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THE JOURNAL

OF THE

British Archaeological Association,

MARCH 1892.

INAUGURAL ADDRESS

DELIVERED BY

THE MOST NOBLE THE MARQUESS OF RIPON, K.G., AT YORK, MONDAY, AUGUST 17TH, 1891.

It seems to me that there can probably scarcely be, in the whole of the country, a more appropriate place for the gathering of the Archæological Association than the City of York. The City of York has played, as we all know, a great part in our history from the earliest times. You will, in the course of your researches here, be led to observe and investigate those Roman remains in which York is rich, and thus will be recalled to your recollection the signal fact that it was in York that the first Christian Emperor of Rome, Constantine, took the purple on the death of his father. I believe I am not wrong in saying that the walls of the city are among the most complete of the ancient fortifications of any town in the country, and exhibit in great perfection the successive periods of fortification to which they belong. Then, when you have satiated your eyes and filled your minds with the recollection of Rome and with the fortifications of the Middle Ages, you will be called to visit the beautiful remains-too limited, alas! but beautiful—of the Abbey of St. Mary's, the famous Benedictine Abbey of York, which has been the mother of other abbeys, and which will, I am confident, attract your greatest interest. Last, but foremost in your minds, I am sure, at the present time, is the great and

splendid Minster, which is the jewel of the city, and of which all Yorkshiremen are so justly proud. Englishmen are full of admiration for their ancient cathedrals. I desire to institute no comparisons between the cathedrals of England and of other lands, but, if I were to speak the truth in regard to my own opinion, I should probably be forced to say that in some respects the cathedrals of France surpass those of this country. But whatever may be the beauties which attach to the French churches, none will deny that we have among us some of the most beautiful monuments of medieval architecture, and that none of them can surpass, if rival, the famous Minster of York.

any can

I tender to you my best thanks for the honour you have done me in choosing me to be me to be your President for this year. I know very well that I am little worthy of filling that office from any intimate or extended acquaintance with archæology in its general sense; but at least I may claim to have the deepest interest in researches of that kind, and especially in those which are connected with the great county to which it is my happiness to belong. I do not feel that I am qualified, by study or by knowledge, to put myself in the position of a teacher of archæological science to the members of the British Archæological Association, and I think it will be more becoming if I confine myself to drawing your attention to a few points connected with the investigations of the coming week. I have pointed out some of the objects of interest which you will visit while you are in York, and it seems to me that the next branch of archæological investigations to which you will be likely to give yourselves in Yorkshire is the examination and study of our great Cistercian monasteries. They are very numerous in this county; they have played a great part in the history of our land; and their remains are still attractive by their beauty and interest, and by the questions which they raise.

It has been determined to visit three of these Abbeys -Rievaulx, Fountains, and Byland. A very admirable selection has been made. These three specimens will bring before your minds all the characteristics of the Cistercian monastery, and many of those striking beauties

peculiar to the houses of the Cistercian Order at the end of the eleventh century. Rievaulx is the first in date by one year: it was founded in 1131; Fountains followed in 1132; and Byland was founded in 1143. You will have, therefore, ample opportunity of comparing the three buildings and of marking their differences, and also of marking that which in the Cistercian abbeys is much more observable, namely, their resemblances. As you are probably all aware, the Cistercian abbeys are built on one plan, and therefore you know in each building the positions. which particular portions occupied; if you can know them in one, you can lay your finger upon them in the others which you may visit. That is, unhappily, not altogether the case in regard to Fountains, and those interested in that abbey have suffered a great deal in regard to that question from the researches of archæologists.

When I was young, we thought we knew all about Fountains, and were able to give the proper names, as we believed, to every portion of the ruins; but successive flights of archaeologists have descended upon us, and each flight has given a new name to parts of that building. I did hope that in my old age I should get to know all about it, and that I should be thoroughly acquainted with the real purposes of different parts of the abbey; but I am a little alarmed lest on Thursday next you rename some part of the edifice. If you are pleased to do that, I shall abide by your decision, and in future adopt your nomenclature. When you visit Fountains, I hope you will remember that its mother-abbey is that of St. Mary's, York, it having been founded by thirteen monks of St. Mary's, who were dissatisfied with the state of discipline that existed there at that time, and who, seeking for greater severity of life, and being desirous of devoting themselves to their holy duties in a stricter form, went forth into the desert of Fountains and founded that monastery.

With respect to the good choice shown by the monks in the selection of sites, I do not think these sites were chosen for their picturesqueness; but the abbeys certainly have been placed in some of the most picturesque spots of the country. When you have seen Rievaulx,

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