The Scotch Fisher Child

AN EGG AT EASTER, A FOLKLORE STUDY. By VENETIA NEWALL. Routledge and Kegan Paul. £6. Reviewed by K. M. Briggs.

MYTH, LEGEND AND CUSTOM IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. A Comparative Study with Chapters from Sir James G. Frazer's Folklore in the Old Testament. By THEODOR H. GASTER. Harper &; Row, New York, 1969. Pp. 899. $20.00. Reviewed by E. O. James.

OUR LIVING TRADITIONS. An Introduction to American Folklore. Edited by TRISTRAM POTTER COFFIN. Basic Books, Inc. 1968. Pp. 301. $6.50. Reviewed by Theo Brown.

THE BALLAD AS SONG. By BERTRAND HARRIS BRONSON. University of California Press. Berkeley &; Los Angeles, 1969. Pp. 344. $7.95. Reviewed by Maud Karpeles.

THE PLEASANT LAND OF IRELAND. By K. DANAHER. Cork (Mercier Press) 1970. Pp. 88. 55 ills., 1 map. Reviewed by Ellen Ettlinger.

CAMBRIDGESHIRE CUSTOMS AND FOLKLORE. By ENID PORTER. With Fenland Material provided by W. H. Barrett. Routledge &; Kegan Paul, 1969. Pp. 419. Plates 78 and Map. £5.25. Reviewed by Theo Brown.

GREEN HILLS OF MAGIC. WEST VIRGINIA FOLKTALES FROM EUROPE. By RUTH ANN MUSICK. The University Press of Kentucky. $7.50. Reviewed by K. M. Briggs.

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF EXMOOR. Bideford Bay to Bridgwater. By L. V. GRINSELL. David &; Charles, 1970. With 23 plates, 5 drawings in text, and 8 maps in two colours. Pp. 242. £3. Reviewed by Theo Brown.

SACHGÜTER UND LEBENSFORMEN. Einführung in die materielle Kulturgeschichte des Mittelalters und der Neuzeit. Grundlagen der Germanistik vol. n. By D. W. H. SCHWARZ. Berlin (Erich Schmidt Verlag) 1970. Pp. 244; 7 illustrations.Reviewed by Ellen Ettlinger.

JAHRBUCH FÜR VOLKSLIED-FORSCHUNG. Vol. XV. Edited by R. W. BREDNICH. Berlin (Erich Schmidt Verlag) 1970. Pp. 225, 2 plates, 6 tunes and 4 maps. Reviewed by Ellen Ettlinger.

TRADITIONS AND HEARTHSIDE STORIES OF WEST CORNWALL. By William Bottrell. 2nd Edition published by Frank Graham, 1970. Pp. 275 and Index. £2.50. Reviewed by Theo Brown.

STORIES TOLD BY THE AZTECS BEFORE THE SPANIARDS CAME. By Carleton Beals. Abelard-Schuman. £1.40. Reviewed by K. M. Briggs.

STARS IS GOD'S LANTERNS. An Offering of Ozark Tellin' Stories. By Charles Moreau Wilson. University of Oklahoma Press. $4.95. Reviewed by K. M. Briggs.     

The Fordwich Stone and its Legend

Abstract

The ubiquitous use of the Latin word ‘sedilia’ to refer to the ritual seats to the south of an altar for the use of the celebrant priest and his assistants has led to the notion that it is an authentic medieval term. This paper shows the results of a survey of documentary references to seats of all kinds in medieval England, and demonstrates that in the medieval period the word sedilia was of no especial distinction, meaning merely ‘bench’, only gaining its current meaning in the late 18th century. The word was used along with a variety of others to refer to now lost seating in medieval churches, including benches and individual chairs in the chancel as well as seating in the nave. This piece will make some suggestions for the distinctions made in the terminology in medieval documents regarding the different types of seating in churches. To avoid confusion, the word ‘sedilia’ is italicised when it refers to medieval use of the Latin word, but not when it refers to the modern definition.     

Die Entwürfe der Schlachtenkupfer der Kienlung- und Taokuang-Zeit

Henkama, ?Daddy Heng“ – A Mediator between the Kangxi Emperor and Jesuit Missionaries during Chinese Rites Controversy in the 18th Century

The author's main concern is to turn the somewhat enigmatic person of Henkama (1645/1646–1708), known under many (also false) names, into a more tangible historical figure. For this purpose, all the available sources in European languages, Manchu, and Chinese are taken into account. Beginning with investigating the very name of this Manchu official who was responsible for the administration of the affairs of the Europeans, the author tries to obtain available and solid knowledge of Henkama's life and work, possibly year by year, which goes far beyond what is normally known about him, i.e., his role as main intermediary during the papal legation in Beijing (December 1705 – August 1706). However, this mediatory role cost him the trust of all around him, including the Kangxi Emperor, who was convinced that Henkama had been paid off by the papal legate and cardinal Charles-Thomas Maillard de Tournon (1668–1710). At the end of his life, being in ill health, he became a Catholic. Henkama died in 1708 in disfavor due to slander. In the rest of his article, the author depicts another four important contact persons between the Kangxi Emperor (state administration) and Jesuit missionaries, all of whom are to be considered as Henkama's co-workers or his successors. Among these four, there are two Chinese – Zhao Chang (1654–1729) and Wang Daohua (fl. 1706–1720) and two persons of Manchu origin – Bursai (fl. 1705–1706) and Zhang Changzhu/Carki (fl. 1707–1722).