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ancient Hindoo religions, "Agni," god of fire, has more hymns addressed to him than any other god. His wonderful birth from two pieces of wood rubbed together is sung in glowing language.' That fire worship, including that of the heavenly bodies, was extensively practised by the Ancient Britons is fully shown by my researches in the barrows.

Sabianism, the religion of the stars, would at a very early period impress itself upon the mind of primitive man. The arrangement and motions of the heavenly bodies would produce much wonder and adoration, and be a great puzzle to him."

After his discovery of the method of procuring fire and the introduction of burning the bodies of his dead, man would observe the close resemblance the bright twinkling stars bore to the funeral pyres kindled at night on the summit of some distant hill. Then he would probably be led to look upon the stars as the blaze of a vast number of the funeral pyres in a distant world. What Pomponius Mela writes of them in his third book is marvellous. He says, in speaking of the Druids' priests among the Gauls, that they held the soul to be immortal, and that another life was reserved to them in another world. And in burning and burying the bodies they held the same mode of proceeding and of proclaiming their renown which was employed among the living on this side of the grave, was practised on the other side of it.

The early-recognised motion of the seven stars of Charles's Wain in the constellation Ursa Major-the most striking group in the northern hemisphere-would quickly become an object of adoration.* The Ancient Egyptians worshipped the northern (pole) stars before they worshipped the sun. On this constellation the polar dial wheeling round the pole-star, forming the hand of nature's unceasing timepiece, primitive man would gaze with wonder and reverence, and would presently observe that from night to morning it described half a circle, and from morning to night a similar distance was accomplished, and that by attention to this, time could be approximately measured."

1 Clodd, Childhood of Religion, p. 146. 2 In the Archeologia Adelanis, p. 113, Britheyne (Britain) or the "fire-land" is said to be the original meaning of the word Britain-the land of fire and sacrifices,-Fire or Solar Worship.

3 Sky worship was an actual fact (Footsteps of the Past, by J. M. Wheeler, p. 19); and Max Muller claims that the worship of the bright heavens preceded

even

sun worship and the belief in

the personal divinities. (The American Antiquarian Journal, vol. xvi., p. 217, 1894-)

In the higher forms of faith, the round dance was with the sun and the stars round the pole-star. (J. M. Wheeler, Footsteps of the Past, p. 96.)

5 The Gauls and Britons reckoned time not by the days but by the nights. (The Pictorial History of England, vol. i., p. 61.)

The Ancient Britons have handed down to us substantial evidence of their great reverence for the group of stars forming Charles's Wain in the constellation Ursa Major, by having dotted the ground on which they lived with their burial mounds very often so arranged in groups after this figure-as I have shown by a diagram in the proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological and Polytechnic Society for 1897, page 210; also in the Transactions of the East Riding Antiquarian Society, vol. iii., page 53.

Almost certainly the seven stars so often mentioned by the ancient writers refer to Charles's Wain, and not to the Pleiades, as the number of stars in this group is too uncertain to unaided vision to be so frequently alluded to, as consisting of the number seven, while good eyes or slightly-aided vision shows the number still more uncertain.

The ancients believed that the spirits of their departed friends dwelt in the stars, and this belief existed at least up to the time of Virgil, who invites Cæsar into his own constellation, and again alludes to this belief in the two following lines:

"No room is left for death, they mount the sky,
And to their original planets fly."

-Georgics, iv., line 330.

Plutarch says the gods shine in heaven as stars.

Comets were thought to be the spirits of great men, and the one which appeared in 43 B.C. was believed to be the soul of Julius Cæsar on its heavenly journey.

It is probable that in several cases it would occur to those conducting the funeral ceremonies for the dead, whose spirits were destined for a particular star in a certain constellation, that the funeral mound and pyre should hold a relative position with other mounds and pyres, so as to form one of the group of barrows after the figure of that constellation. Hence the frequent occurrence of groups of barrows after the striking plan of the seven bright stars of Charles's Wain in Ursa Major, as previously mentioned.

The once almost universal belief of man, that the stars were the happy homes of his separated friends, to whom he was destined to follow, undoubtedly afforded a pleasing and in those crude times a noble conception, well fitted to soften the mental pangs of dying mortals, and to brighten the expectations of the living.

1 That this figure was held with reverence in later (Roman) times we gather from the allusion made to (apparently as a virtue) the moles on the body of Octavius, which exactly resembled the constellation of Ursa Major. While

various British coins exhibit symbols of stars, crescents and suns, especially the coins found at Farley in Surrey, in 1848. (Numismatic Chronicle, vol. xi., p. 92, figs. 5 and 6; Archæological Journal, vol. xiii., p. 304, fig. 1.)

CHANTRY AT WATH BY RIPON.

THE following copy of an original licence in mortmain of the year 1327 has been communicated by Mr. S. J. Chadwick, F.S. A., who met with it in a private collection of deeds.

'DWARDUS Dei gratia, Rex Anglie, Dominus Hibernie & Dux Aquitanie Omnibus ad quos presentes littere pervenerint, Salutem. Licet de communi consilio regni nostri statutam sit quod non liceat viris religiosis seu aliis ingredi feodum alicuius ita quod ad manum mortuum deueniat sine licenciâ nostrâ et capitalis domini de quo res illa immediate tenetur. Per finem tamen quem Johannes de Appelby persona ecclesie de Wath iuxta Rypon fecit nobiscum concessimus et licenciam dedimus pro nobis et heredibus nostris quantum in nobis est eidem Johanni quod ipse quatuor mesuagia, sex bouatas et nouem acras terre et dimidiam, quatuor acras prati et dimidiam et quatuor solidatas redditus cum pertinenciis in Holm, Melmerby, Middelton Rokeby, Pykall, Sutton, Hougraue, et Wath iuxta Rypon dare possit et assignare cuidam capellano diuina singulis diebus in ecclesiâ Parochiali beate Marie de Wath pro animâ ipsius Johannis et animabus antecessorum suorum et omnium fidelium defunctorum celebraturo Habendum et tenendum eidem capellano et successoribus suis capellanis diuina singulis diebus in ecclesia predicta pro animabus predictis celebraturis imperpetuum. Et eidem capellano quod ipse predicta mesuagia, terram, pratum, et redditum a prefato Johanne recipere possit et tenere sibi et successoribus suis predictis imperpetuum sicut predictum est tenore presencium similiter licenciam dedimus specialem Nolentes quod predictus Johannes vel heredes sui seu predictus capellanus aut successores sui predicti ratione statuti predicti per nos vel heredes nostros inde occasionentur in aliquo seu grauentur. Saluis tamen capitalibus dominis feodi

illius seruiciis inde debitis et consuetis.

In cuius rei testimonium has litteras nostras fieri fecimus patentes. Teste me ipso apud Ely quinto decimo die Augusti anno regni nostri primo.

Part of the seal is attached by a plaited silk cord.

Obverse, the king seated on his throne holding an orb in his left hand.

Head and right arm have disappeared.

1 There is no capital E in the original, but a space is left for
a long narrow letter.

Reverse, king (head gone) on horseback. Traces of three lions on hind quarter of horse.

Indorsed. License of Mortmaine for the purchacing of landes towardes the maintenance of a chanterie in Wath 1 Ed. 3.

No. 2. G 26.

1327.

At the dissolution in 1546, there were chantries at Middleton Quernhow and at Norton Conyers within the parish of Wath, besides two in the parish church, namely those of St. Lawrence and St. John the Baptist. It is to the last of these that the licence refers, and the Norton aisle, as it is now called, was erected about 1330, in the position of a south transept. Institution to this chantry took place in 1423, on the presentation of Sir Henry Fitzhugh, patron. (Reg. Bowett, fo. 20.) In 1546 Christopher Best was incumbent of the chantry, which was of the foundation of John Appulbye, clerk, to the intent to pray for the soul of the founder and all Christian souls, as apperith by composicion dated the Wednysday afore Seynt George is daye in the year of our Lorde God a thousand three hundred thyrtye and two (22nd April, 1332). Christopher is 68 years of age, well learned, of honest conversation and so forth, in common form. There are 260 howselyng people in the parish, and the net value is 69s. 11d.

CHURCHWARDENS' ACCOUNTS AND OTHER

DOCUMENTS RELATING TO HOWDEN.

By G. E. WEDDALL.

THERE are many interesting entries in the churchwardens' book from 1593 to 1666, which is in a poor condition, with edges sadly frayed, and contains 141 leaves measuring 11 by 7 inches. It bears the signatures of various parishioners who attended the vestry meetings, and whose names are well known to the Yorkshire genealogist. Amongst them are Gate, Metham, Machell, Pocklington, Readhead, Monckton, Girlington, Warton, Musgrave, Athropp, Saltmarshe, Belt, Blanshard, Dunn, Awdus, Abbott, Sutton, Arlush, Dolman, &c.

Old churchwardens' books are always interesting, and often valuable in throwing light upon the duties of the wardens with regard to Poor Laws and rating, and upon the expenditure of money possibly in law-suits, whereby questions of liability have been settled. In the Howden book (inter alia) are two interesting memoranda, bearing upon the question of liability of the then possessors of alienated church property for the repair of the chancel (which fell in 1696), and also for the supply of bread and wine. The first memorandum is as follows:

"Memorandum. Thatt, by the hole consent of the parische, it was thys xiiij of October, this xxxvijh yeare of hir Majestes reayne, and in the yeare of our Lord Godd 1595, by the advise of Thomas Metham of Metham, and the preacher, and curate there, thatt one hole sesment shalbe collectyd and gatheryd. We hear find part of the half sessment is all redy collectyd, wch former part of this sessment is to be collectyd by the churchewardens, and so acowmptyd of presently to the use of the body of the churche and such other charges as the parysche formarly have been used to bear, and thother halfe sessment is lykwyes to be collectyd by the sayd churchewardens and delyveryd into the handes of the most honest substantyall person of every severall Townshipe, who is to kepe the sayme alwayis redy to imploy as occasyon and cause requyers towards and for the altraynyng1. . . . . of a sute of the ryght honorable our very good Lord, the Lord Wylliam Burley, Lord Hyghe Treasurar of Ingland, for the repayr, amendment, and contynuall mayntenance of our

1 "altraynyng," perhaps arranging.

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