^6 The Natural Hi/lory 



fuch ways at Kirkl'ington, and kindly beftowed on me by my wor- 

 thy Friend Mr. B arry, amongft fome other matters of like nature, 

 though notfo fit to be mention'd here. 



109. And that the Danes alfo made the fame Experiment of the 

 innocency of their people,and of Univerfal peace & freedom from 

 rapine, is as manifaft out of Saxo Grammatics, who fays exprefly 

 of F rot ho the Great, Vt uniufcujufque rem familiar em afurum incur fu 

 tutam pr&Siaret, Armillam unam in Rupe, isrc* . i. e. that he might 

 preferve every mans Goods from the fpoils of thieves and robbers, 

 hung up a bracelet of gold on the rock, called after his own name, 

 Frothonhpetram and another in the Province of Wig, threatning 

 great feverity to the Prefidents of thofe Countries, if they flhould 

 be taken away. They ufed them alfo (like the Romans) as re- 

 wards of valour, as appears from the proffer of King Roricut, of 

 his fix bracelets to any man that would undertake the Champion of 

 the Sclavi (his Enemies) challenging any man in his Army e ; and 

 fomtimes too as rewards of Wit, .as the fame Author informs us, 

 Wiggo being honor'd with a great Armilla by Rolvo Krage, for a 

 Jeft f ; zadRefo, by GotoK'mg of Noway, ideo tantum quod eum 

 cultim iy familiar ius habuijfet g . 



no. Thefe ArmilU, the Danes and other Northern Nations 

 accounted fo facred, that as Bartholin informs us outof Arngri- 

 mws, the I/landers ufually fwore upon them, Cujus religionis fuit 

 ritws, utjur amentum prsftituri, adhibithsteflibus Annulum in Ara De- 

 orum ajfervari folitum, & in for Judiciali ajudice fupremo in bra- 

 chio geftatum, hoftiarumque fanguine illinitum, attretiarent b , i. e. 

 that the manner of people to befoorn was, that before witnefi they 

 ftiould lay their hands on a certain Ring, ufually kept upon the 

 altar of their gods, worn upon the arm of the Chief Juftice (whence 

 'tis plain it was an Armilla') and fmeared over with the blood of 

 their Sacrifices. And Ethelwerdus and Ajferiws both acquaint us, 

 that King Mlfred having gotten confiderable advantage over the 

 Danes, made them fwear (befide on his own Reliques) in eorum 

 Armilla facra, quod cter arum Regionum Regibus fecere nunquam 1 , 

 i. e. upon their holy bracelet, which they had never done before 

 to the Kings of any other Nation. 



i Saxon. Gram. Hift. Dan. lib. 5 . p. 46 Edit. Operin. e idem lib. 3 . pag. 24. D. ' Idem lib. 2 . pag. 16 C. 

 e Idem lib. 8. /lag. 83. C- h Tho .Bartholin/ Schedion de tArmtllii veterum, . 7./. 98. ' Chronicorum E- 

 thelvierdijib.if. in An. 876. vid- etiam Ajferium Menevenf. ineodem An- 



in. Which 



