1809,] 
The destruction of the villages is a 
fact that rests only on the assertion of 
Rous. 
Other different passages, in the same 
page, and in pp. 197, 198, and 204, give 
erroneous information on the History of 
Seals. 
P. 138.—** Iste eciam rex Henricus pri- 
mus regum habuit Sigil/umde cera. Prius 
in cartis suis utebantur signis ‘manualibus 
cum crucibus & nominis recitation2, ut, Ego 
Rex Willielmus hanc cartam feci -+; et Ego 
Matildis Regina consensi +3 et Ego Lan- 
francus Archiepiscopus confirmavi -+ 3 et. 
sic de aliis testibus.” a 
The fact, however, is notorious, that 
impressions in wax were occasionally ap- 
pended to deeds, not only of Wilham 
Rufus, and William the Cgnqueror, but 
-of Edward the Confessor. 
Sneaking of the reign of Richard the 
Second, Rous observes, 
‘* Etiam mulieres nobiles tunc utebantur 
thiaris altis & cornutis cum togis caudatis & 
sellis vel sediliis lateralibus equorum exemplo we- 
neralibus ANNE REGINA, fili@ regis Bobemiay 
qué bec primum in regnum introduxit.. Nam 
prius mulieres DE OMNI STATU eguitabant ut 
wiri tibiis super equos divaricatis.” 
For this mode of riding side-ways, how- 
ever, the ladies are not to consider them- 
selves indebted to Queen Anne. A single 
extract from Mr. Strutt’s work, upon our 
~ancient Dresses (vol. i.. p. 85), will -be 
quite sufficient to refute the opinion.— 
- €© {t has been asserted (he says), that the 
English women, prior to the fourteenth - 
century, rode on horseback a-stride, like 
the men. This is an error, however, 
which appears to have originated among 
the modern historians ; for the testimony 
of anuguity abundantly proves the con-~ 
trary. The Saxon and the Norman 
women, whenever they are represented 
on horseback, are seated side-ways upon 
the horse, agreeably to the present cus- 
tom.’ 
And that the practice of riding side- 
ways, onthe Continent, was common in 
the twelfth century, as well as, probably, 
at a much earlier period, may be ga- 
thered from P. Mabillon. 
* Habebant etiam nobiles Femine Si- 
gilla sua, saltem a seculo XII. Ex pri- 
mis est Sigillum Emme Comitisse Ghis- 
nensis, sub anno MCXX. ubi hec stans 
depingitur cum caduceo in dextra, & 
libro in sinistra. Alig equis insidentes 
erhibentur passim.MULIEBRI MORE, non- 
Lom: 1, -f. 374, col. 1, 
Montury Mag, Ne, 199, 
The Antiquary.—No. XVII. 
The two last — 
are mentioned in the Domesday Survey.*- 
201 
nulle virili, ex quibus est Beatrix Colo 
niacensis; & Elizabet uxor Simonis Dare 
giensis in charta pro Brituliensi monas- 
terio. Plereque avem in manu gestant ; 
Flandiz Comitisse hlium, ut Reginz 
Francornm; aliezque nonnull matrone 
prenohiles, ut Laureta filia Theoderici 
Comitis anno MCLI. & Beatrix de 
Ilesdanio, uxor Sigeri Castellani Gan- 
densis. Inter Flandriz Comitissas prima 
lium gestat Margareta, que Balduino 
Forti nupsit, nam’ in majori Sigillo pin- 
gitur equitans ritw feminarum cum ave 
In sinistra: in parvo manus cum lilio.”—~ 
Mabillon de Re Diplom. p. 148. 
At the instance of the same -Queen, 
Rous observes, by whom -side-saddles 
were introduced, the Feast of Sr, ANNE 
was first celebrated in England. 
‘* Ad hujus Regine instantias festum 
Sanctz Annz erat primo celebratum in Anglia.” 
It occurs, however, 
July, in the calendar prefixed to the very 
Psalter, which was written for Richard 
the Second (her husband), when a child; 
preserved among Sir Robert Cotton’s ma« 
nuscripts in the ‘British Museum, and is 
undoubtedly found in Psalters, purely 
English, of an older date than the foure 
teenth century. 
In the few lines which concern the 
reign of Edward the Fifth, or rather his 
succession to his father’s throne, we 
fmve another extraordinary fact—p. 213. 
‘6 MonETA tunc facta sub ejus nomine 
est percussa et formata, & omnia resize digni+ 
tati peitinentia in suo nomine solito modo 
erant observata.”” 
Such pieces, however, are totally uns 
known to our coin-collectors ; aad Folkes, 
whose rescarches on the neue of our 
silver coinage were aided by opportuni- 
ties which few writers can acquire, as- 
sures us, that, although “ a master and 
worker of the Mint were appointed in 
the name of King Edward the Fifth, it is 
not probable that any new money was 
coined in his time.” 
Such are the remarks which have arisen 
‘from a cursory perusal of Rous’s His- 
tory. They afford a full evidence, at 
least, that Rous was credulous; that he 
adopted facts and details, without much 
scrupulous enquiry as to their authenti- 
city; that le has been the occasion of 
misrepresentation in other historians; 
and that he is not entitled to all the pa- 
negyrics which have been bestowed on 
him by Leland. SAG 
Your's, &c, 
> Fis 
2% For 
on the 26th of 
