Page:Horse shoes and horse shoeing.djvu/467

 the Horse had in his gift, among many others belonging to his office, that of a Serjeant-Farrier at 1s. 1d. per diem, and three Yeomen-Farriers at 6d. And numerous instances of the newly revived name are to be discovered in writings of this and later ages. Chapman, in his translation of the 'Iliad,' has it:

And Heywood, in the 'Troia Brittanica' (1609), writes:

The value of shoeing yet held a high place in equestrianism and among equestrians, and much importance was attached to shoes, either as relics, or for purposes of display. We have already seen to what an extent this was carried at Okeham; it was also in vogue elsewhere, and often gave rise to strange customs which continued to a late period. For instance, in the Preston Pilot for 1834, it is mentioned 'that a large assembly congregated for the purpose of witnessing the renewing of the horseshoe at the Horse-shoe corner, Lancaster, when the old shoe was taken up and a new one put down, with 1834 engraved on it. Those who assembled to witness the ceremony were entertained with nut-brown ale, &c.; afterwards they had a merry chairing, and then retired. In the evening they were again entertained with a good substantial supper. This custom is supposed to have originated at the time John O'Gaunt (third son of Edward I.) came into the town upon a noble charger, which lost its shoe at this place. The shoe was taken up and fixed in the middle of the street, and has ever since been replaced with a