Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 4.djvu/264

 244 NOTICES OF ANCIENT ORNAMENTS The early historians record the donation to various churches in England, of objects of a very precious description, described as altaria aurea, such as that which was bestoAved upon the clnu'ch of Ghistonbmy, by Ina, king of the West Saxons, esti- mated at 264 pounds of gold, and the altars with relics, given to Waltham Abbey by Harold, of which one was of gold ; they were carried away to Normandy by the Conqueror". Another costly altar of gold was presented to Glastonbury by Abbot Herlewin, at the commencement of the twelfth century; and William of Malmesbury describes the astonishment of a foreigner, who inspected it, (" altare, quod, cum Johanni Cre- mensi ostensum enormitate precii ejus hebetasset animum," &c.,) affirming that, at Rome, it would be valued at a hundred marks of gold. These, and other like altaria, w^ere probably altars of the portable kind. The super-altars, described in the ancient inventories of churches in our country, were chiefly formed of precious stones, or costly marbles. In the treasury of York Minster, the following altars were found at the Dissolution. " Unum super altare pretiosum de jaspide, ornatum in circumferentiis cum argento et auro, ac lapidibus pretiosis, operis subtilis. Item, j. superaltare de rubeo jaspide, &c. Item, ij. super altaria de rubeo marmore, ornato cum argento, quorum j. stat super iiij. pedes argenti, et alterum sine pedibus, super quern S. Johannes celebravit, quando sibi apparuit Spiritus Sanctus, ut in sua legenda patetP." Herbert, archbishop of Canterbury, who died A.D. 1205, presented an "altare gestatorium de lapide calcedonio*i." In the inventory of the treasury of St. Paul's, London, A.D. 1295, is found the item, "Super- altare de jaspide ornatum capsa argentea deaurata, et dedicata in lionore beate Marie et omnium Vii-ginum." At the altar before the cross, " in aquilonari," was found " umun super- altare de Loys," or slate, the same material which appears to have been designated by Archbishop Hincmar as litimn ; several like ornaments were found at other altars, and three in the church of St. Eaith, in the crypts ^ Occasionally, but contrary to customary usage, super-altars were formed of was found and richly adorned by Abbot tores, col. IGSt. Henry about the year 1125, in the times ' Dugdale, Hist, of St. Paul's Cathedral, when that historian wrote. pp. 204, 229, 232. ed. 1658. Amongst ° Gul. Malmesb. de Antiqu. Glaston. the relics is described a super-altar of ed. Ilearne. Harl. MS. 3776. jasper, enclosed in plates of silver gilt, in P Mon. Angl., vol. iii. p. 174. Orig. ed. which were relics of St. Andrew, St. Philip, 1 Gervasii actus Pontif, Decem Scrip- St. Denis, and St. Blase.— Ibid., p. 235.