Book of Days

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The churches were adorned at this season like theatres, and crowds poured in to see the sepulchres which were erected, representing the whole scene of our Saviour's entombment. A general belief prevailed in those days that our Lord's second coming would be on Easter Eve; hence the sepulchres were watched through the night, until three in the morning, when two of the oldest monks would enter and take out a beautiful image of the Resurrection, which was elevated before the adoring worshippers during the singing of the anthem, 'Christus resurgens.' It was then carried to the high altar, and a procession being formed, a canopy of velvet was borne over it by ancient gentlemen: they proceeded round the exterior of the church by the light of torches, all singing, rejoicing, and praying, until coming again to the high altar it was there placed to remain until Ascension-day. In many places the monks personated all the characters connected with the event they celebrated, and thus rendered the scene still more theatrical. Ocr tesseract 5.0.0-1-g862e Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 1.0000 Ocr_module_version 0.0.15 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-WL-2000081 Openlibrary_edition A wooden hand (not a glove) is shown hanging from the side of St Peter's at the High Cross in this engraving. The Pentice has gone, so this is after 1803. See: Gloverstone for more.

Not suprisingly, in these annals of human stupidity, telly also now features as worthy of commemoration and comment, from the just-possibly historic (first television broadcast made by British prime minister - Anthony Eden April 27 1956), to the amusingly notable (first episode of Dr Who - screened November 23 1963), to the surely-in-anyone's-estimation-utterly irrelevant (the first episode of This is Your Life - July 29 1955). William Lawes, who possibly wrote the music for the first ever entrance of a carrot into a theatrical performance, and was later killed at Chester during the Civil War. Chambers misquotes the original work when he repeats the speech of Mercury - in the work he is "Joves dearest darling". Initially those who had been married in the previous year offered a "homage" to the Drapers company. This was later changed to a silver arrow for which the town archers competed. The Saddlers gave a ball of silk which was fought over by the crowd into which it was thrown.

those feelings beyond self, on which depend remoter but infinitely greater interests; to kindle and The reference to "criminals" may not be entirely accurate and may be a confusion. Earl Hugh established three "asyla" in Cheshire and the King's writ did not run to Cheshire, where the Earl enforced the law (save for treason). These asyla were at Hoole Heath near Chester, Overmarsh near Farndon and Rud Heath near Middlewich. These were places to which a felon from any place in England (or Wales) could flee and seek the protection of the Earl. A "glove" (actually a wooden hand) was hung from the end of St Peter's (see Gloverstone) during the time of the fairs. Crimes committed during the course of the fairs were not exempted. Chambers' section on Werburgh is essentially free of errors and omits unlikely miracles. He does repeat the story of Werbode the "perverse heathen" who brought about the death of Werburgh's brothers. Adding some speculation this could be a vague reference to a situation where Werbode (if he even existed) saw an opportunity to become ruler himself, by disposing of the older heirs and marrying Weburgh (her surviving brother being too young to rule). The "Pentice" was a wooden structure on the south wall of St Peter as shown here by Randle Holme (Harl Man 2073) shortly after the end of the Civil War. The Pentice was taken down in 1803. The remains of the High Cross, destroyed in the Civil War, can be seen in front of the door. Come downe, thou mighty messenger of blisse, Chambers' "Book of days" presents an illustration of the High Cross which shows a structure far larger than what stands outside of St Peter's in Chester. This fearefull fire encreased more and more, Piteously wastyng hors, chambre, and hall. The citizens were redy their cite to succour, Shewed all their diligence and labour continuall; Some cried for water, and some for hookes dyd call; Some used other engins by crane and policy; Some pulled downe howses afore the fire truly. Other that were impotent mekely gan praye Our blessed Lorde on them to have pit'e Women and children cried, "Out and waile away!" Beholdyng the daunger and perill of the cit'e. Prestes made hast divine service to suppl'e [complete] Redy for to succour their neyghbours in distree (As charit'e required), and helpe their hevyues. the fire contyuned without any cessynge, fervently flaiuyng ever contynuall, From place to place mervaylously rennyng [running], As it were tynder consumyng toure and wall. The citizens sadly laboured vaync all; By the policie of man was founde no remedy To cesse [stop] the fire so fervent and myghty. Many riall [royal] places fell adowne that day, Riche marchauntes hoses brought to distraction; Churches and chapels went to great decay. That tyme was burnt the more [greater] part of the towne; And to this present day is a famous opinion Howe a mighty churche, a mynstre of saynt Michaell, That season was bruit and to ruyne fell.'

There were fairs at Midsummer (which lasted a week) and Michaelmas (which was shorter). Their origins are uncertain: from an early period the monks of St. Werburgh's claimed that Earl Hugh (d. 1101) had granted them the right to hold a fair on the three days around the feast of St. Werburg's translation on 21 June. Almost certainly, however, the fair was reorganized in the 1120s by Ranulph I, who provided new regulations governing its hours of opening. The origins of the Michaelmas fair are even more obscure. In Lewis Carroll's humorous 1876 poem The Hunting of the Snark, the Barrister dreams about the trial of a pig accused of deserting its sty. In the musical adaptation this features as the song The Pig Must Die.From his viewpoint Chambers' does not appear to fully appreciate the subtle interactions between the parts of history he recites. He fails to interpret that some local traditions echo Roman-British, Mercian, Palatinate and then Civic identities, often featuring a "local" saviour, be that a "local" Emperor, Warrior Queen, Earl or Civic hierarchy. We seem to have borrowed our plays chiefly from the French; there is indeed a great similarity between them and the Chester plays; but the play of wit is greater in the former than the latter, each partaking of the character of the nation. At first they were written in Latin, when of course the acting was all that the people understood: that, however, was sufficient to excite them to great hilarity; afterwards they seem to have been composed for the neighbour-hood in which they were performed. In 1533, this unruly and dangerous football match was banned and similarly, the ancient practice of the Saddlers to present "a ball of wood painted with flowers to be fought for by the mob" was discontinued. It was replaced, by races which originally took place on Goteddsday (Shrove Tuesday) until 1609, and thereafter on St George's Day. The first recorded race was held on 9 February 1539 (although other sources list this as 10 January 1511): "In the tyme of Henry Gee, Mayre of the King's citie of Chester, in the XXXI yere of King Henry Theght, a bell of sylver, to the value of IIIs IIIId, is ordayned to be the reward of that horse which shall runne before all others". Victors were later, in 1610 and afterwards, awarded the "Chester Bells", a set of decorative bells for their horse's bridle, and from 1744 the "Grosvenor Gold Cup", a small drinking tumbler made from solid gold (later silver). Chambers Book of Days ( The Book of Days: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in Connection with the Calendar, Including Anecdote, Biography, & History, Curiosities of Literature and Oddities of Human Life and Character) [1] was written by the Scottish author Robert Chambers and first published in 1864.

Translations of several of the most detailed records can be found in E. P. Evans' The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals, published in 1906. The text alludes to research such as that carried out by Karl von Amira, who dealt with the matter from a jurisprudential approach to the work "Consilia" made by the lawyer Bartholomew Chassenée, defender of animals, more than once called to represent animals in the trials held. Thanks to Evans's research and analysis of the sources indicated, with special reference to Amira, a division can be made between Thierstrafen ("animal punishment"), and Thierprocesse ("animal trial"). [4] Sadakat Kadri's The Trial: Four Thousand Years of Courtroom Drama (Random House, 2006) contains another detailed examination of the subject. Kadri shows that such trials of animals were part of a broader state of affairs, with prosecutions of corpses and inanimate objects, and argues that an echo of such rituals survives in modern attitudes towards the punishment of children and the mentally ill. The mystery or miracle plays, of which we read so much in old chronicles, possess an interest in the present day, not only as affording details of the life and amusements of the people in the middle ages — of which we have no very clear record but in them and the illuminated MSS. — but also in helping us to trace the progress of the drama from a very early period to the time when it reached its meridian glory in our immortal Shakspeare. It is said that the first of these plays, one on the passion of our Lord, was written by Gregory of Nazianzen, and a German nun of the name of Roswitha, who lived in the tenth century, and wrote six Latin dramas on the stories of saints and martyrs. When they became more common, about the eleventh or twelfth century, we find that the monks were generally not only the authors, but the actors. In the dark ages, when the Bible was an interdicted book, these amusements were devised to instruct the people in the Old and New Testament narratives, and the lives of the saints; the former bearing the title of mysteries, the latter of miracle plays.

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