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Of these fourteen Incorporated Trades, or Crafts, in the enumeration of our poem the names of six appear identically the same, viz.: The Goldsmythes, Taliours, Wrightes, Websters, Walkers of Clothe, and Baxters, while Masons are named at 1. 1529. The Cordiners are represented in the poem by Souters, the earlier and more usual Scottish designation. For the sake of alliteration and variety, doubtless, as Flechours, arrow-makers, appear in the list elsewhere, Fleshers are replaced by the Norman French Bochers. That Chirurgyans and Barbars formed the same craft and meant the same persons is well known, and is abundantly evident from their Seal of Cause-in which we read,―

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"The Kirk Master and Brether of the Surgeons and Barbaris within this Brughe." Item, That nae maner of Person occupy nor use any Poynts of our saids Crafts of Surgery, or Barbar Craft, within this Brugh, but gif he be first frie Man and Burges of the samen, and that he be worthy and expert in all the Poynts belongand to the saids Crafts, dilligently and avisedly examined, and admitted by the Masters of the said Crafte, &c. 3tio. And that nae Barbar, Master nor Servand, within this Burgh, hant, use nor exerce the Crafts of Surgery without he be expert, and knaw perfectly the Things aboue written: that is to say—Anatomia, &c."

The Skynners are represented in the poem by Glovers and "Coriours of ledur," who were of the same incorporation. The Wrights and Masons, afterwards united, included, with others, the Painters, the Bowyers, and "Flechours." The very comprehensive craft of the Hammermen has no fewer than nine representatives in the poem, viz. the Bladsmythis, Armurers, Arowsmythis, Cotelers, Sadlers, Brasiers, Pynners or Pin-makers, Bel-makers or Founders, and Sporiors or Lorimers, all of whom, with others, as we may learn from Maitland, were members of the Craft. If "Girdillers" are the same as the Girdlers of London and meant Beltmakers, then we have another branch of the Hammermen ; but we are rather inclined to believe that they meant Girdlemakers, i. e. manufacturers of girdles,2 or round iron plates on which

1 Bridle-bit makers.

2 Culross, in Perthshire, was famous for its girdles in ancient times. "Your bread is baked, ye may lay by the girdle." "The ayre sal hafe . . a rostyng yrne, a girdille," &c.—-Leges Burg. cxvi.

scones, bannocks, and oat-cakes were fired, as they are still. The "Condlers," or candlemakers, were at one time a most influential and wealthy body in the city, and have left behind them, as memorials, their quaint Hall and a street called after them Candlemaker Row, which the all-devouring city improvements have not yet swallowed up. In conclusion, the Tapsters are named in one of the city charters along with the Vintners, as liable to certain customs or excise; from which it is evident that they were the Innkeepers of the time, and not mere drawers of beer, boys or women, as in England.

Thus in this list of forty crafts, and, with masons mentioned before, forty-one in all enumerated in the poem, there are not fewer than twenty-seven that we can identify with the fourteen incorporated trades of Edinburgh, and their different branches, and, with one exception, easily accounted for, named, along with several others, precisely as they are in the records and charters of the city and early Scottish Literature. That this should be so, and that moreover a list of "Craftis," evidently meaning Incorporated Trades, should commence with "Goldsmythes," probably the oldest, and certainly the most important craft in Scotland, and be followed by such undoubted Scottish designations as Glovers, Girdillers, Souters, Websters, Walkers of Clothe, Baxters, Sporiors, Spicers, Condlers, &c.,-designations most of them in use to this day-in a passage that tells of

"Barburs bigget in bourders of the stretes,
With all maister men that on molde dwellis,
Onestly enabit in entris aboute,"

altogether makes up a combination, or coincidence, utterly impossible, it will surely be admitted, unless the author, whoever he might be, was familiar with the trades or crafts of the Scottish capital or other large Scottish town.

This remarkable passage has several naturalized French names in the list, which renders it still more likely to be the list of the Scottish Crafts and Guildry, the intercourse between Scotland and France being in these early times both frequent and most friendly.

For example, we have Taliours,1 Telers,' Marchandes, Parnters,3 Bochers, Fferrers, Spicers,5 Carpenters, and Coucheours.

While convinced, from the Scottish names, that this was a Scottish list, and further, that this was the list of the Crafts and Guildry of the Scottish capital, because containing the names of some trades that could not possibly exist or be found in any smaller or less important town than the capital, by comparing it with the tradesmen named in the Banes of the Chester Plays, with the very full and exhaustive catalogue in Cocke Lorelles Bote, and with those in the Liber Albus of London, it was manifest that it was not the compilation of an Englishman, either of the Midland Counties or of London. Below we give the full list of the Chester Craftsmen in alphabetical order. The "Drawers in Dee" stamp the locality of the list, which has no equivalent for not less than 19 of the Craftis of our poem. It will be seen, moreover, that the Scottish Souter is a Corvisor in the Chester list, a Webster is a Waver or Weaver, the Walker of clothe, usually conjoined with the Litster, is represented by the Dier, a Baxter is a Baker, a Teler is a Linendraper, a Taverner is a Merchant Vintner, a Corior of ledur is a Skinner or Tanner, a Marchand is a Mercer, a Carpenter is a Fuster, and a Condler is a Wax-Chandler. In Cocke Lorelles Bote we have Tailleurs, anciently Tailleors or Tailleres.

2 Drapers or Linen-drapers, from Telier, Lat. Telarius, qui facit aut vendit telam.

3 Decorators, from Parementier or Paramentier, Lat. Parator.

has parements, ornamental furniture or clothes.

Ferre, or feure, from ferrarius.

[blocks in formation]

Chaucer

6 Stone-setters or jewellers, from collocare. Couched work was applied

technically to artist's work.

"Alle of palle werke fyne

Cowchide with newyne."-MS. Lincoln, A. i, 17, fol. 133. Chaucer has "couched with perles," laid or trimmed with pearls.

"Stuffit and coutchit full of irne and lede."-Doug. Virg. 141. 11. Coucheour, however, may mean a couch, or bed-maker, in Cocke Lorelles Bote, an Upholsterer.

7 Bakers, barbers, bowyers, buchers, cappers, cloth-workers, cookes, coopers, corvisors, diers, drapers, drawers in dee, fish-mongers, flechours, fusters, glassiers, glovers, goldsmiths, hewsters, ironmongers, linen-drapers, masons, mercers, merchant-vintners, painters, saddlers, shermen, skinners, slaters, smiths, stringers, tanners, taylours, water-leaders, wax-chandlers, wavers, wrights.

8 But the last is "The Websters Playe."

Cordwainer and Cobeler for Souter, Spinsters and Vestment Swoers for Semsteris, Fullers and Cloth-thickers for Walkers of clothe, Arrowheders for Arowsmythis, Fleshmongers for Bochers, Webbers for Websters, Bakers for Baxters, Tapestry workers and Garnishers for Parnters, Grote Clyppers for Monymakers, &c.

In the Liber Albus of London, as the compilers did not always translate the names of the craftsmen into Latin and Norman French, we get still more evidence that the list of the poem was not made up from the workmen and craftsmen of that city. The Baxter is usually represented by the Nor. Fr. Pestour; but as a compound, we meet with py-bakeres. The Glover was a Gaunter, the Spynner of Cloth, or producer of yarn, was the Buriller, while the Weaver of woollen cloth was the Telour or Telarius. The Spicer was a Grossour or Pepperer, the Belmaker was a Belle-zetter, and hence Bulliter Lane. The Walker of Cloth was a Fullour, Souters were Cordwaners and Cobelers, Ferrers, or Shoe-Smiths, were Mareschalls, Monymakers were Moneours, and Condlers were Wex-Chaundelers.

Before leaving this passage it may not be uninteresting or uninstructive to compare it with the parallel passage of Lydgate, which we shall give here entire as it is given in the Douce MS. Oxford, supplying from the Digby MS. two lines that are awanting in that and the Cambridge MS. :

"Goldsmythes furst ande ryche Ieweleres,
Ande by hemself crafty Broderes,
Wewars also of wolne and lynnyn,
Of clothes of golde of damaske and satyn,
Of welues, sandele ande double samyt eke,
Ande everyche cloth yat men lyst to seke.
Smythes also pat coude forge wel

Swerdes, pollex, and sperys sharp of stel,
Dartes, daggers for to mayne and wounde,

Ande quarele heddes, sharpe and square ygrounde.

Thare was also crafty armourers,

Bowers eke, ande fast by fleggerers,

Ande suche as couth maken yschaftes pleyn,

Ande uthere eke yat dyde yar besye peyn ;
For ye werre to make also trappouers,
Bete2 banners, and ryole cote Armoures,

1 Sic for "mayme," to maim.

2

Embroidered. Sir Gawan.

Ande by dewyse standars ande pennons,
Ande for ye felde fresche ande gay ghetons.
Ande everyche craft yat may yreknede be
To tellen schortly was in yat Cité."

On examination it will be seen that Lydgate has evidently borrowed or adapted his list from that of our author, for of the ten or eleven Crafts expressly named or indicated in this extract it may be remarked that only two, viz. Goldsmiths and Weavers, are found in Guido's list, as aurifices and textores respectively, while the order in which these two occur renders the borrowing or adaptation still more probable. Goldsmiths are the first named in the list of our author and the first likewise in that of Lydgate, and may have suggested the ryche Ieweleres, represented by "Coucheours fyn,” 1. 1597. Then follow in the next line of Lydgate Crafty broderes, who are manifestly the "Semsteris fyn" in the next line also of the Stately Poem. The "Taliours, Telers, Websters and Walkers of clothe" that come next in our poem have evidently suggested the "Wewars of wolne and lynnyn," and of various other "clothes" given next by Lydgate. Then follow in our poem

"Armurers, Arowsmythis with Axes of Werre,"

and further on, "Bladsmythis." And just so follow in Lydgate the "Smythes that coude forge wel swerdes, pollex, sperys, dartes, daggers, and quarele heddes," and the "Crafty Armourers." Again in our poem we have next

แ fferrers, flecchours, fele men of crafte;"

which Lydgate duly in order caps with

"Bowers eke, ande faste by fleggerers."

That this should be so is surely more than a mere coincidence. If Lydgate has not borrowed or adapted, it is very singular that he should have given just these names and in this order; for while all the various workers in metal are named by Guido, such as Goldsmiths and gilders, silversmiths, coppersmiths or brasiers, plumbers, founders or bell-makers, pin-makers, spindle-makers, &c., curiously enough, smiths, blacksmiths, or forgers in iron are not mentioned, nor is a single weapon of war named. Lydgate, however as he

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