98 



WILLIAM DALE, ESQ., F.G.S., F.S.A., OX 



When the persecutors came on the track of Amphibahis they 

 tound him not, but Albanus, with whom he had exchanged gar- 

 ments, was in his place. He was haled before the judges, who 

 told him II he refused to worship the gods he should suSer the 

 same punishment as Amphibalus. He was taken to a neighbour- 

 mg hill, where his head was stmck off — miracles were performed 

 on the way, and the eyes of the executioner fell out on the 

 ground. Prof. Haverfield characterizes the whole story as a 

 forgery by William of St. Albans in the 12th century. It is much 

 to be regretted that a systematic exploration of the site of 

 Verulamium, such as was done at Silchester, cannot be under- 

 taken. Such a large and important City probably contains 

 evidences of early Christianity. 



Another well-known story is that of King Lucius, to which 

 the date of about a.d. 180 is assigned. In this connection it 

 is needful to call attention to an article by Prof. Flinders Petrie 

 in the " Proceedings of the British Academy, for 1917-1918, on 

 ' Some neglected points in British History.' "* This distinguished 

 scholar deals far more leniently than other writers with the 

 accounts of Eoman Christianity. He tells us that the fullest 

 account we have of early British history is given us in the 

 Chronicle of Tysilio, a writer in the West of England who has 

 been entirely ignored, and no use made of his record. Internal 

 evidence, Prof. Petrie says, show^s it is based on British docu- 

 ments extending back to the 1st century. Geoffrey of Monmoutk 

 drew much from him, but dressed it up largely and impaired our 

 reliance upon it. If it is to be regarded as a medieval composition 

 it must have been drawn from some classic source. Passing over 

 the accounts given by Tysilio of the landing of Caesar, and the 

 later Eoman expeditions, the chronicle mentions two generations 

 of British Kings before Caradog, and three after him. One of 

 these. Bran, was hostage in Eome for seven years for his son 

 Caradog, who it is implied was sent back to rule in Britain. The 

 sojourn of Bran in Eome was from 51 to 58, while Paul was in 

 Eome, and when he returned he brought the faith of Christ to 

 the Cambrians. The next account is that about a.d. 180, King 

 Lucius, his descendant, sent to Pope Eleutherius at Eome for 

 missioners from Eome. This mission is named under Eleutherius 

 in the Liber Pontificalis, and Bede gives us the same information. 

 In contradistinction to Prof. Petrie I sum up the evidence in the 

 words of the greatest authority on Eoman Britain, the late Prof. 

 Haverfield. Writing in the " English Historical Eeview " for 

 1896 he says: — 



" Early British Christianity is recognised as a subject of wide 

 importance. In the 7th century its facts and fictions had power 

 to aSect religious beliefs. A rhetorical passage in Tertullian 

 mentions it about a.d. 200, but forbids precise conclusions. 



