3.19. Of precious ſtones. Cap. 19.

Of precious ſtones. Cap. 19.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 2 3 4 THe olde writers remember fewe other ſtones of eſtimation to be founde in this Iſland then that which we call Geat,Geat. & they in latine Gagates: wherevnto furthermore they aſcribe ſundry properties as vſually practized here in times paſt, whereof none of our writers doe make any mencion at all.Laon. Calchõ|dyle. Howbeit whatſoeuer it hath pleaſed a num|ber of ſtrangers to write of y^e vſages of thi [...] oure Countrie, aboute the tryall of the vir|ginitie of our maidens by drincking of the powder of thys ſtone againſt the tyme of their beſtowing in maryage: certaine it is than euen to this day there is ſome plenty to be had of this commoditie in Darby ſhyre & about Barwticke, although that in many mens opinions nothing ſo fine as that which is brought ouer by marchauntes from the mayne. But as theſe men are drowned with the common errour of our nation, ſo I am ſure that in diſcerning the price and value of things, no man now liuing can go beyond y^e iudgemẽt of the old Romaines, who prefer|red the geate of Britain before y^e like ſtones bred about Luke & all other coũtries. Moreo|uer as Geat was one of y^e firſt ſtones of this Iſle wherof any forrein account was made, [...] ſo our pearles alſo did match with it in re|nowne, in ſo much that the only deſire of thẽ cauſed Caeſar to aduenture hyther, [...] after h [...] had ſéene the quantities & hard of our plenty of them, whyleſt he abode in France. Certes they are to be founde in theſe our dayes, and thereto of diuers coulours, in no leſſe num|bers then euer they were in olde tyme. Yet are they not now ſo much deſired bycauſe of theyr ſmallneſſe, and alſo for other cauſes, but eſpecially ſith churchwork as copes, ve|ſtements, Albes, Tunicles, altar clothes, canapies, and ſuch traſh are woorthily abo|liſhed, vpon which our countrymen hereto|fore beſtowed no ſmall quantities. For I thinke there were fewe churches and Reli|gious houſes beſides Biſhoppes Myters & Põtifical veſtures, but were either thorow|ly fretted or notably garniſhed w^t huge nũ|bers of them. But as the Brittiſh Geat or o|rient Pearle were in olde tyme eſtéemed a|boue thoſe of other countries, ſo tyme hath ſince the conqueſt of the Romaines reuealed many other: in ſo much y^t at this ſeaſon there are founde in Englande the Aetites and the Hematite and theſe very pure and excellent, alſo y^e Calcedony, the Porphyrite, y^e Chriſtal, & thoſe other, which we call Calaminares, & ſpeculares beſide a kinde of Diamõd or Ada|mant, which although it be very fair to ſight is yet much ſofter thẽ [...] thoſe y^t are brought hyther out of other countries. We haue alſo vpon our coaſtes the white corall and other ſtones dayly founde in cliffes and rockes, whereof ſuch as finde them haue eyther no knowledge at all, or elſe doe make but ſmall account, being ſeduced by outlãdiſh Lapida|ries, whereof the moſt part diſcourage vs frõ the fetching and ſéeking out of our owne cõ|modities, to the ende that they may haue the EEBO page image 117 more frée vtterance of their naturall and ar|tificial wares, wherby they get great gaines amongſt ſuch as haue no ſkill. [...]all of [...]ne. I haue harde that the beſt triall of a ſtone is to laye it on the nayle of our thombe, and ſo to go abroade into the cléere light, where if the coulour hold in all places a like, the ſtone is thought to be natural. &c. But if it alter eſpecially towarde y^e nayle, thẽ is it not ſound, but rather an ar|tificiall practize. If this be true it is an expe|riment worthy y^e noting. (Cardane alſo hath it in his De ſubtilitate) yf not I haue reade néere more lies then this, as one example out of Cato, who ſayeth that a cuppe of Iuy will holde no wine at all, but I haue made ſome veſſels of y^e ſame wood, which refuſe no kind of liquor, and therefore I ſuppoſe that there is no ſuch Antipatha betwéene wyne & Iuy as ſome of our reading Philoſophers with|out all maner of practize wil ſéeme to inferre amongeſt vs. What ſhoulde I ſaye more of ſtones? truely I can not tell, ſith I haue ſayde what I may already & peraduenture more then I thought. This yet will I adde that yf thoſe which are founde in Muſkelles (for I am vtterly ignoraunt of the generatiõ of pearles) be good pearle in déede I haue at ſundrie times gathered more then an ounce of them, of which diuers haue holes already entred by nature, ſome of them not much in|feriour to great peaſon in quantitie, & there|to of ſundrie colours as it happeneth amõgſt ſuch as are brought from the Eaſterly coaſt to Saffron Walden in Lent, when for want of fleſhe,Neuer [...]s our [...]ed and [...]ſh fiſhe [...]eare as [...]w ſith [...]n muſt [...]s haue ſtale ſtincking fiſhe & welked Muſ|kles are thought to be good meate for other fiſhe is to to déere amongſt vs.

3.20. ¶Of the Coynes of Englande. Cap. 20.

¶Of the Coynes of Englande. Cap. 20.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 THe Saxon Coyne before the Conqueſt is vtterly vnknowne vnto me: how bée it if my coniecture be any thing, I ſuppoſe that the ſhillynges of ſiluer, in thoſe dayes did counterpeiſe our common ounce, though afterwarde it came to paſſe that it aroſe to twentie pence, and ſo continued vntyll the tyme of King Henry the eyght, who firſt brought it to thrée ſhillings and foure pence, [...]pper [...]oney. and afterwarde our Syluer Coyne vnto braſſe & copper monies, by reaſon of thoſe in|eſtimable charges, which dyuers wayes op|preſſed him. But as king Edward his ſonne began to reſtore y^e aforeſayde Coine againe vnto fine ſiluer: ſo Quéene Mary his ſucceſ|ſour did continue his good purpoſe: notwith|ſtanding that in hir time the Spaniſh mo|ney was very common in England, by rea|ſon of hir mariage with Philyp King of Spayne.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 After hir diſceaſe the Lady Elizabeth hyr ſiſter, and now our moſt gracious Quéene,Siluer re|ſtored. and ſouereigne Princes, did finiſh the mat|ter wholly, vtterly aboliſhing the vſe of cop|per Coine, and conuerting the ſame into fine Syluer, as péeces of halfpeny fardyng, of a po [...]y, of thrée half pens, péeces of twoo pence, of thrée pence, of foure pence (called y^e groate) of ſixe pence vſually named the teſ|tone, and ſhilling of twelue pence, whereon ſhée hath imprinted hir owne ymage, & em|phaticall ſuperſcription.Olde gold Our Gould is ey|ther olde or new. The old is that which hath remained ſince y^e time of king Edwarde the thirde, or béene Coyned by ſuch other Prin|ces, as haue reigned ſince his diſceaſe, with|out abaſing of the fyneſt of that mettall. Therof alſo wée haue yet remayning, the Ryall, the George noble, the Henry Ryall, the Saint, the Angell, and their ſmaller pée|ces, as halfes or quarters, though theſe in my time, are not ſo common to be ſéene. I haue alſo behelde the Souereine of twen|ty ſhillinges, & the péece of thirtie ſhillyngs, I haue harde lykewiſe of péeces of forty ſhil|lings, thrée pounde, fiue pounde, and tenne pound. But ſith there were fewe of them coi|ned, and thoſe only at the commaundement of the kings, yearely to beſtow where their maieſties thought good in lieu of new yeres gyftes and rewardes: it is not requiſite that I ſhould remember them here amongſt our currant coynes.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 The newe Golde is taken for ſuch as be|ganne to be coyned in the latter dayes of king Henry the eyght,New gold at which time the fi|neſſe of the mettall began to be very much alayed, and is not likely to bée reſtored for ought that I can ſée: & yet is it & ſuch as hath béene coyned ſince by hys ſucceſſours prin|ces of this Realme in value and goodneſſe equall and not inferiour to the coyne and currant Golde of other nations, where eche one doth couet to gather vppe our olde finer Golde: ſo that the Angels, Ryalles, & No|bles, are more plentifully ſéene in Fraunce and Flanders, then they be by a great deale within the Realme of England. Our péeces nowe currant are of tenne ſhillinges, fiue ſhillings, & two ſhillinges and ſixe pence on|ly: and thoſe of ſundry ſtampes and names, as half ſouereines, quarters of Soueraines, (otherwyſe called Crownes,) & halfe Crow|nes: lykewiſe Angels, halfe Angels, & quar|ters of Angels, or if there be any other, in good ſooth I knowe them not, as one ſcaſely acquainted with any ſiluer at all, much leſſe then God it wote with any ſtore of Goulde.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 EEBO page image 127The firſt currant ſhilling, or péeces of twelue pence were coyned by kyng Henry the eight: thoſe of fyue ſhillinges, & of 2. ſhil. & 6. pence, & the half ſhil. by king Edward y^e ſixt: but the odde péeces aboue remẽbred vn|der the groat, by our high & mighty Pryn|ces Quéene Elizabeth, the name of y^e groat peny: 2. pence: ob. & farding, being more aun|cient then y^t I can wel diſcuſſe of the time of their beginnings. Yet thuſmuch I read that king Edwarde the firſt in the eight yeare of his reigne, did firſt come the peny & ſmalleſt péeces of ſiluer roundewyſe, which before were ſquare, and woont to haue a doubble croſſe wyth a creſt, in ſuch ſorte that the peny might eaſily be brokẽ, eyther into halfs or quarters, by which ſhift onely the people came by halfe pence and fardinges, that o|therwyſe were not ſtamped nor coyned of ſet purpoſe.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 Of forren coynes we haue both the Duc|cates, the ſingle and the double: the Cruſa|does, with the lõg croſſe & the ſhort: y^e Por|tigue, a péece very ſolemly kept of dyuers, & yet oft times abaſed with waſhing, or elſe abſolutely coũterfeicted: and finally yne french and flemiſh crownes, onely currant among vs, ſo long as they holde weight. But of ſil|uer coynes none at all: yet are the Dalders and ſuch, often tymes brought ouer, but neuertheleſſe exchanged as Bullion, accor|ding to their fineneſſe and weight, and after|warde conuerted into coyne, by ſuch as haue authority.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 In olde time we had ſundrye Mintes in Englande, and thoſe commonly kept in Ab|baies and religious houſes before the con|queſte, where true dealing was commonly ſuppoſed: moſt of all to dwel. As at Ram|ſeye, Bury, Caunterbury, Glaſſenbury and ſuch like, ſundry exemplificats of y^e graunts whereof are yet to be ſéene in wryting. But after the Normans had once gotten the ma|ſterye, they truſted themſelues beſt wyth the ouerſight of their Mintes, and therefore erected diuers of their owne, although they afterwarde permitted ſome for ſmall péeces of Siluer, vnto ſundry of the houſes afore|ſayd. In my time diuers mints are ſuppreſ|ſed as Southworke, Bryſtow, &c. and al coi|nage is brought into one place, that is to ſay the Tower of London, where it is continu|ally holden and peruſed, but not without great gaine to ſuch as deale w^tall. There is alſo coinage of Tin holdẽ yearly at two ſe|uerall times, that is to ſaye Midſomer and Michaelmas in the weſt country, which at the firſt hearing, I ſuppoſed to haue béene of money of the ſayde metall and graunted by Priuiledge from the Prince, vnto y^e townes of Haylſtone, Trury, & Loſtwithiel. How|beit vpon farder examinatiõ of the matter, I finde it to be nothing ſo, but an office one|ly erected for the Prince, wherein he is al|lowed the ordinary cuſtomes of the mettall and ſuch blockes of Tinne as haue paſſed y^e handes of his Officers, are marked wyth an eſpeciall ſtampe, whereby it is knowne that the cuſtome due for the ſame, hath ordinari|ly béene aunſwered. It ſhould ſéeme & in my opinion is very likely to be true, that whyle Romains reigned here, Kingſtone vppon Thames was the chiefe place of their coy|nage for this prouince. For in earing of the grounde about that Towne in tymes paſt, and nowe of late (beſides the curious funda|tion of many goodly buyldinges that haue béene ripped vp, and diuers coines of braſſe, ſiluer, and Golde, with Romaine letters in painted pots that haue béene found there) in the dayes of Cardinall Wolſey, one ſuch pot was diſcouered ful as it were of new ſil|uer lately coined. Another with plates of ſil|uer ready to be coyned. And the thirde wyth cheanes of ſiluer, ready as it ſhould appears to bée melted into coine, whereof let thys ſu|ffice to countenaunce out my coniecture.

3.21. Of our accompt of time, and partes thereof. Cap. 21.

Of our accompt of time, and partes thereof. Cap. 21.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 2 AS Libra is As or Aſsis vnto y^e Romains for theyr waight, & the foote in ſtandard meaſure: ſo in our accompt of the partes of time, we take the houre to be the greateſt of y^e leaſt, and leaſt of the greateſt, wherby we kéepe our reckening. For my part I do not ſee any great difference vſed in the obſerua|tyon of tyme and hir partes betwéene oure owne and any other forreine nation, where|fore I ſhal not néede to ſtand long vpon this matter. Howbeit, to the ende our exact order héerein ſhall appeare vnto all men, I wil ſet downe ſome ſhort rehearſall therof, and that in ſo briefe maner as vnto me is poſſible. As for our Astronomicall practiſes, I meane not to meddle wyth them, ſith theyr courſe is v|niformely obſerued ouer all. Our common order therfore is to begin at the minute, as at the ſmalleſt part of time knowne vnto the people, notwythſtanding that in moſt places they deſcend no lower then the halfe quarter or quarter of the howre, and from whence they procéede vnto the houre, whych is the 24. part of that whych we call the common and naturall day, & doth begin at midnight. Of vnequall houres or dayes, our natiõ hath no regard, and therefore to ſhew theyr quan|tities EEBO page image 118 & differences, it ſhould be [...]t in value. In lyke ſort, whereas the Egyptiand, Itali|ans, Bohemians, and Iewes begin their day at the Sunne ſet ouer night i [...] the P [...]rſians, Babylonians, Grecians, and Northergians at the Sunne riſing (each of them accoũting theyr dayes and nights by vnequall houres) alſo the Athenienſes, Arabians, Dutchmen and Aſtronomers at hygh [...] W [...] after the Romain maner vſed in the Church there of long time choſe the very poynte of mid|night, from whence we accompt [...] 2. equall houres vnto midday enſuing, and other 12. againe vnto the aforeſaid poynt. And this is our generall order for the naturall day. Of the artificiall we make ſo farre account, as that we recken it to be day when the Sunne is vp, and nyght when it leaueth our Horri|zon: otherwyſe alſo we deuide it into two partes, that is to ſay, forenoone and after|noone, not regarding the ruddy, ſhining, bur|ning and warming ſeaſons (of thrée vnequal houres a péece,) whych other ſéeme to ob|ſerue, and wherof I read theſe verſes.

Compare 1587 edition: 1

Solis equi lucis dicuntur quatuor horae.

Haec rubet, haec ſplender, hae c [...]ilec, illa teper:

Compare 1587 edition: 1 In déede out Phiſitians haue another par|tition of the day, as men of no halfe learning no doubt then the beſt of for [...]ir countryes if we could ſo conceaue of them. And héerein they concurre wyth thoſe of other nations, who for diſtinction in regiment of our hu|mours, diuide the artificiall day and night in ſuch wiſe as theſe verſes doe import, and are in déede a generall rule whych each of them doth follow.

Compare 1587 edition: 1

Tres lucis primas, noctis tres ſanguinis imas.

Vis cholere medias lucis ſex vendicat horas.

Dat melam primas noctis, tres lucis & imas.

Centrales ponas ſex noctis phlegmatis horas.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 Or thus, as Tanſteter hath geuen them forth in hys Prelections.

Compare 1587 edition: 1

A nona noctis donec ſit tertia lucis,

Eſt dominus ſanguis, ſex inde ſequẽtib horis

Eſt dominans ch [...]lera, dum lucis nona ſit hora

Poſt niger humid ineſt donec ſit tertia noctis.

Poſthaec phlegma venit, donec ſit nona quietis

Compare 1587 edition: 1 In Engliſh thus in effect.

Compare 1587 edition: 1

Three houres ere ſun do riſe, & ſo many after, Blud,

Frõ 9. to 3. at after none, hot choler beares the ſway,

Euen ſo to 9. at night, ſwart Choler hath to rule,

As Phlegme from thence to 3. at morne: 6. houres eache one I ſay.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 2 3 4 5 [...]ght.In like ſort for the nyght we haue none o|ther partes then the twylight, darkenyght, midnight, and cockes crowing. Wheras the Latines diuide the ſame into .7. partes, as Veſper the Euening, which is immediately after the ſetting of the Sunne. Crepuſculum the twylight, when it is betwéene day and night, lyght and darkneſſe or properly ney|ther day nor night. Conticirium the ſtill of the nyght when each one is layd to reſt. In|tempeſt [...] the [...] or dead of the night, when [...] in theyr firſt or dead ſléepe Gallicinium the [...]ch [...]s [...] r [...]wing. Matutinum the breache of the day: and Diliculum ſiue aurora, the rud|dy, orenge, golden or ſhining coloure, ſéene immediately before the riſing of the Sunne. Other there are whych doe recken by wat|ches, diuiding the nyght into 4. equal partes. Of whych the firſt beginneth at Euening;watche. called the firſt watch, and continueth by 3. vnequall [...]ras, and ſo forth vntill the ende of the nynth h [...]e, wherat the fourth watch entreth whych is called the morning watch, becauſe it partly concurreth with y^e morning & breache of the day before the riſing of the Sunne.Houre. As for the originall of the worde houre, it is very auncient, but yet not ſo olde as that of the watch whych was deuiſed firſt among ſouldiers for theyr better ſafegarde and chaunge of watchmen in theyr campes, the lyke whereof is almoſt vſed among our ſeafaring men whych they call clearing of the g [...]affe, and performed from time to time wyth great héede and ſome ſolemnitie. Cer|teſſe the worde Hora among the Grecians, ſignified ſo well the 4. quarters of the yeare, as the 24. part of y^e day, but what ſtand I vp|on theſe things to let my purpoſe ſtay. To procéede therefore.wéeke. Of naturall dayes is the wéeke compacted, which conſiſteth of 7. of them. The firſt entreth with Monday, wher|by it commeth to paſſe that we reſt vpon the Sunday, whych is the 7. in number, as al|mighty God hath commaunded in his word, The Iewes begin theyr weke vpon our Sa|terday at the ſetting of the Sunne, and the Turkes with the Saterday: wherby it com|meth to paſſe; that as the Iewes make our laſt day the firſt of theyr wéeke, ſo the Turks make the Iewiſh Sabaoth the beginning of theyr Hebdoma becauſe Mahomet theyr pro|phet (as they ſay) was borne & dead vpõ y^e fri|day, & ſo he was in dede, except their Alcharõ deceaue me. The Iewes doe recken theyr dayes by theyr diſtance from theyr ſabaoth, ſo that the firſt day of theyr wéeke, is the firſt day of the ſabaoth, and ſo forth vnto the ſixte. The Latines accompted theyr dayes after the 7. Planets, choſing the ſame for the deno|minator of the daye, that entreth hys regi|ment wyth the firſt vnequall houre of the ſame after the Sunne be riſen. Howbeit, as thys order is not wholly reteined wyth vs, ſo the vſe of the ſame is not yet altogither a|bolyſhed, as may appeare by our Sonday, EEBO page image 128 Monday, and Saturday. The reſt were chã|ged by the Saxons, who in remembrance of Woden, Oth [...]n, or Oden, The [...] tſometime theyr prince called the ſecond day of y^e wéeke Theweſday the iij. day Wodenſdach. Lyke|wiſe of Thor, they called the iiij day Thorſ|dach, and of Frea wyfe to Woden the v. was named Freadach. Albeit there are (and not amiſſe as I thinke) that ſuppoſe them to meane by Thor, Iupiter, by Woden Mercu|ry, by Frea Venus, and finally by Theut Mars: which if it be ſo, then it is an eaſie ma|ter to find out the Germaine Mars, Venus, Mercury and Iupiter, wherof you may read more héereafter in my Chronologie. The truth is, that Frea had 7. ſonnes by Woden, as Woden the firſt, father to Wecca, of whome deſcẽded thoſe that were afterwards kings of Kent, Fethelgeta was the ſeconde. and of hym came the kings of Mertia. Bal|day 3. father to the kings of the Weſtſaxõs. Beldagius 4. parent to the kings of Bren|nicia or Northumberland. Weogodach 5. author of the kings of Deyra. Caſer. 6. rote of the Eſtangle race, and Naſcad originall burgeaunt of the kings of Eſſex. As for the kings of Suſſex, although they were of the ſame people, yet were they not of the ſame ſtreigne, as our old monuments do expreſſe. But to procéede. Of wéekes, our monethes are made whych are ſo called of the Moone, each one conteing 28. dayes, or 4. wéekes, wythout any further curioſity. For we reckẽ not our time by the yeare of the Moone, as the Iewes, Grecians or Romains did at the firſt, or as the Turks, Arabians & Perſians do now: neyther any parcell therof by y^e ſayd part as they do in y^e Weſt Indies, wher they haue neither weke, moneth nor yere, but on|ly a general accoũt of hundreds & thouſands of Moones, wherfore if we ſay or wryte a mo|neth, it is to be expounded of 28. dayes or 4. wéekes only. Or if you take it at large for a moneth of the common Kalender, whych ne|uertheleſſe in plées and ſutes is nothyng at all allowed of, ſith the Moone maketh hir ful reuolutiõ in 28. dayes, that is, vnto the place where ſhe left the Sunne, notwythſtanding that he be now gone, and at hir returne not to be found where ſhée departed from hym.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 2 3 4 5 6 In olde time eche Moneth of the Romaine Calender, was reconed after the courſe of y^e Moone, and theyr entraunces were incer|taine, as were alſo the changes of that Pla|net. But after Iulius Caeſar had once correc|ted the ſame, the ſeuerall beginninges of e|uerye one of them dyd not onely remayne fyxed, but alſo the olde order in the deuiſi|on of their partes continued ſtill vnaltered: ſo that the Moneth is yet deuided as before i [...] Calendes, Ides, and Nones, albeit that [...]+mydaies, the vſe of the ſame be but ſmall, & their order retained only in our Calenders for the better vnderſtanding of ſuch tymes as the hiſtoriographers and olde authors do remember. The reconing alſo of ech of the [...] goeth as you ſée after a prepoſterous order whereby the Romaynes dyd rather now howe many daies were to the next chaunge from the precedent then contraywyſe, as b [...] peruſall of y^e ſame you ſhall more eaſily per|ceyue. The daies alſo of the change; of y^e Mo|neth of y^e Moone, called are Callendae, which in time of Paganiſme were conſecrated by Iuno, & ſacrifice made to that goddeſſe on y^e ſame. On theſe daies alſo, and on y^e Ides an Nones they would not marye. Likewiſe the morow after eche of thẽ, were called dies A|cri, blacke daies, as ſome bookes doe yet re|member. The word Calendae in Gréeke Ne|omenia, is deriued of the worde Calo, to call: for vpon the firſt daye of euery Moneth, the Prieſt vſed to call the people of the Citie & country togither, and ſhewe them by a cuſ|tome howe many daies were from the ſaide Calendes to the Nones, and what feaſts were to be celebrated betwéene that and the nexte chaunge. The Nones commonly are not a+boue 4. or 6. in euery Moneth, and ſo long as the Nones laſted, ſo long did the Mercates continue, & therfore they were called Nones quaſi Nundinae. In them alſo were neyther Hollydayes (more then at thys preſent ex|cept y^e day of the Purification of our Lady) nor ſacrifice offred to the gods, but each one applied hys buſineſſe, and kept hys market, reckening the firſt day after the Calends or chaũge, to be the 4. or 6. day before the faire ended. Some thinke that they were called Nonae, of the word Non, quia in ijſdem dij non coluntur, or as Ouide ſayeth. Nonarum tutela deo caret. But howſoeuer it be, ſure it is that they were y^e mart dayes of euery mo|neth wherein the people bought, ſolde, and dyd nothing elſe. The Idus are ſo named of the Hethruſcien word Iduare to deuide, and before that Ceſar altered the Calender, they deuided the moneth commonly by the myd|deſt. But afterward when he had added cer|taine dayes thereto, thereby to make it a|grée wyth the yeare of the ſunne (whych he intruded about the ende of euerye mo|neth, becauſe he woulde not alter the ce|lebration of theyr vſuall Feaſtes: then came they ſhorte of the myddeſt, ſome|time by two or thrée daies. In theſe theefore which alwaies are eyght, the Marchauntes had layſure to packe vp and conueigh them EEBO page image 119 marchaundiſe, to paye their creditors and make merry with their friendes. After the Idus do the Calendes followe, but in a decrea|ſing order, as the Moone doth in light when ſhée is paſt the full. But herein lyeth all the myſterie, if you can ſaye ſo many dayes be|fore the next chaunge or newe Moone, as the number there expreſſed doth betoken. As for 16. cal. ſo many dayes before the next con|iunctiõ. &c. Of theſe Calendes, I meane touch|ing their number in euery Moneth, I fynde theſe verſes inſuing.

Compare 1587 edition: 1

Ianus & Auguſtus denas nouem Decẽber,

Iunius, Aprilis, Septẽber & ipſe Nouember,

Ter ſenas retinent, Februus bis Oeto. Calẽdas

Iulius October Mars Mains Epadecem

Compare 1587 edition: 1 In Engliſhe thus,

December, Ian, and August moneth full nyneteene

Calendes haue.

September, Iune, Nouember and Aprill twyſe nine deſire,

Syxteene foule Februarie hath, no more can he well craue.

October, Maye and Iuly hote, but ſeauenteene doe require,

Compare 1587 edition: 1 In lyke maner of nones and Ides.

Compare 1587 edition: 1

Sex maius Nonas, October, Iulius & Mars;

Quatuor at reliqui, dabit Idus quilibet octo.

To Iuly, March, October, May, ſixe nones I hight,

The reſt but 4, as for your Ides they aske but eight

Compare 1587 edition: 1 Agayne touching the number of dayes in euery moneth.

Compare 1587 edition: 1

Iunius, Aprilis, Septem, Nouem tricenos

vnũ plus reliqui, Febru tenet octo vicenos,

At ſi biſſextus fuerit ſuper additur vnus.

Thirty dayes hath Nouember

Aprill, Iune and September,

Twentie and eyght hath February alone,

and all the reſt thirty and one,

But in the leape you muſt adde one.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 2 [...]re.Our yeare is accounted after the courſe of the ſunne, and although the church hath ſome vſe of that of the Moone for the obſeruation of certaine mooueable feaſtes, yet it is reduc|ted to that of the Sunne, which in our ci|uile dealinges is chiefly had in vſe. Herein onely I finde a ſcruple that the beginning thereof is not vniforme and certaine, for our recordes beare Date the 25. of March, and our Calenders of the firſt of Ianuary. Our ſundrie officers alſo haue ſundrie enteraun|ces into their charges of cuſtome, which bréedeth great confuſion, whereas if all theſe might be referred to one originall (and that to be the firſt of Ianuarie) I do not thincke but there would be more certaintie and leſſe trouble for our hiſtoriographers and offices in their account of the yeare. Furthermore, whereas our intercalation for the Leape yeare is ſomewhat to much by certayne mi|nutes (which in 309. yeares do amount vnto an whole day) yf one intercalation in [...]o ma|ny were o [...]ted, our Calender would be the more perfite: & I woulde wiſh that the ſame yeare wherein the ſaide intercalation ſhould be ouerpaſſed, might be called Annus mag|nus Elizabethae in perpetual remembrance, of our noble and ſoueraign princeſſe Certes the next [...] is to be performed yf all Princes woulde agree thereto in the Leape yeare that ſhall be about the yeare of grace 1700. If it ſhall pleaſe God that the worlde may laſt ſo long. Aboue the yeare we haue no mo partes of Time, that cary any ſeuerall names with them, except you will affirme the worde age, to be one which is taken for 100 yeares, & ſignifieth in Engliſhe ſo much as Seculum or Euum doth in latine, whereof this may ſuffice. But to conclude withal, you ſhall haue a table of the names of the dayes of the wéeke, after the olde Saxon and Scot|tiſh maner, which I haue borowed from a|mongeſt our auncient wryters.

The preſent names.

Compare 1587 edition: 1
• Monday.
• Tueſday.
• Wedneſday.
• Thurſday.
• Fryday.
• Saterday.
• Sunday.

The olde Saxon names.

Compare 1587 edition: 1
• Monendeg.
• Tueſdeg.
• Wodneſdeg.
• Thunreſdeg.
• Firgeſdeg.
• Saterdeg.
• Sunnandeg.

The Scottiſh vſage.

Compare 1587 edition: 1
• Diu Luna.
• Diu Mart.
• Diu Yath.
• Diu Ethamon.
• Diu Friach.
• Diu Satur.
• Diu Serol.

5.12. Of pretious stones. Chap. 12.

EEBO page image 239

Of pretious stones. Chap. 12.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 _THe old writers remember few other stones of estimati|on to be found in this Iland than that which we call great, and they in Latine Gagates: Geat. wherevnto furthermore they ascribe sundrie properties, as vsuallie practised here in times past,Laon. Chalchon|vtle. whereof none of our writers doo make a|nie mention at all. Howbeit whatsoeuer it hath plea|sed a number of strangers (vpon false surmise) to write of the vsages of this our countrie, about the triall of the virginitie of our maidens by drinking the powder hereof against the time of their bestow|ing in mariage: certeine it is that euen to this daie there is some plentie to be had of this commoditie in Darbishire and about Barwike, whereof rings, salts, small cups, and sundrie trifling toies are made, although that in manie mens opinions no|thing so fine as that which is brought ouer by mer|chants dailie from the maine. But as these men are drowned with the common errour conceiued of our nation, so I am sure that in discerning the price and value of things, no man now liuing can go beyond the iudgement of the old Romans, who preferred the geat of Britaine before the like stones bred about Luke and all other countries wheresoeuer. Marbo|deus Gallus also writing of the same among other of estimation, saith thus:

Nascitur in Lycialapis & propè gemma Gagates,

Sed genus eximium faecunda Britannia mittit,

Lucidus & niger est, leuis & leuissimus idem,

Vicinas paleas trahit attritu calefactus,

Ardet aqua lotus, restinguitur vnctus oliuo.

The Germane writers confound it with amber as if it were a kind therof: but as I regard not their iudgement in this point, so I read that it taketh name of Gagas a citie and riuer in Silicia, where it groweth in plentifull maner, as Dioscorides saith. Nicander in Theriaca calleth it Engangin and Gan|gitin, of the plentie thereof that is found in the place aforesaid, which he calleth Ganges, and where they haue great vse of it in driuing awaie of serpents by the onelie perfume thereof. Charles the fourth em|perour of that name glased the church withall that standeth at the fall of Tangra, but I cannot ima|gine what light should enter therby. The writers al|so diuide this stone into fiue kinds, of which the one is in colour like vnto lion tawnie, another straked with white veines, the third with yellow lines, the fourth is garled with diuerse colours, among which some are like drops of bloud (but those come out of Inde) and the fift shining blacke as anie rauens fea|ther.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Moreouer, as geat was one of the first stones of this Ile, whereof anie forren account was made, so our pearles also did match with it in renowme: in so much that the onelie desire of them caused Caesar to aduenture hither, after he had séene the quantities and heard of our plentie of them, while he abode in France, and whereof he made a taberd which he offe|red vp in Rome to Uenus, where it hoong long af|ter as a rich and notable oblation and testimonie of the riches of our countrie. Certes they are to be found in these our daies, and thereto of diuerse co|lours, in no lesse numbers than euer they were in old time. Yet are they not now so much desired bicause of their smalnesse, and also for other causes, but espe|ciallie sith church worke, as copes, vestments, albes, tunicles, altarclothes, canopies, and such trash, are worthilie abolished; vpon which our countrimen superstitiously bestowed no small quantities of them. For I thinke there were sew churches or religious houses, besides bishops miters, bookes and other pon|tificall vestures, but were either throughlie fretted, or notablie garnished with huge numbers of them. Marbodeus likewise speaking of pearles, commen|deth them after this maner:

Gignit & insignes antiqua Britannia baccas, &c.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Marcellinus also Lib. 23, in ipso, fine, speaketh of our pearls and their generation, but he preferreth great|lie those of Persia before them, which to me dooth séeme vnequallie doone. But as the British geat or o|rient pearle were in old time estéemed aboue those of other countries; so time hath since the conquest of the Romans reuealed manie other: insomuch that at this season there are found in England the Ae|tites (in English called the ernestone, but for erne some pronounce eagle) and the hematite or blood|stone, and these verie pure and excellent: also the cal|cedonie, the porphyrite, the christall, and those other which we call calaminares and speculares, besides a kind of diamond or adamant, which although it be ve|rie faire to sight, is yet much softer (as most are that are found & bred toward the north) than those that are brought hither out of other countries. We haue also vpon our coast the white corall, nothing inferiour to that which is found beyond the sea in the albe, néere to the fall of Tangra, or to the red and blacke, where|of Dioscorides intreateth, Lib. 5. cap. 8. We haue in like sort sundrie other stones dailie found in cliffes and rocks (beside the load stone which is oftentimes taken vp out of our mines of iron) whereof such as find them haue either no knowledge at all, or else doo make but small account, being seduced by outlan|dith lapidaries, whereof the most part discourage vs from the searching and séeking out of our owne com|modities, to the end that they maie haue the more frée vtterance of their naturall and artificiall wares, whereby they get great gaines amongst such as haue no skill.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 I haue heard that the best triall of a stone is to laie it on the naile of the thombe,Triall of a stone. and so to go abroad into the cleare light, where if the colour hold in all places a like, the stone is thought to be naturall and good: but if it alter, especiallie toward the naile, then is it not sound, but rather to be taken for an artificiall péece of practise. If this be true it is an experiment woorthie the noting. Cardan also hath it in his De subtilitate; if not,Lib. 7. I haue read more lies than this, as one for example out of Cato, who saieth, that a cup of iuie will hold no wine at all. I haue made some vessels of the same wood, which refuse no kind of liquor, and therefore I suppose that there is no such Antipathia betweene wine and our iuie, as some of our reading philosophers (without all maner of prac|tise) will seeme to infer amongst vs: and yet I denie not but the iuie of Gréece or Italie may haue such a propertie; but why should not the iuie then of France somewhat participat withall in the like effect, which groweth in an hotter soile than ours is? For as Bap|tista porta saith, it holdeth not also in the French iuie, wherefore I can not beléeue that it hath anie such qua|litie at all as Cato ascribeth vnto it. What should I say more of stones? Trulie I can not tell, sith I haue said what I may alreadie, and peraduenture more than I thinke necessarie: and that causeth me to passe ouer those that are now & then taken out of our oisters, todes, muskels, snailes and adders, and like|wise such as are found vpon sundrie hils in Gloce|stershire, which haue naturallie such sundrie proporti|ons, formes & colours in them, as passe all humane possibilitie to imitate, be the workeman neuer so EEBO page image 240 skilfull and cunning, also those that are found in the heads of our perches and carps much desired of such as haue the stone, & yet of themselues are no stones but rather shels or gristles, which in time consume to nothing. This yet will I ad, that if those which are found in muskels (for I am vtterlie ignorant of the generation of pearls) be good pearle in déed, I haue at sundrie times gathered more than an ounce of them, of which diuerse haue holes alreadie entered by nature, some of them not much inferiour to great peason in quantitie, and thereto of sundrie colours, as it happeneth amongst such as are brought from the esterlie coast to Saffron Walden in Lent, when for want of flesh, stale stinking fish and welked mus|kels are thought to be good meat; for other fish is too déere amongst vs when law dooth bind vs to vse it. Sée more for the generation of pearls in the descrip|tion of Scotland, for there you shall be further infor|med out of Boetius in that behalfe. They are called o|rient, because of the cléerenesse, which resembleth the colour of the cléere aire before the rising of the sun. They are also sought for in the later end of August, a little before which time the swéetnesse of the dew is most conuenient for that kind of fish, which dooth in|gender and conceiue them, whose forme is flat, and much like vnto a lempet. The further north also that they be found the brighter is their colour, & their sub|stances of better valure, as lapidaries doo giue out.

5.13. Of salt made in England. Chap. 13.

Of salt made in England. Chap. 13.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 _THere are in England certein welles where salt is made, whereof Leland hath written abundantlie in his cõmenta|ries of Britaine, and whose words onlie I will set downe in English as he wrote them, bicause be seemeth to haue had diligent consideration of the same, without adding anie thing of mine owne to him, except it be where necessitie dooth inforce me for the méere aid of the reader, in the vnderstanding of his mind. Directing therefore his iournie from Worcester in his pere|grination and laborious trauell ouer England, he saith thus: From Worcester I road to the Wich by inclosed soile, hauing meetlie good corne ground, sufficient wood and good pasture, about a six miles off, Wich standeth somewhat in a vallie or low ground, betwixt two small hils on the left ripe (for so he cal|leth the banke of euerie brooke through out all his English treatises) of a pretie riuer which not far be|neath the Wich is called Salope brooke. The beautie of the towne in maner standeth in one stréet, yet be there manie lanes in the towne besides. There is al|so a meane church in the maine stréet, and once in the wéeke an indifferent round market. The towne of it selfe is somewhat foule and durtie when anie raine falleth by reason of much cariage through the stréets, which are verie ill paued or rather not paued at all. The great aduancement also hereof is by ma|king of salt. And though the commoditie thereof be singular great, yet the burgesses be poore general|lie, bicause gentlemen haue for the most part got|ten the great gaine of it into their hands, whilest the poore burgesses yeeld vnto all the labour.A common plague in all things of anie great commo|ditie, for one beateth the bush but an|other catch|eth the birds, as we may see in batfowling. There are at this present time thrée hundred salters, and thrée salt springs in the towne of Wich, whereof the principall is within a butshoot of the right ripe (or banke) of the riuer that there commeth downe: and this spring is double so profitable in yeelding of salt liquor, as both the other. Some saie (or rather fable) that this salt spring did faile in the time of Richard de la Wich bishop of Chichester, and that afterwards by his intercession it was restored to the profit of the old course (such is the superstition of the people) in re|membrance whereof, or peraduenture for the zeale which the Wich men and salters did beare vnto Ri|chard de la Wich their countriman, they vsed of late times on his daie (which commeth once in the yeare) to hang this salt spring or well about with tapistrie, and to haue sundrie games, drinkings, and foolish re|uels at it. But to procéed. There be a great number of salt cotes about this well, wherein the salt water is sodden in leads, and brought to the perfection of pure white salt. The other two salt springs be on the left side of the riuer a pretie waie lower than the first, and (as I found) at the verie end of the towne. At these also be diuerse fornaces to make salt, but the profit and plentie of these two are nothing compara|ble to the gaine that riseth by the greatest. I asked of a salter how manie fornaces they had at all the three springs, and he numbred them to eightéene score, that is, thrée hundred and sixtie, saieng how euerie one of them paied yearelie six shillings and eight pence to the king. The truth is that of old they had liberties giuen vnto them for thrée hundred fornaces or more, and therevpon they giue a fee farme (or Vectigal) of one hundred pounds yearelie. Certes the pension is as it was, but the number of fornaces is now in|creased to foure hundred. There was of late search made for another salt spring there abouts, by the meanes of one Newport a gentleman dwelling at the Wich, and the place where it was appéereth, as dooth also the wood and timber which was set about it, to kéepe vp the earth from falling into the same. But this pit was not since occupied, whether it were for lacke of plentie of the salt spring, or for letting or hin|dering of the profit of the other three. Me thinke that if wood and sale of salt would serue, they might dig and find more salt springs about the Wich than thrée, but there is somewhat else in the wind. For I heard that of late yeares a salt spring was found in an o|ther quarter of Worcestershire,Priuileges doo somtimes harme. but it grew to be without anie vse, sith the Wich men haue such a pri|uilege, that they alone in those quarters shall haue the making of salt. The pits be so set about with gut|ters, that the salt water is easilie turned to euerie mans house, and at Mantwich verie manie troughs go ouer the riuer for the commoditie of such as dwell on the other side of the same. They séeth also their salt water in fornaces of lead, and lade out the salt some in cases of wicker, through which the water draineth, and the salt remaineth. There be also two or thrée but verie little salt springs at Dertwitch, in a low bottome, where salt is sometime made.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Of late also a mile from Cumbremere abbaie a peece of an hill did sinke, and in the same pit rose a spring of salt water, where the abbat began to make salt; but the men of the citie compounded with the abbat & couent that there should be none made there, whereby the pit was suffered to go to losse. And al|though it yéelded salt water still of it selfe, yet it was spoiled at the last and filled vp with filth. The Wich men vse the cõmoditie of their salt springs in draw|ing and decocting the water of them onlie by six mo|neths in the yeare, that is, from Midsummer to Christmas, as (I gesse) to mainteine the price of salt, or for sauing of wood, which I thinke to be their prin|cipall reason. For making of salt is a great and no|table destruction of wood, and shall be greater hereaf|ter, except some prouision be made for the better in|crease of firing. The lacke of wood also is alreadie perceiued in places néere the Wich, for whereas they vsed to buie and take their wood neere vnto their EEBO page image 241 occupiengs, those woonted springs are now decaied, and they be inforced to seeke their wood so far as Worcester towne, and all the parts about Brenis|graue, Alchirch, and Alcester. I asked a salter how much wood he supposed yearelie to be spent at these fornaces? and he answered that by estimation there was consumed about six thousand load, and it was round pole wood for the most, which is easie to be cleft, and handsomelie riuen in péeces. The people that are about the fornace are verie ill coloured, and the iust rate of euerie fornace is to make foure loads of salt yearelie, and to euerie load goeth fiue or six quarters as they make their accounts. If the fornace men make more in one fornace than foure loads, it is (as it is said) imploied to their owne auaile. And thus much hath Leland left in memorie of our white salt, who in an other booke, not now in my hands, hath touched the making also of baie salt in some part of our countrie. But sith that booke is deliuered againe to the owner, the tractation of baie salt can not be framed in anie order, bicause my memorie will not serue to shew the true maner and the place. It shall suffice therfore to haue giuen such notice of it, to the end the reader may know that aswell the baie as white are wrought and made in England, and more white also vpon the west coast toward Scotland, in Essex and else where, out of the salt water betwéene Wire and Cokermouth, which commonlie is of like price with our wheat. Finallie, hauing thus inter|medled our artificiall salt with our minerals, let vs giue ouer, and go in hand with such mettals as are growing here in England.

5.14. Of our accompt of time & hir parts. Chap. 14.

Of our accompt of time & hir parts. Chap. 14.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 _AS Libra is As or Assis to the Romans for their weight, and the foot in standard mea|sure: so in our accompt of the parts of time, we take the daie consisting of foure and twentie houres, to be the greatest of the least, and least of the greatest, whereby we keepe our reckoning: for of the houre (to saie the truth) the most ancient Romans, Greeks, nor Hebrues had anie vse; sith they reckoned by watches: and whereof also Censo|rinus cap. 19. sheweth a reason wherefore they were neglected. For my part I doo not sée anie great diffe|rence vsed in the obseruation of time & hir parts, be|twéene our owne & any other forren nation, wherfore I shall not néed to stand long on this matter. How|beit to the end our exact order herein shall appéere vn|to all men, I will set downe some short rehearsall thereof, and that in so briefe manner as vnto me is possible. As for our astronomicall practises, I meane not to meddle with them, sith their course is vniformelie obserued ouer all. Our common order therefore is to begin at the minut, which conteineth part of an houre, as at the smallest part of time knowne vnto the people, notwithstanding that in most places they descend no lower than the halfe quarter or quarter of the houre; and from whence they proceed vnto the houre, to wit, the foure and twentith part of that which we call the common and naturall daie, which dooth begin at midnight, and is obserued continuallie by clockes, dialles, and astro|nomicall instruments of all sorts. The artificiall varietie of which kind of ware is so great here in England, as no place else (in mine opinion) can be comparable therein to this Ile. I will not speake of the cost bestowed vpon them in perle and stone, neither of the valure of mettall, whereof they haue béene made, as gold, siluer, &c: and almost no ab|beie or religious house without some of them. This onelie shall suffice to note here (as by the waie) that as antiquitie hath delighted in these things, so in our time pompe and excesse spendeth all, and nothing is regarded that bringeth in no bread. Of vnequall or temporall houres or daies, our nation hath no re|gard, and therefore to shew their quantities, differen|ces, and diuisions, into the greater and the lesser, (whereof the later conteineth one vnequall houre, or the rising of halfe a signe, the other of a whole signe, which is in two houres space, wherof Marke seemeth to speake cap. 15 c 25, as the rest of the euangelists (yea and he also ibid. vers. 33) doo of the other, Matth. 27 e 45 Luke 23 e 44, Iohn 19 b 14) it should be but in vaine. In like sort, wheras the elder Aegyptians, Italians, Bohemians, latter Atheniens, and Iews begin their daie at the sun set ouer night; the Per|sians, Babylonians, Grecians, and Noribergians, at the sun rising (ech of them accompting their daies and nights by vnequall houres) also the elder Athe|niens, Arabians, Dutchmen, Umbers, Hetruri|ans, and Astronomers at high noone, and so reckon from noone to noone: we after Hipparchus and the latter Aegyptians, or to speake more properlie, imi|tating the Roman maner vsed in the church there of long time, choose the verie point of midnight; from whence we accompt twelue equall houres vnto mid|daie insuing, and other twelue againe vnto the a|foresaid point, according to these verses;

Manè diem Graeca gens incipit astrasequentes

In medio lucis Iudaeis vespere sancta,

Inchoat ecclesia media sua tempora nocte.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 And this is our generall order for the naturall daie. Of the artificiall we make so farre accompt, as that we reckon it daie when the sun is vp, and night when the sun leaueth our horizon. Otherwise also we di|uide it into two parts, that is to saie, fore noone and after noone, not regarding the ruddie, shining, bur|ning and warming seasons (of thrée vnequall houres a péece, which others séeme to diuide into spring time, summer, autumne, and winter, in like curious manner) and whereof I read these verses:

Solis equi lucis dicuntur quatuor horae,

Haec rubet, haec splendet, haec calet, illa tepet.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 Indéed our physicians haue another partition of the daie, as men of no lesse learning no doubt than the best of forren countries, if we could so conceiue of them. And herein they concurre also with those of other nations, who for distinction in regiment of our humors, diuide the artificiall daie and night in such wise as these verses doo import, and are indéed a ge|nerall rule which ech of them doth follow:

Tres lucis primas, noctis tres sanguinis imas,

Vis cholerae medias lucis sex vendicat horas.

Dátque melam primas noctis, tres lucis & imas,

Centrales ponas sex noctis phlegmatis horas.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 Or thus, as Tansteter hath giuen them foorth in his prelections:

A nona noctis donec sit terita lucis,

Est dominus sanguis, sex inde sequentibus horis

Est dominans cholera, dum lucis nona sit hora

Post niger humid inest donec sit tertia noctis,

Posthaec phlegma venit, donec sit nona quietis.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 In English thus in effect:

Three houres yer sun doo rise, and so manie after, blud,

From nine to three at after noone, hot choler beares the swaie,

Euen so to nine at night, swart choler hath to rule,

As phlegme from thence to three at morne: six houres ech one I saie.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 EEBO page image 242 In like sort for the night we haue none other parts than the twilight,Night. darkenight, midnight, and cocks crowing: wheras the Latins diuide the same into 7 parts, as Vesper Vesper. or Vesperugo, as Plautus cal|leth it, as Virgil vseth the word Hesper the euening, which is immediatlie after the setting of the sun. Cre|pusculum Crepusculum. the twilight (which some call Prima fax, be|cause men begin then to light candles) when it is be|twéene daie and night, light and darkenesse, or pro|perlie neither daie nor night. Concubium Concubium. the still of the night, when ech one is laid to rest. Intempestum, Intempestum. the dull or dead of the night, which is midnight, when men be in their first or dead sléepe. Gallicinium, Gallicinium. the cocks crowing. Conticinium, Conticinium. when the cocks haue left crowing. Matutinum, Matutinum. the breach of the daie, and Diluculum Diluculum. siue aurora, the ruddie, orenge, golden or shi|ning colour, séene immediatlie before the rising of the sun, and is opposite to the euening, as Matutinum is to the twilight.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Other there are which doo reckon by watches, diui|ding the night after sun setting into foure equall parts.Watches. Of which the first beginneth at euening cal|led the first watch, and continueth by thrée vnequall houres, and so foorth vntill the end of the ninth houre, whereat the fourth watch entreth, which is called the morning watch, bicause it concurreth partlie with the darke night, and partlie with the morning and breach of the daie before the rising of the sun.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 As for the originall of the word houre, it is verie ancient;Houre. but yet not so old as that of the watch, wher|of we shall read abundantlie in the scriptures, which was deuised first among souldiors for their better safegard and change of watchmen in their camps; the like whereof is almost vsed among our seafaring men, which they call clearing of the glasse, and perfor|med from time to time with great héed and some so|lemnitie. Here vnto the word Hora among the Gre|cians signified so well the foure quarters of the yéere, as the foure and twentith part of the daie, and limits of anie forme. But what stand I vpon these things to let my purpose staie? To procéed therefore.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Of naturall daies is the wéeke compacted,weeke. which consisteth of seauen of them, the fridaie being com|monlie called among the vulgar sort either king or worling, bicause it is either the fairest or foulest of the seauen: albeit that I cannot ghesse of anie rea|son whie they should so imagine. The first of these entreth with mondaie, whereby it commeth to passe, that we rest vpon the sundaie, which is the seauenth in number, as almightie God hath commanded in his word. The Iews begin their wéeke vpon our sa|turdaie at the setting of the sun: and the Turks in these daies with the saturdaie, whereby it commeth to passe, that as the Iews make our last daie the first of their wéeke, so the Turks make the Iewish sa|baoth the beginning of their Hebdoma: bicause Ma|homet their prophet (as they saie) was borne and dead vpon the fridaie, and so he was indéed, except their Alcharon deceiue them. The Iews doo reckon their daies by their distance from their sabaoth, so that the first daie of their wéeke is the first daie of the saba|oth, and so foorth vnto the sixt. The Latins and Ae|gyptians accompted their daies after the seauen pla|nets, choosing the same for the denominator of the daie, that entreth his regiment with the first vne|quall houre of the same after the sun be risen. How|beit, as this order is not wholie reteined with vs, so the vse of the same is not yet altogither abolished, as may appéere by our sunday, mondaie, and saturdaie. The rest were changed by the Saxons, who in re|membrance of Theut sometime their prince, called the second day of the wéek Theutsdach, the third Wo|den, Othin, Othon, or Edon, or Wodensdach. Also of Thor they named the fourth daie Thorsdach, and of Frea wife to Woden the fift was called Freadach. Albeit there are (and not amisse as I thinke) that suppose them to meane by Thor, Iupiter, by Woden, Mercurie, by Frea (or Frigga as Saxo calleth hir) Uenus, and finallie by Theut, Mars: which if it be so, then it is an easie matter to find out the german Mars, Uenus, Mercurie, and Iupiter, whereof you may read more hereafter in my chronologie. The truth is, that Frea albeit that Saxo giueth hir scant a good report, for that she loued one of hir husbands men better than himselfe, had seauen sonnes by Woden; the first, father to Wecca, of whome des|cended those that were afterwards kings of Kent. Fethelgeta was the second, and of him came the kings of Mercia. Baldaie the third, father to the kings of the west Saxons. Beldagius the fourth, pa|rent to the kings of Brenicia or Northumberland. Weogodach the fift, author of the kings of Deira. Caser the sixt race of the east Angle race, & Nascad o|riginall burgeant of the kings of Essex. As for the kings of Sussex, although they were of the same people, yet were they not of the same streine, as our old monuments doo expresse. But to procéed.

As certeine of our daies suffered this alteration by the Saxons, so in our churches we reteined for a long time the number of daies or of Ferias. sabaoth, after the manner of the Iews, I meane vn|still the seruice after the Romane vse was abolished, which custome was first receiued (as some thinke) by pope Syluester, though other saie by Constantine; albeit another sort doo affirme, that Syluester cau|sed the sundaie onelie to be called the Lords day, and dealt not with the rest.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 In like maner of wéekes our moneths are made, which are so called of the moone,Moneth. each one conteining eight and twentie daies, or foure wéekes, without a|nie further curiositie. For we reckon not our time by the yeare of the moone, as the Iews, Grecians, or Romans did at the first; or as the Turks, Ara|bians and Persians doo now: neither anie parcell thereof by the said planet, as in some part of the west Indies, where they haue neither weeke, moneth, nor yéere, but onlie a generall accompt of hundreds and thousands of moones. Wherefore if we saie or write a moneth, it is to be expounded of eight and twentie daies, or foure wéeks onelie, and not of hir vsuall period of nine and twentie daies and one and thirtie minuts. Or (if you take it at large) for a moneth of the common calender,Triuethus in Antartico. which neuerthelesse in plées and sutes is nothing at all allowed of, sith the moone maketh hir full reuolution in eight and twen|tie daies or foure weeks, that is, vnto the place where she left the sun: notwithstanding that he be now gone, and at hir returne not to be found verie often in that signe wherin she before had left him. Plutarch writeth of diuers barbarous nations which reckoned a more or lesse number of these moneths for whole yeares: and that of these some accompted but thrée, as the Archadians did foure, the Acarnans six, and the Aegyptians but one for a whole yeare, which causeth them to make such a large accompt of their antiquitie and originall. But forsomuch as we are not troubled with anie such disorder, it shall suffice that I haue generallie said of moneths and their quantities at this time. Now a word or two of the ancient Romane calender.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 In old time each moneth of the Romane calen|der was reckoned after the course of the moone, and their enterances were vncerteine, as were also the changes of that planet: whereby it came to passe, that the daie of the change was the first of the mo|neth, howsoeuer it fell out. But after Iulius Cesar had once corrected the same, the seuerall beginnings of euerie one of them did not onelie remaine fixed, EEBO page image 243 but also the old order in the diuision of their parts continued still vnaltered: so that the moneth is yet diuided as before, into calends, ides and nones, albeit that in my daies, the vse of the same bée but small, and their order reteined onelie in our calen|ders, for the better vnderstanding of such times, as the historiographers and old authors doo remember. The reckoning also of each of these goeth (as you sée) after a preposterous order, whereby the Romans did rather note how many daies were to the next change from the precedent, than contrariwise, as by perusall of the same you shall more easilie perceiue.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 The daies also of the change of the moneth of the moone, are called Calendae, which in time of paganisme were consecrated to Iuno, and sacrifice made to that goddesse on the same. On these daies also, and on the ides and nones they would not marie. Likewise the morow after each of them were called Dies atri, blacke daies, as were also diuerse other, and those either by reason of some notable ouerthrow or mis|hap that befell vnto the Romans vpon those daies, or in respect of some superstitious imagination concei|ued of euill successe likelie to fall out vpon the same. Of some they were called Dies Aegyptiaci. Wherby it appeareth that this peeuish estimation of these daies came from that nation. And as we doo note our holie and festiuall daies with red letters in our calenders, so did the Romans their principall feasts & circle of the moone, either in red or golden letters, and their victories in white, in their publike or consularie ta|bles. This also is more to be added, that if anie good successe happened afterward vpon such day as was alreadie blacke in their calender, they would so|lemnlie enter it in white letters by racing out of the blacke, whereby the blacke daie was turned into white, and wherein they not a little reioised.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 The word Calendae (in Gréeke Neomenia) is deriued of Calo, to call: for vpon the first day of euerie mo|neth, the priest vsed to call the people of the citie and countrie togither in Calabria, for so the place was called where they met, and shew them by a custome how manie daies were from the said calends to the nones, & what feasts were to be celebrated betwéene that and the next change. Their order is retrograde, because that after the moneth was halfe expired, or the moone past the full, they reckoned by the daies to come vntill the next change, as seuentéene daies, sixtéene daies, fourtéene daies, &c: as the Gréekes did in the latter decad onelie, for they had no vse of calends. The verie day therefore of the change is cal|led Calendae, dedicated to Iuno, who thereof was also called Calendaris. At the first also the fasts or feast daies were knowne by none other meanes vnto the people but by the denunciation of the priests (as I said) vpon this daie, till Flauius Scriba caused them to be written: published in their common calenders, contrarie to the will and meaning of the senat, for the ease and benefit of the people, as he pretended.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 The nones commonlie are not aboue foure or six in euerie moneth: and so long as the nones lasted, so long did the markets continue, and therefore they were called Nonae quasi Nundinae. In them also were neither holiedaies more than is at this present (ex|cept the day of the purification of our ladie) no sacri|fice offered to the gods, but each one applied his busi|nesse, and kept his market, reckoning the first day af|ter the calends or change, to be the fourth or sixt daie before the faire ended. Some thinke that they were called Nonae, of the word Non, quia in ijsdem dij non colun|tur. For as Ouid saith, Nonarum tutelae deo caret, or for that the nones were alwaies on the ninth daie before the ides: other because Nundina dea was honored the ninth day before the ides, albeit I suppose rather that Nundina dea (a goddesse far yoonger than the name of Nonae) tooke hir name of the nones, whereon it was a custome among the Romans, Lustrare infantes ac no|mina maribus imponere, as they did with their maid chil|dren vpon the eight: but howsoeuer this be, sure it is that they were the mart daies of euerie moneth, wherin the people bought, sold, exchanged or battered, and did nothing else.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 The ides are so named of the Hethruscan word, Iduare, to diuide: and before that Cesar altered the calender, they diuided the moneth commonlie by the middest. But afterward when he had added certeine daies the reto, therby to make it agrée to the yéere of the sunne (which he intruded about the end of euerie moneth, bicause he would not alter the celebration of their vsuall feasts, whereof the chiefe were holden al|waies vpon the day of the ides) then came they short of the middest, sometime by two or thrée daies. In these therefore (which alwaies are eight) the mer|chants had leisure to packe vp and conueie their mer|chandize, to pay their creditors, and make merie with their friends.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 After the ides doo the calends follow, but in a de|creasing order (as I noted) as the moone dooth in light when she is past the full. But herein lieth all the my|sterie, if you can say so manie daies before the next change or new moone, as the number there expressed dooth betoken, as for 16 calends so manie daies be|fore the next coniunction, &c: (as is aboue remem|bred.) Of these calends, I meane touching their num|ber in euerie moneth, I find these verses insuing:

Ianus & Augustus denas nouém December,

Iunius Aprilis September & ipse Nouémber

Ter senas retinent, Februs bis octo calendas,

Iulius October Mars Maius epta decém.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 In English thus.

December Iune and August month full nineteene calends haue,

Septemb Aprill Nouemb and Iune twise nine they doo desire,

Sixteene foule Februarie hath, no more can he well craue,

October Maie and Iulie hot but seuenteene door require.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 3 4 In like maner doo the nones and ides.

Sex Maius nonas, October, Iulius, & Mars,

Quatuor at reliqui, dabit idus quilibet octo.

To Iulie, Mars, October, Maie, six nones I hight,

The rest but foure, and as for ides they keepe still eight.

Againe touching the number of daies in euerie mo|neth:

Iunius, Aprilis, Septém Nouém, tricenos,

Vnumplus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos,

At si bissextus fuerit superadditur vnus.

Thirtie daies hath Nouember,

Aprill, Iune, and September,

Twentie and eight hath Februarie alone, and all the rest thirtie and one, but in the leape you must ad one.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Our yeare is counted after the course of the sunne, and although the church hath some vse of that of the moone for obseruation of certeine mooueable feasts, yet it is reducible to that of the sunne, which in our ciuill dealings is chieflie had in vse. Herein onelie I find a scruple, that the beginning thereof is not vni|forme and certeine, for most of our records beare date the 25 of March, and our calenders she first of Ianuarie; so that with vs Christ is borne before he be conceiued. Our sundrie officers also haue sundrie entrances into their charges of custome, which brée|deth great confusion, whereas if all these might be re|ferred to one originall (and that to be the first of I|nuarie) I doo not thinke but that there would be more EEBO page image 244 certeintie, and lesse trouble for our historiographers, notaries, & other officers in their account of the yere. In old time the Atheniens began their yeare with the change of the moone that fell néerest to the ente|rance of the sunne into the crab, the Latines at the winter solstice, or his going into the goat, the Iewes in ciuill case at the latter equinoctiall, and in ecclesi|asticall with the first. They of Calecute begin their yeare somewhere in September, but vpon no daie certeine, sith they first consult with their wisards, who pronounce one day or other thereof to be most happie (as the yeare goeth about) and therewith they make their entrance, as Osorius dooth remember, who addeth that vpon the eleuenth calends of Sep|tember, they haue solemne plaies, much like to the idoll games, & that they write in leaues of tree with a pencill, in stead of paper, which is not found among them. Some of the old Grecians began their yere al|so in September: but sith we seeke herein but for the custome of our countrie onelie, it shall be enought to affirme that we make our account from the calends or first of Ianuarie, and from the middest of the night which is Limes betwéene that and the last of Decem|ber, whereof this maie suffice. I might speake of the Cynike yeare also in this place (for the ease of our English readers) sometime in vse amongst the E|gyptians, which conteineth 1460 common yeares, whose beginning is alwaies reckoned from the ri|sing of the lesser dog. The first vse thereof entered the selfe yeare wherin the Olimpiads were restored. And forsomuch as this nation hath no vse of intercala|tion, at the end of euerie 1460 yeares, they added an whole yeare of intercalation, because there are 365 leape yeers in the period, so that 1460 Iulian yéers doo conteine 1461 after the Egyptians account, wherby their common yeare is found to be lese than ours. Furthermore, wheras our intercalation for the leape yere is somewhat too much by certeine minuts, which in 115 yeares amount vnto about an whole day, if one intercalation in so manie were omitted, our calender would be the more perfect: and I would wish that the same yeare wherein the said intercala|tion trulie found out should be ourpassed, might be obserued and called Annus magnus Elizabethae, in per|petuall remembrance of our noble and souereigne princesse now reigning amongst vs.

I might here saie somewhat also of the prime and hir alteration, which is risen higher by fiue daies in our common calender than it was placed by Iulius Caesar: and in seauen thousand yeares some writer would grow to an error of an whole, if the world should last so long. But forsomuch as in some calen|ders of ours it is reduced againe to the daie of eue|rie change, it shall suffice to saie no more therof. The pope also hath made a generall correction of the ca|lender, wherein he hath reduced it to the same that it was or should haue beene at the councell of Nice. Howbeit as he hath abolished the vse of the golden number, so hath he continued the epact, applieng it vnto such generall vse, as dooth now serue both the turnes, whose reformation had also yer this time béene admitted into England, if it had not procéeded from him, against whom and all whose ordinances we haue so faithfullie sworne and set our hands.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Certes the next omission is to be performed if all princes would agrée thereto in the leape yeare that shall be about the yeare of Grace 1668: if it shall please God that the world may last so long, and then may our calender also stand without anie alteration as it dooth alreadie. By this also it appeareth how the defect of our calender may be supplied from the crea|tion, wherein the first equinoctiall is seene higher to|ward the beginning of March than Caesars calender now extant dooth yéeld vnto by seauen daies. For as in Caesars time the true equinoctiall was pointed out to happen (as Stadius also noteth) either vpon or about the sixtéenth or seauentéenth of March, albe|it the manifest apperance thereof was not found vn|till the fiue and twentith of that moneth in their dials or by eie-sight: so at the beginning of the world the said entrance of the sunne into the ram, must néeds fall out to be about the twentith or one & twentith of Aprill, as the calender now standeth, if I faile not in my numbers. Aboue the yeare we haue no more parts of time, that carie anie seuerall names with them, e [...]cept you will affirme the word age to be one, which is taken for a hundred yeares, and signifieth in English so much as Seculum or Aeuum dooth in La|tine; neither is it néedfull to remember that some of my countrimen doo reckon their times not by years but by summers and winters, which is verie com|mon among vs. Wherefore to shut vp this chapiter withall, you shall haue a table of the names of the daies of the wéeke, after the old Saxon and Scotish maner, which I haue borowed from amongst our ancient writers, as I haue perused their volumes.

The present names.

Compare 1577 edition: 1
• Monday.
• Tuesday.
• Wednesday.
• Thursday.
• Fridaie.
• Saturdaie.
• Sunday, or the Lords daie.

The old Saxon names.

Compare 1577 edition: 1
• Monendeg.
• Tuesdeg.
• Wodnesdeg.
• Thunresdeg.
• Frigesdeg.
• Saterdeg.
• Sunnan|deg.

The Scotish vsage.

Compare 1577 edition: 1
• Diu Luna.
• Diu Mart.
• Diu Yath.
• Diu Ethamon.
• Diu Friach.
• Diu Satur.
• Diu Se|roll.