companying diagraniy as giving a rough idea of what I believe to have been the arrangement of the parts of fructification, as exhibited by a vertical section. 48 Fig. 3. a. represents the bracteated pedicle, the scales or bracteae of which have been obtuse, and somewhat elevated in the centre. In one of my specimens in which the pedicle is still surrounded by the collar, the upper part of the former is some- what expanded just below its attachment to the latter. At h., in some specimens, there is a sudden contraction of the diameter of the prolonged pedicle. This is where it becomes part of the axis of the collar. At c. is a still further con- traction, forming the main central axis of the collar, which is usually in a very decomposed state, constituting the " oval or pyriform cavity" of Mr. Yates, but which one or two specimens in the Scarborough Museum prove to have been a solid woody texture. At d., the axis suddenly contracts to a diameter not usually much more than half an inch in diameter, but soon expands again at e., where in all the specimens that I have seen which are perfectly developed, it terminates in a well-defined circular margin, resembling that presented by the pedicle of a gourd, or any other fruit in which the foot-stalk is articulated to the base of the pericarp. From the lower part of this axis arises the incurved circle of scales, which I have denominated the " col- lar" for want of a better provisional name. In the majority of the specimens found, we observe no perforation, nor prolongation of the axis through the upper portion, but several exceedingly well-marked examples have been discovered (a beautiful one of which is in my own cabinet), proving beyond all doubt that this prolongation does occur in some states of the plant. From this I have inferred, that the " collar" was originally a scaly bud, enclosing and protecting the undeveloped germ. That as the fruit became more fully developed, it forced its way through the upper part of this bud, and, when completely ripened, the fruit or cone (f ) was raised above the incurved tips of the scales, the latter forming literally a collar encircling the neck of the pedicle which supported the ripened fruit. In the numerous examples which present no trace of having supported a superior appendage, we have, in all probability, specimens of the fruit-buds in an early stage, where the germ 49 has not yet been developed. Some time ago, Mr Yates shewed me a drawing of an interesting little specimen from the cabinet of Mr. Ripley of Whitby, which had dropped out from the centre of a large broken collar, and consisted of a small circle of elongated and nearly straight scales, shewing that in some instances the whole organism consisted of a mass of these scales, with very little of the woody axis in the centre, so clearly proved to exist in many other examples. This shews that the larger expansion of the axis is a consequence of the higher develope- ment of the plant ; and it is singular that, with one exception, every specimen I have seen exhibiting this large developement of the central axis, also carries along with it the proof that it has supported some additional organ, shewing apparently a con- nection between the two, and so far supporting my view ; for, of course, as the germ expanded and escaped at the upper part of the bud, the increasing size of the fruit would be accompanied by an increase in the axis, which was to give it support, and to furnish it with nourishment during the ripening of its seeds. That the "collar," in its matured condition, has been sur- mounted by something, is then certain, and that this appendage, whatever it was, has been apparently articulated to the top of the woody axis. There is then nothing in the scales of the collar, which can justify us in concluding that they have any relation to either " sepals, petals," or " dilated stamens," as suggested by Mr. Yates, or that the " oval or pyriform cavity," left by the decay of the woody axis, was the seat of the germ, except in a very young state, when the cavity in fact did not exist ; and this even in a totally different sense to what is suggested by the allusion " to the capsule of a Poppy or the berry of a Nymphaea." Whether my naked cone, or the bracteated one in the Scarborough Museum, furnish us with the appendage necessary to complete the plant, is not yet certain. The rarity of these cones is what might be expected, if, as is probable, only a limited number of the trees were so far advanced as to furnish ripened fruit at the time of their being entombed. As, supposing these fossil " collars" to be Cycadean, and to be connected with the fructification of the plants the missing 50^ portion would most likely be a cone, — the form of fruit exhi- bited by recent Cycadese, it becomes probable that one of the above specimens is really the terminal portion wanted to com- plete the restoration of this part of our plant. Indeed as the Cycadeee are diseceous, and as a considerable difference often exists between the male and female inflorescence, the males being in the form of cones, whilst the females may be either in the form of cones, or of a group of contracted or undeveloped leaves, it becomes possible that my specimen may be the male and the Scarboro' example, the female fruit or inflorescence of the same plant. This, however, is as yet uncertain. Mr. Yates considers that the bracteated pedicle which sup- ports each collar has been branched. His restoration represents three such branches, each being terminated by a fruit. This appearance I have never seen, and must confess myself to be very sceptical as to the probability of its correctness. The pedicles, which have come under my notice, have been quite straight; and I am too well aware, from long experience amongst fossil plants, of the danger arising from assuming con- nection, where there really may be only accidental juxta-position. One of the earliest specimens, found by my father at Runswick Bay, exhibited three of these heads, apparently having some connection with each other, branching from a central stem, and that stem a catamite ! I have here attempted a general re-construction of the plant according to the above views, (see fig. 4.) That it was not a short low plant, like the recent Cycas revoluta, and Zamia horrida, or the fossil Mantellise, from the Portland Dirt-bed, is appa- rently proved by a specimen which came into the hands of Mr. Yates, and which shews it to have been a plant of lax habit, instead of having crowded leaves. In all probability it has resembled in this respect the recent Cycas circinalis. Conse- quently, I am again obliged to differ from my esteemed friend, Mr. Yates, who thinks that " the whole plant probably did not exceed three feet in height ;" whereas, I think it more probable, that like the recent species with which I have compared it, it may have been nearer thirty feet. I have measured portions of leaves only, which have been three feet long. 51 Throughout these remarks, I have connected these remarkable fossils with the Cycadean leaves, rather than with the Coniferous Zamia Gigas, as restored by Mr. Williamson. wood with which they are associated. Their very singular forms seem to present little in common with Coniferse, whilst we can easily conceive of similar appendages being added to the solitary cones of the recent Cycadeoidese. It will, however, be evident to the Society that very much remains to be accomplished before these questions can be definitely settled ; and the investigation of the problem, the exact nature of the Runswick vegetable collars, and of the plants to which they were attached, may be considered as most appropriately falling within the province of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society. Manchester, May 1st, 1847. 52 June \st. Dr. Goldie, V. P., in the Chair. Mr. William Sotheran, of York, was elected a subscribing Member. The following additions to the Museum were announced : Tiy Donation. From Thomas Allis, Esq., a small collection of choice fossils from the Lias of the West of England, including examples of Hippopodium, Gervillia, Pleurotomaria, Plicatula, &c. From William Webster, Esq., electrotype copies of the Seals of the Chancellor's office of the see of Durham, and of the Duchy of Lancaster (George II) ; and Copies of the Great Seals of Queen Elizabeth, of the Commonwealth, of Richard Cromwell, and of William IV. By Exchange. From William Whincopp, Esq. (Woodbridge), an Egyptian lamp J two Egyptian Deities, in glazed porcelain ; an Etruscan vessel ; four small Etruscan vessels ; five celts ; a small stone adze ; two flint adzes ; a Roman lamp, found at Colchester ; twelve bone pins, from the same place ; 24 British beads, 17 of them amber, found near Newmarket. By Purchase. Head of Teleosaurus, from Whitby, with lower jaw detached, and in very fine preservation. A portion of the Stycas recently found near UUeskelf, between 500 and 600 in number. A curious mediaeval brass key, found near Stamford Bridge. The following paper was then read, *' On the Sarcophagus of Marcus Verecundus Diogenes and the Civil Administration of Boman York.'' — Bg the Rev. John Kenrick, M. A. The paucity of the monuments which illustrate the civil con- dition and administration of Britain under the dominion of the 53 Romans gives an especial value to those which we still possess, or whose inscriptions have been preserved to us by credible authority. The whole southern district of the island has been very barren of inscribed monuments ; and those of the northern provinces, though much more abundant, are chiefly religious and military. It is therefore fortunate that such imexception- able authorities as Camden, Burton, Gale, and Horsley ' have preserved the remarkable inscription which I propose to illus- trate, formerly existing here, though the monument itself has shared the fate of so many others, and having been first degraded to a horse-trough, has finally disappeared. The inscription in its most correct form and with its abbrevia- tions filled up according to unquestionable analogies, runs thus : Marcus Verecundus Diogenes, Sevir Colonije Eboracensis, ibeidemque mortuus, cives blturix cubus, h^c sibi vitus FECIT. " M. Verecundus Diogenes, Sevir of the Colony of York, and who died at that place, a citizen of the Bituriges Cubi, made these things for himself during his life time." He had caused the Sarcophagus and Operculum to be executed during his life, and his heir did not forget to inscribe his designation and birth place, after his death. I cannot conceive of any plausible objection against the genuineness of this inscription. It has been given to us by men of the highest reputation, to whom no suspicion has attached of those mischievous forgeries by which some anti- quaries have disgraced themselves. The information which it conveys respecting Eboracum, as being a colony and having a body of Seviri, though not supported by other evidence, is not contradicted by it, and is in itself probable. The mis-spelling of cives for civis is far more likely to have been the error of a lapidary than of the forger of an inscription. Orelli has re- marked a circumstance connected with this word civis, which strongly confirms the genuineness of our monument ; it rarely occurs except when citizens of the Gallic States are spoken of. ^ 1 See Eburacum, by the Rev. C. Wellbeloved, p. 102. • Orelli Inscr. 190, 191, 192, 276. "Vides hunc usum civitatem in lapidibns designandi in Galliis potisslmum obtinoisse." 54 The combination Seviro Colonic is also justified by other in- scriptions. ' Marcus Verecundus Diogenes was the son of a slave ; for his father's name is not recorded. This is the invariable distinction on monuments. Further we learn that he was a citizen of the Gallic people called Bituriges Cubi. The nation of the Bituriges had been the mostpowerful in Celtic Gaul,and had exercised sove- reignty over the whole of that portion of the country, as far back as the reign of Tarquinius Priscus. ^ In the time of Csesar they had lost this predominance, and were themselves subordinate to the JEdui, but they still retained a considerable extent of territory. The Bituriges Cubi, who seem to have remained in the original seat of the nation, occupied the modern provinces of Berri and Bourbonnois ; ' the Bituriges Vivisci had settled near the mouth of the Garonne ; and Burdigala (Bourdeaux) was within their territory. They were thus, as Strabo remarks, Celtic interlopers among an Aquitanian population.* As Verecundus Diogenes was not a military man, we may presume that he had come to York for commercial purposes, and I think it not difficult to conjec- ture in what he dealt. Pliny ^ mentions it as an invention of the Gauls, to cover articles of brass with tin, so that they could scarcely be distinguished from silver. The inhabitants of Alesia (Alise in Burgundy, not far from the country of the Bituriges Cubi) were the first who covered bronze horse trappings and the yokes of beasts of burden with a coating of silver ; the Bituriges improved on their invention, and with the progress of luxury not only silvered but gilded ornaments were placed upon the 1 OreUi, 309, 200. 2 Livy, 5, 34, Cses. Bell. Gall. 7, 5. Their chief town, Avaricum, (Bourges), "pulcherrima prope totius Galliae urbs," was stormed by him. lb. 15. 27. 3 D'AnvUle Notice de la Gaule, p. 170. * Lib. 4, p. 190. 5 Album incoquitur aereis operibus Galliarum invento ita ut vix discemi possit ab argento, eaque incoctilia vocant. Deinde et argentum incoquere simili mode csepere equorum maxime omamentis, jumentorumque jugis, in Alesia oppido: reliqua gloria Biturigum fuit. Csepere deinde et esseda et vehicula et petorrita exomare ; similique modo ad aurea quoque, non modo argentea staticula inanis luxuria pervenit. N. H. 34, 48. Staticidum appears to have been a little image, espe- cially used as an ornament of horses or carriages. Comp. Plin. 37, 54, 2. 55 carriages of every kind. This description exactly suits the ornaments which have heen found at Stanwick and elsewhere, which hear evident marks of silvering upon bronze, and we can hardly help concluding that they were the production of the Bituriges, and that Verecundus Diogenes came to Eboracum to deal in them. He appears from the inscription to have been a Sevir or Sexvir of the Colony. There has been considerable controversy among antiquaries respecting the nature of this office. The name itself, like Decemvir, Duumvir, tells us nothing as to its duties, describing only the number of persons who formed the board. Some have supposed the Seviri to be priests, others to be judges. If single inscriptions given in collections could be trusted, both these opinions would appear to be supported by evidence ; for we find in one ' Seviro Sacris faciundis, which would decide for the sacerdotal character ; in another ^ Seviro juri dicundo, which would prove a judicial office. But there can be little doubt that in the first instance we should read quinde- cimviro, and in the second quatuorviro. These are of frequent occurrence ; the others solitary ; and the mistake in the latter case is very easily made. ^ We find also mention of a Sevir equitum Romanorum, or turmcs equitum ; but he was probably difierent from the Sevir of our inscription. * I believe that the office of Sevir is no where mentioned in the remains of Latin literature, except in two or three passages of Petronius Arbiter. In his Satyricon the vain and luxurious Trimalchio composes for himself an epitaph : " Cn. Pompeius Trimalchio hie requiescit. Huic Seviratus absenti delatus est." ^ In the same strain he else- where says of himself, " Spero sic me vivere ut nemini jocus sim; nemo mihi in foro dixit, Redde quod debes. Glebulas emi : viginti ventres pasco et canem. Sevir gratis factus sum. Spero, sic moriar ut mortuus non erubescam." Over his triclinium also was inscribed, " Cn. Pompeio Trimal- chioni, Seviro Augustali." * Grater Corp. Inscr. 442, 1. Orelli, however, 3999, gives as genuine an inscrip- tion in which VI. VIR., S. F. (sacris faciundis) occurs. * Grater 385, 6. ' Sevir is written in inscriptions Iiiiil ; Quatuorvir Iiil. * Jul. Capit. M. Anton. PhU. §. 6. * P. 272, Ed. Hadrianides. lb. p. 212. 66 These two titles, Sevir and Augustalis, are so frequently com- bined in inscriptions as to leave no doubt that when Sevir occurs alone, Augustalis is to be understood. The institution of the Augustales, or Sodales Augustales, is mentioned by Tacitus (Ann. 1. 34) ; they were instituted by Tiberius in honour of his deceased father, after the model of the Sodales Titii, whom Titus Tatius, king of the Sabines, was said to have created/ The first men of the state, to the number of twenty-one, with Tiberius Drusus, Claudius and Germanicus constituted the sodalitaSf and their office appears to have related not only to Octavianus Augustus individually, but to the Augustan house generally, as we find them employed in performing funeral obsequies to Nero. ^ In the absence of all positive information, we can only conjecture that the spirit of flattery led the provincial towns to show their loyalty by establishing a body of Augustales. They are mentioned in inscriptions of the age of Tiberius found at Veii and at Puteoli, ^ and in the later times of the empire, the monuments bear witness, that in every province some town or other had instituted a similar priesthood in honour of the Augustan family. We find also mention of Seviri Claudiales and Flaviales, but these are rare (Zumpt p. 34, 35.) When we speak of a priesthood, however, in reference to Roman customs, we must not be misled by modern ideas, to think of an order of men, set apart for religious duties, and bearing an inde- lible character opposed to that of laymen. The Romans knew no such correlatives as priest and layman ; and a man no more lost his civil character, by becoming a pontifex or Augustalis, than among us by being a churchwarden. It is true the office was permanent, and not annual, like that to which we have compared it. The title is joined in some inscriptions with the office of Magister Lararii Augustorum, from which we may infer that the imagines, or waxen portraits of the emperors * Morcelli de Stilo Inscr. Lat. Lib. 1. part 1. tit. 1. Orelli, however, deduces the origin of the Augustales from the institution of the worship of the Lares by Augustus, mentioned by the Scholiasts on Hor. Sat. 2, 3, 281. " Ab Augusto enim Lares, id est dii domestici, in compitis positi sunt ; ex libertinis sacerdotes dati, qui Augustales sunt appellati." ^ Tac. Hist. 2, 95. 3 A. W. Zumpt de Seviris Aug. Dissert, p. 20. Orelli, 4046, 607. 67 were kept in a chapel under the charge of the Augnstales, and that here the sacrifices or other rites were performed. ' Their functions, as far as they were religious, were perhaps confined to the performance of a sacrifice on one day in the year, or the burning of incense with prayers, or the pouring out of a libation. The religious part of the sacrifice itself, if it were not a holo- caust, was little more than a grace before meat, preparatory to the feasting upon the slaughtered victim. The dignity was conferred by the decree of the Decurions, ^ probably only giving a legal and formal validity to an election by the people. The Seviri {ormed a. collegium ^ or legal corporation, a privilege granted very sparingly by the Roman emperors, who dreaded nothing so much as the formation of new corporate bodies. Pliny the Younger consulted Trajan as seriously, about the formation of a company of firemen at Nicomedia, * as about the desertion of the temples from the progress of Christianity, and the Emperor chose rather to incur all the risks which the Propraetor pointed out to him, than sanction its establishment. Being thus incor- porated they had a common chest, area Sevirorum, a permission specially granted to them, as an inscription records,* by Antoninus Pius. To this public chest we find a wife in one instance, a fireedman in another, bequeathing money, for the maintenance of the husband's or patron's statue,^ and a husband, that funeral libations (profusiones), and an annual strewing of roses might be made on his wife's grave. Another Sevir leaves a legacy to his collegium, that from the interest they might have an annual feast. ' For the management of their property, like other collegia, they had a Quaestor ® or Treasurer, a Patronus and a Magister, one or more, the nature of whose office is not clear. Nor do we know the nature of the distinction between the Seviri Seniorum and Juniorum, beyond what the name itself * Alexander Severus had two Lararia, in one of which he every morning performed divine rites to his predecessors. M\. Lampr. 29. ^ L. Junius Puteolanus Sevir Augustalis in Monicipio Suelitano D.D. i.e. Decreto Decurionum. Orelli 3914, 3942. 3 Orem3953. ■• Plin. Ep. 10, 42. « Grater 419, 7. 6 Grat. 424, 12, 348, 1. ' Grater 439, 2. OreUi 3927. • Orelli 3954. Grater 149, 5. 58 implies. The duty of the Augustales or Seviri was evidently not great ; we find the same person filling the office not only in neighbouring towns, as Brixia and Tridentum, but in Lugdu- num and Puteoli. ' But though not involving much duty, it evidently was an expensive office, and appears generally to have been held by the class of wealthy tradesmen, or members of those professions which in the ancient world ranked with trades, as the medical for example. These trades and professions were usually exercised by slaves and freedmen, and a large propor- tion of the Seviri and Augustales were of this latter class. They filled an intermediate place between the Decurions, (the proprietary body), and the plebs ; and we find them thus enu- merated, Decuriones, Augustales et Plebs Petelinorum. ^ It must have been owing to the expense that it was sometimes necessary to compel men to undertake the office. ^ L. Csecina, a native of Barcelona, leaves property to that community for the annual exhibition of pugilistic games on the 4 Id. Jun. and a distribution of oil to the baths on the same day ; he then pro- ceeds to stipulate, that all his freedmen should be excused from the duties (munera) of the Sevirate ; or if they should be called to it, then he transfers his legacy to Tarracona.* Usually, how- ever, the love of that distinction which arises from being able to spend money seems to have supplied a sufficient number of can- didates, and mention is made of supernumeraries, as if the candidates exceeded the vacancies. ^ An Augustalis gratis creatus also occurs, and as one of them is recorded to have died at the age of two years and three months, and another of thirteen years, it is evident that the honour was sometimes bestowed as a compliment to parents, or in the hope of obtaining a gratuity from them. ^ We even find mention of a female Augustalis (Morcell. u. s.) The Seviri and Augustales, besides the expenses necessarily connected with their duty, seem often to have undertaken works of public utility. One inscription 1 Orelli 3952. Possibly at different periods of his life, as it seems to have been the practice to inscribe on a man's monument all the titles he had ever borne. 2 Orelli 3939. Maffei Verona Illustr. 1. p. 167. ' Zumpt. p. 46. * Gruter 378, 1. « Zumpt. p 59. « Orelli 3955, 3963, 3934. 59 records the construction of 165 feet of road by them at their own expense. ' In another, acknowledgments are rendered to the whole body of the Seviri of Como, " ob curam integre et liberaliter gestam," and they in return present two silver wine strainers, or colanders, trullas argenteas, to the body who com- pliment them. ^ I have observed that where the occupation of the Seviri is mentioned, they evidently belonged to the middle classes ; none is more frequent than that of medicine. Its practitioners are always Greek freedmen. On a monument, found at Assisi in Italy, " Publius Decimius Eros Merula, Medicus Clinicus, Chirurgus, Ocularius," records that he had paid 700 sestertia for his liberty, and 2000 sestertia to the community for the Sevirate ; 30,000 for the erection of statues in the Temple of Hercules ; and a further sum of 32,000 sestertia for the con- struction of roads. The day before his death he bequeathed his patrimony, the amount of which is illegible from the fracture of the marble, to the community.^ Another Sevir, whose quality is specifically mentioned, was materiarius, a timber merchant ; another calculator, a computist or actuary ; another scriha, a clerk to a bench of magistrates. There is an inscription, found at Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg, in Germany), on the tomb of Kleuphas, a " Sevir Augustalis, negotiator artis purpurariee." No doubt this man, whose name is the same with the Cleophas of Scripture, had come from some Syrophenician town to this remote part of the Roman empire, and being enriched by the sale of his costly purple cloth,* had enjoyed the honour of the Sevirate. I will mention only one other inscription, which shews the ancient prevalence of a custom which we might have been disposed to think exclusively modem, in memory of a Sevir, who is called " ospitalis a gallo gallinacio," the Landlord ofthe Cock Inn."* * Orelli 3950. See also 3844. Seviri viam cum crepidinibus a quadruvio ad murum stravenmt ob houorem. * Gruter 477, 7. 3 Gruter p. 400. * Orelli 4250. 'lo-oo-Taorw; ^v ^ voftpvpa -rrfoi oifyvpoy ef era^ojuf wj. Aihen. 12. p. 626. 4. 455 ed. Schw. The Commentators on Acts 16, 14, Lave observed that Lydia " the seller of purple," must have been a person of propertj-, from the cost- liness of the article in which she dealt. * Orelli 4330. H 60 We sometimes find that the ornaments or insignia of the Decurionate were decreed as a compHment to a Sevir, without his being invested with the office, just as the consular and sediHcian insignia were sent in compliment to those who were not Eediles or consuls.' The Seviri are thought to have been entitled in virtue of their own office to carry the fasces ; but this rests on no other authority than a passage in Petronius Arbiter, who represents Trimalchion as having the fasces fixed up before the door of his triclinium, with an inscription declar- ing his dignity as Sevir ; this, however, might be merely a mani- festation of his vanity, and in itself it is not probable that so insignificant an officer should be allowed to use the insignia of the first magistrate of the republic. I have hitherto spoken of the Seviri and Augustales as the same, but the names are not identical. We sometimes find Seviri alone spoken of, sometimes Seviri Augustales, sometimes Seviri et Augustales ; and hence the difficulty of defining the relation of the one to the other. The most probable explanation seems to be, that the Seviri were a select body exercising a kind of presidency over the Augustales ; that they were generally chosen from the Augustales, but not necessarily or invariably, and hence that although Sevir and Augustalis were generally synonymous, there must have been many Augustales who were not Seviri, and some Seviri who were not Augustales. And, it is probable, that though the Augustales held their office for life, the Seviri may have been annually changed.^ The scanty information respecting the order of Seviri which has thus been gleaned from monuments is not altogether without use, as affording us a glimpse of society in the provincial towns of the Roman Empire. The rapid multiplication of the order may be attributed to two causes, that spirit of flattery towards the im- perial family, which was almost essential to safety, and of which the monuments of those ages bear so many marks ; and the disposition of a people among whom wealth increases, while the sphere of their activity is narrowed by despotism, to seek a compensation in frivolous distinctions for the honour which ^ Gruter 354, 7. ^ gee Zumpt de Augustalibus, p. 60. 61 might be gained in literature or politics, if mind and action were free. The Sevirate also aflforded an opportunity for the numerous, active but disesteemed body of freedmen, to obtain for themselves an honour which might efface the stigma of their birth. The other important point in the history of Koman York, ascertained by the monument of M. Verecundus Diogenes, is that York was a colony. Without it we should only have the authority of Richard of Cirencester to this point. He tells us that it was at first a colony, but afterwards invested with the prerogatives of a municipium, in consequence of its having been the residence of several emperors.' But I must declare my adherence to the opinion of those critics, who hold that Richard's Description of Britain is no genuine work.^ In the republican times, Colonia, Municipium and Praefectura, were the great divisions of the towns subject to the Romans ; the Praefectura being governed by magistrates sent from Rome, the other two by magistrates chosen by themselves. The Colony again differed from the Mimicipium, in as much as the Colony was founded by the Romans, the Municipium had been previously in exist- ence. Hence the colony was usually organized upon a strict model, the chief magistrates being Duumviri or Quatuorviri juri dicundo, with a council of Decurions, originally elected by the body of the people. But these distinctions are hardly applicable to Britain. The municipal towns of Italy, whether Latin, 1 Eboracum vero ad Urum fluvium caput Provincise, primum Colonia nomine sextae a Bomanis factum, sextseque deinde legionis quse Victrix dicebatur, sedes. Deinceps vero plurium inperatorum praesentia illustrius factum municipii quoque anctum prserogativis. p. 27. * It is singular that in the controversy which has arisen respecting tlie genuine- ness of this work, no one has thought of comparing tlie style of the Description of Britain, with that of the unquestionable works of Richard in MS. According to Dr. Stukely, there exists an historical work of his, beginning with the Saxon invasion, in the Cotton MSS. Nero c. iii. an Epitome Chronicorum in Beuet College Library, Cambridge, a Tractatus super symbolum majus et minus, in the same Library, and a work whose title is not specified, among the Wharton MSS. in Lambeth Library. Such a comparison would soon settle the question. I have little doubt what the result would be ; for the latinity of the Description appears to me to be the same «8 that of the preface which Bertiam has prefixed to it. h2 62 Greek, or Etruscan, were inhabited by a people not less civilized than the Romans, and possessed of an internal organization of their own ; we can scarcely conceive of the Britons as having any town-government which the Romans would respect and incorporate with their own system. I am not aware that any inscription exists, in which the name of municipium is given to a town in Roman Britain ; ^ but we shall find evidence that they had some internal organization, not flowing immediately from the Roman military authority. The colonies of the Imperial times were not established to provide for a redundant population, but either to reward veteran soldiers, when dismissed from the service, or to erect posts of strength at points where the empire was threatened with danger. When the colonies of Britain were founded we know not, with the exception of Camalodunum (Colchester) where, on the revolt of the Trinobantes, Ostorius planted a colony of veterans *^subsidium adversus rebelles et imbuendis sociis ad officia legum." Tac. Ann. 12, 32. If the Trinobantes required to be thus bridled, it was not less important to impose a similar check on the more numerous and equally fierce Brigantes, and protect the Roman province against those invasions from the North, to which it must have been exposed before the construction of Hadrian's Vallum. Whether Eboracum or Isurium were the first head quarters of Roman power in Yorkshire is a question, upon which perhaps the excavations carried on at Aldborough may throw some light. If Aldborough appears to be placed more directly in the great line of the Roman roads, the position of York is naturally stronger, and much better adapted for com- merce. Its name is a plain indication that it had been the seat of a British town, and as Colchester was established in the capital of Cunobelin,^ Eboracum may have been the chief town of the Brigantes. The Roman soldiers who thus became an element of the population, were probably chiefly cultivators of the soil, accord- ing to the original import of the word. As they had laid aside ' Tacitus calls Verulamium a municipium, and denies Londinium the honoux of being a Colony. Ann. U, 33. ^ Dion. Casa. p. 960. ed. Sturz. 63 the ploughshare to take the sword, when they laid aside the sword they would easily resume the ploughshare ; their art was simple and their allotments might be tilled by their own hands. At the same time, the military habits of his former life would make the veteran efficient in a crisis of public danger. The second generation would not be entirely military, though the sons of veterans were liable to be called on for military service, and thus a burgher population, partly Roman and partly British would be formed. The supreme jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters was of course vested in the Roman Governor; Roman statesmen were lawyers as well as soldiers. Yet the inhabitants of the principal towns enjoyed a kind of municipal constitution. If we cannot prove this by direct evidence of Eboracum, we may fairly infer it by analogy. The Romans, from the first extension of their conquests beyond the neighbourhood of their city, im- posed a more uniform system of government and administration on their subjects than any other people on record ; and thus showed it to be their vocation, " regere imperio populos." Under the Emperors a Rescript was omnipotent from the Euphrates to the Tagus ; and to no period of ancient history can an argument from analogy be more safely applied. i On an altar found at Elenborough, (Olenacum) in Cumber- land, which Horsley says is the finest and most curious ever found in Britain,* it is recorded that Gaius Cornelius Peregrinus, Tribune of the Cohort from the province of Mauritania Caesa- riensis, built or restored (for the verb is omitted) domos et cedem Decurionum. As it could not be the private houses of the Decurions, this must have been their place of meeting and the sedes, a chapel in which they jointly performed some act of worship. We find in another inscription in Horsley,'' mention of a Decurion of the colony of Glevum or Gloucester, who had died at Bath. Since an order of Decurions was found in these two places, we cannot doubt that it existed also at Eboracum, though no monument attests it. The most general distinction of the town population which we meet with on monuments and » Brit. Rom. p. 281. « Brit. Bom. p. 327. Somerset 6. 64 in laws of the later imperial times, is into the Decuriones or Curiales, and the populus or plehs. * The name of Senator was sometimes given to the Decuriones in larger communities ; an inscription in Horsley speaks of a Flavins Martins Senator, but it was probably not at Penrith/ where the inscription was found, but at some larger place, that he had acquired the title. This privileged order of the Decuriones was composed of persons possessed of a certain amount of property ; landed property to the extent of 25 jugera was the usual qualification ; at Como, in the time of Pliny the Younger, 100,000 sesterces.^ They possessed the nomination of the local magistrate, the duumvir or quatuorvir who presided in the curia, and who exercised a jurisdiction which was constantly more and more restricted by the Roman governor, till at last it amounted to little more than the attestation of protocols. * If there existed no duumvir, the first decurion on the roll, called the principalis, presided over the Curia. They appear to have been a sort of town council,^ and many things relating to the community, though usually of minor importance, are said in inscriptions to be done ex decreto decurionum. They enjoyed the title of splendidissimus ordo ; but their honours were dearly purchased, and with the decline of the empire their lot became constantly more burdensome. They had to raise the taxes, the indiction, capitation and land tax, a duty sufiiciently odious in itself, but in their case accom- panied with the responsibility of making good all deficiencies. They could not sell their landed property without permission of the governor, that it might not pass to an owner less capable of paying taxes ; those who had no children could dispose by will 1 In order of dignity tliey were thus classed ; the Jumorati who had filled public ofi&ces ; then the decurions : then the possessore!, landed proprietors ; last the negotiatores and artifices and members of the incorporated trades or collegia. Walther Rom. Eecht. p. 396. ' Brit. Bom. p. 273. » Plin. ep. 1, 19. 4 Walther Bom. Eecht. ch. 87. 5 Pliny in his letter to Trajan (10, 113) speaks of ihem by the Greek name of Bouleutse ; the Emperor in his reply uses decurionatus. The letters of this author will show the nature of the functions exercised by the Decuriones, 1, 8. 4, 7. 6, 4. 10, 63. G5 only of a third part of their property, the rest devolving to the Curia. They could not absent themselves from their place of residence, even for a limited time, without the governor's authority. The Decurion could not become an ecclesiastic, in the times subsequent to the establishment of Christianity, with- out leaving his property either to some one who could assume his responsibilities, or to the Curia itself. ' Their condition was therefore most wretched ; the state seemed to consider the pay- ment of taxes to be the primary object of its existence, and the rights of property and personal liberty were utterly disregarded, in comparison with the filling of the imperial cofiers. We have an evidence of the existence of the tax gatherer amongst us in the Roman times in an inscription,^ in which Aurelius Bassus bears the title of Censitor Civium Romanorum Colonice Victri- censis qu