Hall marks on gold & silver plate

xxiv INTRODUCTION.
who was born at Glastonbury, about the year 925, and of whom
more hereafter.
The Anglo-Saxons were, indeed, always reckoned skilful in the
use of gold and silver. We are told that after the Conquest, when
William returned to Normandy, he carried with him the choicest
wealth of England, as gifts to St. Stephen's at Caen, and other
"
churches which he visited. Men gazed with wonder upon the rich
spoils of the conquered island. In arts of skill and adornment
England and other Teutonic lands were allowed to outdo the
nations of the Romance speech. And if the women of England
were renowned for the art which had wrought the Raven on the
banner of Ragnar, and the Fighting Man on the banner of Harold,
the men were no less reno\^ined for the art which wrought the cups
of gold, the cups of silver, and the many other articles which adorned
the tables of the great."
Theodoric, the goldsmith, was settled in England in King
Eadward's time, and held lands in various shires both under that
King
and under Earl Harold. He was a man of unrecorded
nationality, and was no doubt one of those craftsmen from the
Teutonic land, whose presence in England had been encouraged by
a constant tradition, probably going back to the days of Eadgar.
Immediately after the Conquest, William granted to him estates in
Berkshire. In Essex and Suffolk we find a tenant called " Otto
aiirifaber" or " Otho aurifex" who must have been a clever workman,
for he was employed on William's own tomb ; and in Wiltshire, also,
" Grimbaldus aurifaber " was one of the King's Thegns.
In the eleventh century a great revival of art took place throughout
Europe, the movement being to a large extent ecclesiastical in
character. Most of the workers were monks, who founded their
m.onasteries in all parts of the land, the most wonderful structures,
adorned with images and sculpture, with altar fronts, crosses and
candlesticks, with chalices and patens, and with reliquaries and
lamps.
In 1 1 80 a guild of goldsmiths existed in London, but it was
simply an association of manufacturers working together as a trade
union, probably using the leopard's head as a trade-mark, but unrecognised
by the legislature, and having no charter or other
privilege.
The first Mayor of London was a goldsmith, Henry Fitz-
Alweyn by name, who held this high office from 1 189 to 1213.
The reputation of the gold-worker for honesty, does not, however,
appear to have been very high, for in 1238 the King issued
a mandate commanding the Mayor
and Aldermen to choose six of
the more discreet goldsmiths to superintend the craft, to inquire as
to the pureness of gold and silver used, and to prevent anyone from
working in private.
Neither does it appear that the gold-workers were a very peaceful
race, for, as the guild became powerful, it is recorded that in
1268: " In this liii yere [of Henry III] in y* moneth of Nouembre,