Oct. 25. 1851.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



327 



note on Juv. Sat. xiii. 199. The use of " sibi," in 

 the extract from the Legeiida Aurea, is new to me. 

 Is it common in monkish Latin ? C. Forbes. 



Temple. 



Anagrams (Vol. iv., pp. 226. 297.). — Mr. Breen 

 put another Query besides " Wliere shall we find six 

 good anagrams ?" He aslced, "How comes it that 

 a species of composition once so popular should 

 have become extinct ?" 



Let me venture to refer Mr. Breen to The 

 Spectator for an answer to this inquiry ; where, 

 in Addison's brilliant papers on " False Wit" 

 (Nos. 58. &c.), he will find the whole family of 

 ingenious quibblings, — anagrams, acrostics, chro- 

 nograms, puns, bouts-rimes, &c., — mown down to 

 their just level. And Mr. Breen cannot, I am 

 sure, as a man of taste, fail to be delighted, even 

 although he may think the following passage 

 (which I quote chiefly as a warning against the 

 rise of an anagrammatic epidemic among your 

 correspondents) a little severe on his old friends : 



" The acro<.tic was probably invented about the same 

 time with the anagram, thou<jli it is impossible to de- 

 cide whether the inventor of the one or tlie other were 

 the greater blockhead." 



It is a tempting folly I admit for an idle hour, 

 and I must plead guilty to having (in consequence 

 of jNIr. Breen's letter) wasted nearly a whole 

 evening in discovering that 



" Notes A^•D Qderies " 

 " Enquires on Dates !" 



and also offers the following warning to its con- 

 tributors — 



" Send quite Reason ;" 

 while as an encouragement it observes (so an in- 

 genious friend informs us) — 



" O send in a Request." 



Hermes. 



Battle of Brunanhurgh (Vol. iv., p. 249.). — The 

 Egils Saga describes the duel between the armies 

 of Olaf and Athelstan to have been fought in a 

 champ clou, incloseil with branches of hazel, upon 

 a space called the Vinheidi, or heidi of Vin, situate 

 near (vid) or in (a) the Vinskogr, or forest of 

 Vin. Heidi is a rougli open s[)ace, witli scrubs or 

 bushes, such as furze, juniper, broom, &c. The 

 heidi and the skogr were distinct, tlie latter af- 

 fording slielter to the fugitives from the former, 

 p. 290. The text, both Norse and Latin, says, 

 "Then lie brought his army to the Vin-lieldi. A 

 certain town stoorl towards the north of the heidi." 

 But a various reading in the note says, " to tlie 

 town of Virdieidi, wliicii was to the north of the 

 Lei<li." But it seems as unreasonable for the 

 town to be called Vinheidi, as Vinskogr. Vin 

 sliould be taken IVjr the name of tlie town, and tlic 

 root of the other phrases. The downs or brakes 



called Vinheidi were inclosed with hazel, and lay 

 between the forest, or skogr, and some river. The 

 town, being Olaf's head quarters, lay north of them. 

 Athelstan occupied the nearest town to the south 

 of the heidi. [Query, whether south of the river ?] 

 The northern town Vin is no doubt the AVeon, 

 from which the Weon-dune (downs of Weon, or 

 heidi of Vin) was called. The other name given 

 by Simeon Dunelmensis to that space is curious, 

 as showing liow well the spot was adapted for 

 attack and pursuit, " eth-runnan-werc," that is, 

 " facilis-ad-opus-currendi." The name Brunan- 

 burg, probably signifying " the town of bourns," 

 or watercourses, is unequivocally that of a town. 

 Since Olaf or Arlaf had his quarters at Vin, it was 

 probably at that place where Athelstan was sta- 

 tioned. I'ind these two places, Vin the northern- 

 most of the tvv'O, and find the river. The heidi and 

 the skogr are probably grubbed and ploughed up. 



A.N. 



Praed's Works (Vol. iv., p. 256.). — Some 

 three years ago I saw a prospectus announcing 

 that they would be published liy IMr. Parker of 

 Oxford, under the direction of i\Irs. Praed ; but I 

 believe nothing has been done in the matter since. 



W.J. 



Sir J. Davies (Vol. iv., p. 256.). — Messrs. 

 Puttick and Simpson, 191. Piccadilly, have, or had 

 recently, an original MS. of this eminent lawyer 

 and poet. Perhaps L. Gyffes would learn some- 

 thing of it by communicating with them, and, if 

 curious, oblige your readers with an account of it. 



R. 



Coins of Constantius Gallus (Vol. iv., p. 238.). — 

 Mr. Taylor appears to me not altogether correct 

 in his distinctions of these coins. The name val. 

 certainly generally denotes Constantius Chlorus, 

 but there are coins of Constantius II. also with val. 

 It is impossible for a practised numismatist to con- 

 found the coins of these emperors, not only from 

 the difference of lettering and workmanship, but 

 from the change in the size, thickness, &c. of tlie 

 coins. I have coins of Constantius II. with val. 

 bearing the same reverse as others with ivl. 

 (pRoviDENTiAE cAESs) in my cabinet. I have 

 also several coins of Constantius II. with p.f.avg., 

 which have a. behind the head. I refer above 

 only to coins of bronze, second and third sizes; 

 but I should suppose the rules would apply also 

 to the gold coins. I see " Notes and Queries " 

 only monthly, or I should have written sooner, 

 but I hope not to be too late. W. H. S. 



Edinburgh. 



Passage in Sedley (Vol. iii., p. 476.). — 

 " Let fools the name of hiyalty divide 

 Wise men and gods are on the strongest side." 

 I much fear your correspondent Henry II. 

 Beeen suggests an alteration in Sir Charles 



