Chapter II (1)

Local Customs--Civic, Aquatic, Ceremonial.

“Ordain them laws, part such as appertain
To civil justice, part religious rites.”

--_Milton._

La Chevanchée de St. Michel.

“My parks, my walks, my manors that I had,
Ev’n now forsake me; and of all my lands
Is nothing left me.”

--_Shakspeare_, Henry VI.

Before giving an account of this curious old custom, now abolished, but which seems to have been instituted originally with a view to keeping the highways throughout the island in a due state of repair, it may be as well to say something of the feudal system, as it existed, and indeed, greatly modified of course, still exists in Guernsey. Though, from the loss in the course of many centuries of the original charters, we are left in the dark on many points, and can only guess at the origin of some of the many small manors--or as they are locally termed, “fiefs”--into which the island is divided.

It is known that previous to the Conquest of England by Duke William,[27] Néel de St. Sauveur, Vicomte of Le Cotentin, was patron of six of the ten parish churches in Guernsey--those of St. Samson, St. Pierre Port, St. Martin de la Bellouse, La Trinité de la Forêt, Notre Dame de Torteval, and St. André; and it is probable that he was lord paramount of all the land contained in these parishes. He was one of those barons who conspired against William, and having been defeated by him in the Battle of Val des Dunes, all his possessions were confiscated. On his submission he was again received into favour, and his continental possessions restored, but such does not seem to have been the case with what he held in Guernsey; for the patronage of the churches mentioned above was given by William, a year before the Conquest of England, to the great Abbey of Marmoutier near Tours; and from that time we hear nothing more of the Viscounts of St. Sauveur in Guernsey.

The other four parishes, St. Michel du Valle, Notre Dame du Castel, St. Sauveur, and St. Pierre du Bois, were in the patronage of the Abbey of Mont St. Michel, and the lands in the greater part of these parishes were held in nearly equal proportions between that famous Monastery and the Earls of Chester--those held by the Abbey being known as “Le Fief St. Michel,” and those belonging to the Earl being called “Le Fief le Comte.” A local tradition says that it was Duke Robert, the father of William the Conqueror, who first bestowed these lands on the Abbey, and on the ancestors of the Earls, but of this there may be some doubt.

These lands were held direct from the Sovereign, to whom these lords were bound to do homage, but in process of time they came to be sub-fieffed by their possessors--that is, divided into smaller manors, which, instead of owing direct allegiance to the Crown, depended on their own lords, to whom they had certain services to render, and dues to pay, and in whose Courts they were bound to make an appearance thrice in the year. These Courts had jurisdiction in civil matters, in causes arising between the tenants on their respective fiefs, and had their seals, by which all written documents emanating from them were authenticated, the seals of the Court of the Priory of St. Michel representing the Archangel trampling Satan under foot, and that of the Fief le Comte, St. George, near whose ruined chapel the Court still holds its sittings. As there was always an appeal from the decision of these Courts to the supreme tribunal of the island, the Royal Court, they gradually ceased to be held, except for the purpose of collecting the seignorial dues, and, by an Order of Her Majesty in Council, the Court of the Fief St. Michel was abolished, the life interest of the seneschal, vavassors, prevôts, bordiers, and other officers of the Court being preserved.

One of the duties of the Court of St. Michel was to see that the King’s highway (le chemin du Roi), and certain embankments against the encroachments of the sea were kept in proper order and in due reparation; and in order to insure this they were bound to make an inspection once in three years.

We will now go back and consider the origin of the Fief St. Michel. Among the many fiefs in Guernsey, held in chief from the Crown, one of the most ancient and important is certainly that of St. Michel-du-Valle, extending over the greater part of the northern and western shores of the island. According to a tradition generally accepted by the historians of the island, and which is in part corroborated by documentary evidence, preserved in the “cartulaires” of the famous Abbey of Mont St. Michel in Normandy, and in the Record Office in England, certain monks who had been expelled from that monastery for their irregularities, or had left voluntarily in consequence of reforms in the community which they disapproved of, came over to Guernsey about the year 966 and established themselves in a part of the island called Le Clos du Valle, which at that period, and until the beginning of the present century, was cut off from the mainland by an arm of the sea, and could only be reached by a way across the sands when the tide had receded. The monks are said to have brought the whole of the western part of the island into cultivation, and to have led such a pious life, and effected such a reform in the manners of the inhabitants, that Guernsey acquired the appellation of “l’île sainte.”[28][29]

It is also said that Robert I., Duke of Normandy, father of William the Conqueror, called by some Le Magnifique and by others Le Diable, having been driven by stress of weather to take refuge in Guernsey, when on his way to England with a fleet to assist the Saxon Princes Alfred and Edward in their resistance to the Danish invader Canute, was received and hospitably entertained by the monks, and in return confirmed them in the possession of the lands they had been the means of reclaiming, at the same time constituting the community a priory in dependance on the great monastery from which they had originally come; a connexion, which although frequently interrupted during the long wars between England and France for the possession of Normandy, existed until the suppression of alien priories in England by Henry V.

Like all other fiefs the priory had its own Feudal Court, by means of which it collected its rents and dues, and which had jurisdiction in civil matters between all its tenants, subject, however, to an appeal to the higher authority of the Royal Court of the island.

The Court of St. Michel-du-Valle consisted of a seneschal and eleven vavassors, who, in virtue of their office and in consideration of their services, held certain lands on the fief. The officers of the Court were a greffier or registrar, four prevôts, who had duties analogous to those of a sheriff, six bordiers, who had certain services to perform in collecting dues and attending the meetings of the Court, and, though last, not least, an officer styled porte-lance--of whom more hereafter. The principal duties of the Court seem to have consisted in legalizing sales of real property, in which tenants on the fief were interested, and settling disputes concerning the same arising among them. But there appear to have been attempts made from time to time to encroach on the prerogatives of the Royal Court, and various ordinances of the latter are in existence restraining the seneschal and vavassors from doing certain acts, and even fining them for having gone beyond their powers. There was one function, however, of the Court of St. Michael which it seems to have exercised without dispute from time immemorial, but which it is impossible to account for--the inspection and keeping in order of the King’s highway throughout the island, and of certain of the works for preventing the encroachments of the sea. Possibly it may have originated in marking out the bounds of the Fief St. Michel and its dependencies only, and with this keeping in order the sea defences.[30] Once in three years, the seneschal and vavassors of the Court were bound to perform this duty, which, judging from their later records, they appear to have considered rather onerous, as we find several Acts of the Court dispensing with the ceremony, the reason given being generally the interruption it caused in agricultural labours, and the loss occasioned thereby, at a time when farmers were far from being in the prosperous condition in which they are at present.

Another very substantial reason was the expense, which had to be defrayed out of the Crown revenue. According to some of our historians, who, however, give no evidence in support of their assertion, this inspection of the roads, commonly known as “La Chevauchée” from the fact of the principal performers being mounted on horseback, was originally annual, and was instituted with a view to having the roads put in order preparatory to the grand religious procession of the Host on Corpus Christi Day, but this origin of the ceremony seems hardly probable, as it is well known that the procession in question is strictly limited in Roman Catholic countries to parishes, and is conducted by the parochial clergy. It is difficult to understand how it came to pass that a subaltern Court, such as was that of the Fief St. Michel, came to be allowed to exercise a quasi jurisdiction over lands which had never been subject to it, but as it was impossible for the Court to proceed to every part of their domain without occasionally trespassing over other manors, what was originally allowed by courtesy came to be looked upon at last as a right. A somewhat similar means of assuring the keeping in due repair of the high roads existed, and probably in a modified form still exists, in the sister island of Jersey, where it is conducted by the vicomte, assisted by two or more jurats of the Royal Court, and the officer, called the “porte-lance,” who exercises the same functions as the official bearing the same designation in the “Cour St. Michel.” It is known in Jersey as “La Harelle.”

But it is time to come to a description of how this ancient ceremony was conducted in Guernsey. As has been said before, it ought to have taken place every third year, at which time the Court of St. Michael used to meet in the spring to settle preliminaries in fixing the day on which the ceremony was to take place, regulating the costume to be worn by the “_pions_” or footmen in attendance on the Court, and other matters. The month of June was usually chosen, and on the day appointed the Court assembled, with all the officers who were to take part in the procession, at the small Court House adjoining the remains of the ancient monastic buildings still dignified with the name of “L’Abbaye,” although the establishment had been for centuries no more than a priory dependent on the famous monastery of Mont St. Michel in Normandy.

The following are translations of a few of the Acts and Regulations of the Court of St. Michael:--[31]

31 March, 1768. Seneschal nominated by the Governor.

24 May, 1768. The Chevauchée being due to take place on the following 8th of June, the Court has ruled the dress of the pions. A black cap (calotte) with a red ribbon at the back. A ruffled shirt, with black ribbon wristbands, and a black ribbon round the neck. Black breeches with red ribbons tied round the knee. White stockings; and red rosettes on their wands. N.B.--This Act does not seem to have been put in force.

27th April, 1813.--The Chevauchée of His Majesty is appointed to take place on Wednesday, the 9th of the following June, for the reparation of the quays and roads of the King, and it is ordered that it shall be published throughout the parishes of this island, and cried in the Market Place, so that no one can plead ignorance.

The 27th of May, 1813.--Before Thomas Falla, Esq., Seneschal of the Court and Jurisdiction of the Fief St. Michel, present, Messieurs James Ozanne, Nicholas Le Patourel, James Falla, Pierre Falla, Jean Mahy, Richard Ozanne, Nicholas Moullin, Daniel Moullin, and Jean Le Pettevin (called Le Roux), vavassors of the said Court. The Court being to-day assembled to regulate the order to be pursued on Wednesday, the 9th of June proximo,--the day appointed by the Court for the Chevauchée of His Majesty to pass--has ordered that all the pions be dressed uniformly as follows, to wit: Black caps with a red ribbon behind. White shirts, with white cravats or neckerchiefs. Circular white waistcoats, with a red ribbon border. Long white breeches, tied with red ribbon round the knee. White stockings, and red rosettes on their wands.

And Messieurs les prevôts of the Court are ordered to warn all those who are obliged to assist at the said Chevauchée to find themselves with their swords, their pions, and their horses, the aforesaid 9th of June at seven o’clock in the morning at the Court of St. Michael, according to ancient custom, in default of appearance to be subject to such penalties as it shall please the Court to award him. And also shall Monsieur Le Gouverneur be duly warned, and Thomas Falla, Esq., seneschal, and Messrs. Jean Mahy and Nicholas Moullin, vavassors, are nominated by the Court to form a committee so as to take the necessary measures to regulate the conformity of the said act concerning the dress of the pions.

(Signed) JEAN OZANNE, Greffier.

On the above day, conformably to the said Act, all the pions, dressed in the afore-mentioned costume, met at seven o’clock in the morning at the Court of St. Michael, and there also were found the King’s officers, vavassors, who had to serve there as esquires. The King’s officers and the seneschal each had two pions on either side of his bridle rein, the vavassors were only entitled to one.

They began with a short inspection and a good breakfast on the emplacement east of the Yale Church. After breakfast, the members of the cortège, with their swords at their sides, got on their horses opposite the said Court of St. Michael, where the greffier of the said Court said the customary prayer, and the seneschal read the proclamation, and then they started in the following order:--

The Sheriff of the Vale and his pion.

The Sheriff of the King and his two pions.

The Sheriff of the Grand Moûtier and his pion.

The Sheriff of the Petit Moûtier and his pion.

The Sheriff of Rozel and his pion.

The King’s Sergeant and his two pions.

The King’s Greffier and his two pions.

The King’s Comptroller and his two pions.

The King’s Procureur and his two pions.

The King’s Receiver and his two pions.

The Lance-Bearer and his two pions.

The Greffier of the Court St. Michel and his two pions.

The Seneschal of the Court St. Michel and his two pions.

The eleven vavassors of the Court St. Michel, and one pion each.

Whilst they are on their march, the five sheriffs carry by turns a white wand in the following order:--

The Sheriff of the Vale, from the Vale Church to the end of Grand Pont.

The King’s Sheriff, from the end of Grand Pont, as far as the Forest.

The Sheriff of Grand Moûtier, from the Forest to the King’s Mills.

The Sheriff of Petit Moûtier, from the King’s Mills to the Douit des Landes in the Market Place, and the Sheriff of Rozel from the last mentioned place to the Vale.

During the procession the lance bearer carried a wand of eleven and a quarter feet long, and any obstacle this wand encountered, stones of walls, branches of trees, etc., had to be cleared away, and the proprietor of the obstacle was fined thirty sous, which went towards the expenses of the dinner. From time immemorial the privilege of the pions,--who were chosen for their good looks--was that of kissing every woman they met, whether gentle or simple, their only restriction being that only one pion was allowed to kiss the same lady, she had not to run the gauntlet of the gang. This privilege of course was invariably exercised!

At the entry of the Braye du Valle the seneschal freed the pions from their attendance on the bridle reins, and gave them authority to embrace any woman they might encounter, recommending good behaviour and the rejoining of their cavaliers at the Hougue-à-la-Perre.

Showing houses demolished to make room for present New Market.]

The Chevauchée then went to Sohier, les Landes, la rue du Marais, la Grande Rue, la Mare Sansonnet, les Bordages, la Ronde Cheminée, and les Morets. Arriving at the Hougue-à-la-Perre the pions regained their respective stations on the side of their officers, leading the horses, and there, at ten o’clock, they were met by His Excellency Sir John Doyle, the Lieutenant-Governor and his staff, the horses of which were all decorated with blue ribbons, except those of the said Governor and of his family, who, out of compliment, carried red ribbons, matching those of the Chevauchée. The Bailiff, with his party and John Guille, Esq., also joined them at this spot, uniformly dressed in blue jackets, white trousers, and leghorn hats.

The whole cavalcade then moved on, the Governor and suite at the rear, preceded by the band of the town regiment, dressed as rustics, in long white jackets and large hats with their brims turned down, and followed by six dragoons to bring up the rear. Having passed between eleven and twelve o’clock through Glatney, Pollet, Carrefour, and High-street, they came to the Town Church, where they made the tour around a large round table which had been placed near the westerly door of the said church, which table was covered with a white cloth and supplied with biscuits, cheese, and wine, which had been provided by one of the “sous-prevôts,” and the Sheriff and the King’s Sergeant, on foot, offered each cavalier who passed the door food and drink.

During this interval the band played serenades and marches.

At noon they proceeded through Berthelot-street to the College fields, and, passing through the Grange, they reached the Gravée; here His Excellency took his leave. The cavalcade passed on by St. Martin’s road to the ancient manor of Ville-au-Roi, one of the oldest habitations in the island. The entrance was tastefully decorated with arches of flowers and a crown in the centre, with flags flying, and, on one of the arches, “Vive la Chevauchée.” Here, according to old manorial custom, the party was gratuitously regaled with milk. The procession then moved on by Les Câches to Jerbourg, with the exception of the pions, who proceeded to the village of the Forest, and there waited the return of the Court. Here they danced and amused themselves as before, and being rejoined by the cavalcade at the Bourg they moved on by Les Brulliots, and passing Torteval Church arrived at a house called the Château des Pezeries at Pleinmont, where a marquee was erected, and cold meats and wine were prepared for the gentlemen. The pions were seated on the grass in a circle which had been hollowed for them, in the shape of a round table,[32] and they also had their repast. Here the procession halted till four o’clock, and by this time were joined by many carriages, filled with ladies and gentlemen, who, with a numerous party of all ranks, moved on by Rocquaine, Roque Poisson, below the Rouvets, Perelle, where a particular stone lies, which they are obliged to go round according to an old custom, from there by the Saint Saviour’s Road to the Grands Moulins or King’s Mills. On their arrival there they were rejoined by the pions, the mill was put in motion, and the miller came out with a plate in each hand, one containing flour of wheat, and the other of barley, which had been ground that instant by the mill. The miller then placed himself on a large stone, and the procession moved round him; this custom has prevailed from time immemorial. The procession then continued by St. George, La Haye du Puits, Saumarez, Le Camp du Roy, Les Salines, to the Clos du Valle, to the aforesaid Court of St. Michael, where they arrived about seven o’clock, and where they were again joined by the Lieutenant-Governor, the Bailiff, and some of the principal residents. The Court having been dismissed they all partook of a sumptuous dinner, at which Mr. Seneschal Falla presided. The pions were also handsomely entertained.

The last Chevauchée took place in Guernsey on the 31st of May, 1837, but the description of the procession we have given refers to the one in 1825, and is taken from Jacob’s _Annals_, and the _Chronique des Isles_, by Syvret.

The oldest known Act of the Court of St. Michael is the following, dated the 14th of October, 1204:--

“Les Chefs Plaids Capitaux de la Saint Michel tenus à Sainte Anne en la Paroisse du Sarazin,[33] par Nicolle de Beauvoir Bailly, à ce présens Jean Le Feyvre, Jean Philippes, Martin de Garris, Jean Maingy, Jean Le Gros, Jemmes le Marchand, Pierre de la Lande, Robert de la Salle, Colin Henry, Jurez de la Cour de nostre Souverain Seigneur le Roy d’Angleterre en l’Isle de Guernereye. Le quatorzième jour du moys d’Octobre, l’an MCCIV. Sur la Remonstrance qui nous a esté faicte de la part des Frères Jean Agenor, Prieur, en la Paroisse de l’Archange de Saint Michel du Valle et ses aliez Pierre de Beauvoir, Pierre Martin, Jean Effart, Jean Jehan, Pierre Nicolle, Pierre du Prey, Jean Agenor, Michel le Pelley, Jean Cappelle et autres Marchands et Manans, tant en la Paroisse du Valle que de Saint Sampson, qu’ils éstoyent grandement empeschez et endomagez concernant le desbordement de la mer, laquelle auroit coupé le Douvre et passage commode entre les dittes Paroisses, entendu qu’il estoit impossible non seulement de faire Procession, mais aussi d’aller traficquer les uns avec les autres aux Landes du Sarazin, s’il ne nous pleust leur permettre et accorder de faire maintenir un certain Pont passant du Valle à Saint Sampson, estant propre et passable de toutes Marées, de Charues, et Charettes, de pied et de Cheval, et à qui il appartiendra de la maintenir en temps advenir. Parquoy ne voulant refuser la Raisonnable remonstrance des avants dits, et pour le bien public, nous leur avons appointé Veue sur les Limites les plus célèbres des dittes Paroisses, dans le jour Saint Barthelemi prochain, et advertiront le commun de s’y trouver, pour ouir ce que par nous sera ordonné touchant la ditte edification.”

Another copy, which differs from the preceding in the names of the Jurats, finishes by these words, “donné par copie des roles, signé par Colin de la Lande, clerq.” According to this copy the names of the Jurats are “Jean Le Gros, James Le Marchant, Pierre de la Lande, Robert de la Salle, Colin Henry, Raoul Emery, Gaultier Blondel, Guillet Le Febvre.” It is noticeable that the first four names of the copy first cited are not among these, and that the last three on this list are not in the Act which we have transcribed.[34] At the end of the second copy we find the following notice: “N.B.--Mr. Thomas Le Maître, Prevost de St. Sauveur à Jersey en a l’original.”

Originally the vavassors[35] of the Court of St. Michael were twelve in number, similar to the Jurats of the Royal Court, but if you ask why the number for the last two hundred years has been reduced to eleven, the answer is--“that the devil carried away Vivien.” All that is known about Jean Vivien is that he was a vavassor of this Court, and that, in a fit of despair, he drowned himself, early in the seventeenth century. Up to about the middle of the present century three letters “I. V. V.” cut by himself on the broken fragment of rock from which he leapt into the gulf, still existed at the end of a footpath, not far from the “Fosse au Courlis”--Curlew’s ditch or grave--a spot haunted by witches.

Since then no Christian has dared to replace the suicide Jean Vivien, and, when making the calculation of the symbolic vavassorial stones, his pebble is always omitted. There are but eleven instead of twelve.

[27] “There were two Nigels (Neel or Niel), Viscounts of Cotentin, and proprietors of St. Sauveur le Vicomte. I have reference to those two charters, the perusal of which exalts conjectures into genuine _facts_. It is highly gratifying to possess, at last, extracts from the authentic charters of Robert I. and William II. granted to St. Michel and St. Martin of Tours.”--Extract from MS. letter from George Métivier to Sir Edgar MacCulloch, Nov. 1846.

[28] According to Mr. Métivier Guernsey was called “Holy Island” in the days of a learned Greek called “Sylla,” the friend of Plutarch’s grandfather, and he says that it was the custom for persons to go from the “ogygian” (Gallic or Breton) Islands, to Delos every century, which means every thirty years. The voyagers also visited the temple of Dodona; and on their return from Delos “the sacred navigators were conducted by the winds to the Isle of Saturn or Sacred Island (Guernsey), which was peopled entirely by themselves and their predecessors; for although they were by their laws permitted to return after having served Saturn thirty years, which was the century of the Druids, yet they frequently preferred remaining in the tranquil retirement of this island to returning to their birth-places.” Demetrius, also, says: “Among the islands which lie adjacent to Britain, some are desert, known by the name of the Isles of Heroes.… I embarked in the suite of the Emperor, who was about to visit the nearest of them. We found thereon but few inhabitants, and these were accounted _sacred and inviolable_.” Mr. Métivier goes on to say later “Onomacritus, an author who flourished five hundred years B.C., in one of his poems speaks of a vessel that conveyed the ashes of the dead between England and Spain, and a celebrated Greek author of undoubted veracity, Procopius, who wrote about 547 A.D., states that the “Breton fishermen of an island subject to the French, were exempt from all tribute, because they conveyed the dead into a neighbouring island.” The Breton French fishermen came from Jersey, “La Porte Sainte,” and terminated their funeral voyage at Guernsey, “l’Ile Bienheureuse.” The ashes of the dead were deposited in our _croutes_ and sacred enclosures, within the tombs composed of _five_ horizontal stones, which number indicated the resting places of knightly heroes, or noble Gauls.”--Métivier in the _Monthly Selection_, 1825, pp. 327 and 452.

[29] EDITOR’S NOTE.--M. de Gerville denies the truth of this tradition. See _Documents Inédits du Moyen Age, relatifs aux Iles du Cotentin_, p. 16.

[30] See _Gentleman’s Magazine Library_, Social Manners and Customs. P. 51, Beating of Bounds at Grimsby.

[31] EDITOR’S NOTE.--On the 27th April, 1533. The Court of St. Michel du Valle ordered that the King’s Serjeant should “cry in the Market Place for three Saturdays that the Chevauchée would take place in the following month of May.”--_Fief Le Comte MSS._ copied by Colonel J. H. C. Carey.

[32] As being of the same race and language as Wace, Walter Map and Chrestien de Troyes, who were the first to collect and write of the Arthurian legends,--or, as they are generally spoken of by French writers “_Les Epopées de la Table Ronde_,”--it might reasonably be expected that some traces of these old “romans” that must have so influenced our forefathers should linger among us. This “round table” so carefully hollowed out for the pions may be a relic of “La Table Ronde,” of which Wace writes--

“Fist Artus la Roonde Table
Dont Bretons dient mainte fable.”

He goes on to say that Arthur instituted this Round Table in times of peace, for his feudal retainers, so that none might consider himself superior to his fellow knights and squires, for at such a table all must be equal.

[33] Now called the Câtel, and the Church of the said Parish is traditionally built on the Castle formerly inhabited by “Le Grand Sarazin,” and it was there or thereabouts that the Royal Court used to sit.

[34] EDITOR’S NOTE.--I will here add a copy of the old orders issued by the Cour de St. Michel in 1663, and copied from those issued in 1439. It is taken word for word from a manuscript lent me by Colonel J. H. Carteret Carey, except that in places I have written in full words which are abbreviated in the original MSS., such as “par” for “P,” “Prevost” for “puost,” “présent” for “pnt,” “que” for “q,” “comme” for “coe,” “parties” for “pties,” “Jour” for “Jor,” etc., etc.:--

A Tous Ceux quy ces presentes lettres verront ou orront--Denis Le Marchant, Senechal de la Cour de la prieureté de St. Michel du Val en l’Isle de Guernesey--Salut--comme ainsy soit que Martin Sauvary, comme procureur et attourné des vavasseurs, Sergeans, bordiers, et autres officiers, de la dite Cour acteurs d’une partie eussent fait semondre et convenir pardevant nous en ladite Cour John phylippe recepveur pour lors de la dite Isle de Guernesey et de ladite prieureté du Valle pour très hault et très puissant prince Mon Seigneur Le Duc de Glocester, Seigneur des Isles, et possesseur adonques de toutes les rentes et revenues quelconques appartenants a la dite prieureté en ladite Isle, deffenseur d’autre partie--Lequel attourné que dit est eust declaré et demandé adonques a l’avant dit deffenseur comment iceluy deffenseur recepveur comme dit est deubt bailler trouuer et deliurer les debuoirs et deuteys appartenants es dits Officiers de la dite Cour. C’est a sçauoir de temps en temps et toutefois et quantes qu’il leur appartient de droit et de raison. Sçauoir est les 3 disners par chacun a chascun des plaids Cappitaulx de ladite cour. C’est a sçauoir à la feste St. Michel, à Noel, et à pasques. Item leurs disners toutes fois et quantes que par le dit recepveur seront requis et contraints d’aller reuisiter les Keys de la Coste de la mer et le cours des eaux et que eux en feroient leur debvoir comment de droit et de raison il appartient à leurs offices. Item--toutes fois et quantes que les dits vavasseurs, leurs valets, et seruans et les autres Sergeants et officiers a qu’il appartient iroient en chevauchée pour reuisiter en ladite Isle leurs debvoirs semblablement--C’est a sçauoir quant eux se sont representés deuant la porte de la dite prieureté et eux doiuent monter a cheval eux doivent auoir du pain et du vin abondamment et honestement seruis--Item pareillement eux doivent estre seruis et administrer de pain et de vin par la main du prevost de mon dit seigneur deuant la porte de l’eglise de St. pierre port lequel preuost doit estre présent a la dite chevauchée; et doit estre illeques une ronde table mise fournie et garnie bien et honnestement de doublier, pain et vin es coustages de mon dit Seigneur. Item quant eux seront arrivés es portes de pleinmont eux doiueut auoir du pair et a boire et quant eux seront retournez a la dite prieureté et eux auront ainsi fait leurs debvoir eux doivent avoir a disner bien et honnestement tous ensemble es despens et coustages de mon dit Seigneur. Lequel seruice iceux officiers confessoient estre tenus de droit et de raison de trois ans en trois ans par la dignité de leurs offices. Item leurs disners semblablement toutes fois et quant qu’eux taxent les amendes de la dite cour. Item aussi a Noel et a Pasques quant eux rendent et payent les francs tenans (?) C’est a sçauoir les chapons a Noel et les oeufs a pasques. Lesquelles choses et chacune d’icelles en la forme et manière comme dessus est dit et desclaré. Le dit attourné au nom que dit est, proposoit adonques contre le dit recepveur, deffenseur comme dessus est dit; et qu’a jceux officiers appartenoit de droit et d’antienne coustume a raison et dignitez de leurs offices et cela jceluy attourné offroit a prouver a suffire contre le dit deffenseur et jceluy recepueur deffenseur comme dit est es auant dites parties, propos et callenges dust fait negacion; et le dit attourné dust prins et offert a prouver à suffire contre le dit deffenseur es quelles parties nous assignames certain jour es premiers plaids de la dite Cour c’est a sçavoir au dit attourné a faire sa preuve et audit deffenseur a la soustenir. Sachent tous que le Jour du Jeudy neufième jour du mois de Juillet l’an de grace mille, quatre cents et trente-neuf, en la dite cour par-devant nous comme dit est les dites parties furent presentes et personellemeut compareutes, et leurs raisons recitées et alleguées tant de l’une partie que de l’autre. Le dit attourné prouva et informa bien et raisonnablement toute son jntention et propos estre bons et vrays en forme et manière comme dessus est dit, et desclare par le report d’un bon et loyal serment douze preud’hommes de la dite paroisse de St. Michel du Valle, Jures et Sermentez de nostre ofice sur Saintes euangilles de dire et raporter uerité et loyaulté sur les cas, Item en outre et dabondant qu’au Seigneur de ladite prieureté appartient a faire curer et netoyer le fonds du douit du grand maresq appartenant a la dite prieureté, estant a la dite paroisse et en cas qu’aucune ordure soit terre ou pierre cherroit dedans jceluy douit qu’il doit estre netoyé et curé es coustages de ceux a quj la faute seroit trouué après lequel raport de serment fait et raporté a la forme et manière comme dessus est dit nous condanmes (sic) (? confirmames) toutes et chacunes les choses dessus dites et desclarez enfin et par perpetuité d’heritage en sa temps aduenir. En tesmoing desquelles choses nous avons a ces presentes lettres mis et appendu le seell de nos Armes l’an et le Jour de susdit--Les parties a ce presentes.

Collationné à l’original par nous soussignez Senechal et Vavasseurs de la dite cour de St. Michel le vingt et unième Jour du mois de May l’an Mille, six cents soixante et huit.

JEAN PERCHARD, Seneschal.
PHILIPPIN PAINT.
JEAN LE HURAY.
WILLIAM LE FAYVRE.
P. LE MARCHANT.
JAMES FALLA.
THOMAS DE JERSEY.
HELLIER DE JERSÉ.
PIERRE LA PERE.
JEAN DE GARIS.
JEAN FALLA.
JEAMES LIHOU.

_Contre Sceau_ Initiales du dit Seneschal.

[35] EDITOR’S NOTE.--The titles of the eleven vavasseurs are:--(1) Gervaise--(2) Capelle--(3) Soulaire--(4) Maresq--(5) Grent Maison--(6) Garis--(7) Béhon--(8) Agenor--(9) Piquemie--(10) Le Moye--(11) Houët. The titles of the sergeants:--(1) Gaillot--(2) Bordier Paisson--(3) de la Lande--(4) Roques des Roques--(5) Bourg--(6) l’Ange. The titles of the bordiers:--(1) Béquerel--(2) Rebour--(3) Renost--(4) Ricard--(5) Nant--(6) Salmon--(7) Infart--(8) Scarabie.

“Briser La Hanse.”

This was a curious civic ceremony which was abolished in the early part of this century. In each of our parishes there are a certain number of functionaries called douzeniers, because the corps in question consists of twelve (douze) members, except in St. Peter Port, where there are twenty, and at St. Michel du Valle, where there are sixteen. When one of these officers was elected, he had to give a feast, to which the electors carried an enormous bouquet of flowers “à deux hanses”--with two handles. The dinner finished and the cloth removed, each man filled his glass, and the abdicating douzenier (le douzenier _déhansé_) broke one of these handles, previously dipping the bouquet into his glass, and drinking the health of the douzenier _hansé_. Then the bouquet went round from hand to hand, each man, while moistening it with the spirit that bubbled in his glass, adding his toast to the newly elected or _hansé_ douzenier.

Local Customs--Aquatic.

“Heureux peuple des champs, vos travaux sont des fêtes.”

--_St. Lambert._

Vraicing.

The months of June, July, and August, form one of the principal seasons for the collection of the seaweed with which the rocky shores of Guernsey abound, and which, from time immemorial, has proved a most valuable resource to the farmer, not only as affording an excellent manure for the land, but also, in the case of the poorer cottagers and fishermen who inhabit the coast, an unfailing supply of fuel. Many indeed of these gain almost their entire livelihood by collecting the “vraic” as it is locally termed, which they sell to their richer neighbours for dressing the land, or which, after drying on the shore, they stack for their winter firing. The ashes, which are carefully preserved, always command a ready market, being considered one of the best manures that can be applied to the land in preparing it for certain crops. The qualities of seaweed in general as a fertilizer are so highly appreciated that it has given rise to the agricultural adage “_point de vraic, point de hautgard_”--no sea-weed, no stack yard. It has been remarked that dry seasons are unfavourable to the growth of sea-weed, and that rain is almost as essential to its development as it is to that of the grass of the field--a singular fact, when we remember that the marine plant has always a supply of moisture.

Sea-weed is distinguished into two kinds “_vraic venant_”--drift weed, and “_vraic scié_”--cut weed. The former is that which, like the leaves and branches of a tree, are severed from the place of growth by natural decay, or by the violence of storms, and is thrown up by the action of the waves on the shore. The latter is that which is detached from the rocks by the hand of man, generally with the aid of a small sickle. The collecting of sea-weed, whether drift or cut, is subject to stringent regulations, framed with a view both of preventing dangerous quarrels among those engaged in the occupation, and also of ensuring a regular supply of so precious a commodity by allowing sufficient time for its growth. In Guernsey the Royal Court has always legislated on the subject, but on the coasts of Normandy and Brittany it appears to have been the province of the Church to regulate the matter, and the harvesting of the sea-weed never began until the parish priest had solemnly blessed the undertaking.

Driftweed may be collected at all seasons, but only between sunrise and sunset. It is found left on the beach by the retiring tide, or is dragged on shore by means of long rakes from amidst the breakers that roll in during, or after, heavy gales. This is hard work, and not unattended with danger. The men are frequently up to their waists in the water, and the shelving pebbly beach affords but an insecure footing. The rakes are often wrenched out of the men’s hands by the violence of the waves, and hurled back among them, inflicting severe bruises and sometimes even broken limbs. The collecting of the cut weed or “_vraic scié_” is quite another thing. Although entailing a great deal of labour, it is looked upon, especially in summer, as a sort of holiday. There are two seasons during which it is lawful to cut: the first begins with the first spring-tide after Candlemas, and lasts about five weeks, during the whole of which time every person is allowed to collect as much as he wants for manuring his lands. The second cutting, which is chiefly for fuel, commences about Midsummer and lasts until the middle of August. Immemorial usage, strengthened by legal enactment, has consecrated the first eight days of cutting at this season to the poor. During this time none but those who are too poor to possess a horse or cart are allowed the privilege of gathering the vraic, which, when cut, they must bring to high water mark on their backs. After this concession to the less fortunate brethren, the harvest is thrown open to all. Then it is that the country people, uniting in parties consisting frequently of two or three neighbouring families, resort to the beach with their carts, to watch the ebbing tide, and secure a favourable spot for their operations. All who can be spared from the necessary routine work of the farm attend on these occasions. The younger people adorn their hats with wreaths of flowers, the horses’ heads are decked with nosegays, and even the yoke of the patient ox is not without its floral honours. Once arrived on the sea-shore, not a moment is lost, for time and tide wait for no man, and first come, first served. The sickle is plied vigorously, and small heaps of the precious weed are collected and marked with a flat pebble, on which the name or initials of the proprietor are chalked. The men wade across the “cols” or natural causeways leading to the outlying rocks, and, when the tide begins to flow, hastily load the carts, or the ample panniers with which the horses are provided, and hurry off to deposit their hard-earned store above high-water mark. In the meantime the younger members of the party range along the beach, turning over the stones in search of that esteemed mollusc the “ormer” or sea-ear (_Haliotis tuberculata_) which, when well cooked--a secret only known to a native of the isles--is really a delicious morsel. Not unfrequently crabs of various kinds are turned out of their hiding places, and hurry off, holding up their formidable pincers in defiance and defence, but are soon adroitly transferred to the “_behotte_”--a small basket, narrow mouthed and flattened on one side, which hangs by a belt from the shoulder of the youth or maiden. Here and there a larger mass of rock is with difficulty raised, and a goodly sized conger-eel, disturbed from his snug retreat, glides away like a snake and endeavours to hide himself in the grass-like “_plize_” (_Zostera Marina_). A blow on the head stuns him, and he goes to join the captive ormers and crabs. Perhaps one of those hideous monsters of the deep, the cuttle fish, is dislodged. His long tentacles, armed with innumerable suckers, which attach themselves strongly to anything they touch, his parrot-like bill and large projecting eyes, staring with a fixed gaze, are calculated to inspire alarm, but the trenchant sickle makes short work of him, and his scattered limbs remain on the spot to form a meal for the crabs.

The laugh and the jest are to be heard on all sides--even the brute creation seem to enjoy the change. The horses, generally quiet, scamper over the sands and rocks, neighing joyously to one another; the farm dogs are busy hunting the small crabs that everywhere abound, or rushing into the water after the stones thrown by the children. A more animated scene can nowhere be witnessed, and, when lighted up by a bright summer sun, none more worthy of being studied by the artist. The rich colouring of the rocks, the lustrous bronzed tints of the moist sea-weed, the delicate hues of the transparent water as it lies unruffled in the small pools left by the retiring wave, the groups of oxen and horses with their shining summer coats, and the merry faces of the peasantry, form a picture which no true lover of nature can ever forget. But the tide is rising, and drives the busy crowd before it. Before, however, they leave the strand, the younger men choose their favourite lasses, and lead them, already thoroughly drenched, to meet the advancing wave. Hand-in-hand they venture in; the confiding girl is enticed onwards, and suddenly finds herself immersed over head and ears in the water. Some, more coy, feign to fly, sure to be overtaken and share the same fate. The whole scene is vividly portrayed by Mr. Métivier in his poem of the “Sea Weeders” written in 1812.

At last, all re-assemble on the grassy sward that lines the shore, and join their respective parties. The careful housewife has baked beforehand a plentiful supply of “gâche” and biscuits; the rich golden-coloured butter has been kept from the market, much to the annoyance of the thrifty matron in town, who finds the price enhanced in consequence; the small barrel of cider is broached, and all make a hearty meal. The remaining hours of daylight are employed in carting away the vraic or spreading it out on the downs to dry, and, when night has set in, many assemble again at some neighbouring tavern and end the day with song and dance. The old fashioned “_chifournie_” or hurdy-gurdy--the _rote_ of mediæval times--has given way to the modern fiddle, but the songs are still those that delighted their ancestors. Most, if not all of them, have been originally derived from France, where it is far from improbable that they are now forgotten except in some remote country villages, but it is curious to find that they are still sung by the Canadian boatmen, and “Belle Rose, au Rosier Blanc” and “A la Claire Fontaine” are as familiar to the American descendants of the Normans as they are to the Guernsey peasant.

Ormering.

Another favourite amusement of the young people in the country, besides the merry-making which accompanies and follows the collection of sea-weed in summer, is the forming of parties to take the ormer, a shell-fish which abounds at low water at the spring-tides in spring and autumn. The ormer is the _Haliotis tuberculata_ of naturalists, and derives its name from its resemblance in shape to an ear--_auris marina_--“oreille de mer.” The shell, which was formerly thrown away, is now carefully collected and exported, as it enters largely into the japanned ware manufactured at Birmingham and elsewhere, the lustre of the interior of the shell surpassing in brilliancy and variety of tints that of the best mother-of-pearl. It is not, however, for the sake of the shell that this mollusc is sought, but for the fish itself, which, after being well beaten to make it tender, and cooked in brown sauce, forms a favourite dish. Like the limpet, the ormer adheres strongly to the rock, from which it requires some degree of strength to detach it, but it seems to possess considerable powers of locomotion, and appears to come up from the deep water at certain seasons of the year, probably for the purpose of depositing its ova. It is a curious instance of the local distribution of animal life that, although the ormer is known in the Mediterranean, and is found all along the western shores of Spain and France, and in great quantities on the coasts of Brittany, it has never been discovered much to the eastward of Cherbourg, nor on the English side of the Channel.

The localities in which the ormer abounds are the rocky bays, of which there are so many around our coast, and there it is found at the proper seasons adhering to the under surface of the loose boulders. It is no trifling work to turn over these stones, but the searcher often returns home laden with several hundred ormers, and not infrequently he has also added a crab or a conger to his store.

Sand-Eeling.

The catching of the sand-eel, or “_lanchon_” as it is locally termed, takes place on nights when the moon is at her full, and at low water: it is pursued more as a recreation than as a source of profit. Parties of young men and women unite and resort to some sandy bay or creek as the tide is ebbing, armed with blunted sickles, two-pronged forks, or any instrument with which the sand can be easily stirred. The fish, on being disturbed, rise to the surface of the sand with a leap. They are very agile in their movements, but their bright silvery sides, glittering in the moon-beams, betray them to their active pursuers, and before they have time to burrow again in the sand they are caught with the hand and transferred to the basket. It is more easy to imagine than describe the fun and merriment to which this sport gives rise; how in the eagerness of the pursuit, a false step will place the incautious maiden up to the waist in a pool of water, and subject her to the good natured laughter of her merry companions; how an apparently accidental push from behind will cause a youth, who is stooping down to gather up the fish, to measure his whole length on the wet sand; or how a malicious step will splash one or more of the party from top to toe. To the lovers of the picturesque the localities in which this sport takes place add not a little to the charm of the scene. The broad sands of Vazon Bay, those of La Saline and other creeks on the western shores of the island, hemmed in on all sides by reefs of rock, and, above all, that most lovely spot called Le Petit Port, which lies at the foot of the precipitous cliffs of Jerbourg, seen in the full light of the harvest moon, leave impressions on the mind that are not easily forgotten.

Although the coasts of the island abound in fish of various sorts, sea-fishing, as an amusement, is very little resorted to. The reason of this is no doubt to be found in the strong tides and currents and dangerous rocks which surround us on every side, and which render it imprudent to venture out to sea unless under the guidance of an experienced pilot. Of late years, however, the extension of the harbour works into deep water has brought the fish within reach without the risk of hazarding one’s life by venturing on the fickle sea, and the “contemplative man’s amusement” is becoming daily more and more popular. Crowds of men and boys may be seen in all sorts of weather and at all hours of the day angling from the pier heads, and not infrequently making very fair catches.

Although prawns and shrimps are tolerably plentiful, there are but few who take the trouble of catching them for the market, but the pursuit of these delicate crustaceans is a favourite amusement, and is occasionally indulged in by persons of all ranks, the shores of Herm and Jethou, and the bays of the Pezerie and Rocquaine being the best spots at low tide for the sport. Inglis, in his work on the Channel Islands, remarks “that so various are tastes in the matter of recreation, that he has seen individuals who found as much pleasure in wading for half-a-day, knee-deep among rocks, to make capture of some handfuls of shrimps, as has ever been afforded to others in the pursuit of the deer or the fox.”

Local Customs--Ceremonial.

“What art thou, thou idle ceremony?
What kind of god art thou, that suffer’st more
Of mortal grief than do thy worshippers!
Art thou aught else but place, degree, and form?”

--_Shakespeare._

Although the doctrines of the Reformation were introduced into Guernsey in the reign of Edward VI., and perhaps earlier, and the Liturgy put forth by authority in the reign of that monarch was translated into French and used in the churches,[36] it was not until the reign of Elizabeth that the island became wholly Protestant.

Up to this time the Channel Islands had formed part of the Diocese of Coutances in Normandy,[37] an arrangement which led to much inconvenience in times of war between France and England. Queen Elizabeth put an end to this connection in the year 1568,[38] and attached the islands to the See of Winchester; but it was not until the Restoration of Charles II. that the change took full effect, and that the islands were brought entirely within the discipline of the Church of England by authority of the Bill of Uniformity.

It is well known that it was part of Queen Elizabeth’s policy to favour the Huguenot party in France; and that in times of persecution the followers of the Reformed faith always met with an hospitable reception in England. The Channel Islands, lying so close to the coast of France, and speaking the same language as was used in continental Normandy, were naturally chosen as places of refuge in times of persecution by the French Protestants, many of whom--and among them several ministers--resorted thither until more settled times enabled them to return to their own homes. The old Roman Catholic rectors of the parishes in Guernsey, who, apparently, had given a sort of half adhesion to the intermediate order of things, and had been allowed to retain possession of a portion, at least, of the emoluments of their benefices, seem to have disappeared altogether shortly after the excommunication of the Queen by Pope Pius V. in 1570.