440 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 132. 



and pious Mr. John Harries of Anileston, in Pem- 

 brokeshire, Preacher of the Gospel ;" from which 

 it appears that, after devoting himself to preach- 

 ing i'or forty-six years, through both North and 

 South "Wales, and more particularly in "Roose, 

 Castlemartin, Pembroke, Haverfordwest, Nar- 

 berth, AVoodstockslop, and Amleston," he died at 

 Newport on the 7th of March, 1788. Will you 

 allow me to ask your numerous correspondents 

 whether any of them can assist me in tracing 

 his pedigree ? One of his sons, a minor canon 

 of Bristol, bore the arms of Owen Gwynedd, viz. 

 " vert, three eagles displayed on a fesse, or," on 

 his book-plate. He was often called the " Bishop 

 of Wales," fi'om the large district through which 

 he overlooked the progress of the Gospel. 



I. J, H. H. 

 St. Asaph. 



UnivBJ'sity Hood. — What is the origin of wear- 

 ing hoods to indicate a man's University degree; 

 and how old is the practice ? J. G. F. 



Black Hood in Scotland — Cross Neytz. — Ob- 

 serving that in Vol. li. of " N. & Q." pp. 308. 409., 

 and in Vol. iii., p. 104., there is a discussion about 

 the " Black Rood of Scotland," which does not 

 seem to be very satisfiictorily concluded, I am 

 tempted to send you a passage from Madox's 

 JBaronia Anglica, p. 268., &c., which seems to bear 

 upon the point in question, but I am not compe- 

 tent to say how far it may serve to throw any 

 light upon the obscurities of the case. 



It there appears that 13 th Oct. 1306, James 

 Steward of Scotland swore fealty to King Edw. I. : 



" By bis corporal oath taken upon the consecrated 

 body of Clirist ; and upon the two holy crosses, to wit, 

 the cross Neytz, and the Blakerode Descoce, and other 

 holy reliques." 



" In the priory of Lanrecost, in the diocese of Car- 

 lisle, before W. Bp. of Lichfield and Coventry, t!ie 

 King's Chancellor ; and in the presence of Adomar de 

 Valence. " 



I perceive In one of your communications, there 

 Is mention of the English Cross, the Cross Nigth, 

 which in Madox is called "the Cross Neytz." 

 Perhaps some of your antiquarian correspondents 

 will favour us with some explanation of this cross. 



I should wish moreover to elicit some further 

 particulars of Thomas Madox, the Historiographer 

 Royal, who has so well de-erved of all lovers of 

 ancient English history by the four books in folio 

 which he has left us : especially his Forrnulare 

 Anglicanum, and that work of prodigious industry 

 and research, his History of the Exchequer. There 

 is some account In Nichols' Lit. Anecdotes, but I 

 should wish to see some more particulars of his 

 life and studies, and a more exact critique upon 

 his several works. J. T. A. 



Croivn Jewels once kept at Holt Castle. — I re- 

 member reading many years since (I have for- 



gotten both the title and the subject of the work) 

 that the croivn jewels were once deposited in Holt 

 Castle, about five miles from Worcester, for greater 

 safety. Can any of your kind correspondents 

 inform me when and upon what turbulent occasion 

 It was thought necessary to forward them to the 

 above stronghold on the banks of the Severn, and 

 who resided there at the time ? 



J. B. Whiteosne. 



" Cane Decane," Sfc. — I should like to know, If 

 you can Inform me, where the following couplet Is 

 to be found, upon an ecclesiastic singing a hunting 

 song : 



" Cane Decane canis; sed ne cane, cane Decane, 

 De cane, de canis, cane Decane, cane." 

 Which may be thus freely translated : 



" Hoary Deacon, sing ; but then, 

 Not of dogs, but hoary men." 



W.W.E.T- 



Warwick Square, Belgravia. 



Rev. John Meekins, D.D. — Are there any letters 

 of the Hev. Jno. Meekins, D.D., Oxon., chaplain 

 to George, Prince of Denmark, the royal consort 

 of Queen Anne, extant? and in what year did he 

 die ? MiccENis. 



Finshury Manor. — Will some of your cor- 

 respondents kindly inform me where I can meet 

 with an authority to prove the Lord Mayor of 

 London is styled mayor by virtue of crown charters, 

 and lord as lord of the manor of Finsbury ? I 

 have seen such a statement, but cannot bring to 

 mind the work In which It occurred. 



Amanuensis. 



Frehord. — I want information on this matter, 

 and consider " N. & Q." peculiarly the place where- 

 in to seek It, because It is a matter mainly depen- 

 dent on local custom. All the notice of Frebord 

 that I have been able to discover In books is de- 

 rived from Dugdale. For Instance, In Jacob's 

 Law Dictioimry, ed. 1807, I read — 



" Frebord, Franchordus, ground claimed in some 

 places more or less, beyond, or without the fence. It 

 is said to contain two foot and a half." — Man. Aug., 

 torn. ii. p. 141. 



I heard, the other day, of a Warwickshire gen- 

 tleman who claimed ten or twelve feet; but the 

 Immediate reason for my Query is a claim at pre- 

 sent under the notice of a friend of mine Is for 

 sixty-six feet freebord ! Is not such a claim pre- 

 posterous ? P. M. M, 



The Stature of Queen Elizabeth. — In a book 

 entitled Physico- Theology, being the substance of 

 sixteen sermons preached in St. Mary-le-Bone 

 Church, London, at the Honourable Mr. Boyle's 

 lectures In 1711 and 1712, Avith notes, &c., by the 

 Ilev. W. Derham (a second edition, wilh additions, 

 published in 1714), the author, in treating of the 

 stature and size of man's body, says there is great 



