Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 5.djvu/337

 DE CAUMONT, BULLETIN MONUMENTAL. 249 century. — The chasuble of Sf. Aldegonde is of considerably later character, probably of the tcntli or eleventh century. — The ancient tissue preserved at Le Mans is perhaps the earliest and most curious of the very remarkable collection of which M. De Caumont has here favoured us with engravings of faithful character; this is ornamented with lions of rude design, each having a star on the hind shoulder, they stand face to face, with a beacon or fire-altar between each pair, a comjjarison of these with the celebrated bas- relief of the lions over the gates of Mycene, and other ancient sculptures, seems to prove that they are oriental work of the fourth century, and of the dynasty of the Sassanides, such at least is the opinion of the learned M. Le Normand, no mean authority on such a subject. The second pa2)er is on the Tower of King Richard at Chains, by M. de Verneilh, with an engraving which shews that the tower before which our lion-hearted king was slain, was a small but lofty round tower, very much resembling one of the round towers of Ireland ; it formed part of the forti- fications standing at one angle of the court-yard, but was not part of the ex- tei'nal fortifications ; the account of the death of the king here quoted bears strong marks of authenticity, and is said to be from a cotemporary though anonymous author printed in Bibl. MS. libr. P. Labbrei, t. ii. p. 302. " In the year of our Lord 1199 Richard the most valiant king of the English was struck on the shoulder by an arrow whilst he was besieging a certain tower in a certain castle of Limousin called Chalus-Chabrol. In the said tower were two knights with about 38 other men and women. One of the knights was called Peter Bru, the other Peter de Basile, of whom it is said that he shot the arrow from the cross bow that struck the king, and of which he died within twelve days, namely on the third festival before the Sunday on which was celebrated the procession of palm branches, the eighth day of April, the tenth hour of the night. In the interval while he was ill he ordered his people to besiege the castle of the viscount, called Nuntrura (Nontron), and a certain other tower called Montagut, (or Piegut,) which they did, but the death of the king being heard of, they retired in confusion. The king himself had proposed in his heart to destroy all the castles of the said Viscount Ademan." It appears that at the time the king was struck the principal parts of the fortress were already taken, and that the king was in the court-yard in the interior of the castle, at one angle of w'hich this round tower is situated. The third paper is a notice of the discovery of 450 Roman coins at Aveze near Ferte Bernard, in the department of Sarthe, in December 1846by Mr. E.Hucher. The fourth paper is an account of the church of Champ-le-Duc in the department of the Vosges, by M. Digot; this church appears to be of the twelfth century, with a part of the beginning of the sixteenth, oi'namented with sculptures of which a' lithographic plate is given. The number concludes with proceedings of a meeting of the French Society for the preservation of the INIonnments of Antiquity, held at the country house of M. De Caumont, at Yaux, near Caen, on the 19th and