The details of a remedy "For a fallynge sickness" though possibly
considered very efficacious are too repulsive for modern ears.
The following recipe, "For the making of Honey Cakes. Certayne to be
acceptable to y^e Fairy Folk," is from the same source and is dated 1605:--
"Taike of wilde honey thre ounce, of powder'd dill sede half ounce swete
violet roote in fine powder 2 drachmes and six ounces of white wheaten
meal which you will bringe to a light dowgh these thinges being all mixed
together with faire water. This done with a silver spune helde in ye hand
of a sure maid one be you sure who hath not as yet owther yielded her own
or do then or ever hath worn a garter band there bound by her lover for
such be not fitt and proper maids for the maykinge of Fairy Cakes. The
Cakes thus mayde be they to the number of seven unbaked and mayde to the
biggness of a marke. These cakes thus mayde may be used by any one
wishfull to intercede with or begge a boon from the Fairy folk alwaie
being mindfull of this matter be she passing as a maid lett her not dare
to mayke use of the cakes." Then follows the story of the evils that
befell "one Sarah Heugh who well knowing herself alacking her maiden-head"
tried to pass herself off to the fairies as a "true" maid.
Coming back to the registers of Pickering we find that on the 13th August
1694 Archbishop Sharp held a confirmation in the church and confirmed
about a thousand persons. The note is given in Latin as follows:--
"Memorandum. 13^o die Augusti 1694 Johannes Divina providentia Eboracensis
Archiepiscopus in ecclesia parochiali de Pickeringe Mille (aut eo circita)
Baptizatos Xti Relligioni Confirmavit.
"Joshua Newton.
"_Vicarius Ib._"
The parcel gilt Chalice still in use at Pickering Church belongs to this
period. It is dated 1613, and was made by Christopher Harrington, the
goldsmith of York. The paten was made in 1712 by Seth Lofthouse of London.
During the Commonwealth Levisham and Pickering parishes seem to have been
joined from 1653 to 1661. The Levisham burials and births appear in the
Pickering registers. Among the regular entries of deaths at Pickering are
recorded:--
"1619. Jane Greenwood a stranger buried March.
1631. Ellen Kirbye a poore Girle buried.
1634. A poor traveller buried here the 3 day of
June.
1636. Gawen Pollard pauper Generosus 30th
May."
It would be interesting to know how a pauper came to be a "generosus."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account