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nity, he assumed the dress of a warrior; and despising the prohibitions of the Saxon superstition, mounted the favorite charger of Edwin. By those who were ignorant of his motives, his conduct was attributed to a temporary insanity. But he disregarded their clamors, proceeded to the nearest temple, and, bidding defiance to the god of his fathers, hurled his spear into the sacred edifice. It stuck in the opposite wall; and, to the surprise of the trembling spectators, the heavens were silent, and the sacrilege was unpunished. Insensibly they recovered from their fears, and, encouraged by the exhortation of Coiffi, burnt to the ground the temple and the surrounding grove."*

For the instruction of the clergy, seminaries were founded, in which,

“With the assistance of the best masters, the young ecclesiastics were initiated in the different sciences which were studied at that period, while the restraint of a wise and vigilant discipline withheld them from the seductions of vice, and inured them to the labors and duties of their profession. According to their years and merit, they were admitted to the lower orders of the hierarchy; and might, with the approbation of their superior, aspire at the age of five-and-twenty to the rank of deacon, at thirty to that of priest."

Nor were these provisions for education confined to the monasteries. The great mass of the common people shared in the labors and instructions of the missionaries.

"Bede has drawn an interesting picture of the avidity with which the simple natives of the most neglected cantons were accustomed to hasten, on the first appearance of a missionary, to beg his benedictions and listen to his instructions; and the celebrated St. Cuthbert frequently spent whole weeks and months in performing the priestly functions among the most mountainous and uncultivated parts of Northumbria." (P. 51.)

"The priests were exhorted to be satisfied with the revenue of their churches; and the severest censures awaited him who presumed to demand a retribution for the discharge of his functions."

To prevent the secularization of their minds, (the necessity of which is painfully evinced by the history of the Moravian missionaries in Greenland,) many arrangements were sedulously carried out. Among

Alcuin has celebrated the fame of Coiffi in his poem on the Church of York:

"O nimium tanti felix audacia facti,
Polluit ante alios quas ipse sacraverat aras."
(Pp. 25, 26.)

others, the practice of celibacy was fully operative. Indeed, although every age has marked the prevalence of this sentiment, none has presented brighter examples of its faithful observance. From their early teachers were derived the instances of its carefully-instilled importance; and we are almost ready to agree with Lingard, that

"Had Augustine and his associates been involved in the embarrassments of marriage, they would never have torn themselves from their home and country, and have devoted the best portion of their lives to the conversion of distant and unknown barbarians.” (p. 57.)

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It was, probably, the consideration of such sentiments that afterwards induced Bacon to say: He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune ; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief. Certainly the best works, and of the greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried or the childless man, which both in affection and means have married and endowed the public. . . . Unmarried men are best friends, best masters, best servants. . . . A single life doth well with churchmen; for charity will hardly water the ground where it must first fill a pool." Seneca, it seems, was of the same opinion: "Vita conjugalis altos et generosos spiritos frangit, et a magnis capitationibus ad humillimas detrahit." (Ibid., p. 58.)

Without entering on the discussion of this question, we may briefly mention that these are the times when no such principles are in vogue that the moderns will hearken to no opinion of this kind; and yet we are not certain that enthusiastically unselfish, vital piety is any more extensively prevalent now, than when the self-denying earnestness of Anglo-Saxon religion graced England with those exemplars, which after years have delighted to commemorate, though, perhaps, not to imitate.*

In his third chapter Dr. Lingard passes. by a natural digression, to the temporal support of the ministers of religion. It was derived from donations of land, termed

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glebe lands," (which were exempt from

*There are of course two sides in this question. Mackintosh, "Hist. Eng.," vol. I., cap. 2, pp. 46 --50, has sketched the origin of clerical celibacy, and the corruption engendered by it.

taxation;) from the voluntary oblations of the people; from tithes, whose institution has been noticed above; and various other charities, as "the plough alms," (consisting of one penny for every hide of arable land, exacted within fifteen days after Easter;) the kirk-shot, cot-shot, and last, (though not least, for it was the right of the clergy to exact it,) the soul-shot, "a retribution in money for the prayers said in behalf of the dead."

These were willing offerings. The Saxon people were not hard-fisted, nor unworthy of the privileges Heaven had given to them. Ample provision was hence made for the revenues of the clergy, and most of the institutions for that purpose have come down to our own time. The Saxon clergy appear both to have known and taught the pure morality of the Gospel. Their preachers sedulously inculcated that the first of duties was the love of God, and the second the love of our neighbor.

"To subserve this latter object, the aggre gate amount of all these perquisites composed in each parish a fund, which was called the patrimony of the minister, and which was devoted to nearly the same purposes as the revenues of the cathedral churches. After twothirds had been deducted for the support of the clergy and the repairs of the building, the remainder was assigned for the relief of the poor and of strangers. In a country which offered no convenience for the accommodation of travellers, frequent recourse was had to the hospitality of the curate; and in the vicinity of his residence a house was always open for their reception, in which, during three days, they were provided with board and lodging at the expense of the church." (Pp. 58, 66.)

Here no Achæan host graced the festive table with the refinement of habits and suavity of manners, which made Hellas renowned through all antiquity; but the toil-worn traveller found, among the AngloSaxons, a race anxious to minister to his comforts, "given to hospitality." The rights of sanctuary, and the peace of the church, were institutions that softened the manners and elevated the generous sentiments of those almost semi-barbarians, to an extent elsewhere unsurpassed in the annals of civilization. "Royal alms" were conveyed to Rome, and the benefactions of Ethelwulf to the pontiff were munificent: nor did he fail to give to the people in the

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"In the time of Edward the Confessor, the manbote to be paid to the king or archbishop, for the murder of one of their retainers, was three marks; to a bishop or earl, forty-eight shillings of five pennies-20 of 12, or half of a mark; and to a thane twenty-four of five pennies, or ten of twelve, or one-fourth of a mark, which was two-thirds of a pound, or one hundred and sixty pennies."t

The clergy were eminently adapted, both by spirit and education, for modifying the rude customs-for forming and mollifying the laws; and their assistance was cheerfully given. How beautifully Christianity moulded their ferocious valor, and made it auxiliary to the life and spread of true religion, may be seen from the scanty records of contemporaneous history. It was by their persuasion, that Ethelbert published the first code of Saxon laws; and thus the civil power, in the infancy of its

*Edinburgh Review, January, 1838, pp. 163, 168. The result of "a careful investigation into the progress and success of these clerical encroachments after the conquest," (particularly in regard to tithes,) is here given.

+ Vide also Mackintosh, vol. I., p. 75.

vigor, was much indebted to the superior knowledge of the clergy. It would seem that their authority, too, was consentaneous; for he who relapsed into idolatry was amenable to the civil power, which punished him "by the forfeiture of his estate and disgrace of the pillory, unless redeemed by the contributions of his friends."

Perhaps the name of St. Columbahallowed by succeeding ages-will give us no inappropriate idea of the spirit and character of the age; and remind the titled sons of power, how worthless are the applause and favors of worldly wealth, compared with the lustre which lives with him whose life has been dignified by heroic virtue. Columba irradiated the distant isles with the inspiration of a true and fervent Christianity; and "his memory was long cherished with every testimony of veneration by the northern nations." He was the founder of a monastery, far off in the seagirt isle of Iona, the works of which were honorably noticed by Bede, and the influence of which was felt throughout Christendom.

Nor was Columba the only one of royal race, who thus devoted himself to solitude, and usefulness, and immortality. Princesses, leaving the homes of their ancestral splendor, eagerly hastened to the cloistered halls of some distant abbey beyond the foaming waves, or, with pious zeal, erected and endowed monasteries in their own

domains. Thus, while "crowds resorted to Faremontier, Chelles, and Audeli: Whitby, Coldingham and Ely were soon thronged by those illustrious for station and piety." Eauswilde, Mildrede, and Elthelburge, among the Southern Saxons, in Northumbria Hein, Hilda, and numerous others, have been remembered.

"The monasteries were held in the highest estimation: the most distinguished of the Saxon female saints, and many of the most eminent prelates were educated in them; and so edifying was the deportment of the greatest part of these communities, that the breath of slander never presumed to tarnish their character. The monastery of Coldingham alone forms an exception." (P. 83.)

With our ancestors, monastic chastity was venerated.

"To the Saxons, in whom, during the tide of conquest, the opportunity of gratification had strengthened the impulse of the passions, a life of

chastity appeared the most arduous effort of human virtue; they revered its professors as beings of a nature in this respect superior to their own; and learned to esteem a religion which could elevate man so much above the influence of his inclinations. As they became acquainted with the maxims of the Gospel, their veneration for this virtue increased; and whoever compares the dissolute manners of the pagan Saxons with the severe celibacy of the monastic orders, will be astonished at the immense number of male and female recluses who, within a century after the arrival of St. Augustine, had voluntarily embraced a life of perpetual continency." (P. 85.)

Monastic industry was equally conspicuous. While their churches were adorned

and elegantly furnished, the wild luxuriance of nature was not less subdued "by the unwearied industry of the monks."

"The forests were cleared, the marshes

drained, roads opened, bridges erected, and the

waste lands reclaimed. Plentiful harvests waved on the coasts of Northumbria, and luxuriant meadows started from the fens of the Giroii. The superior cultivation of several counties in England, is originally owing to the labors of the monks, who at this early period were the parents of agriculture as well as of the arts." (P. 95.)

It is impressive to reflect on the harmony and beauty of the ceremonies attendant upon the consecration of a nun, in AngloSaxon Britain-more impressive still to know that they ever regarded their vows, and dispensed a light as cheering and effective as it was pure and illuminating. (Cap. vii. p. 135.)

How comprehensive and simple the injunction to the candidate for holy orders. After all preliminary ceremonies were concluded, the bishop,

"Having placed the 'stole' across the left shoulder of each, as they successively knelt before him, put in his hand the book of the Gospels, saying, Receive this volume of the Gospels; read and understand it; teach it to others, and fulfil it thyself.' Then holding his hands over their heads he thus continued O Lord God Almighty, the giver of honors, distributor of orders, and disposer of functions, look with complacency on these thy servants, whom we humbly ordain to the office of dea cons, that they may always minister in thy service. We, ined their lives, as far as we are able. But though ignorant of their judgment, have examthou, O Lord, knowest all things; the most hidden things are not concealed from thy eyes. Thou art acquainted with all secrets; thou art the searcher of hearts. But as thou canst ex

amine their conduct by thy celestial light, so canst thou also purify their souls and grant them the graces necessary for their functions. Send, therefore, on them, O Lord, thy Holy Spirit, that, in the execution oftheir ministry, they may be strengthened by the seven-fold gift of thy grace. May thy precepts shine in their conduct; may thy people learn to imitate the chastity of their lives; and may their fidelity in their present station raise them to a higher dignity in thy church. He then completed their ordination by anointing them with oil and chrism, praying, that through the merits of Christ, whatever they should bless, might be blessed, and whatever they should hallow, might be hallowed." (Cap. vii., p. 139.)

We shall trace other fragments evincing the spirit and social culture of those distant days. Such was the Anglo-Saxon Episcopal Synod, which is still appropriately paralleled by the House of Convocation. How interesting to the enthusiast, who looks far into the future, must have been the spectacle when the bishops and mitred abbots-venerable by the weight of indiviual excellence, as well as the sacredness of their official character-gave the first and most harmonious specimen of a true legislative body, ere Anglo-Saxon energy had evolved and consolidated such an organization in its political relation. From the church were derived the most valuable impressions of popular equality; it was a pure democracy, realizing itself in, and incorporated with the most useful suggestions for the arrangement of popular assemblies. True, the Wittena-gemote was typified in their ordinary "assemblies" before the diffusion of Christianity; but none the less did the church concentrate its fragmentary evolutions, and infuse into them an improved and elevated spirit. (Cap. v. p. 98.) The mutations of society have abolished the rule which prevailed in regard to the dower of a widow, (for in those simple days, it was the whole of her husband's estate, if they had issue; if not, the half;) but the form in use at the matrimonial ceremony, has come down to us since the beginning of the thirteenth cen(Pp. 133-135.)

tury.

We annex the following to show how nearly the coronation oath of the AngloSaxon kings, corresponds with that now established in England, after the lapse of almost nine hundred years. We shall be surprised to see how carefully the spirit of

that handed down from the records of dim antiquity has been preserved, and almost imbodied in the naïveté of language by which it is presented.

"The ceremony began with the coronation oath. Its origin may be traced to Anthemius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, whose zeal refused to place the crown on the head of Anastasius, a prince of suspicious orthodoxy, till he had sworn to make no change in the established religion. But the oath of the Anglo-Saxons was more comprehensive: it was a species of compact between the monarch and people, which the bishop, as the representative of Heaven, ratified with his benediction. Rectitudo est regis noviter ordinati, et in solium sublevati, hæc tria præcepta populo Christiano sibi subdite præcipere: imprimis ut ecclesia Dei, et omnis populus Christianus veram pacem servent in omni tempore. AMEN. Aliud est, ut rapacitate et omnes iniquitates, omnibus gradibus interdicat. AMEN. Tertium est, ut in omnibus judiciis æquitatem et misericordiam præcipiat, ut per hoc nobis indulgeat misericordiam suam clemens et misericors Deus. AMEN.' A portion of the Gospel was then read; three prayers were recited to implore the blessing of God; and the consecrated oil was poured on the head of the king. While the other prelates anointed him, the archbishop read the prayer: O God, the strength of the elect, and the exaltation of the humble, who by the unction of oil didst sanctify thy servant Aaron, and by the same didst prepare priests, kings, and prophets, to rule thy people Israel; sanctify, that like them he may be able to govern the Almighty God, in like manner, this thy servant, people committed to his charge.'

"At the conclusion of the prayer the principal thanes approached, and, in conjunction with the bishops, placed the sceptre in his hand. The archbishop continued: Bless, O Lord, this prince, thou who rulest the kingdoms of all kings. AMEN.

May he always be subject to thee with fear: may he serve thee: may his reign be peaceful: may he with his chieftains be protected by thy shield: may he be victorious without bloodshed. AMEN.

May he live magnanimous among the assemblies of the nations: may he be distinguished by the equity of his judgments. AMEN.

"Grant him length of life for years; and may justice arise in his days. AMEN.

"Grant that the nation may be faithful to him; and his nobles may enjoy peace, and love charity. AMEN.

"Be thou his honor, his joy, and his pleasure; consoler in labor. AMEN. his solace in grief, his counsel in difficulty, his "May he seek advice from thee, and by thee may he learn to hold the reins of empire, that

his life may be a life of happiness, and he may hereafter enjoy eternal bliss. AMEN.'

"The rod was now put into his hands, with a prayer, that the benedictions of the ancient patriarchs, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, might rest upon him. He was then crowned, and the archbishop said, 'Bless, O Lord, the strength of the king, our prince, and receive the work of his hands. Blessed by thee be his lands with the precious dew of the heavens, and the springs of the low-lying deep; with the fruits brought forth by the sun, and the fruits brought forth by the moon; with the precious things of the aged mountains, and the precious things of the eternal hills; with the fruits of the earth, and the fullness thereof. May the blessing of Him who appeared in the bush rest on the head of the king: may he be blessed in his children, and dip his foot in oil: may the horns of the rhinoceros be his horns; with them may he push the nations to the extremities of the earth. And be He who rideth on the heavens his helper forever. Here the people exclaimed thrice, Live the king forever. AMEN, AMEN, AMEN.' They were then admitted to kiss him on his throne. The ceremony concluded with this prayer: O God, the author of eternity, leader of the heavenly host, and conqueror of all enemies; bless this, thy servant, who humbly bends his head before thee: pour thy grace upon him: preserve him with health and happiness in the service to which he is appointed, and wherever and for whomsoever he shall implore thy assistance, do thou, O God, be present, protect and defend him, through Christ, our Lord. AMEN.'t

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By those who linger among the shadows of far antiquity-who venerate whatever comes gifted with the spells of mysticism because its origin is scarcely perceptible-the East has ever been considered as the land of religious favor; but may it not be equally just to regard it as the soil where (par eminence) error has been most incessantly grafted on Christianity; where dimeyed philosophy has been resorted to, and adored, for merging with and polishing the doctrines of religion? But the converts among the northern nations were more simple and less inquisitive. "Without suspicion they acquiesced in the doctrines taught by their missionaries, and carefully transmitted them as a sacred deposit to the veneration of their descendants." Two hundred years after Christianity had been planted, the prelates of Cloveshoe made a "confession of their faith," worthy of record by the side of

Taken from Deuteronomy, c. xxxiii. + Lingard, pp. 143–5.

those in the councils of Nice and Chalcedon. The language is so choice, so elevated, that we transcribe it here:

"Notum sit paternitati tuæ, quod sicut primitus a sancta Romana, et apostolica sede, beatissimo papo Gregorio dirigente, exorata est, ita credimus." (An. 800, p. 117.)

The influence of their religion over the civil concerns of society in the aggregate, was not superior to that which it bore in the simple scenes of domestic life.

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Among our ancestors religion was not a dry and lifeless code of morality: she constantly interested herself in the welfare of her children; she took them by the hand at the opening, she conducted them with the care of a parent to the end of life."

In addition to "the three great sacraments" of baptism, the Lord's Supper and penance, they were wont to regard the imposition of hands by the bishop, ordination, marriage and the extreme unction with much veneration. It was, indeed, something remarkable to find that the idea of death presented no terror to minds so well cultivated and reposing with such unquestioning earnestness in the triumphs of the Christian faith.

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