with great Satisfaction seeing they found things so suitable to their desires and expectations In the Year 1163. Thomas of Beckett afterwards St. Thomas Arch-Bishop of Canterbury out of a peculiar devotion to this pious Princes memory by the Kings Intercession and at his own Expence procured of Pope Alexander the Third his Canonization which was Solemnized after this manner The Usuall Ceremonies having passed at Rome and the Apostolick Letters returned by those who were sent to procure them Laurentius who was then Abbot of Westminster received orders to convocate many reverend and venerable persons as well Bishops as Abbots Noblemen as others to his Church of Westminster and there publiquely to read the said Letters or Breves to the assembly he accordingly performed the same to the well liking and rejoycing of all those who were present at their publication But for as much as the Kings Affairs detained him at this time in Normandy and his presence thought extreamly necessary to the consummation of so grand a Ceremony as the Translation would be it was deferred 'till his arrivall in England almost two years after unto whom the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury the Abbot of Westminster with some others applying themselves to know his Royall Pleasure therein He at length wholly left the same to the Abbot of Westminster's disposal who being desirous as Gilbert his predecessor had done to see in what condition the Sacred Body lay before he would venture to expose it to the publique called together the Prior with a select number of the Monks who consulting thereon came to this resolution that no one should presume to be present at the sight thereof but those who had beforehand prepared themselves by Fasting Weeping and Prayer for such an occasion and that they only should meet in the Church on the Eve before the Translation with Tapers in their hands Albs on their Bodies and their feet to be all Naked and bare and from thence to proceed in the Search according to their desires which was done accordingly the doors being first shut and all others excluded from coming into the Church at that time they went by way of Procession to the Steps of the high Altar Singing of Psalms and reciting the Litanies with Prayers made on purpose for that Action The Abbot Prior and two of the Brethren leaving the rest at their devotions approched the Tomb and removing the upper Stone of the Coffin they beheld by the help of their lights a man lying in rich Vestments of Cloath of Gold having on his feet Baskins of Purple and Shoes of great price his Head and Face were covered with a Rich covering Interwoven and wrought with Gold with a Beard White and Long inclining to Curl and falling decently on his Breast which sight struck a profound reverence in the Spectators who called the rest of their Brethren whom they had left at the Altar to behold the same Their curiosity ended not here but led them further so that they began with great Piety and Devotion some to touch his Head others his feet and some his Hands which they found without any manner of Corruption or Putrefaction And such was the firmness of this Saints Body that all parts seemed to retain their former brightness and perfection notwithstanding the outward parts of those Vestments which lay next the lid of the Coffin were a little sullied and had lost some of their freshness by the contiguity and moldering of the cement and dust of the Stone which had fallen upon them all which they gently wiped away with a Linnen Cloth resolving to remove the whole Body from that Stone-repository to another of Wood which they had there before prepared for the same purpose so that some assisting at the Head others at the Arms and Legs they lifted it gently from thence and laid the Sacred Corps first on Tapestry spread on the floor and then wrapping the same in divers silken Cloaths of great value they put it into the Wooden Chest with all those things that were found in the former except the Gold Ring which was on the Kings Finger which the Abbot out of devotion retained and order'd it to be kept in the Treasury of the Abby as a commemoration thereof The next day viz. on the third of the Ides of October being Sunday and the appointed time for the more solemn translation of this Saints Body in the Morning Early the Holy Reliques were brought into the Quire of the Church and publickly exposed for all those who out of devotion or curiosity should come to see them The King himself assisted to support the Coffin at the time of Procession to whom were joyned Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury Gilbert Bishop of London Henry Bishop of Winchester c. with many others The concourse of all sorts of people as well Nobles as Artificers and Soldiers being so great that the like had not been seen for many years After the Procession the King with his own hands helpt to deposite the holy Reliques in a Shrine which he had caus'd anew to be made for them all glittering with Gold and Silver This day of his Canonization was solemnly kept for some Ages after this by the Religious of those times and is not forgot at present by many pious and devout Catholiques who come annually on the 13th of October as they do on that of his deposition the 5th of January to perform some part of their Devotions here Once more this Sacred Body was removed from it's Old Habitation and Repose and that was about the Year of Grace 1226. When King Henry the Third pulled down the Old Church built by this Saint and Erected a most Stately Edifice in the room thereof causing a peculiar Chappel likewise to be set apart and Dedicated to him adorning it with several Carvings of Masons work wherein much of his Story History of his Life Miracles are curiously wrought some part thereof remaining on the Architrave on the back-side of the High Altar at this day In the midst of this Chappell there was likewise prepared a Noble and Magnificent Shrine the upper part covered with Plates of fine Gold so Artificially workt by the hands of the most cunning Goldsmiths and set about with Precious Stones all at the Kings cost that it amounted to an inestimable value but the under-part with the curious floor round about it was framed by the command and at the charge of Richard de Ware the then Abbot of Westminster with a part of those Stones and by the same Workmen who compos'd the Pavement before the High Altar and which he brought out of Italy in his way to England when he came to the Government of this Abby The King likewise commanded a Coffin to be made all of pure Gold wherein to inclose anew the Sacred Reliques And on the day of their deposition or placing them in this rich Feretory there was a Solemn Procession The King in Person being there with the Chief of the Bishops Abbots Priors and other Religious and Clergy who were then in Town Moreover further to grace the Action on that day the King made a most Royal Magnificent Feast at his Palace at Westminster where all comers and goers as well Rich as Poor were liberally treated or rewarded Which Royal Feast and grand Solemnity was performed in the Year of our Lord 1269. From this very time we have nothing on Record that takes notice of any other removall or disposall of these Holy Reliques And therefore may conclude they remained safe and undisturbed untill the days of King Henry the Eight when we find in that general Inundation which swept amay all things Sacred this Noble Feretory stript of all its costly furniture and the Body of its Golden-Case to be meanly inclosed in a course Wooden Coffin the same I presume I lately saw and from whence I drew the so often-mentioned Crucifix and Gold-Chain FINIS ☞ ☜ Mat. West Hor. Hist p. 202. Hen. Huntingd Hist Lib. 4. Ingulph Hist p. 961. Jo. Brompton Chro. p. 955. Mat. West Flor. Hist Flor. Wigorn. Gul. Malmsb. de Gest Ang. Reg. Lib. 2. Ailred Abbas Rieval de vita S. Edw. Mirac Gu. Lambard de priscis Angl. legibus edit per A. Whelock p. 136. Hen. Spelman Concil Tom. 1. p. 619. Nicol. Harpsfields Hist Angl. Eccles Pag. 218. Caes Baron Annal. Eccle. Tom. 11. p. 290. N. 9. Joh. Brompton Chron. p. 955. Monastic Angl. Tom 1. Chart. 1. Hen. Spelman Concil Tom. 1. pro Chart. 2. In Archivis West Chart 3 Mat. Paris p. 2 Hen. Huntingdon Hist Lib. 2. p. 367. Mat. Westin Flo. Hist p. 220. Flo. Wigorn. p. 633. Rog. Hov. Ann. pars prior p. 439. Ailred Abbas Rievallis de vita Mirac S Edw. Con. p. 402. Flo. Wigorn. Rog. Hoved. Ann. p. 439. Mat. Paris Hist Angl. p. 2. Jo. Brompton Chron. p. 950. Ailred Abbas Rieval ut supra p. 402. Now legend Angl. in vita S. Wulstani Lau. surius ad 19 Jan. in vita S. Wulstani auct per Jacob Mosandrum Nicol. Harpsfield Hist Angl. Eccles p. 219. Ailred Abbas Rieval de vita Mira. S. Edw. p. 40◠Ibid. Ibid. W. Thorn. Chron. Aug. Cant. p. 2255. Mat. Paris p. 99. Laur. Surius in vit S. Ed. Confess cum Add. Limpomani L. Surius ut Supra Joh. Fleet. de fundat Abb. West Ms in Bib. Westm J. Weever Fun. Mon. p. 455. Nicol. Harpsfields Hist Angl. Eccles Pag. 457. Mat. Paris p. 1005.
the same Cross is Pictured a Benedictine Monk in his habit and on each side of him these Capital Roman Letters on the right limb thus  A  Z A X  A  And on the left thus  P  A  C  H  This Cross is hollow and to be opened by two little Screws towards the top wherein it is presumed some Relique might have been conserved The whole being a piece not only of great Antiquity but of admirable Curiosity And I look upon this Accident as a great part of my good Fortune to be made the mean Instrument of their discovery and preservation For Remarques upon the foregoing relation I shall offer but two to your consideration First some Observations concerning the time when these Holy Things were first found and when delivered to his present Majesty And Secondly how this discovery agrees with Antiquity and those who have writ concerning the Deposition Interment and Translation of this Saints Body together with the reasons of his Canonization and rebuilding the Monastery and Abby-Church of St. Peters-Westminster For which last Observations I must here own my self indebted to my very worthy Friend Mr. Hen. Keepe who was pleased to favour me so far as to oblige me with this short abstract from his large History of this Abby's Memoires For the first it is highly remarkable that it should happen on that day whereon the late Rebellion began in the West and much about the Same Hour in the afternoon when they landed that I secured them being on the Eleventh day of June and Thursday in Whitson-weeek But much more Observable were the delivery of them to his Majesty it being at a time and on a day when all people stood in suspence how that great point would be decided when as a most happy Omen and Forerunner of the Good News which came within few hours after that his Majesties Forces had gain'd an entire victory over his Enemies I humbly presented the same to his most Sacred Majesty being on the Sixth day of July following notwithstanding I had endeavoured to have done it before but through severall unexpected interruptions was disappointed of my intent till then So that Heaven seems more to have had the conduct thereof then bare chance or casualty As for this Holy and Religious King Edward the Confessor he was the Seventh Son of King Etheldred by Emma his Second Wife Daughter of Richard the Second Duke of Normandy And during the Invasion and Possession of this Land by the Cruel and Inhumane Danes he together with his Brethren were conveighed by their Mother into Normandy and there remain'd until their Tyranny and Oppression were over-passed During which space all his Elder Brothers being dead and the Danes at length utterly destroy'd or expell'd the Kingdom He was by the Unanimous and Joynt consent of the Nobility and Gentry of this Realm sent for and Proclaimed their Lawfull King and Governor suitable to the many Prophesies and Revelations declared heretofore concerning him Coming therefore according to the Exigence of the times but with a small Retinue into England he was Crown'd at Westminster as some Authors have it tho' others say it was at Winchester by Eadsius Arch-Bishop of Canterbury and Alfric Arch-Bishop of York on easter-Easter-day following in the Year of our Lord God One Thousand Forty and Three Granting unto the said Abby of Westminster that from thenceforth whensoever himself or any of his Successors Kings of England should wear their Royal Diadems in that Church that the Precentor of the same should receive at the hands of the Kings Sheriff half a Mark of Silver and the Covent One hundred Simnells or Wastel-Cakes of the finest Flower together with Sixty four Gallons of the best Wine in commemoration thereof The King being thus placed on the Throne of his Ancestors in Peace and recollecting what had passed in his former Exile Two things more especially offered themselves to his consideration First how those Vows and Promises he had then made in case of his Restauration might be performed to his Satisfaction And Secondly how such wholesome and binding Laws might be Instituted as not only to secure the Freedom and Tranquillity of his Subjects during his own time but to future Ages The last of these he committed to the care and prudence of his great Council to see Effected which were so happily accomplished that even to this day they bear the name of St Edwards Laws The basis and foundation whereon all our other Laws depend and which the Princes of this Realm in their Coronation-Oaths oblige themselves to observe As to his Vows some had respect to the publique others more immediately related to himself For what belonged to himself he presently performed upon his first ascending the Throne But what concerned the Publique took up further time of deliberation among the rest he had Solemnly undertook that as soon as he had settled his Kingdom in peace to Visit the Holy See to go to Rome to perform some set devotions at the stations in that City and there to repose himself for a time But this was found a matter of that Consequence that notwithstanding his whole inclination and fixt resolution to effect it yet at length he was over-persuaded by the entreaties of the Nobility and Tears of his People to decline it at least 'till such time they might send to the then Bishop of Rome such Persons of Worth and Learning that might lay the Case with all the Inconveniences seriously before him and to have his Resolution thereon which was done and that with such cogent Reasons and convincing Arguments that the designed Journey was Dispensed with Yet in lieu thereof he was enjoined to bestow what Money he had laid up towards the Expence of that Voyage on the Poor Miserable and Indigent And moreover as a further Remembrance thereof to Erect some New or Repair some Old Church and Monastery to the Honour of St. Peter All which the King most readily embraced and immediately pitch'd upon the Restoring of the Monastery and Church of St. Peters Westminster In Order thereunto he decimated all his Revenues set Workmen to pull down the Old and to erect a New Church even from the Ground in place thereof repaired the Offices of the Ruined Abby filled the same with Monks and settled a competent Revenue to sustain them But see the instability of Humane Affairs No sooner was this Work brought to perfection and the day of Holy Innocents in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Sixty and Six prefixed for the Solemn Dedication of the Church But the King fell sick on Christmas-Day preceding and growing worse and worse on the day following he was scarce able to stay out the Solemnity of High-Mass being led from thence to his Chamber and taking his Bed the next day his Life was despaired of So that he made his Will Received and prepared himself for his departure at the
Feb. 6. 168 7â—This may be Printed Sunderland P. A TRUE and PERFECT NARRATIVE OF THE Strange and Unexpected Finding the Crucifix Gold-Chain OF That Pious Prince St. Edward The King and Confessor Which was found after 620 Years Interment AND Presented to His Most Sacred Majesty King JAMES the Second By Charles Taylour Gent. LONDON Printed by J. B. and are to be Sold by Randal Taylor near Stationers Hall 1688. To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty Dread Sir NExt to my Fathers Serving your Most Sacred Majesties Royal Father of Glorious Memory in the quality of Cornet of Horse in Sr William Courtneys Regiment in all his Wars against his Enemies and breeding up his Children in Principles of Vnshaken Loyalty I cannot but esteem it a great part of my good Fortune to have been made the happy Instrument of preserving so Holy and Sacred a Treasure as the Crucifix and Gold-Chain of St. Edward the Confessor seem to be And the having an Opportunity of laying them at your Majesties feet And whereas your Majesty was then pleased to accept the same with some kind of satisfaction so I humbly beseech your most Sacred Majesty to pardon this presumption of giving your Majesty the trouble of a further account of that Action then at that present I could recollect or call to mind and that the Memory thereof may not be lost to Posterity which is the humble request of Your Majesties Most Faithfull Obedient and Loyal Subject and Servant Charles Taylour A TRUE and PERFECT NARRATIVE Of the Strange and Unexpected finding the Crucifix and Gold-Chain of St. Edward the King and Confessor c. SO many and so various have been the Relations and Reports concerning the finding and disposing of the Crucifix and Gold-Chain of St. Edward the King and Confessor and those so fabulous and uncertain withall That in Honour to Truth to disabuse the misinform'd World and to satisfy the curiosity as well as importunity of my Friends I think my self under an Obligation to set forth this plain Narrative of the matter of Fact from whom all others tho' never so Erroenous pretend to have it In order thereunto to avoid confusion prolixity and what is worse Tedious Preambles and digressions I shall take this short Method to perform it In the first place I shall give an account of some things previous or what went before in order to the discovery Secondly the description of the place it self from whence these things were taken Thirdly the manner of finding and securing the same the disposing thereof and presenting them to his present Majesty Fourthly an Exact description of the said Crucifix and Chain with other dependencies thereon And lastly Some material Remarks and Historical Observations on the whole For the first you are to understand that behind the High-Altar or back of the Communion-Table in the Abby Church of St. Peters-Westminster there are two doors one on the right and the other on the left hand and both leading into a small Chappel Dedicated to St. Edward the King and Confessor and till this day known by that name tho' sometimes by reason many Kings and Queens of this Realm have been Interr'd therein call d the Chappel of the Kings Into this Chappel and thorough one of those doors it is that when the Solemnity of our Kings and Queens Inaugurations or Coronations are perform'd in this Church that they withdraw after the Unction Benediction and other Ceremonies are passed at the High-Altar where they not only repose themselves for a time but are dismantled of their former Princely Robes and Accoutrements to be re-invested with more Noble more Stately and those of greater Grandeur and Magnificence The Arch-Bishop of Canterbury the Lord High-Chamberlain of England and the Dean of Westminster officiating on which occasion several Boards Scaffolding Traverses Tables and other cumbersome materials are there set up covered and adorned with costly Tapestry and other rich furniture All which as heretofore was likewise performed at the Solemn and Happy Coronation of our Royal Sovereign his present Majesty King James the Second and his most excellent Consort our Gracious Queen Mary whom God grant long and happily to Reign here and Eternally in Glory hereafter In the midst of the aforesaid Chappel of St. Edward there is a very lofty and Noble Tomb still remaining built after the manner of a Shrine and for which intent it was erected by King Henry the Third The Base placed on a very curious floor inlade with all sorts of fine coloured Agats and Marbles raises it self about six or Seven foot from the Pavement supported at each corner by twisted or Serpentine Pillars and the whole Composure of Mosaick Work. Tho' of late much injured and defaced by picking out the coloured Glass and Stones On the North and South-side hereof are three Niches or Arches with one at the East-end so ordered and contrived that the Sick and Infirm might here repose without offence or injury to each other On this as a pedestal for it is solid throughout is a more Sumptuous Cabinet or Repository made of Wainscot hollow within and formerly covered with plates of Gold and Silver without but at present nothing remains but the Wooden-frame or Casket only Within this Hollow place or Caverne then it was that I have often observed by the help of a Ladder something resembling a Coffin made of sound firm and strong Wood and bound about with bands of Iron and during the Eighteen years I have belonged to the Quire of this Church it was a common Tradition among us that therein were deposited the Body or Remains of Holy King Edward the Confessor Now it happen'd not long after the Coronation of their Present Majesties that the aforesaid Coffin or Chest was found to be broke and an hole made upon the upper Lid thereof over against the Right Breast about six Inches long and four broad some esteeming it an Accident thro' the Carelesness and Neglect of the Workmen in removing the Scaffolds others thought it done out of Design but be it the one or the other thus it continued for almost seven Weeks and often viewed by divers of the Church before it was my good Fortune to go thither when on St. Barnaby's Day In the Year of our Lords Incarnation One Thousand Six Hundred Eighty and Five I met with two Friends between Eleven and Twelve of the Clock after Morning Service who told me they were going to see the Tombs so I went along with them Informing them that there was a Report that the Coffin of St. Edward the King and Confessor was broke and coming to the place I was desirous to be satisfied of the Truth thereof In order thereunto I fetched a Ladder lookt upon the Coffin and found all things answerable to the Report And putting my hand into the hole and turning the Bones which I felt there I drew from underneath the Shoulder-Bones a Crucifix richly adorned and enamelled and a Gold Chain of four
and twenty Inches long unto which it was affixed the which I immediately shew'd to my two Friends they being as much surprized and equally admired the same as my self But I was afraid to take them away wirh me 'till such time I had acquainted the Dean as the Governour and Chief Director of our Church And thereupon I put them into the Coffin again with a full Resolution to inform him But the Dean not being to be spoke with at that time and fearing this Holy Treasure might be taken thence by some other Persons and so concealed by converting it to their own use I went about two or three hours after to one of the Quire and acquainted him with what I had found who immediately accompanied me back to the Monument and from whence I again drew the aforesaid Crucifix and Chain` and shew'd them him who beheld them with admiration presently advising me to keep them 'till I should gain an opportunity to shew them to the Bishop of Rochester our Dean so I kept them for the space of three Weeks and five days as having no opportunity in all that time to speak with him by reason of his uncertain â—â—silence being often in the Country and whâ—â—â—â— Town so taken up with the affairs of Parliament that I was not willing to disturb him In the mean time hearing that his Grace John late Lord Arch Bishop of York and my ever honoured good Lord was come to Town I went to pay my Duty and Respects to him and shew'd him the Crucifix and Chain who looked upon them as great pieces of Antiquity for so he was pleased to call them shewing them with admiration to the rest of his Family and ordered me to wait upon him the next Morning for he designed that I should go along with him to Lambeth-house that his Grace of Canterbury might have a sight thereof Accordingly my Lord Arch-Bishop of York carried me thither and when I had produced them and his Grace had well viewed and perused them he express'd the like conceptions of them as my Lord of York had done before Viz. That the whole was a very great piece of Antiquity After this having these things so long by me I procured an able Master in Drawing and Limning to take an exact draught thereof according to the full dimentions with the Reverse Figures and other adornments the which I have now by me About the same time that Industrious and Judicious Antiquary Sir William Dugdale Late Garter Principal King at Arms was pleased to give me a visit and told me how his Grace the Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterhury had inform'd him of a great Rarity I had in my possession and named it desiring moreover that he might have a sight thereof with whose request I willingly complyed telling me likewise that he would make some remarques thereon On the Sixth day of July following My Lord Bishop of Rochester and Dean of Westminster dining at his Grace the Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterburys His Grace was pleased to declare to his Lordship what he had seen concerning these Things and to inform him how they were still in my Possession so that upon his Lordships return to the Abby that afternoon about four of the Clock I was sent for who immediately took me along with him to Whitehall that I might present this Sacred Treasure to the King and being no sooner introduced into his Majesties Closet where I had the Honour to Kiss his Royal Hand but upon my knees I delivered them with my own hands to him which his Most Sacred Majesty was pleased to accept with much Satisfaction and having given him a further account how the remains of the body of that Holy King was and opened the Cross in his presence I withdrew leaving them safe as being now in his Royal possession At the time when I took out of the Coffin the aforesaid Cross and Chain I drew the Head to the hole and view'd it being very sound and firm with the upper and nether Jaws whole and full of Teeth with a list of Gold above an Inch broad in the nature of a Coronet surrounding the Temples There was also in the Coffin white-Linnen and Gold-colour'd flowr'd-silk that look't indifferent fresh but the least stress put thereto shew'd it was well nigh perish't There were all his Bones and much dust likewise all which I left as I found taking only thence along with me the Crucifix and Gold-Chain His Majesty was pleased soon after this discovery to send to the Abby to take care that no damage were done to the Coffin and ordered it to be inclosed in a new one of an Extraordinary strength and goodness each planck being two Inches thick and joyn'd together with large Iron wedges where it now remains as a Testimony of his Pious Care that no abuse might be offered to those Sacred Ashes To set forth these Things in their proper colours and to describe the same so that the Eye of the mind may be brought down to have a just apprehension of them I will not with my weak Judgment pretend to undertake Yet having them so long in my possession and viewing them so often with delight I will endeavour what I can to give you the description of them For the Chain it was four and twenty Inches long compleat all of pure Gold the Links oblong and Curiously Wrought The upper part whereof to lye in the Nape of the Neck was joyned together by a Locket Composed of a large round Nobb of Gold Massy and in Circumference as big as a Mild-shilling and half an Inch thick Round this went a Wyer and on the Wyer about half a doâ—en little Beads hanging loose and running too and again on the same all of pure Gold and surely wrought On each side of the Lockett were set two large square red Stones supposed to be Rubies From each side of this Lockett fixed to two Rings of Gold the Chain descends and meeting below passes thro' a square piece of Gold of a convenient bigness made hollow for the same purpose This Gold wrought into several Angles was painted with divers Colours resembling so many Gemms or precious Stones and to which the Crucifix was joyned yet to be taken off by the help of a Screw at pleasure For the Form of the Cross it comes nighest to that of an Humettee flory among the Heraulds or rather the Botony yet the pieces here are not of equal length the direct or perpendicular beam being nigh one fourth part longerthen the traverse as being four Inches to the extremities whilst the other scarce exceeds Three yet all of them neatly turn'd at the ends and the Botons Enamelled with Figures thereon The Cross it self is of the same Gold with the Chain but then it exceeds it by its rich Enamell having on one side the Picture of our Saviour Jesus Christ in his Passion wrought thereon and an eye from above casting a kind of beams upon him whilest on the reverse of