Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 5.djvu/310

 254 NOTES AND QUERIES. en s. v. MAR. 30, 1912.

The Bath Chronicle, 20 Dec., 1820, says:

"On Saturday evening, Mr. Brodribb of Clutton, on his return from this City, was stopped, between Newton Bridge and the turnpike, by a man, who seized the reins of his horse. Mr. Brodribb immediately knocked him down, upon which two other men came out from an adjoining meadow, and together succeeded in robbing him of a pocket book containing 7l. or 8l. and some silver. The villains beat Mr. Brodribb so cruelly with bludgeons that he now lies in a dangerous state at his home in Glutton. Two men are in custody on suspicion of being the perpetrators of the villainy."

From the same journal, 29 May, 1821:—

"Two men were executed for robbing W. Marchant on Dunkerton Hill; and that John Kew confessed to having, amongst others, robbed Mr. Brodribb."

Probably Brodribb, Broderip, and Brod- repp are variants of the same surname. Hutchins's 'Dorset,' 3rd ed., ii. 159, gives the pedigree of Brodrepp of South Maperton. The family of Brodrepp seems to have derived its name from Baudrip, a village near Bridgwater. The name was variously written. Richard Brodrepp of Huntspill, near Bridgwater, co. Somerset, married Mary, daughter and coheir of Christopher Morgan of South Maperton. The marriage settlement is dated 5 Jac. I. A Richard Brodrepp of South Maperton was active on the Parliament side during the great Civil War. Their coat of arms was Gu., a cross arg. between four swans proper.

(11 S. v. 148).—To say that "the wife of Augustus or Trajan would no more be an empress than the wife of an Archbishop of Canterbury is an arch- bishopess" is to confuse a delicate question by an entirely misleading analogy. In most cases the wife of a Roman emperor bore a title which may be regarded as generally equivalent to "empress," namely, Augusta. It is true she did not mechanically succeed to this title. It was necessary that it should be formally conferred on her by the Senate. But an emperor's titles and powers had to be formally conferred on him. The first woman to bear the name "Au- gusta" was Livia, the wife of Augustus and mother of the Emperor Tiberius; but she only acquired it after her husband's death, in accordance with the wish expressed in his will. The first wife of a reigning em- peror to be so distinguished was Agrippina, the wife of Claudius. From the time of Domitian onwards, the title was ordinarily bestowed on the emperor's consort. An empress enjoyed various other marks of distinction, and her head frequently ap- peared on coins. How far the position of an "Augusta" included any actual share in the imperial powers has been disputed. Mommsen, in his 'Romisches Staatsrecht,' inclined to the view that it carried with it some participation of power. Livia seems to have shared in some official acts at the beginning of her son's reign, and Agrippina " treated the title as conferring a substantial share of power " (Furneaux, note on Tac. ' Annals,' xii. 26). Pulcheria, eldest sister of Theodosius II., was created Augusta in 414, and acted as regent in her brother's name. Placidia, mother of Valentinian III., ruled as his guardian. In the later days of the Roman Empire we have an Augusta, Irene, first joint ruler with her son, and afterwards sole sovereign. EDWARD BENSLY.

HANS SACHS'S POEMS (11 S. v. 167). Hans Sachs's Reformation Hymn in Richard Wagner's ' Meistersinger von Niirnberg ' represents only the first eight lines of a celebrated poem of Hans Sachs called ' Spruchgedicht,' and bearing the well- known title, ' Die Wittembergisch' Nachti- gal, die man jetzt horet uberall.' It may, perhaps, be desirable to quote these eight lines according to the original text of Hans Sachs, which, upon the whole, agrees with Richard Wagner's reproduction (excepting its obsolete spelling of several words), and will be readily understood:

Wacht auf, es nahent [i.e., nahet] gen dem tag !

Ich hor singen im griinen hag

Ein wunnikliche nachtigal

Ir stimm durchklinget berg und tal.

Die nacht neigt sich gen Occident,

Der tag get auf von orient,

Die rotbriinstige morgenret

Her durch die triiben wolken get.

Hans Sachs's entire ' Spruchgedicht ' com- prises 700 lines, and was dated by him, in its original edition, " anno salutis 1523, am 8 tage julij." It can be found in ' Dichtungen von Hans Sachs : Zweiter Teil : Spruchge- dichte,' ed. Jul. Tittmann, pp, 10-30, 8vo, Leipzig, 1870, as well as in various later editions (as, for instance, in a recent selec- tion of his poems, ' Hans Sachs, ausgewahlt und erlautert von Karl Kinzel, 6te ver- besserte Auflage,' 8vo, Halle, 1907, pp. 24- 38). H. KREBS.

" PIMLICO ORDER" (11 S. v. 167). 'Webster's Dictionary,' 1911, p. 1637, in the lower section allotted to minor words, has : " 'In Pimlico,' in good order. Dial."

TOM JONES.