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CHRONOGRAMS
5000 and more in number
excerpted out of various authors and collected at many places
By JAMES HILTON, F.S.A.
•!■ •!• •!• J» if* Jt >1* atf it* it* it* it* it* it* it* it* <J* Jt it* it* il* ^ iti il* J* il> il* it* it* it* it* it* it* it* it* at* il* iS* it* iS*
nVgas non oMnIno InerVDItas qVas In hoC LIbro InVenerIs
NE SPERNAS LeCtOR BENEVoLe.
T/ic' same done into English.
iHE qVaInt hVt not altogether VnsChoLarLy
ConCeIts whICh thIs LIttLe book ContaIneth
DespIse not o CoVrteoVs reaDer.
tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
LONDON: ELLIOT STOCK, Paternoster Row. 1882.
'i^<
4*^
4^
AN
eXCeLLent neA'X' book
OF
Chronograms gathered together
&
NOA^^^ SET FORTH
BY
I. hILton, f.s.a.
>5^
i
HE word Chronogram, derived from the Greek ■)(p6vo<; time, and '^pafifia a zvriting, lias been defined as an inscription in which a certain date or epoch is expressed by numerical letters, as in the motto of a medal to Gustavus Adolphus — ChrIstVs DVX ergo trIVMphVs.^ The total sum of the figures represented by the large capital letters gives the date 1632. The words Chronograph, Chronicon, Chrono- stichon, Eteostichon, Eteomenehemerodistichon, and some other kindred words, are synonymous, and are used indiscriminately by early writers. The word Chronogram is said to have been first used in some verses addressed to the King of Poland in 1575.
I cannot find that there exists any essa)' on this subject beyond what may be found in brief articles in English cyclopaedias, and in
' See page 187.
ICSO-iOl
vi PREFACE.
German and French ' conversations-lexicons ;' and it maybe asserted that no general collection of chronograms has ever been published, if indeed such has ever been made. The present work is put forth to fill a void in this field of literature, and to present to observant readers a very curious subject ; also to preserve the result of many years' work in collecting, and of special research in attempting to elucidate the subject. The words composing a chronogram ought to convey a pertinent allusion to the event which it commemorates, the sentence should be concise, and should contain no more numerical letters than are necessary to form the date. A more extended application of the chronogram writing will be noticed ; for instance a long poem, or even a whole book, has been so composed, repre- senting continuously one particular date.
Chronograms, although generally composed in Latin, are not confined to that language ; they are to be met with in most parts of Europe, in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Hungary; rarely in England and France, and scarcely at all in Italy.' They occur also in some Oriental countries, and especially where the Arabic language is or has been in use. They were written in the Hebrew language as early as the year 1208 ; we find them in Arabic (see p. 537 of this volume) representing the year 1318 ; they were used in Europe some- what later in the same century,- and were much in fashion in the sixteenth and seventeenth, and part of the eighteenth centuries. There is no satisfactory evidence of their use or composition in Europe, at least in any of the Western languages, earlier than about the middle of the fourteenth century, and although some chrono- grams express earlier dates, it is almost certain that such were made in times when the fashion prevailed, in fact that they were composed retrospectively.' It has been said that the Romans used chronograms in their later works, but after extensive research I have not met with any, and writers who have given currency to the affirmation have not
' I have not met vvitli chronograms belonging to countries not mentioned in sub- sequent pages. - See page 12, infra. ' Some are particularly referred to in the Appendix, p.ige 547.
PREFACE. vii
supported it by examples. Many instances of retrospective chro- nograms are pointed out in the pages of this vokime, and where any reason exists for supposing that others are the work of more modern writers, the reader's attention is accordingly directed to the probability.
Chronograms may be seen (very rarely, however, in England) inscribed on buildings and monuments to record the date of con- struction or restoration, on tombs, and in other situations ; and when once the observer is familiar with their appearance and the mixed array of short and tall letters,^ they are easily recognised, though it is difficult sometimes to read them in consequence of local obstructions, decay, or insufficient light. They occur also as inscriptions on modern medals ; epochs of European history are illustrated by thousands of these works of art, struck to com- memorate the birth, coronation, career, or death of princes and potentates ; battles, sieges, and wars which their subjects have fought and endured for them, as well as the treaties made and alliances formed on the establishment of peace ; social and local events, the founding of universities and the like, — all have been illus- trated by medals bearing chronogrammatic inscriptions, by which alone the date of the event commemorated by the medal is indicated. Current coins of a country, however, are seldom chrono- graphic; those of the free city of Nuremberg are a prominent though rare example of that mode of dating coins, which has now entirel)- passed out of use, at least in Europe.
Books, which, however, it is no easy matter to find out, contain a great many chronograms. Some books require a most careful inspection in order to detect and regain the treasures which at one time delighted their readers, but which are now hardly within the
• This feature is alluded to in the mock epic of the ' Scribleriad,' Book 2, line 157, written in 1742 by Richard O. Cambridge, and published in 175 1 —
Not thus the looser chronograms prepare, Careless their troops, undisciplined to war ; With rank irregular confus'd they stand, The chieftains mingling with the vulgar band.
viii PREFACE.
knowledge of the modern student or ' bookworm.' Many books bear a chronogram on the title-page, or even on the back of it, in the place of figures, to tell the date of the publication ; occasionally the title as well as the date is jointly expressed in that manner ; some books again are full of chronograms from beginning to end, expressing the date over and over again, repeating it many hundreds of times in continual variety of words ; entire odes and poems are thus composed, thoroughly fulfilling the strict rules of Latin versification, while cramped by the employment of words containing the needful date-letters. This is but an outline of the formerly extensive application of chronograms.
As the purpose of a chronogram is to express a date correctly, it is obvious that it should contain the requisite numerical letters and no more : no such letters may be passed over to suit the con- venience of the composer ; surplus letters would assert too much and carry the date beyond its limits. It is essential to a good chrono- gram that every numerical letter in the sentence must be counted. There is, however, a deviation from this principle, which seems to have originated, or at least to have been followed as a rule, in the Netherlands or Flanders. It consists in the neglect of the letter D ( = 500) as a numeral, and the reason for this is the alleged usage of the Romans in not representing the number 500 by that letter, but using instead thereof the symbol I^ in their inscriptions. It is further maintained that the numeral D was a corruption of I^, and therefore it had no place amongst the Roman numerals.^ Whatever may have been the old Roman use, that symbol was extensively
' As to the use of the numeral D, I find in Gruter's ' Inscriptiones antiquse ' (Monu- menta Christianorum) the following dates to short epitaphs —
Litoris . famvlvs . dei . vixit , annos . plus . minus . Lxxv . reqvievit . in . pace l.x . l;-ilend . ivl . era . D..XLvni . A . xp. cj.
Another — mortvvs . est . era . D.CXIIII.
Another — reqvievit . in , pace , D.ni . ID. martias . ev.-i . D.I.X.XXII.
Another — reqvievit . in . pace . domini . IX . kal . novembris . era . DCXXII.
Another — consumatum . oc . opvs . era . DCCXX.
Another — rec . in . pace . kal . decb , era . Dcmi.
In these instances the last letter D, unless it is to be read ' era Domini,' must mean the numeral D = 500.
PREFACE. ix
employed on the title-pages of books and otherwise, when time had so far advanced as to require the notation of 500 in a date of 1500 years, or beyond. The Flemish chronogram-makers treated the letter D as nil, and thus gained the advantage of more freedom in the use of words in a sentence without making too high a number. The occasional use by them of the numeral D shows that the method was arbitrary at the pleasure of the writer, and it is obvious that chronograms so written are not to be taken as models of correctness. It is otherwise with the letter M=iooo, and the other numerical letters ; they are always to be counted at their value, and any excep- tion is a manifest error.
The numerical letters in a chronogram are usually capitals made taller or larger than the others, or distinguished by being marked with gilding, or differing in colour, red for instance, though I have sometimes met with chronograms printed entirely in small letters without any distinguishing mark for the numerals. These must have been either a puzzle designed by the author or a blunder committed by the printer. The inequality of the letters, whether in inscriptions or in print, has often been regarded by persons not knowing their purport as a piece of carelessness or eccentricity. Much real careless- ness is met with in foreign-printed chronograms, as in the omission to use large capitals for numerals, or in the insertion of other large capitals which have no numerical meaning.
The invention of chronograms cannot yet be clearly traced to any source, either as to date or country. The Romans, as before observed, are said but not shown to have made them. It has been suggested that mediaeval scholars, or ' monks' (for they were the scholars), were their originators, and used them as a sort oi memoria technica, but all are too complex ever to have served for any purpose of artificial memory. As I have said above, I have found none in the Western languages that can be regarded as authentic, earlier than the 14th century. On turning to the Oriental languages we find that literature was much cultivated in Persia from the ninth to the thirteenth cen- turies. Persian chronograms in the Arabic language of equal or greater antiquity than European examples, and still earlier ones in
X PREFACE.
the Hebrew language, are given in the last chapter (p. 537) of this book, and I there venture to suggest that it is among the early writings of the people using one or other of these languages that the origin of chronograms will be found. It is highly probable that European scholars derived the art from their Oriental, or their Hebrew predecessors.
Chronogram.s, after having enjoyed great popularity in Ger- many and the Netherlands for at least two centuries, among men of classical learning and high academical position,^ and having received much Court patronage and perhaps reward also, began to lose favour, and towards the conclusion of the eighteenth cen- tury or a trifle later men ceased to cut them on stone, print them on paper, engrave them on copper, or stamp them on medals ; and even the books rich in chronograms stored on the shelves of valued libraries were gradually forgotten, or at least were dis- regarded by all except a few students and others, whom we may call friends of literary curiosities. Whilst they were still held in high estimation some deprecatory voices were raised, and among them was heard that of a well-known contributor to the Spectator of 170 years ago, Joseph Addison. He wrote his ' Dialogues on Medals ' whilst residing at Vienna in 1702; and from the particular' point of view taken by him as an admirer of the Roman and other ancient medals, he thus speaks (after giving some examples of con- cise inscriptions on Roman coins), ' Before we quit the legends of medals, I cannot but take notice of a kind of wit that flourishes very much on many of the modern medals, especially those of Germany, when we represent in the inscription the year in which they were coined. The laborious German wits will turn over a whole dictionary for one of those ingenious devices ; you would fancy, perhaps, that they were searching after an apt classical term, but instead of that they are looking out for a word with an M or a D in it. When, therefore, you see any of these inscriptions, you are not so much to look in them for the thought as for the year of our Lord. There are
' The members of several of the Jesuit colleges were prominent as chronogram-makers.
PREFACE. xi
foreign universities where this kind of wit is so much in vogue, that as you praise a man in England for being an excellent philosopher or poet, it is an ordinary character among them to be a great chrono- grammatist.' Again, in the Spectator, No. 60, for 9th May 171 1, Addison wrote concerning chronograms ; he calls them ' false wit ' — ' A near relation to anagrams and acrostics — the results of monkish ignorance — tricks in writing requiring much time and little capacity .'^ These are hard words to apply to matters of historic interest ; perhaps Addison, being a little fastidious, was worried with the fuss made about the subject by the men with whom he associated during his sojourn in Germany, and probably he never saw a collection of chrono- grams, at least such as is presented in the pages of this volume. His comparison was between the inscription consisting of but three or four words, and the chronogram which was sometimes a whole sentence of history, and perhaps composed in hexameter verse. Addison did not, and indeed it is hardly possible for any one to estimate the amount of time well used or misused, and ingenuity expended on these compositions by the old writers, though we may regret that they were occasionally constrained, by chronographic necessity, to use inelegant Latin, and a conventional or trivial manner of expression.
The translations offered in the following pages will hardly im- prove the originals (which sometimes need some improvement) ; they are intended to help the general reader, and to enliven a somewhat dull subject. In this part of the work I have had the assistance of a learned friend.^ The result of our joint endeavours, it must be con- fessed, is not altogether satisfactory, and perhaps a less close render- ing of the original would have been preferable, at all events more agreeable to read. In some cases translations are not given, either because the originals are too easy or too obscure ; and, it may be
' A few more deprecatory remarks may be seen in a small bock of eighty-eight pages, a Critical Essay on Medals, ascribed to J. Coningham, published in 1704 ; but they are unimportant. The writer complains that so much trouble was taken to indicate a date which could be accomplished more clearly by figures. Perhaps Addison was of the same opinion. So far both would be right.
' The Rev. Thomas Prescott, M..^.
xii PREFACE.
added, some are too long. Indeed the discovery of new and interest- ing material in large quantity during the progress of this work, rendered it necessary to abandon the original intention of translating all chronograms, in order to keep the book within the limits of reasonable thickness.
The arrangement or classification of chronograms according to any one method would seem to be impossible, their extremely varied character forbidding the chronological or an alphabetical order ; and it is clear that neither a territorial nor a dynastic method could be strictly followed, considering the changeable and ever changing nature of the landmarks and boundaries of governments, which history and the chronograms themselves tell us have occurred in the last two centuries. It must be remembered also that chronographic history is not continuous, and that a large amount of material not within the limits of national history also belongs to the subject. The general ^ra«/j of chronograms in the subsequent pages are thus by necessity of a mi.xed character, but they seem to be the best that could be adopted. Some of the books which I have brought to the reader's notice are replete with chronograms from beginning to end, and so remarkable that I was almost induced to reprint them in full ; but as this could not be accomplished within the space of this one volume, I decided to give extracts only, enough to show the character of the books, while the references mentioned will tell the student where he may find the originals.
It is curious to observe how ingeniously the chronogram writers have made the very words of ancient authors to serve their purpose. Passages from Ovid, Virgil, Horace, or Statins, from mediaeval hymns, and even from the Bible, are made to give out the dates of modern events in a manner almost prophetic, and in some instances quite so, if all that has been said on the subject is to be taken seriously.'
Chronograms are not mere puzzles, and although they have been classed as such, and have been associated with anagrams, acrostics,
' See page 221.
rREFACE. xiii
palindromes,' etc., they deserve a more important position. I desire to constitute them into a separate class, and to assert for the best examples, an equality with epigram compositions which have always been held in high estimation, and with which they have been exten- sively associated ; and I hope that this collection may gain for them that distinction. A special high position may be taken for them if viewed in relation to the service they can render to history ; they are to some extent a memento of history written in its own locality, when found engraved on buildings, monuments, and medals, or inscribed in local archives ; the date of an inscription may be obliterated, but a chronogram as an inscription has an equal if not a better chance of remaining legible than a date expressed by four figures, and thus it certainly has a value peculiar to itself.
This collection is very far from being complete ; a great many more chronograms are yet to be collected from books latent on the shelves of great libraries, and from inscriptions in and about the churches and other public buildings, especially on the elaborately ornamented public fountains of small towns and villages on the con- tinent of Europe, where the restorer or decorator is every year carrying on his work to destroy, and where decay also is slowly but surely at work to obliterate chronograms. The tourist may, if he will take the trouble (for it is a trouble), derive much enter- tainment and occupation by observing carefully, and copying in his note-book, everything of the sort he sees, before the destroyer's hand intervenes. C= loo
How to use or prove a chronogram. For example take ^— '
that from the beginning of this introductory essay, ChrIstVs j^Z ,qq
DVX ERGO TrIVMphVs ; arrange the numeral letters V= 5
in a column with the equivalent figures and ascertain the "^^ '°
total ; or shorten the process by writing the figures only and v= c
save the trouble of writing the letters; or use the still M= 1000
shorter process of mental addition. ~ 2
1632
' Many of these conceits may be traced by consulting the index.
xiv PREFACE.
The reader is reminded here (in the margin) of the I = i Roman numerals and their equivalent figures, used in the -^ ~ ^ formation of chronograms. In the Latin language the letter l = 50 W has no existence; when a chronogram in that Ian- C = 100 guage requires the use of the letter, as for instance in a i^Zj^qq name, it is usually printed as VV, and counted as=io. German and Dutch chronograms mostly have the same application of the letter, and so in English chronograms when the date requires such a use of it. The letter U is also usually printed as V=5. The letter Y in Flemish and Dutch chronograms is generally read as II, and counted as = 2, in conformity with the use of those languages.
An Appendix of Bibliography is given, mentioning the titles of books from which chronograms have been extracted and dispersed through the pages of this volume, and they are referred to by the italic letters which accompany the dates placed in the margin of the text ; the mark >|< indicates the chronograms collected by myself at the places mentioned ; a list is also given of references to other similar books, the titles of which are more particularly mentioned in the text. These constitute the authority for all that are printed in this collection.
No one can tell even approximately the number of chronograms in existence. The following pages comprise more than 5100; this number might be increased to 10,760 by making full extracts from ' Some remarkable books ' noticed at and after page 434 in this volume. The reader is referred to the conclusion of the Appendix, where it will be seen that a further addition of some hundreds might be made from books printed at the city of Ghent alone. I may say with truth that we shall never find out all that have been written. Great care has been taken to test and prove each chronogram, to see that it makes the date placed against it in the margin ; many an error in original print has by this means been corrected. The same attention has been devoted to other matters and to verify the dates quoted or referred to, in humble endeavour to avoid inaccuracies. The short prefaces to each g7-oup will further elucidate the subject, and afford the reader occasional information which I myself was so much in want of on commencing my researches.
PRE FACE. XV
The illustrations are selected to show some of the methods of using chronograms in printed pages and book engravings ; they are facsimile copies the exact size of the originals, except the three at page 471, which are reduced by one-third. The medals are also represented of the actual size, and are mostly taken from originals in the British Museum. The head and tail pieces are selected in con- siderable variety, from good seventeenth century examples, and the 'flourish' ornaments used from page 433 to the end of the volume are woodcuts prepared expressly for this work from German seven- teenth century originals, copied from books more or less connected with chronograms ; they are quaint and I believe uncommon.
I thank my friends for all help rendered during my researches, and for assistance experienced at the British Museum, the Bodleian, and the Lambeth Palace Libraries, and at the Imperial Library at Vienna ; and if my readers feel inclined to promote the subject, and to contribute chronograms or remarks thereon, I hope that they will not refrain from communicating them to me direct, or through the publisher. ^ tt
60 Montagu Square, London, June 1882.
CONTENTS.
Chronograms in and concerning England, .
The Duke of Marlborough's Campaigns,
Holland — Local Chronograms,
Belgium — Local Chronograms,
Germany — Rhine Country — Local Chronograms,
Germany— Bavaria, Saxony, Austria, Hungary, etc. — Local Chronograms,
Holland and the Netherlands — Historical and other Chronograms,
Germany, Hungary, Charles vi. and Maria Theresa,
Prague and St. John Nepomucen, ......
Poland, Sweden, Denmark, and Russia— Historical and other Chronograms,
France— Historical, Local, and other Chronograms,
Miscellaneous Chronograms, German, Belgian — Arithmetical — The Last
Day — The Augsburg Confession — Predictions — Sermons — Proverbs
— Spanish Armada — Don Carlos, etc., . German Monasteries, ....
Brabant and Flanders Monasteries, . The Sacrament Robbery and Miracle, at Brussels, . Books with Chronograms Dates, Titles, and Dedications, Books by Jesuit Authors, with Chronogram dates, Poemata Varia, by German writers, . Panegyric on a Duke of Brunswick, and other Chronogrammatic Poetry,
by German writers, ......
The Reformers — Huss, Zwingli, Erasmus, Luther, Calvin, and others. Distinguished Men, .......
Applause and Lamentations concerning some German .Sovereigns and
other persons, .... Netherlands Pageants and Panegyrics,
I 38 43 49 59 67
89 120 170 183 194
212
235 250 263 284 298 309
325 333 349
382 409
CONTENTS.
xvii
Some Remarkable Books — De Spiritali Imitatione Christi — Decas
Mariani Marianorum — Ziickwolfius, Chronographia Sacra — Zodiacus
Ecclesiffi — Confusio Disposita — Conceptus Chronographicus — Annus
Sexagesimus — Porta Pacis — Genius Belgicus Consolatur — Funebris
Memoria — Conflagration at Antwerp, .
Franconia Plaudens, the Bishops of Wurzburg and Bamberg,
Franconia Lugens, the Bishops of Wiirzburg and Bamberg,
Fulda Plaudens et Plangens, the Abbots and Bishops of Fulda
Oriental Chronograms, Arabic and Persian,
Hebrew Chronograms, .....
473 497 505 537 542
APPENDIX.
A Synopsis of Early and Retrospective Chronograms,
Bibhography of Chronograms,
General Index,
Index of some Distinguished Men, .
Index of some Chronograms,
547 551 559 567 568
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Portrait, with Chronogram, ..... Frontispiece
Headpiece representing Time writing Chronograms, . Preface
Medals with Chronograms. Plate r, . . . . to face page 103
Do. Plate 2, . . . . „ 155
Medal of a siege of Breisach, with Chronograms, • „ 130
Cross on Prague Bridge — woodcut, . . ... 170
Statue of St. John Nepomucen at Prague, . . • to face page \^o
Portrait of Neander, with Chronogram, .... 319
Medal, with Chronogram of Zwingli — woodcut, . . - 334 The engraved Frontispiece and printed Title-page of De Spiritali
Imitatione Christi, ...... 43^
Ziickwolfius' Bible History, facsimile of a page, . . . 450 Conceptus Chronographicus, facsimile of the engraved Fronti- spiece, ........ to face page 4.SS
Funebris Memoria of Maria Amaha. Facsimile of Plates, with
Chronogram Inscriptions — three plates, . . . to face page d,T\ Head and Tail Pieces, woodcuts from German seventeenth
century originals, ...... 434 to end
The other Headpieces, etc., are chiefly from seventeenth century
originals ; and exhibit much variety of design, . passim
My Printer contributes this- —
IaCobVs hILtonVs feCIt,
ANNO
VICtorIae qVaDragesIMo qVInto
anno domini 1882.
ERRATA.
EMENDATIONS AND NOTES.
IN times gone by authors were accustomed to address their readers in pleasant words, craving pardon for all errors in the book before pro- ceeding to specify them. The following are characteristic and quaint examples ; they express in effect what I would say to my readers for my own shortcomings, and for the printer in accomplishing an unusual and difficult piece of typography. The first is taken, verbatim et literatim, from a single page of a book ' Imprinted at London,' probably early in the seventeenth century, which I found in the ' Bagford Collection' (Printers, etc. 8°) in the British Museum ; the other is from ' Ludus Fortunce,' a book by Joannes Sturmius, printed at Louvain in 1633, and mentioned at page 323 of this volume : —
Bejtevole Lector, hie etiam e7n'ores sunt, qiios sic emendare dignaberis : Quod si forte alios incurid nostra omissos repereris, diligentia; tuce cor- rizendos committimtis. Vale.
Gentle Reader, I shall most hartely desire thee that if in the reading of this work other fajilts you finde then heer is noted, not rashly to condemne the Author, for assure your self that by his wil none should haue escaped, and thottgh the Printer be 7ieuer so careful, yet in the printing some wil escape. Vale.
Page 13, line 20, read authentic one appertaining to England. It is by no means conclusive that the manuscript is not of the fourteenth century. Page 45, line 22, for 1254 read 1245.
Page 52, line i6,/(5/-Skipton read Skippon ; same at p. 82. Page 53, line 28, for Rumboldus read Rumoldus. Page 61, line 16, for Kreuzburg read Kreuzberg. Page 93, line ^,for when ;v(Z(/ where. (The meaning is obscure.) Page 95, line 24, chiron. See note at p. 414. Page 109, line 4 from bottom, delete the letter .\ over the date. Page 118, last line, add {i.e. in heaven or the heavenly regionsl
XX ERRATA.— EMENDATIONS AND NOTES.
Page 121, second chronogram, after the translation, rtvrrfPR.ESEPES, a constella- tion in the sign Cancer.
Page 124, line 10, deh-te the word Emperor. Page 142, line 12, for imperial family read Empire.
Page 165. The third chronogram may be explained by reference to the remarks on Jewish chronology at page 545 infra. The year 3761 accordingly is the Jewish equivalent of the customary mundane year 4004. Add the date of the preceding chronogram, a.d. 1744, and we obtain the Jewish year 5521, then add 244, the difference between the Jewish and the customary reckoning, we get (for the sake of comparison) the mundane year of the latter, 5749 = 1744. This will hft seen by the following figures : —
The Jewish a.m. . 3761 = 4004, the customary A.M. year.
The date of the event, A.D. 1744 = 1744 The difference, . . 244
5749 5748
The discrepancy consists of the accumulated fractions of days in either case.
Page 168, line 9. Possibly heI beLgraDI is an original misprint for heV beLgraDII, which would make the chrongram correct for 1689.
Page 175, lines 10 and 11 from bottom. This chronogram probably alludes to S. Bonaventure, and the translation should be 'O seraphic patriarch,' etc. He has been designated as the great light and ornament of the Order of St. Francis, for his extraordinary devotion and eminent skill in sacred learning, and he was known as the ' seraphic Doctor.' He was born in 1221, and died 1274. Canonized in 1482. He acquired the name Bonaventure in his childhood after a dangerous illness, from an exclamation of St. Francis of Assisi ' uttered in prophetic rapture,' ' O buona ventura,' i.e. Good luck to the child in his future career ! His parents were John of Fidenza and Mary Ritelli. He was christened John.
Page 175, line 4 from bottom, after order read (of Saint Francis).
Page 177, line 6 from bottom, after Coeligalenus read {i.e. the heavenly Galen ; they were both physicians ; St. Damian was also a martyr about the year 310).
Page 223, line 27, /cr third 7-ead stconA. In the last chronogram but one, the word aVgVsto should be in a line by itself, to correspond with the last word PERPETVo. The second line will then be an hexameter, commencing with aVgVsTjB, as on the medal which represents the ceremony of presenting the Augsburg confession to the Emperor. Omit the full stop after sVa.
Page 268, line 21. Legends say that the words were spoken to the saint by our Lord himself.
Page 272, line 1 1 from bottom. This chronogram was intended to be read as 1635 ; the initial letter J, although a large capital, was not to be counted as a numeral.
Page 321, headline, readVAmA.
Page 323, line A, for Struniio ;-<:<!(/ Sturmio ; and at page 408, line i,/tfrStrumii read Sturmii.
Page 335, line 9 from bottom, /<;;■ Zisca readZ\%Va..
ENGLAND.
HRONOGRAMS are not to be met with in England inscribed on public buildings so frequently as they are seen in many parts of the continent of Europe ; they were, however, occasionally used in epitaphs ; some of which no doubt have disappeared through decay or destruction, and notwithstanding extensive inquiry and much research, but few have come under my notice. Old books and manuscripts have supplied a fair quantity, but they seem to be suggestions derived from foreign examples, imitations rather than originals ; indeed some particularly relating to England are the work of a foreigner. Historic medals, so productive in some countries, scarcely afford any, and although some of the Brunswick and Dutch medals, bearing chronograms, relate to the Kings of England who were personally of foreign family and birth, they do not belong so strictly to English as to Continental history.
A comparison of this group with those contained in subsequent pages will show that a large field is open in England for the employ- ment of native chronographic talent. Suggestions will also be
XX ERRATA.— EMENDATIONS AND NOTES.
Page 121, second chronogram, after the translation, ;•(•«<;' pr.esepes, a constella- tion in the sign Cancer.
Page 124, line 10, delete the word Emperor. Page 142, line 12,/or imperial family read Empire.
Page 165. The third chronogram may be explained by reference to the remarks on Jewish chronology at page 545 hi/ra. The year 3761 accordingly is the Jewish equivalent of the customar>' mundane year 4004. Add the date of the preceding chronogram, a.d. 1744, and we obtain the Jewish year 5521, then add 244, the difference between the Jewish and the customary reckoning, we get (for the sake of comparison) the mundane year of the latter, 5749 = 1744. This will be seen by the following figures : —
The Jewish a.ji. . 3761 = 4004, the customary A.M. year.
The date of the event, A.D. 1744 = 1744 The difference, . . 244
5749 5748
The discrepancy consists of the accumulated fractions of days in either case.
Page 168, line 9. Possibly heI beLgraDI is an original misprint for heV beLgraDII, which would make the chrongram correct for i6Sg.
Page 175, lines 10 and 11 from bottom. This chronogram probably alludes to S. Bonaventure, and the translation should be ' O seraphic patriarch,' etc. He has been designated as the great light and ornament of the Order of St. Francis, for his extraordinary devotion and eminent skill in sacred learning, and he was known as the ' seraphic Doctor.' He was born in 1221, and died 1274. Canonized in 1482. He acquired the name Bonaventure in his childhood after a dangerous illness, from an exclamation of St. Francis of Assisi ' uttered in prophetic rapture,' ' O buona ventura,' i.e. Good luck to the child in his future career ! His parents were John of Fidenza and Mary Ritelli. He was christened John.
Page 175, line 4 from bottom, ti//er order read (of Saint Francis).
Page 177, line 6 from bottom, a//er Coeligalenus read{i.e. the heavenly Galen ; they were both physicians ; St. Damian was also a martyr about the year 310).
Page 223, line 27, /cr third rtvrrf second. In the last chronogram but one, the word aVgVsto should be in a line by itself, to correspond with the last word perpetVo. The second line will then be an hexameter, commencing with aVgVsT/E, as on the medal which represents the ceremony of presenting the Augsburg confession to the Emperor. Omit the full stop after sVa.
Page 268, line 21. Legends say that the words were spoken to the saint by our Lord hiinself.
Page 272, line 11 from bottom. This chronogram was intended to be read as 163s ; the initial letter J, although a large capital, was not to be counted as a .
ERRATA.
Page 271, line 11 from top, read ■a\^Q. e saCrarIo a perfIDo jUDa-
read the date as 1 735, and dele the footnote. Page 272, line 12 from bottom, commences with a small j.
„ line 10 from bottom, read reconCILIata.
„ line 8 from bottom,/^r 1635 read 1735. Page 273, line 18 from top,/(?/- qUe read glJ^. Page 275, line n, after t:\5, insert es.
„ line 5 from \^o\.\.om, for h^resIs read hebr^Is.
„ line 3 from bottom, >r CaLVInarIo read CaLVInIano.
ENGLAND.
HRONOGRAMS are not to be met with in England inscribed on public buildings so frequently as they are seen in many parts of the continent of Europe ; they were, however, occasionally used in epitaphs ; some of which no doubt have disappeared through decay or destruction, and notwithstanding extensive inquiry and much research, but few have come under my notice. Old books and manuscripts have supplied a fair quantity, but they seem to be suggestions derived from foreign examples, imitations rather than originals ; indeed some particularly relating to England are the work of a foreigner. Historic medals, so productive in some countries, scarcely afford any, and although some of the Brunswick and Dutch medals, bearing chronograms, relate to the Kings of England who were personally of foreign family and birth, they do not belong so strictly to English as to Continental history.
A comparison of this group with those contained in subsequent pages will show that a large field is open in England for the employ- ment of native chronographic talent. Suggestions will also be found for what might be done in the way of commemorating historic and local events, and some of the examples will serve as good models for that purpose.
The simple chronogram, combined with the quaint epitaph prevalent in the seventeenth century, is exemplified in the three or four pages next following.
Sir John Doddridge, Chief Justice of the Court of King's-bench for seventeen years, died in 162S, aged 73, and was buried in Exeter Cathedral.
A
2 ENGLAND.
It is related in Prince's Worthies of Devon, written in 1701, that within the library of the cathedral tliere is a very sumptuous monument to him and his lady ; the epitaph is written in letters of gold, " which time hath well-nigh washed away." The following chronograms form part of the inscription : —
nVnC obIIt DoDerIgVs jVDeX.
i.e. At this time Judge Doderige died. = 1628
Learning aDIeU for DoDerIge Is gone
TO fIXe hIs earthIe to the heaVenLIe throne. = 1628
The epitaph concludes thus, expressing his age and the date — Quoto setatis ? Quoto salutis decessit ?
EN ! Ipse Letho eXtIngVItVr. = 73
DoDerIgIVs IVDeX CarVs. = 1628
i.e. Behold, he is extinguished by death. The dear judge Doderige.
V rom Fuller's IVorthies of England. loHANNES prIDeaVXVs epIsCopVs VVIgornI/E MortVVs est. = 1650 i.e. John Pridcaux bishop of Worcester is dead.
This prelate was one of the most eminent of his period. He
died of fever on 20th July 1650. The chronogram occurs in some
Latin verses made on the occasion of his funeral.
In St. Mary's Church, Taunton. (On the authority of the History of Taunton^ by J. Toulmin, ed. 1S22, p. 144.) Epitaph on Elizabeth and Hannah, daughters of John Gardner, interred together August 18th 1665.
Here lie two plants twisted by death in one. When that was dead could this survive alone ? They were heav'n ripe, and therefore gone, we find Ripe fruit fall off while raw doth stick behind. They are not lost, but in those joys remain, Where friends may see and joy in them again. Their age.
1. here Learn to DIe betIMes Least happILIe,' = 1654
2. ere yee begIn to LIVe ve CoMe to Dye. = 1657
These lines give the dates of their birth, and make their respec- tive ages to be eleven and eight years.
i he following is communicated by the Rev. Augustus Orlebar, Vicar of Willington, near Bedford. In the parish church, and attached to the chancel, is the mortuary chapel of Sir John Gostwick, master- of-the-horse to Henry viii., and on the north wall is a mural monu- ment, bearing on the upper part the date 1541, probably that of the building of the chapel. The inscriptions on the monument are so quaint and singular that I give them entire, the chronograms forming but a small portion. These are the inscriptions : —
' This word, in the authority quoted, is spelt ' happillie ' (a manifest error somewhere). It would make the chronogram 1707, a date at variance with the epitaph. During a recent visit to Taunton I was unable to find the epitaph.
ENGLAND. 3
' To the memories of Sir Edward Gostwykc, Kn*. and Baronet, ' and Dame Anna his wife, eldest ilaughter of John Wentworth of ' Gosfield in Essex, Esq^, by whom he had issue 3 sonnes & 5 ' daughters. (They hved vertuously & died religiously.) Shee in ' her widowhood like a true Turtle never joying after his departure ' till her dyinge Day.'
Beneath the kneeling figures of Sir Edward and liis Lady and their children, is the following inscription —
In obitum D"' Edwardi Gostwyk Equitis et Baronetti.
Chronogramma. eDVarDVs gostVVyk DefVnCtVs est. = 1630
20° Die Septembris, Ann. Dom. mdcxxx. ^tat. 42.
In obitum selectissimae D""^. Chronooramma. aDproperatcjVe VIro ConTVngIer VXor aMato. ^ 1633
6° Die Julii Ann: Dom. mdcxxxiii. ^Etat. 42,
Epitaphium.
' Eximium fidei exemplum et socialis anion's
Gostw7ki inscriptum nomine marmor habet, Vixerunt pietate pares nuUisque secundi
Alter in alterius totus amore fuit. Ille prior fato cessit, ne cederet ilia
Nee tamen ilia suo cessit amore viro. Ille ubi sex annos numerarat terque quaterque
Anna, meos vixi dixit et occubuit. Ilia ubi complerat dilecti conjugis annos,
Vixi Edvarde meos dixit et occubuit. Sic animis vixere pares cum conjuge conjux
Sic vita atijue animis occubuere pares.'
Transl.\tion of the foregoing Inscription.
On the death of Sir Edward Gostwyk, Knight and Baronet.
Chronogram. — Edward Gostwyk died, 20th September 1630. Aged 42.
On the death of the most select Lady.
Chronogram. — And the wife hastens to join her beloved husband, 6th July 1633. Aged 42.
As a bright example of fidelity and social love, this marble is inscribed with the name of Gostwyk. They lived equal in piety and second to none. The one was quite wrapt up in the love of the other. He first yielded to fate, that she might not yield. She, however, was not a whit behind her husband in love. He, when he had numbered both thrice and four times six years (42), said, 'O Anna, I have lived out my days,' and fell asleep. She, when she had completed the years of her beloved husband, said, ' O, Edward, I have lived out mine,' and fell asleep. Thus they lived alike in mind, husband with wife ; thus in life and in years alilvc they died.
4 ENGLAND.
In Westminster Abbey. — 'A very rich and stately monument' stands in the southern side of the central aisle of Henry vii.'s Chapel, to the memory of Ludovic Stuart, Duke of Richmond and Lennox, cousin to King James i. He died at the age of 49. The inscription con- tains this chronogram to mark the date : —
2 Sam. 3. 38. AN IgnoratIs qVIa prInCeps et VIr MagnVs obHt hoDIe. — . 1623 i.e. Are ye ignorant that a pri}ice and a great man has died to-day ?
The verse above alluded to is, 'And the king said unto his servants. Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?'
This monument and inscription is described in Stow's Survey of London, etc., and in Dean Stanley's Memorials of Westminster Abbey, p. 233. It is a remarkable instance of the adaptation of the words of Scripture (in the Latin language) to express the date of a modern event.
At Sherborne. — In Hutchings's History of the County of Dorset, it is mentioned (in vol. iv. p. 138), that the Free Grammar School house was erected in the reign of Charles 11., and that over the outer door, below the king's arms, is this verse — TECTA Draco gustos Leo vinDeX fLos Decus auctor reX PIUS H^c servat, protegit, ornat, aLit. = 1670
i.e. A guardian Dragon, an avenging Lion, a beauteous flower, a pious king as auilior, protects, adorns, supports this roof.
The words allude to the armorial bearings. The chronogram is very faulty, because 1 6 numeral letters, making the further quantity of 634, are not counted.
In Winchester Cathedral, inscribed in the centre of the tower ceiling, indicating the date of its construction. The tower was originally intended to serve as a lantern, but it was ceiled over in the reign of Charles i., whose portrait and that of Henrietta Maria accompany the inscription — •
pII reges nVtrItII regIn^ nVtrICes pI^ sInt DoMVs ^ hVIVs. = 1635
i.e. May pious kings be tlie nursing fathers, and pious queens the nursing mothers of this Jiouse (or cathedral).
An adaptation of Isaiah xlix. v. 23 : 'And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nursing mothers.'
1 his is from Green's Tourists Guide to Wells. In Wells Cathedral, on the tomb of Bishop Berkeley, who died in 1581, is this verse — spIrItVs erVpto saLVVs gILberte noVeMbre
CarCere prInCIpIo en ^there barkLe Crepat. = 1581
Annum dant ista salutis.
Translation by 'Mr. Parker, junr., of Oxford.'
Behold thy soul, Gilbert Barkley, 710W safe, having broken its prison bonds in the beginning of November, speaks from the sky above. These words give the year of his deliverance.
ENGLAND. The centre inscription runs thus, but it has been damaged-
VI XI VIDETE (s) PR^MIVM. LV XI REDVX QVIESCASCIBVS (?)
PRO CAPTVAGENDO PR.^SVLIS (?)
SEPTEM PER ANNOS TRIPLICES.
The words VIXI Lvxi give the years of his age, if placed thus and added together —
VI= 6
XI = u
LV=5S
XI=:II 83
The first and last line may be translated ; but the remainder is hardly intelligible. The most probable meaning is — • I have lived, see my reniard, I have shone, returning to my rest, (?) Having held the office of Bishop, (?) For thrice seven years.
In the disused and dilapidated parish church of Albury, near Guildford, on the monument of Geoi^e Duncumb, who died 21st March 1646. >^
resVrgent eX Isto pVLVere qVI IbI sepVLtI DorMIVnt. = 1646
' My Body pawn'd to Earth doth here remaine, As surety for the soule's returne againe.' i.e. Tliey shall rise again from this dust, who sleep buried here.
At Clifton-on-Teme, Worcestershire, to indicate the re-casting of the great bell in 1668, probably inscribed on the bell itself. henrICVs Jeffreyes keneLMo DeVoVJt. = 1668
i.e. Henry Jeffreyes dedicates to Kenelm.
Saint Kenelm, king and martyr (in the Calendar, 17th July), was King of Mercia, was murdered, and secretly buried in a wood in the year 820, at Clent in Worcestershire ; many churches were dedicated to him. The Jeffreys family had possessions at Clifton in 166S.
On the title-page of a sermon on the funeral of Lady Mary Farewell, at High Bishops, near Taunton, printed in the year i66r, are these hexameter and pentameter verses expressing the date of her death and her age.
D : fareweLL obIIt MarIa saLVtIs In anno. = 1660
Hos ANNOS posItos VIXIt et Ipsa VaLe. = 74
i.e. The Lady Mary Farewell died in the year of salvation 1660. She lived these years appointed, and Farewell to her.
i liese are from Notes and Queries, Series 5, vol. ix. — An epitaph (the locality not mentioned) to the memory of Thomas Chafe, gentleman, who died 25 th November 1648. Y
eXUVIas sVas eXUIt MeDICUs. = 1648
i.e. The physician puts off his ^ mortal coil.'
6 ENGLAND.
Epitaph at Tawstock in Devonshire, to the Earl of Bath, 1623 (a careless mixture of Latin and old French). Y
eXIIt en BON teMps nVnCq' VIenDra patet. — 1623
Epitaph at Ilsington, Devonshire, to Thomas Ford, 1658. Y
DorMIo et ut spero CIneres sIne Labe resVrgent. = 1658
i.e. I sleep, and as I hope, my remains will rise again without blemish.
Epitaph at Widdecombe-in-the-Moor, Devonshire, in memory of Mary Elford, who died at the age of 25, which is thus expressed together with the date —
A° ^TAT : VIXIt obIIt sVperIs. — 25
MarIa gaLe IohannIs eLforD VXor tertIa heV oBIIt Y
pVerperIo. = 1632
i.e. In this {2<,th) year of her age, she lived, she went above. Mary Gale, the third wife of John Elford, alas ! died in childbirth.
IN Stow's Survey of London there are preserved many curious epitaphs in the old churches, some of which were destroyed by the great fire in 1666. Among them are the following chronograms : — In St. Lawrence-Jewry Church, to the memory of Richard Pyott, alderman, and Margery, his 'most faithful and religious' wife, their respective deaths are thus marked —
' Christ! quibus obierunt Anni isthinc numerantur.' Apocalyps: Cap. 14, v. 13. beatI qVI In DoMIno qVIesCVnt. = 1620
Prima ad Corinth: Cap. 14, v. 27. Deo sIt gratIa qVI trIbVIt nobIs (fatI) VICtorIaM. == 1624
This is the Bible translation of the above-quoted texts — ' Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth.^ ' But thanks be to God, 7vhich givcth us the victory.'
In old St. Paul's Cathedral, John King, bishop of London, was buried, and this simple epitaph was placed over him according to his will, viz., the word ' resurgam.' A further inscription was also on a tablet placed near the tomb : —
' Johannis King episcopi Londinensis, quicquid mortale est in hoc pulvere componitur.' [Then follow about ninety Latin lines, concluding with the following anagram and chronogram : —
Anagram : nominis et chronog : setatis 62 currentis. JOANNES KiNGUS PR^LATUS {i.e. John King, bishop). en apertVs Jonas angLIkVs {i.e. Behold an evident English Jonas'). = 62
Chronogramma Anno Domini 162 1. eCCe CVpIo DIssoLVI, aC ChrIsto aDgLVtInarI. — 162 1
Philip. I, v. 23.
ENGLAND. 7
The translation is given by the words of the English version, ' Having a desire to depart, and to he with Christ.'
Then come six more Latin lines, and this chronogram — seqVentVr qVI nonDVM preCessere. — 1621
i.e. They will follow who have not yet gone before.
The letters of the first line of the anagram will transpose to make the second.
The original inscription was probably destroyed by the great fire in 1666.
In Allhallows Church, Bread Street, London. — Part of the epitaph of ' That worthy and faithful minister of Christ, Master Richard Stocke,' who died April 20, 1626 —
Hie situs exanimis Stocki sub pulvere Truncus,
Quern quondam agnovit pastorem ecclesia fidum :
Ista suum nunc Sancta tenent Habitacula sanctum,
QUO MagnVs pan DVCit oVes oViVm()UE magIstros.' — 1626
i.e. Here is placed under the earth the dead trunk of Stock, whom once
the Church ackyiowledged as a faithful shepherd ; those sacred habitations
71070 hold him sacred, whither the Great Pan leads the sheep and the
shepherds of sheep.
The first line is a pun on the Stock or trunk of a tree ; last line is explained in the note. The chronogram is very faulty ; si.x numeral letters, equal to 2012, are not counted.
THE seven following have been contributed by Mr. C. W. Wilshere of the Frythe, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, who composed them. On a new church-clock put up by Lady Waldegrave at Chewton Mendip, Somersetshire.
SONAT HORA sonabIt tVba ILLaM sIC agas Vt hanC LaetVs aVDIas. = 1874
i.e. The hour sounds, the trumpet zaill soutid, so spend the former that you may hear the latter gladly.
On an Oratory at Welwyn, Hertfordshire. serVos sVos beneDICat DeVs beneDICtIone CoeLesti. — 1869 i.e. May God bless his servants with a heavenly benediction.
Over a doorway to a large balcony, commanding a view of the garden.
paraDIsVM aspICIens respICe eXVL prospICe haeres. = 1875 i.e. Beholding this Paradise {garden), look back, thou exile (from the paradise of Eden), look forivard, thou heir (to the paradise of the blessed).
• The words of this chronogram are quoted, with but slight alteration, from Virgil, Eel. iii. V. 33, and are thus translated by Dryden : ' Pan loves the shepherds, and their flocks he feeds.'
8 ENGLAND.
At Welwyn, Hertfordshire, within a large hall which was built in 1878 by Mr. Wilshere near his residence, under the circumstances indicated by the chronogram.
sChoL^ . eCCLesIve . ^DIs . VsV . eCCLesI^ . DefensorIbVs . NEGATO . spatIosIor . h^-eC . neCnon . ornatIor . sVrgIt. = 1878
i.e. The use of the Church school-house having been denied to the defenders of the Church, this one both more ornatnental and 9!wre roomy arises.
This inscription has been put up by Mr. Wilshere on some farm cottages built by him.
terrae . frVCtVs . LargIat . peCora . protegat . et . Nos . In . VIa . paCIs . serVet . DoMInVs . praepotens. = 1880
i.e. May the mighty God bestotv bountifully the fruits of the earth, protect our flocks, and keep us in the paths of peace.
Two more inscriptions : the first composed for a convent ; the second (which alludes to the parable of the husbandman who would pull down his barns, and build greater) for a farmhouse near S. Alban's.
tVa . DeLICta . pLoea . ora . et . Labora.
qVIa . tVa . noVIssIMa . CIto . VenIt . hora. = 1881
DoMVs . Vestra . terrestrIs . perItVra . noLIte . Vobis . hIC . thesaVros . CoLLIgere . = 188 1
i.e. Bewail your faults, pray and work, because your last hour quickly cometh. Your earthly house shall perish, lay not up for yourselves treasures here.
The following was not sent to me by Mr. Wilshere. It is carved on the two gables of the ' Frythe Chapel,' built as a south aisle to the choir of Welwyn Church, when the church was restored in 1868-70. sIbI et paroChIanIs haeC ChorI aLa De sVo jK
CVra CaroLI wILLes wILshere ConDIta est. — 1869
i.e. This aisle of the choir 7uas built through the care and at the expense of Charles Willes Wilshere, for himself and for the parishioners.
THE following has been written by the architect, who has restored the ancient cross in front of St. Nicholas Church at Brighton, and inscribed on the octagonal shaft, a word on each face thereof ^ PER ^Va Longa rVInata
CrVX eCCe tanDeM renoVata. = 1881
And thus quaintly translated by him for the benefit of my readers, FOR Many a Long year rVInate oVr Cross Was set Vp fresh of Late Look here & yoV Can see the Date. = 1881
And I venture to add, Y? architect . j . t . micklethwaite.
' Owing to unexpected opposition, the intended restoration has not yet (Nov. 1881) been carried out.
ENGLAND. 9
Some critics have objected to the word nn'nafa, tliat it is not classical Latin, a fact nevertheless well known to the writer of the chronogram. The original cross having been erected in the ' mediEeval' period, it was thought that its restoration would be aptly expressed in quaint contemporary Latin. The verb riiinare is familiar to readers of medieval chronicles, and it is well illustrated in Du Gauge's Glossarium ?nedlce et infi/ncB Latiriitaiis, by the elegant (?) quotation : ' Flumen Lambri per pluviam subito creverat et pontem ruinaverat,' enough to satisfy the most exacting critic. The word ruinati also occurs on a Hungarian historical medal of 1701.
1 he following has often been quoted as an example of a clever chronogram on the death of Queen Elizabeth. It really is a very bad one, for although it gives the year 1603, it can also be made to give a variety of dates up to 4204, by using the superfluous numeral letters which represent the extra quantity 2601 —
JMy Day Closed Is In Immortality. = 1603
The pretext it has for appearing as a chronogram is that only the initial letters of the words are counted, and they come in natural sequence to form the date 1603, expressed by the Roman numerals
MDCin.
A book published at London, Hii^o Grotius, his Somplwpaneas, or Joseph a Tragedy, with annotations by
franCIs goLDsMIth. = 1652
has no date on the title-page beyond that which is thus chronographi- cally expressed. The subject is a drama about Joseph and his brethren; the title means Joseph =:Saphenath Paneah, 'a man to whom secrets are revealed.'
In the same volume (the British Museum copy) is bound up a short tract, '■Hugo Grotius his consolatory oration to his father,' translated by F. G. ; with some irrelevant epitaphs at the end. One of them is to 'Mr. Thomas Walters, late schoolmaster of Christ-Church,' consisting of eight lines, and ending thus —
' His life he ^\^th the yeere did end,
'A loving husband, master, friend.
'THE Last nIght of DeCeMber = 1651
'he rested froM aLL hIs Labors. = 1651
This is particularly curious. The first chronogram line expresses the day of the month and marks the year; the second quaintly exjjresses his death and marks also the year.
A volume in the Lambeth Palace Library (and also in the British Museum) of various ' Fast Sermons,' one being that by George Gipps, published in 1695, and having on its title-page this printed chronogram, of the date at which it was preached before the members of the House of Commons.
B
lo ENGLAND.
' At a publicke Fast Novemb. 27, in the yeare goD Is oVr refVge, oVr strength ; A heLpe In troVbLes, VerIe abVnDant We fInDe.' = 1644
J ames Howel, the historian, has used the following chronogram in his books, The Parly of Beasts and Ho-eliana, slightly modified to suit the dates of the various editions ; this one will suffice —
GLORIA LAUS DeO S.'eCVLoRuM IN S^CULA SUNTO. = 1 65 5
' A Doxological Chronogram, including this present year mdclv., ' and hath numeral letters enough to extend to the year 1927, if it ' please God the world should last so long.' A very poor excuse for a very bad chronogram.
1 he Ge7ifleiiian's Magazine for 1735, P- 43 ^i ^^'^ some poetical compositions, in response to an offer of a ;^5o prize, on the subject of Life, Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell ; among them are these hexameters by an English author living at Hildesheim in Germany — arbIter eX faCtIs In VIta et Morte peraCtIs Hos pcen^, hos VIt^ DabIt Iste perIte VenIte. = 1735
Christophorus Caroll . Hildesii fecit . 1735 I offer this translation. — The arbiter of our deeds done in life and death, 7Liill assign these to punishment and those to life., to these he will say perish, to those he will say come.
At page 673 the following is an answer to a supposed corre- spondent, on the same subject.
' To satisfy Eliza let kit caroll see, There are as laborious fools in England as in Saxony.' Then some verses follow, which conclude thus — thVs sIngeth ygVr ChrIstopher a ChrIstMas CaroLL In hopes of yoVr aCtIons that then yoV'LL beVVare aLL. — 1735
The following is from another competitor for the prize above mentioned — 12 3
as peopLe LIVe and Dye, In CoMe and go,
5
XsT gIVes these joy, and sInks those Into Woe. = 1735
Two letters d are not counted.
Explanation.
1. Life. 4. Heaven.
2. Death. 5. Hell.
3. Judgment.
CADDINGTON Churcli in Bedfordshire was restored in 1876 from subscriptions obtained for the purpose. The event is thus recorded on the sills of the three windows of the south aisle. ANO: o . CaDDIngtonIenses . pII . eCCLesIa . Vestra . VobIs . restaVrata . est . gaVDete. = 1876
i.e. In this year, O pious people of Caddington, your church is restored for you, rejoice.
ENGLAND— AMUSING CHRONOGRAMS. ii
At the middle window is this verse, to connect the chronograms — h/ec . ^.des . si . vis . qvo . restaurata . sit . anno . discere; quicunque . es; disce . chronographice, 1876. i.e. If you wish to learn in what year this church icas restored, whoever thou art, learn it chronographically .
At the third window — h.^CCe . eCCLesIa . restaVrata . est . tho . presCotto . VICarIo : — Dno . Deo . gLorIa . In . eXCeLsIs. = 1876
i.e. This church was restored, Thomas Prescott being the vicar. Glory to the Lord God in the highest.
The following were composed to commemorate the same circum- stance, by a young aspirant to the art of chronography, whilst in the pursuit of learning at Marlborough College —
ANNO Vno et qVInqVe MensIbVs H/eC eCCLesIa perennI nItore reDIntegrata est. =1876
H.^C TnsCrIptIo DICet VodIs qVo anno h.eC ^Des restItVta sIt sI sCrIpta ChronocraphICa poterItIs reCte Legere. — 1S77 i.e. In one year and five months this church 7C'as restored with enduring sph'fidour.
This inscription will tell you in what year this hiilding was restored, if you are able to 7-ead aright chronographic loritings.
On a naughty dog named 'Floss' that was punished for its conduct somewhere in Bedfordshire —
In this vear CaCoCanIne fLoss Met a Watery enD, ah ! grIeVoVs eVent. heIgho ! = 18S0
Notes and Queries bears on its title-pages, as a motto, the favourite expression of Captain Cuttle — ' when found make a note of,' (see Dickens's novel oi Dombey and Son). The fourth series of this publication was commenced in 1S68, and this chronogram was offered by the Rev. William Sparrow Simpson, D.D., as a happy omen. It is in vol. 6. when foVnD Make a note of . CaptaIn CVttLe .
Long LIVE It. = 1S68
i he spring and summer of 1879 was remarkable for bad weather, some ladies at a pleasant country house in Essex made this chronogram on 25th August of that year. thIs year We haVe a LIVIng reCoLLeCtIon of MVD ! = 1S79
1 he following jocose correspondence took place on the election of some one into a Learned Society.
NoW YoV May sIgn \'VIth f.s.a.
When e're that Is yoVr WILL ; bVt Dont forget oVr fees to pay,
I KnoW YoV'LL get the cILL = iS8i
ENGLAND— EARLIEST CHRONOGRAM.
Reply.
THE FEES I'LL PAY, LIkE AN F.S.A.
WILLING THE PROPER TO DO, THE honor's GREAT ! — FOR A LOFTY STATE
I aM thankfVL qVIte to yoV.
Earliest Chronogram.
THE following is substantially derived from a book Documents illustrating the history of S. Paul's Cathedral. Edited by W. Sparrow Simpson, D.D., etc. Printed for the Camden Society, 1880. The manuscript in the British Museum, No. 22142, is a small Svo of ten leaves, on vellum ; it is a chronicle of certain events (partly relating to St. Paul's Cathedral in London) down to the year 1399. On folio 9 the following lines are written in small letters : — A. Post Donstanum post sompnum meridianum. C. Cuculum vixi terrfe motum sic tibi dixi.
The second line has been judged to contain a chronogram ; the whole may be thus literally translated —
A. After St. Dunstan's day, after the mid-day sleep.
C. I lived in a hood thus have I told you the earthquake.
We read in Stow's Annals that in 1382 a great earthquake happened in England, on the 21st May at 9 o'clock in the morning, doing much damage especially in the county of Kent. In that year the Dominical letter was E ; then the letter F would belong to St. Dunstan's day the 19th of May, and the letter A would belong to the 2ist May, the date of the eartliquake. The ' sompnum meridianum' is the hour of rest allowed to the monks after their earlier hours of prayer ; it might not have been the mid-day or noon, and it is an open question what is the exact meaning of the words ' nona hora,' in the chronicle from which Stow derives his information leading him to specify the hour of 9 o'clock ; the criticisni is interesting and is fully set forth in the work quoted.
The particular point which concerns my 'collection' is the chrono- gram, because it has been regarded as the earliest known example, and therefore it would be satisfactory if the date of its composition could be fixed.
The translation above offered may be thus paraphrased — ' After ' St. Dunstan's day (the 19th May), and in the year when A was the ' letter of a day, when I was, living in a hood, or as a monk, there was ' an earthquake — there now !. I have told you its date, find out my riddle.'
The Latin words at best are mere nonsense, and the translation scarcely advances them a degree higher. The particular words, C.CVCVLVMi VIXI, are the chronogram, and make the date
' The word ' cuculum ' really means cuckoo. It must be taken as an intentional mis- spelling of ' cucullum,' a l\ood, for the sake of the nuinerical result..
ENGLAND— JAMES FIRST. 13
13S2, the precise date mentioned by Stow; the letter C is simply alliterative, without any meaning further than to give the needful quantity of 100. Let us consider the riddle as answered, and try to find out when it was made.
I have inspected the manuscript. The writing of the chronicle is faded and somewhat damaged ; it appears to be the work of one hand, and to have been written all at one time. The lines in ques- tion are written at the foot of folio 9 in a different hand, where a blank space had been left, and rather as a memorandum to preserve a good joke, or an amusing riddle, than as an integral part of the chronicle. A very competent judge of mediaeval manuscripts says that the writing of the document belongs to the period 1420 to 1450, and not earlier. It is possible that the lines were compftsed prior to the time of writing the manuscript, or of the last date mentioned therein, viz. 1399. It is more reasonable to assume that the chrono- gram was made at or soon after the event, when its effect was vividly impressed on men's memory, rather than even ten years later ; and it is quite reasonable, having regard to the foregoing brief remarks, to treat it as contemporary with the event in 13S2) and as a very early example, if not the earliest authentic one.'
A SMALL but curious book, of thirty-eight leaves and no pagination, bears this title — ' Anagrammata et Chron-anagrammata Regia, ' nunc primum in hac forma in lucem emissa.
XAAEHA TA KAAA.
Londini. Excudebat Gulielmus Stansby. Anno 16 13.'
The author's name afterwards appears to be William Cheeke. The contents of the book are chronograms and anagrams, chiefly concern- ing Prince Henry Frederick Stuart, son of James l of England, mixed with other quaint conceits, in the Latin language, with the same in Greek, on O])posite pages. The allusions are far-fetched, and the exigency of tiie chron-anagrams has led the author into such obscurity of expression that translation is well-nigh impossible ; and even those in English do not commend themselves to our acceptance on any other grounds than the rarity of chronogram in our own language.
The first is on 'James i. of England, vl of Scotland, Ann: 1602' —
Jacobus ex Dei gratia rex Angliae, Franciae, Hiberniae primus, Scotiae sextus.
' The work above quoted contains, at page 59, and in the Appendix, page 219, much curious discussion of this subject, as well as some various readings of the particular words, which do not seeai however to disturb that which its author has adopted.
14 ENGLAND— PRINCE HENRY.
The same letters compose exactly the following hexameter and pentameter chronogram —
aXe sVb aLgentI, reX hTC IaCobVs In aXe est IMPERII, eIa saCra fortIa regna DeVs.i
i.e. Under the cold sky this King James is on t/ie summit of J>owcr, O God ma/ie his Kingdom strong.
The next is a chron-anagram on the death of Prince Henry
Frederick, son of James i., each making the amount of the date of his
death — 1612, his age — 18, the day of November — 6, and the hour — 6,
total 1642 —
heInrICVs frIeDerICVs steVarDe sCotIae-VVaLLIae
prInCeps, totIVs regnI brItannICI haeres. — 1642
_ . ,.., . Salut: ) 1612') DieNovemb:") 6. Qui obut anms ^^^^^ j ^g j- ^^^. ^j^j ]- ^
The same letters compose also the following lines —
strenVVs, hInC ferrI DeCVs, Is tIbI, ChrIste parantIs DeLICIae, heV ! patrIae ens, gLorIa, CVra IoVae. = 1642
Another anagram-chronograni; — Henricvs Walliae princeps obit sex Die No: aetatis Dec-octo. Incarnationis christi. (161 2.) Echo inclusive.
oCCIDIt . ANNE DeCVs . phoenIX . spes . VIta . brItannIs. sCILICet . LaVro . ( ) en honor artIs . aI . aI. = 1636
The date of his death, 161 2 The day of November, 6
His age, . . . 18
1636
The chronogram is not an exact anagram of the words which precede it, there is a variation of about six letters. The meaning of the parenthesis is obscure. Anne is the queen, — Anne of Denmark.
' A chronogram in anagram ' on ' T/t' vntitttely death of that thriee great-good prince
henrIe freDDerIC steVVarDe, =^ 161 2
Carm: \ Deere frIenDe, Wars CreDIt, ^ 1612
Heroic; / rICh VertVcs, reaDI DefenDer. = 1612
Ah ! gone Sleepe, sweetest Prince, on softest Earth, Whose Gem thou wert, whilom thy Breath. Blest Soule ! from Earth to Heaven who Parts
1 This chronogram is correct with the original print, but wrong in date (making all allowance for the printer's errors) ; it gives 1904. It is an example of an impossible date arising from surplus numerical letters.
ENGLAND— PRINCE HENR V.
IS
Deere frIenDe, Wars Cv.%DIt, just spender.^ = 1612
rICh VertVes reaDI DefenDer. = 1612
DEERE FRIENDE OF ALL-BEST-PARTS, HARTS, ARTS. Ec/l. Ech.
The next is called anagram-chronogram. The portion which now immediately follows is an exact anagram of the succeeding words ; we need not stop to analyse the meaning of the allusions to England, etc., with the symbols and scriptural references. The lines which sub- sequently follow are but little more than an eclio of the words ' trina corona defertur.'
Hennerico Friderico Stvavrto.
(Anagram)
OHE !
Ang. "^ cvi FERTVR, I Pei. 5. 4 '^ Glor.
Scot. '^ TRINA CORONA 2 Tim. '^ Jlist.
Hib. '^ DEIS. Jac. I. 12 '^ r/ta.
TRlNA CORONA Uni Divis DEFERTVR utrisq :
TRINA parata Patre, trina relata Patre. Chronog. fertVr trIna (oh)e DoMInante Corona ter Vno, = 1612
DebIta trIna soLo, Vera resVMta poLo. :== 1 6 1 2
We now come to the following : —
henricus. Chron : Is PRiOR DVCVM. - 161 2
Ante — ChrIstVs DeMorItVr. = 161 2
Epigram. Vera (heu) sanguinea; pra;dixit flammifer ^Ethrx
Vultus, Fata Ducum : hinc Ilias orta Mali : Sors mala nos miseri 6 ! irate sidere, sidus
Occidit, heu ! peccant membra, luitque caput. Anne inamoene peri, Lupe, Faux, Crux, Festa nefasta,
qVo Magnas, prInCeps, enDVperator obIt. = 161 2
HENRICVS FREDERICVS.
Chron : VICtorIaM aDeptVs. — 161 2
Then follow six lines of epigram ; and afterwards these chrono- grams addressed to the jmnce, each also with six lines of epigram (omitted here).
(■ DVlCIssIMVs, (the letter L is not counted). = 16 12
\MeLLeVs VerIs aDonIs. = 1612
MaCte VerIor fortItVDo. = 161 2
• The words ' just spender ' must be taken to mean the man who disburses your house- hold expenses,— 'just steward,' i.e. Stuart. The earliest member of this regal family whom we find on record is said to be Walter, son of Alan, who \v.i3 Steward or Uapifer of Scot- land in the reign of David i. and Malcolm iv., in the first half of the 12th century.
1 6 ENGLAND—JAMES FIRST.
sangVIne, CorDe, Mente VIr. = 1612
EN ChorIs DIVVM. = 1612
tItVs IMperator DeCorVs. = 161 2
VIVIt CanDor — aMor. =1612
eCCe CLara LaVs, fLos LILIoLVM. — 16 12
Then this Epigram follows : —
DeLI spLenDIDUs pVer. = 161 2
Tyro Clari mira coelebs virtute serenus
CursLi dum medio candidus urget equos : Sorde licet res, spes radiorum Pulvis obumbret,
Laus superat vivax funere major erit : Inscribetque Pius pario breve marmore carmen,
heroVM, Cor, harIC-arChI-CoroLLa, CapVt. = 1612
Then follow six pages of Latin anagram, acrostic, and other muta- tions of the words, some arranged in squares, relating to the same prince, accompanied by a Greek version of the same, all very intricate, evolving his name, the date, day, and hour of his death, his age, and other allusions in both languages. This chronogram is at the com- mencement—
heV MortV^ DeLItIoL^. = 16 12
and after some acrostic lines, this obscure chronogram concludes the direct allusions to the prince — ■
j paMphILo - BONO - sVaVIs Leo = 1612
' '^jj 1 ^^San - aMor - CharIs graDIVVs, &c. = 1612
Then follow the names of the daughter of James i. and her hus- band, used chronographically, and arranged as ' Paralleli.' Here they are in simple arrangement.
CassIMIrVs steVarDaea. = 1612
CasIMIrr steVVarD. = 1612
DVke FREDERik ) ,baVeer {i.e. Bavaria). \
LaDy eL-sabeth J ° Briten {i.e. Britain). J
CarIssIMVs ) (Caesar sIM, / 7 z.- \ r
DeaaretVsaI IvIrtVsDea. (fach mahns) = 16 12
sIr DVKe mi trV SARA, {/or K read C = 100.) = 1612
braVe kIrke — Defender. ") _
bLIth, bLest avDer — eVa J ~ And so the first portion of the book terminates.
Then follows a fresh title-page to a set of epigrams on the death of the Kings of England from the union of the 'Roses' down to the then reigning King James i., in Latin, and the same in Greek, each preceded by one of these chronograms. The first of the following lines
1612
1612
ENGLAND— VARIOUS KINGS.
17
gives the date of the death of the above-mentioned son of James i.,
the second the date of the book now being quoted.
IaM faVstIter DeCVrso, =
O PROTEGAT ChrIstVs DoMInVs iETERNlTER. =
i.e. Having now favourably run his course, may Christ the Lord protect him for ei<er.
The amount of eacli of the following chronograms is composed of the year of coming to the throne and the number of years the king reigned.
Henricus Septimus.
Is DAT RosiA VnIoneM . An : i J?"'- I '485 ( ^
j Reg. \ 23 j
Henricus octavus. reX, sVb aXe arX, aDIWaMen. | '5o9 I ^
Edouardus sextus_ ferI non MILes DeI.
Maria. Lis aMara DVra pIIs.
EHsabetha. HiCC regIMIne Dea.
Jacobus rex. sVos MItIs DVCIt.
/ 1546 \ \ 7)
{■"^}
I 44 (
Anna regina (Anne of Denmark, wife of James i.). HiEC nIMpha, fons DIVIn\'s,
Carolus Stuartus (Son of James i.). arthVro seDIbVs ILLe IMperator.
Carolus Wallite princeps. (The same). annon hIC . D . optI . MaXI.
The book now approaches its conclusion, by the following address to the reader, containing the chronogram dates, and the author's name. Also a chronogram addressed —
aD CanDIDos seVerIores VIros. Prospera nos habeant Satrapion nos ora serenent. Spreta abeant Satyrwn aspcra IVDICIVM. VILLMVs ChIICC . C . C.i Anno tcr prxnotato. Dono prInCIPIbVs gratarl ne InflMa-flnls.
1612 1613
1508 1546 1553 1558 1602
= 1613
- 1613
- 1613 = 1C13
= 1613
1613 1613
1613
' i.e. The author's name, William Checke, in Latin; altered to meet the necessity of the chronogram. The repetition of the letters C. C. can only be explained in the same manner.
C
i8 ENGLAND— PRINCE HENRY, ETC.
EXTRACTS from a tract in the Bodleian Library, Oxford : ' Luctus posthumus, sive Erga defunctum principem Henricum Wallije' (by Members of Magdalen College), Oxford, 1612.
The following relates to the marriage of Elizabeth, daughter of James the First, to the Elector Palatine Frederic Casimir. Anagram (the word ' nos ' is not used). Fredericus Casimirus Elisabeta Stuarta Istis (nos) terris facimus durare beata secula.
By I. Richards, Art : Bac ; New Coll. Chronogramma Magdalenensium. In obitum Henrici principis. Anno Dom. 1612.
Then follow some acrostic Latin lines on Prince Henry Frederick, son of James i., in which the word EXCIDIM occurs twice, and EXCIDIMus, once ; the meaning is obscure beyond expressing by chronogram the year of his death. = 161 2
At another page is the following chronogram — freDerICVs Morte perIt, ast honor sVperstat. = 1612
i.e. Frederick is dead but iionoitr survives.
The tract concludes thus. Finis, Anno quo tV Tibl LVges MagDaLena. = 161 2
Le. Magdalen ( College) thou mcurnest to thyself.
Another tract is in the same volume with the foregoing one, having this title : ' Melemata in honores nuptiales nobilissimi Frederici et augustissimae Elizabeths,
Quae Veneris formam, mores Junonis habendo Sola est coelesti digna reperta tori.
London 16 13. Typis E. Stainsby.' The following ' Anni 1613 Chronographium ' occurs — nobILIs est Consors LeCtI freDerICVs eLIz^ \
hIC LVCtVs nobIs erIpVItqVe graVes. ' _
feCerVnt trIstes heV nVper fVnera fratrIs ( ~ -^
L^TA AT NOS L^tos eLIsabetha faCIs. )
And in the margin : ' Vivat io vivat princeps coelestis et olim mortuus, e tumulo fulmen jaculetur in hostes.'
A VOLUME of tracts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, ' Carmen lugubre' (verses, etc.), by Joh. Sictor. Leyden, 1626. One is ' Epigramma de obitu duorum heroum nostri seculi incomparabilium ■ — unius pace florentissimi, alterius marte felicissimi.'
The first on the death of King James i. of England — sCotIgenas angLIs qVI et Vna IVnXIt hIbernos, ^
VnIVs Vt sCeptrI sInt trIa regna saCrI ; ( _ /:
qVo pIa paX VIgVIt, Magna atqVe brItannIa, seXto, ( ~ 5
aprILIs seXta reX IaCobVs obIt. )
i.e. He who joined the Scotch and Irish to the English, that three king- doms might be one under one sacred sceptre. King James the Sixth, by whom pious peace as well as Great Britain grew, died on the sixth of April.
ENGLAND— GUNPOWDER PLOT. 19
The second is on the death of Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange —
qVI totIes eeLgIs VIrtVte repressIt Iberos, ]
aVrIaCVs prInCeps obIIt MaVrICIVs herds V = 1625
LVCe qVater SENA, absqVe Vna, VernantIs aprILIs. )
i.e. The hero Maurice, Prince of Orange, luho so ofte?t by his valour
repelled the Belgian-Spaniards, died on the four times seventh wanting
one (2,1th) day of the blooming April.
I FIND in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, in the Ashmolean Manu- script, No. 36, fol. 276, the following ' Chronogramma de quinta die Novembris [ex Psalmo 124] publico Statuto Anglis solemni, mirabile Z'-Zs/ Providentia detects per Pyriuni pulverem conjurationis in Regem, Liberos Regios, et Proceres Regni Comitiales, Anno tertio Jacobi Magnse Britannia Monarchy ; Praesentis verb seculi 1605.'
qVInta noVeMbrIs erat fataLIs pVLVere nItrI, 1
reX, proCeres regnI qVa non perIere brItannI: > = 1605
pro taLI aVspICIo est soLennIs gLorIa ChrIsto. )
i.e. The fifth of November was dangerous with gunpozvder, by ivhich the
King and the leading men of the kingdom perished not ; for such an.
auspice there is solemn {or religious) glory to Christ.
[The chronogram has this appendage] —
LiETO, fIt LA'rk sIt aVspICIo est taLI soLennIs gLorIa ChrIsto.
a Nativitate vero Dominica hujus seculi
supra millesimum sexcentesimum
quinto.
The addition to the chronogram is explained on referring to a similar one at page 25 infra.
A VOLUME of tracts in the British Museum (C. 28, g. 2-3), Poems in honour of Charles i., etc. The third tract has this title, dated only by chronograms : ' Anagrammata regia in honorem maximi mansuetissimi regis Carol i conscripta,' etc. (and dated thus) —
LonDInI regIo prIVILegIo eXaratVM. = 1626
and on the last page is this chronogram (the publisher's name) —
eXtant Ista In .-eDIbVs gVLIeLMI stansbIe. = 1626
i.e. At London, produced under royal privilege. These are at the house of William Stansbie.
In the same volume, the fifth tract — ' Euphemia vota et soteria Carolo principi,' etc., per M. C.ulielmi, In M"" D'"". ... At page 67,
20 ENGLAND— CHARLES FLRST.
an epigrammatic poem is preceded by ' Chronogramma duplex, disticho conclusum, in annum serenissimo regi Carolo salutiferum mdcxxxii.'
bVLL^ Vt sVbsIDVnt natvE eX antheMate regIs. = 1632
eMergVnt, et VIX VIsa repent^ CaDVnt. = 1632
i.e. As bubbles subside arising from the anathemas of tlie King. They arise, and scarcely are they seen jchen tJiey suddenly fall.
ON George Villiers, first Duke of Buckingham, the most intimate friend of Charles the First, murdered at Portsmouth by Felton, 23d August 1628 —
georgIVs DVX bVCkInghaMI^. = 1628
A CURIOUS and rare tract, of only twenty-two pages (Brit. Mus., C. 39, e.), is best explained by giving its title-page in full, together with some extracts, to show the purpose of the chronograms, and if possible to explain their meaning. The allusions are to King James i. of England and Prince Charles his son, afterwards Charles the First, who married the Infanta of Spain —
' Pax Vobis, or wit's changes turned in a Latine hexameter of ' Peace. Whereof the numeral letters present the yeare of our ' Lord ; and the verse itself (consisting only of nine words) ad- ' mitteth 1623 several changes or transpositions, remaining still a ' true verse ; to the great wonder of common understanding.
' With a congratulatorie poem thereupon, and some other chronograms expressing both the yeare of our Lord and the yeare of the king's reigne.
' Composed in celebration of this yeare's entrance of his Majestie into the xxi yeare of his blessed reigne.
' By Ro: Tisdale of Graies Inn Gent. — London 1623.'
[Page I.] ' Greatest of Cresars, peace-maker of kings,
' James of Great Britaine, whom all muses sings,
■ make^r'^'^ ' ^''' Stately panegyricks, styling thee
'Sabbath.' ' The prince of peace that now with sabbaths' three
' Of Halcyon yeares,' etc.
' Thy trine of sabbaths,'^ etc.
[Page 3.] ' behold, and see
' One thousand and six hundred twenty three, ' In this nine-worded line ; a salutation, ' Or Ave Caesar, at his coronation.'
paX tIbI, reX saLeM,- per te gens fLorIDa regnat. = 1623
' Reade and observe it well ! There shall you finde. ' The yeare of Christ,'
' Alluding to the Sabbatical year, or three times 7 := 21 years of the king's reign. ' ' Our Jerusalem' is expressed elsewhere in the poem.
ENGLAND— CHARLES FLRST. 21
[Page 4.] — Then follow 66 lines of changes (or transpositions) on the words of the chronogram, with a marginal note, ' The changes after this order are above 1623.' (Each line of course making that date.) [Page 8.] — ' This yeare the one and twentieth of our peace.
And tliy third Sabbath since all warres did cease To cloud the day, or thunder, like to feare, With sword, and fire, our royall hemisphere.' IaMes by the graCe of goD, Is a kIng noW neVer Vnhappy.= 1623 Whose three seaV'ns of yeres, Is a reIgn, In a trInItIe
SABBATH. = 21
' By thee great Csesar have we now attain'd The flowrie times of peace ; ' — [Page 18.] — 'Our royall prince has cut a passage through the sea.' The poet eulogises the prince Charles on his going to Spain to woo the Infanta, and the prince is supposed to say, —
VVIDVM V\C\, i.e. I have overcome the sea. = 1623
(All the letters being numerals.) This is followed by some verses, each line commencing w-ith these letters in succession. The prince arrives in Spain. He meets the King of Spain, who entertains him nobly. The poet prays that he may return, having accomplished a marriage between love and peace !
' That love and peace, still shining in his glory. To make this journall an eternall story To after-ages, of his princely cariage, And the felicity of a royall mariage ! And so take to him two attributes of state,
MICVI, DVXI, and both fortunate. i The yeare of our") ^ ^
' ' (_ Lord m two words. ) •'
' Whereof receive this chronogram —
shIne honors herds. Make thy brIDe thy sphere !
for We In her eXpeCt a happy yeare. — 1623
[Conclusion.]
' And so I rest, faithfull, and still the same ;
Wishing I could my service fitly frame
To all occasions, as this verse doth raise
His changes forty thousand sev'rall wayes.
Lex mihi Lu.x ; sic rex, ceu Sol, dans lumina. Jus sit.
obseqVIo, non fIDe MVLtIpLeX. Ro. Tisdale.' = 1623
[This match was broken off, and Charles on his way home met
with Henrietta Maria at Paris, daughter of Henry iv. of France, whom
he afterwards married, as we are told in the epithalamium next
following.]
A volume in the Brit. Mus. 837, h. 16. — ' Epithalamia Oxoniensia,' addressed to Charles First on his marriage with Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry iv. of France. — Oxonias 1625. By various members of the university. There are among them a few chronograms.
Multiplex and semper idem 40020, wayes.
2 2 ENGLAND— CHARLES FLRST.
The following is adapted from Ovid, i. Metamorph. It is necessary to quote the whole, that the right effect may be given to the chrono- gram.
Carolus est Phcebus, radios diffundit Amoris,
Unus et in nostro Sol velut orbe micat. Tu Maria es Daphne, viridi dignissima lauro,
Quoquo respectu conspiciaris, eris. PHCEbVs aMat, VIs^qVe (InIIt) ConnVbIa Daphnes; = 1625 Qualia vult sperat, qualia sperat habet. i.e. Charles is Phcebus, he pours forth the rays of love, and as one sun he shines in our sphere. Thou Maria art Daphne, thou wilt be most worthy of the green laurel, and wilt be regarded with respect. Phosbus loves and he has concluded the desired ^vedlock of Daphne, — the things he desires he hopes for, and those which he hopes for he possesses.
The lines are No. 490 in the original, and run thus — • Phcebus amat ; visjeque cupit connubia Daphnes ; QuDeque cupit, sperat : suaque ilium oracula fallunt.
Another from the same tract, ' Chronogram.' gaLLICa nIMpha feret CaLathIs tIbI LILIa pLenIs
reX InVICte = 1625
Lilia mixta Rosis ; Regales Lilia flores Regalesq; RosK : CaLathIs en LILIa pLenIs
gaLLICa nIMpha feret tIbI (reX InVICte) rosasq; — 1625
mi tute dabis ; sic florura jungere Reges ; Sic Regum flores decuit ; Caroloque Mariam. Floreat Kternlim Caroli Rosa, pulchra Marias In casto Dominje seruent se Lilia, vultu, Mixta Rosis ; et Lili-Rosas hsec mixtio donet.
i.e. O unconquered king, the French nynph shall bring to thee lilies in loaded baskets. Lilies mixed with Roses, Royal Lily flowers and Royal Roses ; Behold, O unconquered king, the French maiden shall bring to thee baskets full of Lilies and Roses, etc. etc.
in the same volume is a tract, ' Voces votiv;e. Ab Academicis Cantabrigiensibus.' Cambridge, 1640. Verses on the birth of a son to Charles i. and Henrietta Maria. The subject of one poem is thus expressed — ' Ad eundem regium infantem. ' Natales decorent cum multi Annosque Diesque,
eCCe hInC eXIMIVs tVVs hIC CognosCItVr annVs. = 1640
i.e. Whilst many birthdays may adorn the years and days. Behold ! henceforth this thy distinguished year is recognised.
A manuscript in the British Museum, 12. a. lx., consisting of about forty pages of Latin and Greek verses presented to King Charles the First on his visit to Winchester in 1636, composed by the scholars of the college there. Its title is ' Musse tripudiantes, in
ENGLAND— CHARLES FIRST. 23
optatissimo adventu Illustrissirai Regis Caroli, ad Wintoniam.' Among the contents are these anagrams and chronograms —
( Caroliis Stewarte Aneliae Rex. (\v=uu). Anagramma. s t^ ^ /-^ 1 * ■ \ '
" \^ i.\i ter Lcesar ave lux regni sola.
Chronograma —
ET qVe VVIntonIaM fVIt 6 tIbI CaVsa tVenDI. = 1636
i.e. And 'ivhat cause was there to thee for protecting Winchester.
( Carolus Britanire Rex. Anagramma. -J , 1 • ^
" ( Lux orbis seterna can.
f Carolus Stevartvs.
Anagramma. -I t- 1
" I i u solvs artes cvra.
Chronograms addressed to him — • MorIbVs, aVt VIrtVte IpsI Is pIetate seCVnDVs. = 1636
i.e. He is second only to himself in manners, virtue, and piety.
VItIs VtI arborIbVs tV DeCVs oMne VIrIs. = 1636
i.e. As the vine is the glory to trees, so thou art all glory to mankind.
WRITTEN on the fly-leaf of a copy of the Eikon Basilike, dated 1648, and probably contemporary with the event ; the ink has faded to a pale yellow colour. The volume is in the British Museum.
Chronostichon anni 1648. reX pIVs atqVe eonVs greX ConDeMnantVr InIqVe. = 1648
and followed by this translation written in pencil, ' A pious king and a good people are condemned unjustly! On the same page is this line — reX pIVs et greX VerVs ConDeMnantVr InIqVe. — 1648
On another fly-leaf of the same volume the following chronogram is written in pale faded ink — ■
Chronostichon decollationis Caroli Regis etc: tricessimo die Jan : Anno a creatione mundi ut inter nos computatur 5684. trIstL-v perCharI DepLoro fVnera regIs. = 659
Inferna Ingrata Detestor MVnera pLebIs. ' = 1558
reX DeCoLLatVr serVIs ; qVIs taLIa VerbIs = 784
eXpLICet, aVt possIt LaChrvMIs v1;qVare Labores ; = 1373
hIC, pIetatIs hongs? sIC regeM In sCeptra reponVnt. = 1310
5684
i.e. A Chronostichon of the beheading of Charles, King, etc., oti the ^oth day of January, in the year from the creatio?t of the 7vorld, as it is calculated by us, 5684. I deplore tke sad death of our very dear king, I detest the infernal acts of the ungrateful multitude. The king is beheaded by his sen'ants ; ivho could explain such things by 7('ords, or
24 ENGLAND— CHARLES FLRST.
rvJio could equal these sorrows by tears. Is this the duty of affection, thus they restore a king to his throne ?
THE next is from Notes and Queries. At Brockthorp, Gloucestershire, carved roughly on an oak timber in the church porch. It is also in a Collection of Poems and Songs, 1639 to 1661, and in a Collection of Loyal Songs printed in 1731.
' Chronostichon Decollationis Caroli regis tricessimo die Januarii, secunda hora pomeridiana Anno Dom. mdcxlviii.'' See Aubrey's Miscellanies. Ed. 1857, page 7.
TER Deno JanI : Labens reX soLe CaDente. Y
CaroLVs eXVtVs soLIo sCeptroqVe seCVre. = 1648
i.e. ' Ere thirtieth January's setting sun,
' The axe on Royal Charles its work had done,
' His throne and sceptre lost, his short race run.'
' Sole cadente ' is allusive to Charles as England's sun, and may be translated ' in the afternoon.'
I find in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, among the Ashmolean manuscripts, two other versions of the foregoing chronogram. The extracts are from the MS. Ashmole. 36, fol. 279.
' Epigramma de Termino Hilarii in Anglia Juridico, Anno Domini 1649.'^ (Then follow eight hexameter and pentameter Latin verses on the execution of Charles i., and continuing thus) — ' Eteostichon executionis Regalis, Anno Dn : 1649, die 30 Januarii.' TER Dena IanI reX LVCe, aC soLe CaDente,
eXVtVs soLIo CaroLVs ense rVIt. = 1649
Then follow eight more verses, with this conclusion— TER Deno IanI Labens reX soLe CaDente, CaroLVs EXVtVs soLIo sCeptroqVe seCVrI. = 1649
A remarkable anagram on Charles I. is in a book in the British Museum, Lusus Anagranunatico-poeticus, by J. H. Zernik, 1706. Press mark 837, h. 45. It does not appear that it was written before his execution ; the anagram is perfect, the letters of the first line exactly compose the words of the second.
Carolus Stuartus, Angliae, Scotiae, et Hiberniae Rex : Aula, Statu, Regno exueris, ac hostili arte necaberis.
' There is here an apparent confusion of dates. The execution of Charles I. is represented by these three chronograms to have taken place in 1648 and 1649, or, as it is sometimes expressed, 164^. When double dates are given, the first denotes the English legal year ending 24th March, the second denotes the Julian year ending 31st December. The 30th of January might thus be put into either year.
ENGLAND— CIVIL WAR, ETC. 25
i.e. Charles Stuart, King of England, Scollatid and Ireland, thou shalt he deprived of palace, state, and kingdom, and shalt be killed through hostile cunning.
A TRACT in Lambeth Palace Library, 11 L D. 3, Niincius propheticus sive syllabus selectoruDt vaiiciiiaturum, etc. London 1642, (? by William Burton, or by Seth Ward, or by T. B.)
Opposite the title-page is a summary of vaticinations of misfortune to England, with this chronogram at the foot of the page ; all the numeral letters are printed red.
paX nobIs faXIt DeVs
AT beLLVM eXeat orbe. = 1642
i.e. May God make peace for us, and may war yet depart from the world.
AVERY rare tract of 12 pages 410, lent to me by Rev. W. Begley. Chronomctra memorabilium rerum, etc., relating to the civil wars in England, printed at Cambridge, 1646.
The following ' Tetrastichon chronologicon, uni cum voto Chris- tiano pro auspicio anni 1646,' is on the title-page, and dates the publication of the book.
nVnC agItVr qVartVs beLLIs CIVILIbVs annVs,
sVIsqVe VIrIbVs rVIt brItannTa : ChrIste, saLVtares Da paCe resVrgere soLes,
eCCLesL'e tV^ VIgebIt CLarItas. = 1646
i.e. Now the fourth year of the civil 7var is passing, and Britain is falling by its own force : O Christ, grant that the days may arise again in peace, and the beauty of thy church 'will flourish.
On the destruction of the Spanish fleet in the English Channel, 25th July {the Spanish Armada). VICeno aC qVIno IVLI, regIna VIrago
hesperII regIs CLasseM pIa VICIt eLIza. = 1588
i.e. On the 2^th day of July our pious maiden Queen Elizabeth conquered the fleet of the western king.
On the providential discovery of ' Gunpowder Plot ' on 5th November in the third year of King James the First. qVInta noVeMbrIs erat fataLIs pVLVere nItrI, reX, proCeres regnI qVa non perI£:re brItannI : PRO taLI aVspICIo L.A.Tk sIt gLorIa ChrIsto. = 1605
i.e. The fifth day of November was dangerous with gunpowder, on which day the king and the nobles of Britain did not perish: for such a favour may Christ be glorified far and ivide. The last line of this chronogram differs from a similar one at page 19, supra.
D
25 ENGLAND— CIVIL WAR.
On the solemn covenant between England, Scotland, and Ireland, for the uniformity of orthodox religion. 25th September. VICena qVInta septeMbrIs LVCe, IehoV^
PRO reCto CVLtV saCra Vota InIere brItannI. = 1643
i.e. On the 2^th day of September the Britons formed a sacred resoli'e for the right worship of Jehovah.
This chronogram is signed ' Joh. Sictor Rokytsanus exul Bohemus.' This Bohemian exile, John Sictor, was the author of the book ; no author's name is otherwise mentioned therein.
Then follows ' Chronologicon generaliorum praeliorum et pretipu- ' arum expugnationum, civili et intestine bello Anglican©, inter regem ' et summum regni senatum, in quartum annum productum.'
On the battle of Kineton (Edge-hill), in Warwickshire, on 23d October —
VICeno terno oCtober DeferbVIt ortV,
CLaDe CrVentarVnt CIVILI rVra brItannI. = 1642
i.e. Tlie twenty-third sun of October arose when the Britons made the fields red with civil slaughter.
On the battle of Devizes, in Wiltshire, in which the king's forces were victorious, 5th July —
qVIntILIs qVInto, phcebo rVtILante CaLore,
robore reX poLLens paLMa VICtrICe potItVs. = 1643
i.e. On the fifth of July, the sun shining brightly, the king being the more powerful gained the victoiy.
On the first battle of Newbury, in Berkshire, 20th September — soLe qVater qVIno septeMbrIs In orbe CorVsCo, CoNFLIXfeRE aCIe, patrIoqVe CrVore brItannI. = 1643
i.e. The tiventieth sun of September shining in the world, the Britons contended in battle, with slaughter of their kinsmen.
On the battle of Nantwich, in Cheshire, when the royalists were defeated on 2Sth February —
VICeno aC qVInto febrVVs respLenDVIt Igne, regIa CLaDe Cohors rVIt In CestrensIbVs agrIs. = 1644
i.e. The twenty-fifth sun of F.'bruary arose when the forces of the king are defeated in the plains of Cheshire.
On the battle of Marston-Moor, in Yorkshire, in which the parlia- mentary army was victorious, on 2d July — regaLes fVsI qVIntILIs LVCe seCVnDa,
VIrIbVs attrItIs, eboraCo CLaDe propInqVa. = 1644
i.e. On the second day of July the royalists were scattered, the forces being broken in the defeat near York.
ENGLAND— CIVIL WAR. 27
The first battle in Cornwall, all the supplies of the enemy being intercepted, they were compelled to surrender, and the royalists took possession of nearly all the western portion of the kingdom — InCIpIente poLo VIIbrIs LVCe sVb Vna
CornVbIa In bIMarI CessIt VICtorIa regI. = 1644
i.e. The first day of September having daivned, the victory in Cornwall between the two seas, fell to the king.
On the taking by storm of Newcastle by the Scotch army — aXe noVenDeno oCtobrIs, phceboqVe CaDente,
VI sVnt CasteLLI Castra sVbaCta noVI. = 1644
i.e. On the ninetee7ith day of October, at the set of sun, the camp of Newcastle is subdued by force.
On the second battle of Newbury, which was interrupted by the dArkness of night, 27th October — oCtobrIs noVIes terna faCe pVgna reVIXIt :
noCte seD obsCVra regaLes CLaDe fVgantVr. = 1644
i.e. On the thrice ninth day of October the battle luas renewed, but, nig/it intervening, the royal forces are put to flight with slaughter.
On the occupation of Shrewsbury by stratagem, 22d February — aXe bIs VnDeno febrVIqVe, saLopIa, CLaVo,
Carta fVIt CAVxk noCte sILente DoLo. = 1645
i.e. On the twice eleventh day of February, Shrercsbuty was taken by a night stratagem.
On the battle of Naseby, in Northamptonshire, by which the king's forces were totally defeated, 14th June — bIs septena DIes JVnI LVX ConsCIa CLaDIs,
InfaVsta wjeC regI, regnI VICtore senatV. = 1645
i.e. The twice seventh day of June was witness to an overthrow, the day was fatal to the king, the parliament was victorious.
On the battle of Langport, in Somersetshire, at which the parlia- mentary army was victorious, loth July — Dena DIes JVLI noVa protVLIt Vrbe troph.ea, orDInIbVs regnI, patrIbVs patrI^qVe probatIs. = 1645
i.e. The tenth day of July broiight neiv trophies from the city, for the estates of the realm and for the senators of their country.
On the battle of Bridgewater, in Somersetshire, 22d July — ORBE bIs VnDeno qVIntILIs, Mense sereno,
eXpVgnatVs erat pons refLVentIs aqV/E. = 1645
i.e. On tlie twice eleventh day of July, a serene month, the Bridge-of- refluent-water was overcome. (Bridgewater).
On the capture of Sherborne Castle, in Dorsetshire, 15 th August — aVgVstI DeCIMo qVInto tItane reVerso,
ARX FERA SHERnORN/-E 1>ER sVa FATA rVIt. = 1645
i.e. On the fifteenth of August, in the afternoon, the wild stronghold of Sherborne falls through its o'wn destiny.
28 ENGLAND— CIVIL WAR.
On the taking by storm, and the surrender, of Bristol to the parlia- mentary forces — brIstoLIa VnDeno VIIbrIs soLe nItente,
eXpVgnata fVIt DeDItIone breVI. = 1645
i.e. Bristol was taken by storm on the eleventh day of September, the surrender being short.
On the defeat inflicted on Montrose, the leader in Scodand, i3tli September —
SEPTENA ET seXta VIIbrIs LVCe CorVsCa,
MoNTROsIVs CeLebrI per sCotos strage fVgatVs. = 1645
i.e. On the thirteenth day of September, Afontrose was put to flight by the Scots with decisive slaughter.
On the slaughter inflicted on the royal forces in Cheshire on 24th September — ■
soLe qVater seno VIIbrIs, CLaDe CrVenta,
regIa VICta Cohors IntensIs eXCIDIt aVsIs. = 1645
i.e. On the four times sixth day of September, i?i a bloody defeat, the royal forces, being conquered, desisted from their excessive daring.
On the occupation of Winchester castle by surrender — oCtobrIs seXta qVoqVe VIntonense troph/Eon.
arthVrI regIs Mensa rotVnDa fVIt. = 1645
i.e. On the sixth also of October, the round table of Arthur 7aas a trophy at Winchester. [Cromwell's soldiers used ' King Arthur's round table' as a target for their bullets.]
On the taking of Basing-house, in Hampsliire, 14th October — oCtober qVatVorDeno respLenDVIt arCV,
oCCVbVIt VItIo CeLsa basInga sVo. = 1645
i.e. The fourteenth of October shotie when proud Basing fell, through its own fault.
On the battle of Sherburn, in Yorkshire, when the royalists were defeated —
qVInDena oCtobrIs reVoLVta LVCe sVpernIs,
regaLes fVerVnt VICtores CLaDe repressI. = 1645
i.e. On the fifteenth of October the victorious royal forces were driven back with slaughter.
On the taking of the city of Hereford by stratagem in the time of intense frost, on iSth December — bIs nono LVCente hereforDIa, soLe XbrIs,
Capta DoLo eX strICto ContInVoqVe geLV. = 1645
i.e. On the t7tnce ninth day of December, Hereford was taken by a clever stratagem, and thrvugh a long time of frost.
EA'GLANB— CIVIL IV A R.
39
Another concerning the same, the new Troy of Britain — troIa DoLo et VVLtV est herekorDIa faCta brItannIs,
CIVILI In beLLo, bIs nona LVCe XbrIs. = 1645
i.e. As Troy was taken by stratagem., so Hereford was taken by Britons in civil war, on the twice ninth day of December.
On the taking of Dartmouth in Devonshire, on the iSth and igth of January^ DartMoVthI portVs, IanI bIs In orbe noVeno,
atqVe seqVente ortV, robore VICtVs erat. = 1646
i.e. Dartmouth port, on the twice ninth day of January and the day fol- lowing, teas subdued by force.
On the surrender of Chester on certain conditions — fVLget Vt k CceLo terno febrVarIVs arCV,
obsIDIone graVI aC DIVtVrna CestrIa Capta. = 1646
i.e. When the third day of February shone in the sky, Chester was taken after a stubborn and continuous siege.
On the night battle and taking of Torrington in Devonshire — LVCe bIs oCtaVa feerVI, LVnaqVe rVbentI,
regaLes fVerVnt DIspersI CLaDe reCentI. = 1646
i.e. On the twice eighth day of February and at full moon the royal forces were scattered with fresh slaughter.
Abingdon taken by stratagem and afterwards recovered by force — MartIVs ILLVXIt trVCVLentVs et aLter ab ortV,
fortIs abIxgton erat Capta reCepta CIto. = 1646
i.e. The second day of fierce March month arose, and brave Abingdon was taken and quickly recovered.
The second affair of Cornwall about the sj>ring equinox in the month of March, the royal forces reduced to the utmost straits, surrendered to parliament on fair conditions — LVCe sVb /EqVaLI Verna, fIt Marte reCepta
CornVbIa In CornV regnI, VInCente senatV. = 1646
i.e. At the spring equinox Cornwall, the horn of the kingdom, is recovered by war, parliament being victorious.
Defeat inflicted on the royal forces on the confines of Gloucester- shire—
VICena aC Vna fVLsIt faCe MartIVs aLta,.
regIa Castra noV^ fVerant sVbIeCta rVIn^. = 1646
i.e. March shone with its one and twentieth torch on high, the royal camp was subjected to a fresh defeat.
The surrender of Exeter on mutual fair conditions — VnDeno et bIno DefLante aprILe proCeLLIs,
eXonIa eX fLVVIo CLara reCepta fVIt. = 1646
i.e. The eleven and second {i^^h) of April weeping with storms, noble Exeter on the river Exe was retaken.
30 ENGLAND^CIVIL WAR, ETC.
Concerning the clandestine departure of the king from Oxford when the siege was imminent, early in May — reX Inter sCotos oCCVLTk In Castra reCessIt, oXonIo, rVrI MaIo fLoraqVe faVente. = 1646
i.e. The king secretly returned to the camp of the Scots from O.xford, ■when May and Flora wet e favouring the country.
The surrender of Newark, the best fortified town in Nottingham- shire, when the king was there present and consenting — CoNSENsV eX regIs, MaII sVb LVCe noVena,
InCLyta erant operIs Castra sVbaCta noVI. = 1646
i.e. With consent of the king on the gth of May the famous castle of JVeicark was reduced to submission.
The surrender of the city and University of Oxford where the king had his Court during the civil war for three years and a half — ter IVnI oCtaVa, CIVILIs teMpore beLLI,
oXonIa Vrbs reLIqVIs regnI est aCCensa troph^Is. = 1646
i.e. On the thrice eighth (24///) day of June Oxford city was reckoned among the rest of the trophies of the kingdom.
The surrender of Worcester on 23d of July — VICeno aC terno IVLI, CanIs arDet In aXe,
OBsIDIoNE soLVta VIgornIa paCe qVIesCIt. = 1646
i.e. On the three and ttventieth of July, the dog-star mling, Worcester, delivered from its siege, rests in peace.
Two epigrams in Latin, but not chronographic, terminate this curious tract.
I FIND in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, in the Ashmolean manu- script, No. 180, fol. 121, the following lines — CaroLVs seCVnDVs^ reDVX, angLI^, sCotI.e, franCI^ et hIbernI/e reX, etC: VIgeat, VIVat. — 1662
i.e. Charles the Second, who has beefi brought back. King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, etc., may he flourish, may he live. 'I much rejoice that my dread Soueraigne King Charles the Second is restor'd againe. Long may hee live, Secundous^ be his raigne, And let all plots against him be in vaine, His birth day and his blest returne Let not, Or his Amnesty ever be forgott,- May all his yeares be happy ten tymes ten. Let all Create Brittaine say Amen, Amen.'
T
HE next is again from Notes and Queries.
At Nantwich in Cheshire. On the upper border of a sun-dial,
' Ob-crvc tl'e pur, ' SeTinh^s' ir Lntin, means fecond, ard [Topi'ir is. ' l;eforring (o the A<' of free general pardon, indemnity, and oblivion for a'.l treasons, etc, which was pa-.=ed in ii'Co..
ENGLAND— CHARLES LI., ETC. 31
formerly at the west end of the church, and removed about the year 1800. 'iec Plotl's LListory of N'anlwich. Y
HONOR DoMIno pro i'aCe popVLo sVo parta. = 1 66 1
i.e. Honour be to the Lord for the peace procured for his people.
(Remark) — 'Now, seeing that Nantwich was, during the civil dissensions which culminated in the murder of Charles i., a rampant hot-bed of anarchy and rebellion, we should hardly be prepared for such a complete repudiation of those principles, as is conveyed m this line, did we not know that the same anxiety to get rid of the " Bare- bones " incubus universally prevailed.' The date 1661, the year of the coronation of Charles 11., is probably the year in which the dial was erected.
A MEDAL to General Monk commemorating his bringing back King Charles 11. from Breda in Holland. The king entered London on his birthday, 29th May 1660.
GEORGiVs MonCe DVx de aumarLe. = 1660
EGO REGEiM REDUXI, An9. SA : MDCLVV.
i.e. George Monk, Duke of Albemarle ; L brought back the king in the year of salvation 1660.
The chronogram line is also an anagram; tiie same letters compose the line which follows it. The chronogram, however, is a very bad one, because five letters, making the further amount of 15 16, are not counted, and the necessity of the date and the anagram require the substitution of the letters Ce for k.
GEORGE WITHERS the poet wrote this, on the expected engagement between the English and Dutch fleets, commanded respectively by the Duke of Albemarle and Admiral De Ruyter — Y
LorD haVe MerCIe Vpon Vs. = 1666
The fight lasted four days, and ended in favour of the English, both fleets returning to their harbours. Both admirals were dis- satisfied with this result ; the Dutch fleet renewed the attack at the mouth of the Thames, and was defeated there on the 9th July 1666.
A volume of tracts in the Lambeth Palace Library (111. D. 12) contains an ode, ' Ad Jacobum, Caroli secundi fratrem — et Manam Beatricem Mutinensum Duels sororem.' London 1673. ^^ the end is this ' chronicon ' —
o LeX aMorIs ! DVo estIs In Carne Vna. = 1673
i.e. O Law of love / ye tzco are in one flesh.
The ode is in honour of the (second) marriage of James, Duke of York (afterwards King James ir.) with Mary of Modena, w'hose family name was Este. The word ' estis ' in the chronogram may be under- stood as a pun on that name.
32 ENGLAND.
IN Warner's Modern History of Bath, it is related that in the year 1687, Mary the Queen of James 11. having heard of tlie wonder- working power of the Bath waters in cases of barrenness, tried their effects. In commemoration of this, the Earl of Melfort erected an ornamental structure composed of three Corinthian columns, in the centre of the bath. It was taken down in 1783, having become insecure through the action of the water. It bore the following inscription —
' In perpetuam Marije Reginas memoriam, quam, coelo in Batho- nienses thermas irradiente, spiritus Domini, qui fertur super aquas, trium regnorum hseredis genetricem effecit. Utrique parenti, natoque principi absit gloriari, nisi in Cruce Domini nostri Jesus Christi ; ut plenius hauriant
aqVas CVM gaVDIo eX fontIbVs saLVatorIs. = 1688
Deo trino et uni, tribus digitis orbem appendenti, ac per crucem redimenti, hoc tricolumnare trophasum vovet dicatque Johannes Comes de Melfort.'
[This reminds us of the Trinity columns and fountains to be seen in many German towns, erected by the several reigning emperors ; indeed it is almost in imitation of them.]
i.e. That they may drink more fully with joy the ivateis from the foun- tains of salvation, etc.
The prince who was born after this circumstance was the ' Pre- tender' who was acknowledged by France as King James the Third.' The words of the chronogram are irrelevant to the particular event, and might be applied to any person, but for the long inscription of which they form a part.
A tract in the British Museum, 837. h. 4-11. ' Epigrammata in honorem — Georgii Ludovici magnse Britannia — regis, etc., devotissime conscripta A. Casp. Abelo.' Halberstadii, 17 14. . f Georgius Ludovicus.
Anagram. | ^^^^^ ^^^ ^j^ oculus.
(Page 4) Prognosticon regni.
Ex Ovid : Lib: XL Metamorph : v. 270. hIC regnVM sIne VI, sIne CaeDe tenebat. = 1714
i.e. He possessed his kingdom 7c<ithout force, 7inthout slaughter. [So different from the fortunes of most of the sovereigns of Europe, George the First peaceably succeeded to the throne.]
A MANUSCRIPT in the British Museum (in a volume of miscellaneous papers, No. 7017) has the following, which, though not strictly a chronogiam, so much resembles one as to deserve a place here. This is the title —
' See Chronograms in Italy, infra.
ENGLAND— THOMAS BODLEY.
33
PAx CiirIste orbi tkmPoRE daCarA siT pIe parvO. Christe Orbi da tejMPOre SIT car A Pax piE paRvo. siT fie cHriste Orbi CaRa parVo teMPorE da pax. pAx cara : Da parx O pie teMpore christe sit orbi.
teMpore Da C-vra Ghkiste orui paX sIt pIe parvo. = 1712
The large capital letters are to be read thus : ' Paci precatio com- posita per Tho. Crunipe A : Dom. mdccxii.
i.e. A prayer for peace composed by Thomas Crumpe in the year 0/ our Lord 1712.
Observe that the Roman numerals in the last line, represented by capitals, follow in natural sequence to form the date mdccxii.
The rest of the manuscript is very curious. It consists of 26 pages filled with 2240 closely and neatly written lines in double columns, each line consisting of the same words varied by transposition, and of course all bearing the same meaning. The words of the above line giving the date are the same as those in the lines which precede it, and correspond also with those of the 2240 lines which follow it ; there is, however, no further chronographic purpose in the composition.
A book by Puteanus, Pietatis thaumata, Antwerp, 16 17, contains a similar transposition of the words,
' Tot tibi sunt dotes, Virgo quot sidera coelo,' amounting to 1020 lines of changes.
A VOLUME of miscellaneous tracts in the Bodleian Library, O.xford, contains a series of University poems, etc., in commemoration of Sir Thomas Bodley, collected by Tho. Singleton, Principal of Braze- nose College, intituled ' Justa funebria Ptolomaei Oxoniensis Thomas Bodleii equitis aurati celebrata in Academia Oxoniensi mensis martii, 16 13, Oxoniae.' Among them are a few anagrams and chronograms. Page 26. — On the building of the library —
j Thomas Bodlaeus miles. ) ° ' ( Bcatus ille has Domos. j Then follow six lines of epigram, concluding thus — Has asdes, hsec tecta, Domos has ille beatus Condidit, hsec Matri reddidit ille suoe. C. W. Joannensis. Moerens ponebat inchoante Anno quo
thoMas boDLeIVs reLIqVIt terras. = 1613
Page 27. — In obitum clariss : Tho : Bodleii Anno 16 12. Chronogramma. LIqVIt boDLeiVs^ terraM : forte requiris = 161 2
Annum, fata dabant queni tria verba notant. i.e. Bodley left the earth : perchance you may want to know the year, the Fates gave that which the three words indicate.
' Sir Thomas Bodley died in 1612. Tliis chronogram makes 1612, one letter I is not counted. The discrepancy with the foregoing may be explained by the note at page 24, supra.
E
34 ENGLAND— WILLIAM CAMDEN.
r„ , n A f Thomas Bodleius 1
[Page 36.] Anagram. I Qj^ ^.^ ^^^^^ ^^j^^ |
Oh bis musa dolet sacro astra petente patrono. Bis, duo sint oculi carmina, Musa dolet. Chronogram. — aCaDeMIa oXonIensIs. = 1613
Anno Dom. mdcxiii. Maxima quee subiit Bodleii funere damna, Tempus eam fas est commemorare necis.
In the same volume is a tract, — ' O.xoniensis academise funebre officium, etc. [in honour of Queen Elizabeth], Oxonise, 1603', by various members of the university. At page 98 is ' Chronogramma in annum Christi in quo juxta communem computationem Angliae serenissima princeps Elisabetha moriebatur.'
MorIens Deo fLoret eLIsa. = 1602
Then follows a page of verse in which again occurs the chronogram.
WILLIAM CAMDEN, the English antiquary, Clarencieux king- at-arms, author of Britannia, etc., does not appear to have published any chronograms, although he went very near to the subject in the collection of anagrams, etc. etc., in his Rcmaines concerning Britain. In the Lambeth Palace Library is the original print of a tract (bound up in a volume, press-mark 111. d. 10.), intituled Camdeni Insignia, Oxonise, 1624, small 4'°, no pagination. It contains, inter alia, a Latin ode, ' Nuncius chronogrammaticus de obitu V. C. Gul: Camdeni, Clarentii,' etc. The following is the eighth line : —
CaMDenVs hIstorI^ patronVs, heV ! fVIt. = 1623
and this follows shortly afterwards,
CaMDenVs fVIt? heV ! patronVs ille
noster, hIstorI^q: Lux BritannK. ::= 1623
Camdenus fuit ? o sinistra, scseva, etc. etc
At the conclusion of the ode is this — ' Aliud chronostichon, diem indicans et annum quo obiit Camdenus, viz., ix° Novemb: ciddcxxiii.'
hIstorI^ eCCe IVbar LVX et pr^CLara VetVet^eI \
CLarentIVs, VIta seneX > = 1623
NONO noVeMbrIs eXIIt. )
i.e. Behold the sunshine and the distinguished light of ancietit history,
Clarencieux, old in life. He died on the qth of November.
Another ' chronogramma ' in the same tract —
CaMDenVs pIVs seneX oeIIt. = 1623
and another,
CaMDenVs eXIIt ij VIta. = 1623
^ The word in the original is ' Britannse,' a manifest error, as it would make the date 1614. I have adopted the word 'Vetustse' from another version of the same chronogram in the book lastly above quoted ; the word makes the right date.
ENGLAND— LORD MA YOK OF LONDON. 35
Camden founded the professorship of ancient history at the Uni- versity of Oxford in the year 1622; the foregoing chronograms are repeated in the prefate to a book published in 1691 — Camdeni et illustriiint virorinn epistoLc, where the following is also to be found, marking the circumstance —
ANNO hIstorI-e VItaM sI qVIs Don'aVerIt hIC est. = 1622 i.e. In this year, if any one shall have given life to history, it is he.
He died at the age of seventy-two. The prebend of Ilfracombe, belonging to the Cathedral of Salisbury, was given to him though a layman. He was head-mister of Westminster School in 1592, and Clarencieux king-at-arms in 1597.
Printed broadsides in British Museum (C. 20. f.).
FUNERAL elegy on the death of that worthy Mayor [of London] Edward Grey. A set of Latin verses ending thus —
strenVVs et eXpertVs MaIor grey CaDIt et eXpIraVIt. = 1644 i.e. The active and experienced Mayor Grey falls, and has breathed his last.
Ohronicum Ejiitaphium (British Museum, C. 20. f.) on Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, who died 14th September 1646, commences thus —
VIIbrIs qVatVorDexa faCe soLe CaDente,
oCCVbVIt CeLebrIs, pr^stans esseXIVs herds. = 1646
(Signed) Joh: Sictor. i.e. On 1 4th September, in the afternoon, the illustrious hero Essex died.
Jipitaphium Honorabilis et prudentissimi viri, Domini Johannis Warneri, etc.. Lord Mayor of London, who died 27th October 1648. This chronogram follows after ten Latin verses—
MortWs hoC anno VVarnerVs ConsVL In Vrbe,
LVCe qVater septena oCtobrIs noCte prIore. = 1648
.^vieterni monumenti loco mcerens posuit
Joh: Sictor, Exul Bohemus. i.e. Warner, the Lord Mayor, died this year in the city on the night before the 2?>th day of October. J. Sictor, a Bohemian exile, puts this with grief, in the place of an eternal monument.
This is followed, on the next sheet, by 'An elegy on the timely death of John Warner, late Lord ALiyor of the citie of London.' It consists of about 170 lines of low abuse against him, and is signed John Warner, junior, Nov. 17, 164S. The funeral seems to have been on the previous day.
T
HE following I obtained from the Bodleian Library, Ashmole MS. 36, fol. 278 — ' Chronogramma generosi et egregii infantis,
36 ENGLAND— LILLY THE ASTROLOGER.
Robert! Wallope Armigeri, nati Farlea; in agro Southantoniensi, Anno Dn. 1652, die 20 Februarii, hora 10 ante meridiem.
VICeno febrVI natVs VVaLLope robebtVs »
eXCeLLens patrI^ fLore CoLVMna sV/E. = 1653
i.e. Robert Wallope, born on the 20th of February, a pillar of his country, distinguished by the ornainmt of its capital.
The date should be \vritten i6s|. See note to the Charles i. chronograms, page 24, supra.
THE following was sent to me from the Bodleian Library ; it occurs in MS. Bodl. 73, fol. 189 b, in an epitaph on Jacobus Hoorwer, Carmelite prior — nVnC IaCIo hIC CherMeL dVX ego qVI VIgVI. = 1491
John Bale adds: ' Iste versus comprehendit annum mortis ejus.' \scil. 1480.] The epitaph was doubtless contemporary.
There is some discrepancy here : the chronogram does indeed comprise the date of his death 1480, but it gives a further dace of eleven years. The letter d is not counted.
1650 1650
I FIND the following in the Bodleian, Ms. Ashmole 240. fol. 211, a volume of astrological calculations and letters relating to William Lilly the astrologer — ■
Chronogrammata in annum Sesquimillesimum sesquicentesimum Astronomo peritissimo GULIELMO Z/ZZ Famico meo intimo. Utitur his sapiens, sanctus dominabitur astris, Pronus et intentus sensibus, his patitur.
The wise make use of starrs, Saintes over-ruel, Tis sensuall fooles that feeles just influence cruell.
Me Do CeL6. Aliud. Mens Deo CfETERA Letho. \ ~
Chronogramma purum. VI VIVI ILLIMI VIXI, DIXL = 1650
Aliud. VI VIVI VIDI, VICI, MI VIXI. = 1650
Then follow three lines in the Hebrew language which are desig- nated Xpovoypa/j/xara 6eia. The first is from I'roverbs xxvi. 17 ; the second from Job xxxviii. 31; the third i Chron. xxix. i. With a further ' Rabbinica,' having somewhat this meaning : ' For it is no praise that they call thee wise, the work is not thine, saith God.' The MS. concludes with the writer's name thus —
D.^NTE CaroLo geDDeo. = 1650
Done by CharLes cEDDk = 1650
It is to be remarked that the 'Chronogramma purum' is so designated because all the letters are counted; it is a jingling allitera- tion of words, an evident sacrifice of sense to chronographic require- ment. It may, however, be thus translated : By the unadulterated power of the living {God) I have lived, I have spoken. By tlmt living poiver I have conquered, I have lived to myself.
ENGLAND.
37
N.B. — My learned translator has evidently been severely exer- cised by his task, and he affects to know of more in the manuscript than any one else has seen ; for he adds —
HAS NOT CharLes geDDe Done? = 1650
HOPE CharLes CEDDk has Done! = 1650
HAS CharLes GEDDk Done? = 1650
MY friend, Rev. Walter Begley, found the following in a volume of various laudatory verses on the accession of King James the First —
regeM Dat sCotIa brItannIs. =
i.e. Scotlatid gives a king to Britain,
1603
I conclude this group of English chronograms with one involving the date of this present year. It was sent to me by Mr. C. \y. Wilshere, having been composed by him for a hunting-lodge in process of erection in one of tlie shires.
aVete . aMICI .
eDIte . bIbIte .
hILares . VIVIte . \- — 1882
In . paCe . VenIte .
In . paCe . abIte . i.e. Welcome 0 friends, eat, drink, live merrily. Come in peace, and in peace depart.
MARLBOROUGH'S CAMPAIGNS.
HE early career of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, is marked by some historians as one of insincerity and treachery towards his employers James II. and William of Orange. The latter especially held him in suspicion, and treated him with determination and caution ; he nevertheless recommended Marlborough as the most capable man to lead the arms and direct the councils of his successor Queen Anne, who appointed him to the command of the allied forces in the war of the Spanish Succession. The military operations conducted by Marlborough compelled the French to retreat from the Dutch territory and frontier. He afterwards, in 1704, boldly marched into Germany at the head of the English troops, and formed a junction with the Imperialists on the Danube, where, with Prince Eugene of Savoy, he gained the battle of Blenheim. In 1706 he gained the battle of Ramilies, and set free the whole of Spanish Flanders. In 1708 the enemy attempted to regain that territory, which led to the complete defeat of the French forces at Oudenarde. Campaigns were carried on during the next three years with final success against the French. The events of the period were commemorated by numerous medals, from which a few chronograms are gathered, and a few more are obtained from other sources, indicating the victories gained by him and Prince Eugene in the Netherlands and Germany.
A medal on the capitulation of Bonn, besieged by the Duke of Marlborough and the allied forces, bears this chronogram date : — sic Igne DoMata feroCI. = 1703
AIARLBOROUGH'S CAMPAIGNS. 39
And this hexameter and pentameter verse —
UT TONUS EVERTIT TUBARUM MOENIA QUONDAM SICQ : TONANS COEHORN, MOENIA BONNA TUA.
i.e. Thus is the town tamed by fierce fire.
As the sound of trumpets once threio do7vn 7C'a//s \i.e. Jertcho'\ thus also
the thundering coeliorn overtlireiv thy 7oalls, O Bonn.
General Coehorn commanded the Dutch troops, and the expres- sion ' tonans coehorn ' alludes to a piece of artillery invented by him, and named after him.
A medal on the victory of ' Hochstet ' (or Blenheim) on 13th August, gained by Marlborough, Eugene, and Lewis William of Baden; Tillard, the Marshal of France, with many officers and 10,000 soldiers, was taken prisoner — the French and Bavarians were totally defeated. Defensa fortIter Contra gaLLos et boIoarIos gerManIa. — 1704 i.e. Germany valiantly defended against the Fretich and Bavarians.
Anotlier medal on the same victory — ■ Der sItzet an Der hoChsten statt, hats feInDes LIst
GEtILgET. 16. AUG. = 1704
i.e. He who is seated in the highest place has frustrated the stratagem of the etiemy.
Another on the battle of ' Hochstadt ' — FERREA ferre feroX taLLarD ! nVnC VInCVLa DIsCas; VInCant VLtores angLVs et eVgenIVs! = 1704
i.e. O Tallard, fierce to icneld iceapons ! now mayest thou experience t/ie fetters ; ?nay England and Eugene the avengers conquer thee.
The portrait of Prince Eugene, engraved by Peter Schenck, has around it these legends — •
eVgenIVs sabaVDIVs tVrInVM eX gaLLIae serVItVte LIberat . MDccvi. = 1706
InsVLaM fLanDrI.'e CapIt . mdccviii. = 1708
i.e. Eugene of Savoy liberates Turin from the dominion of France. He takes Lille in Flanders.
Portrait of Marlborough, also engraved by Schenck, has around it this inscription —
gaLLosqVe tIMIDos repeLLIt . mdccviii. = 1708
i.e. He also drives back the titnid Frenchmen.
A medal bearing on obverse the bust of Queen Anne, on the victory over the French at Oudenarde, gained by Marlborough, Eugene, and Overkirk. The latter commanded the Dutch troops, and died of hardships and old age during this campaign — A
H^C feCerVnt hI tres arMIpotentes DeI. 2 . sam : 23 . = 1708 i.e. T/iese things did these three mighty men of God. — 2 Samuel, chapter 23 {see verses 8 to 16).
40 MARLBOROUGH'S CAMPAIGNS.
Verses composed to the Duke of Marlborough at Nuremberg, on his way to Vienna in 1705, are thus dated — Ra.
DUX De MarLLborVCh. = 1705
victoria venit a soLo Deo et MarLborVCho. — 1705
i.e. The Duke of Marlborough. Victory cotnes by God alone, and Marlborough.
A medal on the victory of Oudenarde and capture of Lille, and the defeat of the French. The citadel did not surrender until the gth of December — A
In gaLLos VarIas DabIt aDenarDa Coronas. = 1708
FUaiENTIBVS ex VATICINIO GALLIS VICTORIA PARTA . ii . JVL . 1708.
i.e. Oudenarde ivill give various crowns {jvreat/is or garlands) against the French. According to a prophecy a victory gained by tliefliglit of the French, 2d July 1708.
On tlie reverse is a representation of the citadel of Lille (Ryssel in the Flemish language), and this inscription — In oDenarDer sIeg besteht, Dass rvsseL fort noCh VIeL A
T^ I1708 9 Dec. ) '
i.e. Tlie victory of Oudenarde brings with it the capture of Lille.
And on the edge of the same medal is — A
eVgenIe et MarLbro ! DeLetIs foenora gaLLL = 1708
i.e. Eugene and Marlborough, you deprive France of her conquests.
2 ■J Oct weggeht. r, f>' l'i7°8 = ^7°'
A medal bearing the portrait of Louis xiv. of France seems to have been struck more in satire than compliment to him, represents a lily plant, the emblem of France being struck on the other side by lightning. It alludes to the battle of Tasniers in Flanders, in which the French were completely defeated on nth September 1709. It bears this chronogram, a remarkable one because every letter is a numeral — A
LILICIDIVM.i = 1709
i.e. The slaughter of the lily.
A further inscription follows, meaning, ' The French fled at Tasniers in the year above named, on i ith September.'
On the taking of Lille, alluding to the armorial badge of the city ; attributed to the Marshal de Villars — Sc.
LILIVM CaDIt. i.e. Lille falls. ' =1708
On the taking of Tournay (the y counts as n)— Sc.
toUrnaY CaDeDIs est DonC prIs. = 1708
' Lilicidium [see Index]. This word is also the title of an epic poem mentioned at a subsequent page.
MARLBOROUGH'S CAMPAIGNS.
4>
A German medal referring to Queen Anne of England, and the war against Louis xiv. of France. — 24th March — G
ANNA terIt peLago phVI granDeM CLasse brItanna = 1708
i.e. See how Anne thrashes the gredt \Louis le grand?] by the British navy at sea.
A medal {see Plate i) on the alliance of Queen Anne of England with Germany, in the war with France. The reverse bears a harp, and this inscription to give the date — DVLCe MeLos VnIta sonat. = 171 1
A book, Histoire ties Midailles (relating to the campaigns of 1708 and 1709), by Nicolas Chevalier, Utrecht 171 1. A small 4to. vol. pp. 115. At the end of the volume is the following —
Chaos votivum quod serenissimse et potentissimse principi Annce Magnse Britannite, Franciae et Hibernian Rej^ince, Inter tot millium applausus sacrum esse gestit Regire majestatis sute humillissimus servus Christoporus Augustus Lcemmermann, Noric : Anno quo perDoMItVs beLLo LILIger hostIs erat. = 1709
i.e. The lily bearing enemy {France) was vanquished by war.
Cabbala. Da Themis ac mundi dominans vigor Anna rotundi.
ABCDEFGHIK 1334567 89 10
Clavis naturalis est. lmnopqr s
ao 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
T V W X V Z. 100 200 300 400 500 600.
|
Demonstratio. |
|||||||||
|
D 4 |
T |
100 |
A I 1 M 30 |
D 4 |
V 200 |
A I |
R 80 |
||
|
A I |
H |
8 |
c 3 i V 200 |
0 50 |
I 9 |
N 40 |
0 50 |
||
|
E |
5 |
N 40 |
M 30 |
G 7 |
n 40 |
T 100 |
|||
|
M |
3° |
D 4 |
I 9 |
0 50 |
A I |
V 200 |
|||
|
I |
9 |
I 9 |
n 40 |
R 80 |
n 40 |
||||
|
S |
90 |
A I n 40 s 90 |
D 4 I 9 |
||||||
|
Summa 5 |
242 |
4 |
283 |
264 |
346 |
82 |
483 |
||
|
5 |
|||||||||
|
242 |
|||||||||
|
4 |
|||||||||
|
Ex additis hisce |
283 264 346 82 |
nur |
neris conficitur |
||||||
|
483 |
An 1709 nus.
42 MARLBOROUGH'S CAMPAIGNS.
theMIDI atqVe beLLon^ erItannI^. saCer. = 1709
i.e. Sacred to the statesman a?td ^carn'or of Britain.
Exegesis.
AUrea nunc Mundo rursus se Secula produnt,
Ex Pax Europe sfepe petita redit ! Nam quibus emicuit Galli, mox occidit, Undis
Sol, Radiosque minus spargit in Orbe suos, Ac, Debellatio cum strage pericla minatus,
Impositum reliquis jam subit ipse Jugum Jungere qu£e Regnis sine Cfede et Sanguine Regna
Noverat, et placidis nectere Sceptra modis ; ANNA simul didicit Gentes frenaie superbas,
Et Sociis tandem reddere rapta suis. Hsec EADEM SEMPER Communia Jura tuetur ;
Bellona est, Themis est, miile Trophjea locat. Maturate fugam Galli, concedite Laurum,
In Vos ne Cceli Poena luenda ruat : Sit Ludo Victus Ludovicus ; fortiter Ipsum
Lux'^ domet Anglorum, Gloria, Robiir, Idem !
atqVe Ita Verb, DeMpta IpsI VfJqVe fInI, VI Vat, VIgeat, Vegetet, VInCat, VaLeat. = 1709
Almum Numinis Naturseque Artificium !
' Anagi'amma illustrissimi Tituli. DUX ET MYLORD MARLEBOROUG.
typIs traJectI DesCrIptVM. = 1709
The above verses are printed as in the original; the capital letters are certainly not Roman numerals, nor do they seem to have any numerical value with reference to the cabbala. The words in italics will not work as an anagram with those of 'Dux et mylord Marleboroug.' The whole is indeed a ' chaos.'
HOLLAND.
OCAL circumstances have been but sparingly commem- orated by chronograms inscribed on public buildings in the territory of Holland, as it is now represented on the map of Europe. The few which I have collected in that country, and some others of a miscellaneous character, are comprised in the following group.
The historical chronograms relating to Holland are so much associated with those of the Netherlands generally, that I have placed them in another group, comprising a more extended recognition of an eventful period both in local and European historj', on which chronogram-makers have exercised their ingenuity.
Taking first the chief city, Amsterdam, I find on the front of a well-known book-shop, MuUer's 'Bibliopolium,' No. lo Kalverstraat—
* DVM terItVr Cos LIteratIs VsVI et LIterIs prosIt bonIs.= 1728 i.e. Whilst the whetstone is wearing away, it may be of use to learned men and good learning.
Perhaps an allusion to Horace, De arte poetica, verse 304 : — ' There- fore I will serve instead of a whetstone, which, though not able of itself to cut, can make steel sharp.'
The Aihenaiim for 15th January 18S1, announces — 'Antiquaries and students of Dutch history will regret to learn that NFr. Frederick Muller of Amsterdam, publisher, bookseller, and author of a large and elaborate catalogue of Dutch historical engravings, to illustrate the history of his country by means of the prints which are contemporary with the events they describe, died on the 4th instant at Amsterdam, aged 63. Mr. Muller was well known in London, Paris, Brussels, Bedin.and at home. He had a great knowledge of the literature of geographical discovery.'
42
MARLBOROUGH'S CAMPAIGNS.
theMIDI atqVe beLLon^ erItannI^e saCer. = 1709
i.e. Sacred to the statesman and 7varrior of Britain.
Exegesis.
AUrea nunc Mundo rursus se Secula produnt,
Ex Pax Europe sjepe petita redit ! Nam quibus emicuit Galli, mox occidit, Undis
Sol, Radiosque minus spargit in Orbe suos, Ac, Debellatio cum strage pericla minatus,
Impositum reliquis jam subit ipse Jugum Jungere qu£e Regnis sine Caede et Sanguine Regna
Noverat, et placidis nectere Sceptra modis ; ANNA simul didicit Gentes frenaie superbas,
Et Sociis tandem reddere rapta suis. Hjec EADEiM SEMPER Communia Jura tuetur ;
Bellona est, Themis est, mille Trophfea locat. Maturate fugam Galli, concedite Laurum,
In Vos ne Cceli Pcena luenda ruat : Sit Ludo Victus Ludovicus ; fortiter Ipsuni
Lux^ domet Anglorum, Gloria, Robiir, Idem !
atqVe Ita Verb, DeMpta IpsI VbIqVe fInI, VI Vat, VIgeat, Vegetet, VInCat, VaLeat. = 1709
Almum Numinis Naturjeque Artificium !
' Anagramma illustrissimi Tituli. DUX ET MYLORD MARLEBOROUG.
t
typIs traJectI DesCrIptVM.
= 1709
The above verses are printed as in the original ; the capital letters are certainly not Roman numerals, nor do they seem to have any numerical value with reference to the cabbala. The words in italics will not work as an anagram with those of 'Dux et mylord Marleboroug.' The whole is indeed a ' chaos.'
ai
> — ,
HOLLAND.
■, OCAL circumstances hav'e been but sparingly commem- orated by chronograms inscribed on public buildings in the territory of Holland, as it is now represented on the map of Europe. The few which I have collected in that country, and some others of a miscellaneous character, are comprised in the following group.
The historical chronograms relating to Holland are so much associated with those of the Netherlands generally, that I have placed them in another group, comprising a more extended recognition of an eventful period both in local and European historj', on which chronogram-makers have exercised their ingenuity.
Taking first the chief city, Amsterdam, I find on the front of a well-known book-shop, Muller's ' Bibliopolium,' No. lo Kalverstraat —
* DVM terItVr Cos LIteratIs VsVI et LIterIs prosIt bonTs.= 1728 i.e. IVhi/st the whetstone is wearing aioaj, it may be of use to /earned men and };ood learning.
Perhaps an allusion to Horace, De arte poetica, verse 304 : — ' There- fore I will ser\'e instead of a whetstone, which, though not able of itself to cut, can make steel sharp.'
The Atliemeum for i5tli January 1881, announces — 'Antiquaries and students of Dutch history will regret to learn that Mr. Frederick Muller of Amsterdam, publisher, bookseller, and author of a large and elaborate catalogue of Dutch historical engravings, to illustrate the history of his country by means of the prints which are contemporary with tlie events they describe, died on the 4th instant at Amsterdam, aged 63. Mr. Muller was well known in London, Paris, Brussels, Berlin, and at home. He had a great knowledge of the literature of geographical di.scovery.'
■' f
I
^4''-." .
»
^j¥^
44 HOLLAND— LEYDEN.
Epitaph on the Dutch poet Vondel, in the New Church at Amsterdam. ^
VIr rHOEBO ET MVsIs gratVs VonDeLIVs hIC est. = 1679
i.e. Here lies Vondel, a man dear to Apollo and the Muses.
J ohn Hudde, mathematician, and magistrate of Amsterdam. Ra.
CoNsVL aqVIs pVrIs ornaVIt hVDenIVs VrbeM. = 16S9
i.e. The magistrate Hudde has provided the city with pure water.
Medal to Nicolas Tulp. A
n.tVLp aMsterD: Cos: IIII. senator annIs qVInqVagInta. = 1672 i.e. Nicolas Tulp, four times burgomaster of Amsterdam, and senator fifty years.
jVledal to another burgomaster of Amsterdarn. A
konraDVs beVnIngIVs seXtVM ConsVL. = 1687
ie. Conrad van Beuningen, burgomaster for the sixth time.
1 he following hexameter verse was copied by Mr. Henry Camp- kin a few years ago from the front of a church at Amsterdam : —
qUae fUIt a saeCLIs sUb sIgno MoYsIs et aaron stat saLVatorI renoVata ILLUstrIor aeDes. = 183S
i.e. The house which was for a long period laider the standard of Moses and Aaron, now stands more illustrious, restored to the service of the Saviour. The y counts as 11 = 2.
i he following is over the entrance door of the Town PJall at Leyden.
NA 'zVVarte hVngersnoot
gebraCht had tot de doot
bInaest zes d'VIzent MensChen,
aLs 't god den heer Verdroot
oaf hI Vns VVeder broot, >j<
zo VeeL VVICVnsten VVensChen. == 1574
i.e. When the black famine had brought to death nearly six thousand persons^ then God the Lord repented of it, and gave us bread again as much as we could wish.
This inscription refers to the siege of Leyden by the Spaniards in 1574. It consists of 131 letters indicating the number of days the siege lasted. All the letters d, seven in number, are not counted in the date.
In the great church, Haarlem, may be seen this concluding part of an epitaph to the memory of the wife of Mr. .
HOLLA ND-INUNDA TIONS.
45
qVa ferVs InnoCVos IVgVLarat LVCe pVeLLos ^
reX, heV fataLIs LVXIt et Ipsa Mini. = 15^2
i.e. On what day the savage king hMi slauglitered innocent babes, alas also that very day daivned fatal to me.
Alluding to the murder of the Innocents on the 28th of December, in the Calendar. The inscription contains no date in figures.
In the great church at Haarlem is the following: —
SOOD MONGER sLe ChSGEEN SHIIdaEN BOOD, ;Jt
LIChttspaens ChgeVVeLd Van haerLeM VLood. = 1573
This is painted on the back of a screen containing the ten com- mandments, an,d put up in the place originally occupied by the high altar. I am told that it is ditKcult to translate. Observe the date 1573 is that of the revolt against Spain. The chronogram is faulty, because all the letters d, five in number, are not counted.
in the great church at Gouda, part of the inscription on a large mural monument — if.
anno: bInsVeLtInVs eqVes beVorVM fILIa ConIVX = 1245
beverningiadv.m nomen et arma dabant.
The meaning of these lines is obscure ; it would seem that the deceased knight derived his name and arms through his wife, dating from 1245. A further inscription in Dutch contains also the date 1590, the probable date of the monument.
At Delft, on the front of the town-hall — sf;
DeLphensIVM CVrIa reparata. = 1662
i.e. The house of assembly of the people of Delft was repaired.
At Moerdyk over the door of a recently erected church — 5|<
sVb patroCInIo s: stephanI Deo aLtIssIMo ConseCror. = i860 i.e. Under the patronage of St. Stephen, to the most high God I am consecrated.
A terrible inundation in Holland towards the end of the year 1570, has been commemorated by the following chronogram taken from Bizot's ' Hisloire,' etc., edition 1690. trIstIa proii ! serI LVgebVnt fata nepotes. Aa
TERRA FERk MeDIo VIsA N.\TARE FRETO. = I57O
Likewise the following : — Nos neVeVX, Ie CroI, pLeVreront, LorsqV'Vn IoVr on 1-Ira nos trsItes DestIni^es. NOS terres seront InonDees, Aa
VoILa qUeLs bIens, heLas! aLors ILs troUVeront. = 1570
i.e. Alas, our remote posterity zaill bewail the sad fate. The land is seen almost to float in the middle of the ocean.
Our posterity, I think, will weep when some day tfuy will read of our sad history ; our lands zvill be flooded, 'what possessions, alas I will they then find I
46 HOLLAND— INUNDATIONS.
This very destructive inundation is described in Motley's 'History of the Rise of the Dutch Republic,' part 3, chapter 3, with these conclud- ing words, ' It was estimated that at least twenty thousand persons were destroyed in the province of Friesland alone. Throughout the Netherlands one hundred thousand persons perished. The damage done to property, the number of animals engulphed in the sea, were almost incalculable.'
Disaster, through decay and flood, is recorded in a book, 'Theatrum sive Hollandiffi comitatus et urbium nova descriptio.' By Marcus Zuerius Boxhornius. Amsterdam, 1632, 4°. At page 15, the town of Verona (Latin) vulgo Vroonen, in Friesland, is mentioned as having been the principal locality for trade, but ' now in its tomb,' — ' scarcely a mound exists of that which was the mother of Friesland.' The event was noted by this chronogram of the date, probably made many years subsequently thereto.
eCCe CadIt Mater frIsL^. — 1303
i.e. Behold the metropolis of Friesland falls.
The D is not counted. The old map shows the position of the town on a lake eastward of Alcmar. In the first half of the 13th century great inundations took place, and the Zuider Zee came into existence ; the fall or destruction of Vroonen may be attributed to some natural causes consequent on that event.
It is further related, at page 108 of the same book, that a terrible inundation happened in 142 1, on the day of St. Elizabeth, in the locality of Dordrecht, by which seventy-two villages with most of their inhabitants were destroyed. ' The cause of the disaster seems to have been — that a diploma or licence was granted for the formation of a ' canal,' and through neglect of needful precaution about the works, and the occurrence of a severe storm, the sea broke through the barriers and deluged the country, which, like most parts of Holland, was below the sea level. In memory and execration of the ' Diploma ' these verses were afterwards made : — •
' Perdidit hoc diploma homines, armenta, gregesque, Septuaginta duos pagos et florida rura.'
Also this chronostichon (the d is not counted) — VVIeLdreCht MaCh Water beCLagen. = 142 1
The historian finds also this verse in the vernacular — • tVVee entseVentICh dorpen synderMet sneLder spoet
ONTRENT DORDReChT ONDER GHEGAEN DOOR DE HOOChTE DES
VLoet. — 1 42 1
There is also this Latin chronogram verse — dVrdreChto InCVbVIt VIs atroX InCIta VentIs Vrbs qVa dIssILVIt protInVs haVsta MarI. = 142 1
i.e. Fierce force impelled by the i-.'inds fell on Dordrecht, by which the city burst asunder straightway engulphed in the sea.
In neither of the foregoing chronograms are the letters d counted.
1 The names of all the villages are afterwards given, with a statement that more than one hundred thousand persons perished.
HOLLAND— INVENTION OF PRINTING. 47
At page 155 of the same book is an ode in praise of Haarlem, and on the invention of printing by Lawrence Coster, containing these lines towards the end —
Harlemense Nemus doceat, doceantque Napseae, Et Fagutali numina sacra Jovi, hIC fago eXsCVLptas LaVrentI CVspIde forMas. = 1428
Et primiim natos hie simul esse typos. i.e. Let tin grove of Hcmrlem teach, let the dell-nymphs teach, and the deities sacred to Jupiter Fagii talis, that here letters were first engraved on beech-wood by the tool of Lawrence, and that this was the birthplace of printing.
Then follow some verses and remarks on the invention of printing, concluding with this: ' chronostichon anni mccccxx, circa quem artem Typographicam primum excogitatuni fuisse, vero nobis fit simile.'
ARS tvpographICa
A
LaVrentIo Costero = 1420
CIVe harLeMensI InVenta
EST.
i.e. Tlie typographic art was discovered by Lawrence Coster, a citizen of Haarlem.
It is to be gathered from the narrati\e in the book quoted, that Coster discovereii the method of printing from letters and figures made of wood blocks thus : — While reposing one day in a wood near Haarlem, he, in the mere idleness of the moment, cut some letters backwards on a bit of beech-wood, when it occurred to him to take off the impression in some way as from a seal, for the amusement of his daughter's children. Improving on the idea, he afterwards, with the help of Thomas Peterson, their father, succeeded in forming a thick glutinous kind of ink, and with these materials was accustomed to make them little books containing pictures and their explanations. Thus he seems to have carried the invention as far as the making of block-books. There has been, and ever will be, much dispute about the invention ; it has been fairly attributed to Coster.
In the appendix is the epitaph of Peter Hogerbetius, in a monas- tery at Alcmar, containing this verse to mark the date —
CondItor aLte MIChI da LatI prospera CceLI. = 1455
i.e. O Almighty Maker ! give me favourable hope in the wide-spread heavens.
A BOOK, by L. van der Bosch, ' Tooneel des Oorlogs — in de Nederlandcn,' ' Amsterdam 1675, mentions the following chronograms among the public decorations of the city of Utrecht, on the conclusion of a peace in 1673, at a time when the fortune of
■ The Theatre of War in the Netherlands.
48 HOLLAND— UTRECHT.
war was favourable to the French, and to Romish influences ; a suc- cess, however, of but short duration. The first was on the front of a wine-merchant's house, in St. James Kerk-hof, combined with the arms of France and gilded eagles : —
lo LVDoVICVs trIVMphat. = 1673
i.e. Hurrah ! Louis XIV. triumphs.
The next were on the front of a hotel called Walvisch, in the Lynniarkt, with a representation of Christ on the cross. In MysterIo InsangVIneo hoDIe reCoLItVr passIo. — 1667
i.e. In the bloodless mystery to-day is rene^ved the Passion.
It was accompanied by these verses — O Salutaris Hostia i.e. O saving Victim, in whom France
In qua confidit Francia trusts, the only hope of the faithful,
Spes unica fidelium give us thy power, preserve the Lily
Da Robur, serva Lilium. [France].
No reason is given for the date made by the chronogram. It is possibly an error, but so in the original.
VotIVa soLeMnItas InVIDIa obstInatos frangIt h^retICos. = 1673
InVItI pLaVDIte nVMInI h.eretICI. = 1673
The meaning is obscure, beyond an expression of bitter feeling towards certain heretics.
BELGIUM.
HIS group consists of chronograms collected at the several places, or derived from printed authority, and partaking more of the local than the historical character. They belong to the country now known as Belgium, or at an earlier period the Netherlands. The marks over the
marginal dates are explained by reference to the ' Bibliography ' in
another part of this volume.
In the Grande Place at Brussels, on the fronts of two of the guild-houses
which had been rebuilt after a conflagration. The inscription is partly
damaged.
qVas fUror hostILIs sUbVerterat IgnIbUs ^Des sartor ... >fc
restaUrat PRiEsIDlBUs qUe DICat. = 1697
i.e. The house which hostile rage destroyed by fire, the tailor [name
obliterated^ restores and dedicates to the presidents \of the guild].
On the other house, at its summit — CoIVIbUsta InsIgnIor resUrreXI eXpensIs . U . Ian.-e >fc GUILDS. = 1697
i.e. Being burnt I have arisen more distinguished, at the expense of t/ie . . . guild.
The house is surmounted by a phceni.x. The inscription is difficult to read.
1 he IMaison du Roi in the Grande Place was restored, and a statue of the Virgin was put u]) by the Infanta Isabella, with the following inscription, which, however, has disappeared through the present rebuilding of the house : —
50 BELGIUM— ANTWERP.
A peste fame et bello libera nos Maria pacis.
hIC VotVM paCIs pVbLICae eLIsabeth ConseCraVIt. = 1625
i.e. From pestilence, famine and war, O Mary of Peace, deliver lis. Here Elisabeth {Isabella) has consecrated a vow of public peace.
Over the door of a modern chapel, in the Boulevard de Waterloo — >|< eXCeLso DeVoVeor ConseCratUM. = 1875
i.e. Consecrated, I am dedicated to the Most High.
On some damask napkins, mentioned in ' Notes and Queries ' as liaving been procured at Brussels, this inscription is interwoven with the pattern — Y
sIgnUM paCIs DatUr LoRlCiE. = 1763
i.e. The signal of peace is given to the 7Ciarrior.
It relates to the peace proclaimed between England and France in 1763. The napkins were probably a gift on the occasion to some public functionary.
(church of St. Carlo Borromeo at Antwerp. On the woodwork over the west door : the church had been partly destroyed by fire — >|<
MarI^ DICata eX CInere restItVor. — 171 9
i.e. Dedicated to Mary : I am restored from the ashes.
Under a statue, on the right side of the west portal — >|<
sanCtI CaroLI prIstInVs DeCor reDDItVs. = 1865
i.e. The pristine elegance of Saint Charles restored.
Under a statue, on the left side of same portal — ^
sanCte CaroLe borroM/ee tIbI fIDeLes. = 1803
i.e. O Saint Charles Borromeo, to thee, faithful.
On a stone tablet in the centre of the west front — ChrIsto Deo VIrgInI DeIpar/e beato IgnatIo LoIoL^b soCIet.\tIs aVthorI senatVs popVLVsqVe antVerpIensIs H< pVbLICo et prIVato .ere ponere VoLVIt. 1621
i.e. To Christ God, to the God-bearing virgin, to the blessed Ignatius of the Society of Loyola the author, the senate and people of Antwerp, by public and private money, has decreed this to be put up.
At the corner of a street at Antwerp, inscribed under a figure of the Virgin affixed to a house — >tc
MarIe La gLoIre De Cette nobLe CIt^. = 1S53
i.e. Alary, the glory of this noble city.
At the bottom of a large stained glass window in the nave of Antwerp Cathedral, put up by a brewer whose name, etc., is inscribed on the glass, together with this chronogram —
BELGIUM— ANTWERP. 5/
^ D. O. M. regIna: Ccf.LI CceLIs gaVDentIbVs regIo sVo * soLIo IMposIt^. = 1873
i.e. To the (jiieen of heaven, the heavens themselves rejoicing, placed upon her royal throne.
The date 1873 is also added.
In the Church of St. Andrew, on the pedestal of a statue of St. Peter—
D. O. M. et Beato Petro Apostolo. -^
reCorD.\ntI VerbI et aMare fLentI = 1658
ac piae memoriee Petri Suboth [&c.] obiit 7 Julii anno predicto, &c. &c.
i.e. To the omnipotent great God, and the blessed Peter the apostle recollect- ing the word and weeping bitterly, and to the pious memory of Peter Suboth, etc., who died "jth July in the year aforesaid, etc. Meaning the year expressed by the chronogram.
In the same church, over an altar in the north aisle — DIVa sir nobIs perpetVa VIrgo MarIa patroCInIo et i^ VICtorI^. — 1729
i.e. May the divine perpetual Virgin Mary be to us protection ami victory.
In St. Jacques Church, Antwerp, part of the inscription on a tombstone, in the floor of the north aisle of choir — ^
geLeIt Voor De saLIge geDaChtensIs Der zIeLen. = 1759
i.e. Put for the blessed memory of the souls of, etc. etc.
J ean Ferdinand de Beuchem, bishop of Antwerp, died 1699, and was buried in the cathedral, where his epitaph was put up containing these words —
' Gregi suo et omnibus charus, ut verus pastor, cura DUXiT, charitate juviT, opera luxit, qui vivcns dc se humiliter tacuit, loquatur mortuus Bb
CVM DVXI IVVI LVXL' = 1699
i.e. Dear to his own flock and to all, as a true pastor, by care he led, by charity he helped, by work he shone ; wlw 7vhilst living was humbly silent about himself, no'w being dead he says. When I led, I helped, I shone. Observe that all the letters of the clironogram are numerals.
John Mira^us, fourth Bishop of Antwerp, died 161 1, and was buried in the cathedral ; his epitaph is said to contain these chrono- grams—
NGN ConfVnDar In yEXERNVM. Psalm 30. = 161 1
sic abeVnDVJM. = 161 1
DoMInVs VoCat. = 1 61 1
Be
52 BELGIUM— INUNDATIONS.
Inundation at Antwerp on St. Elizabeth's day 1320 — Be
eLIsabeth SveVIt, Mare CreVIt hoLLandIa fLeVIt.' = 1320
i.e. Elizabeth toas angry, the water increased, Holland ivept. The letter d is not counted.
Another in 1462 — Be
sChaLda CresCIt, ager et rVs oMne paVesCIt.i = 1462
i.e. The Scheld increases, the land and all the country becomes alarmed. The letter d is not counted.
The damage suffered by the people of Antwerp in 1532 is dated by this hexameter and pentameter verse — •
qVot CLades peCorI, VICIs, MortaLIbVs atro Be
soLa parat peLago vis, parIt Vna dIes.^ = 1532
i.e. Hoiii much destruction to cattle, villages, and mortals, the sole poiver
of dark water produces, and one day britigs forth. The two letters d are not counted.
i he traveller Philip Skipton saw at Antwerp in 1663 the usual annual procession of the bishop, clergy, monks, all the trades, etc. etc. Many emblematical decorations were carried by them, the first a great ship, on one side whereof was inscribed this verse —
VInCVLa qV^ IMposVIt sCaLDI beLLona reLaXat
paX, IgItVr prorIs CVrrIte, et Ite rates. And on the other side — [■ = 3218
rVrsVs eX oCCasV eX ortV properate CarIn^e |
sCaLDIs et aqVatICc portVs apertVs erIt, J
i.e. Peace relaxes the chains which the 'war had imposed on the Scheld, therefore run 'with your proivs, O ye ships. Hasten again ye ships from the west and from the east ; the port of the watery Scheld will be opened.
' The chronograms make 3218, which is guessed to be the year of the world when the giant was killed that infested this place.' This was followed by other strange devices, and then by the giant himself on a chariot drawn by four horses, and then by eight young giants, four men, and four women. -
The traveller visited ' the village of Lausdun, near the Hague, famous for the burial of a Countess of Holland and her 365 children, born at one birth ; in the church were preserved the two brass basons
^ These might be regarded as chronograms composed at early dates, were it not that J. B. Grammage, the learned author of Aiitiquitates Bclgiat (where I find them),, says that they are his own compositions. He was an ecclesiastic of high rank, and his book was published in 1708.
^ In one of the Belgian Museums [at Bruges?] is preserved an immense stuffed figure of a giant, formerly used in a similar annual procession.
BELGIUM— MALINES. 53
they were baptized in, and under tliem a Dutch and Latin inscription printed in Hegemtius his itinerary,' and some verses commencing — Femina adulterii rea dicta a principe partu,
And concluding —
Henricus Mirouteus pharmacopjeus Frankenthalensis hsec cecinit et scripsit, Magne DeVs peLLe hostes -^^ 0'i\uilieref ore this date 1\ = 16 10
i.e. Great Got/, drive oat thine enemies.
IN the Cathedral at Malines, over an altar in the south transept containing the Vandyke picture — •
DIV^ ANN/E VIrgInIs genItrICI VIgesIMa Xl^ lULII ara H< posIta fUIt. = 1699
i.e. To the sacred Anna, the mother of the Virgin, this altar was erected the loth July 1699.
Over the same altar are cherubs holding these date inscriptions —
saxCta anna genItrIX DeIpaR/E, sis aVXILIatrIX nobIs H< oMnIbVs. = 1699
i.e. Saint Anna, mother of the God-bearer, mayest thou be the heifer to us all.
In the same cathedral over an altar in the north transept, are these date verses —
frenDet VIpra fVrens c;enItrIX sIne Labe trIVMphat >|<
In cenIto VIta est gLorIa Vera saLVs. = 1699
i.e. The raging serpent will gnash its teeth, the mother without a stain triumphs. In the born one there is life, true }:,lory, and salvation.
In the same cathedral is the simple inscription over the high altar, the name of the saint to whom the cathedral is dedicated — >i<
sanCtUs rUMboLDUs. = 1665
In the same cathedral (according to a folio volume of history in 1734), Archbishop Andrew Creusen constructed the high altar in 1665, and the statue of St. Rombaud, with these inscriptions on the pedestal —
sanCtVs rVMoLDVs. = 1665
rVMoLDo CrVsenVs. = 1665
i.e. Creuse?i dedicates to Rumold. Below this is a dedication to St. Rumold, bishop, apostle, and martyr, patron of the church and city ; he was buried in the cathedral.
Also in the cathedral, on a scroll on the summit of the monument of the Comte do Soye, brother to tlie Archbishop — Be
InsIgxIs ConCorDIa fratrVM. = 1709
i.e. The renowned concord of the brothers.
54 BELGIUM—GHENT.
in the Church of the Jesuits, which, according to the same history, was built by Archbishop Creusen — Be
anDre^ pr.'esVLIs MVnIfICentIa. = 1664
i.e. By the generosity af Archbishop Andrew.
In the Parish Church of Notre Dame, the same history mentions the monument of Peter Scheppers, thus inscribed —
breVIs VIt^ DIes MortaLIbVs ConstItVtVs qVI pr^terIrI Be neqVIt. = 1694
i.e. The short day of life is appointed to mortals which cannot be exceeded.
In the same church, on the front of a carved oak pulpit — >l<
fILIUs MeUs DILeCtUs. = 17 18
VoCeM ILLIUs aUDIte. = 1718 i.e. He is my beloved Son, hear ye his voice.
J ean Huachin, the second archbishop of Mechlin, died 1589, and was interred in the cathedral. His epitaph concludes with Latin verses, intituled, ' Nemo sacrum turbet cinerem.' Lower down is this chronogram —
PRvEsVL loANNES IaCet haC haVChInVs In Vrna Bb
Cetera sCIre qVeVnt IpsI etIaM antIpodes. — 1589
i.e. The bishop John Huachin lies in this to?nb, even the mitipodes can know the rest. The letter d is not counted.
iViathias Hovius, the third archbishop of Mechhn, died at the Abbey of Affligem, and was interred in the Cathedral at Mechlin, where his epitaph was put up, containing this chronogram — Bb
VIrtVte fVLgens, DesIIt affLIgeML — 1620
i.e. Eminent in virtue he died at Affligem.
His heart was buried in the chapel of St. Croix at Affligem.
IN the Church of St. Nicholas, at Ghent, over the large picture at the high altar, the subject of which is the Call of St. Nicholas to the Episcopate —
UnItatIs fontI Deo Vero VIrgInI MarI^ et b. nICoLao -^ offertUr. = 167J
i.e. This is presented to the true God the fountain of unity, to the blessed Virgin Mary, and to the blessed Nicolas.
In the Cathedral, Ghent, this inscription and hexameter chrono- gram is on the frame of a picture, The Adoration of the Immaculate Lamb, a work of great celebrity, by John and Hubert Van Eyck —
Pictor Hubertus ab Eyck, major quo nemo repetus
BEL GIUM— GHENT— BR UGES.
55
incepit : pondusque Johannes arte secundus frater per- fecit laetus, Judoci Vyd prece fretus.
VersU seXta MaI Vos CoLLoCat aCta tUerI. = 1432
i.e. Hubert van Eyck, a painter, than 7vJwm a greater 7vas fiever found, began this picture, and his brother, John, next to him in art, joyfully finished the heavy 7vork of it, relying on the request of Judocus Vyd. In this verse the sixth of May places you to behold the luork done.
The picture was painted in 1432. The portraits of Judocus Vyd and his wife are on the outside of the folding panels of this celebrated picture.
L^oncerning Ghent. On the cutting of a canal to the sea in 1562, when the dike was dug through, the fresh water flowed out above the sea water, which remained for a time underneath, in consequence of its greater specific gravity, whence this chronogram ' from the Vulgate.' Re dVLCIa ConCVLCant saLsedIneM. = 1562
i.e. The sweet water overpoicers the salt. The letters d are not counted. The text alluded to is James iii. ver. 1 1 and 12:' Doth a fountain send forlli at the same place sweet water and bitter? — so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.'
AT Bruges, over the door of the old building used by the Academy of Art- ^
Ut phcenIX eX CInere sUo brUgensIUM Dono reVIVIsCo. = 1755 i.e. As the Phcenix from its ashes, I live again through the liberality of the people of Bruges.
The building is of tlie 14th century, it was restored after a fire in 1755, and then devoted to the use of the Academy.
1 he Emperor Maximilian I., notwithstanding his title to the sovereignty of the Netherlands, was made a prisoner on 5th February 148S, at Bruges, by the citizens, together with several of the councillors, in a house on the market-place. He had been recognised as governor during the minority of his son, Flanders alone objecting. A treaty was at length made, granting certain privileges, and he was liberated after sixteen weeks' confinement. Political intrigue and treachery was tiie rule in those days, and he afterwards paid but little attention to the terms he had agreed to. This chronogram, adapted from St. Mark xvi. 6, was placed on the prison door. F
reX non est hIC: eCCe LoCVs VbI posVerVnt IpsVM. — 1488 i.e. The king is not here : behold the place where they put him.
S6 BELGIUM— LOUVAIN— LIEGE.
IN the Church of St. Peter, Louvain, in allusion to the death in 1606 of the celebrated antiquary, Juste Lipse, also to the destruc- tion by fire in 1458 of the towers of the church, and by storm in 1604 of the wooden structure which replaced them. Y
oMnIa CaDVnt. — 1606
i.e. All things fall.
In the same church at an altar in the nave — DebIte VenererIs InsIgnes reLLIqUIas aLbertI MartyrIs ^ In oCtobrI transLatas. = 1820
i.e. May est thou duly worship the illustrious remains of Albert the Martyr, translated iti October 1820.
In the same church, over an altar — :^<
sanCt^ DeI genItrICIs MatrI saCra. = 1S05
i.e. Sacred to the holy mother of the mother of God.^
In the same church, on the railing before a beautiful tabernacle or sacrament-house of carved stone — ^
IesU Deo-hoMInI sUb speCIe panIs hIC reaLIter LatentI. = 1818 i.e. To Jesus the God-man here really hidden under the appearance of bread.
In the same church at an altar under the statuette of a saint — ~^
proteCtorI sanCto JULIano DICatUM. = 1864
i.e. Dedicated to the protector Saint Julian.
In the same church over an altar — '^
aLtare DIVo sebastIano perpetUo saCrUM. = 1617
i.e. The altar for ever sacred to the holy Sebastian.
In the Church of St. Gertrude, Louvain, on the front of the organ gallery — 5^
beneDICtUs sIt DeUs In ChorDIs et organo. = 1714
i.e. Blessed be God upon strings and upon the organ.
On the front of a house in the Grande Place, Louvain — >|<
qUIbUsDaM InVItIs gLorIosIor eX CInere ConsUrgo. — 1787 i.e. Certain persons being umoilling, 1 7-ise more glorious from the ashes.
The house had been burnt, and rebuilt in 1787, probably against the will of certain persons.
CHURCH of St. Bartholomew, Lifege, at the west end of the nave, south side — sIt paX UVVens DatorI pIo, et ConstrUCtorI paVIMentI >tc naVIs = 1747
i.e. May peace be to Uiiiens, the pious donor and builder of the pavement of the nave.
At the west end of the nave, north side — ^
eX MUnIfICentIa DeCanI UVVens fIt stratUra In naVI. = 1747 i.e. By the munificence of Dean Uwens the floor in the nave is made.
' Meaning Saint Ann.n, the motlier of tlie blessed Virgin Mary.
BELGIUM~Lli:GE. 57
In the same church — MarL^e sIne Labe Concepts hoCCe LeVe pIetatIs pIgnUs ereXIt basILICa faUste prorsUs InstaUrata Joannes gloVens >K paroChUs. = 1805
i.e. To Mary conceived icithout a stain, John Glovens, church7varden\}\, has erected this slight token of piety, upon the occasion of the church being happily and thoroughly restored.
The initial letters of the name Glovens in the original are com- bined as a monogram so as to exclude the letter L from the chrono- gram ; it would otherwise make the date 1855, the real date being probably 1805, though no date is given in figures.
oaint Lambert's Cathedral, Liege. This church no longer exists ; it was utterly destroyed by the French revolutionists at the end of the iSth century. Some of the epitaphs are to be found in books of histor}' ; the following are from Vita: et res gesta Pontificum Roman- orum, by Alphonse Ciaconi. Rome 1667.
On the tomb of Cardinal-bishop Herardus de la Mark, who 'having death before his eyes caused it to be built whilst living.' si neget InfLeCtI LaChesIs VeL honore, VeL aVro
LegI IMVs testIs pr^sVL herardVs erIt. = 1538
qVod neC honos neC opes, neC gLorIa Vertere CVrsVs
astrorVM possIt, pr.esVL herarde VIdes. = 1538
I.e. If Lachesis refuses to be moved by honour or to be chosen [?] by wealth, Herardus the bishop tvill be the eminent witness. Because neither honour nor riches nor glory can change the course of the stars, O bishop Herardus, thou seest.
These lines are mere fragments of a long eulogistic epitaph. The letters d are not counted.
On the tomb of Cardinal-bishop Gerardus Grousbroeck — LegIa CVr CeLebrIs sIC LVges noMen erardI
hIC TIbI GERARD Vs NONNE, ET ERARdVs ErIt ? = 1578
i.e. JFhy, O celebrated Zi^ge, dost thou bewail this name of Erard here, 7Ciill not Gerard also be to thee Erard?
'' Alluding to his renowned predecessor in the foregoing epitaph. The letters d are not counted.
On the tomb of Cardinal de Givry, Episcopus Metensis — LaVs pIa pVrpVreI Of.tVs CLaVstrIqVe CoLVMna
ANNO hIC eXpresso gIVrIVs ASTRA pf.tIt. = 16 1 2
i.e. Givrius, tlie affectionate praise of the illustrious assembly, and the pillar of the cloister (or monastery) in the year, here expressed, seeks the heavens.
On the tomb of Bishop George (from Koehler's Muntz-belustigung, vol. 17, p. 63).
II
58 BELGIUM— LIUGE.
MaII qVInta aderat LVX, soLe Cadente sVb Vndas F
oCCIdIt, at deVs hVIC det frVIer reqVIe. = 1558
i.e. Tlie fifth day of May was present, when the sun was setting beneath
the waters, lie died, and may God grant him to enjoy rest. The letters d are not counted.
In the present cathedral at Lifege, on a pillar at the west end of the nave about 4-^ feet above the level of the floor, to mark, the depth of the water of the river Meuse in the cathedral when inundating the town. "^
1643 . aLtIVs . eXpanso . fLVMIne DVXIt aqVas = 1643
i.e. The river overflowing led its 7vaters to this height.
On the same pillar, about 4 feet above the floor, et . 1 740 . ,
the thick line indicating the depth of water. And lower down, about 3 feet above the floor — "^
1571. aLto Mosa LoCo CresCens hVC appVLIt VsqVe = 1 5 7 1
i.e. The Meuse increasing in depth came thus far.
And on the same water-line is this further inscription —
AQV/E . 1856.
These chronograms are cut in the stone pillar, and being disfigured by paint are somewhat difficult to make out.
GERMANY-RHINE COUNTRY.
ERE chronograms become more abundant ; they may- be looked for at every church and ecclesiastical build- ing in towns and villages, and even at the wayside, with fair expectation of success ; disappointment, how- ever, may have to be endured where decay, or, what is quite as bad, the restorer and whitewasher have had their own way. Occasionally in testing a chronogram the letter D is not to be
counted, as explained in the preface.
In the cathedral at Aix-la-Chapelle, on a monumental tablet in the chapel adjoining the octagon, to the memory of Canon Schrick, the inscrip- tion proceeds thus—
' Anima ejus Deum Divosque precare, ad chronographiciim
adverte et vale.'
CosVInVs sChrICk b. MarI.-e VIrgInIs aqVIsgranI CanonICVs,
ARCHIPRESBITER CaNTOR. =
[And lower down on the tablet] — PRO FESTO . s . paVLInI . FESTO B . aLoysI, tertIa poMf.rI DIana, pIe pr.'eparatVs eXpIraVIt. =
anno . cid . id . cxxxiiiiiix. =
i.e. Cosuinus Schrick, canon, archipresbiter, singer {or precetitor) of this church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at Aix-la-Chapelle, on the festival of St. Paul. And the third afternoon of that of St. Aloys he died fully prepared.
The word archipresbiter is not counted in the chronogram.
* '634
1634 1634
6o GERMANY— A IX-LA- CHAPELLE.
On the pedestal of a crucifix against a wall in a street — o IesV kreVz, o eInzIg heIL, hILf Vnser kreVz Vns tragen VVIrD Vns DIe bahn gar hart gar steIL Lass Vns DoCh ^ nTe Verzagen. = 1859
CRUX MISSIONIS . A.0 . I 792.^ i.e. O Jesiis Cross, O only salvation, assist us in bearing our Cross. If the way becomes for us too hard, too steep, never let us be disheartened. Mission Cross, 1792.
On a stone slab over the door of the Baptistery ; the inscription is damaged, and the building has been suffered to fall into decay. 5^
saCrVM paroChIaLe DIVI johannIs baptIst^. = 1765
i.e. The sacred parish (font) of St. John the Baptist.
The inscription continues so far as it can be read — Regalis Basilicae Ecclesiae . . . B . M . Virginis Baptisterium — anno renovat . . . — . . 42.
In the church of St. Michael, Aix-la-Chapelle, in front of the
west gallery. >|<
sVM pIa CIVItatIs LIberaLItate renoVata DeCorata. = 1821
i.e. I am restored and decorated by the pious liberality of the State. y
eCCe MIChaeLIs aeDes. = 1852
i.e. Behold the house of Michael.
On the pedestal of a crucifix against the church of St. Peter. gLorIa In eXCeLsIs Deo et In terra paX hoMInIbVs BONit >)< VoLVntatIs. = 1792
i.e. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth the peaee of good-will to men.
AT Bonn on the Rhine ; inscribed over the doorway leading down to the chapel beneath the choir in the minster church. >fc
CapItVLVM patronIs pIe DICaVIt. = 1770
i.e. The Chapter has piously dedicated to the patron saints.
On the base of a crucifix outside the minster, on the north side. gLorIfICate et portate DeVM In Corpore Vestro. i Cor. >fc 6.20. = 1763
i.e. Glorify and hear God in your body.
' The cross was probably put up in 1792, and repaired in 1859.
GERMANY—BONN, ETC. 6i
At Poppelsdorf, near Bonn, inscribed on the front of a small >|<: church.
paroChIaLIs teMpLI rVInIs .^DIfICabar. = 1812
i.e. 1 was built out of the ruins of the parish church,
A-t Schwarz-Rheindorf, nearly opposite to Bonn ; in the curious double church, is a tombstone slab much footworn and slightly damaged, inscribed thus —
ARNoLDo antIstItI et eLeCtorI CoLonIensIs CapItVLI nostrI fVnDatorI ter gratIoso In IbI sepVLto LapIs hIC '^ NoVVs posItVs. = 1747
LapIs aVgVsta gratIa CLeMentIs aVgVstI patronI nostrI -Jf. perpetVo DonatVr. = 1736
i.e. To Arnold, Bishop and Elector of Cologne, the founder of our chapter, thrice gracious, here buried, this stone is placed.
A stone, by the august grace of the august Clement our patron, is given for ei'er.
At Kreuzburg, near Bonn, on the front of the church — saCra IesV pro nobIs passI a CLeMente aVgVsto eLeCtore ET antIstIte CoLonIensI pIe aVgte pretIose eXstrVCta et >(c fInIta. = 1696
i.e. This church of Jesus, who suffered for tis, was raised and finished by Cle?nent our august Elector and Archbishop of Cologne, piously, tnagnifi- cently and preciously.
On a votive structure at the road-side about half a mile from the church, carved on a sculptured representation of the Crucifixion ; the whole has been shamefully damaged and neglected — sf;
propItIVs VenIaM Da pIe ChrIste reIs. = 161 6
i.e. Be propitious. Grant pardon to the accused, O righteous Christ.
IN Cologne Cathedral, on a beam in a chapel south of the choir. [From Notes arid Queries] — V
pIa VIrgInIs MarI.*; soDaLItas anno s^CVLarI renoVat. = 1722 i.e. In the secular year the pious brotherhood of the Virgin Mary rene7ved it.
JV'ledal on the ordination of Clement, Elector of Cologne. He had been elected Bishop of Frcisingen and Ratisbon at the age of 14, Elector of Cologne three years after, and eventually Bishop of Lit;ge. He had deferred taking holy orders till 1706; on Christmas day of that year, at Lille, there was a magnificent ceremony, when the priest- hood was conferred on him, and he administered the communion for
62 GERMANY— COLOGNE.
the first time in the presence of his brother the Elector of Bavaiia, who received it from his hand. Medals were scattered on the occasion, representing a chalice beneath two joined hands, to signify the union of the two brothers, and these chronograms — A
pIa ConCorDIa fratrVM. = 1707
i.e. The pious coicord of the brothers. A
IosephVs CLeMens Deo LItans, = 1707
Insulis, calend : Januar : in eccl : p.p.s. Jesu. i.e. Joseph — Clement sacrificing to God at Lille on \st January in the church of the Fathers of the Jesuits.
Another medal bearing this chronogram, the words are from a hymn chanted on the occasion —
ConseCratIo CLeMentIs A
arChIepIsCopI CoLonIensIs. = 1707
i.e. The consecration of Clement, Archbishop of Cologne. On the reverse is ' Veni dator munerum.'
On a house near the west end of the Cathedral, is affixed a tablet to indicate the position of one of the old Roman gates of the city, the arch known as the Pfaffenthor, which was removed in 1826 to a spot near the museum where it now stands ; the tablet is thus inscribed — porta hIC stabat roMana DICta agrIppInensIbVs hVC :+s VsqVe pafhIA. = 1826
i.e. Here stood a gate called the Roman, and by the people of Cologne the Paphian gate.
In the church of St. Andrew against a pillar of the choir, is the monument of Mathseus Hohenousien, rector, with no other date but this Hexameter and Pentameter verse : the meaning is somewhat equivocal — fataLIs Mather tIbI noX aLtera aprILIs :^c
fLVXerat, at CLerI LVX fVIt eCCe nItens. = 1653
i.e. The second night of April was the fatal night to thee, O Matthew, but lo it was a bright day to the clergy.
In the same church a picture hangs in a chapel in the north aisle, with an inscription on the frame that Peter Quentel placed it there whilst living, in the year 1 551, and beneath it is an old wooden tablet, having painted thereon ten quaint Latin verses indicating the burial of John Drolshagen, with no date but this chronogram — CondIt Joannes drosLshagIVs ossa sepVLChro >1c
HoC aVgVstI qVarto Mens CoLIt astrIgenas. = 1581
i.e. John Drolshagen lays his bones in this tomb, on the ^th of August his soul greets the inhabitants of heaven.
The letters d are not counted.
COLOGNE. 63
1 he church dedicated to St. Gereon and the Theban legion of 6000 martyrs (slain on the spot during the persecution of Diocletian) was founded by the Empress Helena, and built at various periods from 1066 to 1 2 12. In the vestibule, over a doorway, is this modern- looking inscription —
Deo teMpLIqVe patronIs heLena annonI ChrIstophoro, ^ gereonI eIVsqVe soCIIs. = 1823
i..e. Helen dedicates it to God and the patrons of the church., Anni- anus {?), Christopher, Gereon and his companions.
I find a small book in the Lambeth Palace Library [72. K. 10], with this title : ' An Historical Dissertation upon the Theban Legion, plainly proving it to be fabulous. By M. A., Chaplain to the Duke of Schomberg and Leinster, and one of the ministers of the French church in the Savoy. London 1696.' Some information, on the other hand, is given in the periodical ' The Monthly Packet ' for November 1880, No. 179, vol. 30, page 434.
In the vestibule of the same church (St. Gereon) is a handsome mural monument of black marble, to the memory of Johannes de Verdugo, who died 6th April 1658 ; the epitaph begins with Hexameter and Pentameter verse — FORTE feroX arIes phcebo fVIt hospes ab aXe >K
faX tVa VerDVgo Morte neCante rVIt. = 1658
i.e. By chance it 7vas that the fierce Aries was guest to the sun, thy torch, O Verdugo, fails, death slayirig thee.
Meaning, about the 19th March, when the sun enters the Zodiac sign Aries.
In the same church are two other chronographic inscriptions to St. Gereon, but sadly damaged, and to that extent illegible.
In the church of St. Cunibert at Cologne. A monumental tablet affixed to a column in the nave, to the memory of Johannes Holtze- nius, commences with a chronogram in the form of ' Siste Viator,' but so covered by some gasfittings as to be otherwise illegible. The epitaph then proceeds — ^
Et ex eis luculenta dote illustravit aVror.b DILVCVLVM = 1721 abi viator et pro eo preces ac ei laudes offer, etc. CapItVLVM grata VoLVntate aDornabat. r.i.p. — 1721
In the same church are various chests and cases containing bones of saints and martyrs, which were repaired by a pious individual who has inscribed on them one or other of these chronograms, and his name. reLIqVIarIVM In Deo sanCtIs sIC restaVraVIt IVbILarIVs. *
HORN PC. = 1840
pVLVIs ILLorVM VeneranDVs : spIrItVs In CoeLo beatVs. * vvekner hornpc. = '84°
i.e. This reliquary to the saints in God, Hornpc has thus restored joy- fully. Their dust is venerable, their blessed spirit is in heaven.
64 RHINE.
L^hurch of St. Severin, Cologne. An epitaph without date, in the south aisle, concludes thus — ;|<
Is VIXIt aC MortVVs est Deo. = 1628
i.e. He lived and died in God.
V_^hurch of the Holy Apostles, Cologne, on the pulpit canopy. ESTOTE faCtores VerbI et NGN aVDItores tantVM Ita In ^ epIstoLa sVa InqVIt s. IaCobVs. — 1788
i.e. Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, as saith St. James in his epistle.
And on the front of a confessional. fIDeLIs est et IVstVs Vt reMIttat VobIs peCCata Vestra. ^ I Joann : i . v. 9. =1 780
i.e. He is faithful and just to forgive you your siiis.
AT Konigswinter on the Rhine, incised on one stone over the prin- cipal door of the church. ES 1st keInes MensChen WohnUng sonDern eIn herrLIChes Y haVs Vnseres gottes = 1779
VnI sanCtIssIMo Deo patrI atqVe fILIo spIrItVIqVe Y sanCto. = 1779
erIgor sVb MaX : frIDerICo konIgsegg antIstIte CoLonIensI Y pIe gVbernante. = 1779
i.e. This is no dwelling of man, hut the glorious house of our God. To the most holy one God the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
1 am erected under Afax : Frederic Konigsegg Bishop of Cologne, governing piously.
At the base of a crucifix at the north end of the village. Y
In VnIVs VerI aC InCarnatI DeI honoreM posVere. = 1726
Joannes Petrus Mlimrer et Maria Gengers, conjuges
2 . da. Septembris.
i.e. John Peter Mumrer and Maria Gengers, the married pair, on the 2d September have placed this in honour of one trite and incarnate God.
At Niederbachen, Rhine, from ' Sketches of Continental Ecclesio- logy,' by Rev. B. Webb, over the door of the church of St. Gereon, are these hexameter lines — sVpreMo saCrata Deo sto Lapsa resVrgo
Vis pVgna sathan gereon enI ense tVetVr — 16S2
I have not seen this obscure inscription, it admits of this interpretation : / stand consecrated to the supreme God, having fallen I arise. Afay the power of Satan be defeated, and may the sword of Saint Gereon defend me.
GERMANY— FRANKFORT. 65
And this inscription at Burgau, in the church — MarLe et LeonarDI honorIbVs patronI et pLebIs eXpensIs sVrgg . basILIa bVrgoVIensIs. {Sic.) = 1690
It may be thus interpreted : This chapel of Burgau has risen at the expense of patron and people in honour of Alary and Saint Leonard.
iVt Coblenz, round the arch of the west door of the church of
St. Castor.
DIro MarIa IVngfraV reIn Y
Las CobLenz anbefohLen seIn. = 1765
To Mary the Virgin, the pure. Let Coblenz he reconmierided.
A.t the cathedral of Frankfort-on-the-Main, within the north door ; epitaph on a mural tablet to a prince of Thurn and Taxis. It is chronographic throughout ; I have inserted the bars to mark the set of words which give the date 1708, eleven times repeated. sIste VIator et ILLaChryManDo parenta || :+c
Philippo Lamoraldo serenissimorum principum Alex- andri Eugenii principis de la Tour et Tassis et Augustse Hohaenloheianae DVLCIssIM^ proLI || heV ! fato pr/eCoCe ante DIeM obIIt II SPES tassIC^e stIrpIs LaMoraLDVs || natVM CaLenDIs aprILIs || eX fonte saLVtIs aD sVpern/E VoLVp- tatIs torrenteM LeVaVIt aVgVstVs || DeCIMa ncna annI CVrrentIs II I VIator ! seD L/etIor absterge LaChryMas || ASTRA Inter non hIC Me qVere D^InCzps || IbI qVos In terra parC/E aDeo parCe DeDere || MVLtIpLICaeo DIes. || Job 29, v. 18.
Another epitaph to a prince of the same family repeats the date, 171 1, seventeen times (except in the fifth set of words, which by some error in the original, makes 1703). "^
aD pIos MagnI phcenICIs CIneres stas VIator : || VIDe InsIgnIa H^C tIbI hohenLoheanos Monstrant Leones II NON phcenICeM qVID hoC? aeIIt oeIIt, || nIDo In CceLIs gLorIosIVs fIrMato 1| perennat sVb hoC phcenICe aDVMbrata est || Anna Augusta. Ex illm'^ comitib'', Ludovico Gustavo de Hohenlohe ex Barbara de Schonborn nata 1675 11 gbris a ggj.ssmo g_i; IP, Eugenio Alexandre de Latour et Tassis, In thorI ConsorteM aDsCIta || 21 gbris tres proLes CceLo genVIt DeVota Mater || InnoCVa DefVnCtas oMnes /ETate, || aVgVstaM VIrtVtes pr^eDICarVnt qVIbVs VnasoLIs VIXIt, || Constante erga DeVM sanCtosqVe pIetate, || fIDe In ConIVgeM, LIberaLItate In egenos, || Verbo De CceLo soLoqVe bene MerIta, || MerItIs sVIs CoronanDa a ChrIsto obIIt. II I VIator! seD hInC sI abIs reDI aD Cor, || hoC VnVM S.EPE reCogItanDo, || et nos sVCCeDIMVs || neC tarDo peDe In Vno pVnCto aD /Eterna.
I
66 GERMANY— FRANKFORT.
Several other tablets are at the same spot. One in bad condition is placed too high to allow of more than the concluding lines to be read ; it contains the date 17 14 in figures, and the chronogram, which shows that date twice. >l<
VIta breVIs seD proba, pIa Mors CoronIs et Corona. = 17 14 DICIte qVonIaM hVIC bene . Isaice 3, v. 10. =1714
i.e. A short but honest life, O pious death, crown him with croivns, say ye tliat it shall be ivell with him.
Another, also placed too high ; it concludes thus — >l<
Is hIC In DoMIno rik reqVIesCat. = 171 1
i.e. Let him rest here piously in tJie Lord.
Another, to PhiUppa, Princess of Thurn and Taxis — I nunc viator et quidem in lacrymis quia vixi ante diem ;|c
oCCVMbenDo. ~ 1705
i.e. Go 71010, traveller, and indeed in tears, because I have lived by dying
before my time.
Another, to a prince of Thurn and Taxis, concludes with the
date thus expressed — ;j<
InsIgne DeCVs prInCIpVM. — 1714
i.e. Lie was the distinguished ornament of princes.
Another tablet placed too high, in bad condition, and partly illegible ; this is all I could make out —
Anno nativitatis suae nonagesimo a tertia Julii inchoato, aVgVstI pLaCIDo DVoDena fVnCtVs agone — [The next line is illegible, then towards the end it proceeds]— natUS MDCLXXXVIII, celeberrimoconductufunebriDiexivAugustiMDCCLXxvii.
sepultus proXIMe ante CLathrasar^ DeIpar^ VtI petIIt ^ qVIesCIt . R . I . s . p. — i-^ii
i.e. In the 90/// year of his birth that began from the T,d of July, on the 12th of August he e7ided his placid life. Born 16S8, buried by a spl(?tdidly conducted funeral, he rests, as he had requested, in front of the ' Clathrasara ' of the Virgin Mary.
LOCAL CHRONOGRAMS.
GERMANY, BAVARIA, SAXONY, AUSTRIA, HUNGARY, ETC.
HE central part of Europe is rich in chronograms; locally they are plentiful as inscriptions, monumental and other- wise. A large number of those in the following group were collected by myself at the places named, and may still be seen if destructive agencies have not already commenced work among them. Another group in this volume comprises those inscribed on historical medals, and many which were used on the occasion of religious festivals and processions. A further group will give an insight into a class of literature relating to some of the localities herein mentioned, in which the chronogrammatic feature is especially prominent.^
The general character of the chronograms calls for no special remark, further than the recognition of the numerical value of the letter D ( = 500) as distinguished from some of the foregoing groups.
In Munich Cathedral, in a recess on the south side, a memorial inscrip- tion to several members of one family concludes thus — LVX perpetVa LVCeat eIs DoMIne, 1727. =
i.e. May eternal light shine on them, O Lord.
Outside the cathedral, over a fountain against the north wall, are these hexameter and pentameter verses — • o SPES ET spLenDor, terr^e proteCtor haberIs") _
BENNOPOTENS NeCnON VrbIs ET ORBIS aMOR. j ~
eCCe bIbIte aD fonteM saLVtIs. =
i.e. O Ben no the poicafid, our hope and sflendour, thou a>i regarded as the protector of our land, also the love 0/ our city and of tJie luorld. Behold, drink ye at the fountain of salvation.
This must be the fountain of Saint Bcnno (Bishop in Bavaria, 1 106), as a sepulchral stone on the wall close by records the burial of an ecclesiastic ' ad fontem Bcnno.'
* 1727
* 1758
1758
' See the groups headed ' Franconia plaudens,' etc. etc.
68 MUNICH, SALZBURG, AUGSBURG.
A mural tablet outside the east end of the cathedral is thus dated— VIta breVIs qVID nIsI aVra LeVIs; *
rerVM qVoqVe fInIs pVLVIs et CInIs. = 1761
i.e. What is a short life bid a light breath ; tlie end also 0/ things is dust and ashes.
On the front of Trinity Church, over the door — -if
Deo trIno ConDIDere Voto tres boICIstatVs . mdccxiv. = 1714 i.e. The three estates of Bavaria built this to the triune God by a vow.
In the Munich Museum, on a tablet of pottery-ware, hanging by a window in a top-floor room ; some lines of old German, with much ornamental flourish, ending with this chronogram — >(<
VIVe In ChrIsto eXI e MVnDo. = 1629
i.e. Live in Christ, escape from the uwrld.
Also in the museum, on a stone tablet formerly on a building to commemorate its foundation ; alluding to a time of famine — ;|<
DIebVs faMIs preVaLes CentIs In CIVItate. = 1771
Also in the museum, on a stone tablet — Iohannes henrICVs DaCk natVs oestInghVsII CoLonIensIs: hVIVs eCCLesI^ CoLLegIat/e sanCtI IohannIs baptIst^ CanonICVs, atqVe senIor.annIs septVagenIs senIs pIe pro- ^ VeCtVs, pIe qVoqVe obIIt qVarta XbrIs. — 1799
i.e. J. H. Dack, born at Oesfinghusium Coloniense, Canon of this Col- legiate Church of St.Johu the Baptist, and Senior ; having lived piously for id years, he died also piously on the ^th of December.
i he following chronogram was composed by Mr. C. W. Wilshere, and is placed in the new telegraph office at Munich— LVDoVICo seCVnDo boIarIae rege regnante ConDIta. [scilicet aedes.] = 1866
i.e. This house was built, Louis t/te second, King of Bavaria reigning.
PART of the inscription over the tunnel road beneath the Monchs- burg, at Salzburg — ;^
sIgIsMVnDI arChIepIsCopI saLzbVrgIensIs. = 1768
i.e. The work of Sigismund, Archbishop of Salzburg.
Over a fountain in the Cathedral Platz at Salzburg — >|<
LeopoLDVs prInCeps Me eXtrVXIt. — 1732
i.e. Leopold the prince built me.
IN Augsburg Cathedral, the epitaph of Anna Eleonora, daughter of George Count Konigseck, and great-niece of St. Charles Borro- meo, is thus dated — >(c
In paCe Vt IstI DorMIas et reqVIesCas. = 1715
i.e. Mayest thou sleep in peace as do those (alluding to those persons named in the preceding portion of the inscription).
Another, a small red marble tablet on the south wall of the nave, to the memory of a bishop, has this date and melancholy reminiscence at the tenth line —
AUGSBURG. 69
OBlIt beLLo DepressVs, paCeM sperans quam mundus >t= dare non potuit Deus dedit. 2 7 Sep. anno aetatis lvii. = 1707 i.e. He died depressed by luar, hoping for the peace which the world could not give, God gave it.
In Holy-Cross Church, under a painting of the Crucifixion, on the ceiling — 4^
CrVCIfIXo reDeMptorI. = 17 18
On the front of a charitable institution, formerly a convent, on the Kesselmarkt at Augsburg (communicated by F. H. Amedroz) — VIrgIneVs tenVIt ChorVs h^C VbI teCta saCrata | _
MartIno prosVnt nVnC ea paVperIbVs. \ ~ '"'
nVMIne propItIo strVCtVras fVnDItVs Istas j _ ^
ET PATRliE PATRES hVC POSVeRE NoVaS. j ~ '''*'
i.e. When the virgin choir held the sacred buildings, tiiey were good for St. Martin, no7V tliey are good for t lie poor. By the blessing of the Deity the fat Iters of the country have taken the foundations of t/iat structure, and liave erected ?ie7V ones.
i\ thaler, or medal, representing the last prince-bishop of Augs- burg and other important persons, made of the silver from church plate, bears this inscription —
eX VasIs argenteIs In VsVM patrLe sIne CensIbVs DatIs a £a CLero et prIVatIs. = 1794
i.e. Made of t/ie silver vessels given to the use of their country witJiout reckoning the cost, by the clergy and private persons.
A book, ' Epitaphia Augustana Vindelica,' &c., labore Danielis Fraschii, 1624. — Brit. Mus. press-mark, 1330, d. 7. being a large col- lection of Epitaphs at Augsburg existing at the time of the date. The preface contains many epigrams addressed to the author, and this ' Eteostichon operis editi annum complectens' — rIte reCorDerIs qVo LethI (6 res bona) LeCtor,
eCCe InsIgne tIbI prasChIVs eDIt opVs. = 1624
i.e. O reader, that thou may est rigidly remember death {'luhich is a good thing), Lo I Praschius publishes this remarkable work.
There are, however, but two chronograms in the whole collection of epitaphs. The first commences thus —
In DoMIno IesV sIta spes est Vera saLVtIs. = 1570
i.e. In the Lord Jesus is placed the true hope of salvation. On the tomb of the Hainzelius family, patricians of Augsburg.
The other is on the tomb of Huldric Lingk. It is part of the epitaph concerning the deceased — hVnC ChrIstVs prIMa VoLfgangI noCte VoCaVIt
natVs Vt est annos seX trIa LVstra qVater. = 151 1
i.e. Christ called this man, in the beginning of the night of Saint Wolfgang (31st October), when he 7vas 66 years old.
70 DIOCESE OF AUGSBURG.
' T~X AS Bisthum Augsburg,' a periodical by Anton Stichele, com- [ } niencing in 1861 (Brit. Mus. press-mark 10260. dd.), supplies a good collection of chronograms, scattered through a large extent of historical and statistical information concerning the churches and benefices of the diocese. I take the places in succession as mentioned.
Ochlipsheim, on a cross put up in 1787 — L
ChrIstVM aspICIte, erIt VobIs fortItVDo, VIrtVs, saLVs. = 1787 i.e. Look to Christ., it null he your stre7igth, virtue, and salvation.
K-obel, over an entrance to the Loreto Chapel — Z
VerI refVgII LoCVs DoMVs LaVretana. = 1728
i.e. TJie house of Loreto is a place of true refuge ; alluding to the Santa Casa at Loreto in Italy, which was imitated in some of the German monasteries.
On the Rath-haus — naCh IesV ChrIstI gebVrt IM Iahr L
Vnser rathaVs hIer VVIeDer erbaVet War. = 1752
i.e. 1)1 this year after the birth of Jesus Clirist our town-hall was here rebuilt.
l^echsgemiind, at the church of St. Vitus, inscribed under a picture of Christ driving out the dealers from the temple ; the church was rebuilt in the year thus indicated —
MeIn haVs soLL heIssen eIn betthaVs, nIt aeer seIn eIn Z kaVff oDer eIn sChWatzhaVs. = 1737
i.e. My house shall be called a house of prayer, but it shall not be a place of merchandise or gossip.
oiglohe, chapel of St. Sebastian, under a picture of the monastery and Virgin of Einsiedeln in Switzerland —
o pIa VIrgo VIrgInVM, InVIoLata DeI genItrIX, esto PATRONA praenobILIs et InsIgnIs aLoIsII arCo eIVsqVe Z possessIonIs sIgLoe. = 1861
i.e. O pious Virgin of Virgins, the inviolate mother of God, be thou the very able and very distinguished patroness of Aloysius ' Arco' and of his possession Siglohe.
Worscheim parish church, on one of the bells — sIt Deo LaVs et gLorIa sVa In CIIMbaLIs bene tIbVs.
fVsa fVI sVb D. CaroLo heMerLe pLebano hVIate. i.e. Be praise and glory to God in tlie ivell-sounditig cymbals. I was cast under Air. Charles Hemcrle, an inhabitant of this place.
|
SONAN- |
z |
|
= |
1772 |
|
= |
1772 |
DIOCESE OF AUGSBURG. 71
Ochefstall parish church, inscribed on a bell — sanCtVs aLeXanDer papa et MartIIr patronVs noster serVet L Nos In pIetate. = 1679
i.e. St. Alexander, pope and martyr, our patron, preserve tis in piety.
Jxenhartshofen parish church, on two of the bells — • I St. Et verbum caro factum est i.n.r.i. anDreas L BraVn paroChVs rennertzho VII reCtor teMpLI. = 1768
2d. A fulgure et tempestate libera nos Domine Jesu Christe. hasCe nos oMnes IosephVs arnoLDt eXIstere feCIt. — 1768
i.e. And the Word teas made flesh, i.n.r.i. Andrew Braiin, ' parochus of Rennertzho,' the seventh rector of the church. From light- ning and tempest deliver tcs, O Lord Jesus Christ. Joseph Arnold lias made us all {the bells) to exist.
Otettberg parish church, on a bell, a representation of the cruci- fixion, with these inscriptions —
Et verbum caro factum est. Mater DeI aVXILIare peC- L CatorIbVs. Durch hitz des feurs bin ich geflossen. = 177.1 Franz Antoni Weingarten in Lauingen hat mich durch Gottes hilf gossen. CaroLVs phILIppVs L . b . a serVI DoMInVs steppergae. = 1774
i.e. And t/ie JVord 7C'as made flesh. O mother of God, help the sinners. Through the heat of tlie fire am I come. F. A. Weingarten in Lauingen, by God's help, cast me. Charles Philip, etc. etc.
On the second bell, a representation of Saints Michael and Francis Xavier inscribed — L
s.s.MIChaeL et XaVerIVs DebeLLatores InfernI. = 1774
A fulgure et tempestate Hbera nos domine Jesu Christe. Z antonIVs WIrth paroChVs et DIreCtor teMpLI. = 1774
i.e. Saints Michael and Xavier, com/uerors of hell. From lightning and tempest, O Lord Jesu Christ, deliver us. A. Werth, ^ parochus' and director of the church.
On the third bell, a representation of St. Anthony inscribed — L
s.antonI paDVane a CVnCtIs MaLIs erIpe serVos tVos = 1774 antonIVs VVeIng.\rten De LaVIngen nos oMnes Con- Z feCIt. — in A
i.e. O Saint Anthony of Padua, rescue tity sen'ants from all evils. Anthony Weingarten of Lauingen made us all (the bells).
Also at Stettberg, Rudensheim, on the exterior of the church tower, under a representation of the saint —
sanCte stephane ora pro nobIs et sis nobIs tVrrIs fortIs L proteCtIonIs In rIeDeLsheIM. = 1765
i.e. Saint Stephen pray for us, and may est thou be to us a strong tower of protection in Rudcnslieim.
72 DIOCESE OF AUGSBURG.
Otrass parish church, over a door — soLI Deo aC sIne Labe beatIss. V. MarI^ honorI et L gLorI^. = 1 761
i.e. To the only God, and to the most blessed Virgin Mary, witliout spot, to their honour and glory.
U bersfeld parish church of St. GalUis, over a door — L
eIVs sVb DIVI seCVre qVIesCItIs VMbra. = 1736
qVIs VerVM hIC DIVVs nonnIsI gaLLVs erIt ? = 1736
i.e. You rest securely under the shadow of that sai'nt. Truly wlio will this saint be but Gallus ?
And on one of the bells in the Bride-tower — s. MarIa ConsoLatrIX gLorIa VbersfeLDae. = 1768
i.e. Saint Mary, the consoler, the glory of Ubersfeld.
Altheim and Schreizheim, the parish church of St. Vitus, inscrip- tion over the door to indicate its rebuilding in the year thus expressed — L aDoLesCentI MartIrI saCra. = 1753
i.e. Sacred to the youthful martyr.
The ' Pfarrliche ' of Schreizheim, on the middle bell — sVb gLorIoso regIMIne regIs nostrI LVDoVICI pIIqVe L antIstItIs nostrI petrI rICharzII. = 1837
i.e. Under t/ie gloriotis rule of our king Lewis and of our pious bisJiop Peter Richarz.
Uilingen Castle ; the date of the adaptation of a portion of the building to contain the archives of the bishopric was indicated by this inscription —
arChIVI arCana In arCe DILIngana aLIbI LatentIa hVC transferrI IVssIt IosephVs epIsCopVs aVgVstanVs LanD- L graVIVs hassI^. = 1765
i.e. Tlie archives and private papers elsewhere lying in t/ie citadel of Dilingen, Joseph the bishop of Augsburg, the Landgrave of Hesse, ordered to be transferred hither.
Ochabringen, the building of the parish church of Saint ^gidius in 1778, is marked thus over a door —
gLorI^ saLVatorIs DeI atqVe beatI aegIDII LaVDIbVs L saCra. = 1778
i.e. Sacred to tlie glory of God the Saviour, and to the praises of St. .rEgidius.
JJinkelshiibel parish church, on the sixth, the tolling bell — PRO BEATA agonIa LegaVI Ioannes franCIsCVs bozenharDt L paroChVs aC DeCanVs LoCI. = 1725
i.e. For the blessed agony (of Christ), I, John Francis Bozenardt, ^ paroc/ius' and dean of the place, Jiave beqiteatlied this.
DTOCESE OF AUGSBURG. 73
Over the door of the chapel of the three kings — saCeLLVM hoC sanCtIs regIbVs sVb benefICIato sChVrer L pLVres restaVraVerVnt benefaCtores. = 1 794
i.e. This chapel, io the (tliree) holy kings, many benefactors have restored under the incutnbent Schurer.
-Uonauworth Holy Cross Church. Here is the tomb of Maria, Duchess of Bavaria, daughter of the Duke of Brabant, who died in 1256. This inscription was placed on the adjoining pillar when the chapel was repaired in 1829 by Prince von Oettingen-Wallerstein. (Without this explanation it would seem to be an instance of a very early chronogram) — /,
IsthIC gLorIose IaCet MarIa eraeantIna. = 1256
i.e. Here lies gloriously Mary of Brabant.
-Keimlingen parish church of St. George, above a door where a black cross is seen on the wall — /,
sanCta CrVX Mea DVX. = 1730
i.e. The sacred cross is my guide.
r ussen parish church, over the door of the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, built in 1735 —
eXorto noV^ aetatIs phosphoro resVrgentI, gLorIose L saLVatorI nostro DICatVM. = 1735
i.e. Dedicated to our gloriously-risen Saviour, the light of our new age again appearing.
And over another door — sVrgentI nostrae saLVtIs aVrorae neo-xato In terrIs L DIVInI patrIs fILIo saCrVM. — 1735
i.e. Consecrated to the Son of the divine Father, the neii'ly-7iscn light of our salvation in the earth.
Oeeg parish church of St. Udalrich, over the high altar — Z
DIVo VDaLrICo a paroChIanIs pIe renoVata seDes. = 1770
i.e. A throne for the divine Udalric, piously restored by the parishioners.
The chapel of St. Anna, over the door — Z
CVM proLe tVa o sanCta anna Da prospera. = 1760
i.e. With thy offspring, O Saint Anna, give prosperity.
Z,e\\, over the triumphal arch — A pHs benefaCtorIbVs renoVata seDes AIarI.i: aVXILIa- Z trICIs. = 1783
i.e. The throne of Mary, our helper, restored by pious benefactors.
A narrative of the ruin of a monastery of St. Udalrich at Augsburg contains this line, giving the date of the event — Z
petrVs VdaLrICI CoxCVssIt CasIbVs edeM. = 1474
The letters d are not counted.
74 BAMBERG— WURZBURG.
ST. MICHAEL Church at Bamberg ' contauis ten or twelve rather stately monuments of Bishops of Bamberg, removed from the Cathedral at its restoration in 1838. The circumstance is indicated by this inscription on the wall, where the monuments now stand — sIsTE VIator, epItaphIa hIC reposIta sVnt : Corpora Vero -^ In sVMX ^De qVIesCVnt. = 1S38
i.e. Stop, traveller, the monuments are placed here, but the bodies rest in the cathedral.
Over the door of a small house in the little dilapidated quadrangle of St. James's Church at Bamberg, formerly inhabited by the clergy of the church, but now by poor people, with a weedy little garden in the centre, is an inscription much decayed, originally done in paint. Some of the letters are nearly obliterated, or appear only in a faint trace. I was able to make out that Bishop Carolus Sigismundus repaired the building at the date indicated by the concluding chrono- graphic line. The building is now sadly in ^yant of repair, and is likely to be ' improved away' along with the chronogram — >fc
veDes CapItVLI Laeentes prIMVs restaVrat. — 17 18
i.e. The bishop restores the falling houses of the chapter.
Over the door of the slaughter-house by the river, beneath the figure of a full-sized recumbent ox, are these quaint verses and chrono- gram—
Omnia habent ortus suaque incrementa sed ecce, Quern cernis nunquam bos fuit hie vitulus. -^
sVb hVIatIs fabrIC/E EXxRA-ORDlNARliE IMpensIs eXstrVCta. = 1742
The same verse is over the slaughter-house at Nuremberg, but without the chronogram.
A FOUNTAIN in the main street at Wiirzburg,' having an obelisk surmounted by a statue, has this painted on it — • LabefaCtatVs InIVrIa beLLI pr/EsIDe hpoLiCI sVperiorIs senatVs l.b. ab heVsLeIn st. CanonICo Cap & cantore neCnon raC C. p. n. Cons. Int. restaVrat Vr. — Renov. 1868.
As the inscription stands it makes 1695, but if the three letters i, i, c, which are small, are counted, the date would be 1797. All the chronogram capital letters in the original are painted red. On the opposite side is this further inscription —
aMpLIfICanDo CIVItatIs ornatVI. sub P.R. PeriLL : ac pergm crat: dlio. phiL ant christoph Ern l.b. de GUtten- berg EccLrm imp. etc. etc. (various titles) lisec pyramis surrexit. — Renov. 1868.
The first three words make 1766. The rest is a mixture of capital letters having the appearance of chronogram, but really of no such use. Both inscriptions are unsatisfactory and disappointing, and are pro- minent examples of misleading chronography.
^ It is surprising now to find so few chronograms in these places, when so many have emanated from them. See Index ' Franconia, plaudens,' etc.
WURZBURG— NUREMBERG. 75
St. Colonatus, St. Kilianus a bishop of Wiirzburg, and St. Tolanus, whose martyrdoms are celebrated at Wiirzburg on Sth July. A medal thereon has this chronogram date — G
haC Magna trIaDe patroCInante. = 1702
i.e. This great triad being otir patron.
AN old engraving representing the Rathstube, or sessions- chamber in the Rath-haus at Nuremberg, bears this chrono- gram date —
Wen DIe gereChten DIe oberhanD haeen so gehets gereCht zV. — Prov. 28. V. 12. =1717
i.e. IVJien tlie righteous have the upper hand then things go right.
\Jn the Carls-bridge at Nuremberg are two obelisks, memorials of the visit of the Emperor Charles vi. ; one is thus inscribed — CaroLo seXto aVgVsto pIo aC feLICI ponteM hVnC Con- :^ seCrabat. s . p. Q. n. = 1728
i.e. The senate and people of Nuremberg consecrated this bridge to the Emperor Charles tlie Sixth, the pious and happy.
In the museum at Nuremberg is a commemoration medal repre- senting the bridge, with the same inscription, also a larger medal representing a bridge and imperial devices, with this inscription — >tc
gLorIa Deo eXCeLso paX hoMInIbVs. — 1728
Also a medal to Charles vi. representing a display of fireworks — L-ETA norIs CaroLo fIDeI DeDIt IgnIbVs Ignes. Die ^■. homagii xvi. Januarii. = 1712
Also a square silver medal, probably a charm or ornament, having this inscription, with an armorial shield — >fc
EST VbI DVX IesVs P.A.X VICto Marte gVbernat. =: 1648
And a medal with a device of justice and plenty — :+:
Des frIeDen Lobs geDenCken. = 165 1
i.e. A memorial of the praise of Peace.
All these medals being shut up in a glass case and in bad light, only one side can be seen.
1 he Church of St. ^gidius was burnt down in 1696, and rebuilt 1711-1718. The altar picture is by Van Dyck, the dead Christ in the arms of the Virgin Mary. Beneath it are these lines — seIn LeIb VnD bLVt ^
MeIn hoeChstes gVt. = 1718
i.e. His body and blood my highest good.
Over the chancel arch is this date — "^
gLorIa Deo eXCeLso In /EternVM. = 17 17
There is also a dedication chronogram on the principal front of the church, but only partially legible.
76 NUREMBERG COINS.
MONEY of the free state of Nuremberg. A florin of Ferdinand having the date of 1615, believed to be made for new year's gifts, bears this liexameter clironogram —
VIVat aVIs, rota CresCat, oVet Leo, pIsCe-LeoqVe Ea.
fLoreat, aC MaVrVs, tVrrIs qVoqVe faXIt 16 Va. = 1621
i.e. May the bird live, may the wheel increase, may the lion 7-ejoice, and may the fish-lion flourish, likewise the Moor, and may Jehovah also become the tower.
Tliis sounds hke a riddle ; the allusions are probably to the armorial bearings of one of the citizens.
1 he new issue of coinage at Nuremberg (thalers and ducats) in the year 1628 and afterwards, bear chronogram mottoes, mostly in hexameter verse, to mark their date — F
Candida paX reDeat paX regnet In orbe et In Vrbe. = 1628 i.e. May beautiful peace return, tnay peace reign in the world and in the city. E
VenI aVt sVbVenI tVIs o ChrIste reDeMptor. = 1629
I.e. Come to, or aid thine own, O Christ, Redeemer. E
paX bona nVnC reDeat Mars pereatqVe feroX. = 1630
i.e. May good peace no7u return and may fierce Mars perish. E
nVrInberga DIV ChrIstI sIt tVta sVb VMbra. = 1630
i.e. Alay Nuremburg long be safe under the shadoic of Christ. E
VIVIDa paX ChrIstI serVet nos teMpore trIstI. — 1631
i.e. May the lively peace of Christ help us in the time of sorrow. E
six paX In terrIs tanDeM et patIentIa VICtrIX. = 1632
i.e. May peace and victorious forbearance be at length in the land. E
paX aDsIt beLLVM fVgIat pestIsqVe seVera. = 1633
i.e. May peace be present, may war flee away, and horrible pestilence. E
sVbVenIat fInIs IVDICIVMqVe pIIs. = 1633
i.e. May the end and judgment be a help to the pious. E
restaVret paCeM IesVs DVX orbIs In Vrbe. = 1633
i.e. Af ay Jesus the guide of the 70orld restore peace in the city. E
arX esto hVIC VrbI DeVs et fortIssIMa tVrrIs. = 1635
i.e. O God, be thou a citadel and a very strong tower to this city. E
paX noVa nVnC reDeat Mars pereatqVe feroX. = 1635
i.e. Alay 7iew peace now return and may fierce Mars perish. E
sIt DeVs aVXILIVM tVta sIt Ipse saLVs. = 1640
i.e. May God be our help and may he be our sure salvation. E
VIVat paX ChrIstI sIt DVX sVb teMpore trIstI. = 1646
i.e. May the peace of Christ live, may it be our guide in time of sorrow. E
qVI reX IVstItIa IVDICIVMqVe VenI. =: 1648
i.e. Come thou, who art the king, justice and judgment. Ea
Magnas ferte Deo grates pro paCe reLata. = 1650
i.e. Render great thanks to God for peace restored. E
eXpeCtata reDI paX paX sVperVM aVrea proLes. = 1696
i.e. Return expected peace, peace the golden offspring of heaven.
NUREMBERG— RATISBOM. 77
F
eXoptata DIV paX CoeLI eX MVnere VenIt. = 1698
i.e. The loiig-wished-for peace of heaven comes out from our service; or, The long-desired peace has come from the gift of heaven.
teMpora nostra pater Donata paCe Corona. — 1700
i.e. Crown our times, O Father, by giving peace.
Inscription on the reverse translates, ' The republic of Nur- emberg celebrates the new century.' This is taken from Kelly's Universal Cambist, vol. ii. p. 214. F
aVgVsto DoMIno tVta aC seCVra parente est. = 1721
i.e. She is safe and secure, tlie Emperor being her lord and parent.
A coin of Charles vi. for Nuremberg. Fa
gLorIa In eXCeLsIs Deo atqVe In terra paX hoMInIbVs. — 1 736 i.e. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to man.
Inscription on a medal — ■ ConserVetVr a Deo norIberga Vt C/esarI et IMperIo porro proVt antea InserVIre possIt. — 1732
i.e. May Nuremberg be preserved, that it may be able to serve the empire and emperor henceforth as before.
THREE chronograms made on the death of Hieronymus William Ebner, privy councillor, keeper of the crown-jewels' in Nurem- berg. Vt