* Communion Tokens. 41 



participating in the Lord's Supper. Amongst the Romans the 

 idea underlying such a use of " tesserae " was adapted extensively. 

 Thus to the poorer citizens of Rome was given the tessera 

 frumentaria, in exchange for which a free grant of corn could be 

 obtained. Again the tessera gladiatoria was the oblong i\ory 

 token given to the gladiator who had triumphed in a certain 

 number of contests. This token bore the names of the combatant 

 and his trainer, also the date of his first victory, and the letters 

 S P (speetatus). The "white stone" mentioned in the letter 

 " to the angel of the Church in Pergamos ' ' is thought to be a 

 reference to one of these tesserae (Revelation ii. 17). The need 

 of safeguards to Christian privileges appeared early in the history 

 of the Christian Church. In the first half of the first Christian 

 century we find religious communities subjected to considerable 

 annoyance " because of false brethren unawares brought in, who 

 came in privily to spy out our liberty " (Galatians ii. 4). Aquilla 

 and Priscilla and the rest of the Ephesian brethren therefore 

 deemed it necessary to write " exhorting the disciples to receive " 

 Apollos " when he was disposed to pass into Achaia " (Acts xviii. 

 27). This document, or littera peregrinorum, became known as a 

 KOINONIKON, and commended the bearer to the sympathy 

 and fellowship of the Christian community wherever he might go. 

 To the stranger thus accredited, at least in the Church of post- 

 Apostolic times, all the privileges of the " communicatio pacis " 

 and " contesseratio hospitalitis " were freely conveyed. It was 

 probably to such a passport the Apostle Paul referred in his 

 second espistle to the Corinthians (iii. 1), when he said, " Need 

 we as others epistles of commendation to you, or letters of com- 

 mendation from you?" Subsequent adaptations of the tessera, 

 token, or voucher idea in France, Britain, or any other country 

 present few if any features unfamiliar to Roman usage. This 

 remark holds true, for example, of the references in the two 

 deeds of the Counts of Xevers, dated 1167 and 1173. There the 

 token is called by the Low Latin designations, merallum, 

 marelliim, maralli, and maraliim. These were badges or 

 vouchers that their bearers had exclusive rights in exposing and 

 selling certain commodities. Such a use of badge-tokens or 

 vouchers was familiar to the custom of a much earlier time. Nor 

 was it any advance on the manner of the Romans when in the 

 fourteenth century in France tokens were given as checks 



