. Early English poetry, ballads, and popular literature of the Middle Ages ;. ing items connected with their pageants, and thevalue set on them.— £. s. il. One large silver-headed staff, with theeffigies of St. George, on horseback,trampling the dragon under his feet - 5 5 0One new dragon, commonly called snap-dragon - - - - -33 0Two standards, one of St. George and the Dragon,and the other the English colours 110Four sashes for the standard-bearers - 0 10 6 Two habits for the standaid-bearers - 2 2 0 Five habits for the wiflers - - 2 12 6 Two habits, one for the club-bearer, another for his m
. Early English poetry, ballads, and popular literature of the Middle Ages ;. ing items connected with their pageants, and thevalue set on them.— £. s. il. One large silver-headed staff, with theeffigies of St. George, on horseback,trampling the dragon under his feet - 5 5 0One new dragon, commonly called snap-dragon - - - - -33 0Two standards, one of St. George and the Dragon,and the other the English colours 110Four sashes for the standard-bearers - 0 10 6 Two habits for the standaid-bearers - 2 2 0 Five habits for the wiflers - - 2 12 6 Two habits, one for the club-bearer, another for his man, who are now called fools - 0 10 6 The club-bearers and whifflers were always seenin the London pageants, their duty being to clear theway; and the Norwich corporation retained theirwhifflers to the last. The frontispiece to the firstpart of my Lord Mayors Pageants representsthe London civic whiffler of the time of Charles I,and here we have the last of his race, as he ap- peared at Norwich, previous to the operation ofthe Reform Bill in 1832. His costume is curious,. -^ and had been handed down from the age of theTu-dors; it consisted of white stockings, gartered belowthe knee, with crimson ribbons, capacious trunkbreeches of blue plush, a doublet of white cotton,with full sleeves, trimmed with light-blue ribbon,and ornamented with gilt buttons; a hat made ofcrimson cloth, and edged with white ribbon, hav-ing a large blue bow and white feather; his shoeswere decorated with large white rosettes. Therewere four whifflers employed, and each held asword, broad, and short in tlie blade, but having along handle grasi)ed by both hands; it was blunt XXVll at the point, and without edge; and with this harm-less, but dexterously flourished weapon, which theyfrequently threw up into the air and caught in itsdescent with unerring precision, (like the NormanTaillefer at the battle of Hastings), they contrived,by a sort of half leaping, half piroueitinci move-ment, without hurting any
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, booksubjectenglishliteratureear
