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W/:^
HIST O R Y
O F
ENGLISH POETRY,
FROM THE
CLOSE of the ELEVENTH
TO THE
COMMENCEMENT of the EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
TO WHICH ARE PREFIXED,
TWO DISSERTATIONS.
I. On THE Origin of ROMANTIC FICTION in EUROPE.
H. On THE Introduction of LEARNING into ENGLAND^
VOLUME THE FIRST.
By THOMAS WARTON, B. D.
I"ellow of Trinity College Oxford, and of the Society of Antiquaries.
LONDON-.
Printed for, and fold by J. Dodsley, Pall Mall ; J.Walter, Charing Crofs ; T. Becket,
Strand; J. Robson, New Bond-Street; G.Robinson, and J. Bew, Pater-nofter - Row ;
and Meflrs. Fletcher, at Oxford. M.dcc.lxxiv.
stack
Annex
TO HIS GRACE W^<^
G E' O R G ■ e'
DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH,
MAR Q^U IS OF BLANDFORD,
KNIGHT OF THE
MOST NOBLE ORDER of the GARTER,
A JUDGE AND A PATRON
OF THE
POLITE ARTS,
THIS WORK IS MOST HUMBLY INSCRIBED,
By his Grace's mofi: obliged,
And moft obedient Servant,
THOMAS WARTON.
PREFACE.
IN an age advanced to the higheft degree of re-
finement, that fpecies of curiofity commences,
which is bufied in contemplating the progrefs of
fecial life, in difplaying the gradations of fcience,
and in tracing the tranfitions from barbarifm to
civility.
That thefe fpecuhitions fhould become the fa-
vourite purfuits, and the fafhionable topics, of fuch
a period, is extremely natural. We look back on
the favage condition of our anceflors with the
triumph of fuperiority ; we are pleafed to mark the-
fteps by which we have been raifed from rudenefs to
elegance : and our refle6lions on this fubje6l are accom-
panied with a confcious pride, arifing, in great meafure,
from a tacit comparifon of the infinite difproportion
between the feeble efforts of remote ages, and our
prefent improvements in knowledge.
A la
11
PREFACE.
Ill the mean time, the manners, monuments,
cufloms, pra6lices, and opinions of antiquity, by
forming fo flrong a contrail with thofe of our own
times, and by exhibiting human nature and human
inventions in new hghts, in unexpected appearances,
and in various forms, are obje6ls which forcibly ftrike
a feehng imagination.
Nor does this fpe6lacle afford nothing more than
a fruitlefs gratification to the f:mcy. It teaches us
to fet a jufl eflimation on our own acquifitions ; and
encourages us to cherifh. that cultivation, which is
fo ciofely connected with the exiilence and the ex-
ercife of every fecial virtue.
On thefe principles, to develope the dawnings of
genius, and to purfue the progrefs of our national
poetry, from a rude origin and obfcure beginnings,
to its perfection in a polifhed age, mufl prove an
interefting and inftruclive inveftigation. But a hif-
tory of poetry, for another reafon, yet on the fame
principles, muft be more efpecially productive of en-
tertainment and utility. I mean, as it is an art, whofe
object is human fociety : as it has the peculiar merit,
in its operations on that object, of faithfully re-
cording the features of the times, and of pre-
fcrving
PREFACE.
Ill
ferving the moft pidurefque and exprefTive repre-
fentations of manners : and, becaufe the fir ft mo-
numents of compofition in every nation are thofe
of the poet, as it poiTeifes the additional advantage
of tranfmitting to pofterity genuine delineations of
life in its fimpleft flages. Let me add, that anec-
dotes of the rudiments of a favourite art vi^ill always
be particularly pleafing. The more early fpeci-
mens of poetry muft ever amufe, in proportion
to the pleafure which we receive from its finiflied
produ6lions.
Much however depends on the execution of fuch a
defign, and my readers are to decide in what degree
1 have done juftice to fo fpecious and promifing a
difquifition. Yet a few more words M'ill not be
perhaps improper, in vindication, or rather in ex-
planation, of the manner in which my work has
been condu6led. I am fure I do not mean, nor caa
I pretend, to apologife for its defe6ls.
I have chofe to exhibit the hiftory of our poetry
in a chronological feries : not diftributing my mat-
ter into detached articles, of periodical divifions, or
of general heads. Yet I have not always adhered fo
fcrupuloufly to the regularity of annals, but that I
have
IV
PREFACE.
have often deviated into incidental digreffions; and
have fometimes ftopped in the courfe of my career,
for the fake of recapitulation, for the purpofe of
collecting fcattered notices into a fmgle and uniform
point of view, for the more exaft infpe6lion of a
topic which required a feparate confideration, or for a
comparative furvey of the poetry of other nations.
A few years ago, Mr. Mason, with that liioerality
which ever accompanies true genius, gave me an au-
thentic copy of Mr> Pope's fcheme of a Hiilory of
Englifh Poetry, in which our poets were claffed under
their fuppofed refpeftive fchools. The late lamented
Mr. Gray had alfo projefted a work of this kind,
and tranflated fome Runic odes for its illuftratlon,
now publifhed : but foon relinquifhing the profe-
cution of a defign, which M'ould have detained him
from his own noble inventions, he mofl obligingly
condefcended to favour me with the fubilance of
his plan, which I found to be that of Mr. Pope,
confiderably enlarged, extended, and improved.
It is vanity In me to have mentioned thefe com-
munications. But I am apprehenfive my vanity
will juftly be thought much greater, when it ftiall
appear, that in giving the hiftory of Engllfh poetry,
I have
PREFACE. V
I have rejeded the ideas of men who are its moft
diftinguifhed ornaments. To confefs the real truth,
upon examination and experiment, I foon difcovered
their mode of treating my fubjed:, plaufible as it is,
and brilliant in theory, to be attended with difficul-
ties and inconveniencies, and productive of embaraff-
ment both to the reader and the writer. Like other
ingenious fyftems, it facrificed much ufeful intelli-
gence to the obfervance of arrangement ; and in the
place of that fatisfadtion which refults from a clearnefs
and a fulnefs of information, feemed only to fubfti-
tute the merit of difpofition, and the praife of contri-
vance. The conftraint impofed by a mechanical atten-
tion to this diftribution, appeared to me to deftroy
that free exertion of refearch with which fuch a
hiftory ought to be executed, and not eafily recon-
cileable with that complication, variety, and extent
of materials, which it ought to comprehend.
The method I have purfued, on one account at
leaft, feems preferable to all others. My performance,
in its prefent form, exhibits without tranfpofition the
gradual improvements of our poetry, at the fame
time that it uniformly reprefents the progreffion of
our language.
*
B Some
vi PREFACE.
Some perhaps will be of opinion, that thefe annals
ouaht to have commenced with a view of the Saxon
poetry. But befides that a legitimate illuftration of
that jejune and intricate fubje
chronicle into Latin ", executing the tranflation with a tole-
rable degree of purity and great fidelity, yet not without
alfo p. 37j. 377. 393. And Concil. Spel-
man. torn. i. 9. 112. edit. 1639. fol. Sdl-
lingfleet's Orig. Brit. ch. 5. p. 344. fcq.
edit. 1688. fol. From Cornuwallia,
nfed by the Latin monkifh hittorians, came
the prefent name CornwaU. Borlafe, ibid.
p. 325.
1 Evans, p. 43.
' In the curious library of the family of
Davies at Llanerk in Denbighfhire, there
is a copy of this chronicle in the hand-
writing of Guttyn Owen, a celebrated
Welfh bard and antiquarian about the year
1470, who afcribes it to Tyllilio a bilhtip,
and the fon of Brockmatl-Yfcythroc princc;
of Fowls. Tyffilio indeed wrote a His-
tory OF Britain ; .but that work, a*
wc are affured by Lhuyd in the Ar c h ^"e o-
LOGiA, was entirely eccldiaftical, and has
been long fince loll.
^ SeeGalfr. Mon. L. i. c. I. .xii. 1. zo.
ix. 2. Bale, ii. 6;. Thompfon's Pref. to
Geoffrey's Hill. Tranfl. edit. Lond. 1778'.
p. XXX. xvi,
fom&
DISSERTATI01>3 L
fome interpolations '. It was probably finiftied after the
year 1 138 '.
» Geoffrey confefles, that he took feme
part of his account of king Arthur's at-
chievements from the mouth of his friend
Gualter, the archdeacon; who probably
related to tlie tranflator fome of the tradi-
tions on this fubjed which he had heard in
Armorica, or which at that time might
have been popular in Wales. Hift. Brit.
Galfr. Mon. lib. xi. c. i. He alfo owns
that Merlin's prophecies were not in the
Armorican original. lb. vii. 2. Compare
Thompfon's Pref ut fupr. p. xxv. xxvii.
The fpeeches and letters were forged by
Geoffrey ; and in the defcription of bat-
tles, our tranflator has not fcrupled fre-
quent variations and additions.
I am obliged to an ingenious antiqua-
rian in Britifh literature, Mr. Morris of
Penbryn, for the following curious remarks
concerning Geoftrey's original .ind his tranf-
lation. " Geoffrey's Svlvius, in the
" Britifh original, is Siiius, which in
" Latin would make Julius. This il-
" lurtrates and confirms Lambarde's, Bru-
" Tus Julius. Peramb. Kent, p. 12.
" So alfo in the Britifh bards. And hence
«' Milton's objeaion is removed. Hift.
" Engl. p. 12. There are no Fl amines
" or Archflamines in the Britilh book.
" See UQicr's Primord. p. 57. Dubl. edit.
" There are very few fpeeches in the ori-
" ginal, and thofe very fhort. Geoffrey's
" FuLCENius is in the Britifh copy Su-
" LIEN, which by analogy in Latin would
" beJuLiANUs. See Milton's Hift. Eng.
" p. 100. There is no Leil in the Bri-
«' tifh ; that king's name was Lleon.
" Geoffrey's Caehlisle is in the Britilh
" Caerlleon, or Weft-Chefter. In the
" Britifh, Llaw ap Cynfarch, fhould
«' have been tranllated Leo, which is now
«• rendered Loth. This has brought much
<' confufion into the old Scotch hillory. I
" find no Brlinus in the Britifh copy ;
" the name is Beli, which fliould have
" been in Latin Belius, or Belcjus.
" Geoffrey's Brennus in the original is
•' Bran, a common name among the Bri-
•" tons; as Bran ap Dvfnwal, &c.
" See Suidas's "Ef'-,:-. It appears by the
" original, that die Britifh name of Ca-
" rausius was Carawn ; hence Tre-
•' garaun, i. e. Tregaron, and the
" river Caraun, which gives name to
" Abercork. In the Britilli theie is no
" divifion into books and chapters, a mark
" of antiquity. Thofe whom the tranf-
" lator calls Consuls of Rome, when
" Brennus took it, are in the original
" TwYsoGiON, i. e. princes or generals.
" The Gwiolenfes, GwALO, or Gwalas,
" are added by Geoffrey, B xii. c. 19."
To what is here obferved about Silius,
I will add, that abbot Whethamlled, in his
MS. Granarium, mentions Siloius
the father of Brutus. " Quomodo Brutus
" Si LOU filius z.i. litora Anglis venit,"
&c. Grakar. Part. i. Lit. A. MSS.
Cotton. Nero, C. vi. Brit. Muf. Thii,
gentleman has in his poffeffion a very an-
tient manufcript of the original, and has
been many yeais preparing materials for
giving an accurate and faithful tranflatioa
of it into Englifh. The manufcript in
Jefus college library at Oxford, which
Wynne pretends to be the fame which
Geoffrey himfelf made ufe of, is evidently
not older than the fixteenth century. Mr.
Price, the Bodleian librarian, to whofe
friendiliip this work is much indebted, has
two copies lately given him by Mr. Banks,
much more antient and perfcft. But there
is reafon to fufpedt, tliat moft of the Britifh
Bianufcripts of this hiftory are tr.inflations
from Geoffrey'^ Latin : for Brttannia they
have Bryttaen, which in the original
would have been Prydain. Geoffrey's
tranflation, and for obvious reafons, is 3
very common manufcript. Compare Lhuyd's
Arch. p. 265.
' Thompfon fays, 1128. ubi fupr. p,
XXX. Gec^rey's age is afccrtained beyond
a doubt, even if other proofs were wanting,
from the cotemporaries whom he mentions.
Such as Robert earl of Gloccfter, natural
fon of Henry the firft, and Alexander bi-
fliop of Lincoln, his patrons : he mentions
alfo William of Malmefbury, and Henry of
Huntington.
DISSERTATION I.
It is difficult to afcertain exaftly the period at which our
tranflator's original romance may probably be fuppofed to
have been compiled. Yet this is a curious fpeculation, and
will illuftrate our' argument. I am inclined to think that
the work confifts of fables thrown out by different rhap-
fodifts at different times, which afterwards were collected
and digefted into an entire hiftory, and perhaps with new
decorations of fancy added by the compiler, who moft pro-
bably was one of the profefled bards, or rather a poetical
hiftorian, of Armorica or Baffe Bretagne. In this ftate, and
under this form, I fuppofe it to have fallen into the hands
of Geoffrey of Monmouth. If the hypothecs hereafter ad-
vanced concerning the particular fpecies of fiflipn on which
this narrative is founded, fliould be granted, it cannot, from
what I have already proved, be more antient than the eighth
century : and we may reafonably conclude, that it was
compofed much later, as fome confiderable length of time
muft have been neceffary for the propagation and eftablifli-
ment of that fpecies of fi6lion. The fimple fubje6l of this
chronicle, diveiled of its romantic embellifliments, is a de-
duftion of the Welfli princes from the Trojan Brutus to
Cadwallader, who reigned in the feventh century \ It muft
Huntingdon. Wharton places Geoffrey's Arthur's invitation : and then adds, "Prre-
death in the year 1154. Epifc. Affav. p. "■' ter hos non remanfit princeps alicujus
306. Robert de Monte, who continued " pretii citra Hifpaniam qui ad itlud edic-
Sigebert's chronicle down to the year 1183, " turn non venerit." Alured. Bcv. Annal.
in the preface to that work exprefly fays, p. 63. edit. Hearne. Thefe are Geoffrey's
that he took fome of the materials of his own words ; and fo much his own, that
fupplement from the Historia Brito- they are one of his additions to the Britifh
NUM. lately tranjiah-d out of Britijh into original. But the curious reader, who de-
Latin. This was manifeftly Geoffrey's fires a complete and critical difcuffion of
book. Alfred of Beverly, who evidently this point, may confult an ongmal letter of
wrote his Ann ALES, publifhed by Hearne, bifhop Lloyd, preferved among Tanner's
between the years 1148 and 1150, bpr- manufcripts at Oxford, num. 94.
•rowed his account of the Britifh kings from " This notion of their extraftion from
Geoffrey's Historia, whofe words he the Trojans had fo infatuated the Wellh,
fometimes literally tranfcribes. For in- that even fo late as the year 1284, arch-
ilance, Alfred, in fpeaking of Arthur's bifhop Peckham, in his injunftions to the
keeping Whitfuntide at Caerleon, fays, diocefeofSt. Af'aph, orders the people to
that the Historia Britonum enume- abftain from giving credit to idle dreams
ra'ed all the kings who came thither on and vifions, a fuperflition which they had
" h con-
DISSERTATION I.
be acknowledged, that many European nations were antientlf
fond of tracing their defcent from Troy. Hunnibaldus Fran-
cus, in his Latin hiflory of France, written in the fixth cen-
tury, beginning with the Trojan war, and ending with Clovis
the firft, afcribes the origin of the French nation to Francio
a fon of Priam ". So univerfal was this humour, and car-
ried to fuch an abfurd excefs of extravagance, that under
the reign of Juftinian, even the Greeks were ambitious of
being thought to be defcended from the Trojans, their an-
tient and notorious en-emies. Unlefs we adopt the idea of
thofe antiquaries, who contend that Europe was peopled
from Phrygia, it will be hard to difcover at what period, or
from what fource, fo ftrange and improbable a notion could
take its rife, efpecially among nations unacquainted with
hiftory, and overwhelmed in ignorance. The moft rational
mode of accounting for it, is to fuppofe, that the revivalof
Virgil's Eneid about the fixth or feventh century, which re-
prefented the Trojans as the founders of Rome, the capital
of the fupreme pontiff, and a city on various other accounts
in the early ages of chriftianity highly reverenced and dif-
tinguiflied, occafioned an emulation in many other European
nations of claiming an alliance to the fame refpe6lable origi-
nal. The monks and other ecclefiaftics, the only readers
and writers of the age, were likely to broach, and were in-
terefted in propagating, fuch an opinion. As the more bar-
barous countries of Europe began to be tinftured with lite-
rature, there was hardly one of them but fell into the fafliion
of deducing its original from fome of the nations moft cele-
brated in the antient books. Thofe who did not afpire fo
tontrafled from their belief in thedream of cil. Wilkins, torn. ii. p. 1 06. edit. 1737.
their founder Brutus, in the temple of fol.
Diana, conc-rning his arrival in Britain. "' It is among the Scriptores Rer.
The archbi (hop very ferioufly advifes them German. Sim. Schard. torn. i. p. 301,
to boafl no more of their relation to the cdit.Bafil. 1574. fol. .It confifts of eighteen
conquered and fugitive Trojans, but to glory books.
in the viflorioiu crofs of ChriA. Con-
DISSERTATION I.
"high as king Priam, or who found that claim preoccupied,
boafted to be defcended from fome of the generals of Alexander
the Great, from Prufias king of Bithynia, from the Greeks
or the Egyptians. It it not in the mean time quite impro-
bable, that as moft of the European nations were provincial
to the Romans, thofe who fancied themfelves to be of Trojan
extra6lion might have imbibed this notion, at leaft have ac-
quired a general knowledge of the Trojan flory, from their
conquerors : more efpecially the Britons, who continued fo
long under the yoke of Rome". But as to the flory of Brutus
in particular, Geoffrey's hero, it may be prefumed that his
legend was not contrived, nor the hiflory of his fucceffors
invented, till after the ninth century: for Nennius, who
lived about the middle of that century, not only fpeaks of
Brutus with great obfcurity and inconfillency, but feems
totally uninformed as to every circumftance of the Britifli
affairs which preceded Cefar's invafion. There are other
proofs that this piece could not have exifted before the ninth
century. Alfred's Saxon tranflation of the Mercian law is
mentioned ''. Charlemagne's Twelve Peers, and by an ana-
chronifm not uncommon in romance, are faid to be prefent
at king Arthur's magnificent coronation in the city of Caer-
leon ^ It were eafy to produce inllances, that this chronicle
.was undoubtedly framed after the legend of faint Urfula,
the a6ts of faint Lucius, and the hiftorical writings of the
venerable Bede, had undergone fome degree of circulation in
the world. At the fame time it contains many paffages which
incline us to determine, that fome parts of it at leafl were
written after or about the eleventh century. I will not infift
on that paffage, in which the title of legate of the apoftolic
fee is attributed to Dubricius in the chara6ler of primate of
Britain ; as it appears for obvious reafons to have been an
artful interpolation of the tranflator, who was an ecclefiaflic.
But I will feledt other arguments. Canute's foreft, or Can-
" See infr. Sect. iii. p. 127, 128. >■ L. ill. c. 13. ^L.ix.c. 12.
b 2 nock-
DISSERTATION t.
nock-wood in Staftbrdfliire occurs ; and Canute died in the
year 1036 ''. At the ideal coronation of king Arthur, juil
mentioned, a tournament is defcribed as exhibited in its
higheft fplendor. " Many knights, fays our Armoric fa-
" bier, famous for feats of chivalry, were prefent, with ap-
" parel and arms of the fame colour and fafliion. They
" formed a fpecies of diverfion, in imitation of a fight on
" horfeback, and the ladies being placed on the walls of
" the caftles, darted amorous glances on the combatants.
" None of thefe ladies- efteemed any knight worthy of her
" love, but fuch as had given proof of his gallantry in three
" feveral entounters. Thus the valour of the men encou-
" raged chaftity in the women, and the attention of the wo-
" men proved an incentive to the foldier's bravery \" Here
is the practice of chivalry under the combined ideas of love
and military prowefs, as they feem to have fubfifted after the
feudal conftitution had acquired greater degrees not only of
ftability but of fplendor and refinement ^ And although a
fpecies of tournament was exhibited in France at the recon-
ciliation of the fons of Lewis the feeble, in the clofe of the
ninth century, and at the beginning of the tenth, the co-
ronation of the emperor Henry was folemnizcd with mar-
tial entertainments, in which many parties were introduced
fighting on horfeback ; yet it was long afterwards that thefe
games were accompanied with the peculiar formalities, and
ceremonious ufages, here defcribed ". In the mean time, we
^ L. yu. c. 4, c See infr. Sect. Hi. p. 109. xii. p.
" L. ix. c. 12. j^7^ j|8. I will here produce, from that
■> Pitts mentions an anonymous writer un- learned orientalill M. D'Hcrbelot, feme
der the name of EremitaBritannus, curious traitcs of Arabian knight-errantry,
who ftudicd hiftory and aftrononiy, and which the reader may apply to the princi-
flourilhed about the year 720. He wrote, pies of this Diflertation as he plcafes.
befides a book in an unknown language, " Batth all.— Une homme hardi et
entitled, Sanchem Creial, De Rege Arthuro " vaillant, qui cl'crc/je dei a-vantures tels
It rebui gejiis ejus. Lib. i. De J^lcii/a rotun- " qu' etoient Ics chevaliers errniis de nos
the light of his torches certain figures or ftar-
I7ISSERTATI0N
I.
this hiftory, it is a tranflation from Turpin's Latin, made
by Michel de Harnes in the year 1207 '. And, by the way,,
from the tranflator's declaration, that there was a great im-
propriety in tranflating Latin profe into verfe, we may con-
clude, that at the commencement of the thirteenth century
the French generally made their tranflations into verfe.
In thefe two fabulous chronicles the foundations of romance
feem to be laid. The principal charaflers, the leading fub-
jefts, and the fundamental fictions, which have fupplied
fuch ample matter to- this fmgular fpecies of compofition,
are here firft difplayed. And although the long continuance
of the crufades imported innumerable inventions of a fimilar
complexion, and fubftituted the atchievements of new cham-
pions and the wonders of other countries, yet the tales of
Arthur and of Charlemagne, diverfified indeed, or enlarged
with additional cmbellifliments, ftill continued to prevail,
and to be the favourite topics : and this, partly from their
early popularity, partly from the quantity and the beauty
of tlie fictions with which they were at firft fupportcd, and
efpecially becaufe the defign of the crufades had made thofi
fubje(5ls fo fafhionable in which chriftians fought with infi-
dels. Ill a word, thefe volumes are the firft fpecimens
tues of men, whofe habiliments nnd arms
were ftrange and uncouth. One of thsm
had a fword of fhining brafs, on which it
was written in Arabic charadlers, that the
time approached when the SpaniHi nation
fliould be deilroyed, and that it would not
be long before the warriors, whofe images
were placed there, fhould arrive in Spain.
The v/riter adds, " Je n'ai jamais ete en
" aucun endroit, ou I'on faiTe plus de
" CAS- deS, CONTES FABULEUX qu'cH
" Efpagne." Edit, a la Haye, 1691.
torn. iii. p. 158. 159. i;mo. See infr.
SscT. iii. p. 112. And the Life of
Cervantes, by Don Gregorio Mayans.
^.27. ^. 47. §. 48. §.49.
' See Du Ciiefne, torn., v. d. 60. And
Mem. Lit. xvii. 737. feq. It is In the
roval library at Paris, Num. 8199. Pro-
bably the French Turpin in the Britilh
Mufeum is the fame, Cod. MSS. Harl.
273. 23. f. 86. See infr. Sect. iii. p.
135. See inftances of the Englifli tran-
flating profe Latin books into Englilh, and
fometimes French,, verfe. Sect. ii. infr.
paflim.
In the king's library at Paris, there is a
tranflation of Dares Phrygius into French
rhymes by Godfrey of Waterford an Irilh
Jacobin, a writer not mentioned by Tanner,
in the thirteenth century. Mem. Litt. toTSb
xvii. p. 736. Compare Sect. iii. infr.
p. 125. In the Notes.
extant
DISSERTATION L
extant in this mode of writing. No European hiftory
before thefe has mentioned giants, enchanters, dragons, and
the hke monftrous and arbitrary fictions. And the reafon is
obvious : they were written at a time when a new and
unnatural mode of thinking took place in Europe, intro-
duced by our communication with the eaft.
Hitherto I have confidered the Saracens either at their
immigration into Spain about the ninth century, or at the
time of the crufades, as the firft authors of romantic
fabling among the Europeans. But a late ingenious critic
has advanced an hypothefis, which affigns a new fource,
and a much earlier date, to thefe fiftions. I will cite his
opinion of this matter in his own words. " Our old
*' romances of chivalry may be derived in a lineal des-
*' CENT from the antient liiliorical fongs of the Gothic
*' bards and fcalds. — Many of thofe fongs are ftill preferved
*' in the north, which exhibit all the feeds of chivalry
" before it became a folemn inftitution. — Even the com-
" mon arbitrary fi6lions of romance were raoft of them
" familiar to the antient fcalds of the north, long before
" the time of the crufades. They believed the exiftence of
*' giants and dwarfs, they had fome notion of fairies, they
" were flrongly poflfefTcd with the belief of fpells and in-
" chantment, and were fond of inventing combats with
*' dragons and monfters ""." Monfieur Mallet, a very able
and elegant inquirer into the genius and antiquities of the
northern nations, mantains the fame do6lrine. He feems to
think, that many of the opinions and practices of the Goths,
however obfolete, ftill obfcurely fubfift. He adds, " May
" we not rank among thefe, for example, that love and
" admiration for the profefTion of arms which prevailed
" among our anceftors even to fanaticifm, mad as it were
*' tlirough fyftcm, and brave from a point of honour r —
" Percy, on Antient Metr. Rom. i. p. 3. 4. edit, i^dj.
Can
DISSERTATION h
'^ Can we not explain from the Gothic religion, how judi-
** ciary combats, and proofs by the ordeal, to the aftonifh-
" ment of pofterity, were admitted by the legiflature of all
" Europe " : and how, even to the prefent age, the people
*' are ftill infatuated with a belief of the power of magi-
** cians, witches, fpirits, and genii, concealed under the earth
" or in the waters ? — Do we not difcover in thefe religious
" opinions, that fource of the marvellous with which our
" anceftors filled their romances ; in which we fee dwarfs
" and giants, fairies and demons," &c ". And in another
place, " The fortrefTes of the Goths were only rude caftles
" fituated on the fummits of rocks, and rendered inacceffible
" by thick misfhapen walls. As thefe v^alls ran winding.
" round the caftles, they often called them by a name which
*' fignified Serpents or Dragons ; and in thefe they ufually
" fecured the women and young virgins of diftindlion, who
" were feldom fafe at a time when fo many enterprifing
" heroes were rambling up and down in fearch of adven-
" tures. It was this cuftom which gave occafion to antient
" romancers, who knew not how to defcribe any thing
** fimply, to invent fo many fables concerning princefTes of
" great beauty guarded by dragons, and afterwards delivered
" by invincible champions "".^
" For the judiciary combats, as alfo for Worm, p; 68. In favour of this barbarous
common athletic exercifes, they formed an inftitution it ought to be remembered, that
amphitheatrical circusof rude ftones. "Qua;- the praftice of thus marking out the place
" dam [faxa] circos claudebant, in qui- of battle muft ha\'e prevented much blood-
" bus gigantes et pugiles duello ftrenue Ihed, and faved many innocent lives : for
" decertabant."Worm. p. 62. And again, if either combatant was by any accident
" Nee mora, CI Rcu AT UR. campus,, milite forced out of the circus, he was to lofe his
" CIRCUS ftlpatur, concurrunt pngiles." caufe, or to pay three marks of pure filver
p. 65. It is remarkable, that circs of the as a redemption for his life. Worm. p.
fame fort are ftill to be feen in Cornwall, 68, 69. In the year 987, the ordeal was
fo famous at this day for the athletic art: fubftituted in Denmark inllead of the duel ;
in which alfo they fometimes exhibited a mode of decifion,,at leaft in a. political
their fcriptural interludes. See infr. Sect. fenfe, lefs abfurd, as it promoted military
vi. p. 237. Frotho the Great, king of Ikill.
Denmark,- in the firft century, is faid to " Mallet, Introduftion a 1' Hillcire d&
Have been the firft who commanded all Dannemarc, &c. torn. ii. p. g.
controverfies to be decided by the fword. p lb. cL ix. p. 243. tom. ii.
I do
DISSERT AT ION
I.
I do not mean entirely to rejeft this hypothefis : but I
will endeavour to fhew how far I think it is true, and in
what manner or degree it may be reconciled with the fyftem
delivered above.
A few years before the birth of Chrift, foon after Mithri-
dates had been overthrown by Pompey, a nation of Afiatic
Goths, who poffeffed that region of Afia which is now called
Georgia, and is conne6led on the fouth with Perfia, alarmed
at the progreflive encroachments of the Roman armies, re-
tired in vaft multitudes under the conduft of their leader
Odin, or Woden, into the northern parts of Europe, not
fubjeft to the Roman government, and fettled in Denmark,
Norway, Sweden, and other diftri6ls of the Scandinavian terri-
tory ^ As they brought with them many ufeful arts, parti-
cularly the knowledge of letters, which Odin is faid to have
invented ', they were hofpitably received by the natives,
") " Unicam gentium Afiaticarum Im-
" migrationem.in orbem Arftoum faftam,
" noftra; antiquitates commemorant. Sed
" cam tamen non primam. Verum circa
■".annum tandem vicefimum quartum ante
" natum Chiiftum, Romanis cxercitibus
" aufpiciis Pompeii Magni in Afire parte,
" Phrygia Minore, graflantibus. Ilia enim
" epocha ad hanc rem chronologi nollri
" utuntur. In cujiis (Gyi-vi Sunciyi;
" regis) tcmpora incidit Odinus, Afiaticrc
" immigrationis, ikfta; anno 24 ante na-
" turn Chriftum, antefignanus." Crymo-
gasa, Arngrim. Jon. lib. i. cap. 4. p. 30.
31. edit. Hamburg. 1609. See alfo Bar-
tholin. Antiquitat. Dan. Lib. ii. cap. 8.
p. 407. iii. c. 2. p. 652. edit. 1689.
Lay.ius, de Gent. Migrat. L. x. fol. 573.
30. edit. fol. 1600. Compare Ol. Rud-
beck. cap. v. fedl. 2. p. 95. xiv. feft. 2.
p. 67. There is a memoir on this fubjeft
lately publidied in the Petcrlburgh Tranf-
adtions, but I chufe to refer to original au-
thorities. See torn V. p. 297. edit. 1738.
4*0-
' " Odino etiam et aliis, qui cy Afia hue
" dcvtntrc, tribuuiic mujti antiquitatum
" Ifiandicarum periti ; unde et Odinus
" RuNHOFDi feu Runarum {i. e. Litcia-
" ri-?i:) auftor vocatur." Ol. Worm. Li-
ter. Runic, cap. 20. edit. Hafn. 1651.
Some writers refer the origin of the Gre-
cian language, fciences, and religion to
the Scythians, who were connefted to-
wards the foutli with Odin's Goths. I can-
not bring a greater authority than that of
Salmafius, " Satis certum ex his colligi
'■ poteil linguam, ut gentem, Helleni-
" CAM, a fcptcntrione et Scythia origi-
~" nem traxifle, non a meridie. Inde li-
■" TER.fl; GuyFCORUM, inde MusyE Pi-
" ERiDES, inde facrorum initia." Sal-
maf. de Hellenift. p. 400. As a furtlicr
proof I fliall obfcrve, that the anticnt poet
Thamyris was fo much cftcemedby the Scy-
thians, on account of his poetry, HifiafuJia,
that they chofe him tlieir king. Conon.
Narrat. Poet. cap. vii. edit. Gal. But
Thamyris was a Thratian : and a late in-
genious antiquarian endeavours to prove,
that the Goths were defccnded from the
'I'hr.-itians, and that the Greeks and Thra-
cians were only different clans of the fame
people. Clarke's Connexion, &c.cli.ii. p. 65.
and
DISSERTATION 1.
and by degrees acquired a fafe and peaceable eftablifhment
in the new countiy, which feems to have adopted their lan-
guage, laws, and religion. Odin is faid to have been ftiled
a god by the Scandinavians ; an appellation which the fupe-
riour addrefs and fpecious abilities of this Afiatic chief ealily
extorted from a more favage and uncivilifed people.
This migration is confirmed by the concurrent teftimo-
nies of various hiftorians : but there is no better evidence of
it, than that confpicuous fimilarity fubfifting at this day
between feveral cuftoms of the Georgians, as defcribed by
Chardin, and thofe of certain cantons of Norway and Swe-
den, which have prefervcd their antient manners in the
pureft degree '. Not that other ftriking implicit and in-
ternal proofs, which often carry more convi(5lion than
direct hiftorical affertions, are wanting to point out this
migration. The antient inhabitants of Denmark and Nor-
way infcribed the exploits of their kings and heroes on
rocks, in charaflers called Runic ; and of this praftice many
marks are faid ftill to remain in thofe countries '. This art
or cuflom of writing on rocks is Afiatic ". Modern travel-
lers report, that there are Runic infcriptions now exifling
in the defcrts of Tartary '\ The written mountains of
the Jews are an inftance that this fafliion was oriental.
Antiently, when one of thefe northern chiefs fell honourably
in battle, his weapons, his war-horfe, and his wife, were
confumed with himfelf on the fame funeral pile ^ I need
• See Pontoppidan. Nat. Hill. Norway, " See Voyage par Strahlemberg, &c.
torn. ii. C. lO. §. I. 2. 3. j4 Defcription of the northern and eajlera
' See Saxo Grammat. Pr^f. ad Kift. Parts of Europe and ylfia. Schroder fays,
Dan. And Hift. lib. vii. See alfo 01. from Olaus Rudbeckius, that runes, or
Worm. Monum. Dan. lib. iii. letters, were invented by Magog the Scy-
" Paulus Jovius, a writer indeed not of thian, and communicated to 'I'ulfco the
the bell credit, fays, that Annibal engraved celebrated German chieftain, in the year
charafters on the Alpine rocks, as a teili- of the world 1799. Prsf. ad Lexicon La-
mony of his paflage over them, and that tino-Scandic.
they were remaining there two centuries ' See Keyfler, p. 147. Two funeral
ago. Hift. lib. XV. p. 163. ceremonies, one of burning, ths otlier
d of
DISSERTATION I.
not remind my readers how religioufly this horrible cere-
mony of i-icrificing the wife to the dead hufband is at prefent
obferved in the eail. There is a very remarkable corre-
fpondence, in nuniberlefs important and fundamental points,
between the Druidical and the Perfian fuperftitions : and
notwithftanding the evidence of Cefar, who fpeaks only
from popular report, and without precifion, on a fubjed:
which he cared little about, it is the opinion of the learned
Banier, that the Druids were formed on the model of the
Magi '. In this hypothefis he is feconded by a modern anti-
quary; who further fuppofes, that Odin's followers im-
ported this eftablilhment into Scandinavia, from the con-
fines of Perfia\ The Scandinavians attributed divine virtue
to mifletoe; it is mentioned in their Edda, or fyftem of
religious do6lrines, where it is faid to grow on the weft
fide of Val-hall, or Odin's elyfium ^ That Druidical rites,
exifted among the Scandinavians we are informed from, many
antient Erfe poems, which fay that the Britiflx Druids, ia
the extremity of their affairs, follicited and obtained aid
from Scandinavia ^ The Gothic hell exa6lly refembles that
which we find in the religious fyftems of the- Perfians, the.
moft abounding in fuperftition of all the eaftern nations.
One of the circumftances is, and an oriental idea, that it is.
full of fcorpions and ferpents '. The doctrines, of Zeno,
who borrowed mofl of his opinions from the Perfian philo-
fophers, are not uncommon in the Edda. Lok, the evil
of BURTi NO their dead, at difFerent times day " the Branch of Speflres." But fee-
prevailed in the north ; and have dilHn- Dr. Percy's ingenious note on this paflage
ruifhcd two eras in the old northern hillory. in the Edda. Northern ANTic^yi-
The firft w.is called the Age of Fire, ties, vol. ii. p. 143.
the f<;cond the Age of Hills. ' Ofiian's Works. Cathlin, ii, p.
» Mytholoi;. R.xpliq. ii. p. 628. 410. «l6. Not. edit. 1765. vol. ii. They add,
' M. M:iliet. Hill. Dannem. i. p. 56. that among the auxiliaries came ninny ma-
See alfo Keyfler, p. 152. gicians.
*> Edd.Isl. fab. xxviii. Compare Key- '' Se-: Hyde, Rclig. Vet. Perf p. ^,gg,
flcr, Antiquit. Sel. Sept. p. 304. feq. The 404. But compare what is faid of the
Germans, a Teutonic t»be, call it to this E di> a, towards tlie dofe of this Difcourfe.
deity
DISSERTATION I.
deity of the Goths, is probably the Arimanius of the Per-
fians. In fome of the moft antient Iflandic chronicles,
the Turks are mentioned as belonging to the jurifdiclion of
the Scandinavians. Mahomet, not fo great an inventor as
is imagined, adopted into his religion many favourite no-
tions and fuperftitions from the bordering nations which
were the offspring of the Scythians, and efpecially from the
Turks. Accordingly, we find the Alcoran agreeing with the
Runic theology in various inftances. I will mention only
one. It is one of the beatitudes of the Mahometan paradife,
that blooming virgins fliall adminifter the moft lufcious
wines. Thus in Odin's Val-hall, or the Gothic elyfium,
the departed heroes received cups of the ftrongeft mead and
ale from the hands of the virgin-goddefles called Valkyres \
Alfred, in his Saxon account of the I northern feaSj taken
from the mouth of Ohther, a Norwegian, who had been
fent by that monarch to difcover a north-eaft paffage into
the Indies, conftantly calls thefe nations the ORIENTALS^
And as thefe eaftern tribes brought with them into the north
a certain degree of refinement, of luxury and fplendor,
which appeared fingular and prodigious among barbarians ;
one of their early hiftorians defcribes a perfon better dreffed
than vifual, by faying, " he was fo well cloathed, that you
" might have taken him for one of the Afiatics K" Wor-
mius mentions a Runic incantation, in which an Afiatic
inchantrefs is invoked \ Various other inftances might here
"^ Odin only, drank wine in Valhall. A'oiv the magicians sf Egypt, they al/o did
Edd. Myth, xxxiv. See Keyfler, p. 152. in like manner ivilh their enchantments.
' See Preface to Alfred's Saxon OroCus, Exod. vii. 11. See alfo vii, 18, 19. ix.
publifhed by Spelman. Vit. ^lfredi. m, &c. When the people of Ifrael had
Spelm. Append, vi. over-run the country of Balak, he invites
s Landn a:.ia-Saga. See Mallet. Hift. Baalam a neighbouring prince to (-?«y?/ic»/;
Dannem. c. ii. or deftroy them by magic, which he fecms
'' Lit. Run. p. 209, edit. 1651. The to have profefled. Jnd the elders 0/ Mcdb
Goths came from the neighbourhood of departed njuitb the reiLords of viwuATloii
Colchis, the region of Witchcraft, and the in their hand. Num. x.xii, 7. Purely there
country of Medea, famous for her incanta- is no enchantment againji 1/rncl. xxiil.
lions. The eaftern pagans from the very 23. And he 'went out, as at ether times, to
earlieft ages, have had their enchanters. feck for enchantments, xxiv. 1. &c.
d 2 Odia
DISSERTATION I.
be added, fome of which will occafionally arife in the future
courfe of our inquiries.
It is notorious, that many traces of oriental ufages are
found amongll: all the European nations during their- pagan
ftate; and this phenomenon is rationally refolved, on the
fuppofition that all Europe was originally peopled from the
eaft. But as the refemblance which the pagan Scandina-
vians bore to the eaftern nations in manners, monu-
ments, opinions, and pradices, is fo very perceptible and
apparent, an inference arifes, that their migration from
the eaft muft have happened at a period by many ages
more recent, and therefore moft probably about the time
fpecified by their hiftorians. In the mean time we muft re-
member, that a diftinftion is to be made between this expe-
dition of Odin's Goths, who formed a fettlement in Scandi-
navia, and thofe innumerable armies of barbarous adventu-
rers, who fome centuries afterwards, diftinguifhed by the
fame name, at different periods overwhelmed Europe, and at
length extinguiftied the Roman empire.
When we confider the rapid couquefts of the nations,
which may be comprehended under the common name of
Scythians, and not only thofe conduced by Odin, but by
Attila, Theodoric, and Genferic, we cannot afcribe fuch fuc-
ceffes to brutal courage only. To fay that fome of thefe
irrefiftible conquerors made war on a luxurious, effeminate,
and enervated people, is a plaufible and eafy mode of ac-
counting for their conquefts : but this rcafon will not ope-
rate with equal force in the hiftories of Genghizcan and
Odin himfelf was not only a warrior, but a oath, that he did not carry about him any
magician, and his Afiatics were called In- herb, spell, or enchantment. Dug-
cantatirtium ci/i?7orly, having a
.'his r.)urcc, ihofc who adopt the principles magical Runic Infcription.fuppcfcd to ren-
lufl; mentioned in this difcoui fe, may be dcr thofe who bore it in battle invulncraMc.
inclined to thirk, that the notion of fpells Apud Hickef. Thcfaur. Differtat. Epiftol.
got into the ritual of chivalry. In all legal p. 187.
ji&gle cvmba'.^, eath champion attcfted upon
Tamerlane,
DISSERTATION I.
Tamerlane, who deftroyed mighty emph'es founded on arms
and military difcipline, and who baffled the efforts of the
ableft leaders. Their fcience and genius in war, fuch as it
then was, cannot therefore be doubted : that they were not
deficient in the arts of peace, I have ah'eady hinted, and now
proceed to produce more particular proofs. Innumerable
and very fundamental errors have crept into our reafonings
and fyftems about favage life, refulting merely from thofe
ftrong and undiftinguifliing notions of barbarifm, which our
prejudices have hallily formed concerning the charadler of
all rude nations '.
Among other arts which Odin's Goths planted in Scandi-
navia, their fkill in poetry, to which they were addifted irt
^ peculiar manner, and which they cultivated with a won-
xlerful enthufiafm, feems to be moft worthy our regard, and
cfpecially in our prefent inquiry.
As the principal heroes of their expedition into the north
■were honourably diftinguiflied from the Europeans, or ori-
ginal Scandinavians, under the name of As^, or Afiatics,
fo the verfes, or language, of this people, were denominated
AsAMAL, or Asiatic fpeech ''. Their poetry contained not
only the praifes of their heroes, but their popular traditions
and their religious rites ; and was filled with thofe fidlions
which the moft exaggerated pagan fupei-ftitioii would natu-
rally implant in the wild imaginations of an' Afiatic people.
And from this principle alone, I mean of their Afiatic origin,
fome critics would at once account for a certain capricious
fpirit of extravagance, and thofe bold eccentric conceptions,
which fo ftrongly diftinguifh. the old northern poetry '. Nor.
■ See this argument purfued in the fol- " erit."Steph. Stephan. Prafat. ad Saxon,
lowing Dissertation. Grammat. Hift.
'' " Linguam Danicara antiquam, cujus ' A moft ingenious critic obferves, that
" in rythmis ufus fuit, veteres appellarunt " what we have been long accullomed to
" AsAMAL,ideft Aiiaticam, vel A5ARUM " call the oriental vein of poetry,
*' Sermonem ; quod eum ex Alia Odinus " becaufe fome of the earliest poetical-
" fecum in Daniam, Norwegiam, Sueciam, " produftjons have come to us from the
" aliafque regioncs feptentrionales, invex- " eaft, is probably no more oriental
" than
DISSERTATION I.
is this fantaftic imagery, the only mark of Afiaticifm which
appears in the Runic odes. They have a certain fublime and
figurative caft of di£lion, which is indeed one of their pre-
dominant charadleriftics ", I am very fenfible that all rude
nations are naturally apt to cloath their fentiments in this
flvle. A propenfity to this mode of expreflion is neceffarily
occafioned by the poverty of their language, which obliges
them frequently to fubftitute fimilitudes and circumlocu-
tions : it arifes in great meafure from feelings undifguifed and
unreftrained by cuftom or art, and from the genuine efforts
of nature working more at large in uncultivated minds. In
the infancy of fociety, the paffions and the imagination are
alike uncontrouled. But another caufe feems to have con-
curred in producing the effect here mentioned. When ob-
vious terms and phrafes evidently occurred, the Runic poets
are fond of departing from the common and eftablifhed dic-
tion. They appear to ufe circumlocution and comparifons
not as ,a matter of neceffity, but of choice and fkill : nor
are thefe metaphorical colourings fo much the refult of want
of words, as of warmth of fancy ".
" than OCCIDENTAL." 'Blair's Crit. Difl".
on Oflian. vol. ii. p. 317. JBi't aU the la-
ter oriental writers through all ages have
been particularlytliftinguillied for this vein.
Hence it is here characterillical of a country
not of an age. I will allow, on this writer's
very jull and penetrating principles, that an
early northern ode fhall be as fublime as
an eaftern one. Yet the fublimity of the
latter Ihall have a different charafter ; it
will be more inHated and gigantic.
"' Thus, a Rainbow is called, ihe triJge
of the gods. Voelry, the mend cf Odin. The
earth, //ic fejlel that Jlcalt en nges. A fliip,
the horfe of thenua'ves. Ice, 'he inft bridge.
Herb;, the fleece of the earth. A Battle,
a bulh of blood, the hail if Odii:, the fkock
of liuklers. A Tongue, /■' e f.i crd of nnordt.
Night, the '■jtit 'f cares. Rocks, the honei
of the earth. Arrow's, the hailjhms of hel-
Mill, Uc. L/C,
" In a drift geographical fcnfe, the ori-
ginal country of thefe Afiatic Goths might
not be fo fituated as phyfically to have
produced thefe effedls. Yet it is to be ob-
fervcd, that intercourfe and vicinity are in
this cafe fometimcs equivalent to climate.
The Perfian traditions and fuperftitions
were current even in the northern parts of
Tartary. Georgia, however, may be fairly
confidered as a part of Pcrfia. It is equal
in fertility to any of ihe eaJlern Turkilli
provinces in ACti. It affords the richeft
wines, and other luxuries of life, in the
grcateft abundance. The moil beautiful
virgins for the feraglio are fetched from
(his province. In the mean time, thus much
at leall may be faid of a warm climate,
cxdufive of its fuppofcd immediate phyfi-
cal influence on the human mind and tim-
perament. It exhibits all the prodiidions
of nature in tlieir highell perftition and
beauty :
DISSERTATION I.
Their warmth of fancy, however, if fuppofed to have
proceeded from the principles above fuggefted, in a few ge-
nerations after tliis migration into Scandinavia, mufl: have
loft much of its natural heat and genuine force. Yet ideas
and fentiments, efpecially of this fort, once imbibed, are
long remembered and retained, in favage life. Their reli-
gion, among other caufes, might have contributed to keep
this fpirit alive ; and to preferve their original ftock of
images, and native mode of expreflion, unchanged and una-
bated by climate or country. In the mean time we may
fuppofe, that the new fituation of thefe people in Scan-
dinavia, might have added a darker fliade and a more favage
complexion to theit former ficl:ions and fuperftitions ; and
that the formidable" objefls of nature to which they became
familiarifed in thofe northern folitudes, the piny precipices,
the frozen mountains, and the gloomy forefts, a£ted on their
imaginations, and gave a tin6ture of horror to their imagery.
A {kill in poetry feems in fome meafure to have been a^
national fcience among the Scandinavians, and to have been
familiar to almoft every order and degree. Their kings and
warriors partook of this epidemic enthufiafm, and on fre-
quent occafions are reprefented as breaking forth into fpon-
taneous fongs and verfes-°. But the exercife of the poetical.
beauty : while the exceflive heat of the fun, mirth, chearing otirfel'vps nuith the drink of
and the fewer incitements to labour and in- ale; and ctming j'rom Haidclaiid pajjid tht
duftry, difpofe the inhabitants to indolence, gul' in our Jhips ; ivhen ive quafffd mead,
and to living much abroad in fcenes ofna- and con^erfed cf liberty. A'oia I alone am
ture. Thefe circumftances are favourable fallen into the narro'w prifons of the giant:.
to the operations of fancy. iii. It was far otherwife,&:c." Every ftanza is
° Harold Hardraade, king of Norway, introduced with the fame choral burden,
compofed fixteen fongs of his expedition Bartholin. Antiquit. Danic. L. i. cap. lo.
into Africa. Afbiorn Pruda, a Danifh p. 158. edit. 1689. The noble epicedium
champion, defcribed his pall life in nine of Regner Lodbrog is more commonly
ftrophes, while his enemy Bruce, a giant, known. The champion Orvarodd, after
was tearing out his bowels. " i. Tell my mo- his expedjfions into various countries, fung,
iher Suanhita in Denmark, that /he nxjill on his death-bed, the moft memorable
ntt this fummtr cmh the lair cf her foil. events of his life in metre. Hailmund, be-
I- had promifed her to retarn, but new my fide ing mortally wounded, commanded his
Jh all feel the edge of the ftvord. ii. It was daughter to liften to a poem which he was
far otherwife, i.vhen ive fate at home in about to deliver, containing hiftories of his
viftories,.
DISSERTATION I.
talent was properly confined to a ftated profefTion : and with
their poetry the Goths imported into Europe a fpecies of
poets or fingers, whom they called Scalds or Polishers of
Language. This order of men, as we fliall fee more
diftinclly below, was held in the higheft honour and vene-
ration : they received the moft liberal rewards for their
verfes, attended the feflivals of heroic chiefs, accompanied
them in battle, and celebrated their viflories ^
Thefe Scandinavian bards appear to have been efleemed
and entertained in other countiies befides their own, and
by that means to have probably communicated their fi(5lions
to various parts of Europe. I will give my reafons for this
fuppofition.
In the early ages of Europe, before many regular govern-
ments took place, revolutions, emigrations, and invafions,
were frequent and almoft univerfal. Nations were alter-
viflories, and to engrave it on tablets of
wood. Bartholin, ibid. p. 162. Saxo
Grammaticus gives us a regular ode, ut-
tered by the Ton of a king of Norway,
who by mjftake had been buried alive, and
was difcovered and awakened by a party
of foldiers digging for treafure. Sax.
Grammat. L. 5. p. 50. There are in-
ftances recorded of their fpeaking in metre
OiAhe moll common occurrences.
' The Sogdians were a people who lived
eallward of the Cafpian fea, not far from
the country of Odin's Goths. Quintus
Curtius relates, that when fome of that
people were condemned to death by Alex-
ander on account of a revolt, they rejoiced
greatly, and teftified their joy by sing-
ing VERSES and dancing. When the
king enquired the reafon of their joy, they
anfwered, " that being foon to be re-
" STORED TO THEIR ANCESTORS by fo
" great a conqueror, they could not help
" celebrating fo honourable a death,
" which was the wish of all brave men,
*' in their own accustomed songs."
Lib. vii. c. 8. I am obliged to doftor
Percy for pointing out this paffage. From
the coiTefpoiuience of manners and princi-
ples it holds forth between the Scandina-
vians and the Sogdians, it contains a ilrik-
ing proof of Odin's migration from the
eail to the north : firft, in the fpontaneous
exercife of the poetical talent ; and fe-
condly, in the opinion, that a glorious or
warlike death, which admitted them to the
company of their friends and parents in
another world, was to be embraced with
the moll eager alacrity, and the higheft
fenfations of pleafore. This is the doc-
trine of the Edda. In the fame fpirit,
RiDENS MORiAR is the triumphant clofe
of Regner Lodbrog's dying ode. [See
Keyder, ubiinfr. p. 1 27.] 1 cannot help add-
ing here another ftroke from this ode, which
fcems alfo to be founded on eaftern man-
ners. He fpeaks with great rapture of
drinking, " ex concavis crateribus cranio-
'* rum." The inhabitants of the ifland
of Ceylon to this day caroufe at their
feafts, from cups or bowls made of the
fculls of their deceafed anceftors. Ives's
Voyage to India, ch. 5. p. 62. Lond.
1773. 4to. This praftice thefe iflanders
undoubtedly received from the neighbour-
ing continent. Compare Keyfler, Anti-
quitat. Sel. Septentrional, p. 362. feq.
natelv
DISSERTATION I.
nately deftroyed or formed ; and the want of political fecurity
expofed the inhabitants of every country to a flate of eternal
fludluation. That Britain was originally peopled from Gaul,
a nation of the Celts, is allowed : but that many colonies
from the northern parts of Europe were afterwards fuc-
ceflively planted in Britain and the neighbouring iflands, is
an hypothefis equally rational, and not altogether deftitute
of hiftorical evidence. Nor was any nation more likely than
the Scandinavian Goths, I mean in their early periods, to
make defcents on Britain, ^ They pofTelTed the fpirit of
adventure in an eminent degree. They were habituated to
dangerous enterprifes. They were acquainted with diftant
coafts, exercifed in navigation, and fond of making expe-
ditions, in hopes of conqueft, and in fearch of new acqui-
fitions. As to Scotland and Ireland, there is the higheft
probability, that the Scutes, who conquered both thofe coun-
tries, and poflefled them under the names of Albin Scutes
and Irin Scutes, were a people of Norway. The Caledo-
nians are exprefsly called by many judicious antiquaries a
Scandinavian colony. The names of places and perfons,
over all that part of Scotland which the Pi6ls inhabited,
are of Scandinavian extra6lion. A fimple catalogue of them
only, would immediately convince us, that they are not
of Celtic, or Britifli, origin. Flaherty reports it as a re-
ceived opinion, and a general do6lrine, that the Pi£ls mi-
grated into Britain and Ireland from Scandinavia ■■. I for-
bear to accumulate a pedantic parade of authorities on this
occafion : nor can it be expelled that I fliould enter into a
formal and exa6t examination of this obfcure an^ compli-
^ It is conjeftured by Wormius, that /?•<.'- brated archers. Hence Hercules In Theo-
landii derived from the Runic Yr, a bow, critus, Idyll, xlii. c6.
for the ufe of which the Irifli were once — Maiiliri >^apm imaTrfj,ia.%Q^a..
famous. Lit. Run. c. xvii. p. loi. The Compare Salmaf.de Hellen. p. 369. And
Afiatics near the lake Maeotis, from which Flahert. Ogyg. Part. iii. cap. xviii. p 1S8.
Odin led his colony in Europe, were cele- edit. 16S5. Stillingfleet's Orig. Brit. Prsf.
p. xxxviii,
e cated
DISSERTATION I.
Gated fubjeft in its full extent, which is here only intro-
duced incidentally. I will only add, that Scotland and Ire-
land, as being fituatcd more to the north, and probably lefs
difficult of accefs than Britain, miglit have been obie6ts on
which our northern adventurers were invited to try fome
of their earlieft excurlions : and that the Orkney-iflands
remained long under the jui^ifdi^tion of the Norwegian
potentates.
In thefe expeditions, the northern emigrants, as we fhall
p"ove more particularly below, were undoubtedly attended
by their fcalds or poets. Yet even in times of peace, and
without the fuppolition of conqueft or invafion, the Scan-
dinavian fcalds might have been well known in the Britifli
iflands. PofTefled of a fpecious and pleafing talent, they fre-
quented the courts of the Britifli, Scottifli, and Irifli chief-
tains. They were itinerants by their inftitution, and made
voyages, out of curiofity, or in quell of rewards, to thofe
iflands or coafts which lay within the circle of their mari-
time knowledge. By thefe means, they efliabliflied an in-
tcreft, rendered their profefllon popular, propagated their
ait, and circulated their fi6lians, in other countries, and at
a diflrance from home. Torfaeus aflerts pofitively, that
various Iflandic odes now remain, which were fung by the
Scandinavian bards before the kings of England and Ireland,
and for which they received liberal gratuities '. They were
more cfpecially carefll;d and rewarded at the courts of thofe
princes, who were difl:inguiflied for their warlike chara6ter,
and their paflion for military glory.
Olaus ^ormius informs us, that great numbers of the
northern fcalds confl:antly refided in the courts of the kings
of Sweden, Denmark, and England '. Hence the tradition
in an antient Iflandic Saga, or poetical hifl:ory, may be ex-
plained ; which fays, that Odin's language was originally
' Torf. Hill. Oread, in Prxfat. '* Lit. Dan. p. 195. cd. 410.
ufed.
DISSERT 1 T I O N I.
ufed, not only in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, but even
in England '. Indeed it may be naturally concluded from
thefe fuggeftions, that the Scandinavian tongue became fami-
liar in the Britifh iflands by the fongs of the fcalds : unlefs
it be rather prefumed, that a previous knowledge of that
tongue in Britain was the means of facilitating the admifllon
of thofe poets, and preparing the way for their reception.
And here it will be much to our prefent argument to
obferve, that fome of the old Gothic and Scandinavian fu-
perftitions are to this day retained in the Englifh language.
Mara, from whence our Night-mare is derived, was in the
Runic theology a fpirit or fpeftre of the night, which feized
men in their fleep, and fuddenly deprived them of fpeech
and motion ". Nicka was the Gothic demon who inha-
bited the element of water, and who ftrangled perfons that
were drowning "". Boh was one of the moft fierce and
formidable of the Gothic generals ", and the fon of Odin :
the mention of whofe name only was fufficient to fpread an
immediate panic among his enemies \
' Bartholin, iii. 2. p. 651. It was a of the Danifh hiftorians, that the Danes
conftant old Britifh traditiooj that king and Angles, whofe fucceflbrs ga\'e the nam«
Arthur conquered Ireland, Gothland, Den- to this ifland, had the fame origin.
mark, and Norway. See Galfrid. MonBin. " See Keyfler, Antiquitat. Sel. Septen-
ix. 1 1. Rob.of Glouc. ed. Hearne, p. 180. trional. p. 497. edit. 1720.
182. What is faid in the text muft have " See Keyfler, ut fupr. p. 261. And
greatly facilitated the Saxon and Danifh in Addend, ibid, p 588.
ccnquefts in England. The works of the * See Keyfler, ibid. p. loi;. p. 130.
genuine Caedmon are written in the Ian- y See Temple's EfTays, part 4. pag. 346.
guage of the anticnt Angles, who were See alfo inftances of conformity between
nearly connefted with the Jutes. Hence Englifh and Gothic fuperftitions in Bar-
that language refembled the antientD.anifh, tholinus, L. ii. cap. 2. p. 262. 266. It
as appears from paffages of Caedmon cited may be urged, that thefe fuperflitions
by Wanley. Hence alfo it happened, that might be introduced by the Danes ; of
the later Dano-Saxonic dialed, in which whom I ihall fpeak below. But this brings
Junius's Poetical Paraphrase of us to juft the fame point. The learned
Genesis was written, is likewife fo very Hickes was of opinion, from a multitude
fimilar to the language of the antient of inftances, that our trials by a jury of
Angles, who fettled in the more northern Twelve, was an early Scandinavian in-
parts of England. And in this dialeft, ftitution, and that it was brought from
which indeed prevailed in fome degree thence into England. Yet he fuppofes, at
almoft over all England, many other poems a period later than is ncceffary, the Nor-
arecompofed, mentioned likewife in Wan- man invafion. See Wootton's Confpeflus
ley's Catalogue. It is the conftant doftrine of Hickes's Thefaur. pag. 46. Lond. 1708.
e 2 And
DISSERTATION
I.
The fiflions of Odin and of his Scandinavians, muft
have taken flill deeper root in the Britifh iflands, at leaft in
England, from the Saxon and Danifh invafions.
That the tales of the Scandinavian fcalds flourifhed among
the Saxons, who fucceeded.to the Britons, and became pof-
feffors of England in the fixth century, may be juftly pre-
fumed ^. The Saxons were originally feated in the Cimbric
Cherfonefe, or thofe territories which have been fmce called
Jutland, Angelen, and Holftein ; and were fond of tracing
the defcent of their princes from Odin \ They were there-
fore a part of the Scandinavian tribes. They imported with
them into England the old Runic language and letters. This
appears frcan infcriptions on coins ^, ftones % and other mo-
And Hickef. Thefaur. Diflertat. Epiftol.
vol. i. p. 38. feq. The number twelve
was facred among the Septentrional tribes.
Odin's Judges are twelve, and have
TWELVE feats in Gladheim. Edd. Isl.
fab. vii. The God of the Edda has
TWELVE names, ibid, fab, i. An Arifto-
cracy of twelve is a well known antient
eftablifhment in the north. In the Dia-
logue between Hervor and Angantyr, the
latter promifes to give Hervor twelve
MENS DEATHS. Hervarcr-Saga, apiid Ol.
Verel. cap. vii. p. 91. The Druidical
circular monuments of fcparate Hones ereft,
are more frequently of the number twelve,
than of any other number. See Borlafe,
Antiquit. Comw. B. iii. ch. vii. edit.
1769. fol. And Toland, Hill. Druid,
p. 89. 158. 160. Se alfo Martin's Hebrid.
p. 9. In Zealand and Sweden, many
antient circular monuments, confilHng each
of twelve rude ftones, ftill remain, which
were the places of judicature. My late
very learned, ingenious, and refpcfted
friend, doftor Borlafe, pointed out to me
monuments of the fafnc fort in Cornwall.
Compare Keyflcr, p. 93. And- it will
illuftrate remarks already made, and the
principles infmuatcd in this DiiTcrtation,
to obfcrve, that thefe monuments are
fcund in I'erfia near Tauris. GeoiFiey of
Monmouth affords inftances in his Britiili
Hiftory. The knights fent into Wales by
I'itzhammon, in 1091, were twelve.
Powel, p. 1 24. fub anno. See alfo an ia-
ftance in Du Carell, Anglo-Norman An-
TiQ^ p. 9. It is probable that Charle-
magne formed his twelve. Peers on.this
principle. From whom Spenfer evidently
took his Twelve Knights.
^ " Ex vetuftioribus poetis Cimbrorum,
" nempe Scaldis et TheotlfcK gentis verfi-
" ficatoribus, plane multa, ut par eft cre-
" dere, fumpfcre." Hickef. Thefaur. i.
p. 101 . See p. 117.
^ See Gibfon's Chron. Saxon, p. li.
feq. HiftoriansmentionWo den's Beorth,
i. e. Woden's hill, in Wiltftiire. See Mil-
ton, Hift. Engl. An. 588.
'' See Sir A. Fountaine's Pref. Saxon
Money. Offa. Rex. Sc. Botred Mo-
netarius, &c. See alfo Screnii Diftiorr.
Anglo-Suecico-Latin. Pr.-ef. pag. 21.
' See Hickes's Thefaur. Baptisterium
Bridekirkekse. Par. iii. p. 4. Tab.
ii. Saxum revellense tipud Scotos.
Ibid. Tab. iv. pag. 5. — Crux Lapidea
apud lieaiicajlh: Wanlcy Catal. MSS.
Anglo-Sax. pag. 248. ad calc. Hickef.
Thefaur. Annulus aureus. Drake's
York, Append, p. 102. Tab. N. 26. And
Gordon's Itin. Septentr. p. 168.
numents i
DISSERTATION
I.
numents ; and from fome of their manufcripts *. It is well
known that Runic infcriptions have been difcovered in Cum-
berland and Scotland : and that there is even extant a com
of king Offa, with a Runic legend ". But the converfioa
of the Saxons to chriflianity, which happened before the
feventh century, entirely banilhed the conmion ufe of thofe cha-
racters \ which were efteemed unhallowed and necromantic ;
and with their antient fuperftitions, which yet prevailed for
fome time in the popular belief, abolifhed in fome meafurc
their native and original vein of poetic fabling ^. They fud-
denly became a mild and poliflied people, addicted to the arts
of peace, and the exercife of devotion ; and the poems they
have left us are chiefly moral rhapfodies, fcriptural hiftories,,
or religious invocations ^ Yet even in thefe pieces they
have frequent allufions to the old fcaldic' fables and heroes.
Thus, in an Anglo-Saxon poem on Judith, Holofernes is
* See Hickes's Thefaur. Par. i. pag. 135.
136. 148. Par. iii. Tab. i. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
It may be conjeftured, that thefe charafters
were introduced by the Danes. It is certain
that they never grew into common ufe.
They were at leall inconvenient, as con-
fifting of capitals. We have no remains
of Saxon writing fo old as the fixth century.
Nor are there any of the feventh, except a
very few charters. [Bibl. Bodl. NB. D. n .
19. feq.] See Hickes's Thefaur. Par. i.
pag. 169. Sec alfo Chart. \ Odilredi
adMonasterium te Berking. Tab. i.
Cadey's Cat. Bibl. Reg. In the Britifh
Mufeum.
" See ARCH^ffiOL. vol. ii. p. 131. A. D.
1773. 4to.
* But fee Hickes, ubi fupr. i. p. 140.
S It has been fuggefted to rue by an in^
genious friend, that Guy and fir Bevis,
the firft of which lived in the reign of
Athelftan, and the latter, as fome fup-
pofe, in that of Edgar, both chriftian
champions againll the pagan Danes, were
twiginally fubjerts of the genuine S.xxon
bards. But I rather think, they begun to
he celebrated in or after tlie crufades ; the
nature of which expeditions diard( arc to accompany him. Ibid.
L. i. cap. viii. p. 11. The Cornu BubaVt-
num may be explained from a paffage in a
poem, compofed about the year 1160, by
Ovvain Cyveiliog prince of Powis, which
he entitled Hi R LAS, from a large drink-
ing horn fo called, ufed at feails in his
callle-hall. " Pour out, o cup-bearer, fweet
" and plcafant mead (the fpear is red in
" the time of need) from the horns of
" wild oxen, covered with gold, to the fouls
" of thofe departed heroes." Evans, p. 12.
By thefe laws the king's harp is to be
worth one hundred and twenty pence : but
that of a gentlem.nn, or one not a vaflal,
fixty pence. The king's chefs-board is
valued at the fame price : and the inftru-
mcnt for fixing or tuning the ftrings of the
king's harp, at twenty-four pence. His
drinking-horn, at one pound. Ibid. L. iii.
cap. vii. p. 265.
•I There are two mufici.ans : the Muficus
PRiMARius, who probably was a teacher,
and certainly a fuperintcnd.mt over the red;
and the Hall-m usici ak. Leg. ut fupr.
L. i. cap. xlv. p. 68.
' " Jus cithedrae." Ibid. L. i. cap. x.
p. 13.
' See Seldcn, Drayt. Polyolb. S. ix.
pag. 156. S. iv. pag. 67. edit. 1613. fol.
" as
DISSERTATION I.
" as alfo by the names of the tunes and meafures ufed
" among them to this daie '." In Ireland, to kill a bard
was highly criminal : and to feize his eflate, even for the
public fervice and in time of national diftrefs, was deemed
an aft of facrilege ". Thus in the old Welih laws, whoever
even flightly injured a bard, was to be fined fix cows and
one hundred and twenty pence. The murtherer of a bard
was to be fined one hundred and twenty-fix cows *. Nor
muft I pafs over, what reflefls much light on this reafoning^
that the eftablifhment of the houihold of the old Irifli
chiefs, exa6lly refembles that of the WeKh kings. For,
befides the bard, the mufician, and the fmith, they have
both a phyfician, a huntfman, and other correfponding
officers ^ We muft alfo remember, that an intercourfe was
neceflarily produced between the Welfli and Scandinavians,
from the piratical irruptions of the latter : their fcalds, as
I have already remarked, were refpefted and patronifed in
the courts of thofe princes, whofe territories were the prin-
cipal objefts of the Danifh invafions. Torfaeus exprefsly
affirms this of the Anglo-Saxon and Irifli kings ; and it is
' Hift. of Cambr. p. 191. edit. 1584. " to him except it be Musicians /»
" Keating's Hift. Ireland, pag. 132. " Jllace the emperour." chap. Ixvii. p. 100.
*' Leg. Wall, ut fupr. L. i. cap. xix. Here is another proof of the correfpon-
pag. 35.ieq. See alfo cap. xlv. p. 68. We dence between the eaflern and northern
find the fame refpeft paid to the bard in cuftoms: and this inftance might be brought
other conftitutions. " Qui Harpato- as an argument of the bardic inftitution being
•' REM, &c. whoever ftall ftrike a har- fetched from the eaft. Leo Afer mentions
" PER who can harp in a public affembly, the Pc(7s." ibid. Lib. i. p. i;. The
fame hiftorian alfo relates, that his coun-
try meu
DISSERTATION
I.
But we are not informed whether thefe were Scandinavian,
Celtic, or Teutonic poems.
About the beginning of the tenth century, France was
invaded by the Normans, or Northern-men, an army of
adventurers from Norway, Denmaik, and Sweden. And
although the conquerors, efpecially when their fuccefs does
not folely depend on fuperiority of numbers, ufually aflame
trymen kad a poetical hillory called the
Book of Heroes, containing the at-
chievements of the German warriors, ibid.
Lib. i. p. 18. See dfo ibid. Lib. vii.
p. 432. Lib. L p. 9. And many other
pafiages to this purpofe. Suffridus Petrus
cites fome old Frifian rhymes, De Orig.
Frifior. I. iii. c. z. Compare Robertlbn's
Hift. Charles V. vol. i. p. 23,. edit. 1772.
From Ttithemius a German abbot and
hiftorian, who wrote about 1490, we learn,
that among the antient Franks and Ger-
mans, it was an exercife in the education of
youth, for them to learn to repeat and to
iing verfes of the atchievements of their
keroes. Compend. Annal. L. i. p. 1 1 . edit.
Francof. l6oi. Probably thefe were the
poems which Charlemagne is faid to have
io>ri7/iillid to memory.
The molt antient Theotifc or Teutonic
ode I know, is an Epinicion publifhed by
Schilter, in the fecond volume of his The-
saurus Antiquitatum Teutoni-
CARUM, written in the year 8S3. He en-
titles it EniNIKION rythmo Teutonico Ludo-
•uico regi acclamatum cam Northtnannoi anno
Dccccxxxui 'vkijjit. It is in rhyme,
and in the four-lined ftanza. It was tran-
fcribed by Mabillon from a manufcript in
the monaftery of ijaint Amand in Holland.
I will give a fpecimen from Schilter's Latin
interpretation, but not on account of the
merit of the poetry. " The king feized
" his fhield and lance, galloping haftily.
" He truly wilhed to revenge himfelf on
" his .adverfaries. Nor was there a long
" delay : he found the Nonnans. He
"^ faid, thanks be to God, at feeing what
*' he dcfired. The king rafhed on boldly,
■" he firft begun the cuftomary fong Ksrie
" eleifon, in which they all joined. The
*' long was fung, the battle begun. The
" blood appeared in the cheeks of the im-
" patient Fr.inks. Every foldier took his
" revenge, but none like Louis. Impe-
" tuous, bold, &c." As to the military
chorus Kyrie elei/on, it appears to have
been ufed by the chriftian emperors before
an engagement. See Bona, Rer. Liturg,
ii. c. 4.. Voffius, Theolog Gentil. i. c. z,
3. Matth. Brouerius de Niedek, De Po-
pulor. vet. et recent. Adoratianibus, p. 31.
And, among the antient Norvegians, Er-
lingus Scacchius before he attacked earl
Sigund, commanded his army to pronounce
this formulary aloud, and to ftrike their
fhields. Sec Dolmerus ad Hird-skraan,
five Jus Aulicum antiq. Norvegic. p. 51-
p. 413. edit. Hafn. 1673, Engelhufius,
in defcribing a battle with the Huns in the
year 934, relates, that the chriftians at the
onfet cried, Kjrie ileifoti, but on the other
fide, diabolka 'vox hiu, hiu, hiu, audit-.tr.
Chronic, p. 1073. in torn. ii. Scriptor.
Brunf Leibnit. Compare Bed. Hill. Ec-
clef. Anglican, lib. ii. c. 20. And Schil-
terus, ubi fupr. p. 17. And Sarbiev. Od.
1. 24 The Greek church appears to have
had a fet of military hymns, probably for
the ufe of the foldiers, either in battle ot
in the camp. In a Cat.alogue of the manu-
fcripts of the library of Berne, there is
" Sylloee Tafticorum Leonis Imperatoris
" cui operi finem Lmponunt Hymni Mi>.
" UTARES quibus ille titulus, AxoAaflia
" s-feola, &c." Catal. Cod, &c. p. 600.
See Meurfius's edit, of Leo's Tactics,
c. xii. p. ijy. Lugd. Bat. 161.-'.. 410. But
to return to the main fubjeft o{ this tedious
note. Wagenfci!, in a letter to Cuperus,
mentions a treadie writtea by one Kmeft
Cafimir Waflenbatk, I fuppofe a German,
withthis title, " De Bardis ac Barditu, five
" anUouii
D'l S S E R T A T I O N
I.
the manners of the conquered, yet thefe ftrangers muft hajvc
ftill further familiarifed in France many of their northern
fi6lions.
From this general circulation in thefe and other countries;'
and from that popularity which it is natural to fuppofe they
muft have acquired, the fcaldic inventions might have taken
deep root in Europe ". At leaft they feem to have prepared
the way for the more eafy admiffion of the Arabian fabling
about the ninth century, by which they were, however, in
great meafure, fuperfeded. The Arabian fiftions were of
a more fplendid nature, and better adapted to the increafmg
civility of the times. Lefs horrible and grofs, they had a
novelty, a variety, and a magnificence, which carried
with them the charm of fafcination. Yet it is probable,
that many of the fcaldic imaginations might have been
blended with the Arabian. In the mean time, there is great
reafon to believe, that the Gothic fcalds enriched their vein
of fabling from this new and fruitful fource of fidlion,
opened by the Arabians in Spain, and afterwards propagated
by the crufades. It was in many refpefts cogenial with
their own '' : and the northern bards, who vifited the coun-
" antiquis Carminibus ac Cantilenis vete-
" rum Germanorum Diflertatio, cui junc-
" tus eft de S. Annone Colonienfi arcliiepi-
" fcopo vetuftiflimus omnium Germanorum
" rhythmus et monumentum." See Polen.
Supplem. Thefaur. Gronov. et Grsv. torn,
iv. p. 24. I do not think it was ever
publiftied. See Joach. Swabius, de Semno-
theis veterum Germanorum philofophis.
p. 8. And Sect, i.infr. p. 7 8. Pclloutier,
fur la Lang. Celt, part i. torn. i. ch. xii.
p. 20.
We muft be careful to diftinguifti be-
tween the poetry of the Scandinavians, the
Teutonics, and the Celts. As moft of the
Celtic and Teatonic nations were early
converted to chrillianity, it is hard to find
any of ihcir native fongs. But 1 muft e.\'-
•ctpt the poems of Oilian, which arc noble
and genuine remains of the Celtic poetry.
'^ Of the long continuance of the Celtic
fuperftitions in the popular belief, fee what
is faid in the moll elegant and judicious
piece of criticifm which the prefent age has
produced, Mrs. Montague's Essay on
Shakespeark. p. 145. edit. 1772.
'' Befides the general wildnefs of the
imagery in both, among other particular
circumftances of coincidence which might
be mentioned here, the pradice of giving
names to fwords, which we find in the
fcaldic poems, occurs alfo among the
Arabians. In the Hervarrr Saga, the
fword of Su.orfulama is called Tirfinc.
Hickd". Thef. i. p. 193. 'i"he names of
fwords of many of tlie old northern chiefs
arc given us by Olaus Wormius, Lit Run.
cap. xix. p. 110. 410. ed. Thus, Herbe-
lot recites a long catalogue of the names
of the fwords of the moft famous Arabiah
and
DISSERTATION L
tries where thefe new fancies were fpreading, muft have
been naturally ftruck with fuch wonders, and were certainly
fond of picking up frefli embellifliments, and new ftrokes
of the marvellous, for augmenting and improving their
flock of poetry. The earlieft fcald now on record is not
before the year 750. From which time the fcalds flouriflied
in the northern countries, till below the year 1157%
The celebrated ode of Regner Lodbrog was compofed about
the end of the ninth century ^
And that this hypothefis is partly true, may be concluded
from the fubje6ls of fome of the old Scandic romances,
manufcripts of which now remain in the royal library at
Stockholm. The titles of a few fhall ferve for a fpecimen ;
which I will make no apology for giving at large. " Sagan
" AF HiALMTER oc Olwer. The Hiilory of Hialmter
" king of Sweden, fon of a Syrian princefs, and of Olver
" Jarl. Containing their expeditions into Hunland, and
" Arabia, with their numerous encounters with the Vikings
" and the giants. Alfo their leagues with Alfola, daughter
" of Ringer king of Arabia, afterwards married to Hervor
" king of Hunland, &c. Sagan af Siod. The Hiftory
" of Siod, fon of Ridgare king of England ; who firft was
" made king of England, afterwards of Babylon and Nijiiveh.
and Perfic warriors. V. Saif. p. 736. b. Sptnkr CdXh, this delighifidl lo>:de of Fserie.
Mahomet had nine fwords, all which are Yet I muft add, that from one, or both,
named. As were alfo his bows, quivers, cui- of thefe fources, king Arthur's fword
raffes, helmets, and lances. His fwords is named in Geoffrey of Monmouth,
vjereciWed. The Piercing. Ruin, Death, Sic. Lib. ix. cap. II. Ron is alfo the
Mod. Univ. Hift. i. p.253. This is com- name of his lance, ibid. cap. 4. And
mon in the romance-writers and Arlofto. Turpin calls Charlemagne's fword Gau-
Mahomet'j horfes had alfo pompous or dio/a. See Obf Spenf i. §. vi. p. 214.
heroic appellations. Such as the Sivi/t, By the way, from thefe correfpondencies.
The T'hundenr, Shaking the earth ijjith his an argument might be drawn, to prove the
botf. The Red, &c. As likewife his mules, oriental origin of the Goths. And fome
afles, and camels. Horfes were named in perhaps may think them proofs of the
this manner among the Runic heroes. See doilrine juft now fuggefted in the text,
01. Worm, ut fupr. p. no Odin's horfe that the fcalds borrowed from the Arabians,
was called Sl'^ipi.er. See Edda Ifland. "= Ol. Worm. Lit. Run. p. 241.
fab. xxi. I couid give other proofs. But f Id. Ibid. p. 196.
we have already wandered too far, in what
h " Comprc-
DISSERTATION
I.
" Comprehending various occurrences in Saxland, Babylon.,
" Greece^ Africa, and efpecialiy in Eirice ° the region of the
" giants. — Sagan af Alefleck. The Hiftory of Alefleck,
" a king of England, and of his expeditions into India and
" T'artary. — Sagan af Erik Widforla. The Hiftory of
" Eric the traveller, who, with his companion Eric, a Danifli
" prince, undertook a wonderful journey to Odin's Hall,
" or Oden's Aker, near the river Pifon in India \" Here
we fee the circle of the Iflandic poetry enlarged j and the
names of countries and cities belonging to another quarter
of the globe, Arabia, India, Tartary, Syria, Greece, Babylon,
and Niniveh, intermixed with thofe of Hunland, Sweden,
and England, and adopted into the northern romantic nar-
ratives. Even Charlemagne and Arthur, whofe hiftories, as
we have already feen, had been fo lavifhly decorated by the
Arabian fablers, did not efcape the Scandinavian fcalds '.
Accordingly we find thefe fubje6ls among their Sagas.
" Sagan af Erik Einglands Kappe. The Hiftory of
** Eric, fon of king Hiac, king Arthur's chief wreftler. —
" Historical rhymes of king Arthur, containing his
" league with Charlemagne. ——Sagan af Ivent. The
" Hiftory of Ivent, king Arthur's principal champion,
" containing his battles with the giants \ Sagan af
s In the Latin Eiric^a recione.
f. Erfe or Irifh land.
'' Wanley, apud Hickes, iii. p. 314. feq.
' It is amazing how early and how uni-
vcrfally this fable was fpread. G. de la
flamma fays, that in the year 1339, an
antient tomb of a king of the Lombards
wr.s broke up in Italy. On his fword was
written, " C'el eft I'efpee de MeferTriftant,
" un qui occift i'Amoroyt d'Yrlant." —
i. e. " This is the fword of fir Triftram,
*' who killed Amoroyt of Ireland."
Script. Ital. torn. xii. 1028. The
Germans are faid to have fome very an-
tient narrative fongs on our old Britilh
heroes, 'iViftrani, Gawain, and the reft 06
Xhe knights k'n: litr Tafil-ronde. See Gol-
daft. Not. Vit. Carol. Magn. p. 207. edit.
171 1.
'' They have alfo, " Bretomanna
" Saga, The Hiliory of the Britons,
" from Eneas the Trojan to tJie emperor
" Conftantius." Wanl. ibid. There are
many others, perhaps of later date, re-
lating to Englilh hiftory, particularly the
hiftory of William the Baftard and other
chriftians, in their expedition into the holy
land. The hiftory of the dellrjdtion of
the monartcrico in England, by William
Rufus. Wanl. ibid.
In the hiltery of the library at Upfal,
I find tJie following articles, which arc left
to the conjeftures ol the i urious enquirer.
Hiitoria Bibliuth, Lpialienf. per Cclfium.
Upf.
DISSERTATION I.
" Karlamagnuse of iioPPUM HANS. 'T'hc Hijlory of Clmrh-
" magne, of his champions, and captains. Containing all his
" actions in leveral parts, i. Of his birth and coronation :
" and the combat of Carvetus king of Babylon, with Od-
" degir the Dane '. 2. Of Aglandus king of Africa, and of
" his fon Jatmund, and their wars in Spain with Charle-
*' magne. 3. Of Roland, and his combat with Villaline king
•' of Spain. 4. Of Ottuel's converfion to chriftianity, and
" his marriage with Charlemagne's daughter. 5. Of Hugh
*' king of Conftantinople, and the memorable exploits of
" his champions. 6. Of the wars of Ferracute king of
*' Spain. 7. Of Charlemagne's atchlevements in Rounce-
*' valles, and of his death "." In another of the Sagas,
Jarl, a magician of Saxland, exhibits his feats of necro-
mancy before Charlemagne. We learn from Olaus Magnus,
that Roland's magical horn, of which archbifhop Turpi n relates
fuch wonders, and among others that it might be heard at
the diftance of twenty miles, was frequently celebrated in
the fongs of the Iflandic bards ". It is not likely that thefe
pieces, to fay no more, were compofed till the Scandinavian
tribes had been converted to chriftianity j that is, as I have
before obferved, about the clofe of the tenth century. * Thefe
barbarians had an infinite and a national contempt for the
chriftians, whofe religion inculcated a fpirit of peace, gen-
tlenefs, and civility ; qualities fo diflimilar to thofe of their own
Upf.1745. 8vo. — pag. 88. Artie, vii. Va-
ris Britannorum fabuls, quas in carmine
converfas olim, atque in conviviis ad citha-
ram decantari folitas fuifTe, pcrhibent.
Sunt autem relationes de Guiamap^o
equite Britannia meridionalis . that others ihall be hin-
" dered from the ufe of the fame "". The famous library
eftabliflied in the univerfity of Oxford, by that munificent
patron of literature Humphrey d\ike of Glouceiler, contained
only fix hundred volumes '. About the commencement of
the fourteenth century, there were only four claflics in the
royal library at Paris. Thefe were one copy of Cicero, Ovid,
Lucan, and Boethius. The reft were chiefly books of devo-
tion, which included but few of the fathers : many treatifes
of aftrology, geomancy, chiromancy, and medicine, originally
written in Arabic, and tranflated into Latin or French :
pande6ls, chronicles, and romances. This collection was
principally made by Charles the fifth, who began his reign
libraria S. Aiiguftini Cantunrifr, MSS. ^eign to the fubjeft of this note to add,
C C. C. Oxon. 125. And Bibl Cotton. that king Henry the ii.xth intended a li-
Erit. Muf. Jul. C. vi. 4. .^nd Leland, brary at Kton college, fifty-two feet long,
Coll. iii. 10. 120. Leland who was libra- and twenty-fuur broad: and another at
rian to Henry the eighth, remo\'cd a large King's colltge in (Cambridge of the fame
quantity of valuable manufcripts from St. breadlh, but one hundred and two feet in
Auilin's Canterbury and from oihcr mo- length. Ex Teftam. dat. xii. Mar. 1447.
naileries at the diffolution, to that king's li- " " Nuilus occupet unum librum, vci
brary at Weftminiler. See Script. Brit. " occupari facial, ultra unam horam tt
Ethelstanus. And MSS. Reg 1 A. " duas ad majus : fic quod cajteri retra-
xviii. For the fake of connexion I will " hantur a vifu et Ikidio ejufdem." Sta-
obferve, that among our cathedral libraries tut. Coll. S. Maria; pro Ofeney. De Li-
of fecular canons, that of the church of biiari.\. f. 21. MSS. Rawlinf. BibJ. Bodl.
'Wells was moil magnificent : it was built O.xon.
about the year 1420, and contained twenty- ' Wood, ubi fupr. ii. 49. col. ii. It
five windows on either fide. Leland, was not opened till the year 14S0, Ibid.
Coll. i. p. 109. In which ftate, I believe, p. 50. col. i.
it continues at prcfent. Nor is it quite fo-
b 2 in
DISSERTATION 11.
In I'' 65. This monarch was palTionately fond of reading,
and it was the faihion to fend him prefents of books from
every part of the kingdom of France. Thefe he ordered to
be elegantly tranfcribed, and richly illuminated ; and he placed
them in a tower of the Louvre, from thence called, la toure
ik la Ubraire. The whole confifted of nine hundred volumes.
They wei'e depofited in three chambers j which, on this oc-
cafion, were wainfcotted with Irifli oak, and cieled with
cyprefs curioufly carved. The windows were of painted
g'lafs, fenced with iron bars and copper wire. The Englilh
became mafters of Paris in the year 1425. On which event
the duke of Bedford, regent of France, fcnt this whole li-
brary, then confiding of only eight hundred and fifty-three
volumes, and valued at two thoufand two hundred and twenty-
three livres, into England j where perhaps they became the
ground-work of duke Humphrey's library juft mentioned ' .
Even fo late as the year 1471, when Louis the eleventh
of France borrowed the works of the Arabian phyfician
Rhafis, from the faculty of medicine at Paris, he not only
depofited by way of pledge a quantity of valuable plate, but
was obliged to procure a nobleman to join with him as
furety in a deed \ by which he bound himfelf to return it
iinder a confidcrable forfeiture ^ The exceflive prices of
books in the middle ages, afford ntimerous and curious
proofs. I will mention a few only. In the year 1 174, Wal-
ter prior of St. Swithin's at Winchefter, afterwards elefted
abbot of Weftminftcr, a writer in Latin of the lives of the
bifliops who were his patrons ^ purchafed of the monks of
' See M. Boivin, Mem. Lit. ii. p. 747. "^ See Bury's Ph ilobiblon, mentioned
^to. Who fays, that the regent prefented at large below, Dc modo commumcandi Jlu-
to his brother in law Humphrey duke of dentibus lihros nojiros. cap. xix.
Glouceftcr a rich copy of a tranflation of ' Robertfon's Hift. Charles V. vol. i.
Livy into French, which had been prefented p. 281. edit. 8vo.
10 the king of France. '' William Giftard and Henry de Blois,
bifliops of Winchefter.
Dorchefler
DISSERTATION
II.
Dorchefter in Oxfordfliire, Be'de's Homilies, and faint Auftln's^
Pfalter, for twelve meafures of barley, and a pall on which
was embroidered in filver the hiftory of faint Birinus con-
verting a Saxon king \ Among the royal manufcripts in
the Britifh mufeuni there is Comestor's Scholastic His-
tory in French ; which, as it is recorded in a blank page
at the beginning, was taken from the king of France at
the battle of Poitiers ; and being purchafed by William
Montague earl of Salifbury for one hundred mars, was
ordered to be fold by the laft will of his countefs Elizabeth
for forty livres '. About the year 1400, a copy of John
of Meun's Roman de la Rose, was fold before the palace-
gate at Paris for forty crowns or thirty-three pounds fix
and fix-pence \ But in purfuit of thefe anecdotes, I am
'' Regiftr, Priorat. S. Swithin. Winton.
at fupr. MS. quatern. . . " Pro duodecim
" menf. (or mod.) ordei, et una palla
" brui'data in argento cum hilloria fanfti
" Biriiii convertentis ad fidem Kynegyllum
" regem Gewyfecnim : necnon Ofwaldi
" regis Northumbranorum i'uicipientis de
" fonte Kyncgyiium." Gewyfeorum is
the Weil Saxons. This hiftory, with others
ot" faint Birinus, is reprefen;cd on the an-
tient font of Norman work:nan(liip in Win-
chefter cathedral : on the uinaows of the
abbey-church of Dorchei'ter near Oxford :
and in the weftern front and winaovvs of
Lincoln cathedra!. \Vi:h all which churches
Birinus was conne&ed. He was buried in
that of Dorchefter, Whart. Angl. Sacr. i.
190. And in Bever's manufcript Chronicle,
or his Continuator, ,ited below, it is
faid, that a marble cenotaph of marvellous
fculpture was conftrufted over his grave in
Dorchefter church about the year 1320. I
f.nd no msntion of this monument in any-
other writer. Bevcr. Chron. MSS. Coll.
Trin. Oxon. Num. x. f. 66.
' MSS. ipDii. La Bible Hysto-
RiAUS, cu Les Histories escolas-
TRES. The tranfcript is of the fourteenth
century. This is the entry, " Ceft livre
" fuft pris oue le roy de France a la ba-
' taille de Peyters : et le bon counte de Sa-
" resbirs William Montagu la achata pur
" cent mars, et le dona a fa compaigne
" Elizabeth la bone countefte, que dicu.t
" aflbile. — Lequele lyvre le dite countcffe
" afligna a fes executours de le rendre pur
" xl. livres."
•^ It belonged to the late Mr. Ames,
author of the Typographical Anti-
QjJiTiES. In a blank leaf was written,
" Ceft lyvir coft a palas du Parys quarante
" corones d' or fans mentyr." I have ob-
ferved in another place, that in the year
1430, Nicholas de Lyra was tranfcribed at
theexpence of one hundred marcs.SECT. ix.
p. 292. infr. I [add here; the valuation of
books bequeathed to Merton college at
Oxford, before the year 1300. A Scholaf-
tical Hiftory, zo s. A Concordantia, 10/.
The four greater Prophets, with gloffes,
5 J. Liber Anfelmi cum qujeftionibus Tho-
rns de Malo, 12/. Quodlibets H. Gan-
davenfis et S. Thomx Aquinatis, 10 j. A
Pfalter with gloftes, 10. f. Saint Auf^in on
Genefis, 10s. MS. Hist, of Merton
College, by A. Wood. Bibl. Bodl.
Cod. Rawlinf. I could add a variety of
other inrtances. The curious reader who
feeks
DISSERTATION
II.
imperceptibly feduced into later periods, or ratlier am
deviating from my fubjeft.
After the calamities which the ftate of literature fuftained
in confequence of the incurfions of the northern nations,
the firfb reflorers of the antient philolbphical fciences in
Europe, the fludy of which, by opening the faculties and
extending the views of mankind, gradually led the way to
other parts of learning, were the Arabians. In the beginning
of the eighth century, this wonderful people, equally fa-
mous for their conquefts and their love of letters, in ravaging
the Afiatic provinces, found many Greek books, which they
]-ead with infinite avidity: and fuch was the gratification
they received from this fortunate acquifition, and fo power-
fully their curiofity was excited to make further difcoveries
in this new field of knowledge, that they requefted their ca-
liphs to procure from the emperor at Conftantinople the beft
Greek writers. Thefe they carefully tranflated into Arabic ".
But every part of the Grecian literature did not equally
gratify their tafte. The Greek poetry they rejefted, becaulc
it inculcated polytheifm and idolatry, which wereinconfiftent
with their religion. Or perhaps it was too cold and too
correft for their extravagant and romantic conceptions '.
feeks furtlier information on this fniall yet
not unc-ntcrtaining br:in<_h of literary liif-
tory, is rt-ftrred to Gabr. Naud. Addit.
;i r Hill, de Louys xi. par Comincs. edit.
Frefn. torn. iv. 281, &c.
'' See Abulf.irag. per Pocock, Dynaft. p.
i6o. GrtLk wai a f.miiliar language to
the Arabians. The acconipts of the caliph's
treafury were always written in Greek till
the year of Chrill 7:;. They were then
ordered to be drawn in Arabic. Many
proofs of this might be mentioned. Greek
was a famili.ir language in Mahomet's
houdiold. Zaid, one of Miihoniet's fecrc-
taries, to whom he didated the Koran, was
a pcrfeft mailer of Greek. Sale's Prelim.
Difc. p. 1 4|, 1 45 . The Arabic gold coins
were always infcribcd with Greek legends
till about the year 70c.
' Yet it appears from many of their fic-
tions, that iome of the Greek poets were
not unfamiliar among them, perhaps long
before the period allignod in the text. Theo-
philus Edellenus, a I\Iaronite, by profeilion
an allronomcr, tranflated Homer into Syriac
about the year 770. Theophan. Chronogr.
p. 376. Abulfarag. ut fupr. p. Z17. Rei-
ncfius, in his very curious account of the
maiiu/crift colleSlionof Greek cbemijls in the
library of Saxe-Gotlja, relates, that foon
after the year 750, tlie Arabians tranflated
Homer and I'indar, amongll other Greek
books. J'.rnelh Salom. Cyprian. Catal.
Codd. MSS, Bibl. Ciothaii. p. 71. 87.
Apud
DISSERTATION
II.
Of the Greek hiftory they made no ufe, becaufe it recorded
events whicli preceded their propliet Mahomet. Accullromed
to a defpotic empire, they neglected tlie poUtical iyftems o-f
the Greeks, which taught republican freedom. For the
fame reafons they defpifed tlie eloquence of the Athenian
orators. The Greek ethics were fuperfeded by their Alcoran,
and on this account they did not fludy the works of Plato '".
Therefore no other Greek books engaged their attention but
thofe which treated of mathematix-al, metaphyfical, and phy-
fical knowledge. Mathematics coincided with their natural
turn to aflronomy and arithmetic. Metaphyfics, or logic,
fiiited their fpeculative genius, their love of tracing intricate
and abftra6led truths, and their ambition of being admired
for difficult and remote refearches. Phyfics, in which I in-
clude medicine, afllfted the chemical experiments to which
they were fo much addi6ted " : and medicine, while it was
conne6led with chemiffry and botany, was a practical art of
immediate utility ". Hence they ftudied Ariftotle, Galen,
Apud Fabric. Bibl. Gr. xii. p. 753. It is
however certain, that the Greek philofo-
phers were their objects. Compare Eui'eb.
Renaudot. de B.-irb. Arillotel. \'erf:onib.
apud Fabric. Bibl. Gr. xii. p. 252. 25!-'.
■" Yet Reinefius lays>that about the year
750, they tranflated Plato into Arabic : to-
gether with the works of S. Auftin, Am-
brofe, Jerom, Leo, and Gregory the Great.
Ubi fupr. p. 260. Leo Atricanus men-
tions, among the works of Averroes, Expo-
SITIONES Reipublice Platonis. But
he died fo late as the year 1 206. De Med.
et Philoibph Arab. cap. >.:•:.
" The earlieft Arab chemiA, whofe writ-
ings are now extant, was Jeber. He is
about the feventh century. His book,
called by Golius his Latin tranflator, Laph
Pa/o/ophorum, was written firll in Greek, and
afierwards tranflated by its author into Ar.a-
bic. For Jeber was originally a Greek and
a chrilHan, and afterwards went into Afia,
and embraced Mohammedifm. See Leo
African, lib. iii. c. 106. The learned
Boerhaave a/Ferts, that many of Jeber's
experiments are verified by prefcnt prac-
tice, and that fci-eial of them have been re-
vived as modern difcoveries. Boerhaave
adds, that, except the fancies about the
philolbpher's ftone, the exaftncfs of leber"s
operations is fupriflng. HilL Chcmillr. p.
14. 15. Lond. 1727.
° Their learning,, but cfpecially their
medical knowledge, flourifhed moft in Sa-
lerno, a city of Ital)-, where it formed the
famous Schola Siilernitana. The little
book of medical precepts in leonine heroics,
which bears the name of that fchool, i;
well known. This fyftem w.as compofed at
tlie defire of Robert duke of Normandr,.
V/illiam the Conqueror's brother : who
returning from Jerufilem in one of the
crufades, and having heard of the fame of
thofe Salernitan phyficians, applied to them
for the cure of a wound made b\- a poifoned
arrow. It was written not cnlv in verfe,
but in rhyming verfe, that the prince might
more eafily ret.ain the rules in his memorv.
It was publiftied i ico. The author's n.ame
is Giovanni di Milano, a celebrated Sa-
lernitiui.
DISSERTATION
II.
and Hippocrates, with unremitted ardour and afliduity : they
tranflated their writings into the Arabic tongue % and by
degrees illuftrated them with voluminous commentaries ^
Thefe Arabic tranflations of the Greek philofophers produced
new treatifes of their own, particularly in medicine and me-
taphyfics. They continued to extend their conquefts, and
their frequent incurfions into Europe before and after the
ninth century, and their abfolute -eftablirtiment in Spain,
imported the rudiments of ufeful knowledge into nations in-
volved in the groflefl ignorance, and unpofieffed of the
lemitan phyfician. The monks of Caffino,
hcreaftu- mentioned, much improved this
ftudy. See Chron. Caffin. 1. iii. c. 3;.
Medicine was at lirft praftiied by the monks
or the clergy, who adopted it with the
reft of the Arabian learning. See P. Diac.
De Vir. iliullr. cap. xiii. et ibid. Not.
Mar. See alfo Ab. De Nuce ad Chron.
Cafiin. 1. i. c. 9. AndLeon. Oftienf. Chron.
1. iii. c. 7. See Sect. xvii. p. 44.2. infr.
V Compare Renaudot. ubi fupr. p. 258.
1 Their caliph Al-manun, was a fingu-
lar encourager of thefe tranflations. He
was a great mafter of the fpeculative faien-
ces ; and for his better information in
them, invited learned men from all parts of
the world to B.igdat. He favoured the
learned of every religion : and in return
they made him prcfents of their v.'orks,
colleiElcd from the choiceft pieces of enllein
literature, wliuther of Indians, Jews, Ma-
gians, or oriental chriilians. He expended
immenfe funis in purc)iaf;ng valuable books
written in H ail dominions to make thefe
tranflations. Many celebrated aftronomers
(louriflitd in his reign : and he was himfelf
famed for his fidll in allronomy. 'J'his vvas
about the year of Chrill 820. See Leo
African, de Med. et Phil. Arab. cap. i.
Al-Makin, p. 139, 140. Euiych. p. 434,
43S-
A curious circumftance of the envy with
which the Greeks at Conftantinople treated
this growing philofophy of the Arabians,
is mentioned by Cedrenus. Al-Manun
hearing of one Leo, an excellent mathe-
matician at Conftantinople, wrote to the
emperor, requelling that Leo might be
permitted to fettle in his dominions, with
a moll ample falary, as a teacher in that
fcience. The emperor by this means being
made acquainted with Leo's merit, efta-
bliflied a fchool, in which he appointed Leo
a profefibr, for the fake of a fpecious ex-
cufe. The caliph f.-nt a fecond time to
the emperor, entreating that Leo might
refide with him for a (hart time only ; of-
fering likewife a large fum of money, and
terms of lafling peace and alliance. On
Avhich the emperor immediately created Leo
bifliop of Thefl"alonica. Cedren. Hifl.
Comp. 548. feq. Herbelot alfo relates,
that the fame caliph, fo univerfal was his
fearch after Greek books, procured a copy
of Apollonius Perga:us, the mathemati-
cian. But this copy contained only feven
books. In the mean time, finding by the
Introduflion that the whole confifled of
ei^ht books, and that the eightli book was
the foundation of the reft, and being in-
formed that there was a complete ropy in
the emperor's library at Conftantinople, he
applied to him for a tranfcript. But the
Greeks, merely from a principle of jca-
loufy, would not fuller the application to
reach the emperor, and it did not take ef-
feil. Biblioth. Oriental, p. 978. col. a.
means
DISSERTATION 11.
i^eans of inftruclion. They founded iiniverfities in many
cities of Spain and Africa '. They brought with them their
books, which Charlemagne, emperor of France and Ger-
many, commanded to be tranflated from Arabic into Latin ' :
and which, by the care and encouragement of that liberal
prince, being quickly dilTeminated over his extenfive domi-
nions, foon became familiar to the weflern world. Hence it
is, that we find our early Latin authors of the dark ages
chiefly employed in writing fyftems of the moft abftrufe
fciences : and from thefe beginnings the Ariftotelic philofo-
phy acquired fuch eftablifliment and authority, that from
long prefcription it remains to this day the facred and un*
controverted doftrine of our fchools '. From this fountain
the infatuations of aftrology took pofleflion of the middle
ages, and were continued even to modern times. To the
peculiar genius of this people it is ov/ing, that chemiflry
became blended with fo many extravagancies, obfcured with
«nintelligible jargon, and filled with fantafhic notions, myfle-
' See Hotting. Hift. Eccl. Ssec. ix. fedl. lofophy muft have been partly known to
li. lit. G g. According to the bcft writers the wellern fcholars from the writings and
of oriental hiftory, the Arabians had made trandations of Boethius, who flourifhed
great advances on the coalls communicating about the year 520. Alcuine, Charle-
v/ith Spain, I mean in Africa, about the magne's mailer, commends S. Aiiftin's booic
year of Chrift 692. And they became ac- Dc Fncdicamentis, v/hic'h he calls, Decem
tually mailers of Spain itfelf in the year 'Natvt^jb verba. Rog. Bacon, de Util.
7 1 2. See Mod. Univ. Hill. vol. ii. p. 168. Scient. cap. xiv. See alfo Op. Maj. An iii-
179. edit. 1759. It may be obferved, that genious and learned Writer, already quoted,
Sicily became part of the dominion of the athrms, that in the age of Charlemagne
Saracens, within fixty ye.ars .after Maho- there were maiy Greek fcholars who made
itiet's death, and in the feventh century, trandations of Ariilotle, which were in
together with almoft all Afia and Africa. ufe below the year noo. I will not be-
Only part of Greece and the leffer Afia lievc that any Europeans, properly fo called,
then remained to the Grecian empire at were competently fkilled in Greek for this
Conllantinople. Conring. De Stript. &c. purpofe in the time of Charlemagne : nor.
Comment, p. 101. edit. V/ratifl. 1727. if they were, is it likely that of themfelves
See alfo, Univ. Hill, ut fupr. they fhould have turned their thoughts to
' Cufpinian. de Cajfarib. p. 419. Ariftotle's philofoph.y. Uiilcfs, by 'viri
' Yet it mull not be forgot, that S. Auflin Cm-cc doSii, thii writer means the learned
jiad tranflated pait of Ariltotle's logic from ''-Arabs of Spain, which does not appsat"
the original Greek into Latin before the from his context. See Eufeb. Renaudot.
irfth century ; and chat the peripatetic phi- ut fupr. p. 247.
c rious
DISSERTATION H.
nous pretenfions, and ftiperftitious operations. And it h
cafy to conceive, that among thefe vifionary philofophers,
fo fertile in fpeculation, logic, and metaphyfics, contra6ted
much of that refinement and perplexity, which for fo many
centuries exercifed the genius of profound reafoners and
captious difputants, and fo long obilru(5led the progrefs of
true knowledge. It may perhaps be regretted, in the mean
time, that this predilection of the Arabian fcholars for phi-
lofophic enquiries, prevented them from importing into.
Europe a literature of another kind. But rude and barba-
rous nations would not have been polifhed by the hiftory,.
poetry, and oratory of the Greeks. Although capable of
comprehending the folid truths of many parts of fcience,
they are imprepared to be imprefled with ideas of elegance,,
and to relifli works of tafte. Men muft be inftrufted before
they can be refined ; and, in the gradations of knowledge,
polite literature does not take place till fome progrefs has firft.
been made in philofophy. Yet it is at the fame time probable;
that the Arabians, among their literary flores, brought into
Spain and Italy many Greek authors not of the fcientific fpecies":
■ It mull not be forgot, that they tran- Moftieim. Hift. ch. i. p. 217, 288. Note C,
flated Ariftotle's Poetics. There is ex- p. 2. ch. i. Averroys alfo paraphrafed
tant " Averroys Summa in Ariftotelis poe- Ariftotle's Rhetoric. There are alfo'
" triain ex Arabico fermone in Latinum tranflations into Arabic of Ariftotle'i
" tradufta ab Hermano Alemanno ; Pre- Analttics, and his treatife of In —
" mittitur determinatio Ibinrofdin in poe- terpretation. The firft they called
" tria Ariflotelis. Venet. 1 515." There is Analuthica, and the fecond, Bari.
a tranflation of the Poetics into Arabic Armenias. But Ariftotle's logic, meta-
by ALou Mufchar Metta, entitled, Abo- phyfics, and phyfics pleafed them moft ;.
TiKA. See Herbel. Bibl. Oriental, p. 18. particularly the eight books of his phyfics,,
col. a. p. 97 1 . b. p. 40. col. 2. p. 337. col. which exhibit a gcneralview of that fcience...
a. Farabi, w ho ftodied at Bagdad about the Some of cur countrymen were tranflators of
year 930, one of the tranflator's of Ari- thefe Arabic books into Latin. Athclard,
Aotle's Ak Ai.YTics, v/rote fi.\ty books on amonkofBath, tranflatcd the Arabic Eu--
fhat philofophcr's Rhetoric; declaring tliat did into Latin, about lOOQ. Leland. Script..
. he had read it over tv.o hundred times, and Brit. p. 200. There arc fome maaufcripti
, yet was equ.iliy dcfirous of reading it again. , of it in the Bodkian library, and elfcwherc.
Fabric. Bibl. Gr. xiii. 265. Herbelot men- But the moft beautiful and elegant copy I'
tions Ariftotle's Morals, tranflated by have feen is on vellum, in Tiinity college
Honain. Bibl. Oriental, p. 963. a. See Ijbiary at Oxford- Cod. MSS. Num. 10.
alfo p. 971. a. 973. p. 974. b, Comraif
the
t> iSSERtA'riON
ri.
•an^ thit the migration of this people into the we flcrn world,
while it proved the fortunate inftrument of introducing into
Europe fome of the Greek claffics at a very early period, was
moreover a means of preferving thofe genuine models of
compofition, and of tranfmitting them to the prefent gene-
ration ". It is certain, that about the clofe of the ninth cen-
tury, polite letters, together with the fciences, began in
fome degree to be ftudied in Italy, France, and Germany.
Charlemagne, whofe munificence and a6livity in propagating
■the Arabian literature has already been mentioned, founded
the univerfities of Bononia, Pavia, Paris, and Ofnaburgh.
Charles the Bald feconded the falutary endeavours of Char-
lemagne. Lothaire, the brother of the latter, erefted fchools
in the eight principal cities of Italy "". The number of mo-
nafteries and collegiate churches in thofe countries was daily
encreafing ": in which the youth, as a preparation to the
" See what I have faid concerning the
deftruftion of many Greek claffics at Con-
flantinople, in the Preface to Theocritus,
Oxon. 1770. torn. i. Prefat. p. xiv. xv.
To which I will add, that fo early as the
fourth century, the chriitian priefts did no
tmall injury to antient literature, by pro-
hibiting and difcouraging the ftady of the
old pagan phllorophcrs. Hence the ftory,
that Jerom dreamed he was whipped by
the devil for reading Cicero. Compare
what is faid of Livy below.
" A. D. 823. See Merator. Scriptor.
'RiT. Italicar. i. p. 151.
" Cave mentions, •' Cashobia Italica,
" Caffinenfe, Ferrarienfe: Gf'rman/Va, Ful-
"' denfe, Sangellenfe, Augienfe, Lobienfe:
" Ga!/I,a, Corblenfe, Rhemef.fe, Or-
" bacenfe, Floriacenfe," &c. Hift. Lit.
Ssc. Photian. p, 503. edit. 1688. Char-
lemagne alfo founded two archbilTiopricks
and nine bifhopricki in the mofl confidera-
ble towns of G«rmany. Aub. Mirsei Op.
Diplomat, i. p. 16. Charlemagne feems to
have founded libraries. See J. David. Koe-
Jcr, DjfT. De Bibliotheca Caroli Mag.
Altor'r. J 727. And Ad. Erudk. et cu-
riof. Francon. P.x. p. 716. feq.6o. And
Hift. Lit. Franc, torn. iv. 410. p. 32j.
Compare Laun. c. iv. p. 30. Eginhart
mentions his private library. Vit. Car.
Mag. p. 41. a. edit. i;6y. He ei-en
founded a library at Jerufalem, for the ufe
of thofe v/eftern pilgrims who vifited the
holy fepulchre. Hift. Lit. utfupr. p. 373.
His fucceflbr alfo, Charles the Bald, erefted
many libraries. Two of his librarians^
Kolduin and Ebbo, occur under that title
in fubfcriptions. Bibl. Hift. Liter. Struvii
et Jugl. cap. it. ft-ft. xvii. p. 172. This
monarch, before his laft expedition into
Italy about the year 87b, in cafe of his
deceafe> ordcni his large library to be di-
vided into three parts, and difpofed of ac-
cordingly. Hift. Lit. ut fupr. torn. v. p.
514-. Launoy jnftly remarks, that many
noble public inftitutions of Charlss the
Bald, were referred, by fuccecding hiftorian'^,
10 tlieir more favorite hero Charlemagne.
Ubi fupr. p. 53. edit. Fabric. Their im-
mediate fuccefibrs, at lea ft of the German
race, were not fuch confpicuous patrons of
literature.
ftudy
DISSERTATION
n.
ftudy of the facred fcriptures, were exercifed in reading pro-
fane authors, together with the antient do6lors of the
church, and habituated to a Latin ftyle. The monks of
Caflino in Italy were diftinguiflied before the year looo, no.t
only for their knowledge of the fciences, but their attention
to polite learning, and an acquaintance with the claflica.
Their learned abbot Defiderius collected the beil of the Greek
and Roman writers. This fraternity not only compofed
learned treatifes in mufic, logic, aflronomy, and theVitruviaii
architeflure, but likewife employed a portion of their time
in tranfcribing Tacitus \ Jornandes, Jofephus, Ovid's Fafti,
Cicero, Seneca, Donatus the grammarian, Virgil, Theocritus,
and Homer \
T Lipfius fays, that Leo the tenth gave
five hundred pieces of gold for the five firll
books of Tacitus's Annals, to the monks
of a convent in Saxony. This Lipfius calls
the refurreftion of Tacitus to life. Ad
Annal. Tacit, lib. ii. c. 9. At the end of
the edition of Tacitus, puhlifhed under
Leo's patronage by Beroaldus in 15 15,
xhis edift is printed, " Nomine Leonis X.
" propofita funtpra-mia non mediocria his
" qui ad cum librosveteres neque haftenus
" editos adtulerint."
^ Chron. Caifin, Monad, lib. iii. c. 35.
Pogi^us Florentinus found a St rat ace-
mat a of Frontinus, about the year 1420,
in this monaftery. Mabillon. Muf. Ital.
tcm. i. p. 133. Manufcripts of the follow-
ing dailies now in the Harleian colleftion,
appear to have been written between the
ciglrth and tenth centuries inclufively. Two
copies of Terence, Brit. Maf. MSS. Harl.
2670. 2750. Cicero's Paradoxa Stoico-
rum, the firft book De Natura Deorum,
Orations againft Cataline, De Oratore,
De Invcntione Rhetorica, Ad Heren-
uium, n. 262.2. 2716. 2623. And
the Epiftles, with others of his works, n.
2682. A fragment of the J£,r\t\A, n. 2772.
l.ivy, n. 2672. Lucius Florus, n. 2620.
Ovid's Metamorphofes and FaAi, n. 2737.
Quintilian, n. 2664. Honice, the Odes
excepted, n. 2725. Many of the fame
and other cLaffic authors occur in the Britifk
Mufeum, written in the twelfth and thir-
teenth centuries. Seen. 5443. 2656. 2475.
2624. 2591. 2668. 2533. 2770. 2492.
2709 2655. 2654. 2664. 2728. 5534.
2609. 2724. 5412. 2643._ 5304. 2633,
There are four copies of Statius, one of the
twelfth century, n. 2720. And three
others of the thirteenth, n. 2608. 2636.
2665. Plautus's Comedies are among
the roy.".! manufcriptf, written in the
tenth, 15 C. .\i. 4. And fome parts of
Tully in the fame, ibid, i . Suetonius, 1 5
C. iv. I. Horace's Art of Poetry, Epiftles,
and Satires, with Eutropius.in the fame, 1 5
B. vii. I . 2. 3. xvi. i.&c. Willihold, one of
the learned Saxons whofe literature will be
mentioned in its proper place, havingvifited
Rome and Jcrufalem, retired tor fome time
to this monaftery, about the year 730. Vit,
Wiiliboldi, Canif. Antiq. Left. xv. 695,
And Pantal. de Vir. Illuftr. par. ii. p. 263,
And Birinus, who came into England from
Rome about the year 630, with a dcfign of
converting the Saxons, brought with him
one Benedift, a monk of Caifnio, whom-
he placed over the monks or church of
Wincheftcr. Wharton, Angl. Sacr. i. 1 90.
la
DISSERTATION
II.
In the mean time England fliared thefe improvements in
knowledge : and literature, chiefly derived from the fame
fources, was communicated to our Saxon anceftors about the
beginning of the eighth century '. The Anglo-Saxons were
converted to chriftianity about the year 570. In confequence
of this event, they foon acquired civility and learning. Hence
they neceflarily eflablifhed a communication with Rome,
and acquired a familiarity with the Latin language. During
this period, it was the prevailing pra^Stice among the Saxons,
ijot. only of the clergy but of the better fort of laity, to
make a voyage to Rome \ It is natural to imagine with
what ai"dour the new converts vifited the holy fee, which
at the fame time was fortunately the capital of literature.
While they gratified their devotion, tmdefignedly and im-
perceptibly they became acquainted with ufeful fcience.
In return, Rome fent her emiffaries into Britain. Theo-
dore, a monk of Rome, originally a Greek priefl, a native of
Tarfus in Cilicia, was confecrated archbifliop of Canter-
bury, and fent into England by pope Vitellian, in the year
688 '. He was {killed in the metrical art, aftronomy, arith-
metic, church-mufic, and the Greek and Latin languages ^.
The new prelate brought with him a large library, as it was-
called and efteemed, confifling of numerous Greek and Latin
authors ; among which were Homer in a large volume,,
written on paper with mod exquifite elegance, the homi-
lies of faint Chryfoft6m on parchment, the pfalter, and Jo-
fephus's Hypomnefticon, all in Greek ^ Theodore was ac-
' Cave, Sascul. Eutych. p. 382.
^ " Hiis temporibus multi Anglorum
•' gentis nobiles et ignobiles viri et fce-
*' minre, duces et privati, divini numinis
*' inftinftu, Romam venire confueverant."
&c. Bede, De Temp. Apud Leland,
Script. Brit. CsoLFRrous.
<^ Birchington, apud Wharton, Angl.
Sacr. i. 2. Cave, Hull. Lit. p. 464. Par-
ker, Antiquitat. Brit. p. 53.
,,' Bed.Hift. Ecdefiaft. Gent. Angl. iv.
2, Bede fays of Theodore and of Adrfan
mentioned below, " Ufque hodie fuperfunt
" de eorum difcipulis, qui Latinam Grx-
" camque linguam, sque ut propriam in
" qua nati funt, norunt." See alfo ibid.,
c. I.
8 Parker, ut fupr. p. 80. See alfo Lam-
barde's Peramb. Kent, p. 233. A tranfcript
of the Jofephus 500 years old was given ta
the public library at Cambridge, by the
ai-chbifliop. Se? Fabric. Bibl.Gr. x. 109.
companied
DISSERTATION 11.
Gompanied into England by Adrian, a Neapolitan moni?, andt
a native of Africa, who was equally {killed in facred and
profane learning, and at the fame time appointed by the pope
to the abbacy of faint Auftin's at Canterbury. Bede informs
us, that Adrian requefted pope Vitellian to confer the arch-
bifhoprick on Theodore, and that the pope confented on
condition that Adrian, *' who had been t-wice in France, and
" on that account was better acquainted with the nature and
" difficulties of fo long a journey," would conduct Theo-
dore into Britain ^ They were both efcorted to the city of
Canterbury by Benedift Bifcop, a native of Northumber-
land, and a monk, who had formerly been acquainted with
them in a vifit which he made to Rome '. Benedi6l feems
at this time to have been one of the moft diftinguilhed of
the Saxon ecclefiaftics : availing himfelf of the arrival of thefe
two learned ftrangers, under their direction and affiflance,
he procured workmen from France, and built the monallery
of Weremouth in Northumberland. The church he con-
ftrufted of ftone, after the manner of the Roman architec-
ture ; and adorned its walls and roof with pictures, which
he purchafetl at Rome, reprefenting among other facred fub-
jedts the Virgin Mary, the twelve apoftles, the evangelical
hiftoiy, and the vifions of the Apocalypfe ^ The windows
were glazed by artifts brought from France. But I mention
this foundation to introduce an anecdote much to our pur-
»" Bed. Hlft. Eccl. iv. i. "Etobidma- fmg. Bed. Hlft. Ecd. iv. 18. He Ilke-
" iorem notitiam hujus itineris, &c." wife brought over from Rome two filken
* See Math. Wellraon. fub. an. 703. palls of exquifite workmanfhip, with
Lei. Script. Brit. p. 109. which he afterwards purchafcd of king
^ See Bede, Hift. Abbat. Wiremuth. p. Aldfrid, fucccffor of Elfrid, two pieces of
29;. 297. edit. Cantab. In one of his land for his monaftcry. Bed. Vit. Abb. ut
expeditions to Rome, he brought over fupr. p. 297. Bale cenfurcs Bcnedidt for
John, arch-chantor of St. Peter's at Rome, being the hrft who introduced into England
who introdaccd the Roman method of fing- painter."., glaficrs, et id genus aUa ad vo-
ing mafs. Bed. ibid. p. 295. He taugnt luptatem artifices. Cent. i. IJ2. This
the monks of Benedidt's abbey ; and all is the languageof a puritan in Life, as
the fingers of the monadcrjes of that pro- well as in Religion,
viflcc came from vaxious j artj to heoj i»in»
pofe.
DISSERTATION II.
poie. Benedift added to his monaftery an ample library,
which he ftored with Greek and Latin volumes, imported
by himfelf from Italy '. Bede has thought it a matter
worthy to be recorded, that Ceolfrid, his fucceffor in the
government of Weremouth-abbey, augmented this colle6lion
with three volumes of pandefts, and a book of cofmography
wonderfully enriched with curious workmanftiip, and bought
at Rome ". The example of the pious Benedift was imme-
diately followed by Acca bifhop of Hexham in the fame pro-
vince : who having finiihed his cathedral church by the help
of architects, mafons, and glafiers hired in Italy, adorned it,
according to Leland, with a valuable library of Greek and
Latin authors ". But Bede, Acca's cotemporary, relates, that
this library was entirely compofed of the hiftories of thofe
apoftles and martyrs to whofe relics he had dedicated fe-
veral altars in his church, and other ecclefiaflical treatifes,
which he had collefted with infinite labour °. Bede however
calls it a mofl copious and noble library ^ Nor is it foreign
to our purpofe to add, that Acca invited from Kent into
Northumberland, and retained in his fervice during the
fpace of twelve years, a celebrated chantor named Maban :
by the afllftance of whofe inftruftions and fuperintendance he
not only regulated the church mufic of his diocefe, but in--
troduced the ufe of many Latin hymns hitherto unknown
in the northern churches of England "". It appears that be-
Lel. ubl fupr. no. gar's reign, gave an organ to the abb^y-
■" Bede, Hill. Abbat. Wiremulh. p. 299. church of Mdmefbury ; which he defcribes
Op. Bed. edit. Cantab. to have been like thofe in ufe at prefent.
" Lei. ibid p. 105. , " Organa, ubi per aereas iiflulas muficis
" Bed. Hilt. V. 21. " menfuris elaboratas, dudum conceptas
P Hift. V. c. 2Q. " follis vomit anxius auras." William,
1 Bed. Hift. Eccl. V. c. 21. Maban had who was a monk of this abbey, adds, that
been taught to fing in Kent by the fuccef- this benefaftion of Duiiftan was iiifcribeJ
fors of die difciples of faint Gregory. in a Latin dillich, which he quotes, on the
Compare Bed. iv. 2. If we may believe organ pipes. Vit. Aldhelm. VVhart. Ang.
William of Malmeibun', who wrote about Sacr. ii. p. 33. See what is faid of Dun-
ihe year 1 1 20, they had organs in the ftan beloft'. And 01b. Vit. S. Dunll.
Saxon churches before the conqueft. He WhartOB, Angl, Saor. ii. 93..
lays that archbifiiop Dunftsn, ia king Evh
fope
DISSERTATION II.
fere the arrival of Theodore and Adrian, celebrated fchools
for educating youth in the fciences had been long eftablilhed
in Kent '. Literature, however, feems at this period to have
flouriflied wath equal reputation at the other extremity
of the ifland, and even in our moft northern provinces?.
Ecbert bifliop of York, founded a library in his cathedral,
which, like fome of thole already mentioned, is faid to have
been repleniihed with a variety of Latin and Greek books '.
Alcuine, whom Ecbert appointed his firft librarian, hints at
this library in a Latin epiftle to Charlemagne. " Send me
" from France fome learned treatifes, of equal excellence
" with thofe which I preferve here in England under my
" cuftody, collefted by the induftry of my mailer Ecbert :
'* and I will fend to you fome of my youths, who fhall cany
" with them the flowers of Britain into France. So that
" there fliall not only be an enclofed garden at York, but
" alfo at Tours fome fprouts of Paradife V' &c. William
of Malmesbury judged this library to be of fvifficient im-
portance not only to be mentioned in his hiftory, but to be
ftyled, " Omnium liberalium artium armarium, nobilifllmam
" bibliothecam "." This repofitory remained till the reign of
king Stephen, when it was deftroyed by fire, with great part
of the city of York". Its founder Ecbert died in the year
767 ". Before the end of the eighth centuiy, the monafteries
of Weflminfler, Saint Alban's, Worcefter, Malmesbury, Glaf-
tonbury, with fome others, were founded, and opulently en-
dowed. That of Saint Alban's was filled with one hundred
monks by king Offa '. Many new bifliopricks were alfo
eftablilhed in England : all which inftitutions, by multiplying
' Sec Bed. Op. per Smith, p. 724. "" Pits, p. 154.
feq. Append. » Cave, Hift. Lit. p. 4S6.
= Lei. p. 114. >■ A.D. 793. Sec Dudg. Mon. i. p.
Bale, ii. 15. 177.
De Rcg.i. ii
the
DISSERTATION IL
the number of ecclefiaftics, turned the attention of many
perfons to letters.
The beft writers among the Saxons flouriftied about the
eighth century. Thefe were Aldhelm, bifhop of Shirburn,
Ceolfrid, Alcuine, and Bede ; with whom I mufl alfo join
king Alfred. But in an enquiry of this nature, Alfred de-
ferves particular notice, not only as a writer, but as the
illuftrious rival of Charlemagne, in protefting and aflifting
the reftoration of literature. He is faid to have founded the
univerfity of Oxford ; and it is highly probable, that in imi-
tation of Charlemagne's fimilar inftitutions, he appointed
learned perfons to give public and gratuitous inftru6lions
in theology, but principally in the faftiionable fciences of
logic, aftronomy, arithmetic, and geometry, at that place,
which was then a confiderable town, and conveniently
fituated in the neighbourhood of thofe royal feats at which
Alfred chiefly refided. He fuffered no prieft that was illite-
rate to be advanced to any ecclefiaftical dignity ''. He invited
his nobility to educate their fons in learning,, and requefted
thofe lords of his court who had no children, to fend to
fchool fuch of their younger fervants as difcovered a pro-
mifnig capacity, and to breed them to the clerical profeffion ^,
Alfred, while a boy, had himfelf experienced the inconve-
niencies arifmg from a want of fcholars, and even of com-
mon inftru6lors, in his dominions : for he was twelve years
of age, before he could procure in the weflern kingdom a
mafter properly qualified to teach him the alphabet. But,
while yet unable to read, he could repeat from memory a
great variety of Saxon fongs \ He was fond of cultivating
y MS. Bever. MSS. Coll. Trin. Oxon. method by which Alfred computed time.
Codd. xlvii. f. 8z. He caufed fix wax tapers to be made, each
''■ Bever, ibid. twelve inches long, and of as many
* Flor. Vigom. fub ann. 871. Bromp- ounces in weight: on thefe tapers he or-
ton, Chron. in Alfr. p. 814. And dered the inches to be regularly marked ;
MS. Bever, ut fupr. It is curious to and having found that one of them burned
obierve the fimpjicity of this age, in the juft four hours, he committed the care of
d themf-
DISSERTATION
IL
his native tongue : and with a view of inviting the people
in general to a love of reading, and to a knowledge of books
which they could not otherwife have underllood, he tran-
flated many Latin authors into Saxon. Thefe, among
others, were Boethivis of the Consolation of Philoso-
phy, a manufcript of v/hich of Alfred's age flill remains \
Orofius's History of the Pagans, faint Gregory's.
Pastoral Care, the venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical
History, and the Soliloquies of faint Auftin. Probably
faint Auftin was feledled by Alfred, becaufe he was the favorite
author of Charlemagne \ Alfred died in the year 900, and'
was buried at Hyde abbey, in the fuburbs of Winchefter,,
under a fumptuous monument of porphyry \
Aldhelm, nephew of Ina king of the Weft Saxons, fre-
quently vifited France and Italy. While a monk of Malmef-
bury in Wiltfhire, he went from his monaftery to Canter-
bury, in order to learn logic, rhetoric, and the Greek lan-
guage, of archbiftiop Theodore, and of Albin abbot of faint
Auftin's ", the pxipil of Adrian '. But he had before acquired;
them to the keepers of his chapel, who
from time to time gave due notice how the
houcs went. But as in windy weather the
candles were more walk-d ; to remedy this
inconvenience he invented lanthoms, there
being then no gkfs to be met with in his
dominions. Afler. Menev. Vit. Alfr. p.
68. edit. Wife. In the mean time, and
during this very period, the Perfians im-
ported into Europe a machine, which pre-
fented the firft rudiments^ of a ftriking
clock. It was brought as a prcfcnt to
Charlemagne, from Abdclla king of Ptrfia,
\>y two monks of jcrufalem, in the year
Ijoo. Among other prcftnts, fays Eginhart, .
was an horologe cf br.ifs, wonderfully con-
ftruftcd by fomc mechanical artifice, in
which the courfe of t)ie twelve hours ad
t.'efi/yJrnm i/ertiiatir, with as many little
brafen balls, which at the dofc of each
hour dropped down on a fort of bells un-
derneath, and founded the end of the
hour. There were alfo twelve figures of
Jtorft'incn, who, when the twelve hours were
completed, ill'ued out at twelve windows,,
which till then flood open, and returning
again, Ihut the windows alter them. He
adds, that there were many other curiofitics
in this inftrument, which it would be te-
dious to recount. Eginhart, Kar. Magn.
p. 108. It is to be remembered, that Egin-
hart was an cye-witnefs of what is here
defcribcd ; and that he was an abbot, a
ficilful architeft, and very learned in the
fciences.
•' MSS. Cott.OTH. A. 6. 8vo. membr.
'' He was particularly fond of AufUn's
bookDE CjvixateDei. Eginhart. Vit.
Car. Magn. p. 29.
■^ Afi'cr. Menev. p. 72. ed. Wife.
'' Bede fays, that Theodore and Adrian
t.iughtTobias bilhop of Rochefter the Greek
and Latin tongues fo perfeftly, that he
could fpeak them as fluently as his native
Saxon. HLft. Eccl. v. 23.
' Lei. p. 97. Thorn fays, that Albin
learned Greek of Adrian, Chron. Dec.
Script, p. 1771.
fome
DISSERTATION 11.
fome knowledge of Greek and Latin under Maidulf, an Hi-
bernian or Scot, who had erefled a fmall monaftery or
fchool at Malmefbury ^ Camden affirms, that Aldhelm was
the firfl: of the Saxons who wrote in Latin, and that he
taught his countrymen the art of Latin verfification ^. But
a very intelUgent antiquarian in tliis fort of literature, men-
tions an anonymous Latin poet, who wrote the life of Char-
lemagne in verfe ; and adds, that he was the firft of the
Saxons that attempted to write Latin verfe ''. It is however
certain, that Aldhelm's Latin compofitions, whether in verfe
or profe, as novelties were deemed extraordinary performan-
ces, and excited the attention and admiration of fcholars in
other countries. A learned cotemporary, who lived in a
remote province of a Frankirti territory, in an epiftle to Aid-
helm has this remarkable expreirion, " Vestrje Latinitatis
*' Panegvricus rumor has reached us even at this dif-
*" tance *, &c." In reward of thefe uncommon merits he was
made bifliop of Shirburn in Dorfetfliire in the year 705 ''.
His writings are chiefly theological : but he has likewife left
in Latin verfe a book of ^^nigmata, copied from a work
■of the fame title under the name of Sympofius ', a poem de
ViRGiNiTATE hereafter cited, and treatifes on arithmetic, aftro-
logv, rhetoric, and metre. The laft treatife is a proof that
the ornaments of compofition now began to be fludied.
Leland mentions his Cantiones Saxonicj*, one of which
•continued to be commonly fung in William of Malmefbury's
time : and, as it was artfully interfperfed with many allufions
' W. Malmfb. ubi infr. p. ,5. ' W. MalmRr ut. fiipr. p. 4,
K Wiltth. p. 116. But this AlJhelrh '' Cave, p. 466.
aftrms of himfclf in his trearife on Metr<3. ' See Fabric. Bibl. Med. Lat. iv. p. 69;.
See W. Malnilb. apud. Wharton, Angl. And Bibl. Lat. i. p. 6S1. .And. W. Malm.
Sacr. ii. 4. feq. ubi fiipr. p. 7. Among tl>.'.' manufcripts of"
*■ Conringius, Script. Comment, p. 108. Exeter cathedral 15 a book of .-Ekigmata
This poem was printed by Reineccius at in Sa.xon, fonie of wliiih are written in
Helmltadt many years ago, with a large Kunic charaftcrs, 11. fol. 9S.
commentary. Compare Vofs. Hift. Lat.
iii. 4.
d 2 to
DISSERTATION
II.
to paffages of Scripture, was often fung by Aldhelm him-"
felf to the populace in the ftreets, with a delign of alluring
the ignorant and idle, by fo fpecious a mode of inftruclion,
to a fenfe of duty, and a knowledge of religious fubjefts %
Malmelbury obferves, that Aldhelm might be juftly deemed
" ex acumine Grascum, ex nitore Romanum, et ex pompa
" Anglum ^" It is evident, that Malmelbury, while he
here chara6lerifes the Greeks by their acutenefs, took his
idea of them from their fcicntifical literature, which was
then only known. After the revival of the Greek philofo-
phy by die Saracens, Ariftotle and Euclid were familiar in
Europe long before Homer and Pindar. The charafter of
Aldhelm is thus drawn by an antient chronicler, " He was
" an excellent harper, a moft eloquent Saxon and Latin
" poet, a moft expert chantor or finger, a doctor egregius,
*' and admirably verfed in the fcriptures and the liberal
" fcienccs ''."
• Malmfb. ubi fupr. p. 4.
P Ubi fupr. p. 4.
1 Chron. Anon. Leland. Colleftan. ii.
278. To be (killed in finging is often
mentioned as an accomplifhment of the
antient Saxon ecclefiaftics. Bedefays, that
Eddaamonk of Canterbury, and a learned
writer, was " primus cantandi magifter."
Hill. lib. iv. cap. 2. Wolftan, a learned
monk of Winchclter, of the fame age, was
a celebrated finger, and even wrote a trca-
tife de Tonorum Harmonia, cited by
William of Malmelbury, De Reg. lib. ii.
c. 39. Lei. Script. Brit. p. 165. Their
fkill in playing on the harp is alfo fre-
quently mentioned. Of faint Dunftan,
archbifhop of Canterbury, about the year
gSS, it is faid, that among his facred
ftadies, he cultivated the arts of writing,
harping, and painting. Vit. S. Dunftan.
MSS. Colt. Brit. Muf. Faustin B. 13.
Hickcs has engraved a figure of our Saviour
drav/n by faint Dunftan, with a fpecimen of
kis writing, both remaining in the Bodleian
library. Gram. Sa.xon. p. 104. cap. xjiii.
The writing and many of the piftures and-
illuminations in our Sa.xon manufcripts
were executed by the prieils. A book of
the gofpel, preferved in the Cotton library,
is a fine fpecimen of the Saxon calligr.iphy
and decorations. It is written by Eadfrid
bifliop of Durham, in the moft cxquifite
manner. EtheKvold liis fucceflbr did the
illuminations, the capital letters, the pifture
of the crofs, and the evangelifts, with infi-
nite labour and elegance : and Bilfrid, the
anachorcte covered the book, thus written
and adorned, with gold and filvcr plates
and precious ftones. All this is related by
Aldred, the Saxon gloflator, at the end of
St. John's gofpel. The work was finilhed
about the ycir 720. MSS. Cott. Brit. Muf.
Nero. D. 4. Cod. membr. fob quadrat.
iElfsin, a monk, is the elegant fcribc of
mrmy Saxon pieces chiefly hiftorical and
fcriptural in the fame library, and perhaps
the painter of the figures, probably foon
aftcrthcyear 978. Ibid. Titus. D. 26.
Cod. membr. 8vo. The Sa,xon copy of
the four evangelifts, which king Athclftan
gave
DISSERTATION
II.
Alcuine, bifliop Ecbert's librarian at York, was a cotem-
porary pupil with Aldhelm under Theodore and Adrian
at Canterbury ''. During the prefent period, there feems to
have been a clofe correfpondence and intercourfe between
the French and Anglo-Saxons in matters of literature. Al-
cuine was invited from England into France, to fuperintend
the ftudies of Charlemagne, whom he inftru6led in lo-^-ic
rhetoric, and aftronomy '. He was alio the mafter of Ra-
banus Maurus, who became afterwards the governor and
preceptor of the great abbey of Fulda in Germany, one of
gave to Durham church, remains in the
fame library. It has the painted images of
S. Cuthbert, radiated and crowned, bleffing
king Athelltan, and of the four evangelifts.
This is undoubtedly the work of the
monks ; but Wanley believed it to have
been done in France. Otho. B. 9. Cod.
membran. fol. At Trinity college in
Cambridge is a Pfalter in Latin and Saxon,
admirably written, and illuminated with
letters in gold, lilver, miniated, Sec. It is
full of a variety of hillorical pidures. At
the end is the figure of the writer Eadwin,
fuppofed to be a monk of Canterbury,
holding a pen of metal, undoubtedly ufed
in fuch fort of writing ; with an infcription
importing his name, and excellence in the
calligraphic art. It appears to be performed
about the reign of king Stephen. Cod.
membr. fol. poll Claff. ' a dextr. Ser. Med.
5. [among the Single CoirViVj.] Ead-
win was a famous and frequent writer of
books for the library of Chriit-church at
Canterbury, as appears by a catalogue of
their books taken A. D. 1315. In Bibl.
Cott. Galb. E 4. The eight hillorical
piftures richly illuminated with gold of
the Anunciatioji, the Mecihig of Mary and
Elizabeth, &c. in amanufcript ofthegofpel,
are alfo thought to be of the reign of king
Stephen, yet perhaps from tiie fame kind
of artifts. The Saxon clergy were inge-
nious artificers in many other refpefts.
S. Dunllan above-mentioned, made two of
the bells of Abingdon abbey with his own
hands. Monall. Anglic, torn. i. p. 104.
John of Glaftonbury, who wrote about tke
year 1 400, relates, that there remained in
the abbey at Glaftonbury, in his time,
crofTes, incenfe-veflels, and veftments, made
by Dunftan while a monk there, cap. 161.
He adds, that Dunftan alfo handled, " fcal-
" pellum ut fculperet." It is faid, that lie
could model any image in brafs, iron, gold,
or filver_. Ofb. Vit. S. Dunftan. apud
Whart. ii 94. Ervene, one of die teachers
of Wolftan bifhop of Worcefter, perhaps a
monk of Bury, was famous for calligraphy,
and Ikill in colours. To invite his pupils
to read, he made ufe of a Pfalter and Sa-
cramentary, whofe capital letters he had
richly illuminated with gold. This was
about the year 980. Will. Malmeft. Vit.
Wulft. Wharton, Angl. Sacr. p. 244.
William of Malmeft)ury fays, that Elfric, a
Saxon abbot of Malmeftury, was a (kilful
architeft, ^MJicandi gnarus. Vit. Aldhelm.
Wharton, Angl. Sacr. ii. p. 33. Herman,
one of the Norman bifliops of Salisbury,
about 1080, condefcended to write, bind,
and illuminate books, Monaft. Angl. tom.
iii. p. 375.
In fome of thefe inftances I have wandered
below the Saxon times. It is indeed evi-
dent from various proofs which I could
give, that the religious praftifed thefe arts
long afterwards. But the objeft of this
note was the exiftence of them among the
the Saxon clergy,
1 Dedicat. Hift. Eccl. Bed.
■■ Eginhart. Vit. Kar. Magn. p. 30. ed.
1565. 4to.
the
DISSERTATION
II.
thp rnoft flouriflilng feminarks in Europe, founded by
Charlemagne, and inhabited by two hundred and feventy
monks \ Alcuine was Hkewife employed by Charlemagne
to regulate the le6lures and difcipline of the univerfities ',
which that prudent and magnificent potentate had newly
conftituted °. He is faid to have joined to the Greek and
Latin, an acquaintance with the Hebrew tongue, which
perhaps in fome degree was known fooner than we may
liifped: ; for at Trinity college in Cambridge there is an He-
brew Pfalter, with a Normanno-Gallic interlinear vei-fion
of great antiquity ". Homilies, lives of faints, commentaries
on the bible, with the ufual fyftems of logic, aftronomy,
rhetoric, and grammar, compofe the formidable catalogue of
Alcuine's numerous writings. Yet in his books of the
fciences, he fometimes ventured to break through the pedantic
formalities of a fyftematical teacher: he has thrown one of
^ Rabanus inftrufled them not only in
the fcriptures, but in profane literature. A
great number of other fcholars frequented
thefc leftures. He was the lirft founder of
a library in this monaftery. Cave, Hill.
Lit. p. 540. S.EC. Phot. His leifure hours
being entirely tal-cen up in rciding or tran-
scribing ; he was accuied by fome of tlie
idle monks of attending fo much to his
lludies, that he neglefted the public duties
of his ftation, and the care of the revenues
of the .nbbcy. They therefore removed
him, yet afterwards in vain attempted to
recall him. Serrar. Rer. Mogunt. lib. iv.
p. 629.
' John Mailros, a Scot, one of Bedc's
fcholars, is faid to have been employed by
Charlemagne in founding the univerfity of
Tavia. Dcmpft. xii. 904.
" See Op. Alcuin. Parif. 1617. fol.
Pra;fat. Andr. Qucrcctan. Mabillon fays,
that Alcuine pointed the homilies, and St.
Auftin's cpilllcs, at the inllancc of Charle-
magne. Carl. M.gn. R. Diplomat.
p. (;2. a. Charlcmi.gne wa.? mod find of
aftforomy- He Ivai'iicd alfo arithmetic.
In his treafury he had three tables of fil-
ver, and a fourth of gold, of great weight
and fize. One of thefe, which was fquarc,
had a pifture or reprefentation of Conftan-
tinople : another, a round one, a map of
Rome: a third, which was of the moll e.x-
quifite workmanfhip, and gieatell weight,
confining of three orbs, contained a map
of the world. Eginhart, ubi fupr. p. 29.
31. 41.
" MSS. Cod; Coll. S. S. Trin. Cant.
Clafl". a de.'ctr. Ser. Med. 5. membran. 4to.
Hede fays, that he compiled part of his
Chromcon, ex Hebraica veri-
TATE, that is from S. Jerom's Latin tran-
flation of the bible; for he adds, " nos
" qui per be.iti interpretis Hicronymi /»-
" (/;//?/;«/« puro He BR AIL- >^ VERITATIS
" fonte potamur," &c. And again, " Ex
" Hcbraica veritate, qa^: aJ iics per m/mt-
" ratlin intcrpretem pure pervenine," &c.
He mentions on this occafion the Greek
Septuagiiit tranilation of the bible, but
not as if he had ever feen or confultcd it.
Bed. Cuao.N. p. 34. edit. Cant. Op.
Bed.
his
DISSERTATION II.
his treatlfes in logic, and I think, another in grammar, into
a dialogue between the author and Charlemagne. He firft
advifed Bedc to write his ecclefiaftical hiftory of England ;
and was greatly inftrumcntal in furnifhing materials for that
early and authentic record of our antiquities '',
In the mean time we mufl not form too magnificent ideas
of thefe celebrated maflers of fcience, who were thus invited
into foreign countries to condu6l the education of mighty
monarchs, and to plan the rudiments of the moft illuflrious
academies. Their merits are in great meafure relative.
Their circle of reading was contracted, their fyftems of phi-
lofophy jejune ; and their leftures rather ferved to flop the
growth of ignorance, than to produce any pofitive or im-
portant improvements in knowledge. They were unable to
make excurfions from their circumfcribed paths of Icientific
inftrudlion, into the fpacious and fruitful regions of liberal
and manly fludy. Thofe of their hearers, who had pafTed
through the courfe of the fciences with applaufe, and afpired
to higher acquifitions, were exhorted to read Cafliodorus
and Boethius ; whofe writings they placed at the fummit of
profane literature, and which they believed to be the great
boundaries of human erudition.
I have already mentioned Ceolfrid's prefcnts of books to
Benedidl's library at Weremouth abbey. He wrote an account
of his travels into France and Italy. But his principal work,
and I believe the only one preferved, is his diflertation con-
cerning the clerical tonfure, and the rites of celebrating
Eafter \ This was written at the defire of Naiton, a Picliili
king, who difpatched ambalTadors to Ceolfrid for informa-
tion concerning thefe important articles ; requefting Ceolfrid
at the fame time to fend him fome flcilful architefts, who
could build in his country a church of ftone, after the
y Dedicat. Hift. Ecd. Bed. To king ^ Bed, Hill. Ecd. v. 22. And ConcU,
Ce^vulphui, p. 37, 38. edit. Op. Cant. Gen. vi. p. 1423.
fafliioa
DISSERTATION II.
fafliion of the Romans \ Ceolfrid died on a journey to
Rome, and was buried in a monaftery of Navarre, in the
year 706 ^
- But Bede, whofe name is fo nearly and neceffarily
conne6led with every part of the literature of this pe-
riod, and which has therefore been often already mentioned,
emphatically ftyled the Venerable by his cotemporaries, was
by far the moft learned of the Saxon writers. He was of
the northern fchool, if it may be fo called ; and was educated
in the monaftery of faint Peter at Weremouth, under the care
of the abbots Ceolfrid and Bifcop '. Bale affirms, that Bede
learned phyfics and mathematics from the pureft fources, the
original Greek and Roman writers on thefe fubie6ls ^ But
this hafty aflertion, in part at leaft, may juftly be doubted.
His knowledge, if we confider Jiis age, was extcnfive and
profound : and it is amazing, in fo rude a period, and during
a life of no confiderable length, he fhould have made fo fuc-
cefsful a progrefs, and fuch rapid improvements, in fcientifical
and philological ftvidies, and have compofed fo many elabo-
rate treatifes on different fubje6ls ^ It is diverting to fee
the French critics cenfuring Bede for credulity : they might
as well have accufed him of fuperftition '. There is much
* Bed. Hid. Eccl. ib. c. 21. iv. 18. ^ It is true, that Bede has introduced
*" Bed. Hift. Abb. p. 300. many miracles and vifions into his hiftory.
' Bed. Hift. Eccl. v. 24. Yet fome of thcfe are pleafing to the ima-
'' ii. 94. gination : they are tindured with the gloom
' " Libros feptuaginta ofto edidit, quos of the cloifter, operating on the extrava-
" ad finem Historic fuae Anglican^ gancies of oriental invention. I will give
" edidit. [See Op. edit. Cant. p. ?22. an inftancc or two. A monk of Northum-
" «23. lib. V. c. 24.] Hie fuccumbit bcrland died, and was brought again to
" ingeuium, deficit eloquium, fufficienter life. In this interval of death, a young
" admirari homincm a fcholaftico e.ercitio man in fhining apparel came and led him,
" tarn procul amotum, tarn fcibrio fcrmone without fpeaking, to a valley of infinite
" tanta claborafle volumina," &c. Chron. depth, length, and breadth: one fide was
Pra;f. Bcver. MSS. Coll. Trin. Oxon. ut formed by a prodigious fheet of fire, and the
fupr. f. 65. [Bever was a monk of Weft- oppofite fide filled with h.ail and ice. Both
tr.infter circ. A. D. 1400.] For a full and fides were fwarming with fouls of departed
exaft lift of Bede's works, the curious rea- men ; who were for ever in fcarch of reft,
der is referred to Mabillon, Sxc. iii. p. i. alternately (hifting their fituation to thefe
p. 539. Or Cave, Hift. Lit. ii. p. extremes of heat and cold. The monk
a4Z. fuppofing this place to be hell, was told hy
hi»
DISSERTATION^
11.
perfpicuity and facility in his Latin ftyle. But it is void of
elegance, and often of purity ; it fhews with what grace and
propriety he would have written, had his mind been formed
on better models. Whoever looks for digeftion of mate-
rials, difpofition of parts, and accuracy of narration, in this
writer's hiftorical works, expc6ls what could not exift at
that time. He has recorded but few civil tranfa6lions : but
befides that his hiftory px-ofeffedly confiders ecclefiaftical
affairs, we fliould remember, that the building of a church,
the preferment of an abbot, the canonifation of a martyr,
and the importation into England of the fhin-bone of an
apoflle, were neceflarily matters of much more importance
in Bede's conceptions than vi6lories or revolutions. He is
fond of minute defcription ; but particularities are the fault
and often the merit of early hillorians '. Bcde wrote many
his guide that he was miftaken. The guide
then led him, greatly terrified with this
Ipefticlc, to a more diftaiit place, where
he fays, " I faw on a fudden a darkn^fs
" come on, and every thing was obfcured.
" When I entered this place I could diicern
" no objeil, on account of the encreafing
" darknefs, except the countenance and
" glittering garments of my conduftor.
" As we went forward I beheld vail tor-
" rents of flame fpouting upwards from the
" ground, as from a large well, and falling
" down into it again. As we came near
" it my guide fuddenly vanifhed, and left
" me alone in the midll of darknefs and
" this horrible viuon. Deformed and nn-
" couth fpirits arofe from this blazing
" chafm, and attempted to draw me in
" with fiery forks." But his guide here
returned, and they all retired at his ap-
pearance. Heaven is then defcribed with
great llrength of fancy. I have feen an
old ballad, called the D^ati Man's Song, on
this (lory. And Milton's hell may perhaps
be taken from this idea. Bed. Hiil. Eccl.
V. 13. Our hillorian in th? next chapter
relates, that two mod beautiful youths came
to a perfon lying fick on his death-bed,
and offered him a book to r.'ad, richly or-
namented, in which his good aftlons were
recorded. Immediately after this, the
houfe was furrounded and filled with an
army of fpirits of moil horrible afp-ft.
One of them, who by the gloom of his
daikfome countenance appeared to be their
leader, produced a book, codiccm horrcndte
•vijlonis, et jyiagiiitndims enorm:s et pcndcris
ttene importahilh, and ordered fome of his
attendant demons to bring it to the fick
man. In this were contain .-d all his fins,
&c. ib. cap. 14.
■■ An ingeiiiou.i author, who writes under
the name of M. de Vigneul Marville, ob-
ferves, that Bedc, " wnen he fpeaks of the
'* Magi who went to worfliip our Saviour,
" is very particular in the account of their
" names, age, and refpeftive offerings.
" He fays, that Melchior was old, and
" had grey hair, v/ith a long beard ; and
" that it was he who offered gold to
" Chrill, in acknowledgment of his fove-
" reignty. That Gafpar, the fecond of
" the magi, was young, and had no beard,
" and that it wai he who offered frankiu-
" cenfe, in recognition of our Lord's di-
" \inity: and that Balrhafar the third,
" v/asofadirk compli-'xion, had a large
" beard, and oiiercd re\irh 10 our Sa-
" viour's
DISSERTATION II.
pieces of Latin poetry. The following verfes from his Me-
DiTATio DE DIE JuDicii, a tranflatioii of which into Saxon
verfe is now preferved in the library of Bennet college at
Cambridge ', are at leaft well turned and harmonious.
Inter florigeras foecundi cefpitis herbas,
Flamine ventorum refonantibus undique ramis '.
Some of Aldhelm's verfes are exaftly in this caft, written on
the Dedication of the abbey-church at Malmesbury to faint
Peter and faint Paul.
Hie celebranda rudis " florefcit gloria templi,
Limpida quae facri celebrat vexilla triumphi .
Hie Petrus et Paulus, tenebrofi lumiua mundi,.
Prsecipui patres populi qui frena gubernant,
Carminibus crebris alma celebrantur in aula.
Claviger o cseli, portam qui pandis in sethra,
Candida qui meritis recludis limina casli,
Exaudi clemens populorum vota tuorum,
Marcida qui riguis humeftant fletibus ora ".
The flrift and fuperabundant attention of thcfe Latin
poets to profodic rules > on which it was become fafliionable
to write didactic fyftems, made them accurate to excefs in
the metrical conformation of their hexameters, and produced
a faultlefs and flowing monotony. Bede died in the monaftery
of Weremouth, which he never had once quitted, in the
year 735 \
" viour's humanity." He is likewife very eld piftures and popular reprefentations of
circumftantial in the defcription of their the 11 i/'e Men's Ojfhin^.
drenes. Melanges d' I'Hilh et de Lit. = Cod. MSS. Ixxix. P. i6i.
Paris, 1725. i2mo. torn. iii. p. 283, &c. ' Malmfb. apud Whart. ut fupr. p. 8.
What was more natural than this in fuch " Recent. Newly built.
a writer and on fuch a fubjeft 'i In the mean '^ W. Malmfb. ut fupr. Apud Whart.
time it may be remarked, that this de- p. 8.
fcription of Bede, taken perhaps from " Cave, ubi fupr. p. 473. Ssc. Eico-
See Malmefb. apud Lei. Coll. I. p. have been collcfledby Mur.itori, Antiqait.
140. edit. nop. Ital. Med. sv. iii. 831. ii. 141. And
^ Wharton. Angl. Sacr. ii. joi. Many Eoiil.-'y, Hill. Acad. Pajif. i. z88.
C\'jdcnces of the ignorance which prevailed
and
DISSERTATION IL
and the national chara6ler had contra6led an ah- of rudcnefs
and ferocity.
England at length, in the beginning of the eleventh cen-
tury, received from the Normans the rudiments of that
cultivation which it has preferved to the prefent times.
The Normans were a people who had acquired ideas of
fplcndor and refinement from their refidence in France ; and
the gallantries of their feudal fyftem introduced new magni-
ficence and elegance among our rough unpolilhed anceftors.
The conqueror's army was compofed of the flower of the
Norman nobility ; who fliaring allotments of land in different
parts of the new territory, diffufed a general knowledge of
various improvements entirely unknown in the mod flou-
rifliing eras of the Saxon government, and gave a more libe-
ral turn to the manners even of the provincial inhabitants.
That they brought with them the arts, may yet be feen by the
caftles and churches which they built on a niore extenfive
and (lately plan ". Literature, in particular, the chief object
of our prelent refearch, which had long been reduced to the
moll abjeft condition, appeared with new luftre in confe-
quence of this important revolution.
Towards the clofe of the tenth century, an event took
place, which gave a new and very fortunate turn to the ftate
of letters in France and Italy. A little before that time,
there were no fchools in Europe but thofe which belonged to
the monafteries or epifcopal churches ; and the monks were
almoil the only mailers employed to educate the youth in
the principles of facred and profane erudition. But at the
commencement of the eleventh century, many learned per-
fons of the laity, as well as of the clergy, undertook in the
= This point will be further illuflrated in of ANTiquiTV in various Parts op
a work now preparing for the prefs, en- England. To which will be prefixed,
titled, Observations Critical and The History of Architecture in
Historical, ON Castles, CHURCHts, England.
Monasteries, and other Monume nts
f " moft
DISSERTATION
It
moft capital cities, of Fran,ce and Italy this important cliarge..
The Latin verfions of the Greek philolbphers from the Arabic,
had now become fo frequent and common, as to fall into the
hands of the people ; and many of thefe new preceptors
having travelled into Spain with a defign of ftudying in the
Arabic fchools \ and comprehending in their courfe of in-
ftitution, more numerous and ufeful branches of fcience
than the monallic teachers were acquainted with, commu^
nicated their knowledge in a better method, and taught in.
a much more full, perfpicuous, folid, and rational manner.,
Thefe and other beneficial effe£ls, arifuig from this pra6lice
of admitting others befides ecclefiaftics to the profeffion of
letters, and the education of youth, were imported into Eng-
land by means of the Norman conqueft..
The conqueror himfelf patronifed and loved letters. He
filled the bifhoprieks and abbacies of England with the moit
learned of his countrymen, v/ho had been educated at the.
"univerfity of Paris, at that time the moll flourifliing fchool
in Europe. He placed Lanfranc, abbot of the monaftery of
Saint Stephen at Caen, in the fee of Canterbury ; an eminent-
mailer of logic, the fubtleties of which he employed with,
great dexterity in a famous controvcrfy concerning the real'
prefence. Anfelm, an acute metaphyfician and theologifl,
his immediate fuccelTor in the fame fee, was called from the-
government of the abbey of Bee in Normandy. Herman, a.
Norman bifhop of Salifbury, founded a noble library in the
inticnt cathedral of that fee '. Many of the Norman prelates:
'' This fafhion continued for along time.
Among many who might here be mcn-
tiened w.-is Daniel Merlac, an Enplifliman,
who, in the year 1185, went to Toledo to
learn mathematics, and brought back with-
him into England fcveral books of the
Arabian phii^fcphy. Wood Aniiq Univ.
Oxon. i. p. 56. col. i.
' "Nobilembibliothecam, comparatis in
" hoc optimis ju.xta ac antiqoidimls illuf-
" uiuBt autorum roODumentis., Sevcrise £o-
" ftit." Leland. Script. Brit; p. 174. He
died 1C99. He was fo fond of letters, that-
he did not difdain to bind and illuminate-
books. Mon. Angl. iii.p.375.Vid. Iiipi-. The
old i.hurch ot Salilbury llood within the
area ot that noble antient military work, .
c.-iUed Oid-caJi!e. Leland ra>s, that he
finidicd the church which his i predeceflbr
Herman had begun, and filled its chapter
with cmiaent fcholais.
preferred
DISSERTATION
II.
Jjreferred in England by the conqueror, were polite fcholars.
-Godfrey, prior of Saint Swithin's at Winchefter, a native of
Cambray, was an elegant Latin epigrammatift, and wrote
with the fmartnefs and eafe of Martial ■*. A circumftance,
which by the way fhews that the literature of the monks at
this period was of a more liberal caft than that which wc
commonly annex to their character and profeffion. Geoffrey,
a learned Norman, was invited from the univerfity of Paris
to fuperintend the direftion of the fchool of the abbey of
Dunftable j where he compofed a play called the Play of Saint
Catharine % which was adled by his fcholars. This was
perhaps the firft fpeflacle of the kind that was ever at-
tempted, and the firft trace of theatrical reprefentation
which appeared, in England. Mathew Paris, who firft records
this anecdote, fays, that Geoffrey borrowed copes from tht
facrift of the neighbouring abbey of faint Alban's to drefs
his charafters. He v/as afterwards elefted abbot of that
opulent monaftery '.
^ Camden has cited feveral of his epi-
grams. Remains, p. 421. edit. 1674. I
■have read all his pieces now remaining.
The chief of them are, " Proverbia,
" ET EpIGRAMMATA SaTYRICA."—
" Carmina Historica.de Rege Ca-
" NUTo, Regina Emma," &c. Among
thefe laft, none of which were ever printed,
is an eulogy on Walkclin bifhop of Win-
chafter, and a Norman, who built great
part of his ftately cathedral, as it now
illands, and was bifhop there during God-
frey's priorate, viz.
Confilium, virtutis .imor, facundia comis,
AValcheline pater, fixa fuere tibi.
Gorreftor juvenum, fenibus documenta mi-
niftrans,
Exeniplo vita: paftor utrofque regis.
•Pes fner.is claudis, cxcis imitabile lumen,
Portans invalidos, qui cecidere levans.
Divitiis dominus, facilis largltor earum,
Dmn reficis multos, deficis ipfc tibi, &c.
Among the Epigrams, die following is
not cited by Camden.
Pauca Titus pretiofz dabat, fed vilia plura:
Ut meliora habeam, pauca del, oro,
Titus.
Thefe pieces are in the Bodleian library,
MSS. Digb. 65. ut. 1 1 z. The whole col-
leftion is certainly wortliy of publication.
I do not mean merely as a curiofity. Le-
land mentions his epiftles " familiari illo
*' et DULci ftyio editcc." Script. Brit. p.
159. Godfrey died H07. He was made
prior of Winchefter A. D. 1082. Wharton.
Angl. Sacr. i. 324. He was interred in
the old chapter-houfe, whofe area now
makes part of the dean's garden.
" See infr. Sect. vi. p. 236.
' Vit. Abbat. ad calc Hift. p. 56.
edit. 1639. S^^ *^^o- ■^"'' K'^' Acad.
Parif. ii. 225.
f !^
The
DISSERTATION it
The king himfclf gave no fmall countenance to the
clergy, in ftnding his fon Henry Bcauclerc to the abbey of
Abingdon, where he was initiated in the fciences under the
care of the abbot Grymbald, and Faiice a phyfician of Ox-
ford. Robert d'Oilly, conftable of Oxford caftle, was ordered
to pay for the board of the young prince in the convent,
which the king himfelf frequently vifited ^. Nor was Wil-
liam wanting in giving ample revenues to learning : he
founded the magnificent abbies of Battel and Selby, with
other fmaller convents. His nobles and their fuccellors co-
operated with this liberal fpirit in erefting many monafte-
ries. Herbert de Lofmga, a monk of Normandy, bifhop of
Thetford in Norfolk, inftituted and endowed with large
poflelFions a Benedid:ine abbey at Norwich, confifting of
ftxty monks. To mention no more inflances, fuch great
inflitutions of perfons dedicated to religious and literary
leifure, while they difFufcd an air of civility, and foftened
the manners of the people in their refpeftive circles, muft
have afforded powerful invitations to fludious purfuits, and
have confequently added no fmall degree of ftabiUty to the
mterefts of learning.
By thefe obfcrvations, and others which have occurred in
the courfe of our enquiries, concerning the utility of monaf-
teries, I certainly do not mean to defend the monoitic fyflem.
We are apt to pafs a general and undiftinguilhing cenfure
on the monks, and to fuppofe their foundations to have been
the retreats of illiterate indolence at every period of time.
But it lliould be remembered, that our univerfities about
the time of the Norman conquefl, were in a low condition i
while the monafteries contained ample endowments and ac-
commodations, and were the only relpe6lable leminaries of
literature. A few centuries afterwards, as our univerfities
began to flourifli, in confequence of the diftindions and
« HiA. Antiq. Univ. Oxon. i. 46.
honours
DISSERTATION
II.
honours which they conferred on fcholars, the eftablifhment
of colleges, the introdu6lion of new fyftems of fcience,
the univerfal ardour which prevailed of breeding almoft all
perfons to letters, and the abolition of that exclufive right
of teaching which the ecclefiaflics liad fo long claimed ; the
monafteries ofcourfe grew inattentive to ftudies, which were
more ftrongly encouraged, more commodioufly purfued, and
more fuccefsfully cultivated, in other places : they gradually
became contemptible and unfafliionable as nurferies of learn-
ing, and their fraternities degenerated into floth and igno-
rance. Tiie moft eminent fcholars which England produced,
both in philofophy and humanity, before and even below
the twelfth century, were educated in our religious houfss.
The encouragement given in the Englifli monafteries for
tranfcribing books, the fcarcity of which In the middle ages
we have before remarked, was very confiderable. In every
great abbey there was an apartment called the Scriptorium :
where many writers were conftantly bufied in tranfcribing
not only the fervice-books for the choir, but books for the
library ". The Scriptorium of Saint Alban's abbey was
built by abbot Paulin, a Norman, who ordered many vo-
lumes to be written there, about the year 1080. Archbifliop
Lanfranc furniflied the copies '. Eftates were often granted
for the fupport of the Scriptorium. That at Saintedmonibury
was endowed with two mills \ The tythes of a reftory were
appropriated to the cathedral convent of faint Swithin at
'' This was alfo a praftice in the monaf-
teries abroad ; in which the boys and no-
vices were chiefly employed. But the
midkls and bibles were ordered to be writ-
ten by monks of mature age and difcre-
tion. Du Frefne, GlolT. Lat. Med. V.
Scriptorium. And Praifat. f. vi. edit,
prim. See alfo Monall. Anglic, ii. 726.
And references in the windows of the li-
brary of faint Alban's abbey. Ibid. .183.
At the foundation of Winchefter college,
one or more tranfcribsrs were hired and
employed by the founder to make books for
the library. They tranfcribcd and took
their commons within the college, as ap-
pears by computations of expences on their
account now remaining.
' Mat. Paris, p. i-Oj. See Leiand.
Script. Brit. p. 166.
'' Reciftr. Nigr. S. Edmund. Abbat. foL
228.
Winchefter,
DISSERTATION II.
Wlncheiler, adUbros tranfcribcndoSy in the year wjx". Many
inftances of this fpecies of benefa6lion occur from the tenth
century- Nigel, in the year 1160, gave the monks of Ely
two churches, ad libroi fachndos\ This employment appears
to have been diligently praftifcd at Croyland ; for Ingulphus
relates, thatwhen the library of that convent vvras burnt in the
year 1091, feven hundred volumes were confumed ". I'ifty- &
eight volumes were tranfcribed at Glaftonbury, during the I
government of one abbot, about the year 1300°. And in the li- ■
brary ofthismonaftery, the richeft in England, there were up-
wards of four hundred volumes in the year 1248 ^ More than
eighty books were thus tranfcribed for faint Alban's abbey,
by abbot Wethamflede, who died about 1446 ■*. Some of thefe
inftances are rather below our period ; but they illuftrate the
fubjecl, and are properly connedled with thofe of more
antient date. I find fome of the dallies written in the
Englilh monafteries very early. Henry, a Benedictine monk
of Hyde-abbey near Winchefter, tranfcribed in the year
1 178, Terence, Boethius ', Suetonius', and Claudian. Of
thefe he formed one book, illuminating the initials, and
'' Regldr. Joh. Pontiflar. epifcop. Wint. verfe in Boethius but what is taken frotn
f. 164. MS. Seneca,
See Mon. Angl. i. iji. Heming. ' Suetonius is frequently cited bv the
Chartul. per Hcarne, p. 265. Compare writers of the middle ages, particularly by
iilfo Godwin, de Praful. p. 121. edit. \'inccntius Bcllovaccnhs. Specul. Hilt.
1616. lib. X. c. 67. And Rabanus Maurus, Art,
' Wharton, Angl. Sacr. i. p. 619. See Gram. Op. torn. i. p. 46. Lupus, abbot of
alfo, p. 634, and 2-8. Hearne has pub- Fcrrieres, about the year838, a learncdphi-
llfhed a grant from R. De Fallon to Brom- lofophical writer, educated under Rabanus
holm abbey in Norfolk, of lar/. per an- Maurus, defires abbot Marqu.ird to fend
num, a rent-charge on his lands, to keep him Suetonius, On tbt Crrjars, " in duos
their books in repair, a/Z^OTfWacyiJfff/n //^o- "nee magnos codices divifum." Epiftol.
rum. Ad. Domerham, Num. iii. Lup. Fcrrarienf. xcix. Apud Andr. Du
" Hift. Croylajid. Dec. Script, p. 98. Chefne, Script. Rer. Fr.mc. torn. ii. p. 726.
' Tanner, Not. Mon. edit. iivo. Pref. Ifidorui Hifpalenfis, a bifliop of the fcventh
P See Joann. Glafton. ut infr. And Le- century, gives the origin of Poetry from
laad, Script. Brit. p. 13 I, Suetonius, Origin, viii. 7. Chaucer's tale
1 Weaver, Fun. Mon. p. 566. of Nero in the Monke's Tai.f, is taken
■■ It is obfervable, that Boethius in his from Suetonius, *' as tcllith us Suetonius.**
nefrcs conftantly follows Seneca's trage- v. 491. p. 164. edit. Urr.
ii^^. I beLcvc there is not one form «f
forming
DISSERTATION
II.
forming the brazen bofTes of the covers with his own
hands ". But this abbot had more devotion than taflc :
for he exchanged this manufcript a few years afterwards for
four miffals, the Legend of faint Chriflopher, and faint
Gregory's Pastoral Care, with the prior of the neighbour-
ing cathedral convent ". Bcnedift, abbot of Peterborough,
author of the Latin chronicle of king Henry the fecond,
amongfl a great variety of fcholaftic and theological treatifes,
tranfcribed Seneca's epiftles and tragedies ", Terence, Martial *",
and Claudian, to which I will add Gesta Alexandri "j
about the year 1180 \ In a catalogue of the "books of the
" " Suis manibus apices literarum artiff-
" ciofe pinxit et illuminavit, necnon xreos
" umbones in tegmlnibus appinxit." MS.
llegiltr. Priorat. S. Swithin, Winton. Qua-
tein. . . In- archiv. Wulvcf. Many of
the monks were fldlful illuminators. They
were alfo taught to bind books. In the
year 1277, thefi conftitutions were given
to the BenediAine monafteries of the pro-
vince of Canterbury. " Abbates monachos
" fuos clauftrales, loco opsris manualis,
" fecundum fuam habilitatem caeteris oc-
" cupationibus deputent: in lludendo, libros
" fcribendo, corrigendo, illuminando, li-
♦' gando." Capit. Gen. Ord. Eenediftin.
Provinc. Cant. 1277. apud MSS. Br.
Twyne, r p. 272. archiv. Oxon.
»■ Ibid.
" Nicholas Antonius fays, that Nicholas
Franeth, a Doniinican, illuftrated Seneca's
tragedies with a glofs, foon after the year
1300. Bibl. Vet. Hifpan. apud Fabric.
Bibl Lat. lib. ii. c. 9. He means Nicholas
Trivet, an Engli(h Dominican, author of
the Annals publilhed by Hearne.
y John of Saliibury calls Martial Cocus,
Policrat. vi. 3. As do feveral writers of the
middle ages. Martial is cited by Jerom of
Padua, a Latin poet and phyfician, who
flourllhed about the year 1 300. See Chrif-
tian. Daumli Not. ad Catonis Diftich. p.
140. One of the two famous manufcripts
of Terence in the Vatican, is faid to have
been written in the time, perhaps under, the
encouragement, of Charlemage ; and tO'
have been compared with the more anticnt
copies by Calliopius Scholaflicusi Fontan-
in. Vindic. Antiquit. Diplomat, p. 37.
Scholaliicus means a mailer in the ecclefiaf-
tical fchools. Engelbert, abbot of Trt-
voux, a writer of the tenth century, men-
tions Terentius Poeta, but in fuch a manner
as (liews he had but little or no knowledge
of him. He confounds this poet with Te-
rentius the Ro.Tian fenator, whom Scipio
delivered from prifon at Carthage, and
brought to Rome. Bibl. Patr. torn. x.w.
edit. Lugd. p. 370.
* See Sect. iii. infr. p. 128.
'■ Swaffham, Hift. Ca;nob. Burg. ii. p.-
97. per Jof. Sparke. " Epiftola; Senecx
" cum aliis Senecis in uno volumine, Mar-
" tialis totus et Terentius in uno volu-
" mine," Sec. Sub. Tit. De Libris ejus.
He died in 1193. In the library of Peter-
borough abbey, at the diflblution, there
were one thouiand and feven hundred books'
in manufcript. Gunton's Peterb. p. 173.
'' See Chron. Job. Glafton. edit. Hearne,
Oxon. 1726. viz. Numcrus Librorum Glaf-
lonienjis eccUfi/e qui fueru/it lie libraria
anno gracia, M.cc.xL.vn.p. 423. Leland,
who vifited all the monafteries juft before
their diffolution, feems to have been itruck'
with the venerable air and amplitude of this ■
room. Script. Brit. p. 196. See what is-
faid of the moiutlery libraries above.
libraiy-
DISSERTATION
II.
library of Glaftonbury we find Livy ", Salluft ', Seneca,
TuUy De Senectute and Amicitia '', Virgil, Perfius, and
Claudian, in the year 1248. Among the royal manufcripts
of the Britifli Mufeum, is one of the twelve books of
Stafius's Thebaid, fuppofed to have been written in the tenth
century, which once belonged to the cathedral convent of
Rocheder '. And another of Virgil's Eneid, written in the
thirteenth, which came from the library of faint Auflin's
at Canterbury ^ Wallingford, abbot of faint Alban's, gave
or fold from the library of that monaflery to Richard of
Bury, birtiop of Durham, author of the Philobiblon, and
a great collector of books, Terence, Virgil, Quintilian,
and Jerom againfl Rufmus, together with thirty-two other
volumes valued at fifty pounds of filver ^ The fcarcity of
'' It is pretended, that Gregory the Great,
in the year 580, ordered all the manufcripts
of Livy to be burnt which could be found,
as a writer who enforced the doftrine of
prodigies. By the way, Livy himfelf often
infinuates his dilbeiief of thofe fiipcrfti-
tions. He ftudies to relate the moll ridi-
culous portents ; and he only meant, when
it came in his way, to record the credulity
cf the people, not to propagate a belief of
fuch abfurJities. ]t was the fupcrllition of
the people, not of the hiftorian. Antonio
Beccatclli is laid to have purchafed of
Poggius a beautiful nianufcript of Livy,
for which he gave the latter a large field, in
the year 1455. Galla;f. ])e Biblicthecis,
V. 186. See Liron, Sinriularitts Hill, et
Litt. torn I. p. 166.
'^ Fabricius mentions twc manufcripts of
Sallud, one written in the year 1 178, and
and the other in the year 900. Bibl. l^at.
L. i. c. 9. Salluil is cited by a Byzantine
writer, Joannes Antiochenus, of an early
rentury. Excerpt. I'eircfc. p 393. ]\lr.
Hume fays, that Salluft's larger hiftory i?
cited by Fit/ Stephens, in his defcription of
London. Hid i'.ngl. ii. 440. 4to. edit.
'' Pau!u5 Jovius fays, thu Poggius, about
the year 1420, firll brouglit Tally's books
De Fit;if>:ii and D- f.i\^i/>iii into Italy, tran-
scribed by himfelf from other manufcripts.
Vofr. Hift. Lat. p. 550. About the fame
time Brutus t/e Claris Oratoribus, and
fome of the Rhetorical pieces, with a com-
plete copy of De Oratore, were difcovered
and circulated by Flavius Blondus, and his
frienKis. Flav. Blond. It-il. lUuftrat. p. 346.
Leland fays, that William Selling, a monk
of Canterbury, rbout 1480, brought with
him from Italy Cicero's book De Republicn,
but that it was burnt with other manufcripts.
Script. Brit. Cellingus,
■^ 15 C. X. 1.
f 15 Bvi.
f- Vit. Abbat.S. Albani. Brit. Iviuf. MSS.
Cotton. Claud. E. iv. In the royal m.anu-
feripts in John of Salifbury'sENTENTicus,
there is written, " Hunc librum fecit do-
" minus Symon abbas S. All,ani : quern
" pollea vcnditum domino Ricardo pb
" Bury, epifcopo Dunelmenfi emit Mi-
" cliael abbas S. Albnni ab executoribus
" prxdiai epifcopi, A. D. 1345." MSS.
13 J), iv. 3. Richard de liurv, otherwife
called Richard Aungervyllc, is faid to have
alone poffcfled more books than all the bi-
fliops of England together. Bcfides the
fixed libraries which he had formed in his
feviral paLaccs, the floor of his common
apartment was (b covered with books, that
t.'-.ofe who entered could not with due re-
verence :ipproach his prefcncc. Gul. Cham-
bre
DISSERTATION
II.
parchment undoubtedly prevented the tranfcription of many
other books in thefe focieties. About the year 1120, one
mailer Hugh, being appointed by the convent of Saint-
cdmondfbury in Suftblk to write and illuminate a grand
copy of the bible for their library, could procvu'c no parch-
ment for this purpofe in England \
In confequence of the talle for letters and liberal ftudies
introduced by the Normans, many of the monks became
almofl as good critics as catholics ; and not only in France
but in England, a great variety of Latin writers, who ftudied
the elegancies of ftyle, a-nd the arts of claflical compofition,
appeared foon after the Norman conqueft. A view of the
writers of this clafs who flouriflied in Enjrland for the two
brc, Contin. Hift. Dunelm. apud Whaft.
Aiigl. Sacr. i. 765. He kept binders, il-
luminators, and writers in his palaces.
" Antiquariorum, fcriptorum, correftorum,
" colligatorum, illuminatorum, kc." Phi-
lobibl. cap. viii. p. 34. edit. 1599. Petrarch
fays, that he had once a converiation with
Aungeryylle, concerning the ifland called
by the antients Thule, whom he calls I'i-
ritm ardentis ingenii. Petrarch, Epill. i. 3.
His book entitled Philoeiblon, or De
Amore librorum ct injlitulioiie Bihliotheca-,
fuppofcd to be really written 'y Robcit
Holcott a Dominican friar, was finilhed in
his manor of Aulkland, A. D. 1343. He
founded a library at Oxford : and it is re-
markable, that in the book abovcmen-
tioned, he apologifes for admitting the
poets into his coUeftion. " i^iare non ne-
" g/eximt(s F ABU LAS Poet A rum." Cap.
xiii. p. 4.3. xviii. p. 57. xix. 58. But he
is more corr^plaifant to the prejudices of his
age, where he fays, that the laity are un-
worthy to be .admitted to any commerce
with books. " Laid om/iium hSroniiH co/n-
" miiniove Junt iiidig/u." Cap. xvii. p. 55.
He prefers books of the liberal arts to trea-
tifes in law. Cap. xi. p. 41. He laments that
good literature had entirely ceafed in the
univerfity of Paris. Cap. ix. p. 38. He
ndmits Panjietcs cxiguos into his library.
Cap. viii. 30. He employed Statiorianos
ilid Librnrio!, not only in England, but in
France, Italy, and Germany. Cap. x. p.
34. He regrets the total ignorance of the
Greek language ; but adds, that he has
provided fo;- the ftudents of his library both
Greek and Hebrew grammars. Ibid. p. 40.
He calls Paris the pm-adije of the ivorU^
and fa)S, that he purchafed there a variet)
of invaluable volumes in all fcienccs, which
yet were neglcfted and perilbing. Cap. viii.
p. 31. While chancellor and treafurcr of
England, inftead of the iifuat prefents and
new-year's gifts appendant to his office, he
ckofe to receive thofc pcrquifites in books.
Ey the favour of Edward the third he gained
accefs to th'.- liliraries of the moll capital
nionallcries ; whore he fhook ofl" the dull
from volumes preferved in cliells and preft'es
which had not been opened for many ages.
Ibid. 29, 30.
'' Monall. Angl. i. p. 200. In the great
revenue-roll of one year of John Gcrveys,
bilhop of Wincheller, I find expended " in
" p.archcaraento enipto ad rotulos, v.(."Th;«
was a confiderable fum for fuch a commodity
in the ye.ar 1266. But as the quantity or
number of the rolls is not fpecificd, no pre-
cife conclufion can be drawn. Comp. MS.
mcmbran. in archiv. Wulvef. Winton.
Compare Anderfon, Comrn. i. 153. fub
ann. 13J5.
lubfequent
DISSERTATION
II.
Jubfequent centuries, till the reftlefs fpirit of novelty brought
on an attention to other ftudies, neceffarily follows from
what has been advanced, and naturally forms the conclufion
of our prefent inveftigation.
Soon after the acceffion of the conqueror, John commonly
called Joannes Grammaticus, having fludied polite literature
at Paris, which not only from the Norman connection,
but from the credit of its profeflbrs, became the fafliionable
univerfity of our countrymen, was employed in educating the
fons of the Norman and Englifh nobility '. He wrote an
explanation of Ovid's Metamorphofes ", and a treatife on the-
art of metre or verfification '. Among the manufcripts of
the libraiy of New College in Oxford, I have feea a book of
Latin poetry, and many pieces in Greek, attributed to this
writer ". He flourifhed about the year 1070. Li the reign
of Henry the firfl, Laurence, prior of the church of Durham,
wrote nine books of Latin elegies. But Leland, who had
read all his works, prefers his compofitions in oratory j and
adds, that for an improvement in rhetoric and eloquence, he
frequently exercifed his talents in framing Latin defences on
dubious cafes which occurred amojig his friends. He likewife,
amongft a variety of otli£r elaborate pieces on faints, confef-
fors, and holy vij-gins, in which he humoured the times and
his profeflion, compofed a critical treatife on the method of
writing Epiftles, which appears to have been a favourite
■ Sec Bale, iv. 40.
'' hitegumcntafuper O'vldV: Mttamorplxijes.
MSS. Bibl. Bodl. fup. A i. Art. 86. Where
it ii given to Johannes Guallenfis, a Fran-
cifcan friar of Oxford, and afterw.ards a
lludcni at Paris. It is alfo MSS. Digb.
104. fol. 323. The fame piece is extant
under the name of this latter John, entitled,
Expofttiones ffje murahtatcs in Lib. I. Mcta-
morfh'Jio! Jsi-'e Fabiilarum, Is c. Printed at
Paris 1599. But this Johannes Guallcnfis
feems to have been chiefly a phiiofopher
ind thcologifl. \\c flouriiiied about .1, D.
1 250. Alexander Necliam wrote in Meta-
morphojin O-uidit. Tann. Bibl. p. 540.
' Another title of this piece is, Poetria
magna'Jahannis Anglic:, &C. Cantabr. MSS.
More, 121. It is both in profe and verfc.
He begins with this panegyric on the uni-
verfity of Paria. " Parifianajiibar difFundit
" gloria dcrus." He likt-wife wrote Com-
peiidiiini (irammaticrs.
"■ MSS. Bibl. Coll. Nov. Oxon. 236.
237. But thefe arc faid to belong to Joan-
nes Philoponus. See Phot. Bibl. Cod. Ixxv.
Cave, p 441. edit, i.
fubjeft.
DISSERTATION
IL
fubie(5l ". He died in 1154°. About the fame time Robert
Dunflable, a monk of Saint Albans, wrote an elegant Latin
poem in elegiac verfe, containing two books ^, on the life of
faint Alban ^ The firft book is oj>ened thus :
Albanl celebrem c?elo terrifque triumph um
Ruminat inculto carmine Clio rudis.
We are not to expe£l Leonine rhymes in thefe writers,
which became fafhionable fome years afterwards '. Their
" See what is faid of John Hanvill below.
° Lei. Script. Brit. p. 204. 205.
^ It is a long poem, containing thirteen
hundred and fixty lines.
1 In the BritifhMufeum.MSS.Cott.JuL.
D. iii. 2. Claud. E. 4. There are more
of his Latin poems on facred fubjefts in
the Britifh Mufeum. But mofl; of them are
«f an inferior compofition, and, as I fup-
pofe, of another hand.
' Leonine verfes are faid to have been
invented and iirll ufcd by a French monk of
Saint Viftor atMarfeilles, named Leoninus,
or Leonine, about the year 1135. Pafquicr,
Recherch. de la France, vii. 2. p. 596. 3.
p. 600. It is however certain, that rhymed
Latin verfes were in ufe much earlier. I
have before obferved, that the Schola Saler-
vitana was publilhed 1 100. See Maffieu,
Hift. Fr. Pocf. p. 77. Fauchett, Rec. p. 52.
76. feq. And I have feen a Latin poem
of four hundred lines, " Mcyfis Mutji Ber-
*' gomatis de rebus Bergorrienfibus, JufU-
" niani hujus nominis fecundi Byzantii
" Imperatoris juflu confcriptum, anno a
" falute nollra 707." The author was the
emperor's fcribe or fecretary. It begins
thus :
Alme Deus, reftor qui mundi regna gu-
bernas;
Nee finis abfque mode fedes fluitare fu-
pernas.
It is at the end of "Achillis Mutii theatrum.
Bergomi, typis Comini Venturac, 1596."
Pelloutier has given a very early fpecimen
«f Latin Rhymes. Mem. fur la Lang. Celt.
parti, vol. L ch. xii. p. 20. He quotes the
writer of the life of S. Faron, who relates,
that Clotarius the fecond, having conquered
the Saxons in the beginning of the feventh
century, commanded a Liitin panegyric.il
fong to becompofedon that occafion, whick
was fung all over France. It is Ibmewhat
in the meafure of their vernacular poetry,
at that time made to be fung to the harp,
and begins with this ftan^a.
De Clotario eft canere rege Francorum
Qui ivit pugnare cum gente S.axonum
Quam graviter pro\'enifret mifTis Saxo num
Si non fuiiTet inditus Faro de gente Bur-
gundionum.
Latin rhymes feem to have been firft ufed
in the church-hymns. But Leonine verfe»
are properly the Roman hexameters or pen-
tameters rhymed. Andit is not improbable
that they took their name from the monk
abovementioned, who was the moft popular
nnd almoft only Latin poet of his time in
France. He wrote many Latin pieces not
in rhyme, and in a good ftyle of Latin ver-
ification. Particularly a Latin heroic poem
in twelve books, containing the hiftoiy of
the bible from the creation of the world to
the ftory of Ruth. Alio fome elegies,
which have a tolerable degree of clafilc
purity. Some fuppofe, that pope Leo the
fecond, about the year 680, a great reformer
of the chants and hymns of the church, in-
vented this fort of verfe.
It is remarkable, that Bede who lived in
the eighth century, in his book de Arte
Metrica, doe^ not feem to Iwve known
g 2. xVm
DISSERTATION II.
verfes are of a higher caft, and have a clafllcal turn» The
following line, which begins the fecond book, is remarkably
flowing and harmonious, and much in the manner of
Claudian.
Pieridum ftudiis clauftri laxare rigorem.
Smoothnefs of verification was an excellence which, like
their Saxon predecefTors, they fludied to a fault. Henry of
Huntingdon, commonly known and celebrated as an hiftp-
rian, was likewife a terfe and polite Latin poet of this pe-
riod. He was educated imder Alcuine of Anjou, a canon
of Lincoln cathedral. His principal patrons were Aid win
and Reginald, both Norm^ans, and abbots of Ramfey. His
turn for poetry did not hinder his arriving to the dignity of
an archdeacon. Leland mentions eight books of his epi-
grams, amatorial verfes ', and poems on philofophical fub-
jefts '. The proem to his book De HerbiSj has this elegant
invocation.
Vatum magne parens, herbarum Phoebe repertor,
Vofque, quibus refonant Tempe jocofa, dese 1
Si mihi ferta prius hedera florente paraftis,
Ecce meos flores, ferta parate, fero.
that rhyme was .1 common ornament of the poetry partly dlftinguiflied from the corn-
church hymns of his time, many of which mon fpecies, which they call Leonine or
he quotes. See Opp. tom. i. 34. cap. pe- Leonime. Thus Gualticr Arbaleftrier de
nult. But this chapter, I think, is all taken Eellc-perche, in the beginning of his ro-
from Marius Viftorinus, a much older mance of Judas Maccabeus, written before
writer. The hymns which Bede quotes arc the year 1280.
cxtrmcly barbarous, confdiing of a modu- j^ ^^ ^j ^, ^^^^^ ^-^^ jj^
lated ftrudure, or a certain number of feet ^. „^„/ f^;,, 1^ n,e
without quantity ; l.ke the odes of the ^^ „;,/,w,ou L'o,„mc.
mmftrcls or fcalds of that age. " Ut funt, ■'
" he fays, carmina VULGAR! UM poeta- But enough has been faid on a fubjeft of
" RUM." In the mean time we muft not fo little importance,
forget, that the early French troubadours ' See Wharton, Angl. Sacr. ii. 29..
Bientionafortofrhyme in thtir vernaculai ' Lei- Script. Brit. p. 197.
But
DISSERTATION II.
But Leland appears to have been moft plcafed with Henry's
poetical epiillc to Elfleda, the daughter of Alfred ". In the
Bodleian library, is a manufcript Latin poem of this writer,
on the death of king Stephen, and the arrival of Henry the
fecond in England, which is by no means contemptible ".
He occurs as a witnefs to the charter of the monaflery of
Sautree in the year 1147". Geoffrey of Monmouth was
bifliop of Saint Afaph in the year 11 52 '. He was indefa-
tigable in his enquiries after Britifli antiquity ; and .was
patronifed and afliiled in this purfuit by Walter, archdeacon
of Oxford, a diligent antiquarian, and Alexander, biihop of
Lincoln ''. His credulity as an hiftorian has been defervedly
cenfured : but fabulous hiftories were then the fafliion, and
he well knew the recommendation his work v/ould receive
from comprehending all the popular traditions '. His lati-
nity rifes far above mediocrity, and his Latin poem on Mer-
lin is much applauded by Leland \
We muft not judge of the general ft ate of fociety by the
more ingenious and dignified churchmen of this period ; who
feem to have furpaffed by the moft difproportionate degrees
in point of knowledge, all other members of the commu-
nity. Thomas of Becket, who belongs to the twelfth cen-
tury, and his friends, in their epiftles, diftinguifli each other
by the appellation of philofophers, in the courfe of their
correfpondence \ By the prefent diffufion of literature, even
thofe who are illiterate are yet fo intelligent as to ftand more
on a level with men of profeifed fcience and knowledge j
but the learned ecclefiaftics of thofe times, as is evident
" Ut fupr. ^ Leland, Script. Brit. p. iqq.
■" MSS. D!gb. 65. fol. 27. His writings " See Sect. iii. infr. p. 124.
are numerous, and of various kinds. In '' In the Britilh Mufcum, MSS. Cotf.
Trinity college library at Oxford there is a Tit. A. xix. Vespas. E. iv.
line copy of his book Z)f imagine Mundi. ' See Quadrilog. Vit. T. Bcgket, Bruvel!.
MSS. Cod. 64. pergamen. This is a very 1682. 4to. And Concil. Mag: Brit, et Hib.
common manufcript. tom. i. p. 44^. Many of thefe epillle^ are
Wharton, Ang. Sacr. ii. 872, ftill in manufcripe.
^ Wharton, Ecckf. Affav. p. 306.
from
DISSERTATION 11.
from many paffages in their writings, appear, and not with
out reafon, to have confidered the reft of the world as totally
immerfed in ignorance and barbarity. A moft diftinguiflied
ornament of this age was John of Salifbury ^ His ftyle has
a remarkable elegance and energy. His Policraticon is
an extremely pleafant mifcellany ; replete with erudition,
and a judgment of men and things, which properly belongs
to a more fenfible and reflefting period. His familiar ac-
tjuaintance with tlie dailies, appears not only from the
happy facility of his language, but from the many citations
of the pureft Roman authors, with which his works are
perpetually interfperfed. Montfaucon afTerts, that fome parts
of the fupplement to Petronius, publifhed as a genuine and
valuable difcovery a few years ago, but fmce fuppofed to be
fpurious, are qvioted in, the Policraticon ^ He was an
illuftrious rival of Peter of Blois, and the friend of many
learned foreigners \ I have not feen any fpecimens of his
Latin poetry ° ; but an able judge has pronounced, that no-
thing can be more eafy, finilhed, and flowing than his
verfes '. He was promoted to high ftations in the church
by Henry the fecond, whofe court was crouded with fcho-
lars, and almoft equalled that of his cotemporaiy William
king of Sicily, in the fplendor which it derived from encou-
raging erudition, and afl'embling the learned of various
countries^. Eadmer was a monk of Canterbury, and endeared
'' " Studuit in Italia omnium bonarum ^ See Leland, Script. Brit. p. 210. Henry "
•" artium facile poll Grjeciam parente." the fecond fent Gualterus, ftylcd Ancli-
Leland. Script. Brit. p. 207. But he like- cus, his chaplain, into Sicily, to inftruft
wife fpent fome time at O.xford. Policrat. William king of Sicily in literature. Wil-
viii. 22. liam was fo pleafed with his mailer, that
*= Bibl. MSS. There is an allufion to he made him archbilhop of Palermo. B;de,
thePolicraticonin the Roman DE laRose. xiii. 73. He diedin 1 177. PeterofBlois
Et verras en Policratique. was Gualter's coadjutor ; and he tells us,
V. 7056. that he taught William the rudiments" o/cv-
"• Lei. ibid. " Jtjiiraloritr arlit et lilcia! ri Lehind, Script. Brit. p. 17S. There
is apoemDE Laudibus Anselmj, and
an epicedion on that prelate, commonly
afcribed to Eadmcr. See Fabric. Bib!.
Med. L.-it ii. p. 210. feq. Leland doubts
whether thcfe pieces belong to him or to
William of Chefter, a learned monk, pa-
tronifcd by Anfelm. Script. Brit. p. it 5.
' Lei. p. 195. But fee Wharton, Angl.
Sacr. ii. Pra;f. p. xii.
^ InhisHidorv of Henry the fecond.
' See Cave, Hift. Lit. p. 661. '
details
DISSERTATION 11.
details rife far above the dull uninterefting precifion of pa-
tient annalifts and regular chronologers. John Hanvill, a
monk of Saint Alban's, about the year 1190, fludied rhe-
toric at Paris, and was diftinguiflied for his tafte even among
the numerous and polite fcholars of that flourifliing femi-
jiary "". His Architrenius is a learned, ingenious, and
very entertaining performance. It is a long Latin poem in
nine books, dedicated to Walter bifhop of Rouen. The
defign of the work may be partly conjeftured from its af-
fefted Greek title : but it is, on the whole, a mixture of
iatire and panegyric on public vice and virtue, with fome
hiilorical digreflions. In the exordium is the following ner-
vous and fpirited addrefs.
Ta Cyrrhas latices noflras, deus, implue menti ;
Eloquii rorem ficcis infunde labcllis :
Diilillaque favos, quos nondum pallidus auro
Scit Tagus, aut fitiens admotis Tantalus undis :
Dlrige qua; timidc fulcepit dextera, dextram
Audacem pavidamque juva : Tu mentis habenas
Fervoremque rege, Sec.
In the fifth book the poet has the following allufions to the
fables of Corineus, Brutus, king Arthur, and the popula-
tion of Britain from Troy. He feems to have copied thefe
traditions from Geoflfrey of Monmouth ".
Tamen Architrenius inftat,
Et genus et gentem quterit lludiofuis : illi
Tros genus, et gentem tribuit Lodoncfia, nutrix
Praebuit irriguam morum Cornubia mammam,
Pod odium fati, Phrygiis inventa : Smaraudus
Hanc domitor mundi Tyrinthius, alter Achilles,
"■ Lcl. p 259. '■ See Hiil. Galfrid. Mon. i. .xi. xvi. xvii, kc.
Atrid;:eque
DISSERTATION II.
Atridaeque timor Corinseus, ferra gygantum,
Clavaque monftrifera, focias delegit alumnam
Omnigenam Trojce, pluvioque fiuviflua la6te
Filius exilio feflse dedit ubera matri.
A quo di6la prius Corineia, dicitur au6lo
tempore corrupte Cornubia nominis hseres.
lUe gygantjEos attiitis ofiibus artus
Implicuit letho, Tyrrheni littoris hofpes,
Indomita virtute gygas ; non corpore mole
Ad medium prefTa, nee membris denfior asquo,
Sarcina terrifica trfmuit Titania mente.
Ad Ligeris ripas Aquitanos fudit, et amnes
Francorum potuit lacrymis, et csede vadoque
Sanguinis enfe ruens, fatiavit rura, togaque
Punicea veftivit agros, populique verendi
Grandiloquos fregit animofa cufpide faftus.
Integra, nee dubio bellorum nautVaga flu6lUj
Nee vice fufpedla titubanti faucia fato,
Indilata dedit fubitam vi(5loria laurum.
Iiide dato curfu, Bruto comitatus Achate,
Gallorum fpolio cumulatus, navibus asquor
Exarat, et fuperis auraquc faventibus utens,
Litora felices intrat Tolonefia portus :
Promiffumque foli gremium monflrante Diana,
Incolumi cenfus loculum ferit Albion alno.
Haec eadem Bruto regnante Britannia nomen
Traxit in hoc tempus : folis Titanibus ilia,
Sed paucis, habitata domus ; quibus uda ferarum
Terga dabant veftes, cruor hauftus pocula, trunci
Antra lares, dumeta toros, caenacula rupes,
Pr^eda cibos, raptus venerem, l'pe6tacula ccedes,
Imperium vires, animum furor, impetus arma,
Mortem pugna, fepulchra rubus : monftrifque gemebat
Monticolis tellus : fed eorum plurima tragus
h Pars
DISSERTATION 11.
Pars erat occidui terror ; majorque premebat
Te furor extremum zephyrij Cornubia, limen.
Hos avidum belli Corinsei robur Averno
Prascipites mifit ; cubitis ter quatuor altum
Gogmagog Herculea fufpcndit in aere lu6ta,
Anthaeumquc fuuni fcopulo demifit in asquor :
Potavitque date Thetis ebria fanguine flu6lus,
Divifumque tulit mare corpus, Cerberus umbram.
Nobilis a Phrygi^e tanto Cornubia gentem
Sanguine derivat, fucceffio cujus lulus
In generis partem recipit complexa Pelafgam
Anchifasque domum : ramos hinc Pandi-afus, inde
Sylvius extendit, focioque a fidere fidus
Plenius efFundit triplicatte lampadis ignes.
Hoc trifido fola Corinsei poftera mundum
Prsradiat pubes, quartique puerpera Phcebi
Pullulat Arthurum, facie dum falfus adulter
Tintagel irrumpit, nee amoris Pendragon asllu
Vincit, et omnificas Merlini confulit artes,
Mentiturque ducis habitus, et rege latente
Induit abfentis prjefentia Gorlois ora ".
There is a falfe glare of expreflion, and no great Juftnefs of
fentiment, in thefe verfes ; but they are animated, and flow
in a ftrain of poetry. They are pompous and fonorous ;
but thefe faults have been reckoned beauties even in poliflied
ages. In the fame book our author thus characlerifes the
different merits of the fatires of Horace and Perfius.
° Milton appears to have been much Brennumque Arviragumque duces, prif-
ftruck with this part of the antient Britifh cumque Belinum,
Hillory, and to have defigned it for the Et tandem Armoricos Britonum fub lege
fubjcft of an epic poem. Epitaph. Da- colonos :
MON-is, V. 162. Turn gravidam Arturo, fatali fraude, lo-
Ipfe ego Dardanlas Rutupina per xquora gerncn,
puppes Mendaces vultus, affuraptaqueGorlois arma,
Dicam, et Pandrafidos regnum vctus Ino- Merlini dolus.
gcnuv. See alfo Milton's Mansus, v. 8o.
Perfius
DISSERTATION 11.
Perfiiis in Flacci pelago decurrit, et audet
MendicafTe ftylum fatyras, ferraque cruentus
Rodit, et ignorat polientem peflora limam ^
In the third book he defciibes the happy parfimony of the
Cifterciaji monks.
O fan6la, o felix, albis galeata cTicullis,
Libera paupertas ! Nudo jejunia paftu
Trafta diu folvens, nee corruptura palatum
Mollitie menl'se. Bacchus convivia nullo
Murmure conturbat, nee facra cubilia mentis
Inquinat adventu. Stomacho languente miniltrat
Solennes epulas ventris gravis hofpita Thetis,
Et paleis armata Ceres. Si tertia menl^e
Copia fuccedat, truncantur olufcula, quorum
OfFendit macies oculos, pacemque meretur,
Deterretque famem pallenti fobria cultu ^
Among Digby's manufcripts in the Bodleian library, arc
Hanvill's Latin epigrams, epiftles, and fmaller poems, many
of which have confiderable merit '. They are followed by a
metrical tra6l, entitled De Epistolarum Compositione.
JBut this piece is written in rhyme, and feems to be pofterior
to the age, »at leaft inferior to the genius, of Hanvill. He
f Juvenal is alfo cited by JohnofSalif- de Letterati d'Iralia, tom.viii. p. 4.1. Ja-
bury, Peter of Blois, Vincentius Bellova- venal was printed at Rome as early as
ceniis, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and other 1474-
writers of the middle ages. They often 1 There are two manufcripts of this poem,
call him Ethicus. See particularly Petr. from which I tranfcribe, in the Bodleian
^lef. Epift. bcxvii. Some lines from Juvenal library. MSS. Digb. 64. and 157. One
are cited byHonorius Auguftodunus, a prieft of thefe has a glofs, but not that of Hugo
of Burgundy, who wrote about 13C0, in his Legatus, mentioned by Baillet. Jugem.
De Phihfophia Muiidi, Prxfat. ad lib. iv. Sav. iv. p. 257. edit. 410. This poem is
The tenth fatire of Juvenal is quoted by faid to ha\'e been printed at Paris 15 17,
Chaucer inTaoiLus and Cresseide, b. 410. Bibl. Thuan. torn. ii. p. 286. This
iv. V. 197. pag. 307. edit. Urr. There is edition I have never feen, and believe it to
an old Italian metaphrafe of Juvenal done be an extremely fcarce book,
in 1475, and publifhed foon afterwards, by ' Cod. Digb. 64. ut fupr.
Georgio Summaiipa, of Verona. Giq;nale
h 2 was
DISSERTATION
II.
was buried in the abbey church of faint Alban's, foon after
the year 1200'. Gyraldus Cambrenfis deferves particular
regard for the univerfality of his workSj many of which are
written with fome degree of elegance. He abounds with
quotations of the beft Latin poets, He was an hiflorian,
an antiquary, a topographer, a divine, a philofopher, and
a poet. His love of fcience was fo great, that he refufed
two bifhopricks ; and from the midft of public bufmefs,
with which his political talents gave him a confidcrable
connexion in the court of Richard the firif, he retired to
Lincoln for feven years, with a defign of purfuing tiieolo-
gical ftudies '. He recited his book on the topography of
Ireland in public at Oxford, for three days fuccellively. On
the firft day of tliis recital he entertained all the poor of the
city ; on the fecond, all the doctors in the fcveral faculties,
and fcholars of better note; and on the third, the whole
body of fludents, with the citizens and foldiers of the gar-
rifon ". It is probable that this was a ceremony pra6lifed
on the like occafion in the univerfity of Paris "; where Giral-
' Bale. iii. 49.
■' Wharton, Angl. S.icr. ii. 374.
" Wood. Hift. Antiq. Univ. Oxon. i.
56.
"■ But Wood infmuatcs, that this fump-
tuous entert.iinincnt was partly given by
Gyraldus, as an inceptor in the arts. Ubi
fapr. p. 25. col. I. Which praflice I have
mentioned, Ssct. ix. p. :90. infr. And
I will here add other inftanccs, cfpecially
as they are proofs of the eftimaticn in
which letters, at Icaft literary lionours,
were held. In the year i 268, the inceptors
in civil law at Oxtbid were fo numerous,
and attended by futh a number of guells,
that the academical houfes or holkis were
not fuiEcicnt for their accommodation :
and the company filled not only thefe,
but even the rifcftory, cloifters, and many
apartments of Ofeney .ibbey, near the fu-
hurbs of Oxford. At which time many
Italians lludying at Oxford were admitted
in that faculty. Wood, ubi liipr. p. 25.
col. I . It appears that the mayor and ci-
tizens of Oxford were conllantly invited to
thefe folemnitics. In the year 1400, two
monks of the priory of Chrift Church in
Canterbury were fcverally admitted to the
degree oi doclor in divinity and civil law
at Oxford. The expcnces were paid by
their monallery, and .amounted to 118/. 3/.
8//. Regiflr. Priorat, pergameit. MSS.
Tanner, Oxon. Num. 165. fol. 212. a.
Among other articles there is, " In folu-
" tione faftaHisTiiioNiBus." fol. 213.3.
[See Sect. ii. p. 91. infr.] At length thefe
fcholallic banquets grew to fuch excefs ,
that it was ordered in the year 143^, that
no inceptor in arts Ihould expend more
than " 3000 grolTos Turonenles." Vet.
Stat. See Leland, ColL P. ii. tom. i. p.
296, 297. edil. 1770. But the limita-
tion was a confiderable fum. Each is
fotr.ewhat lefs than an Englifii grOat. Not-
withllanding, Neville, afterwards arch-
bilhop of York, on his admiflion to the
degree
DISSERTATION 11.
dus had ftudied fox' twenty yearsj and where he had been
elefted profeflbr of canon law in the year 1189*. His ac-
count of Wales was written in confequence of the obferva-
tions he made on that country, then almoft unknown to the
Englifh, during his attendance on an archiepifcopal vifitation.
I cannot refift the pleafure of tranfcribing from this book his
pidlure of the romantic fituation of the abbey of Lantony
in Monm.outhlliire. I will give it in Englillij as my meaning
is merely to fliew how great a mafter the author was of that
feledlion of circumftances which forms an agreeable defcrip-
tion, and which could only flow from a cultivated mind.
" In the deep vale of Ewias, which is about a bowfliot over,
" and enclofed on ail fides with high mountains, ftands the
" abbey church of faint John, a ftruifture covered with lead,
*' and not unhandfomely built for fo lonefome a fituation :
" on the very fpot, where formerly flood a fmall chapel.
" dedicated to faint David, which had no other ornaments
" than green mofs and ivy. It is a fituation fit for the exer-
" cife of religion ; and a religious edifice was firft founded
" in this fequeftered retreat to the honour of a folitary life,
" by two hermits, remote from the noife of the world, upon
" the banks of the river Hondy, which winds through the
" midft of the valley. The rains which mountainous
** countries uRially produce, are here very frequent, the
" winds exceedingly tempeftuous, and the winters almofl
degree of mafter of arts in 145^2, feafted bedell; and under the towers were figures
the academics and many ftrangers for two of the king, to whom the chancellor
facceffive days, at two entertainments, con- Wareham, encircled with many dodlors pro-
filling of nine hun,lred coftly dilhes. Wood, perly habited, prcfented four Latin verfes,
ibid. 119. col. I. i. Nor was this re- which wore anfwered by his majelly. The
verence to learning, and attention to its eight towers were thofe of Merton, Mag-
inftitutions, confined to tho circle of our dalene, and New College, and of the mo-
univerfitics. Such was the pedantry of the nafteries of Ofeney,Rewley,theDominican,
times, that in the year 1503, archbiihop Auguftine, and Francifcan friars, wliich
Wareham, chancellor of Oxford, at 'his five laft are now utterly deflroyed. Wood,
feail of inthronifation, ordered to be intro- ubi fupr. -lib. i. p. 239. col. 1. Compare
duceJ in (he firft courfe a curious dilh, in Robinfon's Charles V. i. 323, feq.
which were .-^ji^bitcd the eight towers of " Wharton, ibid,
the univerfity. In every tower Rood a
" continually
DISSERTATION II.
'' continually dark. Yet the air of the valley is fo happily
" tempered, as fcarcely to be the caufe of any difeafes. The
" monks fitting in the cloifters of the abbey, when they
^' chufe for a momentary refrefhment to cafl their eyes
" abroad, have on every fide a pleafmg profpe6l of moun-
" tains afcending to an immenfe height, v^ith numerous
" herds of wild deer feeding aloft on the higheft extremity
" of this lofty horizon. The body of the fun is not vifible
" above the hills till after the meridian hour, even when
" the air is moft clear." Giraldus adds, that Roger bifliop
of Salifbury, prime minifter to Henry the firit, having
vifited this place, on his return to court told the king, that
all the treafnre of his majefty's kingdom would not fuffice
to build fuch another cloifter. The bifliop explained himfelf
by faying, that he meant the circular ridge of mountains
with which the vale of Ewias was enclofed \ Alexander
Neckham was the friend, the affociate, and the correfpondent
of Peter of Blois already mentioned. He received the firft
part of his education in the abbey of faint Alban's, which he
afterwards completed at Paris ^ His compofitions are va-
rious, and croud the department of manufcripts in our
public libraries. He has left numerous treatifes of divinity,
philofophy, and morality : but he was likcwife a poet, a
philologift, and a grammarian. He wrote a traft on the
mythology of the anticnt poets, Efopian fables^ and a fyftem
of grammar and rhetoric. I have feen his elegiac poem on
the monaftic life % which contains fome finiflied lines. But
his capital piece of Latin poetry is On the Praife of Divine
Wisdom, which confills of feven books. In tlv," introduc-
tion he commemorates the innocent and unrcturning plea-
fures of his early days, which he paffed among the learned
monks of faint Alban's, in thcfe pcrfpicuous and unaffected
elegiacs.
■'' Girald. Cambrenf. Itin. Cambr. Lib. i.e. 3. p. So. feg. Lond. 1585. umo.
' Lei. Script. Brit. p. 240. fcq. ' Bibl. Bodl. MSS. Digb. 65. f. )8.
Clauftrum
DISSERTATION
II.
Clauftrum
Martyris Albani fit tibi tuta quies.
Hie locus astatis noflrse piimordia novit,
Annos felices, laetitiseqiie dies.
Hie locus ingenuis pueriles imbuit annos
Artibus, et noflras laudis origo fuit.
Hie locus infignes magnolquc creavit alumnos,
Felix eximio martyre, gente, fitu,
Militat hie Chrifto, no6luque dieque labori
Indulget fanfto religiofa eohors \
Neckham died abbot of Cirencefter in the year 1217 \ He
was much attached to the fludious repofe of the monaftic
profeffion, yet he frequently travelled into Italy \ Walter
Mapes, archdeacon of Oxford, has been very happily ftyled
the Anacrecn of the eleventh century \ He fludied at Paris \
His vein was chiefly feftive and fatirical ^ : and as his wit was
frequently levelled againfl the corruptions of the clergy, his
poems often appeared under fi6litious names, or have been
afcribed to others \ The celebrated drinking ode ' of this
genial archdeacon has the regular returns of the monkifli
rhyme : but they are here applied with a charafteriftical
propriety, are fo happily invented, and fo humouroully in-
troduced, that they not only fuit the genius but heighten
the fpirit of the piece ". He boafls tliat good wine inipires
i* Apud Lei. Script. Brit. p. 240.
<^ Willis, Mitr. Abb. i. 61, 6z.
<> Lcl. ibid.
"^ Lord Lyttelton's Hill:. Hen. U. Not.
B. ii. p. 133- 4to-
' See infr. Skct. ii. p 63.
8 Tanner, Bibl. p. 507.
*• Cave, Hift. Lit. p. 706. Compare
Tanner, Bibl. 351. 507. In return, numy
pieces went under the name of our author.
As, for inllamce, De TheiUle et de Lvrro,
which is a ridiculous piece of fcurrility.
MSS. Bibl. Bodl. Digb. 166. f. 104.
' See Camd. Rem. p. 436. Ryth-mi.
•= In Bibl. Bodl. a piece De Nugis Cu-
rinliiim is given to Mapes. MSS. Arclv,
3,52. It was written A. D. ii8^. As
appears from Dijiiiifl. iv. cap. i . It is in
five books. Many Latin poems in this
manufcript are given to Mapes. One in
particular, written in a flowing flyle, in
ihort lines, preferving no fixed metrical
rule, which feems to have been intended
for finging. In another manufcript I find
various pieces of Latin poetry, by fome at-
tributed to Mapes, Bibl. Bodl. NE. F. iii.
Some of thefe are in a good tafte- Cam-
den has printed his Diifaiatio ititir Cor ct
DISSERTATION
II.
him to fing verfes equal to thofe of Ovid. In another Latin
ode of the fame kind, he attacks with great HveHnefs the
new injunftion of pope Innocent, concerning the cehbacy of
the clergy; and hopes that every married prieft with his
bride, will fay a pater nofler for the foul of one who had
thus hazarded his falvation in their defence.
Ecce jam pro clericis multum allegavi,
Necnon pro prefbyteris plura comprobavi :
Pater Noster nunc pro me, quoniam peccavi,
Dicat quifque Prcfbyter, cum fua Suavi '.
But a miracle of this age in claflical compofition was Jofeph
of Exeter, commonly called Jofephus Ifcanus, He wrote
two epic poems in Latin heroics. The firft is on the Trojan
War; it is in fix books, and dedicated to Baldwin archbifhop
of Canterbury '". The fecond is entitled Antiocheis, the
Oeuliim. Rem. p. 439. It is written in a
fort ofAnacreontic verfc, and has fome hu-
mour. It is in MSS. Bibl. Bodl. Digb. ut
fupr. 166. Sec alfo Camd. ibid. p. 437.
' Camd. Rem. ut fupr.
"' See lib. i. 32. It was firft printed at
Bafil, but very corruptly, in the year 1541.
8vo. Under the name of Cornelius Nepos.
The exiflcnce and name of this poem fcem
to have been utterly unknown in England
\shen Lelaiid wrote. He firft met with a
manufcript copy of it by mere accident in
Magdalene college library at O.x'ford. He
never had even heard of it before. He
a.ftcrwards found two more copies at Paris.
But thefe were all imperfeft, and without
tlie name of the author, except a marginal
hint. At length he difcovered a complete
copy of it in the library of Thorney abbey
in Cambridgelhire, which feems to have
afcertained the author's name, but not
his country. Script. Brit. p. 238. The
negleft of this poem among our anceftors,
I mean in the ages which followed Ifca-
nus, appears from the few manufcripts of
It now remaining m England. Lclam',
who fearched all our libraries, could find
only two. There is at prefent one in
the church of Weftminfter. Another in
Bibl. Bodl. Digb. 157. That iri Mag-
dalen college is MSS. Cod. 50. The bell
edition is at the end of " Diiflys Cre-
" tenfis et Dares Phrygius, in uf Serenift".
" Delph. cum Interpret. A. Daceriae, &c.
" Amfticl. 1702." 4to. But all the printed
copies have omitted pafTages which I find
in the Digby manufcript. Particularly
fhey omit, in the .addrcfs to Baldwin, four
lines after v. 32. lib. i. Thirteen line.^,
in which the poet alludes to his intended
Antiocheis, are omitted before v. 962.
lib. vi. Nor have they the verfes in which
he compliments Henry the fecond, faid by
Leland to be at the end of the fourth
book. Script. Brit. p. 238. The truth is,
thefe paflages would have betrayed their
firft editor's pretence of this poem being
written by Cornelius Nepos. A.s it is, he
was obliged in the addrefs to Baldwin, to
change Cantia, Kent, into Tantia; for
which he fubftitutcs Pontia in the margin,
as an iogenious conjeilure.
War
DISSERTATION II.
War of Antioch, or the Crufade ; in which his patron the
archbifliop v/as an a6lor ". The poem of the Trojan war is
founded on Dares Phrygius, a favorite fabulous hiftorian of
that time °. The diction of this poem is generally pure, the
periods round, and the numbers harmonious : and on the
whole, the ftrudlure of the verfification approaches nearly to
that of poliflied Latin poetry. The writer appears to have
poffeffed no common command of poetical phrafeology, and
wanted nothing but a knowledge of the Virgillan chaftity.
His ftyle is a mixture of Ovid, Statins, and Claudian, who
feem then to have been the popular patterns ^ But a few
fpecimens will beft illuftrate this criticifm. He thus, in a
ftrain of much fpirit and dignity, addrefles king Henry the
fecond, who was going to the holy war'', the intended fubjei51:
of his Antiocheis.
i— Tuque, oro, tuo da, maxime, vati
Ire iter inceptum, Trojamque aperire jacentem :
Te facrae aflument acies, -divinaque bella,
Tunc dignum majore tuba ; tunc pedtore toto
Nitar, et immenfum mecvmi fpargere per orbem ',
The tomb or maufoleum of Teuthras is feigned with a
brilliancy of imagination and expreflion ; and our poet's
" Leland, p. 224, 225. biy charaflerifed by an ingenious French
° The manufcript at Magdalen college, writer. " Les Falles d' Ovide renferment
mentioned by Leland, is entitled. Dares " plus d' erudition qu' aucun autre ouvrage
Phrygius de hello Trojano. Lei. p. 236. " de 1' .antiquite. Cell le chef d' oeuvre
As alfo MSS. Digb. fupr. citat. But fee " de ce poete, et uns efpece de devotion
Sect. iii. p. 135. infr. " paienne." V'igneul Marville, Mifc. Hift.
P Statius is cited in the epiftlesof Ste- et Lit. torn. ii. p. 306. A writer of the
phen of Tournay, a writer of the twelfth thirteenth century, De Miraeilibus
century. " Divinam ejus refponfionem, Rom^, publifhed by Montfaucon, calls
" W. Thehais MneiAa., longe fequor, et I'ff- this work Martilogium Ovidii in Faf-
*' tigia femjier adoro." He died in 1200. tis. Montf. Diar. Italic, c. XX. p. 293.
EpiSTOLiE, Parif. 1611. 4to. Epill. v. 1 Voltaire has exprefled his admiration
p. 535. On account of the variety of the happy choice of fubjeft which
of his matter, and the facility of his man- TaiTo made. Wc here fee a poet of an
ner, none of the antient poets are more age much earlier than Taflb celebrating
frequently cited in the writers of the dark the fame fort of expedition.
ages than Ovid. His Fasti feems to have ■■ Lib. 1. 47.
beei\ their favorite : a work thus adtnira-
i claffical
DISSERTATION II.
clafllcal ideas feem here to have been tindured with the
defcription of fome magnificent oriental palace, which he had
ken in the romances of his age.
Regia confpicuis moles infcripta figuris
Exceptura ducem, fenis affulta columnis,
Tollitur: eleftro vernat bafis, arduus auro
Ardet apex, radioque ftylus candefcit eburna.
Gemmae quas littciis Indi
Dives arena tegit, aurum quod parturit Hermus,
In varias vivunt fpecies, ditique decorum
Materie contendit opus : quod nobile du6lor
Quod clarum gefiit, ars explicat, ardua pandit
Moles, et totum referat fculptura tyrannum '.
He thus defcribes Penthefilea aiid Pyrrhus.
Eminet, horrificas rapiens poft terga fecures,
Virginei regina chori : non provida cultus
Cura trahit, non forma juvat, frons afpera, veftis
Difcolor, infertumque armis irafcitur aurum.
Si vifum, fi verba notes, fi lumin? pendas,
Nil leve, nil fi-aclum : latet omni foemina fa6to.
Obvius ultrices accemlit in arma cohortes,
Myrmidonafque fuos, curru prosveclus anhelo,
Pyrrhus, &c.
Mcritofque ofFenfus in hoftes
Arma patris, nujic ultor, habet : fed tanta recufant
Pondera crefcentes humeri, majoraque caflis
CoUa petit, breviorque manus vix colligit haftam\
Afterwards a Grecian leader, whofe charafter is inve(5live,,
infults Penthefilea, and lier troop of heroines,, with thefe
reproaches.
» Lib. iv. 451, » Lib. vi. p. 5?j.
Tuner
DISSERT AT I O N II.
Tunc fie increpitans, Pudeat, Mars inclyte, dixit :
En !, tua figna gerit, quin noltra efFoeminat arma
Staminibus vix apta manus. Nunc ftabitis hercle
Perjurse turres ; calathos et penfa puells
Plena rotant, fparguntque colos. Hoc milite Troja,
His fidit telis. At non patiemur Achivi :
Etfi turpe viris timidas calcare puellas,
Ibo tamen contra. Sic ille : At virgo loquacem
Tarda fequi fcxum, velox ad praslia, folo
Refpondet jaculo ', &c.
I will add one of his comparifons. The poet is fpeaking of
the reluctant advances of the Trojans under their new leader
Memnon, after the fall of Heftor.
Qualiter Hyblsei mellita pericula reges,
Si fignis iniere datis, labente tyranno
Alterutro, viduos dant agmina ftridula queftus ;
Et, fubitum vix na<5la ducem, metuentia vibrant
Spicula, et imbelli remeant in prselia roftro '.
His Antiocheis was written in fame ftrain, and had equal
merit. All that remains of it is the following fragment \
in which the poet celebrates the heroes of Britain, and par-
ticularly king Arthur.
Inclyta fulfit
Pofteritas ducibus tantis, tot dives alumnis,
Tot fcecunda viris, premerent qui viribus orbem
' Lib. vi. 609. ' Lib. vi. 19. in the library of Abingdon abbey in Berk-
' Camd. Rem. p. 4. 10. Poems. See ftiire. "Cum excuterem pulverem et
alfo Camd. Brit. Leland ha\'ing learned " tineas Abbandunenfis bibltothecse." Ut
from the Bdlum Trajanum that Jofephus fupr. p. 238. Here he dif:ovgred that
had likewife written a poem on the crufade, Jofephus was a native of Exeter, which
fearched for it in many places, but without city was highly celebrated in tliat frag-
fuccefs. At length he found a pi«ce of it ment.
i 2 Et
DISSERTATION II.
Et fama veteres. Hinc Conftantinus adeptus
Imperium, Romam tenuit, Byzantion auxit.
Hinc, Senonum du<5lor, captiva Breniiius urbe '
Romiileas domuit flammis vi6tricibus arces.
Hinc et Scjeva fatus, pars non obfcura tumultus
Civilis, Magnum folus qui mole foluta
Obfedit, meliorque ftetit pro Csefare murus.
Hinc, celebri fato, felici floruit ortu,
Flos regum Arthurus ", cujus tamen a6la fl:upori
Non micuere minus : totus quod in aure voluptas, .
Et populo plaudente favor \ Quaecunque '' priorura
Infpice : Pellaeum commendat fama tyrannum,
Pagina Casfareos loquitur Romana triumphos ;
Alciden domitis attollit gloria monftris j
Sed nee pinetum coryli, nee fydera folem
iEquant. Annales Graios Latiofque revolve,
Prifca parem nefcit, sequalem poftera nullum
Exhibitura dies. Reges fupereminet omnes :
Solus prsteritis melior, majorque futuris.
Camden afl'erts, that Jofeph accompanied king Richard the
firft: to the holy land ^, and was an eye-witnefs of that he-
roic monarch's exploits among the Saracens, which after-
wards he celebrated in the Antiocheis. Leland mentions
his love-verfes and epigrams, which are long flnce periflied \
He" flourilhed in the year i2io\
" f. " Capriva Brennus in." taken rife from the verfes on Henry tlie
* From this circumftance, Pits abfurdly fecond, quoted by Leland fron the BeUum
recites the title of this poem thus. Aniio- Trojanum. He is likewife faid to have
cheisin Regem Arthurum. Jos. Is c. written in Latin verfe De Infiitutione Cyri.
" The text feems to be corrupt in this '' Italy had at that time produced no
fentence. Or perhaps fomewhat is want- writej comparable to Ifcanus.
ing. I have changed favus, which is in ' Bale, iii. 60. Compare Dre/etilus ad
Camden, into/afor. LeBorem. Prefixed to the De Bello
1 f. i^emcunque. Trojano. Fancof. 1620. 410. Mr. Wife
'^ Rem. ut fupr. p. 407. the late RadclifFe librarian, told me, that a
' Leland, ut fupr. p. 239. Our bio- manufcript of the Antiocheis was in
graphers mention Panegyricum hi Henrlcum. the library of tlie duke of Chandois at
Hut the notion of this poem feems to have Canons.
There
DISSERTATION II.
There feems to have been a rival fpirit of writing Latin
heroic poems about this period. In France, Guillaume le
Breton, or WilHam of Bretagny, about the year 1230, wrote
a Latin heroic poem on PhiUp Aviguftus king of France,
about the commencement of the thirteenth century, in
twelve books, entitled Philippis \ Barthius gives a prodi-
gious character of this poem : and affirms that the author, a
few gallicifms excepted, has exprefled the facility of Ovid
with fmgular happinefs ^ The verfification much refembles
that of Jofeph Ifcanus. He appears to have drawn a great
part of his materials from Roger Hoveden's annals. But I
am of opinion, that the Philippid is greatly exceeded by
the Alexandreid of Philip Gualtier de Chatillon, who
flouriflied likewife in France, and was provofl of the canons
of Tovirnay, about the year 1200 ^ This poem celebrates
the a6lions of Alexander the Great, is founded on Quintus
Curtius ^, confifts of ten books, and is dedicated to Guillerm
archbifliop of Rheims. To give the reader an opportunity
of comparing Gualtier's ftyle and manner with thofe of our
countryman Jofephus, I will tranfcribe a few fpecimens from
a beautiful and antient manufcript of the Alexandreid in
the Bodleian library ", This is the exordium.
Gefta ducis Macedum totum vulgata per orbem,
Quam late difperfit opes, quo milite Porum
Vicerit et Darium -, quo principe Grsecia viflrix
* He wrote it at iifty-five years of age. This poem, was never printed, and is hardly
Philipp. lib. iii. v. 381. It was firft known.
printed in Pithou's Eleven Hillorians of '•' In Not. p. 7. See alfo Adverfar.
France, Francof. 1536. fol. Next in xliii. 7. He prefers it to the Alexan-
Du Chefne, Script. Franc, torn. v. dreis mentioned below, in Not. p. 528.
p. 93. Parif. 1694. fol. But the bell See Mem. Lit. viii. 536. edit. 4to.
edition is with Barthius's notes, Cygn. ' It was firft printed, Argent. 1513.
1657. 4to. Brito fays in the Philippis, 8vo. And two or tiiree times fince.
that he wrote a poem called Karlottis, s See infr. Sect, iii.p. 139, And Barth.
in praife of Peiri Carhtti fui, then not Advcrf. Iii. 16.
fifteen years old. Ph ilipp. lib. i. v. 10. I* MSS. Digb. 52- 410.
Rifit,
DISSERTATION II.
Rifit, et a Perfis rediere tributa Corinthum,
Mufa, refer ".
A beautiful rural fcene is thus defcribed.
Patulis ubi frondea ramis
Laurus odoriferas celabat crinibus herbas :
Saspe fub hac memorat carmen fylveftre canentes
Nympharum vidiffe chores, Satyrofque procaces.
Fons cadit a laeva, quern cefpite gramen obumbrat
Purpureo, verifque latens fub vefte locatur.
Rivulus at lento lavat inferiora meatu
Garrulus, et ftrepitu facit obfurdefcere montes.
Hie mater Cybele Zephyrum tibi, Flora, maritans,
Pullulat, et vallem foecundat gratia fontis. .
Qualiter Alpinis fpumofo vortice faxis
Defcendit Rhodanus, ubi Maximianus Eoos
Extinxit cuneos, dum fanguinis unda meatum
Fluminis adjuvit. '.
He excells in fimilies. Alexander, when a ftripling, is thus
compared to a young lion.
Qualiter Hyrcanis cum forte leunculis arvis
Cornibus elatos videt ire ad pabula cervos,
Cui uondum totos defcendit robur in artus,
Nee bene firmus adhuc, nee dentibus afper aduncis,
Palpitat, et vacuum ferit improba lingua palatum ;
Effunditque prius animis quam dente cruorem ".
The Alexandreid foon became fo popular, that Henry
of Gaunt, archdeacon of Tournay, about the year 1330,
complains that this poem was commonly taught in the
* fol. I. a.. * fol. xiii. a. " fol. xxi. a-
rhetorical
DISSERTATION
II.
rhetorical fchools, inftead of Lucan ' and Virgil ". The
learned Charpentier cites a pairaj,e from the manufcript
ftatutcs of the univerfity of Tholouie, dated 1328, in which
the profefTors of grammar are directed to read to their pupils
*' De Hiiloriis xMexandri "."Among which I include Gualtier's
poem °. It is quoted as a familiar claflic by Thomas Rod-
burn, a monkifh chronicler, who wrote about the year
1420 ^ An anonymous Latin poet, feemingly of the thir-
teenth century, who has left a poem on the life and miracles
of faint Ofwald, mentions Homer, Gualtier, and Lucan,
as the three capital heroic poets. Homer, he fays, has ce-
lebrated Hercules, Gualtier the fon of Philip, and Lucan
has fung the praifes of Cefar. But, adds he, thefe heroes
much lefs deferve to be immortalifed in verfe, than the
deeds of the holy confefTor Ofwald.
In nova fert animus antiquas vertere profas^
Carmina, &c.
' Here, among many other proofs which
might be given, and which will occur here-
after, is a proof of the eftimation in which
Lucan was held during the middle ages.
He is quoted by Geoffrey of Monmouth
and John of Saliibury, writers of the
eleventh century. Hill. Brit. iv. 9. and
Policrat. p. 215. edit. 151;. &c. &c. There
is an anonymous Italian tranflation of Lu-
can, as early as the year tjio. The Ita-
lians have alfo Lucano in 'volgare, by car-
dinal Montichelli, at Milan 1492. It is in
the odlave rime, and in ten books. But
the tranflator has fo much departed from
the original, as to form a fort of romance
of his own. He was tranflated into Spanilli
profe, Lucano poeta y hijloriador antiquo,
by Martin LafTe de Orefpe, at Antwerp,
1585. Lucan was firft printed in the year
1469. And before the year 1500, there
were fix other editions of this claffic,
whofe declamatory manner rendered him
very popular. He was publifhed at Paris
jnBrench in 1500. Labb. Bibl. p. 339,
"' See Hen.Gandav. Monaftlchon. c.20.
and Fabric. Bibl. Or. ii. 218. Alanuy
delnfulis, who died in 1202, in his poem
called Anti-claudianus, a Latin poem
of nine books, much in the manner of
Claudian, and written in defence of divine
providence againft a paffage in that poet's
RuFiNus, thus attacks the riling repata-^
tion of the Alexakdreid.
Mkvius ill coelis ardens os ponere mutum,
Gesta Ducis Macedum, tenebrofi car-
minis umbr.a,
Dicere dum tentat. .^— -
n Suppl: Du Cang. Lat. Glofl"; torn. 0^.*
p. 1255. V. Metrificatura. By
which barbarous word they fignified- the
Art of Poetry, or rather the Art of writing .
Latin verfes.
° See Sect. iii. p. 128. infr.
p Hift. Maj. Winton. apud Whartoni,
Angl. Sacr. i. 242.
Alcidert
DISSERTATION
II.
Alciden hyperbolice commendat Homerus,
GuALTERus pingit torvo Philippida vultu,
Casfareas late laudes Luc anus adauget:
Tres illi famam meruerunt, trefque poetas
Au6lores habuere fuos, multo magis autem
Ofwaldi regis debent infignia dici \
I do not cite this writer as a proof of the elegant verfifica-
tion which had now become falliionable, but to fliew the
popularity of the Alexandreid, at.leaft among fcholars.
About the year 1206, Gunther a German, and a Ciftercian
monk of the diocefe of Balil, wrote an heroic poem in Latin
verfe entitled, Ligurinus, which is fcarce inferior to the
Philippid of Guillaum le Breton, or the Alexandreid of
Gualtier: but not fo poliflied and claflical as the Trojan
War of our Jofephus Ifcanus. It is in ten books, and the
fubjeft is the war of the emperor Frederick Barbarofla againft
"5 I will add fome of the exordial lines
almoft immediately following, as they
contain names, and other circumllances,
which perhaps may lead to point out the
age if not the name of the author. They
were never before printed.
Tuquoque digneris, precor, afpirare labori,
Flos deri, Martine, meo ; qui talis es
inter
Abbates, qualis eft patronus tuus inter
Pontifices : hie eft primas, tu primus eo-
rum. Sec.
Hie per Aidanum fua munificentia munus
Illi promeruit, &c.
Tuque benigne Prior, primas, et prime
Priorum,
Qui cleri, Roc ERE, rofam geris, annue
vati, &c.
Tuque Sacrifta, facris inftans, qui jure vo-
caris
Symon, idcft humilis, quo nemo benig-
nior alter
Abbatis prxccpta fui velocior audit,
iTardius obloquitur : qui tot mea carmina
fervat
Scripta volunainibus, nee plura requirere
ceffas.
Praeteritos laudas, praifentes dilige ver-
fus, &c.
The manufcript is Bibl. Bodl. A. 1.2. B.
(Langb. 5. p. 3.) This piece begins at f.
57. Other pieces precede, in Latin poe-
try. As ViTJE Sanctorum. 7*. Bcckit.
Qui moritur? Pracful. Cur.' pro Grege,
&c.
PrcL pr. f. 23.
Detinetint alios Parn.iffi culmina, Cyrrhi
Plaufus, Pieridum vox, Heliconis opes,
De partu Virgin:!, f. 28. b.
Neftareum rorem terris, &c.
S. Birir.u!, f. 42.
Et pudet, et fateor, &c.
The author of the life of Birinus fays, he
was commanded to write by Peter, probably
Peter de Rnpibus, blftiop of Winchefter.
Perhaps he is Michael Blaunpayne. Alex-
ander Effeby wrote lives of faints in Latin
verfe. See MSS. Harl. 1819. 531.
the
DISSERTATION II.
the Milanefe in Liguria\ He had before written a Latin
poem on the expedition of the emperor Conrade againft the
Saracens, and the recovery of the holy fepulchre at Jerufalem
by Godfrey of Bulloign, which he called Solymarium '. The
fubjeft is much like that of the Antiocheis ; but which
of the two pieces was written firfl it is difficvilt to afcertain.
While this fpirit of claffical Latin poetry was univcrfally
prevailing, our countryman Geoffrey de Vinefauf, an. accom-
plifhed fcholar, and educated not only in the priory of faint
Fridefwide at Oxford, but in the univerfities of France and
Italy, publifhed while at Rome a critical didaftic poem en-
titled, De Nova Poetria '. This book is dedicated to pope
Innocent the third: and its intention was to recommend
and illuftrate the new and legitimate mode of verfification
which had lately begun to flourifli in Europe, in oppofition
to the Leonine or barbarous fpecies. This he compcndiouily
ftyles, and by way of di{l:in6Hon, T'he New Poetry. We mufl
not be furprifed to find Horace's Art of Poetry entitled
HoRATii Nova Poetria, fo late as the year 1389, in a
catalogue of the library of a monaftery at Dover '.
Even a knowledge of the Greek language imported from
France, but chiefly from Italy, was now beginning to be
diffufed. in England. I am inclined to think, that many
1 Firft printed Auguft. Vindel. 1507. tandi,'verjificandi,-et transferendl. See Scl-
foL And frequently fince. deRjPrsfat. Dec. Scriptor. p. xxxix.
' He mentions it inhis Licurium, lib. AnoSelden, Op. ii. 168. He is hinifelf
i. V. 13. feq. V. 648. feq. See alio Voff. no contemptible Latin poet, anJ is ce-
Poet. Lat. c. vi. p. 73. It was never lebrated by Chaucer. See Urry's edit.
printed. Guntherwrote a profe hiftoiy of p. 468. 560. He feemo to have lived
the fack of Conftantinople by Baldwin : about 1 200.
The materials were taken from the mouth ' Ex Matricula roonach. Monall. Dover,
of abbot Martin, who was prefent at the apud MSS. Br. Twyne, notat. 8. p. 758.
fiege, in 1 Z04. It was printed by Cani- archlv. Oxon. Yet all Horace's writings
fius, Antiqu. Ledl. torn. iv. P. ii p. 358. were often tranfcribed, and not unfamiliiir,
Jngolftad. 1604. 4to. Again, in a new in the dark .iges. His odes are quoted by
edition of that compilation, Amft. 1725. Fitz-Stephens in bis Description of
fol. torn. iv. Seealfo Pagi, ad A. D. 1519. London. Rabanus MaurJs abovc-nicn-
31. xlv. tioned quotes two verfes from the Art of
' It has been often printed. I think it is Poetrv. Op, torn. ii. p. 46. edit. Colon,
tailed in fome manufcripts, De Arte die- 1627. fol,
k Greek
DISSERTATION
II.
Greek manufcripts found their way into Europe from Con-
ftanlinople in the time of the crufades : and we might ob-
i'frve that the Icalians, who feem to have been the moft po-
liflied and intelligent people of Europe during the barbarous
ages, carried on communications with the Greek empire
as early as the reign of Charlemagne. Robert Groithead,
biflaop of Lincoln, an univerfal fcholar, and no lefs conver-
fant in polite letters than the moft abftrufe fciences, culti-
vated and patroni fed the lludy of the Greek language. This
illuflrious prelate, who is faid to have compofed almoft two
hundred books, read lectures in the fchool of the Francifcan
friars at Oxford about the year 1230*. He tranflated Dio-
nyfius the Areopagite and Damafcenus into Latin \ He
greatly facilitated the knowledge of Greek by atranllation of
Suidas's Lexicon, a book in high repute among the lower
Greeks, and at that time almoft a recent compilation \ He
promoted John of Bafmgftoke to the archdeaconry of Lei-
cefler ; chiefly becaufe he was a Greek fcholar, and poirefled
many Greek manufcripts, which he is f^id to have brought
from Athens into England '. He entertained, as a domcftic
■" Kennet, Paroch. Antiq. p. 217.
" Leiand, Script. Brit. p. 283.
y Borton of Bury fays, that he tranflated
the book called Suda. Catal. Script. Ec-
clef. Robert. Lincoln. Bofton lived in
the year 1 410. Such was their ignorance
at this time even of the name of this lexi-
cogr.ipher.
^ Lcl. Script. Brit. p. 266. Matthew
Paris afierts, that he introduced into Eng-
land a knowledge of the Greek numeral
letters. That hiftorian adds, " De quibua
" figuris HOC MAXIMF. ADMIRANDUM,
" quod unica figura quilibet numcrus
" rcprxfcniatur : quod non eft in Latino
" vcl in Algorifmo." Hift. edit. Lond.
1684- p. 721. He tranflated from Greek
into Latin a grammar which he called Do-
NATUS Gr/i;corum. See Pegge's Life
of Roger de Wefcham, p. 46.47. 51. And
infr. p. 281. He fcems to have flouriflicd
about the year 1230. Bacon alfo wrote a
Greek grammar, in which is the following
curious paiTage. " Epifccpus confccrans
" ecclefiam, fcribat Alpha betum Grs-
" cum in pulverecum cufpide baculi paflo-
" ralis : fed onines cpifccpi qui (jkx-
" CUM IGNORANT, fcribant tres notas
" numerorum qux non funt litera;, &c."
Gr. Gram. rap. ult. p. iii. MSS. Apud
MSS. Er. Twyne, R. p. 649. archiv. Oxon.
Sec what is faid of the new tranflations of
Ariftotle, from the criminal Greek into
Latin, about the twelfth century. Sect. ix.
p. 292. infr. I believe the tranflators un-
derllood very little Greek. Our country-
man Michael Scotus was one of the firft of
them; who was affifted by Andrew a Jew.
Mich.ael was aftrologcr to Frederick empe-
ror of Germany, and appears to have exe-
cuted his tranflations at Toledo in Spain,
about the year 1220. Thefe new verfions
were perhaps little more than corredlions
from thofe of the early Arabians, made
under
DISSERTATION II.
in his palace, Nicholas chaplain of the abbot of faint Alban's,
furnamed Gr^cus, from his uncommon proficiency in
Greek ; and by his afllftance he tranflated from Greek into
Latin the teftaments of the twelve patriarchs '. Grofthead
had almofl incurred the cenfure of excommunication for
preferring a complaint to the pope, that moft of the opulent
benefices in England were occupied by Italians . But this
practice, although notoriouHy founded on the monopolifing
and arbitrary fpirit of papal impofition, and a manifeft acl
of injulHce to the Engliih clergy, probably contributed to
introduce many learned foreigners into Engla d, and to
propagate philological literature.
Bifhop Grofthead is alfo faid to have been - profoundly
fkilled in the Hebrew language ". William the conqueror
permitted great numbers of Jews to come over from Rouen,
and to fettle in England about the year 1087 ^ Their mul-
titude foon encreafed, and they fpread themfelves in vaft
bodies throughout moft of the cities and capital towns in
England, where they built fynagogues. There were fifteen
hundred at York about the year 1 189 \ At Bury in Suffolk
under the infpeftion of the learned Spanidi commerce with the Syrian Paleftincs, got
Saracens. To the want of a true know- a knowledge of Arabic : and that import-
ledge of the original language of the an- ing into Europe Arabic verfions of forae
tient Greek philofophers, Roger Bacon at- parts of Arillotle's works, which they found
tributes the flow and imperfeft advances in the eaft, they tura'd them into Latin.
of real fcience at this period. On this Thefe were chiefly his Ethics and Politics,
account their improvements were very in- And thefe new translators he further
confiderable, notwithfiianding the appear- fuppofes were employed ac their return into
ance of erudition, and the fervour witli Europe in revifmg the old tnyillations ot
which almofl: every branch of philofophy other parts of Arillotle, made from Arabic
had been now ftudied in various countries into Latin. Eufeb. Renaudot. De Barbar.
for near half a century. See Wood, Hill. Ariftot. Verfionib. apud Fabric. BiW. Gr.
Antiq. Univ. Oxon. i. 120. fcq. Djmp- xii p. a^i), See alfo Marator. Antiq. Ital.
fler, xii. 940. Baconi Op. Maj. per Med. JEv. iii. 936.
Jebb, i. 15. ii. 8. Tanner, Bibl. p. ;z6. "■ See MSS. Reg. Brit. IVIuf. 4D. vli. 4.
And MSS. Cotton. C. 5. foL 13S. Brit. Wood, Hill. Antiq. Univ. Oxon. i. Sz.
Muf. And M. Paris, fubanno 1242.
A learned writer affirms, that -Ariflotle's '' Godwin,, Epifc. p. 348. edit. i6l5.
books in the original Greek were brought ' He is mentioned again, Sect. ii. p.
out of the eaft into Europe about the year 61. 78. infr.
4200. He is alfo of opinion, that during "^ Hollinglh. Chron. fub ann. p- ij- a.
the crufades many Europeans, fro.m their ' Andcrf. Comm. i. 93.
k 2 ii
DISSERTATION IJ.
is a very complete remain of a Jewifli fynagogue of ftone ia
the Norman flyle, large and magnificent. Hence it was that
many of the learned Englifla ecclefiaftics of thefc times be-
came acquainted with their books and language. In the
reign of William Rufus, at Oxford the Jews were remark-
ably numerous, and had acquired a confiderable property;
and fome of their Rabbis were permitted to open a fchool in
the univerfity, here they inftru6led not only their own
people, but many chriftian ftudents, in the Hebrew litera- '
ture, about the year 1054 ^ Within two hundred years ',
after their admifllon or eftablifhment by the conqueror, they ;
were baniflied the kingdom ^ This circumftance was highly
favourable to the circulation of their learning in England.
The fuddennefs of their difmiffion obliged them for prefent
fubfiftence, and other reafons, to fell their moveable goods
of all kinds, among which were large quantities of Rab- «
binical books. The monks in various parts availed them- flj
felves of the diftribution of thefe treafures. At Huntingdon ™
and Stamford there was a prodigious fale of their effedbs,
containing immenfe ftores of Hebrew manufcripts, which
were immediately purchafed by Gregory of Huntingdon, prior
of the abbey of Ramfey. Gregory fpeedily became an adept
in the Hebrew, by means of thefe valuable acquifitions,
which he bequeathed to his monaftery about the year 1250''.
Other members of the fame convent, in confequence of thefe
advantages, are faid to have been equal proficients in the
fame language, foon after the death of prior Gregory :
among which were Robert Dodford, librarian of Ramfey,
and Laurence Holbech, who compiled a Hebrew Lexicon '.
' Angl. Judaic, p. 8. ^ Leland, Script. Brit. p. 321. And
s Hollingfh. ibid. fub. ann. 1289. p. MSS. Bibl. Lambeth. Wharton, L. p. 661.
285.3. Matthew of Weftminfter fays, that " Libri Prioris Gregorii de Ramefey.
16511 were baniihed. Flor. Hift. ad an. "Prima pars Bibliothec^ Htbraica;"
1290. Great numbers of Hebrew rolls &c.
and charts, relating to their cftates in ' Bale, iv. 41, ix. 9. Lei. ubi fupr. p.
England, and efchcatcd to the king, are 452.
now remaining in the Tower among the
roval records.
At
DISSERTATION ,IL
At Oxford, great multitudes of their books fell into the
hands of Roger Bacon, or were bought by his brethren the
Francifc^n friars of that univerfity ".
But, to return to the leading ix)int of our enquiry,
this promifing dawn of polite letters and rational know-
ledge was foon obfcured. The temporary gleam of light
did not arrive to perfect day. The minds of fcholars were
diverted from thefe liberal fludies in the rapidity of their
career ; and the arts of compofition, and the ornaments of
language were neglected, to make way for the barbarous
and barren fubtleties of fcholaftic divinity. The firft teachers
of this art, originally founded on that fpirit of intricate and
metaphvfical enquiry which the Arabians had communicated
to philofophy, and which now became almoft: abfolutely
neceflary for defending the do6trines of Rome, v/ere Peter
Lombard archbifhop of Paris, and the celebrated Abelard:
men whofe confummate abilities vyere rather qualified to re-
form the church, and to reftore ufefiil fcience, than to cor-
rupt both, by confounding the common fenfe of mankind
with frivolous fpeculation '. Thefe vifionary theologifts
never explained or illuftrated any fcriptural topic : on the
contrary, they perverted the fimpleft expreffions of the facred
text, and embarrafled the mod evident truths of the gofpel
by laboured diftinflions and unintelligible folutions. From
the univcrfities of France, which were then filled with mul-
titudes of Englifh ftudents, this admired fpecies of fophiflry
was adopted in England, and encouraged by Lanfranc and
Anfelm, archbifliops of Canterbury". And fo fuccefsful was
its progrefs at Oxford, that before the reign of Edward the
fecond, no foreign univerfity could boaft fo confpicuous a
catalogue of fubtle and invincible doftors.
^ Wood, Hift. Antiq. Utiiv. Oxon. i. " Scripturae) fuccumbit leftori SE^•TE^■-
77 132. See alfo Sect. ix. p. 291. infr. " tiarum Parifiis, &c." Rog. Bacon,
' They both flouriihed about tlie year apud A. Wood, Hift. Antiq. Univ. Oxon.
ijro. »■ p- 53- Lombard was the author of the
"' " Baccalaureus qui legit textum (fc. S. Seniencci,
Nor
DISSERTATION II.
iii. 11'
Nor was the profeflion of the civil and canonical laws a
fmall impediment to the propagation of thofe letters which
humanife the mind, and cultivate the manners. I do not
rnean to deny, that the accidental difcovery of the imperial
code in the twelfth century, contributed in a confiderable
degree to civilife Europe, by introducing, among other be-
neficial confequences, more legitimate ideas concerning the
nature of government and the adminiftration of juflice, by
creating a neceffity of transferring judicial decrees from an
illiterate nobility to the cognifance of fcholars, by leffening
the attachment to the military profeflion, and by giving ho-
nour and importance to civil employments : but to fuggeilr,
that the mode in which this invaluable fyflem of jurifpru-
dence was ftudied, proved injurious to polite literature. It
was no fooner revived, than it was received as a fcholaftic
fcience, and taught by regular profeffors, in moft. of the
univerfities of Europe, To be fkilled in the theology of
the fchools was the chief and general ambition of fcholars :•
but at the fame time a knowledge of both the laws Was
.become an iudifpenfable requifite,. at leafl an eflcntial re-
commendation, for obtaining the moft opulent ecclefiaftical
dignities. Hence it was cultivated with univerfal avidity.
It became fo confiderable a branch of ftudy in the plan of
academical dii'cipline, that twenty fcholars out of feventy w^re
deftined to the ftudy of the civil and canon laws, in one of
the moft ample colleges at Oxford, founded in the year 1385./
And it is eafy to conceive the pedantry with which it was
purfued in thefe feminaries during the middle ages. It was.
treated with the fame fpirit of idle fpeculation which had
been carried into philofophy and theology, it was over-
whelmed with endlefs commentaries which difclaimed all
elegance of language, and fcrvcd only to exercife genius,
as it afforded materials for framing the flimfy labyrinths of
cafuiftry.
It
DISSERTATION II.
It was not indeed probable, that thefe attempts in elegant
literature which I have mentioned fliould have any per-
manent eflfefts. The change, like a Hidden revolution in go-
vernment, was too rapid for duration. It was moreover
premature, and on that account not likely to be lading.
The habits of fuperftition and ignorance were as yet too
powerful for a reformation of this kind to be effefted by a
few polite fcholars. It was neceflary that many circumftances
and events, yet in the womb of time, fhould take place,
before the minds of men could be fo far enlightened as to
receive thefe improvements.
But perhaps inventive poetry loft nothing by this relapfe.
Had claflical tafte and judgment been now eftabiiflied, ima-
gination would have fuifered, and too early a check would
have been given to the beautiful extravagancies of romantic
fabling. In a word, truth and reafon would have chafed
before their time thofe fpe6lres of illufive fancy, fo pleafmg
to the imagination, which delight to hover in the gloom of
ignorance and fuperftition, and which form fo confiderable
a part of the poetry of the fucceeding centuries.
I
THE
HISTORY
O F
ENGLISH POETRY.
SECT. I.
THE Saxon language fpoken in England, is diftin-
guifhed by three feveral epochs, and may therefore
be divided into three dialefts. The firft of thefe is
that which the Saxons ufed, from their entrance into this
ifland, till the irruption of the Danes, for the fpace of three
hundred and thirty years \ This has been called the Britifh
Saxon : and no monument of it remains, except a fmall me-
trical fragment of the genuine Caedmon, inferted in Alfred's
verfion of the Venerable Bede's ecclefuftical hiftory ^ The
* The Saxons came into England A. D. thus. It is Franldlh. See Brit. Muf.
450. MSS. Cotton. Calio. A. 7. membran.
'' Lib. iv. cap. 4. Some have improper- oftavo. This book is fuppofed to have be-
lyreferred to this dialeft the Harmony op longed to king Canute. Eight richly illu-
THE FouRGospELs,in the Cotton library : minated hiftorical pidlures are bound up with
the ftyle of which approaches in purity and it, evidently taken from another manufcript,
antiquity to that of the Codex Arcen- but probably of the age of king Stephen.
B fecond
2 THE HISTORY OF
fecond is the Danifli Saxon, which prevailed from the
Danifh to the Norman invafion ' ; and of which many con-
fiderable fpecimens, both in verfe ^ and profe, are ftill pre-
ferved: particularly, two literal verfions of the four gof-
pels *, and the fpurious Caedmon's beautiful poetical para-
phrafe of the Book of Genefis \ and the prophet Daniel.
The third may be properly flyled the Norman Saxon ; which
began about the time of the Norman acceffion, and con-
tinued beyond the reign of Henry the fecond ^
The laft of thefe three dialefts, with which thefe Annals of
Englifli Poetry commence, formed a language extremely bar-
barous, irregular, and intractable ; and confequently pro-
mifes no very flriking fpecimens in any fpecies of compofi-
tion. Its fubftance was the Danifh Saxon, adulterated with
French. The Saxon indeed, a language fubfifling on uni-
form principles, and poliihed by poets and theologifts, how-
ever corrupted by the Danes, had much perfpicuity, ftrength,
and harmony : but the French imported by the Conqueror
and his people, was a confufed jargon of Teutonic, Gaulifh,
and vitiated Latin. In this fluctuating flate of our national
fpeech, the French predominated. Even before the conqueft
the Saxon language began to fall into contempt, and the
French, or Frankifli, to be fubftituted in its ftead: a circum-
ftance, which at once facilitated and foretold the Norman
acceffion. In the year 652, it was the common practice of
<= A. D. 1066.
' See Hickef. Thef. Ling. Vett. Sept.
P. i. cap. xxi. pag. 177. And Prsefat. fol.
xiv. The curious reader is alfo referred to
a Danilli Saxon poem, celebrating the wars
which Beowulf, a noble Dane, dcfcended
from the royal ilern of Scyldinge, waged
againft the kings of Swedeland. MSS.
Cotton, ut fupr. ViTELL. A. 15. Cod.
rnembran. ix. fol. 130. Compare, writ-
ten in the ftyle CaeJmon, a fragment of an
ode in praife of the exploits of Brithnoth,
O/Fa's ealdorman, or general, in a battle
fojght agoinll ilic Danes. Ibid. Oth. A.
12. Cod. membran. 4to. iii. Brithnoth,
the hero of this piece, a Northumbrian,
died in tlie year 99 1 .
' MSS. Bibl. Bodl. Oxen. Cod. mem-
bran. in Pyxid. 410 grand, quadrat. And
MSS. Cotton, ut fupr. otho. Nor. D. 4.
Both thefe manufcripts were written and or-
n.amcntcd in the Saxon times, and are of
the higheft curiofity and antiquity.
' Printed by Junius, Amlt. 165;. The
greateft part of the Bodleian manufcript of
this book, is believed to have been written
about A. D, 1000. — Cod. Jun. xi. mem-
bran. fol. u He died 11 89.
the
ENGLISH POETRY. 3
the Anglo-Saxons, to fend their youth -to the monafterles of
Fiance for education ^ : and not only the language, but the
manners of the French, were eftcemed the mofl polite accom-
plifhments '. In the reign of Edward the ConfelTor, the refort
of Normans to the Englilli court was fo frequent, that the
afFeftation of imitating the Frankifti cuftoms became almoft
univerfal : and even the lower clafs of people were ambitious
of catching the Frankifh idiom. It was no difficult tafk for
the Norman lords to banifli that language, of which the na-
tives began to be abfurdly afliamed. The new invaders com-
manded the laws to be adminiftered in French ^. Many char-
ters of monafteries were forged in Latin by the Saxon monks,
for the prefent fecurity of their pofTeffions, in confequence
of that averfion which the Normans profefTed to the Saxon
tongue '. Even children at fchool were forbidden to read in
their native language, and inftrufled in a knowledge of the
Norman only ". In the mean time we fhould have fome re-
gard to the general and political flate of the nation. The
natives were fo univerfally reduced to the loweft condition of
negleft and indigence, that the Englifh name became a term of
reproach : and feveral generations elapfed, before one family
of Saxon pedigree was raifed to any diftinguifhed honours,
or could fo much as attain the rank of baronage ". Among
h Dugd. Mon. i. 89.
' Ingulph. Hill. p. 62. fub. ann. 1043.
'' But there is a precept in Saxon from
William the firft, to the Iheriff of Somer-
fetfhire. Hickef. Thef. i. par. i. pag. 106.
See alfo Pra:fat. ibid. p. xv.
' The Normans who praftlced every
fpecious expedient to plunder the monks,
demanded a fight of the written evidences
of their lands. The monks well knew,
that it would have been ufelefs or impoli-
tic to have produced thefe evidences, or
charters, in the original Saxon ; as the
Normans not only did not underftand, but
would have received with contempt, inftru-
ments written in that language. There-
fore the monks were compelled to the pious
fraud of forging them in Latin : and great
numbers of thefe forged Latin charters, till
lately fuppofed origin.-il, are ftill extant.
See Spelman, in Not. ad Concil. Anglic,
p. 125. Stillingfl. Orig. Ecclef. Britann.
p. 14. Marfhani, Prsfat. ad Dugd. Mo-
naft. And Wharton, Angl. Sacr. vol. ii.
Pra:fat. p. ii. iii. iv. See alfo Ingulph.
p. 512. Launoy and Mabillon have treat-
ed this fubjeft with great learning and pe-
netration.
"" Ingulph. p. 71. fub. ann. 1066.
" See Brompt. Chron. p. 1026. Abb.
Rieval. p. 339.
B 2
other
4 THE HISTORY OF
other inftances of that abfohite and voluntary fubmiflion,
with which our Saxon anceftors received a foreign yoke, it
appears that they fuffered their hand- writing to fall into dif-
credit and difufe " ; which by degrees became fo difficult
and obfolete, that few befide the oldeft men could under-
fland the chara6lers ^ In the year 1095, Wolftan, bifhop
of Worcefter, was depofed by the arbitrary Normans : it was
obje6led againft him, that he was " a fuperannuated Englifh
" idiot, who could not fpeak French "*." It is true, that in
fome of the monafteries, particularly at Croyland and Tavifl
tocke, founded by Saxon princes, there were regular precep-
tors in the Saxon language : but this inftitution was fuffered
to remain after the conqueft, as a matter only of intereft
and neceffity. The religious could not otherwife have un-
derflood their original charters. William's fucceffor, Henry
the firft, gave an inftrument of confirmation to William
archbifliop of Canterbury, which was written in the Saxon
language and letters '. Yet this is almoft a fnigle example.
That monarch's motive was perhaps political : and he feems
to have praftifed this expedient with a view of obliging his
queen, who was of Saxon lineage ; or with a defign of flat-
tering his Englifli fubje(51:s, and of fecuring his title already
ftrengthened by a Saxon match, in confequence of lb fpecious
and popular an artifice. It was a common and indeed a
very natural pradlice, for the tranfcribers of Saxon books, to
change the Saxon orthography for the Norman, and to fub-
flitute in the place of the original Saxon, Norman words and
' Ingulph, p. 85.
I' Ibid. p. 98. fub. ann. 1091.
•1 Matt. Parif. fub. ann.
' H. Wharton, Auftar. Hiftor. Dog-
mat, p. 388. The learned Mabillon is
ir.iftakcn in averting, that the Saxon way
of writing was entirely abolilhed in I'-ng-
Jand at the time of the Norman conqucll.
See Mabillon. De Re Diplomat, p. 52.
The French antiquaries are fond of this
notion. There are Saxon charafters in
Herbert Lofinga's charter for founding the
church of Norwich. Temp. Will. Ruf. A.
D. mo. See Lambarde's Didlion. V.
Norwich. See alfo Hickef. I'hcfaur. i.
Par. i. p. 149. See alio Prxfat. p. xvi.
An intermixture of the Saxoa charader is
common in Englifli and Latin nianufcripts,
before the reign of lulward the third : but
of a few types only.
phrafcs.
ENGLISH POETRY. 5
phrafes. A remarkable inftance of this liberty, which fome-
times perplexes and mifleads the critics in Anglo-Saxon litera-
ture, appears in a voluminous colle6tion of Saxon homilies,
preferved in the Bodleian libraiy, and written about the time
of Henry the fecond '. It was with the Saxon chara6lers,
as with the fignature of the crofs in public deeds ; which
were changed into the Norman mode of feals and fubfcrip-
tions '. The Saxon was probably fpoken in the country,
yet not witliout various adulterations from the French : the
courtly language was French, yet perhaps with fome veftiges
of the vernacular Saxon. But the nobles, in the reign of
Henry the fecond, conftantly fent their children into France,
left they fhould contract habits of barbarifm in their fpeech,
which could not have been avoided in an Englifli education ".
Robert Holcot, a learned Dominican friar, confefles, that in
the beginning of the reign of Edward the third, there was
no inftitution of children in the old Englifli : he complains,
that they firft learned the French, and from the French the
Latin language. This he obferves to have been a practice
introduced by the Conqueror, and to have remained ever
iince ". There is a curious paffage relating to this fubjeft in
Trevifa's tranflation of Hygden's Polychronicon . " Chil-
" dren in fcole, agenft the ufage and manir of all other na-
" tions, beeth compelled for to leve hire ownc langage, and
" for to conftruc hir leflbns and hire thynges in Frenche ;
" and fotheyhaveth fcthe Normans came firft into Engelond.
" Alfo gentilmen children beeth taught to fpeke Frenfche,
" from the tyme that they bith rokked in here cradell, and
" kunneth fpeke and play with a childes broche : and uplon-
■' MSS. Bodl. NE. F. 4. 12. Cod. mem- ■«• Left. In Libr. Sapient. Led. ii. Parif.
bran. fol. 15 1 8. 410.
' Yet fome Norman charters have the "■' Lib. i. cap. 59. MSS. Coll. S. Johan.
crofs. Cantabr. But I think it is printed by Cax-
" Gcrvaf. Tilbur. de Otiis Imperial. ton and Wynkyn ds Worde. Robert of
MSS. Bibl. Bodl. lib. iii. See du Chefne, Glouceiler, who wrote about 1280, fays
'ii. p. 363. mudi the fame, edit. Hcarne, p. 364.
" diliche
6 THE HISTORY OF
" diffche '' men will likne himfelf to gentylmen, and fondeth '
" with greet befynefle for to fpeke Frenfche to be told of.
" This maner was moche ufed to for firft deth % and is
" fith fome dele changed. For John Cornewaile a maifter of
" grammer, changed the lore in grammer fcole, and con-
" ftru6lion of Frenfche into Englifche: and Richard Pen-
" criche lernede the manere techynge of him as other men of
" Pencriche. So that now, the yere of oure Lorde a thoufand thre
" hundred and four Jcore and jive, and of the feconde Kyng Ri-
" chard after the conqueft nyne, and [in] alle the grammere
" fcoles of Engelond children lereth Frenfche and conilrueth,
" and lerneth an Englifche, &c." About the fame time, or
rather before, the fludents of our univerfities, were ordered
to converfe in French or Latin \ The latter was much af-
fecled by the Normans. All the Norman accompts were in
Latin. The plan of the great royal revenue-rolls, now
called the pipe-rolls, were of their con{lru6lion, and in that
language. But from the declenlion of the barons, and pre-
valence of the commons, moft of whom were of Englifh
anceftry, the native language of England gradually gained
ground : till at length the intereft of the commons fo far
fucceeded with Edward the third, that an a6l of parliament
was pafled, appointing all pleas and proceedings of law to
be carried on in Englilh ' : although the fame flatute de-
T Country. * Delights, tries. =" Time.
^ In the ftatutes of Oriel College in
Oxford, it is ordered, that the fcholars, or
fellows, " fiqua inter fe proferant, colloquio
" Latino, vel faltem Gallico, perfraantur."
See Heame's Trokelowe, pag. 298. Tliefe
ftatutes were given 23 Mail, A. D. 1328.
I find much the fame injunflion in the fta-
tutes of Exeter College, Oxford, given
about 1330. Wlicre they are ordered to
ufe," Romano aut Gallico faltem fcrmone."
' Hearnc's MSS. Colleft. num. 132. pag.
73. Bib!. Bodl. But in Morton College
ftatutes, mention is made of the Latin only.
In cap. X. They were given 1271. This
was aJfo common in the greater monafterics.
In the regifter of Wykeham, bilhop of
Winchefter, the domicellus of the Prior of
S. Swythin's at Winchefter, is ordered to
addrefs the biftiop, on a certain occafion,
in French, A. D. 1398. Regillr. Par. iii.
fol. 177.
' But the French formularies and terms
of law, and p.irticularly the French feudal
plirafeology, h.id taken too deep root to be
thus haftily abolifhed. Hence, long after
the reign of Edward the third, m<-uiy of
cur lawyers compofed their trafts in French.
And reports and fome ftatutes were made
in that language. See Fortefcut. dc Laud.
Leg. Angl. cap. xlviii.
crees,
ENGLISH POETRY. 7
crees, in the true Norman fpirit, that all fuch pleas and
proceedings Ihould be enrolled in Latin \ Yet this
change did not reftore either the Saxon alphabet or language.
It abolifhed a token of fubje6tion and difgrace: and in fome
degree, contributed to prevent further French innovations in
the language then ufed, which yet remained in a compound
ftate, and retained a confiderable mixture of foreign phrafeo-
logy. In the mean time, it muft be remembered, that this
corruption of the Saxon v^^as not only owing to the admif-
fion of new words, occafioned by the new alliance, but to
changes of its own forms and terminations, arifmg from
reafons which we cannot inveftigate or explain \
Among the manufcripts of Digby in the Bodleian library
at Oxford, we find a religious or moral Ode, confifling of
one hundred and ninety-one ftanzas, which the learned
Hickes places juft after the conqueft '' : but as it contains few
Norman terms, I am inclined to think it of rather higher an-
tiquity. In deference however to fo great an authority,
I am obliged to mention it here ; and efpecially as it exhibits
a regular lyric flrophe of four lines, the fecond and fourth
of which rhyme together. Although thefe four lines may be
perhaps refolved into two Alexandrines ; a meafure concern-
ing which more will be faid hereafter, and of which it will
be fufficient to remark at prefent, that it appears to have
been ufed very early. For I cannot recolle6t any ftrophes
of this fort in the elder Runic or Saxon poetry; nor in
any of the old Frankifh poems, particularly of Otfrid, a
monk of Weiflenburgh, who turned the evangelical hiftory
into Frankifh verfe about the ninth century, and has left feveral
^ Pulton's Statut. 36. Edw. iii. This ' Ling. Vett. Thef. Part. i. p. 222.
was A. D. 1363. The firft Englifh in- There is another copy not mentioned
ftrument in Rymer is dated 1368. Feed. vii. by Hickes, in Jefus College library at Ox-
p. 526. ford, MSS. 85. infr. citat. This is enti-
' This fubjeft will be further illuftrated tied TraSatuj qui Jam in Anglico. The Dig-
in the next feftion. by manufcript has no title.
hymns
8 THE HISTORY OF
hymns in that language S of Strieker who celebrated the
atchievements of Charlemagne % and of the anonymous au-
thor of the metrical life of Anno, archbifhop of Cologn.
The following ftanza is a fpecimen "".
' Sende God biforen him man
The while he may to hevene.
For betere is on elmefle biforen
Thanne ben after fevene ''.
That is, " Let a man fend his good works before him to
" heaven while he can : for one alms-giving before death is
" of more value than feven afterwards." The verfes perhaps
might have been thus written as two Alexandrines.
Send God biforen him man the while he may to hevene.
For betere is on almefle biforen, than ben after fevene '.
Yet alternate rhyming, applied without regularity, and as
rhymes accidentally prefented themfelves, was not uncommon
in our early poetry, as will appear from other examples.
Hickes has printed a fatire on the monadic profefllon ;
which clearly exemplifies the Saxon adulterated by the Nor-
man, and was evidently written foon after the conquefl, at
* See Pctr. Lambcc. Comment, de Eibl.
Cxfar. Vuidebon. pag. 418. 457.
K See Petr. Lambcc. ubifupr. lib. ii. cap.
5. There is a circumftance belonging to
the antient F'rankifti verfification, which,
as it greatly illuftrates the fubjeft of allite-
ration, dcfenes notice here. Otfrjd's de-
dication of his Evangelical hiftory to
Lewis the firft, king of the oriental France,
confifts of four lined ftanzas in rhyming
couplets: but the firft and la ft line of every
ftanzas begin :ind end with tlie fame letter:
and the letters of the title of the dedica-
tion rcfpcftively, and the word of the laft
line of every tctrjftic. Fiaccus Illyrius
publilhcd this work of Olfrid at Bafil,
1 1;7 1 . iiut I think it has been fuice more
correftly printed by Johannes Schilterus.
It was written about the )ear 880. Otfrid
was the difciple of Rhabanus Maurus.
■■ St. xiv.
' Senbe 50& bipopen him man,
pi hfile he mai co heuonij;
Fo)i be'cept i]" on clmejye bjpojien
Danne ben apcep )"eueni.
This is perhaps the true reading, from the
Trinity manufcript at Cambridge, written
about the reign of Henry the fecond, or
Rich.ard the firft. Cod. mcmbran. 8vo.
Traftat. L See Abr. Wheloc. Ecclef. Hill.
Bed. p. 25. 114.
'' MSS. Digb. A. 4. mcmbnin.
' As I recoUcil, the whole poem is thus
exhibited in tlie Trinity manufcript.
lead
ENGLISH POETRY. 9
leaft before the reign of Henry the fecond. The poet begins
with defcribing the land of indolence or luxury.
Fur in fee, bi weft Spaynge,
Is a lond ihote Cokaygne :
Ther nis lond under hevenriche *
Of wel of godnis hit iliche.
Thoy paradis bi miri " and brigt
Cokaygn is of fairir ligt.
What is ther in paradis
Bot grafs, and flure, and greneris ?
Thoy ther be joy % and gret dute '',
Ther nis met, bot frute.
Ther nis halle, bure % no bench ;
But watir manis thurft to quench, &c.
In the following lines there is a vein of fatirical imagina-
tion and fome talent at defcription. The luxury of the
monks is reprefented under the idea of a monaftery conftruc-
ted of various kinds of delicious and coftly viands.
Ther is a wel fair abbei,
Of white monkes and of grei,
Ther beth boures and halles :,
All of pafteus beth the walles,
Of fleis of fiffe, and a rich met.
The likefullift that man mai et.
Fluren cakes beth the fchingles ^ alle,
Of church, cloifter, hours, and halle.
The pinnes ^ beth fat podinges
Rich met to princes and to kinges. —
Ther is a cloyfter fair and ligt,
Brod and lang of fembli figt.
' Heaven. Sax. "^ loi. Orig. "" Pleafure. ' Cutfcry.
'' Merry, chearful. " Although Para- ' Shingles. " The tiles, or covering of
" dife is chearful and bright, Cokayne is " the houfe, are of rich cakes."
" a much more beautiful place." 8 The Pinnacles.
C The
10 THE HISTORY OF
The pliers of that cloifter dlle
Beth iturned of ciiftale,
With harlas and capital
Of grene jafpe and red coral.
In the praer is a tree
Swithe likeful for to le,
The rote is gingeur and galingale.
The fiouns beth al fed wale.
Trie maces beth the flure,
The rind canel of fwete odure :
The frute gilofre of gode fmakke.
Of cucubes ther nis no lakke. —
There beth iiii willis ^ in the abbei
Of trade and halwei,
Of baume and eke piement ',
Ever ernend '' to rigt rent ' j
Of thai ftremis al the molde,
Stonis pretiufe ° and golde,
Ther is faphir, and uniune.
Carbuncle and aftiune,
Smaragde, lugre, and praffiune,
Beril, onyx, topofuine,
Amethifte and crifolite,
Calcednn and epetite ".
Ther beth birddes mani and fale
Throflill, thruifl'e, and nigtingale,
Chalandre, and wodwale,
And othir briddes without tale,
That ftinteth never bi her migt
Miri to fing dai and nigt.
[Nomjiilla cieftmt.]
'■ Fountains. to Europe, was full of the doftrine of pr€-
' This word will be explained at large cious ftoncs.
iiereaftc'r. " Our old poets arc never fo happy as
'' Running. Sax. when they can get into a catalogue of
' Courfe. Six. things or names. Sec Obfcrvat. on the
'" The Arabian Philofophy imported in- Faii-v Queen, i. p. 1 40.
Yite
ENGLISH POETRY. ii
Yite I do yow mo to witte,
The gees iroftid on the fpitte,
Fleey to that abbai, god hit wot,
And gredith °, gees al hote al hote, &c.
Our author then makes a perthient tranfition to a convent
of nuns ; which he fuppofes to be very commodioufly fitua-
ted at no great diftance, and in the fame fortunate region of
indolence, eafe, and affluence.
An other abbai is ther bi
For foth a gret nunnerie j
Up a river of fwet milk
Whar is plcnte grete of filk.
When the fummeris dai is hote,
The yung nunnes takith a bote
And doth ham forth in that river
Both with oris and with ftere :
Whan hi beth fur from the abbei
Hi makith him nakid for to plei.
And leith dune in to the brimme
And doth him fleilich for to fwimme :
The yung monkes that hi feeth
Hi doth ham up and forth hi fleeth.
And comith to the nvmnes anon,
And euch monk him takith on.
And fnellich ■" berith forth har prei
To the mochill grei abbei %
And techith the nonnes an oreifun
With jambleus ' up and dun '.
" Crieth. Gallo-Fianc. ' Lafcivious motions. Gambols. Fr.
P Quick, quickly. Gallo-Franc. Gambiller.
•i " To thegreat Abbey of Grey Monks." ' Hickef. Thefaur. i. Part i. p. 231. feq.
C 2 This
12
THE HISTORY OF
This poem was defigned to be fung at public feftivals ' : a
pra6lice, of which many inftances occur in this work ; and
concerning which it may be fufficient to remark at prefent,
that a JocuLAToR or bard, was an officer belonging to the
court of Wilham the Conqueror °.
Another Norman Saxon poem cited by the fame induf-
trious antiquary, is entitled The Life of Saint Margaret.
The ftru6lure of its verfification confiderably differs from
that in the laft-mentioned piece, and is like the French
Alexandrines. But I am of opinion, that a paufe, or divi-
fion, was intended in the middle of every verfe : and in this
refpe£t, its verfification refembles alfo that of Albion's Eng-
land, or Drayton's Polyolbion, which was a fpecies very com-
mon about the reign of queen Elifabeth "". The rhymes are
alfo continued to every fourth line. It appears to have been
written about the time of the crufades. It begins thus.
Olde ant " yonge I priet '' ou, our folies for to lete,
Thinketh on god that yef ou wite, our funnes to bete.
Here I mai tellen ou, wit wordes faire and fwete,
The vie ^ of one maiden was hotcn "^ Margarete.
Hire fader was a patriae, as ic ou tellen may,
In Auntioge wif eches " I in the falfe lay,
Deve godes ' ant dombe, he fervid nit and day.
So deden mony othere that fingeth welaway.
* As appears from this line.
Lordinges gode and hende, &c.
It is in MSS. More, Cantabrig. 784. f. I.
" His lands are cited in Doomfday Book.
" Gloucestrrscire. Bcrdic, Joculator
" Regis, habet iii. villas et ibi v. car. nil
«• redd." Sec AnlHs, Ord. Gart. ii. 30.(..
* It is worthy of remark, that wc find
in the collcftion of ancient northern monu-
nienta, publiDicd by M. Biomcr, a poem
of fome length, faid by that author to have
been compofed in the twelfth or thirteenth
century. This poem is profcfTedly in rhyme,
and the mcafure like that of the heroic
Alexandrine of the French poetry. See
Mallet's Introd. Dannem. Sec. ch. xiii.
« And. Fr.
y Idireft. Fr. "ladvifc you, your, &c."
^ Life. Fr. •" Called. Saxon.
•> Chofe a wife. Sax. " He was mar-
" ricd in Antioch."
' " Deaf gods, &c."
Thcodofius
ENGLISH POETRY. 13
Theodofius was is nome, on Crifte nc levede he noutt,
He levede on the falfe godes, that weren with hondcn wroutt.
Tho that child Iculde criftine ben it com well in thoutt,
Ebed wen ' it were ibore, to deth it were ibroutt, &c.
In the fequel, Olibrius, lord of Antioch, who is called a
Saracen, falls in love with Margaret : but flie being a chrif-
tian, and a candidate for canonization, rejects his follicita-
tions and is thrown into prifon.
Meiden Margarete one nitt in prifon lai
Ho com biforn Olibrius on that other dai.
Meiden Margarete, lef up upon my lay,
And Ihu that thou leveft on, thou do him al awey.
Lef on me ant be my wife, ful wel the mai fpede.
Auntioge and Afie fcaltou han to mede :
Ciculauton ° and purpel pall fcaltou have to wede :
With all the metes of my lond ful vel I fcal the ' fede.
This piece was printed by Hickes from a manufcript in
Trinity college library at Cambridge. It feems to belong to
the manufcript metrical Lives of the Saints ^ which forma
very confiderable volume, and were probably tranflated or para-
phrafed from Latin or French profe into Englifh rhyme be-
' In bed.
' Chccklaton. See Obf. Fair. Q^i. 194.
' Hickef. i. 225. The legend o( Seinte
Juliane in the Bodleian library is rather
older, but of much the fame verfilication.
MSS. Bibl. Bodl. NE. 3. xi. membran.
8vo. iii. fol. 36. Tills manufcript I believe
to be of the age of Henry the third or king
John : the compofition much earlier. It
was tranflated from the Latin. Thefe are
the five lail lines.
Jjphen brihtm o bomej-bei fmbfeS hip
hfeare,
Xnb fejipt;^ Jje? bup:i chepro hellene hea«e,
l3e mote been a copn 1 506ep juloene eoene.
De rupbe Sip op larin to Enjlij-che leftene
TCnb he f^r her leapt onfrat p|)a ap he
cufe. :S'C10EN.
That is, " When the judge at doomf-
" day winnows his wheat and drives the
*' dully chaff into the heat of hell ; may
" there be a comer in god's golden Eden
" for him who turned this book into
" Latin, &c."
s The fame that are mentioned by
Hearne, from a manufcript of Ralph Shel-
don. See Heame's Petr. Langt. p. 542.
607. 608. 609. 611. 628. 670. Saint
Winifred's Life is printed from the fame
colleftion by bifhop Fleetwood, in his Lift
and Mira. Us ofS. II ii.ifred, p.l25.ed.l7i3.
fore
H
THE HISTORY OF
fore the year 1200 \ We are fure that they were written
after the year 11 69, as they contain the Life of Saint Tho-
mas of Becket '. In the Bodleian hbraiy are three manu-
fcript copies of thefe Lives of the Saints ^, in which the
Life of Saint Margaret conflantly occurs ; but it is not always
exaftly the fame with this printed by Hickes. And on the
whole, the Bodleian Lives feem inferior in point of anti-
quity, I will here give fome extracts never yet printed.
'■ It is in faft a metrical hiftor)' of the
feftivals of the whole year. The life of
tlie refpcftive Saint is defcribed under every
Saints day, and the inftitutions of fome
fundays, and feafts not taking their rife
from faints, are explained, on the plan of
the Legenda Aurea, written by Jacobus de
Voragine, archbifbop of Genoa, about the
j'ear 1290, from which Caxton, through
the medium of a French verfion entitled
Lcger.d Doree, tranfiatcd his Golden Legend.
The Fefli'val, or Fe'V.all, printed by Wyn-
kin de Worde, is a book of the fame fort,
yet with homilies intermixed. See MSS.
Harl. 2247. fol. and 2371. 4to. and 2391.
4to. and 2402. 4to. and 2800. feq.
Manufcript lives of Saints, detached, and
not belonging to this coUedioti, arc fre-
quent in libraj-ies. The Vita: Pairum were
originally drawn from S. Jerome and Jo-
hannes Caffianus. In Grefliam college li-
brary are metrical lives of ten Saints chiefly
from the Golden Legend, by Ofberne Boken-
ham, an Auguftine canon in the abbey of
Stoke-clare in Suffolk, tranfcribed by
Thomas Burgh at Cambridge 1477. The
Life of S. Katharine appears to have been
compoftdin 1445. MSS. Coll. Grelh. 3 15.
The French tranflation of the Legenda Au-
rea was made by Jehaii de Vignay, a monk,
foon after i 300.
' Afhmole cites this Life, Inftit. Ord.
Cart. p. 2 1 . And he cites S. Brandon's Life,
p. 507. Athmole's manufcript was in the
hands of Silas Taylor. It is now in his
Mufcum at Oxford. MSS. Afhm. 50.
[7001.]
" MSS. Bodl. 779.— Laud, L. 70. And
they make a confiderable part of a prodi-
gious folio volume, bcaulifully written on
vtlhiin, and elegantly illuminated, where
they have the following title, which alfo
comprehends other antient Englifh religious
poems. " Here begynnen the tytlesofthe
" book that is cald in Latyn tonge Sal us
" Anime, and in Englyfh tonge Sowle-
" HELE." It was given to the Bodleian
library by Edward Vernon efquire, foon after
the civil war. I fhall cite it under the title
of MS. Vernon. Although pieces not
abfolutely religious are fometimes intro-
duced, the fchemeof the compiler or tranf-
criber feems to have been, to form a com-
plete body of legendary and fcriptural hif-
tory in verfe, or rather to colleft into one
view all the religious poetry he could find.
Accordingly the Li'vcs ef the Saints, a dif-
tinft and large work of itfelf, properly
confUtuted a part of his plan. There is an-
other copy of the Li'-ves of the Saints m the
BritilhMufeum, MSS. Harl. 2277. And
in Allimole's Mufeum, MSS. A(hm. ut fupr.
I think this manufcript is alfo in Bennet col-
lege library. The Lives feem to be placed
according to their refpeftive feftivals in the
courfe of the year. The Bodleian copy
(marked 779.) is a thick folio, containing
310 leaves. The variations in thefe manu-
fcripts feem chiefly owing to the trinfcribers.
The Life of Saint Margate tin MSS. Bodl.
779. begins much like that of Trinity library
at Cambridge.
Old ant yonge I preye you your fol) is for to
lete, kc.
I mud add here, that in the H.irlelan li-
brar)', a few Lives, from the fmic collec-
tion of Lilies of the Saints, occur, MSS.
2250. 23. f. 72. b. fcq. ch.irt. fol. See
alfo ib. 19. f 48. Thefe Lives arc in
Frcntlj rhymes, ib. 2253. f i.
fixvm
ENGLISH POETRY. 15
From the Life of Saint Swithin.
' Seint Swythan the confeflbur was her of Engelonde,
Bifyde Wyncheftre he was ibore, as ich undirftonde :
Bi the kynges dei Egbert this goode was ibore,
That tho was kyng of Engelonde, and fomedele eke bifore ;
The eihtethe he was that com aftur Kinewolfe the kynge.
That feynt Berin dude to criftendome in Engelonde furft
brynge :
Seynt Auften hedde bifore to criftendom i brouht
Athelbryt the goode kynge as al the londe nouht.
Al fetthe " hyt was that feynt Berin her bi weft wende.
And tornede the kynge Kinewolfe as vr lord grace fende :
So that Egbert was kyng tho that Swythan was bore
The eighth was Kinewolfe that fo long was bifore, &c.
Seynt Swythan his bufliopricke to al goodneffe drough
The towne alfo of Wyncheftre he amended inough,
Ffor he lette the ftronge bruge withoute the toune arere
And fond therto lym and fton and the workmen that
ther were ".
From the Life of Saint Wolftan.
Seynt Wolfton byflcop of Wirceter was then in Ingelonde,
Swithe holyman was all his lyf as* ich onderftonde :
The while he was a yonge childe good lyf hi ladde ynow,
Whenne other c'hildren orne play toward cherche hv-drow.
Seint Edward was tho vr kyng, that now in hevene is.
And the biffcoppe of Wircefter Brytthege is hette I wis, &c.
Biflcop hym made the holi man feynt Edward vre kynge
And undirfonge his dignite, and tok hym cros and ringe.
' Thus in MSS. Harl. fol. 78.
Seint Swifjiin Se confenbur was here of Engelonde
Bifide Wynchellre hi was ibore as ic vnderftonde.
" Since. " f. 93. MS. Vernon.
His
136 THE HISTORY OF
His bufliopreke he wuft wel, and eke his priorie.
And forcede him to ferve wel god and Seinte Marie.'
Ffour zer he hedde biffcop ibeo and not folHche fyve
Tho feynt Edward the hoU kyng went out of this lyve.
To gret reuge to al Engelonde, I'o welaway the ftounde,
Ffor ftrong men that come fithen and broughte Engelonde to
grounde.
Harald was fithen kynge with trefun, alias !
The crowne he bare of England which while hit was.
As William baftard that was tho duyk of Normaundye
Thouhte to winne Englonde thorufg ilrcngth and felonye :
He lette hym greith foulke inouh and gret power with him nom,
With gret ftrengthe in the fee he him dude and to Engelonde
com :
He lette ordayne his oft wel and his baner up arerede,
And deftruyed all that he fond and that londe fore aferde.
Harald hereof tell kynge of Engelonde
He let garke faft his ofte agen hym for to ftonde :
His baronage of Engelonde redi was ful fone
The kyng to helpe and eke himfelf as rlht was to done.
The warre was then in Engelonde doletull and ftronge inouh
And heore either of othures men al to grounde flouh :
The Normans and this Englifch men deiy of batayle nom
There as the abbeye is of the batayle a day togedre com,
To grounde thei fmiit and flowe alfo, as god yaf the cas,
William Baftard was above and Harald bi neothe was '.
From the Life of Saint Chriftopher.
' Seynt Criftofre was a Sarazin in the londe of Canaan,
In no ftud bi him daye mi fond non fo ftrong a man :
° MS. Vernon, fol. 76. b.
P MSS. H.irl. ut fupr. fol. 101. b.
Scint Criftofre was S.irazin in Se lend of C.inaan
In no llcdc bi his tlayc ne fond mc To ftrong a man
Four and tucnti fct he was long and fiche and brod y-nou3, &C.
Ffouj-
ENGLISH POETRY. 17
Ffour and twenti feete he was longe, and thikk and brod
inouh,
Such a mon but he weore ftronge methinketh hit weore wouh :
A la cuntre where he was for him wolde fteo,
Therfore hym ythoughte that no man ageynft him fculde beo.
He feide he wolde with no man beo but with on that were^
Hext lord of all men and undir hym non othir were.
Afterwards he is taken into the fervice of a king.
Criftofre hym ferved longe ;
The kynge loved melodye much of fithele '' and of fonge :
So that his jogeler on a dai biforen him gon to pleye fafte.
And in a tyme he nemped in his fong the devil atte lafte :
Anon fo the kynge that I herde he blefed him anon, &c. '
From the Life of Saint Patrick.
Seyn Pateryk com thoru godes grace to preche in Irelonde
To teche men ther ryt believe Jehu Cryfte to underllonde :
So ful of wormes that londe he founde that no man ni
myghte gon,
In fom ftede for worms that he nas wenemyd anon ;
. SeyntPateryk bade our lordeCryft that the londe delyvered Vv^ere,
Of thilke foul wormis that none ne com there '.
From the Life of Saint Thomas of Becket.
Ther was Gilbert Thomas fadir name the trewe man and gode
He loved God and holi cherche fetthe he witte ondirftode '.
The cros to the holi cherche in his zouthe he nom,
. . . myd on Rychard that was his mon to Jerlem com.
1 Fiddle. ' MS. Vernon, fol. 119. ' Bodl. MSS. 779. fol. 41. b.
' MSS. Harl. fol. 195. b.
Gilbert was Thomas fad«r name )3at true was and god
And lovede god and holi church fij^jje he wit underllod.
This Harleian manufcript is imperfeftin many parts.
D - Ther
i8
THE HISTORY OF
Ther hy dede here pylgrimage in holi fledes fafte
So that among Sarazyns hy wer nom at lafte, &c. '
This legend of Saint Thomas of Becket is exa6lly in the
ftyle of all the others ; and as Becket was martyred in the
latter part of the reign of Heniy the fecond from hiftorical
evidence, and as, from various internal marks, the language
of thefe legends cannot be older than the twelfth century,
I think we may fairly pronounce the Lives of the Saints
to have been written about the reign of Richard the firft ".
Thefe metrical narratives of chriftian faith and perfe-
verance feem to have been chiefly compofed for the pious
amufement, and perhaps edification, of the monks in their
cloiflers. The fumptuous volume of religious poems which
I have mentioned above '', was undoubtedly chained in the
cloifler, or church, of fome capital monafteiy. It is not
improbable that the novices were exercifed in reciting por-
tions from thefe pieces. In the Britifh Mufeum "" there is a
fet of legendary tales in rhyme, which appear to have been
folemnly pronounced by the prieft to the people on fundays
and holidays • This fort of poetry ' was alfo fung to the
- MSS. Bodl. 779. f. 41. b.
" Who died 1 199. In the Cotton library
I find the lives of Saint Jofaphas and Saint
Dorman ; where the Norman feems to
predominate, although Saxon letters are
ufed. Brit. Muf. MSS.Cott. Calic. A.Lx.
Cod. membran. 4to. ii. fol. 192.
hi commence la vie be feint Io)"aphaz.
Ri uout vout a nul bien aentendre
Per efTample poer mlt aprcnbre.
Jii. fol. 213. b. Ici commence la -vie de
leint Dormanz.
La verru beu lur tut luj" ^ bure
E Tut lurz tyx cerreme epure.
Many legends and religious pieces in
Norman rhyme were written about this
time. See MSS. Harl. 2253 f. 1. membr.
fol. fupr. citat. p. 14.
y Viz. MS. Vernon.
^ MSS. Harl. 2391. 70. The diajeft ic
perfectly northern.
' That legends of Saints were fung to
the harp at feafts, appears from 77c Life of
Saint Marine, MSS. Harl. 2253. fol. memb.
f. 64. b.
Herketh hideward and beoth ftille,
Y praie ou zif hit be or wille,
And ze fliule here of one \ Lrgin
That was ycleped faint Mar)iie.
And from various other inllances.
Some of thefe religious poems contain the
ufual addrefs of the minftrel to the com-
pany. As in a poem of our Saviour's de-
fcent into hell, and his difcourfe there with
Sathanas the porter, Adam, Eve, Abra-
ham, &c. MSS. ibid. f. 57.
Alle herkcneth to me now,
A ftrif wollc y tcllen ou :
Of Jhefu and of Sathan,
Tho Jhefu wes to hell v-gan.
Other proofs will occur occafionally.
hai-p
ENGLISH POETRY.
19
harp by the minftrels on fundays, inftead of the romantic
fubjefls ufual at pubhc entertahiments ".
In that part of Vernon's manufcript intitled Soulehele,
we have a tranflation of the Old and New Teftament into
verfe -, which I beUeve to have been made before the year 1 200.
The reader will obferve the fondnefs of our anceftors for
the Alexandrine : at leaft, I find the lines arranged in that
meafure.
Oure ladi and hire fuftur ftoden under the roode,
And feint John and Marie Magdaleyn with wel fori moode :
Vr ladi bi heold hire fwete fon i brouht in gret pyne,
Ffor monnes gultes nouthen her and nothing for myne.
Marie weop wel fore and bitter teres leet,
The teres fuUen uppon the fton doun at hire feet.
Alas, my fon, for ferwe wel off feide heo
Nabbe iche bote the one that honguit on the treo ;
So ful icham of fei-we, as any wommon may beo,
That ifchal my deore child in all this pyne ifeo :
How fchal I fone deore, how haft i yougt liven withouten the,
Nufti nevere of ferwe nougt fone, what feyft you me ?
Then fpake Jhefus wordus gode to his modur dere,
Ther he heng uppon the roode here I the take a fere,
That trewliche fchal ferve ye, thin own cofni Jon,
The while that you alyve beo among all thi fon :
Ich the bote Jon, he feide, you wite hire both day and niht
That the Gywes hire fon ne don hire non un riht.
Seint John in the ftude vr ladi in to the temple nom
God to fervcn he hire dude fone fo he thidcr come,
Hole and feeke heo duden good that hes founden thore
Heo hire ferveden to bond and foot, the lafs and eke the more-
'■ As I colleft from the following poem, The Sonday z day hit is
MS. Vernon, fol. 229. That angels and archangels joyn i wii,
7/ji Vifions of Sevnt Poul ivoit he ivai raj>t More in that ilke day
hilo Paritt/rs. 'I'hcn any odur, Sec, .
Luftcneth lordynges leof and dere,
Ze that wolen of the Sondav here ;
D 2 The
20 THE HISTORY OF
The pore folke feire heo fedde there, heo fege that hit vas neode
And the feke heo brougte to bedde and met and drinke gon
heom beode.
Wy at heore mihte yong and olde hire loveden bothe fyke
and fer
As hit was riht for alle and fumme to hire fervdfe hedden
mefter.
Jon hire was a trew feer, and nolde nougt from hire go.
He lokid hire as his ladi deore and what heo wolde hit was i do.
Now blowith this newe fruyt that lat bi gon to fpringe.
That to his kuynd heritage monkimne fchal bringe,
This new fruyt of whom I fpeke is vre criflendome,
That late was on erthe ifow and latir furth hit com,
So hard and luthur was the lond of whom hit fcholde fpringe
That wel unnethe eny rote men mougte theron bring,
God hi was the gardener, " &c.
In the archiepifcopal library at Lambeth, among other Nor-
man-Saxon homilies in profe, there is a homily or exhortation
on the Lord's prayer in verfe : which, as it was evidently
tranfcribed rather before the reign of Richard the firft, we
may place with fome degree of certainty before the year 1 185..
Vre feder that in hevene is
That is al fothfull I wis.
Weo moten to theos weordes ifeon
That to live and to faule gode beon.
That weo beon fwa his funes iborene
That he beo feder and we him icorene.
That we don allc his ibeden
And his wille for to reden, Sec.
Laucrde God we biddeth thus
Mid cdmode heorte gif hit us.
That vre foulc beo to the icore
Noht for the flcfce for lore.
' MS. Vcnion, fol. 8.
Dole
ENGLISH POETRY. 21
Dole us to biwepcn vie funne
That we ne flernen noht thcrunne
And gif us, lauerd, that ilke gifte
Thet we hes ibeten thuihholie fcrifte. amen ''.
fn the V luable library of Corpus Chrifli college in Cam-
bridge, is a fort of poetical biblical hiftory, extra6led from
the books of Gencfis and Exodus. It was probab ycompofed
about the reign of Henry the fecond or Richard the firft.
But I am chiefly induced to cite this piece, as it proves the
exceffive attachment of our earlieft poets to rhyme : they
were fond of multiplying the fame final found to the moft
tediovis monotony ; and without producing any efFe-c of
elegancCj ftrength, or harinony. It begins thus :
Man og to luuen that rimes ren.
The wifTed wel the logede men.
Hu man may him wel loken
Thog he ne be lered on no boken.
Luuen god and ferven him ay
For he it hem wel gelden may.
And to al criflenei men
Boren pais and luue by twem.
Than fal him almighti luuven.
Here by nethen and thund abuuven.
And given him bliffe and foules refte.
That him fal eavermor left en.
Ut of Latin this fong is a dragen ,
On Engleis fpeche on foche fagen,
Criftene men ogen ben fo fagen.
So fueles arn quan he it fen dagen.
Than man hem telled foche tale
Wid londes fpeche and wordes fmale
Of blilTes dune, of forwes dale.
' Quart, minor. 185. Cod. membran, vj. f. 21. b.
Quhu
%2 THE HISTORY OF
Quhu Lucifer that devel dwale
And held him fperred in helles male.
Til god him frid in manliched
Dede mankinde bote and red.
And unfwered al the fendes fped
And halp thor he fag mikel ned
Biddi hie fingen non other led.
Thog mad hie folgen idel hed.
Fader gode of al thinge,
Almightin louerd, hegeft kinge,
Thu give me feli timinge
To thau men this werdes bigininge.
The lauerd god to wurthinge
Quether fo hie rede or fmge *.
We find this accumulation of identical rhymes in the
Runic odes. Particularly in the ode of Egill cited above,
entitled Egill's Ransom. In the Cotton library a poem is
preferved of the fame age, on the fubje6ls of death, judg-
ment, and hell torments, where the rhymes are lingular,
and deferve our attention.
Non mai longe lives wene
Ac ofte him lieth the wrench,
Feir weither turneth ofte into reine
And thunderliche hit maketh his blench,
Tharfore mon thu the biwench
At fchal falewi thi grene.
Weilawei ! nis kin ne queue
That ne fchal drincke of dcathes drench,
Mon er thu falle of thi bench
Thine funne thu aquench \
'- MSS. R. n. Cod. membran. oftavo. It fccms to be in the northern dialeft.
' Bibl. Cotton, MSS. Calig. A. ix. — vi. f. 243.
To
ENGLISH POETRY. 23
To the fame period of our poetry I refer a verfion of
Saint Jerom's French pfaker, which occurs in the library of
Corpus Chrifti college at Cambridge. The hundredth pfalm
is thus tranflated.
Mirthes to god al erthe that es
Serves to louerd in faines.
In go yhe ai in his fiht,
In gladnes that is fo briht.
Whites that louerd god is he thus
He us made and our felf noht us.
His folk and fliep of his fode :
In gos his yhates that are gode :
In fchrift his worches belive,
In ympnes to him yhe fchrive.
Heryhes his name for louerde is hende,
In all his merci do in llrende and ftrande ^.
In the Bodleian libraiy there is a tranflation of the pfalms,
which much refembles m flyle and meafure this jufl men-
tioned. If not the fame, it is of equal antiquity. The hand-
writing is of the age of Edward the fecond : certainly not
later than his fucceffor. It alfo contains the Nicene creed ",
and fome church hymns, verfified : but it is mutilated and
imperfe£l. The nineteenth pfalm runs thus.
Hevenes tellen godes blis
And wolken fliewes hond werk his
Dai to dai word rife riht.
And wifdom fhewes niht to niht.
Of whilke that noht is herde thar fteven.
In al the world out yhode thar corde
And in ende of erthe of tham the worde.
f O. 6. Cod. membr. 410. ready printed, I refer the reader. Thefaur.
•> Hickes has printed a metrical verfion P. i. p. 233. I believe it to be of the age
of the creed of St. Athanalius. To whom, of Henry the fecond.
to avoid prolix and obfelete fpeciinens al-
1 . . funne
24 THE HISTORY OF
". . . funne he fette his telde to ftande
And b. bridegroome a. he als of his lourd commande.
He gladen als den to renne the wai
Ffrem'heighift heven hei outcoming ai.
And his gairenning tilheht fete,
Ne is qwilke mai him from his hete.
Lagh of louerd unwenned iffe,
Turnand faules in to bhfle :
Witnefs of lourd is ever trewe
Wifdom fervand to littell newe :
Lourd's rihtwifneffe riht hertes famand,
But of lourd is liht eghen fighand,
Drede of lourde hit heli es
Domes of love ful fori fothe are ai
Rihted in thamfalve ar thai.
More to be beyorned over golde
Or fton derwurthi that is holde :
Wei fwetter to mannes vi^ombe
Ovir honi and to kombe '.
This is the beginning of the eighteenth pfalm.
I fal love the Lourd of blifle
And in mine Lourd feftnes min effe.
And in fleming min als fo
And in lefler out of wo ''.
I will add another religious fragment on the crucifixion,
in the fliortcr meafure, evidently coeval, and intended to be
fung to the harp.
Vyen i o the rode fe
Jefu nayled to the tre,
Jefu mi lefman,
* Sic. ' MSS. Bodl. pcrgamen. fol. 425. f. 5. ^ Ibid. f. 4.
Ibunder
ENGLISH POETRY.
25
Ibunder bloe and blodi,
An hys moder ftant him bi,
Wepand, and Johan :
Hys bac wid fcwrge ifwungen,
Hys fide depe iflungen,
Ffor finne and louve of man,
Weil anti finne lete
An nek wit teres wete
Thif i of love can '.
In the library of Jefus college at Oxford, I have fe,en a
Nbrman-Saxon poem of another caft, yet without much
invention or poetry "". It is a conteft between an owl and
a nightingale, about fuperiority in voice and finging; the
decifion of which is left to the judgment of one John de
Guldevord ". It is not later than Richard the firfl. The
rhymes are multiplied, and remarkably interchanged.
Ich was in one fumere dale
In one fnwe digele hale,
I herde ich hold grete tale,
An hule ° and one nightingale.
'MSS.Bibl. Bodl. B. 3. i8.Th. f. loi.
b. (Langb. vi. 209.)
"> It is alfo in Bibl. Cotton. MSS.
Calic. ix. A. 5. fol. 230.
"So it is faidinCatal.MSS. Angl.p. 69.
But by miftake. Our John de Guldevorde
is indeed the author of the poem which
immediately precedes in the manufcript, as
appears by the following entry at the end
of it, in the hand-writingof the very learned
Edward Lwyhd. " On part of a broken
" leaf of this MS. I find thefe verfes writ-
" ten, whearby the author may be guell
" .at.
" Mayfter Johan eu greteth of Guldworde
tho,
" And fendeth eu to feggen that fynge he
nul he wo.
" On thifle wife he will endy his fonge.
" God louerde of hcvene, beo us alle
amonge."
The piece is entitled and begins thus ;
Ici commence Ja Paffyun Ihu Criji en engliys.
I hereth eu one lutele tale that ich eu wille
teilc
As we vyndeth hit iwrite in tlie godfpelle,
Nis hit nouht of Karlemeyne ne of the
Duzpere
As of Crifles thruwynge, &c.
It feems to be of equal antiquity with
that mentioned in the text. The whole
manufcript, confifting of many detached
pieces both in verfe and profe, was perhaps
written in the reign of Henry the fixth.
" Owl.
E
That
26 THE HISTORY OF
That plait was ftif I ftare and ftrong,
Sum wile fofte I lud among.
Another agen other fval
I let that wole mod ut al.
I either feide of otheres cufte,
That alere worfte that hi wufte
I hure and I hnre of others fonge
Hi hold plaidung futhe flronge ^
The earlieft love-fong which I can difcover in our lan-
guage, is among the Harleian manufcripts in the Britifii
Mufeum. I would place it before or about the year 1200.
It is full of alliteration, and has a burthen or chorus.
Blow northerne wynd, fent
Thou me my fuetynge ; blow
Northerne wynd, blou, blou, blou.'
Ich ot a biirde in boure bryht
That fully femly is on fyht,
Menlkful maiden of myht,
Feire ant fre to fonde.
In al this wurhliche won,
A burde of blod and of bon.
Never '' zete y nufte ' non
LufTomore in Londe. Blow, &c.
With lokkes ' lefliche and longe.
With front ant face feir to fonde ;
With murthes monie mote heo monge
That brid fo breme in boure ;
With lofTum eie grete and gode,
Weth browen blifsfoll undirhode.
He that reft him on the rode
That k'flych lyf honoure. Blou, * G?f .
* MSS. Coll. Jcf. Oxoa. 86. membr. ^ Yet. ' Knew not. ' Lively. ' Sic.
Hire
ENGLISH POETRY. 27
Hire bire limmes liht,
Afe a lantern a nyht,
Hyr bleo blynkyth fo bryht ".
So feore heo is ant fyn,
A fuetly fuyre heo hath to holde,
With armes, fhuldre as mon wolde,
Ant fyngres feyre forte fold :
God wolde hue were myn.
Middel heo hath menlkfuU fmall.
Hire loveliche chere as criftal ;
Theyes, legges, fit, and al,
Ywraught of the beft ;
A lulTum ladi laftelefs.
That fweting is and ever wes ;
A betere burde never was
Yheryed with the hefte,
Heo ys dere worthe in day,
Gracioufe, ftout, and gaye,
Gentil, joly, fo the jay,
Workliche when fhe waketh.
Maiden murgeft " of mouth
Bi eft, bi weft, bi north, bi fouth,
That nis ficle ne trouth.
That fuch murthes maketh.
Heo is corall of godnelTe,
Heo is rubie of riche fulnefie,
Heo is criftal of clarneffe,
Ant baner of bealtie,
Heo is lilie of largefTe,
Heo is parnenke pronefle,
Heo is falfecle of fuetneffe,
Ant ladie of lealtie,
" Blee. Complexion, '' Merrieft.
E 2 To
28 THE HISTORY OF "
To lou that leflich ys in londe
Ytolde as hi as ych underflonde, &c \
From the fame colleftion I have extradled a part of another
amatorial ditty, of equal antiquity ; which exhibits a ftanza
of no inelegant or unpleafing ftrudlure, and approaching to
the oftave rhyme. It is, like the laft, formed on alliteration.
In a fryhte as y con fare framede
Y founde a wet feyr fenge to fere,
Heo glyftenide afe gold when hit glemed,
Nes ner gom fo gladly on gere,
Y wolde wyte in world who hire kenede
This burde bryht, zef hire wil were,
Heo me bed go my gates, left hire gremede,
Ne kept heo non henynge here \
In the following lines a lover compliments his miftrefs
jiamed Alyfoun.
Bytween Merflie and Averile when fpray beginneth to fpringe,
The lutel fowl hath hyre wyl on hyre lud to fynge,
Ich libbem lonclonginge for femlokeft of all thynge.
He may me blyfl'e bringe icham in hire banndonn,
An hendy happe ichabbe yhent ichot from hevene it is mefent.
From all wymmen mi love is lent and lyht on Alifoun,
On hers here is fayre ynoh, hire browe bronne, hire eye blake.
With loffum chere he on me lok with middel fmal and
welymake.
Bote he me wolle to hire take, &c ".
The following fong, containing a defcription of the fpring,
difplays glimmerings of imagination, and exhibits fome faint
* MSS. Harl. 2253. fol. membran. I have cited from this manufcript, appear to
f. 7«. b. be of the hand-writing of the reign of Ed-
y MSS. ibid. f. 66. The pieces which ward the firft. » MSS. ibid. f. 63. b.
ideas
ENGLISH POETRY. 29
ideas of poetical expreflion. It is, like the three preceding,
of the Norman Saxon fchool, and extracted from the fame
inexhauftible repofitory. I have tranfcribed the whole.
In May hit murgeth when hit dawes '
In dounes with this dueres plawes ^
Ant lef is lyht on lynde ;
Blofmes bride th on the bowes,
Al this wylde whytes vowes.
So wel ych under-fynde.
The threfteleue ' hym threteth fo,
Away is huere wynter do.
When woderove fyngeth ferly fere.
And blyleth on huere wynter wele,
That al the wode ryngeth ;.
The rofe rayleth hir rode.
The leves on the lyhte wode
Waxen all with will :
The mone mandeth hire bleo - .■
The lilie is lofTum to fchoj
The fengle and the fille
Wowes this wilde drakes,
CDiles huere makes.
As ftreme that ftill
CDody moneth fo doth mo.
Ichott ycham on of tho
For love that likes ille.
The mone mandeth hire liht,
When briddes fyngeth breme,
Deawes donneth the donnes
Deores with huere derne ronnes.
Domes forte deme,
Wormes woweth under cloude,
Wymmen waxith wondir proude,
» « It Is mery at dawn." i* Plajt. • Throftle. Thfult.
So
30 THE HISTORY OF
So wel hyt wol him feme
Yef me Ihall wonte wille of on
This weale is wole forgon
Ant whyt in wode be fleme''.
The following hexaftic on a fimilar fubjeft, is the produ6t
of the fame rude period, although the context is rather more
intelligible : but it otherwife deferves a recital, as it prefents
an early fketch of a favourite and fafliionable ftanza.
Lenten ys come with love to tonne.
With blofmen and with briddes ronne.
That al this blilTe bryngeth :
Dayes ezes in this dales
Notes fuete of nightingales,
Vch foul fonge fmgeth ^.
This fpecimen will not be improperly fucceeded by the fol-
lowing elegant lines, which a cotemporary poet appears to
have made in a morning walk from Peterborough on
the blefled Virgin : but whofe genius feems better adapted to
defcriptive than religious fubje(51:s.
Now fkruketh .rofe and lylie flour.
That whilen ber that fuete favour
In fomer, that fuete tyde ;
Ne is no queue fo ftark ne Hour,
Ne no luedy fo bryht in hour
That ded ne Ihal by glyde :
Whofo wol flefliye luft for-gon and hevene-blifle abyde
On Jhefu be is thoht anon, that tharled was ys fide '.
To which we may add a fong, probably written by the
fame author, on the five joys of the bleffed Virgin.
■• MSS. ibid, ut fupr. f. 71. b. c MSS. ibid. f. 71. b. ' Ibid. f. 80.
Afc
E N G L I S H P O E T R Y. 31
Afe y me rod this ender day,
By giene wode, to feche play;
Mid herte y thohte al on a May.
Suetefte of al thinge :
Lithe, and ich on tell may al of that fuete thinge ^.
In the fame paftoral vein, a lover, perhaps of the reign of
king John, thus addrefles his miflrefs, whom he fuppofes
to be the moft beautiful girl, " Bituene Lyncolne and Lyn-
" defeye, Northampton and Lounde ''•".
When the nytenhale fmges the wodes w^axen grene,
Lef, gras, and blofme, fpringes in Avril y wene.
Ant love is to myn harte gon w^ith one fpere fo kene
Nyht and day my blod hit drynkes myn hart deth me tene '.
Nor are thefe verfes unpleafmg, in fomewhat the fame
meafure.
My deth y love, my lyf ich hate for a levedy fhene,
Heo is brith fo daies liht, that is on me wel fene.
Al y falewe fo doth the lef in fomir when hit is grene,
Zef mi thoht helpeth me noht to whom fchal I me mene ?
Ich have loved at this yere that y may love na more,
Ich have fiked moni fyh, lemon, for thin ore,
. . . my love never the ner and that me reweth fore j
Suete lemon, thenck on me ich have loved the fore,
Suete lemon, I preye the, of love one fpeche.
While y lyve in worlde fo wyde other nill I feche ''.
Another, in the following little poem, enigmatically com-
pares his miftrefs, whofe name feems to be Joan, to various
gems and flowers. The writer is happy in his alliteration,
and his verfes are tolerably harmonious.
8 MSS. jbid.f. 81. b. "London. * Ibid. f. 80. b. ^ H,y. f, go. b.
52 THE HISTORY OF
Ic hot a burde in a bour, afe beryl fo bryght,
Afe faphyr in felver femely on fyht,
Afe jafpe ' the gentil that lemeth " with lyht,
Afe gernet" in golde and rubye wel ryht,
Afe onycle ° he is on y holden on hyht ;
Afe diamand the dere in day when he is dyht :
He is coral yend with Cayfer and knyght,
Afe emeraude a morewen this may haveth myht.
The myht of the margaryte haveth this mai mere,
Ffor charbocele iche hire chafe bi chyn and bi chere,
Hire rede ys as rofe that red ys on ryfe %
With lilye white leves loffum he ys,
The primros he paffeth, the penenke of prys,
With alifaundre thareto ache and anys :
^ Coynte as columbine fuch hire ' cande ys.
Glad under gore in gro and in grys
Heo is blofme upon bleo brihteft under bis
With ceiydone ant fange as thou thi felf fys.
From Weye he is wifift into Wyrhale,
Hire nome is in a note of the nyhtegale ;
In a note is hire nome nempneth hit non
Who fo ryht redeth ronne to Johon \
The curious Harleian volume, to which we are fo largely
indebted, has preferved a moral tale, a Comparifon between
age and youth, where the ftanza is remarkably conftrufted.
The various forts of verfification which we have already feen,
evidently prove, that much poetry had been written, and that
the art had been greatly cultivated, before this period.
Herkne to my ron, nr u i i
. • , .{ 'Of cldc al hou yt ^es.
As ich ou tell con, -^ -^ ^
' Jafper. "' Streams, fhines. i Quaint. ' Wliite complexion.
» Garnet. » Onyx. i> Branch. ' MSS. ibid. f. 63.
Of
ENGLISH POETRY. 33
^-., X* • • ' Soth 'without ks,
Hihte Maximion,
Clerc he was ful ffod, xr 7 , , .
c • J • /I J ^0^ herkne hou it wes ,
So mom mon undirftod.
For the fame reafon, a fort of elegy on our Saviour's cru-
cifixion fhould not be omitted. It begins thus :
I fyke when y finge for forewe that y fe
When y with wypinge bihold upon the tre,
Ant fe Jhefu the fuete
Is hert blod for-lete,
For the love of me ;
Ys woundes waxen wete,
Thei wepen, ftill and mete,
Marie reweth me °.
Nor an alliterative ode on heaven, death, judgement, &c.
Middel-erd for mon was mad,
Un-mihti aren is mefte mede.
This hedy hath on honde yhad,
That hevene hem is hafte to hede.
Ich erde a bliffe budel us bade, rr-/ . / 7 j j
_, , . J ^, . , , T.hat he ben derne done.
The dreri domeldai to drede.
Of fmful fauhting fone be fad.
That derne doth this derne dede,
This wrakefall werkes under wede.
In foule foteleth fone ",
Many of thefe meafures were adopted from the French
chanfons \ I will add one or two more fpecimens.
' Ibid. f. 82, ^ Ibid. f. 80. * Ibid. f. 62. b. * See MSS. Harl. ut &pr. f. 49. 76-
F On
34 THE HISTORY O F
On our Saviour's Paffion and Death.
Jefu for thi muchele might
Thou zef us of thi grace,
That we mowe day and nyht
Thenken of thi face.
In myn hert it doth me god,
When y thenke on Jhefu blod,
That ran down bi ys fyde ;
From is harte doune to ys fote,
For ous he fpradde is harte blode
His wondes were fo wyde ''.
On the fame fubjedt.
Lutel wot hit any mon
Hou love hym haveth y bounde,
That for us o the rode ron,
Ant boht us with is wonde j
The love of him us haveth ymaked founds
And y caft the grimly goft to ground:
Ever and oo, nyht and day, he haveth us in his thohte.
He nul nout leofe that he fo deore boht ^.
The following are on love and gallantry. The poet, named
Richard, profefies himfelf to have been a great writer of love~
fongs.
Weping haveth myn wonges wet,
For wilked worke ant wone of wyt,
Unblithe y be til y ha bet,
Bruches broken afe bok byt :
Of levedis love that y ha let.
That lemeth al with luefly lyt,
Ofte in fonge y have hem fet.
That is unfemly ther hit fyt.
s
^ IbiJ. f. 79. Probably this fong has occur, burlefqued and parodied, by a writer
bten fomewbat modernifed by tranfcribers. of the fame age.
» Ibid. f. 128. Thcfe lines aftmvards
Hit
ENGLISH POETRY. ^^
Hit fyt and femethe noht,
Ther hit ys feid in fong
That y have of them wroht,
Y wis hit is all wrong \
It was cuftomary with the early fcribes, when ftanzas con-
fifted of fliort lines, to throw them together like profe. As
thus :
" A wayle whiyt as whalles bon | a grein in golde that
*' godly flion | a tortle that min hart is on | in tonnes trewe |
*' Hire gladfliip nes never gon | while y may glewe '."
Sometimes they wrote three or four verfes together as
one line.
With longynge y am lad | on molde y waxe mad \ a maide
marreth me,
Y grede y grone un glad \ for felden y am fad [ that femly
for te fee.
Levedi thou rewe me | to routhe thou haveft me rad | be
bote of that y bad | my lyf is long on the '.
Again,
Moft i rydden by rybbes dale | widle wymmen for te wale I
ant welde wreek ich wolde :
Founde were the feireft on j that ever was mad of blod ant
bon I in boure beft with bolde ^
This mode of writing is not uncommon in antient rtianu-
fcripts of French poetry. And fome critics may be inclined
to fufpcft, that the verfes which we call Alexandrine, acci-
dentally afTumed their form merely from the praftice of ab-
furd tranfcribers, who frugally chofe to fill their pages to the
extremity, and violated the metrical ftru6lure for the fake
=■ Ibid. f. 66. " Utfupr. f. 67. ' Ibid. 63. b. * Ibid. f. 06.
F z «f
36 THE HISTORY OF
of faving their vellum. It is certain, that the common ftanza
of four fhort lines may be reduced into two Alexandrines,
and on the contrary. I have before obferved, that the Saxon
poem cited by Hickes, confifting of one hundred and ninety
one ftanzas, is written in ftanzas in the Bodleian, and in
Alexandrines in the Trinity manufcript at Cambridge. How
it came originally from the poet I will not pretend to de-
termine.
Our early poetry often appears in fatirical pieces on the
eftabliflied and eminent profeflions. And the writers, as we
have already feen, fucceeded not amifs when they cloathed
their fatire in allegory. But nothing can be conceived more
fcurrilous and illiberal than their fatires when they defcend to
mere inve6live. In the Britifh Mufeum, among other ex-
amples which I could mention, we have a fatirical ballad on
the lawyers % and another on the clergy, or rather fome par-
ticular billiop. The latter begins thus :
Hyrd-men hatieth ant vch mones hyne.
For ever uch a parosfhe heo polketh in pyne
Ant claftreth wyf heore celle :
Nou wol vch fol clerc that is fayly
Wend to the bysfhop ant bugge bayly,
Nys no wyt in is nolle '.
The elder French poetry abounds in allegorical fatire : and
I doubt not that the author of the fatire on the monaftic
profeffion, cited above, copied fome French fatire on the
fubjecSt. Satire was one fpecies of the poetry of the Proven-
cial troubadours. Anfelm Fayditt a troubadour of the ele-
venth century, who will again be mentioned, wrote a fort of
fatirical drama called the Heresy of the Fathers, Here-
GiA DEL Preyres, a ridiculc on the council which con-
demned the Albigenfes. The papal legates often fell under
' MSS. ut Aipr. f. 70. b. ' Ibid. f. 71.
the
ENGLISH POETRY. Z7
the tafli of thefe poets ; whofe favour they were obliged to
court, but in vain, by the promife of ample gratuities *.
Hugues de Bercy, a French monk, wrote in the twelfth cen-
tury a very lively and fevere fatire ; in which no perfon, not
even himfelf, was fpared, and which he called the Bible,
as containing nothing but truth ^.
In the Harleian manufcripts I find an ancient French
poem, yet refpe6ling England, which is a humorous pane-
gyric on a new religious order called Le Ordre de bel Evse.
This is the exordium.
Qui vodra a moi entendre
Oyr purra e aprendre
L'eftoyre de un Ordre Novel
Qe^^mout eft delitous bel.
The poet ingenioufly feigns, that his new monaftic order
confifts of the moft eminent nobility and gentry of both
iexes, who inhabit the monafteries alligned to it promifcu-
oufly; and that no perfon is excluded from this eftablifh-
ment who can fupport the rank of a gentleman. They are
bound by their ftatutes to live in perpetual idlenefs and lux-
ury : and the fatyrift refers them for a pattern or rule of prac-
tice in thefe important articles, to the monafteries of Sem-
pringham in Lincolnftiire, Beverley in Yorkfhire, the Knights
Hofpitalers, and many other religious orders then flourifh-
ing in England '.
When we confider the feudal manners, and the magnifi-
cence of our Norman anceftors, their love of military glory, •
the enthufiafm with which they engaged in the crufades,
and the wonders to which they muft have been familiarifed
from thofe eaftern enterprifes, we naturally fuppofe, what
will hereafter be more particularly proved, that their retinues
^ Fontencllc, Hlft. Theatr. Fr. p, iS. ^ See FaucJiett, Rec. p. 151.
edit 174.2. * MSS. ibid. f. 121.
abounded
38 THE HISTORY OF
abounded with minftrels and harpers, and that their chief
entertainment was to liften to the recital of romantic and
martial adventures. But I have been much difappointed in
my fearches after the metrical tales which muft have pre-
vailed in their times, Moft of thofe old heroic fongs are
periflied, together with the ftately caftles in whofe halls they
were fung. Yet they are not fo totally loft as we may be
apt to imagine. Many of them ftill partly exift in the old
Englifh metrical romances, which will be mentioned in their
proper places j yet diverted of their original form, polifhed
in their ftyle, adorned with new incidents, fucceffively mo-
dernifed by repeated tranfcription and recitation, and retain-
ing little more than the outlines of the original compofition.
This has not been the cafe of the legendaiy and other reli-
gious poems written foon after the conqueft, manufcripts
of which abound in our libraxies. From the nature of their
fubie6l they were lefs popular and common ; and being lefs
frequently recited, became lefs liable to perpetual innovation
or altei'ation.
The moft antient Englifti metrical romance which I can
difcover, is entitled the Geste of King Horn. It was evi-
dently written after the crufades had begun, is mentioned
by Chaucer ^ and probably ftill remains in its original ftate.
I will fir ft give the fubftance of the ftory, and afterwards
add fome fpecimens of the compofition. But I muft premife,
that this ftory occurs in very old French metre in the manu-
fcripts of the Britifli Mufeum ', fo that probably it is a
tranflation : a circumftance which will throw light on an
argument purfued hereafter, proving that moft of our me-
trical romances are tranflatcd from the French.
Mury, king of the Saracens, lands in the kingdom of Sud-
denc, where he kills the king named Allof. The queen,
Godylt, cfcapcs ; but Muiy feizes on her fon Home, a beau-
'■ Rim. Thop. 3402. Urr. ' MSS. Harl. 527, b. f. 59. Cod. membr-
tiful
ENGLISH POETRY. 39
tiful youth aged fifteen years, and puts him into a galley,
with two of his play-fellows, Achulph and Fykenyld : the
veflel being driven on the coaft of the kingdom of Weft-
nelTe, the young prince is found by Aylmar king of that
country, brought to court, and delivered to Athelbrus his
fteward, to be educated in hawking, harping, tilting, and
other courtly accomplilhments. Here the princefs Rymenild
falls in love with him, declares her paffion, and is betrothed.
Home, in confequence of this engagement, leaves the
princefs for feven years ; to demonftrate, according to the
ritual of chivalry, that by feeking and accomplifhing dan-
gerous enterprifes he deferved her affeftion. He pi'oves a
moft valorous and invincible knight : and at the end of feven
years, having killed king Mury, recovered his father's king-
dom, and atchieved many fignal exploits, recovers the prin-
cefs Rymenild from the hands of his treacherous knight
and companion Fykenyld ; carries her in triumph to his
own country, and there reigns with her in great fplendor
and profperity. The poem itfelf begins and proceeds thus :
Alle heo ben blythe, that to my fonge ylythe " :
A fonge yet ulle ou finge of AUoff the god kynge,
Kynge he was by wefte the whiles hit y lefte ;
And Godylt his gode queue, no feyrore myhte bene,
Ant huere fone hihte Home, feyrore childe ne myhte be borne :
For reyne ne myhte by ryne ne fonne myhte fliine
Feyror childe than he was, bryht fo ever eny glas,
So whyte fo eny lilye floure, fo rofe red was his colour ;
He was feyre ant eke bold, and of fyfteene wynter old.
This non his yliche in none kinges ryche.
Tueye feren " he hadde, that he with him ladde,
Al rychemenne fonne, and al fuyth feyre gromes,
Weth hem forte pley anufte ° he loved tueye.
" Liflen. " Companions. ' Alike.
That
40
THE HISTORY OF
That on was hoten Achulph child, and that other Ffykenild,
Aculph was the beft, and Ffykenyld the werfte,
Yt was upon a fomerfday alfo, as ich one telle may,
Allof the gode kynge rode upon his pleying,
Bi the fe fide, there he was woned to ride -,
With him ne ryde bot tuo, at to felde hue were tho :
He fond bi the ftronde, aryved on is lond,
Shipes fyftene of Sarazins kene :
He alked what hue fohten other on his lond brohten.
But I haften to that part of the ftoiy where prince Home
appears at the court of the king of Weftnefle.
The kyng com into hall, among his knyghtes alle.
Forth he cleped Athelbrus, his ftewarde, him feyde thus :
" Steward tal thou here my fundling for to lere,
" Of fome myftere of woode and of ryvere '',
" And toggen othe harpe with is nayles fliarpe ^
" And teche at the liftes that thou ever wiftes,
" Byfore me to kerven, and of my courfe to ferven ',
1' So Robert de Brunne of king Marian.
Hearne'sRob. Gloc. p. 622.
— Marian faire in chere
He couthe of wod and r)-vere
In alle maner of venrie, &c.
■: In another part of the poem he is in-
troduced playing on his harp.
Home fctt hi abenche, his harpe he gan
clenche,
He made Rymenild a lay ant he feide
weilawa)-, &c.
I.i the chamber of a bifhop of Wincht-ftcr
at ^^erdon caftic, now ruined, we find
mention made of benches only. Comp. MS.
J. Gervcys, Epifcop. Winton, 1266. " li-
" dcm red. comp. deii. menfis in aula ad
" magnum defcum. Et de iii. menfis, ex
" una parte, et ii. menfis ex altera parte
" cum trtiTellis in aula. Et de i. mcnfa
" com treflellis in camera dom. epifcopi.
" Etv./b/OT/j in eadem camera." De/aa,
in old Englith ifca, is properly a canopy
over the high table. See a curious account
of the goods in the palace of the bifhop
of Nivernois in France, in the year 1287,
in Montf Cat. MSS. ii. p. 984. col. 2.
' According to the rules of chivalr}',
every knight before his creation pafled
through two offices. He was firft a page :
and at fourteen years of age he was formal-
ly admitted an eiquirc. The cfquires were
divided into feveral departments ; that of
the body, of the chamber, of the liable,
and the carving efquire. The latter flood
in the hall at dinner, where he carved the
different dilhes with proper fkill and ad-
drefs, and dircfted the diftrlbution of them
.among the guclh. The inferior offices had
alfo their rcfpertivc cfquires. Mem. anc.
Cheval, i. 16. fcq.
Ant
ENGLISH POETRY. 41
" Ant his feren devyfe without other furmife ;
" Horne-childe, thou underftond, teche hym of harpe and
" fonge."
Athelbrus gon leren Home and hyfe fercn ;
Home mid herte laghte al that mon hym taghte,
Within court and withoute, and Overall aboute,
Lovede men Horne-child, and moft him loved Ymenild
The kinges owne dothter, for he w^as in hire thohte,
Hire loved him in hire mod, for he was faire and eke gode,
And that tyne ne dorile at worde and myd hem fpek ner a
worde,
Ne in the halle, amonge the knyhtes alle,
Hyre forewe and hire payne nolde never fayne,
Bi daye ne bi nyhte for here fpeke ne myhte,
With Home that was fo feir and fre, tho hue ne myhte with
him be ;
In herte hue had care and wo, and thus hire bihote hire tho :
Hue fende hyre fonde Athelbrus to honde,
That he come here to, and alfo childe Home do,
In to hire boure, for hue bigon to loure.
And the fond ' fayde, that feek was the mayde,
And bed hym quyke for hue nis non blyke.
The ftewarde was in huerte wo, for he wift whit he fhulde do.
That Rymenyld byfohte gret wonder him thohte 3
About Home he yinge to boure forte bringe.
He thohte en his mode hit nes for none godej
He toke with him another, Athulph Home's brother *,
" Athulph, quoth he, ryht anon thou flialt with me to boure
" gon,
" To fpeke with Rymenyld ftille, and to wyte hire wille,
" Thou art Home's yliche, thou flialt hire by fuyke,
" Sore me adrede that hire wil Home mys rede."
Athelbrus and Athulf tho to hire boure both ygo,
' Meflenger. ' Companion, friend,
G Upon
4-2 THE HISTORY Of
Upon Athulf childe Rymenilde con wox wilde,
Hue wende Home it were, that hue hadde there ;
Hue fetten adown ftille, and feyden hire wiile,
In her armes twey« Athulf Ihe con leye,
" Home, quoth heo, wellong I have lovede thee ftrong,
" Thou flialt thy truth piyht in myne honde with lyht,
" Me to fpoufe welde and iche the loverde to helde."
" So flille fo hit were, Achulf feide in her ere,
" Ne tel thou no more fpeche may y the byfeche
" Thi tale — thou linne, far Home his nout his ynne, &c."
At length the princefs finds flie has been deceived, the
fleward is feverely reprimanded, and prince Home is brought to
her chamber ; when, fays the poet.
Of is fayre fyhte al that boure gan lyhte ".
It is the force of the flory in thefe pieces that chiefly en-
gages our attention. The minftrels had no idea of conduc-
ing and defcribing a delicate fituation. The general manners
were grofs, and the arts of writing unknown. Yet this
fimplicity fomctimes pleafes more than the moil artificial
touches. In the mean time, the pi6lures of antient manners
prefented by thefe early writers, ftrongly intereft the ima-
gination : efpecially as having the fame uncommon merit
with the pidlures of manners in Homer, that of being
founded in truth and reality, and aftually painted from the
life. To talk of the groffncfs and abfurdity of fuch manners
is little to the purpofe ; the poet is only concerned in the
juftnefs and faithfulnefs of the reprefentation.
" MSS. ibid. f. 83. Where the title is Uom-childe and Maiden Rini Ibid. p. 674. In MSS. Digb. Bib!. r, 1 ''^'' ' . f r J , i-
T, J, T c J - I L c Tj J > o ; Oslepons, catuli naius, dens et gena muli :
Bodl. I find, m John of Hoveden s Salu- r . i - ■ \ .. i j-
. ' i -M ■ i< Ai rronsvetuiE, tauri caput, et color undique
tationes quinquagntta JWana; ' Mag. . ^ . ^
Ju
43
THE HISTORY OF
of Henry the third, it will not be foreign to add, that in the
thirty-fixth year of the fame king, forty fliillings and one
pipe of wine were given to Richard the king's harper, and one
pipe of wine to Beatrice his wife \ But why this gratuity
of a pipe of wine fliould alfo be made to the wife, as well
as to the hulband, who from his profeffion was a genial cha-
ra6ler, appears problematical according to our prefent ideas.
The firft poet whofe name occurs in the reign of Edward
the firft, and indeed in thefe annals, is Robert of Glocefter,
a monk of the abbey of Glocefter. He has left a poem of
confiderable length, which is a hiftory of England in verfe,
from Brutus to the reign of Edward the firft. It was evi-
dently written after the year 1278, as the poet mentions
king Arthur's fumptuous tomb, ere6led in that year before
the high altar of Glaftenbury church ' : and he declares him-
felf a living witnefs of the remarkably difmal weather which
diftinguifhed the day on which the battle of Evefham above-
mentioned was fought, in the year 1265 ^. From thefe and
other circumftances this piece appears to have been compofed
about the year 1280. It is exhibited in the manufcripts,
is cited by many antiquaries, and printed by Hearne, in the
Alexandrine meafure : but with equal probability might have
been written in four-lined ftanzas. This rhyming chronicle
is totally deftitute of art or imagination. The author has
cloathed the fables of Geoffrey of Monmouth in rhyme,
which have often a more poetical air in Geoffrey's profe. The
In a blank page of the Bodleian manu-
fcript, from which thefe extrafts are made,
is written, " IfVe liber conftat fFratri Jo-
" hanni de Wallis monacho Ramefeye."
The name is elegantly enriched, with a de-
vice. This manufcript contains, among
other things, PL-iidlus dc Excidio Troj;e, by
Hugo Prior de Montacuto, in rhyming hex-
ameters and pentameters, viz. fol. 89. Cam-
den cites other Latin vcrfes of Michael
Blaunpain.whom he calls '' Merr)' Michael
" the Cornifli poet." Rem. p. 10. See alfo
p. 489. edit. 1674. He wrote many other
Latin pieces, both in profe and verfe.
' Rot. Pip. an. 36. Henr. iii. " Et inuno
" dolio vini empto et dato magiftro Ri-
" cardo Citharifta regis, xl. fol. per
" Br. Reg. Et in uno dolio empto et
" dato Beatrici uxori cjufdem Ric.irdi."
' Pag. 224. edit. Hearne. Oxon. 1724.
■^ Pag. 560.
language
ENGLISH POETRY. 49
language is not much more eafy or intelligible than that of
many of the Norman Saxon poems quoted in the preceding fec-
tion : it is full of Saxonifms, which indeed abound, more or
lefs, in every writer before Gower and Chaucer. But this ob-
fcurity is perhaps owing to the weftern dialefl, in which
our monk of Glocefter was educated. Provincial barbarifms
are naturally the growth of extreme counties, and of fuch
as are fituated at a diftance from the metropolis : and it
is probable, that the Saxon heptarchy, which confifted of a
duller of feven independent ftates, contributed to produce
as many different provincial diale6ls. In the mean time it
is to be confidered, that writers of all ages and languages
have their affectations and Angularities, which occafion in
each a peculiar phrafeology.
Robert of Gloucefter thus defcribes the fports and folem-
nities which followed king Arthur's coronation.
The kyng was to ys paleys, tho the fervyfe was y do ^,
Ylad wyth his menye, and the queue to hire alfo.
Vor hii hulde the olde ufages, that men wyth men were
By them fulve, and wymmen by hem fulve alfo there ".
Tho hii were echone yfett, as yt to her ftat bycom,
Kay, king of Aungeo, a thoufand knytes nome
Of noble men, yclothed in ermyne echone
Of on fywete, and fervede at thys noble feft anon,
Bedwer the botyler, kyng of Normandye,
Nom alfo in ys half a vayr companye
Of one fywyte' worto fervy of the botelerye.
Byvore the queue yt was alfo of al fuche cortefye,
Vorto telle al the noblye thet ther was ydo,
They my tonge were of ftel, me Abide noght dure therto.
" 5 When the fervice in the church was " a thoufand noble knights cloathed in cr-
" finiflied." " mineofone fuit, or /i'c'?^."
■> " They kept the antient cuftom at fef- ' " Brought alfo, on his part, a fair coai-
" tivals, of placing the men and women " pany cloathed uniformly."
" feparate. Kay, king of Anjou, brought
H Wymmem
so THE HISTORY OF
Wymmen ne kepte of no kyngt as in drueiy '',
Bote he were in armys wel yproved, and atte lefte thrye '.
That made, lo, the wymmen the chaflore lyf lede,
And the kyngtes the ftalwordore '% and the betere in her dede.
Sone after thys noble mete ", as ryght was of fuch tyde,
The kynghts atyled hem aboute in eche fyde,
In feldys and in medys to prove her bachelerye °.
Somme wyth lance, fome wyth fuerd, wythoute vylenye,
Wyth pleyinge at tables, other atte chekere ^,
Wyth caftynge, other wyth ffettinge \ other in fome ogyrt
manere.
And wuch fo of eny game adde the mayftrye,
The kyng hem of ys gyfteth dyde large cortyfye.
Upe the alurs of the caftles the laydes thanne ftode,
And byhulde thys noble game, and wyche kyngts were god.
All the thre hexte dawes ' ylafte thys nobleye
In halles and in veldes, of mete and eke of pleye.
Thys men com the verthe ' day byvore the kynge there,
And he gef hem large gyftys, evere as hii werthe were.
Bisfliopryches and cherches clerkes he gef fomme,
And caftles and townes kyngtes that were ycome '.
Many of thefe lines are literally tranflated from GeofFiy
of Monmouth. In king Arthur's battle with the giant at
■^ Modefty, decorum. ' Thrice. ductorv Dissertation, this game
" More brave. might have been known in the North before.
" " Soon after this noble feail, which In the mean time, it is probable that the Sa-
" was proper at fucli an occafion, the racens introduced it into Spain before the
" knights accoutred thenifelves." crufades. It is mentioned by G. of Mon-
" Chivalry, courage, or youth. mouth, and in the Alexiad of Anna Com-
p Chefs. It is remarkable, that among the mena. See Mem. Acad. Lit. v. 232.
nine exercifes, or accomplifhmcnts, men- "' Different ways of playing .at chefs.
tioncd by Kolfon, anantient northern chief, " The ladies flood on the walks made
one is Playing at chefs. Bartholin, ii. c. 8. " wdthin the battlements of the caftle."
p. 420. This game was familiarifed to the ' " All the three high, or chief days.
Europeans after the crufades. The romances " In hills and fields, of fcafling, and tur-
which followed thofc expeditions arc full of " neying, Sic."
it. Kolfon, above-mentioned, had made ' Fourth.
a pilgrimage into the holy bnd. But from ' Pag. 191.192.
the principles advanced in the firft Intro-
Barbesfleet,
ENGLISH POETRY. 51
Barbesfleet, there are no marks of Gothic painting. But
there is an effort at poetry in the defcription of the giant's
fall.
Tho griflych yal the ffrewe tho, that griflych was his here,
He vel doung as a gret ok, that bynethe ycorve were,
That it thogte that al hul myd the vallynge fTok ".
That is, " This cruel giant yelled fo horribly, and fo vehe-
" ment was his fall, that he fell down like an oak cut through
" at the bottom, and all the hill fliook while he fell." But
this flroke is copied from Geoffiy of Monmouth ; who tells
the fame miraculous ftory, and in all the pomp with which
it was perhaps dreffed up by his favourite fablers. " Exclamavit
" vero invifus ille j et velut quercus ventorum viribus eradi-
" cata, cum maximo fonitu corruit." It is difficult to determine
which is moft blameable, the poetical hiftorian, or the pro-
faic poet.
It was a tradition invented by the old fablers, that
giants brought the ftones of Stonehenge from the moft
fequeftered deferts of Africa, and placed them in Ireland}
that every ftone was waflied with juices of herbs, and con-
tained a medical power; and that Merlin the magician, at
the requeft of king Arthur, tranfported them from Ireland,
and ere6led them in circles on the plain of Amefbury, as a
fepulchral monument for the Britons treacheroufly flain by
Hengill. This fable is thus delivered, without decoration,
by Robert of Glocefter.
" Sire kyng, quoth Merlin tho, fuche thynges y wis
" Ne bethe for to fchewe nogt, but wen gret nede ys,
" For gef iche feid in bifmare, other bute it ned were,
" Sone from me he wold wende the goft, that doth me lere "':
" Pag. Z08. me. " Nam fi ea in derifionem, five va-
" If I fhould fay any thing out of wan- " nitatem, proferrem, taceret Spiritus qui
tonefs or vanity, the fpirit, or demon, " medocet,et, cum opus fuperveniret, rece-
which teaches me, would immediately leave " deret." Galfrid. Mem. viii. lo.
H 2 The
52
THE HISTORY OF
The kyng, tho non other nas, bod hym fom quoyntife
Bithinke about thilk cors that fo noble were and wyfe ".
" Sire kyng, quoth MerUn tho, gef thou wolt here cafte
" In the honour of men, a worke that ever fchal ylafte \
" To the hul of Kylar ^ fend in to Yrlond,
" Aftur the noble ftones that ther habbet Henge yftonde ;
" That was the treche of giandes ^ for a quoynte work ther ys
" Of Hones al wyth art ymad, in the world fuch non ys.
" Ne ther nys nothing that me fcholde mydilrengthe adoune
" caft.
" Stode heo here, as heo doth there ever a wolde lall "."
The kyng fomdele to lyghe ■*, tho he herde this tale,
" How mygte, he feyde, fuche ftones fo grete and fo fale %
" Be ybrogt of fo fer lond ? And get mift of were,
" Me wolde wene, that in this londe no fton to wonke nere,"
" Syre kyng, quoth Merlyn, ne make noght an ydel fuch
" lyghyng.
" For yt nys an ydel noght that ich tell this tythyng ^
" For in the farrefte ftude of Affric giands while fette ^
" Thike ftones for medycyne and in Yrlond hem fette,
" While heo wonenden in Yrlond to make here bathes there,
" Ther undir forto bathi wen thei fyk were.
" For heo wuld the ftones wafch and ther enne bathe ywis.
" For ys no fton ther among that of gret vertu nys ''."
The kyng and ys confeil radde ' the ftones forto fette,
And with gret power of batail gef any more hem lette
* " Bade him ufe his cunning, for the
" fake of the bodies of thofe noble and
" wife Britons."
^ "If you would build, to their honour,
" a lifting monument."
^ " To the hill of Kildare."
" Have.
'' " The dance of giants." The name
of this wonderful ifTcmbly of immenfe ftones.
• " Grandes funt lapidcs, ncc eft aliquis
" cujus virtuti cedant. Quod fi eo modo,
" quo ibi pofiti funt, circa plateam loca-
" buntur, ftabunt in a;ternum." Galfrid.
Mon. viii. x. 1 1.
'' " Somewhat laughed."
*= " So great and fo many." ' Tyding.
s " Giants once brought them from the
" fartheft part of Africa, &c."
'' " Lavabant namquc lapides et infra
" b.'.lnea difFiindebant, unde xgroti cuia-
" bantur. Mifccbant ctiam cum htrbarum
" confediojiibus, undo viilnerati fanaban-
" tur. Non eft ibi lapis qui mcdicimcnto
" careat." Galfrid. Mon. ibid. 'Rode.
Uter
ENGLISH POETRY. 53
Uter the kynges brother, that Ambrofe hett alfo,
In another name ychofe was therto.
And fifteene thoufant men this dede for to do
And Merlyn for his quointife thider went alfo ".
If any thing engages our attention in this paiTage, it is
the wildnefs of the fi6lion ; in which however the poet had
no fliare.
J will here add Arthur's intrigue with Ygerne.
At the feft of Eftre tho kyng fende ys fonde.
That heo comen alle to London the hey men of this londe.
And the levedys al fo god, to ys noble feft wyde.
For he fchulde crowne here, for the hye tyde.
Alle the noble men of this lond to the noble feft come,
And heore wy\'^es and heore dogtren with hem mony nomc.
This feft was noble ynow, and nobliche y do ;
For mony was the faire ledy, that y come was therto.
Ygerne, Gorloys wyf, was faireft of echon.
That was contafTe of Cornewail, for fo fai]>nas ther non.
The kyng by huld hire fafte y now, and ys herte on hire cafte,
And thogte, thay heo were wyf, to do folye atte laft.
^ Pag. 145. 146. 147. That Stone- vourite hero Arthur. This I grant : but
henge is a Britifh monument, erefted in not when known authenticated fads Hood
memory of Hengift's maffacre, refts, I be- in their way, and while the real caufe was
lieve, on the fole evidence of GeofFry of remembered. Even to this day, the mal-
Monmouth, who had it from the Britifh facre of Hengift, as I have panly hinted,
bards. But why ftould not the teftimony is an undifputed piece of hiftory. Wliy
of the Britifh bards be allowed on this oc- lliould not the other part of the ftory be
cafion ? For they did not invent fails, fo equally true ? Befides the filence of Nennius,
much as fables. In the prefent cafe. Hen- I am aware, that this hypothecs is ftill at-
gift's maffacre in an allowed event. Re- tended with many difficulties and impro •
move all the apparent fiftion, and the bards babilities. And fo are all the fyftems and
only fay, that an immenfe pile of ftones conjeftures ever yet framed about this
was raifed on the plain of Ambrefbury in amazing monument. It appears to me, to
memory of that event. They lived too be the work of a rude people who had fome
near the time to forge this origin of Stone- ideas of art : fuch as we may fuppofe the
henge. The whole ftory was recent, and from Romans left behind them, among the Bri-
the immenfity of the work itfelf, muft have tons. In the mean time I do not remem-
been ftiil more notorious. Therefore their ber, that in the very controverted etymolo-
forgery would have been too glaring. It gy of the word 5/o;;^^f»^i' thename of Hen-
may be objefted, that they were fond of re- cist has been properly or fufficiently con-
ferring every thing ftupendous to their fa- fidered.
He
54
THE HISTORY OF
He made hire femblant fair y now, to non other fo gret.
The erl nas not ther with y payed, tho he yt under get.
Aftur mete he nom ys wyfe myd flordy med y now.
And, with oute leve of the kyng, to ys contrei drow.
The kyng fende to hym tho, to by leve al nygt.
For he mofte of gret confel habbe fom infygt.
That was for nogt. Wolde he nogt the kyng fende get ys
fonde.
That he by levede at ys parlemente, for nede of the londe.
The kyng was, tho he nolde nogt, anguyffous and wroth.
For defpyte he wolde a wreke be he fwor ys oth,
Bute he come to amendement. Ys power atte lafte
He garkede, and wende forth to Cornewail fafte.
Gorloys ys cafteles a flore al a boute.
In a ftrong caftel he dude ys wyf, for of hire was al ys doute.
In another hym felf he was, for he nolde nogt,
Gef cas come, that heo were bothe to dethe y brogt.
The caftel, that the erl inne was, the kyng by fegede fafte.
For he mygte ys gynnes for fchame to the oter cafte.
Tho he was ther fene nygt, and he fpedde nogt,
Igerne the contelTe fo muche was in ys thogt,
That he nuftc nen other wyt, ne he ne mygte for fchame
Telle yt bute a pryve knygt, Ulfyn was ys name.
That he trufte meft to. And tho the knygt herde this,
" Syre, he feide, y ne can wyte, wat red here of ys,
" For the caftel ys fo ftrong, that the lady ys inne,
" For ich wene al the lond ne fchulde yt myd ftrengthc
" Wynne.
" For the fe geth al aboute, but entre on ther nys,
" And that ys up on harde rockes, and fo narw wei it ys,
" That ther may go bote on and on, that thre men with inne
" Mygte lie al the londe, er heo com ther inne.
" And nogt for than, gef Merlyn at thi confeil were,
" Gef any mygte, he couthc the beft red the lore."
Merlyn
ENGLISH POETRY. SS
Merlyn was fone of fend, pleid yt was hym fone.
That he fchulde the befte red fegge, wat were to done.
Merlyn was foiy ynow for the kynge's folye,
And natheles, " Sire kyng, he feide, there mot to maiftric,
" The erl hath twey men hym nert, Brygthoel and Jordan.
" Ich wol make thi felf gef thou wolt, thoru art that y can,
" Habbe al tho fourme of the erl, as thou were rygt he,
" And Olfyn as Jordan, and as Brithoel me."
This art was al clene y do, that al changet he were,
Heo thre in the otheres forme, the felve at yt were.
Ageyn even he wende forth, nufte nomon that cas.
To the cartel heo come rygt as yt evene was.
The porter y fe ys lord come, and ys mode privey twei,,
With god herte he lette ys lord yn, and ys men beye.
The contas was glad y now, tho hire lord to hire com
And eyther other in here armes myd gret joye nom.
Tho heo to bedde com, that fo longe a two were,
With hem was fo gret delyt, that bitwene hem there
Bi gete was the befte body, that ever was in this londe,
Kyng Arthure the noble mon, that ever worthe underftonde..
Tho the kynge's men nufte amorwe, wer he was bi come,
Heo ferde as wodemen, and wende he were ynome.
Heo a faileden the caftel, as yt fchulde a doun anon,
Heo that with inne were, garkede hem echon.
And fmyte out in a fole wille, and fogte myd here fon :
So" that the erl was y flave, and of ys men mony on,
And the caftel was y nome, and the folk to fprad there,
Get, tho thei, hadde al ydo, heo ne fonde not the kyng there-.
The tything to the contas fone was y come.
That hire lord was y flawe, and the caftel y nome.
Ac tho the meffinger hym fey the erl, as hym thogte,
That he hadde fo foule plow, ful fore hym of thogte,
The contaffe made fom del deol, for no fotlinefle heo nufte.
The kyng, for to glade here, bi clupte hire and cuft.
" DamCj
56 THE HISTORY OF
" Dame, he feide, no fixt thou wel, that les yt ysal this :
*' Ne woft thou wel ich am olyue. Ich wole the fegge how
" it ys.
" Out of the caftel ftilleliche ych wende al in privete,
" That none of myne men yt nufte, for to fpeke with the.
" And tho heo mifte me to day, and nufte wer ich was,
*' Heo ferden rigt as gydie men, myd warn no red nas,
• ' And fogte with'the folk with oute, and habbeth in this manere
" Y lore the caftel and hem felue, ac wel thou woft y am here.
" Ac for my caftel, that is ylore, foiy ich am y now,
" And for myn men, that the kyng and ys power flog.
" Ac my power is now to lute, ther fore y drede fore,
" Lefte the kyng us nyme here, andforvve that we were more.
" Ther fore ich wole, how fo yt be, wende agen the kynge,
" And make my pays with hym, ar he us to fchame
" brynge."
Forth he wende, and het ys men that gef the kyng come.
That hei fchulde hym the caftel gelde, ar he with ftrengthe
it nome.
So he come toward ys men, ys own forme he nom,
And levede the erle's fourme, and the kyng Uter by com.
Sore hym of thogte the erle's deth, ac in other half he fonde
Joye in hys hcrte, for the contafte of fpouftied was unbonde,
Tho he hadde that he wolde, and payfed with ys fon,
To the contafte he wende agen, me let hym in a non.
Wat halt it to talle longe : bute heo were feth at on.
In gret loue longe y now, wan yt nolde other gon ;
And hadde to gedere this noble fone, that in the world ys
pere nas,
The kyng Arture, and a dogter, Anne hire name was '.
In the latter end of the reign of Edward the firft, many
officers of the French king having extorted large fums of
' Chron. p. 156.
money
ENGLISH POETRY. 57
money from the citizens of Bruges in Flanders, were mur-
thered : and an engagement fucceeding, the French army,
commanded by the count du Saint Pol, was defeated; upon
which the king of France, who was Philip the Fair, fent a
ftrong body of troops, under the conduct of the count dc
■ Artois, againft the Flemings : he was killed, and the French
were almoft all cut to pieces. On this occafion the follow-
ing ballad was made in the year 1301 ".
Lufteneth, lordinges, bothe zonge and olde.
Of the Freynfhe men that were fo proude ante bolde,
How the Flemmyfhe men bohten hem ante folde.
Upon a Wednefday,
Betere hem were at home in huere londe.
Than force feche Flemifhe bi the fea ftronde
Whare rouch moni Frenfh wyf wiyngeth hire honde,
And fyngeth welaway.
The kynge of Ffrance made flatutes newe.
In the londe of Flaundres among falfe ant trewe.
That the communs of Bruges ful fore can arewe,
And feiden among hem,
Gedere we us to gedere hardilyche at ene.
Take we the bailifs by twenty and bi tene,
Clappe we of the hevedes an oven o the grene,
Ant caft we in the fen.
The webbes ant the fullaris aflembled hem alle.
And makeden huere counfail in huere commune halle.
Token Peter conyng huere kynge to call
Ant be huere cheveteyne, Sec \
Thefe verfes fliew the familiarity with which the affairs
of France were known in England, and difplay the difpo-
fition of the Englifli towards the French, at this period. It
"■■ The laft battle was fought that year, Jul. 7. " MSS. Harl. 2253. f. 73. b.
I appears
58 THE HISTORY OF
It appears from this and previous inftances, that political bal-
lads, I mean fuch as were the vehicles of political fatire,
prevailed much among our early anceftors. About the pre-
sent era, we meet with a ballad complaining of the exhor-
bitant fees extorted, and the numerous taxes levied, by the
king's officers ". There is a libel remaining, written indeed
in French Alexandrines, on the commiflion of trayl-baftou ■",
or the juftices fo denominated by Edward the firft, during
his abfence in the French and Scotch wars, about the year
1306. The author names fome of the juftices or commif-
fioners, now not eafily difcoverable : and fays, that he ferved
the king both in peace and war in Flanders, Gafcony, and
Scotland ^ There is likewife a ballad againft the Scots, trai-
tors to Edward the firft, and taken prifoners at the battles
of Dunbar and Kykenclef, in 1305, and 1306'. The licen-
tioufnefs of their rude manners Was perpetually breaking
out in thefe popular pafquins, although this fpecies of pe-
tulance ufually belongs to more poliftied times.
Nor were they lefs dexterous than daring in pubiifliing
their fatires to advantage, although they did not enjoy the
many conveniencies which modern improvements have afforded
for the circulation of public abufe. In the reign of Henry the
fixth, to purfue the topic a little lower, we find a ballad of
this fpecies ftuck on the gates of the royal palace, feverely
refledling on the king and his counfellors then fitting in par-
liament. This piece is preferved in the Afhmolean mufeum,
with the following Latin title prefixed. " Copia fcedtda vahis
" domini regis exijieniis in farliamento fiio tento apiid Wcjhnonaf-
*' terium menfe marcii anno regni Henrici fcxti vicejimo otiavoy
But the antient ballad was often applied to better purpofes :
and it appears from a valuable colle<^ion of thefe little pieces.
" Ibid. f. 64. There is a fong half And Rob. Brunne's Chron. ed. Hcame,
Latin and half French, much on the fame p. 328.
fubjeft. Ibid. f. 137. b. s MSS. Harl. ibid. f. 113. b.
' See Spclraan and Dufrefnc in Voc, * Ibid. f. 59.
lately
ENGLISH POETRY. 59
lately publlflied by my ingenious friend and fellow-labourer
do6lor Percy, in how much more ingenuous a ftrain they
have tranfmitted to pofterity the praifes of knightly he-
roifm, the marvels of romantic fi6lion, and the complaints
of love.
At the clofe of the reign of Edward the firfl, and in the
year 1303, a poet occurs named Robert Mannyng, but more
commonly called Robert de Brunne. He was a Gilbertine
monk in the monaflery of Brunne, or Bourne, near Depyng
in Lincolnfhire : but he had been before profeffed in the
priory of Sixhille, a houfe of the fame order, and in the
fame county. He was merely a tranflator. He tranflated
into Englilh metre, or rather paraphrafed, a French book,
written by Grofthead billiop of Lincoln, entitled, Manuel
Peche, or Manuel de Peche, tliat is, the Manual of
Sins. This tranflation was never printed '. It is a long
work, and treats of the decalogue, and the feven deadly fms,
which are illullrated with many legendary ftories. This is
the title of the tranflator. " Here bygynneth the boke that
" men clepyn in Frenfhe Manuel Peche, the which boke
" made yn Frenlhe Robert Grooftefte byfliop of Lyncoln."
From the Prologue, among other circumftances, it appears
that Robert de Brunne deligned this performance to be fung
to the harp at public entertainments, aiid that it was written
or begun in the year 1303 '.
For lewed " men I undyrtoke.
In Englyflie tonge to make this boke ;
For many beyn of fuche manere
That talys and rymys wyle blethly " here,
' MSS. Bibl. Bodl. N. 415. membr, ' Fo!. i.S.
Tol. Cont. 80. pag. Pr. " Fadyr and fone " Laymen, illiterate.
" ajidholygofte." AndMSS. Harl. 1701. ^ Gladly.
I 2 In
6o THE HISTORY OF
In gamys and feftys at the ale *
Love men to leftene trotonale '' :
To all cryftyn men undir funne,
And to gode men of Brunnej
And fpecialli al bi name \^j
The felaufhipe of Symprynghame '■y
Roberd of Bi'unne greteth yow,
In alle godeneffe that may to prow '.
Of Brymwake yn Keflevene " :
Syxe myle befyde Sympryngham evenc,
Y dwelled in the priorye
Fyftene yere in cumpanye,
In the tyme of gode Dane Jone
Of Camelton that now is gone;
In hys tyme was I ther ten yeres
And knewe and herde of hys maneres ;
Sythyn with Dan Jon of Clyntone
Fyve wyntyr wyth hym gan I wone,
Dan Felyp was mayftyr in that tyme
That I began thys Englyslh ryme.
The yeres of grace fyd ' than to be
A thoufand and thre hundred and thre.
In that tyme turned y thys
In Englyfh tonge out of Frankys.
" So in the Fi/on of P. Plowman, fol. man'sTak, p. 185. Urr. edit. v. 2110.
xxvi. b. edit. 1550. y^„j j,,g chief chantours at the nale.
I am occupied every day, holy day and y rJ,^^^^ and all.
,„. ^'^\"' , , ,, „ ^ The name of his order. ^ Profit.
With idle tales at the Ale, 8iC. b ApartofLincolnfhire. Chron. Br.p.3n.
Again, fol. 1. b. At Lincoln theparlement was in Lyndefay
— Foughten at the Ale and Keftevene.
In glotony, godwote, &c. Lyndefay is Lincolnftiire, ibid. p. 248. See
Chancer mentions an Alejlaie, Prol. v. 669. a ftory of three monks of Lyndefay, ibid.
Perhaps, a May-pole. And in the Plow- p. 80. ' Fell.
From
ENGLISH POETRY. 61
From the work itfelf I am chiefly induced to give the fol-
lowing fpecimen; as it contains an anecdote relating to
bifliop Groflhead his author, who will again be mentioned,
and on that account.
Y fhall you tell as I have herd
Of the byfshop feynt Roberd,
Hys toname " is Groftefte
Of Lyncolne, fo feyth the gefte.
He lovede moche to here the harpe.
For mans witte yt makyth iharpe.
Next hys chamber, befyde hys ftudy,
Hys harper's chamber was fall the by.
Many tymes, by nightes and dayes,
He hadd folace of notes and layes.
One alkede hem the refun why
He hadde delyte in mynftrelfy ?
He anfwerde hym on thys manere
Why he helde the harpe fo dere.
" The virtu of the harp, thurgh fkyle and ryght,
" Wyll deftrye the fendys ' myght 5
" And to the cros by gode fkeyl
" Ys the harpe lykened weyl.
" Thirefore, gode men, ye fhall lere,
" When ye any gleman ' here,
" To worfhepe god at your power,
" And Davyd in the fauter ^
" Yn harpe and tabour and fymphan gle "
" Worfhip God in trumpes ant fautre :
■* Surname. See Rob. Br. Chron., p. '' Chaucer R. Sir Thop. v. 3321. Ur:
168. " Thei cald hi this toname, &c." edit. p. 135.
Fr. " Eftfumomez, &c."
"^ Fiend's. The De'vil's. Here wonnith the queene of Fairie,
' Harper. Minllrel. ^ Pfalter. With harpe, and pipe, and Smfhonie.
((
Yn
62
THE HISTORY OF
" Yn cordes, yn organes, and bells ringyng,
" Yn all thefe worfhip the hevene kyng, &c '."
But Robert de Brunne's largefl work is a metrical chro-
nicle of England ". The former part, from ^neas to the
death of Cadwallader, is tranflated from an old French poet
called Maister Wage or Gasse, who manifeftly copied Geof-
fry of Monmouth ', in a poem commonly entitled Roman
DE Rois d'Angleterre. It is efteeraed one of the oldeft
of the French romances ; and begun to be written by
Euftace, fometimes called Euftache, Wiftace, or Huiftace,
who finifhed his part under the title of Brut d'Angleterre,
in the year 1155. Hence Robert de Brunne, fomewhat in-
accurately, calls it fimply the Brut "". This romance was
■ Fol. 30. b. There is an old Latin
fong in Burton's Melancholy, which I find
in this MS. poem. Burton's Mel. Part iii,
§ 2. Memb. iii. pag. 423.
^ The fecond part was printed by Heame
at Oxford, which he calls Peter Lang-
toft's Chronicle, 1725. Of the Firft
part Heame has given us the Prologue,
Pref. p. 96. An Extradl, ibid. p. i88.
And a few other pafTages in his Gloflary
to Robert of Glouceilcr. But the Firlt
Part was never printed entire. Heame
fays this Chronicle was not finifhed till the
year 1338. Rob. Gloucell. Pref. p. 59.
It appears that our author was educated
and graduated at Cambridge, from Chron.
P- 337-
' In the Britifh Mufeum there is a frag-
ment of a poem in very old French verfe,
a romantic hillory of England, drawn from
GeofFry of Monmouth, perhaps before the
year 1200. MSS. Harl. 1605. i. f. i. Cod.
itiembran. 410. In the m.inufcript library
of doiElor N. Johnfon of Pontefraft, now
perhaps difj)cried, there was a manufcript
on vellum, containing a hlftory in old Eng-
lifh verfc from Brute to the eighteenth year
cf Edward the fecond. And in that of
Bafillori Denbigh, a metrical hillory in
Engiith from the fome period, to Henry
the third. Wanly fiippofcd it to have been
of the haad-writiiig of the time of Edward
the fourth.
"' The Brut of England, a profe
Chronicle of England, fometimes continued
as low as Henry the fixth, is a common ma-
nufcript. It was at firft tranflated from a
French Chronicle [MSS. Harl. 200. 4to.]
written in the beginning of the reign of
Edward the third. I think it is printed by
Caxton under the title of Fruilus Temporum.
The French have a famous ancient profe
romance called Brut, which includes the
hiftory of the Sangreal. I know not
whether it is exaftly the fame. In an old
metrical romance. The ftory of Rollo,
there is this pafTage. MS. Vernon, Bibl.
Bodl. f. 123.
Lordus gif ye wil leften to me.
Of Croteye the nobile citee
As wrytten i fynde in his ftory
Of Bruit the chronicle, &c.
In the Britifh Mufeum we have Le petit
Bruii, compiled by Meiltre Raufc de Bonn,
and ending with the death of Edward the
firft. MSS. Harl. 902. f. i. Cod. chart,
fol. It is an abridgement of the grand
Brut. In the fame library I find Liber
de Bruto tt de gejiis Anglorum nutrificatus.
That is, turned into rude Latin hexameters.
It is continued to the death of Richard
the fecond. Many profe annotations are
intermixed. MSS. ibid. 1S08. 24. f. 31.
Cod. membran. 4to. In another copy of
this
ENGLISH POETRY, 63
foon afterwards continued to William Rufus, by Robert
Wace or Vace, Gaffe or Gace, a native of Jerfey, educated
at Caen, canon of Bayeux, and chaplain to Henry the fecond,
under the title of Le Roman le Rou et les vies des Dues
DE NoRMANDiE, yct fometimes preferving its original one,
in the year 11 60". Thus both parts were blended, and
became one work. Among the royal manufcripts in the
Britilh Mufeum it is thus entitled : " Le Brut, ke maijlre
" Wace tranjlata de Latin en Frajiceis de tutt les Reis de Brit~
" taigneT That is, from the Latin profe hiftory of Geoffry
of Monmouth. And that mafter Wace aimed only at the
merit of a tranflator, appears from his exordial verfes.
Maiftre Gaffe 1* a tranflate
Que en conte le verite.
Otherwife we might have fufpedled that the authors drew
their materials from the old fabulous Armoric manufcript,
which is faid to have been Geoffry 's original.
this piece, one Peck ward is faid to be the Ernly on Severn. He fays, that he had
verfifier. MSS. ib. 2386. 23. f. 35. In his original from the book of a French
another manufcript the grand Brut is faid clergyman, named Wate; which book
to be tranflated from the French by " John Wate the author, had prefented to Ekanor,
" Maundeule parfon ofBrunham Thorpe." queen of Henry the fecond. So Lazamon
MSS. ibid. 2279. 3. in the preface. "Bot he nom the thridde,
" See Lenglet, BibUoth. des Romans, ii. " leide ther amidden : tha makede a
p. 226. 227. And Lacombe, Diftion. de " frenchis clerc : Wate [ Ware] wes ihotcn,
vieux Lang. Fr. pref. p. xviii. Parif. 1767. " &c." Now becaufe Geoffry of Mon-
8vo. And compare Montfauc. Catal. Ma- mouth in one of his prefaces, cap. i. b. i.
nufcr. ii. p. 1669. See alfo M. G&lland, fays, that he received his original from the
Mem. Lit. iii. p. 426. 8vo. hands of Walter Mapes, archdeacon o'i Ox-
" 3 A. xxi. 3. It occurs again, 4 C. ford; both Wanly and Nicholfon fuppofe
xi. " Hiftoire d'Angleterre en vers, par that the Wate mentioned by Lazamon is
" Maiftre Wace." I cannot help correc- Walter Mapes. Whereas Lazamon un-
ting a niiftake into which both Wanley and doubtedly means Wace, perhaps written or
bifhop Nicholfon have fallen, with re- called Wate, author of Le Roman le
gard to this Wace. In the Cotton library, Rou above-mentioned. Nor is the Saxon
a Saxo-norman manufcript occurs twice, t [r] perfeftly diftinguifliable from c. See
whichfeems tobea tranflation of Geoffry's Wanley's Catal. Hickes's Thefaur. ii. p.
Hiftory, or very like it. Calig. A. ix. 228. And Nicholfon Hift. Libr. i. 3. And
And Otho. C. 13. 410. In vellum. The compare Leland's Coll. vol. i. P. ii. p. 509.
tranflator is one Lazamon, a prieft, born at edit. 1770.
Although
64 THE HISTORY OF
Although this romance, in its antient and early manu-
fcripts, has conllantly pafled under the name of its finifher,
Wace ; yet the accurate Fauchett cites it by the name of its
firft author Euflace *■. And at the fame time it is extraor-
dinary, that Robert de Brunne, in his Prologue, fliould not
once mention the name of Euftace, as having any concern
in it : fo foon was the name of the beginner fuperfeded by
that of the continuator. An ingenious French antiquary
veiy juftly fuppofes, that Wace took many of his defcrip-
tions from that invaluable and fingular monument the Tapejiry
of the Norman conquejl, preferved in the treafury of the ca-
thedral of Bayeiix ""j and lately engraved and explained in the
learned do6lor Du Carell's Anglo-Norman Antiquities.
Lord Lyttleton has quoted this romance, and fliewn that im-
portant fafts and curious illuftrations of hiftory may be
drawn from fuch obfolete but authentic refources '.
The meafure ufed by Robert de Brunne, in his tranflation
of the former part of our French chronicle or romance,
is exaftly like that of his original. Thus the Prologue.
Lordynges that be now here.
If ye wille liftene and lere,
All the ftory of Inglande,
Als Robert Mannyng wryten it fand,
And on Inglyfch has it fchewed.
Not for the lered but for the lewed j
For tho that on this lond wonn
That the Latin ne Frankys conn,
For to half folacc and gamen
In felaufchip when tha fitt famen
And it is wifdoni forto wytten
The ftate of the land, and hef it wryten,
P Rec. p. 82. edit. 1581.
1 Monf. Lancelot, Men:. Lit. viii. 602. 4to. And fee Hift. Acad, Infciipt. xiii. 41. 410.
' Hift. Henr. IL vol. iii. p. 180.
What
ENGLISH POETRY. 65
What manere of folk firft it wan,
And of what kynde it firft began.
And gude it is for many thynges,
For to here the dedis of kynges,
Whilk were foles, and whilk were wyfe,
And whilk of tham couth moft quantyfe ;
And whylk did wrong, and whilk ryght,
And whilk mayntened pes and fyght.
Of thare dedes fall be mi fawe.
In what tyme, and of what law,
I Iholl yow from gre to gre,
Sen the tyme of Sir Noe :
From Noe unto Eneas,
And what betwixt tham was.
And fro Eneas till Brutus tyme.
That kynde he tells in this ryme.
For Brutus to Cadweladres,
The laft Briton that this lande lees.
AUe that kynd and alle the frute
That come of Brutus that is the Brute ;
And the ryght Brute is told no more
Than the Brytons tyme wore.
After the Bretons the Inglis camen,
The lordfchip of this land thai namen ;
South, and north, weft, and eaft,
That call men now the Inglis geft.
When thai firft among the Bretons,
That now ere Inglis than were Saxons,
Saxons Inglis hight all oliche.
Thai aryved up at Sandwyche,
In the kynges fynce Vortogerne
That the lande wolde tham not werne, &c.
One mayfter Wage the Frankes telles
The Brute all that the Latin fpelles,
K Fro
66
THE HISTORY OF
Fro Eneas to Cadwaladre, &c.
And ryght as mayfter Wace fays,
I telle myne Inglis the fame ways, &c '.
The fecond part of Robert de Brunne's Chronicle, be-
ginning from Cadwallader, and ending with Edward the firft,
is tranflated, in great meafure, from the fecond part of
a French metrical chronicle, written in five books, by Peter
Langtoft, an Auguftine canon of the monaftery of Brid-
lington in Yorklhire, who wrote not many years before his
tranflator. This is mentioned in the Prologue precediiig
tlie fecond part.
Frankis fpech is cald romance ',
So fais clerkes and men of France.
Pers of Langtoft, a chanon
Schaven in the houfe of Bridlyngton
On Frankis ftyle this florie he wrote
Of Inglis kinges, &c ".
As Langtoft had written his French poem in Alexan-
drines ", the tranflator, Robert de Brunne, has followed him^
the Prologue excepted, in ufing the double dil\ich for one
line, after the manner of Robert of Gloucefter. As in the
firfl part he copied the metre of his author Wace. But I
will exhibit a fpecimen from both parts. In the firfl, he gives.
'^ Heame's edit. Pref. p. 98.
' The Latin tongue ceafed to be fpoken
in France about the ninth century ; and was
fuccecdcd by what was called the Ro m a n c e
tongue, a mixture of Frankifti .md bad
Latin. Hence the firfl poems in that lan-
guage are called Romans or Rom ants.
ElTay on Pope, p. z8i. In the following
pa/Tagcs of this Chronicle, where Robert
de Brunne mentions Romance, he fome-
times means Langtoft's French book, from
which he tranflated. vi/. Chion. p. 205.
This that I have fald it is Pers fawc
Als he in Romance laid thereafter gan I
drawe.
See Chauc. Rom. R. v. 2170. A\{o Ba-
lades, p. 554. V. 508. Urr. And Crefcem-
bin. Iflor. della Volg. Pocf. vol. i. L. v.
p. 316. feq.
" Hearnc's edit. Pref. p. 106.
^. Some are printed by Hollinfh. Hifl.
iii. 4.69. Others by Hcarne, Chron.Langt.
Pref. p. 58. And in the margin of tlie
pages of the Chronicle.
US
ENGLISH POETRY. 67
us this dialogue between Merlin's mother and king Vortigern,
from Mafter Wace.
Dame, faid the kyng, welcom be thow :
Nedeli at the I mette witte how "
Who than gate '' thi fone Merlyn
And on what maner was he thin ?
s
His moder ftode a throwe " and thought
Are fcho ' to the kyng anfuerd ouht :
When fcho had flanden a litelle wight ",
Scho faid, by Jhefu in Mari light.
That I ne faugh hym never ne knewe
That this knave ' on me fewe ^
Ne I wift, ne I herd.
What maner fchap with me fo ferd %
But this thing am I wole ograunt ^
That I was of elde avenaunt ^ :
One com to my bed I will.
With force he me halfed ^ and kill :
Als ' a man I him felte,
Als a man he me welte'' ;
Als a man he fpake to me.
Bot what he was, myght I not fe '.
The following, extrafled from the fame part, is the fpeech
of the Romans to the Britons, after the former had built a
wall againft the Pi6ls, and were leaving Britain.
We haf clofed ther moll nede was ;
And. yf ye defend wele that pas
* " I muft by all means know of you." 8 " I was then young and beautiful."
y Begott. ^ Awhile. * E'er fhe. >■ Embraced. ' As. ^ IFieUe.-/, moved.
* If'iite, while. ■= Child. *• Begott. ' Apud Hearne's Gl. Rob. Glouc. p.
- Lay. ' Affured. 721.
K 2 with
68
THE HISTORY OF
With archers " and with magnels ",
And kepe wele the kyrnels ;
Ther may ye bothe fchote and caft
Waxes bold and fend you faft.
Thinkes your faders wan franchife,
Be ye no more in other fervife :
Bot frely lyf to your lyves end :
We fro you for ever werjde ".
Vortigern king of the Britons, is thus defcribed meeting
the beautiful princefs Rouwen, daughter of Hengift, the Ro-
■" Not Boivmeit, but apertures in the
wall for (hooting arrows. Viz. In the repairs
of Taunton caftle, 1266. Conip J. Gerneys,
Epifc. Wint. " Tantonia. Expen/e do-
" morum. In mercede Cementarii pro
" muroerigendojuxtaturrim ex parte orien-
" tali cum Kcmellis et Archeriis faciendis,
" xvi. s. vi. d." In Archiv. Wolvef. apud
Wint. Kernells mentioned here, and in the
next verfe, were much the fame thing : or
perhaps Battlements. In repairs of the
great hall at Wolvefey-palace I find, " In
" kyrnillis emptis ad idem, xii. d." Ibid.
Tliere is a patent granted to the monks of
Abingdon, in Bcrkfliire, in the reign of
Edward the third, " Pro kernellatione
*' monafterii." Pat. an. 4. par. i.
" Cotgravc has abfurdly interpreted this
word, an cU-faJhioned Jling. V. Man CO-
KE AU. It is a catapult, or battering-ram.
Viz. Rot. Pip. An. 4. Hen. iii. [A. D.
1219.] " Nor DH ANT. Et in expenfis regis
" in obfidione caftri de Rockingh.-im, 100/.
" per Br. Reg. E t cuilodibus Lngeniorum [en-
" gines] regis ad ea carianda ufqucBifham,
" ad callrum illud obfidendum, 13.'. 10./.
" per id. Br. Reg. Et pro duobus coriis,
" emptis apud Northampton ad ftindas pc-
" trariarum et mangoncllorum regis faci-
" ciendas, 5*. 6 Many times.
' Young.
•■ Handibmc, gracefiJly fhaped, &c.
' Countenance.
Hir
ENGLISH POETRY. 71
Hir" hatire fulle wele it femed,
Mervelik " the king fche ° quemid.
Oute of meffure was he glad,
For of that maidin he wer alle mad.
Drunkenes the feend wroght,
Of that ' paen was al his thoght.
A mefchaunche that time him led.
He alked that paen for to wed.
Hengift ^ wild not draw a lite,
Eot graunted him alle fo tite.
And Hors his brother conientid fone.
Her frendis faid, it were to done.
Thei afked the king to gife hir Kent,
In douary to take of rent.
pon that maidin his hert fo call.
That thei alkid the king made fall.
1 wene the king toke her that day,
And wedded hire ' on paiens lay.
Of prell was ther no ° benifon
No mes fongen, no orifon.
In feiline he had her that night.
Of Kent he gave Hengift the right.
The erelle that time, that Kent alle held.
Sir Goragon, that had the fcheld.
Of that gift no thing ' ne wift
To " he was caft oute " with Hengift \
In the fecond part, copied from Peter Langtoft, the at-
tack of Richard the firft, on a caftle held by the Saracens,
is thus defcribed.
■" Attire. " Marvelloufly. ° Pleafed. ' Benediftion, blefling. ' Knew not.
f Pagan, heathen. " Till. " By.
1 Would not fly ofF a bit. " Hearne's GI. Rob. Glo. p. 695-
' In pagans law. According to the hea-
thenilh cullom.
Thi:
72
THE HISTORY OF
The dikes were fulle wide that clofed the caftle about.
And depe on ilka fide, with bank is hie without.
Was ther non entre that to the caflelle gan ligge ",
Bot a ftreiht kauce * ; at the end a drauht brigge.
With gretc duble cheynes drauhen over the gate,
And fifti armed fuyenes ^ porters at that yate.
With ilenges and magueies ' thei kaft '' to kyng Rychard
Our criften by parcelles kafted ageynward^
Ten fergeauns of the beft his targe gan him here
That egre were and prefl to covere hym and to were ■*.
Himfelf as a geaunt the cheynes in tuo hew,
The targe was hiswarant% that non tille him threw.
Right unto the gate with the targe thei yede
Fightand on a gate, undir him the flouh his flede,
Therfor ne wild he fefle', alone into the caftele
Thorgh tham all vidld preffe on fote faught he fulle wele.
And whan he was withinne, and fauht as a wilde leon,
He fondred the Sarazins otuynne ^, and fauht as a dragon.
Without the criften gan crie, alias ! Richard is taken,
Tho Normans were forie, of contenance gan blaken,
To flo downe and to ftroye never wild thei ftint
Thei left for dede no noye '', ne for no wound no dynt,
That in went alle their pres, maugre the Sarazins alle.
And fond Richard on des fightand, and wonne the halle".
From thefe paffages it appears, that Robert of Brunne has
fcarcely more poetry than Robert of Glocefter. He has
however taken care to acquaint his readers, that he avoided
'^ Lying. > Caufey.
■' Siijaim, young men, foldiers.
" Mangonels, vid. fupr. '' Call.
^ In Langtoft's French,
Dis feriauntz dcs plus feres e de melz
\anez,
Dcvaunt le cors le Rcjs fa targe cunt
portez."
^ WarA,
defend.
' Guard,
defence
:,
^ " He could not
ceafe." .
s " He
formed
the Saracens
into
two
parties."
'' Annoy
' Chron.
p. 182.
.83.
hi
si^
ENGLISH POETRY. 73
high defcription, and that fort of phrafeology which was
then ufed by the minftrels and harpers : that he rather
aimed to give information than pleafure, and that he was
more ftudious of tmth than ornament. As he intended his
chronicle to be fung, at leaft by parts, at public feftivals,
he found it expedient to apologife for thefe deficiencies in
the prologue ; as he had partly done before in his prologue
to the Manual of Sins.
I mad noght for no difours "^
Ne for feggers no harpours,
Bot for the luf of fymple men,
That Arrange Inglis cannot ken ' :
For many it ere "" that ftrange Inglis
In ryme wate " never what it is.
I made it not for to be prayfed,
Bot at the lewed men were ayfed '.
He next mentions feveral forts of verfe, or profody ; which
were then fafhionable among the minftrels, and hate been
long (ince unknown.
If it were made in ryme couwce.
Or injirangere or enterlace, &c.
He adds, that the old ftories of chivalry had been fo difguifed
by foreign terms, by additions and alterations, that they
^ Tale-tellers, Narratores, Lat. Con- He is fpeaking of the coronation feftival
teours, Fr. Seggers in the next line per- of a Roman Emperor,
haps means the fame thing, i. e. Sayers ^^^^ ^^ ^^ .^^^ ^^ ^j^ ^^^^^
The writers either of metrical or of profe ^^^ ^j^^^_.^jj ^^^ ,^y^
romances. See Antholog. Fran. p. .7 1765. ^^^ y ^^^^^^^ had faide
8vo. Or D,/ou,s m^y figmfy Oycourje, Which moft was pleafaunt to his ere.
1. e. adventures in profe. We have the '
" Devil'sdifours," in P. Plowman, fol.xxxi. Du Cange fays, thzi Di/eun were judge"^
b. edit. 1550. Z)//otfr precifely figniiies a of the turney. Diff. Joinv. p. 179.
Tale-teller at a/eajl in Gower,Conf. Amant. 'Know. "'// fr^. There are. "Knew.
Lib. vii. fol. 155. a. edit. Berthel. 1554. " Eafed.
L were
Ti
THE HISTORY OF
were now become unintelligible to a common audience : and
particularly, that the tale of Sir Tristram, the nobleft of
all, was much changed from the original compolition of its
firft author Thomas.
I fee in fong in fedgeying tale ■'
Of Erceldoune, and Kendale,
Non tham fays as thai tham wroght ""j
And ' in ther faying it femes noght.
That may thou here in Sir Triftram ' ;
Over geftes ' it has the fteem ",
Over all that is or was.
If men yt fayd as made Thomas,
p " Among the romances that are fung,
" &c."
1 " None recite them as they were firll
" written."
' " As nej tell them."
' " This you may fee, &c."
' Hearne fays that Gefls were oppofed to
Romance. Chron. Langt. Pref. p. 37. But
this is a miftake. Thus we have the Gr/!e
of kyng Home, a very old metrical Ro-
mance. MSS. Harl. 2253. p. 70. Alfo
in the Prologue of Ry chard Cuer de Lyon.
King Richard is the beft
That is found in zny jejie.
And the pafTage in the text is a proof againft
his afTertion. Chaucer, in the following
paflage, by Jestours, does not mean
Jejiers in modem fignification, but writers
of adventures. Hou/e of Fame, v. 108.
And Jestours that tellen tales
Both of wepyng and of game.
In the Tioufe of Fame he alfo places thofe
who wrote " olde Gejles." v. 425. It is
however obvious to obferve from whence
the prefent term Jejl arofe. See Fauchet,
Rec. p. 73. In P. Plowman, we have JoB^s
Jejiei. fol. xlv. b.
Job the gcntyl in his jeftes, greatly wyt-
nefleth.
That is, " Job in the account of his Life."
In the fame page we have,
Andjapers and judgelers, and jangelers of
jejhs.
That is, Minftrels, Reciters of tales. Other
illuftrations of this word will occur in the
courfe of the work. Chanfons tie geftes were
common in France in the thirteenth century
among the troubadours. See Mem. concer-
nant les principaux monumens de 1' hijloire
de France, Mem. Lit. xv. p. 582. By the
very learned and ingenious M. de la Cume
de Sainte Palaye. I add the t\vo firft lines of a
manufcript entitled, Art de Kalender far
Rauf, who lived i 256. Bihl. Bodl. J. b. 2.
Th. [Langb. MSS. 5. 439.]
De gefte ne voil pas chanter,
Ne •veilles eftoires el canter.
There is even Gefta PaJJlonis et Refurric-
tionis Chrifti, in many manufcript libraries.
" Efteem.
Thai
ENGLISH POETRY.
75
Thai fayd in fo quaynte Inglis
That manyone " wate not what it is.
And forfooth I couth nought
So ftrange IngUs as thai wroght.
On this account, he fays, he was perfuaded by his friends to
write his chronicle in a more popular and eafy ftyle, that
would be better underftood.
And men befought me many a time.
To turn it bot in light ryme.
Thai faid if I in ftrange it turne
To here it manyon would fkurne ",
For it are names fulle felcouthe ''
That ere not ufed now in mouth. —
In the hous of Sixille I was a throwe "
Danz Robert of Meltone, ^ that ye knowe,
Did it wryte for felawes fake.
When thai wild folace make \
Erceldoune and Kendale are mentioned, in fome of thefe
lines of Brunne, as old romances or popular tales. Of the
latter I can difcover no traces in our antient literature, As
to the former, Thomas Erceldoun, or Aflielington, is faid to
have written Prophecies, like thofe of Merlin. Leland, from
the Scala Chronicon % fays, that " William Banaftre '', and
" Many a one.
" Scorn, f Strange. ^ A little while.
" " Sir Robert of Malton." It appears
from hence that he was born at Malton in
Lincolnlhire.
^ Pref. Rob. Glour. p. 57. 58.
'^ An antient French hiftory or Chroni-
cle of Engl.ond nev'er printed, which Le-
land fays was tranflated out of French
rhyme into French profe. Coll. vol. i. P. ii.
pag. 59. edit. 1770. It was probably
written or reduced by Thom.is Gray into
profe. Londinenf. Antiquitat. Cant. lib. i.
p. 58. Others affirm it to have been the
work of John Gray, an eminent church-
man, about the year 1212. It begins, in
the ufual form, with the creation of the
world, pafTes on to Brutus, and clofes with
Edward the third.
'' One Gilbert Baneftre was a poet and
mufician. The Prophefies of Bani/ler of
England are not uncommon among manil-
fcripts. In the Scotch Prophefies, printed
at Edinburgh, 1680, Banaffer is mention-
ed as the author of fome of them. " As
" Berlington's books and Hanefter tell us."
p. 2. Again, " Beid hath brieved in his
" book and Banrfter alfo." p. l8. He
L 2 feenis
76
THE HISTORY OF
" Thomas Erceldoune, fpoke words yn figure as were the
" prophecies of Merlin '." In the library of Lincoln cathe-
dral, there is a metrical romance entitled, Thomas of Er-
SELDOWN, which begins with the ufual addrefs,
Lordynges both great and fmall.
In the Bodleian library, among the theological works of
John Lawern, monk of Worcefter, and ftudent in theology
at Oxford, about the year 1448, written with his own
hand, a fragment of an Englifh poem occurs, which begins
thus :
Joly chepert [fheperd] of Afkeldowne '.
In the Britifh Mufeum a manufcript Englifh poem occurs,
with this French title prefixed, " La Counteffe de Dunbar,
" demanda a Thomas Efl'edoune quant la guere d' Efcoce
" prendret fyn *." This was probably our prophefier Tho-
mas of Erceldown. One of his prediftions is mentioned in
an antient Scots poem entitled, A New Year's Gift, writ-
ten in the year 1562, by Alexander Scott \ One Thomas
Leirmouth, or Rymer, was alfo a prophetic bard, and lived
at Erflingtoun, fometimes perhaps pronounced Erfeldoun.
feems to be confounded with William Ba-
nifter, a writer of the reign of Edward the
third. Berlington is probably John Brid-
lington, an auguftine canon of Bridlington,
who wrote three books of Carmina Fatici-
nalia, in which he pretends to foretell ma-
ny accidents that (hould happen to Eng-
land. MSB. Digb. Bibl. Bodl. 89. And
l86. There are alfo Ver/us yaticinalet
under his name, MSS. Bodl. NE. E. ii.
17. f. 21. He died, aged fixty, in 1379.
He was canonifod. There are many other
Prophetiit, which feem to have been
fafhionable at this time, bound up with
Bridlington in MSS. Digb. 186.
' Ub fupr. p. 510.
' MSS. Bodl. 692. fol.
f MSS. Harl. 2253. f. 127. It begins
thus.
When man as mad a kingge of a capped
man
When mon is lever otiier monnes thynge
then ys owcn.
•• Ancient Scots poems, Edinb. 1770.
i2mo. p. 194. See the ingenious editor's
notes, p. 312.
This
ENGLISH POETRY.
17
This is therefore probably the fame perfon. One who per-
fonates him, fays.
In Erslingtoun I dwell at hame,
Thomas Rymer men call me.
He has left vaticinal rhymes, in which he predi6led the
union of Scotland with England, about the year 1279 '. For-
dun mentions feveral of his prophecies concerning the future
ftate of Scotland ".
Our author, Robert de Brunne, alfo tranflated into Englifh
rhymes the treatife of cardinal Bonaventura, his cotemporary ',
Tie coena et pajjione domini et foenh S. Marice Ftrginis, with the
following title. " Medytaciuns of the Soper of our Lorde
" Jhefu, and alfo of hys PalTyun, and eke of the Peynes of
" hys fwete Modyr mayden Marye, the whyche made yn
" Latyn Bonaventure Cardynall "." But I forbear to give
further extra6ls from this writer, who appears to have pof-
feffed much more induftry than genius, and cannot at pre-
fent be read with much pleafure. Yet it fhould be remem-
bered, that even fuch a writer as Robert de Brunne, uncouth
and unpleafmg as he naturally feems, and chiefly employed in
turning the theology of his age into rhyme, contributed to
form a ftyle, to teach expreffion, and to polifh his native
tongue. In the infancy of language and compofition, no-
thing is wanted but writers : at that period even the mofl
artlefs have their ufe.
' See 5fo/<-i Prophejies, ut fupr. p. jg.
II. 13. 18. 36. viz. "I he Prophejy of Tho-
mas kxmer. Pr. " Stille on my wayes as I
" went."
'' Lib. X. cap. 4.3. 44. I think he is alfo
mentioned by Spotfwood. See Dempil. xi.
810.
' He died 1272. Many of Bonaven-
ture's trafls were at this time tranflated into
Englifh. In the Harleian manufcripts we
have, " The Treatis that is kallid Pridjnge
" »f Loi'f, made bl a Frere menour Bona-
" venture, that was Cardinal! of the courte
" of Rome." 2254. i. f. 1. This
book belonged to Dame Alys Braintwat
" the worchypfull prioras of Dartforde."
This is not an uncommon manufcript.
"' MSS. Harl. 1701. f. 84. The firft
line is,
Almighti god in trinite.
It was never printed.
Robert
78-
THE HISTORY OF
- Robert Grofthead, bifhop of Lincoln", who died in 1253,
is faid in fome verfes of Robert de Brunne, quoted above,
to have been fond of the metre and mufic of the minftrels.
He was moft attached to the French minftrels, in whofe lan-
guage he has left a poem, never printed, of fome length.
This was probably tranflated into Englifh rhyme about the
reign of Edward the firft. Nor is it quite improbable, if the
tranllation was made at this period, that the tranflator was
Robert de Brunne ; efpecially as he tranflated another of
Grofthead's pieces. It is called by Leland Chateau d' Amour °.
But in one of the Bodleian manufcripts of this book we have
the following title, Romance par Mejire Robert Grojfetejle '.
In another it is called, Ce ejl la 'vie de D. Jhu de fa humanite
fet a or dine de Saint Robert Grojfetejle kefut eveque de Nichole '.
And in this copy, a very curious apology to the clergy is
prefixed to the poem, for the language in which it is writ-
ten '. " Et quamvis lingua romana [romance] coram cle-
" Ricis SAPOREM suAviTATis nou habcat, tamen pro laicis
" qui minus intelligunt opufculum illud aptum eft '." This
piece profeffes to treat of the creation, the redemption, the
day of judgment, the joys of heaven, and the torments of
hell : but the whole is a religious allegory, and under the
ideas of chivalry the fundamental articles of chriftian belief
are reprefented. It has the air of a fyftem of divinity written
" See Diss. ii. — The author and tranfla-
tor are often thus confounded in manu-
fcripts. To an old Englilh religious poem
on the holy Virgin, we find the following
title. Incijit quidam cantus quern compo-
fuit fyafer Thomns de Hales de ordine fra-
truvi rmna-um, &c. MSS. Coll. Jef. Oxon.
85. fupr. citat. But this is the title of our
friar's original, a L.itin hj-mn de B. Ma-
ria ViRoiNE, improperly adopted in the
tranflation. Thomas de Hales was a l'"ran-
cifcan friar, a doflor of the Sorbonne, and
flourithcd about the year 1340. V.'e Hiall
Ire othjr proofs of this.
" Script. Brit. p. 285.
p MSS. Bodl.NE.D. 69.
1 F. 16. Laud. fol. membran. The
word Nicole is perfcftly French, for Lincolti.
Seelikewife MSS. Bodl. E. 4. 14.
' In the hand-writing of the poem it-
felf, which is very antient.
» f. I. Soalfo in MSS. C. C. C. Oxon.
232. In MSS. Harl. 1121. 5. " De Ro-
" berd Groflctefte Ic evefque de Nichole
" un tretis en Franceis, de! commcnce-
" mcnt du inonde, &c." f. 156. Cod.
membran.
by
ENGLISH POETRY. 79
by a troubadour. The poet, in defcribing the advent of
Chrift, fuppofes that he entered into a magnificent caftle,
which is the body of the immaculate virgin. The ftru6lure
of this caftle is conceived v^^ith fome imagination, and drawn
with the pencil of romance. The poem begins with thefe
lines.
Ki penfe ben, ben peut dire :
Sanz penfer ne poet fuffife :
De nul bon oure commencer
Deu nos dont de li penfer
De ki par ki, en ki, font
Tos les biens ki font en el mond.
But I haften to the tranflation, which is more immediately
conne6led with our prefent fubjeft, and has this title.
" Her bygenet a tretys that ys yclept Castel of Love that
" bifcop Grofleyzt made ywis for lewde mennes by hove '."
Then follows the prologue or introdu(5lion.
That good thinketh good may do.
And God wol help him thar to :
Ffor nas never good work wrougt
With oute biginninge of good thougt,
Ne never was wrougt non vuel " thyng
That vuel thougt nas the biginnyng.
God ffuder, and fone and holigofte
That alle thing on eorthe fixt " and woft.
That one God art and thrillihod ",
And threo perfones in one hod '',
Withouten end and bi ginninge,
To whom we ougten over alle thinge,
' Bibl. Bodl. MS. Vernon, f. 292. " Well, good. " F. hxt. higheft.
This tranflation was never printed : and is, " Trinity. y Unity.
I believe, a rare manufcript,
Worfchepe
8o T H E H I S T O R Y O F
Worfchepe him with trewe love.
That kineworthe king art us above.
In whom, of whom, thorw whom beoth,
Alle the good fchipes that we hire i feoth,
He leve us thenche and worchen fo,
That he us fchylde from vre fo.
All we habbeth to help neode
That we ne beth all of one theode,
Ne i boren in one londe,
Ne one fpeche undirftonde,
Ne mowe we al Latin wite ^
Ne Ebreu ne Gru " that beth i write,
Ne Ffrenchj ne this other fpechen,
That me mihte in worlde fechen.
To herie god our derworthi drihte i".
As vch mon ougte with all his mihte ;
Loft fong fyngen to god zerne %
With fuch fpeche as he con lerne :
Ne monnes mouth ne be i dut
Ne his ledene " i hud.
To ferven his god that him wrougte.
And maade al the worlde of nougte.
Of Englifche I fhal nir refun fchowen
Ffor hem that can not i knowen,
Nouther French ne Latyn
On Englifch I chulle tullen him.
Wherefor the world was i wroht,
Ther after how he was bi tauht.
" Undcrftand. '« kyng Charles [ the Bald ], Johan
" Greek. In John Trcvifas's dialogue " Scott tranflated Denys bookes out of
concerning the tranflation of the Polychro- " gru into Latyn."
nicon, MiiS. Harl. 1900. b. f. 42. " Arif- '' " To blefs God our beloved lord."
" totilc's bokes, &c. were tranilated out of " Earneftly.
" grut into Latin. Alfo with praying of ^ Language,
Adam
ENGLISH POETRY. 8i
Adam vre ffader to ben his,
With al the merthe of paradys
To woncn and welden to fuch ende
Til that he fcholde to hevene wende.
And hou fone he' hit fu les
And feththen hou for bouht wes,
Thurw the heze kynges fone
That here in eorthe wolde come,
Ffor his fuftren that were to boren.
And ffor a prifon thas was for loren
And hou he made as ze fchal heren
That heo i cuft and fauht weren
And to wruche a caftel he alihte, &c.
But the following are the moft poetical paflages of this
poem.
God nolde a lihte in none manere,
But in feir ftude ' and in clere,
In feir and clene fiker hit wes,
Ther god almihti his in ches '
In a Castel well comeliche,
Muche ^ and ffeire, and loveliche,
That is the caflell of alle floure,
Of folas and of focovir,
In the mere he ftont bi twene two,
Ne hath he forlak for no fo :
For the tour *" is fo wel with outen,
So depe i diched al abouten,
That non kunnes afayling,
Ne may him derven fer no thing j
He ftont on heiz rocke and found,
And is y planed to the ground,
<■ Place. ' " Chofe his habitation." « Great.
^ La tur eft fx bien en clos. Fr. Orig.
M That
82 THE HISTORY OF
That ther may won non vuel ' thing,
Ne derve ne gynnes caftyng ;
And thaug he be fo lovliche,
He is fo dredful and hatcliche,
To all thulke that ben his ion.
That heo flen him everichon ;
Ffor fmal toures that beth abouten.
To witen the heige toure withouten»
Sethe " beoth thre bayles withalle ',
So feir i diht with ftrunge walle.
As heo beth here after I write,
Ne may no man the " feirfchipe i wite,
Ne may no tongue ne may hit telle,
Ne thougt thincke, ne mouthe fpelle :
On trufti rocke heo flondeth fafl.
And with depe diches bethe bi call.
And the camels " fo ftondeth upright,
Wei I planed, and feir i dight :
Seven barbicanes ther beth i wrouht
With gret ginne al bi thouht %
And evrichon hath gat and toure,
Ther never fayleth ne focoure.
Never fchal fo him ftonde with
That thider wold flen to fechen grith'.
This caftel is liker fair abouten,
And is al depeynted withouten,
With threo heowes that wel beth fene ' j
So is the foundement al grene.
* Vik. o Pur bon engin fait. Fr. Ori^.
* Tres bailes en tour. Fr. Orig. * Counfel.
' Moreover there are three, &c.
«" Beauty. s La challel eft a bel bon
' Kernels. — Kcmeaus bien poli. Fr, De hers de peint a en vinm
Orig. De trejs culurs diverfement. Fr. Orig.
That
ENGLISH POETRY. 83
That to the rock faft lith.
Wei is that ther murthe i fith,
Ffor the grenefchip lafteth evere.
And his heuh ne leofeth nevere,
Sethen abouten that other heug
So is ynde fo ys blu '.
That the midel heug we clepeth ariht
And fchyneth fo faire and fo briht.
The thridde heug an ovemaft
Over wrigeth al and fo ys i caft
That withinnen and withouten,
The caftel lihteth al abouten.
And is raddore than eny rofe fchal
That fhunneth as hit barnd ' were '.
Withinne the caftel is whit fchinynge
So " the fnows that is fnewynge.
And cafteth that liht fo wyde.
After long the tour and be fyde.
That never cometh ther wo ne woug,
As fwetneffe ther is ever i noug.
Amydde " the heige toure is fpringynge
A well that ever is eorninge '■
With four ftremes that ftriketh wel,
And erneth upon the gravel,
And fuUeth the duches about the wal,
Much bliffe ther is over al,
Ne dar he feeke non other leche
That mai riht of this water eleche.
' Si eft ynde fi eft blu. Fr. Orig^ * In mi la tur plus hauteine
' Burned, on fire. Eft furdant une funtayne
, -n, n. •! 1 n. r Dunt iffent quater ruiflell.
* Plus eft vermail ke neft rofe i^-u • . i „i »- r. r\^:^
u . . J . u r r /-> • Ki bnunet par le eravel, &c. Fr.Ong^
E piert un ardant chole. Fr. Ortg. r 6 » o
> As. '^ Running.
M 2 In
84 THE HISTORY OF
In ' thulke derworthi faire toure
Ther ftont a trone with much honour,
Of whit yvori and feirore of liht
Than the fomeres day when heis briht,
With cumpas i throwen and with gin al i do
Seven fteppes ther beoth therto, &c.
The ffoure fmale toures abouten,
That with the heige tour withouten,
Ffour had thewes that about hire i feoth,
Ffoure vertus cardinals beoth, &c.
And ^ which beoth threo bayles get,
That with the carnels ben fo wel i fet,
And i caft with cumpas and walled abouten
That wileth the heihe tour with outen :
Bote the inmoft bayle i wote
Bitokeneth hire holi maydenhode, &c.
The middle bayle that wite ge,
Bitokeneth hire holi chaftite
And fethen the overmaft bayle
Bitokeneth hire holi fpofaile, &c.
The feven kernels abouten.
That with greot gin beon y wrougt withouten.
And witeth this caftel fo well,
With arwe and with quarrel %
That beoth the feven vertues with wunne
To overcum the feven deadly fume, &c. "
En cele bel tur a bone " Les barbicanes feet
A de yvoire un trone Kis hors de bailies funt fait,
Ke plufa eifli blanchor Ki bien gardent le chaftel,
Ci en mi elle la beau jur E de feete e de quarrel. Fr. Orig.
Par engin eft compafl'ez, &c. Fr. Orig.
'• Afterwards the fountain is explained
Les trcis bailies du chaftel to be God's grace : Charity is conftable of
Ki funt overt au kernel the caftlc, &c. &c.
Qui a compas funt en virun
E dcfcndcnt Ic dungun. Fr. Orig.
It
ENGLISH POETRY. 85
It was undoubtedly a great impediment to the cultivation
and progreflive improvement of the Englifli language at
thefe early periods, that the heft authors chofe to write in
French. Many of Robert Grofthead's pieces are indeed in
Latin ; yet where the fubjed; was popular, and not imme-
diately addrefled to learned readers, he adopted the Romance
or French language, in preference to his native Englifh.
Of this, as we have already feen, his Manuel Peche, and his
Chateau d' Amour, are fufficient proofs, both in profe and
verfe : and his example and authority mull have had confi-
derable influence in encouraging this pra6lice. Peter Lang-
toft, our Augufline canon of Bridlington, not only compiled
the large chronicle of England, above recited, in French ;
but even tranflated Herbert Bofcam's Latin Life of Thomas
of Beckett into French rhymes '. John Hovedcn, a native
of London, do6lor of divinity, and chaplain to queen Elea-
nor mother of Edward the firft, v/rote in French rhymes a
book entitled, Rofarium de Nativitate, PaJJione, Afcetifione , J^^^l'^
Chrijli ^ Various other proofs have before occurred. Lord
Lyttelton quotes from the Lambeth library a manufcript
poem in French or Norman verfe on the fubje6t of king Der-
mod's expullion from Ireland, and the recovery of his king-
dom ^ I could mention many others. Anonymous French
' Pitf. p. 890. Append. Who with great De Kenelworth an Ardenne,
probability fuppofes him to have been an Ki porte le plus haute pe}ne
Englifhman. De charite, ke nui eglyfe
" MSS. Bibl. C. C. C. Cant. G. i6. Del reaume a devyfe
where it is alfo called the Nightingr.le. Pr. Ke jeo liz en romaunz le vie
" Alme fefie lit de perefle." Our author, De kelui ki ont nun Tobie, &:c.
John Hoveden, was alfo (killed in facred
mufic, and a great writer of Latin hymns. ^ Hift. Hen. ii. vol. iv. p. 270. Notes.
He died, and v/as buried, at Hoveden, It was tranflated into profe bv Sir George
1275. Pitf. p. 356. Bale, v. 79. Carew in Q^ Elifabeth's time : this tranflr.-
There is an old French metrical life of tion w.is printed by Hanis in his HinsR-
Tobiah, which the author, moft probably kia. ]t was probably written about i i go.
an EnglilTiman, fays he undertook at there- See Ware, p. 56. And compare Walpnle's
queft of William, Prior of Kenilworth in Anecd. Paint, i. 28. Notes. The Lambeth
Warwickfhire. MSS. Jef. Coll. Oxon. 85. manufcript feems to be but a fr.agment. viz.
fupr. citat. MSS. Bibl. Lamb. Hib. A. See fupr. p. 70.
Le prior Gwillcyme me prie
De r eglyfe feynte Marie
pieces,
86 THE HISTORY OF
pieces both in profe and verfe, and written about this time,
are innumerable in our manufcript repofitories ^ Yet this
falhion proceeded rather from neceflity and a principle of
convenience, than from affeftation. The vernacular Englifh,
as I have before remarked, was rough and unpolifhed : and al-
though thefe writers pofl'efled but few ideas of tafte and ele-
gance, they embraced a foreign tongue, almoft equally familiar,
and in which they could convey their fentiments with greater
eafe, grace, and propriety. It fliould alfo be confidered, that
our moft eminent fcholars received a part of their education
at the univerfity of Paris. Another, and a very material circum-
ftance, concurred to countenance this fafliionable praftice of
compofing in French. It procured them readers of rank and
diftin£lion. The Englifh court, for more than two hundred
years after the conqueft, was totally French : and our kings,
either from birth, kindred, or marriage, and from a perpe-
tual intercourfe, feem to have been more clofely connefted
with France than with England. It was however fortunate
that thefe French pieces were written, as fome of them met
' I have before hinted that it was fome- For lo^'e of thine childe me tnenez de
times cuftomary to intermix Latin with trefoun,
French. As thus. MSS. Harl. 2253. f. Ich wes wod and wilde, ore fu en prifoun,
137. b. &c.
Dieu roy de Magefte, In the fame manufcript I find a French poem
Ob ferfonas trinai, probably written by an Englifhman, and
Noftre roy e fa mcyne in the year 1300, containing the adven-
Ne perire finas. See. tares of Gilote and Johanne, two ladies of
, . .,., r , ,1,, , pallantry, in various parts of England and
Aeain, ibid. f. 76. Where a lover, an ? , , -^ .• 1 1 .. wr- u /i j
1-6 ' jj' /r L- -/i f L Ireland; particularly at Winchefter and
Englifhman, addreffes his miftrefs who was o > r \n.^r /:/- u 'ru • j
r%, ■ ronterract. f . 66. b. 1 he curious reader
is alfo referred to a French poem, in which
Dum ludisjloribus 'velut laeima, the poet fuppofes that a minllrel, jugleour,
Le dieu d' amour moi tient en tiel An- travelling from London, cloathed m a rich
gujiia, &c. tabard, met the kinsj and his retinue. The
Sometimes their poetry was half French {^"f ""^^ ^'"^ many queftions ; particularly
and half Englifti. As in a fong to the holy ^'^ '°'"'! \"=^l""' ^"'^ '?'; ?"'" ^^ ft W
, • „• „ c .■ > n- Tu-j CO The minftrtl evades all the king s queftions
virgin on our baviours palTion. Ibid, f 83. , - . /■ j . 1 n „„
" ' ^ by impertinent annvers ; and at lalf pre-
Mayden moder mllde, oyez eel oreyfoun, fumes to give his m^efty advice. Ibid. f.
From fliomc thou me Ihildc, e de ly mal 107. b.
feloun :
with
ENGLISH POETRY. 87
with their tranllators : who perhaps unable to afpire to the
praife of original writers, at leaft by this means contributed
to adorn their native tongue : and who very probably would
not have written at all, had not original writers, I mean their
cotemporaries who wrote in French, furnifhed them with
models and materials.
Hearne, to whofe diligence even the poetical antiquarian is
much obliged, but whofe conjedlures are generally wrong,
imagines, that the old Englifh metrical romance, called Ry-
CHARDE cuER DE LYON, was written by Robert de Brunne. It
is at leaft: probable, that the leifure of monaftic life pro-
duced many rhymers. From proofs here given we may fairly
conclude, that the monks often wrote for the minftrels : and
although our Gilbertine brother of Brunne chofe to relate
true flories in plain language, yet it is I'eafonable to fuppofe,
that many of our antient tales in verfe containing fi6litious
adventures, were written, although not invented, in the reli-
gious houfes. The romantic hiftory of Guy earl of Warwick ^
is expreflly faid, on good authority, to have been written by
Walter of Exeter, a Francifcan Friar of Carocus in Cornwall,
about the year 1292 ^. The libraries of the monafteries were
full of romances. Bevis of Southampton, in French, was in the
8 Carew's Surv. Cornw. p. 59. edit. Out of the Latyn made by the Chronycler
ut fupr. I fuppofe Carew means the metri- Calledofold Girard Cornubyence:
cal Romance of Guy. But Bale fays that Which wrote the dedis, with grate dili-
Walter wrote Vitam Guidonis, which feems gence,
toimpIyaprofehiftory.x.yS.GiraldusCam- Of them that were in Weftfex crowned
brenfis alfo wrote Guy's hiftory. Hearne has kynges, &c.
fTmt, bis. p. 180. Propheti.s Mcrlini 'verJi-_
" Liber de Captione Antiochi;e, Gallice. Jire.-p. 182. Gej'fa Caroli fccundhn Tuv
" legiliilis." ibid. • pimtm. p. 187. GeJia jEnt\r pofi dejiruc-
^ The fame Romance is in MSS. Harl. tlonem Troj^. p. 198. F.ellu-n contra Run-
Brit. Muf. 2386. §. 42. Sec Du Cang. einjallum,^. 202. There are alfo the two
GlofT. Lat. i. Ind. Auftor. p. 193. There following articles, viz. " Certamcn inter
is an old manufcript French Morality " regem Johannem et Barones, verfifice.
on this fubjcdl. Comment Jmille tuejcs deux " Per H. de Davenech." p. 188. This I
enfam fiour guerir Amis Jon compagnon. Sec. have never feen, nor know any thing of the
Beauchamps, Rech. Thcatr. Fr. p. 109. author. " Verfus dc luJo fcaccorum."
There is a French metrical romance Hi)'- p. 195.
tcire d'Amys et Amilion, Brit. Muf. MSS. " Ex archivis Coll. Wint.
Reg. 1 2. C. xii. g. " Dugd. Men. iii. Ecclef. Collegiat. p. 80.
Robin
E N G L I S H P O E T R Y. 89
Robin Hood, and Randal of Cbejlcr, than with his Pater-nofter ''.
The monks, who very naturally fought all opportunities of
amufement in their retired and confined fituations, were
fond of admitting the minftrels to their feiHvals ; and were
hence familiarifed to romantic ftories. Seventy jQiillings were
expended on minftrels, who accompanied their fongs with the
harp, at the feaft of the inflallation of Ralph abbot of Saint
Augviftin's at Canterbury, in the year 1309. At this mag-
nificent folemnity, fix thoufand guefts were prefent in and
about the hall of the abbey '^. It was not deemed an occur-
rence unworthy to be recorded, that when Adam de Orleton,
bifhop of Winchefter, vifited his cathedral priory of Saint
Swithin in that city, a minllrel named Herbert was intro-
duced, who fung the Song of Colbrond a Danifh giant, and
the tale of ^een Emma delivered from the plough-Jlmres, in the
hall of the prior Alexander de Herriard, in the year 1338. I
will give this very curious article, as it appears in an an-
tient regifter of the priory. " Et cantahat Jociilator quidam
" nomine Herebertus canticum Colbrondi, necnon Geflum Emme
" regine a judicio ignis liberate, in aula prioris'." In an an-
nual accompt-roU of the Auguftine priory of Bicefter in
Oxfordfliire, for the year 143 1, the following entries relating
to this fubje6t occur, which I chufe to exhibit in the words
of the original. " Dona Prioris. Et in datis cuidam citbari-
*' zatori in die fanSti Jero7iimi, viii. d. — Et in datis alteri ci-
? Fol. xxvi. b. edit. 1550. againftthe walls of the north tranfept of the
■i Dec. Script, p. 201 1. cathedral till within my memory. Queen .
"■ Regiftr. Priorat. S. Swithini Winton. Emma was a patronefs of this church, in
MSS. pergamen. in Archiv. de Wolvefey which (he underwent the tryal of walking
Wint. Thefe were local ftories. Guy blindfold over nine red hot ploughihares.
fought and conquered Colbrond a Danifh Colbrond is mentioned in the old romance
champion, juft without the northern walls of the Sguyr of Lonue Degree. Signat. a. iii.
of the city of Winchefter, in a meadow to
this day called Danemarch : and Colbrond's Or els fo doughty of my honde
battle-ax was kept in the trea(ury of S. As was the gyaunte fyr Colbronde.
Swithin's priorj' till the difTolution. Th.
Rudb. apud Wharton, Angl. Sacr. i. z\\. See what is faid above of Guy earl ofWar-
This hiftory remained in rude painting wick, who will aijain be mentioned.
N tharizatori
90
THE HISTORY OF
" tharizatori inffejio Apofiolorum Smonis et Jude cognomine Hetidy,
" xii d. — Et in datis cuida?7i minJlraUo domini le I'albot infra
". natale domini., xii. d. — £/ in datis minijlrallis domini le
" Sfraimge in die Epiphanie, xx. d. — Et in datis duobiis mi-
<* 7iiJlraUis domini Lo'uell in crajlino S. Marci cuangeJiJie, xvi. d.
" — Et in datis minljirallis diicis Glocejlrie in ffejlo nativitatis
" beate Marie., iii s. iv d." I muft add, as it likewife paints
the manners of the monks, " Et in datis cuidam Urfario,
" iiii d. '" In the prior's accounts of the Auguftine canons
of Maxtoke in Warwickfhire, of various years in the reign
of Heniy the fixth, one of the ftyles, or general heads, is
De Joculatoribus et Mimis. I will, without apology,
produce fome of the particular articles ; not diftinguifhing
between Mimi, 'Jociilatores, Jocatores, Lufores, and Citbarijia :
who all feem alternately, and at different times, to have
exercifed the fame arts of popular entertainment. " Jocu-
" latori in feptimana S. Michaelis, iv d. — Citharijie tempore na--
" talis do)7iini et alii s jocatoribiis, ivd. — Mimis de Solihull, vi d.
" — Mimis de Co'ventry, xx d. — Mt?no domini Ferrers, vi d. —
" Luforibiis de Eton, viii d. — Liifoj-ibus de Coventry, viii d. —
" Lnforibiis de Daventty, xii d. — Mimis de Coventry, xii d. —
" Mimis domini de Ajlelcy, xii d. — Item iiii. tnimis domitii de
" Wareivyck, x d. — Mi mo ceco, ii d. — Sex mimis domini de
" Clynton. — Dtiobus Mimis de Riigeby, x d. — Cuidam citharijie,
" vi d. — Mimis domini de Ajlelcy, xx d. — Cuidam citharijie.^
" vi d. — Citharijie de Coventry, vi. d. — Duobus citharijlis de
" Coventry, viii d. — Mimis de Rugeby, viii d. — Mimis domini
" de Buckeridge, xxd. — Mimis domini de Stafford, ii s. — Lu-
" foribus de Cohjhille, viii d. '" Here we may obfei-ve, that
' Ex. Orig. in Rotul. pcrgamen. Tit. " Henrici prxdifti nono." In Thefauriar.
" Compotus dni Ricardi Parcntyn Prioris, Coll. SS. Trin. Oxon. Bidiop Kcnnethas
" et fratris Ric. Albon canonici, burfarii printed a Computus of the fame monaftcry
" ibidem, de omnibus bonis per eofdem under the fame reign, in which three or four
" rcceptis et libcratis a craftino Michaelis entries of the fame fort occur. J'aroth. An-
" anno Hcnrici Sexti poil ronqucllum oc- tiq. p. 578.
** tavo ufquc in idem craftinum anno R. ' Ex orig. penes me.
the
ENGLISH POETRY.
91
the mlnftrels of the nobility, in whofe families they w-ere
conftantly retained, travelled about the county to the neigh-
bouring monafteries ; and that they generally received better
gratuities for thefe occafional performances than the others.
Solihull, Rugby, Colefhill, Eton, or Nun-Eton, and Co-
ventry, are all towns fituated at no great diftance from the
priory ". Nor muft I omit that two minftrels from Coven-
try made part of the feflivity at the confecration of John,
prior of this convent, in the year 1432, viz. " Daf. duobus
mimis de Cove?itry in die confecrationis prioris, xii d. *" Nor is
u
" In the antient annual rolls of accompt
of Winchefter college, there are many ar-
ticles of this fort. The few following, ex-
trafted from a great number, may ferve as
afpecimen. They are chiefly in the reign
of Edward iv. viz. In the year 1 48 1 .
" Etin fol. miniftrallis dom. Regis venien-
" tibus ad collegium xv. die Aprilis, cum
" \2d. folut. miniftrallis dom. Epifcopi
" Wynton venientibus ad collegium primo
" diejunii, iiii^. iiii^. — Etindat. minif-
" trallis dom. Arundell ven. ad Coll. cum
" viii d. dat. miniftrallis dom. de Lawarr,
" ns. imd." In theyear \^%i. "Sol.
" miniftrallis dom. Regis ven. ad Coll.
" ms. iiii./." In the year 1472. " Et
" in dat. miniftrallis dom. Regis cum viiit/.
" dat. duobus Berewardis ducis Clarentie,
" XX d. — Et in dat. Johanni Stuhc (\aon-
" dam dom. de Warewyco, cum iiii
of this fort. In the entertainment prc-
fented to queen Elifabeth at Killingworth
caftle, in the year 1575, The Coventry-
men exhibited " their old ftoriall iheaw. '
Lanehajn's Narrative, &c. p. 32. Min-
N 2 llreh
92
T II E . H I S T O R Y O F
it improbable, that fome of our greater monafteries kept
minftrels of their own in regular pay. So early as the year
iiSoj in the reign of Henry the fecond, "Jeffrey the harper
received a corrody, or annuity, from the Benedictine abbey
of Hide near Winchefter " ; undoubtedly on condition that
he fliould ferve the monks in the profeflion of a harper on
public occafions. The abbies of Conway and Stratflur in
Wales refpe^ively maintained a bard '' : and the Welfli mo-
naileries in general were the grand repofitories of the poetry
of the Britifli bards ^
In the ftatutes of New-college at Oxford, given about the
year 1380, the founder bifliop William of Wykeham orders
his fcholars, for their recreation on feftival days in the hall
after dinner and fupper, to entertain themfelves with fongs,
and other diverfions confiftent with decency : and to recite
poems, chronicles of kingdoms, the wonders of the world,
together with the like compofitions, not miibecoming the
clerical chara61:er. I will tranfcribe his words. " Quando
" ob dei reverentiam aut fue matris, vel alterius fan6li cujuf-
" cunque, tempore yemali, ignis in aula fociis miniflratur ;
" tunc fcolaribus et fociis poll tempus prandii aut cene, li-
" ceat gracia recreationis, in aula, in Cantilenis et aliis fo-
" laciis honeftis, moram facere condecentem ; et Poemata,
" regnorum Chronicas, et mundi hujus Mirabilia, ac cetera
ftrels were hired from Coventry to perform
at Holy Crofle feaft at Abingdon, Berks,
1422. Hearne's Lib. Nig Scacc. ii. p.
598. See an account of their play on
Corpus ChriRi day, in Stevens's Monafti-
con, i. p. 138. And Hearne's Fordun,
p. 1450. fub. an. 1492.
» Madox, Hill. Exchequer, p. 251.
Where he is ftylcJ, " GaUVidus cilharcc-
" dus."
y Powel's Cambria. I'o the Reader.
pag. I. edit. 1581.
'■ Evans's Di/1". de Bardis. Specimens of
Wcllh poetry, p. 92. Wood relates a
ftory of two itinerant priefts coming, to-
wards night, to a cell of Benediftines near
Oxford, where, on a fuppofition of their
being mimes or minftrels, they gained
admittance. But the cellarer, facrill, and
others of the brethren, hoping to have
been entertained with their gejticulatoriis
ludicrijque urtihus, and finding them to be
notliing more than tw o indigent ecclcfiaftics
who could only adminifter (piritual confola-
lion, and being confequcntlv difappointed
of their mirth, beat them and turned them
cut of the monallery. Hill. Antiq. Univ.
O.xon. i. 67. Under the year 1224.
que
ENGLISH POETRY.
91
" que ftatum clericalem condecorant, feriofius pertraftare *."
The latter part of this injunftion feems to be an explication
of the former : and on the whole it appears, that the Canti-
lence which the fcholars fliould fmg on thefe occafions, v/ere
a fort of Poenmta, or poetical Chronicles, containing general
hiftories of kingdoms ^ It is natural to ccMtlude, that they
preferred pieces of Englilh hiftory : and among Hearne's
manufcripts I have difcovered fome fragments on vellum \
containing metrical chronicles of our kings ; which, from
the nature of the compofition feem ' -to have been ufed for
this purpofe, and anfwer our idea of thefe general Chronicce
regnorum. Hearne fuppofed them to have been written
about the time of Richard the firft " : but I rather aflign
them to the reign of Edward the firft, who died in the year
a 307. But the reader fhall jvidgc. The following fragment
begins abruptly with fome rich prefents which king Athel-
ftan received from Charles the third, king of France : a nail
which pierced our Saviour's feet on the crofs, a fpear with
which Charlemagne fought againft the Saracens and which
fome fuppofed to be the fpear which pierced our Saviour's
fide, a part of the holy crofs enclofed in cryftal, three of the
thorns from the crown on our Saviour's head, and a crown
formed entirely of precious ftones, which were endued with
a myftical power of reconciling enemies.
Ther in was clofyd a nayle grete
That went thorw oure lordis fete.
' Rubric, xviii. The fame thing is en-
joined in the ftatutes ofWinchefter college,
Ruhr. XV. I do not remember any fuch
paflage in the ftatutes of preceding colleges
in either univcrfity. But this injunction is
afterwards adopted in the ftatutes of Mag-
dalene college ; and from thence, if I recol-
left right, was copied into thofc of Corpus
Chrifti, Oxford.
'' Hearne thus underftood the paflage.
" The wife founder of New college per-
" mittred them [metrical chronicles] to be
" fung by the fellows and fcholars upon ex-
" traordinary days." Fleming. Cartul. ii.
Append. Numb. ix. § vi. p. 662.
■^ Given to him by Mr. Murray. See
Heming. Chartul. ii. p. 654. And Rob.
NuncMSS. Bibl.Bodl.
Cod. 4to. [E. Pr. 87.]
Glouc. ii. p. 731
Oxon. Rawlins.
"^ Ubi fupr.
Gyt
94 THE HISTORY OF
Gyt ' he prefentyd hym the fpere
That Charles was wont to here
Agens the Sarafyns in batayle;
Many fwore and fayde faunfayle \
That with that fpere fmerte ^
Our lorde was flungen to the herte.
And a party ^ of the hoU crofFe
In ciyftal done in a cloos.
And three of the thornes kene
That was in Criftes hede fene,
And a lyche crowne of golde
Non rycher kyng wer y fcholde,
Y made within and withowt
With pretius ftonys alle a bowte,
Of eche manir vei^tu thry '
The ftonys hadde the mayftry
To make frendes that evere were fone,
Such a crowne was never none,
To none erthelyche mon y wrogth
Syth God made the world of nogth.
Kyng Athelftune was glad and blythe,
And thankud the kynge of Ffraunce fwythe.
Of gyfts nobul and ryche
In cryftiante was no hym leche.
In his tyme, I underftonde,
Was Guy of Warwyk yn Inglonde,
And ffor Englond dede batayle
With a mygti gyande, without fayle ;
His name was hote Colbrond
Gwy hym flough with his bond.
"■ Yet. Morcov-er. For Saint Edmund had n/merte rerde, &c.
' Without doubt. Fr. • .,tt l j ^ j • l- u j c , >>
f^ Sharp, ftrong. So in the Li-ve. of the »" ^- ^^ ^^^ ^ ^°"g '°^ '" ^' ^^''^' ^^■
.W«n, MSS. fupr. citat. In the Life of S. '"Part. Piece.
Kdmond. ' Three.
Seven
ENGLISH POETRY.
Seven yere kyng Athelfton
Held this his kyngdome »
In Inglond that ys fo muiy,
He dyedde and lythe at Malmeflbury ''.
After hym regned his brother Edmond
And was kyng of Ingelond,
And he ne regned here,
But unneth nine yere,
Sith hyt be falle at a fefte
At Caunterbury ' a cas unwreft "",
As the kyng at the mete fat
He behelde and under that
Of a theef that was defgyfe
Amonge hys knyghtes god and wife j
The kyng was hefty and fterte uppe
And hent the thefe by the toppe "
And caft hym doune on a fton :
The theefe brayde out a knyfe a non
And the kyng to the hert threfte.
Or any of his knightes wefte " :
The baronys fterte up anone,
And flough the theefe fwythe fone,
But arft ■' he wovinded many one,
Thrugh the fflefh and thrugh the bone :
9;
^ To which monaflery he gave the frag-
ment of the holy crofs given him by the
king of France. Rob. Glouc. p. 276,
King Athelfton lovede much Malmefbury
y wis,
He gef of the holy crofs fom, that there
3ut ys.
It is extraordinary that Peter Langtoft
ftould not know where Athelftan was bu-
ried: and as ftiange that his tranflator
Rob. de Brunne Ihould fupply this defeft
by mentioning a report that his body was
lately found at Hexham in Northumber-
land. Chron. p. 32.
' Rob. of Gloucefter fays that this hap-
pened at Pucklechurch near Briftol. p. 277.
But Rob. de Brunne at Canterbury, whi-
ther the king went to hold the feaft of S.
Auftin. p. 33.
"' A wicked mifchance.
" Head. " Perceived.
P Arejl. Firft.
To
96 THE HISTORY OF
To Glaftenbury they bare the kynge,
And ther raade his buryinge ^
After that Edmund was ded,
Reyned his brother Edred ;
Edred reyned here
But unnethe thre yere, &c.
After hym reyned feynt Edgare,
A wyfe kynge and a warre :
Thilke nyghte that he was bore,
Seynt Dunftan was glad ther fore ;
Ffor herde that fwete ftevene
Of the angels of hevene :
In the fonge thei fonge bi ryme,
" Y bleffed be that ylke tyme
" That Edgare y bore y was,
" Ffor in hys tyme fchal be pas,
" Ever more in hys kyngdome '."
The while he liveth and feynt Dunfton,
Ther was fo meche grete foyfon \
Of all good in every tonne j
All wyle that laft his lyve,
Ne lored he never fyght ne ftryve.
* * *
The knyghtes of Wales, all and fome
Han to fwery and othes holde,
And trewe to be as y told,
To bring trynge hym trewage ' yeare,
CCC. wolves eche zerej
1 At Gloucefter, fays Rob. de Brunne, the pofleffions of Glanllonbury abbey, p-
p. 33. But Rob. of Glouceftcr fays his bo- 278.
<)y was brought from Pucklechurch, and ' This fong is in Rob. Gl. Chron.
interred at Glaftonbury : and that hence p. 281.
the town of Pucklcdiurch became part of ' Provifion. ' Ready.
And
ENGLISH POETRY. 97
And fo they dyde trewliche
Three yere pleyneverlyche,
The ferthe yere myght they fynde non
So clene thay wer all a gon,
* * *
And the kyng hyt hem forgat
For he nolde hem greve,
Edgare was an holi man
That oure lorde, &c.
Although we have taken our leave of Robert de Brunne,
yet as the fubjeft is remarkable, and affords a ftriking por-
traiture of antient manners, I am tempted to tranfcribe that
chronicler's defcription of the prefents received by king
Athelftane from the king of France ; efpecially as it contains
fome new circumftances, and fupplies the defe6ls of our
fragment. It is from his verfion of Peter Langtoft's chro-
nicle abovementioned.
At the fefle of oure lady the AfTumpcion,
Went the king fro London to Abindon.
Thider out of France, fro Charles kyng of fame.
Com the of Boloyn, Adulphus was his name.
And the duke of Burgoyn Edmonde fonne Reynere.
The brouht kynge Athelfton prefent withouten pere :
Fro Charles kyng fanz faile thei brouht a gonfaynoun "
That faynt Morice in batayle before the legioun ;
And fcharp lance that thrilled Jhefu fide ;
And a fuerd of golde, in the hike did men hide
Tuo of tho nayles that war thorh Jhefu fete ;
Tached" on the croys, the blode thei out lete;
And fom of the thornes that don were on his heved,
And a fair pece that of the croys leved ",
That faynt Heleyn fonne at the batayle won
» Banner. * Tacked. Faftened. » Remained.
O Of
i;8 THE HISTORY OF
Of the foudan of Afkalone his name was Madan.
Than blewe the trumpets full loud and full fchille.
The kyng com in to the halle that hardy was of wille ;
Than fpak Reyner Edmunde fonne, for he was meffengere,
" Athelflan, my lord the gretes, Charles that has no pere ;
" He fends the this prefent, and fais, he wille hym bynde
" To the thorh '' Ilde thi fillere, and tille alle thi kynde."
Befor the mefTengers was the maiden brouht,
Of body fo gentill was non in erthe wrouhtj
No non fo faire of face, of fpech fo lufty,
Scho granted befor tham all to Charles hir body :
And fo did the kyng, and alle the baronage,
Mikelle was the richefle thei purveied in hir paflage '.
Another of thefe fragments, evidently of the fame com-
pofition, feems to have been an introdu6lion to the whole.
It begins with the martyrdom of faint Alban, and pafles on
to the introdu6lion of Waflail, and to the names and divifion
of England.
And now he ys alle fo hole y fonde,
As whan he was y leyde on grounde.
And gyf ge wille not ' trow mc,
Goth to Weflmynftere, and ye mow fe.
In that tyme Seynt Albon,
For Goddys love ■; tholed martirdome.
And xl. yere with fchame and ' fchonde
Was ■' drowen oute of Englond.
In that tyme *■ weteth welle,
Cam ferft Wallayle and drynkehayl
>■ " Thee through." magne is to this day (hewn among the re-
* Chron. p. 29. 30. Afterwards fol- lies of St. Dennis's in France. Carpen-
lows the combat of Guy witli " a hogge tier, Suppl. Glofl". Lat. Du-cang. torn. ii.
" [huge] geant, hight Colibrant." As p. 994. edit. 1766.
in our fragment, p. 31. Sec Will. Malmf. " Believe. " Suffered. ' Confufion..
Geft. Angl. ii. 6. The lance of Charle- ■' Driven, drawn. ' Know ye.
In
ENGLISH POETRY. 99
In to this lond, with owte ' wene,
Thurghe a mayde ^ brygh and "" fchene.
Sche was ' cleput mayde Ynge.
For hur many dothe rede and fynge
Lordyngys " gent and free.
This lond hath y hadde namys thre.
Fereft hit was cleput Albyon,
And fyth ' for Brut Bretayne a non,
And now Ynglond cleput hit ys,
Aftir mayde Ynge y wyfle.
Thilke Ynge fro Saxone was come.
And with here many a moder fonne.
For gret hungure y underftonde
Ynge went oute of hure londe.
And thorow leue of oure kyng
In this land fche hadde reftyng.
As meche lande of the kyng fche " bade.
As with a hole hyde " me mygth fprede.
The kyng " graunt he bonne,
A ftrong caftel fche made fone.
And whan the caftel was al made.
The kyng to the mete fche '' bade.
The kyng graunted here a none.
He wyft not what thay wold done.
* * *
And fayde to ^ ham in this manere,
" The kyng to morow fchal ete here.
" He and alle hys men,
" Ever ' one of us and one of them,
*■ Doubt, s Bright. ^ Fair. ' Called. ° Granted her requeft. f Bid.
* Gentle. ' From, becaufe of. ") Then. ■• Every.
'" Requefted, defired. " Men might.
O 2 "To
loo THE HISTORY OF
" To geder fchal fitte at the mete.
" And when thay have al moft y ete,
" I wole fay wafTayle to the kyng,
" And fie hym with oute any ' leyng.
" And loke that ye in this manere
" Eche of gow fie his ' fere."
And fo fche dede thenne,
Slowe the kyng and alle hys men.
And thus, thorowgh here ° queyntyfe.
This londe was wonne in this wyfe.
Syth "^ a non fone an " fwythe
Was Englond ^ deled on fyve,
To fyve kynggys trewelyche,
That were nobyl and fwythe ryche.
That one hadde alle the londe of Kente,
That ys free and fwythe gente.
And in hys lond byslhopus tweye.
Worthy men ^ where theye.
The archebysfliop of Caunturbery,
And of Rocheftore that ys mery.
The kyng of EfTex of ' renon
He hadde to his portion
Weftfchire, Barkfchire,
SoufTex, Southamptfliire.
And ther to Dorfetfliyre,
All Cornewalle and Devenfliire.
All thys were of hys " anpyre.
The king hadde on his bond
Five bysfliopes flarke and ftrong,
Of Salusfbury was that on.
As to the Mirahilia Mimdi, mentioned in the llatutes of
New College at Oxford, in conjunftion with thefe Pocmata
' Lye. ' Companion. " Stratagem. " After. " Very.
y Divided. * Were. • Renown. * Empire.
and
ENGLISH POETRY. loi
and Regnorum Chronicle, the immigrations of the Arabians
into Europe and the crufades produced numberlefs accounts,
partly true and partly fabulous, of the wonders feen in the
eaftern countries ; which falling into the hands of the
monks, grew into various treatifes,' under the title of Mira-
bilia Mundi. There were alfo fome profefled travellers into
the Eafl in the dark ages, who furprifed the weftern world
with their marvellous narratives, which could they have
been contradicted would have been believed ^ At the court
of the grand Khan, perfons of all nations and religions,
if they difcovered any diftinguifhed degree of abilities, were
kindly entertained and often preferred..
In the Bodleian library we have a fuperb vellum manu-
fcript, decorated with antient defcriptive paintings and illu-
minations, entitled, Hijloire de Graunt Kaan et (^^jMerveilles
DU Monde ". The fame work is among the royal manu-
fcripts '. A Latin epiftle, faid to be tranllated from the
Greek by Cornelius Nepos, is an extremely common manu-
fcript, entitled, De fitu et Mirabilibm hidia; '. It is from
•^ The firll European traveller who went Regionibus Orientis. He mentions the im-
far Eaftward, is Benjamin a Jew of Tude- menfe and opulent city of Cambalu, un-
lain Navarre. He penetrated from Con- doubtedly Pekin. Hakluyt cites a friar,
ftantinople through Alexandria in jEgypt named Oderick, who travelled to Cambalu
and Perfia to the frontiers of Tzin, now in Cathay, and whofe defcription of that
China. His travels end in 1173. He city correfponds exactly with Pekin. Friar
mentions the immenfe wealth of Conftan- Bacon about 1 280, from thefe travels form-
tinople ; and fays that its port fwarmed ed his geography of this part of the globe,
with ftiips from all countries. He exag- as may be collefted from what he relates of
gerates in fpeaking of the prodigious num- the Tartars. See Purchas Pilgr. iii. 52.
ber of Jews in that city. He is full of And Bac. Op. Maj. 228. 235.
marvellous and romantic (lories. William ■* MSS. Bodl. F. 10. fol. prsegrand. ad
de Rubruquis, a monk, was fent into Per- calc. Cod. The hand-writing is about the
fic Tartary, and by the command of S. reign of Edward the third. I am not fure
Louis king of France, about the year 1 245. whether it is not Mandeville's book.
As was alfo Carpini, by Pope Innocent = Brit. Muf. MSS. Bibl. Reg. 19 D.
the fourth. Their books abound with im-
1- 3-
probabilities. Marco Polo a Venetian no- ' It was firft printed a Jacoho Catala-
bleman travelled eaftward into Syria and nenfi without date or place. Afterwards
Ferfia to the country conftantly called in at Venice 1499. The Epiftle is infcribed :
the dark ages Cathay, which proves to be Alexander Magnus Ariftoteli prttceptori fua
the northern part of China. This was about falutem dicit. It was never extant in Greek,
the year 1260. His book is entitled De
Alexander
102 THE HISTORY OF
Alexander the Great to his preceptor Ariftotle: and the
Greek original was moft probably drawn from fome of the
fabulous authors of Alexander's ftory.
There is a manufcript, containing La Chartre que Prefire
"Jeban mminda a Fredennk /' Rinpereur de Mervailles 0E sa,
Terre^ This was Frederick Barbaroffa, emperor of Ger-
many, or his fuccelTor; both of whom were celebrated for
their many fuccefsful enterprifes in the holy land, before the
year 1230. Prefter John, a chriftian, was emperor of India.
I find another traft, De Mirabilibus T^errc? Sancia\ ' A
book of Sir John Mandeville, a famous traveller into the
Eaft about the year 1340, is under the title of MirabWa
Miindi *. His Itinerary m.ight indeed have the fame title ''.
An Englifh title in the Cotton library is, " The Voiage and
" Travailes of Sir John Maundevile knight, which treateth
" of the way to Hierufaleme and of the Marveyles of
" Inde with other ilands and countryes." In the Cotton
libraiy there is a piece with the title, Sancf-G?"u?n Loca, Mira-
BinA MuNJDi, &c '. Afterwards the wonders of other coun-
B Ibid. MSS. Reg. 20 A. xii. 3. And Leland iuw this curiofity, in which the ap-
in Bibl. BoJl. MSS. Bodl. E. 4. 3. " Li- pie rcni.;med frefli and undecayed. Ubi
" ters Joannis Prefbiteri ad Fredericum fupr. Maundeville, on returning from his
" Imperatorem, &c." travels, gave to the high altar of S. Alban's
^ MSS. Reg. 14 C. xiii. 3. abbey church a fort of Patera brought from
' MSS. C. C. C. Cant. A. iv. 69. We iEgypt, now in the hands of an ingenious
find De Mirab:libus Mundi Liber, MSS. antiquary in London. He was a native of
Reg. ut fupr. 13. E. ix. 5. And again, the town of S. Alban's, and a phyfician.
De Mirabilibus Mundi et Firis illuftribus lie fays that he left many Mervayles
TraSaius 14. C. vi. 3. unwritten; and refers the curious reader to
* His book is fuppofed to have been in- his Mapp^C Mundi, chap, cviii. cix. A
terpolated by the monks. Leland obferves, hiliory of the Tartars became popular in
that Afia and Africa were parts of the world J'^urope about the year 1 3 1 o, written or dic-
at this time, " Anglis de fola fere nomi- tated by Alton a king of Armenia, who
" nis umbra coenitas." Script. Br. p. 366. having traverfed the moft remarkable couii-
He wrote his Itmcrary in Frcndi, llngliJh, tries of the eaft, turned monk at Cyprus,
and Latin. It extends to Cathay, or Chi- and publilhed his travels ; which, on ac-
na, before mentioned. Leland fays, that count of the rank of the author, and his
he gave to Beckett's ihrine in Canterbury amazing adventures, gained great efteem.
cathedral a gla(> globe enclofmg an apple, ' Galb. A. xxi. 3.
which he probably brought from the call.
tries
ENGLISH POETRY. 103
tries were added: and when this fort of reading began to
grow faftiionable, Gyraldus Cambrenfis compofed his book
De MiRABiLiBus Hibeniice'^. There is alfo another D^ Mi -
RABiLiBus Anglia ". At length the fuperftitious curiofity of
the times was gratified with compilations under the compre-
henfive title of Mirabilia Hiderm'a, Anglite, et Orientalis °.
But enough has been faid of thefe infatuations. Yet the
hiftory of human credulity is a neceffary fpeculation to thofe
who trace the gradations of human knowledge. Let me add,
that a fpirit of rational enquiry into the topographical ftate
of foreign countries, the parent of commerce and of a thou-
fand improvements, took its rife from thefe vifions.
I clofe this fe<5lion with an elegy on the death of king Ed-
ward the firft, who died in the year 1307.
L
Alle that beoth of huert trewe ''
A ftounde herkneth to my fonge %
Of duel that Dethe has dihte us newe.
That maketh me feke and forewe amonge :
Of a knyht that wes (o ftronge
Of whom god hath done ys wille;
Methuncheth ' that Deth has don us wronge
That he ' fo fone fliall ligge flille.
■" It is printed among the Serif tcrei Hiji. linus appears in many manufcripts under
Angl Francof. 1602. fol. 692. Written the title of .Sc//aw de Mirabilibus Mundi.
about tlie year 1 200. It was fo favourite a This was fo favourite a book, as to be
title that we have even De Mirabilibus tranflated into hexameters by fome monk
Veteris et No-vi Tejiamenti. MSS. Coll. iEn. in the twelfth century, according to VofT,
Naf. Oxon. Cod. 12. f. 190. a. Hift. Latin, iii. p. 721.
" Bibl. Bodl. MSS. C. 6. P " Be of true heart."
" As in MSS. Reg. 13 D. i. 1 1. Imuft ^ A little while,
not forget that the Polyhijior of Julius So- ' Methinks. » The king.
I04 THE HISTORY OF
11.
Al England ahte ' forte knowe :
Of whom that fong ys that yfynge,
Of Edward kynge that ys fo bolde,
Gent ° al this world is nome con fpringe :
Treweft mon of al thinge,
Ant in werre ware and wife ;
For hym we ahte our honden " wrynge,
Of criftendome he bare the pris.
III.
Byfore that oure kynge was ded
He fpeke as mon that was in care
" Clerkes, knyhts, barrons, he fed
" Ycharge ou " by oure fware >'
" That ye be to Englonde trewe,
" Y deze ^ y ne may lyven na more ;
" Helpeth mi fone, ant crowneth him newe>
" For he is ^ nefl to buen y-core.
IV.
" Iche biqueth myn hirte aryht,
" That hit be write at mi devys,
" Over the fea that Hue ' be diht,
" With fourfcore knyghtes al of pris,
" In werre that buen war aut wys,
" Agein the hethene for te fyhte,
" To Wynne the croize that lowe lys,
" Myfelf ycholde gef thet y myhte.
' Ought /« J- to.
■ Through. Sax. jent. Yent,
' Hands. » Vott. i Oa*.
» Dej^e. Deye, die.
* " Next, to be chofen."
* One of his Officers.
ENGLISH POETRY. 105
V.
Kyng of Fraunce ! thou hevedeft funne %
That thou the counfail woldeft fonde,
To latte ■" the wille of kyng Edward,
To wende to the holi londe ;
Thet oure kynge hede take on honde.
All Engelond to ' zeme and wyfle \
To wenden in to the holy londe
To wynnen us heveriche^ blifle.
VI.
The meflager to the pope com
And feyede that our kynge was dede '' ,
Ys ' owne honde the lettre he nom '',
Ywis his herte wes ful gret :
The pope himfelf the lettre redde.
And fpec a word of gret honour.
" Alas ! he feid, is Edward ded ?
" Of criftendome he ber the flour !"
c Silt. The Pope on the morn bifor the dergi cant
'' Let, hinder. And tolde tham biforn, the floure of crif-
• jeme, proteft. tendam
' Govern. Was ded and lay on bere, Edward of
S Every. Ingeland.
■> He died in Scotland, Jul. 7, 1 307. He faid with hevy chere, in fpirit he it
The chroniclers pretend, that the Pope fond,
knew of his death the next day by a vifion
or fome miraculous information. So Ro- He adds, that the Pope granted five years
bert of Brunne, who recommends this tra- of pardon to thofe who would pray for hi»
gical event to thofe who " Singe and fay in foul.
" romance and ryme." Chron. p. 340. ' In iit.
edit, ut fupr. ^ '' Took.
The Pope the tother day wift it in the court
of Rome.
P VII.
io6 THE HISTORY OF.
vu.
The pope is to chaumbre wende
For dole ne mihte he fpeke na more j
Ant aftur cardinales he fende
That muche couthen of Criftes lore.
Both the laffe ' ant eke the more
Bed hem both red ant fynge :
Gret deol me " myhte fe thore "",
Many mon is honde wrynge.
VIII.
The pope of Peyters ftod at is mafle
With ful gret folempnete,
Ther me con " the foule blifle :
" Kyng Edward, honoured thou be :
" God love thi fone come after the,
" Bringe to ende that thou haft bygonne,
" The holy crois ymade of tre
" So fain thou woldeft hit have ywonne.
IX.
" Jerufalem, thou haft ilore
" The floure of al chivalrie,
" Now kyng Edward liveth na more,
" Alas, that he yet ftiulde deye!
" He wolde ha rered up ful hcyge
" Our baners that bueth broht to giounde :
" Wei longe we may clepe ' and crie,
" Er we fuch a kyng have yfounde !"
' Le/s. "> There. " Men. • Began. ' Call.
ENGLISH POETRY. 107
Now is Edward of Carnarvan ""j
Kyng of Engelond al aplyht ' ;
God lete hem ner be worfe man
Then his fader ne lafTe of myht,
To holden is pore man to ryht
And underftende good counfail,
All Englond for to wyfle and dyht
Of gode knightes darh ' hym nout fail.
XI.
Thah mi tonge were mad of ftel
Ant min herte yzote of bras
The godnefs myht y never telle
That with kyng Edward was.
Kyng as thou art cleped conquerour
In vch battaile thou heedeft prys,
Gode bringe thi foule to the honeur
That ever was and ever ys '.
That the pope fhould here pronounce the funeral pane-
gyric of Edward the firft, is by no means furprifing, if we
confider the predominant ideas of the age. And in the true
fpirit of thefe ideas, the poet makes this illuftrious monarch's
atchievements in the holy land, his principal and leading
topic. But there is a particular circumftance alluded to in
1 Edward the fecond born in Carnarvon " author unknown." p. 4. Lond. Pr. for
caflle. T. Davies, 1738. oftavo. But this piece,
' Completely. which has great merit, could not have been
' Thar, there. written till Tome centmies afterwards. From
' MSS. Harl. 2253. f. 73. In a Mif- the claffical allufions and general colour of
cellany called the Afn/« i/irarv, compiled, the phrafeology, to fay nothing more, it
as I have been informed, by an ingenious with greater probability belongs to Henry
lady of the name of Cooper, there is an the eighth. It efcaped me till juft before
elegy on the death of Henry the firft, this work went to prefs, that Dr. Percy had
" wrote immediately after his death, the printed this elegy. Ball. ii. 9.
P 2 thefe
io8 THE HISTORY OF
thefe ftanzas, relating to the crufading chara6ter of Edward,
together with its confequences, which needs explanation.
Edward, in the decline of life, had vowed a fecond expedi-
tion to Jerufalem : but finding his end approach, in his laft
moments he devoted the prodigious fum of thirty thoufand
pounds to provide one hundred and forty knights ", who
fhould carry his heart into Paleftine. But this appointment
of the dying king was never executed. Our elegift, and the
chroniclers, impute the crime of witholding fo pious a legacy
to the advice of the king of France, whofe daughter Ifabel
was married to the fucceeding king. But it is more probable
to fuppofe, that Edward the fecond, and his profligate mi-
nion Piers Gaveflon, diflipated the money in their luxurious
and expenfive pleafures.
" The poet fays eighty.
SECT.
ENGLISH POETRY. lot
SECT. III.
WE have feen, in the preceding fe6lion, that the cha-
ra6ler of our poetical compofition began to be
changed about the reign of the firft Edward ; that either
fi6litious adventures were fubftituted by the minflrels in the
place of hiftorical and traditionary fadls, or reality difguifed
by the mifreprefentations of invention ; and that a tafte for
ornamental and even exotic expreffion gradually prevailed
over the rude fimplicity of the native Englilli phrafeology.
This change, which with our language affe6led our poetry,
had been growing for fome time; and among other caufes
was occafioned by the introdu6lion and increafe of the tales
of chivalry.
The ideas of chivalry, in an imperfect degree, had been of
old eftabliflied among the Gothic tribes. The fafliion of
challenging to fmgle combat, the pride of feeking dangerous
adventures, and the fpirit of avenging and proteifting the
fair fex, feem to have been peculiar to the northern nations
in the mod uncultivated ftate of Europe. All thefe cuftoms
were afterwards encouraged and confirmed by correfponding
circumftances in the feudal conftitution. At length the
crufades excited a new fpirit of enterprife, and introduced
into the courts and ceremonies of European princes a higher
degree of fplendor and parade, caught from the riches and
magnificence of eaftern cities '. Thefe oriental expeditions
" I cannot help tranfcrlbing here a cu- " fon temps a s'embellir de baftimens plus
rious palTage from old Faiichett. He is " magnifitjues : prendre plaifir a pierrieres,
fpeaking of Louis the young, king of " et autres delicatefTes gouftus en Levant
France about the year 1150. " Le quel " par lay, ou les feigneurs qui avoient ia
" fut le premier roy de fa maifon, qui " fait ce voyage. De forte qu'on peut
" monftra dehors fes richefles allant en Je- " dire qu'il a efte le premier tenant Cour
" rufalera. Auffi la France commen 5a de " de grand Roy: eftant fi magniiique, que
" fa
no THE HISTORY OF
eftablifhed a tafte for hyperbolical defcription, and propagated
an infinity of marvellous tales, which men returning from
diftant countries eafily impofed on credulous and ignorant
minds. The unparalleled emulation with which the nations
of chriftendom univerfally embraced this holy caufe, the
pride with which emperors, kings, barons, earls, bifhops,
and knights ftrove to excel each other on this interefting
occafion, not only in prowefs and heroifm, but in fumptuous
equipages, gorgeous banners, armorial cognifances, fplendid
pavilions, and other expenfive articles of a fimilar nature,
difFufed a love of war, and a fondnefs for military pomp.
Hence their very diverfions became warlike, and the martial
enthufiafm of the times appeared in tilts and tournaments.
Thefe praftices and opinions co-operated with the kindred
fuperftitions of dragons ", dwarfs, fairies, giants, and en-
chanters, which the traditions of the Gothic fcalders had
already planted ; and produced that extraordinary fpecies of
compofition which has been called Romance.
Before thefe expeditions into the eaft became fafhionable,
the principal and leading fubje6ls of the old fablers were
the atchievements of king Arthur with his knights of the
round table, and of Charlemagne with his twelve peers.
But in the romances written after the holy war, a new fet
of champions, of conquefts and of countries, were intro-
duced. Trebizonde took place of Rouncevalles, and Godfrey
of Bulloigne, Solyman, Nouraddin, the caliphs, the foul-
dans, and the cities of /Egypt and Syria, became the favou-
rite topics. The troubadours of Provence, an idle and un-
fettled race of men, took up arras, and followed their barons
" fa femme dedaignant la fimplicitc de fcs of French romances were compofed about
" prcdccefTeurs, luy fit elever une fepulture this period.
" d'argent, au lieu de pierre." Recueil i" See Kircher's Mimd. Subtenan. viii.
de la Lang, et Toef Fr. ch. viii. p. 76. §4. He mentions a knight of Rhodes made
edit. 1 58 1. He adds, that a great number grand mafter of the order for lulling a dra-
gon, 1345.
in
ENGLISH POETRY. in
in prodigious multitudes to the conqueft of Jerufalem. They
made a confiderable part of the houfhold of the nobiUty of
France. Louis the feventh, king of France, not only en-
tertained them at his court very liberally, but commanded
a confiderable company of them into his retinue, when he
took fliip for Paleftine, that they might folace him with their
fongs during the dangers and inconveniencies of fo long a
voyage '. The antient chronicles of France mention Legions
de poetes as embarking in this wonderful enterprife ^ Here
a new and more copious fource of fabling was opened : in
thefe expeditions they picked up numberlefs extravagant
{lories, and at their return enriched romance with an infinite
variety of oriental fcenes and fi6tions. Thus thefe later
wonders, in fome meafure, fupplanted the former : they
had the recommendation of novelty, and gained ftill more
attention, as they came from a greater diftance °.
In the mean time we ftiould recoiled:, that the Saracens
or Arabians, the fame people which were the objedl of the
crufades, had acquired an eftablifhment in Spain about the
ninth century : and that by means of this earlier intercourfe,
many of their fictions and fables, together with their lite-
rature, mull have been known in Europe before the chrif-
tian armies invaded Afia. It is for this reafon the elder
Spanifli romances have profeffedly more Arabian allufions
than any other. Cervantes makes the imagined writer of
*= Velley, Hift. Fr. fub. an. 1178. London, if T recolleifl right, bftaft the
* Maflieu, Hift. Poef. Fr. p. 105. Many names of many dukes, earls, and princes,
of the troubadours, whofe works now e.xift, enrolled in their community. This is in-
and whofe names are recorded, accompa- deed an honour to that other\vife refpeftable
nied their lords to the holy war. Some of fociety. But poets can derive no luftre
the French nobility of the firft rank were from counts, and dukes, or even princes,
troubadours about the eleventh century :• who have been enrolled in their lifts ; only
and the French critics with much triumph in proportion as they have adorned the art
obfcrve, that it is the clory of the French by the excelleiKe of their compofitions.
poetry to number counts and dukes, that is "^ The old French hiftorian Mezeray
jfcvereigns, among its profeflbrs, from its goes fo far as to derive the origin of the
commencement. What a glory ! The wor- French poetry and romances from the cru-
ftiipfull company of Merchant-taylors in fades. Hlil. p. 416, 417.
Don
112 T H E H I S T O R Y OF
Don Quixote's hiftoiy an Arabian. Yet exclufive of their
domeftic and more immediate connexion with this eaftern
people, the Spaniards from temper and conftitution were
extravagantly fond of chivalrous exercifes. Some critics
have fuppofed, that Spain having learned the art or fafliion
of romance-writing, from their naturalifed guefls the Ara-
bians, communicated it, at an early period, to the reft of
Europe '.
It has been imagined that the firft romances were compof-
ed in metre, and fung to the harp by the poets of Provence at
feftival folemnities : but an ingenious Frenchman, who has
made deep refearches into this fort of literature, attempts to
prove, that this mode of reciting romantic adventures was
in high reputation among the natives of Normandy, above
a century before the troubadours of Provence, who are ge-
nerally fuppofed to have led the way to the poets of Italy,
Spain, and France, commenced about the year 1162 ^.
If the critic means to infmuate, that the French troubadours
acquired their art of verfifying fi^om thefe Norman bards,
this reafoning will favour the fyftem of thofe, who contend
that metrical romances lineally took their rife from the
hiftorical odes of the Scandinavian fcalds : for the Normans
were a branch of the Scandinavian ftock. But Fauchett, at
the fame time that he allows the Normans to have been fond
of chanting the praifes of their heroes in verfe, expreflly "
' Huetin fome meafure adopts this opi- politelTe of the French gallantry has happily
nion. But that learned man was a very in- given them an advantage of Ihining in this
competent judge of thefe matters. Under fpecies of compofition. Hill. Rom. p. 138.
the common term Romance, he confounds But the fophiftry and ignorance of Huet's
romances of chiv.ilry, romances of gaJ- Trcatife has been alre.idy detcfted and ex-
lantry, and all the fables of the Provencial pofed by a critic of another call, in the
poets. What can \vc think of a writer, Supplement to Jarvis's Preface,
who liaving touched upon the gothic ro- prefixed to the Tranjlation of Don S^ti.xou.
jnances, at whofc fiftions and barbarifms he e Monf. L' Eveque de la Ravalerie, in
ib much fhneked, talks of the confummale his Revolutions de Lnnriie Franroifr, h la
degree of art and elegance to ivhich the fuite da PoESiES du Roi de Navarre.
French are at prefent arriued in romances ? ^ " Ce que les Normans avoyent pris des
He adds, that the fupcrior refinement and " Fran9ois." Rcc. liv. i. p. 70. edit. 1581,
pronounces
ENGLISH POETRY.
113
pronounces that they borrowed this pra6lice from the
Franks or French.
It is not my bufmefs, nor is it of much confequence, to
difcufs this obfcure point, which properly belongs to the
French antiquaries. I therefore proceed to obferve, that our
Richard the firft, who began his reign in the year 1189, a
diflinguifhed hero of the crufades, a moft magnificent
patron of chivalry, and a Provencial poet *■, invited to his
court many minftrels or troubadours from France, whom
he loaded with honours and rewards '. Thefe poets im-
ported into England a great multitude of their tales and
fongs } which before or about the reign of Edward the fe-
cond became familiar and popular among our anceftors, who
were fufficiently acquainted with the French language. The
*• See Obfervations on Spenfer, i. § i.
p. 28. 29. And Mr. Walpole's Royal and
Noble authors, i. 5. See alfo Rymer's
Short Vieiu of Tragedy, ch. vii. p. 73.
edit. 1693. Savarie de Mauleon, an Eng-
lifh gentleman who lived in the fervice of
Saint Louis king of France, and one of
the Provencial poets, faid of Richard,
Coblas a teira faire adroitement
Pou voz oillez enten dompna gentiltz.
" He could make ftanzas on the eyes of
" gentle ladies." Rymer, ibid. p. 74.
Thei-e is a curious ftory recorded by the
French chroniclers, concerning Richard's
fkill in the minftrel art, which I will here
relate. — Richard, in his return from the
crufade, was taken prifoner about the year
1193. A whole year elapfed before the
Englilh knew where their monarch was im-
prifoned. Blondell de Nefle, Richard's
favourite minftrel, refolved to find out his
lord ; and after travelling many days with-
out fuccefs, at laft came to a caftle" where
Richard was detained in cuftody. Here he
found that the caftle belonged to the duke
of Auftria, and that a king was there im-
prifoned. Sufpefting that the prifoner was
his mafter, he found means to pkce him-
felf direftly before a window of the cham-
ber where the king was kept ; and in this
fituation began to fmg a French chanfon,
which Richard and Blondell had formerly
written together. When the king heard
the fong, he knew it was Blondell who fung
it ; and when Blondell paufed after the firft
half of the fong, the king began the other
half and completed it. On this, Blondell
returned home to England, and acquainted
Richard's barons with the place of his im-
prifonment, from which he was foon after-
wards releafed. See alfo Fauchett, Rec.
p. 93. Richard lived long in Provence,
where he acquired a tafte for their poetry.
The only relic of his fonnets is a fmall
fragment in old French accurately cited by
Mr. Walpole, and written during his cap-
tivity ; in which he remonftrates to his men
and barons of England, Normandy, Poic-
tiers, and Gafcony, that they fuffered him
to remain fo long a prifoner. Catal. Roy.
and Nob. Auth. i. 5. Noftr.adamus's account
of Richard is full of falfe fafts and ana-
chronifms. Poet. Provenc. artic. Richard.
' " De regno Francorum can tores ct jo-
" culatores muneribus allexerat." Rog.
Hoved, Ric. i. p. 340. Thefe gratuities
cioaths, horfes, and
Q^
chiefly arms,
fometimes money.
moil;
114
THE HISTORY OF
moft early notice of a profefled book of chivalry in England,
as it fliould feem, appears under the reign of Henry the
third ; and is a curious and evident proof of the reputation
and efteem in which this fort of compofition was held at
that period. In the revenue-roll of the twenty-firft year of
that king, there is an entry of the expence of filver clafps
and ftuds for the king's great book of romances. This was
in the year 1237. But I will give the article in its original
drefs. " Et in firmaculis hapfis et clavis argenteis ad mag-
*' num librum Romancis regis "." That this fuperb volume
was in French, may be partly colle6ted from the title which
they gave it : and it is highly probable, that it contained the
Romance of Richard the firft, on which I lliall enlarge be-
low. At leafl: the vi6torious atchievements of that monarch
were fo famous in the reign of Henry the fecond, as to be
made the fubjedl of a picture in the royal palace of Claren-
don near Salilbury. A circumftance which likewife appears
from the fame antient record, under the year 1246. " Et
" in camera regis fubtus capellam regis apud Clarendon
*' lambrufcanda, et muro ex tranfverfo illius camera amo-
" vendo et hyftdria Antiochise in eadem depingenda cum
** DUELLO REGIS RicARDi '." To thcfc auccdotes we may
add, that in the royal library at Paris there is, " Lancelot du
" Lac mis en Francois par Robert de Borron, du conimandement
" d' He?iri roi de Angleterre avec Jigiires '" ." And the fame
manufcript occurs twice again in that library in three volumes,
and in four volumes of the largeft folio ". Which of our
•^ Rot. Pip. an. 21. Henr. iii.
' Rot. Pip. an. 36. Henr. iii. Richard
the firft performed great feats at the fiege
of Antioch in the crufade. The Duellum
was another of his exploits among the Sara-
cens. Compare Walpole's Anccd. Paint.
i. 10. "W ho mentions a certain great book
borrowed for the queen, written in French
containing Gesta AKxiocHiiE ct regum
alioriim, l^c. This was in the year 1249.
He adds, that there >\as a chamber in the
old palace of Weftminfler painted with this
hiltory, in the reign of Henry the third,
and therefore called the Antioch-Cham-
BER : and another in the Tower.
'" Cod. 67S3. fol. max. See Montfauc.
Catal. MSS. p. 785. a.
" See Montf. ibid.
Henrys
ENGLISH POETRY.
115
Henrys it was who thus commanded the romance of Lan-
celot Du Lac to be tranflated into French, is indeed uncer-
tain : but moil probably it was Henry the third juft men-
tioned, as the tranflator Robert Borron is placed foon after
the year 1200 °.
But not only the pieces of the French minflrels, written
in French, were circulated in England about this time ; but
tranflations of thefe pieces were made into Englifli, which
containing much of the French idiom, together with a fort
of poetical phrafeology before unknown, produced various
innovations in our ftyle. Thefe tranflations, it is probable,
were enlarged with additions, or improved with alterations
of the ftory. Hence it was that Robert de Brunne, as we
have already feen, complained oijlrange and quaint Englifh, of
the changes made in the ftory of Sir Tristram, and of the
liberties affumed by his cotemporary minftrels in altering
fafls and coining new phrafes. Yet thefe circumftances en-
riched our tongue, and extended the circle of our poetry.
And for what reafon thefe fables were fo much admired
and encouraged, in preference to the languid poetical chro*
nicies of Robert of Gloucefter and Robert of Brunne, it is
obvious to conjedlure. The gallantries of chivalry were ex-
hibited with new fplendour, and the times were growing
more refined. The Norman fafliions were adopted even in
Wales. In the year 1176, a fplendid caroufal, after the
manner of the Normans, was given by a Welfh prince.
This was Rhees ap GryfFyth king of South Wales, who at
Chriftmas made a great feaft in the caftle of Cardigan, then
° Among the infinite number of old ma-
nufcript French romances on this fubjeft in
the fame noble repofitory, the learned
Montfaucon recites, " Le Roman de Trif-
" tan et Ifeult traduitde Latin en Francois
" par Lucas chevalier fieur du chailel du
" Gall pres de Salifberi, Anglois, avec
" figiu-es." Cod. 6776. fol. max. And
again, " Livres de Trillan mis en Francois
" par Lucas chevalier fieur de chateau du
" Gat." Cod. 6956. feq. fol. max. In
another article, this tranflator the chevalier
Lucas, of whom I can give no account, is
called Hue or Hue. Cod. 6976. feq. Nor
do I know of any caftle, or place, of this
name near Saliibury. See alfo Cod. 7 1 74.
Q^ called
ii6
THE HISTORY OF
called Aberteivi, which he ordered to be proclaimed through-
out all Britain ; and to " which came many ftrangers, who
" were honourably received and worthily entertained, fo that
" no man departed difcontented. And among deeds of arms
" and other Ihewes, Rhees caufed all the poets of Wales'" to
" come thither : and provided chairs for them to be fet in
" his hall, where they fhould difpute together to try their
" cunning and gift in their feveral faculties, where great
" rewards and rich giftes were appointed for the overcomers '."
P In illullratlon of the argument purfued
in the text we may obferve, that about this
time the Englifh minftrels flouriflied with
new honours and rewards. At the magni-
ficent marriage of the countefs of Holland,
daughter of Edward the firft, every king
minllrel received xl. fhillings. See Anftis
Ord. Gart. ii. p. 303. And Dugd. Mon.
i. 355. In the fame reign a multitude of
minftrels attended the ceremony of knight-
ing prince Edward on the feaft of Pente-
coft. They entered the hall, while the
king was fitting at dinner furrounded with
the new knights. Nic. Trivet. Annal. p.
■542. edit. Oxon. The whole number
knighted was two hundred and fixt}'-feven.
Dugd. Bar. i. 80. b. Robert de Brunne
fays, this was the greateft royal feaft iince
king Arthur's at Carleon : concerning
which he adds, " therof ylt men rime."
p. 332. In the wardrobe-roll of the fame
prince, under the year 1306, we have this
entry. " Will. Fox et Cradoco focio
'' fuo CANTATORiBus cantantibus coram
" Principe et aliis magnatibus in comitiva
" fua exiftente apud London, Src. xx.t."
Again, " VVillo I'fox et Cradoco focio fuo
" cantantibus in prasfentia principis et al.
" Magnatumapud London dedonoejufJem
" dni per manus Johis de Ringwode, Sec. 8.
" die Jan. x\s." Afterwards, in the fame
roll, four fliillings are given, " Minif-
" irallo comitiffa; Marefchal. facienti me-
" neftralciam fuam coram principc, &c. in
" comitiva fua exiftent. apud Penrcth."
Comp. Garderob. Edw. Princip. Wall. ann.
35. Edw. i. This I chiefly cite to flicw
the grcatnefs of the gratuity. Minftrels
were part of the eftabliftiment of the houf-
hold of our nobility before the year 1307.
Thomas earl of Lancafter allows at Chrift-
mas , cloth , or 'vefiis liberata, to his houftiold-
minftrels at a great expence, in the year
1314. Stowe's Surv. Lend. p. 134. edit.
1618. See fupr. p. 91. Soon afterwards the
minftrels claimed fuch privileges that it was
thought neceflary to reform them by an
edift, in 13 15. See Hearne's Append.
Leiand. Colleftan. vi. 36. Yet, as I have
formerly remarked in Observations on
Spenfer's Faierie Queene, we find a
perfon in the charafter of a minftrel en-
tering Weftminfter-hall on horfeback while
Edward the fecond was folemnizing the
feaft of Peniecojl as above, and prcfenting
a letter to the king. See Walfmg. Hift.
Angl. Franc, p. 109.
■) Powell's Wales, 237. edit. 15S4. Who
adds, that the bards of " Northwales won
" the prize, and amonge the muficians
" Recs's owne houlhold men were counted
" beft." Rhees was one of the Welfli
princes who, the preceding year, attended
the parliament at Oxford, and were mag-
nificently entertained in the caftle of that
city by Henry the fecond. Lord Lyttel-
ton's Hift. Hen. ii. edit. iii. p. 30Z. It
may not be foreign to our prefent purpofc
to mention here, that Hcniy the fecond,
in the year 1179, was entertained by
Wclfti bards at Pembroke caftle in Wales
in his paflage into Ireland. Powell, ut
fupr. p. 238. The fubjcd of their fongs
was the hiftory of king Arthur. See Selden
on Poly OLD. f. iii. p. 53.
Tilts
ENGLISH POETRY. 117
Tilts and tournaments, after a long difufe, were revived
with fiiperiour luftre in the reign of Edward the firft. Roger
earl of Mortimer, a magnificent baron of that reign, ere6led
in his ftately caftle of Kenelworth a Round Table, at which
he reftored the rites of king Arthur. He entertained in this
caftle the conftant retinue of one hundred knights, and as
many ladies ; and invited thither adventurers in chivalry
from every part of chriftendom *. Thefe fables were there-
fore an image of the manners, cuftoms, mode of life, and
favourite amufements, which now prevailed, not only in
France but in England, accompanied with all the decora-
tions which fancy could invent, and recommended by the
graces of romantic fidlion. They complimented the ruling
paflion of the times, and cheriftied in a high degree the
fafhionable fentiments of ideal honour, and fantaftic
fortitude.
Among Richard's French minftrels, the names only of
three are recorded. I have already mentioned Blondell de
Nefle. Fouquet of Marfeilles, and Anfelme Fayditt, many
of whofe compofitions ftill remain, were alfo among the
poets patronifed and entertained in England by Richard.
They are both celebrated and fometimes imitated by Dante
and Petrarch. Fayditt, a native of Avignon, united the
profeflions of mufic and verfe ; and the Provencials ufed to
call his poetry de bon mots e de bon fon. Petrarch is fuppofed
to have copied, in his Triumfo di Amore, many ftrokes
of high imagination, from a poem written by Fayditt on a
fimilar fubje(5l : particularly in his defcription of the Palace
of Love. But Petrarch has not left Fayditt without his due
panegyric : he fays that Fayditt's tongue was fliield, helmet,
fword, and fpear '. He is likewife in Dante's Paradife.
Fayditt was extremely profufe and voluptuous. On the
Drayton's Heroic. Epift. Mort. Isabel, v. 53. And Notes ibid, from Walfingham.
Triuiif. Am. c. iv.
death
ii8 THE HISTORY OF
death of king Richard, he travelled on foot for near twenty
years, feeking his fortune ; and during this long pilgrimage
he married a nun of Aix in Provence, vi^ho was young and
lively, and could accompany her hulband's tales and fonnets
with her voice. Fouquett de Marfeilles had a beautiful
perfon, a ready wit, and a talent for fmging : thefe popular
accompliihments recommended him to the courts of king
Richard, Raymond count of Tholoufe, and Beral de Baulx ;
where, as the French would fay, il jit les delices de cour. He
fell in love with Adelafia the wife of Beral, whom he cele-
brated in his fongs. One of his poems is entitled. Las co^n-
planchas de Beral. On the death of all his lords, he received
abfolution for his fin of poetry, turned monk, and at length
was made archbifliop of Tholoufe \ But among the many
French minftrels invited into England by Richard, it is na-
tural to fuppofe, that fome of them made their magnificent
and heroic patron a principal fubje6l of their compofitions ".
And this fubjecl, by means of the conftant communication
• See Beauchamps, Recherch. Theatr. Fr. with a profound melancholy, and turned
Paris, 1735. P" /• 9- ^^ was Jeffrey, Ri- nun. I will endeavour to tranflate one of
chard's brother, who patronifed Jeffrey Ru- the fonnets whidi he made on his voyage.
dell, a famous troubadour of Provence, Trat et doknt ni'en fai/raj, &c. It has
who is alfo celebrated by Petrarch. This fome pathos and fentiment, " I (hould
poet had heard, from the adventurers in " dcpait penfive, but for this love of mine
the crufades, the beauty of a countefs of " Jo far away; for I know not what diffi-
Tripoly highly extolled. He became en- " culties I have to encounter, my native
amoured from imagination : embarked for " land being Jo far anjjay. Thou who
Tripoly, fell fick in the voyage through " hall made all things, and who formed
the fever of expeftation, and was brought " this love of mxmjo jar a-iuay, give me
on fhore at Tripoly half expiring. The " flrength of body, and then I may hope
countefs, having received the news of the " to fee this love of nunc Jo far nivaji.
arrival of this gallant ftranger, haflened to " Surely my love mull be founded on true
the (hore and took him by the hand. He " merit, as I love one fo far civay ! If I
opened his eyes ; and at once overpowered " am eafy for a moment, yet I feel a thou-
by his difeafe and her kindncfs, had jull " fand pains for her who is fo far atuay.
time to fay inarticulately, that having J'ccn " No other love ever touched n.y heart
ifr he died J'atisfud. 'I'he countefs made " than this for 'hat fo far atvay. A fairer
him a moll fplendid funeral, and erefted to " than file never touched any heart, cither
his memory a tomb of porphyry, infcribed " near, or far away." Every fourth line
with an epitaph in Arabian vcrfe. She com- ends \v\t\\ du lunich. See Noflradamus, &c.
manded his fonnets to be richly copied and " Fayditt is faid to h.ave written a Chant
illuminated with letters of gold ; was feized y«nf^r on his death. Beauchamps, ib. p. 10.
between
ENGLISH POETRY.
119
between both nations, probably became no lefs fafhlonable
in France : efpecially if we take into the account the general
popularity of Richard's character, his love of chivalry, his
gallantry in the crufades, and the favours which he fo libe-
rally conferred on the minftrels of that country. We have
a romance now remaining in Englifli rhyme, which cele-
brates the atchievements of this illuftrious monarch. It is
entitled Richard cuer du lyon, and was probably tranf-
iated from the French about the period above-mentioned.
That it was, at leaft, tranflated from the French, appears
from the Prologue.
In Fraunce thefe rymes were wroht.
Every Englyfhe ne knew it not.
From which alfo we may gather the popularity of his ftory,
in thefe lines.
King Richard is the befte "
That is found in any gefle *.
That this romance, either in French or Englifli, exifted before
the year 1300, is evident from its being cited by Robert of
Gloucefter, in his relation of Richard's reign.
In Romance of him imade me it may finde iwrite ^.
A,
This tale is alfo mentioned as a romance of fome antiqi^ity
among other famous romances, in the prologue of a vo-
' luminous metrical tranflation of Guido de Colonna, attri-
buted to Lidgate \ It is like wife frequently quoted by Ro-
'" This agrees with what Hoveden fays, y Many fpeken of men that romaunces
ubi fupr. " Dicebatur ubique quod non erat rede, &c.
" talis in orbe." Of Bevys, Gy, and Gawayne,
" Impr. for W. C. 410. It contains Sign. Of kyng Rvchard, and Owayne,
A.I. — Q^iii. There is anotheredition impr. Of Triftram, and Percyvayle,
W. de Worde, 4to. 1528. There is a Of Rowland ris, and Aglavaule,
manufcript copy of it in Cains College at Of Archeroun, and of Oftavian,
Cambridge, A. 9. Of Charles, and of Caffibedlan,
^ Chron. p. 487. Of
I20
THE HISTORY OF
bert de Brunne, who wrote much about the fame time
with Robert of Gloucefler.
Whan Philip tille Acres cam litelle was his dede,
The Romance fais gret fham who fo that pas ^ wil rede.
The Romancer it fais Richard did make a pele '. —
The Romance of Richard fais he wan the toun ^ —
He teUis in the Romance fen Acres wonnen was
How God gaf him fair chance at the bataile of Caifas ^ —
Sithen at Japhet was flayn fanuelle his ftede
The Romans tellis gret pas of his douhty dede ^ —
Soudan fo curteys never drank no wyne,
The fame the romans fais that is of Richardyn '.
In prifoun was he bounden, as the romance fais.
In cheynes and lede wonden that hevy was of peis ^ —
I am not indeed quite certain, whether or no in fome of
thefe inftances, Robert de Brunne may not mean his French
original Peter Langtoft. But in the following lines he ma-
nifeftly refers to our romance of Richard, between which
and Langtoft's chronicle he expreflly makes a dillin^ion.
And in the conclufion of the reign.
Of Keveloke, Home, and of Wade,
In romances that of hem bi made
That geftours dos of him geftes
At mangeres and at great feftes.
Here dedis ben in remembraunce.
In many fair romaunce.
But of the worthieft \vyght in wede,
That ever byllrod any ftrede
Spekes no man, ne in romaunce redes.
Off his battayle ne of his dcdes ;
Off that battayle fpekes no man.
There all prowes of knyghtes began,
Thet was forfothe of the batayle
Thet at Troye was faunfayle.
Of fwythe a fyght as thcr was one, &c. —
Ffor tlier were in diet on fide,
Sixti kynges and dukes of pride.—
And there was the bell bodi in dede
Thet ever yit wered wede,
Sithen the world was made fo ferre,
That was Ector in eche werre, &c.
Laud K. 76. f. I. fol. MSS. Bibl. Bodl.
Cod. membr. Whether this poem was
written by Lidgate, I Ihall not enquire at
prefent. I ihall only fay here, that it is
totally diiFerent from either of Lidgate's
two poems on the Theban and Trojan
Wars ; and that die manufcript, which
is beautifully written, appears to be of the
age of Henry the fixth.
^ Pass us. Compare Percy's Ball. ii.
66. 398. edit. 1767. " p. 157.
" Ibid. ' P. 175. - P. 175.
<= P. 188. ' p. 198.
I knowe
ENGLISH POETRY. 121
I knowe no more to ryme of dedes of kyng Richard :
Who fo wille his dedes all the fothe fe,
The romance that men reden ther is propirte.
This that I have faid it is Pers fawe *.
Als he in romance \ lad ther after gan I drawe '.
It is not improbable that both thefe rhyming chroniclers
cite from the Englifh tranflation : if fo, we may fairly fup-
pofe that this romance was tranflated in the reign of Ed-
ward the firft, or his predeceffor Henry the third. Perhaps
earlier. This circumftance throws the French original to
a flill higher period.
In the royal library at Paris, there is " Hiftoire de Richard
" Roi d' Angleterre et de Maquemore d' Irlande en rime "."
Richard is the laft of our monarchs whofe atchievements
were adorned with fi6lion and fable. If not a fuperftitious
belief of the times, it was an hyperbolical invention ftarted
by the minftrels, which foon grew into a tradition, and is
gravely recorded by the chroniclers, that Richard carried
with him to the crufades king Arthur's celebrated fword
Caliburn, and that he prefented it as a gift, or relic, of
ineftimable value to Tancred king of Sicily, in the year
1 191 '. Robert of Brunne calls this fword 2i jewel".
And Richard at that time gaf him a faire Juelle,
The gude fwerd Caliburne which Arthur luffed fo well ".
s " The words of my original Peter "^ Num. 7532.
" Langtoft.'" ' In return for feveral veflels of gold
•■ In French. and filver, horfes, bales of filk, four great
' p. 205. Du Cange recites an old fhips, and fifteen gallies, given by Tancred.
French manufcript profe romance, entitled Benedift. Abb. p. 642. edit. Hearne.
Hiftoire de la Mart de Richard Roy d" An- " Jocale. In the general and true fenfe
gletcrre. Glofl". Lat. Ind. Auct. i. p. of the word. Robert de Brunne, in ano-
cxci. There was one, perhaps the fame, ther place, calls a rich pavilion a jo--weUe^
among the manufcripts of tlie late Mr. p. 152.
Martin of Palgravein Suffolk. " Chron. p. 153.
R Indeed
122
THE HISTORY OF
Indeed tlie Arabian writer of the life of the fultan Saladln,
mentions fome exploits of Richard almoft incredible. But,
as lord Lyttelton juftly obferves, this hiftorian is highly
valuable on account of the knowledge he had of the fa6ls
which he relates. It is from this writer we learn, in the
mofl authentic manner, the aftions and negotiations of
Richard in the courfe of the enterprife for the recoveiy of
the holy land, and all the particulars of that memorable
war °.
But before I produce a fpecimen of Richard's Englifh ro-
mance, I fland ftill to give fome more extradls from its
Prologues, which contain matter much to our prefent pur-
pofe : as they have very fortunately preferved the fubjedts
of many romances, perhaps metrical, then fafliionable both
in France and England. And on thefe therefore, and their
origin, I fliall take this opportunity of offermg fome re-
marks.
Many romayns men make newe
Of good knightes and of trewe :
Of ther dedes men make romauns.
Both in England and in Fraunce j
Of Kovjland and of Olyvcre,
And of everie Dofepere ^
Of Alyjaundre and Charlemayne,
Of kyng Arthur and of Gciivayne ;
How they wer knyghtes good and courtoys,
Of Tiirpin and of Oger the Danois.
Of T'roye men rede in ryme,
Of HeSlor and of Achilles^
What folk they flewe in pres, &c '.
And again in a fecond Prologue, after a paufe has been
made by the minftrel in the courfe of fniging the poem.
• See Hift. of Hen. ii. vol. iv. p. 361. App.
P Charlemagne's Twelve peers. Douze Pain. Fr. 1 Tol. i. a.
Herken
ENGLISH POETRY.
123
Herkene now how my tale gothe
Though I fwere to you no othe
I wyll you rede romaynes none
Ne of ' Pertonape, ne of Ypomedon,
Ne of Alifaunder, ne of Charlemayne,
Ne of Arthur^ ne of Gawayney
Ne of Lancelot du Lake,
Ne of Bevis, ne of Guy of Sydrake ',
Ne of Ury, ne of 05lavian,
Ne of HeSlor the ftrong man,
Ne of Jafon, neither of Achilles^
Ne of Eneas, neither Hercules \
' Perhaps Parthenope, or Parthenopeus.
• Read, " ne of Guy ne of Sydrake."
' Signal. P. iii. To fome of thefe ro-
mances the author of the manufcript Lives
OF THE Saints, written about the year
1 200, and cited above at large, alludes in a
fort of prologue. See Sect. i. p. 14. fupr.
Wei auht we loug criHendom that is fo
dere y bougt.
With oure lorde's herte blode that the (pere
hath y fougt.
Men wilnethe more yhere of batayle of
kyngis,
And of knygtis hardy, that mochel is Ic-
fyngis.
Of Roulond and of Olyvere, and Gy of
Wurivyk,
Of Waiuayen and Triflram that ne foundde
here y like.
Who fo loveth to here tales of fuche
thinge,
Here he may y here thyng that nys no
Icfynge,
Ofpollolesand marteres that hardi knygttes
were,
And ftedfaft v/ere in bataile and fledde nogt
for no fere, &c.
The anonymous author of an antient ma-
nufcript poem, called " y' he boke of Stories
" called Cursor Mundi," tranflatcd
from the French, feems to have been of the
fame opinion. His work confifts of reli-
gious legends : but in the prologue he takes
occafion to mention many tales of another
kind, which were more agreeable to the
generality ofre'aders. MSS. Laud, K. 53.
f. 117. Bibl.Bodl.
Men lykyn Jeftis for to here
And romans rede in divers manere
Of Alexandre the conquerour.
Of Julius Ce/ar the emperour.
Of Greece and Troy the ftrong ftryf,
Ther many a man loft his lyf :
Of Brul that baron bold of hand
The firft conquerour of Englond,
Of kyng Artour that was fo ryche.
Was non in hys tyme fo ilyche :
Of wonders that among his knyghts felle.
And auntyrs dedyn as men her telle.
As Gau'eyn and othir full abylle
Which that kept the round tabj'll,
Hov/ kyng Charles and RovJand fawght
Witli Sarazins, nold thei be cawght ;
Of Tryjlram and Tfcude the fwete.
How thei with love firft gan mete.
Of kyng John and of Ij'enbras
Of J'doyie and Amadas.
Stories of divers thynges
Of princes, prelates, and kynges,
Many fongs of divers ryme
As Englilh, French, and Latyne, &c.
This ylke boke is tranflate
Into Englilh tong to rede
For the love of Englilh lede
Ffor comyn folk of England, &c.
Syldyn j't ys for any chaunce
Englifti tong preched is in Fraunce, &c.
See Montf. Par. MSS. 7540..%ndp.i 19. fupr.
R 2 Here,
194
THE HISTORY OF
Here, among others, fome of the moft capital and favou-
rite ftories of romance are mentioned, Arthur, Charlemagne,
the Siege of Troy with its appendages, and Alexander the
Great : and there are four authors of high efteem, in the
dark ages, GeofFry of Monmouth, Turpin, Guido of Co-
lonna, and Callifthenes, whofe books were the grand repo-
fitories of thefe fubjefts, and contained moft of the tradi-
tionary fictions, whether of Arabian or claflical origin,
which conftantly fupplied materials to the writers of ro-
mance. I flrall fpeak of thefe authors, with their fubjefts,
diftinaiy.
But I do not mean to repeat here what has been already
obferved " concerning the writings of GeofFry of Monmouth
and Turpin. It will be fufficient to fay at prefent, that thefe
two fabulous hiftorians recorded the atchievements of Char-
lemagne and of Arthur : and that Turpin's hiftory was artful-
ly forged under the name of that archbifliop about the year
mo, with a defign of giving countenance to the crufades
from the example of fo high an authority as Charlemagne,
whofe pretended vifit to the holy fepulchre is defcribed in
the twentieth chapter.
As to the Siege of Troy, it appears that both Homer's
poems were unknown, at leaft not underftood in Europe, from
the abolition of literature by the Goths in the fourth cen-
tury, to the fourteenth. GeofFry of Monmouth indeed, who
wrote about the year 1 1 60, a man of learning for that age,
produces Homer in atteftation of a fa6t afFerted in his hif-
tory : but in fuch a manner, as fliews that he knew little
move than Homer's name, and was but imperfeftly ac-
quainted with Homer's fubje6l. GeofFry fays, that Brutus
having ravaged the province of Acquitain with fire and
fword, came to a place where the city of Tours now ftands,
as Homer tejiifies ". But the Trojan flory was ft ill kept alive
■ SeeDiir. i. » L. i. ch. 14..
in
ENGLISH POETRY. 125
in two Latin pieces, which pafTed under the names of Dares
Phrygius and Di6lys Cretenfis. Dares's hiftory of the de-
ftruftion of Troy, as it was called, pretended to have been
tranflated from the Greek of Dares Phrygius into Latin
profe by Cornelius Nepos, is a wretched performance, and
forged under thofe fpecious names in the decline of Latin
literature ^ Diftys Cretenfis is a profe Latin hiftory of
the Trojan war, in fix books, paraphrafed about the reign
of Dioclefian or Conftantine by one Septimius, from fome
Grecian hiilory on the fame fubje6l, faid to be difcovered
under a fepulchre by means of an earthquake in the city of
Cnoflus, about the time of Nero, and to have been compofed
by Di(Stys, a Cretan, and a foldier in the Trojan war. The
fraud of difcovering copies of books in this extraordinary
manner, in order to infer from thence their high and indu-
bitable antiquity, fo frequently pra6lifed, betrays itfelf. But
that the prefent Latin Diilys had a Greek original, now
loft, appears from the numerous grecifms with which it
abounds : and from the literal correfpondence of many paf-
fages with the Greek fragments of one Di6lys cited by
antient authors. The Greek original was very probably
forged under the name of Diftys, a traditionary writer on
the fubjeft, in the reign of Nero, who is faid to have been fond
of the Trojan ftory "". On the whole, the work appears to
'' In the Epiftle prefixed, the pretended eight hundred years old. Muf. Ital. i. p.
trandator Nepcs fays, that he found this 169. This work was abridged by Vincen-
work at Athens, in the hand-writing of tiusBellovacenfis, a friar of Burgundy, about
Dares. He adds, fpeaking of the controvert- the year 1244. See his Specul. Hiftor.
ed authenticity of Homer, De ea re Aihenis lib. iii. 63.
JUDICIUM y«/V, cum pro infano Homt'rus ^ SeePcrizon. Differtat. de Dicl. Cretenf..
haherettir quoa deos cum hominibus belligerajfe feft. xxix. Conilantinus Lafcaris, a learned
defcripju. In which words he does not refer monk of Conftantinople, one of the rellorers
to any public decree of the Athenian judges, of Grecian literature in Europe near tour
but to Plato's opinion in his Republic. hundred years ago, fays that DiiSys Cre-
Dares, with Diclys Cretenfis next men- tenfis in Greek was loft. This writer is
tioned in the text, was firft printed at Mi- not once mentioned by Eullathius, who
Ian in 1477. Mabillon fays, that amanu- lived about the year 1 170, in his elaborate
fcript of the Pfeudo-Dares occurs in the and extenfive commentary on Homer.
Laurentian library at Florence, upwards of
have
126 THE HISTORY OF
have been an arbitrary metaphrafe of Homer, with many
fabulous interpolations. At length Guido de Colonna, a
native of Medina in Sicily, a learned civilian, and no con-
temptible Italian poet, about the year 1260, engrafting on
Dares and Di6tys many new romantic inventions, which the
tafte of his age dictated, and which the connedlion between
Grecian and Gothic fi6tion eafiiy admitted; at the fame
time comprehending in his plan the Theban and Argonautic
ftories from Ovid, Statius, and Valerius Flaccus ', compiled
a grand profe romance in Latin, containing fifteen books,
and entitled in moil manufcripts Hijhria de Bella I'rojano ''.
It was written at the requeft of Mattheo de Porta, arch-
bifhop of Salerno. Dares Phrygius and Diclys Cretenfis
feem to have been in fome meafure fuperfeded by this
improved and comprehenfive hiftory of the Grecian heroes :
and from this period Achilles, Jafon, and Hercules, were
adopted into romance, and celebrated in common with
Lancelot, Rowland, Gawain, Oliver, and other chriflian
champions, whom they fo nearly refembled in the extra-
vagance of their adventures \ This work abounds with
oriental imagery, of which the fubjeft was extremely fuf-
ceptiblc. It has alfo fome traites of Arabian literature.
' The Argonautics of Valerius Flaccus Compare alfo, Diar. Eruditor. Ital. xiii.
are cited in ChzyXQer's Hypjipile and Medea. 258. Montfaucon mentions, in the royal
" Let him rcadc the boke Argonauticon." library at Paris, Lc Roman de Tieies jui
V. 90. But Guido is afterwards citeil as a fairacine de Troye la grande. Catal. MSS.
writer on that fubjeft, ibid. 97. V.alerius ii. p. 923 — 198.
Flaccus is a common maiiufcript. See pag. ' Bale fa)'s, that Edward the firft, h.av-
133. infr. ing met with our author in Sicily, in re-'
" It was firft printed Ar;;entorat, i486. turning from Afia, invited him into Eng-
and ibid. 1489. fol. The work was land, xiii. 36. This prince was interefted
finidied, as appears by a note at the end, in tlie Trojan Hon', as we fliall fee below.
in 1287. It was tr.anflated into Italian by Our hiftorlans relate, that he wintered in
Philip or Chriftopher Ceffio, a Florentine, Sicily in the year 1270. Chron. Rob.
and this tranflation was firft printed at Ve- Brun. p. 227. A writer quoted by Heame,
nice in 1481. 410. It has alfo been tranf- fuppofed to be Jolm Stowe the chronicler,
lattd into German. See Lambec. ii. 948. fays, that " Guido de Columpna arriving
The purity of our .author's Italian ftyle has " in England at the commeundanent of king
been much commended. For his Italian " Edivard the firfte, made fcholics and
poetry, fee Mongitor, ubi fupr. p. 167. " annotations upon Diftys Cretenfis and
" Dares
ENGLISH POETRY.
127
The Trojan horfe is a horfe of brafs ; and Hercules is taught
aftronomy, and the feven Hberal fciences. But I forbear to
enter at prefent into a more particular examination of this
hiftory, as it muft often occafionally be cited hereafter. I
fliall here only further obferve in general, that this work is
the chief fource from which Chaucer derived his ideas about
the Trojan ftory ; that it was profefledly paraphrafed by
Lydgate, in the year 1420, into a prolix Englifh poem,
called the Boke of T'royc \ at the command of king Heniy the
fifth ; that it became the ground- work of anew compilation
in French, on the fame fubjeft, written by Raoul le Fcure
chaplain to the duke of Burgundy, in the year 1464,
and partly tranflated into Englilh profe in the year 1471,
by Caxton, under the title of the Recuyel of the hijiories of
'Troy, at the requeft of Margaret dutchefs of Burgundy : and
that from Caxton's book afterwards modernifed, Shakei'peare
borrowed his drama of Troilus and CreJJida '.
" Dares Phrigius. Befides thefe, he writ at
" large the Battayle of Troye." Hem-
ing. CartuL ii. 649. Among his works is
recited Hijioria de Regibus Rebvfque AngUie.
It is quoted by many writers under the title
of Chronlcum Britcnnorutn. He is faid alfo
to have written Chronicum Magnum Uhris
xxxvi. See Mongitor. Bib!. Sic. i. 265.
'' Who mentions it in a French as well as
Latin, edit. 1555. Signat. B. i.pag. z.
As in the latyn and the frenihe yt is.
It occurs in French, MSS. Bibl. Reg. Brit.
Muf. 16 F. ix. This manufcript was
probably written not long after the year
1300.
= The weftem nations, in early times,
have been fond of deducing their origin
from Troy. This tradition feems to be couch-
ed under Odin's original emigration from
that part of Alia which is connected with
Phrygia. Afgard, or Afta' s fsrtrefs, was the
city from which Odin led his colony ; and
by fome it is called Troy. To this place
alfo they fuppofed Odin to return after his
death, where he was to receive thofe who
died in b.ittle, in a hall roofed with glitter-
ing fliields. See Bartholin. L. ii. cap. 8.
p. 402, 403. fcq. This hall, fcys the
Edda, is in he city of Afgard, which is
called the Fifl^ "f Un. Bartholin, ibid.
In the very fublime ode on tlie DifToUuIon
of the World, cited by Barthcline, it is
faid, that after the twilight of the gads
fhould be ended, and the new world ap-
pear, the AJ'is Jhall meet in the feld ef Ida,
and tell of the dejiroycd habitation. Earthol.
L. ii. cap. 14. p. 557. Compare Arngnm.
Jon. Crymog, 1. i. c. 4. p. 45, 46. See
alfo Edda, fab. 5. In the proem to Rsfe-
nius's Edda, it is f:uJ, " Odin appointed
'• twelve judges or princes, at Sigtune in
" Scandinavia, as at Troy; and eftablifhed
" there all the laws of Troy, and the
" culloms of the Troj.\ns." SeeHickef.
Thefaur. i. Diflertat. Epiil. p. 39. See
alfo Mallett's Hill. Dannem. ii. p. 34.
Bartholinus thinks, that the compiler of
the Eddie mythologj-, who lived A. D.
1070, finding that the Britons and Francs
drew their defcent from Troy, wds am-
bitious of afligning the fame boaftcd origin
to Odin. But diis tnadition appears to
have
128
THE HISTORY OF
Proofs have been given, in the two prorogues juft cited,
of the general popularity of Alexander's ftory, another
branch of Grecian hiftory famous in the dark ages. To
thefe we may add the evidence of Chaucer.
Alifaundres ftorie is fo commune,
That everie wight that hath difcrecioune
Hath herde fomewhat of or al of his fortune ^
And in the Houfe of Fa?ne, Alexander is placed with Her-
cules ^ I have already remarked, that he was celebrated in
a Latin poem by Gualtier de Chatillon, in the year 1212 ''.
Other proofs will occur in their proper places '. The truth
have been older than the Edda. And it
is more probable, that the Britons and
Francs borrowed it from the Scandinavian
Goths, and adapted it to themfelves ; un-
lefs we fuppofe that thefe nations, I mean
the former, were branches of the Gothic
Item, which gave them a fort of inhe-
rent right to the claim. This reafoning
may perhaps account for the early exiftence
and extraordinary popularity of the Trojan
ftory among nations ignorant and illiterate,
who could only have received it by tradi-
tion. Geoffry of Monmouth took this de-
fccnt of the Britons from Troy, fiom the
Welfh or Armoric bards, and they perhaps
had it in common with the Scandinavian
fcalders. There is not a fyllable of it in
the authentic hiftorians of England, who
wrote before him ; particularly thofe anti'.nt
ones, Bede, Gildas, and the unint.Tpolated
Nennius. Henry of Huntingdon began
his hiftory from Crr/ar ; and it was only
on further information that he added Butif.
But this information was from amanufcript
found by him in his way to Rome in the
abbey of Bee in Normandy, probably
Gcoffry's original. H. Hunt. Efiftol. ad
Warin. MSS. Cantabr. Bibl. publ. cod.
251. I have meniioned in another place,
that VVitlaf, a king of the Weft Saxons,
grants in his charter, dated A. D. 833,
among other things, to Croyland-abbey,
his robe of tiffuc,on which was embroidered
^be DeftruBion of Troy. Obf. OB Spepfer's
Fairy Queen, i. left. v. p. 176. This proves
the ftory to have been in high veneration
even long before that period : and it Ihould
at the fame time be remembered, that the
Saxons came from Scandinavia.
This fable of the defcent of the Britons
from the Trojans was folemnly alledged
as an authentic and undeniable proof in a
controverfy of great national importance,
by Edward the firft and his nobility, >vith-
cut the leaft objeftion from the oppofite
party. It was in the famous difpute con-
cerning the fubjedlion of the crown of
England to that of Scotland, about the
year 1301. The allegations are in a letter
to pope Boniface, figned and fealed by the
king and his lords. Ypodigm. Neuftr. apud
Camd. Angl. Norman, p. 492. Here is
a curious inftance of the implicit faith
with which this tradition continued to be
believed, even in a more enlightened age ;
and an evidence that it was equally cre-
dited in Scotland.
f V. 656. p. 165. Urr. ed.
EV. 323.
*■ See Second Diflertation.
' In the reign of Henry the firft, the
(herilF of Nottinghamlhire is ordered to
procure the queen's chamber at Nottingham
to be painted with the History of Alex-
ander. Madox, Hift. Exch. p. 249—259.
" Depingi facias historiam Ai.exan-
" DRI
ENGLISH POETRY.
129
is, Alexander was the moft eminent knight errant of Gre-
cian antiquity. He could not therefore be long without his
romance. Callifthenes, an Olinthian, educated under Arif-
totle with Alexander, wrote an authentic life of Alexander ''.
This hiftory, which is frequently referred to by antient
writers, has been long fnice loft. But a Greek life of this
hero, under the adopted name of Callifthenes, at prefent
exifts, and is no inicommon manufcript in good libraries '.
It is entitled. Bloc AXs^OiV^^ov tov Moixs^oyo^ axi U^oc^sic-
That is, The Life and ABiom of Alexander the Macedonian ■".
This piece was written in Greek, being a tranflation from
the Perlic, by Simeon Seth, ftyled Magifer, and protoveftiary
or wardrobe keeper of the palace of Antiochus at Conftanti-
nople", about the year 1 070, under the emperor Michael Ducas".
" DRi undiquaque." In the Romance of
Richard, the minltrell fays of an army af-
fembled at a fiege in the holy land. Sign.
Q^iii.
Covered is both mount and playne,
Kyng Alvsaunder and Charlemayne
He never had halfe the route
As is the city now aboute.
By the way, this is much like a paflage
in Milton, Par. Reg. iii. 337.
Such forces met not, nor fo wide a camp.
When Agrican, &c.
^ See Recherch. fur la Vie et les
ouvrages de Callifthene. Par M. I'Abbe
Sevin. Mem. de Lit. viii. p. 126. 4to. But
many very antient Greek writers had cor-
rupted Alexander's hiftory with fabulous
narratives, fuch as Orthagoras, Oneficritus,
&c.
' Particularly Bibl. Bodi. Oxon. MSS.
Barocc. Cod. xvii. And Bibl. Reg. Paris.
Cod. 2064. See Montfauc. Catal. MSS.
p. 733. See paflages cited from this manu-
fcript, in Steph. Byzant. Abr. Berckel. V.
Bovx£(paMix. Ca;far Bulenger de Circo, c.
xiii. 30, &c. And Fabric. Bibl. Gr. xiv.
148. 149. 150. It is adduced by Du
Cange, Gloflar. Gr. ubi vid. Tom. ii.
Catal. Scriptor. p. 24.
"' Undoubtedly many fmaller hiftories,
now in our libraries were formed from this
greater work.
" rif JIt./?sriz^io!, Proto've/liariiu. See du
Cange, Conftantlnop. Chrift. lib. ii. § 16.
n. 5. Et ad Zonar. p. 46.
" Allat. de Simeonibus. p. 181. And
Labb. Bibl. nov. MSS. p. 115. Simeon
Seth trauflated many Perfic and Arabic
books into Greek. Allat. ubi fupr. p. 182.
feq. Among them he tranflatcd from Ara-
bic into Greek, about the year 11 00, for
the ufe or at the requeft of the emperor
Alexius Commenus, the celebrated Indian
Fables now commonly called the Fables of
Pilpay. This work he entitled, llfpanliif
y.a.1 \yjir^d\r,%, and divided it into fifteen
books. It was printed at Berlin, by Seb.
Godfr. Starchius, A. D. 1697. 8vo. Un-
der the title, 217x51111 Mayir^s xoii ipiXoso^a
TOV Z>;9 KdXiXe jiai Ai/xvi. Thefe are
the names of two African or Afiatic ; ,ii-
mals, called in Latin Thoes, a fort of fox,
the principal interlocutors in the fables.
SeiSt. i. ii. This curious monument of a
fpecies of inftruftion peculiar to the orien-
tals, is upw.irds of two thoufand years old.
It has palled underagreat variety of names.
Khofru a king of Perfia, in whofe reign
S Mahomet
I'iO
'3
THE HISTORY OF
It was moft probably very foon afterwards tranflated from
the Greek into Latin, and at length from thence into
Mahomet was born, fent his phyfician
named Burzvifch into India, on purpofe to
obtain this book, which was carefully pre-
ferved among the treafures of the kings of
India : and commanded it to be tranflated
out of the Indian language into the antient
Perfic. Hcrbelot. Did. Oriental, p. 456.
It was foon afterwards turned into Syriac,
under the title CalaiUg and Darnnag. Fa-
bric. Bibl. Gr. vi. p. 46 1 . About the year
of Chrift 750, one of the caliphs ordered
it to be tranflated from the antient Perfic
into Arabic, under the name Kalila me
Damna. Herbel. ubi fupr. In the year
920, the Sultan Ahmed, of the dynafty of
the Samanides, procured a tranflation into
more modern Perlic : which was foon af-
terwards put into verfe by a celebrated Per-
fian poet named Roudeki. Herbel. ibid.
Fabric, ibid. p. 462. About the year 1 1 30,
the Sultan Bahram, not fatisfied with this
Perfian verfion, ordered another to be ex-
ecuted by Nafrallah, the moft eloquent
man of his age, from the Arabic text of
Mocanna : and this Perfian verfion is what
is now extant under the title Kalila nje
Damna. Herbel. ibid. See alfo Herbel. p.
118. But as even this lall-mentioned ver-
fion had too many Arabic idioms and obfo-
lete phrafes, in the reign of Sultan Hofein
Mirza, it was thrown into a more modern
and intelligible ftyle, under the name of
jlniiar Soheti. Frafer's Hill. Nad. Shaw.
Catal. MSS. p. 19. 20. Nor mult it be
forgotten, that about the year 11 00, the
Emir Sohiil, general of the armies of
Huflain, Sultan of Khoraflan of the pof-
terity of Timer, caufed a new tranflation
to be made by the doctor Huflien Vae/,
which exceeded all others in elegance and
perfpicuity. It was named ^nivair Sohaiii,
Splendor Cancpi, from the Emir who was
caJJcd after the name of that (tar. Herbel.
p. 1 18. 245. It would be tedious to men-
tion every new title and improvement which
it has pa/Ted through among the eaftcrn
people. It has been tranflated into the
Turkifli language both in profe and verfe :
particularly for the ufe of Bajazet the feconj
and Soiyman the fecond. Herbel. p. 118.
It has been alfo tranflated into Hebrew, by
Rabbi Joel : and into Latin, under the title
Direiiorium Vitte humana:, by Johannes of
Capua, [fol. fine ann.] From thence it got
into Spanifli, or Caflilian : and from the
Spanifli was made an Italian verfion, prin-
ted at Ferrara, A. D. 1583.0ft. \\t.. Lelo
Damno [for Calilah u Damiiahl del Go'venia
lie regni, /otto morali, &c. A fecond edi-
tion appeared at Ferrara in 1610. oft. viz.
Philcjophia morale del do7u. Sec. But I
have a notion there was an Italian edition
at Venice, under the laft-mentioned title,
with old rude cuts, 1552. 4to. From the
Latin verfion it was tranflated into German,
by the command of Eberhard firft duke of
Wirtenberg : and this tranflation was prin-
ted at Ulm, 1583. fol. At Strafburgh,
1525. fol. Without name of place, 1548.
4to. At Francfourt on theMayne,i565. oft.
A French tranflation by Gilb. Gaulmin
from the Perfic of Nafrallah above-men-
tioned appeared at Paris, 1698. But this
is rather a paraphrafe, and was reprinted in
Holland. See Starchius, ubi fupr. prxf. §.
19. 20. 22. Fabric, ubi fupr. p. 463. feq.
Another tranflation was printed at Paris,,
viz. " Contes et Fables Indiennes de Bid-
" pai et De Lokman traduits d'Ali Tchel-
" chi-Bengalek auteur Turc, p.nr M. Gal-
" land, 1714." ii vol. Again, Paris, 1724.
ii vol. Fabricius fays, that Monf. Gal-
l.ind had procured a Turkifli copy of this
book four times larger than the printed co-
pies, being a verfion from the original
Perfic, and entitled Hiiniagoun Namch, that
is, 7 he royal or imperial hook, fo called by
the orientals, who are of opinion that it
contains the whole art of government. See
Fabric, ubi fupr. p. 465. Herbel. p. 456.
A Tranflation into Englifli from the French
of the four firft books was printed at Lon-
don in 1747, under the title of Pilpav's
Fables. — As to the name of the author of
this book, Herbclot fays that Bidpai was
an Indian philofopher, and that his name
fignifies tlie merciful phyfieian. See Herbe-
lot. p. 206 456. And Bibl. Lugdun. Catal.
p. 301. Others relate, that it was com-
pofed by the Bramins of India, under the
title Kurtuk Dumiiik. Frafer, ubi fupr. p.
19. It is alfo faid to have been written by
I fame
ENGLISH POETRY.
131
French, Italian, and German ''. The Latin tranflation was
printed Colon. Argentorat. A. D. 1489''. Perhaps before.
For among Hearne's books in the Bodleian library, there is
an edition in quarto, without date, fuppofed to have been
printed at Oxford by Frederick Corfellis, about the year
1468. It is faid to have been made by one i^ifopus, or by
Julius Valerius ' : fuppofititious names, which feem to have
been forged by the artifice, or introduced through the igno-
rance, of fcribes and librarians. This Latin tranflation,
however, is of high antiquity in the middle age of learn-
ing : for it is quoted by Gyraldus Cambrenfis, who flouriflied
about the year 1190 ', About the year 1236, the fubitance
Ifame fifth king of the Indians, and tranf-
lated into Arabic from the Indian tongue
three hundred years before Alexander the
Macedonian. Abraham Ecchelens. Not.
ad Catal. Ebed Jefu, p. 87. — The Indians
reckon this book among the three things in
which they furpafs all other nations, viz.
" Liber Cu LI LA et Dimna, ludus Sha-
'• tangri, et novem figurae numeraiias."
Saphad. Comment, ad Carm. Tograi.
apud Hyde, prolegom. ad lib. de lud.
Oriental, d. 3. Hyde intended an edition
of the Arabic verfion. Prsfat. ad lib. de lud.
Oriental, vol. ii. 1767. edit.adcalc. I cannot
forfake this fubjeft without remarking, that
the Perfians have another book, which they
efteem older than any writings of Zoroafter,
entitled Ja'viJiin Chrad, that is, teterna
Sapientla. Hyde Prajfat. Relig. Vet. Per-
farum. This has been alfo one of the titles
of Pilpay's Fables.
P Cafaub. Epift. ad Jos. Scaliger. 402.
41 3. Scalig. Epift. ad Cafaubon. 1 13. 1 15.
Who mentions alfo a tranflation of this
work from the Latin into Hebrew, by one
who adopted the name of Jos. Gorionides,
called Pfeudo-Gorionides. This Latin hif-
tciy was tranflated into German by John
1 lartlieb MoUer, a German phyfician, at
the command of Albert duke of Bav.via,
and publilhed Auguft. Vindel. A.D. 1478.
fol. See Lambecc. lib. ii. de Bibl. Vindo-
bon. p. 949. Labbe mentions a fabulous
hiftory of Alexander ; written, as he fays,
in 1217, and tranfcribed in 1455. Un-
doubtedly this in the text. Londinenfis
quotes " pervetuftum quendam librum ma-
" nufcriptum dc aftibus Alexandri."
Hearne's T. Caius ut infr. p. 82. See alfo
p. 86. 258.
1 Lenglet mentions " Hiftoria fabulofa
" incerti authoris de Alexandri Magni
" pra:liis." fol. 1494. He adds, that it
is printed in the laft edition of Caefar's
Commentaries by Grjevius in oftavo. Bibl.
des Romans, ii. p. 228. 229. edit. Amft.
Compare Vogt's Catalogus tihrorum rarior,
pag. 24. edit. 1753. Montfaucon fays this
hiftory of Callifthenes occurs often in the
royal library at Paris, both in Greek and
Latin : but that he never faw either of them
printed. Gat. MSS. ii. pag. 733. — 2543.
I think a life of Alexander is fubjoined to
an edition of Quintus Curtius in 1584, by
Joannes Monachus.
' Du Cange Gloffar. Gr. r. Ep•;^^l^o;.
Jurat, ad Symmach. iv. 33. Baith. Adver-
far. ii. 10. v. 14.
* Hearne, T. Caii Vindic. Antiqnit.
Acad. Oxon. torn. ii. Not. p. 802. Who
thinks it a work of the monks. " Nee
" dubium quin monachus quifpiam Latine,
" ut potuit, fcripferit. Eo modo, quo et
" alios id genus foetus parturiebant fcrip-
" tores aliquot monaftici, e fabulis quas
" vulgo admodum placere fciebant." ibid.
S 2 of
132
THE HISTORY OF
of it was thrown into a long Latin poem, written in elegiac
verfe ', by Aretinus Quilichinus ". This fabulous narrative
of Alexander's life and atchievements, is full of prodigies
and extravagancies '\ But we fliould remember its origin.
The Arabian books abound with the moft incredible fi6lions
and traditions concerning Alexander the Great, which they
probably borrowed and improved from the Perfians. They
call him Efcander. If I recolleft right, one of the miracles,
of this romance is our hero's horn. It is faid, that Alexan-
der gave the fignal to his whole army by a wonderful horn
of immenfe magnitude, which might be heard at the dif-
tance of fixty miles, and that it was blown or founded by
fixty men at once ". This is the horn which Orlando won
from the giant Jatmund, and which, as Turpin and the
Iflandic bards report, was endued with magical power, and
might be heard at the diftance of twenty miles. Cervantes
fays, that it was bigger than a malTy beam \ Boyardo,
' A Greek poem on this fubjeft will be
mentioned below, vviitten in politic verfes,
entitled A^elavJ^fr; MaKsJar.
" Labb. Bibl. Nov. MSS. p. 68. Ol.
Borrich. DifTertat. de Poet. p. 89.
™ The writer relates, that Alexander,
inclofed in a veflel of glafs, dived to the
bottom of the ocean for the fake of getting
a knowledge of fifties and fea monfters.
He is alfo reprcfented as foaring in the air
by the help of gryphons. At the end, the
opinions of different philofophers are re-
cited concerning the fepulchre of Alexan-
der. Neilabanos, a magician and aftrolo-
ger, king of ./Egypt, is a very fignificant
charafter in this romance. He transforms
himfelf into a dragon, &c. Compare Her-
belot. Bibl. Oriental, p. 319.. b. feq. In
fome of the manufcripts of this piece which
I have fren, there is an account of Alex-
ander's vifit to the trees of the fun ami
moon : but I do not rccollcft this in the
printed copies. Undoubtedly the original
has had both interpolations and omiflions.
Pfeudo-Oorionides above-mentioned feems
to Jiint at the ground-work of this hiAory
of Alexander in the following paflage.
" Ca;teras autem res ab Alexandre geftas,
" et egregia ejus facinora ac qua;cunque
" demum perpetravit, ea in librisMedorum
" et Perfarum, atque apud Nicolaum,
" Titum, et Strabonem ; et in libris na-
" tivitatis Alcxandri, rerumque ab ipfo
" geftarum, quos Magi ac /Egvptii eo
" anno quo Alexander deceflit, compofue-
" runt, fcripta rcperies." Lib. ii. c. 12. —
22. [Lat. Verf.] p. 152. edit. Jo. Frid.
Brietliaupt.
" It is alfo in a manufcript entitled Secrt-
ium Secretorum Arijiotclis, Lib. 5. MSS.
Bodl. D. I. 5. This treatife, afcribed to
Ariflotle, was antiently in high repute. It
is pretended to have been tranllated out of
Greek into Arabic or Chaldee by one John
a Spaniard ; from thence into Latin by Phi-
lip a Frenchman ; at length into Engliflt
vcrfc by Lidgate : under whom more will
be faid of it. I think the Latin is dedi-
cated to Theophina, a queen of Spain.
>' See Obfervat. Fair. Qu. i. § v. p.
202.
Bernl,
ENGLISH POETRY. 133
Berni, and Ariofto have all fuch a horn : and the fiftion is
here traced to its original fource. But in fpcaknig of the
books which furnifhed the ftory of Alexander, I muft not
forget that Quintus Curtius was an admired hiftorian of
the romantic ages. He is quoted in the Policraticon of
John of Salifbury, who died in the year 1 1 8 1 ^. Eneas Syl-
vius relates, that Alphonfus the ninth, king of Spain, in the
thirteenth century, a great aftronomer, endeavoured to re-
lieve himfelf from a tedious malady by reading the bible
over fourteen times, with all the glofTes ; but not meeting
with the expe6led fuccefs, he was cured by the confolation he
received from once reading Quintus Curtius \ Peter Ble-
fenfis, archdeacon of London, a ftudent at Pai'is about the
year 1150, mentioning the books mofl common in the
fchools, declares \hzt \\.q pfofited much by frequetitly lookiJig info
this author ^ Vincentius Bellovacenfis, cited above, a writer
of the thirteenth century, often quotes Curtius in his Spe-
culum Hijloriale \ He was alfo early tranflated into French.
Among the royal manufcripts in the Britifh Mufeum, there
is a fine copy of a French tranflation of this claffic, adorned
with elegant old paintings and illuminations, entitled, ^inte
Curfe Ruf, des falz d' Alexa?idre, ix Uv. tranjlate par Vajque
de Lucene Portugalois. Efcript par la inain de Jehaji du Chejhe,
a Lille *. It was made in 1468. But I believe the Latin
tranflations of Simeon Seth's romance on this fubjeft, were
beft known and mofl efteemcd for fome centuries.
The French, to refume the main tenour of our argument,
had written metrical romances on mofl of thefe fubje»5ls,
before or about the year 1200. Some of thefe feem to have
* viii. 18. ^ Op. p. 476. years old. See Earth, ad Claudian. p.
I" Epirt. lOi. Freqiienler mjpkere hi/- 1 165. Alexander Benediftus, in his hifiory
torias ^Curtii, See. of Venice, tranfcribes whole pages fiom
■^ iv. 61, &c. Montfaucon, I think, this hillorian. I could give other proofs,
mentions a manufcript of Q:_ Curtius in the ■■ 17 F. i. Brit. Muf. And again, 20
tolbertine library at Paris eight hundred C. iii. And 15 D. iv.
teen
134
THE HISTORY OF
been formed from profe hiftories, enlarged and improved with
new advenUires and embellifhments from earlier and more
limple tales in verfe on the fame fubjeft. Chreftien of Troys
wrote Le Romans du Graal, or the adventures of the San-
grale, which included the deeds of king Arthur, Sir Trif-
tram, Lancelot du Lake, and the reft of the knights of the
round table, before 1 1 9 1 . There is a paflage in a coeval
romance, relating to Chreftien, which proves what I have
juft advanced, that fome of thefe hiftories previoufly exifted
in profe.
Chriftians qui entent et paine
A rimoyer le meillor conte,
Par le commandement le Conte,
Qu^il foit contez in cort royal
Ce eft li contes del Graal
Dont li quens li bailla le livre ^
Chreftien alfo wrote the romance of Sir Perchal, which
belongs to the fame hiftor-y '. Godfrey de Leigni, a cotem-
' Apud Fauchett, Rec. p. 99. ^^'Tlo adds,
*' Je croy bien que Romans que nous avons
" ajourdhuy imprimez, tels que Lancelot
" du Lac, Triftan, et autrcs, font refon-
•' dus fus les viellcs profes et lymcs et puis
" refraichis de language." Rec. liv. ii. x.
The oldeft manufcripts of romances on
thefe fubjcfts which I have feen are the fol-
lowing. They are in tlie royal manufcripts
of the Britidi Mufeum. Le R:,'r:a>?z de
Tiijiran, 20 D. ii. This was probably
tranfcribed not long after the year 1200. —
Hiftoire du Lancelot ou S. Gi iml, ibid. iii.
Perhaps older than the year 1200.- Again,
Hijioire du S. Graal, ou Lainciot, 20 C.
vi. 1. Tranfcribed foon after 1200. This is
imperfeft at the beginning. The fubjeft
of Jofeph of Arimathca bringing a veflel of
the Sanguis rcalis, or Sangral, that is our
Saviour's blood, into England, is of high
antiquity. It is thus mentioned in l\1r>-te
Arthur. " Ar»<] then the old man had an
" harpc, and he fung an olde fonge how Jo-
" feph of Arimathy came into this lande."
B. iii. c. 5.
' Fauchett, p. 103. This' (lory was alfo
written in very old rhyme by one Menef-
ficr, not menlioned in Fauchett, from
whence it was reduced into profe 1530. fol.
Parif. Percaval le Gaeois, ie quel
acheva les a'vantures du Saint Graal, atitc
auLurifaits du che'valier Gafain, tranjlatee
du rime de Pancien auttur Messenier,
&c. In the royal library at Paris is Le
Roman de Perseval le Galois, far
Crestien de Troyes. In verfe. fol.
Monf Galland thinks there is another
romance under this title, Mem. de I jt. iii.
p. 427. feq. 433. 8vo. The author ot which
he fuppofes may be Rauol de Biavais, men-
tioned by Fauchct, p. 142. Compare
Lenglet, Bibl. Rom. p. 250. The author
of this laft-mentioncd Percevall, in the ex-
ordium, fays that he wrote among others,
the romances of Eneas, Roy Marc, and
Ufelt le Blonde : and that he tranflated
into French, Ovid's Art of Love.
porary,
E N G L I S H POETRY. 135
porary, finifhed a romance begun by Chreftien, entitled La
Charette, containing the adventures of Launcelot. Fauchett
affirms, that Chreftien abounds with beautiful inventions ^
But no ftory is fo common among the earlieft French poets
as Charlemagne and his Tw^elve peers. In the Britifii Mu-
feum we have an old French manufcript containing the
hiftory of Chai'lemagne, tranflated into profe from Turpin's
Latin. The writer declares, that he preferred a fober profe
tranflation of this authentic hiftorian, as hiftories in rhyme,
undoubtedly veiy numerous on this fubje6l, looked fo much
like lies *". His title is extremely curious. " Ci comence
" r Eftoire que Turpin le Ercevefque de Reins fit del bon
" roy Charlemayne, coment il conquift Efpaigne, e delivera
" des Paens. Et pur ceo qe EJioire rimce femble inejij'unge,
" eft cefte mis in profe, folun le Latin qe Turpin mefmes
" fift, tut enli cume il le vift et vift '."
Oddegir the Dane makes a part of Charlemagne's hif-
tory; and, I believe, is mentioned by archbifhop Turpin.
But his exploits have been recorded in verfe by Adenez, aa
old French poet, not mentioned by Fauchett, author of the
two metrical romances of Berlin and Cleomades, under the
name of Ogier le Danois, in the year 1270. This author
was mafter of the muficians, or, as others fay, herald at
arms, to the duke of Brabant. Among the royal manu-
fcripts in the Mufeum, we have a poem, Le Livre de Ogeir
de Dannemarche ''. The French have likewife illuftrated this
? P. 105. ibid. " fera mielx gardee. Maintes gens en ont
'' There is a curious paflage to this pur- " ouy center et chanter, mais n'eft ce ot^'b-
pofe in an old French profe romance of " J'"nge non cc qu'ils en difent et chantent
Charlemagne, written before the year 1200. " cil conteour neciljugleor. Nuz con-
" Baudouiu Comte de Hainau trcuva a " tes rymez k'en est vrais : tot
" fens en Bourgongne le vie de Charle- *' mensonge ce q_u'ils dient." Liv..
" niagne : et mourant la donna a fa four quatr.
" Yolond ComtefTe de S. Paul qui m'a ' MSS. Harl. 273.' 23. Cod. membr.
" prie que je la mette en Roman Jans rymc. f. 86. There is a very old metrical romance
" Parce que tel fe delitera el Roman qui on this fubjeft, ibid. MSS. Harl. 527. i.
" del Latin n'ent cure ; et par Ic Roman f. 1. Cod. membr. 4to. ^ 15 E. vi. 4..
champion
136 T H E H I S T O R Y O F
champion in Leonine rhyme. And I cannot help mentioning,
that they have in verfe Vijions of Oddegir the Dane in the king-
dom of Fairy, " Vifions d' Ogeir le Danois au Royaume de
" Faerie en vers Francois," printed at Paris in 1548 '.
On the Trojan ftory, the French have an antient poem,
at leaft not poflerior to the thirteenth century, entitled Ro~
man de 'T7-oye, written by Benoit de Saindl More. As this
author appears not to have been known to the accurate
Fauchett, nor la Croix du Maine ; I will cite the exordium,
efpecially as it records his name ; and implies that the piece
tranflated from the Latin, and that the fubject was not then
common in French.
Cette elloire n'eft pas ufee,
N'en gaires livres n'eft trouvee :
La retraite ne fut encore
Mais Beneoit de fainte More,
L' a tranflate, et fait et dit,
Et a fa main les mots ecrit.
He mentions his own name again in the body of the work,
and at the end.
Je n'en fait plus ne plus en dit ;
Beneoit qui c'eft Roman fit ".
Du Cange enumerates a metrical manufcript romance on
this fubjedl by Jaques Millet, entitled De la Deflru5lion de
Ti-oie ". Montfaucon, whofe extenfive enquiries nothing
could efcape, mentions Dares Phrigius tranflated into French
verfe, at Milan, about the twelfth century °. We find alfo,
among the royal manufcripts at Paris, Di6lys Cretenfis,
' 8vo. There is alfo VHiftoire du preux ■" See M. Gall.ind ut fupr. p. 42 y.
Meurwnfils d'Ocier le Danois. Parif. " Glofl". Lat. Ind. Aux.p. cx-ciii.
1359. 4to. And 1540. 8vo. " Monum. Fr. i. 374.
tranflated
ENGLISH POETRY. 137
tranflated into French verfe ^ To this fubjcft, although
almoft equally belonging to that of Charlemagne, we may
alib refer a French romance in verfe, written by Philipes
Moufques, canon and chancellor of the church of Tournay.
It is in fadl, a chronicle of France : but the author, who
does not chufe to begin quite fo high as Adam and Eve, nor
yet later than the Trojan war, opens his hiftory with the
rape of Helen, palTes on to an ample defcription of the
fiege of Troy ; and, through an exadl detail of all the great
events which fucceeded, condu6ls his reader to the year 1240,
This work comprehends all the fi6lions of Turpin's Char-
lemagne, with a variety of other extravagant ftories difperfed
in many profefTed romances. But itpreferves numberlefs cu-
rious paxticulars, which throw confiderable light on hifto-
rical fadls. Du Cange has colle6led from it all that concerns
the French emperors of Conftantinople, which he has printed
at the end of his entertaining hiftory of that city.
It was indeed the fafliion for the hiftorians of thefe times,
to form fuch a general plan as would admit all the abfur-
dities of popular tradition. Connection of parts, and uni-
formity of fubjedV, were as little ftudied as truth. Ages of
ignorance and fuperftition are more affefted by the marvel-
lous than by plain fa6ts ; and believe what they find written,
without difcernment or examination. No man before the
fixteenth century prefumed to doubt that the Francs derived
their origin from Francus, a fon of Hedlor ; that the Spa-
niards were defcended from Japhet, the Britons from Brutus,
and the Scotch from Fergus. Vincent de Beauvais, who lived
under Louis the ninth of France, and who, on account of his
extraordinary erudition, was appointed preceptor to that
king's fons, very gravely clafTes archbifiiop Turpin's Char-
lemagne among the real hiftories, and places it on a level
with Suetonius and Cefar. He was himfelf an hiftorian,
P SceMontf. Catal. MSS. ii. p. 1669.
T and
138 THE HISTORY OF
and has left a large hiftory of the world, fraught with a
variety of reading, and of high repute in the middle ages ;
but edifying and entertaining as this work might have been to
his cotemporaries, at prefent it ferves only to record their
prejudices, and to charafterife their credulity ^
Hercules and Jafon, as I have before hinted, were involved
in the Trojan ftory by Guido de Colonna, and hence became
familiar to the romance writers'. The Hercules, the Thefeus,
and the Amazons of Boccacio, hereafter more particularly
mentioned, came from this fource. I do not at prefent re-
colleft any old French metrical romances on thefe fubje(5ls,
but prefume that there are many. Jafon feems to have
vied with Arthur and Charlemagne ; and fo popular was his
expedition to Colchos, or rather fo firmly believed, that in
honour of fo refpe6lable an adventure, a duke of Burgundy
inftituted the order of the GoUen Fleece, in the year
1468. At the fame time his chaplain Raoul le Feure il-
luftrated the ftory which gave rife to this magnificent infti-
tution, in a prolix and elaborate hiftory, aftei^wards trans-
lated by Caxton '. But I muft not forget, that among the
royal manufcripts in the Mufeum, the French romance of
Hercules occurs in two books, enriched with numerous an-
tient paintings '. Pertonape and Tpomedon, in our Prologue,
feem to be Parthenopeus and Hippomedon, belonging to the
Theban ftory, and mentioned, I think, in Statins. AnEnglifli
romance in verfe, called Childe Ippomedone^ will be cited here-
after, moft probably tranllated from the French.
1 He flourifhed about 1260. war. Wanl. Antiquit. Septentr. p. 315.
' The Trojom ANN A Saga, a Scan die col. i.
manufcript at Stoikholm, fecms to he pof- ' See Obfervat. on Spenfer's Fairy Queen,
tcriour to Guido's publication. It begins i. § v. P. 176. feq. Montfaucon mentions
with Jafon and Hirculos, and their voyage MeJecs et "Jafonis Hiitoria a Cuidoiie de Co-
lo Colclios : proceeds to the rape of He- lumna. Catal. MSS. Bibl. Coiflin. ii. p.
Icn, and ends '.vith the fiege and dellruc- 1109. — 8ii
tion of Troy. It celebrates all the Ore- ' 17 E. ii.
cian and Afiatic heroes concerned in that
The
ENGLISH POETRY. 139
The conquefts of Alexander the great were celebrated by-
one Simon, in old Pi6lavian or Limofin, about the twelfth
century. This piece thus begins :
Chanfon voil dis per ryme et per Leoin
Del fil Filippe lo roy de Macedoin ".
An Italian poem on Alexander, called T'rionfo Magno^ was
prefented to Leo the tenth, by Dominicho Falugi Ancifeno,
in the year 1521. Crefcimbeni fays it was copied from a Pro-
vencial romance '^. But one of the moft valuable pieces of
the old French poetry is on the fubje6l of this vi6lorious
monarch, entitled, Roman d Alexandre. It has been called the
fecond poem now remaining in the French language, and
was written about the year 1200. It was confeffedly tranf-
lated from the Latin ; but it bears a nearer refemblance to
Simeon Seth's romance, than to Quintus Curtius. It was
the confederated performance of four writers, who, as Fau-
chett exprefles himfelf, were ajfociez en leiir jonglerie ^.
Lambert li Cors, a learned civilian, began the poem ; and
it was continued and completed by Alexander de Paris, John
le Nivelois, and Peter de Saint Cloft ''. The poem is clofed
with Alexander's will. This is no imagination of any of
our three poets, although one of them was a civil lawyer.
Alexander's will, in which he nominates fucceflbrs to his
provinces and kingdom, was a tradition commonly received,
and is mentioned by Diodorus Siculus, and Ammianus Mar-
" Fauch. p. 77. " Fauchett, Rec. p. S3.
" Iftor. Volg. Poef. I.iv. p. 332. In the '' Fauchett, ibid. Monf. Galland men-
royal manufcripts there is a French poem tions a French romance in verfe, unknown
entitled La Vevgeauncc du graunt AUxan- to Fauchett, and entitled Roman d'Ath)s
iiri. 19 D. i. 2. Brit. Muf. I am not fure tt de Propbylias, written by one Alexander,
whether or no it is not a portion of the whom he fuppofes to be this Alexander
French Alexander, mentioned below, writ- of Paris. Mem. Lit. iii. p. 439. edit. Amft.
ten by Jehan li Nivelois. It is often cited by Carpeiitier, Suppl .Cang.
T 2 cellinus.
140 THE HISTORY OF
cellinus ^. I know not whether this work was ever prhited.
It is vokiminous ; and in the Bodleian hbrary at Oxford is
a vail foho manufcript of it on vellum, which is of great
antiquity, richly decorated, and in high prefervation \ The
margins and initials exhibit, not only fantaftic ornaments and
illuminations exquifitely finiflied, but alfo pictures executed
with fingvilar elegance, expreffing the incidents of the ftory,
and difplaying the fafhion of buildings, armour, drefs, mu-
fical inftruments ", and other particulars appropriated to the
times. At the end we read this hexameter, which points out
the name of the fcribe.
Nomen fcriptoris eft Thomas plenus amoris.
Then follows the date of the year in which the tranfcript
was completed, viz. 1338. Afterwards there is the name
and date of the illuminator, in the following colophon, writ-
ten in golden letters. " Che livre fu perfais de la enlumi-
" niere an xviii". jour davryl par Jehan de grife 1' an de
" grace m.ccc.xliiii. '" Hence it may be concluded, that the
illuininations and paintings of this fuperb manufcript, which
were moft probably begun as foon as the fcribe had finiflied
his part, took up fix years : no long time, if we confider the
attention of an artift to ornaments fo numerous, fo various,
fo minute, and fo laborioufly touched. It has been fuppofed,
that before the appearance of this poem, the Romans, or
thofe pieces which celebrated Gests, were conftantly com-
pofed in fhort verfes of fix or eight fyllables : and that in
this Roftian d' Alexaftdre verfes of twelve fyllables were firft
tifed. It has therefore been imagined, that the verfes called
Alexandrines, the prefent French heroic meafure, took
== Sec Fabric. Bibl. Gr. c. iiL 1. viii. ' The bifliop of Glouccdcr has a moft
p. 205. beautiful French manufcript on vellum of
' MSS. BodI B. 264. fol. Mort d' Arthur, ornamented in the fame
•> The moft frequent of thefe are organs, manner. It was a prefent from Vwtuc the
ba^ipcs, Jutes, and trumpets. engraver.
their
ENGLISH POETRY.
141
their rife from this poem ; Alexander being the hero, and
Alexander the chief of the four poets concerned in the work.
That the name, fome centuries afterwards, might take place
in honour of this celebrated and early effort of French poetry,
I think is very probable ; but that verfes of twelve fyllables
made their firft appearance in this poem, is a do6lrine
which, to fay no more, from examples already produced and
examined, is at leaft ambiguous ". In this poem Gadifer,.
hereafter mentioned, of Arabian lineage, is a very confpicu-
ous champion.
Gadifer fu moult preus, d\ni Arrabi lignage.
A rubric or title of one of the chapters is, " Comment
" Alexander fuit mys en un vefal de vooire pour veoir le
" merveiles, &c." This is a paflage already quoted from
Simeon Seth's romance, relating Alexander's expedition to
the bottom of the ocean, in a veffel of glafs, for the purpofe
of infpefling fiflies and fea monfters. In another place,
from the fame romance, he turns aftronomer, and foars to
the moon by the help of four gryphons. The caliph is fre-
quently mentioned in this piece j and Alexander, like Char-
lemagne, has his twelve peel's.
Thefe were the four reigning ftories of romance. On
which perhaps Enghfh pieces, tranflated from the Frenchj
exifted before or about the year 1300. But there are feme
other Englifh romances mentioned in the prologue of Richard
CuEUR DE Lyon, which we likewife probably received from
the French in that period, and on which I fnall here alfo
enlarge.
Beuves de Hanton, or Sir Beavis of Sonthampton, is a
French romance of confiderable antiquity, although the hero
is not older than the Norman conqueil. It is alluded to in
See Pref. Lt Roman de la Rq/e, par Monf. L'AbbcXengJetj. i. p. xxjcsi.
©ur
142 THE HISTORY OF
our Englifli romance on this ftory, which will again be
cited, and at large.
Forth thei yode fo faith the boh ".
And again more exprefsly,
Under the bridge wer fixty belles.
Right as the Romans telles '.
The Romans is the French original. It is called the Romance
of Bewves de Hmiton, by Pere Labbe ^ The very ingenious
Monlieur de la Curne de fainte Palaye mentions an antient
French romance in profe, entitled Beiifres de Hanton ^ . Chau-
cer mentions Bevis, with other famous romances, but whe-
ther in French or Englilli is uncertain '. Beuves of Hantonne
was printed at Paris in 1502 *". Afcapart was one of his
giants, a chara6ler ' in very old French romances. Bevis
was a Saxon chieftain, who feems to have extended his
dominion along the fouthern coafts of England, which he
is faid to have defended againft the Norman invaders. He
lived at Downton in Wiltfhire. Near Southampton is an
artificial hill called Bevis Mount., on which was probably a
fortrefs "". It is pretended that he was earl of Southampton.
His fword is Ihewn in Arundel caftle. This piece was evi-
dently written after the crufades j as Bevis is knighted by
the king of Armenia, and is one of the generals at the fiege
of Damafcus.
Guv Earl of Warwick is recited as a French romance
by Labbe ". In the Britifh Mufeum a metrical hiftory in very
old French appears, in which Felicia, or Felice, is called the
« Sign. P. ii. f Signal. E. iv. ' Selden's Drayton. Polyolb. f. iii. p. 37.
f Nov. Bibl. p. 334. edit. 1652. '" It is now inclofed in the beautiful gar-
'' Mem. Lit. XV. 582. 4to. dens of General Sir John Mordaunt, and
'sRim. Thop. gives name to his feat.
'' 4to. Percy's Ball. iii. 2:7, " Ubi fupr.
daughter
ENGLISH POETRY. 143
daughter of an earl of Warwick, and Guido, or Guy of
Warwick, is the fon of Seguart the earl's fteward. The
manufcript is at prefent imperfc6l °. Montfaucon mentions
among the royal manufcripts at Paris, Roman de Guy et
Beuves de Hanton. The latter is the romance laft mentioned.
Again, Le Livre de Guy de Warwick et de Harold d' Ardenne ''.
This Harold d'Arden is a diftinguifhed warriour of Guy's
hiftory, and therefore his atchieveraents fometimes form a
feparate romance : as in the royal manufcripts of the Britifli
Mufeum, where we find Le 'Rotnant de TIerolt Dardenne ^ In
the Engliih romance of Guy, mentioned at large in its
proper place, this champion is called Syr Heraiide oj Ardcrne \
At length this favourite fubje6l formed a large profe ro-
mance, entitled Guy de Warwick Chevalier d'Angleterre et de la
belle Jille Felix Jamie, and printed at Paris in 1525 \ Chaucer
mentions Guy's ftory among the Romaunces of Pris ' : and it
is alluded to in the Span if h romance of Tirante il Blanco, or
T'irante the White, fuppofed to have been written not long
after the year 1430 ". This romance was compofed, or
perhaps enlarged, after the crufades ; as we find, that Guy's
redoubted encounters with Colbrond the Danilh giant, with
the monfter of Dunfmore heath, and the dragon of Nor-
thumberland, are by no means equal to fome of his at-
chievements in the holy land, and the trophies which he won
from the foldan under the command of the emperor Fre-
derick.
The romance of Sidrac, often entitled, Le Livere Sydrac
le philojhphe le quel horn appele le livere de le futitane de totes
Sciences, appears to have been very popular, from the prefent
frequency of its manufcripts. But it is rather a romance of
Arabian philofophy than of chivalry. It is a fyftem of
natural knowledge, and particularly treats of the virtues of
» MSS. Harl. 3775. 2. 'Sign. L. ii. verf.
P Catal. MSS. p. 792. ' Fol. And again, ib. 1526. 410.
1 15 E. vi. 8. fol. ■ Rim. Thop. " Percy's Ball, iii- 100.
plants.
144
THE HISTORY OF
plants. Sidrac, the philofopher of this fyftem, was aftra-
nomer to an eaftern king. He lived eight hundred and forty-
feven years after Noah, of whole book of aftronomy he was
poflefTed. He converts Bocchus, an idolatrous king of India,
to the chrillian faith, by whom he is invited to build a
mighty tower againft the invafions of a rival king of India.
But the hiftory, no lefs than thefubjeft of this piece, difplays
the ftate, nature, and migrations of literatvire in the dark
ages. After the death of Bocchus, Sidrac's book fell into the
hands of a Chaldean renowned for piety. It then fucceiUvely
becomes the property of king Madian, Namaan the Ailyrian,
and Grypho archbifhop of Samaria. The latter had a prieft
named Demetrius, who brought it into Spain, and here it
was tranflated from the Greek into Latin. This tranflation
is faid to be made at Toledo, by Roger de Palermo, a mino-
rite friar, in the thirteenth century. A king of Spain then
commanded it to be tranflated from Latin into Arabic, and
fent it as a moft valuable prefent to Emir Elmomenim, lord
of Tunis. It was next given to Frederick the Second, em-
peror of Germany, famous in the crufades. This work,
which is of confiderable length, was tranflated into Englifli
verfe, and will be mentioned on that account again. Sidrac
is recited as an eminent philofopher, with Seneca and king
Solomon, in the Marchaunfs Second taky afcribed to Chau-
cer ".
It is natural to conclude, that moft of thefe French ro-
mances were current in England, either in the French ori-
ginals, which were well underftood at leaft by the more
polite readers, or elfe by tranflation or imitation, as I have
before hinted, when the romance of Richard Cuer de Lyon,
in whofe prologue they arc recited, was tranflated into
Englilh. That the latter was the cafe as to fome of them,
" Urr. p. 6i6. v. 1932. There b an old tranflation of Sjdrac intoDutch, MSS.
Marfhall, Bibl. Bodl. 31. fol.
at
ENGLISH POETRY. 145
at leaft, we fliall foon produce a6lual proofs. A writer, who
has confidered thcfe matters with much penetration and judg-
ment, obferves, that probably from the reign of our Richard
the firft, we are to date that remarkable intercommunica-
tion and mutual exchange of compofitions which we difcover
to have taken place at fome early period between the French
and Englifli minftrels. The fame fet of phrafes, the fame
fpecies of chara6lers, incidents, and adventures, and often
the identical ftories, being found in the metrical romances
of both nations ". From clofe connexion and conftant in-
tercourfe, the traditions and the champions of one kingdom
were equally known in the other : and although Bevis and
Guy were Englifli heroes, yet on thefe principles this cir-
cumftance by no means deftroys the fuppofition, that their
atchievements, although perhaps already celebrated in rude
Englifli fongs, might be firft wrought into romance by the
French ^ And it feems probable, that we continued for
fome time this pra6tice of borrowing from our neighbours.
Even the titles of our oldeft romances, fuch as Sir Blanda-
* Perq^'s Eff. on Anc. Engl. Minftr. weftern world, but that the French in the
p. 12. thirteenth century had acquired an efta-
' Dugdale relates, that in the reign of blifhment there under Baldwin earl of Flan-
Henry the fourth, about the year 1410, ders : that the French language muft have
a lord Beauchamp, travelling into the eaft, been known in Sicily, Jerufalem, Cyprus,
was hofpitably received at Jerufalem by the and Antioch, in confequence of the con-
Soldan's lieutenant : " Who hearing that quefts of Robert Guifcard, Hugo le Grand,
" he was defcended from the famous Guy and Godfrey of Bulloigne : and that pil-
" of Warwick, ivhofejtory they had in hooks grimages into the holy land were exceiTive-
*' of their oixn language, invited him to ly frequent. It is hence eafy to fuppofe,
" his palace ; and royally feafting him, pre- that the French imported many of their
" fented him with tiu-ee precious ftones of ftories or books of this fort into the eaft ;
" great value, befides divers cloaths of filk which being thus underftood there, and
" and gold given to his fervants." Baron. fulting the genius of the orientals, were at
i. p. 243. col. I. This ftory is delivered length translated into their language. It is
on the credit of John Roufe, the traveller's remarkable, that the Greeks at Conftan-
cotemporary. Yet it is not fo very impro- tinople, in the twelfth century, and fmce,
bable that Guy's hiftory fhould be a book called all the Europeans by the name of
among the Saracens, if we confider, that Franks ; as the Turks do to thU day. See
Conftantinople was not only a central and Seld. Folyolb. §. viii. p. 130.
connedling point between the eaftern and
U mourf.
146 THE HISTORY OF
moure. Sir I'ri amour e. Sir Eglamotire, of Artoys ', La Mort d'
Arthur^ with many more, betray their French extraftion. It
is likewife a prefumptive argument in favour of this afler-
tion, that we find no profe romances in our language, before
Caxton tranflated from the French the Hiftory of Troy, the
Life of Charlemagne, the Hiftories of Jafon, Paris, and Vy-
enne ', the Death of King Arthur, and other profe pieces
of chivalry : by which, as the profeflion of minftrelfy de-
cayed and gradually gave way to a change of manners and
cuftoms, romances in metre were at length imperceptibly
fuperfeded, or at leaft grew lefs in ufe as a mode of enter-
tainment at public feflivities.
Various caufes concurred, in the mean time, to multiply
books of chivalry among the French, and to give them a
fuperiority over the Englifh, not only in the number but
in the excellence of thofe compofitions. Their barons lived
in greater magnificence. Their feudal fyftem flourifiied on
a more fumptuous, extenfive, and lafting eftablifliment.
Schools were inftituted in their caftles for initiating the
young nobility in the rules and praftice of chivalry. Their
tilts and tournaments were celebrated with a higher degree
of pomp ; and their ideas of honour and gallantry were more
exaggerated and refined.
* In our Englifh Syr Eci.amovr op recites a metrical French romance in manu-
Artoys, there is this reference to the icn^i, Le Reman de Girard rie rienne, \vr\t-
French from which it was tranflated. Sign. ten by Bertrand le Clcrc. GlofT. Lat. i.
E. i. Ind. AucT. p. cxciii. Madox has printed
TT- i_ I t jj the names of feveral French romances
His own mother there he wedde, r , . , • r -ca j .u .u- j
T rv 1 found m the reicn of bdward the third,
in KoM AUNCB as we rede. , . , " »u- r u .0.
among which one on this iubjcdl occurs.
Again, fol. ult. Formul. Anglic, p. 12. Comp.are Objir-
T T> -L- 1 'valtons on Spen/er s Fairy i^unn, vol. 11.
In RoMAUNCE this cronyde vs. , ••. '^ \ ►u „ 1
■' ' §. vui. p. 43. Among the royal manu-
Thc authors of thefc pieces often refer to fcripts, in the Britifh Mufeum, there is in
their origin.al. jufl as Arioflo mentions verfe Hijhire de Gyrart dt Vianne tt de/es
Turpin for his voucher. fines. 20 D. xi. 2. This manufcript was
■ But I mufl not omit here that Du Cange perhaps written before the year 1 30c.
We
ENGLISH POETRY.
^M
We may add, what indeed has been before incidentally
remarked, that their troubadours were the firft writers of
metrical romances. But by what has been here advanced, I
do not mean to infmuate without any reftriftions, that the
French entirely led the way in thefe compofitions. Un-
doubtedly the Provencial bards contributed much to the
progrefs of Italian literature. Raimond the fourth of Ar-
ragon, count of Provence, about the year 1220, a lover and
a judge of letters, invited to his court the moft celebrated of
the fongfters who profefled to polifli and adorn the Pro-
vencial language by various forts of poetry \ Charles the
firft, his fon-in-law, and the inheritor of his virtues and
dignities, conquered Naples, and carried into Italy a tafte
for the Provencial literature. At Florence efpecially this
tafte prevailed, where he reigned many years with great
fplendour, and where his fucceflbrs refided. Soon afterwards
the Roman court was removed to Provence \ Hitherto the
Latin language had only been in ufe. The Provencial writers
eftabliftied a common diale6l : and their examples convinced
other nations, that the modern languages were no lefs adapted
to compofition than thofe of antiquity ^ They introduced
a love of reading, and diffufed a general and popular tafte
for poetry, by writing in a language intelligible to the ladies
and the people. Their verfes being conveyed in a familiar
tongue, became the chief amufement of princes and feudal
lords, whofe courts had now begun to affume an air of
'' Giovan. Villani, Iftor. 1. vi. c. 92. Latin. But finding that he could not (b
' Villani acquaints us, that Brunetto eiFcftually in that language iniprefs his fa-
Latini, Dante's mailer, was the firft who at- tirical ftrokes and political maxims on the
tempted to polifh the Florentines by im- laity, or illiterate, he altered his mind,
proving their tafte and ftyle ; which he did and publiilied thofe pieces in Italian. Had
by writing his grand worlc the Tesoro in Petrarch written his Africa, his Eclogues,
Provencial. He died in 1294. See Villan. and his prole compoiitions in Italian, the li-
ibid. 1. ix. c. 135. terature of his country would much fooner
'' Dante defigned at firft that liis Inferno, have arrived at perfeftion.
and Treatife on monarchy, ihould appear in
U 2 greater
148 THE HISTORY OF
greater brilliancy : a circumftance which neceflarily gave
great encouragement to their profeffion, and by rendering
thefe arts of ingenious entertainment univerfally fafhionable,
imperceptibly laid the foundation of polite literature. From
thefe beginnings it were eafy to trace the progrefs of poetry
to its perfeftion, through John de Meun in France, Dante
in Italy, and Chaucer in England.
This praife muft undoubtedly be granted to the Provencial
poets. But in the mean time, to recur to our original ar-
gument, we fliould be cautious of afferting in general and
indifcriminating terms, that the Provencial poets were the
firft writers of metrical romance : at leaft we fhould afcer-
tain, with rather more precifion than has been commonly
ufed on this fubjeft, how far they may claim this merit.
I am of opinion that there were two forts of French trou-
badours, who have not hitherto been fufficiently diftin-
guiflied. If we diligently examine their hiftory, we fliall
find that the poetry of the firft troubadours confifted in
fatires, moral fables, allegories, and fentimental fonnets. So
early as the year 1 180, a tribunal called the Court of hove,
was inftituted both in Provence and Picardy, at which quef-
tions in gallantry were decided. This inftitution furnilhed
eternal matter for the poets, who threw the claims and argu-
ments of the different parties into verfe, in a ftyle that
afterwards led the way tothe fpiritual converfations of Cyrus
and Clelia '. Fontenellc does not fcruple to acknowledge,
that gallantly was the parent of French poetry ^ But to
fing romantic and chivalrous adventures was a very different
talk, and required very different talents. The troubadours
therefore who compofed metrical romances form a different
fpecies, and ought always to be confidcred feparately. And
' This part of their charafter will be infilled upon more at large when we come to
fpcak of Chaucer.
' Theatr. l-'r. p. 13.
this
ENGLISH POETRY. 149
this latter clafs feenis to have commenced at a later period,
not till after the crufades had efFe6ted a great change in the
manners and ideas of the weftern world. In the mean time,
I hazard a conje6lure. Cinthio Giraldi fuppofes, that the art
of the troubadours, commonly called the Gay Scie}ice, was
firft communicated from France to the Italians, and after-
wards to the Spaniards ^ This perhaps may be true : but at
the fame time it is highly probable, as the Spaniards had
their Juglares or convivial bards very early, as from long
connexion they were immediately and intimately acquaint-
ed with the fiftions of tlie Arabians, and as they were
naturally fond of chivalry, that the troubadours of Provence
in great meafure caught this turn of fabling from Spain.
The communication, to mention no other obvious means of
intercourfe in an affair of this nature, was eafy through
the ports of Toulon and Marfeilles, by which the two na-
tions carried on from early times a conftant commerce.
Even the French critics themfelves univerfally allow, that
the Spaniards, having learned rhyme from the Arabians,
through this very channel conveyed it to Provence. Taffa
preferred Amadis de Gaul, a romance originally written in
Spain, by Vafco Lobeyra, before the year 1300 ^, to the mod
celebrated pieces of the Provencial poets '. But this is a fubje(5l
which will perhaps receive illuftration from a writer of great
tafte, talents, and induflry, Monfieur de la Curne de Sainte
Palaye, who will foon oblige the world with an ample hiftory
of Provencial poetry ; and whofe refearches into a kindred
fubje<5f, already publifhed, have opened a new and extenfive
field of information concerning the manners, inflitutions,
and literature of the feudal ages ".
s Apud Huet, Orig. Rom. p. io8. ' Difc. del Poem. Eroic. 1. ii. p. 45.46.
^ Nic. Antonius, Bibl. Hifpan. Vet. "^ See Memoires/ur rande/ine Che'val&ic,
torn. ii. 1. viii. c. 7. num. 291. &c. Paris, 1759. "• '°"^- i^"-".
SECT.
ISO THE HISTORY OF
SECT. IV.
VARIOUS matters fuggefted by the Prologue of
Richard cueur de Lyon, cited in the laft fe6lion,
have betrayed us into a long digreflion, and interrupted the
regularity of our annals. But I could not negleft fo fair an
opportunity of preparing the reader for thofe metrical tales,
which having acquired a new call of fi6lion from the cru-
fades and a magnificence of manners from the encreafe of
chivaliy, now began to be greatly multiplied, and as it were
profefledly to form a feparate fpecies of poetry. I now
therefore refunie the feries, and proceed to give fome fpeci-
mens of the Englifli metrical romances which appeared be-
fore or about the reign of Edward the fecond : and although
moft of thefe pieces continued to be fung by the minflrels
in the halls of our magnificent anceftors for fome centuries
afterwards, yet as their firft appearance may moft probably
be dated at this period, they properly coincide in this place
with the tenour of our hiftory. In the mean time, it is
natural to fuppofe, that by frequent repetition and fuccefiive
changes of language during many generations, their original
fimplicity muft have been in fome degree corrupted. Yet
fome of the fpecimens are extra6led from manufcripts writ-
ten in the reign of Edward the third. Others indeed from
printed copies, where the editors took great liberties in ac-
commodating the language to the times. However in fuch
as may be fuppofcd to have fuffered moft from depravations
of this fort, the fubftance of the ancient ftyle ftill remains,
and at leaft the ftru6lure of the ftory. On the whole, we
mean to give the reader an idea of thofe popular heroic tales
in verfe, profefTcdly written for the harp, which began to be
multiplied among us about the beginning of the fourteenth
century.
ENGLISH POETRY. 151
century. We will begin with the romance of Richard
cuEUR DE Lyon, already mentioned.
The poem opens with the marriage of Richard's father,
Henry the fecond, with the daughter of Carbarryne, a king
of Antioch. But this is only a lady of romance. Henry mar-
ried Eleanor the divorced queen of Louis of France. The
minftrels could not conceive any thing lefs than an eaftern
princefs to be the mother of this magnanimous hero.
His barons him redde '
That they graunted hem a wyfe to wedde,
Haftily he fent his fonde
Into many a divers londe,
The fayreft woman that was on lyve
They fholde bringe him to wyve.
The meflengers or embaffadors, in their voyage, meet a
(hip adorned like Cleopatra's galley.
Suche ne fawe they never none.
For it was fo gay begone
Every nayle with gold ygrave
Of pure gold was his Iklave "",
Her maft was of yvory.
Of famyte her fayle wytly.
Her ropes al of whyte fylke.
As whyte as ever was ony mylke.
The noble Ihyp was wythout
With clothes of gold fpred about.
And her loft ' and her wyndlace ^
Al of gold depaynted was :
In the Ihyppe there were dyght
Knyghtes and lordes of myght.
Advifed. ^ Rudder. C/a-vus. • Deck. "* Windlafs.
And
152 THE HISTORY OF
And a ladv therein was
Bryght as fonne thorowe the glas.
Her men abrode gon ilonde
And becked them with her honde,
And prayed them for to dwell
And theyr aventures to tell.
" To dyverfe londes do we wende
". For kynge Harry hath us fende
" For to feche hym a quene,
" The fayreft that myght on erthe bene."
Up aroffc a kynge of chayre
With that word, and fpake fayre,
The chayre was of carbunkell ftone,
Suche fawe they never none,
And other dukes hym befyde.
Noble men of moche pryde,
And welcomed the meflengers every chone,
Into the fliippe they gan gone.
Clothes of fylke wer fprad on borde,
The kyng then anon badde.
As it is in lyme radde %
That his doughter wer forthe fet
And in a chayre by hym fet,
Trompettes bigan to blowe.
She was fet in a throwe ''
With XX knygtcs her aboute
And double fo many of ladyes floute.
Whan thei had done their mete
Of adventures they bygyn to fpeke.
The kyng them told in his reafon,
How it cam hym in a vyfyon,
In his lond that he came fro
In to Engelond for to go
' i. e. The French original. ' ImmediateJy.
And
ENGLISH POETRY. 153
And hys doughter that was hym dere
For to wende with hym in fere ^,
And in this manner we bi dyght
Unto your londe to wende ryght.
Then anfwerede a meflengere,
His name was cleped Barnagere,
" Ferther we will feeke nought
" To my lorde (lie fhal be brought."
They foon arrive in England, and the lady is lodged in the
tower of London, one of the royal caftles.
The meflengers the kyng have tolde
Of that lady fayre and bolde
There fhe lay in the toure
The lady that was whyt as floure ;
Kyng Harry gan hym dyght
With erles, barons, and many a knyght,
Ayenft that ladye for to wende.
For he was courteys and hende :
The damofell to londe was ladde
Clothes of golde bifore her fpradde.
The meflengers on eche a fyde,
And mynyftrells of moche pryde.
Kyng Harry liked her feynge
That fayre lady, and her fader the kynge. —
To Weftminflir they went in fere
Lordes, ladies, that ther were,
Trompettes bigan for to blowe
To mete *■ thei went in a throwe, &c '.
The firft of our hero's atchievements in chivalry is at a
a fplendid tournament held at Salifbury, Clarendon near
Salifbury was one of the king's palaces ".
s Company. •> To dinner. "^ In the pipe-rolls of this king's reign, I
' Sign. A. ii.— A. iiii. find the following articles relating to this
X ancient
'54-
THE HISTORY OF
Kynge Rychard gan hym dyfguyfe
In a full flronge queyntyfe ' :
He cam out of a valaye
For to fe of theyr playe,
As a knyght avantvirous
His atyre was orgulous "",
Al together cole blacke
Was his horfe without lacke,
Upon his creft a raven ftoode
That yaned " as he were wode. —
He bare a fliafte that was grete and flronge
It was fourtene fote longe,
And it was gret and ftoute,
One or two inches aboute :
The fyrfl knyght that he ther mette
Full egerly he hym grette,
With a dint amyd the flielde
His hors he bare downe in the feld, &c° .
ancient palace, which has been aheady
mentioned incidentally. Rot. Pip. i. Ric. i.
" WiLTEs. Et in cariagio vini Regis a.
" Clarendon ufque Woodeftokc, 341. \d.
" per Br. Reg. Et pro ducendis 200 m.
" [marcis] a Sarefburia ufque Briftow, ys.
" ^d. per Br. Reg. Et pro Cucendis 2500
" libris a Sarefburia ufque Gloceflriam,
*' 26 J. 10 rt'. per Br. Reg. Et pro tonellis
" et clavis ad cofdem denarios. Et in ca-
" riagio dc 4000 marcis a Sarum ufque
" Suthanton, et pro tonellis et aliis neccf-
" fariis, 8 /. et I ti. per Br. Reg." And
again in the reign of Henry the third. Rot.
Pip. 30. Hen. iii. " Wiltescire. Et
*' in una marcelfia ad opus regis et regi-
" na; apud Clarendon cum duobus inter-
" cluforiis, et duabus camcris privatis,
" holHo veteris aul.x aniovcndo in porticu,
" et de cadem aula camera facienda cum
" camino et fcr.cllris, et camera privata,
" et quadam magna coquina quadrata, ct
" aliis operationibus, contcntis in Brevii,
" inceptis per eundem Nicolaum et non
" perfeftis, 526. /. 16/. 5/. ob. per Br.
" Reg." Again, Rot. Pip. 39. Hen. iii.
" SuDHAMT. Comp. NoveJireft'T. Et in
" triginta miliaribus fcindul.-irum [fliingles]
" faciend. in eadem forefta et cariand. eaf-
" dem ufque Clarendon ad domum regis
" ibidem cooperiandam, 6/. ct i marc, per
" Br. Reg. Et in 30 mill, fcindularum
" faciend. in eadem, et cariand. ufque
" Clarendon, 11/. \o s." And ag.iin, in
the fame reign the canons of Ivy church
receive penfious for celebrating in the royal
chapel there. Rot. Pip. 7. Hen. iii.
" WiLTES. Et canonicis de monallerio
" edcrofo miniftrantibus in Capella de
" Clarendon. 35/. 7 ign. G. iii.
This
ENGLISH POETRY. j^y
This Jyre grekys, or Grecian fire, feems to be a compofi-
tion belonging to the Arabian chemiftry. It is frequently
mentioned by the Byzantine hiftorians, and was very much
ufed in the wars of the middle ages, both by fea and land. It
was a fort of wild-fire, faid to be inextinguiflaable by water,
and chiefly ufed for burning fhips, againft which it was
thrown in pots or phials by the hand. In land engagements
it feems to have been difcharged by machines conftrufted on
purpofe. The oriental Greeks pretended that this artificial
fire was invented by Callinicus, an architect of Helio-
polis, under Conflantine ; and that Conftantine prohi-
bited them from communicating the manner of making
it to any foreign people. It was however in common ufe
among the nations confederated with the Byzantines : and
Anna Commena has given an account of its ingredients \
which were bitumen, fulphur, and naptha. It is caWed feu
gregcis in the French chronicles and romances. Our minftrell,
I believe, is fingular in faying that Richard fcattered this
fire on Saladin's fhips : many monkifh hiftorians of the holy
war, in defcribing the fiege of Aeon, relate that it was em
ployed on that occafion, and many others, by the Saracens
againft the Chriftians ^ Procopius, in his hiftory of the
Goths, calls it Medea's Oil, as if it had been a preparation
ufed in the forceries of that enchantrefs ^
The quantity of huge battering rams and other military
engines, now unknown, which Richard is faid to have
tranfported into the holy land, was prodigious. The names
of fome of them are given in another part of this romance ^.
^ See Du Cange, Not. ad Joinvil. p. 7 1 . Among thefe were the Mutegrrffon and the
And Gl. Lat. V. Ignis GRiTCus. Rohjnct. Sign. N. iii. The former of thefe
' See more particularly Lhron. Rob. is thus defcribed. Sign. E. iiii.
Brun. p. 170. And Benedift. Abb. p. 6c2. ,, aut jaj
. J .' . ' .,•(, X , |C -l nave a caltell 1 underitonde
-• J ■ . • p. jy. "t • 3 • iJ- Is made of tembre of Englonde
J '- ' With fyxe ftages full of tourelles
, rr ' ' ^ r »!. « Well flouryslhed with cornelles, &c.
s Twenty grete gynnes for the nones ' '
Kynge Kichard fent for to call Hones, &.C. See Du Cange Not. Joinv. p. 68. Mate-
GRYFFON
158
THE HISTORY OF
It is an hiftorical fa6l, that Richard was killed by the French
from the ilaot of an arcubalift, a machine which he often
worked fkillfully with his own hands : and Guillaimie le
Briton, a Frenchman, in his Latin poem called Philippeis,
introduces Atropos making a decree, that Richard fliould
die by no other means than by a wound from this deftruc-
tive inftrument ; the ufe of which, after it had been inter-
di(5led by the pope in the year 1 1 3 9, he revived, and is fuppofed
to have fhewn the French in the crufades ^
Gynnes " he had of wonder wyfe,
Mangenelles ' of grete quyentyfe ",
Arblaft bowe made with gynne
The holy land therewith to wynne ;
Over all other utterly
He had a myle ' of grete mayftry.
In the myddes of a fliyppe to ftonde
Suche ne fawe they never in no londe.
GRYFFON is the Terror or plague of the
Greeks. Du Cange, in his Gallo-Byzan-
tine hiftorv, mentions a caillc of this name
in Peloponnefus. Bcncdift fays, that Ri-
chard trefted a ftrong calllc, which he
called Mate-gr\ff'ti, on the brew of a fteep
mountain without the walls of the city of
Meflina in Sicily. Benedidl. Abb. p. 621.
ed. Hcarn. fub ann. 1190. Robert de
Brunne mentions this engine from our ro-
mance. Chron. p. 157.
The romancer it fais Richarde did make a
pele.
On kaftelle wife allwais wrought of tre ful
wclc. —
In fchip he dcd it lede, SiC.
His pele from that dai forward he cald it
Male-griffon.
Pele is a houfe. Archbifhop Turpin men-
tions Charlemagne's ivooden cafiles at the
fiegc of a city in France, cap. ix.
» Sec Carpenticr's Suppl. Du Cange,
Lat. Gl. tom. i. p. 434. And Du Cange
ad Ann. Alex. p. 357.
'■ Engines.
' See fupr. p. 157. It is obfervable, that
M A N G A N u M , Maiigor.ctl, was not known
among the Roman military machines, but
exifted firft in Byzantine Greek yiccy-yxtm,
a circumftance which feems to point out its
ini'entors, at leaft to (hew that it belonged
to the oriental art of war. It occurs often
in the Byzantine Taiflics, although at the
fame time it was perhaps derived from the
Latin Machina : yet the Romans do not ap-
pear to have ufed in their wars fo formid-
able .and complicated an engine, as this is
defrribed to have been in the writers of the
dark ages. It was the capital machine of
the wars of thofe ages. Du Cange in his
Const ANTiNOPOLis Christiana men-
tions a vail edifice at Conllantinople in
which the machines of war were kept,
p. 155.
'' See fupr. p. 154, ' Mill.
Foure
ENGLISH POETRY.
159
Foure fayles were therto all newe
Yelowe and grenc rede and blewe,
With canvas i layde all aboute
Full coftly within and withoute.
And all within ful of fyre
Of torches made of wexe clere,
Overth wart and endlonge.
With fpryngelles '" of fyre they dyde honde,
Grounde they neyther corne ne good,
But robbed as thei were wood ;
Out of their eyen cam rede blode " :
Before the trough one ther ftode
That all in blode was begone
Such another was never none
And homes he had upon his hede
The Sarafyns of hym had grete drede °.
■" Efpringalles, Fr. engines. See Du
Cange, Gl. Lat. Spingarda.Quadrel-
Lus. And Not. Joinv. p. 78. Perhaps he
means pellets of tow dipped in the Grecian
iire, which fometimes were thrown hoin a
fort of mortar. Joinville fays, that the
Greek fire thrown from a mortar looked
' like a huge dragon flying through the air,
and that at midnight the flafhes of it illu-
minated the chrifti.in camp, as it it had
been broad day. When Louis's army was
encamped on the banks of the Thanis in
.^gypt, fays the fame curious hiilorian,
about the year 1249, they ereded two
chats chatci!:. Or covered galleries, to fhel-
ter their workmen, and at the end of them
two hfrois, orvaft moveable wooden towers,
full of crofs-bow men who kept a continual
difcharge on the oppofite ihore. Befides
eighteen other new-invented engines for
throwing ftones and bolts. But in one
night, the deluge of Greek fire ejected
from the Saracen camp utterly deftroyed
thefe enormous machines. This was a com-
mon difafter ; but Jcinville fays, that his
pious monarch fometimes averted the dan-
ger, by proftrating himfelf on the ground.
and invoking our Saviour with the appella-
tion of De(^u Sire. p. 37. 39.
" This device is thus related by Robert
of Brunne, chron. p. 175. 176.
Richard als fuithe did raife his engyns
The Inglis wer than blythe, Normans and
Petevyns:
In bargeis and galeis he fet mylnes to go.
The failes, as rnen fais, fom were blak
and bio,
Som were rede and grene, the wynde about
them blewe. —
The ftones were of Rynes, the noyfe dread-
full and grete
It aftraicd the Sarazins, as leven the fyre
out fchete.
The noyfe was unride, &c.
R\nts is the river Rhine, whofe fhcres or
bottom fupplied the ftones fhot from their
military engines. The Normans, a bar-
b.arous people, appear to have ufed ma-
chines of immenle and very artificial con-
ftruction at the fiege of Paris in 8S5. See
the laft note. And V'it. Saladin. perSchul-
teus, p. 135. 141. 167, &c.
" Sign, ut fupr.
The
i6o THE HISTORY OF
The laft circumftance recalls a fiend-like appearance
drawn by Shakefpeare ; in which, exclufive of the applica-
tion, he has converted ideas of deformity into the true fub-
lime, and rendered an image terrible, which in other hands
would have probably been ridiculous.
Methought his eyes
Were two full moons, he had a thoufand nofes,
Horns whelk'd and wav'd like the enridged fea.
It was fome fiend ''.
At the touch of this powerful magician, to fpeak in Milton's
language, " The griefly terrror grows tenfold more dreadful
" and deform."
The moving caflles defcribed by our minflrell, which feem
to be fo many fabrics of romance, but are founded in real
hiflory, afforded fuitable materials for poets who deal in the
marvellous. Accordingly they could not efcape the fabling
genius of TafTo, who has made them inflruments of en-
chantment, and accommodated them, with great propriety,
to the operations of infernal fpirits.
At the fiege of Babylon, the foldan Saladin fends king
Richard a liiorfe. The meflenger fays,
" Thou fayfl thy God is full of myght :
" Wilt thou graunte with fpere and fhelde,
" To detryve the ryght in the felde,
" With helme, hauberke, and brondes bryght,
" On ftronge fledes gode and lyght,
" Whether ben of more power,
" Thy God almight or Jupyter ?
" And he fent me to faye this
" Yf thou wylt have an hors of his,
P King Lear, iv. vi.
f' 111
ENGLISH POETRY.
i6i
'• In all the londes that thou haft gone
" Suche ne thou faweft never none :
" Favell of Sypres, ne Lyard of Prys \
" Ben not at ned as he ys ;
" And yf thou wylte, this fame daye,
" He fhall be brought the to aiTaye."
Rycharde anfwered, " thou fayeft well
" Suche an horfe, by faynt Myghell,
" I wolde have to ryde upon.
" Bydde hym fende that hors to me,
" And I lliall aflaye what they be ,
" Yf he be trufti, withoute fayle,
" I kepe none other to me in batayle."
The meffengers tho home wente,
And told the fowdan in prefente.
That Rycharde in the felde wolde come hym unto :
The ryche fowdan bade to com hym unto
A noble clerke that coulde wel conjoure.
That was a mayfter nygromanfoure ':
He commaunded, as I you telle,
Thorugh the fende's myght of helle,
Two ftrong fendes of the ayre
In lykenes of two ftedes fayre
1 Horfes belonging to Richard, " Favel
" of Cyprus and Lyard of Paris." Ro-
bert de Brunne mentions one of thefe
horfes, which he calls Phanuel. Chron.
p. 175.
Sithen at Japhet was flayn Phanuel his
ftede.
The Romans telles gret pas ther of his
douhty dede.
This is our romance, viz. Sign. Qj,iii.
To hym gadered every chone
And ilewe Favell under hym,
Tho was Richard wroth and grym.
This was at the fiege of JafFe, as it Is here
called. Fa'vell of Cyprus is again men-
tioned. Sign. O. ii.
Favell of Cyprus is forth fet
And in the fadell he hym fett.
Robert of Brunne fays that Saladin's bro-
ther fent king Richard a horfe. Chron. p.
194.
He fent to king Richard a ftede for curteifie
On of the bell reward that was in paemie.
Necromancer.
Both
i62 THE HISTORY OF
Both lyke in hewe and here,
As men fayd that ther were :
No man fawe never none fyche
That was one was a mare iliche,
That other a colte, a noble ftede,
Where that he wer in ony mede,
(Were the knyght ' never i'o bolde,)
Whan the mare nye ' wolde,
(That hyni fliolde holde ayenft his wylle,)
But foone he wolde go her tylle ",
And kneel downe and fouke " his dame,
Therewhyle the fowdan with Ihame
Sholde kynge Rychard quelle,
All this an aungell gan him telle.
That to hym came aboute mydnyght,
" Awake, he fayd, goddis knyght :
" My lorde " doth the to onderftonde
" That the flial com on hors to londe,
" Fayre it is, of body ipyght,
" To betray the if the fowdan myght;
" On hym to ryde have thou no drede
" For he the helpe fliall at nede."
The angel then gives king Richard feveral directions about
managing this infernal horfe, and a general engagement
enfuing, between the Chriftian and Saracen armies, "
He lepte on hors whan it was lyght j
Or he in his fadel did lepe
' His Rider. ' Neigh. "' Go to her. Again,
" Suck. " God. J , , , ,
y In which the Saracen line extended I-ykc as fnowe lyeth on the mountaynes
ill wiuLii iiic oaraccn line cxtenaea „ r ir n j i n j i
twelve ,u.ics in length, and ^"'l^'^ fultylled hylles and playncs
° With haulKrkcs bryght and harneys clere
Of
vT itii ii.iuLi^.1 jvu:> uiyvtu. tliiu il
I V ,, . J ^ was this bird e Icemed, that it was forbid-
inghs that wer gode. 1 . 1 c r-\ \ > 1 c
° ° den in a code of Charlem.igne s laws, tor
Shad\%feparated. anyone to give his hawk or his fword as
pait
ENGLISH POETRY. 167
I'abotir, a drum, a common accompanyment of war, is
mentioned as one of the inftruments of martial mufic in this
battle with chara6leriftical propriety. It was imported into
the European armies from the Saracens in the holy war.
The word is conftantly written tabour, not tambour, in Join-
ville's History of Saint Louis, and all the elder French
romances. Joinville defcribes a fapcrb bark or galley be-
longing to a Saracen chief, which he fays was filled with
cymbals, tabours, and Saracen horns '. Jean d'Orronviile, an
old French chronicler of the life of Louis duke of Bourbon,
relates, that the king of France, the king of Thrafimere,
and the king of Bugie landed in Africa, according to their
cuflom, with cymbals, kettle drums, taboiirs \ and whiftles ".
Babylon, here faid to be befieged by king Richard, and fo
frequently mentioned by the romance writers and the chro-
niclers of the crufades, is Cairo or Bagdat. Cairo and Bagdat,
cities of recent foundation, were perpetually confounded
with Babylon, which had been deftroyed many centuries
before, and was fituated at a confiderable diflance from
either. Not the leaft enquiry was made in the dark ages
concerning the true fituation of places, or the difpofition of
the country in Paleftine, although the theatre of fo im-
part of his ranfom. " In compojitionem ^ Hiftoir. de S. Loys, p. ;!0. The ori-
" Wirigildi volumus ul ea demur qua in lege ginal has " Cors Sarazinois." See alfo p.
" conunentur excepto accipitre at fpatha." 52.56. And Du Cange's Notes, p. 61.
Lindebrog-. Cod. Leg. Antiq. p. 895. In ■ 1 cannot find Gla-i, the word that fol-
the year 1337, the bifhop of Ely excom- lows, in the French diftionaries. But per-
municated certain pcrfons for ftealing a haps it anfwers to our old Englilh Glee. See
hawk, fitting on her perch, in the cloillers Du Cange, GI. Lat. V. Classicum..
of the abbey of Bermondfey in Southwark. " Cap. 76. Nacaires, is here the word
This piece of facrilege, indeed, was com- for kettle-drums. See Du Cange, ubi fupr.
mitted during fei-vice-time in the choir : p. 59. Who alfo from an old roll ui t> ui i\/i In lernuig or this elvish nice lore,
are at Cambridge, Mbo. Bibl. Publ. Mor. °
690. 33. And MSS. Coll. Caii, A. 8. = " Into the land of Faiiy, into the
'' In Chaucer's Tale of the Chanon Ye- " region of Spirits."
Z Raynborne
170
THE HISTORY OF,
Raynborne rofe on the morrow erly,
And armed hym full richely. —
Raynborne rode tyll it was noone,
Tyll he came to a rocke of flone ;
Ther he founde a flrong gate,
Pie blifled hym, and rode in thereat.
He rode half a myle the waie.
He faw no light that came of daie.
Then cam he to a watir brode,
Never man ovir fuche a one rode.
Within he fawe a place greene
Suche one had he never erft feene.
Within that place there was a pallaice,
. Clofed with walles of heatheneffe "' :
The walles thereof were of criftall.
And the fommers of corall.
Raynborne had grete dout to pafTe,
The watir fo depe and brode was :
And at the lafte his fteede leepe
Into the brode watir deepe.
Thyrty fadom he fanke adowne,
Then cleped" he to god Raynborne.
God hym help, his fteede was goode,
And bure hym ovir that hydious floode.
To the pallaice he yode ' anone.
And lyghted downe of his fteede full foone.
"' " Walls built by the Pagans or Sam- ^7- Be-vys of Hamptoun. Sign. b. iii.
•' cens. Walls built by majjic." Chaucer, rr^ r 1 n • j i n-
in a verfe taken from \r Bevy., [Sign. a. ^hey found fluppes more and Icffe
ii.] fays that his knight had travelled, ^f panimes and of hithen.Jf^.
As well in Chriftendom as in Hethness. ^''°' ^'S"' ^- '•
Prol. p. 2. V. 49. And in Syr Eglamour of The fiift dede withouten lefie
Artcys, Sign. E. ii. That Bev)'s dyd in hethencjfe.
%
Eglamour fayd to hym yeys, « Called.
I am come out of hethenes. ' Went.
Througli
ENGLISH POETRY. 171
Through many a chamber yede Raynborne,
A knyghte he found in dongeon.
Raynborne grete hym as a knyght courtoife,
Who oweth, he faid, this fayre Pallaice ?
That knyght anfwered hym, yt is noght,
He oweth it that me hither broght.
Thou art, quod Raynburne, in feeble plight,
Tell me thy name, he fayd, fyr knight :
That knyghte fayd to hym agayne.
My name is Amys of the Mountayne.
The lord is an Elvifh man
That me into thys pi*yfon wan.
Arte thou Amys, than fayde Raynborne,
Of the Mountaynes the bold barrone ?
In grete perill I have gone.
To feke thee in this rocke of ftone.
But bliffed be God now have I thee
Thou flialt go home with me.
Let be, fayd Amys of the Mountayne,
Great wonder I have of thee certayne ;
How that thou hythur wan :
For fyth this world fyrft began
No man hyther come ne myghte,
Without leave of the Elvilh knyghte.
Me with thee thou mayeft not lede, 6cc. '
Afterwards, the knight of the mountain dire6ls Raynburne
to find a wonderful fword which hung in the hall of the
palace. With this weapon Raynburne attacks and conquers
the Elvifli knight J who buys his life, on condition of con-
ducing his conqueror over the perillous ford, or lake, above
defcribed, and of delivering all the captives confined in his
fecret and impregnable dungeon.
* Sign. Kk. iii. feq.
Z 2 Guyon's
J72 THE HISTORY OF
Guyon's expedition into the Souldan's camp, an idea fur-
niflied by the crufades, is drawn with great ftrength and fim-
plicity.
Guy afked his armes anone,
Hofen of yron Guy did upon :
In hys hawberke Guy hym clad.
He drad no ftroke whyle he it had.
Upon hys head hys hehne he caft.
And hafted hym to ryde full fail.
A fyrcle "^ of gold thereon ftoode.
The emperarour had norxc fo goode ;
Aboute the fyrcle for the nones
Were fett many precyous ftones.
Above he had a coate armour wyde ;
Hys fword he toke by hys fyde :
And lept upon his ftede anone,
Styrrope with foote touched he none,
Guy rode forth without bofle.
Alone to the Soudan's hofle :
' Guy faw all that countrie
Full of tentes and pavylyons bee ;
On the pavylyon of the Soudone
Stoode a carbuncle-flone :
Guy wift therebie it was the Soudones
And drew hym thyther for the nones,
Alt the meete " he founde the Soudone,
And hys barrons everychone,
And tenne kynges aboute hym,
All they were flout and gryrame : ^
Guy rode forth, and fpake no worde,
Tyll he cam to the Soudan's borde ^ -,
* Circle. ' At dinner. " if£c>t the I'ord abovin all nations." Prol.
'' Table. Chaucer, Squ.T. 105. 52. The term of chivalry, to begin the
And up he ridcth to the hie borde. '"J"'^^ ^ f? ^'\ 1^'^'='^ j^^ ihc uppcrmoft feat
of the hall. Auilis, Ord. Gart. 1, App.
Chaucer fays that his knight had often p. xv. <' The earl of Surry beian the borde
" in
ENGLISH POETRY.
He ne rought ' with whom he mette.
But on thys wyfe the Soudan he grette-
" God's curfe have thou and thyne
" And tho that Icve "" on Apoline."
Than fayd the Soudan, " What art thou
" That thus prowdlie fpeakeft now ?
" Yet found I never man certayne
" That fuche wordes durft me fayne."
Guy fayd, " So God me fave from hell,
" My ryght nam I fliall the tell,
" Guy of Warwicke my name is."
Than fayd the Sowdan ywis,
" Arte thou the bolde knyght Guyon,
" That art here in my pavylyon ?
. " Thou flueft my cofyn Coldran
" Of all Sarafyns the boldeft man, &c" .
m
" in prefence : the ear] orArundel wafhed
" with him, and fatt both at the firft mefle.
"... Began the horde at the cliamber's
" end." i. e. fat at the head of that table
which was at the end of tile chamber. This
was at Windfor, A. D. 15 19. InSj-r Egla-
mour of drlDfs, we have to begin the dej'e,
which is the fame thing.
Lordes in halle wer fette
And waytes blewe to the mete. —
The two knyghtes the defe began.
Sign D iii. See Chaucer, Squ. T. 99.
And Kn. T. 2002. In a celebration of
the feaft of Chriftmns at Greenwich, in the
year 1488, we have, " The due of Bede-
" ford heganne the tabic on the right fide of
" the hall, and next untoo hym was the
" lorde Dawbeneye, &c." That is, He
fate at the head of the table. Leland. Coll.
iii. 237. edit. 1770. To begin the board
is to begin the tournament. Lydgate, Chron.
Troy, B. ii. ch. 14.
The grete jufles, hordes, or tournay,
I will here take occafion to correft Hearne's
explanation of the word Bourder in Brunne's
Chron. p. 204.
A knygt a bourdour king Richard hade
A douty man in ftoure his name was
Markade.
Bourdour, fays Hearne, is hoarder, pen-
fioner. But the true meaning is, a tVag, an
arch fellow, for he is h re introdi ced put-
ting a joke on the king of France. Bourde
isjrjj, tr'ich, from the French. See above,
p. 70. Chauc. Gam. 1974. and Non. Urr.
2294. Knyghton, mentions a favourite
in the court of England who could procure
any grant from the king bttrdando. Du
Cange Not. Joinv. p. 116. Who adds,
" De la vient le mot de Bourdeurs qui ef-
" toient ces farceurs ou plaifantins qui di-
" vertiflbient les princes par le recit des
" fables et des hiltoires des Romans.
" Aucuns eli'iient que ce mot vient des be-
" howdj qui elloit une efpece des Tour-
" nois." See alfo Difl*. Joinv. p. 174.
' Cared, valued. Chaucer, Rom. R.
1873.
I ne rought of deth ne of life.
" Thofe who believe.
» Sign. Q^iii.
I will
S74 THE HISTORY OF
I will add Guy's combat with the Danifli giant Colbrond,
as it is touched with great fpirit, and may lei-ve to illuftrate
ibme preceding hints concerning this part of our hero's
hiftory.
Then came Colbronde forthe anone,
On foote, for horfe could bare hym none.
For when he was in armure dight
Power horfe ne bare hym might.
A man had ynough to done
To bere hym hys wepon.
Then Guy rode to Colbronde,
On hys flede ful wele rennende " :
Colbronde fmote Guy in the fielde
In the middeft of Syr Guyes fhelde ;
Through Guyes hawberS^ that ftroke went
And for no maner thyng it withftent ''.
In two yt fliare'' Guyes fledes body
And fell to ground haftily.
Guy upftert as an eger lyoune.
And drue hys gode fworde browne :
To Colbronde he let it flye.
But he might not reche fo hye.
On hys Ihouldcr the flroke fell downe
Through all hys armure fliare Guyon '.
Into the bodie a wounde untyde
That the red blude gan oute glyde.
Colbronde was wroth of that rap,
He thought to give Guy a knap.
He fmote Guy on the helme bryght
That out fprang the fyre lyght.
Guy fmote Colbronde agayne.
Through fliielde and armure certayne.
° Running. ' " Guy cut through all the giant's ar-
p " Nothing could Hop it." " mour."
Nothing could Hop it."
■J Divided.
He
ENGLISH POETRY, ly^
He made his fwerde for to glyde
Into his bodie a wound i-yht wyde.
So fmart came Guyes bionde
That it brafte in hys bond.
The romance of the Squire of Low Degree, who loved
the king's daughter of Hungary % is alluded to by Chaucer in
the Rime of Sir Topas \ The princefs is thus reprefented in
her clofet, adorned with painted glafs, liftening to the fquire's
complaint ".
That ladi herde hys mournyng alle,
Ryght undir the chambre walle :
In her oryall " there flie was,
^ Clofyd well with royall glas,
Fulfyllyd yt was witl\ ymagery.
Every v>^indowe by and by
On eche fyde had ther a gynne,
Sperde '' with manie a dyvers pynne.
Anone that ladie fayre and fre
Undyd a pynne of yvere.
And wyd the wyndowes flie open fet.
The funne fhonne yn at hir clofet.
In that arbre fayre and gaye
She faw where that fqyure lay, &c.
' It contains thirty-eight pages in quarto.
" Imprinted at London by me Wyllyam
" Copland." I have never Teen it in ma-
nufcript.
' See Obfervations on the Fairy Queen,
i. §. iy. p. 1 39.
" Sign. a. iii.
" An Oriel feems to have been a recefs in
a chamber, or hall, formed by the projec-
tion of a fpacious bow-window from top to
bottom. Rot. Pip. an. 18. Hen. iii. [A.
D. 1234.] " Et in quadam cnpellapulchra
'* et decenti facienda ad caput Orioli camere
" regis in caftro Herefordie, de longitudine-
" XX. pedum." I'his Oriel was at die end
of the king's chamber, from which the nev/
chapi;! was to bet^ia. Again, in the caftle
of Kenilworth. Rot. Pip. an. 19. Hen. iii»
[A. D. 1235.] " Et in uno magno Oriollo
" pulchro et competenti, ante oftium magne
" camere regis in caftro de Kenilwortli fa-
" ciendo, vi/. xvi/. iv;/. per Brev. i„gis."
" Clofed, iTiut. In P. Plowman, of a
blind man. " un/parrjd his eine." L e.
opened his eyes.
I am
.>
176
THE HISTORY OF
I am perfuaded to tranfcribe the following paffage, becaufe
it delineates in lively coloiirs the fafhionable diverfions and
ufages of antient times. The king of Hungary endeavours to
comfort his daughter with thefepromifes, after flie had fallen
into a deep and incurable melancholy from the fuppofed lofs
of her paiamour.
To morow ye fhall yn lumtyng fare ;
And yede, my doughter, yn a chare,
Yt fhal be coverd wyth velvette reede
And clothes of fyne golde al about your heede.
With damafke whyte and afure blewe
Well dyaperd >" with lyllyes newe :
y Embroidered, Diverfified. Chaucer of
a bow, Rom. R. v. 934.
And it was painted wel and thwitten
And ore all diafred, and written, &c.
Thwitten is, invijied, ivreathed. The fol-
lowing inllance from Chaucer is more to
our purpofe. Knight's Tale, v. 2160.
Upon a ftede bay, trappid in ftele,
Coverid with cloth of gold diaprid we\e.
This term, which is partly heraldic, oc-
curs in the Provifor's rolls of the Great-
wardrobe, containing deliveries for furnifh-
ing rich habiliments, at tilts and tourna-
ments, and other ceremonies. " Et ad
" faciendum tria harnefia pro Rege, quo-
" rum duo de velvetto albo operato cum
" garteriis de blu et diaj'prex per totam
" campeJinem cum wodehoufes." Ex
Comp. J. Coke derici, Provifor. Magn.
Garderob. ab ann. xxi. Edw. iii. de 23
mcmbranis. ad ann. xxiii. memb. x. I
believe it properly fignifits embroidering
on a rich ground, as tiflue, cloth of gold,
&c. This is confirmed by Peacham. "Dia-
" PEKING is a term in drawing. — It chief-
" ly ferveth to counterfeit cloth of gold,
*' filvcr, damalk, brancht velvet, camblet,
_" &c." Compl. Gent. p. 345. Anderfon,
in his Hillory of Commerce, conjtfturcs,
that Diaper, a fpecics of printed linen,
took it's name from the city of Vprcs in
Flanders, where it was firft made, being
originally called d'ipre. But that city, and
others in Flanders, were no lefs famous for
rich manufaftures of fluff; and the word in
queftion has better pretenfions to fuch a de-
rivation. Thus rich cloth embroidered luiih
raifed ivori we called dUpre, and from
thence diaper ; and to do this, or any work
like it, was called to diaper, from whence
the participle. Sattin of Bruges, another
city of Flanders, often occurs in inven-
tories of monalHc veftments, in the reign of
Henry the eighth : and the cities of Arras
and Tours are celebrated for their tapcftry
in Spenfer. All thefe cities and others in
their neighbourhood, became famous for
this fort of workmanfliip before 1200.
The Arinaior of Edward the third, who
finiihes all the coflly apparatus for the
(hews above-mentioned, confifting, among
other things, of variety of the moil funip-
tuous and ornamented embroideries on vel-
vet, fattin, tilliic, &;c. is John of Cologn.
Unlefs it be Colonia in Italy. Rotu!. prae-
difl. memb. viii. memb. xiii. " Qux omnia
" ordinata fuerunt per gardcrobaiium com-
" petentem, de preccpto ipfms Regis : ct
" faiflaet parata par manus Johis de Colo-
" nia, Armatoris ipfius domini noftri
" Regis." Johannes de Strawelhurgh
[Strafburgh] is mentioned .is hroudalor regis,
i. c. of Richard the fccond, in Anliis,
Ord. Gart. i. 55. Sec alfo, ii. 42. I will
add
ENGLISH POETRY,
177
Your pomelles fhalbe ended with golde,
Your chaynes enameled many a folde.
Your mantell of ryche degre
Purple palle and armyne fre.
Jennets of Spayne that ben fo wyght
Trapped to the ground with velvet bryght.
Ye fhall have harpe, fautry, and fonge,
And other myrthes you amonge,
Ye ihal have rumney, and malefpine,
Both ypocrafl'e and vernage wyne; •
Mountrefe and wyne of Greke,
Both algrade and defpice eke ;
Antioche and baftarde,
Pyment ^ alfo, and garnarde ;
add a paffage from Chaucer's Wife of Bath,
V. 450.
Of cloth-making flie h^ fuch a haunt.
She paflid them of Ipre and of Gaunt.
" Cloth of Gaunt," i. e. Ghent, is men-
tioned in the Romaunt of the Rofe, v. 574.
Bruges was the chief mart for Italian com-
modities, about the thirteenth century. In
the year 1318, five Venetian galeafles,
laden with Indian goods, arrived at this
city in order to difpofe of their cargoes at
the fair. L. Guic. Defer, di Paefi bafs. p.
174. Silk manufaftures were introduced
from the eafl; into Italy, before 11 30.
Gianon. Hift. Napl. xi. 7. The crufades
much.improved the commerce of the Italian
ftates with the eaft in this article, and pro-
duced new artificers of their own. But to
recur to the fubjeft of this note. Di/iper
occurs among the rich fdks and ftufl's in
the French Roman de la Rnf, where it
feems to fignify Diiwa/^-. v. 21867.
Samites, dyapres, camelots.
I find it likewife in the Romar. d'' Alexandre,
written about izoo. MSS. Bodl. fol. i. b.
col. ^.
Dyapres d'Antioch, famis de Romanic.
Here is alfo a proof that the Afiatic ilufts
were at that time famous : and probably
Romanle is Romania. The word often oc-
curs in old accounts of rich ecclefiallical
veftments. Du Cange derives this word from
the Italian dia/pro, a jafper, a precious
ftone which Ihifts its colours. V. Dias-
PRus. In Dugdale's Monafticon we have
diafperatus, diapered. " Sandalia cum ca-
" ligis derubeo fameto oiASPERAXobreu-
" data cum imaginibus regum." tom. iii.
3 1 4. And 32 1 .
'■ Sometimes written pimeate. In the
romance of Sfr Bez'ys, a knight juft going
to repofe, takes the ufual draught of pi-
meate : which mixed with fpices is what
the French romances call 'vin du coucher,
and for which an officer, called Espicter,
was appointed in the old royal houfhold of
France. Signat. m. iii.
The knight and (he to chamber went :^
With pimeate, and with fpifery.
When they had dronken the wyne.
See Carpentier, Suppl. Gloff. Lat. Du
Cange, tom. iii. p. 842. So Chaucer, Leg.
Dido, V. 185.
The fpicis parted, and the wine agon.
Unto his chamber he is lad anon.
A a FroiflTart
178 THE HISTORY OF
Wine of Greke, and mufcadell,
Both clare, pyment, and rochell.
The reed your ftomake to defye
And pottes of ofey fett you bye.
You fliall have venyfon ybake \
The beft wylde fowle that may be take :
A lefe of harehound " with you to ftreke.
And hart, and hynde, and other lyke.
Ye fhalbe fet at fuch a tryft
That hart and hynde fhall come to you fyfl.
Your defeafe to di'yve ye fro,
To here the bugles there yblowe.
FroilTart fays, among the delights of his
youth, that he was happy to tafte,
Au touchier, pour mieulx dormir,
Efpeces, dairet, et rocelle.
Mem. Lit. x. 665. Not. 410. Lidgate of
Tideus and Polimite in the palace of Adraf-
tus at Thebes. Stor. Theb. p. 634. ed.
Chauc. 1687.
Gan anon repaire
To her lodging in a ful ftately toure ;
Afligned to hem by the herbeiour.
And aftir fpicis plenty and the wine
In cuppis grete wrought of gold ful fJTie,
Without tarrying to bedde Iteiightes they
■ gone, &c.
Chaucer has it again, Squ. T. v. 311. p.
62. Urr. And Mill. T. v. 270. p. 26.
vili. p. 674. 4to. Compare Chauc. Sh. T.
V. 2579. Urr. Du Cange, Gloff. Lat. V.
Pi OMENTUM. Species. AndSuppl. Carp.
And Mem. fur I'anc. Chevalier, i. p. 19.
48. I mull add, that 'Triyjj.inaftoi, or 'thjj.u-
la^io;, fignified an Apothecary among the
middle and lower Greeks. See Du Cange,
Gl. Gr. in Voc. i. 1167. And ii. Append.
Etymolog. Vocab. Ling. Gall. p. 301.
col. I. In the regiller of the bi'\\>\. Publ.
ofplcafure; and who is nothing more than Cambr. MSS. More, 690.35. And Brit,
the Calypfo of Homer, the Dido of Virgil, Muf. MSS. Harl. 525. 2. f. 35. Cod.
and the Armida of Taflb. meinbran. Never printed.
In
ENGLISH POETRY. 185
In Cifyle was a noble kyng,
Faire and ftrong and fumdele zyng " ;
He hadde a broder in greete Roome,
Pope of al ciiftendome ;
Another he hadde in Alemayne,
An emperour that Sarazins wrougte payne.
The kynge was hete ' kynge Robert,
Never mon ne wufte him ferte.
He was kyng of great honour
Ffor that he was conquerour :
In al the worlde nas his peer,
Kyng ne prince, far ne neer :
And, for he was of chivalrie flour.
His broder was made emperour :
His oder broder, godes vikere.
Pope of Rome, as I feide ere ;
The pope was hote pope Urban,
He was goode to god and man :
The emperour was hote Valemounde,
A ftronger warreoure nas non founde.
After his brother of Cifyle,
Of whom that I fchal telle awhyle.
The kynge yhoughte he hadde no peer
In al the world, far no neer.
And in his yougt he hadde pryde
Ffor he was nounpere in uche fyde.
At midfomer a feynt Jones niht.
The king to churche com ful riht,
Ffor to heren his even-fong ;
Him thouhte he dwelled ther ful long,
He thouhte more in worldes honour
Than in Crift our faveour :
Young. ' Named,
-B b In
i86 THE HISTORY OF
In Magnificat "" he herde a vers,
He made a clerke het him rehers,
In language of his own tonge,
In Latyn he nufte ° what heo fonge ;
The vers was this I tell ye,
" Depofuit potentes de fede
" Et exaltavit humiles,"
This was the vers withouten les
The clerke feide anone righte,
" Sire fuche is godes mihte,
" That he make heyge lowe,
" And lowe heyge, in luytell throwe ;
" God may do, withoute lyge °,
" His wil in twenkling of an eige %
The kynge feide, with hert unftabl
" All yor fong is fals and fable :
" What man hath fuch power
" Me to bringe lowe in daunger ?
" I am floure of chivalrye,
" Myn enemys I may diftruye :
" No man lyveth in no londe
" That may me withftonde,
" Then is this a fong of noht."
This erreur he hadde in thought.
And in his thought a fleep him tok.
In his pulput ', as feith the boke.
Whan that evenfong was al don,
A kyng i lyk hem out gon
And all men with hem wende,
Kyng Roberd lefte cute of mynde '.
" The hymn fo called. ' " A king like him went out of the
" He luijl. Knew not, " chapel, and all the company with him ;
" Lie. P Eye. " while the real king Robert was forgot-
' Sull, or feat. " ten and left behind."
The
ENGLISH POETRY. 187
The newe ' kyng was, as I yow telle,
Godes aungell his pruide to felle.
The aungell in hall joye made,
And all men of hym weore glade.
The kynge wakede that laye in churche.
His men he thouhte wo to werche j
Ffor he was left ther alon.
And dark niht hym fel upon.
He gan crie after his men,
Ther nas non that fpak agen.
But the fextune atten ende
Of the churche him gan wende ',
And faide, " what doft thou nouth here,
" Thou fals thef, thou lofenger?
" Thou art her with felenye
" Holy chirche to robby, &c."
The kyng bigon to renne out falle ;
As a mon that was wood.
At his paleys gate he flood, ,
And hail the porter gadelyng "",
And bad him com in higing * :
The porter feide, " Who clepeth '' fo ?"
He anfwerde, " Anone tho,
" Thou fchaltwiten ar I go ;
" Thi kyng 1 am thou fchalt knowe :
" In prifoun thou fchall ligge lowe,
" And ben an hanged and to drawe
" As a traytour bi the lawe,
" You fchal wel witen I am kynge, &;c."
When admitted, he is brought into the hall; where the
angel, who had affumed his place, makes him t/je fool of the
hall, and cloathes him in a fool's coat. He is then fent out
Suppofed. " Went to him. '" Renegado, traitor. "* At the call. ^ Calls,
B b 2 to
i88 THE HISTORY OF
to lie with the dogs ; in which fituation he envies the condi-
tion of thofe dogs, which in great multitudes were permitted
to remain in the royal hall. At length the emperor Vale-
mounde fends letters to his brother king Robert, inviting
him to vifit, with himfelf, their brother the pope at Rome.
The angel, who perfonates king Robert, welcomes the mef-
fengers, and cloathes them in the richeft apparel, fuch as
could not be made in the world.
The aungell welcomede the mefiagers,
And gaf them clothes riche of pers ^,
Ffurred al with ermyne,
In cryftendone is non fo fyne;
And all was chouched midde perre *,
Better was non in criflante :
Such clothe, and hit werre to dihte,
Al criltendom hit make ne mihte,
Of that wondrede al that londe,
How that clothe was wrougt with honde.
Where fuch cloth was to felle.
He ho hit made couthe no mon telle.
The mellengers went with the kynge t
To grete Rome, withoute lettynge ;
The Fool Robert alfo went.
Clothed in lodly ' garnement.
With ffoxes tayles mony a boute \
Men mihte him knowen in the route.
The aungcl was clothed al in whyt
Was never feyge ' fuch famyt ' :
And al was crouched on perles riche.
Never mon feighe non hem liche.
* Price. c Lothly, loathfome.
" Precious ftoncs. •! In many knots. « Seen.
•• That is, Uie Angel. « Cloth of gold.
So
ENGLISH POETRY. 189
Al whit attyr was, and fteede,
The fteede was fair ther he yede %
So feir a fteede as he on rod
Was never mon that ever bi ftrod.
The aungel cam to Roonie fone
Real "^ as fei a lyng to done.
So rech a kyng com never in Roomc
All men wondrede whether he come.
His men weore realiiche ' dight
Heore '' riches can feothe no wiht,
Of clothis, gurdles, and other thing,
Evriche fqyzer ' thoughte a kyng;
And al ride of riche array,
Bote " kyng Robert, as i ow fay,
Al men on him gan pyke.
For he rod al other unlyke.
An ape rod of his clothing
In tokne that he was underling.
The pope and the emperour alfo.
And other lordes mony mo,
Welcommede the aungel as for kyng
And made joye of his corny ng ;
Theofe three bredrene made cumfort.
The aungel was broder mad bi fort,
Wei was the pope and emperour
That hadden a broder of fuch honour.
Afterwards they return in the fame pomp to Sicily, where
the angel, after fo long and ignominious a penance, reftores
king Robert to his royalty.
Sicily was conquered by the French in the eleventh cen-
tury", and this tale might have been originally got or
s Went. ^ Royal. ' Royally. bert le Diable, often quoted by Car-
^ Their. ' Squire. '" But. pentier in his Supplement to Du Cange.
' There is an old French Romance, Ro- And a French Morality, without date, or
name
ipo THE HISTORY OF
written during their poffeffion of that ifland, which conti-
nued through many monarchies °. But Sicily, from its
fituation, became a tamihar country to all the weflern con-
tinent at the time of the crufades, and confequently foon
found its way into romance, as did many others of the me-
diterranean iflands and coafts, for the fame reafon. Another
of them, Cilicia, has accordingly given title to an antient
tale called, the King of Tars ; from which I fliall give fome
extra6ls, touched with a rude but expreffive pencil.
" Her bigenneth of the Kyng of Tars, and of the Soudan
" of Dammias ^ how the Soudan of Dammias was criitened
" thoru godis gras \"
Herkeneth now, bothe old and zyng,
Ffor Marie love, that fwete thyng :
Howe a werre bi gan
Bi tweene a god criflene kyng.
And an hethene heih lordyng,
Of Damas the Soudan.
The kyng of Tars hadde a wyf.
The feireftc that mihte here lyf.
That eny mon telle can :
A dougter thei hadde ham bi tweene,
That heore ' rihte heire fcholde benj
Whit fo ' father of fwan :
name of the author, in nianufciipt, Com- " aux pais de Icur conquefte, eflant une
meni il flit oijoint 3. Robert k diahk, fiU " conftume des gens de de^a chanter, avauc
du due dc Normaiidie, pour fes tneifaitrs, de " que combattre, les beaux faits de leurs
/aire le fol Jang parley, et depiiis N. S. ut " anceftres, compofez en vers." Rec. p.
merci du hi. IJsauchamps, Rech. Theat. 70. Boccacio's Tancred, in his beautiful
Fr. p. 109. This is probably the fame Tale of Tancred and Sigismunda,
Robert. was one of thcfe Franco-Norman kings of
" A paflage in Fauchett, fpeaking of Sicily. Compare Nouv. Abreg. Chronol.
rhyme, may perhaps defervc .attention here. Hill. Fr. pag. 102. edit. 1752.
'* Pour le regard dc SicHiens, je me tiens P Damafcus.
" prcfque alTcure, que Guillaume Ferra- 1 MS. Vernon. Bibl. BoJl. f. ■;04. It
" brach frerede Robert Guifthardetautres is alfo in Bibl. Adv. Edingb. W. 4. i.
" feigneurs dc Calabre ct Pc' '^ " " To that iflue."
Morgan did after confeile, i" Unright. Wicked.
And wrought him felfe to ivrothcrheile. "^ Hend. Handfome. ' Tarry
C
The
194
THE HISTORY OF
The Soudan ladde an huge oft,
And com with muche pruyde and coft,
With the kyng of Taars to fihte.
With him mony a Sarazyn feer ',
All the feolds feor and neer,
Of helmes leomede ' lihte.
The kyng of Taars com allb
The Sovidan battayle for to do
With mony a criftene knihte ;
Either oft gon othur affayle
Ther bi gon a ftrong batayle
That griflyche was of fihte.
Threo hethene agen twey criftene men,
And felde hem down in the fen.
With wepnes ftif and goode :
The fteorne Sarazyns in that fihte,
Slowe vr criften men donn rihte,
Thei fouhte as heo weore woode.
The Souldan's ofte in that ftounde
Ffeolde the criftene to the grounde,
Mony a freoly foode ;
The Sarazyns, with outen fayle,
The criftens culd " in that battayle,
Nas non that hem withftoode.
Whan the king of Taars faw the fiht
Wood he was for wrathe " a pliht ;
In honde he hent a fpere,
And to the Soudan he rode ful riht.
With a dunt '^ of much miht,
Adoun he gon him here :
The Souldan neigh he hadde iflawe.
But thritti thoufant of hethen lawe
Commen him for to were ;
' Companion. ■ Shone. " Killed. * Wraffc. Orig. " Dint. Wound, ftroke.
And
ENGLISH POETRY. 195
And brougten him agen upon his ftede,
And holpe him wcl in that nede.
That no mon miht hira derc ''.
When he was brouht uppon his ftede,
He fprong as fparkle doth of glede %
Ffor wrathe and for envye ;
All that he hotte he made them blede,
He ferde as he wolde a wede %
Mahoun help, he gan crye.
Mony an helm ther was unweved.
And mony a bacinet '' to cleved,
And faddles mony emptye j
Men miht fe uppon the felde
Moni a kniht ded under fchelde,
Of the criften cumpagnie.
When the kyng of Taars faug hem fo ryde,
No longer then he nold abyde.
Bote fleyh ' to his owne cite :
The Sarazyns, that ilke tyde,
Sloug a doun hi vche fyde
Vr criftene folk fo fre.
The Sarazyns that tyme, fauns fayle,
Slowe vre criftene in battayle.
That reuthe it was to fe ;
And on the morwe for heore ■* fake
Truwes thei gunne for to gidere take %
A moneth and dayes thre.
As the kyng of Taars fatte in his halle.
He made ful gret deol ' withalle,
Ffor the folk that he hedde ilore ^ :
y Hurt. ^ Coal. Fire-brand. « " They began to make a truce toge-
» " As if he was mad." " Helmet. « ther."
= Flew. •' Their. ' Dole. Grief. « Loll.
C c 2 His
196 THE HISTORY OF
His doxihter com in riche paJle,
On kneos he *" gan biforen hym falle.
And feide with fything fore :
" Ffather, he feide, let me bi his wyf
" That ther be no more ftryf, &c."
To prevent future bloodfhed, the princefs voluntarily de-
clares file is v/illing to be married to the Soldan, although
a Pagan : and notwithflanding the king her father peremp-
torily refufes his confent, and refolves to continue the war,
with much difficulty flie finds means to fly to the Soldan's
court, in order to produce a fpeedy and lafting reconciliation
by marrying him.
To the Souldan heo ' is i fare ;
He com with mony an heig lordyng, •
Ffor to welcom that fwete thyng,
Theor he com in hire chare " ;
He cuft ' hire with mony a fithe
His joye couthe no man hithe '",
A wei was al hire care.
Into chambre heo was led,
With riche clothes heo was cled,
Hethene as thaug heo were ".
The Souldan thcr he fatte in halle.
He commaundcd his knihtes alle
That mayden ffor to fette,
On cloth of riche purpil palle.
And on here bed a comli calle,
Bi the Souldan fhe was fette.
Unfemli was hit ffor to fe
Heo that was fo bright of ble
To habbe ° fo foule a mette ^ &c.
'' She. ' She. '' Chariot. _' Kift. " " As If fhe hid been a heathen. One
■" Know. " of that countr)'." '' Have, i' Mate.
This
ENGLISH POETRY. 197
They are then married, and the wedding is folemnifed with
a grand tournament, which they both view from a high
tower. She is afterwards delivered of a fon, which is fo
deformed as to be almoft a monfter. But at length fhe per-
fuades the Soldan to turn chriflian ; and the young prince
is baptifed, after which ceremony he fuddenly becomes a
child of moft extraordinary beauty. The Soldan next pro-
ceeds to deftroy his Saracen idols.
He hente a ftof with herte grete,
And al his goddis he gan to bete,
And drough hem al adoun ;
And leyde on til that he con fwete,
With fterne ftrokes and with grete.
On Jovyn and Plotoun,
On Aftrot and fire Jovyn
On Termagaunt and ApoUin,
He brak them fcul and croun ;
On Termagaunt, that was heore brother,
He left no lym hoi witte other,
Ne on his lorde feynt Mahoun, &;c.
The Soldan then releafes thirty thoufand chriftians, whom
he had long detained prifoners. As an apoftate from the
pagan religion, he is powerfully attacked by feveral neigh-
bouring Saracen nations : but he follicits the afliftance of
his father in law the king of Tars ; and they both joining
their armies, in a pitched battle, defeat five Saracen kings,
Kenedoch, Lefyas king of Taborie, Merkel, Cleomadas, and
Membrok. There is a warmth of defcription in fome paf-
fages of this poem, not unlike the manner of Chaucer. The
reader mufl have already obferved, that the ftanza refembles
that of Chaucer's Rime of Sir Topas ^
1 The romance of Sir Libeaux or Lybius Disconius, quoted by Chaucer, is in
this ftanza. MSS. Cott. Cal. A. z. f. 40.
Ipomedon
198 THE HISTORY OF
Ipomedon is mentioned among the romances in the Pro-
logue of Richard Cuer de Lyonj which, in an antient
copy of the Britifti mufeum, is called Syr Ipomydon : a
name borrowed from the Theban war, and transferred here
to a tale of the feudal times '. This piece is evidently
derived from a French original. Our hero Ippomedon is fon
of Ermones king of Apulia, and his miftrefs is the fair
heirefs of Calabria. About the year 1230, William Ferra-
bras ', and his brethren, fons of Tancred the Norman, and
well known in the romantic hiftory of the Paladins, ac-
quired the fignories of Apulia and Calabria. But our Englifh
romance feems to be immediately tranflated from the French ;
for Ermones is called king of Poyk, or Apulia, which in
French is Pouille. I have tranfcribed fome of the moft in-
terefting paflages '.
Ippomedon, although the fon of a king, is introduced
waiting in his father's hall, at a grand feilival. This fer-
vitude was fo far from being difhonourable, that it was al-
ways required as a preparatory Hep to knighthood ".
Everie yere the kyng weld
At Whytfuntyde a fefl held
Of dukis, erlis, and barouns,
Mani ther com frome diverfe tounes,
Ladyes, maydens, gentill and fre.
Come thedyr frome ferre countre :
And grette lordis of ferre lond,
Thedyr were prayd by fore the bond ".
Whan all were com to gidyr than
Ther was joy of mani a man ;
' MSS. Harl. 2252. 44. f. 54. And in ' Bras defer. Iron arms,
the library of Lincoln •cathedral, (K k. 3. ' MSS. f. 55.
10.) is an ancient imperfeft printed copy, " See p. fupr.
^ wanting the firft fliect. " Before-biind.
Ffull
ENGLISH POETRY. 199
FfuU ryche I wene were there pryfe,
Ffor better might no man devyfe.
Ippomedon that day fervyde in halle.
All fpake of hym both grete and fmalle,
Ladyes and mayden by helde hym on,
So goodly a youth they had fene non :
Hys feyre chere in halle theym fmerte
That mony a lady fon fmote throw the herte.
And in theyr hartys they made mone
That there lordis ne were fuche one.
After mete they went to pley,
All the peple, as I you fay ;
Some to chambre, and fome to boure,
And fome to the hye toure ' ;
And fome on the halle ftode
And fpake what hem thoht gode :
Men that were of that cite ^
Enquired of men of other cuntre, Sec.
Here a converfation commences concerning the heirefs of
Calabria: and the young prince Ippomedon immediately
forms a refolution to viiit and to win her. He fets out in
difguife.
Now they furth go on their way,
Ippomedon to hys men gan fay.
That thei be none of them alle,
So hardi by his name hym calle,
Whenfo thei wend farre or neare.
Or over the ftraunge ryvere j
" In the feudal caftles, where many per- were formed, and difFerent fchemes of
fons of both fexes were affembled, and amufemcnt invented. One of thefe, was
who did not know how to fpend the time, to mount to the top of one of the higheft
it is natural to fuppofe that different parties towers in the caftle. f The Apulians,
Ne
200 THE HISTORY OF
Ne no man telle what I am
Where I fchall go, ne where I came.
All they graunted his commaundement.
And furthe thei went with one confent.
Ippomedon and Thelomew
Robys had on and mantills newe.
Of the richeft that might be,
Ther nas ne fuche in that cuntree:
Ffor many was the riche flone
That the mantills were uppon.
So long there waie they have nome \
That to Calabre they are come :
Thei come to the caftell yate
The porter was redy there at,
The porter to them thei gan calle
And prayd him go into the halle
And fay thy lady ' gent and fre,
That commen are men of farre contree.
And yf yt pleafe hir we will her pray,
That we might ete with hyr to day.
The porter feyd full corteflly
" Your errand to do I am redy."
The ladie to her mete was fette,
The porter cam and fayr her grette,
" Madame, he feyde, god yow fave,
" At your gate geftis you have,
" Straunge men us for to fe
" Thei afke mete for charyte."
The ladie commaundeth fone anone
That the gates wer undone,
■" Took. to underftand fuch a charafter. See a ftory
» She was lady, by inheritance, of the of a Comtejff, who entertains a knight in
fignory. The female fcudataries exercifed her caftle with much gallantry. Mem. fur
all the duties and honours of their feudal I'anc. Chev. ii. 69. It is well known that
jurifdiflion in perfon. In Spcnfcr, where anciently in England ladies were fhcriffs of
we read of the La/iy of the Cajlle, we are counties.
" And
ENGLISH POETRY. 201
" And brynge them alle bifore mc
" Ffor welle at efe Ihall thei be."
Thei took heyr pagis hors and alle,
Thefe two men went into the halle,
Ippomedon on knees hym fette,
And the ladye feyre he grette :
" I am a man of ftraunge countre
" And prye yow of your will to be
" That I myght dwelle with you to gere
" Of your nourture for to lere ",
" I am com from farre lond ;
" Ffor fpeche I here bi fore the hand
" That your nourture and your fervyfe,
" Ys holden of fo grete empryfe,
" I pray yovi that I may dwell here
" Some of your fervyfe to here."
The ladye by held Ippomedon,
He femed wel a gentilmon,
She knew non fuche in her lande,
So goodli a man and wel farrand ";
She fawe alfo bi his norture
He was a man of grete vakire :
She caft ful fone in hire thoght
That for no fervyfe cum he noght ;
But hit was worlhip her untoo
In feir fervyfe hym to do.
She fayd, " Syr, welcome ye be,
" And al that comyn be with the;
" Sithe ye have had fo grete travayle,
" Of a fervyfe ye ihall not fayle :
" In this cuntre ye n>ay dwell here
" And al your will for to here,
Iicarn. "^ Handfome.
D d " Of
202 THE HISTORY OF
" Of the cuppe ye fhall ferve me
" And all your men with you fhal be,
" Ye may dwell here at your wille,
" Bote '' your beryng be full ylle."
" Madame, he faid, grantmercy,"
He thanked the ladye corteyfly.
She commandith him to the mete.
But or he fette in ony fete.
He faluted theym greete and fmalle.
As a gentillmon Ihuld in halle j
All thei faid fone anon,
Thei faw nevir fo godli a mon,
Ne fo light, ne fo glad,
Ne non that fo ryche atire had :
There was none that fat nor yede %
But thei had merveille of his dede \
And feyd, he was no lytell fyre
That myht fhowe foche atyre.
Whan thei had ete, and grace fayd.
And the tabyll awaye was layd;
Upp then aroos Ippomedon,
Ant to the bottery he went anon,
Ant hys mantyl hym a boute ;
On hym lokyd all the route.
Ant everie mon feyd to other there,
" Will ye fe the proude fqueer
" Shall ferve ^ my ladye of the wyne,
" In hys mantyll that is fo fyne ?"
That they hym fcornyd wift he noght
On othyr thyng he had his thoght.
He toke the cuppe of the botelere.
And drewe a lace of fylke ful clere.
* Unlefs. « Walked. ' Behaviour. « " Who is to fcrvc."
Adowne
ENGLISH POETRY. 203
Adowne than felle hys mantylle by,
He preyed hym for hys curtefy,
That lytell gyfte ^ that he wold nome
Tell afte fum better come.
Up it toke the bottelere,
By fore the lady he gan it bere
Ant preyd the ladye hartely
To thanke hym of his curtefTie,
Al that was tho in the halle
Grete honoure they fpake hym alle.
And fayde he was no lytyll man
That fuch gyftis giffie kan.
There he dwelled moni a day,
And fervyd the ladye wel to pay.
He bare hym on fo fayre manere
To knightis, ladyes, and fquyere,
All loved hym that com hym by,
Ffor he bare hym ib corteflly.
The ladye had a cofyn that hight Jafon,
Full well he loved Ippomedonj
When that he yed in or oute,
Jafon went with hym aboute.
The lady lay, but fhe flept noght.
For of the fquyerre flie had grete thoght ;
How he was feyre and fliape wele.
Body and amies, and everie dele :
Ther was non in al hir londe
So wel he femyd dougti of honde.
But fhe howde wele for no cafe.
Whence he came nor what he was,
Ne of no man could enquere
Other than of that fquyere.
■> i. e. His mantle.
D d 2 She
204
THE HISTORY OF
She hire bi thought of a quayntyfe,
If fhe miht know in any wife.
To wete whereof he were come ;
This was hyr thoght al their fome
She thoght to wode hyr men to tame '
That file myght knowe hym by his game.
On the morow whan yt was day
To her men fhe gan to fay,
" To morrowe whan it is day light,
" Lok ye be al redy dight,
" With your houndis more and lefTe,
" In fforreft to take my greffe,
" And thare I will myfelf be
" Your game to by holde and fe."
Ippomedon had houndis three
That he broght from his cuntree ;
Whan thei were to the wode gone.
This ladye and her men ichone.
And with hem her houndis ladde.
All that any houndis hadde.
Syr Tholomew for gate he noght,
Hys maiftres houndes thedyr he broght.
That many a day he had ronne ere,
Fful wel he thoght to note hem there.
When thei came to the launde on hight.
The queues pavylyon thar was pight.
That Ihe might fee al the beft.
All the game of the forreft.
And to the lady broght mani a beft '',
Herte and hynd, buck and doo,
And othir beftis many mo.
The houndis that wer of gret prife.
Plucked down dere all atryfe,
» f. Tempt. '' Beaft.
Ippomedon
ENGLISH POETRY. 205
Ippomedon he with his hounds throo
Drew down both buck and doo.
More he took with houndes thre
Than al that othir cumpagnie,
Thare fquyres undyd hyr dere
Eche man after his manere :
Ippomedon a dere gede unto.
That ful konningly gon he hit undo,
So feyre that venyfon he gan to dight,
That both hym by held iquyere and knight :
The ladye looked oute of her pavylyon,
And fawe hym dight the venyfon.
There {he had grete dainte
And fo had all that dyd hym fee :
She fawe all that he down droughe
Of huntynge fhe wift he coude ynoghe
And thoght in her hert then
That he was com of gentillmen :
She bade Jafon hire men to calle
Home then pafTyd grete and fmalle :
Home thei com fon anon.
This ladye to hir met gan gon,
And of venery ' had her fille
Ffor they had take game at wille.
He is afterwards knighted with great folemnity.
The heraudes gaff the childe "" the gee,
And M pounde he had to fee,
Mynftrelles had giftes of gold
And fourty dayes thys feft was holde*.
The metrical romance entitled. La Mort Arthure, pre-
ferved in the fame repofitory, is fuppofed by the learned and
' Venifon. " Ippomedon, " MS. f. 6i. b.
accurate
2o6 THE HISTORY OF
accurate Wanley, to be a tranflation from the French : who
adds, that it is not perhaps older than the times of Henry
the feventh °. But as it abounds with many Saxon words,
and feems to be quoted in Syr Bevys, I have given it a
place here ^ Notwithftanding the title, and the exordium
which promifes the hiftoiy of Arthur and the Sangreal, the
exploits of Sir Lancelot du Lake king of Benwike, his in-
trigues with Arthur's queen Geneura, and his refufal of the
beautiful daughter of the earl of Afcalot, form the greateft
part of the poem. At the clofe, the repentance of Lancelot
and Geneura, who both aflume the habit of religion, is in-
troduced. The writer mentions the Tower of London. The
following is a defcription of a tournament performed by fome
of the knights of the Round Table ■>.
Tho to the caftelle gon they fare.
To the ladye fayre and bryhte :
Blithe was the ladye thare.
That thei wold dwell with her that nyght.
Haftely was there foper yare '
Of mete and drinke richely dight ;
On the morowe gan thei dine and fare
Both Lancellot and that othir knight.
Whan they come in to the felde
Myche tlier was of game and play.
Awhile they lovid ' and bi held
How Arthur's knightis rode that day,
' Galehodis party bigun to " held
On fote his knightis ar led away.
Launcellott ftiffe was undyr fchelde,
Thenkis to help yf that he may.
" MSS. Harl. 2252. 49. f. 86. Pr. ' Ready. See Glossary to the Ox-
" Lordinges that arc lefFe and deare." ford edition of Shakefpeare, 177 1. In A'oi^.
Never printed. ' Hovered. ■ Sir Galaad's.
P Signal. K. ii. b. s MS. f. 89. b. " Perhaps jf/*/, i. e. yield.
Befyde
ENGLISH POETRY. 207
Befyde him come than fyr Gawayne,
Breme " as eny wilde bore ;
Lancellot fpringis hem agayne ",
In rede armys that he bore :
A dynte he gafF with mekill mayne,
Syr Ewayne was \;nhorfid thare.
That al men went '' he had ben flayne.
So was he woundyd wondyr fare ''.
Syr Beorte thoughte no thinge good,
When Syr Ewaine unhorfyd was ;
Fforth he fpringis, as he were wode.
To Launcelott withouten lefe :
Launcellott hitt hym on the hode,
The next way to grounde he chefe :
Was non fo ftiffe agayne hym ftode
Fful thin he made the thikkeft prees \
Syr Lyonell be gonne to tene ",
And haftely he made hym bowne %
To Launcellott, with herte kene,
He rode with helme and fword browne j
Lavincellott hytt hym as I wene.
Through the helme in to the crowne ;
That eny aftir it was fene
Bothe horfe and man ther yod adoune.
The knightis gadrede to gedre than
And gan with crafte, &c.
I could give many more ample fpecimens of the romantic
poems of thefe namelefs minftrells, who probably flourifhed
before or about the reign of Edward the fecond ^ But it
" Fierce. " Againft '' Weened. Oda-vian imperaior, but it has nothing of
^ Sore. " Crowd. '° Be Troubled. the hiftory of the Roman emperors. Pr.
' Ready. " Jhefu ^at was with fpere yftonge." Ca-
^ 0 Blanda-
mourr. Sir Liieaux, and Sir Ifpotii. Of
the former I find nothing more than the
namc_ occurring in Sir Libeaux. To .avoid
prolix repetitions from other works in the
hands of all, I refer the reader to Percy's
EJj'ay on antient melricnl Romances, who has
analyfcd the plan of Sir Libeaux, or Sir
' Lihius Di/coniui, at large, p. 17. See
alfo p. 24. ibid.
As to Sir Ippotis, an antient poem with
that title occurs in manufcript.MSS. Cotton,
Calig. A. 2. f 77. and MS. Vernon, f 296.
But as Chaucer is fpeaking of romances
of chivalry, which he means to ridicule,
and this is a religious legend, it may be
doubted whether this is the piece alluded to
by Chaucer. However 1 will here exhibit
a fpecimen of it from the exordium. MS.
Vernon, f. 296.
Her ii ginnith a tretys
That men clepeth Y POT is.
Alle that wolleth of wifdom lere,
Lufteneth now , and ze may here ;
Of a tale of holi writ
Seynt John the evangelifl witneffeth it.
How hit bifelle in grtte Rome,
The cheef citee of criftendomc,
A childe was fent of mihtes moft,
Thorow vertue of the holi goft :
The emperour of Rome than
His name was hoten fire Adrian ;
And when the child of grete honour
Was come bifore the emperour.
Upon his knees he him fette
The emperour full faire he grette :
The emperour with milde chere
Afkede him whethcnce he come were, &c.
We (hall have occafion, in the progrefs of
our poetry, to bring other fpecimcns of
thefc compofitions. See Obf. on Spenfer's
Fairy Queen, ii. 42, 43.
I muft not forget here, that SirGawaine,
one of Arthur's champions, is celebrated in
a feparate romance. Among Tanner's ma-
nufcripts, we have the Weddynge of Sir Ga-
iViiin, Numb. 455. Bibl. Bodl. It begins,
" Be ye blythe and lilleneth to the lyf of
a lorde rlche." Dr. Percy has printed the
Marriai^e of Sir Gaivayne, whicll he be-
lieves to have furnilhcd Chaucer with his
l^'i/e of Bath. Ball. i. II. It begins,
" King Arthur lives in merry Carhfle."
I think I have fomewhcre feen a romance in
vcrfc entitled. The 1 urkt and Gaivamc."
Englilh
ENGLISH POETRY. 209
Englifli poetry fufFer, while fo many pieces of this kind flill
remain concealed and forgotten in our manufcript libraries.
They contain in common with the profc-romances, to moft'
of which indeed they gave rife, amufmg images of anticnt
cuftoms and inftitutions, not elfewhere to be found, or at leaft
not otherwife fo flrikingly delineated : and they preferve
pure and unmixed, thofe fables of chivalry which formed
th£ tafte and awakened the imagination of our elder Englifh
claflics. The antiquaries of former times overlooked or re-
jedled thefe valuable remains, which they defpifed as falfe
and frivolous ; and employed their induflry in reviving ob-
fcure fragments of uninftruftive morality or uninterefling
hiftory. But in the prefent age we are beginning to make
ample amends : in which the curiofity of the antiquarian is
connected with tafte and genius, and his refearches tend to
difplay the progrefs of human manners, and to illuftrate the
hiftory of fociety.
As a further illuftration of the general fubjeft, and many
particulars, of this fe6lion and the three laft, I will add a new
proof of the reverence in which fuch ftories were held, and of
the familiarity with which they muft have been known, by our
anceftors. Thefe fables were not only perpetually repeated
at their feftivals, but were theconftant obje6ls of their eyes.
The very walls of their apartments were clothed with ro-
mantic hiftory. Tapeftry was antiently the fafliionable fur-
niture of our houfes, and it was chiefly filled with lively
reprefentations of this fort. The ftories of the tapeftry in
the royal palaces of Henry the eighth are ftill preferved ' ;
which I will here give without referve, including other fub-
je6ls as they happen to occur, equally defcriptive of the
times. In the tapeftry of the tower of London, the original
« " The feconde part of the Inventorye hold-ftuff, &c. &c." MSS. Harl. 1419.
of our late fovereigne lord kyng Henry the fol. The original. Compare p. 1 14 .fupr.
eighth, conteynynge his guardrobes, houf- and Walpole's Anecd. Paint, i. p. 10.
E e and
2IO
THE HISTORY OF
and moft antient feat of our monarchs, there are recited
Godfrey of Bulloign, the three kings of Cologn, the emperor
Conftantine, faint George, king Erkenwald \ the hiftoi-y of
Hercules, Fame and Honour, the Triumph of Divinity,
Efther and Ahafuerus, Jupiter and Juno, faint George, the
eight Kings, the ten Kings of France, the Birth of our Lord,
Duke Jolhvia, the riche hiflory of king David, tiae feven
Deadly Sins, the riche hiflory of the PalTion, the Stem of
Jefle % our Lady and Son, king Solomon, the Woman of Ca-
nony, Meleager, and the dance of Maccabre \ At Durham-
place we find the Citie of Ladies ', the tapeftrie of Thebes
and of Troy, the City of Peace, the Prodigal Son % Efther,
and other pieces of fcripture. At Windfor caftle the fiege of
Jcrufalem, Ahafuerus, Charlemagne, the fiege of Troy, and
*■ So in the record. Bnt he was the
third bifhop of St. Paul's, London, fon of
king Offa, and a great benefaftor to St.
Paul's church, in which he had a mofl fu-
perb Ihrine. He wascanonifed. Dugdale,
among many other curious particulars re-
lating to his (hrine, fays, that in the year
1339 it was decorated anew, when three
goldfmiths, two at the wages of five {hil-
lings by the week, and one at eight, worked
upon it for a whole year. Hift. St. Paul's,
p. 21. See alfo p. 233.
8 This was a favourite fubjeft for a large
gothic window. This fubjeft alfo com-
pofed a branch of candlefticks thence called
a )ESSE, not unufualinthe antient churches.
In the year 1097, Hugo de Flori, abbot of
S. Aull. Canterb. bought for the choir of his
church a great branch-candleftick. " Can-
" delabrum magnum in choro .Tncum quod
" j'l/f' vocatur in partibus emit tranfmari-
" nis." Thorn, Dec. Script, col. 1796.
About the year 1330, Adam de Sodbury,
abbot of Glaftonbury, gave to his convent
" Unum dorfalc l:.ntum AJesse." Hearn.
Joan. Glallon. p. 265. That is, apiece of
tapeftry embroidered with thcjiim cf'Je£'e,
to be hung round the choir, or other parts of
the church, on high fcll-.vals. He alfo
gave a tapcAry of this fubjcft for the ab-
bot's hall. Ibid. And I cannot help ad-
ding, what indeed is not immediately con-
neded with the fubjeft of this note, that
he gave his monaftery, among other coftly
prefents, a great clock, proceffionibus et
fpeftaculis infignitum, an organ of prodi-
gious lize, and eleven bells, fix for the
tower of the church, and five for the clock
tower. He alfo new vaulted the nave of
the church, and adorned the new roof with
beautiful paintings. Ibid.
, '' f. 6. In many churches of France there
was an antient (hew or mimicry, in which
all ranks of life were perfonated by the
ecclefiaftics, who all danced together, and
difappeared one after another. It was called
Dance Maccabre, and feems to have
been often performed in St. Innocent's at
Paris, where was a famous painting on
this fubjeft, which gave rife to Lydgate's
poem under the fame title. See Carpent.
Suppl. Du Cange, Lat. Gl. ii. p. 1103.
More will be faid of it when we come to
Lydgate.
' A famous French allegorical romance.
'' A pifturc on this favourite fubjefl is
mentioned in Shakefpearc. And in Ran-
dolph's Miijes Loo/ting-f^liijs. " In painted
" clotli the ilory of the Prodigal."
Do'i//. Old PI. vi. 260.
haivking
ENGLISH POETRY. 2n
hawking and hunting '. At Nottingham caftle Amys and
Amelion "". At Woodftock manor, the tapellrie of Charle-
magne ". At the More, a palace in Hertfordfhire, king
Arthur, Hercules, Aftyages and Cyrus. At Richmond, the
arras of Sir Bevis, and Virtue and Vice fighting °. Many of
thefe fubjefts are repeated at Weflminfter, Greenwich, Oate-
lands, Bedington in Surry, and other royal feats, fome of
which are now unknown as fuch ■*. Among the reft we have
alfo Hannibal, Holofernes, Romulus and Remvis, iEneas,
and Sufannah ''. I have mentioned romances written on
many of thefe fubje6ls, and fliall mention others. In the
romance of Syr Guy, that hero's combat with the dragon in
Northumberland is faid to be reprefented in tapeftry in War-
wick caftle.
In Warwike the truth fliall ye fee
In arras wrought ful craftely '.
This piece of tapeftry appears to have been in Warwick
caftle before the year 1398. It was then fo diftinguifhed
and valued a piece of furniture, that a fpecial grant v/as
made of it by king Richard the fecond in that year, conveying
" that fuit of arras hangings in Warwick caftle, which con-
" tained the ftory of the famous Guy earl of Warwick,"
' f. 298. ■" f. 364. taken as above, we have, " two oldftayned
" f. 318. " f. 346. " clothes of the ix worthies for the greate
P Some of the tapeftry at Hampton-court, " chamber," at Newhall in Effex, f. 362.
defcribed in this inventory, is to be feen Thefe were piftures. Again, at the palace
Hill in a fine old room, now remaining in of Weftminller in the little Jiudt called the
its original ftate, called the Exchequer. Nenve Lihrarye, which I believe was in
1 Montfaucon, among the tapeftry of Holbein's elegant Gothic gatehoufe lately
Charles the Fifth, king of France, in the demolifhed, there is, " Item, xii piftures
year 1370, mentions, Le taffis de la fie " of men on horfebacke of enamelled ftufFe
du faint Thejeus. Here the officer who " of the Nyne Worthies, and others upon
made the entry calls Thefeus a faint. The " fquare tables." f. 188. MSS. Had. 1419.
fe'ven Deadly Sins, Le Joint Graal, Le graunt Ut fupr.
tappis de Niuf Preiihc, Reyne d^ Ireland, and ' Signat. Ca. i . Some perhaps may
Godfrey of Bulloign. Monum. Fr. iii. 64. think this circumftance an innovation or
The ncuf preux are the Nine Worthies. addition of later minftrells. Aprafticenot
Among the ftores of Henry the eighth, p uncommon.
c 2 together
212 THE HISTORY OF
together with the caftle of Warwick, and other poflefTions,
to Thomas Holland, earl of Kent '. And in the reftoration
of forfeited property to this lord after his imprifonment,
thefe hangings are particularly fpecified in the patent of
king Henry the fourth, dated' 1399. When Margaret,
daughter of king Henry the feventh, was married to James
king of Scotland, in the year 1503, Holyrood Houfe at
Edinburgh was fplendidly decorated on that occafion ; and
we are told in an antient record, that the " hanginge of the
" queenes grett chammer reprefented the yftory of Troye
" t june." Again, " the king's grett chammer had one table,
" Wfx was fatt, hys chammerlayn, the grett fqyer, and
" many others, well ferved ; the which chammer was
" haunged about with the ftory of Hercules, together with
" other yftorys '." And at the fame folemnity, " in the hall
" wher the qwene's company wer fatt in lyke as in the other,
" an wich was haunged of the hiftory of Hercules, &c. ""
A {lately chamber in the caftle of Hefdin in Artois, was
furnifhed by a duke of Burgundy with the ftory of Jafon
and the Golden Fleece, about the year 1468 ". The affecfting
ftory of Coucy's Heart, which gave rife to an old metrical
Englifli romance entitled, the Knight of Courtesy, and the
Lady of Faguf.l, was woven in tapeftry in Coucy caftle
in France ". I have feen an antient fuite of arras, containing
Ariofto's Orlando and Angelica, where, at every groupc, the
ftory was all along illuftrated with ftiort rhymes in romance
or old French. Spenfer fometimes drefles the fuperb bowers
of his fairy caftles with this fort of hiftorical drapery.
' Dugd. Bar. i. p. 237. " finerint les amours du Chaftelain du
' Leland. Coll. vol. iii. p. 295, 296. " Couci et de la dame de Faiel." Our
Opuftul. edit. 1770. Caftcllan, whofe name is Rcgnard de
"Ibid. " See Obf Fair. Qu. i. p. 177. Couci, was famous for his chanjons and
" Howtl's Letters, xx, § vi. B. i. This chivalry, but more fo for his unfortunate
is a true ftory, about the . ar 1 180. Fau- love, which became provtibi;il in the old
chett relates it at large from an old authentic French romances. Se^ Fauch. Rec. p. 124.
French chronicle; and tlien adds, " A.nfi 128.
In
ENGLISH POETRY. 213
In Hawcs's Poem called the Pastime of Pleasure, written
in the reign of Henry the fcventh, of which due notice will
be taken in its proper place, the hero of the piece fees all
his future adventures difplayed at large in the fumptuous
tapeftry of the hall of a caflle. I have efore mentioned the
mofl: valuable and perhaps moft antient work of this fort
now exifting, the entire feries of duke William's defcent on
England, preferved in the church of Bayeux in Normandy,
and intended as an ornament of the choir on high feftivals.
Bartholinus relates, that it was an art much cultivated
among the antient Iflanders, to weave the hiftories of their
giants and champions in tapeftry ''. The fame thing is re-
corded of the old Perfians ; and this furniture is ftill in high
requeft among many oriental nations, particularly in Japan
and China ''. It is well known, that to frame pictures of
heroic adventures in needle-work, was a favourite pra6lice
of clafiical antiquity.
y Antiquit. Dan. Lib. i. 9. p. 51. is of the finefl: filk, wrought by the moft
^ In the royal palace of Jeddo, which fcilfulartificersof that country, and adorned
overflows with a profufion of the moft ex- with pearls, gold, and filver. Mod. Univ.
quifite and fuperb eaftern embellifliments, Hift. B. xiii. c. ii. vol. i.x. p. 83. (Not. G.)
the tapeftry of the emperor's audience-hall edit, 1759.
SECT.
214
THE HISTORY OF
SECT. VI.
ALTHOUGH much poetry began to be written about
the reign of Edward the fecond, yet I have found
only one EngUfli poet of that reign whofe name has de-
fcended to pofl:erity\ This is Adam Davy or Davie. He
may be placed about the year 13 12. I can colle6l no cir-
cumllances of his Hfe, but that he was marfliall of Strat-
ford-le-bow near London \ He has left feveral poems never
printed, which arc almofl as forgotten as his name. Only
one manufcript of thefe pieces now remains, which feems
to be coeval with it's author ^ They are Visions, The Bat-
tell OF Jerusalem, The Legend of Saint Alexius,
Scripture histories, of fifteen toknes before the
day of Judgement, Lamentations of Souls, and The
Life of Alexander \
In the Visions, which are of the religious kind, Adam
Davie draws this picture of Edward the fecond Handing be-
fore the flirine of Edward the Confeflbr in Weftminfter
abbey at his coronation. The lines have a ftrength arifmg
from fimplicity.
To our Lordc Jefliu Crift in heven
Iche to day fliawe niyne fweven %
' Robert de Brunne, above mentioned, '' In the manufcript there is alfo a piece
lived, and perhaps wrote fome of his pieces, in profe, int;tlcd, '■fhe Fylgninagts cf the
in this reign; but he more properly belongs huli land. f. 65. — 66. It begins. " Qwerr
to the laft. " foever a cros ftandyth thcr is a forjivcnes
'' This will appear from citations which " of paync." I think it is a dcfcription
follow. of the holy places, and it appears at Icall
MSS. Bibl. Bodl. Laud I. 74. fol. to be of the hand-writing of the reft,
membran. It has been much damaged, and ' Dream,
on that account is often illegible.
That
ENGLISH POETRY. 215
That iche motte ' in one nycht,
Of a knycht of mychel mycht :
His name is "^ yhote fyr Edward the kyng.
Prince of Wales Engeionde the fair thynge;
Me mott that he was arniid wele,
Bothe with yrne and with ftele.
And on his helme that was of ftel,
A coroune of gold bicom him wel.
Bifore the fhryne of Seint Edward he flood,
Myd glad chere and myld of mood ".
Moft of thefe Vifions are compliments to the king. Our
poet then proceeds thus :
Another fuevene me mette on a twefnit '
Bifore the feft of Alhalewen of that ilke knigt.
His name is nempned " hure bifore,
Bliffed be the time that he was bore, &c.
Of Syr Edward oure derworth ' kyng
Iche mette of him anothere faire metyng, &cc.
Me thought he wod upon an afle.
And that ich take God to witnefTe;
A wondur he was in a mantell gray,
Toward Rome he nom " his way,
Upon his hevede fate a gray hure.
It femed him wel a mefure ;
He wood withouten hofe and fho, .
His wonen was not fo to do j
His flaankes femeden al bloodrede,
Myne herte wop " for grete drede ;
As a pylgrym he rood to Rome,
And thider he com -wel fwithe fone.
' Thought, dreamed. In the firft fenfe, ' Named. * fcl. 27. ' Twelfth-night,
we have me mette in Chaucer, Non. Pr. T. * Named. ' Dear-worthy.
V. 1013. Urr. And below. "> Took. " Wept.
The
2i6 THE HISTORY OF
The thrid fuevene me mette a nigt
Rigt of that derworth knight :
On wednyfday a nigt it was
Next the dai of feint Lucie bifore Chriftenmaffe, &c.
Me thougth that ich was at Rome,
And thider iche come fwithe fone,
The pope and fyr Edward our kyng
Bothe ° hy hadde a new dublyng, &c.
Thus Crift ful of grace
Graunte our kyng in every place
Maiftrie of his witherwines
And of al wicked Sarafynes.
Me met a fuevene one worthig ■■ a nigth
Of that ilche derworthi knigth,
God iche it Ihewe and to witnefle take
And fo fhilde me fro, &c.
Into a chapel I cum of vre lefdy ',
Jhe Crift her leve ' fon ftod by.
On rod ' he was an loveliche mon,
Al thilke that on rode was don
He unneled ' his honden two, &c.
Adam the marchal of Strattford atte Boioe
Wei fwithe wide his name is iknowe
He himfelf mette this metyng,
To witneffe he takcth Jhu hevene kynge.
On wedenyflfday '" in clene leinte "
A voyce me bede I fchulde novigt feinte.
Of the fuevenes that her ben write
I fliulde fwithe don " my lord kyng to wite.
The thurfday next the beryng * of our lefdy
Me thougth an aungel com fyr Edward by, &c.
* They. p Worfij. Orig. " Wodenis day. Woden's day. Wtd-
S Lady. ' Dear. nefday.
■ Crofs. ' Unnailed. " Make hafte.
" Lent. y Chriftmafs-day.
Iche
ENGLISH POETRY. 217
Iche tell you forfoth withoutten les ",
Als God of hevene maide Marie to moder ches %
The aungell com to me Adam Davie and feide
Bot thou AJam fhewe this thee worthe wel y vel mede, &c.
Whofo wil fpeke myd me Adam the marchal
In Stretforde bowe he is yknown and over al,
Iche ne fchewe nougt this for to have mede
Bot for God almigtties drede.
There is a very old profe romance, both in French and
Italian, on the fubjeft of the DeJlniBion of Jemfalem^. It
is tranflated from a Latin work, in five books, very popular
in the middle ages, entitled, Hegesippi de Bello Judaico et
Excidto Urbis Hierofolymitance Libri quinque. This is a licen-
tious paraphrafe of a part of Jofephus's Jewifli hiftory,
made about the fourth century : and the name Hegefippus
is moft probably corrupted from Jofephus, perhaps alfo
called Jofippus. The paraphraft is fuppofed to be Ambrofe
of Milan, who flouriflied in the reign of Theodofius ^ On
the fubjeft of Vefpafian's fiege of Jerufalem, as related in
this book, our poet Adam Davie has left a poem entitled the
Battell of Jerusalem "'. It begin thus.
a ((
Lies. ini49i. fol. M. Beauchamps, Rech. Fr.
As fure as God chofe the Virgin Theat. p. 134.
" Mary to be ChrilVs Mother." ' He mentions Conftantinople and New
'' In an antient inventory of books, all Rome : and the provinces of Scotia and
French romances, made in England in the Saxonia. From this work the Maccabees
reign of Edward the third, I find the ro- fcem to have got into romance. It was
manccof Titus and Vespasian. Madox, firft printed at Paris, fol. i;ii. Among
Formul. Anglican, p. 12. See alfo Scipio the Bodleian manufcripts there is a moft
MafFei's Traduttori Italiani, p. 48. Cre- beautiful copy of this book, believed to
fcimbenl (Volg. Poef. vol. i. 1. 5. p. 317.) be written in the Saxon times,
does not feem to have known of this ro- ■* The latter part of this poem ap[>ears
mance in Italian. Du Cange mentions i^ detached, in a former part of our m.inu-
Romaii lie la Frifi tie 'Jerufalem farTilus, fcript, with the title The Vf.ncf.auncr
in verfe. Glofs. Lat. i. Ind. Auct. of Goddes Death, viz. f. zz. b. This
p. cxciv. A metrical romance on this fiib- latter part begins with thefe lines,
jeft is in the royal manufcripts. 16 E viii. And at the fourty dayes ende,
2. Brit. Muf. There is an old French play Whider I wolde he bade me wende,
on this fubjeft, aded in I437. Itwas printed Upon the mouiu of olyvete, &c.
F f Lifteneth
2i8 THE HISTORY OF
Lifteneth all that beth alyve,
Both criften men and wyve :
I wol you telle of a wondur cas.
How Jhefu Crift bihated was,
Of the Jewes felle and kene,
That was on him fithe yfene,
Gofpelles I drawe to witnefle
Of this matter more or leffe, ' Sec.
In the courfe of the ftory, Pilate challenges our Lord to
fmgle combat. This fubjeft will occur again.
Davie's Legend of saint Alexius the confessor, son
OF EuPHEMius, is tranflated from Latin, and begins thus :
All that willen here in ryme,
Howe gode men in olde tyme,
Loveden God almigth ;
That weren riche, of grete valoure,
Kynges fones and emperoure
Of bodies flrong and ligth ;
Zee habbeth yherde ofte in gefte.
Of holi men maken fefte
Both day and nigth,
For to have the joye in hevene
(With aungells fong, and merry flevene,)
The which is brode and brigth :
To you all heige and lowe
1 he rigth fothe to biknowe
Zour foules for to fave, &c '.
Our author's scripture histories want the beginning.
Here they begin with Jofcph, and end with Daniel.
"= MS. ut fupr. f. 72. b. ' MS. ut fupr. f. 22.-72. b.
Ffoi
ENGLISH POETRY. .219
Ffor thritti pens ^ thei fold that childe
The feller higth Judas,
■■ Itho Ruben com him and mylTed him
Ffor ynow he was *.
His FIFTEEN TOKNES " BEFORE THE DAY OF JUDGMENT,
are taken from the prophet Jeremiah.
The firft figne thar ageins, as our lord hymfelfe fede,
Hungere fchal on erthe be, trecherie, and falfhede,
Batteles, and littell love, fekeneffe and haterede,
And the erthe fchal quaken that vche man fchal ydrede :
The mone fchal turne to blood, the funne to derkhede ', &c.
Another of Davie's poems may be called the Lamenta-
tion OF Souls. But the fubjedl is properly a congratulation
of Chrift's advent, and the lamentation, of the fouls of the
fathers remaining in limbo, for his delay.
Off joye and bliffe is my fong care to bileve ",
And to here hym among that altour foroug flial reve,
Ycome he is that fwete dewe, tliat fvi^ete hony drope,
The kyng of alle kynges to whom is our hope :
Becom he is our brother, whar was he fo long ?
He it is and no other, that bougth us fo ilrong :
Our brother we mowe " hym clepe wel ", fo feith hymfelf
ilome p.
My readers will be perhaps furprifed to find our language
improve fo flowly, and will probably think, that Adam Davie
writes in a lefs intelligible phrafe than many more antient
bards already cited. His obfcurity however arifes in great
i Thirty pence '' Ifo. Ong. "> Lea\'e. " May.
' MS. ut fupr. f. 66. — 72. b. " Sometimes.
^ Tokens. ' MS. ut fupr. f. 71. b. p MS. ut fupr. f. 7:.
F f 2 inealurc
220
THE HISTORY OF
meafure from obfolete fpelling, a mark of antiquity which
I have here obferved in exacl conformity to a manufcript of
the age of Edward the fecond ; and which in the poetry of
his predecefTors, efpecially the minftrell- pieces, has been
often effaced by multiphcation of copies, and other caufes.
In the mean time it fhould be remarked, that the capricious
pecuharities and even ignorance of tranfcribers, often oc-
cafion an obfcurity, which is not to be imputed either to the
author or his age ^
But Davie's capital poem is the Life of Alexander,
which deferves to be pubHfhed entire on many accounts. It
feems to be founded chiefly on Simeon Seth's romance above-
mentioned ; but many paflages are alfo copied from the
French Roman d' Alexandre, a poem in our author's age
perhaps equally popular both in England and France. It is
a work of confiderable length '. I will firft give fome ex-
trai5ls from the Prologue.
Divers in this myddel erde
To lewed men and * lered, &c.
Natheles wel fele and fulle
Bethe ifound in hart and fkuUe,
That haddcn lever a rybaudye.
Then here of god either feint Marye ;
Either to drynke a copful ale,
Than to heren any gode tale :
Swiche ich wolde weren out bifhet
For certcynlich it were nett
For hy ne habbeth wilbe ich woot wel
Bot in the got and the barrel, Sec. '
1 Chaucer in Troii.us AND Cressida ' 'Ltg.hril. Ltamed.
mentions " the grctc divcrfite in Engllfh. ' The work begins thus. f. 28.
" ='"'1 '" '^ritwg of our tongue." He Whilom clarkes wel ylercde
therefore prays Cjod, that no perfon would q„ ji^^g jj^t^n ,h;s myJdel erde,
tnifwrile, or mijjfc-melre his poem. lib. ult. ^^j ^eped him in her maiftrie,
V. 1792. feq. Europe, Aftryk, and Afie :
' MS. ut fupr. f. 28.-65. At
\
ENGLISH POETRY. 221
Adam Davie thus defcribes a fplendid proceffion made by
Olympias.
In thei tyme faire and jalyf °.
Olympias that fayre wyfe,
Wolden make a riche fefl
Of knightes and lefdyes "^ honeft.
Of burges and of jugelors
And of men of vch mefters ",
For mon feth by north and fouth "
Wymen
Mychal ^ fhe defireth to fhewe hire body,
Her fayre hare, her face rody % '
To have lees " and al praifing.
And al is folye by heven king.
She has marlhales and knyttes
to ride and ryttes.
And levadyes and demofile
Which ham .... thoufands fele,
In fayre attyre in dyvers . . . \
Many thar rood '' in rich wife.
So dude the dame Olympias
Forto fhawe hire gentyll face.
A mule alfo, whyte fo ' mylke,
With fadel of gold, fambuc of fylke.
Was ybrought to the quene
And mony bell of fylver fhene,
Yfaftened on orfreys ' of mounde
That hangen nere downe to grounde :
At Afie alfo myche! ys * Of each, or every, profeffion, trade^
As Ethiope, and AfFryke, I wis, Sec. fort.
And ends with this diftich. f. 65. [ Muir^^'Rudd^r^^^'-Life.
Thus ended Alifander the kyng : c p. Guife. <■ Rode. 'As.
God graunte us his blifiyng. Amen. f Embroidered work, cloth of gold. Au-
" Jolly. ■" Ladies. rifrigrium, Lat,
Fourth
222: THE HISTORY OF
Fourth fhe ferd ^ myd her route,
A thoufand lefydes of rych foute ''.
A fperwek ' that was honeft ^
So fat on the lefdye's fyft :
Ffoure trompes toforne ' hire blewe ;
Many men that day hire knewe.
A hundred thoufand, and eke moo, .
Alle alonton " hire untoo.
All the towne bihonged " was
Agens ° the lefdy Olympias '' :
Orgues, chymbes, vche rnaner glee '',
Was drynan ayen that levady fre,
Wythoutin the tounis murey '
Was mered vche maner pley %
Thar was knyttes tornaying,
Thar was maydens karoling,
Thar was champions fkirmynge ',
alfo wreftlynge.
Of lyons chace, and bare bayting;,
A bay of bore ", of bole flayting *.
Al the city was byhonge
With ryche famytes " and pelles >' longe.
Dame Olympias, myd this prees "",
Sangle rood ^ al mantellefs. —
s Fared. Went. '■ Sort. " " Againft her coming."
* Sparrow-hawk. A hawk. p See the defcription of the tournament
^ Wcll-bred. ' Before. in Chaucer, Knight's Tah, wl'.ere the city is
" Went. Aller, Fr. hanged with cloth of gold. v. 2570. Urr.
" " Hung with tapeftrv." We find this 1 " Organs, chimes, all manner of mufic."
ceremony prafti fed at the entrance of I.idy ' The town -wall. ^ "All forts of fports."
Elifabt'th, queen of Henry the fcvcnth, ' Skirmilhing.
into the city of London. — " Al the ftrtts " " B,aying, or bayting of the boar."
" therwiiicive fliefliulde pafle by wer clen- * S/ajinnr hulls, bull-fealls. Chaucer
" ly dreflld and befcne with cloth, of fays that the chamber of Venus was painted
•' tappsflrye and arras, and fome llreetcs with " white ^ij/zV grete." Cojnpl. of Mais
" .as Chepc, hanged with riche clothes of and A'en. v. 86.
" golde, velvettes and filkeb." This was " Sattin. ^ Skins,
in the year 1481. Leland. Coll. iv. Opuf- » Croud. Company. " Rode fingle.
cul. p. 220. edit. 177P.
Hir
ENGLISH POETRY. 223
Hire yalewe har " was fayre attired
Mid riche ftrenge of golde wyred,
It helyd ' liire aboutcn al
To hire gentil myddle fmal.
Bryght and Ihine was hir face *
Everie fairehede ' in hir was ^
Much in the fame flrain the marriage of Cleopatras is
defcribed.
There was many a blithe grome :
Of olive and of ruge ^ flo tires
Weren yftrewed halle and boures :
Wyth famytes and baudekyns
Weren curtayned the gardyns.
All the innes of the ton
Hadden litel foyfon '',
That day that comin Cleopatras,
So michel people with hir was.
She rode on a mule white fo mylke.
Her barneys were gold-beaten fylke :
>> Yellow hnir.
"^ " Covered her all over."
'' fol. 5;. a. " Beauty.
* John Gower, who lived an hundred
years after our author, has defcribed the
fame proceffion. Confeff. Amant. lib. vi.
fol. 137. a. b. edit. Berthel. 1554.
But in that citee then w.ns
The quene, whiche Olimpias
Was hote, and with folempnitec
The fcfte of hir nativitce.
As it befell, was than hold :
And for hir luft to be behold,
And preifed of the people about,
She fhop hir for to rideuout,
Al aftir meet al opinly.
Anon al men were redie;
And tliat was in the month of Male :
This luily quene in gode araie
Was fettc upon a mule white
To lime it was a rrete dclite
The joye that the citle made.
With frefh thinges and with glade
The noble towne was al behonged ;
And everie wight was fon alonged
To fee this lulUe ladie ryde.
There was great mirth on al fyde.
When as fhe pafied by the ftreate
There was ful many a tymbre beate.
And many a maide carolende.
And thus throughout the town plaiende
This quene unto the plaiene rode
Whar that Ihe lioved and abode
To i'e divers games plaie.
The luflie folke juft and tornaye.
And fo couth every other man
Which play with, his play began.
To pleafe with this noble queen.
Gower continues this (lory, from a romance
mentioned above, to fol. 140.
E Red. ^ Proviilon.
The
224 THE HISTORY OF
The prince hir lad of Sandas,
And of Sydoyne Sir Jonachas.
Ten thoufand barons hir come myde.
And to chirche with hir ryde.
Yfpoufed fhe is and fett on deys :
Nowe gynneth geftes of grete nobleys :
At the feft was harpyng
And pipyng and tabouryng '.
We have frequent opportunities of obferving, how the
poets of thefe times engraft the manners of chivalry on an-
tient claflical hiftory. In the following lines Alexander's edu-
cation is like that of Sir Triflram. He is taught tilting,
hunting, and hawking.
Now can Alexander of Ikirmyng,
And of ftedes derayning,
Upon ftedes of juftyng,
And witte fwordes turneying,
Of aflayling and defendyng :
In green wood and of huntyng :
And of ryver of haukyng '' :
Of battaile and of alle thyng.
In another place Alexander is mounted on a fteed of Nar-
bone ; and amid the folemnities of a great feaft, rides through
the hall to the high table. This was no uncommon praftice
in the ages of chivalry '.
' fol. 63. a. : Shall ye ryJe
^ Chaucer, R. of Sir Thop. v. 3245. On haivhyng hy the ri'ver fyde.
Urry 's edit. p. 145. Chaucer, Frankleins Talc, v. 1 75 2 . p. 1 1 1 .
Urr. edit.
A^^j""]** ^""/ ''^ '""^ '^''*^ ^"^' T'l'^fe fauconers upon a faire rivere
And ride an ha'wkyug by the rivere. Th^t with the havvkis han the heron flaine.
On
And in the Squyr cf loiv degree, fupr. citat. ' See Obfervations on the Fairy Queen,
p. 179. i. §. V. p. 146.
ENGLISH POETRY.
225
On a ftede of Narabone,
He dasflieth forth upon thi londe.
The ryche coroune on hys honde.
Of Nicholas that he wan :
Befide hym rydeth mony a gentil man,
To the paleys he comethe ryde,
And fyndeth this fefte and all this pryde ;
Fforth good Alifaundre fauns ftable
Righth unto the hith table '".
His horfe Bucephalus, who even in claflical fiftion is a horfe
of romance, is thus defcribed.
An home in the forehead armyd ward
That wolde perce a ftielde hard.
To which thefe lines may be added.
Alifaunder arifen is.
And in his deys fitteth ywys :
His dukes and barons fauns doute
Stondeth and fitteth him aboute, &c ".
The two following extra6ls are in a fofter ftrain, and not
inelegant for the rude fnnplicity of the times.
Mery is the blaft of the ftynoure %
Mery is the touchy ng of the harpoure ^ :
»' fol. 64.
" MS. ut fupr. f. 46. b.
" I cannot explain this word. It is a
wind-inflrument.
P This poem has likevvife, in the fame
vein, the following well-known old rhyme,
which paints the manners, and is perhaps
the true reading, fol. 64.
Merry fwithe it is in halle
When the herdcs 'wa-vetb alle.
And in another place we have,
Merry it is in halle to here the harpe ;
The minftrelles fynge, the jogelours carpe.
iol.fim num. ad fin.
Here, by the way, it appears, that the
minftrels and juglers were diftinfl: charac-
ters. So Robert de Brunne, in defcribing
the coronation of king Arthur, apud Anftis,
Ord. Gart. i. p. 304.
Jogeleurs wer ther inouh
That wer queitife for the drouh,
Mynftreh many with dyvers glew, &C.
And Chaucer mentions " minftrels and eke
" Joglours." Rom. R. V. 764. But they
are often confounded or made the fa ne.
§
Sweete
226 THE HISTORY OF
Sweete is the fmellynge of the flower,
Swcete it is in maydens bower :
Appel fweete beneth faire coloure '.
Again,
In tyme of May the nightingale
In wood maketh mery gale,
So don the foules grete and fmale,
Sum in hylles and fum in dale '.
Much the fame vernal delights, cloathed in a fimllar ftyle,
with the addition of knights turneying and maidens dancing,
invite king Philip on a progrefs ; who is entertained on the
road with hearing tales of antient heroes.
Mery tyme yt is in May
The foules fyngeth her lay,
The knightes loveth to tournay ;
Maydens do dauncen and they play.
The kyng ferth rydeth his journay,
Now hereth gefts of grete noblay '.
Our author thus defcribes a battle '.
Alifaundre tofore is ryde.
And many gentill a knigth hym myde j
As for to gader his meigne free.
He abideth under a tree :
Ffourty thoufande of chyvalerie
He taketh in his compaignye.
He dasfheth hym than fall forthward.
And the other cometh afterward.
He Ici^th his knigttes in mefchief.
He taktth it greiiich a grecf,
1 fol. 40. ' Ibid. » iohfiat num. ' MS. ut Aipr. f. 45. b.
He
1
ENGLISH POETRY. 227
He takes Bultyphal " by thi fide,
So as a fwalewe he gynneth forth glide,
A duke of Perce fone he mett
And with his launce he hym grett.
He perceth his breny, cleveth his fhelde,
The herte tokeneth the yrne ;
The duke fel downe to the grounde.
And ftarf quickly in that ftounde :
Alifaunder aloud than feide.
Other tol never ich ne paiede,
Zut zee fchullen of myne paie,
Or ich gon mor aflaie.
Another launce in honde he hent
Again the prince of Tyre he went
He .... hym thorow the breft and thare "
And out of fadel and crouthe hym bare.
And I figge for foothe thyng
He braak his neck in the fallyng.
witli mychell wonder,
Antiochus hadde hym under,
And with fwerd wolde his heved
From his body habbe yreved :
He feig Alifaundre the gode gome,
Towardes hym fwithe come,
He lete his pray, and flew on hors,
Ffor to fave his owen cors :
Antiochus on flede lep.
Of none woundes ne tok he kep,
And eke he had foure forde
All ymade with fperes ord ".
Tholomeus and alle his felawen ^
Of this focour fo weten welfawen,
" Bucephalus. w sic. >= Point, r Fellows.
G g 2 Alyfaunder
228 THE HISTORY OF
Alyfaunder made a cry hardy
" Ore toft aby aby."
Then the knigttes of Achaye
Jufted with them of Arabye,
Thoo ^ of Rome with hem of Mede
Many londe
Egipte jufted with hem of Tyre,
Simple knigtts with riche fyre:;
Ther nas foregift ne forberyng
Bitwene vavafoure ' ne kyng ;
To fore men migtten and by hynde
Cuntecke feke and cuntecke '' fynde.
With Perciens fougtten the Gregeys ,
Ther wos cry and gret honteys \
They kidden " that they weren mice . .
They broken fperes alto flice.
Ther migth knigth fynde his pere,
Ther les ' many his deftrere ^ :
Ther was quyk in litell thrawe ^
Many gentill knigth yflawe :
Many arme, many heved '
Some from the body reved :
Many gentill lavedy "
Ther les quyk her amy '. _
Ther was many maym yled "",
Many fair penfel bibled " :
Ther was fwerdes liklakyng %
There was fperes bathing ''
Both kynges ther faunz doute
Beeth in dasftit with al her route.
» They. ' Loft. -if " Led along, maimed, wounded."
^ Servant. Subjcfl. ' Horfe. Lat. Dextrarius. " "Many a rich banner, or flag, fprinkled
'' Strife. ^ Short time. " with blood." " Clafliing.
' Greeks. ' ' Head. p MS. bafing. I do not undcrlland the
'' Shame. '' Lady. word.
• Thought. ' Paramour.
fpeke
•«
ENGLISH POETRY. 229
fpeke
The other his harmes for to wreke.
Many londes neir and ferre
Lefen her lord in that werre.
quaked of her rydyng,
The wedar ' thicked of her cryeyng :
The blode of hem that weren yflawe
Ran by floods to the lowe, &c.
I have ah'eady mentioned Alexander's miraculous horn.
He blewe in home quyk fans doute.
His folk hym fwithe ' aboute : •
And hem he faid with voice clere
Iche bidde frendes that ge ine here
Alifaunder is comen in this londe
With ftrong knittes with migty honde, &c.
Alexander's adventures in the deferts among the Gymno-
fophifls, and in Inde, are not omitted. The authors whom
he quotes for his vouchers, fhew the reading and ideas of
the times '.
Tho Alifaunder went thoroug defert.
Many wonders he feig apert ', * •
Whiche he dude wel defcryve.
By gode clerkes in her lyve ;
By Ariftotle his maiftr that was,
Beeter clerk fithen non nas ;
He was with him, and few and wroot.
All thife wondre god it woot :
Salomon that al the world thoroug yede
In foothe witnefTe held hym myde.
1 Weather. Sky. ' Came, Mowed. ^ MS. utfupr. f. 55?. ' Saw openJy.
Yfidre
2-50 THE HISTORY OF
•i
Yfidre " alfo that was fo wys
In his boke telleth this :
Maifter Euftroge bereth hym wltneffe.
Of the wondres more and lefTe.
Seyut Jerome gu fchullen ywyte
Them hath alfo in book ywryte :
And Mageftene, the gode clerk.
Hath made therof mychel werk,
. . . that was of gode memorie
It fheweth al in his boke of ftorie :
And alfo Pompie ", of Rome lorde,
, .... writen everle worde.
Bie heldeth me thareof no fynder *
Her bokes ben my Ihewer :
And the Lyf of Alyfaunder
Of whomfleig fo riche fklaunder.
Gif gee willeth give liflnyng,
Nowe gee fliullen here gode thyng.
In fomers tyde the daye is long,
Foules fyngeth and maketh fong :
Kyng Alyfaunder ywent is,
With dukes, erles, and folk of pris,
With many knigths, and douty men,
• Teward the city of Fa ... . aen ;
After kyng Porus, that flowen " was
Into the citee of Bandas,
He woulde wende thorough defert
This wonders to fene apert,
Gromycs he nome ^ of the londe,
Ffyvc thoufand, I underftonde,
" Iftdore. He means, I fuppofe, Ifi- the hiftorian, whom he confounds with
dorus Hifpalenfis, a Latin writer of the Pompey the Great,
feventh century. " " Don't look on me as the inventor."
" He means Jullin's Trogus Pompeius f Fled. * Took.
That
ENGLISH POETRY. 231
That hem fliuldcii lede ryth '
Thoroug deferts, by day and nyth.
The Sy . . res loveden the kyng nougth.
And wolden have him bicaugth.
Thii ledden hym therefore, als I fynde.
In the ftraungeft peril of Ynde :
As fo iche fynd in thi book
Thii weren asfhreynt in her crook.
Now rideth Alyfaunder with his ooft,
With mychel pryde and mychel booft ;
As ar hii comen to a caftel . . ton.
I fchullen fpeken another leffon.
Lordynges, alfo I fynde
At Mede fo bigynneth Ynde,
Fforfothe ich woot it ftretcheth ferreft
Of all the londes in the Eft
And oth the ' fouthhalf fikerlyk
To the fee of Affryk,
And the north half to a mountayne
That is ycleped Caucafayne " :
Fforfothe zee fhullen undirftonde,
Twyes is fomer in that londe.
And nevermore wynter, ne chele ^,
That lond is ful of all wele.
Twyes hii gaderen fruyt there
And wyne and corne in one yere.
In the londe alfo I fynd of Ynde
Bene cites fyve-thoufynd,
Withouten ydles, and caftelis.
And borugh tounnes fwithe feles '.
In the londe of Ynde thou migth lere
Vyve thoufand folk of felcouth ^ manere
* Strait. ^ MS, obbe. <= Caucafus. ^ Chill. Cold. ' Very many. ' Uncommon.
That
232 THE HISTORY OF
That ther non is other ylyche
Bie holde thou it nougtli ferlyche,
And bi that thou underftande the geftes.
Both of men and of belles, &c.
Edward the fecond is faid to have carried with him to the
fiege of Stirling caftle, in Scotland, a poet named Robert
Bafton. He was a Carmelite friar of Scarborough ; and the
king intended that Baflon, being an eye-witnefs of the ex-
pedition, fhould celebrate his conquefl of Scotland in verfe.
Hollinglliead, an hiltorian not often remarkable for pene-
tration, mentions this circumftance as a Angular proof of
Edward's prefumption and confidence in his undertaking
againft Scotland : but a poet feems to have been a Hated
officer in the royal retinue when the king went to war ^.
Baflon, however, appears to have been chiefly a Latin poet,
and therefore does not properly fall into our feries. At
leaft his poem on the fiege of Striveling caftle is written in
monkiih Latin hexameters '' : and our royal bard being taken
prifoner in the expedition, was compelled by the Scotch to
write a panegyric, for his ranfom, on Robert Brus, which
is compofcd in the fame ftyle and language '. Bale men-
tions his Poemata, ct Rhythmic T'ragcedice et Comcedice ind-
gaj'es ^. Some of thefe indeed appear to have been written
in Englifh : but no Englifh pieces of this author now re-
main. In the mean time, the bare exillence of dramatic
compofitions in England at this period, even if written in
f Leland. Script. Brit. p. 338. Hoi- -A. D. 1200. Tann. Bibl. p. 591. See
ling(h. HilL ii. p. 217. 220. Tanner men- VofT. Hift.Lat. p. 44.1. He is called " poeta
tions, as a poet cf England, one Guliel- " per cama;tatem cxcellens."6ee Bal. iii.
mus Pcregrinus, who accompanied Richard 4;. Pitf. 266.
the firft into the holy land, and fung his at- '' It is extant in Fordun's Scoti-chron,
chieveinents there in a Latin poem, entitled c. x.xiii. 1. 12.
Odoeporicon Ricardi Rttvis, lib. i. ' Lcbnd. ut fupr. And MSS. Harl.1819.
It is dedicated to Herbert archbifhop of Brit. Muf. See alfo Wood, Hilt. Ant.
Cantcrbuiy, and Stephen Tmnham, acap- Univ. Oxon. i. p. 101.
tain in the expedition. He ilourifiied about '' Apud Tanner, p. jc).
the
e
ENGLISH POETRY. 233
the Latin tongue, defei"ve notice in invcfligating the progrefs
of our poetry. For the fame reafon I mull not pafs over a
Latin piece, called a comedy, written in this reign, perhaps
by Peter Babyon ; who by Bale is ftyled an admirable rheto-
rician and poet, and flouriftied about the year 13 17. This
comedy is thus entitled in the Bodleian manufcript, De Ba-
bione ct Croceo domino Bebictiis ct Viola JiUaJira Bcbionis quam
Croceus duxit invito Babio7ie^ et Pcctda uxore Bahionis et Fodio
J'uo, &c'. It is written in long and Ihort Latin verfcs,
without any appearance of dialogue. In what manner, if
ever, this piece was reprefented theatrically, cannot eafiiy
be difcovered or afcertained. Unlefs we fuppofe it to have
been recited by one or more of the charafters concerned; at
fome public entertainment. The flory is in Gower's Con-
FEssio Amantis. Whether Gower had it from this per-
formance I will not enquire. It appears at leaft that he took
it from fome previous book.
I find writte of Babio,
Which had a love at his menage,
Ther was no fairer of hir age.
And hight Viola by name, Sec.
And had affaited to his hande
His fervant, the which Spodius
Was bote, &c.
A frefli a free and friendly man, &c.
Which Croceus by name hight, &c "".
In the mean time it feems moft: probable, that this piece has
been attributed to Peter Babyon, on account of the likenefs
of the name Babio, efpecially as he is a ridiculous charadler.
On the whole, there is nothing dramatic in the flrudlure of
this nominal comedy ; and it has certainly no claim to
that title, only as it contains a familiar and comic ftory car-
' Arch. B. 52. ■" Lib. v. f. 109. b. Edit. Berth. 1554.
H h ried
234 THE HISTORY OF
ried on with much fcurrilous fatire intended to raife mirth.
But it was not uncommon to call any fliort poem, not ferious
or tragic, a comedy. In the Bodleian manufcript, which com-
prehends Babyon's poem juft mentioned, there follows Co-
media DE Geta : this is in Latin long and fliort verfes ",
and has no marks of dialogue °. In the library of Corpus
Chrifti college at Cambridge, is a piece entitled, Comedia
ad monajleriiim de Hubne ordinis S. BenediSli Diocef. Norunc.
clireBa ad Keformationem fcquentem., cujus data ejl prima die Sep-
temhris fub anno Chrijii 1477, et a morte Joannis Fajiolfe militis
eorum benefa5loris ^ precipui ij, in cujus mo7iaJlerii ecclefia huma-
tur '. This is nothing more than a fatyrical ballad in Latin ;
yet fome allegorical perfonages are introduced, which how-
ever are in no refpedt accommodated to fcenical reprefenta-
tion. About the reign of Edward the fourth, one Edward
Watfon, a fcholar in grammar at Oxford, is permitted to
proceed to a degree in that faculty, on condition that within
two years he would write one hundred verfes in praife of the
univerfity, and alfo compofe a Comedy '. The nature and
fubje^l of Dante's Comedies, as they are ftyled, is well
known. The comedies afcribed to Chaucer are probably
his Canterbury tales. We learn from Chaucer's own words,
that tragic tales were called Tragedies. In the Prologue
to the MoNKES Tale.
Tragedy is to tell a certaine ftory.
As old bokis makin ofte memory.
" Carmina compofuit, voluitque placere dalene College in Oxford. He bequeatli-
poeta. ed cilates to that focicty, part of which
" f. 121. were appropriated to buy liveries for fome
I" In the eplfcopal palace at Norwich is of the fenior fcholars. But this benefaflion,
a curious piece of old wainfcot brought in time, yielding no more th.m a penny a
from the monaftcry of Hulme at the time week to the fcholars who received the
of its dinblution. Among other antique or- liveries, they were called, byway of coa-
namcnts arc the arms of Sir John FalftafF, tempt, Faljlaff's buckram-men.
their principal bcncfaftor. 'I'his magnifi- i Mifccll. M. p. 274.
cent knight was alfo a benefatSor to Mag- ' Hift. Anti^. Univ. Oxon. ii. 4. col. z.
Of
ENGLISH POETRT. 235
Of hem that ftode in grete profperite,
And be fallen out of her high degree, &c *.
Some of thefe, the Monke adds, were written in profe, others
in metre. Afterwards follow many tragical narratives : of
which he fays,
Tragidies firfl wol I tell
Of which I have an hundred in my cell.
Lidgate further confirms what is here faid with regard to
comedy as well as tragedy.
My maifter Chaucer with frefli comedies.
Is dead, alas! chief poet of Britaine :
That whilom made ful piteous tragedies '.
The ftories in the Mirror of Magistrates are called
TRAGEDIES, fo late as the fixteenth century °. Bale calls his
play, or Mystery, of God's Promises, a tragedy, which
appeared about the year 1538.
I muft however obferve here, that dramatic entertain-
ments, reprefenting the lives of faints and the moft emi-
nent fcriptural ftories, were known in England for more
than two centuries before the reign of Edward the fecond.
Thefe fpedlacles they commonly ftyled miracles. I have
' V. 85. See alfo, ibid. v. 103. 786. tives: Queen Jane murthered her four huf-
g-p. bands, .and was afterwards put lierfelf to
' Pro!. F. Pr. V. i. See alfo Chaucer's death. See Fontenelle's Hift. de Theatr. Fr.
Troil. and Cr. v. 1785. 17S7. Oevr. torn, troif. p. 20. edit. Paris, 1742.
" The elegant Fontenelle mentions one 12"'". Nor can I believe that the TrngcilUs
Parafols a Limofin, who wrote Cinque and Co7«f^w, as they are called, ofAnfelm
belles Tragedies des gejles de Jeanne Fayditt, and other early troubadours, had
reine de Naples, about the year 1383. any thing dramatic. It is worthy of notice,
Here he thinks he has difccvered, fo early that pope Clement the feventh rewarded
as the fourteenth century, " une Poete Parafols for his five tragedies with two ca-
" tragique." I have never feen tliefe five nonries. Compare Rccherches fur les
Tragedies, nor perhaps had Fontenelle. Theatr. de France, par M. de Beauchamps,
But I will venture to pronounce, that they Paris, 1735. 4'". p- 65.
are nothing more than five tragical narra-
H h 2 already
236 THE HISTORY OF
already mentioned the play of faint Catharine, a£led at Dun-
liable abovit the year iiio\ William Fitz-Stephen, a wri-
ter of the twelfth century, in his Description of London,
relates that, " London, for its theatrical exhibitions, has
•" holy plays, or the reprefentation of miracles wrought by
" confeffors, and of the fufferings of martyrs '." Thefe
pieces mull have been in high vogue at our prefent period;
for Matthew Paris, who wrote about the year 1240, fays
that they were fuch as " Miracula vulgariter appella-
*' Mus "","■ And we learn from Chaucer, that in his time
Plays of Miracles were the common refort of idle gollips
in Lent.
Therei"ore made I my vifitations.
To prechmgs eke and to pilgrimagis,
To Plays of Miracles, and mariagis, &c *.
This is the genial Wife of Bath, who amufes herfelf
with thefe fafliionable diverfions, while her hulband is ab-
fent in London, during the holy feafon of Lent. And in
Pierce Plowman's Crede, a piece perhaps prior to Chau-
cer, a friar Minorite mentions thefe Miracles as not lefs
frequented than markets or taverns.
We haunten no tavernes, ne hobclen abouten,
Att markets and Mira-cles we medeley us never \
Among the plays ufually reprefentcd by the guild of Cor-
pus Chrifti at Cambridge, on that feftival, Ludus filiorum
" Dissertation ii. Fitz-Stephenlmcntjonsattheendof his traft,
'' " Lundonia pro fpcftaculis theatrali- " Imperatriccm MatilJcm, Henricum rc-
" bus, pro ludis fcenicis, ludos hubet fane- " gem tertiuin, et beatum Thomam. &c."
" tiorcs, reprefentationes miraculorum qux p. 483. Henry ihc third did not accede
" fanfti confeflbrcs operati funt, feu re- till the year 1216. Perhaps he implied
" prefcntationes paflionum quibus claruit futitrum regem tertium.
" conilantia martynim." Ad calc. ^ Vit. Abbat. ad calc. Hill. p. 56. edit.
Stowe's Survey of London, p. 480. 1639.
edit. 1599. The reader will obfcrve, that ' Prol. Wif. B. v. 55;. p. 80. Urr.
I have conllrucdya« td? wo^--
iii«;. Tom. vii. p. 682. edit. Fabrot.
Gra;co-Lat. The antient Greek fathers,
particularly faint Chryfoftom, are full of
declamation againrt the drama : and com-
plain, that the people heard a comedian
with much more pleafure than a preacher
of the golpel.
>' I believe, a fort of pipe. This is the
French v/ord, viz. Dcmy-cmon. See Car-
pent. Du Cangc, Gl. Lat. i. p. 760.
the
ENGLISH POETRY.
245
the trumpet, the Moorifli cittern, and the fiddle. Befides
there were " des Farceurs, des jongleurs, et des plaifantins,
" qui divertiffeoient les compagnies par leur faccties et par
" leur Comedies, pour I'entretien." He adds, that many-
noble families in France were entirely ruined by the prodi-
gious expences lavilhed on thofe performers *. The annals
of France very early mention buffoons among the minflrells
at thefe folemnities ; and more particularly t.iat Louis le
Debonnaire, who reigned about the year 830, never laughed
aloud, not even when at the molt magnificent feftivals,
players, buffoons, minftrels, fingers, and harpsrs, attended
his table ^ In fome conflitutions given to a cathedral
church in Fi'ance, in the year 1280, the following claufe
occurs. " NuUus spectaculis aliquibus quae aut in Nup-
" tits aut in Scents exhibentur, interfit ^" Where, by the
way, the word Scenis feems to imply fomewhat of a pro-
feffed flage, although the eflablifhment of the firfl French
theatre is dated not before the year 1398. The play of
Robin and Marian is faid to have been performed by the
fchool-boys of Angiers, according to annual cuftom, in
the year 1392 \ A royal caroufal given by Charles the
fifth of France to the emperor Charles the fourth, in the
year 1378, was clofed with the theatrical reprefentation of
the Conqueji of Jerujalcm by Godfrey of Bulloign, which was
* Differtat. Joinv. p. i6i.
/ Ibid.
^ Montfauc. Catal. Manufcript. p. 1 158.
See alfo Marten. Thefaur. Anccd. torn. iv.
p. 506. Statut. Synod. A. D. 1468. " Lar-
" varia ad Nuptias, &c." Stowe, in his
Survey of London, mentions the prac-
tice of acting plays at weddings.
^ The boys were deguifiez, fays the old
French record : and they had among them
un Fillette dejguijie. Carpent. ubi fupr. V.
RoBiNET. Pentecoste. Our old cha-
rafter of Mayd Marian may be hence
illuftrated. It feems to have been an early
fafhionin France for fchool-boys to prefent
thefe fhews or plays. In an antient manu-
fcript, under the year 1477, there is men-
tioned " Certaine Moralite, ou Farce,
" que les efcolliers de Pontoife avoit fait,
" ainji quit eji de coujlume." Carpent.
ubi fupr. V. Mora LIT AS. The Mystery
OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT is
faid to have been reprefented in 1424, by
the boys of Paiis placed like ftatues againil
a wall, without fpeech or inotion, at the
entry of the duke of Bedford, regent of
France. See J. de Paris, p. 101. And Sau-
val, Ant. de Paris, ii. loi.
exhibited
246
THE HISTORY OF
exhibited in the hall of the royal palace \ This indeed was
a fubje6l of a religious tendency ; .but not long afterwards,
in the year 1395, perhaps before, the interefting flory of
Patient Grisilde appears to have been a6led at Paris.
This piece ftill remains, and is entitled, Le Mystere de Gri-
fildis tfiarquife de Saluce \ For all dramatic pieces were indifcri-
minately called Mysteries, whether a martyr or a heathen
god, whether faint Catharine or Hercules was the fubjedt.
In France the religious Mysteries, often called Piteaux,
or PiToux, were certainly very fafliiionable, and of high
antiquity : yet from any written evidence, I do not find
them more antient than thofe of the Englilh. In the year
1384, the inhabitants of the village of Aunay, on the fun-
day after the feaft of faint John, played the Mir-acle of
Theophilus, " ou quel Jeu avoit un perfonnage de un qui
" devoit getter d'un canon ''." In the year 1398, fome citi-
zens of Paris met at faint Maur to play the Passion of
Christ. The magiftrates of Paris, alarmed at this novelty,
publiflied an ordonnance, prohibiting them to reprefent,
" aucuns jeux de perfonages foit de vie de faints ou autre-
" ment," without the royal licence, which was foon after-
wards obtained'. In the year i486, at Anjou, ten pounds
were paid towards fupporting the charges of a6ling the
Passion of Christ, which was reprefented by malTcs, and,
as I fuppofe, by pcrfons hired for the purpofe '. The chap-
lains of Abbeville, in the year 1455, Z^'^^ ^^^^^' pounds and
•> Felib. torn. ii. p. 68 1.
' It has been printed, more than once,
in the black letter. Beauchamps, p. i lo.
'' Carpentier, Suppl. Du Cange Lat. Gl.
V. LUDUS.
' Beauchamps, ut fupr. p. 90. This was
the firft theatre of the French : the aftors
were incorporated by the king, under the
title of the Fraternity of the pnjjkn of ctir
Saviour. Beauth. ibid. See above, Seft. ii.
p. 91. n. The Jeudtperjonn^es was a wtry
common play of the young boys in the
larger towns, &c. Carpentier, ut fupr. V.
Personagium. And Lunus Personac.
At Cambray mention is made of the fliew
of a boy lur'uatus cum maza in collo with
drums, &c. Carpent. ib. V. KALENDiE
J A N U A R .
f << Decern libr. ex parte nationis, ad
" oncra fupportanda hujus Mifterii." Car-
pent, ut fupr. V. Personagium.
ten
ENGLISH POETRY.
H7
ten fhillings to the Players of the Passion ^. But the
French Mysteries were chiefly performed by the religious
communities, and fome of their Fetes almoft entirely con-
fifled of a dramatic or perfonated fliew. At the Feast of
Asses, inflituted in honour of Baalam's Afs, the clergy
walked on Chriftmas day in proceflion, habited to reprefent
the prophets and others. Mofes appeared in an alb and cope,
with a long beard and rod. David had a green vefl:ment.
Baalam with an immenfe pair of fpurs, rode on a wooden
afs, which inclofed a fpeaker. There were alfo fix Jews and
fix Gentiles. Among other charaflers the poet Virgil was
introduced as a gentile prophet and a tranllator of the Sibylline
oracles. They thus moved in proceflion, chanting verfi-
cles, aijd converfing in charafter on the nativity and king-
dom of Chrifl, through the body of the church, till they
came into the choir. Virgil fpeaks fome Latin hexameters,
during the ceremony, not out of his fourth eclogue, but
wretched monkifli lines in rhyme. This feaft was, I believe,
early fupprefled ''. In the year 1445, Charles the feventh of
France ordered the mafters in Theology at Paris to forbid
the minifters of the collegiate ' churches to celebrate at Chrift-
mas the Feast of Fools in their churches, where the clergy
danced in mafques and antic drefies, and exhibited plujieurs
5 Carpent. ut fupr. V. Ludus. Who
adds, from an antient Computus, that three
fhillings were paid by the minifters of a
church in the year 1537, for parchment,
for writing Ludus Resurrectiokis
Domini.
•> See p. 210.
■ Marten. Anecd. torn i. col. 1 804. See
alfo Belet. de Divin. ofRc. cap. 72. And
Gufl'anvill. poft. Not. ad Petr. Bkfenf.
Feilbien confounds La Fete de Fous et la
Ftie de Soiife. The latter was an entertain-
ment of dancing called Lcs Saultcs, and
thence corrupted into Soties or Sotije. See
Mem. Acad. Infcript. xvii. 225. 226. See
alfo Probat. Hift. AntiiCodor. p. 310.
Again, the Fcnjl cf Fools feems to be
pointed at in Statut. Senonenf. A. D. 1445.
Inftr. torn. xii. Gall. Chriftian. Coll. 96.
" Tempore divini fervitii larvatos et nion-
" ftriiofos vultus deferendo, cum veftibus
" mulierum, aut lenonum, aut hiftrio-
" num, choreas in ecclefia et choro ejus du-
" cendo, &c." With tlie moft immodefl:
fpeftacles. The nuns of fome French con-
vents are faid to have had LuJibria on faint
Mary M.agdalene's and other felHvals, when
they wore the habits of feculars, and danced
with them. Carpent. ubi fupr. V. Ka-
lendjE. There was the office of j?fr Stul-
torum in Beverley church, prohibited 1391.
Dugd. Men. iii. Append. 7.
inocqueries
248 THE HISTORY OF
mocqueries fpeSlacles publics, de leur corps dcguifements, farces,
rigmeries, with various enormities fliocking to decency. In
France as well as England it was cuftomary to celebrate the
feaft of the boy-bifliop. In all the collegiate churches of
both nations, about the feaft of Saint Nicholas, or the Holy
Innocents, one of the children of the choir completely ap-
parelled in the epifcopal veftments, with a mitre and crofier,
bore the title and ftate of a bifliop, and exafted ceremonial
obedience from his fellows, who were drelTed like priefts.
They took pofleffion of the church, and performed all the
ceremonies and offices ', the mafs excepted, which might
have been celebrated by the biflaop and his prebendaries ''.
In the ftatutes of the archiepifcopal cathedral of Tulles,
given in the year 1497, ^^ ^^ ^^^<^^' ^^^^ during the celebra-
tion of the feftival of the boy-bifhop, " Moralities were
" prefented, and fliews of Miracles, with farces and other
♦' fports, but compatible with decorum. — After dinner they
" exhibited, without their malks, but in proper dreifes, fuch
" farces as they were mafters of, in different parts of the
" city'." It is probable that the fame entertainments at-
tended the folemnifation of this ridiculous feftival in Eng-
land "" : and from this fuppofition fome critics may be in-
' In the ftatutes of Eton-college, given Brit. Muf. MSS. Cott. Tit. B. i. f. 208.
1441, the Episcopus Puerorum is or- In the inventory of the treafury of York
dered to perform divine fcrvice on faint Ni- cathedral, taken in 1530, we have "Item
cholas's dav. Ruhr. xxxi. In the flatutes " una mitra parva cum petris pro epifcopo
of WincheiUcr-college, given 1380, PuERi, " puerorum, &c." Dudgd. Monaft. iii.
that is, the boy-bifliop and his fellows, 169. 170. See alfo 313. 314. 177. 279.
are permitted on Innocent's-day to execute Sec alfo Dugd. Hift. S. Paul's, p. 205. 206.
all the facred offices in the chapel, according Where ho is called Episcopus Parvulo-
to the ufc of the church of Sarum. Ruhr. rum. See alfo Anflis Ord. Gart. ii. 309.
xxix. This ftrange piece ofreligious mockery Where, inftead of Kibiknfis, read Nico-
flourifhed greatly in Salifbury cathedral. /f)j/;.-, or Nicoi. atensis.
In the old llatutes of that church there is a ' Statut. Ecclcf. Tullenf. apud Carpent.
chapter De Episcopo choristarum : Suppl. Lat. Gl. Du Gang. V. KalendvK.
and their Proc-JJionah gives a long and " It appeals that in England, the boy-
minute account of the whole ceremony. bifhop with his companions went about to
edit. Rothcm. 1555. different parts of the town; at leall vifitcd
'' Thisceremony was abolifhed by a pro- the other religious houfes. As in Rot.
(lamation, no later than 33 Hen. viii. Comp. Coll. Winton. A. D. 1461.
" In
ENGLISH POETRY. 249
dined to deduce the pra6lice of our plays being afted by
the choir-boys of St. Paul's church, and the chapel royal,
which continued, as I before obferved, till Cromwell's ufurpa-
tion. The Englilli and French flages mutually throw light
on each other's hiftory. But perhaps it will be thought,
that in fome of thefe inftances I have exemplified in nothing
more than farcical and gefticulatory reprefentations. Yet
even thefe traces fliovild be attended to. In the mean time
we may obferve upon the whole, that the modern drama
had its foundation in our religion, and that it was raifed
and fupported by the clergy. The truth is, the members
of the ecclefiaftical focieties were almoft the only perfons
who could read, and their numbers eafily furniflied per-
formers : they abounded in leifure, and their very relaxa-
tions were religious.
I did not mean to touch upon the Italian ftage. But as
fo able a judge as Riccoboni feems to allow, that Italy
derived her theatre from thofe of France and England, by
way of an additional illuflration of the antiquity of the tviro
laft, I will here produce one or two Miracle-Plavs, a6ted
much earlier in Italy than any piece mentioned by that in-
genious writer, or by Ci^efcimbeni. In the year 1298, on
" the feaft of Pentecoft, and the two following holidays,
" the reprefentation of the Play of Christ, that is of his
" paffion, refurre6lion, afcenfion, judgment, and the mif-
" fion of the holy ghoft, was performed by the clergy of
" In Dat. epifcopo Nicolatenfi." This I Regiftr. Priorat. S. Swithin. Winton. quat.
fuppofe, was one of the children of the 9. In the wardrobe-rolls of Edward iii. an.
choir of the neighbouring cathedral. In 12. we have this entry, which fhews that
the ftatutcs of the collegiate church of S. cur mock-bidiop and his chapter fometimes
Mary Ottery, founded by bilhop Gran- exceeded their adopted clerical commiffion,
difon in 1337, there is this pafTage. "Item and excrcifed the arts of fecular entertain-
" ftatuimus, quod nullus canonicus, vica- ment. " Episcopo puerorum ecclefiae
" rius, vel fecundarius, pueros choriftas " de Andeworp cantanti coram domino
" in fefto fanftorum Innocentium extra Pa- " rege in camera fua in fefto fandorum In-
" rochiam de Otery trahant, aut eis licen- " nocentium, de dono ipfius dom. regis.
" tiam vagandi concedant," cap. 50. MS. " xiii /. via'."
K k " Civita
250 THE HISTORY OF
*' Civita Vecchla, in curia doinini fatriarchce Aujiria civitatis
" honorifice et hmdabiliter " " And again, " In 1304, the
" chapter of Civita Vecchia exhibited a Play of the creation
" of our firft parents, the annunciation of the virgin Mary,
" the birth of Chrift, and other pafiages of facred fcripture °."
In the mean time, thofe critics who contend for the high
antiquity of the ItaHan flage, may adopt thefe inftances as
new proofs in defence of that hypothefis.
In this tranfient view of the origin and progrefs of our
drama, which was incidentally fuggefted by the mention of
Bafton's fuppofed Comedies, I have trefpafTed upon future
periods. But I have chiefly done this for the fake of con-
neflion, and to prepare the mind of the reader for other
anecdotes of the hiftory of our flage, which will occur in
the courfe of our refearches, and are referved for their ref-
peftive places. I could have enlarged what is here loofely
thrown together, with many other remarks and illuftrations :
but I was unwilling to tranfcribe from the colle6lions of
thofe who have already treated this fubjeft with great com-
prehenfion and penetration, and efpecially from the author of
-the Supplement to the Tranflator's Preface of Jarvis's Don
Quixote ^ I claim no other merit from this digrefiion, than
that of having colle6led fome new anecdotes relating to the
early ftate of the Englifli and French ftages, the original of
both which is intimately conne6led, from books and manu-
fcripts not eafily found, nor often examined. Thefe hints
may perhaps prove of fome fervice to thofe who have leifure
and inclination to examine the fubje6l with more precifion.
" Chron. Forojul. in Append, ad Mo- tTie churches, fhould not ccafe in Italy till
rum. Eccl. Aquilej. pag. 30. col. 1. the yeai' 1660.
" Ibid. pag. 30. col. I. It is extraor- p See alio Doftor Percy's veiy ingenious
dinary, that the Miracle-plays, even in Essay on the origin of the Eng-
lish Stage, &c.
SECT.
ENGLISH POETRY. 251
SECT, VII.
EDWARD the third was an illuftrious example and
patron of chivahy. His court was the theatre of ro-
mantic elegance. I have examined the annual rolls of his
wardrobe, which record various articles of coftly fluffs deli-
vered occafionally for the celebration of his tournaments ;
fuch as ftandards, pennons, tunics, caparifons, with other
fplendid furniture of the fame fort : and it appears that he
commanded thefe folemnities to be kept, with a magnificence
fuperior to that of former ages, at Litchfield, Bury, Guild-
ford, Eltham, Canterbury, and twice at Windfor, in little
more than the fpace of one year \ At his triumphant re-
turn from Scotland, he was met by two hundred and thirty
knights at Dunftable, who received their victorious monarch
with a grand exhibition of thefe martial exercifes. He
eflablifhed in the caflle of Windfor a fraternity of twenty-
four knights, for whom he erefted a round table, with a
round chamber flill remaining, according to a fimilar infti-
' Comp. J. Cooke, Proviforis Magn. " argento, viz. tunicam et fcutum operata
Garderob. ab ann. 21. Edw. iii. ad ann. " cum diftamine Regis,
23. fupr. citat. I will give, as a fpecimen, " Hay Hay the tuythe fvjan
this officer's accompt for the tournament at '< By Codes fouh I am thy man:'
Canterbury. " Et ad faciendum diverfos ,c gj croparium, peftorale, teftarium, et
" apparatus pro corpore regis etfuorum pro .< arcenarium extencellata cum argento.
•' haihludio Cantuanenfi, an reg. xxii. .. g^ adparandumi. tunicam Regis, et i.
" ubi Rex dedit oao hernefia de fyndone « ^i^^^^ g^ capuciam cum c. garteriis
'«, ynde fafta et vapulata de armis dom. « ^^^^^^ ^^^ boucles, barris, et penden-
" Stephani de Cofyngton militis, domm.s « tibusde argento. Et ad faciendum unum
" pnncipibus comiti Lancalbia.-, comiti .< dublettum pro Regede tela linen habente,
" Suffolcis, Johanm de Gray, Joh de « circa manicas et fimbriam, unam bor-
" Beauchamp, Roberto Maule, Joh. Chan- » ^^^^,„ je panno longo viridi operatam
" 'l°5'.".'^°f • Roge>^ofe Beaucliamp Et .. ^^,„ ^^^^ulis et vincis de auro, et cum
" ad faciendum unum harnefium de boke- ., dic^amine Regis. It ;. as it is." Menibr.
*' ram albo pro rege, extencellato cum ^-^ r^ -q 1,^0 "i
K k 2 tution
252
THE HISTORY OF
tution of king Arthur \ Anilis treats the notion, that
Edward in this eftablifliment had any retrofpeft to king
Arthur, as an idle and legendary tradition '. But the fame
of Arthur was ftill kept alive, and continued to be an objeft
of veneration long afterwards : and however idle and ridi-
culous the fables of the round table may appear at prefent,
they were then not only univerfally known, but firmly be-
lieved. Nothing could be more natural to fuch a romantic
monarch, in fuch an age, than the renovation of this mofl
antient and revered inftitution of chivalry. It was a prelude
to the renowned order of the garter, which he foon after-
wards founded at Windfor, during the ceremonies of a
magnificent feafl, which had been proclaimed by his heralds
in Germany, France, Scotland, Burgundy, Heynault, and
Brab:.nt, and lafted fifteen days ^ We muft not try the
modes and notions of other ages, even if they have arrived
to fome degree of refinement, by thole of our own. No-
thing is more probable, than that this latter foundation of
Edward the third, took its rife from the exploded ftory of
the garter of the countefs of Saliibury '. Such an origin is
interwoven with the manners and ideas of the times. Their
attention to the fair fcx entered into every thing. It is by
no means unreafbnable to fuppofe, that the fantaftic collar
of Eflcs, worn by the knights of this Order, was an allufion
to her name. FroifTart, an eycrwitnefs, and well acquainted
^ Walfuig, p. 117.
' Ord. Gart. ii. 92.
^ Barnes, i. ch. 22. p. 292. Froiflart,
c. 100. Anftis, ut fupr.
' Afhmole proves, that the orders of the
j^nnunciada, and of the TciJ'on d'Or, had
the like origin. Ord. Gart. p. 180. 181.
Even in the cnfigns of the order of the Holy
Ghoft, founded (b late as 1578, fome love-
myft rics and emblems were concealed
und^r cyphers introduced into the blafonric.
See Le Labourer, Contin. des Mem. de
Cafteln:iu, p. 895. " II y eut plus dc myf-
" Acres d'amourcttes que dc religion, &c."
But I cannot in tliis place help obferving,
that the fantallic humour of unriddling em-
blematical myfteries, fuppofed to be con-
cealed under all enfigns and arms, was at
length carried to fuch an e.\trav.igance, at
leaft in Engl.and, as to be checked by the
legiflature. By a ftatute of queen Elifabeth,
a fcvere penalty is laid, " on all fond
" phantaftical prophecies upon or by the
" occafion of any arms, fields, beaftes,
" badges, or the like things .-iccuftomcd
" in arms, cognifaunccs, or fignetts, &c,"
Statut. V. Eliz. ch. 15. A. D. 1564.
with
ENGLISH POETRY.
253
with the intrigues of the court, relates at large the king's
afFe6lion for the countefs ; and particularly defcribes a grand
caroufal which he gave in confequence of that attachment ^
The firft feftival of this order was not only adorned by the
braveft champions of chriftendom, but by the prefence of
queen Philippa, Edward's confort, accompanied with three
hundred ladies of noble families ^ The tournaments of
this {lately reign were conftantly crouded with ladies of the
firft diftinftion ; who fometimes attended them on horfeback,
armed with daggers, and drefled in a fuccin6l foldier-like
habit or uniform prepared for the purpofe \ In a tour-
nament exhibited at London, fixty ladies on palfries
appeared, each leading a knight with a gold chain. In
this* manner they paraded from the tower to Smithfield '.
Even Philippa, a queen of fmgular elegance of manners ",
partook fo much of the heroic fpirit which was imiver-
I'ally difFufed, that juft before an engagement with the king
of Scotland, flie rode round the ranks of the Englifli
army encouraging the foldiers, and was with fome diffi-
culty perfuaded or compelled to relinquifh the field '. The
countefs of Montfort is another eminent inftance of female
heroifm in this age. When the ftrong town of Hennebond,
near Rennes, was bcfieged by the French, this redoubted
f Ubi fupr.
^ They foon afterwards regularly re-
ceived robes, with the knights companions,
for this ceremony, powdered with garters.
Aflimol. Ord. Gart. 217. 594. And Anllis,
ii. 123.
'' Knyghton, Dec. Script, p. 2597.
' Froifiart apud Stowe's Surv. Lond. p.
718. edit. 1616. At an earlier period, the
growing gallantry of the times appears in a
public inftrument. It is in the reign of Ed-
ward the firil. Twelve jurymen depofe upon
oath the ftate of the king's lordfhip at
Woodllock : and among other things it is
folemnly recited, that Henry the fecond
often refidcd at Woodllock, "pro amore
" cujufdam mulieris nomine Rofamunda."
Hearne's Avefbury, Append, p. 331.
^ And of diftinguilhed beauty. Hearne
fays, that the ftatuaries of tjiofe days
ufcd to make queen Philippa a model for
their images of the Virgin Mary. Gloff.
Rob. Brun. p. 349. He adds, that the
holy virgin, in a reprefentation of her af-
fumption was conftantly figured young and
beautiful ; and that the artifts before the
Reformation generally " had the moil
" beautiful women of the greateft quality
" in their view, when they made ftatues
" and figures of her." ibid. p. 550.
' FroifTart. i. c. 138.
amazon
254
THE HISTORY OF
amazon rode in complete armour from ftreet to ftreet, on a
large courfer, animating the garifon". Finding from a high
tower that the whole French army was engaged in the af-
fault, fhe ifl'iied, thus completely accoutred, through a con-
venient pollern at the head of three hundred chofen foldiers,
and fet fire to the French camp ". In the mean time riches
and plenty, the effedls of conqueft, peace, and profperity,
were fpread on every fide ) and new luxuries were imported
in great abundance from the conquered countries. There
were few families, even of a moderate condition, but had
in their poffeffion precious articles of drefs or furniture ; fuch
as filks, fur, tapeftry, embroidered beds, cups of gold, filver,
porcelain, and cryflal, bracelets, chains, and necklaces,
brought from Caen, Calais, and other opulent foreign cities °.
The encreafe of rich furniture appears in a foregoing reign.
In an aft of Parliament of Edward the firft \ are many
regulations, directed to goldfmiths, not only in London,
but in other towns, concerning the fterling allay of vefTels
and jewels of gold and filver, &cc. And it is faid, " Gra-
*' vers or cutters of Hones and feals fhall give every one
" their juft weight of filver and gold." It fliould be
m Froiflart fays, that when the Englifh concerned, Froiflart gives many inftances
proved viilorious, the countefs came out of of officers entering into feparate and per-
the caftle, and in the ftreet kifled Sir Walter fonal combat to difpute the beauty of their
Manny the Englifh general, and his cap- refpeilive miftrefles. Hift. 1. ii. ch. 33.43.
tains, one after anoihcr, twice or thrice. On this occafion an ingenious French writer
ccmme noble et 'valliant dame. On another obferves, that Homer's heroes of anticnt
like occafion, the fame hiftorian relates, Greece are juft as extravagant, who in the
that flic went out to meet the officers, whom heat of the fight, often ftop on a fudden,
Ihe kiffed and fumptuoufly entertained in to give an account of the genealogy of theni-
her caftle. i. c. 86. At many magnificent fel>es or of their horfcs. Mem. anc. Che-
tournaments in France, the ladies determined \a!. ubi fupr. Sir Walter M.mny, in 1343,
the prize. See Mem. anc. Cheval. i. p. 175. in attacking the c.afllc of Guigard ex-
feq. p. 223. feq. An Englifh fquire, on the claims, " let me never be beloved of my
fide of the French, captain of the caftle of " miftrefs, if I refufe this attack, &c."
Beaufort, called himfclf k l'owfui Together. " Aumaylcd. * Turretts. * Many.
To
ENGLISH POETRY.
265'
To lewed men that are unkonande ''
That con no latyn undiiftonde ^.
The Latin original in profe, entitled. Stimulus Conscien-
Ti^ % was moft probably writtten by Hampolc : and it is
not very likely that he fliould tranflate his own work. The
author and tranflator were eafily confounded. As to the
copy of the Englifh poem given to bifhop Grofthead, he
could not be the tranflator, to fay nothing more, if Harapole
wrote the Latin original. On the v/hole, whoever was the
author of the two tranflations, at leall: we may pronounce
with fome certainty, that they belong to the reign of Ed-
ward the third.
y Ignorant.
^ MSS. Digb. ut fupr. 87. ad piincip.
" In the Cambridge manufcript of Ham-
pole's Paraphrase on the Lord's
Prayer, above-mentioned, containing a
prolix defcription of human virtues and
vices, at the end, this remark appears.
" Explicit quidam traftatus fuper Pater
" noilcryicu/idum Ric. Hampole qui obiit
" A. D. MCCCLXxxiv." [But the true
date of his death is in another place, viz.
1348.] MSS. More, 215. Princ.
" Almighty God in trinite
" In whom is only perfonnes thre."
The Paraphrase on the book of
Job, mentioned alfo before, feems to have
exiftcd firft in Latin profe under the title of
Parvum Job. The Englifli begins thus:
" Lieff lord my foul thou fpare."
In Bibl. Bodl. MSS. Laud. F. 77. 5, kc.
ice. It is a paraphrafe of fome Excerpta
from the book of Job. The seven peni-
tential Psalms begin thus :
" Togoddisworfchippethatdereus bougt."
MSS. Bodl. Digb. 18. Hampcle's Expo-
siTio IN Psalterium is not uncommon
in Englifh. It has a preface in Englifh
rhymes in fome copies, in praife of the au-
thor and his work. Pr. " I'his blcfTvd
" bcke that hire." MSS. Laud. F. 14, ic.
Hampole was a very popular w riter. Moft
M
of his many theological pieces fecm to have
been tranflated into Englifh foon after they
appealed : and thofe pieces abound among
our manufcripts. Two of his tracts were
tranflated by Richard Mifyn, prior of the
Carmelites at Lincoln, about the year
1435. ThelNCENDiuM Amoris, at the
requeft of Margaret Hellingdon a reclufe.
Princ. " To the alkynge of thi defire."
And De Emendatione vit^e. "Tarry
" thou not to cure." They are in the
tranflator's ov/n hand-writing in the library
of C. C. C. Oxon. MSS. 237. I find other
antient tianlLitions of both thcfe pieces.
Particularly, Tie Pricke of Love a/ier
Richafd Hampol tretiiis, of the three degrees
of love. MSS. Bodl. Arch. B. 65. f. 109.
As a proof of the confufions and uncertain-
ties attending the works of our author,
I muft add, that we have a tranflation of his
traflDs Emendatione under this title.
The fonrTof fcrfyt li'ving, 'uchich holy Ri-
chard the hcrmtl turote to a rechij'e named
Marg/neie. MS. Vemon. But Margarete
is evidently the reclufe, at whofe requeil
Richard Klifyn, many years after Hani-
polc's death, tranflated the Incendium
Amoris. Thefc obfervations, to which
others might be added, are fuficient to con-
firm the fufpicions infmuated in the text.
Many of Hanipole's Latiii theological tracts
were printed very early at Paris and Co-
logne.
m SEC T.
266 THE HISTORY OF
SECT. VIII.
TH E next poet in fucceffion is one who deferves more
attention on various accounts. This is Robert Long-
lande, author of the poem called the Vision of Pierce
Plowman, a fecular priefl, and a fellow of Oriel college,
in Oxford. He flourifhed about the year 1350'. This
poem contains a feries of diftin6t vifions, which the author
imagines himfelf to have feen, while he was fleeping, after
a long ramble on Malverne-hills in Worcefterlhire. It is a
fatire on the vices of almoft every profeffion : but particu-
larly on the corruptions of the clergy, and the abfurdities
of fuperftition. Thefe are ridiculed with much humour and
fpirit, couched under a ftrong vein of allegorical invention.
But inftead of availing himfelf of the rifing and rapid im-
provements of the Englifh language, Longland prefers and
adopts the ftyle of the Anglo-Saxon poets. Nor did he
make thefe writers the models of his language only : he
likewife imitates their alliterative verfification, which con-
fifted in ufing an aggregate of words beginning with the
fame letter. He has therefore reje6led rhyme, in the place
of which he thinks it fufficient to fubllitvite a perpetual al-
literation. But this impofed conflraint of feeking identical
initials, and the affectation of obfolete Englifh, by demand-
ing a conftant and neceflary departure from the natural and
obvious forms of exprefTion, while it circumfcribed the
powers of our author's genius, contributed alfo to render his
' 1 have here followed a date commonly is alfo mentioned as a recent fai5t ; and
received. But it may be obfervcd, that ^/7'^i7> accufes Co»/?;>»r^ of obllrufting the
there is in this poem an allufion to the fall conqueft of France. See more in Obferva-
of Edward the lecond. The ficge of Calais tions on the Fairy Queen, ii. §. xi. p. 281.
manner
ENGLISH POETRY. 267
manner extremely perplexed, and to difguft the reader with
obfcurities. The fatire is condu6led by the agency of feveral
allegorical perfonages, fuch as Avarice, Bribery, Simony,
Theology, Confcience, &c. There is much imagination in
the following pi6lure, which is intended to reprefent human
life, and its various occupations.
Then gan I to meten a merveloufe fweven.
That I was in wildernes, I wyft never where :
As I beheld into theaft, on highe to the funne
I faw a tower on a loft, rychlych ymaked,
A depe dale beneth, a dungeon therein.
With depe diches and darcke, and dreadfull of fyght :
A fayre felde ful of folke found I ther betwene,
Of all maner men, the meane and the riche.
Working and wandring, as the world afketh j
Some put hem to the ploughe, pleiden full felde.
In fetting and fowing fwonken full harde :
And fome put hem to pryd ", &c.
The following extracts are not only ftriking fpecimens of
our author's allegorical fatire, but contain much fenfe and
obfervation of life, with fome ftrokes of poetry '.
Thus robed in ruffet, I romed aboute
All a fomer feafon, for to feke '' Dowel
And freyned " full oft, of folke that I mette
If any wight wift, wher Dowel ' was at inne.
And what man he might be, of many man I alked,
Was never wight as I went, that me wyfli ^ could
''Fol.i. a. edit. 1550. By Roberta Crow- format, i. 135. And Ames, Hift. Print,
ley. 4'". He printed three editions in this p. 270.
one year. Another was printed [with Pierce ■= F. 39. feq. Faff. viii. feq. edit. 1550.
Plowman's Crede annexed] by Owen << Do-well. "= Enquired.
Rogers, 1561. 4'". See Strype, Ann. Re- ' Lived. B Inform me.
M m 2 Where
268 THE HISTORY OF
Where this ladde lenged ", leffe or more,
Tyll it befell on a Fryday, two fryers I mette
Maifters of the minours ', men of greate wytte
I halfed hem hendeiye ", as I had learned
And prayed hem for charitie, or they pafled furthur
If they knewe any courte or countrye as they went
Where that Dowell dwelieth, do me to wytte '
For they be men on this mould, that mofl wide walke
And knowe contries and courts, and many kinnes " places
Both princes palaces, and pore menes cotes
And Dowel and Doevil, where they dwell both,
Amongefl us quoth the minours, that man is dwellinge
And ever hath as I hope, and ever flaall hereafter.
Contra quod I, as a clarke, and cumfed to difputen
And fayde hym fothelye, Septies in die cadit jullus.
Seven " fythes fayeth the boke, fynneth the rightfull,
And who fo fynneth I fay, doth evel as me thinketh.
And DOWEL and doevyl may not dwel togither.
Ergo he is not alway among you fryers
He is other whyle els where, to wyfhen the people.
I fhal fay the my fonne, fayde the frier than
Howe feven fithes the fadde ° man on a day fynneth,
By a forvifne '' quod the fryer, I llial the faire iliewe
Let bryng a man in a bote, amyd the brode water
The winde and the water, and the bote waggyng
Make a man many time, to fall and to flande
For ftand he never fo flifFe, he ftumbleth if he move
And yet is he fafe and founde, and fo hym behoveth,
For if he ne arife the rather, and raght to the ftere,
The wind would with the water the boote overthrow.
And than were his life loH through latches '' of himfelf.
And thus it fallcth quod the frier, bi folk here on crth
•■ Lived. ' The friers minors. * S.-iIuted them civilly. ' Know.
" Swtsof. " 'I'imes. " Sober. Good. * Similitude. i Laninefs.
The
ENGLISH POETRY. 269
The water is likned to the world, that waneth and wexeth
The goods of this world ar likened to the gret waves
That as \vinds and wethers, walken a bout.
The boote is likende to our body, that brytil is of kynd
That through the ficfhe, and the frayle worlde
Synneth the fadde man, a day kven tymes
And deadly fynne doeth he not, for dowel him kepeth
And that is charitie the chapion, chiefe helpe agayne finne.
For he llrengtheth man to fcand, and flirreth mans foule
And thoughe thy bodi bowe, as bote doth in water.
Aye is thy foule fafe, but if thou wylt thy felf
Do a deadlye fmne, and drenche fo thy foule
God wyll fuffer wel thy flouth, if thy felfe lyketh
For he gafe the two yerefgifts, to teme wel thy felfe
And that is witte and frewil, to every wight a portion
To flyinge fowles, to fifhes, and to beafles
And man hath mofte thcrof, and moft is to blame
But if he worch wel therwith, as Dowel hym teacheth.
I have no kind knowyng quoth I, to coceive all your wordgs
And if I may live and loke, I fhal go Icarne better ! ^
I bikenne the Chrift, that on the crofTe dyed
And I faid the fame, fave you from mifchaunce
And give you grace on this ground good me to worth.
And thus I went wide wher, walking mine one
By a wyde weldernes, and by a woddes fyde,
BliiTe of the birdes, brought me on flepe.
And under a lynde ' on a land, lened I a ftounde '
To lyth the layes ', tho lovely fowles made,
Myrthe of her mouthes made me there to flepe
The marveloufeft metelles, mette " me than
That ever dremed wyght, in world as I wente.
A much man as me thought, and like to my felfe,
Came and called me, by my kinde "" name
' Lime tree. » A while. « Liilen. ° Dreamed. " Own.
What
270 THE HISTORY OF
What art thou quod I tho, thou that my name knowefte
That thou wotteft wel quod he, and no wight better
Wot I what thou art ? Thought fayd he than,
I have fued " the this feven yeres, fe ye me no rather ?
Art thou Thought quoth I tho, thou couldeft me wysfhe
Wher that Dowel dwelleth, and do me that to knowe
Dowel and Dobetter, and Dobest the thirde quod he
Are thre fayre vertues, and be not farre to finde,
Who fo is true of hys tonge, and of hys two handes
And through his labor or his lod, his Hvelod wineth''
And is trufty of hys taylyng ^, taketh but his owne
And is no drunklewe * ne dedigious. Dowel him followeth
Dobet doth ryght thus, and he doth much more
He is as lowe as a lamb, and lovely of fpeache
And helpeth al men, after that hem nedeth
The bagges and the bigirdles, he hath to brok " hem al.
That the erle avarous helde and hys heyres
And thus to mamons mony he hath made him frendes
And is runne to religion, and hath rendred " the bible
And preached to the people, faynte Paules werdes.
Libenter fuffertis infipientes cum fitis ipfi fapientes.
And fuffereth the unwyle, wyth you for to lyve
And with glad wil doth he good, for fo god you hoteth
Dobest is above boeth, and beareth a bifliops crofle
Is hoked on that one ende to halye " men from hell
A pyke is on the potent ' to pull downe the wyked
That wayten anye wykednes, Dowell to tene
And Dowell and Dobet, amongeft hem have ordeyned
To crowne one to be kynge, to rule hem boeth
That if Dowell and Dobet, arne ^ agaynfte Dobeste
Then fhall the kynge com, and caft hem in yrons ^
And but if Dobest byd for hem, they be there for ever
" Sought. y Gctts. ^ Dealing. Reckoning. » Drunkard, ■> Broke to pieces.
* Tranflatcd. " Draw, ' Staff. > Are.
Thus
ENGLISH POETRY. 271
Thus DowELL and Dobet, and Dobeste the thyrd
Crouned one to be king, to kepen hem al
And to rule the reahne, by her ^ thre wyttes
And none other wife, but as they thre affentyd.
I thanked Thought tho, that he me thus taught
And yet favoreth me not thy fuging, I covet to lerne,
How Dowel Dobest, and Dobetter, done among the
people
But Wyt can wifh the *" quoth Thought, wer tho' iii dwell
Els wot I none that can tell, that nowe is alyve.
Thought and I thus, thre dayes we yeden ''
Difputynge upon Dowell, daye after other.
And ere we were ware, with Wyt gan we mete
He was longe and leane, lyke to none other
Was no pryde on hys apparell, nor poverty nether
Sadde of hys femblaunce, and of foft chere
I durfte not move no matter, to make hym to laughe.
But as I bade Thought tho be meane betwene
And put forth fome purpofe, to prevent his wyts
What was Dowell fro Dobet, and Dobest fro hem both.
Than Thought in that tyme, fayd thefe wordes
Whether Dowell Dobet, and Dobest ben in land
Here is wyl wold wyt, if Wit could teach him
And whether he be man or woman, this man fain wold efpy
And worch as they thre wold, this is his enten.
Here Dowell dwelleth quod Wit, not a day hence
In a cartel that kind ' made, of four kins things
Of earth and ayre is it made, mingled togithers
With wind and with water, witterly "" enjoyned
Kynde hath clofed therin, craftely withall
A Lemman "that he loveth, like to him felfe
Anima fhe hyght, andEnvye herhateth
e Their. •■ Thee. » They. >" Went. ' Nature
■" Cunningly. " Paramour.
A proude
272 THE HISTORY OF
A proude pricker, cf Fraunce, princeps hujus mundi
And woulde Wynne her away with wiles and h: myghte
And Kind knoweth thys well, and kepeth her the better.
And dothe her with fir Dowell is duke of thys marches
DoBET is her damofell, fir Dowel's daughter
To ferve this lady lelly ", both late and rathe ^
Dob est is above both a byfhops pere,
That he byd moote be doo '' he ruleth them all
An I MA that lady, is led by his lerning.
And the conftable of the caftell, that kepeth al the watche,
Is a wyfe knight withall, fir Inwit he hight
And hath fyve fayre fonnes by his fyrft wyfe
Syr Seewel and Saywel, and Hearwell the end
Syr Worchwel with thy hand, a wight man of ftrength
And Syr Godfray Gowel, great lordes forfoth
Thefe fyve bene fet, to fave this lady Anima
Tyl Kind com or fend, to fave her for ever
What kins thing is Kind quod I, canft thou me telle
Kynd quod Witte is a creator, of al kinnis thinges
Father and former of all, that ever was makyd
And that is the great god that ginning had never
Lord of lyfe and of light, of blys and of payne
Angels and al thing arne at his wyl,
And man is him moft like, of marke ' and of fliape.
For through the word that he fpake, w^exen forth bcftes
And made Adam, likefl to him felfe one
And Eve of his ribbe bone, without any meane
For he was finguler him felfe, and fayde faciamus
As who fay more muft hereto, then my worde one
My might muft helpe now with my fpechc.
Even as a lord fliuld make leters, and he lacked perchment
Though he could write never fo wel, if he had no pen
The letters for al his lordfhip, I leve wer never imaked
• Fair lady. p Early. i Muft be done. ' Fafliion. Similitude.
And
ENGLISH POETRY. 273
And fo it femeth by him, as the bible telleth,
There he fayde, Dixit et fa6la funt.
He muft worch with hys word, and his wit fhewe
And in this maner was man made, by might of God al-
mighty
With his word and his workmafliip, and with life to lafl
And thus God gave him a gofle \ of the godhed of heven
And of his great grace, graunted him blyife
And that is life that aye flial laft, to al our linage after
And that is the caftel that Kinde made, Caro it hight
And is as much to meane, as man with a foule
And that he wrought with work, and with word both
Through might of the majefty, man was imaked
Inwyt and Alwyts, clofed bene therin
For love of the ladie Anima, that life is nempned '
Over al in mans body, ftie walketh and wandreth
And in the herte is hir home, and hir moft " reft
And Inwit is in the head, and to the herte loketh
What Anima is leef or loth ", he leadith hyr at his wil. —
Than had Wit a wife, was bote dame Study,
That leve was of lere, and of liche boeth.
She was wonderli wroght, Wit me fo teched
And al ftaryng dame Study, fternely fayde.
Wei art you wife quoth fhe to Wyt, any wyfdomes to tell
To flatterers or to foles, that frentyke be of wyttes
And blamed him and banned " him, and bade him be ftyl
Wyth fuch wyfe wordes, to wyfh any fottes
And fayde. Noli mittere man, Margarite Pearles
Amonge hogges, that have hawes at wyll.
They do but drivel theron, ^ drafe were hem* lever".
Than al precious pearles that in paradice waxeth '.
1 fay it by fuch, quod flie, that fliew it by her works,
' Spirit. ' Named. " Greateft. ^ Willing. " Curfed, v See DrafFe-
fack. Chauc. Urr. p. 33. v. 1098. ^ Rather. •■ Grow.
N n That
274 THE HISTORY OF
That hem were lever land ", and lordfhyp on earth,
Or ryches or rentes, and reft at her wyll,
Than al the foth fawes, that Salomon fayde ever.
Wyfedome and wytte, nowe is not worth a kerfe "
But if it be carded with covetis \ as clothers kemb her
woule
Whofo can contryve deceites, and confpyre wrongs
And lead forth a love daye % to let wyth truth
He that fuch craftes can, is oft cleped to counfell.
They lead lords with leafmges, and belieth truth
Job the gentel in his geftes, greatly wytnefleth
That wicked men welden the wealth of this world
The pfalter fayeth the fame, by fuch as done evyl
Ecce ipli peccatores habundantes in feculo obtinuervmt divitias.
Lo fayth holy leflure, which lords be thefe Ihrewes ?
Thilke that god geveth moft, left good they dealeth
And moft unkind be to that comen, that moft catel vi^eldeth'.
Que perfecifti deftruxerunt, juftus autem &c.
Harlots for her harlotrye, maye have of her goodes
And japers and judgelers ^, and jangelers of jeftes
And he that hath holy wryte, aye in his mouth
And can tell of Tobie, and of the twelve apoftles
Or preache of the penauce, that Pilate falfely wrought
To jefu the gentle, that Jewes to drawe :
Lyttle is he loved, that fuche a leffon fheweth
Or daunten or drawe forth, 1 do it on god him felfe
But tho *" that faine hem foles, and with fayting ' liveth
Againe the lawe of our lorde, and lien on hem felfe
Spitten and fpuen, and fpeake foule wordes
Drynken and drivelen, and do men for to gape
Lyken men, and lye on hem, and lencth hem no giftes
They can " no more minftrclfy ne mufyke men to glad
•■ They had rather. "^ Not worth a ftraw. ■• Covetoufnefs. ' Lady.
' Commands. f Jugglers. '' They. ' Deceiving. '' Know.
Than
ENGLISH POETRY. 275
Than Mundie the milner, of multa fecit deus.
Ne were hir vyle harlotry, have god my trouth
Shoulde never kynge ne knyght, ne canon of Ponies
Gyve hem to her yeres gyfte, ne gyft of a grote.
And myrth and minflrelfy amongeft men is nought
Lechery, lofenchery ', and lofcls tales,
Glotony and greate othes, this mirthe they loveth.
And if thei carpen "" of Chrill, thefe clerkes and thefe lewed.
And they meet in her mirth, whan mynftrels ben ftyll
Whan telleth they of the trinitie, a tale or twaine
And bringeth forth a blade reafon, and take Bernard " to
witnes
And put forth a prefumption to preve the foth
Thu« they dreveil at her dayfe " the deitie to fcorn
And gnawen God to hyr gorge '' whan hyr guts fallen
And the carfuU '^ may crye, and carpen at the gate
Both a fyngerd and a furlle, and for chel ' quake
Is none to nymen hem nere, his noye ' to amend
But hunten hym as a hounde, and hoten hym go hence,
Litle loveth he that lorde that lent hym all that blifle.
That thus parteth withe pore, a percel whan him nedeth
Ne were mercy in mean men, more than in rich
Mendynauntes meatles ', myght go to bedde.
God is much in the gorge of thefe greate maifters,
And araonges meane men, his mercy and hys worckes
And fo fayeth the pfalter, I have fene it oft.
Clarkes and other kinnes men, carpen of god faft
And have him much in the mouth, and meane men in hert
Friers and fayters, have founden fuch queftions
To plefe wyth the proud men, fith the peftilence time
And preachen at S. Paules, for pure envi of clarks
That folke is not firmed in the faythe, ne fre of her goodes
' Lying. "' Speak. " S. Bernard. " Their table. f Throat. * Poor.
Cold. ' Trouble. ' Beggars fupperlefs.
N n 2 Ne
276 THE HISTORY OF
Ne fory for her fyniies, fo is pryde waxen,
In religion, and in al the realme, amongeft rich and pore
That prayers have no pore, the peftilence to lette
And yet the wretches of this worlde, are none ware by other
Ne for dreade of the death, withdraw not her prid
Ne ben plentuoiis to the pore, as pure charitie wold
But in gaines and in glotony, forglote goods hem felfe
And breketh not to the begger, as the boke teacheth.
And the more he wynneth, and wexeth welthy in riches
And lordeth in landes, the lefie good he dealeth
Tobie telleth ye not fo, takehede ye ryche
Howe the byble boke of hym beareth wyt'nes,
Who fo hath much fpend manly, fo meaneth Tobit
And who fo lytle weldeth, rule hym thereafter.
For we have no letter of our life, how long it flial endure
Suche leffons lordes, flioulde love to heare
And how he myght moft meyny, manlych fynde
Not to fare as a fideler, or a frier to feke feaftes,
Homely at other mens houfes, and haten her owne.
Elenge "'is the hal every day in the weke
There the lorde ne the lady lyketh not to fytte
Nowe hath eche ryche a rule ", to eaten by hem /elfe
In a privie parler, for poore mens fake
Or in chambre wyth a chymney, and leave the chiefe hal
That was made for meales, men to eate in. —
And whan that Wytte was ware, what dame Studie told
He became fo confufe he cunneth not loke
And as dombe as death, and drew him arere "
And for no carping I cold after, ne kneling to therth
I myght get no grayne, of his grete wyttis
But al laughynge he louted, and loked upon Study
In fygne that I Ihulde, befechen hyr of grace
" Strange, dcferted. Henry the eighth in a letter to Anne BuIIcn, fpeaks of his
EUengne/s fince her departure. Hearne's Avefb. p. 260. " Cullom. * Back.
And
ENGLISH POETRY. ^-jj
And when I was war of his wil, to his wife I loutid
And fayde mercie madame, your man (hal I worth
As longe as I live both late and earlie
For to worchen your wil, the whyle mi life endureth
With this that ye ken me kindlye, to know to what is Dowel
For thi mekenes man quod ihe, and for thi milde fpech
I fhal ken the to my cofen, that Clergye is hoten ''
He hatli -syeddyd a wyfe, within thefe fyx moneths
Is fyb ^ to the feven artes, Scripture is hyr name
They two as I hope, after my teachinge
Shal wifhen the Dowel, I dare under take.
Than was I as fayne % as foule *■ of fayr morow
And glader then the gleman ' that golde hath to gyfte
And afked hir the high way where that Clergie '' dwelt
And tellme fome token quod I, for tyme is that I wend
Alke the hygh waye quod fhe, hence to fufFer
Both wel and woo, if that thou wylt learne
And ryde forthe by riches, and reft thou not therin.
For if thou coupleft ye therwith to clergie comeft thou never,
And alfo the licores lande that lechery hight •
Leave it on thy left half, a large mile and more,
Tyll thou come to a courte, kepe well thy tonge
Fro leafmges and lyther fpeach % and licorous drinckes
Than fhalt thou fe Sobrietie, and Simplicitie of fpeche
That ech might be in his wyll, hys wytte to Ihewe
And thus fhalt ye come to Cleargye that can mani thinges
Saye hym thys figne, I fette him to fchole
And that I grete wel his wife, for I wrot her many bokes
And fet hir to Sapience, and to the pfalter glofe
Logike I learned her, and manye other lawes.
And all the unifons to mufike, I made hir to know,
Plato the poete, I put hem firfte to boke,
y Named. ^ Mother. ^ Cliearful. '' Bird. <^ Hai-per. ■^ Learning.
' Wanton.
Ariftotle
278"
THE HISTORY OF
Ariftotle and other moe, to argue I taught
Grammer for gyrles, I garde firile to wryte
And beat hem with a bales, but if they would learne
Of all kinnes craftes, I contrived tooles
Of carpentre of cai^vers, and compafTed mafons
And learned hem level and line, though I loke dimme
And Theologie hath tened me, feven fcore times.
The more I mufe therin, the miftier it femeth
And the deper I devine, the darker me it thynketh.
The artifices and perfuafions of the monks to procure
donations to their convents, are thus humoroufly ridiculed,
in a ftrain which feems to have given rife to Chaucer's Somp-
nour's Tale.
Than he affoyled her fone, and fithen he fayde :
We have a windowe in v/orking, wil fet us ful high,
Woudft thou glafe the gable, and grave therin thy name,
Scher fhoulde thy foule be heven to have ', &c.
CovETiSE or Covetoufnefs, is thus drawn in the true co-
lours of fatirical painting.
' fol. xli. a. b. Thefe, and the follow-
ing lines, are plainly copied by Chaucer,
viz. .
And I fliall cover your kyrke, and your cloif-
ture do makcn.
Chaucer, Sompn. T. p. 93. v. 835. edit.
Urr. But with new ftrokes of humour.
Yeve me then of thy golde to make our
cloyfler,
Quod he, for many a mufcle and many an
oyfter,
Whan othir men have been full well at cafe.
Have ben our fode our cloyftcr for to reyfe.
And yet, god wotc, unnethe the fundament
Parfourmid is, ne of our pavement
Thar is not yet a tile within our wones,
pigod, wc owe fourtie pound for fton«s.
So alfo in the Ploughman's Crede,
hereafter mentioned. Sign. B. iii. A friar fays,
So that thou mow amende our houfe with
money other els
With fom catal, other corn or cuppes of
fylvere.
And again. Sign. A. iii. ibid.
And mighteft on amenden as with money
of thine own.
Thou fholdcll kntly bifore Chrift in com-
pas of gold.
In the wide wyndowe weftward, wel nigh
in the midel.
That is, " your figure fhall be painted in
" glafs, in the middle of the well window,
" &c." But of this paflage hcrcifter.
And
ENGLISH POETRY. 279
And then came Covetis, can I him no difcrive,
So hungerly and hollowe, fo fternely he loked,
He was bittle-browed and baberlypped alfo ;
Wyth two blered eyen as a bhnde hagge,
And as a lethren purfe lolled his chekes,
Well fyder than his chyn they llievered for colde :
And as a bound man of his bacon his herd was bidrauled.
With a hode on his heade, and a loufy hatte above.
And in a tawny taberde ^, of twelve winter age,
Alle torne and baudye, and full of lyce creepinge ;
But that yf a loufe could have lepen the better.
She had not walked on the welte, fo was it thredbare.
I have been Covetife, quoth this catife,
For fometime I fervid Symme at ftyle,
And was hys prentice plight, his profyt to wate.
Fyrft I lernid to lye, a leef other twayne
Wychedly to way, was my firft leflbn :
To Wy and to Winchefter ■■ I went to the fayre
s Tabard. A coat. Henry the third prolonged Its continuance
' Antiently, before many flouriihing to fixteen days. Its jurifdiftion extended
towns were eftablifhed, and the neceflaries feven miles round, and comprehended
or ornaments of life, from the convenience even Southampton, then a capital trading
of communication and the encreafe of town : and all merchants who fold wares
provincial civility, could be procured in within that circuit, forfeited them to the
various places, goods and commodities of bifhop. Officers were placed at a confider-
every kind, were chiefly fold at fairs ; to able diftance, at bridges and other avenues
which, as to one univerfal mart, the people of accefs to the fair, to exaft toll of all
reforted periodically, and fupplied moll of merchandife paffing that way. In the mean
their wa^nts for the enfulng year. The dif- time, all fhops in the city of Wincheller
play of merchandife, and the conflux of were fhut. In the fair was a court called
cuftomers, at thefe principal and almoll the pavilion, at which the biihop's jufli-
only emporia of domeilic commerce,was pro- claries and other officers afllfted, with power
digious : and they were therefore often to try caufes of various forts for feven miles
held on open and extenfive plains. One round: noramongotherfmgularclaimscould
of the chief of them feems to have been any lord of a manor hold a. court-baron
that of St. Giles's hill or down near Win- within the faid circuit, without licence
cheller, to which our poet here refers. It from the pavilion. During this time, the
was iniatuted and given as a kind of re- bifliop was empowered to take toll ol every
venue to the bifliop of Wincheller, by load or parcel of goods paffing through the
William the conqueror ; who by his charter gates of the city. On Saint Giles's eve,
permitted it to continue for three days. the mayor, bailiffs, and citizens of the city
But in confequence of new royal grants, of Wincheller, delivered the keys of the
four
zdo
THE HISTORY OF
With niaui manner merchandilc, as mi mafter me hight.
four city gates to the bifliop's officers ; who,
during the laid fixteen days, appointed a
mayor and bailiff of theii' own to govern
the city, and alfo a coroner to aft \^'ithin
the faid city. Tenants of the bifliop, who
held lands by doing fervice at the pavilion,
attended the fame with horfes and armour,
not only to do fuit at the court there, but
to be ready to affill the bifhop's officers in
the execution of writs and other fcrvices.
But I cannot here enumerate the many ex-
traordinary pri\'ileges granted to the biffiop
on this occafion ; all tending to obftruft
trade, and to opprefs the people. Nume-
rous foreign merchants frequented this f.iir :
?nd it appears, that the julHciaries of the
pavilion, and the treafurcr of the bilhop's
palace of Wolvefey, received annually for
a fee, according to antient cullom, four
bafons and ewers, of thofe foreign mer-
chants who fold brafen veifels in the fair,
and were called 7!iercntores diaunleres. In
the fair fe\eral ftrects were formed, affigned
to the fale of difierent commodities ; and
called the Drapery, the Pottery, the Spicery;
Sec. Many monafteries, in and about Win-
cheftcr, had (hops, or houfcs, in thefe llreets,
■ufed only at the fair, which they held under
the bilhop, and often lett by leafe for a
term of years. One place in the fair was
called Specinriiiin SarMi ^.loytliini, or the
Spicery of Saint Sivitbin^s monajhr^. In
the revenue-rolls of die antient biffiops of
Winchefter, this fair makes a grand and
icparatc article of reception, under this
title. Feria. ComputuiJJcriiv fantii Egidti.
But in the revenue-roll of bilhop Will, of
Waynflcte, [an. 1471.] it appears to have
greatly decayed: in which, among other
proofs, I find mention made of a dilhiit
in the fair being unoccupied, " Vhibcmmes
" Conmbi^e Jiare folebant." From whence
it likewife appears that different counties
had their different flations. The whole re-
ception to the bifliop this year from the fair,
amounted only to 4.5 '. i2 s. ^n'. Yet this
fum, imall as it may ieem, was worth up-
wards of 400 l. Edward the tiril fent a pre-
cept to the Iheriff of Hampdilre, to rellore
to the bifhop this fair ; wliich his efcheator
Malcolm dc Harlegh had feizcd into the
king's hands, wthout command of thetrea-
fui'er and barons of the exchequer, in tlie
year 1292. Regiftr. Joh. de Pontiffara,
Epifc. Wint. fol. 195. After the charter
of Henry the third, many king; by char-
ter confirmed this fair, with all its privi-
leges, to the bifnops of Wincheller. The
lall charter was of Henry the eighth to
bifhop Richard Fox and his fucceffors, in
the year 15 1 1. But it was followed by the
ufual confirmation-charter of Charles the
fecond. In the year 1144, when Brian
Fitz-count, lord of Wallingford in Berk-
fhire, maintained Wallingford caftle, one
of the llrongeft garrifons belonging to
Maud the emprefs, and confequently ient
out numerous parties for contributions and
provifions, Henry de Blois bilhop of Win-
chefter enjoined him not to molelt any paf-
fcngers that were coming to his fair at Win-
cheller, under pain of excommunication.
Omnibus ad feriam meam ■vinientibm.
Sec. MSS. Dodfworth. vol. 89. f. 76. Bibl.
Bodl. This was in king Stephen's reign.
]n that of Richard the firft, in the year
1194, the king gr.ants to Portfmouth a
fair lading for fifteen days, with all the pri-
\ ileges of Saint Giles's fair at Wincheller.
Anderf. Hiil. Com. i. 197. In the year 1234,
the eighteenth of Henry the fecond, the
fermier of the city of Wincheller paid
twenty pounds to Ailward chamberlain of
Wincheller caftle, to buy a robe at this fair
f9r the king's fon, and divers fdver imple-
ments for a chapel in the caftle. Madox,
Exch. p. 251. It appears from a curious
record now remaining, containing The £J-
tablijhment and Expciues of the houjhold of
Henry Percy, fifth earl of Northumberland,
in the year 1512, and printed by dodlor
Percy, that the ftores of his lordfliip's houfe
at VVrefillc, for the whole year, were laid in
from fairs. " He that ftandes charged
" with my lordcs houfe for the houl) yeir,
" if he may poffible,//'« / he at all FaiR£S
" where the groice cmptions fliali be
" boughtc for the houfe for the houlle yeire,
" as wine, wax, beiffes, multons, wheite,
" .and maltie." p. 407. This laft quota-
tion is a proof, that fairs ftill continued to
be the principal marts for purchaling neccf-
farles
ENGLISH POETRY.
2S1
Than drave I me among drapers my donet ' to lerne.
To drawe the lyfier along, the longer it femed
Among the rich rayes, &c ''.
Our author, who probably could not get preferment, thus
inveighs againft the luxury and diverfions of the prelates of
his age.
faries in large quantities, which now are
fupplied by frequent trading towns : and
the mention of bdffes and multom., which
were falted oxen and fheep, ihews that
at fo late a period they knew but little of
breeding cattle. Their ignorance of fo im-
portant an article of hufbandry, isalioanevi-
dence, that in the reign of Henry the eighth
the rtate of population was much lower
among us than we may imagine.
In the ilatutcs of Saint Mary Ot-
tery's college in Devonfhire, given by
bifhop Grandifon the founder, the ftew-
ards and facriil are ordered to purch«fe
annually two hundred pounds of wax for
the choir of the college, at this fair. " Cap.
" Ixvii. — Pro luminaribus vero omnibus
" fupradiftis inveniendis, etiam ftatuimus,
" quod fenefcalli fcaccarii per vifum et auxi-
" lium facrifte, omni anno, in nundinis
" Wynton, vel alibi apud Toryngton et
" in parfibus Barnftepol, ceram fufficien-
" tem, quam ad ducentas libras aeftimamus
" pro uno anno ad minus, faciant pro-
" videri." Thefe ftatutes were granted in
the year 1338. MS. apud Regiftr. Priorat.
S. Swithin. Winton. In Archiv. Wolvef.
In the accompts of the Priories of Maxtoke
in Warwickfhire, and of Bicefter in Ox-
fordlhirc, under the reign of Henry the
fixth, the monks appear to have laid in
yearly ftores of various yet common necef-
faries, at the fair of Sturbridge in Cam-
bridgefhire, at leaft one hundred miles
diftant from either monaftery. It may feem
furprifing, that their own neighbourhood,
including the cities of Oxford and Coven-
try, could not fupply them with commodi-
ties neither rare nor coftly, which they
thus fetched at a tonfider^ble expence of
o
carriage. It is a rubric in fome of the
monaftic rules, De Euntibus ad Nundinas.
See Dugd. Mon. Angl. ii. p. 746. It is
hoped the reader will excufe this tedious
note, which at leaft developes antient man-
ners and cuftoms.
' Leflbn. Properly a Granmar, from
yEliifs Donalus the grammarian. Chaucer,
Tellam. L. p. 504. b. edit. Urr. " Nopaf-
" fef to vertucs of thrs Margarite, but ther-
" in al my donet can I lerne." In the fta-
tutes of Wincheller-college, [written about
1386,] grammar is called " Antiquus do-
" natus," i. e. the aid donat, or the name of
a fyftem of grammar at that time in \'ogue,
and long before. The French have a
book entitled "Le Donnet, trait e de
" grammaire, bailie a feu roi Charles viii."
Among Rawlinfon's manufcripts at Oxford,
I have feen Donatus optimus no-viter compi-
latus, a manufcript on vellom, given to
Saint Alban's, by John Stoke, abbot, in
1450. In the introduction, or />7f///'r(7^?»rf,
to Dean Colet's Grammatices Rudi-
ment a, we find mention made of " cer-
" tayne introducyonsintolatyn fpcche call-
" ed Donates, &c." Among the books
written by bifhop Pecock, there is the Do-
nat into chrijlian religion, and the Folo'wer
to t/jeDoK AT. Lewis's Pecock, p. 317.
I think I have before obferved, that John of
Baling, who flourifhed in the year 1240,
calls hisGreekGrammarDoN ATus Grje-
CORUM. Pegge's Weseham, p. 51. Wyn-
kyn de Worde printed Donatus ad
Anglicanarum fiholarum ttfum. Cotgrave (in
V.) quotes an old French proverb, " Les
" diables eftoient encores a lew Donat,
" The devils luere but yet in their gram-
" mar." ^ fol. xxiii. a. b.
And
282
THE HISTORY OF
And now is religion a rider, a romer by the ftreete,
A leader of lovedaycs ' and a loude " beggar,
A pricker on a palfrey from maner to maner,
An heape of houndes at his arfe as he a lord were ".
And yf but his knave knele, that Ihall hys cope bryng.
He loured on hym, and alked who taught hym curtefye '.
There is great pi6lurefque humour in the following lines.
Hunger in heft tho hent waftour by the maw,
And wrong him fo by the wombe that both his eies watered :
' Levadies. Ladies. "" Lewd.
" Walter de Sufiield, bifliop of Nor-
wich, bequeathes by will his pack of hounds
to the king, in 1256. Blomefield's Norf.
ii. 347. See Chaucer's Monke, Prol. v.
165. This was a common topic of fatire.
It occurs again, fol. xxvii. a. See Chau-
cer's Testament of Love, p. 492. col.
ii. Urr. The arclideacon of Richmond, on
his vifitation, com«s to the priory of Brid-
lington in Yorkfhire, in 1 216, with ninety-
fcvcn horfes, twenty-one dogs, jnd three
hawks, Dugd. Mon. ii. 65.
" Fol. 1. a. The following prediftion,
although a probable condufion, concerning
a king, who after a time would fupprefs
the religious houfes, is remarkable. I ima-
gined it was foifted into the copies, in
the reign of king Henry the eighth. But
it is in manufcripts of this poem older than
the year 1400. fol. I. a. b.
And THER SHALL COME A KINO, and
confefTe your religions.
And bete you as the bible tcllcth, for brek-
ing of your rule :
And amende moniales, monkes and chan-
oines. —
And then friers in her freytor fhall fynd a
key
Of Conftantyncs coffers, in which is the
catal
That Gregorics godchjldren had it dif-
pcndcd.
And than {hall the abot of Abingdon, *id
all his iflue for ever.
Have a knocke of a king, and in-
curable THE WOUND.
Again, fol. Ixxxv. a. Where he alludes to
the knights-templers, lately fupprefled.
Men of holie kirke
Shall turne as templars did, t/>e tyme ap-
prcchsth nere.
This, I fuppofe, was a favourite doftrine
in WicklilTe's difcourfes. I cannot help tak-
ing notice of a pillage in Piers Plowman,
which fhcws how the reigning paflion for
chivalry infedled the ideas and expreffions
of the writers of this period. The poet is
deltriblng the crucifixion, and fpeaking of
the perfon who pierced our Saviour's fide
with a fpear. This perfon our author calls a
knight, and fays that he came forth, " ivith
" hii Jpcrc 111 hand, an.i jiificd -lijith jfi^/us."
Afterwards for doing fo bafe an aft as that
of wounding a dead body, he is pronounced
a difgrace to knighthood : and our " Cham-
" pion che-vahr (bycfi iiivght^' is ordered
to yield himfclf recreant, fol. Ixxxviii. b.
This knight's name is Longis, and he is
blind : but receives his fight from the blood
which fprings from cur Saviour's /ide.
This miracle is recorcs.d in the Golden
LE(;ENnF, Ho is called Longias, "A
" blinde knight men ycallid Longias,"
in Chaucer, Lam. M.ir, Magd. v. 177.
He
ENGLISH POETRY. 283
He buffeted the breton about the chekes
That he loked lyke a lanterne al his life after ''.
And in the following, where the Vices are rcprefentcd as
converted and coming to confcflion, among which is the
figure of Envy.
Of a freres froke were the fore lleves,
And as a leke that hath lied long in the funne
So looked he with Icane chekes, lowering foule ^
It would be tedious to tranfcribe other flrokes of humour
with which this poem abounds. Before one of the Vifions
the poet falls afleep while he is bidding his beads. In another
he defcribes Antichrift, whole banner is borne by Pride,
as welcomed into a monaftery with ringing of bells, and a
' folemn congratulatory proceiTion of all the monks march-
ing out to meet and receive him '.
Thefe images of mercy and truth are in a different ftrain.
Out of the weft coft, a wenche as me thought,
Come walking in the way, to hevnward (lie loked ;
Mei'cy hight that mayde, a meke thyng withall,
A fvfll benigne byrde, and buxome of fpeech;
Hyr fyfter, as yt feemed, came worthily walking,
Even out of thefte, and weftward {he loked,
A ful comely creature, Truth ihe hyght.
For the vertue that her folowed afered was flie never.
When thefe maydens mette, Mercy and Truth,
Eyther afked other of this gret marvel.
Of the din and of the darknes, &c '.
!> foL xxiii. b. « fol. xliL a. ' fel. cxii. a. • foL Ixxxviii. b.
'■ O o 2 The
284 THE HISTORY OF
The imagery of Nature, or Kinde, fending forth his
difeafes from the planets, at the command of Conscience,
and of his attendants Age and Death, is conceived with
fubiimity.
Kynde Conscience then heard, and came out of the planetts,
And fent forth his forriours Fevers, and Fhixes,
Coughes, and Cardiacles, Crampes, and Toth-aches,
Reumes, and Pvadgondes, and raynous Scalles,
Byles, and Botches, and burnynge Agues,
Frenefes and foule Evill, foragers of Kynde !
Ther was " Harowe ! and Heipe ! here cometh Kynde !
" With Death that is dreadfull, to undo us all !"
The lord that lyveth after luft tho aloud cried. —
Age the bocre, he was in the •vaiu-'war^,
Aftd bare the banner before Death : by ryght he it claimed.
Kynde came after, with many kene fores,
As Pockes and Peftilences, and much people fhent.
So Kynde through corruptions, kylled full many:
Death came dryvyng after, and all to dull: palhed
Kyngs and Kayfers, knightes and popes.
Many a lovely lady, and lemman of knightes,
Swoned and fwelted for forowe of Death's dyntes.
Conscience, of his curtefye, to Kynde he befoght
To ceafe and fufire, and fe where they wolde
Leave Pride prively, and be perfite chriften,
And Kynde ceafed tho, to fee the people amende '.
Thefe lines at leaft put us in mind of Milton's Lazar-
houfe ".
Immediately a place
Before his eyes appeared, fad, noifome, dark :
A lazar-houfe it feem'd, wherein were laid
Numbers of all difeas'd : all maladies
'fol. cxiii. a. " Par. I,, ii. 475.
Of
ENGLISH POETRY. 285
Of gaftly fpafm, or racking torture, qualms
Of heart-fick agony, ail feverous kinds,
Convulfions, epilepfies, fierce catarrhs,
Inteftine ftone, and ulcer, cholic pangs,
Demoniac phrenzy, moping melancholy.
And moon-ftruck madnefs, pining atrophy,
Marafmus, and wide-wafting Peftilcnce :
Dropfies and afthma, and joint-racking rheum.
Dire was the Tofling ! Deep the groans ! Despair
Tended tho fick, bufy from couch to couch ;
And over them triumphant Death his dart
Shook, but delay'd to ftrike, &c.
At length Fortune or Pride fends forth a numerous afmy
led by Lust, to attack Conscience. ^
. And gadered a greate hofte, all agayne Conscience :
This Lechery led on, with a laughyng chere,
' And with a privye fpeeche, and paynted wordes.
And armed him in idlenefs and in high bearyng.
He bare a bowe in his hand, and many bloudy arrowes.
Were fethered with faire beheft, and many a falfe truth ",
Afterwards Conscience is befieged by Antichrift, and feven
great giants, who are the feven capital or deadly fins : and
the aflault is made by Sloth, who condufts an army of more
than a thoufand prelates.
It is not improbable, that Longland here had his eye on
the old French Roman d' Antechrist, a poem written by
Huon de Meri, about the year 1228. The author of this
piece fuppofes that Antichrift is on earth, that he vifits
every profefTion and order of life, and finds numerous par-
tifans. The Vices arrange themfelves under the banner of
Antechrist, and the Virtues under that of Christ.
'' Ibid.
Thefe
286 THE HISTORY OF
'thefe two armies at length come to an engagement, and the
battle ends to the honour of the Virtues, and the total
defeat of the Vices. The banner of Antichrist has
before occurred in our quotations from Longland. The
title of Huon de Meri's poem deferves notice. It is Tur-
NOYEMENT DE l' Antechrist. Thcfe are the concluding
lines.
Par fon droit nom a peau cet livre
Qui trefbien s' av^orde a 1' efcrit
Le T^ournoiemeiit de /' AiitechriJ}.
The author appears to have been a monk of St. Germain
des Pres, near Paris, This allegory is much like that which
^we find in the old dramatic Moralities. The theology of
the middle ages abounded with conje6lures and controverfies
concerning Antichrift, who at a very early period was com-
monly believed to be the Roman pontiff ".
* See this topic difcufTcd with fingular penetration and perfpicuity, by doflor Hurd,
in Twelve Sermons introductory to the Study of the Prophecies.
Lond. 1773. p- zo6. fcq.
SECT.
ENGLISH POETRY. 287
SECT. IX.
TO the Vision of Pierce Plowman has been commonly-
annexed apocm called Pierce the Plowman's Crede,
and which may properly be confldered as its appendage ".
It is profeffedly written in imitation of our Visiont, bit by
a different hand; The author, in the charafter of a plain
uninformed perfon, pretends to be ignorant of his creed;
to be inftru6led in the articles of which, he applies by turns
to the four orders of mendicant friers. This circumftance
affords an obvious occafion of expofing in lively colours the
tricks of thofe focieties. After fo unexpeded a difappoint-
ment, he meets one Piercej or Peter, a plowman, who re-
folves his doubts, and teaches him the principles of true
religion. In a copy of the Crede lately prcfented to me
by the bifhop of Gloucefter, and once belonging to Mr.
Pope, the latter in his own hand has inferted the foUowiiig
abftraft of its plan. " An ignorant plain man having learned
" his Pater-nofter and Ave-mary, wants to learn iiis creed.
*' He aiks fevcrai religious men of the feveral orders to teach
" it him. Firft of a friar Minor, who bids him beware of
*' the Carmelites, and afTures him they can teach him 110-
" thing, dfci'cribing their faults, &c. But that the- friars
" Minors fhall fave him, whether he learns his creed or not.
= The firft edition is by R. Wolfe, Lon- edit. 1 561 . Walter Britte or Brithe, a fol-
don, 1553- 4'°. In four ihects. It was re- lower of Wickliffe, is alfo mentioned,
printed, and added to Rogers's, or the Signat. C. iii. Britte is placed by Bale in
fourth edition of the y-Jion, 1561. It was 1390. Cent. vi. 94. See alfo Fuller's
evidently written after the year 1384. Worth, p. 8. H^ales. The reader will par-
\^iickIitFe died in that year, and he is men- don this fmall anticipation for the fake of
tioned as no longer living in Signat. C. ii, couneiftion.
" He
M THE HISTORY OF
" He goes next to the friars Preachers, whofe magnificent
" monallery he defcribes : there he meets a fat friar, who
" declaims againft the Auguftines. He is fliocked at his
" pride, and goes to the Auguftines. They rail at the Mi-
" norites. He goes to the Carmes ; they abufe the Domini-
" cans, but promife him falvation, without the creed, for
" money. He leaves them with indignation, and finds an
" honefi poor Plowman in the field, and tells him how he
" was difappcinted by the four orders. The plowman an-
" fwers with a long inve6live againft them."
The language of the Crede is lefs embarraffed and ob-
fcure than that of the Vision. But before I proceed to a
fpecimen, it may not be perhaps improper to prepare the
reader, by giving an outline .of the conftitution and cha-
racter of the four orders of mendicant friars, the obje6l of
our poet's fatire : an enquiry in many refpefts conne6led
with the general purport of this hiftory, and which, in this
place at leaft, cannot be deemed a digrefTion, as it will il-
luftrate the main fubjefl, and explain many particular paf-
fages, of the Plowman's Crede ^.
Long before the thirteenth century, the monaftic orders,
as we have partly feen in the preceding poem, in confequence
of their ample revenues, had degenerated from their primi-
tive* aufterity, and were totally given up to luxury and indo-
lence. Hence they became both unwilling and unable to
execute the purpofes of their eftablilhment : to inftru6l the
people, to check the growth of herefies, or to promote in
any refpedl the true interefts of the church. They forfook
all their religious obligations, defpifed the authority of their
fuperiors, and were abandoned without fliamc or remorfe to
every fpccies of difTipation and licentioufnefs. About the
beginning therefore of the thirteenth century, the condition
and circumftances of the church rendered it abfolutely ne-
•" .^nd of fome perhaps quoted above from the Vision.
ceflary
ENGLISH POETRY. 289
ceflary to remedy thefe evils, by introducing a new order of
religious, who being dcftitute of fixed poffiflions, by the
feverity of their manners, a profefied contempt of riches,
and an unwearied perfeverance in the duties of preaching
and prayer, might reftore refpeft to the monaftic inftitution,
and recover the honours of the church. Thefe were the
four orders of mendicant or begging friars, commonly deno-
minated the Francifcans, the Dominicans, the Carmelites,
and the Auguftines \
Thefe focieties foon furpaffed all the reft, not only in the
purity of their lives, but in the number of their privileges,
and the multitude of their members. Not to mention the
fuccefs which attends all novelties, their reputation arofe
quickly to an amazing height. The popes, among other
uncommon immunities, allowed them the liberty of travel-
ling wherever they pleafed, of converfmg with perfons of
all ranks, of inftrufting the youth and the people in general,-
and of hearing confefTions, without referve or reftriclion :
and as on thefe occafions, which gave them opportunities
of appearing in public and confpicuous fituations, they ex-
hibited more ftriking marks of gravity and fan6lity than
were obfervable in the deportment and condu6l of the mem-
bers of other monafteries, they were regarded with the
higi eft efteem and veneration throughout all the countries
of Europe.
In the mean time they gained ftill greater refpe6l, by cul-
tivating the literature then in vogue, with the greateft affi-
duity and fuccefs. Gianoni fays, that moft of the theolo-
•* The Francifcans were often ftyled 1221. Of the Francifcans at Canterbury,
■friars-minors, or minorites, and grey- Thefe two were the moft eminent of the
friars : the Dominicans, friars-preachers, four orders. The Dominican friary at Ox-
and fometimes black-friars : The Carme- ford ftood in an ifland on the fouth of the
lites white-friars ; and the Auftjns grey- city, fouth-weft of the Francifcan friary,
friars. The firft eftablifhrnent of the Do- the fite of which is hereafter defcribed.
minicans in England was at Oxford in
P p gical
290
THE HISTORY OF
gical profeflbrs in the univerfity of Naples, newly founded
in the year 1220, were chofen from the mendicants'. They
were the principal teachers of theology at Paris, the fchool
where this fcience had received its origin '. At Oxford and
Cambridge refpeftively, all the four orders had flourifhing
monafteries. The moft learned fcholars in the univerfity
of Oxford, at the clofe of the thirteenth century, were
Francifcan friars : and long after this period, the Francifcans
appear to have been the fole fupport and ornament of that
univerfity ^. Hence it was that bifliop Hugh de Balfliam,
founder of Peter-houfe at Cambridge, orders in his flatutes
given about the year 1280, that Ibme of his fcholars fhould
annually repair to Oxford for improvement in the fciences ''.
That is, to ftudy under the Francifcan readers. Such was
the eminence of the Francifcan friary at Oxford, that the
learned bifh op Grofthead, in the year 1253, bequeathed all
' Hlft. Nap. xvi. 3.
f See Boul. Hift. Academ. Parif. iii. p.
138. 240. 244. 248, &c.
s This circum (lance in fome degree rouf-
ed the monks from their indolence, and
induced the greater monafteries to procure
the foundation of fmall colleges in the uni-
verlities for the education of their novices.
At Oxford the monks had alfo fchools
which bore the name of their refpeftive
orders : and there were fchools in that uni-
verfity which were appropriated to particu-
lar monafteries. Kennet's Paroch. Ant. p.
214. Wood, Hift. Ant. Univ. Oxon. i.
119. Lcland fays, that even in his time,
at Stamford, a tempcrary univerfity, the
names of halls inhabited by the novices of
Peterboro'igh, Sempringham, and \'aul-
drey abbies, were retraining. Itin. vi. p.
21. And it apjiears, ihat the gr--ater part
of the procecdtrs in theology at O.vford and
Cambri.lge, juft before the reformation,
were monks. Rut we Jo not find, that in
confeijuenccof all thefe efforts, the monks
made a much greater figure io literature.
In this rivalrj' which fubfifted between
the mendicants and the monks, the latter
fometimes availed themfehes of their
riches : and with a view to attrafi popula-
rity, and to eclipfe the growing lulhe of
the former, proceeded to their degrees in
the univerfities with prodigious parade. In
the year 1298, William de Brooke, a Be-
nediftine of Saint Peter's abbey at Glou-
cefter, took the degree of doflor in divi-
nity at Oxford. He was attended on this
important occafion by the abbot and w hole
convent of Glouceftcr, the abbots of Wcft-
minfter, Reading, Abingdon, Evediam,
and Malmefbury, with one hundred noble-
men and efquires, on horfes richly capari-
foned. Thefe were entertained at a fump-
tuous feaft in the refeftory of Gloucefter
college. But it fhould be obferved, that
he was the firft of the Benedifline order
that attained this dignity. Wood, Hift.
Ant. Univ. Oxon. i. 25. col. I . See alfo
Stevens, Mon. 1. 70.
•■ " De f.holaribus emittcndis ad iinivcr-
" fitatemOxonieprododrina." Cap. xx-iii.
his
ENGLISH POETRY. 291
his books to that celebrated feminary '. This was the houfe
in which the renowned Roger Bacon was educated; who
revived, in the midll: of barbarifm, and brought to a confi-
derable degree of perfe6lion the knowledge of mathematics
in England, and greatly facilitated many modern difco-
veries in experimental philofophy ''• The fame fraternity is
likewife faid to have rtored their valuable library with a
multitude of Hebrew manufcripts, which they purchafed
of the Jews on their banifliment from England '. Richard
de Bury, bifliop of Durham, author of Philobiblon, and
the founder of a library at Oxford, is prolix in his praifes*
of the mendicants for their extraordinary diligence in co!-
ledling books ". Indeed it became difficult in the beginning
of the fourteenth century to find any treatife in the arts,
theology, or canon law, commonly expofed to fale : they
were all univerfally bought up by the friars ". This is men-
tioned by Richard Fitzralph, archbifliop of Armagh, in his
difcourfe before the pope at Avignon in 1357, their bitter
and profefled antagonift ; who adds, without any intention
of paying them a compliment, that all the mendicant con-
vents were furnifhed with a " grandis et nobilis libraria"."
Sir Richard Whittington built the library of the Grey
Friars in London, which was one hundred and twenty-nine
' Leland. Script. Brit. p. 283. This <-e0ve muhiti/i/e of perCons fcU'mg hooks in
houfe ftood juft without the city walls, near the univerfity without licence. Vet. Stat.
Little-gate. The garden called Paradife Univ. Oxen. D. fol. 75. Archiv. Bodl.
was their grove or orchard. ^ MSS. Bibl. Bodl. Propofitio coram
'^ It is probable, that the treatifts of papa, &c. And MSS. C. C. C. Oxon. 182.
many of Bacon's fcholars and followers, Propofitio coram, &:c. S<.e a tranflation of
collefted by Thomas Allen in the reign of this Sermon by Trevifa, MSS. Harl. 1900.
James the firft, ftill remain among the ma- fbl. Pergam. z. See f. n. See alfo Browne's
nufcripts of Sir Kenelm Digby in the Bod- append. Fafcic. Rer. expetcnd. fugiend.
leian libiary. ii. p. 466. I believe this difcourfe has been
' Wood, ubi fupr. I. 77. col. 2. printed twice or thrice at Paris. In which,
"' Philobibl. cap. v. This book was writ- fays the archbifliop, there were thirty thou-
ten, 1344. fand fcholars at Oxford in my youth, but
" Yet I find a decree made at Oxford, now (1357,) fcarce fix tiioufand. At Ben-
where thefe orders of friars flourilhed fo net in Cambridge, there is a curious mane-
greatlv, in the year 1373, to check the m- fcript of one of Fitzrauf's Sermons, in the
P p 2 firft
292 THE HISTORY OF
feet long, and twelve broad, with twenty-eight defies \ About
the year 1430, one hundred marks were paid for tranfcribing
the profound Nicholas de Lyra, in two volumes, to be
chained in this library''. Leland relates, that John Wallden,
a learned Carmelite, bequeathed to the fame library as many
manufcripts of approved authors, written in capital roman
charafters, as were then ellimated at more than two thou-
fand pieces of gold '. He adds, that this library, even in
his time, exceeded all others in London for multitude of
books and antiquity of copies '. Among many other in-
ftances which might be given of the learning of the mendi-
cants, there is one which greatly contributed to eftablifh
their literary chara6ter. In the eleventh century, Ariftotle's
philofophy had been condemned in the univerfity of Paris as
heretical. About a hundred years afterwards, thefe prejudices
began to fubfide ; and new tranflations of Ariftotle's writings
were publilhed in Latin by our countryman Michael Scotus,
and others, with more attention to the original Greek, at
leaft without the pompous and perplexed circumlocutions
which appeared in the Arabic verfions hitherto ufed. In
the mean time the mendicant orders fprung up : who hap-
pily availing themfelves of thefe new tranflations, and making
them the conftant fubjcft of their fcholaftic lectures, were
the firft who revived the doctrines of this philofopher, and
acquired the merit of having opened a new fyftem of fcience'.
The Dominicans of Spain were accompliflied adepts in the
firft leaf of which there Is a drawing of fStowe'sSurv. lond. p. 255. edit. 1599.
four devils, hugging four mendicant friars, 1 Stowe, ibid. p. 256. Stevens, Monail.
one of each of tilt four orders, with great i. 112.
familiarity and afFcftion. MSS. L. 16. ' Aurei.
This book belonged to Adam Rfton, a ' Script. Brit. p. 44.1. And Colleftan.
very learned Uenediftine of Norwich, and iii. p. 52.
a witnels againft Wicklifte at Rome, where ' See joann. Laun. de v.iria Arillotcl.
he lived the grcattft part of his life, in Fortun. ia Acad. Parif. jp. 7S. edit. Parif.
»370. 1662.
learning
ENGLISH POETRY.
=93
learning and language of the Arabians ; and were employed
by the kings of Spam in the inftiuCtion and conveifun of
the numerous Jews and Saracens who refided in their domi-
nions ".
The buildings of the mendicant monaflerics, efpecially in
England, were remarkably magnificent, and commonly much
exceeded thofe of the endowed convents of the fecond mag-
nitude. As thefe fraternities were profciiidly poor, and
could not from their original inflitution receive eftates, the
munificence of their benefactors was employed in adorning
their houfes with llately refe6lories and churches : and for
thefe and other purpofes they did nor Vi^ant addrefs to pro-
cure multitudes of patrons, which was facilitated by the
notion of their fuperior fan6lity. It was faihiionable for
perfons of the highcft rank to bequeath their bodies to be
bvu-ied in the friary churches, which were confequcntly filled
with fumptuous flirines and fuperb monuments ", In the
" R. Simon's Lett. Choif. tom. iii. p.
1 1 2. They ftudied the arts of popular en-
tertaiament. The mendi;ants, 1 believe,
were the only religious in England who
afted plays. The Creation of the
World, annually performed by the Grey
friars at Coventry, is IHII extant. See
fupr. p. 92. 243. And they feem to have
been famous abroad for thefe exhibitions.
Guilvanei de la Flimma, who flourifhed
about the year 134.0, has the following
curious pafi'age in his chronicle of the
VicECOMiTES of Milan, publi iied by
Mur.itori. In the year 1336, fays he, on
^e feaft of Epiphany, the firft feaft of the
three kings was celebrated at Milan, by
the convent of the friars preachers. The
three kings appeared crowned on three
great hories, richly habited, furrounded by
pages, body-guards, and an innumerable
retinue. A golden ftar was exhibited in
the fky, going before them. They pro-
ceeded to the pillars of S. Lawrence, where
king Herod was repref;ntc.l with his fcribes
and wife-men. The tluee kings alk Herod
where Chrift Ihould be born : and his wife-
men having confulted their btioks, anfwer
him at Bethlehem. On whith, 'he three
kings with their golden crowns, h'.ving in
their hands golden cups filled with fran-
kincenfe, myrrh, and gold, the ftar ftill
going before, marched to the church of S.
Eullorgius, with all their attendants ; pre-
ceeded by trumpets and horns, apes, ba-
boons, and a great variety of animals. In
the church, on one fide of the high altar,
there was a manger with an ox and an afs,
and in it the infant Chrift in the arms of
his mother. Here the three kings oiFer
their gifts, &••. The concourfe of the peo-
ple, of knights, ladies, and ecclefiallics,
was fuch as ne\ cr before was beheld, &c.
Rer. Italic. Scriptor. tom. xii. col. 1017.
D. fol. Mediolan. 1728. Compare p. 249,
fupr. This feaft in the ritual is called Che
feaft if the Star. Joann. Epifcop. Abrine.
de Offi:. Eccl. p. 50.
" Their churches were elleemed more
facred than others,
noble
294
THE HISTORY OF
noble church of the Grey friars in London, finifhed in the
year 1325, but long fnice deftroyed, four queens, befides
upwards of fix hundred perfons of quality, were buried,
whofe beautiful tombs remained till the diffolution '. Thefe
interments imported confiderable fums of money into the
mendicant focieties. It is probable that they derived more
benefit from cafual charity, than they would, have gained
from a regular endowment. The Francifcans indeed enjoyed
from the popes the privilege of diftributing indulgences,
a valuable indemnification tor their voluntary poverty \
On the whole, two of thefe mendicant inllitutions, the
Dominicans and the Francifcans, for the fpace of near three
centuries, appear to have governed the European church and
ftate with an abfolute and univerfal fway : they filled, during
that period, the moft eminent ecclefiaftical and civil ftations,
taught in the univerfities with an authority which filenced
all oppofition, and maintained the difputed prerogative
of the Roman pontiff againft the united influence of prelates
and kings, with a vigour only to be paralleled by its fuccefs.
The Dominicans and Francifcans were, before the Reforma-
tion, exactly what the Jefuits have been fince. They difre-
garded their monaftic character and profeflion, and were
employed, not only in fpiritual matters, but in temporal
affairs of the greateft confequence ; in compofing the dif-
ferences of princes, concluding treaties of peace, and con-
certing alliances : they prefided in cabinet councils, levied
national fubfidies, influenced courts, and managed the ma-
chines of every important operation and event, both in the
religious and political world.
From what has been here faid it is natural to fuppofe, that
the mendicants at length became univerfally odious. The
high efteem in which they were held, and the tranfcendent
degree of authority which they had affumed, only ferved to
* Weav. Fun. Mon. p. 388. y See Baluz. Mifccllan. torn. iv. 490.vii. 392.
render
EN(^LISH POETRY.
295
render them obnoxious to the clergy of every rank, to the
monafteries of other orders, and to the univerfities. It was
not from ignorance, but from a knowledge of mankind,
tiiat they were a6live in propagating fuperftitious notions,
which they knew were calculated to captivate the multitude,
and to ftrengthen the papal intereft j yet at the fame time,
from the vanity of difplaying an uncommon fagacity of
thought, and a fuperior fkill in theology, they affedled no-
velties in dodtrine, which introduced dangerous errors, and
tended to lliake the pillars of orthodoxy. Their ambition
was unbounded, and their arrogance intolerable. Their en-
creafing numbers became, in many ftates, an enormous
and unweildy burthen to the commonwealth. They had
abufed the powers and privileges which had been entrufted
to them ; and the common fenfe of mankind could not long
be blinded or deluded by the palpable frauds and artifices,
which thefe rapacious zealots fo notorioufly pradlifed for en-
riching their convents. In England, the univerfity of Ox-
ford refolutely refilled the perpetual encroachments of the
Dominicans ^ ; and many of our theologifts attacked all the
four orders with great vehemence and feverity. Exclufive of
the jealoufies and animofities which naturally fubfifted be-
tween four rival inftitutions, their vifionary refinements,
and love of difputation, introduced among them the moll
violent diffenfions. The Dominicans aimed at popularity,
by an obftinate denial of the immaculate conception. Their
pretended fandlity became at length a term of reproach, and
their learning fell into difcredit. As polite letters and ge-
neral knowledge encreafed, tlieir fpeculative and pedantic
divinity gave way to a more liberal turn of thinking, and
a more perfpicuous mode of writing. Bale, who was himfelf
a Carmelite friar, fays, that his order, which was eminently
diilinguiflied for fcholaflic erudition, began to lofe their
cllimation about the year 1460. Some of them were impru-
^ Wood, ut fupr. i. 15c. 154. 196,
dent
296
THE HISTORY OF
dent enough to engage openly in political controverfy ; and
the Auguftines deftroyed all their repute and authority m
England by feditious fermons, in which they laboured to
fupplant the progeny of Edward the fourth, and to eflablilli
the title of the ufurper Richard \ About the year 1530,
Leland vifited the Francifcan friary at Oxford, big with the
hopes of finding, in their celebrated library, if not many
valuable books, at leaft thofe which had been bequeathed
by the learned bifliop Grofthead. The delays and difficulties
with which he procured admittance into this venerable re-
pofitory, heightened his curiofity and expeftations. At
length, after much ceremony, being permitted to enter,
inftead of an ineflimable treafure, he faw little more than
empty fhelves covered v,rith cobwebs and dull \
After fo prolix an introduftion, I cannot but give a large
quotation from our Crede, the humour and tendency of
which will now be eafily underftood : and efpecially as this
poem is not only extremely fcarce, and has almoft the rarity
of a manufcript, but as it is fo curious and lively a picture
of an order of men v/ho once made fo confpicuous a figure
in the world.
For firft I frayned ' the freres, and they me fall tolden,
That al the fruyt of the fayth, was in her foure orders,
And the cofres of chriftendom, and the keie bothen
And the lock of byleve \ lyeth locken in her hondes
Then wennede ' I to wytte, and with a whight I mette
A Minoure in amorwetide, and to this man I faide,
^ Newcourt, Repeit. i. 289.
'' Leland dcfcribes this adventure with
fome humour. " Contigit ut copiam pete-
" rem videndi bibliotliecam Francifcano-
" rum, ad quod obftreperunt afmi aliquot,
" rudcntes nulli prorfus mortalium tarn
*' fanitos aditus ct reccflus adire, nifi Gar-
♦' diano et facris fui collcgii baccalariis.
" Scd egourgebam, ct principis diplomnte
" inunitus, tantum non cocgi ut lacraria
" ilia aperirent. Turn unus e majoribus
" afinis multa (ubrudcns tandem fores aegre
" rcfcravit. Summc Jupiter quid ego illic
" inveni ? Pulverem autem inveni, telas
" aranearuin, tineas, blattas, fitum denique
" ct fquallorem. Inveni etiam etlibros, fed
" quos tribus obolis non emercra." Script.
Brit. p. 286.
' Aflced. <> Belief.
' Thought.
Sii'e
ENGLISH POETRY. 297
Sir for greate godes love, the graith ' thou me tell,
Of what myddel erde man myght I befb lerne
My crede, for I can it nought, my care is the more.
And therfore for Chriftes love, thy counfeyl I preie,
A Carme ^ me hath ycovenant, ye nede me to teche.
But for thou knoweft Carmes wel, thy counfaile I afke, ^
This Minour loked on me, and laughyng he fayde ■*"
Leve chriften man, I leve " that thou madde.
Whough fhuld thei teche the God, that con non hemfelve ?
They ben but jugulers, and japers of kynde,
Lorels and lechures, and lemans holden,
Neyther in order ne out but unneth lybbeth ',
And byjapeth the folk with gefles ^ of Rome.
It is bvit a faynt folke, yfounded up on japes,
They maketh hem Maries men ', and fo thei men tellen.
And leieth on our lady many a long tale.
Ard that wicked folk w^mmen betraieth.
And begileth hem of her good with glavering wordes.
And ther"" with holden her hous in harlotes warkes.
And fo fave me God I hold it great fynne.
To gyven hem any good, fwiche glotones to fynde
To maintaine fwiche maner men the michel good deilruieth
Yet " feyn they in her futiltie, to fottes in townes
Thei comen out of Carmeli, Chrift for to folwen.
And feyneth hem with holyneilc, the yvele hem bifemeth.
Thei lyven more in lecherie, and lieth in her tales.
Than fuen ° any good liif, but lurken in her felles.
But wynnen werdliche '' good, and waflen it in fynne,
f Truth. 2 Carmelite. '' Believe. fhe appeared to Simon Sturckius, general
' Deceiveth. '' Legends. of their order, in the thirteenth century,
' The Carmelites, fometimes called the and gave him a folemn promife, tliat the
brethren of the Blefled Virgin, were fond fouls of thofe chriftians who died with the
of boafting their familiar intercourfe with Carmelite fcapulary upon their .Oioulders
the Virgin Mary. Among other things, fliould infallibly efcape damnation.
they pretended that the Virgin alTumed the "' Their. " Say.
Carmelite habit and profeflion : and that ° Follow. ' Wordlv .
Q_ q And
298 THE HISTORY OF
And gif ' thei couthen ' her crede other on Chrift leveden
Thei weren nought fo hardy, fwyche harlotri ufen,
Sikerli I can nought fynden who hem firft founded.
But the foles foundeden hem felf freres of the pye,
And maken hem mendyans, and marre the pule.
But what glut of the gomes may any good kachen.
He wil kepen it hem felfe, and cofrene it fafte.
And thoigh his felawes fayle good, for bi he mai fterve
Her monei mai bi quefl, and teflament maken
And none obedience here, but don as hym lufte.
And right as Robartes men raken aboute
At feyres and at full ales, and fyllen the cuppe'
And precheth al of pardon, to plefen the puple.
But patience is al pafed, and put out to ferme
And pride is in her povertie, that litell is to preifen
And at the lullyng of our lady ', the wymmen to lyken
And miracles of mydwyves, and maken wymmen to wenen
That the lace of our lady fmok lighteth hem of children.
Thei ne prechen nought of Powel ", ne penaunce for fynne.
But al of merci and menik "", that Marie may helpen.
With fterne flaves and flronge, thei overlond flraketh,
Thider as here lemans liggeth, and lurketh in townes.
Grey grete heded queues, with gold by the eighen.
And feyne that her fuftern thei ben that fojurueth aboute.
And thus abouten the gon and godes folke betrayeth.
It is the puple that Powel preched of in his tyme.
He feyde of fwiche folke that fo aboute wente
"> If. founded by Robert, abbot of Molefme in
' Knew. Burgundy.
' I fuppofe the Friars RoBERTiNns, ' The Carmelites pretended that their
inftituted by Robert Flower, hermit of order was originally founded on Mount
Knarelburgh, in the reign of king John, Carmel where Elias lived : and that their
a bran h of the Trinitarians, who were a firft convent was placed there, within an
branch of the Francifcans. Sec Dugd. antient church dedicated to the Virgin
Mon. ii. 833. And Leland. Itin. i. 82. Mary, in the year 1121.
The poet cannot mean the Cillcrcians, " St. Paul
w Mercy
Wepyng,
ENGLISH POETRY. 299
Wepyng, I warne you of walkers aboute,
It beth enemyes of the cros that Chrifl upon tholede.
Swiche flomreers " in flepe flaughte'' is her end.
And glotonye is her god, with glopping of drink
And gladnefle in glees, and grete joye ymaked
In the fhending ^ of fwiche flial mychel folk lauwghe.
Therfore frend for thy feith fond to don beter,
Leve nought on tho lofels, but let hem forth pafen.
For thei ben fals in her faith, and feele mo other.
Alas frere, quath I tho, my purpos is yfailed,
Now" is my comfort a caft, canft ou no bote,
Wher I might meten with a man that might me wyfleu
For to conne my crede, Chrift for to folwen.
Certeyn felawe, quath the frere, withouten any fayle
Of al men upon mold " we Minorites moft flieweth
The pure apofteles leif, with penance on erthe.
And fuen " hem in fandlite, and fufferen wel harde.
We haunten not tavernes, ne hobelen ' abouten
At marketes and miracles we medeley us never ^
We houlden ' no moneye, but moneliche faren^
And haven hunger at the mete, at ich a mel ones.
We haven forfaken the world, and in wo libbeth *
In penaunce and poverte, and prechethe the puple \
By enfample of our liif, foules to helpen
And in poverte preien, for al oure parteneres
That gyveth us any good, God to honourcn
Other bel other book, or bred to our foode.
Other catel other cloth, to coveren with oure bones "' :
Money, other money worth, here mede is in hevene
For we buildeth a burugh ", a brod and a large,
" Slumberers. r Sloth. ^ Deftroying. ' Eaith. ^ Follow. <= Skip.
Run. '' See fupr. p. 236. " Colleft. Hide. Poflefs. Hoard. ' Live like monks,
like men dedicated to religion. Or rather, moneylefs poor. s Live. '' People.
' Either bells, or books, or bread, or cattel, &c. •= A houfe.
Q^q 2 A cliirch
300
THE HISTORY OF
A chirch and a chapitle ', with chaumbers a lofte.
With wide wyndowes ywrought, and walks wel heye
That mote ben portreid, and paint and pulched ful clene "".
With gay glitering glas, glowing as the funne,
And " mighteftou amenden us with money of thyne owen,
Thou lliouldeft knely before Chrift in compas of gold,
In the wyde windowe weftward wel neigh in the middell ",
And faint Franceis him felf, Ihal folde the in his cope.
And prefeut the to the trinite, and praye for thy fynnes,
Thy name flial noblich be wiyte and wrought for the nones
And in remembraunce of the, praid therfor ever ^
And brother be thou nought aferd, bythenkin thyne hert
Though thou cone ^ nought thy crede, care thou no more
1 ihal afoilen ' the fyr, and fetten it on my foule.
And thou may maken this good, thenke thou non other.
Sir (I fayde) in certaine I flial gon and afaye,
And he fet on me his bond, and afoiled me clene,
And there I parted him fro, withouten any peyne,
In covenant that I come agayn, Chrift he me be taught.
Than faide I to myfelf, here femeth litel treuthe,
Firft to blame his brother, and bakbyten hym foule,
There as curteis Chrift clerliche fayde :
Whow might thou in thy brothers eighe a bare mote loke
And in thyne owen eighe nought a heme toten.
See firft on thy felf, and fithen on a nother,
And clenfe clene thy fight, and kepe wel thyne eighe.
And for another manncs eighe, ordeyne after
And alfo I fee coveitife, catel to fongen ',
' A chapter-honfe. Capitulum. " May. p Your name fli.iU be written in our ta-
" Might.'' blc of bcntfadtors for whofe fouls we pray.
"' Pa'ntcd and beautifully adorned. This was ufually hung up in the church.
" If you would hip us with your money. Or elfe he means. Written in the win-
° YoLr figure kneeling tu C ilt fhall dows, in which manner benefaiftors were
be paint' d in the great weft window. This frequently recorded.
was the way uf )■ prcicntir.g benefactors i Knuw. ' Abfolve,
in painted glals. Sec fupr. p. 278. » Take. Receive.
That
ENGLISH POETRY. 301
That Chrift hath cleiiiche forboden ', and clenliche deftruede
And fayde to his fueres ", for fothe on this wyfe :
Nought thy neighbors good coveyte in no tyme.
But charite and chaftite, ben chafed out clene,
But Chrifl feide by her fruit, men fhal hem ful knowen.
Thannefaide I, certeine fyr, thou demeft ful trewe.
Than thought I to frayne " the firft of this foure ordres.
And prefed to the Prechoures ", to proven her wille.
Ich highed *' to her houfe, to herken of more,
And when I came to that court, I gaped about,
Swich a bild bold ybuld upon erthe heighte.
Say I nought in certeyn fyththe a long tyme^.
I '' femed upon that hous, and yerne " theron loked,
Whow the pileres weren ypaint and pulchud " ful clene.
And queyntly ycorven, with curious knottes,
With wyndowes wel ywrought, wyde up alofte,
And than I entred in, and even forthe wente.
And all was walled that wone \ though it wiid were
With pofternes in privite to paffen when hem lifte.
Orcheyardes, and erberes' euefedwell clene,
And a curious cros, craftly entayled ',
With tabernacles ytight to toten ^ al abouten.
The pris of a ploughlond, of penies fo rounde,
To aparaile that pyler, were pure litel "",
Than I munte me ' forth, the mynftere " to knowen.
And ' awayted woon, wonderly wel ybild.
With arches on everich half, and bellyche " yeorven
With crochetes on corneres, with knottes of gold,
Wyde wyndowes ywrought ywriten ful thikke "
' Forbidden. " Followers. '' Houfe Habitation. ' Arbours.
" To afk. ' Carved. See Spenfer, ii. 3. 27. 6. 29.
" I haftened to the friars preachers. s To look.
y I went to their monaftery. •> The price of a carucate of land would
'= It is long fince I have feen fo line a not raife fuch another building,
building. ' Went. '^ Church. ' I faw one.
» Gazed. ^ Eameftly. * Polilhed. >" Beautifully. " With texts, or name?.
Shyncu
302-
T H E> HIS T OR Y OF
Shynen ° with fliapen fheldes, to fhewen aboute,
With'' merkes of merchauntes, ymedeled betwene.
Mo than twentie and two, twyfe ynoumbbred ;
Ther is non heraud that hath half fwich a rolle '
Right as a rageman hath rekned hem newe
Tombes upon tabernacles, tylde upon lofte ',
Houfed ' in homes, harde fet abouten '
Of armede alabauftie, clad for the nones,
Maad opon marbel in many manner wyfe
Knyghtes in ther conifante " clad for the nones
AUe it femed feyntes, yfacred opon erthe.
And lovely ladies ywrought, leyen by her fydes
In many gay garnemens, that weren gold beten,
Though the tax often yere were trewely gadered,
Nolde it nought maken that hous, half as I trowe.
Than cam I to that cloyftre, and gaped abouten,
° That is, coats of arms of benefaftors
painted in the glafs. So in . an antient roll
in verfe, exhibiting the defcent of the fa-
mily of the lords of Clare in Suffolk, pre-
ferved in the Auftin friary at Clare, and
written in the year 1356.
Dame Mault, a lady full honorable.
Borne of the Ulfters, as fheweth ryfe
Hir armcs of glaJJ'e in the eaftern gable.—
. So conjoyned be
Ulftris armes and Gloceftris thargh and
thurgh.
As (hewith our Wynd'jives in houfes thre,
Dortur, chapiter-houfe, and fraitour, which
Ihe
Made out the grounde both plancher and
wall.
Dugdale cites this roll, Mon. Angl. i. p.
535.-^5 does Weaver, who dates it in 1 460.
Fun. Mon. p. 734. But I could prove this
fafhion to have been of much higher anti-
quity.
p Imagery brought from foreign coun-
tries. Marie is ufcd for image in Chaucer,
Frank. T. v. z^i6. Urr.
Sin mankinde is fo faire parte of thy
worke.
That thou it madift like to thine ownc
merie.
And Prol. W. B. v. 696. See P. Plowm.
Vif. ii 42. a. edit. 1550. Thefe were yme-
M(lf between, that is, intermixed, inter-
fperfed. 1 Such a roll. ' Set up on high.
^ Surrounded with iron rails. Horni
fee«is to be i^om.
' Placed very clofc or thick about the
church.
" In their proper habiliments. In their
cognij'ances, or furcoats of arms. So again,
Signal. C. ii. b.
For though a man in her minftre a mafle
wolde heren.
His fight Ihall alfo byfet on fondrye
workes.
The pennons, and the poinells, and pointes
of flieldes
Withdrawen his devotion and duiken his
harte.
That is, the banners, atchievements, and
other armorial ornament.'^, hanging over
the tombs.
Whough
ENGLISH POETRY.
303
Whough it was pilered and peynt, and portreyd well elene
Alhyled '" with leed, lowe to the ftones.
And ypavcd, with poynttyl ", ich point after other
With cundites of clene tyn clofed al aboute'',
With lavoures of lattin '■, loveliche ygreithed "
•I trowe the gaynage of the ground, in a gret fliyre
Nold aparaile that place, 00 poynt tyl other ende *.
Thane was the chapitre houfe wrought as a greet chirch
Corven and covered, ant queytelyche entayled "
With femliche felure yfeet on lofte ''
As a parlement hous ypeynted aboute '.
w Covered.
" Point en point is a French phrafe for
in order, exaftly. This explains the latter
part of the line. Ox poyntill may mean tiles
in fquares or dies, in chequer-work. See
Skinner in PoiNT,andDu Frefnein Pukc-
TURA. And then ich Point after other
will be one square after another. So late
as the reign of Henry the eighth, fo mag-
nificent a rtrufture as the refedtory of Chrift-
church at Oxford was, at its firll building,
paved with green and yellow tiles. The
whole number was two thoufand fix hun-
dred, and each hundred coft three fhillings
and fix-pence. MSS. Br. Twyne, Archiv.
Oxon. R p. 352. Wolfey's great hall at
Hampton Court, evidently built in every
refpeft on the model of this at Chrift-
church, was very probably paved in the
fame manner. See Observat. on Spens.
vol. ii. §. p. 232.
y Spouts. Or channels for conveying the
water into the Lavatory, which was uiually
placed in the cloyfter.
^ Laten, a metal fo called.
" Prepared. Adorned.
'' From one end to the other.
'^ The chapter-houfe was magnificently
conftrufted in the ftyle of church-aichitec-
ture, finely vaulted, and richly carved.
•• A feemly cieling, or roof, verv lofty.
"= That they painted the walls of rooms,
before tapelliy became fafhionable, I have
before given inftances,OBSERVAT. Spens.
vol. ii. §. p. 232. I will here add other
proofs. In an old French romance on the
Miracles of the Virgin, liv. i.
Carpent. Suppl. Lat. Gl. Pu Cang. V.
Lambroissare.
Lors mouftiers tiennent ers et fals,
Et lor cambres, et lor grans fales,
Font lambroiflier, paindre, et pourtraire.
Gervafius Dorobernen/is, in his account
of the burning of Canterbury Cathedral in
the year 1174, fays, that not only the
beam-work was deltroyed, but the cieling
underneath it, or concameration called
ccelum, being of wood beautifully painted,
was alfo confumed. " Coeluminferius egre-
" gie depidu7it, &c."p. 1289. Dec. Script.
Lond. 1652. And Stubbes, ASlu; Pontif.
Eboracenfium, fays, that archbifliop Aldred,
about 1060, built the whole church of
York from the Prefbytery to the Tower,
and " fuperius opere piiiorio quod Coelum
" vocant aura muliiformiter intermtxto,
" mirabili arte conllruxit." p. 1704. Dec.
Script, ut fupr. There are many inltances
in the pipe-rolls, not yet printed. The
roof of the church of Caflino in Italy is or-
dered to be painted in 1349, like that of
St. John Latcran at Rome. Hift. CafTm.
tom. ii. p. 545. col. I. Dugdale has
printed an antient French record, by which
it appears that there was a hall in the caf-
tle of Dover called Arthur's hall, and a
chamber called Geneura's chamber. Monaft.
ii. 2. I fuppofe, becaufe the walls of thefe
apartments were refpeclively adorned with
paintings of each. Geneura is Arthur's
queen.
304
THE HISTORY OF
Thanne ferd I into fraytoure ^ and fond there a nother,
An halle for an hygh kynge, an houfhold to holden,
With brod hordes abouten, ybenched wel clene.
With wyndowes of glafs, wrought as a chirche ^
Than walkede I ferrer *", and went al abouten
And feigh ' halles ful heygh, and houfes ful noble,
Chambres with chymneys, and chapels gaye,
And kychenes for an high kynge, in caftels to holden,
And her dortoure " ydight, with dores ful flronge
Fermerye and fraitur ', with fele mo houfes ""
And al ftrong fton wal flerne opon heithe
With gaye garites, and grete, and iche hole glafed.
And other houfes ynowe, to hereberwe the queene ",
And yet thefe bilderes wiln beggen a bagge ful of whete
Of a pure pore man, that may onethe paye °
Half his rent in a yere, and half ben byhynde.
Than turned I apen whan I hadde al ytoted''
And fond in a freitoure a frere on a benche,
queen. In the pipe-rolls of Henry the third
we have this notice, A. D. 1259. "Infra
" portamcaftri et birbecanam.etc.abexitu
" Camer/e Rosamunds ufque capel-
" lam fanfti Thorns in Caftro Wynton."
Rot. Pip. Henr. iii. an. 43. This I once
fuppofed to be a chamber in Winchefter
callle, fo called bccaufe it was painted with
the figure or feme hiftory of fair Rofamond.
But a Rosamund-chamber was a com-
mon apartment in the royal caftles, per-
haps in imitation of her bower at Wood-
ftock, literally nothing more than a cham-
ber, which yet was curioufly conftrufted
and decorated, at leaft in memory of it.
The old profe paraphraft of the Chronicle
of Robert of Gloccfter fays, " Boures
" hadde the Rofamonde a bout in Engc-
" londe, which this kynge [Hen. ii.] for
" hir fake made: atte Waltham blsfhopc's,
" in the callclle of Wyncheftcr, atte park
" of Fremantel, atte Martelcflon, atte
" Woodeftokc, and other felc [many]
" places." Chron. edit. Hearne, 4-9.
This pafTage indeed feems to imply, that
Henry the fecond himfelf provided for his
fair concubine a bower, or chamber of
peculiar conftrudion, not only at Wood-
llock, but in all the royal palaces ; which,
as may be concluded from the pipe-roll jull
cited, was called by her name. Leland
fays, that in the ftately caflle of Pickering
in Yorklhire, " in the firft court be a foure
" Tourcs, of the which one is caullid .^9-
^' famundis TouriJ" Itin. fol. 71. Proba-
bly becaufe it contained one of thefe bow-
ers or chambers. Or, perhaps we fhould
read Rosamundes Boure. Compare
Walpole's Anecd. Paint, i. p. 10. 11.
' Fratry.
8 A feries of ftately Gothic windows.
*■ Further. ' Saw.
'' Dormitory. ' Infirmary, &c.
''' Many other apartments.
" To lodge the quiicn.
° Scarcely. p Obferved.
A greet
ENGLISH POETRY. 305
A greet choii and a giym, growen as a tonne,
With a face fo fat, as a ful bleddere %
Blowen bretful of breth, and as a bagge honged.
On bothen his chekes, and his chyn, with a chol lollcde
So greet a gos ey, growen al of grece.
That al wagged his fleifli, as a quick mire'.
His cope ' that biclypped him, wel clene was it foldcn
Of double worftede ydyght, doun to the hele.
His kyrtel of clene whiit, clenlyche yfewed
Hit was good ynow of ground, greyn for to baren.
I haylfede that thirdman, and hendliche I fayde,
Gode fue for godes love, canft on me graith tellen,
To any worthely wiight, that wiflen me couthe.
Whom I fhuld conne my crede, Chrift for to folwe,
That lenede lelliche" hym felfe, and ly ved ther after.
That feynede no falftiede, but fully Chrift fuwede,
Forfith a certeyn man fyker wold I troften
That he wold tell me the trewth, and turn to none other.
And an Auftyn this ender day, egged " me fafte
That he wold techen me wel, he plyght me his treuthe
And feyde me certeyn, fighten Chrift deyed
Oure ordre was evels, and erft vfounde.
Firft felawe quath he, fy on his pylthe
He is but abortiif, eked with cloutes.
He holdeth his ordinaunce with hores and theves.
And purchafeth hem privileges, with penyes fo rounde.
It is a pure pardoners craft, prove and afay
For have they thy money, a moneth therafter
Certes theigh thou come agen, he wil ye nought knowen.
But felawe oure foundement was firft of the other
And we ben founded fuUiche, withouten fayntife
And we ben clerkes renowen, cunning in fchole
Proued in proceffion by procefTe of lawe.
' Bladder. ^ Quag-mire. ' Covered. " Truly. * Moved.
R r Of
^o6
THE HISTORY OF
Of oure order ther beth bichopes wel manye,
Seyntes on fundry ftedes, that fufFreden harde
And we ben proved the priis of popes at Rome
And of gretteft degre, as gofpelles telleth.
I muft not quit our Ploughman without obferving, that
fome other fatirical pieces anterior to the Reformation, bear
the adopted name of Piers the Plowman. Under the
character of a plowman the religious are likewifc laihed, in
a poem written in apparent imitation of Longland's Vision,
and attributed to Chaucer. I mean the Plowman's Tale *.
The meafure is different, and it is in rhyme. But it has
Longland's alliteration of initials : as if his example had,
as it were, appropriated that mode of verfification to the
fub)e6l, and the fuppofed chara6ter which fupports the fa-
tire ^ All thefe poems were, for the moil part, founded
on the doctrines newly broached by Wickliffe ^ : who main-
" Perhaps falfely. Unlefs Chaucer wrote
the Crede, which I cannot believe. For in
Chaucer's Plowman's Tale this Crede
is alluded to. v. 3005.
And of Freris I have befort
Told in a making of a Crede ;
And yet I could tell worfe and more.
This paflage at leaft brings the Plow-
man's Tale below the Credf in time.
But fome have tliought, very improbably,
that this Crede is Jack Upland,
1 It is extraordinary that we (hould find
in this poem one of the abfurd arguments
of the puritans againft ecclefiaJlical efta-
blilhments. v. 2253. Urr. edit.
For Chrift made no cathedralls,
Ne with him was no Cardinalls,
But fee what follows, concerning Wickliffe.
^ It is remarkable, that tlicy touch on
the very topics which Wickliife had juil
publirticd in his Onj KCTiONs ok Freres
charging tliem \\\\\\ fifty hcrcfies. As in the
following. " Alfo I'rcres buildiu many
••* jr^at churches, and cofty waft houfes
" .ind cloifteres, as it wem cartels, and that
" withouten nede, &c." Lewis's Wick-
LiFF, p. 22. I will here add a paffage
from Wickliife's trad entitled Why poor
Priests have no Benefices. Lewis,
App. Num. xix. p. 2S9. " And yet they
" [lords] wolen not prefent a clerk able
" of kunning of god's law, but a kitchen
" clerk, or a penny clerk, or nxn/e in build-
" i>:g cajllei, or worldly doing, though he
" kunne not reade well his fauter. Sec."
Here is a manifeft piece of fatire on Wyke-
ham, bifhop of Wincheftcr, Wickliife's
cotemporary ; who is fuppofed to have re-
commended himfelf to Edward tlie third
by rebuilding the caftlc of Windfor. This
was a recent and notorious inllance. But in
rliis appointment the king probably p.aid a
compliment to that prelate's fingular talents
for bufincfs, his aAivity,circumfpeftion, and
management, rather than to any fcientific
and profeded (kill in architedurc which he
might huve poflefled. It fcems to me that
he was only a fupervifor or comptroller on
this occafion. It was common to depute
churchmen to this department, from nn
idea
ENGLISH POETRY.
307
tained, among other things, that the clergy fhould not pof-
fefs eftates, that the ecclefiaftical ceremonies obftru6led true
devotion, and that mendicant friars, the particular objcfl
of our Plowman's Crede, were a public and infupportable
grievance. But WicklifFe, whom Mr. Hume pronounces to
have been an enthufiaft, like many other reformers, carried
his ideas of purity too far; and, as at leaft it appears
from the two firfl of thefe opinions, under the defign of
deftroying fuperftition, his undiftinguifliing zeal attacked
even the neceflary aids of religion. It was certainly a lucky
circumftance, that WicklifFe quarrelled with the pope. His
attacks on fuperftition at firft probably proceeded from
refentment. WicklifFe, who was profelTor of divinity at
Oxford, finding on many occafions not only his own pro-
vince invaded, but even the privileges of the univerfity fre-
quently violated by the pretenfions of the mendicants, gra-
tified his warmth of temper by throwing out fome flight
cenfures againft all the four orders, and the popes their
principal patrons and abettors. Soon afterwards he was
deprived of the wardenfhip of Canterbury hall, by the arch-
bifhop of Canterbury, who fubftituted a monk in his place.
Upon this he appealed to the pope, who confirmed the archie-
pifcopal fentence, by way of rebuke for the freedom with
which he had treated the monaftic profeffion. WicklifFe,
highly exafperated at this ufage, immediately gave a loofe to
his indignation, and without reftraint or diftinftion attacked
idea of their fuperior prudence and probity. Henry the feventh. Parker Hiil. Cambr.
Thus John, the prior of St. Swithin's at p. 119. He, like Wykeham, was a great
Wincheller in 1 280, is commiffioned by builder, but not therefore an architedt. Ri-
brief from the king, to fupervife large chard Williams, dean of Litchfield and
repairs done by the IherifF in the caftle of chaplain to Henry the eighth, bore the
Winchefter, and the royal manor of Wol- fame office. MSS. Wood, Litchfield. D. 7.
mer. MS. Regillr. Priorat. Quat. 19. fol. 3. Afhmol. Nicholas Townley clerk, was
The biihop of S. David's was mafter of the mailer of the works at Cardinal College,
works at building King's College. Hearne's MS. Tw>'ne, 8. f. 351. See alfo Wal-
Elmh. p. 353- Alcock, bifhop of Ely, was pole, i. Anecd. Paint, p. 40.
•omptroller of the royal buildings under
R r 2 in
3o8 THE HISTORY OF
in numerous fermons and treatifes, not only the fcandalous
enormities of the whole body of monks, but even the ufur-
pations of the pontifical power itfelf, with other ecclefiaftical
corruptions. Having expofed thefe palpable abufes with a juft
abhorrence, he ventured ftill farther, and proceeded to examine
and refute with great learning and penetration the abfurd
doftrines which prevailed in the religious fyilem of his age :
he not only exhorted the laity to lludy the fcriptures, but
tranflated the bible into Englilh for general afe and popular
infpeftion. Whatever were his motives, it is certain that
thefe efforts enlarged the notions of mankind, and fowed
thofe feeds of a revolution in religion, which were quickened
at length and brought to maturity by a favourable coinci-
dence of circumftances, in an age when the encreafing
growth of literature and curiofity naturally led the way to
innovation and improvement. But a vifible diminution of
the authority of the ecclefiaflics, in England at leaft, had
been long growing from other caufes. The difguft which
the laity had contrafted from the numerous and arbitrary en-
croachments both of the court of Rome, and of their own
clergy, had greatly weaned the kingdom from fuperftition ;
and confpicuous fymptoms had appeared, on various occa-
fions, of a general defire to fliake off the intolerable bondage
of papal opprellion.
SECT.
ENGLISH POETRY.
309
SECT. X.
LONG LAND'S peculiarity of ftylc and verfification,
feems to have had many cotempoiary imitators. One
of thefe is a namelefs author on the faflaionable hiftory of
Alexander the Great : and his poem on this fubjeft is in-
ferted at the end of the beautiful Bodleian copy of the
French Roman d'Alexandre, before mentioned, with this
reference ^ " Here fayleth a proflefTe of this romaunce of
" Alixaunder the whiche profl'effe that fayleth ye fchulle
" fynde at the ende of thys boke ywrete in Engelichc ryme."
It is imperfedl, and begins and proceeds thus \
How Alexander partyd themiys '..
When this weith at his wil wedinge
Hadde, fful rathe rommede he rydinge
Thedince fo ondrace with his oft
Alixandre wendeth there wilde contre
" See above, p. 240. It is in a different
hand yet with Saxon charafters. See ad
calc. cod. f. 209. It has miniatuies in wa-
ter colours.
*> There is a poem in the Alhmolean mu-
feum, complete in the former part, which
I believe is the fame. MSS. Alhm. 44. It
has t\venty-feven pafTus, and begins thus :
Whener folk fallid and fed, fayiie wolde
thei her
Some farand thing, &c.
■= At the end are thefe rubrics, with void
fpaces, intended to be filled.
*' How Alexandre remewid to a flood that
" is called Phifon,"
" How king Duidimus fente lettres to ting
" Alexandre."
" How Duidimus enditid to Alexaundre
" of here levyng."
" How he fp.ireth not Alexandre to telle
" hym of hys governance."
" How he telleth Alexandre of his mau-
metrie."
" How Alexandre fente aunfwere to Dui-
" dimus by lettres."
" How Duidimus fendyd an anfwere to
" Alexandre by lettre."
" How Alexandre fente Duidimus another
" lettre."
'* How Alexandre pight a pelyr of marbyl
" ther."
Was
310 THE HISTORY OF
Was wift and wonderfull peple
That weren proved ful proude, and prys of hevi helde
Of bodi went thei thare withoute any wede
And had grave on the ground many grete cavys
There here wonnynge was wynturus and fomerus
No fyte nor no fur flede fothli thei ne hadde
But holus holwe in the grounde to hide hem imie
Now is that name to mene the nakid wife
Wan the kiddefle of the cavus that was kinge holde
Hurde tydinge telle and loknynge wifte
That Alixaundre with his oft at lede thidince
To beholden of hom hure hiezeft prynce
Than waies of worfhipe wittie and quainte
With his lettres he let to the lud fende
Thanne fouthte thei fone the forefaide prynce
And to the fchamlefe fchalk fchewen hur lettres
Than rathe let the .... reden the fonde
That newe tythinge is tolde in this wife
The gentil ' Geneofophiftians that gode were of witte
To the emperour Alixandre here aunfweris wreten
This is worfchip of word worthi to have
And in conquerer kid in centres manie
Us is fertefyed feg as we foth heren
That thou haft ment with the man among us ferre
But yf thou kyng to us come with caerc to figtc
Of us getift thou no good gome we the warne
For what richelfe ... us might you us bi reve
Whan no wordliche wele is with us founde
We ben fengle of us fdfe and femen ful bare
Nouht welde we nowe but naked we wende
And that we happili her haven of kynde
May no man but god make us fine
Thei thou fonde with thi folkc to fighte us alle
We fchulle us kepe on caugt our cavns withiune
Nevcre werred we with wigth upon erthe
' Gymnofophills.
For
ENGLISH POETRY. 311
For we ben hid in oure holis or we harme laache hadde
Thus faide fothli the loude that thi fente
And al fo cof as the king kcnde the fawe
New lettres he let the . . . . bi take
And with his fawes of foth he hem alle
That he wolde faire with his folke in a faire wife
To bi holden here home and non harme wurke
So heth the king with hem fente and fithen with his peple
..... cofli til hem to kenne of hure fare
But whan thai fieu the {eg with fo manye ryde
Thei war a grifon of his grym and wende gref tholie
Ffafl heiede thei to holis and hidden there
And in the cavus hem kept from the king fterne, 6cc.
Another piece, written in Longland's manner, is entitled.
The Warres of the Jewes. This was a favourite fubjefl,
as I have before obferved, drawn from the Latin hiflorical
romance, which paffes under the name of Hegesippus de
ExCIDIO HiERUSALEM.
In Tyberyus tyme the trewe emperour
Syr Sefar hym fulf fayfed in Rome
Whyle Pylot was provoft under that prynce ryche
And fewen juftice alfo in Judeus londis
Herodes under his empire as heritage wolde
King of Galile was ycallid whan that Crift deyad
They Sefar fiikles wer that oft fyn hatide
Throw Filet pyned he was and put on the rode
A pyler pygt was don upon the playne erthe
His body bouden therto beten with fcourgis
Whippes of quyrbole by went his white fides
Til he al on rede blode ran as rayn on the ftrete
Such ftockyd hym an a ftole with ftyf menes hondis
Blyndfelied hym as a be and boffetis hym ragte
Z'lf you be a prophete of pris prophecie they fayde
Which
312
THE HISTORY OF
Which man her aboute boiled the lafte
A thrange thorn crown was thralle on his hed
. . . caften hym with a cry and on a cros flowen
Ffor al the harme that he had haflcd he nogt
On hym the vyleny to venge that hys venys broften
Bot ay taried on the tyme gif they tone wolde
Gaf he fpace that him fpilede they he fpeede lyte
Yf aynt was as yfynde and no fewer ^ &c.
Notwithftanding what has been fuppofed above, it is not
quite certain, that Longland was the firft who led the way
in this fmgular fpecies of verlification. His Vision was
written on a popular fubje£t, and is the only poem, compofed
in this capricious fort of metre, which has been printed.
It is eafy to conceive how thefc circumftances contributed to
give him the merit of an inventor on this occafion.
The ingenious doftor Percy has exhibited fpecimens of
two or three other poems belonging to this clafs °. One of
thefe is entitled Death and Life : it confiils of two hun-
dred and twenty-nine lines, and is divided into two parts or
Fitts. It begins thus :
Chrift clii'iften king that on the crofs tholed,
Hadde paines and paflyons to defend our foules ;
Give us grace on the ground the grcatlye to ferve
For that royall red blood that rami from thy fide.
The fub)e6t of this piece is a Vision, containing a conteft
for fuperiority between Our lady Dame hi? -e, and the iiglyjiend
•■ Laud. . . 22. MSS. Bibl. Bodl. Ad " elegantise fchema, quod P-iromKon, i.e.
calc. " Hie Iradatur bcllum Judaicum " y/y/W/f, dicitur : quoties mult.x diftiones,
apud Jcruial-jni." f. 19. b. It is alio in " ab cadem litcra incipicntcs, ex oidine
Bnt. Muf. Cott.tvISS.CALiG. A.i.foi.iog. " collocantur." Ogvg. part. iii. 30. p.
— I 23. Gyraldus Cambicnfis fays, that the 242. See alfo Dr. Percy's judicious ElTay
WtlilianJ Englifli ufc-air.Tation, 'inonini on the Metre of Pierce Plowman's
•' fcrmone exquifito.". Dcfcript. Cambr. Visions.
cap. xi. p. 889. O'Flahti-ty alio fays of the ■•■ ElTay on the Metr. of P. P. Vif. p. S.
Irllh, " Non paivs eft apud nos in onttione fcq.
Dame
ENGLISM POETRY. 313
Dame Death : who with theh" feveral^attributes and conco-
mitants are perfonified in a beautiful vein of allegorical paint-
ing. Dame Life is thus forcibly defcribed.
Shee was brighter of her blee than was the bright fonn :
Her rud redder than the rofe that on the rife hangeth :
Meekely fmiling with her mouth, and merry in her lookes ;
Ever laughing for love, as fliee like would :
And as flie came by the bankes the boughes eche one
They lowted to that ladye and layd forth their branches j
Bloflbmes and burgens breathed full fweete.
Flowers flouriflied in the frith where flie forth flepped.
And the graffe that was gray grened belive.
The figure of Death follows, which is equally bold and
expreffive. Another piece of this kind, alfo quoted by doc-
tor Percy, is entitled Chevelere Assigne, or De Cigne,
that is the Knight of the Swan. This is a romance which is
extant in a profe tranflation from the French, among Mr.
Garrick's noble colleftion of old plays '. We muft not for-
get, that among the royal manufcripts in the Britifli Mu-
feum, there is a French metrical romance on this fubje6l,
entitled L'Ystoire du chevalier au Signed Our Eng-
lilh poem begins thus ■■ :
'&
All-weldynge god, v/hence it is his wylle,
Wele he wereth his werke with his ovvene honde.
For ofte harmes were hente that help wene mygte
f K. vol. 10. " Imprinted at London by s 15 E. vi. 9. fol. And in the Royal
" me Wylliam Copland." There is an library at Paris, MS. 7192. " Le Roma^i
edition on paichment by W. de Worde, " du Chevalitrau Cigne en vers." Montf.
15IZ. "Newly tranflated out of Frenlhe Cat. MSS. ii. p. 789.
" into Englylhe at thinftigacion of the '' See MSS. Cott. C.^lic. A. i. f. 109.
" puyffaunt pr)'nce lorde Edward duke of 123.
" Buckynghame." Here I undtrftand
French profe.
S f Nere
H
THE HISTORY OF
Nere the hygnes of hem that lengeth in hevene
For this, &c.
This alliterative meafure, unaccompanied with rhyme, and
including many peculiar Saxon idioms appropriated to poetry,
remained in ufe lb low as the fixteenth century. In doctor
Percy's Antient Ballads, there is one of this clafs called The
Scottish Feilde, containing a very circumftantial narrative
of the battle of Flodden fought in the year 1 5 1 3 .
In fome of the earlieft of our fpecimens of old Englifh
poetry ', we have long ago feen that alliteration was efteemed
a fafhionable and favourite ornament of verfe. For the fake
of throwing the fubje6t' into one view, and further illullrat-
ing what has been here faid concerning it, I chufe to cite in
this place a very antient hymn to the Virgin Mary, never
printed, where this affe^ation profeffedly predominates ''.
I.
Hail bco yow ' Marie, moodur and may,
Mylde, and meke, and merciable ;
Heyl folliche fruit of fothfaft f;iy,
Agayn vche ftryf ftudefall and ftable !
Heil fothfaft foul in vche a fay,
Undur the fon is non fo able.
' Heil logge that vr lord in lay.
The formaft that never was founden in fable,
Heil trewe, trouthfuU, and tretable,
Heil chcef i chofen of chaftite,
Heil homely, hende, and amyable
"To prcyefor us to thi /one fo fre I Ave.
' See Seft. i. Crif-r«;j- milbi; mober j-oynte Marie
'' Among the Cotton manufcripts there Mint-j- hui;)- Iconic, mi leoue lej-bi.
is a Norman Saxon alliterative hymn to the
Virgin Mary. Ner. A. xiv. f. 240. cod. ' See fomc pageant-poetry, full of^lli-
mcmbran. 8'". "On 50& ureifun to ure tcration, written in the reign of Henry the
" lefdi." That is, A good prayer to our fcventh, Leiand. Coll. iii. App. 180. edit.
lady. ^77°-
II. Heil
ENGLISH POETRY. 315
11.
Heil ftern, that never ftinteth liht ;
Heil bufli, brennyng that never was brent ;
Heil rihtful rulere of everi riht,
Schadew^e to fchilde that fcholde be fchent.
Heil, blefled be yowe blofme briht,
To trouthe and truft was thine entent ;
Heil mayden and modur, moft of miht.
Of all mifcheves and amendement ;
Heil fpice fprong that never was fpent,
Heil trone of the trinitie ;
Heil foiene " that god us fone to fent
Toive preye for us thi fone fre ! Ave,
III.
Heyl hertely in holinefTe.
Heyl hope of help to heighe and lowe,
Heyl ftrength and ftel of ftabylneffe,
Heyl wyndowe of hevene wowe,
Heyl refon of rihtwyfneffe,
To vche a caityf comfort to knowe,
Heyl innocent of angernefle,
Vr takel, vr tol, that we on trowe,
Heyl frend to all that beoth fortth flowe
Heyl liht of love, and of bewte,
Heyl brihter then the blod on fnowe,
Tow preye for us thi fone fo fre ! Ave.
IV.
Heyl mayden, heyl modur, heyl martir trowe,
Heyl kyndly i knowe confeflbur,
Heyl evenere of old lawe and newe,
Heyl buildor bold of criftes hour,
■=> F. Seyen. Scjon.
S f 2 Heyl
3i6 THE HISTORY OF
Heyl rofe higeil of hyde and hewe.
Of all ifruytes feireft fflour,
Heyl turtell trufliefl and trewe,
Of all trouihe thou art trefour,
Heyl puyred princeffe of paramour,
Heyl blofme of brere brihteft of ble,
Heyl owner of eorthly honour,
Towe preye for us thi fine fo fre ! Ave, &c.
V.
Heyl hende, heyl holy emperefle,
Heyle qvieene corteois, comely, and kynde,
Heyl diftruyere of everi ftrifle,
Heyl mender of everi monnes mynde,
Heil bodi that we ouht to bleffe.
So feythful frend may never mon fynde,
Heil levere and lovere of largenefle
Sw'ete and fweteft that never may fwynde,
Heil botenere of everie bodi blynde,
Heil borgun brihtes of all bounte,
Heyl trewore then the wode bynde,
Tow preye for us thi fine fo fre ! Ave.
VI.
Heyl modur, heyl mayden, heyl hevene quene,
Heyl gatus of paradys,
Heyl flerre of the fc that ever is fene,
Heyl riche, royal 1, and lyhtwys,
Heyl burde i bleffed mote yowe bene,
Heyl pcrle of al perey the pris,
Heyl fchadewe in vche a fchour fchene,
Heyl fairer thae that flour de lys,
Heyl
ENGLISH POETRY, 317
Heyl cher chofen that never nas chis
Heyl chef chamber of charite
Heyl in wo that ever was wis
Towe preye for us tbi Jo?ie Jo fre ! Ave, 6cc. 6cc ".
Thefe rude ftanzas remind us of the Greek hymns afcribed
to Orpheus, which entirely confift of a duller of the ap-
pellations appropriated to each divinity.
MS. Vernon, f. 122. In this manufcript are feveral other pieces of this fort.
SECT.
3i8 THE HISTORY OF
SECT. XI.
ALTHOUGH this work is profeffedly confined to
England, yet I cannot pafs over two Scotch poets of
this period, who have adorned the Englifn language by a
ftrain of verfification, expreffion, and poetical imagery, far
fuperior to their age ; and who confequently defei-ve to be
mentioned in a general review of the progrefs of our national
poetry. They have written two heroic poems. One of
them is John Barbour, archdeacon of Aberdeen. He was edu-
cated at Oxford ; and Rymer has printed an inftrument for
his fafe paflage into England, in order to profecute his ftudies
in that univerfity, in the years 1357 and 1365 \ David
Bruce, king of Scotland, gave him a penfion for life, as a
reward for his poem called the History of Robert Bruce,
KING OF THE ScoTs *■. It was printed at Glafgow in the
year 1671 '. A battle fought by lord Douglas is thus defcribed.
When that thus thir two batttles were
AfTembled, as I faid you air.
The Stewart Walter that then was,
And the good lord als of Dowglas,
In a battle when that they faw
The carl, foroutten dread or aw,
Aflemble with his company
On all that folk fo fturdily,
For to help him they held their way,
And their battle with good array,
» Feed. vi. 31. 478. *> Tanner, Bibl. p. -^i- ' i3^'».
Befide
ENGLISH POETRY. 319
Befide the earl a little by,
They fembled all fo hardily,
That their foes felt ther coming well j
For with weapons ftallwort of fteel,
They dang on them with all their might,
Their foes received well, I heght,
With fwords and fpears, and als with mafs, '
The battle there fo fellon was.
And fo right great fpilling of blood.
That on the erd the flouces flood.
The Scottiflimen fo well them bare.
And fo great flaughter made they there.
And fra fo feil the lives they reav'd.
That all the field was bloody leav'd.
That time that thir three battles were
All fide by fide fighting well near,
There might men hear many a dint.
And weapons upon arms flint.
And might fee tumble knights and fleeds.
And many rich and royal weeds
Foully defiled under feet.
Some held on loft, «fome tint the fuet.
A long while fighting thus they were^
That men in no wife might hear there.
Men might hear nought but groans and dints
That flew, as men ftrike fire on flints.
They fought .ilk ane fo eagerly,
That they made neither noife nor cry,
But dang on other at their might,
With weapons that were burniflit bright.
The arrows alfo thick there flaw,
(That they well might fay, that them faw)
That they a hideous fliower can maj
For where they fell, I underta,
They
320 THE HISTORYOF
They left after them tokening,
That fliall need, as I trow, leeching.
The Englifli archers fliot fo faft.
That might their fhot have any lall.
It had been hard to Scottifhmen.
But king Robert, that well can ken,
That their archers were perillous,
And their fhot right hard and grievous,
Ordain'd forouth the aifembly.
His marflial, with a great menzie.
Five hundred armed into fteel,
That on light horfe werehorfed well,
For to prick amongll the archers,
And to affail them with their fpears.
That they no leifure have to Ihoot.
This marflial that I hereof mute,
Sir Robert of Keith he was call'd,
And I before here have you tould.
When that he faw the battles fo
Aflcmble, and together go,
And faw the archers fhoot ftoutly,
With all them of his company.
In hy upon them can he ride,
And overtake them at a fide.
And rufli'd among them fo rudely.
Sticking them fo defpiteoufly,
And in lik fufion bearing down,
And llaying them forout ranfoun.
That they them fkailed e'erilkane ;
And, fra that time forth, there was nane
That aliembled, fliot for to ma.
When Scots archers faw that they fa
Reboted were, they wax'd hardy.
And with their might fliot eagerly
Among
ENGLISH POETRY. 321
Among the horfemen that there rade,
And wounds wide to them they made,
And flew of them a full great deal.
They bore them hardily and well j
For fra that their foes archers were
Skailed, as I faid to you air,
They more than they were by great thing,
So that they dread not their fhooting.
They wax'd fo hardy, that them thought.
They ihould fet all their foes at nought ".
The following is a fpecimen of our author's talent at
rural defcription. The verfes are extremely foft.
This was in midft of month of May,
When birds fmg in ilka fpray,
Melland their notes- with feemly Ibun,.
For foftnefs of the fweet feafoun,
And leaves of the branches fpreeds,
And blooms bright befide them breeds.
And fields llrawed are with flowers
Well favouring of feir colours.
And all thing worthis, blyth and gay \
The other wrote a poem on the exploits of Sir William
Wallace. It was firft printed in 1601. And very lately
reprinted at Edinburgh in quarto, with the following title,
" The a6ls and deeds of the moll famous and valiant
" champion Sii* William Wallace, knight, of Ellerflie.
" Written by Blind Harry in the year 1361. Together
" with Arnaldi Blair Relationes. Edinburgh, 1758."
No circumftances of the life of our blind bard appear in
Dempfler ^ This poem, which confifls of twelve books, is
tranflated from the Latin of Robert Blare, or Blair, chaplain
'' p. 262. ' p. 326. f See Dempft. viii. 349. 662.
T t to
322
THE HISTORY OF
to Sir William Wallaee ^ The following is a defcription of
the morning, and of Wallace arming himfelf in his tent ^.
Into a vale by a fmall river fair,
On either fide where wild deer made repair.
Set watches out that wifely could them keep,
To fupper went, and timeoufly they fleep,
Of meat and fleep they ceafe with fuffifauncc,
The night v/as mirk, overdrave the darkfom chance.
The merry day fprang from the orient.
With beams bright illuminate Occident,
After Titan Phebus uprifeth fair,
High in the fphere, the figns he made declare.
Zephyrus then began his morning courfe,
The fweet vapour thus from the ground refourfe ;
The humble bregth down from the heaven avail
In every mead, both frith, foreft and dale.
The clear rede among the rockis rang
Through grene branches where the byrds blythly fang.
With joyous voice in heavenly harmony.
When W^allace thought it was no time to ly :
He croffyd him, fyn fuddenly arofe,
To take the air out of his pallion goes
Mailler John Blair was ready to revefs.
In goode intent fyne bouned to the mafs.
' Tit. GeSTA WlLLELMI- WaLLAS.
See Dempft. ii. 148. He flourifhed in
1 300. He liis left .another Latin poem,
De liderata tyrannide Scotia.
Arnald Elair, mentioned in the title p,ige
in tlie text, probably Robert's brother, if
not the fame, was alio chaplain to Wallace,
and monk of Dumferling about the year
1327. Relat. ut fupr. p. 1. Bnt fee p.
9, 10. In the fifth book of the Scotch
poem we have this pafiage, p. 94. v.
533-
Maifter John Blair was oft in that
meffage,
A worthy clerk, both wife and als right
fage,
Lcvyt he was before in Parvs town, &c.
He was the man that principell undertook.
That firft compild in dyte the Latin book,
Of Wallaci- life, right famous in renfown.
And Thomas Gray parfoun of Liber-
TOUN,
With him they were and put in (lory all
Oft one or both mickle of his travcjl, &c.
c P. 229. B. viii. V. 65. The editor
fccnis to have modernifed the fpcUing.
When
ENGLISH POETRY. 323
When it was done, Wallace can him array,
In his armore, which goodly was and gay ;
His fhininrr fhoes that birniflit was ful been,
His leg-harnefs he clapped on fo clean,
Pullane grees he braced on full faft,
A clofe birnie with many fiker clafp,
Breaft-plate, brafars, that worthy were in wear :
Befide him forth Jop could his bafnet bear ;
His glittering gloves that graven on either fide.
He feemed well in battell to, abide.
His good girdle, and fyne his buirly brand,
A ftaffe of fteel he gripped in his hand.
The hoft him bleft, &c.
Adam Wallaice and Boyd forth with him yeed
By a river, throughout a florifht mead.
And as they walk attour the fields fo green,
Out of the fouth they faw when that the queen
Toward the hoft came riding foberly.
And fifty ladies in her company, &c.
The four following lines on the fpring are uncommonly
terfe and elegant.
»
Gentle Jupiter, with his mild ordinance.
Both herb and tree reverts into pleafance ;
And frefh Flora her flowery mantle fpread.
In every dale both hop, hight, hill, and mead ''.
A different feafon of the year is here flrongly painted.
The dark region appearing wonder faft.
In November when 06lober was pall.
The day failed through right covirfe worthit fhort.
To baniflit man that is no great comfort :
^ Lib. ix. V. 22. ch. i. p. 250.
T t 2 With
324 THE HISTORY OF
With tlieir power in paths worthis gang,
Heavy they think when that the night is lang.
Thus good Wallace faw the night's nieffenger j
Phebus had loft his fiery beams fo clear :
Out of the wood thei durft not turn that fide
For adverfours that in their way would hide '.
The battle of Black-Ernfide fliews our author a mailer in
another ftyle of painting.
Kerlie beheld unto the bold heroun,
Upon Fawdoun as he was looking down,
A fubtil ftroke upward him took that tide
Under tlie cheeks the grounden fword gart glide.
By the mail good, both halfe and his craig-bane
In funder ftrake ; thus ended that chiftain,
To ground he fell, feil folk about him throng,
Treafon, they cry'd, traitors are us among.
Kerlie, with that, fled out foon at a fide,
His fellow Steven then thought no time to bide.
The fray was great, and faft away they yeed.
Both toward Ern ; thus fcaped they that dread.
Butler for wo of weeping might not ftint.
Thus rakleily this good knight have they tint.
They deemed all that it was Wallace men.
Or elfe himfelf, though they could not him ken j
He is right near, we fhall him have but fail.
This feeble wood may little him avail.
Forty there paft again to Saint Johnftoun,
With this dead corps, to burying made it bown.
Parled their men, fyne divers ways they rode,
A great power at Doplin ftill there bode.
To Dalwryeth the Butler paft but let.
At fundry fords the gate they unbefct,
' L. V. ch. I. p. 78. V. i.
To
ENGLISH POETRY. 325
To keep the wood while it wa, day they thought.
As Wallace thus in the thick foreft fought.
For his two men in mind he had great pain,
He wift not well, if they were tane or flain,
Or fcaped haill by any jeopardy.
Thirteen were left with him, no more had he ;
In the Gaik-hall their lodging have they tane.
Fire got they foon, but meat then had they nane ;
Two fheep they took befide them of a fold,
Ordain'd to fup into that feemly hold :
Graithed in hafte fome food for them to dight :
So heard they blow rude horns upon hight.
Two fent he forth to look what it might be ;
They bode right long, and no tidings heard he,
But boufteous noife fo bryvely blowing fail;
So other two into the wood forth paft.
None came again, but boufteoufly can blaw,
Into great ire he fent them forth on raw.
When that alone Wallace was leaved there,
The awful blaft abounded meikle mare ;
Then trow'd he well they had his lodging feen ;
His fword he drew of noble metal keen.
Syne forth he went where at he heard the horn.
Without the door Fawdoun was him beforn,
As to his fight, his ovv^n head in his hand ;
A crofs he made when he faw him fo ftand.
At Wallace in the head he fwakked there,
And he in hafte foon hint it by the hair.
Syne out again at him he could it caft.
Into his heart he greatly was agaft.
Right well he trow'd that was do fprit of man,
It was fome devil, that fie malice began.
He wift uo wale there longer for to bide.
Up through the hail thus wight Wallace can glide,
Ti>
326 T H E H I S T OR Y O F
To a clofe flair, the boards they rave in twin,
Fifteen foot large he lap out of that inn.
Up the water he fuddenly could fare,
Again he blink'd what pearance he faw there,
He thought he faw Fawdoun, that ugly fire,
That haiil hall he had fet into a fire ;
A great rafter he had into his hand.
Wallace as then no longer would he fland.
Of his good men full great marvel had he,
How they were tint through his feil fantafie.
Trufl risrht well that all this was footh indeed,
Suppofe that it no point be of the creed.
Power they had with Lucifer that fell.
The time when he parted from heaven to hell.
By fik mifchief if his men might be loll.
Drowned or flain among the Englifli holl ;
Or what it was in likenefs of Fawdoun.
Which brought his men to fudden confufion i
Or if the man ended in ill intent.
Some wicked fprit again for him prefent.
I cannot fpeak of fik divinity.
To clerks I will let all fic matters be :
But of Wallace, now forth I will you tell.
When he was won out of that peril fell.
Right glad was he that he had fcaped fa.
But for his men great mourning can he ma.
Flait by himfelf to the Maker above
Why he fuffer'd he fhould fik paining prove.
He will not well if that it was God's will ;
Right or wrong his fortune to fulfil.
Had he pleas'd God, he trow'd it might not be
He fhould him thole in fik perplexitie.
But great courage in his mind ever drawe.
Of Engliflimcn thinking amends to have.
As
ENGLISH POETRY. 327
As he was thus walkhig by him alone
Upon Ern fide, making a piteous moan,
Sir John Butler, to watch the fords right,
Out from his men of Wallace had a fight ;
The mift again to the mountains was gone.
To him he rode, where that he made his mone.
On loud he fpeir'd, What art thou walks that gate?
A true man, Sir, though my voyage be late;
Erands I pafs from Down unto my lord,
Sir John Stewart, the right for to record.
In Down is now, newly come from the king.
Then Butler faid, this is a felcouth thing,
You lied all out, you have been with Wallace,
I fliall thee know, ere you come off this place.
To him he ftart the courfer wonder wight.
Drew out a fword, fo made him for to light.
Above the knee good Wallace has him tane,
Through thigh and brawn in funder ftrake the banc.
Derfly to dead the knight fell on the land.
Wallace the horfe foon feized in his hand.
An ackward ftroke fyne took him in that flead.
His craig in two ; thus was the Butler dead.
An Englifliman faw their chiftain was flain,
A fpear in reft he caft with all his main.
On Wallace drave, from the horfe him to bear j
Warily he wrought, as worthy man in wear.
The fpear he wan withouten more abode,
On horfe he lap, and through a great rout rode ;
To Dalwryeth he knew the ford full well :
Before him came feil fluffed in fine fteel.
He ftrake the firft, but bade, on the blafoun,
While horfe and man both fleet the water down.
Another foon down from his horfe he bare.
Stamped to ground, and drown'd withouten mare.
The
328 THE HISTORY OF
The third he hit in his harnefs of fteel.
Throughout the coft, the fpear it brake fome deal.
The great power then after him can ride.
He faw no waill there longer for to bide.
His burniflit brand braithly in hand he bare.
Whom he hit right they followed him na mare.
To fluff the chafe feil freiks followed faft.
But Wallace made the gayefl ay agafl.
The muir he took, and through their pov/er yeed.
The horfe was good, but yet he had great dread
For failing ere he wan unto a flrength,
The chafe was great, fkail'd over breadth and length.
Through flrong danger they had him ay in fight.
At the Blackford there Wallace down can light,
His horfe fluffed, for way was deep and lang,
A large great mile wightly on foot could gang.
Ere he was hors'd riders about him cafl,
He faw full well long fo he might not lafl.
Sad men indeed upon him can renew.
With returning that night twenty he flew.
The fiercefl ay rudely rebuted he,
Keeped his horfe, and right wifely can flee,
While that he came the mickefl muir amang.
His horfe gave over, and would no further gang ".
I will clofe thefe fpecimens with an inflance of our au-
thor's allegorical invention.
In that flumber coming him thought he faw.
An aged man fall toward him could draw,
Soon by the hand he hint him haflily,
I am, he faid, in voyage charg'd with thee.
A fword him gave of bafely burnifht fleel.
Good fon, he faid, this wand you fhall bruik well.
Of
•' p. 82.
ENGLISH POETRY. 32^
Of topaz ftone him thought the plummet was,
Both hilt and hand all glittering like the glafs.
Dear fon, he faid, we tarry here too long.
Thou Ihalt go fee where wrought is meikle wrong ;
Then he him led to a mountain on hight,
The world him thought he might fee at a fight.
He left him there, fyne foon from him he went,
Thereof Wallace ftudied in his intent,
To fee him more he had ftill great delire.
Therewith he faw begin a fellon fire,
Which braithly burnt in breadth through all the land,
Scotland all over, from Rofs to Solway-fand.
Then foon to him there defcended a queen.
Illuminate, light, fhining full bright and Iheen ;
In her prefence appeared fo meikle light.
That all the fire fhe put out of his fight,
Gave him a wand of colour red and green,
With a fapphire faved his face and eyn.
Welcome, {he faid, I choofe thee for my love.
Thou art granted by the great God above,
To help people that fufFer meikle wrong,
With thee as now I may not tany long.
Thou fhalt return to thy own ufe again.
Thy deareft kin are here in meikle pain ; j
This right region you muft redeem it all.
Thy laft reward in earth fliall be but fmall ;
Let not therefore, take redrefs of this mifs,
To thy reward thou flialt have lafling blifs.
Of her right hand fhe beraught him a book.
And humbly thus her leave full foon flie took,
Unto the cloud afcended off his fight.
Wallace brake up the book in all his might.
Into three parts the book well written was.
The firft writing was grofs letters of brafs,
U u The
o^:
30
THE HISTORY OF
The fecond gold, the third was filver {heen.
\^'allace marvell'd what this writing fhould mean^
To read the book he bufied him fo faft,
His fpirit again to waking mind is pall.
And up he rofe, fyne foundly forth he went.
This clerk he found, and told him his intent
Of his vifion, as I have faid before.
Completely through, what needs any words more.
Dear fon, he faid, my wit unable is
To ranfack fik, for dread I fay amifs ;
Yet I fliail deem, though my cunning be fmall,
God grant no charge after my words may fall.
Saint Andrew was gave thee that fword in hand.
Of faints he is the vower of Scotland ;
That mountain is, where he had thee on hight,
Knowledge to have of wrong that thou muft right ;
The fire fliall be fell tidings, ere ye part,
Which (hall be told in many fundry airt.
I cannot well wit what queen that fliould be.
Whether Fortune, or our Lady fo free,
Likely it is, by the brightnefs flie brought,
Mother of him that all the world has wrought.
The pretty wand, I trow, by mine intent,
Affigns to you rule and cruel judgment ;
The red colour, who graithly underftood.
Betokens all to great battle and blood ;
The green, courage, that thou art now among.
In trouble and war thou flialt continue long j
The fapphire ftone fhe bleffed thee withal.
Is lafting grace, will God, fliall to thee fall ;
The threefold book is but this brokcrx land.
Thou muft redeem by worthinefs of nand ;
The brafs letters betokens but to this,
The great opprcfs of war and meikle mifs,
The
eMgLISH poetry. 331
The which you fliall bring to the right again.
But you therefore muft fuffer meikle pain j
The gold betokens honour and worthinefs,
Victory in arms, that thou fhalt have by grace ;
The filver fhews clean life and heaven's blifs,
To thy reward that mirth thou fhalt not mifs,
Dread not therefore, be out of all defpair.
Further as now hereof I can na mare.
About the prefent period, hiftorical romances of recent
events feem to have commenced. Many of thefe appear to
have been written by heralds ". In the library of Worcefter
college at Oxford, there is a poem in French, reciting the
atchievements of Edward the Black Prince, who died in the
year 1376. It is in the fliort verfe of romance, and was
written by the prince's herald, who attended clofe by his
perfon in all his battles, according to the eftabliflied mode
of thofe times. This was John Chandois-herald, frequently
mentioned in Froiflart. In this piece, which is of confider-
able length, the names of the Englifhmen are properly
fpelled, the chronology exa£l, and the epitaph ', forming
a fort of peroration to the narrative, the fame as was
ordered by the prince in his will "". This poem, indeed,
may feem to claim no place here, becaufe it happens to be
written in the French language : yet, exclufive of its fubje6l,
a circumftance I have mentioned, that it was compofed
by a herald, deferves particular attention, and throws no
fmall illuftration on the poetry of this era. There are
feveral proofs which indicate that many romances of the
fourteenth century, if not in verfe, at leaft thofe written
^ See Le Pare Meneftrier, Cheval. An- '" The hero's epitaph is frequent in ro-
cien. c. v. p. 225. Par. 12'"''. nances. In the French romiince of
' It is a fair and beautiful manufcript on Saintre, written about this time, hit
vellum. It is an oblong o£la\'o, and for- epitaph is introduced,
merly belonged to Sir William Le Neve " p. 150.
Clartncieux herald.
U u 2 m
332
THE HISTORY OF
in profe, were the work of heralds. As it was their duty to
attend their mafters in battle, they were enabled to record
the moft important tranfaclions ot the field with fidelity.
It was cuftomary to appoint none to this office but perfons
of difcernment, addrefs, experience, and fome degree of
education ". At folemn tournaments they made an efiential
part of the ceremony. Here they had an opportunity of
obferving acoutrements, armorial diftinftions, the number
and appearance of the fpeftators, together with the various
events of the turney, to the beft advantage : and they were
afterwards obliged to compile an ample regifter of this flrange
mixture of foppery and ferocity °. They were neceflarily
conne«5led with the minftrells at public feftivals, and thence
acquired a facility of reciting adventures. A learned French
antiquary is of opinion, that antiently the French heralds,
called Hiraux, were the fame as the minftrells, and that they
fung metrical tales at feftivals ^ They frequently received
fees or largefle in common with the minftrells ^ They tra-
velled into different countries, and faw the fafliions of foreign
courts, and foreign tournaments. They not only committed
to writing the procefs of the lifts, but it was alfo their
" Le Pere Meneftrier Cheval. Ancien.
■t fupr. p. 225. ch. V. " Que Ton croyoit
" avoir I'E/prit, Sec." Feron fays, that
they gave this attendance in order to make
a true report. L'Inftit. des Roys et Herauds,
p. 44. a. See alfo Favin. p. 57. See a cu-
rious defcription in FroifTart, of an inter-
view between the Chandois herald, men-
tioned above, and a marfhal of France,
where they enter into a warm and very
ferious difpute concerning the devices
d'amtur borne by each army. Liv. i. ch.
161.
" " L'un des principaux fonftions des
" Herautcs d'armes etoit fe trouver au
'* joufts, &c. ou ils gardoient les ecus pcn-
" dans, rcccvoient les noms et les blafons
"des chevaliers, en tenoient registre,
" et en compolbient recueils, &c." Me-
ncfir. Orig. des Armoir. p. 1 80. See alfo
p. 119. Thefc regifters are mentioned in
Perceforeft, xi. 68. 77.
P Carpentier, Suppl. Du-Cang. Glofl".
Lat. p. 750. torn. ii.
'I Thus at St. George's feaft at Windfor
we have, " Diverfis heraldis tt miniftrallis,
" $ic." Ann. 21. Ric. ii. 9 Hen. vi. Apud
Anftis, Ord. Gart. i. 56. 108. And .igain,
E.xit. Pell. M. ann. 22. Edvv. iii. " Ma-
" giftro Andrea; Roy Norreys, [a hcralJ,']
" Lybekin le Piper, et Hanakino filio fuo,
" et fcx aliis n-.ehcfirnllis regit in dcnariis
" cis liberatis de dono regis, in fubfidium
" expenfarum fuarum, Iv. s. iv. E, Hajiiludium. Fr. Teur-
710!. And 1 ot^f ieVsip, haj'iludio contendere.
John Cantncuzcnus relates, that when Anne
of Savoy, daughter of Amadt us, the fourth
earl of the AUobroges, was married to the
emperor Andronicus, junior, the I rankifli
and Savoyard nobles, who accompanied
the princefs, held tilts and tournaments
before the court at Conftantinople ; which,
he adds, the Greelcs learned ot the Franks.
This was in the year 1326. Hill. Byzant.
I. i. cap. 42. But Nicetas fays, that when
the emperor Manuel made fome ftay at
Antioch, the Greeks held a folemn tourna-
ment againft the Franks. This was about
the year ii6d. Hift. Byzant. 1. iii. cap. 3.
Cinnamus obferves, that the fame emperor
Manuel altered the (hape of the ihieUIs and
lances of the Greeks to thofe of the Franks.
Hill. Byzant. lib. iii. Nicephorus Gre-
goras, who wrote about the year 1340,
afiirms, that the Greeks learned this prac-
tice from the Franks. Hift. Byzant. 1. x.
p. 339. edit. fol. Genev. 1615. The word
Ka|3a/Aa\'ic;i, Knights, Chevaliers, occurs
often in the Byzantine hiftorians, even as
early as Anna Commcna, who wrote about
1140. Alexiad. lib. xiii. p. 41 1. And we
have in J. Cantacuzenus, ^' -iivKu^a'/a^Mii
" wa^h^i Tiftrc," He conferred the honour of
Knighthood. This indeed is faid of the
Franks. Hift. ut fupr. 1. iii. cap. 25. And
in the Greek poem now under conlideration
one of the titles is, " nJ? iiio\ri».%i ©miuf
" T«; ^-i'j Qr.Pa.Jq Kaj3a?>aflK;."' How Thefiiis
dubbed the livo Thehans Knights, lib. vii.
SJgnatur. » jj 1 1. fol. verf.
to
ENGLISH POETRY. 349
to the imperial territory \ But, to fay no more of this,. I
have at prefent no fort of donbt of what I before afllnted,
that Boccacio is the writer and inventor of this piece. Our
Greek poem is in fa6l a Uteral tranflation from the Italian
Theseid. It confifts of twelve books, and is written in
Boccacio's o6lave tlanza, the two laft lines of every ftanza
rhyming together. The verfes are of the iambic kind, and
fomething like the Versus Politici, which were common
among the Greek fcholars a little before and long after Con-
flantinople was taken by the Turks, in the year 1443. It
will readily be allowed, that the circumllance of the fl anzas
and rhymes is very fnigular in a poem compofed in the
Greek language, and is alone fufficient to prove this piece
to be a tranflation from Boccacio. I mud not forget to ob-
ferve, that the Greek is extremely barbarous, and of the
loweft period of that language.
It was a common pra6lice of the learned and indigent
Greeks, who frequented Italy and the neighbouring ftates
about the fifteenth and fixteenth centuries, to tranflate the
popular pieces of Italian poetry, and the romances or tales
mofl in vogue, into thele Greco-barbarous iambics '. Pastor
FiDO was thus tranflated. The romance of Alexander
THE Great was alfo tranflated in the fame manner by Deme-
trius Zenus, who flourifhed in 1530, under the title of
AXg^avJ'^su^ Ma;f£(5'wy, and piinted at Venice in the year
1529 ^ In the very year, and at the fame place, when and
where our Greek poem on Thefeus, or Palamon and Arcite,
was printed. Apollonius of Tyre, another famous romance
of the middle ages, was tranflated in the fame manner, and
"■ Giorn. v. Nov. i. Chiliads are written in this verfification.
= That is i;fr/«//>o///ia'abovementioned. See Du Cangc, Gl. Gr. ii. col. 1196.
a fort of loofe iambic. See Langii Phi- f Cruf. ut fupr. d. 373. 390. See fupr.
LOLOGiA Gr^^co-barbara. Tzetes's p. 129.
Z z entitled,
25°
THE HISTORY OF
entitled ^.tnynC^C u^oni^ocTn ATToAAwvia tS iv Tu^w s ^yiiidi^x *.
The ftory of king Arthur they alfo reduced into the fame
language. The learned Martinus Crufius, who introduced
the Greco-barbarous language and literature into the Ger-
man univerfities, relates, that his friends who ftudied at
Padua fent him in the year 1564, together with Homer's
Iliad, Aiox^at Regis Arthuri, Alexander above-men-
tioned, and other fictitious hiflories or flory-books of a
E That is, Rhythmically, Poetically.
Gr. Barb.
'' Du Cange mentions, " M/jayAwTliffix
" B-aSa? ATToW.a'tiJf Ta TtijB." Ind. Audi.
Glofl". Gr. Barb. ii. p. 36. col. b. Com-
pare Fabricius, Bibl. Gr. vi. 821. I be-
lieve it was firll printed at \enice, 1563.
viz. " Hiftoria Apollonii Tyana^i, [Ty-
" renfis] Ven. 1563. Liber Eroticus, Gr.
" barb, lingua exaratus ad modum ryth-
" morum nollrorum, rariffimus audit, &c."
Vogt. Catal. libr. rarior. p. 34.5. edit.
1753. I think it was reprinted at Venice,
1696. apud Nicol. Glycem. Svo. In the
works of Velferus, there is Narratio Eorum
qut€ ApoUonh re^i accia'erunt. See. He faj'S
it was firrt written by fome Gree'i author.
Velferi Op. p. 607. edit. 1682. fol. The
Latin is in Bibl. Bodl. MSS. Laud, 39. —
Bodl. F. 7. 7. .'\nd F. 1 1. 4;. In the pre-
face, Velferus, who died 1614, fays, that
he believes the original in Greek iHll re-
mains at Conftantinople, in the library of
Manuel Eugcnicus. Montfmcon mentions
a noble copv of this romance, written in the
thirteenth century, in the royal library at
Paris. Bibl. MSS. p. 753. Compare MSS.
Langb. Bibl. Bodl. vi. p. 15. Gejla /Apol-
lonii, See. There is a manufcript in Saxon
of the romance of Apollonius of
TvRE. Wanley's Catal. apud Hickes, ii.
1 46. Sec Martin. Crufii Turco-Grxc. p. 209.
edit. 1 594 Gowor recites many ftories of
this romance in liis Confessio Amantis.
He calls Apollonius " a yonge, a frelhe.
" a lulli'.- knight." See Lib. viii. fol. 175.
b. — 185. a. But he refers to Godfrey of
Viterbo's PANTiiroN, or univerfal Chro-
nicle, called alfo Mcmcri^r S^cu!orum,-part\y
in profe, p.artly verfe, from the Creation
of the world, to the year 1 1 86. The au-
thor died in 1 190.
— A Cronike in daies gone
The which is cleped Panteone, &c.
fol. 175.3. The play called Periclej
Prince of Tyre, attributed to Shake-
fpeare, is taken from this ftory of Apol-
lonius as told by Gower, who fpeaks the
Prologue. It exirted in Latin before the
year 900. See Barth. Adverfar. Iviii. cap.
i. Chaucer calls him " of Tyre Apolloneus. "
Prol. Ma.t. L. Tale. v.
ii.p.
Urr.
edit. And quotes from this romance.
How that the curfid king Antiochus
Birafte his daughter of hir maidinhede.
That is fo horrible a tale to rede.
When he her drewe upon the pavement.
In the royal library there is " Hiftoire
" d'Apollin roy de Thir." Brit. Muf.
MSS. Reg. 20 C. ii. 2. With regard to
the French editions of this romance, the
oldeft I have feen is, " Plaifante et agre-
" able Hiftoire d' Apollonius prince de
" Thyr en AfTrique ct roy d' Antioch,
" traduite par Gillcs Coronet, Paris, 153c.
" Svo." And there is an old black-letter
edition, printed in quarto at Geneva, enti-
tled, " La Chronique d' .Appollin roy de
" Thir." At I ngth the ftory appeared in
a modern drefs by M. !e Brun, under the
title of " Avanturesd'ApoDonius ile Thyr,"
printed in twelves at Paris and Roterdani,
in 1710. And again at Paris the follow-
ing year.
fimilar
1
ENGLISH POETRY.
351
fimilar caft \ The French hiftoiy or romance of Ber-
th and Du GuESCELiN, printed at Abbeville in 1487', and that
of Belisaire, or Belifarius, they rendered in the fame lan-
guage and metre, with the titles b.irfyriQiQ e'^tXi^Pioc BsX^xv-
^^a ?8 Pwjwcc/8 ", and 'Ito^ikyj z^r,yyiQig tts^I BsXXicoioiHy &c".
Boccacio himfelf, in the Decameron °, mentions the floiy
of Troilus and CrefTida in Greek verfe : which I fuppofe had
been tranflated by fome of the fugitive Greeks v/ith whom
he was connected, from a romance on that fubjecl; many
antient copies of which now remain in the libraries of
France ^ The ftory of Florius and Platzflora, a ro-
mance which Ludovicus Vives with great gravity condemns
under the name of Florian and B/a/ica-FIor, as one of the
pernicious and unclaflical popular hiftories current in
■^ So I tranflate " alios iJ genus minores
" libellos." Cruf. ibid. p. 489. Crufius
was born in 1526, and died 1607.
' At the end of Le Triumphe des neuf
Preux, &c. fol. That is. The Nine
Worthies.
"' See du Cange, Gl. Gr. Barb. ii. Ind.
Auftor. p. 36. col. b. This hillory con-
tains Beltrand's, or Bertrand's amours with
X^fcixl^a, Chryfaija, the king of Antioch's
daughter.
" See Lambecc. Bibl. Cxfar. Lib v.
p. 264. It is remarkable, that the flory
oi Date oholiim F:cll/,:rio is not in Procopius,
but in this romance. Probably Vandyck
got this ftory from a modernifed edition of
It, called Bell IS A I RE cu k Conqiurani,
Parif. 1643. 8vo. Which, however, is faid
in the title-page to be taken from Proco-
pius. It was written by the fieur de Gre-
nailles.
• They fometimes applied their Greek
iambics to the works of the antient Greek
poets. Demetrius Zenus, above-menti-
oned, tranflated Homer's ^u.-!^a.yjn).w^j.ayj,a. :
and Nicolaus I.ucanus, the Iliad. The firft
was printed ;;t Venice, and afterwards re-
printed by Cnifuis, Turco-Gra:c. p. 373.
The latt'et was alfo printed at Venice, 1526.
Z Z 2
apud Steph. Sabium. This Demetrius
Zenus is faid to be the author of the r^t^ew-
l^vof^xxM, or Battle of the Cats
AND Mice. See Cruf. ubi fupr. 396.
And Fabric. Bibl. Gr. i. 264. 223. On
account of the Greco-barbarous books
which began to grow common, chiefly in
Italy, about the year 1 5 20, Stephen a
Sabio, or Sabius, above-mentioned, the
printer of many of them, publilhed a
Greco- barbarous lexicon at Venice, 1527,
entitled, " Corona Pretiosa, Z^iay-^y^i
" no- iTCiyfx^pa^Avy) 'Zr^'^a.vci; ^^>)^(jl*o^, r,ysv,
'' ST£(pa»o; Tif/iioj, w,-£ ftarOlin ata.yiiiu>ixii>,
" yja^EiK, vcibTv, kJ ^«X£1» rriv i^JlixJiii v.al arli-
*' r.riv y\u)7j-y.9 TrjvT^a.iy.vVj sri ot k^ Tr,if y^a.^"
'* yt.ou\iv.riV kJ tJik l^iuliKtiV y^w^^av Twv AaTti-wi-.'
It is a mixture of modern and antient
Greek words, Latin and Italian. It was
reprinted at Venice by Petrus Burana, 1 546.
J" SeeLenglet's Bibl. Rom. p. 253. " Le
" Roman de Trovlus." And Montfaucon,
Bibl. MSS. p. 792. 793. &c. &c. There
i.S " L'Amore di Troleo et Grifeida que
" fi tratta in buone parte la Guerra di
" Troja, d'Angelo Leonico, Ven. 1553."
in oftave rhyme. 8vo. More will be faid
of this hereafter, p. 384.
Flanders
3 52
THE HISTORY OF
Flanders about the year 1523 \ of which there are old edi-
tions in French, Spanifh ', and perhaps Italian, is likewife
extant very early in Greek iambics, moft probably as a
tranflation into that language '. I could give many others j
but I haften to lay before my readers fome fpecimens both
of the Italian and the Greek Palamon and Arcite '. Only
premifing, that both have about a thoufand verfes in each
of the twelve books, and that the two firft books are intro-
duftory : the firft containing the war of Thefeus with the
Amazons, and the fecond that of Thebes, in which Palamoa
and Arcite are taken prifoners. Boccacio thus defcribes the
Temple of Mars.
N e icampi Tracii fotto icieli hyberni
D a tempefta continua agitati
D oue fchiere di nimbi fempiterni
D auenti or qua e or la trafmutati
I n uarii loghi ne iguazofi uerni
E de aqua globi per fredo agropati
G itati fono eneue tutta uia
C he in giazo amano aman fe induria
1 Lud. Viv. de Chriftiana Femina. lib. i.
cap. cui tit. ^ui non Ugendi Serif tores. Sec.
He lived at Bruges. He mentions other
jomances common in Flanders, Leonela
AND Canamor, Curias AND Florela,
and Pyramus AND Thisbe.
' Flores y Blancaflor. En Alcala,
1512. 4to. — Hiftoire Amoreufe de Flor-es
et de Blanchefleur, traduite de I'Ef-
pagnol par Jacques Vincent. Paris, 1554.
8vo. — Florimont et Passeroze, tra-
duite dc I'Efpagnol en profe Fran9oire,
Lyon, 15. . . 8vo. There is a French
edition at Lyons, 1571. It was perhaps
originally Spanifh.
■ See fupr. p. 348. In the Notes. Where,
for want of further information, lieft this
point doubtful.
' For the ufe of the Greek Theseid I
am obliged to the politencfs of Mr. Stan-
ley, who condefcends to patronife and af-
fill the ftudies he fo well underllands. I
believe there is but one more copy in
Engl.and, belonging to Mr. Ramfay the
painter. Yet I have been told that Dr.
George, provoll of King's, had a copy.
The firft edition of the Italian book,
no Icfs valuable a curiofity, is in the excel-
lent library of the very learned and com-
municative Dr. Afkew. This is the only
copy in England. See Bibl. Smith. Ad-
dend, fol. .\1. Vcnct. 1755. 4to.
E una
ENGLISH POETRY. 353
E una felua fterile de robufti
C erri doue eran folti e alti molto
N odofi afpri rigidi e uetulli
C be de ombra eterna ricopreno il uolto
D el trifto fuolo enfra li antichi fufli
D i ben mille furor fempre rauolto
V i fi fentia grandiffimo romore
N e uera beftia anchora ne paftore
I n quefta nide la cha delo idio
A rmipotente quefta edificata
T utta de azzaio fplendido e pulio
D alquale era del fol riuerberata
L aluce che aboreua il logho rio
T utta differro era la ftretta entrata
E le porte eran de eterno admante
F errato dogni parte tutte quantc-
E Ic le colone di ferro cuftei
V ide che lo edificio fofteneano
L i impeti de menti parue alei
V eder che fieri dela porta ufiano
E il ciecho pechare e ogne omci
S imilemente quiui fi uedeano
V idiue le ire roffe come focho
E la paura palida in quel locho
E con gli occulti ferri itradimenti
V ide ele infidie con uifta apparenza
L i difcordia fedea efanguinenti
F erri auea in mano eoarni differenza
E tutti iloghi pareano ftrepenti
D afpre minaze edi cradel intenza
E n mczo illocho la uertu triftillima
S edea di degne laude poueriflima
Y idevi
354
THE HISTORY OF
V ideui ancora lo alegro furore
E oltre acio con uolto fanguinofo
L a morte armata uidc elo ftupore
E ogni altare qui iiera copiofo
D i fangue fol ne le bataglie fore
D i corpi human cacciato eluminofo
E ra ciafchun di focho tolto aterre
A rfe edifFate per le trifle guerre
E t era il tempio tutto hiftoriato "
D i focil mano e difopra edintorno
E cio che pria ui uide defignato
E ran le prede de no6te edi giorno
T olto ale terre equalunque fforzato
F u era qui in habito muforno
V ideanuiffi le gente incatenate
P orti di ferro e forteze fpezate
V edeui ancor le naue bellatrici
I n uoti carri eli uolti guaftati
E i miferi pianti & infelici
E t ogni forza con li afpe<5li e lati
O gni ferita ancor fi vedea lici
E fangue con le terre mefcolati
E ogni logo con afpeflo ficro
S i uedea Marte turbido c altiero, &c.
" Thus, Xlo^K/y.ola means paintings, pro-
perly hiilory-paintings, and Iro^iTr, and
anro^uv, is to paint, in barbarous Greek.
There are various examples in the Byzan-
tine writers. In middle Latinity Hijloric-
graphas fignifies literally a Painter. Per-
haps our Historiographer roval
was originally the king's Illuminator, 'iro^i-
tj-fa^o; (ii(5iala>5 occurs in an Infcription
publifhed by Du Cange, Diflertat. Joiuv.
xxvii. p. 319. Where //.arialw^ implies an
artift who painted in roofaic work called
fiM^a.\ii, or n«?i'y», Mufi-jum. In the Greek
poem before us 'iroprlas is ufed for a Painter,
lib. ii.
In the middle Latin writers we have rlefingere
HiSTORi AI.ITER, To paint 'U.'ith hijiories
or figures, viz. " Forinfecus dealbavit illud
" [delubrum,] intrinfecus autem depinxit
" hijloriuiitcr." Dudo de AtX. Norman.
1. iii. p. 153. Dante uies the Italian word
before us in the fame fenfe. Dante, Purgat.
Cant. X. *
Qiiivi era historiata 1' alta gloria
Del Roman Prince.
'ir'^ia fricjuenily oicurs, fimply forpifturc
or rcprcfcntation in colours. Nilus Monach.
lib. iv. Epift. 61. Ka! ;rT(i«{ 7r1i!»ai» It)
i^Wtla» xj ff>.XTr,iii£\ut. " PICTURES of
" birds, ferpents, and plants." And in
a thoufand other inftances. " L. vii.
ENGLISH POETRY. 355
The Temple of Venus has thefe imageries.
P oi preflb afe uidde paffar belleza ^
S enza ornamento alchun fe riguardando
E gir con lei uidde piaceuolleza
E luna laltra fecho comendano
P oi con lor uidde iflarfi gioueneza
D cflra e adorna molto fellegiando
E daltra parte uidde cl fole ardire
L ufmge e ruffiania in fieme gire
I n mezo el locho in fu alte colone
D i rame uidde un tempio al qual dintorno
D anzando giouenette uidde e done
Q^al da fe belle : e qual de habito adorno
D ifcinte e fchalze in giube e in gone
E in cio fol difpendeano il giorno
P oi fopra el tempio uidde uolitare
P afTere molte e columbi rugiare *
E alentrata del tempio uicina
V idde che fi fedeiia piana mente
M adona pace : e in mano una cortina
N anzi la porta tenea lieue mente
A prefTo lei in uifta affai tapina
P acientia fedea difcreta mente
P allida ne lo afpeflo : e dogni parte
E intorno alei uidde promefle e carte
P oi dentro al tempio entrata di fofpiri
V i fenti un tumulto che giraua
F ochofo tutto di caldi defiri ■'
Q_uefto glialtri tutti aluminaua
D i none fiame nate di martiri
D i qua ciafchun di lagrime grondaua
M offe da una dona cruda e ria
C he uidde li chiamata gilofia, 6cc.
356 THE HISTORY OF
Some of tliefe ftanzas are thus exprefled in the Greco-
barbarous tranllation ".
EjV tStov h^s t5 ^soVi Tov olxov rov f.syaAov,
O' 'KoXtx-ix-K^oQ yoc^ riToy(x.i, sAa^Trsv ag tov Y}XioVi
OTXv rjxio; sx^ovSy oi,oy.ov, ixsias afAi^xv [xz^lx.
MsTot xoitpd TU al^s^oc, h^s ^YjixYjys^aiocic^
XOU Touc (paT^aiuic ■Kovyivovrxi^ xou [xoix^ovv ^ixxiocrovvsc.
E'xi'irov olcrvvYjfSoiaiOCj [xstuIi; ^ioi^uvioucy
e^d^oceic to Xs^r)T>5f, ai^spx [laroixivoi.
(j\oQ 6 TozoQ s^ei'xysj ocypiog xou "x^oXiaa-y-svogy
dy^lovQ yot^ ?a Tv/j^jizvYiy
SkCideTOV 6 TTOTr^STTf, V« SVXl TTa/ VSjWgVJ] ".
*' From which it was thought proper to is intelligible only to a vcrj' few curious
give on larger fpeciincn, as the language fcholars. « 1,. vii. Sign, /a g.
ENGLISH POETRY.
357
In pafling through Chaucer's hands, this poem has received
many new beauties. Not only thofe capital fi6lions and de-
fcriptions, the temples of Mars, Venus, and Diana, with
their allegorical paintings, and the figures of Lycurgus and
Emetrius with their retinue, are fo much heightened by the
bold and fpirited manner of the Britifli bard, as to ftrike us
with an air of originality. In the mean time it is to be re-
marked, that as Chaucer in fome places has thrown in
flrokes of his own, fo in others he has contra6led the un-
interefting and tedious prolixity of narrative, which he found
in the Italian poet. And that he might avoid a fervile imi-
tation, and indulge himfelf as he pleafed in an arbitrary
departure from the original, it appears that he neglected the
embarraflment of Boccacio's ftanza, and preferred the En-
gliili heroic couplet, of which this poem affords the firfl
confpicuous example extant in our language.
The fit nation and ftrufture of the temple of Mars are
thus defcribed.
A forreft
In which there wonneth nether man ne beft :
With knotty knarry barrein treys old.
Of llubbys fiiape, and hideous to behold.
In which ther was a rombyll and a fwough '
As though a ftorm fiiiulde burllein every bough.
And downward from a hill, under a bent ",
There ftode the temple' of Mars armipotent.
Wrought all of burnyd" ftele: of which th' entre
Was long, and ftreight, and gaftly for to fe :
And therout came fuch a rage and avyfe ■*.
That it made al the gatys for to ryfe ".
* Sound. ^ Precipice. ' Burnilhed. <• Noife. ° •* It ftrained
" the doors: Almoft forced them from their hinges."
A a a The
358 THE HISTORY OF
The northern light in at the doris fhone,
For window on the wall ne was ther none,
Thrcgh which men mightin any light dilFern.
The dore was al of adamant eterne,
Yclenchid overthwart and endelong,
V/ith iron tough, for to makin it ftrong.
Every pillar the tempyl to fuftene
Was tonne grete ' of yren bright and fliene.
The gloomy fanfluary of this tremendous fane, was adorned
with thefe charafterillical imageries.
There faw I firll the dark Ymagining
Of Felony, and all the compafling :
The cruell Ire, redde as any glede ^.
The Pikpurfe alfo, and eke the pale Drede ■" ;
The Smyter with the knife undir the cloke * :
The fliepin brenning with the blake fmoke " ;
The Treafon of the murdering in the bedde ',
The opin Warre with woundis all bebledde ;
Conteke "" with bloodie knyves °, and fharpe Menace,
All full of chirking ° was that fory place !
' A ^^reat tun. A tun-weight. ' Dryden has lowered this image,
^ P ' Th' affaffinating wife. — —
* Dryden has converted this image into m Strife.
clerical hypocrify, under which he takes an n This image is likewife entirely mifre-
opportunity of gratifying his fpleen againft prefented ,by D.>^'den, and turned to a
the clergy. Knight's Tale, B. ii. p. 56. fatire on the church.
edit, lyn- ^n-,^ ,.■••,-
Contelt with fharpen d knives m cloyjlcrs
Next flood Hypocrify with holy leer, drawn,
Soft-fmiling and demurely looking down. And all with blood befpread the holy IwMn.
But hid the daireer underneath the Fow«. „ . .-r 11 -r i_ n
"^ a o ^f,y difagreeable none, or hollow mur-
^ Perhaps, for Jhepyn we fliould read mur. Properly, the jarring of a door upon
thepyn, or chfping, i. e. a town, a place of the hinges. See alfo Chaucer's Booth, p.
trade. This line is therefore to reprefent, 364. b. Urr. edit. " When the fclde
A City on fire. In Wickliffe's bible we " cl.irkinf^c agiifcthe of the colde, by the
have, " It is lyk to childien fittynge in " fellnerte of the wind Aquilon." The
" Chepynce." Matt. xi. 16. original is, " Vento Campus inhorruit."
The
ENGLISH POETRY. 359
The Hear of himfelfe yet fawe I there.
His heite blode hath bathid all his here,
The naile ydiyvyn in the fliode '' anyght ',
With the cold deth the mouth gapyng upryght '.
Amiddis of the temple fate Mifchaunce,
With difcomfort, and fory countenance.
Yet fawe I Wodenefs " laughing in his rage.
Armid complaint of Theft, and fers Corage ;
The carrein in the bufli with throte ycoi-ve \
A thoufand fleyne and not of qualme yftorve '.
The tyrant with the prey by force yreft,
The town deftroyid ther was nothing left.
Yet faw I brent the fliips upon fteris.
The hunter ftraunglid with the wild boris.
The fow fretting " the chyld right in the cradel.
The coke fcaldid for all his longe ladel.
Nought was forgott the infortune of Mart ;
The cartir "^ overriddin by his cart '',
Under the whele he lay full low adowne.
There were alfo of Marts divifioune.
The Barbour, and the Butcher, and the Smith
That forgith fharpe fwerdis on the ftith ^.
And all above, depeintid in a towr.
Saw I Conqueft fitting in grete honour.
With the fliarpe fwerde right ovir his hed.
Hanging but by a fubtill-twined thred \
P Head. ' In the night. ' Madnefs.
' This couplet refers to the fuicide in the ■ Throat cut.
preceding one : who is fuppofed to kill " " Slain, not deftroyed by ficknefs (W
himfelf by driving a nail into his head in " dying a natural death."
the night, and to be found dead and cold " Devouring,
in his bed, with his " mouth gapyng up- ^ Charioteer.
" ryght." This is properly the meaning y Chariot,
of his " hair being bathed in blood." ^ Anvil.
Shoiif, in the text, is literally a ^z of hair. " v. 1998. p. 16. Urr.
Dryden has finely paraphraied this paflage.
A a a 2 This
3'6b THE HISTORY OF
This groupe is the effort of a ftrong imagination, unac-
quainted with feleftion and arrangement of images. It is
mdely thrown on the canvas without order or art. In the
Italian poets, who defcribe every thing, and who cannot, even
in the moft ferious reprefentations, eafily fupprefs their na-
tural predileftion for burlefque and familiar imagery, nothing
is more common than this mixture of fublime and comic
ideas '. The form of Mars follows, touched with the im-
petuous dafhes of a favage and fpirited pencil.
The ftatue ' of Mars upon a cart '' ftode,
Armid, and lokid grym as he were wode '.
A wolfe ther ftod before him at his fete
With eyin red, and of a man he ete.
With fotill penfil paintid was the ftorie.
In ' redouting Mars and of his glorie ^
But the ground-work of this whole defcription is in the
Thebaid of Statins. I will make no apology for tranfcribing
the paffage at large, that the reader may judge of the re-
femblance. Mercury vifits the temple of Mars, fituated in
the frozen and tempefluous regions of Thrace ''.
* There are many other inllances of this Here we fee the force of defcription with-
mixture, v. 1179. "We ftrive as did the out a profufion of idle epithets. Thefe
«' houndis for the bone." v. 1264. "We verfcs are all finew : they have nothing but
" fare as he that dronk is as a moufe, &c." verbs and fubftantives.
V. 2762. " Farewel phyfick 1 Go bere d Chariot.
" the corfe to church." v. 2521. "Some c j^^d.
" faid he lokid grim and he wolde fight, . „
« Sec." Recording.
■= Form, or figure. Statuary is not im- e v. 2043.
plied here. Thus he mentions the/,Li/il o/Mars a>id FenuiyV.^g. q-j^^j jjight the giete Um,U of Man in
He throwith on his helme of huge weight ; Thrace.
And girt him with his fworde, and in his In thilkc cold and frofty region,
hond Ther as Mars has his fovran manfion.
His mighty fiicrc, as he was wont to feight,
He fhekith (o, that it almoll to wende.
Hie
ENGLISH POETRY. 361
Hie fteriles delubra notat Mavortia fylvas,
Horrefcitque tiiens : ubi mille furoribus illi
Cingitur, adverfo domus immanfueta fub JEmo.
Ferrea compago laterum, ferro ardla teruntur
Limina, ferratis incumbunt te6la columnis.
Laeditur adverfum Phoebi jubar, ipfaque fedcm
Lux timet, et dirus contriftat fydera fulgor.
Digna loco ftatio. Primis fubit impetus amens
E foribus, ctecumque Nefas, Ira^que rubentes,
Exanguefque Metus ; occultifque enfibus aftant
Infidiae, geminumque tenens Difcordia ferrum.
Innumeris ftrepit aula minis. Triftiffima Virtus
Stat medio, Isetufque Furor, vultuque cruento
Mors armata fedet. Bellorum folus in aris
Sanguis, et inceniis qui raptus ab urbibus ignis.
Terrarum exuviae circum, et fafligia templi
Gaptae infignibant gentes, coelataque ferro
Fragmina portarum, bellatricefque carinae,
Et vacui currus, protritaque curribus era '.
Statius was a favourite vi^riter vv^ith the poets of the
middle ages. His bloated magnificence of defcription, gi-
gantic images, and pompous diftion, fviited their tafte, and
w^ere fomewhat of a piece with the romances they fo much
admired. They negle6ted the gentler and genuine graces of
Virgil, which they could not relifh. His pictures were too
correftly and chaftiy drawn to take their fancies : and truth
of defign, elegance of expreflion, and the arts of compo-
' Stat. Theb. vii. 40. And below we I think Statins is copied in a fimile, v,
have Chaucer's Doors of adamant eterne, 1640. The introdudlion of this poem is
viz. V. 68. alfo taken from the Thebaid, xii. 545.
Claufsque adamante perenni 481- 797- Compare Chaucer's lines, v.
Diffiluere fores. . — — — 870. feq. v. 917. feq. v. 996. feq. The
, . ,. „ ,;r . funeral pyre of Arcite is alfo tranflated from
Statius alfo calls Mars Arm,potens. v. 78. ^heb. vi. 195. feq. See Ch. v. 2940. feq.
A facrifice is copied from Statius, where I Hkewife take this opportunity of ohferving,
fiiys Chaucer, v. 2296. ^^^^ Lucretius and Piato are imitated in
And did her thingis as men might behold this poem. Together with many paffages ,
In Siece of Tbsbcs. — — — — — from Ovid and Virgil.
fition, ,
562 THE HISTORY OF
fition were not their objefls ". In the mean time we muft
obferve, that in Chaucer's Temple of Mars many perfonages
are added : and that thofe which exilled before in Statins have
been retouched, enlarged, and rendered more diftin<5t and pic-
turefque by Boccacio and Chaucer. Arcite's addrefs to Mars,
at entering the temple, has great dignity, and is not copied
from Statius.
O ftronge god, that in the reignis cold
Of Thrace honourid art, and God yholdl
And haft in everie reign, and everie lond.
Of armis al the bridll in thy bond ;
And them fortunifl, as they left devife.
Accept of me my pitous facrifice '.
The following portrait of Lycurgus, an imaginary king of
Thrace, is highly charged, and very great in the gothic ftyle
of painting.
Ther mayft 'ou " fee, commyng with Palamon,
Lycvirgus himfelf, the grete king of Thrace ;
Blake was his berde, and manly was his face :
The circles of his eyin in his hede
They glowdin betwixte yalowe and rede:
And like a lyon lokid he about,
With kempid heris on his browis ftout :
His limis grete, his brawnis herd and ftrong,
His fhulderes brode, his armis round and long.
And as the guife ywas in his contre
Full high upon a char of gold ftodc he :
With four grete white bullis in the tracis.
Inftead of court cote armur, on his harneis
* In Trailiii and Crejlde'hthz.s, tranflated the arguments of the twelve looks of the TTie-
baid of Statuis. See B. v. p. 1479. feq. * v. 2375. "' You.
With
ENGLISH P O E T P. Y,
363
With yalowe nailes, and bright as any gold,
He hath a beris " fkinn cole-blak for old.
His long here was kemped behind his bak.
As any raven's fethcr't Ihone for blak.
A wrethe of golde armgrete °, of huge weight,
Upon his hed, fett ful of ftonis bright.
Of fine rubies, and clere diamondes.
About his char ther wentin white alandes %
Twentie and more, as grete as any iteie,
To huntin at the lyon or wild here;
And folowid him with mofil "^ fail ybouiKl,
Coieres of gold ' and torretes ' filid ' round.
A hundrid lordis had he in his rout,
Armid ful wele, with hertis ftern and ftout ".
The figure of Emetrius king of India, who comes to the
aid of Arcite, is not inferior in the fame ftyle, with a mix-
ture of grace.
" A bear's.
" As big as your arm.
P Greyhounds. A favourite fpecies of
dogs in the middle ages. In the antient
pipe-rolls, payments are frequently made in
greyhounds. Rot. Pip. an. 4. Reg. Johann.
[A. D. I Z03.] " Rog. Conftabul. CelWe de-
" bet D. Marcas, et X. paUVidos et X. laiffas
" Leporariorum pro habenda terra Vidonis
" de Lovcrell de quibus debet reddere per
" ann. C. ivi." Tenleajhes of greyhounds.
Rot. Pip. an. 9. Reg. Johann. [A.D. 1208.]
" SuTHANT. Johan. Teingre debet c. M.
" et X. leporarios magnos, pulcbros, et honos,
" de redemtione fua, &c." Rot Pip. an.
II. Reg. Johan. [A. D. 1210.] " Eve-
" RVEYcsiRE. Rog. de Mallvell redd.
" comp. de I. palefiido velociter currente,
" et II. Lai/us leporariorum pro habendis
" Uteris deprecatoriis ad MatiJdam de M."
I could give a thoufand other inftances of
the Jbrt.
t Muzzle.
' In Hay/es's Pastime of Pleasure,
[written temp. Hen. vii.] Fame is attended
with two greyhounds ; on whofe golden
collars Grace and Govemauiue, are in-
fcribed in diamond letters. See next note,
' Rings. The fattening of dogs collars.
They are often mentioned in the Inven-
tory of furniture, in the royal palaces of
Henry the eighth, above cited. MSS. Harl.
1419; In the Cajlle of Winafor. Article
Collars, f. 409. " Two greyhoundes
" collars of crimfun velvett and cloth -of
" gold, lacking torrettes." — " Two other
" collars with the kings armes, and at
" the cnde portcullis and rofe." — " Item,
" a collar embrawdered with pomegra-
" nates and rofes with turrets of lilver and
" gilt." — " A collar garnifhed with ftole-
" worke with one iliaJlop (helle of filver
" and gilte, with torrettes and pendauntes
" of fdver and guilte." — " A collar of
" white velvette, tmbrawdered with perles,
" the fwivels of filver."
' Filed. Highly polilhed.
" V. 2129.
With
3^4 THE HISTORY OF
With Arcite, in ftorys as men find.
The grete Emetrius, the king of Ind,
Upon a ftede bay, trappid in ftele,
Coverid with clothe of gold diaprid "wel.
Cam riding like the god of armis Mars :
His cote armure was of the clothes of Tars ",
Couchid with perles white and round and grete ^
His fadill was of brent ^ gold new ybete,
A mantlet upon his Ihulderes hanging,
Bretfull ^ of rubies redde as fire fparkling.
His crifpe here like ringes ^ was yronne,
And yt was yalowe, glittering as the fonne.
His nofe was high, his eyin bright citryn ",
Ruddy his lippes, his colour was fangyn.
And a fewe frekles in his face yfpreint \
Betwixt yalowe and fomedele blak ymeint ',
And as a lyon he his eyis keft '.
Of five and twenty yere his age I gheft.
His berde was well begonning for to fpring.
His throte was as a trompet thondiring.
Upon his hede he wered, of laurer grene
A garlond frefhe, and luftie for to fene.
Upon his honde he bore for his delite
An egle tame, as ony lilie white ^^
"" See this word explained above, p. 176.
" Not of Tarfus in Cilicia. It is rather
.^n abbreviation for Tartarin, orTaitarium.
See Chaucer's Flexure and Leafc, v. ziz.
On every trumpe hanging a brode bannere
Of fine Tarlarium full richely bete.
That it was a colUy fluff appears from
iience. " Et ad faciendum unum Jupoun
" de Tartaryn blu pouderat. cum gartcriis
" blu paratis cum boucles ct pendants de
-•' argentodcaurato." C'omp. J. Coke Pro-
viforis Magn. Garderob. temp. Edw. iii.
ut fupr. It often occurs in the wardrobe-
accounts for fumiihing tournaments. D.
Cange fays, that this was a fine cloth ma-
nufaftured in Tartary. Glofl'. Tartarium.
But Skinnrr in V. derives it from Torton.
in the Milanefe. He cites Stat. 4. Hen.
viii. c. vi.
> Burnt. Burnifhed.
^ Quite full.
' Rings.
'' Lemon -colour. Lat. Citrimis.
■^ Sprinkled.
'' " A mixture of black and yellow."
<= Call. Darted.
' See fupr. p. 166.
An
ENGLISH POETRY. 365
An hundrid lordis had he with them there.
All armid, faaf their heddis, in their gere ^
About this king ther ran on every part
Full many a tame lyon, and libart ''.
The banner of Mars difplayed by Thefeus, is fublimely
conceived.
The red ftatue of Mars, with fpere and targe.
So fhineth in his white banner large
That al the feldis glittrin up and down '.
This poem has many Ilrokes of pathetic defcription, of
which thefe fpecimens may be felefted.
Upon that other fide when Palamon
Wifl that his cofm Arcite was ygon,
Such forowe makith he, that the grete tour
Refoundid of his yelling and clamour :
The fetteris upon his Ihinnis grete
Werin of his bitter fait teris wete ".
Arcite is thus defcribed, after his return to Thebes, where
he defpairs of feeing Emilia again.
His flepe, his mete, his drink, is hym byreft ;
That lene he waxith, and drie as a flieft :
His eyin hollow, griflie to behold
His hew fallowe, and pale as afliin ' cold :
Solitary he was, evir alone,
And wayling all the night making his monc.
And if he herde fong or inflrument,
Than would he wepin, he might not be ftent".
So febyll were his fpirits and fo low,
And chaungid fo that no man might him know •.
e Armour. •" Libbard. v. 2157. ' v. 977. •= v. 1277. ' Afhes.
* Stayed. » V. 1363.
B b b Palamon
366 THE HISTORY OF
Palamon is thus introduced in the proceffion of his rival
Arcite's funeral.
Tho gan this wofull Theban Palamon
With flotery ° berde, and ruggy afhey heres,
In clothis blak bedropped all with teres.
And, paffyng ovir weping Emily,
Was rufullift of all the company ^
To which may be added the furprife of Palamon, con-
cealed in the foreft, at hearing the difguifed Arcite, whom he
fuppofes to be the fquire of Thefeus, difcover himfelf at
the mention of the name of Emilia.
Through his herte
He felt a cold fwerde fuddenly to glide :
For ire he quoke, no longer wold he bide.
And whan that he had heard Arcitis tale,
As he were wode, wyth face al dede and pale.
He flerte him up out of the bufliis thick. Sec. '
A defcription of the morning muft not be omitted ; whicii
vies, both in fentiment and expreflion, with the moft finiflied
modern poetical landfcape, and finely difplays our author's
talent at delineating the beauties of nature.
The mery lark, meflengere of the day,
Salewith ' in her fong the morowe gray;
And firic Phebus ryfith up fo bright,
That all the orient laugith at the fight ' :
And with his ftremis dryeth in the greves '
The filvir dropis hanging in the leves ".
e Squallid. = In the Greek, Blp^. iii. Sign.it. i e iiii.
P V. 2884. "O iv^avo,; i^©- yi>.«, &c. See Dantc,
1 V. 1576. Purgat. c. i.p. 234.
■ Saluicth. ' Groves. Bulhes. " 1493.
Nor
ENGLISH POETRY. 367
Nor muft the figure of the bloommg Emilia, the moft
beautiful object of this vernal pi6ture, pafs unnoticed.
Emilie, that fairir was to fcne
Than is the Hllie upon the ftalk grene ;
And frefhir than the May with flouris newe,
For with the rofy colour ftrofe hir hewe "".
In other parts of his works he has painted morning fcenes
con amove : and his imagination feems to have been peculiarly'
ftruck with the charms of a rural profpeft at fun-rifuig.
We are furprifed to find, in a poet of fuch antiquity,
numbers fo nervous and flov/ing : a circumftance which
greatly contributed to render Diyden's paraphrafe of this
poem the mofl animated and harmonious piece of verfifi-
cation in the Englifli language. I cannot leave the
Knight's Tale without remarking, that the inventor of
this poem, appears to have poflefi'ed confiderable talents for
the artificial conftru6tion of a ftory. It exhibits unexpected
and ftriking turns of fortune ; and abounds in thofe incidents
Vk'hich are calculated to ftrike the fancy by opening refources
to fublime defcription, or intereft the heart by pathetic fitua-
tions. On this account, even without confidering the poetical
and exterior ornaments of the piece, we are hardly difgufted
with the mixture of manners, the confufion of times, and
the like violations of propriety, which this poem, in common
with all others of its age, prefents in almoft every page.
The aftion is fuppofed to have happened foon after the
marriage of Thefeus with Hippolita, and the death of Creon
in the liege of Thebes : but we are foon tranfported into more
recent periods. Sunday, the celebration of matins, judicial
aftrology, heraldry, tilts and tournaments, knights of Eng-
land, and targets of Pruflia ^, occur in the city of Athens
under the reign of Thefeus.
■* V. 1037. Ch. Prol. V. 53. Where tournaments in
* The knights of the Teutonic order were Pruffia are mentioned. Arcite quotes a fable
fettled in Pruffia, before J300. See alfo from .^fop, v. 11 79.
Bbb2. SECT.
368 THE HISTORY OF
SECT. XIII.
Chaucer's Romaunt of the rose is tranflated
from a French poem entitled, Le Roman de la Rose.
It was begun by William of Lorris, a ftudent in jurifpru-
dence, who died about the year 1260''. Being left unfinilhed,
it was completed by John of Meun, a native of a little
tov/n of that name, fituated on the river Loire near Orleans,
who feems to have flouriflied about the year 13 10 ^ This
poem is efteemed by the French the moft valuable piece of
their old poetry. It is far beyond the rude efforts of alt
their preceding romancers : and they have nothing equal to
it before the reign of Francis the firft, who died in the year
1547, But there is a confiderable difference in the merit
of the two authors. William of Lorris, who wrote not one
quarter of the poem, is remarkable for his elegance and
luxuriance of defcription, and is a beautiful painter of
allegorical perfonages. John of Meun is a writer of ano-
ther cafl. He pofleffes but little of his predccefTor's inven-
tive and poetical vein ; and in that refpe6l was not properly
qualified to finifh a poem begun by William of Lorris. But
he has ffrong fatire, and great livelinefs '. He was one of
the wits of the court of Charles le Bel.
The difficulties and dangers of a lover, in purfning and
obtaining the objeft of his defires, arc the literal argument
of this poem. This defign is couched under the allegory of
" FaucKtt, p. Tt)3. "^ The poem confifls of 22734 verfcs.
'' Id. ibid. p. 200. He alfo tranflated William ofLonis's part ends with v. 4149.
JJocthius De Coa/olatiouc, and Abelarii's viz.
Letters, and wrote Jn/ivers of the Sybilli, " A peu que jc ne m'cn derefpoir."
*c.
a Rofe,
ENGLISH POETRY.
369
a Rofe, which our lover after frequent obftacles gathers in a
delicious garden. He traverfes vaft ditches, fcales lofty walls,
and forces the gates of adamantine and almoft impregnable
caftles. Thefe enchanted fortreiles are all inhabited by vari-
ous divinities ; fome of which affiflr, and fome oppofe, the
lover's progrefs \
Chaucer has luckily tranflated all that was written by
William of Lorris " : he gives only part of the continuation of
John of Meun '. How far he has improved on the French
^ In the preface of the edition printed in
the year 1538, all diis allegory is turned to
religion. The Rofe is proved to be a ftate
of grace, or divine wifdoin, or eternal
beatitude, or the Holy Virgin to which
heretics cannot gain accefs. It is the white
Rofe of Jericho, i^hiaji planiatio Rofa: in
"Jericho, Sec. &c. The chemifts, in the
mean time, made it a fearch for the Philo-
fopher's Stone : and other profeflions, with
laboured commentaries, explained it into
their own rcfpcdive fciences.
'■ See Occleve's Later of Cupide, writ-
ten 1402. Urry's Chaucer, p. 536. V. 283.
Who cal's John of Moon the author of the
Romatint vf the Rofe.
' Chaucer's poem confifts of 7699 verfes :
and ends with this verl'e of the original,
viz. V. 13105.
" Vous aurez abfolution."
But Chaucer has made feveral oniiflions in
John of Meun's part, before he comes to
this period. He has tranflated all William
of Lorris's part, as I have obferved ; and
his tranflation of that part ends with v.
4432. viz.
" Than fliuldin I fallin in wanhope."
Ch.aucer's cotemporaries called his Ro-
viant of the R-fr, a tranflation. Lydgate
fays that Chau:cr
Notably did his bufinefl"e
By grete avyfe his wittes to difpofe.
To iraiijtate (he KouAKi of the Rose.
Prol. Boch. ft. vi. It is manifeft that
Chaucer took no pains to difguife his
tranflation. He literally follows the French,
in laying, that a river was " lefls than
" Saine." i. e. the Seine at Paris, v. 1 18.
" No wight in all Paris." v. 7157. A
grove has more birds " than ben in all the
" relmc of Fraiincc, v. 495. He calls a
pine, " A tree in France men call a pine."
V. 1457. He fays of rofes, " fo faire
" werin nevir in ^c;r." v. 1674. "That
for Paris ne for Pavie." v. 1654. He
has fometimes reference to French ideas,
or words, not in the original. As " Men
" clepin hem Sereins in France." v. 684.
" F'rom Jerufalem to Burgoine." v. 554.
" Grein de Paris." v. 1369. Where Skin-
ner iays, Parij is contracted for ParadiJ'e.
In mentioning minftrells and jnglers, he
fays, that fome of them " Songin fonges
" of Loraine." V. 776. He adds.
For in Loraine there notis be
Full fwetir than in this centre.
There is not a fyllable of thefe fongs, and
fingers, of Loraine, in the French. By
the way, I fufpeiSt that Chaucer tr.anfiated
this poem while he was at Paris. There
are alfo many allufions to Engliih affairs,
which I fufpefted to be Chaucer's ; but
they, are all in the French original. Such
as, " Hornpipis of Cornevaile." v. 4250.'
Thefe are called in the original, " Chale-
" meaux de Cornouaille." v. 3991. A"
knight is introduced, allied to king " Ar-
" thour of Bretaigne." V. 1:99. Who is
called, " Bon roy Artus de Bretaigne."
Orig. V. 1 1 87. Sir Ga-.vin, and Sir Kay,
two of .Arthur's knights, are characlerifed,
V. 2206. feq. See Orig. V. 2124. Where
the word Kenlx is corrupt for Ivtie. But
there is one paflage, in which he mentions a
Bacbeiere as fair as " The Lordis fonne of
'< VVindifore."
37°
THE HISTORY OF
original, the reader fliall judge. I will exhibit paffages
fele6led from both poems ; refpeftively placing the French
imder the Englifli, for the convenience of comparifon. The
renovation of nature in the month of May is thus defcribed^
That it was May, thus dremed me /
In time of love and jollite.
That all thing ginnith waxin gay.
For ther is neither bulhe nor hay *
In May that it n'ill fliroudid bene,
And it witli newe levis wrene ' :
Thefe wooddis eke recoverin grene,
That drie in winter ben to fene ;
And the erth waxith proude withall
For fote dewis that on it fall.
And the povir eftate forgette
In whiche that winter had it fette :
And than becometh the grounde fo proude,
That it will have a newe fhroud ;
And make fo quaynt his robe and fayre,
That it had hewes an hundred payre,
*' Windifore." v. 1250. This is added by Lors devient la terre fi gobe,
Chaucer, and intended as a compliment to Qu'elle veult avoir neufve robe ;
feme of his patrons. In the Legende of Si f^et fi cointc robe fairc,
good Women, Cupid fays to Chaucer, v. 329. Que de couleurs y a cent paire,
^ . , . -.u .• J r 1 r D'herbes, de fleures Indes and Perfet ;
For m plain text, withoutm nede ot elofe, c. j • . 1 a- c
^, 1/1 n ■ , -L n ,• I t-t de maintes couleurs diverles
Thou haft tranjlatid the Komawu cf the rtn. \ 1 • j -r
p /• Eft la robe que je devife
''■'^' Parquoy la terre mieulx fe prife.
8 Qu'on joli moys de May fongeoye, Les oifeaulx qui tant fe font teuz
Ou temps amoreux plein dejoye. Pour I'hiver qu'ils ont tous fentuz.
Que toute chofe fi s'efgaye, Et pour le froit et divers temps,
8i qu'il n'y a buiflbns ne haye Sont en May, et par la printemps.
Qui en May parer ne fe vueille. Si licz, &c. v. 51.
Et couvrir de nouvelle fueille :
Les boys recouvrent leur verdure, '' Bu(h, or hedge-row. Sometimes
jQui font fees tant qui I'hiver dure ^ Wood. Rot. Pip. an 17. Henr. iii. " Et
La terre mefmcs sVn orgouille " Hcrcmit.-v fanfti Edwardi in haga de
Pour la rougee qui ta mouille, " Birchenwude, xl. fol."
En oublian la povrLte * Hide, from 'wrie, or au-fv, to ccjer.
Ou cllc a tout I'hivcr cfte ;
Of
ENGLISH POETRY. 371
Of grafle and flowris Inde and Pers :
And many hewis ful divers
That is the robe I mene iwis.
Through which the ground to praifui is.
The birdis, that han lefte thir fonge
While they han fufFrid cold ful ftronge,
In wethers grille '' and darke to fight,
Ben in May, for the funne bright
So glad, &c '.
In the defcription of a grove, within the garden of Mirth,
are many natural and piflurefque circumftances, which are
not yet got into the ftorehoufe of modern poetry.
Thefe trees were fett as I devife "",
One from another in a toife.
Five fadom or fixe, I trowe fo.
But they were hie and gret alfo ;
And for to kepe out wel the funne.
The croppis were fo thik yrunne ",
And everie branch in othir knitte
And ful of grene levis fitte ",
That funne might ther none difcende
Left the tendir graflis ihende ''.
Ther might men does and roes ife %
And of fquirels ful grete plente,
k Cold. ^ ' V. 51.
"" Mais fachies que les arbres furent
Si loing a loing comme ellre durent
L'ung fut de I'autre loing affis
De cinque toifes voyre de fix,
Mais moult furent fueilluz et haulx
Pour gardir de I'efte le chaulx
Et fi efpis par deffus furent
Que chaleurs percer ne lis peuvent
Ne ne povoient bas defcendre
Ne faire mal a I'erbe tendre.
An vergier eut dains & chevreleux,
Et aufii beaucoup d'efcureux.
Qui par de/Tus arbres failloyent;
Conuins y avoit qui yfToient
Bien fouvent hors de leurs tanieres.
En moulc de diverfes manieres. v. 1368.
" " The tops, or boughs, were fo thick-
" ly twilled together."
" Set.
P Be hurt.
1 See.
From
372 THE HISTORY OF
From bow to bow alwaie lepinge^
Connis ' ther were alfo playing \
That comin out of ther clapers ',
Of fondrie colors and maners ;
And madin many a turneying
Upon the freflie grafle fpringing ".
Near this grove were fliaded fountains without frogs, run-
ning into murmuring rivulets, bordered with the foftefl
grafs enamelled with various flowers.
In placis fawe I wellis there "
In whiche ther no froggis were,
And faire in fliadow was eche wel j
But I ne can the nombre tel
Of ftremis fmale, that by devife
Mirth had don com thorough condife".
Of which the watir in renning,
Gan makin a noife ful liking.
About the brinkis of thefe wellis,
And by the flremes ovir at ellis
Sprange up the grafle as thick ifett
And foft eke as any velvett.
' Conies.
» Chaucer imitates this paflage in the
Jlffemble of Foules. v. 190. feq. Other paf-
fages of that poem are imitated from Raman
de let Ro/e.
' Buiroughs.
" V. 1391.
" Par liciix y eut cleres Fontaines,
Sans barbelotes " and fans raines,
Qui dcs arbres eftoient umbrez,
Par jnoy nc vous fcront nombrez,
Et petit ruifTcaulx, que Deduit
Avoit la trouves par conduit ;
L'eaue alloit aval faifant
Son melodicux et plaifant.
Aux bortz dcs ruiflcaulx et des rives
Dcs fontalnes clcrcs et vives
Poignoit I'crbc dru ct plaifant
Grant foulns et plaifir faifant.
Amy povoit avec fa mye
Soy deporter nc'r doubtez mye.—
Violette y fut moult belle
Et aufli parvenclie nouvelle ;
Fleurs y eut blanches ct vermeilles,
Ou ne pourroit trouver parcilles,
De routes divcrfes couleurs,
De haulx pris et de grans valeurs.
Si eftoit focf fiair.ans
Et reflagrans et odomns. v. 1348.
> A fpscies of iiifcd often found in ftagnu^t
water.
" Conduits.
On
ENGLISH POETRY. 373
On which man might his leman ley
As fofte as fetherbed to pley. —
There fprange the violet all newe.
And frelh perwinke '' riche of hewe i
And flouris yalowe white and rede.
Such plenti grew ther ner in mede :
Full gaie was al the grounde and queint
And poudrid, as men had it peint,
With many a frefh and fondry flourc
That caftin up ful gode favoiare ^.
But I haften to difplay the peculiar powers of William de
Lorris in delineating allegorical perfonages ; none of which
have fuffered in Chaucer's tranflation. The poet fuppofes,
that the garden of Mirth, or rather Love, in which grew the
Rofe, the object of the lover's wiihes and labours, was en-
clofed with embatlled walls, richly painted with various
figures, fuch as Hatred, Avarice, Envy, Sorrow, Old Age,
and Hypocrify. Sorrow is thus reprefented.
SoRRowE was paintid next Envie *
Upon that wal of mafonrie.
But wel was leen in her colour,.
That file had livid in languourj
Her fcemid to have the jaundice,
Not half fo pale was Avarice,
y Periwinkle. Moult fembloit bien que fuft doknte j
^ V. 1411. Car el n'avoit pas efte Icnte
* Deles ErrviE etoit Tristesse D'efgratignier toute fachiere;
Painte auffi et garn/e d'angoiffi;. Sa robe ne luy elloit chiere
Et bien paroit a fa couleur En mains lieux Tavoit de/Tiree,
Qu'elle avoit a cucur grant douleur : Comme culle qui fut yree.
Et ll'.nbloit avoir la jaunice, Ses cheveulx derompus eftoient,
La n'y faifoit riens Avarice, Qu'autour de fon col pendoient,
Le palifTeur ne de maia; efl'e Prefque les a\ oit tous defroux
Car le travaile et la (fcllreffe, &c. De maltalent et de corroux. v. 300.
C c c ,v Ne
374 .THE HISTORY OF
Ne nothing alike of lenenefle
For forowe, lliought, and grete diftrefle.
A f 'rowful thing wel femid fhe j
Nor fhe had nothing flow ybe
For to befcrachin of hir face.
And for to rent in many place
Hir clothes, and for to tere her fwire".
As flie that was fulfilled of ire :
And al to torn lay eke hir here
About hir flioulders, here and there ;
As fhe that had it all to rent
iFor angre and for male talent '.
Nor are the images of Hatred and Avarice inferior.
Amiddis fawe I Hate yftonde \ —
And fke was nothing wel araide
But like a wode woman afraide :
Yfrowncixi foule was hir vifage,
And grinning for difpiteous rage.
Her nofe yfnortid up for tene '
Full hideous was flie forti {ene.
Full foul and ruftey was flie this,
Her hed iwrithin was iwis.
Full grimly with a grete towaile, 6cc ^
The defign of this work will not permit me to give the
portrait of Idlenefs, the portrefs of the garden of Mirth,
and of others, which form the groupe of dancers in the
garden : but I cannot refill the pleafure of tranfcribing thofe
' Neck. « V. 3C0. Moult hydeufe eftoit et fouillec
_ ■" Au milieu de miir jc vy HArKS. F.t fut fa telle entortillcc
Si n'eftoit pas bicn atournee, Trcs oidcment d'un touaille,
Ains fcmbloit ellre forcence Qui moult clloit d'honible taillc. 143.
Kechignee cftoit et fronce " An^er.
Avoit le nez ct rcbojrfc, ' v. 147.
of
E M (5 Li S H P O E T R Y.
375
of Beauty, FranchHe, and RichefTe, three capital figures in
this genial aflembly.
The God of love, jolife and light %
Laddc on his honde a ladie bright,
Of high prife, and of gret degre,
Thi ladie called was Beautie.
And an arowe, of which I told,
Full well ythewid '' was fhe holde :
Ne was flie darke ne browne, but bright,
And clere as is the mone light. —
Her fleflie was tendre as dewe of floure.
Her chere was fimple as birde in boure :
As white as lilie, or rofe in rife ',
Her face was gentil and tretife " ;
Fetis ' fhe was, and fmal to fe.
No wintrid "" browis hedde fhe ;
No popped " here, for't neded nought
To windir " her or to peint ought.
Her trefies yalowe and long ftraughten '"
Unto her helis down the "^ raughten '.
Nothing can be more fumptuous and fuperb than the robe,
and other ornaments, of Richesse, or Wealth. They are
s Le Dieu d'amours fi s'olloit pris
A une dame dc hault pris,
Pres fe tenoit de ion cofte
Celle dame eut nom Beaulte.
Ainfi comma une des cinque flefches
En ille aut tomes bonnes taiches :
Point ne fut oblcur, ne brun,
Mais fut clere comme la luue. —
Tendre eut la chair comme roufee.
Simple fut comme une efpoufee.
Et blanch comme fleur de lis,
Vifage eut bel doulx et alis,
Elle eftoit grefle et alignee
N'eftoit fardie ne pignee.
Car elle n'avoit pas mellier
De foy farder et aiFiiiitier.
Les cheveulx ent Wons et fi longs
Qu' ils batoient aux talons, v. 1004,
" Having good qualities. See fupr. v.
939. feq. _
' On the bufli. Or, In perfeftion. Or,
A budding rofe.
'' Well proportioned.
' Fetious. Handfome.
"> Contrafted.
" AfFeftedly drefled. Properly, drefled
up like a puppet.
" To tiim. To adorn.
P Streichet^. Spread abroad.
« Reached.
' V. 1003.
C C C 2
imagined
376
THE HISTORY OF
imagined with great ftrength of fancy. But it fliould be
remembered, that this was the age of magnificence and
fhew J when a profufion of the moll fplendid and coftly ma-
terials were lavifhed on drefs, generally with little tafte and
propriety, but often with much art and invention.
RiCHESSE a robe of purpre on had ',
Ne trow not that I lie or mad ',
For in this world is none it liche %
Ne by a thoufand dele " fo riche,
Ne none fo faire : For it full wele
With orfraies " laid was everie dele,
And purtraied in the ribaninges '^
Of dukis ftories and of kinges ;
And with a bend ^ of gold taffiled,
And knoppis ' fine of gold amiled ^
' De pourpre fut le vcftement
A RiCHESSE, fi noblement,
■Qu'en tout le monde n'euft plus bel,
Mieulx fait, ne aufli plus nouvel :
Pourtraiiles y furent d'orfroys
Hyfloryes d'empereurs et roys.
Et encores y avolt-il
Un ouvrage noble et fobtil ;
A noyaulx d'or au col fermoit,
Et a bcndes d'azur tenoit :
Noblement eut le chief pare
De riches pierres decore
Qui gettoient moult grant clarte,
Tout y efloit bien afi'orte.
Puis eut une riche fainture
Sainte par dellus fa vefture :
Le boucle d'unc pierre fu,
Grofle et de moult grant vcrtu
Crlluy qui fur foy le protoit
De tous venins garde eftoit. —
D'autre pierre fut le mordans
Qui guerilFoit du mal des dens.
Ceft pierre portoit bon cur.
Qui r^ivoit pouvoit eftrc afllur
Dc fa fante et de fa vei,
Q^iant a jeun il I'avoit vei :
Lcs cloux furcpt dor cpure.
Par dcfius le till'u dorc,
<^i eftoicnt grans it pefjms,
En chafcun atoit deux befaiM.
Si eut avecques a Richefle
Uns cadre d'or mis fur la trefle,
Si riche, fi plaifant, et fi bel,
Qu'onques ou ne vcit le pareil :
De pierres eftoit fort garny,
Precicufes et aplany.
Qui bien en vouldroit devifer.
On ne les pouvroit pas prifcr
Rubis, y eut faphirs, jagonces,
Efmerandes plus de cent onces :
Mais devant eut pir grant maillrife,
Un efcarboucle bien affife
Et le pierre fi cl"re eftoit
Que cil qui devant la mcttoit
Si en povoit veoir au befoing
A foy conduire une lieue loing.
Telle clarte fi en yftbit
Que Riihtffe en refplandifibit
Par tout le corps et par fa face
Auffi d'autour d'elle la place, v. 1066.
' " That I lie, or am mad."
" Like.
* Parts.
* Embroidery in gold.
>' Laces laid on robes. Embroideriet.
^ Banii. Knott.
* Knol'bt. Buttons.
' Enameled. F.nnmeling, and perhaps
piftures in enamel, were common in the
middle
ENGLISH POETRY.
377
About her neck, of gentle' entaile %
Was fet the riche chevefaile " ;
In which ther was ful grete plente
Of ftonis clere and faire to fe.
RiCHESE a girdle had upon
The bokill ' of it was of fton
Of vertu grete and mokill' might.
For who fo bare the fton fo bright
Of venim durft him nothing doubt
While he the fton had him about. —
The mordaunt ^ wrought in noble guifc
Was of a fton ful precious,
That was fo fin and vertuous
That whole a man it c^uth ymake
Of palfie, and of the tothe ake :
And yet the fton had foche a grace
That he was fikre ^ in evvrie place
All thilke daie not blinde to bene
That fafting might that fton fene.
The barris ' were of gold full fine
Upon a tifTue of fattin,
Full hevie, grete, and nothing light,
In everiche was a befaunt wight ".
middle ages. From the Teftament of Joh.
de Foxle, knight, Dat. apud Bramihill Co.
Southampt. Nov. 5. 1378. " Item lego
" domino abbati de Waliham unum annu-
" lum auri grotri, cum una faphiro infixa,
" et nominibus trium regum [of Cologne]
" fculptis in eodem annulo. Item lego
" Margarite forori mee unam tabulam ar-
" genti deaurati et aiiuliiam, minorem de
" duabus quas habeo, cum diverfis ymagi-
" nibus fculptis in eadem. — Item lego Mar-
" gerie uxori Johannis de Wilton unum
" nionile auri, cum S. litera fculpta et
" amelita in eodem." Regiilr. Wykeham,
Epifc. Winton. P. ii. fol. 24. See alfo
Dugd. Bar. i. 234. a.
^ Of good workmandiip, or carving.
From Intagliare. Ital.
■• Necklace. = Buckle.
' Mnckel. Great.
5 Tongue of a buckle. Mordeo. Lat.
'' Certain.
' I cannot give the precife meaning of
Harris, nor of Cloux in the French. It
feems to be part of a buckle. In the ward-
robe-roll, quoted above, are mentioned,
" One hundred garters cu>k bcucles, barris,
" et pendent I bus tie argent 0. "V ov \v\iii:\\ were
delivered, " ccc barrs argenti." An. 21.
Edw. iii.
^ " The weight of a bcfant." A by-
zant was a fpecies of gold-coin, (lamped at
BjzaKiiiim. A wedge of gold.
Upon
378
THE HISTORY OF
Upon the treffis of Richesse
Was fett a circle of noblefie,
Of brende ' gold, that full light yflione.
So faire, trowe I, Was nevir none.
But he were konning for the nones "
That could devifin ail the ftones.
That in the circle fliewin clere.
It is a wonder thing to here :
For no man could or praife °, or gefle,
Of'hem the value or richeffe :
Rubies ther were, faphirs, ragounces",
And emeraudes more than two ounces :
' Burnifhed.
■" " Well-ikilled in thefe things."
" Apfraife. A^alue.
" The gem called a 'Jacinth. We Ihould
read, in Chaucer's text, Jagonces inftcad
of Ragounces, a word which never exilled ;
and which Speght, who never confulted the
French /■; oman Je la Ro/e, interprets mere-
ly from the fenfe of the context, to be "A
" kind of precious ftone." GlolT. Ch. in
V. The knowledge of precious ftones was
a grand article in the natural philofophy of
this .age : and the medical virtue of gems,
alluded to above, was a doftrine much in-
culcated by the Arabian natur.alifts. Chau-
cer refers to a trcalife on genis, called the
Lapidary, famous in that time. Houj'e
tf Fame, L. ii. v. 260.
And thei were fett as thicke of oucliis
•Fine, of the finill Ilonis faire
That men redin in the Lapid aire.
Montfaucon, in the royal library at Paris,
recites, " Le Lapidaire, de la vcrtu dcs
" picrres." Catal. IVLSS. p. 794. This I
take to be the book here referred to by
Chaucer. Henr)' of HuntingJon wrote a
book De Cemmit. He flourillicd about
1 145. Tann. Bibl. p. 395. See a Greek
Trcatife, Du Cange, Glofl". Gr. Barb. ii.
Ind. .A,uftor, p. 37. col. i. In the Cot-
ton library is a Saxon Treatife on precious
ftones. 'J'iBER. A. 3.1iii.fol. 98. The
writing is more antient th.in the conqueft.
See fupr. p. 10. Sect, i, Pelloutier men-
tions a Latin poem of the eleventh century
on Precious Stones, written by Marbode
bifhop of Rennes, and foon afterwards
tranflated into French verfc. Mem. Lang.
Celt. part. i. vol. i. ch. xiii. p. 26. The
ti'anflation begins,
Evax fut un mult riche reis
Lu reigne tint d' Arabeis.
It was printed in Oeuvres de Hildebert
Eveque du Mons, edit. Ant. Beaugendre,
col. 1638. This may be reckoned one of
the oldeft pieces of French verfification.
A manufcript De Sl^ccUbus LnpiJurn, occurs
twice in the Bodlfian library, falfely attri-
buted to one Adam Nidzarde, Cod. Digb.
28. f. 169. — Cod. Laud. C. 3. Pnnc.
" Evax rex Ar.abum legitur fcripfifle."
But it is, I think, M.irbode's book above-
mentioned. Evax is a fabulous .Arabian
king, faid to have written on this fubjefl.
Of thi": Marbode, or Marboda-us, fee Ol.
Borrich. Difl". Acad, de Poet. pag. 87. §.
78. edit. Francof. 1683. 4"^. His poem
was publilhed, with notes, by Lampridius
Alardus. The eallern writers pretend, th.at
king Solomon, among a variety of phyfio-
logical pieces, wrote a boolt on Gems:
one cHhpter of which treated of thofe pre-
cious ftones, which refift orrepc! evil Genii.
They fuppofc that Ariftotle ftole all his
philofophy from Solomon's books. See
Fabric. Bibl. Gr. xiii. 387. feq. And i.
p. 71. Compare Hcrbelot, Bibl. Oriental,
p. 962. b. Artie. Ketab alahgiar. feq.
But
ENGLISH POETRY.
379
But all before full fubtilly
A fine carboncle fet fawe I :
The ftone fo clerc was and fo bright,
That al fo fone as it was night,
Men mightin fe to go for necle,
A mile or two, in length or brede j
Soche light yfprang out of the ftone.
That RicHEssE wondir bright yfhonc
Both on her hedde and all hir face
And eke about her all the place ^
The attributes of the portrait of Mirth are very exprefllve.
Of berde unnethe had he nothing '',
For it was in the firfte fpring :
Ful young he was and merie' of thought,
And in famette ' with birdis wrought.
And with golde bete ful fetoufly,
His bodie was clad full richely j
Wrought was his robe in ftraunge gife,
And all to flittered ' for queintife.
In many a place lowe and hie,
And fhod he was, with grete maiftrie.
With fhone decopid ' and with lace,
By drurie " and eke by folace;
p V. 1071.
1 Et fi n'avoit barbe a menton
Si non petit poil follaton ;
II etoit jeune damoyfaulx ;
Son bauldrier fut portrait d'oifeaulx
Qui tout etoit e or batu,
Tres richement eftoit veftu
D'un" robe moult defgyfee.
Qui fut en maint lieu incifee,
Et decouppce par quointife,
Et fut chau/Te par mignotife
Cun fouliers decouppes a las
Par joyeufete et foulas,
Et fa neye luy fill chapeau
De rofes gracieux et beau. v. 832.
' Samitf. Sattin. Explained above.
= Cut and flafhed.
' Cut or marked with figures. From
Decouper, Fr. To cut. Thus the parifli
clerk Abfolon, in the Miller's Tale, v. 210.
p. 26. Urr.
With Poulis windowes carven on his Ihofe,
I fuppofe Pculis ■witidcivs was a cant phrafc
for a fine device or ornament,
" Modefty. •
His
380 THE HIST O R Y O F
His lefe " a rofm chapelet
Had made and on his hedde it fet *.
Franchise is a no lefs attractive portrait, and fketched
with equal grace and delicacy.
And next him daunfid dame Franchise ''>
Arayid in ful noble guife.
She n'as not broune ne dunne of hewe,
But white as fnowe ifallin newe.
Her nofe was wrought at point devife ',
For it was gentill and tretife ;
With eyin glad and browis bent.
Her hare down to her helis went * :
Simple flie was as dove on tre,
Ful debonaire of hart was Ihe ".
The perfonage of Danger is of a bolder caft, and may
ferve as a contralt to fome of the preceding. He is fuppofed
fuddenly to ftart from an ambufcade ; and to prevent Bial-
coil, or KJ72d Reception, from permitting the lover to gather
the rofe of beauty.
With that anon out ftart Dangere %
Out of the place where he was hidde j
His malice in his chere was kidde ^ ;
* Miftrefs. " V. 833.
y Apres tous ceulx eftoit Franchise,
Qui ne fut ne brune ne bife ;
Ains fut comme la neige blanche
Courtoife eltoit, joyeule et Tranche,
Le nez avoit long et tretis
Yculx vers rins, foureilb faitis,
Lcs cheveulx eut tres-blons et longs.
Simple feut comme les coulons.
Le cueur eut doulx et debonnaire. v. 1 190.
■' V. iih the utmoft exaftncfs.
' All the females of this poem have grey
eyes and yellow hair. One of them is faiJ
to have " Her eycn graie as is a faucon."
V. 546. Where the original word, tranflated
praie, is "vers. v. 546. We have this co-
lour again, Orig. v. 822. " Les yculx eut
" vers." This too Chaucer tr.inflates,
" Her eyin graie." 862. The fame word
occurs in the French text before us, v. 1195.
This comparifon was natural and beautiful,
as drawn from a very familiar and favourite
objeft in the age of the poet. Perhaps
Chaucer means " grey as a falcon's (yes."
^ V. 12 II.
' A tant faillit villain Dancere,
De la on il eftoit muee ;
Grant fut, noir et tout herice
S'ot, lcs yeulx rouges comme feux,
Lc vis fronce, le nez hydeux
Et fcerie tout forccnez. v. 2959.
'' " Was difcovercd by his behaviour, or
" countenance." Perhaps we ftiould read
chcke, for chert.
His
ENGLISH POETRY. 381
Full grete he was, and blacke of hewe,
Sturdie and hideous whofo him knewe •,
Like fliaipe urchons ' his heere was grow.
His eyes red fparcUng as fire glow,
His nofe frouncid ' full kirkid ^ ftoode,
He come criande "^ as he were woode '.
Chaucer has enriched' this figure. The circumftance of
Danger's hair flanding eredl like the prickles on the urchin
or hedge-hog, is his own, and finely imagined.
Hitherto Ipecimens have been given from that part of this
poem which was written by William de Lorris, its firfl in-
ventor. Here Chaucer was in his own walk. One of the
moft ftriking pi6tures in the flyle of allegorical perfonifica-
tion, which occurs in Chaucer's tranflation of the additional
part, is much heightened by Chaucer, and indeed owes all
its merit to the tranflator ; whofe genius was much better
adapted to this fpecies of painting than that of John of
Meun, the continuator of the poem.
With her, Labour and eke Travailed
Lodgid bene, with Ibrowe and wo,
That nevir out of her court go.
Pain and DiflrelTe, Sickneife and Ire,
And Melanc'ly that angry fire,
Ben of her palais ' fenators ;
Groning and Grutching her herbegeors " j
The day and night her to tourment,
With crviill deth thei her prefent,
' Urchins. Hedge-hogs. "Que mort prochaine luy prefen.ten^>
f Contrafted. Et talent dc feq rcpentir ;
5 CrookiJ. Turned upwards. T.int luy font Je Hc-aiix fentir ;
'^ " Crying as if he was mad." Adonc luy vient en remeir.braunce,
" ' V. 3 1 30. En cell: tardifve prcfence,
'' Travaile et douleur la hebergent, Quant et fe voit foible etchenue. v. 4753-.
Mais ill le lient et la chargent, ' Palace.
" Chamberlains.
D d d And
382 THE HISTORY OF
And tellin her erliche " and late,
That Deth ftondith armid at her gate. .
Then brmg they to remembraunce,
The foly dedes of hir enfance".
The fi(5lion that Sicknefs, Melancholy, and other beings
of the like fort, were counfcilors in the palace of Old Age,
and employed in telling her day and night, that " Death
" flood armed at her gate," was far beyond the fentimental
and fatirical vein of John of Meun, and is conceived with
great vigour of imagination.
Chaucer appears to have been early ftruck with this
French poem. In his Dreme, written long before he begun
this tranilation, he fuppofes, that the chamber in which he
flept was richly painted with the ftory of the Rom aunt ok
THE Rose ^ It is natural to imagine, that fuch a poem
muft have been a favorite with Chaucer. No poet, before
William of Lorris, either Italian or French, had delineated
allegorical perfonages in fo diftinft and enlarged a ftyle, and
with fuch a fuUnefs of charadleriftical attributes : nor had
defcriptive poetry felefted fuch a variety of circumftances,
and difclofed fuch an exuberance of embellifliment, in form-
ing agreeable reprefentations of nature. On this account^
we are furprifed that Boileau (hould mention Villon as the
firft poet of France who drew form and order from the
chaos of the old French romancers.
Villon f^eut le Premier, dans ces fiecles grofliers
Debroiiiller I'art confus de nos vieux romanciers ^
But the poetry of William of Lorris was not the poetry
of Boileau.
» Early. in The Marchaunt's Tale, v. 1548.
." V. 4994. p. 72. Urr.
" V. 322. Chaucer alludes to this poem 1 Art. Poet. ch. i. He died about the
year J456.
That
ENGLISH POETRY. 3S3
That this poem fliould not jxlcafe Boileau, I can
eafily conceive. It is more furprifuig that it ihoald have
been cenfured as a contemptible performance by Petrarch,
who Hved in the age of fancy. Petrarch being defired by
his friend Guy de Gonzague to fend him fome new piece,
fent the Roman de la Rose. With the poem, inftead of
an encomium, he returned a fevere criticifm ; in which he
treats it as a cold, inartificial, and extravagant compofition :
as a proof, how much l^ance, who valued this poem as
her chief work, was furpafled by Italy in eloquence and the
arts of writing '. In this opinion we muft attribute fome-
thing to jealoufy. But the truth is, Petrarch's genius was
too cultivated to relifli thefe wild excurfions of imagination :
his favorite claflics, whom he revived, and fludied with fo
much attention, ran in his head. Efpecially Ovid's Art of
Love, a poem of another fpecies, and evidently formed on
another plan ; but which Petrarch had been taught to vene-
rate, as the model and criterion of a didaftic poem on the
pallion of love reduced to a fyftem. We may add, that al-
though the poem before us was founded on the vifionary
do61rines and refinements concerning love invented by the
Provencial poets, and confequently lefs unlikely to be fa-
vourably received by Petrarch, yet his ideas on that delicate
fubjeft were much more Platonic and metaphyfical.
' See Petrarch. Carm. L. i. Ep. 30,
Ddd2 SECT.
384 THE HISTORY OP
SECT. XIV.
CHAUCER'S poem of Troilus and Cresseide is faid to
be formed on an old hiftory, written by Lolllus, a
native of Urbino in Italy \ Lydgate fays, that Chaucer, in
this poem,
made a tranflacion
Of a boke which called is Trophe
In Lumbarde tongue, &c. ".
It is certain that Chaucer, in this piece, frequently refers
to"MYNE auctorLollius'." But he hints, at the fame time,
that LoUius wrote in Latin ^ I have never feen this hiftory,
either in the Lombard or the Latin language. I have before
obferved, that it is mentioned in Boccacio's Decameron, and
that a tranflation of it, was made into Greek verfe by fome of
the Greek fugitives in the fourteenth century. Du Frefne, if
I miftake not, fomewhere mentions it in Italian. In the royal
library at Paris it occurs often as an antient French romance.
" Cod. 7546. Roman de Troilus." — " Cod. 7564. Roman de
" Troilus et de Brifeida ou Crifeida." — Again, as an original
" Petrus Lambeccius enumerates LolHus from fome Italian original is, that in a ma-
Urbicus among the Hijiorici Latint projani nufcript which I have fccn of this poem, I
of the third century. Prodrom. p. 246. find, Moiwfleo iox Mctiejies, Rapheoiox Ru-
Hamb. 1659. SeealfoVofl". Hiftoric. La- fhes, Phcbujeo for P'jcb..jh, lib. iv. 50..
rin. ii. 2. p. 163. edit. Ludg. Bat. But fcq. Where, by the way, Xantipjie, a Tro-
this could not be Chaucer's LoUius. Chau- jan chief, was perhaps corruptly written for'
cer places LoUius among the hillorians of Xantippo, i. e. Xuntippus. As Jodph.
Troy, in his Houfe of Fame, iii. 380. It Ifcan. iv. 10. In Lydgate's Troy, Zanti-
is extraordinary, that ])u Frefne, in the pbus, iii. 26. All corrupted from Antiphus,
Index Aui}oru!)i, ufed by him for his Latin Dift. Cret. p. 105. In the printed copies
gloflary, (hould mention this LoUius Ur- we have Jjcalapho for Afcalaphus. lib. v.
bicus of the third century. Tom. i. p. 141. 319.
edit.!. As I apprehend, none of his works " Prol. Boch. ft. iii.
remain. A proof that Chaucer tranflaled ' See lib. i. v. 395. ^ Lib. ii. v. 10.
work
ENGLISH POETRY. 385
work of Boccacio. " Cod. yj^j. Philoftrato dell' amorofe
" fatiche de Troilo per Giovanni Boccacio." " Les fuivans
" (adds Montfaucon ') contiennent les autres cewures de Boc-
" cace." Much fabulous Ijiftory concerning Troilus, is re-
lated in Guido de Columna's Deftru6lion of Troy. Whatever
were Chaucer's materials, he has on this fubjecl conftructcd a
poem of confiderable merit, in which the vicilFitudcs of love
are depifted in a flrain of true poetry, with much pathos and
fimplkity of fentiment\ He calls it, " a litill tragedie ' ."
Troilus is fuppofed to have feen Creffide in a temple ; and re-
tiring to his chamber, is thus naturally defcribcd, in the
critical fituation of a lover examining his own mind after
the firft imprelTion of love.
And whan that he in chambre was alone.
He dovv'n upon his beddis fete him fette.
And firft he gan to fihe ^ and then to grone,.
And thought aie on her fo withoutin lette :
That as he fatte and woke, his fpirit mette ''
That he her faugh, and temple, and all the wife '
Right of her loke, and gan it newe avife '.
There is not fo much nature in the fonnet to Love, which
follows. It is tranflated from Petrarch ; and had Chaucer
followed his own genius, h.e would not have difgufted as
^ Bibl. p. 79 j- col". 2. Compare Lengl. ferences, feems to have been ftaJious of
Bibl. Rom. ii. p. 253. fcldom departing frtm Lollius. In one
" Chaucer however claims no merit of place, he pays him a compliment, as an.
invention in this poem. He invokes Clio author whofe excellencies he could not
to favour him with rhymes only ; and adds, reach. L. iii. v. 1330.
To everie lover I me' excufe Bot fothe is, though I can not tellen all.
That of no fintiment I this endite As can mine author of his exallenci.
But out of latin in my tonge it -xurile. gee alfo L, iii. 576 1823.
L. ii. V. 10. feq. But Sir Francis Kinafton f L. ult. v. 1785.
who tranflated Troilus and Cres- s Sigh.
sEiDE [1635.] ^"'° Latin rhymes, fays, '' Thought. Imagined.
that Chaucer in this poem " has taken ' Manner.
" the liberty of his own inventions." In '' L. i. v. 359.
the mean time, Chaucer, by hi:i own re-
with
386 THE HISTORY OF
with the affected gallantry and exaggerated compliments
which it extends through five tedious ftanzas. The doubts and
delicacies of a young girl difclofing her heart to her lover^
are exquifitely touched in this comparifon.
And as the ncwe abafliid nightingale
That ftintith "" firft, when ihe beginith fmg,
When that flie herith any herdis " tale,
Or in the hedgis anie wight ftirring,
And after fikir " doth her voice outring ;
Right fo Crefleide when that her drede ilent ■•
Opened her herte and told him her intent \
The following pathetic fcene may be felefted from many
others. Troilus feeing Crefllde in a fwoon, imagines her
to be dead. He unlheaths his fword with an intent to kill
himfelf, and utters thefe exclamations.
And thou, cite, in which I live in wo.
And thou Priam, and brethren al ifere ',
And thou, my mother, farwel, for I go :
And, Atropos, make ready thou my here :
And thou Crefeide, O fweet herte dcre.
Receive thou now my fpirit, would he fay,
With fwerd at hert all redy for to dey.
But as god would, of fwough ' llie tho abraide ',
And gan to fighe, and Troilus flie cride :
And he anfwerid. Lady mine Crefeide,
Livin ye yet ? And let his fword doune glide,
Yes, herte mine, that thankid be Cupide,
" Stops. I L. iii. V. 1239.
'■' Hriij/man. A Shepherd. ' Together.
' With confidence. » Swoon.
P llcr feurs ccafcd. ' Then awaked.
Quoth
ENGLISH POETRY. 387
Quoth flie : and therwithall fhe fore fight "
And he began to glad her as he might.
Toke her in armis two, and kifl her oft,
And her to glad he did all his entent :
For which her ghoft, that flickered aie alo
Into her woefull breaft aien it went :
But at the laft, as that her eyin glent "
Afide, anon ftie gan his fwerde afpie,
As it lay here, and gan for fere to crie :
And afkid him why he had it outdrawe ?
And Troilus anon the caufe hir tolde,
And how therwith himfelf he would have flawe :
For which Crefeide upon him gan behold,
And gan him in her armis faft to fold ;
And laid, O mercy, God, to whiche a dede
Alas ! how nere we werin bothe dede " !
Pathetic defcription is one of Chaucer's peculiar
excellencies.
In this poem are various imitations from Ovid, which
are of too particular and minute a nature to be pointed out
here, and belong to the province of a profefTed and formal
commentator on the piece. The Platonic notion in the third
book'' about univerfal love, and the doctrine that this princi-
ple a6ls with equal and uniform influence both in the natu-
ral and moral world, are a tranflation from Boethius ^. And in
the Knight's Tale he mentions, from the fame favorite
fyfl:em of philofophy, the Faire Chaine of Love \ It is
worth obferving, that the reader is referred to Dares
" Sighed. doftrine. See Fairy Queen, i. [x. i. iv.
" Glanced. x. 34. 35, &c. &c. I could point out many
=• L. iv. V. 1205. other imitations from Boethius in this
y V. 1750. poem.
^ Confolat. Philofoph. L. ii. Met. ult. ' v. 2990. Urr.
iii. Met. 2. Spenfcr is full of the fame
Phrygius,
[88
THE HISTORY OF
Phrygius, inftead of Homer, for a difplay of the atchleve-
ments of Troilus.
His worthi dedis who fo lift him here,
Rede Dares, he can tel hem all ifere \
O jr author, from his exceffive fondnefs for Statius, has been
guilty of a very diverting and what may be called a double
anachronifm. He reprefents Creffide, with two of her
female companions, fitting in a favid parkiir, and reading
the Thebaid of Statius ^ which is called tloe Gefie of the Siege
of Thebes % and the Romance of Thebis ". In another place,
Caflandra tranflates the Arguments of the twelve books of
the Thebaid '. In the fourth book of this poem, Pandarus
endeavours to comfort Troilus with arguments concerning
t'lp doflrine of predeftination, taken from Brawardine, a
learned archbifliop and theologift, and nearly Chaucer's
cotemporary \
This poem, although almoft as long as the Eneid, was
intended to be fung to the harp, as well as read.
And redde where fo thou be, or zWisfonge *.
It is dedicated to the morall Gower, and to the philofophical
Stcode. Gower will occur as a poet hereafter. Strode was
» L. iv. V. 1770.
'' L. ii. V. 81.
<^ L. ii. V. 84.
^ L. ii. V. 100. Bijhcp Amphiorax Is
mentioned, ib. v. 104. Pandarus fays
V. 106.
All this I know my felve,
And all the aiTicge ol' Thebes, and all
the care ;
For herof ben ther makid bohis tivel-ve.
In his Dr^mc, Chaucer, to pafs the night
away, rather than play at chefs, calls for
^ Rcmiiiiiice ; in which "were wfittin fa-
" bics of quenis livis and of kings, and
<' many othir thingii fmalc." Thib proves
to be Ovid. v. 52. feij. Sec Man. of L.T. v.
54. Urr. There was an old French Ro-
mance calk'd Partonepex, often cited
by Du Cange and Carpentier. Gl. Lat.
This is Parthenopeus, a hero of the Theban
ftory. It was tranfated into Englifli, and
c.tlled Pertonape. See p. 123. fupr.
- L. V. V. 1490. I will .idd here, that
Creflide propofes the trial of the Ordeal to
Troilus. L. iii. v. 1048. Troilus, during
the times of truce, amufcs himfelf with
hawking. L. iii. v. 1785.
' In his book De Causa dei, publiflicd
by Sir Henry Savile, 1617. He touches on
this controverfy, Nonne's Pr. T. v. 1 349.
Urr. See alio Tr. Cr. L. iv. v. 961. feq.
« L. ult. V. 1-96.
eminent
ENGLISH POETRY, 389
eminent for his fcholaftic knowledge, and tutor to Chaucer's
Ion Le\vis at Mcrton college in Oxford.
Whether the House of Fame is Chaucer's invention, or
fuggefted by any French or Italian poet, I cannot determine.
But I am apt to think it was originally a Provencial compo-
fition, among other proofs, from this paflage.
And ther came out fo gret a noife.
That had it ftandin upon Oyse,
Men might have herd it efily,
I trow, to Rome fikerly \
The Oyfe is a river in Picardy, which falls into the river
Seine, not many leagues from Paris. An Englifhman would
not have exprefled diftance by fuch an unfamiliar illuflration.
Unlefs we reconcile the matter, by fuppofmg that Chaucer
wrote this poem during his travels. There is another paflage
where the ideas are thofe of a foreign romance. To the
trumpeters of renown the poet adds,
All that ufid clarion
In Cafleloigne or Arragon '.
Cafteloigne is Catalonia in Spain ". The martial muficians
of Englifh tournaments, fo celebrated in ftory, were a more
natural and obvious allufion for an Englifh poet '.
This poem contains great ftrokes of Gothic imagmation, yet
•^ L. ii. V. 838. lyngftrete. B. ii. v. 431. He fwears by
' B. iii. V. 157. Thomas a Beckett, B. iii. v. 41. In one
^ See Marchaunt's Tale, v. 1231. placeheis addrefled by the nam^ of oeof-
p. 70. Urr. He mentions a rock higher frey. B. ii. v. 221. But in two others
than any in Spain. B. ii. v. 27. But this by that of Peter. B. i. v. 526. B. iii. v,
I believe was an Engliih proverb. 909. Among the muficians, he mentions
' He mentions a plate of gold, " As " Pipirs of all the Duche tong." B. iii.
" fine as duckett in Feinje." B. iii. v. 258. v. 144.
But he fays, that the Galaxy is called Wat-
E e e bordering
390 THE HISTORY OF
bordering often on the moft ideal and capricious extravagance.
The poet, in a vifion, fees a temple of glafs.
In which were more images
Of gold ftondinge in fundrie ftages,
Sette in more riche tabernacles,
And with perre " more pinnacles.
And more curious pourtraituris,
And quaint manir of figuris,
Of golde work than I fawe evir ".
On the walls of this temple were engraved ftories from
Virgil's Eneid °, and Ovid's Epiftles ^ Leaving this temple,
he fees an eagle with golden wings foaring near the fun.
Fafle by the fonne on hie,
As kennyng myght I with mine eie,
Methought I fawe an egle fore ;
But that it femid mochil more ^
Then I had any egle fene '.
It was af gold, and llione fo bright.
That nevir man fawe fuche a fight ', &c.
The eagle defcends, feizes the poet in his talons, and mount-
ing again, conveys him to the Houfe of Fame; which is
" Jewels. " B. i. v. 120. the poets and romance-writers of the mid-
" Where he mentions Virgil's hell, he die ages, that Ovid's ftories adorned the
likewife refers to ClaudianZ)c^rt//tt/'r(;yfr- walls. In one of the courts of the palace
pin/t, and Dante's Inferno, v. 450. There of Noncfuch, all Ovid's Metainorphofcs
is a tranflation of a few lines from Dante, weie cut in flone under the windows,
whom he calls " the wife poet of Florence," Hearne, Coll. MSS. 55. p. 64. But the
in the Wife of Bath's Tale, v. 1125. Epiftles feeni to have been the favorite
p. 84. Urr. The ftory of Hugolin of work, the fubjeft of which coincided with
Pifa, a fubjeft which Sir Jolliua Reynolds the gallantry of the times,
has lately palnteil in a capital ftyle, is s Greater.
traiiflated from Dante, " the grete potte ' The eagle fays to the poet, that this
" of Italic that hight Dante," in the houfc ftands
MoNKEs Tale, v. 877. A fentence r.- , /- n- l >»
from Dante is cited in the Lecen de of " R'S^^ i" as thini ant boh telhth.
Good Women, v. 360. In the Freere's g j; ^ r^^^^^ j,^ Ovid's Metamor-
Tale, Dante is compared with Virgil, ^,^^^^5^ gee Met. L. xii. v. 40, &c.
'•256- , . , r ■ , r • B- i- V- 496. fcq
f It was not only in the fairy palaces of
fituatcd
ENGLISH POETRY. 391
fituated, like that of Ovid, between earth and fea. In their
paflage thither, they fly above the ftars ; v\'hich our author
leaves, with clouds, tempefts, hail, and fnow, far beneath
him. This aerial journey is partly copied from Ovid's
Phaeton in the chariot of the fun. But the poet apologifes
for this extravagant fi6lion, and explains his meaning, by
alledging the authority of Boethius ; who fays, that Contem-
plation may foar on the wings of Philofophy above every
element. He likewife recolle6ls, in the midft of his courfc,
the defcription of the heavens, given by Marcianus Capella
in his book De Nupfiis Fhilologice et Mercurii ', and Alanus
in his Anticlaudian ". At his arrival in the confines of the
Houfe of Fame, he is alarmed with confufed murmurs if-
fuing from thence, like diftant thunders or billows. This
circumftance is alfo borrowed from Ovid's temple ". He is
left bv the eagle near the houfe, which is built of materials
bright as polifhed glafs, and ftands on a rock of ice of ex-
cclFive height, and almoft inacceflible. All the* fouthern fide
of this rock was covered with engravings of the names of
famous men, which were perpetually melting away by the
heat of the fun. The northern fide of the rock was alike
covered with names ; but being here fliaded from the warmth
of the fun, the cliara6lers remained unmelted and unefFaced.
The flrufture of the houfe is thus imagined.
Me thoughtin by fain6t Gile,
That all was of ftone of berille.
Both the caftle and the toure,
And eke the hall and everie boure '^ :
' See The Marchaunt's Tale, v'. There is an old French tninflation of It.
J 248. p. 70. Urr. And Lidg. Stor. Theb. Bib!. Reg. Parif. MSS. Cod. 7632.
fol. 357. "■ See Met. .-.ii. 39. And Virg. iEn.
" A famous book in the middle ages. iv. 173. Val. Flacc, ii. 117. Lucan. i. 469.
" Chamber.
E e e 2 Without
392 THE HISTORY OF
Without pecis or joynynges,
And many fubtill compaflyng^.
As barbicans ' and pinnacles.
Imageries and tabernacles
I fawe, and full eke of windowis
As flakis fallin in grete fnowis.
In thefe lines, and in fome others which occur hereafter ',
the poet perhaps alludes to the many new decorations in
archite6lure, which began to prevail about his time, and
gave rife to the florid Gothic ftyle. There are inftances of
this in his other poems. In his Dreame, printed 1597%
And of a fute were al the touris,
Subtily carven aftir flouris.
With many a fmal tvuret hie.
And in the defcription of the palace of Pleasaunt Re-
garde, in the Assemblie of Ladies \
Fairir is none, though it were for a king,
Devifid wel and that in every thing ;
The towris hie, ful plefante flial ye finde,
With fannis frefli, turning with everie winde.
The chambris, and the palirs of a forte.
With bay windows, goodlie as may be thought :
As for daunfing or othir wife difporte.
The galeries be al right wel ywrought.
In Chaucer's Life by Anthony Hall, it is not mentioned
that he was appointed clerk of the king's works, in the pa-
lace of Wefl:minfl:er, in the royal manors of Shene, Kening-
ton, Byfleet, and Clapton, and in the Mews at Charing \
y Turrets. ^ B. ii. v. 211. » v. 81. p. 02. Urr. ^ V. iqS.
•= Clauf. 8. Ric. ii.
Again
ENGLISH POETRY.
393
Again in 1380, of the works of St, George's chapel at Wiud-
for, then ruinous \ But to return..
Within the niches formed in the pinnacles flood all round
the cartle,
All manir of minftrelis.
And jcftours " that tellyn tales
Both of weping and eke of game.
That is, thofe ^yho fung or recited adventures either tragic
or comic, which excited cither compaiTion or laughter. They
were accompanied with the moft renowned harpers, among
which were Orpheus, Arion, Chiron, and the Briton Glalkc-
rion ^ Behind thcfe were placed, " by many a thoufand
" time twelve," players on various inftruments of mufic.
Among the trumpeters are named Joab, Virgil's Mife-
nus, and Theodamas ^ About thefe pinnacles were alfb
marfhalled the moft famous magicians, juglers, witches, pro-
phetefles, forcerefles, and profeflbrs of natural magic, ^ which
ever exifted in antient or modern times : fuch as Medea,
Circe, Calliope, Hermes \ Limotheus, and Simon Ma-
" Pat. 14. Ric. ii. Apud Tanner, Bibl.
p. 166. Not. e.
'' This word is above explained.
'^ Concerning this harper, fee Percy's
Ballads.
' See a!fo The Marchaunt's Tale,
V. 1236. feq. p. 70. Urr.
s See the Frankelein's Tale, where
feveral feats are defcribed, as exhibited at a
feaft done by natural magic, a favorite
fcience of the Arabians. Chaucer there
calls it " An art which fotill trage-
" toris plaie." v. 2696. p. no. Urr. Of
this more will be faid hereafter.
'' None of the woiks of the firll Hermes
Trifmegiilasnow remain. See Cornel. Agrip.
Van. Scient. cap. xlviii. The aftrological
and other philofophica! pieces under that
name are fuppofititious. See Fabr. Biblioth.
Gr. xii. 703. And Chan. Yem. Tale, v.
1455. p. 126. Urr. Some of thefe pieces
were publifhec^ under the ficlitious names
of Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Solomon, Saint
Paul, and of many of the patriarchs and fr.~
thers. Cornel. Agripp. De Van. Scient.
cap. xlv. Who adds, that thcfe trijles
were followed by Alphonfus king of Caf-
tile, Robert GroRhead, Eacon, and Ap-
ponus. He mentions Zabulus and Bai-na-
bas of Cyprus as famous writers in magic.
See alfo Gowcr's Coiifcll. Amant. p. 134.
b. 149. b. edit. 1554- fol. per Berthelette.
In fpeaking of antient authors, who were
known or t 'lebrated in the middle ages, it
may be remarked, that Macrobius was one.
He is mentioned by \^ iDiam de Lorris in
the Roman de la P,.ose, v. g. " Ung
" aufteur qui ot nom 1^^ aerobe" A line
literally tranflated by Chaucer, " An au-
" thor that hight Macrobes." v. 7. Chau-
cer quotes him in his Dreme, V. 284. In
the fiONNEs Priest's Tale, v. 123?.
394 THE HISTORY OF
gus '. At entering the hall he fees an infinite multitude of
heralds, on the furcoats of whom were richly embroidered
the armorial enfigns of the moft redoubted champions that
ever tourneyed in Africa, Europe, or Afia. The floor and
roof of the hall were covered with thick plates of gold,
ftudded with the coflliell gems. At the upper' end, on a lofty
fhrine made of carbuncle, fate Fame. Her figure is like thofe
in Virgil and Ovid. Above her, as if fuftained on her {houl-
ders, fate Alexander and Hercules. From the throne to
the gates of the hall, ran a range of pillars with refpeciivc
infcriptions. On the firft pillar made of lead and iron ",
flood Jofephus, the Jewifli hiftorian, " That of the Jewis
" geftis told," with feven other writers on the fame fubjecl.
On the fecond pillar, made of iron, and painted all over
with the blood of tigers, flood Statius. On another higher
than the refl flood Homer, Dares Phrygius, Livy \ Lollius,
Guido of Columna, and Geoffry of Monmouth, writers of
the Trojan flory. On a pillar of " tinnid iron clere," flood
Virgil : and next him, on a pillar of copper, appeared Ovid.
p. 171. Urr. In the Assemblie of Seneca, Apuleius, Plotinus, Saint Ambrofe,
FowLES, V. III. fee alfo ibid. v. 31. and Saint Auftln.
He wrote a comment on Tully's So m n i u m ' Among thefc he mentions Jugkrs, that
SciPiONis, and in thefe palTages he is re- is, in the prelent fcnfe of the word, thofe
ferred to on account of that piece. Pe- who prailifed Legerdemain : a popular
trarch, in a letter to Nicolas Sigeros, a fcicnce in Chaucer's time. Thus in Squ.
learned Greek of Conftantlnople, quotes T. v. 239. Urr.
Macrobius, as a Latin author of all others p^^ jugelours playin at thefe fellis grete.
the moft familiar to Nicolas. Itistoprove , ,' ^ , , ..
that Homer is the fountain of all invention. ^' ^^.^'^^ -^PPendage of the occult fc.ences
This is in 1 35+. Famil. Let. ix. 2. There ^^^^^ ^"'^ introduced into Europe by the
is a manufcript of the firft, and part of the Arabians. ^ , , ...
fecond book of Macrobius, elegantly writ- _," ^" ^^e compofition of thefe pillars,
ten, as it feems, in France, about the year ^^^""^^^ cl.fplays his chemical knowledge.
800. MSB. Cotton. V.TELL. C. iii. Cod. . ,?/^" ?^ry^^^ and Livy are both cted
Membr. fol. viii. fol. 138. M. Planudes, '" '-haucer s Dreme, v. 1070. 108+.
aConftantinopolitan monk of the fourteenth *^^^"^" '^ fond of quoting Livy. He was
• r -J .. u . „n . I i\/t^„ „ ^lio much admired by Petrarch ; who,
century, is laid to have tranllatcd Macro- ... _ . „,, / . - .' , . '
, • ■ . 1^ I 15 . r r- k •„ D-Ki n while at 1 .ans, aniltcd in tranilatintr him
bius into (jreck. Uut lee labric. Bibl. Gr. . „ , ' , . . ,, t>
X. 534. It is remarkable, that in the .above '"'° 1'^-'"'=''^ c.rcumllance might
letter, Petrarch apologifes for calling Plato '"^''^^W a favorite with Chaucer. t,ee
the Prince of Philofophers. after Cicero, ^''<= ^= Pctrarque, 111. p. 547.
The
ENGLISH POETRY. 395
The figure of Lucan was placed on a pillar of iron " wroght
" full fternly," accompanied with many Roman hiftorians '"•
On a pillar of fulphur flood Claudian, fo fymbolifed, becaufe
he wrote of Pluto and Proferpine.
That bare up all the fame of hell ;
Of Pluto and of -Proferpine
That queen is of the darke pine ".
The hall was filled with the writers of antient tales and
romances, whofe fubje£ls and names were too numerous to be
recounted. In the mean time crouds from every nation
and of every condition filled the hall, and each prefented his
claim to the queen. A meflenger is difpatched to fummon
Eolus from his cave in Thrace; who is ordered to bring
his two clarions called Slander and Praise, and his trum-
peter Triton. The praifes of each petitioner are then re-
founded, according to the partial or capricious appointment
of Fame ; and equal merits obtain very different fuccefs.
There is much fatire and humour in thefe requefts and re-
wards, and in the difgraces and honours which are indif-
criminately diftributed by the queen, without difcernment and
by chance. The poet then enters the houfe or labyrinth of
Rumour. It was built of fallow twigs, like a cage, and there-
fore admitted every found. Its doors were alfo more numerous
than leaves on the trees, and alv/ays ftood open. Thefe are
romantic exaggerations of Ovid's inventions on the fame
fubjedt. It was moreover fixty miles in length, and perpe-
tually turning round. From this houfe, fays the poet, iflued
tidings of every kind, like fountains and rivers from the fea.
Its inhabitants, who v/ere eternally employed in hearing or
telling news, together with the rife of reports, and the for-
"■ Was not this intended to charac- " B. iii. v. 419. Chaucer alludes to this
terife Lucan? Quintilian fays of Lucan, poem of Claudian in the Marchaunt's
" Oratoribu! magis quam }.oetis annume- Tale, where he calls Pluto, the king of
" randus." Inftit. Orat.L. x. c. i. " fayrie." v. 1744. p- 73. Urr.
matiou.
396 THE HISTORY OF
mation of lies are then humouroufly defcribed : the com-
pany is chiefly composed of failors, pilgrims, and pardoners.
At length our authoi" is awakened at feeing a venerable per-
fonage of great authority: and thus the Vifion abruptly
concludes.
Pope has imitated this piece, with his ufual elegance of
diftion and harmony of verfification. But in the mean time,
he has not only mifreprefented the ftory, but marred the
chara6ler of the poem. He has endeavoured to correal it's
extravagancies, by new refinements and additions of another
call : bvit he did not confider, that extravagancies are eflential
to a poem of fuch a flru6ture, and even conftitute it's beau-
ties. An attempt to unite order and exaftnefs of imagery
with a fubjeft formed on principles fo profefledly romantic
and anomalous, is like giving Corinthian pillars to a Gothic
palace. When I read Pope's elegant imitation of this piece,
I think I am walking among the modern monuments
unfuitably placed in Weflminiter-abbey.
SECT.
ENGLISH POETRY. 397
SECT. XV.
NOTHING can be more ingenioufly contrived than
the occafion on which Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
are fuppofed to be recited. A company of pilgrims, on
their journey to vifit the fhrine of Thomas a Beckett at
Canterbury, lodge at the Tabarde-inn in Southwark. Al-
though ftrangers to each other, they are affembled in one room
at fupper, as was then the cuftom ; and agree, not only to
travel together the next morning, but to relieve the fatigue
of the journey by telling each a ftory \ Chaucer undoubtedly
intended to imitate Boccacio, whofe Decameron was then
the moft popidar of books, in writing a fet of tales. But
the circumftance invented by Boccacio, as the caufe which
gave rife to his Decameron, or the relation of his hundred
ftories \ is by no means fo happily conceived as that of
Chaucer for a fimilar purpofe. Boccacio fuppofes, that
when the plague began to abate at Florence, ten young pcr-
fons of both fexes retired to a country houfe, two miles
from the city, with a defign of enjoying frefli air, and
palling ten days agreeably. Their principal and errablillied
amufement, inftead of playing at chefs after dinner, was
for each to tell a tale. One fuperiority which, among
others, Chaucer's plan afforded above that of Boccacio, was
^ There is an inn at Burford in Oxford- ^ It is remarkabk, that Boccacio chofe
(hire, which accommodated pilgrims on s. Greek title, that is, A.)!o.»'pi£t-o», for his
their road to Saint EdwardV flirine in t^^e Talcs. He has alfo given Cireck names to
.ibbey of Gloucifter. A long room, with the ladies and gentlemen who recite the
a ferios of Gothic windows, itill remains, t;iles. His Eclogues are full of Greek
which was their refedftory. LelanJ men- words. This was natural at the revival vi
tjans fuch another, Itin. ii, 70. the Greek language.
F f f "^ lie
39^ THE HISTORY OF
the opportunity of difplaying a variety of ftriking and dra-
matic charafters, which would not have eafily met but on
fuch an expedition. A circumflance which alfo contributed
to give a variety to the ftories. And for a number of perfons
in their fituation, fo natural, ^o pra6licable, fo pleafant, I
add fo rational, a mode of entertainment could not have been
imagined.
The Canterbury Tales are unequal, and of various
merit. Few, if any, of the ftories are perhaps the inven-
tion of Chaucer. I have already fpdkeh at large of the
Knight's Tale, one of our author's nobleft compofitions %
That of the Canterbury Tales, which deferves the next
place, as written in the higher ifrain of poetry, and the
poem by which Milton defcribes and charadlerifes Chaucer,
is the Squier's Tale. The imagination of this ftory con-
fifts in Arabian fiftion engrafted on Gothic chivalry. Nor is
this Arabian fi6lion purely the fport of arbitrary fancy :
it is in great meafure founded on Arabian learning. Cam-
bufcan, a king of Tartary, celebrates his birth-day feftival
in the hall of his palace at Sarra, with the moft royal mag-
nificence. In the midft of the folemnity, the guefts are
alarmed with a miraculous and unexpefled fpedlacle : the
minftrclls ceafe on a fudden, and all the alfcmbly is huflied
in filence, furprife, and fufpence.
»
While that the king fate thus in his noblay,
Herkining his minftrclis ther thingis play,
Beforn him at his bord delicioufly :
In at the halle dore, ful fodeinly,
There came a knight upon a ftede of brafs j
And in his honde a brode mirrour of glafs :
Upon his thombc he had of gold a ring,
' The reader will excufe my irregularity burv Tales. I have here given the
in net cottfidcring it under the Canter- rcafon, which is my apology, in the text.
And
, ENGLISH POETRY. 399
And by his fide a nakid fword hanging.
And up he rideth to the hie bord :
In all the hall ne was there fpoke a word,
For maiveile of this knight him to behold ^
Thefe prefents were fent by the king of Araby and Inde
to Cambufcan in honour of liis feaft. The Horfe of brafs,
on the fkillful movement and management of certain fecret
fprings, tranfported his rider into the moft diftant region of
the world in the fpace of twenty-four hours j for, as the
rider chofe, he could fly in the air with the fwiftnefs of an
eagle : and again, as occafion required, he could fland mo-
tionlefs in oppofition to the ft rongeft force, vanifli on a fud-
den at command, and return at his mafter's call. The Mir-
rour of glafs was endued with the power of fhewing any
future diiafters which might happen to Cambufcan 's king-
dom, and difcovered the moft hidden machinations of trea-
fon. The Naked Sword could pierce armour deemed im-
penetrable,
" Were it as thik as is a branchid oke."
And he who was wounded with it could never be healed,
unlefs its pofTellbr could be entreated to ftroke the wound
with its edge. The Ring was intended for Canace, Cam-
bufcan's daughter j and, while flie bore it in her purfe, or
wore it on her thumb, enabled her to underftand the lan-
guage of every fpecies of birds, and tlie virtues of every
plant.
•^ V. 96. See a fine romantic ilory of a ceiving any obftruflion from guards or gates.
Count de Macon : who, while revelling in rides dirtttly forward to the high table ;
his hall with many knights, is fuddenly and, with an imperious tone, orders the
alarmed by the entrance of" a gigantic count to follow him, iS;c. Nic. Gillos,
figure of a black man, mounted on a black chron. ann. 1120. See alfoOss. Fair.
ieed. This terrible ftranger, without re- Qc'.§. v. p. 146.
F f f 2 And
400 THE HISTORY OF
And whan this knight hath firft his tale ytold,
He ridd out of the hall and down he light :
His Stede, which that Ihone as the funne bright,
Stant in the court as ftill as any ftone.
The knight is to his chamber lad anon.
He is unarmed and to the mete yfette :
And all thefe prefents full riche bene yfette,
That is to faine, the Sword and the Mirroiar,
All born anon was unto tlie high tour,
With certayn officers ordayned therefore :
And unto Canace the Ring is bore
Solemnly ther as fhe fate at the table \
I have mentioned, in another place, the favorite philofo-
phical ftudies of the Arabians '. In this poem the nature of
thofe ftudies is difplayed, and their operations exemplified :
and this confideration, added to the circumftances of Tar-
tary being the fcene of a6lion, and Arabia the country from
which thefe extraordinary prefents are brought, induces me
to believe this ftory to be one of the many fables which tlie
Arabians imported into Europe. At leaft it is formed on
their principles. Their fciences were tinftured with the,
warmth of their imaginations ; and confiftcd in wonderful
difcoveries and myfterious inventions.
This idea of a horfe of brafs took it's rife from their
chemical knowledge and experiments m metals. The trea-
tife of Jeber a famous Arab chemift of the middle ages,
called Lapis Philosophorum, contains many curious and
ufeful proceffcs concerning the nature of metals, their fufion,
purification, and malleability, which ftill maintain a place in
modern fyftems of that fcience °. The poets of romance,
- V. 1 88. .-ind filvcr in the minei. Hcrbelor, Bibl.
' Difl". i. ii. Orient, p. 8io. b. Hither, among many
e The Arabians call chemiftr)', as treat- other things, we might refer Merlin's two
ing of minerals and metals, Si mi a. From dragons of gold tinilhed with moft exqui-
SiM, a word fignifyin^ the veins of gold fitc workmanlhip, in Geoffrey of Mon-
niouth,
ENGLISH POETRY. 401
who deal in Arabian ideas, defcribe the Trojan horfe as
made of brafs \ Thefe fages pretended the power of giving
life or fpeech to fomeof their compofitions in metal. Bifliop
Grofthead's fpeaking brazen head, fometimes attributed
to Bacon, has its foundation in Arabian philofophy '. In
the romance of Valentine and Orson, a brazen head fa-
bricated by a necromancer in a magnificent chamber of the
caftle of Clerimond, declares to thofe two princes their
royal parentage \ We are told by William of Malmefbury,
that Pope Sylvefter the fecond, a profound mathematician
who lived in the eleventh century, made a brazen head,
which would fpeak when fpoken to, and oracularly refolved
many difficult quefrions '. Albertus MagnuSj who was alfo
a profound adept in thofe fciences which were taught by the
Arabian fchools, is faid to have framed a man of brafs ;
which not only anfwered queftions readily and truly, but
was fo loquacious, that Thomas Aquinas while a pupil of
Albertus Magnus, afterwards a feraphic doctor, knocked it
in pieces as the difturber of his abftrufe fpeculations. This
was about the year 1 240 "". Much in the fame manner, the
notion of our knight's horfe being moved by means of a con-
cealed engine, correfponds with their pretences of producing
preternatural effedls, and their love of furprifmg by geome>-
trical powers. Exaflly in this notion, Rocail, a giant in
fome of the Arabian romances, is faid to have built a palace,
together with his own fepulghrQ, of moft magnificent ar-
mouth, 1. viii. c. 17. See alfo ibid. vii. For of the greate clerke Grooftell
c. 3. Where Merlin prophefies that a I red, how red v that he was
brazen man on a brazen horfe fhall guard Upon clergy a Head of Brasse
the gates of London. To make, and forge it for to telle
*■ See Lydgate's TroybBoke, B. iv. Of fuch things ^^ Zr/;//, &:c.,
c. 35. And Gower's CoNF. Amant. B. k q\^ xxviii da
i.f. 13. b. edit 1554. " A horfe of braffe i Do Geft. Reg.'Angl. lib. ii. cap. ic.
" thei lette do forge.' _ Compare M=jer. Symbolor. Aures Menf:^.
' Gower, Confef. Amant. ut fupr. L. iv. j^, ^ .
fell Ijoiii. a. edit. 1554,. ; hsXuo, Difqulf. Magic, lib. i. cap. 4.
cliiteflure,
402
THE HISTORY OF
chite6lure, and with fmgular artifice: in both of thefe he
placed a great number of gigantic ftatues, or images, figured
ot different metals by talifmanic fkill, which, in confequence
of feme uccult machinery, performed aftions of real life,
and looked like living men ". We muft add, that aftronomy,
winch the Arabian philofophers ftudied with a fmgular en-
thuiiafm, had no fmali fhare in the compofition of this mira-
culous fteed. For, fays the poet.
He that it wrought couth many a gin,
He waitid many a conftellation
Ere he had don this operation °.
Thus the buckler of the Arabian giant Ben Gian, as fa-
mous among the orientals as that of Achilles among the
Greeks, was fabricated by the powers of aftronomy ^ And
Pope Sylvefter's brazen head, juft mentioned, was prepared
under the influence of certain conftellations.
Natural magic, improperly fo called, was likewife a favorite
purfuit of the Arabians, by which they impofed falfe appcai"-
ances on the fpedlator. This was blended with their aftrology.
Our author's Frankelein's Tale is entirely founded on
the miracles of this art.
" Heibelct, 'Bibl. Orient. Y. Roc ail. draw down fpirits or angels. The Arabian
p. 717. a. wordKiMiA, not only fignifies chemiftry,
° V. 149. I do not precifely under- but a magical and fuperftitious fcience, by
Hand the line immciJiately fcliewing. which they bound fpirits to their will and
, J , . , r , J L. J drew from them the infomiation required.
And knew Jul many fele and many a bond. _ rj . , . n-^ /-, . o
' ' See Herbelot, Diet. Orient, p. 810. 1005.
Sele, i. e. Seaf, mny mean a talifmanic The curious and more inijuifitive reader
flgil uied in aftrolc;"y. Or the Hermetic may confult Cornelius Agrippa, Dc Vanit.
feal ufed in themittry. Or, connedcd Scient. cap. xliv. xlv. xlvi.
with £ot:^, may fign'fy contrails made i Many myfttries were concealed in the
with fpirits in chemital operations. But compofition of tliis fliield. It dellroyed
all thcfc belong to the Arabian philofophy, all the charms and enchantments which el-
and arc alike to our pi.rpofe. In the Arn- ther demons or giants could make by ;;oc//V
bian books now extar.t, arc the alphabets or magic art. Herbelot ubi fupr. V. Gian.
nut of which tiicy formed Talifmani to p. 3^0. a.
For
ENGLISH POETRY. 403
For I am fiker "^ ther be fciences,
By which men maken divers appearances,
Soche as thefe lotill tragetories ' plaie :
For oft at feftisj I have herde faic,
That tragetors, within a halle large,
Have made to comin watir in a barge,
And in the halle rowin up and down :
Sometime hath femid come a grim liown,
And fometime flouris fpring as in a maede j
Sometimes a vine, and grapis white and redej
Sometimes a caftill, &c '.
Afterwards a magician in the fame poem fhews various
fpecimens of his art in raifmg fuch illufions : and by way of
diverting king Aui^lius before fupper, prefents before him
parks and forefts filled with deer of vaft proportion, fome of
which are killed with hounds and others with arrows. He
then lliews the king a beautiful lady in a dance. At the
clapping of the magician's hands all thefe deceptions difap-
pear '. Thefe feats are faid to be performed by confultation
of the ftars ". We frequently read in romances of illufive
1 Sure. formed experiments on it's principles, were
■■ Juglers. faid to deal with the devil. Witnefi our
= V. 2700. Urr. Bacon, &c. From Sir John Maundeville's
■ But his moll capital performance is to Travels it appears, that thefe fciences were
remove an immenfe cham of rocks from in high requell in the court of the Cham
the fea-fhore : this is done in fuch a man- of Tartary about the year 1340. He fays,
ner, that for the fpace of one week, " it that, at n great feilival, on on, fide of the
"femid all the rockis were away." ibid. Emperor's table, he faw pkccJ many philo-
2849. By the way, this tale appears to fophcrs (killed in various fciences, fuch as
be a tranflation. He fays, " As the boke aftronomy, necromancy, geometry, and
"doth me remember." v. 2799. And pyromancy: that fome of thefe had before
" From Garumne to the mouth of Seine." them allrolabes of gold and precious ftones,
V. 2778. The Garonne and Seine are oth.'rs had horologes richly furnilhed, with
rivers in Fiance. many other mathematical inllruments, &c.
" Sec Frankel. T. V. 2820. p. 1 11. Urr. chap. Ixxi. Sir John Maundeville began
"The Chrillians called this one of the dia- his travels into the F.all in 1323, and
bolical arts of the Saracens or Arabians. fmifhed his book in 1364. chap. cix. See
And many of their own phllofophers, who Johannes Sarifb. Polycrat. L. i. cap. xi.
afterwards wrote on the fubjeft or per- fol. 10. b.
appearances
404
THE HISTORY OF
appearances framed by magicians '% which, by the fame
powers are made fuddeiily to vanifh. To trace the matter
home to it's true fource, thefe fi6lions have their origin
in a fcience which profefTedly made a confiderable part of
the Arabian learning \ In the twelfth century the number
of magical and aftrological Arabic books tranflated into Latin
was prodigious \ Chaucer, in the fiftion before us, fup-
pofes that fome of the guefts in Cambufcan's hall believed
the Trojan horfe to be a temporaiy illufion, effe6led by the
power of magic \
An appearaunce ymade by fome magike.
As jogleurs playin at thefe feltis grete '.
In fpeaking of the metallurgy of the Arabians, I mufl
not omit the fublime imagination of S}:>e«fer, or rather fome
Britifli bard, who feigns that the magician Merlin intended
to build a wall of brafs about Cairmardin, or Carmarthen ;
but that being hailily called away by the Lady of the Lake,
and flain by her perfidy, he has left his fiends ftill at work
on this mighty ftruclure round their brnzen cauldrons, under
a rock among the neighbauring woody clifi:'s of Dynevaur,
who dare not defift till tlicir mafter returns. At this day,
fays the poet, if you liften at a chink or cleft of the rock,
"' See -.vhat is faid of fpcnfL-r's False
Ft.orimsi. Obs. Spens. §. xi. p. 123.
" Herbeiot mentions many oriental pieces,
" Qui traittent de cette art pernicienx et
'• defcndu." Dia. Orient. V. Schr.
Compare Agrippa, ubi fupr. cap. xlii.
feq.
/ " Irrepfit hac sctatc etiara tur'oa afiro-
*' loporuin et Magorum, ejus f.irina- libris
" una cum aliis de Ar.ihico in Latinum
" convcrfis." Conring. Script. Comment.
Hxc. xiii. cap. 3. p. 125. Sec alfo Hcr-
belo'. Bibl. Ori-nt. V. Ket^b. paflim.
■' John of Sal ilbory fays, that magicians
.ire thofe who, among other de.:eption«,
" Rebus adimunt fpe ics fua.'.." Polycrat.
i. 10. fol. 10. b. Agrippa mentions one
Pafetes a jjgler, who " was wont to
" Ihewe to llrangers a very fumpluoufc
" banket, and when it pkafed hijn, to
" caufe it vaniflie awave, al they which
" fate at the table being difapointeJ both
" of mcatc and drinke, &c." ^'an. Sclent,
cap. xlviii. p. 62. h. Engl. Tranfl. ut infr.
])u H.ilde mentions a Chinefe enchanter,
who, when the I'mpcrour was inconfolablc
for the lofs of his deccafed queen, caufed
her image to appear before him. Hill.
Chin. iii. ^. iv. See tlie deceptions of
Hakem an Arabian juglc-r in Ilerbelot,
in. V. p. 412. See fiipr. p. 393. 391.
- V. 23H.
Such
ENGLISH POETRY. 405
Such gaftly noyfe of yron chaines
And brafen cauldrons thou flialt rombUng heare,
Which thoufand fprights with long enduring paines
Do tofle, that it will ftunn thy feeble braines.
And oftentimes great grones and grievous ftowndes
When too huge toile and labour them conftraines.
And oftentimes loud ftrokes and ringing fowndes
From under that deepe rocke moft horribly reboundes.
X.
The caufe fome fay is this : a little while
Before that Merlin dyde, he dyd intend
A BRASEN WALL in compaffe to compyle
About Cairmardin, and did it commend
Unto thofe fprights to bring to perfe6l end :
During which work the Lady of the Lake,
Whom long he lovd for him in hafte did fend.
Who therby ford his workemen to forfake,
Them bounde^ till his returne, their labour not to flake,
XL
In the mea;n time, through that falfe ladies traine,
He was furprizd, and buried under beare,
Ne ever to his work returnd againe :
Nathlefle thofe feends may not their worke forbeare,
So greately his commandement they feare,
But there do toyle and travayle night and day,
Until that brasen wall they up do reare \
This ftory Spenfer borrowed from Giraldus Cambrenfi?,
who during his progrefs through Wales, in the twelfth cen-
tury, picked it up among other romantic traditions propa-
'' Fairy Queen, iii. 3. 9 feq.
G g g gated
4o6 THE HISTORY OF
gated by the Britifh bards '. I have before pointed out the
fource from which the Britifli bards received molt of their
extravagant fi6lions.
Optics were likevv^ife a branch of fludy which fnited the
natural genius of the Arabian philofophers, and which they
purfued with incredible dehght. This fcience was a part
of the Arillotehc philofophy ; which, as I have before ob-
fei'ved, they refined and filled with a thoufand extravagan-
cies. Hence our ftrange knight's Mirror of Glass, prepared
on the moft profound principles of art, and endued with
preternatural qualities.
And fome of them wondrin on the mirrour.
That born was up into the mailer tour :
How men mightin in it fuch thingis fe.
And othir feid, certis it wel might be
Naturally by compofitiouns
Of angles, and of lly refleftioims :
And faide, that at Rome was foche an one^
Thei fpak of Alcen and Vitellion,
And Ariftote, that writith in their lives
Of queint mirrouris, and of perspectives ^.
And again.
The mirrour eke which I have in my hand.
Hath fuch a might, that men may in it fe
When there Ihall fall any adverfitc
Unto your reigne, &c. '.
, -Alcen, or Alhazen, mentioned in thefc lines, an Arabic
philofopher, wrote feven books of perfpeft ive, and flouriflied
' See Girald. Cambrenf. Itin. Catnbr. i. c. 6. Hollingfh. Hift. i. 129. And Camden's
Brit. p. 734. Drayton has this fiftion, which he relates fonicwhat diffeicntly. Polyolb. lib.
iv. p. 62. edit. 1613. Hence Bacon's wall of brali about England. •• v. 244. '■"v. 153.
about
ENGLISH POETRY.
407
about the eleventh century. Vitcllio, formed on tlie fame
fchool, was likewife an eminent mathematician of the middle
ages, and wrote ten books of Perfpe6tive. The Roman mirrour
here mentioned by Chaucer, as fimilar to this of the ftrange
knight, is thus defcribed by Gower.
When Rome ftoode in noble plite
Virglle, which was the parfite,
A mirrour made of his clergie '
And fette it in the townes eie
Of marbi'e on a pillar without,
That thei be thyrte mile aboute
By daie and eke alfo hi night
In that mirrour behold might
Her enemies if any were, &c. ^.
The oriental writers relate, that Giamfchid, one of their
kings, the Solomon of the Perfians and their Alexander the
Great, poffelTed, among his ineftimable treafures, cups, globes,
and mirrours, of metal, glafs, and cryftal, by means of
which, he and his people knew all mtural as well as fuper-
natural things. A title of an Arabian book, tranflated f/om
the Perfian, is, " The Mirrour which reflecrts the Wo.id,"
There is this paflage in an antient Turkifli poet, " Wnen I
" am purified by the light of heaven my foul will become
" the mirrour of the world, in which I fliall difcern all nhjlj-iife
^"^ fecrets." Monfieur I'Herbelot is of opinion, that tlic Oiien-
tals took thefe notions from the patriarch Joieph's cap of
divination, and Neftor's cup in Homer, on which all nature
was fymbolically reprefented \ Our great couutiyman Roger
' Learning. Philofophy. tions afpecies of diviners calledSpscuLA-
2 Confefl". Amant. 1. v. fol. xciv. 6. Rir, who predid-d future events, and told
edit. Berth. 1554. ut fupr. various fecrcts, by co;ifuirlng mirroii s, anJ
'■ Herbelot. Dift. Oriental. V. Giam. the furfaces 01 otherpaillhed rciieding fub-
p. 392. col. 2. John of Salisbury men- ftances. i'olycrat. i. 12. pag. 32. adit. 1595.
G g g 2 BucOii>
4o8
THE HISTORY OF
Bacon, in his Opus Majus, a work entirely formed on the
Ariftotelic and Arabian philofophy, defcribes a variety of
Specula, and explains their conftruftion and ufes '. This is
the moft curious and extraordinary part of Bacon's book,
which was written about the year 1270. Bacon's optic tube,
with which he pretended to fee future events, was famous in
his age, and long afterwards, and chiefly contributed to give
him the name of a magician ''. This art, with others of the
experimental kind, the philofophcrs of thofe times were fond
of adapting to the purpofes of thaumaturgy; and there is
much occult and chimerical fpeculation in the difcoveries
which Bacon affects to have made from optical experi-
ments. He aiTerts, and I am obliged to cite the paflage in
his own myfterious expreflions, " Omnia fciri per Perfpec-
" tivam, quoniam omnes a6lioncs rerum fiunt fecundum
" fpecierumet virtutummultiplicationem ab agentibus hujus
" mundi in materlas patientes, &c. '." Spenfer feigns, that
the magician Merlin made a glajfie globe, and prefented it to
king Ryence, which fliewed the approach of enemies, and
difcovered treafons "". This ficSlion, which exaftly correfponds
with Chaucer's Mirrour, Spenfer borrowed from fome ro-
mance, perhaps of king Arthur, fraught with oriental fancy.
From the fame fources came a like fiftion of Camoens, in
the Lufiad ", where a globe is fliewn to Vafco de Gama, re-
prefenting the univerfal fabric or fyftem of the world, in
which he fees future kingdoms and future events. The
Spanifli liiftorians report an American tradition, bur more
' Edir. Jebb. p. 253. Bacon, in one of
his manufciipts, complains, that no pcrfon
readlcduros inOxfordDs Perspectiva,
before the year 1267. He adds, that in
the univfrfity of Paris, this icicnce was
quite unknown. In Epift. ad Or us Mi-
nus. Clemcnti ir. Etibid. Op. Min. iii.
cip. ii. MSS. Bibl. Coll. Univ. Oxon.
c. 20. In another he affirms, that Julius
C«;f,ir, bi-forc he invaded Britain, viewed
our harbouri and ftiorcs with a telefcope
from the Britifh coaft. MSS. lib. De Per-
shectivis.Hc accurately defcribes reading
glafTcs or/l>e3aJes, Op. Maj. p. 236. And
tlie Camera Obfcura, I believe, is one of
his difcoveries.
" Wood, Hill. Antiquit. Univ. Oxon. i.
122.
' Op. Min. MSS. ut fupr.
'" Fairy Queen, iii. ii. 21.
" Cant. X.
probably
lif
E N G L I S fl POETRY. 409
probably invented by thcmfelves, and built on the Saracen
fables, in which they were fo converfant. They pretend that
fome years before the Spaniards entered Mexico, the inha-
bitants caught a monftrous fowl, of unufual magnitude and
fliape, on the lake of Mexico. In the crown of the head of
this wonderful bird, there was a mirrour or plate of glafs,
in which the Mexicans faw their future invaders the Spa-
niards, and all the difallers which afterwards happened to
their kingdom. Thefe fuperftitions remained, even in the
doftrines of philofophers, long after the darker ages. Cor-
nelius Agrippa, a learned phyfician of Cologne, about the
year 1520, author of a famous book on the Vanity of the
Sciences, mentions a fpecies of mirrour which exhibited the
form of perfons abfent, at command °. In one of thefe he
is faid to have fliewn to the poetical earl of Surry, the image
of his miftrefs, the beautiful Gcraldine, iick and repofmg
on a couch ^ Nearly allied to this, was the infatuation of
Ieci77g things in a beryl, wdiich was very popular in the reign
of James the firft, and is alluded to by Shakefpeare. The
Arabians were alio famous for other machineries of glafs,
in which their chemiflry was more immediately concerned.
The philofophers of their fchool invented ailory of a magical
ileel-glafs, placed by Ptolemy on the fummit of a lofty
pillar near the city of Alexandria, for burning fliips at a
dillance. The Arabians called this pillar Hemadejlaeor, or the
pillar of the Arabians ^ I think it is mentioned by Sandys.
° It is diverting in this book to obferve " are vaine and fuperfiuous, and invented
the infancy of experimental philofophy, " to no other end but for pompc and idle
and their want of knowing how to ufe or " pleafure !" Chap. x.wi. p. 36. A tranfla-
apply the mechanical arts which they were tion by James Sandford, Loud. 1569. 4^0.
even aflually poiTefled of. Agrippa calls Bl. J,et.
the inventor of magnifying glalles, " with- i* Dravton's Heroical Epift. p. S7. b.
" out doubte the beginner of all diihonef- edit. 1598.
" tie." He mentions various forts of di- •) The fame fablers have adapted a fimi-
niinilhing, burning, reflcfting, and multi- lar fiftion to Hercules : that he erefted pil-
plying glafTes, with fome otliers. At length lars at Cape Finellerre, on which he raifed
this profound tliinker clofes the chapter magical lookiu'.'' - glaiibs. In an eafteiii
with this fage refleftion, " All thefe thingcs romance.
416 THE HISTORY OF
Roger Bacon has left a manufcript tra6l on the formation
of burning-glafles ' : and he relates that the firft burning-
glafs which he conftrudled coft him fixty pounds of Parifian
money'. Ptolemy, who feems to have been confounded
with Ptolemy the Egyptian aftrologer and geographer, was
famous among the eaftern writers and their followers for
his fkill in operations of glafs. Spenfer mentions a mira-
culous tower of glafs built by Ptolemy, which concealed his
niiftrefs the Egyptian Phao, while the invifible inhabitant
viewed all the world from every part of it.
Great Ptolomee it for his leman's fake
Ybuilded all of glafs by magicke power,
And alfo it impregnable did make '.
But this magical fortrefs, although impregnable, was eafily
broken in pieces at one ftroke by the builder, when his
miftrefs ceafed to love. One of Boyardo's extravagancies is
a prodigious wall of glafs built by fome magician in Africa,
which obvioufly betrays its foundation in Arabian fable and
Arabian philofophy ".
The Naked Sword, another of the gifts prefented by the
ftrange knight to Cambufcan, endued with medical virtues,
romance, called the Seven Wise Mas- ' MSS. Bibl. Bodl. Digb. iS^. And
THRs, of which more will lie faid here- Arch. A. 149. But I think it was printed
after, at the fiege of Hur in Pcrfia, certain at Francfort, 161 4. 4'".
j'hilofophers terrified the enemy by a device ^Twenty pounds Uerling. Compend.
of placing a habit (fays an old Englilh Stud. Thcol. c. i. p. 5. MS.
tranflation) " of a giant-like proportion, ' Fairy Queen, iii. ii. 20.
" on a tower, and covering it with burning- " Hither wc might alfo refer Chaucer's
" glades, looking-glafles of crillall, and Houfe of Fame, which is built of glafs,
" other glaffes of feveral colours, wrought and I.ydgate's Temple of Glass. It
" together in a marvellous order, &c." is faid in fome romances written about the
ch. xvii. p. 182. edit. 1674. The Con- time of the Crulades, th.at the city of Da-
(laniinopolitan Greeks pofll-fled thefe arts m.nfcus was walkd with glais. See Hall's
in common with the Arabians. See Mori- Virgidem. or Satyrcs, &c. B. iv. S. 6.
fotus, ii. 3. Who fays, that in the year 751, written in 1 597.
they fct fire to the Saracon fleet before Con- Or of D.tmafcs m.igicke wall of g\^Kc,
llanunople by mean* of burning gX^H^,. Qr Solomon hi., fweating piles of braflc, &c.
and
ENGLISH POETRY. 41 1
and ib hard as to pierce the moft foHd armovir, is likewifc an
Arabian idea. It was fuggefled by their (kill in medicine, by
which they afFe^lcd to communicate healing qualities to
vaiious fubflances ", and from their knowledge of tempering
iron and hardening all kinds of metai ". It is the claflical
fpear of Peleus, perhaps originally fabricated in the fame
regions of fancy.
And othir folk han wondrid on the Sworde,
That wold fo percin thorow everie thing ;
And fell in fpeche of TelephvTS the king.
And of Achilles for his quynte fpere
For he couth with it bothe hele and dere ''
Right in foche wife as men may by that fworde.
Of which right now you have your felfis harde.
Thei fpake of fundri harding of metall
And fpake of medicinis ther withall,
And how and when it fholdin hardin be, &c ^
The fword which Berni in the Orlando Inmamorato,
gives to the hero Ruggiero, is tempered by much the fame
fort of magic.
Quel brando con tal tempra fabbricato-,
Che taglia incanto ad ogni fatatura \
So alfo his continuator Ariofto,
Non vale incanto, ov'elle mette il taglio ".
* The notion, mentioned before, that " rinthus Saiomonis, de temperando
every ftone of Stone-henge was walhed with " ferro, conficiendo cryftallo, et de aliis
juices of herbs in Africa, and tinftured " naturs arcanis." Palzeogr. Gr. p. 375.
with healing powers, is a piece of the i Hurt. Wound,
fame philofophy. ^ v. 256.
" Montfaucon cites a Greek chemift off » Orl. Innam. ii. 17, ft. 13.
the dark ages, " Christiani Laby- i> Orl. Fur. xii. 83.
And
412 THE HISTORY OF
And the notion that this weapon could refift all incan-
tations, is like the fiftion above-mentioned of the buckler
of the Arabian giant Ben Gian, which baffled the force of
charms and enchantments made by giants or demons \
Spenfer has a fword endued with the fame efficacy, the metal
of which the magician Merlin mixed with the juice of
meadow-wort, that it might be proof againft enchantment ;
and afterwards, having forged the blade in the flames of
Etna, he gave it hidden virtue by dipping it {even times in
the bitter waters of Styx ^ From the fame origin is alfo
the golden lance of Berni, which Galafron king of Cathaia,
father of the beautiful Angelica and the invincible champion
Argalia, procured for his fon by the help of a magician.
This lance was of fuch irrefiftible power, that it unliorfed a
knight the inftant he was touched with its point.
Una lancia d'oro,
Fatto con arte, e con fottil lavoro.
E quella lancia di natura tale,
Che refifter non puoffi alia fua fpinta ;
Forza, o deftrezza contra lei non vale,
Convien che I'una, e I'altra refti vinta :
Incanto, a cui non e nel mondo eguale,
L'ha di tanta poflanza intorno cinta,
Che ne U conte di Brava, ni Rinaldo,
Ne il mondo al colpo fuo ftarcbbe faldo '.
Britormart in Spenfer is armed with the {ame enchanted
fpear, which was made by Bladud an antient Britifli king
fkilled in magic ^
*■ Ainadis de Gaul has fuch a fword. ii. ft. zo, Sec. And Arlollo, viii. 17. .will.
See Don Quixote, B. iii. C"h. iv, iid. xxiii. 15.
■J Fahy Queen, ii. viii. 20. See alfo ' Kaiiy (^ecn, iii. 3. 60. iv. 6. 6- iii-
Arloft. xix. 84. 1. 4.
' Orl. Innam. i. i. ft. 43. Sec alfo, i.
The
ENGLISH POETRY. 413
The Ring, a. gift to the king's daughter Canace, which
taught the language of birds, is alfo quite in the ftyle of
fome others of the occult fcienccs of thefe inventive philo-
fophers ^ : and it is the fafliion of the oriental fabalifts to
give language to brutes in general. But to underftand the
language of birds, was peculiarly one of the boafted fciences
of the Arabians ; who pretend that many of their country-
men have been fkilled in the knowledge of the language of
birds, ever fince the time of king Solomon. Their writers
relate, that Balkis the queen of Sheba, or Saba, had a bird
called Hudhud, that is, a lapwing, which fhe difpatched to
king Solomon on various occafions ; and that this trufty bird
was the melTenger of their amours. We are told, that Solomon
having been fecretly informed by this winged confident,
that Balkis intended to honour him with a grand embaffy,
enclofed a fpacious fquare with a wall of gold and filver
bricks, in which he ranged his numerous troops and attend-
ants in order to receive the embafladors, who were aftonuhed
at the fuddennefs of thefe fplendid and unexpeftecl prepara-
tions \ Monfieur I'Herbelot tells a curious (lory of an Arab
feeding his camels in a folitary wildernefs, who was accoftcd
for a draught of water by Aihejaj a famous Arabian com-
mander, and who had been feparated from his retinue in
hunting. While they were talking together, a bird flew
over their heads, making at the fame time an Uiiufvial lort
of noife; which the camel-feeder hearing, looked iledfaftly
on Aihejaj, and demanded who he was. Aihejaj, not choofing
to return him a dire6l anfwer, defired to know the reafon of
that queftion. " Becaufe, replied the camel-feeder, this
" bird affured me, that a company of people is coming this
s Rings are a frequent implement in ro- the palace and gardens of Dragontina vanifli
mantic enchantment. Among a thoufand at Angelica's ring of virtue,
inftances, fee Orland. Innain-. i. 14. Where ^ Herbelot, Diifl. Oriental. V. Balicis,
p. 182.
H h !i ''' way,
414 THE HISTORY OF
" way, and that you are the chief of them." While he
was fpeaking, Alhejaj's attendants arrived'.
This wonderful ring alfo imparted to the wearer a know-
ledge of the qualities of plants, which formed an important
part of the Arabian philofophy ".
The vertues of this ring if ye woll here
Are thefe, that if flie lift it for to were.
Upon her thomb, or in her purfe it here.
There is no fowle that fleith undir heven
That flie ne flaal wele underftond his fteven ',
And know his mening opinly and plain.
And anfwere him in his language againe.
And everie graJTe that growith upon rote.
She fhal wele knowe, and whom it woll do bote :
All be his woundis never fo depe and wide ".
Every reader of tafte and imagination muft "regret, that
inftead of our author's tedious detail of the quaint eftedls
of Canace's ring, in which a falcon relates her amours, and
talks familiarly of Troilus, Paris, and Jafon, the notable
atchievements we may fuppofe to have been performed by
the afiTiftance of the horfe of brafs, are either loft, or that
this part of the ftory, by far the moft interefting, was
never written. After the ftrange knight has explained to
Cambufcan the management of this magical courfer, he
vanifties on a fudden, and we hear no more of him.
And aftir fuppir goth this nobil king
To fene this Horfe of Brafs, with all his rout
Qf lordis and of ladies him about :
' Sec Herbel. ubi fupr. V. Heciac.e '^ See what is faid of this ia the Dis»
Ebn Yusef Ai, Thakefi. p. 442. This sertations.
Arabian commander was of the eighth cen- ' Langu:ige.
tury. In the Sfvkn Wisr Masters, one ■" v. j66,
of the tales i:- founded on the language of"
bird). Ch. xvi.
Soch
E N G L I S U P O E T R Y. ^u
feoch wondering was ther on this Horfe of Brafs ",
That fithin the grete fiege of Trove was,
Ther as men wondrid on an horfe alfo,
Ne was ther foch a wondering as was tho ".
But finally the king alkith the knight
The vertue of this courfere and the might j
And prayid him to tell his governaunce :
The hors anon gan forth to trip and daunce,
"When that the knight laid hold upon his reine.—
Enfourmid when the king was of the knight.
And hath conceivid in his wit aright,
The mannir and the form of all the thing,
Full glad and blyth, this nobil doubty king
Repairith to his revell as beforne :
The brydil is into the Toure yborn,
And kept among his jewels '' lefe and dere :
The horfe vanifliith : I'not in what manere \
By fuch inventions we are willing to be deceived. Thefe
are the triumphs of deception over truth.
Magnanima menfogna, hor quando e al vero
Si bello, che fi polTa a te preporre ?
The Clerke of Oxenfordes Tale, or the ftory of Pa-
tient Grifilde, is the next of Chaucer's Tales in the ferious
ftyle which deferves mention. The Clerke declares in his
Prologue, that he learned this tale of Petrarch at Padua.
" Cervantes menrions a horfe of wood, dehce with the fiflion of Chaucer's horfe,
which, like this of Chaucer, on turning a and will refer it to the fame criginal. See
pin in his forehead, carried his rider Don Quixote, B. iii. ch. 8. We have the
through the air. This horfe, Cervantes fame thing in Valentinu and Orson-,
adds, was made by Merlin for Peter of ch\ xxxi.
Provence ; with which that valorous knight " Then,
carried off the fair Magalona. From what p 'Jocalia. Precious things,
romance Cervantes took this I do not re- 's V. 322. feq. 355. fcq.
collcit : but the reader fees its correfpon-
H h h 2 But
4i6 THE HISTORY OF
But it was the invention of Boccacio, and is the laft in his
Decameron '. Petrarch, although moll intimately connefled
with Boccacio for near thirty years, never had iecn the Deca-
meron till juft before his death. It accidentally fell into his
hands, while he refided at Arque between Venice and Padua,
in the year one thoufand three hundred and feventy-four.
The tale of Grifilde ftruck him the moft of any : fo much»
that he got it by heart to relate it to his friends at Padua.
Finding that it was the moll popular of all Boccacio's tales,,
for the benefit of thofe who did not underlland Italian, and
to fpread its circvilation, he tranllated it into Latin with
fome alterations. Petrarch relates this in a letter to Boccacio ;
and adds, that on fhewing the tranflation to one of his
Paduan friends, the latter, touched with the tendernefs of
the llory, burll into fuch frequent and violent fits cf tears^
that he could not read to the end. In the fame letter he fays^
that a Veronefe having heard of the Paduan's, exquifitenefs of
feeling on this occafion, refolved to try the experiment..
He read the whole aloud from the beginning to the end,
without the leail change of voice or countenance; but on
returning the book to Petrarch, confelTed that it was an af-
fefting llory : " I fhould have wept, added he, like the Pa-
" duan, had I thought the llory true. But the whole is
" a manifell fiflion. There never was, nor ever will be,
" fuch a wife as Grifilde '." Chaucer, as our Gierke's declara-
tion in the Prologue feems to imply, received this tale from
Petrarch, and not from Boccacio : and I am inclined tp
tliink, that he did not take it from Petrarch's Latin tranf-
lation, but that he was one of thofe friends to whom Pe-
trarch ufed to relate it at Padua. This too feems fufficiently
pointed out in the words of the Prologue.
' GJom. X. Nov 10. Dryden, in the ♦' Boccace, from whom it came to Chau.
fuperficial but lively Preface to his Fables, " cer."
layi, " The Talc of Grifilde was the in- ' Vie de Petrarch, iii. 797.
" vtation of Petiarch: by him fent to
I wolle
ENGLISH POETRY.
4^7
I wolle you telle a tale which that I
Lernid at Padow of a worthic clerke : —
Fi-auncis Petrarke, the laureate poete,
Hjghtin this clerke, whofe rhetorike fo fvvete
Enluminid Italic of poetrie '.
Chaucer's tale is alfo much longer, and more circumftan-
tial, than Boccacio's. Petrarch's Latin tranflation from Boc-
cacio was never printed. It is in the royal library at Paris,
and in that of Magdalene college at Oxford ".
The ftory foon became fo popular in France, that the come-
dians of Paris reprefcnted a Myflery in French verfe entitled
Le Mystere de Griseildis Marquis de Saluces, in tha
year 1393 ". Lydgate, almoft Chaucer's cotemporary, in his
manufcript poem entitled the Temple of Glass", among
the celebrated lovers painted on the walls of the temple'',
' V. 1057. p. 96. Urr. Afterwards Pe-
trarch is mentioned as dead. He died of
an apoplexy, Jul. i8. 1374. See v. 2168.
" Viz. " Vita Grifildis per Fr. Petrar-
" cham de vulgari in Latinam linguam tra-
" dufta." But Rawlinfon cites, '• Epiltola
*■' Francifci Petrarchx de infigni obedientia
" et fide uxoria Grifeldis in Waltlierum
" Ulme, imprefs." per me R. . . . A. D.
I,SA3. MS. Not. in Mattairii Typogr.
Kill. i. i. p. 104. In Bibl. Bodl. Oxon.
Among the royal manufcripts, in the Bri-
tilh Mufeum, there is, " Fr. Petrarcha;
" fuper Hiftoriam Walterii Marchionis et
*' Grifeldis uxoris ejus." 8. B. vi. 17.
" It was many years afterwards printed
at Paris, by Jean Bonncfons. The writers
of the French ftage do not mention this
piece. See p. 246. Their firil theatre is that
of Saint Maur, and it's commencement is
placed five years later, in the year 1398.
Afterwards Apollolo Zeno wrote a theatri-
cal piece on this fubjeft in Italy. I need
not mention that it is to this day repre-
fented in England, on a fbige of the lowed
fpecies, andof thehightft antiquity: I mean
at a puppet-fliow. The French have this
ftory in their Parement des d.^mis,
fee Mem. Lit. Tom. ii p. 743. 4'".
" And in a BalaJe, tranflated by Lyd-
gate from the Latin, " Grifilde's humble
" patience" is recorded. Urr. Ch. p. 550.
V. )o8.
' There is a more curious mixture in Chau-
cer s Ealade to hug Htnry iv. Where Alex-
ander, Heftor, Julius Cefar, Judas Mac-
cabeus, David, Jofhua, Charlemagne, God-
frey of Bulloign, and king Arthur, are all
thrown> together r.s antient heroes, v. z8i.
feq. But it is to be obferved, that the
Irenchhad a metrical romance called Judas
Macchsihy begun by Gualtier de Belle-
perche, before 1240. It was finifiied a few
yevs afterwards by Pierros du Riez. Fauch.
p. 197. See alfo Lydgate^Urr. Chauc. p.
550. V. 89. M. de la Cume de Sainte
Palaye, has given us an extraft of an old
Provcncial poem, in which, among heroes
of love and gallantry, are enumerated Paris,
Sir Trirtram, Ivaine the inventor of gloves
and other articles of elegance in drefs,
Apollonius of Tyre, and king Aiihur.
Mem. Chev. Extr.de Poei.Prov. ii. p. 154.
In a French romance, Le livre de chiefly
confifts in invention of incidents, and the contrivance of
the flory, which cannot conveniently be developed in this
place : and it will be impoflible to give any idea of it's eflen-
tial excellence by exhibiting detached parts. The verfification
is equal to the reft of our author's poetry.
David, Nero, Mark Antony, Thefeus,
Hercules, Eneas^ Sir Lancelot, Sir Trif-
tram, Arthur duke of Bretagne, Gafton da
Foix, many French dukes, &c. Mem. Lit.
viii. p. 592. edit. 410. The chevalier
Bayard, who died about the year 152+, is
compared to Scipio, Hannibal, Thefeus,
king 'David, Samfon, Judas Maccabeus,
Orlando, Godfrey of Bulloign, and mon-
fieur de PalifTe, marfhal of France. La
Vie et les Gestes du preux Che-
valier Bayard, &c, Printed 1525.
^ From MoRTE Arthur, They are
mentioned in Chaucer's Assemblie of
FowLEs, V, 250, See alfo Compl. Bl.
Kn. V. 367.
* MSS. Bibl. Bodl. Fairfax. 16.
SECT.
ENGLISH POETRY. 419
SECT. XVI.
THE Tale of the Nonnes Priest is perhaps a ftory of
Englifh growth. The figment of Dan Burnell's Afs
is taken from a Latin poem entitled Speculum Stultorum %
written by Nigellus de Wireker, monk and precentor of
Canterbury cathedral, a profound theologift, who flouriflied
about the year 1 200 **. The narrative of the two pilgrims is
borrowed from Valerius Maximus \ It is alfo related by
Cicero, a lefs known and a lefs favorite author ^ There is
much humour in the defcription of the prodigious confufion
which happened in the farm-yard after the fox had conveyed
away the cock.
Aftir him they ran,
And eke with ftuvis many anothir man.
Ran Coll our dogge, Talbot, and eke Garlond ',
And Malkin with her diftafFe in her bond.
Ran cowe and calfe, and eke the very hogges.
The duckis cryed as men would hem quell ',
The geefe for fere flewin ovir the trees.
Out of the hivis came the fwarme of bees ^.
Even Jack Strawe's infurre<5lion, a recent tranfa(5lion, was
not attended with fo much noife and difturbance.
' V. 1427. p. 172. Urr. ''See Va?. Max. u 7. And Cic. de Di-
*■ Or John of Salifbiiry. Printed at Co- vinat. i. 27.
logn in 1 449. ' Names of dogs.
' V. 1100. * Kill.
8 V. 1496,
So
420- THE HISTORY OF
So hidious was the noife, ah Benedicite !
Certes ne Jacke Strawe, ne all his meine,
Ne madin nevir fhoutis half fo Ihrill, 6cc \
The importance and affeflation of fagacity with which
dame Partlett communicates her medical advice, and difplays
her knowledge in phyfic, is a ridicule on the ftate of medi-
cine and its profeffors '.
In another ftrain, the cock is thus beautifully defcribed,
and not without fome ftriking and pi6turefque allufions to
the manners of the times.
A cocke hight chaunticlere.
In al the land of crowing nas his pere.
His voice was merier than the nierie orgort
On maffe-daies that in the churchis gon.
Wei fikerer ' was his crowing in his loge "
Than is a clock, or abbey horologe. '?
His comb was reddir than the fine corall.
And battelled " as it were a caflill wall,
His bake was blacke as any get it fhone.
Like afure were his leggis, and his tone " :
His nailis whiter than the lillie floure,
And like the burnid golde was his colore ■".
In this poem the fox is compared to the three arcli-traitor3
Judas Ifcariot, Virgil's Sinon, and Ganilion who betrayed
the Chriftian army under Charlemagne to the Saracens, and
is mentioned by archbifhop Turpin \ Here alfo are cited,
as writers of high note or authority, Cato, Phyfiologus or
Pliny the elder, Boethius on mufic, the author of the legend
^ V. 1509. This is a proof that the
"> Pen. Yard.
Canterbury Tales were not written
" Embattelkd.
till after the year 1381.
Toes.
' V. 1070.
P V. 962.
» Organ.
•< V. 1341. See alfo Monk. T. v, 806,
• Ckarerr
of
ENGLISH POETRY.
421
of the life of faint Kenelmc, Jofeplius, the hiflorian of Sir
Lancelot du Lake, Saint Auftin, bifliop Brawardine, Jeffrey
Vinefauf who wrote a monody in Latin verfe on the
death of king Richard the firft, Ecclefiaftes, V^irgil, and
Macrobius.
Our author's January and May, or the Marchaunt's
Tale, feems to be an old Lombard flory. But many paf-
fages in it are evidently taken from the Polycraticon of
John of Salisbury. De molejiiis et 07ieri!.us conjugiorum fecundum
Hieronymiim et alios philofophos. Et de pernicie libidinis. Et de
mulieris Ephefince etfimiUumjide '. And by the way, about forty
verfes belonging to this argument are tranllated from the
fame chapter of the Polycraticon, in the Wife of Bath's
Prologue'. In the mean time it is not improbable, that this
tale might have originally been oriental. A Perfian tale is
jufl publillied which it extremely refembles ' j and it has
much of the allegory of an eaftern apologue.
The following defcription of the wedding-feaft of January
and May is conceived and expreffed with a diftinguiflied
degree of poetical elegance.
Thus ben thei weddid with folempnite,
And at the fefte fittith both he and fhe.
■■ L. viii. c. II. fol. 193. b. edit. 15 13.
^ Mention is made in this Prologue of St.
Jerom and Theophraft, on that fubjeft, y.
671. 674. The author of the Polycraticon
quotes Theophraftus from Jerom, viz. " Fer-
" turauftore Hieionimo nmeolus T/jeophraJl:
" libellus de nonducenda uxore." fol. 194.
a. Chaucer likewife, on this occafion, cites
Fahrie, v. 67 1 . This is not the favorite
hiflorian of the middle ages, Valerius Maxi-
mus. It is a book v/ritten by Walter Mapes,
archdeacon of Oxford, under the affumed
name of Valerius, entitled, Valerius ad Ru-
Jiyimn de non ducenda uxore. This piece
is in the Bodleian library with a large
Glofs. MSS. Dibg. 166. ii. 147. Mapes per-
haps adopted this name, becaufe one Va-
I
lerius had written a treatife on the fame
fubjeft, inferted in St. Jerom's works.
Some copies of this Prologue, inllead of
" \^alerte and Thccphra/i,"vead. Parnphrajl.
If that be the true reading, which I do not
believe, Chaucer alludes to the glofs above-
mentioned. Heloivis, citedjuft afterwards,
is the celebrated Eloifa. Trottula is men-
tioned, V. 677. Among the manufcripts of
Merton College in Oxford, is, " Trottula
" Mulier Salernitana de paffionibus mulie-
" rum." There is alfo extant, " Trottula,
" feu potius Erotis medici muliebrium li-
" ber." Bafil. 1586, 410. See alfo Mont-
fauc. Catal. MSS. p. 385. And Fabric.
Bibl. Gr. xiii. p. 439.
' By Mr. Dow, ch. xv. p. 252.
i i With
422
THE HISTORY OF
With othir worthy folk upon the dels " :
All ful of joye and blifs is the paleis,
And ful of inftruments and of vitaile,
And the moft dayntyift of al Itaile.
Before him flode foche inftruments of foune.
That Orpheus, ne of Thebis Amphioune
Ne madin nevir foche a melodic ;
At everie cours cam the loud minftralcie.
That never Joab trompid ", for to here.
Neither Theodamas yet half fo clere,
At Thebis, when the cite was in dout ".
Bacchus the wine them fkinkith ^ al about.
And Venus laugith blithe on everie wight,
For January was become her knight,
And wold in both affayin his corage
In liberty and eke in marriage.
And with her firebronde in her bond aboute
Dauncith before the bride and al the route.
And certeinly I dare fay wel right this,
Hymeneus that god of wedding is
Saw never fo mery a v/edded man.
Hold thou thy peace, thou poet Marcian %
That writift us that ilk wedding merry
Of Philology and of Mercury,
And of the fongis that the Mufes fong ;
Too fmall is both thy pen, and eke thy tong.
■ I have explained this word, p. 40. But
will here add fome new illuftrations of it.
Undoubtedly the high table in a public re-
feftory, as appears from thcfc words in Mat-
thew Paris, ' ' I'riore prandente ad m a c n a m
" MES2AM quamDAis vulgo appellamus."
In Vit. Abbat. S. Albani, p. 92. And
again the fame writer fays, that a cup, with
a foot, or ftand, was not permitted in the
hall of the monajlery, " Nifi tantuni in ma-
" jORi MENSAquam Dais app.'Ilamus."
Additam, p. 148. There is an old French
wcrd, Dais, which fi2rii6es a tlirone, or
canopy, ufually placed over the head of tlie
principal perfon at a magnificent feaft.
Hence it was transferred to the taile at
which he fate. In the Qntlent Frcncli ^0-
7!iati dc Gnrhi ;
Au plus haut DAIS fiftroy Anfeis.
Either at the firft table, or, which is much,
the f:ime thing, under the highcft canopy..
"■ Such as ]oab never, &c.
1 Danger.
^ Fill, pour.
' Seefupr, p, 391.
For
ENGLISH POETRY. 423
For to defcrivin of his marriage,
When tendir Youth has married (looping Age—
May that fittin with fo benign a chere
That her to behold it femed a feirie * :
Quene Hefter lokid ncr with foch an eye
On AfTuere, fo meke a loke hath fhe :
I may you not devis al her bewte,
But thus much of her bewte tel I may
That flie was like the bright morowe of May,
Fulfilled of all bewte and plefaunce.
Tho January is raviflied in a trance
At everie time he lokid in her face,
But in his hert he gan her to menace, &c ^
Dryden and Pope have modernifed the two laft mentioned
poems. Dryden the tale of the Nonnes Priest, and Pope
that of January and May : intending perhaps to give pat-
terns of the beft of Chaucer's Tales in the comic fpecies.
But I am of opinion that the Miller's Tale has more true
humour than either. Not that I mean to palliate the levity
of the ftory, which was mofl probably chofen by Chaucer in
compliance with the prevailing manners of an unpolifhed
age, and agreeable to ideas of feftivity not always the mod
delicate and refined. Chaucer abounds in liberties of this
kind, and this muft be his apology. So does Boccacio, and
perhaps much more, but from a different caufe. The licen-
tioufnefs of Boccacio's tales, which he cova^oitA per cacclar le
malincoUa dclle femine , to amufe the ladies, is to be vindicated,
at leaft accounted for, on other principles : it was not fo
much the confequence of popular incivility, as it was owing
to a particular event of the writer's age. Jufl: before Boc-
cacio wrote, the plague at Florence had totally changed
the cuftoms and manners of the people. Only a few of the
A phantaFy, enchantment. '' v. 1225. Urr,
I i i 2 women
424 THE HISTORY OF
women had furvived this fatal malady ; who having loft
their husbands, parents, or friends, gradually grew regard-
lefs of thofe conftraints and cuftomary formalities which
before of courfe influenced their behaviour. For want
of female attendants, they were obliged often to take men
only into their fervice : and this circumftance greatly con-
tributed to deftroy their habits of delicacy, and gave an
opening to various freedoms and indecencies unfuitable to
the fex, and frequently productive of very ferious confe-
quences. As to the monafteries, it is not furprifuig that
Boccacio fhould have made them the fcenes of his moft
libertine llories. The plague had thrown open their gates.
The monks and nuns wandered abroad, and partaking of
the common liberties of life, and the levities of the world,
forgot the rigour of their inftitutions, and the feverity of
their ecclefiaftical charafters. At the ceafing of the plague,
when the religious were compelled to return to their cloifters,
they could not forfake their attachment to thefe fecular in-
dulgences ; they continued to pradlice the fame free courfe
of life, and would not fubmit to the difagreeable and un-
focial injundlions of their refpective orders. Cotemporary
hillorians give a Ihocking reprefentation of the unbounded
debaucheries of the Florentines on this occafion : and eccle-
fiaftical writers mention this period as the grand epoch of
the relaxation of monaftic difcipline. Boccacio did not efcape
the cenfure of the church for thefe compofitions. His con-
verfion was a point much laboured j and in expiation of his
follies, he was almoft perfuaded to renounce poetry and the
heathen authors, and to turn Carthufian. But, to fay the
truth, Boccacio's life was almoft as loofe as his writings ;
till he was in great meafure reclaimed by the powerful re-
monftrances of his mafter Petrarch, who talked much more
to the purpofe than his confeflbr. This Boccacio himfelf
acknowledges in the fifth of his eclogues, wliich like thofe
of
ENGLISH POETRY. 425
of Petrarch are enigmatical and obfcure, entitled Philo-
SOTROPHOS.
But to return to the Miller's Tale. The charafter of
the Gierke of Oxford, who ftvidied allrology, ,a fcicnce then
in high repute, but under the fpecious appearance of de-
corum, and the mafk of the ferious philoibpher, carried on
intrigues, is painted v/ith thefe lively circumltances.
This clerke yclepid was hend Nicholas %
Of derne '' love he couth and of folas :
And therto was he flie, and right priv^e.
And like unto a maidin for to fe.
A chambre had he in that hoftelrie *
Alone, withoutin any company,
Ful fetoufly ydight with herbis fote '';
And he himfelf as fwete as in the rote ^
Of licoris, or any feduwalP.
His almagift ', and bokis grate and fmall.
Ills aflerlagoui' " longing for his art.
His augrim ftonis ' lying feire apart.
"^ The gentle Nicholas. common arithmetic. Chaucer was himfelf
'' Secret. an adept in tliis fort of knowledge. The
' HoJ]itiiim, one of the old hollels at Ox- learned Selden is of opinion, that his AJlro-
frrd, which were very numerous before the lake was compiled from the Arabian aftro-
foundation of the colleges. This is one of nomers and mathematicians. See his Pref.
the citizens houfes : a circumftance which to Notes on Drayt. Polyolb. p. 4. where the
gave rife to the ftory. word Dukarnon, (Troil.Cr. iii. 933, 935.)
' Sweet. is explained to be an Arabic term for a root
8 Root. in calculation. His Chanon Ye man's
'' The herb Valerian. Tale, proves his intimate acquaintance
' A book of aftronomy written by Pto- with the Hermetic philofophy, then much.
lemy. It was in thirteen books. He wrote in vogue. There is a llatute of Henry the
alfo four books of judicial aftrology. He fifth, againll the tranfmutation of metals,
was an Egyptian aftrologift, and flouriihed in Statuf. an. 4 Hen. V. cap. iv. viz. A.D.
under Marcus Antoninus. He is mentioned 1416. Chaucer, in the ^/ro/^i^^, refers to two
in the Sompmur's TaU, v. 1025, and the famous mathematicians and aftronomers of
Wife of Bash's Prologue, v. 324. his time, John Some, and Nicholas Lynne,
" Aflerlabore. An aftrolabe. both Carmelite friars of Oxford, and per-
' Stones for computation. AugrI m is haps his friends, whom he calls " reverent
Jlgorithm, thefum of the principal lules of " cleikes." Aftrolabe, p. 440. col. i. Urr.
They
426 T fi E H I S T O R Y O F J
On flielvis, al couchid at his beddls hede j
His prefTe "" ycoverid witla a folding rede :
And all above there lay a gay fautrie ",
On which he made on nightis melodie
So fwetely that al the chamber rung,
And Angelus ad Virginem he fung °.
In the defcription of the young wife of our philofopher's
hofl, there is great elegance with a mixture of burlefque al-
lufions. Not to mention the curiofity of a female portrait,
drawn with fo much exaftnefs at fuch a diftance of time.
Faire was this yonge wife, and therwithall
As a wefill '' her bodie gent and fmall.
A feint fhe werid, barrid all with filk ',
A barmecloth ° eke, as white as morrow milk.
Upon her lendis, full of many a gore '.
White was her fmok, embroudid all bifore °,
And eke behind, on her col'?re about,
Of coleblak filk, within, and eke without.
The tapis ^ of her white volipere "
Were of the fame fute of her colere \
They both wTOte calendars, uhich, like
Chaucer's Aftrolabe, were conllruded for
the meridi:m of Oxford. Chaucer men-
tions Alcabuc'ius, an aflronomer, that is,
Abdilazi Akhabitius, whofe If.igogc in
aftrologiam was printed at Venice, 1 48 5 , 4'".
Jb. fol. 440. col. ii. Compare Herbelot.
Bibl. Oriental, p. 963. b. V. Ketab.
jUafthorlab. p. 1 41. a. Nicholas Lynne
abovcmentioncd is faid to have made fi-ve-
ral voyages to the moft northerly parts of the
world, charts of which he prefented to Ed-
ward the third. Perhaps to Iceland, and
the coafts of Norway, for aftronomical ob-
fervations. Thcfe charts are loft. Hakluyt
apud Anderfon. Hift. Com. i. p. 191. fub.
ann. 1360. (Sec Hakl. Voy. i. izi.fcq.
i.ired harded. See Hollingfli. Chron.
iii. ?4. col. ii. 850. col. i. &;c. &c.
= Apron.
' Plait. Fold.
" Edged. Adorned.
" Tapes. Strings,
* Head-drefs.
y Collar.
Her
ENGLISH POETRY. 427;
Her fillit " brode of filke, and fet ful hie.
And fikerly " flie had a licorous eie.
Full fmall ypulhd " were her browis two.
And tho '' were bent ^ and blak as any flo.
And fhe was moche more blisfuU for to fe
Than is the newe perienet ' tre^
And fofter than the wool is of a wether :
And by her girdil hong a purfe of lether,
Taflid " with filke, and parlid ■= with latoun ^
In all this world to fekin up and down,
There nis no man fo wife that couthe thence
So gay a popelete • or fo gay a wench.
Full brightir was the fliining of her hewe
Than in the Towre the noble ' forgid newe.
But of her fong flie was fo loud and yerne %
As any fwallow fitting on a berne.
Therto fhe couthe fkip, and make a game,
As any kid or calfe foU'wing her dame.
Hir mouth was fwetc as brackit "■ or the methe,
Or hord of applis layd in hay or heth.
Winfmg flie was as is a jolly colt,
Long as a maft, and upright as a bolt '.
A broche '' fhe bare upon her low collere
As brode as is the boffe of a bokelere '.
Her flioes were lacid on her leggis hie, &c ".
Nicholas, as we may fuppofe, was not proof againfl the
charms of his blooming hortefs. He has frequent opportu-
" Knot. Top-knot. ' " So pretty a puppet."
" Certainly. ' Apiece of money.
" " Made fmall ornarrow, by plucking." e Shrill.
y They. "^ Bragget. A drink made of honey,
'■= Arched. fpices. &c.
' A young pear-tree. Fr. Peir jeunet. ' " Straight as an arrow."
'' Tadeled. Fringed. '' A jewel.
' I would read purfild. ' Buckler.
*■ Latcun, or chekclaton, is cloth of ™ v. 125. Urn.
gold.
aitieS
428 THE HISTORY OF
nities of converfing whh her: for her hufband is the car-
penter of Ofeney Abbey near Oxford, and often abfent in
the woods belonging to the monaftery". His rival is x'Vbfalom,
a parifh-clerk, the gaieft of his caUing, who being amoroufly
inchned, v^eiy naturally avails himfelf of a circumftance be-
longing to his profefTion : on holidays it was his buhnefs to
carry the cenfer about the church, and he takes this oppor-
tunity of cafting unlawful glances on the handfomeft dames
of the parifli. His gallantry, agility, affe6lation of drefs
and perfonal elegance, Ikill in fhaving and furgery, fmattering
in the law, talle formufic, and many other accomplifliments,
are thus inimitably reprefented by Chaucer, who muft have
much rpliflied £0 ridiculous a chara6ler.
Now was ther of the chirch a parifh clerke,
The which that was yclepid Abfalon,
Crull was his heere, and as the gold it flione,
And fVroutid as a fanne longe and brode,
Ful ftraight and even lay his jolly fhode °.
His rude '' was redde, his eyii'^ gray as gofe.
With Poulis windows cai"vin on his fhofe '.
In hofm red he went ful fetoufly :
Yclad he was ful fmale and propirly
Al in a kirtil ' of a light watchet,
Ful fayre, and thicke be the pointis fet :
And thereuppon he hadde a gaie furplice
As white as is the blofome on the rice'.
A merie child he was, fo god me fave,
Well couth he lettin blode, and clip, and fliave.
^ See V. 557. " Hair.
, , , , P Complexion.
---I trow that he bewent , See p. 379. fupr.
For timber, there our abbot hath him fent: r Jacket
For he is wont for timber for to go. . Hawthorn,
And awelhn at the grange a day or twx).
Or
ENGLISH POETRY.
429
Or make a chartre of land or acquittaunce ;
In twentic manir couth he trip and dauncej
After the fchole of Oxenfordi tho,
And with his leggis caftin to and fro.
And pleyin fongis on a fmale ribible ',
Therto he fometimes foud a long quinible '.
His manner of making love muft not be omitted. He fe-
renades her with his guittar.
He wakith al the night, and al the day,
He kembith his lockes brode, and made him gay.
He woith her by menis and brocage ",
And fwore that he would ben her owne page.
He fmgith broking " as a nightingale.
He fent her piment \ methe, and fpicid ale.
And wafirs piping hot out of the glede \
And, for flie was of town, he profFred mede '^. —
' V. 224. A fpecies of guittar. LyJgate,
MSS. Bibl. Bodl. Fairf. 16. In a poem
never printed, called Rcafon and Senfual-
lite, comfjled by Jhon Lydgate.
Lutys, rubibis, (1. ribibles)and geternes,
More for eftatys than tavernes.
' Treble.
" By offering money : or a fettlement.
" Quavering.
'^ Explained above, p. 178.
>■ The coals. I'he oven.
* See Rime of Sir Thopas, v. 3357.
p. 1 46. Urr. Mr. Walpole has mentioned
iome curious particulars concerning the
liquors which antiently prevailed in Eng-
land. Anecd. Paint, i. p.i i. I will add, that
cyder was very early acommon liquor among
our anccrtors. In ihe year 1295. an. 23
Edw. 1. the king orders thefiierxtt'ofSouth-
amptonfhire to provide with all fpeed four
hundred quarters of wheat, to be colleifled
in parts of his bailiwick ncareft the fea, and
to convey the fame, being well winnowed,
in good fhips from Poitf.uouth to Winchel-
fea. Alfo to put on board the faid fhips,
at the fame time, two hundred tons of
cyder. Teft. R. apud Canterbury. The
coft to be paid immediately from the king's
wardrobe. This precept is in old French.
Regilb-. Joh. Pontiflar. Epifc. Winton. fol.
172. It is remarkable that Wickliffe tran-
flates, Luc. i. 21. "He fchal not drinke
" wyn ne Jj/dyr." This tranflation was
made about A. D. 1380. At a vifitation
of St. Swithin's priory at Winchefter, by
the faid bilhop, it .appears that the monks
claimed to have, among other articles of
luxury, on many fcllivals, " Vinum, tarn aL
" bum quam rubeum, claretum, medonem,
" burgarallrum, &c." This was fo early
as the year I 285. Regiftr Priorat. S. Swith.
Winton. MS. fupr. citat. quatern. 5. It
appears alfo, that the Horda. ius and Came-
raiius claimed every year of the prior ten
Mia t'ir;i. Or twenty pounds in money,
A. D. 1337. Ibid, quatern. 5. A bene-
fador grants to the faid convent on the
day of his anniverfary, " unam pipam vini
pret. XX. i." for their refeftitn, A.D. 1286
K k k Ibid-
430 THE HISTORY OF
Sometimes to ftiew his lightnefs and maiflry
He playith heraudes ' on a fcaffold hie.
Again,
When that the firfte cok hath crow anon,
Uprift this jolly lovir Abfolon;
And him arayith gay at point devife.
But firft he chewith greyns " and licorice.
To fmellin fote, ere he had kempt his here.
Under his tongue a true love knot he bare.
For thcrby wend he to be gracioufe ;
Then romith to the carpenteris houfe \
In the mean time the fcholar, intent on accomplifliing his
intrigue, locks himfelf up in his chamber for the fpace of
two days. The carpenter, alarmed at this long feclufion,
and fuppofmg that his gueft might be fick or dead, tries to
gain admittance, but in vain. He peeps through a crevice
of the door, and at length difcovers the fcholar, who is con-
fcious that he was feen, in an affeifted trance of abftracled
meditation. On this our carpenter, refle6ling on the danger
of being wife, and exulting in the fecurity of his own
ignorance, exclaims,
A man wott littil what fhall him betide !
This man is fallen with his aftronomy
In fome wodenefs, or in fome agony.
Ibid, quatem. lo. Before the year 1200, occurs in the Romant of the Rose.
" Vina at medoncs" are mentioned as not v. 1369. A rent of herring pies is an old
uncommon in the abbey ot Eveiham in payment from the city of Norwich to the
Worcefterfhire. Stevens Monart. Append. king, feafoned among other fpices with half
p. 138. The ufe of mead, «(v/^, feems to an ounce of grains of ParaJife. Blomf.
have been very antient in England. See Norf ii. 264.
Mon. Angl. i. 26. Thorne, Chron. fub. ' v. 579. It is to be remarked, th.it in
ann. 11 14. Compare Dissertat i. this tale the carpenter fweurs, with great
' Speght explains this " f.'ats of activity, propriety, by the patronefs faint of O.x-
" furious parts in a play." Glolf. Ch. Urr. lord, f;unt Iridcfwide, v. 340.
Perhaps the charafterofHEROD in a Mys- rj.,^;^ carpenter to bliflin him bepan,
■^"V . rT, ■ n IT And ftide now hclpin US faint Fiidtfwide.
^ Greyns, or grains, of Tans, or Paradife, *
1 thoughtin
ENGLISH POETRY. 431
I thoughtin ay wele how it fliulde be :
Men fliulde not know '' of gods privite.
Yea bleflid be alway the lewde-man %
That nought but only his belefe can ^
So farde another cleike with aftronomy ;
He walkid in the feldis for to pry
Upon the flarres to wate what fliuld bifall
Tyll he was in a marlepit yfall ;
He faw not that. But yet, by feint Thomas,
Me ruith fore on hende Nicholas ;
He fliall be ratid for his ftudying.
But the fcholar has ample gratification for this ridicule.
The carpenter is at length admitted ; and the fcholar conti-
nuing the farce, gravely acquaints the former that he has
been all this while making a moil important difcovery by
means of aftrological calculations. He is foon perfuaded to
believe the predi6lion : and in the fequel, which cannot be
repeated here, this humourous contrivance crowns the fcho-
lar's fchemes with fuccefs, and proves the caufe of the car-
penter's difgrace. In this piece the reader obferves that the
humour of the characters is made fubfervient to the plot.
I have before hinted, that Chaucer's obfcenlty is in great
meafure to be imputed to his age. We are apt to form
romantic and exaggerated notions about the moral innocence
of our anceftors. Ages of ignorance and fimplicity are
thought to be ages of purity. The dire6l contrary, I believe,
is the cafe. Rude periods have that groffnefs of manners
which is not lefs friendly to virtue than luxury itfclf. In
the middle ages, not only the moft flagrant violations of
modefty were frequently pra6tifed and permitted, but the
moft infamous vices. Men are lefs afliamed as they are lefs
poliihed. Great refinement multiplies criminal pleafures, but
* " Pry into the fecrets of nature." "^ Unlearned. ' " Who knows only what
he-believes." Or, his Creed.
K k k 2 at
432
THE HISTORY OF
at the fame time prevents the a6lual commlflion of many
enormities : at leaft it preferves public decency, and
fupprefles public licentiovifnefs.
The Reves Tale, or the Miller of Trompington, is
much in the fame ftyle, but with lefs hum.our '. This ftory
was enlarged by Chaucer from Boccacio ''. There is an old
Englifli poem on the fame plan, entitled, A ryght picafant mid
7nerye kijlory cf the Mylncr cf Abingfon, with his Wife a7id faire
Daughter, and tv:o fccre Schc/ars cfCarKh-idge '. It begins with
thefe lines.
" Faire lordinges, if you lift to heere
" A mery jeft °' your minds to cheere."
This piece is fuppofed by Wood to have been v/ritten by
Andrew Eorde, a phyfician, a wit, and a poet, in the reign
of Henry the eighth ". It vras at leaft evidently written
^ ScealfoTHE Shipman'sTale, which
was originally taken fiom fome comic
Frencli trobadour. Eut Chaucer had it
from Boccacio. The fiery of Zencbia, in
the MoNKEs Tale, isfjom Boccacio's
Caf. Vir. Illuftr. (See Lydg. Boch. viii. 7.)
That of Hugolin of Pifa in the fame Tale,
from Dr.nte. That of Pedro of Spain,
from archbilhop Turpin, ibid. Of Julius
C'efar, from Lucan, Suetonius, and X'alerius
Ma-ximus, ibid. The idea of this Tale
was fuggefted by Boccacio's book on the
fame fubjedt.
'' Decamer. Giom. ix. Nov. 6.
' A manifeft miilake for Oxfcrd, unlefs
we read 'J'rumpingtcn for Abingdcn, or
retaining Abingdon we might read Oxford
for Cambridge. Imprint, at London by
Rycharde Jones, 410. Bl. Let. It is in
Bibl. Bodl. Seldcn, C. 39. 410. This
book was probably given to that library,
with many other petty black letter hifto-
ries, in profe and verfe, of a fimilar cart,
i-y Robert Burton, au'.lwr of the Anatomy
cf Melancholy, who was a great col-
kftor of futh pieces. One of his bocks
row in the Bodleian is the History of
Tom Thumb ; whom alearned antiquary,
while he laments that antient hiRory has
been much dilguifed by romantic narra-
tives, pronounces to have been no lefs im-
portant a perfonage than kin_j Edgar's
dwarf.
"' Story.
" See Wood's Athen. Oxon. Borde.
And Ilearne's Bened. Abb. i. Praefat.
p. xl. Iv. I am of opinion that Solerc-flall,
in Cambiidgc, mentioned in this poem,
was Aula Solarii. The hall, with the up-
per flory, at that time a fuflicient circum-
flancc to dillinguifh and de ominate one
of tlie academical hofpitia. Although
Chaucer calls it, " a grete coir^ge," v. 88.
Thus in Oxford we had Chimney-hall,
Aula cuin Camino, an almoll p.irallel proof
of the fimplicity of their antient houfcs
of learning. Twyne alfo mentions Solere-
hall, at Oxford. Alfo Aula Selarii, which
I doubt not is properly Solarii. Compare
Wood. Ant. Oxon. ii.' 11. col. i. 13. col. i.
12. col. 2. Caius-v.'ill have it to be Clare-
hall. Hifl. Acad. p. 57. Thofe who read
Scholar!-
ENGLISH POETRY.
433
after the time of Chaucer. It is the work of feme taftelefs
imitator, who has fufficlently difguifed his original, by re-
taining none of its fpirit. I mention thcfe circumftances,
left it Paould be thought that this frigid abridgment was
the ground-v/ork of Chaucer's poem on the fame fubje^. In
the clafs of humourous or fatirical tales, the Sompnour's
Tale, which expofcs the tricks and extortions of the men-
dicant friars, has alfo diflinguifhed merit. This piece has
incidentally been mentioned above with the Plowman's
Tale, and -Pierce Plowman.
Genuine humour, the concomitant of true tafle, confifts
in difcerning improprieties in books as well as charaflers.
We therefore muft remark under this clafs another tale of
Chaucer, which till lately has been looked upon as a grave
heroic narrative. I mean the Rime of Sir Thopas. Chau-
cer, at a period v/hich almofl rcalifed the manners of roman-
tic chivalry, difcerned the leading ' abfurdities of the old
romances : and in this poem, which may be juflly called a
prelude to Don Quixote, has burlefqued them with exquifite
ridicule. That this was the poet's aim, appears from many
pafTages. But, to put the matter beyond a doubt, take the
words of an ingenious critic. " We are to obferve, fays he,
" that this v^as Chaucer's own Tale : and that, when in the
*' progrefs of it, the good fenfe of the hoft is made to break
" in upon him, and interrupt him, Chaucer approves his
" difguft, and changing his note, tells the funple inilruftive
" Tale of Meliboeus,^ ^ moral tale vertuciis, as he terms it ;
" to fliew what fort of fi<5Vions were moH expreflivc of real
" life, and moil proper to be put into the hands of the
" people. It is further to be noted, that the Boke of The
" Giant Olyphant, and Chyl.le 'Thopas, was not a fi'ftioa of
Scholars-hall (of Edw. iii.) may confult Jial! near Brazen-nofe college, Oxford, was-
Wacht. V. SoLLER. In the mean time for called Glazen-hall, having glafs windows,
the reafons afligned, one of thefc two halls antlently not common. See Twyne MifceL
or colleges at Cambridge, might at firft qusdam, &c. ad calc. ApoL Antiq. Acad.,
have been commonly called Sol;r-ha!l. A O.xon.
" his
434
THE HISTORY OF
" his own, but a ftory of antique fame, and very cele-
" brated in the days of chivalry : fo that nothing could
" better fuit the poet's defign of difcrediting the old ro-
" mances, than the choice of this venerable legend for the
" vehicle of his ridicule upon them °. But it is to be re-
membered, that Chaucer's defign was intended to ridicule
the frivolous defcriptions, and other tedious impertinencies,
fo common in the volumes of chivalry with which his age
was overwhelmed, not to degrade in general or expofe a
mode of fabling, whofe fublime extravagancies conftitute the
marvellous graces of his own Cambuscan } a compofition
which at the fame time abundantly demonftrates, that the
manners of romance are better calculated to anfwer the pur-
pofes of pure poetry, to captivate the imagination, and to
produce furprife, than the flections of claffical antiquity.
" See Dr. Kurd's Letters on Chivalry and Romance. Dialogues, &c. iii.
218. edit. 1765.
SECT.
ENGLISH POETRY. 435
SECT. XVII.
BUT Chaucer's vein of humour, although confpicuous
in the Canterbury Tales, is chiefly dilplayecl in the
Characters with which they are introduced. In thefe his know-
ledge of the world availed him in a peculiar degree, and
enabled him to give fuch an accurate pici'ure of antient man-
ners, as no cotemporary nation has tranfmitted to pofterity.
It is here that we view the purfuits and employments, the cuf-
toms and diverfions,of our anceftors, copied from the life, and
reprefented with equal truth and fpirit, by a judge of man-
kind, whofe penetration qualified him to difcern their foibles
or difcriminating peculiarities ; and by an artift, who un-
derflood that proper fele6tion of circumflances, and thofe
predominant charafterifllcs, which form a finilhed portrait.
We are furprifed to find, in fo grofs and ignorant an age,
fuch talents for fatire, and for obfervation on life ;
qvialities which ufually exert themfelves at more civilifcd
periods, when the improved ftate of fociety, by fubtilifmg
our fpeculations, and eftablifliing uniform modes of beha-
viour, difpofes mankind to ftudy themfelves, and renders
deviations of condu6f, and Angularities of character, more
immediately and necefiarily the objefls of cenfure and ridi-
cule. Thefe curious and valuable remains are fpecimens of
Chaucer's native genius, unaffilled and unalloyed. The
figures are all Britifli, and bear no fufpicious fignatures of
claffical, Italian, or French imitation. The chara6lers of
Theophraflus are not fo lively, particular, and appropriated.
A few traites from this celebrated part of our author, yet
too little tailed and undcrftood, may be fufficient to prove
and illuftrat? what is here advanced.
The
436 THE HISTORY OF
The character of the Prioresse is chiefly difthiguiflied by
an excels of deHcncy and decorum, and an affeftation of
courtly accomphfliments. But we are informed, that fhe was
educated at the fchool of Stratford at Bow near London,
perhaps a fafhionable feminary for breeding nuns.
There was alfo a nonne a Prioreife
That of her fmiling was funble and coy ;
Her gretift othe was but by faint Eloye ^
And French flie fpake full fayre and fetiflv,
Aftir the fchole of Stratford atte Bowe,
For French of Paris was to her unknowe.
At mete "^ was fhe well ytaught withall ;
She let no morfell from her lippis fall,
Ne wet her fingris in the fauce depe ;
Well couth file carry a morfel, and well kepe.
That no drope ne fell upon her breft ;
In curtefie was fett ful much her left \
Her ovirlippe wipid fhe fo clene.
That in her cup ther was no ferthing fene
Of grece, when fhe dronkin had hir draught,
Full femily aftir hir mete flie raught '. —
And painid hir to counterfetc chere
Of court, and to ben flately of manere \
She has even the falfe pity and fentimentallty of many
modern ladies.
She was fo chaiitable and fo pitous,
She woulde wcpc if that Ihe faw a mous
Caught in a trapp, if it were ded or bled.
Of fmale houndis had fhe that fhe fed
'' Siynii Lay,' i. c. Snint Lewis. The '' Pleafure. Dcfire.
f:iine oath occurs in the Freere's Tale, ■= Literally, Strctcte,/,
V. 300. p. 88. Urr. ' Prol. v. 124.
•^ Dinner.
M'lth
E N G L I S n P O E T R Y. 437
With roftid flefh, or milk, or waftell bred ^ :
But fore wept fiie if any of them were ded,
Or if men fmotc them with a yardc '' fmert :
And all was confcience and tendir hert '.
The Wife of Bath is more amiable for her plain and
tifeful qualifications. She is a refpeftable dame, and her
chief pride confifts in being a confpicuous and fignificant
charafter at church on a Sunday.
Of clothmaking " fhe hadde fuch a haunt
She pallid them of Ipr^ and of Gaunt '.
In all the parifli, wife ne was there none
That to the offryng was bifore her gone ;
And if ther did, certain fo wroth was flie,
That flie was outin of all charite.
Her coverchefes " were large and fine of ground,
I durft to fwere that thei weyid three pound,
That on a fonday were upon hir hedde :
Her hofin werin of fine fcarlett redde.
Full ftrait iftreynid, and hir fhoos ful newe :
Bold was hir face, and fayr and redde hir hewe.
She was a worthy woman all her live :
" Husbandes at the chirche dore had flie had five '.
B Bread of a finer fort.
h Stick.
' V. 143.
'' It is to be obferved, that (he lived in
the neighbourhood of Bath ; a country fa-
mous for clothing to this day.
' See above, p. 177.
"' Head drefs.
" At the fouthern entrance of Norwich
cathedral, a reprefent.ition of the Espou-
sals, or facrament of marriage, is carved
in rtone ; for here the hands of the couple
were joined by the priell, and great part
of the fervice performed. Here alfo the
bride was endowed \\ith what was called
Doj aJ ojVium ecchfi.e. This ceremony is
exhibited in a curious old pifture engraved
hy Mr. Walpole, where king Henry the
feventh is married to his queen. Handing
at the facade or weftsrn portal of a magnifi-
cent Gothic church. Anecd. Paint, i. 31,
Compare Marten. Rit. Eccl. Anccdot. ii.
p. 630. And Hearne's Antiijtit. Glaftonb.
Append, p. 310,
" V. 4+9-
L 1 1
Th:
43? THE HISTORY OF
The Frankelein is a country gentleman, wliofe eftate
confifted in free land, and was not fubject to feudal fervicea
or payments. He is ambitious of fliewing his riches by the
plenty of his table : but his hofpitality, a virtue much more
pra6licable among our anceftors than at prefent, often de-
generates into luxurious excefs. His impatience if his fauces
were not fufficiently poignant, and every article of his dinner
in due form and readinefs, is touched with the hand of Pope
or Boileau. He had been a prefident at the feflions, knight;
of the fhire, a IherifF, and a coroner ■■.
An houfliolder, and that a gret, was he :
Saint Julian he was in his countre ',
Kis brede, his ale, was alway aftir one;
A bettir viendid ' men was no wher none,
Withoutin bake mete never was his houfe
Of fifh and flclhe, and that fo plenteoufe,
It fnewid ' in his houfe of mete and drink,.
And of all dainties that men couth of think,
Aftir the fondrie feafons of the yere.
So chaungid he his mete ', aiid his fuppere.
Many a fat partrichc had he in mewe,
And many a breme, and many a luce ", in ftewe.
Woe was his cooke, but that his fau.cis were
Poinant and fliarpe, and redy all his gere !.
His table dormaunt ^ in the halle alway,
Stode redy covorid, all the long^ day".
» An office an tiently executed by gentle- his lodgings. See Urr. Ch. p. 599. v.
j.cn of the grcatcft refped and property. 625.
i Sirr.on the leper, at whofe hcufe ourSa- ' Better vianded.
viour lodged in Bethany, is called, in the ' Snowed.
Legends, "Julian tic gccd berlor^nv, and ' Dinner,
^ilhop of Bethpage. In the Talk of " Pike.
Beryn, St. Julian is invoked to revenge * Never ri moved,
a traveller who had been traiteroufly ufcd in * v. 356-
The
ENGLISH POETRY. 439
The chara6ler of the Do(5lor of Phisicke preferves to us
the Hate of medical knowledge, and the courfe of medical
erudition then in fallvion. He treats his patients according
to rules of aftronomy : a fcience which the Arabians engrafted
on medicine.
For he was groundid in aftronomie :
He kept his pacients a full grct dele
In houris by his magike natural \
Petrarch leaves a legacy to his phyfician John de Dondi,
of Padua, who was likewife a great aftronomer, in the yeai*
1370''. It was a long time before the medical profeffion was
purged from thefe fuperftitions. Hugo de Evefliam, born
in Worcefterlhire, one of the moft famous phyficians in
Europe about the year 1280, educated in both the univer-
fities of England, and at others in France and Italy, was
eminently ikilled in mathematics and aftronomy \ Pierre
d'Apono, a celebrated profeflbr of medicine and aftronomy
at Padua, wrote commentaries on the problems of Ariftotle,
in the year 13 10. Roger Bacon fays, " aftronomise pars
" melior medicina\" In the ftatutes of New-College at Ox-
ford, given in the year 1387, medicine and aftronomy are
mentioned as one and the fame fcience. Charles the fifth
king of France, who was governed entirely by aftrologers,
and who commanded all the Latin treatifes which could be
found relating to the ftars, to be tranflated into French,
eftablifhed a college in the univerfitv of Paiis for the ftudy
of medicine and aftrology ^ There is a fcarce and very cu-
rious book, entitled, " Nova medicin^e methodus curandi
" morbos ex mathematica fcientia deprompta, nunc denuo
y V. 416. "^ Bacon, Op. Maj. edit. Jebb, p. 158,
^ See Acad. Infcript. xx. 443. See alfo p. 240. 247.
" Pitf. p. 370. Bale, iv. 50. xiii. 86-. "^ Moiufaucon, Bibl. Manufcript. torn. ii.
p. 79i.b.
L 1 1 ?- revifaj
440
THE HISTORY OF
" revifa, &c. Joanne Hasfurto Virdungo, medico et aftrologo
" doftiffimo, audlore, Haganote excuf. 15 18 ''." Hence magic
made a part of medicine. In the Marchaunts fecond tale,
or History of Beryn, falfcly afcribed to Chaucer, a chirur-
gical operation of changing eyes is partly performed by the
afliilance of the occult fciences.
The whole fcience of all furgeiy,
Was undyd, or the chaunge was made of both eye,
With many fotill enchantours, and eke nygrymauncers.
That fent wer for the nonis, maiflrls, and fcoieris =.
Leland mentions one William Glatifaunt, an aftrologer and
phvfician, a fellow of Merton college in Oxford, who wrote
a medical tract, which, fays he, " nefcio quid magi-^i: fpira-
" bat^" I could add many other proofs ^
The books which our phyfician fludied are then enumerated.
Well knew he the old Efculapius,
And Diofcorides, and eke Rufus,
Old Hippocrates, Haly, and Galen,
Serapion, Rafis, and Avicen,
Averrois, Damafcene, Conftantine,
Bernard, and Gattifden, and Gilbertin.
Rufus, a phyfician of Ephefus, wrote in Greek, about
the time of Trajan. Some fragments of his works ftill
remain \ Haly was a famous Arabic aftronomer, and a
commentator on Galen, in the eleventh century, which pro-
duced fo many famous Arabian phyficians '. John Serapion,
of the fame age and country, wrote on the practice of
' In quarto. ' v. 2989. Urr. Ch. of him. Herbcl. Bibl. Orient, p. 972. b.
• Ltl. apud Tann. Bibl. p. 262. And 977. b.
Lcl. Script. Brit. p. 400. ' Id. ibid. Sosc. xi. cap. 5. p. 114.
« See Ames's Hill. Print, p. 147. H.ily, called Abbas, was likewifc an emi-
'' Conring. Script. Com. Sxc. i. cap. 4. ncnt phyliciaii of this period. He was
p. 66. 67. The Arabians have tranflatjons called, " Simia Galcni." Id. ibid.
phyfic
ENGLISH POETRY
441
phyfic''. Avicen, the moil eminent phyfician of the Ara-
bian fchool, flouriflied in the fame century '. Rhafis, an
Afiatic phyfician, pra(5liced at Cordoua in Spain, where he
died in the tenth century"". Averroes, as the Afiatic fchools
decayed by the indolence of the Caliphs, was one of thof^
philofophers who adorned the Moorilh fchools erected in
Africa and Spain. He was a profelfor in the univerfity of
Morocco. He wrote a commentary on all Ariflotle's works,
and died about the year 1160. He was flyled the moil
Peripatic of all the Arabian writers. He was boi'n at Cordoua
of an antient Arabic family". John Damafcene, fecretary
to one of the Caliphs, wrote in various fcienccs, before the
Arabians had entered Europe, and had leen the Giecian phi-
lofophers °. Conllantinus Afer, a monk of Caffmo in Italy
was one of the Saracen phyficians who brought medicine
into Europe, and formed the Salernitan ichool, chiefly by
tranflating various Arabian and Grecian medical books into
Latin ^ He was born at Carthage : and learned grammar,
logic, geometry, arithmetic, ailronomy, and nata;al philo-
fophy, of the Chaldees, Arabians, Perfians, Saracens, Egyp-
tians, and Indians, in the fchools of Bagdat. Being thus
completely accompliihed in thefe fciences, after thirty-nine
years ftudy, he returned into Africa, where an attempt was
formed againil his life. Conilantine, having fortunately
difcovered this defign, privately took fliip and came to Sa-
^ fd. ibid. p. 113, 114.
' ]d. ibid. See Pard. T. v. ZJ^o- . Urr.
p. 136.
'" Con ring, ut fupr. Ssc. x cap. 4.
p. 110. He wrote a large and famous work,
called Contincns. Rhafis and Alir.afor, (f. Al-
bumafar, a great Arabian aftrologer,) otcur
in the library of Peterborough Abby, Ma-
tric. Libr. Monaft. Burgi S. Petri Gunton,
Peterb. p. 187. See Hcarne, Ben. Abb.
Pra;f. lix.
" Coming, ut fupr. Saec. \ii. cap. 2.
p. 1 18. " Vofs Hift. Gr. L. iii. c. 24.
P Petr. Diacon. dc Vir. illuftr. Monal'-^
Caffin. cap. xxiii. See tlie Disshrta-
TiONs. He is again mentioned by our au-
thor in the March aunt's Tale, v.
1 3 26. p. 71. Urr.
And leftuaries had he there full fine,
Soche as the curfid monk Dan Conflantii.e
Hath written in his boke de Coitu.
The title of this book is, " De Coitu,
" quibus profit aut obfit, quibus medica-
" minibus et aliment's acuatur impedia-
" turve." Inter Op. £*£!. 1536. fol.
lerno
442
THE HISTORY OF
lerno in Italy, where he lurked fome time in difguile. But
he was recognifed by the Caliph's brother then at Salerno,
who recommended him as a fcholar univerfally (killed in the
learning of all nations, to the notice of Robert duke of
Normandy. Robert entertained him with the higheft marks
of refpeft : and Conftantine, by the advice of his patron,
retired to the monaftery of Caffino, where being kindly re-
ceived by the abbot Defiderius, he tranflated in that learned
fociety the books above-mentioned, moft of which he firft
imported into Europe. Thefe verfions are faid to be llill
extant. He flourilhed about the year 1086''. Bernard, or
Bernardus Gordonius, appeals to have been Chaucer's co-
temporary. He was a profeflbr of medicine at Montpelier,
and wrote many :. treatifes in that faculty '. John Gatifdeu
was a fellow of Merton college, where Chaucer was educated,
about the year 1320 % Pitts fays, that he was profeflbr of
1 See Leo Oilienfis, or P'. Diac. Auftaf.
ad Leon. Cliron. Mon. Caflin. lib. iii. c-
35. p. 445. Scriptor. Italic, torn. iv. Mura-
tor. Li his book de Incantationi-
Bus, one of his enquiries is. An itfji-
nerim in liirii Grjecorv M hoc qualiter
in Indorum libris tji iii-venire, &c. Op.
torn. i. ut fupr.
' Petr. Lambec. Prodrom. Sxc. xiv. p.
274. edit, ut fupr.
' It has been before obferved, that at the
introduftion of philofophy into Europe by
the Saracens, the clergy only fludied and
prafticed the medical art. This fafliion
prev'ailed a long while afterwards. The
Prior and Convent of S. Swithin's at Wia-
chefter granted to Thomas of Shaftclhury,
clerk, a corrody, confifting of two difhcs
'.
The following anecdotes and obfervations may ferve to
throw general light on the learning of the authors who com-
pofe this curious library. The Ariftotelic or Arabian philo-
sophy continued to be communicated from Spain and Africa
to the reft of Europe chiefly by means of the Jews : parti-
cularly to France and Italy, which were over-run with Jews
about the tenth and eleventh centuries. About thefe periods,
not only the courts of the Mahometan princes, but even
that of the pope himfelf, were filled with Jews. Here they
principally gained an eftablilhment by the profefiion of
univerfity of Paris were not allowed to Who fays, that Gilbert's PraBica et Com-
marry till the year 1452. Menagian. p. ^fW/am Aftfl'/V;>(«' was moll carefully ftudied
333. In the fame univerfitv, antiently at by many " ad quoeftum properantcs." He
tlie admiflion to the degree of doftor in adds, that it was common, about this time,
phyfic, they took an oatli that they wcie for foreign writers to affume the furname
not married. MSS. Br. Twyne, s- P- 249- Angliaa, as a plaufible recommendation.
' p. 414. ' Conring. ut fupr. Ssc. xiii. cap. 4. p.
" Tanner, Bibl. p. 312. Leland ftylcs 126. About the fame time, the works of
this work, " opus luculentum juxta ac eru- Galen and Hippocrates were firft tranflated,
<' ditum." Script. Brit. p. 35;. from Greek into Latin : but in a mofl bar^
" Conring. ut fupr. Sic. xiii. cap. 4. p. barous llyle. Id. ibid. p. 127.
12,7. And Leljnd. Script. Brit. p. 291. 1 v. 440,
phyfLC J,
444
THEH-ISTORY OF
phyfic ; an art then but imperfeclly known and pracliced in
moll parts of Europe. Being well verfed in the Arabic
tongue, from their commerce with Africa and Egypt, they
had ftudied the Arabic tranflations of Galen and Hippo-
crates ; which had become ftill more familiar to the great
numbers of their brethren who refided in Spain. From this -
fource alfo the Jews learned philofophy ; and Hebrew verfions
made about this period from the Arabic, of Ariftotle and the
Greek phyficians and mathematicians, are Itill extant in fomc
libraries ^. Here was a beneficial effefl: of the difperfion and
vao-abond condition of the Tews : I mean the diffufion of
knowledge. One of the mod eminent of thcfe learned Jews
was Mofes Maimonides, a phyfician, philofopher, aftrologer,
and theologift, educated at Cordoua in Spain under Averroes.
He died about the year 1208. Averroes being accufed of
heretical opinions, was fentenced to live icith the Jews in the
Jlreet of the Jeivs at Cordoua. Some of thefe learned Jews
began to flourifli in the Arabian fchools in Spain, as early as
the beginning of the ninth century. Many of the treatifes
of Averroes were tranflated by the Spanifli Jews into He-
brew : and the Latin pieces of Averroes now extant were
tranflated into Latin from thefe Hebrew verfions. I have
already mentioned the fchool or univerfity of Cordoua. Leo
Africanus fpeaks of " Platea bibliothecariorum Cordouse."
This, from what follovvrs, appears to be a ftreet of bookfel-
lers. It was in the time of Averroes, and about the year
1220. One of our Jew philofophers having fallen in love,
turned poet, and his verfes were publicly fold in this ftreet '.
My author foys, that renouncing the dignity of the Jcwifli
do6lor, he took to writing verfes ".
'' Eufeb. Renaudot. apud Fabric Bibl. " tate doctorum posthabita cccpit
Gr. xii. 254. " cJerc cannina." See alfo Simon, in
^ Leo African, dc Med. et Philofoph. Suppl.adLeon.Mutinenf.deRitib.Hi.br.
Ilcbr. c. xxviii. xxix. p. 104.
Jxo ibid. " Amore capitur, ct digni-
The
ENGLISH POETRY. 445
The SoMPNouR, whofe office it was to fummon uncano-
nical offenders into the archdeacon's court, where they were
very rigoroufly puniflied, is humourouily diawn as countera6t-
ing his profelfion by his example ; he is hbidinous and vo-
luptuous, and his rofy countenance behes his occupation.
This is an indirect fatire on the ecclefiaftical proceedings
of thofe times. His affe6lation of Latin terms, which he
had picked up from the decrees and pleadings of the court,
mufl have formed a charafter highly ridiculovis.
And when that he v/ell dronkin had the wine,
Then would he fpeke no word but Latine.
A few fchole termis couth he two or thre.
That he had lernid out of fome decre.
No wonder is, he herd it all the day :
And ye well knowin eke, how that a jay
Can clepe wult as well as can the pope :
But whofo covuh in other things him grope *,
Then had he fpent al his philofophie,
A qiiejlio quid juris ' would he crie ^
He is with great propriety made the friend and companion
of the Pardonere, or difpenfer of indulgences, who is juft
arrived from the pope, " brimful of pardons come from
" Rome al hote :" and who carries in his wallet, among other
holy curiofities, the vn-gin Mary's veil, and part of the fail
of Saint Peter's fhip'.
The MoNKE is reprefented as more attentive to horfes and
hounds than to the rigorous and obfolete ordinances of Saint
Benedidl. Such are his ideas of fecular pomp and pleafure,
that he is even qualified to be an abbot \
^ Examine. tiiry, the prior and convent of Saint Swithin's
■^ Read "Aye, quejiio, &c," at Wincheifer, appear to have recommended
^ V. 639. ' one of their brethren to the convent of
" V. 670. feq. Hyde as a proper ptrfon ro be preferred to
' There is great humour in the circura- the abbacy of tliat consent, then v?.orJi\
Gower, Conf. Amant. lib. viii. fol. 177, b. _
•dit. Berthel. 1554. That is, " he was feated in the middle of
" the table, a place of diftinftion and dig-
— Bad his marfhall of his hall " nity."
To fettcu him in fuch degrc, » Pruffia, t Lithuania. ^ Livonia.
Nq
ENGLISH POETRY.
449
No criften man fo oft of his degree
In Granada, and in the fege had he be
Of Algezir ", and ridd in Belmary ^
At Leyis ' was he, and at Sataly ^
When they were won : and in the grete fea :
At maliy a noble army had he be :
At mortal battailes had he ben fiftene,
And foughtin for our faith at Tramifcne '
In lyllis thrys, and alway flein his fo.
This iike worthy Knight had ben alfo
Sometimis with the lord of Palathy ^ :
Ayens ^ another hethen in Turky.
And evirmore he had a fovrane prize.
And thoug that he was worthy he v/as wife ■".
The poet in fome of thefe lines implies, that after the
Chriftians were driven out of Paleftine, the Engliflr knights
of his days joined the knights of Livonia and Pruflia, and
attacked the pagans of Lithuania, and its adjacent territories.
Lithuania was not converted to chriftianity till towards the
clofe of the fourteenth century. PrufTian targets are men-
tioned, as we have before feen, in the Knight's Tale.
Thom.as duke of Gloucefter, youngeft fon of king Edward
the third, and Henry earl of Derby, afterwards king Henry
the fourth, travelled into Pruflia : and in conjun6lion with
' A city of Spain. Perhnps Gibraltar.
*> Speglit fuppoics it to be that country
in Barbary which is called Benamarin. It
is mentioned again in the Kn i g h t 's T a l e ,
V. 2632. p. 20. Urr.
Ne in Balmarie ther is iio lion.
That huntid is, &c.
By which at leaft we may conjeflure it
to be fome country in Africa. Perhaps a
corruption for Barbarie.
' Some fuppofe it to be Lavifla, a city
on the continent, near Rliodes. Others
Lybifla, a city of Bithynia.
'' A city in Anatolia, called Atalia.
Many of thefe places are mentioned in the
hlllory of the crafades.
= " In the holy war at Thrafimene, a
" city in Barbary.
f Palathia, a city ia Anatolia. Sec
Froiflart, iii. ^o.
s Againll.
•> v."5i.
the
'450 THE HISTORY OF
the grand Mafters and Knights of PrufTia and Livonia, fought
the infidels of Lithuania. Lord Derby was greatly inftru-
mental in taking Vilna, the capital of that county, in the
year 1390 ". Here is a feeming compliment to fome of thefe
expeditions. This invincible and accompliflied champioii
afterwards tells the heroic tale of Palamon and Arcite.
His fon the Squier, a youth of twenty years, is thus
delineated.
And he had been fometime in chivauchie
In Flandris, in Artois, and Picardle :
And born him wele, as of fo littill fpace.
In hope to ftandin in his ladies grace.
Embroudid was he as it were a mede
All ful of frefh flouris both white and rede.
Singing he M^as and floityng al the day,
He was as frefli as in the month of May.
Schort was his gown with flevis long and wide,
Wei couth he fit an hors, and faire yride.
And fongis couth he make, and wel endite,
Juft, and eke daunce, and wel portraie, and write ".
To this young man the poet, with great obfervance of de-
corum gives the tale of Cambufcan, the next in kniglitly
dignity to that of Palamon and Arcite. He is attended by
a yeoman, whofe figure revives the ideas of the foreft laws.
Anil he was clad in cote and hode of grene :
A fhaft of pecocke arrows bright and kcnc '.
^ See Hakluyt's Voyages, i. 122. feq. ^ v. f!;.
edit. 1598. Sec alfo Hakluyt's account of ' Comp. Gul. Wnj-nflcte, eplfc. Winton.
thcconqucftofPruflia by the butch Kniglits nn. 1471. (ftipr. citat.) Among the itoris
Hofpitaljries of Jerufalem, ibid. of the bilhop's cnllle of Farnham. " .■/i\i:s
' Chivilry, ridin};, excrcifes of horfe- " aim chr.rdn. Ht red. comp. dc xxiv.
jr.aniy.ip, Compl. Mar. Yen. v. 144.. *' arcubuscum xxiv. chordis de remancntia.
Cidinius riding in liis chi-uauhcic " —Sagiltrt nuign^-. F.t de cxliv. fagitris
from Venus. • " niagnis barbatis cum pennis pavonuni."
Ill
ENGLISH POETRY. 451
Unclir his belt he bare ful thriftily :
Wei couth he drefs his tackle yomanly :
His arrows droupid not with feathciis low j
And in his hand he bare a mighty bow.
Upon his arm he bare a gay bracer ",
And by his fide a fword and bokcler. —
A Chriftoj)her " on his brefl of filver ihene:
A horn he bare, the baudrick was of grene ",
The character of the Reeve, an officer of much greater
truft and authority during the feudal conilitution than at
prefent, is happily pictured. His attention to the care and
cuftody of the manors, the produce of whixh was then kept
in hand for furnifhing his lord's table, perpetually employs
his time, preys upon his thoughts, and makes him lean and
choleric. He is the terror of bailiffs and hinds : and is remark-
able for his circumfpe6lion, vigilance, and fubtlety. He is never
in arrears, and no auditor is able to over-reach or dete6t him
in his accounts : yet he makes more commodious purchafes
for himfelf than for his mailer, without forfeiting the good
will or bounty of the latter. Amidft thefe ftrokes of fatire,
Chaucer's genius for defcriptive painting breaks forth in this
fimple and beautiful defcription of the Reeve's rural
habitation.
In a Computus of bilTiop Gervays, epifc. rows with feath-jrs of the peacock occur in
Winton. an. 1266. (fupr. cit.it.) among I.yjgatc's Chronicle of Troy, B. iii. cap. 22.
the ftores of the bifhop's ca'lle of 'raunton, fign. O iii. edit. 1555. fol.
one of the heads or ftyles is,_ Caud^ pavo- -Many eooJ archers
num, which I fuppofe xyere uled for feather- q^ ^^^^^^^ \^^^^^ ^^-^^^ ^^^-^^ arrows kene,
ingarrovvs. In the articlesof./™, which are ^^^ ^;,^ fethirs of pccocke freflie and
part of thcepiicopal noresoi the laid caltle, {hene &c
1 find enumerated one thoufand four hundred '
and twenty-one great arrows for crofs bows, ™ Armour for the arms.
remaining over and above three liundrcd " A faint who prcfidcd over the weather.
and feventy-cne delivered to the biihop's The patron of field fports.
vafTals tempoit guerre. Under the fame " v. 103.
title occur crofs-bows made of horn. Ar-
His
451 T H E H I S T O R Y O F
His wonning '' was ful fayre upon a heth,
With grene trees yfhadowed was his place ''.
In the Clerke of Oxenforde our author glances at the
inattention paid to literature, and the unprofitablenefs of
philofophy. He is emaciated with ftudy, clad in a thread-
bare cloak, and rides a fteed lean as a rake.
For he had gotten him no benefice,
Ne was fo worldly for to have office :
For him had lever ' han at his bedfhed
Twentie bokis, yclad in with black or red,
Of Ariflotle and his philofophie.
Then robis rich, fithell % or gay fautrie :
But albe that he was a philofopher.
Yet had he but little gold in his coffer '.
His unwearied attention to logic had tin6lured his converfa-
tion with much pedantic formality, and taught him to fpeak
on all fubjects in a precife and fententious flyle. Yet his
converfation was inflru61: ive : and he was no Icfs willinof to
iubmit than to communicate his opinion to others.
Sowning in moral virtue was his fpeche,
And gladly would he learn, and gladly teche ".
The perpetual importance of the Serjeant of Lawe,
who by habit or by affeflation has the faculty of appearing
bufy when he has nothing to do, is fketched with the fpirit
and concifenefs of Horace.
^ Dwelling. ' V. zg'^. Or it may bf explained, " Yet
"i V. 608. " he coulJ not find the philofopher's
' Rather. " ftone."
'' Fiddle. Seefiipr. p. 147. " v. 300.
No
ENGLISH POETRY. 453
No where fo bufy'a man as he ther n'as.
And yet he femid bufier than he was ".
There is fome humour in making our lawyer introduce
the language of his pleadings into common converfation.
He addrefles the hofte,
Hofte, quoth he, de paideux jeo ajfent '.
The aff"e6lation of talking French was indeed general, but it
is here appropriated and in chara6ler.
Among the reft, the chara6ler of the Hoste, or mafter of
the Tabarde inn where the pilgrims are affembled, is confpi-
cvious. He has much good fenfe, and difcovers great talents
for managing and regulating a large company ; and to him
we are indebted for the happy propofal of obliging every pil-
grim to tell a ftory during their journey to Canterbury, His
interpofitions between the tales are very ufeful and enliven-
ing } and he is fomething like the chorus on the Grecian
ftage. He is of great fervice in encouraging each perfon to
begin his part, in conducing the fcheme with fpirit, in mak-
ing proper obfervations on the merit or tendency of the fe-
* V. 323. He is faid to have " oftln Paradife. This perhaps fignified an am-
" yben at the /tar^vi/e." v. 312. It is not bulatory. Many of our old religious houlVs
my delign to enter into the difputes con- had a place called Paradilc. In the year
cerning the meaning or etymology of /ar- 1300, children were taught to read and
i;/V : from which /ari,'///>, the name for the fmg in the Par'vh of St. Martin's church
public fchools in Oxford, is derived. But at Norwich. Blomf. Norf. ii. 748. Our
I willobferve, that farvh is mentioned as Serjeant is afterwards faid to have received
a court or portico before the church of mimy fees anil robes, v. 319. The ferjeants
Notre Dame at Paris, in John de Mtun's and all the officers of the fuperior courts
part of the Roman de la Rofe, v. 12529. of law, antiently received winter and fum-
A Paris n'euft hommes ne femme mer robes from the king's wardrobe. He
Au par-vu devant Nollre Dame. " hkewife faid to cite cafes and deci-
The pallage is thus tranflated by Chaucer .c 1;^^, .^^^^ f^],^,. ^, j^g_ p^^ ^,^.^ ^.^^
Rom. R. v. 7157. ^ fgg tl^g ^.gry learned and ingenious Mr.
Ther n'as no wight in all Paris Harrington's Obfervations on the antient
Before our Ladie at Pari-n. Statutes.
The word is fuppofed to be contrafted from " v. 309.
N n n veral
454
THE HISTORY OF
veral ftories, in fettling difputes which muft naturally arife
in the courfe of fuch an entertainment, and in connecting
all the narratives into one continued fyftem. His love of
good cheer, experience in marfhalling guefls, addrefs,
authoritative deportment, and facetious difpofition, are thus
expreflively difplayed by Chaucer.
Grete chere our Hofte made us everichone.
And to the fuppere fet he us anone j
And fervid us with vitailes of the bed :
Strong was his wine, andwele to drink us left''.
A femely man our Hofte was withal
To bene a marftiall in a lordis hal.
A large man was he, with eyin ftepe,
A fayrer burgeis is there none in Chepe ''.
Bold of his fpeche, and wife, and well ytaught,,
And of manhode lakid him right nought.
And eke therto he was a merry man, &c \
Chaucer's fcheme of the Canterbury Tales was evidently
left unfinifhed. It was intended by our author, that every
pilgrim fhould likewife tell a Tale on their return from Can-
terbury ". A poet who lived foon after the Canterbury
Tales made their appearance, feems to have defigned a fup-
y «' We Hked."
* Cheapfide.
' Prol. V. 749.
'' Or rather, two on their way thither,
and two on their return. Only Chaucer
himfelf tells two tales. The poet fays,
that there were twenty-nine pilgrims in
company: but in tJie Characters he
defcribes more. Among the Tales which
remain, there arc none of the Priorefle's
Chaplains, the HaberdaOier, Carpynter,
Webbe, Uycr, Tapicer, and Hollc. The
Chanon Yeman has a Tale, but no Cha-
racter. The Plowman's Tale is cer-
tainly fuppofititious.Sce fupr. p. 306. And
Obf Spenf. ii. 217. It is omitted in the beft
manufcript of the Canterbury Tales,
MSS. Harl. 1758. fol. membran. Thefe
Tales were fuppofed to ha J'pckai, not
luritlen. But we have in the Plowman's,
" For my writing me allow." v. 3305.
Urr. And in other places. " For my w r i t-
" INC if I have blame." — " Of my
" WRITING have me excus'd." etc. See a
Note at the beginning of the Cant.
Tales, MSS. Laud. K. 50. Bib). Bodl.
written by John Barcham. But the dif-
cuflion of thefe points properly belongs to
an editor of Chaucer.
plement
ENGLISH POETRY. 455
pkment to this deficiency, and with this view to have
written a Tale called the Marchaunt's second Tale, or
the History of Beryn, It was firft printed by Urry, who
fuppofed it to be Chaucer's '. In the Prologue which is of
confiderable length, there is fome humour and contrivance :
in which the author, happily enough, continues to charac-
terife the pilgrims, by imagining what each did, and how
each behaved, when they all arrived at Canterbury. After
dinner was ordered at their inn, they all proceed to the
cathedral. At entering the church one of the monks fprinkles
them with holy water. The Knight with the better fort of
the company goes in great order to the flirine of Thomas a
Beckett. The Miller and his companions run flaring about
the church : they pretend to blazon the arms painted in the
glafs windows, and enter into a difpute in heraldry : but the
Hofteof the Tabarde reproves them for their improper beha-
viour and impertinent difcourfe, and direfts them to the
martyr's flirinc. When all had finiflied their devotions, they
return to the inn. In the way thither they purchafe toys
for which that city was famoiis, called Canterbury brochis:
and here much facetioufnefs paffes betwixt the Frere and the
Sompnour, in which the latter vows revenge on the former,
for telling a Tale fo palpably levelled at his profeflion, and
protefts he will retaliate on their return by a more feverc
flory. When dinner is ended, the Hofte of the Tabarde
thanks all the company in form for their feveral Tales.
The party then feparate till fupper-time by agreement. The
Knight goes to furvey the walls and bulwarks of the city,
and explains to his fon the Squier the nature and Itrength of
them. Mention is here made of great guns. The Wife of
Bath is too weary to walk far ; fhe propofes to the PriorefTe
to divert themfelves in the garden, which abounds with
herbs proper for making falves. Others wander about the
ftreets. The Pardoner has a low adventure, which ends
* Urr. Chauc. p. 595.
N n n 2 much
456 THE HISTORY OF
much to his difgrt.ce. The next morning they proceed on
their return to Soutliv^ark : and our genial mafler of the
Tabarde, juft as they leave Canterbury, by way of putting
the company into good humour, begins a panegyric on the
morning and the month of April, fome lines of which I
fhall quote, as a fpecimen of our autlior's abilities in poetical
defcription '.
Lo ! how the fefon of the yere, and Averell ^ fhouris,
Doith ' the busfhis burgyn ^ out blofTomes and flouris.
Lo ! the prymerofys of the yere, how frefh they bene to
fene,
And many othir flouris among the graflls grene.
Lo ! how they fpringe and fprede, and of divers hue„
Beholdith and feith, both white, red> and blue.
That lufty bin and comfortabyll for mannis fight,
For I fay for myfelf it makith my hert to light ^
On cafling lots, it falls to the Marchaunt to tell the firfb
tale, which then follows. I cannot allow that this Prologue
and Tale were written by Chaucer. Yet I believe them to be.
nearly coeval.
^ There is a good defcription of a magical palace, r. i'97j— 2076k "i April. ' Make,
• Shoot. 8 V. 690.
SECT.
ENGLISH POETRY. 457
SECT. xviir.
IT IS not my intenrion to dedicate a volume to Chaucer,
how much foever he may deferve it ; nor can it be ex-
pe6led, that, in a work of this general nature, I fhould enter
into a critical examination of all Chaucer's pieces. Enough
has been laid to prove, that in elevation, and elegance, in har-
mony ami perfpicuityofverfification.he furpafles his predecef--
fdrs in an infinite proportion : that his genius was univerfal,
and adapted to themes of unbounded variety: that his merit
was not lefs in painting familiar manners with humour and-
propriety, than in moving thepaffions, and in reprefenting the
beautiful or the grand objefts of nature with grace and fub-
limity. In a word^ that he appeared with all the luftre
and dignity of a true poet, in an age which compelled him
to ftruggls with a barbarous language, and a national want
of tafte i and when to write verfes at all, was regarded as a
lingular qualification. It is true indeed, that he lived at a
time when the French and Italians had made confiderable
advances and improvements in poetry : and although proofs
have already been occafionally given of his imitations from
thefe fources, I fhall clofe my account of him with a diflinfl
and comprehenfrve view of the nature of the poetry which'
fubfifted in France and Italy when he wrote: pointing-
ouf in the mean time, how far and in what manner the po-
pular models of thofe nations contributed to form his tafte^
and influence his genius.
I have already mentioned the troubadours of Provence,
and have obferved that they were fond of moral and alle-
gorical fables '. A tafte for" this fort of compofition they
» Scefupr. p» 148.
partly,
458 THE HISTORY OF
partly acquired by reading Boethius, and the Psychomachia
of Prudentius, two favorite claflics of the dark agesj and
partly from the Saracens their neighbours in Spain, who
were great inventors of apologues. The French have a very
early metrical romance De Fortune et de Felicite, a
tranflation from Boethius's book de Consolatione, by
Reynault de Louens a Dominican friar \ From this fource,
among many others of the Provencial poems, came the Tour-
nament of Antichrist above-mentioned, which contains a
combat of the Virtues and Vices ' : the Romaunt of Richard
• de Lifle, in which Modesty fighting with Lust ■" is thrown
into the river Seine at Paris : and, above all, the Romaunt
OF THE Rose, tranflated by Chaucer, and already mentioned
. at large in its proper place. Vifions were a branch of this
fpeciesof poetry, which admitted the moil licentious excur-
fions of fancy in forming perfonifications, and in feigning
imaginary beings and ideal habitations. Under thefe we
may rank Chaucer's House of Fame, which I have before
hinted to have been probably the produdion of Provence.
But the principal fubjeft of their poems, di6lated in great
meafure by the fpirit of chivalry, was love : efpecially among
the troubadours of rank and diilinftion, whofe caftles being
crowded with ladies, prefented perpetual fcenes of the moft
fplendid gallantry. This pafTionthey fpiritualifed into various
metaphyfical refinements, and filled it with abftra^led notions
of vifionary perfe6tion and felicity. Here too they were
perhaps influenced by their neighbours the Saracens, whofe
philoibpliy chiefly confifl:cd of fantaftic abfl:ra6lions. It is
'' See Mem. Lit. tom. xviii. p. 741. 4'". thius's Consolation by our countryman
And torn. vii. 293. 294. I have before Nicholas Trivett, who died before 1329.
mentioned John of Meun's tnmflation of ' See fiijir. p. 285.
Boethius. It is in verfe. John Je Langres '' Puterie. Properly Bawdry, Ob-
is faid to have made a tranflation in profe, fccnity. Modesty is drowned in the river,
about 1336. It is highly probable that 'which gives occafion to this conclufion,
Chaucer tranflattd Boethius from fome of " Dont vien que plus n'y a Honte dans
the French trantlations. In the Bodleian " Paris." The author lived about the
library there is aa Explanatio of Boc- yeai- 1300.
manifeft.
ENGLISH POETRY.
459
manifeft, however, that nothing can exceed the profound
pedantry with which they treated this favorite argument.
They defined the eflence and chara6terifl:ics of true love with
all the parade of a Scotift in his profefibrial chair: and
bewildered their imaginations in fpeculative queftions con-
cerning the moft defperate or the mofl happy fituations of a
fincere and fentimental heart °. But it would be endlefs, and
indeed ridiculous, to defcribe at length the fyftematical fo-
lemnity v^^ith which they cloathed this paffion '. The Ro-
MAUNT OF THE RosE which I havc juft alledged as a proof
of their allegorifmg turn, is not lefs an inftance of their
affedlation in writing on this fubjedl : in which the poet,
under the agency of allegorical perfonages, difplays the gra-
dual approaches and impediments to fruition, and intro-
duces a regular difputation conducted with much formality
between Reafon and a lover, Chaucer's Testament of
Love is alfo formed on this philofophy of gallantry. It is
a lover's parody of Boethius's book De Consolatione men-
tioned above. His poem called La Belle Dame sans
Mercy % and his Assemble oj? Ladies, are from the fame
"■ Tn the mean time the greateft liberties ■
and indecencies were prafticed and encou-
raged. Thefo doftrines did not influence
the manners of the times. In an old French
tak, a countefs in the abfence of her lord
having received a knight into her caftle,
and condufled him in great Hate to his re-
pofe, will not fuffer him to fleep alone :
\vith infinite politenefs (he orders on; of
her damfels, /.; p/uj cortoife et la plus bele,
into his bed-chamber, c-vtc ce chei/alier
ge/ir. Mem. Cheval. ut fupr. torn. ii. p. 70.
Not. 17.
^ This infatuation continued among the
French down to modern times. " Les
" gens de qualite, fays the ingenious M.
" de la Curne de Sainte Palaye, confer-
" volent encore ce gout que Icurs peres
♦' avoient pris dans nos anciennes cours :
" ce fut fans doate pour complaire a fon
" fondateur, que I' Academic Fran^oife
" traita, dans ks premiers feances, plu-
" fieurs fujets qui concernoient I'Amour ;
" et I'on vit encore dans I'hotel du Lon-
" gueville les perfonnes les plus qualifees
" et le plus fpiritualles du fiecle de Louis
*' xiv. fe difputer a qui comir.enteroit et
" et rafEneroit le mieux fur la delicateff.';
" du cccur ct dcs fentimens, a qui feroit,
" fur ce chapitre, les diitinftions le plus
" fubtiles." iVIem. Cheval. ut fupr. torn,
ii. P. v. pag. 17.
£ Trandated or imitated from a French
poem of Alain Chattier, v. 11.
Which Maiftir Al.-ijne made of remem-
brance
Chief feaetary to the king of France.
He was fecrctary to Charles the fixth and
feventh. Eui; he is chiefly famous for his
profe.
fchool.
4^0 THE HISTORY OF
fehool \ Chaucer's Prioresse and Monke, whofe lives were
-devoted to religious refle6lion and the moft ferious engage-
ments, and while they are a6lually travelling on a pilgrimage
-to vilit the (hrine of a fainted martyr, openly avow the uni-
verfal influence of love. They exhibit, on their apparel,
badges entirely inconfiftent with their profeflion, but eafily
accountable for from thefe principles. The Prioreffe wears a
bracelet on which is infcribed, with a crowned A, Amor vincit
omnia'. The Monke ties his hood with a true-lover's knot ".
The early poets of Piovence, as I before hinted, formed a
fociety called the Court of Love, v/hich gave rife to others
in Gafcony, Languedoc, Poiftou, and Dauphiny : and Pi-
-cardy, the conftant rival of Provence, had a limilar inrtitu-
tion called Plaids et Gieux foiis I'Oi-tml. Thefe ellablilhments
confifted of ladies and gentlemen of the highell rank, exer-
rifed and approved in courtefy, who tried with the moft
■confummate ceremony, and decided with fupreme authority,
cafes in love brought before their tribunal. Martial d'Avergne,
an old French poet, for the diveriion and at the requeft of
the countefs of Beaujeu, wrote a poem entitled Arresta
AMoRUM, or the Decrees of Love, which is a humourous
defcription of the Plaids of Picardy. Fontenelle has recited
one of their procellbs, which conveys an idea of all the reft '.
A queen of France was appealed to from an unjuft fentence
pronounced in the love-pleas, where the countefs of Cham-
pagne prefided. The queen did not chufe to interpofe in a
matter of fo much confequence, nor to reverfe the decrees
of a court whofe decifion was abfokite and final. She an-
iwered, " God forbid, that I fliould prefume to contradift
" the fentence of the countefs of Champagne !" This was
^bout the year 1206. Chaucer has a poem called the Court
•"So is Gower's CoNF£S5io Amaktis, '' v. 197.
as \vc fhall fee hcrtaftof. ' Hift. Thcat. Franc, p. 15. ton. Hi.
' V. 162. Oeuvr. Parib, 1742.
■OF
ENGLISH POETRY. 461
r)F Love, which is nothing more than the love-court of
Provence " : it contains the cwenty fratutes which that court
prcfcribed to be univerfally obferved under the feverefl penal-
ties ". Not long afterwards, on the fame principle, a fociety
was eftabliflied in Languedoc, called the Fraternity of the
Pctiitents of Love. Enthufiafm was here carried to as high a
pitch of extravagance as ever it w^as in religion. It was a
contention of ladies and gentlemen, who (hould beffc fuftain
the honour of their amorous fanaticifm. Their obje6t was
to prove the excefs of their love, by fhewing with an invin-
cible fortitude and confiftency of condufl, with no lefs ob-
flinacy of opinion, that they could bear extremes of heat
and cold. Accordingly the refolute knights and efquires,
the dames and damfels, who had the hardinefs to embrace
this fevere inftitution, drefled themfelves during the heat of
fummer in the thickeil: mantles lined with the warmefl fur.
In this they demonftrated, according to the antient poets,
that love works the moll wonderful and extraordinary
changes. In whiter, their love again perverted the nature
of the feafons : they then cloathed themfelves in the lighteil
and thinneft ftufFs which could be procured. It was
a crime to wear fur on a day of the moit piercing cold ; or
to appear with a hood, cloak, gloves, or muff. The flame
of love kept them fufficiently warm. Fires, all the winter.
" See alfo Chaucer's TEN Commanb- view of the cflablifiiment and ufages of this
wn NTS OF Love, p. 554.. Urr. Court, which I can at prefent recollcft,
" Vie de Pctrarque, torn. ii. Not. xix. is thrown together from fi:attercj and fcarcc
p. 60. Probably />!c Cour d' Amour wx, the materials by the ingenious author of A'ie
origin of that called La Cour AmoreuJ'e, de FEXRACiUE, torn. ii. p. 45. feq. Not.
cilablilhed under the gallant reign of xix. But for a complete account of thefe
Charles the fixth, in the year 14 10. The inllitutions, and other curious pai'ticulars
latter had the moll confiderable families of relating to the antient manners and antient
France for its members, and a parade of poetry of the French, the public waits with
grand officers, like thofe in the royal houf- impatience for the hillory of the Provencial
hold and courts of law. Sec Hill. Acad. poets written by Monf. de la Curne de
Infcript. Tom. vii. p. 287. feq. 4'". See Sainte Palaye, v/ho has copied moft of their"
^Ifo Hift. Langued. tom. iii. p. 25. feq. manufcripts with grc.it care and expence.
The moft uniform and unembarrafled
O o o were
462 THE HISTORY OF
were utterly baniflied from their houfes ; and they drefled
their apartments with evergreens. In the moft intenfe froft
their beds were covered only with a piece of canvafs. It
muft be remembered, that in the mean time they paffed the
greater part of the day abroad, in wandering about from
caftle to caftle; infomuch, that many of thefe devotees, during^
fo defperate a pilgrimage, periflied by the inclemency of the
weather, and died martyrs to their profeflion ''.
The early univerfality of the French language greatly
contributed to facilitate the circulation of the poetry of the
troubadours in other countries. The Frankifla language was
familiar even at Conftantinople and its dependent provinces
in the eleventh century, and long afterwards. Raymond Mon-
taniero, an hiftorian of Catalonia, who wrote about the year
1300, fays, that the French tongue was as well known in
the Morea and at Athens as at Paris. " E parlavan axi belle
" Francis com dins en Paris ''." The oldeft Italian poetry
feems to be founded on that of Provence. The word Sonnet
was adopted from the French into the Italian verfification..
It occurs in the Roman de la Rose, " Lais d'amour et Son-
" NETS courtois '." Boccacio copied many of his beft Tales
from the troubadours '. Several of Dante's fi<5Hons are
P See D. Vaifette, Hift. du Languedoc, cacio has taken from it four Tales, viz.
torn. iv. p. 184. feq. Compare p. 145. Nov. ii. Giorn. iii. Nov. iv. Gioni. vii.
Note, >■. Nov. viii. Giorn. viil. And the Tale of.
1 Hift. Arragon. c. 261. 'v. 720. the Boy who had never fecn a woman, fmce
' Particularly from Rutebeuf and Hebers. finely touched by Fontaine. An Italian.
Rutcbeufwas living in the year 1310. He book called Eraftus is compiled from this
wrote tales and (lories of entertainment in Koman of tb: Seven Sogcs. It is faid to
verfe. It is certain that Boccacio took, have been firft compofed by Sandabcr the
from this old French minftrel, Nov. .\. Indian, a writer of proverbs,: that it after-
Giorn. ix. And perhaps two or three wards appeared fucccfilvely in Hebrew,
others. Hebers lived about the year 1 200. Arabic, Syriac, and Greek ; was at length
He v/rote a French romance, in verfe, tranflated iuto Latin by the monk above-
called the Seven Sages of Greece, or Dolo- mentioned, and from thence into French by
pathos. He tranflated it from the Latin of Hebers. It is very probable that the monk.
Dom Johans, a monk of the abbey of tranflated it from fomc Greek nianufcript
Hautc-felve. It has great variety, and con- of the dark ages, which Huet fays was to
tains feveral agreeable (lories, pleafant ad- be found in fome libraries. Three hundred
ventures, emblems, and proverbs. Eoc- years after the Roman of Hebers, it was
tranflated
ENGLISH POETRY
4^3
derived from the fame fountain. Dante has honoured fome
of them with a feat in his Paradife ' : and in his tra6t De
VuLGARi Eloq^jentia, has mentioned Thiebault king of
Navarre as a pattern for writing poetry '. With regard to
Dante's capital work the Inferno, Raoul de Houdane, a
Provencial bard about the year 1180, wrote a poem entitled,
Le Voye ou le Songe d'E^ifer ". Both Boccacio and Dante
fludied at Paris, where they much improved their tafte by
reading the fongs of Thiebauld king of Navarre, Gaces
Brules, Chatelain de Coucy, and other antient French fabu-
lifts ". Petrarch's refined ideas of love are chiefly drawn
from thofe amorous reveries of the Provencials which I have
above defcribed ; heightened perhaps by the Platonic fyftem,
and exaggerated by the fubtilifing fpirit of Italian fancy.
Varchi and Pignatelli have written profefled treatifes on the
nature of Petrarch's love. But neither they, nor the reft of
the Italians who, to this day, continue to debate a point of
fo much confequence, confider how powerfully Petrarch
muft have been influenced to talk of love in fo peculiar a
ftrain by ftudying the poets of Provence. His Triumfo
Di Amore has much imagery copied from Anfelm Fayditt,
one of the moft celebrated of thefe bards. He has likewife
many imitations from the works of Arnaud Daniel, who
is called the moft eloquent of the troubadours \ Petrarch,
trandated into Dutch, and again from the
Dutch into Latin. There is an Englilh
abridgement of it, which is a ftory-book
for children. See Mem. Lit. Tom. ii. p.
'731. 4"". Fauchett, p. io6. i6o. Huet,
Orig. Fab. Rom. 136. Fabric. Bibl. Gr. x.
339. Maffieu, Poef.Fr. p. 137. Crefcim-
ben. Volg. Poef. Vol. i. L. v. p. 332.
Many of the old French minftrels deal
much in Tales and novels of humour and
amufemcnt, like thofe of Boccacio's Deca-
meron. They call them Fabliaux.
* See p. 117. fupr. Compare Crefcim-
ben. Volg. Poef. L. i. c. xiv. p. 162.
' See p. 43. 45. And Commed. In-
fern. cant. xxii.
" Fauch. Rec. p. 96.
"' See Fauchett, Rec. p. 47. 1 1 6. And
Huet, Rom. p. 121. loS.
'" See p. 117. fupr. He lived about
1189. Redierch. Par Beauchamps, p. 5.
Noltradamus aflerts, that Petrarch Hole
many things from a troubadour called Ri-
chard feigneur de Barbczeiuz, who is placed
under 1383. Petrarch however was dead
, at that time.
O O O 2
in
464
THE HISTORY OF
in one of his fonnets, reprefents his miftrefs Laura failing
on the river Rhone, in company v/ith twelve Provencial
ladies, who at that time prefided over the Court of Love \
Pafquier obferves, that the Italian poetry arofe as the Pro-
vencial declined '. It is a proof of the decay of invention
among the French in the beginning of the fourteenth cen-
tury, that about that period they began to tranflate into
profe their old metrical romances : fuch as the fables of king
Arthur, of Charlemagne, of Oddegir the Dane, of Renaud
of Montauban, and other illuftrious champions, whom their
early writers had celebrated in rhyme \ At length, about
the year 1380, in the place of the Provencial a new fpecies
of poetry fucceeded in France, confifting of Chants Royaux"-^
y Sonnet, clxxxviil. Dodici Donne, &c.
The academicians della Crufca, in their
Dittionary, quote a manufciipt entitled,
LiBRo d'Amore of the year 1408. It
is alfo referred to by Crefcimbeni in his
Lives of the Provencial poets. It contains
Verdifls or detetminations in the Court cf
Lcve.
^ Pafq. Les Rechsrch. de la France, vii.
5. p. 609. 611. edit. 1633. fol.
' Thefe tranflations, in which the ori-
ginals were much enlarged, produced an
infinite number of other romances in profe :
and the old metrical romances foon became
unfathionable and neglcAed. The romance
of Fercef ORREST, One of the largeft of
the French romances of chivalry, was writ-
ten io verfe about 122c. It was not till
many years afterwards tranflated into profe.
M. Falconet, an ingenious enquirer into
the early literature of France, is of opinion,
that the moft antient romances, fuch .as that
of the Round Table, v.ere firft written
in Latin profe : it being well known that
Turpin's Charlemagne, as it is now
extant, was originally compofed in th.it
language. He thinks they were tranflated
into French rhymes, and at lafl into French
profe, tch que nous les wvcns c.-.ijourduy. See
Hift. Acad. Infcript. vii. 293. But part
tf this doftrine may be jmlly doubted.
■> With regard to the Chaunt royaU Paf-
quier dcfcrihes it to be a fong in honour of
God, the holy Virgin, or .any other argu-
ment of dignity, efpecially if^ joined with
diftrefs. It was written in heroic ftanzas,
and clofed with a i'Emjoy, or ftanza con-
taining a recapitulation, dedication, or the
like. Ch.aucer calls the Chant royal above-
mentioned, a Kyngis Note. Mill. T: v. 1 1 1 .
p. 2C. His C omflainlif Venus, CuckoTx: and
Nightingale, and La belle Dame Jans Mc'-ey,
Have all a I'En'voy, and belbng to this
fpecies of French verfe. His I'En-vcy to
the Complaint of Venus, or Mars an J
Venus, ends with thefe lines, v. 79,
And eke to me it is a grete penaunce,.
Sith rime in Engliih hath foche fcarcite,.
To follow word by word the curiofite "
Of granfcnflour of them that 7>iuke in
Fraunce.
Make fjgnifies to lurite poetry ; an J'
here we fee that this poem w.as tran-
flated from the French. Sec alfo Chau-
cer's Dreame, v. 2204. Petrarch has the
Ewoi. I am inclined to think, that
Chaucer's AJfemhle of Foujles was part-
ly planned in imitation of a French poem
written by Gace dc la V'igne, Chaucer'';
cotcmporary, entitled, Rt,ii:an d'OiJeaux,
which treats cf the nature, properties, and
management
ENGLISH POEtRY.
4^5
Balades, Rondeaux, and Paftorales ^ This was diftlnguiflicd
by the appellation of the New Poetry: and Froiffart, who
has been mentioned above chiefly in the charafter of an hif-
torian, cultivated it with fo much fuccefs, that he has been
called its author. The titles of Froiflart's poetical pieces
will alone ferve to illuftrate the nature of this New Poe-
try : but they prove, at the fame time, that the Provencial
caft of compofition ftill continued to prevail. They are,
The Pm-aciife of Love, A Panegyric on the Month of May, The
Temple of Honour, The Flower of the Daify, Amorous Lays^
Pajlorals, The Amorous Prijon, Royal Ballads in hofioiir of our
Lady, The Ditty of the Amourous Spinett, Virelais, Rondeaus, and
The Plea of the Rofe and Violet ^ Whoever examines Chaucer's
fmaller pieces will perceive that they are altogether formed
on this plan, and often compounded of thefe ideas. Chau-
cer himfelf declares, that he wrote
Many an hymne for your holidaies
* That hightin balades, rondils, virelaies \
But above all, Chaucer's Floure and the Leafe, in which
an air of rural defcription predominates, and where the
allegory is principally condu6led by myfterious allufions to
the virtvies or beauties of the vegetable world, to flowers and
plants, exclufive of its general romantic and allegoric vein,
management of all birds de ch/iffe. But
this is merely a conjefture, for I have never
feen the French poem. At leall there is an
evident fimilitiide of fubjeft.
' About this time, a Prior of S. Gene-
vieve at Paris wrote a fmall treatife enti-
tled, U drt de Diaier Ballades, et
RoNDELLES. See Monf. Beauchamps
Rech. Theatr. p. 88. M. Maflieu fays
this is the firft Art of Poetry printed in
France. Hill. Poef Fr. p. 222. SeeL'AET
PoETiquE du Jaques Pelloutierdu Mens.
Lyon, 55 J. 8vo. Liv. 11. di. i. Du
l'Ode.
^ Pafquier, ubi fupr. p. 612. Who calla
fuch pieces mignardises.
■^ Here is an elleipfis. He means, A.id
foems.
' Prol. Leg. G. W. v. 422. He men-
tions this fort of poetry in the Fiankelein's
Ta.'e, v. 249^. p. 109. Urr.
Of which matere [love] madin he many
layes,
Songis, Complaintis, Roundils, Virel.iyes.
Compare Chaucer's Dre.vie, v. 975. In
the Floure and Leafe we have the
words of a French Rouiideau, v. 177.
tiears
466
THE HISTORY OF
bears a ftrong refemblance to fome of thefe fubjefts. The
poet is happily placed in a delicious arbour, interwoven with
eglantine. Imaginary troops of knights and ladies advance :
fome of the ladies are crowned with flowers, and others
with chaplets of agnus caftus, and thefe are refpeclively
fubje6l to a Lady of the I'lo'wer, and a Lady of the Leaf^.
Some are cloathed in green, and others in white. Many of
the knights are diftinguifhed in much the fame manner.
But others are crowned with leaves of oak or of other trees :
others carry branches of oak, laurel, hawthorn, and wood-
bine \ Befides this profufion of vernal ornaments, the
whole proceffion glitters with gold, pearls, rubies, and other
coftly decorations. They are preceded by minflrels cloathed
in green and crowned with flowers. One of the ladies fings
a bargaret, or pafl:oral, in praife of the daily.
A ' bargaret in praifnig the dalfie.
For as methought among her notis fwete
She faidyJ douce eji le margariiite ''.
This might have been Froiflart's fong : at leaft this is one
of his fubjefts. In the mean time a nightingale, feated in a
laurel-tree, whofe fhade would cover an hundred perfons,
fmgs the whole fervice, " longing to May." Some of the
knights and ladies do obeyfance to the leaf, and fome to the
s In a decifion of the Court of Love
cited by Fontenelle, the judge is called Le
Marquis dcs fteurcs et ijicleites. Font, ubi
fupr. p. 15.
'' V. 270.
' Rather B:rgcrett(. A fong dn Berger,
cf a.Jhepherti.
^ V. 350. A panegyric on this flower is
again introduced in the Prologue to the
Leg. of G. Worn. v. 180.
The long daic I fhope me for to abide
For nothing ellis, and I fliall not lie
But for to lokin upon the daifu.
That wel by reafon men it calle maie
The Doi/ii'i or cIs the eye of the dale :
Thcemprife, and the flourc, of flouris al,&c.
All this while he means to pay a compli-
ment to Lady Margaret, countefs of Pem-
broke, king Edwaj-d's daughter, one of his
patronefles. See the Ralade beginning In
Fe'vrere, &c. p. 556. Urr. v. 6s8. Froif-
fart's fong in praife cf the daify might have
the fame tendency : for he was patronifed
botli by Edward and Philippa. Margaruite
is French for Daify. Chaucer perhaps in-
tends the fame compliment by the " Mar-
" garife perle," Tefi. Love, p. 483. col.
i. &c. Urr. See alfo PrJ. Leg. G. H'om. v.
2 1 8. 224. That Prologue has many images
like thofe in the Flnver and the Lrafe. It
was evidently written after that poem. '
flower
ENGLISH POETRY. 4657
flower of the daify. Others are reprefented as worflalpphig
a bed of flowers. Flora is introduced " of thefe flouris
" goddeffe." The lady of the leaf invites the lady of the
flower to a banquet. Under thefe fymbols is much morality
couched. The leaf fignifles perfcverance and virtue : the
flower denotes indolence and pleafure. Among thofe who
are crowned with the leaf, are the kni2;hts of kimr Arthur's
round table, and Charlemagne's Twelve Peers ; together with
the knights of the order of the garter now jull eftabliflied
by Edward the third '.
But thefe fancies feem more immediately to have taken
their rife from the Floral Games inflituted in France
in the year 1324 '", which filled the French poetry with images
of this fort ". They were founded by Clementina Ifaure
countefs of Tholoufe, and annually celebrated in the
month of May. She publifhed an edift, which affembled
all the poets of France in artificial arbours drefled with-
flowers : and he that produced the befl: poem was re-
warded with a violet of gold. There were likewife inferior
prizes of flowers made in filver. In the mean time the con-
querors were crowned with natural chaplets of their own
refpeftive flowers. During tlie ceremony, degrees were alfo
conferred. He who had won a prize three times was created
a doctor en gaye Science, the name of the poetry of the Pro-
vencial troubadours. The inftrument of creation was in
verfe ". This inftitution, however fantaftic, foon became
common through the v/hole kingdom of France : and thefe
romantic rewards, diftributed with the moft impartial atten-
tion to merit, at leafl: infufed an ufeful emulation, and vsx
fome meafure revived the languilhing genius of the French-
poetry.
' V. 516. 517. 519. Violettes en leur faifons
"' Mem. Lit. torn. vii. p. 4.22. 4'°. Et rofes blanches et vermeilles, &c.
" Hence Froiflart in the Epinette See Mem. Lit. torn. x. p. 665. 287. 4-°.
Amoureuse, defcribing his romantic " Recherches fur les poetes couronnez,
sunufements, fays he was delighted with Mem. Lit. torn. x. p^S^?. 4"'
The
468 THE HISTORY OF
The French and Itahan poets, whom Chaucer hnhates,
abound in allegorical perfonages : and it is remarkable, that
the early poets of Greece and Rome were fond of thefe
creations. Homer has given us. Strife, CoNTENrroN, Fear,
Terror, Tumult, Desire, Persuasion, and Benevolence.
We have' in Hefiod, Darkness, and many others, if the
Shield of Hercules be of his hand. Comus occurs in the
Agamemnon of Efchylus ; and in the Prometheus of the
fame poet. Strength and Force are two perfons of the
drama, and perform the capital parts. The fragments of
Ennius indicate, that his poetry confifted mvich of perfoni-
fications. He fays, that in one of the Carthaginian wars,
the gigantic image of Sorrow appeared in every place :
" Omnibus endo locis ingens apparet imago Tristitias."
Lucretius has drawn the great and terrible figure of Su-
perstition, " Quae caput e coeli regionibus oftende-
" bat." He alfo mentions, in a beautiful proceflion of the
Seafons, Calor aridus, Hvems, and Algus. He introduces
Medicine mutte7-i>ig with JiJent fear, in the midfl: of the deadly
peiHlence at Athens. It feems to have efcapedthe many critics
who have written on Milton's noble but romantic alle-
gory of Sin and Death, that he took the perfon of Death
from the Alceftis of his favorite tragedian Euripides,
where 0A N AT O 2 is a principal agent in the drama. As
knowledge and learning encreafe, poetry begins to deal Icfs
in imagination : and thefe fantaftic beings give way to real
manners and living charafters.
END OF the FIRST VOLUME.
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