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A^XIENT ENGLEISH METRICAL ROMANCEES,

S£LECT£D AVD PUBLISIl'o

BY JOSEPH RITSON. VOL. I.

Qua priscis mcmorata Catonibus atque Ccthcgi$ Nunc fitus informis premit ac dcfcrta vctustu.

HoRATIOt.

LONDON:

PRIMTED BY W. BlTLMER ANDCOMPAHT,

JW CLEVELAND-ROW,

FOE O. AND W. NICOL, BOOK3ELERS TO HIS

MAJESTY, IS PEL-MEL.

MDCCCII.

Q p ^; r: o

8 5-/

CONTENTS.

VOL. I.

Page

Advert ifement ----- i

Dufertation on romance and minfirelfy - v

Yicaine and Gauin - - _ _ i

Launfal - - • - - - 170

ADVERTISEMENT.

1 II E nature, importance, and utility of fuch a publication as the prefcnt have been display'd to fo much advantage by a writciir of the higbell eminence for his acquaintance with the fubjedt, and for his ingenuity and tal^e, that it would be allmoil an a^ of injustice to the undertakeing not to make ufe of fuch a powerful and elegant recommenda- tion, to which no attempt of the prefent editour could posfibloly be equal.

" As many of thefe metrical histories and ROMAKCES contain a confidcrable portion uf poetic merit, and throw great light on the manners and opinions of former times, it were to be wiftied that foujc of the beft of them were rescued from oblivion. A judicious collection of them, accu- rately publiftied, with proper illustrations, would be an important accesfion to our ftock of ancient Englifh literature. Many of them exhibit no mean attempts at epic poetry, and though full of the vol.. I. a

V

ii ADVERTISEMENT.

exploded fictions of chivalry, frequently display ^' great and inventive powers in the bards who com- pofed them. They are at lead generally equal to any other poetry of the fame age. They cannot in- deed be put in competition with -the nervous pro- ductions of fo univerfal and commanding a genius as Chaucer; but they have a fimj?licity that makes them be read with lefs interruption, and be more eafily underftood : and they are far more fgirited and entertaining than the tedious allegories of Gower, or the dull and prolix legends of Lydgate : yet, while fo much ftrefs is laid upon the writings of thefe laft, by fuch as treat of Englifh poetry, the old metrical romances, though far more popular ia their time, are hardly known to exift.... Should the public encourage the revival of fome of thofe an- cient epic fongs of chivalry, they would frequently fee the rich ore of an Ariosto or Tasfo, though buried, it may be, among the rubbifh and drofs of barbarous times.

" Such a publication would anfwer many im- portant ufes : it would throw new light on the rife and progrefs of Englifh poetry, the history of which can be but imperfectly underftood, if thefe are neg- ledted; it would alfo ferveto illuftrate innumerable

ADVERTISEMENT. tS

pasfagcs in our ancient elastic poets, which, without their help, mufi be for ever obfcure."

The publication fo much defire'd, and fo elo- quently recommended by this learned and in- genious writeer, has been at length undcrtakcen ; and to what he has fay'd in its favour nothing re- mains to be aded but Tome little information as to the mode in which it makes its appearance.

This collection, then, of ancient ExaLEisix METRICAL ROMANCEES confifts of fuch piecees as, from a pretty general acquaintance, have been felected for the beft. Every article is derive'd from feme ancient manufcript, or old printed copy, of the authenticity of which the reader has all posfible fatisfaction ; and is printed with an accuracy, and adherence to the original, of which the publick has had very few examples. The utmufl care hath been obferve'd in the glossary, and every necesfary or ufcful information (to the bed of the editours judgement) is giveen in the Notes.

Brought to an end with much industry and more attention, in a continue'd Aate of il-health, and low fpirits, the editour abandons it to general cenfure, with cold indiflercnce, expeding Uttle favour, and lefs profit; but certain, at any rate, to be infulted

iv ADVERTISEMENT.

by the malignant and calumnious perfonalitys of a bafe and proflitute gang of lurking asfasfins, who ftab in the dark, and whofe poifon'd daggers he has allready experience'd.

DISSERTATION

ON

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY.

S 1. ORIGIN OF ROMANCE.

If what is call'd a metrical ronuuice, in its moft extcnfive acceptation, be properly define'd a

fabulous narrative, or fictitious recital, in verfe, I ^^ h more or Icfs marvelous or probable, it may b^J fairly concludeud that this fpecies of compofition was known, at a very early period, to the Greeks, and, in procefs of time, adopted from them by the Romans. The Iliad of Homer, in fliort, the Odj/sfey, afcribc'd to the fame poet,* the Argonauticks of

* It fceras highly probable that both thcfe poems were not writen by the fame pcribn. In the latter, the godcCs Venus it the wife of Vulcan, who furprifccs her in the a£l ot adultery with Mars TB. h) :

•• Mean time the bard, alternate to the firings, 'llie loves of Mar^ and Cjiherea fings." In the former, ihcy have no fort of connection, Venus hat no husband, and Vulcan has a different wife (B. 13) : " Charit, his fpoufe, a grace divinely fair. With purple fillets round her braided hair." Sucli an inconfistency, it is believe'd, cannot be eafeyly de- teftctl in any other poet. It has l)ccn, moreover, a very gene- rally receivc'd opinion, that he was, likcwife, the auihour of a IDOck-cpick, intitle'd Batrarhomuomachia, or The lallle of the Jroffi and mice. It is by no means probable that the oldeft manufcnpt copys of I lomcrs poems Qiould exhibit his naroc 1

vi DISSERTATION ON

Onomacritus, or Orpheus of Crotona, thofe likewife of Apollonius Rhodius,* and the Hero and Leaiider of MufzBus, among the former, and the Mneid of Virgil, the Mctamorphqfis of 0\id,f the Argonauticks of Valerius Flaccus, and the Thebaid of Statins, J

in the title, or colophon ; and, as it never occurs in the book, it muft have been retain'd, if at all, by tradition. It (hould be remember'd, at the fame time, that he is mention'd by no writeer til between 4 and 5,00 years after his death.

* This poem, according to Quadrio, was treated by many as a Grecian romance of chivalry. (Storia d'os,ni porjia, IV, 453.) It is the original of the northern romancees of JaJ'ou and Me- dea. " Ilfaut remarqxier," obferves Huet, " pour Vhonneur des troubadours, qu' Homcre I' a ejie devant eux." De I'origine des romans, 1678, P. 123.

Virgil makes Dido to reign at Carthage in the time of iEneas, though in reality ftie did not arrive in Africa til three hundred years after the fuppofe'd deflruction of Troy. Such k violent anachronifm is onely admisfible in a romance.

•f- Chaucer, in his Dreme, to pafs the night away, rather than play at Chefs, calls for a rornnunce, in which " were writtin fables of quenis livis, and of kings, and many other thingis fmale." This proves to be Ovid. See v. 52, ©"c. or Wartons History of Englifh poetry, I, 388.

J The ingenious doctor, or bifhop Percy, who has great weight in matters of this fort, fays of Ly beans disconus, of which he has giveen an excellent analyfis, " If an epic poem may be defined " A fable related by a poet, to excite admi- ration, and infpire virtue, by reprefenting the action of fome one hero, favoured by heaven, who executes a great defign, in fpite of all the obftacles that oppofe him;" i know not why we fhould withhold the name of epic poem from the piece which i am about to analyfe [or that of romance to the epic poem above dehne'd:]" Reliques of ancient Englijh poetry, III, xxviii; citeiiig " Discoursfur la porjie epique" prefix'd to Telemachus."

ROMANCE AND MINSTREIM'. vii

among the latter, however distinguifli'd by fuperior art and merit, or the more illustrious appellation of epick poems, are, in reality, as perfeA metrical romancces as the ftorjs of king Arthur and Char- lemagne; all thofc venerable monuments of ancient genius being no Icfs the work of imagination and invention than the more modern eiTufions, upon firailar fubjccts, of the French and Norman trou' teurs, or Italian romanzieri. The Trojan ftory is no more fabulous; and unfounded in the oldeft French romance on that fubje^, in point of historical faft, than it is in the Iliad or i^neid ; nor is the fiege of Troy, as relateed by Homer, at all more certain, or more credible, than that of Albracca, as asferted by Boianlo; nor are Hector and Achilles of more identity than Rowland and Oliver. It feems, there- for, a vcrj' haftey asfertion of the historian of Engleidi poetry, that the " peculiar and arbitrary fpecies of fiction, which we commonly call romance, was entirely unknown to the writers of Greece and Rome".* Was this voluminous authour unacquainted with the romancees of Antonius Diogenes, of which Photius has givcen an account, the love-talcs of Longus, Hcliodorus, and Xenophon of Ephefus. He himfelf, even, cites an old Engleifli verfion of the Clitophon and Leucippe of Achilles Tatius, (though, actually in plain profe) *' as a poetical novel of Greece"; and, at any rate, a novel is a fpecies

• HitUny o/B, poftry, I, fig. a.

vui DISSERTATION ON

of romance. The Milefian tales of Aristides, like- wife, fo famous in their day, though none of ihem now remain, rauft have been fome kind of ro- mancees, whether in profe or verfe. A copy of thefe tales, or, at leaft, the Latin verfioo of Silenna, ac- cording to Plutarch, was, after the defeat of Cras- fus, in Parthia, found in the baggage of Roscius, a Roman officer.

Homer, in ia&, is much more extmvagant and byperbohcal, or fubUme, if it muft be fo, -than y Ariosto himielf, the very prince of romance. His poetical machinery is compofe'd of the Grecian deitys (worfhip'd and adore'd by himfelf and his countrymen), who take a decidced part on each fide, fight, and are wounded or victorious, like the ordinary mortals with whom they engage. Many of his heros, at the fame time, are the offpring o( thefe identical and illufory divinitys ; as Helen, fof inftance, the fatal authourefs of this fanguinary teq years war, was the daughter of Jupiter, the fu- preme god of the Greeks, by Leda, whofe em- bracees he experience'd in the form of a fwan ; th^ isfue, of courfe, was an eg, out of which proceeded this female fire-brand ; who muft, however, hav$ been pretty far advance'd.in years, long before her elopement with the juvenile and gallant Paris, have- ing been ravifh'd by Thefeus forty years before, and being now, of courfe, like pur queen Elizabeth, a matchlefs beauty in her grand climacterick. The two demi gods, Castor and Pollux, her breiheren,

k

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. ix

came into the world in the fame miraculous way. 'Achilles, Itkewife, the celebrateed champion of the Greeks, was the fon of Thetis, a fea-godefs; as iEiicas, the pretended founder of the Roman em- pire, was of Venus, the godefs of love ; and all tbefe fancys of a poetical imagination are to be firmly bclieve'd, though nothing more than mere romance. With refpe^t to the famous city of Troy, which ftood fo long a fiegc, and was lay'd ** at lad in aHics," there is not the (lighted evidence that fuch a place even exifted, in or l)ef()re, that is, the ara fix'd upon by this immortal rhapfodift ; and the antagonil'ts of mister Bryant, the onely modern au- thour, who has attempted to demoliOi this magnifi- cent but ideal fabrick/ have reafon'd like the advo- cates of Geoffrey of Monmouth, by arguments and authoritys, that is, deduce'd from Homer himfeif, or writeers who live'd many centurys after him. Herodotus,' however, the father of Grecian history, who tlourilh'd (according to his own account) about four hundred years after Homer, whofe works he innA. needs have been familiar with, fince he wrote his life, and cites them in hb history, is a deciHve evidence that no fuch expedition ever took place.

• The exiftcnce of the Trojan war was disputccd by Dio Chryfoftom more than a thoufand years a^. Even Hornet himfclf has been provc'd, by his laft editour, the learned Wolf, incapable to write or read ; nor docs either writeing or reading appear, from his elaborat» Prolegomena, to have been known til many centurjs after the era of Homer (See p. 49, 57, 77, M, 179).

X DISSERTATION ON

Being a profefs'd antiquary, he muft necesfaryly, from his asfiduous refearches into the remoteeft periods of Grecian history, or, at leaft, from the traditions which would be naturally preferve'd, of fo important, and celebrateed, an event, in the very country from which thefe heroick kings and princees, with their fliips and forcees, had proceed- ed, if fuch an expedition had takeen place. He ap- pears, on the contrary, to have known or hear'd, at leaft amongft his own countrymen, nothing at all of the matter, except what he himfclf, and every one eife, had red in Homer, and certain fpurioua Cyprian verfees, falfely afcribe'd to that fame illus- trious bard : for, going into ^gypt, peradventure, for this exprefs purpole, " When enquire) ng,'' fays he, " whether the Greeks have relateed falfchoods concerning the deeds perfonn'd at Ilium, or not, the priefts anfwer'd me thus : that they knew, from Menelaus himfelf, that Helen being carry 'd off, great forcees of the Greeks had come to the as- fiftance of Menelaus into Teuci is: which, haveing landed, and fortify'd a place, (ent mesfengers to Ilium, with whom, alfo, Menelaus went himfelf; that thefe, after they had enter'd the walls, not oncly demanded Helen, and the treafures which Alexander, by robbery had carry'd away, but, allfo, require'd the atonements of injurys: that the Teu- crians, however, both then, and afterward, either fworn or unfworn, had relateed the fame things, that they tlieaiftilves had neither Helen, nor the

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. xi

treafures whereof they were accufe'd ; but that all thofe things were in .^gypt ; that neither could they fuffer themfclvcs to be arraign'd with justice of thofe goods which Proteus the king of Mgyp% withheld ; that the Greeks, thinking themfelves de- ridecd, had fo beficgc'd Ilium, til, at length, they took it by ftorm ; that, the city being takeiin, when Helen did uot appear, and they hear'd the fame defence as before, at laft, faith being giveen to the former \%'or(b, the Greeks fcnt Menelaus himfelf to Proteus. Wlien this man arrive'd in iEgypt, and ascended Memphis in a /hip, the truth of the mat- ter being explain'd, and himfelf welcome'd with hospitality, in a mod honorable manner, he re« ceivc'd Helen ful of injurys, and all his treafures:"* and fuch was the (able of the ^Egyptian pricfts, which the inquilitive historian appears to have fwallow'd as perfectly rational, though in diametci* cal oppofition to the infallible Homer.

The Odysfey, whether by that fame poet or not* is devoid uf truth from b<^iiiing to end, and abounds with adventures as hyperbolical or extra- vagant as thofe of any French romance. The his- turian of Eugleilh poetry juftly obferves, that " all the romances have an enchant refs, who detains the kniglit from his quci^, by objedts of pleafure ; and who is nothing more than the Caiypjo of Homer, and the Armida of Tasfo [or the Akina of Ariosto]."

• Euterpe, § ill.

xii DISSERTATION ON

Huet, who: imagine'd it of the esfence of a ro- I mance to be in profe, profefses not to treat of thofe in verfe, much lefs, of epick poems ; which, befide that they are in verfe, have, moreover, different esfentials, which distinguifh them from romancees, though otherwife, he admits, there is a very great relation; and, following the maxim of Aristotle (who teaches that a poet is more a poet by the fictions he invents than by the verfe he compofees) makeiirs of romancees may be rank'd among the poets.

After Statius, there is no metrical-ronjance- writeer, or epick poet, in the Latin tongue, known to have exifted before Jofeph of Exeter, call'd by fome Cornelius Nepos, who wrote, in fix books, Of the Trojan toary and, in one book, The -war of An' tioch; and flourifh'd, according to Bale, about the year 1510; or Philip Gualtier, a Frenchman, au- thour of T/ie Alexandrcid, or actions of Alexander the great, about the fame period : all three in imi- tation of Lucan, or Statius.

It appears, however, difficult to demonftrate that the comparatively modern romancees of the French owe their immediate origin to the opick poetry, or fabulous tales, of the Greeks or Romans, but it may be fairly admited, as by no means improba- ble, that thefe remains of ancient literature had fome degree of influence; though the connection is too remote and obfcure to admit of elucidation.

The Latin language continue'd, after the disfolu-

ROMAh'CE AND MINSTRELSY. xiii

lion of the Roman empire, to be in ufe with the common people of France and Italy ; but, ceafeing, it may be, to be ftudy'd grammatically, and be- coming gradually intcrmix'd with the barbarous jargons of the different northern nations which had fuhjugatced, or expel'd the Romans, and occup/d their feats, til, about the ninth century, an entirely i new fpeech or dialed gain'd a complete ascendency ' in both. At one period, it is fay'd, there were not lefs than three distind languagees fpokeiin in France: the old Celtick or Gaulifh, that is, the Latin, and this new dialed call'd the Roman or Romance, a mixture, it would feem, of Latin, FrankiOi, and Celtick, the lad of which, it is fuppofe'd, was fpeedyly exterminateed.* The term Roman owe'd, in fad, to have been the distinguiHiing characteris- tick of the Latin tongue, which the French appear to have undcrllood at the begining of the fcventh century ;t but this was, by no means, the cafe, as wil appear from a pasfage quotcud by Fauchet from the roman dC AkxandrCf coropofe'd, he fays, by per- fons Uveing in the year 1150 :

" La tcrti de Vhutoir'ft com' li roiv la fit,

Un tiers de Chtuteaudun, Lambert li Cors I'^crit,

Qmi de Latin la tr^, et en Roman la mit."

• See a good account of the converiion, or pen'crCon, of the Latin tongue into Italian, from authentick documents, in Muratoris Atttiquitattt Italitr, II, 090.

t See Le Bcufs Rechcrches, &c. Mtmoirct de Vaca, dtt in/crip. zvii«7l2.

xiv DISSERTATION ON

. It is plain, therefore, that Latin and Roman were / different languagees : fince this poet drew a history out of the latter to put it into the former. It is true, he obferves, that thefe verfees are made more than three hundred years after Charlemagne;* aaJ,' allthough it were not fo, that one underflood five hundred years ago, that to fpeak the ruftick Rojnan was the common language of the inhabitants on this fide of the Meufe, it onely behoves to read that which Nitard hath writen in his history of the dis- cord of the children of the emperour Lewis the debonair, hapening in the year 84 J. For, make- ing mention of Lewis king of Germany, and of Charles the bald, king of Wefteni France (that is to say, between the Meufe and the Loire), he fays, that the two kings wiling to asfure thofe who had follow'd them, that this alliance fliould be perpetual, they fpoke each to the people of his pair (the word of which Nitard makes ufe), to wit, Lewis king of Germany to the Wefiern French, who follow'd Charles, in the Roman tongue, (that is to fay, the rustick,) and Charles, to thofe of ' Lewis, who were Auftrafians, Germans, Saxons, ftnd other inhabitants beyond the Rhine, in the

* It is fa/d of this emperour, by Eginhart, his chaplain or fecretary, that " he wrote down and comtnited to memory the barbarous and moft ancient fongs, in which the aSs and wars of the old kings were fung." (C. 29.) Thefe, in all likelyhood, were in the Theotifc or Teutonick language, mention'd in the text. In Schilters Thefaurtis are two very ancient poems in this dialeft, on the expeditions of that emperour.

ROMANCK AND MINSTRELSY. xv

Teutonkk tongue. The words of the oath which Lewis took, in the Roman tongue, were fuch a«, fay'th our aulhour, i have takecn from a book writen more than five hundred years ago : " Pro don amur Sf pro christian poblo Sr nostra commuit falvament, dijl di en avant in quant deus farir 4* potir mcdunatyjifalvarai co ce/i mean fradre Karlo, ^ in adjudha Sf in cadhuna cofa, Ji cum horn per dreit fan fradre falvar dijl , ino quid il imi ultre ji faret, et ab Ludher nui plaid nunquam prindraif qui meon xol cijl meon fradre Karle in dam no Jit."* The people of Weftria anfwer'd in the lame lan- guage: Si Lodkwigs facrament que fan fradre Karlo jurat confervat Sp Karlus, mcos fendra, defuo part non los tanit : ji io retumar non lint poia in ne to, ne neuU, cut co retumar nit pais in nulla adjudha contra Lodhuwig nun li iver.y He, elfewherc, fays, (from a very ancient copy of Nitard,! extant in the

• (Correfted fiom Bouqoct, VII, 3fl.) In Englcifti thus: •' For the love of god and of the Christian people, and for our common fafety. From this day foreward, in fo much as god wil give me kno%vlege and power, i (hal Tave my brother Charles, and i wil aid him in e\'eTy thing, as a man by right owes to fervc his brothers, in this that he wil do as much of it for me ; and i fhal not make with Lothair any treaty with lay wil, which may be preiudicial to my brother Charles."

t (Correfled as abwe.) In Englciih thus : •' If Lewis keep the oath which he has fwora to his brother Charles, and Charles, my lord, on his part, do not hold it; if i cannot divat him from it, nor myfelf or others can divert bim from it, \vc flul not go with any aid againft Lewis."

X De la langut fiT pot/e Frcmfoi/e, C. 4. La Combe oalj

XYi DISSERTATION ON

library of Magloire at Paris,) that Lewis, as the elder, fwore firft in the Roman tongue ; as before. This oath being made, Charles fay'd the fame words in Teutonick orTheotifc: " In godes minnay ind durhtes Xristianes folchcs ind unfer bedhero gehalf- nisfi fonthefemo dage frammordeSyfo fram fo mir got gewizeindi makdJurgibit,fo hold ih tefan minanbruod- her fofo man mit rehtufinan bruodher fcal, inthi ut hazer mig fo fo maduo, maduo, indi mit Luthcrevi inno theinnithing ne gegango zhe minan •willon imo ce fcadhen werken." The moft learned Germans of our authours day thought that this language held more of the Frifon than of any other dialed of Germany. After this the people fwore each in his own tongue, to wit, thofe of Charles, thefe words " Si LvduuigSj &c. as before ; and the people of king Lewis thefe words in Theotifc, or Teutonick: " Oba Karl then eld, then crfinemo bruodher Ludhuwig gcfuor geleistit, inde Ludhuwig min herro then er imo gefuorforbrichit, ob ih ina nes arwenden fiemag, noh ih, noh thero theiu his inewenden mag, imo ce follasti widhar Karle ne tdrdhit" Our authour himfelf found that the Roman language approach'd to the Provencal, or Lyonnois, more than to his own, on the north of the Loire.* The prefent Swifs have the bible en Rumanfch, that is, in their vulgar tongue, and ufe the fame

gives the oath of Lewis, and the anfwers ; and La Ravaillierc but one of the anfwers.

• Des antiquitis Fran^oifes, 1610, 4to. B. 9, C, 5, fo. 330, 831. (Corrected from Bouquet, VII, 35, &c.)

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. xvH

expresfion for that of the French. • The Spaniards ftil call their native language romance Castdlano ; and hablur eti romancfj is to fpeak Spaniih.

In the library of Berne is a MS. of ihe 13th or 14th century (Num. 646) intitle'd *' Li livre du trcjor Uqucl maisfre Brunes...translata <le Laiiu en Romans, t

In about a couple of ccnturys, afterward, the word Roman was ufed by the French, not oiiely as delignative of (heir language, but, alifo, of any book writen therein ; though, in procefs of time, it was confine'd to books of chivalry ; I as romance was to a ballad, or narrative fong. ♦♦ ToutegfoUt* fays the old profc roman de Paris et Virnne, " h Jrcre ne penfoit pas parltr Romuin ' (*• f- Franpois). In Spanifh, to this day, romance means both tlte vernacular language and a vul<*ar ballad ; while romanzi, in Italian, is appropriateed folely to books of chivalry in rime.

An ancient topographer (fuppofe'd to be Girald Barry, bithop of St. Davids, commonly call'd Giraldm Cambrenjit) even ufees the word Romani for the EngleiHi, or vulgar language of bis own time : '* ab iUa aqud optima" fays he, " qua Scot- tic^ [/nb. Hibernic^j vocata cji Froth, Britanfiid

• Des antiqvitis Fran^ifet, 1010, 4to. B. 0> C. 0, fo. 84. t Sinncn Catalogue, 111. 20.

: " All it calde gtfte IngUt^ That on this langua^ fpoken is, Frankis fpech if cald romance So bis clakes and men of France."

Robot of Brunne. P. cvi. VOL. I. b

xviii DISSERTATION ON

[IVallice, fci.] Werid, Romajte [i. e. Jnglice] "Oer^ Scotte-wattrc, i. aqua Scottontm."* He means the firth of Forth.

The learned Tyrwhitt, with obvious plaufibility, thinks it evident that poets in the vulgar languagees, who firft appeai-'d about the nineth century, bor- row'd their rimes from the hymns of St. Ambrofe and St. Damafus, as early as the fourth, and from the Christian poets, Sedulius and Fortunatus, in the fifth and fixth, and the other I-atin poetry of that age. There is, even, a Latin fong in rime extant in print, which was made upon a great victory ob- tain'd by king Clothair the fecond, over the Saxons, in the year 622, and ferves to fupport the above opinion, that the vulgar poets of that period had all ready adopted the art of rimeing from the hymns of the church. It proves, allfo, that the Latin tongue was ftil in ufe, even among the common foldiers, in the feventh century. The following ilanza is offer'd as a fpecimen : " De Clotario efi canere rege Francorumf Qui ivit pugnare cum geiite Saxonum, Quam graiiter proveniafet mis/is Saxoumn, Si nonfuis/et inclitus Faro degente Burgundionum."f

* Inneses Critical esfay, 770.

f L'Ev^que de la Ravilliere, Pocfies du roy de Navarre, 1, 103. " 'Tis time to fmg of Clothair, king of French, With Saxon people he who went to fight. Their mesfengers he grievously had treated. Had it not been for Pharaoh, the Burgundian."

Le Beuf has publifli'd another, upon the battle of Fontenay, in 841. (See Divers Icrits, I, 165.}

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, xix

There is, iikewifc, an elegy, compofe'd by Go- tefcalc, in hb exilci which has both rime, and poetry :

" Ut (fuidjvbfs, pufiokf

Qaare tnandas,jHiole, - -

Carmen duke me cantare^

Cumfim longi exul taWe,

Intra via ret 0 cvrjubes canere?" Many of the church-hymns, about that period, are in the fame metre. The moll numerous, how- ever, and decifive, proofs are to be found in the Antuputates Italia of Muratori.*

There is an inftance, in Uftiers Primordia, of a couplut in Irifh rime, made by St. Patrick in the fifth century.f •

Difl'ercnt authours have attributeed the origin of romancf, to throe fourcecs, alltogpther remote from each other : 1. The Arabians ; 2. The Scandina- vians ; 3. The Provenyals. It appears, from an ubfervation of the historian of Engleilh poetry, *' to have been imported into Europe by a people whofe modes of thinking, and habits of invention, are not natural to that country. ..It is generally fup- pofe'd to have been borrow'd from the Arabians... It is an edablinrd maxim," he proceeds, of modern criticifm,* that the fictions of Arabian imagination

• Dis/erlatio XL.

t P. 450.

I That, be means, of Waibufton, aad the Warburtoniaa

XA DISSERTATION ON

were communicateed to the weftern world by means of the crufades...But it is evident that thefe fancy* were introduce'd at a much earlyer period : The Saracens, or Arabians, haveing enter'd Spain about the begining of the eigth century,* It is obvious to conclude, he continues, that at the fame time, they disfeminateed thofe extravagant inventions which * were fo peculiar to their roraantick and creative genius. ..The ideal tales of thefe eaftern invadeers, recommended by a brilliancy of defcription, a va- riety of imagery, and an exuberance of invention, were eagerly caught up and univerfally diffufe'd. From Spain, he asferts, they foon pafs'd into France A and Italyt...It is for this reafon, he pretends, the elder Spanifli romancees have profefsedly more Arabian allufions than any other.J There is, in fadl, not one fingle French romance, now extant, and but one, mention 'd by any ancient writeer, which exifted before the firft crufade, under God- frey, earl of Bologne, afterward king of Jerufalem, in 1097 : neither is any thing known concerning the literature of the Moors who came over from Barbary, and fettle'd in Spain, in 7H ; nor is it at all probable, or capable of proof, that even the Spaniards, much lefs any of the other naiions of Europe, had an opportunity of adopting any literary information, or did fo, in fa6t, from a people, with

fchool, of which the digt'mguifhing charactcristicks arc want of knowledge, extreme confidence, and habitual mendacity. • I, fig. a. 1 1, a, b. X I, iii.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. xxi

whom they had no connection, but as enemj*?, whofe language they never underftood, and whofe manners they dctefted ; or would even have con- defcended, or permitc'i themfelves, to make fuch an adoption, from a fct of infidel barbarians, who had inva«leed, ravage'd, antl posfcfs'd themfelves of fome of the bed and richeft provincecs of Spain ; with whom they had continual wars, til they at laft drove them out of the country; whom, in fa<f^, they allways avoided, abhor'd, aiid defpifc'd. There is, doubtlefs, a prodigious number of Arabick poems in the library of the Efcurial, which has been plun- dcr'd from the Moors, but which no Spanifh poet ever made ufe of, or, in fliort, had ever accefs to. It was not in the historians |)Ower to cite one fingle old Spaniih romance that h;is the fli^htell Arabian allufioii, except, indeed, that of the Cid Riiy Dias, where, as in thofc of Char!emagiie, the Moors or Saracetis are introtluce'd as enemys, and in two modern books, the ** Ilistoria verdadera del rcj dun Rodrigo," printed in 159'2, and the Ilisloria de los rondos de los Zcgries y Abvn^errages" \m\\X<^(\ at Seville in 1598, and, under the title of " Historia delasguerras chiles de Granada," at Palis, in lOCO ; both falfely pretended to have been transhiteed from the Arabjck, and ridiculc'd, on that account, by Cervantes, «ho makes ufe of the fame pretence in his Quixote. The Spaniard* are fo far from have-' ing any ancient historias de cavaUerias, which we call romances, that they have not a fingle ballad

xxii DISSERTATION ON

(which they call romanci) upon the fubjeft of the Moors, except, it may be, a few compofe'd after, or about, the time of their ex'pulfion, and extant in the Komancero general, or other compilations of the like kind. With refpe^t to the oriental litera- ture for which we are indebted to the crufades, befidc the Clericalis disciplina of Peter Alfonfus, a converted Jew, baptife'd in IIO6*, in which are many eaftern talcs, there is but one fingle French romance, in rime or profe, of the thirteenth or fourteenth century, which appears to have been / takeen from an Arabian or oriental fource; it is that of Cleomedes, by king Adenes (a minftrel-mo- narch, or herald,) after " The ftory of the inchanted horfe," in The thoufand and one nights. As to the reft, this eloquent and flowery historian, whofe duty it was to ascertain truth from the evidence of fafts and ancient documents, and not to indulge his imagination in reverie and romance, without the leaft fupport, or even colour, of veracity- or probability, has not the flighteft authority for this vifionary fystem, but, asfumes with confidence that which he knew hirafelf unable to eftablifli by proof. There are no limits, at the fame time, to the ex- travagance of his imagination or invention, in thus wildly labouring to account for a fubjeft of which he had no adequate or rational conception, nor any authentick information : in France, he fays, " no

• See Tyrwh jtts Chaucer , IV. 885,

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, xxlii

province, or dUtrid, feems to have giveeii thefe fic- tions of the Arabians a more welcome, or a morfc early reception, than the inhabitants of Annorica, or Bafl'e-Hretagne, now Britany, for no part of France can boall of (o great a number of ancient roraancees. Many poems of high antiquity, cora- pofe'd by the Arinorican bards, ftil remain, and are frequently citced by father Lobineau in his learned history of Baflc-Bretagne."* " On the whole," he ads, *' we may venture to affirm," that the chronicle of Geoffrey of Monmouth, *' fuppofe'd to contain the ideas of the jyel/h bards, eniiiely confilts of AraluuH invi.-:i;ions."t It muft be confels'd that this poetical historian is very ready, at a venture, to affirm any thing, however imiiginary and abfurd. In another place he fays, " Goimtuid king of the Africans, occurs :" and to prove how wel he un- derrtood Geofl'rey of Monmouth, and how accu- rately this impostour was acquainted with Arabian aliufions, this Gormund, in autiicntick history, was a king of the Danes, who infefted Engleland in the nineth centur}*, and was defeated and baptife'd by Alfred.:

• I, a 2. t I, b 3.

J " That Stonehcngc," he fays, " is a Briti(h monument ereAed in memory of Mcn^ifts masfacre, refts, i believe, on the fole evidence of Geofrry of Monmouth, who had it from the Bhtifh bards. But why (hould not the testimony of the Britifli bards be allowed on this occafion ? For they did not invent fa^, fo much as fables. In the prefcnt cafe, Hengpift's mas- facre is an allowed evcnt....Even to this day, the reasfacie of

xxiv DISSERTATION ON

In all this high-flown panegyrick, there is not & word of truth, nor a particle of common-fenfe. There is no vestige or fliadow of any ancient au- thority, that this pityful nation, a fraall colony from South-Wales, or Cornwall, in Britain, had any other fictions than fuch as they had carry'd over with them ; nor is it true, excepting three poems, if they deferve fuch an appellation, of fo low a peiiod as the fifteenth century (a book of predictii>ns, that is, of a pretended prophet name'd Gwinglaff, the MS. whereof was of the year 1450 ; the life of Gwenole, abbot of Landevenec, one of their fabu- lous faints ; and a little dramatick piece, on the takeing of Jerufalem,) that they have a fingle frag- ment of poetry in their vernacular language. The learned prieft who publifti'd the dictionary of Pel- letier,* after his death, candidly admits, '• that the Armorican Britons have not cultivateed poetry ; and the language, fuch as they fpeak it, does not appear able to ply to the meafure, or to the fweet- nefs, and to the harmony, of verfc."f That ihey might or may have chanters or mujicians, which the French call minjlrels, we fiddlers, and themfelves

Hengift is an undisputed piece of history." (I, 53.) — In the iirft place, Geoffrey does not fay that he had this intelligence " from the Britifh bards ;" and, 2dly, there is not a word of truth in this masfacre by Hengift: which Geoffrey borrow'd fromNennius (C, 47). Afimilar flory is relateed by Witikind.

• Dictionnaire de la langue Bretonne, par dom Louis de PeUetier, Paris, 1752, fo.

t Preface, viii, ix.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. xxr

barXf or bards is fufliciently probable or rertain ; but if, by bard be meant a compofeer of posfiblely epick or lyrick poetry in bis vernacular idiom, no proof can be adduce'd of fuch a character. At any rate, that father Lobineau " frequently," or even in one finale intlance, cites " niany poems of high antiquity," or any poem whatever, ancient or mo- dem, in the Arinorican languai^e, is a moft mon- Arous fidtchood. The editour of this book bus a right to be thus pofitive, haveing repeatedly, and utifuccefsfully, examine 'd the Histoirc de Bre/agnCf (a work, by the way, of no veracity or authority, though in two ponderous folios,) with a view to discover thefe pretended citations, and has receive'd an asl'uiaiice to the like effed, from Francis Douce, efquire, whofc intimate acquaintance with every branch of French literature cannot posfibldy be disputved.

The pretended Breton hit of a certain Marie de France^ a Norman poctefs of the 13th century, wil be conlider'd ellcwbere.

In the circumftaiice juft mention'd, he fays, " about Wuies, of its connection with Armorica, we peiceive the fuluiiun of a ditticulty which at firft fight appears extremely problematical: i mean, fays he, not oucly thul N^ ulcs llioiild have been fo conftuntly made the theatre of the old Uritilh chi- valry, but that fo many of the favouiite Hctions which occur in the early rrciitb ronmncecs, ihould »Ufu be literally found in the talcs aud chrouiclcs

xxvi DISSERTATION ON

X)f the elder Welfti bards."* In this pasfage, allfo, is fcarcely a word of fenfe or truth. The Welfh have 110 " tales" or " chronicles" to produce of " the elder Welfh bards," nor by any other writeer, more early, at leaft, than Geoffrey of Monmouth, whofe fabulous Britijh history, it mull be confefs'd, was feize'd, with great avidity, .by the French or Nor- man poets. If the Welfli have any fuch ftorys, they are, doubtlefs, from the French, or Engleifli, and, by way of further proof of their recency, are all in PROSE ; as, for inftance, " Uii/vyr y Greal" from the Roman de S. Graal, " Ystori Bonn o Hamtun," from that of Beuves, or Bevis, of Southhampton , *' Ystori Ouen ah Yricn," from the Roman d'lvain, the Cavalier au lion," or " Ywain and Gawin ■."■f and, as to the idea of Warton, '* that the Wel/h bards might have been acquainted with the Scan- dinavian fcalds :" nothing was ever more extravagant or abfurd.J

That the inhabitants of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, being the lateiift converts to Christianity, retain'd their original manners and opinions longer than the other nations of Gothick race,§ may

♦ I, a 3, 1:

•f See Lhuyds ArchcBjlogia, 2Q5.

X Some fuch unauthorife'd opinion had already induce'd the elegant Gray to pollute his fublime pindarick on the bards with the Scandick mythology, of which the Britons had not a particle, and, for any thing that appears, were totally ignorant.

§ Reliques, &c. III. xi, »i, xiii. The eloquent pasfagees of

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, xxvii

certainly, be true, ihough fuch fort of converfion ufually makes fome difference in thofc mattere:* but it, by no means, follows that, therefor, they have preferve'd " more of the genuine compofitions of their ancient poets, than their fonthem nei^jh- bours :" this is a faft to be prove'd, not by affir- mative asfertions, but by the production of ancient manufcript?, or the testimony of contomporareous or veracious historians : neither of which is pos- fefs'd by all or any one of thefe three nonhern nations. ♦* Hence," however, it is maintain'd that ** the progrefs, among them, from poetical history to poetical fiction is very discernible;" meaning, it is prefume'd, that they are equally fabulous. They have fome old piccees, it is fay'd, that are in effed complete romancees of chivalry ;* and a fpecimen is rcfer'd to in the 2d volume of Northern antiqui- ties, &c. P. 148, kc. the age whereof is not ascer- tain'd, nor do its contents perfedly refemble any French or Engeleifti romance that we are at all ac- (piainted with. In another part of the fame work (page 321) is, apparently, introduce'd the. Ovidian tale oiPerffus and Andrumcda, under the no lefs fic- titious names ofUrgner Lodbrog, or hairy breeches, uftervrard king of Denmark, and Thora, the beautyful daughter of a Swcdiih prince, who was "guarded," as the poets took occafion to fay, " by a furious

the original were, at firft, intended to be givcen at length, but retrenchment wa« found necct&iy. * Reliqua, dec. Ill, xriii.

xxviii DISSERTATION ON

dragon :" and this, it feems, upon the authority of Regnara Lodbrogsfaga, which appears to be in print, and has been alfo translateed by the above learned and ingenious prelate; who gives the pasfage thus: ** We fought with fwords : when in Gothland i flew an cnormon^iferpent: my reward was the beauteous Thora. Thence i was deera'd a man : they call'd me Lodbrog from that flaughter. I thruft the mon- fter through with my fpear, with the fteel produc- tive of fplendid rewards."*

. That they may likewife, " have a multitude of fagas or histories on romantick fubjefts, fome of them written since the times of the crufades" wil be readyly admited ; but there is not the flighteft proof or pretext for asfei ting that " others" were fo " LONG BEFORK." Thefcyagfls, in faft, are, for the mofl part, if not totally, translateed, or imi- tateed, from the French, and, at the fame time, of very recent date. The '* Saga of Ivent England kappe," in the royal library of Stockholm, is clearly the French romance of Yvain, or Le chevalier au lion, both of the twelfth or thirteenth century, ac- commodatced, apparently to the Scandick tradi- tions.f A large collection of fuch things is in the Britifh mufeum, tranfcribe'd chiefly between the

• See Five pieces of Runic poetry, P. 27. Even Warton fus- pects that the romantick amour between Regner and Aslanga is the forgery of a much lateer age (I, i 2, b,). This fcaby iheep, indeed, infefls the whole flock.

f See Wanleys Antiqua literaturce fepten, catalogus, 335.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, xxix

years 1660 and 17OO ; among which are the " Saga of Ukle Peturs og ^Magrhna, Saga af WirgiliOf Saga af Parcevals, Mdujina og liemunds faga^ Re- mundar keifara faga, Apollonius faga, &c.* all or moft of which are wcl known French romancees. The Danes have no historian whatever before the eleventh ccntury.t

It is not at all more probable, or, at Icaft, there is no fort of authority for fuppofeing, that Rollo " doubtlcfs carry 'd many fcalds with him [into France or Neuftria] from the north, who transmited their (kil to their children and fuccesfors." It is, in fa^, a mere gratis dictum^ a pctitio principii, an unfound- ed conjecture, an asferlion without a proof: after the Normans had acquire'd the Christian religion, adopted the French language, and French manners, and, in a word, become perffd Frenchmen, they, unquestionahlcly, display 'd equal, if not Aiperior, talent and invention in the manufacture of roman- tick poems in that tongue ; all which, however, are on French or UritiOi fubjects ; and none of thcn\ can be asferted, without a flagrant violation of truth and fad, to contjiin one fingle allufion to the Iceland fcalds, or Scandinavian poetry, none of whofc puerile and extravagant fictions can be prove'd of fo early an age.

There is not, in ihort, the wcakeft posfible au<

• Set mister Ajrscoughs Calalogtie, No. 4857, &fc. f Stephens Nola in Saxoncm, 3.

XXX DISSERTATION ON ^

thority, the flighteft posfible proof, that the min- (Irels were " the genuine fuccesfors of the ancient BARDS, who, under different names, were admire'd and revere'd, from the earlieft ages, among the peo- ple of Gaul, Britain, Ireland, and the north." It is a mere hypothefis, without the leafl fupport, from fa(5l or history, or any thing, in a word, but a vi- fionary or fancyful imagination. There is no con- nection, no refemblance, between the fcalds of Scandinavia and the minftrels of France ; nor can any ancient historian be produce'd to countenance the extravagant and abfurd fables with which the introduction to the " Hisfuire de Dannemarck" by Mallet, translateed into Engleilh under the title of " Northern antiquities," is ftuf'd from begining to end. The original authou» was fo ignorant as to confound the Cinibri with the Cimmerii* and the Germans or Goths ^\'ii\i the Celts or Gauls, in de- fiance of ancient history and of common fcnfe, with- out a word of truth. The Eidda itsfelf, if not a rank forgery, is at leaft a comparatively modern book, of the thirteenth or fourteenth century, manifeftly conipilc'd long after Christianity was introduce'd into the north,t nor was fuch a fystera

♦ He calls the latter " Cimmerian Scythians;" utterly ignorant that the Scythians were the bittereft enemys of the Cimmerians, and actually drove them out of Europe into Afia.

f The pretended authour Snorro (no bad name for a dreamer) brings down this chronology thirty years after his death. See

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, xxxi

of paganifin brought hither by either Saxons or Danes, or ever eiittiriain'd by any people in the world, nur are thefe fcalds or poets ever mentioned by any old Engleifh historian, though we have feve* ral of the Saxon times. Saxo, a very ancient his- torian, knew nothing of any Odin., but a magician, whom the ftupidity of the inhabitants of Upfal adorc'd as a god, and fent to him from Conllanti- nople a golden image ; out of which his wife Frigga drew the gold; which being confume'd, he hung up the llatue on the brink of a precipice, and, by the wonderful industry of art, rcudcr'd it vocal at the human touch : but, nevcrthelefs, Frigga, pre- fehng the fplendour of finery to divine honours, fubjeded hcrfelf in adultery to one of her fami- liars ; by whofe tuning, the imat(e being demo- lilh'd, the gold, confecratecd to publick fuporftition, fhe converted to the inftrumcnt of private luxury. Odin then flys, but afterward returns, and dis- perfees the magicians who had ril'uen up in his abfencc. He attempts to kifs liinda, daughter to the king of the Huthes, and receives a flap on the hci'. According to Torfxus, he even ravilli'd this young lady ; but the pasfage, on looking into Saxo, to whom he fecms to refer, could not be found. Sec, however, Series regum Dan'uXy 149> where he

Northern antiquities, II, xxii. This outdoes Geoffrey of Mon- mouth. " Huet," according to Warton, " is of opinion that the Edda ia entirely the production of Snonro's fancy j" and cites Origvi ifromanct, 110 (I, b 4, b, n. 3.)

jcxxii . DISSERTATION ON

fuppofees Iiiin contemporar}' with Hading king of Denmark, in the year 8l6 before Chrift. He is blind of an eye, SfC* Tliere cannot be a more ri- diculous ftory of a pagan deity ! The forge'd and fabulous Edda, indeed, fpeaks of another Odin, fur- name'd the Perfian, the father of the gods, to whom the origin of the ait of the fcalds was attributeed, and who, according to the lyeing coxcomb allready notice'd, was defeated and put to flight by Pom- pey :t this groundlefs and abfurd falfehood is, likewife, adopted by the learned and ingenious translator. J

After all, it feems highly probable that the origin of romance, in every age or country, is to be fought in the different fystems of fuperftition which have, from time to time, prevail'd, whether pagan or christian. The gods of the ancient heathens, and the faints of the more modern christians, are the fame fort of imaginary beings; who, alternately, give exiftence to romancces, and receive it from them. The legends of the one, and the fables of the other, have been, conftantly, fabricateed for the fame purpofe, and with the fame view : the promotion of fanaticifm, which, being mere illufion, can onely be exciteed, or fupported, by romance : and, therefor, whether Homer made the gods, or the gods made Homer, is of no foit of confequcnce, as

• He dye'd in 1204 ; but has not one fingle date throughout his whole history, t P. 59- J Reliques, III, xvi.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, xxxiii

the fame effed was produce'd by either caufe. There is this distinction, indeed, between the hea- then deitys, and the christian faints, that the fables of the former were indebted for their exiftence to the flowery imagination of the fublime poet, and the legends of the latter to the gloomy fanaticifra of a lazy monk or linking prieft.

If the hero of a romance be, occafiooally, bor- row'd from heaven, he is, as often, fent thither in return. John of Damascus, who fabricatced a pious romance, of Barlaam and Jofaphatt in the eighth century, was the caufe of thefe creations of his fancyful bigotry, and interefted fuperftition, being place'd in the empyreal galaxy, and worftiip'd as faints. Even Rowland and Oliver, the furge'd and fabulous exiftencees of the Pfeudo-Turpin, or fome other monkiOi or prieftly impostour, have attain'd the fame honour.* This idea is render'd the more plaufible, if not pofitive, by the moft ancient ro- mancet's of chivalry, thofe of Charlemagne, for in- ftance, aild his paladins, Arthur, and his knights of the round-table, Guy, Bevis, and fo forth ; all of whom are the flrenuous and fuccefbful champions of Christianity, and mortal cnemys of the Saracens,

* See Quadrio, Sloria <Fogni poejiaf II, 594 ; where, from the annals of Pighi, he gives the following extraA: " In Roncisvalie t fanti Orlando, eonle e paladino, Cfnomanenfe, nipote di Carlo magna, e Oliviero, ducadx Ginevrn martir ; t fono celebrati da altri a 31 dt Mag/^o, e i allri a i; drl me- dffimo meft :" it is, indeed, fomewhat difficult to fix the pre- cife Kit of a faint that never czifted. > ▼ OL. I. t:

xxxiv DISSERTATION ON

whom they, voluntary ly and wantonly, invade, at- tack, perfecute, flaughter, and deftroy. It was not, therefor, without reafon, fay'd by whomfoever, that the firft romanceiis were compofe'd to promote the crufades, dureing which period, it is certain, they were the moll numerous : and to piove how radi- cally thefe mischievous and fanguinary legends were imprefs'd upon the minds of a bigoted and idiotick people for a feries of no lefs than five centurys, about the year 16OO, appear'd " The famous his- tory of the feaven champions of Christendome," in which the Rowland, Oliver, Guy, Bevis, ^c. the- fabulous heros of old romance, are metamorphofe'd into faint George, faint Denis, faint James, faint Anthony, faint Andrew, faint Patrick, and faint David, the no lefs fabulous heros of legend and re- ligious imposture ; moft of whom receive a certain degree of adoration, like the pagan deitys of old, by the dedication of churches, devotional days, and the like: which celebraleed work, being a compound of fupeiftition, and, as it were, all the lyes of Chris- tendom in one lye, is, in many parts of the coun- try, believe'd, at this day, to be " as true as the gofpel."

The firft metrical romance, properly and ftridly fo call'd, that is known to have exifted, and may posfiblely be fiil extant, in the dark recefs of fome national or monkilh library, is the famous ckan- fon de Roland, which was fung by a minftrel, or jugler, named Taillefer, rideing on horfeback, at the

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, xxxt

head of the Norman army, when marching, under duke William, to the battle .of Hafiiiigs. The ear- lyeA mention of this celebrateed fong appears to be made by William Somerfet, a monk of Malmes- bury, who finilh'd his history, and, as it is pre- fume'd, his life, in the year 114-2 : *' Tunc," fays he, in his dcfcriplion of the above engagement, " CANTILENA Roi-LANDi wchouta, ut Marttum viri exemplum pugnalvros acccndcrct, &c."* Maistre Wace orGace,whocompleteed his metrical romance of Le Brut, a free, but excellent, translation of Geof- frey of Monmouths Britijh history, in the year 11 55, is the onely writeer to whom we we indebted for a knowlcge of the fubjed of this ancient poem. Hit words are ihefe :

" Taillefer, qi tnlt b'len chantout,

Sur un chexal tji tojl alout,

Dexant le due alout chantant

De Karleniaigne, 4' dc RoUant,

• Df gestis rcgum, B. 3, P. 101. All our old historians, as Matthew Paris, and Matthew of Wcftminfler, as wcl as the chronicle of Albericus, nearly follow the words of this ol .efl authour. flenry of Huntingdon, Ralph dc Diceto, Robert of Gloucester, and abbot Bromton, though they notice the pranks of this jugler, fay nothing of his fong. Fabyan, on whatever authority, mentions a ftil carlyer inftance of the military ufe of this favourite performance. In dcfcribeing the battle of Fountanet, between Charles the bald and his two brothers in 911, he fuys, *♦ When the (hote was fpentc, and the fpcres to (hateryd, then both hoftesrannetogytherwYTH Rowlandu •ONOK, fo that, in (hone whylr, the grcnc feldc was dyed into a perfyte rcddc." Cronicle, l>3S, (o. zciil.

xxxvi DISSERTATION ON

E ^'Oliver, Sf des vasfafsy

Qi morurent en Rencevals."* Geoffrey Gaimar, an earlyer poet than Wace, though he onely appears as his continuator, fpeaks, likewife of this gallant minftrel ; and gives a cu- rious relation of the behaviour of his horfe, the tricks he play'd with his fpear, and fword, and his exploits in the action* which are, likewife, men- tion'd by fome of our old historians.f

Doctor Burney, in his History of tnufick (II, 276), has infertcd a pretendedly genuine copy of the chanfon de Roland, by the marquis de Paulmy, with a fpirited tftinslation : but the marquis, in this jeu d'efprit, apparently mistook the nature of the ancient chanfon, confounding it with that of a more recent period. The chevalier de Tresfan, in his Corps d'extraits de rowans (I, 356), gives a flanza, in modern French, of a different fong, fay'd to be chanted by the peafants of the Pyrenees : but moft probablely of his own invention. The real chanfon de Roland was, unquestionablely, a metrical ro-

♦ Histaire ou roman des dues de Normendie, (R. MSS.

4 C XI) ; and by no means Le roman de Rou, as hath been

completely prove'd by aiW de la Rue.

Telfair, who wel could fing a ftrain Upon a horfe that went amain. Before the duke rode Anging loud. Of Charlemagne jmd Rowland good, Of Oliver, and thofe vasfals. Who lofl their lives at Ronceval*. t Le Brut, R. MSS. 13 A XXI.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, xxxvii

mancc, of great length, upon the fatal battle of Roncevaux; of which Taillefer onely chanted a part.

Le Grand d'Ausfy pretends that the chat\fon dc Roland rubfiftcd down to the third race, as, he Jays, it appears, by that reply fo bold, known to every body, of a foldier to king John, who re- proach'd him with Tinging it, at a time when there were no longer any Rowlands. This asfertion, how- ever, fo far as rcfpeds the above, or any other, fong, is an abfolutc falfchood. The ftory alludeed to, which has no better authority than that of Hector Bois, a fabulous writeer of the fixteenth century, is, literally, as follows : " When king John was come to Paris, calling the parliament together, he complain'd, with a pityful tone, of his misfor- tune, and the calamitys of the realm, and, amongft the reft, lamented that he could now find no Row- lands or Gawins : to which one of the peers, wbofe valour had been famous in his youth, and, there- for, an enemy to the kings floih, anfwer'd, there would be no want of Rowlands, if there were Charleses."* The anecdote, no doubt, fuppofeing it true, has fome merit, but no fort of connection with, or alluflon to, the chanfon de Roland^ unlefs as confounded among the number of metrical ro- mancecs on the fame fubje6t. This, however, or fome other, fong or romance of Rowland appears

* Seolorvm kistoria, Bt 13, fix S89.

xxxviii DISSERTATION ON

to have been popular in Italy, in the fourteenth or fifteenth century, as we learn from a ftory of Pog- gius : (fpeaking of one who deplore'd to the by- ftanders the fall and fubverfion of the Roman empire,) hie par Jtmilis ~efi, inquit [Antonius Lus- cus], viro MediolaneTtJi, qui die festo cum andisfet vnum ex grege cantorum, qui gesta heroum ad plebem decantant, recitantcm mortem Rolandi, quifcptingentisjamferme annis in prcelio occubuit, CCEPIT ACRiTER FLERE," ^'C. The wit, howcver, oijignor Lusco feems to have, for this once, at leaft, been rather raisplace'd.*

Defpairing of the existence of the chanfon de Ro- land, among the number of ancient French poems which remain upon the fubjed of Charlemagne, Rowland, Oliver, and Roncesvalles, f the moft ancient romance in that language, llil preferve'd, has been thought to be one upon the achieve- ments of Charlemagne, rcfpeding the deftruction of the monastery of Carcasfon and Narbon, and the conftruction of that oi Dela Grace. This his- tory is fay'd to have been writen, at the command of the above monarch, by a certain writeer name'd

* Facecie, Bafil, 1488, 4to. See more, concerning Rowland and Oliver being fung upon the ftage, in the Antiquitates Italice of Muratori, II, 844.

f This romance, the authours of the Hiftoire litteraire teem politive, was no other than that which bears the name of Ro~ lent & Olivier, and is mark'd among the MSS. of Charles V, VI, and VII ; and refer to the Hijloire de Vaca. des infcrip. t. 1, part 1, p. 317.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, xxxix

Fkilomena, and to have been, afterward, at the in- ftance of St. Bernard, abbot, and the convent of the fa^'d monastery, turn'd into Latin by one Pa- duan, or Vital, between the years 1015 and IOI9: but, as it mentions the twelve peers of France, le comte de Handrts, a title which did not exift til fifty years nftcr the death of Charlemagne; and the city of Montauban, which was not built til 1144 it cannot, posfiblcly, be of fuch high antiquity. It is extant, though, npparently, in profe, in the na- tional library. Num. 27-*

Another, nearly of the fame age, is the roman de Guillaume if 0 range yfumomme au Court nes, (or fliort-nofe) which contains the history of St. Guil- laume de Gui/l(/tie, and is conjecture'd, to be of th« tenth century, but is, more probablcly, of the fol- lowing. Many copys of it are extant in different librarys : and a ful account of it may be fccn in Catels Memoirei de Languedoc. f The authour calls himfelf G«/7/rtttmM de Bapaume.^ It appears, from a pasfage of Ordericus ntalis, who flourilh'd in 1140, to have been fung, in bis time, by the min- ftrels, though not fo worthy of attention as n more authcntick narrative. His words arc : " Canitur vulgo d joculatoribus, de illo [Jci. S. Gulielmo]

* See Montbucon Bib. til. II, 12S3 ; Hijioire lit. dc la France, IV, 31 1, 3li ; VI, 13 ; VII, Ixxi ; and CatcJ, Memoirn da Lmj^uedoc, 404, 400, M7, i06.

t^9, 669,&c. See Mo Hijhite liUde la FraHce,\ll,]jui.

4 Sinncrii Catalogue, tome 3, page 333.

xl DISSERTATION ON

cantilena,, fed Jure prceferenda eji relatio authentica, quce a religiojisdoctoribusfolerterejl edila, 8f djiudiq/ts lectoribus reverenter lecta eJi in communi fratrum audientia."*

Dora Calmet maintains that the roman de Garin le Loheran, the authour whereof live'd in 1050, is the moll ancient romance which the French have -.f and to prove the age of Ogier Ic Danois (not that of Adenez), the au thorns of the Histoire liiteraire quote the authority of Metellus, a monk of Te- gornfee in Bavaria, who wrote about IO6O, and haveing occafion to fpeak of the hero of that ro- mance, ads, " whom that people [the Burgundians], finging old fongs, call Ofiger." (VII, Ixxvi.)

The next, in point of age, that is yet known, is probablely, a chronicle-history of the Britons and Engleifh, from Jafon and the achievement of the golden fleece, to the death of Henry the lirft, which appears to have been compofe'd at the inftance of dame Conftance Fitz-Gilbert, before the year 1147; in which year dye'd Robert earl of Gloucester, natural fon of king Henry the firft, who had fent the book he had caufe'd to be translateed, according to thofe of the Wellh kings, to Walter Espec, who dye'd in or before 1140,4- of whom lady Conftance borrowed it (this feems, frona the mention of Walter

* L. 6. t Histoire lit. VI, 13;

4 This date is asccrtain'd by the death, in that year, of arch- bifliopThurstan, awitnefs to his foundatioa-charterof Rievauxr

abbey.

ROxMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. xU

the archdeacon, to be Geoffrey of Monmouths Britijh histori/, which is addrefs'd to earl Robert), a fragment of which is annex'd, by way of con-, tinuation to the Brut of maistre Wace, in the king^ MSS. 13 A XXI : no other copy being known to exil).

Alexandre Bemay, fumame'd Paris, and I^ra- bert li Cors, are the joint authours of a romance of Alexander in French verfe, begining " Qui vert de ricke hutoir veut fcavoir" in 1051, or, according to others, in 1193> which may onely be the date of the MS.

The next is Maistre Waccj Gace, or GaJJe, a na- tive of the ile of Jerfey, and canon of Caiin in Normandy, an excellent poet, who compofe'd the romance of Le Brut ; as he tcls us, in 1155, the roman de Rou ; the romance of William Long* fword ; the romance of duke Richard I. his Ton } the history of the dukes of Normandy ; a compen- dium or abridgement of the fame history ; the liff of St. Nicholas; and the roman du chevalier dit Hon, in 1155: all performancees of confiderabU merit.*

• The Christian name of Maistre Wace is fay'd by Huet, (who cites no authoiity) to have been Robert, (Origmes dt Cam, Rouen 1701, vo. P. O07.) \nLaxnedeS. Nicholas, wdUi by Hickes, Gr. ^. 5. P. 140, 147, he is call'd " mestre Guace" /Tyrwhitts Chaucer, IV, 59) ; and in the MS. of Le chevalier mu lion his name is writen GaJD'e. Tyrwhitt fufpefb that " Lt martyr* dt St. Gtorgt tn vers Fran^ns par Robert Ottaco,"

xlii DISSERTATION ON

Benoit,'or Benedift, de Saint-More, contempo- rary with WacCj wrote " lefioire des due de Not' mendie" and the ♦' roman de Troie ;* both which are among the Harleian MSS.

" J^e roman de Florimon" is of the year 1180 ; the author being unknown.

Christian or Chrestien, de Troyes, wrote, in 1 1 91 Les romans de chevalier a Vepee \ou L'histoire de Lancelot du /fire], du chevalier d, la charrette ou De la carette, (perhaps the fame with the precedeing) du chevalier d, lion, du prince Alexandre, Sx.c. de

mention'd by M. Lebeuf as extant in the Bibl. Colbert. Cod. 3745 [Mem. de I'acad. D. I. & B. L. V, xvii, 6. 73 1] is by this Wace or Gace [whofe name, by the way, is frequently corrupted into Eujlace, Pf^stace, or Huijiace, Faeces, and Faches ; par- ticularly by Warton, who believes them to be two distinct perfons ; and confounds the Brut with the roman de Rou [I, 62] . IFace, or Gace, however, was certainly a baptismal name ; there being two other French poets who bore it, Ga/Ji Brutes, and GaJJe de Figne.

The title of master, or maistre, allfo, is conftantly prefix'd to the christian, and never to the furname, inflancees of the latter, of the 1 2th century, being, at the fame time, exceedingly rare. Had the name oilVace been Robert, he would have call'd himfelf Maistre Robert, and not Maistre IFace.

*»* The pasfage in Lebeuf (Recherchesfur les plus anciennes traductions en langue Fran^oifeJ is as follows : " Un maivufcrit de la bibliotheque Colbert (Cod. 3745) 7ious fcurnit le martyrc de St. George en vers Francois par Robert Guaco, vne vie dp St. Thomas de Canterberi en vers Francois Alexandrins, par frere Benet, & une hiftoire du martyre de Hugues de Lincoln, enfant tue par un Juif, Van 1206." Guaco, however, is not Guace.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, xliii

Graal, de Perfccalf dEreCy with others which ar» now loft.*

There arc numerous MS. romancees in verfe, in dificrenl librarys, fome of which, no doubt, arc at ancient as any here noticcM. The reft are too nu- merous to fpecify, as the two fubfequent centuryi were ftil more prohfick.

The authours of the earlyeft French romant in rime, generally declare their names in the courfe of their own works, " Meistre Wace kijijl ccjl livere," and are, occafionally, notice'd by a brother poet ; as, for inftance, Geoffrey Gaimar, the authour of a Britifti chronicle, allready mention'd, who not oncly names himfelf, but David, his contemporary, of whom nothing more is known; Lambert li Cors, one of the authours of the roman d' Alexandre, maistre Wace, the authour of Ic Brutf le roman de Rou, VHistoire de Normandie, Ic chevalier "au lion, U gejle de Alifandre, and fevcral other poems, name ihemfelves, and the laft, in fome, repeatedly ; all of whom, or of which are of the twelfth cen- tury. '* Allmoft every one of the [numberlefs] tales cvXVi^JabliauXy" fays M. Le Grand, are known

• In the roman de Perceval he fays,

" Cil liuijit (f Enie (g <f Enide, Et les commandements d^Ovide, Bt I'art d'aimer en roman mijl, Del roy ' Marc' ^ <rUfclt la blonde, Etdela Hupc, fl^ de fEronde, £( del Rosfignol la muance, Un ttulre conle, cvmmente, &€.**

xUv DISSERTATION ON

to be by fome poet or other whofe name is men- tion'd." Of the authenticity of thefe names there can be no fufpicion ; but thofe whofe names ap- pear, now and then, in the old profe romancees, printed or manufcript, are moflly, if not conftantly, men of draw ; fuch, for inftance, as Robert de Borron, the pretended authour oi- translator of " Lancelot du lac, mife en Francois du commande- mcnt d' Henri roi de Angleterre ;"* " Lucas [or Luces] chevalier, Jieur du chastel du Gq/l pres de Salisberi, Anglais," the pretended translator, " de Latin en Francois," of " Le roman de Tristan et Jfeult ;'*t " Mai/ire Gualtier Map [ad adviz au roy Henry fonfeigneur], of the " Hijloire de roy Artus et des chevaliers de la table ronde [avec le jaint Grant] ;"X and Rusficien de Fife or Fifa, otherwife " Rusticiens de Puife," who translateed Gyron le courtois, from the book of the lord Edward, king of

* Warton, I, 114. f Warton, I, 11 5.

X Mem, II, fig. c 3. It is not meant to asfert that there was no fuch perfon ; as he was, in reality, archdeacon of Oxford, and a very excellent and humorous Latin poet. He was merely drawn into this fcrape by the French romanceers, (and, after them, by the Welfh writeers,) who confounded him with another of the fame name, allfo archdeacon of Oxford, who is the man fay'd by Geoffrey of Monmouth to have prefented him with the original Welfh of the Briti/h history. Warton, as is ufual with him, prefers Walter de Mapes (II, c 2, b), be- caufe the chronology proves abfurd and imposfible: he not being archdeacon of Oxford before 1 1 97, about 44 years after the death of Geoffrey : but this, it muft be confefs'd, is a verjr temperate anachronifm for " honeft Tom."

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. xW

Engleland, when he went beyond fea, to conquer the holy fepulchre.* No French romance of chi- valry, it is belie ve'd, or fliould, at leaft, be believe'd without feeing it in an ancient MS. is in the Latin language (except thofe of the Pfeudo-Turpin and Geoffrey of Monmouth may be fo call'd, or it may be a translation or imitation) ; though the pretence is Common: Pcrctj'orcji was firft " ecrit en Grec, fu'u traduit en latin, Sf^c." and Derynus " de Ian- gaige incongneu." It was a weak and unfounded obfervation of Menage, that whenever thefe fagots pretend to translate from the Latin, they mean the Italian.^

" The profefs'd romancecs of chivalry," in the opinion of doctor Percy, ** feera to have been firft corapofe'd in France, where, allfo, they had their name:" though he, elfewhere, with little confift- ency, thinks " The ftories of king Arthur and hii round table, [the moft fruitful and popular fubjcds of the French and Norman poets] may be rcafon- ablely fuppofe'd of the growth of this ilaud ; both

* Thii and two other romans, du Bruth, and deMeliadus de Ltcnnois, are in the duke of Vallieres catalogue, attributced to this " maiitre Rusticiens de PiJ'f{" and in Bib. du roi 679a ik 09S3 are plujieurs volumes de Giron de Courtoit, mis en Francis par Hue [Luc] feiipieur du chdleau du Gat."

t Dan* la Ml. naUon. No. 37 IS [i/i] un MS. de la fin du XII fieele qui renferme le ronton de Turpin el celui D'Amis et Ainilion m vers latini." The former, at leaft, was in Latin profe, of (he prcccdring age ; and the latter of that in which they were, in all probability, both veifify'd by the fame haod. 1

xlvi DISSERTATION ON

the French, and the Armoricans," he ads, pro- bablely, haveing " thera from Britain." The former, indisputablcly, made great ufe of Geoffrey of Mon- raouths fabulous history; but what they had before it does not appear; neither, in fad, does this im- postour ever mention the round table, though mas- ter Wace does, not many years after : and, with refpedl to the Armoricans, who are not known, on any ancient or refpedable authority, to have ever posfefs'd a fingle ftory on this fubjcft, however con- fidently the faft may be asferted, or plaufiblely prefume'd, it is ridiculous to account for their mode of geting what it cannot be prove'd they ever had.

Before the year 1122,* and even, according to the French antiquarys, in the eleventh century, had appear'd a book intitle'd, in the printed copys, " Joannis Turpini Historia de vita Caroli magni et Rolandi." This Turpin is pretended to be the arch- billiop of Rheims, whofe true name, however, was Ti/pin,i and who dye'd before Charlemagne; though Robert Gaguin, in his licentious trairslation of this work, 1527> makes him, like fome one elfe, relate his own death. Another pretended verfion of this Pfeudo-Turpin, which is fay'd to have been made by one Mickius (or Michel) le Harnes,

• Warton, I, c 2, who cites Magn, chron. Belgic. P. 153. fub anno and refers to Longs Bibl, Hift. Gal. num. 6671, and Lambac. ii. 333.

f See Flodoardus Historia ecdefia Remenfis, L.2, C, If,

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. xlvu

who live'd in the time of Pl»ilip the auguft, or 1206,* has Httle or nothing in comniun with Its falfe origi- nal, being, in faA, the romance of Regjiaut, or Reynald, and not that of Roland who h never once mention'd in the head-chapters, and very rarely ia the book. Mister Ellis, who took it, without in- fpection, to be a fair translation of the falfe Tur« pin, in 1207, fays, *' The real authour was perhaps a Spaniard ;" but this is without authority; and in fad, the Spaniards have no romance of any fuc)i antiquity. t Mister Warton calls this fabulous his- tory, " the ground-work of all the chimerical le- gends which have been rclateed concerning the conqueAs of Charlemagne and his twelve peers :"4- but this, at leaft, requires it to have been compofe'd before the year IO66, when the adventures or ex- ploits of Charlemagne, Rowland, and OUvcr, were chanted at the battle of Hastings. As a Arong in- ternal proof, however, that this romance was writen long after the time of Charlemagne, he fays, that the historian, fpeaking of the numerous chiefs and kings who came with their armys to asfiA his hero, among the reA mentions earl Oell ; and ads " Of this man there is a fung commonly fung among the minArels ev€n to this day."X In another phice, be

• See Memoirea de Taeadmie det. imfcrip. IV. 908.

•f The original Latin was never printed feparatc'.y, and firft of all inferred in a collection, intitle'd " Gnmamiarum raitm (juatuoT chronographi, &c. Francofurti, liOd, fo.

4- 1, c. 2 Ii c a.

xlviii DISSERTATION ON

fays, that " Turpin's history was artfully forged under the name of that archbifhop about the year 1 1 10, with a defign of giving countenance to the crufades from the example of fo high an authority as that of Charlemagne, whofe pretended vifit to the holy fepulchre is defcribed in the twentieth :"* Ivhich feems highly probable.

In the year 1 138 Geoffrey of Monmouth, after- ward biftiop of St. Afaph, fet forth a certain work, which, in his epistle dedicatory to Robert earl of Gloucester, he fays, he had translateed from a very ancient book in the Britifh tongue, which had been brought to him by Walter archdeacon of Oxford, a man of great. eloquence, and learn'd in foreign his- torys, containing, in a regular ftory, and elegant ftile, the actions of them all, from Brutus, the firft king of the Britons, down to Cadwallader, the fon of Cadwallo. Whether Geoffreys Latin book, which has, certainly made its way in the world, and in- fedted, or influence'd, more or lefs, national history in allmoft every part of the globe, was an actual •translation, or entirely, or partly of his own ma- nufacture, is not a question here intended to be discufs'd ; but all allow that the Britilh orignal has liever been found, unlefs in the fhape of a transla- tion from the Latin. Mister Warton, indeed,' mo- deflly enough, inclines to think, " that the work

* I, 124. In the national library. Number 3/18, is a MS. of the end of the I2th century, which contains the romance of Turpin, and that of Amis and AmiUion in Latin verfees.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. Ixix

. confifts of fables thrown out by different rhapfodifts at different times," which aften^ard " were col- lefted and digefted into an entire historj'," and per- hap with new decorations of fancy aded by the compilcer, who moft probablely was one of the pro- fefs'd bards, or rather a poetical historian, of Ar- morica or Bajfe Bretagne. In this ftate, and under this form, he fuppofees <* it to have fallen into the hands of Geoffrey of Monmouth."* However this may be, as there is little or no evidence, though much improbability, upon the fubjed, the readers of the learned historian may be permited, for the prefent, to retain his opinion : but " Amid the gloom of fupcrQition, in an age of the grofseft ig- norance and credulity," he fays, '• a tafte for the wonders of oriental fiction was introduce'd by the Arabians into Europe.. .Thefe fictions coincidcing with the reigning manners, and perpetually kept up and improvc'd in the tales of troubadours and min- ilrels, feem to have center'd about the eleventh cen- tury in the ideal histories of Turpin and Geoffrey of Monmouth, where they form'd the ground-work of that fpccies of fabulous narrative called romance.^ Whatever become of the induceing caufees, the con- dufion is, unquestionablely, very plunfiblc, if not perfedtly true, for, whether there were any thing upon the fubjcd of Charlemagne and Arthur before the appearance of thefe two books, it is very cer- tain there was a prodigious number after it. •lb. tl,i,4.

▼OL. I. d

1 DISSERTATION ON

Thejabliaux of ihe twelfth and thirteenth cen- turys (a name for which the Ei>glei{h language af- fords no appropriate term, nor the French any fy- nonim) extant in MS. in feveral librarys, are alhnoft innumerable. Three volumes have been publifli'd by M. Barbazan under the title of " Fabliaux et tontes des po'etes Franpis des XII, XIII, XIV, Sf XVes Jiccles:" Paris 1756, 1776, 3 vols, 12rao, which afford a fufficient fpecimen of this fpecies of French poetry : while feveral, as wel of thefe as others, have been epitoraife'd and transprofe'd by •Le Grand d'Ausfy, who has acconipany'd them with ingenious and interefiing disfertations and notes, at firft, in two volumes, 8vo, and, fecondly, in five, 12mo.

It has been iraagiue'd, as Warton thinks, that the firft romancees were compofe'd in metre, and fung to the hai-p by the poets of Provence at festival folemnitys ;"* but, according to more authentick writeers, thefe poets borrow'd their art from the French or Normans. He, litewife, asferls, that the troubadours were the firft writeers of metrical ro- mancees.f The provenjal poetry, in fa6t,was for the moft part, of a difterent defcription, and abounded chiefly in allegory and fatire. There is but one

♦ I, 1 12. He, elfewhere, affirms that " The troubadours of Provence, an idle and unfettled race of men, took up arms, and follow'd their barons in prodigious multitudes, to the conqueft of Jerufalem." (HO.) . An abfurd falfehood.

1 1> W7.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. li

fmgle romance exiting that can be imputccd to a troubadour, that of Gerard de lioujjillon ;* nor is it certain that, if they had compofe'd ever fo many, they would have rival'd the French, in point of either merit, or precedency.

Warton, indeed, misled, apparently, by that ignii fatuHs, W'arburton, biftiop of Gloucester, and even widiing, it would feem, to emulate and outdo that confident and mendacious prelate, f has been in- duce'd to asfert that " Before ihefe expeditions into the eaft became fafhionable, the principal and lead- ing fubjeAs of the old fables were the atchieveraents of king Artliur, with his knights of the round-table, and of Charlemagne with his twelve peers. But, ia the romances written after the holy war, a new fet of champions, of conquers, and of countries, were [was] introduced. Trebizoude took place of Roun- cevallcs, and Godfrey of Bulloigiie, Solyman,

• The Provenqal poets had got an extravagantly high cha- racter, which this ingenious whtccr has entirely deprive'd them of. M. dc Sainte-Palaye, who had made large and interefting collections upon the history and poetry of the troubadoun, which he pcrfcdly undcrflood, fuffcr'd, unfortunately, his pa- pen to fall into the hands of one Milot, a perfc6l blockhead, who neither knew the P(ovcn(;a1, nor any thing elfe.

■f Sec his pretended hypothefis of the origin of romance, &rft printed in the fupplement to Jarvises Don Quixole, and, afterwaid, in his own, and fcveral fubfequcnt, editions of Shakjpeme, a complete fpecimcn of ignorance, impudence, and falfchood, which has been fo ablcly and dcciGvcly con- futccd and ezpofe'd by the learned and judicious Tyrwhitt, and defen-es only to be treated with indignation and contempt.

m DISSERTATION ON

Nouraddln, the caliphs, and the cities of iEgypt and Syria became the'favourite topics."

In all this rhapfody there is fcarcely a fingle word of truth. It is fufficiently notorious that before the firft crufade, or for more than half a century after it, there was not one fingle romance on the achieve- ments of Arthur or his knights. Neither is it more true that any fuch change took place with regard to the fubjedls of romance as he here pretends. That there was a romance on Godfrey of Bologne is certain ; but that it ever obtain'd the popularity of thofe of Charlemagne, Rowland, Oliver, and Roncevalles, which are allmoft innumerable, or that Solyman, _N(mraddin, the caliphs, and the cities of Egypt and Syria, were ever *' the favourite topics," is nothing but random asfertion, falfehood, and im- pofition; there not being a fingle romance on any one of thefe fubjeAs.*

A curious pasfage in the ancient chronicle of Bertrand Giiesclin as citeed by Du Cange, under the word MINISTELLI, preferves the names of feveral ancient French romans, fome of which are not otherwife known to have exifted, and exprefsly fays they were corapofe'd by the minftrels : " Qui veut avoir reiimn des bons Sp de vaillans, II doit alerfouvent ala pluie et an champs, Et ejlre en la bataille, ainj'y quefu RoUans^ Lcs quatre fils Ilaimon, et Charlon li plus grans<

• History of Engleifh poetry, I, no.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. liii

Li dus Lions de Bourges, ct Gulon de Connans, Perceval li Galois, Lancelot, et Tristans, Alixandres, Artus, Godfroi li fachans, De quoy cils menestriersyb/i/ lea nobles romans." None of thefe rimeing romancees have been ever printed, unlefs a comparatively modem one, in- titlc'd J> roman de la rofe, which is wel known, and, as is fome where fay'd, Tristan Sf la belle Yfeuit, Richard fans peur^ at Paris without date, and at Lions, in 1597 1 Due Guillaume roy d'AngU* terre, Guisgardus Sf Sigismund, 1493, &c. Le roman de Troye, by Jean dc Mcun, one of the authours of the Roman de la rofe : but, if really fo, the copys (of all but the lad) are as fcarce as manu- fcripts.

In the courfe, it is thought, of the fourteenth and fifteenth centurys, and, posfiblely, even, in the latter part of the thirteenth, many of the old me- trical French romancers were tum'd into profe, and, afterward, printed. A numerous and invalua- ble collection of the former were in the Chateau dAnett the refidence of Diane de Poitiers, the fa* Tourite mistrcfs of Henry the third, iii 1724, but now every where difperfe'd.

Nicholas de Herberay, fieur det Etfars^ wlio pubhOi'd, in 1574, a French vcrfion of the firft eight books of the celebrateed Spanish romance of Amadis de Gaule* asferts that this far-fame' d and

• Warton calls this " a romance written in Spain, by Vasco dc Lobcyra, before the year 1309;" but the autbour, 01

liv DISSERTATION ON

exquifite ftory made its firft appearance in France, affirming that he had moreover found feme rem- nant of an old manufcript in the Picard language, from which he thought that the Spaniards had made their translation ; and which is posfiblely ftil extant.* This, it is prefume'd, was in verfe, in the manntT of all or mofl other ancient roraancees ; which is the more probable, as the printed history of Thefeus de Cologne, by Anthony Bonnemere, at Paris, in or about 1534, profefses to be translated " de vklle rime Picarde." There was, likewife, in the collection of M. Lancelot, a MS. about the year 1330, intitle'd " Autre roman du renard" in verfe, " en langue Picarde,"

The progrcfs of the Italian and Spanifli was much like that of the French, but, posfiblely, lefs cor- rupted, as it is fay'd that there are fpecimens of the Spanifh and Italian poets which are, at once, Latin and the vernacular idiom. Romance did not make its appearance in Italy before the time of Dante or Boccace ; nor, perhap, in a fteifter fenfe, previous to the Morgante maggiore of Pulci; from which time, down to the feventcenlh century, the number of their romanzi, or rimi cavalarefchi, all in the fame kind of metre, is prodigious ; fome of which

translator, in fa6l, is totally unknown ; neither was Vasco de Lobeyra a Spaniard, but a Portuguefe ; nor could it be writen before 1450, or, as mister Tyrwhitt thinks, before the inven. tion of " the art of printing."

* See Tresfan, Corps d'extraiU de romanSf III, 4 ; allfo Fontenelle, TheatTCt tome 3.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. Iv

are fufficicntly known to be of great and fterling merit. Voltaire, who was in one part of his life, fo disguftcd with a translation of Ariosto, in French profe, after havcing become acquainted with the original, prcfer'd it to the poetry of Homer and Virgil.*

It arrive'd ftil lateer in Spain ; which can boaft of nothing in the Ompe of a metrical romance, but an epick poem or two, of the thirteenth century ; their Hutorias de cavalleriaty or, what we call, ro' manctia of chivalry, being, though fufficiently nu- merous, and, occafionally, of great merit, uniformly in profe. That which we term a ballady or lyrical narrative, is call'd in Spain uno romancL Among the prodigious quantity of thefe compofitions there are few or none older than the clofc, at moft, of the fifteenth century. Some it is true, are upon Moorifh fubjeds, but it is falfe that any one is a translation from Arabian poetry : not even among the curious and beautiful fpecimens in the Guerras civiUs de GranadUf publiih'd originally under fuch a pretence.

^ 2. SAXON AND ENGLEISH LANGUAGE.

With refpcft to the original letters or characters of the Saxons, we are able to obtain no futisfactory

* See, as to the profj^s of the Italian dialed, M uratoris jln- ti^itaUi, a book of prodigious learning and authenticity.

Ivi DISSERTATION ON

information. It is highly improbable that they had a writen language, when, in a ftate of paganifm, they arrive'd, as the allys of the Britons, in 449-

The Britons, who had allready profgfs'd Chris- tianity, though not popery, for two or three cen- turys, appear to have had books and writeingSi and, confequently, letters and characters, long be- fore the time of Gildas, who wrote about 560, and exprefsly mentions that all fuch had been deftroy'd in hostile convulfions, or carry'd abroad. The Saxons were much fonder of exterminateing them, than of learning their language.

St. Augustine arrive'd in 597» and made con- fiderable progrefs in the converfion of the Saxons from pagan to popeidi fuperftition ; but neither Bede, nor any other ancient writeer, relates that he taught them their letters : in procefs of time, however, they certainly had the art of writeing, both in Latin and Saxon, and, in the following age, abounded with men of learning, if not of fenfe; of whom JBede, who dye'd in 731, is a fufficient inftance.

According to Nennius, St. Patrick, who came to Ireland in 434, wrote 363 alphabets [one for every day in the year], and upward [in order, it is pre- fume'd, to teach the Irifli to read].*

Neither the Britons, nor the Irifh, nor the Saxons, had a K, or a Q, an X, [or a Z], in their language, t

* C. 58. + See Lhuyd, apud Lewis, 61.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. Ivii

The Britons, according to Lhviyd, " had letters before the lime of Juvenal and Tacitus;" for, fay» he, " i have lately fecn a coin of Berach (or Bc" ricusj, with his name upon it, in the time of the emperor Claudius ; and there are others alfo that bear the name of Caswation, prince of the Britain^ [Britons], who fought againd Julius Cxfar, befida fcveral others, the times of which cannot be de- termine'd.*"

Caefai', however, has giveen his pofitive testimony that the Britons had no coin'd money, makcing ufe of brafs rings, ^c.-f and Gildas asferts, that what- ever they liatl of brafs, filver, or gold, was mark'd with the image of Csfar..{-

Many IriJh clerks came over to Engleland, and, being eftccni'd for their learning (which confifted, it is prcfume'd, chiefly in a knowlcge of the fcrip- tures, the expofitors thereof, and the ancient fa- thers), were prt'fer'd to bifhopricks, and abbeys. King Oswald, in 635, as we learn from BeJe, who had, in banifhment, receive'd the facrament of bap- tifm among the Scots ('/. e. Iri(b), fent to the elders of that nation, defireing they would fend him a biOiop, which they did. This was Aidan, a man of Angular mcekncfs, piety, and moderation, to whom the king appointed his episcopal fee in tho ilc of Lindisfarn ; and, bt'ing unfkilful in the En- gleifli tongue, the king, when he preach'd to the people, ufe'd to interpret for him. From that time,

• Sec Lhuyd, apud LcwU, 09. f Gallick war, B. 0. 4- C. >.

Jviii DISSERTATION ON

he fays, many of the Scots began dayly to come into Britain, and, with great devotion, to preach the word of faith to thofe provincees over which Oswald reign'd. Churches were eredcd in feveral placees ; posfesfions were giveen, of the kings bounty, to build monasterys ; the Engleifh, great and fmall, were, by their Scotifh masters, inftruded in the rules and obfervance of regular discipline ; for moft of them that came to preach, were monks.* Maildulfus, the founder of Malmesbury, in 675y was, likewife, a Scot of Ireland. It is, therefor, fuf- ficiently probable that thefe Irifh priefts taught the Saxons their letters; between which and the Saxon, there is a confiderable affinity ; whereas, admiting the Britons capable of doing this themfelves, it can- ' not be prov'd that their characters at all refemble'd the Saxon, as, if they be able to produce a manu- fcript, or infcription of the fixth century, as they pretend they are, it wil, indubitablely, turn out to be in the Roman letters of that time.

When Coinvalch (or Cenwalch), king of the Weft- Saxons, was, in 650, reinftateed into the kingdom, there came into his province, from Ireland, a cer- tain pontif, by name Agilbert, by nation, veryly, a Gaul (or Frank), but then haveing remain'd no fmall time in Ireland, for the fake of learning the fcriptures, join'd himfelf to the king, asfumeing the ministery of preaching: whofe erudition and indus- try, the king feeing, afk'd him (an episcopal fee * B. 3, C. 3.

ROMANCE AND MINSl UELSY. lix

being there accepted) to tarry a poutif to his na- tion: who, a^feiiting to his prayers, prefideud over the fame nation, by fucerdotal right, for many years. At length tlie iting, who knew onely the lan- guage of the Saxons, weary of his barbarous SPEECH,* fubintroduce'd into the province another biOiop of his own tongue, by name Viri, and him- felf urdain'd in Gaul ; and, dividcing the province into two pariOies, oflcr'd to this an episco)>al feat in the city Fenia^ which from the nation of the Saxons is call'd Vintancaestir (now Winchester) : Whence Agilbert being grievously offended, that the king Ihould a^ in this matter without confulting him, rcturnM to Gaul, and (the biihcprick of the city of Paris being accepted) there dye'd an old man, and ftil of days.f

The Saxons arrive'd in 449> as allys of the Bri- tons, whom, bavt*ing firft defeated their enemys, they drove, after many a fierce engagement, into the mountainous pailj of the Weft of Engleland, where they have boi-n fuffer'd to remain. Though thefe treacherous firangers arc not known to have brought over with them books or letters, or, in Ihort, any kind of literary ftock, while they conti- nue"d pagans, they were unquestionublely a bra^'e and warlike nation, but, upon their converfion to

• In the orifinml, " pertafut lartarce loquela." This b«r. bvous jargon would fcera to have been Latih, which the Saxon monarchs ha^l not vet acquire'd.

♦ Bede, H. E. L. 3, C. 7.

1

Ix DISSERTATION ON

Christianity, their kings became monks, the people cowards and flaves, unable to defend themfelves, and a prey to every, invadeer. The fame effects had, not long before, been allready produce'd upon the Romans, as they have, in modern times, upon the Mohawks, who, in confequeiice of a certain change, have loft all that was valuable in their national character, and are become the moft dc- fpicable tribe that is left unextirminateed. It wil be in vain to expert any proofs of genius from iuch a favage and degradeed people, if, as Warton pre- tends, " the tales of the Scandinavian fcalds," flou- rifli'd among the Saxons, who fucceeded to the Britons, and became posfefs'd of Engleland in the fixth century, may be juftly prefume'd,* they had been foon loft, as neither veftige, nor notice, is pre- ferve'd of them in any ancient wiitter. They had a fort of poetry, indeed, a kind of bombaft. or in- fane, profe, from which it is very difficult to be distinguiflj'd. Alfred, it muft be confefs'd, a great prince, but a wretched bigot, upon the testimony of his chaplain, or confcsfour, who wrote his life, though he allows him to have remain'd illiterate, through the unworthy negledl, for fliame ! of his parents and nurfeiis, until twelve years of age or upward ; fays that the Saxon poems, being by day and night an attentive auditor, very often hearing from the relation of others, being docile, he re- tain'd by heart."f He had even form'd a manual, • I, e a, 6. f Asfer, 16.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. Ixi

or commun-place-book, call'd, in Saxon, his honb- bee, in which were feveral piecees of poetry by St. Aldhelm, who [dye'd in 709, and] fuccefsfully cultivateed that ftudy, and particularly a fong he had made, which in the time of Asfer was flil fung by the vulgar.* He translateed the eccle- fiastical history of Bcde, Orofiuses Ormesta mundif Boetius de confulatione pkiio/ophur, pope Gregor}'s Pastorate, and the Pfalms of David, from Latin into his vernacular tongue. It has been pretended, allfo, that he pay'd the fame attention to iflfops fables, but this requires authority. Venerable Bede, who dye'd in 731, had been a prodigy of learning, but only displayed his talents in Latin ; at the com- mencement of Alfreds reign, in 86-i, according to his own declaration, ** There were very few on this fide the Humbcr that could underhand their dayly prayers in Engleilh, or translate any letter from the Latin. I think," he ads, ** there were not many beyond the Humber ; they were fo few, that i, in- deed, cannot recoiled one fingle indance on the fouth of the Thames, when i asfurae'd the king- dom." t — " Before every thing," he fays, " had been ravagc'd and burn'd -by the Danes, the churches, through all the EngliOi nation, flood ful of vesfels, and books, and priests. Of the ufe of their books,

• W. Malmn. 349. Asfer fays it wa« 1 coUeaion of hour*, and pfalms, and prayers, which he carry'd in hi) bofom day and night. He fays nothing of Aldhelra.

t Preface to the Patttralt, by bimfelf.

Ixii DISSERTATION ON

however, they knew very little, as they were not writen in the language which they fpoke. So that though they might fee their treafures, they were unable to explore them."* .

The Saxon language, after haveing been cor- rupted by the Danes, who fpoke a tongue of distant affinity, began to be infefted, by the Norman- French, before the conqueft of Engleland. We are told by Ingulph, that " Edward the confesfor, born in Engleland, but brought up, and tarrying a very long time in Normandy, had allmoft become a Frenchman, bringing over, and attracting, a great many from Normandy, whom, being promoteed to various dignitys, he raife'd very high. f.. .The whole land, therefor, being introduce'd under the king, and the Normans, began to dismifs the Engleifli customs, and, in many things, to imitate the man- ners of the French ; the Gallick idiom, that is, all the great men in their courts to fpeak ; their char- ters and deeds to make ; and their own custom in thefe, and many other things, to be afliame'd of." All the charters granted to Croyland by the En-

* Hi. There is but one fmgle romance, and that in profe, extant in the Saxon dialeft ; it is the legend of Apollonius of Tyre, and has been translateed from the Latin, in the Ubrary of Bennet-college.

•j- Gervafe of Tilbury fays, he was educateed with the duke of Neuftria (Normandy), for that, among the raoft noble En- gleifh, a custom prevail'd to bring up their fons with the French, for the ufe of arms, and takeing away the barbarifm of their native language. (0<ia imjsenarta).

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. Ixifl

gleiOi kings, according to this learned abbot, were writen in t^e Saxon hand " until thefc our times/' he fays, " which partly were writen two ways, as wel in the French hand, as in the Saxon. For the Saxon, by all the Saxons and Mercians, until the times of king Alfred, who by the French doctors was excellently inAruded, ufe'd in all chirographsi from the time of the fay'd lord the king, had be- come vile by disufc ; and the French hand, becaufe more legible, and very delectable to the fight, ex« cel'd, more frequently, from day to day, plcafu'd among all the Englcifh."* He fays further, that, a few years before the fire in 109I) he took out of the chartary fcveral chirographs, writen in a Saxon band, of which they had duplicates and triplicates, and deliver'd them to the chantor dom Fulmar, to be prefervc'd in the cloiftcr, for teaching the younger monks to learn the Saxon hand, forasmuch as fuch letter, for a long time, bycaufe of the Non> mans, now neglet^ed, had become vile, and was now known but to a few ciders ; that the younger, inftruAed to read this letter^ might be the more apt, in their old age, to alledge the muniments of their monastery against its adverfarys/'f

The Saxon natives, a fpiritlefs and cowardly race, who had been long accustom'd to the con- quest and ascendency of every neighbouring nation which thought proper to invade them, as the Scots, for iullancc, the Pids, and the Danes, the laft of

Ijciv DISSERTATION ON

which had actually takeen posfesfion of the crown and kingdom of Engleland, and held it for feveral reigns, were, after the Norman conqueft, reduce'd to a ftate of bafenefs and fervility. They had been deprive'd of their native landlords, who were for- feited, banilh'd, and put to death ; and their eftates coufiscateed, by the rapacious Normans ; they had been deprive'd of their laws, and a final attempt was now made to abolifh their language. This, however, though great pains were takeen to enforce it, did not entirely fucceed, oweing, chiefly, it may be, to the ftupidity of the Saxon peafants.* From

* It would, no doubt, have been a glorious matter for a conquer'd and ciiflave'd people to boaft, that, after they had loft the fuccesfion of their native fovereigns, their laws, their posfesfions, their eftates and property, and every thing, in ftiort that was really valuable, they were pcrmited to preferve their language, and continue a meagre, and barren jargon, which was incapable of discharging its functions ; this, in fa6l, was the only meafure of the Norman tyrants which was adapted to the benefit of their conquer'd fubje6ls; and in this alone they were unfuccefsful ; neither, on the contrary, did the Saxon commonalty retain their primitive tongue : they got, indeed, a barbarous mixture of Saxon, Danifh, Norman, and one knows not what, which was no more Saxon than French, and is now known by the name of Engleifh, a term formerly fynonimous with Saxon.

Heame, indeed, contends that ** the introduction of the French tongue was of very great disadvantage. It brought a disufe," he fays, *' of the fcriptures, which having been trans- lated into Saxon, were commonly read among the vulgar, 'till after the Normans came among us, who did all they could posfibly to deftroy every thing that look'd like Saxon; and yet they were not able to bring their Ul defign to perfection."

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSV. Isv

the time of this conqueft, the kin;;, and the i)<v> biiity, and the bilhops, and nio(l uf the regular clergy, and every nmn, in fhort, of lande*! property, the whole kingdom haveing !>een parcel'd out in knights fees, under the feudal law, which was now, for the firft time, intro«lure'd into the country, were Normans, aiui fpokc the French, fo thsit, long be- fore his death, and ever afterward, we do not once meet with the name of one fingle Saxon nobleman, nor is there a fingle family now flourifhing, however high in rank and opulence, that can prove a defcent from the Saxon times, by authentick documents ; all were ruiu'd, exile'd, decapitateed, or reduce'd to poverty, wretchednefs, and distrefs : fo that, in fad, like the Pit'U, they feom to have been cut off, all at once, by a fingle blow, without any progeny being left to reprefent them. " At length," fays Ingulph, the Normans " fo abominateed the En- gleiOi, that, whenfoever they excel'd in merit, they were driveen from their dignitys, and much left able foreigners, of whatfoever other nation which is under heaven they were, would be takecn wil- ingly. The very idiom, even, they fo much abhor'd, that the laws of the land, and the Aatutes of the

(Preface to Langtoft , P. xx\x.) The lofs fustain'd by the vul- gar of their Saxon Tcrfioii, would have been effectually reme- dy'd by the Latin vulgntc, which the priefts continue'd to ex- plain to tUcm in their vernacular idiom (for, in fad, there was no French translation of the bible) ; aad the reading of it might have contribulced to the knowlegeof the Latin tongue. VOL. I, e

Ixvi DISSERTATION ON

Engleifli kings, were treated in the French lan- guage:* and to boys, allfo, in fchools, the gramma- tical principles of letters were deliver'd in French, and not in Engleifli ; the Engleifli mode, allfo, of

♦ The onely laws promulgateed by the conquerour in Nor- man-French, are thofe that were found in a fmgle MS. of In- gulph, now deftroy'd, (a blank fpace being left in other copys for their infertlon,) and have been printed by Selden, in Ful- mans edition, and by Wilkins in LL. Saxoniccn. If thefe laws be genuine, a faft which is not intended to be disturb'd, they muft have been proclaim'd, one would think, in the Saxon language, being the old laws of the kings coufin Edward, as he fays, and intended for the benefit of his newly acquire'd Saxon fubjefts ; and this Norman verfion mufl be a work of lateer times, by ferae monk, who prefcr'd to get them translateed for him by another who underftood the Saxon tongue, fup- pofeing hira not to have done it for himfelf. But it feems, evi- dent that the copyift of the MS. ufe'd by fir Henry Savile, had been unable to write the Saxon character, and, therefor, obi ige'd to leave a blank, and a Norman monk, after Ingulphs death, would naturally prefer his native tongue. Thefe laws, no doubt, afford a very ancient fpecimen of the Norman-French ; but it is the heighth of abfurdity to imagine that he would have re- ftore'd them to his Saxon-fubjefts, in a language they did not underftand: particularly, as we find in Wilkins (P. 230), that on other occafions, he had no objection to make ufe of their own idiom. The laws in Latin, which immediately follow the above, are, like many others, a manifeft forgery. There are, in fa£l, feveral charters of the conquerour, in the Saxon lan- guage, ftil extant : though the vulgar Engleifli, at that period, feems to have been esfentially different. William of Malmes- bury, relateing the death of Aldred, archbifhop of York, who fucceeded in 1060, and dye'd in 1069, fays, that the franknefs of his mind (hone very clear in one expresfion, which, he ads, •' i wil give in Engleifli, byjcaufe Latin words do not anfwer, like the Engleifli to the rime." One Urfus, who had been ap- pointed, by the king, (herif of Worcester, haveing, in the

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. Ixvii

writcing was omited, and the French mode adupted, in all charters and books."*

Henry of Huntingdon, rclateing the death of William the concjuorour, fays, that, " now the Nor- mans had accompIiOi'd the juft wil of the lord over the nation of the Engles; nor was there fcarce any chief of the progeny of the Engles in Engleland, but all were reduce'd to flavery and forrow: fo that it was a disgrace to be call'd an Engleilhman.f

" Engleland," in the words of William of Malmes- bury, contemporary with Henry the archdeacoD, " is made the habitation of Grangers, and the do- minion of aliens. No Engleifliraan," he fays, *' at this day, is either duke,.}- or bithop, or abbot. The

erectioa of his castle, commited a nuifance to the monks, and their complaint being brought before the archbiftiop, as patron of that fcf , he, as foon as he faw the (herif, attack'd him with thefe words :

<'Hatcftthou(Urfe? Have thou gods cuifc!" which is, certainly, the mofl ancient and authentick vestige of the Englei<h tongtie, not being pure Saxon, that we are able to recover. (Dt gestis pontificum^ L. 3, P. V l .)

* 001 . Robert Holcot, as quoteed by Selden, in his notes to Eadmcr, fays, that the conquerour " deliberatrcd how he might deflroy the Saxon language, and accord Cnglcland and Nor- mandy in idiom."

t»70.

4- In the original duar, but there was no duke in thb king- dom before the eleventh year of king Edward the third, when he crcatctd his cldeil fon duke of Cornwall. Ancient writeert § I. e. Do'ft thou call thyfelf.

Ix^^ii DISSERTATION ON

new-comeers every where eat up the riches and bowels of Engleland."*

Robert of Gloucester, in his rude provincial rimes, fajs of this king William :

" He yef londes in Engelond that lyghtlyche

cam therto,

That yut her eyrs holdeft a londe mony on ;

And deferyted mony kundemen, that he hulde

his fon ;

So that the mefte del of hey men that in

Engelond beth,

Beth ycome of the Normans, as ye nou yn

feth:

And men of relygion of Normandye alfo ;

So that vewe contreyes beth in Engelonde,

That monckes nabbeth of Normandye fom- thyng in her honde."f

John Rous, who though not an ancient authour, may have been acquainted with the work of one, remarks, that " From the conqueft the Engleifh were every where trod under-foot, and, for a trivial of- fence, or none at all, moft cruelly afflided ; and, at the begining of Henry the firft, the Engleifh were held in the greateft detestation."! William, the onely fon of this Henry, who was drown'd in the chanel, had boafted that, if ever he flioald receive

ufe dux and comes indifferently. Geoffrey Plantagenet dukf of Britany, is as frequently called earl, * 459. t 368. 4- 138.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. Ixix

dominion over the Englcs, be would make them draw the plou<;h like oxen.*

After this, how ftrange and weak a thing it was that fo great a man as fir Henry Spclman, (hould, for the fake of a pityful, forenfick, quibble, main- tain that the name of conquestor, asfume'd by, or heftow'd upon, ^Villiam duke of Normandy, who routed the Saxon array in a pitch'd battle, and [lew their native king, fignifys, not conqutrour, in historical language, but acquijitor, or purchafer, in the feudal jargon : forgeting, or contemning not onely the old historians, but even the old Leonine: *' Gulidmus rex Aiiglorum, bello conquestor eorum."

It was ftil more weak and puerile in fir William Blacklione, in a more enlighten'd age, to adopt fuch a groundlefs idea ; though naturally enough to be oxj)eded from an ignorant reviewer.

*' At more than a century after the conqueft," it is fuppofe'd, " both the Norman and Kngliflj languages would be heard in the houfes of the great; fo that, probably, about this aera, or foon after, we are to date that remarkable intercommunity and exchange of each others compofitions, which we discover to have taken place at fomc early period between the French and KngUfh minftrcls : the fume fct of phrafes, the fame fpecics of characters, incidents, and adventures, and often the fame identical ftories being found in the old metrical romances of both

• T. Walfinghjun, 444 ; H. de Knjgbton, 23, sa ; the Utter •ite* W. of Malraesbuiy.

Ixx DISSERTATION ON

nations."* This, though it could not, posfiblely, take place at fo early a period, nor more than a century after, is, by no means, to be wonder'd at, as the Engleifli niinftrels, being far inferior, in genius and invention, to the French or Norman trouveres, were oblige'd to content themfelves with translateing what had allready become celcbrateed, and they were unable to emulate. It is, at the fame time, a grofs misreprefentation and impofition, however confidently, or plaufiblely, asferted or in- finuateed, that any one Engleifh minftrel-roraance was ever translateiid into French.

That William the bastard, his fon Rufus, his daughter Maud, or his nephew Stephen, did, or could, fpeak the Anglo-Saxon or Engleifh language we have no information. The Saxon chronicle ended in the laft of thefe reigns, but, being imperfed to- ward the conclufion, it is not certainly known how low it was actually brought ; and ftil lefs at what age it commence'd. King Henry the fecond, in his progrefs to Wales, was addrefs'd by a fingular cha- racter " in Teutonica lingua," very good Engleifh, it would feem, and, it may be allfo, very good Ger- man, at leaft for the time : the three firft words of the fpeech deliver'd (all that is giveen in that lan- guage) being " Gode olde kinge !" The king himfelf fpeaks French. f

In this reign, it is moft probable, Layamon, the prieft, made his translation, in the ftile of Saxon

*Esfayon the ancient min/ir els, xxxii. f J.Brompton, 1079.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. Ixxi

poetry without rime, from the Brut of maistre Wace ; which affords a ftrange and fingular mix- ture of the Saxon and Norman idioms, both appa- rently much corrupted. This curious work exhibits the progrefs of the Englcifli lan^ua^e, properly fo caH'd, as we now have it, in its dawn or infancy, if one may ufe fuch an exprcsfion.

The change of Saxon into Engleifh, however, was, probabh'ly, fiil more rapid, as the Saxon chro- nicle tcrminatoed in the reign of king Stephen, who dye'd in 1154, and, in fifteen years after, we have Er.gleilh rimes by St. Godric, a hermit at Finchal, who dye'd in 1170; though, it mud be confefs'd, there are fpecimens, of a lateer periodi in profe.

According to William of Malmesbury, in the time of king Henry the firft, the whole language of the Northhumbriuns, and raoft of all in York, creek 'd fo rudely, that they of the fouth could underttand nothing of it : which hapcn'd on account of the vicinity of barbarous nations,* and the re- roolencfs of the kings, formerly Engleifh, then Nor- man, ** who are known" he fays, " to fojourn mor« to the fouth than to the north. t

Girald Barry, too, who refideed frequently at th« court of king Henry the fecund, fays of the vulgar Engleifh idiom of his own time; "As in the fouthern borders of Erigleland, and efpcciuUy about Devon- fhire, the Engleifh language reems,at this day, rather

• 3ie. t The Pia* and the Scott.

Ixxii DISSERTATION ON

discompofe'd, it, nevcrthelefs, fcenting far more of antiquity (the northern parts by the frequent ir- ruptions of the Danes and Norwegians, being greatly corrupted), obferves more the propriety, and an- cient mode, of fpeaking: of which, allfo, not argu- ment onely, but, hkewife, certainty you may have, that all the Engleilh books of Bede, Rabanus, king Alfred, or others whomfoever, you wil find writen under the propriety of this idiom."* This feems to defcribe the Saxon, into which Alfred translateiid Bedes ecclefiastical history, and many other Latin books.

" This apayring of the birthe tonge," fays Hig- den, " is by caufe of tweye thinges : oon is for children in fcole, ayenes the ufagc and raaner of alle other naceouns, beth compelled for to leve her owne langage, and for to conftrewc her lesfouns and her thingis a Frenfche, and haveth fiththe that (he Normans come firft into England. Allfo gentil- mennes children beth y taught for to fpeke Frenfche, from the tyrae that they beth rokked in her era- del, and kunneth fpeke and playe with a childes brooche. And uplondifhmen wole likne hemfelf to gentil men, and fondeth with grete bifyneffe for to fpeke Frenfche, for to be the more ytold of."t Trevifa, the translator, in his addition to this pas- fage, allows that though " This maner was mych

• Girald, Camhrice defcriptio, C. 6. He means pure Saxon, mnd not the jargon of his own time. f T)rrwhitts Chaucer, IV, 22.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, xxliii

yufed to fore the firft moreyn," it was " fiththe (bra del ychaungcd. So that now", he fays, " the yere of our lord a thoufand thre hundrd four fcore and fyve, in all the granicr fcoles of Euglond, chil- dren levcth Frenfch, and conftrueth and lerneth an Englifch."*

King Richard is never known to have uttered a fingle Engleilh word, uiilefs one may rely on the evidence of Robert Mannyng for the exprefs words, when of Ifaac king of Cyprus, " O dele," faid the king, " this is a fole Breton." The latter expres- fion feems proverbial, wl)cther it allude to the Welfh, or to the Armoricans ; becaufe Ifaac was neither by birth, though he might be both by folly. Many great nobles of Engleland, in this century, were utterly ignorant of the EngleKh language ; a remarkable inftance is rclatecd by Brompton of William bifhop of Ely, chancellor, chief Justiciary, and prime-minister, to Richard, and, certainly, at one time, the grcateft, at another, the leaft, in the kingdom, who did not know a word of it.f

• Tyrwhitts Chaucer, IV, 23.

f A fpecimcn of Engleifh poetry, apparently, of the fame age, is prefcrvc'd by Bcnedi£l abbot of Peterborough (OM), Roger de Hovcden (078), and in the manufcript chronicle of Lanercoft : " In ihi» year (lioo)," fays the former, " was ful- fil'd that prophecy, which, of old was found writen in flone- tables, near the town of the king of Engleland, which is call'd Here; which Henry [the fecond], king of Engleland, had giveen to Randal [r. William] Fitz-Stephen, in which the lame Randal [William] built a oew boufc, in the pimiaelc

Ixxiv DISSERTATION ON

*' Our nation," fay king Johns einbasfadours, to king Admiral of Morocco, " is learn'd in three idioms, that is to fay, Latin, French, and Engleijh."* There is no fpecimen of the Engleifli language in this reign. It muft, however, have been makeing its progrefs, as in the reign of his fon and fuc- cesfour, Henry the third, we find it, to a certain degree, mature and perfect:. This, if we take the year 1188, the penultimate of Henry the fecond, when the work of Layaraon may be thought to have been finifli'd (the raanufcript itfelf being of a not much lateer date), and the year r278,t when Robert of Gloucester completeed his rimeingchro- nicle„no more than a lingle century, you find an entirely different appearance, with a confiderable degree of rough energy, and a tolerablely fmooth,

whereof he place'd the effigy of a hart, which is believe'd to have been done, that this prophecy might be fulfil'd, in which it is fay'd :

" Whan thu fees in Here hert yreret ;

Than fulen Engles in three be ydeled.

That an into Yrland al to late waie,

That other into Puille mid prude bileve,

The thridde into Airhahen herd all wreken drechegcn." As the infcription was fet up when the houfe was built, be- fore the death of Henry the fecond, in 1189, it maybe regarded as a very ancient and fmgular fpecimen of the Engleifh lan- guage, which had not yet, it would feem, at Icaft univerfally adopted rime to what it call'd poetry ; though the example of St. Godric, allready mention'd, wil ferve to prove that it was not alltogether disufe'd even at fo early a period. (See Billio- theca poetica, 1802.) * M. Paris, 204.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. Ixxr

and accurate, metre, for the time, though it is ge- nerally thought to be conceive'd iu a provii)cial dialed, and, in that cafe, may afford a far from favourable fi>ecinicn of the Engleifli, even at that time.

The king of Engleland ftil adhere'd to the Nor- man French, as far as one may rely upon Robert of Brunne, a good evidence in general, and who had the opportunity, in this inAance, of knowing his authours prccife meaning, they refidcing onely at a (hort distance from each other :

" The kyng faid on hie, " Symon^jeo vous defieT We never know him to fpeak a word of Englcifh. The laft long expireing efforts of the Saxon lan- guage were made in the forty-third year of this reign (1258-9), in the (hape of a writ to his fub- jefts in Huntingdonlhire, and, as it is there fay'd, to every other in the kingdom, in fupport of the Oxford provifions. Certain it is, that this once fa- mous language had allready become obfolete, and utterly incapable of dischargeing its functions, being no longer either writen or fpokeen : and " There," as ihe worthy lord Balcarras exprefs'd himfelf, at the clofe of his final fpeech, on the disfolution of the ScotiOi parliament, " is the end of an auld fang."

King Eld ward the firft generally, or, according to Andrew of Wyntown,* conftanlly, fpoke the French language, \wi\\ in the council and in the tield, many

• Sec II, 40, 70, 83, »7.

Ixxvi DISSERTATION ON

of his fayings in that idiom being recorded by our old historians. When, in the council at Norham, in 1291-2, Anthony Beck had, as it is fay'd, prove'd to the king, by reafon and eloquence, that Brus was too dangerous a neighbour to be king of Scot- land, his majesty reply'd, " Par lefang de dieu vouz aves bien efchante ;" and, accordingly, adjudge'd the crown to Baillol; of whom, refufeing to obey his fummons, he afterward fay'd, " A ce fol felon tel foliefais ! S'il ne voult venir a nous, nous viendrons a lui."*

There is but one inftance of his fpeaking Engleifli; which was when the great fultan fent embasfadours, after kis asfasfination, to proteft that he had no knowlege of it. Thefe, ftanding at a distance, adore'd the king, prone on the ground ; and Ed- ward fay'd in Engleifh C" ^^ AngUco"), "You, indeed, adore, but you little love, me :" nor un- derftood they his words, becaufe they fpoke to him by an interpreter.f

King Edward the fecond, likewife, who marry 'd a French princefs, ufe'd, himfelf, the French tongue, Sir Henry Spelman had a manufcript, in which was a piece of poetry intitle'd, " De le roi Edward le jiz roi Edicard, le chanfon qu'il fift mefmes;" which lord Orford was unaccjuainted with. His fon, Ed- ward the third, allways wrote his letters, or dis- patches, in French, as we lind them preferve'd by

* Scoti chronicon, II, 147, ib6. f Heming ford (Gale), 591.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. Ixxvif

Robert of Avesbury ; and, in the early part of his reign (1328), even the Oxford fchoiars were con- fine'd in converfation to Latin or French.* That fpeech, however, foon afterward began to dechne. In the 36th year of his reign (1352) an ad was made, the preamble whereof ftates " For this that it is oftentimes (hew'd to the king, by the prelates, dukes, earls, barons, "and all the commonalty, the great mischiefs which are come to many of the realm, for this that the laws, customs, and (tatutes, of the realm are not commonly known in the fame realm, becaufe that they are pleaded, fhcwn, and judge'd, in the French language which is too much unknown in the fay'd realm, fo that the pelfons who plead, or are impleaded, in the courts of the king, and the courts of others have not underftand- ing, nor knowlege, of that which is fay'd for them, nor againfl them, by their ferjcants, and other pleaders, SfC. ordains that all pleas, which Oial be to plead in his courts, be pleaded in the EngUriJh language^ and that they be entcr'd and inroll'd in Latin :" which was not much better underftood, it is prefuroe'd, by the fuitors, than the French.

This famous ftatute, at the fame time, is itsfelf in French, which, in fadt, continuc'd in ufc til the time of king Richard the third; and, if the ferjeants and lawyers ceafe'd to plead in that tongue, they, certainly, continue'd to write their year books, re- ports, abridgements, and fummarys, in the CtunCf,

• Warton, I, 0, n. a.

Ixxviii DISSRETATION ON

even fo late as the laft century, in which chief baron Comyns compile'd his Digejl. It, likewife, continue'd to be ufe'd in the mootings of the ins of court til a ftil lateer period, though it was, cer- tainly, punifliable to pronounce it properly.*

There is a fingle inftance preferve'd of this mo- narchs ufe of th-e Engleifli language. He appear'd, in 1349, in a tournament at Canterbury, with a white fwan for his imprefs, and the following motto embroider'd on his fliield :

" Hay, hay, the w^ythe fwan ! By godes foul, i am thy raan."f Lewis Beaumont, bilhop of Durham, 1317 1 un- derftood not a word of either Latin or Engleifli. In reading the bul of his appointment, which he had been taught to fpel .for feveral days before, he ftumble'd upon the word metropolitick, which he in vain endeavour'd to pronounce; and, haveing ham- mer'd over it a confiderable time, at laft cry'd out, in his mother- tongue : *' Seit pour elite / Par fey nt Jjowys, il ne fu pas curteis qui cejie parole ici efcnt:'\.

* Barringtons Oljervations on thejiatutes, 63, n. [m] •f- See Wartons History ofE. poetry, 1, 251. He had another, " It is as it is ;" and may have had a third, ** Ha St. Edward ! Ha St. George !"

4- Robert de Gray ftanes, Angliafacra, I, 761. " Take it as fay'd ! By St. Lewis, he was not very civil who wrote this word here." The country fchoolmasters, in certain fmall villagees of the north, have recourfe to a fimilar evafion, when any of < their little pupils £ire ftagger'd at a difficult word : " It is a yowth," fays Holofemes; " pafs it over."

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. Ixxix

Gower wrote much more in French and Latin than in EiigleiOi ; his Speculum meditantis is in the firft of thofe languagees ; his Vox clamantis in the fccond, and his Confesjio amanlu, though in the third, a inanifeft verfion from both. He even in- ferts pure French words in his Englcilh poetry ; for inllance :

To ben upon his bien xenu, The firft, whichc (hall hiui/o/u."

Fo. 35, b. " The dare not drede tant ne quant:" Fo. 41, S)C, SfC. This, too, was the cafe with Chaucer, though disputeed by mister Tyrwhitt,* who, however, al- lows, in another place that '* our poets (who have, generally, the principal Hiarc in modeling a lan- guage) found it there intcreil- to borrow as many words as they, conveniently, could from France, 8fC. SfC.:"* which is, certainly, as true of Chaucer, as of Gower, or any other poet ; more efpecially in their translations, where, from a want of words, they take the French as they find it. A llrikeing proof of this fad, in the cafe of both Gower and Chaucer, is, that they adopted the mode of French poetry, which ends one fubjed, or fentcnce, with half the rime, and, begins a new one with the other half ; which few, if any other EnglciOi poet« are, at leaft conftantly, known to do. Nothing i« more plaufible than Wartons opinion that Chaucer * S«e hit edition of The CanUrlmry tola, IV, 1, Vc. 4i.

Ixxx DISSERTATION ON

imitateed the Provencal poels; his dreme, Thejlower and the leaf. The asfemble of ladies, The houfe of Fame, and, it may be, others, are very much in the manner of the troubadours ; even the Roman de la rofe is, apparently, an imitation of this kind ; which, peradventure, might rather fet him upon the translation. At any rate, the Engleilh language, fuch as it is, or is efteem'd to be, was by thefe means greatly enlarge'd, as vvel as improve'd, irf this reign, particularly by thofe two poets, not for- geting Robert of Brunne, to whom Warton has done great injustice, and Lawrence Minot, whofe merit he was a ftranger to.

The firft inftance, of the Engleifti' language, which mister Tyrwhitt had discover'd, in the parlia- mentary proceedings, was the confesfion of Thomas duke of Gloucester, in 1398.* He might, however, have met with a petition of the mercers of London, ten years earlyer.f The oldeft Engleitli inltrument, produce'd by Rymer, is dateed 1368 ;4- but an in- denture in the fame idiom, betwixt the abbot and convent of Whitby, and Robert the fon of John Bustard, dateed at York, in 1343,t is the earlyeft known : the date of 1324, giveen in Whatleys translation of Rapins Acta regia (volume I, page 394) being either a falfification, or a blunder, for 1384, as appears by the Fadera, whence it was takeen.

• IV, 25. t Rof. pari. III. 225. + VII, 526.

J Charltons History of JVhilby, -lAT,

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. Ixxxi

There is every reafon, indeed, to believe that the Engleifh language, before the invention of printing, was held, by learned, or literary, men, in very little efteem. In the library of Glastonbury-abbey, which bids fair to have been one of the nioft exten- five in the kingdom, in ISt-S, there were but four books in Engleiih, and thofe upon religious fubjeds, all, belide, " vetusta dy inutilia."* We have not a fingle historian, in Engleifh profe, before the reign of Richard the fecund, when John 'Ireviza trans- lateed the Polychronicon of Randal Higdcn. Boston of Bury, who feeras to have confulted all the mo- nastcrys in Engleland, does not mention one au- thour who had writeu in Engleilh ; and Bale, at a lateer period, has, comparatively, but an inrignifi- cant number : nor was Leland fo fortunate as to find above two or three Engleiih books, in the rao- nastick and other librarys, which he rummagc'd, and cxplore'd, under the kings commission. Gower, indeed, wrote wel, in all three languagees: Latin^ French, and Engleiih ; and there is fufticient reafon to think that Chaucer, though he prefer'd his na- tive tongue, was wel acquainted not onely with the other two, but with tlie Italian^ allfo, which was, at that time, little cultivateed in his moiher- couutry.

* John of Glastonbury, 435.

VOL. I.

Ixxxii DISSERTATION ON

§ 3. ROMANCEES.

No romancees are to be expefted among the Britons, at the time they posfefs'd the whole, or the greater part, of Britain, of which aera the pre- fent Welfh are unable to produce the flighted lite- rary vestige. They pretend, indeed, to have the poems of feveral bards of the fixth century ; but they have no fabulous adventures, or tales, in verfe, of any age ; and onely a few, chiefly translations, heretofore fpecify'd, none of which can be prove'd anteriour to the thirteenth century. • The Saxons, of whofe learning or literature fome account has been, allready, giveen, as wel as fome idea of their poetry, being, for the moft part, an ignorant and illiterate people, it wil be in vain to hope for proofs, among them, of genius, or original compofition, at lead, in their native tongue. In confequence, no romance has been yet disco ver'd in Saxon, but a profe translation allready notice'd. So that if, as Warton pretends, the flourifhing of ** the tales of the Scandinavian fcalds among the Saxons," may be juftly prefume'd, it is certain they had been foon loft, as neither vestige nor notice is preferve'd of them in any ancient writeer ; nor, in fadt, would any but a ftupid fool, or rank impostor, imagine that any of thefe fuppofititious Scandina- vian tales exifted in the middle of the fifth cen- tury, when the Saxons firfl eftablifli'd themfelves in

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. Ixxxiii

Britain. He pretends, likewife, that " they imported with them into Engloland the old Ruiiick language and letters ;" but whatever vestiaees of either exift in the northern i>arts of the kingdom are by more learned wiiteers attributeed to the Danes.*

The mull ancient romance now extant in the Englcilh languai^e, if it may be fo call'd, being a ftraugc, and apparently corrupt, mixture of Saxon and Norinan, in the lUle of the Saxon poetry, without rime, is a fort of licentious verfion, by one Layamon, a prieil, at Ernlye upon Severne, with great probability about tiie time of Henry H. or Richard I. the manufcript itsfelf being not lateer than the commencement, or, at leail, the earlyer • part of the thirteenth century ; chiefly, it feems, from the Brut of maistre VVace, Gace, or Gaffe, which was itsfelf, in fome meafure, a translation ffom Geoffrey of Monmouths Britijh history, and was finifh'd in 1135. A curious fpecimen of this Hngular production may be red to great advantage in the elegant " Specimens of early Englifli poetry," publilii'd by George Ellis ef<|uire.t The original is in the Cotton-library (Claudius. A. IX): in which invaluable collection was formerly a latter, and modcrnifc'd, copy (Otbo, C. XIII); unfortunately deQroy'd in the dreadful fire which hapen'd, in that invaluable repofitury, 1731. A fpecimen of it,

• I, e a, b. The Runick char»cters exhibit proofs of Chrit> tianity, and muA, confeqoently, be very late, and are, proba- blely, forgc'd. t Seel, ei.

Ixxxiv DISSERTATION ON

however, is luckyly preferve'd in Wanleys catalogue of Saxon MSS.

Our king Richard the firft, in the firft, as we are told by Du Verdier, frequented the court of Ray- mond Berenger, or Berenguier, count of Provence, the laft of that name, and there fel in love with Leonore, or Helyonne, one of the four daughters of that count, whom he, afterward, marry'd; this princefs fent him " un beau romant, en rime Pro- ven fallc, des amours de Blandin de Cornaille Sf de Guilhen de Myremas, des beaux faicts d'armes .qu'ils firent I'un pour la belle Bryande, Sp I'autre pour la belle Irlande, dames dUncomparable beaute:"* unfor- tunately now loft.

He had either a fervant, or a friend, name'd Blondel de Nefle, who was a minftrel, and disco- ver'd the king, in the imperial prifon, by finging under his window the half of a Provencal fong of his own compofition, and, paufeing, the royal prifoner

• Bihliotheque, 1221 ; Nostredame, Les vies des poetes Pro~ ven^aux, 1575, P. 140. Crescimbeni (II, 8) tels the fame ftory, and ads that the king, when prifoner, compofe'd fonnets, which he fent to Beatrix, the fister of this Leonora. It is wel known, however, that he actually marry'd Berengaria daughter of Sancho king of Navarre; though fome love-affair, between him and one of the princefses of Provence, may neverthelefs have takeen place. It may be obferve'd, at the fame time, that Richard earl of Cornwall, king of the Romans, brother to Henry III. actually marry'd Sanchia, daughter of Raymond earl of Provence, and that he is, occafionally, confounded by foreign writeers with Richard I. Another daughter of Raymond was marry'd to Heniy III.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, bcxx?

fnng the other; which certify'd Blondel where he WHS confinc'd, and enable'd his fubjeds to obtain his ranfom. The fuiig is ftil extant. This gallant monarch, himfelf a crlebrateed poet, as uel in Norman, as in Provencal, was the fubje6l of feveral romancees. Iceland found the " Historia de Ki- cardo regf, carmine fcript a " in the library of Croy- land-abbey;* and in that of the abbey of Glaston-. bury, in 1248, were the •* Gesta Ricardi" register'd. Both ihefe, no doubt, were a romance, or two dif- ferent romancees, in the French language. A copy of the fame poem, or fome other on the fame fub- jeft, is in the library of Turin; and in the national library at Paris (formerly the Bibliot/ieque du roi^ 7532), is the " Hutoire de Richard rot d Angleterre if de Maquemore d'lrlande, en rime" fo. This Maquemorc is Derraond Mac Morough, king of Leinfter, who, haveing ravifh'd the wife of O'Rorj', king of Lethcoin, daughter of Mclaghlin Mac Col- man, king of Lcinfler, and being, on that account, attack'd by Roderick o'Conor, king of Conmiught, implore'd, and obtain'd, the asfistance of king Henry II. which procute'd, to him and his fuc- cesfours, the dominion of Ireland, t Ducange, allfo, cites the " Histoire de la murt Richard roy

• CoL III, so.

f See, in Hairites Hibemica, what may, with great proba- bility, be an abridgraent of a fragment of this identical poem : but why king Richard i« introduce'd does not appear.

Ixxxvi DISSERTATION ON

d'Angletcrre," meaning, it is prefume'd, this Richard furname'd Ceeur-de-lion.

" Kyng Rycharde cuer du Lyon," was printed by Wynkyn de VVorde, in 152S, in quarto, and black letter; and, according to mister Warton, an edition, by the fame printer, in 1309 (CR. 734. 8vo.) " This," he fays, " was in the Harleian library ;" but unlefs there were an edition befide Num. 5933, he is probablely mistakeen. He, like- wife, mentions a third, " Impr. for W. C. 4to." Among the " Englyffhe boks off [fir] John Paston" was " Kyng Ri cur de lyon."* The MS. copys of the Engleifli romance, doubtlefs a translation from the French, contain many variations. One of thefe is in the library of Caius-college, Cambridge (D. 18) ; another doctor Farmer had (imperfeft) ; the fragment of a third is in the Harleian collection (Num. 4^9^')' "^ tbe Britifti mufeum ; and another in the Auchinleck MS. in the advocates-library, Edinburgh. " The victorious atchievements of that monarch," according to Warton, " were fo famous" in the reign of Henry thefecond, as to be made the fubjedl of a picture [duellum regis Ricardi], in the royal palace of Clarendon" (1246,* in the time of Henry the third).

No romance, in Engleifh rime, has been hitherto discover'd, or mention'd to exift, before the reign of Edward the firft, toward the end of which, as we

♦ Original letters, &c. II, 300. f I, 114.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. Ixxxvii

may fiEiirly conjecture, that of Horn chtld^ a very concife and licentious translation, or imitation, and abridgement, rather, of the French original, nearly two centurys older, made its firft appearance. There is every reafon to conclude that the other romancees roention'd by Chaucer Ypotys, Bevu, Sir Guy, Sir Lybcaus, PUindamoury and, posfiblely, Sire Percivelly were in Engleifh verfe, and, in all probability, much the fame with thofe of which copys have been preferve'd ; except the lart, which no one but Chaucer ever noticees. This fort of translation continue'd til at lead the time of king Henry the fixth ; in which reign The St. Graal was translateed into Englcilh by Henry Lonelich, ikyn- ner, at the inl'tance of one Harry Barton,* and contains, though im]>erfed both at bcgining and end» not lefs, according to mister Nasmith, than 40,000 lines ; Thomas Chcstre gave a free and en- large'd verfion of the Lai de Lanval of Mary of France ; and Robert de Thornton produce'd Morte Arthure and Perci/veUof'GaUes. Ywain and Garvin feems to have been writen at an earlyer |)eriod, and, very probablely, iu the reign of king Richard the fecond. There are not above two or three originally Engleilh, among which we may fafely reckon The fquyr oj Ivfw degree ; unlefs Sir Eglamour, and Sir Tryamour, may, likewife, have that honour, til the originals be dlscover'd.

It appears highly probable that the " rime" men- • See his CaUUogut bib. C. C. C. C. P. r>\.

Ixxxviii DISSERTATION ON

tion'd by Robert of Brunne,* concerning Gryme the fifher, the founder of Grymesby, Hanelok the Dane, and his wife Goldeburgh, daughter to a king Athelwold ; " who all now," exclaims the learned j Tyrwhitt, " together with their bard, illacrymabiles

Urgentur ignotique longd

Nocte,—" was an Engleifh romance, extant not onely in the time of Henry de Knyghton, the historian, who wrote about the year 1400,t but, allfo, in that of Camden,! and even made ufe of by Warner, who, in the twentyeth chapter of his Albions England, has told the fame ftory, in effeft, though in a different manner, under the names of Argentile and Curan, in exquifite poetry. Whether this poem were ori- ginally compofe'd in Engleilh, or were no more than a translation fiom the French, cannot be now aa» certain'd, as it feems to be utterly deftroy'd: but in a part of a French metrical romance, upon the history of Engleland, by Geoffrey Gaimar, a poet anterior to maistre Wace, to whofe poem of Le Brut (though unfortunately mutilateed) it ferves as a continuation, in a manufcript of the kings library, in the Britifh mufeum, (13 A XXI), the ftory its- felf is certainly preferve'd, though whether writen originally by Geoffrey, or takeen from fome one of the " liveres Engleis, en romanz e en Latin" of

* Translation of Langefoft, 25. f Co. 2320.

4 Britannia, 569, or Gibfons edition, 1695, 471-

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. Ixxxix

which he had purchafe'd many a copy, before he could draw his work to the end ; particularly a book, which, at the infbince of the gentle dame Conftance Filz-Gilbert, Robert earl of Gloucester, who dyed in 1147>* and was feni for it to Helms- ley, brought it away for him from Walter Efpec, who was dead in 1140; or the Engleilh book of Wafhingbui^h, in LincolnlhirCf or how otherwifc, does not ap|)car. It is, however, a great curiofity, though too imperfedl, as wel as too prolix, to infert here. In the mean time the paraphrafe may be pe- rufe'd, with great pleafure, and equal delicacy, in Warners book allready mentioned.

Robert of Brunne alludes to a romance of Dan IVaryn, which was, probablely, of this period, and, being both in French and Englciih, appears to have been highly popular, and, from the extrads pre- ferve'd of it, a very fingular and curious compofi- tion of extraordinary merit. The pasfage is as follows :

•♦ — Wele i underttonde, that the kyng Robynf Ilasdronkenof that blode the drink of DanWaryn. Dan Waryn he les touiies that he held, With wrong he mad a res, and misberyngof fcheld. Sithen in to the forefl be yede naked and wode, A Is a wilde befte, ete of the gre» that (lode : Thus of Dan Waryn in bis boke men rede." 4.

• See the annals of Wavcrley, a houfe of his own foundation, t Robert <k Bnu, king of Scotland. 4- P. 336.

38Qx/./.f .' DISSERTATION ON

In Lelands Collectanea (I, 230), are " Thiiiges excerptid [by himfelfj out of an old Englilch boke,, yn ryme, of the geftes of Guarine, and his funnes." The ftory comraence'd, it feems, with the time ©f Williiim the conquerour, and the extrads areexceedingly interelting, Fulco, the real hero of the romance, by Leland call'd " Fulco the fecunde," was one of the four fons of Fulco primus^ fon of Guarine, or. Waryn, who appears to have been a lord-marcher, on the borders of Wales, as his fon and grandfon were after him, the latter being ap- pointed by Richard I. " John, fun to king Henry," it is fay'd, " and Fulco [the elder] felle at variance at cheftes, and John brake Fulco hed with the cheft-borde ; and then Fulco gave him fuch a blow, that he had almoft kiUid hyra."* " Morice," it feems, *' funne to Roger, that had Whitinglon-cas- tel gyven him by the jM-ince of Wales, was made governer of the Marchis by king John, that yn no- wife lovid Fulco Guarin. Moryce deftre'd to have the title of Wliiiington confermed to hyra by the brode feale of king John, to whom lie fent a curfore welle trappid to Balduines castel, and obteinid his purpofe." Upon this, " Fulco and his brethern, with Balduine, delired juftes of king John for

* The like circumftance occurs in Galyen le relhorf, Ogier le Dannoys, and Les quatre Jilz Aynvon: Galyen receives a blow on the head from his uncles chefs-board, which draws blood ; Baldwin, Ogiers bastard-fon, had his head broke, and was kil'd, by Chariot, fon of Charlemagne, and Berthelot, his nephew, experiencees the fame fate from Reynaud.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. tei

Whittington; but he could have iiu {^ratius anfwer. Wherfore he, and his bretberoe, foilaktd theic ho- mage to king John, and went from Winchester." They afterward '♦ laid wait for Morice as he went toward Salisbury; and Fulco ther woundid hym: and Bracy cut of Morice heed." The whole of hi». adventures are too numerous to repeat: but one, which deferves to be notice'd, is, that " Fulco re- fortid to one John of Raumpayne, ^fothjaytr, and jocular, and made him his fpy to Morice at Whit- ington. He founde the meanes to cuftt- them that kept Bracy" (who, being fore wounded, had been taken and brought by Audelegh to king John), " into a deadely llepe, and fo he aiid Bracy cam to Fulco to Whitington." Leland, haveing fl&teed that •* Fulco was taken by the foldan [in Burbary], and brought onto him," fays " Here lakkid a quayre or ii in the olde Englifch booke of the nobilc a^tes of the Guarines: and tliefc thingos tliat fok>w t translated owte of an olde French historic yn rime of the ades of the Guarines onto the death of Fulco . the 2." The popularity of the French or Engleilh poem (the former being, indisputablely, the origi* nal) had caufe'd fomc one to reduce, or epitomife, the ftory into French profe ; and a fragment of this raanufcript, apparently of the age of Edward the fecond, is fortunately preforve'd in the Kings library (12 C XII), where the anecdote ullready raentiou'd from Lelands extracts wil be hereafter relateed.

llie two moll famous, if not the moll ancient, EngleiHi metrical romancces, now exifting, arcthofe

xcii DISSERTATION ON

of Guy of Warwick, and Bevk of Southampton. Walter of Exeter, according to Bale (Ex bibliothecis^ from the bookfelers fhops), a native of Devonfliire, and profesfor of a feft of beging friers (a Donaini- can, as he thinks), at the inftance of one Baldwin, a citizen of Exeter, in the year 1301, refideing at St. Carrock in Cornwall, wrote the life of Guy, formerly a famous earl of Warwick, in one book : but Bale is a very dubious authority. At any rate no fuch work is now extant; though Carew, as if he had had it in his library, fays, that this Walter " (de-) formed the historic of Guy of Warwick." Hearne, in his appendix to the Annates de Dun- jiaple, has infei ted " Girardi Cornubienjis Historia Guidonis de Warwyke" from an old MS. in the li" brary of Magdalen-college Oxford, n. 147. This authour, however, is fuppofititious, and the MS. in all probability, no older than the fourteenth or fif- teenth century: Lydgate translateed from him. Guy of Warwick is mention'd by no Engleifh his- torian before Robert of Brunne, or Peter de Lange- toft, about 1340.* His ilory, at the fame time, is relateed in the Gesta liomanorum, C. 172; " and, probably," as Warton thinks, " this is the early outline of the life of that renowned [but ideal] champion ;"t and, in the Harley MSS. (Num. 525) is an old Engleifh poem entitle'd *' Speculum Gy de Warewyke per Alquinum ' here-

* " That was Guy of Warwik, as the boke fais,

There he flouh Colbrant with hache Daneis." P. 32. t 111,66.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, xciii

mitam,' begining " Herkenethe alle unto my fpeche." The Alquinus here meant was Albinus AlcuinuSf a Saxon-Engleilhman, (and not, as fir James Foulis asferts, a Scotch highlander,) who was the preceptor to Charlemagne, being grounded upon his epistle De virtutibus Sf vitut ad Guidonem comitem, here called Gu^ of Warwick. Warton relates that the canticum Colbrondi was fung by a jugler in the hall of Alexander prior of St. Swithin, Winchester, be- fore Adam de Orlcton, biOiop of that fee, in 1333: and in Bodleys MSS. Num. 1731, and 3903, is a *• Dupvtatio inter prioretn aliqucm Sf fpiritum Gut' donis." 1 he original French '* Romanz de Gut de Wanoyk" extant in C.C.C.C. L. 6. (formerly in the library, of St Augustines abbey, Canterbury) in the publick library (More 690) ; and the Har- Ician, and kings MSS. 3775, and 8 F IX, is oi the thirteenth century. The Englei(h translatiair,'\«hicb exitls in the library of Caius-colle^^e. was firtVprinted by William Copland, before 1567, and afterward by John Cawood, before 1571. But, in fad and truth, famous as his name is, the man himfelf never e.xifted. This, likewife, is the cafe with fir Buvis, of whom Camden, with fingular puerility, fays, " At the comeing-in of the Normans, one Bogo, or Beaxojt'j a Suxon, had this title [of earl of Win- chester] ; who, in the battel at Cardiff in Wales, fought againO the Normans." (Gibfons translation, 1695, CO. 128.) For this, however, in a way too ufual with him, he cites no authority ; nor does any ancient or veracious historian niLMition either Bogo^

xciv . Yd K>r DISSERTATION ON I : Ofl

Beavofej or the battle of Cardiff; which, by the way, was not, as w« learn from honeft Caradoc of Llancarvan, contemporary with Geoffrey of Mon- mouth, in 1138, built before 107p. His roman, in French, however, is of the 13th century, and •was extant in the magnificent librai-y of the duke • de la Valliere, as it is at prefent in the late royal library at Turin: an Engleiih translation was printed by Pynfon, Copland, Eaft, and another; and three MS. copys are extant in the Publick- (library, and that of CaiusrcoUege, Cambridge, and -in the Auchinleek collection, .Edinburgh ; all three different from the printed copy, and, at leaft, two of them from each .other.

Neither Bevis nor Guy is mention'd by Dugdale in his Baronage, and he muft have been confcious that the latters ftory was alltogether fabulous when he introduce'd it into his History of Warwick/hire. " Bevis," as we are gravely told by the historian of Engleifh poetry, " was a Saxon chieftain, who fegms to have extended his dominion along the fouthern coafts of England, which he is faid [by whom ?] to have defended againft the Norman in- vaders. He lived at Downton in Wiltfhire." This is highly ridiculous : Bevis and Guy were no more " Englifh heroes" than Amadis de Gaule or Perce- foreft : they are mere creatures of the imagination, and onely obtain an eftablifhraent in history becaufe (like mister VVartons) it was ufually writen upon the authority of romance. He accounts very inge- niously, however, for the fable of Dugdale, that

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, xcv

the Saracens had the ftory of Guy " in books of their own language." (I, 145.)

Chaucer, who mentions thefe two romancees, noticeea, likewile, Horn-ckildy Ypotisy Sire Lyb^ and Pteindamour ; none of which can, of courfe, be fo late as the year 1380, when The Canterbury talcs are generally fuppofe'd to have been publiOi'd ; and one of them, at leall, wil be prove'd, in another place, to be near a century older. The laft is un- known. " That of fir Is EM BRAS," likewife, ac- cording to Warton, " was familiur in the time of Chaucbr, and occurs in Thb rims op sir Thopas;" actually refcring in a note to " V. 6." It is, however, a monUrous lye.

" The ftories of Guy and Bevis, with fome others, were probably the invention of EngliOi minftrels."* There are, doubtlefs, metrical roniancees, fuch as Eglamour, Triamour, the Squyr of' Itme degree, and, it may be, one or two more, of which no French originals are known, and, therefor, may be fairly concluded to be of Engleifii invention; but it is abfolutely iniposfible that this can be the cafe with Ouy, BeiU, or the rell, of which thefe originals are extant, and no one, who will take the trouble to compare them, could have the flighteft doubt upon the fubjed. The MS. French metrical romancei-s are mnftly of the 12th or ISth century, the Engieifh of the 14th and 15th; obviously, therefor, they do not lland upon the fame footing, and the originaU • III, xxii.

xcvi DISSERTATION ON

are allways fuperior, and, fometimes, to a very extraordinary degree.

Mister Tyrwhitt thinks it extremely probable that thefe romancees [Horn child, fir Guy, and Bevis], though, originally, writen in French, were com- pofe'd in Engleland, and, perhap, by Engleifhmen; for, fays he, " we find that the general currency of the French language here engage'd feveral of our own countrymen to ufe it in their conipofitions. He inftancees (doubtfully) Peter of Langtoft, as he is fay'd ** by fome to have been a Frenchman ;" Robert Groffetefte, bifhop of Lincoln, in the time of Henry III. a native of Suffolk, Helis de Guincestre, i. e. Winchester, and a romance, allfo, in French verfe, which he fuppofe'd to be the original of the Engleifti Ipomednn, by Hue de Rotelande; and Gower. This, indeed, may be fo, but it, likewife, may be otherwife: Andrew of Wyntown, which, equally, implys Winchester, was not, therefor, an Engleifliman, nor ever in Engleland.

In the year 136l appear'd a fingular allegorical and fatyrical romance in alliterative metre without rime, by one Robert Langeland, as it is alledge'd, by forae, without fufficient authority. It is at any rate, however, a poem of great merit.

Geoffrey Chaucer, the famous poet, who pafs'd his youth, and, the greater part of his life, in the reign of Edward III. was a writcer of romancees, though in his Rime of fire Thopas, he attempts to burlefque and ridicule thofe of his predccesfours

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. xcvU

and contcmporarys, on account of what he cvAh their " drafty riming." The fpccimen, however, completely proves how fuccefsful he yrouM have been in a more ferious exertion of his lyrical and inventive powers.* His TroUus ani Cresfide was intended to be either red, or fung, probabiely, in publick, or, even, in the latter cafe, to the harp : " And redde where fo thou be, or ellis/o/ig^f.'*t A learned and judicious gentleman is incline'd to believe that we have no Engleifh romance, priot to the age of Chaucer, which is not a translation of fome earlyer French one.4. After this dectfive opinion, which may be fupportedj if necesfary, by produceing the original puem«, Oil extant in publick librarys, or private collections, as wel in our own country as upon the continent, it is very ftrange that doctor Percy (for wljofe better information, it may be, the above obfervation of his worthy friend wa« intcndi-d as a gentle reprimand), Should, in the lad edition of his RcUqnes of ancient Engleijh poetry,

• Doctor Hurd, now luftiop of Worcester, has endeavoui'd to deprive old G«ofTrcy oi the crciit of this poem. " The Uokc of The giant Oiyphant, and Chylde Thopas, was not," he as- feru, " A McTioN or his own, but a $torv of antiqux-

VAMt, AND VRRV CRLkBRATF.D IN THE DAYS OF CHIVALRY."

LeUett, &c ill, a 18 : This, however, is no more than a ufual da(h of the VVarbuttuuian fcliool, or in the Gloucester prelates own " warm language," a lye.

t B. 5, V. irofl.

4- Chancer, C. T. IV, (M. Warton, alUo, has an argument to protc this, I, SS.

TOL. I. g

xcviii DISSERTATION ON

publifh'd fome years after that- gentlemans deaths ventore to asfert that Horn-child, which he ima- gines, " although from the mention of Sarazens, &c.* it muft have been written after the firft cru- fade in 109^," tt-^ctty moderate conjecture! " yet from its Anglo-Saxon language or which it would be fomewhat difficult for any other critick to distinguifh, " can fcarce" he fays, " be dated later than within a century after the conqueA." As if this had not been fufficiently extravagant, and il-founded, as may be eafeyly learned from the elegant Specimens of mister Ellis, " It appears," he ads, " of genuine Englifh growth, for after a care- ful examination, i", he fays, '* cannot discover any allufion to French or Norman customs, manners, compofition, or phrafeology ;" as if fuch a circum- ftance were esfential, or even obfervable, in a ro- mance writen by either French or Norman, where the fcene is lay'd in a distant, or imaginary, country: " no quotation," he proceeds, " As the romance fayth :"t Not a name or local reference, which was

• The learned prelate does not appear to be aware that the name of Saracens is ufe'd by the old Engleiih writeers for the pagan Saxons or Danes. See the forge'd laws of Edward the confesfor (Wilkins, 204), where Arthur is fay'd to have " ex- peled the Saracens and enemys fr^m his kingdom :" and War- burtons note on Shakfpeare (V, 382). Geoffrey of Monmouth calls Gormund, a wel known king of Denmark, king pf the Africans. (B. 11, C. 8, ll.j

f In Horn-child and maiden Rimnild, in the Auchinleck MS. in the advocates library, a different poera, on the fame

ROMANCE ANI> MINSTRELSY, xcix

likely to occur to a French rimeur. The proper names are all of Northern extraction;" becaufe the /iory ii prcdicateed of the Saxon ami Danes in Engleland and Ireland (though he mentions neither by that name). ♦' So that this," he concludes, (a raanufcript of the 14th century) probably is the original, from which was translated the old Freoch fragment of Dan Horn in the Harleyan MS, 327 [of, at Icaft, a couple of centurys earlyer], men- lion'd by Tyrwhitt (Chaucer, IV. 68.) and by T. Warton (Hilt. I. 38.) whofe extract from Horn" child is extremely incorrect." " O moft lame and impotent conclufion !" The truth of this laft asfer- tion will be readyly admited. " Compare," he fays, *' the flile of Child-Horn with the Anglo-Saxon fpecimens in ftiori verfes and rhime, which are as- figned to the century fucceeding the conqueft, in Hickcs's Thefaurus, Tom. I. Cap. 24. P. 224, and 231." The comparifon, indeed, would be eafey, but the rd*ult is not quite fo certain. The Sa..\oiis, it is well known, had no rime, nur is there a iinglfe vestige, in Horn-child^ of a more intimate connec- tion with the Saxon than was common to every thin<; writen in the Engleilh language at that pe- riod, about the year 1300, that is, and not " within a century after the conquert." That the metre i»

fubjcft, and, doubtler$, from the fame original, the French ;5 frequently rcfcf 'd to, as for inAance :

•• Thus in lokt as we redt."

" In rimt as it i$ told."

t DISSERTATION ON

Norman, if the writeiir were not, is manifeft from a fpccimen givccn' by mister Ellis, from M. de la Rue, of the kind of poetry ufe'd by Philip deThan, which does not, as thofe ingenious gentlemen choofe to think, confift in makcing one half [of a line, rhyme] with another half, any more than the com- pofeer of Horn-child has done ; but, the truth is, tliat every two lines, being very ihort, are run to- gether, by the tranfcribeer, for the falvation of parchment ; a practice of which the Ilarlcian MS. (which contains the latter) affords abundant ex- amples; many of the poems in that collection being writen as profe ; and, fomctimes, as Warton ob- ferves, three or four verfees together in one line ; of which he gives inftancces.*

That the Engleifli acquire'd the art of romance- writeing from the French feems clear and certain, as moft of the fpecimens of that art, in the former language, are palpable and manifeft translations of thofe in the olher, and this, too, may ferve to ac- count for the origin of romance in Italy, Spain^ Germany, and Scandinavia : but the JVench ro- manceiis ere too ancient to be indebted far their existence to more barbarous nations. It is, there- for, a vain and futile cndeavoUr to feek for the origin of Romance : in all agees and all countrys, where literature has been cultivateiid, and genius and tafte have infpire'd, whether in India, Perfia, Greece, Italy, or France, the earlyeft produ<ft of

* J. 35»

\

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. ci

that cultivation, and that genius and tatle, has been poetry and romance, with reciprocal obligations, perhap, between one country and another. 'I'ho Arabians, the Perfians, the Turks, and, in (hort, alinoll every nation in the globe, abound in ro- inancces of their own invention. The Scander namelif or history of Alexander, by Shabnamez, about the 12th century, is a poem of confiderable bulk, and much arimirc'd by the Fcrliuns ; but has nothing in common with the European poetry on that fubjecl. The Arabian romance of Mejnoun and Leila^ in prole and verfe, is a moft beautiful fpecimcn of tho Art and genius of that extraordinary people. The enumeration of thofe fpccinicns which are preferve'd in the Parilian, and other great continental librarys, uovild be endlefs.

The librarys of the monaster}'?, according to W'arton, were ful of romances : but this is very ioubiful.* In that of Glastonbury, at any rate, ^allrcady recnlion'd as prob;iblcly the lai-geft in Kngleland), we onely find the four following: tho Cesta Normannorumt the Liber dc excidio Troj(e, the Gcsta lUcardi rcgi4, and the Gcsta Alcxandn regit; all which, it is moft probable, were in Trench verfe, in which they are known to cxift. The catalogue was takeen in I'i+S.f In the appen- dix to Darts history of the church of Canterbury is a m*Jigre catalogue of books anciently in the mo- nastick library ; among which there arc not two • I, 87. t John of Glastonbury, bjr Hcamc, 435.

cii DISSERTATION ON

articles in either poetry, or Englei/h. The monks, at the fame time, appear to have made no ufe of their books ; as Leland complain'd, when he had to fhake off the duft and cobwebs of Abingdon li- brary. In Madoxes Formu-Jare, is a memorandum, or certificate, under feal, that, on fuch a day, in the firft year of king Edward the third [1315], was found " a book, which fpeaks of the four principal gefts, and of Charles ; the romance [of] Titus 8f Vaspajian ; the romance of Aygres ; the romance of Marchauns; the romance of Eammid and Agoland ; the romance [of] Girard de Vyeine; the romance [of] Willeame de Orenges, Sf Tabaud de Arable ; the boke oi Life; the romance of Troy." Thefe were, doubtlefs, French metrical romancees, but where they had come from, or to whom t^ey belong'd, is not fiateed.

In a voluminous metrical verfion of Guido do Colonna, on the war of Troy, citeed by Warton, and, by him, erroneously attributeed to Lydgate, the translator, in his prologue, enumerates feveral popular romancees of his own time.

" Many fpeken of men that romances rede, 8fC, Of Beiys, Gy, and Gaway?ie, Of Kyng Rychurd, and Owayne^ Of Tristram and Percyvale, Of Rowland Ris,f and Aglavayle,

* Tilus and Fespajian, Girald de Fienve, Williame D'Orenges^

and the romance of Troy, are all three in the Britifh mufeum.

t Rowland i?w is a character ia the romance olTristreai, by

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. cln

Of Archeroun, and of OctaiioHy Of Charles, and of Casjihedlan, Of Kexelokc* Home, and of Wade, In romances that bea of hem bimadc, Tiiat gestours dos of hem gejies, At raaungeres, and at great feftes, Her (ledis ben in remembrance, In many fair romance."t All thefe appear to have been in Engleifh rimes, and moU of them are extant at this day.

Another extrad, of the fame kind, is givecn, by Warlon, from the prologue to Richard Cacur de lion :

** Many roniayns men make newe,

Of good knightes, and of trewe :

Of ther dedes men make romauns,

Both in England and in France;

Of Rovland and of OlyverCf

And of every do/epere ;

Of Aiiji/aundre, and Charlemagne,

Of Kyng Arthur, and of Ga-wayne;

How they wcr knyghtes good and courtoys,

Of Turpin, and of Oger the Danois.

Of Troye men rede in ryme.

Of Hector and of Achilles, 4 c."4-

Thomas Rynxnir ; doctor Percy, or the learned Scntifh divine who infpeded, on his account, the Auchinleck MS. has createcd another champion, call'd Rouland Louth, from the want of apprehenfion, that lough, the identical word, meant, laugh' df

• It (hou)d be Uaveloke. See before, P. Ixxxviii.

•f HittQTy qf E. poetry, I, no.

4-Hutory of E. poetry;], \i2, Thefc rouA have boCB either

civ DISSERTATION ON

^gain, from a fecond prologue: . " Herkene now how my tale gothe.

Though i fwere to you no othe,

I wyll you rede romaynes none,

Ne of Partonapcy ne of Ypomcdon,

Ne of Alifaunder, ne of Charlemayne,

Ne of Arthur y ne of Gatcayne,

Ne of Becis, ne of Guy [ne] of Sydrake,

Ne of Ury, ne of Octavian,

Ne of Hector, the ftrong man,

Nc of Jafon, neither of AcMlles,

Ne of Eneas, neither Hercuks,"* The romantees of Rouland, Olyvere, Gy ofWar- xvyk, Wawayn, and Triatram^ which, fays the poet, ?* mochel is lefyngis," are, likewife, mention'd in a fort of prologue to an old book of the Uxes of the faints, writen about the year 1200.t

" The anonymous authour of an ancient manu- fcript poem, intitle'd, " The bake of Jlories called Curfor mundi, " translateed from the French,

wholdy or prindpally, romancees in French metre ; as Rov:- land, Oliver, Charlemagne, Turpin, Oger the Dane, Hector, and Achilles, never feetn to have appear'd in Engleifh verfe.

♦ History of E. poetry, I, 123. Waiton, in a note, per' hapses Pertondpe to be Parthcnope, or Parihcnopeus, whom, he elfewhere calls " one of Statius's, heroes" (II, fig. h, n. g) : but, in fa£l, it alludes to the romance oi Perlenopex comte de Blois, a famous roman de feerie in French rime, but which never made jts appearance in Engleifh.,

t Ihi. 123. See, allfo, a long pasfage, to the fame purpofe, in Skeltons works, citeed by misfer Warton in his Oljfervalioifs en the Fairij queen^ II, 4-2.

ROMANX'E AND MINSTRELSY. cr

fccms, as Warton obfcrves, to have been of the fame opinion. " His work," he fays, *♦ confifts of religious legends : but, in the prologue, he takes occafion to mention many tales of another kind, which were more agreeable to the generality of readers ;"

" Men lykynjf5/?« for to here, And romana rede in divers manerce, Of Alexandre the conquerour, 0( Julius Cctfar the eniperour, Of Greece and Troy the firong firyf^ Ther many a man loft his lyf: Of T*rut, that baron bold of hand, * The firft conquerour of Englond, Of kijng Artour that was fo ryche : Was non in hys tyme fo ilyche ; Of wonders that among his knyghts folic, And auntyrs dedyn as men her telle, As Gaueynf and othir full abylle. Which that kept the round tabyll, How king Charles and Rowland fawghf, With Sarazins, nold thei be cawght ; Of Tristram and Yfoude the fwcte, How thei with lave tirft gan mete. Of Kjrng John, and of Ifenbrof, Of Vdoine and Amadas." ' 'll»e fragment of a metrical roinancc, intitlc'd Jte mart Arthure, prefervc'd in the Ilarleian MSS. Num. 2252, and of which Humphrey Wanley has

• History nfF. pottry, I, 1J3, n.

cvi DISSERTATION ON

fay'd that the writeer " ufeth many Saxon or ob- folete words ;" and doctor Percy, fancyfully and abfurdly, that " it feems to be quoted in Si/r Bevis," is, in fad:, nothing more than part of the Morte Arthur of Caxton turn'd into eafcy alternate verfe, a very unufual circumftance, no doubt, in the time of Henry the fcventh, to which Wanley properly allots it.* The antiquateed words ufe'd by this ver- fifyer are manifeftly affedled. Caxtons book is the onely one known by the name of ia mori D' Arthur y which he took as he found it.

It is no proof, becaufe any metrical romancees in Engleifh may not hapen to mention reading, they were not actually compofe'd by writeers at their defk. The minftrels were too ignorant, and too vul- gar, to translate piecees of feveral thoufand lines ; though fuch piecees may have been trans) ateed or writen for them ; as many a minftrel, no doubt, could fing and play, what he had not the genius to compofe, nor even the capacity to write or read.

The " lytell gefte of Robyn Hode," could not, it is true, have been compofe'd by any monk, in his eel; but there can be no reafon for fuppofeing it not to have been compofe'd by a prie/i in his clofet: and, in fad, to an authour of that defcription, this identical legend, or one of the fame kind, hath been exprefsly afcribe'd.*

• SeeBedwells preface to *'The toarnament of Tottenham." There is another monk or priefl, who has writen feveral me- trical romancees.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. cvii

Sir Launfal !», certainly, a translation, the Frencii original being extant in many librarys. It is not, however, by any means " the only piece of this fort, in which is inferted the name of the authour/'

There is uot, however, one fingle metrical ro- mance in EngleiOi known to exift, which aj)i)enrs to have been uriten by a minftrel. The line adduce'd by bi(hop I'ercy, from one in his folio MS.

" Then is it time for mee to carpe ;" by no means proves that the man who fung it had himfelf compol'c'd the words : it is fulficient that it had been originally intended to be fung by fome minllrcl, pcradvcnture by many, or even by the whole body.

Several metrical romancees, according to bi/hop Percys account, are extant in his lordlhips cele- bralecd folio manufcript, many of which are not to be now found in print : amongft thefe are the fol- lowing : air Cauline, John the reve, Guy and Col- bronde, lAbeaux Disconius (a dilTerent copy from the one here printed), King Arthur and the king of Cornwall, Sir Lionel, The greene knight, The earl of CartijU, Sir LambwcU, Mcrline, King Arthurs death. The legend of king Arthur, The legend of fir Gui/f Jlger and Grime, and many fongs and ballads. *' The MS. [compiled by Thomas Blount, authof pf The Laxc-dictiuuari/, 6iC. about the middle of the fevcntcenth century,]" as we are told by the right levcrcnd prelate,* " is a long narrow volume,

♦ TJie " AdvertUcmeni" is fign'd " Thomas Percy, fcliow

cviu DISSERTATION ON

containing 191 fonnets, ballads, historical fongs, and metrical romances, either in the whole or in part, for many of them are extremely mutilated and im- perfed. The firft and laft leaves," he fays, ** are wanting ; and of 54 pages near the beginning half of every leafe hath been torn away, and feveral others are injured towards the end ; befides that through a great part of the volume the top or bot-f tom hne, and fometimes both have been cut oft' in the binding.. .The traufcripts, moreover, " are fome- times extremely incorrect and faulty, being in fuck inftanccs probably made from defective copies, or the imperfed; recitation of illiterate fingers; fo that a confulerable portion of the fong or narrative is fometimes omitted ; and miferable trafli or nonfenfe npt unfrequently introduced into pieces of confider- able merit :" the copyift, it feems, often growing " fo weai-y of his labour as to write on without the leaft attention to the fenfe or meaning; fo that the word which fliould form the rhyme is found mis- placed in the middle of the line; and we have fuch blunders as thefe, want and will for wanton will ; even pan and wale for wan and pale, &c. &.c." Certainly this is a moft extraordinary, as wel as unfortunate, book, and the labour of the right reverend editour in correcting, refineing, improve- ing, completeing, and enlargeing, the orthography,

of St. John's college, Oxford," his lordfliips nephew, whom the late mister Stcevens asfure'd the prtfent editour to have never feen a word of it.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. cut

grammar, text, ftilc, and fupplying the chafms and hiatuses, valdi dtflenda ! uiuft have cqual'd that of Hercules in cleanfeing the Augean ftable : fo that a parcel of old rags and tatters were thus ingeniously and hapyly converted into an elegant new fuit.

The existence and authenticity of this famous MS. in its prefent mutilateed and iniferable condi- tion is no longer lo be deny'd ot disputecd ; at the fame time, it is a certain and pofitive fadt, thtrt, in the elegant and rctine'd work it gave occafion to, there is fcarcely one fingle poem, fong or ballad, fairly or honcftly printed, cither from the above fragment or other alledge'd authoritys, from thQ begining to the end ; many piecei-s, allfo, being iji- ferted, as ancient and autheutick, which, there is every reafon to believe, never exided before its pub- lication. To corrcd the obvious errours of an illite- rate tranfcribcer, to fupply irremediable defe»5ls, and to make fenfe of nonfenfe, are certainly esfen- tial dutys of an editour of ancient poetry ; pro- vidccd he ad with integrity and publicity ; bul fecretly to fupprefs the original text, and infert his own fabrications for the fake of provideing more rc- line'd entertainment for readers of tafte and genius, is no proof of either judgement, candour, or in- tegrity.

In what manner this ingenious editour condufled liimfelf in this patch'd up publication wil be evident from the following parallel, which may be uftfful to future manufacturers in this liner

Cx DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE ORIGINAL.

(ReliqueSy edit. 1795, iii. 350.)

King Arthur lives in merry Carleile,

And feemely is to fee ; And there he hath with him queene Genever,

That bride fo bright of blee.

And there he hath with him queene Genever,

That bride fo bright in bower, And all his barons about him ftoode,

That were both ftiffe and ftowre.

The king kept a royall Chriftmafle

Of mirth and great honor, .,...when ...

[About ninejianzas wanting.]

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSV. exi THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE IMPROVEMENT.

(Rtliquet, edit. 1775, iii. 11 J

FART THE FIRST.

King Arthur lives in merry Carleilc

And fecmely is to fee; And there ' with him queene Guencfer,

That bride fo bright of blee.

And there ' with liira queene Guenever,

That bride fo bright in bowre : And all his barons about him llnode,

That were both fiiffo and How re.

The king • a royale Chrif^mafle kept,' ' With' mirth and ' princelyc cbcare;'

To him repaired many a hnighlc. That came both far re and ncare.

And uhen they "were to dinner fette,

And cups -went freely round ; Before thvrn came afairc danifel/c.

Ami knelt ujwn the ground.

•»• The lines or words matk'd with clevateed rommoi art fubftitutions in the place of the old readings. The whole in Italicln is his own.

exa

DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE

THE OUiaiNAL.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxiii THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE IMPROVEMEKT.

A boone, a boonc, 0 hinge Arthure^

I bfg a boone of thee ; Avetige me of a carlijh hnighte,

Who hathjhent my love and mee.

At Tcame-Wadling his castle Jlands,

Near to that lake fo fair, And proudltfe rife the battUments,

Andjlreamers deck the air.

Noe gentle knighte, nor ladt/e gay.

May pajfe that castle-walle ; But from that foule discourteous knighte,

Mijhappe will them befallc.

Hee's twyce the fize of common men,

IVi' thewes, and Jinewes Jironge, And on his backe he bears a clubbe.

That is both thicke and longe.

This grimme barbne 'twas our hard happe,

But yester mome to fee ; When to his bowre he bare my love,

And fore misufed mee.

And uhen I told him, king Arthiire

As lyttlejhold himfpare; Goe tellffayd hee, that cuckold kinge.

To meete mee if he dare. VOL. I. h

cxiv DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE ORIGINAL.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. cxv THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE IMPROVEMENT.

Upp thenjlerted king ArthHre,

And/ware 6y hilie and dale. He ne'er wolde quilt that grimme barbne.

Till he had made him quail.

Go /etch myfword Excalibar:

Goe /addle mce myjleede; Now, by my/aye^ that grimme barbne^

Shall rue this ruth/ulU decde.

And when he came to Tearne Wadlinge^

Bcnethe the castle walk: ** Come/orth; come forth; thou proude barbne,

Or yiclde thyfelf my thralle.

On magickc grounde that castle Jioode,

And/enc'd with many a/pelle: Noe Valiant knighte could tread thereon,

Butjiraite his courage/elle.

Forth then rujh'd that carlifli knight.

King Arthur /elte the charmc: Hisjiurdyjinewes lojl their Jlrengthe^

Downc/unke his/ecble arme.

Nowe yicUl thee, yield thee, king Arthdre,

Now yield thee, unto mee: Orjighte with mcc, or li/e thy landc,

Noe better termes maye bee;

cxvi DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAVVAINE.

THE ORIGINAL.

And bring me word what thing it is

That ? a woman moft defire. This flial be thy ranfome Arthur, he fayes,

For lie have noe other hier.

King Arthur then held up his hand, According thene as was the law,

He tooke his leave of the baron there. And homword can he draw.

And when he came to merry Carlile,

To his chamber he is gone, And ther cam to him his cozen fir Gawaine,

As he did make his mone.

And there came to him his cozen fir Gawaine,

That was a curteous knight, Why figh you foe fore unckle. Arthur, he faid,

Or who hath done thee unright ?

O peace, o peace, thou gentle Gawaine,

That faire may thee befall ; For if thou knew my fighing foe deepe.

Thou wold not mervaile att all.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. cxvu THE MARRfAGE OF SIR GAWAINE-

TUX IMPROVEMENT.

Unlejfe thoufwcart upon the rood.

And promife on thyj'a\f(y Here to returne to Tearne Wadimg^

Upon the new-yeare's daye;

And bring me worde what thing it is

* All' womon niolie defyre;

This * is' thy raufome, Arthur, he fayet., He have noe other hyre.

King Arthur then held up Ids hande,

* And fwarc upon his faye,'

* Then' tooke his leave of the • grimnie barone,' And * fade hce rode awaye.'

cxviii DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE Of SIR GAWAINE.

THE ORIGINAL.

For when I came to Tearne Wadling,

A bold barron there I fand, With a great club upon his backe.

Standing ftiffe and ftrong.

And he afked me wether I wold fight,

Or from him I fhold be gone, 0[r] elfe I muft him a ranfome pay^

And foe depart him from.

To fight with him I faw noe caufe,

Me thought it was not meet, For he was ftiffe and ftrong with all,

His ftrokes were nothing fweete.

Therfor this is my ranfome Gawaine,

I ought to him to pay, I muft come againe as I am^fworne,

Upon the new yeers day.

And I muft bring him word what thing it is

[About nine Jlanzas •wanting.']

Then king Arthur dreft him for to ryde,

In one fo rich array, Toward the forefaid Tearne Wadling,

That he might keepe his day.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxix THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE IMFROTEMEMT.

.4nd he rode eafty and he rode -weji.

And did of all inquyrey What thing it is all -women crave^

And what they mojl defyre.

Some told him riches, pompe, orjlate;

Some raymentfine and brightc ; Some told him mirthe ; fomejiatterye ;

Andfanhe ajoUye knighte.

In letters all king Arthur wrote^ Andjial'd them with his ringc:

But Ji ill his tninde uas helde in doubt ef Each tolde a dijj'ercnt thinge.

cxx DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE ORIGINAL.

And as he rode over a more,

Hee fee a lady where fhee fate, Betwixt an oke and a^reene hoUen,

She was cladd in red fcarlett.

Then there as fhold have ftood her mouth

Then there was fett her eye ; The other was in her forhead fail,

The way that (he might fee.

Her nofe was crooked and turnd outward,

Her mouth flood foule awry, A worfe formed lady then fhee was.

Never man faw with his eye.

To halch upon him, king Arthur,

The lady was fyjll faine ; But king Arthur had forgott his lesfon,

What he fhold fay againe.

What knight art thou, the lady fayd,

That wilt not fpeake to me ? Of me thou nothing [be] dismayd,

Tho I be ugly to fee.

For I have halched you curteouslye,

And you will not me againe: Yett I may happen, fir knight, fhee faid,

To eafe thee of thy paine.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxxi THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

TUE IMPROVEMSirT.

' As ruthfulle' he rode over a more. He ' faw' a ladye * fette/

* Betwccne' an oke, and a greooe ' boUeye,'

* All' clad in red fcarlettc.

Her nofe was crookt and turnd outwarde, Her ' chin' ftoode * all' awrye;

* And where' as Iholde have ' been' her mouthe,

' Lo !' there was fet her eye.

Her hairesy UAe/erpents, clung about c

Her checkes of deadly e hevoe: A worfe-furm'd ladye than Ihe was,

No man * mote ever viewe.'

To ' haile the king in feeroelye forte

' This' ladye was fuUe faine ; But king Arthiire ' al foreamaz'd/

* No aunfwere made' againe.

What * wight' art thou, the ladye fayd, That wilt not fpeake to mee ;

* Sir, I may chance to eafc thy paine,'

lliough I be * foule' to fee.

cxxii DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE ORIGINAL.

Give thou eafe me, lady, he faid,

Or helpe me any thing, Thou ftiak have gentle Gawaine, my cozen.

And marry him with a ring.

Why if I helpe thee not, thou noble king Arthur, Of thy owne hearts defiringe,

Of gentle Gav^^aine

\About ninejlanzas wanting.'^

And when he came to the Tearne Wadling, The baron there cold he frinde [finde],

With a great weapon on his backe, Standing ftifFe and ftronge.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxxiii THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE IMPROVEMENT.

' If^ thou [wilt] eafe * my paine/ be fayd,

* And' helpe me * in my neede ;' ' Aflc what' thou wilty thou grimme ladyi^

And itjhall be thy mccde.

Ofxocare mee thu upon the rootle^

And promife on thy fay e ; And here the fee ret te J will telU^

That/hail thy rarfome paye.

King Arthur promis'd on hisfaye^

Andf-ware upon the roode; Thefecrettc then the ladye toldf

As lightiye •welljhce cou'de.

Now thisjhall be my paye^Jir kingy

And this my guerdon bee, ^ Thatfome yong,fair and court lye knight f

Thou bringe to marrye mee.

Fajl then pricked king ArthttrCf

Ore hille, and dale, and doxvne; Andfoone he founde the barone's bowre:

Andfoone the grimme barbune.

' He bare his clubbe' upon his backe, ' He flood bothe' flilFe and ftronge;

* And when he had the letters reade,' Awaye * the lettres Huiigc/

cxxiv DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE ORIGINAL.

And then he tooke king Arthurs letters in his hands,

And away he cold them fling ; And then he puld out a good browne fword,

And cryd himfelf a king.

And he fayd, I have thee and thy land, Arthur,

To doe as it pleafeth me ; For this is not thy ranfome fure,

Therfore yeeld thee to me.

And then befpoke him, noble Arthur,

And bad him hold his hands ; And give me leave to fpeake my mind,

In defence of all my land.

* He' faid as I came over a more,

I fee a lady where Ihee fate, Betweene an oke and a green holien,

Shee was clad in red fcarlette.

And fhe fays a woman will have her will,

And this is all her cheef defire, Doe me right as thou art a baron of fckill,

This is thy ranfome and all thy hyer.

He fayes, an early vengeance light on her,

She walkes on yonder more, It was my fister that told thee this,

She is a misfhappen hore.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxxt THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE IMPBOVBMSNT.

* Nowc yielde' thee, Arthur, and thy ' lands,'

• All forfeit unto' nice ;"

For this is not thy ' paye, fir king,

• Nor may thy ranfome bee.'

• Yet hold thy hand, thou proude bar^ne,'

' I pray thee' hold * thy' hand ; And give mee leave to fpeake * once moe/ In ♦ rcskewe' of my land.

* This morne,' as I came over a more,

I ' faw' a iadye * fctte,' Betwcone an oke; and a grccue boll^ye, ' Air ckd in red fcarl^tte.

Shec fayes, * all women' will have ' their' wille, This is * their' chief defyre ;

♦ Now yield,' as thou art a barone * true/

• That I have payd mine hyre.'

An earlye vengeaunce light on her ! ' The carliOi baron fwore :

• Shee' was ray fister tolde thee this,

' And (bee's' a mifhapen whore.

cxxvi DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE ORIGINAL.

But heer He make mine avow to god,

To do her an evill turne ; For an ever I may thate fowle theefe ge[t]

In a fyer I will her burne.

[Abunt ninejlanzas wanting.'l

THE SECOND PART.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxxvii THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE IMPROVEMENT.

But here I will make mine avowe, *

To do her * as ill a' turne : For an ever I may that fouie thecfe gette,

III a fyre I will her burne.

PART THE SECOND.

Homewarde pricked king Arthtkrcj

And a wcarye man uas hee; Andfoone he mette queene Gueneveff

That bride fo bright of bice.

What ncwes ! what newes ! thou noble kingt

Howe, Arthur, hajl thou/pedf JVhere haji thou hung the carlijh knightef

And where be/low' d his head *

The carlijh knight isfafefor mcc.

And free fro mortal harme: On magicke grounde his castle Jlands,

Andfenc'd with many a channe.

To baur to him I was fulle faine, ^

And yielde mee to his hand; And but for a lothly ladye, there

Jjholdc have Iq/i my land.

And nence this fills my hearte with woe,

And forrtme of my life ; J /wore a yonge and courtlye knight,

Sholde marry her to his wife.

cxxviii DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

TH£ OHIGINilL.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxxix THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAVVAINE.

THE IMPROVEMENT.

Then he/pake himjir Gattaine,

That ■was ever a gentle knight c: That lothly ladi/e J icill wed ;

Therefore be merrye and lighte.

Nome nat/et none naycj goodjir Gawaine ;

Myfister'sJunHe yee bee; This lothli/e ladye's all too grimmCf

And all toojouiej'or yce.

Her nofe m crookt and tum'd outwdrde;

Her chinjlands all awrye ; ,

j4 worj'ejorm'd ladye thanjhee is,

H'as never J'een with eye.

What though her chinjland all awrye.

And Jhec be Joule to fee: I'll marry her, vnkte, for thy fake,

And I'll thy rat^fome bee.

Nawe thankes, nawe thankes, good fir Gawdine,

And a biasing thee bctyde ! To-morrow wee'll have knights and fquires.

And wee'll goe fetch thy bride.

And wee'll have hawkes and wee'll have houndex.

To cover our intent ; And wee'll away to the greeneforifi,

As wee a hunting went.

VOL.1. i

cxxx DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE ORIGINAL.

Sir Lancelot and fir Steven bold,

They rode with them that day, And the formoft of the company

There rode the fteward Kay.

Soe did fir Banier and fir Bore,

Sir Garrett with them foe gay, Soe did fir Tristeram that gentle knight,

To the forreft frefii and gay.

And when he came to the greene forreft,

Underneath a greene holly tree. There fate that lady in red fcarlet.

That unfeeraly was to fee.

Sir Kay beheld this ladyes face,

And looked nppon her fuire ; Whofoever kifses this lady, he fayes,

Of his kiffe he ftands in feare.

Sir Kay beheld the lady againe,

And looked upon her fnout, Whofoever kifses this lady, he faies,

Of his kiffe he ftands in doubt.

Peace, cozen Kay, then laid fir Gawaine,

Amend thee of thy life ; For there is a knight amongft us all

That rauft marry her to his wife.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxxju THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE IMPaOVEMRNT.

Sir Lancelot, Hi Stephen bolde,

They rode with them that daye ; And foremort of the companyc.

There rode the ftewardc Kaye :

See did fir Banier and fir Bore,

* And eke fir Garralte keenc ;' Sir Tristram ♦ too,' that gentle knight,

To the foreft ficlhe aud * greenc.'

And when ♦ they' came to the greene forrcft,

Beneathe a ' faire' holley tree, There fate that ladye in red fcarlctte,

That unfeemelye was to fee.

Sir Kay beheld ' that' lady's face,

Aud looki'd upon her fweere; Whoever kif^es * that' ladye, he fayes,

Of his kifl'e he ftanda in feere.

Sir Kay beheld ' that' ladye againe.

And looked upon her fnout ; Whoever kifses ' that' ladye, he fayes,

Of his kiffe he llands in doubt.

Peace, * brother' Kay, fayde fir Gaw^nc,

And amend thee of thy life : For there is a knight amongft us all,

Muft marry her to his wife.

cxxxii DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE ORIGINAL.

What wedd her to wiffe ! then faid fir Kay,

111 the divells name anon ; Gett me a wifFe where-ere I may,

For I had rather be flaiue.

Then foome tooke up their hawkes in haft,

And forae tooke up their hounds, And fome fware they wold not marry her

For citty nor for towne.

And then befpake him noble king Arthur,

And fware there by this day, For a litle foule fight and misliking,

[About ninejianzas wanting.}

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxxxiii THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE IMPROVEMENT.

What ' marry this foule queene, quoth' Kay,

r the devil's name anone ; Gelt mee a wife wherever I maye,

* 111 footh Hiuc Ihall be none.'

Then fome tooke up their hawkes in hafte,

And fome took up their houndes ; And ' fayd' they wolde not marry her,

For * cities,' nor for ' townes/

Then befpake him king ArthCkre,

And fware there by this daye; For a little foule fight and mislikinge,

Yeejhall not fay her naye.

PcacCf iordings, peace; fir Gawaine/ayd;

Nor make dfbate andjirife; This lothlye la dye I uiit take,

And marry her to my wife.

Novae thankes, nawe thankes, good fir Gawatne,

And a bkfsinge be thy meede ! For as I am thine oicne ladyt^.

Thou nexerjhalt rue this deede.

Then up they took that lothly dame,

And home anone they bringe: And there fir Gavcnine he her wed,

And married her with a ringc.

cxxxiv DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE ORIGINAL.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxxxv THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

TH« IMPROVEMENT.

And when they tvere in wed-bed laid,

And all were done awaye ; ** Come tume to mee, mine owne vtedrlord.

Come tume to mee I praye."

Sir Gawainefcant could lift his keadf

Forforrowe and for care ; lichen, lof injUad oj that lotkelye dame^

Hee/awe a young ladyefaire.

Stoeet blujhesfiayn'd her rud-ird cheeke,

Her eycn were blacke as five: The fipening cherryc ficellde her lippe.

And all her necke wasfntnce.

Sir Gawaine hifsd that lady fairer

Ikying upon thtjhecte: And /wore, as he was a true knightci

The/pice was never foe fweete.

Sir Gawaine k'fs'd that lady brighte,

Lying there by hisjide; '* The faireji ftower is notfoefaire:

Thou never can'Ji bee my bride."

I am thy bride, mine oxtme deare lorde.

The fame whiche thou didji knoaxt That was foe lothlye, and was wont

Upon the wild more to goe.

cxxxvi DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE ORIGINAL.

Then Ihee faid, choofe thee, gentle Gawaine ;

Truth as I doe fay, Weiher thou wilt have [me] in this liknefle,

In the night or elfe in the day.

And then befpake him gentle Gawaine,

With one foe mild of moode, Sayes, well I know what I wold fay,

God grant it may be good.

To have thee fowle in the night.

When I with thee (hold play. Yet I had rather, if I might.

Have thee fowle in the day.

What when lords goe with ther * feires,' Ihee faid,

Both to the ale and wine, Alas ! then I muft hyde my felfe,

I muft not goe withinne.

And then befpake him gentle Gawaine,

Said, Lady thats but a fkill, And becaufe thou art my owne lady,

Thou (halt have all thy will.

Then fhe faid, blefsed be thou, gentle Gawaine,

This day that I thee fee. For as thou fee me att this time.

From henceforth I wil be.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxxxvii THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE IMPROVEMENT.

♦ Nowe, gentle Gawaine, chufe, quoth fliec/

' And make thy choice with care ;* Whether • by night, or elfe by daye,'

' Shall I be foule or faire ?'

" To have thee foule [ftill] in the night,

When I with thee fliould playe ! * I had rather-farre, my lady deare/

[To] have thee foule « by' daye."

What when ' gaye ladyes' goe with their ' lordes,'

To [drinke] the ale and wine ; Alas ! th«n I mull hide myfelf,

I muft not goe with * mine ?'

" * My fairladyfe, fir Gawaine fayd,'

* I yield me to thy' (kille ; Becaufe thou art mine owne ladyJ^

Thou (halt have all thy wille."

< Now' blefsed be thou, • fweete' Gawkine,

[And] ' the' day that I thee fee ; For as thou feeft mec at this lime,

' Sue lliall 1 ever bee.'

cxxxviii DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE O&IGINAL.

My father was an old knight,

And yett it chanced foe, That he marryed a younge lady,

That brought me to this woe.

Shee witched me, being a faire young lady,

To the greene forreft to dwell> And there I muft walke in womans likneffe,

Moft like a feeind of hell.

She witched my brother to a carlift b . . . .

[About nine Jianzas •wanti7ig.]

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxxxix THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE IMPROVEMENT.

My father was an ' aged' knighte,

And yet it chanced foe, He * tooke to wife' a * falfe' lady^,

' Whiche' broughte me to this woe.

Shee witch'd me, being a faire yonge * maidc,'

* In' the greene for^ll to dwelle ; And there • to abide' in ' lothlye Ihape*

Mod like a fiend of belle.

Mid^ mores and mqfseti woods and wilds;

To lead a lontjome life: Till fume yong faire and courtlye kiiighu

JVolde mar rye me to his -wife :

Nor fully to gaine mine owne trewtfhape^

Such was her derilijh jkille ; Until he wolde yielde to he rul'd by »nef.

And let mee have all my wille.

She witchd my'brother to a * carlifli' boorr,

And made himfliffe andjironge; And built him a bowre on magicke grounde^

To live by rapine and wrunge.

But now thefpelU is broken throughCf

And wronge is turnde to righte; Henceforth 1 shall bee a faire ladyd^

And hee be a gattlc knighte.

cxl DISSERTATION ON

THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE ORIGINAL.

That looked foe foule and that was wont On the wild more to goe.

Come kiffe her, brother Kay, then faid fir Gavvain,

And amend the of thy life, I fware this is the fame lady

That I marryed to my wiffe.

Sir Kay kifsed that lady bright.

Standing upon his feete ; He fwore, as he was trew knight,

The fpice was never foe fweete.

Well, cozen Gawaine, faies fir Kay, * Thy chance is fallen arright, For thou haft gotten one of the faireft maids, I ever faw with my fight.

It is my fortune, faid fir Gawaine,

For my unckle Arthurs fake : I am as glad as graffe wold be of raine.

Great joy that I may take.

Sir Gawaine tooke the lady by the one arme,

Sir Kay tooke her by the tother; They led her ftraight to king Arthur,

As they were brother and brother.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. cxU THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAINE.

THE ORIGINAL.

King Arthur welcomed them there all, And foe did lady Genever his queene,

With all the knights of the roundc table, Moft feemly to be feenc.

King Arthur beheld that lady faire,

That was foe faire and bright ; He thanked Chrift in trinity,

For fir Gawaine that gentle knight.

Soe did the knights, both more and lefle,

Rejoyced all that day, For the good chance that hapened was

To fir Gawaine and his lady gay.

This mode of publLfliing ancient poetry displays, it mull be confclVd, confiderable talent and genius, but favours ftrongly, at the fame time, of unfair- ncfs and dishonesty. Here are numerous fianzas infcrted which arc not in the original, and others omited which are there. The purchafec-rs and pe- rufccrs of fuch a collection are dcccive'd and im- pofe'd up«^)n ; the pleafure they receive is derivc'd from the idea of antiquity, which, in fact, is perfect illufion. If the ingenious editour had publilh'd all his imperfeft poems by correding the blunders of puerility or inattention, and fupplying the defeds

cxlii DISSERTATION ON

of barbarian ignorance, with proper distinction of type (as, in one inftance, he actually has done), it would not onely have gratify'd the auftereeft anti- quary, but allfo provideed refine'd entertainment " for every reader of tafte and genius." He would have aded fairly and honorablely, and giveiin every fort of reader complete fatisfaction. Authenticity would have been uniteed with improvement, and all would have gone wcl; whereas, in the prefent edi- tions, it is iirmly believe'd, not one article has been ingenuously or faithfully printed from the Uegining to the end : nor did the late eminent Thomas Tyr- whitt, fo ardent a refearcher into ancient poetry, and an intimate friend of the posfesfour, ever fee this curious, though tatter'd, fragment; nor would the late excellent George Steevens, on the blfhops perfonal application, confent to function the au- thenticity of the printed copy with his fignature.*

* The biftiop of Dromore (as he now is), on a former occa- fion, haveing hirafelf, as he wel knows, allready falfify'd and corrupted a modern Scotifh fong, " This line," he fays, " be- ing quoted from memory, and given as old Scottifh poetry is [by no one, in fuch a cafe, except himfelf] now ufually printed (Reliques, 1775, I, xxxviii,)t (" Come ze frae the BORDER?") to give it a certain appearance of ruft and anti- quity. This identical fong, being, afterward, faithfully and correftly printed in a certain Collection of fuch things, from the earlyeft copy known, which, like all the reft, was accu- rately refer'd to,

" Live you upo' the border?" {ScoHJh fangs, printed for J. Johnfon, 1794, 1, 266) the worthy

f Scotifh poetry, of the 15th or I6th century, has been fo printed, but not that of the I8th, unlefs by impostours. *

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. cxUu

A change fimilar to that which is before repre- fented to have takeiin place in France, took place in Engleland at a fomewhat iateer period. Caxton, our firft printer, had fo little tafte for poetry, that he never printed one tingle metrical romance, nor, in fad, any poetical corapofition whatever, beGde Gowers Conjesjio amantU, The Canterbury tales, and a few other piecees of Chaucer, Lydgate, 4*. He traiislateed, indeed, Virgil and Ovid, out Ckf

prelate thought proper, in the laft edition of his allreadjr reciteed compilation, to asfcrt that his own corruption " would have been readily correAed by that copy," had not all confi- dence been deftroycd by iu being altered in the " Historical ctlay" prefixed to that publication to

" Y« Liva upo' the bordcri"

the better," he ads, with his ufual candour, " to favour a po- fition, that many of the pipcn might live upon the borders, for the conveniency of attending fairs, dfr. in both kingdoms." This, however, is an infamoos lyb; it being much mora likely that he himfelf, who has practife'd every kind of forgery and imposture, bad fome fuch end to alter this identical line, with much more violence, and, as he owns himfelf, actual " coaauPTiow,'* to give the quotation an air of antiquity, which it was not intitk'd to. The prefent editoura text is per- feBiy accurate, to a Angle comma, but " this line," as he pre- tends to apologife for his own, " being quoted [in the Esfay] from memory," haveing frequently heard it fo fung, in his younger days, by a north-country blackfmith, without think, ing it ncoesfary, at the moment, to turn to the genuine text, which lay at his elbow, and which his lordfliip dare not iMrxACH. "Thou hy(>ocritc, firfl cafl out the beam out of thine own eye, and (hen (halt thou fee [more] clearly to caft out the mote out of thy brothers eye." {Gittpel aciordinf to S. AtalthnB, Chap. VII, Vcrfe i.)

cxliv DISSERTATION ON

Frenchj into Englcifh, profe ; and we are indebted to him, by the like mean, for feveral venerable black-letter romancees in folio, or quarto, fuch as Mort Darthur, compilcM, it feems, by lir Thomas Maloryj Charlemagne, Keynard the fox, and others ; the firft of which, though moft abominablely man- gle'd, became exceedingly popular, and was fre- quently reprinted ; allthough no copy of the original edition is now known to exift. Several of the old Engleifli metrical romancees were, afterward, printed by Wynken dc Worde, Pinfon, Copland, and others, chiefly in the earlyer part of the fix- teenth century ; many of which are ftil preferve'd in publick librarys, and a few private collections.

When we confider, fays mister Warton, the feu- dal manners, and the magnificence of our Noiman ancestors, their love of military glory, the enthufiafm with which they engaged in the crufades, and the wonders to which they mult have been familiarife'd from thefe eaftern enterprifees, we naturally fup- pofe, that their retinue abounded with minllrels and harpers, and that their chief entertainment was to liften to the recital of romantick and martial ad- ventures. But i have been much disappointed in my fearches after the metrical tales which muft have prevail'd in their times. Moft of thofe old heroick fongs are perifli'd with the ftately castles in whofe halls they were fung. Yet they are not fo totally loft as we may be apt to imagine. Many of them ftil partly exift in the old Engleilh metrical

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. cxlv

romances,* yet diverted of their original form, po- lish'd in their ftile, adorn'd with new incident', Aic- cesfivcly modernife'd by repeated tranfcription and recitation, and retaining little more than the outlines of the original," This, it maft be confefs'd, is not only a jud and accurate, but allfu a beaut) ful and interefling, defcription of the old Engleifli ro- mancci's. Many, however, in the French language, ftil remain, corrert and perfed as they came from the hands of the poet or roinftrel, and preferve'd in contemporary manufcripts, more or lefs, in moft of the publick librarys in Europe, being, likewifc, infinitely Aiperior, in point of (lilc and expresHon, to their translations into Engleifh, of the compara- tive merit whereof it is highly probable our learned historian had a very imperfeA idea.

It is no flight honour to ancient romance that, fo late as the feventeenth century, when it was become fuperannuatei'^d and obfolete, that the expanfive and cnlighten'd mind of <flir BritiOi Monier was enrapture'd with the ftudy, as is manifeQed, by frequent and happy allufions, in his two principal poems :

" and what refounds ^

In fable or romance of Uthers fon. Begirt with Rrilifli and Armoric knights ; And all who fince, baptii^'d or inlidel, Joufted in Aspramont or Monts^lban,

• But many more in the French, fome of which were actually writcn in Englcland. Vt)L. 1. k

cxlvi DISSERTATION ON

Damasco, or Marocco, or Trebifond ; Or whom Biferta fent from Afric ftiore, When Charlemain with all his peerage fell By Fontarabbia." *

(" Though like a cover'd field, where champions

bold Wont ride in arm'd, and at the foldans chair Defi'd the befl of Panim chivalry To mortal combat or career with lance.") f " Such forces met not, nor fo wide a camp. When Agricaii, with all his northern powers, Befieg'd Albracca, as romances tell. The city of Gallaphrone, from thence to win The faireft of her fex Angelica, His daughter, fought by many proweft knights, Both Paynim, and the peers of Charlemane : Such and fo numerous was thir chivalrie."4- He had even meditateiid a metrical romance, or epick poem, upon the ftory of Arthur, which would, doubtlefs, have excel'd in fublimity and intereft every thing he has left us, had not his increafeing attachment to the puritanical fuperftition of the times perverted his intention :

* P. L. B. 1, V. 579. " Next," he fays, " i betook me among thofe lofty fables and romances which recount in folemn can- tos thedeeds of knighthood.. .So that even thofe books.. .prov'd to me fo many inticements to the love and ftedfaft obfervation of...virtue..." See Tolands Life, P. 35.

f Ihi. V. 762.

+ Paradife regain'd, B.3, V.336. Set tht Orlando inamorato of Boiardo.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxivii

" Since fnd this fubjcdl for heroic foiig Pleaf'd me long choofing, aiul beginning late Not fediilous by nature to indilo Warrs, hitherto the onely argument Heroic ileem'd chief maiftric to disfed, With long and tedious havoc, fabl'd knights In battels feign'd; — Or tilting furniture, emblazon'd Oiields, Imprefes quaint, capaiifons and Aeeds; Bafcs and tinfel trappings, gorgious knights At jouft and tomeamcnt; then marihal'd feaft, Scrv'd up in hall with fcwcrs, and fenelhals."* Notwithftanding his religious enthufiafra, he ftil appears to r^ard the favourite purfuits of his earlyer days with a kind of melancholy fcnfation:

And cafls a long and lingering look behind. To the above defign he hinifclf alludes in his Epitaphium Damonis, V. ]6l, &c.

" Jpfe ego DardaRiat Rutupinaprr ctquora puppe$ Dicatitf tt PundraJido$ rrgnum xcttu Inogenutj Brennumque Aiviragumque duces, priscumque Bc-

linum, Et tandem Armoricos Britonum fub lege culonos; Turn grmidfim Arturo,fatuli fraudcy liigenicn, Mendacts vulttis, aifumjttaquc Corlois anna^ Mcrlini dolut."— So that, it feems the fabulous history of Geoffrey of Monmouth was to have been the platform of his

• P. L. B. •. (cdkkm 1007-) See ToUnds Lift^ 10, 17. 1

cxlviii DISSERTATION ON

fublime poetical ftructure ; but this projeft, whe- ther wifely or not, he abandon'd. Pope, likewife, had an intention of writeing a poem on the fubjecl of Brutus.*

§ 4. MINSTRELS AND MINSTRELSY.

Homer, who, as it hath been allready obfeive'd, compofe'd romancees in Greek verfe, was a rhap- fodift, bard, or minftrel, who refortcd to feails, at •which he fung his compofitions to the lyre. He fays of himfelf, in one of his hymns : " Hail, hea- venly powers, whofe praifees i fing; let me, allfo, hope to be remember'd in the agees to come, and, when any one, bom of the tribes of men, comes hither, a weary traveler, and enquires, Who is the fweeteft of iinging men that refort to your feafts, and whom you moft delight to hear? Then 6p you make anfwer for me: It is the blind man that dwels in Chios ; his fongs excel all that can ever be fung."t

• See his Life, by Ruffhead. , "f- Blackwells Enquiry into the life of Homer, P. no. Huet, to the fame purpofe, obferves, *' It is necesfary to remark, for the honour of the troubadours, that Homer has been one be- fore them, and that he went about reciteing his verfees from town to town." fDe I'origine des romans, Paris, 1678, P. 128.) Doctor Bentley fays, " He wrote a fequel of fongs and rhap- fodies, to be fung by himfelf, for fmall earnings and good cheer, at festivals and other days of merriment ; the Uias he made for the men, and the Odysfeis for the other fex . Thcfe

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxlix

An anecdote, coramunicateed to Herodotus by the Lesbians, favours, likewife, very ftrongly of the minftrel character. Arion of Methymna [near three hundred years after Homi'r], who was fecond to none of the harpers of his age, and made, and name'd, and taught, the dithyrambick, at Corinth, haveing dcfire'd to fail into Italy and Sicily; and wishing, much money being acquire'd, to return bock to Corinth ; and whereas he was about to go to Tarenium, bccaufe he trufted none more than the Corinthians, hire'd a fhip of fome of thofe men. When, therefor, they were out at fea, ihefe confpire'd againft Arion, that, he being got rid of, they might enjoy his money. He, underflanding this, pray'd, the money being offer'd to them, that his hfe might be fpare'd. Not prevailing upon the mariners, they order'd, that he fliould either lay violent hands upon himfelf, that fo he might obtain fepulture upon the Oiore, or, immediately, leap into the fea. Arion, at this difHculty, befought, that, forasmuch as fuch was their pleafure, they would fulfer him to fing, (landing upon the deck: and, when he (hould have fung, he promife'd that he would lay violent hands upon himfelf. Thefe, therefor, (for the defire of hearing the mod cxcel-

loofc fongs wcrtf'rot colte^d together in the form of an epic poem, till Piftstnitus's time, about 500 years after." (Utmarks upon a lute Discourfe of /rce-thinkin/r, H. l^.) This ancient bard, as it is fuppofr'J by fome learned men, could neither write nor read.

d DISSERTATION ON

lent performer had feize'd them,) retire'd from the poop to the raidft of the fhip. He, being drefs'd with every ornament, and, the harp takeen up, ftanding upon the deck, awake'd the fong which is call'd orthian : and that being fung, he call him- felf, as he was, with all his finery, into the fea : and thefe, truely, held their courfe for Corinth : but he, receive'd, they fay, by a dolphin, was car- ry'd to Taenarus : and, when he had defcended from the dolphin, he went, in that fame habit, to Corinth : and, when he arrive'd there, he relateed ever}' thing that had hapen'd. Thefe things the Corinthians and Lesbians wont to fay : and there was extant at Taenarus the moderate gift of Arion, in brafs, a man above, carryd by a dolphin.*

It is highly probable, as Huet has remark'd, that other illustrious poets of Greece imitateed Homer: he particularly mentions Simonides, who, he ex- prefsly fays, exercife'd the profesfion of a trouveur and chanteur.-f

The histriones of the Romans were theatrical performers, who deliver'd the oral parts ; the mimi dumb actors, who exprefs'd every thing by dance- ing and gestures : neither of thefe, of courfe, bore the leaft referablance to a minftrel ; except that it has been fuggefted by mister Ledwich to doctor Percy upon a reference of Salmafius (Notes to His- torice augustoBfcriptoreSf Paris, l620, fo. P. 385);

* Clio, § 24. -y De VorigiTie, &c. as before.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. cU

whence the latter infers that the imitative minftrel of Geoffrey of Monmouth ftiave'd hitnielf by clas- fical authority.*

Both names, however, feem, after the decline of the empire, to have been, erroneously, conferM upon the minQrcls, or mufical performers of thofe times. Since, at lead the mimes, or juglers, are allow'd, by the laws of James the fecond, king of Majorca, to be lawfully admisfible in courts, as their office affords pleafure : whcrefor that prince ordains, that in his palace the number of mimes fhould i>e^Te, of whom two were to be ti-umpeters, and the third, a tabourer: io that the minftrel who made ufe of the phrafe " Mimia et cantu victum actfuiro," muft, necesfaryly, have intended two distinct functions.!

Whether the Lombards brought the minftrel arts into Italy, or acquire'd them from the old inhabi- tants, is a question of difficult folution : but, in tht year 774, it hapen'd that ajoculator, or jugler, came to Charles the emperour, ufually call'd

* Dio, indeed, in the time of Nero, fays, that " It was moft fflthy and grievous to foe, that men and women, not onely of the equestrian, bat, even, of the fenatorial order, enter'd into the orchestra, and ciicus, and amphitheatre, like the vilecft men: and fome of them fung tu pipes, dancc'd, a£lcd tragedys and comedjs, fung to the harp, tfc. Even Nero himfcif, fre- quently, at the voice of the common cryer, in the habit of a harper, fung to the harp. (Refer to thr article Citharotdot in the index to Reimars edition.)

•f- Reliqiits, dec. I, IzxJT.

clii DISSERTATION ON

Charlemagne, and, turning round in the fight of his followers, fung a fong compofe'd by hirafelf.*

Philip Moulkes, in the time of Philip the auguft, feigns this emperour to have formerly giveen, to his parafites and mimes or mimicks (fcurris et mimis fuisj, the county of Provence; whence, afterward, fo great a number of poets grew up in this country:

" Quar quant li buen rois Karlcmaigne,

Ot toute mi/e a fan demaine,

Provence, qui mult iert plentive,

De vins, de bois, d'aigue, de i-ive.

As leceours, as meneftreus.

Qui font au ques luxurieus

Le donna toute Sf departa."-\ The anecdote, at the fame time, feems to require more ancient testimony than that of Philip Moufkes. Sainte-Palaye is of opinion that chivalry, confi- der'd merely as a ceremony by which young per- fons, deftine'd to the military profesfion, receive'd the firft arms they were to carry, was known from the time of Charlemagne : but that, regarded as a dignity which gave the firft rank in the military order, and which was confer'd by a fpecies of in- vestiture, accompany'd by certain ceremonys, and a folemn oath, it would be difficult to carry it higher than the eleventh century.f Henry the firft, however, emperour of Germany, furname'd The

* Muratori, Antiquitates Italioe, II, 2. •}• Du Cange Ministhellus et Legator. 4- Memoiresfur Cancienne chevalerie, I, 65.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. diii

fowler^ appears to have eftablifh'd tournaments in 930.* There is, likewife, an indance of a juft, or fingle combat, on horfeback, at Paris, in ^^■, be- between Grey-coat, earl of Anjou, and Bertold, brother to the duke of Saxony .f

Chivalry and minftrelfy, it is generally thought, had fume fort of connection, and, posfiblely, a co- elaneous origin ; but little or nothing is known for a certainty refpeding the latter, til about a century after the eltablilhment of the former. According to a contemporary historian, Henry the third, fur- name'd Tht Blacky or Rlackbeard, emperour 'of Germany, celebrateing his nuptials with Agnes, daughter of William earl of Poictou, at the town of Ingelenheim, in 1043, permited an infinite mul- titude of minlbels and juglers, to the accumulation of his piaife, empty and hungery, without food and rewards, to depart fori owing. 4.

♦' The minftrels," as dehne'd by the ingenious and rcfpcctable authour of an esfay on the ancient Englilh ones prefix'd to " Reliques of ancient En' glijli poetry" wore an order of men in the middle ages, who united the arts of poetry and mufic, and

* See hit Ltget Haiti ludiaUs,Jive de torneamentu m Ool- dasti Imperatorum recafut, HafiovioFf 1000, fo. II, 41.

f R. de Dicelo 459.

4 Htrmanni Contracli chronicon, Bafilne, \i10, fo. 218, b. John Bromton, abbot of Jervauz, fays, that the money which he had been before accustom'd to give to the minflrels, he distributced to the poui: but this was robing Peter 10 pay Paul.

cliv DISSERTATION ON

f^ing verfes to the harp of their own compofing. They alfo appear to have accompanied their fongs," he fays, " with mimicry and action; and to have practifed fuch various means of diverting as were much admired in thofe rude times, and fup- plied the want of more refined entertainments." Thus ftood the pasfage in the firft, fecond, and third editions : but the learned authour not have- ing brought any proof that thefe characters com- pofe'd their own fongs, and ftil lefs that the fingers themfelves ufe'd " mimicry and action;" it appears, in the laft edition, thus alter'd : " who fubfiiled by the arts of poetry and mufic, and fang to the harp verfes compofed by themfelves or others." But that thofe minftfels, who fung to the harp, " accompa- nied their fongs with mimicry and action," ftil appears to (land in need of authority.

Maistre Wace, in his account of the coronalion feaft of king Arthur, is careful to enumerate the various orders of minftrelfy, which he fuppoftes to have been prefent on that occafion :

" Mult ojl a la cor^ juglcors,

Chanteors, et rumenteors.

Mult poisjez oir chancons,

Rotuenges et voialx fons,

Vilcors, lais, et note;^,

Laiz de vieles, lais de rotez,

Laiz de harpez, laiz de fietalx,

Lires, tempes, et chalemealx,

Symphoniez, pfalterions,

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. cU

Moiiacurs, des cymbes, chorons.

As/cz i ot tregetours,

Joierefles, et joieors,

Li uns d\/'oent contes et fables, SfC." • The manners of a company of minftrels are thus (Icfcribe'd in an old fabliau, probablely of the thirteenth century :

" 1a quens nianda Us mcnejlrels;

Et Ji a Jet crier entre els.

Qui la meillor truff'cj'auroit

Dire, nej'aire, qu'il uuroit

Sa robe d'^carlate nuove.

L'uns menejirets a I'autre rcuve

Fere fun mcstier tel qu'il fot,

Li unsfet I'yvre, i autre fot;

Li uns ckante, li autre note;

Et li autres dit la riote;

Et li autres lajenglerie;

Cil qui f event de ^Jouglerie'

Vielent par devant le con*e ;

Aucunsja quifabliaus conte

li i ot dit mainte r{fee, &c."t

• ..Many fullers had they at the court,_^«^fr*, tnirimers; Many fongt might you hear, Rote-fongM (fee Fabliaux au f antes, B, 323), and vocal /ong$; Fiddlers, lays, and notts; Lays for fiddlts, laya for roles; Lays for harps, lays for fytoU ; Lyres, and corn-pipes ; Symphonys, pfaltcrys ,• Mono- chords, cymbals, choirs. Enow there were of tregetours ; fe- male and male pciformcrs Cjoueurs, F.) ; Some fay'd tola and fables, &c.

'f- Fabliau & contes, II, 101. ** The count commanded the minftrels. And fo be has cauiie'd to be cry'd among

clvi DISSERTATION ON

In another extract from a romance, writen iu 1230, we are told that '

" Quand les tables ojlees furent

Ciljugglevrs in pies ejlurent

S'ont vielles, et harpes prijees,

Chanfons,fons, vers, et reprifes,

Et ge/ies chant e nos ont." * - The minftrels, certainly, were not allways an order of men " who united the arts of poetry and mufic, and fung verfes to the harp of their own compofing," as the worthy divine who formerly made that asfertion has been compel'd to acknow- lege. At the nuptials of Robert, brother to St. Lewis, in 1237, " Thofe who are call'd minftrels," according to Alberic, " in this fpectacle of vanity did many things there ; as he who on a horfe rode upon a rope in the air ; and as thofe who rode two oxen clad in fcarlet, blowing their horns at the feveral mefses which were ferve'd up to the king at table."*

That he who could fay or do the beft gibe (hould have his new fcarlet robe. Some of the minftrels pray'd another. To do his bufinefs Tuch as he knew. Some fung, others noteed ; And others had recourfe to fcolding. And others to raillery ; Thofe who knew juglery, Fiddle'd before the count ; Some there were told fabliatis, There was fay'd many a laughable thing.

• When the tables were taken away. The juglers flood up on their feet. So have they takcen violins and hzirps. And we had fongs, tunes, verfes, and reprifes. And gefts fung.

•|- " lUi qui dicuntur minijlelli {I. miiiijirelli] in fpectaculo vanitaUs multa ibifecerunt,Jicutillequiin equojuper cordam

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, clvii

In the ancient Roman de Berthe au grand pied^ writen by king Adenes, a wel-known poet fo call'd, in the thirteenth century, it is relateed, that dure- ing the grand feaft giveen by Pepin on his marriage, there was executeed a magnificent concert, com- {K)fe'd by three minOrelb, of whom one play'd upon the tielle (or fiddle), another upon the Aorp, and the third upon the lute.f

It is certain that many perfons in France bore the title of " Roy de minijlraux," inftancees whereof are giveen by Du Cungc: but, in Englcland, though Anftis has mention'd feveral minjirtls who arc dis- tinguifh'd by the title of kingf (as Rex Robertas tninijiralliis, &c. in the time of king Edward I.) none of them is exprefsly call'd rex miniJlraUorumy or king of the minJireU, (except John Caumz, king of Riciiard the feconds, in 1387) i neither does his Rexjuglatorum belong to this country. Adenes, a celebratced poet, who live'd in Uie 13th century, fays of himfclf, in one of his romances : " CV lixre de Cleoraades Rimeje U roy Adenez, Menestre au hon due Henry:" meaning, it feems, Henry duke of Brabant, who dye'd in VIVJ . He, elfewhere, calls himfelf Roy

in aere e<juiiarel, tff Jicut illi qui duoi bovtt de fcarlale vtsti- tot equitainaU comifmntes adjingulaftrcvla qua apponebantur r^ in men/a." Ckro. P. 4<M ; Memovretjktr Canciennt chna~ Itrie, I, 345. I

t Bib. daromans, Avril, IJ77, ?• M7-

civiii DISSERTATION ON

Adenes, and is fo call'd by others: but ftil the reafon is unknown.

Pasquier is quite at a lofs to account for the word king as apply'd to a mitiftrd; remarking only that the word jouingleur [jouglerie\ iiad, by fuc- cesfion of time, turn'd into jUght-of-hand. " We have feen," he fays, " in our youth the Jouingleurs meet at a certain day, every year, in the town of Chauny in Picardy, to Ihew their profesfion before the people, who could do beft ; and this," ads he, " that i here fay of them is not to depreciate thefe ancient rime'ers, but to fhew that there is nothing fo beauteous which is not annihilateed with time:"* where, by the way, he feems, by the expresfion *' anciens r'lmeurs" to allude rather to what they had formerly been, than to what they were in his own time, when, as he has allready told us, they were funk into vaGvejuglers.

That the different profesfors of minftrelfy were, in ancient times, distinguifli'd by names appro- priateed to their refpective purfuits, cannot rea- fonablely be dispnteed, though it may be difficult to prove. The trouveur, trouverre, or rymour, was he who compofe'd romans, contes, fabliaux., chanfons, and lais; and thofe who confine'd themfelvcs to the compofition of contes and fabliaux., obtuin'd the appellation of conteurs, confeours, or fabliers. The menetrier, menefirel, or minftrel, was he who

• Recherches, &c. Paris, 1633, fo. P. 611.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, clix

accompany'd his fong by a mufical inftruraent, both the words and the melody being occafionally furninrd by himfelff and occafionally by others.* The jogehur,j(nigleor,ijugUor,jogelere, or jugler,

* Le Gnuid distinguishes the mentttritr who play'd and ftjng from the mentftrtl who was the chief or head of the troop; but without being able to adduce any authority for proveing fuch a distinction.

+ 'SotjongUur, as the ignorant or inattentive French prin- ters of the 13th century, who could not, it is probable, read the manufcripts, and mistook the u for an n, there being, in faft, little or no distinction between them, uniformly orthographife'd it : and as every French authour, historian, commentator, etymologift, glosfarift, or dictionary-makeer, with the whole herd of copyiits and printers, from that time to the prcfent, have conftantly writen, printed, etymologifc'd, and ezplain'd it. In every manufcript, however, French or Norman, of the thirteenth or fourteenth century, or, at leaftj wherecvcr the u occurs, and can be distinguifh'd from an rr, it is uniformly writen ;ou^/<our, mjougUor (Uomati dt Troye, Harley MS. 44M), but generally without a u,jogleTe (Roman de Pitt-Guarine, in the kings MS. 13 C XI!), and frequently without an o, a jugUour (Hailey MS. i2b3), jugelrre (Le Brut, pasfim) . Many hundred of fuch inftances could have been eafeyly aded, but the fcmpulous reader had better confult the originals. The fame propriety was obferve'd in Engleland, where the corrupt orthography, jongler, has ne\cr been made ufc of, either in manufcript or print, til within thefe (icw years, and, probablely, for the firft time, in the Reliqua of ancient Englijh pot try. Thus, in Davies LyfqfAly fonder: *• The minArellcs fyngc, iht jogtlours carpe;" Again, in Robert Mannynp translation fiom Fcta of Briil- lington :

" Jogelourt were there inouh." But though he luuncs both, he does not give (hem fcvenl

clx DISSERTATION ON

amufed the fpectators with flight of hand tricks,

cups and balls, SfC.

Again, in Thefreres tale, V. 7049 :

" A \oufy Jogelour can deceiven thee." This appears clear from the condu6l of John de Raumpayne, who, when he fets out to deceive Moris of Whitington, lakes with him a male, which contains his juglerys, and out of which, moft likely, he had already fo blacken'd, inflateed, and de- form'd his vifage, that his moft intimate acquaint- ance did not know him. The chanteour, or chan- terrcy was one who fang ; the tiehre or harpere, he who accompany'd the chanterre, when he did not perform himfelf, and would be call'd indifferently by either name, or the general one of minjlrel, &c. A histrio, or mimus, fhould, properly, have been the buffoon of a play, as he was among the Romans: but thefe names, in fad, appear to have beengiveen by affe^led pedants, who mistook their meaning. There were, likewik, Jiutom^s, timbejieres, and fai- lours, dancei-s, all thj-ee mention'd by Chaucer in

employments. Carping feems fynonimous tojmging; though, it is fay'd above,

" The minjhels jingy the jogelours carpe:" and may, therefor, imply talkijig or reciteing. Again, in Chaucers Romant of the rofe, V. 764 :

" Miniftrallis and eke jogeluu.s." AH, evidently and immediately from the Latin joewte/ or. He is, however, in other places, repeatedly call'd a jfgelor. Carpentier, fays Warton, mentions a " joculator, qui fcielat tombare ;" dijvgler who knew how to tumble. (I, G.)

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. clxi

his translation of the Romant of the ro/e, V. 762, &c.

" There mightift thou fe thefe^u/our* MinJlralUs and ekcjogeloura That well to fingin did ther paine — There was many a timbeftere, Aad faihurSf that i dare well fwere Ycothe ther craft full parfitly The timbris up full fubtilly Thei caAin, and hcnt them full oft Upon a finger faire and foft." The farcfurs, or buffoons, were, posfiblely, the proper histriones or mimi, who adled ridiculous and burlefque dramas of a finglc part, whence the terra farce is ftil ufc'd for a Ihort and laughable enter- tainment ; baladins, or danceers ; tabourers, or ta- berereSf who perform'd on the tabour or tabourin;* and, peradventure, feveral other distinctions. All thefe, however, in procefs of time, appear to have been confounded under the common name of min-

• In an old fabliau, in the Harleian MS. 2253, a minftrel feting out from London, and meeting the king, " Entourfon col porta faun tabour, DepeyiU de or e riche acour." The kin;;, who addrefses him with "^« joglour," is treated with very little ceremony.

Fauchet remembcr'd to have fcen Martin Baraton (then old minftrel of Orleans), who at feafls and nuptials bet a tabour (labmtrin) of filver, fct with plates allfo of filver, graveen with the armorial bearing of thofe whom he had taught to dance. (Rtcueil, P. 73.) " Here," obferves doctor Percy, " we fee that a minftrel performed fometimes the function of a dancing* nxaster." (P. xlviii.)

VOL. I. 1

cbcii DISSERTATION ON

ftrels or juglers, and by Latin writeers, minijhi^ minijlrelli, joculatores, hiftrixmes, mimi, leccatores, fcurrce, vaniloqui, citharistoe, or citharadce, cantores, or cant at ores f parajitce, famelici, nebulones, epulones, and the like. Their peculiar appellations, howeverj may, doubtlefs, have been preferve'd among them- felves, without being much attended to by ihofe who only confider'd them as a body of men whofe profesfion was to pleafe ; or, at leaft, by their own corruption in lateer times, when one did all, and the whole fystem funk into infignificance and con- tempt.

" Sometimes," fays Fontenelle, " dureing the repaft of a prince, you would .fee arrive an unknown trouverre, with his minftrels or juglers, and make them fmg, upon their harps or violins, the verfees which he had corapofe'd : thofe who made thefounds as wel as the words being the moft efteem'd."*

Le Grand, haveing allready fpokeen of thefe troops of rambleing muficians, who in the great feafts, in the plenary courts, and at marriagees ran together to amufe the nobility, fays, *" This profesfion, which mifery, libertinifm, and the vagabond life of this fort of people, have much decry^d, require'd, however, a multiplicity of at- tainments, and of talents, which one would, at this day, have fome difficulty to find reuniteed, and who has much more right to be aftonifh'd, more- over, in the agees of ignorance : for, befide all the fongs, old and new, befide the current anecdotes^ ♦ Hi/lore du theatre.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, clxiii

the tale«, and fabliaux^ which they piquc'd them* felves upon knowing ; befide the romanceiis of the time, which it bchovc'd them to know, and to pos- fcA> in part, they could dccUiim, fing, compofe in rouiick, play on fcveral inftruments and accom* pany them. Frequently, even, were they authours, and made themfelves the piccecs which they utter'd. In fine, there were fome who, to all thefe talents, join'd the fcience of the cork-balls, of juglcry, and of all the tricks known." *

The following curious narrative of thefe fingular characters is relatced in an old fabliau: " Two troops of minftrcls met in a castle, and wil'd to araufe the lord by a quarrel. One fay'd he could tel talcs {confer) in Romance (i. e. French) and Latin ; he knew more than forty lays and fongs of gefist and all the fongs posfible that you could ima- gine to a(k of him. He knew, allfo, the romancees of adventure, and in particular thofe of the Round tabic. He knew, in fine, to sing a great many romancees, fuch as Vivieaf Reynaud [r. Oger'\ le Danoit, &c. and to tel Floris and Elanchejlovxr. He finidi'd the enumeration of his talents by fome pleafantrys ; and pretended that if he had takeeh the profesfion he foUow'd, it was not that he had not many others to procure him a confiderable fortune : for he knew very wel to hoop an eg, to bleed the cats, to cup an ox, and cover houfees with omlets, SfC. and if any one would give him two harps, he felt himfelf capable to make a mufick • A, 47.

clxiv DISSERTATION ON

fuch as no one ever heard the like. At length, after Tome new injurys, he advife'd the minftrel whom he had attack'd to go out of the castle with- out being pray'd ; defpifeing him too much to dis- honour himfelf and his comrades to ftrike a man fo contemptible. This fellow undervalue'd him in his turn, and demanded of him how he dare'd to fay he was a good minftrel who knew neither pleafant tales nor dits, For me, fay'd he, i am not one of thefe ignoramuses whofe whole talent is to play the cat, the fool, the drunken man, or to fay foolirti things to their comrades : i am of the number of thefe good trouverres, who invent all that they fay :

" Gey«wjuglere de viele;

Sifai de mufe et de frestele,

Et de harpe, et de chiphonie

De la gigue, de /'armonie,

E el falteire, e en la rote."* I know wel to fing a fong; i know tales, i know fa' bliaux ; i know to tel fine new dits ; rotruengcs\ old and new ; and fatires (firvantes) and pastorals ; i know to bear counfel of love ; and to make chaplets of flowers ; and a girdle for loveers ; and to fpeak fine of courtefy." After this detail of his talents, as the jnufician and fine fellow, he pafses to thofe which he has for the tricks of dexterity, and the play of

* " I am Bjugler of the violin, *

So know i of the bagpipe, and of thefiestele.

And of the harp, and of tht Jymphony,

Of the gig, of the harmony.

And of the pfaltery, and on the rott." f A fpecies of fong fung to the lote.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. * cUv

the cork-ball : [a fong] " Wei know i the eork ball ; and tu make the beetle come, alive and dance- ing on the table ; and fo i know many a fair game of the table, and of dexterity and magick ; wcl i know to make an enchantment ; i know to play with tlic cudgels ; and fo i know to play with the cutlafses; and with the cord, and the rope." He boafts himfelf to know all the fongs uf gefis which the firft knew : he knows all the good forjcants, and rcnown'd champions of his time ; and the moft ce- lebrateed mintlrels, to whom he gives ridiculous nick-names. In fine, addrefbing himfelf to his rival, he advifees him, if he have a little (hame, never to enter into the placoes where he (hal know him : ** and you, fir," fays he, " if i have fpokeen better than he, i pray you to put him out of doors, and thus prove to him that he is a fot." *

The mufical inftruments of the French minftrels were chiefly the viV/p,t the clavicorde, the role,\- the tabour, and others, it is probable, not ouely to accompany the voice, but to perform fpiightly airs, and exhilarate the lively dance.

♦ Le Grand, B, 313, Cffc. Thofc who, in the north of En- gleUnd, cheat the poor ignorant graziers, farmers, and horfc- cofers, who come to the fair, by the dclufion of the cork-ball, are call'd thimlUers,

f Doctors Percy and Rumey mistake this for the rote or mandobn {fieh<piet, I, Ixxv] ; but that itwas clearly the violin it provc'd by Nf. le Grand {Fabliaux ou contfs,A,40; B, 31o). Fauchet writes it " ito/e."

4- The rote, from rota, a wheel, in modern French riellf, and in vulgar Englcifh hurdy-gurdy, which is feen fo fre- quently both in Paris and London in the hands of Savoyards.

dxvi DISSERTATION ON

None of the minftrel melodys, or chants, are fuppofe'd to be now exifting, unlefs, it is posfible, in fome ancient manufcript of the French national library, Sainte Palaye, in fa6t, fays that the beau- tyful tale oiAucasfin and Nicoktte, occurs in a MS. near 500 years old, and that what was precedeed by the words " on chante" was fet to raufick ; but whe- ther the poetical part be in the minftrel-metre does not clearly appear. The chanfons du chatelain de Coucy, in 1200, likewife, du roy de Navarre, have been printed with the original mnfick. It is a plain chant, in fquare notes, ranged upon four Unes, under the clif C fol ut. {Fabliaux ou contes, A, 48.)

Some idea of the drefs or manners of a French minftrel in the fourteenth century may be con- ceive'd from the following anecdote : " A yonge man cam to a fefte, where were many lordes, la- dyes, and damoyfels, and arrayed as they wold have fette them to dyner, and had on hem a coote hardye after the matter of Almayne. He cam and falewed the lordes and ladyes, and whan he had done to them reverence, fyre Geffroy [de Lyege] called hym before hym, and demaunded hym where his vyell or clavycordes were, and that he fhould make his craft : and the yonge man anfuerd, Syre, i can not medle therwith. Haa, fayd the knyght, i can not byleve it ; for ye be contrefaytted and clothed lyke a mynyflrell." *

• The booke of thenfeynementes and techynge that the knyght of the towre made to his daughters (translateed and printed by Caxton), C. 115.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, dxvii

" Helgaud, the lord of Joinville, ttod other au« thours, remark," according to Du Cange, " that at thefe fulemn feaAs were made publick banquets where the kings ate in the prcfence of their whole fuite, and were there ferve'd by the great officers of the crown, and of the hotel,* every one accord- ing to the function of his chaise. There was with them the divcrtifements of the minfircU ('* dea me- ncAreis <m des raenetriers"). Under this name were coinprif«'d thofe who play'd with tlic nakaira^ with the demicanoHy with the cornet j with the gwi- terne Latinct with \\\c Jiitfit Behaigne, with the irompette^ with the guiterne MorcfckCf and with the vieUie ; which are all name'd in an account of the hotel of tiie duke of Normandy and Guienne of the year 1S48." A curious fpecies of concert, no doubt ; though there be not a Gngle minftrcl of them who " ftngs" to the harp fongs of his own makcing. " They had moreover," he fays, "far" crura, jongleura [rfC/«« jougleurs] (joculatoret), and plaifantins, who Hiould divert the companys by their jokes and their comedys, for the entertain- ment of whom the kings, the priaci*es,and the (implc lords, made fuch prodigious expencces, that they gave occafion to Lambert <FArdres and to the

• This ufeful dtsfyllablc, hojlel, we obtatn'd from the French foon after the Norman conqucil; and it remains with its old angliciiie'd pronunciation, histel, in the univcrfity of Cambridge •0 this day: but, haveing become obfolete, for fome ccnturys, hi every other place, it has lately rctum'd to us h la mode dt la Frautt modtmt, and is writen and prooounce'd holiL

clxviii DISSERTATION ON

cardinal James de Vitryy to inveigh againft thefe fuperfluitys of their time, which had ruin'd whole famiiys: which St. Augustine had done before them, in thefe terms : " Donare res fuas histrioni- bus, vitium eji immane, von virtus. Illafanies Rotnce recepta, Sffavoribu^ aucta, tandem coUabefecit bonos mores, 4" civitates perdidit^ coegitque imperatores faepius eos expellere."*

With refpedt to the melody, or intonation, to which the French metrical romancees, were ufually fung, being accompany 'd by fome mufical inftru- ment, either in the hands of the finger, or in thofe of his companion, it is conjecture'd to have been little or nothing .elfe than a fort of recitatjve or chant, the performer fustaining his voice, as the ingenious mister Walker has exprefs'd it, " with arpeggios fwept over the firings of his harp/'f AUmoft all

* Disfertation V. fur Joinville, 161. Warton, who pro- fcfses to give this very pasfage, and cites this very page, inftead of 1348, fays " before the year 1300." The nakair he explains " the keltle-di-um," and the demi-canon " \ht,flageUet ■" for what reafon does not appear. Nacaires is explained by Du Cange {Olfervations fur I'histoire, 59) to mean a kind of tam- lour, which is in ufe among the German cavalry, which the French call, vulgarly, tymbales. There was fome esfential difference, it may be fairly prefume'd, between the histriones of king Philip de Valois time and thofe of St. Augustine. John of Salisbury reprobates thofe of his own age who, for the redeeming their fame, and extending their name, threw away their riches on " histriones & mimos." (Epis. 247.)

■f- Historical memoirs of the Irifh bards, P. 17. Cormac Coinmon, a hVmd finfgealaighthe, or tale-teler of the modem Irifli, liveing in 1786, at the age of 83, of whom this gentleman

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. cUix

the French poets, of the 12th and 13th century, according to M. Laborde, compofc'd the airs of their fongs, but thcfc airs were nothing more than the Gregorian chant ; and even it was often merely the chants of the church, which they parody'd."* This kind of chant or recitative continue'd in ufe upon the French ftage even to a late period. V^ol- taire, having obferve'd it to be highly probable that the Melopic, regarded by Aristotle, in his Poeticks, as an esfentiai part of tragedy, was an even and fimple chant, like that of the preface to the mafs, which is, in his opinion, the Gregorian chant, and not the Ambrofian, but which is a true melopeCf ads, that '* When the Italians rcvive'd tragedy in the fixleenth century, the recitation was a melopSct but which could not be notei-d ; for who can note inflexions of the voice, which are ISths or l6ihs of tone ? they were learn'd by heart. This ufage was reccive'd in France, when the French began to form a theatre, above a century after the Italians. The Sophoniiba of Mairet was chanted like that of Trisfino, but more rudely. All the parts of the

has, in his appendix to that interefting work, inferted a curious account, did not, like the tale-tclei mention'd by fir William Temple, chant his talcs in an unintcnupted even tone : the monotony of his modulation was frcciucntly brokcen by ca- dencecs introducc'd with tafte at the clofe of ftanza. " In re- hearfing any of Osfians poems [which in Ireland arc genuine and ancient], or any compoAtign in verfe, (fays mister (now lir William} Oufley) he chanu them pretty much in the mia> ner of mir cathcdral-fervicc." P. 57. * EtfaiJ'uT U mu/iquef II, liO (note).

clxx DISSERTATION ON

actors, but efpecially of the actrefses, were noteed memoriter by tradition. Mademoifelle Bauval, an actrefs of the time of Corneille, of Racine, and of Moliere, reciteed to me, more than fixty years ago", the begining of the part of Emilie in Citma, fuch as it had been deliver'd in the firll reprefentations by Beaupre." * All this, it muft be confefs'd, wil not be apt to convey a very correct or perfpicuous idea of the mufical performancees of a French roinftrel ; it is, neverthelefs, by no means, improbable that there was a confiderable degree of refemblance : but the misfortune is, that no historian or other writeer, who flourifh'd in the time of the minftrels, has ever thought them deferveing of much attention. The author of Gerard de Roiifillon fays, at the com- mencement of his romance, that he has made it tipon the model of The fong of' Antioch, that is, as Le Grand conceives, he wrote it in the fame raea- fure, and fung it to the fame tune, f

About the commencement of the fifteenth cen- tury the profesfion of minftrel was rapidly decline- ing; and, before its expiration, was, to all appear- ance, totally extinct, except, it may be, in a few in- flancees, where common fiddleers, or the like, might retain the name. No metrical romance, however, appears to have been compofe'd or fung in any part of France after the fourteenth century, nor is the leaft mention made, or notice takeen, of a profesfion

* Questions fur VEncyclopidie, Chant, Mufique, &c. t B, 317.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, clxxi

which had made fo much noik in the kingdom dtireing the three preceding ones. The old rimeing romance<^ had allready begun to be converted into profe ; in which many others, upon the fame or fimilar fubjefts, were now compofe'd by a very dif- ferent fet of authours ; many of whom, however, are not entirely devoid of merit ; though Warton, vrith great reafon, confiders the change among th« French as " a proof of the decay of invention." Mod of thefe profe romancecs, after the invention of printing, made their appearance in large and beautyful folios and quartos, which arc, at prefent, become very rare, but are ftil eagerly purfue'd by collectors, and highly cfteem'd by thofe who are fortunate enough to posfefs them. The national librar)-, at Paris, is peculiarly rich in this fpecies of literary treafure.

It, certainly, may be prefume'd there were in the laft age of the Saxon kingdom men who pro- fefs'd and exercife'd the rainftrel-art. King Edgar, about the year 960, cnjoin'd in one of his canons that no pritll fhould be an ale-drinker, nor, in any wife, a minjlrel (jlipije, Saxon, yc«rra, Latin, pro- perly a parafite), either by himfelf, or with others;* and, ill his oration to St. Dunl\an, grieves that the boufees of clerks were become a brothel of ithorttf and a condabulum of minJireU (histriones) ; and fays, in the fame oration, that the mimi

* Spclntani ConcUU, 1, 318.

clxxii DISSERTATION ON

SING and dance:* this, however, is, moft probablely, a term of the histoiians time, and not of the kings, and, therefor, not of equal authority.

According to Ingulph, king Alfred, feigning him- felf to be a jugler (joculatorem), a harp being takeen up, went to the tents of the Danes ; and being receive'd into the more fecret placees, learn- ing all the fecrets of his enemys, when he had fa- lisfy'd his defire, unknown and fafe, return'd to Athelney : and now, his army being collected, bavcing fuddenly attack'd, he flew his enemys with incredible flaughter. King Godrum (whom we call Gurmound) with a very great multitude of noble- men, and allfo of his people, takeen alive, receive'd baptifm ; and being takeen out of the facred font by the king, was endow'd with Eaft-Engleland, that is Norfolk, to inhabit with his people, by the royal gift. The reft refufeing to be bapiize'd, Engleland being abjure'd, fought France in a ihip.f This de-

* Spelmans Concilia, I, 24fl.

•f 26. William Malmesbury, who enlargees this anecdote and differs in fome refpe6ls from Ingulph, whom, however, it is certain he had made ufe of, being not onely a lefs ancient authority, but even adopting feveral of his words, which •would not otherwife have occur'd to him. He, at the fame time, defcribes Alfreds disguife as that of a mime or mimick (mimusj, though, apparently, a fynonimous term. So that Malmesbury, a very honeft and faithful historian upon mofl occafions, is, in this, a mere copyift, and the eccho of In- gulphus. It is, certainly, a fomewhat fuspicious adventure. It is mention'd neither by Asfer, not onely the contemporary, but

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, clxxiii

feat of the Danes, and fubfcqucut baptifm of Gof- mund, togk place in the year 878.*

allfo the chaplain, and confesfor, and even the biographer* of Alfred, nor in the Saxon chronicle; nor by Henry ot Huntingdon, nor Simeon of Durham, nor Roger de Hovcdcn, all of whom, however, notice the battle in which Godrun wai defeated, and his final converfion; nor, in fzR, by any other ancient, or authentick writeer, except the two allrcady citeed. It railitatea ftil more forciblely againft fuch a romantick and improbable incident, that a pioiu, warlike, honorable, and glorious monarch, who conquer'd his enemys, in the field and not by treachery, (hould asfume the infamous character of m fpy.f It is not Icfs extraordinary, at the fame lime, that Geof- frey of Monmouth, the contemporary of Malmcsbury, who never faw his book, has introducc'd a third actor of the fame foolry, by the name of Baldulph, a Saxon, who, haveing been defeated by the Britons, under the command of Cador duke of Cornwall, and anxious to reliev* or fpeak with his brother Colgrin, who was befiege'd in York by Arthur, " (havc'd his hair and beard, and took the habit with the harp of a jugler fjoculatori*). Then, walking up and down within the camp, by the mufical notes he compofc'd on his lyre, he (hew'd hira- fclf to be a harper: and when he was fufpeded of no man, he •pproach'd to the walls of the city, effcding his commencc'd emulation by little and little. At laft, when he was found by tfie befiege'd, he was drawn up by ropes within the walls, and

•f If *' the Anglo-5>axons had fuch flrong prejudices againft the rainflrcls," as is fuppofc'd in the EsJ'ay on the Englijh ones, Ixxii, is it at all probable that fuch a profcslion would have been permitcd to cxift among them. Ndther Alfred, rKW Anlaf, did any thing more than play on the harp.

• Atfer, 84; and the Saxon chronicle. The veracious Geof- frey, as we have allready feen, nukes this Gormund king of the AJrifam," who had arrivc'd in Ireland with a very great fleet, and had fubduc'd that country (B. ll, C. 8) : this, too, may be oite of the " many true events, that have efcaped •ther annalifts."

Clxxiv DISSERTATION ON

Atbelflan, the fon of Edward, began to reign in the year 924, and held the kingdom fixtcen years.

condufted to his brother." (B. g, C. i).t Though, in reality, there is fcarcely a fingle word of truth in this pretended his- tory, yet every flagrant impostor is fure, at fome time or other, to obtain belief, favour, and justification. " Although the above faft," according to a right reverend prelate, who mixes his romance with his historj', it muft be confefs'd in a very pleafeing and ingenious manner, efpecially for thofe who are quite indifferent to truth or falfehood, " comes only from the fufpicious pen of Geoffrey of Monmouth, the judicious reader will not too haftily rejeft it; becaufe, if fuch a faft really hap- pen'd, it could onely be known to us through the medium of Britifh writeers ;...and Geoffrey, with all his fables, is allow'd to have recorded many true events, that have efcaped other annalifls." {Esfay on the ancient minjirels, xxvi.) Now, it is certain that this impudent forgeer, bifhop as he was, live'd, according to his own fancyful chronology, about fix hundred years after king Arthur ; who, then, are " the Britifh writeers," through whofe " medium" thefe abfurd and monftrous lyes " could only be known to us.*" Is it Nennius? Is it Gildas? Is it any newly invented Britifh historiographer, who has never yet been hear'd of? Who are they, likewife, if not fools, knaves, or madmen, who have follow'd this rank forgeer and impos- tour, *' with all his fables,...to have recorded many true events that have efcape'd other annal ids.'" Where is there any one fuch event to be found throughout his ample legend? and how, it is poslible, with this inconfiftent admisfion, that the •* events recorded" by Geoffrey, " with all his fables," can be ascer- tain'd to be true?

f Maistre Wace ads a certain circumflance to Geoffreys account, which is very whimfical :

" Alfege a lad cume jugelere,

Sifefeinjl kit efieit harpere,

Jl aveit apris h chanter,

E Lais e notes a harper.

Par aler parler a onfrere,

Sifiji par mi la barbe rere,

E le chef par me enfement

E un des gernuns fulement - ^

BenJemUa lecheur e fol." Le Bmt.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, clxxf

His lad battle was with Analaf,* the fon of Sith- ricic, who, in the hope of invadeiog the realm, had pafs'd over the boundarys : and Athclflan advifeedly yielding, that be might the more gloriously conquer hiui who now infulted, the youth, greatly dareing« and breathing in his mind illicit thoughts, had pro- ceeded very far into Englcbind, at length by the great (kil uf his generals, and great force of foldiers, was met at Bruncfurd. f He who discern'd fo great a danger to im^iend, attempted a benefit by the art of a fpy ; and, havoing put off his royal enfigns, and takeen in his hand a harp, proceeded to the tent of our king; where, as he was Tinging before tlie doors, he would occationally allfo (liake the firings with a fweet irregularity, he was eafcyly adnuted, profefsing himfelf a mime (or mimick, rnimus), who by fuch kind of art earn'd his dayly ftipend. The king and his gucfls he, for fomc little time, gratify'd with his mufical performance; though, dureiog his finging and playing, he exarainc'd nil things with his eyes. After that fatiety of eating had put an end to pleafures, and the feverity of administering the war began afrefh in the discourfc of the peers ; he, being order'd to depart, receive'd

• More correAly, it is conceived, Aulaf, ot OUne. He is, howerrr, gencmlly called Anlofhy oar ancient historians.

•f Or Brvnanlmrgh, a town upon tlic Hambcr, now un- known ; but certainly not, as Camden abfurdly conjectures, Bnmeridge in Northhumberland. Robert Mannyng fays ex* prefily,

" At Bnmtstmrih on Huml/tr thei gan tham asfaile." P. 9 1*

clxxvi DISSERTATION ON

the price of his fong: which, loathing to carry away, he hid under him in the earth. This was obferve'd by fome one, who had formerly been a foldier, and immediately told it to Athelftan. He, blameing the man, for that he had not feize'd an enemy place'd before his eyes, receive'd this an- fwer. "The fame oath, which i lately, o king, made to thee, i formerly gave to Anlaf ; which if thou had'ft feen me violate in myfelf, thou might'ft allfo be ware of a like example regarding thyfelf. But deign to hear the advice of afervant, that thou remove thy tent hence, and, remaining in another place until the partys left fhal come, thou wilt dis- appoint the enemy, petulantly infulting, by modeft delay. The fpeech being approve'd, he thence departed."* 'venirf -.

After all, it is highly probable that thofe three anecdotes of Baldulph, Alfred, and Anlaf, have been derive'd and improve'd from a ftory relateed by Saxo-Grammaticus, the Danifli historian, who dye'd in 1204, upon the authority, no doubt, of

* W. of Malpiesbury, 48. Anlaf, unconfcious of the change which has takeen place in the fituation of the kings tent, niakes his attempt in the night, and flays the whole family he found in the place where he had perform'd his minflrelfy and been entertain'd. He then penetrates to the real tent of Athelflan, who was indulgeing in reft ; and makeing what exertions he was able, his fword falls out of the (heath, he is relieve'd by a miracle, and in the morning obtains a decifive victory. The whole flory, therefor, is nothing more than a legend and a lye.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, clxxvii

fome ancient faga, concerning an adventure of Mother, king of Sweden and Denmark, who, at a certain time, as he was hunting, misled by the error of a cloud, fel into the cave of the fylvestrian virgins, of whom, being falutecd by his own name, he enquire'd who they were. Thefe virgins af- /irm'd, that, by their conduct and their aufpicecs, they chiefly govcm'd the fortune of wars. For oftentimes were they prefent in battles, fecn by no man, to afford by fecret aids, the'wiOi'd-for fuc- cefses to their friends;* and exhorting him not to harrals Balder, the fon of Othin, (allthough worthy of the moft deadly hatred,) by arms; affirming him to be a dcmi-god, procreatced by the focret feed of fuperior beings. Thefe things being reccive'd, Ho- ther» in a fwoon, by tlie roof of the falling boufe, b<>hcld himfelf in the open air, and deftitute of all cover, expofu'd on a fudden in the midil of fields. But he, chiefly, wondcr'd at the fwift flight of the damfels, and the verfatilc fite of the place, and the delufive figure of the houfe. For he was ignorant that the things which had been done about him were nothing but mockerj*, and the vain device of juggleing arts. But Hothcr, harrafs'd by his un- fortunate wars with Balder, haveing wandered into remote and devious ways of placees, and pafs'd through a fored unaccubtom'd to mortals, found the cave inhabited, peradventure, by the unknown

• Thdc nymphs fecm to have been the valkyriur of th* Edda, uui the three wciid (or wizard) Tiiten of Mscbetb. VOL. 1. ra

clxxviU DISSERTATION ON

virgins. They appear'd to be the fame who had, formerly, giveen him an impenetrable veft : by whom, being aflc'd why he came thither of all placees, he dcclare'd the fatal events of the war. Therefor, their faith being condemn'd (or, their promife violateiid), he began to bewail the fortune and forrowful chancees of things unhapyly con- duced. But the nymphs faj'd that he hinifelf, ail- though he were rarely victor, neverthelefs pour'd-in equal mischief upon the enemys, nor had he been the aulhour of lefs flaughter than his accomplice. Thenccforeward the grace of the victory in ready- nefs would be his, if he could fnatch a meat of a cer- tain unufual fweetnefs, invented to augment the force of Balder. For nothing to be done would be diffi- cult, fo long as he fliould enjoy the victuals deftine'd to the enemy for the augmentation of his ftrength.

Therefor arriveing at the camp of the enemys, he knew that the three nymphs, bearers of the fe- cret meat, had departed from the camp of Balder : whom, hafteyly following, (for their footfteps in the dew betray'd their flight,) he, at length, came to the houfees, to which they had accustom'd them- felves. Therefor, being afk'd by thefe nymphs what he was, he fay'd he was a harper. Nor was the experiment disfonant to his profesfion: for, tuneing the harp he had brought, with infledted firings, to a fong, and the chords being corapofe'd by the quil, he pour'd forth a melody grateful to the ears by the moil prompt modulation. As to the reft, three female

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, clxxix

fnakes were with them, with the poifon whereof they were wont to make a diOi of folidative confection for Balder : and much poifon now flow'd from the open jaws of the fnakes. But fome of tlie nymphs, allfo* fludious of humanity, would have acquainted Ho- ther with the meat, if the chief of the three had not forbid it, proteAing that a fraud would be done to Balder, if they (liould augment his very enemy with the increafe of corporeal Arength. lie fay'd he was not Mother, but a companion of Mother : and, therefor, thcfe nymphs gave him a girdle of exquifite fplendour, and the potent zone of victory. On a future day Balder renew'd the battle, and, the third being elapfe'd, too much excruciateed with the wound he had before reccive'd, was utterly deftroy'd.* ■< -

In the time of William the conquerour, Bcrdic, the kings jugler (joculator regiutj, had three vils, and there five carucates, in Gloucestcrfliire, with- out rent : t but the nature of his office or employ- ment is not ascertain'd ; nor does the existence of this man, after the conqucfi, afford any proof '* that the minfirel was a regular and fiateed officer in the court of our Anglo-Saxon kings. "4. I'hough the minftrcls are, clfewhere, fay'd to have been confi- der'd in a very unikvorabh; light " by the Anglo- Saxon clergy." J

• Histcria Damca, L. 3, P. 39, 43.

t Domesday book, fo. ica, co. l.

\ Reliquts, I, xxriii. J Itu It (tdtioa 177s.)

clxxx DISSERTATION ON

One Royer, or Raher, the firft founder of the hospital of St. Bartholomew, in London, is defign'd by Leiand, the mime, or mimick {inimus)y of king Henry the firft;* and that mimus is properly a minftrel, is prove'd by an ex trad in the History of Englijh poetry, f from- the accounts of the priory of Maxtock near Coventry, in 1441 : *' Dat.fex Mirais domini Clynton cantantibus, citharifantibus, ludenti- bus, &c.iiii. f." In his legend, citeed by doctor Percy, from the Monasticon, " his minftrel profesfion," it appears, " is not raention'd: there is only a general indistin6l account that he frequented royal and no- ble houfees, where he ingratiateed himMffuaviiate joculari." \- Hence Stow, who cites no authority, defcribes him as " a man of a Angular and pleafant wit, and therefore of many called the kings jefter or minftrel;"! and Delone, in the History of Thomas of Reading, fays that he " was a great mufician, and kept a company of minstrels, i. e. fid- LERS, who played with filver bows." §

King Henry may have had a harper name'd Gal- frid or Jeffrey, who, in 1180, receive'd acorrody or antuiity from the abbey of Hide : but, as we by no means know that " in the early times every harper

• Lelands Collectanea, I, 61, 112. In another part of the fame work is this entry: " Prioratits S. Barptolomai de Smelhefeld. Henricus I. fundator procurante Raherio, ejus fideli CLERico" (iH. 90).

t II, 109, n.q. 4- Reliques, I, Ixxxi.

♦ Annates, 1592, 186 ; Survey, 1598, 308. § Hawkins, 111, 85.

ROMANCE AND mNSTRELSY. clxxxi

was expeded to fing/' we may reafonablely doubt that this reward was givecn him for his fongs as wel as for his mufick ; * and ftil more that it was " un- doubtedly on condition that he ihould fer\-e the monks in the profcsfion of a harper on public occafions."t

To ftiew what John of Salisbur}', in the reign of king Henry the fecond, thought of this numerous body of men, it wil be iiecesfary to adduce his own words, and, for certain naraelefs reafons, after tho laudable example of the worthy historian of En- gleiOi poetry, who has furniOi'd us with the extract, to give ihera in^Latin. •' At cam [defidiam]" fays he, ** nostris prorogant histriones. Admi^fa funt ergo fpectactula, et infinita knocinia ranitatit. — Hinc mimi, falii, vel faliares, balatrones, xmiliani, gladiatores, palajltritx, gignadii, pneftigiatores, wia- li^ci quoqne tnultiy et tota joculatorum fcena proce- dU. Quorum adeo error invaluUf ut d praeclaris domibus non areantur etiam illi, qui obfcoenis parti- bus corporis, oculis omnium earn ingerunt turpitu- dinem, quam eruhetcet videre vet cynicus. Quodque magis mirere, ncc tunc rjiciuntiir, quando tumul- TU ANTES iNPERius trcbro fonitu aerem Jxdant^ et turpiter incluj'um turpius produnt." 4-

In the rt'ign of ihis king, William, fumame'd Longchamp, a Frenchman, bifhop of Ely, or his chancellor, great justiciary, and, according to tho

* Reliques, Ace. I, xxy'tu f Warton, I, 99.

4 li, 303, o.

clxxxii DISSERTATION ON

language of modern times, prime-minister, who did not underftand a word of Englilh, and was a mon- fter of vice and iniquity, " to the augmentation," as we learn from a contemporary epistle of Hugh bi(hop of Coventry, " and fame of his name, pur- chafe'd beg'd fongs, and adulatory rimes ; and had entice'd, with rewards, out of the kingdom of France fingers and juglers, that they might fing of him in the ftreets : and now was it every where fay'd, that there was not fuch a one in the world." *

Geoffrey of Vinefauf fays that when Richard ar- rive'd at the Christian camp before Ptolemais, hd was receive'd with popular songs ( popular es cantioncs), which reciteed the famous gests OF THE ANCIENTS {antiquorum proEclaru gestd).^ Thefe, apparently, were parts of metrical romances, and muft have been in French.

Ela the wife of William Longefpee the firft was bom at Ambresbury, her father and mother being Normans. Her father, therefor, being decay 'd with old age, migrateed to Chrift, in the year of the lord 1196; her mother dyed two years before.. ..In the mean time the moft dear lady was fecretly by her relations convey'd into Normandy, and there brought up under fafe and flraight custody. In the

* Bcnedictus, 702. Mister Warton, who, at firft, mistook this aft of William biftiop of Ely, for that of the king hirafelf, a mistake which the more accurate Tyrwhitt taught him to correft, ads, of his own accord, that " Thefe gratuities were chiefly arms, cloatbs, horfes, and fometimes money." (1, 1 13, II, 63, b.) t Warton, I, 63, b.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. clxxxiU

fame time in England was a certain knight, by name William Talbot, who asfurae'd the habit of a pil- grim, pafs'd over into Nonnandy and flayed for two years, wandering here and there, to find out the lady Lla of Salisbury : and fhe being foum), he put oflf the habit of a pilgrim, and drefs'd himfelf as if he were a harper, and cnter'd the court where flic flay'd : and as he was a jocofe man, wel (kil'd in the^i^«* of the ancients, be was there kindly receive'd as &n inmate : and when he found a fit time, he returned into England, haveing with him that worlhipful lady Ela, beirefs of the county of Salisbury ; and prefented her to king Richard : and he mofl joyfully took her, and marry 'd her to his brother \Villiam Longefpce." f

The anecdote rclatced by doctor Powell, "who," according to bifhop Percy, " is known to have fol- lowed ancient Welfli MSS." which, at the fame time, he neither quotes nor pretends to, and, after him, by Camden, and fir William Dugdale, is not to be rely'd on, it being better known that the Welfli have no fuch MSS. except Car^doc, who

• Get'a, romancees. Doctor Percy has ft rangely confounded thcgejit of the minftrels with thofe ot ihc fovcreign in bis pro- grefses, the word, he fays, haveing at lerph come *' to fignify €dvrnturesot incidenis in general." (I,clii.) This is amazeingly ridiculous; at it is wcl known, that when our kings ufc'd to travel, the gejl Ofifie, T) was the icfling-placcfor every night, of which the whole party was to be apprifc'd. Charles I. feemfi %o have been the laft of them who proceeded by ge^.

f Viacenu Ditcovtry of trrors, ttc. 44*, Vt.

clxxxiv DISSERTATION ON

was dead before it hapen'd, as containing misre- prefentation and falfehood ; fir Peter Leycester, who cites an ancient parchment roll, writen above two hundred years before, gives the (lory thus : *' Randle [the third, furnamc'd Blundevill, earl of Chester], among the many conflifts he had with the WeHh, was force'd to retreat to the castle of Rothe- lent in Flintfhire, about the reign of king John, where they befiege'd him : he prefently fent to his conftable of Chefliire, Roger Lacy, ' furnamc'd Hell,' for his fierce fpirit, that he would come with all fpecd, and bring what forces he could towards his relief. Roger, having gathered a tumultuous rout o{ Jidlers, players, coblers, debauched perfons, both men and women,. ont of the city of Chester (for 'twas then the fair-time in that city), — marcheth immediately towards the earl. The Welfli per- ceiving a great multitude coming, raife'd their fiege and fled. The earl, coming back with his conftable to Chester, gave him power over all the^dlers and Jhoemakers in Chester, in reward and memory of this fervice. The conftable retain'd to himfelf and his heirs, the authority and donation of the Jhoe- makers, but confer'd the authority of the fidlers and players on his fteward, which then was Dutton of Dutton, whofe heirs enjoy the fame power and authority over the minftralcy of CheHiire even to this day ; who in memory hereof keep a yearly court upon the feaft of St. John Baptift at Chester, where all the minftrels of the county and city are

ROMANCE AND -MINSTRELSY, dxxxy

to attend and play before the lortl of Dutton, Spc."* After all, it is to be wiHi'd we could have had coeval authority for fo intereftingan event. Doctor Percy, who has work'd it up, with his ufual elo- quence and ingenuity, into a fine mindrel ftory, fays, " Thefe men [minstrels, he calls them, asferablc'd at Chester fair] like so many Tyk-

T^US's, BY TIIEia MUSIC AND THEIR SONGS so ALLURED AND INSPIRED thu multitudes of

kfofe and lawlefs perfons then brought together, that they rcfolutely marched againft the WelHi." This, to be fure, as a beautyful hyperbole, might have properly remain'd, ** had not," in his lord- ftiips own language, " all confidence been de- ftroyed,"t by its being printed between inverted commas as the genuine words of fir William Dug- dale, whom ho actually qviotes m the margin: in confequence of which detection, his lordfhip has been fo ingenuous, as, in the lall edition, to fup- prefs the whole pasfage. There may, however, have been fome foundation for the above narrative, as the worthy baronet has inferted the original charter of John conftable of Chester, by which he gave, fays he, *• dedi Sf concesji, & hdc prefenti charta conjirmavi, Hugoni de Dutton, 4" hteredibus fuis, niagiltratum omnium leccatorum & meretri- CUM /o^jiM CestcrftiiriaB, y?cu^ liberius ilium magi- 'Jtratitm teneo de cvmite." Thefe leccatores, it fceras,

* Hitlorical anlitpiities, Ul.

f See Rtliques, &c. I, xxxi, Q^c.

clxxxvi DISSERTATION ON

which fir Peter translates Ictcherst may, upon the authority of Du Cange, llil mean minjirels; and, from the company they are here found in, it is very properly apply'd. It is not, however, very probable that thefe letchers (or minjlrels if it muft be), with Jiddles at their necks, inftead of bils, and accom- pany'd by a parcel of pvoftitutes, would or could have gone to attack a body of Welfhmen, who had allready put to flight the noble and valiant earl of Chester, among whofe gallant actions recorded in the old rimes mention'd by the authour of Fiers Flowman* this may be one.

It appears, in fadl, that, in the fourteenth year of king Henry the feventh, *' a quo warranto was brought againft Laurence Dutton of Dutton, efquire, why he claimed all the mitiftrels of Chefhire, and in the city of Chester, to meet him at Chester yearly, at the feaft of faint John Baptift, and to give unto him at the faid feaft four bottles of wine and a lance ; and alfo every minjlrel to pay unto him at the faid feaft fourpencebalfpenny ; and why he claimed from every uhorc, officium fuum exercenfe, four pence, to be paid yearly at the feaft aforefaid ; whereunto he pleaded prefcription,"f

At the court held annually for the manor of Dutton, the fteward haveing cail'd every minjirel, and impanel'd a jury, charge'd them to enquire, Whether any man of that profesfion had exercife'd

• " I can rimes of Robin Hood, and Randal earl of Chester."* t Ihu 142.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cbtxxtii

Atf inftmment without licenfe fr(An the lord of the court, SfC."*

Dugdale, who dcfcribes the congrefs of all the minftrels of Chefiiire at Midfuramer, and the pro- cesHon of thefe minftrels " two and two, and play- ing on their feveral forts of rauiical inilruments,'' fays not a word of their fongs.

** Forthwith carae John of Rampayne, and faw Foukes make fuch forrow. " Sir," fay'd he, " fuf- fer this forrow to depart, and, if it pleafe god, be* fore to-morrow prime, you flial hear good news of fir Audulf do Bracy, for i myfelf will go to fpeak to the king. John of Rampaygne knew enough of the ^o^otrr, the /larp, violitifJitoU, a.m\ juglery, fo he drew much abundantly with earl or baron ; and caufe'd ftain his hair and his whole body entirely as black as Jet, fo that nothing was white but hi« teeth ; and caufe'd hang about his neck a very handfomc tabour; afterward he mounted a fair palfrey, and rode toward the town of Salisbury, aa far as the gate of the castle. John came before the king, and put hirafelf on his knees, and fuluteed the king very courteou^ly ; the king return'd him his falutes, and aik'd him whence he was. *' Sire," fay'd he, <* i am an Ethiopian minArel, born m Ethiopia." Say'd the king, ** Arc all the people of your country of your colour." " Yes, my lord, roan and woman." ** What fay they in thofe ftrauge realms of me ?" ** Sire," fay'd ho, " you are the

• Kings FtiU royol nf England, 30.

clxxxviii DISSERTATION ON

moft renown'd kin* of all Christendom; and for your great renown am i come to fee you." " Fair fir," fay'd the king, " welcome." " Sir, my lord, many thanks." (John fay'd that he was renown'd more for his badnefs than his bounty ; but the king could not underftand him.) John made that day many a minftrelfy with tabour and other in- ftruments. When the king was gone to bed, he made fir Henry de Audeley go for to fee the min- ftrel, and he led him into his chamber, and they made great melody: and, when fir Henry had wel drunk, then he fay'd to a varlet, " Go feek fir Audulf de Bracy, whom the king wil flay tomor- row, for he flial have a good night before his death. The varlet foon brought fir Audulf into his chamber, then they talk'd and play'd. John commence'd a* fong which fir Audulf ufe'd to fing. Sir Audulf raife'd his head, fo he regarded in the middle his vifage, and with great difficulty knew him. Sir Henry afk'd to drink. John was very ferviceable, dance'd lightly on his feet, and before all ferve'd of the cup. John was briflc, caft a powder in the cup, that no one perceive'd him, for he was a good jugler, and all that drank became fo fleepy, that, very foon after the draught, they lay down to flcep; and, when all were afieep, John took a fool that the king had, fo he put him between the two knights, that they might fave fir Audulf. John and fir Au- dulf took the towels and flieets that were in the chamber, and by a window toward the Severne

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, clxxxix

tliey efcape'd, aod went on toward Blanchemolt} which is twelve leagues from Salisbury.*

On the marriage of king Henry the third with Eleanor of Provence, in 1296, fuch a muttituJe of nobles of each fex, fuch a number of religious, fuch a populousnefs of the commons, fuch a variety o( histrioncB (muOcian<t, it is prefume'd), asfrmble'd, that fcarccly could ihe city of London contain them in her capacious bofom.f

We meet with no other anecdote of the minftrels dureing the reigns of John, (unlefs it be the romance of Fulco-Fitz-Warin allready notice'd), nor any at all in that of bis fon Henry, or his grandfon Ed- ward. The laft, indeed, when prince, and in the holy land, appears to have had a harper among his Xervants, who, on his masters attempted assassina- tion, and even after the king himfelf had (lain the asfasfm, had the fingular courage to brain a de<ad man with a trivet, or tripod, for which act of he- roifm h(i was juftly reprimanded by Edward. 4- It may be, likewife, obfcrvc'd that The grjle of kyng Horn was, appaiently, writen in this reign.

• King« MSS. 12 C XII.

t M. Paris, P. 3J5.

■f Walter Hcmingford (Gale), sgi.' Robert of Brannc, how- ever, telb us, that Edward himfelf rauht the treatUU, " als hit romance fais:" ading,

" The Sartuin fo he fmote, in thehede, with that trrj}e.

That brayn and bkxk alle bote, and igcn alle out, gan brcft." According to doctor Percy, Heminford live'd in the time at Edward 1 {Riltgues, ill, xl} ; which, if livcing implyt writeinf.

cxc DISSERTATION ON

His fon, Edward the fecond, was much addided to buffoons, fingers, tragedians, wagoners, ditchers, rowers, failers, and other fuch low company :t un- der fome or one of which refpectable defignations are, doubtlefs, includeed niinftrels and juglers. Adam Davie, the author of Alifaundre, a romance of great merit, and of confiderable length, was marflial of Stratford-le-bow at the fame period.

Seventy {hillings were expended on minftrels, who accompany 'd their fongs with the harp, at the feaft of the inftallation of Ralph abbot of St. Au- gustins at Canterbury, in the year 1309. At this magnificent folemnity, fix thoufand guefts were pre- fent in and about the hall of the abbey.*

In the year 1217 the king celebrateed the feaft of Pentecoft in the great hall of Weftminfter, where, as he royally fat at table, the princees of his realm being prefent, there enter'd a certain woman adorn'd with the habit of a minftrel (histrio), fiting upon a good horfe, caparifon'd jugler-wife, who went round

is fomewhat unlikely, as he live'd to write the life of that mo- narchs grandfon, and did not dye, as Bale hath it, before 134?, 40 years after the death of Edward I. and 70 from the event in question. Matthew Paris, likewife, who relates the ftory, and certainly wrote about the time, has made no mention of the harper. There appears to have been fome metrical narrative, either in French or Engleifh, of Edwards expedition to the holy land ; as Robert of Brunne fays of the asfasfln :

" To, i wene he lauht, als his romance fays." P. 220t Warton, by one of his habitual blunders, asferts " the harper... killed the asfasfin." (II, fig. b 2, i). » H. de Knyghton, Co. 2532. f Warton, I, 89.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. cxci

the tables in the raanner of juglers, and at length afceiided by the Aeps to the kings table, and put a certain letter befoi-e the king, and puling back the rein (haveing faluteed thofe everywhere filing), as fhe hud come, To fhe departed. The king, howevef, caufe'd the letter to be opcn'd, that he might know iu tenor, which in fenfe was fuch : ♦' The lord the king too uncourtly hath regarded his knights, who, in his fathers time and hi$ own, expofe'd themfolvot to feveral dangers, and, for their honour, either loft or diminilh'd their fubftance ; and too abundantly enrich'd others, who never bore the burthen of bufynefs." Thefe words being hear'd, the gucfts, regarding each other, wondcr'd at fo great feminine boldnefs, and fevercly blame'd the porters or door- keepers that they had permited her to enter ; who, excufcing thcmfelves, anfwer'd, that it was not tlie custom of the kings houfe that juglers Hiould, in any wife, be prohibited from entry, and efpecially in fuch great foiemnitys, or fcaft-days. It was, therefor, fent to feek the woman, who was eafeyly found, takeen, and comniited to prifon, and was forceM to tel why (lie had fo done, and anfwer'd the truth, thai Aie had been induce'd to do it by a certain knight for an adequate reward. Tlien the knight was fought, found, takcun, and led before the king, and examine'd upon the premisfes ; who, no- thing at all fearing, boldly confel's'd that he was authour of the letter, and had done it for the kings

cxcii DISSERTATION ON

honour. The fay'd knight, therefor, by his con- ftancy, obtain'd the kings favour, with abundant gifts, and libcratced the young woman from prifon.* This was, manifeftly, a woman prank'd up like a minftrel, not a real one, for, notwithftanding the pains doctor Percy ^has takeen to prove that fome ladys, in former times, play'd upon the harp, as many do at this day, there is no inftance to be found of their doing it, as a minftrel, in publick and for the fake of reward, nor of their being call'd female ininjirels or harpers. Neither can this be fairly infer'd from the female terminations of jen- glereJJ'e (which is very fufpicious), joculafrix, mini- ftraliJ)a,foEmina mhii/tralis, &c. unlefs it were known in what fenfe the word was ufe'd, and whether this female minftrel fung to the harp verfeiis of her own compofeing, or compofe'd by others, or what parti- cular branch of minftrelfy flie exercife'd. That there were women who dance d and tumblc'd, is manifeft from Chaucer :

<* And right anon in comen tmnbe^eres." So, again, in The testament of love (Urrys edition, 493, a) : " his dame was a tombyfiere ;" which feems properly explain'd in mister Thomases Glos- fary, " A tumbler, a woman-dancer, or flage- player." Mister Tyrwhitt, who derives the word from the Saxon, tumban to dance, explains it " A dancing-woman," or " Women-dancers." The fol-

* T. WalAngham, 109.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxciii

lowing pasfage, however, from the ancient Roman de Percnai, will put the existence of female dancers and tumblers out of all doubt :

" Harper yfaifoit harpeors,

Et vieter viefeors,

Et les baletx'fles baler,

Et LES TUMBERESSES TUMBER."

The balercfes, or female danccers, are here plainly distinguifh'd from the tumbereffes, which, therefor, cannot have the fame identical meaning ; and Tombrr, in Cotgraves Dictionary^ is explain'd to fallt or tumbU-dovmf and refers from Tumbcr to Tomber.

When Adam de Orlcton, bifliop of Winchester, vifited his cathedral priory of St. Swithin in that city, a juglcr, name'd Herbert, fung The fong of Colbrond, and alfo The gejl of queen Emma, deli- ver'dfrom the plough-shares, in the hall of the prior, Alexander de Ilerriard, in 133fi.*

At the ft-aft of Pentecoft, which king Henry the fifth celebrateed, in It- 1 5, havcing the empcrour and the duke of Holland for his gucfts, he order'd rich gowns for fixtecn of his minftrels : and, haveing before bis death orally granted an annuity of one hundred fliillings to each of his minftrels, the grant was confiiWd in the firft year of his fon, Henry VI. and payment order'd out of the Exchequer.! W^n

• Wwton, I, 99,

t Rehqurs, I, xlhr, from Rymen Fadtra.

VOL. I. n

cxciv . DISSERTATION ON

thus distinguifli'd by fuch Angular marks of royal favour muft have been in feme office about the kings perfon very different from that of fingers or performers of inftrumental mufick.

The commisfion isfue'd in 1456, " for imprefs- ing boys or youths, to fupply vacancies by death among the king's minftrels,"* fufficiently proves that by the latter we are to underftand the fmging men in the chapel-rpyal. This idea is confimi'd by Tusfer :

'* Thence for my voice, i muft (no choice)

Away of forfe, like pofting horfe,

For fundrie men had placards then Such child to take :

The better breft, the lefser reft,

To ferve the queere, now there now heere,

For time fo fpent, i may repent, And forrow make." In the margin he calls thefe jtlncards " finging mens commisfions."

That " minftrels fometimes asfifted at divine fervice," appears from the charter of Edward IV. for createing a fraternity or guild of thofe perfons ; in which it is reciteed to be their duty " to fuig in the king's chapel, and particularly for the departed fouls of the king and queen when they ftiall die, S^c."\ There are fuch kind of minftrels in it to this day, thoug^h they have long ago loft the name.

Lydgatc, in a pasfage of his poem intitlcd Refon

* Reliqucs, xliv and IviL + Jin. I, W.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. cxcv

and Sen/u4ilitie, as quoteed by VVarton, enumerates « variety of entertainments comprehended under the name of rainftrelfy :

*' Of all maner of mynfiralcye

That any man kan fpecifye :

For there were rotys of Almayne,

And eke of Arragon and Spayne :

S<Mge$tftantpeSy and eke daunces,

Divers plentu of plefaunces ;

And many unkouth notys newe

Of fwiche folke as lovid trewe ;

And inftrumentys that did excelle,

Many moo than i kan telle :

Harpy$,fytkaUsy and eke rotyt,

Well according with her notys,

Lutyt, ribibles, and gctemeSf

More for ellatys than tavemes ;

OrguySy citolis, monacordys. —

There were trumpcSy and tnimpettes,

Lowde 'Jkalmys,' and doucettet.*** The inftruments of the Engleifh minftrels appear to have been the harp, fiddle, f bagpipe, pipe and

• Hiitary ^B. Pottryt II, M5, n. x. " Orguys is vrgani." •f In the life of St. Christopher, as quoteed by Wanon

(1, 17) from an ancient MS. in the Bodleian library (Laud,

L. 70), is this pufage:

— — " Ctistoire hym Cerved kwge { The kynge loved melodye much of rtTMiLt and of fonge. So that his luoELia on a dai biforen him gon to play ^ifte. And in a time he nempcd in his fong the devil at lafte."

cxewi ./^.-DISSERTATION ON UOR

labour, cittern, hurdy-gurdy, bladder (or catiliis- ter) and firing,* and, posfiblely, the Jews-harp, f and a variety of vulgar inventions, the nature and name of which have long fince perifli'd. Little no- tice can be aded, to that which has been allready giveen of the French minftrels, of their melody or mufick ; not a fingle particle of any one romance in Engleifti metre, being found accompany'd with mufical notes: though it is posfible that the chants of the few minftrel-fongs allready mention'd may be preferve'd by vocal or vulgar tradition, that of John Dory alone being found in printed characters. All, in fhort, that is known of the minftrel-mufick of this country, is that it was very unrythmical or irregular. " Your ordinarie rimers," fays Putten- hara, *' ufe very much their meafures in the odde, as nine and eleven, and the fharpe accent upon the

* A venerable old man, the melancholy reprefentative of an ancient minftrel, appear'd a few years ago in London ftreets, with a cannister and Jiring, which he call'd a Awwi-

Jinim, and chanted to it the old minftrel-ballad of Lord Tho- mas and fair Eleanor: but, haveing, it would feem, furvjjye'd his minftrel talents, and "

• " Forgot his epick, nay pindarick art,"

lie was afterward feen beging. The death of a perfon of this defcription, wel known in Derbyfhire, was, about the fame time, announce'd in the papers.

+ Henry Chettle fays, " There is another j«^/cr, that bee- ing well ikild in the Jewes frumpe, takes upon him to bee a dealer in mvjicke: efpeciall good at mending inftruments." Kind-Harts dreame, fig. F 46.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxcvii

laft fillable, which, therefore, makes him go ill- &vouredly, and like a minstrels muficke."*

** The minftrels," ns doctor Percy obfervei, " feem to have been in many refpeds upop the fame footing as the heralds : and the king of the minftrels, like the king at arms, was both here and on the continent an ufual officer in the courts of princes. Thus we have in the reign of K. Edward I. mention of a king Robert, and others: and in l6 Edw;fll. is a grant to William dc Morlec " the king's mim ftrel, ftile'd Roy de North," of houfcs which had belonged to another king John le Botcler." Rymcr hath alfo printed a licence granted by K. Richard IL in 1387> to John Caunu, the king of his minftrels, to pafs the fcas.f ci.o

The " rainftrells" of ihc kings houfchold^* J^ the time of EUlward III. were ** trompeters, cyie- lers, pypers, tabrete, raabrers, clarions, fcdelcrs, waygh»es."4-

Thofe of king Edward IV. were muficians, *' whereof fome, ' were' trompctSf fomc, with the JItalmcs and /malic pi/prs, and fome, ft range meno coming to the court at [the] fyve feaftcs of the year, and then take their wages. .. after iiij. d. ob. by day, 6cc.t

• Arle ofEnfUJk poefit, 1489, P. 59.

4 Reliqufs, I, xliii.

+ Hawkinses Hitlory of Mnjir, II, 107. H'ejghta wctb {layers on the hautboy or other pipes duretng the nighty as they are in many placrcs at thi« day. See 391.

X Iti, 090.

cxcviii DISSERTATION ON

The " mynftrals" of the earl of Northhuraber- land, in the time of king Henry VIII. were no more than ** a taberet, a luyte, and a rebec '^*

Among the houfehold muficians of king Ed- ward VI. are enumerateed " harpersjjingers, min- STRELLES ;" \ Avhat was the peculiar office of the laft does not appear ; but it muft be evident, that they were neither ^»^er« nor harpers.

In the feaft of Alwyn the bifhop, and dureing pietancia in the hall of the convent of St. Swithin, Winchester, fix minftrels, with four harpers, made their minftrelfys : and after fupper in the great bow'd chamber of the lord prior, fang the fame geft ; in which chamber was fufpended, as was the custom, the great arras of the prior, haveing the pictures of the three kings of Cologne.4-

In an account-roll of the priory of Bicester, in Oxfordfhire, mister Warton found a parallel inftance under the year 1432, by which it appears that four /hillings were giveen to fix minftrels of Buckingham, fmging in the refectory The martyrdom of the /even fleepers, in the feaft of the Epiphany. I

In the fourth year of king Richard the fecond (1380), John king of Castille and Leon, duke of Lancaster, by a charter in the French tongue, or- dain'd, conftituteed and asfign'd his wel belove'd

* Reliques, I, Ixxiv. + Hawkins, III, 479.

+ Regijlr. Priorat. S. Stvithini Iftnton, quoted in the HiS' tory ofEnglifli pottryy II, 174, n.m. I II, 175.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, cxcix

N. N. the king of the minfirels withiu his honour of Tutbury, which now h or who for the lime ihal be to take and arrcft all the minJlrtU within his fan^ honour and frunchife, who refufe'd to do their for- vices and roindrelfy to them appeiiaining to do from ancient time at Tutbury aforefay'd, annually the day of the asfumption uf our lady : giveing and granting to the fuy'd king of the roinftrvls fur the time being ful power and command to make them do rcafonablely, justify and conAruin to do their fervicees and minAreliys in maimer as belongs, and as it there has been ufc'd and from ancient tiwics accustom'd.* Thefc minArcb, like thofe in Clic- Ihirc, appear to have been a very disorderly and licentious fet of men, who requirc'd a court of jus- tice to keep them in order. Plot, who was a fpcc- tator of their proceslion in the reign of Charles the fecond, thus defcribes it : " On the court-day, or morrow of the asfumption, what lime all the m//.- Jirels within the honor come firll to the baylitl's houfe, where the fteward or his deputy meeting them, they all goc from thence to the parilh-church of Tutbury, two and two together, mu/iKk playing bfj'ure thcTHf the king of the niinJirelU for the year pad walking between theAeward and bayliff, &c."t One of the articles of enquiry in the ftewards charge to the inqucft, was whether any of the miu- Arels within the honour had " abufe'd or dispa-

* Blounts Laii>-dictionary, Kin|; of the minftrcU. t Satural history ofStaJJ'ord/hirt, 4*7.

ccr^» .1 DISSERTATION ON ' ^

rage'd their honorable profesfion, by drunkennefs, profane curfing or fwearing, singing lewd or OBSCENE SONGS, ^c." which is all the information we can obtain of their minftrel talents.

There was a custom in this manor that the min- ^rels who came to matins thither on the feaft of the asfumplion fliould have a bul giveen them by the prior of Tutbury, if they could take him on that fide of the river Dove which is next Tutbury ; or elfe the prior fliould give them forty pence ; for the enjoyment of which custom they were to give to the lord at that feaft twenty. This bul, being, by inexpresfible barbaritys, " rendered as mad as 'tis posfible for him to be," was turn'd out of the abbey-gate where thefe refpectable perfonagees, *' who fubfifted by the arts of poetry and mufic, and fang to the harp verfes compofe'd by them- felves, or others," were waiting to fatiate their favage cruelty ; and, if they could take this poor mutilateed animal, and hold him fo long as to cut off fome of his hair, the bul was brought to the bailifs houfe, " and there collar'd and roap't, and fo brought to the bull-ring in the high-ftreet, and there baited with doggs \" *

The worthy and pious editor of The reliques of ancient Englijh poetry obferves with a Nota bene that " The barbarous diverfion of bull-running was no part of the original inftitution, SfC. as is fully proved by the reverend Dr. Pegge in Ardmologiay

* Plots Natural history of Staffordjhire, 437, 439.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. cci

Vol. II. No. XIII. page 80." But whether part of ** the original inftitution" or not, it was practife'd by thefe infamous fidlers or ballad-nngers (whom that editor is defirous to treat with fo much deli- cacy and refpeft) for upward of three hundred years, at the leaft, being confirm'd by infpeximus in the lime of king Henry the fixth, and haveing con- tinuc'd, to the disgrace and infamy of thofe who were conccm'd in it, down to the year 1/78, when the minftrel-court, bul-baiting, &c. were abolifh'd by the duke of Devonflure, lesfee of the honor. •'.".•• By an order of ihe chancellor of the Duchy- court, datel'd the Klh of May in the 6th year of Charles the firft, (amongft other orders to the like purpofees,) '* Itrm, it is ordered, that noe perfon (hall ufe, or excrtife, the art and fciencc of mu- ficke within the counties of Stafford and Darbie, as a common mufician or mynftrell ybr benefit and gayne, except he have fcrvc«l or bccne brougiit up in the fame art and fcience, by the fpace of feaven yeeres, and be allowed and admitted fo to doe at the faid court called the myuftrells court by the jurye of the faid court for the tyme bceinge, or the greater parte of them, beingc xii in number, by the confeht of the ftcward of the faid court, for the tyme beinge, on paync to forfeit, for evciy month, that he ihall fo ufe, or cxcrcifc the faid art, or fcycnce — iii s. iiij d."

* Scf the new edition of Blounts Ancient Imuret, by Beck with, SIS.

ccii DISSERTATION ON

" What feaft, i pray," exclaims Thomas of Elm- ham, defcribeing the coronation of king Henry the fifth, " can be fay'd to be more folcmn than that which fuch a royal prefence honour'd, fuch a mul- titude of princees and ladys adorn'd, where the tu- nioUuous noife of fo many trumpets force'd the jethereal parts to reecho with the thundering roar, and the hyperlyrical melody of the harpers, by a certain moft velocious touch of the fingers, fhake- jng long notes with fhort ones, foftly tickle'd the ears of the guefts by a moft fweet and gentle whis^ per ? The mufical concert, .allfo, of the other in- ftruments, which learn'd to jar by the ftrife of no disfonance inviteed them to congruous joys."* War- ton, who has mention'd this ceremony, tels us he did it to introduce a circumftance very pertinent to his purpofe, " which is that the number of harpers in the hall was innumerable, who, undoubt- edly, accompanied their inftruments with heroic ihj'mes/'t allthough Elmham, his fole authority, neither fays that " the number of harpers was in- numerable," nor that there was any finging at all ; all forts of inftrumental performers ftriveing to make as loud a noife as posfible: but this is his manner of wrilcing history.

On his return from France, after his glorious victorys, and his magnificent entry into London, he, according to the fame historian, " utterly pro-

* Vtta Henrici quinti, p. 23.

\ History ofEngliJh poetry, II, 35.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. ccin

hibited that fongs fliould be made of his triumph, to be fung by harpers, or any others whatfoevcr."* In defpite, however, of this proclamation, fume audacious minArel actually curopofe'd a metrical romance on his conquefts, which is ftil extant ;"t being the fame with " The battayle of Egynge- court," likewife mcntion'd by mister Warton, and printed by John Skot, it not, allfo, by Wynken de VVorde, both in quarto, and black-letter: another poet of a more humble defcription produceing a fong on the fame victory, allfo in print. It is not, at the fame time, at all probable that the minlirels who had been rcquire'd to accompany him in hit invafion of France, were compofeers or fingers of romance, or even performers on the harp : fince, as Casfius obferves, " What fhould the wars do with thefe jiging fools ?"4> " Even fo late as the time of Froisfart," according to bifliop Percy, " we find minftreU and herald* mention'd together, as thofc who might fccurcly go into an enemy's country." X In "■ the noble hys« tory of kyng Ponthus," 1511, it is fay'd " Thaa beganne mynfireUc$ for to play all matter of myit-

• P. 72.

t See Hearnes Appendix to Eltnham, Num. VT.

4- Shakfpeares tragedy of Julius Cafar, Aft IV, fcene S.

I Reliques, I, 03. In the Iflth year of Edwaid II. William de Morlee has a grant with the luldition of ** the Vings mm* ftrcl, Ailed Roy de North ; and, in the I3th of his fuccc^or, Andrtu Nortit, his ♦' chitr Jergeaunt." Andrew Noreis wm ** Toy dCarmt$ dt N»r(h." Anftis, II, 300.

cciv DISSERTATION ON -1

Jlrelfy, and alfo the herauldes began to cry, 3fC." Thefe ninjlrels, tlierefor, would feem to have been the muficians of the array, or military band: trum- peters, it is probable, who, in modern times, are intitle'd to the fame privilege.

Edward the fourth, in 1469, granted a charter, by which he incorporateed Walter Haliday mar- fhal, and feven others of his minftrels to be a fra- ternity or perpetual gild (fuch as, he underftood, the brothers and Jisters of the fraternity of minftrels had in times paft), to be govern'd by a marftial, and by two wardens, who were to admit brothers and fisters into the fay'd gild, and are authorife'd to examine the pretenfions of all fuch as affeded to exereife the minftrel profesfion ; and to regulate, govern, and punifli them throughout the realm (thofe of Chester excepted).* " This," doctor Percy thinks, " feems to have fome refemblance to the earl marshals court among the heralds, and is another proof of the great affinity and refemblance which the minftrels bore to the college of arms," f i This fraternity is never mention'd by any En- gleifti historian; and it is certainly difficult to conceive, for what purpofe thefe minftrels, brothers and fisters, were thus incorporateed, unlefs they were to attend the kings army, in the nature of heralds, whenever it went abroad. Alexander Car- lile, an officer, it would feem, of this fraternity, call'd " farjaunt of the mynftrellis," came, it is

* Fccdera, XI, 642. + Reliques, I, xlv.

ROxVIANCE AND MINSTRELSY. ccv

fay'd, to the king as he lay in bed in the north, in the fame year, in great haft, and badde hym aryfe^ for he had enemyes cuinmyng for to take him." This gild appears to have continuc'd down to witiiin the reign of king Henry the eighth.* It would fecm from ilie above circuinftancc ihat it was the duty of a party of the rainftrels to accompany the king in his progrefiics.

'Ihe Engleilh minftrcls, as they were generally call'd, though tlie namct^ of jcatourt, or gestours, jogeloureSfjugloures, or jug/crs, gle-jionen, or giee- meiiy magiciaiSt tregcluuiHf^ di/uu/St /eggertf\-

• ReUipui, I, xlvl. ^i^V *« >Ji»-.\^ h««

t TrtgetttuT$ are mentioned by Gower (fo.'88) : ' ^ . "*

♦' ^whjleightea of a Iregelouti" r

ind both tragetnurs and magicians by Chaucer, in The koufe •/Fame, iii, Iflo. Lydgafe, in The dance of Afachabrec, fup- pofee^ Death to addrcfs thus

" Maister^ohn Rykcll, fometime tregilour Of noble I Icnri king of Englelond, For all tbcjleyghles and turnyng of thyne honde Thou muft come near this dame to undcrftondc: For Dcth fhoitly, nother on fee nor londe. Is not dysccy ved by noon Ulujlons." This word is dcrive'd by Tyrwhitt from tregetf deceit, im- posture.

■I- Thefc two words occur in Robert of Brunnes verfion uf The Manuel dt peche :

" I mad nought for no difottrs, Ne for frggers, no harpourt." Thus, too, Gower, fpeaking of the coronation>fe9tival of a Roman emperour:

" When he was gladeft at his mete, -% Aixl every minftrcU had plaidtf

And e\ery difour h^dfaide. Which (soft WM plea£aum to bis ere." CB.7, (b. IV.)

ccvi DISSERTATION ON iy>H

Jiddle'ers, harpers, &c. were by no means uncommon, appear to have undergone a mutation fimilar to that heretofore obferve'd in the French, the names of the particular branches being confounded in that of the general profesfion. Chaucer, as we have all- ready feen, defines the jogeloury of his own time, to be a wonder-worker, or flight-of-hand-man, as ihejugler, orjuglour, is at prefent. Again, in Piers Plovman, fo. 32 : " Save Jake the jugloure, and Jonet of the ftewes." ** And japers, andjuglers, and janglers* of geftes.'' This authour, however, generally ufeses minjirel and gleman as fynonimous.

Sir John Mandeville, defcribeing the exhibitions he faw at the court of the Grete chan, fays, " And than comen jogulours and enckantoures, that don many marvayllcs, ^c."

William of Nasiyngton, in his prologue, warns his readers,

" furft at the begynnyng,

That i will make na vayn carjn/ngey

Of dedes of army s, ne of amours,

As dus myttJtraUis audjestoursp

* Janglers, which frequently occurs in Chaucers Canter- I'ury tales, is explain'd, by his learned editor, a prateir or bahbUcr, and has, therefor, no fort of connection or analogy vi\i\).jougelour. It is, at the fame time, from the French ; as, in an cAA fabliau in the Harley MS. 2253: " Fiis ejlez tenuz im janglers." Thus, too, in Chaucers Troilus and Cresjida, V, 755, jong- Itrit is a corruption of janglerie:

" No force of wickid tongis joB^Zerie,"

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. ccvii

That makys carptfng in many a place,

Of Octovi/ane and of IfambruJ'e,

And of many otherjVf/?ej,

And iiamly, when thai come to feefte*."* But though he names both minJireU and jestourt, he does not give them ftveral functions ; as carp' Mg* feems fynonimous with finging. Yet it mud b« admited that Adam Davie, actually, or apparently, makes a distinction on this fubjed :

*' The tninJireUJinge, the jogHovrs carpe." In a narrative of " The departure of the princefs Katherine out of Spaine, together with her arival and reception in England," 1501, printed in the new edition of Lclands Collectanea (V, 352), we read that " ftic and her kdycs call'd for their miji- ftrclU...^xv\ folace'd themfclves with the disports of dauncing."

If " mynftrells" at that period were neither ** trompetts" nor " fakebov^'tts," they were clearly inftruniental muficians of no very disftmilar na- ture.f In the progrcfs of the new queen of Scot- land, elder daughter of Henry the feventh, to meet her husband, in the year 1502-3, " Apon the gatt [of Berwick]," as we are told by an eye-wit- ncfs, *' war the mynstraylls of the capitayn, playngc of their instruments." 4- " After the rouppcr...)iYNSTRELLS begonnc to blowe, wher

• Kinj* MSS. 17 C VIII.

+ See Lelands CoUectanta, IV, TJi, MS. 4 Hi. 979.

ccviii DISSERTATION ON

daunced the qwene accompayned of my lady of Surrey."* After.. .the mynstrells begonne to play a bafle daunce;" and '* after thys doon, thay playde a rownde."t Thefe, it may be, were the regimental band.

It would feem that the minftrels of this cera had a drefs to distinguifh their profesfion. The com- pany defcribe'd by the old authour, whofe words are quoteed, being feated in a tavern, " in comes a iioife of muficians, iv tawney coats, whp taking off their caps, alked if they would have any mu- sic? The widow anfweied, No; they were merry enough. Tut! faid the old man, let us hear, good fellows, what you can do; and play me The be- ginning of the •world" \- With refpedl to thefe tawney coats; it is wel-known to have been the livery of the bifliop of Winchester, within whofe manor of South wark, and under whofe patronage, licence, and authority, the publick stews at that period flourifli'd. This circumftance is even alludeiid to in The firjt fart of king Henry VI, where the cardinal-biHiop of Winchester enters *' attended by a train of fervants in tawny

♦ Lelands Collectanea, IV, 283.

+ Jbi. 284. See allfo 296.

+ History of Jack of Newbury, by Tho. Delony. A noife of mvficians was a company of them. In The fccond part of king Henry IV. one of the drawers of The hoars head bids his fellow fee if he can find out " Sneaks noife;" mistrefs Tcarfheet being defirous to have fome mufick."

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. cci*

co&ts:" and is addrcfs'd by the duke of Glou- cester :

** Thou, that givc'ft whores indulgence's to fin."

" Draw, men, for all this privilegeed place;

Blue-coats to tawny-coats!"

'* Winchcstcr-goofe,* i cry, a rope! a rojie!

Out tawny-coats! Out fcarlet h\pocrite."

Henry Chettle defcribcs Anthoiii/ Now-NoWf a. famous minftrel of his own lime, (not Anthony Munday,) as '' an od old fellow ; low of {lature, his head covered with a round cap, his body with a tawHfy coatcy his legs and fectc truH uppe in lea- ther buskins, his gray haires and furrowed face witnefscd his age, his treble viol in his haude, as- fured me of his pru/es/ion. On which (by his con- tiuuall fawing having left but one ftring) after his Left manner, hee gave me a hunts-up."f

The beginuig of the xcorld appears to have been a favourite tunc. It is luentiun'd, with others, in I ley wood and Rroomes tragi-comedy of TAe wi/c4f« of Lanca/hire, 16'3-i.

A curious account of the minftrel romancees and their vocal and iiiltrumental performers, in the time of queen Elizabeth, is transmited to us by master Puttenhain, a courtier, it would feem, and, in his own conceit, a moll elegant and poliOi'd writer.

• A ffinchraler-i^oo/i:, according to doctor Johnfon, waj " ajirvmpel, or the conJ^quenrtM qfher love," f Kind-UarU dreamt, iig. B 3. VOL. I. o

ccx DISSERTATION ON

** That rime or concord is not commendably ufed both in the end and middle of a verre..^lbeit thefe common rimers ufe it much...fo on the other fide doth the over-bufie and too fpeedy returne of one maner of tune, too much an annoy and as it were glut the eare, unlefs it be in fmall and popular mufickes fong by thefe cantabanqui upon benches and barrels heads, where they have no other au- dience then boys or countrey-fellowes that paffe by them in the ftreete, or elfe by blind harpei's, or fuch like tavernc minftrels that give a fit of mirth for a groat; and their matter being for the moft part ftories of old time, as the tale of fir Topas, the reportes of Bevis of Southampton, Guy of Warwickc, Adam Bell, and Clymraeof the Clough, and fuch other old romances, or historicall rimes, made purpofely for recreation of the common peo- ple at Chriftmaffe diners and bridcales, and in tavernes and alehoufes, and fuch other places of bafe refort."*

The rewards of the minftrels, for iheir mufical and vocal performancees, appear to have been, at leaft; on many occafions, confidcring the fupcriour value of money in thofe times, by no means con- temptible. In the year 1306, William Fox and Cradock his asfociatc, for finging in the prefence of the prince and other great men being in his com- pany at London, received 20f. The minftrel of the

♦ Puttcnham, Arte ofEngliJh poefie, 68.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY. ccxi

countefs Marefchal, doing his minlkclfy before the prince at Penrith, 4./*.* In an annual account-roll of the Augustine priory of Bicester, for the year 1431, among the " Dona priorisy" is to a harper Sd; to another 12 rf; to a certain minftrel of the lord Talbot at Chriftmas 12d; to the mindrcls of the lord Strange in the Epiphany, 20 d; to two mindrels of the lord Level in the morrow of St. Mark, iGd; to the minftrels of the duke of Glou- cester in the feaft of the Nativity, 3f. 4rf; and to a certain bean^ard, 4(it The prior of Maxtoke in Warwick (hire, in various years of king Henrj' the fixth, gave to ajugler in the week of St. Michael, 4<f ; to a harper and other juglers at Chriilmas4j; to the mimes of Solihul, 6di to thofe of Coventry, 20(/; and at another time, 12 d; to the mime of lord Ferrers, 6'rf; to the mimes of the lord Aftely, 12rf; to thofe of the lord of Warwick, lOd; to a blind mime, 2d, 4~c.4- In the time of queen Eliza- beth, as we are told by Puttenbam, the ufual fee of a chanting harper was *' a groat," which doctor Percy feems to think no bad thing.J

• Wtrton, I, 116; from the Wardrobe-roll.

f Idem, I, 90.

4 Warton, I, go. See more in a note in the following page.

X That this was the common price, long after Puttcnhams time, appcan from Jonfons Mnfque of the metamorphofe'd Gipjies, ifiai, where, on the introduction of Cheeks thepipeer, or Tom Ticklcfoot the tabourer, one of the company, fays :— " I cannot hold now, there's my groat, let's have ^fit for mirth-fake." Theie groats gave rife to the exprcsfion oi fid- dler t money, though, as that coin is no longer current, it it now apply'd to tttltrt.

ccxii DISSERTATION ON

" Many of our old metrical romances," as doc- tor Percy lays, " whether originally English, or translated fiom the French, to be fiing to an En- glifh audience, are addrefsed to perfons of high ranA:, as appears from their bcginingthus — " Liften Lordings" and the like (P, Ixxxiii). He elfewhere obferves that " our nobility are often addrefsed therein by the title of Lordings" (P. ciii). Lord- ings, however, by no means iraplys nobility, and is merely equivalent io firs or masters. Thus Chau- cer's pardonere addrefses his fellow-pilgrims, who certainly were not perfons of high rank :

*' Lordings, quod he, in chirche when i prade." John Derricke, alfo, in his Image of Irelande, 1581, repeatedly addrefses his readers by the fame title.

The like addrefs to the auditory frequently re- curs in the Chester- TFhiffun-plai/s, which appear to have been perform'd before an immenfe number of people.

It has been maintain'd elfewhere that the min- ftrels, whether fingers or inftrumental performers, were held in very little, if any kind of, eflimation. That the word vdvjlrel, whatever it might have originally, or anciently fignify'd, meant no more, in comparatively modern times, than ajidler, a crow' der, a mufician, is evident from all the glosferys and dictionarys which mention them : as, for in- flance, thofe of Florio, Spelman, Cotgrave, and Blount. Their true character, however, or peculiar accomplifliments, wil fufficiently appear from the author of Piers Plowman, who compofe'd that work

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, ccxii

in 1362, and ftxims to have been very wel ac- quainted with thcin, and thus introducccs one of this refpeciable fmteriiity, fpeaking for bimfclf : ** I am MTNSTRELL, quod that man, my name

is Actiia yUa, All idle iche hate, for All-Active in my name. A wafrcr well ye wyt, and lervc manye lordes, And fewe roobes i fong, or furred g'>\vnes : Can i lye to do men laughe, than lachen i Oiould Other mantel) or money, araouijoi lord or minllrcis, And for i can neither (abvr, ne frumpe, ue tell no Farten* ne fyslcn, at featles, ne Aarpen, [gejls. Jape, nc juggle, ne gen I illy p^pe, Ne nether 7flj//<«, iic faute, ncfi/ng to the gtfterne, I have no good gyftes of thefe great lordes.'"t This poor fellow, however, could do none of all thefe things. lie was, in fad, a fort of cake-Oakcer, and dealt in wafers; but the allegory cannot be eafeyly feparatfcd from the costume. He, elfewhere, (fo. 43, b), fpeaks of

•♦ gods glemaiiy and a game of heaven,

Would never the faithful father his JidU were

untempcrd, Ne his gleman a gedl^ng, a goer to a tavern." Again, fo. 1, b:

" fome chofen chaffer, they chevcden the

better, — And myrthes to make as mynJlrelUa kuiinetli,

* See before, P. clzxxi, at the end of a pisAtgc fir otn John of Salisbury. f Fo. 08.

ccxiv DISSERTATION ON

And getten golde wyth her glee, fynles i leve. As japers and janglers, Judas chyldren." Again, fo. 47, b :

" And glader then the gleman that golde heith

to gyfte ; Again, fo. 45, b :

" Harlots for her harlotry may have of her

goods, And japers, and^'ag&r*, a-nd Janglers of gejles."

Again, fo. 32 :

♦' Save Jake the jvgloure, and Jonet of the

Jlewes." Again, fo. 26 :

" And than he go, lyke a glewemans bytch, Sometyme afyde, and fometime arere." It may be infer'd from this pasfage, that the min- flrel-harpers were frequently blind ; and, in fad, the phrafe of " blind harper" has become pro- verbial. So, in Cottons Virgile travestie., B. 1 : *• Whilft a blind harper did advance, That wore queen Didos cognizance, A mi/i/Crel, that lopas hight. Who play'd and fung to them all night." Again, fo. 13, b :

" As commen as a cart-waye to eche a knave

th. t walketh. To monkes, and to mi)i/trels, to mefels in hedges.'' It muft be own'd we frequently meet them in very- good company.

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, ccxt

The minftrels were alfo bagpipers. Thus, in the Coventry Corput-Christi p'ay :

" Zc mynjlrdl of myrth, bUrwe up a good blaft,

Whyll i go to chawmer, and chaunge inyn array." Again, in fir David Lindfays Satyre of the thrie i/laits, 1602 (but writcn in 1539) :

" Minjlrell, blaw up ane brawl of France,

Let fee wha hubbils bcft." Again, in John Heywood^ Play of the xvcther:

** For the moft part all maner mynjlrc(/yt

By wynde they delyver thcyr founde chefely,

Fyll me a bagpypc of your water full,

As fwetly OiuU it founde, as it were ftuffyd with

woll." Again, in The popijhe kingdome, from the Latin of Thomas Meogeorgus, by Barnabe Googe, 1570, fo. 56 :

" The table taken up they rife, and all the youth

apace.

The minftrell with them called, go to fome con- venient place.

Where, when with bagpipe hoarce, he hath begon

his muftcke fine,

And unto fuch as are preparde to daunce huth

given fignc,

Comes thither flreight, SfC." Sometimes their inftrumunts wore a drum and fife: for fo Robert Greene, in his Orlando furiofu, 159+:

" I'll be his minjlrell with my drum andjife,

Bid him come forth, and dance it, if he dare."

ccxvi DISSERTATION ON

Many other inftanceiis, of the fame kind, might be aded, but thefc may fufiice.

Stubs, in his A7iat07nie ofabufes, 1583 and 1595, dcfcribes the niinftrels of his time as a parcel of drunken fockets, and baudy parafilcs," that, fays he, " raunge the countries, riming and finging of unclean, corrupt, and filthy fongs in tavernes, ale- houfes, innes, and other publike asfemblies... There is no fhip," he exclaims, " fo laden with merchan- dize, as their heads are peftred with al kind of baudy fongs, filthy ballades, and fcurvy rymes, ferving for every purpofe, and for every company. For proof whereof," ads he, " who bee'baudier knaves then they ? who uncleaner then they ? who more licentious, and loofer minded then they ? who more incontinent than they ? and, brief lie, who more inclined to all kind of infolency and leudnefs then they ?.,.I think that al good minftrels, fober and chaft mufitions, may dance the wilde Moris through a needles eye."

This fame puritanical fnarler allows that " not- withftanding it were better (in refpedt of worldly acceptation) to bee a piper, or a baudie minftrell, then a devine, for the one is loved," he fays, " for his ribauldrie, the other hated for his gravitie, wifedome, and fobrietie. Every toune, cittie, and countrey," he ads, " is full of thefe minftrelles to pipe up a daunce to the devill ; but of devines, fo fewe there bee as any maie hardely bee feen :" it would have been much the better, indeed, if there

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, ccxvii

had been none at all: for, certainly, a pipeeris preferable to a parfon.

It is, at the fame time, no fmall compliment to the minArels of former agei-s, that, as they were, doubtlefs, much more active and ufeful ; they were infinitely better pay'd, than the idle and good-for- nothing clergy. •* The fraternity of the Holy crofle in Abingdon, in Henry the fixths time.. .did every yeare kcepe a ft-aft, and then they ufed to have twelve preiftes to ling a Dirige, for which they had given thorn foure pence a peece. They had alfo twelve minftrells, fomc from Coventre, and fome from Maydenhith, who had t«'o ftiillinge* three pence a piece, befides theyre dyet and h(/rfe- rcen...Obfer>e that, in thofe days, they payd theyre minftrells better then theyre preiftes."* The em- ployment of thefe miiiftrels may be colle^d from a fubfetjuent pasfage, in which the writeer Jays that they had " pageantes, and playes, and May-games to captivat the fences of the zelous beholders, and to allure the people to the greater liberaUty." Another inftance of the fame kind of disparity is relatecd by Warton, where four (hiUings were giveon to the fix mimi, or minftrels, and only two ihillmgs to the eight priefts. In the .fame year (1441), the prior gives no more than fixpence to a preaching frier.f

*• From the following entry," fays mister Stee- vens, " on the books of the ftationers' company, ia

• Ltler nifer, P.jgS. f H* >00'

ccxviii DISSERTATION ON

the year 1560, it appears that the hire o{ a, par/on was cheaper than that of a minjlrelj or a cook:

'* Item, payd to the preacher - \\s. nd. Item, payd to the minftrell - xii«. Item, payd to the coke - - xvs." (Shakfpeare, 1793, XIV, 529 ) It fhould be re- member'd, at the fame time, that the parfons bufy- nefs would be finifh'd in an hour, whereas the cook and the minftrei would be employ'd the whole of the day, and, peradventure, all night too.

The onely genuine minftrel-ballads which are known to exift at prefent (except fuch as may have been publifh'd with great inaccuracy and licentious- nefs by the right reverend the lord bifhop of Dro- more, or remain conceal'd in his lordfhips folio raanufcript) are The ancient battle of Chery-chace, The bottle of Otterbourne, John Dory, Little Mns- grave and lady Barnard^ Lord Thomas and fair Eleanor, and Fair Margaret and fweet William, to which one may, posfiblely, venture to ad John Armjirong and Captain Care ; all which are fome- where or other in print.

A fingular and whimfical writeer, name'd Ro- bert Laneham, or Langham, a ^o^ng^awftiire gen- tleman, who appears to have accompany'd Elizabeth infome of her progrefses, as " dark of the councel chamber door," in " A letter : whearin, part of the entertainment untoo the queenz majesty, at Kil- lingwoorth caftl in Warwick Sheer, in this foomerz progreft 1575, iz fignified: from a freend officer

ROMANCE AND MINSTRET.SY. ccxix

attendant in the coourt, unto his ficcnd [master Hiimfrcy Marti'i, mercer] a citizen and niercliant of London," and there printi*d in the above yvjiT, in a fmall volume in biack-leitcr, gives the follow- ing curious narrative of '* a riiiiculous devife of an auncient minlhell and his fong," ««bich, *' wa2 prepared to have been proft'erd, if meete time

AND PLACE HAD BEBV POOUKD FOR IT.'" f-t

that this intended exhibition (in flat contradiction to doctor Percys misreprcfented account) did not actually takf place : but, as good luck would have it, " Ons, in a woorfliipful company, whear, full appointed, he recoounted his matter in fort az it Hiould have been uttered," master Langham, in perfon, ** chaunfed to bee ; and what i noted," fays he, " heer thus i tell yoo. A parfon very meet feemed he for the purpoze ; of a xlv years olid, apparelled partly as he woold hinifelf: lUz cap of hiz bed fecmly rounded tonfter-wyze ; fayr kembd, that with a fpoonge dcintly dipt in a liltl caponz greas, was fiuelyc fmoothcd too make it fliine like a mallards wing ; hiz beard fmugly ihaven ; and yet his Hiyrt after the nu trink, with rufl's fayr ftarched, fleeked, and glistering like a payr of nu (hooz : mai flialld in good order : with a ftctting (lick, and floout that every rutf ftood up like a wafer. A fide gooun of Kendal green, after the fre(hnefs of the year now ; gathered at the neck with a narro gorget falk>ned afore with a white clafp and a keepar clofc up to the chin, but eaiily

ccxx DISSERTATION ON

for heat too undoo wlien he lift : feemly begyrt in a red caddiz gyrdl; from that, a payr of capped Sheffeld knivez hanging a to fide : out of hiz bozom draune foorth a lappet of his napkin, edged with a blu lace, and marked with a truloove, a hart, and J. D. for Damian : for he was but a bachelar yet. " His gooun had fyde fleevez dooun to mid- legge, flit from the rtiooulder too the hand, and lined with white cotton. His dooblet fleevez of blak woorfted : upon them a payr of poynets of tawny chamblet, laced along the wreaft wylh blu threeden points ; a wealt toward the hand of fustian anapes : a payr of red neather ftocks : a payr of pumps on hiz feet, with a crofs cut at the toze for cornz ; not nu indeede, yet cleanly blakt with foot, and fliiuing az a flioing horn. About his neck, a red rebond futabl to his girdl: his harp in good grace depen- daunt before him ; his wreaft tyed to a green lace and hanging by : Under the gorget of his goound a fay r flagon cheyn of pewter (forfylver;) mafquire minjlrcl of Middilfex, that travaild the cuntree thys fooiner feafon unto fayrz, and woorftiipfuU menz houzez. From his cheyn hoong a fchoochion, with metall and cooller refplendant upon hiz breaft, of the auncient amies of Islington,. ..(Then follows an abfurd and affefted defcription of thefe arms, evi- dently the folc manufacture of master Laneham, or fome other coxcomb of the fame turn.. .This being ridicule'd by " a good fello of the company").... — " every man laught a good, fave the minfl:rell:

ROMANCE AKD MINSTRELSY, ccxxi

that thoogh the pooll wear made privy, all was but for fport, yet too fee hiinfelf thus cruR with a contrary kue that hee lookt not for, woold ftraight have ge'en over all, waxt very wayward, e;iger and foour : hoowbeit at lalle, by fum entreaty, and many fair woord/, with fak and fuger, we fweetned him againe: and after he becam az mery az a py. Appcerez then afrefh, in hiz ful formalitee with a lovely loock. After three lowiie coourfiez, clecred his vois with a hem and reach, and fpat oout withal ; wiped hiz lips with the hollo of his hand for fyling his napkin, temperd a firing or too with his wreaft, and after a little warbling on hiz harp fur a prelude, came fuorth with a follem fong, war- raunted for ftory oout of King Arthurs ads ; the firft booke, and 26 chapter; whcarof i gate a copy : and that iz this : viz.

" So it befell upon a Pentccoft day, SfC," At this the minftrell niadc a puuz and a curtezy, for primus paftus [pasfuji]. More of the fong iz thcar, but i gat it nut. Az for the matter, had it cum to the (hcaw, i think the fello would have handled it well ynoough."

The poor fellow thus brought foreward to repic- fcnt, and even to ridicule, the refpectablc character of an ancient minftiel, may be ready ly admilod to have been bimfelf a humble retainer to that once illustiiuus profcsflun ; this appears by hii» being able to accompany his fong wilh the melody uf the harp. He was, therefor, it is likely, one of ihofe " canta-

ccxxii DISSERTATION ON

banqui upon benches and barrels heads, where they had no other audience then boys or countrey-fel- / lows ;" as allready defcribe'd by Pultenham ; or elfe one of his " taverne-minftrels that [ufe'd to] give a fit of mirth for a groat." Our critick, how- ever, finds no fault with his performance, and, even, pays him a fort of parting compliment. It is fufficiently raanifeft, at the fame time, from this identical narrative, that there was, at the above period, no minftrel performer, distinguifli'd by his drefs, or manners, as the real or accurate repre- fentative of a minftrel of the three precedeing cen- turys, who would, in the puritanical times of that bigoted and bloody tygrefs, have been treated with merited refped.

By an ad of the 39th of queen Elizabeth (1597), Chap. IV. intitled " An ad for punifliment of rogues, vagabonds, and fturdy beggars," " All fencers, bearwards, common players of enterludes, and MINSTRELS, wandering abroad; all juglers, tinkers, pedlers, SfC. fiiall be adjudged and deemed rogues, vagabonds, and flurdy beggers :" fubjed, however, to a provifo or exception in favour of John Dutton of Dutton in the county of Chester efquire " for any liberty, preheminence, authority, jurisdiction," which he then lawfully ufed, " by reafon of any ancient charters, or of any prefcrip- tion, ufage, or title whatfoever." *

* This claufe continue'd to be inferted in all vagrant a6t8 down to the prefent reign, in which it has been omited»

ROMANCE AND MINSTRELSY, ccxsiii

This ftatutc is concludeed to have nearly put an end to the profesfion of minftrel, bafe and begerly as it had become : an ordinance dureing the ufur- pation, in l656, being the lad publick notice that is takeen of it : whereby it is enaded that if any of the " pcrfons commonly called fidlers or MINSTRELS lh<ill be taken playing, fidling, and making mufic in any inn, ale-houfe, or tavern, or proffering thcmfolves, or dcfiring, or intreating, any to hear them play or make mufic," they arc to be ** adjudged and declared to be rogues, vagabonds, and (lurdy beggars."

** Then, for the truths fake, come along, come Leave this place of fuperftition : [along.

Were it not for we, that the brethren be, You would fmk into perdition."*

Shakfpeare calls thcfe pcrfons " fcaft-finding minftrels," in his Rape ofLucrece: and Ben Jonfon, in his Tale of a tub, introducecs " Old father Rq/in, chief minjirel of Highgatc, and his two boys." They zsc fiddlers ; and play the tunes call'd for by the company: as Tom Tiler, The jolly joiner, and The jovial tinker. The fame dramatifi, in his Mafipu of the metamorphqf'd Gypfies, calls a bagpiper, or tO' borer, *' the miracle oi minjlrels ;" and, in another part, makes one of the characters fay, '< The king has his noife of gypfies, as well as of bearwardi, and OTHER MINSTRELS." So that, of whatever confc- quence they might have been, in ancient periods, • Loyal fongt, 1, 5.

ccxxiv DISSERTATION, ice.

they ended their career in vagabonds and fiddleefs. Doctour Bull, who wrote fatirical verfees againft them, (which, thoUi^h extant in one of the Harleian manufcripts, cannot be recover'd,) pays them the following parting compliment :

" When Jefus went to Jairus houfe, [Whofe daughter was about to dye,]

He turn'd the minftrels out of doors. Among the rascal company :

Beogers they are, with one consent,

And rogues, by act of parliament."

NOTE omited (III, 259, L. 18).

Mister Tyrwhitt obferves (IV, 318), " This Sara- cen deity, in an old romance, MS. Bod. 1624, is con- ftantly called Tervagav :" and cites the original lines, without ever noticeing that he had once met with the fame orthography in any one copy of Chaucer, printed or manufcript.

METRICAL ROMANCEES.

YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Almtohti god that made maiikyn, He fchilde his fcrvaudes out of fyn, And mayntcnc tbain, with might and mayne, That herkens Ywayne and Gawayne: Thai war knightes of the tabyl rownde, Tharfore hftens a lytel ftownde. Arthur, the kyng of Yyngland, That wan al Wales with his hand, And al Scotland, als fayes the buke, And mani mo, if men will luke, 10

Of al knightes he bare the pryfe, In werld was non fo war ne wife j Trew he was in alkyn thing, Als it byfel to fwilk a kyng. VOL. I. B

2 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

lie made a fefle, the foth to fay»

Opon the Witfononday,

At Kerdyf, that es in Wales,

And, efter mete, thar in the hales,

Ful grete and gay was the asfemble,

Of lordes and ladies of that cuntre, 20

And als of knyghtes war and wyfe,

And damifels of mykel pryfe ;

Ilkanc with other made grete gamin,

And grete folace, als thai war famin;

Faft thai carped and curtaysly.

Of dedes of armes and of veneri.

And of gude knightes that lyfed then.

And how men might tham kyndeli ken,

By doghtiiies of thaire gude dede.

On ilka fyde wharefum thai yede: 30

For thai war ftif in ilka ftowre.

And tharfore gat thai grete honowre.

Thai tald of more trewth tham bitwene.

Than now omang men here es fene;

For trowth and liif es al bylaft.

Men ufes now another craft;

With worde men makes it tre^v and ftabil,

Bot in thair faith es noght bot fabil;

^'^VAINE AND GAWIN. 3

With the mowth men makes it hale,

Bot trew trowth es nane in the tale. 40

Tharfore her-of now wil i blyn,

Of the kyng Arthur i wil bvgin,

And of his curtayfe cumpany,

That was the flowr of chcvalliy;

Swiik lofe thai wan with fpcreshorde,

Over al the wcrld went the worde.

After mete went the kyng Into chamber to flej)eing, And alfo went with liira the quene, That byheld thai al-bydene, 50

For thai faw tham never fo Oti high dayes to chamber go ; Bot fonc when thai war went io Jlepe, Knyghtes fat the dor to kepe. Sir Dedyne, and fir Segramore, Sir Gawayn, and fir Kay, fat thore, And alfo fat ihar fir Ywaine, And Coigrevance of mekyi mayn. This knight that hight Coigrevance Tald his felows of a chance, $0

And of a ftowr be had in bene, And al his tale herd the qucne ;

4 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

The chiamber-dore flio has uiifhet,

And down oraang tham fcho hir fet ;

Sodainli fho fat down right, ah

Or ani of tham of hir had fight ; tO

Bot Colgrevance rafe up in hy, /

And thar-of had fyr Kay envy,

For he was of his long a Ikalde,

And forto bofte was he ful balde. JO

Ow, Colgrevance, faid fir Kay,

Fill light of lepes has thou bene ay,

Thou weues now that the fal fall, ;

For to be hendeft of us all ;

And the quene fal underftand,

That her es none fo unkunand ;

Al if thou rafe, and we fat fl:yll,

We ne dyd it for none yll,

Ne for no maner of fayntife,

Ne for us denyd noght forto rife, 80

That we ne had refen had we hyr fene.

Sir Kay, i wote wele, fayd the quene,

And it war gude thou left fwilk fawes,

And noght defpife fo thi felawes.

Madame, he faid, by goddes dome, We ne wift no thing of thi come ;

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 5

And if we did noght curtaysly,

Takes to no velany ;

Bot pray ye now this gcntil man>

To tel the tale that he bygan. 90

Colgrevance faid to fir Kay,

Bi grcte god, that aw this day,

Na mar moves me thi flyt

Than it war a flics byt ;

Ful oft welc better men than i

Has thou dcsfpifed desfpytufely ;

It es ful femeli, als me think,

A brok omang men forto (lynk ;

So it fars by the, fyr Kay,

Of wekcd wordes has thou bene ay, 100

And fen thi wordes er wikked and fell,

This time tharto na mor i tell,

Bot of the thing that i bygan.

And fone fir Kay him anfwerd than,

And faid ful tite unto the quene,

Madame, if ye had noght her bene^

We fold have herd a felly cafe,

Now let ye us of our folace ;

Tharfor, raadamc, we wald yow pray.

That ye cumand him to fay, 1 10

6 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

And tel forth als he had tyght.

Than anfwerd that hende knight,

Mi lady es fo avyfe,

That fcho wil noght cumand me,

To tel that towches me to ill,

Scho es noght of fo weked will.

Sir Kai faid than, ful fraertli,

Madam^ al hale this cumpani

Praies yow hertly, now omell, , >j,7 ,_.,o

That he his tale forth might tell; . u iit

If ye wil noght for our praying, ,; ^'.,\ '> jj

For faith ye aw unto the kyng,

Cumandes him his tale to tell.

That we mai her how it byfell.

Than faid the quene, Sir Colgrevance, I prai the tak to no grevance. This kene karping of fyr Kay, Of weked wordes has. he bene ay, So that none may him chaftife, Tharfor i prai thee, on al wife, 130

That thou let noght for his fawes. At tel to me and thi felawes, Al thi tale how it bytid. For my luf i the pray and byd.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 7

Sertes, madame, that es me lath,

Bot for I wil noght mak yow wrath,

Yowr cumandment i fal fulfill,

If ye will liftcn mc untill ;

With hertcs and cres undedlandes.

And i fal tel yow fwilk tithandes, 140

That ye herd never none (like

Rcherced in no kynges ryke ;

Bot word fares als dofe the wind,

Bot if men it in bert bynd ;

And wordes wofo trewly tafe

By the eres into the hert it gafe ;

And in the hcrt thar es the horde,

And knawing of ilk mans worde.

Herkens, hende, unto my fpell, Trofek fal i yow nane tell, 150

Nc lefinges forto ger yow lagh, Bot i fal fay right aU i fagh. Now, als this time fex yer, I rade allane, als ye fal her, Obout, forto feke aventurs, Wclc arinid in gudc armurs. In a frith i fund a lUctc, Ful thik and hard, i yow bihetCi

8 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

With thoraes, breres, and moni a quyn,

Ner hand al da}- i rade thare-yn, l60

And thurgh i paft, with mekyl payn,

Than come i fone into a playn,

Whar i gan fe a bretife brade,

And thederward ful faft i rade ;

I faw the walles and the dyke,

And hertly wele it gan me lyke ;

And on the draw-brig faw i ftaud,

A knight with fawkon on his hand ;

This ilk knight, that be ye balde,

Was lord and keper of that halde. 1/0

I hailfed him kindly, als i kowth,

He anfwerd me mildeli with mowih ;

Mi fterap toke that hende knight.

And kindly cumanded me to lyght.

His cumandnient i did onane.

And into hall fone war we tane.

He thanked god, that gude man,

Sevyu fithes or ever he blan,

And the way that me theder broght.

And als the aventurs that i foght. 180

Thus went we in, god do him mede !

And in his hand he led my llede.

YVVAINE AND GAWIN. 9

When we war in that fayrc palays,

It was ful worthlj wroght always,

I faw no man of moder born,

Bot a burdc hang us biforn,

Was nowthcr of yren, ne of tre,

Ne i ne will whar-of it might be ;

And by that bord hang a mall.

The knyght fmate on thar-with-all I90

Th.rife, and by then might men fe,

Bifore ham come a fair meny^,

Curtayfe men in worde and dede, r

To ftabil fonc thai led mi ftede,

A damifel come unto me,

llie femelicft that ever i fe,

Luffumcr lifed never in land,

Ilcndly fcho toke me by the hand.

And Tone that gentyl creature

Al unlaced myno armurc ; 200

Into a chamber Iho mc led,

And with a mantil fcho me cled ;

It was of puqiur, fair and fine,

And the pane of riche erroyne ;

Al ihc folk war went us fra,

And thare was none than bot we twa ;

10 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Scho ferved me hendely to hend,

Hir maners might no man amend ;

Of tong fho was trew and renable,

And of hir femblant foft and Habile ; 210

Ful fain i wald, if that i might,

Have woned with that fwete wight :

And when we fold go to fopere.

That lady, with a luffom chere,

Led me down into the haU,

Thar war we ferved wele at all.

It nedes noght to tel the mefe.

For wonder wele war we at effe.

Byfor me fat the lady bright,

Curtaisly my mete to dyght ; 220

tJs wanted nowther baken ne rofte,

And, efter foper, fayd myne ofte.

That he cowth noght tel the day •

l%at ani knight are with him lay,

Or that ani aventures foght,

Tharfor he prayed me, if i moght,

On al wife when i come ogayne,

That i fold cum to him fertayne.

I faid, Sir, gladly, yf i may,

I had bene ftiame have faid him nay. 230

yVVAINE AND GAWIN. 11

That night had i ful gude rcflf And mi ftcde efed of the beA. Alfune als it was dayes lygbt, Forth to far fone was i dyght ; Mi leve of mine oil luke i thare, And went my way with-owten mare, Aventures fur to layt in land.

A fair fore A fonc i fand, Me thoght mi hap thare fel ful hard, For thar was man! a wildc lebard, 240

Lions, beres, bath bul and bare, That rew fully gan rope and rare ; Oway i drogh me, and with that, I faw fone whar a man fat, On a lawnd, the fowled wight That ever yit man faw in fyght ; He was a lathly creatur, For fowl he was out of mefur ; A wonder mace in hand he hade, And fone mi way to him i outde ; 360

His hevyd, mc-thought, was als grete Al8X)f a rowncy or a nete. Unto his belt hang his hare, And efter that by held i mare }

12 YVVAINE AND GAWIN.

To his forhede byheld i than,

Was bradder than twa large fpan ;

He had eres als ane olyfant,

And was wele more than geant ;

His face was ful brade and flat ;

His nefe was cutted als a cat; 260

His browes war like litel bulkes ;

And his tethe like bare tufkes ;

A ful grete bulge opon his bak ;

Thar was noght made with-owten lac ;

His chin was fall until his breft ;

On his mace he gan him rest.

Alfo it was a wonder wede

That the cherle yn yede ;

Nowther of wol, ne of line,

Was the wede that he went yn. 270

When he me fagh, he ftode up-right,

I frayned him if he wolde fight,

For tharto was i in gude will,

Bot als a belle than ftode he ftill ;

I hopid that he no wittes kowth,

No refon forto fpeke with mowth.

To him i fpak ful hardily,

And faid. What ertow, belamy ?

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 13

He faid ogain, I am a man.

I faid, Swilk faw i never nane ; 280

What ertow ? al fonc faid he.

I faid, Swilk als thou her may fe.

I faid, What dofe thou here allane ?

lie faid, I kc{)c thir bcftcs ilkane.

I faid, That es mervailc think me,

For i herd never of man bot the,

In wildernes, ne in foreftesi

That kepeing had of wilde beftes,

Bot thai war bunden fafl in halde.

He fayd, Of thir es none fo balde, 290

Nowthcr by day ne bi night,

Anes to pas out of mi fight.

I fayd, How fo ? tel me thi fcill.

Perfay, he faid, gladly i will.

He faid. In al this fair foreftc

Es thar none fo wilde belle.

That renin dar bot ftil ftand,

When i am to him cumand;

And ay, when that i wil him fang,

With mi fingers, that er ftrang, 300

I ger him cri, on fwilk manere,

That al the bcftcs when thai him here.

U YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Obout me than cum thai all,

And to mi fete faft thai fall,

On thair maner mere! to cry ;

Bot underftand now, redyli,

Olyve es thar lifand no ma,

Bot i, that durft omang tham ga,

That he ne fold fone be al to-rent,

Bot thai er at my comandment; 310

To me thai cum, when i tbam call,

And i am maifter of tham all.

Than he asked, onone right.

What man i was. I faid, A knyght,

That foght aventurs in that land,

My body to afai and fande :

And i the pray of thi kownfayle,

Thou teche me to fum mervayle.

He fayd, I can no wonders tell,

Bot her-bifyde es a well, 320

Wend theder, and do als i fay,

Thou pafses noght al quite oway,

Folow forth this ilk ftrete,

And fone fum mervayles fal thou mete,

The well es under the faireft tre,

That ever was in this cuntr^;

YXI'AINE AND GAWIN. 15

By that well hinges a bacyne,

That es of gold gude and fyne,

With a cheyne, trewly to tell,

That wil reche into the wcU. 330

Thare es a chapel ner thar-by,

That nobil es, and ful lufely.

By the well ftandes a (lane,

Tak the bacyn fone onane,

And cad on water with thi hand,

And fone thou fal fc oew tit hand.

A ftormc fal rife, and a tcmpeft,

Al obout by eft and weft ;

Thou All h6rc mani titonor blaft,

Al obout the blawand faft ; 340

And theie fal cum flik flcte and rayne,

That unnefe ful thou ftand ogayne ;

Of lightnes fal thou fe a iowe,

Unncthcs thou fal thi-fclven knowe ;

And if thou pas with-owten grcvance^

Than has thou the faired chance

That ever yit had any knyght

That thcder come to kyth his myght

Than toke i leve, and went my way. And rade unto the midday ; i^

16 YVVAINE AND GAWIN/

By than i come whare i fold be,

I faw the chapel and the tre ;

Thare i fand the fayreft thorne,

That ever groued fen god was bom ;

So thik it was with leves grene,

Might no rayn cum thar-bytwene,

And that grenes laftes ay,

For no winter dere yt may.

I fand the bacyn, als he talde.

And the wel with water kalde, 360

An amerawd was the ftane,

Richer faw i never nane,

On fowr rubyes on heght ftandand,

Thair hght lafted over al the land ;

And when i faw that femely fyght,

It made me bath joyful and lyght ;

I toke the bacyn fone onane,

And helt water opon the ftane :

The weder wex than wonder blak,

And the thoner faft gan crak, 370

Thar come flike ftormes of hayl and rayn,

Unnethes i might ftand thare-ogayn ;

The ftore windes blew ful lowd.

So kene come never are of clowd ;

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 17

I was drevyn with fnaw and flctc,

Unnethes i might ftand on my fete ;

In my face the levening fmate,

I wend have brent, fo was it hate.

That wedcr made me fo will of rede,

I hopid foiie to have my dede ; 380

And, ferles, if it lang had laA,

I hope i had never thethin pad ;

Bot, thorgh his might that tholed wownd.

The ftormc fefcd within a ftownde ;

Than wcx the weder fayr ogayne,

And tbarof was i wonder faync ;

For bed comfoi th of al thing

£s folacc eftcr myslikeing.

Than faw i fone a mery fyght. Of al the fowles that er in flyght S90

Lighted fo thik open that tre, That bogh no lefe none might i fe ; So mcrily than gon thai fing. That al the wode began to ring ; Ful mcry was the melody, Of thaire fang and of thaire cry; Thar herd never man none fwilk, Bot if ani had herd that ilk ;

VOL. I. C

18 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

And wheu that mery dyn was done

Another noyfe than herd i fone, 400

Als it war of horsmen,

Mo than owther nyen or ten.

Sone than faw i cum a knyght, In riche armurs was he dight, And fone when i gan on him loke, Mi flielde and fper to rae i toke ; That knight to me hied ful faft, And kene wordes out gan he caft ; He bad that i fold tel him tile Whi i did him fwilk defpite, 410

With weders wakend him of reft, And done him wrang in his foreft ; Tharfore, he faid, thou fal aby, And with that come he egerly, And faid, i had, ogayne refowne, . Done him grete deftrucciowne. And might it nevermore amend, Tharfor he bad i fold me fend j -r

And fone i fmate him on the (helde, Mi fchaft brae out in the felde, 420

And then he bar me fone bi ftrenkith Out of my fadel my fperes lenkith.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 19

I wate that he was largely

By the Oiuldres mare than i,

And, bi the ded that i fal thole,

Mi fiede by his was but a A>le ;

For mate i lay down on the grownde.

So was i ilonayd in that Itownde.

A wordc to roe wald he noght fay,

Bot toke my ftcde, and went bis way. 430

Ful farily than thare i iat

For wa i wid noght what was what.

With my ftcde he went in hy.

The fame way that he come by.

And i durft folow him no i'err,

For dout me folde bite werr,

And alfo yit, by goddes dome,

I ne wilt whar he by come.

Than i tboght how i had hight Unto myne ofle, the betide knyght, 440

And alio til his lady bryght. To com ogayii, if that i myght ; Mine armurs left i thare ilkaue. For els myght i noght have gane ; Unto myne in i come by day ; The hcnde knight, and the fayre may,

20 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Of my come war thai ful glade,

And nobil femblant thai me made,

In al thinges thai have tham born,

Als thai did the night biforn. 450

Sone thai will whare i had bene,

And faid, that thai had never fene

Knyght, that ever theder come,

Take the way ogayn home.

On this wife that tyme i wroght,

I fand the folies that i foght.

Now, fekerly, faid fir Ywayne, Thou ert my cofyn jermayne, Trew luf fuld be us bytwene, Als fold bytwyx brether betie, 460

Thou ert a fole, at thou no had are Tald me of this ferly fare. For, fertes, i fold onone ryght Have venged the of that ilk knyght j So fal i yit, if that i may* And than als fmertly fayd fyr Kay: He karpet to tham wordes grete : It es fene now es efter mete, Mare bofte es in a pot of wyne, Than in a karcas of faynt Martyne ; . 470

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 21

Anne the f inertly, fyr Ywayne,

And fonc that thou war curaen ogayne,

Luke thou fit wcic thi panele,

And in thi fadcl fet the wele ;

And when thou wendes, i the pray»

Thi baner wele that thou dcfplay ;

And rede i, or thou wende,

Thou tak thi leve at ilka frcndc ;

And if it fo bylide this nyght,

That the in (lepe dreche ani wight, 480

Or any dreniis mak the rad,

Turn ogayn, and fay i bad.

The queue anfwerd, with niilde mode. And faid, Sir Kay, ertow wodc i What the devyl es the withyu, At thi tong may never blyn Thi fclows fo fowly to ftiende ? Sertes, fir Kay, thou eit unhende. By him that for us fufi'erd pine, Syr, and thi tong war myne, 4(^

I fold bical it tytc of trefun. And fo might thou do by gude refon ; Thi tong dofe the grcte dbhonowrci And tharefore is it thi traytowre.

22 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

And than alfone fyr Ywayne

Ful hendly aiifwerd ogayne;

Al if men fayd hym velany,

He karped ay ful curtaysly :

Madame, he faid unto the quene,

Thare fold na ftryf be us bytwene, 5G0

Unkowth men wele may he Ihende,

That to his felows es fo unhende;

And als, madarae, men fays fertayne,

That wofo flites, or turnes ogayne,

He bygins al the melle,

So wil i noght it far by me ;

Lates him fay halely his thoght,

His wordes greves me right noght.

Als thai war in this fpekeing, Out of the chamber come the kyng, 510

The barons that war thare fcrtayn, Smertly rafe thai him ogayne. ■ He bad tham fit down albydene, And down he fet him by the quene ; The quene talde him, fajyr and wde, Als fho kowth, everilka dele, Ful apeitly, al the chance, Als it byfel fyr Colgrevance.

IIVAINE AND GAWIN. «3

When fho had taldc him how it ferd.

And the king hyr tale had herd, 520

He fwar by his owyn crowne.

And his faderfowl, Uter-Pendragowne,

That he fold fe that ilk fyght,

By that day thethin a fowretenight,

On fuint Johns cvyn the baptit),

That beft bam was under Crift :

Swith, he fayd, weudcs with me,

Whofo wil that wonder fe.

The kynges word might noght be hid,

Ov'cr al the cowrt lone was it kyd, 530

And thar was none I'o litel page

That he ne was fayn of that vayage,

And knyghtes and fwiers war ful fayne,

Mysliked none bot fyr Ywayne ;

To himfelf he made grete mane,

For he wald have went allane ;

In hert he had grete mysiykyng

For the wending of the kyng,

Al for he hopid, withowten fayle,

That (ir Kay fold alk tlic baUyle, 540

Or els (ir Gawayn, knyght vailant,

And owther wald the king grant,

24 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Whofo it wald firft crave, Of tham two, fone might it have. . The kynges wil wald he noght bide, Worth of him what may bityde, Bi him aliane he thoght to wende, And tak the grace that god wald send. He thoght to be wele on hys way, Or it war pafsed the thryd day, 550

And to afay if he myght mete With that ilk narow llrete. With thornes and with breres fet. That mens way might lightli let; And alfo forto fynd the halde That fir Colgrevance of talde, The knyght and the mayden meke. The foreft faft than wald he feke. And als the karl of Kaymes kyn, And the wilde beftes with him ; 560

The tre with briddes thare^opon ; The chapel, the bacyn, and the ftone. His thoght wald he tel to no frende. Until he wyft how it wald ende. Than went Ywaine to his yn, His men he fand redy thareyn.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 25

Unto a fwier gan he faye, Go fwith, and fadcl my palfray, And fo thou do my ftrang ftcde, And tak with the my beft wede, 570

At yone yale i wil out-r}de, Withowten town i fal the bide, And hy the fraerlly unto me, For i nioA make a jome. Ogaiii fal thou bring my palfra, And foibede the oght to fay, If thou wil any more me fe, Lat none wit of my prevetfe; And if ani man the oght frayn, Luke now lely that thou layn. 580

Sir, he faid, with ful gude will, Als ye byd, i fal fulfyll ; At yowr awyn wil may ye ride, For me yc fal noght be afcryed. Forth than went fir Ywayue, He thinkes, or he cum ogaync, To wrcke his kofyn at his royght ; I1te fquier has his hernays dyght. He did right als his mayfter red, Hi;> ftedc, his armurs, he him led. 690

26 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

When Ywayn was withowten town,

Of his palfray lighted he down,

And dight him right wele in his wede.

And lepe up on his gude ftede.

Furth he rade ouone right,

Until it neghed nere the nyght,

He pafsed many high mowntayne,

In wildernes, and mony a playne,

Til he come to that lethir fty.

That him byhoved pafs by ; 600

Than was he feker forto fe

The wel, and the fayre tre ;

The chapel faw he at the laft,

And theder hyed he ful fail ;

More curtayfi and mor honowr

Fand he with tham in that tour.

And mar conforth, by mony falde,

Than Colgrevance bad him of talde :

That night was he herberd thar.

So wele was he never are. 6lO

At morn he went forth by the ftrete. And with the cherel fone gan he mete, That fold tel to him the way. He fayned him, the foth to fay,

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 27

Twenty fith, or ever he Wan,

Swilk mervayle had he of that man ;

For he had wonder that nature

Myght mak fo fowl a creature.

Than to the well he rade gudc pafe,

And douQ he lighted in that place, 620

And fone the bacyn has he tane,

And keft water upon the ftane.

And fone ihar wex, withowten fayle,

Wind, and thonor, and rayn, and haHe.

When it was fefed, than faw he

The fowles light opon the tre,

Thai fang ful fayre opon that thorn.

Right als thai had dune byfom;

And fone he faw cumand a knight,

Als faA fo the fowl in flyght> 630

Witli rude fcmbland, and fterne chcr,

And haOily he neghed nere ;

To fpeke of I life nu time was thar.

For aithcr hated uther ful far ;

Togcder fmertly gan thai drive,

llmir fheldcs fone bigan to ryve,

Tbair ihufies chcverd to thair hand,

Bot thai war bath ful wclc fyttand.

28 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Out thai drogh thair fwerdes kene,

And delt ftrakes tham bytwene ; 640

Al to peces thai hewed thair ftieldes,

The cuJpons flegh out in the feldes ;

On helmes ftrake thay fo with yre

At ilka ftrake out-braft the fyr ;

Aither of tham gude buffettes bede ;

And nowther wald ftyr of the ftede ;

Ful kenely thai kyd thair myght.

And feyned tham noght forto fight ;

Thair hauberkes, that men myght ken,

The blode out of thair bodyes ren. 650

Aither on other laid fo faft.

The batayl might noght lang laft ;

Hauberkeser broken, and helmes reven,

Stif ftrakes war thar gyfen ;

Thai faght on hors ftif ly always.

The batel was wele mor to prays :

Bot, at the laft, fyr Ywayne

On his felow kyd his mayne,

So egerly he fmate him than.

He clefe the helme and the hern-pan. 660

The knyght wift he was nere ded,

To fle than was his beft rede.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 29

And fall he fle<l, with al his mayne,

And faft folow fyr Ywayne,

Bot he ne might him overtakei

Tharforc grcte murning gan he make ;

lie folowd him ful ftowtlyk,

And wald have tane him ded or quik ;

He folowd him to the cet^,

Na man lyfand met he. 67O

When thai come to the kaftcl-yate,

In he folowd faft tharate,

At aither «Biik-irai» i wya, *

Straytly wroght, a port-culis,

Shod welc with yrcn and ftele, 'y.'

And alfo grunden wonde^ wele.

Under that UiMi was a fwyke,

That made fyr Ywain to myslike ;

His hors fote tocbed thareon,

Than fel the port-culis onone, 680

Bytwyx him and his hinder arfown,

Thorgh fudul and ftede-, it ikaate al down;

His fpores of his holes '\tkkmdi.

Than had Ywaine murnyng mare,

Bot fo he wend have pafsed quite,

That fel the tot her bifor aU tyte.

30 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

A faire grace yit fel him fwa,

Al if it fmate his hors in twa,

And his fpors of aither hele,

That himfelf pafsed fo weie. 69O

Bytwene tha yates now es he tanc^

Tharfor he niafe ful mykel mane,

And mikel murnyng gan he ma,

For the knyght was went him fra.

Als he was ftoken in that flail.

He herd byhind him, in a wall,

A dor opend fair and wele,

And tharout come a damyfel,

Efter hir the dore fho flak,

Ful hindewordes to him flio fpak, 70O

Syr, fho faid, by faint Myghell,

Her thou has a febil oflell ;

Thou raon be ded, cs noght at laine,

For my lord that thou has flayne ;

Seker it es that thou him flogh,

My lady makes forow ynogh,

And al his menye everilkane

Her has thou famen manyane,

To be thi bane er thai ful balde,

Thou brekes noght out of this halde, 71©

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 31

And, for thai wate thai may noght fayl,

Thai wil the fla in playn batayl.

He fayd, Thai ne fal, fo god me rede,

For al thair might, do me to dede,

Ne no handcb opon me lay.

Sho faid, Na, fertes, if that i may,

Al if thou be here ftraytly ftad,

Methink tbuu crt noght ful adrad :

And fir, Iho faid, on al wife,

I aw the honor and fcrvyfe ; 720

I was in mesfage at the king,

Bifor this time, \vhils i was ying,

I was noght than fo avefe,

A is a damyfel aght to be,

Fro the tymc that i was lyght

In cowrt was none fo head knyghc

That unto me than waM» take hede

But thou allane, god do the mede !

Crete honor thou did to ;nc.

And that fal i now quite the 730

I wate, if thou be fcldoi* fine^

Thou art the kyng fun Uricne,

And thi name es fir Ywayne,

Of me may thou be fortayne^

32 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

If thou wil my kownfail leve,

Thou fal find naman the to greve ;

I fal lene the her mi ring,

Bot yelde it me at myne afkyng,

When thou ert broght of al thi payn,

Yelde it than to me ogayne ; 740

Als the bark hilles the tre,

Right fo fal my ring do the ;

When thou in hand has the ftane,

Der fal thai do the nane,

For the ftane es of fwilk myght,

Of the fal men have na fyght,

Wit ye wele that fir Ywayne Of thir wordes was . ful fayne. In at the dore flio him led.

And did him fit opon hir bed, 750

A quylt ful nobil lay tharon, Richer faw he never none. Sho faid, if he wald any thing- He fold be ferved at his liking. He faid, that ete wald he fajm. Sho went, and come ful fone ogain ; A capon rofted broght fho fone, A clene klath, and brede tharone.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. SS

And a pot with riche wine, ^^1^

And a pece to fil it yne. 7^0

He ete and drank, with ful gude cher,

For tharof had he grete myfter.

When he had eten and dronken wele,

Grete noyfe he he herd in the kastele.

Thai foght overal him to have flayn,

To vengc thair lorde war thai ful bayn,

Or that the cors in erth was layd.

The damyfel fone to him fayd, Now fcke thai the faft forto fla> .i6«bV

Bot whofo ever com or ga, 7T0

Be thou never the mor adred, • "' •

Ne ftyr thou noght out of this ftcde : J fudiiw *. In this here fekc* thai wyll, < •»<i» 'OC

Bot on this bed luke thou be ftyll ; '''4^ W" i I Of tham al mak tha« «• force, Bot when that thai fal ber the cors Unto the kyrk forto bery. Than fal thou here a fiiry cry; So fal thai mak a dolalW igw« ' *<i*ff»^

Than wil thay feke the eft herin ; 780

Bot loke thou be of hert lyght, For of the fal thai h*v« no fygbt ; vol I. D

34 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Her fal thou be mawgre thair berd, And tharfor be thou noght aferd ; Thi famen fal be als the blynd, Both byfor the and byhind ; On ilka fide fal thou be foght : Now moft i ga, bot drede the noght, For i fal do that the es lefe, , If al it turn me to mischefe. 79O

When flio come unto the yate, Ful many men fand ftio tharate, Wele armed, and wald ful fayn Have taken and flane fir. Ywaine, Half his ftede thar fand thai, That within the yates lay, Bot the knight thar fand thai noght, Than was thar mekil forow unfoght, Dore ne window was thar nane Whar he myght oway gane. 800

Thai faid he fold thare be laft. Or els he cowth of wechecraft. Or he cowth of nygromappy, Or he had wenges for to fly, Haftily than went thai all, And foght him in the maydeus hall,

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 35

In chambers high, es noght at hide,

And in folers on ilka fide.

Sir Ywaine faw ful welc al that,

And ftill opon the bed he fat ; 810

Thar was nane that ancs mynt

Unto the bed at fmyte a dynt,

Al obout thai fmate fo faft

That mani of thair wapins brafl.

Mekyl forow thai made ilkane,

For thai no myght wreke thair lord bane.

Thai went oway, with dreri chere.

And fone tharefter come the ber,

A lady folowd, white fo mylk,

In al that land was none fwilk ; 820

Sho wrang her fingers, out-braft the blode,

For mekyl wa ftio was nere wode,

Hir fayr har fcho alto drogh.

And ful oft fel fho down in fwogh ;

Sho wepe, with a ful dreri voice.

The hali water, and the croycc,

Was bom bifor the procesfion,

Thar folowd mani a modcr fon.

Biforc the corn rade a knyght,

On his ftede that was ful wight, 830

36 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

In his armurs wele aiayd,

With fper and target gudely grayd.

Than fir Ywayn herd the cry,

And the dole of that fayr lady,

For mor forow myght nane have

Than fho had when he went to grave.

Preftes and monkes, on thaire wyfe,

Ful folempnly did the fervyfe,

Als Lunet thar ftode in the thrang,

Until fir Ywaine thoght hir lang, 840

Out of the thrang the wai (ho tafe.

Unto fir Ywaine faft ftio gafe ;

Sho faid, Sir, how ertow ftad ?

I hope ful wele thou has bene rad.

Series, he faid, thou fais wele thar,

So abayfi was i never are.

He faid, Leman, i pray the,

If it any wife may be.

That i might luke a litel throw

Out at fura hole or fum window ; S50

For wonder fayn, he fayd, wald i

Have a fight of the lady.

The maiden than ful fone unfhet

In a place a preve weket,

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 37

Thar of the lady he bad a fyght,

Lowd (ho cried to god ahnyght,

" Of his fins do him pardowne,

For fertanly in no reg^owne

Was never knight of his bewt^y

Ne efter him fal never nane be ; 8^0

In ai the werld, fro end to ende,

E» none fo curtayfe, ne fo hende.

God grant the grace thou mai won

In hevyn with his owyn Ton !

For fo large lifcs none in lede,

Ne none fo doghty of gude dede."

When (ho had thus made hir fpell,

In fwownyg ful oft-fithes flio fell.

Now lat we the lady be, And of fir Ywaine fpcke we. S70

Luf that es fo mekil of raayne, Sar had wownded fir Ywayne, That wharcfo he fal ride or ga His hert (ho has that es his h. His hert he has fet albydene Whar him fclf dar noght oe fcne ; Bot thus in langing bides he, And hopes that it fal better be*

82853

38 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Al that war at the enteremeiit } ) > -ferf t'

Toke thair leve at the lady gent, 880

And hame now er thai halely gane,

And the lady left allane,

Dweland with hir chamberer,

And other mo that war hir der.

Than bigan hir noyes al new.

For forow failed hir hide and hew.

Unto his fawl was fho ful hulde,

Opon a fawter al of guide,

To fay the falmes fail flio bigan.

And toke no tent unto no man. 890

Than had fir Yvvain mekyl drede,

For he hoped noght to fpede.

He faid, I am mekil to blame.

That i luf tham that wald me fhame,

Bot yit i wite hir al with wogh, .

Sen that i hir lord flogh,

I can noght fe, by nakyn gyn,

How that i hir luf fold wyn.

That lady es ful gent and fmall,

Hir yghen cler als es criftall ; 900

Sertes thar es no man olive *

That kowth hir bewtefe wele defcrive.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. Sp

Thus was fyr Ywayne fted that fefowne, He wroght fu raekyl ogayns refowne, To fet his luf in fwilk a ftcdo, Whare thai hated him to the dede : He fayd he fold have hir to wive, Or els he fold lofe his lyve. Thus als he in ftody fat. The mayden come to him with that : 9^0

Sho fayd, How has to fam this day. Sen that i went fro the oway ? Sone Oio faw him pale and wan, Sho wift wele what him ayled than ; Sho faid, I wote thi hert cs fet. And fertes i ne fal noght it let, Bot i fal help the fra prefowne, And bring the to thi warifowne. He faid, Series, damyfele,

Out of this place wil i noght ftele, 920

Bot i wil wende by dayes lyght. That men may of me have fight, Opinly on ilka fyde. Worth of me what fo bityde ; Manly wil i hothin wende. Than anfwerd the raayden hende :

40 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Sir, thou fal wend with honowr,

For thou fal l^ave ful gude focowr ;

Bot, fir, thou fal be her fertayne,

A while unto i cum ogayue : 55©

Sho [kend] altrewly his enteiit,

And tharfor es fho wightly went

Unto the lady faire and bright,

For unto hir right wele fho myght

Say what-fom hyr willes es,

For fho was al hir mayflres,

Her keper, and hir cownfayler :

To hir fho faid, ak ye ial her,

Bytwix tham twa in gude cownfayl :

^ladame, flio fayd, i have mervayl 940

That ye forow thus ever onane ;

For goddes luf lat be yowr mane ;

Ye fold think over alkyn thyng,

Of the kinges Arthurgh cumyng.

Menes yow noght of the mesfage

Of the damyfel favage.

That in hir lettre to yow fend ;

Alias, who fal yow now defend,

Yowr land, and al that es tharyn ?

Sen ye wil never of wepeing blyn. $50

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 41

A madamc, takes tent to rae*

Ye ne have na knyght in this cuntre,

That durft right now his body bede,

Forto do a doghty dede,

Ne forto bide the mekil bode

Of king Arthurgh and of his ofte,

And if be find none hym ogayn»

Yowr landes er lorn, this es fertayn.

The lady underftode ful wele How fho hyr cownfaild ilka dele, g60

Sho bad hyr go hir way fraertly, And that ttxo war na nior hardy Swilk wordes to hyr at fpeke, For wa hir hert wold alto breke. Sho bad go wightly hethin oway. Than the maiden thus gan fay : Madamc, it cs oft wemens will Tham forto blame that fais tham fciU. Sho went oway ais (ho noght roght, And than the lady hyr bythoght 970

That the maiden faid no wrang, And fo (ho fat in (tody lang.

In (tody thus allane Iho fat, The mayden come ogaya with that :

42 YVVAINE AND GAWIN.

Madame, fho faid, ye er a barn.

Thus may ye fone yowr felf forfarn.

Sho fayd, chaftife thy hert madame,

To fwilk a hidy it es grete fhame

Thus to wepe, and make Hike cry,

Think upon thi grete gentri. 980

Trowes thou the flowr of chevalry

Sold al with thi lord dy,

And with him be put in molde ?— -

God forbede that it Co folde !

Als gude als he, and better bene.

Thou lyes, fho fayd, by hevyn quene.

Lat fe if thoue me tel kan,

VVhar es any fo doghty man

Als he was that wedded me.

** Yis, and ye kun me na mawgr^, 990

And that ye mak me fekemes,

That ye fal luf me nevertheles."

Sho faid, Thou may be ful fertayn,

That for na thing that, thou mai fayn,

Wil i me wreth on nane maner.

Madame, fho faid, than fal ye her :

I fal yow tel a prevet^,

And na ma fal wit bot we.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 43

Yf twa knyghtes be in the felde,

On twa ftcdes, with fpere and flielde, 1000

And the tane the tother may fla,

Whether es the better of tha ?

Sho faid, He that has the bataile.

Ya, faid the raayden, fawnfayle,

The knyght that lifos es mar of maine,

Than yowr lord that was flayne ;

Yowr lord fled out of the place,

And the tother gan hym chace

Hedcr into his awyn halde,

Thar may ye wit he was ful balde. 1010

The lady faid, This es grete fcome.

That thou nevyns him me bifonic,

Thou fais nowlhcr foth, ne right,

Swith out of myne eghen fyght !

The mayden faid, So mot i the,

Thus ne hight yc noght me.

That ye fold fo me mysfay.

With that ftio turned hir oway,

And haftily (ho went ogayn.

Unto the chameber to fir Ywayne. 1020

The lady thoght than, al the nyght, How that Iho had na knyght,

44 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Forto feke hir land thoi^hout,

To kepe Arthurgh and hys rowt.

Than bigan hir forto ihame,,

And hir felf faft forto blame ;

Unto hir felf faft gan iho flyte, > ,, .

And faid, With wrang now i hir wite j; •),?♦ f-Vt ^f

Now hopes fho i will never mar

Luf hir, als i have done ar ; 1030*

I wil hir luf, with main and mode.

For that fho faid was for my gode.

On the morn the mayden rafe, And unto chamber fone Iho gafe ; Thar fho fyndes the faire lady Hingand hir hevyd ful drerily, In the place whar flio hir left. And ilka dele fho talde hir eft, Als fho had faid to hir bifor.. oc ,i.i«>'i (t .. ua % ; 1 Than faid the lady, Merewea for, 104U

That i misfayd the yifterday, I wil amend if that i- nmy ; Of that knyght now wald i her, What he war, and whether he wer j I wate that i have fayd omys. Now wil i do als thou^me wys :

yWAINE AND GAWIN. 45

Tel me baidely, or thou blin,

If he be cumen of gentil kyn.

Madame, fho fiiid, i dar warand

A genteler lord es none lifand. 1050

The hendefl man ye fal him fynde,

That ever come of Adams kynde.

" How hat he ? fai me for fertayne.**

Madame, fho faid, fir Ywayne, '

So gentil knight have ye noghl fene, ^

He es the kings fon Ur)'ene.

Sho held hir paid of that tithyng,

For that his fader was a kyng.

" Do me have him here in my fight,

Bitwene this and the thrid night, ' 106'0

And ar if that it are myght be.

Me langes far him forto fc ;

Bring him if thou mai this night."

Madame, fiio fayd, that i ne might,

For his wonyng es hethin oway,

More than the jomc of a day ;

Bot i have a wele rinand page,

Wil Airt tliider right in a (lage.

And bring him by to morn at nyght.

The lady faide, Loke, yf be myght lO/O

4d YWAINE AND GAWIN.

To-morn by evyn be here ogayn.

Sho faid, Madame, With al his mayn.

" Bid him hy, on alkyn wyfe,

He fal be quit wele his fervyfe,

Avancemtnt fal be hys bone.

If he wil do this eraud fone."

Madame, fho faid, i dar yow hight,

To have him her or the thrid n3'ght ;

Towhils efter yowr kownfayl fend,

And alk tham wha fal yow defend, 1080

Yowr well, yowr land, kastel, and towr,

Ogayns the nobil king Arthur,

For thar es nane of tham ilkane . ■

That dar the batel undertane. •':!

Than fal ye fay, nedes bus me take

A lorde to do that ye forfake :

Nedes bus yow have fum nobil knyght

That wil and may defend yowr right ;

And fais alfo to fuffer ded

Ye wil noght do out of thair rede : lOpO

Of that worde fal thai be blyth,

And thank yow ful many fithe.

The lady faid. By god of myght,

I fal arefon tham this night;

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 47

Me think thou dwelles ful lang her, Send forth fwith thi mesfanger.

Than was the lady blitb and glad, Sho did al als hir inaydcn bad, Efter hir cownfail iho font onane, And bad thai fold cum fone ilkane. 1100

The maiden rcdies hyr ful ratb, Bilive flio gert fyr Ywaine bath, And clcd him fethin in gude fcarlct, Forord wele and with gold fret, A girdel ful riche for the nanes, Of perry and of preciows flanes. Sho taUle him al how he fold do, When that he come the lady to ; And thus when he was alredy, Sho went and talde to hyr lady, 1 1 10

That cumen was hir mesfager. Sho faid fmcrtly, Do lat me her, Cumes be fone, als have thou wyn ? Medame, fho faid, i fal noght blin, Or that he be byfor yow here. Hian faid the lady, with light cher, Go biing liiin heder prcvclyr That none wit but thou and i :

4» YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Than the maiden went ogayn,

Haftily to fir Ywayn : 1 120

Sir, (ho fayd, als have i wyn, .

My lady wate thou ert hereyn ;

To cum bifor hir luke thou be balde,

And tak gode tent what i have talde.

By the hand (ho toke the knyght,

And led him unto chamber right,

Byfor hir lady, es noght at layne,

And of that come was fho ful fayne ;

Bot yit fir Ywayne had grete drede,

When he unto chamber yede. 113d

The chamber flore, and als the bed,

With klothes of gold was al over fpred,

Hir thoght he was withowten lac,

Bot no word to him fho fpak,

And he for dred oway he drogh,

Than the mayden ftode and logh :

Sho fayd, Mawgre have that knyght,

That haves of fwilk a lady fyght,

And can noght (hew to hir his nede ;

Cum furth fir, the thar noght drede, 1 140

That mi lady wil the fmyte,

Sho loves the wele withowten lite.

yWAlNE AND GAWIN. 49

Pray to hir of hir mercy. And for thi fake right fu fal i, That fho forgif the, in this l\ede. Of Salados the roufe ded. That was hir lord that thou has Oayne. On knefe him fet than fyr Ywaine : '' Madame, i yelde me yow untill. Ever to be at yowre wyli, 1160

Yf that i might i ne wald n(^ht fle. Sbo faid, Nay, whi fold fo be ? To ded yf i gert do the now. To me it war ful litcl prow, Bot for i find the fo bowfum, That thou wald thus to me cum, And for thou dofe the in my grace, I forgif the thi trifpafe. Syt down, fho faid, and lat me her, Why thou ert thus deboner. II60

Madame, he faid, anis, with a hike, Al my bcrt with the thou loke. Sea i firfl of the ImuI fyght, Have i the lufed with al my might. To mo than the, mi lady hende, Sal never mor my luf wende. TOL. I. £

50 YVVAINE AND GAWIN.

For tin luf ever i am redy

Lely forto lif or dy.

Sho faid, Dar thou wele undertake

In my land pefe forto make, 1 170

And forto maiutene al mi rightes,

Ogayns king Arthur and his knyghtes ?

He faid, That dar i undertane,

Ogaynes ilka lyfand man.

Swilk kownfail byfor had fho tane,

Sho faid, Sir, than er we at ane.

Hir barons hir ful rathly red To tak a lord hir forto wed. Than haftily fhe went to hall, Thar abade hir barons all, 1180

Forto hald thair parlement, And mari hir by thair afent. Sho fayd, Sirs, with an acorde. Sen me bus nedely have a lord, My landes forto lede and yeme, Sals me fone howe ye wil deme. Madame, thai faid, how fo ye will, Al we fal asfent thartyll.

Than the lady went ogayne. Unto charaeber to fir Ywaine : 1190

YAVAINE AND GAWIN. 51

Sir, fho faid, fo god me fave, Other lorde wil i nane have, If i the left i did noght right, A kingfon and a noble knyght.

Now has the maiden done hir ihogbt. Sir Ywaync out of anger broght. The lady led him unto hall, Ogains him rafe the barons ally ^

And a! thai faid, Ful fekerly, This knight fal wed the lady; 1200

And ilkane faid, tham-felf bitwene. So fair a man had thai noght fene. For bis hev/\h in hal and bowr. Him femes to be an emperowr ; We wald that thai war trowth-plight. And weded fone this ilk nyght. The lady fet hir on the defe, And cumand al to hald thaire pefe ; And bad hir fteward furawhat fay, Or men went fra cowrt oway : 1210

The fteward faid. Sirs, underftandes, Wcr es waxen in thir landes, The king Arthur es redy dight To be her byn this fowretenyght.

52 YWAINE AfJD GAWIN.

He and his menye ha thoght

To win this land if thai moght ;

Thai wate ful wele that he es ded

That was lord her in this ftede,

None es fo wight wapins to welde,

Ne that fo boldly mai us belde, 1220

And wemen may maintene no ftowr,

Thai jnoft nedes have a governowre,

Tharfor mi lady moft nede

Be weded haftily for drede,

And to na lord wil (ho tak tent

Bot if it be by yowr asfent.

Than the lordes, al on raw,

Held tham wele payd of this faw,

Al asfented hyr untill

To tak a lord at hyr owyn wyll, 1230

Than faid the lady, onone right,

How hald ye yow paid of this knight ?

He profers hym, on al wyfe.

To myne honor and my fervyfe ;

And fertes, firs, the foth to fay,

I faw him never or this day ;

Bot talde unto me has it bene

He es the kyngfon Uriene,

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 53

He es cumen of hegh parage,

And wonder doghty of vasfelage, 1240

War and wife and ful curtayfe.

He yernes mc to wife alwayfe,

And ner the lefe i wate he might

Have wele better, and fo war right.

With a voice halely thai fayd,

Madame, ful wele wc hald us payd ;

Rot hades faft, al that ye may,

That ye war wedded this ilk day :

And grete prayer gan thai make.

On alwife that Dio fuld hym take. 1*^50

Sone unto the kirk thai went. And war wedded in thair prefent ; Thar wedded Ywaine in plevyae The riche lady Alundyne, The dukes doghter of Landuit ; Els had hyr lande bene dellruyt. Thus thai made the maryage, Omang al the riche barnage, Thai made ful mekyl mirth that day, Ful grete feAes on gude aray. IS^

Grete mirthes made thai in that ftede, And al fu rgetyn es now the de(jL

5* YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Of him that was thair lord fre, Thai fay that this es worth fwilk thre, And, that thai lufed him mekil mor, Than him that lord was thare byfor.

The bridal fat, for foth to tell, Til kyng Arthur come to the well, With al his knyghtes everilkane, Byhind leved thar noght ane. 1270

Than fayd fir Kay, Now whar es he That made llikfe boft her forto be, Forto venge his cofyn-germayne ? I wift his wordes war al in vayne ; He made grete bofte bifor the quene, And her now dar he noght be fene ; His prowd wordes er now al purft, For, in fayth, ful ill he durft Anes luke opon that knyght, That he made boft with to fyght. 1280

Than fayd Gawayn haftily, Syr, for goddes luf, mercy, For i dar hete the for fertayne TRat we fal here of fir Ywayne, This ilk day, that be thou balde, Bot he be ded or done in halde :

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 5b

And never in no cumpany

Herd i him fpeke the velany.

Than fayd fir Kay, Lo, at ihi will, ■ .»'

Fra this time forth i Hil be ftill. iSpiO

The king kefl water on the ilane, The ftornie rafe ful Tone onane, With wikked weders kene and calde, AIs it was byfore-hand talde ; The king and his men ilkane Wend iharwith to have bene flane ; So blew it flor with flete and rayn : And haAily than fyr Ywayne Dight him graythly in his gcr, With nobii fliclde and ftrong fper. 1300

When he was dight in feker wcdci Than he umftrade a nobil ftede, Him thoght that he was als lyght, Ala a fowl es to the flyght, Unto the well fall wendes he, And fone when thai rayght him fe, Syr Kay, for he wald noght fayle, Smertly aflccs the batayl ; And alfone than faid the kyng, Sir Kay, i grante the thine aflcyng. 13 jo

66 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Than fir Ywayn neghed tham ner,

Thair cowntenance to fe and her ;

Sir Kay than on hi? ftede gan fpring.

Ber the wele now, fayd the kyng.

Ful glad and bhth was fyr Ywayne,

When fir Kay come him ogayn ;

Bot Kay will noght wha. it was,

He findes his fer now or he pas ;

Syr Ywaine thinkes now to be wroken,

On the grete wordes that Kay has fpoken. 1320

Thai rade togeder with fperes kene, Thar was no reverence tham bitwene ; Sir Ywayn gan fir Kay here, Out of his fadel lenkith of his fper, ,; , . , His helm unto the erth fmate, ^ ...; , /

A fote depe tharin yt bate j He wald do him na mor defpite, Bot down he lighted als tyte. Sir Kay ftede he toke in hy,

And prefand the king ful curtaysly, 133®

Wonder glad than war thai all, That Kay fo fowl a ftiame gan fell, And ilkone fayd til other then, This es he that fcornes al men.

YAVAINE AND GAWIN. 57

Of his wa war thai wele paid.

Syr Ywain than to the kyng faid>

Sir kyng, i gif to the this ftcde,

For he may help the in thi nede,

And to me war it grete trispaa

Forto withhald that yowres was. 1340

What man ertow ? quod the kyijg^

Of the have i na knawyng,

Bot if thou uiutrmed were.

Or els thi name that i might her.

Lord, he fayd, i am Ywayue.

Than was the king ferly fayne.

A furi man than was tir Kay,

That faid that he was ftollea oway,

Al dcfcumfite he lay on growade,

To him that was a fary fiowode. 1350

The king and his men war ful glad,

That thai fo fyr Ywayne had,

And ful glad was fir Gawayne»

Of the welefar of fir Ywayne,

For nune was to him half fo der

"Of al that in the court were.

The king ftr Ywayn tone hifoght. To t«l him al how he had wioght,

58 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

And Cone fir Ywaine gan him tell

Of al his far how it by fell, 1360

With the knight how that he fped,

And how he had the lady wed,

And how the mayden hym helpid wele :

Thus tald he to him ilka dele.

Sir kyng, he fayd, i yow byfeke, And al yowr menye milde and meke, That ye wald grante to me that grace At wend with me to my purchace, And fe my kastel and my towre, Than myght ye do me grete honowr. 1370

The kyng granted him ful right To dwel with him a fowretenyght. Sir Ywayne thanked him oft fith, The knyghtes war al glad and blyth With fir Ywaine forto wend, And fone a fquier has he fend : Unto the kastel the way he nome, And warned the lady of thair come, And that his lord come with the kyng ; And, when the lady herd this thing, 1380

It es no lifand man with mowth That half hir cumforth tei kowth.

YWAINE AND GAWIN.

HaAily that lady hende Cumand al hir men to wcnde. And dight tham in thair bed any. To kepe the king that ilk day. Thai keped him in riche wede, Rydeand on many a nobil ftede, Thai hailfc'd him ful curtaysly, And alfo al his cumpany. 1390

Thai faid he was worthy to dowt, That (o fele folk led obowt. Thar was grete joy, i yow bihete, With clothes fpred in ilka ftrete, And damyfels danceand ful wele, With trompes, pipes, and with fristele ; The castcl and cete rang With mynAralfi and nobil fang; Thai ordand tham ilkane in fer, To kepe the king on fair maner. 1400

The lady went withowten towne, And with hir many bald barowne, Cled in purpur and crmyne, With girdels al of gold ful fyne. The lady made ful men chere, Sho was al dight with drewrios der ;

60 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Abowt hir was ful mekyl thrang.

The puple cried, and fayd omang,

Welkum ertou, kyng Arthoure,

Of al this werld thou beres the flowr, 1410

Lord kyng of all kynges,

And blefsed be he that the brynges.

When the lady the kyng faiW, Unto him fall gan fho draw, To hald his fterap whils he lyght, Bot fone when he of hir had fyght, With mekyl myrth thai famen met, With hende wordes fho him gret. A ihowfand fithes, Welkum, fho feys, And fo es fir Gawayne the curtayfe. 1420

The king faid, Lady, white fo flowr, God gif the joy and mekil honowr, For thou ert fayr with body gent ; With that he hir in armes hent, And ful fair he gan hir falde, Thar was many to bihalde.

It es no man with tong may tell •,; _)

The mirth that was tham omell ; , ,'

Of maidens was thar fo gude wane. That ilka knight ©lyght tak aiw. 143Q

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 5l

Fill mekil joy fyr Ywayn made, Tliat be the king til his hows hade, The lady omang iham al famcn Made ful mekyl joy and game'n.

In the kastcl thus thai dwell, Ful mekyl myrth wafe tbam omell. The king was tharc with his knyghtcs Aght dayes and aght nyghtes, And Ywayn tham ful mery made, With alkyn gamyn tham for to glade ; 1440

lie prayed the kyng to thank the may That hym had helpid in his jomay, And ilk day had thai folace fer Of huntyng and als of revere, For thar was a ful fayre cuntr^, With wodes and parkes grete plent^, And CKStcls wioght with lymc and ftane, That Ywayne with his wife had tane.

Now wil the king no langcr lendc, Bot til his cuntre wil he wendc. I45W

Ay whils thai war thar, for fertayne, Syr GawajTi did al his raayne To pray fir Ywaine, on al maner, For to wendc with tham in icre :

62 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

He faid, Sir, if thou ly at hame,

Wonderly men wil the blame ;

That knyght es nothing to fet by

That levesal his chevalry,

And ligges bekeand in his bed,

When he haves a lady wed. ]460

For when that he has grete endpfe

Than war tyrae to win his lofe ;

For, when a knyght es chevalroufe,

His lady es the more jelows ;

Alfo fho lufes him wele the bet :

Tharfore, fir, thou fal noght let

To haunt armes in ilk cuntre.

Than wil men wele mor prayfe the ;

Thou hafe inogh to thi defpens,

Now may thow wele hante turnamentes ; 1 4/0

Thou and i fal wende in fer,

And i wil be at thi banere.

I dar noght fay, fo god me glad,

If i fo fayr a leman had j

That i ne moft leve al chevalry.

At hame ydel with hir to ly,

Bot yit a fole, that litel kan,

May wele cownfail another man.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 63

So lang fir Gawayn prayed fo,

Sir Ywayne grantes him forto go 1480

Unto the lady, and tak his leve ;

Loth him was hir forto greve.

Til hyr onane the way he nome,

Bot (ho ne wift noght whi he come ;

In his arms he gan hir mete,

And thus he faid, My Icman fwete,

My life, my hele, and al my hert.

My joy, my comforth, and my quert,

A thing prai i the unto,

For thine honor and myne alfo. 1490

The lady faid, Sir, vcrrayment, •

I wil do al yowr cumandment.

Dame, he faid, i wil the pray,

That i might the king cumvay,

And alfo with my feres foundc,

Armes forto haunte a Aownde,

For in bourding men wald me blame,

If i fold now dwel at hame.

The lady was loth him to greve ;

Sir, (ho faid, i gif yow leve, 1500

Until a tcrme that i fal fayn,

Bot that ye cum than ogayn.

64 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Al this yer hale i yow grante

Dedes of armes for to hante,

Bot, fyr, als ye luf me dere,

On al wife that ye be her

This day twelmoth, how fom it be,

For the luf ye aw to me ;

And, if ye com noght by that day,

My luf fal ye lofe for ay : 1510

Avife yow wele now or ye gone,

This day is the evyn ef faint Jon,

That warn i yow now or ye wende,

Luke ye cum by the twelmoth ende.

Dame, he fayd, i fal noght let,

To hald the day that thou has fet,

And, if i might be at my wyll,

Ful oft ar fold i cum ye till ;

Bot, madame, this underftandes,

A man that pafses divers landes 1520

May fumtyme cum in grete deftres,

In prefon, or els in fekenes,

Tharfore i pray yow or i ga,

That ye wil out-tak thir twa.

The lady fayd, This grant i wele,

Als ye afk, everilka dele,

YWAINE AND OAWIN. 65

And i fal lene to yow my ring, That es to me a ful der thing. In nane anger fal ye be,

Whils ye it have and thinkes on me. 1530

I fal tel to yow ouane The vertu that es in the (lane : It es, na prefon yow fal halde, Al if yowr fafe be many falde; With fekenes fal ye noght be tane ; Ne of yowr blode ye fal Icfe nane ; In l^alel tane fal ye nc^ht be, Whils ye it have and thinkes on me; And ay, whils ye cr trew of love, Over ai fal ye be above; t540

I wald never for nakyn wight, Lene it ar unto na knyght, For grete luf i it yow take, Yemes it wcle now for ray fake. Sir Ywayne faid, Dame, gramercy. Than ho gert ordain in hy Armurs, and al other gere, Stalworth ftedes, both (held and fper, And alfo fquyer, knave, and fwayne : Ful glad and blith was fir Oawayns. 1550

TOL. I. F

66 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

No lenger wald fyr Ywayne byde. On his ftede fone gan he ftride ; And thus he has his leve tane, For him murned many ane. The lady toke leve of the kyng, And of his meny6 aid and ying ; Hir lord fir Ywayne fho bifekes, With teris trikland on hir chekes. On al wife that he noght let

To halde the day that he had fet. l56o

The knightes thus thair ways er went, To jufting and to turnament ; Ful dughtily did fir Ywayne, And alfo did fir Gawayne ; Thai war ful doghty both in fer, Thai wan the prife both fer and uer.

The kyng that time at Cefter lay, The knightes went tham for to play, Ful really thai rade obout,

Al that twelnioth out and out, 1570

To jufting and to turnament, Thai wan grete wirfhips als thai went. Sir Ywayne oft had al the iofe. Of him the word ful wide gofe ;

YWAINE AND GAVVIN. $7

Of thair dedcs was grete renown To and fra in towre and towne.

On this wife in this life thai lad Unto faint Johns day was pad ; Than haftily thai hied home, And fone unto the kyng thai come; 1580

And thar thai held grete inangcri. The kyng with al his cumpany. Sir Ywaine umbithought him than He had forgeten his leman ; Broken i have hir cumandment Series, he faid, now be i Oient ; The terme es pall that fho noe fet. How ever fal tliis bale be bet ? Unnethes he might him hald fra wcpe, And right in this than toke he kepe. 1590

Into court come a damyfele, On a palfray ambland wcle. And cgcrly down gan flio lyght, Withouten help of knave or knyght. And fone (ho lete hyr mantel fall, And haAed hir faft into hall ; Sir kyng, ftio fayd, god mot the fe, My lady gretes the wele by me,

6» YWAINE AND GAWIN.

And alfo, fir, gude Gawayne,

And al thi knyghtes, bot fir Ywayne, 16OO

He es ateyned for traytur.

And fals and lither lofenjoure :

He has bytrayed my lady,

Bot fho es war with his gilry ;

Sho hopid noght, the foth to fay,

That he wald fo have ftoUen oway ;

He made to hir ful mekyl bofte,

And faid of al he lufed hir mofte ;

Al was trefon and trechery,

And that he fal ful der haby. 161O

It es ful mekyl ogains the right

To cal fo fals a man a knight.

My lady wend he had hir hert,

Ay forto kepe and hald in quert ;

Bot now with grefe he has hir gret,

And broken the term that fho him fet,

That was the evyn of faynt John,

Now es that tyme for ever gone ;

So- lang gaf fho him refpite,

And thus he haves hir led with lite ; I62O

Sertainly fo fals a fode,

Was never cumen of kynges blode.

YWAINE AND GAWIN* 69

That fo fune forgat bis wyfe.

That lofed him better than hyr life.

Til Ywayn fais ftio, Thus thou es

Traytur untrew, and trowthleS)

And alfo an unkind cumlyng ;

Deliver me my lady ring.

Sho ftirt to him, with fterne lokc,

The ring fro his finger rtio toke, l630

And, alfone als Hio bad the ring,

Hir leve toke (ho of the king.

And flirted up on hir palfray,

With-owten more fho went hir way ;

With hir was nowther knave ne grome,

Ne no man will wher (ho bycome.

Sir Ywayn, when he this gan her, T

Murned, and made fimpil cher, xi ixH

In forow than fo was be ftad, ' • jfj

That nerc for murnyng wcx be mad, l640:

It was no mirth that him myght luend, .ri

At worth to n(^hl ful wele be wend, In haP.

For wa he es ful wil of wane : ,

" Alias ! i am mync owin bane." Alias, he fuyd, that i was bom ! Have i my leman thus forlorn ?

70 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

And al es for myne owen foly, Alias ! this dole wil mak me dy.

An evyl toke him als he ftode,

For wa he wex al wilde and wode ; l650

Unto the wod the way he nome,

No man will whor he bycome.

Obout he welk in the foreft,

Als it wore a wilde befte,

His men on ilka fyde has foght,

Fer and ner, and findes him noght.

On a day, als Ywayne ran In the wod, he met a man, Arowes brade and bow had he, And when fir Ywaine gan him fe, I66O

To him he ftirt, with birful grim, His bow and arwes reft he him, Ilka day than at the lefte, Shot he him a wilde befte ; Fiefs he wan him, ful gude wane, And of his arows loft he nane. Thare he lifed a grete fefowne, With rotes, and raw venyfowne. He drank of the warm blode. And that did him mekil gode. I67O

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 7 1

Als he wenl in that boskage,

He fand a Ictil ermy tage ;

The ermyte faw, and fone was war

A naked man a bow bar,

He hoped he was wode that tide,

Tharfor no lenger durft he bide ;

He fperd his yate, and in he ran,

For fered of that wode man ;

And, for him thoght it charite.

Out at his window fet he l6fiO

Brede and water for the wode man,

And tharto ful Tone he ran.

Swilk als he had fwilk he him gaf,

Barly brede with al the chaf ;

Tharof eie he ful gude wane.

And arc fwilk ete he never nanc.

Of the water he drank thar-with.

Than ran he forth into the frith.

For, if a man be never fo wode,

He wil kura whare man dofe him gode ; 169O

And fertanly fo did Ywayne,

Everilka day he come ogayne.

And with him broght he redy boun

Ilka day new venifowne,

72 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

He laid it at the ermite yate,

And ete, and drank, and went his gate.

Ever, alfone als he was gane,

The ermyt toke the flefh onane,

He flogh it, and feth it fayr and wele,

Than had Yvvayne, at ilka mele, J 700

Brede and fothen venyfowne.

Than went the ermyte to the towne,

And falde the fkinnes that he broght.

And better brede tharwith he boght.

Than fand fir Ywayne in that ftede

Venyfon and better brede.

This Hfe led he ful fele yer,

And fethen he wroght als ye fal her.

Als Ywaine fleped under a tre By him come thar rideand thre, 1710.

A lady, twa bour-wemen alfwa, Than fpak ane of the maidens twa, A naked [man] me think i fe, Wit i wil what it may be. Sho lighted doun, and t«> him yede, And unto him flio toke gude hede ; Hir thoght wele fho had him fene In many ftedes whar fho had bene ;

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 73

Sho was aftonayd in that ilownde.

For in hys face fho faw a woade, 1720

Bot it was heled and bale of hew,

Tharby hir thoght that ftio him knew.

Sho fayd, By god, that nic has made ;

Swilk a wound fir Ywayne hade,

Sertaynly this ilk os he :

Alias, fho fayd, how Diay this be i

Alias, that him es thus bityd !

So nobil a knyght als he wa« kyd !

It es gretc forow that he fold be

So ugly now opon to fe. 1730

So tenderly for him Iho gret,

That hir teres al hir chekes wet.

Madame, fho faid, for fertayn,

Her Imve we funden fir Ywayne,

The befl knyght that on grund mai ga,

Alias, him es bytid fo wa !

In fum forow was be ftady

And tharfore es hQ waxen mad ;

Sorow wil mcng a mans blode.

And make him forto wax wode. 17*0

Madame, and he war now in quert.

And al hale of will and hert,

74 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Ogayns yowr fa he wald yow wer.

That has yow done fo mekyl der;

And he war hale, fo god me mend,

Yowr forow war fone broght to end.

The lady faid, And this ilk be he,

And than he wil noght hethin fle,

Thorgh goddes help, than hope i yit

We fal him win ynto his wyt; 1750

Swith at hame i wald we wer,

For thar i have an unement der,

Morgan the wife gaf it to me.

And faid, als i fal tel to the ; •

He fayd. This unement es fo gode.

That, if a man be brayn-wode.

And he war anes anoynt with yt,

Smertly fold he have his wit.

Fro hame thai wer bot half a myle,

Theder come thai in a whyle ; I76O

The lady fone the boyft has foght,

And the unement has fho broght.

Have, fho faid, this unement her,

Unto me it es ful dere ;

And fmertly that thou wend ogayne,

Bot luke thou fpejid it noght in vaine;

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 75

And, fra the knight anoynted be,

That thou loves bring it to me.

Haftily that maiden raeke

Tok hofe, and fhofe, and ferk, and breke ; 177O

A richc robe als gan fho ta,

And a faint of filk alfwa,

And alfo a gude palfray,

And fmertly come fho whar he lay.

On Hepe fail yit Iho him fande,

Hir hors until a tre /ho band.

And haftily to him iho yede,

And that was a fiil hardy dede;

She enoynt his heved wele,

And his body ilka dele. 1780

Sho dcfpended al ye unemcnt,

Over hir ladies cumandment ;

For hir lady wald fho noght let,

Hir thoght that it was ful wele fet.

Al his atyre fho left hym by,

At his rifing to be redy,

That he might him cleth and dyght,

Or he fold of hyr have fyght.

Than he wakend of his flepe, The maiden to him toke gude kepe, 1790

76 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

He luked up ful farily,

And faid, Lady, faynt Mary,

What hard grace to me es maked,

That i am her now thus naked ?

Alias, wher any have her bene,

I trow fum has my follow fene.

Lang he fat fo in a thoght

How that ger was theder broght.

Than had he noght fo mekyl myght

On his fete to ftand up-right, 1800

Him failed might of fote and hand

That he myght nowther ga ne ftand ;

Bot yit his clathes on he wan ;

Tharfor ful wery was he than ;

Than had he mifter forto mete

Sum man that myght his bales bete.

Than lepe the maiden on hir palfray,

And nere by fide him made hir way;

Sho lete als fho him noght had fene,

Ne wetyn that he thar had bene. 1810

Sone, when he of hir had fyght,

He cried unto hyr, on hight.

Than wald fho no ferrer ride

Bot faft Iho luked on ilka fyde ;

tWAINE AND GAWIN. 77

And waited obout fer and ner,

He cried, and fayd, I am her.

Than fone fho rade him till,

And fayd. Sir, what es thi will.

" Lady, thi help war me ful lefe,

I- or i am her in grete mescbefe ; 1 8^0

I ne wate never by what chance,

That i have al this grcvance.

Pur charite, i wald ye pray -^

For to lene me that palfray,

That in thi hand es redy4)0wne.

And wis me func unto fom towne.

I wate noght huw i had this wa,

Ke how that i fal hethin ga."

Sho anfwerd him> with wordes hendc,

Syr, if thou wil with roe wcndc, 1830

Ful gladly wil i cfe the

Until that thou amended be.

Sho helped him opon bis hors ryg,

And fone thai come until a bryg,

Into the water the boitl Hio call,

And fethin hame fho hied faft.

NVhcn thai come to the castel yate, Tliai lighted and went in tharate.

78 YWAINE AND GAWm.

The maiden to the chamcber went,

The lady afked the uiiement. 1840

Madame, fho faid, the boyll es lorn.

And fo was i nerehand tharforn.

How fo, (ho faid, for goddes tre ?

Madame, fho faid, i fal tel the

Al the foth how that it was :

Als i over the brig fold pas,

Evyn in myddes, the foth to fay,

Thar ftombild my palfray ;

On the brig he fell al flat,

And the boyft, right with that, 1850

Fel frame in the water down.

And had i noght bene titter boun

To tak my palfray bi the mane,

The water fone had bene my bane.

The lady faid, Now am i fhent,

That i have lorn my gude unement.

It was to me, fo god me glade.

The beft trefur that ever i hade ; •> L.ih ■>.

To me it es ful mekil (kath,

Bot better es lofe it than yow bath. I860

Wend, flio faid, unto the knight.

And luke thou efe him at thi rayght.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 79

Lady, (ho faid, els war me lathe. Than (ho gert him wa(he and bathe, And gaf him mele and drink of main, Til he had gclcn his might ogayn. Thai ordand armurs ful wele dight, And fo thai did (ledes ful wight.

So it fell fone on a day, Whils he in the castcl lay, J 870

The ryche eryl, fyr Alers, With knightes, ferjantes, and fwiers, And with fwith grete vetale, Come that kastel to afaylc. Sir Ywain than his armurs tafe, With other focure that he hafe, The erel he kepes in the fclde, And fone he hit anc on the (helde, That the knyght, and als the ftede, Stark ded to the erth thai yede, 1880

Sone another, the thrid, the ferth, Feld he doun ded on the erth. He (lird him fo omang tham than, At ilka dint he (logh a man, Sum he lofed of hys men, Hot the eril loft fwilk ten ;

80 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Al thai fled fail fra that fyde Whar thai faw fir Ywayn ride, He herted fo his cumpany,

The mofte coward was ful hardy, 1 890

To fel al that thai fand in felde. - The lady lay ever and bihelde : Sho fais, Yon es a noble knyght, Ful eger and of ful grete myght ; He es wele worthy forto prayfe That es fo doghty and curtayfe. The mayden faid, with owten let, Yowr*oynement mai ye think wele fet ; Se, fc, madame, how he prikes ! And fe, fe, alfo, how fele he ftrikes ! 1900

Lo, how he fars omang his fafe ! Al that he hittes fone he flafe ; War thar fwilk other twa als he, Than hope i fone thair fafe fold fle ; Series, than fold we fe ful' tyte, The eril fold be discumfite. Madame, god gif his wil wer To wed yow and be loverd here. The erils folk went fall to ded. To fle than was his beft: rede; 191O

YWAINE and GAWIN. 81

The eril fone bigan to fle, And than might men bourd fe, How fir Ywaync and his feres Folowd tham on fel maners, And fall thai flogh the erils men, Olive thai left noght over ten ; The eril fled ful faft for drede, And than fir Ywaine ftrake his Aede, And over-toke him in that tide, At a kastel thar byfyde ; 1920

Sir Ywayne fonc with-fet the j^ate, That the eril myght noght in tharate. The eril faw al might noght gain, He yalde him fone to fir Ywayni And fone he has his trowth plyght To wend with him that ilk night Unto the lady of grete renowne, And profer him to hir prefowne, And to do him in hir grace,

And alfo to mend his trispafe. 1930

The eril than unarmed his hcvid, And none armur on him he levid, Helm, fhelde, and als his brand, That he bar naked in his hand, VOL. I. G

82 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Al he gaf to fir. Ywayne,

And hame with him he went ogaine.

In the kastel made thai joy ilkane,

When thai wift the eril was tane,

And when thai faw thara cumand ner,

Ogayns him went thai al in fere, 19*0

And when the lady gan thara mete,

Sir Ywaine gudely gan hir grete :

He faid, JNIadame, have thi prefoun,

And hald him her in thi baundoun,

Bot he gert hir grante him grace

To mak amendes yn that fpace.

On a buke the erl fwar

Forto reftor bath les and mar,

And big ogayn bath tour and toune,

That by him war caften doune, 1950

And evermar to be hir frende,

Umage made he to that hende ;

To this forward he borows fand,

The beft lordes of al that land.

Sir Ywaine wald no lenger lend, Bot redies him fail forto wend, At the lady his leve he takes, Grete murnyng tharfore (ho makes :

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 83

Sho faid, Sir, if it be yowrc will,

I pray yow for'^to dwel her ftill, ] 96O

And i wil yclde into yowr handcs

Myne awyn body, and al my luudes,

Herof fail flio hym byfoght,

Bot al hir fpeche avaylcs noght.

He faid, I wil no thing to mede,

Bot myne armurs, and my flede.

Sho fuid, Bath ftedes and other thing

Es yowres at yowr owyu Ukyng ;

And if ye wald her with us dwell

Mekyl mirth war us onieli. 1^70

It was na bote to bid him bide,

He toke his ftede, and on gaa ftride,

The lady and hyr may dens gent

VVepid far when that he went.

Now rides Ywayn, als ye fal her, With hevy herte and dreri cher, Thurgh a foreft, by a fty. And thar he herd a hydofe cr)-. The gayneil way ful fone he tafe, Til he come wharc the noys was, 1980

Than was he war of a dragoun, Had afayled a wilde lyown,

84 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

With his tayl he drogh him faft,

And fir ever on him he caft,

The lyoun had over htel myght

Ogaynes the dragon forto fyght ;

Than fir Ywayn made him bown

For to fucor the lyown,

His fhelde bifor his face he feft,

For the fyr that the dragon keft, 1990

He ftrake the dragon in at the chavyl,

That it come out at the navyl ;

Sunder ftrake he the throte boll,

That fra the body went the choll ; -

By the lioun tail the hevid hang yit,

For tharby had he tane his bit ;

The tail fir Ywayne ftrake in twa,

The dragon hevid than fel thar-fra.

He thoght, if the lyoun me afayle,

Redy fal he have batayle ; 2000

Bot the lyoun wald noght fyght,

Grete fawnyng made he to the knyght,

Down on the grund he fet him oft.

His forther fete he held oloft,

And thanked the knyght als he kowth,

Al if he toyght noght fpeke with mowth :

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 85

So welc the lyoti of him Icle,

Ful law he lay and likked his fete.

When fyr Ywayne that fight gan fe,

Of the befte him thoght pet6 ; 2010

And on his wai forth gan be ride.

The lyown folowd by hys fyde ;

In the foreft al that day,

The lyoun mekcly foloud ay,

And never, for wele ne for wa,

Wald he part fir Ywayn fra.

Thus in the forell als thai war,

The lyoun hungcrd fwith far,

Of a befte favore he hade,

Until hys lord fern bland he made, 2020

That he wald go to get his pray,

His kind it wald, the foth to fay;

For his lorde fold him noght grerc,

He wald noght go withowtcn leve,

Fra his lord the way he laght,

The mountancc of ane arow draght,

Sone he met a barayn da,

And ful fone he gan hir fla,

Hir throtc in twa ful fone he bate,

And drank the blode whils it was bate, 2030

86 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

That da he keft than in his nek,

Als it war a mele-fek,

Unto his lorde than he it bar,

And fir Ywayn perfayved thar

That it was fo ner the nyght

That no ferrer ride he might ;

A loge of bowes fone he made,

And flynt and fir-yren bath he hade,

And fir ful fone thar he flogh,

Of dry mos and many a bogh 2040

The lioun has the da undone ;

Sir Ywayne made a fpit ful fone,

And rofted fum to thaire foper ;

The lyon lay, als ye fal here ;

Unto na mete he him drogh,

Until his raaister had eten ynogh.

Him failed thare bath fait and brede.

And fo him did whyte wine and rede,

Bot of fwilk thing als thai had

He and his lyon made tham glad. 2050

The lyon hungerd for the nanes,

Ful fall he ete raw flefs and banes.

Sir Ywayn, in that ilk telde,

Laid his hevid opon his fhelde,

YWAINE AND GAWIN. ,S7

Alnyght the lyon obout yede, To kcpc his mayster and his ftede : Thus the lyon and the knyght Lended thar a fourtenyght.

On a day, fo it byfelli Syr Ywayne come unto the well, 2060

He faw the chapel and the thorne, And faid alias that he was born ; And when he loked on the ftane He fel in fwowing lone onane, Als he fel his fwerde out-fhoke, The pomel into the erth toke. The poynt toke until his throte, Wei ner he made a fan note, Thorgh his armurs fone it fmate, A litcl intil hys hals it bate : 2070

And wen the lyon faw his blude. He brayded als he had bene wode. Than kcft he up fo lathly rerde, Ful mani folk myht he have fcrde ; He wend wcle, fo god me rede, That his mayster had bene ded. It was ful gretc pet6 to her What forow he made on his maner.

88 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

He flirt ful hertly, i yow hete,

And toke the Iwerde bytwix his fete, 2080

Up he fet it by a ftane,

And thar he wald himfelf have ilane,

And fo he had fone, for fertayne,

Bot right in that rafe fyr Ywayne,

And alfone als he faw him Hand

For fayn he Uked fote and hand.

Sir Ywayn faid oft-fithes, Alias !

Of alkins men hard es my grace,

Mi leman fet me fertayn day

And i it brak, fo wayloway ! 209©

Alias for dole ! how may i dwell

To fe this chapel and this well !

Hir fair thorn, hir riche flane !

My glide dayes er now al gane,

My joy es done now al bidene,

I am noght worthi to be fene ;

I faw this wild befte was ful bayn

For my luf himfelfe have flayne,

Than fold i fertes, by mor right

Sla my felf for fwilk a wyght 2100

That i have for my foly lorn ;

Alias the while that i was bom !

yWAINE AND GAWIN. 89

Als fir Ywayn made his mane,

In the chapel ay was ane,

And herd his muruing haly all

Thorgh a crevice of the wall,

And fone it faid, with fimepel cher,

What ertou, that mumes her f

A man, he fayd, fum tymc i was ;

What crtow ? tel me or i pas. 2110

I am, it fayd, the farieil wight

That ever lifcd by day or nyght.

Nay, he faid, by faynt Martyne,

Thar es na forow mete to myne,

Ne no wight fo wil of wane,

I was a man now am 1 nane.

Whilom i was a nobil knyght.

And a man of raekyl myght,

I had knyghtes of my meny^,

And of rechcs grete plent^, 2120

I had a ful fayre fcignory,

And al i loft for my foly ;

Mi mafte forow als fal tliou her,

I loft a lady that was me der.

The tother fayd, Alias ! alias \

Myoe es a wele farier cafe j

90 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

To-morn i niun ber jewyfe,

Als my famen wil devife.

Alias ! he faid, what es the ikill ?

" That fal thou her, fir, if thou will ; 2130

I was a mayden, mekil of pride.

With a lady her net bifide,

Men me bikalles of trefown.

And has me put her in prefown,

I have no man to defend me,

Tharfore to mom brent mun i be."

He fayd, What if thou get a knyght,

That for the with thi fafe wil fight ?

Syr, fho fayd, als mot i ga.

In this land er bot knyghtes twa, 2 140

That me wald help to cover of car.

The tane es went i wate noght whar.

The tother es dweland with the king.

And wate noght of my myslykyng.

The tane of thara hat fyr Gawayn,

And the tother hat fyr Ywayn,

For hym fal i be done to dede,

To-morn right in this fame ftede,

He es the kinges fon Uriene.

Perfay, he fayd, i have him fene ; 2150

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 91

I am be, and for my gilt

Sal thou never more be fpilt ;

Thou ert Lunet, if i can rede.

That helpyd me yn mekyl drede ;

I had bene ded had thou noght bene,

Tharfor tel me us bytwene

How bicul thai the of trefon,

Thus forto Ha, and for what refon.

" Sir, thai fay, that my lady

Lufcd me moAc fpccially, 21 50

And wroght al efter my rede,

Tharfor thai hate me to the ded.

The fteward fays, that done have i

Grete trefone unto my lady.

His twa brether fayd it als.

And i wift that thai faid fals.

And fone i anfwerd, als a fot,

(For fole bolt.es fone (hot)

I faid, that i fold find a knyght

That fold me mayntene in my right, 2170

And feght with thara al thre,

Thus the batayl wajed wc.

Than thai granted me als tytc

Fourty daycs unto refpite,

92 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

And at the kynges court i was,

1 fand na cumfort, ne na folafe,

Nowther of knyght, knave, ne fwayn."

Than, faid he, VVhar was fyr Gawayn ?

He has bene ever trew and lele,

He fayled never no damyfele. 2180

Scho faid, In court [he] was noght fene,

For a knyght led oway the queue,

The kyng tharfor es fwith grym,

Sir Gawayn folowd efter him ;

He coins noght hame for fertayne

Until he bryng the queue ogayne.

Now has thou herd, fo god me rede,

Why i fal be done to ded.

He faid, Als i am a trew knyght,

I fal be redy forto fyght ' 2190

To-mom with tham al thre,

Leman, for the luf of the.

At my might i fal noght fayl,

Bow how fo befe of the batayle.

If ani man my name the frayne,

On al manor iuke thou yt layne.

Unto na man my name thou fay.

Syr, fho fayd, for foth nay.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 53

I prai to grete giid alweldand,

That thai have noght the heghcr hand, 2200

Sen that ye wil my murnyng mend,

I tak the grace that god wil fend.

Syr Ywayn fayd, I fal the hyght

To mend thi mumyng at my myght,

Thorgh grace of god in trenyte,

I fal the wrekc of tbam al thre :

Than rade he forth into frith,

And hys lyoun went hym with.

Mad he redyn hot a ftowndc

A ful fayr castell he fownde, 2210

And fyr Ywaine, the foth to fay,

Unto the castcl toko the way;

When he come at the castel-yate,

Four porters he fand tharate.

The draw-bryg fone lete thai doon,

Bot al thai tied for the lyown :

Thai faid, Syr, wythowten dowt.

That befte byhoves the leve tharout.

He fayd, Sirs, fo have i wyn,

Mi lyoun and i ful noght twyn ; 8220

I luf him als wele, i yow hete,

A Is my felf at ane mete,

94 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Owther fal we famyn lende,

Or els wil we hethin wende.

Bot right with that the lord he met,

And ful gladly he him gret,

With knyghtes and fvviei-s grete plente,

And fair ladies and maydens fre ;

Ful mekyl joy of him thai made,

Bot forow in thair hertes thai hade ; 2230

Unto a chameber was he led,

And unarmed, and fethin cled

In clothes that war gay and der ;

Bot oft-t3mes changed thair cher,

Sum tyme he faw thai weped all,

Als thai wald to water fall ;

Thai made (like murnyng and flik mane,

That gretter faw he never nane.

Thai feynyd tham oft for hys fake

Fayre femblant forto make. 2240

Ful grete wonder fir Ywayn hade,

For thai fwilk joy and forow made.

Sir, he faid, if yowr wil war,

I wald wyt why ye mak (like kar.

This joy, he faid, that we mak now,

Sir, es al for we have yow,

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 95

And, fir, alfo we mak this forow

For dedys that fal be done to-morow.

A geant wens her ncr byfyde, "

That es a devil of mekil pryde,

His name hat Harpjns of mowntaio,

For him we lyf in mekil payn,

My landcs haves he robbed and reft,

Noght bot this kastel es me left,

And, by god that in hevyn wons, I

Syr, i had fcx knyghtcs to fons, ^

I faw my felf the twa (logh he,

To-morn the four als flanc mun be.

He has al in hys prefownc.

And, fir, for nanc other enchefowne^ 22^0

Bot for i warned hym to wyve

!\ry doghter, fayrcft fode olyve,

Tharfor cs he wonder wrath,

In dcpely has he fwom hys atli.

With maystry that he fal hir wyn,

And that the laddes of his kychyn,

And alfo that his werft fote-knave,

His wil of that woman fal have,

Bot i to-morn might find a knight,

That durft with hymfelven fyght, 2270

96 YWAINE AND GAmN.

And i have none to him kt ga,

What wonder es if me be wa ?

Syr Ywayn lyflend him ful wele,

And, when he had talde ilka dele,

Syr, he fayd, methink mefvayl

That ye foght never no fcounfayl,

At the kynges hous her byfyde ;

For, iertes, in al this werid fo wyde

Es no man of fo mekil myght

Geant, champioun, ne knight, 2'280

That he ne has knyghtes of his menye.

That ful glad and blythwald be

For to mete with fwilk a man.

That thai myght kith thair myghtes on.

He faid, Syr, fo god me mend,

Unto the kynges kourt i fend,

To feke my mayster fyr Gawayn,

For he wald focor me ful fain.

He wald noght leve for luf ne drede,

Had he wift now of my nede, 2290

For his fister es my wyfe.

And he lufes hyr als his lyfe.

Bot a knyght this other day,

Thai talde, has led the quene oway,

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 97

Forto fekc hyr went fir Gawayn, And }it ne come he noght ogayn. Than fyr Ywayne fighed far. And faid unto the knyght right thar, Syr, he fayd, for Gawayn fake, This batayl wil i unilcrtake, 2300

Forto fyght wiih the geant, And that opon fwilk a covenant, Yif be cum at fwilk a time, So that we may fight by prime ; No langcr may i tent tharto, For other thing i have to do, I have a dede that raoft be done To morn nedes byfor the none. The knyght, far fighand, fayd him till, i&ir, god yeldc the thi gode wyli ; 2310

And al thdt war thar in thu hall. On knefe byfor hym gan thai fall ; Foith thar come a byrd ful bryght, The faircft man might f»' in fight, Ilir moder come "with hir in for, And both thai morned and made yll cher; The knight faid, Lo, verraiment, God has us gude focur fent ; VOL. I. H

98 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

This knight, that of his grace wil grant

Forto fyght with the geaut. 23?0

On knefe thai fel doun to his fete,

And thanked him with wordes fwete.

A, god forbede, faid fir Ywain,

That the fister of fir Gawayn,

Or any other of his blode born,

Sold on this wife knel me byforn.

He toke tham up tyte both in fer.

And prayd tham to amend ihair cher:

" And praies faft to god alfwa,

That i may venge yow on yowr fa, 233Q

And that he cum fwilk tyme of day,

That i by tyme may wend ray way,

For to do another dede,

For fertes thcder moft i nede ;

Sertes i wald noght tham byfwike,

Forto win this Jcinges rike."

His thoght was on that damyfel

That he left in the chapel.

Thai faid, he es of grcte renowue,

For with him dwcls the lyoun ; 2340

Ful wele confort war thai all,

Bath in hour and als in hall ;

yWAINE AND GAWIN. 99

Ful glad war thai of thair geft, And when tyme was at go to reft, The lady broght him to his bed. And for the lyoun (ho was adrod, Ka man durft neght his chamber ner, Fro thai war broght thar-ya in fer. Sone at morn, when it was dayi llie lady and the fayr may S350

Til Ywayn chamber went thai fone, And the dor thai have undone. Sir Ywayn to the kyrk yede. Or he did any other dede ; He herd the fervife of the day. And fethin to the kn)^ht gait fay : Sir, he faid, now moft i wend, Longer her dar i noght Icnde, Til other place byhoves me far. Than had the knyght ful mekel car. Q360

He faid, Syr, dwells a litel thraw, For luf of Gawayn that ye knaw, Socor us now or ye wende, I fal yow gif, with-owten ende. Half my land, with tonn and tour, And ye wil help us in this ftour.

100 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Sir Ywayn faid, Nai, god forbede,

That i fold tak any mede.

Than was grete dole, fo god me glade,

To fe the forow that thai made, iSfO

Of tham fir Ywayn had grete pet^,

Him thoght his hert myght breke in thre ;

For in grete dede ay gan he dwell,

For the mayden in the chapel].

For fertes if fho war done to ded.

Of him war than none other rede,

Bot oilher he fold hym-felven fla,

Or wode ogain to the wod ga.

Ryght with that thar come a grome,

And faid 'tham that geant come ; 2380

Yowr fons brinies he him byforn,

Wei ner naked als thai war born.

With wreched ragges war thai kled.

And fall bunden thus er thai led.

The geant was bath large and lang,

And bar a levor of yren ful ftrang,

Tharwith he bet tham bitterly,

Grete rewth it was to her tham cry,

Thai had no thing tham forto hyde.

A dwergh yode on the tother fyde ; 2390

YWAINE AND GAWIN. lOl

He bar a fcowrge with cordes ten,

Thar-with he bet tha gentil men,

Ever onane, als he war wode,

Efter ilka band braft out the blode ;

And, when thai at the walles were.

He cried loud that men myght her :

If thou wil have thi funs in hele,

Deliver me that damyfcle,

I fal hir gif to warifowne

Ane of the fouled quisteroun 2400

That ever yit ete any brede.

He fal have hir mayden-hcde,

Thar fal none other lig hir by

Bot naked herlotes and lowfy.

When the lord thir wordcs herd,

Als he war wode for wa he fcrd.

Sir Ywayn than, that was curtays,

Unto the knyght ful fune he fais,

Thit geant e» ful fers and fell.

And nf his wordes ful krueli, S410

I fal deliver hir uf his aw,

Or fls be ded wi'hin a thraw;

For fertes it war a niifaventur

That fo gentil a creature

im YWAINE A^STD GAWIN.

Sold ever fo foul hap byfall,

To be defouled with a thrall.

Sone was he armed, fir Ywayn,

Tharfor the ladies war ful fayn ;

Thai helped to \stce him in his wede,

And fone he lepe up on his ftede ; 2420

Thai prai to god that grace him grant,

For to fla that foul geant ;

The draw-brigges war laten doun,

Awi forth he rides with his lioun.

Ful mani fari murnand man

Left he in the kastel than,

That, on thair knefe, to god of might,

Praied ful hertly for the knyght.

Syr Ywayn rade into the playne, And the geant come hym ogayne, 2450

His levore was ful grete and lang, And hirafelf ful mekyl and ftrang. He faid. What devil made the fo balde Forto cum heder out of thi halde ? Who fo ever the heder fend Lufed the litel, fo god me mend, Of the he wald be wroken fayn. Do forth thi beft, faid fir Ywayn.

YWAINE AND GAWiN. 103

Al the arinurc he was yn

Was noght hot of a bul-fkyn. 2440

Sir Ywayn was to him ful preft,

He Arakc to him in middcs the brcft,

The fper was both ftif and gode,

Whar it toke bit out-braft the blodc ;

So faft fir Ywayn on yt foght

The bul-fcyn availed noght.

The gcant Uombild with the dynt,

And unto fir Ywayn he mynt,

And on the fiiclde he hit ful fafi.

It was mervayl that it myght hift ; 2450

The levor bended thar-with-ail,

With grete force he lete it fall.

The geant was fo ftrong and wight

That never for no dint of ivnyght,

Ne for batayl that he fold make,

Wald he none other wapyn take.

Sir Ywain left his fper of hand,

And firakc obout him with his brand,

And the gcant, mekil of mayn,

Strake ful fall to him ogayn, 24^0

Til at the lad within a throw'

He reft him on his fadel-bow,

104 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

And that percayved his lioun,

That his hevid fo hanged doun,

He hopid that hys lord was hyrt,

And to the geant fone he ftyrt,

The fcyn and flefs bath rafe he down,

Fro his hals to hjs cropoun ;

His ribbes myght men fe onane.

For al was bar unto bane. 2470

At the lyown oft he mynt,

Bot ever he lepis fro his dynt,

So th t no ftrake on him lyght.

By than was Ywain cumen to myght.

Than wil he wrelce him if he may :

The geant gaf he ful gude pay,

He Iraate oway al his left cheke,

His fholdiT als of gan he kleke,

That both his lever and his hand

Pel doun law open the land, 2480

Sethin with a ftoke to him he ftert.

And fmate the geant unto the hert ;

Than was nane other, tale to tell,

Bot fail unto the crth he fell,

Als it had bene a hevy tre.

Than myght men in the kastel fe

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 105

Ful mekil mirth on ilka Hde,

The yates kcft thai opyn wyde;

The lord unto fyr Ywaiiie ran,

Him foloud many a joyful man, 2490

Alfo the lady ran ful faft,

And hir dugl.tcr was noght the laft*

I may noght tcl the joy thai hud.

And the four brethcr war ful glad,

For thai war out of bales broght.

The lord wift it hi-ipid noght

At pray fir Ywayn forto tlwcll,

For tales that he byfor gan tell,

Rot hertly, with hi!> myght and mayn,

He praied him forto cum ogayn, 2500

And dwel with him a litel ftage,

When he had done hys vasfogc.

He fuid, Sir, that may i noght do,

Bileves wele, for me bus go.

Thara was ful wo he wald noght dwoU,

Bot fain thai war that it fo fell.

The negheft way than gan he wde, Until he come to the chapele, Thar be fand a mekil fir. And the maydcn with lely lire, 2510

106 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

n hyr fmok was bunden faft, Into the fir forto be kaft. Unto himfelf he fayd in h}', And prayed to god al-myghty, That he fold, for his mekil myght. Save fro fhame that fwete wight : " Yf thai be many, and mekil of pryfe, I fal let for no kouwardife, For with me es bath god and right, And thai fal help me forto fight, 2520

And my lyon fal help me, Than er we four ogayns tham thre."

Sir Ywayn rides, and cries then, Ilabides, i bid yow, fals men ! It femes wele that ye er wode, That wil fpill this fakles blode, Ye fal noght fo yf that i may: His lyown made hym redy way. Naked he faw the mayden ftand, Behind hir bunden aither hand, 2530

Than fighed Ywain wonder oft, Unnethes might he fyt oloft, Thar was no fembland tham bitwene. That ever owther had other fene.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 107

Al obout hyr myght men fe

Ful mykcl forow and gretc pet^,

Of other ladies that thar wet*,

Wepeand with ful fory cher.

Lord, thai fayd, what es onr g)'lt ?

Our joy, our confort, fal be fpilt ; 2540

Who fal now our erandes fay?

Alias, who fal now for us pray ?

Whils thai thus karpcd was Lunct

On knefc by for the preft fet,

Of hir fyns hir forte fchrive,

And unto hir he went bylive,

Hir band he tokc and up iho rafc:

Lcman, he fayd, whor cr thi fafe ?

«' Sir, lo tham yonder, in yone flede,

Ridcand until i be dcd ; 2550

Thai have demed me with wrang,

Wei ner had ye dwelt over lang ;

I pray to god he do yow fnetle.

That ye wald help me in this node."

Thir wordcs herd thati the fteward,

He hies him unto hir ful hard.

He faid, Thou lies, fals wooinn,

For thi trefon ertow tanc : —

108 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Sho has bitraied hir lady,

And, fir, fo wil fho the in hy ; 2560

And, tharfor, fyr, by goddes dome,

I rede thou wend right als thou com ;

Thou takes a ful febil rede

If thou for hir wil fuffer ded.

Unto the Howard than faid he,

Whofo es ferd i rede he fle ;

And, fertes, i have bene this day

Whar i had ful large pay ;

And yit, he fayd, i fal noght fail :

To tham he waged the batayl. 2570 ,

Do away thi lioun, faid the fleward,

For that es noght our forward ;

Allane fal thou fight with us thre.

And unto him thus anfwerd he :

Of my lioun no help i crave,

I ne have none other fote-knave,

If he wil do yow any dere

I rede wele that ye yew wer.

The fteward faid, On alkins wife,

Thi lyoun, fir, thou moft chastife, 2580

That he do her no harm this day,

Or els wend forth on thi way ;

rSVAINE AND GAWIN. 109

For hir warand mai thou noght be,

Bot thou allane fight with us thre.

Al thir men wote, and fo wote i,

That fho bitrayed hir lady.

Ala trayturts fal Iho have hyr,

Sho be brent her in this fir.

Sir Ywayn fa[>]d, Nai, god forbede !

(He wift wele how the foth ycde) 2590

I trow to wreke hir with the beft.

He bad his lyoun go to reft,

And he laid him fune onane ''

Doun Byfor tham everilk anc,

Bitwenc his legges he layd his tail.

And fo biheld to the batayl.

Al thre thai ride to fir Ywayn,

And fmertly rides he tham ogayn,

In that time nothing tint he,

For his an flrakc was worth thaires thre; 260O

He Arakc the fleward on the fhulde,

That he fel doun flat in the fclde,

Bot op he rafe yit at the tail.

And to fir Ywayn ftrake ful fatl ;

Tharal the lyoun greved fare,

No Icngcr wald he than lig tliar,

no YWAINE AND GAWIN.

To help his mayster he went onane ;

And the ladies everilk ane,

That war thar forto fe that fight,

Praied ful faft ay for the knight. 26lO

The lyoun hailed him ful hard, And fone he come to the fteward, A ful fel mynt to him he made, He bigan at the fhulder-blade, And with his pawm al rafe he downe, - Bath hauberk and his actoune. And al the flefs doun til his kne. So that men myght his guttes fe ; To ground he fell, fo alto rent. Was thar noman that hira ment. 2620-

Thus the lioun gan hym fla : Than war thai bot tvva and tvva ; And, fertanly, thare fir Ywayn Als with wordes did his main For to chastis hys lyowne, Bot he ne wald na mor lig doun ; The liown thoght how fo he fayd, That with his help he was wele payd. Thai fmate the lyown on ilka fyd. And gaf him many woundes wide. 263*

Y^VAINE AND GAWIN. Ill

When that he faw hys lyoun blcde

He ferd for \va als he wald wede,

And fad he Drake than in that Aour,

Might thare none his dintes dour;

So grcvosly than he bygan,

That doun he bar bath hors and man ;

Thai yald tham fone to fir Ywayn,

And tharof war the Mk ful fayne ;

And Tone quit to tham thairc hir,

For both he kcft tham in the fir, 2640

And faid, Wha jugcs men with wrang,

The fame jugement fal thai fang.

Thus he helpid the maiden ying,

And fethin he made the faghtelyng

Bitwcne hyr and the richo lady ;

Than al the folk, ful haftily,

Proferd tham to his fervife,

To wirfhip him ever oo al wife :

Nanc of tham al wift, bot Lunct,

That thai with thair lord war met. S650

The lady prayed him als the head, \

Tliat he hame with tham wald wcndc,

Forto fojom thar a ftownd,

Til ho wtT wariA of his wound.

112 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

By his far fet he noght a ftra,

Bot for his lioun was him wa.

Madame, he faid, fertes, nay,

I raai noght dwel, the foth to fay.

Sho faid, Sir, fen thou wyl wend,

Sai us thi name, fo god the mend. 26^0

Madame, he faid, bi faint Symoun,

I hat the knight with the lyoun.

Sho faid, We faw yow never or now,

Ne never herd we fpeke of yow.

Tharby, he fayd, ye underftand

I am noght knawen wide in land.

Sho faid, I prai the forto dwell,

If that thou may, her us omell.

If fho had \vift wele wha it was,

Sho wald wele lever have laten him pas ; ^670

And tharfor wald he noght be knawen,

Both for hir efe and for his awyn.

He faid, No longer dwel i ne may,

Beleves wele, and haves goday.

I prai to crift, hevyn kyng,

Lady, len yow gude lifing,

And len grace that al yowr anoy

May turn yow unto mykel joy.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 11$

Sho faid, God grant that it fo be !

Unto himfelf than thus faid he, 2680

Thou ert the lok and kay alfo

Of al ray wele, and al my wo.

Now wendes he forth, and morning mafe, And nanc of tham will what he was, Bot Lunet, that he bad fold layn, And fo (ho did with al hir mayne. Sho cunvayd him forth on his way ; He faid, Gude leman, i the pray, That thou tcl to no modei fon Who ha3 bene thi champion ; S590

And als i pray the, fwete wighti Late and arly thou do thi mighty Wi*h fpeche unto my lady frc, Forto raak hir frende with me ; Sen ye er now togeder glade, Help you that we war frcndes made. Sertes, fir, (ho fayd, ful fayn, Thar-obout wil i be bayn ; And that ye have done me this day God do yow mede, als he wele may. 2700

Of Lunet thus his leve he tafe, Bot in hert grete forow he hafe.

vot. I. I

114 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

His lioun feled fo mekill wa

That he ne myght no ferrer ga ;

SirYwayn puld gres in the felde,

And made a kouche opon his flielde,

Tharon his lyoun laid he thar,

And forth he rides, and fighes far :

On his fhelde fo he him led.

Than was he ful evyl fted. 2710

Forth he rides, by frith and fell,

Til he come to a fayr castell,

Thar he cald, and fwith fone

The porter has the yates undone,

And to him made he ful gude cher;

He faid, Sir, ye er welcum here.

Syr Ywayn faid, God do the mede.

For tharof have i mekil nede.

Yn he rade right at the yate,

Fair folk kepid hym tharate ; 2720

Thai toke his fhelde and his lyoun,

And ful foftly thai laid it doun ;

Sum to ftabil led his ftede,

And fum alfo unlaced his wede.

Thai talde the lord than of that knyght,

And fone he and his lady bryght,

YWAINE AND GA\VIN. 115

And thair Tons and doghtcrs all,

Come ful fair him forto kail ;

Thai war ful fayn he thor was fted,

To chaumber fone thai have him led ; 2730

His bed was ordand richely,

And his lioun thai laid him by.

Him was no mister forto crave,

Rcdy he had what he wald have.

Twa maydens with him thai laft,

That wele war lered of leche-craft.

The lordes doghters both thai wore,

That war left to kepe hym ihore ;

Thai heled hym everilka wound,

And hys lyoun fone made thai fownd. 2740

I can noght tcl how lang he lay,

When he was helyd he went his way.

Bot, whils he fojorned in that place. In that land byfel this cafe : A litil thetbin in a ftede A grete lord of the land was ded, Lifand he had none other ayr Bot two doghters that war ful fayr ; Als fone als he was laid in molde, The elder fister fayd fho woldo 2750

116 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Wend to court fone als iho myght,

Forto get hir fom doghty knyght

Forto win hir al the land,

And hald it halely in hir hand.

The yonger fister faw fho ne myght

Have that fell until hir right,

Bot if that it war by batail,

To court fho wil at afk cownfayl.

The elder fister fone was yar,

Unto the court faft gan fho far, 2/60

To fir Gawayn fho made hir mane,

And he has granted hyr onane :

" Bot yt bus be fo prevely

That nane wit bot thou and i ;

If thou of me makes any yelp,

Lorn has thou al my help."

Than efter, on the tother day,

Unto kourt come the tother may,

And to fir Gawayn fone fho went,

And talde unto him hir entent ; 2770

Of his help flio him byfoght.

Series, he fayd, that may i noght.

Than fho wepe and wrang hir handes,

And right with that come new tithandes*

YWAINE AND GAWIN. Uf

How a knyght with a lyoun

Had flane a geant ful feloun.

The fame knight thar talde this tale

That fyr Ywayn broght fra bale, -

Thai had wedded Gawayn fister der,

Sho and hir Tons war thar in fer ; 2780

Thai broght the dwergb, that be yc balde,

And to fir Gawayn have thai talde^

How the knyght with the lyowne

Deiivred tham out of prefowne,

And how he, for fyr Gawayn fake,

Gan that batayl undertake ;

And als how uobilly that he wroght.

Sir Gawayn faid, I knaw him n[o]ght.

The yonger mayden than alfone

Of the king aikcs this bone : 3790

To have refpitc of fourti daisy

Als it fel to landes lays.

Sho will thar was no man of main

That wald fyght with fir Gawayn,

Sho thoght to feke, by frith and fell.

The knyght that (ho herd tham of tell.

Refpitc was granted of this thing,

The mayden toke Icvc at [the] king.

118 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

And fethen at al the baronage,

And forth fho went on hir vayage. 2800

Day ne nyght wald fho noght fpar,

Thurgh all the land faft gan fho far,

Thurgh castel, and thurgh ilka toun,

To feke the knight with the lyown ;

** He helpes al in word and dede,

That unto him has any nede."

Sho foght him thurgh al that land,

Bot of hym herd fho na tythand. . Na man kouth tel hir whar he was,

Ful grete forow in hert fho has, 2810

So mikel murning gan fho make,

That a grete fekenes gan fho take ;

Bot in hir way right wele fho fped,

At that kastell was fho fled

Whar fir Ywayn ar had bene

Helid of his fekenes clene.

Thar fho was ful wele knawen,

And als welcura als til hyr awyn;

With alkyn gamyn thai gan hir glade,

And mikel joy of hir thai made. 2820

Unto the lord fho tald hyr cafe.

And helping haftily fho hafe ;

YWAINE AND GAWIN. lip

Stil in lecheing thar Oio lay,

A maiden for hir toke the way,

Forto feke, yf that flio myght

In any land her of that knyght ;

And that fame kastel come Iho by.

VVhar Ywayn wedded the lavedy.

And fail fho fpird, in ylk fcfown,

Efter the knight with the lioun. 2830

Thai tald hir how he went tham fra,

And alfo how thay faw him fla

Thre nobil knyghtes, for the nanes,

That faght with him al at anes.

Sho faid, Pur charite, i yow pray.

If that ye wate, wil ye me fay,

Whedenvard that he es went ?

Thai faid forfoth thai toke na tent :

" Ne her es nane that the can tell,

Bot if it be a damyfell, 2840

For whas fake he heder come,

And for hir the butayl he nome :

We trow welc that fho can the wis,

Yonder in yone kyrk (ho ys ;

Tharfor we rede to hyr thou ga :"

And haftiiy than did fho fwa.

120 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Aither other ful gudeli gret,

And fone fho frayned at Lunet,

If fho kouth ani fertan fayne ;

And hendly anfwerd fho ogayne : 2850

I fal fadel my palfray.

And wend with the forth on thi way,

And wis the als wele als i can.

Ful oft-fithes thanked flio hir than.

Lunet was ful fmertly yar,

And with the mayden forth gan fho far,

Als thai went al fho hyr falde,

How flio was taken and done iu halde,

How wikkedly that fho was wreghed,

And how that traytyrs on hir leghed, 2S6o

And how that fho fold have bene brent,

Had not god hir focor fent

Of that knight with the lyoun :

" He lefed me out of prefoun."

Sho broght hir fone into a playn,

AVhar fho parted fra fir Ywayn ;

Sho faid, Na mare can i tel the,

Bot her parted he fra me ;

How that he went wate i no mar,

Bot wounded was he wonder far, 2870

yVVAINE AND GAWIN. 121

God, that for us fufferd wounde,

Len us to fe him hale and fownde !

No longer with the may i dwell,

Bot cunily Crift, that heried hell,

Len the grace, that thou may (pede

Of thine erand, als thou has nede.

Lunet haftily hies hir home,

And the mayden fune to the kastel come,

VVhar he was helid byfor-hand,

The lord fune at the yate fho fand, 2S80

With knyghtes and ladies grete cumpanif

Sho haylfcd thara al ful hendely.

And ful fayr praicd Oiu to tham then.

It thai couth, thai fold hyr ken,

Whar flio myght fynd, in tour or toun,

A kumly knyght with a lyoun.

Than faid the lord, By fwete Jhefus,

Right now parted he fra us ;

Lo her the fteppes of his ftede,

£vyn unto him thai wil the lede. 2890

Than tokc (ho leve, and went hir way,

With fporrs flio fparid noght hir palfray;

Faft flio hycd with al hyr myght.

Until flio of him had a fygUt,

122 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

And of his lyoun that by him ran,

Wonder joyful was fho than;

And with hir force fho halted fo faft

That fho overtoke him at the lafl.

Sho hailfed him with hert ful fayn,

And he hir hailfed fay re ogayn. 2900

Sho faid, Sir, wide have i yow foght,

And for myfelf ne es it noght,

Bot for a damyfel of pryfe,

That halden es both war and wife ;

Men dofe to hir ful grete outrage.

Thai wald hir reve hyr heritage,

And in this land now lifes none

That fho trayftes hyr opone,

Bot anly opon god and the,

Fo^ thou ert of fo grete bounty ; 2910

Thorgh help of the fho hopes wele

To win hyr right everilka dele. •

Scho fais, no knyght that lifes now

Mai help hir half fo wele als thou :

Gret word fal gang of thi vasfage,

If that thou win hir heritage ;

For thoght fho toke flike fekenes far,

So that fho might travail noraar.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 123

I have yow foght on fydes fer,

Tharfor yowr anfwer wald i her, 2920

Whether ye wil with me wend.

Or els whar yow likes to lend.

He faid, That knyght that idil lies •

Oft-fithcs winnes ful litcl pries,

For-thi mi rede fal fone be lane,

Gladly with the wil i gane,

Wheder To thou wil me lede,

And hei tly help the in thi nede ;

Sen thou haves me fo wide foght,

Sertes fail the fal i noght. • 2930

Thus thair wai forth gan thai bald, Until a kastcl, that was cald The castel of the hevy forow, Thar wald he bide until the morow, Thar to habide him thoght it bcft,

For the fon drogh fad to reft ;

Bot al the men that thai with met,

Grele wonder fone on tham thai fet ;

And [feyde], Thou wrcche unfcly man,

Whi wil thou her thi hcrber tanc ? 2940

Thou pafscs noght without defpite.

Sir Ywaia anfwerd tham alstytc,

1X4 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

And faid, Forfoth, ye er unhende,

An unkouth man fo forto fhende ;

Ye fold noght fay hym velany,

Bot if ye wift enchefon why.

Thai anfwerd than, and faid ful fone,

lliou fal wit or tomom at none.

Syr Ywaine faid, For al yowr faw,

Unto yon castel wil i draw. 2950

He, and his lyoun, and the may,

Unto the castel toke the way.

When the porter of tham had fight,

Sone he faid unto the knight,

Cumcs forth, he faid, ye altogeder,

Ful ille hail er ye cumen heder.

Thus war thai welkumd at the yate.

And yit thai went al in tharate,

Unto the porter no word thai faid,

A hal thai fand ful gudeli graid ; 29^0

And, als fir Ywaine made entr^,

Faft bifyde him than faw he

A proper place, and fair, i wis,

Enclofed obout with a palis.

He loked in bitwix the trefe,

And many maidens thar he fefe,

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 125

Wirkand filk and gold wir^

Bot thai war al in pover atir,

Thair clothes war rcven on evil arai,

Ful tenderly al weped thai ; 2970

Thair face war Icnc and als unclene,

And blak finokkes had thai on bid«;ae ;

Thai had mischefk ful roanifaldey

Of hunger, of threll, and of calde;

And ever onane thai weped all,

Als thai wald to water fall.

When Ywainc al this underflode,

Ogayn unto the yates he yode,

Bot thai war fpcrred ferli fail.

With lokkes that ful wele wald lafl ; 2980

The porter kepid tham with his main,

And faid, Sir, thou mofl wend ogain ;

I wate thou wald out at the yate,

Bot thuu roai noght, by na gate ;

Thi herber es tane til to-morow,

And tharfur getes thou raekill forow ;

Oraang ihi fafe her fted ertow.

He faid, So have i bene or now,

And pad ful wele, fo fal i her ;

But, Icvc frcnd, wdiou me ler 2990

126 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Of thife maidens what thai ar,

That wirkes al this riche ware ?

He faid, If thou wil wit trevvly,

For'hermar thou moft afpy.

Tharfore, he faid, i fal n[o]ght lett.

He foght and fand a dern weket,

He opind it, and in he yede :

Maidens, he faid, god mot yow fpede !

And, als he fufferd woundes far,

He fend yow covering of yowr car, 3000

So that ye might mak merier chere.

Sir, thai faid, god gif fo wer !

Yowr forow, he faid, unto me fay,

And i fal mend it yf i may.

Ane of tham anfwerd ogayne,

And faid. The foth we fal noght layne,

We fal yow tel or ye ga ferr,

Why we er here, and what we err.

Sir, ye fal underftand,

That we er al of May den-land, 3010

Our kyng, opon his jolit^,

Pafsed thurgh many cuntr^,

Aventures to fpir and fpy,

Forto afay his owen body,

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 127

His herber her ancs gan he ta.

That was biginyng of our wa,

For heryn er twa champions,

Men fais thai er the devil fons,

Geten of a woman with a ram,

Ful many man have thai done gram ; S020

What knight fo herbers her anyght

With both at ones bihoves him fight.

So bus the do, by bcl and bokc :

Alias, that thou thine yns her toke !

Our king was wight himfelf to welde,

And of fourtene yeres of elde.

When he was tane ^vilh tham to fyght,

Bot unto tham had he no myght.

And when he faw him bud be ded,

Than he kouth no better rede, 3030

Bot did him haly in thair grace,

And made tham furete in that place,

Forto ycld tham ilka yer,

So that he fold be hale and fer,

Threty maidens to trowage,

And al fold be of hegh parage,

And the faired of his land ;

Herto held he up his hand.

128 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

This ilk rent byhoves hym gyf,

Als lang als the fendes lyf, 3040

Or til thai be in batayl tane.

Or els unto thai be al flane,

Than fal we pas al hethin quite,

That her fuffers al this defpite ; ^

Bot herof es noght for fpeke,

Es none in werld that us mai wreke.

We wirk her filver, filk and golde,

Es none richer on this molde.

And never the better er we kled,

And in grete hunger er we fted ; 3050

For al that we wirk in this ftede,

We have noght half our fil of brede,

For the bell that fewes her any ftyk,

Takes bot four penys in a wik,

And that es litel, wha-fona tafe hede.

Any of us to kleth and fede.

Ilkone of us, withouten lefyng,

Might win ilk wike fourty (hilling,

And yit bot if we travail mar,

Oft thai bete us wonder far : ^ 3060

It helpes noght to tel this tale,

For thar befe never bote of our bale.

Y^VAINE AND GAWIN. \Qg

Our maftc forow, fen we bigan. That es, (bat we fe mani a man, Doghty dukes, yreU, and barouns, Oft-fithes (lane with thir champiowns, With tham to-morn bihoves the fight. Sir Ywayn faid, God, mafte of myght, Sal (Irenkith me in ilka dedc, Ogains (ha devils and al thair drede : 3070

That lord deliver yow of yowr fafe. Thus takes he levc and forth he gafe. He pafsed forth into the hall, Thar fand he no man him to call, No bewtefe wald thai to him bede, Bot haftily thai tokc his ftede. And alfo the maydens palfray, War fervcd wele with corn and hay : For wele thai hoped that fir Ywayn Sold never have had his ftede ogayn. 3080

Thurgh the hal fir Ywain gafe, Intil ane orcherd playn pafe, His maiden with him ledes he, He fand a ^nyght under a tre, Open a clath of gold he lay, Byfor him fat a ful fayr may; VOL. I. K

130 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

A lady fat with tham in fere.

The may den red at thai myght her

A real romance in that place,

Bot i ne wote of wham it was. 3090

She was bot fiftene yeres aide,

The knyght was lord of al that halde,

And that mayden was his ayre,

Sho was both gracious, gode, and far.

Sone when thai faw fir Ywaine,

Smertly rafe thai hym ogayne,

And by the hand the lord him tafe,

And unto him grete myrth he mafe.

He faid, Sir, by fwete Jhefus,

Thou ert ful welcum until us. 3100

The mayden was bowfom and bayne

Forto unarme fyr Ywayne,

Serk and breke bath fho hym broght,

That ful craftily war wroght.

Of riche cloth foft als the fylk.

And tharto white als any mylk,

Sho broght hym ful riche wedes to wer,

Hofe and fhofe and alkins ger,

Sho payned hir with al hir myght,

To ferve him and his mayden bright. 3llO

YWAINE AND GA\VIN. 131

Sone thai went unto fopcri

Ful really ferved thai wer,

With metes and drinkes of the beA,

And fetbin war thai broght to reft.

In his chaumber by bym lay

His owin lyoiin and his may ;

At morn, when it was <layes lyght.

Up thai rafe, and fone tham dyght ;

Sir Ywayn and hys damyfelo

Went ful fone til a chapele, 3120

And thar thai herd a mes in hafte,

That was fayd of the haly gaile ;

Efter mes ordand he has

Forth on his way faft forto pas ;

At the lord hys leve he tafe,

And grete thanking to him he raafe.

The lord faid, Tak it to na greve,

To gang hethin yit getes thou na leve ;

Herin es ane unfely law,

That has bene ufed of aid daw, 3130

And bus be done for frend or fa ;

I fal do com byfor the twa

Grete ferjantes of mekil myght,

And whether it be wrang or right.

132 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Thou moft tak the Ihelde and fper,

Ogaynes tham the forto were.

If thou overcum tham in this ftour,

Than fal thou have al this honour,

And my doghter in mariage,

And alfo al myne heritage. 3140

Than faid, fir Ywayn, Als mot i the,

Thi doghter fal thou have for me,

For a king or ane emperour

May hir wed with grete honour.

The lord faid, Her fal cum na knyght.

That he ne fal with twa champions fight ;

So fal thou do on al wife,

For it es knawen custum asfife.

Sir Ywaine faid, Sen i fal fo,

Than es the befl that i may do 3150

To put me baldly in thair hend,

And tak the grace that god wil fend.

The champions fone war forth broght.

Sir Ywain fais, By him me boght,

Ye feme wele the devils fons,

For i faw never fwilk champions.

Aither broght unto the place

A mikel rownd talvace,

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 133

And a klub, ful grcte and lang,

Thik fret with mani a thwang; Sl60

On bodies armyd welc thai war,

Bot tbar hedes bath war bar.

The lioun bremly on iham blift,

When he tham faw, ful wele he will

That thai fold with his raayster fight.

He thoght to help him at his myght ;

With his tayl the erth he dang,

Forto fyght him thoght ful laug;

Of him aparty had thai drede.

Thai faid, Syr knight, thou mod nedc 3170

Do thi lioun out of this place,

For to us makes he grete manace,

Or yelde the til us als creant.

He faid, That war noght mine avenant.

Thai faid, Than do ihi befte oway,

And als fonc fal we famyn play.

He faid. Sirs, if ye be agaft.

Takes the belle and binJes him fall.

Thai fuid. He fal be bun or flane,

For help of him fal thou have nane ; 3 ISO

Thi felf allane fal with us fight.

For that es custume, and the right.

]34 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Than faid fir Ywain to tham fone,

What wil ye that the beft be done ?

" In a chamber he fal be loken.

With gude lokkes ful ftifly ftoken."

Sir Ywain led than his lioun

Intil a chamber to prefoun ;

Than war bath tha devils ful balde,

When the lioun was in halde. SipO

Sir Ywayn toke his nobil wede,

And dight him yn, for he had nede,

And on his nobil ftede he ftrade,

And baldely to tham bath he rade.

His may den was ful far adred,

That he was fo ftraitly fted,

And unto god fall gan fho pray, '

Forto wyn him wele oway.

Than ftrake thai on him wonder far,

With thair clubbes that ful ftrang war, 3200

Opon his fhelde fo faft thai feld.

That never a pece with other held ;

Wonder it es that any man

Might ber the ftrakes that he toke than.

Mister haved he of focour.

For he come never in fwilk a ftour,

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 185

Bot manly evyr with al bis mayn,

And graithly hit he tham ogayn,

And, als it telles in the boke,

He gaf the dubbil of that he toke. 3210

Ful grete forow the lionn has,

In the chameber whar he was.

And ever he thoght opon that dede,

How he was helpid in his nede,

And he might now do na focowr

To him that helpid him in that ftour ;

Might he out of the chamber breke, ,

Sone he walde his moister wreke.

He herd thair drakes, that war ful (lerin,

And ycm he waytes in ilka heryn, 3220

And al was made ful faft to hald ;

At the laft he come to the thriswaJd,

The erth thar keft he up ful Tone,

Als fad als four men fold have done,

If thai had brogbt bath bill and fpade;

A mekil hole ful fone he made.

Yn al this [tyme] was fir Ywayn

Ful ftraitly parred with mekil payn, .

And dredo he had, als him wele aght,

For fiowther of tham na woundes loght ; 3830

136 YWAINF. AND GAWIN.

Kepe tham cowth thai wonder wele, That dintes deiid tham never a dele. It was na wapen that man might welde Might get a fhever.out of thair Iheldc. Tharof cowth Ywayn no rede, Sar he douted to be ded, And alfo his damyfel Ful mekil murnyng made omell, And wele iho wend he fold be flane, And, fertes, than war hir focor gane ; 3240

Bot fall he ftighteld in that ftowr, And haftily him come focowre. Now es the lioun out-broken. His maistcr fal ful fone be wroken ; He rynnes faft with full fell refe, Than helpid it noght to prai for pefe, He ftirt unto that a glotowne, And to the erth he brayd him downe ; Than was thar nane obout that place That thai ne war fayn of that fair chace ; 3250 The maiden had grete joy in hert ; ,: i

Thai faid, He fal never rife in quert. if'-!

His felow fraiftcd with al his mayn, ,/,

To raife him fracrtly up ogayn, ,.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 137

And, right fo als he ftowped doun,

Sir Ywain with his brand was boun,

And Urake his nek-bane right in fonder,

Tharuf the folk had mekil wonder,

His hevid trindeld on the fand,

Thus had Ywain the hegher hand. 3Q6o

When he had feld that fowl fcloun,

Of his Acdc he lighted downi

His lioun on that other lay,

Now wil he help him if he may, i',

The lioun faw his niaister cum,

And to hys part he wald have fom ;

The right ftiolder oway he rafe.

Both arm and klob with him he tafe ;

And fo his maister gan he wreke :

And als he might, yit gan he fpckc, 3270

And faid, Sir knight, for thi gentry,

I prai the have of mc mercy.

And by fcill fal ho mercy have

What man fo mekcly wil it crave ;

And tharfore grantes mercy to me.

Sir Ywain faid, I grant it the,

If that thou wil thi felven fay

That thou ert overcumcn this dtiy.

138 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

He faid, I grant withovvten fail,

I am overcumen in this batail, 3280

For pur ataynt and recreant.

Sir Ywayn faid, Now i the grant

For to do the na mar der,

And fro my liown i fal the wer,

I grant the pefe at my power.

Than come the folk ful fair in fer,

The lord and the lady als,

Thai toke him fair obout the hals.

Thai faide, Sir, now faltou be

Lord and fyre in this cuntre, 3290

And wed our doghter for fertayn.

Sir Ywayn anfwerd than ogayn :

He faid, Sen ye gif me hir now,

I gif hir evyn ogayn to yow.

Of me for ever i grant hir quite ;

Bot, fir, takes it til no defpite,

For, fertes, whif may i none wed

Until my nedes be better fped ;

Bot this thing, fir, i aflc of the,

That al thir prifons may pas fre : 3300

God has granted me this chance>

I have made thair delyverance.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 139

The lord anfwerd than ful tyte,

And faid, I grant the tham al quite ;

My doghter als i rede thou take,

Sho es noght worthi to forfake.

Unto the knyght fir Ywain fais,

Sir, I fal noght hir mysprays,

For fho es fo curtays and hende,

That, fra hethin to the werldes ende, 3310

Es no kyng ne emperour,

Ne no man of fo grete honowr,

That he nc might wed that bird bright,

And fo wald i if that i myght.

I wald hir wed with ful gudc cher,

Bot lo i have a maydcn her,

To folow hir now mod i nede,

Wheder fo (ho wil me lede :

Tharfor at this time haves goday.

He faid, thou pafscs noght fo oway, 3320

Sen thou wil noght do als i tell,

In my prifon fal thou dwell.

He faid, If i lay thar al my live

I fal hir never wed to wive,

For with this maiden mod i wend,

Until we cum whar flio wil lend.

140 YWAINE AND GAWIN,

The lord faw it was na bote

Obout that mater mor to mote,

He gaf him leve oway to far,

Bot he had lever he had bene thar. 3330

Sir Ywayn takes than forth in fer Al the prifons that thar wer, Bifor hym fone thai come ilkane, Nerhand naked and wobigane, Stil he hoved at the yate, Til thai war went al forth tharate, Twa and twa ay went thai famyn. And made omang tham mikel gamyn. If god had cumen fra hevyn on hight, And on this mold omang tham light. 3340

Thai had noght made mar joy fertain Than thai made to fyr Ywayne. Folk of the toun com him biforn, And blifsed the time that he was born, Of his prowes war thai wele payd, In this werld es none (like, thai faid ; Thai cunvayd him out of the toun, With ful fair procesfiowne. The maidens than thair leve has tane, Ful mekil myrth thai made ilkane ; 33.50

yWAINE AND GAWIN. Ul

At tbair departing prayed thai thus : Our lord god, mighty Jhefus, He help yow, fir, to have yowr will, And ftiilde yow ever fra alkyns ill. Maidens, he fuid, god mot yow fe, And bring yow wcle whar ye wald be. Thus thair way forth er thai went, Na mor unto tham wil we tent.

Sir Ywayn and his fair may Al the fevenight traveld thai, 3350

The maiden knew the way ful wele Hamc until that ilk castele, Whar ftio lef the feke may, And thedcr haftily come thai. When thai come to the castel yatc, Sho led fir Ywain yn tharate. The mayden was yit feke lyand, Bot when thai taldc hir this tithand, That tumen was hir mesfager, And the knyght with hyr in fer, 3370

Swilk joy tbarof fho had in hert, Hir thoght that fho was al in quert Sho faid, I wate my fister will Gif me now that falles me till.

142 YWAINE AND GAWIK

In hir hert ftio was ful light,

^ul hendly hailfed fho the knight.

A, fir, fho faid, god do the mede,

That thou wald cum in fwilk a nede:

And al that in that kastel wer ' '

Welkumd him with meri cher. 3380

I can noght fay, fo god me glade,

Half the myrth that thai him made.

That night he had ful nobil reft,

With alkins esment of the beft,

Als fone'als the day was fent.

Thai ordaind tham and forth thai went,

Until that town faft gan thai ride

Whar the kyng fojomed that tide,

And thar the elder fister lay,

Redy forto kepe hyr day. 3390

Sho traifted wele on fir Gawayn,

That no knyght fold cum him ogayn,

Sho hopid thar was no knyght lifand

In batail that might with him ftand.

Al a fevenight dayes bidene

Wald noght fir Gawayn be fene;

Bot in ane other toun he lay,

For he wald cum at the day,

YWAINE AND GAWIN. . 143

AIs aventerous into the place,

So that no man fold fe bis face. 3400

The arraes he bar war noght his awyn.

For he wald noght in court be knawyn.

Syr Ywayn and his darayfell

In the town tolce thaire hostel I.

And thar he held him prevely,

So that none fold him afcry ;

Had thai dwelt langer by a day,

Than had (ho lorn hir land for ay.

Sir Ywain refted thar that nyght,

And on the mom he gan hym dyght, 34 10

On (lepe left thai bis lyowne,

And wan tham wightly out of toun;

It was hir wil, and ab hys awyn,

At cum to court als knyght unknawyn.

Sone obout the prime of day.

Sir Gawayn, fra thcthin thar he lay, .

Hies him faft into the felde,

Wele armyd with fper and (helde.

No man knew him, les ne mor,

Bot fho that he fold fight fore. 3430

The elder fister to court come,

Unto the king at aflc hir dome,

144 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Sho faid, I am cumen with my knyght,

Al redy to defend my right,

This day was us fet fefowne,

And i am her al redy bowne,

And fen this es the laft day,

Gifes dome and lates us wend our way.

My fister has al fydes foghf,

Bot wele i wate her cums flio noght, 3430

For fertainly fho findes nane,

That dar the batail undertane.

This day for hir forto fyght,

Forto reve fra me my right,

Now have i wele wonnen my land,

Withowten dint of knightes hand ;

What fo my fister ever has mynt,

Al hir part now tel i tynt,

Al es myne, to fell and gyf,

A Is a wreche ay fal flio lyf : 3440

Tharfor, fir king, fen it es fwa,

Gifes yowr dome, and lat us ga. ■ '

The king faid. Maiden, think noght lang, (Wele he wifl; ftio had the wrang) Damyfel, it es the asfyfe, Whils fityng es of the justife,

YWAINE AND GAWIN 145

The dome nedes you mod habide, For per aventur it may bityde, Thi fistor ful cum al bityme,

For it es litil pafscd prime. 3450

When the king had tald this fcill, Thai faw cum rideand over a hyll. The yonger fister and hir knyght, The way to town thai tokc ful right. On Ywaiii^ bed his liown lay, And thai had ftollen fra bira oway. The elder maiden made il cher, When thai to court cumen wer. The king withdrogh his jugement, For wele he trowed in his cntent 3460

That the yonger fister had the right, And that iho fold cum with fum knyght. Himfelf knew hyr wele inogb. When he hir law ful fail he logh, Him liked it wele in his hert, That he faw hir fo in queit. Into the court Oio toke the way. And to the king thus gan (ho fay, God, that govenis alkin thing, The fave and fe, fyr Arthur the kyng, 3470

VOL. I. h

146 YVVAINE AND GAWIN.

And al the knyghtes that langes to the,

And alfo al thi mcry meny^ ;

Unto yowre court, fir, have i broght

An unkouth knyght that ye knaw noght;

He fais that, fothly, for my fake,

This batayl wil he undertake,

And he haves yit in other land

Ful felle dedes underhand,

Bot al he leves, god do him mede !

Forto help me in my nede. 3480

Hir elder fister ftode hyr by,

And tyl hyr fayd (ho haftily,

For hys luf that lens us life,

Gif me my right withouten ftrife,

And lat no man tharfor be flayn.

The elder fister fayd ogayn,

Thi right es noght for al es myne,

And i wil have y t mawgre thine ;

Tharfore if thou preche alday,

Her fal thou nothing ber oway. 3490

The yonger mayden to hir fays,

Sister, thou ert ful curtays,

And gret dole es it forto fe

Slike two knightes al[s] thai be

YVVAINE AND GAVVIN. 147

For us fal put tham-felf to fpill,

.Thaifor now, if it be thi will,

Of thi gude wil to me thou gif

Sum thing that i may on h'f.

The elder faid, So mot i the,

Who fo es ferd i rede thai fle ; 3500

Thou getes right noght withowteu fail,

Bot if thou will yt thurgh batail.

The yonger faid, Sen thou wil fwa.

To the grace of god her i me ta,

And, lord, als he es mafle of myght.

He fend his focoi to that knyght,

That thus in dede of charit6

This day aiUrcs hys lif for me.

The twa kiiightes come bifor the king,

And thar was fone ful grete gederiug, 3510

For ilka man that walk might,

Halted fone to fe that fyght ;

Of tbam this was a felly cafe,

That nowther will what other wafe ;

Ful grete luf was bitwix tham twa,

And now er aithcr other fa ;

Ne the king kowth tham noght knaw,

For thai wald noght thair faces fhew,

148 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

If owther of tham had other fene,

Crete luf had bene tham bitwene. 3520

Now was this a greto felly,

That trew luf and fo grete envy

Als bitwix tham twa was than

Might bath at anes be in a man.

The knightes, for thafe maidens love,

Aither til other kaft a glove,

And wele armed with fper and fhelde.

Thai riden both forth to the felde.

Thai ftroke thair ftedes that war kene,

Litel luf was tham bitwene ; 3530

Ful grevosly bigan that gamyn.

With ftalworth fperes ftrake thai famen, -

And thai had anes togeder fpoken,

Had thar bene no fperes broken,

Bot in that time bitid it fwa,

That aither of tham wald other fla.

Thai drow fwerdes, and fwang obout,

To dele dyntes had thai no dout ;

Thair (heldes war fhiferd, and helms rifen,

Ful ftalworth ftrakes war thar gifen, 3540

Bath on bak and breftes thar,

War bath wounded wonder far.

YVVAINE AND GAWIN. 149

In many ftedes might men ken

The blodc out of thair bodies ren.

On helmes thai gaf (like ftrakes kene,

That the riche (lanes albidene,

And other ger that was ful gude,

•Was over-covered al in blodc.

Thar hclmes war evel bruften bath,

And thai alfo war wonder wrath ; 3550

Thair hauberks als war alto torn,

Both behind and als byforn ;

Thair flieldcs lay (heverd on the ground :

Thai refted than a litel (lound,

Forto tak thair ande tham till.

And that was with thair bother will.

Bot ful lang re(led thai noght,

Til aither of tham on other fogbt,

A ftronge (lowr was tham bitwene,

Harder had men never fene, 3560

The king and other that thar war,

Said that thai faw never ar

So nobil knightes in no place

So kng fight bot by goddes grace.

Barons, knightes, fquiers, and knaves,

Said, It cs no man that haves

150 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

So mekil trefor ne nobillay

That might tham quite thair dede this day.

Thir wordes herd the knyghtes twa,

It made tham forto be mor thra. 3570

Knightes went obout gude wane, To mak the two listers at ane, Bot the elder was fo unkinde, . In hir thai might no mercy finde, And the right that the yonger hafe Puttes fho in the kinges grace. The king himfelf and a!s the quene, And other knightes albidene, And al that faw that dede that day Held al with the yonger may, 3580

And to the king al thai bifoght, Whether the elder wald or noght, That he fold evin the landes dele. And gif the yonger damyfele The half, or els fum porciowne, That fho mai have to warifowne. And part the two knightes in twyn ; For fertis, thai faid, it war grete fyn That owther of tham fold other (la. For in the world es noght fwilk twa. 3590

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 151

When other knightes faid thai fold fefe,

Tham fclf wald noght asfent to pefe.

Al tliat ever faw that batayl

Of thair might had grcte mervayl,

Thai law never vnider the hevyn

Twa knightes that war copied fo cvyn.

Of al the folk was none fo wife

That wift whether fold have the prife ;

For thai faw never fo Aalworth ftour ;

Ful der boght thai that honowr. 3600

Grcte wonder had fir Gawayn

What he was that faght him ogain,

And fir Ywain had grete ferly

Wha ftodc ogayns him fo ftif ly.

On this wife lafted that fight

Fra midmom unto mirk night,

And by that time, i trow thai twa

War ful weri and fare alfwa ;

Thai had bled fo mekil blode

It was grete ferly that thai l\ode, 36lO

So far thai bet on bak and brefV,

Until the fun was gon to reft,

For nowther of tham wald other fpar,

For mirk niglit thai than namar,

152 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Tharfor to reft thai both tham yelde,

Bot, or thai paft out of the felde,

Bitwix tham two might men fe

Both mekil joy and grete pet^.

By fpeche might no man Gawain knaw,

So was he hafe and fpak ful law, 3520

And mekil was he out of maght,

For the ftrakes that he had laght,

And fir Ywain was ful wery,

Bot thus he fpekes, and fais in hy :

He faid, Syr, fen us failes light,

I hope it be no lifand wight

What wil us blame if that we twin,

For of al ftedes i have bene yn

With no man yit never i met

That fo wele kowth his ftrakes fet, 3630

So nobil ftrakes has thou gifen ^

That my fheld es alto reven.

Sir Gawayn faid, Sir, fertanly,

Thou ert noghl fo weri als i.

For if we langer fightand wer

I trow i might do the no dere.

Thou ert nothing in my det.

Of ftrakes that i on the fet.

Y^VAINE AND GAWIN. 153

Sir Ywain faid, in Criftes name,

Sai me what thou hat at hame. 3640

He faid, Sen thou my name wil her,

And covaites to wit what it wer,

My name in this land mani wote,

I hat Gawayn the king Ton Lote.

Than was fir Ywayn for agafl,

His fwerdc fra him he kaft,

He fcrd right als he wald wcde,

And fonc he ftirt down of his ftede,

He faid, her es a fowl mischance,

For dcfaut of conifance ; S650

A fir, be faid, had i the fenc.

Than had her no batel bene,

I had me yolden to the als tite

Als worthi war for discumfite.

What man ertou ? faid fir Gawain.

Syr, he fayd, I hat Ywayne,

That lufes the more, by fe and fand,

Than any man that es lifand,

For mani dedcs that thou me did,

And curtayfi ye have me kyd : S660

Tharfor, fir, now in this ftour,

I fal do the this honowr

154 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

I grant that thou has me overcumen,

And by ftrenkyth in batayl nomen.

Sir Gawayn anfwerd, als curtays,

Thou fal noght do, fir, als thou fais ;

This honowr fal noght be myne,

Bot fertes it aw wele at be thine ;

I gif it the her, withowten hone,

And grantes that i am undone.

Sone thai light, fo fais the boke,

And aither other in armes toke, . 367O

And kifsed fo, ful fele fithe,

Than war thai both glad and blithe ;

In armes fo thai ftode togeder,

Unto the king com ridand theder,

And fall he covait forto her

Of thir knightes what thai vver,

And whi thai made fo mekil gamyn

Sen thai had fo foghten famyn.

Ful hendli than afked the king Wha had fo fone made faghteling 3680

Bitwix tham thai had bene fo wrath, And aither haved done other fcath ? He faid, I wend ye wald ful fain Aither of yow have other flayn,

YVVAINE AND GaWIN. 155

And now ye er fo frendes der.

Sir king, faid Gawain, yc fal her ;

For unknawing and hard grace.

Thus have we foghten in this place ; 3^90

I am Gawayn, yowr aw in nevow,

And fir Ywayn faght with mc now ;

When we war ner wcri, i wys,

Mi name be frayned and i his,

When we war knawin, fonc gan we fefe :

Bet, fertes, fir, this es no lefe,

liad we foghten forth a ftownde,

I wote wcle i had gone to grounde.

By his prowes and his mayne,

I wate for foth i had bene flaync. 3700

Thir wordes mengcd al the mode,

Of fir Ywain als he ftode :

Sir, he faid, fo mot i go,

Yc kn[a]w yowr felf it es noght fo.

Sir king, he faid, withowten fail,

I am overcumcn in this batayl.

Nai, fertes, faid Gawain, hot am i.

Thus nowtber wald have the maiflri.

Bifor the king gan aither grant

That himfelf was recreant ; 3710

156 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Than the king, and hys menyfe

Had bath joy and grete pet^,

He was ful fayn thai frendes wer,

And that thai war fo funden in fer.

The kyng faid, Now es wele fene

That mekil luf was yow bitwene.

He faid, fir Ywain, welkum home,

For it was lang fen he thar come.

He faid, I rede ye both asfent

To do yow in my jujement, 3720

And i fal mak fo gude ane ende,

That ye fal both be halden hende.

Thai both asfented fone thartill.

To do tham in the kynges will,

If the maydens wald do fo.

Than the king bad knyghtes two

Wend efter the maydens bath,

And fo thai did ful fwith rath,

Bifor the kyng when thai war broght,

He tald unto tham als him thoght : 3730

" Lyftens me now, maydens hende,

Yowr grete debate es broght til ende,

So fer forth now es it dreven

That the dome moll nedes be gifen,

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 157

And i fal deme yow als i can/'

The elder fister anfwerd than,

Sen ye er king that us fold wer,

I pray yow do to me na der.

He faid, I wil let for na faw,

For to do the landes law. 3740

Thi yong fister fal have hir right,

For i fe wele that thi knyght,

Es overcumcn in this wer.

Thus faid he anely hir to fer.

And for he wift hir wilful wcle,

That fho wald part with never a dele.

Sir, tlio faid, fen thus es gan,

Now moft i, whether i wil or nane,

Al yowr cuidandment fulfill,

And tharfor dofe right als ye will. 3750

The king faid, Thus fal it fall,

Al yowr landes depart i fall :

Thi wil es wrang, that have i knawin,

Now fal thou have noght hot thin awin.

That es the half of al-bydene.

Than anfwerd Oio, ful tite in tene»

And faid, Me think ful gretc outrage

To gif hir half myne heritage.

158 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

The king faid, For yowr bother effe^ In hir land i fal hir fefe, 37^0

And fho fal hald hir land of the, And to the tharfor mak fewtd, Sho fal the luf als hir lady, And thou fal kith thi curtayfi, . Luf hir efter thine avenant, And fho fal be to the terfant. This land was firft, i underftand, That ever was parted in Ingland. Than faid the king, Withowten fail, For the luf of that batayl, 3770

Al fisters that fold efter bene Sold part the landes tham bitwene. Than faid the king to fir Gawain, And als he prayed fir Ywain, Forto unlace thair riche wede, And tharto had thai bath grete nede. Als thai thus-gate Hod and fpak, The lyown out of the chamber brak, Als thai thair armours fold unlace, Come he rinand to that place, 378O

Bot he had, or he come thar, Soght his mayster whide-war.

YWAINE AND GA^VIN. 159

And ful rackil joy he made.

When he his mayster funden hade.

On ilka fide than might men fe

The folk fail to touii gan flc,

So war thai fcrd for the liowne.

When thai faw him theder bown.

Syr Ywain bad tham cum ogayn,

And faid, Lordingcs, for fertayn, 3790

Fra this befte i fal yow wer,

So that he fal do yow no der ;

And, firs, ye fal wele trow mi fawes,

We er frendcs and gude fclaws ;

He es mine, and i am his,

For na Irefor i wald him mys.

When thai faw this was fertain,

Than fpak thai al of fir Ywaine :

This es the knight with the liown,

That cs halden of (o grete renown ; dSOO

This ilk knight the geant flogh, ^

Of dedis he es doghty inogh.

Than faid fir Gawayn fonc in hi,

Me es bitid grete volani ;

I cri the mercy, fir Ywayne,

That i have trispaft the ogayn ;

160 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Thou helped mi fyster in hir nede,

Evil have i quit the now thi mede;

Thou anterd thi life for luf of me,

And als mi fister tald of the ; 3810

Thou faid that we, ful fele dawes,

Had bene frendes, and gude felawes ;

Bot wha it was ne wift i noght,

Sethen have i had ful mekil thoght,

And yit for al that i do can

I cowth never her of na man

That me cowth tell, in tour ne toun,

Of the knight with the liown.

When thai had unlaced thair wede,

Al the folk toke ful gode hede 3820

How that belle, his bales to bete,

Likked his maister both hend and fete.

Al the men grete mervail hade

Of the mirth the lyown made.

When the knightes war broght to reft,

The king gert cum fone of the beft

Surgiens that our war fene.

For to hele tham both bidene.

Sone fo thai war hale and fo^vnd,

Sir Ywayn hies him faft to found. 3830

YWAINE AND GAWIN. l6l

Luf was fo in his hert fefl, Night ne day haved he no reft ; Bot he get grace of his lady, He moft go wode, or for luf dy. Ful prcveli forth gan he wende Out of the court fra ilka frende ; He rides right unto the well, And thar he ihinkes forto dwell ; His gode lyon went with him ay, He wald noght part fro him oway. dA40

He keft water opon the ilane, The ftorm rafe ful fone onane, The thoner grifely gan oul-breft, Him tboght als al the grete forefl, And al that was obout the well, Sold have fonken into hell. The lady was in mckyl dout. For al the kastel wallcs obout Quoke fo fafl that men might think That al into the erth fold fynk ; 3850

Thai trembled fall, both hour and hall, Als thai unto the grund fold fall ; Was never, in this mydle-erde, In no kastell folk fo ferde. YOL. 1. M

162 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Bot wha it was wele wift Lunet, -

Sho faid, Now er we hard byfet ;

Madame, i ne wate what us as beft.

For her now may we have no reft ;

Ful wele i wate ye have no knight

That dar wende to yowr wel, and fight. 386o

With him that curaes yow to afaile ;

And if he have her no batayle,

Ne findes none yow to defend,

Yowr lofe ben lorn withouten end.

The lady faid, (ho wald be dede :

" Der Lunet, what es thi rede ?

Wirk i wil by thi kounfail,

For i ne wate noght what mai avail."

Madame, flio faid, i wald ful fayn

Kownfail yow if it might gayn, 3870

Bot in this cafe it war mystere

To have a wifer kownfayler :

And by defait than gan fho fay,

Madame, per chance, this ilk day,

Sum of yowr kiiightes mai cum hame,

And yow defend of al this Ihame.

A, flio faid, Lunet, lat be !

Speke na mor of my menyfe,

YWAINE AND GAWIN. l63

For wele i wate, fo god me mend,

I have na knight me mai defend ; 3880

Tharfor my kownfail bus the be.

And i wil wirk al efter the ;

And tharfor help at al thi myght.

Madame, fho faid, had we that knyght,

That es fo curtais and avenant,

And has flane the grete geant,

And ab that the tbre knightes flogh,

Of him ye royght be trift inogh ;

Bot forthermar, madame, i wate

lie and his lady «r at debate, 3890

And has bene fo ful many day,

And als i herd hym-felvyn fay,

He wald bileve with no lady,

Bot on this kownand utterly,

That thai wald mak fertayn ath

To do thair might and kunyng bath,

Trewly both by day and naght,

To mak him and hys lady fught,

The lady anfwcrd func hir tyll.

That wil i do with ful godc will ; 39OO

Unto the her mi trowtb i plight.

That i (al tharto do mi might.

164 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Sho fald, Madame, be ye noght wrath,

I moft nedes have of yow an ath.

So that i mai be fertayn.

The lady faid, That will i fayn.

Lunet than riche relikes toke.

The chalis and the mes boke,

On knefe the lady down hir fet,

Wit ye wele than liked Lunet : 3910

Hir hand opon the boke fho laid.

And Lunet alkyns to hir faid :

Madame, (ho faid, thou fait fwer her,

That thou fal do thi power,

Both dai and night, opon al wife, .

Withouten alkyns fayntife,

To faghtel the knyght with the liown

And his lady of grete reiiowne,

So that no faut be funden in the.

Sho faid, I grant it fal fo be. 3920

Than was Lunet wele paid of this,

The boke flio gert hir lady kys :

Sone a palfray flio biftrade,

And on hir way faft forth fho Tade.

The next way ful fone fho nome.

Until fho to the well come.

YWAINE AND GAWIN. \65

Sir Ywain fat under the thorn,

And his lyown lay him byforn :

Sho knew him wele by his lioun,

And haftily (ho lighted downe ; 3930

And als Tone aU he Lunet fagh

In his hert than lift him lagh :

Mekil mirth was when thai met,

Aither other ful fair has grct.

Sho faid, I love grete god in trone.

That i have yow fuo fo fone,

And tithandes tel i yow bifom,

Other fal my lady be manefworn.

On rclikcs, and bi bokes brade,

Or els ye twa er frendes made. 39^

Sir Ywain than was wonder glad,

Fcr the tithandes that he had,

He thanked hir ful fele fith,

That (ho wald him flike gudenes kith ;

And (ho him thanked mekill mar,

For the dedea that war done ar :

Su ather was in other dct,

That both thair travail was wele fet.

He fais, Talde thou hir oght my name I

Sho faid, Nay, than war i to blame ; 39^0

l66 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

Thi name fho fal noght wit for me, Til ye have kyfsed, and faghteld be.

Than rade thai forth toward the town, And with tham ran the gude lyoun. When thai come to the castel-yate, Al went thai in thareat ; Thai fpak na word to na man born. Of al the folk thai fand byforn, Als fone fo the lady herd fayn, Hir damifel was cumen ogayn, 39^0

And als the liown and the knight, Than in hert fho was ful lyght ; Scho covait ever of al thing Of him to have knawlageing. Sir Ywain fone on knefe him fet. When he with the lady met. Lunet -faid to the lady fone, Take up the knight, Madame, have done,

And, als covenand betwix us was,

Makes his pefe faft or he pas. 3970

Than did the ladi him up-rife.

Sir, fho faid, opon al wife

I wil me pain in al thing

Forto mak thi faghtelyng

YWAINE AND GAWIN. 167

Bitwix the and tbi lady brygbt.

Medame, faid Lunet tbat es right,

For nane hot ye has tbat powere,

Al the foth now fal ye her.

Madame, (ho faid, es nught at layn.

This es my lord , fir Ywaine ; 3980

Swilk luf god bitwix yow fend,

That may lall to yowr lives end.

Than went the lady fer obak,

And lang (ho ftode or tbat (ho fpak ;

Sho faid, How es this, damyfele ?

I wend thou fold be to me lele,

That makes me whether i wil or nogbt

Luf tham that me wa has wroght ;

So that me bus be forfwom,

Or luf tham that wald i was lorn ; ^990

Bot, whether it torn to wele or ill,

That i have faid i fal fulfill.

Wit ye wele than, fir Ywaine

Of tha wordes was f«l fayne.

Madame, be faid, i have miswroght.

And that i have ful der boght ;

Crete foly i did, the foth to fay.

When that i paA my terme-day ;

168 YWAINE AND GAWIN.

And fertes wha fo had fo bityd,

Thai fold have done right als i dyd, 4000

Bot i fal never, thorgh goddes grace,

At mi might do mor trifpafe ;

And what man fo wil mercy crave,

By goddes law he fal it have.

Than fho afented faghteling to mak,

And fone in arms he gan hir tak,

And kifsed hir ful oft fith,

Was he never ar foblith.

Now has fir Ywain ending made Of al the forows that he hade; 4010

Ful lely lufed he ever hys whyfe, And fho him als hyr owin life ; That lafted to thair lives ende ; And trew Lunet, the maiden hende, Was honord ever with aid and ying, And lifed at hir owin likyng. Of alkins thing fho has mayftri, Next the lord and the lady ; Al honord hir in tour and toun. Thus the knyght with the liown 4020

Es turned now to fyr Ywayn, And has his lordfhip al ogayn ;

YWAINE AND GAWIN. l69

And to fir Ywain and his wive

In joy and blis thai led thair live ;

So did Lunct, and the liown,

Until that dcd haves drevcii tham down :

Of tham na roar have i herd tell,

Nowther in rumance, ne in fpell.

Bot Jhefu Crifte, for his grete grace,

In hevyn blis grante us a place 4030

To bide in, if his wills be.

Amen; amen, pur charile.

[ 170 ]

LAUNFAL.

, BY THOMAS CHESTRE.

PART I.

Be doughty Artours dawes.

That held Engelond yn good lawes,

Ther fell a wondyr cas, Of a ley that was yfette, That hyght Launval, and hatte yette j

Now herkeneth how hyt was. Doughty Artour fom whyle Sojournede yn Kardeuyle,

Wyth joye and greet folas ; And knyghtes that wer profitable, 10

With Artour of the rounde table,

Never noon better ther nas.

Sere Perfevall, and fyr Gawayn, Syr Gyheryes, and fyr Agrafrayn,

LAUNFAL. 171

And Launcelot Dulake, Syr Kay, and fyr Ewayn, That well couthe fyghte yn plain,

Batelcs for to take. Kyng Ban-Booght, and kyng Bos, Of bam thcr was a greet los, 20

Men fawe the no wher her make ; Syr Galafre, and fyr Launfale, Wherof a noble tale

Among us fchall awake.

With Artour ther was a bacheler. And badde ybe well many a yer,

Launfal for fotb he hygbt, He gaf gyftys largelyche. Gold, and fylver, and clodes ryche,

To fquyer and to knyght. — 30

For hys largeffe and hys bounty. The kynges ftuward made was he,

Ten ycr, y you plyght ; Of allc the knyghtes of the table rounde So large ther was noon yfounde,

Be daye^ ne be nyght.

172 LAUNFAL.

So hyt be fyll, yn the tenthe yer, Marlyn was Artours counfalere,

He radde hym for to wende To king Ryon of Irlond ryght, 40

And fette him ther a lady bryght,

Gwennere hys doughtyr hende. So he dede, and home her brought, But fyr Launfal lyked her noght,

Ne other knyghtes that vver hende ; For the lady bar bos of fwych word, That fche hadde lemannys unther her lord,

So fele ther nas noon ende.

They wer ywedded, as y you fay,

Up on a Wytfonday, 50

Before princes of raoch pryde, No man ne may telle yn tale What folk ther was at that bredale.

Of countreys fer and wyde. No nother man was yn halle yfette. But he wer prelat, other baronet te,

In herte ys naght to hyde, Yf they fatte noght alle ylyche, Har fervyfe was good and ryche,

Certeyn yn ech a fyde. 60

LAUNFAL. 173

And whan the lordes hadde ete yn the halle, And the clothes wer drawncn alle.

As ye raowe her and lytbc, The botelers fcntyn wyn, To alio the lords that wer theryn,

With chore both glad and biythe. The quene yaf gjftes for the nones, Gold and felver, precyous ftonys,

Her curtafye to kythc, Everych knyght fche yaf broche, other ryng, 70 But fyr Launfal fche yaf no thyng, That grevede hym many a fythe.

And whan the bredalc was at ende Launfal tok his Icvc to wcndc

At Artour the kyng, And feyde a Ictterc was to hym come, That deth hadde hys fadyr ynome,

He moft to his beryynge, Tho feyde king Artour, that was hende, Launfal, if thou wylt fro me wende, 80

Tak with the greet fpendyng, And my fuster foncs two, Bothe they fchull with the go, .

At horn the for to bryng.

174 LAUNFAL.

Launfal tok leve, withoute fable, With knyghtes of the rounde tablej,

And wente forth yn his journe, Tyl he come to Karlyown, To the meyrys hous of the toune,

Hys fervaunt that hadde ybe. 90

The meyr ftod, as ye may here, And faw hym come ride up anblere,

With two knyghtes and other mayn^, Agayns hym he hath wey ynorae, And feyde, Syr, thou art well come,

How faryth our kyng ? tel me.

Launfal anfwerede and feyde than, He faryth as well as any man.

And elles greet ruthe hyt wore ; But, fyr meyr, without lefyng, 100

I am thepartylh fram the kyng.

And that rewyth me fore : Ne ther thar noman benethe ne above. For the kyng Artours love,

Onowre me neuer more ; But, fyr meyr, y pray the pur amour, May y take with the fojour ?

Som tyme we knewe us yore.

LAUNFAL. 175

The meyr ftod, and betbogte hyia tberey

What mygbt be hys anfwerc, 1 10

And to bym tban gan he fayn, Syr, fevcn knyghtes ban her bar in ynome, And ever y wayte whan they wyl come,

They arn of Lytyll-Bretaync. Launfal tumede hymfcif and lowgh, Thcrof be badde fcorn inowgb,

And fey do to his knyghtes tweync, Now may ye fe fwych ys fervice, Unther a lord of lytyll pryfe,

How he may therof be fayn. 120

Launfal awayward gan to ryde, The meyr bad be fchuld abyde,

And feyde yn thys manere, Syr, yn a chamber by my orchard-fyde, Titer may ye dwell with joye and pryde,

Yf hyt your wyll were. Launfal anoon ryghtes, He and hys two knytes,

Sojourncdc ther ) n fere, So favageUch hys good he befettc, 1S#

That he ward yn greet dctte,

Ryght yn the ferft ycie,

176 LAUNFAL.

So hyt befell at Pentecoft, Swych tyme as the holy goll

Among mankend gan lyght, That fyr Huwe and fyr Jon Tok her leve for to gon

At fyr Launfal the knyght. They feyd, Syr, our robes beth to rent, 140

And your trefour ys all yfpent,

And we goth ewyll ydyght. Thane feyde fyr Launfal to the knyghtes fre. Tell ye no man of my poverty,

For the love of god almyght.

The knyghtes anfwerede and feyde tho^ That they nolde him wreye never mo,

All thys world to wynne. With that word they wente hym fro, To Glaftyngbery bothe two, 150

Ther kyng Artour was inne^ The kyng fawe the knyghtes hende, And ayens ham he gan wende,

For they wer of his kenne ; Noon other robes they ne hadde Than they out with ham ladde.

And tho wer to- tore and thynne.

LAUNFAL. 177

Than feyde Gwenore, that was fel.

How faryth the prowde knygbt Launfal ?

May he hys armes welde ? Ye, madame, fayde the knytes than, \6Q

He faryth as well as any man,

And ellys god hyt fchelde. Moche worchyp and greet honour, To Gonore the quene and kyng Artour,

Of fyr Launfal they telde ; And feyde, He lovede us fo, That he wold us evermo,

At wyll have yhelde.

But upon a rayny day hyt befel,

An huntynge wente fyr Launfel, 170

To chafy yn holtes hore. In our old robes we ycde that day, And thus we beth ywent away,

As we before hym wore. Glad was Artour the kyng. That Launfal was yn good lykyng,

The quene hyt rew well fore; For fche wold, with all her myght, That he hadde be, bothe day and nyght,

In paynys mor and more. 180

VOL. I. N

178 LAUNFAL.

Upon a day of the trioit^, A fefte of greet folerapnitck

In Carlyoun was holde, Erles and barones of that countr^. Ladyes and borjaes of that cit^,

Thyder come bothe yongh and old. But Launfal for hys poverty Was not bode to that fembl^,

Lyte men of hym tolde ; * The meyr to the fefte was of fent, 190

The meyrys doughter to Launfal went»

And axede yf he wolde

In halle dyne with her that day. DSmefele, he fayde, nay.

To dyne have i no herte ; Thre dayes ther ben agon Mete ne drynke eet y noon.

And all was for povert. To-day to cherche y wolde have gon. But me fawtede hofyn and fchon, 200

Clenly brech and fcherte ; And for defawte of clodynge, Ne myghte y yn with the peple thrynge.

No wonther dough me fmerte

LAUNFAL. 179

But othyng, datnefele, y pray the, Sadel ami brydel lene thou me,

A whyle for to ryde, That y myghie confortede be. By a lauude unther thys cyte,

Al yn thys undem-tyde. ^10

Launfal dyghte hys courfer, Withoute knave other fquyer,

He rood with lytyll pryde ; Hys hers flod, and fel yn the fen, Wherfore hym fcornetle many men,

Abowte hym for and wyde.

Poverty the knygbt to hors gan fprynge, For to dryve away lokynge,

He rood toward the weft; The wether was hot the undem-tyde, He lyghte adoun, and gan abyde, 330

Under a fayr foreft : And for hefe of the wedcre, Hys mantell he fcld togydere.

And fette hym doun to refte ; Thus far the knyghi yn fymplyte. In the fchadowc unther a tre,

Ther that hym lykede beft.

180 LAUNFAL.

As he fat yn forow and fore,

He fawe come out of holtes hore 230

Gentyll maydenes two, Har kerteles wer of Inde fandel, Ilafed fraalle, jolyf and well,

Ther myght noon gayer go. Har manteles wer of grene felwet, Ybordured with gold, ryght well yfettc

Ipelvred with grys and gro ; Har heddys wer dyght well withalle, Everych hadde oon a jolyf coronal!,

Wyth fyxty gemmys and mo. 24#

Har faces wer whyt as fnow on downe, Har rode was red, her eyn wer browue,

I fawe never non fwyche ; That oon bar of gold a bafyn. That other a towayle whyt and fyn.

Of felk that was good and ryche. Her kerchevcs wer well fchyre, Arayd wyth ryche gold wyre,

Launfal began to fyche ; They com to hym over the hoth, 250

He was curteys, and ayens hem goth,

And greette hem myldelyche.

LAUNFAL. 181

Damefels, he feyde, god yow fe ! Syr knyght, they feyde, well the be !

Our lady, dame Trj'amour, Bad thou fchuldeft cum fpeke with here, Gyf hyt wer thy wylle fere,

Wythoute more fojour. Launfal hem grauntede curteyslyche, And wente wyth hem myldclyche, 260

They wheryn whyt as flour ; And when they come in the forefl an hygb, A pavyloun yteld he fygh.

With merthe and mochell honour.

The pavyloun was wrouth for fothe; y wys. All of werk of Sarfynys,

The pomelles of crystall ; Upon the loppe an em iher ftod. Of bourncde gold ryche and good,

Ifloryfched with ryche amall. 370

Hys eyn wer carbonkeles bryght. As the mone they fchon a-nyght.

That fpreteth out ovyr all ; Alyfaundre the conquerour, Ne kyng Artour, yn hys mod honour,

Ne hadde noon fcwych juell.

182 LAUNfAL.

He fond yn the pavyloun

The kynges doughter of Olyroun,

Dame Tryamour that hyghte, Her fadyr was kyng of fayrye, 280

Of occient fer and nyghe,

A man of mochell myghte. In the pavyloun he fond a bed of prys, Iheled with purpur bys,

That ferayle was of fyghte, Therinne lay that lady gent. That after fyr Launfal hedde yfent.

That lef ferae lemede bryght.

For hete her clothes down fche dede,

Almeft to her gerdyl ftede, 299

Than lay fche uncovert ; Sche was as whyt as lylye yn May, Or fnow that fneweth yn wynterys day,

He feygh never non fo pert. The rede rofe. whan fche ys newe, Ayens her rode nes naught of hewe,

I dar well fay yn fert ; Her here fchon as gold wyre, May no man rede here aijre,

Ne naught well thenke yn hert, 300

LAUNFAL. l«i

Sche feyde, Launfal, my lemman Twete) Al my joye for the y lete,

Swetyng paramour, Ther nys no man yn Criftenti, That y love fo moche as the,

Kyng, neyther emperour. Launfal beheld that fwete wyghth. All hys love yn her was lyghth,- And kcfte that fwete flour ;

And fat adoun her byfyde, * 310

And feyde, Swetyng, what fo betyde,

I am to thyn honour.

She feyde, Syr knyght, gentyl and hende, I wot thy Aat, ord, and ende,

Be naught afchamed of ne ; Yf thou wylt truly to me take, And alle wemen for me forfake,

Ryche i wyll make the, I wyll the yeve an ainer,

Imad of fylk and of gold cler, 320

Wyth fayre yraages thre ; As oft thou putted the hond therinne, A mark of gold thou fchalt wynne^ In wat place that thou be.

184 LAUNFAL.

Alfo, fche feyde, fyr Launfal,

I yeve the Blaunchard my ftede lei,

And Gyfre my owen knave ; And of my armes oo penfel, Wyth thre ermyns ypeynted well,

Alfo thou fchalt have. 530

In werre, ne yn turnement, Ne fchall the greve no knyghtes dent,

So well y fchall the fave. Than anfwerede the gantyl knyght, And feyde, Gramarcy, my fwete wyght,

No bettere kepte y have,

The damefell gan her up fette, And bad her maydenes her fette

To hyr hondys watyr clere ; Hyt was ydo without lette, 340

The cloth was fpred, the bord was fette,

They wente to hare fopere. Mete and drynk they hadde afyn, Pyement, clare and Reynyfch wyn.

And elles greet wondyr hyt wer ; Whan they had fowpeth, and the day was gon, They wente to bedde, and that anoon,

Launfal and fche yn fere.

LAUNFAL. 185

For play lytyll they fclepte that nyght,

Tyll on morn hyt was day-lyght, 350

Sche badd hym aryfe anoon ; Hy fcydc to hyra, Syr gantyl knyght, And thou v^'ylt fpeke with me in any wyght,

To a deme ftcdc thou gon. Well privy iy i woU come to the, No man alyve ne fchall me fc,

As Oylle as any (Ion. Tho was Launfal glad and blythe. He cowdc no man hys joye kythe,

And kefte her well good won. 35o

But of othyng, fyr knyght, i wame the. That thou make no bod of me,

For no kcnncs mede ; And yf thou doofl, y wamy the before, All my love thou halt forlorc:

And thus to hym fche feyde. Launfal tok hys leve to wende, Gyfre kcdde that he was hende,

And brought Launfal hys ftede ; Launfal lepte ynto the arfoun, 370

And rood hom to Karlyoun,

In hys pover wede.

186 LAUNFAL.

Tho was the knyght yn herte at wylle, In hys chaunber he hyld him ftylle,

All that undern-tyde ; Than come ther thorwgh the cyte ten Well yharneyfyth men

Upon ten fomers ryde. Some wyth fylver, fome wyth gold, All to fyr Launfal hyt fchold, 380

To prefente hym wyth pryde ; Wyth ryche clothes, and armure bryght, They axede aftyr Launfal the knyght,

Whar he gan abyde.

The yong men wer clodeth yn Ynde, Gyfre he rood all behynde.

Up Blaunchard whyt as flour ; Tho feyde a boy, that yn the market ftod. Haw fer fchall all thp good ?

Tell us pur amour. SpO

Tho feyde Gyfre, Hyt ys yfent To fyr Launfal yn prefent.

That hath leved yn greet dolour. Than feyde the boy, Nys he but a wrecche ? What ihar any man of hym recche ?

At the meyrys hous he taketh fojour.

LAUNFAL. U7

At the merys hous they gon alyghte, And prefented the noble knyghtc

Wyth fwych good as hym was fent ; And whan the meyr feygh that rycheffe, 400

And fyr Launfales nobleneffe,

He held hym fclf foulc yfchent. Tho feyde the meyr, Syr, pur charyte, In hidle to day that thou wylt etc with me,

Yefterday y hadde yment At the fefte we wolde han be yn fame, And y hadde folas and game,

And erft thou were ywent.

" Syr meyr, god foryelde the,

Whylcs y was yn my poverty, 410

Thou bede me never dyne ; Now y have more gold and fe, That myne frendes han fent me,

Than thou and alle dyne. {The meyr for fchame away yede, Launfal yn purpurc gan hym fchrede,

Ipelvred with whyi ermyne ; All that Launfal had borwyth before Gyfre, be tayle an J be fcore,

Yald hyt well and fyne. 420

188 LAUNFAL.

Launfal helde ryche feftes, Fyfty fedde povere geftes,

That in myschef wer ; Fyfty boughte ftronge ftedes, Fyfty yaf ryche wedes,

To knyghtes and fquyere, Fyfty rewardede relygyon*;. Fyfty delyverede pryfouns,

And made ham quyt and fchere ; Fytfy clodede gestours, 430

To many men he dede honours,

In countreys fer and nere,

AUe' the lordes of Karlyoun

Lette crye a turnement yn the toun,

For love of fyr Launfel, •

And for Blaunchard, hys good ftede, To wyte how hym wold fpede.

That was ymade fo well. And whan the day >vas ycome, That Ihe juftes were yn ynome, 440

They lyde out alfo fnell, Trorapours goii har hemes blowc, The lordes ryden out a^^rowe.

That were yn that castell.

LAUNFAL. 189

Ther began the turneraent,

And ech knyght leyd on other good dent,

Wyth mafes and wyth fwerdes bothe ; Me myghte y fe fome, therfore Stedes ywoune, and fomc ylore.

Ami knyghtes wonther wroghth. 450

Syth the rounde table was A bettere turnement ther nas,

I dar well fay for fothe, Many a lord of Karlyoun That day were ybore adoun,

Certayn wiihouteu othe.

Of Karlyoun the rycbe conftabU Rod to Launfall, without fable.

He Dolde no lengere abyde ; He fmot to Launfal, and he to hym, 46O

Well fterne ftrokcs, and well grym,

Ther wer in eche a fyde. Luunfal was of hym yware, Out of his fadell be hym bar,

To giounde that ylke tyde, And whan the conftablc was bore adotto, Gyfre lepte ynto the arfoun,

And awey he gan to ryde.

t90 launfal.

The erl of Chestere therof fegh,

For wreththe yn herte he was wod negh, 470

And rood to fyr Launfale, And fmot hym yn the helm on hegh. That the creft adoun flegh,

Thus feyd the Frenf fch tale. Launfal was mochel of myght, Of hys ftede he dede hym lyght,

And bar hym doun yn the dale ; Than come ther fyr Launfal abowte Of Walffche knyghtes a greet rowte,

The numbre y not how fale. 480

Than myghte me fe fcheldes ryve, Speres to-brefte and to-dry ve,

Behynde and ek before, Thorugh Laimfal and hys ftedes dent, Many a knyght, verement,

To ground was ibore. So the prys of thatturnay Was dely vered to Lanfaul that day,

Without oth yfwore ; Launfal rod to Karlyoun. 49O

To the meyrys hous yn the toun,

And many a lord hym before.

LAUNFAL. 191

And than the noble knyght Launlal Helde a fefte ryche and ryall.

That lefte fourtenyght, Erles and barouns fale Semely wer fctte yn fale.

And ryaly were adyght. And every day dame Triamour, Sche com to fyr Launfal hour, 500

A day when hyt was nyght, Of all that ever wer ther tho, Segh he non but they two,

Cyfre and LaunfJEtl the knyght.

r 192 1

LAUNFAL.

PART II.

A knyght ther was yn Lumbardye, To fyr Launfal hadde he greet envye,

Syr Valentyne he hyghte ; He herde fpeke of fyr Launfal, That that he couth jufty well,

And was a man of niochel myghte. 510

Syr Valentyne was wonther ftrong, Fyftene feet he was longe,

Hym thoghte he brente bryghte But he myghte with Launfal pleye, In the feld betwene ham tweye,

To jufty, other to fyghte.

Syr Valentyne fat yn hys halle, Hys masfengere he let ycalle,

LAUNFAL. 193

And feyde he mofte wende To fyr Launfal the noble knyght, 520

That was yholde fo mychel of myght,

To Breiayne he wolde hym fende ; And fey hym, for love of.hys lemaoy Yf fche be any gentyle wonum,

Courteys, fre, other hende, That he come with me to jufte, To Jicpe hys barneys from the rufte,

And elles hys manhod fcbende.

The mesfengcre ys forth ywent.

To tho hys lordys comroaundement, 5S#

He haddc wynde at wylle Whan he was over the water ycorae, The way to Laonfal he hath ynome,

And grette hym with wordes flylle : And feyd, Syr, my lord, fyr Valentyne, A noble werrour, and queynte of gynne,

Hath me fent the tylle ; And prayth the, for thy leromanes fake, »

lliou fchulded with hym juftes take.

Tho lough Launfal full ftylle. 540

VOL. I. O

J94 LAUNFAL.

And feyde, as he was gentyl knyght, Thylke day a fourtenyght,

He wold wyth hym play. He yaf the mesfeuger, for that tydyng, A noble courfer and a ryng,

And a robe of ray. Launfal tok leve at Tryamour, That was the bryght berde yn hour,

And kefte that fwete may ; Thanne feyde that Avete vvyght, 550

Dreed the nothyng, fyr gentyl knyght,

Thou fchalt hym fle that day.

Launfal nolde nothyng with hym have.

But Blaunchard hys ftede, and Gyfre hys knave.

Of all hys fayr raayn^ ; He fchyppede and hadde wynd well good, And wente over the falte flod,

Into Lumbardye. Whan he was over the water ycome, Ther the juftes fchulde be norae, 560

In the cyte of Atalye, Syr Valentyn hadde a greet oft. And fyr Launfal abatede her boft,

Wyth lytyll cumpanye.

LA UN FA L. 195

And whan fyr I.aunfal was ydyghti Upon Blaunchard hys ftede lygbt,

With helm, and fpere, and fchelde, All that fa we hym yn armes brygbt, Seyde they fawe never fwych a knyght,

That hym with eyen beheld. S70

Tho ryde togydere thes knyghtes twOf That har fchaftes to-brofte bo.

And to-fcyverede yn the felde ; Another cours togedere they rod, That fyr Launfal helm of glod)

In tale as hyt ys telde.

Syr Valentyn logh, and hadde good game, Hadde Launfal never fu moche fcharae,

Beforhond yn no fyght ; Gyfre kedde he was good at nede, 580

And leple upon hys maystrys ftede,

No man ne fegh with fyght. And cr than thay togedere mette, Hys lordes helm be on fette^

Fay re and well adyghl ; Tho was Launfal glad and blythe. And donkede Gyfre many fyde,

For hys dede fo raochel uf myght.

196 LAUNFAL.

. Syr Valentyne fmot Launfal foo, That hys fcheld fel hym fro, 590

Anoon ryght yn that ftounde ; And Gyfre the fcheld up hente, And broghte hyt hys lord to prefente,

Er hyt cam thonne to grounde. Tho was Launfal glad and blythe, And rode ayen the thrydde fyde,

As a knyght of raochel mounde ; Syr Valentyne he fmot fo there. That hors and man bothe deed were,

Gronyng wyth grysly wounde. 600

AUe the lordes of Atalye

To fyr Launfal hadde greet envye,

That Valentyne was yflawe, And fwore that he fchold dye, Er he wente out of Lumbardye,

And be hongede, and to-drawe. Syr Launfal brayde out hys fachon, And as lyght as dew he leyde hem doune,

In a lytyll drawe, And whan he hadde the lordes fclayn, 6 10

He went ayen ynto Bretayn,

Wyth folas and wyth plawe.

LAUNFAL. 197

The tydyng com to Artour the kyng, Anoon wythout lefyng,

Of fyr Launfules noblefTe, Anoon a letter to hym fende, -

That Launfal fchuld to hym wende^

At feynt Jonnys mafle. For kyng Artour wold a felle holde. Of eries and of barouns bolde, 620

Of lordynges more and lefTe ; Syr Launfal fchud be ftward of halle, For to Bgye hys geftes alle,

For cowthe of largefle.

Launfal toke lere at Tr}'amoury For to wende to kyng Artour,

Hys fede for to agye, Ther he fond merthe and moch honour, Ladycs that wer well bryght yn hour,

Of knyghtes greet cuinpanye. 650

Fourty dayes lefte the fefte, Ryche, ryall, and honeiie,

What help hyl for to lye ? And at the fourty dayes ende, The lordcs toke har leve to wende.

Every ch yn hys party e.

198 LAUNFAL.

And aftyr mete fyr Gaweyn, Syr Gyeryes, and Agrafayn,

And fyr Launfal alfo, Wente to daunce upon the grene, 6i40

Unther the tour ther lay the quene,

Wyth fyxty ladyes and mo. To lede the daunce Launfale was kty For hys largefle he was lovede the bet,

Sertayn of alle tho ; The queue lay out and beheld hem alle, I fe, fche feyde, daunce large Launfalle,

To hym than wyll y go.

Of alle the knyghtes that y fe there,

He ys the fayrefte bachelere, 650

He ne hadde never no wyf ; Tyde me good, other ylle, I wyll go and wyte hys wylle,

Y love hym as my lyf. Sche tok with her a companye, The fayreft that fche myghte afpye,

Syxty ladyes and fyf. And went hem doun anoon ryghtes, Ham to pley among the knyghtes,

Well flylle wyihouten ftryf. 660

LAUNFAL. 199

The quene yede to the forraefte cnde, Betwene Launfal and Gauweyn the hende,

And after her ladyes bryght, To daunce they wente alie yn fame, To fe hem play hyt was fayr game,

A lady and a knyght. They hadde menftrales of moch honours, Fydelers, fytolyrs, and trompours,

And elles hyt were unryght ; Ther they playde, for fothe to fay, 67Q

After mete the fomerys day,

All what hyt was neygh nyght.

And whanne the daunce began to (lake, The quene gan Launfal to counfell take,

And ff yde yn thys manere : Serlaynlyche, fyr knyght, I have the lovyd wyth all my myght»

More than thys feven yere. But that thou Invye me. Series y dye for love of the, 680

Launfal, my lemman dere. Than anfwerede the gentyll knyght, I nell be tra) tour thay ne nyght,

Be god, that all may Here.

200 LAUNFAL.

Sche feyde, Fy on the, thou coward, An hongeth worth thou hye and hard.

That thou ever were ybore, That thou lyveft hyt ys pyt^, Thou lovyft no woman, ne no wonian the,

Thow wer worthy forlore. 6^

The knyght was fore afchamed tho, To fpeke ne myghte he forgo,

And feyde the queue before : I have loved a fayryr woman. Than thou ever leydeft thy ney upon,

Thys feven yer and more.

Hyr lothlokfte mayde, wythoute wene, Myghte bet be a queue

Than thou in all thy lyve. Therfore the queue was fwythe wroght, 7OO

Sche taketh hyr maydenes, and forth hy goth.

Into her tour aJfo biyve. And anon fche ley doun yn hyr bedde, For wrethe fyk fche hyr bredde.

And fwoi e, fo mofte fche thryve, Sche wold of Launfal be fo awreke, That all the loud fchuld of hym fpeke,

Wythinne the dayes fyfe.

LAUNFAL. 201

Kyng Artour com fro huntynge,

Bly the and glad yn all thyng, 710

To hys chamber than wente he, Anoone the queue on hym gan crye, But y be awreke, y fchall dye,

Myn herte wyll breke athre. I fpak to Launfal yn my game. And he befofte me of fchame.

My lemman for to be ; And of a lemman hys yelp he made, That the lodlokeft maydc that fche hadde

Myght be a quene above me. 720

Kyng Artour was well worth, And be god he fwor hys oth.

That Launfal fchuld be fclawe ; He wente afiyr doghty knyghtes, To brynge Launfal anoon ryghtes,

To be hongeth and to-drawe* The knyghtes fofte hyni anoon. But Launfal was to hys chanbcr gon,

To han hadde folas and plawe ; He fofte hys leef, but fche was lore, 73#

As fche hadde wamede hym before,

Tho was Launfal unfawe.

202 LAUNFAL.

He lokede yn hys alner,

That fond hym fpendyng all plener,

Whan that he hadde nede, And ther nas noon, for foth to fay, And Gyfre was yryde away,

Up[on] Blaunchard hys ftede. All that he hadde before ywonne, Hyt malt as fnow ayens the funne, 740

In romaunce as we rede ; Hys armur, that was whyt as flour, Hyt becom of blak colour,

And thus than Launfal feyde :

Alas, he feyde, my creature^ How fchall i from the endure,

Swetyng Tryamour ? All my joye i have forlore, And the that me ys worft fore,

Thou blysful berde yn hour. 750

He bet hys body and hys hedde ek, And curfede the mouth that he wyth fpek,

Wyth care and greet dolour ; And, for forow, yn that ftounde, Anoon he fell afwowe to grounde j

Wyth that come knyghtes four,

LAUNFAL. 20S

And bond bym, and ladde hym tho, Tho was ihe knyghte yn doble wo,

Before Artour the kyng. Than feyde kyng Artour, 7^0

Fyle ataynte traytour !

Why madcft thou fwyche yelpyng ? That thy lemmannes lodlokcil mayde Was fay re r than my wyf, thou feyde,

That was a fowl lefynge ; And thou befoftcft her befor than, That fche fchold be thy lemman,

That was mysprowd lykynge.

The knyght anfwcrede, with cgre mode,

Before the kyng ther he (lode, 770

The queue on hym gan lye : " Sethc that y ever was yborn, I befofte her here b«forD

Never of no folye. But fche feyde y nas no man, Ne that me lovedc no woman,

Ne no womanncs companye ; And i anfwercde her and fayde. That my lemmannes lodlckeft mayde

To be a quene was better wordy e. 780

204 LAUNFAL.

Series, lordynges, hyt ys fo, I am a redy for to tho

All that the court wyll loke, . To fay the foth, wythout les, All togedere how hyt was,

Twelve knyghtes wer dryve to boke. All they feyde ham belwene, That knewe the raaners of the quene.

And the quefte toke ; The quene bar los of fwych a word, 790

That fche lovede lemmannes wythout her lord,

Har never on hyt forfoke.

Therfor they feyden alle,

Hyt was long on the quene, and not ou Launfal,

Therof they gonne hym Ikere ; And yf he myghte hys lemman brynge, That he made of fwych yelpynge,

Other the raaydenes were Bryghtere than the quene of hewe, Launfal fchuld be holde trewe.

Of that yn all manere ; 800

And yf he myghte not brynge hys lef, He fchud be hongede as a thef,

They feyden all yn fere.

LAUNFAL. 205

Alle yn fere they made proferynge, That Launfal fchuld hys Icniman brynge :

Hys heed he gan to laye. Than feyde the qucne, wythout lefynge, Yyf he bryngcth a fayrer thynge,

Put out my eeyn gray. 810

Whan that wajowr was take on honde, Launfal therto two borwes fonde,

Noble knyghtes twayn, Syr Perceval 1, and fyr Gawayiiy They wer hys borwes, foth to fayn,

Tyll a certayn day.

The certayn day, i yow plyght, Was twelve moneth and fourtenyght,

That he fchuld hys lemman brynge ; Syr Launfal, that noble knyght, 82<'

Greet forow and care yn hym was lyght,

Hys hondys he gan wrynge. So greet forowe hym was upan, Gladlyche hys lyf he wold a forgon,

In care and in marnyngc ; Gladlyche he wold hys hed forgo, Everych maa therfore was wo,

That wyfte of that tydynge.

206 LAUNFAL.

The certayn day was nyghyng,

Hys borowes hym broght befor the kyng, 830

The kyng recordede tho, And bad hym bryng hys lef yn fyght, Syr Launfal feyde that he ne myght,

Therfore him was well wo. The kyng coramaundede the barouns alle, To yeve jugernent on Launfal,

And dampny hym to fclo. Than fayde the erl of Cornewayle, That was wyth ham at that counceyle,

We wyllyd naght do fo : 840

Greet fchame hyt wor us alle upon For to dampny that gantylraan,

That hath be hende and fre ; Therfor, lordynges, doth be my reed, Our kyng we wyllyth another wey lede,

Out of lond Launfal fchall fle. And as they flod thus fpekynge, The barouns fawe come rydynge

Ten maydenes bryght of ble, Ham thoghte they wer fo bryght and fchene, 850 That the lodlokeft, wythout wene,

Har quene than myghte be.

LA UNFA U 207

Tho feyde Gawayn, that curteys knyght, Launfal, brodyr, drede the no wyght.

Her Cometh thy lemman hende. Launfal anfwerede, and feyde, Y wys, Nod of ham my lemman nys,

Gawayn, my lef ly frende. To that castell they wente ryght. At the gate they gonne alyght, 860

Befor kyng Artour gonne they wende, And bede hym make a redy haftyly A fayr chamber for her lady.

That was come of kyi^es kende.

Ho ys youT lady ? Artour feyde. Y« fchull y wyte, feyde the mayde,

For fche cometh ryde. The kyng commaundede, for her fake, The fayrj-ft chaunher for to take.

In bys palys that tyde. 8/ 0

And anon to hys barouns he feute, For to yeve jugcmente

Upon that traytour full of pryde ; The barouns anfwerede, anoon ryght, Have we fcyn the madenes bryght,

Whe fchull not louge abyde.

208 LAUNFAL.

A newe tale they gonne tho, Some of wele, and feme of wo,

Har lord the kyng to querae, Some dampnede Launfal there, 880

And fome made hym quyt and fkere,

Har tales wer well breme. Tho faw they other ten maydenes bryght, Fayryr than the other ten of fyght,

As they gone hym deme, They ryd upon joly moyles of Spayne, Wyth fadell and brydell of Champayne,

Har lorayns lyght gonne leme.

They wer yclodeth yn famyt tyre,

Ech man hadde greet defyre 8^9

To fe har clodynge. Tho feyde Gaweyn, that curtayfe knyght, Launfal, her cometh thy fwete wyght.

That may thy bote brynge. Launfal anfwerede, with drery doght, And feyde, Alas, y knowe her noght,

Ne non of all the offprynge. Forth they wenle to that palys, And lyghte at the hye deys, * Before Artour the kynge. 909

LAUNFAL. 209

And grette the kyng and quene ek, And 00 mayde thys wordcs fpak,

To the kyng Artour, Thyn halle agrayde and hele the walles, Wyth clodes and wyth ryche palles,

Ayens my lady Tryamour. The kyng anfwerede bedene, Well come, ye maydenes fchene,

Be our lord the favyour. He commaundede Launcelot du Lake to brjngc hem yn fere, 9 10

In the chamber ther bar felawes were,

Wyth merthe and moche honour.

Anoon the quene fuppofe gyle That Launfal fchuUd yn a whyle

Be ymade quyl and (kere, Thorugh hys lemman that was commynge. Anon fche feyde to Artour the kyng,

Syre, curtays yf [thou] were, Or yf thou loveded thyh honour, I fchuld be awroke of that tray tour, $90

That doih me changy chere, VOL. I. P

210 LAUNFAL.

To Launfal thou fchuldeft not fpare» Thy barouns dryveth the to bysmare. He ys hem lef and dere.

And as the quene fpak to the kyng, The barouns feygh come rydynge

A damefele alone, Upoon a whyt comely palfrey, They faw never non fo gay.

Upon the grounde gone. 930

Gentyll, jolyf, as bryd on bowe. In all manere fayr inowe,

To wonye jm worldly wone. The lady was bryght as blofme oh brere, Wyth eyen gray, wyth lovelych chere.

Her leyre lyght fchoone.

As rofe on rys her rode was red, The her fchon upon her hed,

As gold wyre that fchynyth bryght ; Sche hadde a croune upon her molde, 94.O

Of ryche Hones and of golde,

That loffom lemede lyght.

LAUNFAL. 211

The lady was clad yn purpere palle, Wyth gentyll body and myddyll fmall.

That femely was of fyght, Her mantyll was furryth with whyt ermyn, Irevcrfyd jolyf and iyn,

No rychere be ne myght.

Her fadell was femyly fett.

The farabus wer grene felvet, ^50

Ipaynted with ymagerye, The bordure was of belles. Of ryche gold and nothyng ellesi

That any man myghtc afpye. In the arfouns, before and behyndei Were twey fton^ of Ynde,

Gay for the maystrye ; The paytrelle of her palfraye, Was worth an crldome, fioute and gay.

The beft yn Lumbardye. 96O

A gerfawcon fche bar on her bond, A fofte pas her palfray fond, That men her fcbuld beholde ;

212 LAUNFAL.

Thorugh Karlyon rood that lady, Twey whyte grehoundys ronne hyr by,

Har colers were of golde. And whan Launfal fawe that lady, To alle the folk he gon crye an hy,

Both to yonge and olde, Her, he feyde, comyth my lemman fwete, 970 Sche myghte me of my balys bete,

Yef that lady wolde.

Forth fche wente ynto the halle,

Ther was the quene and the ladyes alle,

And alfo kyng Artour, Her maydenes come ayens her ryght, To take her ftyrop whan fche lyght,

Of the lady dame Tryamour. Sche dede of her mantyll on the flet, That men fchuld her beholde the bet, 980

Wythoute a more fojour, Kyng Artour gan her fayre grete. And fche hym agayn, with wordes fwete,

That were of greet valour.

LAUNFAL. 213

Up ftod the quene and ladyes ftoute. Her forto beholde all aboute,

How evene fche ftod upryght ; Than wer they wyih her alfo donne, As ys the mone ayen the Tonne,

A day whan hyt ys lygbt. 990

Than feyde fche to Artour the kyng, Syr, hydyr i com for fwych a thyng,

To flcere Launful the knyght, That he never, yn no folye, Befoftc the quene of no drurye,

By dayes ne be nyght.

Therfor, fyr kyng, good kepe thou myne, He bad naght her, but fche bad hym.

Here lemman for to be ; And he anfwerede her and feyde, 1000

That hys lemmanues lothlokefl mayde

Was fayryr than was fche. Kyng Artour feyde, wythoute nothe, Ech may yfi^ that ys fotbe,

Bryghterc that ye be. Wyth that dame Tryamour to the quene geth> And blew on her fwych a brctb.

That never eft royght fche fe.

214 LAUNFAL.

The lady lep an hy r palfray,

And bad hem alle have good day, 1010

Sche nolde no lengere abyde ; Wyth that com Gyfre all fo preft, Wyth Launfalys ftede out of the foreft.

And ftod Launfal befyde. The knyght to horfe began to fprynge, Anoon wythout any lettynge,

Wyth hys lemman away to ryde ; The lady tok her maydenys achon, And wente the way that fche hadde er gon,

Wyth folas and wyth pryde, 1020

The lady rod dorth Cardevyle, Fer ynto a jolyf ile,

Olyroun that hyghte ; Every yer upon a certayn day, Me may here Launfales ftede nay,

And hym fe with fyght. Ho that wyll there axfy juftus, To kepe hys armes fro the ruftus,

In turnement other fyght ; Dar he never forther gon, 1030

Ther he may fynde juftes anoon,

Wyth fyr Launfal the knyght.

> LAUNFAL. 215

Thus Launfal, wythouten fable ,

That noble knyght of the rounde table,

Was take yn to the fayrye ; Seththe faw hym yn thys lond no man, Nc no more of hym telle y ne can.

For fothe, wythout lye. Thomas Chestre made thys tale, Of the noble knyght fyr Launfale, 1040

Good of chyvalrye. Jhefus, that ys hevene kyng, Yeve us alle hys blefsyng,

And hys modyr Marye !

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

Printed by W.Bulmcr aad Co. Clcvdtnd-rovr, Si, Jimet't,

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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY

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This book is DUE on the last date stamped below.

MAY 1 8 1990

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