visionary conjecture treated as actual matter of fact, and the works of the venerable founder (Lanfranc) unjustly appropriated to Anselm and his Priors (Ernulf and Conrad), we are reluctantly compelled, by a regard to the truth of history, to enter into a full discussion of the subject, which we shall do in the course of our present investigation.*

Sept. 6, 1174,

SECT. 5." The Operations of the First Five Years.”

"The master began, as I stated long ago, to to prepare all things necessary for the new work, and Sept. 5, 1175. to destroy the old; in this way the first year was taken up." (p. 48.)

We shall not attempt this interesting and valuable section of the history, because to do full justice to Gervase and his translator would require us to transcribe the whole. We must therefore earnestly recommend the work itself to the reader, whilst we confine our observations to a few remarks which have occurred to us in the course of our investigation.

The learned Professor has here inserted the following very useful"Summary of the Works in each Year." "The Roman numerals (he adds) refer to the pillars in plan, fig. 5; when employed for the vaults they will be readily understood to mean those vaults which extend from pillar to pillar." (Note at the bottom of p. 48.)

*Nothing requires so much cautious investigation as the "conjectures” of the learned. The visionary dream of to-day becomes the stern reality of the morrow. Canterbury affords a striking illustration of the truth of this remark. In the southeastern part of the city is a Celtic, or ancient British mound (the remains of very extensive earth-works), now called by the barbarous name of "The Dane John Hill." Somner, the celebrated antiquary, after noticing the various names by which it and the adjoining manor had been known (as Danzon, Dangon, Dangun, Daungeon, Dungeon), considers it to signify "The Dane's Work," and therefore corruptly called the Dungeon Hill, for Danian Hill, or Dane's Hill, the proper work of the Danes. Upon this vague and unfounded surmise the hill has been ever since considered as the work of the Danes; and (to show the rapid progress of error) we find in King Charles the Second's charter to the citizens (A.D. 1684), fair is granted to be held in "Le Dane John Field," which name it has ever since retained, and the good citizens of Canterbury to this day hold the error, "tantùm non Articulus Fidei."

a

SUMMARY OF THE WORKS IN EACH YEAR.

Choir and Trinity Chapel. Crypt of

Pillars.

Side Triforia and Upper Trinity Corona Other Works. Vaults. Clerestories. Vaults. Chapel.

In this summary the Professor has omitted to notice the semi-pillar (marked W in plan 3, and marked I in fig. 5), which if not wholly rebuilt, must have been elongated twelve feet, by William of Sens.

In the beginning of the fifth year, the eminent architect William of Sens, "was in the act of preparing with machines for the turning of the great vault, when suddenly the beams broke under his feet, and he fell to the ground, stones and timbers accompanying his fall, from the height of the capitals of the upper vault, that is to say, of fifty feet." (p. 50.)

"But the master reclining in bed [being sorely bruised by his fall] commanded all things that should be done in order. And thus was completed the ciborium between the four

principal pillars, In the keystone of this ciborium the choir and crosses seem as it were to meet." (p. 51.)

"The master perceiving that he derived no benefit from the physicians, gave up the work. . . . . and another succeeded him in the charge of the works, William by name, English by nation, small in body; but in workmanship of many kinds acute and honest." (p. 51.)

A. D. 1180.

SECT. 6.-" The Entry into the New Choir."

The

The monks entered the New Choir on Easter Eve. The master" erected the three altars of the presbytery. He carefully prepared a resting-place for St. Dunstan and St. Elfege." (p. 52.) . . . . "It became "It became necessary that our Holy Fathers and Patrons, St. Dunstan and St. Elfege should be transferred to the new choir before hand. . monks and servants of the church, in obedience to the Prior's commands went by night to the tombs of the saints [they had been deposited temporarily at the altar of the Holy Cross in the nave, p. 35,] took the structure to pieces, opened the stone coffins of the saints, and bore their relics to the vestiarium. Then having removed the clothes in which they had been wrapped, and which were half consumed from age and rottenness, they covered them with other and more handsome palls, and bound them with linen bands. They bore the saints thus prepared to their altars, and deposited them in wooden chests covered within and without with lead; which chests thus leadcovered and strongly bound with iron were inclosed in the stone-work that was consolidated with melted lead." (p. 53.)

"The Convent was ejected by the fire from the choir even as Adam from Paradise, in the year of the world, 1174, in the month of September on the fifth day of the month, and about the ninth hour. They remained in the nave of the church five years, seven months, and thirteen days; and returned into the new choir in the year of grace, 1180, in the month of April, on the nineteenth day of the month, at about the ninth hour of Easter Eve." (p. 55.)

'

SECT. 7.-" Remaining Operations of the Sixth Year."

"The Chapel of the Holy Trinity was then levelled to the ground. This had hitherto remained untouched, out of reverence to St. Thomas, who was buried in the crypt. . . . . On

....

the eighth idus of July the Altar of the Holy Trinity was broken up. .. The stone structure which was behind this altar was taken to pieces. Here, as before said, St. Odo and St. Wilfrid reposed for a long period. These saints were raised in their leaden coffins (capsis plumbeis) and carried into the choir. St. Odo in his coffin was placed under the feretrum of St. Dunstan, and St. Wilfrid under the feretrum of St. Elfege." (p. 56.)

66

Archbishop Lanfranc was found inclosed in a very heavy sheet of lead, in which from the day of his first burial up to that day he had rested untouched in mitre and pall for sixtynine years and some months. He was carried to the vestiarium in his leaden covering, and there deposited until the community should decide what should be done with so great a father. Lanfranc having remained, as before said, untouched for sixty-nine years, his very bones were consumed with rottenness, and nearly all reduced to powder. The length of time, the damp vestments, the natural frigidity of the lead, and, above all, the frailty of the human structure, had conspired to produce this corruption. But the larger bones with the remaining dust, were collected in a leaden coffin (in capsa plumbea) and deposited at the altar of St. Martin." (p. 57.)

We have fully transcribed the passages relating to Lanfranc, because we consider they furnish an unanswerable argument against the learned Professor's "conjectural termination of Lanfranc's church." The place of Lanfranc's first burial was at the south side of the altar of the Holy Trinity in the Trinity Chapel. That chapel, therefore, must have been erected by Lanfranc, and could not have been the work of Anselm, who was not promoted to.the See of Canterbury until 1093, four years after the death of Lanfranc.

We shall discuss this point more at large hereafter. It is, however, somewhat remarkable that a chronological difficulty in the above passages has entirely escaped the learned Professor's notice.

SECT. 8.-"Explanations."

"It has been above stated that, after the fire nearly all the old portions of the choir were destroyed, and changed into somewhat new and of a more noble fashion. The differences between the two works may now be enumerated. The pillars

of the old and new work are alike in form and thickness, but different in length. For the new pillars were elongated by almost twelve feet. In the old capitals the work was plain, in the new ones exquisite in sculpture. There the circuit of the choir had twenty-two pillars, here are twenty-eight. There the arches and everything else was plain, or sculptured with an axe, and not with a chisel. But here almost throughout is appropriate sculpture. No marble columns were there; but here are innumerable ones. There in the circuit around the choir the vaults were plain; but here they are arched-ribbed, and have keystones. There a wall set upon pillars divided the crosses from the choir; but here the crosses are separated from the choir by no such partition, and converge together in one keystone, which is placed in the middle of the great vault which rests on the four principal pillars. There, there was a ceiling of wood decorated with excellent painting; but here is a vault beautifully constructed of stone and light tufa. There was a single triforium; but here are two in the choir, and a third in the aisle of the church. All which will be better understood from inspection, than by any description.

"This must be made known, however, that the new work is higher than the old, by so much as the upper windows of the body of the choir, as well as of its aisles, are raised above the marble tabling." (pp. 58, 59, 60.)

This very interesting account is illustrated by numerous beautiful woodcuts.

SECT. 9.-" Operations of the 7th, 8th, and 10th Years."

We must refer to the summary (ante p. 18), and shall here merely notice that "In the ninth year no work was done for want of funds. In the tenth year (A.D. 1184). Baldwin Bishop of Worcester was elected to the rule of the Church of Canterbury, and was enthroned there on the feast of St. Dunstan next after" . . . (p. 62.)

"Here endeth Gervase his history of the burning and repair of the Church of Canterbury."