Bede tells us that, having arrived at that city, where the see had been long vacant (episcopatus jam diu cessaverat) by the death of Damian, he ordained a person to its charge "who was better skilled in ecclesiastical discipline, and more devoted to simplicity of life than active in worldly affairs," which is a civil way of saying that he was unpractical. His name was Putta, and, as we have seen,1 he had been ordained priest by St. Wilfrid. He was, however, highly skilled in church music according to the method of the Romans (maxime autem modulandi in ecclesia more Romanorum peritum). This he had learnt from the disciples of Pope Gregory.2

3

In the year 671 (according to all the copies of the English Chronicle) Ecgberht, King of Kent, gave Bass, the mass priest (maesse-prioste, i.e. his chaplain), Reculver that he might build a minster there. It is not impossible that this mass priest may have been the King's thane of the same name who escorted King Ædwin's young sons to Kent after their father's death, and who may have been meanwhile ordained. The notice in the Chronicle about the foundation of the church of Reculver was possibly derived from some charter now lost. It is curious that no mention is made of it in Bede. The fact, however, of such a church having been built at Reculver at this time is beyond doubt, for its remains are still extant, and

1 Ante, p. 217.

2 Bede, iv. 2.

3 See Howorth, St. Augustine the Missionary, p. 332.

I will now shortly describe them from Mr. Micklethwaite's paper.1

He says the church was rather wantonly destroyed about the beginning of the present (now the last) century, but we have its foundations and some of its ruins, which Mr. Dowker carefully examined some years since, and described, giving a plan. The early part consisted of a nave 50 feet by 24 feet, opening by four arches on each side into aisles, and to the east was an apse the width of the nave. What may have been at the west was destroyed by later work. The appearance of the plan is quite Italian, except that, in place of the wide arch at the entrance to the presbytery, there was an arcade of three arches, separated by two tall stone pillars, which are now in the Cathedral close at Canterbury. They are rude, but the influence of the Corinthian order may be clearly seen in them. They may properly be described as debased Roman, and the same may be said of the method of building. The one departure from Italian precedent-the substitution of an arcade for the great arch, which was repeated elsewhere came of the want of experience in such work, on the part of the builders, who were most likely English, and the lack of skill to direct them in the Italian or Italianised amateurs under whom they worked. They seem to have feared to throw an arch over a large space, so when a wide opening was wanted they divided it by pillars. "When there is so much that tells of early 1 Arch. Journ., 2nd ser., vol. iii. pp. 298-9.