Philip Augustus, desirous of divorcing Jugal- buig-, to unite himself to Agnes de Marania, the pope put his kingdom under an interdict. The charcnes were ^ut during the space of eight months ; they said neither mass nor vespers ; they did not marry ; and even the offspring of the married, born at this unhappy period, were conadered as illicit ; and because the king would not sleep with his wife, it was not permitted to any of his subjects to sleep with theirs ! In that year France was threatened with an extinction of the ordinaiy generation. A man under this curse of public penance was divested of all his fiinctions, civil, military, and nuttrimonial ; he was not aUowed to dress his hair, to shave, to bathe, nor even change his linen ; so that upon the whole this made a fiithv penitent. The good King Robert incurred the censures of the church for having married his cousin. He was imnoediately abandoned. Two faithful domestics alone remained with him, and these always passed through the fire whatever he touched. In a word, the horror which an excommunica- tion occasion was such, that a courtesan, with whom one Peletier had passed some moments, having learnt soon afterwards that he had been above six moaths an excommunicated person. Cell into a panic, and with great difficulty re- covered firom her convulsions.
1541. In the churchwarden's accounts for the parish of Wye, in Kent, for this ^ear, \2d. was paid for making a desk for the bible. Leland, (1538) speaking of Wressil castle, in Yorkshire, says, " one thing I likid exceedingly yn one of the towers, that was a study, caullid paradise ; whet was a closet in the midle, of 8 squares ladsed aboute, and at the toppe of every square was a desk ledgid to set bookes on cofers withyn them, and these semid as yoinid hard to the toppe of the closet; and yet by pulling, one or al wold cum downe bristenighe in rabettes,and serve for desks to lay bookes on."
That books were frequently chained to desks, we have already given many instances, and, we further leam from Wood, who in speaking of Foulis's Hittory of the Plott and Cotupiraeie$ of omr pretended Saints the Preihytenani, says, " this book has been so pleasing to the royal- ists, that they have chained it to desks in public places fin the vulgar to read."
Besides the bible, we find that Erasmus's Paraj^ate of the New Tettament, Fox's Act* and Momtments, commonly called the Book of Msr^prt, Livet of the Saints, and many other books were in like manner secured According to Nicolas's Test. Vetusta, Judge Littleton, who died in 1481, (see page 167 anu) bequeathed " to the abbot and convent of Hales Owen, in Shiopahiie, a book wherein is contained the CoiutittttUm* Provincial and De Gettis Romano- ram, and other treatise therein, which I wuU be laid and bounded with an yron chayne in some convenient parte within the saide church, at my costs, so that all preests and others may see and rede it whenne it pleaseth them." 1641. The first poem that was written in
praise of printing was by Arnold de Beivel, a printer at Mentz, entitled Encomion Chaleo. grame, 4to. containing 4S4 heroic verses. He indicates Strasburg as the country of the first printer, Gutenberg ; or, at least, as the place where be made his first attempts. He adds, that Gutenberg worked more successfully at Mentz, with the assistance of Faust, and especially of Schoeffer, who cut the matrices for them. In Marchand's Histmre de Plmprimerie, and also in Woffius's Monum. Typogr. copies of this poem are to be found.
1541. James V. king of Scotland, grants to Thomas Davidson, printer, his especi^ license for printing the " new actis and constitutionis of parliament maid be the rycht excelent prince, James the lyfth king of Scotis, 1640." The copy of the hingis grace licence and privilege, granHt to Thomas Davidson prentar, for im- prenting of hi* gracis actis of parliament. James be the grace of God, king of Scottis> to all and sindry, quhom it efferis. Foisamekill as it is ordanit be ws, be an act maid in plane parliament, that all our actis maid be ws be pub- fist outthrow al our realme; and that nane our shereiffis, stewardis, bailies, prouest, and baillies of oure burrowis, suld pretend ignorance throw misknawing thairof, that our clerk of registry and counsel, suld mak ane autentik copie of ur sik actis as concemis the commoun weil of ob- realme, and extract the samin under his sub- scription manuale,to be imprentit be quhat pren- tar it sail pleis him to cheis; providing alwayis, that the said prentar sail have our special licence thairto, as in Uie saidact at mair lenth is contenit: ^ We heirfore hes gevyn, and granlit, and be the tenour heirof gevis and grantis our licence, to oure louit Thomas Davidson, imprentar in our burgh of Edinburgh, to imprent oure saidis actis of pai-liament, and dischargis all vthir imprin- tans, and writtaris, within yis our realme, or without, present, and for to cum, to imprent, or writ our saidis actis of parliament, or bring thaym hame to be sauld, for the space of sex zeris nixt to cum, eflir the dait of thirpresentis, under the pane of confiscatioun of the samyn. Subscrivt with our hand, and gevin under our priue seill, at Edinburgh, the sext day of December, and of our regne the xxix. zeir.
H God keip the king. From the date of this licence it appears, that these acts of parliament were not printed till towards the end of the year 1641, and that though the fipontispiece has 1540 in it, yet it would seem,'that that figure had been cut before, and designed for other books, that should be printed byDavidson in that form afterwards.
1541. The history and croniklis of Scotland, with the cosmography and dyscription thairof. Compilit be the noble clerk, maister Hector Boece, channon of Aberdeene. Ttanslatit laitly in our vulgar and common langage be maister Johne Bellenden, archedene of Murray, and channon of Ross ; at the command of the ncht hie, richt, excellent, and noble prince James the
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