Oct. 1. 1853.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



321 



The painters of Christendom (no high autho- 

 rities in this matter) often represent the crescent 

 as a part of Turkish costume, worn in front of the 

 turban. But in the portraits of the Turkish em- 

 perors, "taken from originals in the grand seig- 

 nior's palace," there appears no such ornament. 

 (See the plates in Cantemir's History.) Many of 

 them are represented as wearing the sorgus, a 

 crest of feathers adorned with precious stones. 

 Like the horn, it is an emblem of authority. 

 Many of them have two fastened to the turban. 



Your correspondent states that " the crescent is 

 common upon the reverses of coins of the Eastern 

 empii*e long before the Turkish conquest." I 

 think this highly probable, but would be glad to 

 see the authorities for the fact. I cannot admit, 

 however, that the crescent was in any degree 

 " peculiar to Sclave nations ;" for, first, the Sclave 

 nations reached no farther south than Moravia, 

 Bohemia, and their vicinity ; they did not occupy 

 the seat of the Eastern empire, which was partly 

 Greek and partly Koman, Secondly, though I 

 have no work on numismatics to consult, I have 

 casually met with instances in which the heavenly 

 bodies are represented on Persian, Phoenician, and 

 Koman coins. As instances, in Calmet's Dic- 

 tionary, art. "Moloch," is represented a Persian 

 coin with the figures of a star and crescent ; in 

 the Pictorial Bible, 2 Chron. xv. 16., a Phoenician 

 coin bearing a crescent; and in Matt. xx. 1., on a 

 Roman coin of Augustus, there is the figure of 

 a star. The Turks, however, stamp nothing on 

 their coins but the emperor's name and the date 

 of coinage. 



Again, in European heraldry, Frank, German, 

 Gothic, and not Sclave, the crescent appears ; in 

 "common charges," for example, as one of the 

 emblems of power, glory, &c. ; and among " dif- 

 ferences," to distinguish a second son. 



Should the above facts tend to throw any light 

 on the subject of your correspondent's inquiry, I 

 shall be gratified ; and if any of my views can be 

 shown to be erroneous, it will afford me equal 

 pleasure to correct them. J. W. Thomas. 



Dewsbury. 



SEALS OP THE BOROUGH OF CHEAT TAKMOUTH. 



(Vol. vlll., p. 269.) 



I fear that the result of my researches will be 

 but of little service ; but your Querist is heartily 

 welcome to the mite I offer. 



The second seal appears to have been the seal 

 of assay ; probably used for certifying the cor- 

 rectness of the king's beam, or for sealing docu- 

 ments authorising exports, of which ther'e were 

 formerly many and various from this port. Yar- 

 mouth was held by the kings until 9 John, when 

 a charter was granted to hls'burgesses, inhabitants 



of Gernemue, that they should henceforth hold 

 the town in "fee-farm," paying yearly the sum of 

 55Z. in lieu of all rents, tolls, &c. Probably on 

 tills occasion a seal of arms was granted. About 

 the year 1306 a dispute fell out between Great 

 Yarmouth and the men of Little Yarmouth and 

 Gorleston adjoining, the latter insisting on the 

 right to load and unload fish in their harbours ; 

 but the former prevailed as being a free burgh, 

 which the others were not. In 1332 a charter 

 was granted (6 Ed. III.) for adjusting these dis- 

 putes, wherein it was directed — 



" That ships laden with wool, leather, and skins 

 upon which the great custom is due, shall clear out 

 from that port where our beam and the seal called 

 cohet remain, and nowhere else (ubi thronus noster et 

 sigillum nostrum, quod dicltur coket, existunt, et non 

 alibi carcentur)." 



What cohet is, I am unable to say : but the king's 

 beam for weighing mercliandise, called thronus or 

 ironus, stood usually in the most public place of 

 the town or port. The legend on this seal appears 

 to be old French, and is evidently the " seal of 

 assay of Great Yarmouth." 



The thii'd seal has probably belonged to Little 

 Yarmouth. The arms of Great Yarmouth were 

 " azure three herrings in pale argent." It is not 

 unlikely that during the disputes between the two 

 ports the Little Yarmouthites might assume a 

 seal of arms ; but .as such things were more care- 

 fully looked after then than in these degenerate 

 days, they would not venture on the three 

 herrings, but content themselves with one ; and 

 they might desire to dignify their town as " New" 

 instead of " Little " Yarmouth. 



With regard to the first seal, I should judge 

 from its oval shape, the cross, and legend, that it 

 is ecclesiastic, and has no connexion with Yar- 

 mouth. Bboctuna. 



Bury, Lancashire. 



MOON SUPEESTITIONS. 



(Vol.viii., pp.79. 145.) 



Notwithstanding the authority upon which Me. 

 Ingleby founds the assertion, that there is not the 

 "slightest observable dependence" between the 

 moon and the weather, the dictum is open to some- 

 thing more than doubt. That the popular belief 

 of a full moon bringing fine weather is not strictly 

 correct, is undoubted ; and the majority of the 

 popular ideas entertained on the influence of the 

 moon on the weather are equally fallacious ; but 

 that the moon exerts no influence whatever on the 

 changes of the weather, is a statement involving 

 grave errors. 



The action of the moon on meteorological pro- 

 cesses is a highly complex problem ; but the prin- 



