Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 1.djvu/91

 ii s. i. JAN. 29, mo.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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nobles), was exacted an oath to obey and acknowledge Henry V. as King of France on the death of Charles I. The oath of friendship made in 1573, by " the new King of Polonia, n to Solomon, Emperor of the Turks, is curiously framed :

" If I shall neglect thus to doe, I will be an Apostate, a forsake r of the Holy Commandments, of the Gospell of the Christians ; I will say that the Gospel is false and untrue, I will crosse both Alter and Priest, I will slay swine upon the Fount, I will commit whoredom upon the Alter, "&c.

3. Ministerial. Among these oaths appear those of the Lord Privy Seal, the Keeper of the Great Seal, Privy Councillor, Lord President of the Welsh Council, Clerks of Parliament and of Signet, Chancellor, Secretary of State, and many similar dignitaries.

4. Legal. Specimens are given of the oaths of the Master of the Rolls, Judge of Requests, Judges, Justices, Serjeants, and Attorneys at Law.

5. Departmental. Full sets of oaths for all the officers of (a) the Court of Wards and Liveries, (6) the Court of General Surveyors, (c) the Court of Augmentations, (d) the Court of First-Fruits and Tenths, and (e) the Exchequer.

6. Ecclesiastical. Among these may be mentioned the homage by an Archbishop and Bishop ; the oath of a Bishop renouncing a Pope's Bull, and that of a Bishop of the Church of Rome to Pope Boniface ; the oath of a Doctor of Divinity in the University of " Basill n ; and the oath administered (temp. Richard II.) to William Divet (or Devnet), Nicholas Taylor, Nicholas Poncher, and William Staynor of Nottingham, they renouncing their Lollardism, and swearing " to be buxim to the Lawes of holie Church." Under Articles of 1595 and 1616 respec- tively, oaths were administered to the churchwardens and sidesmen of Salisbury and Bristol, and specimens are here set out, with a copy of the Vow and Covenant ordered by Parliament to be taken by every man (not dated). There are also the oath (in Latin) of a nun on taking up her monastic life, and that of John Copley, " Collegiall " of the English Seminary abroad of the Roman Church, rejoicing that he had been drawn out of a country infected with heresy, and undertaking to return to England, there to gain souls. To ensure the performance of the matrimonial articles of the Prince of Wales and the Infanta of Spain in 1625, a special form of oath was prepared for the Archbishop of Canterbury and the King's Councillors.

7. Royal Household. There are several forms of oath to be taken by the yeomen and servants of the King's Chamber, by the Council of Princess Marie (temp. Henry VIII.), and the Royal Treasurers and Sur- veyors. In lower ranks also oaths seem sometimes to have been administered to the staff : " The honourable George, Lord Nevell, Baron of Abergaveny " (temp. Henry VIII.), made his servants on their first coming into his household swear to be obedient, and not to consume nor waste his goods.

8. London. The oaths of many obsolete ! ity and Wardmote officials and servants are

given, with that of the brokers and freemen of the City. An office seldom heard of is that of the " Tronator," who undertook truly " to weigh and poyse the wooll."

9. Berwick-on-Tweed. There is a com- plete set of oaths for the defence of this town (temp. Eliz.), including those of the Governor, Marshal, Treasurer, Porter, Master of the Ordnance, Clerk of the " Checque " (of persons entering and leaving), Captains of the Bands, and private soldiers.

10. Calais. A similar elaborate set is given for the defence of Calais (temp. Henry VIII.). This includes the oaths of the Deputy, High Marshal, Lieutenant of the Castle, Master Porter, &c., with those of the Lieutenants of Guynes, Ruisbancke, Hannues, and Newenham (Newhaven) Bridge. The oath of the Steward of Gas- cogne in the Duchy of " Guyan ?2 is of the same kind.

11. Knightly Orders. The oaths of a Knight of the Garter (temp. Philip and Mary) and of the Bath (temp. Charles I.) are printed, together with the oath taken in 1585 by Henry III. of France to observe the Statutes of the former Order.

12. Military. Of these oaths there are very few. Those administered to the soldiers of the Earl of Leicester (temp. Eliz.) in the Low Countries, and to the captains and soldiers in Zeeland for the safeguarding of Flushing, are curious.

13. Forest. Amongst these we find the oath given to " Master Crowner " by stealers of venison abjuring the realm, and the oath of the inhabitants of twelve years of age and upwards to respect the forest laws.

14. Various. (a) The oath given as that of the Knights of the Round Table in the time of King Arthur deserves to be reprinted in full:

" Not to put off your Armour from your Bodie, but for requisite rest in the night.