very probable that good Master Sammes never read so much as the Preface to his Book Or else either he or Mr. Wood must be under the misfortune of a very treacherous Memory Something of value might have been expected from the many Years Labours and Collections of that excellent Antiquary John Aubrey Esquire Fellow of the Royal Society if the Proposals he lately made for the publishing of his Monumenta Britannica had met with a suitable Reception The World is not come to that Ripeness we hope for as duely to relish Works of this Nature but how well his have deserv'd a better Encouragement than hitherto they have met with is apparent from the little Tasts we have of 'em in the late Edition of the Britannia especially in Wiltshire Herefordshire and Wales He would have given us if we had been so kind to our selves as to have accepted his Pains a good view of the Temples Religion and Manners of the Ancient Druids of the Camps Castles Military Architecture c. of both Britains and Romans But we rejected his offers and may possibly too late repent of our Folly As to the Roman Writers there are hardly any that treat of the Affairs of this Isle any otherwise than occasionally only and by the bye The Design of Caesar's Commentaries is to give the World an Account of the most glorious Passages of his own Life and what he says of Britain as well as Germany is apparently what he could pick up from uncertain Tattle and Hear-say Something better bottom'd are the Stories we meet with afterwards in Tacitus Dio Cassius Suetonius Eutropius Spartianus Capitolinus Lampridius Vopiscus c. who may all be suppos'd to have had the perusal of such Memorials as were from time to time sent to the Emperours from their Lieutenants and other chief Officers in this Province In the use of these the Reader ought to take a deal of Leisure and Caution For most of 'em seem to have been loose Indigested Adversaria such as had not the last Examination and Thoughts of their Authors and do therefore want the Regard that should be had to Order and Time Besides the several Tracts are not well ascertain'd to their Genuine and Proper Writers the not heeding whereof may draw one unawares into very dangerous mistakes These Defects are happily supply'd by the famous Mr. Dodwell in his late Learned Praelectiones Camdenianae which will be highly serviceable to all such as shall hereafter engage in these Studies Indeed Tacitus's Life of Agricola especially as improv'd by Sir Henry Savil's most admirable Translation and Learned Notes looks something like a Just Treatise upon that great General 's Conduct here and is done with that Fairness and Respect to the Natives that I cannot see but Galgacus is made to talk as Bravely Gracefully and Eloquently as the best of his Enemies Many Defects in these Accounts have been likewise supply'd as well as good store of Conjectural Mistakes in more Modern Authors rectify'd by the Roman Inscriptions and Coins found in several parts of our Island and there are daily new Discoveries of both these sorts Since the acceptable Services done to the Students of Antiquities by Gruterus and Reynesius the Inscriptions on Altars and other Monuments have carry'd a very high price and among others the Antiquaries of our own Nation have fansy'd that our History has had great Improvements from such as have been discover'd here Those that Mr. Camden met with were all preserv'd as choice Ornaments in his Britannia and some few have been added in the late Edition of that Work Many more might undoubtedly be had for seeking after And 't is no small Unhappiness that among the many Advancements of Learning in this Age the Recovery of these precious Treasures should be so much neglected The Persons employ'd in these Searches ought to be Men of Probity as well as Knowledge Religiously scrupulous in obtruding any thing upon the World under the Venerable Name of Antiquity which has not an honest Title to that Character Annius of Viterbo's scandalous Project of raising the Credit of that City by some forg'd Inscriptions which he had caus'd to be hid in the Neighbouring Fields and afterwards discover'd in a Boasting Triumph has been justly resented and exploded by all true Lovers of ancient Learning But the Inclinations of all Men are so naturally bent upon doing Honour and Service to their Native Country in their own way and the Temptations that we meet with in these Studies are so many and strong that a very great share of Integrity is requisite to the making of a Complete Antiquary Mr. Camden tells us that from the Time of Claudian to that of Valentinian about five hundred years the Roman Coin only was current in this Nation And that whereas all Money for this part of the World was for a long time coin'd either at Rome Lions or Treves Constantine the Great erected a Mint at London Some of his Pieces which were there coin'd I have in my poor Collection and they are not uncommon in many of the Musaea in England But long before his Days his Predecessors took occasion to magnify their Exploits in this other World of Great Britain on the Reverse of their Coins from whence several good Illustrations of that part of our History may be had What are given us of this kind in the Britannia are very valuable But their Numbers might be further enlarg'd and we are the more encouraged to look after those we want because I have not yet heard that our Trayterous English Money-makers have hitherto busy'd themselves in Counterfeiting any Coin of so ancient a Date Such Rogueries are common in France and Germany where most of their old Medals have been Copy'd and many New Ones of the first Caesar's stamp'd and minted by Modern Artists And yet even there those that relate to the Affairs of this Isle are always allow'd to be True and Genuine CHAP. IV. Of the Histories and other Monuments that relate to the Times of the Saxons and Danes THe Dispatch that Sir William Temple makes of the Saxon times is very short and pithy and the Character he gives of their Writers is so full of Contempt that if we were sure it came from a proper Judge 't would save an Antiquary a great deal of trouble and pains The Authors he says of those barbarous and illiterate Ages are few and mean and perhaps the rough course of those Lawless Times and Actions would have been too ignoble a subject for a good Historian The times were not so lawless nor the Authors so few and mean as he imagines A great many of the Records of those days we own are lost but there are still more remaining than any of our Neighbour-Nations can pretend to shew relating to the Transactions of those Ages We know not what 's become of the Book King Aelfred wrote against Corrupt Judges of his Collection
Communion how he came to stuff his Book so full of Legendary Miracles since a Man of good substantial Learning and that enlargement of Thought which usually accompanies it is very rarely split upon such Rocks Yet let this be said for him says honest and blunt Anthony Wood that for as much as he mostly quotes his Authors for and leaves what he says to the Judgment of the Readers he is to be excused and in the mean time to be commended for his grave and good Style proper for an Ecclesiastical Historian In the rear of these let us remember such as have penn'd the Lives of those few Saints that flourish'd in the English Church after the Conquest who have been usually Canoniz'd for such Exploits as in our days are commonly thought to desevre another sort of Treatment St. Anselm who is believed to have a better Title to his Saint-ship than any of those that follow had great contests with Henry the First about Investitures an Account whereof with the other Remarkables of his Life was written by John of Salisbury an Author much commended by Petrus Blesensis 'T is the same with that which is now extant in Manuscript I suppose in the Library at Lambeth and goes by the Name of John Carnotensis St. Edmund's is said to be penn'd by Rob Bacon a secular Priest and Dr. of Divinity in Oxford who is also reported to have been sometime Servant to that eminently learn'd and pious Arch-bishop The same Authority assures us that 't was likewise written by his only Brother and Companion in all the varieties of his Fortune Robert Rich as also by M. Paris Let me add 't was also written by Albert AB of Prussia the Pope's Legate St. Gilbert of Sempringham the Founder of our Famous English Order of Gilbertines had his Life written by a modest Brother of his own Order who dedicates his Work to Hubert AB of Canterbury This is publish'd in the Monasticon out of the Cottonian Library St. Goodric Nicholaus Dunelmensis a Monk of Durham was as M. Paris tells the Story a great Comrade of an Eminent Hermit of his Time call'd Goodric whose Life Nicolas being by some of his Friends desired to Write and Publish he acquainted Goodric with the Design and desired his Assistance But instead of having an Account of the remarkable instances of Piety and Mortification which he expected the Hermite gives him a long Schedule of all the Crimes he had been guilty of during his whole Life Yet on a second Importunity his request was granted and plenty of Materials given for such a Treatise St. Remigius and St. Hugh were both Bishops of Lincoln and had their Histories written in the same Treatise by Gyraldus Cambrensis The latter having himself been sometimes Prior of a Carthusian Monastery at Witham in Somersetshire had his Life also written by one Adam a Monk of that Order which is suppos'd to be done about the Year 1340. St. Richard de Witz or Wych Bishop of Chichester was sometime Chaplain to St. Edmund and so intimately privy to all the Severities of his Life that he could not well avoid the being very exemplary afterwards in his own Conversation This and the Miracles that were necessary upon such an Occasion procur'd for him an Enrolment in the Calendar of Saints by Pope Vrban in the Year 1259. And Ralph Rocking his Confessor wrote two Books of the History of his Life and Wonders which he dedicated to Isabel Countess of Arundel St. Robert's is reckon'd amongst the Works of Joceline Bracland a Learn'd Monk of St. Edmundsbury about the Year 1214. St. Thomas Becket was the great Goliah Saint of these times and as his Shrine out-did that of all the Martyrs that had gone before him so his Life and Miracles have had more Writers to record them for the use of after Ages than the most Glorious Adventures of the best of our Kings The following long list of 'em may be pick'd out of Leland Bale and Pits together with some of our later Authors 1. Herbert Bosenham Boseham or Bosseham Secretary to this Arch-bishop who was also present at the Slaughter of him Others call him Herb. de Hoscham and by that Name we shall shortly meet with him again 2. Edward a Monk of Canterbury the Martyr's most intimate Friend 3. Joh. Salesburiensis who accompanied Becket in his Exile but never countenanc'd him in his Misbehaviour towards his Sovereign being as sharp a Writer against the Encroachments of the Papal See as any Man of his time 4. Barthol Iscanus or Exoniensis Bishop of Exeter where he dy'd A. D. 1184. 5. E. a Monk of Evesham who dedicated his Book or wrote by way of Epistle to Henry Abbot of Croyland 6. Will. Stephens or Fitz-Stephen a Monk of Canterbury and for that reason some times call'd Guilielmus Cantuariensis He is said to have written three several Treatises of the Life Martyrdom and Miracles of this precious Saint which we are told are now in Cottons Library But that which there carrys his Name seems to have been penn'd by Joh. Carnotensis who is the same Person with Salesburiensis above mention'd since in the Quadripartite History what we have from him is often in the same Words in that Life there attributed to Fitz-Stephen 7. Benedictus Petroburgensis Abbot of Peterborough who dy'd in the Year 1200. 8. Alanus Teukesburiensis Abbot also of the Monastery from whence he had that surname who liv'd and dy'd about the same time 9. Roger Monk of Croyland who liv'd about the Year 1214. 'T is observ'd that St. Thomas's Miracles encreased so fast in his time that as late as he was started he had matter enough for Seven full Volumes in composing whereof he spent no less then Fifteen Years 10. Stephen Langton a famous Successor of his in the See of Canterbury whose Work on this Subject is said to be in the Library of Bennet College 11. Alexander de Hales so call'd from the Monastery of Hales in Glocestershire where he was sometime Educated one of the most eminent Schoolmen of his Age Master to Thomas Aquinas and S. Bonaventure c. 12. John Grandison or Graunston Bishop of Exeter who dy'd in the Year 1369. 13. Quadrilogus or the Author of the Book entitled De Vita Processu Thomâ— Cantuariensis Martyris super Libertate Ecclesiastica 'T is collected out of Four Historians who were Cotemporary and conversant with him in his height of Glory and lowest depression Herbert de Hoscham Joh. Carnotensis Will. of Canterbury and Alan of Tukesbury who are brought in as so many several Relators of Matters of Fact interchangeably This Book was long since printed in an Old Character and senseless Method and is often quoted by our Historians in the Reign of Henry the Second by the Name of Quadripartita Historia
London A. D. 1545. The year following a much greater Man of the profession Sir Thomas Eliot one of King Henry's Ambassadors and Sir Thomas Moor's Friends di'd also and left behind him a learned and judicious Commentary de rebus memorabilibus Angliae This work gain'd him the Repute of a most accomplish'd Antiquary in the opinion of J. Leland who is almost immoderate in his Praises But Humphrey Lhuyd being a little disgusted at his Prytannia could only allow him the modest Character of vir non contemnendae eruditionis Cotemporary with these two was George Lilly Son of William Lilly the famous Grammarian who liv'd sometime at Rome with Cardinal Pool and publish'd the first exact Map that ever was drawn of this Island The chief Ornament of this King's Reign was John Leland his Library-Keeper and Canon of Christ-Church of whom we shall have occasion to speak more largely elsewhere Among the many voluminous Writings he left behind him those that have any relation to the general Description of England are his Itinerary in five Volumes which J. Pits seems to have subdivided into a great many other Treatises and his Cygnea Cantio The latter of these is a Poetical Piece of Flattery or a Panegyrick on King Henry wherein the Author brings his Swan down the River of Thames from Oxford to Greenwich describing as she passes along all the Towns Castles and other places of Note within her view And the ancient Names of these being sometimes different from what the common Herd of Writers had usually given therefore in his Commentary on this Poem he Alphabetically explains his Terms and by the bye brings in a great deal of the ancient Geography of this Island Persons of greatest eminence in this sort of Learning under Queen Elizabeth were Humphrey Lhuyd John Twyne William Harrison and William Camden The first of these was born at Denbigh where he afterwards practis'd Physick and wrote many excellent Treatises He was an intimate Acquaintance of Ortelius whom he assisted in the Edition of his Ancient Geography furnishing him with Maps of England and Wales And because he therein disagreed from the opinions of some former Antiquaries in the Position of several of the old Cities Forts and Rivers he sent him also his Commentarioli Britannicae descriptionis fragmentum which gives reasons for all the uncommon Assertions he had there laid down He shews in it how imperfect all the accounts of this Island are which we have from the Roman Writers and how dark for want of a little skill in the old British Language From thence he derives most of our ancient Names and herein he is much follow'd by Camden as himself in other matters is a great follower of Leland John Twyne Schoolmaster and sometime Mayor of Canterbury was so considerable in Antiquities as to deserve a very high place among J. Leland's Worthies and appears indeed to have been a man of extraordinary Knowledge in the Histories and Antiquities of this Kingdom The only thing of his that 's publish'd is his Treatise de rebus Albionicis Britannicis atque Anglicis but his Grandson Bryan gave several other of his Manuscript Collections to Corpus Christi College in Oxford where they still remain William Harrison Chaplain to Sir William Brook Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports with great Pains and good Judgment collected A Description of the Island of Britain with a brief Rehearsal of the Nature and Qualities of the People of England and such Commodities as are to be found in the same Which in three Books has been several times printed together with R. Holinshead's Chronicle Besides these 't is said George Coryat Rector of Odcombe and Father to Tom. Coryat of famous Memory wrote a Description of England Scotland and Ireland in Latin Verse which he dedicated to Queen Elizabeth But the Glory of this Queen's Reign as well as her Successor's and the Prince of our English Antiquaries was Mr. Camden whose Life has been written at large by Dr. Smith Mr. Wood and Mr. Gibson So that I need not here mention any of its particulars His Britannia is the Book which chiefly respects the Subject of this Chapter and may honestly be styl'd the common Sun whereat our modern Writers have all lighted their little Torches In Latin it had many Editions during the Life of its Author who continually polish'd and improv'd it 'T was first translated into English by Philemon Holland who gave two Editions of it in that Language The former of these appearing while Mr. Camden himself was alive I am apt to believe with Tho. Fuller that many of the Additions and Interpolations which were then charg'd on the Translator might not only come in by the Author 's own Permission and Consent but were also placed there by his Directions and are as truly his proper Work as any other part of the Text. But in the second Holland himself frequently turns Antiquary taking upon him to correct add and explode what he pleases These Corruptions have been all noted in a late English Edition of the Work wherein 't is hoped effectual care has been taken to do the great Author all the Honour and Justice he has merited from his Countrymen Some early Attempts were made by an envious Person one Brook or Brookmonth to blast the deservedly great Reputation of this Book but they perish'd and came to nothing as did likewise the terrible Threats given out by Sir Symonds D. Ewes that he would discover Errors in every Page As little to be regarded is that scurrillous Invective which Fuller has most unworthily inserted into his Church-History a Work wherein if the Author had been capable of any such thing a Man would have expected nothing but what look'd like Truth and Gravity There is now no danger of his Suffering by the Injuries done him by Holland and I think very little from the unskilfull Epitome of the Book drawn by Vitellius a Foreigner and long since publish'd at Amsterdam To this we must here add another Work which is now generally ascribed to Mr. Camden but at first carry'd only in its Title Page the two last Letters M. N. of both his Names This is his Remains concerning Britain its Languages Names Surnames c. After 't was enlarg'd by John Philipot Somerset-Herald it has had many Impressions and has been confidently and without any Scruple father'd upon our great Antiquary There are in it a deal of good Collections touching the Languages Money Surnames and Apparel of our British and Saxon Ancestors but his List of proper Names might be considerably enlarged and corrected by what Scottelius and Mr. Gibson have written on that Subject As for his Allusions Rebus and Anagrams he himself fear'd they would pass for Foolish Fopperies and I do not care for thwarting without very good reason any of his opinions
two Manuscript Copies one in Cotton's Library the other in that of Bennet College whereof the former ended with the year 1001 and the latter with 1070. Cotton's he says had been compar'd with a Third which the Collater whom he supposes to have been Mr. Josseline calls the Book of Peterburgh Mr. Gibson had the advantage of three Copies more 1. Laud A fair one in Vellum given by Archbishop Laud to the University of Oxford which corrects those that Wheloc had seen and continues the History down to the year 1154. This he fansies did anciently belong to the Monastery of Peterburgh because it often largely insists upon the Affairs of that place But if it did so 't is plain it cannot be the same wherewith Mr. Wheloc's Cottonian MS. had been compar'd tho its variations from it are not very considerable being mostly in words and not in sence 2. Cant. Another Gift of the same Archbishop to the publick Library at Oxford 'T is a Paper-transcript of some Copy now lost differing from all the rest and sometimes explaining their dark passages and supplying their defects It ends with the year 977. 3. Cot. A better Copy than it had been Mr. Wheloc's Fortune to meet with in the Cotton-Library which was accurately compared with Wheloc's Edition by â—r Junius and ends A. D. 1057. Out of all these we have the Text made up as entire and compleat as 't was possible to give it us with an elegant and proper Translation void of all affected Strains and unlucky Mistakes which used to abound in Works of this kind If some few passages have a little puzzl'd the Ingenious publisher let it be consider'd that in these Florence of Worcester and Matthew of Westminster who lived nearer the times wherein they were penn'd were much more lamentably gravell'd Perhaps some further Enlargements and Additions might yet be made to this Work out of such MSS. as came not early enough to Mr. Gibson's View and Knowledge Of this Number I take to be 1. The Saxon Chronicle from Julius Caesar down to the Reign of King Edward the Martyr in Sir John Cotton's Library For if it ends as Mr. Wharton says it does A. D. 975. it must be different from what was perus'd by A. Wheloc 2. Another in the same Library from Iulius Caesar down to the Conquest which was transcrib'd by Somner and is now under the Title of the Chronicle of Abingdon amongst his MSS. at Canterbury 3. A Third in Latin and Saxon at the same place which is frequently referr'd to by Mr. Wharton and seems to have recorded many particulars of Note not mention'd by any of the rest This Book was given to Sir Robert Cotton by Mr. Camden says Archbishop Vsher who also mentions a Copy of his own worth the enquiring after 4. The Book of Peterburgh which was never thoroughly compar'd with any Copy hitherto publisht and differs from them all May we not also bring into this List those hinted at by Mr. Kennet and that which Mr. Somner had from Mr. Lambard I think we may The History that is written by Bede is so purely Ecclesiastical that it will not fall under our consideration in this Chapter But some of his Cotemporaries are said to have recorded the Civil Transactions of their Times Thus Cimbert first Monk and afterwards Bishop of Lincoln is the reputed Author of the Annals of his own time and Daniel Bishop of the West Saxons is said to have written four or five Historical Treatises I suppose there was no other grounds for dubbing these men Historians save only Bede's grateful Acknowledgments of his being indebted to both of 'em for the Informations and Assistances they gave him towards the compiling his Ecclesiastical History and if he quotes them in twenty particulars 't is enough for either Bale or Pits to make them Authors of as many Books To W. Caxton I suppose good Mr. Fox was oblig'd for the Account he gives us of King Aelfred ' s compiling a Story in the Saxon Speech c. But Bale and Pits have bravely enlarg'd upon the matter assuring us that he did not only write Collectiones Chronicorum but also Acta suorum Mastratuum The Mirroir des Justices written in the days of Edward the First would incline us to believe the latter part of the story giving so very punctual an Account of forty and four of his Judges executed in one year for corrupt Practices But all that now remains of that great Monarch's Works which relates to History is only his paraphrastical Translation of Bede and a short Genealogy of the Kings of the West Saxons The former of these will be treated on hereafter and the other may be seen among the Appendices to the Oxford Edition of his Life The earliest Account we have of the Reign of this excellent Prince is owing to Asserius Menevensis who lived in his Court and is said to haâ—e been promoted by him to the Bishoprick of Sherburn This Treatise was first publisht by A. B. Parker in the old Saxon Character at the end of his Edition of Thâ— Walsingham's History This he did to invite his English Readers and to draw them in unawares to an Acquaintance with the Hand writing of their Ancestors in hopes to beget in 'em by degrees a Love for the Antiquities of their own Country Asserius wrote his Soveraign's Life no further than the 45th year of his Age which according to his computation fell in the year of our Lordâ—893 So that tho the Book as 't is publisht continue his Story to his Death yet that part is borrowed from Authors of a later time particularly the Copy of Verses by way of Epitaph is Henry of Huntingdon's He shows through the whole a great deal of Modesty especially in the Account he gives of his own being call'd to Court and his Reception there He mentions nothing of the Visionary Dialogue 'twixt King Aelfred and St. Cuthbert which all the rest of our Historians largely insist on together with the good effects it had upon the Diocess of Lindisfern He is exactly copy'd by Florence of Worcester and others when they come to treat of the great things of this Reign As to what relates to the Truth or Falshood of that Memorable Passage in this Book mightily asserting the Antiquity of the University of Oxford I shall not meddle at present that matter having been sufficiently canvass'd by those whose proper business led them to it The best thing this Contest could do for us was the putting Sir John Spelman upon writing a New Life of this King which he seems to have undertaken chiefly upon a Design to vindicate the University of Cambridge from the Reflections which he apprehended were cast upon it by the use that had been made of that passage The most elaborate piece in his whole Book is on this Subject and
They buried their Princes and great men as the old Greeks and Romans also did in Hills rais'd sometimes to a considerable heighth surrounded with one row of Stones about the bottom and another near the top and on some pompous occasions having a third row in a square at some distance from the lower of the two former Coronets They likewise anciently burn'd their dead and enclos'd their Ashes in Urns which were reposited in the foremention'd Barrows together with the choicest Jewels Treasure and valuable Accoutrements of the deceas'd The places wherein they fought their Duels were sometimes Squares lined out with rows of Stones sometimes round Pits with convenient Posts at a due distance for the By-standers Thus fought Ubbo with the Sclavonian Their Courts of Judicature which they call'd Tinge were also certain plots of ground either oval or square environ'd with great Stones and having one larger than the rest in the middle Near akin to which were the places assign'd for the Election of their Kings being Circles of such Stones usually twelve in number with the bulkiest in the midst The next Monument of Age is their Edda Islandorum the meaning of which Appellation they that publish the Book hardly pretend to understand As far as I can give the Reader any satisfaction he is to know that Island was first inhabited in the year 874 by a Colony of Norwegians who brought hither the Traditions of their Forefathers in certain metrical Composures which as is usual with Men transplanted into a Foreign Land were here more zealously and carefully preserv'd and kept in memory than by the Men of Norway themselves About 240â—years after this A. D. 1114. their History began to be written by one Saemund surnam'd Frode or the wise who in nine years travel through Italy Germany and England had amass'd together a mighty Collection of Historical Treatises With these he return'd full fraught into Island where he also drew up an account of the affairs of his own Country Many of his Works are now said to be lost But there is still an Edda consisting of several Odes whence I suspect its Name is derived written by many several hands and at as different times which bears his Name The Book is a Collection of Mythological Fables relating to the ancient State and Behaviour of the Great Woden and his Followers in terms poetical and adapted to the Service of those that were employ'd in the composure of their old Rhymes and Sonnets Another Edda publish'd by Resenius was written by Snorro Sturlaesonius who was born A. D. 1179. above a hundred years after Saemund and liv'd to be an eminent Lawyer in his own Country His Work is thought to be only an Epitome of the former but I rather look upon them as two several Collections of Islandic Tales and Ballads out of which may be pick'd a deal of good History and the best View of the Religious Rites of the Northern Nations that is any where extant 'T is plain Saxo had seen many Sonnets that are not touch'd upon in either of these and thence the Report comes of an Elder Edda much larger a thousand times says Bishop Br. Suenonius than both of 'em put together Nor is it indeed improbable but that a thousand times more Songs of this kind might have been had for seeking after whatever Scantiness they may now be reduc'd to Magnus Olaus collected many of 'em for Wormius's which he was also so kind as to translate and explain to him And near twenty years ago I met with a much more perfect Edda than Resenius's in the famous Library of the Duke of Brunswic-Wolfembuttel Whether it was a Copy of Saemund Frode's I am not now able so much as to conjecture but I remember the Library Keeper Mr. Hanisius was so much a stranger to its Contents that he had entitul'd it an old Moscovian MS. To the Edda is always annex'd the Scalda which is the old Danish or Islandic Prosodia teaching how to compose their several sorts of Meter Our Danish Antiquary should be also acquainted with the best Islandic Historians the most ancient whereof is Aras Frode Cotemporary with Saemund He first wrote a Regular History of Island from the first planting of the Country down to his own Time wherein he gives an account also of the Affairs of Norway Denmark and England intermixt with those of his own Nation This fell happily into the hands of Tho. Bartholine who with the assistance of his Friend the Bishop of Scalholt took care to have it published A. D. 1689. Since his time the Islandic Historians have not had any great occasion to meddle with the Transactions in Britain excepting only Arngrim Jonas who touches upon some passages which we have also in others already mentioned And indeed most of 'em are written with so little judgment confounding the true and fabulous Sonnets of their Scaldri that they are not to be read without some Caution and Acquaintance with those Poetical Writers who are own'd to be their chief Authors And the Emulation that daily appears to be betwixt the Antiquaries of the two Neighbouring Kingdoms of Sweden and Denmark for the gaining the honour of Precedence to their several Countries seems to threaten us with further Corruptions in the Editions of their Manuscripts A misfortune this is which is too frequently observable tho very highly scandalous in Historians and Learned Men who ought not to be byass'd by any even the most natural Affections There is likewise extant a couple of Norwegian Histories of good Authentic Credit which explain a great many particulars relating to the Exploits of the Danish Kings in Great Britain which our own Historians have either wholly omitted or very darkly recorded The former of these was written soon after the year 1130 by one Theodoric a Monk who acknowledges his whole Fabrick to be built upon Tradition and that the old Northern History is no where now to be had save only ab Istendingorum antiquis Carminibus The other was compil'd by Snorro Sturlaesonius who confesses he drew it out of the Ballads of the Scaldri which he verily believes to contain nothing but what may be firmly rely'd on as most unquestionable Truth And Arngrim Jonas so far concurs with him as to assure us that the Songsters of those days were far from Flattery and knew nothing of the more modern poetical Licence of Fable and Rhodomantade in recording the story of their Princes and Patrons This Book was translated into the Vulgar Danish Language by Pet. Vndallensis and so publish'd by VVormius Nor do I know of any more than two Danish Historians which are necessarily requisite to be in our Antiquary's Library and those are Saxo Grammaticus and his Cotemporary and Fellow-Servant Sueno Aggonis Before Stephanius's excellent Edition Saxo's History had been thrice publisht but very faultily He is commonly reckon'd the most ancient
yet affirms that the same Man was made a Presbyter seven years after A. D. 1059. But in truth the Gentleman himself is more upon the Blunder than his Author The Phrase of Saeculum reliquit does not as he imagines import the same thing with mortuus est But signifies only as it does in the same Year and on the same Occasion in Matt. of VVestminster and others the Man's leaving the Concerns of this world Secular Affairs to turn Regular and Secluse 'T is a scandalous reproach and not worth the answering which Sir Thomas Craig gives of him That He led his followers into Error like so many Cattle breaking over a Ditch Eadmerus a Monk of Canterbury is our next Historian whose Historia Novorum c. was published by Mr. Selden and contains the story of the two VVilliams and Henry the First from the year 1066 to 1122. 'T is a Work of great Gravity and unquestionable Authority It affords no fooleries of Miracles so very rife in the Writings of other Monks unless perhaps the Story of the B. Virgins Hair have a smack of the Cloister He had Temptations enough being an intimate Acquaintance of Archbishop Anselm to take the Pope's part in the mighty Dispute of his Time about Investituâ—e and yet he approves himself a person of that steady Loyalty to his Country as to give a fair account of the management on both sides and the unanswerable arguments made in Defence of the Regal Power His comparing of our Saviour's Commission to St. Peter and Pope Gregory's to Augustine the Monk for the establishing of the Primacy of Canterbury is notable and either clears that of Canterbury or clouds that of Rome The Character which Selden himself gives of him is that his Style equals that of Malmesbury his Matter and Composure exceeds him His Cotemporary Aelfred Monk and Treasurer of the Church of Beverly seems to be no more than an Epitomizer of Jeoffrey of Monmouth So that all the four general Treatises said to be written by this Author may probably well bear the Name of Deflorationes Galfredi But William Monk and Library-Keeper of Malmesbury was a person of another figure and has had the highest Commendations imaginable given him by some of our best Criticks in English History One calls him an elegant learned and faithful Historian Another says he 's the only Man of his Time that has honestly discharg'd the Trust of such a Writer And the third calls him the chief of all our Historians What falls under our present consideration is his Account De Gestis Regum Anglorum in five Books with an Appendix in two more which he stiles Historiae Novellae In these we have a judicious Collection of whatever he found on Record touching the Affairs of England from the first arrival of the Saxons concluding his Work with the Reign of King Stephen to whom he shews himself as hearty an Enemy as his Patron Robert Earl of Glocester could possibly be We shall have occasion to mention this Author in several of the following Chapters and therefore I shall now only add that I think himself has given an honest account of this part of his Labours when he tells us Privatim ipse mihi sub Ope Christi gratulor quod â—ontinuam Anglorum Historiam ordinaverim post Bedam vel solus vel primus And again Ego enim veram Legem secutus Historiae nihil unquam posui nisi quod a fidelibus Relatoribus vel Scriptoribus addidici Pits says he was epitomiz'd by W. Horman sometime Master of Eaton-School But whether all his Works or some part of 'em only were so contracted he does not tell us Possibly he only transcrib'd what Simeon Dunelmensis had before drawn up to his hand This Simeon and his Cotemporary Ealred Abbot of Rievaulx are our next Historians of Note in this Century and have both deserv'd to be remember'd in several parts of this Treatise The former was Monk and Precentor of Durham A. D. 1164. and might justly be reckon'd one of the most learned Men of his Age. But his two Books De Gestis Regum which alone are now to be mention'd are not his Master-pieces Being only a few indigested Collections chiefly out of Florence of Worcester whose very words he frequently copies Abbot Ealred not of Revesby in Lincolnshire but of Rievaulx in Yorkshire gives us a short Genealogy of our Kings but enlarges chiefly on the Praises of David King of Scots Founder of a great many Abbies for the Cistertians His other Books of the Life of Edward the Confessor c. are treated on elsewhere I doubt Sir George Mackenzy's Baldredus Abbas Rynalis is this very Author Notwithstanding the great pains he is at to distinguish them About the same time flourished Henry Archdeacon of Huntingdon whose eight Books concluding with the Reign of King Stephen were published by Sir Henry Savil. In the Preface he owns himself a Follower of Bede in the main for the time he wrote in But says withal that he added many things met with in old Libraries His first Lines will easily convince the Reader that he does really follow Bede for he Copies him to a word But I am not satisfy'd that he has added any great matters as far as that Author goes He has indeed a great many Lyes out of Jeoffrey of Monmouth which Bede never heard of and which the World might have wanted well enough After Bede's time he has many particulars out of the Saxon Chronicle which had been omitted by our Historians before him He is pleas'd to take notice of one great Truth that he writes very confusedly All the Transactions of the Heptarchy he reduces to the several Reigns of the West-Saxon Kings But has not adjusted them so well as he ought to have done At the same time liv'd John Serlo Abbot of Fountains who as John Pits tells us wrote a Treatise De Bello inter Scotiae Regem Angliae Barones We are not so well assur'd of this as that he wrote a History of the Foundation of his own Monastery for which he shall be remember'd in a proper place The general Histories written by Richard of the Devises and John of Tilbury a London-Divine before the end of this Age are of the same authority and that 's all I have to say concerning either of ' em William of Newburg was so call'd from a Monastery in Yorkshire of that Name whereof he was a Member tho his true Surname was Little whence he sometimes stiles himself Petit or Parvus His History ends at the year 1197. and therefore tho he is said to be alive A. D. 1220. he ought to be reckon'd among the Historians of this Age. John Pits thinks he appears too much a Flatterer of the Grandees at Court to write a true History But by the account he gives of the beginning
his Namesake Ralph Abbot of Coggeshal are of the same date Soon after these appear'd Matthew Paris a Monk of St. Albans one of the most renown'd Historians of this Kingdom His Historia Major contains the Annals at large of Eight of our Kings from the beginning of the Reign of William the First to the conclusion of that of Henry the Third 'T was first publisht at London A. D. 1571. and the Zurich Edition only copy'd from that It was again verbatim reprinted the errors of the Press being only corrected by Dr. Wats who beautify'd it with additions of various Readings the Author 's large Additamenta and his Lives of the Abbots of St. Albans a good Glossary of his own composure c. Among other Reasons that prevailed with him to publish the very words of the former Edition he thought he should hereby effectually stop the Mouths of the Romanists who pretended that the Hereticks had vilely corrupted that Historian when they should see their Case was not better'd by comparing it with all the Manuscript Copies that could be had of it From the year 1259. wherein M. Paris dy'd to King Henry the Third's Death it was continu'd by Will. Rishanger a Monk of the same Fraternity as some inform us Others will needs affirm that Paris himself had a very small hand in the whole having only begun at the year 1235. the rest being done to his hand by one Roger de Windleshore or Windsor the MS. Copy of his History in Cotton's Library calls him Rogerus Wendovre de Wendover prior de Bealvair one of his Predecessors in the same Monastery Before that time they tell us there are only some few Interpolations of M. Paris's who for some reasons best known to himself did not break off at the year 1250. as it appears he design'd but continued writing to his Death The Author whoever he was did certainly begin his Chronicle at the Creation tho we now have lost all that went before the Conquest unless as the Publisher of him guesses that which now goes under the Name of Matthew of Westminster be in reality the true Work of Mat. Paris This undoubtedly is as much the Offspring of Roger de Wendover as that following part now published is the genuine Work of M. Paris as will sufficiently appear to any that shall take the pains to consult the abovementioned Manuscript Copy The whole Book manifests a great deal of Candour and Exactness in its Author who furnishes us with so particular a relation of the brave Repulses given by many of our Princes to the Usurping Power of the Roman See that 't is a wonder how such an heretical history came to survive thus long Quam fuit animo infensissimâ— in Apostolicam Sedem quivis facile potest intelligere says Cardinal Baronius The English whereof is only this he was a Writer of a singular Courage and one that durst maintain the Prerogatives of his Soveraign's Imperial Crown against the Usurpations of the Papal Crosier And yet he is as kind to the Pope as he is either to the King himself or the Abbot of St. Albans for he indiscriminately lasâ—es upon occasion every body that comes in his way The same Author wrote an Abstract of the foremention'd Work to which he gave the Title of Chronica and VV. Lambard first christen'd it Historia Minor It begins as the former with VVilliam the Conqueror and ends A. D. 1250 having in it several Particulars of Note omitted in the larger history The fairest Copy of this Book suppos'd to be written by the Authorâ—s own hand is in the King's Library at St. James's One John Shepshed is supposed to have liv'd at the same time with M. Paris and is by John Stow asserted to be the Author of an English history We may probably bring in also Robert of Glocester for another of his Cotemporaries since Archbishop Vsher and Mr. Camden are both positive that he liv'd some time in the Reign of King Henry the Third His rhyming Chronicle is in English and the Reader may have a Tast 〈◊〉 it as much it may be as ever he 'll desire either from Mr. Selden or Mr. VVood. The Chronicle of Mailros tho its Title may seem to rank it among the Records of another Kingdom yet may justly challenge a place among our English Historians since it chiefly insists upon the affairs of this Nation The Abbot of Prior of Dundrainand in Galloway a Nursery under Mailros is thought to have been the first Compiler of the work which was afterwards continued by several hands down to the year 1270. There 's very little relating to the Northern history of this Kingdom before the year 1142. when the little Convent of Dundrainand was founded save what is borrow'd from Florence of Worcester and Matthew of Westminster So that it must be after that time that the Character which the Publisher gives of this Chronicle exhibet Principum Procerum Episcoporum Abbatum 〈◊〉 Borealibus istis Oris successiones is most agreeable From the year 1262 the Continuator whoever had the turn to be Register at that time is as dull and whimsical as any Monk needs be 'T was his business to draw the Picture of Simon Monfort the famous Earl of Leicester and he has so overdone the matter that he thought himself oblig'd in the Conclusion to instance in a great many Authors of Note that had publish'd some Stories a little Romantick and yet had found the favour to be believ'd The rest of the general Historians of this Age are of a much lower form and less weight than these already mention'd Such were Elias de Evesham and his Namesake Elias de Trickingham who are both said to have flourish'd about the year 1270. There is a Copy of the latter's Chronicle among my Lord Clarendon's Manuscripts which ends A. D. 1268. Peter Ickeham a Kentish Man born and sometime a Student in the University of Paris about the year 1274. collected the British and English Histories from the coming in of Brute and continued them to the Reign of Edward the First This Chronicle is said to have been some time in the possession of Sir Symonds D' Ewes and perhaps is the same Book which Mr. Wharton acquaints us is now at Lambeth John Buriensir Abbot of St. Edmundsbury where he dy'd A. D. 1280. wrote also English Annals wherein he treats at large of the Disputes betwixt Pope Innocent the Fourth and R. Grostest Bishop of Lincoln Possibly this Buriensis may be the same with Burgensis and all one with John Abbot of Peterburgh whos 's MS. Chronicle is quoted by Mr. VVharton And then he should have been reserv'd till the next Century about the middle whereof that Abbot certainly flourish'd 1301. Tho. VVikes call'd by Leland Vicanus by others VVicâ—ius ought to begin the Fourteenth Century tho both Bale and Pits bring him
Year 1319. which certainly must be very learn'd ones if they answer the Account Godwine gives of that Prelate The Cotton Library is hardly better stock'd with the Records of any Cathedral Church in England than that of Durham whereof the chief is a large Catalogue of their Benefactors from King Edwine down to the Reign of King Henry VIII The beginning of the Book is in an old Saxon Character as ancient as the time of K. Aethelstane in whose Possession 't is very probable from his Name in the Title Page supposed to be written with his own Hand it sometime was There is also a Miscellany Collection of a great many curious Particulars relating to St. Cuthbert and his Successors in that See the Contests of the Prior and Convent with their own Bishops and the Archbishops of York about the Visitatorial Power an entire History of that Church from its Foundation at Lindistarn through all its changes of Fortune and Place as low as the death of Bishop Hugh A. D. 1194. with many other remarkable Fragments of its History There 's also in the Bishops Library at Durham a MS. Collection of the Antiquities of this Church transcribed by the Directions of Bishop Cosin wherein there 's a different Account of some Particulars from what we have in the Rites and Monuments published by Mr. Davies Nor is this last mention'd Piece such an ignorant and pitiful Legend as a very worthy Person has represented it since there 's no where extant so full and exact an Account of the State of this Cathedral at the suppression of Monasteries The Author seems to have been an Eye-witness of all that pass'd at that time and his Descriptions of such Matters as are still remaining appear to be so nicely true that we have great Reason to credit him in the rest Besides these there are now in the Possession of the Dean and Chapter a great many Authentick Records Original Charters Endowments c. which will enable one to furnish out a much more compleat History of this Church than has yet appear'd And I hope the Ingenious and Learn'd Dr. Iohn Smith now Prebendary of that Cathedral will think the Undertaking most proper for himself ELY That History of the Church of Ely which was partly publish'd by Sir William Dugdale and wholly by Mr. Wharton is not the Work of Thomas and Richard whose Names it carries but an Abstract by a nameless Author out of their much larger Volumes which still remain in Manuscript Some parts of the former have been printed out of other Copies by L. D' Achery and Dr. Gale if those Learn'd Gentlemen be not mistaken as I suspect they are in their Conjectures Dr. Brady quotes a Survey of all the Mannors belonging to this Bishoprick taken in the Year 1248. but does not direct us where to find it That S. Birchington or Brickington as he calls him wrote a Catalogue of the Bishops of Ely Mr. Pits is very positive But how he fell into that Mistake wherein he is follow'd by Vossius has been discover'd by a late Writer of much better Credit He probably conjectures that staging over the Margin of one of our Learn'd Church-Historians he met with this Quotation Steph. Birch Catal. Episc. Eliens and thence presently concluded that Stephen must be the Author of the Catalogue there cited Whereas the Historian referr'd his Readers to two several Manuscripts Birchington's History of the Archbishops of Canterbury and an anoâ—ymous Catalogue of the Bishops of Ely for the proof of what he had there advanced EXETER There is in Bodley's Library an old Latin Mass-Book in Saxon Characters in the end whereof we have many Particulars of the Life of Bishop Leofric who gave the Book to his Cathedral as his settling the Episcopal See at Exeter A. D. 1050. c. It gives us also a Catalogue of the Reliques that Church was possess'd of at the time when this Book was written John Grandeson who dy'd Bishop of this See A. D. 1369. is said to have written Martyrologium Exoniense for a Manuscript whereof we are advised to consult the Library at Bennet College John Hooker or Vowel Chamberlain of Exeter where he dy'd A. D. 1601. wrote a lean Catalogue of the Bishops of that See first publish'd by him in Quarto and afterwards inserted into Ralph Holinshead's Chronicle It begins with Eadulph whom he unaccountably calls Werstant and ends at Bishop Woolton who was consecrated in the Year 1579. There 's no want of Materials for the composure of a much fuller History Since the Registers of a good many of the Bishops Stapleton Brantingham Stafford c. are cited by Mr. Wharton and many more pointed at by Mr. Taâ—â—er GLOCESTER being a Diocess of Henry VIIIth's Erection cannot have any Records relating to the See it self more authentick than that which acquaints us with the Erection of St. Peter's Church into a Cathedral But there are many Venerable Remains of Ecclesiastical History which are to be had in the Register-books of those Religious Houses and Parochial Churches which were then brought within that Jurisdiction Out of these Dr. R. Parsons the present worthy Chancellor of that Diocess has collected two MS. Volumes which are also digested into so good a Method that they well deserve the Title of a Compleat History The first of these he stiles Memoirs of the ancient Abbey and present Cathedral of Gloucester wherein he gives an Account of the Foundation of the Great Abbey of St. Peter's in this City and the Succession of its Abbots down to the Dissolution with the History and Succession of the Bishops Deans Chancellors Archdeacons and Prebendaries ever since the dismembering of it from the See of Worcester This Work was happily undertaken at the Request of the late Mr. Wharton who design'd to have oblig'd the Publick with it in some future Volume of his Anglia Sacra We are not in despair of seeing the good Services that were intended our Church by that Learn'd Person fully finish'd and brought to Perfection by some other able Hand So that 't is to be hop'd we shall not long want the Benefit of such successful Labours His other Volume bears the Inscription of A Parochial Visitation of the Diocess of Gloucester wherein the Matters treated on are chiefly Ecclesiastical tho' some Affairs of a Civil Nature are also intermix'd The Observations that occur in this are partly owing to the Author 's own View and Enquiries made in the several Parishes and partly to such Helps as could be had out of the Registry at Worcester and his own at Gloucester HEREFORD That there were anciently several good old Register-books belonging to this Cathedral is beyond dispute Sir H. Spelman quotes one of 'em and we have heard of several others besides that of Bishop Booth The Library and Archives here fell under the like Misfortunes during the
Wiltshire was put to death for his Gratitude and Loyalty to his lawful Sovereign and kind Master Richard the Second by Henry the Fourth against whom he conspir'd with the Earl of Northumberland and others His Declaration against the said Henry giving his Reasons why he cannot submit to his Government has been lately Publish'd as is likewise Clement Maydestone's History of his Martyrdom Cardinal Wolsey's purple will give him a rank with the greatest of our Prelates how mean soever the Circumstances of his Birth and Parentage may have been and the Figure that he made in the State as well as the Church during his Rule and Government rather than Ministry in the Reign of King Henry the Eighth very justly challeng'd the pains of a special Historian Such was Cavendish his menial Servant who was also in good esteem with that King He has left us an impartial Account of his Master's Life which has had several Editions Dr. Burnet quotes a MS. Copy different from what we have in Print And so does the Lord Herbert but whether this be not the same with the former I know not We have another History of his Life and Death in elegant Verse by Tho. Storer who was a Student of Christ-Church and dy'd a famous Poet in the Year 1604. They that know how many of our Bishops before the Reformation not to mention other inferiour Dignitaries of the Church bore the grand Offices of Chancellours Treasurers Judges c. will readily believe that most of those left such Memoirs as might easily have been fram'd into very exquisite Histories of their Lives And yet our Monks to whom the Trust of writing all our Historis was usually committed were so much Strangers to Affairs of this Nature that we rarely find any thing among them that looks this way Their Business was to pick up or invent as many amazing Stories as they could of the Exemplary Courage of some choice Prelates in asserting the Papal Usurpations of their extraordinary Sanctity of their Benefactons to some Church or Monastery of their Miracles c. And with such Narratives as these we shall find the Lives of most of the following Prelates are Stuff'd and Glutted That of Gundulf Bishop of Rochester by a Monk of that Church his intimate Acquaintance is the earliest of these and the rebuilding of the Cathedral the Enlargement of the Monastery and the Foundation of the Hospital at Chatham were Acts of Piety that very well deserv'd such a Respect The like was done for Robert de Betun Bishop of Hereford by his Chaplain and Successor in the Priory of Lanthony William de Wycumb who had a very noble Subject for the two Books he has left us if we may believe William of Malmesbury He pretends to have known this Robert very well and assures us that he was the most familiarly entertain'd at the Court of Rome of any of our Bishops of that Age. We have only a Fragment of Gyraldus Cambrensis's Life of Hugh Nonant of Norwich and such as is hardly worth the mentioning He is somewhat more copious in his History of the Six chief Bishops of his own Age to which we may add the Three Books he wrote De rebus a se gestisâ— since he was at least Bishop Elect of St. David's Robert Grostest of Lincoln was a Prelate of great Worth a mighty Stickler against the prevailing Crime of Symony and the modish Appeals to Rome and we have a full History of his Life by Richard a Monk of Barden or Burton in Hartfordshire and another Anonymous Writer We have also a Letter from the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's for his Canonization But it appears from many of his own Writings that his Request was not like to be granted notwithstanding the fair Caresses that he had from the Pope who fear'd him more than he lov'd him in his Life-time William of Wickham the great Founder of two famous Colleges in Oxford and Winchester could not avoid the having his Benefits carefully Register'd by some of those that daily tasted of the Sweets of them And indeed there have been several of those who have thus paid their grateful Acknowledgments to his Memory The first of 'em I think was Tho. Chaundler sometime Warden of New-College who wrote the Founder's Life by way of Dialogue in a florid and good Stile This is contracted by the Author himself as is suppos'd into a Couple of Pages together with which is publish'd a piece of his larger Colloquy wherein he touches upon the Life of his Patron Tho. Bekinton Bishop of Bath and Wells He commends this latter Prelate's Skill in the Civil Law but says nothing of what won the Heart of King Henry the Sixth his writing against the Salic Law of France The next Writer of Wickham's Life was Dr. Martyn Chancellour of Winchester under Bishop Gardiner who had the greatest part of his Materials out of Chaundler's Book After him Dr. Johnson sometime Fellow of New-College as well as the two former and afterwards Master of Winchester-School gave a short view of their Founder in Latin Verse which being a small thing of it self has been several times Printed with other Tracts Bishop Godwine is censur'd for having a little unfairly borrow'd the Account he gives us of this Prelate's Life one of the best in his Book from Mr. Josseline without taking any notice of his Benefactor Henry Spencer Bishop of Norwich a more proper Officer for a Camp than a Cathedral had his active Life written by John Capgrave who takes occasion to state the Case how far a Prelate may engage in Military Affairs There 's no doubt but there may be some Junctures wherein 't is not only allowable but a Duty in every Man that is able to bear Arms and this Bishop's Suppressing the Rebellious Insurrection in his own Diocess was so far from being a Crime that 't was highly commendable and becomingly Brave But his Atchievements in Flanders and other Foreign Parts against the express Command of his Sovereign were such extraordinary Efforts of Lay-Gallantry as are not easily to be defended Nor do I see that honest John ever thought of Apologizing for them William of Wainfleet Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellour of England was bred in Wickham's Colleges and did his Founder the Honour to Write very fairly after his Copy His Magdalene may vye with the other 's two St. Maries being Modestly one of the richest Seminaries of Learning in the whole World And his magnificent Charity has been celebrated by the eloquent Pen of Dr. Budden the Writer of Arch-bishop Morton's Life who was a while Reader of Philosophy in that College His Book bears the Title of Guilielmi Pateni cui Waynfleti Agnomen fuit Wintoniensis Ecclesiae Praesulis Coll. Beatae Mariae Magd. apud Oxon. Fundatoris Vita Obitusque A Treatise much applauded by Godwine who nevertheless seems not to have
Prelate of our Church who is a little too severe in his Reflections upon the chief Publisher of these Antiquities The Author himself complain'd of several Additions and Alterations made without his Privity and Consent and seem'd to hope that his own English Copy the Language whereof I dare say was not over Charming would sometime or other hereafter be Publish'd The Black Book at Cambridge makes as considerable a Figure there as any of our old Statute-Books can do at Oxford and it has also its Historiola which is equal both for Matter and Authority with ours The whole Volume is a Collection of ancient Charters and Priviledges amongst which this short History was in the last Age inserted by William Buckenham Master of Caius College and Vice-Chancellor of that University In this we have the Story of King Gurguntius's bestowing the Eastern part of Great Britain upon Cantaber a Spaniard who forsooth had sometime study'd at Athens and after Caer-Grant was built by his Son Grantanus invited thence his old Friends Anaximander and Anaxagoras to teach Philosophy in this City Centum sunt ibi says John Leland praeterea ejusdem farinae Fabulae Profecto nihil unquam legi vanius sed neque Stultius aut Stupidius Missas igitur facio has Antiquitatis delicias Out of the same Book Robert Hare borrow'd his Catalogue of the Chancellors or Rectors if the other Word should prove too young for the purpose of this University which are most exactly continu'd from St. Amphibalus who was Rector A. D. 289. down to the Conquest 'T is reported that a certain Historia Cantabrigiae was written by Nicholas Cantelupe a Welch Gentleman who dy'd Prior of a Monastery of Carmelites at Northampton A. D. 1441. Archbishop Vsher takes this to be the same with what we have already observ'd to be in the Black Book and therefore he frequently quotes Cantelupe's Historiola for the Benefactions of King Lucius and King Arthur to the University of Cambridge Pelagius's studying there c. Our later Antiquaries agree with this learned Primate and allow this Author and that very Work to be the first that appear'd in defence of the British part of her Story And they further tell us that here began the Quarrel betwixt the two Sisters and that John Ross professedly engag'd on the behalf of Oxford Indeed Tho. Fuller speaks of a Treatise concerning the ancient Priviledges of this University which seems to carry a little more Age being written by one Thomas Markant Fellow of Peter-House and Junior-Proctor A. D. 1417. This Book he says was bestow'd on the University by the Author himself and at his request carefully kept for some time in a lock'd Chest. It was afterwards lost or stoln but recover'd and restor'd by R. Hare It was again lost and recover'd by Matt. Wren Bishop of Ely A third time 't is lost And this Relapse says he I suspect to be mortal The Life of King Sigebert was amongst John Leland's many Designs and broad Hints he gave that in it he would discover the true Original of the University of Cambridge But the bulkiest Promises of such noted Writers commonly prove the most abortive Despair of answering the World 's rais'd Expectations very much contributing to their Miscarriage The most learn'd Cantabrigian Antiquary that has yet appear'd was John Caius Doctor of Physick and Physician in Ordinary to Queen Mary who was born at Norwich and was the generous Founder of Caius College out of Gonvil-Hall His two Books De Antiquitate Cantabrigiensis Academiae were written in defence of the Cambridge-Orator against Tho. Key The former Edition of them was under the feign'd Name of Londinensis But in the second the Author himself thought it no disparagement to own his Work His first Attempt is to establish the lately advanc'd Doctrin of his Mother's great Age and Seniority which he endeavours to do from the exemplify'd Charters of King Arthur and King Cadwallader together with those of the Popes Honorius and Sergius This done his next Business is to overthrow the pretended Antiquity of Oxford which in his second Book he dispatches as effectually as he had done his former Argument He seems to have intended a much larger History of this University than is here given us For speaking of the frequent Depopulations and Miseries of the Town during the Wars betwixt the Saxons and the Danes he concludes De quibus in libris nostris de Historia Cantabrigiensis Academiae explicatius egimus I am very confident that a good part of the Collections which he made for this purpose are still in Sir John Cotton's Library where we are told of a Volume of Collectanea ex antiquis Rotulis variis Auctoribus de Academia Cantabrigiensi ejus Antiquitate Privilegiis cum multis Literis Originalibus ejusdem Academiae ad Regem Henricum VIII Thomam Cromwellum c. The same Year with the first Edition of Dr. Caius's Book was publish'd Regina Litera sive De Adventu Elizabethae Reginae Angliae ad Academiam Cantabrigiensem a Treatise of the same Nature with that of Rex Platonicus afterwards at Oxford In the same Queen's Reign wherein the Civil Wars betwixt our two Universities were the most violent was Printed a Catalogue of the Rectors and Chancellors of Cambridge from Mauritius in the Time of Constantine the Great to the Year 1585. written by Matt. Stokys Beadle and Registrary of that University Since his Time the only Person as far as I know that has publish'd any History of this place for I do not think Sir Simonds D'Ewes's Speech deserves such a Name is Tho. Fuller who was pleas'd to annex his History of the University of Cambridge to that of the Churches of Great Britain and most People think they ought not to be separated He begins modestly at the Conquest and ends at the Year 1643. for the like Reasons that prevail'd with our Oxford-Antiquary to break off Five Years after The Foundation of the University by King Sigebert he had discuss'd before in the Body of his Church-History And the potent Arguments he there produces have been nicely examin'd and consider'd by Mr. Wood. Parker's Sceleton Cantabrigiense does not promise any great Matters in its Title and Mr. Hatcher's Catalogue of the Fellows of King's College tho it may have some things of Note in it yet is of too confin'd a Subject to deserve any more than the bare nameing in this Place It had been a happy thing if all those that with so much Industry and Application have enquir'd into the first Originals of our two Universities had bestowed as much of their learned Pains in following down the Histories of such eminent Writers as have flourish'd in either of them For as hereby they might severally have done as much Honour to their respective Mothers so this had been the most effectual Course to have
Abilities sufficient to go through with any Undertaking wherein his singular Modesty will allow him to engage Mr. Beaumont ought also to be reminded of the thoughts he once had oâ— setting forth a particular Tract to this purpose No Man being better qualify'd for such a performance Mr. Ray has put our Botanists upon daily searches after new Plants since his Synopsis has told them what numerous Discoveries have been lately made by Mr. Lhwyd in Wales Mr. Lawson in the Northern Counties of England c. The like Encouragements our Naturalists have from his and Mr. Willughby's Ornithology to make further Enquiries after the many hitherto undiscover'd Species of Birds since 't is easily observable that the Authors of that Work having had the greatest Assistance from Mr. Johnson and Mr. Jessop both Yorkshire Men there are in it more Discoveries of new kinds from the North than any other Quarter of the Kingdom To all these must be added the many Ingenious Informations communicated from most parts of the Nation in our Philosophical Transactions especially from some of the forementioned chief Naturalists of this Age Dr. Plott Dr. Lister and Mr. Ray. Some general Accounts have been given of our English Policy and Frame of Government wherein our Historian ought to be well vers'd and conversant especially in those that are written by Statesmen and such as may be presum'd to have well understood the Affairs they treat on Sir Thomas Smith's Commonwealth of England has met with good Applause having been frequently printed both in English and Latin There was also another small Treatise entitul'd The Authority Form and Manner of holding Parliaments lately publish'd in his Name but some have question'd whether it be rightly father'd Upon this latter Subject we have a printed Account of the Opinion of Mr. Camden together with those of J. Doderidge Arthur Agard and Francis Tate Sir Walter Raleigh has likewise written as he used to do on all other Subjects most judiciously and acutely upon the Prerogatives of our Parliaments and Sir Robert Cotton's Posthuma are full of Learning on the same Topick Dr. Chamberlain's present state of England has been so well receiv'd as to admit of a new Edition almost yearly ever since 't was first publish'd It has been indeed of late very coursly treated by a nameless Scribler of Observations on the Times But he seems to have been hir'd to the Drudgery of penning such unmannerly Reflections by a Gentleman who had newly publish'd another Book much fuller of Mistakes under the like Title As to what concerns our Nobility and Gentry all that come within either of those Lists will allow that Mr. Selden's Titles of Honour ought first to be well perus'd for the gaining of a general Notion of the Distinction of Degrees from an Emperour down to a Country-Gentleman And after this the three Volumes of Sir William Dugdale's Baronage of England which gives an Account of the Lives and Prowess of all our English Nobility from the coming in of the Saxons down to the Year 1676. Whatever relates to the Knights of the most Noble Order of the Garter is completely shewn us by Mr. Ashmole in his most elaborate and perfect Work on that Subject For inferiour Ranks we have 'em in the Books of Heraldry that have been publish'd by Wyrley Brooks Vincent Dugdale and especially Guillim of the two last Editions of whose Book 't is observ'd that R. Blome has so disguis'd and spoil'd it that if the Author or Authors of it were living they could scarce know it What is missing in these will be abundantly supply'd out of the great Treasury of MS. Collections in the Heralds Office at London wherein are innumerable Inscriptions Arms Epitaphs Pedigrees Lists of Precedence at Coronations and Funerals c. CHAP. II. Of particular Descriptions of Counties with their Cities and great Towns 'T IS so much the general Humour of Mankind to be fond of their Native Soil and Places of chief Residence and Abode that Historians must not pretend to be so far of a different Composition from their Neighbours as not to be subject to the common Frailty They are as liable to discover their Dotage in this Particular as other ordinary Mortâ—ls and thence it comes that Ingulfus's History is so full of Crowland W. Neubrigensis's of Yorkshire M. Paris's of St. Albans c. whenever any shadow of an opportunity is offer'd 'T is from the same Principle that we have sew Counties in England whose Records have not been carefully sought out and Endeavours used to preserve them by some of their Sons who have usually prov'd more happy in such Undertakings as having gone about them with most hearty Zeal and Application than any of our more general Writers Those that I have met with of this kind are here drawn into Order and Rank according to the following Alphabetical Lists of our several Counties BARKSHIRE has not hitherto that I know of had its general Antiquities nor it s Natural History collected by any Body Only the Castle and Chapel of Windsor have been at large treated on by the excellent Pen of Elias Ashmole Esquire in his History of the Knights of the Garter before mention'd BEDFORDSHIRE is under the like Misfortune tho' the History of Dunstable of which in its proper place and other Records are not wanting to furnish out Materials for such a Work BVCKINGHAMSHIRE has had the happiness to have some of its Borders about Ambrosden c. curiously describ'd and its Antiquities preserv'd by the Ingenious Mr. Kennet CAMBRIDGESHIRE A little of both the Natural History and Antiquities of this County is touch'd on by Sir William Dugdale in his History of the Imbanking and Dreining of divers Fenns and Marshes both in Foreign Parts and in this Kingdom Dr. Hickes in the Appendix to his Saxon Grammar mentions a Manuscript in Sir John Cotton's Library entitul'd Statuta de Gildâ quâdam in Cantabrigiâ which seems to relate to the Town of Cambridge The Writers upon the Affairs of the University belong to another place CHESHIRE was long since describ'd by Lucian a Monk soon after the Conquest whose Work is cited by Camden as a piece of great Rarity and good Value S. Erdeswick the great Antiquary of Staffordshire seems to have written also something of the History of this County as is intimated by his MS. Book in the hands of several Gentlemen of Staffordshire which begins thus Having disposed with my self to take a further View of the Shires of Staffordshire and Chester c. A third Description of this County Geographical and Historical was written by W. Smith Rouge-dragon Pursuivant at Arms and left in the hands of Sir Ranulph Crew sometimes Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench whose Grandchild Sr R. Crew afterwards publish'd it A Fourth was compil'd by W. Webb M. A. and sometime Town-Clerk of
Chester which was thought worthy the publishing by that Judicious Antiquary Sir Simon Archer of Tamworth These two last were afterwards printed together under the Title of The Vale Royal of England by Daniel King who took care to have the Work beautify'd with several Cuts of Heraldry and Topography The Accounts given of this King by Mr. Fuller and the Oxford Antiquary are very widely different So that whether he was Lux Patriae as the former Styles him or in the others plain English a silly Fellow and an errant Knave I know not Sir Peter Leicester's Historical Antiquities were also no doubt chiefly intended to do Honour to this County For tho' the first Book pretends to treat of the general Affairs of Great Britain and Ireland its true Design was to Introduce what alone comes to be handled in the Second the Antiquities of Cheshire and chiefly of Bucklew Hundred The Contests which hereupon happen'd 'twixt Sir Peter and his Kinsman Sir Thomas Manwaring are not worth the remembring as belonging rather to the Men of the Law than History There 's an old MS. History of the Earldom of Chester quoted out of Bennet-Library by Mr. Selden the summ whereof I imagine has been publish'd by Judge Doderidge in the History he wrote of the Ancient and Modern Estate of this Earldom together with that of the Principality of Wales and Dutchy of Cornwall In this Treatise Sir John with a great deal of Industry and Exactness calculates the ancient and present Revenues of this Palatinate but is not so curious in clearing up its original History This Defect is since very much supply'd by the Labours of the late Ingenious Mr. Harrington who has left behind him several excellent Remarks on that Subject together with other good Collections relating to the Antiquities of this County Several Books says John Pits were written by Henry Bradshaw a Benedictine Monk who did A. D. 1513 De Antiquitate Magnificentiâ Vrbis Cestriae All which I am apt to believe are swallow'd up by another Work says that Gentleman His Life of St. Werburg which is still to be had in several of our Libraries CORNWALL The Survey of this County is so exactly taken by R. Carew Esquire that there will be only occasion for Posterity carefully to continue a Work so excellently begun and to which Mr. Camden acknowledges himself indebted for the chief Light he had in these parts This Book with large Additions is now in the possession of Mr. Chiswell Bookseller in London who may probably e're long oblige us with a new Edition There is also an Historical Account of this County in MS. pen'd by J. Norden who Mr. Camden tells us did sometime travel into this part of the Kingdom in the hands of the Learned Dr. Gale Sir John Doderidge's History of the Dutchy has been already mention'd in Cheshire CVMBERLAND There 's a Manuscript Description of this County written by one Mr. Denton of Cardew about 50 or 60 Years agoe which seems to be done with good Care and Judgment Copies whereof are in the hands of several of the Gentry It chiefly treats of Families Pedigrees Conveyances of Estates and Mannors c. but occasionally handles some other Antiquities of a more general Nature and higher Date Some Observations have also been made lately relating to the Natural History of Cumberland which may very probably e're long come into as many hands The Antiquities of the City of Carlisle are collected by Dr. H. Todd Prebendary of that Church and are now or should be in the possession of the Mayor and Aldermen DERBYSHIRE The Mines of this County should methinks invite some of our Inquisitive Naturalists to give us as particular an Account of the Metals and Minerals as Ed. Manlow sometimes Steward of the Works has done of the Miners in his Book entituled Customs of the Barge-Moot-Court which has been improv'd by T. Houghton in his Collection of the Laws Liberties c. of the Mines and Miners of Derbyshire I should also think the Wonders of the Peak are as proper a Subject for a Philosopher to write on in Prose as they can be for the most exalted Poetry of either Mr. Hobbs or Mr. Cotton and that Buxton-Wells deserve a better Describer than Antiquated John Jones DEVONSHIRE Northcot Baronet is reported to have written a Description of Devonshire the Manuscript whereof is all along quoted by Tho. Fuller in his Worthies when he comes to treat of that County tho' he says nothing of him amongst its Writers Tho. Risdon's Survey or Chorographical Description of Devonshire continues likewise in MS. though Copies of it are no rare Matters among the Gentry of that County 'T is said one Westcote either wrote another Survey or at least had a hand in that which was compos'd by Risdon I wish this Westcote be not the same Man with Dr. Fuller's Northcote for he 's often further mistaken than from West to North. The Remarkable Antiquities of the City of Exeter were publish'd by Richard Izaac but as a worthy Person observes the Book is a dry Collection and full of Mistakes there being nothing worth the perusal which had not been before remark'd in J. Hooker's Description Reprinted in Holinshead's Chronicle DORSETSHIRE Unless Mr. Etrick who oblig'd the late Publisher of the Britannia with some of his Remarks will furnish us with the Antiquities of this County I cannot tell from what Quarter we are to expect them DVRHAM The Collections made by Mr. Mickleton are perhaps the only Papers extant which treat of the Civil Affairs of this County as distinct from the Ecclesiastical and indeed considering the whole was anciently and the greatest part is still the Church's Patrimony the matter is not much to be wonder'd at The City of Durham is describ'd in a MS. old English or Saxon Poem in Sr. John Cotton's Library ESSEX There is a Report of J. Norden's having written a Survey of this County a thin Folio MS. in Sr. Edm. Turner's Library and that Mr. Strangman has attempted the Collection of its Antiquities But whatever their Performances may have been we have cause to hope for good things on that Subject very shortly from Mr. Ousley who has given a Specimen of his Work in what he has communicated in the New Edition of Camden The Description of Harwich with all its Appurtenances and Antiquities was written by Silas Taylor Author of the History of Gavelkind who was Store-keeper at that Port A. D. 1665. The Book was never Printed and where 't is to be had in Manuscript my Author does not inform me GLOCESTERSHIRE Whether the Chronicon Claudiocestriae written by Andrew Horn a suppos'd Citizen of Glocester God knows when speaks wholly or at all of the Affairs of this County is mighty uncertain But we are pretty sure that Sr. Matthew Hales
made large Collections to that purpose tho he did not live to fit them for the Press Proposals were also long since Publish'd for Printing the Antiquities of Glocestershire by Mr. Abel Wantner who meeting with the Discouragements that are Common in that Case an untoward Recompence for a Gentleman 's twelve years pains and study was content to enjoy the Fruits of his Labour himself the Publick not admitting of his Services The City of Glocester's Military Government has been accounted for by John Corbet and the Laws and Customs of the Miners in the Forest of Dean by an Anonymous Writer HAMPSHIRE The County is yet undescrib'd But a Description of the City of Winchester with an Historical Relation of divers Memorable Occurrences touching the same is said to have been written by John Trussel who was himself sometime Alderman of that City and continu'd S. Daniel's History I guess it to be too Voluminous to appear in Print rather than as Mr. Kennet presumes it too imperfect Something to the same purpose was likewise written by Dr. Bettes whose Book is still in MS. As are also I suppose Mr. Butler's Remarks on the Monuments in this ancient City A General Survey of the Isle of Wight part of this County was written by Sr. Francis Knollis Knight of the Garter and Privy-Counsellour to Queen Elizabeth a Manuscript Copy whereof was in the Library of the late Earl of Anglesey There is also a Fragment of 17. Quarto Pages Entitul'd Antiquitates Insulae Vectae in Bodley's Library among the MSS. of Richard James Fellow of C.C.C. in Oxford an eminent Antiquary who dy'd at Sr. Tho. Cotton's in Westminster A. D. 1638. HARTFORDSHIRE A Chorographical Description of this County was published by John Norden Gentleman whom we shall again meet with in Kent and Middlesex as we have had already occasion to mention him in other Counties But 't is hop'd his Enquiries will be infinitely outdone by Sr. Henry Chauncey Kt. Serjeant at Law whose Antiquities we are greedily expecting to see Publish'd HEREFORDSHIRE Silas Taylor beforemention'd in Essex spent four years in collecting the Antiquities Pedigrees Epitaphs c. of this County and his Papers were lately perhaps now are in the hands of Sr. Edward Harley of Brompton-Brian The Ransack he made during the times of Usurpation in the Libraries of the Cathedral Churches of Hereford and Worcester might furnish him with a greater plenty of Materials than it may be a man will easily meet with at this Day and therefore his Collections are justly recommended as a good Apparatus for any that shall hereafter write on the same Subject HVNTINGDONSHIRE Sr. Robert Cotton is reported to have written that Description which John Speed has publish'd of this County KENT Let this be observ'd for the Honour of Kent says an Ingenious and Learned Gentleman Native of this County that while other Counties and but few of them have met with single Pens to give the History and Description of them ours has had no less than four Writers to celebrate the Glories of it Lambard Somner Kilburn and Philpot He will not I Hope take it ill if we enlarge the Catalogue Both Bale and Pits expressly reckon the Itinerarium Cantiae among John Leland's Composures so that I should think he bestow'd something of more care than ordinary in disposing the Remarks he made on this County W. Lambard's Perambulation of Kent was indeed the first Account which was publish'd and it was not only highly applauded by Camden and other Chief Judges of such Matters but gave the hint to many more Men of Learning to endeavour the like Services for their several Counties 'T was not well approv'd by the Gentlemen of the Roman Communion Reiner particularly censures it as a Work undertaken and carry'd on with a Design to expose the Lewdnesses and Debaucherics of the late Inhabitants of the Monasteries of that County in describing whereof he thinks many things are spitefully misrepresented Mr. Somner it appears fully purpos'd to have given us the Antiquities of the whole County and had certainly made very great Progress towards the completing the Work as appears by his Manuscripts now in the Library of the Cathedral Church of Canterbury 'T is not doubted but he would mightily have enlarg'd W. Lambard's Perambulation and he gives us some Specimen of his Design to correct also his Errors by marking such as came in his way in some of his Treatises already publish'd However we are not wholly depriv'd of this great Work some part of it having been lately publish'd under the Title of A Treatise of the Roman Ports and Forts in Kent wherein and in Mr. Gibson's Notes upon it we have as entire a Discourse as we could wish for on that Subject rectifying a great many mistakes in Camden Lambard Philpot c. and discovering the true Situation of those ancient Places Philpot's Villare Cantianum was not written by Thomas Philpot whose name in bears but by his Father Iohn Somerset Herald who is only own'd to be Author of the Additional History of the High Sheriffs of the County And what Faith a Learned Countreyman of his puts the Question in my Mouth can be given to him that could afford to rob his own Father of the credit of his Book Kilburn's Survey of Kent you may take Mr. Kennet's word for it is all Modern and Superficial Another Survey of the County in proportion to the rest of the same Author 's was drawn by Iohn Norden which none have hitherto thought worth the handing to the Press and few have reckon'd so considerable as to mention it To these I think we may add Iohn Weever's Funeral Monuments a great share of 'em having been collected in the Dioceses of Canterbury and Rochester But let the Reader never forget the Remark made on him by Mr. Wharton that he has most scandalously mistaken the Numeral Letters and Figures in most of the Inscriptions he transcrib'd which makes it hazardous for an Antiquary to rely upon his Authority Both Mr. Somner's Excellent Treatise of Gavelkind and Silas Taylor 's History of the same ought also to be referr'd to the Catalogue of this County's Historians and Antiquaries as explaining an ancient Custom whereof there are now hardly any Remains elsewhere within the King's Dominions The History of the City of Canterbury seems to have been penn'd long since by Will. Gillingham a Benedictine Monk of that place who is said to have written De Rebus Cantuariensibus about the year 1390. Iohn Twyne mentions some Collections that he had made tending to Illustrate the Antiquities of this City But Mr. Somner assures us he could no more meet with them than with those of Tho. Spott mention'd by Bale But it s everlasting Monument is W. Somner's Antiquities of Canterbury or a Survey of that ancient City
with its Suburbs and Cathedral A work which secur'd the Honour of all that the Title-page mentions from the Levelling Fury and Madness of the Time wherein 't was publish'd and is deservedly recommended both by the Author's Enemies and Friends as a Piece most exquisitely Perfect in its kind Amongst his Manuscripts at Canterbury this Book may be seen interleav'd with large Additions in the Author 's own Hand-writing The Spaw-waters at Tunbridge are treated on by Lod. Rowzee and P. Madan MM. DD. And the Chronicle of Rochester collected chiefly from the Textus Roffensis mention'd elsewhere is written by Edm. Bedenham Esq. MS. LANCASHIRE A few years ago Dr. R. Keurden sent out Proposals for the Printing his Brigantia Lancastriensis Restaurata or a History of the Honourable Dukedom or County Palatine of Lancaster which he told us was compos'd and laid ready for the Press in Five Volumes I know not how the Design came to miscarry but do imagine that the vastness of the Undertaking slacken'd its Pace 'T were to be wish'd the Industrious Author would oblige us with an Abstract of such Discoveries in it as are purely New to us and his own There can hardly be any danger of his meeting with better Encouragement and Success upon such a fresh Attempt whereas it could not well prove otherwise than a very cloying Method to propose the taking off a Volume or two of General Preliminaries before we came at the main business the Antiquities of Lancashire Some particulars relating to the Antiquities of the Northern Parts of this County were communicated to the undertaker of the new Edition of Camden by Sr. Dan. Fleming Kt. who is a Person of great Curiosity and Judgment in these Matters and has made much larger Collections than could be brought within so small a Compass as the Nature of that work would admit of It s Natural History I am told is compiled by Dr. Charles Leigh who has already given us good earnest of his Abilities suitable to the Undertaking in his Phthisiologia Lancastriensis cui accessit Tentamen Philosophieum de Mineralibus Aquis in eodem Comitatu Observatis To which may be added Dr. Edm. Burlace's Latham Spaw with some Remarkable Cases and Cures effected by it and a short Treatise touching the manner of making Salt of Sea-sand in this County The Town of Manchester has its particular History written by one Richard Hollingworth an active Presbyterian Preacher in the beginning of our Civil Wars which may be seen in MS. in their College Library LEICESTERSHIRE is nobly Described by William Burton Esq a native of this County and Barrister at Law His Description runs in an Alphabetical Order of the Villages and his Method has been observ'd by many more that have since endeavour'd the like services for other Counties The Work consists chiefly of Descents Pedigrees and Moot-Cases But the Author was afterwards sensible of its main Defect and therefore very much enlarg'd and enrich'd it with an Addition of Roman Saxon and other Antiquities This appears from his own Letter to Sr. Robert Cotton still extant and the Book it self thus improv'd is said to have been lately in the possession of Walter Chetwind of Ingestree near Stafford Esq who had also other Manuscripts of the said Mr. Burton's Composure LINCOLNSHIRE wants an Historian of Skill and Courage answerable to the vast Store of Materials of all kinds which are there to be had Its Fenns and Marshes are indeed pretty largely treated on by Sr. William Dugdale in his History of Imbanking and in the year 1671. there was publish'd a short Relation of great Damages done by a Tempest and Overflowing of the Tides in this County and Norfolk But its main Body lies yet undescribed to the Reproach of all those Persons of Learning and Ingenuity that are its Natives R. Butcher's Survey of Stamford is often quoted by Tho. Fuller in his Worthies when he comes to speak of Lincolnshire as it is likewise very frequently by J. Wright in his Antiquities of Rutland It was printed in the Year 1646. MIDDLESEX John Norden published a Description of this County about the same time that he wrote his other somewhat shorter or Hartfordshire Both these Surveys are mention'd by John Stow as undertaken and publish'd in imitation of W. Lambard's perambulation of Kent The Funeral Monuments within the Diocese of London were Collected after his Fashion by J. Weever and we are lately encouraged to hope for the natural Hiâ—â—ory of the County by Dr. Plott Tho. Johnson's little short account of the Plants that grow wild on Hampsted-heath is the only thing publish'd that looks this way and 't is to inconsiderable as hardly to deserve mentioning The first Description of the famous City of London now Extant was written by one W. Stephens or Fits-Stephens a Monk of Canterbury about the Year 1190. 'T is a small Tract of about ten pages in Quarto and is publish'd by J. Stow as an Appendix to his Survey under the Title of Stephanides Robert Bale Recorder of the City A. D. 1461. is also said to have written several Treatises on that Subject which were long kept as choice Rarities in the publick Library of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen and whereof my Author reckons up the Titles of these Three 1. Londinensis Vrbis Chronicon 2. De Consulibus praefectis ejus 3. Instrumenta Libertatum Vrbis The same Gentleman makes R. Fabian write a couple of Treatises upon the Affairs of London but I suppose all he ever penn'd of that kind is in his printed Chronicle John Stow we are sure wrote and publish'd a Survey of London and owns himself put upon the Undertaking by Mr. Lambard's general Invitation to the several Antiquaries of this Kingdom to write the Histories of their Native Counties The account he gives is very particular and full running thro' every one of the twenty six Wards and affording a good View of the Government of this City together with Westminster and Southwark Ecclesiastical and Civil the Churches Hospitals and other Religious Houses a Catalogue of their Mayors and Sheriffs down to the Fortieth year of Queen Elizabeth c. The whole is Collected out of our best Historians and most Authentick Records and discovers a deal of Industry and Accuracy in the worthy and honest Author It appears he had perus'd the small Treatise call'd the City Law in its Original So that there was little occasion for the Translation and Publishing of that afterwards But because the State of this mighty City is wonderfully chang'd since his time we are in daily Expectance of a new Edition of this Book with very considerable Additions and Improvements Sir George Buck's Treatise of the Inns of Court under the Title of the Third Vniversity of England we have in the end of Stow's Chronicle and James Howel's Londinopolis has very little in it more than what he
to have written the Geography and Antiquities of Wales and Arthur Kelton an Ingenious Welsh Bard in the top of his Fame about the year 1548. wrote several English Accounts both in Verse and Prose of the Glories of his Countrey most of which he dedicated to Sr. William Herbert Another Description of Wales was written by Sr. John Price in the Reign of Edward the Sixth perfected by Humph. Lhwyd and prefix'd to his Translation of the Welsh History This Humphrey himself gives also a more large Account of his own Countrey Wales than any other part of Britain and enlarges often sometimes corrects the Description given by Gyraldus The History of the Ancient and Modern State of the Principality is well written by Sr. John Doderidge and the latest and incomparably the best Account of its Antiquities is just now publish'd by my Friend Mr. Edw. Lhwyd The same excellent Person is also projecting a Design of a British Dictionary Historical and Geographical with an Essay entitul'd Archaeologia Britannica being a Complete Collection of the ancient Monuments throughout this whole Country and lastly a Natural History of Wales In order to the performance of so Noble and Undertaking he thinks of travailing in that Principality four or five Summers and likewise to make one Journey into Cornwal and another into Ireland or the Highlands of Scotland for Parallel Observations as to their Language Names of Towns Rivers Mountains c. I heartily hope the Work will not meet with those Obstructions which have hitherto usually befaln Attempts of this Nature since the Author is so generally known to be of suitable Industry and Abilities and cannot fail if God continue his Life of making good his Proposals WARWICKSHIRE's Antiquities are truly Illustrated by Sr. William Dugdale who was Master of all the Advantages requisite for such a Performance And no man can so well judge of the great Labour and Pains bestow'd on the bringing of this excellent Work the Author's Master-piece to perfection as he that has view'd the many Volumes of Materials which he gather'd in order to the compiling of it His great zeal against the Sacrilegious Destruction of some Religious Structures carry'd his Searches into every corner of the History that related to that Matter and his early Inclination to the Study of Heraldry obliged him carefully to preserve whatever might be grateful on that Head to the Nobility and Gentry of the County The History of the Earls of Warwick was long since written by John Ross or Rouse a noted Antiquary who dy'd at Warwick or Guy's Cliff within a Mile of the Town A. D. 1491. A Noble Manuscript Copy of this Book with the Pictures of the several Earls their Coats of Arms c. is now in the Archives of the Publick Library at Oxford John Pits makes him write four distinct Volumes of the Antiquities and History of Warwick but this is all that more credible Enquirers could meet with The Life of the Famous Earl Guy was first written by Walter of Exeter a Dominican Friar about the year 1301. There is a sort of Spaw-water at Ilmington in this County the History whereof is Publish'd by Sam. Derham an Ingenious Physician WESTMORLAND Mr. Tho Machel Rector of Kirkbythore in this County has with a great deal of Pains and good Judgment collected its Antiquities which we hope will ere long meet with so suitable an Encouragement as will oblige the Author to publish ' em That Part of its Story which more nearly concerns the Nobility and Gentry has been well preserv'd by Sr. Daniel Fleming of Rydale Knt. who has thereby done his own ancient Family a great deal of Right and has also approv'd himself an Eminent Benefactor to those of his Neighbours WILTSHIRE John Aubrey Esq Fellow of the Royal Society and a Person well vers'd in our British and English Antiquities has laid the Foundation of the History and Antiquities of this County but designs to leave the finishing part I think to Mr. Tanner Whose extraordinary Proficiency in these Studies will quickly be made known to the World The Monument of Stonehenge in Wiltshire has engaged several Antiquaries in disputing the Original of so Famous and Admirable a Structure and they have advanc'd almost as many different Opinions about it Mr. Samms in a particular Treatise endeavours to fetch its Original from the Phaenicians his only Darlings and clears the point as fairly as he does all the rest wherein he 's singular Mr. Inigo Jones King James the First 's Learned Architect believes it to be a Roman Temple and strongly proveâ— that the Fabrick is of the Tuscan Order His Scheme however false in it self is also learnedly defended by Mr. Webb his Son-in-Law Mr. Aubrey and others think they can evidently prove 't is British and Dr. Charlton is very sure that 't was erected by the Danes No Author that hitherto has consider'd it has so much as dream'd of its being a Saxon Monument And yet if the true old Writing of the Name be Stan-Hengest as the Monasticon seems to tell us I cannot see why that people may not have as just a Title as any to the Honour of it Possibly the MS. Treatise that is said to be written on this subject by Joh. Gibbons may place it here WORCESTERSHIRE There is now a large MS. Description of this County in the hands of Tho. Abingdon Esq written by his Grand-father an Able and Industrious Antiquary wherein if there be any Defects they may be supply'd by a present Prebendary of the Church of Worcester who when his modesty will give him leave can effectually complete such a Work YORKSHIRE There are some Collections in Sir John Cotton's Library relating to this County gather'd by one Tho. Talbot who was some time Clerk of the Records in the Tower and was alive A. D. 1580. These and whatever else looks this way we must believe to have been long since seen and perus'd by Dr. Nath. Johnston of Pomfret who as he saies has spent thirty years in amassing together Materials for the Illustrating the Antiquities and Natural History of Yorkshire In the former of these he intends to write after Sir William Dugdale's Copy and in the latter after Dr. Plott's and to finish the whole in five Volumes I am pretty well assur'd that he is not yet as Mr. Wood was inform'd weary of the Work but that tho' some late troubles have render'd him unable to finish it so soon as he design'd he is every day doing something at it H. Keep mention'd before in Middlesex is reported to have made some Collections towards the Antiquities of the City of York and Sir Thomas Widdrington sometime Recorder there did certainly make a very great Progress in a learned and exact Description of it Some distast given him by the Citizens obstructed his allowing of his
have many words nearly related to such old Latin ones as were grown obsolete even before Caesar's time and that many of the Roman Proper Names may be handsomly deriv'd from the British Tongue which have no Foundation in the Modern Latin As to that part of the Language which Dr. Bernard invidiously tells them they owe Dominis Anglis to their Masters the Saxons Mr. Lhwyd will not allow that they are so indebted for one Moyety of the 200 words observ'd to agree in Sound and Signification with the English since above half of 'em are found in the Armorican Vocabulary publish'd by Ivon Quillivere Now 't is certain the Britains went hence to Armorica in the Year 384 whereas the Saxons came not in before 450. If then our English Antiquary be not a Native of Wales 't is indispensably necessary that to compleat himself in this Study he gain a good acquaintance with the Welsh Tongue which he may pretty readily do with the Assistance of such Grammars as have been compos'd for that purpose The first of these was publish'd by W. Salesbury sometime a Member of Lincoln's Inn under the Title of A plain and familiar Introduction teaching how to pronounce the Letters in the British Tongue c. The next was Sir Edward Stradling's which seems to have given occasion to the Third that of J. Dav. Rhese printed together with a large Preface by H. Prichard by the Name of Cambro-Britannicae Cymraecaeve Linguae Institutiones Rudimenta c. ad Intelligend Biblia Sacra nuper in Cambro-Britan Sermonem eleganter versa The Fourth and last was written by Dr. Davies and bears the Title of Antiquae Linguae Britannicae nunc communiter dictae Cambro-Britannicae à suis Cymraecae vel Cambricae ab aliis Wallicae Rudimenta c. There are also several Dictionaries publish'd in that Language which will all be of singular Use and Advantage to a true Antiquary of this Kingdom Will. Salesbury beforemention'd compos'd one in English and Welsh which was first privately presented to King Henry the Eighth his very kind Patron and afterwards Printed The Summ and Substance of this as likewise what was afterwards written in the same kind by Bishop Morgan H. Salesbury H. Perry and Tho. Williams was publish'd in Dr. Joh. Davies's most Elaborate Work entitul'd Antiquae Linguae Britannicae c. Dictionarium duplex A Book which shews its excellent Author to have been perfectly acquainted with all the Learned Languages as well as his own Mother Tongue John Leland is also reported by Pits to have written a Dictionarium Britannico-Latinum But I suspect there 's no more grounds for such a Story than only this Leland publish'd a Latin Poem upon the Birth of the Prince of VVales afterwards King Edward the Sixth and taking occasion to use some hard words in it added to it Syllabus Interpretatio Antiquarum Dictionum quae passim per Libellum Lectori occurrunt And this I believe is all the VVelsh Dictionary that will be found of his Composure With these Helps a Man may venture upon those most Ancient and Authentick Writings of the old Bards wherein he shall have exact Genealogies of all the British Kings and Princes up to Brute and from thence to Adam This very Account is given of those famous Songsters by Lucan Strabo Diodorus Siculus and Am. Marcellinus And almost all other History among the Chaldeans Greeks and Romans had its first Foundation in Poetry Whether he will find the Rules of their Prosodia to agree with those that are laid down by Captain Middleton in his Bardoniaeth or Art of Welsh Poetry I know not But how methodically they order'd their TYLWYTHS or Tribes Silas Taylour has at large inform'd us Nor were they content to preserve the Pedigrees of their own Princes and great Men but were also so good-natur'd as to do the like Services for the Saxons Thus we are told that S. Benlanius who is sometimes quoted by the name of Samuel Britannus and liv'd about the Year 600 was a curious Enquirer into the Genealogies of many English Families some whereof he carry'd as high as the Flood 'T was customary to sing these Composures in the presence of their Nobles and at their chief Festivals and Solemnities And truly if the Story of one of these Bards canting the Praises of King Arthur before Henry II. and giving a hint to the Monks of Glassenbury for the Discovery of that British King's Body be fairly true and have nothing of Legend in it a very great regard is to be had to these Historical Ballads Amongst these Bards is to be reckon'd their famous Merlyn whose true Name says Humph. Lhuid is Merdhyn so called from Caermarthen Mariduno where he was born This was so mighty a Man in his Time that our Writers have thought it convenient to split him into three The first of these Godfather to the two following they call Merlinus Ambrosius or Merdhyn Emrys who liv'd about the Year 480 and wrote several Prophetical Odes turn'd into Latin Prose by Jeoffrey of Monmouth The next is Merlinus Caledonius who liv'd A. D. 570 wrote upon the same Subject with the former and had the same Translator The third is surnam'd Avalonius who liv'd under King Malgocunus they might as well have made him Secretary to Ioseph of Arimathea says our great Stillingfleet and yet my Author goes gravely on and affirms that he was an eminent Antiquary but seems to mix too many Fables with his true Story They write this last indeed Melchinus Melkinus and Mewynus and make him to live some time before the latter Merlyn But all this is Stuff and he 's manifestly the same Man or nothing Soon after him came Ambrosius Thaliessin whom Bale and Pits make to live in the days of King Arthur and to record his Story Sir John Prise quotes a certain Ode of his call'd Hannes Thaliessin or Thaliessin's Errors which he says is to be seen in several of their old Manuscripts The most ancient British Historian now extant is Gildas For the Chronicle that bears the Name of Brutus mentions the Legend of King Lucius and is apparently a late contriv'd Piece and Sylvius is much of the same Authority with the Writings of Samothes This Gentleman has had the same Respect paid to his Memory that we have already noted of Merlyn Since Gildas Cambricus Albanius and Badonicus are made by the generality of our Writers three several Persons It does not well appear that there was ever more than one Historian of this Name whatever they that love to multiply Authors as well as Books have said to the contrary And therefore notwithstanding Archbishop Vsher's great Authority on the other side I shall venture to consider him in a single Capacity He was Monk of Bangor about the middle of the Sixth Century a sorrowful Spectator of
the Miseries and almost utter Ruine of his Country-men by a People under whose Banners they hop'd for Peace His Life is written at large by Carâ—doc of Lancarvan and by an Anonymous Author publish'd by John à Bosco His lamentable History De Excidio Britanniae is all that 's printed of his Writing and perhaps all that is any where extant Bale Pits and others reckon up some other Matters whereof they make this Gildas Badonicus as they distinguish him to be the Author But Archbishop Vsher is peremptory in it that this is the Vnicum quod restat Opusculum for he makes it and the Epistle to be all one thing It was first Publish'd and Dedicated to Bishop Tunstall by Polydore Virgil whose imperfect and corrupt Copy was Reprinted in the Bibliotheca Patrum Afterwards there was another Edition of it by John Josseline who made use of another Manuscript but not much more correct than the former The latest and best is that we have from Dr. Gale who had the advantage of a more ancient and much better Copy than either of the two former had seen If he did write any thing more 't is now lost Leland is mighty desirous to believâ—â—hat there is somewhere such a Treatise as his Cambreis in Verse that 't was stollen and carry'd into Italy and that the Poet Gildas and the Historian were two several Persons But 't is now fear'd we shall never meet with any other Poetical Treatise bearing his Name save only that which Leland himself calls Gildas fictitius and which Archbishop Vsher frequently quotes by the Name of Pseudo-Gildas His Book De Victoria Ambrosii is of the same base metal out of which have been coin'd John Pits's Regum Britannorum Historia De primis Insulae Incolis Lites Luddi Nennii c. The next British Historian of Note is Nennius The first of this Name that is said to have taken care of the Antiquities of his Country was if we are not impos'd on Son to King Helius and Brother to Ludd and Cassibelane who had the Honour to die of a wound given him by Julius Caesar's own hand 'T was he they say 〈◊〉 first wrote a Book of the British History in his own Tongue which was afterwards translated into Latin by his Namesake Abbot of Bangor This same Abbot Nennius is generally suppos'd to be one of the Fifty Monks that were so wise as to skulk at Chester when 1200 of their Brethren fell a Sacrifice to the Pride of Augustine the first Planter of the Romish Principles and Practices in our Isle and to have flourish'd about the Year 620. Which will not agree with what is attested by himself in the best Copies of his Book that he wrote A. D. 858. Anno 24o. Mervini Regis He is said to have left behind him several Treatises whereof all that 's publish'd is his Historia Britonum This is the same Book that Bale and Pits have register'd under the Style of Eulogium Britanniae and the only piece that must answer for what those Gentlemen mention by the Titles of his Collectiones Historiarum Antiquitates Britannicae Chronicon c. In most of the MS. Copies it is erroneously ascrib'd to Gildas This History says nothing of the other brave Nennius abovemention'd whom later Commentators have 〈◊〉 so great in Story I am of Opinion that the Contrivance of this Hero is one of the best things in all Jeoffrey of Monmouth's Romance It looks like a gratefull Acknowledgment to the Person that had oblig'd him or his Author with the ground-work of his whole Fabrick to whom he could not pay a more decent Complement than by making him Godfather to one of his chief Knights Errant Next after Nennius follow Hoel Dha's Laws which were enacted about the middle of the Tenth Century whereof those that relate to Ecclesiastical Affairs have been publish'd by Sir Henry Spelman Of these there are several Copies both in Welsh and Latin still extant among which a very old one written on Parchment in Jesus College at Oxford The Preface to this last will not allow that King Hoel abrogated as Mr. Camden says he did all the Laws of his Ancestors but expresly tells us that according to the Advice of his Council some of the ancient Laws he retain'd 〈◊〉 he corrected and some he quite disannâ—â—â— appointing others in their stead Dr. Powell will not agree that any new Statutes were ordain'd by this King But that his Commissioners according to the Powers given them retain'd only those ancient Laws that were good and usefull explain'd the Ambiguous and abrogated the Superfluous For we are to know that full fourteen hundred years before Hoel's Time the Britains had a whole Body of Muncipal Laws enacted by King Dunwallo Molmutius which were soon afterwards enlarg'd by Queen Martia All these says Bale were translated into Latin by Gildas and into Saxon by King Aelfred Nay some wise Writers will needs affirm that a certain part of our English Saxon Laws which they call Lex Merciorum had its Denomination from these Leges Martiae and this childish Fancy has been embrac'd by several of our grave and ancient Historians Others think it improbable that so great a Prince as King Aelfred should ever trouble his Head with Translating any of the Laws either of Molmutius or Martia who were only Antiquated Legislators among his Enemies and Heathens But since the Britains as Asserius and others tell us voluntarily submitted to him it seems as wise in Him to give them their own Laws in his Language as 't was in William the Conquerour to grant us the Saxon Laws in French Many of 'em we have already been told were abolish'd even by the Britains themselves after they became Christians But Mr. Sheringham thinks 't is evident from several Law-Terms such as Murder Denizon Rout c. which are purely British that some of them were taken into the Body of our English Laws Hoel's are said to have been first Translated into Latin by a Gentleman with a very hard Name Blegabride Langauride Doctor of Laws and Archdeacon of Landaff in the year 914. which if the British History do not misinform us was about 26 years before that King began his Reign There is lately come to my hands a Latin MS Copy in Parchment of these Laws in the end whereof in a later hand is written Istum Librum Tho Powel Joanni Da. Rhaeso Med. Doctori dono dedit meâ—se Augusto 1600. And these I think are all the British Historical Writers that liv'd before the Norman Conquest whose Books are now to be met with in any of our English Libraries I know not how to direct the Reader to seek for the Histories of Elbodus or Elvodugus for they are both the same Man from whom Nennius is made to borrow a good part of what we now have
under his Name nor for those of Worgresius and Mawornus Abbot and Monk of Glassenbury nor for the Genealogies drawn up by the Famous Bard in King Edgar's daies Saliphilax When these are retriev'd I would have them all carefully bound up with the Deflorationes Historiae Britannicae which as Jo. Caius has learnedly prov'd from Stow and Lanquet were written by King Gurguntius about 370 years before Christ. The Welsh MS. cited frequently in Camden's Britannia by the name of Triades seems not to carry Age enough to come within this Class 'T is the same I suppose which he elsewhere calls the British old Book of Triplicities running all upon the number three as appears from his Quotation out of it Welshmen love Fire Salt and Drink Frenchmen Women Weapons and Horses Englishmen Good cheer Lands and Traffick We are not to expect any such Assistances for the ascertaining the History of these Times as After-Ages afford us from Charters Letters Patents c. And yet 't is too forward an Assertion to say there were no such things in the days of our British Kings if all be true that Leland tells us of King Arthur's Seal But I am not I confess so much in Love with that Venerable Relique as he seems to have been It might indeed be brought as he guesses from Glassenbury where I do believe 't was hung at a forg'd Charter by some Monk who was a better Mechanick than Antiquary The Inscription easily discovers the Cheat PATRICIVS ARTVRIVS BRITANNIAE GALLIAE GERMANIAE DACIAE IMPERATOR He is certainly call'd Patricius here and no where else out of the abundant Respect that Monastery had for their Guardian Saint Patrick and not as Leland fansies upon any Account of a Roman Fashion Another Help is here wanting which exceedingly Conduces towards the Illustrating the Antiquities of other Nations and that is the Light that is often gain'd from the Impresses and Inscriptions upon their old Coins and Medals The money used here in Caesar's Time was nothing more than Iron Rings and shapeless pieces of Brass nor does it well appear that ever afterwards their Kings brought in any of another sort Camden says he could not learn that after their retirement into Wales they had any such thing among them none of the Learned Men of that Principality having yet been able to produce so much as one piece of British Coin found either in Wales or any where else And is it likely that a Royalty of this Nature of so great Benefit to their Subjects as well as Honour to themselves would have been laid aside by the Cambrian Princes if formerly enjoy'd by any of their Ancestors J. Leland tells us he never in all his Travels throughout the whole Kingdom of England could meet with one British Coin among the many Millions of those of the Romans found in this Nation And the Reason he says was because as he proves out of Gildas the Romans would not allow any of our Metal to be stamp'd with any other Image or Superscription save only that of Caesar's that is some of their own Emperours However we now have several ancient Coins in our publick and private Libraries which are generally reputed to be British tho' 't is very hard to determine in what Age of the World they were minted My very Learned and Ingenious Friend Mr. Lwhyd believes that before the coming in of the Romans they had Gold Coins of their own because there have been frequently found both in England and Wales thick pieces of that Metal hollow'd on one side with variety of unintelligible Marks and Characters upon them These he is sure cannot be ascrib'd either to the Romans Saxons or Danes and therefore 't is reasonable we should conclude them to be British And the Reason why he thinks they were coin'd before the Romans came is this If the Britains had learn'd the Art from them they would tho' never so inartificially have endeavour'd to imitate their manner of Coining and in all likelyhood have added Letters and the Head of their Kings Here 's a fair and probable opinion against the express Testimony of Julius Caesar who could hardly be impos'd on in this part of the Account he gives of our Isle Camden rather thinks that after the Arrival of the Romans the Britains first began to imitate them in their Coining of both Gold and Copper But his Stories of Cunobeline and Queen Brundvica are much of a piece with those of Doctor Plott's Prasutagus all of 'em liable to very just and to me unanswerable Objections For my own part I am of Opinion that never any of the British Kings did Coin Money But that even their Tribute-Money like the Dane-Gelt and Peterpence afterwards was the ordinary Current Coin which was brought in or minted here by the Romans themselves as long as this Island continu'd a Province The most if not all of the foremention'd pieces which are not Counterfeits I take to be Amulets whereof Tho. Bartholine gives this sensible Account Habuere Veteres in Paganismo res quasdam portatiles ex Argento vel Auro factas Imaginibus Deorum facie humanâ Expressorum signatas quibus Futurorum Cognitionem explorabant quarum possessione felices se quodam quasi Numinis praesidio tutos judicabant These were in use among the Romans a good while after they came into Britain and the Amula from whence they had their Name was a little drinking Cup most probably of this very Fashion If any man dislikes my Conjecture I am willing Sir John Pettus should Umpire the matter between us and his Supposition that Coin is an Abstract of Coynobeline who first coin'd Money at Malden will for ever decide the Controversie After the Conquest The first man that attempted the Writing of the old British History was Geoffery Archdeacon of Monmouth and he did it to some purpose This Author liv'd under King Stephen about the year 1150. He had a peculiar fancy for Stories surmounting all ordinary Faith which inclin'd him to pitch upon King Arthur's feats of Chivalry and Merlyn's Prophecies as proper subjects for his Pen. But his most famous piece is his Chronicon sive Historia Britonum which has taken so well as to have had several Impressions In this he has given a perfect Genealogy of the Kings of Britain from the Days of Brutus wherein we have an Exact Register of above Seventy glorious Monarchs that rul'd this Island before ever Julius Caesar had the good fortune to be acquainted with it The first stone of this fair Fabrick was laid by Nennius but the Superstructure is all Fire-new and purely his own They that are concern'd for the Credit of this Historian tell us that he had no further hand in the Work than only to translate an ancient Welsh History brought out of Britany in France by Walter Calenius Archdeacon of Oxford who was himself
as well as most polite Historian of Denmark dying Provost of the Cathedral Church at Roschild A. D. 1204. Saxo himself says he compil'd a good part of his out of the Islandic Ballads yet Arn. Jonas as quoted by Stephanius assures us that he did not deal fairly in that matter nor make such good use of those Authorities as he ought to have done J. Lyscander quarrels him upon the like bottom and seems to intimate that he had a greater care of the Style than Matter of his Book Sueno dy'd before he could bring his Work which is also publish'd by Stephanius to perfection But what we have is of as good and valuable a kind as the fore-mention'd For as Saxo framed his History out of the old Rhimes so he declares that his is mostly taken from the Tales and Traditions of old people Out of these two is borrow'd the most of what we meet with relating to those Times wherein the Affairs of Denmark and Britain were chiefly interwoven in Huitfield Pontanus Meursius and all other later Historians of that Kingdom The great Restorer of the decay'd Antiquities of Denmark was Olaus Wormius who has also enabled us to make many new Discoveries in those of our own Nation His Literatura Runica was the first happy Attempt made towards the right explaining of the old Cimbrian Monuments which till his time had laid neglected and unknown to the Learned World not only in those Northern Kingdoms but in several parts of Italy Spain and other Europoean Countries where the Gothic Arms and Letters had gain'd a footing The whole Treatise is divided into 29 Chapters largely treating of the Name Number Figure Powers c. of the Runic Characters His Monumenta Danica affords a Noble Collection of the scatter'd Runic Monuments through all the several Provinces of the Danish and Norwegian Kingdoms An undertaking fruitlessly attempted before him and a Work that was so much despair'd on that some of the best pieces were put to the most vile uses Out of this Misery he recover'd them and has now rais'd himself an everlasting Monument out of them all The whole Book is of singular use to any man that pretends to write upon any Branch of our English Antiquities some whereof are particularly Illustrated by the worthy Author himself To these we must add his Lexicon Runicum and Fasti Danici Nor is the Musaeum Wormianum so full fraught with Physical Rarities but that it will supply us with some Curiosities in Northern Antiquities worth our seeking After him Joh. Mejerus made some Gleanings in the same Field which still remain in MS. And several Swedes were by his example induced to pay the like respect to the long neglected Monuments of their Ancestors Among whom Buraeus and Verelius have already appeared in public and Joh. Hadorphius's more complete Work de Sepultura Sueco-Gothorum has been long since promis'd Tho. Bartholinus Son to the famous Physician of that Name has lately given us an Addition to Wormius's Discoveries enquiring into the Reasons that induced the ancient Danes to contemn Death and carry on the most dangerous Exploits with so much Courage and Bravery In pursuance whereof he gives us a notable Account of their Belief of the Soul's Immortality their Deifying of Woden Thor Fro and other Heroes their hopes of enjoying a sensual and Turkish Eternity in Valhalla or Woden's Elysium c. Some few more Writers there are of a lower form that have treated on the same subject which may be useful to our English Antiquary But for these I must refer him to Alb. Bartholine's Treatise de Scriptis Danorum being not very well dispos'd at present for the writing of dry Catalogues CHAP. V. Of our English Historians since the Conquest TO give an exact and full Register of these would be a tedious Work and require a much better acquaintance with our public and private Libraries than I can pretend to Sir William Temple has rightly observ'd that tho since this great period the face of affairs has not been drawn by any one skilful hand or by the Life yet 't is represented in so clear a Light as leaves very little either obscure or uncertain in the History of our Kingdom or Succession of our Kings And 't will be enough for my present purpose to pick out the chief of these Limners and to give the Reader a View of 'em in their proper Colours This I shall endeavour to do as briefly as is possible ranking them in the several Centuries wherein they wrote 1066. The first of our English Historians after the Conqueror's Arrival was Ingulphus who because he chiefly treats of the affairs of Crowland tho he occasionally intermixes the Story of our Kings will be more properly placed elsewhere The Relation he bore to King William does manifestly byass him in the ill account he gives of Haerold pelting that Prince with a Volley of hard Names all in a breath Contemptor praestitae fidei ac nequiter oblitus sui Sacramenti Throno Regio se intrusit c. About the same time wrote Marianus Scotus a Monk of Mentz in Germany who brought down our English History interwoven with a more general one of Europe as low as the year 1083. This Work met with such an universal and great applause in our Monasteries that there was hardly one in the Kingdom that wanted a Copy of it and some had several The frequent transcribing it gave occasion to a deal of errors and mistakes and the Interpolations were so many and confused that when it came to be prepar'd for the Press some of its Genuine and fairest Branches were lopp'd off for Morbose Tumours and Excrescencies Nor will the Reader meet with a word of our English affairs in that lame Edition of Marianus's Chronicle by Pistorius whose business 't was only to publish the ancient Writers of the German History and therefore he designedly omitted all that concern'd this Kingdom The best and most complete Manuscript Copy is in the public Library at Oxford 1101. The earliest History in the twelfth Century was written by Florence a Monk of Worcester whom I know not whether to call an Epitomizer or Transcriber of Marianus He seems to give himself the latter Character tho it must be acknowledg'd that he has added very many Collections out of the Saxon Chronicle and other Writers with much Care and Judgment His Book ended with his Life in the year 1119 but 't was continu'd 50 years farther by another Monk of the same Monastery He so scrupulously adheres to his Authorities that he sometimes retains even their very mistakes and yet I must do him the Justice to say he is not guilty of all the Contradictions that have been laid to his charge An ingenious person has lately observ'd that he makes his Friend Marianus die in the year 1052. and
of it a Man would be tempted to believe he never read it He was a most violent Persecutor of Jeoffrey of Monmouth of whose History he gives this sharp Character that it contains only pro expiandis Britonum maculis ridicula figmenta c. But D. Powel gives the reason of this bitterness of Spirit It appears he says from some of their Histories of good Credit and Antiquity that this William whom those Welsh Historians call Gwilym Bach. i. Gulielmus Parvus put in for the Bishoprick of St. Asaph upon the death of the said Jeoffrey Bishop there about the year 1165. and being disappointed fell into a mad humour of decrying the whole Principality of Wales its History Antiquity and all that belongs to it He is large in his account of the Life Manners c. of Hugh Bishop of Durham His Latin Style is preferr'd to that of M. Paris and equall'd with those of Eadmerus and William of Malmesbury by Dr. VVats 1201. The thirteenth Century begins with Gervase a Monk of Canterbury who is reported to have been a most judicious Antiquary and Methodical Historian and to have made excellent Collections of the British and English Story from the coming in of the Trojans down to the year 1200. 'T were to be wished these dormant Tomes could be discover'd For the Reigns of three Kings which are the only part of our General History of this Author 's penning now extant are done with judgment enough About the same time Nicholas de Fly Bishop of Durham is said to have written and Historical Treatise wherein he relates that memorable passage mentioned also by some other Historians of one Simon Thurvay's forgetting all that he had learned which was to a good pitch of Eminence and turning perfect Blockhead Cotemporary to these two and a much greater Historian than both of 'em join'd was Roger de Hoveden who seems to have been Chaplain for some time to King Henry the Second His History was published by Sir H. Savil But as Sir H. Spelman observes there are many errors in that foreign Edition of this and all our other Historians and therefore he well cautions the English Reader attentively to consider the spelling of such words as are of our own growth as very frequently mistaken by Printers that are Strangers to our Country and Language 'T is a heavy Censure which Leland has given of this Author Qui Scrinia Simeonis suppresso ejus nomine strenue compilavit aliena pro suis Gloriae avidulus supposuit Mr. Selden justifies him against this sharp Sentence and Sir Henry Savil gives a quite different Character of the Man and his Writings Huntingdoniensis Hovedenus says he Authores cuâ—â— primis boni diligentes verissimique superiorum temporum Indices He may possibly have borrowed something from Simeon of Durham But if he did he has improv'd his Story adding the years to many things confusedly related in that Writer After the year 802. he falls indeed a little into confusion himself jumbling a great many things touch'd on before without any manner of Form or Order But after three or four Pages he comes to himself again and goes on regularly enough There are in his Book many Letters Speeches c. relating to Ecclesiastical affairs which are good Materials towards a General Church history of this Kingdom In the year 1291. King Edward the First is said to have caus'd diligent search to be made in all the Libraries in England for Hoveden's History to adjust the Dispute about the Homage due from the Crown of Scotland which says my Author it clears effectually At the same time Joh. Oxfordius Bishop of Norwich is reported to have compil'd an English Chronicle and we may look for some good Remarks from a person employ'd as he was on an Embassy to Rome there truly to represent to his Holiness an account of Archbishop Beâ—ket's Behaviour Hector Boethius pretends to have seen his History and applauds him as a Writer next to his mighty Jeoffrey of Monmouth in Authority as well as Time The next Historian of Note and Figure is Ralph de Diceto or Disseto Dean of London who wrote about the year 1210. He sometimes refers to a Chronological Account of our British Kings of his own Composure which must have reach'd much higher than any thing hitherto published under his Name And such a Work in several parts containing a British Chronicle from Brute to Cadwallador and an English one from Hengist to King Harold the industrious Mr. Wharton says he had seen and perus'd in the Norfolk-Library The two Treatises which concern us at present and are already printed are his Abbreviationes Chronicorum and his Imagines Historiarum The former whereof contains an Abstract of our History but chiefly in Church-matters down to the Conquest and the latter gives the Portraictures of some of our Kings more at length ending with the first years of King John's Reign Mr. Selden is much in the Praises of this Author and his Works tho all that is here remember'd is usually copy'd out of other Writers who are often transcrib'd verbatim Dr. Gale met with a better Copy of his Abbreviations than had fallen into the hands of Sir Roger Twisden and has taken occasion in discoursing upon that subject to shew how mischievously the old Monks of Canterbury us'd to corrupt their Manuscripts Diceto's Talent lay mainly towards Church-history and on that Topick we shall hereafter meet with him more than once If Gyraldus Cambrensis ever wrote any such thing as an English Chronicle it ought to come in the same rank of time with these of Diceto's But I very much suspect the Truth of that Report Hither also must be referr'd the famous Exchequer-man King Henry the Second's Nephew Gervase of Tilbury who besides the Black Book to be remembered when we come to the Twelfth Chapter is said to have written a large historical Commentary upon Jeoffrey of Monmouth under the Title of Illustrationes Galfredi which he dedicated to the Emperor Otho the Fourth Walter Monk of Coventry deserves a more particular Remembrance as perhaps very well meriting the account given of him by Iohn Leland who says the two main Ornaments of an Historian Sincera sides lucidus ordo are to be had in him Upon the strength of this Authority Bale tells us he was Immortali Vir dignus memoria But his three Books of Chronicles and Annals for which these men send us to Bennet College are all one being chiefly Collections out of Jeoffrey of Monmouth R. Hoveden and H. Huntingdon Some few things of Note and Consequence he has which are not to be met with in those Authors He is said to have liv'd in Coventry A. D. 1217. and therefore Alexander Essebiensis's Epitome of our English Annals Peter Henham's history and R. Niger's continued by
give the Pope a true Account of Becket's Behaviour But whether he did really draw up a Journal of his Embassy with an Apology for his Master I cannot assuredly inform the Reader tho' Hector Boethius pretends to have seen it and recommends it as a Treatise highly worth the Perusal Three of Gyraldus Cambrensis's many Historical Books are likewise reported to be written on this Subject And Mr. Wharton mentions a Manuscript History of the same Reign by Benedictus Some say that the Life of this King as we now have it in Speed's Chronicle was composed by Dr. Barcham Archbishop Bancroft's Chaplain and penn'd chiefly in Confutation of one Bolton a Papist who had newly enlarg'd too far in the Justification of Becket's Insolent Carriage to his Prince These are mostly the King's Friends and such as engaged on the behalf of our English Monarchy What was to be said on the other hand for good Saint Thomas must be learn'd from those that have recorded the Actions Sufferings and Miracles of that worthy Roman Saint and Martyr An Account whereof shall be given in their proper place Richard the First 's Meritorious Expedition into the Holy Land gain'd him so much Repute that he 's as highly extoll'd by the Monkiâ—h Writers of that and the following Ages as his Father is reproach'd for his Persecution of their St. Thomas The chief Remarkables in his Life that part of it especially which was spent in the Levant are largely treated on by Rich. Divisiensis i. e. of the Devises in Wiltshire a Monk of Winchester Walter Constantiensis Bishop of Lincoln who accompany'd him in some of his Travels Will. Peregrinus so call'd from the Peregrination he also made in Attendance on this King and Rich. Canonicus Augustine Canon of St. Trinity in London another of his Retinue Jos. Iscanus or of Exeter had the like Curiosity follow'd the Fortunes of his Prince in the Holy War and at his Return celebrated his Acts in a Book which he thought fit to call Aâ—tiocheidos 'T is in Heroick Verse and in a Style and Strain of Poetry much beyond what one would expect to meet with in the Writings of that Age. John Leland who thought himself as great a Master and Iudge in Poetry as History says of this Author that he was Poeta Britannus omnibus Numeris Elegantissiâ—us and calls his Book Opâ—s Immortale His Life is also said to have been written by Stephen Laugton Archbishop of Canterbury and Alexander de Hales the Famous School-man But we have not so particular Directions where to look for these as for â—n Anonymous Manuscript to the same purpose in the Library of Magdalene College in Oxford The Learned Dr. Gale has obliged us with one of the largest of this King's Journals taken by one Jeâ—ffrey Vinesauf or de Vino Salâ—â— whom he takes to be the same Man with the foremention'd Walter Constantiensis who sometimes he says is also call'd Walter Oxoniensis He likewise believes that Richard of the Devises and Richard the Canon were the same Person So that instead of having our Store enlarged by what he has done for us we have lost some of our former Stock King John's Unhappy Reign was not a Subject so taking as that of his Brother and therefore has not been enquired into by so many Curious Authors John de Forda or Fordeham who is ignorantly confounded with John Fordon the Scottish Historian by John Pits was the first that attempted it and being this King's Chaplain had Opportunities enough of knowing the Truth if he was a Person of such unbyass'd Honesty as to reveal it Gyraldus Cambrensis living also at the same time is said to have likewise penn'd his Story and we may believe it will discover that warmness of Temper which runs through all that Author's Writings Some of the Learned Men of the present Age have thought the Extraordinary Freaks of this Prince worth their Considering and have therefore bestow'd good Pains in Collecting and Methodizing the most Notable Transactions of his Reign Of these Dr. Barcham's History is as we have already observ'd publish'd in Speed's Chronicle and is so well done that an Industrious Antiquary gives this Character of it That it shews more Reading and Judgment than any Life besides in that History And another witty Author says 'T is the King of all the Reigns of that Book for profound Penning The Voluminous Will. Prynne has also carefully and largely inform'd us of the publick Occurrences of this Reign as well as the two next following in order to the Asserting and Vindicating of the ancient Sovereignty of our English Monarchs against all Foreign Incroachments and Innovations whatever Henry the Third's long Reign might seem to afford Matter enough to employ one Man's Pen and yet till the Disturbances given him in the latter end of his time by S. Monfort and the other Barons so few memorable things happen'd in so many years that it has not hitherto been very nicâ—ly enquir'd into In a late Edition of the learned Sir Robert Cotton's Remains the Table of the several Discourses reckons the last of the Sixteen The Life and Reign of Henry the Third compil'd in a Critical way But the Reader to his great Disappointment will meet with no such thing in the Book Perhaps it is to be had in a former Edition of that Treatise as published by James Howel Edward the First was a brave and Victorious Prince and his Atchievements in Scotland deserv'd to be Recorded by some Person of Abilities suitable to so Noble an Undertaking To this purpose he carry'd Robert Baston Prior of Scarborough with him into that Kingdom to describe his Battels and particularly the Famous Siege of Sterling This was done in pretty Elegant Heroicks But the Author being the next year unfortunately taken Prisoner by the Scots was by the over-powering Commands and Severities of R. Bruce oblig'd to recâ—nt all and to extol the Scotch Nation as highly as he had lately magnify'd the English Will. Rishanger who was Historiographer-Royal during this King's whole Reign compos'd a special Treatise of the Annals of Edward the First whereof I presume three other Tracts of the same Man 's Writing entitul'd by J. Pits and others De Joanne Baileolo Rege Super Electione Regis Scotorum and De Jure Regis Anglorum ad Scotiam are only so many several Parts Edward the Second's Misfortunes are very honestly without either Flattery or Contempt written by Stephen Eiton or Eden a Canon Regular of Warter in Yorkshire sometime about the Year 1320. His Life was more accurately penn'd in French by Sir Thomas de la More who was Knighted by Edward the First was Counsellor to Edward the Second and liv'd to the beginning of Edward the Third's more prosperous Reign It was first Translated into Latin by Walter Baker or Swinburn Canon of Osney
of Chivalry And yet I do not find that all his strict Piety gain'd so far upon the Monks of his Time as that there was any great struggling among them who should most effectually recommend him to Posterity Archbishop Vsher tells us of one Iohn Blackman a Carthusian who was particularly intimate with him and has left a Collection of the many good things he had taken notice of in the most Secret Passages of his Life Tho. Walsingham who also liv'd in his Time took a Journal of his Reign out of which is composed that which some have entitul'd his Acta Regis Henrici Sexti Had the Pope favour'd the Attempt which was afterwards made at the Enshrining or Sainting of this King 't is very likely that his Legend would have out-grown his History and have been penn'd by more Writers than his Life Since the Roman Saints are commonly most Active after their Decease and the Wonders of their Relicks are usually much greater than those of their Persons Edward the Fourth can hardly be said to have enjoy'd so much Quiet during the Twenty Years of his suppos'd Reign as to have setled the House of York in the Throne So that even the Favourers of Justice and his Cause have not known what Account to give of the Times or how to Form a Regular History out of such a vast Heap of Rubbish and Confusion Mr. Habbington has given us as fair a Draught as the thing would bear At least he has Copy'd this King's Picture as agreeably as could be expected from one standing at so great a distance from the Original Edward the Fifth had the Name of a King for some few Weeks and purchas'd the Complement at far too high a Rate His Accession to the Throne the Tower and the Grave all within the Compass of little more than two Months are largely and elegantly described by the Famous Sir Thomas Moor Lord Chancellor of England who has sufficiently shewn how a short and doleful Tale may be improv'd into a complete History by a Person of good Skill and Judgment This Treatise has met with such a general Acceptance as that it not only finds Admission by whole-sale into all our late Chronicles but has also been separately printed without any other Alteration than a small change of the English Orthography according to the Usage and Mode of the present Age. The short Epitome of this and the three following Reigns that was written and publish'd by Will. Fleetwood Serjeant at Law is so thin a piece and refers so peculiarly to the Transactions in the Courts at Westminster that it has been rather look'd on as a Table or Index to the Year-books of those Times than any Historical Treatise Richard the Third's short and unfortunate Reign had its Tragical History begun by Sir Thomas Moor who did not bring it to such a final Conclusion as he had done that of his Nephew and Predecessor Neither Bale nor Pits take notice of any such thing But Vossius seems to have seen and perus'd it Vt fusè says he persequitur quibus Sceleribus ille ad Regnum pervenerit ita quomodo id gesserit non exponit Ac nec eâ parte quam habemus ultimam manum accepit Praeterea Elegantiâ Latini Sermonis ab aliis ejusce viri operibus longè vincitur Which last words must refer to Sir Thomas's Life of this King and not to that of Edward which indeed might seem to be an Introduction to this and would answer all the former part of Vossius's Story But King Edward's was only written in English whereas Richard's was in both Languages and as appears from Stow's account was more copiously treated on in Latin Great Additions have been since made by a more Candid Composer of his Annals who endeavours to represent him as a Prince of much better Shapes both of Body and Mind than he had been generally esteem'd Various are the Censures which have pass'd upon this Work I shall only trouble the Reader with that of Dr. Fuller His Memory says he speaking of King Richard has met with a Modern Pen who has not only purg'd but prais'd it to the heighth and pity it is that so able an Advocate had not a more meriting Person to his Client Henry the Seventh having most fortunately and wisely united the Houses of York and Lancaster continu'd his Reign as prosperously as it began and is justly esteem'd one of the most Politick Princes that ever sat on the English Throne It appears Sir Thomas Moor had once some faint Thoughts of writing this King's Life whilst he was in hand with those of his immediate Predecessors But I know not whether he ever liv'd or not to digest them Sir James Ware has Industriously Collected and Published such Occurrences of this Reign as relate to the Affairs of Ireland And a Poetical History of the whole has been printed by Ch. Aleyn But this good Work was the most effectually undertaken and compleated by the Incomparable Sir Francis Bacon who has bravely surmounted all those Difficulties and pass'd over those Rocks and Shallows against which he took such Pains to caution other less experienc'd Historians He has perfectly put himself into King Henry's own Garb and Livery giving as spritely a View of the Secrets of his Council as if himself had been President in it No trivial Passages such as are below the Notice of a Statesman are mix'd with his Sage Remarks Nor is any thing of Weight or Moment slubber'd over with that careless Hast and Indifferency which is too common in other Writers No Allowances are given to the Author 's own Conjecture or Invention where a little Pains and Consideration will serve to set the Matter in its proper and true Light No Impertinent Digressions nor fanciful Comments distract his Readers But the whole is written in such a Grave and Uniform Style as becomes both the Subject and the Artificer Henry the Eighth was a Prince of great Vertues and Accomplishments and as great Vices So that the pleasing Varieties that were in his Life and Reign might have temptest many more Writers than we know of to engage in the Composure of so entertaining an History Edmund Campian wrote a Narrative of the most remarkable Passages relating to his Divorce of Queen Katharine which is printed at the end of Nich. Harpesfeild's Church-History and is written with the true Spirit and Heart as well as Eloquence of a Jesuit Fran. Godwin Bishop of Landaff who will be remember'd at large amongst our Ecclesiastical Historians compil'd also the Annals of this and the two following Reigns Whereof one of our Criticks gives this just Character That his Book is penn'd Non mâ—gis succinctâ quà m laudabili brevitate The Author was a perfect Master of the Latin Tongue and wrote in that Language But his Annals were translated into English and so have been
collected his Cambria Triumphans or Ancient and Modern British and Welsh Histories from Brute to Charles the First Nic. Allen's Britanneis ten Books whereof are now in MS. in Bodley's Library comes no lower than the Conquest P. 107. l. 4. from the time of Claudius to that of Valentinian about five hundred he should say four hundred years the c. P. 104. * l. 20. Bodley 's Library But the Transcript of it in eleven Volumes at the Charge of the late pious Bishop Fell is not in the Musaeum Ashmoleanum as Dr. Hickes was inform'd P. 111. l. 20. Laur. Nowel P. 121. l. 19. the matter But I do know that there was a short Life of this great King publish'd by R. Powel a Lawyer who has been at no contemptible Pains to make up a Parallel betwixt Aelfred and Charles the First P. 128. l. 12. put together A short Chronicle of our English-Saxon Kings from Hengist to the end of the Heptarchy was written in Latin by Dan. Langhorn whose chief Authors are those publish'd by Sir Hen. Savil and Sir Roger Twisden He had formerly given us the Antiquities of this Island previous to the Arrival of the Saxons wherein amongst other Remains of those dark Times we have a Catalogue of the Pictish King 'T is said that the Continuation of this History is much desir'd by Learned Men And 't is pity but the Author if yet living should be prevail'd with to gratifie them P. 139. l. 15. Wormius 's use P. 140. l. 14. own Nation Some part of this fell happily into the hands of Tho. Bartholine 's Friend the Bishop of Scalholt who took care to have it printed A. D. 1689. P. 152. l. 23. Galfredi But in this I dare not be positive Leland saw this Author 's entire History which ended Anno 29 Hen. 1. He has made Collections out of it wherein as in some other Passages cited by R. Higden there are several things not found in Jeoffrey Which considering withal that Aelfred may probably be reckon'd as early a Writer as himself is one of the most cogent Arguments as far as I know to prove that this Monmouth was not the first Author of the whole British Story P. 159. l. 17. Judgment enough So much Encouragement we have to look after the whole that we are sure Leland had the perusal of an entire Copy the Prologue whereof he has transcrib'd as likewise many following Passages relating to the Affairs of the Britains and Saxons Ibid. l. ult Blockhead 'T is to be fear'd we shall hardly meet with this History till we find the Historian himself which is more than either Bishop Godwine or Mr. Wharton could do amongst the Bishops of Durham P. 161. l. 3. temporum Indices And indeed Leland himself was afterwards of the like Opinion For in his Book de Scriptoribus he says nothing of his being a Plagiary but gives him this great Character Mortuo Henrico Rege sc. ejus nominis secundo omne studium suum ad Historiam scribendam contulit in quo Negotio si diligentiam si Antiquitatis cognitionem si sanctam fidem spectes non modo quotquot seculis rudibus quidem praecesserunt Scriptores verum etiam seipsum superavit P. 163. l. 3. Library This British Chronicle is probably the same that 's printed by Dr. Gale and seems to be wholly transcrib'd out of the Works of a former Author whom he calls Brome This may be the same with Jo. Bromius or Bramus quoted sometimes by Dr. Caius and Franc. Thynne but must be different from Jo. Bramis the Friar of Gorleston with whom he is confounded by Bale and Pits because the Friar did not flourish till 1440. and the Historian must live before Ralph de Diceto and was moreover as Thynne observes a Monk of Thetford P. 164. l. 19. the Fourth Here likewise notice ought to be taken of Joh. Wallingford's Chronicle publish'd by Dr. Gale if the Abbot of St. Albans of that name who dy'ds in the Year 1214. was as the learned Editor guesses the Author of it But he seems to be a different Person from the Historian who carries down his Work forty years after the Abbot's Death The Doctor indeed makes R. Wendover Author of the latter Part of that History But if he had look'd into the next Treatise to this Chronicle in the Cottonian MS. from whence he had it he would have met with another John Wallingford who was made Monk of St. Alban's in the Year 1231. and so might bring down the History till 1258. without the Assistance of Wendover P. 172. l. 15. flourish'd Or it may be the Chronicle that was written by John de Taxston a Monk of Bury which ends at the Reign of Edw. 3. is the same thing with these Annals John de Oxenedes a Monk of Hulm mention'd by Mr. Wharton liv'd about the same time P. 175. l. 7. Years more 'T is probable the Chronicle of Joh. Londinensis who liv'd about the same time is still extant For 't is quoted in Lambard's Preface to his Archaionomia and among R. James's Collections there are several things extracted out of it P. 184. l. 21. To these we may probably add the Author of the MS. Eulogium who begins his Work at Bruâ—e and ends at the Year 1367. The beginning of the Book 't is likely may be Nennius's but the rest seems to have been penn'd by a Monk of Canterbury by his calling St. Thomas Becket his Patron P. 194. l. 23. the Year 1530. P. 185. * l. 15. their Countrey Bale reports that Sir Brian Tuke wrote a Chronicle purposely to vindicate the Honour of the English Nation against those Aspersions which Virgil had cast upon it in this History P. 190. * l. 2. and others To these we may add two Poetical Historians of this Age Chr. Ocland who wrote Anglorum praelia in Latin Verse and Will. Warner an English Rhimer Author of the Romantick Story of Albion's England in twelve Books containing the Occurrences of our Land from Noah to the 39th of Queen Elizabeth P. 194. * l. 19. Queen Elizabeth Cotemporaries with these were John Clapham Edward Ayscue and Will. Slatyer the first whereof left us the History of Great Britain the second that of the Wars Treaties and Marriages with Scotland and the third his Palae-Albion in ten Books of Latin and English Verse P. 198. l. 9. Arms c. 3. Dr. R. Brady's Complete History of England wherein he endeavours to prove and no Man ever did it more effectually that all our adored Liberties are deriv'd from the Crown and owing to the Concessions of our Princes He shews that the Normans themselves weary of the Tenure of Knight-Service and other Drudgeries of the Feudal Law rais'd all our old Civil Commotions in England And that no ancient Rights and Properties of the Subject were any part of the true
Controversie He very well illustrates many dark Passages in our English-Saxon Laws by comparing them with those of the old Germans Francs Lombards c. His Preface to the Norman History largely accounts for the Customs of that People and shews what sort of Government and Laws they brought with them into this Kingdom Afterwards we have a good view of the seven first Reigns after the Conquest His chief Author is M. Paris well epitomiz'd and confirm'd and enlarg'd with authentick Evidence from Records a great many whereof are printed at large in his Appendix He has also publish'd an Introduction to the English History which treating chiefly of Matters of Law and Government shall be consider'd elsewhere 4. Let me add c. P. 202. l. 17. great Man Sir John Hayward's History of the three Norman Kings was undertaken at the Request of Prince Henry who hardly liv'd to read it and not to requite the Author's Pains He calls his Lives of these Monarchs Descriptions rather than Histories And so indeed they are being only short Portraictures of 'em in such a witty and humour some Style and Method as might better serve to divert the young Prince than instruct him I shall give the Reader but one Instance of the Care he took of the Chronological part of his Story He says Hen. 1. was crown'd the second of August which is the same day whereon he acknowledges King William II. was slain a little before Sun-set in the New-Forest A small Fragment of the Conqueror's History is among Cambden's Anglica Normannica c. and some Particulars relating to the Reigns of this and the two following Kings may be pick'd out of Guil. Gemeticensis and others publish'd by the learned And. du Chesne But above all c. P. 203. l. 21. the second There 's an old English History in Saxon Letters of the Transactions of some few years of his Reign after 1123 in Sir John Cotton's Library P. 204. l. 3. voluminous Author In Du Chesne's Collection there 's a pretty large Life of this King whose Author though Anonymous seems to have flourish'd in the latter end of this or the beginning of the next Reign And Pits assures us that Ralph de Diceto's Annals of King Stephen are in the Library at Bennet-College P. 205. l. 18. Benedictus whose Book we are since told is full of notable and politick Remarks and is much follow'd by Hoveden and Brompton Pet. Blesensis certainly wrote his Life tho' we know not what 's become of it Tho. May the Translator of Lucan has given us seven Books in English Poetry on this Subject to which is annex'd his Character in Prose with a short Survey of the Changes in his Reign and a comparative Description of his two Sons Henry and Richard P. 207. l. 5. Antiocheis P. 208. l. 8. But perhaps he 's mistaken in that Conjecture since Rich. Devisiensis was certainly a Monk of Winchester However to make up the Number the Reader is to know that an old printed Life of this Ceur du Lyon is in English Meeter tho' I cannot inform him who was its Author P. 211. l. 15. several Parts Peter de Langetoft who drew up an Epitome of our Chronicles in old French Rhimes bestows one whole Book upon Edward the First Ibid. l. 21 1320. The Annals of the greatest and best part of his Reign from 1307. to 1323. were digested by John de Frokelow a Monk as the History of his Treaty of Peace in the Sixteenth Year of his Reign with Robert King of Scots was by Henry de Blaneford Walter de Heminford's Life of Edw. II. is said to have been in the Library of Bennet-College which we are not so sure of as that his Life of Edw. III. is in that of Magdalene-College in Oxford as well as in Sir John Cotton's at Westminster P. 212. l. 22. Deleantur I doubt whether c. usque ad Old Manuscript Historians p. 213. l. 7. inclusivè P. 214. l. 11. a Friend R. James in some Volume of his MS. Collections reports that Rob. Avesbury Registrary of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Court wrote Mirabilia gesta R. Edwardi III. post Conquestum procerúmque suorum tractis primitùs quibusdam gestis de tempore Patris sui D. Edv. II. quae in regnis Angliae Scotioe Franciae in Aquitaniâ Britanniâ non humanâ sed Dei potentiâ contigerunt Tho. May the Poet has likewise some English Raptures upon this King 's Life Nor ought I to forget that Sir John Froissard is said to have written two Books on that of Queen Philippa the first glorious Patroness of Queen's College in Oxford Above all Mr. Joshua Barnes has diligently collected whatever was to be had far and near upon the several Passages of this great King's Reign His Quotations are many and generally his Authors are as well chosen as such a Multitude can be suppos'd to have been His Inferences are not always like a Statesman and sometimes his Digressions are tedious His deriving of the famous Institution of the Garter from the Phaenicians is extremely obliging to good Master Sammes But came too late it seems to Mr. Ashmole's Knowledge or otherwise would have bid fair for a choice Post of Honour in his Elaborate Book In short this industrious Author seems to have hasten'd his Work too much to the Press before he had provided an Index and some other Accoutrements which might have made it more serviceable to his Readers P. 215. l. 6. untimely Death Deleantur which it may be contains the whole Chronicle Et adde Richard Maidstone a learned Carmelite wrote also in Latin Verse Concordiam inter Ricardum II. Cives Londâ—nenses And Henry Knighton's History of his Deposition is among the Decem Scriptores as another short History of his Reign by an anonymous Monk of Evesham it in the Coâ—tonian Library Amongst later Pamphlets on this Subject the Idol of Clowns or the Insurrection of Wat Tyler as a Parallel with some Occurrences in our late Days of Rebellion may balance the Exact Ac-Account of the Articles and Proceedings c. P. 216. 1. 5. those Reigns There is an old French MS. in Verse which treats of the Affairs of this Reign the Title whereof in a hand more modern than the Book it self is this Histoire du Roy D' Angleterre Richard traictant particulierement la Rebellion des sus Subjects prinse de sa personne c. Composée par un gentilhomme François de Marque qui fut à la suité du dict Roy avecque permission du Roy de France At the end in a hand as old as that of the Book is written Ce livre de la prinse du Roy Richart d' Angleterre est à Monseigneur Charles Damon Conte du Maine de Mortaing Gouverneur de Languedoc This was lately in the Possession of the learned Dr. Hickes who
finding many Passages in it not touch'd on by other Writers and others differently related had once Thoughts of publishing it with a Translation and Notes of his own But being afterwards acquainted that Dr. Brady had written the Life of this King and knowing that nothing could escape the Diligence of that Historian he lay those Thoughts aside Here rather than it should be wholly forgotten let me put the Reader in mind of the elegant History of our old Civil Wars written in Italian by Sir Francis Biondi of the Bed-Chamber to King Charles the First and translated into English by the Earl of Monmouth Ibid. l. ult too Dramatical This Piece is certainly the least liable to that Censure of any this Author ever wrote being the most elaborate of all his Works and what looks like a part of what he design'd for a just History But the little that 's published should rather be entitl'd the Reign of Richard the Second since it reaches no farther than his Death and the Settlement of his Successor in the Throne P. 218. l. 14. their hands There 's a very fair Ms. in Bodley's Library entitl'd a Translation of Titus Livius 's Life of K. Hen. V. dedicated to Hen. VIII But 't is more truly a History of that Prince's Life compiled out of a French Book call'd Enquerrant which of all the French Chronicles is said to treat most copiously of the Wars betwixt England and France and out of Titus Livius To which Book says the Author or Translator in the Prologue I have added divers Sayings of the English Chronicles and to the same Matter also divers other Opinions that I have read of the Report of a certain Honourable and Ancient Person and that is the Honourable Earl of Ormond There are likewise two several Lives of this King in Cotton's Libary whereof the one was written by Tho. Elmham Prior of Lenton and the other by an Anonymous Author Fran. Thynne in the Conclusion of Holinshead's Chronicle mentions one by Roger Wall a Herald P. 220. l. 10. Original Dr. John Herd was employ'd by the great Lord Burleigh to write the History of England during the Reigns of Edw. IV. V. Rich. III. and Henry VII which he did in Latin Verse and his Book is still extant in several hands P. 222. l. ult his Client They that are dissatisfyd with any Passages in this Book may have recourse to a Copy corrected and amended in every Page P. 223. l. 7. Throne He is mightily extoll'd by Bern. Andreas of Tholouse his Poet Laureat and Historiographer who has written two good Volumes on the most eminent Transactions of his Reign P. 228. l. 20. do it A slender historical Account of Wiat's Rebellion was publish'd by one John Proctor School-Master of Tunbridge who for any thing I have yet learn'd must be look'd upon as the only particular Historian of this Reign P. 232. l. 5. good value There are several other Treatises which will be useful in furnishing out a complete View of her long and prosperous Reign As 1. Eliza or the Life and Troubles of Queen Elizabeth from her Cradle to her Crown by Tho. Heywood 2. Elizabetha or a Panegyrick on the most considerable Occurrences of her Reign in Latin Verse by Chr. Ocland 3. The Felicity of her Time by Sir Francis Bacon 4. Sir Dudley Digge's Compleat Ambassador containing all the Letters Instructions Memoirs c. relating to the French Match with that Queen 5. Some good Materials may be had from the Itinerary of F. Moryson Secretary to the Lord Montjoy General and Governour of Ireland They are given us in that useful Method which is now generally allow'd to be the most pleasing and instructive giving us at large all those Original Evidences whereby the Author justifies his Narrative 6. Sir John Hayward acquaints us likewise that he presented Prince Henry with some Years of this Queen's Reign drawn at length and in full proportion But these I think were never publish'd 7. Dr. Barth Clerke Dean of the Arches was put upon the writing of her History by my Lord Buckhurst and he seems to have been every way fit for the Undertaking But whether he might not afterwards be prevented by Death or Mr. Camden's engaging in the same Design I know not These are the chief of those Errors and Defects that have either been remark'd by others or hitherto observ'd by my self in the former part There are several others of lesser Note which an intelligent Reader will easily correct without my Directions As particularly the frequent References to some following Chapters which are here digested in a different manner than was at first projected They that have any Acquaintance with the Drudgery of preparing Books for the Publick View know very well how apt an Undertaking of this kind is to grow upon the Author's hand and how little 't is we see of our Work when we first begin to engage in it With these I shall need no Apology and the rest must excuse me if I make none I am now in haste And can only stay to tell them that I have as many Papers that treat on our Law-Books Records c. so far as they are serviceable to History all which I once thought to have crowded into a Chapter or two as will furnish out a Third Part if they and the Bookseller think it worth their while to call for it For the present I am resolv'd to keep my self within the Verge of the Church and shall only in this Second Part give the Reader the best Account I can of our Ecclesiastical Historians in the following Chapters 1. Of the Affairs of the British Church 2. Historians of the English-Saxon Church from the coming in of Augustine the Monk to the Conquest 3. Church-Historians from the Conquest to the Reformation 4. Histories of the Reformation and our Church-Affairs to the End of Queen Elizabeth's Reign 5. Accounts of our Bishops in general and their several Sees 6. Lives of particular Bishops and other eminent Church-men 7. Histories Chronicles Cartularies c. of our Ancient Monasteries 8. Histories of our Universities and Writers CHAP. I. Of the Writers of the Affairs of the British Church IF Gildas had cause to complain That in treating of the Civil History of Britain he had no Assistance from any Monuments or Records of his own Country but was forced to seek his whole Information from Forreigners they that take upon them to write the Church-History of the first British Christians will find themselves much more oblig'd to Strangers and must look abroad for their Intelligence 'T was Happiness enough to enjoy the Gospel-Light as long as the Heathen Romans were our Masters without the rejoycing in it so openly as to have had our Publick Notaries registring the Acts of our Councils Convocations and Synods even amongst such of our Ancestors as had at once learn'd to write and to obey And they
that either in the North or West had shun'd the Roman Yoke and enjoy'd their Liberty and Traditional Christianity in the Woods and Mountains are generally believed to have been so much unacquainted with Letters as not to have been able to transmit their own Story to Posterity Some Remains there are of those ancient Times and the State of Christianity in them and our Church has not wanted Men of Learning and Industry who even at this distance have successfully imploy'd themselves in gathering up the scatter'd Fragments that no part of so valuable a Treasure might be lost Master Bale tells us there are some that with a deal of probability on their side have guess'd That Joseph of Arimathea wrote several Epistles to the Churches of Great Britain And for the better strengthening of such a Conjecture he assures us 't was usual for the Primitive Fathers to send such Letters to those Churches to which they were some way or other specially related He might as well have told us of some Epistles sent hither by St. Peter or St. Paul since 't is likely that one or both of those Apostles were as instrumental in planting Christianity in this Island as this Joseph himself and we are also very sure that they used to write such Epistles Our next Ecclesiastical Writer is said to be King Lucius who about a hundred Years after Joseph's Death wanted somebody it seems to instruct him in the First Rudiments of Christianity And thereupon sent a Letter to Pope Eleutherius desiring that some Persons in Holy Orders might be sent hither to Baptize Him and his People There is not any Copy of this Epistle now extant and yet I dare not say the Original is lost Not to mention the Inconsistences that are among the several Authors upon whose Credit this whole Story rests 〈◊〉 observable that the pretended Epistle in return from Eleutherius seems to intimate that Lucius's Request was quite of another Nature and that his Enquiry was after the Imperial Civil Law and not after the Precepts of the Gospel So that I know not how we shall be sure of such a Royal Church Historian But in short the Pope's Letter has so many undeniable Marks of Forgery upon it that we cannot think it worth our while to be very inquisitive after the Kings and tho' a genuine Piece of this kind were highly to be prized we do not desire to build upon Shadow and Fable This Story of King Lucius has help'd us to a Couple more of Ecclestiastical Historians Eluanus and Medvinus who forsooth were first imploy'd in the foremention'd Embassy to Rome After their Return Eluanus was made AB of London and wrote a Book De Origine Ecclesiae Britanniae Medvinus had not the luck to mount equally in Preferment with his Fellow-Ambassador but he rival'd him in the publick Services of his Pen having written Fugatii Damiani gesta in Britannia These were Pope Eleutherius's Legates and are by others call'd Faganus and Derwianus The most probable part of this Account is That this latter Book was found in the Rubbish at Glassenbury 'T is no matter whether at the repairing of that Monastery by St. Patrick or at some other time After these we hear no more of the Writers of our British Church-History before the coming in of a more famous and true Legate Augustine the Monk who is believed to have written something of the state of Christianity in these parts even before his own Arrival If we could be assured of this we could not have a better Authority in some of our Modern Disputes with the Court of Rome But 't is more than probable that those Learned Men that assert such a thing mistook the meaning of William of Malmesbury who seems to have been their Informer in that Matter That Historian speaking of something relating to the first Foundation of the Monastery at Glassenbury which he had met with Apud Sanctum Augustinum Anglorum Apostolum his unwary Readers presently concluded that he quoted some latent MS. Work of that Monk Whereas in truth he meant no more than that he had met with such an Account in the Library at St. Augustine's in Canterbury The like Phrase is common with him and in the same Paragraph Apud Sanctum Edmundum is to be English'd in the Library at St. Edmundsbury The Remonstrance of Dinoth Abbot of Bangor against the Pretensions of this Legate Augustine challenging a Supremacy for his Master in this Isle is of some better Credit since even John Pits himself owns that he stoutly opposed such Encroachments and that he has left to Posterity his Thoughts on that Subject having written among other Things two Books entitled Defensorium Jurisdictionis sedis Menevensis and De Conservandis Britannorum Ritibus Both these Treatises have certainly been fram'd out of that Answer of the Abbots which Sir H. Spelman has given us in Welch English and Latin having found it in an old Transcript out of a more ancient Manuscript in the two former Languages and adding a Translation of his own in the last The Critique that our Learn'd Stillingfleet gives upon this Piece and its Publisher is what I dare not add to There is he says all the appearance of Ingenuity and Faithfulness that can be expected and he was a Person of too great Judgment and Sagacity to be easily imposed upon by a Modern Invention or a new-found Schedule I know some Romanists have endeavour'd to persuade the World That this Monument bears no great Age and was probably forg'd since the Reformation But since Venerable Bede himself who was as great a Favourer of Augustine and as profess'd an Enemy to the ancient British Church as they could wish confirms the main of the Story they will not easily persuade us that the whole is improbable I can hear of no more ancient Treatises relating to the Ecclesiastical State of Old Britain save only the Sanctum Graal Which says trusty Iohn Pits was written by an Anonymous Hermit about the Year 720. and gives an ample Account of the Miracles wrought by Joseph of Arimathea Indeed Vincentius of Beauvais mentions such a French Legend which as he observes had the Name of Graal or Gruel because it likewise treated of a Dish of Meat miraculously preserved since our Saviour's last Supper But the Book he confesses was somewhat hard to be met with In this Dish which was to be seen among the sacred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at Glastonbury they pretended to have part of the true Blood of our Redeemer But whether 't was of that shed on the Cross or of that which was at the said last Supper after Consecration the Historian dares not be positive However from hence the same Person gives the Relick the Name of Sanegreal i.e. Sanguis Realis And from him 't is probable the following Writers gave that Title to the
Legend it self The Learned Reader will pardon me if I give him a further Account of this rare French MS. out of Monsieur Borel's Glossary Which because the Book is not in many of our English Libraries I shall do at large in his own Words Il ya un Romant ancien says he intitule La Conqueste du Saingreal c. du S. Vaisseau ou estoit le Sang de Jesus-Christ qu'il appelle aussi le Sang real c. le Sang royal Et ainsi ces deux choses sont confundues tellement qu'on ne connoist qu'auec peine quand les anciens Romans qui en parlent fort souuent entendent le Vaisseau ou le Sang. Perceual l'explique bien en ces mots Senefioit que li greaus Qui tant est beaux precieux Que le S. Sang glorieux Du Roy des Rois y fu receus Et ailleurs Un greal Trestout descouuert Item Et puis apporta un greaux Tout plein de pierres precieuses R. de Merlin MS. Ne oneques peus ne fust veu au siecle ne du greal ne palle Et apres il dit Et cil Rois pecheors avoit le digne sang Jesus-Christ en guarde D'ou il est manifeste que le R. de Sangreal n'est que du Sang Royal de Jesus-Christ Item Pensa moult a la lance ou graal qu'il avoit veu porter Ce texte monstre que c'estoit un vase Mais en suite le mesinem Autheur parlant du Graal l'appelle un Vaisseau car il parle ainsi Et quand le premier mes fust apportee si issi le Graal fo rs d'une Chambre les dignes Reliques auenc si tot comme Perceualle vit qui moult en avoit grand desir de scavoir si dit Sire je vos prie que vous me diez que l'en sert de cest Vessel que cest vallet porte Et encore il dit ailleurs Et porce laupelon nos Graal qu'il agree as prodes homes En cest Vessel gist le Sang de Jesus-Christ En ce texte il donne une Etymologie differente du Sang Royal a scavoir le Sang agreable aux hommes en ce qu' ils en lavent leurs pechez Et derechef confirmant cela il dit vers le commencement de son Livre Et ils distrent porrons dire du Vesseil que nos veimes coman le clameron nos qui tant nos gree cil qui ly voudront clamer ne metre non a nos esciens le clameront le greal qui tant agree Et quant cil l'oyent si dient bien doit avoir non cist vesseaux graax Et ainsi le nomment Et enfin il dit Ou li Vessel de graal seit C'est le vase on Joseph dit il recueillit le Sang qui sortit des playes de Jesus-Christ lors qu'il lavoit son corps pour l'embaumer a la maniere des Juifs The present Age amongst her many Writers in all parts of Learning has afforded us some that have thought it an Undertaking worth their Pains to search after the Remains of our first British Church and the Discoveries they have made have met with very different Characters and Entertainment according as they have fall'n into the Hands of proper or improper Judges The first of these I suppose was R. Broughton a Secular Priest who was bred at Rheims and sojourn'd sometime in Oxford In this latter Place he collected Materials for his Ecclesiastical History of Great Britain from the Nativity of our Saviour unto the happy Conversion of the Saxons The Account that Mr. Wood gives of this Book is this Tho' 't is a Rapsody and a thing not well digested yet there 's a great deal of Reading shew'd in it 'T is said King James J. was overjoy'd to hear of Sir R. Cotton's Design of writing our Church-History from the first planting of Christianity to the Reformation And so far he carry'd on the Project as to draw together no less than Eight large Volumes of Collections which have long been and still are very serviceable to those that engage in those Studies The like Collections were made about the same time by AB Vsher the most Reverend and Learn'd Primate of Ireland and soon after Commendatory Bishop of Carlisle of whom one that knew him well and was as able as any Man to judge of him gives this Character Vir ob Eruditionis immensitatem morumque Sanctitatem toto Orbi Vener andissimus His Book was first printed at Dublin under the Title De Pâ—imordiis c. and is since publish'd by the Name of Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates 'T was begun by Command of King James I. who gave him Licence under the Great Seal of Ireland to retire from his Bishoprick of Meath to one of our English Universities for the more effectual carrying on of so good a Work And this Grant was had and enjoy'd above a dozen Years before the Book was first published He begins with a Collection of whatever Narratives and old Stories he could meet with about Simon Zelotes Joseph of Arimathea and others first planting Christianity in this Island From whence he proceeds to the Legend of King Lucius and the whole Succession of those Archbishops and Bishops descended from Jeoffrey of Monmouth's Flamines and Archi-Flamines After this we have the Settlement of three Metropolitical Thrones at London York and Caerlion which are afterward removed to Canterbury Dole in Britany and St. Davids Then follows the generous Endowments of Glastonbury and other places by Lucius and Arthur The Martyrdom of St. Alban and his Friend or Cloak Amphibalus with many more of their Fellow-Saints The famous Expedition of Vrsula c. Interwoven with these Reports the Reader will find a deal of excellent Learning and the clearing of many doubts in our British Roman and Saxon Antiquities He also gives a particular Account of the Original and Progress of the Pelagian and Semi-Pelagian Heresies and concludes with the Remains St. Patrick and the ancient Scottish or Irish Church The Author himself modestly calls the Work Ex omni Scriptorum genere promiscue congesta farrago Which Sir Geo. Mackenzie has a little bluntly translated A confused Rabble and a formless Lump of fabulous Nonsense 'T is a more just Account that another gives of this Treasure of our ancient Church-History That all that have written since with any Success on this Subject must own themselves beholding to him for his Elaborate Collections In the late Edition the References which the Author makes to the several parts of his Work are very faulty The Margin of the former Quarto Edition having not always been Corrected The same Year with AB Vsher's Book was publish'd Sir H. Spelman's first Tome of the Councils Ecclesiastical Laws and Constitutions c. of this Kingdom and its Dependencies Whereof we are to give
to be out-vy'd by the choice Adventures of St. Vrsula and her Train To furnish the Reader with an exact List of all the ancient Saints of this Island would be as edifying as to present him with a Catalogue of the Parishes of Wales most of which bear the Inscription and Name of some one or other of Them Besides the general Pains taken by Surius and others in this Matter there are some who have more particularly treated of our British Saints and others that have apply'd themselves to the History of the Life Actions and Sufferings of some special Hero John Pits tells us of Johannes Anglicus who seems to have been a Welch Man notwithstanding his Name that wrote a Book De Vitis Sanctorum Wallensium And we are also told by a Brother of his of somewhat better Authority that there is now in the Library of the English College at Rome a Manuscript Treatise of the like import by William Good a Fugitive Papist under the Reign of Queen Elizabeth 'T is likewise certain that Ricemarchus whether Bishop of St. Davids himself or only Son to Sulgenus Bishop of that Place or both wrote such a Martyrology tho' perhaps in the Manuscript Lives of the British Saints which are now in the Cottonian Library the Life of St. David is only to be ascribed to that Author In perusing those of the several other Writers who have made it their Business to collect or invent Matter for the magnifying of some single Martyr the Reader will be cautious in separating the Chaff and good Corn And so by distinguishing the Monk from the Historian a good use may be made of these Romantick ones that follow St. Alban is our Proto-Martyr and might therefore justly challenge the first place in our Catalogue if the method of the Alphabet which shall be our Guide had not given it him His Life has been the Subject of some learn'd Pens and of some that were otherwise The first that we hear of was a Person of good Abilities who wrote about the Year 590. but had the modesty to conceal his Name This Work was translated into Latin by Will. Albanensis a Monk of St. Albans who afterwards prevail'd with his Brother Ralph de Dunstable to turn it into Heroic Verse Vnwon an old Priest well skill'd in the ancient British Language translated another such Volume but of much greater Antiquity at the Request of Abbot Aedmar about the Year 970. whereof we have an notable Account given by Matt. Paris who is also reported to have written two Books of the Martyrdom of St. Alban and St. Amphibalus Dr. Wats could not meet with them and indeed Pits is not very consistent in the Account he gives of them For he elsewhere tells us That a certain modest Gentleman who calls himself Miserorum Simplicissimus wrote these same Books which were translated into French Verse by M. Paris as they were afterwards into English Meeter by John Lydgate The latest Writer of his Life is Stephen Gourmeline a Cornish Man who is said to have published something of that kind about the Year 1585. St. Columba's Life translated out of Cornish was in the Hands of Mr. Roscarrock who communicated it to Mr. Camden and thereby convinced him of an Error which he had advanced in some of the first Editions of his Britannia that St. Columb's a Market-Town in Cornwal had its Name from Columbanus the famous Scotch Apostle St. David's had almost as many Pen-men as St. Albans The oldest says Bollandus is the Vtrecht-Manuscript which he publishes The next to this he thinks that in Colganus which he believes to be that which was written by Ricemarchus and is now publish'd by Mr. Wharton This industrious Person observes that out of this all the latter Writers of his Life have transcribed their Treatises particularly Giraldus Cambrensis who omits some Miracles but gives new ones in lieu of them and is with the like freedom epitomized by John of Tinmouth and Capgrave For this Reason he has thought it sufficient to give us Giraldus entire adding only what he was pleased to omit in that of Ricemarchus St. Dubricius Arch-Bishop of Caerleon is beholden to one Benedict Monk of Glocester who is supposed to have written his Life about the middle of the Twelfth Century This is also publish'd by the same Learned Person who acknowledges he pass'd over some fulsome Miracles and guesses that its Author borrowed his best Materials from Geoffrey of Landaff whose Manuscript-History of this Saint was in the same Volume out of which this is given us St. Germanus's Embassies under Pope Celestine have been treated on at large by some Forreigners and others of our own Nation of whose Performances the inquisitive Reader will have a better Account from our great AB Vsher than I can pretend to give him St. Kentigern better known to our Northern Borderers by the Name of St. Mungo had his Life largely written by Josceline a Monk of Fournes in Lancashire whose Book is now in Sir John Cotton's Library But whether that which was written by his Scholar St. Asaph be any where extant I dare not take upon me to determine S. Lupus was Germanus's Collegue in the notable Undertaking for confounding of the Palagian Heresy and re-establishment of Catholicism in this Island and has been particularly obliged by an anonymous Writer of his Life St. Ninian who by our Neighbours on the Borders of Scotland is corruptly call'd Ringen and is remembred in our Nine Churches in Cumberland is reported to have had his Wonders recorded by Ealred Abbot of Rievaulx which is not so certain as that his Life was some time extant and pretty common in Ireland St. Patrick the great Apostle of Ireland is challenged by the Monks of Glassenbury and therefore may be reckon'd indifferently either a British or Irish Saint Under the former Denomination we must believe that his History was written by Gyraldus Cambrensis and under the latter by Joceline and Rich. Stanyhurst St. Teliau or Eliud St. David's Successor in his Arch-bishoprick had his Life penn'd by Geoffrey of Landaff Brother to Vrbane Bishop of that See about the beginning of the Twelfth Century whose Treatise is still to be had at large in an old Register-book of that Church St. Vrsula and her Eleven thousand Companions had reason to expect to have their Story handed down to Posterity in a Method peculiar to themselves and therefore about Thirteen Ages after their Martyrdom they deputed one Verena to bring hither a true Relation of their Sufferings This she punctually revealed to one Elizabeth a Nun of Schaffhausen who publish'd with the great Applause of the Monks of Cologn who set her on Work her Visions on this Occasion St. Winefride's Miracles and the many glorious Cures done
by her Well in Flint-shire were Register'd by Robert Prior of Shrewsbury who about the Year 1140. translated her Relicks to his own Convent so that 't is justly wondered how Giraldus Cambrensis came to take no notice of this sacred Fountain in his Itinerary of Wales which was penn'd many Years after The Wonder will increase when we consider that long before the Prior's time her Life was written by Elerius a Monk of St. Asaph who himself about the middle of the Seventh Century instructed her in the Monastick Rules and had the comfort of seeing her so great a Proficient as first to turn Nun afterwards to become an Abbess and in the end a Martyr under the Tyranny of Carodocus Abstracts of these Lives and many others which are either now lost or at least have not come to my Knowledge may be had in the voluminous Work of John of Tynmouth's Sanctilogium Britanniae which gives the best and largest Account that is any where extant of the Lives of our British English Scotch and Irish Saints The whole is a Collection of such Passages as related to these Holy Persons out of his Historia Aurea mention'd in the first part of this Work And this perhaps gave occasion to Mr. Pits to split the Sanctilogium into a Majus and Minus and to provide a pair of Appendices Martyrologii to bind up with these two Books There 's an ancient and fair Copy of it in the Cottonian Library at the end whereof we have this Note Hunc Librum dedit Dominus Thomas de la Marc Abbas Monasterii St. Albani Anglorum Proto-Martyris Deo Ecclesiae B. Amphibali de Redburn ut Fratres ibidem in cursu existentes per ejus Lecturam poterint coelestibus instrui per Sanctorum Exempla virtutibus insigniri John Capgrave Provincial of the Augustine Friars and Confessor to the famous Humphrey Duke of Glocester epitomiz'd Tynmouth's Book adding here and there several Fancies and Interpolations of his own It was translated into English by Caxton and first printed in the Year 1516. since which time it has been frequently reprinted both here and beyond the Seas and is common in the Families of our Gentlemen of the Roman Communion He 's not quite so modest as his Principal John of Tynmouth who sometimes c prefaces a Miracle of a more than ordinary size with leaving his Reader to a liberty of believing or disbelieving as his own Reason shall guide him But so far is both Capgrave and his Translator from any thing of this bashful Temper that they always load a Man's Faith with more than it well can carry For Example The Story of St. Vrsula and her Eleven thousand Virgins was thought in former times a sufficiently glorious Army of Martyrs but Mr. Caxton assures us there were also Fifteen thousand Men that suffer'd with them and so the whole Company consisted of no less than 26000. This part of the History was vouch'd to him by the Men of Cologn who seem to have had some farther Revelation since the Days of Tynmouth and Capgrave CHAP. II. Historians of the English Church from the coming in of Augustine the Monk to the Conquest THE Conversion of our Saxon Ancestors happen'd at a time when Learning run very low and when a general Credulity and want of Thought gave opportunity to the Monks of coining their Legendary Fables and obtruding them upon the World for true and unquestionable History So that the main part of the Ecclesiastical Story if we may so call it of those Ages is to be had amongst the Lives of our English Saints which are much of a piece with those of the British already mention'd The Account that Augustine gave to Pope Gregory of the Success of his Apostleship in Kent is hardly extant But we have the Queries he put to that Holy Father with the Pope's Answers in Bede from whom several of our later Historians have transcrib'd them Both the Questions and Answers are plain enough and of no great moment yet I think Bale's Censure a little too severe when he affirms that they are Omnis Evangelii atque Legis Eruditionis vacuae immo ineptissimae In truth Venerable Bede is the only Person of those Times that deserves the Name of an Ecclesiastical Historian there having not been many of his Cotemporaries furnish'd with either Learning or Judgment sufficient for such an Undertaking The Account which himself gives of his own Life is That he was born within the Territories 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says the Saxon Paraphrase of the Monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul at Weremouth and Jarrow where he was afterwards Educated That he was when Seven Years old committed to the care of Abbot Benedict That he was ordain'd Deacon at Nineteen and Priest at Thirty by St. John of Beverly That from thenceforth he continued still in the same Monastery to the 59th Year of his Age. Here he imploy'd himself in writing Commentaries on the Scriptures and distinct Treatises upon almost every part of Learning most of which are still extant What we are at present concern'd in is his Ecclesiastical History of this Island in Five Books which have had many Impressions in Latin the Language wherein he penn'd them It 's plain he had seen and perused several Chronicles of the English Kings before his own Time witness that Expression Vnde cunctis placuit Regum tempora computantibus c. But he first attempted an Account of their Church-Affairs and kept Correspondence in the other Kingdoms of the Heptarchy the better to enable him to give a true State of Christianity throughout the whole Nation He treats indeed most largely of the Conversion of Northumberland and the progress of Religion in that Kingdom but always intermixes what other Relations he could borrow from Books or learn from such living Testimonies as he believed to be credible Some have censur'd his History as composed with too great partiality favouring on all Occasions the Saxons and depressing the Britains Such a Charge is not wholly groundless He must be pardon'd for stuffing it here and there with thumping Miracles the natural product of the Zeal and Ignorance of his Age Especially since so little Truth was to be had of the Saints of those Days that there was a sort of Necessity of filling up Books of this kind with such pleasant Legends as the Chat of the Country or a good Invention would afford a Man It 's worth our observation that none of the Writers of his own Life have mention'd one single Miracle wrought by him because they had enough of Truth to relate Not but that we may boldly reckon him as a Foreign Minister is said once to have done a much better Saint than many of those Thaumaturgi that we read of in his History There was a Paraphrase very early made of it in the English Saxon Tongue which has been printed together with the
Additions and to insert them appositely translated in their proper places He 'll finish the Pains which Mr. Somner long since took to collate all the Saxon Pieces already printed with the Original MSS. and to correct the Translation He 'll give us necessary Prefaces to the whole subjoin a convenient Glossary and in a word do all that 's requisite to the rendring of such a Work as compleat as we can wish it When this is done we shall have no occasion to search any further for the History of our English-Saxon Church unless the Lives of the Saints of those Times which are very numerous will afford us some little Supplies together with what the Reader will find consider'd in other Chapters I pretend not to any certain Account of the Vitae variorum Sanctorum written by Egwine Bishop of Worcester and Founder of the Abby of Evesham those of Osbert Clarentius Prior of Westminster A. D. 1136. are said to be in the Library of Bennet College and Henry of Huntingdon's in that of the Jesuits at Antwerp There are two Books of these Lives in the Saxon Language in Sir John Cotton's Library whereof the one was written by Aelfric and the other by an Anonymous Author I know not but they may be the same with two small Treatises amongst Junius's Saxon Transcripts de Sanctis in Anglia sepultis His Menologium also which is a Kalender of those ancient Saints and was transcrib'd by him out of two old Copies in the Cottonian and Bennet Libraries is a Piece which he thought highly valuable and which he sometimes refers to under the Titles of Martyrologium and Fasti Anglo-Saxonici Some of their Lives are describ'd at large in the Old Homilies tho' the main of all those Stories comes usually out of Bede's Shop This is observable in the Homilies on St. Edmund and St. Cuthbert in Bodley's Library on St. Cuthbert St. Aetheldrytha St. Bennet junior and St. Oswald in the publick Library at Cambrige on St. Ceadda amongst Mr. Junius's Manuscripts and on St. Cuthbert St. Swithin and St. Ethelgetha in that of Bennet College Other general Historians of this kind besides John of Tynmouth and Capgrave already mention'd we have not many John Wilson's Martyrology is not much to be heeded since an unquestionable Judge of these Matters has thought fit to bestow the Epithet of Nugivendulus upon its Author And I know not what greater regard can be had to Tho. Fuller's great Friend Father Jerome Porter and his Flowers of the Saints Particular Lives may be rank'd in the following Order St. Aldhelm's is most copiously written by W. of Malmesbury whose Fifth Book of the English Bishops is almost intirely upon this Subject It has been lately publish'd both by Dr. Gale and Mr. Wharton whereof the former is said to have imploy'd a careless Amanuensis and the other confesses he transcribed a very faulty Copy Be that Matter as 't will betwixt the two we may hope for an intire Book whereas Father Mabillon gave us only an imperfect Abstract Of what Authority this Writer is to be reckon'd we have already been acquainted 'T is in this Treatise chiefly that this Credit flags and that he falls below himself Pervenisset ad summam Laudem says Dr. Gale si carbasa sua non implesset Poetico farore si veritatem Historia Fabulis officiosis non contaminasset si de splendore dulcedine Aldelmi minus prolixe judicasset We are not sure the like was done for this renown'd Prelate by Egwine Daniel his Cotemporary Bishop of Winchester and Alfred Abbot of Malmesbury tho' Pits affirms it Nor can we tell what 's become of those that were written by Ofmund of Salisbury or Eadmerus which Mabillon vouches for with the same assurance St. Augustine's is reported to have been treated on by Venerable Bede in a very large Volume the Manuscript Copy whereof is said to be in Walter Cope's Library Bede himself says he corrected a false Translation of the Life of St. Anastasius which I am apt to think is the Ground-work of this Story There 's hardly so good an one for Nothelmus's three Treatises of his Life Miracles and Translation which were undertaken at the joint Instances of Bede and Alcuinus 'T is enough that we have a bigger and a less History of him as well as two other like Treatises on his Miracles written by Gotseline sometime Monk of Canterbury the former whereof is publish'd by Mabillon and the latter by Mr. Wharton St. Cedda's was either penn'd by Daniel Bishop of the West-Saxons or which is the same thing to Bale and Pits some Particulars of it were by that Prelate communicated to Bede who took care to transmit them into his Ecclesiastical History St. Cuthbert's has been treated on at large by a great many Hands 'T was first engaged in by Venerable Bede himself in a particular Tract wherein he has omitted no Miracle that could well be swallow'd even by the greedy Faith of his own Age. He wrote it first in Heroic Verse and afterwards in Prose It is also said to have been compiled by Laurence Monk and Precentor of Durham as it certainly was by Reginald another Monk of that Church AB Vsher quotes a Manuscript Life of this Saint collected out of the Irish Histories and there 's another in English Meeter answerable to the foremention'd Latin Poetry in the Right Honourable the Earl of Carlisle's Library at Naworth Many more are in other Libraries But that which I would especially recommend to my Reader for his Diversion and a pleasant Entertainment is the printed Legend of St. Cuthbert with the Antiquities of the Church of Durham which was publish'd by B. R. a Gentleman of the old Lord Fairfax's Retinue but written by one Robert Hegge sometime Fellow of Corpus Christi College in Oxford The latter part of the Title might have been spar'd since there 's not much in it that will any way illustrate the Antiquities of that Church But the Saint's own History is prettily composed in a good orderly Method and handsome Stile intermix'd with great variety of Learning and witty Reflections The Publisher did not do his Author Justice For besides the concealing his Name he omitted a great many considerable Passages all his Quotations and a Learn'd Preface All these Defects have been lately supply'd from the Author 's own Manuscript by Mr. Tanner who has also added some curious Notes and Observations of his own This Piece he has had for some time ready for the Press and methinks the Members of that great Cathedral which owes so much to the Memory of this Saint should encourage and countenance his Pains St. Dunstan's Wonders were as famous in the West as St. Cuthbert's in the North and have been as duly recorded This was first done by Bridferth Monk of Ramsey who was his
Cotemporary and whose Treatise is publish'd in the Antwerp Collection This was afterwards epitomiz'd and beautified with a set of new Miracles by Adalard at the Command of St. Elphegus to whom 't is dedicated This is also publish'd with the former Out of these two and some other Helps Osbern a very Learn'd Monk and Precentor of Canterbury about the Year 1074. compos'd a couple of elegant Treatises in one of which he gives us the Life and in the other the Posthumous Miracles of St. Dunstan The former of these was publish'd by Mr. Wharton and both of them by Monsieur Mabillon St. Edmund King of the East-Angles has been celebrated in Saxon by Abbot Aelfric and in old English by Iohn Lydgate Monk of Bury Both Bale and Pits tell us a formal Story of one Burchardus a Dorsetshire Hermit whose Company was much affected by Fremund Son of King Offa whose Life after he was Martyr'd by the Danes he took the Pains to write and Bale pretends to have seen it This very Life is quoted by John Stow who says 't is the Life of St. Edmund and that Burchard was Secretary to King Offa. 'T was also written by Will. Monk of Croyland and more fully penn'd at the Request of King Aethelred and St. Dunstan by the famous Abbo Floriâ—censis about the Year of our Lord 985. And soon after the Conquest another Book of his Miracles was composed by Arch-deacon Herman The two last are bound up in one Volume with several other Pieces relating to the Monasteries of St. Edmundsbary and Ely St. Elphegas AB of Canterbury who was also murder'd by the Danes is indebted to the above-mention'd Osbern whose two Books on his Passion and Translation are still extant St. Ethelbert was slain by King Offa A. D. 793. and had afterwards the Honour of being reputed a Martyr To him the Old Church of Hereford was dedicated and therefore Gyraldus Cambrensis who was sometime Canon there took the pains to write his Life among many others that his teeming Pen has given us St. Ethelreda commonly call'd St. Audry was the famous Virgin Queen to Egbert King of Northumberland and first Founder of a Religious House at Ely Upon this latter score she has her Life largely treated on by Thomas a Monk of that City part whereof has only been publish'd by Mabillon to whom we are likewise indebted for Wulstan's Life of Saint Ethelwold St. George Though neither Tinmouth nor Capgrave mention him amongst our English Saints yet we meet with him in both our old Saxon Legendaries I cannot promise the Reader that he 'll have any great stock of English History in his Life But 't is written at large by Dr. Heylin who design'd to have oblig'd for ever our Knights of the Garter by such a signal Service to the Memory of the great Guardian Saint and Protectour of their Order Out of this Elaborate Book have been stoln two shorter Accounts of his Life which bear the same Title and are sometimes sold amongst Romances and Ballads St. Guthlac the Tutelar Saint of Croyland had his Austerities early discribed by Faelix a Monk of that Place about the Year 730. who has the Honour to be quoted by our Learned Camden as a Poet fortunate enough in his descriptions tho' Bale is pleased to give this harsh Character of him Fictis Narratiunculis immo manifestissimis mendaciis Historiam Monachico more implevit The like was done in Latine Heroics by Will Ramsey who dy'd Abbot of that Monastery A. D. 1180. of whom Leland who was a good Judge of Poetry gives this Account that he was Poeta tam barbaro Saeculo clarus We are told of a third by Aelfric in the Cottonian Library which I guess to be that Saxon Translation of Felix's Book which is mentioned by Archbishop Vsher. We are further assured by Mr. Pits that both Ingulfus and M. Paris wrote of the Life and Miracles of St. Guthlac but I dare hardly rely upon his single Authority St. Frideswide's exemplary Chastity is recommended to Posterity by Philip sometimes Prior of her Monastery in Oxford whereof there 's a fair MS. Copy in the Library of Jesus College in that University St. John of Beverley's History was first written at the request of Aldred Arch-bishop of York by Folcard a Benedictine Monk about the Year 1066. which was enlarg'd by Will Asketel or Chettel Clark of Beverley A. D. 1320. Another draught was taken of him by Alfred Canon and Treasurer of that Church in the beginning of the twelfth Century and a Third or Fourth by an Anonymous Writer about 1373. St. Marcellinus would have been utterly forgotten by our English Historians had not Pits met with him in his Travels beyond Seas and learned from his own printed Works that he was a Dominican Monk of York and one of the twelve Apostles sent by Abbot Egbert A. D. 690. to convert the Pagan Germans The Particulars of their Mission with their Entertainment in Westphalia Frisland c. we have from his own Pen. St. Neot's Life written by Will Ramsey is in the Library at Magdalene College in Oxford 'T is in Verse but of so low a strain that the Author seems to have failed here of that Spirit which Leland observ'd in his Guthlac The Matter is likewise as fulsome as the composure is flat so that 't is not probable we shall ever see it out of Manuscript I suppose this is the same which is quoted by Leland and some of our later Writers St. Oswald Arch-bishop of York merited highly of the Regular Clergy and therefore 't is no wonder that a Manuscript Copy of his Life was to be had in almost every Monastery of the Kingdom That whereof Eadmerus was the Author which seems to have been collected with good Judgment out of some others that had been written before him is lately published as is also another written by an Anonymous Monk of Ramsey A Third more Voluminous than either of these was compos'd by another Nameless Monk of Ramsey which is now amongst the many more valuable Manuscripts in Sir Jo. Cotton's Library There also as I guess the Reader may meet with his Saxon Legend by Abbot Aelfric But where he 'll find either of those that were penn'd by Folcard or Senatus Bravonius I cannot inform him St. Swithun's miracles were recorded by Lamfrid or Lantfred a Benedictine Monk of Winchester about the Year 980. Of whose Book we are told there was a Manuscript Copy in the Lord Lumley's Library and we are sure there now is one in Sir Jo. Cotten's This treats only of the great things he did after his Death but 't is probable there was a former part of the Discourse which seems also to have
been translated into the old English-Saxon Tongue that took the Story higher The like says Pits was penn'd by Wolstan the same famous Monk of Winchester who about the Year 1000 did as much for St. Ethelwald but I can hear of this piece no where else St. Wilfrid's uneasie Life and Sufferings were first regester'd by Eddius or Heddius a noted Monk of Canterbury whence he was brought by Wilfrid himself to instruct his Quire-men of the Kingdom of Northumberland in the Art of Singing Out of this which is lately publish'd by Dr. Gale there was a second Account taken in Latin Rhime by Fridegod another Monk of the same Church who was put upon the Employment by Odo Archbishop of Canterbury The Arch-bishop himself wrote a Preface to the Book which was omitted by Mabillon but is since published by another and for this Mr. Pits makes him a distinct Writer of St. Wilfrid's Life A Third was written in Prose by Eadmerus and a fourth by Petrus Blesensis dedicated to Jeofrey A. B. of York So that this Petrus Blesensis and Mr. Pit's Petrus Ripponensis tho' he makes them two several Authors are the same Person There is now in my Possession a Latin Manuscript Life of this Saint which perhaps may be the same with the last mention'd It is certainly different from the three first and seems not to have Length enough for that tedious Discourse on this Subject which is said to have been written by one Stephen a Priest and Epitomiz'd by William of Malmesbury It begins Anâ—â— igitur ab Incar natione Verbi Dei Sexceiâ—â—esimo tricesimo quarto and ends with St. Wilfrid's Epitaph in twenty Hexameters St. Wulstan as two of his immediate Predecessors held the Arch-bishoprick of York together with the Bishoprick of Worcester and was Sainted for the same Reasons as St. Oswald There 's a double Account of his Life already publish'd a short one by Hemming a Monk of Worcester and another more at large by the famous Will. of Malmesbury But what 's become of those by Bravonius and M. Paris we know not These are they that make the most considerable Figure in the Saxon Calendar and whose Lives being most amply treated on will afford some Passages that may be of use to our English Historian Nor are the little inferior Saints of those times to be wholly despised by him He 'll meet with abundance of such in the several Voluminous Collections to which we sometimes referr him And I dare promise that in most of 'em he shall frequently discover some hidden Treasure even in the midst of the most drossy Miracles CHAP. III. Of our Church-Historians from the Conquest to the Reformation THE Subject of this Chapter is in a great measure dispatch'd already The general Historians of the Kingdom during this whole Period were mostly Monks and other Church-men who have taken care to Register our Ecclesiastical Transactions as accurately as the Civil and to carry along with them the Affairs of our Church and State together Canon-Law and Appeals to Rome were first brought into England in King Stephen's Reign upon the Debates that arose betwixt the Bishop of Winchester the Pope's Legate and the AB of Canterbury And these soon introduced that Exaltation of the Clergy that they were necessarily in at every thing no Intriegue either of the Court or Camp being to be manag'd without them So that 't is no wonder if after that time our Histories are generally cramm'd with Disputes and other Matters of a purely Ecclesiastical Nature and the main Body of 'em look like the Annals of Saint Peter's Patrimony Odericus or Ordericus Vitalis ends his Ecclesiastical History at the Year 1121. some time before these Alterations happen'd in England He was Monk of St. Eurole's Vtici in Normandy where he lived 56 Years The most of his Thirteen Books are spent in Affairs of the Church within his own Native Country But towards the latter end he has intermix'd a great many Passages that relate to us There are in his Writings two Faults and they are great ones which Lucian of old condemn'd in History For 1. He 's immoderate in the Praise of his Friends and the Dispraise of his Enemies either all Panegyrick or all Satyr Now such Discourses are rightly observed to be strangely monstrous and unnatural Productions They want Meeter to become Poems and Truth to make them just Histories 2. He 's too large in his Descriptions of little petit Matters and on the contrary passes too cursorily over some things of such weight as would well endure Reflection and a second Thought We are told of one Richard Pluto who was Monk of Canterbury A. D. 1181. a Writer of the Ecclesiastical History of England which he dedicated to Richard Duke of Normandy Where or what it is I know not But what is hop'd for in that Book may possibly be found in the Burtonenses Annales written I suppose by some Monk of Burton in Staffordshire For it begins with the Foundation of that Monastery A. D. 1004. and ends at the Year 1263. Many Passages in it are borrow'd from Roger Hoveden whom the Author calls Hugh and not a few from M. Paris The latter of these was certainly Cotemporary with this Author whoever he was and they may be to good purpose read together The Reader will meet with a great many remarkable Stories in it that are hardly to be had elsewhere none perhaps having a better Collection of Letters Memorials c. of the Church-History of those Times The Defects of these Annals will be in part supply'd by W. Linwood's Provinciale being a Collection of Canons and Ecclesiastical Constitutions enacted and publish'd by no less than Fourteen Arch-bishops of Canterbury from Stephen Langton inclusively down to Henry Chicheley These give us a View of what Points were chiefly under Debate in the Church for about 200 Years and are rank'd after the Example of the Decretals under several distinct Titles or Common Places having annex'd to them a large Commentary or Gloss of the Learn'd Collector's own composure This Writer was Dr. of Laws Official of Canterbury and at last Bishop of St. Davids after he had been imploy'd by King Henry the Fifth in several Embassies and entrusted with his Privy-Seal The Book was first publish'd by Jodocus Badius and dedicated to Arch-bishop Warham but the Abbreviations in the Original MS. being retain'd in this and two following Editions it was lately reprinted at Oxford much more accurately and correct The Legatine Constitutions of the two Cardinals Otho and Othobon in the Years 1236 and 1268. have been always added to these in the Prints together with the like Commentaries of John Acton or Athon sometime Prebendary of Lincoln The Oxford Edition gives us the Canons of the several Arch-bishops entire and apart as well as in that confusion to which Linwood's Method had reduced them
and it also intermixes some other Edicts of a spiritual kind such as Edward the First 's Statute of Circumspecte Agatis the Decree of the University of Oxford against some Tenets of Wickliff c. Lastly it furnishes us with some other Canons made by Stafford and Waâ—ham which will bring us down as low as the beginning of the Reformation What is here missing may be sought for in Sir Henry Spelman's second Volume of our English Councils which unhappily wanted the finishing Hand of its Author Indeed he was so far from perfecting what he had projected that he is said to have left no more than 57 Sheets of the 200. which are now publish'd under his Name the rest being entirely owing to the indefatigable Pains of our late excellent Antiquary Sir William Dugdale 'T is a pity that the joint Labours of two such great Men as these should stand in need of a third Hand to compleat them And yet the Errors that were committed either in Transcribing or Printing or both are apparently so many that we cannot but earnestly wish that better care may be taken in a second Edition Arch-bishop Sheldon and Chancellour Hide thought such a Structure as this worth the rearing and will none of the present Patrons of our Church think fit to repair it Mr. Somner has long since made a considerable advance toward so good a Work having with great Pains and Accuracy collated the Printed Copy with many of the Original Records and in the Margin amended the infinite Defects This Book is now amongst others of the same worthy Person 's valuable Labours in the Library at Canterbury where it cannot lie much longer in obscurity After the Papal Yoke was thrown off in that great Revolution which was begun in our Church by King Henry the Eighth and finish'd by Queen Elizabeth the Roman Emissaries try'd all imaginable Expedients to reduce us to our former Obedience and amongst others spared no Pains in representing to us the Primitive State of Christianity in this Isle The first of these doughty Champions was Nicholas Harpesfield sometime Arch-Deacon of Canterbury but outed A. D. 1559. for refusing the Oath of Supremacy John Pits says he was afterwards imprison'd So far from it that AB Parker took him into his own particular care and gave him all the assistance he could wish for in compiling what he calls his Ecclesistaical History of the British Church In the first Ages he has lazily follow'd Bede and Malmesbury transcribing the very Errors of such Copies as he met with and not giving himself leisure to examine the Incoherencies in Chronology and other Contradictions that he delivers for good and grave History In after-times he amasses Things together out of the Registraries and other Helps he had at hand without any sort of Order or Form Insomuch that sometimes the Reader is plagued with several Sheets of tedious Impertinences and elsewhere scarce meets with the bare Names of the Prelates for some Ages together Some things are said to have been expunged out of his Original Manuscript by the Licenser of his Book being mostly particular Opinions of his own condemning the Discords Broils and ambitious Poverty of the begging Fryers So that we may probably want the best part of his Work since this would have a little ballanc'd that load of Infamy which he endeavours to lay upon the chief of our Reformers I confess our Oxford Antiquary gives a somewhat different Character of this History Quo quidem in Libro Eruditio an Industria conspicua magis sit haud facile dicendum Vtroque revera Nomine laudandus adeo comparet ut nisi partium studio abductus suorum in Vtilitatem omnia rapuisset haud modice de Republica Literaria meruisset Another Zealous engager in this undertaking was the famous Jesuite Robert Parsons who wrote an Account of the three Conversions of England from Paganism to Christianity in as many little Volumes The first of these he ascribes to St. Peter whom he very Logically proves to have been here because he was not at Rome when St. Paul sent his Epistle thither His story of King Lucius's change is shewn to be borrow'd from Baronius who also tho' he would have been loath to have own'd any such thing had it from the Centuriators The whole seems to have been design'd in answer to Mr. Fox whom he profess'dly opposes throughout a great part of his Second and Third Volumes He represents that Author as a Person very ignorant and very dishonest perverting the Sense in some of his Quotations and mistaking it in others Rich. Smith Titular Bishop of Chalcedon who took upon him to exercise Episcopal Jurisdiction here in the beginning of K. Charles the First 's Reign was not much short of Parsons in Learning and was certainly much his superior in that Candour and fair Dealing which ought to be the Property of an Historian He made very large Collections out of our English Histories which were publish'd in seven Books under the Title of Flores Ecclesiasticae Historiae Gentis Anglorum The whole Volume is rather an indigested heap of Materials than a just and formal History and thus much may be said in it's commendation that it honestly Quotes the Reform'd Writers as well as those of the Author 's own Persuasion After these Flores came out the Annales Ecclesiae Britannicae in four Volumes by Michael Alford a Jesuite whose true Name is said to be Griffith From this Work a late Learn'd Member of our Church has well prov'd how vain and empty are the brags of our Romanists who are frequently valuing themselves upon the great Treasure they have of our Ancient English Records These they say were carry'd off by Monks and other Religious People who were forc'd to fly in the last Age and are now in Salva Custodia in several Monasteries beyond the Seas 'T is much as he unanswerably argues that none of their own Friends should ever reap any Benefit from these mighty Spoils that this same Alford for Example should not have the Advantage of one of those Venerable Instruments to grace his Book but be forced to run on in the beaten Track and fetch all his Quotations from such printed Authors as we poor Hereticks have publish'd for him This is the true state of his Case There 's nothing in him that carries a Face of Antiquity save only some few Shreds that were pick'd up at Lambeth by Harpsfield who has furnish'd him and his Brethren with whatever looks this way Out of this Gentleman and some more of our late publish'd Historians Serenus Cressy compil'd his Church-History which should have been brought down to the Dissolution of Monasteries by K. Henry the Eighth tho' what is publish'd reaches no lower than the Conquest 'T was much wondred by those that had been acquainted with this Learned Person in Oxford before he fled to the Roman
short Letter to the Bishop of London His Quarrel with Doctor Burnet is wholly about Method and the Art of Composure wherein most certainly these two Authors have extreamly differ'd And yet notwithstanding the awkardness of Mr. Lowth's Stile 't is thought the Man himself was not Master of so much Venome and Ill-Nature as appears in his Book But that he had a great share of his spiteful Language put into his Mouth by a warm Neighbour who is now dead and ought to be forgotten The next Assailant was a peevish Gentleman in Masquerade who under the feign'd Name of Anthony Harmer publish'd a Specimen of some Errors and Defects in the History of the Reformation c. As if what he there gives were only a Sample of what he had in store for us when it appears that he has stoop'd to such mean and pitiful Remarks as sufficiently shew that he had pump'd himself to the bottom and that his Malice was upon the Lees. 'T is a great Indignity which some have put upon the Memory of a late most Reverend Learn'd and Pious Prelate in reporting him to have been the Author of that malicious Libel For whatever other unhappy Mistakes he might be guilty of he could never fall so low as to write at such an unmanly and uncharitable Rate The Historian vouchsaf'd this Book a short Answer in a Letter to the Bishop of Litchfield to which the Animadverter made no Reply To those that are still inclin'd to favour the Specimen I shall only say that the whole 150 Particulars therein summ'd up will fall under these six Heads as being either 1. Such aery and superficial Matters as we usually call Impertinencies 2. Some inconsiderable Mistakes of the Printer's or Copiers 3. Others that have a little Weight but might have been corrected without Noise and do not affect the Reformation 4. Some few a very few that do touch upon its Justice and Honour In most of which 't is easie to discern the Affection which the Animadverter pretends to bear it if Apologies for the old Monks and N. Sanders be any Argument of such Affection 5. Others wherein he himself is mistaken 6. Several Objections are raised purely for the sake of Calumny and Reflection These are the Thoughts I had of this Piece upon my first perusal of it and I am throughly confirm'd in them from the successful Pains that has been since taken with it by my modest and industrious Friend Something of a fresh Attaque was afterwards made by one who had set himself to discredit whatever had been publish'd by this Historian And yet all that even such a Writer could find chargeable on his History of the Reformation was only that In a Matter of no great Consequence there was too little Care had in Copying or Examining a Letter writ in a very bad Hand and that there was since probability that Dr. Burnet was mistaken in one of his Conjectures I think I may justly observe thus much of all those that have hitherto endeavour'd to lessen the Repute of this History That they have apparently shewn their Inclinations rather to bespatter the Author than his Work And whatever Success such Persons may meet with in their Attempts they have commonly the Misfortune to discover themselves to be at least Men of like Passions with their Adversary The Reverend Author of these Volumes publish'd also an Abridgment of them wherein the Reader has a full and clear View of the Reformation without any of those Obscurities or Defects that usually attend Works of this kind Take an Account of it in his own Words I have wholly wav'd every thing that belong'd to the Records and the proof of what I relate or to the Confutation of the Falshoods that run through the Popish Historians All that is to be found in the History at large And therefore in this Abridgment every thing is to be taken upon Trust and those that desire a fuller Satisfaction are to seek it in the Volumes I have already published The Memorials of Archbishop Cranmer which were lately publish'd by Mr. Strype shall conclude this Chapter tho' were it not that the Subject rather than the Title of the Book inclines me to bring them in here they would more properly belong to another Place The Writer of them has adhered to Dr. Burnet's Method giving us his own Historical Account in Three Books ending with the several Deaths of Henry the Eighth Edward the Sixth and Queen Mary and in the Conclusion a good Collection of Records Several Things relating to the State of the Church during that Primacy are well Illustrated by him and some Authentick Letters and other Original Papers of Value are discover'd and made publick The only Blemish I know in this Book is what it may be the Author will think its most comely Feature the crowding so much of his other Learning into the Body of his History which instead of entertaining his Readers answerably to his good Design is apt to distract and amuse them Where the Subject is dry and barren a few choice Flowers out of a right Common-place-book are very refreshing provided they are sprinkled with a sparing Hand and a steady Judgment But where the Matter it self is pleasant and diverting all those Embellishments are nauseous and even Tully and Tacitus themselves are troublesome CHAP. V. Histories of our Bishops in general and those of their several Sees THAT Joceline de Fourness an Historian quoted by Stow and Fitzherbert wrote several Books concerning the ancient British Bishops John Pits is very certain But whether he was an English-man or as he rather fancies a Welch-man he dares not be positive One Book indeed of that kind was written by Joceline a Monk of Fourness in Lancashire and is still extant But as the Author himself could not be of any great Age so his Collections seem to have been made out of Histories that were penn'd since the Conquest Of somewhat less Account I fear is that of the Saxon Prelates whereof Ethelwold Bishop of Winchester is said to be the Author whereof a MS. Copy is likewise reported to be in the publick Library at Cambridge After the Conquest the Memoirs of our Bishops were taken by a great many Hands Geoffrey Prior of Winchester about the Year 1100. wrote a Panegyrical Account of them in elegant Verse says Will. of Malmesbury who himself more largely commented upon them in Prose His four first Books were publish'd by Sir Henry Savil from a very faulty Manuscript and his Edition was Copy'd more faultily in that of Francfurt In these we have all that could be had out of the many old Catalogues which swarm'd in our English Monasteries together with what the Author was able to inform us of his own Knowledge touching his Cotemporaries Henry of Huntingdon's Letter to his Friend Walter describes the Prelates of his own Time which immediately succeeded
turn'd into a common Stable by the Rebel Army as it was within ten Years after that into a heap of Rubbish by the dreadful Fire of London NORWICH There are not many Histories of this Diocess All that Mr. Wharton could pick up was out of a couple of General Histories of England written by Bartholomew de Cotton and another anonymous Monk of that Church He quotes indeed a short Chronicle of Norwich in the same Library whence he had the former of these But the late Publisher of the Catalogue of those Manuscripts is mistaken if there be any such Book in the Place referr'd to There is indeed in another Class a piece which bears the Title of Festa synodalia Norwicensis Dioeceseos which begins with St. Foelix the Burgundian their first Bishop The oldest Register-Book which I have yet heard of in this See is that of Bishop Bateman the Magnanimous Founder of Trinity Hall in Cambridge A short Account of the Bishops and Deans of this Church by Tho. Searle A. D. 1659. is among the MSS. of the present worthy Bishop of the Diocess OXFORD is of so late an Erection that it cannot want an absolute and entire History of all its Prelates since its Foundation by Henry the Eighth And we have already observ'd that its Parochial Antiquities preceeding that Time are happily preserv'd by an Ingenious and Learn'd Person who has spar'd no Pains in Collecting out of a vast number of Neighbouring Records and Evidences whatever was worth the Treasuring up and transmitting to Posterity Anth. Wood Collected the Sepulchral and Fenestral Inscriptions of the several Parishes in the County of Oxford which are now amongst those many Papers he left to the University PETERBVRGH was one of the most Rich and Flourishing Monasteries in this Kingdom and was turn'd into one of the poorest Bishopricks by Henry the Eighth The most of those many excellent Histories that concern this Place in its Pristine State have been noted by Mr. Tanner tho' some few have escap'd his great Diligence He has taken no notice of two old Registers given by my Lord Hatton to the Cottonian Library nor of some ancient Grants and Donations to that Monastery He has also omitted Hugh White Abbot of Peterburgh who in Leland's Character is Rerum Petroburgi gestarum luculentus plane Scriptor To these there 's little to be added since the Foundation of the Episcopal See of any great value saving what has been carefully preserv'd in St. Gunton's History which will be this Churches everlasting Monument Some Inscriptions are said indeed to have been defaced before the Survey taken by this Author but those we are told were also to be had amongst the Manuscripts of Franc. Thynne who Collected them in the Year 1592. 'T was happy that Sir William Dugdale and Mr. Gunton drew up their Collections at so seasonable and lucky a time as the Year 1641. For within two years after that in April 1643. this Cathedral was most miserably abused by Cromwell's Regiment who among other shameless outrages broke into the Chapter-House ransack'd the Records broke the Seals tore the Writings and left the floor cover'd over with torn Papers Parchments and Seals ROCHESTER The most venerable Monument of Antiquity that belongs to this Church is the Textus Roffensis which may justly challenge a Respect more than ordinary It was written by Bishop Ernulf who dy'd in the Year 1124. And besides the Affairs of this Cathedral which are accounted for by Mr. Wharton furnishes us with the Laws of four Kentish Kings Ethelbert Hlothere Eadred and Withred omitted by Lambard together with the Saxon Form of Oaths of Fealty and Wager of Law the old Form of cursing by Bell Book and Candle of Ordale c. I suppose this Book was wisely committed to the care of Sir Roger Twisden during the confusions of our late Civil Wars For in his Custody I find it often referr'd to by Sir William Dugdale in a Work which he Compos'd during those Troubles Hadenham and Dene's Histories have been pickt and their choicest Flowers are preserv'd in the Anglia Sacra And the Chronicon Claustri Roffensis is the same with the Textus SALISBVRY Somewhat of the History of the ancient Bishops of Sherburn may be had among L. Noel's Collections and the defects of those down to the Year 1357. may be supply'd from the Chronicle of the Church of Sarum This Chronicle begins at the Creation and has some special Remarks touching the Affairs of our ancient British Church wherein it seems to be singular The Registers also of several of their Bishops as Mortival Wivil Waltham Medford Aiscough and Beauchamp are still extant WINCHESTER There can hardly be any more said of this Ancient and Famous See than what we have from Tho. Rudburn and other Authors lately publish'd out of Sir John Cotton's inexhaustible Treasury Unless for the more modern Times we had that Continuation of the Bishops which was made by John Trussel who brought their History as low as the Sufferings of Bishop Curl and his Order in the beginning of our English Anarchy WORCESTER As this Church was one of the most flourishing in the whole Island under the Government of our Saxon Kings so it had the fortune to preserve its Charters and other Instruments relating to those Times much better than its Neighbours In the Year 1643. Sir William Dugdale drew a Catalogue of no less than 92 such original Donations none whereof fell lower than the Reign of Henry the First To these there have been fifteen more now in the Archives of that Church and not mentioned in the Monasticon added by Dr. Hickes who also believes that among Mr. Lambard's MSS. now in the Archives at Canterbury there are several Saxon Grants belonging to the Church of Worcester After these we are to have recourse to the Anonymous Compilers of the Annals of this Cathedral and the continuation of them by their learn'd Publisher who by the way tells us that Hemming's Book has much more in it than either he or Sir W. Dugdale have given themselves the trouble of transcribing John Rosse the Renown'd Hermit of Guy's Cliff is said to have written a Treatise de Episcopis Wigorniae which I should not much have believed upon the single Credit of my first Author had I not seen the Book it self quoted by our late industrious Naturalist Doctor Plott Some part of Mr. Abingdon's Collection of the Antiquities of Worcestershire mention'd in the former part of this Historical Library is also reported to bear the Title of A History of the Bishops of Worcester which I cannot but once more heartily wish were committed to the Inspection and Care of the Learn'd Dr. Hopkins Prebendary of that Church who we know is throughly versed in the Antiquities of his own
perus'd it For he calls the Author William Budden tho' his Name was certainly John Richard Hall Doctor in Divinity who dy'd at St. Omers in the Year 1604. wrote the Life of John Fisher Bishop of Rochester who could hardly be call'd a Cardinal since his Head was off before the Red Hat pass'd through Calais This Treatise was gravely quoted and referr'd to by Tho. Fuller before as I suppose he had seen it Since he seems to Apologize for his oversight by telling us that 't was a Book which when in Manuscript he priz'd more for its Rarity than since 't is Printed he trusts for its Verity A more modern Author mentions the Life of the same Bishop written by George Lily which I guess is no more than one of the short Characters in his Elogia virorum Illustrium John Jewel's of Salisbury was compos'd by one that was a great Admirer of his Performances against Harding and other Papists Lawrence Humphrey out of whose copious Tract in Latin another small English Account of his Life was afterwards drawn by a Person of Quality as the Author was pleas'd to Style himself These are all the Writers that I know of which have attempted the History of any of our particular Prelates before the end of Queen Elizabeth's Reign which is as low as my Enquiries are to come I do not question but that upon a diligent Search into our English Libraries a good Number may be added to them tho' I cannot hope they will ever prove either so many or so exact as those that have been written of the Bishops since the uniting of the Kingdoms There are few inferiour Clergymen that have had the Honour done them to be remember'd in any special Discourses on their several Lives tho' many of 'em had the chief Places of Trust and Honour in the State conferr'd upon them Within the compass of six or seven Reigns after the Restitution of the Saxon Line we have one Abbot two Deans six Arch-deacons and a Dignitary of St. Paul's Chancellours and Keepers of the great Seal not to mention others in somewhat lower Stations I know not whether that these Men having engaged themselves in the Management of secular Affairs were thought to desert their Clerical Functions or for what other Reason they seem to have been out of the Road of the Monkish Historians Or at least they never look'd upon them as Persons that equally deserv'd their Respect with such as had entirely devoted themselves to the Churche's Service Not one of them as far as I have hitherto learn'd have had their particular Histories nor should we have known that some of 'em had ever liv'd but from the public Records of the state In short I have only a couple of Lives to begin the Account with in this Class for that of Henry Arch-deacon of Huntingdon by Capgrave is not worth the Readers notice or Mine and they both fall within the Reign of Queen Elizabeth and the single Diocess of Durham The former of these is that of Dean Whittyngham one of the sorry Translators of David's Psalms whose Life the Oxford Antiquary tells us he had in Manuscript The other is that of our Northern Apostle Bernard Gilpin Rector of Houghton who had his Life written in elegant Latin by his grateful Scholar Dr. George Carlton Bishop of Chichester There 's one passage in this History which has been ill apply'd by some of its Readers The Refusal of the Bishoprick of Carlile has been interpreted as an Instance and Argument of the good Man's mean opinion of the Order of Episcopacy Whereas not to mention the extraordinary Humility wherewith he is noted to have been endow'd they that know the values of that Bishoprick and the Rectory of Houghton will easily apprehend there might be other Motives to incline one to Modesty upon such an Offer CHAP. VII Of the Histories Chronicles Cartularies c. of our English Monasteries THE great Usefulness of the Leiger Books and other Monastic Records is so apparent to any Man that has had the least acquaintance with them that I need not much insist on so known a Subject The most Eminent of our Historians are visibly indebted to them for their chief Materials and 't is from hence that they are enabled to clear the Descents and Pedigrees of many Noble Families the Tenures of Estates the Ancient Customs of Counties Cities and great Towns the Foundation and Endowment of Churches c. For how sparing or defective soever the old Monks might be in Recording the Public Affairs of the State we are sure they were extreamly diligent in noting down those of their own Monasteries Whence it is that the Histories of those Cathedrals which were anciently in their Possession are the most entire of any in the Kingdom This sufficiently appears from the late Collections of the Publisher of Anglia Sacra who soon furnish'd out one Volume of this sort of Writers but was forced to patch up the second out of a more incoherent Medly of Shreds He would certainly have driven very heavily in the succeeding ones that he had promised since 't is plain his best Fund was already exhausted Nor are these Registers only more particular and full in Matters relating to their own History than that of the Public but they are also much more Authentic and Credible in these They have always been allow'd as good Evidence in our Courts of Judicature and do often effectually determine such Causes as have been thought to labour under in extricable difficulties Their Authority indeed is not so Venerable in those Passages that concern the Grandeur Priviledges and Immunities of their respective Houses where the private Zeal or Interest of the Pen-man may be suspected to have transported him a little beyond the exact Limits of Truth The Monks are rarely so strait-lac'd as to boggle at an Officious Lye and therefore where the Subject will admit of such a pious piece of Knavery they are to be read with Caution and Judgment In reporting the several Grants of their Founders and Benefactors with the Number and Boundaries of the Acres they gave we may readily and safely trust them because an interpolation in such a Case would be hazardous and what might probably destroy an old Title instead of creating a new one But when a Story comes to be told that may advance the Repute of the whole Fraternity or discover the extraordinary Sanctity of a single Brother we are to look for its being set off to the best Advantage and the Historian uses us kindly if he Romances only a little I am apt to believe says Father Simon that these Letters of Christ and King Agbar were really found in the Archives of the City of Edessa But we ought not too easily to give Credit to the first Originals of Churches Every one strives to advance their Antiquity as much as is possible and they make no scruple on such Occasions
to counterfeit Acts when they have none that are true Mr. Wheloâ— quotes an old Saxon Schedule of the endowments of our ancient Monasteries before the Conquest which he says is in the same Volume with King Aelfred's Paraphrastical version of Bede's History in the Cottonian Library and yet the learned Publisher of the Catalogue of those Manuscripts takes no notice of any such Tract in the place where if at all it ought to have been mention'd We are also told of an Historical Account of the Benedictines in England from King Edgar's time to the Conquest which is as high as that Order could be traced in this Kingdom For whatever may be argued to the contrary 't is very plain that our first Saxon Monks knew nothing of St. Bennet's Rule but lived under the Discipline brought from Ireland which was very much different from what was afterwards introduced by St. Dunstan If Augustine himself was of this Order and planted it at Canterbury which is much questioned by very Learn'd Men 't is demonstrable the Rules were soon forgotten or laid aside even in the southern Parts of the Island and in the North Columbanus and the Men of Hy were the Founders of all our Monastic Schemes After the Norman Invasion we had several Members of particular Monasteries that apply'd themselves to write the Histories of their own Houses but few that had any such concern for the Honour of their Orders in general The first I can hear of was Henry Crump a Cistertian Monk about the Year 1380 and Dr. of Divinity in the University of Oxford who wrote an Account of the Foundation of all the Monasteries of England from the time of St. â—irin the first Bishop of Dorchester down to that of Bishop 〈◊〉 But 't is to be fear'd this is now lost since it could not be found by one whom hardly any thing of that kind could escape After him John Boston a Monk of St. Edmondsbury who will be remember'd hereafter on another Occasion Collected the Histories of the Foundations of his own and some other Religious Orders which I suppose was done in those three Books which bore the Title of Speculum Coenobitarum The next Writer on this Subject was William Buttoner who is also named Buttonius and William of Worcester who is said to have written De Civitatibus Monasteriis Abbatiis deque Longitudine Latitudine eorum which Treatise we are assured is in the Library of Bennet College I am very confident that the Topographical Description of England which has been already mention'd in the first part is the whole of this Gentleman's Labours and that this Treatise has been sub-divided into 〈◊〉 deal of lesser Tracts such as his Itinerary of Bristol History of Osney c. by the same Powers that sliced the Man himself into three several Authors Sir Henry Savile did certainly make a draught of a future History of the English Monasteries but is supposed to have laid aside those Thoughts upon John Speed's intermixing something of that Nature in his General History The Annual Revenues of the Abbies c. in Speed were had from Sir Robert Cotton whose Copy has a double Valuation of computed and clear Profits whereof the former is only given by Speed and the latter by Dugdale The Reason why the former of these Writers is so frequently mistaken in assigning the right Counties to the several Monasteries was because he follow'd the List brought in by Cromwell's Commissioners who were chiefly sollicitous in learning the Value and Income without being too nice in the Topographical part of their Account This is what we have from a very learn'd Pen To which let me add what another worthy Person who has been very happy in his searches into these Matters has further told us That Catalogue he observes was drawn up by William Burton out of Leland's Papers and the Original Book of Valuations which Book differs indeed from that ancient Copy which Sir William Dugdale transcrib'd from the Cottonian Library Nor are these to be reconcil'd by deducting of Reprises as appears from the History of those in Dugdale's Warwickshire where all those common Burthens of Pensions Corrodies Alms c. are summ'd up so that he inclines to the Opinion that there were several Rates taken of our Monasteries upon various Surveys and at different Times especially since he meets with some Valuations in Leland's Notes that will not agree with either of these Richard Broughton who has been once remember'd before wrote a small Book of indigested Tales which he entitl'd Monasticon Britannicum or A Historical Narration of the first Founding and flourishing State of the Ancient Monasteries Religious Rules and Orders of Great Britain in the Times of the Britains and Primitive Church of the Saxons c. This was printed a dozen Years after the Death of the Author by some of his Friends so that 't is probable we have it much more imperfect than he intended and in such an unfinish'd Condition as the mistaken Kindness of Executors too frequently send things abroad The same Year was publish'd the First Volume of the famous Monasticon Anglicanum to which a Second and Third were afterwards added The two former of these were as the Title-Pages will inform us owing to the joint Labours of Sir Will. Dugdale and Mr. Dodsworth who had also the Assistance of a great many other eminent Antiquaries and Well-wishers to our English History These were indeed chiefly the Work of R. Dodsworth whose Father was Register at York and Dugdale had only so much share in it Vt Authoris alterius Titulum optime meritus sit as Sir John Marsham expresses it That is as the Oxford-Antiquary explains it to us He took care in the Methodizing and Publishing of them in Correcting the Sheets at the Press and in Composing very useful Indexes Accordingly tho' Dodsworth was dead before the printing of the First Volume yet he has the glory given him in the Title of the principal Author of both Tomes The former of these gives us the Records of the Benedictine Monasteries and their Off-spring the Cluniacenses Cistertians and Carthusians And the latter affords those of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine Hospitalers Templars Gilbertines Praemanstratenses and the Maturines or Trinitarians We have in them the Remains of all those Orders digested into a good Method without any thing intermix'd either by the Collector or Publisher The Latin Pieces are printed off exactly as they found them and those in Saxon as also Leland's English Notes were translated by Will. Somner The Collector ought to be reckon'd amongst those worthy Benefactors to the Publick that have made it their Business to preserve our ancient Historians such as Twisden Fell Gale c. Great and many are the Advantages which all the several Branches of our History not only in Ecclesiastical but Civil and Martial Occurrences will derive from this
of greatest note since the Reformation were penn'd by Tho. White alias Woodhop a Monk of Doway where he dy'd of the Plague in 1654. A Manuscript Copy of this was in Mr. Wood's possession and I suppose is now among those Books that he Bequeath'd to the University in the Musaeum at Oxford But the chief of our Historians of this Order was Clement Reyner whose elaborate Book is Entitl'd Apostolatus Benedictinorum in Anglia sive Decerptatio Historica de Antiquitate Ordinis Congregationisque Monachorum Nigrorum in Anglia His Business is to prove that the Order was brought hither by Augustine Arch-bishop of Canterbury and he is thought by some of our best Antiquaries to have effectually prov'd his Point and to have fairly Answer'd all the Objections against it He is said to have had great helps from the Collections made by John Jones or Leander de Sancto Martino as he nam'd himself Prior of St. Gregory's and Publick Professor of Divinity at Doway who sojourning sometime in England with his heretofore Chamber-fellow Arch-bishop Laud had frequent access to the Cotton-Library where he transcrib'd whatever he could find that related to the History aâ—d Antiquities of his own Order Others say that the most of the Collections out of this Library which were used by our Author Reyner were made by Augustine Baker another Monk of Doway who left several Volumes in Folio of Select Matters very serviceable towards the Illustrating of this and other parts of our English History However it was Sir Thomas Bodley's Library was thought the most proper Magazine to furnish out Artillery against the Man that had already seiz'd on that of Sir Robert Cotton and to this purpose Father John Barnes a Brother Benedictine but of different Sentiments with Reyner betakes himself to Oxford and there Composes a sharp Refutation of the Apostolatus This was very ill resented by those of the Fraternity and other Members of the Roman Church And they had some reason to be Angry at one of their own Body's using the Book more Scurvily than any of the Protestant Writers had done There are several Learn'd Foreigners in France and Flanders that have lately made very Voluminous Collections of the Acta Benedictinorum in General wherein are some Tracts written by English-Men and such as wholly treat on our own Historical Matters These have been occasionally mention'd in other parts of this Work And my Design will not allow me to consider them any further The Cistercians may be reckon'd one of our own Orders For tho' they came not into this Kingdom 'till almost a Hundred Years after their first Formation they were founded by Robert Harding an English-Man Hugh Kirkstede or rather Kirkstall was a Monk of this Order about the Year 1220. and collected the Memoirs of all the English that had been of it which he Dedicated to John Abbot of Fountains This is attested by Leland who acquaints us further that in the Library at Rippon he saw his Book entitl'd Historia rerum a Monachis Cisterciensibus gestarum Bale tells us that he was greatly assisted in this Work by Serlo Abbat of Fountains about the Year 1160. And because there appears to be a good distance betwixt the reputed Times of these two Writers he assures us that Hugh liv'd very near a hundred Year I am apt to believe that Serlo was the sole Author of another Treatise ascrib'd to this Monk De Origine Fontani Coenobij and that this is the true bottom of Bale's fine Contrivance The Canons Regular of St. Augustine pretend to be Founded by that famous Father and Bishop of Hippo whose Name they bear But they are of no great Antiquity Here all our Historians agreeing in this tho' they disagree about the precise time that they came into England since the Conquest The first of their Historiographers was Jeoffrey Hardib Canon of Leicester and Privy Councellour to King Edward the Third in the Year 1360. who was an eminent Preacher a great Divine and amongst many other things wrote De rebus gestis Ordinis sui The next and the last that I know of was John Capgrave who was sometime Provincial of the Order and he alotted one his many Volumes the Subject De Illustribus Viris Ordinis S. Augustini The Dominicans Franciscans and other Mendicant Friers having had no Lands had no occasion for Leiger-Books But I know not why we should not have better Remains of their History Penn'd by themselves since 't was no part of their Vow that they should so far renounce the World as not to have their good Works had in remembrance The Story of the settlement of the Order of St. Francis in England being confirm'd by Henry the Third in the Year 1224 is written by Tho. Ecleston whose Book De adventu Minorum in Angliam is in several of our Libraries Mr. Pits says he wrote also another Book De Ordinis impugnatione per Dominicanos Which I am afraid is only a part of the former for they had Battail given soon after their first Landing Their History afterwards is pretty well accounted for by Fran. a Sancta Clara and we have a formal Register of that Colony of them that was seated in London with some Fragments of those of other Places The Records of the University of Oxford with those in the Neighbourhood have afforded us a diverting View of their frequent Bickerings with the Dominicans in our publick Schools which for an Age or two make up a good share of the Annals of that Place The Carmelites have likewise had some few of their Fraternity who have taken the pains to enquire into the History of that Order of whom William of Coventry about the Year 1360. wrote de Adventu Carmelitarum in Angliam Bale quotes some of his Words and Writes as if he had seen his Book About a Hundred Years after this Will. Green a Cambridg-Man collected out of the most of the Libraries in England the noted Exploits of the great Men of this Order which he afterwards published under the Title of Hagiologium Carmelitarum And lastly Robert Bale a Carmelite Fryar at Norwich and afterwards Prior of Burnham where he dy'd A. D. 1503. wrote Annales Breves Ordinis sui 'T is much that this Gentleman's name-sake the famous Mr. John Bale never penn'd any thing of this kind For he was also a Carmelite of Norwich and assures us in the Account he gives of his own dear Self in the Tail of his Writers that the Libraries of that Order were the chief Treasury out of which he had his Riches Perhaps he did Write some such Thing but did not afterwards think fit to own the Respects he once had for those Antichristian Locusts as he there most greatefully calls them CHAP. VIII Of the Histories of our Vniversities and Writers WHAT Sir John Marsham says of the old
seems soon after this to have written particularly of the Antiquities of Oxford besides the Treatise he left upon the two Universities in common for such a Book of his Leland refers to tho' he gives the Author of it the tart Character of Vir majoris longe Diligentiae quam Judicii 'T is perhaps the same which we elsewhere meet with under the Title of Contra Historiolam Cantabrigiensem About the same time or it may be a little sooner William Wircester Worcester or Buttoner wrote his Polyandrum Oxoniensium c. wherein he gave a List of all the eminent Persons that had been educated in this University which might possibly be had amongst Brian Twine's Collections The first Champion that appear'd in the Cause against Cambridge was Tho. Key Master of University College who having for some time been employ'd in the Registrary's Office was the best acquainted with the public Instruments and Records His Assertio Antiquitatis Oxoniensis Academiae was written in Defence of this University in opposition to what had been advanc'd two years before by the public Orator of Cambridge who in an Harangue to Queen Elizabeth had affirm'd his own Mother to be the Elder Sister of the two That Princess coming afterwards to Oxford the foresaid Treatise was hastily drawn up and presented to Her in Manuscript And a Copy of it falling afterwards into the hands of Dr. Caius it was publish'd with his Answer which will be further mention'd anon This usuage provok'd the Author to take more leisure in Composing a Reply which he communicated to several of his Friends under the Title of Examen Judicii Cantrabrigiensis cujusdam qui se Londinensem dicit nuper de Origine utriusque Academiae lati Mr. Wood says he once met with a Transcript of this Book and found some things in it worth his observation but he could not direct his Reader where it was afterwards to be had and speaks so coldly of it that the obscure owner in whose hands he saw it does not appear to be worth the enquiring after He rather offers to our perusal the Mystical Oxon. of Oxonford c. by Henry Lyte which he says is amongst Twine's Manuscripts at Oxford and has several Crotchets in it which may be serviceable to the Man that shall hereafter engage in these weighty Disputes To these fanciful pieces may be added the Laudes Academiae Parisinoe Oxoniensis by the eminently learned Dr. Alberic Gentilis whose Panegyrick on this University is penn'd with the like accuracy as the other Works of that noted Author After him follows Isaac Wake 's Rex Platonicus wherein the Author who was then publick Orator afterwards a Knight and Ambassador elegantly describes the Entertainment given by the University to King James the First and occasionally intermixes the History and Antiquities of the whole and all its parts Brian Twine Fellow of Corpus Christi and sometime Custos Archivorum to the University made a more diligent search into the History and Records of this place than any of the former and oblig'd the Lovers of these Studies with his Antiquitatis Academiae Oxoniensis Apologia which in three Books very amply refutes all Dr. Caius's Arguments for the Seniority of his Cantabrigians The industrious Author intended another Edition of this Book and to that purpose had largely augmented an interleav'd Copy which 't is suppos'd was lost during those unhappy Confusions which at first retarded the publishing of it What is printed has been censur'd as an Heap rather than a Pile and the Writer himself declar'd to be no methodical Antiquary And yet how strangely different are the Judgments of Men of contrary Affections and Interests this is the Character we have of the Book from another hand In eo libro praeter Subactissimum Judicium etiam varia Lectionis indicia passim sparguntur The same year with this Apology was publish'd Ilium in Italiam written by John Sansbury of St. John's College wherein are the Arms of the several Colleges in this University and Verses upon them 'T is not much more considerable than what not long before was written at Rome by Nich. Fitzherbert a Reteiner to Cardinal Allen and was there printed under the Title of Oxoniensis in Anglia Academiae Descriptio A slight Discourse on the Oxford-Antiquities by way of Letter to a Friend was penn'd by Dr. Leonard Hutton who dy'd Canon of Christ-Church A. D. 1632. and left also behind him a Manuscript Treatise in Latin entitl'd Historia Fundationum Ecclesiae Christi Oxon. una cum Episcoporum Decanorum Canonicorum Ejusdem Catalogo Of the like Complection with the latter of these Meager in it self and of a narrow Subject is Dr. Savage's Ballio-Fergus which pretends to give a true History of all the great Men that have been Members of Baliol College whereof the Author was Master This Writer is observ'd to have had a Genius somewhat averse to the Business he was here engag'd in being too much a Courtier to turn Antiquary so that having also a very imperfect stock of Materials 't was no wonder that a great many Errors and Defects were discover'd in his Book that Duns Scotus for example was transplanted hither from Merton and Bishop Tonstal wholly overlook'd The Notitia Academiae Oxoniensis was the Work of the late learned Mr. Fulman who also began the History of his own College Corpus Christi but did not live to finish it for the Press Above all this famous University is chiefly indebted to the indefatigable pains of honest Anthony Wood whose Industry joyn'd with Camden's Learning and Judgment would have made a compleat English Antiquary His Historia Antiquitates Vniversitatis Oxoniensis gives abundantly more than the whole Tribe of the foremention'd Authors could afford us and in two large Books runs through every particular of her Story In the former of these we have her Annals from the eldest date of her Records down to the Year 1648. wherein our ancient British Government Religion Liberties Laws and Learning were all sacrificed together The Confusions that ensu'd and continu'd for above eleven long Years after King Charles's Martyrdom made a Scene too Tragical and therefore our Historian wisely drop'd the Curtain before Ignorance had entirely usurp'd the Schools Blasphemy the Pulpits and Oliver the Throne The latter Book presents us with an Account of the Foundations Endowments c. of the Publick Lectures Library Colleges and Halls with a List of their Benefactors Governours and eminent Writers To which is added a Catalogue of the Chancellors Vice-Chancellors Proctors Stewards and Representatives in Parliament This Work was first penn'd in English and translated into Latin by several Persons appointed by the Curators of the Press So that the Style is not very uniform and sometimes the original Sense a little mistaken and perverted Some instances of these failures are given by a late Learned
endear'd themselves to Posterity and to have made their Labours for ever valuable We are extreamly indebted to those pious Princes and generous Heroes that either in the East or Western Parts of the Kingdom have afforded us such noble advantages of Education in all sorts of Learning as no other Nation can pretend to and perhaps we cannot be more injurious to their Memories than by clogging their true Story with Fables Fancies and Forgeries Instead therefore of raking in their Ashes and rifling their Sepulchres to prove them Men of Gigantick Stature instead of refineing upon their History till we have turn'd it into Romance we should pay them more grateful and real Honours if being content with such Remains of them as we know are Genuine we employ'd more of our Time in letting the World see what use has been made of their Benefits how much the several Branches of the unforbidden Tree of Knowledge have thriven under the Influences of their Charity what mighty Numbers of great Doctors and Masters in all Faculties have been fed at their Expence and flourish'd by their Bounty 'T is true our Universities were not always the sole Fountains of good Literature in this Island many of our eminent Writers having had their Education in Monasteries But since St. John of Beverly has been made a Member of that at Oxford and venerable Bede a Student at Cambridge I wish they had rank'd all our antient Men of Knowledge on one Hand or the other provided they had given us full Accounts of their Persons and Labours I think we may without Vanity affirm that hardly any Kingdom in the World has outdone England either in the Number or Goodness of her Authors and that even in the darkest Ages our Lamps shone always as bright as any in our Neighbourhood When School-Divinity was in Fashion we had our Doctores Subtiles Irrefragabiles c. and as Learning grew to a better Ripeness and Stature we had plenty of good Books in other as useful Sciences The first that attempted the History of our Writers was John Boston a Monk of St. Edmundsbury A. D. 1410. who having view'd most of the Libraries in England drew a Catalogue of all the British Authors and gave short censures upon them He could hardly have flourish'd so early as Pits here speaks of if his Progress was as a later Writer informs us in the Reign of King Henry the Seventh But we shall not quarrel with him for such small Mistakes as this He ought indeed to have been a little better vers'd in the Story of his great Grandfather for the three following Johns Leland Bale and Pits handed from one another what was first borrow'd from him Arch-bishop Vsher had the most curious MS. Copy of his Book And our Oxford Antiquary cites another smaller Catalogue of the same Author's Composure Whether Alanus de Linna Prior of a Carmolite Monastery at Lyn in Norfolk A. D. 1420. did enlarge this Catalogue or the other I dare not determine Possibly he only made an Index to them as he did to forty other Volumes in the Library at Norwich The next that thought this Matter worth his consideration was John Leland who was indeed an extraordinary Person having besides his being a great Master in Poetry attain'd to a good share of Knowledge in the Greek Latin Welsh Saxon Italian French and Spanish Languages In the Year 1534. King Henry the Eighth gave him a Commission to Search all the Libraries of England and to make what Collections he thought Good in which Employment he Spent Six whole Years He afterwards turn'd Protestant and was siez'd with a Frenzy losing says my Author very uncharitably his Understanding with his Faith In this Condition he dy'd at London A. D. 1552. leaving a vast number of Historical Treatises behind him Amongst these the most valuable at least that which we are now chiefly concern'd to enquire after is said to have been entitl'd De Illustribus Britanniae Scriptoribus containing the Lives and Characters of most of the eminent Writers of this Kingdom This Work is now in the publick Library at Oxford where it makes the fourth Volume of his Collectanea being 354 Pages in Folio given by Will. Burton to that University John Bale was a Suffolk-Man sometime Scholar in Jesus College in Cambridge and afterwards a Carmelite Friar in Norwich He was as he says converted from Popery by the procurement of Thomas Lord Wentworth tho' in truth his wife Dorothy seems to have had as great Hand in that happy Work In the Year 1552. he was made Bishop of Ossory in Ireland But returning from Exile in Queen Elizabeth's Reign he did not think it advisable to go any more into that Kingdom contenting himself with a Prebend of Canterbury where he dy'd A. D. 1563. His Summarium Illustrium Majoris Britanniae Scriptorum was first presented to King Edward the Sixth and contain'd only five Centuries of Writers To these he afterwards added three more and made several Corrections and Additions throughout the whole Book The Ground-plot of this Work as has been observ'd was borrow'd from Leland and the chief of his own Superstructure is malicious and bitter Invectives against the Papists The Character which a late learned Person gives of him and his Writings is too just Veritas Balaeo Parum curae erat dummodo Romanae Ecclesiae Inimicorum Numerum augere posset And again Clausis plerunque oculis Scriptorum Anglicorum aetates definivit Some have thought his making Books of some little Saxon Epistles excusable and what would admit of an Apology But if we mark him well he 's continually multiplying the Writings of all his Authors at a very unsufferable and unjustifiable rate In Opposition to Bale's hard Treatment of the Romanists came forth J. P's Relat. Histor de rebus Anglicis Tom. 1. c. which is the same Book with that usually quoted by the Name of Pitseus de Scriptoribus This Author Stuy'd in New-College in Oxford and was at last Dean of Liverdune in Lorain where he dy'd A. D. 1616. Tho' he quotes Leland with great Familiarity and Assurance 't is very probable he never saw any such thing as his Collectanea de Scriptoribus but that his only true Author for all he pretends to bring out of that Store-house was John Bale himself His Latin is clean enough and his giving an Account of some eminent Popish Writers that liv'd beyond Sea in the beginning of the Reformation is an acceptable Piece of Service Mr. Wood has taken the pains to Correct a great many of his Mistakes and might have noted some hundreds more He must needs have been too much in hast to write accurately who even in the Catalogue he gives of his own Uncle Nich. Sanders's Writings is guilty of so gross an Error as to reckon the Treatise entitl'd Fidelis Servi subdito infideli responsio
among that infamous Writer's Works when on the contrary the Book was written against him and he 's the Subditus Infidelis mention'd in the Title-page Our Writers of these two last Ages have been pretty well accounted for by the late industrious Anthony Wood whos 's Athenae Oxonienses give us a large Collection of Reports good and bad of the most minute Circumstances of almost all the Authors that have flourish'd in either of our Universities since the Year 1500. The Writer of these two Volumes or his Friend who penn'd the Prefaces for him thought it convenient to excuse the extraordinary Respect he paid to the Members of the Roman Communion telling us that he had found those the most communicative as on the contrary the Fanaticks were generally the most reserv'd and morose Some fancy'd there were other secret Reasons for these mutual Civilities betwixt the Gentlemen of that Persuasion and our Author who by his long conversation amongst them was thought to be a little too deeply tinctur'd with their Principles 'T will be a difficult Task to prove him a Papist from any thing that he has here advanc'd since in some places he falls as foul on those People as his Praises of 'em are extravagant in others The truth is His Books are little more than a Medly of Notes and such Informations as were sent in from his several Correspondents without being digested into any other method than the throwing them under that particular Author's Name to whom they chiefly related 'T is no Blemish on his Memory to observe that he had his share of that Peevishness and Austerity both in his Stile and Manners which is commonly incident to Antiquaries and thus much we ought gratefully to acknowledge that he has furnish'd us with a larger Stock of useful Materials than perhaps any one Man of this Age has Collected If he was too sullen among Courtiers he paid sufficiently for all the Liberty he took and 't is illegal to object a Crime for which a suitable Penance has been already enjoyn'd and perform'd It were highly to be wish'd that we had a general Account of all our Writers done with the like accuracy and exactness as those of Oxford for the last 200 Years are in these two Volumes but in somewhat better and more polite Air And I think I may boldly promise the Reader that this will be abundantly perform'd by Mr. Tanner who has diligently compar'd Leland's Original Manuscript with the scandalously false Copies that have been given of it by Bale and Pits He has Corrected innumerable Errors in all the three and has made those many and large Additions to all that they could tell us that we shall have reason to look upon the Work as entirely new and his own The obliging Pains that have been taken by this worthy Person on that Subject have render'd him better qualify'd to give an Account of our English Historians than I can pretend to be and I wish I had early enough thought of recommending the Task to him But his great Candour in remarking the Omissions and Mistakes in my former Part encourages me to hope that he will as kindly review this and then I shall not question but they will both become more serviceable than without such an Assistance I could ever have made them The End of the Second Part. AN INDEX OF THE Authors in the Second Part. The Capital Figures refer to the Preface A. Abbo Floriacensis Pag. 52. Abingdon 151 Adalard 51 Adam 75 Adeodatus 118 Aelfric 45 51 54 57. Albanensis 24 Albert Pruss 74 Alcuinus 152 Alfred Malmsburiensis 47 Beverlac xxvi 55 Alford 71 Allen xxiv Andreas xlv Anglicus 22 Aquaepontanus 85 St. Asaph 27 Ashmole 141 Asketel 55 Avesbury xxxviii Augustine 5 33 Ayscue xxxii B. Bacon xlvii 74 Baker 196 Bale 160 201 Barden 169 Barnes xxxix 21 Basire 20 Battely xvi Bede 34 47 48 Benedict xxxvi 26 78 Beulanius xvii xx Biondi xliii Birchington 121 132 Blaneford xxxviii Blegorede xxi Blesensis xxxvi 59 Boseham 76 Boston 182 225 Bracland 76 Brady xxxii xlii Bramhal 164 Bravonius 57 60 Bridferth 50 Bridgewater 85 Britannus xvii xx British Laws xxi Brome xxvii Broughton 11 184 Budden 163 172 Burhil 207 Buriensis 108 Burchardus 51 Burnet 88 98 104 Burton 184 Burtonenses Annales 63 Buttoner 182 209 C. Caius xiii 210 212 219 Cambrensis 26 28 52 75 165 168 Cantabrigiensis Historiola 217 Cantelupe 218 Capgrave 31 171 175 199 Cardiffe xxii Carlton 176 Carnotensis 73 77 79 Cavendish 166 Caxton xxiii 31 Chancey 84 Chartham 162 Chaundler 170 du Chesne xxxv Chesterton 140 Chettel 55 Clapham xxxii Clara 200 Clarentius 44 Clerk xlviii Colman xi Corbet xiv Cosin 92 Cotton xiv 12 144 183 Coventriensis 200 Cressy 72 Croylandensis Will. 52 Faelix 54 Roger 78 Crump 181 D. Daniel 47 Davies 130 Dene 148 Dent xiii Devisiensis xxxvii Deusdedit 118 D'Ewes xv Diceto xxxvi 107 119 Digges xlvii Dinoth 6 126 Dodsworth 154 185 Dorobernensis 119 Drayton xi Duck 162 Dugdale 66 90 143 184 185 Dunelmensis Laur. 49 128 Simeon 128 152 Reginald 49 Nicolas 74 Dunstable 24 E. Eadmerus 47 57 59 Ecleston 199 Eddius 58 Edwards 164 Egwine 44 47 Elerius 30 Eliensis Tho. 53 Elmham xlv Elwamus 4 Enderby xxiii Enquerrant xliv Ernulph 147 Ethelwold 106 Eversden 108 d' Ewes 222 Eveshamensis xli 77 Eulogium xxxi Exoniensis 77 F. Felix 54 Fenn 85 Fitzherbert 213 Fitzstephen 77 Folcard 55 57 Fox 81 Fridegod 59 Froissard xxxix Fuller 91 222 Fulman 214 G. Gardiner xvi Gemeticensis xxxv Gentilis 211 Gibbon 85 Gibson 113 Gillingham 193 Godwine 109 Good 23 Gotseline 48 118 Gourmelene 25 St. Graal 7 le Grand 99 Grandison 79 133 Green 200 Greystanes 128 Guntan 146 H. Hadenham 148 Hales 78 Hall 172 Hardib 198 Hare 206 217 Harmer 101 Harpesfield 67 82 Harrington 113 Hatcher 223 Hayward xxxiv xlvii Hegge 49 Hemmingford xxxviii Hemming 60 150 Herbert 188 Herd xlv Herman 52 Heylin 53 92 94 Heywood xlvi Hildyard xvi Holland 143 Hooker 133 Hopkins 151 Hoscham 77 79 Humphery 173 Huntington 44 107 Hutten 213 Hutton 154 I. James 80 Ingulfus 55 Johnson 170 Jones 195 Josceline 27 28 106 Joseph of Atimathea 2 Josseline 111 121 171 Iscanus 77 Junius 43 K. Key 212 220 Kirkstall 197 Kirkstede 197 Knighton xli Kynder xiv L. Laire xiv Landavensis 26 28 Langhorn xxiv Langtoft xxxvii Langton 78 119 Lantfred 58 Lavingham 39 Leland 109 205 219 226 Lichfedense Chron. 140 Lily 173 Linna 226 Linwood 64 Livius xliv Lloyd 15 Londinensis xxx 220 Lowth 100 Lucius 3 Lydgate 25 51 Lyte 211 M. Mackenzie 14 16 17 20 Maidstone xl 166 Maihew 194 Malmsbury 46 60 107 Marcellinus 56 Markant 219 Marsham xii 17 Martyn 170 Mason 111 Maurice xxii May xxxv xxxix Medvinus 4 Mela x Merlyn xviii Monmouth xxvi Montacute 108 Moryson xlvii Mushens 86 N. Nennius xvii xx Neve xv Noel 148 Nothelmus 47 O. Ocland xxxi xlvi Odo 59 Ogilby xi Osbern 51 52
of the old Saxon Sonnets of St. Aldhelm's Hymns and other Musical Composures c. And yet we have a pretty good stock of their Laws and Historical Treatises and those that have been conversant in 'em do not think they have thrown away their time upon so ignoble a Subject as some may fansie it Before a just Sentence could be pass'd in this case the Judge ought to have had the leisure and patience to have made himself a perfect Master of the Saxon Language which he might do either in the method prescrib'd by Mr. Lambard or Dr. Hickes To this purpose it had been convenient that he had furnish'd himself in the first place with a Saxon Grammar since our Tongue is now very much alter'd in the Construction and Termination of such words as we still retain from that of our Ancestors Whether the Monks of Tavistoke who as Camden tells us had a Saxon Lecture in their Monastery ever compil'd any thing of this kind is not known tho it has been lately reported that in the beginning of the Civil Wars there was such a Grammar there printed The first attempt towards it that we hear of was by Mr. John Josseline Archbishop Parker's Secretary who drew up a Specimen which is now hardly to be met with Mr. Somner prefix'd some short Grammatical Rules to his Dictionary but Mr. Junius did not as far as I could ever learn bend his thoughts that way Bishop Fell was earnest with Dr Marshall late Rector of Lincoln-College to draw up a Grammar and he devolv'd the work upon one much more unfit for the employment who had made some Collections to that purpose His endeavours were superseded by the excellent performance of Dr. Hickes who has publish'd his Institutiones Grammaticae Anglo-Saxonicae c. The Book discovers an Accuracy in this Language beyond the Attainments of any that had gone before him in that Study and will be of most necessary use to such as shall apply themselves to the right understanding of the ancient History and Laws of this Kingdom But as all first Draughts of any sort are usually Imperfect so there seem to be some Defects in this that may be supply'd For Example There wants a Chapter of the variety of Dialects which might have been had out of the Northern Interlineary Versions of the Gospel mention'd by Doctor Marshall One whereof is peremptorily affirm'd to have belong'd to St. Cuthbert as the other in all likelihood did to Venerable Bede After the Grammar is well and carefully perus'd the next Enquiry ought to be after such Dictionaries as have been written in the Saxon Tongue whereof we shall meet with as great plenty as we did in the British We find that even in those Barbarous Ages they had some few men of Learning who collected several Vocabularies in Saxon and Latin for the use of their School-boys Some of these are still remaining having been carefully pick'd up and transcrib'd by Mr. Junius The chief of them are the two that bear the Name of the learned Aelfric whereof the worse was printed with his Grammar in the end of Mr. Somner's Dictionary the better still continuing in Manuscript notwithstanding Mr. Wharton's Remark to the contrary both in Cotton's Library and in that of St. John's College in Oxford as well as amongst Junius's Transcripts Out of these and other helps the most Industrious of our English Antiquaries have compil'd their Saxon Dictionaries very serviceable towards the carrying on of these intricate and useful Studies All that I have heard of in this kind are 1. That which was drawn up by Laur. Noel Dean of Litchfield in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's Reign whose Original Manuscript fell into the hands of Mr. Selden and is now in Bodley's Library as a fair Copy of it is amongst Junius's MSS. 2. John Josseline's said to be in Cotton's Library tho Dr. Hickes does not mention it in his Catalogue 3. Will. Somner's which was publish'd at the Earnest Request and Charges of some of the most Learned Men in this Kingdom The chief Additions he made to what was done to his hand by the two forementioned Gentlemen were out of Caedmon's Paraphrase and the Medicinal MS. in the King's Library together with two old Glossaries in Sir John Cotton's 4. That most elaborate one of Fr. Junius who has infinitely outdone all that went before him His large Glossary or Lexicon of the five old Northern Languages whereof the Saxon has the preference may be seen in the Author 's own MS. in Bodley's Library and a fair Transcript of it in Eleven Volumes at the charge of the late pious Bishop Fell in the Musaeum Ashmoleanum It was design'd for the Press by that most excellent Prelate and may be yet hoped for as soon as it shall please God to restore to us the Blessing of Peace together with one of its certain Consequences the Encouragement of Industry and good Learning We may likewise then expect the same Author 's Etymologicum Anglicanum a work completely finish'd in two Volumes which will be also of singular use to our English Antiquary After these I can hardly think it worth the while to take notice of the Imperfect Collections made by Sir William Dugdale in Saxon and English nor of two Anonymous Fragments of the like kind in the Libraries of Sir Thomas Bodley and Bennet-College To these Dictionaries ought to be added the Glossaries of Sir Henry Spelman and Mr. Somner which explain the hard and obsolete Words frequently occurring in our ancient Histories and Laws The former of these was first publish'd Imperfect but in the Second and Third Editions that Defect is supply'd That the whole is the true Genuine Work of its pretended Author appears from the uniformity of the Style in both parts from the Quotations of the same Manuscripts References in both to the Readings of his Grandfather Sir John Spelman c. 'T was a great misfortune that the late publisher of it was not made acquainted with the Notes and Enlargements upon the whole amongst Somner's Manuscripts in the Library at Canterbury The other Glossary was long after compil'd by W. Somner and annex'd to the Decem Scriptores publish'd by Sir Roger Twisden who acknowledges that without it that work had been a very dry and useless performance Out of these two Du Fresne usually transcribes whatever he has in his great work which relates to the difficult passages in our old Laws c. Dr. Wats has added a Glossary to his Edition of M. Paris which may be very serviceable to a young English Antiquary And Mr Wheloc promis'd one of his Composure There 's not much to be learn'd from any Coins we have of our Saxon Kings their Silver ones being all of the same Size and generally very slovenly minted In this Metal they coin'd only Pennies worth about three pence of our present Money But they
his zealous Management has afforded us some good Remarks of his own and others of the learned Translator and Publisher of his Work Whether St. Neot ever wrote as some have reported the Life of King Aelfred Sir John Spelman justly doubts and I am not able to resolve him unless the next Paragraph will unravel the matter Another piece has been lately pubâ—lisht under the Title of Asserius's Annals by Dr. Gale who tells us that the Manuscript Copy which he used is now in the Library of Trinity College in Cambridge Jo Brompton indeed cites several things relating to the Story of King Offa out of Asserius's Writings which are not in his Life of Aelfred Hence some have concluded that he might possibly have been impos'd upon by those that had given the Name of that Author to such Anonymous Collections as they knew not how truly to Father and the Jealousy may still continue for any thing which this Book discoverâ—â—o the contrary For King Offa is hardly named in it and therefore Brompton must have hit upon a spurious piece how genuine soever this may prove The learned Publisher does not question but 't is the true Off-spring of Asserius and its insisting chiefly on the Fortunes of King Aelfred seems to countenance his Opinion Leland calls it the Chronicle of St. Neot's because he found it in that Monastery Marianus Scotus had also met with it somewhere for he transcribes it by whole Sale The next Saxon Historian now extant is Ethelwerd or Elward Patricius descended as himself attests of the Blood Royal who liv'd till the year 1090 but did not continue his Chronicle so far His work consists of four Books which are publish'd by Sir H. Savil. The whole is a Translation of a very false and imperfect Copy of the Saxon Chronicle and therefore William of Malmesbury has modestly out of Deference to his Family declin'd the giving a Character of this Writer's performance If he had done it truly he ought to have told us that his Style is boisterous and that several parts of his History are not so much as hardly sence It appears from what we have noted above that both Malmesbury and Camden are mistaken when they affirm him to be our most ancient Historian after Bede J. Pits will tell you that we had two other Ethelwerds of the same Royal Extraction who long before this Man's time wrote each of 'em a Chronicle or History of our English Affairs The Elder of these he makes Son to King Aelfred and the other his Grandson Nay and St. Ethelwold Bishop of Winchester was likewise most certainly Senior to this Ethelwerd Patricius dying in the year 984. Now he says the same Author wrote two Books De Regibus c. totius Angliae and De Tempore Regum Britannorum for Copies of both which he sends to the public Library at Cambridge Many things relating to the Civil Government of these Times are dispers'd in some particular Lives of their Saints and Kings the latter whereof may be here mention'd tho the former will fall under another Head The Life of Offa frequently referr'd to by Sir Hen. Spelman has been publisht by Dr. Watts That of King Oswin was somewhere met with by John Leland King Ethelwolph's is said to have been written by VVolstan a famous Monk of VVinchester much commended by VVilliam of Malmesbury Edward the Confessor's written by Abbot Ealred has had several Editions and Queen Emma's Encomium is also made publick After the Conquest J. Pike is said to have written De Regibus Anglo-Saxonum and De Danis in Anglia dominantibus but it seems to be a mistake Upon the same Credit we are assured that John Mercius under the Reign of King Stephen publisht an Historical Account of the Mercian Kings which got him his Surname That Colman the wise John Harding's great Friend wrote most copiously and clearly of the Saxon Heptarchy their uniting afterwards into a Monarchy the Danish Incursions and Cruelties c. And that Gyraldus Cambrensis penn'd the Story of the West Saxon Kings R. Verstegan ' s Restitution of decayed Intelligence in Antiquities does especially relate to the Language Religion Manners and Government of the ancient English Saxons This Writer being of Low Dutch Extraction a Romanist and something of an Artist in Painting had several advantages for the making of some special Discoveries on the Subject whereon he treats which is handled so plausibly and so well illustrated with handsome Cuts that the Book has taken and sold very well But a great many Mistakes have escap'd him Some whereof have been noted by Mr. Sheringham As his fancy of the Vitae being the ancient Inhabitants of the Isle of Wight Of the Saxons being in Germany before they came in the more Northern Countries Of Tuisco's coming from Babel his giving Name to Tuesday c. The rest have been carefully corrected by Mr. Somner who has left large Marginal Notes upon the whole Mr. Selden was a person of vast Industry and his Attainments in most parts of Learning were so extraordinary that every thing that came from him was always highly admir'd and applauded Tho I must confess I cannot think he was that great Man in our English Antiquities which some have taken him to be His Analecta do not so clearly account for the Religion Government and Revolutions of State among our Saxon Ancestors as they are reported to do The Laws he quotes in his Janus Anglorum are as faulty as if his whole Skill in them reach'd no higher than Lambard's Translation and seem to want Will. Somner's Emendations as much as those he has publisht of William the Conqueror in his Spicelegium in Eadmerum The very best performance that I know of relating to the prime Antiquities of the Saxons is Mr. Sheringham's Treatise De Anglorum Gentis Origine Our Civil Wars sent this Author into the Low Countries where he had the Opportunity of coming acquainted with Dr. Marshal and the Dutch Language both inclining him to such Studies as this Book shews him to have delighted in He appears to have been a person of great Modesty as well as Industry and Learning Hence some will conclude him to be too credulous and that several of his Authorities particularly Lazius's Tattle about the Hebrew Inscriptions found at Vienna have not been sufficiently consider'd But his Collections out of the Greek Roman and chiefly the Northern Writers are highly commendable and for the most part very well put together Our Saxon Antiquary ought also to be skill'd in the Writings of those Learned Germans who have made Collections of their old Laws or have written such Glossaries or other Grammatical Discourses as may bring him acquainted with the many ancient Dialects of our Ancestors and Kinsmen in
Monks of this Isle may be well apply'd to the Zealous Antiquaries of our two Universities Illos in illustrandis suorum Natalibus Antiquitati plus quam Veritati incubuisse In the days of Henry the Eighth during the Storm against Abbies and Colleges the Controversy was seemly enough For whilst nothing but Ruin was within their view such a concern was as natural as 't is for decaying Families to value themselves on their Pedigrees But in their flourishing condition under Queen Elizabeth it might have been hoped that the Members of both would have found themselves better Employment This the contending Parties in that Reign seem to have been somewhat sensible of and therefore the most violent and fierce of 'em declin'd the owning of their several Brats the affixing their Names to Pleadings and Apologies The Truth is the greatest part of what was offer'd on either side was so aery and vapid that 't was fit only for young Sophisters or Men that had left the School for thirty Years to argue at such a rate whereas the grave and residing Doctors were justly asham'd of such Practices and for some time modestly play'd their Puppets from behind the Curtain What was done for either of these Noble Seminaries by King Sigebert or King Aelfred may possibly endure the Canvasing But when the contesting Antiquaries begin to be so hardy as to launch farther into the vast and dark Ocean of the Times of Iren or Rydychen and Caer-grant I think the wisest Course is to divide the Laurel and to call in King Bladud to be Founder of our first University at Stanford Thus the pitching of our Tents in a third place ends the Controversy and we may quietly and at leisure draw off our Colonies to Oxford or Cambridge as we have occasion Some Writers we have that have behaved themselves with tolerable indifferency in treating of these Matters and have honestly enquir'd into the true History of the gradual Advancement of Learning in this Kingdom recounting whatever remain'd of the ancient State and Condition of it in either of our Universities But the most of those that pretend to write of both without prejudice are too manifestly byass'd in their Affections and seldome fail of giving the Precedence to the place of their own respective Education John Ross the Warwick Antiquary has been already observ'd to mix a deal of this kind of History in that which he wrote of the Kings of England And 't is certain he also design'd a particular Treatise of the Antiquities of our Universities This very Treatise tho' he acknowledges 't was an imperfect Copy that came to his hands is frequently quoted by John Leland and yet Mr. Wood believes 't is now lost as confidently as his Predecessor Brian Twine thought it never had a being I presume his other Tract Contra Historiolam Cantabrigiensem was only a Fragment of this Fragment and therefore if the one be irrecoverably gone there 's little encouragement to look after the other Amongst Master Leland's own Works we have also one that bears the Title De Academiis Britannicis which was once in such forwardness as that himself spoke of it as of a piece that would suddainly appear abroad Quin Grantae gloriam accuratius in Opusculo quod de Academiis Britannicis sum propediem editurus collaudabo I cannot see how this Expression could give any Foundation to one of our Queen Elizabeth's Antiquaries to assert that if this Book were publish'd in that intire Condition in which its Author left it it would infallibly stop the Mouths of those that contend for the Antiquity of Cambridge But I think 't was a sufficient Reply to such a Supposition that If the Sky should fall we should as infallibly catch Larâ—s John Pits prefaced his Account of our Writers with a small History of our Universities which he desir'd might be taken notice of in the Title of that Work inscrib'd by himself De Academiis Illustribus Scriptoribus Angliae There 's nothing in him on the former head but what he has Epitomiz'd out of some of those that wrote on the same Subject a little before his Time from whom he borrows all the new Light he pretends to give De Academiis tam Antiquis Britonum quam recentioribus Anglorum About the same time as I guess liv'd Robert Hare who was an Esquire of good Worship and Wealth and a great lover and preserver of Antiquities He carefully Collected the precious Monuments of both Vniversities caus'd them fairly to be transcrib'd and freely bestow'd a Duplicate or double Copy on each of them This industrious Gentleman was sometimes a Member of Gonvil and Caius College in Cambridge and therefore tho' he pretends to give a fair History of the Priviledges of Oxford yet he inclines too much upon occasion the other way In Howes's Edition of Stow's Chronicle we have an Appendix or Corollary of the Foundations and Descriptions of the three most famous Vniversities of England viz. Cambridge Oxford and London The Story of the two first of these we are told was compiled by John Stow and continu'd by his Publisher and 't is not much that we owe to the pains of either of 'em since the whole is only a lean Tract of half a dozen Pages There 's in the Archives of Bodley's Library a Poetical Piece entitul'd Britannia Scholastica which was written by one Robert Burhil about the beginning of King James the First 's Reign and Treats of the prime Antiquities of our two Universities The zealous stickling for Seniority in the last Age did this Service to both our famous Nurseries of good Learning that many of their most ancient Records were hereupon enquir'd out and carefully preserv'd which may be as beneficial to our English History as some officious Forgeries on the same occasion are injurious to it We have no less than one and twenty several Volumes relating to the Antiquities of the University of Oxford as Charters Orders Statutes Decrees Letters c. the last whereof bears this Title About the Burghesses for the Vniversity and what may be answer'd in case their Right of sitting in Parliament should be impugn'd These are all in Manuscript and are the Fountain whence some of our best Printed Accounts have been deriv'd Amongst the latter kind the Historiola Oxoniensis is look'd upon the most Authentic and as such has had several Impressions 'T is only a short Fragment of a single Page in Octavo wherein we are told that the Britains began an University at Grekelade which the Saxons remov'd to Oxford This is the Summ of that little Narrative which tho' 't is found in some of their Manuscript statute-Statute-Books as old as the Reigns of Edward the Third and Henry the Fourth yet is not much insisted on by Mr. Wood who was sensible that it was Penn'd too carelesly to be of any great use in the grand Controversy John Ross