reception of the body, but in many instances, for the ashes and bones.
It was adopted by the christians, and continues in frequent use to the
present time, among the more opulent.
Alexander was buried in a golden coffin, by his successor Ptolemy; and
glass coffins have been found in England.
The oldest instance, on record, among us, of a coffin made of wood, is
that of king Arthur, who was buried in an entire trunk of oak.
It was not till the latter end of the seventeenth or the beginning of
the eighteenth century, that coffins became in general use in England.
Before that time, there was, in every parish church, a common coffin,
in which the corpse was placed and conveyed on a bier, from the
residence of the deceased, to the grave; it was then taken out of the
coffin and interred. Some of these common coffins yet remain in
country churches.
Footnote 67:
The gold noble, or half mark, struck by king Edward the third, in the
seventeenth year of his reign, is the first money on which the arms of
England appear, namely, three lions passant guardant.
Footnote 68:
The _three_ fleurs de lys were used, on some occasions, much earlier
than this, both in France and England. There is an angel of Philip de
Valois, coined in 1340, with the _three_ fleurs de lys, which was
probably done for the sake of variation, king Edward having then
lately taken the arms _semée_ de lys. Le Blanc mentions a charter of
Philip, in 1355, with a seal of the arms in like manner. There is also
a groat of king John of France, with only _three_ fleurs de lys,
though he used them likewise _semée_. But Charles the sixth, who began
his reign in 1380, constantly bore the _three_ lys for the arms of
France, as they have been continued ever since. As the English kings
altered the arms of France, in imitation of the French king, it is
most likely that our Henry the fourth who was contemporary with
Charles the sixth, began this practice. He did indeed bear the fleurs
de lys _semée_, upon his great seal, because it was his predecessor’s,
but that he bore the _three_ lys upon other occasions is most likely,
for so they are seen at the head of his monument, at Canterbury, and
his son Henry, afterwards Henry the fifth, in like manner, bore the
_three_ fleurs de lys upon his seal, annexed to an indenture, so early
as the sixth year of his father’s reign.
Footnote 69:
The coins of king Henry the sixth, both gold and silver, are supposed
to be distinguished from his father’s, by the arched crown, surmounted
with the orb and cross, being the first of our kings who appears with
an arched crown upon his coins; but upon his great seal he has an open
crown, _fleuri_, with small pearls, upon points, between. This is
likewise the first time we see the orb with the cross upon the money,
though it had been used upon other occasions, by almost all our kings,
down from Edward the Confessor. The arched, or close crown, is not of
ancient use, except in the empire, and thence, perhaps, called
imperial. Some think Edward the third first used it, because he was
vicar-general of the empire, and it is said that Henry the fifth had
an imperial crown made, but Henry the sixth had certainly the best
pretence to it, of any prince in Europe, of his time, being crowned
king both of France and England. But why he did not bear it upon his
great seal, as well as upon his coin, is not easily resolved any more
than that his successor should bear it upon his great seal, and not
upon his coins.
FINIS.
● Transcriber’s Notes:
○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).
○ Footnotes have been moved to follow the articles in which they are
referenced.