76. Magnentius, Æ. iij. D. N. MAGNENTIVS. P. F. AVG. Reverse: FELICITAS, REIPVBLICE (sic). The Emperor, holding in his right hand a Victory, standing on a globe; with his left he leans on the labarum, on which is the sacred monogram. 77. Magnus Maximus (?) E. ii. Legend illegible. Portrait resembling Magnentius or Magnus Maximus. Reverse: FELICITAS PVBLICA. The 78. Valentinian I., E. iij. D. N. VALENTINIANVS. P. F. AVG. Reverse : SECVRITAS PVBLIKA. Victory walking, a laurel crown in her right, a palm branch in her left hand. Exergue: R. PRIMA. 79. Valens, Æ. iii. D. N. VALENS. P. F. AVG. Reverse: SECVRITAS. REIPVBLICAE. Type resembling that of Valentinian. Exergue: T. CON. 80. 81. 82. E. iij. As preceding. Exergue: s. CON. E. iij. Ditto. But in the field: OF. I. Exergue: LVG. P. (Lyons.) 83. Gratian, E. iij. D. N. GRATIANVS. P. F. AVG. Reverse: GLORIA. ROMANORVM. The Emperor with his right hand seizes the head of a kneeling captive, whose hands are tied behind his back; with the other he holds the labarum with the sacred monogram. In the field: Another specimen has F. II. II. and o. E. iii. SAECVLI. D. N. GRATIANVS. AVGG. AVG. Reverse: GLORIA. NOVI. The Emperor holds a labarum, on which is the sacred monogram, and supports a shield with his left hand. In the field is N. Exergue: T. CON. Another specimen wants the letter in the field. Norfolk Church Goods, TEMP. EDWARD VI. COMMUNICATED BY WALTER RYE, ESQ. THE origin and history of the commissions and orders which directed inventories to be made of all church goods is so little known, that a few notes from one who has spent some time over the documents relating to them preserved at the Record Office, may prove of some interest. When, at the end of the reign of Henry VIII., the proceeds of the sale of the greater and more important stores of jewels, plate, vestments, &c., which had filled the suppressed monasteries, were running low in his exchequer, he turned his attention to the less valuable contents of the parish churches, which had hitherto remained untouched; and, as far as I can make out, commenced the system of obtaining written acknowledgments from the minister or churchwardens of each parish, as to what goods were in their custody. In April, 38th Henry VIII., indented inventories of the goods of various chantries, and one guild in the city of Durham, were taken. These are the earliest inventories I have been able to discover. By them the incumbents (in one instance the churchwardens) acknowledge to have received and taken the parcels of plate, goods, and ornaments thereinafter mentioned, "the same surely to keep and preserve to 1 Written across long slips of parchment, which are indented down one side. his majesties use, and until his majesties pleasure in this behalf be further known." I can find no document relating to Norfolk dated in Henry's reign; but a certificate of plate sold at Holme Hale is couched in such different language and form, and written in so entirely different a manner and shape to any of the dated certificates or inventories temp. Edward VI., that it may, I think, be referred to his father's reign. It runs thus— di "Holme Hle Plate sold “In pmis, solde to M...... Why?, &c. on pax of sily gilt and oon chalec silv broken, wyyng together xxxvij unc & viijli viijs iiijd pĉ of the und iiijs vjd solde for the repãcions of the churche & the churche wall, wheroff vs ijd is bestowed and the resadew rem. Hijs testib3 Thoma Deynes, Thoma Ward, Thoma Snow, Jacobo Vyncent, Rid Browne, W. Tuddenhm, et Rico Whyte. "Thomas Deynes and Thomas Warde, Churche Wardeyns, certyfie the premysses to be true."? The ordinary certificates of the reign of Edward VI. begin by giving the names of the parish and churchwardens, the amount of plate, vestments, bells, &c., sold, and for what money; and end by stating how that money has been expended, and how much, if any, of it remains. The order, or instructions, in the reign of Edward VI., to make these certificates, must have been issued about the 2 Since writing the above, my friend Mr. John L'Estrange informs me that this Holme Hale certificate is mentioned with others, which were certainly made in 1547, in an undated return to the Duke of Somerset, now in the Bishop's Registry, Norwich. As this return, however, only purports to be a list of "the certificate of everie churchwarden where anic such sale have bene made within the said diocese," I do not think this fact entirely disproves my conjecture, as such return would naturally include every certificate theretofore made, whether in the reign of Edward VI. or of his father. autumn of the first year of his reign, for the earliest I can find is that of St. Margaret's, Norwich, which is dated 2nd September, 1547. Next in date to that, are those of St. John Sepulchre, St. Martin's at Bere Street, and St. Bartholomew, all dated the 26th; and St. Michael Coslany and St. Peter per Mountergate, the 27th October, 1547. These are printed (i. a.) by our President, Sir John P. Boileau, in vol. vi., pp. 360 et. seq. of the Society's Papers. In addition to those printed by him, 23 in all, I have found the certificates of St. Martin's Coslany, (27th October, 1547) St. Edmund, St. Swithin, St. Andrew, St. James, St. Symon and Jude, St. Laurence, St. Cross, and St. Botolfall of which, except the first, are bound up, out of their place, at the end of vol. iv. of Norfolk Church Goods Papers, in the Record Office. There can be no doubt whatever that all these Norwich certificates were taken in 1547, and not in the 6th Edward VI., 1553. Besides these Norwich certificates, those of Horsham St. Faith's, 29th October; Aylesham, Sparham, Whitewell cum Hackforth, and Ingworth, 31st October; Baconsthorpe and Geyst, 3rd November, 1547; Skerneng, 1st Edward VI.; and Walpole (which, though undated, refers to the year 1545 as being two years past), must have been taken under the same authority. As the Aylsham and Baconsthorpe certificates are intrinsically interesting, I have added them in the Appendix, Nos. 1 and 2, where they will serve as specimens of the dated certificates. The certificates above-mentioned are all that bear date, though a few others may have a kind of negative date attached to them, from their referring to former sales; thus Wigenhale Petri mentions sales made in 1544; Wigenhale St. Mary, sales made in 35th Henry VIII.; and Sharmyngton, (Sharington ?) sales made in 1546. I may here, before taking leave of the certificates, say, that the remainder are undated, and in several different handwritings. As specimens, I subjoin three or four in the Appendix, Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6, and I cannot help thinking that most of them are the Bishop's certificates, referred to in the final commission of 6th Edward VI., and I am confirmed in this opinion, by a few being headed in deaneries and not in hundreds.3 The majority were probably taken at the same time as those above-mentioned, October and November, 1547, and the remainder may have been taken as ancillary with the inventories of 6th Edward VI. Some dozen or so are signed "Anthony Stile," who was, I believe, a notary, connected in some way with the Bishops of Norwich. Almost all (inventories as well as certificates) have some name in the right hand bottom corner-e. g., "p me Simonem Balles scriptorem." The following memorandum, of the same date, (October, 1547) is the only one of its kind I have seen, and would seem to prove that goods were removed under some commission, as early as 1st Edward VI. (vol. 500, No. 96, N. C. G.) Bettering) "A Remembraunce of suche certen goods as wer Parva. conveyed owte of the Churche of Lyttell Bytteryng, by George Heydon, esquyer, and his Depute, uppon Twysday in the mornyng before Symont & Jude anno primo Edward sexti, & divse other tymes before. ffyrst owte of the chauncell too candelstykę Itm iij vestments & a koope Itm ij ratchyts Itm a cloth hangyng uppon the lectorn > I have since found the certificate of "Folshm" (3 Nov. 1 Edw. VI.) which is directed to William, Bishop of Norwich. |