Notes and Queries, Number 37, July 13, 1850. Various

Notes and Queries, Number 37, July 13, 1850

Notes and Queries, Number 37, July 13, 1850 - Various

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growe bee the famylyarite of seculer people. Plese it my Lord Mayre, Aldirmen, and Comon Counsyll, to enacte that no maner persone beyng free of this citee take, receyue, and kepe from hensforth ony priest in comons, or to borde by the weke, moneth, or yere, or ony other terme more or lesse, vpon peine thervpon to be lymytyd, prouided that this acte extêde not to ony prieste retayned wyth a citezen in famyliar housolde."—p. 89.

      "Also, plese it my Lord Mayre, Aldyrmen, and Comon Counseylle, that a communication may be had wyth the curatis of this citee for oblacions whiche they clayme to haue of citezens agaynst the tenour of the bulle purchased att their owne instance, and that it may be determined and an ende taken, whervpon the citezens shall rest."—p. 89.

      "Also, yf ther be ony priest in seruice within the warde, which afore tyme hath been sette in the toune in Cornhyll for his dishoneste, and hath forsworne the cyte, alle suche shulde bee presentyd."—p. 92.

      Upon these I shall make no remark. They will make different impressions on different readers; according to the extent of prejudice or liberality existing in different minds. They show that even during the most absolute period of ecclesiastical domination, there was one spot in England where attempts to legislate for the priesthood (though perhaps feeble enough) were made. The legislative powers of the corporation were at that time very ample; and the only condition by which they appear to have been limited was, that they should not override an act of parliament or a royal proclamation.

      Is there any specific account of the "tonne in Cornhyll" existing? Its purpose, in connection with the conduit, admits of no doubt; the forsworn and dishonest priest had been punished with a "good ducking," and this, no doubt, accompanied with a suitable ceremonial for the special amusement of the "'prentices."3

      I have also marked a few passages relative to the police and the fiscal laws of those days, and when time permits, will transcribe them for you, if you deem them worthy of being laid before your readers.

T.S.D.

      FOLK LORE

      Midsummer Fires.—From your notice of Mr. Haslam's account of the Beltein or Midsummer fires in Cornwall, I conclude you will give a place to the following note. On St. John's eve last past, I happened to pass the day at a house situate on an elevated tract in the county of Kilkenny, Ireland; and I shall long remember the beauty of the sight, when, as dusk closed in, fire after fire shot up its clear flame, thickly studding the near plains and distant hills. The evening was calm and still, and the mingled shouts and yells of the representatives of the old fire-worshippers came with a very singular effect on the ear. When a boy, I have often passed through

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      1

      Two of these—one a letter asking the earl to stand godfather to his son, and the other a short note, forwarding a book (Qy. of Toland's)—are printed by Sir Henry Ellis in his Camden volume, Letters of Eminent Literary Men.—ED.

1

Two of these—one a letter asking the earl to stand godfather to his son, and the other a short note, forwarding a book (Qy. of Toland's)—are printed by Sir Henry Ellis in his Camden volume, Letters of Eminent Literary Men.—ED.

2

Mr. Cunningham, speaking of Houndsditch, merely quotes the words of Stow. It would appear that Stow's reason for the name is entirely conjectural; and indeed the same reason would justify the same name being applied to all the "ditches" in London in the year 1500, and indeed much later. This passage of Arnold throws a new light upon the name, at least, of that rivulet; for stagnant its waters could not be, from its inclination to the horizon. It, however, raises another question respecting the mode of keeping and feeding hounds in those days; and likewise, as suggested in the text, the further question, as to the purpose for which these hounds were thus kept as a part of the civic establishment.

3

This view will no doubt be contested on the authority of Stow, who describes the tonne as a "prison for night-walkers," so called from the form in which it was built. (Cunningham, p. 141., 2nd ed.) Yet, as Mr. Cunningham elsewhere states (p. xxxix.), "the Tun upon Corn-hill [was] converted into a conduit" in 1401, it would hardly be called a "prison" a century later. The probability is, that the especial building called the tonne never was a prison at all; but that the prison, from standing near or adjoining the tonne, took its name, the tonne prison, in conformity with universal usage. It is equally probable that the tonne was originally built for the purpose to which it was ultimately applied; and that some delay arose in its use from the difficulty experienced in the hydraulic part of the undertaking, which was only overcome in 1401. The universality of the punishment of "ducking" amongst our ancestors is at least a circumstance in favour of the view taken in the text.

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This view will no doubt be contested on the authority of Stow, who describes the tonne as a "prison for night-walkers," so called from the form in which it was built. (Cunningham, p. 141., 2nd ed.) Yet, as Mr. Cunningham elsewhere states (p. xxxix.), "the Tun upon Corn-hill [was] converted into a conduit" in 1401, it would hardly be called a "prison" a century later. The probability is, that the especial building called the tonne never was a prison at all; but that the prison, from standing near or adjoining the tonne, took its name, the tonne prison, in conformity with universal usage. It is equally probable that the tonne was originally built for the purpose to which it was ultimately applied; and that some delay arose in its use from the difficulty experienced in the hydraulic part of the undertaking, which was only overcome in 1401. The universality of the punishment of "ducking" amongst our ancestors is at least a circumstance in favour of the view taken in the text.