On this Day in History ... 03 May

Around 03 May 1060 Archbishop Cynesige consecrated Waltham Abbey [Map] in the presence of King Edward "Confessor" of England (age 57) at the invitation of Harold Godwinson (age 38).

Henry Machyn's Diary. 03 May 1554. The iij day of May, at the cowrt of sant James, the quen('s) (age 38) grace whent a prossessyon within sant James with harolds and serjants of armes, and iiij bysshopes mytred, and all iij days thay whent her chapell a-bowt the feldes, first day to sant Gylles and ther song masse; the next day tuwyse-day to sant Martens in the feldes [Map], [and there] a sermon and song masse, and so thay dronke ther; and the iij day to Westmynster, and ther a sermon and then masse, and mad good chere; and after a-bowt the Parke, and so to sant James cowrt ther.

Evelyn's Diary. 03 May 1699. At a meeting of the Royal Society I was nominated to be of the committee to wait on the Lord Chancellor (age 44) to move the King (age 48) to purchase the Bishop of Worcester's library (Dr. Edward Stillingfleet).

Benty Grange. May 3rd. - It was our good fortune to open a barrow which afforded a more instructive collection of relics than has ever been discovered in the county, and which are not surpassed in interest by any remains hitherto recovered from any Anglo-Saxon burying place in the kingdom.

The barrow [Benty Grange Barrow [Map]], which is on a farm called Benty Grange, a high and bleak situation to the right of the road from Ashbourn to Buxton, near the eighth milestone from the latter place, is of inconsiderable elevation, perhaps not more than two feet at the highest point, but is spread over a pretty large area, and is surrounded by a small fosse or trench. About the centre and upon the natural soil, had been laid the only body the barrow ever contained, of which not a vestige besides the hair could be distinguished. Near the place which, from the presence of hair, was judged to have been the situation of the head, was a curious assemblage of ornaments, which, from the peculiarly indurated nature of the earth, it was impossible to remove with any degree of success. The most remarkable are the silver edging and ornaments of a leathern cup, about three inches diameter at the mouth, which was decorated by four wheel-shaped ornaments and two crosses of thin silver, affixed by pins of the same metal, clenched inside.

The other articles found in the same situation consist of personal ornaments, the chief of which are two circular enamels upon copper 1¾ diameter, in narrow silver frames, and a third, which was so far decomposed as to be irrecoverable; they are enamelled with a yellow interlaced dracontine pattern, intermingled with that peculiar scroll design, visible on the same class of ornaments figured in Vestiges p. 25, and used in several manuscripts of the Vllth Century, for the purpose of decorating the initial letters. The principle of this design consists of three spiral lines springing from a common centre, and each involution forming an additional centre for an extension of the pattern, which may be adapted to fill spaces of almost any form. Mr. Westwood has shown in a most able paper in the 40th No. of the Journal of the Archæological Institute, that this style of ornamentation is peculiar to the Anglo-Saxon and Irish Artists of the period before stated. The pattern was first cut in the metal, threads of it being left to show the design, by which means cells were formed, in which the enamel was placed before fusion, the whole being then polished became what is known as Champ-levé enamel. There was also with these enamels a knot of very fine wire, and a quantity of thin bone variously ornamented with lozenges &c, which was mostly too much decayed to bear removal; it appeared to have been attached to some garment of silk, as the glossy fibre of such a fabric was very perceptible when they were first uncovered, though it shortly vanished when exposed to the air. Proceeding westward from the head for about six feet, we arrived at a large mass of oxidyzed iron, which, being removed with the utmost care, and having been since repaired, were unavoidably broken, now presents a mass of chainwork, and the frame of a helmet. The latter consists of a skeleton formed of iron bands, radiating from the crown of the head, and riveted to a circle of the same metal which encompassed the brow: from the impression on the metal it is evident that the outside was covered with plates of horn disposed diagonally so as to produce a herring-bone pattern, the ends of these plates were secured beneath with strips of horn corresponding with the iron framework, and attached to it by ornamental rivets of silver at intervals of about an inch and a half from each other; on the bottom of the front rib, which projects so as to form a nasal, is a small silver cross slightly ornamented round the edges by a beaded moulding; and on the crown of the helmet is an elliptical bronze plate supporting the figure of an animal carved in iron, with bronze eyes, now much corroded, but perfectly distinct as there presentation of a hog. There are too, many fragments, some more or less ornamented with silver, which have been riveted to some part of the helmet in a manner not to be explained or even understood, there are also some small buckles of iron which probably served to fasten it upon the head. Amongst the chainwork is a very curious six-pronged instrument of iron, in shape much like an ordinary hay-fork, with the difference of the tang, which in the latter is driven into the shaft, being in this instrument flattened and doubled over so as to form a small loop apparently convenient for suspension; whether it belonged to the helmet or the corselet, next to be described, is uncertain. The iron chainwork already named, consists of a large number of links of two kinds, attached to each other by small rings half an inch diameter; one kind are flat and lozenge, shaped, about an inch and a half long; the others are all of one kind but of different lengths, varying from 4 to 10 inches. They are simply lengths of square rod iron with perforated ends, through which pass the rings connecting them with the diamond shaped links; they all show the impression of cloth over a considerable part of the surface, and it is therefore no improbable conjecture that they would originally constitute a kind of quilted cuirass, by being sewn up within, or upon a doublet of strong clotL The peculiarly indurated and corrosive nature of the soil in this barrow is a point of some interest, and it will not be out of place to state that such has generally been the case in tumuli in Derbyshire, where the more important Saxon burials have taken place, whilst the more ancient Celtic interments are generally found in good condition owing to there having been no special preparation of the earth, which in these cases has undergone a mixing or tempering with some corrosive liquid; the result of which is the presence of thin ochrey veins in the earth, and the decomposition of nearly the whole of the human remains. The following extract from Professor Worsaae's Antiquities of Denmark, illustrates the helmet which is the only example of the kind hitherto discovered either in this country or on the Continent.

"The helmets (of the ancient Scandinavians) which were furnished with crests, usually in the form of animals, were probably in most cases only the skins of the heads of animals, drawn over a framework of wood or leather, as the coat of mail was usually of strong quilted linen or thick woven cloth."

To this the translator of the English edition appends the important information, that "the animal generally represented was the boar; and it is to this custom that reference is made in Beowulf where the poet speaks of the boar of gold, the boar hard as iron."

"Swyn eal - gylden, Eofer Iren - heard."

Nor are allusions to this custom of wearing the figure of a boar - not in honour of the animal, but of Freya, to whom it was sacred - confined to Beowulf, they are to be found in the Edda and in the Sagas; while Tacitus in his work, De Moribus Germanorum, distinctly refers to the same usage and its religious intention, as propitiating the protection of their Goddess in battle. As a further illustration, not only of the helmet, but also of the chainwork, the following extracts from Beowulf are transcribed from Mr. 0. R. Smith's Collectanea Antiqua, vol. II, p. 240.

eofer-líc sciónon ofer-hleor beran; ge-hroden golde fah and fyr-heard, ferh-wearde heóld. Be-fongen freá-wrásnum, swa híne fyrn-dagum worhte waspna smith, wundrum teóde, be-sette swín-lícum, that hine sythan nó brond né beado-mecas bitan ne meahton: Æt thæm áde wæs eth-ge-syne swát-fah-syrce swyn eal-gylden, eofer íren heard; Hé thá in-beran eafor heáfod-segn, heago-steápne helm, [se] are-byman, guth-sweord geáto-líc:

They seemed a boar's form to bear over their cheeks; twisted with gold, variegated and hardened in the fire, this kept the guard of life: Surrounded with lordly chains, even as in days of yore the weapon smith had wrought it, had wondrously furnished it, [swine,] had set it round with the shapes of that never afterwards brand or war-knife might have power to bite it; At the pile was easy to be seen the mail shirt covered with gore, the hog of gold, the boar hard as iron: Then commanded he to bring in the boar, an ornament to the head, the helmet lofty in wars, the grey mail coat, the ready battle sword.

Note. The original and a reconstructed helmter are on display at the Weston Park Museum, Sheffield.

Youlgrave. On the 3rd of May, we made a second investigation of the tumulus at Bee Low [Map], near Youlgrave, which was first imperfectly opened by us in 1843, the excavation being then confined to the centre; but the mound being a bowl-shaped one, upwards of twenty yards diameter, it was thought worth while to make a further trial in it, which was begun by digging from the old cutting in the middle to the south side. The first discovery made when we had proceeded about three yards, was a skeleton lying on its left side with the knees drawn up, and the head to the east, so that the face was turned to the outside of the barrow. It was about eighteen inches below the surface of the mound, and did not seem to have been placed in a cist, although two or three courses of flat stones were carefully laid over it: near the head were three small instruments of bronze, two of them awls, and a few bits of the same metal that had been melted, and which had originally been small instruments of similar character. This skeleton having been taken up, we perceived the ground on the right or western side of the trench to decline; following this indication, we came to an irregular grave cut in the rock, the bottom about 4 feet 6 inches from the surface of the barrow: it was surrounded by a lining of small flat stones placed on edge, and within this lining was a regular pitching, like a street pavement, of clear chert stones very closely packed, extending over the whole grave; above them earth and stones had been thrown in without' order, but underneath them was the skeleton of a young person resting in the usual contracted position, with the head to the south-west, the elbows almost in contact with the thigh bones, and the hands in front of the face. At the angle formed by the bending of the knees, was a beautiful drinking-cup, only 6½ inches high, ornamented by two variations of the lozengy pattern; it still retained its upright position, and close to it was a very fine instrument of white flint, upwards of four inches long, which may have been used either as a knife or saw. While tracing out the western extremity of this grave, our attention was drawn to a very large stone, set up in a direction from S.E. to N.W., on a little higher level than the bottom of the grave, which was at length found to be one end of a rectangular cist, the other sides and cover of which were formed of similar slabs. Its internal dimensions were 3 feet 6 inches long, 2 feet wide, and 3 feet deep; and it was filled with stiff earth and small gravelly stone, amongst which, near the top, were fragments of calcined bone, and a small bronze awl or pin; removing the earth down to the floor (which was rock), we there found the bones composing the skeleton of an aged man, with a short round cranium, carefully placed in a heap in the middle, the long bones laid parallel with each other, and the skull put at the top of the heap, with the base upward. The bones being perfect, it is evident that this arrangement had been made whilst they were fresh and strong; and it is not a little singular that a similar mode of interment exists among the Patagonians, who make skeletons of their dead previous to burial. After removing these bones we found two small flints, and a piece of stag's horn at the bottom. Great quantities of rats' bones were found through the whole of the excavation, but they were observed to be most abundant and best preserved around the second interment, with which, it may be proper to mention, there was a single piece of an infant's skull, no other of its bones being found by a most careful examination. The accompanying plan represents the position of the various interments in the barrow; the flat stone shewn with burnt bones in the centre, being found in 1843.

After 03 May 1911. Memorial to 2nd Lieutenant Agnew Appleton of the 2/4 West Riding Regiment kille in action at Bullecourt.

After 03 May 2004. Cavendish Plot, St Peter's Church, Edensor [Map]. Andrew Cavendish 11th Duke Devonshire (deceased) and Deborah Vivien Mitford Duchess Devonshire (age 84).