Birds, in pairs, drinking from a vase a pair of, facing each other Winchester St. Mary Bourne East Meon Beasts, with tail curved upwards above back, and Winchester It would be quite impossible to explain the symbolism of all these creatures without exceeding the limits allowed for the present paper. I must, therefore, be content merely to point out the fact that such things were considered by the medieval sculptor suitable for the adornment of one of the most sacred portions of an ecclesiastical building, and to be placed side by side with subjects taken from Scripture and from the lives of Saints, shows that these creatures, however grotesque they may appear to us, were really intended to symbolise Christian truths of the deepest import. There is ample proof that such was the case by the large number of early treatises on zoology moralisé, known as mediæval Bestiaries, still in existence. How little distinction was drawn between the symbolism. founded on Scripture and that founded on the animal creation is shown by the apparently incongruous way in which the symbols of the four Evangelists are jumbled up with griffins and other strange creatures on the fonts at Lincoln and Southampton. The Agnus Dei also occurs amongst the surroundings, equally out of keeping, on the tympana and other details of Norman doorways. A pair of doves drinking from a vase is not an uncom mon symbol in Byzantine art; but except on these fonts, the only other instance I know of, where it occurs in England, is on a sepulchral slab at Bishopston in Sussex. The only remaining portion of the decorative features of the fonts to be noticed is the conventional foliage. This is found only in one case, at St. Mary Bourne, on the sides of the bowl; and in all the others on the upper horizontal face, forming a circular wreath round the basin, and filling in two or four of the spandrils. At St. Peter's, Ipswich, the basin is surrounded by a plain, moulded band; and at Lincoln Cathedral by a moulded band with ornamental rosettes at intervals. The foliage is of the usual kind which characterises Norman sculpture; but there is none of that elaborate interlacing of stems that is to be seen in much of the English work of the twelfth century. The foliage on the font at St. Mary Bourne is particularly bold and effective, and seems to be intended for a highly conventionalised vine. It is very like the foliage on the font at Montdidier in France. At East Meon the fleur-de-lys is introduced above the arcading on the side. Some of the details of the fonts of the Winchester type are rather of the nature of architectural enrichment than pure decoration; such, for instance, as the arcades at East Meon and St. Mary Bourne, and the columns between the beasts at St. Peter's, Ipswich. Some of the pillars of the arcading are ornamented with mouldings running spirally. A variety of geometrical patterns occur in different parts of the designs sculptured on the fonts, such as the following. The material of which the fonts are made is extremely hard, and capable of showing the finest lines, which the sculptor has taken advantage of to put an extraordinary amount of finish into the details of his work; reminding one of the Assyrian bas-reliefs, in this respect, more than anything else. Thus the texture of the plumage of the birds, the hairy skins of the beasts, the tresses of the women, and the beards of the men, are all indicated conscientiously by arrangements of fine lines. The vertical folds of the drapery of the figures are also treated in a peculiar manner by running an incised line along the edge of each fold where it turns over. I hope that I have now succeeded in showing that the group of fonts of what I have ventured to call the Winchester type possess certain art-characteristics in common, by which they are allied to each other, and at the same time separated very distinctly from other examples of Norman sculpture in England. Any one who has had the advantage of perusing M. Paul Saintenoy's valuable work on fonts will at once recognise the truth of his statement, that the type is a foreign one. This has been noticed by other writers; but I do not think that any one has remarked upon the similarity of the art of these fonts to that of the twelfth century sepulchral slabs at Ely Cathedral and Bridlington Priory in Yorkshire. Now that attention has been called to the matter perhaps other instances may become known of works belonging to the same school of design. In conclusion, it is my pleasant duty to acknowledge the very kind help I have received, whilst preparing this paper, from the Very Rev. the Dean of Winchester, the Rev. Precentor Venables, M. Paul Saintenoy, and Miss Emma Swann. WINCHESTER AND THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. BY S. W. KERSHAW, ESQ., F.S.A. (Read August 1893.) THE study of the territorial changes of the different dioceses is one of the most interesting phases of Church antiquarian history, and we cannot but examine any old map, or read some monkish chronicler, without noticing this alteration from early years downwards. The diocese of Lincoln formerly extended from that county as far as a remote parish in Buckinghamshire, near the Middlesex border, while that of Salisbury stretched into Berkshire, including Reading, Newbury, and Windsor, now under Oxford. In Sarum diocese was once a bishopric called Ramsbury (a town near Marlborough), and the Bishops were called "Episcopi Sunningensis", and had an estate at Sonning in Berks (whence the name), and quite recently the Prelates of Salisbury had a residence there. This little see of Ramsbury (within the larger one of Sarum) included, in the tenth century, such portions of Wilts and Berks as were at that time in the territory of the West Saxons; and during the one hundred and sixty years' existence of this unique Wiltshire episcopate, it numbered among its Bishops three who afterwards became Archbishops of Canterbury, viz., Odo, Siric, and Elfric. The fact that parts of Sarum diocese, once in Hampshire, are now in that of Winchester, brings the interest very close home to us; and as we consider the varying fortunes of the Channel Isles, their further relations with an ancient French and English diocese is fully illustrated. From having formed part of Normandy, which was united to England under Henry I, these Islands have had an independent history, maintaining their own peculiar local rights and privileges under whatever see they were placed. When the Islands were removed from the diocese of Dol1 (the metropolis of all Bretagne), they were 1 Instances of the changed boundaries of the sees might be quoted all exemplifying the relations of Church property. placed under Coutances, where they remained for several hundred years, and the consecration of many Island churches was performed by the Bishops of Coutances in the presence of many dignitaries, whose names were registered in a document called Le Livre Noir. From 1496-99, during the episcopate of Bishop Blyth (Sarum), they were in that diocese, as shown by a Bull of Alexander VI, dated 1496, a copy of which is preserved among the Lambeth MSS. (No. 585). The Register of Bishop Langton of Winchester also contains this Bull (a transcript), from which it appears that at the same time Calais was annexed to the see of Canterbury. The present notes do not claim research among the Winchester archives, which are so rich in ecclesiastical lore, but are taken from other and hitherto unexamined sources, viz., the documents at the Bodleian, Cambridge, and Lambeth Libraries, affording a fresh insight into the ecclesiastical government of the Islands, and adding another link to that chain of history which recognises the ancient see of Winchester as its fountain-head. In 1568 the union of the Channel Isles to Winchester took place; those Isles so graphically described by the late Victor Hugo as "ces morceaux de la France, tombés dans la mer, et ramassés par l'Angleterre"; and from the above period their chief interest develops. The The copy of the instrument of union, dated 11 March 1568, recites, among other things, that the "Bishop of Winchester, being constituted Ordinary' in the said Isles, and his successors, shall from time to time execute that charge, and upon presentment from the Queen's Majestie shall institute, induct, and authorise to deans, ministers, and curates, and schoolmasters, such as of his good discretion may be thought fit to execute those charges according to the language, country, quality, and disposition of the people there." Ecclesiastical causes were to be deter "Historia quæ lan de Statu ecclesiastico Insularum Guernsey et Jersey." ("Bulla Alexandri VI subjiciens dictas Insulas sedi episcopali Sarisburiensi.") Bishop Langton will be remembered as Bishop of St. David's, then of Salisbury, next Master of St. Julian's Hospital, Southampton, hereafter noticed. He was a supporter of the "new learning", and was appointed to succeed Archbishop Morton of Canterbury, but died before his elevation. |