in
and AH.
Literature
177
proved by a very curious example, which has been preferved, and which
is copied in our cut No. III. It is a caricature on the Jews of Norwich,
which fome one of the clerks of the king's courts in the thirteenth century
has drawn with a pen, on one of the ollicial rolls of the Pell office, where
it has been preferved. Norwich, as it is well known, was one of the
principal feats of the Jews in England at this early period, and Ifaac of
Norwich, the crowned Jew with three faces, who towers over the other
figures, was no doubt fome perfonage of great importance among them.
Dagon, as a two-headed demon, occupies a tower, which a party of demon
knights is attacking. Beneath the figure of Ifaac there is a lady, whole
name appears to be Avezarden, who has fome relation or other with a
male figure named Nolle-Mokke, in which another demon, named
Colbif, is interfering. As this latter name is
written in capital letters, we may perhaps con-
elude that he is the mofi: important perfonage L i
in the fcene; but, without any knowledge of
the circumitances to which it relates, it would 5 i
be in vain to attempt to explain this curious
and rather elaborate caricature. g
Similar attempts at caricature, though leis E
direct and elaborate, are found in others of our 5
national records. One of thefe, pointed out to J? .5
me by an excellent and refpeoted friend, H
the Rev. Lambert B. Larking, is peculiarly in- E J l"
terefting, as well as amufing. It belongs to the
Treafury of the Exchequer, and confllts of two -5 X
volumes of vellum called Liber A and Liber B, " j
forming a regitter of treaties, marriages, and.
flmllar documents of the reign of Edward 1.,
which have been very fully ufed by Rymer. Q! El
The clerk who was employed in writing it,
feems to have been, like many of thefe oflicial No' 112' An Irybmnm
clerks, fomewhat of a wag, and he has amufed himfelf by drawing
in the margin figures of the inhabitants of the provinces of Edward's
A A crown
l
