CHURCH PLATE
Spoliation--Few remains of pre-Reformation plate--Testimony of
inventories--Plate found in graves of bishops--Characteristics of
chalices in different periods--Inscriptions--Devices on patens--
Censers--Pyx--Monstrance--Chrismatory--Pax--Sacring bell--Elizabethan
chalice--Bridal cup--Post-Reformation plate--Hall marks.
We have already mourned over the wanton destruction of much that was of
intense interest and value in our churches; but the most systematic
robbery and spoliation of our church goods at the time of the
Reformation were carried out in the matter of church plate. Henry VIII.
stripped our cathedrals and conventual churches of almost all that was
valuable, and the unscrupulous commissioners of Edward VI. performed a
like office for our parish churches and chantries. A large number of
the old chalices were also melted down and converted into Communion
cupsduring the reigns of Edward VI. and Elizabeth. Hence of all the
vast store of church plate which our churches possessed before the
Reformation, at the present time throughout all England only thirty-four
chalices and seventy-three patens remain. It is true that not all the
ancient vessels fell into the hands of the commissioners of the king. In
the churchwardens' account books of the period we read of sundry sales
of church plate. Evidently the parishioners had some presentiment of the
coming spoliation; so they sold their valuables, and kept the proceeds
of the sale for "the paving of the streets," or other parochial
necessities.
The ancient inventories of church goods show the deplorable loss of the
valuables of the church which has taken place. Thus at the church of St.
Lawrence, Reading, in the year 1517, the inventory tells us of the
following: a cross of silver and gilt; a censer of silver gilt; another
censer; a ship of silver for holding incense; another ship of silver;
two candlesticks of silver; two books bound in silver; two basins of
silver; a pyx of silver gilt, with a silver pin; a monstrance of silver
gilt; a silver gilt chrismatory for the holy oil; a pax; two cruets; a
bell; a chalice, with a crucifix enamelled on the foot and the Trinity
on the paten; another chalice, with a crucifix engraved on the foot
and a hand on the paten; another chalice similarly described; another
similar to first chalice; and two others, with a crucifix on the foot
and a vernicle, or _vera icon_ (a representation of our Lord's face
miraculously delineated on the napkin of St. Veronica). All these
vessels were made of silver or silver gilt. Nor were these all the
treasures. There were several reliquaries of silver gilt containing
parts of the holy cross; a gridiron, with a bone of St. Lawrence, and
other articles contained in silver boxes; and many books bound with
silver clasps. The total weight of silver in this church amounted to
seven hundred ounces.
Village churches were, of course, less sumptuously furnished than this
important town church, which being situated under the shadow of one of
the largest and most important abbeys in the kingdom, would receive many
costly gifts and benefactors. But the inventories of village churches
show that there was no lack of plate, rich altar hangings, copes, and
vestments, which helped to swell the goodly heap of spoil. In country
churches in Oxfordshire there were silver chalices and patens, pyxes,
censers, candlesticks, chrismatories, crosses, sanctus bells, and other
articles of plate.
It was the practice in mediaeval times to place in the coffin of a
bishop a chalice and paten; hence some of the earliest specimens of
church plate which we possess have been recovered from episcopal
graves.[3] The Rites of Durham enjoin that on the death of a bishop
he was to be buried "with a little chalice of silver, other metal, or
wax" aid upon his breast within the coffin.[4] Most of these were made
of pewter or lead, but some have been found of silver gilt, latten,
and tin. It is perhaps scarcely necessary for our present purposes to
describe these early specimens of sacred vessels, as the number of them
is so limited; and few of my readers will be able to discover any
mediaeval examples amongst the plate of their own church. However, I
will point out a few peculiarities of the plate of each period.
The earliest chalice, used in the church of Berwick St. James, Wilts,
until a few years ago, and now in the British Museum, dates from the
beginning of the thirteenth century. Its bowl is broad and shallow, the
stem and knot (by which the vessel was held) and foot being plain and
circular. Then the makers (from 1250 to 1275) fashioned the stem and
knot separately from the bowl and foot, and shaped them polygonally.
During the remaining years of the century the foot was worked into
ornate lobes. Then the bowl is deepened and made more conical. About
1350 the custom arose of laying the chalice on its side on the paten to
drain at the ablutions at Mass; and as the round-footed chalices would
have a tendency to roll, the foot was made hexagonal for stability.
Henceforth all the mediaeval chalices were fashioned with a six-sided
foot. By degrees the bowl became broader and shallower, and instead of
the base having six points, its form is a sexfoil without any points.
Several old chalices are engraved with the inscription--
Calicem salutaris accipiam et nomen Domini inbocabo.
[Illustration: CHALICE AND PATEN, SANDFORD, OXFORDSHIRE
_Circa_ A.D. 1301]
In one of the compartments of the base there was a representation of a
crucifix, or the Virgin, or ihc, or xpc.
The usual devices on ancient patens were the _Manus Dei_, or hand of
God, in the act of blessing; on later ones the vernicle, or face of our
Lord; the Holy Trinity; the Holy Lamb; the sacred monogram. The oldest
paten in existence is that found at Chichester Cathedral in a coffin,
and its date is about the year 1180. In the centre is a rude engraving
of the _Agnus Dei_, and it bears the inscription--
Agnus Dei qui tollis pecata mundi miserere nobis.
[Illustration: PRE-REFORMATION PLATE
(1) 13th Century
(2) Early 16th Century
(3) Elizabethan
(4) Manus Dei
(5) Vernicle]
The grave of Bishop Grostete at Lincoln yielded up an ancient paten
(1230-53), which has the figure of a bishop vested, the right hand
raised in the act of blessing, the left holding a crozier. The oldest
piece of church plate still in use is a remarkable paten at Wyke Church,
near Winchester, the date of which is about 1280. It bears an engraving
of the _Agnus Dei_ holding a banner, and around the rim is the legend--
CUNTA: CREO: VIRTUTE: REGO: PIETATE REFORMO.
Another favourite inscription was _Benedicamus patrem et filium cum
spiritu sancto_; but on the paten in the church of Great Waltham, Essex,
the important word _spiritu_ is omitted for want of room.
[Illustration: CENSER OR THURIBLE]
We have already mentioned several of the important pieces of church
plate which were in use in mediaeval times. Censers, or thuribles, were
common in all our ancient parish churches, sometimes of gold or silver,
more usually of brass or latten, and were in the shape of a covered vase
or cup, perforated so as to allow the fumes of burning incense to
escape. Most of our English censers are now in museums, but several
ancient ones are still in use in the private chapels of Roman Catholic
families.
Old inventories always mention a pyx, a box or vessel of gold or silver,
in which the Host was reserved for the sick and infirm. It often
resembles a chalice, except that instead of the bowl there is a covered
receptacle for the Host. A beautiful specimen was dug up a few years ago
in the churchyard of Yateley, Hants. Another vessel was the monstrance,
in which the Blessed Sacrament was carried in procession, and exposed
on the altar. The form varied. Sometimes monstrances were made in
the shape of a tower, or a covered chalice; sometimes in the form of
images carrying silver pyxes, elaborately ornamented with many jewels.
Processions were always a great feature of mediaeval worship; hence the
monstrance was frequently in use, especially on such occasions as the
celebrations of Corpus Christi Day.
Holy oil was much used in the services, as in the Roman Catholic Church
at the present time. It was blessed by a bishop on Maundy Thursday, and
used in Baptism, Confirmation, and Extreme Unction, as well as at the
Consecration of Churches, Ordination, and the Coronation of Kings. The
vessel for holding the oil was an important piece of church plate, and
was called a chrismatory. Usually there were three distinct vessels, one
for holding the oil for the sick, a second for use at confirmations, and
a third for the baptismal oil. Sometimes these vessels are labelled with
the words EXT. UNC., CAT., and CHR., according to the recommendation of
St. Charles Borromeo, in order that each oil might be kept for its
proper use, and that no confusion might arise.
The pax was a small tablet of silver or other precious metal, used for
giving the kiss of peace during High Mass. The celebrant kissed the
tablet, and held it aloft before all the people. It was usually adorned
with a representation of the _Agnus Dei_. Of the cruets containing wine
and water for the celebration we have already written. Then there was a
sacring bell, often made of silver, which was rung during the service at
the time of the elevation of the Host, and at the sound the congregation
knelt.
We have now examined the aumbry, and noted its contents, upon which the
commissioners in the reign of Edward VI. made such shameful inroads.
Henceforth the plate was confined to a chalice and paten, alms-dish, and
usually a large silver flagon. The form of the chalice was entirely
changed. As we have noticed, the bowl of the pre-Reformation chalices
became smaller and shallower, on account of the gradually introduced
practice of refusing the wine to the laity. Now in the year 1562 the
size of the bowl was greatly enlarged, and the "Communion cup" took
the place of the "Massing chalice." Some poor parishes were obliged to
content themselves with pewter vessels. St. Lawrence's Church, Reading,
had a curious bridal cup, which was carried before all brides who
were married in that church. The custom of drinking wine in the church
at marriages is enjoined in the Hereford Missal, and the Sarum
Missal ordered that the bread immersed in the wine, and consumed by
the company, should first be blessed by the priest. Some of these
post-Reformation vessels are extremely interesting. They record the
thankofferings of pious donors on the occasion of some great event in
the national annals, such as the Restoration, or of some private mercy
vouchsafed to the individual. They record the connection of some family
with the parish, the arms they bore; and the Hall marks tell us of their
date, which is often anterior to the date of the inscription.
Hall marks were first introduced in 1300 by Edward I. in order to keep
up the purity of silver, and consisted of the lion's or leopard's head
crowned. This was called the king's mark. The maker's mark was
introduced in 1363, and was some initial or badge chosen by the
silversmith. To these were added in 1438 the year letter or assayer's
mark, a different letter being chosen for each year. When the alphabet
was exhausted, another with differently shaped letters was begun. In
1545 the lion passant was introduced, and since 1784 the portrait of the
reigning sovereign has appeared. With the assistance of Mr. Cripps' _Old
English Plate_, which contains a list of the alphabets used in marking
plate, it is not very difficult to discover the date of any piece of
silver. Inventories of church plate are being made in many counties and
dioceses, and no more useful work can be undertaken by our local
antiquarian societies.
[3] _Mediaeval Chalices and Patens_, by W.H. St. John Hope and
T.M. Fallow.
[4] Surtees Society, vol. xv. pp. 45, 49.