Sepulchres. They are generally on the north side of the chancel, and
resemble, in design, a tomb. Before the Reformation, it was the practice
on the evening of Good Friday, to place the Crucifix and Host in these
sepulchres with much ceremony. Numerous candles were lighted, and watchers
stood by until the dawn of Easter Day. Then, with every sign of devotion,
the Crucifix and Host were once more removed to the altar, and the church
re-echoed with joyous praise.
Concerning this ceremony, Cranmer says that it was done "In remembrance of
Christ's sepulture, which was prophesied by Esaias to be glorious, and to
signify there was buried the pure and undefiled body of Christ, without
spot of sin, which was never separated from the Godhead, and, therefore,
as David expressed it in the fifteenth Psalm, it could not see corruption,
nor death detain or hold Him, but, He should rise again, to our great hope
and comfort; and, therefore, the church adorns it with lights to express
the great joy they have of that glorious triumph over death, the devil,
and hell."
We have adverted to Easter Sepulchres of stone remaining at the present
time, but they were by no means the only description erected. The Rev.
Mackenzie E. C. Walcott, in his "Sacred Archaeology," names, as follow,
five sorts of sepulchres. The first, a chapel, as at Winchester; second, a
wall recess, usually in the north side of the chancel, as at Bottesford,
Lincolnshire, and Stanton St. John; third, a temporary structure,
sumptuously enriched, as at St. Mary, Redcliffe, Bristol; fourth, a tomb,
under which a founder, by special privilege, was buried; fifth, a vaulted
enclosure, as at Norwich, which, like a sepulchre at Northwold, has an
aperture for watching the light, without requiring the person so employed
to enter the choir.
There was an imposing example at Seville, raised over the tomb of
Columbus. It was constructed of wood, and was three storeys high, and
brilliantly lighted. According to an old poet:
"With tapers all the people come, and at the barriars stay,
Where downe upon their knees they fall, and night and day they pray,
And violets and every kinde of flowers about the grave
They straw, and bring all their giftes and presents that they have."
We are told that in many places, the steps of the sepulchre were covered
with black cloth. Soldiers in armour, keeping guard, rendered the ceremony
impressive. A gentleman named Roger Martin, who lived at the time of the
Reformation, wrote an interesting account of the church of Melford,
Suffolk. The following particulars are drawn from his manuscript
respecting the Easter Sepulchre: "In the quire, there was a fair painted
frame of timber, to be set up about Maunday Thursday, with holes for a
number of fair tapers to stand in before the sepulchre, and to be lighted
in the service time. Sometimes, it was set overthwart the quire, before
the high altar, the sepulchre being alwaies placed, and finely garnished,
at the north end of high altar, between that and Mr. Clopton's little
chapel there, in a vacant place of the wall, I think upon a tomb of one
of his ancestors, the said frame with the tapers was set near to the steps
going up to the said altar." The tomb referred to is that of John Clopton,
Esquire, of Kentwell Hall, who filled the office of Sheriff of the county
of Suffolk in the year 1451, and died in 1497. An inventory of church
goods belonging to Melford Church, under date of April 6th, 1541, has a
statement to the effect that "There was given to the church of Melford,
two stained cloths, whereof the one hangeth towards Mr. Martin's ile, and
the other to be used about the sepulchre at Easter time."
In a curious work entitled "The Ancient Rites and Monuments of the
Monastical and Cathedral Church of Durham," collected from out of ancient
manuscripts about the time of the suppression, and published by J. D.
(Davies), of Kidwelly, in 1672, there is an interesting account of a
custom enacted at Durham. The following account is supposed to have been
written in 1593, and, perhaps, by one who took part in the ceremonies, at
all events, the writer was conversant with them. "Within the Church of
Durham, upon Good Friday, there was a marvellous solemn service, in which
service time, after the Passion was sung, two of the ancient monks took a
goodly large crucifix, all of gold, of the picture of our Saviour Christ,
nayled upon the cross.... The service being ended, the said two monks
carried the cross to the sepulchre with great reverence, which sepulchre
was set up in the morning on the north side of the quire, nigh the high
altar, before the service time, and they did lay it within the said
sepulchre with great devotion, with another picture of our Saviour Christ,
in whose Breast they did enclose, with great reverence, the most holy and
blessed Sacrament of the Altar, censing and praying unto it upon their
knees, a great space; and setting two lighted tapers before it, which did
burn till Easter Day in the morning, at which time it was taken forth....
There was very solemn service betwixt three and four of the clock in the
morning, in honour of the Resurrection, where two of the eldest monks in
the quire came to the sepulchre, set up upon Good Fryday, after the
Passion, all covered with red velvet embroider'd with gold, and did then
cense it, either of the monks with a pair of silver censers, sitting on
their knees before the sepulchre. Then they, both rising, came to the
sepulchre, out of which, with great reverence, they took a marvellous
beautiful image of our Saviour, representing the Resurrection, with a
cross in his hand, on the breast was enclosed, in most bright chrystal,
the holy Sacrament of the Altar, through which chrystal, the Blessed Host
was conspicious to the beholders. Then, after the elevation of the said
picture, carried by the said two monks, upon a fair velvet cushion, all
embroider'd, singing the anthems of _Christus Resurgens_, they brought it
to the high altar." We gather from the preceding and other accounts, that
the sepulchre at Durham was a temporary erection, consisting of a wooden
framework, having silk hangings.
As might be expected, much interesting information may be found in old
churchwardens' accounts bearing on this theme. The records of St. Mary
Redcliffe Church, Bristol, contain the following entries:
"Item--That Maister Canynge hath delivered, this 4th day of July, in the
year of Our Lord 1470, to Maister Nicholas Petters, vicar of St. Mary
Redcliffe, Moses Conterin, Philip Bartholomew, Procurators of St. Mary
Redcliffe aforesaid, a new sepulchre, well gilt with golde, and a civer
thereto.
Item--An image of God Almighty rising out of the same sepulchre, with all
the ordinance that longeth thereto; that is to say, a lathe made of
timber, and the ironwork thereto.
Item--Thereto longeth Heaven, made of timber and stayned clothes.
[Illustration: EASTER SEPULCHRE AT PATRINGTON.]
Item--Hell, made of timber, and the ironwork thereto, with Divels to the
number of 13.
Item--4 Knights, armed, keeping the sepulchre, with their weapons in their
hands; that is to say, 2 axes and 2 spears, with 2 paves. [A pave was a
shield.]
Item--4 payr of Angels wings for 4 Angels, made of timber, and well
painted.
Item--The Fadre [_i.e._, the Father], the Crowne and Visage, the ball with
a cross upon it, well gilt with fine gould.
Item--The Holy Ghost coming out of Heaven into the sepulchre.
Item--Longeth to the 4 Angels 4 Chevelures."
We cull from the accounts of St. Helen's, Abingdon, Berkshire, some quaint
items as follows:
"1557. To the sexton for watching the sepulter two nights, 8d.
1559. Payde for making the sepulture, 10s.
For peynting the same sepulture, 3s.
For stones and other charges about it, 4s. 6d.
To the sexten, for meat and drink and watching the sepulture
according to custom, 22d."
In this case, of course, the sepulchre was merely a temporary erection. In
the churchwardens' accounts of Waltham Abbey Church are the following
entries:
"1542. Payde for watching the sepulchre, 4d.
1544. Payde for watching the sepulchre, 8d."
Amongst the churches of this country where permanent Easter Sepulchres
still remain, are the following: Heckington, Navenby, Northwold, Holcombe,
Burnell, Southpool, Hawton, and Patrington. We give an illustration of the
interesting example at Patrington, East Yorkshire. Mr. Bloxham speaks of
it as probably the work of the earlier years of the fifteenth century. The
carvings are of freestone, and represent the watching of three soldiers,
beneath three ogee-shaped canopies. On their shields are heraldic designs.
The other figures represent our Saviour, emerging from the tomb, and two
angels are raising the lid of the coffin. This is certainly a very
interesting example, but perhaps not so fine as those of Navenby and
Heckington, Lincolnshire.
St. Paul's Cross.
Death on the cross was regarded as the most degrading form of capital
punishment. The Romans executed on it only slaves and the lowest class of
malefactors. It was a cruel mode of punishment, as a person might linger
alive on it for days. It was customary to erect crosses without the gates
of towns, but in places largely frequented by the people. The name of the
criminal, and the nature of his offence, were inscribed on a tablet, for
the information of the public. The crucifixion of Christ on the cross, has
caused Christians to reverence it, and the sign of the cross to be
regarded as a holy sign.
[Illustration: EYAM CROSS.]
In bygone times, crosses of various kinds might be seen in England in
every direction. A writer says that they were as common in the olden days
as milestones are at the present time. The Island of Iona, it is
asserted, once possessed 360 crosses, but now only one is left, the famous
runic cross of St. Martin's. Some interesting examples of runic crosses
still remain, and a good specimen may still be seen in the churchyard of
Eyam, Derbyshire. It is generally supposed to have been brought to the
churchyard from the adjacent moor. The cross is richly embellished with
symbolical devices on the arms, some figures are blowing trumpets, others
holding crosses, and one holding a book. On one side of the shaft is a
carving of the Virgin and Child.
A complete history of the cross cannot be attempted here. We must, in this
chapter, content ourselves with an account of the Preaching Cross of St.
Paul's, London. Its history is linked with the religious and political
life of England. Preaching crosses were by no means uncommon in bygone
times, and the most famous was the one under notice. It is not known when
a pulpit cross was first erected at St. Paul's, but it has been
ascertained that it was standing in 1241, and that most likely it existed
long prior to that period.
The Mayor, in 1259, was commanded by Henry III., to compel all city youths
who had reached the age of fourteen and upwards, to take, at St. Paul's
Cross, an oath of allegiance to him and his heirs.
In 1382, the cross was thrown down by an earthquake. An effort was soon
made by the Bishop of London to rebuild the cross, and indulgences were
granted to those who contributed to the work. The Rev. W. Sparrow Simpson,
D.D., F.S.A., in his "Chapters in the History of Old St. Paul's," gives
the following literal translation of the original document, which is
still preserved in the Cathedral record-room: "To the sons of our Holy
Mother, the Church, under whose notice, these present letters shall come,
William, by Divine permission, Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of all
England, and Legate of the Apostolic See, wishes eternal health in the
Lord. We esteem it a service pleasant and acceptable to God, whensoever,
by the alluring gifts of indulgences, we stir up the minds of the faithful
to a greater readiness in contributing their gifts to such works as
concern the honour of the Divine Name. Since then, the High Cross in the
greater churchyard of the Church of London (where the Word of God is
habitually preached both to the clergy and laity, being a place very
public and well known), by strong winds and tempests of the air and
terrible earthquakes, hath become so frail and injured, that, unless some
means be quickly taken for its repair and restoration, it will fall
utterly into ruin; therefore, by the mercy of Almighty God, trusting in
the merits and prayers of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, His Mother, and of
the Blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, and of all the Saints, We, by these
presents, mercifully grant in the Lord, to all the servants of Christ
throughout our province of Canterbury, wheresoever living, truly
repenting and confessing their sins, who, for the restoration and repair
of the aforesaid Cross, shall give, bequeath, or in any manner assign, of
the goods committed to them, gifts of charity, Forty Days of Indulgence.
In testimony whereof, we have to this present letter affixed our seal.
Given in Manor of Fulham, in the diocese of London, on the 18th May, in
the year of our Lord one thousand, three hundred, and eighty-seven, and in
the sixth year of our translation."
This document was not confined to London and its neighbourhood, the
Bishops of Ely, Bath, Chester, Carlisle, Llandaff, and Bangor approved of
it, and assisted in its circulation in their dioceses. Bishop Kempe, who
held the see of London, appears to have been active in this movement. The
amount realised by means of the indulgences is not known, but sufficient
was collected to enable the Bishop of London to rebuild the cross.
Penitents, under ecclesiastical censure, came here to perform public
penance; and perhaps the most familiar name of those who came is Jane
Shore. It was in the year 1483 that she did public penance. She was one of
the mistresses of Edward IV., who died in 1483, and, within two months of
his death, she was tried by Richard III. for sorcery and witchcraft, but
he failed in proving his charges. He took property from her equal to about
L20,000 of the present time. His next step was to bring her before the
Ecclesiastical Courts and have her tried for incontinence. It was for this
crime that she had to do penance in the streets of London. She proceeded
from the Bishop's Palace, clothed in a white sheet, and carrying in her
hand a wax taper, and before her was carried a cross. We are told by Rowe:
"Submissive, sad, and lowly was her look,
A burning taper in her hand she bore,
And on her shoulders, carelessly confus'd
With loose neglect, her lovely tresses hung,
Upon her cheeks a faintish flush was spread,
Feeble she seem'd, and sorely smit with pain,
While barefoot as she trod the flinty pavement,
Her footsteps all along were mark'd with blood.
Yet silent still she pass'd, and unrepining,
Her streaming eyes bent ever on the earth,
Except when, in some bitter pang of sorrow,
To Heaven she seem'd in fervent zeal to raise
And beg that mercy man denied her here."
It was on June 19th, 1483, that Dr. Ralph Shaw, brother of the Lord Mayor,
preached a famous sermon at the cross. Richard, Duke of Gloucester,
intended seizing the crown. Dr. Shaw was directed to make the purpose
known in his sermon, and, accordingly, took for his text the fourth
chapter of the Book of Wisdom: "Bastard slips shall not take root." He
tried to prove the illegitimacy of Edward V. and his brother, saying that
when Edward IV. married their mother, Elizabeth Woodville, he was already
the husband of Lady Eleanor Boteler, of Sudeley. Next, he expressed a
doubt if Edward was in reality the son of Richard, Duke of York, and
entitled to the crown of England. He made a strong point of the fact that
no likeness existed between him and his reputed father. Continuing his
sermon, he observed that "my Lord Protector, that very noble prince, the
pattern of all heroic deeds, represented the very face and mind of the
great Duke, his father; he is the perfect image of his father; his
features are the same, and the very express likeness of that noble Duke."
Sir Thomas More says that it had been arranged that, when the words had
been spoken, the Protector should have come amongst the assembly, "to the
end that these words, reciting with his presence, might have been taken by
the hearers as though the Holy Ghost had put them in the preacher's
mouth, and should have moved the people even then to cry, 'King Richard!
King Richard!' that it might have been after said that he was specially
chosen by God, and in a manner by miracle. But the device failed, either
by the Protector's negligence, or the preacher's overmuch diligence."
There is not any evidence that the device was contemplated. It is
suggested that the sermon is not correctly reported, and it is believed
that Richard would not have submitted to any aspersion on the chastity of
his mother.
William Tyndale's translation of the Bible was publicly burned in front of
the cross in the year 1527. "Cardinal Wolsey," writes W. H. Davenport
Adams, in his "Book about London," "sat enthroned in the midst of bishops,
mitred abbots, and princes, and attended by a large concourse of chaplains
and spiritual doctors. Opposite, on a platform, knelt six heretics,
clothed in penitential garb--one holding a lighted taper of five pounds
weight, the others carrying symbolic faggots, signifying the fate they had
deserved, though, this time, mercifully allowed to escape it. After they
had made confession of their errors, and begged pardon of God and the
Holy Catholic Church, Bishop Fisher preached a sermon. The penitents were
then conducted to a great fire which had been kindled in front of the
north door of the cathedral, and led round it thrice, casting in their
faggots as they went." The ceremony concluded by Testaments and tracts
being cast into the blazing fire.
Shortly after Mary had occupied the throne, a serious riot occurred at the
cross. On Sunday, August 13th, 1553, Bourne, the Queen's chaplain,
preached to a large gathering of refugees and English fanatics. In the
course of his sermon, he prayed for the souls of the departed, praised
Bonner, and spoke in an uncharitable manner of Ridley. He was assailed
with cries of "Papist, Papist! Tear him down!" A dagger was thrown at him,
but, striking one of the side-posts of the cross, massed him. Men drew
their swords, and had not leading Protestants interfered, doubtless Bourne
would have lost his life, and those who supported him would have suffered.
Fox, in his "Acts and Monuments," relates how Master Bradford came into
the pulpit, and "spoke so mildly, christianly, and effectously that, with
few words, he appeased all; and afterward he and Master Rogers conducted
the preacher betwixt them from the pulpit to the grammar school door,
where they left him safe." Shortly afterwards, the two men who had
intervened were cast into prison, and finally suffered death at the fires
of Smithfield.
Determined efforts were made to proclaim the doctrines of the Roman
Catholic Church, and on the following Sunday, Mr. Thomas Watson, an
earnest preacher, gave a stirring sermon. He was guarded with 200
soldiers, "with their halberdes." Amongst those who listened to him, are
named the Marquis of Winchester, the Earl of Bedford, the Earl of
Pembroke, and the Lord Rich. Watson, some time previously, had been set in
the stocks at Canterbury, by the orders of Cranmer. The time was near at
hand when the teachings of the Roman Church were "heard without protest,
if not with approval." The Catholics took decided measures to close the
mouths of those who did not agree with them.
Mary died. In her stead, Elizabeth occupied the throne, and a change came
over the scene. The new Queen dearly loved pomp. On one occasion, she went
to hear one of the Reformers preach at St. Paul's, and in her train were a
large number of lords and ladies, 1000 soldiers, ten great cannons,
hundreds of drums and trumpets, a party of morris-dancers, and two white
bears. On Ash Wednesday, 1565, Dean Nowell preached. Queen Elizabeth was
present, and a very large number of the inhabitants of London, doubtless
being more anxious to see their Queen than listen to the preacher. The
Dean had not proceeded far with his sermon when he came to the subject of
images, which, we are told, "he handled roughly." The Queen cried out:
"Leave them alone." He did not hear her, and continued his invectives.
Raising her voice, she said: "To your text, Mr. Dean! to your text! Leave
that, we have heard enough of that! To your subject!" The Dean stammered a
few more incoherent words, and was obliged to give up any further attempts
to continue his sermon. The Queen left the place in a rage, and the
Protestant part of the congregation, we are told, were moved to tears.
The most able preachers of the day, including Latimer, Cranmer, and other
great men, delivered sermons at St. Paul's Cross, and it was recognised as
the seat of pulpit eloquence. Sermons were lightly esteemed unless
preached here. The preachers were lodged at the Shunamite House for two
days before and for one day after their sermon, and suitable diet provided
for them. Soon after Richard Hooker had taken his degree (1581), he was
invited to preach at the cross. He arrived in London wet and weary, and
ill with a severe cold. He was carefully tended and cured by Mrs.
Churchman, who had charge of the Shunamite House. Her consideration did
not end with her nursing. She persuaded Hooker that he was "a man of
tender constitution," and that it would be his wisest course to have a
wife who would nurse him. Not only would a wife prolong his life, but
would make him more comfortable. Mrs. Churchman suggested her own daughter
as a desirable wife. Hooker had not courage to refuse the proposal, and in
due course they were married. The union was in every respect unsuitable.
She is described as being without beauty and portion, and, worse still,
she was of a shrewish temper.
The Dean of St. Paul's, in 1588, gave public notice at the cross of the
defeat of the "Invincible Armada." Important local, as well as national,
events were made known here. It was here and in similar places, says a
recent writer, "Londoners must have first heard of the triumphs at Cressy
and Poictiers--of their glorious Black Prince and his captive, King John;
as in a latter age of the victory at Agincourt." Public announcements in
past ages were very important when few could read.
We read, in an old record, that on the birthday of Queen Elizabeth, on the
17th November, 1595, "the Pulpit Cross, in St. Paul's Church-yard, was new
repaired, painted, and partly enclosed with a wall of brick. Doctor
Fletcher, Bishop of London, preached there in praise of the Queen, and
prayed for her Majesty, before the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens, in
their best liveries. Which sermon being ended, upon the church-leades the
trumpets sounded, the cornets winded, and the quiristers sung an antheme.
On the steeple many lights were burned, the Tower shot off her ordnance,
the bels were rung, bonefires made, etc."