Notices of New Publications.
During the last three years several important and costly works have appeared on the history of ancient monastic foundations in England, together with minor essays on the same subject. The volume before us is the most attractive of these contributions to English ecclesiastical history. It is profusely decorated with coloured initial letters by the accurate pencil of Mr. Shaw, chiefly copied from catholic examples of different periods. Besides the objections, in point of taste, which may be justly urged against this style of embellishment, which has so widely prevailed of late, we may observe that not the least of the evils resulting from its adoption is that its expense unavoidably places works like the present, and others which might be named, beyond the reach of ordinary book-buyers, at once restricting the general usefulness of the publication, and limiting the reputation of the author, who in all such cases seems, unavoidably, to rely for success as much upon the ability of the artist he may employ, as upon his own literary merits. In the present instance, moreover, we would gladly have seen a larger expenditure on the delineations of the ruins of the priory, which belong to a most interesting period of architecture, and are but poorly exhibited, both as to general effect and to details, in the etchings by Mr. Richardson.
Having thus discharged our conscience by protesting against a fashion which is equally erroneous in principle and injurious in effect, we gladly turn from the decorations to the text of Mr. Gibson's work, on which he has bestowed much zealous labour united with varied and extensive research.
The ruins of Tynemouth priory, a succursal cell to the great abbey of St. Alban, are conspicuous on the lofty promontory north of the mouth of the river Tyne, a site from which the local name is obviously derived. This admirable and commanding position could scarcely have been left unoccupied by the Romans. Yet there is no evidence to justify a positive conclusion on the subject. Camden supposed Tynemouth to be the Tunnocelum of the "Notitia," an opinion rejected by Horsley, who claimed that distinction for Solway Frith. In short, the Roman historians mention no station which can be satisfactorily identified with the spot. Two memorials of Roman dominion have been discovered among the ruins—a votive altar and an inscribed tablet. The inscription upon the former shews that it was
