342 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2«a S. IX. May 5. 'CO. 



with a response, at once more courteous and 

 more instructive. The evidence I wish to dis- 

 cover, if any such exists, would be in answer to 

 this question, Did the Kings of Scotland ever 

 give a livery collar ? I am aware that the collar 

 of the order of the Thistle, as it appears in the 

 most ancient examples, has been supposed to re- 

 semble horse-bridles ; but I suspect the resem- 

 blance was merely imaginary; and unless the 

 order of the Thistle can be shown to have been 

 originally an order of livery, it will not be what 

 I ask for. The distinction between the collar of 

 livery and the collar of an order of knighthood 

 consists mainly in this ; that in the latter case the 

 society or company of knights — for the word 

 " order" is embarrassing, its original sense having 

 been livery, the very thing from which it is here 

 necessary to distinguish it, — was generally limited, 

 as in the sodalitas of the Garter to twenty-five, 

 and in that of the Thistle to twelve persons; 

 whereas the livery collar was given to, or assumed 

 by, an unlimited number of feudal or political ad- 

 herents, state officers, and household servants, 

 whether they were knights, esquires, or merely 

 Serjeants (servientes) . The earliest of the livery 

 collars of which I am aware was that of the cosses 

 de geneste in France. In England we had the 

 Collar of Esses of the House of Lancaster ; and 

 the Collar of Roses and Suns of the House of 

 York. I believe that there were also livery col- 

 lars in other parts of Europe, the reality and 

 identity of which I shall be glad to ascertain. It 

 is with the like view that I now repeat my in- 

 quiry whether any livery collar was ever given 

 by the Kings of Scotland ? 



John Gougii Nichols. 



Allusion in the " Rolliad." — The last of the 

 translations of Lord Belgrave's quotation in the 

 Political Miscellanies at the end of* the Rolliad, is 

 " by Sir Joseph Mawbey " : — 



" Had great Achilles stood but half as quiet. 

 He'd been by Xanthus drench'd, as I by Wi/att." 



To what does this allude ? W. D. 



Fitzgibbon's " Irish Dictionary." — I have 

 lately met with the following particulars in the 

 Dublin Chronicle, 5th April, 1792 : — 



" Last week died at Kilkenny, Mr. Philip Fitzgibbon, 

 mathematician, aged 81 years. Mr. Fitzgibbon was sup- 

 posed to possess a more accurate and extensive know- 

 ledge of the Irish language than any other person living; 

 and his latter years were employed in compiling an Irish 

 Dicti'mary, which he has left completed except the letter 

 S, and that he appears to have forgot. The Dictionary 

 is contained in about 400 quarto pages; and it is a re- 

 markable instance of patient perseverance, that every 

 word is written in Roman or Italick characters, to imitate 

 printing, i his, with many other curious manuscripts, 

 all in Irish, he has willed to the Rev. Mr. O'Uonnell." 



Can anyone give me any information respecting 



this MS. ? If extant, where is it ? And has it, 

 in whole or in part, appeared in print ? Is any- 

 thing known of Mr. Fitzgibbon ? Abhba. 



Church Towers : their Origin and Early 

 Use. — In a notice of Weingartner's System des 

 Christlichen Thurmbanes, in the Saturday Review 

 for April 21, it is stated to be the author's object 

 to prove that the practice of using church towers 

 as belfries is very modern and degenerate : — 



" Their first origin, he maintains, was as a monument 

 to those who were not worthy to be buried in a church ; 

 and, afterwards, tbey were joined to the church to mark 

 and adorn the spot where the altar concealed the sacred 

 relic9. Their gradual application as belfries, and the 

 oblivion of their pristine destination, were indicated as 

 centuries went on by their more and more westerly posi- 

 tion." 



Has this strange theory had any supporters 

 previous to Herr Weingartner ? C. J. Robinson. 



The Robertons of Bedlay, near Glasgow. — 

 In the reign of Charles I. the estate of Bedlay, 

 with its fine antique mansion-house, belonged to 

 James Roberton, Esq., who became one of the 

 Judges of the Court of Session, under the title of 

 Lord Bedlay. His descendants continued owners 

 of the estate down till near the close of last cen- 

 tury, when it was judicially sold. Can any of 

 your correspondents state whether Mr. Roberton, 

 the last owner, died childless ? or, if not, who is 

 the present representative of this old Lanarkshire 

 family ? A feeling of respectful interest prompts 

 me to ask this information. Nemo. 



Map of Roman Britain. — Amongst the an- 

 cient, maps in the King's Library, British Museum, 

 I find one entituled " Britannia Romana, collected 

 from Ptolemy Antonine's Itinerary by J. An- 

 drews." At the foot of the map is this : "London, 

 published, &c, Sep. 12, 1797, by J. Andrews, No. 

 211., facing Air Street, Picadilly." "Drawn and 

 engraved by J. Andrews." And on the right- 

 hand upper corner is " Plate IX." 



I should be glad to be informed of the title, &c, 

 of the work to which this map belongs ; and also 

 if it be possible to procure a copy of it ? 



B. B. Woodward. 



Haverstock Hill. 



Davies of Llandovery. — The family of Davies 

 of Llandovery, in Carmarthenshire (now Davies 

 of Pentre), claim to be of Tudor blood, and fre- 

 quently use the christian names of " Owen" and 

 " Tudor." Can any of your correspondents in- 

 form me of the grounds of the claim ? W. W. 



Punishments, Ancient and Modern. — Where 

 can I find a description of the different punish- 

 ments used in the army and navy, and at schools, 

 both in ancient and modern times — modern 

 especially ? Also, the names of the best reports 

 of criminal cases during the last twenty or thirty 

 years ? Henry Kelly. 



