Notes and Queries, Number 191, June 25, 1853 | Page 7

Pitts, late Rector of Great
Brickhill, Bucks[1], to Mr. Richard How of Aspley, Beds, and is taken
for granted successively by Boswell, Malone, and Croker. But no such
Greek is, in fact, to be found in Euripides; the words conveying a like
sentiment are,--
"[Greek: Hotan de Daimôn andri porsunêi kaka], [Greek: Ton noun
eblapse prôton]."
The cause of this classical blunder of so many eminent annotators is,
that these words are not to be found in the usual college and school
editions of Euripides. The edition from which the above correct extract
is made is in ten volumes, published at Padua in 1743-53, with an
Italian translation in verse by P. Carmeli, and is to be found in vol. x. p.
268. as the 436-7th verses of the Tragedie incerte, the meaning of
which he thus gives in prose "Quando vogliono gli Dei far perire
alcuno, gli toglie la mente."
T.J. BUCKTON.
Lichfield.
P.S.--In Croker's Johnson, vol. iv. p. 170., the phrase "Omnia mea
mecum porto" is incorrectly quoted from Val. Max. vii. 2., instead of
"Bona mea mecum porto."
[Footnote 1: This gentleman is wrong in saying demento is of no
authority, as it is found in Lactantius. (See Facciolati.)]
White Roses.--The paragraph quoted from "an old newspaper," dated
Saturday, June 15th, 1723, alludes to the commemoration of the
birthday of King James VIII. (the 10th of June), which was the Monday

mentioned as that before the Saturday on which the newspaper was
published. All faithful adherents of the House of Stuart showed their
loyalty by wearing the white rose (its distinguishing badge) on the 10th
of June, when no other way was left them of declaring their devotion to
the exiled family; and, from my own knowledge, I can affirm that there
still exist some people who would think that day desecrated unless they
wore a white rose, or, when that is not to be procured, a cockade of
white ribbon, in token of their veneration for the memory of him of
whose birth it is the anniversary.
L. M. M. R.
* * * * *
Queries.
"MERK LANDS" AND "URES."--NORWEGIAN ANTIQUITIES.
In Shetland, at the present day, all public assessments are levied, and
divisions made, according to the number of merk lands in a parish. All
arable lands were anciently, under the Norwegian law, rated as
merks,--a merk containing eight ures. These merks are quite indefinite
as to extent. It is, indeed, clear that the ancient denomination of merk
land had not reference to superficial extent of surface, but was a
denomination of value alone, in which was included the proportion of
the surrounding commonty or scattald. Merk lands are of different
values, as sixpenny, ninepenny, twelvepenny,--a twelvepenny merk
having, formerly at least, been considered equal to two sixpenny merks;
and in some old deeds lands are described as thirty merks sixpenny,
otherwise fifteen merks twelvepenny land. All assessments have,
however, for a very long period, been levied and all privileges
apportioned, according to merks, without relation to whether they were
sixpenny or twelvepenny. The ancient rentals of Shetland contain about
fourteen thousand merks of land; and it will be noticed that, however
much the ancient inclosed land be increased by additional
improvements, the number of merks ought to be, and are, stationary.
The valued rent, divided according the merk lands, would make a merk
land in Shetland equal to 2l. Scots of valued rent. There are only one or

two places of Scotland proper where merks are in use,--Stirling and
Dunfermline, I think. As these two places were the occasional
residences of our ancient Scottish kings, it is possible this plan of
estimating land may have obtained there, to equalise and make better
understood some arrangements relating to land entered into between the
kings of Norway and Scotland. Possibly some of the correspondents of
"N. & Q." in the north may be able to throw some light on this subject.
It was stated some time ago that Dr. Munch, Professor in the University
of Christiana, had presented to the Society of Northern Archæology, in
{619} Copenhagen, a very curious manuscript which he had discovered
and purchased during a voyage to the Orkneys and Shetland in 1850.
The manuscript is said to be in good preservation, and the form of the
characters assigns the tenth, or perhaps the ninth century as its date. It
is said to contain, in the Latin tongue, several episodes of Norwegian
history, relating to important facts hitherto unknown, and which throw
much light on feudal tenures, holdings, superstitions, omens, &c.,
which have been handed down to our day, with their origin involved in
obscurity, and on the darkness of the centuries that preceded the
introduction of Christianity into Norway. Has this manuscript ever been
printed?
KIRKWALLENSIS.
* * * * *
THE