dedicated his Books of the Ecclesiastical History of England and who afterwards Rog. Hoveden renouncing the World took upon him the habit of a Monk in the Church of Lindisfern and listed himself a Souldier of the Kingdom of Heaven his body being afterwards translated to the Church of Northam When also the Danes had miserably wasted the Holy Issand wherein S. Cuthbert so much magnified by Bede was Bishop and lay buried some endeavour'd by a religious stealth to convey his body beyond Sea but the winds standing contrary they with all due reverence deposited the sacred Body at * The printed Books have corruptly Bulbeford Will. Malmesb de Gest Pont. lib. 1. Ubbanford whether a Bishop's See or no is uncertain near the river Twede where it lay for many years till the coming of King Ethelred This and other matters were taught me for I shall always own my Instructors by George Carlton born at this place being son to the Keeper of Norham-Castle whom for his excellent Proficiency in Divinity whereof he is Professor and other polite Learning I love and am lov'd by him and I were unworthy of that love if I should not acknowledge his Friendship The old people told us that at Killey Killay a little neighbouring Village below Norham were found within the memory of our Grandfathers the studds of a Knight's Belt A golden Hilt and the hilt of a Sword of massie Gold which were presented to T. Ruthall Bishop of Durham A little lower you have the mouth of Twede on the farther bank whereof stands Berwick Berwick the last Town in England and best fortify'd in all Britain hh Some derive the name of this Town from one Berengarius a Romantick Duke Leland fetches it from Aber the British word for the mouth of a river and so makes Aberwick to signifie a Fort built upon such a mouth But they will best understand the true etymology of it who know what is meant by the word Berwicus in the Charters of our Kings Ingulphus renders Berwicus a Mannour wherein nothing's more common than I give the Townships of C. and D. cum suis Berwicis ii For my part what it should mean I know not unless it be a Hamlet or some such dependency upon a place of better note For in the Grants of Edward the Confessor Totthill is call'd the Berwicus of Westminster Wandlesworth the Berwicus of Patricksey and a thousand of the like But why all this pains 'T is lost labour if as some maintain the Saxons call'd it anciently Beornica-ƿic that is the Town of the Bernicians for that this part of the Country was call'd Bernicia we have already noted and the thing is too well known to be here repeated But whence ever it had its name its situation carries it a good way into the sea so that that and the Twede almost incircle it Being seated betwixt two mighty Kingdoms as Pliny observes of Palmyra in Syria it has always been the first place that both Nations in their wars have had an eye on insomuch that ever since Edward the first wrung it out of the Scotch hands the English have as often retaken it as the Scots have ventur'd to seize it But if the Reader pleases we will here give him a summary abstract of its History The oldest account I find of Berwick is that William King of Scots being taken prisoner by the English pawn'd it for his ransom to our Henry the second redeemable only within such a time kk Whereupon says the Polychronicon of Durham Henry immediately fortify'd it with a Castle But Richard the first restor'd it to the Scots upon their payment of the money Afterwards King John as the History of Melross reports took the Town and Castle of Berwick at the same time that he burnt Werk Roxburgh Mitford and Morpath and with his Rutars wasted all Northumberland because the Barons of that county had done homage to Alexander King of Scots at Feltun A great many years after this when John Baliol King of Scotland had broken his Oath Edward the first reduc'd Berwick in the year of our Lord 1297. But soon after the fortune of war favouring the Scots our men quitted it and they seiz'd it but the English forthwith had it surrender'd to them again Afterwards in the loose reign of Edward the second Peter Spalding surrender'd it to Robert Brus King of Scots who warmly besieg'd it and the English vainly attempted its recovery till our Hector Edward the third bravely carry'd it in the year 1333. In the reign of Richard the second some Scottish Moss-troopers surpriz'd the Castle which within nine days was recover'd by Henry Percie Earl of Northumberland Within seven years after this the Scots regain'd it but by purchace not by their valour Whereupon the said Henry Percie being then Governour of the Town was accus'd of High-treason but he also corrupted the Scots with money and so got it again A long time after this when England was almost spent in civil wars Henry the sixth being already fled into Scotland deliver'd it up to the King of Scots the better to secure himself in that Kingdom Two and twenty years after Thomas Stanley with a great loss of men reduc'd it to the obedience of Edward the fourth Since which time the Kings of England have several times fortify'd it with new works but especially Queen Elizabeth who lately to the terrour of the enemy and security of the Burghers hath drawn it into a less compass than before and surrounded it with a high stone wall of firm Ashler work which is again strengthen'd with a deep ditch bastions and counterscarp so that its fortifications are so strong and regular that no besiegers can hope to carry it hereafter Not to mention the valour of the Garrison and the surprizing plenty of Ammunition and all warlike stores Be it also remember'd that the Governour of this place was alwaies a person of the greatest wisdom and eminence among the English Nobility and was also Warden of these eastern Marches The Mathematicians have plac'd this Town in 21 degrees and 43 minutes of longitude and in 55 and 48 of northern latitude So that the longest day in this climate consists of seventeen hours and 22 minutes and its night has only six hours and 38 minutes Brita has 〈◊〉 of Day So truly has Servius Honoratus written of this Country Britain says he has such plenty of day that she has hardly any room for night Nor is it a wonder that the Souldiers of this Garrison are able to play all night at dice without a candle if we consider their thorow twilight and the truth of Juvenal's expression Minimâ contentos nocte Britannos Britains with shortest nights content Take at parting J. Jonston's Verses upon Berwick Scotorum extremo sub limite Meta furoris Saxonidum gentis par utriusque labor Mille vices rerum quae mille est passa ruinas Mirum quî potuit tot superesse
of Scotland is contain'd in less bounds being divided from England by the water of Tweed to Carhoom then by Keddon-burn Haddon-rigg Black-down-hill Morsla-hill Battinbuss-hill to the risings of the rivers Keal and Ted after by Kersop-burn Liderwater Esk to the Tod-holls the Marchdike to White-sack and Solloway-frith On the west it hath the Irish-Sea on the north the Deucaledonian and on the east the German Ocean On all which sides bordering upon the Sea it hath several Isles belonging to it From the Mule of Galloway in the south to Dungsbay-head in the east-point of Cathness in the north it is about 250 miles long and betwixt Buchan-ness on the east sea and Ardnamurchan-point on the west 150 miles broad The most southerly part of it about Whitern is 54 degrees 54 min. in Latitude and in Longitude 15 degrees 40 min. The northermost part the above-mentioned Dungsbay-head is 58 degrees 32 some say 30. min. in Latitude and 17 degrees 50 minutes in Longitude The longest day is about 18 hours and two minutes and the shortest night 5 hours and 45 minutes The air temperate It was not without reason that Caesar said Of Britain Coelum Gallico temperatius for even in Scotland the air is more mild and temperate than in the Continent under the same Climate by reason of the warm-vapours from the sea upon all sides and the continual breezes of the wind from thence the heat in Summer is no way scorching The constant winds purifie the air and keep it always in motion so that 't is seldom any Epidemick disease rages here Hills in Scotland The nature of the Country is hilly and mountainous there being but few plains and they of no great extent Those they have are generally by the sea-side and from thence the ground begins to rise sensibly the farther in the Country the higher so that the greatest hills are in the middle of the Kingdom These hills especially upon the skirts of the Country breed abundance of Cows which not only afford store of butter and cheese to the Inhabitants but likewise considerable profit by the vent of their hides and tallow and the great numbers that are sold in England when there is no Prohibition Their size as also that of their sheep is but small but the meat of both of an exceeding fine taste and very nourishing The High-Lands afford great Flocks of Goats with store of Deer and are clear'd from Wolves The whole Country has good store and variety of fowl both tame and wild The quality of the soil Quaity 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 compared in general with that of England is not near so good 'T is commonly more fit for pasture and for that purpose is very well watered Where the surface is leanest there are found Metals and Minerals and considerable quanties of Lead are exported yearly there is also good Copper but they will not be at the pains to work it But in much of the in-land Country especially where it lyeth upon some of the Friths the soil is very good and there all sorts of grain grows that is usual in the South parts of Britain The Wheat is frequently exported by Merchants to Spain Holland and Norwey Barley grows plentifully and their Oats are extreme good affording bread of a clean and wholesome nourishment In the Low-grounds they have store of Pease and Beans which for the strength of their feeding are much used by the Labouring people In the skirts of the Country which are not so fit for Grain these grow great woods of Timber to a vast bigness especially Firr-trees which are found to thrive best in stony grounds Springs of Mineral-waters which the people find useful in several diseases are common enough No Country is better provided with Fishes Besides flocks of smaller Whales the Porpess and the Meerswine frequently cast in great Whales of the Baleen or Whale-bone kind and of the Sperma Ceti kind are cast now and then upon several parts of the shore Besides the grain and other commodities already named the Merchants export alablaster linnen and woollen cloath freezes plaids plaiding stuff stockings malt and meal skins of Rabbets Hares c. fishes eggs oker marble coal and salt The Christian Religion was very early planted here Chrisâ—nity 〈◊〉 in Scoâ—land for Tertullian's words Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca Christo verò subdita must be understood of the north part of the Island possessed by the Scots and separated by a wall from that part which was subject to the Romans The Religion of the Kingdom establisht by Law is that which is contain'd in the Confession of Faith authoriz'd in the first Parliament of King James 6. and defined in the 19th Article of the said Confession to be That which is contained in the written word of God For the promotion of Learning they have four Universities St. Andrews Glasgow Aberdeen Learnâ—â—â— in Scoâ—land and Edenburgh wherein are Professors of most of the Liberal Arts endowed with competent Salaries The Division of SCOTLAND ALL the Northern part of the Island of Britain was antiently inhabited by the Picts who were divided into two Nations the Dicalidonii and Vecturiones of whom I have spoken already out of Ammianus Marcellinus But when the Scots had gotten possession of this Tract it was shar'd into seven parts amongst seven Princes as we have it in a little antient Book Of the Division of Scotland in these words The first part contained Enegus and Maern The second Atheodl and Goverin The third Stradeern with Meneted The fourth was Forthever The fifth Mar with Buchen The sixth Muref and Ross The seventh Cathness which Mound a Mountain divides in the midst running along from the Western to the Eastern Sea After that the same Author reports from the Relation of Andrew Bishop of Cathness that the whole Kingdom was divided likewise into seven Territories The first from Fryth so termed by the Britains by the Romans Worid now Scottwade to the River Tae The second from Hilef as the Sea surrounds it to a Mountain in the North-east part of Sterling named Athran The third from Hilef to Dee The fourth from Dee to the River Spe. The fifth from Spe to the Mountain Brunalban The sixth Mures and Ross The seventh the Kingdom of Argathel as it were the border of the Scots who were so called from Gathelgas their Captain With respect to the 〈…〉 and. 〈…〉 andâ—â— manners and ways of living it is divided into the High-land-men and Low-land-men These are more civilized and use the language and habit of the English the other more rude and barbarous and use that of the Irish as I have already mentioned and shall discourse hereafter Out of this division I exclude the Borderers â—â—â—derers because they by the blessed and happy Union enjoying the Sun-shine of peace on every side are to be lookt upon as living in the very midst of the British Empire and begin being sufficiently tir'd with war to grow
Dunrobin Castle a place of the greatest note in these parts * See the Additions the principal seat of the ancient Earls of Sutherland Earls of Sutherland of the family if I mistake not of Murray Of whom William in the reign of King Robert Brus is most famous who married K. David's own sister and had by her a son whom K. David declared his successor in the Kingdom and to whom he made his Nobles swear Allegiance But he died a little after without issue and the Earldom in the end came hereditarily by a daughter and heir to A. Gordon of the family of the Earls of Huntley o CATHNES SOmewhat higher lies Cathnes butting upon the German Ocean indented as it were by the many windings and breakings of the shore Here in Ptolemie's time dwelt the Catini falsly written in some Copies Carini The Carini amongst whom the same Ptolemy places the river Ila The River Ila which may seem to be the now Wifle Grazing and fishing are the chief income of the inhabitants of this countrey The chief castle therein is called Girnego the general residence of the Earls of Cathnes The Episcopal See is at Dornok a village if it were not for that obscure where likewise K. James the 4th appointed the Sheriff of Cathnes to reside or else at Wik as occasions should require 16 For the administration of Justice The Earls of Cathnes Earls 〈◊〉 Cathâ—â—â— were anciently the same with the Earls of the Orcades but afterwards became distinct and by the eldest daughter of one Malise given in marriage to William Sincler the King's Pantler his posterity came to the honor of being Earls of Cathnes which they still enjoy p STRATH-NAVERN THE utmost coast of all Britain which with the front of the shore looks full against the North-pole and hath the middle of the tail of Ursa Major which as Cardan was of opinion causes translations of Empires just over its head was inhabited as we may see in Ptolemy by the Cornabii Cornabii Amongst them he places the river Nabeus Nabeus a Riveâ— which names are so nearly related in sound that the people seem to have taken their name from the river they dwelt upon Neither is the modern name Strath-Navern that is the Valley by the Navern altogether unlike them in sound This country hath little cause to brag of its fertility by reason of the sharpness of the air it is very thinly inhabited and thereupon extreamly infested with the fiercest of Wolves Wolves which to the great damage of the countrey not only furiously set upon whole droves of cattle but even upon the inhabitants themselves to their manifest danger Insomuch that not only in this but many other parts of Scotland the Sheriffs and respective inhabitants are bound by Act of Parliament in their several Sheriffdoms to go a hunting thrice every year to destroy the Wolves and their Whelps But if in this northern countrey that may be any comfort to them it certainly of all Britain hath the shortest nights and longest days For by its being distanced 59 degrees and 40 minutes from the Equator the longest day The longeâ—â— day is 18 hours and 25 minutes and the shortest night 5 hours and 45 minutes So that the ancient Panegyrist was in the wrong when he said that the sun did not set at all here but slipt aside and glanced upon the Horizon relying upon the authority of Tacitus That the extreme points and plain levels of the earth having low shades rais'd up no darkness at all But Pliny speaks more truth and reason where he treats of the longest days according to the inclination of the solar Circle to the Horizon The longest days says he in Italy are fifteen hours in Britain seventeen where the light nights in Summer prove that by experience which reason would oblige one to believe That at the Solstice when the Sun approaches nearer to the Pole of the World the places of the earth under the Pole have day six months â—â—â—â—sto 〈…〉 through the light 's having but a narrow compass and night for so long when it is far remote in Winter In this utmost tract by Ptolemy carried farther Eastward whereas indeed it bears full North for which Roger Bacon in his Geography taxed him long ago Tacitus says That a prodigious vast space of land runs out in length and grows narrow like a wedge Here three Promontories shoot out into the Sea mentioned by ancient Writers Berubium â—â—â—iâ—um 〈…〉 now Urdehead near the village Bernswale Virvedrum now Dunsby alià s Duncans-bay looked upon as the remotest Promontory of Britain Orcas now Howburn placed by Ptolemy over against the Orcades as the utmost of them all This is likewise called by Ptolemy Tarvedrum and Tarvisium Tarvisium Tarvodanum Martiano so named if I guess aright because it determines Britain For Tarvus What Tarvus signifies in the British tongue signifies an ending with which give me leave to make an end of this Book I shall treat of the Oâ—cades Ebudes and Shetland Shetland in their proper places Thus have I run over Scotland more briefly than the dignity of so great a Kingdom deserves nor do I at all doubt but that some one hereafter may give a larger draught of it with a more exquisite pen with more certainty and better information since as I said before the greatest of Princes hath now laid open to us these remote Countries hitherto shut up In the mean time if I have not been so vigilant as I ought the most watchful may sometimes take a nod or if any mistake in this unknown tract hath led me from the truth as nothing is so common as error I hope the courteous Reader upon my owning it will grant me a pardon and kindly direct me into the right way Additions to CALEDONIA IN the description of this part of Scotland before we come to Fife which our Author first touches upon we are to take a view of two little Shires that lye to the west Clackmanan shire and Kinross-shire â—â—imaâ—â— re a Clackmanan-shire so called from the head burgh of it Clackmanan is bounded to the north by the Ochill hills to the south by the Firth of Forth to the east with part of Perthshire and to the west with part of Sterlingshire 'T is about eight miles in length and where broadest but five Towards the Firth it is a plain Country and a fertile soil the rest is fitter for pasture but that below the Ochill-hills abounds both with Grains and pasture About Alloa and Clackmanan they have great store of Coal-pits the Coal whereof together with their Salt furnish a foreign trade It is watered with the river Devan which runs six miles through the shire â—â—â—maâ— Clackmanan is seated upon a rising ground the Castle whereof is a stately dwelling with fine gardens and good Inclosures 〈◊〉 Alloa is a pleasant little town with a small haven for ships
by way of excellency have truly call'd Britain 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the great Island Now they that have more accurately compar'd the spaces of the Heavens with the tracts of Earth have plac'd Britain under the 8th Climate and include it within the c Later Discoveries have better defined the site of Britain the Longitude of the Lands End being but 11 Degrees from Teneriff and Cantium or the Fore land but 58 and an half The Latitude of the Lizard 50 Degrees and of Cathness scarce 18 and an half Whence the longest Tropical Day is from 16 Hours 10 Min. to 18 Hours 2 Min. that is from the 18th to the 25th Parallel 18th and 26th Parallels computing the longest Day at 18 Equinoctial Hours and an half The Lands end according to the Spherical figure of the Earth they place d For 16 read 13. 16 degrees and 50 scruples from the farthest point westward and the Kentish Foreland in 21 degrees of Longitude As for the Latitude they measure in the Southern parts 50 degrees 10 scruples at Cathness 59 degrees 40 scruples So that Britain by this situation must needs enjoy both a fertile soyl and a most temperate air The Summers here are not so scorching by reason of the constant breezes which fan the air and moderate the heats These as they invigorate every thing that grows so they give both to man and beast at the same time their health and their refreshment The Winters also here are mild and gentle This proceeds not only from the thickness and closeness of the air but also from the frequency of those still showers which do with us much soften and break the violence of the cold Besides that the seas which encompass it do so cherish the land with their gentle warmth that the cold is here much less severe than in some parts of France and Italy Upon this consideration Minutius Felix when he would prove that the Divine Providence consults not only the interest of the world in general but also of each part makes use of our island as an instance De Nat. Deor. l. 2. Though Britain saith he enjoys not so much the aspect and influence of the sun yet instead thereof it is refreshed and comforted by the warmth of the sea which surrounds it Neither need we think that reflexion strange which he makes upon the warmth of the sea since Cicero makes the same observation The seas saith he tossed to and fro with the winds grow so warm that from thence it may readily be inferred that there is a certain heat that lyes concealed in that vast fluid body To the temperate state also of this Island Cescenius Getulicus a very antient Poet seems to have respect in these his verses concerning Britain Probus in Virg. Geo. Non illic Aries verno ferit aera cornu Gnossia nec Gemini praecedunt cornua Tauri Sicca Lycaonius resupinat plaustra Bootes Not there the spring the Ram 's unkindness mourns Nor Taurus sees the Twins before his horns His Northern wain where dry Bootes turns Caesar also takes notice That this country is more temperate than Gaule and the cold less piercing And Cornelius Tacitus observeth That in this Island there is no extremity of cold And farther adds That except the vine the olive and some other fruits peculiar to the hotter climates it produceth all things else in great plenty That the fruits of the earth as to their coming up are forward in Britain but are very slow in ripening Of both which there is one and the same cause the excessive moisture of the earth and air For indeed our air as Strabo hath observed is more obnoxious to rain than snow However so happy is Britain in a most plentiful product of all sorts of grain that e But more truly Onomacritus says a late Author Orpheus hath called it The very seat of Ceres For to this Island f If this expression is to be applied to Britain it may be worth our while to consider whether it does not prove the Island to have been more early known to the Antients than our Author will afterwards allow it we are to apply that expression 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 See here the stately Court Of Royal Ceres And in antient times this was as it were the granary and magazine of the Western Empire For from hence the Romans were wont every year in 800 vessels larger than * Lembis barks to transport vast quantities of corn Zosimus Eunapius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the supply of their armies in garison upon the frontiers of Germany But perchance I may seem too fond and lavish in the praises of my own Country and therefore you shall now hear an old Orator deliver its Encomium Panegyric to Constantine O fortunate Britain the most happy country in the world in that thou didst first behold Constantine our Emperour Thee hath Nature deservedly enrich'd with all the choicest blessings both of heaven and earth Thou feelest neither the excessive colds of winter nor the scorching heats of Summer Thy harvests reward thy labours with so vast an encrease as to supply thy Tables with bread and thy Cellars with liquor Thy woods have no savage beasts no serpents harbour here to hurt the traveller Innumerable are thy herds of cattle and the flocks of sheep which feed thee plentifully and cloath thee richly And as to the comforts of life the days are long and no night passes without some glimps of light For whilst those utmost plains of the sea-shore are so flat and low as not to cast a shadow to create night they never lose the sight of the heavens and stars but the sun which to us appears to set seems there only just to pass by I shall here also introduce another Orator using these expressions to Constantius Panegyric to Constantius the father of Constantine the Great And I assure you no small damage was it not only to lose the name of Britain but the great advantages thence accruing to our Commonwealth to part with a land so stored with corn so flourishing in pasturage rich in such store and variety of metals so profitable in its tributes on all its coasts so furnished with convenient harbours and so immense in its extent and circuit Also Natures particular indulgence to this our Island a Poet of considerable antiquity hath thus express'd addressing himself to Britain in this Epigram in some mens opinion not unworthy to be published Tu nimio nec stricta gelu nec sydere fervens Clementi coelo temperieque places Cum pareret natura parens varioque favore Divideret dotes omnibus una locis Seposuit potiora tibi matremque professa Insula sis foelix plenaque pacis ait Quicquid amat luxus quicquid desiderat usus Ex te proveniet vel aliunde tibi Nor cold nor heat's extreams thy people fear But gentle seasons turn the peaceful year When
then by Mask where there is great store of lead From thence by Richmondia commonly Richmond â—â—chmond the chief city of this Shire enclos'd with walls of no great compass yet by the sâ—burbs which shoot out in length to the three gates it is pretty populous It was built by Alan the first Earl who not daring to rely upon Gilling â—â—lling his village or manour hard by to withstand the assaults of the Saxons and Danes whom the Normans had strip'd of their inheritances grac'd it with this name signi ying a Rich Mount and fortify'd it with walls and a very strong castle situated upon a rock from whence it looks down upon the river Swale which with a great murmur seems to rush rather than run among the stones The village Gilling was rather holy upon the account of Religion than strong in respect of its fortifications ever since Oswius K. of Northumberland by the treachery of his Hospitis Host was slain in this place which is called by Bede Gethling To expiate whose murder a Monastery was built here which was highly esteem'd and honour'd by our ancestors More towards the north stands Ravenswath â—â—vensâ—â—th a castle encompass'd with a pretty large wall now ruinous which belonged to those Barons called Fitz-Hugh â—â—ron Fitz-â—â—gh descended from an old line of English who were Lords of this place before the Norman Conquest and flourish'd till the time of Henry 7. being enriched with great estates by marriages with the heirs of the famous families of the Forneaux and Marmions which went at last by females to the Fienes Lords Dacre in the South and to the Parrs Three miles below Richmond the Swale flows by that old city which Ptolemy and Antoninus call Caturactonium â—â—â—uractoâ—â—â—m and Catarracton but Bede Catarractan and in another place the village near Catarracta â—â—â—aricke which makes me think that name given it from the Catarract seeing here is a great fall of water hard by tho' nearer Richmond where as I already observ'd the Swale rather rushes than runs its waters being dashed and broken by those crags it meets with And why should he call it a village near Catarracta if there had been no cataract of the waters there That it was a city of great note in those times may be inferr'd from Ptolemy because an Observation of the Heavens was taken there For in his Magna Constructio lib. 2. cap. 6. he describes the 24th parallel to be through Catarractonium in Britain and to be distant from the aequator 57 degrees Yet in his Geography he defines the longest day to be 18 Equinoctial hours so that according to his own calculation it is distant 58 degrees â—gnum 〈◊〉 nisi noâ— habet But at this day as the Poet says it has nothing great but the memory of what it was For it is but a very small village called Catarrick and Catarrick-bridge â—â—tarrick â—â—â—dge yet remarkable for its situation by a Roman highway which crosses the river here and for those heaps of rubbish up and down which carry some colour of antiquity especially near Ketterickswart and Burghale which are somewhat distant from the bridge and likewise more eastward hard by the river where I saw a huge mount as it were with four bulwarks cast up with great labour to a considerable height m What it might suffer from the Picts and Saxons when with fire and sword they laid waste the Cities of Britain I cannot certainly tell yet when the Saxon Government was establish'd it seems to have flourish'd though Bede always calls it a village till in the year 769 it was burnt by Eanredus or Beanredus the tyrant who destroyed the Kingdom of Northumberland But immediately after he himself was miserably burnt and Catarractonium began to raise its head again for in the 77th year after King Etheldred solemnized his marriage with the daughter of Offa King of the Mercians here Yet it did not continue long flourishing for in the Danish outrages which followed it was utterly destroy'd The Swale after a long course not without some rubs flows pretty near Hornby Hornby a castle of the family de S. Quintin which afterwards came to the Cogniers and besides pleasant pastures and country villages sees nothing but Bedal Bedal situated upon another little river that runs into it which in the time of King Edward the first gloried in its Baron 3 Sir Brian Brian Fitz-Alan Fitz-Alan famous for his ancient Nobility being descended 4 From the Earls of Britain and Richmond from the Dukes of Britain and the Earls of Richmond but for default of issue-male this inheritance was brought by daughters to the Stapletons and the Greys of Rotherfeld The Swale being now past Richmondshire draws nearer to the Ure where it sees Topcliffe Topcliffe the chief seat of the Percies call'd by Marianus Taden-clife who says that in the year 949. the States of Northumberland took an oath of Allegiance there to King Eldred the West-Saxon brother to Edmund n At the very confluence of these two rivers stands Mitton Mitton a very small village but memorable for no small slaughter there For in the year 1319 when England was almost made desolate by a raging plague the Scots continued their ravages to this place and easily routed a considerable body of Priests and Peasants which the Archbishop of York had drawn together against them But now to return From Catarractonium the military-way falls into two roads that towards the north lies by Caldwell Caldwell and Aldburgh Aldburgh which imports in the Saxon language an old burgh By what name it went formerly I cannot easily guess It seems to have been a great City from its large ruins and near it by a village called Stanwig lies a ditch of about eight miles long drawn between the Tees and the Swale As the Way runs towards the ‖ Circium north-west twelve miles off it goes by Bowes Bowes at present a little village and sometimes writ Bough where in former ages the Earls of Richmond had a little castle a tribute called Thorough-toll and their Gallows But formerly it was called in Antoninus's Itinerary Lavatrae Lavatrae and Levatrae as both its distance and the situation by a military way which is visible by the ridge of it do plainly demonstrate The antiquity of it is farther confirmed by an old stone in the Church used there not long ago for a Communion-table with this Inscription in honour of Hadrian the Emperour IMP. CAESARI DIVI TRAIANI PARTHICI Max filio DIVI NERVAE NEPOTI TRAIANO Hadria NO AVG. PONT MAXM COS. I. P.P. COH IIII. F. IO. SEV This fragment was also dug up here NO L. CAE FRONTINVS COH I. THRAC In Severus's reign when Virius Lupus was Legate and Propraetor of Britain the first Cohort of the Thracians was garison'd here â—neum Bâ—â—neum for whose sake he restored the Balneum or bath also
Scots and * Pehiti in the margin Picti Picts and the Saxons were supply'd by the Britains with all necessaries to carry on the war against them Upon which they staid in the country for some time and liv'd in very good friendship with the Britains till the Commanders observing that the land was large and fruitful that the natives were no way inclin'd to war and considering that themselves and the greatest part of the Saxons had no fix'd home send over for more forces and striking up a peace with the Scots and Picts make one body against the Britains force them out of the nation and divide the country among their own people Thus much Witichindus The origine and etymologie of the Saxons like as of other nations has been confounded with fabulous conjectures not only by Monks who understood nothing of Antiquity but even by some modern men who pretend to an accuracy of judgment One will have them deriv'd from Saxo son of Negnon and brother of Vandalus another from their stony temper a third from the remains of the Macedonian army a fourth from certain knives which gave occasion to that rhime in Engelhusius Quippe brevis gladius apud illos Saxa vocatur Unde sibi Saxo nomen traxisse putatur The Saxon people did as most believe Their name from Saxa a short sword receive Crantzius fetches them from the German Catti and the learned Capnio from the Phrygians l Another opinion is that they came from Sassen natives or inhabitants which in the modern Saxon in Saten though there wants a reason how that câ—me to be peculiar to them when the neighbours had an equal share to it Of these every man is at liberty to take his choice nor shall I make it my business to confute such fabulous opinions m Stillingfleet Orig. Britan. p. 306. rejects this opinion because there can no probable account be given how the Sacae left their own country to people Saxonie He seems most to favour that of the Sachs oâ— short swords as the Quirites had their name from Quirts a sort of spear and the Scythians from Scytten to shoot with a Bow Only I think the conjecture of those learned Germans who imagine that the Saxons are descended from the Saci Saxons from the Saca◠〈◊〉 Asia the most powerful people of Asia n See Seld. Polyolb p. 72. that they are so called as if one should say Sacasones that is the Sons of the Sacae and that out of Scythia or Sarmatia Asiatica they pour'd by little and little into Europe along with the Getes the Swevi and the Daci L. 11.14 lanctâ—â—â— deserves credit the best of any other And indeed the opinions of those men who fetch the Saxons out of Asia where mankind had its rise and growth does not want some colour of reason For besides that Strabo affirms that the Sacae as before the Cimerii had done did invade remote Countries and called a part of Armenia Sacacena after their own name Ptolemy likewise places the Sassones Suevi Massagetes and Dahi in that part of Scythia and Cisner Cisnâ—â— has observed that those nations after they came into Europe retained the same vicinity they had formerly in Asia Nor is it less probable that our Saxons came from either the Sacae or Sassones of Asia Mitâ—â—â— Neaâ—â—â— than it is that the Germans are descended from the Germani of Persia mentioned by Herodotus which they almost positively conclude from the affinity of those Languages For that admirable Scholar Joseph Scaliger has told us that Fader muder brader tutchter band and such like are still used in the Persian Language in the same sense as we say father mother brother daughter bond But when the Saxons first began to have any name in the world they lived in Cimbrica Chersonesus which we now call Denmark where they are placed by Ptolemy who is the first that makes any mention of them And in that place of Lucan Longisque leves Axônes in armis Light Axons in long arms We are not to read Saxones as some Copies have it but the truer reading is Axônes Axôâ—â—â— Peopâ—â—â— Gaul While they lived in this Cimbrica Chersonesus in the time of Dioclesian they came along with their neighbours the Franks and mightily infested our coasts so that the Romans appointed Carausius to repell them o Whether the early piracies of the Saxons upon that coast mention'd by a great many Authors is to be so interpreted as if they then dwelt between the Elb and the Rhine or only drew down thither to carry on their trade of robbing whilst still their habitation was in the Cimbrick Chersonese is a question amongst the learned Camden here and Bishop Stillingfleet Orig. Britan. p. 309. favour the former opinion But Archbishop Usher Primord c. 12. p. 215. fol. thinks they came down much later Afterwards passing the river Albis part of them broke in by degrees upon the Suevian Territories which at this day is the Dukedom of Saxony and part took possession of Frisia and Batavia which the Franks had quitted For the Franks who had formerly inhabited the inmost of those Fens in Friseland some whereof are now washed into that Sea which at this day we call the Zuider-see and afterwards had possessed themselves of Holland being received into protection by Constantius Chlorus Constantine the Great and his sons and sent to cultivate the more desart parts of Gaul these I say either forcing a passage with the sword into more plentiful countries or else as Zosimus â—â—simus tells us driven out by the Saxons left Holland From which time all the inhabitants of that Sea-coast in Germany who lived by piracy have gone under the name of Saxons as before they were called Franks Those I mean who lived in Jutland Sleswick Holsatia Ditmarse the Bishoprick of Breme the County of Oldenburg East and West Friseland and Holland For the Saxon nation as is observed by Fabius Quaestor Ethelwerd â—thelwerd â—ephew's â—ephew to â—ing Aâ—â—â— stonâ—shed aâ—out the â—â—aâ— 950. who was of the Royal line of the Saxons included all the Sea-coast between the river Rhine and the city Donia which now is commonly called Dane-marc This Author not to conceal a person who has been so serviceable to me was first discovered by the eminent Mr. Thomas Allen of Oxford a person of great learning and amongst many others communicated to me From this coast it was that the Saxons encouraged by the many slaughters of the Romans frequently broke into the Roman provinces and for a long time annoy'd this Island till at last Hengist himself came That this Hengist set sail for England out of Batavia or Holland and afterwards built the Castle of Leyden is confirmed not only by the Annals of Holland but also by the noble Janus Dousa a man of admirable parts and learning who of that burg or tower writes thus â—he seâ—nd Ode Lâ—ydâ—n Quem circinato moenium ut ambitu
Tuesday Tuesday is derived from Tuisco the founder of the German nation They had a Goddess they called Eoster to whom they sacrificed in the month April upon which says Bede The Goddess Eoster Time of Sacrifice they called April Eoster-monath and we at this day call that season the Feast of Easter z But rather as I think of the rising of Christ which our Progenitors call East as we do now that part whenece the Sun riseth Hol. It had been well if he had told us what Progenitors these were that called the rising of Chrst East for my part I know none such The Angles saith Tacitus as do the other neighbouring nations worship'd Herthus i.e. their mother earth Herthus a Goddess a See Sir Henry Spelman's Glossary under the title Herthus imagining that she interested her self in the affairs of men and nations In our language that word still signifies earth but not in the German for they use Arden to signifie earth Earth The same Ethelwerd before mentioned has left us this account of their Superstitions as to what relates to his own times The Northern Infidels have been seduced to such a degree that to this day the Danes Normans and Suevians worship Woodan as their Lord. And in another place The barbarous nations honoured Woodan as a God and those Pagans offer'd Sacrifice to him to make them victorious and valiant But Adam Bremensis gives a more full account of those matters In a Temple call'd in their vulgar tongue Ubsola the furniture whereof is all of gold the people worship the Statues of three Gods Thor the most powerful of them has a room by himself in the middle on each side of him are Wodan and Fricco The emblems of them are these Thor they take to be the ruler of the air Thursday and to send as he sees convenient thunder and lightning winds and showers fair weather and fruit Wodan the second is more valiant 't is he that manages wars and inspires people with courage against their Enemies Fricco the third presents men with peace and pleasure and his statue is cut with a large * Priapo ingenti privy-member They engrave Wodan armed as Mars is with us Thor seems to be represented with the Scepter of Jupiter But these errors have at length given way to the truth of Christianity After they had fix'd themselves in Britain A Monarchy always even in the Saxon Heptarchy they divided it into seven Kingdoms and made of it a Heptarchy But even in that he who was most powerful was as Bede has observed stil'd King of the English nation l. 2. c. so that in the very Heptarchy there seems always to have been a sort of Monarchy Afterwards Austin who is commonly called the English Apostle Austin the English Apostle was dispatcht hither by Gregory the Great and banishing those monsters of heathenish profaneness did with wonderful success plant Christ in their hearts and convert them to the Christian Faith How it came to pass that Gregory should have so peculiar a concern for the Conversion of the English nation Conversioâ— of the English to Christianity we may learn from venerable Bede vvho has left us what himself had by tradition The report goes that on a certain day Lib. 2. c. 1. when the merchants were newly come ashore and great variety of wares was exposed to sale many Chapmen flockt together and amongst the rest Gregory himself He took notice amongst other things of some boys that were to be sold their bodies were white their looks sweet and their hair lovely After he had view'd them he enquired as the story goes from what country or nation they came They told him from the Isle of Britain the inhabitants whereof were all of that beautiful complexion Next he asked them whether the people of that Island were Christians or were yet involved in the errors of Paganism The answer was that they were Pagans At which fetching a deep sigh Alas says he that the father of darkness should be master of such bright faces and that such comely looks should carry along with them a mind void of internal grace Another question he put to them was about the name of that country They told him the people were called Angles And says he not amiss for as they have Angelical looks so it is fit that such should be fellow-heirs with the Angels in heaven But what was the name of that peculiar province from whence these were brought 'T was answered the inhabitants of it were called Deiri Hol-Deirness Yes says he Deiri as much as de ira eruti i.e. delivered from wrath and invited to the mercy of Christ. What is the King's name of that Province They told him Aello And alluding to the name 't is fitting says he that Alleluia should be sung in those parts to the praise of God our Creator Upon this going to the Pope for it happen'd before he was made Pope himself he beg'd of him to send the English nation some ministers of the Gospel into Britain by whose preaching they might be converted to Christ adding that himself was ready by the assistance of God to finish this great work if it should please his Holiness to have it carry'd on Concerning the same Conversion Gregory the Great writes thus Behold how it has pierced into the hearts of all nations how the very bounds of East and West are joyned in one common Faith Even the British tongue which used to mutter nothing but barbarity has a good while since begun to eccho forth the Hebrew Halleluias in divine Anthems And in a Letter to Austin himself Who can express the general satisfaction among all faithful people since the English nation by the operating Grace of Almighty God and the endeavours of you our Brother has quitted those black errors and is enlightned with the beams of our holy Faith since with a most pious zeal they now tread under foot those Idols before which they formerly kneeled with a blind sort of veneration In an antient Fragment of that age we read thus Upon one single Christmas-day to the eternal honour of the English nation Austin baptized above ten thousand men besides an infinite number of women and children But pray how should Priests or any others in holy Orders be got to baptize such a prodigious number The Archbishop after he had consecrated the river Swale The river Swale in Yorkshire Bede tells this whole matter of Paulinus Archbish of York not of Austin ordered by the Criers and principal men that they should with faith go in two by two and in the name of the holy Trinity baptize each other Thus were they all regenerate by as great a miracle as once the people of Israel passed over the divided Sea and Jordan when 't was turned back For in the same manner here so great a variety both of sex and age passed such a deep chanel
this city being both besieg'd and storm'd first surrender'd it self to the Saxons and in a few years as it were recovering it self took the new name of Akmancester q and grew very splendid For Osbrich in the year 676. built a Nunnery and presently after when it came into the hands of the Mercians King Offa built another Church but both were destroy'd in the Danish Wars r Out of the ruins of these there grew up another Church dedicated to S. Peter to which Eadgar sirnam'd the Peaceful because he was there inaugurated King granted several immunities the memory whereof the inhabitants still keep up by anniversary sports In the times of Edw. the Confessor as we read in Domesday-book it gelded for 20 Hides when the Shire gelded There were 64 Burgesses of the King 's and 30 of others But this flourishing condition was not lasting for presently after the Norman Conquest Robert Mowbray nephew to the Bishop of Constance who rais'd a hot rebellion against William Rufus plunder'd and burn'd it But it got up again in a short time by the assistance of John de Villula of Tours in France who being Bishop of Wells did as Malmesbury informs us y Malmesbury has it quingentis libris i.e. 500 pounds for five hundred marks purchase the city of Henry 1. whither he translaâ—ed his See z He was only stil'd Bâ—shop of Bath subscribing himself commonly Joannes Lathon as Doctor Gaidot in his MS. history of the place has prov'd by several instances tho' still retaining the name of Bishop of Wells and built him here a new Cathedral But this not long ago being ready to drop down Oliver King Bishop of Bath laid the foundation of another near it exceeding large and stately which he well-nigh finish'd And if he had quite finish'd it without all doubt it had exceeded most Cathedrals in England But the untimely death of that great Bishop with the publick disturbances 38 And the suppression of Religious houses ensuing and the avarice of some persons who as t is said converted the money gather'd thro' England for that end to other uses envy'd it this glory s However from that time forward Bath has been a flourishing place both for the woollen manufacture and the great resort of strangers 39 For health twice a year and is now encompass d with walls wherein they have fix'd some ancient images and Roman Inscriptions to evidence the Antiquity of the place but age has so wore them out that they are scarce legible And lest any thing should be wanting to the Dignity of Bath Earls of Bath it has honour'd some of the Nobility with the title of Earl For we read that Philebert de Chandew born in Bretagne in France had that title conferr'd upon him by King Henry 7. Afterwards King Henry 8. in the 28th year of his reign created John Bourchier Lord Fitz-Warin Iâ—quis 31 Hen. 8. Earl of Bath 40 Who dyed shortly after leaving by his wife the sister of H. Daubenâ—y Earl of Bridgewater John second Earl of this family who by the daughter of George Lord Roos had John Lord Fitz-Warin who deceased before his father having by Frances the daughter of Sir Thomas Kitson of Hengrave Wâ—lliam now third Earl of Bathe who dying in the 31 year of the same King was succeeded by John his son who dy'd in the third year of Queen Elizabeth He before the death of his father had John Lord Fitz Warin from whom is descended William the present Earl of Bath who every day improves the nobility of his birth with the ornaments of learning ss Geographers make the Longitude of this City to be 20 degrees and 56 minutes the Latitude 51 degrees and 21 minutes For a conclusion take if you please those Verses such as they are concerning Bathe made by Necham who flourish'd 400 years ago Bathoniae thermas vix praefero Virgilianas Confecto prosunt balnea nostra seni Prosunt attritis collisis invalidisque Et quorum morbis frigida causa subest Praevenit humanum stabilis natura laborem Servit naturae legibus artis opus Igne suo succensa quibus data balnea fervent Aenea subter aquas vasa latere putant Errorem figmenta solent inducere passim Sed quid sulphureum novimus esse locum Scarce ours to Virgil's Baths the preference give Here old decrepit wretches find relief To bruises sores and ev'ry cold disease Apply'd they never fail of quick success Thus human ills kind nature does remove Thus nature's kindness human arts improve They 're apt to fancy brazen stoves below To which their constant heat the waters owe. Thus idle tales deluded minds possess But what we know that 't is a sulph'ry place Take also if you think them worth your reading two ancient Inscriptions lately digg'd up upon the high-way below the city in Waldcot-field and remov'd by Robert Chambers a great admirer of Antiquities into his gardens where I transcrib'd them C. MVRRIVS C. F. ARNIENSIS FORO IVLI. MODESTVS MIL. LEG II. * Adjâ—â—â—â—cis prae â—licis AD. P. F. IVLI. SECVND AN. XXV STIPEND †Hic sâ—â— est H. S. E. DIS MANIBVS M. VALERIVS M. POL. EATINVS * C. EQ MILES LEG AVG. AN. XXX STIPEN X. H. S. E. I saw likewise these Antiquities fasten'd on the inner side of the wall between the north and west gates Hercules holding up his left hand with his Club in the right In a broken piece of stone is this writing in large and beautiful letters * Decâ—â—ioni DEC COLONIAE †Glevi 〈◊〉 Glocester GLEV. VIXIT AN. LXXXVI Next leaves folded in Hercules bending two snakes and in a sepulchral table between two little images one whereof holds an Amalthaean horn there is written in a worse character and scarce legible D. M. SVCC PETRONIAE VIXIT ANN. IIII. * Meâ—â— M. IIII. †Dies D. XV. EPO MVLVS ET VICTISIRANA ‖ Filix â—rissime â—cerunt FIL. KAR. FEC A little below in a broken piece of stone and large letters is VRN IOP Between the west and south gates Ophiucus enfolded by a serpent two men's heads with curl'd locks within the copings of the walls a hare running and underneath in a great stone this in letters a cross VLIA ILIA A naked man as 't were laying hands upon a soldier also between the battlements of the walls leaves two lying kissing and embracing each other a footman brandishing his sword and holding forth his shield another footman with a spear and these letters a-cross on a stone III VSA IS VXSC. And Medusa's head with her snaky hairs t Upon the same river Avon which is the bound here between this County and Glocestershire on the western bank of it is Cainsham Cainâ—â— so nam'd from Keina a devout British Virgin whom many of the last age through an over-credulous temper believ'd to have chang'd serpents into stones Serpeâ—â— stones because they find sometimes in
Worcester Chester Sidnacester Hereford Helmham and Dorchester being also erected into a Province for it in which state it continu'd from the year 766. to 797. An. 766. 794. 795. 797. in all 31 years And in that time as Matthew of Westminster tells us there sate 3 Archbishops at Lichfield viz. Ealdulphus Humbertus and lastly Higbertus in whose time the See of Canterbury was restor'd to it's former dignity by Kinulf or Kenwolf also King of the Mercians i From Otford the river passes down to Derwent Derwent otherwise Darent giving it's name to the place where Vortimer the son of Vortiger who was depos'd as Nennius tells us not for marrying Hengist's but his own daughter set upon the Saxons and kill'd many of them k Thence it goes to Dartford Dartford infamous for the rebellion of Wat Tylar and Jack Straw which began here But now of late re-ennobled by giving title to the honorable Sir Edw. Villiers who Mar. 20. 1690. was created Baron Villiers of Hoo in this County and Viscount Villiers of Dartford l Then it runs into the Thames on which lies Green-hithe where as Mr. Lambard tells us Mr. Lambard's Peâ—amb pâ—â—â— Swane King of Denmark landed and encamp'd himself but I rather think it was up higher in the Country at the town call'd Swanscombe there appearing no remains of any such fortification now at Green-hithe nor any tradition of it whereas Swanscombe Swanscâ—â—â— seems to have taken it's name from some such matter m Below Graves-end upon the bank of the Thames stands Cliff at Hoo Cliff at Hoo. on a high rock of chalk where according to the opinions of Sir Hen. Spelman and Mr. Talbot Prebend of Norwich both eminent Antiquaries several Councils were held the first call'd by Cuthbert Archbishop of Canterbury at which was present Aethelbald King of Mercia An. 742 the second under Kenulph also King of Mercia An. 803 and the third under Ceolwulf his successor An. 822 upon which account Mr. Lambard as well as our Author doubts whether Cloveshoo were not in Mercia rather than in Kent the Kings of Mercia being either present at them or the Councils call'd by their authority neither of which would probably have been either at a place so remote from them or so incommodious for such a purpose Nevertheless Mr. Lambard upon the authority of Talbot yet reserving a power of revoking upon better information agrees that Cliff at Hoo must be the place and the rather because he finds no such place as Cloveshoo within the precincts of Mercia altho' there be divers places there that bear the name of Cliff as well as this But a later conjecture seems to come nearer the truth placing it at Abbandun now Abbington Nom. Lâ—corum Explicat in verbo Clâ—â—shoo Somner's Saxâ—â— Dict. in the Kingdom of Mercia near the middle of the Nation and therefore most convenient for such an Assembly This place anciently before the foundation of the Abbey there was call'd Sheovesham which might either by corruption of speech or carelessness of the Scribes be easily substituted instead of Clovesham or Cloveshoo as any body but moderately skill'd in these affairs will quickly grant n From Cliff the Thames flows on without the admission of any other river till it empties it self into the main Ocean where it meets with the Medway which coming out of Surrey and Sussex visits Tunbridge Tunbridge southward from whence at about 4 or 5 miles distance lye the famous Chalybiat springs call'd Tunbridge-wells so happily temper'd with martial salt and so useful in carrying off many radicated distempers and procuring impregnation that they have been frequented of late to that degree as to cause the building of a great number of houses all about near the place together with a fair Chapel wherein there are prayers read twice a day during the season most whereof being situate in the parish of Tunbridge the whole are stiled Tunbridge-wells tho' the Wells themselves are in Spelhurst the neighbouring parish o Whence it passeth on to Maidstone Maidstone giving name to the town Maidstone as some think being derived from and only an abbreviation of the ancient Saxon MedÆ¿eageston as that again from the ancienter British Caer Megwad or Medwag the third of the cities of Britain as they stand numbred by * Hist Bâ—â—â— cap. 65. Ninnius wherein perhaps they may come as near the mark or nearer if similitude of sound be of any importance as Archbishop Usher who would have the Caer Meguaid or Megwad of Ninnius rather to be Meivod in Montgomeryshire which he would have too to be the Mediolanum of Antoninus and not our Vagniacae which doubtless was so nam'd from the River Vaga and that so stil'd from it's extravagant straggling and winding as it does hereabout Now that Maidstone possesses the true situation of the Vagniacae of Antonin Mr. Camden proves from the best argument that a thing of this nature is capable of viz from it's due distance from the Stations on each side it i.e. 9 miles from Durobrovis and 18 from Noviomagus but then he must not place Noviomagus at Woodcot which is at least 30 miles distant but rather as I said before at Hollowood hill Since the Romans time it hath also been esteem'd a considerable town in all ages having had the favour of the Archbishops of Canterbury who had a palace here founded as our Author and some others say by Archbishop Ufford who if so must certainly be very early in it †Angiia â—acr â—ol 1. p. 12. â—â—1 119. he not living after his Election much above 6 months and never receiving either his Pall or Consecration insomuch that he is seldom number'd amongst the Archbishops Archbishop Courtney was also a great friend to this town who built the College here where he ordered his Esquire John Boteler to bury him in the Cemitery of this his collegiate Church and not in the Church it self where yet he has a tomb and had an Epitaph too which is set down in â—an Mon. 〈◊〉 â—85 Weaver but this I rather believe to have been his Cenotaph than his real place of burial it having been customary in old time for persons of eminent rank and quality to have tombs erected in more places than one For Mr. Somner tells us that he found in a Lieger-book of Christ-Church that K. Rich. 2. happening to be at Canterbury when he was to be bury'd commanded his body notwithstanding his own order to be there inter'd * Somner's H. i. of Cant. pag. 265 266. where he still lies at the feet of the Black Prince in a goodly tomb of Alabaster yet remaining Nor has it yet much fallen from it's ancient dignity it remaining to this day the Shire-town as they call it where the Assizes for the County are usually kept It is also a Burrough sending 2 Burgesses to Parliament In short it is a large sweet and populous town and of later years render'd
was a famous Mart town and very populous If this be allow'd there is no doubt but that Adelphius de Civitate Colonia Londinensium one of the British Bishops at the first Council of Arles had his Seat here though it be deny'd by some Learned men for no other reason but an imaginary supposition of a mistake committed by some ignorant Transcriber l Beside the Roman Coyns the remains of Antiquity mention'd by our Author †Aubr MS. there are also old Roman bricks aequilaterally square like paving-bricks but thinner and some huge thick ones 'T is likewise observable that the Towers and Churches are built of Roman bricks and ruins And at the Queens-head inn in the market-place the stable as also the room above it is of Roman building m At some distance from the river is Lair-Marney Lair-Marney ‖ Norden MS. Essex so call'd from the Lord Marney to whom it belong'd and who with some others of that name lye interr'd in very fair tombs in the Church there Upon the sea-coast lies Mersey-Island Mersey Island containing eight parishes It is a place of great strength and may almost be kept against all the world for which reason the Parliament clapt in a thousand men to guard it from being seiz'd by the Dutch about the beginning of the Dutch-war n Beyond which to the east is Great Clackton Great Clackton * Norden where was sometime a stately house of the Bishops of London and a park but the house is now fallen and the Park dispark'd o To the north-east upon the sea coast is Harwich Harwich †Sylas Tayloâ—'s Hist of Harwich MS. the walls of which town are for the most part built and the streets generally pitcht with a petrify'd sort of clay falling fâ—om the Cliffs thereabouts For from the side of the Cliff between the beacon and the town issues a spring of excellent clear water and thereabouts is a sort of bluish clay which tumbling down upon the shore notwithstanding it is wash'd by the sea at high-water is in a short time turn'd into stone Some that are new fallen are as soft as the clay in the Cliff others that have lain longer crusted over and hard but if open'd or broke the clay is still soft in the middle Others that have lain longest are petrify'd to the very heart This water doth petrifie wood as well as clay a large piece sent from hence is reserved in the Repository of the Royal Society After what has been said in Kent under the title of Arsenals for the Royal Navy it will not be wonder'd at that our learned Author enlargeth no farther in his observations upon this place than what relates to the security of the Road without ought mention'd of the importance which through the growth of the Marine Action of England since his time it has been of to the Crown for 40 years past and now is from its present Conveniences for the ready cleaning and refitting of Ships of War resorting thither on that behalf and its capacity for New-Erections to the degree of second and third Rates Divers whereof have been since then built and others said to be at this day in hand there to the great accommodation of the State and total extinction of the use our Ancestors did to the beginning of this Century generally make of Colne-water in the neighbourhood of this place for the harbouring of the Royal Navy Over-against it at Langerfort Langerfort contracted from Land-guard-fort which tho' it may seem to be in Suffolk is notwithstanding by the Officers of his Majesty's Ordnance in the Tower of London writ in Essex according to former Precedents are the reliques of an ancient fortification which shew great labour and antiquity The line of it runs southerly from a little without the town gate to the Beacon-hillfield about the midst of which is a round artificial hill cast up probably either for placing their Standard upon or else for a Tumulus over some one of their Commanders deceas'd for that we find common in a great many parts of England Another work runs a-cross from the first easterly but they are both broke off by the encroachings of the Sea Thorp Kirkby Walton South of Harwich are Thorp Kirkby and Walton ‖ Norden's Essex MS. included within the ancient Liberty call'd the Liberty of the Soke In these no man may be arrested by any kind of Process but of the Bailiff of the Liberty and not by him but with the consent of the Lord first obtain'd The Sheriff hath no power within this Liberty in any cause whatsoever but the Bailiff executeth all matters as if he had Viscountile Authority Continuation of the EARLS Robert the last Earl mention'd by our Author being restor'd in blood and honour 1 Jac. 1. was twice marry'd and by his second wife had only issue Robert who dy'd young So that dâ—parting this life Sept. 14. 1646. without issue that honour became vacant till shortly after the Restoration K. Charles 2. created Arthur Capel Baron of Hadham and Viscount Maldon Earl of Essex whose son Algernon now enjoys that honour More rare Plants growing wild in Essex Allium sylvestre bicorne flore ex herbaceo albicante cum triplici in singulis petalis stria atro-purpurea An Allium sive Moly montanum tertium Clus montanum bicorne flore exalbido C. B. Wild Garlick with an herbaceous striate flower In a corn-field in Black Notley called West-field adjoyning to Leez-lane plentifully This plant is now almost lost in this field H. Alopecuros maxima Anglica paludosa Park The greatest English Marsh Fox-tail-grass Said by Lobel to grow in the moist ditches near the river Thames Argemone capitulo longiore glabro Mor. D. Plot in Hist nat Oxon. Smooth-headed bastard Poppy This was found by Mr. Dale at Bocking K. Atriplex maritima laciniata C. B. Jagged Sea-Orrache On the sandy shores in Mersey-Island near Colchester plentifully also on the sandy shores at little Holland in Tendring Hundred and elsewhere Atripâ—ex angustifolia maritima dentata Hist nost p. 193. An Atrip angustifolia laciniata minor J. B maritima angustifolia C. B. prod At Maldon by the river and on the banks of the marshes plentifully Auricula leporis minima J. B. An Bupleurum minimum Col. Park angustissimo folio C. B. The least Hares-ear At Maldon in the marshes by the river's side plentifully Clematis Daphnoides major C. B. major flore coeruleo albo J. B. Daphnoid sive Pervinca major Ger. Daph. latifolia sive Vinca pervinca major Park The greater Periwinkle Found near Colchester hy Dr. Richardson This plant I have found out of gardens but being native of hot Countries and frequent about Montpellier I suspect it may owe its original to some plants weeded up and thrown out thence Clematis Daphnoides minor J. B. C. B. Vinca pervinca Officinarum minor Ger. vulgaris Park Periwinkle I have observed it in some fields by the road-side leading
which is but shallow however they have communication with one another by two Causeys made over it which have each of them their respective sluces The South part or that hithermost is by much the greater divided into several streets and has in it a School and for the relief of poor people a pretty large Hospital dedicated to St. John The further is the less yet beautified with a very sightly Church which with the fine walls that castle like surround it those fair neat houses for the Prebendaries and the Bishop's Palace all about it makes an incomparable shew with those three lofty Pyramids of stone in it This was a Bishop's See many ages since For in the year of our Redemption 606. Oswy King of Northumberland having conquer'd the Pagan Mercians built a Church here for the propagation of the Christian Religion and ordain'd Duina the first Bishop whose Successors were so much in favour with their Princes that they not only had the preheminence among all the Mercian Bishops and were enrich'd with very large possessions Cankwood or Canoc a very great wood and other exceeding rich farms being given them but the See also has had an Arch-Bishop namely Eadulph to whom Pope Adrian gave the Pall and made all the Bishops of the Mercians and the East-Angles subject to him being induc'd to it by the golden arguments of Offa King of the Mercians out of envy to Jeambert or Lambert Arch-Bishop of Canterbury About 〈◊〉 year 〈◊〉 Hiâ—t Roâ—â—â—s who offer'd his assistance to Charles the Great if he would invade England But this Archiepiscopal dignity expir'd with Offa and Eadulph Among the Bishops the most eminent is * S. Câ—â—â— Chad who was canoniz'd for his sanctity and as Bede says when the Prelacy was not as yet tainted with excess and luxury made himself a house to live in not far distant from the Church wherein with a few others that is with seven or eight of his brethren he was wont privately to read and pray as often as he had leisure from his labour and administring of the word of God In that age Lichfield was but a small village and in populousness far short of a City The Country about it is woody and a little river runs near it The Church was but of small circuit according to the meanness of those ancient times When in a Synod 1075. 't was prohibited that Bishop's Sees should be in obscure villages Peter Bishop of Lichfield transferr'd his seat to Chester But Robert of Limsey his successor remov'd it to Coventry A little after Roger Clinton brought it back again to Lichfield and began a very fine Church in 1148. in honour to the Virgin Mary and St. Ceada and repair'd the castle which is quite decay'd and nothing of it to be seen at this day The town within the memory of our fathers was first incorporated under the name of Bailiffs and Burgesses by K. Edward the sixth being 52 degrees and 42 minutes in Latitude and in Longitude 21 degrees 20 minutes o * Bishop Usher had rather place this Terra Conallea at Clan-conal in the County of Down Antiquitat Brit. Eccl. p. 369. fol. This Lake at Lichfield is at first pent up into a narrow compass within its banks and then it grows wider afterwards but uniting it self at last into a chanel it presently falls into the Trent which continues its course Eastward till it meets the river Tame from the South in conjunction with which it runs through places abounding with Alabaster Alabaster to the Northward that it may sooner receive the river Dove and almost insulate Burton Burton upâ—â— Trent formerly a remarkable town for the Alabaster-works for a castle of the Ferrars 13 Built in the Conquerour's time for an ancient Monastery founded by Ulfric Spot Earl of the Mercians and for the retirement of Modwena 〈◊〉 is also 〈◊〉 Mowâ—â—â— an Irish woman Of the Abbey the Book of Abingdon speaks thus A certain servant of King Aethelred's call'd Ulfric Spot built the Abbey of Burton and endow'd it with all his paternal estate to the value of 700 l. and that this gift might stand good he gave King Aethelred 300 mancs of gold for his confirmation to it and to every Bishop five mancs besides the town of Dumbleton over and above to Alfrick Arch-Bishop of Canterbury So that we may see from hence that gold was predominant in those ages and that it sway'd and byass'd even in spiritual matters In this Monastery Modwena eminent for her sanctity in these parts lies buried and on the Tomb these Verses were inscribed for her Epitaph Ortum Modwennae dat Hibernia Scotia finem Anglia dat tumulum dat Deus astra poli Prima dedit vitam sed mortem terra secunda Et terram terrae tertia terra dedit Aufert Lanfortin quam * â— Conel terra Conallea profert Foelix Burtonium virginis ossa tenet By Ireland life by Scotland death was given A Tomb by England endless joys by Heaven One boasts her birth one mourns her hopeless fate And one does earth to earth again commit Lanfortin ravish'd what Tirconnel gave And pious Burton keeps her sacred grave Near Burton between the rivers Dove Trent and Blith which waters and gives name to Blithfield Blithfield the delicate house of an ancient and famous family of the Bagot 's p stands Needwood â—edwoodâ—â—â— a large Forest with many Parks in it wherein the Gentry hereabouts frequently exercise themselves with great labour and application in the pleasant toils of hunting So much for the inner parts The North-part of the County gently shoots into small hills which begin here and as the Appennine do in Italy run through the middle of England in one continu'd ridge rising higher and higher from one top to another as far as Scotland but under several names For here they are call'd Mooreland â—â—oreland after that Peake then again Blackston-edge anon Craven next Stanmore and last of all when they branch out apart into horns Cheviot This Mooreland which is so call'd because it rises into hills and mountains and is unfruitful which sort of places we call in our language Moors is a tract so very rugged foul and cold that snow continues long undissolv'd on it so that of a Country village here call'd Wotton seated at the bottom of Wever-hill the Neighbours have this verse among them intimating that God never was in that place Wotton under Wever Where God came never 14 Nevertheless in so hard a soil it brings forth and feeds beasts of a large size 'T is observ'd by the Inhabitants here that the West-wind always causes rain but that the East-wind and the South-wind which are wont to produce rain in other places make fair weather here unless the wind shift about from the West into the South and this they ascribe to their small distance from the Irish-sea From these mountains rise many rivers in this Shire
CVLMINIS INSTITVTI 〈◊〉 But there has been none yet found to encourage one to believe that this was the Morbium where the Equites Cataphractarii quarter'd tho' the present name seems to imply it Nor must I omit the mention of Hay-Castle â—â—tle which I saw in the neighbourhood very venerable for its antiquity and which the Inhabitants told me belong'd formerly to the noble families of Moresby and Dissinton After this the river Derwent falls into the Ocean which rising in Borrodale a Vale surrounded with crooked hills runs among the mountains call'd Derwent-fells wherein at Newlands and other places some rich veins of Copper 〈◊〉 not without a mixture of Gold and Silver were found in our age by Thomas Thurland and Daniel Hotchstetter a German of Auspurg tho' discover'd a good while before as appears from the Close Rolls of Henry the third n. 18. About these there was a memorable Trial between our most Serene Queen Elizabeth and Thomas Percie Earl of Northumberland and Lord of the Manour but by virtue of the Royal Prerogative it appearing that there were also veins of gold and silver Veins of gold and silver it was carry'd in favour of the Queen So far is it from being true what Cicero has said in his Epistles to Atticus 'T is well known that there is not so much as a grain of silver in the Island of Britain Nor would Caesar if he had known of these Mines have told us that the Britains made use of imported Copper when these and some others afford such plenty that not only all England is supply'd by them but great quantities exported yearly Here is also found abundance of that Mineral-earth or hard shining Stone which we call a The people thereabouts call it Wadd It is much us'd in cleansing rusty Armour having a particular virtue for that purpose 'T is said there is a Mine of it in the West-Indies but there 's no need of importing any for as much may be dug here in one year as will serve all Europe for several years By the descriptions which the ancient Naturalists give us of their Pnigitis it does not seem as if that and our Black-lead were the same for theirs agree better with the composition of that black chalk mention'd by Dr. Plott Nat. Hist of Oxfordsh p. 56 57. It may perhaps be allow'd to fall rather under the Catalogue of Earths than either Metals or Minerals But then as Ruddle is acknowledg'd to be an Earth strongly impregnated with the Steams of Iâ—on so is this with those of Lead as may be made out from its weight colour c. Dr. Merret in his Pinax Rer. Nat. p. 218. gives it the name of Nigrica fabrilis telling us that it wanted a true one till he bestow'd this on it at Keswick And he further adds that 't is the peculiar product of Old and New England Blacklead Black-lead us'd by Painters in drawing their Lines and †Monochromata shading such pieces as they do in black and white Which whether it be Dioscorides's Pnigitis or Melanteria or Ochre a sort of earth burnt black is a point I cannot determine and so shall leave it to the search of others The Derwent falling through these mountains spreads it self into a spacious Lake call'd by Bede Praegrande stagnum i.e. a vast pool wherein are three Islands one the seat of the famous family of the Ratcliffs Knights * King James 2. An. regni 3. created Sir Francis Ratcliffe of Dilston in Northumberland Baron of Tindale Vicount Ratcliffe and Langley and Earl of Darent-water another inhabited by German Miners and a third suppos'd to be that wherein b The story of St. Herbert's great familiarity with St. Cuthbert their endearments at Carlisle their death on the same day hour and minute c. we have at large in Bede Eccl. Hist l. 4. c. 29. Vit. S. Cuthb c. 28. All which are repeated in an old Instrument of one of the Bishop of Carlisle's Register-Books whereby Thomas de Apulby Bishop of that See A. D. 1374. requires the Vicar of Crosthwait to say a yearly Mass in St. Herbert's Isle on the thirteenth of April in commemoration of these two Saints and grants forty days Indulgence to such of his Pashioners as shall religiously attend that Service Regest Tho. de Apul. p. 261. Bede tells us St. Herbert led a Hermit's life Upon the side of this in a fruitful field encompass't with wet dewy mountains and protected from the north-winds by that of Skiddaw lyes Keswick Keswick a little market-town formerly a place noted for Mines as appears by a certain Charter of Edâ—ard the fourth and at present inhabited by Miners 3 Who have here their smelting-house by Derwent-side which with his forcible stream and their ingenuous inventions serveth them in notable stead for easie bellows works hammer works forge works and sawing of boords not without admiration of those that behold it The privilege of a Market was procur'd for it of Edward the first by Thomas of Derwent-water Lord of the place from whom it hereditarily descended to the Ratcliffs f Skiddaw a very high mountain The Skiddaw I mention'd mounts up almost to the Clouds with its two tops like another Parnassus and views Scruffelt a mountain of Anandal Anandal in Scotland with a sort of emulation From the Clouds rising up or falling upon these two mountains the Inhabitants judge of the weather and have this rhyme common amongst them If Skiddaw hath a cap Scruffel wots full well of that As also of the height of this and two other mountains in those parts Skiddaw Lauvellin and Casticand Are the highest hills in all England From thence the Derwent sometimes broad and sometimes narrow rowls on to the North in great haste to receive the river Cokar Which two rivers at their meeting almost surround Cokarmouth Cokarmouth a populous well-traded market-town where is a Castle of the Earls of Northumberland 'T is a town neatly built but of a low situation between two hills upon one is the Church and upon the c This is evidently an artificial Mount cast up on purpose to give a better prospect to the Castle other over against it a very strong Castle on the gates whereof are the Arms of the Moltons Humfranvills Lucies and Percies Over against this on the other side of the river ‖ Ad alterum milliare at some two miles distance are the ruins of an old Castle call'd Pap-castle the Roman Antiquity whereof is attested by several Monuments Whether this is the Guasmoric Guasmoric which Ninnius tells us King Guortigern built near Lugaballia and that it was by the old Saxons call'd Palm-castle I will not determine Here among other Monuments of Antiquity was found a large open vessel of greenish stone with several little images curiously engraven upon it which whether it was an Ewer to wash in S. Ambrose
may believe Tacitus but questionless they were known in the time of Claudius the Emperor for Pomponious Mela who then lived mentioneth them Yet doubtless Orosius is untrue in that he writeth that Claudius conquered them So little right has Claudius to this conquest as Hierom relates in his chronicle that Juvenal in Hadrian's time writes thus of them Arma quid ultra Littera Juvernae promovimus modo captas Orcades minima contentos nocte Britannos What tho' the Orcades have own'd our power What tho' Juverna's tam'd and Britain's shore That boasts the shortest night Afterwards when the Roman Empire was utterly extinct in Britain 4 The Saxons the Picts planted themselves in these Islands thus Claudian poetically alludes Maduerunt Saxone fuso Orcades The Orcades with Saxon gore or estow'd Ninnius also tells us that Octha and Ebissus both Saxons who served under the Britains sailed round the Picts in 5 40 vl Kyules and wasted Orkney After that they fell under the dominion of the Norwegians upon which account the Inhabitants speak Gothick by the grant of Donald Ban who after the death of his brother Malcolm Can Mor King of Scots had excluded his nephews and usurped the Kingdom and thought to procure a second by this means to support him in his designs The Norwegians continued in possession of them till the year 1266. Then Magnus the fourth of that name King of Norway being exhausted by a war with Scotland surrendered it to Alexander the third King of Scots by treaty which was afterwards confirmed to King Robert Brus in the year 1312 by Haquin King of Norway At last in the year 6 1498. 1468 Christian the first King of Norway and Denmark renounced and quitted all the right either of him or his successors in it to James the third King of Scotland upon a marriage between him and his daughter and so transferred all his right upon his son in law and his successors for ever For the better warrant and assurance whereof it was also confirm'd by the Pope As for the Earls of Orkney Earls of Oâ—kney not to mention the ancient who also held the Earldom of Cathness and Strathern as an inheritance This title was at last by an heir female derived upon William de Sentcler and William the fourth Earl of this family sirnamed the Prodigal run out the estate and was the last Earl of the family Yet his posterity have enjoyed the honour of Barons Sentcler till within this little while And the title of Cathness remains at this day in the posterity of his brother But as for the honourable title of Earl of Orkney it was since this last age together with the title of Lord of Shetland conferr'd upon Robert a natural son of King James the fifth which his son Patrick Steward enjoys at this day * The present Governors are stiâ—ed Stewards of Orkney Additions to the ORCADES THE Isles of Orkney are generally so little known and yet withall so slightly touch'd upon by our Author that the Curious must needs be well pleas'd to see a farther Description of them Mr. James Wallace is our authority a person very well vers'd in Antiquities and particularly in such as belong'd to those parts where his station gave him an opportunity of informing himself more exactly He was Minister of Kirkwall Orkney lies in the Northern temperate Zone in longitude 22 degr 11 min. in latitude 59 degr 2 min. The length of the longest day is 18 hours and some odd minutes For a great part of June it will be so clear at midnight that one may read a letter in their chamber yet what Bleau tells us cannot be true that from the hill of Hoy a man may see the sun at midnight It cannot be the true body of the sun but only the image of it refracted through the sea or some watery cloud about the Horizon seeing it must be as far depressed under our Horizon in June as 't is elevated above it in December and from that hill the sun is to be seen in the shortest day of December above 5 hours and a half The Air the Seasons and the particular Islands my Author shall describe to you in his own words The air and clouds here by the operation of the sun do sometime generate several things for instance Not many years since some fishermen fishing half a league from land over-against Copinsha in a fair day there fell down from the air a stone about the bigness of a foot-ball which fell in the midst of the boat and sprung a leak in it to the great hazard of the lives of the men that were in it which could be no other but some substance generated in the clouds The stone was like condensed or petrified clay and was a long time in the custody of Captain Andrew Dick at that time Stewart of that Country Here our winters are generally more subject to rain than snow nor does the frost and snow continue so long here as in other parts of Scotland but the winds in the mean time will often blow very boistrously sometimes the rains descends not by drops but by spouts of water as if whole clouds fell down at once About four year ago after a thunder in the month of June there fell a great flake of ice more than a foot thick This Country is wholly surrounded with the sea having Pightland-Frith on the south the Deucaledonian ocean on the west the sea that divides it from Zetland on the north and the German sea on the east Zetland stands north east and by east from Orkney and from the Start in Sanda to Swinburgh-head the most southerly point in Zetland will be about 18 leagues where there is nothing but sea all the way save Fair-Isle which lies within eight leagues of Swinburgh-head Pightland-Firth which divides this Country from Caithness is in breadth from Duncans-bay to the nearest point of South Ronalsha in Orkney about twelve miles in it are many tides to the number of twenty four which run with such an impetuous current that a ship under sail is no more able to make way against the tide than if it were hindred by a Remora which I conceive is the cause why some have said that they have found the Remora in these seas In this Firth about two miles from the coast of Caithness lies Stroma a little isle but pleasant and fruitful and because of its vicinity to Caithness and its being still under the jurisdictions of the Lords of that Country it is not counted as one of the isles of Orkney On the north side of this isle is a part of the Firth called the Swelches of Stroma and at the west end of it betwixt it and Mey in Caithness there is another part of it called the Merrie Men of Mey both which are very dangerous The sea ebbs and flowes here as in other places yet there are some Phaenomena the reason of which cannot easily
by the Picts They are in the fashion of Pyramids with a winding pair of stairs within to the top Under them they had Cells all vaâ—â—â—ed over and from the top of them they made a sign by fire when there was any imminent danger The ground is clean and the soil naturally inclines to a sandy clay The product of the Collary is mainly fish 〈…〉 feathers beef tallow hides stâ—ff stockings with wollen-gloves and garters There have been seen at one time in Brassâ—y-found fifteen hundred sail of Hollanders After Farâ— an Island lying in the and way between Orknay and Shetland the first that appears is called MAIN-LAND as being the biggest â—0 〈◊〉 in length and where â—roadest 1â— or 〈◊〉 The Country belongs to the Crown of Scotland being part of the Stewarâ—â— of Orkney and govern'd either by the Stewart or his Deputy They have one Presbytery which meeteth at Scalloway And though the north-pole is not so elevated that it has day continually for six months together as Pithaeas of Marseils has falsly said of Thule for which Strabo reprehends him for this is not to be affirm'd of Iseland it self where cold and winter is in a manner fixt and permanent Yet that Schetland is the same with Thule we are induced to believe first from the situation of it in Ptolemy For our Thule is defin'd in the 63 degree from the Aequinoctial by Ptolemy Sheâ—land call'd by some Hethâ—â—nd and so is Schetland Again it lies between Scotland and Norway where Saxo Grammaticus places Thule and as Solinus describes Thule this is but two days sail from the point of Cathness Tacitus says also that the Romans espied it afar off in their voyage round Britain as they sail'd by the Orcades Lastly it faces the shore of Bergae in Norway and so lay Thule according to Pomponius Mela in which author the text is corruptly Belgarum littori instead of Bergarum littori For Bergae a City in Norway lies over against Shetland and Pliny makes Bergos to be in this tract which I take to be the country of the Bergae as Nerigon in Pliny by which no one will deny but he means Norway This may suffice for Thule which is hid to us as well as it was to the ancients by snow and winter as a certain Author expresses it Neither was any of them able to tell which of the Northern Isles they meant when they talk'd of Thule As for the length of days in that unknown Island Festus Avienus when he treats of Britain gives these verses out of Dionysius Longa dehinc celeri si quis rate marmora currat Inveniet vasto surgentem gurgite Thulen Hic cum plaustra poli tangit Phoebeius ignis Nocte sub inlustri rota solis fomite flagrat Continuo clarumque diem nex aemula ducit Hence urge your course along the watry road You 'l come where Thule swells above the flood Here Sol's bright wheels when near the Northern Pole They cut their way still sparkle as they roul Not here vain men expect the light 's return But every night 's a rival of the morn Pomponius Mela hath likewise made the same remark Over against the coast of the Belgae lies Thule an Island much celebrated both by the Greek Poets and by ours by reason the days are very long there and the nights very short Though in winter the nights are dark as in other places yet they are light in summer for though the face of the sun be not seen for that time yet the sun is so much above the horizon that his light is clearly visible During the solstice there 's no night at all for the sun being then higher his light is not only visible but the greatest part of his body The sea above these Islands is term'd slow frozen and icy The by Sea or Croniuâ— and was thought rough and unnavigable by reason of great flakes of ice It was also call'd Cronium from Saturn for the ancients had a story as Plutarch writes that Saturn was kept sleeping in a deep cave of pumice-stone in some British Island hereabouts Saturn a Prisoner that Jupiter had thrown him into a deep sleep which served instead of fetters and sent Ambrosia by the birds which was so fragrant that all the place was perfum'd with it that many spirits are posted here to attend him by whom he is serv'd with great diligence and honour This Fable if I am not deceived points at the veins of metal over which Saturn presided that lye in these Islands and are useless for want of wood to supply fornaces The THULE of the Ancients By Sir Robert Sibbald THere is no place oftner mentioned by the Ancients than Thule and yet it is much controverted what place it was some have attempted the discovery of it but have gone wide of the marks the Ancients left concerning it yet they seem all to agree that it was some place towards the north and very many make it to be one of the British Isles and since Conradus Celtes sayeth it is encompassed with the Orkney Isles it will not be amiss to subjoyn to the description of Orkney this Essay concerning it Some derive the name Thule from the Arabick word Tule which signifies Far off and as it were with allusion to this the Poets usually call it ultima Thule but I rather prefer the reason of the name given by the learned Bochartus who makes the same to be Phaenician and affirmeth that it signifieth darkness in that language Chanan Lib. 1. Chap. 40. Thule proprie Syris Umbrae sunt hinc translata significatione Thule protenebris passim sumitur itaque gezirat Thule erat insula tenebrarum quod idem est ac tenebrecosa quod nomen insulae ad extremum Septentrionem sitae quam congruat nemo non videt Hence Tibullus Panegyric ad Messalam speaking of the Frigid Zone hath this Illic densa tellus absconditur umbrâ Odâ—ss 1. v. 25. And these places of Hom. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ad caliginem and lib. 3. v. 1190. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Neque enim scimus ubi sit caligo is by Strabo interpreted nescimus ubi sit septentrio We know not where the north is lib. 1. p. 34. and lib. 10. p. 454. and 455. And consonant to this Statius lib. 3. Ad Claudiam Uxorem Vel super Hesperiae vada caligantia Thules And lib. 4. ad Marcellum aut Nigrae Littora Thules And indeed this derivation of the word carries more reason than any other they give it and is an evident proof that the ancients agreed in placing their Thule towards the north We shall see next what northern country they pitched on for it The ancients seem most to agree that Thule was one of these Isles that are called British Strabo one of the most ancient and the best of Geographers extant sayeth Pythaeas Massiliensis circa Thulen Britannicarum insularum septent rionalissimam ultimam ait esse Yet he himself
not very far from this same Praetentura since the Poet immediately subjoyns to Quae Scoto dat fraena truci Ferroque notatas Perlegit exanimes Picto moriente figuras That this Thule was a part of Britain the Roman Writers seem to be very clear especially Silius Italicus lib. 17. in these Verses Coerulus haud aliter cum dimicat incola Thules Agmina falcifero circumvenit acta covino For Silius here seemeth to have in his eye what Caesar in his Commentaries hath delivered of the Britons fighting in Essedis and Pomponius Mela lib. 3. cap. 6. where he speaks of the Britons sayeth Dimicant non equitatu modo aut pedite verum bigis curribus Gallice armati covinos vocant quorum falcatis axibus utuntur And our Author Tacitus tells us that in the battle fought with our Countrymen at the Grampion-hill media covinarius eques strepitu ac discursu complebat The middle of the field was filled with the clattering and running of chariots and horsemen And a little below that Covinarii peditum se praelio miscuere quanquam recentem terrorem intulerant densis tamen hostium agminibus inaequalibus locis haerebant In the mean time the Chariots mingled themselves with the Battalions of the Footmen which although they had lately caused much terror yet were they now entangled in the thick ranks of the Enemies and in uneven ground These Covinarii are called by Caesar Essedarii so I think no body will doubt but that Silius the Poet by Coerulus Incola Thules meant the Britains We also find an appellation of the same nature given to one of the Tribes of the Scots by Seneca in Ludo in these Verses Ille Britannos Ultra noti Littora ponti Et Coeruleos Scoto Brigantes Dare Romuleis Colla catenis Jussit He to submit the Britains did compel Beyond the utmost Ocean's bounds who dwell The Irish Scots who painted are with blew He forced to the Roman yoke to bow For so it is read by Joseph Scaliger and by Salmasius Exercitat Plinii in Solinum p. 189. who came next in learning to him upon these words Gelonis Agathyrsi collimitantur caerulo picti Et sane Pictos sive Agathyrsi haud aliter interpretari liceat quam aliquo colore fucatos sic Picti Scotobrigantes Senecae Picti Populi Britanniae ab eadem ratione dicti And it should seem by these Verses Et caeruleos Scoto Brigantas Dare Romuleis Colla catenis Jussit that Seneca who was contemporary with Claudius had in his eye the victory which Ostorius under Claudius the Emperor Governour of Britain obtained over Caratacus His History may be seen elegantly writ by Tacitus in the 12th Book of his Annals where he shows us that Caratacus being brought before Claudius in Chains made a brave Speech to him and amongst other things tells him Neque dedignatus esses claris Majoribus ortum pluribus gentibus imperantem foedere pacis accipere And without doubt besides the Silures mentioned there by Tacitus these Scoto-brigantes were of the number of these Gentes he commanded Claudius was so well pleased with his manly behaviour saith Tacitus that Caesar veniam ipsique Conjugi Fratribus tribuit atque illi vinclis exsoluti But to make it appear which part of Britain the Thule mentioned by the Romans was it will be fit to see to which part of Britain the Epithets attributed by the Authors to Thule do agree best First then it was a remote part Ultima Thule as if this were the remotest part of Britain as Tacitus bringeth in Galgacus expressing it Nos terrarum ac libertatis extremos recessus ipse ac sinus famae in hunc diem defendit Then Thule was towards the North and so was this Country with respect to the Roman Province And then thirdly it might deserve the name Thule because of its obscure and dark aspect it being then all over-grown with woods Fourthly the length of the day is attributed to Thule and upon this account it must be the country to the North and to the East of Ierne by these Verses of Juvenal Arma quid ultra Littora Juvernae promovimus modo captas Oreadas minimâ contentos nocte Britannos For it is of the North and East parts of Britain the Panegyrist saith Panegyric Constantino Constantii filio dicta O! fortunata nunc omnibus beatior terris Britannia and a little below Certe quod propter vitam diliguntur longissimi dies nullae sine aliqua luce noctes dum illa littorum extrema Planities non attollit umbras noctisque metam coeli siderum transit aspectus ut sol ipse qui nobis videtur occidere ibi appareat praeterire This same is applied to the Northmost part of Britain by Tacitus where he says of it Dierum spatia ultra nostri orbis mensuram nox clara extrema Britanniae parte brevis ut finem atque initium lucis exiguo discrimine internoscas quod si nubes non officiant aspici per noctem solis fulgorem nec occidere exsurgere sed transire affirmant That is the length of the day is much above the measure of our climate the nights are light and in the furthermost part of the Island so short that between the going out and coming in of the day the space is hardly perceived and when Clouds do not hinder they affirm that the sun-shine is seen in the night and that it neither setteth nor riseth but passeth along The antient Scholiast upon the word Juverna says Inverna Juberna insula Britanniae sita in oceano mari a qua non longe sunt triginta aliae Orcades insulae quas Mela scribit and addeth in Hibernia enim quae Britanniae pars in solstitio aestivo nulla omnino nox vel illa exigua prope nulla est ait ergo minima nocte utpote in quo loco in universo imperio nox omnium brevissima est The day is 18 hours and 25 minutes and as Lesly in his History observeth in Ross Caithness and the Orkney Isles the nights for two months are so clear that one may read and write in them which is confirmed by those that live there Another property of Thule given by Tacitus is that about it mare pigrum grave remigantibus perhibent Which agreeth indeed to the Sea upon the N. E. part of Scotland but not for the reason Tacitus gives for want of winds but because of the contrary tides which drive several ways and stop not only boats with oars but ships under sail that if any where it may there be said of the Sea Nunc spumis candentibus astra lacessit Et nunc Tartareis subsidet in ima Barathris Sometimes the foaming Billows swell amain Then suddenly sink down as low again But Thule is most expresly described to be this very same Country we treat of by Conradus Celtes Itinere Balthico Orcadibus qua cincta suis Tyle