on the 4th April 1539, a yearly pension of 80l. was assigned him, together "with the office of one of the prebendaries there." It is obvious, therefore, that he conformed to the Reformation.

"A good Scotist was a man well read in the learning of the great schoolman Duns Scotus, who lived in the latter part of the 13th century. The opinion which Colet entertained of the Scotists, and in which his friend Erasmus must have nearly coincided, has been seen in p. 149.

(58) The Shrine.

The Shrine of Saint Thomas was placed in the centre of the chapel, as shown in the Plan, and had in front of it a curious mosaic pavement, which still remains, executed in the manner termed Opus Alexandrinum, in which the pavements of most of the Roman basilicas are wrought, and of which there are also specimens at Westminster Abbey, in the pavements of the presbytery, of the chapel of Edward the Confessor, and also about his shrine, and the tomb of Henry III.—(Willis.)

Stowe has preserved in his Chronicle the following description of the Shrine at Canterbury: "This Shrine was builded about a man's height, all of stone; then upward of timber, plaine; within the which was a chest of yron, conteyning the bones of Thomas Becket, scull and all, with the wounde of his death, and the peece cut

there brent.

out of his scull layde in the same wound. These bones (by commandement of the lord Cromwell) were then and The timber-work of this shrine on the outside was covered with plates of gold, damasked with gold wier, which ground of gold was againe covered with jewels of golde, as ringes 10 or 12 cramped together with gold wyer into the said ground of golde, many of those rings having stones in them, brooches, images, angels, pretious stones, and great pearls, &c. The spoile of which shrine, in golde and precious stones, filled two great chests, such as sixe or seaven strong men could doe no more then convey one of them at once out of the church."

I suspect, however, that this description was chiefly derived from the Cottonian MS. Tib. E. VIII. and that it has been partially misunderstood. On f. 269 of that MS. there is a pen-and-ink sketch of the Shrine,* with some written description (in English) by its side, now partially burnt away by the Cottonian fire, but of which a Latin translation will be found on the engraving of this subject in Dugdale's Monasticon; and below the Shrine is drawn the square iron table on which the Skull stood, of which an engraving has been before given at p. 118.

Stowe supposed the latter was a chest of iron within the Shrine: but it seems more probable that the sketch

*This drawing seems to have been copied from some former original which, if it could be recovered, might prove to be more accurately finished, and therefore afford additional information.

was intended to represent the place of exhibition of the Skull, in the Undercroft of the church.

The description of the Shrine in the Cottonian MS. so far as it can now be ascertained, was to this effect: "All above the stone worke was first of wood, jewells of gold set with stone wrought uppon with gold wier. Then agayn with jewells of gold, as broch [es, images of angels, and rings] 10 or 12 together, cramped with gold into the ground of gold. The s[poils of which filled two] chests, such as 6 or 8 men could but convay out of the church. At [one side was a stone, with] an angell of gold poyntyng therunto, offred there by a kinge of France: [which king Henry put] into a ring, and woar it on his thomb."

There are also memoranda written against the three finials on the crest of the Shrine, that they were of silver gilt, the central one weighing eighty ounces, and the two others each sixty ounces.

In the Inventory of 1315, already mentioned, we have the following catalogue of the Jewels of the Shrine, under the three classes of rings, stones set in gold, and stones set in silver :

JOCALIA SANCTI THOME.

Anulus pontificalis magnus cum rubino rotundo in medio.

Item. Anulus magnus cum saphiro nigro qui vocatur lup.