Perhaps some of the readers of "N. & Q." will be able to give me some
information as to the use of an ancient piece of furniture which I have met
with. At Codrington, a small village in Gloucestershire, in the old house
once the residence of the family of that name, now a farm-house, they show
you in the hall a piece of furniture which was brought there from the
chapel when that part of the building was turned into a dairy. It is a
cupboard, forming the upper part of a five-sided structure, which has a
base projecting equally with the top, which itself hangs over a hollow
between the cupboard and the base, and is finished off with pendants below
the cupboard. The panel which forms the door of the cupboard is wider than
the sides. All the panels are carved with sacred emblems; the vine, the
instruments of the Passion, the five wounds, the crucifix, the Virgin and
child, and a shield, with an oak tree with acorns, surmounted by the papal
tiara and the keys. The dimensions are as follows:
Depth from front to back, 2 feet 4-1/2 inches.
Height, 4 feet 8 inches.
Height of cupboard from slab to pendants, 2 feet 6 inches.
Height of base, 9-1/2 inches.
Width of side panels, 1 foot 8 inches; of centre panel, 1 foot 10-1/2
inches.
Width of the door of the cupboard, 1 foot 5 inches.
The door has carved upon it a scene representing two men, one an old man
sitting upon a chair, the other a young one falling back from a stool; a
table separates them and in the next compartment (for an arcade runs
through the group) a female figure clasps her hands, as if in astonishment.
This I can hardly understand. But the panel with the papal ensigns I think
may throw some light on the use of the whole. In the year 1429, John
Codrington of Codrington obtained a bull from Pope Martin V. to have a
portable altar in his house, to have mass celebrated when and where he
pleased. I find that such a portable altar ought to have "a suitable frame
of wood whereon to set it." Such altars are frequently mentioned, though I
believe very few remain; but I never could hear of the existence of
anything to show what the frame would be. It occurs to me as possible that
this piece of furniture may have been used for the purpose. The whole
question of portable altars is an interesting one, and if this account
should by the means of "N. & Q." fall into the hands of any one who is
acquainted with the subject, I hope he would consider it worth a
communication.
For some time I was at a loss for another instance; however, I have just
received from a friend, who took interest in the subject, a sketch of
something almost identical from the disused chapel at Chillon in the Canton
Vaud. Of this I have not the measurements, but it stands about breast-high.
It is there called a "prie-dieu," and is said to have belonged to the Dukes
of Savoy, but the size is very unusual for such a use. I send sketches of
each of the subjects of my Query, {102} and hope that, if this should be
thought worthy of a place in "N. & Q.," some one will be able and willing
to afford some information about them. I would add as a farther Query, the
question of the meaning of the battle-axe and pansy, which appear on the
"prie-dieu" at Chillon. Is it a known badge of the Savoy family?