THE

Yorkshire Archæological Society.

FOUNDED, 1863. INCORPORATED, 1893.

PATRONS.

For the North Riding, The Most Hon. the MARQUIS OF RIPON, K.G., Lord-Lieutenant.
For the East Riding, The Right Hon. the LORD HERRIES.

His Grace the DUKE OF NORFOLK, K.G.,
Hereditary Earl Marshal.

The Right Hon. the EARL OF CARLISLE.
The Right Hon. LORD GRANTLEY, F.S.A.
The Right Hon. LORD DERWENT.
Sir JOHN WILLIAM RAMSDEN, Bart.
Sir FRANCIS SHARP POWELL, Bart., M.P.

WENTWORTH BLACKETT BEAUMONT.
Sir THOMAS BROOKE, Bart., F.S.A.
The Rev. CANON WILLIAM GREENWELL,
M.A., F.S.A.

ANDREW SHERLOCK LAWSON, F.S.A.
JOHN LLOYD WHARTON, M.P.

PRESIDENT.

Sir THOMAS BROOKE, Bart., F.S.A.

VICE-PRESIDENT.

S. J. CHADWICK, F.S.A.
COUNCIL.

ARMYTAGE, Sir G., Bart., F.S. A. (Brighouse).
BILSON, JOHN, F.S.A. (Hull).
BOYNTON, THÓS., F.S.A. (Bridlington Quay).
CHARLESWORTH, JOHN (Wakefield).
CHEESMAN, W. N. (Selby).
CLARK, E. T. (Snaith).

COLLINS, FRANCIS, M.D. (Pateley Bridge),
CROSSLEY, E. W. (Halifax).

DICKONS, JOHN NORTON (Bradford).
EDDISON, J. E., M.D. (Leeds).

FALLOW, T. M., F.S.A. (Redcar).

FOWLER, The Rev. Canon, F.S.A. (Durham).
HORDERN, ISAAC (Huddersfield).

LEADMAN, A. D. H., F.S.A. (Pocklington).
LISTER, JOHN (Halifax).

LUMB, G. D. (Leeds).

MORRELL, W. W. (York).

PUDSEY, Col. H. FAWCETT (Hull).
STAVERT, Rev. W. J. (Burnsall).

TAYLOR, The Rev. R. V., B.A. (Richmond).
WALKER, J. W., F.S.A. (Wakefield).
WEDDALL, G. E. (Brough, E. Vorks.).

HONORARY TREASURER.

MATTHEW H. PEACOCK, M.A., B. Mus., School House, Wakefield.

HONORARY LIBRARIAN.

E. K. CLARK, M.A., F.S.A., M.I.C.E., 10, Park Street, Leeds.

HONORARY SECRETARIES.

WILLIAM BROWN, F.S.A., Whitehouse, Northallerton.
JOHN SCOTT, Croft House, Skipton-in-Craven.

FOR THE RECORD SERIES.-J. W. CLAY, F.S.A., Rastrick House, Brighouse.

The Thoresby Society.

The Society was formed in 1889 for antiquarian objects in connection with Leeds and District. Its publications include the Leeds Parish Church Register, Adel Register, Kirkstall Abbey Coucher Book, Calverley Charters, and Miscellanea. Methley Register is in preparation.

Subscription, 10s. 6d. per annum. Life Fee, £5 5s. President and Hon. Treasurer: EDMUND WILSON, F.S.A., Red Hall, Leeds; Hon. Secretaries: G. D. LUMB, 65, Albion Street, Leeds; W. H. WITHERBY, M.A., Cromer House, Leeds.

(BEING THE FOURTH PART OF VOLUME XVII.)

JOHN WHITEHEAD & SON, ALFRED STREET, BOAR LANE.

MCMIII.

on sh

The Council of the Society are not responsible for any statements or opinions expressed in the YORKSHIRE ARCHEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, the Authors of the various Papers being alone responsible for the same.

CONTENTS OF PART 68.

(Being the Fourth part of Volume XVII.)

Two CHARMS FROM THE INGLEBY ARNCLIFFE CRUCIFIX to face 402

The Vorkshire Parish Register Society.

The Society was formed in 1899 for the purpose of printing the older Registers of the county. The following have been either issued or are in the press:-YorkSt. Michael-le-Belfrey, Burton Fleming, Horbury, Winestead, Linton-in-Craven, Stokesley, Patrington, Blacktoft, Scorborough, Bingley, Kippax, Hampsthwaite, Wathon-Dearne, Brantingham, Cherry Burton, Marske-in-Cleveland, Hartshead, Bolton-byBolland, Pickhill, and Howden.

Subscription, One Guinea per annum.

President: Sir GEORGE ARMYTAGE, Bart.; Hon. Treasurer: J. W. FOURNESS, Victoria Chambers, South Parade, Leeds; Hon. Secretaries: FRANCIS COLLINS, M.D., Pateley Bridge; G. D. LUMB, 65, Albion Street, Leeds, to whom applications for membership should be sent.

IT

TWO YORKSHIRE CHARMS OR AMULETS:

EXORCISMS AND ADJURATIONS.

BY THE REV. CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH, M. A.

Here beginneth the Tale of the
Wyf of Bathe.

N th' olde dayes of the King Arthour,

IN

Of which that Britons speeken greet honour,

Al was this land fulfild of fayerye.

The elf-queen with her joly companye,

Daunced ful ofte in many a grene mede;

This was the olde opinion as I rede.

I speke of manye hundred yeres ago;
But now can no man see none elves mo.
For now the grete charitee and prayers
Of limitours1 and othere holy freres,
That serchen every lond and every streem,
As thikke as motes in the sonne-beem,
Blessing halles, chambres, kichenes, boures,
Citees, burghes, castels, hye toures,

2

Thropes, bernes, shipnes, dayeryes,
This maketh that ther been no fayeryes.
For ther as wont to walken was an elf,
Ther walketh now the limitour himself.
-Chaucer.

T was the common belief of the early Christian Church, surrounded as it was with pagan idolatries, and, in the remembrance of the time then recent, when Palestine itself had been full of persons possessed by devils, at the epoch of our Saviour's coming, that the world around them was full of malevolent and unclean spirits. They trusted truly in the divine promise of the supremacy of Good over Evil, as of Light over Darkness (St. Luke x, 17; St. Mark xvi, 9, 17; Acts v, 16, xvi, 18), and were confident that not an apostle or a prophet only, not merely a bishop or a deacon, but the simplest Christian believer could withstand the Power of Darkness and speak with confidence in their Master's Name, and could cast out devils by the use of prayers and adjurations of a less pretentious and mysterious kind than those which were pronounced by 'the strolling Jews, exorcists' (Acts xix, 13; cf. St. Matthew xii, 27), or were written in the books and 'Ephesian letters' of the heathen practisers of 'curious arts' (Acts xix, 19).

The subject of exorcism in the Early Church has been treated by Bingham in his Antiquities of the Christian Church, book iii, ch. iv, book x, ch. ii, sec. 8; by Dean E. H. Plumptre, Archdeacon Chetham, and Mr. P. Onslow in Dictionary of Christian Antiquities ('Demoniac,' 'Exorcism,' and 'Exorcists,' where there are some remarkable woodcut illustrations), as well as by Cardinal Bona, Dom Edm. Martene, and others. It is enough to say here that 'energumens,' or possessed persons, and the 'tempest-tost,' as a class, were recognised in the antient liturgies of the Greek Church,' and were provided with a special place in the building, or its porch, within hearing of the psalmody, and had an order of ministers to care for them and to employ them in simple industries. By the time of St. Augustine the work of exorcism was committed to special ministers, and was directed, not only to the taking care of such afflicted persons, but to the exorcising of candidates for baptism in general, coming from paganism and from the worship of evil powers (1 Corinthians x, 20). The practice of exorcism (mentioned in the Bible and by Irenæus, Justin, and Tertullian as a free charismatic function of all Christians in general, as the Holy Spirit enabled them) had become in the days of Chrysostom and Augustine, and even in the time of Cyprian, an office placed, as we may say, 'in commission,' and devolved upon a certain minor order of exorcists, although of course it resided also in the powers of such higher orders as the christening and confirming priest and bishop in giving their various benedictions. Thus exorcists are mentioned among the Orders, in a letter of Cornelius of Rome to Fabius of Antioch, A.D. 251.

According to the seventh canon of the fourth Council of Carthage (A.D. 400), among the seven orders ranking above the Psalmista or cantor, the exorcist holds the third grade, i.e. above the doorkeeper and reader, and beneath the acolyte (or ceroferarius), sub-deacon, deacon, and priest.

The form of his ordination is thus given in the early tenth century copy of the Pontifical of Egbert, who was Archbishop of York in 732 (page 13). It seems to have been not originally a Roman form, but was adopted from the Gallican rite. See the Bishop of Salisbury's Ministry of Grace, ch. iii, sec. 217. The opening words are taken directly from the canon of Carthage, as follows:

1 Brightman, Eastern Liturgies, pp. 5, 6, 22 (Syrian Rite, from Apostolic Con

stitutions, viii, energoumenoi, cheimazomenoi), pp. 521, 524 (Pontic Exarchate).