"Britannia" always means Brittany or Bretagne, no doubt can remain that the monks of St. Matthew, "de finibus-terrarum," were those of the ancient Benedictine abbey of St. Matthew, at the most western extremity of Brittany. This abbey is called by De Thou, in a passage to which I shall again refer, "S. Matthæi cœnobium in finibus terræ, ut vulgo aiunt"; by Rostrenan (French and Breton Dict), "St. Mathieu du bout du monde." A Gazetteer of France (Lond. 1793), which professes to be borrowed from the Dict. Géographique Portatif, calls the point on which the abbey stands, S. Mahé; and a village there, for it does not notice the abbey, "S. Mahé, or S. Mathieu, fin-de-terre." The historians of Brittany, Lobineau and Morice, and also Daru, I may observe, write St. Mahé just as frequently as St. Mathieu. On many English and French maps the point is called Pointe S. Mahé; on one of the latter, indeed, I find S. Mazé. another Breton name for St. Matthew.

At first sight it seems mere whim that King John should, for the benefit of an abbey at the Land's End of Brittany, have laid a charge on the church of St. Burian, in one of whose daughter parishes the now better known Land's End of Cornwall is situate. It will however be remembered, that John had been Earl of Cornwall for about twenty years before his accession, and the Earldom was still vested in the crown. Whether the patronage of St. Burian belonged to him as Earl or King, or whether it was in his hands merely during the vacancy in the See of Exeter from Oct. 1206 to Oct. 1214, it is unnecessary to inquire here. His right of patronage is assumed in the grant to the monks of St. Matthew, as it also seems to have been (Pat. Rolls, Feb. 1213,) | when St. Probus and St. Burian were bestowed on his favourite Chancellor Walter de Gray and again, though less distinctly,-after Gray's election to Worcester had been confirmed by him, Jan. 26, 1214, - in the presentation to the same benefices of William, the Provost of St. Omer, Feb. 7th, shortly before John sailed for Rochelle.

If the grant had any effect, the payment was no doubt discontinued at the first convenient opportunity. Some notice of it may have been preserved amongst the muniments of the abbey-all of which could not have been destroyed in its successive pillages during the Middle Ages, since Morice, in his Preuves, was able to print two or three of very early date. It seems therefore just possible, that as, after the violent dissolution of the Breton religious houses at the revolution, many of their records found their way into the public archives in the chief towns of the departments, even those of St. Mahé might still be seen at Quimper or Brest.

The grant is dated at Mausy (Mauzé on modern

maps), now an inconsiderable place between Rochelle and Niort, but where at that time there was probably a castle (Pat. Rolls, Hen. III.). There is some difficulty in fixing the month and day; but, as this charter belongs to John's 15th year, it must have been executed between the 15th Feb. 1214, when he had reached Rochelle, and the following 8th May (Ascension Day): which being the anniversary of his coronation, was of course the first day of his 16th year. The charter again purports to be the confirmation of an act by his justiciary, who was regent of the kingdom in his absence; and some time, therefore, must be allowed for this to be communicated to John. He had no doubt passed through Mauzé, on his way to Niort, more than once before, after his landing; but the charter may with very great probability be referred to the last fortnight of his 15th year, when the valuable Itinerary, prefixed to the Patent Rolls, shows he was several times at Mauzé; and although it stands in connexion with others of various dates-most of them, indeed, given by his Justiciary-it immediately precedes one given by himself at Niort on the 5th of May.

It will, however, be far more interesting to inquire what was John's motive for this grant to St. Mahé. As, at the most recent date which can be assigned to it, he was preparing to invade Brittany, it might be conjectured that he wished to secure the influence of the monks in his favour. This indeed might have been one, but it could scarcely have been his principal inducement, as St. Mahé is in the northwestern corner of Brittany; and John, after crossing the Loire, never attempted to advance in that direction, but kept close to the north bank of the river; and even, when he marched on Nantes, was nowhere within 100 miles of the abbey.

A more probable motive for the grant will be found in one remarkable characteristic of John, whose favour for sailors was so peculiar as to give rise to apocryphal stories of his living amongst them, which historians have employed to cover with greater odium a memory otherwise sufficiently blackened. His attention to nautical affairs may reasonably be supposed to have contributed to the first great naval victory by the English over the French in the preceding year. The position of St. Mahé at the turn of the French coast was a singularly advantageous one. It afforded shelter to numerous fleets of merchantmen delayed by contrary winds, and halfway on the voyage to the foreign dominions of the Plantagenets, it was the first port their armaments would make after crossing the channel. If too it cannot be supposed to have had much trade of its own, it was evidently a place where cargoes were deposited, and perhaps exchanged. For these reasons it was obviously desirable to cultivate friendly relations with the monks, who on their

part, by providing a light on the tower of the abbey (adjoining which stands the modern lighthouse), enabled vessels to reach, and to run safely within the Passage du Four, where, by the barrier of islands and rocks on the west, they could in some degree be protected from the Atlantic in the roadstead of St. Mahé; whilst, if a storm rendered this unsafe, there was close at hand the landlocked harbour of Brest.

But, although for political purposes, and especially for the traders, who, in the middle ages, timidly crept along the coast, it was important that the English should have friends at St. Mahé, the abbey, and the district around, which had apparently been dependent on it from the time of the original grant by Hervé (the Breton saint ?), Count of Leon, suffered severely at their hands on three, if not on four, occasions subsequent to the reign of John.

The first outrage occurred during the reign of Edward I. To show how great a number of merchant vessels was accustomed to collect here, I may premise that, previously to the short war between Edward and Philip the Fair, of which indeed it was the ostensible cause, a feud originating in a private quarrel, resulted in a desperate engagement between the sailors of the Cinque Ports and the Normans, when 200 vessels of the latter, with their crews and cargoes, were taken or destroyed in the roadstead of St. Mahé. Shortly after, Philip having meanwhile treacherously seized great part of Aquitaine, Edward, in the beginning of 1296, sent an expedition to Bayonne under the command of his brother, Edmund Earl of Lancaster and Leicester. On its way this force attacked and pillaged St. Mahé. As this semi-piratical descent is scarcely noticed in our annals, I extract the following curious particulars from Morice's Histoire de la Bretagne, vol. i. pp. 215-6, A.D. 1296:

"Le Roi d'Angleterre envoya le Comte de Leicestre en Gascoyne pour y continuer la guerre. Le Comte s'embarqua à Plimouth le 15 janvier avec Henri Comte de Lincolne, vingt-six Bannerets, sept-cent gendarmes, et un grand nombre de Fantassins. Sa flotte étoit composée de trois-cents-cinquante-deux voiles. Il la conduisit d'abord à la rade de S. Mathieu, ou il s'étoit proposé de se reposer, et d'acheter des vivres. Les Bretons, ne sachant s'ils devoient le regarder comme ami ou comme ennemi, prirent le parti de se retirer dans les lieux les plus écartés avec la meilleure partie de leurs effets. Les Bretons demandèrent un délai, qui leur fut accordé; mais ils l'employèrent à enlever le reste de leurs vivres, et à mettre leurs effets à couvert. Les Anglois, piqués d'avoir été trompés; entrêrent dans la ville de S. Mathieu, pillerent ce qui y étoit resté, mirent le feu dans quelques endroits, et forcèrent les portes de l'Abbaye, d'où ils enlèverent tout ce qui se pouvoit transporter. Le Comte fit rendre aux moines le Chef de S. Mathieu et tous les ornemens de leur église. Les Gallois qui étoient dans l'armée du Comte s'acharnèrent contre les Bretons, les poursuivrent jusques dans leurs retraites, en tuèrent un grand nombre, et se conduiserent du reste comme s'ils

eussent été en un pays ennemi. Après ces tristes ravages le Comte fit embarquer ses gens, et vint se presenter devant Brest, où ses troupes affamées découvrirent quelques magasins de vivres, que l'on avoit enterrés."

That the Welsh, so closely connected with themselves in race, language, and traditions, should have proved their bitterest foes, was evidently an aggravation of their calamity which the Bretons little expected. As the fleet had just before quitted Plymouth, the want of provisions must have been a mere pretext. Daru (Hist. de la Bretagne) briefly records the pillage and burning of the "ville" of "Saint Mahé," par ces allies affamés," and so far agrees with Morice as to the cause. But from his previous remark, that Duke John II. changed sides three times during the quarrel between the kings, it appears far more probable that the English readily availed themselves of an excuse for punishing a slippery ally. On the other hand, we are not surprised to learn from Daru that the natural indignation of his pillaged subjects determined the Duke to listen once more to the overtures of Philip. The Dukes of Brittany, I may observe, had become more directly interested in the prosperity of St. Mahé, as their vassal the Count of Leon had about half a century before ceded to them his rights in the Leonois*, in which St. Mahé is situate. Subsequently, in 1409, we find from Morice, the Duke granted to the abbot the privilege of enclosing and fortifying the abbey, and the "ville." Did this "ville" sink into obscurity, or was its name changed to Conquest or Conquet? There is certainly some confusion here, but the latter is the only town mentioned in the accounts of subsequent descents. H. P. (To be concluded in our next.)

"A Series of Letters, discovering the Scheme projected by France, in 1759, for an intended Invasion upon England with flat-bottomed Boats; and various Conferences and original Papers touching that formidable Design. London, 1767."

And it is described by Lowndes (new edit. by Bohn) as containing some curious particulars relative to

The department of Finistère comprises very nearly the same portions of the Province of Brittany as had belonged to the diocese of St. Pol de Leon and Quimper, which again answered respectively to the ancient districts of Leonois and Cornuaille. The juxta-position of these names is noteworthy, and almost leads one to suspect that the strange tradition respecting the Cornish "Lionesse" may have originated in some Breton legend.

the young Pretender, and the banishment of the Jesuits from the French dominions.

The author, who seems to have entertained a great opinion of his own lucubrations, presented the Lords of the Treasury, their Secretaries, and Solicitor, each with a copy of his book; but not meeting with the recompense he expected, preferred the following petition to their Lordships :"To the Right Honble the Lords of His Majesties Treasury.

"The Petition of Oliver Mac Allester,

"Humbly Sheweth,

"That your Lordships' Petitioner, after rendering the most important service to His Majesty and this Nation, in which he run the greatest dangers and risque of his life, was lately oblig'd at great expence to publish a History in 2 volumes of those most interesting facts, which have been received with extraordinary approbation by a number of the first Personages of this Kingdom for Birth, Honour, and Learning; and Your Lordships' Petitioner, amongst others of that High Rank, had the honour to present to your Lordships, and to your Secretarys and Sollicitor, each 2 volumes of the sd Works: but as yet has not received any recompence for the same.

"That by the true character and Tyrannie of the Pretender set forth in the said works, and conceal'd till this Publication, a most important service (as your Petitioner has reason to believe) is rendered to His Majesty, inasmuch, as by such just representation he is become odious not only to his secret friends but contemptable to the Court of France, and the schemes of Invasion from that Court in his favour improbable ever more to be carried into Execution against this Kingdom; an observation, which, as it cannot escape your Lordships' wisdom and judicious penetration, will ever carry its own weight, he hopes, in your Petitioner's behalf.

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May it therefore please your Lordships to take the premises into your generous consideration, and to order him such sum for payment of said books as yr Lordships shall think fit according to your accustomed bounty and liberality.

"And your Petitioner will ever pray, &c." This petition was received on the 7th May, 1767, and read on the 12th of the same month, but the petitioner received nothing in answer to his prayer. WILLIAM HENRY HART. Folkestone House, Roupell Park, Streatham.

LETTER OF THOMAS GORE TO ARCHBISHOP

SANCROFT.

Thomas Gore, of Alderton, co. Wilts, the heraldic writer, who died in 1684, left behind him many MSS. relating to heraldry and genealogy. I am desirous to ascertain, if possible, the fate of these collections, which are alluded to in Wood's Athena. The family in the direct line terminating in a female, the Gore estates have passed into other hands; but I can get no direct evidence as to the family papers. They may possibly yet be in existence. It is curious to remark also, that

although he was in constant correspondence with the learned men of his day, so few of his letters have turned up. The following is a letter from him to Archbishop Sancroft :

"May it please your Grace, That it has been so long since I payd my duty in waiting upon your Grace (to whom I am so much obliged for your great and signal respect and favour towards me) was only occasioned by the many great and weighty affaires with which this year I have bin invironed, by reason of the office of sheriff, which my gracious Sovereign was pleased to impose on me; but as soon as I shall be discharged thereof (which according to ancient custome can not be farr off), I live in hopes to give myself the honour and satisfaction of kissing your Grace's hands, and then, in a more ample manner than now, to express how much I am your Grace's humble servant. The gentleman who humbly presents this paper unto your Grace is my kinsman, for whom I have a very great respect a very honest and sober person, a true Nathaniel, in whom there is no guile, a true son of the Church of England, a very loyal subject to his prince, one who ever had and yet retaines a great zeal to do his Majestie service. If, therefore, your Grace (so great an encourager of loyalty and all laudable practices) would be pleased to vouchsafe to use your authority and interest (which is very considerable) whereby he might attaine to some office and serve the king, and better support himself and family, it would not only for ever oblige himself, but also him who esteemes it his greatest honour to bear the title of, my Lord, your Grace's most humble and obedient servant, THOMAS GORE. Aldrington, near Chippenham, in Wilts, 19° Sept.,

66

1681.

"(Indorsed) Mr. Gore for Mr. Tomlinson."

As the foregoing letter was written about the period when a pamphlet, published by him in defence of aspersions upon his character, and entitled, Loyalty Displayed and Falsehood Unmasked, Lond., 4to, 1641, I should be glad if any of your correspondents can indicate a library possessing a copy of the same. CL. HOPPER.

ST. KEYNE'S CHURCH, CORNWALL. The following copy of "Laws" is from the belltower of St. Keyne's church, and is, perhaps, worthy of being recorded in "N. & Q." :·

Aloud let silence first proclaimed be,
And by consent let's make it our decree,
And fix such laws in our society,

Which, being observed, will keep sobriety.

Who swears or curses in an angry mood,

Quarrels or strikes, although he draws no blood,
Who wears a hat or spur, o'erturns a bell,
Or by unskilful handling mars a peal,
He shall pay sixpence for each single crime,
"Twill make him cautious at another time.
And if the Sexton's fault it chance to be,
We'll lay on him a double penalty.

A blessing let us crave on Church and King,
And peaceably let us begin to ring.
G. HICKS)
&

J. JOHNS.

-1774. Churchwardens."

In spite, however, of the fine of sixpence on