Volume Ii Part 14 (1/2)

St. Regn.o.bert, who was one of the most ill.u.s.trious bishops of Bayeux, is placed second on the list, in the _History of the Diocese_; but in the _Gallia Christiana_ he stands twelfth in order. It was customary before the revolution, and it possibly may be so at present, for the inhabitants of the city, upon the twenty-fourth of October, the anniversary of his feast, to bring their domestic animals in solemn procession to the church, there to receive the episcopal benediction, in the same manner as is practised by the Romans with their horses, on the feast of St. Anthony.--St. Lupus, the fourth bishop, and St. Lascivus, the tenth, are remarkable for their names. St. Lupus is said to have been so called from his having destroyed the wolves in the vicinity of Bayeux[92]; and the other is reported to have been descended from the same person, whom Ausonius addresses in the following stanza, which has likewise been applied to this bishop.

”Iste _Lascivus_ patiens vocari, Nomen indignum probitate vitae Abnuit nunquam; quia gratum ad aures Esset amicas.”--

But neither among her ancient nor her modern prelates can Bayeux boast of a name equally distinguished as that of Odo. Many were unquestionably the misdeeds of this great man, and many were probably his crimes, but no one who wore the episcopal mitre, ever deserved better of the see. As a statesman, Odo bore a leading part in all the princ.i.p.al transactions of the times: as a soldier, he accompanied the Conqueror to England, fought by his side at Hastings, and by his eloquence and his valor, contributed greatly to the success of that memorable day. Nor was William tardy in acknowledging the merits of his brother; for no sooner did he find himself seated firmly on the throne, than he rewarded Odo with the earldom of Kent, and appointed him his viceroy in England, whilst he himself crossed the channel, to superintend his affairs in Normandy. But the mind which was proof against difficulties, yielded, as too commonly happens, to prosperity. Nothing less than the papacy could satisfy the ambition of Odo: he abused the power with which he was invested in a flagrant manner; and William, finally, disgusted with his proceedings, arrested him with his own hand, and committed him prisoner to the old palace at Rouen, where he continued till the death of the monarch.--The sequel of the story is of the same complexion: more plots, attended now with success, and now with disgrace; till at length the prelate resolved to expiate his sins by a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and died on his journey, at Palermo.--Such was Odo in his secular character: as a churchman, historians unanimously agree that he was most zealous for the honor of his diocese, indefatigable in re-building the churches which time or war had destroyed, liberal in endowments, munificent in presents, and ever anxiously intent upon procuring a supply of able ministers, establis.h.i.+ng regular discipline, and reforming the morals of the flock committed to his charge.

The Bishop of Bayeux has at all times claimed the distinction of being regarded the first among the suffragan bishops of the Norman church. In the absence of the archbishop, he presides at, the ecclesiastical a.s.semblies and councils. His revenue, before the revolution, was estimated at one hundred thousand livres: per annum. The see, in point of antiquity, even contests for the priority with Rouen. From time immemorial, the chapter has enjoyed the right of mintage; and they appear to have used it till the year 1577, at which time their coin was so much counterfeited, that they were induced to recal it by public proclamation. Their money, which was of the size of a piece of two sous, was stamped, on one side, with a two-headed eagle, and the legend _moneta capituli_; and on the obverse, with the letter V, surrounded by the word _Bajocensis_. The eagle was probably adopted, in allusion to the arms of the see, which were, _gules_; an eagle displayed with two heads, _or_[93].--Another privilege of the chapter was, that no person of illegitimate birth could be allowed to hold place in it, under any pretext or dispensation whatever.--Among their peculiar customs, they imitated that of the see of Rouen, in the annual election of a boy-bishop upon Innocents'-day; a practice prevalent in many churches in Spain and Germany, and notoriously in England at Salisbury. The young chorister took the crozier in his hands, during the first vespers, at the verse in the _Magnificat_, ”He has put down the mighty from their seats, and has exalted the humble and meek;” and he resigned his dignity at the same verse in the second vespers.--The ceremony was abolished in 1482.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 91: The following are the dimensions of the church, in French measure, according to Bziers.

FEET.

Height of the central tower 224 Ditto of the two western ditto 230 Length of the interior of the church 296 Width of ditto 76 Height of ditto 76 Length of the nave 140 Width of ditto 38 Ditto of side-aisles 17 Ditto of chapels 15 Length of the transepts 113 Width of ditto 33 Length of the choir 118 Width of ditto 36

[Footnote 92: A new St. Lupus is now wanted for the see; for wolves are by no means extinct in the neighborhood of Bayeux. We saw a tame one, kept near the cathedral, which had been taken in the woods, about a year ago, when it was quite young. Wild boars are likewise found in considerable numbers, and the breed is encouraged for the purposes of hunting.]

[Footnote 93: In its origin, the _Baiocco_ of Naples seems to have been the two-penny piece of Bayeux, its denomination being abbreviated from the last word in the legend. It has been supposed that the coin was struck and named by l.u.s.ty Joan, as a token of her affection towards a Frisick warrier, who, in his own country, was called the _Boynke_, or the Squire; but we think that our etymology is the most natural one.]

LETTER XXIX. CHURCH AND CASTLE OF CREULLY--FALAISE--CASTLE--CHURCHES-FAIR OF GUIBRAY.

(_Falaise, August_, 1818.)

Previously to quitting Bayeux, we paid our respects to M. Pluquet, a diligent antiquary, who has been for some time past engaged in writing a history of the city. His collections for this purpose are extensive, and the number of curious books which he possesses is very considerable.

Amongst those which he shewed to us, the works relating to Normandy const.i.tuted an important portion. His ma.n.u.script missals are numerous and valuable. I was also much pleased by the inspection of an old copy of Aristophanes, which had formerly belonged to Rabelais, and bore upon its t.i.tle-page the mark of his owners.h.i.+p, in the hand-writing of the witty, though profligate, satirist himself. M. Pluquet's kindness allowed me to make the tracing of the signature, which I send you.--

[Ill.u.s.tration: Rabelais hand-writing]

Such an addition as we here find to Rabelais' name, denoting that the owner of a book considered it as being the property of his friends conjointly with himself, is not of uncommon occurrence. Our friend, Mr.

Dibdin, who had been here shortly before us, and had carried off, as we were told, some works of great rarity from this collection, has enumerated more than one instance of the kind in his _Bibliographical Decameron_; and the valuable library of my excellent friend, Mr.

Sparrow, of Worlingham, contains an Erasmus, which was the property of Sir Thomas Wotton, and bears, stamped upon its covers, _Thomae Wotton et amicorum_.

From Bayeux we returned to Caen, by way of Creully, pa.s.sing along bad roads, through an open, uninteresting country, almost wholly cropped with buck-wheat.--The barony of Creully was erected by Henry Ist, in favor of his natural son, the Earl of Gloucester: it was afterwards held by different n.o.ble families, and continued to be so till the time of the revolution. At that period, it gave a t.i.tle to a branch of the line of Montmorenci, whose emigration caused the domain to be confiscated, and sold as national property; but the baronial castle is still standing, and displays, in two of its towers and in a chimney of unusual form, a portion of its ancient character: the rest of the building is modernized into a spruce, comfortable residence, and is at this time occupied by a countryman of our own, General Hodgson.

The church at Creully is one of the most curious we have seen. The nave, side-aisles, and choir, are all purely Norman, except at the extremities. The piers are very ma.s.sy; the arches wide and low; the capitals covered with rude, but most remarkable sculpture, which is varied on every pillar. Round the arches of the nave runs a band of the chevron ornament; and over them is a row of lancet windows, devoid of ornament, and sunk in a wall of extraordinary thickness. Externally, all is modernized.

The view of Caen, on entering from this direction, is still more advantageous than that on the approach from Lisieux. Time would not allow of our making any stop at the town on our return: we therefore proceeded immediately to Falaise, pa.s.sing again through an open and monotonous country, which, thoughtfully cultivated, has a most dreary aspect from the scantiness of its population. We saw, indeed, as we went along, distant villages, thinly scattered, in the landscape, but no other traces of habitations; and we proceeded upwards of five leagues on our way, before we arrived at a single house by the road-side.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Castle of Falaise]

Falaise appeared but the more beautiful, from the impression which the desolate scenery of the previous country had left upon our minds. The contrast was almost equally pleasing and equally striking, as when, in travelling through Derbys.h.i.+re, after having pa.s.sed a tract of dreary moors, that seems to lengthen as you go, you suddenly descend into the lovely vallies of Matlock or of Dovedale. Not that the vale of Falaise may compete with those of Derbys.h.i.+re, for picturesque beauty or bold romantic character; but it has features exclusively its own; and its deficiency in natural advantages is in some measure compensated, by the accessories bestowed by art. The valley is fertile and well wooded: the town itself, embosomed within rows of lofty elms, stretches along the top of a steep rocky ridge, which rises abrupt from the vale below, presenting an extensive line of buildings, mixed with trees, flanked towards the east by the venerable remains of the castle of the Norman Dukes, and at the opposite extremity, by the church of the suburb of Guibray, planted upon an eminence. Near the centre stands the princ.i.p.al church of Falaise, that of St. Gervais; and in front of the whole extends the long line of the town walls, varied with towers, and approached by a mound across the valley, which, as at Edinburgh, holds the place of a bridge.

The name _Falaise_, denotes the position of the town: it is said to be a word of Celtic origin; but I should rather suppose it to be derived from the Saxon, and to be a modification of the German word, _fels_, a rock, in which conjecture I find I am borne out by Adelung: _falesia_, in modern Latinity, and _falaise_, in French, signify a rocky sh.o.r.e. Hence, Brito, at the commencement of his relation of the siege by Philip Augustus, says,

”Vicus erat scabr circ.u.mdatus undique rupe, Ipsius asperitate loci Falsa vocatus, Normann in medio regionis, cujus in alt Turres rupe sedent et m?nia; sic ut ad illam Jactus nemo putet aliquos contingere posse.”--