صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني
[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]
[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small]

THE

STRANGER'S GUIDE, &c.

"Of hoary YORK, the early throne of state,
Where polished Romans sat in high debate!
Where laws, and chiefs of venerable rule,
The nobler produce of the latin school,
Shone forth, we sing."

WITH the exception of the memorable names of Rome, Sparta, Athens, and Jerusalem, there are few places whose history is composed of more interesting and instructive materials than that of the ancient metropolis of our county-THE CITY OF YORK; and had its historians been gifted like those master spirits whose productions yet afford so rich a treat to the classic taste, "Altera Roma" would have been considered worthy to form a link in the illustrious chain we have mentioned, and would have afforded, to the Briton at least, a subject of more interesting contemplation. Men of every taste and capacity may find within its venerable walls, sufficient to demand their attention and gratify their curiosity. The mind of the well-informed traveller will here have a field of the greatest extent for the boldest flights

A

of imagination: and the constant resident may beguile many an hour, in the pleasing but delusive task, of re-peopling the surrounding towers, now desolate and forsaken-in witnessing the wondrous deeds of the days of chivalry and romance, on the adjoining plains-in listening to the soul-aweing chant of the Roman Catholic ritual, reverberating through the aisles of the venerable cathedral; and even the ignorant and illiterate rustic may deduce his "tale of wonders" from the objects he sees, to elicit the astonishment of his family and neighbours, when assembled round his humble hearth, to listen to his "plain unvarnished tale."

York, the metropolis of the north of England, the capital of Eborasciria, or Yorkshire, and now the second city in the kingdom, is situate in a rich and delightful vale, considered one of the most extensive in Europe. It stands upon a peninsula, formed by the rivers Ouse and Foss, at the point of junction of the three ridings into which the county is divided; about 198 miles from London, and 201 from Edinburgh. It is a county of itself, and the see of an archbishop, who is "Metropolitan, and primate of England." It is impossible to discover the true etomology of the name " York," which alone is a strong proof of its high antiquity. Geoffry of Monmouth, in whom, however, no confidence can be placed, tells us, that Ebraucus, son of Mempricius, the third King from Brute, who flourished, according to the same historian, about 983 B. C., built a

city north of the Humber, which, from his own name, he called Kaer-Ebrauc, i. e. the city of Ebraucus; and from Ebraucus the Roman appellation, Eboracvm, may be derived. Others, among whom is Camden, believe the name tohave been derived from the river Eure, on which it is situated. Leland supposes, that the Eure was one of the rivers of Isis, vulgarly called Ouse; hence the city was named Isure-wic, Yurewic, and lastly, by abbreviation, York. Verstigan says, it was called Caer-Efroc by the ancient Britons, and Eborwic, Everwic, and Eberwic, by the Saxons :-Eber, or Ever, being, in the Old Saxon, a wild-boar; and wic, a place of refuge or retreat; and he supposes the Saxon appellation was derived from its being a place of retreat from the wild boars which infested the forest of Galtres. The following list of names by which the city has at different times been known, must convince the reader, from whatever source their etymology may have been derived, that the exploits of its inhabitants have never been in danger of being buried in oblivion, for want of a name by which the historian might designate the place of their abode : -Eboracum, Civitas Brigantium, Ebvracvm, Kaer-Ebrave, Cair-Effroc, Ever-wic, Ceaster, Isvrovicvm, Altera-Roma, Victoria, Sexta, CivitasEboracum, Yure-wic, Yorke, York.

The compiler of a guide to York has a task of no small difficulty to perform; which arises, not as might be supposed, from the scantiness of his materials, but from the multitude of diversified

« السابقةمتابعة »