Certificate of the Town Gild of Malmesburp. 



125 



pell cestassauer un niysall uu portos un chaplain a dwelling-house for him and 

 graiell un chalys deux peires de veste- his successors and other goods to serve 

 nientz oue lec touallez necessaries lez in the said chapel, to wit, a mysall, a 

 queux ornenieutz issint nomezarnontent portos, a graiell, a chalys, two pairs 

 a la value de x. li queux biens iSont en of vestments with the necessary towels, 

 la garde de chapelleyn du dicte chapell." the which ornaments thus named 



amount to the value of x. li., the which 

 goods are in the keeping of the chaplain 

 of the said chapel." 



A very interesting account of Malmesbury Common, with a plan, 

 is to be seen in Gr. Laurence Gromme's " Village Community" 1890, 

 quoting Gent. Mag. of 1832, and Mr. Trice Martin, in his preface 

 to the Registrant Malmesburiense^ vol. ii., p. xliii., giving 



" an interesting archaism which accompanies the delivery of the allotted portions 

 of laud to the commoners. Seizin was given by the transferring of a twig and 

 the repetition of the rhyming formula :— 



' This land and twig I give to thee, 

 As free as Athelstan gave it to me, 

 And I hope a loving brother thou wilt be.' 



The appearance of the rhyme at once denotes that we are in the presence of 

 archaic custom, and the last line recalls that ' common brotherhood ' which is the 

 typical feature of early communities," &c. 



T. S. M. 



