52 Facts relating to Wokingham. 



maner speche, southren, nortliren, and in)'cldell speche in the 

 myddell of the lond, as thei come of the thre maner peple of 

 Germania ; notheles by commixtion, and medlyng, first with 

 Danes and afterward v/ith Normans, in many the contray langage 

 is appaired. For some usith Strang wlaffynge, chitering, harryng 

 and garryng, grisbyting. This apairynge of the birthe tonge is 

 bicause of twey thinges : oon is, for children in scole agens the 

 usage and maner of alle other natiouns beth compellid for to leve 

 ther owne langage and for to constrewe ther lessons and ther things 

 a Frensche, and haveth siththe that the Normans came first into 

 Engloud. Also gentil men's children beth ytaught for to speke 

 Frensche from the time that thei beth rokked in ther cradel and 

 kunneth speke and play with a childes brooche." 



John de Trevisa, one of my father's predecessors at the Yicarage 

 of Berkeley, in Gloucestershire, who translated Higden's work 

 before the year 1387, and who died in 1412, adds to his translation 

 as follows : — " This maner was miche yused tofore the first moreyn, 

 and is siththe somdel ychaungide. For Johan Cornwail, a maister 

 of gramer, chaungide the lore of gramer scole and construction of 

 Frensche into Englische : and Richard Pencriche lerned that maner 

 teching of hym ; and othir men of Pencrich ; so that now in the 

 yere of our Lord M.CCC.LXXXY. of the secund King Richard after 

 the Conquest nyne, in alle the gramer scoles of Englond, children 

 leveth Frensche, and construeth and lerneth an Englisch, and 

 haveth thereby avantage in oon side, and desavantage in another. 

 Ther avauntage is that thei lerneth ther gramer in lasse time than 

 children were wont to do : desavantage is that now children of 

 gramer scole kunneth no more Frensche, than can ther lifte heele. 

 And it is harm for them, and thei schul passe the see, and travaile 

 in straunge londes and in many other places also. Also gentel 

 men haveth now myche ylefte for to teche ther children Frensche." 



The chief Magistrate of Wokingham having been from time im- 

 memorial an Alderman,' also favors the idea that the town is 

 Anglo-Saxon, as Ealdormen were officers of Anglo-Saxon 



origin. ^^^^ 



* See the abstract of Queen Elizabeth's charter, injrd, p. 57. 



