Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 3.djvu/166

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 s. m. F EB. 24, 1917.

'Over seven hundred years comes down, if not quite unbroken, yet extraordinarily near being -complete a rare thing and in itself impressive. And, besides that, the record of the house is by no means that of tame and selfish prosperity. There are but few members of the line who do not stand out as more or less powerful person- alities keen and hardy fighters, who could also display real public spirit, willing to take trouble over the affairs both of their own locality and the country at large. Without reproach they could make themselves acceptable to kings, being, it is clear, well endowed with that wit and grace which are the gifts whereby Ireland has sealed her conquerors for her own. Dr. Ball has drawn their portraits effectively, so that it is not only the historian or genealogist who may enjoy these pages, but the student of human nature as well.

It is hardly necessary to say that the material ' for this work has been both collected and dealt with faithfully. The careful references to the sources for the several statements, which appear .at the foot of every page, together with the numerous other foot-notes and the appendixes, greatly enhance the value of the text. The literary associations of Howth considering its attractions are somewhat meagre ; Swift fur- nishes the chief of them. To them Dr. Ball does justice, as he does also to legends and ghost stories. Thus he tells, briefly, the famous Beres- lord ghost-story taking occasion to do so by the fact that Lady Beresford's daughter by a

second marriage became at 17 the wife of William, Lord Hpwth, and presently the ad- mired friend of Swift.

From the Preface supplied by the Council of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland we learn that Dr. Ball intends to complete his ' History of County Dublin ' in two more volumes, which, like the one before us, will be presented by him to the Society. Students of Irish history owe Dr. Ball a real and great debt.

Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous (Chancery)

preserved in the Public Record Office. Vol. I.

1219-1307. (Stationery Office, 15s.) WE have looked through few Calendars of more varied interest than the one before us, and for "that very reason it is not easy to do justice to it in a review. Its unusual wealth of detail offers material for the study of more than one aspect of the social life of the much studied thirteenth century. Most of these Inquisitions were taken before Sheriffs directed by writs under the Great Seal. They concern the king's interest in the property of outlaws and criminals, and in the hold- ings of deceased persons ; or the exact definition

of customs and services ; or the adjustment of differences between landholders and their neigh- bours ; or, again, are inquiries into the circum- stances under which a man met his death by violence. These last are numerous, and from them may be gathered not only many gruesome stories, but also many miniature pictures of mediaeval life and manners. Thus we learn what was the trick by which a man might catch the stray goshawk of another ; and how when one had bought a new sword he would try it to see if it was stiff enough ; and how a pet calf might be trained to come in and steal and eat

oat- cake. There is a story of a sow which dragged a child from its cradle and killed him ; and another of the broils and misadventures

which occurred at Durham because John de Grendon's dog ran out and barked at the two dogs of a certain esquire of Scotland, who was riding by : and there is the tale of what befell William le Rede of Akle, whom, when he was ill with the " hot sickness," two enemies of his dragged out of his house, and carried off in a cart to Bungeye Castle. They stripped him, put him in irons and in stocks, and left him with his naked body against the naked earth for a day and a night. Being warned that he was like to die, they then brought him out and left him covered with a carpet outside the castle gate half-dead. His friends came and carried him home, but he never ate or drank again, and died on the second day. Indeed, if any one doubts the ferocity which runs darkly through the romance and attractiveness of the Middle Ages, he need but go through this volume. That this was not merely the brutality of the lower orders, but to some extent characterized those in au- thority, may be illustrated by an inquisition touching one John de Elbrugge, who as a young boy had left the country out of fear. " Walter de Elbrugge," his brother, the writ explains, " was hanged for felony, and Juliana their mother was hanged for harbouring the said Walter." And yet again we have here that amazing com- plaint, under twenty-nine counts, of the burgesses of the lesser commune of Oxford against the burgesses magnates, which throws a grim light on the possibility of the grossest tyranny being exercised by the wealthier townsmen towards the poorer sort. This complaint is one of the most interesting of these documents ; another, given in full in the original Latin, is the survey, in 1250, of Rockingham Castle, which the Sheriff of Northampton found to be in a far from satis- factory condition. In 1290 inquisition was made as to the origin and ownership of Ravenspur by Grimsby, and the account sets forth in some detail how the island first arose, and how it came to be inhabited. In 1307, in an inquisition before Aymer de Valencia, Keeper of Scotland, Malise, Earl of Strathearn, was pronounced innocent of any part in the murder of Comyn.

The material in the way of prices of land and of all kinds of products and commodities is almost endless ; there are several good notices of Jews, and a relatively large number of Jewish names occur ; and some of the Irish items deserve attention.

Those who find amusement in unusual Christian names may also add some specimens to their collection and more, it may be mentioned, than appear in the Index. The abstracts have evi- dently been made with great care, and, so far as can be judged apart from comparison with the originals, successfully. The translators have inserted odd phrases or words from the text of the document with commendable frequency, and this in itself is a valuable feature of this volume. There are two Indexes : a General one, and an Index of Subjects.

jbatitts to (Komsponfcmts.

MR. E. C. MALAN and GENERAL TERRY For- warded.

CORRIGENDA Ante, p. 116, col. 2, Simile 28, for "fiddler" read fiddle. P. 137, col. 2, 1. 4 from bottom, for "Fuori" read Fiori.