dead and the great day of Pentecost are naturally commemorated in this imposing catalogue. Another powerful claim for the consecration of Sunday is founded on the general judgment, which, it is asserted, will crown the various most remarkable distinctions of that holy day'. God is accordingly represented as insisting upon

on tha sœ, and heo to-eode on twa, came to the land up: and on that and that folc for betwux tham day, came erst the heavenly meat twam wæterum on tham grunde ealle from heaven above for the same drig-sceode, oth hi comon to tham folk's food, and God fed them with lande up: and on tham dæge com it XL. winters in the wilderness ærest seo heofonlica mete ufan of that they travelled through, and heofonum tham ylcan folce to bily- the meat was called manna: and fan, and God hi mid tham affedde on that day was Christ, the living XL. wintra on tham westene the God's Son, born of Sca Maria's hi to-foron, and seo mete hatte womb, true man as he is true God, manna: and on tham dæge was the world to release from the devil's Crist, thas lifigendan Godes sunu, power, who ere possessed the power geboren of Sca Marian innothe, of it from Adam's guilt: and after soth man eal swa he is soth God, he was born, he turned, on that day, middanearde to alysanne of deofles water to wine; and on that day anwealde, the his ær geweald ahte he was baptized: and on that day for Adames gylte: and syththan he refreshed at one meal he acenned was, he awende on thousand men from five barley tham dæge water to wine; and on loaves -fishes, after he had tham dæge he was gefullod: and the food with heavenly blessing on on tham dæge he gereordade at the same day blessed, and when anum mæle (obliterated) thusend they all were full, then were borne manna of fif berenum hlafum-up from that which they left twelve (obliterated) fixum, syththan he baskets full. hæfde thone bilyfan mid heofoncundlicre bletsunga tham ylcan dæge gebletsod, and tha tha hi ealle fulle wæron, tha bær man up of than the hi læfdon twelf leapas fulle.-(Bibl. Lameth. MSS. 489. f. 26.) Also on that day he created man's soul; and when Moyses, the leader, led God's folk from Egypt's land, then on that day he led them over the Red Sea, after he smote with a wand on the sea, and it went in twain, and the people went between the two waters on the ground all dryshod, until they

On

1On tham dæge wyrd middaneard eall geendad; and on tham dæge cymath God to demanne eallum mancynne, œlcum be his agenum gewyrhtum.—(Ib.) that day will the earth be all ended; and on that day cometh God to judge all mankind, every man according to his own works. Se Sunnan-dæg is se forma dæg ealra dagena, and he bith se endenyhsta æt thyssere worulde ende.

(Ib. f. 27.) Sunday is the first day of all days, and it will be the last at this world's end.

a rigid observance of it. His angelic messenger forbids all trafficking on Sundays, all exercise of an artisan's trade, all such household cares as are not necessarily of daily recurrence; and he even interdicts the barber from obeying a summons for assistance. Any transgressor of these restrictions, it was declared, God would treat as an outlaw, denying him his blessing, and reserving for him his wrath'.

Besides the Lord's day, conciliar authority enjoined the celebration of all such festivals in honour of saints as were established in the Roman martyrologies*. In process of time English saints made new calls upon the national devotion. It was, however, impressed upon the minds of men, that such services, although in honour of religion's brightest ornaments, were merely commemorative. To God himself the service was really addressed. Upon the public generally these demands

all who aid him in the wrong, and approve him: for men who ply such things do not get my blessing or my mercy, but upon them cometh suddenly my wrath for the day's contempt.

2 Conc. Clovesh. can. 13. SPELM. i. 249. WILK. i. 96.

1Swa hwa swa ænige cypinge on tham dæge begath, oththe othre thing that man clathas waxe, oththe anig craftig-man him on his crafte tylige, oththe man efesige otherne man, oththe bread bace, oththe ænig ungelyfed thing bega on tham dæge, he scel beon utlaga with me, and ealle tha him to tham unrihte "Festivitates scorum apostofylslath, and him gethafiath: for- lorum seu martyrum antiqui pathan tha men the swilc thing be- tres in venerationis misterio celegath ne begytath hi na mine blet-brari sanxerunt, vel ad excitansunge ne mine myltse, ac heom dam imitationem, vel ut meritis becymth færlice min grama ofer for thes dages forsewennysse.(Bibl. Lameth. MSS. 489. f. 28.) Whoever any dealing on that day exerciseth, or washeth clothes, or any artisan that works at his craft, or a man who trims the hair of another, or bakes bread, or plies any unallowed thing on that day, he shall be an outlaw with me, and

eorum consociemur atque orationibus adjuvemur: ita tamen ut nulli martyrum sed ipsi Deo martyrum sacrificemus; quamvis in memoriâ martyrum constituamus altaria.

Nemo enim Antistitum in locis sanctorum corporum assistens altari aliquando dixit offerimus tibi, Petre, aut Paule, aut Cypriane, sed quid offertur, offer

for pious exercises appear to have been far less numerous than they eventually became. It was, probably, monks and ecclesiastics only who were expected to vary their year by all the commemorative offices of the Roman calendar. Upon the week-day time of laymen the claim for festivals appears to have been merely for the holiday-seasons of Easter, Whitsuntide, and Christmas; for two days in honour of the Virgin; for one day in honour of St. Peter and St. Paul; and for single days in honour of the archangel Michael, of the Baptist, of the saints Martin and Andrew, and of the Epiphany; together with such martyrs or confessors as should be interred in that particular diocese which contained the party's residence'. English authorities also thought themselves bound by the ties of national gratitude to prescribe festivals in honour of Gregory and Augustine*.

1 De Festivitatibus Anni. "Festos dies in anno celebrare sancimus: hoc est diem dominicum pasche cum omni honore et sobrietate venerari: simili modo tamen ebdomadam illam observare decrevimus: Die ascensionis dni pleniter celebrare in pentecosten similiter ut in pascha: In natale aplorum Petri et Pauli die unum: nativitatem sci Iohannis baptista: assumptionem sce Mariæ.

tur Deo qui martyres coronavit." Mus. MSS. Cotton, Tiberius. A. -Ex codice MS. C. C. C. C. apud | 3. f. 165.) Wanley pronounces HICKES, Thes. ii. 148. the MS. from which this extract has been made, anterior to the Conquest.-HICKES. Thes. ii. 192. 2 Conc. Clovesh.can. 17. SPELM. i. 256. WILK. i. 97. The 18th of King Alfred's laws allows twelve days at Christmas, the day of Christ's victory over the devil, St. Gregory's day, St. Peter and St. Paul's day, All Saints' day, Passion week, the Easter week, and a full week before St. Mary's Dedi-mass, in harvest.-(SPELM. i. 370. WILK. i. 194.) The St. Mary's mass mentioned, is that for the feast of the assumption, or supposed bodily ascent of the Virgin into heaven, Aug. 15. Johnson considers the day of Christ's victory over the devil to be either Ascension

cationem sci Michaelis: natale sci Martini et sci Andree: in natale dni dies iiii: Octavas dni: Epiphania dni: purificatio sce Mariæ, et illus festivitates martirum vel confessorum observare decrevimus quorum in unaquaque parrochiâ sca corpora requiescunt."-(Brit. day, or the first Sunday in Lent.

S

Besides these calls to blend religion with festivity, the Anglo-Saxon Church prescribed regular pious exercises of a different character. Every Friday, unless it happened to be a festival, was to be solemnized by fasting. It was the same with the eve of every festival, except that of St. Philip and St. James. This saint's day was always near the joyous time of Easter. Hence the Church was unwilling then to insist upon any fast, but left such a mode of celebrating the eve optional with individuals'. The great fasts were four in number, one in every quarter of the year. These were distinguished as legitimate fasts, and were ordinarily observed with considerable rigour. Every person above twelve years of age was then required to abstain from food until nones, or three in the afternoon. These four seasons of religious abstinence were also called ember weeks, from the Saxon word signifying a circuit,

1 Conc. Eanh. SPELM. i. 518. rihtlice asette synd, and thæra WILK. i. 288. haligra mæsse æfenas the for Cristes lufon martyrdom throwedon.-(Ex Hom. intitul. Her is halwendlic Lar: Here is wholesome Lore: in eod. cod. f. 68.) Fast your lenten fast rightly to nones, every man that is over XII. winters, and the four embrens in the twelve months, which rightly set for you, and the massevens of the saints who for Christ's love suffered martyrdom.

"Primum legitimum ieiuniu erit in primâ ebdomadâ quadragesimâ. Scdm autem in ebdomadâ pentecosten. Sive ebdomadâ post pentecosten. Tertium aute in ebdomadâ plenâ ante equinoctiu autumpnale. Quartū autē in ebdomadâ plenâ ante natale dni nri ihū xpī.”—(Bibl. Bodl. MSS. Junii. 99.) This is from an ancient calendar at the beginning of the MS., written, as it appears, by a monk and priest, named Edric, who died 9 Kal. Dec.; but the year is not mentioned. The calculations, however, are made to the year 1119.

Fæstath cower lencten fæsten rihtlice to nones, alc man the beo ofer XII. wintre, and tha feower ymbrenu on twelf monthu, the for

are

The Russians, like our AngloSaxon ancestors, regularly keep four great fasts, viz., Lent; St. Peter's fast, from the Monday after Whit-Sunday, to June 29; the Virgin Mary's fast, from Aug. 1, to Aug. 15; St. Philip's fast, from Nov. 15, to Dec. 26.-PINKERTON'S Russia, 72.

or course. Of this adaptation the meaning is obvious,-in the course of every year these fasts regularly recurred1.

Anglo-Saxon prejudices appear never to have been relaxed upon the subject of such aliments as the most venerable of councils, that of Jerusalem, had forbidden. Although Jewish prejudices no longer needed conciliation, yet this was apparently quite overlooked. Ecclesiastical authorities implicitly followed Egbert's example in prohibiting the tasting of blood or of strangled ani

As embering and ember still the abyrgth blodes ofer Godes occur in our Prayer-books, and bebod, sceal forwurthan on есеoccasionally elsewhere, various nysse.-(Ex Hom. intitul. Her is speculations upon the precise halwendlic Lar. Bibl. Bodl. MSS. meaning of the term have been Junii. 99. f. 68.) We tell you that entertained among observers of God Almighty quoth by his own language unacquainted with mouth, that no man may taste any Saxon. It comes from ymb, the kind of blood, neither fowl's, nor Greek ȧupi, about, and ryne, a cattle's, whose flesh is allowed you run. Some have hastily derived to enjoy. Every one who tastes it from embers, meaning the ashes, blood against God's command, anciently used on Ash-Wednes- shall perish for ever. day; but Somner (in voc. Ymbren) very well observes, that this usage was confined to one day in the whole four seasons. Some questions and answers upon these four fasts, with various fanciful reasons for their observance, from the pen of Egbert, may be seen in WILKINS, Conc. i. 85.

2 Acts xv. 29.

3 Riht is that ænig Cristen man blod ne thycge.-(Sinodal. Decret. 53. Bibl. Bodl. MSS. Junii. 121. f. 29.) Right is that any Christian man take not blood.

We cythath eow that God Elmihtig cwæth his agenum muthe thæt nan man he mot abyrgean nanes cynes blodes, ne fugeles, ne nytenes, the cow alyfed is that flæse to nyttienne. Elc thara

It appears, from the 31st canon of Egbert's Penitential (WILK. i. 121), that women sometimes took the blood of their husbands as a medicine. This usage was, probably, founded on some old heathen superstition, and popular credulity was likely to gather strength from ecclesiastical prohibition.

In Egbert's 38th canon (Ib. 123) is given an express permission for the eating of horse-flesh, and of hares (the Saxon word for which, though almost identical with the modern English, is strangely rendered halices by Wilkins). From such permissions, it seems hardly doubtful that some people scrupled about the eating of anything that was Levitically unclean. The same canon, in