to Ingulf, Abbot of Croyland, occurs the following passage relative to changes introduced into England at the time of the Conquest :"Many estates were conferred by bare words, without any writing or deed, but only with the presentation of the lord's sword, or helmet, or horn, or cup; and very many tenements with that of a spur, or piece of gold, or a bow; while some were conferred by the presentation of an arrow."

Instances can be given of horn-tenure of various kinds in Frankalmoigne, in Fee, and in Serjeantry. There is a well-known example of the first of these in the Horn of Ulphus, a Danish noble of the time of Canute, by which he conferred large estates on the Church of St. Peter, at York; this horn is still preserved, after many strange vicissitudes, in the sacristy of York Minster. Of estates in Fee, a remarkable instance is that of the Pusey family holding the village of Pusey, in Berkshire, by a horn, said to have been first given to their ancestor by King Canute; the inscription* on the horn is, however, of later date, but may have been renewed. As to Serjeantry, or holding in service of the King, Edward the Confessor granted the rangership of Bernwood Forest, in Buckinghamshire, to one Nigel and his heirs to be held by a horn.

Of a similar character to this last instance is the Tutbury horn, for by it, without any deed or writing, certain privileges are conferred. The posts or offices held and conveyed by this horn were those of Feodary or Bailiff-in-Fee, of Escheator, of Coroner, and of Clerk of the Market, throughout the honor of Tutbury. Of these by far the most important office in dignity, and judicial character, still remains, namely that of Coroner. Of course, the holder of the horn could not amalgamate these various offices (especially as they must have duplicated and multiplied in different parts of the honor) in his own person, and therefore the possession of the horn implied the patronage of these various offices, as it still does of the Coronership of one part of the honor. Mr. Bagshawe, the present holder, writing to us recently, said :--"In right of the old horn, I appointed the present Coroner of the High Peak, as my predecessors have nominated previous ones. I believe that I have a right to appoint also all the Coroners who exercise jurisdiction within the honor of Tutbury, which comprises parts of several counties."

*

Dr. Pegge gives a long description of the horn itself, and the

Lyson's Berkshire, p. 326. There are small engravings of both the Pusey and Ulphus horns, on p. 72 of Knight's Old England, Vol. i.

PLATE I.

description is accompanied by a plate. The description is not very accurate, and the drawing poor and full of errors. The shape. and size of the ornament upon which are the arms, and also the buckle, are completely misleading.

The remarkable arrangements of the belt, and its conjunction by means of ornamental clips with the central boss or brooch, upon which the arms are engraved, can be easily understood by referring to a very careful and accurate drawing on Plate I. The horn itself is 14 inches in length, 7 inches round the mouth, and 2 inches at the narrow end. It might fairly be described as white in colour, though it has now deepened to a yellowish tint; the narrow end has a natural dark brown stain, as shown in the drawing. The bands round the horn, the buckle, shield-plate, and all the ornaments are of silver, which has been originally gilded, though in most places the gilding is now worn off. The argento inaurato of Kniveton's manuscript should be rendered "silver-gilt," and not "silver inlaid with gold," as Blount has translated it. The belt or girdle of black silk is folded double, its extended width being 21 inches. Since Dr. Pegge's drawing was made in 1772, the silk has given way in two places, as shown on our plate. There are four small perforated plates sewed into the silk belt at due distances, for the tongue of the buckle to pass through, so that it might be adjusted according to the size of the wearer. The belt is designed for wearing across the shoulder, and not round the waist. total weight of the horn and its accoutrements is 15 oz. 8 drs. 20 grs. It has been supposed by some, from the good workmanship and condition of the shield and other ornaments, that the metal work had been renewed at some comparatively late date, but a careful examination convinces us that this is an error, and we believe that competent authorities, who paid no attention to the armorial bearings, would pronounce the metal work to be of the end of the fourteenth or the beginning of the fifteenth century.

The

Of the arms, we here give a cut of the exact size of the original. The arms have already been given in the Archæologia, and subsequently in the Archæological Journal; the former is altogether, and the latter partially incorrect.

Kniveton, as quoted by Blount, calls these the

Archæological Journal, Vol. xiii., where there is a learned article on these arms.