Chapter VII: Preface (7)

As students, the Friars did not confine themselves to theology, but cultivated the whole range of science and art, and members of the Orders held very distinguished academical posts throughout Europe.

A candidate for admission to one of the Orders studied theology for three years, and was then examined on his work, receiving, if successful, a commission limiting his mission to a certain district (when he was called a _limitour_), or allowing him to go where he listed (_a lister_).

As may be imagined, much strife arose between these wandering preachers and the parochial clergy. There were four Orders of Friars: Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, and Augustines. They were called Friars because, out of humility, their founders would not have them called Father, like the monks, but simply Brother (Frater, Frère, Friar). The Dominicans and Franciscans came into being at the beginning of the 13th century.

Dominic, an Augustinian Canon and a Spaniard of noble birth, conceived the idea of founding an Order of men who should spend their lives in preaching, and at the same time St. Francis of Assisi, the son of a rich Italian merchant, was inspired with a similar idea. Dominic and Francis met at Rome 1216 A.D., but, though an attempt was made to combine their movements, it was found impossible to do so.

Each adopted the Augustian rule, and each required that his followers should have no property, either personally or as a corporate body. They were to work for a livelihood or live on alms.

The Dominicans were learned, energetic and dogmatic; the Franciscans retained somewhat of the character of the pious, ardent enthusiast, from whom they took their name. The Dominicans were called Black Friars, as their habit consisted of a white tunic with white girdle, and a white scapulary with a _black_ mantle, hood and shoes. (Pl. 58, Fig. 3.)

The Dominican nuns wore the same dress, with a white veil.

The Franciscans were called Grey Friars, from the colour of their habits, or Cordeliers, from the knotted rope which formed their characteristic girdle.

Their habit was originally a grey tunic, with long, loose sleeves, a knotted cord for a girdle, and a black hood. The feet were always bare, or only protected by sandals. In the 15th century, the colour of the habit was changed to dark brown. (Pl. 57, Fig. 1.)

The Franciscans were first introduced into England at Canterbury, 1223 A.D., and there were sixty-five houses of the Order in England, besides four houses of minoresses.

While the Dominicans retained their unity of organisation, the Franciscans divided into several branches, under the names of Minorites, Capuchins, Minims, Observants, Recollets, &c.

The _Carmelites_ took their name from Mount Carmel, where they originated.

They were driven from Palestine by the Saracens in the 12th century, and then spread into Europe, coming to England about 1245 A.D.

Their dress was a white frock over a dark blue tunic, and they were hence known as White Friars. In the 16th century they had about forty houses in this country. (Pl. 57, Fig. 2.)

_The Augustines_, or _Austin Friars_, were founded in the middle of the 13th century, consisting originally of hermits and solitaries, who lived under no rule at all. They were incorporated by Pope Innocent IV. into a new Order with the above name.

They wore a black gown with board sleeves, girdled with a leather belt, and a black cloth hood. They had thirty-two houses in England.

Besides these four principal Orders of mendicant Friars, there were a number of lesser Orders, the chief being the _Crutched Friars_ (so called because they wore a red cross on the breast and back of their habit); _Friars of the Sack_, who wore a plain, bag-like garment of coarse cloth or sacking; and _Friars of the Holy Trinity_, or _Trinitarians_, who made part of their work the ransoming of Christians captured by the infidels.

All the minor mendicant Orders (excepting the four great Orders) were suppressed 1370 A.D.

THE CANONS.

A great monastic family was known under the name of Augustinians, from St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, who, it is said, established monastic communities in Africa, and gave them a “rule,” or method of life.

In the middle of the ninth century all the clergy--priests, canons, clerks, etc.--who had not entered the monastic ranks were incorporated into one great Order to observe the rule of St. Augustine. The Canons Regular, as they were called, were the clergy of Cathedral and Collegiate Churches, living in a community on the monastic model. They wore during divine service a surplice, and a fur tippet or _almuce_ over a long black cassock, and a four-square cap called a _baret_ or _biretta_.

They had much more liberty than the monks. A writer in the thirteenth century says: “Among them one is well shod, well clothed, and well fed. They go out when they like, mix with the world, and talk at table.”

There were several classes of them in England known as--

1. Augustinian Canons.

2. Premonstratensian Canons.

3. Gilbertine Canons.

The _Augustinian_, Austin or Black Canons (Pl. 57, Fig. 3), so called from the habit of the order, were found in Europe after the twelfth century, and were very popular in England. At the time of the Dissolution they had about 170 houses in England, two of the Abbeys--Waltham Cross and Cirencester--being governed by mitred abbots.

The _Premonstratensian_ Canons were named after Prémontré, in France, where they originated in the twelfth century. They wore a white habit, and were known as White Canons. Welbeck Abbey was the chief house in England, and at the Dissolution there were 34 houses of the Order in this country.

The _Gilbertine Canons_ were founded by St. Gilbert, Rector of Sempringham. in the twelfth century. The Order was one for both men and women, and in the double monasteries the canons and nuns lived in separate houses, having no communion. The men wore a black habit with a white cloak, and a hood lined with lamb’s wool.

The women were in black, with a white cap. The Order had 26 establishments in England at the Dissolution.

(Fig. 1): A Franciscan Friar. (Fig. 2): A Carmelite Friar.

(Fig. 3): An Augustinian Canon.]

MILITARY MONASTIC ORDERS.

(Plate 58.)

The military Orders, consisting of men who combined the religious duties of monks and the military exercises of knights, were the Knights Hospitallers and the Knights Templars.

_The Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem_ (Pl. 58, Fig. 1) were originally not a military Order.

This Order took its name and was founded at an hospital in Jerusalem by the merchants of Amalfi, in Italy, for the purpose of affording hospitality to the Pilgrims coming to the Holy Land. It was dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and the first business of its members was to provide for such pilgrims at that hospital, and to protect them from insults and injuries on the road. The open country was perpetually exposed to the incursions of irregular bands of Saracen and Turkish horsemen, and any of the hapless pilgrims who were captured were put to death or sold into slavery.

(Fig. 1): A Knight Hospitaller. (Fig. 2): A Knight Templar.

(Fig. 3): A Dominican Friar.]

The Order was instituted about 1092 A.D., and was very much favoured by Godfrey of Bouillon and his successor, Baldwin, King of Jerusalem.

The kindness of the Hospitallers to the sick and wounded soldiers of the First Crusade made them popular, and several of the Crusading princes endowed them with estates; while many of the Crusaders, instead of returning home, laid down their arms and joined the brotherhood.

After a time, when their endowments became very great, they reconstituted the Order on the model of the Templars. From this time the two military Orders formed a powerful standing army for the defence of the kingdom of Jerusalem.

As monks, they followed a rule of life founded upon that of St. Augustine, and wore a black mantle with a white cross on the left shoulder.

They soon came to England, and had a house built for them in London about 1140 A.D., and from poor and mean beginnings obtained so great wealth, honours, and exemptions, that their Superior here in England was the first lay baron and had a seat among the Lords in Parliament; some of their privileges being extended even to their tenants. When on military duty, the knights wore the ordinary armour of the period, a red surcoat with a white cross on the breast, and a red mantle with a white cross on the shoulder.

The smaller establishments upon their manors and estates were called _commanderies_, and the head of the house was known as the Commander.

Sometimes their houses were called _preceptories_, but this term was more generally applied to the establishments of the Knights Templars.

They had their headquarters at the Hospital of St. John, near Clerkenwell, where the gate (rebuilt in 1540) may still be seen. There were about 53 cells or commanderies attached to this hospital in different parts of the country, where the novices might be trained in piety and in military exercises.

When the Christians were driven out of Jerusalem, the Knights of St. John passed to the Isle of Cyprus, afterwards to the Isle of Rhodes, and finally to Malta, where they maintained a constant warfare against the Mahommedans, acting as the police of the Mediterranean and doing their best to oppose the piracies of the Corsairs.

The Order was divided at Malta according to nationality--the English knights, the French knights, etc., each nation having a separate house situated at a different point of the island for its defence.

The Order was suppressed in England in 1541, resuscitated in Mary’s reign, and finally abolished on the accession of Queen Elizabeth.

_Knights Templars._ (Pl. 58, Fig 2.)

The Knights Templars, or simply the “Templars,” were instituted 1118 A.D., and were so called from having their first residence adjoining the Temple at Jerusalem. Nine knights bound themselves into a fraternity, which adopted the fundamental monastic vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity, and, in addition, their business was to guard the roads for the security of pilgrims in the Holy Land. Many members of the noblest houses in Europe joined the Order, and endowments flowed in abundantly. Gradually dependent houses were established on its estates in nearly every country of Europe. Their rule, like that of the Hospitallers, was according to that of St. Augustine, and their habit consisted of a large white mantle with a red cross on the left shoulder, over the ordinary armour of the period. They came to England early in the reign of Stephen, settling first at Holborn in London. Afterwards their headquarters were removed to Fleet Street, and were known as “The Temple.” On this ground they built a monastery, barracks, cloister, council chamber, refectory, a river terrace as exercise ground as well as for religious meditation, a tilting ground where the Law Courts now stand, and a very beautiful church. This establishment now for many years has been given over to the Law, Chaucer having been one of the first law students there. The original church, with its round nave, after the form of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, still remains--a monument to the wealth and influence of the ancient Templars. The banner of the Order was of black and white cloth, called _beauseant_ (Pl. 29, Fig. 24), and they adopted this word as a war cry.

The rule allowed three horses and a servant to each knight, and married knights were also admitted to the Order.

In England their numbers increased very rapidly, and they obtained large possessions, but in less than two hundred years their wealth and power were thought to be too great. They were accused of horrid crimes, and were everywhere put into prison. Their Order was suppressed by Pope Clement V. in 1309 A.D., and totally abolished by the Council of Vienna 1312 A.D. The Superior of the Order in England was styled Master of the Temple, and was often summoned to Parliament.

Like the Hospitallers, the Templars built churches and houses on their estates called _Preceptories_. When the order was suppressed, these lands and houses, eighteen in number, were handed over to the Hospitallers.

In the Temple Church there are nine effigies of knights, which are certainly the finest and most interesting collection of monumental figures of this early period possessed by any one church in the kingdom. They exhibit the military costume as it is said to have been worn at the Crusades.

According to the sculptor who restored the effigies, the Templars wore long beards, and their general dress consisted of a hauberk or tunic of ringed mail reaching to the knees, with sleeves, gloves, and chausses covering the legs and feet of the same kind of mail, a light sleeveless surcoat of white with a red cross over the hauberk, girded about the waist by a belt; another belt passing transversely round the body over the right shoulder and under the left arm, by which a long or kite-shaped shield was supported; a sword belt obliquely across the loins, with a long, heavy sword attached, and single-pointed or “prick” spurs.

Over all was worn a long white mantle fastened under the chin and reaching to the feet, with a red cross on the left shoulder.

On the head was worn a linen coif, and above that a bowl-shaped skull-cap of red cloth turned up all round. When completely armed, the coif and cap were exchanged for a hood of mail covering the neck and head, and over that one of the large heaumes or helmets was worn.

ECCLESIASTICAL COSTUMES AND VESTMENTS.

There were two great divisions of Mediæval Ecclesiastics, the Major Orders and the Minor Orders.

The Major Orders included the Archbishop, the Bishop, the Priest, the Deacon or Gospeller, and the Sub-deacon, or Patterner, as Chaucer calls him.

The Minor Orders comprised the Acolyte (symbol, a candle), the Exorcist (a holy water vessel), the Doorkeeper (a key), the Lector (a key), and in some cases the Sexton.

In the monastic times all these had the shaven crown or _tonsure_.

For many centuries ecclesiastical vestments remained unchanged, those used in the Church at the Conquest being practically identical with those used at the time of the Reformation.

The everyday garment was the _cassock_, a long garment with long sleeves, made of heavy woollen material. It was generally black or brown in the case of the inferior clergy, and scarlet for Doctors of Divinity.

(Fig. 1): Brass of Lawrence Seymour, 1337, Higham Ferrers
Church, Northamptonshire, showing the Eucharist Vestments,
Amice, Chasuble, Maniple, Alb, Stole, and Apparels. (Fig. 2):
Brass of Robert Langton, D.C.L., 1518, at Queen’s College,
Oxford, in rich ornamented Cope, wearing also a doctor’s cap.
These are often spoken of as the Processional garments. (Fig.
3): Brass of Abbot de la Mare, at St. Alban’s Abbey, died
1396; brass made in his lifetime, between 1360 and 1375. The
whole brass, of Flemish manufacture, is one of the finest in
England. The Abbot is “vested in Eucharist vestments, with
jewelled mitre and pastoral staff,” the latter with the Agnus
Dei in the head.]

In cold weather the cassock was frequently lined with sheepskin or fur, was provided with a hood, and was girded with a thick knotted cord or _cingulum_. The vestments or ceremonial garments, worn when officiating at the services of the Church, were much more elaborate. A long, close-fitting white garment, like a coat with narrow sleeves, reaching to the feet, was worn by all, even to the doorkeeper. It was called the _alb_, and was confined at the waist by a girdle.

Priests and dignitaries of the Church had six pieces of embroidered needlework or cloth of gold called _apparels_ fastened to the alb, at the bottom of the skirt before and behind (2), on the wrist of each sleeve (2), and on the breast (1) and back (1).

Around the neck was worn the _amice_: It was a kind of large linen handkerchief, with embroidered work along one of its sides. It was turned down like a collar, showing the embroidery (which appears in brasses like a collar), and leaving the throat of the wearer exposed.

A _stole_ or narrow embroidered band was hung around the neck, reaching nearly to the feet, the ends being fringed.

In brasses only the ends appear, the upper portions being covered by the other vestments.

A short piece of embroidered work called the _maniple_, with ends fringed like the stole, was worn over the left arm, being fastened to the sleeve. At the time of the Conquest the maniple was a napkin with which the priest wiped his face and brow during Mass.

Over the other vestments was worn a circular or oval garment called a _chasuble_. It had an opening in the centre through which the head was thrust, and its ample folds rested at either side upon the arms. It was worn plain or with an embroidered border.

In later times the chausuble and alb were sometimes made of coloured materials.

The chasuble, maniple, and stole were all of the same material and colour.

The priest wore these vestments during the services, and when he died he was buried in them.

They were put on in the following order: Amice, alb, maniple, stole, and chasuble, and they are often spoken of as the “eucharistic vestments.”

Bishops and Mitred Abbots wore the same vestments as priests, but with the addition of the _tunicle_ and _dalmatic_ below the chasuble, sandals, gloves, a ring set with precious stones on the third finger of the right hand, mitre, and pastoral staff.

The _dalmatic_ was a garment shorter than the alb, slit up for a distance on either side. (Pl. 59, Fig. 3.) Like the chasuble, it was made of rich material.

The _tunicle_, worn underneath the dalmatic, was similar to it in shape, but made of linen.

The only ecclesiastical ornaments which underwent any change were the mitre and crozier.

At first the mitre was of white linen, and low in height. As time went on it was made of silk and ornamented with embroidery and jewels, and it became higher in form. (From the time of the Reformation the mitre was not recognised as part of episcopal attire in the Established Church, but in 1885, after a lapse of 50 years, it was resumed by the Bishop of Lincoln, who wrote it then for the first time amid considerable protests.)

The _Pastoral Staff_, or so-called crozier, was borne alike by Archbishops, Bishops, and Abbots, and was usually held in the left hand or against the left arm, leaving the right free to be uplifted in blessing. It terminated in a large shepherd’s crook or scroll, the curved volute being often richly ornamented with foliage. The staff was made of rarer wood, such as cedar or ebony, and was shod with a pointed ferrule. The top was detachable, and was usually made of metal or of ivory.

Before Archbishops was also carried a _Cross_, a staff bearing a cross at the top. They also wore the pall, or palium, a narrow loop or circle of white lambswool placed over the shoulders, with a weighted band hanging down before and behind. Looked at from the front, it appears like the letter Y. It was made only in Rome, and was especially bestowed on all Archbishops by the Pope.

In processions the clergy wore cassock and surplice as they do now, with the _almuce_, a large cap turned down over the shoulders, and lined with fur, which varied in colour according to the degree of the wearer; the _hood_ and the _cope_. The _cope_ was a kind of cloak, and became the most gorgeous of mediæval ecclesiastical garments. It was made in every conceivable colour, and heavily adorned with the richest gold work encrusted with jewels.

When spread out flat, it was in shape a perfect semi-circle, and was decorated at the front edges with bands of embroidery from collar to hem.

A famous cope is the Syon Cope now preserved in the South Kensington collection.

In the Middle Ages the clergy, when not engaged in their official duties, often dressed similarly to the laity, and though they were ordered to wear the tonsure and a sober dress, these instructions were very often neglected and ignored.

Many of them dressed in bright colours, often in the extreme of fashion, wearing knives at their girdles, brightly coloured shoes with long toes, and jewellery.

At the time of the Reformation, when the English clergy abandoned the mediæval robes, they also desisted from wearing the tonsure, which had for many centuries been the distinguishing mark of the clergy, and they seem generally to have adopted the academical dress for their official and ordinary attire.

PILGRIMS.

The _fashion_ for going on pilgrimage appears to have sprung up in the fourteenth century, but we hear of it at a much earlier time than this. Christian pilgrimages began in visits to the scenes of Our Lord’s early life.

As the custom grew, facilities were offered to lighten the journey. Adventurous shipowners organised a kind of service, so that pilgrims could travel to the Holy Land _viâ_ Rome.

When the journey was made on land, the pilgrims took advantage of the hospitals and hostels which were founded here and there along the regular routes to rest themselves and obtain food. Treaties were made by monarchs to secure the safe passage of their subjects through foreign lands. Pilgrims were freed from all tolls, and anyone doing them bodily injury was liable to excommunication.

In the Holy Land the Orders of Knights Templars and Knights Hospitallers were founded to safeguard them from the attacks of wandering bodies of Saracens, and to lodge them safely when they reached Jerusalem.

The next most important pilgrimages were those to the tombs of SS. Peter and Paul at Rome, the centre of Western Christianity, and to the shrine of St. James at Compostella, in Spain.

The English people, who were prevented from making pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Rome, or Compostella, could probably spare time for a shorter journey, and pilgrimages to English shrines became very common.

The most popular of these were that of St. Thomas Becket, at Canterbury, and that of Our Lady (the Virgin Mary), at Walsingham (twenty-seven miles from Norwich), where there was a miraculous statue of the Virgin. To the former came also many pilgrims from the Continent of Europe.

Nearly every Cathedral and Monastery, too, had its famous saint, to whose shrine the people restored. There were St. Cuthbert at Durham, St. William at York, St. Hugh at Lincoln, St. Edward Confessor at Westminster, and St. Edmund at Bury, and many others.

There were also famous Roods (figures of our Lord on the Cross), statues of the Virgin, and Holy Wells; and a place of great attraction was Glastonbury, to which many travelled to see the famous Holy Thorn, said to have been planted by St. Joseph of Arimathæa.

Members of all classes of society undertook these pilgrimages. Rich people with no occupation could afford the leisure and cost of these journeys, and the poor, who gave up their regular work and made the pilgrimage, could count on board and lodging at the numerous hospitals, monasteries, at the parish priest’s rectory, and in every gentleman’s hall.

The poor pilgrim repaid his hosts by entertaining them with the news of the lands through which he had passed, and by amusing the household after supper with marvellous saintly legends and travellers’ tales.

He raised funds, too, on his return journey by retailing holy trifles and curiosities, which were sold wholesale at the shrines frequented by pilgrims, and sometimes he would make a bolder flight by carrying some fragment of a relic, a joint of a bone, or a couple of the hairs of a saint, and he received payment from people for bringing to their doors some of the advantages of the holy shrines which he had visited. This, however, was an abuse, and was visited by heavy penalties by the Church.

The main purpose of these pilgrimages was, of course, to gain direct spiritual advantage, but some were expiatory and penitential; others were made out of gratitude for special mercies, recovering from illnesses, &c.

It is said that in the 8th century, some English merchants carried on a kind of smuggling trade in foreign countries. They put on the pilgrim’s garb, and carried their goods in bales, which they said contained provisions for their journey, and were exempt from paying any duty.

The preparation of the pilgrim in the Middle Ages was a solemn matter. Before he started on his journey, he went to Church, and, after Confession, his _scrip_ and _staff_ were blessed and handed to him, and his habit (if he were going to Jerusalem), was blessed also. He then took the Holy Sacrament, and it is surmised that a certificate of his having been blessed as a pilgrim was then handed to him.

After that, he was conducted out of the parish, to commence his journey, by the priest, with the Cross and Holy Water borne in procession.

A certain costume was worn, spoken of as “pilgrim’s weeds,” consisting of a robe, hat, staff, and scrip.

The robe is said to have been of wool, sometimes of a very shaggy appearance. (Fig. 2.)

The hat was round, with a wide brim, and was commonly made of felt. But the special insignia of a pilgrim were his scrip and staff. The _scrip_ was a small bag, slung by a cord over the shoulder to hold his food and a few necessaries, and to it was often affixed a special sign or token, indicating the pilgrimage he was making. The pilgrim to the Holy Land, too, wore a cross formed by two strips of coloured cloth sewn on the shoulder of his robe. Different colours were used to indicate the nationality of the pilgrims--_e.g._, the English wore a white cross, the French red, and the Flemish green.

The _staff_ or _bourdon_ varies in appearance in different MSS., but was generally like a long walking stick, often with a knob at the top and one lower down. (Figs. 1 and 3.) Sometimes below the top is a hook (Fig. 2), to which a water-bottle or small bundle could be attached.

Many pilgrims also carried bells, as they were “thought to possess locomotive and other miraculous powers.” (Cutts.)

When the pilgrim reached the Holy Land and had visited the holy places, he was entitled to wear the _palm_, showing that he had accomplished his pilgrimage, and from this badge he was known as a Palmer. Probably it was fastened as a sprig of palm on the hat or scrip.

To give an idea of the number who undertook these pilgrimages, it may be mentioned that in one month during the First Jubilee, 200,000 of them went to Rome.

The chief badge for this journey bore the effigies of St. Peter, St. Paul, and the Cross Keys, and another was the Vernicle or Kerchief of St. Veronica. The sign of the Compostella was a scallop shell. (Fig. 8.)

These badges, known also as _Pilgrims’ signs_ or Pilgrims’ tokens (Pl. 60, Figs. 4, 6, 8, 10), were made of lead or pewter, and as one was obtained at each shrine visited, a pilgrim who made a long journey might come back with many of these signs displayed about his person.

The chief sign of the Canterbury pilgrimage was an ampul or ampulla or flask of lead or pewter.

It is said that after the murder of Becket, the monks of Canterbury collected his blood from the pavement and made a miraculous cure by administering a drop to a sick lady who visited the shrine. Thereupon they mixed a drop in a chalice of water and gave it as a medicine to many sick who came to be cured, and in order that the medicine might be carried away and administered to other sick people, these small metal flasks were made to contain it.

On their return, the pilgrims hung these flasks in their parish churches as sacred relics. (Figs. 5, 8, and 9.)

Another “sign” of Canterbury was a bell, and it is owing to this fact that a well-known flower is called the Canterbury bell. Following the example of the monks of Canterbury, the guardians of other shrines dipped their sacred relics into water and put up this sacred water for use as medicine into small flasks, which they sold to pilgrims.

(Fig. 1): A bare-footed Pilgrim of the fourteenth century,
from British Museum, Royal MS., 15 iii. (Fig. 2): Ludgate’s
Pilgrim, from Harl. MS., 4826 (fourteenth century). His scrip
bears a scallop shell, the pilgrim’s sign for Compostella, and
he wears a rough, shaggy robe. (Fig. 3): A Palmer, from Cott.
MS., Tib. A vii. His hat is slung behind him, and the crown of
his head is shaved, as was often the custom. (In Figs. 1 and 2
a beard is worn, for often the pilgrim on setting out, made a
vow that he would not cut his hair or his beard while on the
pilgrimage.) (Fig. 4): A Pilgrim’s Sign--the five small circles
representing the five wounds of Christ. (Fig. 5): A lead
Ampulla from the shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury.
(York Museum.) It bears a figure of the Archbishop, and on the
scroll a legend which is translated as “_Thomas is the best
physician for the pious sick._” It probably dates from the
early part of the thirteenth century. (Fig. 6): A Pilgrim’s
Sign of St. Catherine, consisting of a Catherine Wheel.
(Fourteenth century.) (Fig. 7): A Reliquary in form of sphere
of open-work tracery, containing fragments of shells, from
the shrine of St. James of Compostella. (Fourteenth-fifteenth
centuries.) (Fig. 8): An Ampulla in the form of a scallop
shell, with handles for suspending it around the neck by a
cord, from Compostella. (Fig. 9): An Ampulla from the shrine
of St. Thomas Becket, Canterbury, bearing on one side a
representation of the murder of Becket, and on the other,
three figures within an arcade. (Fig. 10): A Pilgrim’s Sign
from Canterbury, containing a figure of St. Thomas, the right
hand uplifted in blessing and the left holding the crozier.
(Figs. 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are from the Guildhall Museum,
London.)]

In the old MSS., we read of many wonderful miracles performed by the administration of these holy waters to sick and diseased persons. Special roads appear to have been made to the chief shrines. There was the “Pilgrims’ Road” across Kent from London to Canterbury, and the “Palmers Way,” and the “Walsingham Green Way” to Walsingham.

The towns of pilgrimage were largely a collection of inns, and churches and hostels for poor pilgrims, the later institutions often being supported by local guilds.

Pilgrims made their journeys either singly or in bands for the sake of protection and company, and to enliven their way they sometimes hired a musician to play the bagpipes.

When the pilgrims reached the shrine, they made their offerings, took part in prayer, and were shown the holy relics, which they were often allowed to kiss.

At Canterbury the shrine of St. Thomas was covered with gold and encrusted with many precious stones of great size and value; for the principal of them were offerings from sovereign princes.

A great result of the practice of making pilgrimages was the development of national sentiment, for people in foreign lands were brought together from different parts of the same country. “It also broke down the provincialism, gave a holiday and fresh air and change of life and scene. Finally it introduced the pilgrims to foreign lands, and so helped on the growth of commerce.”

_History and Geography Publications._

THE “BERGER” HANDWORK CARDS.

By H. R. WELLER, A.M.C.

CARDBOARD AND PAPER MODELLING CARDS

for the

HISTORY and GEOGRAPHY LESSON.

A series of +32+ cards (size 7½ × 5½ ins.), with full instructions, and where necessary, directions for colouring the models are added.

This series will be found especially helpful during the year preceding instruction in light woodwork.

Teachers will also find them useful when models are required to illustrate History and Geography Lessons.

[Sidenote: _Some of the Models are_:

TUDOR HOUSE AND SHOP.
PILLORY.
NORMAN CASTLE.
STOCKS AND WHIPPING POST.
KNIGHT’S CABRIOLET.
CORACLE.
SEDAN CHAIR.
FRIDSTOOL.
OLD MARKET CROSS.
RAM AND RAT.
PALANKIN.
BIRCH BARK CANOE.
SAMPAN.
PYRAMID.
LOG CABIN.
HOWDAH.
THE PILLORY.
BUNKER’S HILL MONUMENT.]

Framework of wooden beams filled in with plaster, stones. Bricks: roofed with a cover of thatch: smoke hole in roof: no windows: the openings barred: cover the roof of model with bast or a colour to imitate

Colour: black beams: yellow white plaster

_Reduced Illustration._]

Price per box, net, +3+s. +6+d.; post free, +3+s. +9+d.

ILLUSTRATIONS for the HISTORY LESSON.

THE “SUGGESTIONS” HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS.

By H. W. DONALD.

Four Sets of Plates containing illustrations of Armour,
Architecture, Pottery, Musical Instruments, etc., ranging
from the time of the Ancient Britons to the Victorian era.

Each set contains +24+ cards.

USES:

(1) To illustrate the History Lesson.
(2) To form the basis of Conversational History Lessons.
(3) To connect Drawing with History.

SET A.

(80 Illustrations.)

Ancient Britons
Romans
Danes and Vikings
Anglo-Saxons

SET B.

(76 Illustrations.)

Normans
Plantagenets
Houses of Lancaster & York
Tudors

SET C.

(65 Illustrations.)

Tudors
Stuarts
Hanoverians

SET D.

(65 Illustrations.)

Illustrates +European History+ in Armour, Architecture,
Domestic Appliances, Musical Instruments, &c.

Price, per Set, net, +1+s. +6+d.; post free, +1+s. +9+d.

Packed in strong cardboard case.

HISTORY TEACHING by BIOGRAPHIES.

By ALICE EVE, B.A., L.L.A.

A HANDBOOK for TEACHERS in two Volumes.

_Volume 1._

JULIUS CÆSAR to Sir FRANCIS DRAKE.

_Volume II._

Sir WALTER RALEIGH to EARL ROBERTS.

Each volume contains +30+ biographies.

The purpose of these volumes is to teach History by grouping historical facts round the lives of famous men and women. Each set of notes is preceded by two paragraphs, one giving the aim of the Lesson, and the other, apparatus for use in connection with it, _e.g._

+EARL OF STRAFFORD+ (_Vol. II. xxxv._):

+Aim.+--To teach the beginning of the great dispute between King Charles I. and his people.

+Apparatus.+--Map of British Islands, Portraits of Charles I., Strafford, Buckingham, Pictures of Cavaliers and Puritans of the time. Picture of Westminster Hall.

Price, each volume, net, +3+s.; post free, +3+s. +4½+d. Two volumes, post free, +6+s. +9+d.

“Britannic” Historical Geography Books
FOR CORRELATING
HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY and MAPPING.

(_Left page_) _HISTORICAL SUMMARY._
(_Right page_) _OUTLINE MAP._

The “Britannic” Historical Geography Maps.
No. 6.--Part I.

England before the Norman Conquest.

THE CHIEF EARLDOMS.

On his ascension to the throne of England Canute divided the country into four Governments, viz.:--

WESSEX,
EAST ANGLIA,
MERCIA and
NORTHUMBRIA.

He took charge of Wessex himself, and three Danes were placed as Earls over the others.

THE GREAT SAXON EARLS.

He afterwards appointed Englishmen to the government of these Earldoms:--

_Leofric_ becoming _Earl of Mercia_, _Godwin_, _Earl of Wessex_, and _Siward_, _Earl of Northumberland_.

In each lesson the historical narrative is followed by notes describing fully the correlated work to be done in connection with the story.

showing the Earldoms]

(_Reduced specimen pages._)