Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 7.djvu/379

 AND NOTICE OF THE CHURCH AT THAT PLACE. 271 have quoted is of opinion, " that it is a stone table Ayhich may have served as a credence, but which, it has been not ill remarked, may well be supposed a receptacle for tlie pains henisy I feel some hesitation in accepting this description, and, as the point is deserving of attention, will venture to state the reasons. It appears to me, this " altar-tomb," or credence, is beyond the projection described, and below the altar rails. The credence, according to the authorities cited by Mr. Clarke (Archceologia, vol. xi., page 355), could never have been so placed. " The credence was formerly used as a repository for the sacred vessels during the mass, and owes its origin to a similar appendage about the altar, from time immemorial, for it was very early the custom to have a table or small altar on each side the larger," This agrees with the description of Ducange. Richelet describes it thus : " Credence, petit buffet a main droite, au bout de I'autel, et un pen au dessus, ou Ton met les burettes." These cruets contained the wine and water for consecration at the altar, the body was ordered to be made of cr^^stal, glass, or some transparent substance, to enable the celebrant to distinguish the wine and water. De Vert describes the credence as — " sorte de petite table ou Ton met tout ce qui sert au sacrifice et aux ceremonies de I'autel ; a Lyon elle est de pierre, a Beauvais c'est un veritable buffet de bois." They were placed on the Epistle, sometimes on the Gospel, side of the altar. — From these descriptions, I doubt whether this could be considered as a credence. I direct attention to the point, as deserving of further investigation by others who may visit this church, and are conversant with matters of this nature. The credence, I should suppose, occupied a place nearer the altar than the stone table or altar-tomb at Etchingham could ever have done. The word, whether derived from the Italian or German, equally indicates the purpose for which the credence was used. Crretrrn?cn, possibly from the Italian credcnzare, is still used in Germany to express the duties of the person who serves the wine ; the credence was placed close to the principal table at festivals of the rich, whence it was early introduced into the ceremonial of the Church. To how late a period this custom was continued, I am uncertain. At the end of the chancel there are eighteen carved oak stalls, three in each return, nine on each side ; the}'^ rest on