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GUERNSEY FOLK-LORE.
[Illustration: SIR EDGAR MACCULLOCH
IN HIS ROBES AS BAILIFF OF GUERNSEY.]
GUERNSEY FOLK-LORE
A COLLECTION OF
_POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS, LEGENDARY TALES,
PECULIAR CUSTOMS, PROVERBS, WEATHER SAYINGS, ETC.,
OF THE PEOPLE OF THAT ISLAND_.
FROM MSS. BY THE LATE
SIR EDGAR MACCULLOCH, KNT., F.S.A., &c.
_Bailiff of Guernsey_.
EDITED BY EDITH F. CAREY.
_ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS PHOTOGRAPHS OF OLD PRINTS, ETC._
LONDON:
ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.
GUERNSEY: F. CLARKE, STATES ARCADE.
1903.
“IN WINTER’S TEDIOUS NIGHTS SIT BY THE FIRE
WITH GOOD OLD FOLKS, AND LET THEM TELL THEE TALES
OF WOEFUL AGES LONG AGO BETID.”--K. RICHARD II., ACT V., SC. 1.
“LA LEGENDE, LE MYTHE, LA FABLE, SONT, COMME LA CONCENTRATION
DE LA VIE NATIONALE, COMME DES RESERVOIRS PROFONDS OU DORMENT
LE SANG ET LES LARMES DES PEUPLES.”--BAUDELAIRE.
AUTHOR’S PREFACE.
Of late years the ancient superstitions of the people, their legendary
tales, their proverbial sayings, and, in fine, all that is designated
by the comprehensive term of “Folk-Lore,” have attracted much and
deserved attention. Puerile as are many of these subjects, they
become interesting when a comparison is instituted amongst them as
they exist in various countries. It is then seen how wide is their
spread--how, for example, the same incident in a fairy tale, modified
according to the manners and customs of the people by whom it is
related, extends from the remotest east to the westernmost confines
of Europe, and is even found occasionally to re-appear among the wild
tribes of the American Continent, and the isolated inhabitants of
Polynesia. The ethnologist may find in this an argument for the common
origin of all nations, and their gradual spread from one central
point,--the philosopher and psychologist may speculate on the wonderful
construction of the human mind, and, throwing aside the idea of the
unity of the race, may attribute the similarities of tradition to an
innate set of ideas, which find their expression in certain definite
forms,--while the historian and antiquary may sometimes discover
in these popular traditions, a confirmation or explanation of some
doubtful point. Lastly, he whose sole object is amusement, and whose
taste is not entirely vitiated by the exaggerated and exciting fiction
of modern times, will turn with pleasure to the simple tales which have
amused his childhood, and which are ever fresh and ever new.
Much of this ancient lore has already perished, and much is every
day disappearing before the influence of the printing press, and the
consequent extension of education. This would scarcely be regretted,
if, at the same time, the degrading superstitions with which much
of these old traditions are mixed up could disappear with them, but
unfortunately we find by experience that this is not the case, and that
these popular delusions only disappear in one form to re-appear in
another, equally, if not more, dangerous.
A desire to preserve, before they were entirely forgotten, some of the
traditional stories, and other matters connected with the folk-lore of
my native island, induced me to attempt to collect and record them,
but I have found the task, though pleasant, by no means easy. The last
fifty years has made an immense difference here as elsewhere. The
influx of a stranger population, and with it the growth and spread of
the English tongue, has changed, or modified considerably, the manners
and ideas of the people, more particularly in the town. Old customs
are forgotten by the rising generation, what amused their fathers
and mothers possesses little or no interest for their children, and
gradually even the recollection of these matters dies away. There are
good grounds for supposing that, although the belief in witchcraft
attained its greatest development in the century which succeeded the
Reformation, and was as much the creed of the clergy as of the laity,
other popular superstitions were looked upon with disfavour, and
especially all those customs which were in any way, even remotely,
connected with the observances of the ancient form of religion.
The rapid spread of dissent among the middle and lower classes of
society within the last half century has certainly not had the effect
of diminishing popular credulity with respect to the existence of
sorcerers and their supernatural powers, but, by discouraging the
amusements in which the young naturally delight, and in which the
elders took part, it has broken one of the links which connected the
present with the past.
Doubtless did one know where to look for it much might still be gleaned
among the peasantry, but all who have attempted to make collections
of popular lore know how difficult it is to make this class of people
open themselves. They fear ridicule, and cannot conceive what interest
one can have in seeking for information on subjects which--whatever
may be their own private opinion--they have been taught to speak of as
foolishness.
Some of the stories in the following compilation were related to me by
an old and valued servant of the family, Rachel du Port, others were
kindly communicated to me by ladies[1] and others, who had derived
their information from similar sources, and whose names I have appended
to them, and much is the result of my own research and observation. The
subject matter of the following pages, having been collected at various
times, and written down as it came to hand, is not arranged as it ought
to be, and there are necessarily some repetitions. Whether, after all,
the work is worthy of the time that has been spent on it, the reader
must decide for himself. Suffice it to say that as far as regards
myself it has afforded an occupation and amusement.
EDGAR MACCULLOCH.
_Guernsey, February, 1864._
[1] The legends collected by Miss Lane (Mrs. Lane Clarke) were
subsequently published by her in the charming little book called
_Folk-Lore of Guernsey and Sark_, of which two Editions have been
printed.
EDITOR’S PREFACE.
Sir Edgar MacCulloch at his death, which occurred July 31st, 1896,
bequeathed his manuscript collection of Guernsey Folk-Lore to the Royal
Court of Guernsey, of which he had been for so many years Member and
President.
This collection was subsequently handed over to me by Sir T. Godfrey
Carey, then Bailiff, and the other Members of the Court, to transcribe
for publication: it was contained in three manuscript books, closely
written on both sides of the pages, and interspersed with innumerable
scraps of paper, containing notes, additions and corrections; as Sir
Edgar himself says in his preface, the items were written down as
collected, local customs, fairy tales, witch stories, one after the
other, with no attempt at classification. In literally transcribing
them I have endeavoured to place them under their different headings,
as recommended by the English Folk-Lore Society, and have inserted the
notes in their proper places; and I am responsible for the choice of
the quotations heading the various chapters. In every other particular
I have copied the manuscript word for word as I received it. It took me
over three years to transcribe, and was placed by the Royal Court in
the printer’s hands in February, 1900.
It will be noticed that three sizes of type have been used throughout
the book; Sir Edgar MacCulloch’s subject matter has been printed in the
largest, the Author’s notes to his own text being in the medium, while
the notes printed in the smallest type contain additional legends and
superstitions, which have been told me, or collected for me, by and
from the country people, and which I have added, thereby making the
collection more complete. Also, at the end of the book, is an appendix
containing a few of the legends collected by myself, which were too
long to insert as notes, and a small collection of old Guernsey songs,
which I have written down from the lips of the older inhabitants, and
which, in one of the last conversations I had with Sir Edgar MacCulloch
on the subject, he strongly recommended should be included in any
collection of Guernsey Folk-Lore that should ever be published.
I was well aware of the difficulties of the task which I undertook,
and how unworthy I, a mere novice, was to edit the work of so eminent
an antiquary as the late Sir Edgar MacCulloch; but it was represented
to me that I was one of the very few who took any interest in the
fast vanishing traditions of the island, that I understood the local
dialect, and that I had had many conversations and much assistance from
Sir Edgar MacCulloch during his lifetime on the subject; and, more
especially, that if I did not do it no one else would undertake it, and
thus the result of Sir Edgar’s labours would be lost to the island.
This, I trust may be my excuse for assuming so great a responsibility.
I feel I should never have accomplished it without the unfailing
assistance and kindness of H. A. Giffard, Esq., the present Bailiff of
Guernsey, and John de Garis, Esq., Jurat of the Royal Court, members
of the Folk-Lore Committee, who have, in the midst of their own hard
work, gone through all the proofs in the most untiring manner, and have
helped me in every possible way.
The illustrations are from photographs, collected by myself, of old
pictures and views illustrating the Guernsey of which Sir Edgar
MacCulloch wrote, and which is now so sadly changed, and it will be
noticed that in various instances where Sir Edgar writes of “wooded
valleys and cornfields, etc.,” in 1864, now (1903) there are nothing
but quarries or greenhouses.
I am very grateful to Mr. Grigg, of High Street, for allowing me to use
the photographs, taken by his grandson, Mr. William Guerin, of original
pictures of Guernsey in his possession; also to Mr. Edgar Dupuy, of the
Arcade, and Mr. Singleton, photographer, for the use of photographs
done by them of Guernsey scenery.
I cannot conclude without thanking the many friends who have helped me
by collecting folk-lore and songs, especially I must mention my cousin,
the late Miss Ernestine Le Pelley, who gathered many traditions for
me from the west coast of the island, and who, alas! never lived to
see the book, in which she took so great an interest, in print. The
late Miss Anne Chepmell, who died in 1899, also gave me most valuable
assistance, and so have also Mrs. Le Patourel, Mrs. Charles Marquand,
Mrs. Mollet, Miss Margaret Mauger, Mrs. Sidney Tostevin, and many
others in St. Martin’s parish, who have racked their brains to remember
for me “chû que j’ai ouï dire à ma gran’mère.”
EDITH F. CAREY.
_Le Vallon, Guernsey, April, 1903._
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
PART I.
TIMES AND SEASONS, FESTIVALS AND MERRYMAKINGS.
I. FESTIVAL CUSTOMS 19
II. LOCAL CUSTOMS, CHEVAUCHÉE DE ST. MICHEL, ETC. 59
PART II.
SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEF AND PRACTICE.
III. PREHISTORIC MONUMENTS AND THE SUPERSTITIONS CONNECTED
WITH THEM. 109
IV. NATURAL OBJECTS AND THE SUPERSTITIONS CONNECTED WITH
THEM. 137
V. CHAPELS AND HOLY WELLS. 165
VI. FAIRIES. 198
VII. DEMONS AND GOBLINS. 226
VIII. THE DEVIL. 257
IX. GHOSTS AND PROPHETIC WARNINGS. 275
X. WITCHES AND WITCHCRAFT. 289
XI. CHARMS, SPELLS, AND INCANTATIONS. 387
XII. FOLK MEDICINE AND LEECH CRAFT. 422
XIII. STORY TELLING. 427
XIV. HISTORICAL REMINISCENCES. 441
XV. NURSERY SONGS AND CHILDREN’S GAMES. 484
XVI. SUPERSTITIONS GENERALLY. 501
XVII. PROVERBS AND WEATHER LORE. 509
EDITOR’S APPENDIX. OLD GUERNSEY SONGS AND BALLADS, ETC. 549
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
_Photo. by_ _Page_
Sir Edgar MacCulloch, in his Robes as Bailiff
of Guernsey. T. A. GRUT. 1
Ruins of an Old Guernsey House,
Les Caretiers, St. Sampson’s. E. DUPUY. 26
“La Grande Querrue.” _From an old photo by
T. B. Hutton._ E. DUPUY. 41
Maison du Neuf Chemin, St. Saviour’s. E. DUPUY. 57
Parish Church of St. Peter Port, shewing
houses now demolished. _From sketch by
P. Le Lièvre, now in possession of
Mr. Grigg._ W. GUERIN. 70
Vraicing off Hougue-à-la-Perre. 79
Parish Church of St. Peter Port, A.D. 1846.
_From original by Bentham, in possession
of Mr. Grigg._ W. GUERIN. 88
“L’Autel des Vardes” at L’Ancresse. E. DUPUY. 111
Looking up Smith Street, 1870. _From
original by L. Michael, in possession of
Mr. Grigg._ W. GUERIN. 116
Creux des Fâïes. SINGLETON. 136
“Tas de Pois,” showing Le Petit Bonhomme
Andrelot, or Andriou. SINGLETON. 144
Stone bearing the Devil’s Claw at Jerbourg. E. DUPUY. 156
Wishing Wells at Mont Blicq, Forest. E. DUPUY. 164
Wishing Well, Les Fontaines, Castel. E. DUPUY. 189
Another view of Creux des Fâïes, near Cobo. SINGLETON. 205
Looking down Smith Street, 1870. _From
picture by L. Michael, in possession of
Mr. Grigg._ W. GUERIN. 224
Old House, Ville au Roi. E. DUPUY. 238
Houses in Church Square, 1825. _From sketch
by P. Le Lièvre, in possession of Mr.
Grigg._ W. GUERIN. 244
“Le Coin de la Biche,” St. Martin’s. E. DUPUY. 254
Looking up Fountain Street, 1825. _From
original bought by Mr. Grigg, in the
Canichers, at Mr. Dobrée’s sale._ W. GUERIN. 262
Looking down Berthelot Street, 1880. _From
original by L. Michael, in possession of
Mr. Grigg._ W. GUERIN. 271
Cow Lane. _From drawing lent by Colonel J. H.
Carteret Carey._ E. DUPUY. 278
Harbour, showing entrance to Cow Lane.
_From old picture._ 287
North Arm, Old Harbour, showing back of
Pollet. _From photograph by Capt. Amet_,
(Cir. 1850). 294
Town Harbour (site of the Albert Statue).
_From a drawing by P. Naftel._ E. DUPUY. 303
Royal Court House, 1880. _From picture by
L. Michael, in possession of Mr. Grigg._ W. GUERIN. 311
High Street, 1850. _Drawn partly from sketch,
and partly photographed by the late
A. C. Andros, Esq._ 319
Castle Cornet, 1660. _From an old picture._ W. GUERIN. 327
Old Harbour. (Cir. 1852). Captain AMET. 335
Stone supposed to represent the Ancient
Priory at Lihou. _Drawn by J. J.
Carey, Esq._ 342
Mill Pond at the Vrangue. E. DUPUY. 359
Old Mill House at the Vrangue, early 19th
century. _From old pencil drawing._ E. DUPUY. 367
Victor Hugo’s “Haunted House” at Pleinmont. E. DUPUY. 375
Old Market Place and States Arcade. _From
old photo by T. B. Hutton._ E. DUPUY. 383
Old Mill Buildings in the Talbot Valley. E. DUPUY. 391
Old House at Cobo. E. DUPUY. 393
Old Manor House, Anneville. E. DUPUY. 407
Oratory Window in Ruined Chapel at Anneville. E. DUPUY. 415
St. Peter Port Harbour, 1852, shewing Old
North Pier. _From negative._ Captain AMET. 423
Old Farm House at St. Saviour’s. _From pencil
drawing early in 19th century._ E. DUPUY. 431
Old Mill, Talbot Valley. E. DUPUY. 439
Ivy Castle. T. B. HUTTON. 447
Houses facing west door of Town Church,
demolished while building the New
Market. _From picture by L. Michael, in
possession of Mr. Grigg._ W. GUERIN. 455
Old Cottage, Fermain. E. DUPUY. 463
Old Mill, Talbot Valley. E. DUPUY. 471
Water Lane, Couture. _Copied from old
photograph._ E. DUPUY. 479
Hautgard, St. Peter’s, shewing “Pelotins”. E. DUPUY. 487
Old Guernsey Farm House. 495
Top of Smith Street, shewing portion of the
old Town House (on the left) of the de
Sausmarez family. _From old negative by
Dr. J. Mansell._ E. DUPUY. 503
Building south arm of Town Harbour,
connecting Castle Cornet with Island. 511
Old Guernsey House. _From a pencil drawing
of 1803._ E. DUPUY. 527
Old Gibbet in Herm. E. DUPUY. 546
Haunted Lane near Jerbourg. E. DUPUY. 587
The Arms of Guernsey, illustrated on the cover, are from a sketch by
Sir Edgar MacCulloch himself, drawn many years ago, and then described
by him as from the most ancient seal of the island to be found among
the records at the Greffe.
ERRATA.
Page 21. For “Fautrat” read “Fautrart.”
” 21. For “entrenir” read “entretenir.”
” 34 (_n_). For “a” read “la.”
” 62. For “ogygiau” read “ogygian.”
” 63. For “Ono Maeritus” read “Onomacritus.”
” 75-6 (_n_). For “savoir” read “sçauoir.”
” 90. For “ex-communication” read “excommunication.”
” 90. With reference to the note on p. 90 the Editor was
then unaware of the Bull, dated Feb. 13, 1499,
whereby Pope Alexander VI. transferred the Churches
of the Channel Islands from the See of Coutances to
that of Winchester.
” 114. Add “Les Tas de Pois d’Amont, showing,” etc.
” 164. For “Wishing Well at Fontaine Blicq, St. Andrew’s.”
read “Les Fontaines de Mont Blicq, Forest.”
” 177 (_n_). For “1303” read “1393.”
” 311. Insert the words “in 1880.”
” 484. For “Tamer” read “Tamar.”
Part I.
Times and Seasons, Festivals and Merry-makings.
CHAPTER I.
Festival Customs.
“Many precious rites
And customs of our rural ancestry
Are gone, or stealing from us.”
--_Wordsworth._
The observance of particular days and seasons, and of certain customs
connected with them, has been in all countries more or less mixed
up with religion. Many of these customs have, it is well known,
descended to us from pagan times. The Church, unable altogether to
eradicate them, has, in some cases, tacitly sanctioned, in others
incorporated them into her own system. At the Reformation some of
these observances were thought to savour too strongly of their pagan
origin, or to be too nearly allied to papal superstitions. Accordingly
we find that in a country like Scotland, where reformation amounted
to a total subversion of all the forms which had hitherto subsisted,
even such a festival as Christmas was proscribed, and of course with
it have fallen all the joyous observances which characterize that
season in England. In Guernsey, from the reign of Queen Elizabeth
to the Restoration of Charles II., the Presbyterian form of Church
government reigned supreme, and the ministers seem to have set their
faces strongly against anything which in their estimation could be
looked upon as superstitious. In the reformed churches of Geneva and
France, whose discipline the islands had adopted, all Saints’ days
had been abolished, and, although the greater festivals of Christmas
and Whitsuntide were retained, there were those in the insular
congregations who would gladly have seen these also discarded. Dr.
Peter Heylin, who visited the islands in 1629, tells us how “the
Ministers were much heartened in their inconformity by the practice
of De La Place, who, stomaching his disappointment in the loss of
the Deanery of Jersey, abandoned his native country, and retired to
Guernsey, where he breathed nothing but confusion to the English
Liturgy, the person of the new Dean (David Bandinel), and the change
of government. Whereas there was a lecture weekly every Thursday in
the Church of St. Peter’s-on-the-Sea, when once the feast of Christ’s
Nativity fell upon that day, he rather chose to disappoint the hearers,
and put off the sermon, than that the least honour should reflect on
that ancient festival.”
We find that in the year 1622 the Clergy of the Island complained to
the Royal Court of the practice that existed in the rural parishes of
people going about on the Eve of St. John and on the last day of the
year begging from house to house--a custom, which, in their opinion,
savoured much of the old leaven of Popery, and which, under the guise
of charity, introduced and nourished superstition among their flocks;
whereupon an ordinance was framed and promulgated, forbidding the
practice under the penalty of a fine or whipping.
“Les Chefs Plaids Cappitaux d’apprés le jour St. Michell tenus
le Lundy dernier jour du mois de Septembre, l’an 1622, par
Amice de Carteret, Esq., Bailly, présents à ce les Sieurs
Pierre Careye, Thomas Beauvoir, Thomas de l’Isle, Thomas
Andros, Eleazar Le Marchant, Jean Bonamy, Jean Fautrart, Jean
Blondel, et Jacques Guille, Jurez.
“Sur la remonstrance de Messieurs les Ministres de ceste isle,
que la vueille du jour St. Jean et celle du jour de l’an se
fait une geuzerie ordinaire par les paroisses des champs en
ceste isle; laquelle se resent grandement du viel levain de
la Papaulté, au moyen de quoy, soubs ombre de charité, la
superstition est introduite et nourye parmy nous, au grand
destourbier du service de Dieu et manifeste scandalle des gens
de bien; desirants iceux Ministres qu’il pleust à la Cour y
apporter remede par les voyes les plus convenables--A sur ce
Esté par exprès deffendu à toutes personnes qu’ils n’ayent
en aulcun des susdits jours à geuzer, ny demander par voye
d’aumosne aulcune chose, de peur d’entretenir la susdite
superstition, à peine de soixante sous tournois d’amende sur
les personnes capables de payer la dite amende, et s’ils
n’ont moyen de payer, et qu’ils soyent d’aage, d’estre punis
corporellement à discretion de Justice; et quant aux personnes
qui ne seront point d’aage, d’estre fouettés publicquement en
l’escolle de leur paroisse.”
A little later, begging at Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials was
prohibited on like grounds, and about the same time sumptuary laws
were passed controlling the expenses on these occasions, and limiting
the guests that might be invited to persons in the nearest degrees of
consanguinity. Dancing and singing were also forbidden, and any persons
convicted of these heinous crimes were to perform public penance in
their parish church, barefooted and bareheaded, enveloped in a sheet,
and holding a lighted torch in their hand.
It is not therefore to be wondered at if many observances and customs,
innocent in themselves, came to be forgotten, and this would be more
especially the case with such as were connected with the festivals of
the Church. Still some few observances and superstitions have survived,
and of these we will now endeavour to give the best account we can.
We would, however, previously remark that the Guernsey people are an
eminently holiday-loving race, and that, notwithstanding their long
subjection to Presbyterian rule, and the ascetic spirit of modern
dissent, the love of amusement is still strong in them. Christmas Day
and the day following, the first two days of the year, the Monday and
Tuesday at Easter and Whitsuntide, Midsummer Day and the day after, are
all seasons when there is an almost total cessation of work, and all
give themselves up to gaiety--and the household must be poor indeed
where a cake is not made on these occasions.
But before launching into a description of their ceremonies, festivals,
and superstitions, perhaps it might prove of interest if we here
attempt to give a slight description of the dress of our island
forefathers at different periods, during the last three hundred years,
drawn from various sources.
We will begin by an extract from a letter written by Mr. George
Métivier, that eminent antiquary, historian, and philologist, to the
_Star_ of June 20th, 1831:--
A Guernseyman Three Centuries Ago.
“Knows’t me not by my clothes?
No, nor thy tailor.”
--_Shakespeare._
“Suppose we conjure up a Guernseyman in his winter dress--a specimen
of the outer man, such as it appeared on high-days and holidays
‘sighing like a furnace to its mistress’ eye-brow’ in the reign of
the most puissant King Henry VIII., and under the long dynasty of the
five Westons--(James Guille, the son-in-law of one of them, was then
Bailiff). It is probable that the insular gentleman, in the highest
sense of that important word, copied the dress of his English and
Norman friends, as well as their manner, whether in good or evil.
“Similitude excludes peculiarity: we have therefore nothing to do with
Monsieur le Gouverneur, or Monsieur le Baillif, or the most refined
in wardrobe matters of his learned assessors. It is certain, however,
that the generality of our ancestors--‘l’honnête’ and sometimes ‘le
prudhomme’--derived the materials and cut of their raiment from St.
Malo’s--whence their very houses were occasionally imported--ready
built. We are indebted to a writer of the Elizabethan era for the
source of the following portrait.
“_Le cadaû_,[2] the chief article of a Guernseyman’s winter costume,
exactly resembled, both in name and form, the primitive Irish mantle.
Generally composed of wool, or of a kind of shag-rug, bordered with
fur, it descended in ample folds till it reached the heels. A surface
of such extraordinary dimensions might have exposed the wearer to some
inconvenience in stormy weather: but our fathers, no novices in the
art of cloak-wearing, knew how to furl and unfurl this magnificent
wrapper, and suit its folds and plaits to all changes of the season.
In the first Charles’ reign, the Jersey farmers, who still ‘bartered
the surplusage of their corn with the Spanish merchants at St. Malo’s,’
were far better acquainted with that long-robed nation than we can
now pretend to be. To the _cadaû_ was attached a _carapouce_[3]--an
enormous hood. If made of serge or good cloth, it was still a
_carapouce_; if the material was coarse--such as friars wore through
humility, or mariners and fishermen from motives of economy--the
_carapouce_ degenerated into a _couaille_. The sea-farer’s top-coat
affords an instance, not yet quite obsolete, of this island’s former
partiality for Armorican tailors, dresses, and names--a Tardif and a
Dorey will show you their _grigo_.[4]
“The residence of mind--for our ancestor, this ‘fine fleur de Norman,’
probably had one--was not forgotten. Muffled up in a voluminous hood,
like that of a Spanish _frayle_, it was further protected by the
native wig--‘la perruque naturelle’--and kept warm by a bonnet, part
of the _cadaû_ uniform, yclept _la barrette_. The original _biread_--a
lay mitre, not then peculiar to Ireland--was a conical cap, somewhat
resembling the foraging military bonnet.…
“His Grace, or Holiness--we are a bad hand at title dealing--the Right
Reverend Primate of Normandy, having once preached a most godlie
and comfortable sermon against long bushy perriwigs, descended from
his pulpit in the Cathedral of Rouen, scissors in hand, then doing
merciless execution therewith on King Henry I. and all the princely
and noble heads committed to his charge, exhorted them to perpetrate a
crime for which that traitor deserved to lose his own.”
‘The people vary too,
Just as their princes do.’
So sings Nat Wanley, who was no nightingale; but even when the eighth
Harry, and the whole nation, aping him, shore their beautiful locks,
in spite of many a fond wife, what luxuriant male tresses continued to
flourish in the Norman Isles! Our friend of the _Star_ may remember the
time when the dangling chevelure of our village beaux and ‘Soudards
de Milice,’ though confined with whipcord on working days, was
regularly let loose in honour of Sunday and other grand festivals.
It is true that burly wife-killing Tudor did interfere. Ah, woe is
me! He requireth from his Normans as well as from his Irish lieges
‘conformitie in order and apparel with them that be civill people’
(A.D. 1537). At least, the alteration took place in both places exactly
at the same period; for the censorious terms of this statute were
neither applicable nor applied to our ancestors. Indeed, from the size
and structure of here and there a yeoman’s house, richly overlaid with
the golden moss of antiquity, it would seem that the dwellings of our
peasantry were very different from the mud-built[5] and chimneyless
cottages of old England. (Such as Jean Lestocq’s house in la Vingtaine
des Charités, Câtel--the traditional residence of an individual
mentioned in a spirited ballad of the year 1371).
[Illustration: Ruins of an Old Guernsey House, Les Caretiers, St.
Sampson’s.]
“Be this as it may, ‘Though the language of such as dwell in these
Isles was French, the wearing of their haire long, and their attire was
_all after the Irish guise_ till the reigne of King Henrie the VIII.’
These are the words of Ralph Holinshed, who quotes Leland.”
The following description of the dress of the people of Sark in 1673,
is taken from a letter in the Harleian MSS.; it is quoted in full
in the “Historical Sketch of the Island of Sark,” in the _Guernsey
Magazine_ for 1874:--
“Sure I am the genius of the people cannot but be docile, since they
are naturally of a courteous affable temper, and the least tainted
with pride that ever I saw any of their nation; that apish variety of
fantastic fashions, wherewith Paris is justly accused to infect all
Europe, has here no footing, where every one retains the same garb
their ancestors wore in the days of Hugh Capet and King Pippin; so that
I can give small encouragement to any of the Knights of the Thimble to
transport themselves hither, where cucumbers are like to be more plenty
than in the back-side of St. Clement’s; each man religiously preserving
his vast blue trunk-breeches, and a coat almost like a Dutch frau’s
vest, or one of your waterman’s liveries. Nor are the women behindhand
with them in their hospital-gowns of the same colour, wooden sandals,
white stockings and red petticoats, so mean they are scarce worth
taking up. Both sexes on festivals wear large ruffs, and the women,
instead of hats or hoods, truss up their hair, the more genteel sort in
a kind of cabbage net; those of meaner fortunes in a piece of linen;
perhaps an old dish-clout turned out of service; or the fag-end of a
table-cloth, that had escaped the persecution of washing ever since the
Reformation; this they, tying on the top, make it shew like a Turkish
turban, but that part of it hangs down their backs like a veil.”
In Jersey the “fantastic fashions” of Paris seem to have penetrated
at an early date, for on the 22nd of September, 1636, a sumptuary law
was passed, forbidding anyone, male or female, to put on garments
“au-dessus de sa condition;” and also forbidding women to ornament
their bonnets with lace costing more than “quinze sols” (a “sol” was
worth about a franc) a yard, or to put on silken hoods, the wear of
which was reserved for ladies of quality. A short time after this
ordinance was passed, a Madame Lemprière, wife of the Seigneur de
Rosel, noticed in church, one Sunday, a peasant woman wearing the most
magnificent lace in her bonnet. She waited for her after church, tore
it off before the whole congregation, covering her with abuse the
while; and her friends stood round and applauded her action!
The most picturesque of our island costumes must have been that of the
Alderney women in the last century as described by Mrs. Lane-Clarke in
her “Guide to Alderney.” “A scarlet cloth petticoat and jacket, a large
ruff round their necks, fastened under the chin by a black ribbon, or
gold hook, and a round linen cap, stiffened so much as to be taken off
or put on as a man’s hat. On one occasion, when the island was menaced
by a French man-of-war, the Governor ordered out all the women in
their scarlet dresses, and, disposing them skilfully upon the heights,
effectually deceived the enemy with the appearance of his forces.”
At about this period the dress of the old Guernsey farmer was “a large
cocked hat, and thin ‘queue à la française,’ a long blue coat with
brass buttons, flowered waistcoat and jean trousers. Of course this was
only for Sundays and festivals. The women wore the black silk plaited
Guernsey bonnet, accompanied by a close mob cap underneath, with a
narrow muslin border; plain on the forehead and temples, but plaited
from the ears to the chin. A petticoat of black stuff, thickly quilted,
the gown--of an old fashion chintz pattern--open in front, and tucked
into the pocket holes of the petticoat; the boddice open in front to
the waist, with a coloured or starched muslin handkerchief in lieu of
a habit-shirt; tight sleeves terminating just below the elbow; blue
worsted stockings, with black velvet shoes and buckles.”
This description is taken from an old guide book of 1841. The dress was
rapidly becoming obsolete then, and has now, like almost every other
relic of the past, completely disappeared.
We will now return to the account of our local feasts and festivals.
Beginning with the commencement of the ecclesiastical year--the holy
season of Advent--the first day that claims our attention is that
dedicated to Saint Thomas, not because of any public observance
connected with it, but on account of its being supposed to be a time
when the secrets of futurity may be inquired into.
Under the head of “Love Spells” we shall describe the superstitious
practices to which, it is said, some young women still resort, in order
to ascertain their future destiny.
It is not improbable that some of these observances have been kept
alive by the constant communication that has always existed in times
of peace between the islands and continental Normandy, not a few
young people of both sexes coming over from the mainland to seek for
employment as farm servants.
[2] A covering or defence. (Celtic.)
[3] _Carabouss bras._ (Breton).
[4] A wrapper (Celtic). These terms are still used in the country.
[5] At least wattle-built and plastered with mud, if not mud-built
altogether. Holinshed exclaims against the _innovation_ of chimneys,
and regrets that “willow-built houses” are no longer fashionable.
La Longue Veille.
“Meanwhile the village rouses up the fire;
While well attested, and as well believ’d,
Heard solemn, goes the goblin story round;
Till superstitious horror creeps o’er all.”
--_Thompson._
In former days the most lucrative occupation of the people was that of
knitting woollen goods for the English and French markets. This branch
of industry was of great importance--in fact, after the decay of the
fisheries, which followed the discovery of Newfoundland, it constituted
the staple trade of the island, and the memory of the manufacture still
subsists in the name of “Guernsey jackets” and “Jerseys,” given to
the close-fitting knitted frocks worn by sailors. So highly were the
Guernsey woollen goods esteemed that they were considered a fitting
present for Royalty, and in 1556 Queen Mary[6] did not disdain to
receive from Sir Leonard Chamberlain, Governor of the Island, four
waistcoats, four pair of sleeves, and four pair of hose of “Garnsey
making.”[7] In the accounts of the Royal Scotch wardrobe for the year
1578, mention is made of woollen hose and gloves of Garnsey.[8] In
1586, the keeper of Queen Elizabeth’s wardrobe paid the high price of
twenty shillings for one pair of knitted hose “_de facturâ Garnescie_.”
It is true that these are described as having the upper part and the
clocks of silk. (“Accounts of the Keeper of the Gt. Wardrobe, Elizabeth
XXVIII. to XXIX., A.D. 1586”). And finally the unfortunate Mary Stuart
wore at her execution a pair of white Guernsey hose.
The sheep kept in those days in the island were few in quantity, of
an inferior breed, described by old writers as having four or more
horns, producing coarse scanty wool, far from sufficient to furnish the
supply of raw material required to meet the demand of the manufactured
article. It was necessary therefore to have recourse to England, but
the restrictive laws of that day prohibited the exportation of wool,
and it was only by special Acts of Parliament that a certain quantity,
strictly limited, was allowed annually to leave the kingdom for the use
of the islands. The Governor who could succeed by his representations
in getting this quantity increased was sure to win the lasting
gratitude of the people.
Men and women of all ages engaged in this manufacture, and time was so
strictly economised that the farmer’s wife, riding into market with
her well stored paniers, knitted as the old horse jogged on through
the narrow roads, and the fisherman, after having set his lines, and
anchored his boat to wait for the turn of the tide, occupied the
leisure hour in fashioning a pair of stockings, or a frock.
In the long winter evenings neighbours were in the habit of meeting at
each other’s houses in turn, and while the matrons took their places on
the “lit de fouaille,” and the elderly men occupied the stools set in
the deeper recess of the chimney, the young men and maidens gathered
together on the floor, and by the dim light of the “crâsset,”[9]
plied their knitting, sang their songs, and told their stories--the
songs and tales that appear later on in this collection. Our thrifty
ancestors too were well imbued with the wisdom of the old saw that bids
one “take care of the pence,” and the saving of fuel and oil, which
was affected by working in company under the same roof, entered for
something in their calculations. These assemblies were called “veilles”
or “veillies,” and were well adapted to keep up a pleasant neighbourly
feeling.
The wares thus made were brought into town for sale on the Saturday,
but there was one day in the year when a special market or fair for
these goods was held, and that was the day before Christmas. The night
previous to that--the 23rd December--was employed in preparing and
packing up the articles, and, being the termination of their labours
for the year, was made an opportunity for a feast. Masters were in the
habit of regaling their servants--merchants treated those with whom
they had dealings--and neighbours clubbed together to supply the means
of spending a joyous night. It may be that the restraint imposed by the
Puritan Clergy--de la Marche, La Place, and others--on all convivial
meetings connected in any way with religious observances, caused this
occasion for rejoicing--which could not by any possibility be branded
with the imputation of superstition--to be more highly appreciated than
it would otherwise have been, and to replace in some degree the usual
festivities of the season.
Although the manufacture of woollen goods as a staple article of
trade has come to an end, and the social “veilles” are no longer kept
up, “la longue veille,” or the evening of the 23rd of December, is
still observed as an occasion for family gatherings in many Guernsey
households, though there is perhaps not one person in twenty who
can tell the origin of the custom. Mulled wine, highly spiced and
sweetened, and always drunk out of coffee cups, with mild cheese and a
peculiar sort of biscuit--called emphatically “Guernsey biscuit”--is
considered quite indispensable on this evening, and indeed on all
occasions of family rejoicing; while on every afternoon of the 23rd
of December the old country people were met riding home from town
with their panniers full of provisions for the night. The next day,
Christmas Eve, is called the “surveille,” and the town on that evening
is flocked with pleasure-seekers, buying and eating chestnuts and
oranges.
[6] I am indebted to Mr. Bury Palliser, the accomplished author of “A
History of Lace,” for these interesting particulars concerning the
ancient staple manufacture of these islands.
[7] New Year gifts to Queen Mary (Tudor), 1556. Sir Leonard
Chamberlain, “4 waistcoats, 4 paire of slevys, and 4 paire of hoosen of
Garnsey making.”
[8] _Scotch Royal Wardrobe_: Three pair of wolwin hois of worsetis of
Garnsey. Six paire of gloves of the same.
[9] EDITOR’S NOTE.--The Guernsey “crâsset” was very unlike the English
“cresset,” which was in the form of an iron lantern, filled with
inflammable materials. Ours was suspended from a hook or a cord along
which it was pulled to the required point, and was rounded at one end
and pointed at the other, and filled with oil. It is derived from the
Fr. “creuset” from Latin _crux_ a cross, because anciently crucibles
and all vessels for melting metals were marked with a cross.
Christmas and New Year.
“Every season
Shall have its suited pastime; even winter,
In its deep noon, when mountains piled with snow
And choked up valleys from our mansion, bar
All entrance, and nor guest nor traveller
Sounds at our gate; the empty hall forsaken,
In some warm chamber, by the crackling fire,
We’ll hold our little, snug, domestic court,
Plying our work with song and tale between.”
--_Joanna Baillie._
From St. Thomas’ Day to New Year’s Eve is considered to be a season
when the powers of darkness are more than usually active, and it is
supposed to be dangerous to be out after dark.[10] Men returning home
on these nights have been led astray by the “faeu Bellengier” or Will
o’ the wisp, and when they believed themselves to be close to their
own doors have found themselves, they knew not how, in quite another
part of the island. Others have been driven almost crazy by finding
themselves followed or preceded by large black dogs, which no threats
could scare away and on which no blows could take effect. Some find
their path beset by white rabbits that go hopping along just under
their feet.
It is generally believed that just at midnight on Christmas Eve all the
cattle kneel and adore the newborn Saviour.[11] The considerate farmer
will take care to place an extra quantity of litter in the stall when
he shuts up his beasts for the night, but none would venture to wait
and see the event. Such prying curiosity is too dangerous, for it is
related how, on one occasion, a man who professed to disbelieve the
fact remained watching till the witching hour. What he saw was never
known, for, as he was leaving the stable, the door slammed violently,
and he fell dead on the threshold.
It is also said that, on the same night, and at the same hour, all
water turns to wine. A woman, prompted by curiosity, determined to
verify the truth of this allegation. Just at midnight, she proceeded
to draw a bucket of water from the well, when she heard a voice
addressing her in the following words:--
“Toute l’eau se tourne en vin,
Et tu es proche de ta fin.”
She fell down struck with a mortal disease, and before the end of the
year was a corpse.[12]
Notwithstanding the supernatural terrors of this night, groups of young
men and women from all parts of the country flock into town after their
day’s work is done, and assemble in crowds in the market place, where
they regale on oranges and roasted chestnuts. The public-houses profit
greatly by their presence; rendered valiant by their potations, and
feeling security in numbers, they return home at a late hour, singing
in chorus some interminable ditty, which, if goblins have any ear for
music, must certainly have the effect of driving them far away.
By those in easy circumstances Christmas Day is now celebrated much
as it is in England. The houses are decorated with holly and other
evergreens--the same substantial fare loads the hospitable board,
presents of meat or geese are sent to poor dependants, and families who
are dispersed re-assemble at the same table. It is still customary for
the poorer classes among the peasantry, who at any other season of the
year would be ashamed to beg, to go about from door to door some days
before Christmas, asking for alms under the name of “Noel,” in order to
be able to add something to their scanty fare; and before grates and
sea-coal became so common it was usual to reserve a large log of wood
to be burned on the hearth at Christmas. This was called “le tronquet
de Noel” and is evidently the same as the Yule log of the North of
England.
In the neighbouring island of Alderney, one of the favourite diversions
in the merry meetings at this festive season was the assuming of
various disguises. Porphyrius, a native of Tyre, and a disciple of
Longinus in the year 223 speaks of the “Feast of Mithras, or the Sun,
where men were in the habit of disguising themselves as all sorts of
animals--lions, lionesses, crows;” and St. Sampson, on his second visit
to Jersey, gave gilded medals to the children on condition that they
stayed away from these fêtes; so says Mr. Métivier in one of his early
letters to the _Gazette_.
On the last night of the year it was customary (and the practice has
not altogether fallen into desuetude) for boys to dress up a grotesque
figure, which they called “Le vieux bout de l’an,” and after parading
it through the streets by torch-light with the mock ceremonial of a
funeral procession, to end by burying it on the beach, or in some other
retired spot, or to make a bonfire and burn it.[13]
“How often has it been my melancholy duty to attend, sometimes as chief
mourner (or mummer), the funeral of old _Bout de l’An_! A log of wood,
wrapt up in sable cloth, was his usual representative, when, with great
and even classical solemnity, just as the clock struck twelve, the
juvenile procession set itself in motion, every member thereof carrying
a lantern scooped out of a turnip, or made of oiled paper.… Ere the
law-suit between old and new style was for ever settled, the annual
log--Andrew Bonamy is mine authority--underwent the Pagan ceremony of
incineration at the Gallet-Heaume.”--(Mr. Métivier in the _Star_, March
14th, 1831.)
This is probably one of the superstitious practices against which the
ordinance of the Royal Court in 1622 was directed. At the same time,
children were wont to go about from house to house to beg for a New
Year’s gift, under the name of “hirvières” or “oguinane.” In so doing
they chanted the following rude rhyme:--
Oguinâni! Oguinâno!
Ouvre ta pouque, et pis la recllios.[14]
In Scotland _Hogmanay_ is the universal popular name for the last day
of the year. “It is a day of high festival among young and old--but
particularly the young.… It is still customary, in retired and
primitive towns, for the children of the poorer class of people to get
themselves on that morning swaddled in a great sheet, doubled up in
front, so as to form a vast pocket, and then to go along the streets
in little bands, calling at the doors of the wealthier classes for an
expected dole of wheaten bread. This is called their Hogmanay.”[15]
The first day of the year is with all classes in Guernsey the one
most strictly observed as a holiday, and, in all but the religious
observance, is more thought of than even Christmas Day. Presents
are given to friends, servants and children; the heads of families
gather around them those who have left the paternal roof; more distant
relatives exchange visits; young people call at the houses of their
aged kinsfolk to wish them many happy returns of the season, and,
in many cases, to receive the gifts that are awaiting them; and
receptions--now become almost official in their character--are held by
the Lieutenant-Governor, the Bailiff, and the Dean. Cake and wine are
offered to visitors, and the day ends in most households with a feast
in proportion with their means and rank in society. All the morning
the roads and streets are crowded with groups of persons hurrying from
house to house, hands are warmly shaken, kind words are spoken, many
a little coolness or misunderstanding is forgotten, and even breaches
of long standing are healed, when neighbours join in eating the many
cakes for which Guernsey is famous, and which are considered suitable
for the occasion. The favourite undoubtedly is “gâche à corinthes,”
anglicé “currant cake,” also a kind of soft bread-cake, known by the
name of “galette;” and on Christmas Day a sort of milk-cake, called
“gâche détrempée” is baked early in the morning, so as to appear hot
at the breakfast table; and so completely is this repast looked upon
in the light of a family feast, that parents living in the country
send presents of these cakes to their children who have taken service
in town. A younger brother will leave the paternal roof long before
daybreak to carry to his sister, at her master’s house, the cake which
the affectionate mother has risen in the middle of the night to bake
for her absent child.
[10] EDITOR’S NOTE.--In _Contes Populaires, Préjugés, Patois,
Proverbes, etc., de l’arrondissement de Bayeux_, par M. Pluquet;
seconde édition, 1834, it is said: “During the eight days before
Christmas (Les Avents de Noël) apparitions are most frequent, and
sorcerers have most power.”
[11] EDITOR’S NOTE.--This belief also prevails in Normandy, for M.
Du Bois says:--“Les paysans sont persuadés que, la veille de Noël,
à l’heure du sacrement de la messe de minuit, tous les bestiaux, et
surtout les bœufs et les vaches, mettent un genou en terre pour rendre
hommage à Jésus naissant. Il serait imprudent, disent-ils, de chercher
à s’assurer de ce fait par soi-même; on courrait le risque d’être
battu.”--_Recherches sur la Normandie_, Du Bois, 1843, p. 343. And in
the centre of France and Berry:--“On assure qu’au moment où le prêtre
élève l’hostie, pendant la messe de minuit, tous les animaux de la
paroisse s’agenouillent et prient devant leurs crèches.”--_Croyances et
Légendes du Centre de la France_, par Laisnel de la Salle, Tome 1er, p.
17.
[12] EDITOR’S NOTE.--In Sark the superstition is that the water in the
streams and wells turns into blood at midnight on Christmas Eve, and
they also tell you that if you go and look you die within the year. One
Sark man said that he was determined to go to the well and draw water
at midnight, come what might. So on Christmas Eve he sallied forth to
reach the well in his back yard; as he crossed the threshold he tripped
and hit his head against the lintel of the door, and was picked up
unconscious the next morning. Most people would have taken this as a
warning and desisted, but he was obstinate, and the following Christmas
Eve he left the house at midnight as before, but as he approached the
well he heard a voice saying:--
“Qui veut voir
Veut sa mort.”
Then at last he was frightened, and rushed back into the house, and
never again did he attempt to pry into forbidden mysteries.--From Mrs.
Le Messurier, of Sark.
[13] EDITOR’S NOTE.--Hence the country people’s term for the effigy of
Guy Fawkes on the 5th of November “le vieux bout de l’an.”
[14]
“Oguinâni! Oguinâno!
Ope thy purse, and shut it then.”
There has been much discussion as to the derivation of “oguinâne,”
from which the Scottish “hogmanay” also comes. Mr. Métivier, in his
dictionary, says that it means the annual present of a master to his
servants, of a seigneur to his vassals, of a father to his children,
and derives it from “_agenhine feoh_” or “_hogenehyne fee_” the present
made, or money given, to those who belong to you--a word composed of
“agen” one’s own--as the English _own_, and “hind” servant, one of the
family. And he laughs at the theory propounded by various French and
English folklorists that it is derived from the rites of the Druids,
and comes from their ancient cry “Au guy l’an neuf”--“the mistletoe
(gui) of the New Year”--New Year’s Day being the day the pagans went
into the forests to seek the mistletoe on the oaks. (See _Notes and
Queries_. Series III. Vol. IV. p. 486.) In the _Star_ of March 14th,
1831, Mr. Métivier tells us that “as late as the reign of Louis XIV.
it was usual for the populace round Morlaix to chant a variety of
bacchanalian songs on the last eve of the year, and the chorus or
_refrain_ of every stanza was precisely what I should never have
fancied it to be--our
‘Oghin an eit! Oghin an eit!’
I am informed by a worthy monk that the good news announced by these
mystical words had nothing to do with the religion of Christ, and that,
being interpreted, they only tell us that ‘the wheat is upspringing--le
bled germe.’ _Eit_ and _od_ originally implied not wheat only, but
every sort of grain and seed. Thus it appears that what at first sight
defied all rational conjecture--the ‘oguinâni, oguinâno,’ cry of
our small gentry, once formed the immemorial chorus of an Armorican
hymn--the pure heathen liturgical relic of some Gaulish festival.
The primitive ditty was full of allusions to the increase of light,
the revival of vegetable nature, and other seasonable topics. The
noisy little heralds of this pleasing intelligence received for their
reward an ‘oguinâne,’ or, as it is now called, ‘leurs hirvières’--an
_hibernum donum_ or _winter_ gift. It is true that a few half-learned
lexicographers talk of the mistletoe and ‘Au Guy l’An Neuf;’ but the
French savans were systematic haters of France’s aboriginal languages,
and the minor Latin poet who invented this nonsensical interpretation
of a word whose etymon he was too lazy to dig for in its native mine
has hardly been dead two centuries.”
[15] EDITOR’S NOTE.--The old people of St. Martin’s parish still (1896)
talk of having in their youth gone to the neighbours’ houses on New
Year’s Eve singing the following rhyme:--
_“Bon jour, Monsieur! Bon jour, Madame!_
_Je n’vous ai pas vu acouâre ~(encore)~ chut ~(cette)~ an._
_Et je vous souhaite une bouâne année,_
_Et mes irvières s’i’vous plliet.”_
And a little bowl or bag of pennies was always at hand for gratuities.
La Grand’ Querrue.
“And at the farm on the lochside of Rannock, in parlour and kitchen,
Hark! there is music--yea, flowing of music, of milk, and of whiskey;
Dancing and drinking, the young and the old, the spectators and actors,
Never not actors the young, and the old not always spectators:
Lo, I see piping and dancing!”
--_“The Bothie of Tober-na-Vuolich,” by A. H. Clough._
[Illustration: La Grand’ Querrue.]
The parsnip seems to have been cultivated at a very early period in
Guernsey, the soil appearing to be particularly well suited to the
growth of this valuable root. We have proof that tithe of them was
paid in times long anterior to the Reformation, although not claimed
in the present day. In order to secure a good crop, it is necessary
that the ground should be deeply trenched, and this operation, which
takes place at the beginning of the year, and entails a great amount
of labour, is, nevertheless, looked forward to with pleasure, as it
gives rise to social meetings. The trenching of the soil was formerly,
and is still occasionally, effected by the spade alone. This was done
by farm labourers and hired men with a peculiar spade called “Une
bêque de Guernesi.” Made by the country blacksmiths of the island, the
handle was of wood, generally ash, and so was the upper portion of the
blade, which was heart-shaped, the tip of the blade being of steel.
It was a very slow operation, four perches a day being the utmost one
man could accomplish, so that it had to begin very early in the year,
“whilst eating the bread baked at Christmas,” as the old farmers said.
But about a hundred years ago the “grand’ querrue” or big plough was
introduced at Les Fontaines, in the Castel parish, the house of the
Lenfesteys. This is preceded by one of the ordinary size to trace the
furrow. The large plough, being an expensive instrument and one that
is only wanted occasionally, is often the joint property of several
neighbours, who unite together to assist each other in working it.
Each brings his quota of labourers, and as many as twenty-two animals
have been sometimes seen harnessed to the same plough, to wit, six
bullocks and sixteen horses. Every man who is fortunate enough to be
the possessor of a beast deems himself bound in honour to produce it
on these occasions. The plough is generally guided by the owner of the
field, and a furrow is made about twelve inches deep by about eighteen
to twenty-four inches wide. As the labour is social, all work with good
will and emulation, and the scene is one of great animation. Of course
the assistance given is gratuitous, or, to speak more correctly, is
to be returned in kind when required. The farmer, however, who avails
himself of the labour of his neighbours, is expected to feed them.
The consequence is that the “grand’ querrue” is made the occasion of
a rural feast. The cider, for which the island is famous, circulates
freely throughout the day, and the prettiest girls are selected as
cup-bearers. Work begins about seven o’clock in the morning; about ten
o’clock a sort of luncheon called “mi-matin” is provided; this consists
of bread and butter, with cheese, fried cod fish, and strong tea or
coffee. At noon the cattle are unharnessed and put to feed, and then
comes the dinner of cabbage-soup, a large boiled ham or “pâlette,”
a breast-piece of pork, and perhaps a round of beef. At two o’clock
work is resumed, with a stoppage at four for a “mi-relevée” of tea and
currant cake, and occasional intervals for “une petite goutte;” for it
is well known that “i’faut prendre une petite goutte pour arrousaï,
ou bien j’n’airons pâs d’pânais,”--“one must take a sip to moisten the
field, or there will be no parsnips.” The day closes with a substantial
supper, more beef, more ham, enormous plum-puddings, baked, not boiled,
in the old ovens, (“grosses houichepotes”) with plenty of cider.
To this feast it is customary to invite the members of the respective
families who have not taken part in the labours of the day, and the
richer farmers send presents of pudding to their poorer neighbours who
are not invited to share in the work. Friends and relations who reside
at a distance, or in town, also join the gathering, and the best part
of the night is spent in singing, dancing, story-telling, blind man’s
buff, or the ancient roundelay of “mon beau laurier.”[16]
[16] EDITOR’S NOTE.--One curious custom at the supper or “défrique” was
that the men had their meal first, and not till they had finished did
the women sit down to have theirs.
Shrove Tuesday.
Shrove Tuesday is observed in the usual way, by a general frying
and eating of pancakes, and the custom must be old, and one of the
superstitious practices which the zeal of the Presbyterian clergy
failed in eradicating; for, had it been re-introduced from England, it
is not likely that it would have become so universal, or have taken so
strong a hold on the minds of the people.
The First Sunday in Lent.
In the neighbouring island of Alderney, the first Sunday in Lent is
known as “Le Dimanche des Brandons”--a name by which it is designated
in old calendars, and which it still bears in some parts of France.[17]
According to the late Mr. John Ozanne (de la Salerie), a native of
Alderney, it was also known as “le jour des vitres,” this last word
having, as he said, in the dialect of Alderney, the meaning of _masks_.
This gives rise to the supposition that in days gone by masking formed
part of the entertainment. On this day the young people made bonfires
and danced round them, especially at “La Pointe de Clanque.” This dance
was supposed to have had a bacchanalian origin, but was practised up
to fifty years ago; they revolved round these bonfires, and leapt
over them, and then, lighting wisps of straw, returned to the town by
the fields, throwing about these torches, to the great danger of the
thatched roofs.
[17] EDITOR’S NOTES.--That these customs were also kept up in Guernsey
is evident from the following extract from the manuscript note book of
Monsieur Elie Brevint, who died in the island of Sark in 1674, aged
87. He says:--“Le premier Dimanche de Caresme s’appelle le jour des
Brandons; à St. Martin de Guernezé les jeunes hommes par esbat portent
au soir du dit jour brandons de glie, etc.”
In _Les Archives de Normandie_, 1824, p. 164, there is the following
notice of “Le Jour des Brandons,” which shows that this custom also
prevailed in various parts of France. “À Saint Vaast et à Reville,
la veille de l’Epiphanie, des centaines d’enfants et même d’hommes,
parcourrent les campagnes munis de brandons allumés. Ils crient,
‘Taupes et mulots, sortez de mon clos, ou je vous mets le feu sur le
dos.’ Ou dans quelques autres parties de la Normandie on chante ces
vers-ci:
Bon jour les rois
Jusqu’a douze mois
Douz’ mois passés
Rois, revenez!
Charge, pommier!
A chaq’ petite branchette
Tout plein ma grand’ pochette,
Taupes, mulots,
Sortez du clos,
Ou j’ vous brul’rai la barbe et l’s os!
Le lendemain au soir on allume un nouveau feu qu’on appèle une
Bourgulée, et l’on renouvelle le même chant, qui commence encore par
‘Adieu les Rois,’ etc. Dans la Commune de Créance, une grande partie de
la population passe presque toute la nuit du premier Dimanche de Carême
à faire la même sommation aux taupes et aux mulots.… Le Dimanche des
Brandons est une date commune et naturelle des actes du moyen age.”
The “Dimanche des Brandons” was also kept up in the centre of France
with very much the same ceremonies. See _Croyances et Légendes du
centre de la France_, Laisnel de la Salle. Tome 1er. Page 35.
“At Dijon, in Burgundy, it is the custom upon the first Sunday in Lent
to make large fires in the streets, whence it is called “Firebrand
Sunday.” This practice originated in the processions formerly made
on that day by the peasants with lighted torches of straw, to drive
away, as they called it, the bad air from the earth.”--From _Nori
Bourguinons_, p. 148. Quoted in Brand’s _Observations on Popular
Antiquities_, p. 57.
Good Friday.
On the morning of Good Friday it is the custom of the young people who
live near the sea shore to make parties to go down to the beach to
collect limpets. When a sufficient quantity of these shell fish has
been taken, a flat stone or rock of sufficient size is selected, and,
after being carefully swept and divested of all extraneous matter, the
limpets are arranged on it with their shells uppermost. A head of dry
furze or other brushwood is then placed over them and set on fire,
and the limpets are left covered with the hot embers until they are
supposed to be sufficiently cooked. Bread-cakes, fresh baked--if hot
from the oven so much the better--with an ample supply of the rich
butter for which the island is so famous, and a few bottles of cider
or beer, have been provided beforehand by the members composing the
pic-nic, and the limpets, now done to a turn, are eaten as a relish to
the simple meal, with a better appetite, and more real pleasure than
probably a far more elaborate feast would afford.[18]
Hot cross buns on Good Friday were unknown in Guernsey at the
commencement of the present century.
[18] EDITOR’S NOTE.--“In Sark, on Good Friday it is the custom for boys
to go and sail small boats on the ponds or pools by the sea-shore; and
these boats are made a good while beforehand, or treasured up of long
standing; this custom they never fail to keep up. Numbers of these same
boys also go in the afternoon to the Eperquerie drill-ground, to play
a game which they call rounders. It is played with a ball and a stick,
and somewhat resembles cricket.”--From _A Descriptive Sketch of the
Island of Sark_, by the Rev. J. L. V. Cachemaille (for many years Vicar
of the island), published in Clarke’s _Guernsey Magazine_, October,
1875.
Easter.
There do not appear to be any particular customs connected with Easter,
but some old people can still remember that in their youth the children
in some parts of the country used to go about from door to door
begging for eggs.[19] This was called “demander la mouissole,” and was
evidently derived from the practice, so common in all parts of Europe,
of giving presents of eggs at this season. _Mouissole_ is derived from
the old Norman word _mouisson_, which means “a bird.”
[19] EDITOR’S NOTE.--In the country the dinner on Easter Sunday used
always to consist of fried eggs and bacon. As an old woman said, “it
was the only day we ever tasted an egg.” If they could not get fowls’
eggs, they even got wild birds’ eggs, and fried and ate them!
“In the North of England boys beg on Easter Eve eggs to play with, and
beggars ask for them to eat.”--_De Ludis Orientalibus_, by Hyde, 1694.
p. 237.
“The custom of eating a gammon of bacon at Easter, which is kept up
in many parts of England, was founded on this, _viz._, to shew their
abhorrence to Judaism at that solemn commemoration of our Lord’s
Resurrection.”--From _Aubrey_, 1679.
The First of April.
The first of April is not forgotten by children, who amuse themselves
on this day by attaching long shreds of paper or bits of rag by means
of crooked pins to the clothes of passers-by,[20] and then crying out
as loud as they can bawl, “La Coûe! La Coûe!” or “La Folle Agnès.” No
one knows the reason of the latter exclamation.
[20] EDITOR’S NOTE.--In _Lancashire Folk-Lore_ p. 225, it says, “On
Mid-Lent or ‘Bragot’ Sunday it is a custom for boys to hook a piece of
coloured cloth to the women’s gowns, and a similar custom prevails in
Portugal at carnival times.”
Sundays in May.
On the first Sunday in May the young men and women of the lower orders
arise at daybreak and sally forth into the country in groups, returning
home with large nosegays generally pilfered from the open gardens that
adorn the neat cottages of the peasantry.[21]
There is reason to believe that this custom was introduced from
England, but in Alderney it appears to have been a very ancient
practice to keep the first of May as a holiday. Garlands of flowers
were suspended across the street, under which the young people danced,
and the day was generally wound-up by a sort of pic-nic supper
or tea-drinking, to which each family contributed its quota. The
introduction of late years of a large stranger population into that
island, in consequence of the extensive fortifications and harbour
works undertaken by Government, has completely changed the primitive
character of the place, and has put an end to this picturesque custom.
[21] EDITOR’S NOTE.--“Bourne (‘_Antiquit. Vulg._’ chap, xxv.) tells us
that in his time, in the villages in the North of England, the juvenile
part of both sexes were wont to rise a little after midnight on the
first of May, and walk to some neighbouring wood, accompanied with
music and the blowing of horns, where they broke down branches from the
trees and adorned them with nosegays and crowns of flowers. This done,
they returned homewards with their booty about the time of sunrise, and
made their doors and windows triumph in the flowery spoil.” (Quoted in
_Brand’s Popular Antiquities_, p. 121).
Whitsuntide.
“And let us do it with no show of fear;
No, with no more than if we heard that England
Were busied with a Whitsun morris-dance.”
--_Shakspeare._
Whit Monday, Midsummer Day, and the day on which Her Majesty’s birth is
celebrated, are all kept as holidays, and have long been appropriated
to the mustering and exercising of the Militia.
This institution differs in many respects from what goes by the same
name in England, and is more in the nature of the “Garde Nationale” of
France. It is of great antiquity, for we find among the Patent Rolls
of Edward III., one dated May, 1337, appointing Thomas de Ferrers
Governor of the Islands, and giving him directions to enrol all the
able-bodied inhabitants, to supply them with fitting arms, and to
place proper officers over them, in order that they might be able to
resist the invasions of the allies of the Scotch, with whom England
was then at war, and who had recently made some descents on Sark, and
on the coasts of the larger islands. The service is gratuitous and
compulsory, for, by the common law, all male inhabitants, from the ages
of sixteen to sixty, are liable to be called out, unless prevented
by illness, or able to claim exemption on some other legal ground.
Nevertheless, with the generality of the people, especially with those
of the rural parishes, the service is decidedly popular. An afternoon
of ball-practice, or a general review by the Lieutenant-Governor, is
looked forward to with pleasure, and the latter occasion is one which
affords a treat to all classes of the community. At an early hour the
roads are crowded with merry groups, dressed in their best, hastening
to the spot where the review is to take place. The country damsels are
proud of seeing their lovers set off by their military attire, and when
the men are dismissed it is amusing to see the careful wife or the
attentive sweetheart produce from the depth of her pocket, or from a
hand-basket, a light cap, or wide-awake, to replace the heavy shako,
while the young sons and brothers, not yet old enough to be enrolled,
dispute who shall have the honour of bearing the weighty musket. The
review is generally over by noon, and those who are industrious may
return to their work. Most of the men, however, particularly the
unmarried ones, prefer making a thorough holiday of it, and for the
rest of the afternoon the streets of the town are filled with groups of
merry-makers; the public houses ply a brisk trade, and the evening is
often far advanced before the joyous groups think of returning to their
own homes.
Midsummer.
“At eve last Midsummer no sleep I sought.”
--_Gay’s Pastorals._
The custom of making bonfires on the hilltops at Midsummer was formerly
so general among all the Celtic nations that it is highly probable that
it must have existed also in these islands, the aboriginal inhabitants
of which belonged undoubtedly to the Celtic race. In Scotland and in
Ireland these fires are called Beltein, or Baltein; they are lighted
also on May Day, and are supposed to be a relic of the worship formerly
paid to the sun, under the name of Bel, or Baal. Throughout Brittany,
and in some of the neighbouring parts of Normandy, “les feux de la St.
Jean” are still lighted on all the hills. In some parts of Wales and
Cornwall the custom is still kept up. That some observances connected
with this season still existed in this island in the early part of
the 17th Century is certain, from the fact of the Royal Court having
promulgated an ordinance in 1622 prohibiting begging on St. John’s Eve,
“as tending to keep alive superstition,” but what these observances
were, is now entirely forgotten. It has been asserted that in days gone
by “la Rocque Balan,” a remarkable and picturesque mass of granite on
the plain of L’Ancresse, used to be resorted to at Midsummer, and that
the youths and maidens danced together on its summit, where bonfires
used to be lit. The burden of an old song--
“J’irons tous à la Saint Jean
Dansaïr sus la Rocque Balan,”
is quoted as confirmatory of this assertion. Some suppose that “Balan”
has the same derivation as “Beltein;” others say that there was once
a logan, or rocking stone, “une pierre qui balançait,” on the apex of
the rock; but there is also a tradition that the former Priors of St.
Michel du Valle caused the merchandise of their tenants and vassals
to be weighed, and that the rock derived its appellation from the
“balances” used for this purpose.
The most probable and matter of fact solution of the difficulty is
that, like many other localities, it took its designation from the
person to whom it once belonged, the name “Balan” being that of a
family, now extinct, which at one time inhabited this parish.
Every cottage and farmhouse in the island is furnished with what is
called a “lit de fouâille” or “jonquière”--now called the “green
bed”--a sort of rustic divan generally placed in a recess between
the hearth and a window. This, raised about eighteen inches from the
ground, is thickly strewn with dried fern, or pea-haulm, and forms the
usual seat of the females of the family, when engaged in knitting or
sewing, and a very comfortable couch on which the men can repose after
the labours of the day. But at Midsummer, after the fresh fern has
been cut, the taverns and cottages vie with each other in decorating
these seats. A canopy is raised over them, and the whole, floor and
all, is thickly carpeted with fresh cut fern, and ornamented with the
most brilliant and showy flowers that can be procured, not scattered
at hap-hazard, but arranged in formal, and often far from inelegant
patterns.[22] The love of flowers is almost a passion with every class
of the inhabitants, and displays itself in the variety to be found at
all seasons in every garden, and the taste with which they are employed
in decorations.
It is difficult to say what gave rise to this custom of adorning the
“jonquière,” but it is doubtless one of great antiquity.[23] Old people
say that in former days it was customary to elect a girl from among the
inhabitants of the district, and seat her in state beneath the floral
canopy, where under the name[24] of “La Môme” she received in silence
the homage of the assembled guests.[25] Perhaps the whole is a remnant
of the old May games transferred to this season--perhaps it is an
observance connected with the ceremonies with which in many countries,
and especially among the Celtic nations, the sun was greeted on his
arrival at the summer solstice, and in which branches of trees and
bunches of flowers were used to decorate the houses.
[22] EDITOR’S NOTE.--An old country woman described to me a “Lit
de Fouaille” she had seen as a child. She described it as being a
four-post bed, both mattress and ceiling being one mass of flowers most
ingeniously twined together. Each post was garlanded with flowers, and
flower curtains hung from the top, woven together, she could not tell
how. In the middle sat the girl--silent.
[23] See _Folk-Lore Journal_, Vol. I, Pp. 297 and 301.
[24] Mr. Métivier writes under the heading of “Lit de Fouaille.”--“Que
de gens instruits, peu versés dans l’étude de notre Calendrier
Champêtre, se sont imaginés que le lit de feuilles et de fleurs du
solstice d’été--fête aussi ancienne que l’homme lui-même, n’était
qu’un lit vert--une jonquière! L’apothéose de la beauté sur un trone
de roses et de lys se retrouvait autrefois dans tous les climats, où
le soleil favorisait la culture de ces trésors de Flore. Presque de
nos jours, chaque canton de l’île élisait une tante ou cousine. Vouée
au silence--‘La Môme;’ et cette bonne parente recevait de toute la
compagnie l’hommage d’un baiser--c’est une allusion au silence de
l’astre du jour et à la naissance d’Harpocrate, le doigt sur la bouche,
au milieu d’un carreau de vives fleurs.”
[25] EDITOR’S NOTES. By the courtesy of Mr. J. Linwood Pitts I am able
to insert the following note, showing the gradual decadence of the old
custom.
“Some sixty or seventy years ago, a Mr. and Mrs. Le Maître kept
a public-house at Le Cognon, near St. Sampson’s. At the summer
vraicking time, they used to deck the green bed with elaborate floral
decorations--a veritable “Lleit de feuilles.” A plate was placed in the
centre of the bed to receive contributions. The young people used to go
there and dance in the evenings after vraicking, Mr. Le Maître playing
the fiddle for the dancers. Mrs. Robin (now seventy-three years old)
danced there as a girl.”
Stow in his “Survey” tells us “that on the vigil of St. John Baptist
every man’s door being shadowed with green birch, long fennel, St.
John’s wort, orpin, white lilies, and such like, garnished upon with
garlands of beautiful flowers, had also lamps of glass.…”
In Brand’s _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_, Vol. I. p. 190, it
is said:--“Hutchinson mentions another custom used on this day; it
is to dress out stools with a cushion of flowers. A layer of clay is
placed on the stool, and therein is stuck with great regularity, an
arrangement of all kinds of flowers, so close as to form a beautiful
cushion. These are exhibited at the doors of houses in the villages,
and at the ends of streets and cross lanes of larger towns, where the
attendants beg money from passengers to enable them to have an evening
feast and dancing.” He adds “This custom is evidently derived from
the Ludi Compitalii of the Romans; this appellation is taken from the
Compita or Cross Lanes, where they were instituted and celebrated
by the multitude assembled before the building of Rome. It was the
Feast of Lares, or Household Gods, who presided as well over houses
as streets. This mode of adorning the seat or couch of the Lares was
beautiful, and the idea of reposing them on aromatic flowers, and beds
of roses, was excellent.”
Midsummer Day in Sark.
In Sark, Midsummer Day is the great holiday of the year, when every
youth who is fortunate enough to be the possessor of a horse, or who
can borrow one for the occasion, makes use of it. Bedecking both
himself and his steed with bunches of flowers, he goes to seek his
favourite damsel, who generally sports a new bonnet in honour of the
festival, and they often ride about in couples on the horses’ backs.
They then amuse themselves in racing up and down the roads, and even
venture sometimes to cross at a gallop the dangerous pass of the
Coupée--a narrow ledge of rock with a precipice on either side,--which
connects the peninsula of Little Sark with the main island. In the
evening they assemble to drink tea, eat currant cake, and dance. This
custom is known by the name of “Les Chevauchées.”[26]
[26] EDITOR’S NOTE.--Many charms and spells were also resorted to on
the eve and on the day of “La Saint Jean,” which will be inserted
under their proper heading. Another habit of the young men and girls
on Midsummer Day was to go out to the Grand Pont at St. Sampson’s, and
there have a supper composed of fried ham and eggs and pancakes, and
craûbackaûs or crayfish, the latter placed on the table in the pan, and
everyone helping themselves with their own fork. The custom was for the
girls to be dressed entirely in white, while the men wore white duck
or jean trousers, swallow-tailed coats, fancy waistcoats, and shoes
adorned with large white bows. The proceedings finished with songs and
dances.
Midsummer Day in Jersey.
In Jersey, the fishermen who inhabit the parish of St. John have a
custom of circumnavigating at Midsummer a certain rock, called “Le
Cheval Guillaume,” that lies off their coast, and in the same parish,
as well as in some other parts of the island, a very singular practice
has long prevailed. It is thus described in Plees’ Account of the
Island of Jersey. “At Midsummer Eve, a number of persons meet together,
and procure a large brass boiler; this is partly filled with water, and
sometimes metallic utensils of different kinds are thrown in. The rim
is then encircled with a strong species of rush, to which strings of
the same substance are attached. When these strings are sufficiently
moistened, the persons assembled take hold of them, and, drawing them
quickly through their hands, a tremendous vibration is excited in the
boiler, and a most barbarous, uncouth, and melancholy sound produced.
To render this grating concert still more dissonant, others blow with
cows’ horns and conches. This singular species of amusement continues
for several hours: it is termed ‘faire braire les poëles.’” The same
custom prevailed in Normandy, from whence it doubtless made its way
into Jersey. In the former province it is now on the decline. Being
observed on St. John’s Eve, it would appear to have a reference to
some Christian festival in honour of that saint; or it may relate
to Midsummer Day. Large numbers of the middling and lower classes
in Jersey are in the habit of coming to Guernsey for the Midsummer
holidays, and the natives of the latter island often choose this season
for visiting their friends and relations in Jersey. In the _Athenæum_,
September 20th, 1890, it says: “It may not be generally known that in
the island of Jersey on St. John’s Eve the older inhabitants used to
light fires under large iron pots full of water, in which they placed
silver articles--as spoons, mugs, etc.,--and then knocked the silver
against the iron, with the idea of scaring away all evil spirits.
There are now railroads in Jersey, and these old-world practices have
probably disappeared.”
The day after Midsummer used always to be the day of the fair, held in
the Fair-field at the Câtel. It was crowded from the early morning by
the entire population of the island, and the hedges round the field,
and even the sides of the roads in the vicinity, were filled with
French women, selling strawberries, and eggs dyed red with cochineal,
and who drove a roaring trade.
August.
On the Sundays in August it was customary, a few years ago, for large
crowds from all parts of the island to assemble in the afternoon on
the causeway at St. Sampson’s called “Le Grand Pont.” The favourite
mode of proceeding thither was on horseback, but the only object that
the visitors seemed to have in view was that of seeing and being seen.
It is difficult to ascertain exactly what gave rise to this custom,
or indeed whether it is of ancient date. It is certain, however, that
the improvement of the roads at the commencement of the present
century, and the works carried on at the same time for the recovery of
a large portion of land from the sea, in this neighbourhood, concurred
in attracting a considerable number of persons to the spot. If the
custom existed previously it must have been one of old standing, and
may perhaps be traced to a church wake or feast held in honour of St.
Sampson, who is said to have been among the first who preached the
gospel in the island, and whose name the neighbouring church bears. The
calendar commemorates this saint on the 28th of July, and the practice
of meeting together on the Sunday following the anniversary of a saint,
in the vicinity of the church or chapel dedicated to him, is universal
throughout Brittany, where these assemblies are known by the name of
“pardons.” In some parts of Normandy, too, the custom is observed, and
the meetings are known as “Assemblées.” If not held on, or near, the
actual anniversary of the saint, they are often fixed for some Sunday
in August, when, the harvest being over, the peasants have more leisure
time for amusements.
EDITOR’S NOTE.--“In the southern parts of this nation,” says Bourne,
“most country villages are wont to observe some Sunday in a more
particular manner than the rest, _i.e._, the Sunday after the day of
dedication, or day of the saint to whom their church was dedicated.”
_Antiq. Vulg._, chap. xxx.
[Illustration: Maison du Neuf Chemin.]
September.
On the Sundays in September it was the custom, at any rate in the early
part of this century, to ride out to the “Maison du Neuf Chemin,” at
St. Saviour’s, which was kept by a man called Alexandre. There they
would eat pancakes, apples and pears, and not come home till dusk. This
is the “Mess Alissandre” to whom Métivier alludes in “La Chanson des
Alexandriens,” “Rimes Guernesiaises,” 1831, p. 52.
_“Vouloüs passair dans l’pu bel endret d’l’île_
_Une a’ r’levaie sans paine et sans chagrin!_
_Tournai mé l’dos ès sales pavais d’la ville,_
_Et galoppai sie l’vieil houme du Neuf-Ch’min, etc.”_
[TRANSLATION].
“Do you wish to go to the most beautiful neighbourhood of the island
One afternoon without difficulty or trouble?
Turn your back on the dirty pavements of the town,
And gallop out to the old man of the New Path.”
CHAPTER II.
Local Customs--Civic, Aquatic, Ceremonial.
“Ordain them laws, part such as appertain
To civil justice, part religious rites.”
--_Milton._
La Chevanchée de St. Michel.
“My parks, my walks, my manors that I had,
Ev’n now forsake me; and of all my lands
Is nothing left me.”
--_Shakspeare_, Henry VI.
Before giving an account of this curious old custom, now abolished, but
which seems to have been instituted originally with a view to keeping
the highways throughout the island in a due state of repair, it may
be as well to say something of the feudal system, as it existed, and
indeed, greatly modified of course, still exists in Guernsey. Though,
from the loss in the course of many centuries of the original charters,
we are left in the dark on many points, and can only guess at the
origin of some of the many small manors--or as they are locally termed,
“fiefs”--into which the island is divided.
It is known that previous to the Conquest of England by Duke
William,[27] Néel de St. Sauveur, Vicomte of Le Cotentin, was patron
of six of the ten parish churches in Guernsey--those of St. Samson,
St. Pierre Port, St. Martin de la Bellouse, La Trinité de la Forêt,
Notre Dame de Torteval, and St. André; and it is probable that he was
lord paramount of all the land contained in these parishes. He was
one of those barons who conspired against William, and having been
defeated by him in the Battle of Val des Dunes, all his possessions
were confiscated. On his submission he was again received into favour,
and his continental possessions restored, but such does not seem to
have been the case with what he held in Guernsey; for the patronage of
the churches mentioned above was given by William, a year before the
Conquest of England, to the great Abbey of Marmoutier near Tours; and
from that time we hear nothing more of the Viscounts of St. Sauveur in
Guernsey.
The other four parishes, St. Michel du Valle, Notre Dame du Castel, St.
Sauveur, and St. Pierre du Bois, were in the patronage of the Abbey of
Mont St. Michel, and the lands in the greater part of these parishes
were held in nearly equal proportions between that famous Monastery and
the Earls of Chester--those held by the Abbey being known as “Le Fief
St. Michel,” and those belonging to the Earl being called “Le Fief le
Comte.” A local tradition says that it was Duke Robert, the father of
William the Conqueror, who first bestowed these lands on the Abbey,
and on the ancestors of the Earls, but of this there may be some doubt.
These lands were held direct from the Sovereign, to whom these lords
were bound to do homage, but in process of time they came to be
sub-fieffed by their possessors--that is, divided into smaller manors,
which, instead of owing direct allegiance to the Crown, depended on
their own lords, to whom they had certain services to render, and dues
to pay, and in whose Courts they were bound to make an appearance
thrice in the year. These Courts had jurisdiction in civil matters,
in causes arising between the tenants on their respective fiefs, and
had their seals, by which all written documents emanating from them
were authenticated, the seals of the Court of the Priory of St. Michel
representing the Archangel trampling Satan under foot, and that of the
Fief le Comte, St. George, near whose ruined chapel the Court still
holds its sittings. As there was always an appeal from the decision of
these Courts to the supreme tribunal of the island, the Royal Court,
they gradually ceased to be held, except for the purpose of collecting
the seignorial dues, and, by an Order of Her Majesty in Council, the
Court of the Fief St. Michel was abolished, the life interest of the
seneschal, vavassors, prevôts, bordiers, and other officers of the
Court being preserved.
One of the duties of the Court of St. Michel was to see that the
King’s highway (le chemin du Roi), and certain embankments against
the encroachments of the sea were kept in proper order and in due
reparation; and in order to insure this they were bound to make an
inspection once in three years.
We will now go back and consider the origin of the Fief St. Michel.
Among the many fiefs in Guernsey, held in chief from the Crown,
one of the most ancient and important is certainly that of St.
Michel-du-Valle, extending over the greater part of the northern and
western shores of the island. According to a tradition generally
accepted by the historians of the island, and which is in part
corroborated by documentary evidence, preserved in the “cartulaires”
of the famous Abbey of Mont St. Michel in Normandy, and in the
Record Office in England, certain monks who had been expelled from
that monastery for their irregularities, or had left voluntarily in
consequence of reforms in the community which they disapproved of,
came over to Guernsey about the year 966 and established themselves in
a part of the island called Le Clos du Valle, which at that period,
and until the beginning of the present century, was cut off from the
mainland by an arm of the sea, and could only be reached by a way
across the sands when the tide had receded. The monks are said to have
brought the whole of the western part of the island into cultivation,
and to have led such a pious life, and effected such a reform in the
manners of the inhabitants, that Guernsey acquired the appellation of
“l’île sainte.”[28][29]
It is also said that Robert I., Duke of Normandy, father of William the
Conqueror, called by some Le Magnifique and by others Le Diable, having
been driven by stress of weather to take refuge in Guernsey, when on
his way to England with a fleet to assist the Saxon Princes Alfred and
Edward in their resistance to the Danish invader Canute, was received
and hospitably entertained by the monks, and in return confirmed them
in the possession of the lands they had been the means of reclaiming,
at the same time constituting the community a priory in dependance on
the great monastery from which they had originally come; a connexion,
which although frequently interrupted during the long wars between
England and France for the possession of Normandy, existed until the
suppression of alien priories in England by Henry V.
Like all other fiefs the priory had its own Feudal Court, by means of
which it collected its rents and dues, and which had jurisdiction in
civil matters between all its tenants, subject, however, to an appeal
to the higher authority of the Royal Court of the island.
The Court of St. Michel-du-Valle consisted of a seneschal and eleven
vavassors, who, in virtue of their office and in consideration of their
services, held certain lands on the fief. The officers of the Court
were a greffier or registrar, four prevôts, who had duties analogous to
those of a sheriff, six bordiers, who had certain services to perform
in collecting dues and attending the meetings of the Court, and, though
last, not least, an officer styled porte-lance--of whom more hereafter.
The principal duties of the Court seem to have consisted in legalizing
sales of real property, in which tenants on the fief were interested,
and settling disputes concerning the same arising among them. But there
appear to have been attempts made from time to time to encroach on the
prerogatives of the Royal Court, and various ordinances of the latter
are in existence restraining the seneschal and vavassors from doing
certain acts, and even fining them for having gone beyond their powers.
There was one function, however, of the Court of St. Michael which it
seems to have exercised without dispute from time immemorial, but which
it is impossible to account for--the inspection and keeping in order
of the King’s highway throughout the island, and of certain of the
works for preventing the encroachments of the sea. Possibly it may have
originated in marking out the bounds of the Fief St. Michel and its
dependencies only, and with this keeping in order the sea defences.[30]
Once in three years, the seneschal and vavassors of the Court were
bound to perform this duty, which, judging from their later records,
they appear to have considered rather onerous, as we find several Acts
of the Court dispensing with the ceremony, the reason given being
generally the interruption it caused in agricultural labours, and the
loss occasioned thereby, at a time when farmers were far from being in
the prosperous condition in which they are at present.
Another very substantial reason was the expense, which had to be
defrayed out of the Crown revenue. According to some of our historians,
who, however, give no evidence in support of their assertion, this
inspection of the roads, commonly known as “La Chevauchée” from the
fact of the principal performers being mounted on horseback, was
originally annual, and was instituted with a view to having the roads
put in order preparatory to the grand religious procession of the
Host on Corpus Christi Day, but this origin of the ceremony seems
hardly probable, as it is well known that the procession in question
is strictly limited in Roman Catholic countries to parishes, and is
conducted by the parochial clergy. It is difficult to understand how
it came to pass that a subaltern Court, such as was that of the Fief
St. Michel, came to be allowed to exercise a quasi jurisdiction over
lands which had never been subject to it, but as it was impossible for
the Court to proceed to every part of their domain without occasionally
trespassing over other manors, what was originally allowed by courtesy
came to be looked upon at last as a right. A somewhat similar means
of assuring the keeping in due repair of the high roads existed, and
probably in a modified form still exists, in the sister island of
Jersey, where it is conducted by the vicomte, assisted by two or more
jurats of the Royal Court, and the officer, called the “porte-lance,”
who exercises the same functions as the official bearing the same
designation in the “Cour St. Michel.” It is known in Jersey as “La
Harelle.”
But it is time to come to a description of how this ancient ceremony
was conducted in Guernsey. As has been said before, it ought to have
taken place every third year, at which time the Court of St. Michael
used to meet in the spring to settle preliminaries in fixing the day
on which the ceremony was to take place, regulating the costume to be
worn by the “_pions_” or footmen in attendance on the Court, and other
matters. The month of June was usually chosen, and on the day appointed
the Court assembled, with all the officers who were to take part in
the procession, at the small Court House adjoining the remains of the
ancient monastic buildings still dignified with the name of “L’Abbaye,”
although the establishment had been for centuries no more than a priory
dependent on the famous monastery of Mont St. Michel in Normandy.
The following are translations of a few of the Acts and Regulations of
the Court of St. Michael:--[31]
31 March, 1768. Seneschal nominated by the Governor.
24 May, 1768. The Chevauchée being due to take place on the following
8th of June, the Court has ruled the dress of the pions. A black cap
(calotte) with a red ribbon at the back. A ruffled shirt, with black
ribbon wristbands, and a black ribbon round the neck. Black breeches
with red ribbons tied round the knee. White stockings; and red rosettes
on their wands. N.B.--This Act does not seem to have been put in force.
27th April, 1813.--The Chevauchée of His Majesty is appointed to take
place on Wednesday, the 9th of the following June, for the reparation
of the quays and roads of the King, and it is ordered that it shall
be published throughout the parishes of this island, and cried in the
Market Place, so that no one can plead ignorance.
The 27th of May, 1813.--Before Thomas Falla, Esq., Seneschal of the
Court and Jurisdiction of the Fief St. Michel, present, Messieurs James
Ozanne, Nicholas Le Patourel, James Falla, Pierre Falla, Jean Mahy,
Richard Ozanne, Nicholas Moullin, Daniel Moullin, and Jean Le Pettevin
(called Le Roux), vavassors of the said Court. The Court being to-day
assembled to regulate the order to be pursued on Wednesday, the 9th of
June proximo,--the day appointed by the Court for the Chevauchée of His
Majesty to pass--has ordered that all the pions be dressed uniformly
as follows, to wit: Black caps with a red ribbon behind. White shirts,
with white cravats or neckerchiefs. Circular white waistcoats, with a
red ribbon border. Long white breeches, tied with red ribbon round the
knee. White stockings, and red rosettes on their wands.
And Messieurs les prevôts of the Court are ordered to warn all those
who are obliged to assist at the said Chevauchée to find themselves
with their swords, their pions, and their horses, the aforesaid 9th
of June at seven o’clock in the morning at the Court of St. Michael,
according to ancient custom, in default of appearance to be subject
to such penalties as it shall please the Court to award him. And also
shall Monsieur Le Gouverneur be duly warned, and Thomas Falla, Esq.,
seneschal, and Messrs. Jean Mahy and Nicholas Moullin, vavassors, are
nominated by the Court to form a committee so as to take the necessary
measures to regulate the conformity of the said act concerning the
dress of the pions.
(Signed) JEAN OZANNE, Greffier.
On the above day, conformably to the said Act, all the pions, dressed
in the afore-mentioned costume, met at seven o’clock in the morning
at the Court of St. Michael, and there also were found the King’s
officers, vavassors, who had to serve there as esquires. The King’s
officers and the seneschal each had two pions on either side of his
bridle rein, the vavassors were only entitled to one.
They began with a short inspection and a good breakfast on the
emplacement east of the Yale Church. After breakfast, the members of
the cortège, with their swords at their sides, got on their horses
opposite the said Court of St. Michael, where the greffier of the
said Court said the customary prayer, and the seneschal read the
proclamation, and then they started in the following order:--
The Sheriff of the Vale and his pion.
The Sheriff of the King and his two pions.
The Sheriff of the Grand Moûtier and his pion.
The Sheriff of the Petit Moûtier and his pion.
The Sheriff of Rozel and his pion.
The King’s Sergeant and his two pions.
The King’s Greffier and his two pions.
The King’s Comptroller and his two pions.
The King’s Procureur and his two pions.
The King’s Receiver and his two pions.
The Lance-Bearer and his two pions.
The Greffier of the Court St. Michel and his two pions.
The Seneschal of the Court St. Michel and his two pions.
The eleven vavassors of the Court St. Michel, and one pion each.
Whilst they are on their march, the five sheriffs carry by turns a
white wand in the following order:--
The Sheriff of the Vale, from the Vale Church to the end of Grand Pont.
The King’s Sheriff, from the end of Grand Pont, as far as the Forest.
The Sheriff of Grand Moûtier, from the Forest to the King’s Mills.
The Sheriff of Petit Moûtier, from the King’s Mills to the Douit des
Landes in the Market Place, and the Sheriff of Rozel from the last
mentioned place to the Vale.
During the procession the lance bearer carried a wand of eleven and
a quarter feet long, and any obstacle this wand encountered, stones
of walls, branches of trees, etc., had to be cleared away, and the
proprietor of the obstacle was fined thirty sous, which went towards
the expenses of the dinner. From time immemorial the privilege of the
pions,--who were chosen for their good looks--was that of kissing every
woman they met, whether gentle or simple, their only restriction being
that only one pion was allowed to kiss the same lady, she had not to
run the gauntlet of the gang. This privilege of course was invariably
exercised!
At the entry of the Braye du Valle the seneschal freed the pions from
their attendance on the bridle reins, and gave them authority to
embrace any woman they might encounter, recommending good behaviour and
the rejoining of their cavaliers at the Hougue-à-la-Perre.
[Illustration: Parish Church of St. Peter Port.
Showing houses demolished to make room for present New Market.]
The Chevauchée then went to Sohier, les Landes, la rue du Marais, la
Grande Rue, la Mare Sansonnet, les Bordages, la Ronde Cheminée, and
les Morets. Arriving at the Hougue-à-la-Perre the pions regained their
respective stations on the side of their officers, leading the horses,
and there, at ten o’clock, they were met by His Excellency Sir John
Doyle, the Lieutenant-Governor and his staff, the horses of which were
all decorated with blue ribbons, except those of the said Governor and
of his family, who, out of compliment, carried red ribbons, matching
those of the Chevauchée. The Bailiff, with his party and John Guille,
Esq., also joined them at this spot, uniformly dressed in blue jackets,
white trousers, and leghorn hats.
The whole cavalcade then moved on, the Governor and suite at the rear,
preceded by the band of the town regiment, dressed as rustics, in long
white jackets and large hats with their brims turned down, and followed
by six dragoons to bring up the rear. Having passed between eleven and
twelve o’clock through Glatney, Pollet, Carrefour, and High-street,
they came to the Town Church, where they made the tour around a large
round table which had been placed near the westerly door of the said
church, which table was covered with a white cloth and supplied with
biscuits, cheese, and wine, which had been provided by one of the
“sous-prevôts,” and the Sheriff and the King’s Sergeant, on foot,
offered each cavalier who passed the door food and drink.
During this interval the band played serenades and marches.
At noon they proceeded through Berthelot-street to the College
fields, and, passing through the Grange, they reached the Gravée;
here His Excellency took his leave. The cavalcade passed on by St.
Martin’s road to the ancient manor of Ville-au-Roi, one of the oldest
habitations in the island. The entrance was tastefully decorated with
arches of flowers and a crown in the centre, with flags flying, and,
on one of the arches, “Vive la Chevauchée.” Here, according to old
manorial custom, the party was gratuitously regaled with milk. The
procession then moved on by Les Câches to Jerbourg, with the exception
of the pions, who proceeded to the village of the Forest, and there
waited the return of the Court. Here they danced and amused themselves
as before, and being rejoined by the cavalcade at the Bourg they moved
on by Les Brulliots, and passing Torteval Church arrived at a house
called the Château des Pezeries at Pleinmont, where a marquee was
erected, and cold meats and wine were prepared for the gentlemen. The
pions were seated on the grass in a circle which had been hollowed
for them, in the shape of a round table,[32] and they also had their
repast. Here the procession halted till four o’clock, and by this
time were joined by many carriages, filled with ladies and gentlemen,
who, with a numerous party of all ranks, moved on by Rocquaine, Roque
Poisson, below the Rouvets, Perelle, where a particular stone lies,
which they are obliged to go round according to an old custom, from
there by the Saint Saviour’s Road to the Grands Moulins or King’s
Mills. On their arrival there they were rejoined by the pions, the
mill was put in motion, and the miller came out with a plate in each
hand, one containing flour of wheat, and the other of barley, which had
been ground that instant by the mill. The miller then placed himself
on a large stone, and the procession moved round him; this custom has
prevailed from time immemorial. The procession then continued by St.
George, La Haye du Puits, Saumarez, Le Camp du Roy, Les Salines, to
the Clos du Valle, to the aforesaid Court of St. Michael, where they
arrived about seven o’clock, and where they were again joined by the
Lieutenant-Governor, the Bailiff, and some of the principal residents.
The Court having been dismissed they all partook of a sumptuous dinner,
at which Mr. Seneschal Falla presided. The pions were also handsomely
entertained.
The last Chevauchée took place in Guernsey on the 31st of May, 1837,
but the description of the procession we have given refers to the one
in 1825, and is taken from Jacob’s _Annals_, and the _Chronique des
Isles_, by Syvret.
The oldest known Act of the Court of St. Michael is the following,
dated the 14th of October, 1204:--
“Les Chefs Plaids Capitaux de la Saint Michel tenus à Sainte Anne
en la Paroisse du Sarazin,[33] par Nicolle de Beauvoir Bailly, à ce
présens Jean Le Feyvre, Jean Philippes, Martin de Garris, Jean Maingy,
Jean Le Gros, Jemmes le Marchand, Pierre de la Lande, Robert de la
Salle, Colin Henry, Jurez de la Cour de nostre Souverain Seigneur le
Roy d’Angleterre en l’Isle de Guernereye. Le quatorzième jour du moys
d’Octobre, l’an MCCIV. Sur la Remonstrance qui nous a esté faicte de la
part des Frères Jean Agenor, Prieur, en la Paroisse de l’Archange de
Saint Michel du Valle et ses aliez Pierre de Beauvoir, Pierre Martin,
Jean Effart, Jean Jehan, Pierre Nicolle, Pierre du Prey, Jean Agenor,
Michel le Pelley, Jean Cappelle et autres Marchands et Manans, tant en
la Paroisse du Valle que de Saint Sampson, qu’ils éstoyent grandement
empeschez et endomagez concernant le desbordement de la mer, laquelle
auroit coupé le Douvre et passage commode entre les dittes Paroisses,
entendu qu’il estoit impossible non seulement de faire Procession, mais
aussi d’aller traficquer les uns avec les autres aux Landes du Sarazin,
s’il ne nous pleust leur permettre et accorder de faire maintenir
un certain Pont passant du Valle à Saint Sampson, estant propre et
passable de toutes Marées, de Charues, et Charettes, de pied et de
Cheval, et à qui il appartiendra de la maintenir en temps advenir.
Parquoy ne voulant refuser la Raisonnable remonstrance des avants dits,
et pour le bien public, nous leur avons appointé Veue sur les Limites
les plus célèbres des dittes Paroisses, dans le jour Saint Barthelemi
prochain, et advertiront le commun de s’y trouver, pour ouir ce que par
nous sera ordonné touchant la ditte edification.”
Another copy, which differs from the preceding in the names of the
Jurats, finishes by these words, “donné par copie des roles, signé
par Colin de la Lande, clerq.” According to this copy the names of
the Jurats are “Jean Le Gros, James Le Marchant, Pierre de la Lande,
Robert de la Salle, Colin Henry, Raoul Emery, Gaultier Blondel, Guillet
Le Febvre.” It is noticeable that the first four names of the copy
first cited are not among these, and that the last three on this list
are not in the Act which we have transcribed.[34] At the end of the
second copy we find the following notice: “N.B.--Mr. Thomas Le Maître,
Prevost de St. Sauveur à Jersey en a l’original.”
Originally the vavassors[35] of the Court of St. Michael were twelve in
number, similar to the Jurats of the Royal Court, but if you ask why
the number for the last two hundred years has been reduced to eleven,
the answer is--“that the devil carried away Vivien.” All that is known
about Jean Vivien is that he was a vavassor of this Court, and that, in
a fit of despair, he drowned himself, early in the seventeenth century.
Up to about the middle of the present century three letters “I. V. V.”
cut by himself on the broken fragment of rock from which he leapt into
the gulf, still existed at the end of a footpath, not far from the
“Fosse au Courlis”--Curlew’s ditch or grave--a spot haunted by witches.
Since then no Christian has dared to replace the suicide Jean Vivien,
and, when making the calculation of the symbolic vavassorial stones,
his pebble is always omitted. There are but eleven instead of twelve.
[27] “There were two Nigels (Neel or Niel), Viscounts of Cotentin,
and proprietors of St. Sauveur le Vicomte. I have reference to those
two charters, the perusal of which exalts conjectures into genuine
_facts_. It is highly gratifying to possess, at last, extracts from the
authentic charters of Robert I. and William II. granted to St. Michel
and St. Martin of Tours.”--Extract from MS. letter from George Métivier
to Sir Edgar MacCulloch, Nov. 1846.
[28] According to Mr. Métivier Guernsey was called “Holy Island” in
the days of a learned Greek called “Sylla,” the friend of Plutarch’s
grandfather, and he says that it was the custom for persons to go from
the “ogygian” (Gallic or Breton) Islands, to Delos every century,
which means every thirty years. The voyagers also visited the temple
of Dodona; and on their return from Delos “the sacred navigators
were conducted by the winds to the Isle of Saturn or Sacred Island
(Guernsey), which was peopled entirely by themselves and their
predecessors; for although they were by their laws permitted to return
after having served Saturn thirty years, which was the century of
the Druids, yet they frequently preferred remaining in the tranquil
retirement of this island to returning to their birth-places.”
Demetrius, also, says: “Among the islands which lie adjacent to
Britain, some are desert, known by the name of the Isles of Heroes.…
I embarked in the suite of the Emperor, who was about to visit the
nearest of them. We found thereon but few inhabitants, and these were
accounted _sacred and inviolable_.” Mr. Métivier goes on to say later
“Onomacritus, an author who flourished five hundred years B.C., in one
of his poems speaks of a vessel that conveyed the ashes of the dead
between England and Spain, and a celebrated Greek author of undoubted
veracity, Procopius, who wrote about 547 A.D., states that the “Breton
fishermen of an island subject to the French, were exempt from all
tribute, because they conveyed the dead into a neighbouring island.”
The Breton French fishermen came from Jersey, “La Porte Sainte,” and
terminated their funeral voyage at Guernsey, “l’Ile Bienheureuse.”
The ashes of the dead were deposited in our _croutes_ and sacred
enclosures, within the tombs composed of _five_ horizontal stones,
which number indicated the resting places of knightly heroes, or noble
Gauls.”--Métivier in the _Monthly Selection_, 1825, pp. 327 and 452.
[29] EDITOR’S NOTE.--M. de Gerville denies the truth of this tradition.
See _Documents Inédits du Moyen Age, relatifs aux Iles du Cotentin_, p.
16.
[30] See _Gentleman’s Magazine Library_, Social Manners and Customs. P.
51, Beating of Bounds at Grimsby.
[31] EDITOR’S NOTE.--On the 27th April, 1533. The Court of St. Michel
du Valle ordered that the King’s Serjeant should “cry in the Market
Place for three Saturdays that the Chevauchée would take place in the
following month of May.”--_Fief Le Comte MSS._ copied by Colonel J. H.
C. Carey.
[32] As being of the same race and language as Wace, Walter Map and
Chrestien de Troyes, who were the first to collect and write of the
Arthurian legends,--or, as they are generally spoken of by French
writers “_Les Epopées de la Table Ronde_,”--it might reasonably be
expected that some traces of these old “romans” that must have so
influenced our forefathers should linger among us. This “round table”
so carefully hollowed out for the pions may be a relic of “La Table
Ronde,” of which Wace writes--
“Fist Artus la Roonde Table
Dont Bretons dient mainte fable.”
He goes on to say that Arthur instituted this Round Table in times of
peace, for his feudal retainers, so that none might consider himself
superior to his fellow knights and squires, for at such a table all
must be equal.
[33] Now called the Câtel, and the Church of the said Parish is
traditionally built on the Castle formerly inhabited by “Le Grand
Sarazin,” and it was there or thereabouts that the Royal Court used to
sit.
[34] EDITOR’S NOTE.--I will here add a copy of the old orders issued by
the Cour de St. Michel in 1663, and copied from those issued in 1439.
It is taken word for word from a manuscript lent me by Colonel J. H.
Carteret Carey, except that in places I have written in full words
which are abbreviated in the original MSS., such as “par” for “P,”
“Prevost” for “puost,” “présent” for “pnt,” “que” for “q,” “comme” for
“coe,” “parties” for “pties,” “Jour” for “Jor,” etc., etc.:--
A Tous Ceux quy ces presentes lettres verront ou orront--Denis Le
Marchant, Senechal de la Cour de la prieureté de St. Michel du Val en
l’Isle de Guernesey--Salut--comme ainsy soit que Martin Sauvary, comme
procureur et attourné des vavasseurs, Sergeans, bordiers, et autres
officiers, de la dite Cour acteurs d’une partie eussent fait semondre
et convenir pardevant nous en ladite Cour John phylippe recepveur pour
lors de la dite Isle de Guernesey et de ladite prieureté du Valle pour
très hault et très puissant prince Mon Seigneur Le Duc de Glocester,
Seigneur des Isles, et possesseur adonques de toutes les rentes et
revenues quelconques appartenants a la dite prieureté en ladite
Isle, deffenseur d’autre partie--Lequel attourné que dit est eust
declaré et demandé adonques a l’avant dit deffenseur comment iceluy
deffenseur recepveur comme dit est deubt bailler trouuer et deliurer
les debuoirs et deuteys appartenants es dits Officiers de la dite
Cour. C’est a sçauoir de temps en temps et toutefois et quantes qu’il
leur appartient de droit et de raison. Sçauoir est les 3 disners par
chacun a chascun des plaids Cappitaulx de ladite cour. C’est a sçauoir
à la feste St. Michel, à Noel, et à pasques. Item leurs disners toutes
fois et quantes que par le dit recepveur seront requis et contraints
d’aller reuisiter les Keys de la Coste de la mer et le cours des eaux
et que eux en feroient leur debvoir comment de droit et de raison
il appartient à leurs offices. Item--toutes fois et quantes que les
dits vavasseurs, leurs valets, et seruans et les autres Sergeants et
officiers a qu’il appartient iroient en chevauchée pour reuisiter
en ladite Isle leurs debvoirs semblablement--C’est a sçauoir quant
eux se sont representés deuant la porte de la dite prieureté et eux
doiuent monter a cheval eux doivent auoir du pain et du vin abondamment
et honestement seruis--Item pareillement eux doivent estre seruis
et administrer de pain et de vin par la main du prevost de mon dit
seigneur deuant la porte de l’eglise de St. pierre port lequel preuost
doit estre présent a la dite chevauchée; et doit estre illeques une
ronde table mise fournie et garnie bien et honnestement de doublier,
pain et vin es coustages de mon dit Seigneur. Item quant eux seront
arrivés es portes de pleinmont eux doiueut auoir du pair et a boire
et quant eux seront retournez a la dite prieureté et eux auront ainsi
fait leurs debvoir eux doivent avoir a disner bien et honnestement
tous ensemble es despens et coustages de mon dit Seigneur. Lequel
seruice iceux officiers confessoient estre tenus de droit et de raison
de trois ans en trois ans par la dignité de leurs offices. Item leurs
disners semblablement toutes fois et quant qu’eux taxent les amendes
de la dite cour. Item aussi a Noel et a Pasques quant eux rendent et
payent les francs tenans (?) C’est a sçauoir les chapons a Noel et les
oeufs a pasques. Lesquelles choses et chacune d’icelles en la forme
et manière comme dessus est dit et desclaré. Le dit attourné au nom
que dit est, proposoit adonques contre le dit recepveur, deffenseur
comme dessus est dit; et qu’a jceux officiers appartenoit de droit
et d’antienne coustume a raison et dignitez de leurs offices et cela
jceluy attourné offroit a prouver a suffire contre le dit deffenseur
et jceluy recepueur deffenseur comme dit est es auant dites parties,
propos et callenges dust fait negacion; et le dit attourné dust prins
et offert a prouver à suffire contre le dit deffenseur es quelles
parties nous assignames certain jour es premiers plaids de la dite Cour
c’est a sçavoir au dit attourné a faire sa preuve et audit deffenseur a
la soustenir. Sachent tous que le Jour du Jeudy neufième jour du mois
de Juillet l’an de grace mille, quatre cents et trente-neuf, en la dite
cour par-devant nous comme dit est les dites parties furent presentes
et personellemeut compareutes, et leurs raisons recitées et alleguées
tant de l’une partie que de l’autre. Le dit attourné prouva et informa
bien et raisonnablement toute son jntention et propos estre bons et
vrays en forme et manière comme dessus est dit, et desclare par le
report d’un bon et loyal serment douze preud’hommes de la dite paroisse
de St. Michel du Valle, Jures et Sermentez de nostre ofice sur Saintes
euangilles de dire et raporter uerité et loyaulté sur les cas, Item
en outre et dabondant qu’au Seigneur de ladite prieureté appartient a
faire curer et netoyer le fonds du douit du grand maresq appartenant a
la dite prieureté, estant a la dite paroisse et en cas qu’aucune ordure
soit terre ou pierre cherroit dedans jceluy douit qu’il doit estre
netoyé et curé es coustages de ceux a quj la faute seroit trouué après
lequel raport de serment fait et raporté a la forme et manière comme
dessus est dit nous condanmes (sic) (? confirmames) toutes et chacunes
les choses dessus dites et desclarez enfin et par perpetuité d’heritage
en sa temps aduenir. En tesmoing desquelles choses nous avons a ces
presentes lettres mis et appendu le seell de nos Armes l’an et le Jour
de susdit--Les parties a ce presentes.
Collationné à l’original par nous soussignez Senechal et Vavasseurs de
la dite cour de St. Michel le vingt et unième Jour du mois de May l’an
Mille, six cents soixante et huit.
JEAN PERCHARD, Seneschal.
PHILIPPIN PAINT.
JEAN LE HURAY.
WILLIAM LE FAYVRE.
P. LE MARCHANT.
JAMES FALLA.
THOMAS DE JERSEY.
HELLIER DE JERSÉ.
PIERRE LA PERE.
JEAN DE GARIS.
JEAN FALLA.
JEAMES LIHOU.
[Illustration: Sceau du Fief St. Michel du Valle.]
_Contre Sceau_ Initiales du dit Seneschal.
[35] EDITOR’S NOTE.--The titles of the eleven vavasseurs are:--(1)
Gervaise--(2) Capelle--(3) Soulaire--(4) Maresq--(5) Grent Maison--(6)
Garis--(7) Béhon--(8) Agenor--(9) Piquemie--(10) Le Moye--(11) Houët.
The titles of the sergeants:--(1) Gaillot--(2) Bordier Paisson--(3) de
la Lande--(4) Roques des Roques--(5) Bourg--(6) l’Ange. The titles of
the bordiers:--(1) Béquerel--(2) Rebour--(3) Renost--(4) Ricard--(5)
Nant--(6) Salmon--(7) Infart--(8) Scarabie.
“Briser La Hanse.”
This was a curious civic ceremony which was abolished in the early part
of this century. In each of our parishes there are a certain number of
functionaries called douzeniers, because the corps in question consists
of twelve (douze) members, except in St. Peter Port, where there are
twenty, and at St. Michel du Valle, where there are sixteen. When one
of these officers was elected, he had to give a feast, to which the
electors carried an enormous bouquet of flowers “à deux hanses”--with
two handles. The dinner finished and the cloth removed, each man filled
his glass, and the abdicating douzenier (le douzenier _déhansé_) broke
one of these handles, previously dipping the bouquet into his glass,
and drinking the health of the douzenier _hansé_. Then the bouquet went
round from hand to hand, each man, while moistening it with the spirit
that bubbled in his glass, adding his toast to the newly elected or
_hansé_ douzenier.
Local Customs--Aquatic.
“Heureux peuple des champs, vos travaux sont des fêtes.”
--_St. Lambert._
Vraicing.
The months of June, July, and August, form one of the principal seasons
for the collection of the seaweed with which the rocky shores of
Guernsey abound, and which, from time immemorial, has proved a most
valuable resource to the farmer, not only as affording an excellent
manure for the land, but also, in the case of the poorer cottagers and
fishermen who inhabit the coast, an unfailing supply of fuel. Many
indeed of these gain almost their entire livelihood by collecting
the “vraic” as it is locally termed, which they sell to their richer
neighbours for dressing the land, or which, after drying on the shore,
they stack for their winter firing. The ashes, which are carefully
preserved, always command a ready market, being considered one of
the best manures that can be applied to the land in preparing it for
certain crops. The qualities of seaweed in general as a fertilizer are
so highly appreciated that it has given rise to the agricultural adage
“_point de vraic, point de hautgard_”--no sea-weed, no stack yard. It
has been remarked that dry seasons are unfavourable to the growth of
sea-weed, and that rain is almost as essential to its development as it
is to that of the grass of the field--a singular fact, when we remember
that the marine plant has always a supply of moisture.
[Illustration: Vraicing.]
Sea-weed is distinguished into two kinds “_vraic venant_”--drift weed,
and “_vraic scié_”--cut weed. The former is that which, like the
leaves and branches of a tree, are severed from the place of growth by
natural decay, or by the violence of storms, and is thrown up by the
action of the waves on the shore. The latter is that which is detached
from the rocks by the hand of man, generally with the aid of a small
sickle. The collecting of sea-weed, whether drift or cut, is subject to
stringent regulations, framed with a view both of preventing dangerous
quarrels among those engaged in the occupation, and also of ensuring a
regular supply of so precious a commodity by allowing sufficient time
for its growth. In Guernsey the Royal Court has always legislated on
the subject, but on the coasts of Normandy and Brittany it appears to
have been the province of the Church to regulate the matter, and the
harvesting of the sea-weed never began until the parish priest had
solemnly blessed the undertaking.
Driftweed may be collected at all seasons, but only between sunrise
and sunset. It is found left on the beach by the retiring tide, or
is dragged on shore by means of long rakes from amidst the breakers
that roll in during, or after, heavy gales. This is hard work, and
not unattended with danger. The men are frequently up to their waists
in the water, and the shelving pebbly beach affords but an insecure
footing. The rakes are often wrenched out of the men’s hands by the
violence of the waves, and hurled back among them, inflicting severe
bruises and sometimes even broken limbs. The collecting of the cut
weed or “_vraic scié_” is quite another thing. Although entailing a
great deal of labour, it is looked upon, especially in summer, as a
sort of holiday. There are two seasons during which it is lawful to
cut: the first begins with the first spring-tide after Candlemas, and
lasts about five weeks, during the whole of which time every person
is allowed to collect as much as he wants for manuring his lands. The
second cutting, which is chiefly for fuel, commences about Midsummer
and lasts until the middle of August. Immemorial usage, strengthened
by legal enactment, has consecrated the first eight days of cutting at
this season to the poor. During this time none but those who are too
poor to possess a horse or cart are allowed the privilege of gathering
the vraic, which, when cut, they must bring to high water mark on
their backs. After this concession to the less fortunate brethren, the
harvest is thrown open to all. Then it is that the country people,
uniting in parties consisting frequently of two or three neighbouring
families, resort to the beach with their carts, to watch the ebbing
tide, and secure a favourable spot for their operations. All who can
be spared from the necessary routine work of the farm attend on these
occasions. The younger people adorn their hats with wreaths of flowers,
the horses’ heads are decked with nosegays, and even the yoke of the
patient ox is not without its floral honours. Once arrived on the
sea-shore, not a moment is lost, for time and tide wait for no man,
and first come, first served. The sickle is plied vigorously, and
small heaps of the precious weed are collected and marked with a flat
pebble, on which the name or initials of the proprietor are chalked.
The men wade across the “cols” or natural causeways leading to the
outlying rocks, and, when the tide begins to flow, hastily load the
carts, or the ample panniers with which the horses are provided, and
hurry off to deposit their hard-earned store above high-water mark. In
the meantime the younger members of the party range along the beach,
turning over the stones in search of that esteemed mollusc the “ormer”
or sea-ear (_Haliotis tuberculata_) which, when well cooked--a secret
only known to a native of the isles--is really a delicious morsel. Not
unfrequently crabs of various kinds are turned out of their hiding
places, and hurry off, holding up their formidable pincers in defiance
and defence, but are soon adroitly transferred to the “_behotte_”--a
small basket, narrow mouthed and flattened on one side, which hangs
by a belt from the shoulder of the youth or maiden. Here and there
a larger mass of rock is with difficulty raised, and a goodly sized
conger-eel, disturbed from his snug retreat, glides away like a snake
and endeavours to hide himself in the grass-like “_plize_” (_Zostera
Marina_). A blow on the head stuns him, and he goes to join the
captive ormers and crabs. Perhaps one of those hideous monsters of the
deep, the cuttle fish, is dislodged. His long tentacles, armed with
innumerable suckers, which attach themselves strongly to anything they
touch, his parrot-like bill and large projecting eyes, staring with a
fixed gaze, are calculated to inspire alarm, but the trenchant sickle
makes short work of him, and his scattered limbs remain on the spot to
form a meal for the crabs.
The laugh and the jest are to be heard on all sides--even the brute
creation seem to enjoy the change. The horses, generally quiet, scamper
over the sands and rocks, neighing joyously to one another; the farm
dogs are busy hunting the small crabs that everywhere abound, or
rushing into the water after the stones thrown by the children. A
more animated scene can nowhere be witnessed, and, when lighted up by
a bright summer sun, none more worthy of being studied by the artist.
The rich colouring of the rocks, the lustrous bronzed tints of the
moist sea-weed, the delicate hues of the transparent water as it lies
unruffled in the small pools left by the retiring wave, the groups of
oxen and horses with their shining summer coats, and the merry faces of
the peasantry, form a picture which no true lover of nature can ever
forget. But the tide is rising, and drives the busy crowd before it.
Before, however, they leave the strand, the younger men choose their
favourite lasses, and lead them, already thoroughly drenched, to meet
the advancing wave. Hand-in-hand they venture in; the confiding girl
is enticed onwards, and suddenly finds herself immersed over head and
ears in the water. Some, more coy, feign to fly, sure to be overtaken
and share the same fate. The whole scene is vividly portrayed by Mr.
Métivier in his poem of the “Sea Weeders” written in 1812.
At last, all re-assemble on the grassy sward that lines the shore,
and join their respective parties. The careful housewife has baked
beforehand a plentiful supply of “gâche” and biscuits; the rich
golden-coloured butter has been kept from the market, much to the
annoyance of the thrifty matron in town, who finds the price enhanced
in consequence; the small barrel of cider is broached, and all make a
hearty meal. The remaining hours of daylight are employed in carting
away the vraic or spreading it out on the downs to dry, and, when
night has set in, many assemble again at some neighbouring tavern and
end the day with song and dance. The old fashioned “_chifournie_” or
hurdy-gurdy--the _rote_ of mediæval times--has given way to the modern
fiddle, but the songs are still those that delighted their ancestors.
Most, if not all of them, have been originally derived from France,
where it is far from improbable that they are now forgotten except in
some remote country villages, but it is curious to find that they are
still sung by the Canadian boatmen, and “Belle Rose, au Rosier Blanc”
and “A la Claire Fontaine” are as familiar to the American descendants
of the Normans as they are to the Guernsey peasant.
Ormering.
Another favourite amusement of the young people in the country,
besides the merry-making which accompanies and follows the collection
of sea-weed in summer, is the forming of parties to take the ormer, a
shell-fish which abounds at low water at the spring-tides in spring
and autumn. The ormer is the _Haliotis tuberculata_ of naturalists,
and derives its name from its resemblance in shape to an ear--_auris
marina_--“oreille de mer.” The shell, which was formerly thrown away,
is now carefully collected and exported, as it enters largely into the
japanned ware manufactured at Birmingham and elsewhere, the lustre of
the interior of the shell surpassing in brilliancy and variety of tints
that of the best mother-of-pearl. It is not, however, for the sake of
the shell that this mollusc is sought, but for the fish itself, which,
after being well beaten to make it tender, and cooked in brown sauce,
forms a favourite dish. Like the limpet, the ormer adheres strongly to
the rock, from which it requires some degree of strength to detach it,
but it seems to possess considerable powers of locomotion, and appears
to come up from the deep water at certain seasons of the year, probably
for the purpose of depositing its ova. It is a curious instance of the
local distribution of animal life that, although the ormer is known in
the Mediterranean, and is found all along the western shores of Spain
and France, and in great quantities on the coasts of Brittany, it has
never been discovered much to the eastward of Cherbourg, nor on the
English side of the Channel.
The localities in which the ormer abounds are the rocky bays, of which
there are so many around our coast, and there it is found at the proper
seasons adhering to the under surface of the loose boulders. It is no
trifling work to turn over these stones, but the searcher often returns
home laden with several hundred ormers, and not infrequently he has
also added a crab or a conger to his store.
Sand-Eeling.
The catching of the sand-eel, or “_lanchon_” as it is locally termed,
takes place on nights when the moon is at her full, and at low water:
it is pursued more as a recreation than as a source of profit. Parties
of young men and women unite and resort to some sandy bay or creek as
the tide is ebbing, armed with blunted sickles, two-pronged forks, or
any instrument with which the sand can be easily stirred. The fish,
on being disturbed, rise to the surface of the sand with a leap. They
are very agile in their movements, but their bright silvery sides,
glittering in the moon-beams, betray them to their active pursuers, and
before they have time to burrow again in the sand they are caught with
the hand and transferred to the basket. It is more easy to imagine than
describe the fun and merriment to which this sport gives rise; how in
the eagerness of the pursuit, a false step will place the incautious
maiden up to the waist in a pool of water, and subject her to the good
natured laughter of her merry companions; how an apparently accidental
push from behind will cause a youth, who is stooping down to gather
up the fish, to measure his whole length on the wet sand; or how a
malicious step will splash one or more of the party from top to toe. To
the lovers of the picturesque the localities in which this sport takes
place add not a little to the charm of the scene. The broad sands of
Vazon Bay, those of La Saline and other creeks on the western shores
of the island, hemmed in on all sides by reefs of rock, and, above
all, that most lovely spot called Le Petit Port, which lies at the
foot of the precipitous cliffs of Jerbourg, seen in the full light of
the harvest moon, leave impressions on the mind that are not easily
forgotten.
Although the coasts of the island abound in fish of various sorts,
sea-fishing, as an amusement, is very little resorted to. The reason
of this is no doubt to be found in the strong tides and currents and
dangerous rocks which surround us on every side, and which render
it imprudent to venture out to sea unless under the guidance of an
experienced pilot. Of late years, however, the extension of the harbour
works into deep water has brought the fish within reach without the
risk of hazarding one’s life by venturing on the fickle sea, and
the “contemplative man’s amusement” is becoming daily more and more
popular. Crowds of men and boys may be seen in all sorts of weather
and at all hours of the day angling from the pier heads, and not
infrequently making very fair catches.
Although prawns and shrimps are tolerably plentiful, there are but
few who take the trouble of catching them for the market, but the
pursuit of these delicate crustaceans is a favourite amusement, and
is occasionally indulged in by persons of all ranks, the shores of
Herm and Jethou, and the bays of the Pezerie and Rocquaine being the
best spots at low tide for the sport. Inglis, in his work on the
Channel Islands, remarks “that so various are tastes in the matter of
recreation, that he has seen individuals who found as much pleasure in
wading for half-a-day, knee-deep among rocks, to make capture of some
handfuls of shrimps, as has ever been afforded to others in the pursuit
of the deer or the fox.”
[Illustration: The Parish Church of S. Peter Port. A.D. 1846.]
Local Customs--Ceremonial.
“What art thou, thou idle ceremony?
What kind of god art thou, that suffer’st more
Of mortal grief than do thy worshippers!
Art thou aught else but place, degree, and form?”
--_Shakespeare._
Although the doctrines of the Reformation were introduced into Guernsey
in the reign of Edward VI., and perhaps earlier, and the Liturgy put
forth by authority in the reign of that monarch was translated into
French and used in the churches,[36] it was not until the reign of
Elizabeth that the island became wholly Protestant.
Up to this time the Channel Islands had formed part of the Diocese
of Coutances in Normandy,[37] an arrangement which led to much
inconvenience in times of war between France and England. Queen
Elizabeth put an end to this connection in the year 1568,[38] and
attached the islands to the See of Winchester; but it was not until the
Restoration of Charles II. that the change took full effect, and that
the islands were brought entirely within the discipline of the Church
of England by authority of the Bill of Uniformity.
It is well known that it was part of Queen Elizabeth’s policy to
favour the Huguenot party in France; and that in times of persecution
the followers of the Reformed faith always met with an hospitable
reception in England. The Channel Islands, lying so close to the coast
of France, and speaking the same language as was used in continental
Normandy, were naturally chosen as places of refuge in times of
persecution by the French Protestants, many of whom--and among them
several ministers--resorted thither until more settled times enabled
them to return to their own homes. The old Roman Catholic rectors of
the parishes in Guernsey, who, apparently, had given a sort of half
adhesion to the intermediate order of things, and had been allowed to
retain possession of a portion, at least, of the emoluments of their
benefices, seem to have disappeared altogether shortly after the
excommunication of the Queen by Pope Pius V. in 1570.
The Governor of Guernsey, Sir Thomas Leighton, who favoured the views
of the Puritan party in the Church, filled up the vacant pulpits with
French refugee ministers, and probably it would have been difficult
at that time to find any others.[39] The same course seems to have
been followed in Jersey. These ministers very naturally preferred
their own form of conducting divine worship to that of the Anglican
Church, and, on the representation of the Governors of both the
islands, permission was given by the Queen for the use of the Genevan
form in the churches of the towns of St. Peter Port in Guernsey, and
of St. Helier in Jersey. This permission was renewed by King James
I. on his accession to the throne; and the natural consequence was,
that not only the Presbyterian form of worship soon spread into every
parish in the islands, but that the Presbyterian discipline and
Church government were firmly established, and the authority of the
Bishop of Winchester totally ignored. To this discipline the people
of Guernsey clung with great pertinacity, and the attempts during the
Great Rebellion of the Brownists and other fanatical sects to introduce
their peculiar doctrines, met with little or no favour. It was not
without some opposition that Episcopacy was brought in, most of the
ministers refusing to conform to the new order of things, and giving
up their livings in consequence.[40] The people had nothing to say in
the matter: they were bound by the Act of Uniformity, but, in deference
to their feelings and prejudices, certain practices were allowed to be
retained, and certain others dispensed with.
No great objection could be made to a set form of prayer, for something
of the kind was in use in the French Reformed Church; but the Litany
of the Church of England seems to have given great offence--probably
from its close resemblance to some of those used in the Romish
Church--insomuch that many persons at first abstained altogether
from attending the morning service; and, although in the present
day no objection exists to this, or any other part of the Liturgy,
it is, perhaps, owing to habits then contracted, and handed down
from generation to generation, that so many, especially in the rural
parishes, absent themselves from church in the forenoon. The use of the
sign of the cross in baptism, in deference to the strong prejudices
of the people, who seem to have looked upon it as the Mark of the
Beast, was not at first insisted upon, but, in order to counteract
this feeling, the thirtieth Canon “On the lawful use of the Cross in
Baptism,” was inserted at the end of the Baptismal Service in the
French translation of the Book of Common Prayer printed for use in the
islands, and there is every reason to believe that the objection to
this practice soon died out.
Probably, kneeling at the Holy Communion was received with little
favour, for we find that the first introduction of this practice on
the 12th of October, 1662, was thought worthy of a note in a journal
kept by a parish clerk and schoolmaster of that day--Pierre Le Roy--who
wisely abstained from any comment on the event. To this day appliances
for kneeling are rare in many pews, and at the beginning of the
nineteenth century most of the congregation remained seated during the
singing of the metrical psalms, as is the practice in the Presbyterian
churches in Scotland and on the Continent.
Baptismal fonts are of recent introduction, the order to put them up in
all the parish churches having been given by the Bishop of Winchester
(Dr. C. R. Sumner) on the occasion of his primary visitation to this
portion of his diocese in September, 1829, he being the first Prelate
of that See who had deigned to inspect the state of the churches in
the islands since the time that they were placed under the care of an
Anglican Bishop by Queen Elizabeth. Before fonts were provided, the
rite of baptism was administered at the altar, the minister, standing
within the rail, receiving the water at the proper moment from the
clerk, who poured it into his hand from a silver ewer.
In the absence of periodical visits from a Bishop, the rite of
confirmation had, of course, become a dead letter. It was administered
in 1818, for the first time since the Reformation, by Dr. Fisher,
Bishop of Salisbury, who had been deputed to consecrate two
newly-erected churches by the then Bishop of Winchester, who was too
old and infirm to undertake the duty himself. Before that time--and
indeed for some considerable time later--it was customary to give
notice from the pulpit, previously to the quarterly celebration of the
Holy Communion, that young persons desirous of communicating for the
first time should attend in the vestry on a certain day. This notice
was, of course, given in the parish churches in French--the language of
the great majority of the people of that time--and the word used for
“vestry,” and which we have so translated, was “Consistoire.” No doubt,
under the Presbyterian discipline, the examination of catechumens took
place before the Consistory, composed of the minister and elders of the
church.
Till a comparatively recent period the Holy Communion was only
administered quarterly, and at the great festivals of Christmas,
Easter, Whitsuntide and Michaelmas. A preparatory sermon was generally
preached at an evening service held on the day before the communion,
and on this occasion a metrical version of the Decalogue was usually
sung instead of a psalm or hymn. This was a practice borrowed from the
French Reformed Church, as was also that of singing the 100th Psalm
while the non-communicants were leaving the church, some portions of
the 103rd Psalm while the communion was being administered, and, just
before the final benediction, the Song of Simeon, “Nunc Dimittis.”
Men and women communicated separately, the men first and the women
afterwards,--a relic doubtless of the time when they were kept apart in
the church. No one thought of leaving the rails until all who knelt at
the same time had communicated, when the officiating minister dismissed
them with these words:--
“Allez en paix; vivez en paix,
Et que le Dieu de Paix vous bénisse.”
Or
“Que le Dieu de Paix soit avec vous.”
They then retired to make room for others. In parishes where weekly
collections were made at the church door for the relief of the poor,
it was customary for the minister to say immediately after the final
benediction:
“Allez en paix; vivez en paix;
Et en sortant de ce temple souvenez vous des pauvres.”
All these peculiar customs, which had been handed down from
Presbyterian times, are rapidly disappearing. In the days when the
celebration of the Lord’s Supper was confined to stated days, it was
the custom in some of the country parishes to deck out the churches for
the occasion with branches of evergreens, as at Christmas. Also, on the
day of the communion it was considered irregular to appear in coloured
clothes. Black was universally worn, and many old people, both in town
and country, but especially in the country, keep to the old custom.
The practice of publishing the banns of marriage immediately after the
recital of the Nicene Creed, and not after the Second Lesson, as is
done in England, has been retained in Guernsey; the Act of Parliament
of George II., which was supposed to change the custom of the church
in this respect, and to do away with the express injunctions in the
rubric, not including the Channel Islands in its provisions. In the
country parishes, where the cemeteries are in the immediate vicinity
of the churches, it is now--though it was not so in former days--the
custom to carry the corpse into the church for the reading of the
appointed Psalms and Lesson; but in Town, where the burial-grounds
are, for the most part, at some considerable distance from the sacred
building, this part of the service was, till of late years, entirely
dispensed with. It is customary, however, for the Clergy, sometimes to
the number of three or four, to attend at the house of the deceased, if
invited so to do, and to head the procession to the church or cemetery.
A pious custom existed formerly--which, one is sorry to say, has of
late years fallen almost entirely into disuse--no man ever commenced a
new work, or even began the usual routine work of the season, without
making use of these words “Au nom de Dieu soit!” Wills and many other
legal documents, the books in which the Acts of the Royal Court and
of the States of the island are registered, as well as those used by
merchants and tradesmen in their business, all commenced with this
formula. In many cases it evidently took the place of the sign of the
cross. All sittings of the Royal Court and of the States of the island,
as well as the meetings of parishioners in the Vestry, and of the
parochial councils known as Douzaines, are opened by the recitation of
the Lord’s Prayer, and closed by the Apostolic Benediction.
[36] EDITOR’S NOTE.--_Comet_, June 29th, 1889.--“At the sale of Lord
Crawford’s effects, held in London last week, Messrs. Sotheby sold to
Messrs. Ellis, of Bond Street, a Prayer Book, translated into French
for the special use of Channel Islanders. The book dates as far back
as 1553, and was sold for the price of £70. The following is a full
description of the book taken from the catalogue:--678--Liturgy,
Livre des Prières communes de l’administration des sacremens et
autres cérémonies en l’Eglise de l’Angleterre. Traduit en Francoys
par Francoys Philippe, serviteur de Monsieur le Grand Chancelier
d’Angleterre. (Fine copy in blue morocco extra gilt edges by W.
Pratt, excessively rare). Sm. 4to. (Paris). De l’imprimerie de Thomas
Gaultier, Imprimeur du Roy en la langue Française, pour les Iles de
Sa Majesté--1553. The following is the collation of this extremely
rare edition, purchased in the Tenison sale for £39. (4) ff. Title,
Contents, Epistle to Bp. of Ely. Sig: AI-IV+ (4) ff. Preface des
Cérémonies en sign. B.1.IV+ (14) ff. Table & Kalendar, Proper Psalms
and Lessons. Acte pour Uniformité. 4. (184) ff. Texte. The translation
was made from the second book of King Edward VI. for the use of the
Inhabitants of the Channel Islands.”
[37] Boniface IX. being Pope, Clement VII. Anti-Pope in France, and the
Bishop of Coutances taking his side, the Bishop of Nantes was appointed
by Boniface administrator of the See of Coutances, and the King of
England, Richard II., addressed a letter to the Governors, Bailiffs,
Jurats, and other inhabitants of Jersey and Guernsey, ordering them to
obey the Bishop of Nantes in all spiritual matters. Rymer. Vol. VIII.
p. 131.
[38] EDITOR’S NOTE.--It was the excommunication of Queen Elizabeth
by the Pope that led to the transference of the Channel Islands from
the Diocese of Coutances to that of Winchester. Canon MacColl in his
“Reformation Settlement” notes as an extraordinary fact that the
Bishop of Coutances so far disapproved of that excommunication as
to have offered, on condition that his jurisdiction was allowed, to
give institution to those clergy whom the Queen might nominate from
the English Universities. In fact, up to the date of the bull of
excommunication, the islands remained under the jurisdiction of the
Bishop of Coutances, who permitted the use of the reformed Prayer Book,
and ruled, apparently without a protest, over a portion of his diocese,
in which the claim to supremacy on the part of the Pope was denied.
[39] EDITOR’S NOTE.--Mr. Matthieu Le Lièvre gives a slightly different
version. He says:--“Parmi ceux qui avaient quitté Guernesey pour
échapper au coups de la réaction catholique, se trouvait Guillaume
Beauvoir, membre de l’une des familles qui ont joué un grand rôle
dans l’histoire de l’île, et qui occupa lui-même, pendant neuf ans
(1572-1581), la dignité de bailli, la première magistrature du
pays.… Il s’éloigna donc et se refugia avec sa femme à Genève, où il
séjourna quelque temps et se fit avantageusement connaître de Calvin
et de ses collègues. Rentré dans son île natale après la mort de la
reine Marie, il fut frappé de la nécessité d’appeler au plus tôt un
homme de tête et de piété pour relever les affaires de la Réforme à
Guernesey. Il écrivit donc aux pasteurs de Genève, et à Calvin en
particulier, pour leur demander un ministre. La Compagnie des Pasteurs
s’en occupa et envoya à la jeune Eglise de Guernesey le ministre
Nicolas Baudoin, porteur de deux lettres de recommandation addressées
à Guillaume Beauvoir, et signées, l’une Charles Despeville (l’un des
pseudonymes de Calvin) et l’autre Raymond Chauvet, l’un des Pasteurs
de Genève.”--_Histoire du Méthodisme dans les Iles de la Manche_, par
Matthieu Le Lièvre, D.D., pp. 38-39.
[40] EDITOR’S NOTE.--Pierre Le Roy’s Diary, 24th Sept., 1662. “Il
est arrivé dans cette ile une compagnie de cent soldats avec un
major, un capitaine, et des officiers, à cause de quelque opposition
à l’Acte d’Uniformité. Les ministres n’ont pas voulu s’y soumettre
et ont abandonné leurs cures, savoir M. Le Marchant, du Valle et de
Saint-Samson; M. Perchard, de Saint Pierre-du-Bois; M. Morehead, de
Saint-Sauveur; M. de la Marche, du Câtel, et M. Hérivel, de la Forêt
et de Torteval.” John de Sausmarez, formerly Rector of St. Martin’s
parish, was made Dean in 1662, and he and one of his colleagues,
Pierre de Jersey, were the first to establish the new ritual. Thomas
Le Marchant, who was virtually the head of the Presbyterian party,
and as such was especially hated by Dean de Sausmarez, was shut up
first in Castle Cornet in 1663, and in 1665 in the Tower of London,
till September, 1667, when he was liberated, “ayant donné caution de
mille livres sterling qu’il ne présumera pas en aucun temps d’aller
dans l’île de Guernesey à moins qu’il n’ait pour le faire une license
spéciale de Sa Majesté, et qu’il se comportera à l’avenir comme un
respectueux et loyal sujet,” etc. He had married Olympe Roland, and
his son Eléazar was later Lieutenant Bailiff of Guernsey.--See also
_Histoire du Methodisme dans les Isles de la Manche_, par Matthieu Le
Lièvre, 1885, p. 112.
Birth and Baptism.
On the birth of a child notice is usually sent to the nearest
relations, and as soon as the mother is sufficiently recovered she
receives the visits and congratulations of her friends. It is customary
to offer cake and wine to the visitors on these occasions. The wine
must on no account be refused, but the health of the child must be
duly drunk, and the glass drained, for it is considered extremely
unlucky to leave a drop behind. The christening feast still retains the
ancient name of “_Les Aubailles_” from the white garment or alb--in
French “aube”--with which, in the early church, the recipients of
baptism were solemnly invested. It is customary for the sponsors to
make a present to the child, which usually takes the form of silver
spoons, or a drinking cup. Before the re-establishment of Episcopacy
at the Restoration there appears to have been only one sponsor of each
sex. Of course the rubric which orders that every boy shall have two
godfathers, and every girl two godmothers, is now complied with, but
the second is invariably styled by the people the “little” godfather or
godmother, and is often a child or very young person evidently only put
in to comply with the requirements of the church.
The excess of feasting at baptisms and churchings as well as at
marriages and funerals seems to have reached to such an extent in
the early part of the seventeenth century as to call for repressive
measures on the part of the legislature, at that time deeply imbued
with a puritanical spirit, and sumptuary laws of a very stringent
nature were promulgated restricting the invitations on these occasions
to the nearest relations, and prohibiting entirely all dancing, and
even almsgiving.
After baptism the child is sent round to its nearest relatives, and the
old women say that a present of some sort, preferably an egg, should be
placed in the infant’s hands, while visitors to the child are always
expected to put some money in the infant’s hand for luck, and as a
token that it shall never want, the value of the gift being of little
moment.
It is thought very unlucky to measure or weigh a child, such a
proceeding being sure to stop its growth; and it is also supposed to be
very unlucky to cover up a baby’s face when taking it to the church to
be christened, until the ceremony is over.
It is considered peculiarly unlucky for three children to be presented
at the font at the same time for baptism, as it is firmly believed that
one of the three is sure to die within the year.[41]--_Communicated by
the Rev. C. D. P. Robinson, Rector of St. Martin’s._
[41] EDITOR’S NOTE.--This superstition still continues, and was told me
in 1896 by Mrs. Le Patourel and others. The doomed baby is supposed to
be the one christened _second_, or the middle one, and you still hear
women say when their child has been christened with two others, “Oh,
but mine was an _end_ one.”
Betrothals and Weddings.
“As I have seene upon a Bridall day,
Full many maids clad in their best array,
In honour of the Bride come with their Flaskets
Fill’d full with flowers: others in wicker baskets
Bring forth from the Marsh rushes, to o’erspread
The ground whereon to Church the lovers tread;
Whilst that the quaintest youth of all the Plaine
Ushers their way with many a piping straine.”
--_Brown’s “Pastorals,” written before 1614._
From the reign of Elizabeth to the Restoration of Charles II., the
Presbyterian form of church government, with its rigorous discipline,
prevailed in the Island, and the betrothal--“fiançailles”[42] of
persons intending to take upon themselves the holy state of matrimony
was a solemn act, performed in the presence of the ministers and elders
of the church, and which by an ordinance of the Royal Court of the year
1572, was to be followed by marriage within six months at the latest.
The legislature of that day evidently disapproved of long engagements.
The promise was usually confirmed by a gift on the part of the
bridegroom of some article of value, which was to be held by the bride
as an earnest for the performance of the contract, and returned in case
the match was broken off by mutual consent. Traces of this custom are
still to be observed in the formal announcement of the engagement to
relations, and in the visits paid to them by the young couple in order
to introduce each other reciprocally to those with whom they are to be
hereafter more closely connected, as well as in the importance attached
to the presents, locally termed “gages”[43] (pledges) given by the
young man to his affianced bride.
A round of entertainments usually succeeds the announcement of the
intended marriage, at which in former days mulled wine used to be “de
rigueur,” as indeed it was at all family merry makings and occasions of
rejoicings.
Among the trading, agricultural, and labouring classes each party is
expected to bring his or her portion of the articles necessary to set
up housekeeping. The man, for example, provides the bedstead, the
woman, the bed and the household linen, and very often the crockery
and furniture. All, however, is looked upon as belonging to the
wife, and is frequently secured to her by a regular contract entered
into before marriage, so that in case of the husband getting into
pecuniary difficulties, his creditors cannot lay claim to the household
furniture. The handsomely carved oaken chests, or large leather-covered
boxes studded with brass nails, which were formerly to be seen in
almost all the old country houses, were used to contain the stock of
linen, and appear to have been in early days almost the only piece of
ornamental furniture of which the house could boast. This used to be
brought to the bridegroom’s residence, with the rest of the articles
provided by the bride, a day or two before the wedding, and with a
certain degree of form, the bridegroom, or his best man, conducting
the cart which contained them,[44] and the nearest unmarried female
relative of the bride carrying the looking-glass or some other valued
or brittle article. A similar custom still exists in Normandy and
Brittany. It is considered highly unlucky for a bride to take any other
way in going to the church to be married than that which she follows
when going thither for her usual devotions. Flowers and rushes are
invariably strewn in the path of the bride and bridegroom as they leave
the church, and before the door of their future habitation.[45]
On the first or second Sunday after their wedding the newly-married
pair appear in church attended by the best man and the bridesmaid,
and it is a point of etiquette for the bride and bridegroom to read
and sing out of the same book, however many books there may be in the
pew. Among well-to-do people a series of parties in honour of the
young couple ensue, which in the dialect of the country are called
“_reneuchons_,” “_neuches_” being the local pronunciation of the French
word “noces.”
It appears from an ordinance of the Royal Court of 1625, when the
puritanical spirit, which had come in with the Genevan discipline,
was at its height, that the poor at that time were in the habit of
soliciting alms at weddings, baptisms, and burials. This practice,
as tending to keep up superstition and as dishonouring to God, was
expressly forbidden by the legislation under pain of corporal
punishment to the beggar, and a fine to the giver of alms.[46]
[42] “The custom of _flouncing_ is said to be peculiar to Guernsey.
It is an entertainment given by the parents of a young couple when
they are engaged, and the match has received approval. The girl
is introduced to her husband’s family and friends by her future
father-in-law, and the man similarly by hers; after this they must keep
aloof from all flirtation, however lengthy the courtship may prove. The
belief is that if either party break faith the other side can lay claim
to a moiety of his or her effects.”--From Brand’s _Popular Antiquities
of Great Britain_. Vol. II., p. 56.
[43] EDITOR’S NOTE.--Usually consisting of half-a-dozen or a dozen
(according to the bridegroom’s means) silver spoons, and a pair of
sugar tongs, marked with the initials of bride and the customary “bague
de fiançailles.”
[44] EDITOR’S NOTE.--Besides this it was customary amongst farmers for
the parents of a bride to give her a cow, and the animal in this case
followed the cart.--_From Mr. J. de Garis, Rouvets, St. Saviour’s,
1901._
[45] EDITOR’S NOTE.--Les “gllajeurs”--the wild marsh iris--was always
one of the favourite flowers for strewing in front of the bride, and
all the water-lanes and marshes were ransacked for it. The wedding
festivities generally lasted for two or three days. The house on the
wedding day was decorated with wreaths and crowns of flowers, and, as
usual, the festivities began with dinner, for which the usual fare was
roast beef, roast mutton, a ham, plum pudding, and, of course, “gâche
à corînthe,” washed down with cider. Then came games, songs, etc.,
till tea time, and then the tables would be cleared for dancing, while
mulled wine, cheese, and Guernsey biscuits would be handed round at
intervals. All the relations, friends, and neighbours of course partook
of these festivities. A few songs were sung, “Jean, gros Jean,” being
a “sine quâ non” in the country parishes, and then the mulled wine was
handed round in cups, especially at midnight, as the clock struck. The
correct formula before beginning to drink was
“Cher petit Pèpinot
Quand je te vè
Tu parais bien
Si je te bè, j’m’en sentirai
Et si je te laisse j’m’en repentirai,
Faut donc bien mieux bère, et m’en sentir
Que de te laisser, et m’n repentir!
A votre santâï la coumpagnie!”
Very frequently at weddings people who knew what this formula led to
put hanging beams from the “_pôutre_,” or central rafter for the men
to hold on to! “À mon beau laurier qui danse” was of course always
danced at the weddings, “ma coummère, et quand je danse” was another
very favourite dance, the steps going to each syllable when sung, and
they also danced “Poussette,” which entirely consisted of the different
inflections of the word “Poussette,” “Pou-set-te,” alternately chanted
smoothly or jerkily. This feasting and dancing was kept up till five or
six the next morning, and very often for the next night as well, while
on the third day all the old people and non-dancers were asked in to
finish up the feast in peace.--_From Mrs. Mollet, Mrs. Marquand, and
Mrs. Le Patourel._
There are certain gifts from a man to his fiancée which are supposed
to be most unlucky to accept, as by so doing it would mean that the
wedding would probably never take place. They are a watch and chain,
a brooch, and a Bible, and if he should present her with a knife or a
pair of scissors the only way to avert the ill-luck is to pay a penny
for them. Should a girl upset a chair before the wedding her marriage
will be delayed for a year. If a girl wishes to dream of the man she
is to marry she must take some of the wedding cake on the day of
the wedding, pass it through a married woman’s wedding ring, or, if
possible, the bride’s, (a widow’s is of no avail) and put it under her
pillow, and dream on it for five consecutive nights, and the _last_
dream will come true.--_From Fanny Ingrouille._
A correspondent sent the following query in 1857 to “_Notes and
Queries_”:--“A month or two back a family, on leaving one of the
Channel Islands, presented to a gardener (it is uncertain whether an
inhabitant of the island or no) some pet doves, the conveyance of them
to England being likely to prove troublesome. A few days afterwards the
man brought them back, stating that _he was engaged to be married_,
and the possession of the birds might be (as he had been informed) an
obstacle to the course of true love remaining smooth.” This was put in
the shape of a query, but no answer appeared. Doves and wild pigeons in
Guernsey are supposed to be most unlucky birds to have in a house, so
probably the gardener had been told that they would bring ill-luck on
his future “ménage” if he accepted them. The country people carry their
distrust of them so far that they say that their wings, worn in a hat,
bring misfortune, and they are among the birds whose feathers in the
pillows of the dying prolong the death agony.
“CHEVAUCHERIE D’ANE.”
If after marriage a couple do not agree well together, they are
admonished by their neighbours by what, in England, is called “rough
music.” In Métivier’s Dictionary he describes two young people,
boy and girl, back to back on a donkey, representing the guilty
husband and wife. They were followed by all the idlers of the
district singing a scurrilous rhyme, and surrounding the house of the
offending pair, where the song and its accompaniments were kept up all
night.--_Métivier’s Dictionary, p. 23._
Nowadays putting the man and woman back to back on the donkey seems
to be discontinued, but in St. Peter’s-in-the-Wood, Miss Le Pelley, a
resident in the parish, writes “If the young men of this parish find
out that a man has beaten his wife they form two parties on opposite
sides of his house, at about a distance of one hundred yards from it,
and blow conch shells, first one and then the other in answer. They
keep this noise up for a long time so that the married couple may feel
ashamed of themselves. I have not heard them just lately (1896), but
one year it was very frequent, and such a nuisance.”--See in Brand’s
_Antiquities_, Vol. 2, p. 129, the articles on “Riding the Stang” in
Yorkshire, said also to be known in Scandinavia.
[46] It is not unusual in the country parishes for the young men of
the neighbourhood to assemble around the house in the evening and to
fire off their militia muskets or fowling pieces in honour of the
wedding, in return for which they are regaled with a cup of wine to
drink the health of the newly-married pair. If the marriage is between
persons connected with the shipping interest all the vessels in port
make a point of displaying their flags, and a few bottles of wine are
distributed in return among the crews. Marriages among the country
people are frequently celebrated on a Sunday, immediately before the
morning service. If it is the intention of the newly-married couple to
attend the service they make it a point to leave the Church and return
after a short interval, as an idea prevails that if they remained in
the Church until the prayers of the day have been begun the marriage
would be illegal.--_From Rev. J. Giraud, Rector of Saint Saviour’s._
Deaths and Funerals.
As soon as a death occurs in a family a servant or friend is
immediately sent round to announce the sad event to all the nearest
relatives of the deceased, and the omission of this formality is looked
upon as a great slight, and a legitimate cause of offence. If any
person enter a house where a corpse is lying it is considered a mark of
great disrespect not to offer a sight of it, and it is thought equally
disrespectful on the part of the visitor if the offer is declined, as
the refusal is supposed to bring ill-luck on the house. When the day
is fixed for the funeral a messenger is sent to invite the friends
and relatives to attend, and in times gone by if those to be invited
resided at any distance it was considered proper that this messenger
should be mounted on a black horse. Formerly the funeral feast was
universal, of late years it is seldom heard of except in some of the
old country families of the middle classes, among whom ancient customs
generally abide longer than among the classes immediately above or
below them.
The lid of the coffin is not screwed down until all the guests are
assembled, and the person whose business it is to see to it, comes into
the room where they are met, and invites them to take a last look.
Hearses are almost unknown, even in cases where the distance from the
house to the cemetery is considerable. The coffin is almost invariably
borne on the shoulders by hired bearers, but in former days it was only
persons of a certain standing in society who were considered entitled
to this honour; the poor were carried by their friends, three on each
side, bearing the coffin slung between them. Care was always taken that
the corpse was carried to the church by the way the deceased was in the
habit of taking during his lifetime.[47]
The custom of females attending funerals, which was formerly universal,
has disappeared entirely from the town, but in the country it is still
occasionally observed, the mourners being attired in long black cloaks
with hoods that almost conceal the face. The funeral feast, when there
is one, takes place when the cortège returns to the house of mourning.
A chair is placed at the table where the deceased was wont to sit,
and a knife, fork, plate, etc., laid before it as if he were still
present.[48] Tea and coffee, wine, cider, and spirits, cakes, bread and
cheese, and more especially a ham, are provided for the occasion. The
last-named viand was, in bygone days, almost considered indispensable,
and where they kept pigs,--and almost everyone then kept pigs--every
year, when the pig was killed, a ham was put away “in case of a
funeral” and was not touched till the next pig was killed and another
ham was put in readiness; and from thence it comes that “màngier la
tchesse à quiqu’un”--“to eat a person’s ham”--is proverbially used in
the sense of attending his funeral. The first glass of wine is drunk in
silence to the memory of the departed, whose good qualities are then
dilated upon, but the conversation soon becomes general, and it not
unfrequently happens that more liquor is imbibed than is altogether
good for the guests. In fact the mourners had generally to be conveyed
home in carts.[49]
From ancient wills it seems that money was sometimes left for the
purpose of clothing a certain number of poor, and from the ordinances
of the Royal Court prohibiting begging at funerals, or even the
voluntary giving of alms on these occasions, it is not improbable that
the custom of distributing doles was, at one time, almost general.
There is no trace of it in the present day.
Till within the last few years it was almost an universal custom, even
among the dissenters, for the members of a household in which a death
had occurred, to attend their parish church in a body on the first or
second Sunday after the funeral, and the custom is still kept up to
a certain extent. If they are regular frequenters of the church they
occupy their usual seats, if not, they are placed, if possible, in some
conspicuous part of the building, where they remain seated during the
entire service, not rising even during those portions of the service
in which standing is prescribed by the rubric. This is called “taking
mourning,” in French “prendre le deuil.” Widows remain seated in church
during the whole of the first year of their widowhood.
[47] EDITOR’S NOTE.--Mr. Allen told me (1896) that attending a short
time ago at a funeral in the Mount Durand, the corpse was to be carried
to Trinity Church, to which of course the shortest route was _down_ the
hill, but the widow of the deceased remonstrated so vigorously, saying
that she could not allow anything so unlucky to happen to her husband,
as that he should start for his funeral _down hill_, that, in deference
to her wishes they went _up_ the hill and round by Queen’s-road.
[48] At funeral feasts it was an ancient custom in Iceland to leave
the place of the dead man vacant.--See Gould’s “_Curiosities of Olden
Times_,” p. 84.
[49] EDITOR’S NOTES.--Unless the forehead of the corpse is touched
after death the ghost will walk. When you go into a house of mourning
and are shown the corpse you should always lay your hand on its
forehead.--_From Fanny Ingrouille, of the Forest Parish._
The same idea prevails in Guernsey which we meet with in Yorkshire
and many of the Eastern Counties of England that, having your pillow
stuffed with pigeons’, doves’, or any _wild_ bird’s feathers will cause
you to “die hard.”--See _Notes and Queries_, 1st Series, Vol. IV.
It is also said that it is unlucky to keep doves in a house, but if
they are kept in a cage and anyone dies in the house, unless a crape
bow is placed on the top of the cage they will die too.
The country people also believe that no one ever dies when the tide is
_rising_. Frequently when talking of a death they will say, “the tide
turned, and took off poor ---- with it.”--_From Fanny Ingrouille and
many others._
Part II.
Superstitious Belief and Practice.