Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 1.djvu/167

 ii B. i. FEB. 19, i9io.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

159

NOTES ON BOOKS, &c.

The Scottish Grey Friars. By William Moir

Bryce. 2 vols. (William Green & Sons.) THESE handsome and well-printed volumes are of a sort especially adapted to give pleasure to the readers of ' X. & Q.,' consisting as they do of a clear and painstaking historical narrative of the career of the Scottish Franciscans, and of a volume of documents of all kinds, from well- known Bulls to previously unprinted deeds and accounts, with some excellent, though for the most part familiar, illustrations. Let us first, before indicating the chief features of Mr. Bryce's work, ask where he obtained the word " Observa- tine." " Observant " we know, and "Obseryan- tine " we can understand without approving ; but " Observatine " cannot by any stretch of meaning be applied to an agent it must be restricted to an object. The constant jar of such a barbarism spoils our pleasure* in reading the book. " Mycenas " must be a misprint.

Mr. Bryce has not confined himself to an account of the Scottish friars, but has written 80 much of the history of the Franciscan Order as was necessary to understand the problems which they, in common with others, had to solve, and their relation to the national and social life found them. The book shows wide reading, and in general sound judgment ; and in the few cases where we should be disposed to differ from the author's statements, his authorities are always respectable, and generally accepted. His literary criticism and judgment are more personal and less valuable. Mr. Bryce shows, in fact, that true antiquarian cast of mind which delights in gathering everything that can throw a side-light on the subject under consideration, sometimes, it is true, at the cost of the clearness of outline and definiteness of statement attained by less encyclopaedic, but more scientific writers.

The history of the Scottish Grey Friars begins with their arrival at Berwick in 1231, and closes with their dispersal and exile at the Reformation. It can be divided into two movements at two epochs. The first was a branch of the original expansion of the Order, which spread from England over the South of Scotland, and resulted in the foundation of eight convents (reduced to s< -von by the English annexation of Berwick), ending with the reign of Bruce. The second continental in origin, and dating from the middle of the fifteenth century was a branch of the Observant reformation of the Order, and founded nine convents in the large towns of the east r.p.tst of S<-i .t land. The history of each of these convents is traced from foundation to dispersal and decay, with references to such documents as an- known, and an account is then given of the Regular Tertiaries of Scotland, who had two nunneries Aberdour and Dundee.

Tli. remainder of the first volume is occupied by five chapters dealing with Franciscan theory and practice, very sensibly and calmly con- sidered, in which the relation of the friars to the lite around them is also described. The illustra- tions include four reproductions of charters and other deeds, and a number of works of art of general rather than Scottish interest, the only

ones, indeed, coming under that description being; miniatures of Isabella, Duchess of Brittany, daughter of James I., and a view of the Aberdeen Friary Church in 1661.

The second volume (of documents) consists in the first place of such charters, sasines, accounts, &c., relating to the friaries, as are to be found in the General Register House at Edinburgh or in the respective burgh charter chests. These are printed for the first time in the great majority of cases, as are also the interesting facsimiles of the Obituary Calendar of the Aberdeen Observants, to which Mr. Bryce adds a transliteration. From printed sources the author has collected many of the important Franciscan bulls, privileges, and rules, to some of which translations are appended j- and he has reprinted Hay's Chronicle in full, a most interesting and valuable document. Miv Anderson gives a scholarly account of some MSS. in the library of Aberdeen University, formerly belonging to the Franciscan Convent. A good index of its kind will help the reader to- find his way about a work which resembles the national dish in being " fine confused feeding."

There is no doubt that a much more scientific book on the same subject could have been pro- duced from the same materials, but we doubt very much whether the result would have been so satisfactory to the general reader ; while as for the scholar, since Mr. Bryce scrupulously gives his, authorities, the fact that the texts are not critical leaves him no worse off than before, with the advantage of having his materials at hand.

The Romance of Symbolism. By Sidney Heath. .

(Griffiths.)

So many books on symbolism have passed through- our hands from time to time that we should have thought that little more remained to be said on a subject so well-worn, and we are not surprised to find that Mr. Heath has nothing new to say. Indeed, if we mistake not, he has not yet made himself acquainted with the immense literature- which has gathered round the subject. He certainly makes no reference to it.

Confining himself to the ecclesiastical aspect of it, as it bears upon Christian art and architec- ture, he writes for beginners, and explains the- most elementary matters. At the same time, with a curious want of proportion, he assumes: an amount of erudition on the part of his readers; which few are likely to possess. He tells, e.g., of a strange abuse of images, and he thus begins his paragraph : " Michael Balbus says in a letter tx> Ludovicus Pius " (p. 17). These worthies, their date and milieu, may be familiar to Mr. Heath, but he withholds from us all information. He ex- plains at length what a " nave " and an " aisle " and a " pix " are ; but when he registers " duplex" as " a very early symbol and one that plainly belongs to the pagan-Christian period " (p. 198), he vouchsafes no word to tell us what a. " duplex " is.

In details where we can test the author's anti- quarian and philological position, we frequently find him at fault. He holds to the exploded notion that the ancient Britons worshipped a sun- god Bal (as he spells it), in whose honour the Beltane fires were kindled (p. 34), and believes that the same deity may be traced in " the constant recurrence of the word Bal in Irish place-names " (p. 36) hi the numerous Ballys, we suppose-