The head of Isis in Coteswalde risith about a mile a this side Tetbyri.

The Fasse way goith oute at Cirencestre, and so streatchith by a manifeste great creste to Sodbyri market, and so to Bristow,

[Isis riseth a iij myles from Cirencestre not far from a village called Kemble within half a myle of the Fosse way, betwixt Cirencestre and Bath. Thens it runneth to Latinelad, (Latton), and so to Grekelad (Cricklade) about a myle lower, soon after receyving Churn. Wheras [when] the very head of Isis is in a great somer drought, apperith very little or no water; yet is the stream servid with many ofsprings resorting to one bottom. v. 63].

From Cirencestre to Malmsbyri viii miles.

First I roode about a mile on Fosse. Then I turnid on the lifte hand, and cam al by champayne grounde, fruteful of corne and grasse, but very litle wood.

I passid over a stone bridg, wher Newton water as I take it, rennith in the very botom by the toune: and so enterid the toune by th' este gate.

MALMSBURY. [II. 51.]

The toune of Malmesbyri stondith on the very toppe of a greate slaty rok, and ys wonderfully defendid by nature: for Newton water cummith a 2 miles from north to the toun: and Avon water cummith by weste of the toun from Lokington a 4 miles of, and meete about a bridge at south est parte of the toun, and so goith Avon by south a while, and then turneth flat west toward Bristow. The conducte that cam to Malmesbyri abbey was fette from Newton.

Newton water and Avon ren so nere togither in the botom of the west suburbe at Malmesbyri, that there within a burbolt1 shot the toun is peninsulatid. In the toun be 4 gates by the names of Est, West, North, and South, ruinus al.2

"Burbolt." Between the Avon on the south side of the town, and the Newnton stream on the north, the interval at the narrowest place through Westport, would require for Leland's birdbolt a flight of about 700 yards.

2 "Ruinus al." All now quite destroyed. The name of the Westgate still survives in the suburb of "Westport."

T

The walles in many places stond ful up; up; but now very feble. Nature hath diked the toun strongely.

It was sum tyme a castelle of greate fame, wher yn the toun hath syns ben buildid; for in the beginning of the Saxons reign, as far as I can lerne, Malmesbyri was no toun.

This castle was namid of the Britons, Cair-Bladun.

The Saxons first caullid it Ingelburne.

And after, of one Maildulphus a Scotte that taught good letters there and after procurid an abbay ther to be made, it was Maidulphesbyri: i. e., Maildulphi curia.

The King of the West-Saxons and a Bishop of Winchestre were founders of this abbay.

Aldelmus was then after Maildulph abbate there, and after Bishop of Shirburn.

This S. Aldelme is patrone of this place.

The toune hath a great privileg of a fair about the fest of Sainct Aldelme; at the which tyme the toune kepith a band of harnesid men to se peace kept: and this one of the bragges of the toun, and therby they be furnishid with harneys.

Ther were in th abbay chirch yard 3 chirches.1 Th abbay chirch a right magnificent thing, wher were 2 steples, one that had a mightie high pyramis, and felle daungerusly in hominum memoria, and sins was not re-edified.

It stode in the midle of the transeptum of the chirch, and was a

13 Churches." He cannot mean that there were 3 churches besides the abbey church, but inclusive of it? There are now only the remains of one, St. Paul's: of which he afterwards says that the body had been taken down at the time of his visit, the east end was in use as a Town Hall, and the tower at the west end as a dwelling-house. Of this, which was the old parish church of Malmsbury, the tower, surmounted by a spire, still remains, at the S.W. corner of the abbey yard, and continues to be used for the induction of the vicars of Malmsbury. The east end ceased to be used as a "Town Hall" about 1623: and having been since that time in a state of desecration was finally taken down in June, 1852, and the site added to the church yard. It did not appear to be quite in a straight line with the tower; but stood rather south of that line. In it were some remains of window mullions and perpendicular tracery, a niche, &c. Of the 3rd church which probably was a chapel attached to the south transept of the abbey, there is no trace.

marke to al the countrie about. The other yet standith, a greate square toure, at the west ende of the chirch.

The tounes men a late bought this chirch of the King, and hath made it their paroche chirch.

The body of the olde paroch chirch, standing in the west end of the chirch yarde is clene taken down. The est end is converted in aulam civicam (a Town Hall).

The fair square tour in the west ende is kept for a dwellinghouse.

Ther was a litle chirch joining to the south side of the transeptum of th abbay chirch, wher sum say Joannes Scottus,1 the great clerk, was slayne, about the tyme of Alfrede, King of West-Saxons, of his own disciples thrusting and strikking hym with their table pointelles. 2

Wevers hath now lomes in this litle chirch, but it stondeth and is a very old pece of work.

Ther was an image set up yn th abbay chirch yn honour of this John Scotte.

This is John Scotte that translatid Dionysius out of Greke into Latine.

Malmesbyri hath a good quik market kept every Saturday.

There is a right fair and costely peace of worke in the Marketplace made al of stone, and curiously voultid for poore market folkes to stande dry when rayne cummith.

Ther be 8 great pillers and 8 open arches: and the work is 8 square :3 one great piller in the midle berith up the voulte. The men of the toune made this peace of work in hominum memoriâ.

The hole logginges of th abbay be now longging to one Stumpe, an exceeding riche clothiar that boute them of the King.

"John Scot." There were 3 learned ecclesiastics of this name; two of them contemporary. John, a Saxon monk, surnamed Scotus, made abbot of Athelney A.D. 887: and John Scot Erigena. The former of these two was the translator of Dionysius, "the Areopagite." The third John Scot, commonly called Duns Scotus, died at Cologne, long after the reign of Alfred; viz., in A.D. 1308.

2 "Pointelle :" a steel pen or pencil for writing.

38 Square" octagonal.

This Stumpe's sunne hath married Sir Edward Baynton's daughter. 1

This Stumpe was the chef causer and contributer to have th abbay chirch made a paroch chirch.

At this present tyme every corner of the vaste offices that belonged to th abbay be fulle of lumbes (looms) to weve clooth yn, and this Stumpe entendith to make a stret or 2 for clothiers in the bak vacant ground of the abbay that is withyn the toune walles.

There be made now every yere in the toune a 3,000 clothes. [From the state in which Leland found Malmsbury Abbey, Mr. Stumpe's looms being in full play in the small church annexed to the south transept, and in the abbey offices, it is clear that his visit must have been after Dec. 15, 1539, the day on which Abbot Frampton, alias Selwin, signed the deed of surrender. The monks were probably dispersed, and their library plundered. This may account for the very scanty collection of manuscripts which Leland found, unless we may suppose that he noted down the names only of those which were most rare or valuable. The following is his list, from which the reader may form an idea of the general character and composition of abbey libraries :-]2

MANUSCRIPTS FOUND BY LELAND IN MALMSBURY ABBEY.3

Juvencus. [4 Spanish Christian Poet A.D. 330, who translated the 4
Gospels into Latin verse. His works are printed.]

Works of Fortunatus, written in verse.

Life of Paternus, in prose, by Fortunatus.

Wm. of Malmesbury (the Librarian of the Abbey). The Four Evangelists in different kinds of verse-15 books.

Do. on the Lamentations of Jeremiah, beginning "Thou hast often admonished," &c.

Do. the Life of Aldhelm.

1 "Baynton." Two shields in stone bearing severally the arms of Stumpe and Baynton, the latter a bend lozengy between two demilions, an unusual addition to the Baynton shield, are still to be seen over the garden door at the abbey church.

2 " A curious account is given by Aubrey Nat. Hist. of Wilts, p. 79, of the way in which numbers of the finely illuminated manuscripts belonging to the abbey libraries, were wantonly destroyed by the tasteless owners into whose hands they fell. Those of Malmsbury were used, he says, for overing boy's copy-books, for stopping the bung holes of barrels of ale, scouring guns, and the like. Bale "knew a merchant-man who bought the contents of two noble libraries for XL shillings a piece, a shame it is to be spoken. This stuff hath he occupied in the stead of gray paper by the space of more than these x years, and yet he hath store enough for as many years to come. A prodigious example is this, and to be abhorred of all men which love their nation as they should do." In another place he says that the choicest manuscripts were often torn to pieces in the houses of the persons who bought the monasteries of the King, or were sold by them to grocers and soapdealers to wrap up their goods. Others were sent over sea to be used by the bookbinders, "not in small number, but at times whole ships full, to the wondering of the foreign nations." A church book belonging to the parish of Chippenham, dated 1620, is still in existence, covered in this way with a fine fragment of monastic parchment illuminated in red, black, and gold,

3" Collecta. 111. 157.

The Life of Aldhelm, by Faritius, Abbot of Abingdon, a Tuscan by birth, according to Wm. of Malms. (See Collect. 2, p. 253).

Bede on the song of Habakkuk.

Do. Allegorical Exposition of Leviticus and Tobit.
Claudius: 3 books on S. Matthew.

The Sentences of Xystus, translated by Rufinus, who maintains that this
Xystus was the Pope of that name.

Questions of Albinus upon Genesis: a little book.

Dionysius (the Areopagite), translated by John Scot.

Cassiodorus: on the Soul.

Hexameron of Basil.

Gregory Nicenus: on the Condition of Man.

Robert of Cricklade (R. Canutus), Prior of St. Frideswide (Oxon), 4 books called "The Mirror of Faith, beginning "Hear, O Israel."

Albinus, on Ecclesiastes.

Grossolanus, Archb. of Milan: on the Procession of the Holy Spirit,

addressed to the Emperor Alexius.

Junilius to Pope Primasius.

Apuleius-a book on Interpretation.

Grammar of Eutyches.

Tertullian.

Letters of Albinus.

Chronicle of Malms. Abbey. [Leland gives extracts, Collect. 1. 301). Another chronicle called "The Praise of History," written at the request of the Abbot of Malmsbury, A.D. 1361, by a monk of the abbey, name unknown. [Extracts from this, with a long account of Maidulph and Aldhelm are given in the Collectanea, I. 302 & II. 395].

[From a book of "the Antiquities of Malmsbury," he extracted several particulars, which have been used by most of those who have written the history of the town and abbey. For these, see Collectanea. 1. 65, 241, 301. II. 319, 325, 401].

Sum hold opinion that ther was sum tyme a nunnery wher the hermitage now stondith in the dike of the toune at the west ende of the old paroche chirch.

Sum say that ther was another nunnery toward the park a litle without the toune longging to th abbate in the way to Chippenham.2

i "Hermitage.” He probably means an old building called "the chapel house" long used as a dwelling for paupers, and formerly a chapel, in the part of the town called "Burnevale"; (the valley in which the "bourne" or brook of the Avon runs, on the south side of Malmsbury). It was destroyed some years ago.

2 "Another Nunnery." Burton Hill Chapel, mentioned again in the third following paragraph. It is now destroyed. There is no account of any endowed nunnery either here or at Burnevale just spoken of.