this Psalter was brought back to
Thomar on a mule whose hire was two shillings and twopence--a sum small
enough for a journey of well over a hundred miles,[18] but which may
help us the better to estimate the value of the money paid to
Antonio.[19]

CHURCH PLATE.

A very great part of the church plate of Portugal has long since
disappeared, for few chapters had the foresight to hide all that was
most valuable when Soult began his devastating march from the north, and
so he and his men were able to encumber their retreat with cart-loads of
the most beautiful gold and silver ornaments.

Yet a good deal has survived, either because it was hidden away as at
Guimaraes or at Coimbra--where it is said to have been only found
lately--or because, as at Evora, it lay apart from the course of this
famous plunderer.

The richest treasuries at the present day are those of Nossa Senhora da
Oliveira at Guimaraes, and of the Ses at Braga, at Coimbra, and at
Evora.

A silver-gilt chalice and a pastoral staff of the twelfth century in the
sacristy at Braga are among the oldest pieces of plate in the country.
The chalice is about five inches high. The cup, ornamented with animals
and leaves, stands on a plain base inscribed, 'In n[=m]e D[=m]i Menendus
Gundisaluis de Tuda domna sum.' It is called the chalice of Sao Giraldo,
and is supposed to have belonged to that saint, who as archbishop of
Braga baptized Affonso Henriques.

The staff of copper-gilt is in the form of a snake with a cross in its
mouth, and though almost certainly of the twelfth century is said to
have been found in the tomb of Santo Ovidio, the third archbishop of the
see.

Another very fine chalice of the same date is in the treasury at
Coimbra. Here the round cup is enriched by an arcade, under each arch of
which stands a saint, while on the base are leaves and medallions with
angels. It is inscribed, 'Geda Menendis me fecit in onore sci. Michaelis
e. MCLXXXX.', that is A.D. 1152.

It was no doubt given by Dom Miguel, who ruled the see from 1162 to 1176
and who spent so much on the old cathedral and on its furniture. For him
Master Ptolomeu made silver altar fronts, and the goldsmith Felix a jug
and basin for the service of the altar. He also had a gold chalice made
weighing 4 marks, probably the one made by Geda Menendis, and a gold
cross to enclose some pieces of the Holy Sepulchre and two pieces of the
True Cross.

At Guimaraes the chalice of Sao Torqua