148 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2»* S. IX. Feb. 25. "60. 



" over my head" by Professor De Morgan, 

 backed as it is by the independent experience of 

 another well-qualified practitioner. But for one 

 instance of their meaning " apud Scriptores " I 

 could easily find a score, not to say a myriad, of 

 mine in tlie extensive series of Records of the 

 Court of Exchequer, employed by accountants of 

 the most varied character, and during a period of 

 time extending over several centuries. Escheators, 

 sheriff's, bailiffs, keepers of parks, surveyors of 

 works, comptrollers, all render their accounts of 

 receipts and expenses as " compotus A. B.," or 

 " A. B. reddit compotum." Now. as the question 

 is about '' the frequency" of the occurrence of 

 my meaning of the word, I trust that this refer- 

 ence to documentary evidence, easily examined 

 and verified, will be considered sufficient to es- 

 tablish what I originally asserted, viz., ' ; a very 

 common interpretation" (of compotus), " common 

 • enough indeed to be called the usual meaning is 

 an account of money." But are not my learned 

 opponent and myself perhaps looking at the same 

 shield from opposite sides ? H. F. 



Certainly Prof. De Morgan's referee, "Doc- 

 tor " Ducange is entirely on his side ; so much so, 

 that he does not even allude to the use of the 

 word compotus ill the sense of " an account of 

 money." It is indeed surprising that Ducange, 

 who is facile princeps in the knowledge of me- 

 diaeval lore, should have overlooked this fact. It 

 is, indeed, a specimen of Homeric napping. The 

 regular word in use in the monasteries of England, 

 and in public offices generally, for an annual ac- 

 count was compotus. See the records of Glaston- 

 bury ; but especially of the Priory of Finchale, 

 printed for the Surtees Society : the word occurs 

 at every page, and the prior who gives in the 

 account is invariably styled Compuluns. So, Du- 

 cange himself may be amended ; not, indeed, by 

 maintaining that the above meaning is the usual 

 one, but by supplying an omission. At the same 

 time I quite agree with the learned Professor, that 

 computus (sine addito) or Computus Ecclesiasticus, 

 would signifv the astronomical science of time. 



J. W. 



Arno'a Court. 



BROWXISTS. 

 (2" d S. viii. 449.) 



Having had my attention called to an article 

 " On the Origin of the Brownists," I obtained 

 leave to examine the parish registers at Achurch, 

 the living which Robert Browne, the founder of 

 the sect, held in Northamptonshire. The earliest 

 register there is from its commencement in 

 Browne's handwriting, and appears .to have been 

 very carefully kept during the whole period of 

 his incumbency by himself or by his curates. It 



dates from January 1591-2. Every page at 

 first was signed by Browne, and attested by the 

 churchwardens, but about 1602 a particular form 

 of attestation is used once or twice, certifying 

 that " the Regist' sinse the 25 of March last past 

 is true and perfect, read hi the church, and kept 

 according to law and order By me Robert 

 Browne." Whether or no Fuller (as quoted) is 

 correct in saying that Browne " had a church in 

 which he never preached," it is clear from this 

 register that he was careful in other ministrations; 

 for from the commencement of it until early in 

 the year 1G17, he has entered with his own hand 

 every marriage, christening, and burial, that took 

 place in the parish or " towne " as he calls it. In 

 some cases he has noted when parishioners have 

 been married, baptized, or buried in other places. 

 With respect to Marriages, the notes are simply 

 statements of fact without comments, but with 

 the Baptisms and Burials, as will be seen, it is 

 not always so. From Sept. 1617 until June 1626 

 Browne seems to have been absent from Achurch, 

 but his place was supplied first by " Arthur 

 Smith Curat ibid," and then by " John Barker 

 Min r ." In 1626, " the Minister/Robert Browne," 

 seems to have again come into residence, and con- 

 tinued to keep the registers till 1631. The last 

 entry in his handwriting being on the 21 Maie of 

 that year, a year later than that usually given as 

 the date of his death. As to Fuller's other re- 

 mark about " a wife with whom he never lived," 

 Browne may certainly have so treated a second 

 wife in Fuller's time; but he had a former wife 

 named Alice, whom Fuller could not have known, 

 as he was only born in 1608, and s-he, according 

 to the register, was buried in 1610. This was 

 doubtless the mother of Browne's three sons, 

 Frauncis, Thomas, and John, and of his three 

 daughters, Bridget, Grace, and Alice ; all chris- 

 tened, and some buried, between the years 1592 

 and 1603. 1 find no trace of " Timothy," who 

 is said in the pamphlet to have " played the base 

 to the Psalms that were sung in the church." 



I can trace the " Constable his Godson," men- 

 tioned by J. Y. He was Robert Greene, son of 

 Henrie Greene, one of the churchwardens — was 

 christened in Feb. 1592-3, and married to Luce 

 Adams in 1620. He had several children duly 

 baptized between 1621 and 1627, the last child 

 being baptized by Browne himself; but in 1630 

 there is the following entry, which indicates that 

 there was some other cause of quarrel between 

 Browne and the Constable beside the matter of 

 rate, which was so rudely refused. " Novemb r 7. 

 1630. A child of my ungracious Godsonne Ro- 

 bert Green baptized els were in schisme." This 

 sort of entry occurs for the first time just before 

 Browne left the parish to the care of the curates. 

 " Allen Greene's child baptized in schisme at 

 Lylford named John." It occurs frequently after 



