Old Church Lore Part 5

An important Act was pa.s.sed in the reign of Charles II., in the year 1676, for the better observance of the Lord's day. It prohibited travelling, the pursuit of business, and all sales, except that of milk. Old church records and other doc.u.ments contain numerous references to Sunday travelling, and, as an example, we may state that it appears, from the books of St. James's Church, Bristol, at a vestry meeting, held in 1679, four persons were found guilty of walking "on foot to Bath on Lord's day,"

and were each fined twenty shillings.

In past ages, attending church was not a matter of choice, but one of obligation. Several Acts of Parliament were made bearing on this subject.

Laws of Edward VI. and of Elizabeth provided as follows: "That every inhabitant of the realm or dominion shall diligently and faithfully, having no lawful or reasonable excuse to be absent, endeavour themselves to their parish church or chapel accustomed; or, upon reasonable let, to some usual place where common prayer shall be used--on Sundays and holy days--upon penalty of forfeiting, for every non-attendance, twelve pence, to be levied by the Churchwardens to the use of the poor." The enactments regarding holy days were allowed to be disregarded. In the reign of James I., the penalty of a shilling for not attending church on Sunday was re-enforced. Sunday, only in respect of the attendance at church, is named in the statutes of William and Mary and George III., by which exceptions in favour of dissenters from the Church of England were made. Not a few suits were commenced against persons for not attending church. An early case is noted in the church book of St. James's, Bristol. On July 6th, 1598, Henry Anstey, a resident in that parish, had, in answer to a summons, to appear before the vestry for not attending the church. At Kingston-on-Thames, we gather from the parish accounts that the local authorities, in 1635, "Received from idle persons, being from the church on Sabbaths, 3s. 10d." Some more recent cases are named by Professor Amos, in his Treatise on Sir Matthew Hale's "History of the Pleas of the Crown."

In the year 1817, it is stated that, "at the Spring a.s.sizes of Bedford, Sir Montague Burgoyne was prosecuted for having been absent from church for several months; when the case was defeated by proof of the defendant being indisposed. And in the Report of the Prison Inspectors to the House of Lords, in 1841, it appeared that, in 1830, ten persons were in prison for recusancy in not attending their parish churches. A mother was prosecuted by her own son. It is clear that, in many instances, personal and not religious feeling gave rise to the actions." The laws respecting recusants were repealed in the year 1844.

The Easter Sepulchre.

Several of our old churches contain curious stone structures called Easter Sepulchres. They are generally on the north side of the chancel, and resemble, in design, a tomb. Before the Reformation, it was the practice on the evening of Good Friday, to place the Crucifix and Host in these sepulchres with much ceremony. Numerous candles were lighted, and watchers stood by until the dawn of Easter Day. Then, with every sign of devotion, the Crucifix and Host were once more removed to the altar, and the church re-echoed with joyous praise.

Concerning this ceremony, Cranmer says that it was done "In remembrance of Christ's sepulture, which was prophesied by Esaias to be glorious, and to signify there was buried the pure and undefiled body of Christ, without spot of sin, which was never separated from the G.o.dhead, and, therefore, as David expressed it in the fifteenth Psalm, it could not see corruption, nor death detain or hold Him, but, He should rise again, to our great hope and comfort; and, therefore, the church adorns it with lights to express the great joy they have of that glorious triumph over death, the devil, and h.e.l.l."

We have adverted to Easter Sepulchres of stone remaining at the present time, but they were by no means the only description erected. The Rev.

Mackenzie E. C. Walcott, in his "Sacred Archaeology," names, as follow, five sorts of sepulchres. The first, a chapel, as at Winchester; second, a wall recess, usually in the north side of the chancel, as at Bottesford, Lincolnshire, and Stanton St. John; third, a temporary structure, sumptuously enriched, as at St. Mary, Redcliffe, Bristol; fourth, a tomb, under which a founder, by special privilege, was buried; fifth, a vaulted enclosure, as at Norwich, which, like a sepulchre at Northwold, has an aperture for watching the light, without requiring the person so employed to enter the choir.

There was an imposing example at Seville, raised over the tomb of Columbus. It was constructed of wood, and was three storeys high, and brilliantly lighted. According to an old poet:

"With tapers all the people come, and at the barriars stay, Where downe upon their knees they fall, and night and day they pray, And violets and every kinde of flowers about the grave They straw, and bring all their giftes and presents that they have."

We are told that in many places, the steps of the sepulchre were covered with black cloth. Soldiers in armour, keeping guard, rendered the ceremony impressive. A gentleman named Roger Martin, who lived at the time of the Reformation, wrote an interesting account of the church of Melford, Suffolk. The following particulars are drawn from his ma.n.u.script respecting the Easter Sepulchre: "In the quire, there was a fair painted frame of timber, to be set up about Maunday Thursday, with holes for a number of fair tapers to stand in before the sepulchre, and to be lighted in the service time. Sometimes, it was set overthwart the quire, before the high altar, the sepulchre being alwaies placed, and finely garnished, at the north end of high altar, between that and Mr. Clopton's little chapel there, in a vacant place of the wall, I think upon a tomb of one of his ancestors, the said frame with the tapers was set near to the steps going up to the said altar." The tomb referred to is that of John Clopton, Esquire, of Kentwell Hall, who filled the office of Sheriff of the county of Suffolk in the year 1451, and died in 1497. An inventory of church goods belonging to Melford Church, under date of April 6th, 1541, has a statement to the effect that "There was given to the church of Melford, two stained cloths, whereof the one hangeth towards Mr. Martin's ile, and the other to be used about the sepulchre at Easter time."

In a curious work ent.i.tled "The Ancient Rites and Monuments of the Monastical and Cathedral Church of Durham," collected from out of ancient ma.n.u.scripts about the time of the suppression, and published by J. D.

(Davies), of Kidwelly, in 1672, there is an interesting account of a custom enacted at Durham. The following account is supposed to have been written in 1593, and, perhaps, by one who took part in the ceremonies, at all events, the writer was conversant with them. "Within the Church of Durham, upon Good Friday, there was a marvellous solemn service, in which service time, after the Pa.s.sion was sung, two of the ancient monks took a goodly large crucifix, all of gold, of the picture of our Saviour Christ, nayled upon the cross.... The service being ended, the said two monks carried the cross to the sepulchre with great reverence, which sepulchre was set up in the morning on the north side of the quire, nigh the high altar, before the service time, and they did lay it within the said sepulchre with great devotion, with another picture of our Saviour Christ, in whose Breast they did enclose, with great reverence, the most holy and blessed Sacrament of the Altar, censing and praying unto it upon their knees, a great s.p.a.ce; and setting two lighted tapers before it, which did burn till Easter Day in the morning, at which time it was taken forth....

There was very solemn service betwixt three and four of the clock in the morning, in honour of the Resurrection, where two of the eldest monks in the quire came to the sepulchre, set up upon Good Fryday, after the Pa.s.sion, all covered with red velvet embroider'd with gold, and did then cense it, either of the monks with a pair of silver censers, sitting on their knees before the sepulchre. Then they, both rising, came to the sepulchre, out of which, with great reverence, they took a marvellous beautiful image of our Saviour, representing the Resurrection, with a cross in his hand, on the breast was enclosed, in most bright chrystal, the holy Sacrament of the Altar, through which chrystal, the Blessed Host was conspicious to the beholders. Then, after the elevation of the said picture, carried by the said two monks, upon a fair velvet cushion, all embroider'd, singing the anthems of _Christus Resurgens_, they brought it to the high altar." We gather from the preceding and other accounts, that the sepulchre at Durham was a temporary erection, consisting of a wooden framework, having silk hangings.

As might be expected, much interesting information may be found in old churchwardens' accounts bearing on this theme. The records of St. Mary Redcliffe Church, Bristol, contain the following entries:

"Item--That Maister Canynge hath delivered, this 4th day of July, in the year of Our Lord 1470, to Maister Nicholas Petters, vicar of St. Mary Redcliffe, Moses Conterin, Philip Bartholomew, Procurators of St. Mary Redcliffe aforesaid, a new sepulchre, well gilt with golde, and a civer thereto.

Item--An image of G.o.d Almighty rising out of the same sepulchre, with all the ordinance that longeth thereto; that is to say, a lathe made of timber, and the ironwork thereto.

Item--Thereto longeth Heaven, made of timber and stayned clothes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EASTER SEPULCHRE AT PATRINGTON.]

Item--h.e.l.l, made of timber, and the ironwork thereto, with Divels to the number of 13.

Item--4 Knights, armed, keeping the sepulchre, with their weapons in their hands; that is to say, 2 axes and 2 spears, with 2 paves. [A pave was a shield.]

Item--4 payr of Angels wings for 4 Angels, made of timber, and well painted.

Item--The Fadre [_i.e._, the Father], the Crowne and Visage, the ball with a cross upon it, well gilt with fine gould.

Item--The Holy Ghost coming out of Heaven into the sepulchre.

Item--Longeth to the 4 Angels 4 Chevelures."

We cull from the accounts of St. Helen's, Abingdon, Berkshire, some quaint items as follows:

"1557. To the s.e.xton for watching the sepulter two nights, 8d.

1559. Payde for making the sepulture, 10s.

For peynting the same sepulture, 3s.

For stones and other charges about it, 4s. 6d.

To the s.e.xten, for meat and drink and watching the sepulture according to custom, 22d."

In this case, of course, the sepulchre was merely a temporary erection. In the churchwardens' accounts of Waltham Abbey Church are the following entries:

"1542. Payde for watching the sepulchre, 4d.

1544. Payde for watching the sepulchre, 8d."

Amongst the churches of this country where permanent Easter Sepulchres still remain, are the following: Heckington, Navenby, Northwold, Holcombe, Burnell, Southpool, Hawton, and Patrington. We give an ill.u.s.tration of the interesting example at Patrington, East Yorkshire. Mr. Bloxham speaks of it as probably the work of the earlier years of the fifteenth century. The carvings are of freestone, and represent the watching of three soldiers, beneath three ogee-shaped canopies. On their shields are heraldic designs.

The other figures represent our Saviour, emerging from the tomb, and two angels are raising the lid of the coffin. This is certainly a very interesting example, but perhaps not so fine as those of Navenby and Heckington, Lincolnshire.

St. Paul's Cross.

Death on the cross was regarded as the most degrading form of capital punishment. The Romans executed on it only slaves and the lowest cla.s.s of malefactors. It was a cruel mode of punishment, as a person might linger alive on it for days. It was customary to erect crosses without the gates of towns, but in places largely frequented by the people. The name of the criminal, and the nature of his offence, were inscribed on a tablet, for the information of the public. The crucifixion of Christ on the cross, has caused Christians to reverence it, and the sign of the cross to be regarded as a holy sign.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EYAM CROSS.]

In bygone times, crosses of various kinds might be seen in England in every direction. A writer says that they were as common in the olden days as milestones are at the present time. The Island of Iona, it is a.s.serted, once possessed 360 crosses, but now only one is left, the famous runic cross of St. Martin's. Some interesting examples of runic crosses still remain, and a good specimen may still be seen in the churchyard of Eyam, Derbyshire. It is generally supposed to have been brought to the churchyard from the adjacent moor. The cross is richly embellished with symbolical devices on the arms, some figures are blowing trumpets, others holding crosses, and one holding a book. On one side of the shaft is a carving of the Virgin and Child.

A complete history of the cross cannot be attempted here. We must, in this chapter, content ourselves with an account of the Preaching Cross of St.

Paul's, London. Its history is linked with the religious and political life of England. Preaching crosses were by no means uncommon in bygone times, and the most famous was the one under notice. It is not known when a pulpit cross was first erected at St. Paul's, but it has been ascertained that it was standing in 1241, and that most likely it existed long prior to that period.

The Mayor, in 1259, was commanded by Henry III., to compel all city youths who had reached the age of fourteen and upwards, to take, at St. Paul's Cross, an oath of allegiance to him and his heirs.

In 1382, the cross was thrown down by an earthquake. An effort was soon made by the Bishop of London to rebuild the cross, and indulgences were granted to those who contributed to the work. The Rev. W. Sparrow Simpson, D.D., F.S.A., in his "Chapters in the History of Old St. Paul's," gives the following literal translation of the original doc.u.ment, which is still preserved in the Cathedral record-room: "To the sons of our Holy Mother, the Church, under whose notice, these present letters shall come, William, by Divine permission, Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of all England, and Legate of the Apostolic See, wishes eternal health in the Lord. We esteem it a service pleasant and acceptable to G.o.d, whensoever, by the alluring gifts of indulgences, we stir up the minds of the faithful to a greater readiness in contributing their gifts to such works as concern the honour of the Divine Name. Since then, the High Cross in the greater churchyard of the Church of London (where the Word of G.o.d is habitually preached both to the clergy and laity, being a place very public and well known), by strong winds and tempests of the air and terrible earthquakes, hath become so frail and injured, that, unless some means be quickly taken for its repair and restoration, it will fall utterly into ruin; therefore, by the mercy of Almighty G.o.d, trusting in the merits and prayers of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, His Mother, and of the Blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, and of all the Saints, We, by these presents, mercifully grant in the Lord, to all the servants of Christ throughout our province of Canterbury, wheresoever living, truly repenting and confessing their sins, who, for the restoration and repair of the aforesaid Cross, shall give, bequeath, or in any manner a.s.sign, of the goods committed to them, gifts of charity, Forty Days of Indulgence.

In testimony whereof, we have to this present letter affixed our seal.

Given in Manor of Fulham, in the diocese of London, on the 18th May, in the year of our Lord one thousand, three hundred, and eighty-seven, and in the sixth year of our translation."

This doc.u.ment was not confined to London and its neighbourhood, the Bishops of Ely, Bath, Chester, Carlisle, Llandaff, and Bangor approved of it, and a.s.sisted in its circulation in their dioceses. Bishop Kempe, who held the see of London, appears to have been active in this movement. The amount realised by means of the indulgences is not known, but sufficient was collected to enable the Bishop of London to rebuild the cross.

Penitents, under ecclesiastical censure, came here to perform public penance; and perhaps the most familiar name of those who came is Jane Sh.o.r.e. It was in the year 1483 that she did public penance. She was one of the mistresses of Edward IV., who died in 1483, and, within two months of his death, she was tried by Richard III. for sorcery and witchcraft, but he failed in proving his charges. He took property from her equal to about 20,000 of the present time. His next step was to bring her before the Ecclesiastical Courts and have her tried for incontinence. It was for this crime that she had to do penance in the streets of London. She proceeded from the Bishop's Palace, clothed in a white sheet, and carrying in her hand a wax taper, and before her was carried a cross. We are told by Rowe:

"Submissive, sad, and lowly was her look, A burning taper in her hand she bore, And on her shoulders, carelessly confus'd With loose neglect, her lovely tresses hung, Upon her cheeks a faintish flush was spread, Feeble she seem'd, and sorely smit with pain, While barefoot as she trod the flinty pavement, Her footsteps all along were mark'd with blood.

Yet silent still she pa.s.s'd, and unrepining, Her streaming eyes bent ever on the earth, Except when, in some bitter pang of sorrow, To Heaven she seem'd in fervent zeal to raise And beg that mercy man denied her here."