Notes and Queries, Number 69, February 22, 1851: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc

In Short

This issue of Notes and Queries is a weekly periodical serving as a mid-nineteenth-century open forum for literature, history, and folklore. Across its dense pages, writers exchange brief essays, bibliographical puzzles, and casual observations. They debate the authorship of satire, unpack Chaucer’s astrological structure, decode local children's rhymes, and argue over the authenticity of ancient relics. Unfolding through short notes, reader questions, and scholarly replies, the issue captures the collaborative, unpretentious charm of early Victorian antiquarian research, preserving a fascinating cross-section of nineteenth-century intellectual life.

The Story

The issue opens with detailed literary archaeology tracing the authorship of The Rolliad and its associated political satires. Drawing on handwritten notes made by Sir James Mackintosh in 1823, the text breaks down specific authors behind individual probationary odes and political eclogues, attributing pieces to figures like Canning, Ellis, and Burgoyne. From political history, the commentary shifts into medieval literature with a close reading of Chaucer’s Palamon and Arcite. The writer demonstrates that the days and hours of the week in Chaucer's story are not casual background details, but precise astrological markers governing which planet presides over a hero's prayers to Venus or Mars.

The middle section shifts toward popular lore, everyday history, and minor queries. A contributor records a childhood charm used in Northumberland to soothe nettle stings with dock leaves, connecting the nursery rhyme directly to an obscure line in Chaucer’s Troilus. Elsewhere, a note investigates the heraldic history of the Scaligers of Verona, analyzing how Can Grande and his family added the imperial eagle to their family crest of a single ladder. Short entries touch upon a vast spectrum of curiosities: the origins of King’s Messengers, the authorship of the devotional tale The King's Messengers by the Rev. W. Adams, the unusual scarcity of copper coins under William IV, and an early anticipation of modern street lighting and rural policing found in a 1729 pamphlet attributed to Daniel Defoe.

Toward the end, readers submit explicit queries while others resolve previously raised questions. Authors ask about obscure Shakespeare passages, such as the strategic context of Ventidius's speech in Antony and Cleopatra, or request the origins of dialect words like "gulls" for oatmeal porridge and "gang-y-gate swinger" for a swaggering street fighter. Replies tackle substantial historical issues: a contributor analyzes the pagan Roman origins of cardinal and episcopal attire, while another defends the authenticity of a stone relic from St. Mark's in Venice, now held in the Doucean Museum. The issue concludes with discussions on royal touch ceremonies for scrofula, late-life poetry by Edmund Waller, and practical notices alongside advertisements for foreign books and local societies.

How It Unfolds

The authorship of political satires Scholars examine marginalia written by Sir James Mackintosh to attribute anonymous odes, eclogues, and political lampoons to specific eighteenth-century authors and politicians.

Astrology in medieval poetry An essay details how Chaucer used ancient Egyptian planetary cycles to schedule the prayers and victories of his characters in the Knight's Tale.

Charms and ancient nursery lore A contributor links a common Northumbrian child’s chant for treating nettle stings with dock leaves to an unexplained proverb found in Troilus and Criseyde.

Heraldry of the Veronese lords A brief treatise traces the coat of arms of the Scaliger family, explaining how imperial eagles were placed above their traditional ladder symbol.

Obscure historical notes and curiosities A series of brief observations covers topics ranging from early anticipations of modern street lighting in 1729 to shepherd inscriptions in sixteenth-century books.

Queries on words, texts, and tenures Readers submit requests for assistance, questioning ancient dog-hospital tenures in Dorset, obscure words in English Bibles, and forgotten Civil War sketches.

Replies on vestments and relics Contributors write back to clear up previous questions, tracing the classical origins of church vestments and evaluating medieval foundation stones.

The People

Sir James Mackintosh A deceased scholar whose private memorandum from 1823 provides the foundational key for identifying the anonymous authors behind The Rolliad and related political satires.

Chaucer The medieval poet whose structural precision and use of popular proverbs are analyzed through his treatments of planetary hours in the Knight's Tale and nettle-sting remedies in Troilus.

Joseph Scaliger The famed Renaissance humanist whose letters and family histories are cited to explain the evolving heraldic symbols—ladders and eagles—used by the rulers of Verona.

Robert Wyllyams A sixteenth-century shepherd on Seynbury Hill whose personal inscription on a 1546 book records his purchase of the text right after the Bible was forbidden to common laborers.

A. Rich, Jun. A meticulous contributor who argues that the red hats, cloaks, and boots of Roman Catholic cardinals derive directly from the ancient travelling attire of Greek messengers.

In Its Own Voice

"When found, make a note of."

This famous advice from Dickens's Captain Cuttle serves as the guiding motto printed on the front page of every issue.

"If this be the case, Chaucer's commentators may as well be told that children in Northumberland use friction by a dock-leaf as the approved remedy for the sting of a nettle..."

A contributor introduces a piece of living folk tradition to resolve a literary puzzle that had stumped professional scholars.

"The soul's dark cottage, batter'd and decay'd, / Lets in new light through chinks that time has made..."

A quoted couplet from Edmund Waller's later years illustrates the magazine's habit of tracking down famous poetical fragments.

What It's Really About

This issue is built on the belief that knowledge is a shared, cumulative effort. Rather than relying on a single authoritative voice, the periodical treats scholarship as a living, democratic conversation where a shepherd's marginal note matters as much as a professor's treatise. The central argument implicit in its pages is that no detail is too small to be worth preserving, whether it is an obscure point of planetary astrology in medieval poetry or a local dialect word for porridge. Underneath the polite academic exchanges lies a deep passion for saving fragile bits of human history, folklore, and literature before they are forgotten.

Why Read It Today

Notes and Queries offers an intimate, unedited glimpse into Victorian intellectual life, ideal for historians, lovers of odd facts, and anyone fascinated by informal scholarship. Reading it feels like sitting in an armchair inside a crowded nineteenth-century library while brilliant, slightly eccentric antiquaries call out their latest discoveries from across the room. The tone is relaxed yet endlessly curious, blending high literature with everyday folk wisdom in a way that remains uniquely accessible.

The principal obstacle for a modern reader is the sheer variety of obscure context. The issue assumes familiarity with Latin passages, medieval history, early modern poetry, and specialized academic debates of 1851. Yet this density is precisely where its charm lies. To dip into its pages is to step into a bygone era of slow, collaborative research, where finding the origin of a single line of verse felt like a quiet triumph.