THE NORRIE'S LAW RELICS.
The most remarkable discovery of ancient personal ornaments and
other relics of a remote period ever made in Scotland, was that
of "THE SILVER ARMOUR OF NORRIE'S LAW," a tumulus or artificial
mound which stands on the marches of the two estates of Teasses and
Largo, in Fifeshire. The correspondence of the engraved devices on
this collection of silver relics with the mysterious symbols which
constantly recur on the sculptured standing stones of Scotland, has
served, along with the singular character and great beauty of some of
the ornaments, to confer on this discovery an interest attached to no
other Scottish hoard. This feeling has not been lessened by the fact
that only a very few of these precious relics have been preserved;
while the imperfect, vague, and probably exaggerated descriptions, of
such as were destroyed, have not lessened the feelings of disappointed
curiosity and regret with which archæologists refer to the discovery.
The Bay of Largo, on the northern shores of the Frith of Forth, is a
large and well-sheltered indentation, furnishing the most accessible
position for a safe anchorage and haven near the mouth of the Frith. In
the sandy slope near the shore, at the head of the bay, the beautiful
gold armillæ were found, in 1848, which have been already figured and
described among the relics of a remoter period than that of which we
now treat.[542] The remarkable tumulus which furnished the silver
ornaments now referred to is situated on the estate of Largo, about
three miles from the bay, and is affirmed to have been reputed in old
local traditions, to cover the chief of a great army, deposited there
with his steed, and armed in panoply of massive silver. Instances of
the like popular belief have occasionally received such remarkable
confirmation that they cannot be pronounced by the archæologist as
altogether valueless.[543] In this case, however, it may admit of doubt
if the origin of the tradition be not subsequent to the discovery. The
Old Statistical Account refers to the tradition, that the Stones of
Lundin "are the grave-stones of some Danish chiefs who fell in battle
with the Scots near the place;"[544] but the only allusion made to
Norrie's Law is to be gathered from an addition to the description
of Largo Law, a well-known hill which rises about eight hundred feet
above the level of the sea, and formed of old one of the most prominent
beacon-hills of Fife. "Besides this," the Statist remarks, "there are
two other Laws. But it is evident that these have been artificial. When
the cairn was removed from one of them a few years ago a stone coffin
was found at the bottom. From the position of the bones it appeared
that the person had been buried in a singular manner: the legs and arms
had been carefully severed from the trunk and laid diagonally across
it."[545]
The precise facts connected with the opening of the tumulus of Norrie's
Law, and even the year in which it occurred, are very uncertain, though
the person by whom the valuable hoard was purloined still resides, in
good circumstances, at Pitlessie in Fife. Conscious as he is of the
appropriation of treasure which was not his own, and not yet entirely
free from apprehension of the interference of the Scottish Exchequer
to reclaim the fruits of his ill-gotten wealth, he naturally declines
all communication on the subject, and thus, as too frequently results
from the operation of the present Scottish law of treasure-trove, the
history of the discovery is involved in impenetrable mystery. It may
be permitted us to reflect with some satisfaction, that by the fears
thus excited the depredator has not entirely escaped punishment for the
irreparable mischief which his wretched cupidity has occasioned.
So far as can now be ascertained, in or about the year 1817 an opening
was made in the tumulus of Norrie's Law by a hawker or pedlar who
frequented the district, and it is possible may have had his attention
attracted to the mound by the popular tradition already referred to,
which, if it then existed, could scarcely escape him in his annual
rounds of the parish. A stone cist was exposed within the tumulus,
containing, it is said, no bones or other indications of human remains;
but either in or near it were found the silver relics, which the
discoverer removed piecemeal, and sold, as opportunity offered, to
various silversmiths to be melted down and destroyed. In 1839, upwards
of twenty years after this remarkable discovery, the attention of Mr.
George Buist of Cupar was directed to the subject, in consequence of
discovering that among a few fragments of the original hoard which had
been rescued by General Durham, the proprietor of the estate, there
were several relics marked with the same peculiar symbols which form
so singular a characteristic of the sculptured standing stones of
Scotland. Mr. Buist was then engaged in investigating this remarkable
class of antiquities, and to the report which he published we are
chiefly indebted for the knowledge we now possess regarding "The
Silver Armour of Norrie's Law." Mr. Buist, with much industry and
perseverance, gathered such information as was then recoverable from
persons cognizant of the discovery, and in particular obtained from
the country silversmith, who had been one of the chief purchasers of
the stolen treasure, the following notes of various sales, by which we
obtain a very satisfactory means of estimating the great extent and
value of the original deposit:--
"For the information in regard to the lost portion of the
Norrie's Law armour I have been indebted to Mr. R. Robertson,
jeweller, Cupar, or to individuals to whom I have been by
him referred. Mr. Robertson first made a purchase of £5,
subsequently two of £10, and knew of another made by some one
about Edinburgh to the amount of about £20, and is under the
belief that perhaps as much as that here accounted for may have
been carried away, and bestowed on various uses. This, by rough
computation, may, together with what remains, be reckoned not
much under 400 ounces of pure bullion. Mr. Robertson has, as
may be readily supposed, a peculiarly distinct recollection of
the forms of the various portions of the armour procured by
him, and gives a most vivid description in particular of the
rich carving of the shield, the helmet, and the sword-handle,
which were brought to him crushed in pieces, to permit
convenient transport and concealment.... A considerable part
of the armour was partially corroded, the alloy having been
eaten away as if by some weak acid, exactly after the manner
of that employed in certain operations of modern silversmiths.
The bullion in this case was much more pure than in those cases
where it remained solid and untouched. It was, in fact, reduced
to the state of porous, brittle, spongy silver. The parts
chiefly affected in this way were those lowest down, which seem
to have suffered from long exposure to some subtle corrosive.
The upper portions were fresh, compact, and entire. In them
the silver was nearly the same as our present standard."[546]
The report from which the above is extracted is illustrated with
lithographic drawings of the relics in the possession of General
Durham, and also with representations of the shield and sword-hilt,
drawn apparently from the recollections of the silversmith. But even
when brought to him, crushed and broken, it must have been difficult
to form a just opinion of their original appearance; and after the
lapse of upwards of twenty years, any attempt to recover their precise
form or details from memory must be utterly worthless. Judging indeed
from the fragments which remain, it may even admit of doubt if these
silver relics ever included any armour or weapons of war. In 1849, Mrs.
Durham of Largo House entrusted the silver ornaments rescued by General
Durham, to the care of Mr. Albert Way for exhibition at a meeting of
the Archæological Institute; and through the liberality of the Council
I am now enabled to avail myself of the engravings then made from
them. Profound as the regret must ever be with which we refer to this
discovery, it is yet no slight matter of congratulation that even these
few memorials of so remarkable a sepulchral deposit remain to furnish
some evidence of its character, and the period to which it belongs.
They were mostly picked up by the brother-in-law of the tenant, and
another person, both now deceased; having, it may be presumed, been
dropped by their original discoverer in his secret and guilty haste.
The inquiry instituted by Mr. Buist led to the recovery of one of the
bodkins, and also of one of the engraved scale plates mentioned in
the following description. It is perhaps hardly now to be hoped for
that any further additions will be made to the rescued waifs of this
ravished treasure.
The most interesting of the whole relics are the two leaf-shaped plates
of silver, engraved with the mystic symbol of such frequent occurrence
on Scottish sculptured Standing Stones. One of the monuments of this
class, though destitute of the peculiar symbols here referred to, was
found in fragments on the Largo estate, and through the good taste of
the late General Durham, has been again reunited, and erected upon a
pedestal near the spot where it was discovered. On one side it bears
as usual the figure of a cross, and on the other, horsemen, dogs, and
other animals, most prominent among which is the symbolic elephant
frequently found on the same singular class of memorials. Though
destitute of the peculiar devices which confer so great an interest
on the silver relics found in its vicinity, this monument is of great
value as furnishing independent evidence of the prevalence of the same
arts in this locality at the dawn of the Scottish Christian Period. The
two leaf-shaped plates, one of which has already been figured,[547] are
almost precisely similar. On one the marginal line is wanting which
appears in the representation given in the last chapter, but some
indications seem to shew that it has been burnished out. The devices on
both are deeply engraved, and it is possible may have been enamelled.
Mr. Buist describes in his report small lozenge-shaped plates of
silver, which formed part of a rich coat of scale armour; referring,
there can be little doubt, to these leaf-shaped plates, both of which
he has figured. The one already engraved is the size of the original,
which weighs 598 grains; the other corresponds in size, but is somewhat
above eighty grains lighter in weight. But there is no indication of
any means of attachment so as to unite them in a suit of armour, or
suspend them to the dress of the wearer. The spirally decorated bosses
at the broader ends are concave on the under side, and present no
appearance of having ever had anything attached to them. The original
destination of these singular relics is indeed involved in the same
mystery as the peculiar symbols with which they are engraved.
Next in interest to these scale plates of silver are a pair of
bodkins, measuring in length rather more than six and a half inches,
and engraved here the size of the originals. They are both alike,
with the exception that on the reverse side of one is an imperfect
indication of the =Z= symbol, the figure of which is interrupted by the
attachment of the pin. The form of the head is peculiar, though not
unique, pins of nearly similar fashion having been found in Ireland. A
brass bodkin of this type, in the Museum of Trinity College, Dublin,
is almost precisely the same in form and dimensions, and only differs
in the ornament introduced in the front of the head.[548] Another
example of the same type, found at Lagore, County Meath, is figured in
the Archæological Journal.[549] It is made of bronze, and is inferior
in point of workmanship, but is equally valuable from the undoubted
evidence it affords of the native origin of this peculiar form of pin,
and of the other relics discovered along with it. The front of the
head in the Largo bodkin is beautifully chased in the same style of
ornaments as the scale plates, and the central projecting stud bears
a Greek cross patée, thus presented, as on the Scottish sculptured
stones, in connexion with these mysterious symbols. The mode of
introducing the symbol on the bodkin is peculiarly suggestive of its
use as a charm. It is engraved where it was evidently not intended
to be seen, and where indeed its form is by no means adapted as a
decoration to the peculiar shape of the work on which it is introduced.
The spiral ornaments on the opposite side are, on the contrary,
arranged for effect; and though corresponding to those on the double
circles of the scale plate, are suggestive only of decorative design,
the same peculiar form being greatly varied in pattern, and even
frequently left blank on the sculptured stones. Another smaller pin of
the same class is in the Durham collection. It appears to have been
jewelled, but is very imperfect. It measures one and a quarter inch in
length.
[Illustration: Silver Bodkins, Largo]
Two ornaments, described by Mr. Buist as "circles or armlets," appear
to be the large ring fibulæ of a type common both as Irish and early
Highland brooches. The most perfect of the two, which measures five and
three-quarter inches in diameter, is represented here half the size
of the original. The acus or tongue is wanting in both of them. The
torquated hoop is a rare feature in such ornaments, and indeed much
seldomer found in works of silver than of gold. It forms the simplest
style of ornamentation, and, though by no means inelegant, corresponds
very imperfectly with the fully developed style of art indicated in
the other contents of the Largo tumulus, with perhaps the exception of
a silver disc, figured in the Archæological Journal, half the size of
the original.[550] This measures three inches in diameter, and has a
central boss with a circular depression, which may not improbably have
been set with a jewel of amber or stone. The torquated hoop of the
silver fibula does not appear the best adapted for the free movement of
the _acus_, but this seems rarely to have been much attended to. Where,
as in these examples, the hoop is disunited, the _acus_ is generally
of great length, not infrequently measuring two, and even two and a
half times the diameter of its circle. Nothing more was required for
fastening such a fibula after the tongue had been passed through the
dress, than to turn it slightly past the opening, for which purpose
its perforation is always sufficiently wide. The revived taste for
archæological pursuits has once more restored this ancient form adapted
to the fashions of modern dress, and one of the most favourite Scottish
patterns bears the name of the Maid of Norway's Brooch.
[Illustration: Ring Fibula.]
[Illustration]
It is less easy to assign a use for another of the Norrie's Law
relics, engraved here half the size of the original. Mr. Albert Way
describes it as "a plate of silver, enriched with singular scrolls or
foliated ornaments in very high relief. Three of these remain; there
was obviously a fourth, connected with the corresponding scroll by a
narrow neck, the plate being formed with an irregular oblong opening
in the centre. Dimensions of the plate, four and a half inches by
four inches; length of the opening, two and a half inches; projection
of the ornaments more than a quarter of an inch. They appear to have
been cast, and are formed with great elegance of outline and skilful
workmanship." It is obvious that the plate when complete had not been
uniform. It would now be vain to speculate on its original purpose,
though this appears to be the object described in Mr. Buist's report as
the mouthpiece of a sword-scabbard; his whole ideas having obviously
been modified by the local belief in the "suit of silver armour" in
which the mounted warrior was interred. There is manifestly but little
correspondence in it either to a modern sword-guard or the mouthpiece
of its scabbard, and it bears not the slightest resemblance to any
known appendage of ancient weapons.
The remaining relics of this hoard include two fragments of armillæ,
formed of plain silver plates, beaten out so as to present a convex
outer face; a double hook, one inch in length, in form of an S; a
narrow band, like a riband of silver, about half an inch in width,
and upwards of a yard long: one end, which appears perfect, tapering
to a point; a fragment of fine interlaced silver; and a spiral silver
ring, almost precisely similar in form to one of bronze found in a cist
near Edinburgh, and figured in a former chapter.[551] It weighs 120
grains, and is ornamented only with a minute serrated pattern wrought
along part of the inner edge of the spiral bar of silver towards either
extremity.
Such are the few but valuable relics which have escaped the crucible,
amounting altogether only to about twenty-four ounces out of the
estimated 400 ounces of pure silver found in the Norrie's Law tumulus
by its unprincipled ravisher. That they exhibit the high progress
attained by native artists at the period to which they belong can
hardly admit of a doubt. The analogy which the forms both of the
fibulæ and bodkins suggest--so clearly traceable to types of most
frequent occurrence in Ireland--fully corresponds to the historic
origin of the races and the arts of Scotland, already traced out in the
previous chapter. Their peculiar devices, found only on the earliest
Christian monuments of Scotland, no less distinctly refer these
remarkable relics to that native transition-period from the fourth
to the eighth century, when Pagan and Christian rites were obscurely
mingled; and the revelations of the old sepulchral mound shew that
the anticipations of the dying warrior still derived their most vivid
power more from the heathen valhalla than the Christian paradise. We
shall not perhaps greatly err in limiting the era of the Norrie's Law
tumulus from the third to the sixth century. We must even allow for
the lapse of a sufficient interval between the last surviving witness
of the deposition of its treasures, and the advent of that new creed
and system which finally abolished the sacredness that formed the old
safeguard of the Pagan treasures of the dead. But in addition to every
other cause of regret for the barbarous destruction of these beautiful
examples of the arts as practised in Scotland a thousand years ago,
we have reason to believe that an opportunity was lost--perhaps the
only one that can ever occur--of ascertaining the precise epoch, and
even the meaning of the remarkable Scottish symbols with which they
were decorated. Mr. Buist remarks in his report,--"A considerable
number of coins, now wholly lost sight of, and said to have borne
these symbolic markings, were found along with the armour at Norrie's
Law, and about forty of the same kind were found in an earthen pot at
Pittenweem in 1822. It is said that these were destitute of inscription
or written character." No great importance can be attached to such
vague descriptions of coins chiefly derived from the recollections of
persons probably little familiar with any but those of the present
currency. But of the fact of coins having been found no doubt can be
entertained. Nor is this the only instance of such being met with in a
Scottish tumulus, though hitherto they have only been discovered to be
destroyed.
[Illustration]
The most primitive form of Scottish coinage is evidently the simple
gold pellets usually marked with a cross in relief. The two examples
engraved here, the size of the originals, are from the remarkable hoard
discovered at Cairnmuir, Peeblesshire, in 1806.[552] They resemble
two segments of a sphere irregularly joined, and appear to have been
cast in a mould. Forty of the same simple class of early currency were
found, along with what appears to have been a gold funicular torc,
in the parish of Dolphinton, Lanarkshire, and marked, like those of
Cairnmuir, "with the impression of a star."[553] Little hesitation can
be felt in assigning to the same class a discovery, in the parish of
Dunnichen, Forfarshire, of "a number of small gold bullets, which seem
to have been the current coin of the times when they were formed."[554]
A correspondent describes to me a quantity of silver coins found about
two years since in a cist exposed on the demolition of a cairn on the
lands of Sauchie, Stirlingshire: "They were so thin that they readily
broke in the workmen's fingers; they seemed struck through from the
back, and had figures only on the one side; some of them had loops to
hang them by." The whole of these are now dispersed or lost, their
ignorant discoverers having seemingly contented themselves with the
interesting experiment of trying how readily they could break them in
pieces. There can be little doubt from the description that they were
silver bracteates; and if so, their loss is greatly to be regretted.
A cairn of peculiar construction is described in the Statistical
Account of the parish of Garvoch, Kincardineshire, within which was
found a silver brooch of ancient workmanship, and towards the margin
upwards of twenty coins, but these would appear to have been a later
deposit, as they included one of Alexander I., and another of Robert
Bruce.[555] The valuable numismatic collection of the Society of
Antiquaries of Scotland includes a few gold coins of the Gaulish
type, believed to have been found in Scotland, but their history or
exact locality is unknown. Mr. Lindsay, in his "View of the Coinage
of Scotland," justly remarks on the neglect of the investigation of
this interesting subject, which, until the publication of his work,
had been carried no farther back than the reign of William the Lion.
To this he has added the history of upwards of a century, and made us
familiar with some interesting early types. The earliest of these are
of the Crux type of Ethelred II., of whose coins they are evidently an
imitation, and are ascribed to the Norwegian jarls of the Hebrides. In
the autumn of 1782, some men engaged in clearing away the foundation of
an old wall in the island of Tyrie, one of the Hebrides, found an urn
containing from fifteen to twenty ounces of Anglo-Saxon silver coins in
fine preservation, ninety of these are now in the Scottish Society's
collection, and include silver pennies of Athelstan, Eadmund, Eadred,
Eadwy, Eadgar, and Eadweard the Martyr. In the present year, 1850, a
large hoard of Anglo-Saxon coins was discovered in the Isle of Skye:
upwards of ninety fell into the hands of one individual, and a much
greater number were dispersed. By far the greater number are stykas of
Eadgar. Barry mentions two horns found at Caldale near Kirkwall, in the
Orkneys, containing three hundred coins of Canute, including forty-two
varieties of mints, with silver fibulæ and other relics, already
described along with a more recent discovery of a similar kind.[556]
To these also should be added the occasional discovery of Cufic coins,
inscribed in the old Arabic character, and ranging from the latter
end of the seventh to the close of the tenth century. One of these, a
fine gold coin, was discovered in 1823, at a considerable depth, in
digging a grave in the churchyard of Monymusk, Aberdeenshire.[557] In
all the discoveries referred to it is of special importance to our
present inquiries to note that coins and other undoubted evidences of a
comparatively recent date are rarely, if ever, found with gold relics
of Archaic types. We rather see distinct reason to conclude that the
stores of native gold and the direct sources of foreign supply were
both nearly exhausted at an earlier period, and that silver, which
chiefly belongs to the Iron or last Pagan period, was the metal used
for purposes of personal adornment and display at the period when the
peculiar native arts were developed which appear to belong to the
dawn of the Scottish Christian Period. Whether derived from native or
foreign sources, silver appears to have been then in greater abundance,
and more lavishly employed for mere purposes of show than at any other
period of our national history.
FOOTNOTES:
[542] _Ante_, p. 321.
[543] Archæol. Journal, vol. vi. p. 259.
[544] Sinclair's Statist. Acc. vol. iv. p. 546.
[545] Sinclair's Statistical Account, vol. iv. p. 538.
[546] Report on the Silver Fragments in the possession of General
Durham, Largo, commonly called the Silver Armour of Norrie's
Law.--_Cupar_, 1839.
[547] _Ante_, p. 499.
[548] Historical Essay on the Dress of the ancient Irish, by Joseph C.
Walker, M.R.I.A. Dublin, 1788, p. 15, Plate II. No. 4.
[549] Archæol. Jour. vol. vi. p. 105.
[550] Archæol. Jour. vol. vi. p. 255.
[551] _Ante_, p. 327.
[552] _Ante_, p. 317.
[553] New Statistical Account, vol. vi. p. 57.
[554] New Statistical Account, vol. xi. p. 146.
[555] Ibid., p. 38.
[556] _Ante_, p. 443.
[557] Minute of Soc. Antiq. Scot., June 2, 1828.