It would, we think, be extremely difficult to find any subject upon
which persons, otherwise well informed, were so entirely ignorant, until
the appearance of Mrs. Jameson's _Sacred and Legendary Art_, as the one
upon which that lady treated in those ably written and beautifully
illustrated volumes. It seemed as if the Act of Henry VIII., which
declared that the name and remembrance of Thomas à Becket should be
erased from all documents, had had the effect of obliterating from all
memories not only the often puerile, often offensive stories of the
legend-mongers, but, with them, all remembrance of those holy men of
old, whose piety towards God, and love for their fellow men, furnished
example for all succeeding ages. To readers of all classes Mrs. Jameson
opened up a new and most interesting subject: to lovers of Art almost a
new world, from the light which her learning and criticism threw upon
its master-pieces. What wonder is it, then, that the success of her
_Sacred and Legendary Art_, confined as the two volumes necessarily were
to legends of angels and archangels, evangelists and apostles, the
Fathers, the Magdalene, the patron saints, the virgin patronesses, the
martyrs, bishops and hermits, and the patron saints of christendom,
should have led Mrs. Jameson to continue her labours? The first part of
such continuation is now before us, under the title of _Legends of the
Monastic Orders_: and most fitting it is that the three great divisions
of the regular ecclesiastics should be thus commemorated, since of them
Mrs. Jameson aptly remarks, that while each had a distinct vocation,
there was one vocation common to all:--"The Benedictine Monks instituted
schools of learning; the Augustines built noble cathedrals; the
Mendicant Orders founded hospitals: _all_ became patrons of the Fine
Arts on such a scale of munificence, that the protection of the most
renowned princes has been mean and insignificant in comparison." Nor is
this their only claim; for the earliest artists of the Middle Ages were
monks of the Benedictine Order. "As architects, as glass painters, as
mosaic workers, as carvers in wood and metal, they were the precursors
of all that has since been achieved in Christian Art: and if so few of
these admirable and gifted men are known to us individually and by name,
it is because they worked for the honour of God and their community, not
for profit, nor for reputation." The merits of Mrs. Jameson's first
series were universally acknowledged. The present volume may claim as
high a meed of praise. If possible, it exceeds its predecessors in
literary interest, and in the beauty of the etchings and woodcuts which
accompany it. As a handbook to the traveller who wanders through the
treasuries of Art, it will be indispensable; while to those who are
destined not to leave their homes it will be invaluable, for the light
it throws upon the social condition of Europe in those ages in which the
monastic orders had their origin. It is a volume highly suggestive both
of Notes and Queries, and in such forms we shall take occasion to return
to it.
Messrs. Puttick and Simpson (191. Piccadilly) will commence, on Monday
next, a four-days sale of the {223} library of the late Rev. Dr.
Johnson, Rector of Perranuthnoe, consisting of a good collection of
theological and miscellaneous books.
We have received the following Catalogues:--John Leslie's (58. Great
Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn) Catalogue of English and Foreign Theology,
including several works of very rare occurrence, and forming the largest
portion of the valuable library of the Rev. W. Maskell, M.A.; C.
Gancia's (73. King's Road, Brighton,) Second Catalogue of a Choice
Collection of Foreign Books, MSS., Books printed upon vellum, many of
them great rarities, and seldom to be met with; J. Miller's (43. Chandos
Street, Trafalgar Square,) Catalogue No. X. for 1850 of Books Old and
New.
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