English Villages Part 15

"1521. It. payd to John Payne for payntyng of Sent Leonard left by the wyffs onpaynted xx'd"

A curious order was issued by Edward III. for arresting painters to work in St. Stephen's Chapel at Westminster, to which artists of every description were liable to surrender as often as the king required their services.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, KINGSTON LISLE]

In Saxon times Consecration crosses were painted on the interior walls, twelve in number, on the spots where the bishop marked the cross with holy oil; and sometimes twelve crosses were carved or painted on the exterior walls. During Norman times the art made progress, and there are many specimens of mural decoration of this period, which correspond with the mouldings generally used then; but not many scenes and figures were depicted. Representations of bishops, _Agnus Dei_, scenes from the life of our Lord, the apostles, the Last Judgment, St. George, scenes from the life of St. Nicholas, St. John writing the Apocalypse, were favourite subjects. At Copford the painter evidently tried to make the chancel figuratively to represent the glories of heaven.

During the reign of Henry III. great progress was made, and travelling monks roamed the country leaving behind them in many a village church traces of their skill in artistic decoration. The murder of St. Thomas of Canterbury now became a favourite subject, also the lives of St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Nicholas, St. Margaret, St. Edmund, the Seven Acts of Mercy, and the wheel of fortune. In the fourteenth century the Doom was the usual decoration of the s.p.a.ce over the chancel arch, and scenes from the New Testament, legends of saints, "moralities," etc., were depicted on the walls. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the artists paid little respect to the work of their predecessors, and frequently painted new designs over the earlier mural decorations. They also adorned very beautifully the roofs and screens. The arrival of the Flemings in the eastern counties is shown by the portraying of subjects and saints not usually wors.h.i.+pped in England. The figures of St. George become more numerous and also of St. Christopher, who were regarded with much superst.i.tious reverence by all cla.s.ses.

The vanity of human greatness is taught by the morality, "Les Trois Rois Morts et les Trois Rois Vifs," representing three kings going gaily hunting meeting three skeletons, the remains of kings once as powerful as they. "The Dance of Death," so popular abroad, also appears in some English churches. The wholesale destruction of so many specimens of mediaeval art cannot be too strongly condemned and deplored. If any of my readers should be fortunate enough to discover any traces of colouring hidden away beneath the coats of whitewash on the walls of their church, I would venture to advise them to very carefully remove the covering, and then to consult Mr. Keyser's book on _Mural Decorations_, where they will find an account of the best methods for preserving these valuable specimens of early art.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ST. PETER, KINGSTON LISLE]

In the churchyard stands the old weather-beaten yew tree, looking like a sentinel keeping watch over the graves of our forefathers. Some of these trees are remarkable for their age; the yews at Fountains Abbey, in Yorks.h.i.+re, were probably in a flouris.h.i.+ng condition so long ago as the year 1132, and some are older still. Why they were planted in churchyards it is difficult to ascertain. It has been conjectured that they were planted in so secure a spot in order that the men might provide themselves with bows, as all the bows used by the English, with which they did such execution against their enemies, were made of yew. Others contend that its green boughs were used instead of palms on Palm Sunday, or for funerals.

But I think that they were regarded with veneration by our forefathers when they were still heathen, and that some religious symbolism--such as of immortality--attached to them; and that when the Christian teachers came they made use of this religious sentiment of the people, planted the Christian cross by the side of the yew, and under its shade preached lessons of true immortality, of which the heathen ideals were only corrupt legends and vain dreams.

At the entrance of the churchyard there is often a lich-gate, _i.e._ a corpse-gate, where the body may rest while the funeral procession is formed. _Lych_ is the Saxon word for a dead body, from which Lich-field, "the field of dead bodies," is derived. Bray, in Berks.h.i.+re, famous for its time-serving vicar, is also famous for its lich-gate, which has two rooms over it.

"G.o.d's acre" is full of holy a.s.sociations, where sleep "the rude forefathers of the hamlet." There stands the village cross where the preachers stood in Saxon times and converted the people to Christianity, and there the old sundial on a graceful stone pedestal. Sometimes amid the memorials of the dead stood the parish stocks. Here in olden days fairs were held, and often markets every Sunday and holiday, and minstrels and jugglers thronged; and stringent laws were pa.s.sed to prevent "improper and prohibited sports within the churchyard, as, for example, wrestling, football, handball under penalty of twopence forfeit." Here church ales were kept with much festivity, dancing, and merry-making; and here sometimes doles were distributed on the tombstones of parochial benefactors, and even bread and cheese scrambled for, according to the curious bequests of eccentric donors.

And then there are the quaint epitaphs on the gravestones, of which many have made collections. Here is one to the memory of the driver of a coach that ran from Aylesbury to London:--

"Parker, farewell! thy journey now is ended, Death has the whip-hand, and with dust is blended; Thy way-bill is examined, and I trust Thy last account may prove exact and just, When He who drives the chariot of the day, Where life is light, whose Word's the living way, Where travellers, like yourself, of every age, And every clime, have taken their last stage, The G.o.d of mercy and the G.o.d of love, Show you the road to Paradise above."

Here is another to the memory of a once famous Yorks.h.i.+re actor, buried at Beverley:--

"In memory of Samuel Butler, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. Obt. June 15th, 1812, Aet. 62."

Here is a strange one from Awlis...o...b.., Devon:--

"Here lie the remains of James Pady, brickmaker, late of this parish, in hopes that his clay will be remoulded in a workmanlike manner, far superior to his former perishable materials.

"Keep death and judgment always in your eye, Or else the devil off with you will fly, And in his kiln with brimstone ever fry; If you neglect the narrow road to seek, Christ will reject you like a half-burnt brick."

Those interested in the brave mortals who go down to the sea in s.h.i.+ps will like to read the following verses which appear on the tomb of William Harrison, mariner, buried in Hessle Road Cemetery, Hull:--

"Long time I ploughed the ocean wide, A life of toil I spent; But now in harbour safe arrived From care and discontent.

"My anchor's cast, my sails are furled, And now I am at rest; Of all the ports throughout the world, Sailors, this is the best."

The following original epitaph in a neighbouring churchyard compares very favourably with the flattering and fulsome inscriptions prevalent at the beginning of the nineteenth century, written in what has been called "lapidary style ":--

"He was---- But words are wanting to say what; Say what is just and kind, And he was that."

[8] At Sedgeford the Infant is portrayed with three heads, ill.u.s.trating the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity.

CHAPTER XIX

CHURCH BELLS

Bell customs and village life--Antiquity of bells--Christening of bells--"Ancients"--Inscriptions--Dedications--Inscriptions of praise--Leonine verses--Curious inscriptions--Historical events recorded--Uses of bells--Pa.s.sing bell--Pancake bell--Curfew--Guiding bells--Names of benefactors--Great bells--Sanctus bell--Sacring bell--Frequent ringing of bell--Change-ringing--Care of bells.

Bells play an important part in village life, and there are few more interesting branches of the study of village antiquities than bell-lore.

Ringing customs throw much light upon the manners and doings of our ancestors. Bells rang to commemorate the great events in history, news of which was conveyed to the quiet village; they sounded forth the joys and sorrows of the paris.h.i.+oners in their generations, pealed merrily at their weddings, and mourned for them at their funerals. As the bell "Roland" of Ghent seemed endowed with a human voice, and was silenced for ever by Charles V. lest it should again rouse the citizens to arms, so these bells in our village steeples seem to speak with living tongues and tell the story of our village life.

Bells have great antiquity. Odoceus, Bishop of Llandaff, in 550 A.D., is said to have taken the bells away from his cathedral during a time of excommunication. Bede mentions them in the seventh century. In 680 Benedict, Abbot of Wearmouth, imported some from Italy, and in the tenth century St. Dunstan hung many. Ireland probably had bells in the time of St. Patrick, who died in 493, and a bell that bears his name is preserved at Belfast. The earliest Saxon bells were not cast, but were made of plates of iron riveted together, and were probably used as hand-bells.

Bells were usually christened. Those of Crowland Abbey were named Pega, Bega, Tatwin, Turketyl, Betelin, Bartholomew, and Guthlac. A fire in 1091 destroyed this peal. Those of the priory of Little Dunmow, Ess.e.x, according to an old chartulary, were new cast and baptised in 1501.

"Prima in honore Sancti Michaelis Archangeli."

"Secunda in honore Sancti Johannis Evangelisti."

"Tertia in honore S. Johannis Baptisti."

"Quarta in honore a.s.sumptionis beatae Mariae."

"Quinta in honore Sanctae Trinitatis et omnium sanctorum."

The tenor bell at Welford, Berks, has the inscription, "Missi de celis habeo nomen Gabrielis 1596."

Bells dating from before the year 1600 are called "ancients," and it is a very pleasant discovery to find one of these in our church tower; and still more so if it be a pre-Reformation bell. Unfortunately a large number of "ancients" have been recast, owing chiefly to the craze for change-ringing which flourished in England between 1750 and 1830. The oldest bell in this country is said to be St. Chad's, Claughton, which bears the date 1296. Pre-Reformation bells are very seldom dated.

Mediaeval bells have many curious inscriptions on them, which record the name of the donor, the bell-founder, together with heraldic and other devices. The inscriptions are often written in the first person, the bell being supposed to utter the sentiment, as it sends forth its sound.

A study of the inscriptions on bells is full of interest. The earliest are simple dedications of the bell to our Lord, or to some saint. The princ.i.p.al inscriptions of this cla.s.s are: "Jesus," "Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judeorum," "Sit nomen IHC benedictum," "Sum Rosa Pulsata Mundi Maria Vocata," "Sum Virgo Sancta Maria." The invocation, "Ora pro n.o.bis," very frequently is inscribed on bells, followed by the name of some saint, and almost every saint in the Calendar is duly honoured in some bell inscription.

Bells were always rung on joyful occasions; hence inscriptions expressing thankfulness and praise were appropriate. Consequently we find such words as "Laus et Gloria Deo," "Laus Deo Gratia Benefactoribus," "Alleluja," "Praise G.o.d," and other similar inscriptions of praise.

Some old bells have Latin hexameter verses inscribed on them, composed by monks, which are called Leonine verses, from one Leoninus, a monk of Ma.r.s.eilles, who lived in the early part of the twelfth century. A few examples of these will suffice:--

"Est michi collatum ihc illud nomen amaetum."

"Protege Virgo pia quos convoco Sancta Maria."

"Voce mea viva depello c.u.n.ta nocina."

This refers to the belief that the ringing of bells drives away all demons and tempests, storms and thunders, and all other hurtful things.

One bell proudly a.s.serts:--

"Me melior vere non est campana sub ere."

Inscriptions in English are often quaint and curious. Here is one from Somerset:--

"My treble voice Makes hearts rejoice."

Another self-complacent bell a.s.serts--

"If you have a judicious ear, You'll own my voice is sweet and clear."

Loyal inscriptions are often found, such as--