Then began on the hill

the mightiest of funeral fires
the warriors to awake;

the wood smoke rose aloft,
dark from the fire;
noisily it went

mingled with weeping."

The body having been burned, and the ashes collected together, the warriors and friends of the deceased raised a mound over the remains "high and broad;"

With interments in urns, but few articles, either of personal ornament or otherwise, are found. With those, where the body has been placed entire in the grave, the objects are numerous, and, in some instances, are elaborate and beautiful in ornamentation. Among the articles which the Saxon grave-mounds of Derbyshire have produced are swords, knives, seaxes, spear-heads, umbones of shields, buckles, helmets, querns, drinking cups, enamels, gold, silver, and bronze articles, baskets, buckets, draughtsmen, combs, beads and necklaces, rings, ear-rings, caskets, armlets, fibulæ, articles for the chatelaine, pottery, etc. Of some of these I will now proceed to speak.

The sword of the Anglo-Saxon period, as evidenced by the Derbyshire barrows, is of the form shown on the accompanying engraving, from a barrow at Tissington. This sword, which is thirty-four inches in length, and two and a half inches in breadth, is, of course, of iron. It had been originally enclosed in a wooden scabbard, or sheath, which had, apparently, been covered with leather, and mounted with elaborately ornamented silver. The chape, which was of silver, was simply rounded, and

the rivets which attached it, as also those which attached the leather, remained. Another fine example was found at Brushfield, by the side of the body shown on page 460. It, too, had been enclosed in a sheath of wood, which had been covered with leather, ornamented with lines and lozenges.

The shield was usually placed in Saxon interments over the middle of the body, as indicated in the plan on page 460; but of this, indications only were in this instance found. In the Tissington barrow before spoken of, a portion of the edge of the shield was found adhering to the sword, as shown in

the engraving, and the umbone, or central boss of the shield was also found. This umbone, here engraved is of iron, conical in form, and measures nine inches in height. It is the largest yet found in Derbyshire, and is in form similar to examples found at Sibertswold, and in other localities. When found, the umbone was surrounded with a mass of decayed wood, the remains of the shield, and small fragments of corroded iron, which were, doubtless, a part of its mountings.

The knives found in the Derbyshire barrows are of the general forms. They are usually found, sometimes one and sometimes two, lying by the skeleton on the opposite side from the sword, though, in some instances, the knife and sword have been found lying side by side, as in the interment on page 460.

Spear heads also of iron are occasionally found. Two of these, lying on the right side of the head, will be seen in the engraving on page 460. They are short and socketed.

One of the most remarkable objects of the Saxon era which has been exhumed is the helmet already alluded to. This highlyinteresting relic was discovered by Mr. Bateman at Benty Grange, in 1848. The barrow was of but slight elevation, and contained the remains of a body which had been laid on the natural surface of the earth, as already named. Among the articles remaining for the body, with the exception of a portion of the hair, had entirely disappeared-was the remarkable helmet here engraved. This helmet "consists of a skeleton formed of iron bands radiating from the crown of the head, and riveted to a circle of the same metal, which encompassed the brow; from the impression on the metal it is evident that the outside was covered with plates of horn, disposed diagonally, so as to produce a herring-bone pattern.

The ends of these plates were secured beneath with strips of horn corresponding with the iron framework, and attached to it by ornamental rivets of silver, at intervals of about an inch

and a half from each other. On the bottom of the front rib, which projects so as to form a nasal, is a small silver cross (shown in the engraving), slightly ornamented round the edges

by a beaded moulding, and on the crown of the helmet is an elliptical bronze plate, supporting the figure of an animal carved in iron, with bronze eyes, now much corroded, but perfectly distinct, as the representation of a hog. There are, too, many fragments, some more or less ornamented with silver, which have been riveted to some part of the helmet in a manner not to be explained or even understood. There are also some small buckles of iron, which probably served to fasten it upon the head." The boar, which is here borne as a crest on the top of the helmet, was, it appears, according to Tacitus, borne as a charm against the dangers of war, and this custom is curiously illustrated by the poem of" Beowulf," which is thus translated:

VOL. XII.-NO. VI.

H H

"They seemed a boar's form
to bear over their cheeks;
twisted with gold

variegated and hardened in the fire,
this kept the guard of life."

And again, in other parts of the poem, the following allusions

Occur:

"Surrounded with lordly chains,

even as in days of yore

the weapon-smith had wrought it,

had wondrously furnished it

had set it round with the shapes of swine,

that never afterwards

brand or war-knife

might have power to bite it."

"Ah, the pile was

easy to be seen

the mail-shirt coloured with gore,

the hog of gold

the boar hard as iron."

"Then commanded he to bring in

the boar, an ornament to the head,

the helmet lofty in war,

the grey mail-coat,

the ready battle sword."*

It will be noticed in these extracts that the "mail-coat," or "mail-shirt" is twice mentioned, as well as the "helmet lofty in war." Thus the passages fully illustrate the extra

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ordinary discovery in Derbyshire, which embraced a coat of mail along with the helmet and other objects (amongst which was a curious six-pronged instrument of iron). The coat of mail consisted of a mass of chain work, the links of which were attached to each other by small rings. The links were

* Collectanea Antiqua.

of two kinds, "one being flat and lozenge-shaped, about an inch and a half long; the others, all of one kind, but of different lengths, varying from four to ten inches. They are simply lengths of square rod iron, with perforated ends, through which pass the rings connecting them with the diamondshaped links. They all show the impression of cloth over a considerable part of the surface, and it is therefore no improbable conjecture that they would originally constitute a kind of quilted cuirass, by being sewn up within or upon a doublet of strong cloth." Fragments of another helmet of very similar character were found in the following year in another barrow, a few miles from the one just described.

Of fibulæ, besides some small circular examples which have been from time to time found, a magnificent one of gold was discovered some years ago in a barrow on Winster Moor. This remarkably fine fibula (page 466), was formed of gold "filagree" work, which was mounted on a

Along

silver plate. It was set with stones or
paste on chequered gold foil, and mea-
sured two inches in diameter.
with this fibula were found the following
interesting articles: a cross of pure gold,
ornamented, like the fibula, with "fila-
gree" work, and having a garnet_cut
in facets set in its centre; a silver
armlet; two glass vessels, and a number
of beads. These and some other articles
were all found by the sides of two cinerary

urns.

A remarkably fine penannular brooch of the Irish type,

ooce

of the period now under notice, was discovered in the same