appearing on them, and to the animals on them, which may perhaps have denoted the ensign or arms of the kingdom. This last mode of distinguishing them indeed we cannot place much reliance on, not only from the rudeness of the coins and consequent uncertainty as to what animals were intended to be represented, but also because we cannot be certain that Speed, and those other authors who have attributed particular ensigns to the dif ferent kingdoms, had sufficient authority for so doing. On the coins attributed to Ethelbert of Kent, and on several of the other sceattas, we find a figure, which, on account of the resemblance of part of it to the obverse of No. 18, Pl. 1, has been supposed to be a bird, but on a close examination and comparison of these figures, many of them will be found to have been intended for a human face, and many for a four-footed beast. Nos. 10 to 14, Pl. 1, appear intended for the former, and 15 and 16 for the latter, and the coin attributed to Ethelbert, and Nos. 5 to 9, bear so strong a resemblance to No. 11, that I think it probable they also were intended for heads. The obverses of No. 1, Pl. 26, and No. 11, Pl. 29, which are evidently heads, are surrounded with the same kind of lines which were intended for hair. From what I have above said we can therefore, I think, place little farther dependence on these badges than as they may help to confirm other and more important evidence, but a comparison of Nos. 23, 24, 27, and 30 to 36, Pl. 1, No. 2, Pl. 2, and No. 2, Pl. 26, would incline one to think Speed was right, as I shall presently attempt to shew. To begin, then, with Kent: I do not find any of the sceattas which can with any degree of probability be assigned to that Kingdom; a few of them indeed bear the figure of an animal which may have been intended for a horse, said to be the ensign of Kent, particularly Nos. 23, 24, 26, Pl. 1, and No. 2, Pl. 2; but so far from its being probable that they belong to that kingdom, I think there is some probability that they all, except No. 26, belong to Wessex. Let us now consider whether there are grounds for assigning any of the scealtas to Wessex; and here I think a comparison of Nos. 23, 24, 27, and 30 to 36, Pl. 1, No. 2, Pl. 2, and No. 2, Pl. 26, will afford, as I have above said, some confirmation that Speed was right as to the ensigns which he has attributed to Wessex and Sussex. All these numbers have every appearance of having been coined by the same people, and perhaps nearly at the same period; and the ensigns we find on them are a dragon or dragon's head, a bird, and a cross. If we examine Speed we shall find that a dragon was the ensign of Wessex, that the cross was also assumed by several of its princes, and that the martlet was the ensign of Sussex. We shall also find, in all historical accounts, that Sussex was conquered by Wessex in 290; and ever after, with the exception of two or three short periods of independence, and a few years that it was under the dominion of Wulfhere, King of Mercia, remained under the power of that Kingdom. The only other sceattas in Ruding, except those which appear to be struck by the Danes, that bear the figure of a bird, are Nos. 18 and 25, Pl. 1, and 15, Pl. 26, which may have been struck when Sussex was an independent Kingdom. Nos. 19, 28, and 29, Pl. 1, from their strong resemblance to Nos. 32, 33,, 34, seem also to belong to Wessex, although they may perhaps belong to Mercia, as the cross was said to be the badge of that Kingdom. Nos. 1, 3, 4, Pl. 2, may also belong to Wessex, and it is possible Nos. 5 and 6 may belong to Sussex. Before I proceed to the sceattas of the other Kingdoms, it is right I should notice two remarkable coins of Offa, Nos. 16 and 17, Pl. 4, which bear the figures of serpents, and which would seem to weaken the force of the above remarks; but I think it likely the serpents on these coins were only intended for ornaments, as we do not find any similar on any others of the very numerous coins of Mercia. I cannot find any evidence which would warrant us in assigning any of the sceattas to Mercia, although it is probable that some were struck by them previous to the introduction of the pennies, which commenced at least as early as the beginning of the 8th century, nor can we say any thing more satisfactory of the sceattas of the East Saxons. We now come to East Anglia, to which it is probable several of the sceattas belong, and as to some of them we may I think arrive at a con- on one side, and half on the other; for The only other Kingdom whose sceattas remain to be noticed is Northumberland. In a former letter I considered the coins of Edbert, Egbert, Alcred, and Alhnoth, and I have little more to say in this place than to notice such coins as resemble them in type. Nos. 15 and 16, Pl. 1, and No. 6, Pl. 26, appear also to belong to Alhnoth, and No. 9, Pl. 25, is evidently similar in type to those of Egbert and Edbert; it is also very likely No. 7, Pl. 2, Nos. 1, 5, 8, and 10 to 14, Pl. 26, and No. 11, Pl. 29, also belong to Northumberland, but perhaps some of these last were struck by the Danes. Nos. 21 and 22, Pl. I, are perhaps British, the figure on the obverses appears to be the Ceres of the Britons. As to Nos. 20, Pl. 1, 18, and 21 Pl. 2, 3 and 4 Pl. 26, and the sceattas attributed to Ethelbert of Kent, I am unable to offer any conjecture. I shall now consider the sceattas which appear to be struck by the Danes, on which I have not many remarks to make. Only three types. are observable on them; the first is found on Nos. 8 to 17, and Nos. 22 to 25, Pl. 2; the second on Nos. 19 and 20, and the third on No. 17, Pl. 1, and Nos. 26 to 37, Pl. 2; those with the two first types seem to belong to East Anglia, as they have both in most instances the A behind the head, and square on the reverse. Many of them bear letters totally different from any of those to be found on the coins struck by the Saxons. Nos. 19 and 20 were, I think, struck by Ethelstan, the Danish King of East Anglia. No. 19 seems to read on the reverse VOCI▷, and was probably struck at Norwich. No. 20 seems to readOZTA. Those of the third type were perhaps struck by the Danes of Northumberland, as they have on the reverse a bird, which was probably intended for the raven, used as an ensign by the Danes, and particularly by Anlaf King of Northumberland; the letters on these are very plain and legible, but we can make out of them no intelligible legend; indeed it is possible the moneyers did not intend to form any, although the coins themselves are remarkably well executed, but put down any letters at random, as was evidently done with many of the Danish coins minted in Ireland. There must be many unpublished Sceattas in different cabinets in England which would throw light on this subject, and by comparing them one with another, and with those already published, great discoveries might be obtained; others also are discovered almost every year, a single one of which may determine a whole series. Yours, &c. Mr. URBAN, FULL JOHN LINDSAY. May 8. ULLY impressed with the force of Plato's remark, ös àv tá óvóμata εἴδει εἴσεται καὶ τὰ πράγματα, “that the knowledge of the etymology of words leads to the knowledge of things," I have ventured to ramble in that alluring but dangerous field, where so many have lost themselves. If I aspire to so difficult a theme as Stonehenge, a subject which has racked the brain of many an Antiquary, let me add, in extenuation of my ambition, that my remarks are by no means pertinaciously offered, and, unlike many who handle the subject, I shall feel a pleasure in correction, if my opinions be erroneous. Thanks to the investigation of recent Antiquaries, Stonehenge has been divested of the monkish legendsGeoffrey of Monmouth is exploded, and the honour of its construction is snatched from the Saxon period. Dr. Stukeley, followed by Mr. Grose, has established it to have been a British Temple, while the subsequent minute and laborious researches of Sir Richard Colt Hoare have proved the high antiquity of this celebrated relic. I cannot accede to the common opinion, that the Saxons gave this venerable pile a name so disgraceful as the "Stone Gallows," Stonehenge. It has occurred to me that Stonehenge is a corrupted compound of two words of. a far different import to that which has been generally ascribed to it, viz. Stan, the site or temple, Onga of Mi nerva. It may be advanced, that the British name for this temple was Choir Gaur; but is it not possible that the term Choir Gaur might have referred to Abury? a temple of vast extent, and undistinguished by any name equal to its high importance. The Chorea might allude to Abury, and Stonehenge have been the original and not Saxon name of this splendid relic of the west. Every scholar must be aware of the extraordinary analogy of various languages. There exists a similarity between the Sanscrit, Hebrew, Arabic, and Celtic, too close to have been the result of acccident. Many Hebrew words are in ancient Irish; (a paragraph has lately appeared in a periodical, stating that the Irish fearn Hebrew with greater facility than the English); and many Sanscrit words are in the Hebrew. There are certain words which are found in all dialects, and appear the wreck of some universal language now lost. The two letters ST form an element or root which springs in the Sanscrit, and can be traced in various modifications through various languages-Sitan or Stan implies a re 1827.] On the Etymology of Stonehenge.-Eve of St. Nicholas. gion or place. Thus in Persian, Goolistan, the place of roses, a rosebed; durukht sian, the place of trees, an orchard; boo stan, the place of fragrance, a garden. We find Stan continually in composition, as Indostan, Mogoli-stan, Phari-stan, Chusi-stan. The Greeks, noted for their arbitrary alteration, preserve it in Tus; hence we find Opheltis, Altis, Baaltis, Abantis, Absyslis. It was in use among the ancient Hetrurians and other nations, and we trace it in Aventinus, Palatinus, Numantinus, Palæstine, Ton, Town, Station. Hence it appears to me that the word Stone is a corruption of Stan, implying the site, spot, or temple. The word Henge I will endeavour to trace to the Deity Onga, a name of Minerva, by which title she was known to the Lacedemonians, and probably to the Druids. An altar has been discovered in Greece bearing an inscription in very ancient characters, stating it to have been consecrated to Onga (v. Memoires de l'Académie des Belles Lettres, tom. 15, 402). This altar is adorned with sculptured knives, feet, hands, thighs, and legs, and other 407 name by which the Druids worshipped Minerva, especially since she was a Phoenician Deity, and the fact bears nearer to conviction when we see, on immutable stone, parts of the human body as allusive to those blood-stained rites which we are informed were common also to the Druids. Thus I venture to suggest that Stonehenge is not a Saxon, but a term of higher antiquity, implying the Temple of Minerva-Stan-Onga, Stonehenge. Had the priests of the Cimbri committed their tenets to writing-("neque fas est ea litteris mandare," Cæs. Bel. Gal. vi. 13,) the names of their divinities might have reached us; and it is evident that Cæsar gave to the deities of these regions not the names by which they were adored, but the names of the Roman gods, according to their corresponding attributes; since Baal is termed Apollo, Hesus or Hygus, Mars or Hercules; and Onga might have been the Minerva in these latitudes, as well as among the Lacedemonians. W. A. MILES. Mr. URBAN, May 10. MONG the various reprints of our parts of the human body, favouring A old literature, which have appear the idea that human victims were immolated to this Deity Onga, or Minerva. It is by no means difficult to suppose this Deity to have been known to the Druids, as under the title of Onga she was adored by the Phoenicians (v. Count Caylus; v. I. p. 64) and my remarks upon the Kimmeridge Coalmoney will bring those people not very distant from Stonehenge. While on the one hand it is allowed that the Druids offered human victims, it must be remembered that Cæsar states Minerva to have been a Druidical Deity, “ Post hune (Mercurium) Apollinem, Martem, et Jovem, et Mi-nervam (colunt). De his eandem ferè quam reliquæ gentes habent opinionem- Apollinem morbos depellere; Minervam operum et artificiorum mitia transdere; Cæs. Bel. Gal. lib. v1. 16 ; and as if in compliment to this Deity, the finest temple in Britain, requiring strong mechanical powers and high mathematical knowledge, was raised to such an extent, even that its construction bas ever remained a stumbling-block to subsequent ages. I do not see any objection to the possibility of Onga having been the * Faber's Analysis, vol. I. ed during the last twenty years, it is rather surprising that the curious poetical translation of the Popish Kingdom, by Barnaby Googe, has not found a place. I have never had the good fortune to look over the whole poem, but from the different extracts which have fallen in my way, the work, as illustrative of our ancient customs and superstitions, is highly interesting. Many of the observances alluded to are no doubt attended with obscurity, and cannot readily be explained, not only from their long disuse, but from the circumstance possibly of their never having been adopted in this kingdom. The original author being a German, had the ceremonies of his own country more particularly in view. One of the customs mentioned in the work, connected with the Eve of St. Nicholas, has ever struck me as one most pleasing and attractive, and which, as tending to make young faces merrier, and young hearts lighter, it is a pity we have abandoned. It is thus described in the words of Googe: "The mothers all their children on the Eeve do cause to fast, And when they every one at night in senselesse sleepe are cast, Both apples, nuttes, and peares they bring, and other things beside, As caps and shooes, and petticotes, which secretly they hide; And in the morning found, they say, that this St. Nicholas brought: Thus tender mindes to worship saints and wicked things are taught." Hospinian, in his Origin of Christian Festivals, notices the same: "It is the custom (says he), in many places, on the Eve of St. Nicholas, to convey secretly to children small gifts of various kinds, which they imagine are brought by the saint himself, who in his passage through the towns and villages, enters in at the closed windows and distributes them." * Although unknown with us, the custom is still retained in some, parts of the Continent and in America to the present day. Mad. de Genlis, in her Memoirs, thus mentions its occurrence during her residence at Bremgarten in Switzerland: "On St. Nicholas's Day, on getting up, they all (the children) find little presents put in their shoes, which generally makes them waken before daylight.' Mr. Blunt, in his Vestiges of Ancicut Manners in Italy, informs us, that on New Year's Eve the stockings of children are filled with cakes, comfits, &c. by a sprite or supernatural being, to whom the name of Belfania is given. Of its celebration in America, a friend has favoured me with the following account. The similarity between the Italian Beffana and the ideal Sandy Claus of the American children is curious. "The custom alluded to in the verses of Barnaby Googe, is still kept up among scendants of the old Dutch settlers, and those who have fallen insensibly into their habits, but they have transferred the observance from the Eve of the de St. Nicholas, who you know is the especial patron of little children, to that of the New Year. Long before the important night arrives, numerous conjectures and inquiries are made by the young urchins respecting the person and being of Sandy Claus (evidently a corruption of St. Nicholas), who, in the opinion of the majority, is represented as a little old negro, who descends the chimney at night, and distributes a variety of rewards Brand's Popular Antiquities, vol. I. -p. 327. with impartial justice, according to the degree of good behaviour in the candidates. But woe to the bad and the incorrigible; a bunch of rods, an old shoe, or some worthless article, is sure to be their portion. At length, upon the appointed night, each child with a face beaming with hope and gaiety, as the last act before retiring to bed, hangs up a clean stocking near the chimney, which fails not to be filled, as soon as the little ones are fast asleep, by the parents or some good aunt or grandmother, with all sorts of bon bons, toys, picture-books, &c. and especially with the much-admired eatable of the season, the New Year cookie. As may be well imagined, day-light has scarcely appeared before all are alert, and even while it is yet dark, a bold boy is now and then found who will creep out of bed to feel if his stocking be well swelled or not. The treasures are emptied ont and spread upon the bed-clothes with all the joy and exultation natural to childhood, and their good or bad fortune, with the little incidents connected with the ceremony, serves for the busy chat of the breakfast table, and for the following week or two. You will agree with me, I am persuaded, that this is a most pleasing custom, filling the heart of the child with delight, recalling to mind in the older members the joyous moments of their younger days, and affording the parents an opportunity of creating many an hour of happiness, in which their fond affection participates equally with their offspring." The New Year Cookie mentioned above is a particular sort of cake made at this season of the year, and is fancifully stamped and shaped, and distributed along with liqueurs to visitors on the first of January. It may possibly be the remains of an ancient Ca tholic custom common in the seventh century, and which was prohibited by a canon of the Council of Constantinople, held in 692, of preparing cakes at Christmas, to be eaten in ho nour of the Virgin's lying in. It is still usual with our ladies, when confined, to distribute cakes, &c. to visitors. Cakes, however, may have been included in the Roman Strence, or New Year's Gifts; and thus the custom, united with the observance in honour of the Virgin, may have descended to the present time. H. |