Ere the bright dawn of the Reformation lighted upon England, the
furniture of churches appears, from ancient records, to have been of
a splendid description; and vast sums are stated to have been lavished
upon the images of saints, &c. Great Saint Mary's Chapel, Cambridge, is
in the possession of an inventory of the goods and chattels possessed
by that ancient edifice in the 19th year of Henry VII., of which the
following is a transcript:--
"_Item_--A coat of tawney damask, purfled with velvet, appertaining to
our Lady.
"_Item_--A coat for her son, of the same satin, purfled with black
velvet, and spangled with gold.
"_Item_--A relic, called a box of silver with the oil of St. Nicholas.
"_Item_--Another little box of silver, with a bone of St. Lawrence.
"_Item_--A shoe of silver for the image of our Lady, and a piece of a
penny, weighing in all two ounces in a box.
"_Item_--An image of our Lady and her Son, of copper and gilt, with a
chrystal stone.
"_Item--A collar of gold_ for to hang about our Lady's neck, of nine
links in the collar.
"_Item_--A cap of black velvet, with fine pearl, for our Lady's son.
"_Item_--Two maces for St. Edmund.
"_Item_--Three small crowns for St. Katherine.
"_Item_--A cross and staff for St. Nicholas."
The orthography of this extract has been modernized, but the _idiom_
(if any) has been retained.