heraldryofyorkmi01custuoft

THE CONSTABLES. 163
1666. Mary Palmes, daughter of William Palmes, Esq., was buried ye fifth day of .
October.
1669. Guy Palmes, the son of William Palmes, Esq., was buried the 5th day of September.
1670. Catherine Palmes, daughter of William Palmes, baptised.
There is also an entry purporting to be a " copy of the names of ye
" such well-disposed persons as did voluntarily contribute to the repairs of
" the parish church of Old Malton, being much ruined in ye Civil Wars
"from 1648 to 1671, with their several contributions received and dis-
" posed, anno domini 1671-1672." Amongst the names appear William
Palmes, Esq., ^5 ; Mrs. Palmes (his wife), ^5.
And so, it seems to me, God raises up nations, families, and individuals
from small beginnings to great positions, possessions, and
opportunities. They do the work appointed for them (sometimes voluntarily,
oftentimes unconsciously), and then bring their years to an end like a tale
that is told. They pass away, and are no more seen " and the
;
place
thereof knoweth them no more."
THE CONSTABLES.
The fifth window west of the north side of the nave gives us another
similar coat, viz., quarterly gules and vair over all, a bend or.* This is
probably the shield of William Constable, sub-dean of this Minster in 1483,
and archdeacon of Cleveland in 1481.
The name Constable seems to have been in this, and in other instances
thereof, derived from the office, the origin of which is lost in remote
antiquity. Edmonson, in his Complete Body of Heraldry, tells us that from
the very commencement of the " feudal system" each prince appointed two
great officers to act under him the constable and the marshal. There
seems some little difficulty as to the exact etymology of the name, but the
probability is that the former is a corruption of " Comes Stabulae," or
Lieutenant of the Horse, being analogous to the office in the Court of the
Roman Emperor of " Magister Equitum," or Master of the Horse. The
derivation of marshal is not so easy, but it is possibly a corruption of
" maer," or mayor, and " sola," which in German signified the King's Court,
and would, therefore, imply that he was " magister domus regice," and, as
such, the principal officer for ordering the Court. In fact, to these two
officers was committed the assembling and leading of the army, the supervision
that every baron not only attended personally, but also brought such
quota of soldiers as by his tenure he was bound to furnish, that they were
properly armed, and stayed their appointed time. The constable and marshal
also allotted their places of encampment, appointed and superintended their
* See coloured illustration.