Of the customs of the ancient inhabitants of Lynn, and of the Anglo-Saxons in general, relating to matrimony, the following appear to have been some of the most remarkable and striking.—Every unmarried woman was supposed to have a guardian, or owner: the virgin belonged to her father, brother, uncle, or nearest male relation; the widow claimed the same protection from her husband’s male relatives; the lover was obliged to buy his mistress, of her guardian, by a gift, the amount of which was settled by a law, that set a higher price on the maid, by one half, than on the relict. If unadvisedly the wooer wedded the lady without the guardian’s consent, her property and goods were still the property of that guardian, and an injury offered to her was to be atoned for to him, and not to the spouse. At the wedding, the guardian delivered up his ward to the husband, a friend of whom had previously avowed himself the guarantee of a proper provision for the bride in case of his death. At the feast which followed, the usual and large presents of gold, silver, arms, cloths, household stuff, &c. made by the invited friends and relations, formed the portion of the bride, who had beside, from custom immemorial, a right to ask of her mate, on the next sun-rising after her nuptials, a gift, to serve her as pin-money. As to what related to divorces, among these people, we meet with no particular account. In the education of their children, they only sought to render them dauntless, and apt for the two most important occupations of their future lives, war and the chase. It was a usual trial of a child’s courage to place him on the sloping roof of a building, and if, without screaming or apparent terror, he held fast, it was deemed a favourable omen, and he was pronounced a brave boy.
The burial ceremony is said to have been much more joyous among them than that of marriage; which seems to imply something very unnatural, as well as barbarous. The house in which the body lay till its burial, was a perpetual scene of feasting, singing, dancing, and every species of riot. This, of course, was very expensive to the family of the deceased; and it was in some places carried so far, that the corpse was forcibly kept unburied by the visiting friends, till they were certain that they had consumed, in games and frantic festivity, all the wealth the deceased had left behind him.—Nothing can well exceed the barbarism and brutishness of such a custom: and yet it seems to have long continued in some parts of this island after the introduction of christianity, and even of protestantism. Nay, some remains of it are known to have existed in some places within the memory of some of the present inhabitants. It is surprising how tenacious mankind often are of their ancient customs, be they ever so vile, unseemly, or heathenish. Heathenish, certainly, or of pagan origin, must this most odious practice have been: but it is not the only English custom that comes under that description. The Waites, that usually go about before christmas, may be considered as of the self-same origin, and belonged, in all likelihood, to a certain pagan, riotous, and lawless feast, celebrated at that time of the year: the precursor and prototype of our principal christian festival. The ushering in of May with the blowing of horns, a custom now almost, if not altogether peculiar to Lynn, seems evidently to be of the same class. It is still most tenaciously kept up in this town, by the boys and children, though nobody pretends to know either its meaning or its origin. But as May-Day is known to have been one of the highest and most notable days of the year among our heathen ancestors, the said custom may very safely be concluded to have originated with them; especially as that day does not appear to have ever been very much thought of by the papists.
A notable custom among the Anglo-Saxon christians of the eighth century, and from which Lynn cannot be supposed exempted, was that of the Clergy usually celebrating Mass, or administering the Sacrament without Shoes and Stockings, and with chalices made of horn: which seems to shew, that they had not then arrived at that sacerdotal pride and pomp, at least in regard to their dress, which became so prevalent among those of their order in latter times, when they thought proper to assume a consequence so far above the other orders of the community.
In private life the Anglo-Saxons are said to have been devout to the extreme of credulity, and hospitable to drunken extravagance. Their manners were rough, but social; their tables were plainly, but plentifully served. Large joints of roasted meat seem to have had the preference; salted victuals also were much in use. At table, the rank of the guests was strictly observed; and, by the laws of Canute, a person sitting above his proper station was to be pelted out of his place with bones, at the discretion of the company, without the privilege of taking offence. The lady, (or, as the Saxons named her, leaf-dien, the bread giver) sat, as now, at the upper end of the table, and distributed the provisions to her guests. The liquors used at genteel tables were wine, ale, and spiced ale, pigment (a composition of wine, spice, and honey,) morat, (honey diluted with mulberry juice) and mead. [263] Such, as may reasonably be concluded, was the state of things with regard to these matters, in the best of the families of Lynn at those times.
Section III.
State of learning, and of the medical profession, among the Anglo-Saxons.
Learning during the time now alluded to was at a very low ebb in this Country. “Among the various discouragements, (says Andrews) which literature was obliged to encounter in this ill-fated period may be reckoned the extreme scarcity of materials for writing.” A strong proof of which (he adds) “is that many of the MSS. of the 10th and 11th centuries are written on parchment, from which older works (perhaps the Decades of Livy) have been erased.” It was for want of parchment to draw the deeds upon, (as he supposes,) that estates, were then frequently conveyed from one family to another by the ceremony of a turf and a stone, delivered before witnesses, without any written agreement. However that was, England even in those dark times, exhibited some rays of intellectual light, and produced some literary characters that would have done honour to more enlightened ages. Bede, in particular, styled the Venerable, who flourished in the 8th century, and has been called, the wise Saxon, is believed to have comprised, in eight folio volumes, the whole body of knowledge that his age afforded. To him may be added Egbert, arch-bishop of York, and his pupil Alcuin, both distinguished in their day for extraordinary literary attainments. Alfred and his learned associates appeared in the 9th century, and were the ornaments of that dark age; but the light which they exhibited was not lasting, and they left no successors that were any way worthy of them. In the 10th (and most part of the 11th) century, scarce any man of literature appeared among the English. Elfric is said to have been by far the most remarkable and eminent. He was styled the grammarian, from his having written a Latin grammar. Two volumes of homilies, in MS. translated by him from the Latin into the Saxon language, are said to be still extant. Very few beside have in any degree contributed to illuminate the gloom of that dismal period. Gerbert, however, who, from a low origin, was advanced to the papal chair in 999, under the name of Silvester II. deserves to be respectfully noticed, as it is to his experience, gained by travel, and a long residence among foreign nations, that our arithmetic is said to owe the use of the Saracen numerals.—But as none of these persons appear to have sprung from Lynn, or its vicinity, no further notice can properly be taken of them in this work; and what has been already said of them and other extraneous matters, was chiefly intended for the purpose of pointing out the probable state of things at Lynn in the meantime, for want of more suitable and appropriate materials.
Physic and Surgery, during those early ages, were in a most wretched state in this country, and, of course, among the inhabitants of Lynn. Old women were then the chief professors of the medical art; and as they mingled charms and spells with their prescriptions, the patient’s fancy sometimes effected, or, at least, assisted in effecting the cure. As Christianity gained ground, the clergy, having much time on their hands, applied themselves to the study of medicine, but made so little progress, that for a long time, Holy Water seems to have been the prescription to which they chiefly trusted. If holy water were still in use, as a popular, fashionable, or favourite medical prescription, instead of the innumerable patent medicines, and other vile quackeries that now disgrace this ill-fated country, it had been better, no doubt, for the health and constitutions of myriads of our unwary and credulous fellow-subjects. There seems, however, but little prospect of an end to this great and growing evil, while quackery continues to be so convenient and gainful to the state, or to contribute so largely, as it now does, to the revenue of the kingdom. But it is not the only public evil, the prospect of whose extinction appears very distant and hopeless.
Section IV.
Expressive and remarkable names of the months—state of the coinage, or currency—general value of different commodities in this country before the conquest—slavery—comparison with the present course of things.