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VI E THREE SHILLINGS AND SIXPENCE NETT oe SHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF WALES BOL, elnry sie ak SER aaa Le LET) OE LI a) it i PRESS BOARD ON BEHALF OF THE COLLEGE 4 pe eR 1924 UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF WALES ABERYSTWYTH Vol. VI ABERYSTWYTH STUDIES VOL. VI ABERYSTWYTH STUDIES BY MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF WALES VOL. VI PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF WALES PRESS BOARD ON BEHALF OF THE COLLEGE 1924 Printed in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd., Frome and London CONTENTS PAGE 1,MHKOC AND XPONOC: THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA. By Professor H. J. Ross 3 : 1 2. JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE. By Professor E. BENsty . 23 3. HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY (Part I). By LiniAN WINSTANLEY, M.A. ; : : : : amet 57 4, CROCE’S DOCTRINE OF INTUITION COMPARED WITH BRADLEY’S DOCTRINE OF FEELING, By Vatmar Burpwoop Evans, M.A. . , ; : ; 4 a OW | MUSEUM 16 DEC 24 | NATURAL tS TORY. 4 IES MHKOC AND XPONOC: THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA ‘Epic poetry,’ says Aristotle,! ‘agrees with Tragedy in so far as it is an imitation in verse of characters of a higher type. They differ, in that Epic poetry admits but one kind of metre, and is narrative in form. They differ again, in length ; for Tragedy endeavours, as far as possible, to confine itself to a single revolution of the sun, or but slightly to exceed this limit ; whereas the Epic action has no limits of time. This, then, is a second point of difference ; though at first the same freedom was admitted in Tragedy as in Epic poetry.’ On this simple statement of fact, for it is nothing more, and on a few references or allusions to it in later writers,? rests the whole ‘law’ of the Unity of Time. Butcher * sums up the true Aristotelian doctrine excellently. ‘No strict rule is here laid down. A certain historical fact is recorded—a prevailing, but not an invariable usage. Even in the developed Attic drama several exceptions to the practice are to be found. ... The interval covered by a choral ode is one whose value is just what the poet chooses to make it. While the time occupied by the dialogue has a relation more or less exact to real time, the choral lyrics suspend the outward action of the play. ... What happens in the interval cannot be measured by any ordinary reckon- ing; it is as much or little as the needs of the piece demand... . The imagination travels easily over many hours; and in the Greek 1 Butcher’s translation, in Aristotle’s Theory of Poetry and Fine Art (London, 1895). The text runs thus, with a corrupt reading which fortunately does not affect the question of the “unity of time’: 7) wév oby Emonmoliia tH toaywdia méyoe dvov pwétoov peta Adyou (so the MSS.: pwéxor fev tod wétow Tyrwhitt, wéyor wey tod dia pétoov peydisov Bywater, péyet tov dia Aoyou gupétoov Butcher) piunow eivar onovdaiwy ixohovOnoev’ tH OE TO MéToov amhodvy eyew nal adnayyediay eivat, tab’tn Ovapégovow’ ett O& TO MHxEL (length of the poem),—1 mév tt udhiota mEipdtat 0106 miay mEeoiodoy 7jAtov eivat 4 pinooy &EaddAdtrew, 1) dé Emomotia ddoiatos TH yodve (length of time occupied by the events),—xai todto diapéoet, xaitot TO mplv bmoiws év tai¢ Teaywdiaic TovtO Exoiovy xail év toic éneow.—Poetics, 1449b, 9-16. 2 As Dio Chrysostom Or. lii, p. 159, 20, Dindorf ; Scholiast on Aesch., ' Agam. 505 (Vol. III, p. 506, of Dindorf’s Aeschylus, Oxford, 1851). 2 On. “Cit. pe 269. A.S.—VOL. VI. 1 2 THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA - drama the time that elapses during the songs of the Chorus is entirely idealized.’ : How true the statement about the effect of the choral odes is one may see by a glance at Sophokles’ Antigone. At the first entry of the Chorus they hail the rising sun in a fine ode (v. 100 sqq.). In verses 333-83 they sing again. At verse 384 a guard enters, bringing Antigone with him. He mentions (v. 415 sqq.) that her capture took place about noon. The colloquy therefore between Antigone and Ismene with which the play begins must be supposed to take place in the early morning twilight; from that time to verse 384 some six or seven hours have elapsed. But the dialogue up to this point, from the beginning of the play, requires only half an hour or so to deliver. The choral odes then represent the passage of five and a half to six and a half hours. Nor is this an isolated example. Leaving out of count the plays, to be considered later, in which the action takes longer than a day, in the Hlectra of Euripides the choral ode, 699-746, is supposed to cover the time of the long series of events which some eighty lines (774— 855) are consumed in relating; Orestes and his companions walk some distance, meet Aigisthos, talk with him, join in a sacrifice, discuss with him the omens given by the entrails, murder him, fight for a short time with his attendants, parley with the latter, are recognised by one of them, receive their greetings and homage, and send off the messenger (an old man) who tells the story. In the Bacchae, an ode of less than fifty lines (977-1024) covers the journey of Pentheus from Thebes to Mount Kithairon, his adventures with the Bacchantes which end in his death, and the return of one of his attendants with the story. It is clear therefore that the time actually taken by a choral ode, like that which elapses between the lowering and raising of the curtain in a modern play, is not necessarily the same as the time which is supposed to elapse between one epeisodion, or act, and the next. ‘Tl y eut,’ as Croiset well says,! “entre ces actes des espaces de temps absolument arbitraires, que les stasima (the choric odes) rem- plissaient sans les mesurer.... Le méme temps apparant n’a pas la méme valeur pour les divers acteurs de la piéce, ce qui revient 4 dire 1 Histoire de la littérature grecque, III (second ed.), pp. 131-2. THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA 3 qu’entre les deux episodes la notion méme du temps est comme sus- pendu.’ - It now remains to be asked how long this ideal time might be, whether limited to hours or capable of extension to days, months, or longer. It will appear from an examination of the earliest surviving plays, and to some extent of the later ones which have come down to us, that the latter alternative is the true one. Before, however, proceeding to a study of the texts I must dispose of an a priors argument for the existence of the twenty- four hour limit in Greek drama which has been long repeated from one manual to another in the usual parrot-fashion of textbooks. This is, that the chorus is the reason for the observ- ance of the supposed pair of unities of Time and Place. Since, it is argued, the whole action or nearly the whole takes place in presence of an unchanging body of spectators, it would be too great a strain on the audience’s imagination to ask them to suppose that the same little party of people has been standing there for days or months, or that they have travelled a hundred miles in the last few minutes. Therefore, unless the chorus leaves the stage and comes back again, as in the Humenides of Aeschylus, the Aiax of Sophokles, the Alkestis of Euripides, and the Hcclesiazusae of Aristophanes, no change of scene takes place. So also, unless a plausible reason can be assigned for bringing the same party of people together at a later date (as in the Humenides, where the chorus consists of the avenging spirits who pursue Orestes from place to place), the lapse of time is no more than that for which one might suppose an interested crowd, or a party of guards on duty or the like, to stay together, namely, a day or less. I am of opinion, after long holding the orthodox view, that this is no sufficient reason for the supposed influence of the chorus on the duration of the action. There are, it is true, a few plays, such as the Supplices of Aeschylus and Euripides’ play of the same name, the Humenides of Aeschylus, the Bacchae of Euripides, the Lysistrata and Thesmo- phorizusae of Aristophanes, in which the chorus are to some extent at least the centre of the whole action, and everything depends upon their personality. Replace the daughters of Danaos, in Aeschylus, with a number of other persons in distress, and the whole motive of the action is gone ; remove the Erinyes, 4 THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA and Orestes has no one to be afraid of ; let Euripides’ choruses consist respectively of others than the bereaved women with the aged king Adrastos, and the followers of Dionysos, and the plots could indeed go forward, but under difficulties ; in Aristo- phanes, the choruses consist of the women whose radical action brings about the farcical change in the political situation. But in most plays no such importance is attached to the number or identity of the persons composing the chorus. They are simply, except for their singing, the ‘ citizens, guards, priests, soldiers, etc.’ who bring up the rear of so many modern lists of dramatis personae. Nothing whatsoever depends upon their being the same individuals from beginning to end. Thus, in the Hippolytos of Euripides, they are simply a few stray enquirers after the health of the unfortunate queen ; in the Medea, again, a handful of sympathetic callers; in the Phoenissae, temple- servants of Apollo on their way to their new place of employ- ment, who happen to be at Thebes when it is attacked by the Seven. In a poet who connects his chorus more closely with his plot than Euripides, we still find no insistence on either personality or number; the chorus of the Oedipus Rex of Sophokles consists of old men—any old men—of Thebes ; their business is to represent the distressed population in general. If Sophokles had seen fit to make the play last weeks instead of hours, we should have had to assume, not that the same small band of elders waited outside the royal palace day and night, but simply that there were always some or other of the people near the king’s door, waiting anxiously to hear what steps were to be taken for staying the plague. In those plays in which the chorus does form a corporate body, there is some reason given or implied for their continued appearance. ‘Thus Lysistrata and her followers, in Aristophanes, have seized the Akropolis, which they do not leave till the conclusion of the play ; the chorus of the Agamemnon consists of the royal council, which we may imagine meeting again and again as easily as, in Pinafore, we can suppose the same ship’s crew to assemble more than once on deck; and so on with other plays, such as the Humenides, in which the chorus is something more than a stage crowd and the action lasts more than the traditional ‘revolution of the sun.’ Nothing can show more clearly how vaguely the chorus is conceived than the fact that its number never varies. That THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA 5 it always consisted of twelve persons (fifteen in comedy) is certain for the period with which we are dealing, 7.e. that of developed tragedy.1 These twelve persons have to represent, perhaps with the addition of some supernumeraries, the fifty daughters of Danaos with their handmaidens 2; whereas in the Euripidean Supplices they represent but five women, the mothers of those of the Seven whose bodies lie unburied,* though we may suppose if we like that a few attendants or sympathetic Athenians are also present. Usually, then, the chorus is simply an audience—the general public, or some section thereof. Their presence indicates that somebody, not this or that individual, hears, sees, and comments on the events. The chorus, then, can exercise no such compelling force as has been imagined upon the dramatic length of the action, the yoovoc of the play. There was another and a much _ better reason for the shortness of the time generally supposed to elapse between the beginning and the end of the drama, and that was the Greek fondness for concentrated effect. This is visible in the whole of their art. A procession, in their most ambitious sculptures, is regularly represented (as on the Parthenon frieze) by a comparatively small number of typical figures in single file, or perhaps two deep (Hellenistic, especially Pergamene art, began to use more perspective and show the characters several deep). A battle is indicated by a few single combats ; a wood, by one or two trees ; water, by a wavy line and a fish or two; a crowd, by two or three carefully drawn attendants or soldiers. So in their drama, the eventful life of an Oedipus or an Agamemnon is represented by one or two episodes told at length, and brief narration of or allusion to such other events as may be necessary to the comprehension of those shown. This effect is best produced if the chosen incidents are shown crowded into the space of a few hours, or—what comes to much the same—if the time between them is simply neglected, and its passage indicated in the briefest possible way. The same technique for the same reason is often to be found in such 1 See, ¢.g., Reisch in Pauly-Wissowa, s.v. Chor, col. 2390. 2 Aesch., Suppl. 320, 1022; see Reisch, ibid., and Tucker, p. xvi of his edition of the play. The statement of Pollux, IV, 109, that there were originally 50 choreutae, is vague and unsupported, and very likely a mere deduction from the number of the dithyrambic chorus. 3 Adrastos was not killed and Amphiaraos was swallowed up in the earth. 6 THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA modern plays as those of Ibsen. If it is thought desirable to tell a long-continued story, like that of A Winter’s Tale, the trilogy is always available, at least in Aeschylus. As Perdita is a baby in one act, a marriageable girl in another, so Orestes, a little boy in the Agamemnon, is a stalwart young man in the Choephoroe. Within the play there is never so great a lapse of time as would, by itself, account for a considerable difference in any character ; thus we never find that the petulant youth of the first act has become the experienced man of the last scene. 1 Naturally, in Greek drama or in any other, we cannot expect an author, in the heat of composition, always to remain con- sistent with himself in the matter of time or anything else. It has well been pointed out, first I think by the late Professor Campbell in his edition of the Antigone, that the indications of time in that play are self-contradictory. In the opening chorus we are given to understand that the decisive battle and rout of the Argive army, together with the death of King Eteokles, took place the day before. Kreon, therefore, has been king for a few hours only, and the neglected corpse of Polyneikes has lain on the battlefield for something less than a day. Yet the body is apparently in an advanced stage of decomposition, verses 410-12; Teiresias talks as if the results of Kreon’s harsh- ness towards the dead were already widely known, 1080 sqq. ; and Kreon himself (993) speaks as if he had for some considerable time ruled himself by the advice of the old seer, who replies, ‘ Therefore thou didst guide this state on even keel,’ all of which would seem to imply that the defeat of the Seven is not hours, but days or months old. Very similar is the confusion which exists in Othello as to the length of the stay of the principal characters in Cyprus. But these are trifles which do not affect the action ; it makes not the smallest difference whether Cassio attacks Roderigo the night of his arrival in Cyprus, or a week 1 This does not of course mean that no development of character takes place at all. The Admetos of the closing scenes of Euripides’ Alkestus is a very different person from the despicable coward of the opening episode ; this is psychologically just and effective, for the death and resuscitation of his wife have revolutionised his whole being. So in Shakespeare, Romeo, who in the first act is a sentimental young fop, in the churchyard scene, a few days later, addresses Paris in the tone of an experienced elder, ‘Good gentle youth, tempt not a desperate man.’ THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA 7 later; and Antigone’s defiance of Kreon is just as significant if he has been an hour or a year on the throne. I now proceed to analyse the surviving ancient plays, both tragic and comic, with a view to ascertaining how long a time the events recorded in them are supposed to take. If we begin with Aeschylus, we find that, in full accordance with Aristotle’s remarks, he observes the ‘unity of Time’ in two only of the seven plays which have come down to us. The action of the Supplices lasts but one day. At the beginning, the Danaides and their father enter; after the long opening chorus and a short dialogue, the King of Argos enters, hears their story, and refers their request for succour to the Argive assembly. Danaos and he depart to lay the case before the citizens, and an ode (524-99) covers their absence. After Danaos’ re-entry and a song of thanksgiving over the good news he has brought, he declares that he can see the ship of the sons of Aigyptos in the offing, but tries to cheer his daughters by assuring them that the pursuers cannot land yet awhile, on an unknown coast and towards sunset. He goes away, however, to warn the Argives. After another ode, the Egyptian herald enters. Here Campbell sees an interval of a night, but this is probably not to be assumed ; the ship is at anchor off the coast, but the herald and a few attendants have put off in a boat. He tries to force the Danaids to follow him to the shore, but is prevented by the re-entry of the King with his guards, who bids him begone and conducts the women to their new quarters in the city. If now we turn to the Persae, a play almost as primitive in construction, we find a very different state of things. Atossa enters and tells the Chorus (the Council of Elders, who in the absence of Xerxes govern Persia, v. 3-6) of a symbolic dream which has in the preceding night (179) announced to her the ill-success of her son. A short dialogue follows, and then a 1 My chief guides here, for a knowledge of which I am largely in- debted to Mr. A. W. Pickard-Cambridge of Balliol, are the following : Lewis Campbell, review of Verrall’s Agamemnon in Class. Rev. IV (1890), p. 303 sqq.; A. W. Verrall, Jon of Euripides (Camb. 1890), p. xlviii sqq. ; Aemilius Polezyk, De unitatibus et loci et temporis in noua comoedia obser- uatis, Vratislauiae, MCMIX; R. J. Kent, The Time Element in Greek Drama, in Trans. Amer. Phil. Ass. XXXVII (1906), p. 39 sqg. The dissertation of G. Felsch, Quibus artificiis adhibitis poetae tragici Graect unitates ilas et temporis et loci obseruauerint (Breslauer philol. Abhand- lungen, 1907), is in my opinion a worthless piece of dogmatism. 8 THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA messenger enters with the news of Salamis. Now by the general laws of veridical dreams, as understood in antiquity,! the queen’s vision should precede the battle. Hence between it and the entrance of the messenger several months elapse, 7.e. the whole time of the long and disastrous retreat of Xerxes with the bulk of his army from Attica to the mainland of Asia Minor. The interesting point is that no choral ode intervenes, its place being apparently taken by the dialogue, which is not in the usual dialogue metre, iambic trimeters, but in trochees, and serves in no way to advance the action, being merely a series of questions and answers as to who the Athenians are and why they dare to resist Xerxes. This is significant in view of some features of later technique. After the report of the messenger follows the extraordinarily impressive scene in which the ghost of Dareios is summoned and appears from his tomb, foretelling more dis- asters. This, with the preceding and following odes of the chorus, may again be supposed to occupy some time, for im- mediately after, Xerxes enters, having presumably made a much slower journey than the messenger ; but this assumption is not necessary. 7 The action of the Prometheus is one that hardly lends itself to time-analysis ; the characters (with the exception of Io) are all gods, and they speak in terms of aeons rather than days (e.g. v. 94). But certainly the impression given is that the action is not of short duration, for Hephaistos implies (v. 21 sqq.) that Prometheus will remain a very long time on his rock in the Caucasus, while the end of the play sees the disappearance of the rock and Prometheus with it (see 1018, Prometheus is forthwith to be buried underground ; contrast 22, where he is to be long exposed to the sun; in 561-2, apparently,? he has been there long enough to show signs of the effects of wind and rain on him). The Septem occupies but one day; the stasimon 720-91 represents the duration of the battle. 1 See for instance Artemidoros, Onirocritica, I, 2, p. 41, 25 Hercher ; GvEelgog éotL uivnoig | mAdolg puoync mnodvoyypuwv onuartiny thy és&oouévmy ayabay 7 xaxa@v “a significant dream is a multiform movement or forma- tion of the mind which indicates future events, good or evil.’ At most the dream might give warning of present events going on elsewhere, asin one or two cases of the apparition in sleep of a man in deadly peril or dying. Such beliefs were in full vogue in Aeschylus’ day. 2 vesacduevov, probably ‘ weather-beaten,’ but perhaps simply ‘ex- posed to storms,’ 7.e. unsheltered. THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA 9 Omitting the Agamemnon for the moment, we come to the other two plays of the Trilogy. Of these, the Choephoroe is a good example (we shall find others later) of those plays which exceed the twenty-four hour limit by a little. It begins in the morning ; Klytaimestra has had an evil dream, has consulted dream-interpreters, and has sent the chorus (composed of her handmaidens) to perform expiatory rites (v. 32 sqq.). Before they enter, 7.e. quite early in the morning, for the queen can hardly be supposed to have lost any time in taking precautions in connection with an event which has frightened her badly, Orestes and Pylades have visited the tomb of Agamemnon (v. | sqq.). This in all probability would be about dawn, if not before it, since they dare not risk being seen and recognised. Now in 710, Klytaimestra tells Pylades and Orestes, who come to the palace in disguise, that it is ‘the hour for guests that have journeyed. all day to receive what their long travel calls for’; 7.e. it is evening. In 985, after the slaying of Klytaim- estra and Aigisthos, Orestes displays to the sun the robe in which Agamemnon was entangled and slain. It is therefore natural to suppose that a new day has begun, and that the stasimon 784-837, or perhaps 931-72, represents the passage of the night. | The Eumenides is, like the Persae, instructive in view of the practice of later writers. The scene changes twice; the pro- logue is spoken by the Pythia, standing outside the temple at Delphi; the next scene is inside the temple; at 396 the chorus leave for Athens in pursuit of Orestes, who is already on his way thither; the very next line finds them and him already arrived at the Areiopagos. The journey, then, some three days long at the very least (for the Erinyes naturally go at Orestes’ pace), is covered, not by the stasimon 299-396, but simply by the departure of the chorus and its re-entry. We may now see how futile are all those criticisms and reconstructions of the Agamemnon resting on the supposed Unity of Time, from the scholiast above quoted (note 2), who says that “some’ blame the poet for bringing Agamemnon and his followers back from Troy within one day, to Verrall, who would have us believe that the great description of the fire-signals is a tissue of lies on Klytaimestra’s part, and that Agamemnon is already in harbour when the play opens. The construction of this great work is as follows : 10 THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA Prologue ; the Watchman sees the fire-signal he has been set to look out for. Enter chorus (the Council of Elders). After their opening stasimon, enter to them Klytaimestra, who announces the fall of Troy. Asked how she knows this, she explains that a chain of beacons connects Troy with Argos and the message has just been received. They sing another ode, which covers the passage of sufficient tueme for Agamemnon to make his way across the Aegean, despite the delay caused by a violent storm. Re-enter Klytaimestra, who declares that a messenger is in sight. ‘Then enter a herald from Agamemnon, who tells the story of the return from Troy. After another ode from the chorus, Enter Agamemnon, Kassandra, and attendants. After some parley with the chorus and Klytaimestra, exit Agamemnon to the palace. Manet Kassandra. The stasimon preceding this episode covers only the time necessary for Agamemnon and his followers to march from the harbour to the town, no very long journey. After the next stasimon, which covers the time spent in the palace in preparations for a sacrifice and feast, re-enter Klytai- mestra, who endeavours to persuade Kassandra to follow her within. Then follows the ‘ mad scene,’ in which Kassandra, left alone with the chorus, vainly tries to tell them what she knows by her prophetic power, that Agamemnon’s life is attempted. _ Immediately after her exit (which is not followed by an ode, but accompanied by a short passage in anapaests,a common method of showing an exit or an entrance) follow Agamemnon’s death- shrieks, the startled and futile deliberation of the chorus, and the opening of the palace doors, showing the queen standing over the huddled bodies of Agamemnon and Kassandra. From this point to the end of the play there are no interruptions to the action. It is usual for a Greek tragedian to give occasional indications of the time at which events are supposed to take place ; as he had none of the modern arrangements for changing the lighting of the stage, it was necessary for him to do so. We have seen examples of this in the Antigone, which marks dawn and noon, and in the Choephoroe, which notes morning, night, and another morning. The Agamemnon indicates darkness at verse 22 and dawn at verse 265; but in addition it has, as Dr. L. R. Farnell long ago pointed out to the author, indications of date. The THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA 11 herald comes, as he himself says, dexdtm éyyer tH0° étovc,1 ‘on this tenth light (7.e. day) of the year,’ which to an Athenian audience, whose year began at midsummer, would mean about July 1. But Troy fell, as Agamemnon says later (825), ‘about the setting of the Pleiads,’ or the beginning of November. The return voyage has therefore been, apart from the storm, most leisurely, and not straight across from Troy, but along the coast, as was usual with ancient methods of navigation, with many such delays as that in Thrace which forms the subject of Euripides’ Hecuba. Tf anyone finds this reading of the passages in question over- ingenious, it makes no difference to the main argument ; analysis of the other plays of the same author, backed up by the text of Aristotle from which we started, makes it clear that the yodvoc of the Agamemnon may be as much over twenty-four hours as the reader or hearer may think it necessary to allow for the return of the royal ship to Argos. Sophokles is what the eighteenth century would call a more regular writer than Aeschylus, and in him we find for the most part that the length of the play is not over ‘ one revolution of the sun.’ The only exception is the Trachiniae. In this play Deian- eira sends her son Hyllos to look for his father Herakles (v. 92). Even if we suppose that Kent (p. 44) is unjustified in assuming ‘at least some days for his search,’ we must at any rate recognise that in the course of the play he joins his father at Kenaion, about twenty miles from Trachis, the scene of the drama; that Lichas not only arrives from Kenaion (he might be supposed to have set out before the play starts), but goes back there again, verse 632; that Hyllos reappears from Kenaion, 734, and finally that Herakles (v. 971 sqq.) makes his entrance. All these jour- _ neys are performed on foot over rough country, and the last is retarded by the fact that Herakles is in agonising pain and has to be carefully carried on a litter. Two days at the very least must elapse, if not three. Kuripides was a restless experimenter in technique. He knew, none better, how to keep his action within the limits of a day ; the tense effect of the Medea is largely due to the circum- 1 So the only available MS. for this part of the play, verse 504. Several editors have followed Wunder in reading dexatod, a wanton conjecture, intended to mean ‘at the dawn or beginning of the tenth year (since the commencement of the Trojan War),’ a piece of very doubtful Greek. A.S.—VOL. VI. B 12 THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA stance that the heroine is desperately short of time, having but one day to carry out her complicated scheme of revenge. On the other hand, out of his surviving plays (eighteen in all, omitting the fragmentary Hypsipyle and the doubtful Rhesus) five have a yoovos of more than twenty-four hours. In the Heracleidae the scene opens at Marathon, where the children of Herakles (except Hyllos, who is at Trachis), together with Alkmene and Iolaos, have sought refuge. Kopreus, the Argive herald, tries to seize them, and on being sent packing by the King of Athens, returns to Argos, whence presently Eurys- theus sets out with an army, which is met and defeated at a point some forty miles from Marathon. Meanwhile word has reached Hyllos, who comes with reinforcements in time to aid in defeating the Argives. These movements, not only of armies off stage but of three of the actors, King Demophon and Iolaos, who take part in the battle, and Makaria, daughter of Herakles, who is sacrificed (part of the play has been lost here) somewhere away from Marathon, to ensure the success of the Athenians, clearly demand several days, the more so as the territory over which the various marchings and counter-marchings take place was perfectly familiar to the audience. The journey of Hyllos and his army may have been covered by a scene, now lost, in which Alkmene and the chorus lamented the heroic death of Makaria (between verses 629 and 630 of the present text) ; that of lolaos, and also the return of a messenger from the battle-field, by the stasimon 748-83. | Somewhat similar is the case of the Supplices. Between verses 364 and 381 Theseus has gone from Hleusis to Athens, held | a meeting of the Assembly, gathered an army, and got to Eleusis again. A short stasimon covers all these events. Between 597 and 634 he has marched on Thebes, met and defeated Kreon’s force, gathered up the neglected bodies of the Seven, and come back part of the way at least, besides having taken time to bury the rest of the Argive dead. Here again the action of the play moves over ground well known to the audience, many of whom had campaigned over it themselves and knew very well how long Theseus’ movements would take. Several days’ duration must be postulated for this play. The scene of the Andromache is laid in Epeiros, aad the plot deals largely with Orestes’ murder of Neoptolemos and the incidental elopement of the latter’s wife, Hermione, with the THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA 13 intending assassin. The pair make their exit after verse 1008 ; a stasimon follows (1009-46) ; then, after a few lines of dialogue between Peleus and the chorus, a messenger enters with the news of the murder of Neoptolemos. As this took place at Delphi, several days’ journey from any place in Epeiros, and Orestes was present at it, we must assume an interval of a week or ten days for him to get there and the messenger, to say nothing of the bearers of Neoptolemos’ body, who arrive before the next stasimon, to get back. The case of the Iphigeneia in Aulide is not quite so clear. At the beginning of the play, Agamemnon sends a letter to Argos to tell Klytaimestra not to bring Iphigeneia to Aulis; at verse 304, Menelaos intercepts the letter ; and later on in the play Klvtai- mestra and Iphigeneia arrive. But the part in which their arrival is narrated is suspected on very serious grounds of gross interpolation, and therefore it is not easy to say how Euripides fills in the interval ; for interval there must be, since Argos is several days’ journey from Aulis ; therefore since the beginning of the play a considerable time has elapsed, for the women have come in obedience to a previous letter which the second, had it arrived, would presumably have been in time to countermand. Finally, the Hercules Furens appears to occupy more than one day. The scene is at Thebes. At verse 523 Herakles enters, back from Hades. He mentions that he has rescued Theseus ; and in verse 1163, Theseus enters, from Athens, leading an armed force to help Herakles, if necessary, to fight the usurper Lykos. The case, however, is not clear; Theseus may have arrived at Athens some little time before Herakles reached Thebes, and he does not definitely know when he enters that Herakles is back, only that Lykos has made himself tyrant, see verse 1166. Of the tragedies of other writers, only fragments survive, and I notice only one of those whose plot we can reconstruct whose action is clearly longer than twenty-four hours. This is the Hecioris Lutra of Ennius, imitated presumably from a lost Greek original, though by what author we cannot now say. In verses 139-50 (the surviving fragments run from 137 to 161 in Ribbeck’s collection) we have obvious references to the long battle which occupies the central books of the Iliad ; but the last two frag- ments, together with the title of the play, show clearly that we are now dealing with Priam, coming to ransom the hero’s dead 14 THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA body. Now between the battle which ended with the death of Hektor and the ransoming some twelve days ! elapsed, as every reader of Homer knows; and the battle itself was three days long, or two if we begin at the eleventh book of the /had, as Ennius may have done. Hence—for the play is intended for cultured Romans primarily, and these would know their Homer— the action lasts about a fortnight. Passing now to comedy, I omit three of the plays of Aristo- phanes on account of the fantastic nature of their setting. To enquire how long Trygaios, in the Pax, stays in heaven discussing matters with Hermes, or Dionysos in Hades, in the Ranae, or to compute the length of time required by Peithetairos in the Aues to consolidate his position in Cloud-Cuckoo-Town and make his blockade of Olympos economically effective, is surely dare operam ut cum ratione insanias. Keeping our feet on solid earth, we may note that three plays, the Hquites, Thesmophoriazusae and Heclesiazusae, seem to require but a day each, while a fourth, the Vespae, begins before dawn and ends with the aftermath of a dinner-party, presumably the same evening. ‘This leaves us with four out of the surviving eleven. Of these, the Acharnenses begins at the time when it was actually performed, namely the festival of the Lenaia in the spring month Gamelion. ‘This agrees not only with Dikaiopolis’ remark in verse 504,? but with the qndication that winter is not very long over ; in verses 136 sqq. ‘Theoros apologises for his tardy arrival from Thrace by stating that he was snow-bound there. Just before this passage Dikaio- polis (v. 130) has handed Amphitheos eight drachme, four days’ pay for a plenipotentiary (v. 66) and told him to go and - negotiate a separate peace with Sparta for him, Dikaiopolis, only. ‘At verse 173 the meeting of the assembly breaks up, and two lines later Amphitheos returns. To get to Sparta and back in four days is extremely good going, even for a god ; but the point to notice is that no stasimon has intervened, the chorus not having yet come on. The stage has been left vacant except for Dikaiopolis, who speaks one line of lamentation for the garlic that has been thieved from him. ‘This is a device which we shall have occasion to notice later ; for the present it may be com- pared with the scene in the Persae, already noted, between Atossa _ 1See Iliad XXIV, 413. 2 aitol ydo goer otri Anvaim Taydv. This is addressed nominally to the chorus, actually to the audience. THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA | 15 and the Elders. ‘The play proceeds ; Dikaiopolis celebrates the Rural Dionysia, is interrupted by the chorus, manages to per- suade them and get rid of the fire-eater Lamachos, and then comes the parabasis. During this,—the half-playful, half-serious address to the audience,—about a month must elapse, for after the scenes with the Megarian, the Boiotian, and the Farmer, we learn (vv. 1076, 1086, 1211) that the Choes are being celebrated ; they however did not take place till Anthesterion, the month aiter Gamelion. In the Nubes, we have several indications of time. The play begins near the twentieth of some month (v. 17); on the 25th (1131) Strepsiades comes to fetch his son from the Sokratic school of immoral learning ; the debts which the hopeful graduate is to help his father to avoid paying are due on the 29th (v. 1180). But as Pheidippides has not only learned all that Sokrates can teach him, but has acquired a scholarly pallor (v. 1171), the same month can hardly be meant. The Lysistrata largely explains its own yodvoc. In verse 881, Kinesias informs his militant wife that the baby has not been bathed or fed for five days, which statement the child con- firms to the best of his ability by bellowing ‘Mammy !’ at the top of his voice. The politically-minded mother, Myrrhine, left home at the beginning of the play ; there has intervened the long wrangle between the chorus of women and that of old men which forms the dymy or central scene of the comedy. Presently (v. 980) a messenger from Sparta enters to parley with Lysistrata. She sends him back home to fetch plenipotentiaries. He departs, and after a further dialogue between the two choruses, the official Spartan representatives arrive. Even if all concerned have made as good time as Amphitheos in the Acharnenses, we must assume another four days, making nine altogether for the length of the play. | : The Plutus opens at Delphi; the scene then shifts ? to Athens. Plutos is sent to the Asklepieion, where he passes the night, the 1 This should be in Poseideon, the month before Gamelion; but clearly Dik. is a little late in his (private) celebration. 2 Probably by the simple process of letting the actors walk along the stage, for there is no pause. The long Greek stage,—I mean by this simply the place, raised or not, where the actors stood,—may, at any rate in Aristophanes (as in Shakespeare) represent several places at once. So in the Ranae, at the very least both banks of the Styx are shown simul- taneously. 16 THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA interval being filled up by a dance, apparently,! of the chorus after verse 321. Thus the play lasts some four days. The passing of Old Comedy (the Plutus has already lost many of the characteristics of that great genre) leads to the dropping of the chorus. The process was not sudden; the chorus still appears, as a band of dancers, probably,! in Menander, while even Plautus has a sort of chorus at one point in the Bacchides (v. 107). But such survivals were a very different thing from the chorus of Old Comedy ; their business was merely to fill up gaps in the action with their performances. A similar function was fulfilled by the incidental music of the piece on occasion ; see Plautus (see Pseud. 573, 573a ; non ero uobis morae ; tubicen uos interibt hic delectauerit,—uos being the audience). In Tragedy also, from the time of Agathon, indeed from that of Euripides, it was being rapidly degraded to a station little better than that which it had in Comedy. It thus appears that drama, for a considerable time before Aristotle wrote the Poetics, had been degenerating. Now when an art of any kind is past its zenith, its first impulse usually is to attach itself to rules clearly stated and easily learned. Of the many formal manuals of rhetoric which have come down to us from antiquity, those in Greek mostly come after Demosthenes (for Aristotle’s Rhetoric is rather a philosophical discussion of persuasive speech than a handbook for the use of learners), those in Latin, after Cicero, whose own treatises again are chiefly monuments of literary criticism, not handy little works on How to become an Orator. First the great painter, then the school, is the regular succession of events in pictorial art. The badness ~ of our own eighteenth-century blank verse, which prided itself on being ‘ regular,’ and, taken line by line, is usually quite good, is surpassed only by the horrors of Wordsworth’s unique blend of ignorance of metre and want of ear. And in general, the failure of inspiration shows itself most openly in this, that the artist begins to do something, not because he wants to, but because he thinks he ought. Now the Greek comedians of the fourth century, though no 1 The MSS. here have simply XOPOY, ‘ (performance) of the chorus.’ The same direction appears several times in the papyri of Menander’s comedies. Whether the chorus danced, or whether they sung something which was not the composition of the dramatist, we have no means of deciding ; the former seems more likely. THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA 17 great poets, were efficient craftsmen, and knew well enough that a work of art should have unity. Their predecessors had had a visible sign of unity in their plays, the presence of a chorus, who took part in all the action, thus outwardly signifying it to be one. Indeed, this is the one and only bond of unity in some ‘ episodic ’ plays, such as the 7'roades of Euripides,—a series of most powerful and thrilling incidents, with nothing whatever to connect them except that more or less the same people see or hear of them and throw in an occasional comment. But with the chorus reduced to impotence, or gone altogether, some other sign of unity was wanted ; for the law of Unity of Action, which Aristotle and every other good critic does and must insist on, is no easy thing to follow. Combining the craving for rules with the desire for a sign of unity, the playwrights of that time fell into the habit of confining their plays generally to one day. In this, they made a rule out of an existing tendency. We have so far dealt with or mentioned forty-five Greek plays, of which thirty, or just two- thirds, have kept within the traditional twenty-four hours. We have, from the fourth century on, twenty-eight dramas complete enough for us to judge of the time their events are supposed to occupy 1; of these, two only run into a second day. The first of these is the Mostellaria of Plautus, which has not always been seen in its true light. At the beginning we have a dialogue between Tranio, the town-bred slave, and Grumio, his rustic fellow ; ‘Tranio goes off to the Piraeus (the scene is, as usual, laid in Athens) to buy fish for that evening’s dinner. After two fairly long scenes, Philolaches, the spendthrift jeune premer, and his mistress Philematium have the table laid and fall to drinking ; to them, enter Callidamates, who has come from a wine-party and is already drunk (v. 313). As they are one and all thoroughgoing rakes, this need not be late in the day, but by all we know of ancient habits, respectable or otherwise, it must be afternoon. Over 300 lines further on (v. 649) it is mentioned that noon is approaching. A little later, another of the char- acters (Simo, v. 690 sqq.) comes on remarking that he has had a very good lunch. At the end of the play Callidamates reappears, having quite slept off his drunkenness, and acts as peacemaker between old Theopropides and his scapegrace son and slave. It is therefore evident that a night has intervened between 406, the 1 Three of Menander, nineteen of Plautus, and six of Terence. I omit Seneca’s tragedies, which are not acting plays but mere closet-dramas. 18 THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA exit, into the house, of the dinner-party, disturbed by the news that Theopropides has returned from abroad, and verse 532, the beginning of the scene in which the remark is made about noon. This makes the central scene of the play, in which Theopropides is frightened away from his own house by Tranio’s assurance that it is haunted, far more effective, for it is getting near evening (though still daylight, v. 444) when it occurs. The other exception is the Heautontumorumenos of Terence, in which no analysis is necessary ; at verse 248 Syrus says that evening is coming on, while at verse 410 Chremes remarks that dawn is breaking. The Capisur of Plautus might be adduced as an exception, for in that Philocrates has to go from Aetolia to Elis and back. But Plautus’ ignorance of Greek geography is so abysmal 1 that no stress need be laid on this. As might. be expected, these plays frequently contain refer- ences to the passing of time ; more often than not they are supposed to begin in the morning and end at night. But as not one of them would take more than about two hours to act, unless there were long breaks such as those which our scene-shifters often are responsible for, and our evidence is that such breaks as did occur were short, it must perforce happen that the uijxoc is often much less than the yedvoc. The most striking examples have been collected by Polezyk, and I tabulate them here.? - Puautus. (1) Amphitruo. 860, exit Amphitruo to look for Naucrates. Three scenes follow. 1009, re-enter Amph. Loe searched vainly for Naucrates through the whole city. (2) Asinaria. 380, exit Leonida to the forum, to tell Demae- netus of the plot contrived between him and his fellow-slave Libanus. 407, re-enter Leonida, having discharged his errand. A scene between Libanus and the Merchant intervenes. (3) Bacchides. 100, exit Pistoclerus to buy provisions. Follows a short dialogue between Bacchis and her sister. 109, re-enter Pistoclerus, having done his marketing, accompanied by Lydus, who says he has been following him a long while (cam dudum). ‘The editors mark a new act here, but this does not go 1 He obviously thinks Aetolia is a town, and elsewhere (Amphit. 404) provides Thebes with a seaport. Clearly to him and to his audience, Philocrates has journeyed simply from somewhere to somewhere else and back. In a Greek play such a geographical allusion would be a very different matter. 2 The surviving plays of Menander are too fragmentary for minute analysis. THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA 19 back to any ancient stage-tradition. ‘The stage is, however, left vacant for a moment before Pistoclerus’ re-entry by the departure of the two women into the house. (4) Captiur. 950, Hegio sends for Tyndarus, who is in the quarries outside the city. Two scenes follow. 998, enter Tyndarus. (5) Casina. 530, exit Lysidamus to the forum, where he has to take part in a lawsuit. Follows a scene, mostly soliloquy, in which Cleustrata and Alcesimus take part. 563, re-enter Lysid- amus, who mentions that the case is now over, and has wasted the day for him (566, contriui diem). (6) Cistellaria. 773, exeunt Halisca, Lampadio, and Phan- ostrata to the house of Alcesimarchus, carrying with them the jewel-case (cistella, hence the name of the play) which contains the proofs of Selenium being the daughter of Demipho. Stage vacant. 774, enter Demipho, asking why every one is declaring that his daughter has been found. (7) Trinummus. 819, Megaronides goes out to write a letter, find some needy rascal who will help him (815, ego sycophantam, —trickster,—iam conduco de foro), dress the fellow up as a trav- eller, and teach him his part. Follow the entry and soliloquy of Charmides. 843, the Trickster enters, letter perfect in his part, dressed as required, and bearing the forged letter. TERENCE. (8) Andria. 467, the midwife enters Glycerium’s house. 473, the child is born!; 481, re-enter the midwife, giving directions for the care of her patient, and promising to call again later. Old Simo’s comment, hui, tam cito ? (v. 474) is certainly justified. The dialogue between him and Geta has gone on meanwhile. (9) Hunuchus. Between 499 and 549 the long and compli- _ eated series of events narrated in 580-602 is supposed to take place off stage. The interval is taken up mostly by the soliloquy of Chremes (507-30) and that of Antipho (539-49). (10) Hecyra. At verse 329, Pamphilus goes off to visit his wite, who is said to be ill. He returns at verse 352, and the tale of his experiences in the house occupies over fifty lines. Part of 1 This is indicated in the usual manner; the mother is heard to cry to Iuno Lucina for aid. It is noteworthy, as illustrating the opposite of this compression of events, that the midwife, who is sent for in a hurry, takes 231 lines to come (vv. 228-459). Polezyk notes several cases of similar retarding of the action in Terence. 20 THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA the interval has been occupied by a soliloquy of the well-meaning slave Parmeno (327-35). (11) Phormio. 310, Phaedria and Geta go off to fetch Phor- mio. Soliloquy of four linesfrom Demipho. 315, enter Phormio, accompanied by Geta, who has had time to give him an outline of what has so far taken place, besides the time spent in finding him. Of the above cases, (1), (2), and (4) need not detain us. They depend on no peculiarity of ancient technique, but on the psy- chology of audiences. In every case several incidents have been shown on the stage ; theatre-goers, ancient or modern, do not come provided with stop-watches to time exactly what is going on, or maps of the locality of the action on which to plot out the distance said to have been traversed by an absent actor. A number of things have happened in full view of them ; they are quite prepared to suppose that at the same time a number of other things have taken place out of sight. . This applies with at least equal strength to several other instances in Polezyk’s list which I have omitted. The remaining incidents have all this common quality, with the exception of (8); in the interval the scene is either left empty, or occupied by one soliloquising char- acter. The soliloquy, often in a lyric metre, is the direct de- scendant of the choral ode or other interlude of Attic plays of the fifth century, such as we have already considered. It shares the characteristic of such an ode (or lyric solo, a thing not un- common in Kuripides, e.g., fon 81-183), that while it may inform the audience of what has happened, or throw light upon the char- acter of one of the dramatis personae, it does not advance the action in the least. Therefore that suspension of time, to which Croiset (sup., p. 2) rightly calls attention in the case of the chorus, again takes place, and the poet may (within his self- imposed limits of 24-36 hours or so) assume the passage of as much time as he likes. To make this clearer, | add a few more instances, taken for the sake of brevity solely from Terence, who is the better suited for our purpose because of his careful and conscientious work- manship. + Andria 227, exit Dauos to find Pamphilus, who is in the : 1 For an appreciative estimate of his craftsmanship and dramatic powers generally, see Prof. Gilbert Norwood, The Art of Terence (Basil Blackwell, 1923). THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA 21 forum (generally supposed to be some little distance from the street which is the scene of the action) and tell him what has happened. 228, enter Mysis, talking to herself. 234, enter Pamphilus, in full possession of the facts which Dauos set out to tell him. 425-31, the soliloquy of Byrria simply covers the exit of Pamphilus. So a choral ode need not indicate any consider- able passage of time. 459 sqq. has already been noted (No. 8 in the above list). Here we have for the lines 461 sqq. a develop- ment of the soliloquy proper ; Simo, unconscious that Dauos is eavesdropping, comments to himself on the actions he sees going on at Glycerium’s house. He does not notice Dauos or speak to _him until verse 475. Dauos meanwhile is listening and com- menting to himself. Thus we have, not a dialogue, but two parallel soliloquies. 599, exit Simo, to talk over the situation with his son. Despairing soliloquy of Dauos. 607, enter Pamphilus, who has finished the interview with his father, got away from him, and worked himself up into a furious rage. 956, Simo, who has had Dauos put in chains, gives orders for his release. Soliloquy of Pamphilus, 957-62. 963, enter Dauos free. Heautontimorumenos. The long pause (lapse of a night) between verses 409 and 410 has already been noted, p. 18. Presumably some incidental music filled up the gap, as in the much shorter pause in Plautus, Pseud. 573a (see p. 16). ‘At 170, Chremes leaves the stage to remind his neighbour Phania that he is to dine with him that night. The stage being thus left empty, he returns at the next line, saying that he has visited Phania’s house and found him already started. As Phania takes no part whatever in the play, it would seem that for some special reason (the availability of a popular musician ?) Terence wanted a pause here for a flute-solo or the like, after the long and not very lively scene with which the play begins. The soliloquy of Clitipho, 213-29, is not required for any purpose in connection with the action, but serves to throw light on Clitipho’s character and situation. 502, exit Chremes to see some neighbours and excuse himself from keeping an appointment with them. Mene- demus soliloquises. 508, re-enter Chremes, having seen the persons he set out to visit. 558, exit Chremes to his house. Short soliloquy of Syrus. 560, re-enter Chremes, upbraiding Clitipho, whom he has seen behaving in a suspicious manner while indoors. 667, exit Chremes to examine the evidence for his 22 THE ‘UNITY OF TIME’ IN ANCIENT DRAMA long-lost daughter having been found. Soliloquy of Syrus. 679, enter Clinia, who in the meantime has heard Chremes’ news. The list could be lengthened greatly by analysing the remaining four plays of this author ; but enough, I take it, has been said to make my point clear. I now sum up the results attained. (1) The drama of the fifth century B.c., from about the be- ginning of Sophokles’ activities as a playwright, more often than not confined the action of any one play within the space of a day or a day and a half (twice in three times, if the surviving works are an average sample). No limit, however, was recognised in either theory or practice, although it seems to have been more usual to let very long lapses of time take place between two plays of a trilogy, which to some extent (at least in Aeschylean technique) corresponded to the acts of an Hlizabethan play. The presence of the chorus in no way interfered with the poet’s liberty, as it normally represented simply the interested public, not a particular group of individuals. (2) With the weakening of the chorus, and the contempor- aneous falling off of Greek dramatic powers, came the invention and application of a new method of securing that sense of unity produced by the presence, in the older drama, of an active chorus. This was the invariable, or nearly invariable, confining of the action to the limits mentioned by Aristotle. : (3) With the departure of the chorus from Comedy went the _loss of the time-honoured method of indicating passage of hours, days, etc., namely the interposition of a choral ode. The loss was made good either by leaving the stage vacant, and probably introducing some incidental music, dancing, or the like, or else. by leaving one actor (more rarely two) on the stage, and allowing a soliloquy, or soliloquies, to take the place of the old stasimon. H. J. ROSE. | N.B.—It is perhaps not without significance that Indian drama, which in its origin and development in many ways re- sembles Greek, knows nothing of a ‘Unity of Time.’ See for a full account, A. B. Keith, The Sanskrit Drama, Oxford, 1924. JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE As in the earlier notes on Howell, in Vols. III., IV., and V. of Aberystwyth Studies, the text of the ‘ Familiar Letters ’ is quoted from Joseph Jacobs’s edition, Vol. I., 1890; Vol. II., 1892; the pages of which are numbered continuously. An apology must be offered for the order of my own comments being consecutive within each instalment only, and not invariably so then. Introduction (1892), p. l., Let me add, however, that his hair was dark brown, his height below the medium... . Jacobs supports his statement on the colour of Howell’s hair by a reference to page 72. It should be noticed, however, that in the letter in question, Bk. I., Sect. 1, xxxi., which is addressed to Dr. Francis Mansell and dated by Howell 25 Jun. 1621, the words are, ‘“‘I am sure my Hair is not the same; for you may remember I went flaxen-hair’d out of England, but you shall find me return’d with a very dark brown, which J impute not only to the Heat and Air of those hot Countries I have eaten my Bread in, but to the quality and difference of Food.” To his description of Howell’s height as below the medium Jacobs adds the footnote, ‘‘ This I conjecture from Howell’s energy, his acquies- cence in Bacon’s dictum that Nature never put her jewels in garrets, and the evident attempt of the French artist [see the portrait which appeared originally in the French version of ‘Dodona’s Grove ’ (1641) and is repro- duced in Jacobs’s edition of the Letters] to give an impression of height.” But there is a more direct piece of evidence. At the end of a letter to Captain Thomas Porter (Book I., Sect. 6, xxi., pp. 324, 325), Howell writes :. “To this Pll add the Duke of Ossuna’s Compliment : Qursiere, aunque soy chico, Ser, enserville, Gigante. Tho’ of the tallest I am none you see, Yet to serve you, I would a Giant be.” That the Duke was short is mentioned in Bk. I., Sect. 3, xxxvii., p. 208, ... “the Duke of Ossuna’s death, a little man, but of great fame and fortunes.”’ To His Majesty, p. [3],... who as the Law styles you the Fountain of Honour and Grace, so you should be the Centre of our Happiness. _ The earliest example quoted by the N.E.D. of the expression ‘‘ Foun- tain of honour,”’ applied to a sovereign, is from Lord Brougham (1844), *““The Crown is the fountain of honour,” s. Fountain, 1 d. 23 24 JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE The Vote, or a Poem-Royal, lines 19, 20, p. 6: | No curious Landskip, or some Marble Piece Dige’d up in Delphos, or elsewhere in Gireece. Instead of the correct Delphi it was formerly the common practice in English to use Delphos, as, for example, Sir Thomas Browne does in his eleventh ‘ Miscellany Tract.’ Bishop Cooper in the Dictionary of proper names at the end of his Latin Thesaurus (1573) includes both forms but gives the fuller information under Delphos. William Wotton in his ‘Reflections on Ancient and Modern Learning’ criticised Sir William Temple for employing the incorrect form throughout his Essays. Charles Boyle in his ‘ Dr. Bentley’s Dissertations on the Epistles of Phalaris, and the Fables of Atsop, Examin’d,’ defended Temple on the plea that ‘* Delphos, for the Latin word Delphi, is us’d by all the finest Writers of our Tongue, and best Judges of it.”” He instanced Waller, Dryden, Duke, Creech and the Reverend and Learned Dr. [Thomas] Jackson. It was in his reply to this that Bentley quoted from Richard Pace’s ‘ De fructu qui ex doctrina percipitur ’ the now famous story of the priest who having read Mumpsimus for thirty years declined to change his old Mumpsimus for his corrector’s “‘new’’ Sumpsimus. The Vote, or a Poem-Royal, lines 120, 121, p. 9: So that poor Mortals are so many Balls Toss’d some o’er Line, some under Fortune’s Walls. The comparison is taken from tennis. See in the N.E.D. Line, sub- stantive?, II. 7, f., where the present example is quoted as well as J. Heywood, ‘ Prov.,’ *‘ Thou hast striken the ball, vnder thelyne.’’ See also Pillar, substantive, 11, where the phrase from pillar to post is said to have been once from post to pillar. ‘“*.. . originally a figure drawn from the tennis-court, and used chiefly with toss; . . . The later order appears to have been first used to rime with tost, tossed.”’ Compare Bk. II., xvii., p. 408, ... . “‘for when the weights that use to hang to all great businesses are taken away, ’tis good then to put wings upon them, and to take the ball before the bound.”’ The Vote, or a Poem-Royal, ll. 135, 136, p. 9: Good may the Entrance, better the Middle be, And the Conclusion best of all the Three. It looks as though this couplet represented a Latin original : Sit bonus introitus, melius medium, optima finis. The Vote, or a Poem-Royal, p. 12: So prayeth, The worst of Poets, to The best of Princes, yet The most Loyal of Ais Votaries and Vassals, JAMES HOWELL. JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE 25 Compare Catullus xlix. 4-7, which Howell, presumably, had in his mind ; Gratias tibi maximas Catullus Agit pessimus omnium poeta, Tanto pessimus omnium poeta Quanto tu optimus omnium patronus. To the knowing Reader touching Familiar Letters, lines 39, 40, p. 14: They are those golden Links that do enchain Whole Nations, tho’ discinded by the Main. When choosing the word discinded had Howell at the back of his mind Horace’s : ; Nequiquam deus abscidit Prudens Oceano dissociabili Terras ? Book I., Sect. 1, iii., p. 22, So with appreciation of as much happiness to you at home, as I shall desire to accompany me abroad, I rest ever—Your friend to serve you, damale ‘** Appreciation ’’ in Jacobs's text is either an error, or an arbitrary correction of “‘apprecation.’’ The latter word is printed even in the 1737 edition and is, of course, right. The N.E.D. defines it as ‘‘ The action of praying for or invoking a blessing on another ; a devout wish ”’ and quotes Bishop Hall and Howell’s present letter, besides a passage from a later seventeenth-century writer. Book I., Sect. 1, v., p. 25, I am newly landed at Amsterdam . at the mouth of the Texel we were surpriz’d by a furious Tempest, so that the Ship was like to split upon some of those old stumps of trees wherewith that River is full; for in Ages past, as the Skipper told me, there grew a fair Forest in that Channel where the J'exel makes now her Bed. Texel is primarily the island off the coast of North Holland, but “‘ the Texel ’’ has often been used to denote the channel between this island and Helder, which forms the entrance for shipping into the Zuider Zee. See Notes and Queries, vol. cxlvi., p. 313, where I have quoted this passage of Howell, and others from Pepys, Sir W. Temple, &c. The straits are known as Marsdiep. Pomme sect. 1, vi, p. 27: To Dan. Caldwell, H'sq. ; from Amsterdam. In identifying the above, Jacobs observes that his name is elsewhere spelt Caldwall. This note would not have been needed, had Jacobs carried out the principle which he announces on page xi. of his preface (1892) : “In one point it seemed worth while reverting to Howell’s original spelling. The proper names, personal and geographical, had suffered 26 JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE somewhat severely at the hands of successive reprinters. I have therefore restored these, I believe in every case, to the form in which they appeared in the first editions of the several parts.” The name at the head of this letter when first printed (1645) was spelt ‘* Caldwall,’’ and there are countless other instances where Jacobs has failed to give proper names in accordance with the spelling of the issue in which they first appeared. Book I., Sect. 1, viii, p. 32,...: so 1 may say of these Lugdunensians, They have a gross Air, but thin subtle Wits, (some of them) witness also Heinsius, Grotius, Arminius, and Baudius. In his Preface, p. xi. (1892), when speaking of the 1737 edition of the Letters, Jacobs writes, “‘ Il have corrected the few misprints.’’ He failed to observe that “witness also Heinsius,’’ &c., ought to be ‘“‘ witness else . . .”’ as in the early editions. Book L., Sect. 1, ix., p. 33, This (I think) made Jack Chaundler throw away his Littleton, like him that, when he could not catch the Hare, said, A pox upon her, she is but dry tough Meat ; let her go. On ‘‘ Jack Chaundler ’’ Jacobs has a note, ‘‘ Referred to Worthington, Diary, 364.” Jack Chaundler is not mentioned by Worthington. A footnote of James Crossley to a passage in a letter of Samuel Harthb to Dr. Worthing- ton speaks of an English translation of van Helmont’s ‘ Opera’ made by John Chandler and published under the title of ‘ Oriatrike, or Physick Refined ’ (London, 1662, fol.).. The D.N.B. does not notice the translator. What evidence is there to prove him to be Howell’s “‘ Jack Chaundler ”’ ? Book I., Sect. 1, xvii., p. 45, . . . for being in some jovial Company abroad, and coming late to our Lodging, we were suddenly surprized by a Crew of Filous of Night-Rogues, who drew upon us. For ‘‘ Filous, rogues’’ Jacobs refers to the ‘ Nicholas Papers,’ 75. This is a wrong reference. It should be i. 95. The word there is spelt differently: ‘“‘. .. att Paris, where he hath ingratiated himselfe with all the Filoughes and common rogues, as is commonly sayd.”” The editor (Sir G. F. Warner) notes that jfilow is “a term in French argot explained by Littré as a ‘voleur qui emploie l’adresse.’ ”’ | Book I., Section 1, xxviii., p. 66, I met with Camillo, your Consaorman, here lately ; and could he be sure of Entertainment, he would return to serve you again, and I believe for less Salary. Jacobs writes of Consaorman, ‘“‘It is passed over in the New Eng. - Dict., and I can only suggest some confusion with consorte or partner.” A more careful search would have shown that this form is recorded in the N.E.D., and supported by the present passage in Howell. See under Khansamah, — saman, an Urdt (Persian) word from 5 | — : JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE 27 khan master and sé@mdan household goods. The meaning is a house- steward. The Anglo-Indian corruption “‘ consumah ”’ is familiar to those who know their Dickens. See ‘Sketches by Boz,’ ‘Tales,’ chap. vii. ‘The Steam Excursion’ (Capt. Helves loguitur), ‘‘ When I was in the East Indies, Iywas once stopping a few thousand miles up the country, on a visit at the house of a very particular friend of mine, Ram Chowdar Doss Azuph Al Bowlar—a devilish pleasant fellow. As we were enjoying our hockahs, one evening, in the cool verandah in front of his villa, we were rather surprised by the sudden appearance of thirty-four of his Kit-ma-gars ... accompanied by an equal number of Con-su-mars, approaching the house with a threatening aspect, and beating a tom-tom.”’ Book I., 1, xxxi., p. 70, line 2 of the Latin verses : . . . de paucis volo, siste gressum. Such is the reading of the 1737 edition on which Jacobs based his re- print. ‘De paucis volo”’ is nonsense and ‘te paucis volo’ of the first edition should, of course, be restored. We may well suppose that Howell knew the ‘ Andria,’ where, in line 29, we get “‘ paucis te volo.”’ Indeed Terence is specially mentioned as one of the Latin poets with whom he was familiar when a schoolboy. See Payne Fisher’s ‘ Encomium,’ 46 sqq. Tum mite Terenti Ingenium, & stricto servorum scommata socco, Plautinosque sales potasti impubibus annis. Supplement, p. 689 in Jacobs’s edition. Book I., Sect. 1, xlii., p. 95, To conclude, in Italy there be Virtutes magne, nec minora Vitia ; Great Virtues, and no less Vices. Was the saying “ Virtutes magnae, nec minora vitia’”’ derived from Livy xxi., 4, 9 (in his character of Hannibal), ‘“‘ Has tanti viri virtutes ingentia vitia aequabant ”’ ? Book I., Sect. 2, vii., p. 106, Law is a shrewd Pick-purse, and the Lawyer, as I heard one say wittily not long since, is like a Chrisimas-box, which 1s sure to get, whosoever loseth. See the N.E.D. under Christmas-box, 2, ‘‘ The Butler’s Box, in which _ gamesters put part of their winnings,”’ and under Butler, 3, where a butler’s box is defined as “‘ a box into which players put a portion of their winnings at Christmas-time as a ‘Christmas-box’ for the butler.’? This example from Howell is given under the first heading. Book I., Sect. 2, ix., p. 108, Surely I believe there may be some treachery in’t, and that the Marquis of Anspach, the General, was overcome by Pistols made of Indian Ingots, rather than of Steel. Jacobs has this note: ‘‘ Marquis of Anspack or Ansbach, a marquisate generally associated with that of Bayreuth. At this time both princi- palities were held by Joachim of Brandenburg, who granted that of Ansbach to his son Earnest [sic], the person here meant.”’ This account is elaborately wrong. The Markgraf of Ansbach from A.S.—VOL. VI. C 28 JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE 1603 to 1625 was Joachim Ernst (1583-1625), a younger son (one of twenty-three children) of Johann Georg, the 7th Kurftirst of Branden- _ burg. Joachim Ernst succeeded to Ansbach in 1603 on the death of the Markegraf Georg Friedrich, by virtue of the ‘ Geraische Vertrag’’ con- cluded in 1598 by Johann Georg who died in that year. At the date of this letter the Kurfiirst of Brandenburg was the tenth, Georg Wilhelm, his great-nephew who succeeded in 1619. See the life of Joachim Ernst in the ‘ Allgemeine deutsche Biographie,’ and the list of Hohenzollern Electors and the diagram of the two Culmbach lines at the end of Book IIT. in Carlyle’s ‘Friedrich.’ Jacobs did not realise the importance of being earnest in these genealogical matters. Book I., Sect. 2, xii., p. 112, There is one Count Mansfelt that begins to get a great Name in Germany, and he, with the D. of Brunswick, who is a Temporal Bishop of Halverstade, have a considerable Army on foot for the Lady Elizabeth. . . . Book L., Sect. 3, xxvili., p. 189, They speak much of the strange carriage of that boisterous Bishop of Halverstadt (for so they term him here), that having taken a place where there were two Monasteries of Nuns and Friars, he caus’d divers Feather-beds to be ripp’d, and all the feathers to be thrown in a great Hall whither the Nuns and Friars were thrust naked with their bodies oil’d and pitch’d, and to tumble among these feathers; which makes them here presage him an ill death. On the first of these passages Jacobs has the following note: ‘* Halverstade (Halberstadt), the Duke of Brunswick was Frederick Ulrich, the last of his line.”’ No. The Bishop of Halberstadt, from 1616 to 1626, was not the feeble Friedrich Ulrich who died, the last of his line, in 1636, but his younger brother Christian, ‘‘ der tolle Halberstadter,”’ ‘‘ a high-flown, fiery young fellow, of terrible fighting gifts; he flamed up considerably, with ‘the Queen of Bohemia’s glove stuck in his Hat’: ‘Bright Lady, it shall stick there, till I get you your own again, or die!’ ’”’ See Carlyle’s ‘ Fried- rich,’ Book III., chap. xvi. Book I., Sect. 3, xix., p. 171, Among others, I send you a Latin Poem of one Marniercus, a Valencian, to which I add this ensuing Hexastic ; which, in regard of the difficulty of the Verse, consisting of all Ternaries (which is the hardest way of versifying), and of the exactness of the translation, I believe will give you content. Jacobs does not identify this poet. The name is wrongly printed in — all texts. It should be Marinerius. There is an account of him, Vin- centius Mariner, in the ‘ Bibliotheca Hispana nova’ of Nicolas Antonio of Seville, vol. II. (Madrid, 1788), pp. 326-328. Mariner appears to have been among the most voluminous writers of Latin verse on record : ‘‘Praeter haec jam laudata, versibus quamplurima alia Latinis .. . ee JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE 29 mira facilitate ac vix credibili copia, de quacumque re opportunum ei esset, effudit.”” He was a Valencian by birth and Prefect of the Royal Library in the Escurial. According to his own computation, he was the author of over 380,000 Greek and Latin verses. His enumeration in- cludes, among other items, a poem on the Fable of Phaethon (4,000) ; more than eight thousand Greek and Latin epigrams; a poem on the appro- priate subject of ‘Furor Poeticus et insanus Phoebi afflatus’®; a para- phrase of the Lord’s Prayer and another of the Salutation (6,000 lines). He seems here to have rivalled F..W. Farrar, whom Swinburne reproached. with ‘‘ elongating the Gospels.”’ As Howell sends his correspondent Mariner’s lines on Charles and the Infanta, it should not be forgotten that another production of his was “De Ludo Trojano, ut sic dicam, vulgo Juego de canvas, quo Philippus Rex IV. Caroli Walliae Principis in Hispaniam adventum celebravit.” This - last is described as consisting ‘‘ duodecim millium versuum heroicorum.’” The great bulk of this output remained in manuscript. The attitude of the “ Trade ”’ in Spain was that of its fellows in our own country. ‘Any scurrile pamphlet,’’ wrote Burton, ‘‘is welcome to our mercenary Printers: in English ; but in Latin they will not deale.” In fact, they ‘‘ said they were not taking any to-day.” Book I., Sect, 3, xxvi., p. 184, Since our Prince’s departure hence the Lady Infanta studieth Hnglish apace, and one Mr. Wadsworth and Father Boniface, two Englishmen, are appointed her Teachers, and have Access to her every Day. Jacobs’s note is ‘‘ Mr. Wadsworth, author of The English Spanish Pilgrime, 1629, and often mentioned as a Jesuit in the memoirs of the time. . . . Howell denounced his son later as a spy.”’ But James Wadsworth the elder died in 1623. It was his son James who was the author of The English Spanish Pilgrime. See the D.N.B. Book I., Sect. 3, xxviii., p. 189: To the Right Honourable the Lord Clifford. Jacobs’s comment on Lord Clifford is ‘‘ Henry Clifford, son of the Earl of Cumberland, was not summoned as a Baron till 3 Car. I., so that the title is premature.’ The date which Howell added to the letter is 26 Aug. 1623; but, although Henry Clifford was not summoned to parlia- ment as Baron Clifford until Feb. 17, 1628, he had been styled by courtesy Lord Clifford since 1605, in which year his father had succeeded as 4th Harl of Cumberland. See Doyle’s ‘ Official Baronage of England.’ But the ancient barony of Clifford was not vested in H. Clifford’s father Francis, having passed to the latter’sniece Anne. So Henry’s summons as Baron. Clifford in his father’s life-time unintentionally created a new peer- age. See G. EH. C[okayne]’s ‘Complete Peerage,’ vol. iii (new ed.), p. 301. Book I., Sect. 2, xv., p. 117, But the two last, Hgmond and Horn, were nourish’d still with Hopes, until Philip II. had pre- pared an Army under the conduct of the Duke of Alva, to compose the difference by Arms. 30 JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE Jacobs says of Horn, “ He was himself a Protestant.” He was a Catholic. Book I., Sect. 3, xxxii., p. 195, I thought it worth the labour to send your Lordship a short Survey of the Monarchy of Spain. Jacobs says of this short Survey, “ possibly derived from Wadsworth’s, which appeared in 1630” [1629]. But Howell’s letter is dated from Madrid, 1 Feb., 1623. Book I., Sect. 3, xxxv., p. 206, . . . therefore I pray let no Couvrez-feu-Bell have power hereafter to rake up, and choke with the Ashes of Oblivion, that clear Flame... . On ‘“ Cowvrez-feu-Bell”’? Jacobs’s comment is, ‘‘ The old folk-etymology for curfew.’’ This is misleading. It appears to mean that the form of the word curfew was perverted because of the popular belief in an erroneous derivation. The example of “ folk-etymology ’’ which Prof. Weekley gives in his Dictionary is sparrowgrass. The spelling of cowvrefeu, coverfeu, is termed by the N.E.D. an “‘ etymological restoration,” as we have the Anglo-French coeverfu and the Old French cuevre-fu, covre-feu, &e. Book IL., Sect. 4, xii., p. 225, . . . her [the Princess Henrietta Maria’s] Dowry should be 40,000 Crowns. . . This is the reading of the 1737 edition. The first (1645) has 800,000. Book I., Sect. 4, xii., p. 226, To this end she shall be allow’d twenty-eight Priests, or Ecclesiastics in her House, and a Bishop in quality of Almoner, who shall have jurisdiction over all the FESO... Queen Henrietta Maria’s Almoner was Daniel de la Mothe, consecrated Bishop of Mende, Feb. 19, 1625. He died on March 8, 1628. Book I., Sect. 4, xv., p. 229, Grave Henry hath succeeded him ~ in all things, and is a gallant Gentleman, of a French Education and Temper ; he charg’d him at his death to marry a young Lady, the Count of Solme’s Daughter attending the Queen of bohemia, whom he had long courted: which is thought will take speedy effect. It had taken effect more speedily than Howell, according to this letter, supposed. Frederick Henry married in April 1625 Amelia, daughter of Count Johann of Solms. His brother Maurice, whom he succeeded, died on April 23, 1625. Howell’s letter is dated March 19, 1626. If this is Old Style, he has anticipated Maurice’s death and his brother’s succession. Tf it is New Style, he is presenting Lord Clifford with very stale news. Book I., Sect. 4, xvi., p. 230, I sent you one of the 3¢ current, but ’twas not answer’d ; I sent another of the 13 like a second Arrow, to find out the first, but I know not what’s become of JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE 31 either: I send this to find out the other two; and if this fail, there shall go no more out of my Quiver. Jacobs, in his note, compares ‘“‘ Lonefellow’s song ’’ [‘ The Arrow and the Song ’] and misquotes the first line of it. The thought in Longfellow’s poem is quite different from that of Howell’s letter. Book I., Sect. 4, xvi., p. 230: Ira furor brevis, brevis est mea littera, cogor, Ira correptus, corripuisse stylum. The unmetrical blunder of the 1737 edition is here reproduced. There is no need to consult older editions to show that an est has been dropped after the first brevis. The grave accent on /rd is due to a damaged cir- _eumflex in 1737. The beginning of the distich ‘‘ Ira furor brevis est ’’ is borrowed from Horace, ‘Epistles,’ I., ii., 62. Book I., Sect. 4, xxii., p. 238, I hope to see you at Dyvinnock about Michaelmas, for I intend to wait upon my Father, and I will take my Mother in the way, I mean Oxford. Jacobs’s note is ‘* Dyvinnock in Brecon, a point in favour of H. being a Brecknock man; but see Introduc., p. xxiii. [where he accepts Car- marthenshire as Howell’s native county].”’ No argument about the district of Howell’s birth can be based on this mention of Dyvinnock. The letter is addressed to Hugh Penry, the husband of Howell’s sister Ann, and Jacobs himself has mentioned in his note on Bk. I., Sect. 2, xvi., p. 129, that Hugh Penry was Vicar of Dyfynog. If Howell was intending to visit his father (at Abernant- in Carmarthenshire) what could be more natural than for him to make use of the same journey to visit the Penrys ? Book I., Sect. 4, xxvi., pp. 242, 243, Master Montague is pre- paring to go to Paris as a Messenger of Honour, to prepossess the King and Council there with the truth of things. Jacobs does not offer to identify Master Montague. It would not be rash to conjecture that the person meant is Walter Montagu (1603 ?— 1677), second son of Sir Henry Montagu, the first Earl of Manchester. Walter Montagu had been sent on a secret mission to France in 1624 and on a second diplomatic errand in 1625. Later in life he was Abbot of St. Martin’s near Pontoise. See the notice in the D.N.B. Book I., Sect. 5, viii., p. 254, The Town of Rochell hath been fatal and unfortunate to Hngland, for this is the third time that we have attempted to relieve her; but our Fleets and Forces return'd without doing anything. Jacobs’s note calls for correction. He writes ‘‘ third time. One only knows of Wimbledon’s and this of Lindsey’s. Perhaps H.« is counting the Expedition to the Isle of Rhé.”’ Viscount Wimbledon, at that time Sir Edward Cecil, was in command of the Spanish Expedition of 1625, that failed in the attack on Cadiz. 32 JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE Buckingham’s expedition in 1627 is surely to be reckoned as one of the three, for what was the object of landing on the Isle of Rhé if it was not to relieve Rochelle ? Of the remaining two, one will be Lord Denbigh’s attempt. Jacobs has already forgotten that in a note on I. 5, vi., he wrote of Denbigh, ‘* He returned from an unsuccessful attempt to relieve Rochelle, May 27, 1628.’ The third and last expedition was that commanded by the Earl of Lindsey. Book I., Sect. 5, xv., p. 266, I have sent you here inclos’d, Warrants for four brace of Bucks and a Stag ; the last Sir Arthur Manwaring procur’d of the King for you, towards the keeping of your Act. Jacobs writes, ‘‘ Where the stag came in I am unable to guess, nor is any hint given in Wordsworth, University Life.” It requires no conjurer to see that the bucks and stag, as well as “ the great Wicker Hamper, with two Geoules of Sturgeon, six barrels of pickled Oysters, three barrels of Bologna Olives, with some Spanish commodities ”’ are a provision against the entertainment to be given in connexion with the Act. Book I., Sect. 5, xv., p. 267, So, with my kind love to Dr. Mansell, Mr. Watkins, Mr. Madocks, and Mr. Napier at AIll- Souls, | rest—Your loving Brother, J. H. Lond., 20 June 1628. Mr. Watkins is stated by Jacobs to be “‘ Richard, of Ch. Ch. (Wood, Athene, i11., 945).”’ There are serious objections to this confident asser- ‘tion. The passage in the Athene proves to refer to Mr. Rich. Watkins ‘sometime of Ch. Ch. who soon after May 1658 was succeeded in his vicarage of Amersden, near Bicester in Oxfordshire, by Edward Bagshaw; and an examination of Wood’s Fasti shows us the same Richard Watkins being admitted B.A. in 1644 and M.A. in 1647. Now look at the date of Howell’s letter ! Book I., Sect. 5, xx., p. 270, It is as true a Rule, that 7) dooia tH emtotiunc aoxyy, Dubitation is the beginning of all Know- ledge. : See Aristotle, Metaphysics, B. 1, 995* 24, ’Avdyxn mode thy Cytovpévny éEntotnuny énelbety Huds me@tov, mEol Hv anoonjoa. det nOMtOr. Book I., Sect. 5, xxi., p. 270, . . . for you know ’tis a Rule in Law, Idem est non esse & non apparere. This is more usually quoted in the form De non apparentibus et non existentibus eadem est Ratio. See Pease and Chitty’s edition of Herbert Broom’s ‘ Selection of Legal Maxims’ (1911), p. 131. Book I., Sect. 5, xxili., p. 274: To the Ri. Hon. my Lady Scroop, Countess of Sunderland, at Langar. : > - e i 7 ee Se ee nr wt ee JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE 33 Langar (in Nottinghamshire) has since become a familiar name to many. Samuel Butler, the author of ‘ Erewhon,’ was born there, at the Rectory, Dec. 4, 1835. Book I., Sect. 5, xxiii., p. 274, My Lord Carleton deliver’d it me, and told me he never remember’d that the King writ a more gracious Letter. On Lord Carleton Jacobs has a note: ‘‘ He was now ‘Lord,’ but H. seems to apply this term to Baronets and Knights as well. Sir Dudley Carleton was ultimately Clerk of Council (infra, 667), and is frequently mentioned in the memoirs of the time [references are added].”’ In his note on IV., xii., p. 578, Jacobs confused Henry Pierrepoint (1656-1708), the first Marquis of Dorchester, with Sir Dudley Carleton - (1573-1632), Viscount Dorchester. In the present note he has confused the elder Sir Dudley Carleton, created Baron Carleton of Inbercourt, May 22, 1626, and Viscount Dorchester, July 21, 1628, who became Prin- cipal Secretary of State on Dec. 18, 1628, with his nephew of the same name. The younger Dudley Carleton was knighted on March 1, 1629, and was made one of the Clerks of the Council in 1637. Book I., Sect. 5, xxvii., p. 278, God send us an honourable Peace : for, as the Spaniard says, Nunca v1 tan mala paz, que ne fuesse mejor, que la mejor guerra. The proverb seems to have been suggested by Cicero’s ‘‘ Causa orta belli est: quid ego praetermisi aut monitorum aut querelarum, cum vel iniquissimam pacem iustissimo bello anteferrem ? ”’ ‘“Epist. ad Fam.’ vi., 6, 5. Book I., Sect. 5, xxxv., p. 285, Now your Lordship shall understand, that the said King [Gustavus Adolphus] is at Mentz, and keeps a Court there like an Emperor, there being above twelve Ambassadors with him. Jacobs’s note on Mentz is ‘‘now Metz” [!]. Mentzis, of course, Mainz. Book I., Sect. 6, xxvi., p. 328, I pray present my respects to Mrs. Anne Mayne. The widow—“ Mistress C.,’”’ to whom “at her House in Essex ’’ this letter of condolence is directed, was evidently, as Jacobs notes, the wife of Howell’s friend Daniel Caldwall. But he has not ventured on ‘“‘ Mrs. 4 Anne Mayne.” It may seem unduly bold to rush in where Jacobs has feared to tread, but I think that the lady can be identified with a fair probability. The 1634 Visitation of Essex (Harleian Soc., vol. 13) informs us that Daniell Caldwall of Horndon on the Hill married “to his 3 wiffe ’’ Allice d. of [John] Mayne [of Hertfordshire] and had by her 3 daughters, Mary, Elizabeth, and Anne. Turning to the Herts Visitation of the same date (Harl. Soc., vol. 22) and examining the pedigree of Mayne of Bovington, we find that Alice d. of James Mayne and Mary Andrew married Daniell 34 JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE Caldwell of Horndon, co. Essex, and that among her sisters was Anne, unmarried it would seem in 1634. ‘‘ Mrs. Anne Mayne ’’ may have been this sister staying at the time with Caldwall’s widow. Another sister was named Elizabeth, and the Khzabeth and Anne who were daughters of Caldwall by this third wife were possibly christened after these two aunts. Book I., Sect. 6, xxix., p. 331, Major Gots, one of the chief Commanders, was kill’d. Johann, Graf von Gotz (1599-1645) was a well-known general on the Imperial side in the Thirty Years War. He was killed in the battle of Jankau, March 6, 1645. If this is the man, the report of his death in 1635 was greatly exaggerated. The name in Ed. ? is Geuts. Book I., Sect. 6, xxxii., p. 335, Upon Monday morn, as soon as the Cinque-Ports are open, I have a particular prayer of thanks, that I am repriev’d to the beginning of that week. Compare Sir Thomas Browne, near the end of the °‘ Garden of Cyrus ’ (1658), ‘‘ But the Quincunx of Heaven runs low, and ’tis time to close the five ports of knowledge.” Book I., Sect. 6, xxxvi. (To Sir Ed. Savage, Knight, at Tower- hill), p. 342, . . . nothing can be done in that business till your Brother Pain comes to Town. ‘* Probably,’ says Jacobs, “‘the J. Payne of Nichols, Prog. Jas. L., i. 145, 650; brother = brother-in-law.”’ The reader of Jacobs’s identifications 1s probably by now inclined to ‘“damn them at a venture.’’ Open Nichols’s ‘ Progresses of K. James I’ at the places indicated, and what do you get? Ati. 145, you learn that the Funeral Sermon of Elizabeth, daughter of Ferdinando Stanley, Earl of Derby, who died on Jan. 20, 1633, was published with her portrait engraved by J. Payne. This John Payne’s life is in the D.N.B. He ‘“was idle and died in indigent circumstances.’’ Evidence, please, that he was Sir Edward Savage’s brother-in-law ! At 11. 650, we find that in an account of K. James’s visit to Bristol with his Queen in 1613 are some verses ‘‘ To the Author and his Booke,”’ signed by John Payne. Book I., Sect. 6, xxxvii., p. 348, I hear that Cardinal Bar- berino, one of the Pope’s Nephews, is setting forth the Works of Fastidius, a British Bishop, cal’d De vita Christiana ... and Holstenius hath the care of the Impression. Jacobs’s note on the “‘ Works of Fastidius”’ is that “The De Vita Christiana, previously included among St. Augustine’s works, was vindi- cated for Fastidius by Holstenius, who published an edition in 1636, three years before the date of this letter.” I have not seen this edition, which according to Jacobs was published in 1636, but the Benedictine edition of Augustine, vol. vi. (1685), Appendix p. 183, J. A. Fabricius’s ‘ Bibliotheca Latina med. et inf. aetat.’ and other authorities say the book appeared at Rome in 1663. JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE 35 Book I., Sect. 6, xli., p. 348: To Sir J. M., Knight. ‘“May possibly,’ says Jacobs, “be Sir T. Middleton, brother to Sir Hugh, who went in deeply for alchemy.” “It is always possible,’ as the old Frenchman at Naples said to Dickens ; ‘‘ almost all the things in the world are always possible.”’ Still, the date of this letter is 1 Feb. 1638, and Sir Thomas Middleton, Sir Hugh’s brother, died at the age of 81, or thereabouts, on August 12, 1631. Book I., Sect. 6, li., p. 360: To Sir Alex. R., Knight. Jacobs notes that according to the ‘‘ Table ”’ of the first edition this is Sir Alexander Ratcliff. To this may be added that on Feb. 1, 1625-6, at the Coronation of Charles I., Alexander Ratcliffe of Lancashire was made a Knight of the Bath. See W. A. Shaw’s ‘ Knights of England.’ Book I., Sect. 6, li., p. 362, All Men know there is nothing imports this Island more than Trade; it is that Wheel of In- dustry which sets all others a-going ; it is that which preserves the chiefest Castles and Walls of this Kingdom, I mean the Ships. On * Walls of this Kingdom ”’ Jacobs remarks that this is ‘“‘ Perhaps the earliest reference to England’s fleet of Themistocles’ saying about Athens’ wooden walls.’? It is certainly not the earliest. See Owen’s ‘ Kpigrammata,’ ii., 40: Vires Britannic. Ad Principem. Anglorum porte sunt portus, mcenia classes, Castra squor, valli corpora, corda duces. Book I., Sect. 6, lv., p. 366, You know the difference the Philosophers make ’twixt the two extreme colours, black and white, that thé one is congregativum, the other disgregativum visis: Black doth congregate, unite and fortify the Sight ; the other disgregate, scatter and enfeeble it, when it fixeth upon any object. See Boéthius, ‘Topicorum Aristotelis Interpretatio,’ lib. vii., cap. 2, in vol. lxiv. of Migne’s ‘ Patrologia Latina,’ column 990D., ‘‘ Et differentias quidem contrarias de contrariis arbitramur praedicari, ut de albo et nigro: nam illud quidem disgregativum, hoc autem congregativum visus.”’ Book I., Sect. 6, Ivi., p. 367, . . . like a Glow-worm (the old emblem of true Friendship) you have shin’d to me in the dark. See the ‘Symbola et Emblemata’ of Joachim Camerarius, ii., 94, hp Apud nos quidem, vermis est Erucae similis qui eadem parte qua cicen- dela noctu fulgorem tam clarum emittit, ut etiam ad illum litterae legi possint. .. . Quamquam vero & hoc symbolum autor illius ad honesti amoris significationem accomodaverit, .. .”’ 36 JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE Book I., Sect. 6, lvii., p. 368, But as we find that it is not a. clear Sky, but the Clouds that drop Fatness, as the holy Text tells us, so adversity is far more fertile than prosperity. See Psalm 65, 12 (Prayer-Book version), ‘“‘ Thou crownest the year with thy goodness: and thy clouds drop fatness.’”? The A.V. has (65, 11) ‘‘, .. thy paths drop fatness.”’ Book I., Sect. 6, lviii., pp. 370, 371, I am no statue, but I must resent the calamities of the time, and the desperate case of this Nation, who seem to have fallen quite from the very faculty of reason, and to be possess’d with a pure Lycanthropy, with a wolvish kind of disposition to tear one another in this manner ; insomuch, that if ever the old Saye was verify’d, Homo homini lupus, it is certainly now. See Plautus, ‘ Asinaria,’ 495: Lupus est homo homini, non homo, quom qualis sit non novit, and John Owen’s Epigrams, lib. ii. 23: Homo homini Lupus, Homo homint Deus. Humano generi lupus et deus est homo: quare ? Nam deus est homini Christus, Adamque lupus. and lib. iv. 224: Homo homini Deus. Est homo qui locuples inopi nil donat amico ; Qui rapit, hic lupus est; qui dabit, ille Deus. ‘*Homo homini deus ”’ is from the line of Caecilius Statius quoted by Symmachus, Epist. ix. 114: ! Homo homini deus est, si suum officium sciat. See A. Otto, ‘Die Sprichworter und Sprichwortlichen Redensarten der Romer,’ under Lupus and Deus. The proverb is of Greek origin. Book I., Sect. 6, lix., p. 371, I have no other news to write to you hence, but that, Leuantanse los muladeres, y abaxanse los — adarues : The World is turn’d topsey-turvey. Muladeres should be muladares. Jacobs’s translation is ‘‘ The mule- teers go up and the walls go down.’”’ He has confused mulatero, a mule- driver, with muladar, a dunghill. | The saying, in the form ‘‘ Abaxanse los adarves, y aleanse los mula- dares,”’ is included by Howell among the Spanish proverbs at the end of his ‘ Lexicon Tetraglotton’ (1660), with the English ‘‘ The battlements come down, and dunghills climb up; Jacks rise up, and Gentlemen come down.”’ Book IT., ii., pp. 376, 377, You know, | Angee a Vitulus, Populos & Regna gubernant. The Goose, the Bee, and the Calf (meaning Wax, Parchment, and the Pen) rule the World; but, of the three, the Pen is the most predominant. JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE 37 See N. Reusner’s ‘ Aenigmatographia,’ Part i., p. 245 (ed. 1602), where No. xxx. of the Aenigmata of Hadrianus Junius, entitled ‘Syngraphum,’ begins : Anser, apis, vitulus, rerum potiuntur et orbis. Book IL., iv., pp. 379, 380, "Tis a powerful Sex ; they were too strong for the first, the Strongest and Wisest Man that was ; they must needs be strong, when one Hair of a Woman can draw more than a hundred pair of Oxen; yet for all their strength in point of value, if you will believe the Ltahan, A Man of Straw is worth a Woman of Gold. Howell gives this among the Italian proverbs in his * Lexicon Tetra- _glotton,’ “Un huomo di paglia val’ una donna d’oro.”’ Book II., xvi., p. 408, . . . for Expedition is the life of Action, otherwise Time may show his bald occiput, and shake his posteriors at them in derision. See the poem of Posidippus in the ‘ Palatine Anthology,’ xvi. (‘ Appen- dix Planudea’), 275, especially lines 7-10; and Ausonius’s epigram, 33 (12), lines 7 and 8: Sed heus tu Occipiti calvo es ?—Ne tenear fugiens. Book I1., xvui., p. 410, This makes me think on that blunt answer which Capt. Talbot return’d Henry VIII. from Calais, who having receiv’d special command from the King to erect a new Fort at the Water-gate, and to see the Town well fortify’d, sent him word, that he could neither fortify nor fiftufy without Money. The same jest, whether by recollection or coincidence, is employed in the first stanza of Hood’s ‘December and May ’ Said Nestor, to his pretty wife, quite sorrowful one day, “Why, dearest, will you shed in pearls those lovely eyes away ? You ought to be more fortified.”’ ‘‘ Ah, brute, be quiet, do, I know I’m not so fortyfied, nor fiftyfied, as you!” Book II., xxvii., p. 420, Yours to the Altar, J. H. The phrase ‘“‘usque ad aram’”’ is derived from a saying of Pericles given by Plutarch BEnOne, his ‘ Apophthegmata Regg. et Impp., 186c. ITeo¢ d€ yidoy tid paetrelag pevdods Sedmevoy, y MEOTY xal boxos, Epynoe MéxoL TOD Bwmpod pisos eivat. Xylander’s rendering is ‘‘ Amicum se usque ad aram esse respondit.”” Hrasmus has it in Bk. V. of his ‘ Apophthegmata,’ “Pericles . . . respondit se quidem amicum esse usque ad aram.” Book II., xxvii., p. 420, 7. 7. drank your health yesternight, and wish’d you could send him a handsome Venetian Courtesan inclos’d in a Letter ; he would willingly be at the charge of the . 38 JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE postage, which he thinks would not be much for such a light commodity. Horace Walpole writing from Arlington Street on June 5, 1747, to Horace Mann at Florence, says: “I... may retire to a little new farm that I have taken just out of Twickenham [afterwards the famous Strawberry Hill]. The house is so small, that I can send it to you ina letter to look at.” Book II., xxxiii., p. 427, There’s a strange Maggot hath got into their brains, which possesseth them with a kind of Vertigo ; and it reigns in the Pulpit more than anywhere else, for some of our Preachmen are grown dog-mad, there’s a worm got into their Tongues, as well as their Heads. An allusion to the absurd practice that long prevailed of cutting out a vermiform structure from under a dog’s tongue because of the belief that it was a worm. See Pliny, ‘Nat. Hist.,’ xxix., 5 (32), 100, “ Est vermiculus in lingua canum qui vocatur a Graecis lytta, quo exempto infantibus catulis nec rabidi fiunt nec fastidium sentiunt.”’ Book II., xlvi., p. 440, You know that Pair which were taken up into Heaven, and placed among the brightest Stars for their rare constancy and fidelity one to the other : you know also they are put among the fixed Stars, not the errairices, to shew there must be no inconstancy in love. Navigators steer their course by them, and they are the best friends in working Seas, dark nights, and distresses of weather ; whence may be inferr’d, that true friends ‘should shine clearest in adversity, in cloudy and doubtful times. The Pair = Gemini, Castor and~ Pollux, the ‘‘ Grecians Twin” of ‘The Vote, or a Poem-Royal,’ 1. 184. With “‘ among the fixed Stars, not the erratrices, to show there must be no inconstancy in love’’ compare, per contra, Owen, * Epigrammata,’ I., Ixvii., 3-4: Nulla fides Veneri; levis est interque planetas Ponitur (haud inter sidera fixa) Venus. Book II., xxxvi., p. 429, My most humble Service to Sir J. St. eeu isibe Joli 7% The letter is addressed ‘‘ Zo Sir L. D., in the Tower’? and dated ‘“‘ Fleet, 15 Feb. 1646.”’ Jacobs identifies Sir L. D. with Sir Lewis Dives and Sir J. St. with Sir J. Strangways, ‘‘ who was in the Tower at this time... and was a brother-in-law of Sir L. Dives . . . and was captured together with him at the surrender of Sherborne Castle in 1645.” So far, so good; but Sir H. V. he says is ‘‘ probably ’’ Sir Harry Vane. This is exquisitely absurd. A prisoner in the Fleet writes to a Royalist prisoner-of-war in the Tower and sends his most humble service to his correspondent’s brother-in-law, a Royalist fellow-prisoner, and to Sir Harry Vane, the Parliamentary leader in the House of Commons! We may guess with some “ probability’ that Sir H. V. was the Royalist JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE 39 soldier, Sir Henry Vaughan (1587 ?—1659 ?), who was at this date a prisoner in the Tower, having been captured at the battle of Naseby (14 June, 1645). Sir Henry Vaughan was the 6th son of Walter Vaughan, of Golden Grove, Carmarthenshire, and a brother of William Vaughan (1577-1641). See Mr. D. Lleufer Thomas in the D.N.B. Book II., xlvii., p. 440, [return you those two famous speeches of the late Q. Elizabeth, with the addition of another from Baudius at an Embassy here from Holland. Dominicus Baudius’s * Oratio ad serenissimam Principem Elizabetham Anghae Reginam’ is included among his * Orationes Quatuor,’ published at Leyden in 1617. Another of the four was addressed to JamesI. They are both in the 1650 collection of his Letters and Speeches, Book ILI., liv., p. 453, In China they have a holy kind of liquor made of such sort of flowers for ratifying and binding of bargains ; and having drank thereof, they hold it no less than perjury to break what they promise. See Purchas’s ‘ Pilgrimage,’ Part I. (1617), chap. 19, § vii., p. 533, ““'They take their oathes (as here by kissing a booke) with thrice drinking of a certayne liquor.”’ Book IT., liv., p. 456, In the Country of Provence towards the Pyrenees, and in Languedoc, there are Wines concustable with those of Spain. This is Jacobs’s text, and the word concustible (spelt thus) appears in his index. The neglect to consult earlier editions is apparent. The word should be congustable. This obsolete and rare word is explained as meaning “‘ having a like taste or flavour’”’ by the N.E.D. which quotes Howell’s letter. Book IL., lxi., p.483, . : . that glorious and gallant Cavalier sir W. Raleigh (who lived long enough for his own honour, tho’ not jor his Country, as it was said of a Roman Consul)... . _ See Cicero’s Speech, ‘pro M. Marcello,’ 8, 25, ‘“‘Itaque illam tuam praeclarissimam et sapientissimam vocem invitus audivi: ‘Satis diu vel naturae vixi vel gloriae.’ Satis, si ita vis, fortasse naturae, addo etiam, si placet, gloriae, at, quod maximum est, patriae certe parum.”’ Cicero was addressing Julius Cesar. Book II., lxi., p. 484, Mr. Nath. Carpenter, a learned and judicious Author, was not in the wrong when he gave this discreet Character of him [Sir Walter Raleigh]: .. . “The quotation in the text,’ says Jacobs, ‘“‘is probably from his Geographie Delineated, 1625.” ftis. See Book II., chap. xv., page 261 of the 1625 edition. Carpenter was a Fellow of Exeter College, and this book of his contains one of the earliest references to the ‘Anatomy of Melancholy’ : 40 JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE ‘* All this time as in a fit of phrensy I haue spoken I scarce know what my selfe: I feare me too much, to, or of, my Country and Vniversity, and too litle for the present purpose. Now as one suddainly awaked out of sleep, no otherwise then in a dreame I remember the occasion: We haue all a semel Insaniuimus, and as a learned man of this Vniversity seemes to maintaine, no man hath euer had the happines to be exempted from this imputation: And therefore I hope my Reader will pardon me this once, if in such a generall concurse and conspiracy of mad men, I some- times shew myself mad for company.” Ibid., p. 273. Book II., lxiv., p. 490, Insomuch that you could not make choice of a fitter ground for a Prisoner, as I am, to pass over, than of that purple Isle, that Isle of Man you sent me ; which, as the ingenious Author hath made it, is a far more dainty soil than that Scarlet Island which lies near the Baltic Sea. Jacobs does not attempt to explain “that Scarlet Island.’ Is not Heligoland meant? It has steep red cliffs, and the ‘ Encyclopedia Britannica’ quotes an old Frisian rhyme: Gron is dat Land, Rood is de Kant, Witt is de Sand, Dat is de Flagg vun’t hillige Land. In attending Lord Leicester’s mission to the Court of Denmark in 1632 Howell, we may suppose, had sight of the island. Admiral Pennington’s Log which Jacobs prints on pp. 678-9 (Supplement xxvii) has the entry for Sept. 17-: ‘“ About 7 a clock in the morninge we had sight of Holbike Land [Heligoland].”’ Book I1-, Ixxii., p. 499: To Sir Tho. Luke, Knight. SIR, Had you traversed all the world over ... you could not — have lighted upon a choicer piece of Woman-kind for your Wife ; the Earth could not have afforded a Lady, that by her discretion and sweetness could better quadrate with your dispositions. As I heartily congratulate your happiness in this particular, so L would desire you to know, that I did no ill offices towards the advancement of the work, upon occasion of some discourse with my Lord George of Rutland not long before at Hambledon. Jacobs, referring to Notes and Queries, Third Series, vol. vu., p. 116, rightly points out that ‘‘ Luke ”’ is a misprint of the first edition for Lake. His note, however, that Sir Thomas’s wife was ‘“‘ Mary, daughter of Sir W. Ruther, Lord Mayor of London (Wood, Fasti, i., 261), but H. could not have been old enough at his marriage,’ together with his note on Book I., Sect. 5, xxv., p. 276, also addressed to Sir Thomas Lake, ‘proves conclusively that he has fallen into the extraordinary error of confounding Sir Thomas Lake the younger, knighted on June 8, 1617 (W. A. Shaw, JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE 41 ‘The Knights of England,’ vol. i1., 163), with his father, King James’s Secretary of State from 1616 to 1619. We may grant that these letters swarm with chronological inexactitudes and that great part was concocted subsequently to the alleged dates ; but what possible motive could Howell have had for publishing what was professedly a letter of congratulation on the wedding of a well-known man that took place when he himself was a child ? Further, for claiming a share at these tender years in having brought about the match ? and, as a crowning act of absurdity, for praising the ‘‘ discretion and sweetness’ of a woman who had been notoriously convicted of slander and forgery ? The relationship of the younger Sir Thomas’s wife to the Manners family obviously explains Howell’s claims to have furthered the match in conversation with my Lord George of Rutland. What seems to be a curious error about the elder Sir Thomas Lake has ‘gained some currency. J. S. Hawkins, in his edition (1787, p. xxiv) of George Ruggle’s famous Latin comedy, [gnoramus, played before James I. at Cambridge in 1615, gives a list of the characters, in which the part of Trico is assigned to Mr. Lake of Clare Hall, and Lake is described as ‘« afterwards secretary of state.’’ This statement is repeated by Mullinger in his History of the University of Cambridge, i1., 541. Sir Sidney Lee in his D.N.B. notice of the father thinks this very doubtful, but adds, ‘‘the actor is more likely to have been Sir Thomas’s son.”’ What ground is there for either of these identifications? A Mr. William Lake, who was a Fellow of Clare in 1619, is mentioned in Ruggle’s Will (Hawkins, wt supra, p. xcvii), and Professor J. E. B. Mayor in his note on p. 12 of the ‘ Life of Nicholas Ferrar by his Brother,’ ‘‘ Mr. Lake, Mr. Ruggle, and other of the fellows,’’ writes ‘‘ William Lake, who acted T'rico, when Ignoramus was represented before James I., March 8, 1614-5,”’ with a reference to Baker’s MS. X. 156, to which Hawkins also refers. Is this William Lake the same as — Lakes whose answer (in English and Latin rhyme) to Bishop Corbet’s poem on King James’ visit to Cambridge is printed in Corbet’s Poems (1807) and in Cooper’s ‘ Annals of Cambridge,’ vol. ii1., pp. 79-82 ? This certainly seems a “‘ probable ’’ identification. Book III., viii., p. 525, The Goths forbore to destroy the Libraries of the Greeks and Italians, because Books should keep them still soft, simple, or too cautious in warlike Affairs. See Burton, ‘Anat. of Melancholy,’ 1, 2, 3, 15. ‘“‘ And Patritius therefore in the institution of Princes, would not have them to be great students. For (as Machiavel holds) Study weakens their bodies, dulls the spirits, abates their strength and courage; and good Scholars are never good Souldiers, which a certain Goth well perceived, when his Countrey-men came into Greece, and would have burned all their books, he cried out against it, by all means they should not doe it, leave them that plague, which in time will consume all their vigor, and martiall spirits.” Burton cites in his margin, Gaspar Ens Thesaur. Polit. Apoteles. 31. Graecis hanc pestem relinquite, quae dubium non est, quin brevi omnem ws vigorem ereptura Martiosque spiritus exhaustura sit. Vtad arma tractanda plané inhabiles futurt sint. See ‘Tesoro Politico,’ La Parte seconda, Francof. 1611, p. 7, ‘An 42 JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE litterarum studia militiam eneruent.’ Burton had shghtly compressed and altered the latter part of his quotation. Book III., xiii., p. 537, The freshest News here is, that those Heart-burnings and Fires of Civil Commotions which you left behind you in France, cover’d over with thin Ashes for the Time, are broken out again. Howell was very likely recollecting Horace, Odes II.,i., 1, 7, 8: Motum ex Metello consule civicum Tractas et incedis per ignes Suppositos cineri doloso. Book IIT., xxiii., p. 548, The Roman Law, which the Decemvira made, is yet extant in the twelve Tables, Qua fruges incantassent, penis danto: They who shall inchant the fruit of the Harth, let them be punish’d [penis should be penas, and incantassent for —int is due to a faulty text of Pliny]. See Pliny, Nat. Hist. xxviu., 2 (4), 17, 18, * Quid ? non et legum ipsarum in duodecim tabulis verba sunt: qui fruges incantassit, et alibi: qui malum carmen incantassit ?”’ Book III., xxiii., p. 548, The Imperial ee is known by every Civilian; Hi cum hosies nature sint, supplicio afficiantur : These, meaning Witches, because they are enemies to Nature, let them be punish ‘d. Compare the ‘Corpus Juris Civilis,’ Cod. ix., 18, 9, “‘ Quicumque male- ficiorum labe pollutum audierit deprehenderit occupaverit, ilico ad pub- licum protrahat et iudiciorum oculis communis hostem salutis ostendat.” Book IV., iv., p. 558: To my Lord Marquis of Hartford. To Jacobs’s formal identification of the above with Wiliam Seymour, © lith Earl and Ist Marquis, who became Duke of Somerset at the Restor- ation, a touch of human interest might be added by reminding the reader that it was this William Seymour who in 1610 married the unfortunate Arabella Stuart. Book IV., v., stanza 6, lines 3 and 4, p. 564: And lose a hundred pound at Gleek, Or be a Saint when we should sleep. This is the reading of the 1737 edition which Jacobs followed. What meaning he supposed the second line to have is not clear; perhaps, to keep vigil. But the first edition of Book IV. (1655) has *‘ Or be at Sant,” which is obviously right. The obsolete Cent with sixteenth and seven- teenth century forms, saunt, saint, cente, and seventeenth century sent, was the name of ‘‘an old game at cards, said to have been of Spanish origin, and to have resembled piquet, with one hundred as the point that won the game” (N.E.D.). tS eae es SRT ae ey os” ee ee ae acne JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE 43 Book IV., vii., p. 567, But what shall I say of Q. Artemisia, | who had an Urnful of her Husband MWawsolus’s Ashes in her ' closet, whereof she would take down a dram every morning ' next her heart, saying that her Body was the fittest place to be a Sepulchre to her dear Husband... ? | See Valerius Maximus IV., vi., Ext. 1, ““. . . cum ipsa Mausoli vivum - ac spirans sepulcrum fieri concupierit eorum testimonio, qui illam extincti _ ossa potioni aspersa bibisse tradunt.”’ | Also Aulus Gellius, X., xvii., 3, ‘‘ Artemisia, luctu atque desiderio _ mariti flagrans uxor, ossa cineremque eius mixta odoribus contusaque in | faciem pulveris aquae indidit ebibitque.” | Book IV., vii., p. 568, That incestuous custom they have in _ China, that one should marry his own Sister, and in default of one, the next akin, I utterly dislike. See Purchas’s ‘ Pilgrimage,’ Part I., Bk. IV., chap. xix., § 7, p. 531 (1617), *‘ They [the Chinois] heed not degrees of affinitie or consanguinitie, so this surname differ, and therefore marry in the Mothers kindred be it almost neuer so neere.”’ Book IV., vii., p. 569, Therefore that Wiseacre deserves of all other to wear a toting horn. “TYoting’’ means protruding, projecting, sticking out. The present passage is cited by the N.E.D. Book IV., vii., p. 571, Witness the tale of Hans Boobikin, a rich Boor’s Son. The case of Hans Boobikin is that of the young gentleman in ‘ Tristram Shandy,’ Book IV., chap. xxix., ad fin., and Selden’s ‘Table Talk,’ Ixxii., (‘The King’), sect. 2. Book IV., Xxxix., p. 626, It [this World] is but a vale of Troubles. For the figurative use of “‘ vale of adversity, vale of misery,” &c., and for examples of ‘‘vale’’ denoting the world regarded as a place of trouble, sorrow, misery, or weeping, see the N.E.D. under Vale (the first substantive), 2. Coverdale’s rendering of Psalm 83, 6, ‘‘which goinge thorow the vale of mysery, use it for a well,’’ may have helped to give currency to the phrase. Mrs. Gamp was much enamoured of this figurative use. H.g. chapt. 99 66 xix. of ‘Martin Chuzzlewit,’ ‘‘‘Ah! what a wale of grief!’ cried Mrs. Gamp, possessing herself of the bottle and glass.” Chapter xxv., “‘. . . the last Monday evening fortnight as ever dawned upon this Piljian Projiss of a mortal wale.” Chapter xl., ‘‘‘ Which shows,’ said Mrs. Gamp, casting up her eyes, “what a little way you’ve travelled into this wale of life, my dear young creetur !’”’ And (best of all) chapter xlix., ‘‘ ‘He was born into a wale,’ said Mrs. A.S.—VOL. VI. ; D 44 JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE Gamp, with philosophical coolness; ‘and he lived in a wale; and must take the consequences of sech a sitiwation.’”’ Other examples occur in chapters xxix. and xlvi. Supplement, Document XIV., p. 661: To JupaGE RumMsEy. In his first note on this letter of Howell which appeared at the beginning of Rumsey’s ‘Organon Salutis,’ Jacobs says that the Judge “‘ was an old College chum of H.’s.”’ Another reckless shot ! We are referred to p. xxvi. of the Introduction, but the Rumsey there mentioned is Edward Rumsey of Jesus College. The Judge’s Christian name was Walter. He was several years older than Howell and had matriculated on Oct. 17, 1600, as a member of Gloucester Hall. He was admitted at Gray’s Inn on May 16, 1603, and called to the Bar on June 3, 1608. He was certainly no “ College chum” of Howell’s. The letter is very carelessly printed in Jacobs’s edition. Words are dropped in several places and close to the end Compatriot has been turned into Companion. Supplement XIV., p. 662, Touching Coffee, I concurre with them in opinion, who hold it to be that black broth which was us’d of old in Lacedemon, whereof the Poets sing ; Surely it must needs be salutiferous, because so many sagacious, and the wittiest sort of Nations use it so much; as they who have conversed with Shasires and Turbants doe well know. For the opinion that coffee was the Spartan black broth see Burton, ‘Anatomy of Melancholy,’ 2, 5, 1, 5, in a passage that was first inserted in the 4th edition (1632): “The Turkes have a drinke called Coffa (for they vse no wine) so named of a berry as blacke as soot, and as bitter, (like that blacke drinke which was in vse amongst the Lacedemonians and perhaps the same) which they sip still of, and sup as warme as they can suffer.” On Shastres Jacobs has this note: ‘‘ Shastres, or holy wisdom of the | Hindoos, the four Shastras or sacred books.”’ This is sheer nonsense. What Howell wrote is: ‘‘ Shashes and Tur- bants.”’ See the quotations under sash in the ‘Stanford Dictionary of Anglicised Words and Phrases,’ e.g. from Sandys’s ‘ Travels,’ ‘“ All of them weare on their heads white Shashes and Turbants.” Payne Fisher’s ‘ Encomium,’ lines 4—6, p. 688 : Nempe novum Monidum Proles Montaccola fontem Ostendit, sacrasq; aperit Tritonidis arces Howelli Generosa Domus. I have already noted (Aber. Studies, vol. v., p. 72) that ‘‘ Montaccola ”’ does not indicate the particular place in Wales where Howell was born, as Jacobs thought, but has the general meaning of ‘‘ Welsh,” ‘‘ Monti- colia’’ being used for Wales in ‘ Dodona’s Grove,’ p. 46. I have since noticed a similar use of ‘‘ Monticola’’ in a poem by E. Holdsworth of Magdalen College, Oxford, dated 1709. It is entitled ‘ Muscipula,’ and JAMES HOWELL ONCE MORE } 45 describes how Taffi the Welshman invents a mouse-trap because of the great destruction of cheese by mice. The piece begins: Monticolam Britonem, qui primus vincula Muri Finxit, et ingenioso occlusit carcere furem, Lethalesque dolos, et inextricabile fatum, Musa refer. ‘Selecta Poemata Anglorum Latina,’ edited by Edward Popham, 2nd ed. 1779, p. 164. Howell’s Letters have hitherto fared badly at the hands of their professed expounders. In the notes appended to Dent’s three-volume edition Jacobs’s blunders have started a new life. The compiler reproduces, for example, his misstatements about the Markeraf of Ansbach (on I., 2, ix.), Mr. Vaughan of the Golden Grove (I., 3, xix.), James Howard (I., 6, xxvii.), and several others. These he has reinforced with errors of his own. Grosteste is said (on II., v.)to have been Bishop of London. We are told (on III., 1.) that Louis Senault’s L’ Usage des Passions was translated by the Duke (!) of Monmouth. He writes of Joseph Hall (on I., 2, iv.) that he “‘ became later first Bishop of Norwich.” _ Howell deserves something better than this.1 I only wish that I had the time and knowledge (and a forthcoming publisher) that I might do something for him myself. Meanwhile I hope that a competent editor in the future may profit by these con- tributions. I shall not grudge him the satisfaction of discovering my own mistakes. EDWARD BENSLY. 1'But Reviewers seem easily satisfied. In a short notice by the Athenceum, July 16, 1892, we are told that Jacobs’s “labour and learn- ing... are worthy of warm recognition,” that “he has been at pains to give a correct text,” that “‘the annotations are excellent,” and that “his work as an editor is, as a rule, marked by learning, good sense, and carefulness.”’ The writer of a four-column review in the Academy, on October 15 of the same year, pronounces the notes to be “ learned and self-restrained,”’ assures us that “a pretty rigorous examination has only revealed a very few positive mistakes,’ and maintains that Jacobs’s edition of the Epistolae Ho-Hlianae ‘‘ should by all means find a place . . . with such monuments of erudition’? as the Cambridge Shakespeare, Masson’s Milton, and Birkbeck Hill’s Boswell. Ne Ni HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY PART I It has long been recognised that Shakespeare felt considerable sympathy for the fate of Elizabeth’s unlucky favourite—the Earl of Essex. Sir A. W. Ward in his history of English Dramatic _Itterature calls attention to several facts which are very signi- ficant in this connection. There is, for instance, the famous reference in ‘ Henry V’ in the Chorus before Act V. to the expedi- tion of Essex in the year 1599: ‘As, by a lower but a loving likelihood, Were now the general of our gracious empress, As in good time he may, from Ireland coming, Bringing rebellion broached on his sword, How many would the peaceful city quit, To welcome him.’ There is no other political reference in Shakespeare so definite and unmistakable as this and it has the additional interest of being strictly contemporary. Sir A. W. Ward finds also references to Essex in the play of ‘Henry VIII’ which he considers to have been composed (as is generally agreed) in the reign of James I and probably among Shakespeare’s latest plays; it was almost certainly written in collaboration with Fletcher. The last words of Essex on the scaffold, “when my life and bodie shall part, send thy blessed angels, which may receive my soule and convey it to thy joys in heaven,” are, with great fullness of detail, worked up in Buckingham’s speech on his way to execution (Act II, Se. i.). The whole character and fate of Buckingham are obviously intended to mirror the character and fate of Essex and reveal the strongest possible sympathy for the unhappy favourite. The last words of Essex seem to have deeply impressed Shakespeare and are also quoted, as Malone long since pointed out, in the words of Horatio over the dying Hamlet (V, ii.) : ‘Good night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.’ : 47 48 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY Most important, however, of all the Essex connections with Shakespeare is that of the play of ‘ Richard II.’ One of the counts in the fatal indictment against Essex was that he and his friends had caused the acting of this play the night before the conspiracy. The company who performed it are certainly identified with Shakespeare’s company by the fact that their manager—Augus- tine Phillips—was cited to appear and give evidence. The play acted was ‘ Richard II.’ and there can be no reason- able doubt that it was Shakespeare’s play of that name: the deposition scene does not seem to have occurred in the older versions and was probably added for this occasion. The con- spirators were accused (in the course of the Essex trial itself) of having desired to treat Queen Elizabeth in the same way as Richard II had been treated: namely by deposing and after- wards murdering her. The play of ‘ Richard Il’ was performed some forty times in all in London during the period of the conspiracy and trial and there is not the slightest doubt (from statements made in the course of the trial itself), that these performances were intended to excite sympathy with Essex. John Nichols records that the queen showed the greatest anger on the subject of this play and identified herself with the king. ‘Her Majesty fell upon the reign of Richard II, saying, ‘‘T am Richard II, know ye not that ?”’’ And again: ‘ Her Majesty said: ‘“‘ He that will forget God will also forget his benefactors; this tragedy was played 40 times in open streets and houses.” ’ Shakespeare’s company fell into disgrace on account of their connection with the Essex conspiracy ; they were compelled to travel in the provinces while their position as court favourites was taken by the ‘Children of Paul’s.’ ‘ Hamlet,’ as Mr. Boas and others have shown, was, in all probability, both composed and acted during the period when Shakespeare’s company were travelling and in disgrace and both the travelling and the disgrace are definitely alluded to in the play itself (II, ii.) : Ham. What players are these ? Ros. Kven those you were wont to take delight in, the tragedians of the city. : Ham. How chances it that they travel? their residence, both in reputation and profit, was better both ways. Ros. I think their inhibition comes by means of the late inno- vation. HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY 49 Ham. Do they hold the same estimation as they did when I was in the city ? Are they so followed ? Ros. No, indeed, they are not. Ham. How comes it? Do they grow rusty ? Ros. Nay, their endeavour keeps in the wonted pace: but there is, sir, an aery of children, little eyases, that cry out on the top of the question, and are most tyrannically clapped for it ; these are now the fashion. Now the ‘little eyases’ or “ young hawks’ to whom Rosen- crantz refers are very generally supposed to have been the children of Paul’s and the above is Shakespeare’s reference to the disgrace of his company and their temporary supplanting by the children. Under these circumstances and considering the fact that ‘Hamlet’ itself appears to have been written while Shakes- peare’s company were in disgrace and travelling in the provinces, we might very naturally expect to find some connection between Eissex and the play of ‘Hamlet,’ and such a connection has, in fact, been not infrequently suspected. Thus Mr. J. T. Foard in 1889, and Professor Conrad (in Preussische Jahrbiicher) 1895, both contended that Hamlet himself was drawn largely from Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. Mr. Abbott, in his book on Bacon and Essex, did not go so far as this; but he believed that the instability of Hamlet’s character was largely suggested by the instability of Essex in the last years of his life. In a book of mine entitled Hamlet and the Scottish Succession (1920) I examined the question in the light of a good deal of new evidence and arrived at the conclusion that the play of ‘ Hamlet ’ did, indeed, grow out of the Essex conspiracy ; but that the character of Hamlet was not to be taken as a portrait of any one person; but contained large elements drawn from the person- ality and story of James I and also from the personality and story of Essex. | Since publishing my book I have come across additional material which corroborates the view originally expressed and forms an important supplement; but at the same time sheds an entirely new light, hitherto unsuspected by me or, I think, by anyone else, on certain portions of the play. I propose to give a summary (it can hardly be more) of the new material and to show how it does almost inevitably suggest a fresh and most interesting view of certain portions of the play of * Hamlet.’ 50 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY We may observe in the first place that the experience of Hamlet does show in many respects a close parallel to the experience of Essex. The father of Essex—Sir Walter Devereux—whom Elizabeth created Earl of Essex, was one of the most admired and honoured men of his generation ; no man of his age held a higher reputa- tion for honour, probity and patriotic service; in that most difficult field for the Elizabethans—Ireland—he won the respect of both Irish and English; he sacrificed his fortune most generously in the effort to make peace in Ireland and proved himself at once a statesman and a soldier. Unfortunately for Walter, Earl of Essex, his beautiful and gifted wife happened to excite the attention of the Earl of Leicester. So far as public reputation was concerned, Leicester was the exact antithesis of Essex; LHlizabeth herself appears to have feared Leicester during the latter years of his life; he was dangerously powerful and in many ways insolent; he was extraordinarily licentious in his attitude to women and scandal accused him of several murders by the meanest of all methods— poisoning. One thing is absolutely certain, that people who were in the way of Leicester had a habit of disappearing from life at pre- cisely the moment likely to be most convenient to him. It was this formidable person who fell in love with Lady Essex and seduced her. The Earl of Essex was about to return home from Ireland to exact, as every one believed, a reckoning from Leicester, when he was suddenly taken ill and died of a severe illness which the doctors suspected to be due to poisoning. — He himself believed that he had been poisoned by the agents of Leicester and said so very candidly to his attendants. The death of a man so beloved, under such circumstances, excited the greatest rage and indignation and was, almost invariably, set down to Leicester’s account. The death of the Earl of Essex was very generally supposed to have been due to his own noble and unsuspicious nature : thus, in an anonymous work entitled Remarks on the Reign of Elizabeth (1712) we find a summary to the following effect : ‘He died of a Flux Sep: 224 a.p. 1576 not without suspicion of poison and was buried at Carmarthen in South Wales. Which Sus- picion was more augmented by the Earl of Leicester’s marrying his widow. Thus it was this Noble Earl’s Virtue and Integrity which HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY 51 opened the way to his Ruin; he was sincere himself and therefore was not suspicious of receiving foul play from others; he thought his own Honesty a sufficient Security against all the ill designs that any man could harbour against him, and by this Means, neglecting his Guard, he laid himself open to the Plots and Contrivances of the Envious, when he was not Apprehensive that he had one Enemy in the World; but too late he found he had many and one who was the Cause of all his Misfortunes, lay in his Bosom, I mean his Wife, whose beauty Leicester admired and married her while her former husband was scarce cold in his grave.’ Here surely we have a very close parallel with © Hamlet,’ the murder of the nobly unsuspicious man by means of poison and the hasty marriage of his widow to the murderer. - More important for our purpose, because strictly contem- porary, is the work entitled Lescester’s Commonwealth. It is anonymous and it cannot be considered as a historical document for it is mainly composed of scandals concerning Leicester, put together without sifting and without examination ; nevertheless, it is very valuable as giving the view of Leicester’s character which was certainly entertained by a large majority of his con- temporaries. His character, as depicted in this work, is almost exactly that of the Claudius of Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’; the unknown author describes Leicester as ‘ cruel, vindictive, expert, potent, subtil, fine and Fox-like.’ He continues : ‘For first, his Lordship had a special Fortune, that when he desired any Woman’s favour then what Person soever standeth in his way hath the luck to die quickly for the finishing of his desire.’ The author describes how Lady Sheffield’s husband died quickly and proceeds : | ‘The like good chance he had in the death of my Lord of Essex and that at a time most fortunate for his purpose: for when he was coming home from Ireland with intent to revenge himself upon my Lord of Leicester for begetting his wife with child in his absence . . . my Lord of Leicester, hearing thereof, wanted not a friend or two to accompany the Deputy .. . so he died by way of an extreme Flux, caused by an Italian receipt (as all his friends are well assured) the maker whereof was a Surgeon (as is believed) that then was newly come to my lord from Italy, a cunning man and sure in operation. *. . . Neither must you marvel though all these died of outward Diseases for this is the excellence of the Italian art who can make a man die in what manner or show of sickness you will. 52 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY ‘,... The case of the Earl of Essex moved me more than all the rest; for that he was a noble gentleman, a great advancer of true Religion, a Patron to many Preachers and Students. ‘... Wherefore in this matter, there is no doubt at all though most extreme, vile and intolerable Indignity, that such a Man should be so openly murthered without punishment.’ The writer accuses Leicester of being as a sensualist no less dreadful and unrestrained : ‘His Concupiscence and his violence do jointly run together. . . . Neither holdeth he any Rule in his Lusts, besides only the Motion and Suggestion of his own Sensuality: Kindred or Affinity or any other Bond of Consanguinity, Religion, Honour or Honesty taketh no place in his outrageous appetite, what he best liketh that he taketh as lawful for the time: So that Kinswoman, Allie; Friend, Wife or Daughter . . . must yield to his desire. ... He is more libidinous than ever, more given to procure love in others by Conjuring, Sorcery and other such means. ... My lord’s nature is bold and violent where it feareth no resistance (as all Cowardly Natures are by kind) and where any Difficulty or Danger appeereth, there more ready to attempt all by Art, Subtilty, Treason and Treachery. ... He is crafty and subtle to deceive and ingenious to wickedness; and as for Valour he hath as much as a Mouse, his Magnanimity is base Sordity, his Liberality rapine, his friendship plain fraud .. . he maketh as much account of a thousand oaths as hens do of cackling . if he will swear on the Bible than is he certainly swearing false . an observer said that in a very short space of time he observed. him to be forsworn sixteen times.’ This is, of course, exactly the character ascribed to Claudius both by the Ghost and by Hamlet. We have the treacherous and cowardly nature which gets rid of noble foes by means of poisoning ; we have the methods of poisoning compared by Hamlet to Italian methods, for the parallel which he shows in the play dealing with Gonzago’s death is an Italian one ; we have the poison so subtle that it simulates natural causes—a snake- bite ; we have the terrible licentiousness which extends itself even to incest ; we have the false oaths and the incessant trickery. We have the wife first seduced and married by the poisoner immediately after her husband’s death. Hamlet complains that his mother remarried within a month of his father’s death (I, ii.) : ‘A little month, or ere those shoes were old With which she follow’d my poor father’s body, Like Niobe, all tears :—why she, even she— HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY 53 O God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourn’d longer.’ The Ghost describes Claudius as being both incestuous and adulterous yet, like Leicester, endowed with wit and complains that this man seduced his wife (I, v.): ‘Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts,— O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power So to seduce !—won to his shameful lust The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen.’ The Ghost describes the treacherous and subtle method by which he was poisoned, a method which simulated a natural death (I, v.): ‘Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forged process of my death Rankly abused.’ Hamlet repeatedly expresses the same view of his uncle’s character (II, ii.) : ‘bloody, bawdy villain ! Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain.’ And again (III, iv.): ‘A murderer and a villain ; A slave that is not twentieth part the tithe Of your precédent lord ; a vice of kings ; A cutpurse of the empire and the rule, _ That from a shelf the precious diadem stole, And put it in his pocket.’ The reputation of Leicester, as we have said, survived his death a long time and the curious anonymous poem called ‘ Leycester’s Ghost,’ published in 1641, repeats the same accusa- tions as in Leicester’s Commonwealth. The poem speaks of his brilliant wit and eloquence, of how he assumed the principal position in the state and ruled it like a king, of the poisoners he employed and of his dissimulation. ‘My braine had wit, my tongue had eloquence Fit to discourse and tell a courtly tale: My presence portly, brave, magnificent, My words imperious, stout, substantiall. 54 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY Lopus and Julio were my chiefe Physitians, © Men that were cunning in the art to kill, Good Scholars, yet of passing ill condition, Such as would rid men’s lives yet no blood spill. I managed all the State, I did Command. This is a maxime which to you I give, Men must dissemble or they cannot live.’ Sir John Hayward! repeats the same testimony ; he said of the Earl of Leicester who was despised by the older nobles as being a parvenu and a new man: ‘ He was the true heir of his father’s hatred against the Nobility and of his Subtilty to dissemble it. And afterwards for Lust and Cruelty the monster of the Court. And as he was apt to hate, so he was a true executioner of his hatred; yet rather by Cunning than by onyen dealing, as wanting rather Courage than Wit. It is suggested that he died . . . by Poison . . . in which he was himself a rare Artist. ‘ He was too well seen in the principles of Nicolas Machiavel the Florcntnre and the politics of Cesar Borgia.’ The supposed Italian origin of Leicester’s vices is noteworthy, giving, as we have already said, an additional reason for the Italian parallel in Hamlet’s play (II, ii): ‘ He poisons him i the garden for’s estate. His name’s Gonzago : the story is extant, and writ in choice Italian ; and you shall see anon how the murderer gets the love of Gonzago’s whe. I turn now to the parallels between the Earl of Essex himself and the character of Hamlet. The second earl, Robert Devereux, the favourite of Elizabeth, was himself a man of most versatile and attractive character ; there must have been something particularly sympathetic about him, for it is very seldom that history gives us cognisance of a monarch’s favourite who was also beloved and ardently beloved by a whole nation, and this was certainly the case with Robert Devereux. During the later years of Elizabeth’s life Essex rivalled and even surpassed Raleigh in the Queen’s personal favour ; but, whereas Raleigh was exceedingly unpopular with the nation as a whole, Essex was very popular and indeed almost adored by 1 Observations on the Reign of Elizabeth, 1712. HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY 55 every class of the people; he was loved by the soldiers, who regarded him as the model of what a soldier ought to be and the greatest captain of his age and who compared him to Cesar and Alexander, and his death to the death of Alexander in youth ; he was adored by the poets, for he was the generous patron of men of letters and himself a poet; he was adored by the dramatists, for he took the greatest interest in their work, attended their rehearsals and found his favourite amusement in the drama; he was also believed to have used the drama for political purposes. Hssex again was the leader of the Puritans ; he was deeply interested in theology and philosophy and a lover of scholars. Most important of all, perhaps, as explaining his almost universal popularity, was the fact that he was the leader of the anti-Spanish party, the party who did not desire a peace with Philip IT; but who believed that the freedom of Europe could not be secured except by the overthrow of Spain. In addition to all this Essex had the charm of great per- sonal beauty, of keen wit and of the most winning courtesy of manner. Essex claimed descent from Edward III; he bore among his titles that of Hereford which had once before (in the person of Henry IV) led to the Crown, and his popularity was such that the Spanish and English State Papers repeatedly allude to the possibility of his becoming heir to the crown. He was accused at his trial of having desired to make himself King of England by the help of Tyrone; the accusation does not appear to have been true ; but he was found guilty and put to death mainly on that part of the indictment. What is absolutely certain is that, during the last years of Elizabeth, he was the person most prominent in the eyes of the nation, occupying a position not unlike that of heir to the crown and, beyond comparison, the most beloved man of his day. He was more even than this. He was the person, above all others, whom the Elizabethans believed to represent most fully the genius of their age, to be a sort of incarnation of Elizabethan England: his high sense of honour, his passion for fame, his courage and contempt for death, his generosity, his versatile talents as soldier, statesman, scholar, wit, poet and patron of the drama, even the growing melancholy of his later years, all combined to make him seem to his own age their ‘ beau ideal’ ; 56 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY again and again they term him the ‘mirror of honour,’ the “model of gentlemen.’ | Not only are there numbers of the most impassioned pane- gyrics which were written upon him during his lifetime; but, even after his death, the most impassioned laments for him were published, anonymously because the authors dared not append their names ; but expressing the utmost sincerity of grief. No event in the whole reign of Elizabeth excited more general sorrow, compassion and dismay than the death of Essex on the scaffold, and the piteous ballad of ‘ Essex’ Last Good Night’ was published in the streets while his body was hardly cold. Nor would the majority of the people ever believe that he was really guilty ; it was known that he had many enemies in the palace, that incessant underhand intrigues had been con- ducted against him by the Cecils and Raleigh, and he was believed to have been entrapped and led to his doom by his own unsus- piciousness and generosity. Essex had always known himself unsuited for a courtier and in his youth was only brought to Court and kept at Court by the commands of Leicester and the Queen ; again and again he desired to retire from Court and to dedicate himself to study ; the real passion of his youth was for scholarship and, as an ardent Protestant, he desired to study Protestant theology ; again and again he requested permission to be allowed to travel abroad or to be allowed to retire to his estate of Lampsie in South Wales. — Anthony Bacon and he himself in his own letters, continually speak of his desire to travel in order to study and also of his desire for retirement. In his youth he hesitated between the profession of a scholar and the profession of arms; the student’s life and the soldier’s life attracted him almost equally, but for the courtier’s life he had no taste. Numerous observers, both English and foreign, speak of the unfitness of Essex for the — Court: he disdained its frivolities, he despised its insincerities and affectations, he was dangerously candid ; he was especially — given to the ridicule and contempt of old Lord Burleigh whom he despised as a dotard. At Court Essex was often melancholy, restless and impatient and longing to escape. His melancholy increased upon him till, during his last years, it combined with the troubles in Ireland and the intrigues against him at Court, to drive him almost to insanity. Hssex’s own letters, during his later years, show the instability which had become the chief HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY 57 fault of his character, the continual vacillations of his will, his conviction that he was surrounded by enemies and his intense and growing weariness of life; the continual comments of observers show that this melancholy, interrupted by bursts of intense and spasmodic energy, frequently suggested insanity. In all this the resemblance to Hamlet is marked and close and it extends even to minute details. The Essex liveries, for instance, were black, and Essex and his followers continually appeared at Court in ‘inky hue’; so attired Essex and his foliowers must have stood out among the brilliant throng as Hamlet stands out at the Court of Denmark. But I proceed to quote some of the more interesting parallels. Essex is described as follows in the poem of ‘ Polyhymnia,’ published in 1590: ‘Young Essex, that thrice honourable earl ; Yclad in mighty arms of mourners’ hue, And plume as black as is the raven’s wing. His staves were such, or of such hue at least As are those banner staves that mourners bear, And all his company in funeral black.’ We may compare this with the black-clad figure of Hamlet at the Court of Denmark (I, ii.) : ‘’Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black.’ In the entertainment given to Elizabeth at Oxford in 1592 we find Latin poems in honour of the different members of her retinue and one of the most enthusiastic is upon Essex: he is praised particularly for his learning and scholarship and as the admirer of learned men, himself more learned than they. With scholarship he combines also the genius of a soldier : * Proximus accubuit reliquis Essexius heros, Nobilis et sapiens, superans juvenilibus annis Qui doctos homines miratur, doctior ipse In bello pugnax, vir strenuus.’ The Earl of Essex’s own entertainment presented to the Queen in 1595 shows him hesitating as between the contemplative lite 58 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY represented. by the hermit, a warlike life represented by the soldier and the statesman’s life. ‘England’s Address to Her Three Daughters ’ by Polemanteia in 1595 is dedicated to the Harl of Essex and praises him in the following terms : ‘ Sing of warres and of learned valour: of Mars’ conquering honor : of the Court’s Loadstarre : of England’s Scipio . . . of Fame’s glorie : of the Muses’ eldest sonne: of Art’s ornament: of Virtue’s miracle : of Religion’s champion .. . of thrice honourable noble Essex .. . he was sometime thy care (noble Cambridge), thou now art become his.’ | Essex himself describes his own temperament in a paper addressed to Anthony Bacon in 1597 and speaks of his love of books and of retirement : ‘First for my affection; in nature it was indifferent to books and arms and was more inflamed with the love of knowledge than with the love of fame; witness my contemplative retirement in Wales, and my bookishness from my childhood: and now if time, reason and experience have taught me to wish that unto myself which is best for myself, what should I not wish rather than martial employ- ment ...in which I have subjected myself ... to all kinds of wants, discontentments of undisciplined and unruly multitudes.’ A very interesting contemporary poem is the one entitled : ‘Honours Fame in Triumph Riding’ or the Life and Death of the Late Honourable Earl of Essex, 1604. : This being written after Essex had died on the scaffold, cannot have been inspired by any motives of flattery and is all the more valuable as showing what his contemporaries really thought of him: ‘Whilst breath gave strength unto his warlike arme He did uphold the pomp of England’s state : He strove to shield his native soyle from harme, And did the pride of proudest foes abate. Even from his youth, till years of riper strength, In vertues schoole, a studious life he spent : His Honor’s thoughts, desir’d and gained at length Minerva’s food, the sweet of his content : Apollo deckt his Muse in silver shrine, And wrapt in gould his goulden thoughts divine ; Honour’s wonder, wisedom’s mirror, In his brave breast lived together. eee Oe Oe eee ~ HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY 59 he deserv’d as much As ever any noble Conqueror did, His Conquering sword was with such mercie led : In field, in court, in peace, in war he stood Inviron’d round about with honor and desart. It’s false to say hee would a King have bin: From faith and honour he made no such digression ; His heart was cleare from such so foule a sin, He always stood for this approved Succession. Dead Earle, amidst bright Angel’s wings, Essex thy heavenly spirit sings.’ The author goes on to dwell upon the personal virtues and | graces of the Earle : | ‘He fetcht no rules from hel borne Machiavel, His learning was divine Philosophy. His person, as his virtues rare, Might Purchase with the world compare. His Wisedome, Learning and his Eloquence, His well grac’t speech and flowing utterance, His quicke conceit and Wisedome’s comprehence | All these rare Gifts his honour did advance, : And made him live the Mirrour of our time ; Beyond whose worth, no worthier step could clime ; God and Nature did consent To make his Substance excellent. He was not proud, but humble, courteous, meeke. . Hor him who did a souldier love His death a souldier’s griefe doth move; His mother England having slaine her sonne The world will say it was unkindly done.’ Among other elegiac poems upon Essex we may quote that of C. Best which also praises his patronage of scholars and soldiers : ‘Schollers and Soldiers both, were to him bound’: and his simplicity : * All his life’s morne he like a Romaine led.’ 1 James I. Von. Vi. E 60 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY There is also the epitaph of Robert Pricket : ‘There sleepes great Essex, dearling of mankinde, Faire Honorslampe, foule Envies pray, Artes fame, Nature’s pride, Vertues bulwarke, lure of minde, Wisdome’s flower, Valour’s tower, Fortune’s shame.’ Now here again we certainly have important parallels with the character of Hamlet. Hamlet also is unwilling to stay at Court ; he is pre-eminently a scholar and he wishes to leave the Court in order to study ; he is compelled to remain by Claudius and the queen, but, though he bows to their wishes, he does so with the greatest reluctance, and his chief friend and confidant throughout the play is the scholar Horatio, who is placed at his side as if to show that Hamlet is lee ee the friend and. patron of learning. Moreover, the study Hamlet desired was obviously that of theology and philosophy, those most congenial to Essex, for Wittenberg is especially mentioned as the place to which he wished to go. The king says to him (I, i): ‘For your intent In going back to school in Wittenberg, It is most retrograde to our desire : And we beseech you, bend you to remain Here in the cheer and comfort of our eye, Our chiefest courtier, cousin and our son.’ We observe that it is Claudius, the murderer of Hamlet’s father, who insists upon Hamlet’s remaining at Court, and it was certainly Leicester, the murderer of Essex’s father, who summoned Essex from his retirement and his studies to the Court of Elizabeth. Hamlet, again, is a soldier as well as a scholar; this aspect of his character has been very little dwelt upon by commentators, but it is implied throughout the play. Ophelia describes him as being possessed of (III, i.): ‘The courtier’s, soldier’s, scholar’s, eye, tongue, sword,’ and it is especially and particularly as a soldier that Fortinbras desires to honour Hamlet in his death (V, ii.) : ‘Let four captains | Bear Hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage ; . and, for his passage, The soldiers’ music and the rites of war Speak loudly for him.’ | | HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY 61 It is equally obvious that Hamlet is unfitted by nature to be a courtier; in the scenes with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ole ii.) and with Osric (V, il.) we are shown unmistakably that ‘Hamlet dislikes and despises the courtier and that his candour ‘cannot endure the courtier’s insincerity. Essex, when angry, was famous for his stinging mockery and so is Hamlet (V, ii.) : Ham. Put your bonnet to his right use; ’tis for the head. Osric. I thank your lordship, it is very hot. Ham. No, believe me, ’tis very cold; the wind is northerly. Osric.. It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed. Ham. But yet methinks it is very sultry and hot for my com- plexion. | Osric. Exxceedingly, my lord, ’tis very sultry. In the same way Hamlet shows his utter unfitness for the courtier’s life by his contempt for Polonius at whom he incessantly gibes. At the same time Hamlet is regarded, just as Hssex was, as the mirror of his age, the man who more than any other sums up its brilliance and its versatility and who was more admired than any other. Ophelia describes him as just such a ‘ beau ideal’ (III, 1.): ‘O, what a noble mind is here o’erthrown ! The expectancy and rose of the fair state, The glass of fashion and the mould of form, The observed of all observers.’ Essex, again, was, as we ane seen, famous for his eloquence and his poetry, and both gifts Shakespeare gives to Hamlet. Essex incurred the queen’s displeasure by his devotion to the drama ; he was certainly on most familiar terms with actors and took interest in their work and, as one of the counts in the | fatal indictment reveals, he was supposed to have made a political | use of the drama; the play involved was Shakespeare’s play of |‘ Richard IT’ ae the company Shakespeare’s company. | Now Hamlet also takes a great interest in actors and their work and makes a political use of the drama and, as has already been pointed out, the company involved does present the most | striking parallels to Shakespeare’s company. | Similarly Hamlet engrosses the centre of the stage and always seems to fill it as Essex, for the minds of his contemporaries, | filled the stage of his generation. | 62 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY More than any other Essex was regarded as the epitome of his age and certainly Hamlet is the most representative and -versatile of all Shakespeare’s characters: in his poetry, in his learning, in his gifts as a soldier, in his eloquence, in his wit and charm, in his courage, in his generosity, in his high sense of honour, in his winning personality, in all these Hamlet and Essex are alike, and they are the Elizabethan age in its quint- essence. It is, however, in the last phase of the life of Essex that the parallels are most interesting and most close. Here again Essex is truly representative of his age; the nation had no longer its old decision ; it hesitated, it was in two minds about its destiny, it was full of vacillations and doubts and the Jacobean melan- choly was already pervading men’s minds. In the character of Essex himself there was a curious duality; there is no doubt that he was very generally recognised as the greatest soldier the age possessed; he had acquitted himself brilliantly in France when he assisted Henry of Navarre and still more brilliantly at Cadiz. His panegyrists were continually extolling him as the Cesar or the Alexander or the Henry V of his age. But Essex also suffered from instability of character; he had, all his life, suffered from fits of depression and melancholy ; in such fits of depression he would give way to brooding, would develop a passion for solitude, would be tempted to despair and he, the successful man of action, would become as if mentally lamed and incapable of decision. Whether Essex’s contemporaries ascribed this peculiar mental instability to the early tragedy of his father’s murder and to the impression that produced upon his mind, I cannot say ; I have come across no evidence which suggests that they did; but the instability itself they had cer- tainly observed and especially they had observed the change ~ produced in him by the unlucky expedition to Ireland in 1599. Before that date his contemporaries saw in him mainly the brilliant and successful man of action and the witty scholar ; after his return they saw in him mainly the man of maimed faculty and lamed will whose melancholy almost approached insanity and who had grown practically incapable of action. Nothing is more certain than that Essex, so far as his contem- poraries were concerned, went into Ireland with the reputation of a Henry V and came out of it with the reputation of a Hamlet. HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY 63 Essex’s own letters show very plainly this development. Even in the times of his greatest prosperity, we find occasional fits of profound melancholy. Thus as early as September, 1591, we find him writing to Sir Robert Cecil: ‘I wish to be out of my prison which I account my life.’ This is exactly the mood of Hamlet when he remarks (II, ii.) : ‘Denmark’s a prison.’ Rosencrantz answers: ‘Then is the world one,’ and Hamlet replies: ‘A goodly one; in which there are many confines, wards and dungeons, Denmark being one o’ the worst.’ Rosencrantz still protests and Hamlet reasserts, ‘to me it is a prison.’ In the same month of the same year we find Essex writing in an exactly similar strain to the queen herself (Sept. 12th, 1591) : ‘T live still to curse my birthday and to long for my grave. . I will not be weary to serve you to my last hour what wrong soever you do to me, Your Majesty’s servant, miserable by his loss and afflicted by your unkindness.’ Again in December, 1596, we find him complaining to Lady Bacon of the incessant intrigues against him at Court which often fill him with weariness of life : ‘I live in a place where I am hourly conspired against and prac- tised upon. What they cannot make the world believe that they persuade themselves unto; and what they cannot make probable to the Queen that give they out to the world. They have almost all the house to serve them as instruments.’ This again is like Hamlet who knows well that he has no sincere friends at Court and against whom Polonius, Rosen- crantz and Guildenstern, Laertes and the rest continually con- spire; Hamlet feels himself incessantly insecure, watched and spied upon and is continually goaded into anger. We see it in the scene with Ophelia when he suspects that she is being used as a decoy (III, i.): ‘ Where’s your father ? Oph. At home, my lord. Ham. Let the doors be shut upon him, that he may play the fool nowhere but in’s own house.’ We see it in the scene of the death of Polonius (III, iv.) where he obviously suspects a murderer behind the arras ; we see it in the scornful sadness of his words (III, ii.) : ‘ They fool me to the 64 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY top of my bent,’ and his suspicions are only too well justified, for every mean trick is, in reality, played upon him ; he is con- ‘tinually watched, his letters to Ophelia are intercepted, Ophelia herself is used as a decoy, Laertes is goaded into quarrelling with him. | Essex was so exasperated by the continual intrigues against him at Court that, even in 1596, we find him repeatedly asking for permission to go away into retirement and study, which the queen would not permit. We find him still aching for the same retirement in 1597 when he writes to her : ‘I had rather retire my sick body and troubled mind into some place of rest, than, living in your presence, to come now to be one of those that look upon you afar off.’ The same restlessness and disgust, the same longing to escape is shown in a letter to the Lord Keeper in 1598 : ‘Now I am become an hermit. ... The indissoluble duty which I owe to her Majesty is only the duty of allegiance which I never will, nor never can, failin. The duty of attendance is no indissoluble duty.’ | 3 In the same year he writes to the Queen : ‘I receive nothing but discomforts and soul’s wounds. ... Let me honestly and zealously end a wearisome life.’ This again is exactly the mood of Hamlet in his soliloquies (I, ui.) when he says: ‘Would that the Everlasting had not fix’d His canon ’gainst self-slaughter! O God! God! How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world!’ Or again (ITI, i.): ‘To die: to sleep ; No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heartache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to, ‘tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish’d. For who would bear the ae and scorns of time, The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay, The insolence of office and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin 2?’ HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY 65 Another letter which shows Essex precisely in the mood of Hamlet is one written to the Queen in 1599: ‘From a mind delighting in sorrow; from spirits wasted with travail, care and grief; from a heart torn in pieces with passion ; from a man that hates himself and all things that keep him alive, what service can your Majesty reap ? ‘... The rebel’s pride and successes must give me means to ransom myself, my soul, I mean, out of this hateful prison, my body.’ Surely it would be impossible to have a greater resemblance to the mood of Hamlet than in this letter, actually written from Ireland. The same mood persists to the end of his life; we find him again writing to the Queen in May, 1600: ‘as.if [ were thrown in a corner like a dead carcase, I am gnawed on and torn by the vilest and lowest creatures upon earth. ‘The prating tavern haunter speaks of me what he lists; already they print me and make me speak to the world, and shortly they will play me in what forms they please upon the stage.’ Here again we have a curious parallel with “ Hamlet’ where Shakespeare shows the dead exposed to the insults of a vile clown who is a tavern-haunter. The letter is also interesting as showing that Essex himself realised that he might be and probably would be represented wpon the stage; if his enemies could represent him upon the stage to show him contumely and scorn, could not Shakespeare represent him to defend him ? A poem sent by Essex to the Queen in 1599 shows the same tendency: it reveals his longing for retirement and oblivion above all other things : ‘Happy he could. finish forth his fate In some unhaunted desert most obscure, _ From all society, from love and hate Of worldly folk; then should he sleep secure.’ Hssex’s contemporaries were full of pity and apprehension for him at this period of his life. Sir John Harrington doubted his sanity ; he wrote: ‘ Ambition thwarted in its career doth speedily lead on to madness ; herein I am strengthened by what I learn of my Lord of Essex, who shytted from sorrow and repentance to rage and rebellion so suddenly as well proveth him devoide of goode reason or ryghte minde. .. . 66 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY His speeches to the Queen become no man who hath “ mens sana in corpore sano.” ... The man’s soul seemeth tossede to and fro like the waves of a troubled sea.’ It is easy to see how this instability of character, this pro- found, tragic melancholy, this suspicion of madness in one formerly the most admired man of his whole generation, it is easy to see how this might have suggested to Shakespeare many of the ideas in his ‘ Hamlet.’ When Essex was dead what his contemporaries mourned in him chiefly was the most distinguished soldier of his day and, as we have seen, it is as soldier that Fortinbras mourns Hamlet (Vion): ‘for his passage, The soldiers’ music and the rites of war Speak loudly for him.’ Also, as has already been pointed out, the words of Horatio over the dying Hamlet are taken from the dying speech of Essex. All this from the very play which was written while Shakespeare and his company were in disgrace because of their participation in the Essex conspiracy ! L. WINSTANLEY. BENEDETTO CROCE’S DOCTRINE OF INTUITION COMPARED WITH MR. BRADLEY’S DOCTRINE OF FEELING BENEDETTO CROCE’s doctrine of Intuition is not merely a corol- lary of his philosophical system but is essential in principle with it. In order to discuss it, it is therefore necessary to give an outline of the system in which intuition has its important and peculiar function. | Croce is fundamentally in accord with the tradition of idealism. _ Reality, he says, is Mind (Lo Spirito) ; there can be no thing ‘in | itself,’ nothing outside experience. The unity of the one Reality which is Mind is not destitute of internal differences; and philosophy, which regards Reality in the most concrete possible way, takes account of these differences. Nevertheless, it seeks to preserve the conception of their ultimate unity. In this philoso- phy is unlike science, of which the classifications may be based merely on fictions created for convenience’ sake—fictions which if ultimately true would destroy the unity of Reality. Philosophic and scientific methods are pre-eminently con- trasted in the philosophy of Mind as compared with the science of Mind, psychology. It is true that the latter has been described as the “ science of individual mind ’ and the former as the science of ‘universal mind.’ But this does not really explain the dif- ference between them, for psychology does not treat of the individual mind as merely individual but as typical of * mind’ in general ; and the philosophy of Mind is concerned with mind not only as universal but in its particular manifestations. The difference of results is due not to difference of object but of method. Science is privileged to abstract from certain aspects of its sub- ject-matter with a view to practical convenience in dealing with it—of the degree of abstraction permissible science itself must be the judge. But philosophy aims at presenting a system of Reality which shall be acceptable however deeply reason may probe ; it proceeds on one assumption and one only—that that which satisfies the demands of reason is true and real. Conse- 67 68 CROCE’S DOCTRINE OF INTUITION quently its results cannot be justified by those of science but only by internal agreement. Psychology, on the other hand, may make particular assumptions, e.g., that there is an opposite of Mind, viz., Body, which does not share its characteristics. These assumptions stand outside the science and are leit un- examined. Ultimate truth must therefore be said to belong to the results of philosophy, rather than to those of science, if differences are found between them, and differences there are, even as to the fundamental characteristics of Mind. The psychological division of Mind customary at least among philosophical psychologists, is into three ultimate faculties— Cognition, Conation, and Feeling. We need not ascribe to a faculty any occult power—it is simply a convenient term for a certain group of mental realities having in common a certain aspect. Cognition is the theoretical or knowing form of mind, and Conation is the practical desiring form of mind—both are alike active. But ‘ Feeling’ is the passive form ; in it the mind does not do but suffers—it is acted upon by other minds or by the non-mental. Croce’s philosophical analysis of Mind does not agree with that of this psychology. He finds no use for the third form of mind, ‘ feeling,’ which is on his view impossible, because all Mind is essentially active ; it is an unfolding or development, a ‘history,’ and has only two forms, the theoretical and the prac- tical, which are grades or ‘moments’ of the development. The function of Feeling so far as it has any at all is performed by these grades of Reality—its presentation as a third form of — Mind is due to a confusion and obscurity in analysis ; and Feeling is found useful as the region of dark beginnings. Whether or not its utility justifies its appearance as a third form in psy- chology, in philosophy Croce finds it has no place. A concrete analysis of experience reveals that in nature experience is an activity, either more theoretical than practical or more practical than theoretical, but never possessing one of these attributes to the utter exclusion of the other. These two grades of Reality may conveniently be subdivided, Theory into esthetic and logic, Practice into economic and ethic, the sciences of intuition, con- ceptual knowledge, individual activity directed towards an end, and individual activity directed towards a rational or universal end. The content of Feeling finds its place among these, the only categories of mind. CROCE’S DOCTRINE OF INTUITION 69 For what is the nature of this supposed third faculty ? In it are comprised those conflicting incipient desires, emotions and primary apprehensions from which will and knowledge develop ; for we do not appear at the outset to possess either fully formed ; and thus we may avoid the difficult problem as to which precedes the other. But Feeling, Croce says, is the substitute employed for the hitherto unrecognised grade of theoretical life which he calls intuition—the object of the science of zsthetic—which has proved so obscure and uncertain. Kant foreshadowed this when he treated esthetic before logic; but he shared the general mistake of supposing that the esthetic feeling of which the object is fine art is something different in kind from this primary esthetic. Croce identifies the two and makes esthetic the first form of knowledge—the intuition of reality which has not yet come to distinguish between reality and unreality. It is not an abstraction but a complete mode of life, having within it the three other modes, but these as merely implicit. Such a mode has a ‘ distinct concept,’ which is con- crete, 7.e., really embodied in the whole of life as one of its aspects (therein different from the so-called concept of, say, a triangle, for the universe cannot be said to have a triangular aspect). It is also universal—this is merely the other side of its concrete- ness ; it is not like the concept of * cat’ which though concrete in a way that ‘triangle’ is not, is merely applicable within a limited region of Reality. In short, the concept of one of the grades or moments of reality is justified not merely by utility but by logical thinking as a necessary form of mind. Every distinct concept is a synthesis of opposites, e.g., beauty, the concept of the intuitive mode, contains within it, and sub- ordinated to it, its opposite, ugliness. But with other ‘ distinct ’ concepts they are not in opposition or exclusion, but are united even in their distinction, for each is a different but in its way an adequate conception of the real. Beauty and Goodness are not negations of each other as are beauty and ugliness, good and evil. Thus Croce points out that the concept of Activity must contain within it its opposite and exclusive concept, passivity, v.€., the real has a negative moment. And as all four grades or moments of reality are each inclusive of all the real, in part explicit and in part obscurely, this negative moment of passivity cannot be excluded from any one of them in so far as it is active 70 CROCE’S DOCTRINE OF INTUITION or real. Thus the negative moment of passivity must be present in intuition, but merely as the reverse side of activity. ‘Feeling,’ however, is said to comprise not only the obscure source of developed life or mind, but also, in its character of passivity, those elements of pleasure and pain which are present in every concrete experience and yet seem to fall neither under the head of theory or of practice, to be neither knowing nor doing, but the mere affection of individual mind by another individual mind or some external body. Yet a little examination makes it impossible to believe that in being pleased or pained mind is really passive. Even if affected by another mind or body, pleasure and pain appear to be not the mere enduring, but the response of the mind to the external influence. The active side is first brought distinctly to light by Croce. It is not theoretical but practical, and it corresponds to the second grade of practical activity, the moral, as intuition does to the second grade of theoretical activity, conceptual knowledge. Pleasure and pain come under the head of economic activity, and are in fact identi- cal with it. This third form of Mind is the activity of the in- dividual directed towards a given end which is not necessarily rational. Nevertheless, economic activity is not immoral but a non-moral, and every moral act is at least economic. It is a state of innocence. Man cannot rest at its level, for it is also a state of incomplete development. He therefore proceeds to the ethical grade, where knowledge is complete and reason holds sway. Pleasure is the positive and pain the negative pole of the economic activity—the one is successful activity, the other. thwarted, the passive element—and they are not mere accom- paniments of this activity but actually identical with it. Thus the content of Feeling is variously transferred to esthetic and economic activity and the necessity for a third form of mind disproved. For it should be shown that such a form cannot be reduced to any other ; it should have at least one peculiar feature ; but the analysis of Mind into practice and theory leaves no residue for a third form. Nevertheless, we can be in no hurry to reject a form of Reality which has seemed necessary to so many thinkers, and it seems profitable to examine more minutely the part played by Feeling in the philosophy of F. H. Bradley, for his conception of it has much in common with Croce’s general doctrine. To begin with, he does not allow that Feeling, or as he sometimes describes it, CROCE’S DOCTRINE OF INTUITION 71 “immediate consciousness,’ is ever merely passive. It is both passive and active, but these attributes are not distinguished from each other as they are at a higher grade. Feeling is the immediate unity at a level below relations (or logical conceptual thinking) of active and passive, self and not-self, mind and body, the individual and the universe. It is the base of all knowledge and all activity. But it is not to be described as knowledge, for knowledge implies the distinction between true and false, or the ‘judgment’ of reality, whereas in feeling all is real. Herein Bradley differs from Croce on a point of terminology, for Croce also says of intuition that it apprehends reality without knowing that it apprehends and is therefore really not appre- hending. Yet he describes it as the first form of knowledge, the “image forming’ activity which is the necessary prelude of conceptual thinking, forming as it does the material of thought out of what we may describe as sensations, the non-existent beginning of things. Bradley also might call the first form knowledge, as the necessary prelude to knowledge, were it not that Feeling for him falls not only under the theoretical aspect, but, while it contains incipient knowledge, it contains also in- cipient will. As for Croce will or the practical is implicit even in the lowest grade of Mind. Nevertheless, he maintains intui- tion to be a purely theoretical form, not a *‘ mixed’ form, so that he differs from Bradley. For the latter, the ideality in Feeling develops into both knowledge and will, and Feeling not only implicitly contains these grades, but, as for most psycholo- gists, it is the sphere of pleasure and pain which we have seen Croce declare to be a grade of practical activity. If Croce is right, and this is the nature of pleasure, then Bradley’s inclusion of it in Feeling would account for the supposed presence of will in the first grade of Mind. But surely, it may be objected, practical activity develops at an earlier stage than is implied by Croce’s view, and it seems more natural to suppose with Bradley, that the germ both of theory and of practice is present in an undeveloped form of Mind for which feeling or Immediacy is as good a description as any we can discover ? Bradley, we may say provisionally, looks at Mind from the standpoint of actual development and analyses it into three stages—teeling, the middle-space of relations wherein will and knowledge have their work, and the Absolute. Yet these stages are not to be understood as successive in time, they are an ideal 72 CROCE’S DOCTRINE OF INTUITION development, but a development none the less. Mind, it seems to the philosopher accounting for the world of knowledge and will which is reality for us, should begin with a state in which will and knowledge are equally present but undistinguished. Such seems the nature of all reality. And _ pleasure-pain, which is difficult to classify, seems to be present in the earliest form of life we know, so we may place it there and even suppose it peculiarly prominent there, and accompanying our more fully developed life of knowing and doing only as immediate con- sciousness. In Bradley’s words, feeling, though transformed, is never transcended. Because we know and act we do not cease to feel. Thus at the second stage, relational conscious- ness, there is always a background of feeling in which the indi- vidual remains one with the universal life—does not distinguish a world of nature from a world of mind, himself from other indi- viduals or the universe. Yet though we keep before us this presence of immediate consciousness at the relational level, we have not yet a scheme of the nature of Reality satisfactory to Reason. ‘To obtain this, the material of which we have already treated has to be regarded in its unity, in such a way that no contradiction is present. This we call the Absolute Reality. It necessarily is real because it only is completely rational. Bradley says of immediate experience that not necessarily but possibly it existed prior to relational consciousness, in the life of the race if not in that of the individual. The Absolute stands in somewhat different relation (‘relation’ here is a metaphor ; there cannot really be a relation—all relations falling within © the middle-space itself) to the ‘ intellectual middle-space,’ from the one in which that stands to immediate consciousness, because whereas they are at least possibly related in time, the Absolute being the only Reality is real eternally and there is no meaning in speaking of it as before or after feeling or relations. We may omit the Absolute then from the scheme of development for it corresponds to Croce’s conception of Reality or Mind, not to one of its grades or moments. The grades in Bradley’s philosophy form a logical scheme like Croce’s. But we miss from his philosophy Croce’s emphasis on the practical side of Mind. The will or practical activity, latent like knowledge in Feeling, is not treated afterwards with the fullness accorded to conceptual knowledge or judgment. But it appears with or logically subsequent to, relational knowledge. For in judgment the real is first distinguished from the unreal, CROCE’S DOCTRINE OF INTUITION 73 and thus is will first made possible. For will is the effort conse- quent upon desire—the longing for the unreal contrasted with the real leads to activity which shall bring about the realisation of the object of desire. The world of knowledge precedes the moral world. Croce like Bradley does not seek to give account of the actual but of the logical development of Reality. Intui- tion like Feeling is complete in itself. It has no need of a higher form and the higher grade of knowledge depends upon it ; whereas actually intuition never does exist without conceptual know- ledge. But Croce’s interest in history and attention to the practical side of mind indirectly has an important effect on the doctrine of Intuition. We have seen that while there are many points in common between his doctrine of intuition and Bradley’s of Feeling, in one important respect, not of function but of con- tent, they differ. Bradley’s Feeling contains pleasure and pain. Perhaps this is due to its apparent primitive existence, and also to its double aspect of activity and passivity. It is both a suffering and a response. Croce, however, assigns pleasure and pain not to a mode which is neither (or both) theoretical and practical, but to the practical mode of activity, and intuition is pleasant only so far as, being a distinct concept, it contains implicitly other modes. This is then a point upon which choice may be made between the two theories. And since there is no necessity to hold that pleasure and pain do actually, as they do logically, develop late, perhaps Croce’s theory may be avopted as the more positive idealism. We have hardly alluded to Croce’s doctrine of art as intuition or expression. Art, he says, is not the most fully developed form of mind, but its base on which it is built. Identifying art with expression, we realise that language also is an intuition, and because conceptual thinking depends upon language, and practical activity on knowledge, intuition is the presupposition of all activity. As we have seen, it is present through all Reality and ali Reality is in it, but it is theoretically capable of standing independently of all other grades of the real. The view of esthetic as expression is an idealist view; if art is expression there is according to Croce no ‘ physical’ beauty in the strict sense ; there is no work of art, for the externalisation of the expression is, Croce says, an indifferent matter. But in this brief comparison of Croce’s doctrine with Bradley’s, there is no need to enter deeply into this view of the nature of art, for Bradley’s doctrine may also be reconciled with it. Feeling, in 74 CROCE’S DOCTRINE OF INTUITION ‘which there is no distinction between the real and the unreal, is quite able to contain the so-called esthetic judgment, in which there is not even an hypothesis to the effect that its object is real, but a mere dropping of the distinction between real and unreal into temporary abeyance. According to the doctrine of ‘degrees of reality’ our so-called ‘real world’ is not the only one; every esthetic world has a degree of reality and does not differ in Mind from the world we dignify with this title. Thus again Bradley’s doctrine seems to foreshadow Croce’s for Croce makes Beauty a ‘ distinct concept,’ a mode of Reality complete in one aspect ; and he insists that that expres- sion which is the work of the highest artistic genius differs only in degree from the crude expression of an ordinary man’s most commonplace speech. But while Croce definitely assigns art to the first grade of the real, it is doubtful whether Bradley ever definitely limited art to the sphere of Feeling or Immediate Consciousness. A shadow that goes before is not the substance and doubtless Croce’s doctrine of art is substantially new. Never- theless, there is nothing in it with which Bradley’s view of feeling is in irreconcilable contradiction. | It seems that on the whole choice must be made between these systems chiefly as we find it reasonable to suppose that first we have knowledge—and then will; or else more satis- factory tc suppose that the orderly world developed from an immediacy in which will and knowledge are both and equaily implicit. Intuition, the image-forming activity, may seem to some to require a rudimentary will just as much as a rudi-. mentary knowledge. Ii knowledge that does not distinguish true from false is knowledge, can will that does not distinguish the desired from the undesired perhaps be will? Can it even be prior to incipient knowledge ? This question cannot well be answered except arbitrarily by Croce’s philosophy. Yet, while he maintains that knowledge gives content to will and know- ledge itself develops its own content, Croce does not fail to point out that ultimately they imply each other—the will is the Will of the thought and the thought isthe Thought of the will. Per- haps in the end choice cannot be made by logical necessity but rather by the weight of esthetic appeal ; in the end it is rather the man that makes the philosopher than the philosopher the man. VALMAI BURDWOOD EVANS. Se 16 DEC 24 NATURAL Cris STORY. | CONTENTS OF PREVIOUS VOLUMES - VoLuMeE I. . The Anglo-Saxon Riddles, by G. A. Wood, M.A. An Analysis of the fatahi characters of Grillparzer’s Dramas contrasted with those of Goetho’s and Schiller’s, by Miss Amy Burgess, M.A. Norman Harthworks near Aberystwyth, by F. S. Wright. A List of Research Punbeasion: ay Members of the College Staff for the Session 1910-11. VoLuME II. The Anglo-Saxon Riddles (continued), by G. A. Wood, M.A. Some Ancient Defensive Earthworks near Aberystwyth, by F. S. Wright. Whitman ». Verhaeren, by P. M. Jones, B.A. ria VortumeE IIT. The Greek Agones, by Professor H. J. Rose. A few Notes on the Familiar Letters of James Howell, by Professor E. Bensly. Fable Literature in Welsh, by Professor T. Gwynn Jones. ‘Trajano Boccalini’s Influence upon English Literature, by Richard Thomas, M.A. VoLumE IV. Pagan Revivalism under the Roman Empire, by Sir William M. Ramsay, F.B.A. The Bronze Age in Wales, by Harold Peake, F.S.A. Dionysiaca, by Professor H. J. Rose. The Clausule of Atschines, by R. A. Pope, M.A. Further Notes on the Familiar Letters of James Howell, by Professor Edward Bensly. Further Notes on “the Owl and the Nightingale,” by Professor J. W. H. Atkins. The Arthurian Empire in the Elizabethan Poets, by Miss L. Winstanley, M.A. A Note on a passage in “ Beowulf,” by G. N, Garmonsway, B.A. Welsh Words from Pembrokeshire, by Professor T. Stanley Roberts. An English Flexional ending in Welsh, by Professor T. H. Parry-Williams. . . (i) Again to express any vector p as a linear function of a, 6, y. toca OIL WEG B 12 THE PRINCIPLES OF QUATERNIONS Assume p = xa + yi + 2y. Operate by 8. fy, then SPyp = way, which determines 2, and similarly for y, z. Thus we find pSaby = aSByp + BSyap + ySaBp . . . (G) This is the linear relation connecting any four vectors. Again to express p as a linear function of Vaf, VBy, Vya. Assume p = «V6y + yVya =zVaf. Operate by S.a, then Sap = «Safy, which determines x. Similarly for y, z. Thus we find pSaBy = SapVBy + ShpVya + SypVaB . . . (H) § 16. The equation : p—a +97, where f may be any number, evidently represents a straight line in the direction /, passing through the extremity of the vector a drawn from the origin. | p=a+fb + gy represents a plane through the extremity of a, parallel to the directions 6 and y. If a is the perpendicular from the origin on this plane, then operating by 8 . a we obtain the equation of the plane in the form Sap = a*, or Sap = constant. Thus, to find the length of the perpendicular from the origin on the plane Sap =a. Let the perpendicular be ha, then - Sap = Sa(ha) = ha*, also = a, therefore h =a/a?, and the perpendicular is (a/a*)a, whose length is — a/Ta. If the straight lines p=a+ffP, p=y + 90 meet then a + ff =y + g6 for special values of f, g, or Gi Ie GO 0: Therefore a — y, f, 6 must all be parallel to one plane, and the condition that the two lines may meet is S(a — y)péd = 0. The equation of a sphere whose centre is the extremity of a and radius r is evidently (p = Oo) i, or p? — 2Sap + a? +r? = 0. Since p = 7x + jy + kz gives Sip = — a, etc., any Cartesian THE PRINCIPLES OF QUATERNIONS 13 equation is transformed into a quaternion form by substituting — Sip, — Sjp, — Skp for x, y, z respectively. § 17. Differentiation. Example——The differential of p? is (p + dp)? — p? = 28pdp, neglecting (dp)?, or U(p2) = 28pdp. Or thus (od — x72 — y” — 27) = — 2(adz + ydy + 2dz) = 28(0a + jy + kz) (ade + jdy + kdz) = 2Spdp.1 dp” __ 2Spdp __ (28pdp oe ' Again de ae ( dp dp = (a scalar) (dp), which depends on the direction of dp. In fact there is no such thing as a differential coefficient with respect to a vector. But we may differentiate with respect to scalars by the usual rules of the Calculus, if we take care to differentiate each factor in situ. Thus, if a, 6, y are functions of a number z, then £ (apy) = iby) + ocey + af Again 3 d(a?) ie d(aaa) _ at OA aa ota ae da a — 2a + oa. da dx aa dx As an illustration consider a moving a Tts vector is p =1« + jy + kz = dit), as a, y, 2 are functions een — 9 or Ot) Hie + yy + kz. This is the velocity. Again, the acceleration is o'(t) =o1e +94 + kz. $18. If we have forces f,, 2, 83, ete., acting at the extremities of vectors starting from the origin qj, a, as, etc., then the resultant force is Xf and the resultant couple is Y'Vaf ; “henee the conditions of equilibrium are 2s == OD AVGio. == (0: 1 Here do, dx, ete., are infinitesimals. Hamilton generally used finite differentials, indicated by the letter D. The analysts who have investi- gated the foundations of the Differential Calculus would have profited by his method, had they been aware of it. As an instance, I work out the differential (finite) of y, where y = «2. Then Dene Dy = Limit n { é + = — a2) = 2eDe. n> © ie } 14 THE PRINCIPLES OF QUATERNIONS © If a particle is moving, the effective force on a particle m at x, y, 2 is mux +574 + kz) = mp, and the moment of this with respect to the origin is mVpp. Hence for a rigid body in motion we have the equations 2p = mo, ZVap = AXmVoo. § 19. The angle ¢ between two vectors a, f is obviously given by the equation sind = TVaf/(TaTf); and if a, 6 are con- secutive so that f =a + da this becomes § 20. The treatment of curves can only be summarised here. The co-ordinates x, y, z of any point on the curve are regarded as functions of s, the length of the arc measured from any fixed point of the curve ; and derivatives with respect to s are indicated by dashes as in Smith’s Solid Geometry. If p is the vector to any point, p = + jy + kz = 9(s), then p’ = ¢'(s) = 12’ + jy’ + kz’, and since ds? = dx* + dy? + dz* or a’? + y’* + 2/2 = 1, we see that ¢’(s) is a unit vector in the direction of the tangent. Differentiating (¢’s)? = — 1, Sé’(s)6"s = 0, so that ¢d’, d” are at right angles. The difference of the unit vectors ¢’(s) and ¢'(s + ds) is ¢’(s)ds, and is in the direction of the principal normal. The angle between these consecutive ba iS jae ($19) by d6 = TV(¢’s) (6’sds)/ + 1 = dsT¢'(s)6"(s) = dsTd"(s - There the principal radius of curvature R is given & Hence also 1 R2 and R¢”(s) is a unit vector in the direction of the principal normal. § 21. The product of the two rectangular unit vectors ¢ (s) (= tv say) and R¢"(s) = (v say) is a unit vector Rd’(s)¢"(s) = 6 say, in the direction of the binormal. The angle di between consecutive binormals is by § 19 and— K (§ 15), dn = TV . V4'(s)$'"(8) V$'(s)$""(s)ds [TV 4" (s)$"s)]2 = R’dsT¢’(s)S0"(s)¢'(s)¢’""(s) ;_ therefore the torsion 1/t or dy/ds = — R°8¢’(s)b"'(s)6'"(s) as — {6's ye ak. a2 — Ye? 4 ee THE PRINCIPLES OF QUATERNIONS 15 The following expressions for the derivatives of t, », 6 follow easily ; they are equivalents of Frenet’s formulae. hE VD Eas) Vi CLO me T ds BR’ ds Cee i ay § 22. Surfaces. ‘The radius vector to any point on a surface is p =ix + 97y + kz, where x, y, z are definite functions of two Gaussian parameters p and gq. Then dp =idx + jdy + kdz is a tangent vector; and = = 3 k = p, Say is evidently a vector in the direction of the tangent line to the curve g = const. Similarly, for p, = Op/dqg. Then Vp,p.(=T say) is a vector in the direction of the normal to the surface. Again, with the notation of Salmon’s surfaces ds* =dx? +dy? +dz? =(adp +a’'dq)? +(bdp +6'dq)? +(cdp +c’dq)?, or ds? = Kdp? + 2Fdpdq + Gdq?. But ds* = — dp* = —(p.dp + p.dq)?, and expanding this Square and comparing with the previous expression, we obtain Hi= — p,*, F = — Spipz, G = — p,?- These results give expressions for the derivatives of H, F, G. For instance OH Ag Op 0p oF _ __ g/&p Ch) 020 Op ap ~~ Sop ape tp ~~ Slap @peq* apt 20) § 23. Again t = Voip, = Vita + jb + kc) (ca’+ 7b’ + ke’), or t=1be —b’c) +... +... =7A 4+9B4+kC with the usual notation. We shall put A? + B? + C? = H?. Then t/H is a unit vector along the normal, and its direction cosines are A/H, B/H, C/H. By algebra EG — F2 = H?. Thus io a, and geet = — Ho Op Op § 24. Expressions for the usual E’, F’, G’ come from ; 024 02y Oe E ep + Bot C- 5» ete 0? 02 0? Th KY’ —S= — elke f —— eu f = — me us Stay F Sat G Sta § 25. Principal Curvatures. Tf o is the vector to any point on the normal to the surface at the extremity of p, then . O =p + jr. 16 THE PRINCIPLES OF QUATERNIONS | This will meet a consecutive normal if 0 =dp + fdr + tdf 0 0 or 0 = pap oda i( Foil? = 4) + cdf. Therefore the three oe co-factors of df, dp, dq are coplanar, or Sx( @ se if =) ( Pe +fe aot If the roots of this quadratic in f are f, and f, then the principal radii are R, = /f,H and R, =/f.H; also noticing that Sip) — Sen — le we find | 1 lee ae Ou sou RR, Hf, H* ap oq § 26. If a surface is transformed in any way the new co- ordinates of any point are functions of the old ones, and therefore also of p and q; and if the transformation is a deformation such that ds in all directions remains unaltered at every point, then EK, F, G and their derivatives with respect to » and q are also unaltered. Thus the celebrated theorem of Gauss on deformation measure of curvature = of surfaces will be proved if we show that oe x can be expressed Op : in terms of HK, F, G, and their derivatives. § 27. Since Step, = 0, Stp, = 0, we have Also by taking derivatives of the previous expressions for EK, F, G we find gip Op, = OR oop O%. 0K tp 0p 0G OF Op op? "Op ep dpog “0g Op Cfo op etog. Also we can easily verify the relation 1 07) = 07K 020 020 _(s Ci) ie 0g? ' Op?) dpag Op? dq? \” Apdg! OT OT Ov OT 28, N es eV § Ow St ap 0 ==) Vj0108 V. 7p 04 CE OT OT OT StS ee, Sy ae Pi aq op g Op Sp oq ge p 0? Gop. @ 20 02 p — (by. S277 on See wg il) “apag Cg oOpeg— Op og THE PRINCIPLES OF QUATERNIONS 17 [We remark in passing that this is F’? — E’G’.] Here we may replace t by Vp,p2 or by pip2, and apply the formula (D) of §15 to each term. Thus (1) becomes Rn O OF one?) eR _ 10h Op cg ~ eq 2 pate guile Abe JE ,0E OF 3% a% sop "eg op — ep? 6g" Ii these determinants are expanded the portion derived from the last constituents of each is by the last formula of § 27 a function of E, F, G and their derivatives ; and the other terms in the expanded determinants are obviously such functions, so that the theorem of Gauss is proved. § 29. If parameters p and g are chosen instead of p and q, then Op Op d Z (3) the rhythm extends over several lines, as in din. IV. 400 ff. ; (4) it fluctuates with the thought, as in An. IV. 309 fi. ; and (5) a chosen word-order is the means to the end, G. IIT. 276 f. (saxa per et scopulos . . . diffugiunt). If we turn to the Greek rhetoricians we find in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, on Literary Composition, the fullest discussion of the effect of dactyls in epic verse. He quotes frequently from Homer in discussing syllables and their qualities, and poetic skill in the choice and combination of words; inc. XVIL., on rhythms or feet, he says that the dactyl is mavu oeuvoc nal EC TO xaAhos Tho EouNvEetac aEtohoywtatoc, “al tO ye Howtxoy pétoov ano tobtov xooueitar dco émi to moddv, and quotes Od. IX. 39, a purely dactylic line narrating Odysseus’ voyage with a favourable wind from Troy to Ismarus; in c. XVIII., on the effect of various rhythms, he compares very unfavourably a passage of Hegesias with Ilad XXII. 395-411, the account of the maltreatment of Hector’s body by Achilles; in c. XX., on appropriateness, he says that the good poet and orator should be muiyuntixds tov Noayudtwy bméo wv dy tos Adyouc éxpEeon and illustrates this by a detailed analysis of the famous Sisyphus- passage in Od. XI. 593-8. sid|[ sd’ ids, Sis. dd ids. 595 dis ds ds dics, ddidis dd. dis'dis did edidijidis : foot ends with end of word that has not occupied whole foot. that has occupied at least one foot. | 99 99 29 99 99 > elision at end of foot. In 593-6, describing the effort to push the stone uphill, Dionysius notes that all the words except oxyoimtopmevoc, Obecxe are disyllables or monosyllables; that long syllables are numerous, and that the concurrence of vowels and juxta- position of semi-vowels or mutes makes rhythms long and gaps between words perceptible. In the second line of the two which describe the swift descent of the stone, there are no monosyllables, | only two disyllables, only seven long syllables, and none of them periect (i.e. closed syllables containing a long vowel), no spondees THE DESCRIPTIVE USE OF DACTYLS 23 except at the end, while some of the dactyls are almost like trochees ; nothing checks the rapid flow of the line. As one line in five in Homer contains five dactyls, it seems clear that the important points in line 598 are its open syllables, short vowels, and above all the four trochaic caesuras. abtic émetta médovde xvdivdeto Adac avaonec. Elsewhere Dionysius remarks on the retarding effect of the concurrence of similar vowels such as those in Jdav dyw WOeoxe, and on the harsh sound of various consonant. combinations. It may further be noted that //. XVII. 265, where the poet ‘wishes by the extension of syllables to represent the ceaseless sound *.of the breakers, is a purely dactylic line ntoves Bodmow Epevyoméevns addc é&&a, and in Od. IX. 415-18, describing the ‘ greatness of anguish of the Cyclops and his hands, slow search for the doors of the cavern,’ we have sid di:7s id's, s[ddidids, s ddd CLS, di ididi ‘si dés: In Norden’s opinion, Dionysius’ statements may be regarded as excerpts from Theophrastus and the literature depending on him. It is difficult to gather much from the extant remains of the earlier literature, though we know that the interest of the Greeks in the study of sounds, words and meanings began early. Writers on rhetoric frequently mention the heroic thythm, but they do not as a rule appear to differentiate between dactyls and spondees, for Cicero, in the Orator § 194, says that EKphorus does not realise that the spondee, which he avoids, is equivalent to the dactyl, which he approves, ‘syllabis enim metiendos pedes, non intervallis existimat,’ and when, in § 191, he refers to Aristotle’s statement that the ‘ heroicus numerus ’ is too lofty for prose, he speaks in the same sentence of ‘ ille dactylicus numerus.’ This statement is made by Aristotle in the Rhetoric IIT. 8. In the Poetics he says that the heroic measure is the most steadfast and weighty of all. Different, I think, from the general use of the term i#jodo¢ is its employ- ment by Demetrius, [Teoi ’Eounveiac § 42, on odrOectg, where, alter discussing the Paeonian as being mseyadoneenis (following 24 THE DESCRIPTIVE USE OF DACTYLS Aristotle), he says the heroic foot is lofty, unsuited for speech, sonor- ous, lacking in rhythm; he quotes four consecutive spondees, and says the abundance of long syllables ixconinte: tov hoyinod uétoov. Demetrius also refers to the Sisyphus-passage (ib. § 72), quoting Jdav dvwm d0ecoxe as an example of the concurrence of long vowels giving an effect of stateliness, and saying that the line acquires length from it and represents the effort of raising the stone. The last line of the passage is quoted by Aristotle (Rhet. ITT. 11) as an instance of Homer’s use of meta- phors ; by the epithet dyaidijc, he says, the poet ascribes activity to the stone. The scholia which reflect a theory similar to that found in Dionysius are collected by G. Rauscher in a dissertation on the Homeric scholia touching on metre. He gives, amongst others which refer to the harshness of the consonants, etc. : Il. I. 530. (xoatés an’ aOavdroww.) péyav Séhéhiéev “Ohvpnov. tH tahyet THY ovshapay tO tayv tho xwiyoewcs OnAoi. fl. IV. 125. Aiv&Ee Bids, vevor) 6€ péyiayev, GAto 6’ Giotdcs tod 6é GAto ovvetuyOn 1) Ag&ic meds TO TayOS THC apéoewc. fl. VIL. 199. ceioato Osivi Oodvm, éAédiEe O& pwaxodv “Odvumov. éhédiée’ Oia tHv Ovo vyowy tov’twrv tiv taystav xai dzmovov xivnow “TA, Kustathius, as quoted by Norden, on Od. XXI. 15: tam 0 &€v Meoonyyn EvuBdaritny addiiouv says that the peaceful movement of pure spondees corresponds to the peace and calm with which the two friends met, and that the fact that verses with five dactyls, e.g. [1. XVI. 776: HEITO mEeyas mEeyadwoti, AEhaopmévos imnoovvaw?, have a very jumpy character was known to the ancients and is taught by metric. Hermogenes, zeoi idem@y II. 409, according to Norden, says that the appropriate pauses, feet and rhythms should always be introduced when the poet wishes to express character or emotional speech. He mentions that there are thirty-two possible forms of the hexameter, and as an example of the influence of pause on rhythm gives jodwy, adtovc dé Eldoia Tevye xvVvéoowW, where there is a pause after jomwv and the following words are to some extent anapaestic. The strongest evidence of there having been in the third THE DESCRIPTIVE USE OF DACTYLS 25 century B.C. a theory that dactyls expressed tayo is its obvious influence on the practice of Ennius. We see that it is only held with many qualifications by Dionysius. What basis, even thus qualified, it has in Greek practice seems doubtful. The Sisyphus-passage is an exception. The Homeric metre with its 60°% of predominantly dactylic lines is the natural pro- duct of the language with its uncontracted vowels and its light inflections. And we expect to find such a variation in the rhythm with change of mood and subject as leads to the slight but definite increase in the number of spondees in Hesiod, and later in Aratus as compared with Apollonius Rhodius and Calli- machus. To prove that Homer’s variations in rhythm are for the most part non-significant is perhaps impossible and at least a formidable task. But I will cite a few examples of normal lines where descriptive rhythm might well be used, and of dactylic and spondaic rhythms that do not represent a corresponding change in the sense. Od. V. 319-326, a man weighed downin the water by heavy clothing : dediiida td, vdis dud: ad, “diz d)|'s. aides ds dusdis, Gack cl @ cls Sse Gd 7s cds: Sadie dea des ds) did |id's: Seo dueds Tdiedis d dd dis, otyjodpuevor O’éudyovto udynv maea vyvoi Bojot, s sd ss. pdddhov dO’ ahdnhove yalunosow éepyéijow, s|dd|dJ][s, dyea pév ido ry nai déSeto iegov rag, d dd dé =°%5. téyoa & GheEdmevor pévopev mhéovdc meg édvtac’ Id. 1b. 74-5: d sd’ dj{d]s év0a dvw viutacs d0o Tt iuata ovveyxés aiel dddid|ds xeiweO” duod xapdtw te xal ddyeo. Ovpov “ovtec Id. 16. 100-104, leaving the land of the Lotus-eaters, Sipsded ods d sdd]ss, czeoyoudvovs mndv émPawéuev duerdov si:sds ds. 9 e > ” b) eo rn Ss sds ds, of Saiw’ eicBawov xal ént xdAnior xabilor, edd ds 26 THE DESCRIPTIVE USE OF DACTYLS © The sad and dignified farewell of Hector to Andromache is quite normal in rhythm. Many of the introductory lines and transition-phrases, that recur so often in Homer, have a dactylic rhythm, e.g. Tiv O amametpomevos Meocepn xoevbaiohoc “Extwo. If we turn to the later writers, the first three lines of Calli- machus’ solemn invocation in his Hymn to Zeus have dedi ds ids ddiddids dd ddids In Apollonius Rhodius we find : Argonautica IV. : 42 ssdsds. (@veémy dyijec) duetais dyoooot avaboedoxortes aotaic . 43 sddsdis, yupvoiow 68 nddecow dvd otewde Oger oiwovs 67 dsdsds._ doxacing d'6yOnow éxnéo0y notauoio. In Theocritus, where I find that of rather over 300 lines examined 63° are predominantly dactylic, the smooth flow of the hexameter seems to be little affected by the subject. Instances are not easy to give, for there is little action or strong feeling to express, but we may note the purely dactylic lines: I. 1. ‘Add te t6 pi0doiucepa xal a aitvs, ainzode, thva introducing a scene of midday heat and rest, and VII. 57. yadxvdvec ctopecetytt tA xbuata tdy te Odhaocay while in the description of the love-frenzy of the Cyclops we have XI. 11. GAa? 6pOaics paviac, Gyeito 6é advta mdoeoya. The deliberate use of particular rhythms for descriptive effect, and in especial that of dactyls to represent tdéyoc, is not a practice of the Greek writers of the dactylic hexameter. But in adopting it Latin writers believed themselves to be following Homer. Their language was a very different medium from the dialect of Ionic Greek used by the Epic writers. The loss of final short vowels in Latin, and the fact that accusative singular and genitive plural forms mean either an elision or a long syllable, greatly increase the proportion of long syllables. In the Aineid, count- ing the first four feet only of each line, that is to say, omitting the recurrent close — v v — yu, which gives the verse its definite THE DESCRIPTIVE USE OF DACTYLS 27 character, 64° of the syllables are long. I have obtained the following results by analysis of a few prose passages. Percentage of long syllables. Cicero, In Catilinam I.cc.1-6 . 64% (69% inc. 4, 61% in c. 5) ang iehilippic, ec. 1, 2: . . 64% De Oratore I. cc. 1-5 . . 62.4% ce. 25-28 . 60-69% Caesar, B.G. I, cc. 14-17. n2 56207, imy IXecc, 1-8. 04975. (G19 amuce 2679/4 im cud) Tacitus, Annals I. cc. 1-6 OS a (O0l/ Gime C= i G00, mic.) Zielinski’s statistics show that the most frequent form of clausula in Cicero’s speeches is — v —:i—v (23:3% of total number). Here 60% of the syllables are long, a proportion very near the average, while in — v —!— uv — (11:1% of total) and — v —:—v—v (10% of total), which come next in frequency of occurrence, the percentage of long syllables is 67% and 57% respectively. I think the comparison is not without interest. Vergil’s language has the same general character as that of the more dignified prose. Just as in prose Cicero’s solemn warning to Catiline and Pontius’ grim reply to the Roman envoys are con- veyed in strongly spondaic passages, while in the account of the terror of the entrapped Romans, runs of short syllables are more frequent, Vergil’s more marked variations from his general rhythm would seem to his hearers appropriate to the expression of marked tones of feeling. Where a writer shows throughout a preference for spondaic rhythms as Catullus does, or for dactyls, such as we see in Ovid, it is not so easy for him to give a meaning to his deviations from his usual rhythm. In _ post-Vergilian prose-writers there is the possibility of Vergilian influence. In dealing with Ennius our difficulty is that so many lines are isolated, and therefore form an untrustworthy basis for classification. Taking the continuous passages preserved we find that the average proportion of dactyls and spondees is nearly the same as in Vergil; but Ennius makes far less use of the “equal” line and far more of the extreme types dddd and ssss, the latter being very frequent. This is due partly to carelessness or lack of skill, 7.e., the lines are non-significant, partly to a straining after effects which Vergil obtains more subtly. In 194 sqq., part of Appius Claudius’ solemn and emphatic speech dissuading the Romans from accepting Pyrrhus’ A.S.—VOL. VII C 28 THE DESCRIPTIVE USE OF DACTYLS offers of peace, of eight lines four have ssss; the others give relief. When we consider the effect of his dactylic lines and try to estimate how many of them are significant, we see that a large part is played by other elements—alliteration, pauses, inter- relation of ictus and word-accent, weight of consonants, and vowel-tone. We find movement clearly expressed in 35 et cita cum tremulis anus attulit artubus lumen agitated haste, with clash of ictus and accent till the fourth foot ; in 92, the bird’s flight and the uprush of the sun : laeua uolauit auis. Simul aureus exoritur sol. in 230, where there is coincidence of ictus and accent throughout, with triple alliteration on p and light consonants, for the rhyth- mical stroke of the oars poste recumbite uestraque pectora pellite tonsis. In 386 labitur uncta carina, uolat super impetus undas. for the swiftly gliding ship, there are very light consonants, and only one clash of ictus and accent; in 478 labitur uncta carina per aequora cana celocis the initial movement is carried on to the end of the line with alliteration and more unaccented a’s. Movement and sound together are represented by dactyls with alliteration in the horseman’s gallop, 439 it eques, et plausu cana concutit ungula terram. tn 310 Africa terribili tremit horrida terra tumultu we have dactyls, very light consonants, the repetition of r, and alliteration with ¢ four times. This is a favourite device, the crudity of which was modified by Vergil ; so 140 at tuba terribili sonitu taratantara dixit, with Vergil’s adaptation A. IX. 508. At tuba terribilem sonitum procul aere canoro increpuit where we may note that sonitus and gemitus in this position in the line occur several other times in the Mneid. The trumpet-signal for war and similar sounds are regularly represented by dactyls, as in 415, 519 sq., 530; but it is worth THE DESCRIPTIVE USE OF DACTYLS 29 noting that we have spondees with clamor, as in 442 and 531, clamor ad caelum uoluendus per aethera vagit. On the other hand, we have dactylic lines without any sug- gestion of movement, etc., such as 52 Te sale nata precor, Venus, et genetrix patris nostri, the beginning of an invocation ; and we may notice the line nec mi aurum posco nec mi pretium dederitis with clash of ictus and accent till the sixth foot, where the dactylic second half merely repeats in a different form the statement made m the spondaic first half. An example of effective contrast is given by the two lines 164 sq. qua Galli furtim noctu summa arcis adorti moenia concubia uigilesque repente cruentant, the stealthy approach and the sudden outburst of slaughter. My general conclusion is that purely dactylic lines are more frequent in Ennius than in Vergil, and are used for effects attained more subtly by the later poet; and that where movement is represented a coincidence of ictus and word-accent, particularly in the second and third feet, suggests steady and rhythmical movement. Skutsch cites 173 quod per amoenam urbem leni fluit agmine flumen, as an instance of the metrical skill sometimes displayed by Ennius, and notes that Saturnian verse tended to produce a marked use of alliteration. Cicero’s fragments show much more restraint in the search for rhythmical effects. While purely spondaic lines (ssssds) are fairly numerous, purely dactylic ones are very rare. The spondaic fourth foot, occurring in four lines out of five, and frequently followed by diaresis, greatly retards the movement of his lines. He tends to begin with a dactyl, often with a dactylic word. In De Cons. Suo. 65 uocibus Allobrogum patribus populoque patebat, the dactyls may represent the sudden disclosure of the plot. 30 THE DESCRIPTIVE USE OF DACTYLS ‘The line, however, does not seem rapid, I think because of the clash of ictus and word-accent in Allobrogum and patribus. In the Prognostica we have uocibus instat et adsiduas iacit ore querelas, a line representing adequately the bird’s repeated cries. In lines containing four dactyls, chiefly of the type ddds, which form 6% of the whole number, it is often possible to see descriptive purpose, and sometimes this is fairly certain. So in De Cons. Suo I. I: Aspice: corripuit tremulis altaria flammis In the version of the Iliad there is the contrast between the long siege of Troy and its final capture 27 +tot nos ad Troiam belli exanclabimus annos, quae decumo cadet, et poena satiabit Achiuos. In the translation of Aratus, 120 sqq., we have flight and terror. Other lines are Aratea 474 sq. Tum pedibus simul et supera ceruice iubata cedit equos fugiens: Prognostica, Fragment IV. 1: Cana fulix itidem fugiens e gurgite ponti but generally speaking Cicero does not appear to have aimed at obtaining descriptive effect by variation of rhythm. Catullus is still more remote from the Ennian tradition. He is strongly spondaic, and 89-5% of his verses, excluding the numerous ozovdeitdCovtec, have a spondaic fourth foot; 63:3% begin with a dactyl. His rhythms are therefore more limited, and the frequent diaeresis after the fourth foot restricts them — further. LXIV. 58 may be meant to represent flight : immemor at iuuenis fugiens pellit uada remis, but descriptive dactyls in Catullus are very rare. Norden notes his use with descriptive purpose of omovderdlortec. With Lucretius, who is slightly more spondaic than Vergil and has a greater preference for the type dsss, we find the influence of Ennius again strong. There are clear instances of descriptive dactyls, but also many where a purely dactylic rhythm appears to be quite fortuitous, as in I. 362: | corporis officiumst quoniam premere omnia deorsum. THE DESCRIPTIVE USE OF DACTYLS 31 Besides swift flight, eg. V. 1338 diffugiebat enim uarium genus omne ferarum, we have such effects as the smooth flow of V. 273 qua uia secta semel liquido pede detulit undas, the speedy coming of summer after spring in V. 740-742, the representation of lightness in V. 500 sq.: et leuiora aliis alia, et liquidissimus aether atque leuissimus aerias super influit auras, of freshness in I. 11: et reserata uiget genitabilis aura Fauoni. Norden notes Lucretius’ lines on the Sisyphus legend, I. 1000-1002, sisss|d|s s|dissid|s d|ssdid]s with the spondees and then the swift descent emphasised by the initial dactylic word. In any study of Latin hexameter verse Vergil must be the most important and most interesting figure, and he has not only shown greater skill than others in his handling of varied rhythms but has to a greater extent employed them for descriptive effect. This is particularly true of the Aineid, where he has followed more artistically the example of Ennius. In the Eclogues where the general movement is lighter accumulated dactyls seem to have less significance. The Georgics are much nearer in rhythm to the Aimed ; but there too, I think, dactyls serve more often merely to vary and lighten the movement. There are, however, a number of lines which are definitely descriptive, such as IV. 373: In mare purpureum uiolentior effluit amnis or III. 201 ille uolat simul arua fuga simul aequora uerrens, of the North wind. This use of dactyls with the repetition of a word is noticeably frequent in the Georgics, as in the famous line IIT. 284 sed fugit interea, fugit inreparabile tempus. 32 THE DESCRIPTIVE USE OF DACTYLS So in IV. 184: Omnibus una quies operum, labor omnibus unus. There is an accumulation of details in I. 444 namque urget ab alto arboribusque satisque Notus pecorique sinister. In IiI. 144: saltibus in uacuis pascunt et plena secundum flumina, muscus ubi et viridissima gramine ripa, we have dactyls in a picture of untroubled calm. Vergil’s technique in the Ainerd has been already so care- fully investigated that little can be said which is not a repetition. While the expression of movement, agitation, sudden noise, lightness, tenderness, a Greek rhythm or an Ennian reminiscence can be seen in a very large proportion, perhaps 80%, of his purely dactylic lines and in many with predominantly dactylic rhythm, there are some which have no such significance, ¢.g., Vil 19 quos hominum ex facie dea saeua potentibus herbis induerat Circe in uoltus ac terga ferarum and many where it is difficult to see anything but a vague general tone, such as the cheerfulness of X. 141: Maeonia generose domo, ubi pinguia culta exercentque uiri Pactolusque inrigat auro. or the hospitality of VIII. 175, 6 Haec ubi dicta, dapes iubet et sublata reponi pocula gramineoque uiros locat ipse sedili. The percentage of dactyls is highest in Book II., then come III, IV. and X. ; itislowestin XII., which is noticeably sombre in tone. Not a few, however, of the predominantly spondaic lines express motion ; to take instances from this book 319. Eece uiro stridens alis adlapsa sagitta est. 430, 1. ille auidus pugnae suras incluserat auro hine atque hinc oditque moras hastamque coruscat. 672, 3. Ecce autem flammas inter tabulata uolutus ad caelum undabat vertex turrimque tenebat. Tender emotion, pathos, compassion and entreaty are fre- quently expressed by dactyls, e.g. THE DESCRIPTIVE USE OF DACTYLS 33 III. 489. O mihi sola mei super Astyanactis imago. Wale 12. ille meum comitatus iter maria omnia mecum atque omnis pelagique minas caelique ferebat. X. 47, incolumem Ascanium liceat superesse nepotem. XI. 593 sq. post ego nub ecaua miserandae corpus et arma inspoliata feram tumulo patriaeque reponam. Several times we find insubstantiality and unreality expressed, as in the fading of the vision II. 791. dicere deseruit, tenuisque recessit in auras. VI. 284. quam sedem somnia uolgo uana tenere ferunt, foliisque sub omnibus haerent. Compare VI. 702 par leuibus uentis uolucrique simillima somno. Strikingly different from its use to describe sudden noises and rapid movement is the employment of dactylic rhythm for stillness and rest. VI. 522. dulcis et alta quies placidaeque simillima morti. So in III. 393, VIII. 27, X. 103. Contrast X. 746. ferreus urget somnus, in aeternum clauduntur lumina noctem. Almost as tranquil, though it expresses motion, is the line describing the voyage of the Greek fleet II. 255. a Tenedo tacitae per amica silentia lunae. So, when with the favour of Heaven Atneas ascends the Tiber, VIII. 86 sqq. 3 Thybris ea fluuium, quam longa est, nocte tumentem leniit, et tacita refluens ita substitit unda. labitur uncta uadis abies, mirantur et undae. uarlisque teguntur arboribus, uiridisque secant placido aequore siluas. It is quite easy to see that these lines are very unlike VIII. 596. quadrupedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campiem, HE 195. astitit imber ; noctem hiememque ferens et inhorruit unda tenebris. XII. 101 sq. his agitur furiis totoque ardentis ab ore scintillae absistunt, oculis micat acribus ignis, 34 THE DESCRIPTIVE USE OF DACTYLS and to point out in the latter the influence of harsher consonants and the clash of ictus and accent on the movement of the verse ; more subtle are the differences between dulcis et alta quies placidaeque simillima morti and IV. 574. soluite uela citi. deus aethere missus ab alto or I. 536. in uada caeca tulit penitusque procacibus Austris, between arboribus, uiridisque secant placido aequore silvas and XII. 748. insequitur, trepidique pedem pede feruidus urget, and between : leniit, et tacita refluens ita substitit unda and X. 346. aduenit, et rigida Dryopum ferit eminus hasta. My consideration of Vergil’s use of dactylic rhythms, and of the foundations on which was built the theory of their function which is tersely expressed by saying that * dactyls show tdyog ,’ leads me to suggest that in Greek the theory is not based on the practice of the writers, that as a matter of fact Dionysius con- siders other elements more important than the mere presence of dactyls, and that while Ennius deliberately uses dactyls to express speed and allied ideas, he is imitated with much res- traint by later writers, and in Vergil, whose normal rhythm is near that of elevated prose, a preponderance of dactyls serves sometimes to give variety, and in its more frequent descriptive use tenderness and tranquillity are often attained as well as swift movement, sudden sounds, brightness, anger and excite- ment. No study of Vergil’s work can fail to increase our admira- — tion alike for his inspiration and for his art ; and that is probably the chief result of this examination. A. WOODWARD. THE DESCRIPTIVE USE OF DACTYLS 35 BOOKS AND ARTICLES TO WHICH REFERENCE IS MADE. Dionysius oF HaLicaRNAssus: On Literary Composition. Ed. W- Rhys Roberts (1910). DroxiscH: Hin statistischer Versuch tiber die Formen des Latein- ischen Hexameters. Berichte uber die Umhandlungen der Kon. Sachs. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig. Band 18 (1866), pp. 75-139. ——— Weitere Untersuchungen tiber die Formen des Hexameters des Vergil, Horaz und Homer. Berichte, etc. Band 20 (1868), pp. 16-55. LEDERER, S.: Ist Vergil der Verfasser von ‘Culex’ und ‘ Ciris’ ? Zugleich ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Hexameters. Leipzig, 1890 (pp. 17 and Tables). Maxa, R.: Lautmalerei und Rhythmus in Vergil’s Aineis. Wiener ; Studien, 1897 (pp. 78-116). Norpen, E.: Aneid VI. (Leipzig, 1903). Anhang VII. Die Malerischen Mittel des Vergilischen Hexa- meters. Anhang IX. Irregularly constructed verse-endings. PostGATE, J. P.: Prosodia Latina, an Introduction to Classical Latin Verse. Oxford, 1923. RAvSCcHER, G.: De Scholiis Homericis ad rem metricam pertinentibus. Dissertationes Philologicae Argentoratenses Selectae XI. 1886. La Rocue#, J.: Zahlenverhaltnisse in Homerischen Vers. Wiener Studien, 1898. —— Untersuchungen tiber den Vers bei Hesiod und in den Homer- ischen Hymnen. 1898. —— Der Hexameter bei Apollonios, Aratos und Kallimachos. 1899. —_— Der Hexameter bei Vergil. 1901. SKkutscH, F.: Article on ‘ Ennius’ in Pauly-Wissowa. WINBOLT, 8S. E.: Latin Hexameter Verse. Methuen, 1903. Mat x igs HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY PART II BEFORE passing on to the relations of Essex with Ireland, I will quote a few additional illustrations from modern writers and from the State Papers which all help to reproduce for us the kind of atmosphere in which Shakespeare wrote his ‘ Hamlet.’ Mr. W. B. Devereux in his Lives of the Earls of Essex gives a great deal of interesting information concerning Elizabeth’s favourite. He dwells on the extraordinary fascination Essex possessed for his contemporaries. “The character of the Earl of Essex,’ he says, “may be judged from his life and letters ; but he must have possessed qualities of the most attractive and endearing nature ... if it be true, as Lord Clarendon tells us, that love for the memory of his father was one of the chief causes which, forty years afterwards, made the last Earl of Essex the most popular nobleman of his time.’ (This reference is, of course, to the great Parliamentary general.) Mr. W. B. Devereux also explains that Essex ‘ was esteemed one of the best poets among the nobility of England, but very few of his poems are extant.’ The author dwells on the close connection existing between the family and Protestantism, the fact that they had always been leaders in the reformed religion and, also, on the fact that Hssex was greatly devoted to study in his youth and had a con- tinual desire for a university life. ‘In 1558 Walter Devereux succeeded his grandfather as Viscount Hereford. . . . The Devereux had been among the earliest of the great families to embrace the reformed religion. Lord Hereford united himself still more closely to the Protestants by his marriage with the daughter of Sir Francis Knollys, who was one of the earliest of the Puritans.’ And again : ‘ Essex pursued his studies at Cambridge with such diligence and 37 38 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY success that few youths of his rank and standing were so distinguished. Soon after leaving Cambridge Essex retired to his house at Lanfrey i in Pembrokeshire and he became so enamoured of the rural life he led that he used to say afterwards that ‘“‘ he could well have bent his mind to a retired course.”’ So obscure a life was not, indeed could not be, his destiny ; but it was not until time and his mother’s earnest and repeated remonstrances had overcome the “ stiff aversa- tion’ he had to appear under the auspices of the Earl of Leicester that he would be drawn to the Court. At length he entered that fatal circle in 1584 . . . and no sooner did he appear there than his ‘“‘ goodly person,” and a kind of urbanity and innate courtesy, com- bined with the recollection of his father’s misfortunes, won him the hearts of the queen and people.’ We observe, once again, how like this is to the opening por- tion of “ Hamlet,’ where Hamlet, feeling the court polluted by his uncle’s presence, desires to retire to his studies and is prevented by the direct appeal of his mother (I. ii): Queen. Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet : I pray thee, stay with us; go not to Wittenberg. Ham. I shall in all my best obey you, madam. Mr. Devereux shows how Essex, even after having entered the ‘ fatal circle ’ of the Court, still retained a longing for study and desired a connection with one or other of the universities : ‘In 1588 Essex, esteemed one of the best poets among the nobility of England, was made Master of Arts at Oxford. ... Essex wished to succeed to the Chancellorship of the University, but the Queen forced them to elect Sir Christopher Hatton . . . instead of University dignities Essex succeeded to the more dangerous honours of a royal favourite, a situation which he was ill-calculated to fill, his open and impetuous disposition, and his chivalrous desire for military distinction, alike disqualifying him for the peaceful intrigues of the Court.’ Mr. W. B. Devereux describes the brilliant success of Essex at Cadiz in 1596, but points out that it was the distinction ob- tained in this way which made him unduly prominent and so ultimately excited jealousy and caused his downfall. ‘ The Earl of Essex, after the Cadiz expedition, touched the pinnacle of his fortunes. His favour with the Queen could not, indeed, be greater than before, but his popular reputation was vastly increased ; herein lay the danger of his position; hence his fall. ... Queen Elizabeth could not bear that the man she had raised to the position of her favourite should be also the idol of the army and of the people ; still less that he should undisguisedly take pleasure in being so.’ HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY 39 Hssex’s danger was increased by the tact that he was, though remotely, of royal blood and was very generally regarded, both abroad and at home, as a possible candidate for the throne. Mr. Devereux points out that Essex was descended from Thomas Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, the sixth son of Edward III. The State Papers continually show an attitude of jealousy towards Essex because of the possibility of his claiming the crown. Thus on September 14, 1592, there is an entry on the subject of the Spaniards : ‘Their chief hope lies in the death of her Majesty. The Spaniard _ gives that as a reason of his lingering in attempting a new assault, because time may call her away whose life makes the attempt three | times more perilous and they confirm their opinion with the certain _ hope of a debate between the two houses of Hereford} and Derby who, they think, will seek the Crown, each one for himself, during _ which contention the Spaniard thinks the entry into England would be without danger.’ In the Venetian Papers we find a letter of November 6, 1599, dealing with Hssex : ‘ He has caused great suspicion on the part of the Queen ; all the _ more on account of the love the people bear him; for his qualities _ have won for him in England exactly the same sort of esteem as the _late Duke of Guise enjoyed in France. All these suspicions in the _ Queen’s mind are fomented and fed by persons of great weight, his foes. We wait to see the result of the decision to be taken about the _ greatest personage in England, the man who has enjoyed more of the Queen’s favour than anyone else.’ A modern French historian, J. M. Dargaud, writing the history _of Elizabeth’s reign, speaks of Essex as being, beyond compari- son, the most attractive man at her Court. Hesays that Essex’s folly is almost inconceivable ; but, even in that folly, there is something which pleases, a dignity which was never possessed by either Leicester or Burleigh. ‘The soul of this valiant and noble young man exhales a perfume which prevents us from stifling in the corrupted atmosphere of Eliza- _beth’s Court. The Earl of Essex really becomes almost insensate, but even his madness attracts us more than the good sense of so many | flatterers and cowards. He is a strange courtier and the worst of | diplomats, but his character, nevertheless, shows a rare magnani- ' mity.... Hssex was of tall stature. His bearing was free, his 1 Devereux. 40 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY . attire somewhat negligent. ... His generosity knew no limits. Next to the glory of arms what he most loved was the eneouragement of letters . . . he distributed his favours as if he were a prince of the blood or a king. ... His costume, except in rare circumstances, was suitable rather for the field of battle or for the chase rather than for the Court. . . . He was very well educated and religious by temperament. He succeeded Leicester as the leader of the Puritans ; but, unlike Leicester, he was sincere.’ ! I turn now to a portion of Essex’s story which I think has also influenced the play of ‘ Hamlet,’ and in a somewhat curious and unexpected way—I mean his experiences in Ireland. The Cecils, in the person first of old Lord Burleigh, and, secondly, in the person of his son Robert Cecil, conducted incessant intrigues against Essex at Court ; they succeeded in alienating the Queen’s favour from him, in setting him at odds with Raleigh (who played a part much like that of Laertes in the drama), but their master- stroke was to involve him in the difficult expedition to Ireland in 1599 from which it was almost impossible that he should extricate himself with honour and which did, indeed, bring about his final ruin and disgrace. Essex was most reluctant to go to Ireland; it had played a most sinister part in his father’s history and he knew only too much about it ; he believed that the task of pacifying the country was almost impossible, that he would not be really supported from home but rather hindered, and that his enemies would seize the opportunity of his absence to ruin him with the Queen. A close examination of the State Papers and the Essex trial does, indeed, reveal the fact that it was mainly the Irish question which brought Essex to destruction. The essential mischief of his position in Ireland appears to- have been that he was much too far in advance of his own age. His father, as we have seen, had been particularly generous in his attitude to the Irish and much beloved by them. Essex succeeded to this understanding and this sympathy; his magnanimity and his generosity made him able to appreciate their point of view in a way possible to hardly any other dis- tinguished Englishman. His great aim was, as his father’s had been before him, to cultivate sympathy between the Irish and the English ; he had a deep affection for them and they for him. Essex had a private meeting with the rebel leader—Tyrone—_ 1 Histoire @ Elizabeth d’ Angleterre. HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY 41 and the two came to a certain agreement which awakens amaze- ment that anybody in the sixteenth century should ever have conceived such terms for Ireland. It is tragic and terrible to think that, if the terms of Essex had been granted, the destruc- tion of Irish nationality might have been averted and three centuries of oppression on the one side and rage and resentment on the other might have been spared to the two countries and to the world. The death of Irish nationality meant the ruin of Essex and the ruin of Essex sealed the fate of Ireland. The Irish State Papers and the Essex trial, between them, reveal one of the most pitiful and mournful tragedies both for a nation and for an individual that the world can ever have seen. Essex had always found his favourite political study in Irish history, and he began his career in Dublin by holding out promises of restitution to the plundered natives. He proclaimed that any of the men of Ireland whose estates had been taken through oppression, or by any form of violence or illegality, shouid have them restored. His terms to Tyrone were of almost unheard-of generosity for that day : they included complete liberty of conscience, an indemnity to all the Confederates and the promise that the judges and officials and half the army in the country should be Irish. They included even the promise of a Roman Catholic University. Hssex’s terms really did not fall far short of the Dominion settlement of to-day. Had they been granted Irish nationality would have been saved and the long and tragic feud between the two countries would have come to an end. But alas ! for Klizabethan England or, at least, for the Queen’s narrow- minded advisers, the generous terms offered by Essex suggested only one thing—and that was high treason. Infinitely less generous than Essex, they could see in his promises to Tyrone only seli-seeking ; he was aiming at making himself King of Ireland with the aid of Tyrone, or, if not that, then he was aiming at making himself King of England with the aid of the Irish army. Klizabeth and her advisers repudiated the terms offered to Tyrone ; the promises made by Essex were not acknowledged as valid and not kept; they were, in connection with his solitary interview with Tyrone, the principal counts against him; the trifling commotion he made at the time of his so-called ‘ conspiracy might have been easily pardoned him. It was the Irish ques- tion which cost him his head. 42 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY Now I think it more than possible that some reference to these affairs is included in the play of ‘ Hamlet.’ Even to-day the Irish poets personify their country as a woman and call her ‘Kathleen Ni’ Houlihan’ or the ‘ Dark Roraleen’; the chief of Ireland’s living poets, Mr. W. B. Yeats, has written a drama on the subject of Kathleen Ni’ Houlihan. In the sixteenth century such personification was far com- moner than it is to-day. Almost every country was so per- sonified and was regularly represented as a hero or heroine in paintings, masques, pageants, etc. The Venetian painters regularly represented their city as a beautiful woman in their frescoes ; in political tracts she was termed ‘our lovely lady of Venice.’ Almost all the pageants for the city of London (for instance, those of Thomas Middleton) represent London as a beautiful woman, termed either London or, more simply, genius loci. Nichols in his Progresses of James I gives an account of the pageants presented for the King on his accession in 1603, and shows among them the ‘ wedding’ of England and Scotland, England being in this case the bridegroom and Scotland the bride ; there is also the wedding of James to England who is represented, in that case, as the King’s bride and the wedding of James to London who also is the King’s * bride.’ Elizabeth, it will be remembered, was particularly fond of representing herself as married to England and said she considered her ‘ coronation ring’ as her wedding ring; it was one of the excuses she offered for taking no other husband. Even in proclamations the same imagery is sometimes used ; thus there is one of Elizabeth’s in 1586 which represents England and the Low Countries as having been man and wife for centuries. Now I certainly think that something of the same sort has quite possibly happened in the play of ‘ Hamlet,’ and that Shakespeare has employed * Ophelia’ as a kind of Kathleen Ni Houlihan, or symbol of the Irish nationality, for his ‘ rose of May’ has certainly all the symbols of Ireland as the Eliza- bethans saw them. The first thing which excites our suspicion in this respect is her amazing name ; Ophelia was just as extraordinary, considered as a woman’s name, as it would be to-day, but it was the Irish name for King’s County, which usually appears in the State Papers in the somewhat corrupted form of ‘ Offally.’ It was the direct cause of Essex’s overthrow, for it was the loss of Ophelia, the fort HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY 43 where his stores were laid up, which caused the breakdown of his Irish campaign; it was also Ophelia which saw the end of Irish nationality. It was Essex’s successor—Mountjoy—who conducted the Irish campaign to a successful conclusion, and it ended with the rebel leaders drowning themselves or being drowned —the exact circumstances are not known—in the bogs of Ophelia, and this happened just about the time ‘ Hamlet’ was written. This really was the event which seemed to many people the end of the national existence of Ireland and so for some three centuries it proved to be. Ophelia is found dead with fantastic garlands of flowers in her hands (iV. vii). _ “ Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies and long purples,’ and this was typical of the Irish as the seventeenth century saw them ; they believed that the unhappy Irish people were reduced to living on herbs and were repeatedly found dead, floating in their bog-waters, with nothing else in their hands. Thus Osborne in his Traditional Memoirs on the Reign of Hlizabeth says that the wild Irish were daily found dead in bogs and woods with grass in their mouths. The State Papers show the same thing; there is a ‘ Report to - Hlizabeth on the Cruelties Practised on the Irish’ in 1498 which states that ‘The land is now so wretched and miserable as the poor souls that | are left have nothing but roots, grass and nettles.’ Ireland is repeatedly said to be insane with its sufferings or _ “distracted * with rebellion. - Thus the Irish State Papers in an _entry for April 19, 1599, state that they give ‘an estimate of the state of Ireland, as it standeth at this present, distracted and broken with these rebellions.’ There is an entry to similar effect on April 29, 1600. ‘ Her Majesty and your Lordships may clearly see how great and _ almost desperate the indisposition of Ireland really is and consequently _ how long and difficult the cure thereof is likely to prove.’ January, 1600, mentions the ‘ killing or drowning of the traitors in Offally or King’s County.’ Hssex, of course, was represented as the lover of this unhappy county and as beloved by the Irish. A:S.—VOL. VII D 44 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY On January 6, 1600, we read that the Irish rebels said of Essex : ‘ He is now in trouble for us, for that he would do no service upon us ; which he never meant to do for he is ours and we are his. Others also said he should be King of Ireland.’ Interesting in this connection are Barnabie Rich’s two pam- phlets : A Short Survey of Ireland, 1609, and A New Description of Lreland, 1610. He had spent forty-seven years in the country and knew it well. He says that the English and Irish have a natural tendency to afiection for each other, and he considers that their difficulties would be soon obviated and they would become one nation by intermarriage, if it were not that this intermarriage is unfairly prevented by interference on both sides. Thus the Pope, whom Rich speaks of contemptuously as the ‘ father ’ of Ireland, forbids the marriage of the Catholic Irish with the English aad is con- tinually spying and interfering : ‘I have likewise so plucked the Vizard from the Pope himself that he might so appear in his own likeness, that neither his fatherly lookes, nor his counterfeit show of gravitie, nor that holie holie holi- nesse, wherwith he hath so long disguised himself, shall be able to deceive any man.’ But the English on their part play into the hands of the Pope by making laws against intermarriage. ‘The English were likewise enjoyned neither to marry, foster nor otherwise combine with the Irish.’ Rich has a great affection for the eit personally, but he pities them for being so ruled by the Pope. ‘[ am censured for writing of a Book to be a malicious enemy to Ireland, the poor Ireland that (God knoweth) is rather to be pitied than spighted.’ And again : ‘Their minds are still poisoned with Popery and what is hee that is not touched with a kind of compassion to see the poor and silly people so seduced and carried away.’ He mentions the faults of the Irish character which arise from this influence and puts deceit and equivocation as the chief among them. The Irish are continually praying, but they think nothing of equivocation ; and again | ‘The Pope avoweth it be a worke meritorious, for any of his HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY 45 Disciples to lie, to flatter, to counterfeit, to dissemble, or to enter into any action, be it never so base, be it never so abject, be it never so servile, yet if they can by any of these means compass a plot . they may do it by prescription, he giveth them Pardons, he giveth them Dispensations.’ ‘For him that is a knowne Papist I would never trust his word.’ Rich, like most Protestant Englishmen, also objected very greatly to the nunneries of the Irish. Again and again Rich sar- castically describes the main feature in Irish religion as being the eating of fish, for they think it MIS COREEIE to fast upon fish three times a week. Now we certainly find curious parallels to all this in ‘ Hamlet.’ Ophelia and Hamlet have a natural affection and partiality for | each other; but they are shut away and exacerbated into antagonism by unwise interference on both sides ; it is certainly Ophelia’s father who takes a main part in that interference and who spies, intercepts letters and hides behind the arras exactly as | the Jesuit emissaries were accustomed to do, and Hamlet also accuses him of being a ‘fishmonger ’ (II. ii). The main fault in Ophelia’s character is certainly her equivo- | cation, and it is this which causes the rupture between herself and Hamlet (III. i). Hamlet comes upon her, apparently intent upon her prayers, _for the words of Polonius distinctly imply this (III. i). ‘ Read on this book ; That show of such an exercise may colour Your loveliness. We are oft to blame in this,— ‘Tis too much proved—that with devotions visage And pious action we do sugar o’er the devil himself.’ So does Hamlet’s greeting when he comes upon Ophelia: ‘ Nymph, in thy orisons Be ali my sins remembered.’ and yet she answers the question ‘ Where’s your father ? _with a deliberate lie: ‘ At home, my lord.’ As usually acted on the stage Hamlet’s sudden change from affection to wrath is shown to be due to some sudden movement of the arras which betrays the presence of a spy and makes him suspect Polonius. The ‘ paintings ’ of which he accuses Ophelia are usually set down as meaningless accusations, due either to _his wrath or his madness, and having no real reference to anything | in Ophelia herself. But ‘ painting ’ and the artifices of the toilet | = | 46 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY “were the most common symbols the whole of the Protestant sixteenth century used in describing the Church of Rome and they are introduced most appropriately here at the moment when Ophelia is shown as colouring over her father’s plot with a show of piety : ‘T have heard of your paintings too, well enough ; God has given you one face, and you make yourselves another: you jig, you amble, and you lisp and nick-name God’s creatures, and make your wanton- ness your ignorance.’ Equally appropriate would be, on such an interpretation, the raging advice to enter a nunnery. Barnabie Rich dwells a good deal on the unusual customs of the Irish: one of these is their habit of sitting on the floor at ceremonies : ‘The manner of their sitting in this great feasting is this : Stooles nor tables they have none ; but a good bundle of Straw strewed about the Floore, they set themselves downe one by another.’ He goes on to speak of the scandals to which such careless customs give rise. This may help to explain a scene which has always puzzled commentators: the play-scene in which Hamlet chooses to seat himself on the floor by Ophelia and to behave in a way which certainly shows immodesty (IIT. i1). The stage directions represent Hamlet as lying down at Ophelia’s feet and he speaks to her afterwards with gross sug- gestiveness. There is really no rational explanation for this scene on any ordinary lines; but, if Shakespeare alludes to Ire- land, then it was simply a notorious Irish custom. Barnabie Rich speaks of Irish religion as being only subser- vience to the Pope, praying and the eating of fish and, when they © throw off this allegiance, they go, as it were, distracted and relapse into complete paganism. He mentions among their pagan customs the strewing around of herbs on May Eve and on Midsummer Eve, and he also mentions the numerous holy wells of Ireland and Dublin and the worshipping of such holy wells as a part of the © people’s religion. Now Ophelia in her madness, does strew herbs around (IV. v): ‘There’s fennel for you and columbines; there’s rue for you; Ay and here’s some for me; we may call it herb grace o’ Sundays.’ “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance.’ As for the worship of wells, part of such worship was by HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY 47 hanging garlands on the branches of trees which grew over them, and it is precisely in the hanging of such a garland that Ophelia meets her death (IV. vii). ‘ There, on the pendent boughs her coronet weeds Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke.’ Other parallels, not found in Rich, are obvious enough. Thus the Irish were always famous for the number of their bards and musicians, as bards, rhymers and professional musicians invariably formed part of the establishment of the chiefs and Norman-—Irish nobles.1 Their songs were naturally, in the sixteenth century, exceed- ingly melancholy, and it was they who did more than any other class to keep alive the spirit of Irish nationality. It was they who sustained it to the very end. Now Shakespeare represents Ophelia as singing snatches of song all the time in her madness (IV. v) and singing even in her death (IV. vii). ‘ Her clothes spread wide : And, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up: Which time, she chanted snatches of old tunes ; As one incapable of her own distress, Or like a creature native and indued Unto that element : but long it would not be Till that her garments, heavy with their drink, Pulld the poor wretch from her melodious lay To muddy death.’ We see here that it is snatches of old tunes which Ophelia _ sings and that she sings to the very last moment of her life, which certainly would be a wonderful and strictly accurate symbol for the dying nationality of Ireland. ; The mention of water as a kind of ‘native element’ of Ophelia’s is also remarkable, for this is exactly the description of Ireland given by nearly every writer in the sixteenth century, that almost half the country is bog and water, or woods which _were almost equally wet. * Prior to the seventeenth century the winter rains converted many __ of the streams into raging torrents, overflowing their erstwhile banks and forming extensive lakes, large bogs and morasses with great _ patches of rushes and long grass. . . . The presence of water in the | y 1 Elizabethan Ireland, G. B. O’Connor. 48 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY large lakes, copious rivers and streams meandering . . . through ex- tensive bogs, was an equally marked feature. ... Bogs and morasses filled up a large part of the country. ... Half the total area was wood, bog, barren mountain land or water.’ ! ‘To the general use of herbs and the tops of nettles, was probably due the belief that the Irish rebels lived on a kind of grass only.’ The State Papers themselves are equally emphatic as to the water and the rain being the native elements of Ireland. Shake- speare expressly gives us to understand that his heroine met her death in boggy water, for he speaks of it as ‘muddy death’ (LV. vii), and it was the typical death of the Irish rebels as the sixteenth century envisaged them, found floating in their bogs or pools with the herbs which were their piteous support, clasped fast in their hands. As I have already said, the Irish leaders perished under Mountjoy, by drowning in the bogs of ‘ Ophelia.’ It is in the grave of the piteous drowned Ophelia that Hamlet also finally commits himself to his fate (V.1i), and the death of the Irish nationality and the fate of Essex were, indeed, insepar- ably entwined. Ireland was proverbially known all over Hurope as ‘the Englishman’s grave.’ 3 When we put all these things together, it is difficult to resist the conclusion that Shakespeare is putting something of the Irish situation into the play of ‘ Hamlet.’ There is the significant name of ‘ Ophelia,’ the loss of which was the cause of the down- fall of Essex and the region where, almost as Shakespeare was writing ‘ Hamlet,’ the drowning of the Irish leaders occurred. There is the fact that the Irish poets still personify their country as a woman and that, in Shakespeare’s time, such per- sonification was so common as to be almost universal. There is the fact that a country in the throes of civil war was almost invariably described as being ‘ distracted’ or ‘ insane’ with its sufferings, as France, for instance, is repeatedly described as insane in Agrippa D’Aubigne’s epic poem of ‘ Les Tragiques.’ There is the further fact that the Irish State Papers themselves repeatedly describe Ireland as ‘ distracted.’ We may add that nearly all the qualities symbolic of the rebellion in Ireland are accumulated together in the character of Ophelia. I do not think that in the character of Hamlet himself Shake- speare is depicting the Earl of Essex or any one individual; a 1 Hlizabethan Ireland, G. B. O’Connor. HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY 49 great part of the play, as I have shown in my book on Hamlet and the Scottish Succession, is probably derived from a study of James I and the affairs of Scotland, but the two subjects were, at that date, inseparably connected together in the public mind. Whatever Essex had or had not aimed at in his ‘so-called ’ conspiracy there can be little doubt that James of Scotland was fully involved in it. Essex himself asserted that the aim of his conspiracy was to avert the danger of a Spanish succession and _ to ensure the Scottish succession, and the friends of Essex asserted. CL ee a that he had died a martyr to the cause of James. That the King himself believed this is exceedingly probable, for his own behaviour suggests it ; upon his accession one of the first things he did was to set Hssex’s fellow-conspirator—the Earl of Southampton—free from the Tower and give him a position of honour near his own person ; he also returned the sequestrated property of the Earl of Essex and restored the family in blood and honour. At the time ‘Hamlet’ was written the memory of Essex was indissolubly united with the hope of James of Scotland as the heir to the Crown. It is my belief that the play of ‘Hamlet’ is very largely composed of just those problems and ideas which chiefly pre- occupied the minds of Shakespeare and his audience at the date at which the play was written. The story of the mother who married with indecent haste the murderer of her husband would fit equally well either James I or Essex, for such a fact was a salient one in the youth of both. The figure of the lonely _ scholar isolated in the midst of a Court which did not under- stand him and which perpetually intrigued against him would | fit either equally well ; so would the devotion to philosophy and Protestant theology ; Essex was the leader of the Puritans in England and James had a passion for theological discussion. So far as melancholy was concerned that also was present both _ in James and in Essex ; so also was the problem of the unstable _ temperament ; James had been a conspicuous example of that all his life and Essex was a still more conspicuous example of it _ daring his later years. There are, however, certain elements in the character which are more appropriate to Essex than to James; the warlike _ valour, the reputation of a soldier, the relation to the players and the intense interest taken in their art, the scorn and con- } _ tempt for courtiers, and at the same time the winning charm | =| | 1 50 HAMLET AND THE ESSEX CONSPIRACY ’ of the personality. No efforts of interpretation have ever yet been able to interpret the character of Hamlet with consistency as that of an individual for, as Mr. J. M. Robertson has conclu- sively shown, different critics arrive at totally different inter- ‘pretations and each one makes his own portrait consistent only by ignoring a number of the data included by the others. I do not believe it possible to interpret the character of Hamlet as an individual unity; the Elizabethans usually drew the type and not the individual, either the national type or the representative type, but not the individual as such. Shakespeare may, quite probably, have intended Hamlet to represent the Elizabethan era as it was in its last years. Essex and Raleigh were the last two of its great representatives and they destroyed each other over the succession question. I have shown in my book how Robert Cecil played off Essex and Raleigh against each other and led them to destroy each other just as Hamlet and Laertes are played off against each other in the tragedy. The Elizabethan age, so glorious in its prime, was ending when ° Hamlet’ was written, ending in disillusion, in division of mind, and in profound melancholy ; it ended also with the destruction of the Irish nationality, and it is this picture of pro- found and tragic gloom which, I believe, Shakespeare has trans- muted for us into the pages of ‘ Hamlet.’ LILIAN WINSTANLEY. SAINTE-BEUVE AND THE ENGLISH PRE-ROMANTICS SaINTE-BEUVE often spoke with great admiration of English poetry, and regretted that he had not time to explore further that enchanting region of which he had only caught a glimpse. In the last year of his life he wrote to a friend, M. Doinel : “Tl ya la la plus riche, la plus douce, la plus saine et la plus neuve littérature poétique: en deux ou trois ans on peut en étre maitre, et alors on a pour toute la vie des trésors de poésie domestique, morale, une poésie d’affection et d’imagination. La correspondance des poetes | recueillie apres leur mort forme aussi une suite de lectures charmantes. . . . Nos poetes francais sont trop vite lus ; ils sont trop légers, trop mélés, trop corrompus le plus souvent, trop pauvres d’idées, méme quand ils ont le talent de la strophe et du vers, pour attacher longtemps et pour occuper un esprit sérieux ’ (Nowvelle Correspondance, p. 352, 1869. See also letters to Roussel, Armstrong and Arnold, Corresp. I, p- 273 ; Corresp. II, p. 44, French Quarterly, September, 1921). | Though not intimately acquainted with his works, Sainte- _ Beuve had a veritable cult for Wordsworth, and second only to him in his affection and esteem were the precursors of the Lake _ poets, Gray, Cowper, and Crabbe. Cowper and Gray, original, melancholy, self-revealing yet restrained, appealed to the psycho- _logist and the classicist in Sainte-Beuve: Crabbe appealed by his uncompromising realism. | When he was writing for the Globe (1824-8) Sainte-Beuve | doubtless was already acquainted with some of Gray’s poems, _ at least in translation ; yet, until 1835, that is after his definite _ separation from Hugo’s school, he does not mention Gray in his critical works. After 1835, references, fairly numerous and _all appreciative, give evidence that he had read not only the _ Latin and English poems of Gray but also his correspondence, _ to which he frequently refers and which he sometimes quotes _ (Portraits Contemporains, vol. 2, p. 236; vol. 3, p. 273; vol. 4, p. 59. Portraits Inttéraires, vol. 2, p. 225. Lundis, vol. 1, p. 446; vol. 2, p. 318). Gray’s poetry interested Sainte-Beuve 51 \ 52 SAINTE-BEUVE AND ENGLISH PRE-ROMANTICS because it revealed a personality, ‘melancholy, delicate and original,’ and charmed by its classical restraint the critic who, towards the end of his life, said of himself : ‘ Je suis resté, malgré tout, de l’école classique, de celle d’ Horace, du chantre de la forét de Windsor, et méme, en n’y mettant plus du tout de passion, je reste obstiné par ce coté de mon esprit et dans ce for intérieur de mon sentiment’ (Nouvelle Corres., p. 235, 1867). He seems, moreover, to have felt a close affinity between himself and Gray, and at times, when he is writing of the English poet, gives the impression that it is his own feelings that he is analysing. One passage in Volupté (pub. 1834) is almost a paraphrase of the stanza of the ‘ Elegy ’ beginning : ‘ Full many a gem... Amaury says : ‘Sur cette bruyere de Couan . . . je m’arréterai devant quelque pierre informe . . . et je prononcerai dessus ces mots: “ Aux grands hommes inconnus!” Oh, oui... aux grands hommes qui n’ont pas brillé, aux amants qui n’ont pas aimé, a cette élite infinie que ne visiterent jamais l’occasion le bonheur et la gloire, aux fleurs des bruyeres, aux perles du fond des mers, a ce que savent d’odeurs in- connues les brises qui passent ’ (p. 151). This passage had evidently made a powerful impression on Sainte-Beuve, for he refers to it again in a later work and quotes Chateaubriand’s translation (Chateaubriand et son groupe Lit- téraire, vol. 1, pp. 140-1, 1849). He draws a parallel between the emotions expressed in it, and those of Chateaubriand himself at the time when he wrote the translation : ‘Quand Chateaubriand, pauvre et luttant a Londres contre le malheur traduisait ou imitait cette élégie, il faisait sans doute un retour sur lui, sur sa propre destinée encore si douteuse. . . .’ Sainte-Beuve, at the beginning of his literary career, probably also found in the elegy the expression of his own discouragement. Years later, looking back on the failure of his poetic ambitions, he wrote with profound understanding of Gray’s dejection during the five years of poetic stagnation which he spent at Cambridge : ‘Je le chercherais plutot dans la stérilité d’un talent poétique si distingué, si rare, mais siavare. Oh, comme je le comprends mieux, dans ce sens 1a, le silence obstiné et boudeur des poétes, arrivés & un certain Age et taris, cette rancune encore aimante envers ce qu’on a tant aimé et qui ne reviendra plus, cette douleur d’une Ame orpheline de poésie et: quine veut’ pas se consoler” (Lundis, XJV, p. 430). SAINTE-BEUVE AND ENGLISH PRE-ROMANTICS | 53 In Sainte-Beuve’s poetical works there is only one poem translated from Gray, “ Eton College.’ Four stanzas appeared in 1836 in an article on Mme. Guizot, and the complete poem was inserted in the edition of the Poésies Completes. Apart from this we find no trace of any influence of Gray on Sainte-Beuve’s poetical works. Judging from his critical articles he knew and understood Cowper’s poetry much more intimately than that of any other English writer, even Wordsworth. As early as 1825, in an article in the Globe (compte rendu of Pichot’s Voyage en Angleterre, 15th December, 1825), he speaks sympathetically of Cowper, comparing him with Rousseau : “Cowper .. . présente d’étonnants rapports avec notre Rousseau, par sa vie malheureuse des l’enfance, par l’Age auquel son talent se révela a lui, par la teinte mélancolique et religieuse de ce talent, enfin par les égarements de son 4me soup¢conneuse et tendre.’ There are, however, no poems translated or imitated from Cowper in either Joseph Delorme or the Consolations, a fact which suggests that, during his period of allegiance to the Romantic school, his interest in Cowper was overshadowed by a greater admiration for Wordsworth and the other Lake poets. Between 1830 and 1834, that interest received a new stimulus; Sainte- Beuve embarked on the study of Port Royal, which formed the subject of his lectures at Lausanne during the session 1837-8. In the Jansenists, of whom he has drawn such a wonderful series of portraits, he recognized men of the same order of mind as the sensitive and puritanical Cowper; he himself makes the comparison and regrets that Port Royal had no such Bee ‘Je me suis quelquefois étonné et j’ai.regretté qu’il n’y ait pas eu a Port Royal ou dans cette postérité qui suivit, un poéte comme William Cowper... . Cowper était, comme Pascal, frappé de terreur & lidée de la vengeance de Dieu; il avait de ces tremblements qu’inspirait M. de Saint-Cyran, et quits ‘si tendrement’ chantés’ (Lundis, X14, p. 177, 1854; see also Nouveaux Lundis, 1, p. 63, 1862). An article written in 1836 pontine a vigorous defence oi Cowper, whom Villemain had dismissed as ‘un esprit singulier et maladif ... . sans puissance sur l’imagination des autres hommes’ (Portraits. Contemporains, 1, p. 391). 54 SAINTE-BEUVE AND ENGLISH PRE-ROMANTICS Sainte-Beuve took up the cudgels, and warmly maintained that Villemain showed bad taste in accepting the popular judg- ment, which preferred Byron to ‘le tendre et profond Cowper, le sublime Wordsworth.’ At this time several of his friends shared his growing enthusiasm for the poetry of Cowper, among them William Hughes, an Englishman who helped him with the difficult passages, Lacaussade the poet, and Mme. Desbordes Valmores daughter Ondine, who had translated some of the Olney hymns (Portraits Cont., II, p. 138). In the articles written between 1838 and 1854 Sainte-Beuve often mentions Cowper. When he discusses a nature poet, Fontanes, Leopardi, Delille, a comparison or contrast with Cowper comes to his mind, and several times he expresses regret that French literature has no such poet : ‘Il nous aurait fallu un Cowper pour fixer dans notre poésie toute cette partie réelle et jolie, vraiment rurale. ... Brizeux y a taché mais il tache trop. ... Le Cowper, jusquici nous a manqué’ (Lundis, VII, p. 77; see also Lundis, VU, 177; X, 242). In 1854, on the occasion of the reprint of Southey’s biography and edition of Cowper, he published four articles, the first entitled ‘ De la poésie de la nature : de la poésie du foyer et de la famille,’ and the other three, ‘ William Cowper, ou de la poésie domestique ’ (Lundis, XI). A note to the last one informs the reader that. this study is ‘ déja ancienne,’ and that the author could have developed it to much greater lengths (p. 189). As they stand, the articles give proof of an intimate first-hand acquaintance with not only the poetical works of Cowper, but also his corre- spondence and his biography. At the beginning of the second article, Sainte-Beuve refers the reader for full details to Southey’s edition (first published in 1836, reprinted in 1854) and to Grim- shawe’s edition (1850). Both these volumes were among his books at his death as well as a London edition (1853), Hayley’s edition of Cowper’s Life and Letters (London, 1835) and the Task. The two last-named contained marginal notes in Sainte-Beuve’s. handwriting (Catalogue des lwres rares et curieux composant la bibliothéque de Sainte-Beuve, Paris, Potier, 1870, Part I, No. 491 bis, Part II, Nos. 262, 263, 778). Of all his criticism of English writers, these articles are the most interesting part, because here he is speaking of a poet whom he knew well enough to be able to form an entirely personal judgment. There is no other English writer whose work he examines in such detail, or of whom SAINTE-BEUVE AND ENGLISH PRE-ROMANTICS 55 he has made so finished and sympathetic a portrait. After giving in the first two articles a short account of the life of Cowper, he proceeds to an analysis of the Task, an examination of the most beautiful passages, a consideration of style and an appreciation of the poet’s qualities, quoting many passages translated from the correspondence, from the Task and from the shorter poems. Some of these translations are from Hughes, some by Lacaussade, one, an Olney hymn (already quoted in an earlier article of Sainte-Beuve), by Ondine Desbordes Valmore ; one is copied from a translation in the Bibliotheque Universelle de Geneve. The name of the translator is generally indicated in a footnote, but where it is not given Sainte-Beuve is presumably himself the author. Most of these passages, which seem to be his favourite ones, are taken from the Task and are examples of that ‘modest and familiar’ poetry mingled with the poetry of nature, which Sainte-Beuve was so desirous of introducing into France. It is the scenes of simple domestic happiness which delight him most. The poems, and still more the corre- spondence, of which he wrote with the greatest admiration, and which he was astonished to find still untranslated into French (p. 139), revealed to him a personality very different from his own and therefore doubly interesting, and provided him with material for the delicate and sympathetic analysis he has made of the mind of Cowper. As in the case of Gray, the restraint of Cowper’s poetry was an added charm to the Sainte-Beuve of - later life, who, while recognising the greater power of the turbulent _ and forceful geniuses, himself preferred the polished and studious writers. | Certain aspects of Cowper’s poetry did not appeal to him: _ while appreciating its tenderness, purity and spontaneity, the moral and religious sentiment with which it is impregnated, he | was sometimes repelled by an excess of austerity and a certain _ declamation which mar even the most beautiful poems: ‘Il a _ Pinconvénient de ressembler plus d’une fois 4 la prédication en vers’ (p. 183). He judges Cowper’s taste to be ‘bold and _ original rather than sure ’ and his choice of images to be at times | a little over-subtle. He cannot enjoy the very English humour of © Gilpin’ : | ‘Il faut voir ces choses dans l’original avec ’humour qui y est _ propre, et étre soi-méme du cri pour les sentir. ... Je n’ai voulu _ que donner idée de ce cété si imprévu pour nous et si anglais du génie | 56 SAINTE-BEUVE AND ENGLISH PRE-ROMANTICS - de Cowper. Reprenons-le par ses cotés sérieux, les seuls par ou nous puissions l’atteindre ’ (p. 173). These, however, are. slight criticisms and insignificant in comparison with the enthusiastic praise which Sainte-Beuve accorded to Cowper, whose qualities he summed up in the follow- ing passage : ‘On saisit mieux dans les lettres les sources véritables de sa poésie, un badinage encore affectueux, une familiarité que ne dédaigne rien de ce qui intéresse . . . mais tout a coté, de l’élévation, ou plutot de la profondeur. N’oublions pas non plus Vironie, la malice, une raillerie fine et douce.’ He concludes the last article with a comparison between Cowper and Pascal, Saint Pierre, and Rousseau, especially the last named, who loved nature with an equal passion, but lacked qualities which gave elevation to Cowper’s poetry : ‘Je pensais . . . a Punion de la famille et du foyer avec celle de la nature. C’est cette union qui manque chez Rousseau, et par toutes sortes de raisons qui font peine a ses admirateurs: ce peintre aux larges et puissantes couleurs vit et habite dans un intérieur souillé’ (p. 195). From time to time, in the articles published after 1854, Sainte-Beuve draws a comparison between Cowper’s poetry and admirable passages of description and sentiment in the authors he studies: a passage from ‘Madame Bovary’ recalls the ‘ Promenade d’hiver a midi ’ from the Task, the poetry of Maurice de Guérin renders as delicately as Cowper’s ‘les joies d’un intérieur pur, la félicité domestique, ce ressouvenir del’Eden. . . .’ (Lundis, XIII, 351, 1857; XV, 24, 1862). In 1862, in an article on ‘Jean Racine et Louis Racine,’ he regrets ‘le poete tendre, © plaintif, Vélégiaque chrétien, le Cowper janséniste qu’on aurait souhaité a Port Royal expirant ’ (Nouveaux Lundis, III, p. 63). The last reference occurs in an article on Madame Desbordes Valmore, published in 1869, the year of Sainte-Beuve’s death. His interest in Crabbe corresponded with his attempt to introduce more realism into his own poetry, at the time when he was writing the ° Pensées d’Aoat,’ which, as M. G. Roth has already shown, bear the profound mark of Crabbe’s influence. (See M. Roth’s article in the French Quarterly of March, 1921, on ‘Sainte-Beuve, Crabbe, et le conte en vers.’) After the publication of ‘ Jocelyn,’ convinced of his powerlessness to rival SAINTE-BEUVE AND ENGLISH PRE-ROMANTICS 57 Lamartine in his own sphere, he sought to bring the poetry of nature and the home to earth again : ‘Or, il m’a semble qu'il était bon peutétre de replacer la poésie domestique familiere et réelle, sur son terrain nu, de la transporter méme sur des collines pierreuses et hors de tous les magnifiques ombrages ’ (Poésies completes, p. 306). He found a model in the verse narratives, the ‘ Parish Register,’ the “ Borough,’ the ‘ Village,’ of which he wrote a eulogy in the article on * Jocelyn ’ (Portraits Contemporains, I, 329, 1836) appreciating Crabbe’s talent for describing sordid life and his fearless representation of stark realities. He admired Crabbe for the very reason for which Hazlitt blamed him, because he chose the subject of the country only ‘ to dispel the illusion, the glory -and the dream which had hovered over it in golden verse from Theocritus to Cowper,’ and to Lamartine. It is true that for a time, this new master overshadowed even Wordsworth ; it is probably true, as M. Roth says, that Sainte-Beuve had actually much more affinity with Crabbe than with the Lake poets, but we are inclined to doubt that he ever considered him to be as great a poet as either Wordsworth or Cowper, or that his admira- tion was as enduring as it was in their case. However it may be, there is only one reference to Crabbe in the critical articles after 1852 ; he continued to regard him as the master realist (Lunds, V, 390, 1852; Corres., I, 170, 1850), but he was too intelligent not to appreciate the higher poetic inspiration of Wordsworth and Cowper. Even at the end of his life, Sainte-Beuve did not read English fluently (Corres., II, p. 358, 1869) ; it is therefore probable that the dialect of Burns offered almost insuperable difficulties, and we are not surprised to find very few references to these poems. Such as there are do not give proof of more than a slight acquaint- ance with the work of Burns. The only poem he mentions is the ° Cottar’s Saturday Night’ (Portraits Littéraires, II, p. 353, _ 1852), which he admires because it is not merely a picturesque description ; ‘ Burns se montre en outre cordial, moral, chrétien _ patriote’ (Portraits Littéraires, II, p. 353). i The catalogue of Sainte-Beuve’s library, published at his _ death, contains the names of the 1829 edition of Crabbe’s poetical _works (Paris, Galignani), the 1835 edition of the Life and Letters of Cowper (ed. Hayley, London, 1835), as well as editions of _ Wordsworth (Galignani, 1828), Coleridge (Galignani, 1828) and | 58 SAINTE-BEUVE AND ENGLISH PRE-ROMANTICS ‘ Southey (Galignani, 1829). As these were published when he was still comparatively unknown in the literary world, we may at least surmise that he bought them, and, if that is so, poor as he was, he must have been very eager to possess them. This fact alone has little significance, but allied with the evidence of his criticism and correspondence, it throws light on the sincerity of his interest in the Lake poets and their precursors. In 1824, when he began writing for the Globe, English literature, and especially recent and contemporary literature, was, it is true, so much the fashion that no young man of any pretensions to literary distinction could be entirely ignorant about it. Sainte- Beuve probably read the articles of his colleagues, and, in the case of many English writers, he may never have gone further than this second-hand information ; but, in the case of Cowper and Crabbe, there is no doubt that, mastering with the help of his friends the difficulties which his incomplete knowledge oi English presented, he attained to a remarkable knowledge and understanding of their works. In later life the strenuous nature of his task compelled him to neglect English poetry, but it was with many a sorrowful backward glance that he turned away from ‘the land of Chanaan.’ | EK. M. PHILLIPS. THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT 1. INTRODUCTION. There are many theories advanced as an explanation of unemployment, each of which is an examination of one or more of the causes of the problem. Thus the explanation of unemploy- ment given as the result of the organisation of the normal economic system. Some emphasise the state of post-war industrial organisation as the source of trouble ; others the world currency and credit situation; still more pronounced is the agreement that the destruction of wealth in all the European countries as the result of the war is a profound cause. Lastly, there is the human or personal factor in the equation, in the opinion of many transcending all other reasons, despite the investigations carried out to prove that those willing to work _ for wages and unable to find any suited to them, far outnumber those work-shys who are content to exist precariously with the help of the insurance funds or by poor relief. 2. CAUSES IN THE NoRMAL ECONOMIC SYSTEM. Under the heading of those causes that are found in the normal economic system, quite distinct from those disturbances in the post-war economic system, are eight chief groups of - maladjustments making for an increase in the rate of unemploy- ment. The distribution of skilled workers among the various industries in each country is purely arbitrary, and this leads to an over-supply in some occupations together with a shortage in _ others—a shortage that cannot be easily made up. For instance, ' the number of skilled moulders is inadequate. This makes the _ output of light castings short of the post-war demand and hence building materials cannot be increased quickly, as it takes time _ to train skilled moulders. The same difficulties arise in the _ building industry itself where we have a shortage of bricklayers _ because of the pre-war drift from the building industry into 1 League of Nations Report on Unemployment, November, 1922. | A.S.—VOL. VII. 59 E 60 THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT others where conditions of work and demand were more stable. There is also the lack of mobility of labour. A family is difficult to move, so inadequate distribution of labour between different localities is a constant cause of unemployment, despite the best labour exchange arrangements for facilitating movement of labour. Again, there is a definite slack season in most trades and occupations each year—a seasonal variation in the demand for labour which causes those people on the fringe of employment to be thrown out of work, especially in those occupations like the dockers which have a large element of casualisation and no adequate staff list at the ports. Accidents will happen in ali industries, and cannot be foreseen, hence unemployment causing a breakdown of industrial activity due to this cause is always occurring. Bad industrial organisation on the part of the entrepreneurs accounts for unemployment in many staple industries—a wrong calculation of the course of price movements, an inadequate supply of raw material or a positive unscientific organisation of the industry. The state of the cotton industry at the beginning of 1924 is a good illustration of this point, when - | the failure to agree on some form of a cotton control board placed | the industry at the mercy of speculators in raw cotton. Under this head again must be placed the frequent chaotic disputes that arise in the mining industry, owing to the wasteful and uneconomic methods of working without unification and without large scale economies that would be possible in each area with a single system of operating and control. Sudden changes in industrial methods mean a falling-off in the demand for some ~ kinds of labour and an increase in those of other kinds. The substitution of oil fuel for coal means that fewer stokers are required on board ships; any new invention that displaces ~ labour in favour of more capital means an immediate shrinkage in the demand for that type of labour, but eventually, of course, may mean a greater demand for the product owing to its cheapen- — ing and so the absorption of the displaced labour. The reorganisation of the tinplate industry from private partnership to that of joint stock control or amalgamation into larger units means a disturbance which inevitably causes a change in certain types of personnel in the industry, though in this particular case owing to the exhausting physical labour involved — and the absence in large measure of new methods of production there was a relative shortage of skilled labour for a short time. CPI. “ * . ae Sia EI aS RN sit nee THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT 61 Speeding up, quicker machinery involving an acceleration in the rate of production, causes the older men to be displaced by younger men at an age when it is too late for them to be trained effectively for some other occupation. Social disturbances even in times of good trade are frequent. There may be a case of some trades on short time when others are booming. A famine in India will affect the Lancashire cotton industry ; a revolution in South America will disturb the balance of certain export trades, while an industrial dispute for a wage to meet the increased cost of living in the transport industries affects numerous other industries. Periodic crises of over-production were frequent causes of disturbances before the war and occurred at regular intervals of from seven to ten years. 3. CAUSES ARISING OUT OF THE POST-WAR ECONOMIC SYSTEM. Among the causes arising from the post-war economic system the first place must be given to the international political and economic situation with its new territories, new countries, a disturbed national temper and readjustments due to the changes in the ownership of natural resources, lines of transport and the loss of capital and wealth as a direct result of the war. European countries have been impoverished ; their powers of production have been seriously impaired ; their control over, and command of, raw materials essential to industrial activity have been changed for the worse; they are impoverished buyers looking into the world shop windows with no cash to buy. Foreign exchanges collapsed and there was no stability in the unit of purchasing power; currencies were so depreciated that it was very unsafe to keep money from day to day owing to the fall in its value ; there was no sanctity in a business contract under such conditions and trading becomes impossible when violent oscillations in prices take place from day to day. The cost of living in all countries moved up rapidly, in nearly all cases without a corresponding increase in purchasing power and _ consequently under-consumption. Changes in demand followed as a direct result of changes in the incomes of the various classes in society. The middle-class of Germany and Russia found it _ impossible to live, while all the professional and fixed income- earning people were reduced to the poverty line. All these disturbances were accompanied by an increase in governmental /interference with industry; in some countries this was not: | 62 THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT carried far enough or on a scientific basis, e.g. in Germany the Government of the Reich was never able to control its industrialists who successfully evaded taxation by their influence in politics and their control of finance and currency depreciation. In our own country it has been pointed out that government control came to an end too suddenly with the resulting chaos in the period following upon its sudden reimposition on credit in April, 1920. In France there has been very little control of any kind, inadequate taxation and an unbalanced budget. This brought an attempt to remedy the situation by military action— control of the Ruhr, with the inevitable corollary of alarms in Europe, the collapse of the franc and industrial chaos in Germany, accompanied by the postponement of the resumption of stable demands in our European and oversea markets. The United States alone seems to have escaped the great evils of the post-war resumption to peace conditions, but even there the year 1921 witnessed a volume of unemployment running into millions. The crisis was, however, safely passed by the careful policy of the United States Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board control of credit and currency, joined of course to the unexampled economic strength of the country. America alone emerged out of the war stronger in all respects almost than when she entered, especially when it is remembered that her credit was against us—a good debt, as contrasted with our credit against the rest _ of the world—a bad debt, the interest on which has not yet been - collected or likely to be received. That there have been radical changes in the post-war economic system is clear to the most superficial observer. Price changes had been on such a scale as to dislocate all methods of organisa- tion, internal levels of prices being in several instances different from the external levels. Credit has been unstable and has oscillated according to change of government and any rumour of a change of policy, while these two have set up or have been accompanied by cyclical fluctuations which have witnessed a misdirection of productive energy and changes in industrial organisation such as the world has not seen since the time of the industrial revolution. In 1925 Great Britain cannot be said to lack factories, railway facilities, ships or labour and management efficiency, yet we have a large proportion of our productive capacity lying unused, and we have over a million unemployed. The chief reason for this THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT 63 state of affairs is the loss of markets on the Continent of Europe and the consequent disorganisation of the international financial and commercial organisation which links all world countries together. ‘Germany and Great Britain have been the principal sufferers as a result of the post-war maladjustment of world trade and finance. This is simply because the commercial and financial organisation of these countries was more highly integrated and more intricately interwoven with the world at large. England’s international economic system developed earlier than Germany’s, but they were very similar. Each had before the war a huge urban population which could sustain itself only through the import of foreign food-stuffs. Each had a large adverse trade balance which was paid for with (1) the income derived from interest on foreign investments, and (2) shipping, banking, insurance and other miscellaneous earnings. In each case before the war there was a net balance available for new investments abroad.’ A glance at the wholesale price index for the post-war years suffices to show the extraordinary variation in the levels of prices in all the countries of the world. The demonetisation of gold and the issue of paper money inconvertible into gold cut off most of the Huropean countries from the gold standard, and hence the unit of measurement throughout the world. Gold ceased to flow into Europe; there was no demand for it except in depreciated paper currency, so it began to flow into the United States because the purchasing power of an ounce of gold in dollar currency was higher than the purchasing power in any other depreciated paper currency in any other country. A variation took place in the standards of value of all countries, and instead of a stable monetary unit of reckoning we have had, since the Armistice, several standards based on the purchasing _ power of the units of reckoning in almost every country. These could be related to one another by means of what is known as the purchasing power parity—a rather unsafe method of equation because of the disturbances set up, as a result of the war, in the equation of exchange of goods between the different countries of the world. It has always been possible to effect an exchange of one country’s currency into that of another country since the _ Armistice, but the purchasing power of each country has varied so considerably in that period from year to year that the foreign ‘Moulton and McGuire, Germany’s Capacity to Pay, p. 241. McGraw- ‘Hill Book Co., New York, 1923. 64 THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT ' exchange rate has been far from stable and its fluctuations extraordinarily wide. : : | It has been impossible again for prices to be stable owing to the variations in credit of the Kuropean countries. After the expenditure of vast sums in the war and the selling of gold for food-stufis and raw materials following upon the war, the credit of most of the European countries was exhausted and they had no means of replenishing it except by loans, which were impossible to effect—Britain and America were the only two countries who could lend. Consequently the reconditioning of industries, the purchasing of raw materials, capital and expenditure on transport and other costs necessary to restart production could not be effected. Even in 1924 it became increasingly clear that nothing could be got from Germany without an international loan to restart her vital industries for export on a large scale before she could begin. paying reparations. Germany must import raw materials on a large scale before she can begin to put herself in a condition to be able to export. Similarly in Russia. It will be necessary to give Russia large credits before she will be able to exchange goods on a large scale for British manufactures. The rates of discount have varied considerably in different countries. When currency depreciation sets in and inflation takes place, the raising of the rate of discount has no influence on borrowing ; in short, the rate can never be raised sufficiently _ quickly or to such a level as to keep pace with currency deprecia- tion. The amount of existing liabilities has therefore affected the state of confidence of all European countries by making it impossible for them to secure new credits to rehabilitate their productive capacity. What is worse, when France secured any balances she used them to lend to her satellite States in the form of useless military expenditure—this has delayed considerably a stabilisation of the credit position, especially in view of the fact that she has paid no interest on her debt to us, while our efforts to meet the service of our debt to the United States have placed a very heavy strain on our financial position to which it ought not to have been subjected so soon after the costs of the war. The extent of the gigantic expansion in currency and credit after the war as compared with pre-war days is seen in the difference between London bankers’ clearance in 1920 (£39,018 million) as compared with 1913 (£16, 436 million), while the weight of imports in ‘the former year was only 444 million tons | THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT 65 as compared with 544 million tons in 1913. The remedies for this state of affairs were outlined by the Bankers’ Brussels Conference of 1920 as first of all peace—and the cessation of the innumerable small wars and threats of war still going on in Europe aiter the Armistice. They advocated all governments living within their means and the restriction of internal credit to that end, economy of expenditure, and currency stabilisation, together with some scheme for export credits to finance foreign trade during the interregnum period. Inflation and inability to balance budgets go together. They advocated, therefore, drastic increases in taxation to remedy budget deficits and to restrict all unnecessary expenditure. It was pointed out further that there was a real scarcity of capital in industry because of government borrowing. Costs of production had gone up as a result of inflation and post-war changes in the hours of labour and conditions of employment. But even the bankers admitted finally that international loans were imperative to enable the impoverished countries of Europe to pull themselves together and once more to enter the circle of exchange. 4, CYCLICAL FLUCTUATIONS. Another group of causes making for unemployment may be summed up under what is known as cyclical fluctuations. In- dustries and employment fluctuated even in pre-war years with a periodicity that was more than sporadic, nay, that was even regular. Some writers have drawn attention to the fact that the variation in the volume and intensity of demand for labour, in the expansion and contraction of certain industries, was fairly regularly observed to fall within a period of from seven to ten years. The heavy industries of iron and steel manufacture, engineering and shipbuilding and the other constructional indus- tries like building and railway development were noted to suffer more severely than the other industries producing consumers’ goods. Since 1860 the intervals of the worst years seem to have been fairly regularly distributed at from seven to ten years : thus 1867, 1877, 1884, 1894, 1901, 1908. The next year of heavy depression should therefore have occurred about 1915, but was obviously deferred because of the war. It has also been noted that harvest variations have close connections with variations in the volume of pig-iron and steel. Jevons’ famous sun-spot theory will be remembered in this connection. From the middle 66 THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT of the nineteenth century a bad world harvest would be followed within two years by a fall in the volume of pig-iron produced. As the world became more inter-related and transport and com- munications became more efficient the interval was shortened, until before the war a bad world harvest, or even the rumour of one, would affect the production of the constructional industries in the same year. Inventions again have a profound effect on the volume of productivity. Some writers noted that in times of depression when costs pressed heavily great efforts were made to devise new methods of cheapening production which fructify in the succeeding boom. Other well-established influences making for cyclical fluctuations are the volume of unused savings that accumulate in times of depression, for which there is no remunerative investment. It is no accident that the proportion of reserves to liabilities in banks moves up in times of depression and falls in times of expansion. This sets up psychological reactions in the business community, and a certain point is reached when optimism prevails and the result is an accession of confidence which reflects itself in briskness, an anticipation of profits from further new investments and the boom is on its way. The integration and aggregation of businesses that have been marked in America and Germany before the war, and to a lesser extent in Great Britain, have also had their influence upon mass movements of industrial expansion and contraction. The trust movement in all countries has not been able to escape the periodic boom and slump, although its power of controlling it, allied as it is with banking and finance, is probably greater than that of the competitive joint stock form of management. It must also be observed that the tariff changes brought about by any country may seriously affect a large industry, as the McKinley Tariff of 1891 practically closed down the South Wales tinplate trade which at that time was largely dependent on the United States market. This industry recovered by finding new markets. But new markets are becoming increasingly difficult to discover, so that in post-war days the loss of our Kuropean market due simply to the impoverishment of its peoples as a direct result of the war has had a permanent effect on the industrial structure and fluctuations of British industry which up to this time (1925) has not been able to find new markets to replace the old. The relation between business cycles and unemployment was THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT 67 investigated by the National Bureau of Economic Research in 1922, U.S.A., and its conclusions are most important. ‘The general conclusion of the Committee is that as slumps are in the main due to wastes, extravagances, speculation, inflation, over- expansion and inefficiency in production, developed in the booms, the strategic point of attack therefore is the reduction of these evils, mainly through the provision of such current economic information as will show the signs of danger and its more general understanding and use by producers, distributors and banks, including more con- structive and safer policies.’ ‘ Although a variety of reasons have been assigned for the upward and downward movement of business which seems to have occurred at intervals in all industrial countries, the general opinion is that influences which cause the business cycle are conditions within business _ itself, and that the most productive results in controlling it are likely to be obtained from a consideration of business rather than from efforts to explore remote considerations.’ ? The general results of the investigation show that the depres- sion of 1921 caused in the United States a diminution of approxi- mately one-sixth in the total volume of employment measured in employee hours. The chief industries to suffer were those of mining, transport and manufacturing of the heavy industry type. It was pointed out that the reduction in the number of hours caused by part-time working was confined to a few fields, and this was of slight importance for industry as a whole. Migra- tion from agriculture to industry was not large and the small employers are stated to have given steadier employment than the larger ones. The remedies suggested by the inquiry are stabilisation of individual enterprises, industries and banking. Various devices are noted as leading to stabilisation during the period of the depression. Among the chief are: manufacturing to stock, increasing the variety of the products and selling on a smaller margin of profit and working the Sales Department harder. Next in importance are the scientific elimination of waste, planning ahead and the standardisation of stock. A large number of individual enterprises adopted the device of manu- "See (edited by Wesley C. Mitchell) Business Cycles and Unemployment, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1923. * For Summary, see International Labour Review, Vol. VIII, No. 3, September, 1923, p. 401. 68 THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT facturing to stock and increasing the variety of their product. Some extended their manufacturing activities during the dull time; others felt the slump less acutely because they stated that they employed only skilled labour and by paying good wages were able to command a better market for a better type of product and so hold their own. ‘There were other illustra- tions of methods of meeting the Se oe by ‘ cutting employ- ment and reducing the pay roll,’ by ‘ hard work and effort,’ by the ‘ curtailment of research in dull time,’ to a ‘ change selling policy, retailer to wholesaler, increasing output and getting cash.’ It is suggested that certain industries can be stabilised by other methods. Thus, building and railways are dealt with. Repairs and renewals at the lower costs prevailing in time of depression should be set in operation. In this way the same men could be used on several jobs. In building especially it was pointed out that house-building should be encouraged by assisting customers to finance building, and for carrying on construction work during the winter by dovetailing occupa- tions. In railway industries the good effect of putting in hand large movements of replacement materials is pointed out, also additions to emule rolling stock and pane way improve- ments. Public employment offices are ee as a ewe. step and out-of-work benefits. Most of the recommendations of the inquiry refer to the betterment of information, of statistical and research services, the control of credit expansion by the banks, the better control by business men of the expansion of their own industries, the control of private and public construction works, the setting-up — of unemployment reserve | ne and the establishment of labour exchanges. : There is nothing new in any of these suggestions as they have been made several times in the past in Great Britain. It seems that finance was regarded as outside the scope of investigation and there is only one chapter on this subject, while the control of credit by the banks and financial devices for controlling credit generally are not exhaustively dealt with. This would have been a most valuable line of research and it is a pity it was not undertaken. _ But it is probable that the machinery already set up under the Federal Reserve Board for the expansion and THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT 69 contraction of credit by the banks may be regarded as a sufficient safeguard in this direction. The individual business man’s needs are emphasised in the inquiry, and particularly important is the necessity of correct information about general business conditions throughout. the country and a knowledge of the future trend of business condi- tions. He must have the basic facts about his industry; he must study industrial problems, and he ought to have not merely facts about his own business but statistics to give him a proper basis of judgment as to general policies. In this connection a knowledge of the general credit situation and the attitude of the banks to the extension of loans is essential. Certain com- modity prices are keys to the situation and a list is given which everyone ought to study: raw wool and woollen textiles ; raw cotton and cotton textiles ; hides and leather ; iron and sige the leading fabricated products, such as structural steel and standard tools; zinc, lead, copper and the leading products of each ; lastly, coal, the raw material of power. ‘ While abstaining from over-estimating the importance of stabilisa- tion of industrial business and of industry generally by planning in advance, the Committee nevertheless considers that the business man can in most cases by foresight, keep his business fundamentally sound, and that “ the cessation and postponement of construction by the Government, railroads, ulate utilities and private owners, in boom periods when prices are high,”’ would go far to prevent undue expansion. It recommends the systematic accumulation of reserves in times of prosperity for use in plant expansion and improvement during the depression. An essential to such plans is that the constructional programme, public or private, be drawn up long in advance of the actual emergency, so that it can be put into, action without delay when the time comes.’ } 7 | This is exactly what was suggested long ago by Professor Pigou in his Unemployment when he advocated the accumulation ot a reserve by the State over a period of years to be set in Operation in times of depression.?: It is interesting to observe in view of British experience that in the United States the use of unemployment reserve funds and employment bureaux is not so favourably considered because of VE LO;, Vol. Vi) No. 3, p- 403. 2 A bill was recently before the House of Commons embodying this principle, ‘brought forward by the Labour Party, but was rejected (May, 1925). | , : 70 THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT ‘administrative difficulties, happily on the road to solution with us, because it is considered that the provision of employment services have no direct and immediate effect upon the business eycle. Of all these theories the most important one is the Monetary Theory of the influence of prices and credit on unemployment. An examination of the course of world wholesale prices and rates of unemployment undertaken by the International Labour Office + has established conclusively that a close correlation exists between unemployment and the level of prices—both in the period of crisis and in the period of recovery. Even a slight rise in prices being followed by a reduction in unemployment and a continued fall in the level of prices being followed by a rise in the number of unemployed. If the level of prices rises violently as the result of inflation then ultimately this has led to a crisis of unemployment ; and when prices are stabilised after this crisis unemployment is bound to be increased, but is followed very quickly by a gradual revival of employment. Then again, it has been observed that when stabilisation of prices follows a long period of falling prices the reduction in the volume of unemployment is very slow ; but when stabilisation of prices takes place after a moderate rise of prices, then the chances are that the rapid improvement in the demand for labour which sets in when prices begin to rise will be continued forward into the period of stabilisation. A world stable level of prices is therefore the essential require- ment of a low volume of unemployment. A managed currency is possible so that the price level will be stable. The experience of the United States in 1921 and 1922 has proved this conclusively. By allowing her level of prices to rise following upon the slump of 1921, and then stabilising at a certain point when her industries were fully employed, she succeeded in turning a slump into a slight boom, and thereafter kept her volume of employment at a high level. We in Great Britain have pursued the opposite policy of steady deflation, and we have paid the price for it in a heavy and long period of unemployment. The return to the gold standard does not mean stability of prices, for gold itself fluctuates in terms of purchasing power. The time, therefore, is coming when an international arrangement between the United States and ourselves will keep world wholesale 1 Report on Unemployment, 1920-3. I.L.O., Geneva, 1924, p. 135. THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT 71 prices steady despite the gold standard. The United States has experienced violent oscillations of prices from 1918-24, although it has been on the gold standard the whole time. A scientific currency and credit policy affecting price movements, based on the observation of index numbers of commodities is possible, whereby the world level of prices could be kept reasonably steady, thus avoiding those catastrophic changes in prices which encourage wasteful speculation and periodic crises. 5. THe PERSONAL Factor. There remains for consideration the personal or human factor in the problem of unemployment. This may be said to be an examination of the supply side of the problem just as the foregoing analysis can be characterised as the demand side. Maladjustments arising out of the demand for labour have their origin deep down in the structure of the industrial system, in industrial fluctuations, while the character of the individual and the labour reserve constitute the problem of the unemployed. ! Though the number of the unemployed is small in normal times relatively to the whole number at work, yet there is always a percentage of unemployment in the best organised trades even at the top of the boom ; there are also large numbers of chronically unemployed workers, casual labourers, in some occupations ; and, lastly, the device of short time means that for considerable periods a large number of people suffer from unemployment without being entered on the returns. It has been estimated that between 25 and 50 per cent. of dock labour is casual. Unemployment is chronic. This does not mean the chronic idleness of a few, nor that the typical applicant is unemployable ; nor does it mean that the reason must be sought for in the increase of population, for it is found in the rapidly growing industries as well as in the decaying ones, while the increasing productivity of labour and its increasing remuneration shows its importance in production. The explana- tion is to be sought in the labour reserve that tends to accumulate in modern industries, “men who within any given period are liable to be called on some time but are not required continuously. ’? The size of this reserve depends on the number of separate 1 ¥or this Section, see F. C. Mills’s, Ph.D., Contemporary Theories of Unemployment and Unemployment Relief, 1917, U.S.A., from which the present writer has drawn valuable material. * Beveridge, Unemployment, p. 102. See also Chapter V, pp. 68. et seq. 72 THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT employers, the irregularity of business and of industry, the extent that chance plays in the ‘hiring of the workers. The number of workers in each labour market tends to equal the maximum number in a given time added to the number at the gate, especially if the terms of the engagement be brief. If the element of chance enters, then matters become complicated and the number is swollen. When competition for employment increases, the wage tends to subsistence level or below it, causing some to withdraw. If great skill is required and if there are strong barriers to admittance into the trade or industry this reasoning is less applicable. In any occupation with a strong element of casual labour the unskilled are liable to ‘ constant and unlimited pressure downwards from every other grade of industry.’ Sir Wm. Beveridge gives three elements in the total reserve for any occupation : the people representing the fluctua- tions in the total volume of work in industry as a whole ; those due to friction in the labour market—out of work ; those attracted and retained by the perpetual chance of work.1_ Every industry has its own reserve, maintained without distress by a high wage level, unemployment insurance or by elasticity of hours. Under- employment and the reduction of earnings quickly demoralise individuals and reduce them below the level of subsistence. Moreover, these people move in and out of the casual occupations where entrance is free, so that there is a close connection between under-employment even in the better trades and casual occupations. The character of the individual suffers under this prolonged | strain ; when he does get wages they are quickly, and sometimes badly ecea: ; women and children are forced into industry to help eke out the scanty wage; they may secure relief from the Guardians, and when this happens there is a danger, of course, of their dropping into the class of unemployables. The Minority Report of the Poor Law Commission accept Beveridge’s view of unemployment and also the conclusion that employment in odd jobs predisposes to pauperism. Because the labour reserve is the result of a variety of causes Beveridge believed that the problem should be tackled as one of business organisation.? This it was proposed to accomplish by the organisation of the labour market through the establishment of labour exchanges, decasualisation and the absorption of the surplus of casual 1 Beveridge, p. 81. 2 Tbid., p. 110. THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT 73 labour, which, by being excluded from chance of work by the enforcement of the policy of concentration involved in decasual- isation would be taken off an over-crowded market and provided for in other ways. ; This view is endorsed by many other experts, also by the Majority and Minority Reports of the Poor Law Commission of 1909 and by Professor Pigou. While it is clear that irregularity of demand cannot be prevented given the industrial system as it is to-day, it is agreed that the separate reserve of labour employed by each employer could be dispensed with and a common reservoir set up in its place. This could be accomplished if the employers were to hire their labour for irregular jobs at the labour exchange. Beveridge himself favoured compulsory powers being obtained to secure this end: “If the thing cannot be done voluntarily, it will have to be done compulsorily. A new clause in the Factory Code, e.g. that no man should be engaged for less than a week or a month unless he were taken from a recognised labour exchange, would be a legitimate and unobjectionable extension of the principle that the State may and must proscribe conditions of employment which are disastrous to the souls and bodies of its citizens.’ 1. To effect this it has been urged that to decasualise dock labour would not be a very difficult task provided employers and employed would co-operate in this direction. No one should be taken on at the port unless his name appears on the register of the dock labour exchange and after consultation with the trade union. In this way there could be built up a dock labour staff, as it were. Ii this be done the time would become appreci- ably nearer for the adoption of a guaranteed week for the men on this labour staff and this might be covered in a variety of ways: by the trade union guaranteeing some quota and the employer and the State contributing their share to the trade union according to some agreed plan. The plan existing at the ports of engaging tippers through the collective contract system of the trade unions, and the payment in bulk for the lot as a whole through the union is a big step in the direction of total decasualisation of this class of labour. What about the surplus—those who cannot be absorbed ? The principle adopted here is that one man well-fed is better ‘Sir Wm. Beveridge, Contemporary Review, April, 1908, p. 392, quoted by F. C. Mills. 74 THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT ' than two on half rations. If inefficient, the person ought to be trained by society on some such lines as those laid down in the Minority Report and helped to find work after this training. If a definite surplus be found, then emigration on a carefully selected basis has been suggested as a partial remedy. Whatever plan be adopted, the advantage of continuing in steady employ- ment those workers left in the industry after a process of decasual- isation is admitted ; while in industries where short time becomes pronounced in periods of bad trade a minimum guaranteed week should be the immediate goal whether secured with, or without, joint insurance by the employers, the State, or on some voluntary basis. There are 600,000 children leaving the elementary schools every year on attaining the age of fourteen. Before it will be possible to tackle the problem of the labour reserve and unemploy- ment on the human side it is absolutely necessary to raise the school-leaving age to sixteen with maintenance and mothers’ pensions ; along with this there must be technical or continuation school training for boys and girls from sixteen to eighteen. If this were done, the vicious system of taking boys into blind alley employments and keeping them until eighteen with the com- parative certainty then of being replaced by another boy would be prevented, while mothers’ pensions would mean the withdrawal of mothers of young children from the labour market. Ali men are not born free or equal. While it is perfectly true that an improvement in the character of workers would not eliminate or affect the industrial causes of unemployment due to maladjustments in industrial fluctuation or changes in structure, yet there is a good deal more in the argument that an individual’s character is going to be determined to a great. extent by his environment, his opportunities and his education. Nurture will not put a brain in an individual and so enable him to become a highly efficient servant of the community. We must have nature and nurture. But, as always, nature is prolific and generous in her gifts, which are sadly wasted by our economic environment. The chances of the unskilled worker’s children becoming skilled are slender ; even the skilled worker is going to find it increasingly difficult to place his children in trades. It has been found by patient investigation that not more than 50 per cent. of the skilled workers’ children can be absorbed in their fathers’ occupations, so this makes the future of the unskilled Fa CR a eR i | { | ; | | | | THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT 75 workers’ children very black indeed. Apprenticeship has broken down. It is no use blinking the fact that the only preserve of the skilled engineer is now the tool shop; practically every machine, even the most complicated, can be operated by what is technically known as an unskilled person, at any rate by a worker who has not served an apprenticeship. The employers are well aware of this fact; the trade unionists who are fair to themselves must realise it too and it would be far better for the future of their members to acknowledge this fact squarely, and instead of insisting on certain rates for classes of workmen, to substitute and insist upon certain prices for working a particu- lar class or type of machine. This policy, side by side with a vigorous prosecution of trade unionism among the unskilled, ‘would lead to better results. There could be attached to it a demand for the human needs of labour—a guaranteed week for all workers irrespective of grades (in short, a differentiation of minimum rates of wages for each group of workers) together with the development of the collective contract idea for a definite job. Personal defects of the worker or mental deficiencies are responsible for work-shys, criminals and vagrants. It is absurd to believe (as many people do who ought to know better) that this is the main problem. All the facts point the other way. | This class of work-shys and vagrants and criminals are the | “wastage of the wage-earning class,’ a reflex influence of periods _ of idleness being responsible for personal deficiencies very frequently. We must not forget the illuminating fact that 50 per cent. of crime directly and 70 per cent. indirectly is due to drink, and that the people who drink most are the ones who cannot afford it, or the people who have so much to spend as not to _ know what to do with it. The total consumption of absolute alcohol in 1922 was 53,500,000 gallons, of which 77-4 per cent. _ was consumed as beer, 18-1 per cent. as spirits, and 4-5 per cent. as wine, cider and perry. A drink bill of £354,000,000 in 1922 takes a lot of explanation when we remember that that year was the worst year of the post-war depression and the standard of life of our people deplorably low. Public-houses flourish _ where poverty is greatest. As you go up in the scale of standard of comfort, of settled incomes, and wages, public-houses become TSee E. Llewellyn Lewis, The Children of the Unskilled (P. S. King & Son, Ltd., 1923). A.S.—VOL. VII F 76 THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT fewer and fewer among places of residence. This is not a coincidence ; it is a social fact of tremendous significance. Men of discontinuous employment drink most ; they are demoralised. They drink to forget the torture of their lives and the hopelessness. We condemn them for spending money on drink. And the paradox can be made that if we gave them more money to spend and a steady income they would drink not more, but less. When high wages oscillate with periods of idleness the descent is rapid; personal weaknesses tend to be accentuated, so that it can be safely stated that under-employment is the most prolific cause of unemployables, and this is due to the system under which men work. The graduation into this class is completed by blind-alley employment, joined with lack of industrial training bringing about demoralisation. ‘There are also those who fall out by the wayside, owing to sickness, accident or old age. Any personal weaknesses then become still worse, so that unemploy- ment and individual failings perpetuate each other, and we have a vicious circle of unemployment being the cause of poverty and poverty partly the cause of unemployment. How can the circle be broken ? Not by a simple panacea, but by a long and careful scientific preparation. Either we are responsible for the social order as we find it or we are not, and ‘it is the stars in their courses ’ that make us go wrong. If we are responsible, and I believe we are, then we can solve the problem, but it will be a long road to travel. Remedies for unemployment due to personal failings can be briefly summarised here.t The Minority Report of 1909 empha- sised the closing of the gap—damming the stream of recruitment from the schools by industrial training or by increasing our machinery to find employment. As a result of this suggestion we have After-Care Committees, Juvenile Advisory Employment Committees, etc. The State should regularise in short the supply of labour and, as far as possible, the demand for it. Compulsory powers of registration at the exchanges and making them the sole market for the buying and selling of labour should be carried through as soon as possible. The next step would be decasualisa- tion, so as to force the incompetent casuals out of industry. It would be possible then to give training or disciplinary treatment to the remainder. It would lead to the marking off of the 1 See Mills’ Contemporary Theories of Unemployment and Unemployment Relief, 1917, Sec. 8. = THE GENERAL THEORIES OF UNEMPLOYMENT 77 unemployables and the work-shys. There are detailed plans as to the methods to be adopted to secure these results. It is unnecessary to go into them here. One pressing problem still to be carried out is the final break-up of the Poor Law and the abolition of the Boards of Guardians on the lines of the Minority Report or on the lines of the Maclean Report. The remarkable post-war revelations of Poplar show the deplorable state of some of our boroughs which are penalised for doing their duty to the poor, vilified with all contempt for grappling with a problem which should be tackled in a national and not in a local spirit. This problem of the relief of the unemployed is a separate problem. We are only concerned here with the causes of unemployment, not the relief of the people who are thrust out of the system of industry. It is not enough to tinker with these: the cause is deep. We must take into our consideration the fact of personal failings, but the trade responsibility for these is greater than is imagined. The prevention of casual labour from arising is the key to the problem. Certain kinds of work under eighteen should be prohibited altogether. A vigorous education policy and the closing of blind-alley occupations go together. The Trade Board System has proved itself a most formidable weapon _for dealing with the unorganised industries as well as with sweating. It is along these lines and on the prosecution of a _ better public health system, and a better social environment, that _we must look to the solution of the problem of the individual failures. The problem of the reserve of labour is therefore an industrial and a social one; the remedies are both economic and political. One approach alone will be insufficient. J. MORGAN REES. i 'Cd. 8917, 1918. The present Government intend to deal with | Valuation and Rating in the present session, 1925. | | | A.S.—VOL. VII Wes iS THE INTENTION OF PEELE’S ‘OLD WIVES’ TALE ’ I. GEORGE PEELE’S drama, The Old Wives’ Tale, first published in 1595 and acted by the Queen’s Majesty’s Players probably about 1590,? is interesting for many reasons. It is an early example of the © play within the play,’ and its cleverly conceived induction shows an interest in that rustic realism that had invaded the drama, more especially in the Universities, since the days of Gammer Gurton’s Needle. ‘The play itself belongs to the folk-lore group. This union of a realistic background with unreal roman- tic elements together with a certain obscurity of plot have led to varied opinions from the critics. Collier,? Dyce and Symonds #4 have treated it with severity, especially the last, who rather unfairly brings it into comparison with Milton’s Comus. Bullen ® is more sympathetic. He calls it a ‘charming little play’ and especially commends the lyrical passages. Ward’s criticism ® is ambiguous. He remarks on the ‘homely humour of its exor- _ dium, contrasting as it does with the labyrinthine but manifestly _ undesigned intricacy of its main scenes,’ but later speaks of ‘ the fresh and sparkling induction’ which with the ‘flow of high spirits’ atones for the ‘admixture of romance dissolved in nonsense.’ Clearly the critics have been uncertain of the value | of the Old Wives’ Tale as literature, yet the play gives delight. Might it be that Peele did not intend it as a straightforward representation of a folk story, but as a burlesque upon a certain type of drama, and that its faults are therefore not faults but his means of attaining his purpose ? ‘ Edited frequently : Bullen, Works of Peele, vol. 1; Gayley, Repre- sentative Hnglish Comedies, 1; Greg, Malone Society Reprints, etc. 2See Greg, op. cit. introd.; and Fleay, Biog. Chron. II. 3 Annals of the Stage, III, p. 197. See Gayley, op. cit. p. 346. * Predecessors of Shakespeare, p. 566. >The Works of George Peele, 1888. Vol. I, p. xxxvii ff. ° English Dramatic Literature, ed. 1898, pp. 372, 373. 79 80 THE INTENTION OF PEELE’S ‘OLD WIVES’ TALE’ Such was the point of view suggested by the late Professor Gummere.! The Old Wives’ Tale, he tells us, is a new thing in comedy, depending on the contrast between the romantic plot and the realistic diction, between the induction and the pretences of the plot. Gummere indeed has but gently hinted at such a quality in the play, ‘a comedy of comedies, a saucy challenge of romance, where art turns, however timidly, upon itself,’ and has seen itrather as a pervading quality than a purpose wrought into structure and dialogue with thorough conviction. Later critics, however, have unanimously followed him and emphasised the point that Peele was making a deliberate satire on the romantic plays which were popular at that time. Thus Professor Schelling? characterises the play as a humorous, not satirical, treatment of ‘the elements current in the extravagant heroical romance,’ adding that ‘it is likely that many a solemn contemporary of roguish George mistook his delicate irony for the grim heroics of fantastic romance.’ Professor Baker ° notes as its chief merit ‘its clever satire on such romantic plays as Common Conditions,’ and calls it ‘ in respect of its satire, a fit predecessor of the Knight of the Burning Pestle’ and ‘the first English play of dramatic criticism.’ Professor Tucker Brooke 4 is equally decisive on the point. He lists the play among ‘ Travesties of Heroic Plays,’ and states that ‘the attitude of progressive and educated opinion toward the old _ play of chivalrous romance during the last ten years of the sixteenth century is expressed in the exquisite satire of the type in Peele’s Old Wives’ Tale, while in Beaumont’s later Knight of the Burning Pestle . the ridicule is yet sharper.’ Of the presence of a certain sense of humour in Peele’s drama there can be no doubt. It is almost certain that in the last analysis this quality is due to the ‘ joining of realism and romance,’ or, to put it in another way, to the fact that the story is not taken quite seriously. But to go further than this and state that Peele consciously put together incongruous elements, for the purpose of burlesquing, however ‘ subtly ’ or ‘ delicately,’ the contempor- aneous plays of romance, is surely doubtful and in mie of some scrutiny. 1JIn Gayley, Representative Hnglish Comedies, I, is Jodi, | OA We 2 The Elizabethan Drama, p. 201. 3 Cambridge History of English Lxterature, vol. V, pp. 145-6. 4 The Tudor Drama. See pp. 242, 254, 278-9. THE INTENTION OF PEELE’S ‘OLD WIVES’ TALE’ 81 Ii. Tue PoruLtaR DRAMA oF ‘ HERoIC ROMANCE ’ The Old Wives’ Tale is a concrete representation of a tale told by the cottage hearth to while the night away. Partly on account of its folkloristic character, partly for other reasons, as we shall see later, it has been brought into relation with those romantic plays that were based on ‘the old medieval tales of heroic exploit and interminable adventure.’! Both Professor Schelling and Dr. Murch ? have shown how popular were these stories in Elizabethan England, a popularity that was partly a decadent heritage from the Middle Ages, but was also in large measure a revival heralded much earlier by the printing of the Morte d Arthur and Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historrza. Neither was such literature popular only amongst the less educated, as Dr. Murch supposes, for Spenser did not disdain to use this material to glorify the Queen and praise the godly life. The Arcadia,* too, surely bears the marks of the romance as much as of the pastoral. Names of plays presented at Court, too, point to the popularity of this same material. While these plays vary a good deal in their working out, they seem to agree in representing the valorous doings of wandering knights, always with the ultimate aim of winning a fair lady’s hand. Some of the plays that might be included in this class need not be considered in this connection. Appius and Virginia,* for instance, agrees in style with the rest of the plays, and its subject is “ medieval’ and sufficiently improbable, but it is too domestic in character to be brought into comparison with the Old Wives’ Tale. Fair Hm® belongs rather to the class of plays which combine an historical with a pastoral plot. Mucedorus ° has some of the characteristics of the type, adventures against a bear in a forest, and later against a cannibalistic wild man of the woods from whom the hero saves the princess,’ but funda- mentally it approaches more closely the later romantic type oi 1Schelling, The Elizabethan Drama, Chap. V, p. 193 ff. *The Knight of the Burning Pestle, ed. Murch (1908). Siocesveg. = Bk. I, xvii, xix; Il, ix, xiv, xxi, xxii; III, xv, xvi, XVili—accounts of tournaments and of fights against animals and giants and disguised knights. Several chapters, too, speak of love very much in the style of the matiére de Rome romances. 4 Ed. J. 8. Farmer, Five Anonymous Plays, 4th Series. ° Printed by R. Simpson, The School of Shakespeare, p. 337 ff. 6 Dodsley, Old Plays, ed. Hazlitt, vol. VIL; Students’ Facsimile edition. “This seems like a late variation of the giant of the romance. 82 THE INTENTION OF PEELE’S ‘OLD WIVES’ TALE’ | princes who disguise themselves as shepherds and win the prin- cess by deeds of valour. Inthe Dumb Knight,’ a play written later than Peele’s, the only truly romantic incidents are the winning of the Queen by tournament and the vow placed on the Knight not to speak ; the rest of the play is made up of intrigue with a sug- gestion of Machiavellian motifs. The heroic drama proper in- cludes before 1600 Sir Clyomon and Sir Clamydes,2 Common Conditions,? Greene’s Orlando Furioso,t and Charlemagne or the Distracted Emperor® Certain common elements found in the earliest of these plays are to be seen in a group of moralities, the three plays of the marriage of Wit and Science.® The second of the group is perhaps the clearest example. In order to win Science for his bride, Wit must slay the monster Tediousness, which ‘lurketh in the wood hereby,’ ‘ devouring those that sue to her.’ In the first encounter Wit is ‘ left dead ’ by the monster, but at the second attempt (in the third play with the help of Wisdom’s sword) he slays the giant. The situation in Sor Clyomon and Sir Clamydes” is but an elaborated form of this. Clamydes, Prince of Suavia, in order to win Juliana the Princess of Denmark, must kill the dragon in the Forest of Strange Marvels. The matter is complicated by the entry of Sir Clyomon, Juliana’s brother, who steps in and forces the enmity of Clamydes by taking away his knighthood. They arrange to fight at Alexander’s camp. Meanwhile Clamydes slays the dragon, but his spoil is taken from him through the magic of the false knight Sansfoy, -and himself is cast into prison. Clyomon is shipwrecked and cured by Meronis, daughter of the Queen of the Strange Marshes. He falls in love with her, but has to leave in order to find Clamydes. Meronis is carried away by the King of Norway, but escapes and 1 Dodsley, Old Plays, ed. Hazlitt, vol. X. Date is 1607. ? Bullen, Works of Peele, Il, p. 87 ff. 2J.8. Farmer, Five Anonymous Plays, 4th Series (C. E. Dram. Soc.). Tucker Brooke, Yale Hlizabethan Club Reprints, I. * id. McKerrow, Malone Society Reprints, vol. 4 (1907) ° Bullen, Old English Plays, III, p. 161 ff. ® (a) John Redford, The Play of Wyt and Science, ed. J. M. Manly, Specomens of the Pre-Shakespercan Drama, I, p. 421 ff, (6) The Marriage of Wit and Science, ed. J. 8S. Farmer, Five Anonymous Plays, 4th Series, p. 47 ff. (c) Contract of Marriage between Wit and Wisdom, ed. J. S. Farmer, op. cit. p. 207 ££. ’ This play was for a time attributed to Peele. Professor Kittredge has shown (Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 111) that it is Boao ably by. Preston. THE INTENTION OF PEELE’S ‘OLD WIVES’ TALE’ 83 disguises herself as a shepherd. Clyomon kills the King of Norway, takes Meronis as his squire, and goes to defend her mother’s right to the Isle, her father having died of grief. Clamydes is the champion of the wicked uncle, the queen’s brother. Alex- ander settles matters without the necessity of a duel. Clyomon and Clamydes go together to the court of Denmark, Meronis still accompanying the former. There the false Sansfoy is unmasked, Meronis casts off her disguise and the couples are married. To this medley of romantic motifs are added certain extraneous scenes. A coarsely realistic shepherd scene, little more than a monologue, is introduced. Subtle Shift, who becomes servant to Clyomon, then to Clamydes, is a descendant of those comic characters in the late moralities that frequently take on dis- guises combined with the tricky servants of the classical comedies. _ Sansfoy, while he is the enchanter of romance in the situation, _ and has a parallel in T'ristan, is far more the braggart warrior in his behaviour. While these two characters are necessary to the : plot of the play, they are outside the romantic atmosphere and _ form the comic relief. | The ingredients in Common Conditions are somewhat similar, | although one is reminded more strongly of the Arcadian type of story. Sedmond and Clarisia are found lost in a wood ; they are attacked by tinkers ; Sedmond escapes and his sister is saved by ' the ingenuity of her servant Conditions. LLamphedon, son of the _ Duke of Phrygia, appears ; he is in love with Clarisia, meets her / and marries her. Sabia is in love with Momides, who spurns her ; _her father, a doctor, discovers the state of her feelings. Mean- while, Lamphedon and Clarisia, through the wiles of Conditions, have been put on board a pirate ship, and then cast adriit. _Clarisia finds hospitality at the house of Leostines, and adopts the name of Metrea. Momides falls in love with her, but she refuses him. In seeking Clarisia, Lamphedon fights and over- comes the giant Cardolus, and sets free all his captives. In the fragment which is printed, this is the only thoroughly ‘ heroic ’ element in the play, but the style relegates it to this class of | drama. The servant Conditions and the pirate scene add comic effect of a Plautine character ; the opening tinkers’ scene gives a realistic touch. : Greene used more definite romance material than this in the Orlando Furioso in combination with a love element and accom- ‘paniments in the form of a jealous man’s intrigue and the lover’s s4 THE INTENTION OF PEELE’S ‘OLD WIVES’ TALE ” - madness, which are no part of the romance, or only ina thoroughly decadent form. Professor Gayley suggests that this play is also a burlesque of the ‘heroic romance.’ ! Without entering into that question, one may say at once that Greene’s play is neither typical of the ‘ heroic romances ’ nor to be classed with the Old Wives’ Tale. It is otherwise with one of the latest and most notorious of the type, Thomas Heywood’s The Four Prentices of London,’ the occasion of Beaumont and Fletcher’s scourging of the whole class in the Knight of the Burning Pestle. ‘This play is based on one of the ‘ Eustace ’ stories. It depicts a father going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, leaving four sons and a daughter in England. The sons decide to go to war, the daughter disguises herself and follows them. A shipwreck scatters the sons to different parts of the world, they meet but do not know each other, and consequently many strange situations ensue. Finally all meet and are recipients of great honours. The play is chock-full of the wildest adventures in barbarous lands; the most impossible incidents happen, and the structure is unbelievably crude for the time and the author. For that very reason, however, it gives us a true insight into the kind of plays which should be called ‘ heroic romances.’ A glance at the titles of other plays acted, most of them now lost, reveals that they were probably of the same character. The hero, or heroes, travels in far and marvellous _lands—the further and the stranger the better. He fights strong opponents ; in the normal and early form, he overcomes a giant or a magician or a monstrous animal, generally in order to win a fair lady for his wife or to release her from captivity. The women as well as the men may be found wandering, disguised or otherwise, in forests and over seas or acting as squires to the hero. The plot—if one may call plot anything so formless as these romance plays—is mainly made up of these adventures of the hero, and of the heroine if she be of the wandering type. Thestyle 1 Gayley’s Representative English Comedies, I, p. 410. 2 The Dramatic Works of Thomas Heywood (London, 1874), Vol. II, p. 159 ff. Printed 1615, but probably acted in 1594. See Fleay, I, 282 ; Cambridge History of English Literature, V1, p. 101. 3 One notes among early Court plays: Herpetulus the Blew Knight ; The Red Knight; The Solitary Knight ; The Knight of the Burning Rock and Huon of Bordeaux. Later one finds the popular plays—The Four Sons of Aymon; Tristram de Lyons ; Godfrey of Boulogne ; Sir Placidas. See Schelling and Murch, op. cit. 2 ARP a A ne THE INTENTION OF PEELE’S ‘OLD WIVES’ TALE’ 85 is high-flown and self-conscious, especially in the scenes of love, whether monologues or dialogues. Comic scenes are included, sometimes as essential parts of the main plot, either in the form of conventional types of comic character or as realistic pictures of low life. These scenes, however, are by no means peculiar to the ‘ heroic ’ drama. | Til. Tur Matreriat or ‘THE Otp Wives’ TALE’ The Old Wives’ Tale may be classified with the romantic plays in respect of its plot, for it is made up of numerous foik- lore motifs. The central story may be described as a combina- tion of the Grateful Dead and the Childe Roland themes. The action begins with the latter, the story of the maiden carried away by the wicked enchanter and rescued, in the fairy-tale by her youngest brother, in the drama by the ‘ wandering knight ’ who loves her. In both story and play the maiden’s two brothers have sought her and have been enchanted or forced to work and imprisoned. In both, too, a certain method has to be observed to overcome the giant, though the means are by no means similar in the two. The Grateful Dead theme in the play is, aS Professor Gerould has shown,? of the group in which the simple motif of the knight rewarded for seeing about a man’s _ burial is united to the Poison Maiden and the Lady and the ' Monster stories. The former is preserved only in the detail at _ the end, where the Ghost claims as the promised half of all that the Knight wins, half of his bride.? The latter is seen in the element of ‘the hero’s success in winning an enchanted princess either by accomplishing difficult feats or answering riddles.’ The very definite suggestion of the ‘life-index,’ by which the _enchanter could only be killed under certain conditions, although _ acommon accompaniment of giant and enchanter tales in general, belongs to this type, as is shown, for example, in the story of _ Jack the Giant Killer. In the play, the invisibility of the Ghost 1 A type version is to be found in J oseph Jacobs, English Fairy Tales, fp. 122. . 2G. H. Gerould, The Crarjul Dead, Folk Lore Society Publications, _ LX (1907), especially chaps. ITI, IV, VI. In Chap. I, Prof. Gerould _ reviews previous work on the subject. + | See also Gummere, op. cit. p. 345 ff. and footnotes to the play. _ ? This form is seen in the English romance Sir Amadace, which does not, however, belong to the form in which Peele knew the story. | +*Jacobs, op. cit. p. 102. 86 THE INTENTION OF PEELE’S ‘OLD WIVES’ TALE’ while killing the enchanter is paralleled in the folk story. Pro- fessor Gerould remarks that ‘ the adventures of Delia, Eumenides and Jack are all that really concern us ’ ! in the play in relation to the Grateful Dead. It is very likely, however, that Peele knew the story in a form in which it was united to the Childe Roland theme. Two considerations make this likely. In the first place, Erestus belongs to the Childe Roland tale, but in the play he is more closely connected with the Grateful Dead ; also, the two stories have been organically united at just the point where they would become united of themselves,? namely in the enchanted maiden who has to be rescued by brother or by ghost grateful to the knight who will marry her.? It is otherwise with the rest of the folk-lore in this truly marvellous conglomerate. The turning of EKrestus into a bear in the night and an old man in the day, is not foreign to folk-lore, although it is commoner to find the wolf than the bear, and a wicked wite or stepmother oftenest does the conjuring.4 En- chanted men and women frequently helped the hero to quell the magician or whatever caused the spell,’ and the union of the stories possibly took place here at this point, while his wife’s madness is very probably due to some old popular catch concern- ing one ‘ that’s neither wife, widow nor maid.’ It is to be noted, - too, that her appearance to break the light, and the disenchant- ing of herself and Erestus are brought about by the winding of a horn, another common element in stories of disenchantment, and often found in the Medieval romances.* They are cleverly united to the main theme, but one feels that it is the kind of union that has been produced by a literary workman rather than the kind that has grown from the story itself. | As for the part of Huanebango and Corebus and the two daughters who find their husbands by means of the wishing-well, their connection with the main story is of the frailest. Huanebango is going to kill the magician and is consequently punished with 1 Op. cit, p. 72. : 2This is Professor Gerould’s own very reasonable oateion of the folk union of two or more stories. See op. cit. p. 173. 3 A further common, factor in the two stories is the ‘ life-index,’ but this would not have united them, as it is not an organic part of either theme. oe 4 See Kittredge, Arthur and Gorlagon (Harvard Notes and Studies). >See Kittredge, Gawain the Green Knight, 200 ff. ete. 6 H.g., the incident of the Joie de la Cort in Chrétien’s Hrec. a 2 ee Sagi ae oo, | THE INTENTION OF PEELE’S ‘OLD WIVES’ TALE’ 87 deafness and a cross wife, while the father of Zantippa and Celanta is advised by Erestus how his daughters may be married off. The method of seeking their husbands at the well is the folk-tale of the Three Heads of the Well,! from which is also taken the detail of Huanebango’s refusal and Corebus’s giving of the cake to Erestus.2. The episode is given a folkloristic character ° so that it does not clash with the atmosphere of the rest of the play, although it forms a contrast to it. It can, however, be omitted without impairing in any way the unity of the main plot. It is useful in that it adds to the impression of the magician’s power, and also brings Erestus into greater prominence. But undoubtedly Peele added it himself. IV. COMPARISON WITH THE HEROIC PLAYS Now, how far may a play composed thus of such materials be regarded as a satire upon the heroic drama based upon romance ? OQOne’s first impression certainly is to deny it that character. One expects exaggeration in burlesque, and The | Old Wives’ Tale is more reasonable, tamer in every way, than the heroic romances. Except technically it seems indeed. to | have little enough in common with them. The material of ‘disguised women, seeking their lords or lovers, of adventure _ by flood and field’ of which Professor Baker says “ Peele was _ already making fun’ is not to be found in it.’ There are to be sure, an enchanter and a princess who is freed from. his spells _by the knight-errant Eumenides. But we have seen that this _ material belongs equally to popular tales. In the setting in which it is found here it belongs more nearly to the people, for the hero has no heroic adventures on his way, nor a battle-royal with the enchanter when he arrives. One of his adventures, his encounter with the unburied Jack and his reward from the _ Ghost, is indeed the subject of a Middle English romance ; this, _ however, is a case where romance is very close to folklore, and Siw Amadace has a background of tournament and knightly enterprise which effectually removes it from Madge’s story. The iiaeobs, Op. Cit. 232! *Gummere, op. cit. p. 362 n., suggests that this comes from The Red | Bttin, but the other is more likely here. 3 As, e.g., the Fee fo fum formula of Huanebango, and the tories consequences of breaking the pitcher. For the significance of Huane- bango’ S part, see below. 4 Cambridge History of English LPereore. N; p. 155. 88 THE INTENTION OF PEELE’S ‘OLD WIVES’ TALE’ action of the play is not even situated in any strange land, neither Palestine nor Phrygia nor an Isle of Strange Marshes. Erestus is the ‘White Bear of England’s Wood’; Jack’s Ghost is quarrelled over by a very English crowd of yokels, and one is quite surprised at the end when even Humenides says that he will take away Delia ‘to Thessaly.’. Compared with Sir Clamydes or Common Conditions, Peele’s drama is unified and remarkably devoid of absurdities. This homeliness of the surroundings and the realism of the style have been taken, however, as a proof of the dramatist’s conscious effort to ‘ turn romance back upon itself ’ and, further, to burlesque the romance plays.! I believe, however, that a study of Peele’s style in this play reveals an entirely different fact. Peele has given us, not the high-flowing tale of romantic adventure but the familiar nursery tale, and he has used some- thing of the style as well as the material of the old wife. Bullen, in his edition of The Old Wives’ Tale, noticed this trait in the case of some of the lyrics, the Harvesters’ songs, the words of the heads in the well, and Sacrapant’s grace at the table, ° Spred, table, spred.’ The best example of this style, however, is found in the White Bear scenes, the first of which (ll. 128 ff.) is an excellent example of the more poetic type of nursery tale. Hven the blank verse, habitually used by the brothers and Humenides, — is contrived to give something of the desired effect, as may be seen in the repetition (of lines 119 ff.)— ‘To seeke our sister, to seeke faire Delya forth, Yet cannot we so much as heare of hir.’ Even the realistic parts, the grave scene especially, are no excep- tion to this. The quarrelsome conversation concerning the oft- mentioned ‘Jack’ is in a manner that is by no means absent — from folk-tales, though in Peele’s hands, and, possibly, under 1 This realism is not to be confused with that found in another class of plays, the descendants of the ballads such as the Robin Hood plays (ed. Manly, Specimens, I, p. 279 ff.) or George-a-Greene (ed. Students’ Facs. Ed. vol. 46. Attributed to Greene, but probably not his), for these are fundamentally realistic. It is not likely that a king ever really had to put down his staff in Wakefield, or that rebels were overcome by the ruse and the strong right arm of one of the king’s loyal subjects— but it could have happened, and the treatment is affected by that. Passim one notes Peele’s interest in such material as shown by the Robin Hood scenes in Hdward I. : THE INTENTION OF PEELE’S ‘OLD WIVES’ TALE’ 89 the influence of the realistic comedies, the quarrel is considerably more elaborate than, for example, in Jack the Grant Killer. One or two minor elements perhaps are worthy of discussion. One need not delay over the somewhat crude method of intro- ducing uO as— ‘ (Opti these chalkie cliffs of Albion We are arrived now with tedious toile’ (119 ff.) or Erestus— ‘Here sit now and to thy selfe relate The hard mishap of thy most wretched state ’ (1. 162 ff.) except to note that the drama is yet young in its technique. | Many examples of this crudity are found throughout Elizabethan | drama, and in Peele’s own works too,! although his method as a rule is to reveal identity by means of a second person.? It is a manner frequently found in the romance plays, but it was by no means characteristic only of them. The final willingness of Eumenides to divide Delia has been cited as a travesty of ‘the hackneyed theme of magnanimity in love,’ as found in the | Merry Devil, Campaspe, Frier Bacon, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and elsewhere.2 One might reply here again that the situation is in nowise parallel, but that it is more effective to point out that the dividing of ‘what he gets’ is an essential part of the bargain. between the Ghost and Eumenides in this ‘form of the story. And, again, the form of Kumenides’ acquies- cence has the ingenuous, somewhat inevitable note of the nursery tale ‘ Well, ere I will falsifie my worde unto my friend, take her ‘all; heere. Jack, I’ll give her thee.’ (1. 847.) _ The case of Huanebango and Corebus is somewhat different. There is undoubted ridicule here, cast directly at the poet Harvey i and his pedantic learning and versification. Huanebango is represented primarily as the braggart soldier while Corebus is the traditional foolish companion of such a man.*. The con- _ ventional boasting of Huanebango is given a particular romantic | 1 Hg., The Arraignment of Paris, NIT, 1. 108 ff. ; Hdward I, i. 1 fi. | 2 Asin The Old Wives’ Tale, 1. 182, where the Old Man reveals Venelyas. '| Tucker Brooke, op. cit. p. 278f. Further examples of devoted friendship are found in Fair Em and in Greene’s novel, T'ullie’s Love. : * Thersytes, in the play of that name, is one of the earliest examples in | English drama. The hero there is not a satire of the romance heroes as | (Dr. Murch (op. cit.) suggests, but simply the miles gloriosus. 90 THE INTENTION OF PEELE’S ‘OLD WIVES’ TALE’ flavour, however. He does not threaten to kill all and sundry, but specifically the conjurer who has enchanted Delia, and he exaggerates what he must do very much in the vein of the six- teenth-century romances. To win Delia he must seek his fortune ‘among brasen gates, inchanted towers, fire and brimstone, thunder and lightning,’ must tame monsters, achieve labours, absolve riddles, loose enchantments, murder magic and kill conjuring. It is more likely, however, that the fun consisted in the fact that Huanebango boasted all this than in the substance of the boasting, that he is in fact.a parallel to Sansfoy in Str Clyomon and Sir Clamydes. In any case, he is a comic addition to the play, and if he is intended to be a satire on the romance it by no means follows that the play as a whole has any such purpose. . Ble | ee There remains the question of the ‘induction.’ For the main story is presented within a real framework of an old wife’s tale. Three jovial young men are found wandering at night in a wood by Clunch the smith and are taken to his cottage. After a short vivid scene it is decided that the old wife, Madge, shall tell ‘a merry winter’s tale,’ the kind of tale as one of the young men says ‘ when I was a little one you might have drawne mee a mile after you with such a discourse.’ While Madge is reciting in a ~ confused, truly ‘ old wife’s ’ manner the actors appear to represent her story. Madge and her auditors remain as spectators of the action, occasionally passing remarks upon the characters or the incidents. | If it be allowed that Peele was aiming at a consistent ‘ fairy- tale style ’ in presenting the main episodes, the induction is easily explained as his method of emphasising that purpose. This is surely a more reasonable view than Gummere’s, who sees the device as ‘an appeal to a sense of humour awakened by the interplay of theme and treatment,’ an aid to burlesque in fact and so a forerunner of the Induction to The Knight of the Burning Pestle.1 It is unnecessary to regard the scene in the wood as separate from the cottage scene ; Madge must have an audience, and it was typical of Elizabethan method to represent a scene from the very beginning. The induction thus falls into the same class as that employed by Greene in James IV ? and Alphonsus 1 For the use of inductions, see Schwab, Das Schauspiel im Schauspiel. He does not note the Old Wives’ Tale. 2 Fleay holds this opinion. See the Biographical Chronicle, I, 266. THE INTENTION OF PEELE’S ‘OLD WIVES’ TALE’ 91 or in the old Taming of the Shrew. It acts as a prologue giving the main outlines of the story, and afterwards as a chorus com- menting on the action and explaining it. One may cavil at the technical fault of requiring an explanation, but it was common enough in Elizabethan plays long after Peele’s time, while Peele himself employs it to a far greater extent in David and Bethsabe. Were the play a burlesque, one might expect some criticism from the two listeners, but in point of fact, they make but two remarks of that kind, and those two are sympathetic to the main idea of the tale. When Jack has been buried, Fantastic remarks (l. 495) ‘ But hark you, gammer, me thinkes this Jack bore a great sway in the parish,’ a remark repeated by Frolic at the close; and as a comment on Huanebango, Fantastic says ‘Me thinkes the Conjurer should put the foole into a jugling boxe ’—both remarks that any child listening to the story would heartily endorse. The induction is in perfect harmony with the spirit of the play, and far more successful in that respect than the Oberon prologue to. James IV as well as more charming in itself. And nothing could be more suitable than the end, where Madge seems to have been asleep, and wakes up to make _asummary of the end of the tale. The plotting,’ confused and sometimes jumbled, serves the same purpose, probably more on _ account of the nature of the material than from any deliberation on Peele’s own part. The whole is as if the playwright should say, ‘ This is a plain country story. Listen to it and then take your bread and cheese and go your way.’ Or one may prefer to find the key-note in the words which have already been quoted in which the young men ask for a story. li this be satire, it is fine and delicate indeed—too well con- cealed, indeed, until recent critics came to unveil it. But not thus subtly did the Elizabethans generally prepare their shafts. There is no mistaking the intention of Shakespeare when he is poking fun at rustic plays in A Midsummer Night's Dream. No one could fail to realise that Ben Jonson, cleverest and most reticent of the Elizabethans, was burlesquing the love-making | of the romances in Hvery Man Out of his Humour.? The most famous example of all, The Knight of the Burning Pestle, exag- _ gerates without stint the incoherence and absurdity of the heroic plays, and makes its intention doubly sure by an induction es 1Gummere notes this, op. cit. p. 344. 2 Puntalvo’s love-making to his wife, IT, i. > = z ee 92 THE INTENTION OF PEELE’S ‘OLD WIVES’ TALE’ and comments so realistic that their contrast with the roman- ticism of the main plot is almost crude. The fact is that exquisite irony, or a gentle ‘turning back of art upon itself,’ are not characteristic of this age of men of action. Directness was required in art, ‘the play’s the thing,’ and moreover the story in the play. In Peele’s own time it was the more necessary to burlesque with exaggeration if at all inasmuch as his audience was far more likely to appreciate romance than otherwise. And University man though he was, one must credit him with knowing his own generations and being truly of it. Me CONCLUSION Of course there would have been nothing improbable if Peele had written a satire of the heroic romances. Nashe speaks contemptuously of the long prose romances in his Anatomie of Absurdities (1589)! and Sir Philip Sidney criticises the form- lessness of English plays in his Defense of Poesie. We have already seen how a decade later Jonson and Beaumont and Fletcher were scourging the type. Peele, too, was a University man, and might be expected to have a conscious sense of his art, influenced by the laws of Greek and Roman drama. But he came too early for this influence to have full sway. When Peele was writing plays, the various threads of the drama, mystery and miracle plays, classical and Renaissance material both comic and tragic, native and heroic chronicle and homespun realism, were being sorted and straightened out. Peele, who seems to have turned to drama more because it was the fashion than because it was his natural medium, hesitated between the different types. The smallest computation of his plays includes a miracle play (David and Bethsabe) ; a chronicle history (Edward I), a pastoral based on a classical myth (The Araygnement of Paris), a masque (The Hunting of Cupid), and a heroic play somewhat in the Tamburlaine manner (The Baittell of Alcazar). In his treatment of these types, Peele displays a certain amount of regard for the limitations and the possibilities of his art, but in no case does he mark any striking development. David and Bethsabe is distinguished from its predecessors by its poetic quality rather than by any advance in technique; the use of the chorus to bridge scenes and the long scene of Absalom’s 1 There is a suggestion of contempt, too, in his mention of the Green Knight in his Lenten Stuffe. Works, ed. McKerrow, vol. III, p. 220. | | | THE INTENTION OF PEELE’S ‘OLD WIVES’ TALE’ 93 death are sufficient proof of this. Hdward I is a badly plotted chronicle play. It succeeds fairly well in characterisation as does also David and Bethsabe. But Peele’s delight was in depict- ing scenes of fancy with a perfectly adequate command of suitable language. For subjects for such compositions it was usual to go to Classical mythology. Peele in the Old Wives’ Tale sought his matter in the myths of the English country-side, and is a forerunner of the creator of Titania and Oberon.! The difference is in the fact that Peele, surely, aimed at harmony between the play and its framework. The nearest parallel to his mood is in Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia, where the uncouth Mopsa tells of the marriage and disappearance of the fairy knight. Mopsa, _ too, uses the narrative manner of the country-side, ‘ she tumbled into her matter’ and was cut off at the end because her tale _ threatened to become too long. But on the whole Sidney’s story is closer to the romances than Peele’s.? The Old Wives’ Tale, then, is just what it purports to be, a straightforward representation of a folk-tale. Story, detail and scenery combine to give it a quaint charm and the admixture of romance and realism which is the true characteristic of the _folk-tale. The framework adds to its beauty of setting, and at the same time clearly defines its character and intention. In common with his fellow playwrights from the Universities Peele chose a realistic miliew instead of the trappings of romantic _heroes—but he took his country-side seriously and clothed it in beauty. | GWENAN JONES. | 1 Peele’s forte seems to have been the writing of masques, a significant fact if this view of The Old Wives’ Tale as a work of fancy is correct. ely Nashe meant something like this when he described Peele as the ‘chief supporter of plesance now living.’ (Preface to Greene’s | Menaphon.) 2 Book 2, Chap. 14. It begins: ‘In time past (sayd she) there was : | a king the mightiest man in all his country, that had es ne wife the fairest ce that ever did eate pappe. Now this king . NATURAL ne ae te aby Yo Ria tS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF WALES ABERYSTWYTH Vol. VIII ABERYSTWYTH STUDIES VOL. VIII ABERYSTWYTH STUDIES BY MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF WALES VOL. VIII | PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF WALES PRESS BOARD ON BEHALF OF THE COLLEGE | 1926 \y oy) Vg ra “ee TU | men ) . ¥ \ 23) ar Printed in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd., Frome and London CONTENTS PAGE: THE TRAGEDY OF THE CONVENTIONAL WOMAN : DEIANEIRA. By Professor H. J. Ross 3 ‘ 4 1 TWO FRAGMENTS OF SAMIAN POTTERY, IN THE MUSEUM OF THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF WALES, ABERYSTWYTH. By P. K. BartLtiure Reynoups, M.A. . 11 ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE FAMILIAR LETTERS OF JAMES HOWELL. By Epwarp Bensty, M.A. : We SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC. By Professor T. GWYNN JONES . : f 2 : ; ; ; or THE KELTIC GOD WITH THE HAMMER. By J. J. JONES, M.A. . s ; ; ; ; f 4 : 95. THE TRAGEDY OF THE CONVENTIONAL WOMAN; DEIANEIRA THE exact date of the Trachiniae of Sophokles is unknown, and we can say only approximately when he may be supposed to have written it. Jebb?! puts it somewhere between 420 and 410 B.c., and few are likely to quarrel seriously with this, for nothing in the style indicates either a very early or a very late date for it. Taking Jebb’s estimate as about right, then, the play is at least ten years younger than the Medea of Euripides (431), eight years or more younger than the Hippolytus (428), probably earlier than, or about contemporary with, the Hlectra (412), and pretty certainly earlier than the Orestes (408). The tragedy, therefore, was written in the middle of Euripides’ career, and at a time when the Athenian public was familiar with his female characters. It need not now be argued that Euripides was no woman- hater ; that ancient scandal has long been put out of court by modern analyses of his plays.? But it is very clear that if there was one female type which interested him more than another, it was what each age in turn calls the “modern’ woman, and generally regards with great concern as a sign of its own degener- escence. The typical Euripidean heroine is an individualist, who, while often tender and compassionate towards others, strongly asserts her own rights, and is ready, on occasion, to break through all restraints of convention in order to uphold them. Medeia, wronged past bearing by Jason, turns on him, on her rival, his new bride, and finally on her own children, because, much though she herself loves them, their death will fall yet harder on Jason, who is thus left heirless. Phaidra, in the earlier version of the Hippolytus, seems to have been a reckless lover, who set wifely fidelity and everything else at defiance to 1 Sophocles, Vol. V (The Trachiniae), Introd. p. xxiii. 2 The remarks of Laurand (Manuel des ét gr. et lat., 11, 228 B2) are hope- lessly reactionary. A.S.—VOL. VIII. 1 2 THE TRAGEDY OF THE CONVENTIONAL WOMAN satisty her passion ; in the extant play, although it is her modesty which brings about her death, she is still passionate enough in all conscience, and appears to have shocked not a few of the more conventional. Elektra is hate incarnate, and also has ten times the intellect and force of character possessed by her brother, in both the plays in which she appears. It is no wonder, then, that Sophokles should be thought to have felt the influence of Kuripides in more than one detail of his play,! and that he obviously spent much time and care over the character of his heroine. ‘A smaller poet,’ says Prof. Gilbert Norwood, ‘ would have made her haughty or abject, revengeful or contemptible ; Sophocles has portrayed a noble lady, who will bend, but not kneel. Her interview with Iole and the later conversations in which first she excuses her husband and then on reflection finds that she cannot share his home with the new-comer—these scenes, painted with quiet mastery, are the greatest work of Sophocles in the portraiture of women.’ This essay is in part little but an expansion of the above short criticism ; it adds, however, a further point, and one which I think important ; Deianeira is indeed a noble lady, but one of conventional character, and it is her conventionality which brings about the catastrophe. Euripides, somewhere about the same time, had shown what ills can arise about a conventionally good woman, when confronted with an unscrupulous rival, if she is herself utterly devoid of tact. The date of the play in which she appears, the Andromache, is 420. I am not disinclined to believe that Sophokles had it in mind, and is quietly showing his clever but inferior rival that conventional virtue in itself has in it depths and possibilities of disaster greater than he had | dreamed of. The play starts some twenty years or more after the aetece of Deianeira to Herakles ; a perfectly conventional, traditional Herakles, with no doubts of hisdivine parentage, norationalisation of his adventures, no smoothing away of the non-moral features | of his character. He is the strong, lusty hero whom every man admires and no woman can resist. Deianeira, although she has been his wife so long, has seen comparatively lttle of him. ‘Children were born to us,’ she complains, ‘whom he has seen only as the husbandman sees his distant field, which he visits at 1 Norwood, Greek Tragedy, p. 159; the following quotation is tone the same page. THE TRAGEDY OF THE CONVENTIONAL WOMAN 3 ‘seedtime, and once again at harvest.’1 He is perpetually away on one adventure or another, and now he is gone on that adventure which will, as they both hope, be his last, as indeed it turns out to be. He has slain Iphitos, and so must wander as an exile for a space. Hyllos, their eldest son, is confident 2 that his father’s luck will hold ; Deianeira herself is not so sure. The time during which he is expected to be absent, fifteen months, is now passed, and she hears that he is waging war in EKuboia, which renews her anxieties, for he has left her an oracle to the effect that in Euboia he should find either death or permanent happiness. She there- fore sends Hyllos to enquire after his father. _ During her son’s absence, which is probably meant to occupy some two or three days,? Deianeira is once more a prey to the most acute anxiety. As she explains to the Chorus, she knows that this is the crisis of Herakles’ life, and that he himself plainly realised the gravity of it when he left her. The bare thought of the possibility of widowhood, and widowhood after a marriage with so noble a husband, is more than she can bear, and the imagination of it breaks her sleep.4 One would suppose, then, that Herakles was a model husband; as a matter of fact, he is no such thing. His infidelities to Deianeira have been whole- sale, and she knows it,° and accepts them as a natural consequence of her position. The idea of revenging herself, in any way, on him or on her rivals, is abhorrent to her.* In this, she is simply the conventional Greek wife of epic and Attic tradition. Penelope is told as a matter of course about Odysseus’ adventures, amorous and otherwise, with Kirke and Kalypso*; Andromache, in a speech of insufferable conceit which drives the hotter-tempered Hermione nearly mad, boasts that in her affection for Hektor she often used to suckle his bastard children.’ In this play, Lichas, on hearing that Deianeira intends no harm to her latest rival, Tole, is much pleased and commends her reasonable and pious conduct warmly (ézei oe parOdvw Orytijy yoovotoay byyta xovx ayvauova),? and the Chorus falls into reflections on the mighty power of the Love-Goddess, who has conquered the very gods 1Trach., 31 (Jebb’s translation). 2 Tbid., 88, viv 06 EvviOns mdtwos ote & mateds | uds mgotagPetv ovoe dEmpaivery Eyar. 3 See Aberystwyth Studies, VI, p. 11. 4Trach., 175. 5 Trach., 459. 6 Trach., 461 fi., 582 ff. ? Odyssey, XXIII, 321 ft. 8 Hur., Andr., 222 ff. *Trach., 472; the Chorus begins at 497. 4 THE TRAGEDY OF THE CONVENTIONAL WOMAN and made Herakles do battle with Acheloos for the hand of Deianeira herself ; the implication being that his latest amour is simply another instance of the activities of Aphrodite, and to be accepted as such. ; But, however much the blame might be shifted on to the shoulders of the gods (and that had been the stock excuse since the days of Homer),1 there were conventions governing the matter. The morality of Herakles is somewhat like that of Tom Jones and his contemporaries, and a strong distinction was made between being unfaithful to a wife, actual or future, and insulting her. Once married to Sophia, Tom would certainly not have introduced Molly into the house; nor would the average con- ventional Greek. The irregularities of a married man, while they might be condoned, were things to be kept decently concealed, and especially to'be kept away from the home. Indeed, we have the evidence of Comedy that the actual Greek wife was by no means always so complaisant as Deianeira. But there were limits even to the complaisancy of the ideally dutiful wife ; she must retain the first place in her husband’s affections, and in her own home she must be the sole mistress, with no hint or thought of a rival near her. These claims are based on two most solid foundations. Firstly, there is the deep-seated feeling of sexual jealousy which all Europeans, of whatever race, seem to have, although some Africans are apparently without it. It certainly was universal in Greece, save for some partial exceptions in the very abnormal arrangements at Sparta.2 Secondly, there is the organisation of the family. -The more conventional a Greek woman was, the more strongly and deeply she would be likely to feel that as an individual she counted for next to nothing, but as wife and mother, for much. Without her, the all-important con- tinuation of the family and clan through legitimate heirs could not take place; in Deianeira’s own metaphor, so familiar to all Greeks that it actually appears in the formula of Attic marriages,® she was the field which bore legitimate children. Sexual morality — might be now stricter, now laxer; but a Greek husband could have but one wife. Any attempt to upset this immemorial 1 Tliad, XIX, 86ff. (Agamemnon blames Zeus, Fate, Erinys, and Ate); III, 389 ff. (Helen’s conduct due to Aphrodite.) 2 For the best and most thorough discussion of these, see Nilsson, Grundlagen des spartanischen Lebens (Klio, XII), p. 325 ff. 3 See Menander, ITeouxergouévy, 362 (van Leeuwen), dxove’ tadtny yr[notor | malowy & dodtw oor didmpyt.—Alaupdrve. THE TRAGEDY OF THE CONVENTIONAL WOMAN 5 arrangement was bound to result in utter ruin and disaster ; only aman as reckless as Kuripides’ Pyrrhos, or a woman as stupidly insensible as his Andromache, could for a moment imagine that it might be otherwise. | Deianeira is face to face with a violation of this convention, which is no mere convention, but the result alike of human nature and ancient social organisation. Herakles is violently in love with the captured princess [ole, indeed has fought against and taken Oichalia in order to win her!; and he has now sent her, along with his other captives, to his own and Deianeira’s house. It is no secret among the hero’s own following that Tole is to all intents and purposes his wife, and they speak of her as such, although not before Deianeira.2 It is here that Sophokles perhaps rises to his greatest heights of character-drawing in this play. Gentle, tender-hearted, and absolutely devoted to Herakles, Deianeira has been moved by the captive’s majestic beauty at first sight of her, and cannot blame Herakles for loving her ; ‘ for Love rules the gods as he will, and me; and why not another woman, such aslam? So Iam mad indeed, if I blame my husband, because that distemper hath seized him ; or this woman, his partner in a thing which is no shame to them and no wrong to me.’ ? Con- ventionally good to the core, she is true to her conventions, although it may cost her dear to abide by them. But a little reflection tells her that she is attempting todo more than, by her standards or any other, she can be expected to do. As she tells the chorus, So now one coverlet shall hap us twain, Held in one man’s embrace. Such is the price That Herakles, my loving, faithful lord,— _ Heaven save the mark,—pays for my weary watch.* This is her one word of reproach against him, and even so she is not, and will not be, angry, but reasons calmly on the intolerable situation. She has no desire to harm anybody, but must secure her rightful place in Herakles’ affections, which she is now in danger of losing. Quietly and steadily she faces the facts ; Tole is much younger than she, and not yet arrived at her prime ; she will have the substance, and Deiancira the shadow ; ‘ This, then, is my fear,—lest Herakles, in name my spouse, should be 1See Trach., 359 ff. 2 Lichas has been heard to call her dduaot’? “Hoaxiei, Trach., 428. ' 3Trach., 443 ff., Jebb’s translation. 4 Trach., 539 ft. 6 THE TRAGEDY OF THE CONVENTIONAL WOMAN the younger’s mate.’! Therefore, it is lawful,—she asks the opinion of the Chorus, who quite agree with her,—to try harmless magic, and such she believes she has at her disposal. Years ago, Herakles had shot a Centaur, Nessos, who was offering violence to her. The Centaur, as he lay dying, told her that his blood would make a powerful charm, if ever she needed to win back Herakles’ affection. Incapable of treachery herself, she never stops to consider whether a crafty desire for revenge may not underlie this apparent kindness; and at first sight, the charm appears really efficacious, for the life-blood of a lover might well make a love-philtre, by all rules of sympathetic magic. To doubt the efficacy of magic would be utterly out of keeping with her character ; magic played a considerable part in the life of the old-fashioned Greek woman, who had charms to keep evil spirits at bay during certain seasons of the year, spells recited over her at child-birth to ensure safe delivery and lessen her pain, and doubtless knew many more charms to heal the numerous small ailments and hurts of children.2 But she has made, in her innocence, a fatal oversight. The blood of Nessos has flowed from a wound made by Herakles’ arrow, poisoned with the deadly venom of the Hydra. Sophokles was no scientist, but the Greeks were by no means without a general knowledge of the effect of some drugs; he imagines this venom to be a powerful corrosive of some kind, inactive at low temperatures and in the dark, but horribly potent when heated to about the ordinary temperature of the body. There were plainly stories about of wizards using such things; Euripides made use of this belief for his Medea. But how should Deianeira know anything of nascent chemical science or of the more elaborate forms of magic ? Moreover, the Hydra’s venom has been used as arrow-poison, and it was pro- verbial that a woman had nothing to do with war,—as little as with the skilled trades, other than weaving and spinning. ‘ Begone to thy chamber,’ says Telemachos to his mother,® ° and busy thee with thine own works, loom and spindle, and bid thy maids ply their task; the bow is all men’s business, and mine especially.’ lLysistrata’s husband + used to meet her enquiries about the conduct of the war with the same saw, a little altered 1Trach., 550, Jebb’s trans. 2See the author’s Primitive Culture in Greece, Chap. VI. 3 Odyssey XXI, 350 ff. * Aristophanes, Lysistrata, 520; Homer, Il. 492 (addeuoz 0 Grvdosoot pedjoet). THE TRAGEDY OF THE CONVENTIONAL WOMAN 7 to fit the occasion ; Hektor had already used it to Andromache. Klytaimnestra, playing for her own purposes the part of a very Penelope, declares ! that she knows no more of ‘ pleasure or blame from any other man (than Agamemnon) than of the tempering of bronze.’ The fatal charm is therefore employed, and a new robe, secretly smeared with the blood, sent to Herakles, with the request that he wear it in the sacrifice of thanksgiving which he is to offer for his latest victory. The heat of the altar fire soon rouses the poison to activity, and he finds himself in horrible agony. At once supposing that the harm done him is deliberate, he flings the unlucky messenger Lichas into the sea, and has himself carried home, intending to take vengeance on Deianeira. Hyllos precedes him, filled with rage at the supposed treachery, and ends his account of what has happened by cursing his mother ; although, conventional as the rest of the family, he stops in the middle of his curse to assure himself that he has a right to invoke it, in the circumstances.2 Deianeira leaves the stage without a word of protest or self-defence, and only her old nurse sees what happens afterwards. Following her mistress, the old woman sees her throw herself down before the family altars and hears her crv aloud that she is all alone now 2; after which she rises, breaks into fresh tears at the sight of everything and everyone in the house, and finally enters her bedroom. There, after making her marriage-bed for the last time and formally bidding it fare- well, she stabs herself with a sword, presumably one of Herakles’ own weapons. That she should be broken-hearted and Gespairing at the horrible result of a scheme so innocently laid is too natural to need explanation in any age or country; but there are many 1 Aesch., Agam. 612. 2 Trach., 807 ff. 3 Trach., 908-9, Bovydto pév Bwpotor nooonintove’ 6t yévoiw éonun. Pearson shows his usual good taste in restoring this, the reading of the MSS., in place of Nauck’s ill-judged conjecture yévowv’ égonuor. What could she mean by saying that the altars were become desolate? If ‘altars’ is meant literally, why should she suppose that the house will never be inhabited again, nor the ordinary family worship conducted in it? If it is metaphorical and means ‘ cult,’ again it is inappropriate, for the sons of Herakles survive, and will certainly keep up the ritual of their family. But goyjun, ‘all alone,’ ‘ kinless,’ exactly expresses Deianeira’s own position, and is used of a woman without family, e.g., by Euripides, Herachid. 523. In line 911, xai tdc dnaidac & td Aoindy otciac, ovoiac may be corrupt, but dada certainly is not. 8 THE TRAGEDY, OF THE CONVENTIONAL. WOMAN details which add greatly to the pathos of the situation, throw light on the character of the heroine, and are not at once obvious to a modern, although they needed no gloss for Sophokles’ audience. The key-words of herlamentation are go/ju7j and dsadac, both of which the indiscreet zeal of editors has tried to emend away. A few days before Deianeira was the proud wife of the noblest of heroes, and the happy mother of his sons. Now her husband is dying, slain by her unwitting hand, and for this she accepts the full guilt. Hyllos indeed, when he learns all the circumstances, can find excuses for her, and so can the sympathising Chorus ; but Deianeira herself will have none of such condonations. Con- ventional and old-fashioned in this as in other things, she follows the old view which looks only to the deed, not to the motives. She is therefore more than a widow ; she has undone her marriage. Nor is she a mother any more ; for her eldest son, the natural guardian and representative of his brothers, has cursed her and cast her off. But, also, she is no longer her father’s daughter ; for once married, she has left that relationship behind her for ever.2. She is no Medeia, to make a new home for herself some- where in a strange land. No one’s daughter any more, no one’s wife, and no one’s mother, she has no place in the world, hardly any existence at all ; she therefore has no course open to her save to seek and find eh as quickly as may be. Sophokles is said to have remarked that he described people as they should be, while Euripides described them as they were. This of course does not mean that his characters are all angels, like those of some sentimental novelist, but, as Butcher well puts it, that they are ‘raised above the trivial and accidental.’ They are human, as human as those of Euripides himself; but the poet does not dissipate the interest by insisting on a number 1 Trach., 930 ff. (Hyllos’ remorse); cf. 727 ff. (Deianeira, too late, becomes suspicious of the drug she has used) : XO. GAV Gui toic opadeion un °§ éxovoias Gov) mémEloa, Ths oe Tuyyavew moémEL. AH. toatta 0 av AéEEltev ody 6 TOD xaxov xowarves, GAN” @ pnoév Eov oixot Baov. Ovid compresses her feelings in this matter into the refrain impia quid dubitas Deianira mori ? (Heroides ix, 146, 152, 158, 164.) 2For rites of dissociation from home in a Greek marriage, see @.g., Plut., Quaest. Rom. 29. | 3 Arist., Poetics 1460b,34, ofov xal opoxdnc épn abvtos [év Oiovs O&t moLEtr, Eboinidny 6é oiot ciciv. For comment see Butcher, Aristotle’s Theory of Poetry and Fine Art, p. 369. THE TRAGEDY OF THE CONVENTIONAL WOMAN 9 of minute and petty details such as would, in actual life, distract our attention from the essential features of the characters and their actions. No better illustration of this can be found than the Trachiniae. In Sophokles’ own day there was a domestic drama at Athens, whose exact date is quite unknown, but in which the orator Antiphon (born about 480 B.c., put to death 411), or someone who wrote a very similar style, took part. A woman, feeling jealous of her husband, contrived that he should drink some compound which proved to be poisonous. He died alter an illness of about three weeks, and his son, the woman’s stepson, brought her before the Areiopagos on a charge of murder. Her defence was that she meant the drug for a love-philtre. Here possibly we have the case which set Sophokles thinking of the subject of his tragedy. Was a woman in such a position, suppos- ing that her plea was true (we do not know how the jury decided, nor what evidence she brought in her favour), a murderess, as the accuser alleges throughout the speech, or the innocent victim of circumstances ? He clears away all the sordid details of the actual case, leaving only this central problem. Deianeira decides against herself, in accordance with her own conventional and old-fashioned but noble character. Everyone else, even, it would appear, Herakles, votes the other way. And that,—one can perhaps imagine Sophokles gently insinuating,—that is the true way to bring real life into a tragedy, friend Euripides. H. J. ROSE. 1 Antiphon, Orat. I, especially 9. The authenticity of this speech has been doubted, see Blass-Thalheim’s edition, p. xxi. . a i 4G iy) * a Tocca (Cori a eee ys ipeaett se } 4 i " \ ste 4 ge tures rath mi y i Rae to iets naa nat Lae ree ele ih Cy ae c nN _ 1 TDhy "saluvd °H °H 4q oj0y4d | Tilia BRITISH | MUSEUM 12 APR 27. NATURAL | HISTORY. | 2S RIA A OS SETS TWO FRAGMENTS OF SAMIAN POTTERY, IN THE MUSEUM OF THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF WALES, ABERYSTWYTH A THERE is nothing intrinsically remarkable about this fragment of ‘Samian’ ware, but some circumstances connected with it deserve notice. Such particulars as are given here are due almost entirely to the research of Dr. Felix Oswald, who has most kindly allowed his notes on the subject to be put together for publication. It is a piece of a bowl of Dragendorf Form 37, the type in com- monest use in the last quarter of the first century A.D. and through- out the second. All the decorations on it are characteristic of the potters of the Kast-Gaulish area who worked during the Antonine period, from roughly a.p. 130 to about the end of the second century. (Fig. 1.) (a) The Ovolo border with every alternate tongue missing is found on the work of the Rheinzabern potters BELSVS, CERIALIS, SECVNDINAVI and in that of Avitt F and Campo of Eschweilerhof. (6) The Hagle 1 with or without the medallion border is used by Ceria.is, Lvpvs, PEREGRINVS, and occurs on a mould stamped both ‘Smcvnpinavi’ and Comrratts F, all Rheinzabern potters, and is also used by the Eschweilerhof group, being probably derived from Sarto. | (c) The two-handled urn was a common form of decoration and is found in various shapes and sizes in the work of many potters.? The actua! form which appears here in the field to the right is found on the work of ‘ SECVNDINAVI’ and PERPETVS (?) both of Rheinzabern, and of (?) BrLsvs 3 who migrated to Rhein- 1 Ludowici, W. Stempelbilder rém. Tépfer von Rheinzabern. 1905. ee iype T. 130. ; 2 Cf. Déchelette, Les vases céramiques ornés de la Gaule romaine. Fig. 1073 i. Ludowici, op. cit. Types O. 86-90, 174.* °3So. Knorr Die verzierten Terra Sigillata-Gefdsse von Rottenburg, A.S.—VOL. VIII. 11 B 12 TWO FRAGMENTS OF SAMIAN POTTERY zabern from Heiligenberg. It is possibly derived from a very similar form used by the slightly earlier Heiligenberg potter CIRIVNA.! (d) The kettle winged cwpid holding an upraised torch, whose head, wing and right arm appear at the bottom, is used by CERIALIS, Iviivs, REGINVS and °SECVNDINAVI,’ again all of Rheinzabern.? (ec) The central figure represents a charvoteer driving a quadriga to the left. The circus and the arena were very popular subjects for the decoration of vessels, whether pottery, glass or lead, and chariot races are often found treated in far more elaborate style than here, e.g. on a glass cup from Colchester * now in the British Museum. On ‘Samian’ vessels, particularly of the decadent Kast-Gaulish potteries, the conventionalised group tends to be the more usual, and the form in which it occurs on this fragment is quite a recognised type, 4 and is found in the work of the Rhein- zabern potters CERIALIS, IvLivs and ‘SECVNDINAVI.’ Better designed types are also found and there are differences in detail, e.g. the chariot may face indifferently the right or the left and it may be a biga or a quadriga.°® : The conventional “Samian’ decoration might reasonably be supposed to be derived from the more realistic treatment of the same subject in glass, and Mr. Reginald Smith puts the Colchester Cup as early as the end of the first century,® but on the other hand, towards the end of the second century glass vessels were tending to supersede ‘ Samian,’ and often, especially in Form 30, imitated both shape and style of decoration, so that it is possible | that charioteer decoration on glass is derived from Samian and is of the Antonine age,’ but preserves the realistic tradition of the XVIII, 4, and Ibid., 1, where the name FoRTVNATVS is not that of a potter ; ef. wnfra. 1 Knorr., Die verzierten Terra Sigillata-Gefdsse von Rotiweil, 1907. pl. XXV, 5. | * Ludowici, op. cit., Type M. 95, with left leg missing. 3 Reginald Smith, B.M. Guide to Antiquities of Roman Britain, p. 105, Fig. 124; ef. similar vessels from Hartlip, Kent. (Roach Smith, Collect. Ant., 1, p. 17) andin the London Museum (id., Mus. Lond. Ant., p. 48, 211. A quadriga on lead, B.M.G., p. 100, Fig. 121. 4 Ludowici, op. cit., Type M. 37. 5 Ludowici, op. cit., Types M. 210,* 211,* 219,* 257.* 6 B.M.G., p. 105. ? Kisa, Das Glas im Altertum, pp. 230 ff., 730 ff. TWO FRAGMENTS OF SAMIAN POTTERY 13 South-Gaulish artists ! better than did the contemporary potters of Kast Gaul.? Be that as it may, vessels decorated with scenes from the circus evidently commanded a good sale, and their popularity was doubtless increased by labelling the figures with the names of prominent charioteers of the period. This is well seen on the Colchester glass cup, where one of the four charioteers is saluted as the victor: no doubt it was a popular win, for the identical names have been found on other glass vessels.? Thus in the Aberystwyth fragment we clearly have the name of the charioteer FILINo written retrograde above his head. It is an integral part of the moulded decoration of the bowl, not a stamp, nor a graffito. This is quite in accord with the usual practice, though the name is often found below the figure and sometimes with the addition of the “colour’ or ‘faction’ which the man represented in the circus. * All the decorative details thus tend to show that this piece is a product of the Rheinzabern pottery. The points of interest in connection with this fragment are two: (a) Inthe first place (so far as the writer is aware) the name Fittno has not yet been published in this connection and is other- wise unknown. If it is the name of the charioteer it should be in the nominative or possibly the vocative. Philinus occurs as a cognomen of citizens of Greek origin, or as the name of slaves, but the form ending in O could only be dative or ablative, which do not make sense in this connection. As a nominative it is an unusual form, and may be a Gallicism, for the termination O for VS is not at all infrequent in the names of Gaulish potters. (6) Secondly, this fragment bears a very striking resemblance to a piece found in excavating the Roman fort at Zugmantel on the Rhine Limes, and published by Barthel in his report,® from which the accompanying illustration (Fig. 2) is reproduced. In the Zugmantel fragment we have the same ovolo border 1 South-Gaulish charioteer vessels. Déche lette, op.cut. Fig. 647; a biga on Form 37,from la Graufesenque. Knorr, Rottweil, 1907, pl. XIV, 7, Form 30, by PAvutvs, etc., etc. 2 But cf. the far more elaborate treatment in the medallions by the appliqué work potters of the Rhone Valley in the third century. Dé- chelette, op. cit. II, p. 300. moe ie Vil. 1273, Kisa, op. ct., p. 730. 4 Ludowici, op. cit., iv, p. 99. °O.R.L. Zugmantel pl. XXIV, Fig. 21. 14 TWO FRAGMENTS OF SAMIAN POTTERY with every alternate tongue missing ; the same charioteer group, facing left, with the name, (for)TVNATVS in the nominative case, above it, written retrograde, the same winged cupid with upraised torch below the horses ; the same two-handled urn in a similar position in the field (though here it is in front of the charioteer and not behind him); and the same medallion, though here the figure in the medallion is not the eagle, but an athlete, a very common type.1 The Zugmantel fragment also, fortunately, bears the potters’ stamp [se]CVNDINAVI upside down below the charioteer. A similar fragment of what must be a bow! from the same mould exists in the Stuttgart Museum: it comes from Rottenburg on the Neckar and is figured by Knorr. In this case the potter’s stamp and the figure in the medallion are broken off, but two more letters of the charioteer’s name survive and thus enable that on the Zugmantel piece to be restored with certainty aS For)tvnatvs. The similarity in shape of the Nin FORTVNATVS and in Frurno on the Aberystwyth fragment is also remarkable. These considerations make it appear probable that the Aberystwyth fragment is also the work of the potter or potters SECVNDINAVI 2 and is a piece of a bowl from the same mould as the Zugmantel and Rottenburg fragments, but from the opposite side of the vessel. Probably four charioteers were depicted, separated by four medallions, two containing athletes and two eagles, the athlete medallions being flanked by the urns. The origin of this piece is unfortunately not known with any accuracy, certain records of objects in the College Museum having perished in a firein 1885. But it appears to belong to a group of potsherds, some Samian, some Belgic and some black, which came from German sites. Most of the pieces of coarser ware in this group have identification labels which state that they were acquired in 1867 and came from Cologne, while the majority of the Samian sherds bear the date May 1870 and their origin is 1 Ludowici, op. cit., Type M. 43, found on the work of Avitvs of Eschweilerhof and of Comiraris, Ianvs, lovENtvs, LvTEvs, PRIMITIVVS, REGINVS, ‘ SECVNDINAVI,’ and Statvtvs, all of Rheinzabern. 2 Rottenburg, pl. XVIII, 1, Cf. Barthel, op. cit., pp. 123, 14, and 154, 473, who points out that the name FORTVNATVS is not a Potter’s stamp, as then supposed (and as is given in C.I.L. XIII, 3, 10011, 201), but the name of the charioteer. 3 This stamp SECVNDINAVI is probably that of a partnership firm consist- ing of the potters SECVNDINVS and AVvITVS. TWO FRAGMENTS OF SAMIAN POTTERY 15 given as Altmiinster or Linsenberg. These two names indicate sites within the city of Mainz,!so that one may reasonably assume that the piece now under consideration came from that city also. B The second piece 1s perhaps of less interest, but it also bears an inscription which, so far as the writer is aware, has not been pub- lished. It consists of the base and part of the side of a plain cup of Dragendorf, Form 27, bearing the stamp of the potter SECVNDVS, who worked in South Gaul at La Graufesenque in the middle of the first century. - On the underside of the base is the graffito Contrrsst. This is the owner’s name and is scratched with a sharp instrument through the glaze of the vessel; this was a common practice, the name being, of course, in the genitive case. CONTESSIVS is a known Gallic name? and the feminine ConTESsSIA ?also occurs. The parallel Gallic spelling ConTEDDIVS is also found. This fragment bears a label ‘20th May 1870. Altmunster,’ and thus is also from Mainz. P. K. BAILLIE REYNOLDS. 1T am indebted to Dr. E. Ritterling for kindly giving me this piece of information. J had been unable to find either name on any German map. 2Ci W., XE, 1821, 2207, 2208. erbid., 1805. ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE FAMILIAR LETTERS OF JAMES HOWELL! In the following notes the references have been made to Joseph Jacobs’s edition (1890-1892), but I have added in brackets the number of the page of the volume in which letter or poem first appeared. It should be remembered that in some editions the pages of the book or section are numbered separately. The Vote was first printed in 1642, Book I. of the Letters in 1645, Book Il. in 1647, Book III. in 1650, Book IV. in 1655. (Letters numbered as in Jacobs, Text as in first editions.) TESTIMONIA. The following may be added to the passages prefixed to Jacobs’s Introduction, pp. xv—xx. ‘The details of this sublimeexpedition in thecommon Dryasdust are very unauthentic ; borrowed mostly from Howell’s Letters.? James Howell, a quickwitted, loquacious, scribacious, self-con- ceited Welshman of that time. He was presumably extant in Spain during these months ;. his Letters were put together above twenty years afterwards. Letters partly intended, I think, as a kind of Complete Letter-writer ; containing bits of History too, bits of wit and learning, philosophy and elegant style; an elegant reader’s vade-mecum ; intended alas, above all, to pro- cure a modicum of indispensable money for poor Howell. They have gone through twelve editions or more: they are infinitely more readable than most of the torpid rubbish, and fractions of them, if you discriminate well, are still worth reading. These are the foundations whereon our accounts of this sublime Expedi- tion rest. Very unauthentic ; but in fine we care nothing for the business itself.”’ THOMAS CARLYLE, Historical Sketches of Notable Persons and Events in the Reigns of James I. and Charles I. (written 1843-4, published posthumously 1898), pp. 152, 153. - 1§ee Vols. III., IV., V., and VI. of Aberystwyth Studies. 2 << “ Howell is very questionable,’ says Carlyle in a marginal note on a page of his copy of the Pictorial History of England”’ (Alexander Carlyle). 17 18 ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL “ Howell’s Epistles. These inimitable letters will soon be accessible in Mr. Arber’s reprint.”’ Joun E. B. Mayor, Note on p. 190 of his edition (1870) of the Life of Ambrose Bonwicke by his Father. [As late as 1880 the Hpistole Ho-Hliane appeared in a list of classes of books to be represented in ‘ The Old Series ’ of Arber’s ‘English Scholar’s Library,’ but they were never published. ] Joseph Jacobs’s Introduction, p. xxiv., ‘“‘ His mother is declared by the same authority to have been the daughter of one Chantor Huet, and was possibly sister-in-law to Sir Sackville Trevor, whom Howell addresses as ‘ uncle.’ ”’ Jacobs’s positive and conjectural statements about the relationships of Howell’s mother are both mistaken. According to “ the same authority ”’ —Theophilus Jones’s ‘ History of the County of Brecknock ’—Howell’s father, Thomas, ‘‘ married a granddaughter of Chantor Huet of Llanfan- fawr,”’ and, according to Sir J. K. Laughton in the ‘ D.N.B..,’ Sir Sackville Trevor (fi. 1632) married Eleanor daughter of Sir John Savage of Clifton, Cheshire, and widow of Sir Henry Bagnall. As Jacobs speaks of “‘ one Chantor Huet ”’ it looks as though he may have imagined Chantor to be a Christian name. For Thomas Huet or Huett, precentor or chantor of St. David’s, see the * D.N.B.,’ Cooper’s ‘ Athenae Cantabrigienses ’ and other works of reference. Mr. Richard Ellis has kindly referred me to Browne Willis’s ‘Survey of the Cathedral Church of St. David’s’ (1717), where I find, p. 142, that “‘ the Person enjoying this Dignity (the Precentorship), takes Place as the Dean does in other Cathedrals,” the Bishop being properly Dean. ‘The Vote, or a Poeme Royall,’ ll. 19, 20, p. 6 (1642, p. 2), No curious Land-skip, or some Marble peece Digd wp in Delphos, or else-where in Greece. 9 ‘““Some Marble peece,”’ etc., seems to have been suggested to Howell by the famous collections of Thomas Howard (1585-1646), Karl of Arundel, displayed in the galleries of Arundel House in the Strand. Selden’s ‘Marmora Arundeliana’ came out in 1628. | ‘The Vote, or a Poeme Royall,’ H. 135, 136, p. 9 (1642, p. 7), Good may the Entrance, better the middle be, And the Conclusion best of all the three. A letter of Howell’s, I[V., xxxvii (1655, p. 91) shews that he was familiar with the thought in its Italian form : i ‘““ These com to foretell, at leastwise to wish you, as the season invites mee, a Good New yeer, and according to the Italian. complement, buon principio, nughor mezzo, ed ottimo fine.” ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL 19 On p. 24 of Aber. Studies, Vol. VI., I suggested that there might be a Latin original and gave a conjectural hexameter. Certainly both in Greek and Latin we find lines of a traditional type in which a beginning, middle, and end are concisely described : IIodo6e Aéwv, dnibev 6& dodxwr, wéoon O€ yimatoa. Iliad vi., 181. Prima leo, postrema draco, media ipsa, Chimaera. Lucretius, V., 905. When in chap. xii. of ‘ Romola’ George Eliot writes ‘“‘ But what says the Greek ? ‘In the morning of life, work ; in the midday, give counsel ; in the evening, pray ’,” she evidently has in mind the line, “Eoya véwyv, Poviai 0& pwéowy, edvyal O€ yeoorvtwr. See Harpocration’s Lexicon, s. “Eoya véwyv, and Hesiod, ed. A. Rzach, Fragm. 220 (246). - Compare, Mane petas montes: medio nemus: vespere fontes. Heinrich Bebel’s ‘ Proverbia Germanica,’ ed. Suringar, no. 595. “The Vote, or a Poem Royall,’ ll. 221, 222 (1642, p. 11), Vertue still guide his course, and if there be A thing as Fortune Him accompanie. Compare the conclusion of I. 2, xxv., So my dear Cosen, may Vertue be your guide, and Fortune your companion. The source of the expression is Cicero, ‘ Epp. ad Fam.’ x., iu. 2, “‘ Omnia summa, consecutus es, virtute duce, comite fortuna.’ These last four words were the motto of the printer Sebastian Gryphius (c. 1491-1556). John Owen places them at the head of an epigram (II. xxii.) on Lord Burleigh, Fortunam Comitem regina creavit Elisa ; Cur non Virtutem fecerat ergo Ducem ? Page 13 (1645, sign. A3), To the knowing READER. Of Familiar or Letters-missive. Lines 1-2, Love is the life of frendship, Letters are | The life of Love. Compare, Book I., Sect. 1, xvii., p. 44 (1645, p. 29), Love is the marrow of friendship, and Letters are the Elixir of Love. There is a certain conventional or traditional arrangement of the thought in such sentences with their comparisons and three principal terms. We may take as an example the distich attributed to “ quidam modernorum’”’ by John of Salisbury, ‘ Policraticus,’ ITI. 1., Vita animae Deus est, haec corporis; hac fugiente Solvitur hoc, perit haec destituente Deo. 20 ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL Book I., Sect. 1,i., p. 17 (1647, p.1. This letter was first printed at the beginning of ed. 1 of Book II.), The Tongue in udo posita, being in a moyst slippery place may fayle and eh in her sudden extemporall expressions. Compare I., xxi. of the ‘ Hieroglyphica Horapollinis,’ ed. David Hoeschel, 1595, with J. Mercier’s Lat. translation, pp. 33, 34. Lidoon 0&, Ott Ota martes év VyE@ tudeyovoay TavTHY, “al yevéTEloay too eivat xahotot. Linguae autem, quod cum haec perpetuo in humido esse gaudeat, insuper et ipsam genitricem causamque rerum status appellant. Book J., Sect. 1, 1., p. 18 (1647, p. 2), Some modern Authors there are, who have expos’d their Letters to the world, but most of them, | meane among your Latin Epistolizers, go fraighted with meer Bartholomew ware, listed with pedantic shredds of School-boy verses. Jacobs in his Index glosses listed by “‘ stuffed.’’ This I take to be a mere guess. Justed (see the N.E.D.) = bordered, edged, striped. Here it appears to be equivalent to variegated, embellished. Book I., Sect. 1, i., p. 20 (1645, p. 3), Amongst others, Mistris T'urner, the first Inventresse of yellow-Starch, was executed in a Cobweb-Lawn Ruff of that color at Tyburn, and with her I believe that yellow-Starch, which so much disfigured our Nation, and rendred them so ridiculous and fantastic, will receive its Funerali. Jacobs in his note refers to E. F. Rimbault’s Life of Sir T. Overbury prefixed to his edition of Overbury’s ‘Miscellaneous Works,’ 1856, p. xxxvii., **'When Coke the Lord Chief Justice, sentenced her to death for her share in the murder of Overbury, he added the strange order, that ‘as she was the person who had brought yellow starched ruffs into vogue, she should be hanged in that dress, that the same might end in shame and detestation.’ Even the hangman who executed this unfortunate woman was decorated with yellow ruffs on the occasion.” But see Andrew Amos, ‘The Great Oyer of Poisoning,’ 1846, p. 46, “Michael Sparke, who under the affected latinized name of Scintilla, published his “‘ Truth brought to ight by Time,” in the year 1651, relates, with little probability of truth, that Mrs. Turner was actually sentenced by Sir E. Coke to be hanged at Tyburn in a ruff stiffened with her own yellow starch.” Carlyle of course pounced on the picturesque incident of the yellow ruff : ‘* Widow Turner being a person of respectability, though at Tyburn, could not but appear in yellow ruffs duly got up ; whereupon all the world indignantly scoured its ruff white again. O Widow Turner, Widow ‘Turner, the getting up of that yellow ruff, the night before Tyburn ! ” ‘Historical Sketches,’ part I, chap. xv., p. 122. ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL 21. Book I., Sect. 1, ii1., p. 22 (1645, p. 5), The small time I super- vis’d the Glasse-house, I got amongst those Venetians some smatterings of the Italian Tongue, which, besides the lttle I have, you know, of School-languages, is all the Preparatives I have made for travell. Jacobs prints ** School-language,” the corrupt reading of the 1737 edition, and explains it as “ language of the ‘ Schools,’ Latin, in which language alone the disputations could be held by which degrees could be obtained,’ with a reference to C. Wordsworth’s ‘ Scholae Academicae.’ This is beside the mark. Howell wrote ‘“ School-languages,”’ i.e. Greek and Latin. He uses the same term elsewhere. Book I., Sect. 1, v., p. 25 (1645, p. 8), Having bin so rocked and shaken at Sea; when I came a shore I began to incline to Copernicus his opinion, which hath got such a sway lately in the World, viz. That the Earth as well as the rest of her fellow EHle- ments, 18s in perpetuall motion, for she seem’d so to me a good while after I had landed: He that observes the site and position of this Countrey, will never hereafter doubt the truth of that Philosophicall Problem which keeps so great a noise in the Schools, viz. That the Sea is higher then the Harth, because as I sail’d along these Coasts, I visibly found it true ; for the Ground here which is all twixt Marsh and Moorish, hes not onely levell, but to the apparant sight of the ey far lower then the Sea. The references given in Jacobs’s note in illustration of *‘ That Philoso- phical Problem ”’ prove that he referred these words by mistake to what has just been mentioned,—the question of the earth’s movement. But if what follows is read with any attention it is clear that the reference is to “ That the Sea is higher than the Earth.”’ For an example of the discussion of this question in the seventeenth century see Bernhardus Varenius, * Geographia generalis,’ lib. I., cap. xiii., Propositio 2, ‘Oceanus non est majoris alitt- tudinis, quam terrae littora, atque ideo terra & aqua ejusdem jfere sunt alti- tudims ubique, exceptis montibus excelsis, and Propositio 3, Cur mare con- specium € littore videtur in majorem altitudinem & tuwmorem assurgere, quo a@ littore remotius est. ‘Book L., Sect. 1, xiii., p. 38 (1645, p. 23), That in the List of those frends I left behind me in England, you are one of the prime rank, one whose name I have mark’d with the whitest Stone. See Catullus Ixviii., 148: Quem lapide illa diem candidiore notat, and the similar passages col- lected by A. Otto, ‘ Sprichwoérter der Rémer,’ s.v. calculus. With Howell it is not the day but the name which is thus marked. Book I., Sect. 1, xvii., p. 45 (1645, p. 30),. . . and as we had exchang’d some blows, it pleas’d God, the Chevalier de Guet, an 22 ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL Officer, who goes up and down the Streets all night a Horseback to prevent disorders, pass’d by, and so rescued us. The incorrect ‘“‘ Chevalier de Guet”’ in this passage was repeated in several editions of the Letters. Howell has the correct form in I., 1, xliv..,. ‘Ther is an Officer call’d Le Chevalier du Guet (which is a kind of Night- guard) here [= at Lyons] as well as in Paris.” Yet Jacobs, while giving the correct form in both places, does not recognize the designation of the Captain of the Watch, but evidently thinks he is dealing with a proper name. His note on the earlier letter is “ Chevalier du Guet, mentioned later on, p. 98, but in a passage derived from a work of fiction where the names are expressly said to be fictitious.” Book L., Sect. 1, xviil., p. 47 (1645, p. 32), When Henry the fourth fell upon some great Martiall designe, the bottom wherof is not known to this day ; and being rich (for he had heap’d up in the Bastile a mount of Gold that was as high as a Lance) he levied a huge Army of 40000 men,’ whence came the Song, The King of France with fourty thousand men... . The measurement of a pile of gold by the height of a lance reminds us of the practice of ‘ acervation,’ See Mélusine, February—March, 1901, and the story told in Carlyle’s ‘ Frederick,’ book II., chap. vili., where Markgraf Otto IV of Brandenburg, who has been taken prisoner by the Archbishop of Magdeburg (1278) frees himself by ransom : ** “We are clear, then, at this date ? ’ said Markeraf Otto from his horse, just taking leave of the Magdeburg Canonry. ‘ Yes,’ answered they. ‘Pshaw, you don’t know the value of a Markgraf!’ said Otto. ‘ What is it, then ?’ ‘ Rain gold ducats on his war-horse and him,’ said Otto, look- ing up with a satirical grin, ‘ till horse and Markgraf are buried in them, and you cannot see the point of his spear atop!’ That would be a cone of gold coins equal to the article, thinks our Markeraf; and rides grinning away. Book I., Sect. 1, xxii., p. 56 (1645, p. 42), The Duke of Ossuna pass’d by here lately. | It should be noted that one of the characters in Robert Burton’s Latin. comedy Philosophaster (written in 1606, acted in the Hall of Christ Church, 1617) is °‘ Desiderius, Osunae Dux.’’ The Duke of Osufia mentioned above by Howell, Pedro Tellez Giron (1579-1626), had acquired a reputation for - learning as a student at the University of Salamanca and was famous as a young man for his daring wit at the royal court. Burton may have been. thinking of him when he chose a title for the founder of the University of Ossuna in his play. Book I., Sect. 1, xxvii., p. 63 (1645, p. 50), from a Shipboard before Venice. .. . shaken at Sea in divers Tempests neer upon fourty dayes, I mean naturall dayes, which include the nights also, and are compos’d of four and twenty hours, by which number the ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL 23 ftalian computes his time, and tells his Clock, for at the writing hereof, I heard one from Jfalamocca strike one and twenty hours : The locus classicus of English literature for this method of time-keeping is, perhaps, in stanza xxv of ‘ Bianca’s Dream’ by Thomas Hood : A clock it was of the Venetian breed, That cried the hour from one to twenty-four ; The works moreover standing in some need Of workmanship, it struck some dozens more. Book I., Sect. 1, xxxi., p. 72 (1645, p. 60), I leave the further disquisition of this point to your own contemplations, who are a far riper philosopher then I, and have waded deeper into, and drunk more of Aristotles Well ; _ Jacobs offers no comment on the last words. Perhaps he understood the well to be purely figurative. But see ‘Remarks and Collections of Thomas Hearne,’ vol. vi., Oxford Historical Society, p. 186, under June 10, 1718, ‘* Aristotle’s Well is in the Midway between Oxford and Wolvercote. Before we come to it is another way [?] call’d Walton-Well, from the old Village of Walton, now destroy’d. I have mention’d both these Wells in my Preface to John Rowse. Aristotle's Well was so call’d from the Scholars, especially such as studied his Philosophy, going frequently to it & refreshing themselves at it, there being an House for these Occasions just by it. [Hearne adds in a note, “ They us’d to drink Water & Sugar there.”] Frequenting Wells was a Thing much in vogue in former Times. As for Aristotle’s Well, it was most of all frequented when Coursing was in practise, a Custom put down by the Care & Management of Bp. Fell. After Disputations on Ash-Wednesdays, the Scholars used to go out into the Fields & box it. The Places chiefly used for boxing were on the North side of the City, and such as came off Victors went away in Triumph, & were sure not to let Aristotle’s Well be unsaluted upon those Occasions, where Trophies of their Victories were scmetime left.” Book I., Sect. 1, xxxiv., p. 75 (1645, p. 62), But ’tis not fitting, that paper which is made of old Ragg’s (wherwith Letters are swaddled) should have the same priviledg as Love, which is a spirituall thing, and hath something of Divinity in it, Compare John Owen’s ‘ Epigrammata,’ I., cli., 4, Nam res est spiritualis amor. Book I., Section 1, xxxiv., p. 75 (1645, p. 63), Since then, Letters are denied such a velocity, I allow this of mine twenty _dayes, which is the ordinary time allow’d twixt Venice and London, to com unto you, and thank you a thousand times over for your last of the tenth of June. Jacobs’s*comment on “ the tenth of June ”’ is ‘“‘ If the post from Venice to London took twenty days, it is hard to see how Howell could have acknowledged on 29th June a letter dated 10th in London.” 24 ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL b) To this may be replied, firstly, that ‘“‘ twenty days” represents the average time. Under special circumstances a post might arrive sooner, just as now-a-days the date at which Australian letters are delivered in London may vary according to the speed of the mail-steamer. Secondly, although it was no doubt unreasonable for the royal Bengal tiger which Peter Simple saw at the fair to measure sixteen feet from the snout to the tail, and seventeen from the tail to the snout, yet the post from London to Venice might conceivahly be quicker than that from Venice to London. Thirdly, Jacobs’s argument is based on a misreading of the date of Howell’s reply, which is not 29 June, but 29 July. Yet, when he reaches this at the end of the letter, he is still dissatisfied and writes (having already forgotten his previous note) “ 29 July, 1621. The date of the month is inconsistent with H.’s statement of the time the post took from-Venice to London.” Book 1. Sect. 1, xxxvi., 1p. 79 (1645) py Gs) Sw’ Pelago Tibrim prefers, urbem aspice utrumque. Such is the mangled form in which the 5th lhne of Sannazaro’s famous. epigram on Venice appeared in the ‘ Epistolae Ho-Elianae’ in 1645. By the time of Jacobs’s edition urbem had recovered its gender, and the imperative was no longer disguised, but the first word of the line was given as Sic. It should be Sv. Book I., Sect. 1, xxxviil., p. 84 (1645, p. 73), They are toler- ated for advantage of commerce, wherin the Jews are wonderfull dextrous, though most of them be onely Brokers, and Lom- bardeers ; and they are held to be here, as the Cinic held Women to be malum necessarium. Compare IV., vii., p. 567 (1655, p. 16), “ But a far wilder speech was. that of the Dogg-Philosopher, who term’d Women Necessary Evils.” Cp. Menander, 651, To yawew édv tic thy adnOevay cxosn), xaxov méev Eotw GA avayxatov xaxdor, Book I., Sect. 1, xlii., p. 95 (1645, p. 85), They are generally indulgent of themselves, and great embracers of pleasure, which may proceed from the luscious rich Wines, and luxurious Food, Fruits, and Roots, wherwith the Countrey abounds, Insomuch, that in som places, Nature may be said to be Lena swi, A Baud to her self. The Latin expression is from Cicero, ‘De natura deorum,’ i., 27, 77, ‘““ Sed tu hoe, physice, non vides, quam blanda conciliatrix et quasi sui sit lena natura ? ” Book I., Sect. 1, xliii., p. 96 (1645, p. 86) . . . till I came to this Town of Lions, where a Countrey man of ours, one Mr. Lewis, whom I knew in Alicant lives Factour. ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL 25 Jacobs observes, ‘“‘ There is a Lewis mentioned in Spedding, Life, vii., 30, as patentee of berths from Wales, who may have been H.’s friend or related to him.”’ ‘“* Patentee of berths from Wales ’”’ is enigmatic. But on referring to Spedding’s ‘ Life and Letters ’ of Bacon we find Buckingham writing to the Lord Chancellor “‘ His Majesty was pleased at the suit of some who have near relation to me to grant a licence for transportation of butter out of Wales unto one Lewis and Williams.’ As these men “ utterly refuse to perform ”’ the conditions of the contract, he begs Bacon to summon Lewis and Williams before him, and to insist on their keeping the agreement or being deprived of the benefit. of the patent. The letter is dated 14 May, 1619. According to the dates which Howell added in his 2nd edition to I. 1, xxv and xxvi, he would appear to have left Alicante about the end of March, 1621, after a stay of three months. Buckingham’s protegé might, of course, by that time have deserted his native milk-walk, or butter-slide, or whatever the business was, and transferred his commercial activities to the Continent, but, in default of evidence, Jacobs’s guess is worth exactly nothing. Book I., Sect. 1, xliv., p. 98 (1645, p. 88), The next morning, the two souldiers that had gon with Ineutenant Jaqvette were found dead under the City Wall, amongst the Ordure and Eacrements, b) In the story in Francois de Rosset’s * Les histoires tragiques de nostre temps, 2nd ed., 1615, and 3rd ed., 1623, ‘ Histoire vii.’ the name is la Taquiere. Jacobs refers to a 1609 edition of the French book, which I have not seen. The condition of the ground under the city wall will be under- - stood if we remember, e.g., the latrines on the Aurelian walls at Rome and the sanitary arrangements in our own castles; see Miss Bateson’s “Mediaeval England,’ p. 31. It is illustrated by the Spanish proverb which Howell quotes in I., 6, lx. Book I., Sect. 3,i., p. 144 (1645, p. 49), The Marquis of Buck- angham continueth still in fulnesse of grace and favor; the Countesse his Mother swaies also much at Court, she brought Sir Henry Montague from delivering law on the K. Bench, to look to his bags in the Hachequer, for she made him Lord high Treasurer of England. Jacobs asserts in a note that Sir Henry Montagu was “ raised to the Barony of Montagu of Boughton in 1621.” This is an error. The first Lord Montagu of Boughton (cr. 1621) was Edward (c. 1562-1644) who died a Royalist prisoner in the Tower. His brother Henry (c. 1563- 1642), Chief Justice of the K.B., Lord High Treasurer, author of ‘ Man- chester al Mondo,’ and father of the Parliamentary General, was created Baron Montagu of Kimbolton and Viscount Mandeville in 1620, and Earl of Manchester in 1626. _ Book L., Sect. 2, x1., pp. 110, 111 (1645, p. 13), But you came off with losse of eight men onely, and Algier is anothergetts thing now, then she was then, being I beleeve a hundred degrees 26 ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL stronger by Land and Sea, and for the latter strength we may thank our Countreyman Ward, and Dansker the butterbag Hollander, which may be said to have bin two of the fatallest and most infamous men that ever Christendome bred; for the one taking all Hnghshmen, and the other all Dutchmen, and bringing the Ships and Ordnance to Algier, they may be said to have bin the chief Raysers of those Picaroons to be Pirats, which are now come to that height of strength, that they daily endammage and affront all Christendom. Jacobs, having failed here to test the spelling of the 1737 edition by the earliest, prints the Dutchman’s name as Danskey. In the Dutch Biographical Dictionary of A. J. van der Aa, he is Simon de Danser. He is, I suppose, the “‘ Simon Danz ”’ of Longfellow’s ‘ Dutch Picture ’ in ‘ Birds of Passage,’ who ‘““Singed the beard of the King of Spain, And carried away the Dean of Jaen And sold him in Algiers. Bock I., Sect. 3, xxxiv., p. 205 (1645, p. 114), To Sir Robert Napier Knight, at his house in Bishops-gate-street, from Madrid. ‘Aubrey ’’ writes Jacobs “‘has a long account of him, Misc.. 90, 159-61. A life of him in Anthony a Wood.” This is all wrong. The “Sir Richard Napier, M.D., of London,” of whom a very short story is told at page 90 of John Aubrey’s ‘ Miscellanies ’ (the paging is that of the reprint in J. Russell Smith’s * Library of Old Authors ’) is Sir Richard Napier, Knight, a son of the Sir Robert men- tioned above. Aubrey’s account at the second reference is of Sir Robert’s brother, Richard Napier or Napper (1559-1634), the astrologer and pupil of Simon Forman, who was rector of Great Linford, Bucks. 'There is no life of Sir Robert Napier in Wood’s ‘ Athenae.’ _He is mentioned once (vol. ii. ed. Bliss, p. 103), and then merely as the father of the astrologer, in which same capacity he is mentioned again (ii. 47) in Wood’s ‘ Fasti Oxonienses.’ There is another Robert Napier in the ‘Fasti,’ but he eraduated as B.A. in 1562, and was afterwards Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland. On the other hand, the ‘ Athenae’ has an account (ii., 103, 104) of Richard Napier the astrologer, towards the end of the life of Simon Forman, and he is mentioned in the life of John Dee (iu1., 292) and in a footnote to that of Kenelm Digby (i., 688). Other Napiers are noticed by Wood, but enough has been said to justify our suspicion that | Jacobs here, as elsewhere, did not pursue his researches beyond an index and deliberately flung a pack of references in the face of his readers. For the Sir Robert Napier (1560-1637) of this letter see the ‘ D.N.B.’ Book I, Sect. 4, x., p. 2238 (1645, p. 14), Ther be summcns out for a Parliament, | pray God it may prove more prosperous then the former. di acobs’s note is ‘“‘ The summonses were issued by Williams on Dec. 16, 1625. Gard. V. 37, D’Ewes, Autob. i. 275 gives llth July as the date.” ae ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL 27 A more careful reading of D’Ewes would have shewn that his date is that of a different event. ‘On Monday, the 11th day of July, the Parlia- ment was adjourned to Oxford, to begin there on the Ist day of August.” On p. 279 D’Ewes writes, “ For the present Parliament, which had been adjourned or prorogued on July the 11th, at London, to begin again at Oxford on August the Ist, was now suddenly and unexpectedly dissolved, to the great grief of all good subjects that loved true religion, their King, and the Commonwealth.” Book I., Sect. 5, xvil., p. 268 (1645, p. 24), My Lord President is still indispos’d at Dr. Nappiers. Book L., Sect. 5, xix., p. 269 (1645, p. 24), My Lord continues still in cours of Physic at Dr. Nappiers. In notes on these two passages Jacobs refers to an earlier note, on [. 5, xv., where he identifies a “‘ Mr. Napier ’’ as Richard Napier (1607-1676) afterwards Sir Richard, the eminent physician. But the letters in which ‘Dr. Nappier ’ is mentioned are dated 1629, when the future Sir Richard Napier was a very young man. He received a licence to practise medicine in 1633. There can be no doubt that the Dr. Nappier was Sir Richard’s uncle, the astrologer Richard Napier or Napper (1559-1634), who was rector of Great Linford, Bucks. He is here termed “ Dr.” as being a practitioner of medicine. He received a licence in 1604. See Sir Sidney Lee’s life of him in the ‘D.N.B.”’ “ His medical patients included Emmanuel Scrope, eleventh Baron Scrope of Bolton and Earl of Sunderland, who resided at Great Linford in 1627.’’ Sunderland is, of course, the Lord President of - Howell’s letter. Book I., Sect. 5, xxili., p. 273 (1645, pp. 27, 28), Vpon black eyes, and becoming frownes, A Sonet. Stanza iv., lines 1-4, O powrfull Negromantic eyes, who in your circles strictly pryes, Will find that Cupid with his dart In you doth practise the black art, Jacobs, by following the 1737 edition in spelling Necromantic, mercilessly destroys the point of these lines. | “ Necromancy, orig. divination by raising the dead, corrupted into MedL. nigromantic, F. & E. nigromancie, and translated as black art.’’ Ernest Weekley, ‘ Etymological Dictionary of Modern English.’ Book I., Sect. 5, xxvii., p. 278 (1645, p. 33), But I beleeve the King of Denmare far’d the better, because he is Granchild to Charles the Emperours sister. Charles V.’s sister Elisabeth married King Christian IT., “‘ a very rash, unwise, explosive man ”’ (T. Carlyle). He was no ancestor of Christian IV. but first cousin to his grandfather, Christian III. A.S.—VOL, VIII. C 28 ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL Book I., Sect. 5, xxxili., p. 284 (1645, pp. 39, 40), Ther is little newes at our Court, but that ther fell an ill-favoured quarrell ‘twixt Sir Kenelm Digby, and Mr. Goring, Mr. Jermin, and others at St. Lames lately about Mrs. Baker, the Mayd of honor, and Duels were like to grow of it, but that the busines was taken up by the Lord Treasurer, My Lo. of Dorset, and others appointed by the King. On the date of March Ist, 1630, which Howell added to this letter Jacobs observes “ This conflicts with the account given by Sir K. Digby of the same duel in which H. was wounded and, as Digby alleges, cured by his ‘sympathetic powder.’ See Suppt. Doc. xxii. and notes, in which I show that H.’s account is the more probable—for once.”? Document xxii. of the Supplement is an extract from R. White’s English translation of Sir K. Digby’s ‘ Late Discourse . . . touching the cure of Wounds by the Powder of Sympathy ’ (the discourse appeared both in French and English, says Jacobs, during Howell’s lifetime). In his notes on this document Jacobs writes ‘‘ There can be little doubt that Digby is describing the same duel mentioned by Howell, supra, p. 284.’ Now the duel of which Digby speaks was one between two of Howell’s friends, in trying to separate whom Howell himself was wounded. But on page 284 Howell only men- tions “‘ an ill-favoured quarrell ’? which might have resulted in duels, only it didn’t. Book I., Sect. 5, xxxvill., p. 288 (1645, p. 44), The maine of the Embassy is to condole the late death of the Lady Sophia Queen Dowager of Denmarck our King’s Granmother : She was the Duke of Mecklenburgs daughter, and her husband Christian the third dying young, her portion which was forty thousand pound was restor’d her, and living a Widdow forty four yeers after . . . she was reputed the richest Queen of Christendome. Though Howell had accepted the appointment of Secretary to this Embassy, he had not yet mastered the relationships of the Danish Court. Sophia, Charles I.’s grandmother, was the widow, not of Christian [II., but of his son, Frederick Il. “‘ Il [Frédéric I1.] finit par épouser la prin- cesse meklenbourgoise Sophie, qui était douée d’éminentes facultés intellectuelles et qui fut mére de Christian IV.” C.F. Allen, ‘ Histoire de Danemark ’ (transl. E. Beauvois), 1878, u., 29. Christian III.’s queen was Dorothea of Sachsen-Lauenburg. Book I., Sect. 6., xvi., p. 318 (1645, p. 29), My Brain was ore cast with a thick clow’d of melancholly, | was becom a lump I know not of what, I could scarce find any palpitation within me on the left side ; See Juvenal, Sat. vii., 159-160, . . . laevae parte mamillae Nil salit Arcadico iuueni. ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL 29 Howell is apparently recalling this and adopting the Roman view in which the heart was the seat of intellect. Book I., Sect. 6, xxii., p. 325 (1645, p. 37), One sent me lately from Holland this Distic of Peter van Heyn, which savours of a little profanes. Roma sur sileat posthac miracula Petri, Petrus apud Batavos plura stupenda facit. Let Rome no more her Peier’s Wonders tell, For Wonders, Hollands Peter bears the bell. The author of the distich remembered his Martial, ‘ Epigrammaton liber’ (‘ Liber spectaculorum ’) 1., I, Barbara pyramidum sileat miracula Memphis. | Book L., Sect. 6, xxvii., ll. 9, 10 of the Decastich, p. 329 (1645, p. 42), This Wine is still one-eard, and brisk, though put Out of Italian Cask im English Butt. For one-eared wine see Rabelais, I., chap. 5, “‘ O le gentil vin blanc! et, par mon ame, ce n’est que vin de taffetas.—Hen, hen, il est & une aureille, bien drappé et de bonne laine.”’ ** * Of one ear’ refers to the jar, which, as holding the best wine, would be smaller and have only one handle or ear,’ W. L. Smith. We may compare Greek and Latin usage, the English “ Little pitchers have long ears,”’ etc. Littré offers an entirely different explanation. “Vin d’une oreille, le bon vin; vin de deux oreilles, le mauvais ; on -appelle ainsi le bon vin, parce que le bon vin fait pencher la téte de celui qui le goute dun coté seulement ; et le mauvais vin, parce qu’on secoue la téte et par conséquent les deux oreilles (c’est explication donnée par de Brieux),” ‘ Dictionnaire de la Langue Frangaise,’ tome 11., p. 853, col. 1. Under “ Ear,”’ substantive 1, I., 9, the ‘ N.E.D.’ quotes “ [the wine] is of one eare, well wrought and of good wooll’’ from Urquhart’s Rabelais 1, v., but only says “A French idiom of obscure origin.’ Elsewhere, under “one-eared ” a.”, it suggests that ‘“one-ear’d”’ in this passage of Howell is an error for “ one-yeared.’’ Jacobs, in whose text we get un-ear'd, refrains from comment. Book I., Sect. 6, xli., pp. 351-52 (1645, p. 67), The Archb. of Canterbury was lately outrag’d in his House by a pack of common people. For the incident Jacobs refers to “Evelyn, Life of Laud, p. 425. There is no such work. For ‘‘ Evelyn” read Heylyn. Book 1, Sect. 6, lii., p. 361 (1645, p. 75), To Mr. John Batty, Marchant. SIR, I receiv’d the Printed discours you pleas’d to send me, call’d 30 ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL the Marchants Remonstrance, for which I return you due and deserved thanks. ‘‘ This letter,”’ says Jacobs in a note, “ was prefixed to Batty’s book,” and he adds that ‘‘ according to Bliss, Athenae, iii., col. 752, it [‘ the Mer- chant’s Remonstrance’] was published in 1648, 7.e., three years after the first book of H.’s letters—which is absurd.’’ Now, what are the facts ? In the first place, this letter was not prefixed to Batty’s book, as can be seen at once by anyone who takes the trouble to examine that work. On what evidence does Jacobs hazard a statement, the falsity of which is so evident ? He read the following, which is among Bliss’s additions at the end of the list of Howell’s works in the Athenae (111. 752): ‘‘ James Howell wrote a prose address to his much esteemed friend Mr. [John] Battie, pre- fixed to that person’s Merchant's Remonstrance, 4°, 1648,” and lightly leaped to the conclusion that this “ prose address ’’ was the same as I., 6, li., of the ‘Epp. Ho-Elianae.’ *'The Merchants Remonstrance. ... By 1. B. of London Merchant ’ was published in February, 1644. Howell has dated the letter in which he returned thanks for a presenta- tion copy 4 May 1644. In a “ Revived and inlarged’”’ form the work appeared in 1648, with the author’s name on the title-page. It was to this edition, as Bliss says, that Howell’s “ prose address ”’ was prefixed, and here it is: To my much esteemed Friend Mr. Battie. SIR, | I perused with no lesse profit then pleasure your manuscript, wherein you discourse with so much judgement of Trade ; discovering the causes of the present impairment thereof, and how it may be improved hereafter : Whereby I find that a publike soule, and the affections of a good Patriot dwell in you; things, God-wot, which are rarely found now in England, such is the hard fate of the times, wherein men scrue up their braines, and stretch all their sinews to draw water to their own Mills only, though to the prejudice of the Common-good: But they are much out of their account, who think, that private fortunes can long subsist, if the publike begin to languish ; unlesse a care be had of Ware River, Middletons pipes will run but poorly, and every one will find it in his private Cisterns. This Tract of yours may serve for a true prospective to the English Merchant to see the visible calamities that are already upon him ; as also for a Larum bell to awake his slumbring spirits to a timely prevention of farre greater; And well fare your heart for it: So I rest Your faithfull friend to dispose of James Howell. Book I., Sect. 6, lii., p. 364 (1645, p. 79), The Lord Aubeny hath an Abbacy of one thousand five hundred Pistols a yeer given him yeerly there, and is fair for a Cardinalls Hat. He has the more recognisable spelling Aubsgny in Jacob’s text, but there is no attempt at identification. See, however, G.E.C.’s ‘ Complete Peer- age,’ new ed., vol. I., pp. 330-331. Ludovic Stuart, Seigneur d’Aubigny (1619-1665) was a younger son of Esmé Stuart, Seigneur d’Aubigny (ce. | | ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL 31 -1579-1624), Earl of March 1619, who succeeded his elder brother as Duke of Lennox in 1624. Ludovic took orders and was appointed Abbé of Haute Fontaine and a Canon of Notre Dame at Paris. He did homage to Louis XIV. for the Seigneurie of Aubigny in 1656. He was Chief Almoner to the Queen Dowager of England, and died at Paris, Nov. 11, 1665, a few days aiter he was nominated a Cardinal. Book IT, 1x., p. 887 (1647, p. 23), And ’tis a thing of wonder- ment how at her very first growth, she flew over the heads of so many interjacent, vast Regions into this remote isle so soon, and that her rayes should shine upon the crown of a British King first of any, | mean King Lucius, the true Proto-Christian King in the dayes of Hleutherius, at which time she receav’d her pro- pagation ; but for her plantation she had had it long before by some of the Apostles themselves. 99 Jacobs’s note on “ Apostles’ is “‘ A reference probably to Joseph of Arimathea and his bringing the Holy Grail hither.’’ But Ussher in the first chapter of his ‘ Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates’ (1639) collects passages in which writers speak of visits to the British Isles by James the son of Zebedee, Simon Zelotes, Simon Peter, and St. Paul. Book II., xl., p. 433 (1647, p. 105), But sioréov xai édAmuotéov I hope I shall not sink under the burden, but that we shall be both reserved for better dayes, specially now that the King (with the sun and the Spring) makes his aproach more and more towards us from the North. In the Ist edition of Book II., the Greek suffered as above. As may be seen from Jacobs’s text, oiotéov has come into its own, but from 1650 onwards édjmiotéov shed its 2, and appears in this disguise in Jacobs’s text and in that of the ‘ Temple Classics ’ edition. According to Jacobs, the expression here and in xxxvii. about the King’s approach is “ probably a reference to Charles I.’s being brought south after being sold at New- castle, Jan. 1647.”’ The two letters are dated respectively the 3rd of August, and the Ist of May, 1645. But, granting that Howell was occa- sionally reckless in appending dates to these letters, there is a further difficulty. His brother, to whom the present letter is addressed, died in 1646. Book II., liti., p. 448 (1647, p. 129), . . . and in a sweet and well devoted harmonious soul, cor is no other then Camera Omnipotentis Regis tis one of Gods closets. Whoever originated this interpretation of cor may merely have been indulging his acrostical ingenuity, but it might well have ranked at one time among serious etymologies, like that of cadaver from caro data vermibus, taught by Alexander Neckam and accepted, it would seem, by Sir Edward Coke, if not also by a judge in the nineteenth century. See Notes and Queries, 9th Series, ix., 188, 490, and xi., 18. 32 ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL Book II., Ixiv., p. 490 (1647, p. 214), Insomuch that you could not make choice of a fitter ground for a Prisoner, as Iam, to passe over, then of that purple Isle, that Isle of man you sent me, which as the ingenious Authour hath made it, is a far more dainty soyle then that scarlet Island which hes nere the Baltic Sea. In a former note (Aber. Studies, vi., p. 40) I suggested that the Scarlet Island was Heligoland with its red cliffs. I was utterly mistaken. The island is undoubtedly Hven in the Sound, where Tycho Brahe at one time had his observatory. I copy the following legend of its title. ‘* All Strangers call it the Scarlet Island, and so do all Sea-faring Men. I never could meet with any thing in my Reading that gave the Reason of this Name: The Account I had of it at Copenhagen, and which you will take care to Forget, if it seems Impertinent to you, was this: It’s said that Queen Elizabeth, supposing this Island would be of great Advantage to her, upon the Account of the Trade of the Baltick, proposed to buy it of Frederick II. and the Bargain was made, for as much Scarlet Cloth as would cover the Island, (which was very absurd) or rather for such a quantity of Scarlet ; but that notwithstanding this exorbitant Price, the King coming to reflect upon what he had done, and willing to elude the Bargain, his Fool found a way to do it, by saying, that he quitted all Claim to the Island, for the quantity of Cloath that had been agreed on ; but that the Hnglish must carry it away a long with them, for the King could not suffer another Nation to come and settle so near his Capital City. But besides that this Evasion did not at all become a King, the whole seemed to me to be so Simple and Trifling, that I shall say no more of it.” ‘Travels through Denmark and some Parts of Germany: By way of Journal in the Retinue of the Hnglish Envoy, in 1702... . Done into English from the French Original.’ London, 1707, page 158. The Envoy was James Vernon (d. 1756) son of the Secretary of State of the same name. The French writer was M. de la Combe de Vrigny. Carlyle provides a parallel in his account of the splendours of the first King of Prussia’s coronation : ‘‘ Streets were hung with cloth, carpeted with cloth, no end of draperies and cloth ; your oppressed imagination feels as if there was cloth enough, of scarlet and other bright colours, to thatch the Arctic Zone.” ‘ Frederick the Great,’ book I., chap. v. Book II., lxxi., p. 496 (1647, p. 224), Captain Don Tomas, Could I write my love unto you, with a ray of the Sunne, as once Aurelius the Romane Kmperour wish’d to a friend of his, you know this cleare horizon of Spain could afford me plenty, which cannot be had so constantly all the seasons of the yeare in your clowdy clyme of England. The earliest example given by the ‘ N.E.D.’ of such a phrase as “to write with a ray of the Sun ”’ is from a sermon of John Jortin’s (1698-1770), ‘*' The great duties of life are written with a Sun-beam,”’ which is quoted under Sunbeam, le. But Tertullian ‘ De resurrectione carnis,’ cap. 47, | | ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL 33 has “ Age iam, quod ad Thessalonicenses ipsius solis radio putem scrip- mum). . see Notes and ‘Queries, vol. 148, p. 301. Book III., xxiii., p. 550 (1650, p. 39), Ther is a famous story of such a paction which Fryer Louis made som half a hundred yeers ago with the Devil! in Marseilles, who appear’d to him in shape of a Goat... . The story is told in Francois de Rosset’s ‘ Les Histoires tragiques de nostre temps,’ Hist. II., pp. 38-81 (in ed. 3, Lyons, 1623) ‘ De Vhorrible et espouuantable sorcelerie de Louys Goffredy Prestre de Marseiile.’ The paction is described on p. 43, “‘ Cedule mutuelle s’en faict. Ce maudit escrit de son sang la sienne, & Sathan l’autre de sa main.”’ - Book IV., v., p. 563 (1655, p. 11), The Naturalists observe, that morning spittle kills Dragons, so Fasting helps to destroy the Devil, provided it be accompanied with other acts of devotion. To Jacobs’s references may be added the ‘ Symbola et Emblemata ’ of Joachim Camerarius (II.), Centuria IV., Ixxxvi., Emoritur serpens hominis contacta saliva : Hei mihi quam magnum sobrietatis opus ! Book IV., vii., p. 569 (1655, p. 20), Moreover, in coupling women by way of Matrimony, it would be a good Law, and consentaneous to reason, if out of all Dowries exceeding 100 1. ther should be two out of every cent deducted and put into a common Tresury for putting off hard-favor’d and poor Maids. Howell may have taken a hint from Herodotus, i., 196. Book IV., ix., p. 573 (1655, p. 24), To Sir R. Wilkams Knight. Jacobs has a note onthe name: ‘Can scarcely be the Sir Roger Williams of Elizabeth’s time unless this is a very early letter.” It would indeed be an example of epistolary precocity, seeing that the Elizabethan Sir Roger died in 1595, while Howell was born at the earliest in 1593. Book IV., x., p. 574 (1655, p. 26), Your Letters are like Christmas, they com but once a yeer. There was no occasion for Jacobs to argue from this that the proverb “Christmas comes but once a year’ must have been current in Howell’s day. Itis, presumably, much older. See, e.g. the mention in Henslowe’s Diary (ed. W. W. Greg) of “‘a playe called cryssmas comes bute once ayeare ’’ by Dekker, Chettle, Heywood, and Webster, (f. 118), and the passage of Tusser given in W. Gurney Benham’s “ Book of Quotations.” Book IV., xl., p. 627 (1655, p. 95), I heartily congratulat your return to England, and that you so safely cross’d the Scythian 34 ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL Vaie, for so old Gildas calls the Irish Seas in regard they are so boystrous and rough. Jacobs, who misquotes Howell in his note, says “‘H. gets this from Usher. Primordia, 442.” This is a wrong reference. On p. 442 of Ussher’s ‘ Britannicarum ecclesiarum antiquitates ’ (‘ De ecclesiarum Britannicarum — primordiis) (1639), the name Gildas is mentioned, but there is nothing about the Irish Seas. It is on p. 606 that Ussher quotes from Gildas the account of the invasion of Britain by the Picts and Scots. When the Romans left the country, “‘ emergunt certatim de curucis quibus sunt trans Scythicam vallem evecti (quasi in alto Titane incalescenteque caumate de arctissimis foraminum caverniculis fusci vermiculorum cune!) tetri Scotorum Pictorumque greges moribus ex parte dissidentes, & una eademque sanguinis fundendi aviditate concordes,”’ etc., etc. As will be seen by Joseph Stevenson’s edition of Gildas, there is a diffi- culty about the reading of the adjective before vallem. Stevenson prints Cichicam. Book IV., |., p. 645 (1655, p. 120), By the expiration of such Atomes the dogg finds the sent as he hunts, the Pestilence infects, the Loadstone attracts iron, the Sympathetic powder or Zaphyrian salt calcin’d by Apollinean heat, operating in July and August till it com to a lunary complexion, I say, by the vertu and inter- vention of such atomes, ’tis found that this said powder heales at a distance without fopicall applications to the place affected. On “ Zaphyrian salt” Jacobs remarks ‘‘ I have not met with this name for it.” But my friend Mr. Bertram Lloyd has pointed out to me a passage in Nath. Highmore’s ‘ The History of Generation’ ete. (1651), a book men- tioned by Jacobs in a note on “ Dr. Highmore ”’ in this same letter : “* First, the Medicine is made of a Zaphyrian Salt, calcined by a celestial fire, operating in Leo and Cancer, into a Lunar complexion,’”’ pp. 124, 125. I am further indebted to Mr. Lloyd for invoking the aid of an expert— Mr. H. Stanley Redgrove, who has most kindly furnished the following note : “I think it certain that by ‘ Zaphyrian’ Howell means ‘blue.’ Zaffer is and was the name given to a substance obtained by roasting certain mineral ores in the air with sand or quartz, used for the manufacture of smalt—a blue pigment. It is now known to be an impure basic arsenate of cobalt and its peculiar property of colouring glass blue is due to the presence in it of this metal, cobalt. Cobalt, however, was unknown in> Howell’s day. “There are several spellings of the word ‘ zaffer,’ one being ‘ zaphara.’ The word is of Arabic origin and is most probably derived from the same root as ‘sapphire.’ | “‘Zaphyrian salt should properly mean a salt obtained from zaffer. But in Howell’s day the naming of chemical substances, even by those devoted to the study of Alehemy, was exceedingly unsystematic. Chemical substances were grouped together in accordance with their most obvious and superficial properties—colour being a good case in point. Thus ADDITIONAL NOTES ON JAMES HOWELL 35 “Zaphyrian salt’ would mean simply ‘blue salt ’—the blue salt in question being blue vitriol (copper sulphate pentahydrate, CuSO,.5H,O). ** As a matter of fact the Powder of Sympathy appears usually to have been impure green vitriol (green vitriol is ferrous sulphate heptahydrate, FeSO,.7H,O) or this substance desiccated by the sun’s rays (Howell’s ‘Apollinean heat ’)—whereby it is more or less transformed into basic ferric sulphate—mixed with gum tragacanth. ““In Howell’s day, however, blue and green vitriols were frequently confused one with the other; and the common green vitriol almost in- variably contained blue vitriol as animpurity. The Powder of Sympathy was a supposed cure for wounds. The wound was kept clean and cool, whilst the powder was applied, either dry or dissolved in water, to any article that might have blood from the wound upon it.”” See also Mr. Redgrove’s “‘ Bygone Beliefs ’”’ (1820), pp. 47-56. - Book IV., ad finem, p. 647 (1655, p. 123), : Gloria Laus Deo Saeclorum in saecula sunio. A Doxological Cronogram including this pre- sent yeer, MDCLV. and hath numeral let- . ters enough to extend to the yeer nineteen hundred twenty seven, if it please God this World shall last so long. As printed in 1655 this chronogram was not only unmetrical, but the number which it gave was not 1927 but only 1922. The remedy for both these defects was, obviously, to insert que after Laus. Butit was stupidly treated by printers or editors, and appeared in 1737 as Gloria Lausq ; Deo Saeculorum in saecula sunto. This equally unmetrical form was reproduced by Jacobs except that q ; was apparently not recognised as an abbreviation of que, the ; being treated as a semicolon. In ‘Ofjoohoyia. The Parly of Beasts; or, Morphandra Queen of the Inchanted Iland’ (1660), p. 152, Howell has the following : “ Gloria lausque Deo seCLorVM in secVla sunto. A Chronogrammaticall Verse, which includes not onely this year 1660. but hath Nuwmericall Letters enow to reach above a thousand years further, untill the year 2867.” There is an error here. The figures should be 1927. EDWARD BENSLY. Corrections. Aber. Studies, vol. ii., p. 31, line 9 from bottom, I am sorry to have quoted ‘Hudibras’ incorrectly. The couplet should, of course, be Nature has made Mans breast no Windores, To publish what he does within doors. Aber. Studies, vol. vi., p. 29, line 9. It was not Swinburne, as I wrote in my haste, who reproached Farrar with elongating the Gospels. It was Sir George Radford in his Essay on Falstaff, contributed to the first series of Mr. Birrell’s ‘Obiter Dicta.’ SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC WHATEVER may be the truth with regard to the exact origin of the material comprehended in the Arthurian legend, it is probable that, even before the coming of its great vogue, it had absorbed a variety of elements. Still, wherever it is found, there are included in it certain peculiarities which seem to connect it with a Keltic- speaking territory. If some of its constituents came originally from the East, or from Teutonic territory, which may well have happened, nevertheless it seems necessary to explain why so many of the more significant names in it are either Keltic, or of such a form that they can be shown to have been modified by Keltic speakers. This fact, whereas it may not completely determine the question of origins, shows that, at least, the legend had, as the starting-point of its spread, a Keltic-speaking territory. This is amply borne out by a cursory study of the names, both of persons and places, involved. Rhys pointed out, for instance, that Morgan le Fay is probably developed, with a change of sex into the bargain, from Morgant Hud,’ while Loth cites Irish evidence that the form Morgan Tvd could also have had the same mean- ing.2 I believe it has already been suggested somewhere that Ban of Benwick, in Malory and elsewhere, is simply the Welsh banw, a sow, and its diminutive benwig, become a king and a kingdom. The form Melcagaunce or Meliagraunceis equated by Rhys with Melwas. The story of the character in Malory corre- sponds to Welsh references to Melwas, and a Goidelo-Brythonic doublet, written Mailguas, could easily have resulted in the jumbled French equivalents. A Welsh form of Laxcelot is Eliwlad, which may be, in modern pronunciation and spelling, Elyflath, of which Lancelot is a kind of rendering, just as, in turn, the later Welsh Paladrddellé is a version of the French form. Cp. also Galath, which may include the same element—llath, and which in fifteenth-century Welsh, as the metric shows, conserves 1 Arthurian Legend, Oxfd., 1891. 2 Mabinogion, etc. 37 98 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC the earlier accent Galdih. Thus an inquiry into the history of the legend in Keltic would seem really to form the basis of the study, and to involve more than the merely incidental consideration of existing texts. [I am well aware that such an enquiry can hardly claim to be complete at the present time, more especially with regard to Irish material, because the amount of unexplored manu- script literature in that language is so extensive. The question of the dating of Welsh material involves another considerable difficulty. I have for years, with little support, claimed that, in Welsh, mere linguistic form, as the absolute test of the antiquity of any material, will not stand, more especially with regard to. metrical compositions. Before we can claim to have attained anything like a degree of scientific certainty in this matter, we must work out a test in which the effect of a widely-diffused and strictly standardized metrical system, involving detailed rules of alliteration, is subjected to control. It is certain that copying from oral recitation was very common, and that scribes did not. hesitate to complete and to modify what they took to be incom- plete or faulty originals. The material summarized in the following pages gives the content of lectures on the subject delivered to students in the Departments of Welsh and French at Aberystwyth. It neces- sarily includes some points already discussed by others, but the conclusions here drawn are, | think, supported by the examination of material not hitherto considered, at least in detail. The attempts hitherto made to prove the historicity of King Arthur appear to me to be weak. ‘The earliest reference to his name to be found in what are called ‘ historical’ documents. occurs in a compilation known as ‘ Historia Brittonum,’ which may have been begun, by someone, as early as the seventh century, and to which additions are believed to have been made by Nennius, towards the end of the eighth or in the early part of the ninth century.!. Briefly, the so-called Nennian material states that Arthur, after the death of Hengist, fought against his son, Octha, and the Saxons, defeating them in twelve battles, and especially at the twelfth, the battle of Mons Badonis. This statement suggests that Arthur himself was not a king (‘ Tune Arthur pugnabat contra illos in illis diebus cum regibus Brit- 1 In 822, according to A. de la Borderie, L’Historia Britonum, etc., Paris. and London, 1883 ; 796 according to Zimmer, Nennius Vindicatus, Berlin,. 1893. SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 39 tonum, sed ipse dux erat bellorum’). There have been some ingenious comments upon this statement, by Rhys and others, and the suggestion is made that Arthur was a Brythonic equiva- lent of the former comes Britanniae, an officer who, in Roman times, appears to have had supreme charge of the defences of the country. In Welsh, Arthur is called ‘Yr Ymherawdyr Arthur ’ (= zmperator), and Rhys suggests that after the Roman occupa- tion had ceased, the title may have been given to the military officer in charge of the defence of the island. I think myself that ‘Ymherawdyr ’ is a later title, or, at any rate, that its occurrence is not of much significance, in view of the habit of the Welsh bards of bestowing such titles upon their patrons, at a later date. What is said of Arthur at one other battle—the eighth, stated to have been fought at the fortress of Guinnion—is of some signific- ance : * Octavum fuit bellum in castello Guinnion, in quo Arthur portavit imaginem Sanctae Mariae perpetuae virginis super humeros suos, et pagani versi sunt in fugam in illo die, et cedes magna fuit super illos per virtutem Domini nostri Jesu Christi, et per virtutem Sanctae Mariae virginis genetricis ejus.’ The Annales Cambriae (oldest manuscript completed in 954 or 955) has *. . . Arthur portavit crucem Domini nostri... . in humeros suos.’ It has been pointed out that “ super humeros suos ’ is probably a mistranslation of Welsh words, stating that Arthur carried a figure of the virgin, or of the cross, on his shield (zscwzt), as the Welsh for ‘ shoulder ’ (ysgwydd) would also be written iscust or wcuid in early orthography.! This at least shows the Welsh origin of the Nennian tradition. William of Malmesbury, writing in 1125, repeating this tradition, states that Arthur bore an image of the Mother of God ‘ affixed to his armour.’2 The tradi- tion herein recorded, at any rate, belongs to the Christian period, and might count as slightly supporting the evidence for a historical _ Arthur, perhaps ; but there is appended to the so-called Nennian story a list of natural phenomena of Britain, called morabila. One of these wonders is said to have been a stone in the region of - Buellt, on which Cabal, the hound of Arthur, had left the print of its foot when Arthur was hunting the Twrch Trwyd. If the stone 1 Rhys, Introduction to Le Morte D’ Arthur, Everyman’s Library, London, 1912. ' 2Gesta Regum Anglorum. Ed. Giles, London, 1847. 40 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC were removed from the top of the cairn which Arthur had erected beneath it, on the next day it would be found restored to its place.1 Another wonder is said to have been the grave of Amir,? a son of Arthur, near a well called Licat Amir, in the region of Ercing. This tomb is said never to have measured twice the same length. ‘Et ego solus probavi,’ adds the writer. We thus see that, even here, there are magic elements con- nected with the name of Arthur—he hunts an enchanted boar, has a marvellous hound, builds a magic tomb, and slays 960 men with his own hand at the battle of Badon Hill (‘ et nemo prostravit eos nisi ipse solus’). It is somewhat remarkable that Gildas, who is believed to have written about the year 547, does not mention Arthur or his battles. It has been suggested 3? that Gildas’ ‘ Roman’ tendencies would account for his omission of the names of any leaders of the inde- pendent Britons. I must say this appears to me to be a somewhat weak suggestion, bearing in mind the character of the work of Gildas. As far as we can reckon it at all, Gildas’ silence with regard to Arthur must be allowed to be evidence against the historicity of his fame. The passage in the Nennian material, then, forms some kind of evidence of there having been a person named Arthur, who led the Brythons in the fight against the Saxons. This is weak, because written in the ninth century, whereas Gildas, writing in the sixth, gives no evidence. Only indirect testimony can be added to this. William of Malmesbury * says that Ambrosius, a Roman general, aided by Arthur, opposed the Saxons after the death of Vortigern. He repeats the legend of the slaughter of nine hundred men by Arthur alone at Mount Badon, but certainly emphasizes his own belief in the historicity of Arthur : 1 Accounts of stones similarly resisting removal from their original position are common in Welsh folklore. (See Peniarth MS. 163 (8b) for instance.) Also of stones bearing the footprints of horses and dogs. 2 Rhys, op. cit., points out that the form Amhyr occurs as a man’s name in ‘that manuscript,’ but it is not clear what MS. is meant. He also states that Amyr occurs in the Lib. Land., and Amhar as the name of a son of Arthur in Gereint ac Hnid. In the romance mentioned, Amhar is one of the four servants who guard Arthur’s bed. I know of no other instance of the name. The form is found as an adjective, meaning incom- parable, in the Gogynfeirdd poems, evidently an + par. 3°W. Lewis Jones, King Arthur in History and Begene London, 1914. Ope Cit. SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 4} ‘It is of this Arthur that the Britons fondly tell so many fables, even to the present day ; a man worthy to be celebrated, not by idle fictions, but by authentic history. He long upheld the eiiking state, and roused the broken spirit of his countrymen to war.’ About the time this was written, a Welsh official bard, Phylip Brydydd, was bringing charges of inventing ‘idle fictions ’ against the Norman minstrels of the period and some of their Welsh imitators. As I have shown elsewhere, his poem refers by name to a certain Bleiddri,1 the only Welsh reference yet dis- covered to the Bledericus mentioned by Giraldus Cambrensis. Phylip’s claim, most distinctly, is that the Welsh bards of his own class, the Court Bards of the Welsh Princes, that is, only related historical truth. And certainly, there is no romancing in the poems of these official bards which would in any way warrant the charge of William of Malmesbury. In their poems,? we frequently find the name of Arthur, to whom they compare their own patrons, in passages of the following type :— ‘Rampart of hosts, defender. of Wales was he, Shield-shorn like Arthur, the mighty-voiced slayer of men.’ —Bieddyn Vardd, to Rhys ap Maredudd, 141. 2. ‘Steel-bearing, like unto Arthur, the wall and the key of hosts, Now, where once he was found, is the wonder of wealth no more.’ —Casnodyn, to Madawe, 173. 2. ‘Red was his keen steel blade, ere that he was graved in oak, A spear that gave Arthur’s thrust, he, the raging wolf of war.’ —Casnodyn, to Madawe, 172. 2. ‘ Like unto sovereign Arthur, whose temple shone with gold, He, at Kelliwig, whose court was the noble cell of the muse.’ —Meuric ap I erwerth, to Hopcyn ap Tomas, 217. 2. ‘Minstrels, as, long ago, they went to the court of Kelliwig, Te him who is glory of men, on great Martian steeds, they go ; Steeds grey-speckled are they, coloured like unto the sewin, Damp-nostrilled, bit-champing steeds, with foreheads harnessed in Pe cold. —Cynddelw, to Owain Gwynedd, 40. 2. ‘The best is he of all lords ever born Since Arthur free-giver, the ruler of hosts ; His gold he strews in the lap of bards Like fully ripe fruit from trees.” Llywarch ap Llywelyn, to Rhys Gryg, 96. I. 1 Bardism and Romance, Cymmrodorion Series, 1915. 2 Poetry of the Gogynfeirdd, Denbigh, 1909. 42 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC There are many other references, in which the name of Arthur is simply bestowed as an epithet of praise upon the bards’ own patrons. He is evidently regarded as having been a historical person, of whom stories were well known to those who may be supposed to have listened to the singing or declaiming of the poems. 208. 2- Hrbin, 177.2. HKudaf, 186. 1. ~Evrawce, 179: 1.. Euros- wydd, 185. 2. Fferyll [= Virgilius], 208.1. Fflur, 192.2. Garwy Hir, feel LO. 2: 180.2: 209.2: 211. 2. Gereint, 91.2; 181.1; 186.1: eee VOL 212: 1: 217. 1. Gleisyar, 56. 1. ‘Greid vab Eri, 53. 2. Gwalchmai, 41.1; 165.2; 173.2; 210.1. Gwawr Hafddydd, 166. 2; 219.2. Gweir, 181.2; 189. 2; Gweir vab Gwestl, 187. 2. Gwenddydd, Bit 1: 219. 2. Gwenhwyvar, 218. 2. Gwhyr, 210.1; 221.2. Gwrleis, 171.2; 185.2; 207.2. Gwyddneu, 186.1. Gwynn Gwarther, 182. 1. Gwytheint, 91.2. MHiriell, 188.1. Llawfrodedd, 196.1. Llawrodded, te622. Wlevelys, 135.2. Lleon, 217. 1.. Lhon, 186.2. Lludd a levelys, 135. 2. Lilyr, 102.1; Ll. gedoedd, 181.1; Ll. veidyat, 181. 1; Ll. gymrodedd, 181.2 ; cymrawt Ll. 187.1; Ll. bwyll, 190.1; Ll. osgordd- ion, 185.1; Lil. Liedieith, 213.1. Llywarch, 208. 2.; 209. 2. Maelgwn, 188. 2. Matholwch, 54.1; 88.1. Melwas, 180.2; 208.2. Mordaf, feo 187. 2:- 197. 1; ~208! 2. Morudd, 211.1. Nudd, 184..2.; Pee 186, 2: -187..2;. 189.1; 190.1; .208. 1; 210.2... Olifer, 189.2; arf O., 182.1; gwayw O., 188.2. Osvran, 186.1. Obttiel, ee heredur, 141.2: 181.2; 184.1; .188.,1. Pryderi, 47.2; 155. 2. Pyll, 213.1. Rhahawd eil Morgant, 164.1; Rhyawt, 197. 1. Rheged, cun, 190.2. Rhiannon, 214.1. Rholant, 186.1; 187.2; mole 212.1: 216.2. Rhuawn; 186.1... Rhuon,. 185. 2. Rhun, moo); 186.1; 189.2; 220: 2. Rhydderch, 187.2; 189.1; 211.2; Biel, Selyt, 211.2. Negau, 192..2; 218.2. Tryffin, 177. 2. Trystan, ieee 179. 1: 180.2: 184.2): 189.2: 193.1; 210.2; 220. 2. Twreh Trwyd, 76.1; 185.1. Thalamon, 209.2. Ulcesar, 186.1; ieee Orven, 50: 1; 173. 0- 185. 1: 188. 2; 192.2. Uthr, 192.2; ete 210). 2): -201..2.'- Yniwl, 188.1. Ywain, 183. 1. 46 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC THE LEGENDARY FIGURE In the search for stages in the evolution of the legendary figure, we can begin with Irish material, which conserves a mass of what must have been early Keltic legends and traditions. Much of the early Irish material is evidently related to some of the contents of the Welsh tales and romances, referred to later, but there seems to be no mention of Arthur in anything of un- doubted antiquity in Irish. A manuscript list of Irish tales mentions an ‘ Aigidecht Artuir,’ but of this Thurneysen says : ‘ Hs ist zweifelhaft, ob der Titel Aigidecht Artuir in der Sagenliste A ein Versehen fiir A. Athzrnz ist oder eine verlorene Sage bezeichnet.’ ! ‘Acalamh na Senorach,’ 2 early material known to us in comparatively late MSS. (fifteenth and sixteenth centuries), includes a tale called ‘ Eachradh na Féinne,’ in which a person named Arthur figures. This tale, which is in the form of a conver- sation between Padraig and Caoilte, and is made up of prose and verse, relates how the Fiana obtained their steeds. There was with Fionn at one time a warrior called Artiir mac Beinne Briot, or Arttir mac Riogh Breatan. One day, this Arthur, with his followers, watching a hunt on Benn Edair, now called Howth, decided to take the three hounds, Bran, Sceolaing and Adhnuall, away with them to Wales. This they did, landing at Inbhear Mara Gaimiach, and then going to hunt on Sliabh Lodain mhice Lir, names which do not seem to be identifiable. Finding that the hounds were missing, Fionn places his thumb under his * tooth of knowledge,’ and is immediately conscious of what had happened. Nine of the Fiana are then sent in pursuit of Arthur. They come to Sliabh Lodain mhic Lir, where they kill the men of Arthur and make himself prisoner. Goll mac Morna also takes a grey horse with a golden bridle, and a brown mare, with a silver bridle and a golden bit. They then return. Arthur is pardoned, but has to remain as a warrior of Fionn as long as he lives. The steeds are given to Fionn, and the horses of the Fiana are said to have been descended from them, ‘ for before this time they did not employ horses.’ O’Rathile has published * a short poem relating how one day 1 Helden- und Kénigsage, Halle, 1921. pp. 515. 2 Windisch-Stokes, Irische Texte, [V., 1, p. 6. O’Grady, Silva Gadelica, Vol. I. Also, modern Irish version by Térna, Oirchiste Fiannuiochta, | Dublin [n.d.], pp. 3-9. 3 Gadelica, I., 4. | SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 47 a gruagach brought to the court of Arthur a swan, which refused all nourishment save wine, which it drank only from the hands of women whe had been faithful to their husbands. In this poem, as in the story next referred to, Arthur iscalled ‘ Righ an Domh- ain.’ O’Rathile states that this poem is paralleled in the ballad of the “ Boy and the Mantle,’ which is also found in Irish, with Arthur and his Knights hibernicized into Fionn and the Fiana. There is also a Welsh parallel in the material known as ‘Tri Thiws ar ddeg Ynys Brydain.’ 2 Vol. X. of the publications of the Irish Texts Society is made up of two Irish Arthurian romances,’ taken from eighteenth century MSS. There is, besides, another printed version of ‘ Eachtra Mhacaoimh an Iolair,’ * a tale written by Brian O’Corcran, who lived, according to the editors, in the fifteenth century. A note prefixed to the earliest known copy (MS. 24P., RIA) states that. the Irish redactor ‘ got the bones of the tale from a gentleman who said that he had heard it narrated in French.®> O/’Corcran has, however, thoroughly Gaelicised the tale, and added stanzas of his own composition, and the work is interesting as a late example of such manipulations. 1 Laoidh an Bhruit, studied by Stern, ZCP. i., 294 et seq. 2 A version of this material included in Pen. MS. 77 (213 et seq.) states that the valuables ‘were all taken away along with Myrddin.’ The thirteenth article is said to have been the Mantle of Tegeu Eurvron, which would only fit wives who had been faithful to their husbands— ‘13. Mantell Tegeu Eurvron, ni wasanaethai ir neb a dorrai i ffriodas nai morwyndod ; ac ir neb y byddai lan yw gwr y byddai hyd ir llawr ; ac ir neb a dorrai i ffriodas, ni ddoe hyd 1 harffed. Ac am hynny ’r oedd cenvigen wrth Degeu Evrvron.’ With this, compare the statement of a test inflicted in certain circumstances, according to Welsh Law, upon a maid given to a man and charged by him with having been deflowered :— ‘Os hitheu ni myn i diheuraw, llader i chrys yn gyvuch ae gwerdyr, a _ roder dinawed blwyd yn i llaw, gwedi iraw i losewrn ; ac o geill hi cyndal hwnnw, cymered, er ran or argyvreu; ac oni eill, bid heb dim.’ 3 Hachtra an Mhadra Mhaoil. Eachtra Mhacaoimh-an-lolair. .. . Two Irish Arthurian Romances. Ed. and Trans. by R. A. Stewart Macalister. 1908. 4 Zachtra Mhacaoimh an Iolair mhic Riogh na Sorcha .. . ‘\lorard de Teiltiin agus Seosamh Laoide do chur i n-eagar ... (Dublin, H912). °*Biodh a fhis agad, a leughthoir .. . gurab amhlaidh do fuair misi . . . enaémha an sgéil so ag duine tiasal a dubhairt gurab as Fraincis do chualaidh sé féin d& innsin é, agus mur do ftair misi sbéis ann, do dheachtaigh mur so é, agus do chuirsim na laoithe beaga-sa mur chumdéoin air, agus ni raibhe an sgél féin a nGéoidheilg ariamh conuige sin.’ 48 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC In a version of ‘ Eachtra an Mhadra Mhaoil,’ RIA.23D 22,1 King Arthur’s name takes the form of ‘Artur mhic Iobhair mhic Ambros mhic Constaintin,’ whereas RIA.23M 26! gives ‘ Arthur mhac Ambrois mic Constantin mic Uighir Finndrea guin.’ The ITS. printed version omits ‘mic Uighir Finndreaguin,’ which, however, is included in the ITS. version of ‘ Kachtra Mhacaoimh an folair,’ with a merely orthographical difference (‘Ughdaire Finndreagain’). In the Teiltitn-Laoide text of ‘EKachtra Mhacaoimh an Iolair,’ the form is ‘Cing Artur mac Iubhair mhic Ambrois mhic Ughdair mhic Constantin Chinn Dragtin.’ I note these forms because of their partial disagree- ment with the Welsh tradition concerning the relation of Arthur to Uthr Bendragon. The forms ‘ lobhair,’ ‘ Uighir,’ “ Ughdhair,’ and ‘ Ughdair’ evidently represent what would be Irish pro- nunciation of the Welsh form ‘ Uthr.’ ‘ Finndreaguin’ may be simply a mistake for “ Cinndreaguin,’ but cp. ‘ Wen Bendragon ’ in one of the Trioedd. Of these two tales edited by him, Macalister says: ‘ These stories both belong to the “‘ wonder-voyage ”’ type of tale, and further have in common their connexion with the Arthurian cycle of mythological heroes. Arthur, however, plays a secondary part in both romances, and the dreamland of gruagachs and monstrous night- mare shapes is here as typically a creation of [Irish fancy as in any of the stories of the Finn cycle.’ This substantially represents the facts. With regard to incident, it appears to me that ‘ Kachtra Mhacaoimh an Jolair ’ is in the manner of the French romances, but the redactor has completely Gaelicized the style of the narrative, introducing pro- fusely the bravura elements of middle Irish romance, along with some passages, however, bearing evidence of personal observation of natural phenomena. In this story Arthur is at Camelot, and a Sin: Bhalbhaidh ’ is mentioned as one of his followers. In the other tale, Arthur and his Knights are hunting in the Dangerous Forest on the Plain of Wonders. They are overcome by the Knight of the Lantern but liberated by ‘Sir Bhalbhuaidh ’’2 and the ‘Crop-eared Dog,’ 1 See Cat. of Irish MSS. in the Royal Irish Academy. Fasc. I. By Thomas F. O’Rahilly, Dublin, 1926. *The forms ‘Balbhuaidh’ and ‘Bhalbhaidh’ which Macalister renders “ Galahad,”’ are no doubt derived from a form Walwey, of which there is a variant Walwyn, manifestly French or English vulgarizations of | SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 49 the remainder of the narrative being occupied with the pursuit and the final overthrow of the Knight of the Lantern by Sir Bhalbhuaidh and the dog, the latter turning out to be a meta- morphosed prince. Of the two stories, this is undoubtedly the earliest—at any rate, it is made up of earlier elements. The style is conventional, and stock epithets and phrases are as numerous as their Greek equivalents in Homer.!' But the con- tent is undoubtedly early, and frequently reminds one of the type of the primitive material to be found in Kulhwch ac Olwen or the Pedeir Keinc—compare, for instance, the metamorphosis of the sons of the King of India into dogs, and the similar punishment inflicted upon Gwydion and Gilvaethwy, in the tale of Math vab Mathonwy.” Hyde states that some romantic stories, related to the Arthurian legend, were translated into Irish from the French, Spanish, Latin and possibly English. He mentions MS H2.7, Trinity College, for instance, as containing, amongst other things, a story of Sir Guy of Warwick, one of the Quest of the Holy Grail, one called ‘ Teglach an Bhuird Chruinn ’ (‘ The Household of the Round Table ’), the Chanson de Geste of Fierabras, and the History of King Arthur.* These late versions from other languages, which I have not seen, would, probably, not throw much light upon the earlier forms of the legend, but a detailed study of the resemblances between the stories of Fionn and the stories of Arthur would Gwalchmer. It is also interesting to note that in the Madra Maol story, Lancelot is converted into Lamsholas. 1 With regard to ‘the rolling streams of alliterative adjectives,’ Macalister justly remarks: ‘ They require to be heard, well declaimed, for their raison d’étre to be fully understood.’ There can be no doubt, IL think, that, read out, the effect of the Irish is quite different from that of the English. Coming in front of the noun in English, the adjectives grow wearisome. Coming after the noun in the Irish, they have a degree of force, to preserve which they should in English be similarly placed, con- nected with suitable particles. An analysis of some of the writings of Joseph Conrad shows that he was aware of the effect of this difference in the position of the adjective. 2° Mar sin ddinn n6é gur torchuigheadh na sagha sin do bhi againn féin, agus gur rug gach sagh aca ceithre cuileéin deag; agus d’fhas oirbhearta na geuilean sin go luath.’—‘ Canys ywch yn rwymedigaeth mi awnaf ywch gerdet ygyt, ach bot yn gymaredic, ac yn un anyan ar gwydvilot yd ywch yn eurith. Acyn yr amsery bo etiued udunt wy y uot ywchwitheu, ete.’ 3 Lit. Hist. of Ireland, Lond., 1899, p. 572. 50 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC undoubtedly show community of source, and indeed, many actual borrowings. Arthur’s position as the head of a band of warriors is paralleled by that of Fionn; the standing or function of the Fiana, as represented in Irish tradition, corresponds closely to that suggested by some of the titles bestowed upon Arthur (such, for instance, as wnben) and by the words of the Nennian material —‘ Arthur pugnabat . . . cum regibus Brittonum, sed ipse dux erat bellorum.’ ! In Scottish Gaelic, material is not as early and ample as in Irish Gaelic, although many of the Highland Folktales contain material of undoubted antiquity, and a great many incidents paralleled in Arthurian and other tales, found in Irish, Welsh and Breton. Such material is also found in Scottish Gaelic Ballads, which, in spite of much tumultuous criticism without Gaelic, must include early material in a form modernized in the course of centuries of oral transmission.? Arthurian material may be found in Manx and Cornish folk- tales, but the literature preserved in these languages will not greatly help us. The Breton literature preserved for us begins at a late period— about the fourteenth century—and consists chiefly of miracle plays and ballads, but Breton Folklore still conserves Arthurian traditions. There may have been Breton lays which have perished, of course, but I shall deal with this point later. We have then to examine the earlier Welsh material. Tradi- tionally, Welsh literature goes back to the sixth century. That certainly was the bardic tradition in the twelfth century, when a — great literary activity occurred. This tradition is borne out by certain additamenta to the Nennian material, which mentions Talhaearn, Neirin, Taliesin, Bluchbard and Cian as bards who were famous in the time of Ida. Poetry attributed to Neirin (or 1° Finn has long since become to all ears a pan-Gaelic champion, just as Arthur has become a Brythonic one.’’—Hyde, Lit. Hist., p. 383. 2 “Tt is impossible to read the text of the Mabinogion without seeing the strong resemblance which these traditions bear to modern Gaelic popular tales. The resemblance is not that of one entire story to another ; were it so, it would be less striking ; but it is a pervading resemblance inter- woven throughout, and which pervades in a less degree the whole system of popular tales, so far as | am acquainted with it. The Welsh and Gaelic stories are, in fact, often founded on, and consist of the same incidents variously worked up, and differently told, to fit the various manners and customs of different ranks of society.’-—Campbell, Popular Tales of the Western Highlands, Ed. 1890, Paisley, Vol. IV., pp. 251-2. SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 51 Aneirin) and Taliesin has been preserved, but we know nothing of the others. During the last century, this tradition was doubted, mainly because it was thought that, in the sixth cen- tury, Welsh had not yet been evolved from British. A modified view was advanced to the effect that these poems were really productions of a later period, for some reason assigned to Aneirin and Taliesin. Recently, Professor Sir John Morris-Jones has upheld the former tradition, and shown that linguistic evidence may be in favour of the supposition that Welsh was already spoken when the Breton emigration occurred, about the fifth century. It can, in any case, be shown that some of the poems in the Book of Tahesin are likely to have been written from the eighth to the tenth century, and cannot be shown, with anything like evidence, that it contains material written after the eleventh. Some of the early poetry, then, may go back in origin, if not ,in actual form, to the sixth century. The presence, in what may . be termed the historical material, of two styles so widely different one from the other cails for special study, but the argument against the idea of modernization of early compositions is removed if we can accept the conclusion that Welsh had been already evolved in the sixth century. In the Book of Aneirin, copied, as we know it, about the thirteenth century, Arthur is referred to, but though the reference may mean that he was an incomparable warrior, the name only is mentioned. We can do no more than to suppose that the name was well known to the writer of the stanza in which it occurs, and to those for the amusement of whom the poem was written. The poem sings the praise of those who fell in a battle fought at a place called Catraeth, and this stanza does not state that Arthur was one of them, but rather mentions his name as if he had long been known for his valour. It should be added that probably the poem, as found in the Book of Aneirin, is not complete. In the Book of Taliesin, Arthur is mentioned in a poem which seems to describe trees as having been metamorphosed into warriors, and in which the author, said to have been Taliesin, speaks of his own transformations ; but the name of Arthur occurs at the end of the poem, where the crucifixion of Christ is referred to, along with the prophecy of Virgil, material which suggests that the poem, in spite of its legendary character, may not be a very early production, or otherwise that lines have been added to accommodate it to Christian belief, a practice known in Irish. 52 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC In another BT poem, which is full of obscure references to ancient beliefs,—one of them concerning the origin of the muse— Arthur is mentioned as having been blessed by wise men in songs. Another BT reference is found in a poem entitled “The Elegy of Uthr Ben[dragon?].1_ (Arthur is said to have been the son of Uthr). There are transformation elements in the poem, and the author seems to recount the wonderful things done by himself, or by someone else, including the defence of Arthur. A fourth BT poem is called ‘The Song of the Steeds.’ It seems to be a kind of rhymed catalogue of the names of famous steeds, mixed up with transformation elements. The steed of Arthur is mentioned. Finally, there is a BT poem entitled ‘ Preideu Annwvyn ’ (‘The Spoils of Annwvn’), of which Arthur seems to be the central figure.2. This poem mentions a Caer Sidi. The second element in the name reminds us of the Irish sid, which was under- | ground. In this Caer there was a prisoner named Gweir. Three ship-loads of men are said to have gone there, of whom only seven returned. Another fortress is mentioned, where a cauldron was made to boil by the breath of nine virgins, the cauldron of the chief of Annwvn, encircled with diamonds, which would not boil food for a coward. In front of the portal of this place (it is here called ‘ Uffern ’ in the text, but I am inclined to believe ‘ uffern ’ to be a later substitute for “annwvn.’), lamps were burning, and of the warriors who went there with Arthur, only seven returned. Other fortresses are named, into which men went with Arthur, in 1 It may be well to examine, if possible, the origin of the form Pen- dragon. ‘The name does not occur in the poem itself, which, besides, is nothing like an elegy. Urdawl Ben occurs in the tale of Branwen, and Uthr Ben is a possible equivalent. 2 The location of Annwvn is a matter of some difficulty. In modern Welsh, the word is used with the meaning of Hell. In the story of Pwyll and that of Math (Four Branches), it seems to be the name of a kingdom somewhere near Dyved, but it is clear that the story-tellers had no topo- | graphical knowledge of it. The word itself may mean ‘the other-’ ‘the outside-’, or ‘the under-world.’ Some place-names, and instances of the use of the word in poetry of the early and middle period, seem to suggest that it was considered to be underground. A sixteenth-century bard, for instance, describing a hunt, says :— *Ymddiddan tuag Annwn Yn naear coed a wna’r cWn.’ Another, in a fanciful description of the revolutions of a mill-stone, says that they caused the walls of Annwn to tremble. SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 53 his ship ‘ Prydwen,’ presumably to seek certain spoils,—the cauldron of the chief of Annwvn, the brindled ox with seven score links in its chain, ete-——and where they fought with witches. This poem also ends with a Christian supplication. This composition must certainly refer to a number of stories which have perished, for otherwise it could never have been intelligible to any audience. The fortresses named are: . Kaer Sidi. . Kaer Bedryvan. Kaer Vedwit. Kaer Rigor. . Kaer Wydyr. . Kaer Golud. Kaer Vandwy. . Kaer Ochren. Probably there were tales recounting the expeditions of Arthur to each of these fortresses, of the fighting and of the spoils carried away from them, but we have no other trace of such tales. Cynddelw, in an eulogy to Hywel vab Owein, may have a mere allusion to the expedition to the eighth fortress, in one lne— “Huan wrys hawl echrys Ochren.’ ! It will be well, then, to bear in mind this evidence of Arthurian material which must once have existed in Welsh, of which, as far as I am aware, there is no trace in any other language. In the Black Book of Carmarthen (an anthology copied in the twelfth century), Arthur is mentioned five times. One of these references occurs in a twelfth-century poem, and is besides merely a mention of the grandeur of the household of Arthur. The others are found in material which may be early. There is a series of stanzas called “Englynion y Bedeu’ (‘The Grave Stanzas ’). Generally, the first line asks whose is the grave in such and such a place, the second gives the answer, and the third adds a charac- terization of the dead. The stanza-form is early, and this type of material is found in Irish and Scandinavian.2, Amongst these verses, the stanza which refers to Arthur is different from the rest. The question ‘ Whose grave is this ?’ is not asked. Thus: i A 1 Anwyl, Poetry of the Gogynfeirdd, 75. 1. 2See S. Bugge, Bidrag til den ecldste Skaldedigtnings Historie, Christiana, 1894. 54 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC ‘There is a grave for March, and a grave for Gwythur, And a grave for Gwgawn of the red blade, Unknown [or a mystery] is a grave for Arthur.’ There is another scrap, which seems to have formed part of an elegy of a somewhat similar type, and which contains the name of a son of Arthur, thus: ‘I have been where Llacheu was slain (The son of Arthur, whose arts were marvellous) When the ravens called loudly for blood.’ We have already seen that one of the Court Bards, in verse of a later type, mentions ‘ Llechysgar ’ as the place where Llacheu was killed. His name figures in the poem next dealt with, and also in the tale of Kulhwch. In the other two poems, Arthur is a more distinct figure. One of them is in the form of a dialogue between Arthur, with whom is Kei, and Glewlwyd Gavaelvawr. In the Kulhwch tale, Glewlwyd Gavaelvawr appears as the door-keeper of Arthur’s own court. The poem begins abruptly, and the end is missing. Thus : ‘Who is the doorward ? ’ ‘Glewlwyd of the mighty grasp. Who is he who asks 2?’ ‘It is Arthur, with worthy! Kei.’ ‘Who go with thee 2 ’ ‘The best men in the world.’ ‘Into my house thou comest not Unless thou discover them.’ 2 ‘TI shall discover them, And thou shalt behold them— 1 See Rhys’ note, op. cit., on Kei guin, where he equates the meaning of guin with beau in the Fr. beaw pére. See also Lewis, Gloss. Med. Welsh Law, under gwynwyr, where the form is said to correspond to the Ir. Fian. The rhyme here (govyn : gwyn) is against the suggestion, for to be the W. equivalent of the Ir. the form should be giyn. Besides, ep. the Saints’ names Deinioel wyn, Cybi wyn, Ceinwen, Dwynwen, etc. The Cornish surname Keigwin, Keegwin, seems to conserve the form, whatever the meaning may have been. 2Onys guaredi. Rhys, Morte d’ Arthur, XVIII., renders this line: ‘Unless thou plead (?) for them,’ but the guess is inaccurate. See Pwyll, ‘ arhos a oruc y uorwyn a gwaret y rann a dylyeivot am y hwyneb Oo wise y phenn.’ SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 55 Wythneint, Elei, And Sivyon, the three of them ; 1 Mabon son of Modron, The servant of Uthr Pendragon, Kysceint 2? son of Banon, And Gwyn Godyvrion, My servants were... 8 In defence of their laws— Manawydan son of Llyr, Whose counsel was profound— Manawyd, who verily brought Broken spears from [the field of] Tryvrwyd ; And Mabon son of Mellt, Who caused the grass to be spotted with blood ; And Anwas 4 Hdeinawe [winged] With Lluch Llawynnawe ; ° They were defensive Against the hewer of Eiddin. As a lord who would reconcile them, My nephew would have made amends (?) Kei pleaded with them Whilst he cut them down by threes ; When the grove was lost, Fury was experienced ; Kei still pleaded with them The while he hewed them down ; Arthur, though he played [or, laughed],’ He made the blood flow, As in the hall of Avarnach He fought with a witch ; He pierced the head of Palach 1 Rhys, op cit., renders this and the preceding line as follows : ‘Wythneint of Elei, And the wise men three—’ Wythneint is probably the Gwytheint of the Court Bards. As Tre Seifion occurs as a place-name, I take ‘ell tri’ to refer to Wythneint, Ele and Sivyon. Rhys, of course, read assivyon as a sywyon. 2 Probably Kysteint, as suggested by Rhys. 3 Oet rinn vy gueisson, which Rhys renders ‘ Sturdy would be my men,’ but rinn in such context is obscure to me, unless one can understand it as in penrhyn— My servants were a headland.’ 4 Anwas, Anguas, is no doubt the Irish Aongus. ® Lluch Llawffer occurs in Llyfr Tal. as the name of a sword, but Liwch Llawynnawe occurs in Kulhwch ac Olwen as the name of one of Arthur’s followers. 6 Argluit ae llochei, of which Rhys makes ‘ His lord would shelter him.’ - "ced huarhei. Cp. Englynion y Bedeu: trath latei chuardei wrthit. 56 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC In the hiding-places [or, Among the treasures] of Dissethach ; 1 At Mount Eiddin, He fought with dog-headed ones,? By hundreds they fell, They fell by hundreds Before Bedwyr of the four-pronged spear (4) ; 3 On the sands of Tryvrwyd, Fighting against Garwlwyd, H3 was a victor in his rage With sword and with shield ; A whole line was but vain Before Kei in battle ; It was a sword, in contest, That was the pledge of his hand ; He was an equable chief Of a legion, for the country’s good. Bedwyrws 24 Nine hundred, in hearkening, Six hundred, in raising the shout, Was the worth of his rush. | There were (also) warriors of mine— It were better were they still (with me). Before the chiefs of Kmreis I have seen Kei in haste, Leader of raids, A tall man was he among enemies ; His vengeance would be heavy, His thrusting would be grievous ; When he drank out of a horn, He would match four men, When he would come to battle, In hewing down he would be match for a hundred ; Unless it were God that should cause it, The death of Kei would be beyond reach. lin atodeu dissethach. Rhys, ‘In the tasks (?) of D. The word would seem to be the plural of addawd. 2amucachinbin. Cp. Ir. Conchinn (Brinna Fercherine) and Conchenn (Fled Bricrenn, and Dinnsenchas, Druim n-Asail), Thurneysen, Die wrische Helden- und Konigsage. 3 rac beduir bedrydant. Rhys leaves pedrydant untranslated. 4 Beduwir. A Bridlav. Rhys suggests Beduir ab Bridlaw, which appears to me to be doubtful. The element —l/aw reminds one of the statement in Kulhwch that Bedwyr, fighting single-handed against three men, would draw blood first. 5 oed gur hir in ewnis. Rhys, ‘ Long would he be in his wrath.’ But Kei was called ‘ Kei Hir,’ Kei the Tall. SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 57 Noble Kei and-Llacheu, They would make battles Before the pang of keen blades ; On the ridge of Stawngun ! Kei pierced nine witches ; Noble Kei went to Mona Mondestroy =. .°.2 His shield was .. .8 Against Cath Paluc— Why do folk ask ‘Who slew Cath Paluc 2’ Nine score hoary-headed ones (?) 4 Used to fall in its feeding ; Nine score leaders... .” Most of the names found in this remarkable fragment also occur in some of the prose tales, to which reference will be made later, and Tryvrwyd, mentioned here, is stated in the Nennian passage, already quoted, to have been the site of one of the twelve battles of Arthur. The fragment appears to be of a composite character, for whereas Kei seems at first to be with Arthur, he is referred to. later as having suffered ‘gloes glas vereu.’ Arthur also, in the middle of the poem, speaks of himself in the third person. One is thus led to conjecture that the piece is made up of fragments from more than one source. The second BB poem is entitled * Gereint fil[ius] Erbin,’ and seems to have been intended to celebrate the praise of Gereint and to bemoan his death—at the battle of ‘Llongborth.’ ‘ Brave men from the border of Devon ’ are mentioned, so that it may be permissible to assign this poem to the Cornish territory. Modern gazetteers do not record a southern place-name which would correspond to ‘ Llongborth,’ but it certainly reminds one of the Irish longphort, which in middle and modern Irish has the mean- ings: a camp, a fort, a fortress, a palace, a tent, a harbour, a garrison. The Welsh meaning would exactly be ‘a harbour,’ literally ‘ ship-port.” The reference here to Arthur is brief, thus : lystaw in gun. The form seems very doubtful. It may include the A.S. element stan. *(leuon, which Rhys renders lions. 34 iscuid oet mynud, which Rhys renders ‘ His shield was small.’ * nau ugein kinlluc. Rhys leaves kinlluc untranslated. The rhyme suggests kinllwit. Or one might read kin lluc, before dawn. 58 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC ‘It was at Llongborth that I saw Arthur (Brave men there hewed down with steel) The Emperor, the leader of battle.’ There is a Welsh prose romance called ‘Gereint vab Erbin,’ to which I shall refer later. The point of interest here is that, in the early poetry, Arthur is associated with Gereint, one of the Knights of the Round Table in later romance. From this earlier verse material again, we may add to our list of incidents which may have formed the subjects of Arthurian narratives, otherwise unknown :— 1. The Death of Llacheu son of Arthur (at Llechysgar). . The Colloquy of Arthur and Glewlwyd. . The Battle of Tryvrwyd. Kei at the Battle of the Grove (Kelli). The Hall of Avarnach. The Treasures of Dissethach. . The Battle of Mount Eiddin. . The Battle of Ystawngun. . Kei’s Expedition to Mona. 10. The Story of Cath Paluc. 11. The Battle of Llongborth. In the Myv. Arch., there is a poem with the following pro- logue: “A Dialogue between King Arthur and his second wife, Gwenhwyvar. She was the woman carried away by Melwas, a Scottish prince.’ I subjoin a translation : ‘A. My steed is black and trusty beneath me, And I fear not on account of water, And I retreat not before any men. G. My steed is green, of the colour of the leaves ; High praise utterly despises reproach— No one is a man who keeps not his word. ora OR w be Ne) . in the front of battle, There is no one like unto a man but Kei the tall son of Sevin.? A. J am he who rides and who stands, And who heavily treads on the edge of the tide, I am he who would catch Kei. G. Tut! thou fellow, it is strange to hear thee ; Unless thou be better than thy appearance, Thou wouldst not take Kei with a hundred of thy like. 1Cp. Stvyon in the preceding poem. SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 59 A. Gwenhwyvar of the bright looks, Do not wrongly judge me though I be small, I would myself take a hundred men. G. Tut, thou fellow! dark and yellow, Gazing awhile at thy countenance, I fancied having seen thee before. A. Gwenhwyvar of the surly aspect, Tell me, if you know, Where did you see me before ? G. I saw a man of moderate size At the table of Arthur in Devon, Serving wine to his friends. A. Gwenhwyvar of the pleasant speech, An empty saying is customary from a woman’s mouth— It was there that thou sawest me.” We may gather that this poem is founded upon some lost story. ‘The reference to the small stature of Arthur is singular, and the statement of Gwenhwyvar that she had seen ‘a man of moderate size at the table of Arthur, serving wine to his friends ’ suggests that the person concerned here may not have been Arthur himself, but one of his followers, as the name of Arthur does not occur in the text, except in this reference. An interesting poem, entitled ‘Hnglynyon yr Eryr,’ which appears in Jesus College MS. 3 = XX., and of which there are sadly modernized versions in a number of other MSS., introduces Arthur. Professor for Williams suggests ! that this poem belongs to the second half of the twelfth century. The metrical form and the non-alliterative character of the verse, in addition to the subject matter, which is so different from that of the official bardic compositions of the period, incline me to the view that it is a monkish composition which may be still earlier. The stanza- form is the tercet, called Englyn Milwr, not employed by the Court Bards of the Princes, but in the composition itself, it is. described as ‘traeithawt’ (st. 25), a term restricted in the Metrical Codes to the metres of the unofficial minstrel class. Briefly, the poem relates how Arthur, seeing an eagle looking at him from the summit of an oak tree, hears a laugh and is astonished. In reply to his questions, the eagle explains that he himself was formerly Eliwlat son of Madawe son of Uthr, Arthur’s own nephew. The dialogue then becomes a discussion of good and evil. Arthur’s questions exhibit in some cases a suggestive 1 Bulletin, Board of Celtic Studies, Cardiff, II., 4. A,S.—VOL, VIII. E 60 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC rhetorical repetition.1 The eagle informs him that it is sinful to harbour evil and treacherous thoughts ; that this may be avoided through prayer; that Christ’s blessing is obtained through the love of God and of justice ; that Christ is the lord of all spirits ; that heaven is merited through repentance and hope; that the worst accompaniment of sin is despair, which brings the soul to eternal torment ; that God is the sole might and that He reckons not the might of man; that that which Christ will do for those who believe in Him shall be manifest at the day of judgment, when God Himself shall judge ; that the most effective means of benefiting the soul are prayers; that idle pride is the cause of suffering ; that what is not pure must be cleansed?; that he who commits perjury to obtain land, and is guilty of treason against his own lord, shall repent at the day of judgment. Some of the stanzas exhibit the naiveté so amply found in Irish material, and may be evidence of early origin, reflecting traditional accounts of the Christianization of the Brythons. For example, stanzas 29-34 : ‘Thou eagle . . . I ask thee, is there anything better than to hope ? ’ ‘. . . Should he desire to possess a portion of land, let the weak trust in God.’ ‘IT ask thee, is not the owner of land mighty ? ’ ‘Do thou not lose God for the sake of wealth—the only might is the Highest.’ ; ‘I ask thee in words, am I not also mighty 2’ ‘ Arthur, chief of the hosts of Kernyw, magnificent leader of armies, the highest might is God.’ ? Arthur also appears in a Trystan and Esyllt story preserved in Pen. 96 and other MSS. The story (which the writer hopes soon to edit) relates how Trystan and Hsyllt flee together to the forest of Celyddon. LEsyllt is attended by her handmaiden, Golwg Hafddydd, and Trystan by his squire, Y Bach Bychan. These 1° Beth yssyd drwe y wneuthur,”’ v.11; * Y wneuthur beth yssyd drwe,’ v. 13. 2° Ys dir nychyaw ny bo pur,’ v. 46. In the BBC, which contains some of the stanzas, the reading is nithyaw, which the context justifies. 3 With this, cp. a characteristic stanza from Agallam Oisin agus Patraic : ‘Da mbeidheadh mo mhac Oscur agus Dia lamh ar lamh ar Chnoc na bhfiann, da bh-faicfinnse mo mhac ar lar, déarfainn gur fear laidir Dia!’ SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 61 servants carry their food, consisting of pies and wine. A pavilion is made for them of branches and foliage, and a bed of leaves, so that they are all content. Then King March son of Meirchion goes to Arthur to complain against Trystan, beseeching him to avenge the wrong. Arthur and his followers go to the forest in quest of the fugitives. When they enter the forest, Esyllt trembles in Trystan’s arms, and in reply to his inquiry, tells him that she fears for his safety. ‘Trystan reassures her, and goes to meet his pursuers. Faced by him, March tells Arthur that he will not be killed himself for the sake of killing Trystan, then the other warriors also decide not to risk their lives. Thus Trystan passes unscathed through the three hosts. Kei Hir, who is in love with Golwg Hafddydd, goes to the place where Esyllt is waiting, and tells her that Trystan has escaped. KEsyllt tells him that if the news be true, he will be rewarded with ‘a golden mistress.’ Kei says that he only desires Golwg Hafddydd, who is then promised him. March makes a second complaint to Arthur, who advises him to send harpists to entertain Trystan from a distance, and minstrels to sing his praise, so that he may be pacified. This is done. Trystan is pleased with the harpists’ performance, and rewards them with handfuls of gold. Then, Golden-tongued Gwalchmei, the son of Gwyar, who was in the. habit of composing differences between persons, sings the praise of Trystan, and invites him to be reconciled to Arthur. Ultimately, for the love of Gwalchmei, Trystan agrees. ‘They go to Arthur, and finally Trystan agrees to be reconciled. It is then agreed that Arthur is to decide between the claims of March and Trystan to Esyllt. Finding that neither of them is willing to forego his claim, Arthur decides that Esyllt shall dwell with one of them during the time there are leaves on the trees and with the other whilst the trees are leafless, March, as the legal husband, to have _ the first choice. March choses the period when the trees are leafless for the reason that the night is then longest. When this is announced to Hsyllt by Arthur, she is overjoyed, saying : ‘ Holly and yew and ivy are in leaf until they die ; Holly and ivy and yew are in leaf as long as they live.’ ‘Thus March, son of Meirchion, loses Esyllt for ever. The parts spoken by the various characters in this most interesting story are in tercets, of the type of those forming the © 62 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC Colloquy of Arthur and the Eagle. A comparison of the various versions extant proves that these stanzas, like those in the Colloquy, have been modernized and manipulated. The earliest form is found in a manuscript written mostly in the sixteenth century, but the composition is certainly earlier. The mixture of prose and verse reminds us of the French chantefable, but also, and still more so, of Irish material of the type found in * Acalamh na Senorach.’ It is to be noted that the composition has evident affinities with the story of Diarmuid and Grainne. Diarmuid and Trystan are said to have been men of great attraction for women. The forest where the fugitives hide is surrounded in both cases, and both Grainne and Hsyllt tremble for fear when they hear the sound of the pursuers.2, A bed of leaves is prepared for both pairs. Both Diarmuid and Trystan pass through their pursuers without being wounded.4 The pursuit in the Irish tale lasts for sixteen years, in the Welsh tale for three years, according to one version, which sets out the fragment as the conclusion of the quest, suggesting that there were earlier incidents.° In the end, Grainne is adjudged to Diarmuid and Esylit to Trystan. The Welsh story, of course, lacks the detail of the Irish tale, but the prose part is evidently incomplete and modernized. Ultimately, Diarmuid is killed by a boar, and in the Trioedd, Trystan appears as the Swineherd.® In the earlier metrical material in Welsh, then, we have reference to a considerable number of incidents or battles with 1° An t-aon leandén ban agus inghion is fearr da bhfuil san domhan.’— * Cyfaill rhianedd.’ 2° Ar n-a chlos sin do Grainne, do-ghab uamhan agus imeagla i ’— ‘Ag yno i krynodd Esyllt ... rag ofn amdanaw ef.’ 3°Do chéruig Maodhan leaba do bharr beithe fa Dhiarmait agus Ghrainne.’—‘ Ac yno y gwnaethpwyd gwely o ddail iddynt, a phebyll o’r . coed a’r dail.’ 4 *Roiompuigh Diarmaid tar a ais gan fuiliughadh gan foirdheargadh air. —‘ Ac felly yr aeth Trystan trwy y tair cad yn ddiargywedd.’ ° * Llyma ’r Englynion a fu rhwng Trystan ap Tallwch a Gwalechmai ap Gwyar, wedi bod Arthur yn 1 geisio dair blynedd.’ 6 See also Loth, Contributions, ‘Fragment d’un poéme sur Tristan dans le Livre Noire.’ The name of Arthur is not introduced in this frag- ment, but the line ‘Menic it arwet duwir dalenneu,’ as Loth justly points out, ‘ est une claire allusion au fameux épisode ot Tristan jette des branches ou copeaux dans un ruisseau qui les emporte a travers la chambre d’Iseut lavertissant ainsi de sa présence.’ It is also noteworthy that leaves play SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 63 which Arthur was connected, and accounts of which must have formed separate tales, similar to the prose narrations we have preserved. If we could accept the sixth century origin of some of the Welsh poems, we might, as already stated, reasonably expect to find in them some evidence of a historical Arthur. The only possible instance of such a reference, in the material we have examined, is the poem to Gereint, son of Erbin, in which Arthur is said to have been leader of brave men from the border of Devon. Although this poem involves no actual impossibility, it cannot be said to have any historical value. In all the other material, Arthur is certainly a legendary figure. THE TRIADS Arthur also figures in the Trioedd,! which, according to Rhys, contain the earliest Arthurian material. Probably, Rhys is right, but it is necessary to examine carefully the various versions, as the later of them show evident additions and expansions. The third series printed in the Myv. Arch., for instance, although it includes the earlier material, exhibits evidence of manipulation by a writer unacquainted with the meaning of some of the terms used by him. His expansions show an efiort to employ what was evidently meant to appear as an archaic style, the empty verbosity of which, however, betrays its late origin. Generally, Arthur appears in the earlier Triads as a legendary figure. In one Triad, the Three Exalted Prisoners of the Isle of Britain are named, and then it is added: ‘ And there was one who was more exalted than the three, namely Arthur, who was for three nights in the Fortress of Oeth and Anoeth, a part in the Welsh fragment dealt with here, as well as in some Welsh love poems—Llywarch ap Llywelyn to Gwenlliant verch Hywel, for instance ; ‘Neur arwet dyuret yn eu dyuyrlle Gwise gwyndeil gwyeil gwet: adarre Neud adneu cogeu coed neud attre Neur duc wyse cantwyse gan y godre Dolyt caer llion deil lhaws bre.’ These things, together with the obscure references in the love poems to the horse, seem to echo some lost model, in which the horse and the leaves played a necessary part. But the branches and shavings referred to by Loth certainly remind us of Diarmuid agus Grainne. 1 See Loth’s versions, Les Mabinogion, etc. Here, I only bring together those triads in which the name of Arthur occurs or in which his Court is mentioned. 64 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC and for three nights with Wen (?) Bendragon, and three nights in the Hidden Prison under the Flagstone [yg carchar kudd d-an y llech a chymmreint, I. ; ygkarchar hut y dan lech echymmeint, II.], and it was the same squire who liberated him from each of the prisons, namely Goreu, the son of Custennin, his cousin.’ This appears to refer to some tradition of which we know nothing, and may provide us with additions to our list of incidents which may have been the subject of stories, thus : 1. The Rescue of Arthur from the Prison of Oeth ac Anoeth. 2. The Rescue of Arthur from the Prison of Pendragon. 3. The Rescue of Arthur from the Hidden Prison under the Flagstone. “Llech Echymeint,’ as the two readings show, is doubtful, but the mention of the flagstone recalls the bardic reference to Llechysgar, where Llacheu is said to have been slain. That rescues were the subject of tales in Welsh may be deduced from references in Y Gododdin and in Hirlas Ywein, a poem bear- ing traces of the influence of the earlier-composition. Another Triad describes Arthur as one of the Three Chief Swineherds of the Isle of Britain. The version seems inaccurate, for in a later form, the three Swineherds are described as having been (1) Pryderi vab Pwyll; (2) Trystan vab Tallwch; (3) Coll vab Collvrewi, and Arthur is only incidentally brought in, in connection with the second and third name. It is explained that, while Trystan had gone on a message to Hsyllt, Arthur, with March and Kei and Bedwyr, went to seek the swine (the loss of which is not explained), but failed to obtain a single sow by any means. In the reference to the third swineherd, it is stated that the drove was kept in Cornwall and among that drove there was a sow called ‘ Henwen,’ concerning which there was a prophecy that evil would befall the Isle of Britain through its litter. Because of this prophecy, Arthur collected the host of Britain to hunt the sow. The sow went into the sea at Penrhyn Awstin in Cornwall, fol- lowed by the Swineherd. ‘Then, somewhere in Gwent, it dropped a grain of wheat and a bee, hence the fame of Gwent ever since as wheat-growing land. At Llovyon, in Pembroke, it dropped a grain of barley and a grain of wheat, hence the fame of Llovyon for barley. At Rhiw Gyverthwch in Arvon, it dropped a cat and an eaglet. The eaglet was given to Breat, a northern prince, and evil followed the gift. In Arvon again, under the Black Stone, the sow dropped a cat, which the Swineherd threw into the sea. SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 65 Then the Sons of Paluc in Anglesey rescued and nourished the cat which was afterwards known as Cath Paluc (Paluc’s Cat), and which became one of the three chief oppressions of Anglesey. This Triad again evidently resumes the story of the hunting of a monster which reminds us of the Hunting of the Twrch Trwyd, even down to the topographical explanations. Here, we may have all that remains of three stories: 1. The Hunting of Henwen. 2. The Story of Cath Paluc. 3. The Story of Breat and the Eagle. Other statements concerning Arthur, which may belong to earlier material in the Triads are—that he disinterred the head of Bran, which, as stated in the tale of Branwen, had been buried in London and which would have secured the island against the attack of enemies. Arthur is said to have disinterred the head because he was not satisfied that the island should be defended except by his own might. Ina Triad which mentions the ‘ Three Red-tracked Champions of the island,’ Arthur is said to have been superior to them : » “And there was one whose track was redder than that of any of _them. His name was Arthur. For a whole year, neither grass nor plant grew on the track of Arthur.’ In these Triads, two causes of the battle of Camlan seem to be discernible. One of the ‘ Three Evil Strokes of the Isle of Britain ’ is described as having been a blow dealt by Gwenhwyvach to Gwenhwyvar, and this blow, it is added, was ‘the cause of the battle of Camlan afterwards.’ A variant form says that the blow was dealt by Gwenhwyvar to Gwenhwyvach. In the Kulhwch story, Gwenhwyvach is described as a sister of Gwenhwyvar. In Irish, Findabair is the name of the daughter of Medb, queen of Connacht, in the ‘ Tain Bo Chuailgne —a genuinely Keltic name which, through its Brythonic form, passed into a variety of Con- tinental forms. In Kulhwch we find the masculine form of the name, ‘Gwynhyvar,’ who is described as the steward of Cornwall and Devon, concerned in the battle of Camlan. In the same tale, Morvran eil Tegid and Sandde Bryd Angel are said to have escaped unhurt from Camlan, the first because of his ugliness, wherefore no one dared to strike him, thinking he was a demon, and the second owing to his beauty—none dared to strike him, as they deemed him to be an angel. The third who escaped 66 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC from the battle is said to have been Saint Cynwyl, who was the last to part from Arthur. These details probably belong to the earlier account of Camlan. In one Triad concerning the ‘Three Evil Blows,’ the blow is said to have been dealt Medrawd by Arthur, and no cause is assigned. ‘The Triad enumerating the ‘Three Grievous Slaugh- ters of the Isle of Britain ’ seems to suggest yet another version, perhaps the unvarnished original of the later romance forms. I take the material part of the Triad from the first series in the Myv. Arch., bracketing the variants as found in the second and third : ‘The Three Grievous Slaughters of the Isle of Britain: One of them was when Medrawd came to Kelliwig in Cornwall, and left in the court neither food nor drink and when he dragged Gwenhwyvar from her throne [and then struck her a blow, II. ; and committed adultery with her, III.]. And the second was when Arthur went to the Court of Medrawd, where he left neither food nor drink unconsumed, neither man nor animal alive in the cantred.’ Another Triad says that Arthur had three wives, each named Gwenhwyvar. In these variants we can probably trace an earlier account of the Battle of Camlan, which afterwards came to be attributed to the treachery of Medrawd. The character of Medrawd, as reflected in the references of the official bards of the Princes to him, may have been due to the prevalence among them of an earlier, less developed account of the cause of the battle. It may also be stated here that there is a Welsh character called ‘ Melwas,’ who is said to have carried away Gwenhwyvar to Scotland, having dressed himself in leaves for the purpose of capturing her, so that the queen’s maids did not know him, taking him for a supernatural being. A poem attributed to Dafydd ap Gwilym ! refers to this tale, with greater detail than usual in the bards : | * Alas ! that with a lover’s sigh, I may not call for the art of Melwas, ~ the robber who, through magic and enchantment, took away a woman to the extremity of the land ; he, the deceiver, went into the woods, among the branched walls of the tree tops, and to-night, I should like to climb up on high, as he did.’ Whether there was originally a separate story concerning this rape, or whether Melwas is another name for Medrawd, it is difficult to say. Of course, in Malory this episode is connected 1 Barddoniaeth, 1789, p. 106. SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 67 with the name of Meliagraunce, but the story as found in the Morte d’ Arthur has certain weaknesses, which suggest that it may be out of place. In any case, we may here have evidence of the possible existence at one time of three stories— 1. Gwenhwyvar and Gwenhwyvach. 2. The Battle of Camlan. 3. Melwas and Gwenhwyvar. The later account of the cause of the Battle of Camlan, between Arthur and Medrawd, is also given, and one of the ‘ Three evil counsels of the Isle of Britain ’ is described as having been the action of Arthur in dividing his forces three times with Medrawd, in the fight between them.!_ This would seem to corres- pond rather with the attitude of Arthur towards Launcelot in the ; _ Morte d’ Arthur, where one traces such an evident intention to exalt French chivalry and other qualities. _., In the type of material comprehended in the remainder of the Triads, we may probably trace the effect of the development of _ Arthur as a romantic hero. He is described as a supreme ruler, having courts at Caerllion, in Wales ; Kelliwig, in Cornwall, and Penrhyn Rhionydd, in the North, with a chief bishop and a chief elder at each of them. The names are also given of the principal Knights of the Court, as follows : Three supreme heads (unbeniaid): Goronwy vab Echel Vordd- wytwll; Cadreith vab Porthvawr Gadw [fourth son of Seidi, I1.], and Ffleidur Flam vab Godo. Three Warrior Knights: Mened [Mael Hir, III.; Cadwr Iarll Kernyw, IV.]; Lludd Llurugawe [Llyr Lluyddawe, III. ; Lawnslot dy Lac, IV.]; Caradawe [Ywain ap Urien Rheged, IV.]. This triad is in the form of a stanza attributed to Arthur. Three Golden-torqued Knights : Gwalchmei vab Gwyar, Drudwas vab Tryffin, Eliwlad vab Madawe vab Uthr [the second and third name have been run into one in III. by the omission of Kliwlad]. “They were wise men, so fair and gentle, eloquent and amiable in speech that it would be difficult for anyone to refuse them that which they sought.’ 1 One is tempted to see a reference to this in the poem entitled Marwnat Uthyr Pen, in the BT: ‘Neu vi arannwys vy echlessur nawuetran yg gwrhyt Arthur.’ 68 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC Three Royal Knights: Nasiens, King of Denmark [Morgan Mwynvawr, IV.]; Medrawd vab Llew vab Kynvarch ; Hywel vab Emyr Llydaw. ‘They were men whose speech was so gentle and amiable and fair that it would be difficult for anyone to refuse them their request.’ Three Just Knights [Justly-minded, IV.]: Blas, son of the Prince of Llychlyn; Cadawe vab Gwynlliw Vilwr, and Pedrogl Paladrddellt [son of the King of India, IV.]. ‘Their habit was to protect orphans, widows and virgins against violence, injustice and oppression, Blas by secular law, Cadawe by ecclesiastical law, and Pedrogl by the law of arms.” Three Knights who found [who kept, IV.] the Grail: Galath vab Lawnslot dy Lac [Cadawe vab Gwynlliw, IIl.]; Peredur vab Evrawe [Illtud Varchawe, III.]; and Bwrt son of King Bwrt [son of Bwrt, King of Llychlyn, IV.; Peredur, IIT.]. ‘The first and second were physically chaste, and the third was chaste because he only once committed carnal sin, and that was through temptation, when he begat . . . [name missing | upon the daughter of Brangor, she who was Empress of Constantinobl, from whom came the greatest family in the world, and the three of them were descended from the family of Joseph of Arimathea and from the family of the Prophet David, as the story of the Holy Grail bears testimony.’ Three untorqued! Knights of the Court of Arthur: EHthen 1 Hual means fetter, but must also be translated torque, I think. The following Triads (which do not mention the name of Arthur, and are not therefore included in the analysis above, seem to demand the former mean- ing :— ‘Tri Hualogion teulu Ynys Prydein : The Host of Cadwallawn Lawhir, who placed the hualew of their steeds upon their feet by twos in fighting with Serigi Wyddel at Cerrig y Gwyddyl in Anglesey, and the Host of Rhiwallon vab Urien in fighting with the Saxons, and the Host of Belyn of Lleyn in fighting with Edwin at Bryn Ceneu in Rhos.’ [LI., I1.] ‘Tri eur Hualogion Ynys Prydein: MRhiwallon Wallt Banhadlen, Rhun vab Maelgwn, and Catwaladr Vendigeid. [I., I1.] And these men were called hualogion because no steeds could be obtained suitable for them because of their size, so that golden fetters were placed round the small of their legs, over the hind-quarters of the horses behind them, with two golden patellae under their knees.’ [I., I1.] ‘‘Tri Hualogion Teyrnedd Ynys Prydein: Morgan Mwynvawr of Morgannwg ; Elystan Glodrydd, of [the region] between Wye and Severn and Gwaithfoed, the King of Keredigion. They were so called because SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 69 [Eithew, IV.] vab Gwgawn ; Coleddawc vab Gwynn, and Gereint Hir vab Gemeirnon [Cymmannon, IV.] Hen. Three Trwyddedawe Anfodawe [Hanfodawe, IV.] !: Llywarch Hen vab Elidir Lydanwyn ; Llemenig and Heledd [Llwm- hunic ap Mauon a Heledd vab Gyndrwyn, I., variant ; IiJ.}. Ill. adds ‘and they were bards.’ Three Amiable Knights of the Court of A.: Gwalchmei vab Gwyar, Garwy vab Gereint vab Erbin, and Cadeir eil Seithin Saidi [in IV. only]. Three Knights Magicians of the Court of A.: Menw vab Teirgwaedd, Trystan vab Tallwch, and Kei Hir vab Kynyr Varvawe. ‘For they would take whatever form they liked when they were in difficulty, and for that reason no one could overcome them, because of their strength, their bravery and their magic.’ [IV. only.] Three Noble Ladies of the Court of A.: Dyvyr Wallt Eureid, Enid verch Yniwl I[arll, and Tegeu Eurvron. Three Chief Queens of A.: Gwenhwyvar verch Gwythyr vab Greidiawl, Gwenhwyvar verch Gawryd Keint [Gwent, II.], and Gwenhwyvar verch Ogyrvan Gawr. [Ocruan, III.] Three Mistresses of A.: Garwen verch Henyn [Heuinbren, IT. ; Tegyrn Gwyr ac Ystrad Tywi (King of Gower and Ystrad Tywi), III.], Gwyl verch Eudawd [Eudaf, II.; Eutaw y (=o) Gaerworgorn, III.], and Indeg verch Arwy Hir [Avarwy Hir o Vaelienydd, III.]. The name of A. also figures in other Triads as appended : Three Oferfeirdd 2 of the Isle of Britain: Arthur, Catwallawn vab Cadvan and Rhyawt Hil Morgant [Morgant Morgannwg, III.]. Three Frivolous Battles of the Isle of Britain: The third was the they wore hualeu (torques ?) in the manner of the Kings of Britain, and not chaplets, or crowns.’ The meaning of the first of these Triads may be comprehended in the second, but it is evident that in the third, the reference is to the wearing of torques to denote nobility. 1 The meaning is not clear to me. Loth translates, ‘“‘ Trois hotes libres et contre leur volonté.”’ The traditional lot of Llywarch Hen suggests anffodawe as a possible reading. _ 2 The exact meaning is not clear. Loth has “‘ trois bardes peu sérieux,”’ and he quotes a modern bardic explanation. As used by the bards, oferfardd has a very uncertain meaning—a somewhat dissipated minstrel, perhaps. 70 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC battle of Camlan [between A. and Medrawd, where A. was slain and along with him a hundred thousand men, III.] which was fought because of the contention of Gwenhwyvar and Gwenhwyvach, and they were called frivolous battles because they resulted from such trivial causes. Three Dishonoured men of the Isle of Britain: (1) Avarwy vab Lludd; (2) Gwrtheyrn Gwrtheneu; (3) Medrawd vab Llew vab Kynvarch, when A. left the government of the island in his charge . . . [and then the battle of Camlan was fought between A. and Medrawd, and A. slew Medrawd, and M. gave him a wound from which he died, and he was buried in a place in the island of Avallach, II.; where A. was killed, with all his men excepting three, II1.]. Three Faithless Hosts of the Isle: (1) the Host of Gronwy Pevyr; (2) the Host of Gwrgi and Peredur; (3) the Host of Alan Ffergant [ar lan Ffergan, II.; Alan Forgan, III.] who forsook their lord clandestinely on the way to Camlan. Each of these hosts numbered one thousand one hundred men. Three Treacherous Meetings of the Isle: (3) the meeting of Medrawd and Iddawe Corn Prydein ! and their followers at Nanhwynein, where they plotted the death [gwnaethant frad] of Arthur, thus giving the Saxons sway over the Isle of Britain [II1.]. Three Secret Treacheries of the Isle: ‘2) the betrayal of A. by Iddawe Corn Prydein, who disclosed his secret [IIT.]. Three brave overlords [uwnbeniaid] of the Isle : Kynvelyn Wledig , Caradawe vab Bran, and Arthur [IIT]. Three red-marked ones of the Isle: Arthur, Morgan Mwynvawr, and Rhun vab Beli [III.]. 1In Breuddwyt Rhonabwy, Iddawe Cordd Prydein explains how he came to be so called :—‘I was one of the messengers at Cat Gamlan between Arthur and Medrawt his nephew. And I was a spirited young man then, and by reason of my great inclination to fight, | made things ~ mixed between them. And this is the trouble I caused—the Emperor Arthur sent me to tell Medrawt that he was his foster-father and his uncle, and that, in order to avoid the slaughter of the sons of the kings of the isle of Britain, and its nobles, he desired peace ; and whereas Arthur spoke to me in the most amiable manner, I repeated his words to Medrawt in the most insulting manner. And so I was called [ddawe Cordd Brydein. And it was thus that the battle of Camlan was fought, and three nights before the end of the battle I parted from them, and went as far as the Blue Flagstone in Scotland to do penance. And I was there for seven years doing penance, and obtained mercy.’ SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC al Summarizing the results of this part of our inquiry, we can state that of an historical Arthur, the evidence in Welsh is practically non-existent. He appears in the earliest material distinctly as a legendary figure, engaged in marvellous expeditions to fortresses or citadels which may be supposed to have been situated in the other-world. We have found reference to at least 28 incidents which may have formed the subject of narratives in which Arthur was concerned, and of which there seems to be no other mention. In the Triads, his name is introduced as that of one who excelled the other characters. This is possibly a later addition to the original Triads, made after the fame of Arthur had become general. Another possible but less likely view is that the traditional supremacy of Arthur accounts for the mention of his name in the Triads as that of one with whom ordinary mortals could not be compared. It seems fairly clear from this examina- tion that the early fame of Arthur in Welsh territory was a matter of folklore, which was only to a limited extent reflected in the works of the official bards. The belief that he had not died but would one day return to liberate his people seems to have pre- vailed among Brythonic peoples before attention was drawn to his legend by the work of Geoffrey of Monmouth. In Welsh Folklore, Arthur and his warriors sleep in a mountain cave, variously situated, waiting for the day when they shall awake and return. Some of the places where this cave is said to be located are the Elidir, Berwyn, Craig y Dinas in Glamorgan, and another Craig y Dinas in Montgomeryshire. It may be interesting to note in passing that the Berwyn and Hiraethog districts are rich in place-names connected with the Four Branches of the Mabinogi and Hanes Taliesin.1_ The story of the cave was known 1 Berwyn itself is probably Bre Wyn, from the name of Gwyn ap Nudd. There are also in the region a Nant Gwyn, and Caer Drewyn near Corwen, and there are stories connecting Gwyn with the mountain. Other names found in the district are—Cadair Franwen, Nant Manawyd [now pro- nounced Myniawyd], Caer Gai, Llyn Tegid, Castell Dinas Bran. Accord- ing to Pen. 176 (39), there was, between Cadair Ddinmael and Betws, a place known as Maen y Bardd, of which it is said—‘ ac yn y main hynny y rrain sydd yn vedrod gron vechan i kad an ab y Ileian a mvrddun y lleian y sydd is law yn ymyl ... y llyssdir.’ The connection of this with the Myrddin legend seems beyond doubt. One is tempted to suspect that anap y lleian, or anvab y Ileian, may be the basis of the An of the Myrddin story ; that murddyn has something to do with Myrddin, and that a reference to Medrod may lurk in the words, ‘ yn vedrod gron vechan.’ In-the Hiraethog district, where we find Llyn Brén and Gorsedd Fran, 72 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC in the Hiraethog district in my father’s boyhood, nearly eighty years ago, in the form, also found elsewhere, which relates how a man walking on London Bridge,with an ashen stick in his hand, was met by an odd-looking person of great age, who told him finally that the stick had grown over the entrance into a cave filled with treasure guarded by sleeping warriors. Obeying the directions of his informant, the man afterwards found the cave, but in going out, having overloaded himself with treasure, he caused a bell suspended in the entrance to ring. Thereat the warriors leapt up, the leader asking, ‘Has the day come?’ Following his instructions, the man replied * No, sleep on ! ’ whereat the warriors sank back into slumber, and the man escaped, but all search for the cave afterwards proved fruitless. In some places, this tale is connected with the name of Owain Lawgoch, a claimant to the Principality of Wales after the fall of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (1284). Owain was the grandson of a brother to Llywelyn, and is known in French chronicles and even in Continental literature, as Yvain de Galles and Yffo von Calis. He was assassinated in France by the hirelings of the English, in the year 1378.1 The basis of the legend seems to have passed into the vaticinatory poems of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, in the majority of which the name of Owain supplants that of Arthur. Yet, occa- sionally, Arthur seems to continue to represent the hero who was some day to come over sea to restore the former glory of his race. Before and during the Tudor struggle, great use was made of this tradition, in order to win support for the Lancastrians. ‘There is at least one attempt made, in English, to connect the prediction with the name of Cromwell.2. During the last century, the tradition was idealized and became a kind of motive among the political nationalists of the period again. THe RoMANCE MATERIAL Our inquiry, so far, has been restricted. to the early metrical material and the Triads. We may now briefly examine, on the — same lines, the prose material known as the ‘ Mabinogion.’ For the sake of clearness and accuracy, it may be well to point out that the term ‘ Mabinogion ’ was used by Lady Guest to denote all the Welsh tales and romances which she translated into English. remarkable folk-etymologies are plentiful, and jumbled forms in place- names still more so. 1 See Cymmrodor, 1899-91. 2Thomas Pugh, British and Outlandish Prophecies, 1658. SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 73 The Welsh title ‘ Pedeir Keine y Mabinogi ’ is properly restricted to the branched tale of Pwyll-Branwen-Manawydan-Math, and as “ Mabinogi’ is a singular form, an old plural, if there had been such, would have been ‘ Mabinogion.’ Various attempts have been made to explain the meaning of the term. Stephens (Literature of the Kymry) believed that the term meant youth, and that the tales were ‘ written to while away the time of the young chieftains.’ There is no evidence whatever of this. Rhys claimed that ‘ Mabinog ’ meant a literary apprentice, taught by a. qualified bard, and that Mabinogi meant the subject matter he had to learn. Ivor John (the Four Branches of the Mabinogi), and others, repeat this explanation. There is, however, no evid- ence for it in Welsh material. Rhys seems to have based it. upon some particulars of Irish tradition. Another suggestion is that the term is the equivalent of the French Hnfance. This is at least supported by one compilation where the Welsh term is employed with that meaning (Mabinogi Iesu Grist, of which there is a variant Mabolyaeth Iesu Grist). Later suggestions are that it is a form of the Irish Mac ind Oic, a name given to a legendary character ; and that it is simply a compound of two Welsh words. (mab = son, and mynogi = courtesy). The suggestion, which I made some years ago, that it is derived from the Irish was after- wards more fully supported by Professor Lloyd Jones.1. I am still of the opinion that this is the most likely explanation, and that the term means simply the Wonder-child, having an other- world father, for Pryderi, the hero of the Four Branches, was such a son. The term ‘ Mabinogion ’ is therefore not employed here, but an effort is made to group the tales according to character and antiquity, showing what part is played in them by Arthur, and endeavouring to show the distinction between the earlier, Brythonic or Keltic Arthur, and the later figure of French- coloured romance. : The Welsh romances, written down in the form in which we know them, about the twelfth century or the early part of the thirteenth and later, include material in which Arthur does not figure at all. Such are the Four Branches, which must have been given a definite form some time from the tenth to the eleventh century. ‘ Breuddwyd Macsen’ and ‘ Kyvranc Lludd a Llevelys ’ are concerned with traditions of the Roman occupation. ly Beirniad, Vol. IV., 2. 74 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC The other romances, in which Arthur figures, may be divided into two classes, (a) Pre-Norman tales, ‘ Kulhwch ac Olwen,’ © Breu- ddwyd Rhonabwy,’ ‘Hanes Taliesin,’ and perhaps, in some re- spects, ‘The Birth of Arthur.’ ‘ Kulhwch ac Olwen’ is the story of the quest of a wife, and the material of which it is made up is undoubtedly primitive. It is not necessary here to go into detail, but a brief outline of the essential features may assist us to realize the difference between this tale and the Continental manipulations of Arthurian material. Kulhwch, son of Kilydd, son of King Kelyddon, is born in a pigsty, his mother having been seized by a fit of madness. The name Kulhwch was given the child because of this circumstance.1 In dying, the mother of Kulhwch makes the father promise that he would not marry a second time until he should find a thorn with two flowers growing on her grave. She then asks her con- fessor to see that nothing be allowed to grow on the grave. The confessor does so for seven years, then forgets. Seeing the thorn at last, Kilydd decides to marry, and is advised by his servants to carry away by force the wife of another king. This he does. As Kulhweh is afterwards unwilling to marry the daughter of his step- mother, she places upon him an injunction that he may never marry unless he obtain for his bride Olwen, the daughter of a giant named Yspaddaden Pen Cawr.? His father advises him to go to the Court of Arthur, who is his uncle, to obtain assistance for the quest. He goes, obtains assistance, ultimately finds Olwen at her father’s court, and is charmed by her appearance, The giant in turn imposes upon him a series of seemingly impossible tasks, which must be performed for the winning of Olwen. They include the finding of Mabon, son of Madron, lost in his infancy a long time since, the hunting of the Twrch Trwyd, a boar which 1 The part played by the pig in Irish and Welsh legend may be mentioned. The hunting of boars occurs in many Irish and Scottish Gaelic tales. In Welsh, we have the bringing of pigs from Annwn, the hunting of Henwen, Ysgithrwyn Ben Beidd, and Twrch Trwyd. Welsh names like Kulhwch, Tallwch, Gwythwch, Unhwch, are also probably due to some simular ty of origin. Pigs were probably used in ancient divination, and there are still preserved many folk-beliefs concerning pigs. The modern saying, common in Wales, that pigs can see the wind may be compared with the belief among sailors on sailing-ships, that to slaughter a pig on board, with its head towards the stern, would bring wind from the other direction. (See Interaturo, Vol. II., No. 8.) See also later references in this article. 2 Hpinogre, Epinogris, seems to me to be an echo of this name. See also Rhys, Arthurian Legend. ] ; aes SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC 75 had been a prince, metamorphosed for his sins.1 Mabon is ultimately found through inquiring of the oldest creatures in the land—the Blackbird of Kilgwri, the Stag of Rhedynvre, the Owl of Cwm Cawlwyd,? the Eagle of Gwernabwy, and the Salmon of Llyn Lliw. Then commences the hunting of the Boar. The names of the hunters are given at great length, and probably, in this part of the narrative, we have the debris of many tales. The narrator is manifestly bringing into the story short summaries of other tales known to him: Amongst them may be mentioned : (1) The Death of Gwydre son of Llwydeu, who was killed by his uncle, Hueil, on which account there was hatred between _ Arthur and Hueil. (2) The Death of Kei, who was slain by Gwyddawe son of Menestr, _ Arthur afterwards slaying him and his brothers to avenge Kei. : (3) The tale of Ol son of Olwydd. His father’s swine were stolen seven years before his birth, but when he had grown up, Ol tracked the swine and brought them home in seven droves. (4) The rape of Kreiddylad by Gwyn vab Nudd, and the peace made by Arthur between him and Gwythyr vab Greidyawl, which reminds us of the scrap of the tale of Trystan and | Hsyllt, already dealt with. | (5) The tale of Osla’s knife, which was broad enough to make a bridge for the hosts of Arthur to pass over a river. These were evidently Arthurian tales, not otherwise known to us. There are really two boar hunts in the tale—the hunting of Ysgithrwyn Ben Beidd and the pursuit of Twrch Trwyd, but the latter may have formed a tale by itself at one time, of course. The Hunt commences in Ireland, then, on to Wales, and from place to place in that country. This is the chief incident in the tale, and it is full of marvellous elements, undoubtedly of great antiquity. Arthur takes a prominent part in the hunt, and is throughout a primitive figure. Ultimately, all the tasks are pomoreed, the Giant himself is barbarously killed, and Olwen becomes the wife of Kulhwch. There is no chivalry in the essential contents of this tale. 1 Triath in Irish means prince. The form in Kulhwch is Trwyth, but in the metrical material we have the form T'rwyd, which would be the regular Welsh correspondence with the Irish form. 2 The writer heard the expression ‘cyn hyned 4’r dylluan’ (as old as the owl) in the Hiraethog district some three or four years ago. A.S,—VOL, VIII. F 76 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC The description of the beauty of Olwen may have been influenced by later romance, and the tale includes a few words of French origin, but that is all. Arthur is here nothing like the Arthur of the continental romances, and the manners of his court are primitive. The proceedings at the Court of the Giant are still more primitive, and the men of Arthur exhibit no contrast. Kei is, for instance, here said to have been the son of Kynyr Keinvarvawec, who tells the mother of Kei that if the son she bears be his, that son’s heart would be cold; there would be no heat in his hands; he would be obstinate ; whenever he bore a burden, neither his face nor his back would be visible ; no one could face water or fire as he could ; and none could equal him as a servant or officer. Elsewhere in the story, Kei is said to have been passionate. He could hold his breath for nine days and nine nights under water, and remain sleepless for nine days and nights. A wound inflicted by his sword could not be cured. He could be as tall as the highest tree whenever he wished. Contrary to the prediction of Cynyr, his reputed father, it is here stated that his hand was so warm that a weapon held in it in the rain would be dry for a space above and below his hand, and that his comrades could warm themselves in the heat of his body on a cold day. This may have meant that Cynyr was not his father. As Kei, for instance, takes part in the hunting of the Twrch Trwyd, the mention of his death must have been introduced by the story-teller from another tale known to him, a circumstance which shows that the raconteur was consciously augmenting his list of heroes who took part in the hunt. The fact that he makes proper names out of legal terms and ordinary words is evidence of the same process of story-telling. Bedwyr is described as having been the handsomest man in the island, with the exception of Arthur and Drych eil Kibdar. Although he might fight with one hand against three armed men, he would first draw blood. His spear thrust made one wound and the withdrawal made nine. Arthur himself appears in the tale as a King of Britain, surrounded by an immense number of warriors. Only sons of kings and craftsmen of skill (distinctively Gaelic terms) are allowed into his court, but he grants boons to all comers. He possesses magic belongings and marvellous attributes. His followers can accomplish miraculous deeds—one can flatten out the highest mountain in the world into a plain ; another can suck SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC Ug dry the sea; there is one who can spread his beard over the forty-eight rafters of the hall; one who can see gnats against the dawn at the Hebrides whilst he is himself in Cornwall, and another who can walk on the tops of trees, crossing a forest in that way, instead of going through it or around it.! There are many other references to very primitive habits in the tale. The stepmother and stepson motive connects it with many Irish stories; the circumstance of the thorn on the grave is found in Arab folklore ; there are Gaelic words and names, and possibly Scandinavian names also, in the narrative, and the hunting of the Boar, com- mencing in Ireland, reminds us of the tale of Diarmuid and Grainne in Irish and Scottish Gaelic. In fact, the Gaelic character of much of the material is undeniable, and its antiquity cannot be doubted. The imposition of difficult tasks for certain purposes is well known everywhere—modern sports and university examinations are really the same thing. Such tests preceded admission to the circle of the Irish Fiana. The candidate for admission had to overcome men armed with lances, whilst he himself stood up to the waist in a hole in the ground, armed only with a club and a shield ; he had to run through a forest, with plaited hair, followed by adjudicators ; had to leap over a line placed at the level of his forehead, to pass under another no higher than his knee, and to pull a thorn out of hisfoot. If the hair became loose, if the runner broke a dry twig with his foot, stopped, or was caught, his candi- dature was refused. Buddha is said to have gained his wife by competition. He had to shoot, ride horses and elephants, to fence, write a poem, to dance, to explain the meaning of dreams, to practise magic, and to foretell events. In fact, most ancient: peoples seem to have got rid of their unfit through such tests— and we still speak of post-mortem examinations. The long list given of those who participated in the hunting of the Twreh Trwyd is undoubtedly drawn from an immense mass of legendary material, which was evidently partly unintelligible to the raconteur. The whole composition, indeed, must be formed out of the debris of a vast wealth of earlier tales. The incidents are nothing like the adventures of the Continental stories, or of Malory, with his wearying ‘jousts’ and endless clichés. ‘Two princes of the twelfth century are named in ‘ The Dream ' A possible echo of the time when men lived mostly in the trees, and when they could traverse forests from branch to branch. 78 SOME ARTHURIAN MATERIAL IN KELTIC of Rhonabwy,’ so that the version we know was probably written down about the middle of that century, and the names of the princes introduced by the raconteur. ‘The material is, however, older. , These two princes, who are brothers, quarrel, one of them devastating the territory of the other. Anc. Laws, We. XOX) p. 25. 6 Jbid., I, e. XX VIM, peas @ Toid 5, Cc XOGVAl pn 26. 8Toid., ¥; ce. XXVijagpee2er SOCIAL LIFE AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS 113 seems to imply that upon those occasions the Queen might dine with the King. The Queen also had her own Cook, who was to taste all dishes prepared by him.! The following customs observed at table are also mentioned : The Candle-bearer was to hold a candle for the King whilst he was dining, and to precede him with a light when he retired. The Cook was to taste each course brought to the table, and at the serving of the last course was to be presented with food and drink by the King. Whilst the Household was dining and after- wards drinking, the Apparitor was to stand between the two middle pillars with a rod in his hand to guard against the danger of the house being set on fire by accident. He was forbidden to sit in the presence of the King. The Foot-holder’s duty was to hold the King’s feet in his lap from the time he began to drink until he went to bed, to attend to his bodily comfort and to guard him against all mischance. After the repast was over, the Door- ward was to clear the Hall of all persons not entitled to remain. Some of the more notable directions with regard to procedure on various occasions are as follow: It was the Door-ward’s duty to make room for the King with a mace, and any person struck with the mace so that he fell at an arm’s length had no legal remedy. He was not to sit in the presence of the King, and was to speak to him kneeling. He was to bring all messages from the entrance, porth, to the King, and failure to recognise any Court official entailed a fine. The character of the entertainment of the Court is to some extent suggested by the Laws. Story-telling is not mentioned, but the singing of songs by the Penkerdd and the Household Bard is specified. The term canu kerdd (to sing a song) is often used with the meaning of composing, but the Latin expression cantare would seem to indicate that songs were sung, probably, as we may gather from other references, to some kind of harp accompaniment. The position of the Penkerdd, Musicus Pri- marius or Princeps Poetarum, at the Court is somewhat uncertain in the texts.2 The Latin texts do not specify the method of appointing or selecting the Penkerdd, but the Gwentian Code states that a bard became a Penkerdd after he had won a chair.’ tAnc. Laws, I, ec. X XIX, p. 27. ?-'T. Gwynn Jones, Bardism and Romance, Cymmrodorion Publications, 1914, pp. 5-6. 3 Anc. Laws, Gwentian Code, I, ec. XXXVII, p. 331. 114 SOCIAL LIFE AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS They also state that when a contention for a chair occurred it was the privilege of the Judge of the Court to obtain a corn bual, a ring and a cushion from the victor. What Aneurin Owen called the Anomalous Laws seem to suggest that a lord could confer the office of Penkerdd.? It is possible that these details are later additions, but references to bardic contests in the Books. of Taliesin and Aneirin, and in the poems of Kynddelw and others suggest that there may have been some system of com- petition for the honour. Like the Court officers, the Penkerdd obtained his land free, and a harp from the King, which was one of the lawful harps and was of equal value with that of the King. He received the amobr of the daughters of the bards subject to him.? He was also privileged to receive gifts on behalf of women given in marriage.4 The solicitation of gifts was his sole privilege, and out of the common profits of himself and companions he was entitled to two shares. Other bards might solicit with his permission, but a bard from a neighbouring country might solicit without his permission. He was free from the operation of royal prohibition of solicitation within the King’s domains. ?* A disciple upon leaving the Penkerdd, was entitled to a harp from him, ® but the Venedotian Code says that the Penkerdd was entitled to a sum of money from his subordinate upon the completion of his training.’ The duties of the Penkerdd are specified in the Latin and Welsh texts. Whenever the King was pleased to hear a song in the Hall, the Penkerdd sang first. Elsewhere, it is stated that he was to sing two songs, one a song to God and the other a song of Kings,* the Household Bard afterwards to sing a third, 2s korf. The Household Bard, upon taking office, was entitled to a harp from the King and a ring from the Queen. At the three principal festivals, the harp was to be placed in his hands by the Chief of the Household. In circuit with other bards, he was. entitled to the portion of two men. If he went to petition the 1 Dim: Code, 1, e XIV; p. 179; Gwent. Code, I, ec. XIU p. 316, “Ane: Laws, Vee: ile) on 39: 3 Penkerdd debet habere mercedes de filiabus poetarum sibi subdi- as —Ance. Laws, Leg. Wall., c. XXIII, p. 779. 4 Anc. Laws, Leg: Wall., c. XXIII, p. 779. 5 Dim. Code, I, c. XXV, p. 188; Gwent. Code, I, c. XXXVII, p. 331. 6 Gwent. Code, I, ec. XXXVII, p. 331. “ Ven. Code, \,. c. XGt.p: 35. Seg. Widllis Uy (C2 Ocean SOCIAL LIFE AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS 115 King for anything, he was required to sing one song, only ; if to a nobleman, three songs ; if to a villein, he was to sing until he became tired. It was his duty to provide the Chief of the Household with a song whenever desired. If present at a raid by the King’s followers, he was entitled to a good beast of burden: from the spoil, in addition to his portion as a subject. In case of war, he was to sing ‘ Unbeinaeth Prydein’ before the King’s retinue. ? | Poetry is said to have been one of the three arts which, legally, the son of a villein could not acquire without the consent of his lord. ‘The other two were letters and smithcraft.2 The term kerddoryon is used with the meaning of bards in the sections dealing with the rights of the Penkerdd. In the Latin texts the term employed for kerddoryon is joculatores. Among the gift- horses from the King, for which the Chief Groom was not entitled to receive a perquisite, was the Jester’s horse. The reason why the amount was not payable in this case is suggestive of the Jester’s profession.4 The zoculator is also called croesan. ‘The word is evidently related to the Irish crossdan, ‘ a lewd, ribaldrous rhymer, a mimic, jester, buffoon.’ > The word is also used of the cross-bearers in religious processions, ‘who combined with that occupation the profession of singing satirical poems against those who had incurred church censure, and were for any other case obnoxious.’ ® Two Latin texts say that the AKerddawr, with the King and Priest, should not be put to death, ‘ et ideo galanas eis secundum leges non est constitutum.’’ Kerddoryon from other lands were entitled to a progress among the King’s villeins whilst expecting their gifts from the King.® 1 Si ad villanum, cantet donec deficiat.—Leg. Wall., I, c. XXII, 1. ‘i 2 Et si belli fuerit conflictus, cantare debet quod dicitur Ynbeynayth Predein ante familiam. Leg. Wall., I, c. XXII, p. 779.—Ven. Code, I, e. XIV, p. 16, has ‘ unbeynaet prydyn.’ The form Prydyn is interesting, but the whole clause is most probably a late interpolation. 3 Literatura, fabrica ars et poesis.—Leg. Wall., II, c. VIII, p. 785. 4 Et de illo qui datur ioculatori, quia ioculator debet ligare capistra equi circa testiculos, et sic portare debet extra portam.—Leg. Wall., I, Ca Wag or aey Ore 5 Kuno Meyer, Contributions to Irish Lexicography, Archiv fur Celt, Lex. III Band, 1 Heft. 6 Todd, Irish Nennius, Dublin, 1848, p. 182. * Leg. Wall., II, c. VIII, p. 787. Poipid., UE,c. XIV, p. 791;-c. Xi; p. 839; Dim. Code, Il, ce. XI, p. 238. 116 SOCIAL LIFE AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS Of other structures connected with the King’s house, there are some details. Reference to the kitchen (cegin, bwyty) suggest that it was a separate structure, also containing sleeping accom- modation, as the Land Maer and the Baking-woman are said to have been lodged therein. The Chief of the Household was entitled to the largest and most central house in the tref, wherein dwelt with him any whom he might wish of the Household. The Chaplain’s house (ty ’r clochydd, clochydd, literally bell- man, parish clerk in the modern language, but domus capellani in a Latin version) was also a separate structure, wherein also were lodged the King’s Priest, the Queen’s Priest and the Clerks (ysgolheigion, literally ‘ scholars ’). The House Steward’s dwelling was the house nearest to the barn, by reason of his duty of distributing fodder for the horses of the household. The Kiln (odyn, possibly bakery) is mentioned. It was evidently provided with sleeping apartments, for the Chief Huntsman’s lodging was there. kes The tref seems to have been provided with a bath, for no indemnity was to be paid for the burning of heath in March, for the fire of a smithy and the fire of a bath in a hamlet, provided the smithy and the bath were at a distance of from seven to eight yards from the nearest house. Other structures which it was the duty of the King’s villeins to erect for him were the stable, treven vechan, cerner, and cynordy. Treven vechan is rendered latrina in the Latin versions and cerner is hundy, a dormitory, in one Welsh text. Cynordy is rendered atriwm, domus in atrio posita, by Davies,” but in the Latin we read domus canum, id est, kynordy.? Hafdy and gaeafdy are also mentioned, probably synonyms of Hafod, summer residence, and Hendref, winter residence. It seems that in the twelfth century the set of buildings with more or less completeness was duplicated for summer purposes on the higher grazing grounds.* An ordinary house is described by Giraldus Cambrensis as having been circular, with the fireplace in the centre, and beds of rushes all round, on which the inmates slept with their feet to the fire. The description reminds one of the hut of the boutaouer koat as still found in Brittany, a structure which probably remains much the same as it may have been in this country before the Breton lAne, Laws.2l, ¢> Xan, 2 372 2 Dict. Duplex. 3 eg. Wall, Vs 2c. XCVili oe SilGs 4 Rhys and Jones, The Welsh People, p. 200. SOCIAL LIFE AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS 117 emigration. It would appear, according to these texts, that the houses of the King, the nobles and the ezlltyon were on the same plan and had six columns. The penthouses of the house of an allt are enumerated—chamber, cowhouse, barn, kiln, sheepcote, pigsty—and he is stated to have possessed a summer and a winter house. All houses were probably frail structures, easily destroyed and particularly liable to damage by fire—hence the regulations, some of them peculiar, with regard to fire. The legal value of each piece of timber used in the construction of a house is given, imcluding the columns, the ties supporting the roof, rafters, beams, poles, rods, rails, weather poles and spars, binders, and springles, doors, door frames and thresholds. Windows are not mentioned. The outer walls and doors were probably of wattle, and the roof of broom and similar shrubs and possibly turf. It is probable that in the houses of the nobles, the uchelwyr and the boneddigyon, entertainment was something like that indicated in the references examined above. We have seen that the bards were in the habit of visiting the homes of the uchelwyr and even of the evzlltyon. Although the position and rights of married women are regulated in detail, unfortunately the Laws do not enable us to gather much information concerning the more distinctively social customs connected with marriage. The statement of the position of daughters after the attainment of the age of twelve seems to involve some uncertainties, possibly due to the fusion of earlier and later practices. Paternal maintenance of a daughter was obligatory up to the age of twelve years, when, it would seem, it might cease, but the daughter’s right to movable property! or to ‘ a share in the da of the household or of the larger group of kindred to the fourth degree, of which she was a member,’? still remained. The statement that after the twelfth birthday ‘every woman is to go the way she willeth freely, for she is not to be home-returning,’ ? may perhaps be taken to signify that from her twelfth birthday a girl was legally exempt from paternal correction and restraint, and that she might leave home, but, having left, that she was not entitled to return. Presumably, this freedom to follow her own will meant that she could give 1 Ane. Laws, Il, c. XXX, p. 99. 2 Rhys and Jones, The Welsh People, p. 208. °3 Anc. Laws, II, c. I, p. 46, ‘ Pob gureic adele menet y ford e menno en ryd, cany dele bot en cardecguel.’ The exact meaning of the expres- sion cardecguel is uncertain. 118 SOCIAL LIFE AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS herself in marriage. The sections dealing with amobr include a statement that a woman who disposed of herself was bound herself to pay amobr.! Inspite of this freedom, it would seem that normally the giving of a daughter in marriage involved paternal consent, and that it might rest with the group of kindred to the fourth degree,? a custom reflected in the tale of Kulhwch ac Olwen and less definitely in the tale of Branwen. The Laws contain no actual description of the marriage cere- mony. Insome of the early tales the expression used for marriage (‘oed i gysgu genthi’) seems to suggest a contract held to be consummated by the act of sleeping together. This term is also employed in the Laws in that sense, and from references in the legal material we must infer a ceremony of some kind.? No mention is made of the services of a priest, and the place where the contract was made is not specified, in fact, the only reference to ecclesiastical law in the matter of marriage is to the effect that the Law of Hywel was contrary to it :—‘ The (ecclesiastical) law says again that no son is to obtain the patrimony but the eldest born to the father by the married wife; the Law of Hywel, however, allows it to the youngest son as well as the eldest, and decides that the sin of the father or his illegal act is not to be brought against the son in the matter of patrimony.”? After the delivery of the bride certain formalities were _ observed and assurances made. The bride’s agweddi was prob- ably handed over. Agweddi, or gwaddol, seems to have been a portion delivered to the bridegroom on the morrow of the mar- riage.> If the marriage contract was not broken before the end of seven years, it ceased to be the wife’s own portion and became joint property. Another term found in the legal texts is argy- vreu, employed with a variety of significations, but which, in this connection, seems to have meant special ornaments, para- TAne: arvs, uiaenD.pri42: 2 Tbid., Wee. XOVSip. 85. 3 Jbid., II, c. I, p. 41, ‘Keuodi ar enethiauruir.’ Outside the legal material, see also the tales of Kulhwch ac Olwen and Branwen. 4 Ibid., II, ec. XVI, p. 86. This is probably a reference to the custom of concubinage, which continued to be common in Wales, as elsewhere, down to the sixteenth century, the children, in some cases at any rate, being brought up with those of the lawful wife, and the sons inheriting property from their fathers, and their names appearing in the: pedigrees. 2 lbtd.. Dim. Codex Were. Vallee. 223% SOCIAL LIFE AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS 119 phernalia.t Another gift, called cowyll, was payable by the husband to the wife on the morning after the consummation of the marriage, the amount depending upon the status of the wife’s father.2 Another text states that if a woman failed to specify her cowyll before rising from bed in the morning, the cowyll was to be thenceforward in common between them.? This is seemingly contradicted by another statement giving the fixed amount of the cowyll of the daughter of a king, a gwrda and an aillt.4 Yet another definition of cowyll is that it was the price of virginity.® Yet another payment involved was the amobr. A general definition of these payments is as follows :— ‘ There are three occasions of shame for a maid: the first is when her father tells her, ““ I have given thee to a man ”’ ; the second when for the first time she goes to her husband’s bed ; the third when for the first time, risen from bed, she finds herself among people. For the first shame, her purchase price (amobr) is given to her father ; for the second, her cowyll is given to herself ; for the third her agweddz is given by her father to her husband.’® As D’Arbois de Jubainville points out,’ the purchase price (amobr) among the Welsh was paid, as elsewhere, to the father, or to the other relative who might give the maid in matriage, but the father, or relative, transferred the price to the King, or to the lord who was placed between him and the King. This, according to D’Arbois de Jubainville, means that the payment was the ransom of the right called in Latin jus primae noctis, ‘ quoique la loi ne la dise point.’ To all students of folk-custom, this contention will appear to be well-founded, but, as the same notable authority, equally competent as jurist and philologist, points out, the remarkable difference between the Kymric custom and primitive custom elsewhere is that the Kymric custom assimi- lates the free women to the slaves, amobr being payable for women of all classes. It is unnecessary here to follow the matter further, but it may be stated that in some agreements signed by 1 Rhys and Jones, The Welsh People, p. 209; D’Arbois de Jubainville, La Famille Celtique, p. 58. wAnme. Lows, i, c. 1, p. 42. ertoid.. 1h,.c.=1,° p47. JD MMI Os Aly jog et): > Esef eu ecouuyll er hyn a kafey am y guerendaut.—Anc. Laws, II, cobs p. 44. ~& Anc. Laws, Dim. Code, II, ce. VIII, p. 228. * La Famille Celtique, p. 125 et seq. 120 SOCIAL LIFE AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS tenant farmers in a part of Denbighshire, say forty years ago, this ransom was mentioned. Whether it has since disappeared the writer does not know. ‘The discrepancies noted above, with others, seem to indicate a fusion of earlier and later usages. Of the social festivities which, no doubt, accompanied a marriage, the Laws tell us nothing. That neithiawrwyr came together and were present wherever the newly married couple may have first slept together is proved by certain statements in the law.1 If the element car in the terms cargychwyn and car- ddychwel can be taken to mean a vehicle, we might imagine a ceremonial departure from the bride’s home, with the goods handed over to the young couple for the setting up of the new household. It is fairly clear that the marriage bond was loose, as it was also in Ireland.? Generally in the law the term gureic is used of an unmarried as well as a married woman, but we have also the terms gureic briaut and gureic bwys. ‘The exact term for a married woman is still gwraig briod. In the law gureic bwys is mentioned as having one right not possessed by other wives— “no wife in the world is to have a share of the corn but an espoused one.’ ? The difference between gureic bwys and any other wife is not explained. ‘The expression pwys occurs in significant con- text in a mid-fourteenth century literary text, rendering sponsus, sponsa.* The form pwys cannot regularly be derived from the Latin. One wonders whether its occurrence denotes a difference that came to be recognised between an earlier, comparatively loose union and a later, more formal contract with ecclesiastical sanction. There are certainly in these laws indications of a considerable diversity in custom. A regular marriage was that TAne: Laws; isc. 1, p. 4. 2 De Jubainville, La Famille Celtique, p. 179. 3 So rendered, somewhat literally, by Aneurin Owen—‘ ni dyly gwraig yn y byd cafael dim or yd onid gwraig pwys.’—Anc. Laws, I, c. I, p. 40. 4°Pa delw ygwnneir ygkylch yrei auo meirw ?—Megys ydaw guwr pwys ac anneiryf luossogrwydd varchogyonn gantaw yn erbyn y wreic pwys ae dwyn gantaw gan ganueu allewenyd, velle . . . ydaw yr angel . keittwat a llawer o engylyon ygyt ac ef ydwyn eneit gwreic pwys Krist o garchar y corff gann gywydolyaetheu acherdeu a diruawr oleuni ac arogleu hynaws ylys nef.’—Hist. Lucidar, Lilyvyr Agkyr Llandewwrevr (Oxford, 1894). In the Latin original we read: ‘.. . sicut sponsus cum multitudine militum ad suscipiendam sponsam venit, etc.,’ «bid., p- 210. On p. 88 we also find ‘ yr eglwys gatholic lan, yr hon ysyd wreie bwys briawt y vnmab duw dat.’ SOCIAL LIFE AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS 121 in which the bride was given by her father or some other member of the family, possibly with the assent of kindred, but what the law describes as “ clandestine ’ unions seem to have been numerous and even recognised. Separation after sleeping together for three nights is mentioned.t Marriage contracts for one year, which could be broken or renewed, were known in Ireland.? Provision for what looks like consummation or final separation in the seventh year under the Kymric system seems to suggest that a similar practice once existed in Wales.? The wife had a greater degree of freedom than allowed by ecclesiastical law or by modern common law. Separation was easy and might occur, not only as the result of the misconduct of either party, but also by agreement. The following curious enactment seems to imply that after separation the relationship was finally broken by the subsequent marriage of one of the parties to another person :— ‘Tf the husband take another wife after he shall have parted from the first, the first is free. Ifa man be parted from his wife, and if she be of a mind to take another husband, and if it should happen that the first husband repent having parted from her, and should he overtake her with one foot in the bed and the other outside the bed, then the prior husband is to have the woman.’ 4 The division of property in case of separation is minutely set out, but depends upon the period of anterior cohabitation. Of the children the division followed the principle that the father got twice the number that went to the mother, the elder and younger of the offspring going to the father and the intervening child or children to the mother. In the case of there being only one child, or a number not divisible according to the principle stated above, male priority would probably operate in favour of the father. Rules with regard to the relations of the sexes are numerous, and certain prescribed tests of impotence and of chastity,® apparently meme, Laws, Al;'e. I, p. 42: 2 The social history of some Welsh communities down to modern times shows instances of temporary cohabitation followed by marriage or separation, with no subsequent detriment to the woman in case of separation. Many curious customs connected with marriage of undoubted antiquity are also attested. 3 Ac os duc ar ty ac anlloet ae bod ekyd ac ef hyt empen seyth blenet, rannu a hi megis a gureye a rodyeyt ydhy.—Anc. Laws, I, c. I, p. 42. 4 Anc. Laws, Il, ec. I, p. 40. 5 Ibid., II, c. I, pp. 47-8. 122 SOCIAL LIFE AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS to be made in case of demand immediately after the conclusion of the marriage, and in the presence of the neithiawrwyr, guests, undoubtedly go back to more primitive times, but even such provisions do not necessarily indicate a depravity comparable to that reflected in many modern novels and plays. The case of women deceived or taken by force seems to have been fairly provided for. Illegitimate children were affiliated by legal process, described as occurring in church, and the father was responsible for the nurture of the child till the age of twelve or fourteen years. A woman taken without consent of kindred could be carried away from the man by her lord and kindred, unless she herself wished to remain. The prostitute, distinct from the concubine, had no privilege, but her sarhaed and galanas were to be paid according to the privilege of a brother. The birth of a child seems to have been the occasion of certain ceremonial practices. A male child was received as of kin by the father, the mother, it would appear, making a formal declaration of his paternity. In the case of the decease of the father, the child could be received by the pen-kenedl, with seven good men of the kindred. The pen-kenedl was to take the hands of the child in his own and to kiss him, a kiss being a sign of kinship. He was then to place the right hand of the child in the hand of the eldest of the others, and so from hand to hand to the last man. In default of a pen-kenedl, the ceremony could be observed by twenty- - one good men of the kindred, one of them, being the lord, taking the place of the pen-kenedl. The details given with regard to the upbringing of the son of a bonheddig are curious, suggesting as they do a division of responsibility and a standardisation of expenditure as between father and mother. The child was to be nursed by the mother for three months which, with the period of pregnancy, was to be reckoned as one year for her. The father was then to provide for him, giving a sheep with fleece and lamb, a caul of tallow or in default one penny; an iron pan, or the sum of four lawful pence ; wheat, barley, and oats ; a milch cow, with its calf; white or parti-coloured cloth, and fuel. ‘If the mother will,’ it is added, ‘ she shall have the whole ; if she do not will, let it be given to another.’1 The meaning of the last sentence seems to be that if the mother did not wish to continue to nurse the child, he was to be entrusted to a foster-mother. 1 Anc. Laws, Dim. Code, II, c. XVIII, pp. 253-4. The text is evi- dently corrupt, as it mentions wheat and fuel twice. SOCIAL LIFE. AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS 123 Until he attained the age of fourteen years, the son of a free- man was maintained by his father. He was then taken by his father and commended to his lord (at an earlier stage, probably to the pen-kenedl), who granted him the privilege of an innate tribesman, bonheddig. As the result of this ceremony the youth became capable of possessing property and liable to answer claims made upon him, and was thenceforth maintained by the chief or lord. Cattle were probably given him, and a share of the free land of the kindred, and he became liable to military service. The son of an uchelwr only attained the status of an uchelwr himself on the death of his father. Fosterage was practised, but the information contained in the law as to its conditions and working is meagre. The Codes state that if a noble placed his son in fosterage with the avlit ot a lord by the permission or sufferance of that lord for a year and a day, then the noble’s son would become entitled to a son’s share of the land of the allt, and ultimately of his property.1 Rhys and Jones suggest that the character of the marriage con- tract and the division of the children on separation of husband and wife afford some explanation of the custom.? Seebohm, on the other hand, takes it to have been ‘ one of several means used for the purpose of tying strangers as closely as possible to the tribe.’* Giraldus Cambrensis’ statement that in his time the sons of the nobles formed more sincere friendships with their foster-brothers than among themselves 4 would, no doubt, be true of earlier times. °® Of the training of children, whether fostered or brought up at home, the Laws do not speak. References in the poems of later bards enable us to gather that there was definite training of youths, not only in physical exercise and the use of arms, but also in polite habits. The life reflected in the Laws is that of a settled community living by the cultivation of the land, the keeping of sheep, goats and cattle, the hunting of wild swine and other animals, and fishing. They seem to have grown barley, oats, wheat and rye. 1 Anc. Laws, II, c. XX, p. 95; Dim. and Gwent. Codes, pp. 266 and 374, 2 The Welsh People, p. 207. 3 The Tribal System in Wales, p. 128. 4 Descr. Cambr., II, cc. 4, 9. 5 The later history of fosterage in Wales, which continued down to the eighteenth century, with a variety of new motives, deserves to be studied. A.S.—VOL. X. | I 124 SOCIAL LIFE AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS The land was cultivated and the crops sown in the spring, the wheat grown being most probably a spring-sown crop. Landed property suits were heard from the ninth of November to the ninth of February and from the ninth of May to the ninth of August. In spring and autumn the Courts were closed because of the cultivation of land and of harvest. A _ well-regulated system of co-tillage existed, and there were other forms of co-operation. It does not appear that fields were generally enclosed, with the exception of gardens. Trespass by animals, therefore, in spite of watching and guarding, must have been a matter of common occurrence, and this is amply reflected in the enactments with regard to compensation for damage to crops. Disagreement with regard to pledges and warranties led to occasional fighting, for we read that in case of fighting the surety was to take the first blow with a stick. We may gather that the services of the mediciner were most frequently required for the dressing of wounds. A statement of the duties of the Chief Huntsman gives many interesting details. From Christmas until February he was to be with the King whenever desired. In the second week of February he was to take his dogs and horns and leashes, his horn to be of the value of one pound, and to go to hunt the hinds. From that day until midsummer, he was to be hunting the hinds, and during that time he was not obliged to answer any claim made against him unless it be by a fellow-officer. Some said that he was to swear only by his horn and leashes. He was entitled to the hide of an ox in winter to make leashes and a cow-hide in summer to make footgear. On the day following midsummer he was to start hunting stags, and if he were not caught before quitting his bed and putting on his buskins, he was not obliged to answer any claim made against him. From that day to the kalends of winter the harts were in season, and there were twelve lawful pieces in each animal. He was then to hunt the wild swine until the first day of December. Having paid each of his assistants, he could be called upon to answer claims against himself. He then divided the skins between the King, the huntsmen and himself, and afterwards showed his dogs, horns and leashes to the King. A progress granted him among the King’s villeins followed, extending until Christmas Day, when he was to be back in his place at the Court. 1 Anc. Laws, I, ec. XVI, pp. 17-18. SOCIAL LIFE AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS 125 From other sources, from traditions and from customs still observed in some districts, we know that the important days of the Kymric year were Calan Gaeaf, Calan Ionawr and Calan Mai. These, of course, are mentioned in the Laws, but there are no references to the proceedings connected with the observation of those seasons—the undubitable evidence of ecclesiastical influence in this material is that the only festivals named are Christmas, Easter and Whitsuntide, which are called the ‘ three principal festivals,’ together with the feast days of Saints Bridget, Curig, John, and Michael. Reference to anything resembling a public gathering, outside purely judicial occasions, are rare in the texts. Progresses by the King and his followers, by the Queen and her maids and pages, and by the King’s officers, were common, but are not described in any detail, with the exception of the progress assigned to the Chief of the Household by the King after Christ- mas. In this progress, which partly illustrates some of the social aspects of Court life, the Chief of the Household was allowed to take members of the Household with him, in three parties, the elder, the middle and the younger party. He was to be with each in turn, and each party had the choice of the house at which to stay. During the progress the Chief of the Household was to have servants with him, including a door-ward, a cook and table attendants. The servants were to have the skins of the animals slaughtered during the progress. These progresses seem to have been of the nature of a holiday for the officers who were allowed tomakethem. As we have seen, there is evidence that the bards visited the houses of the boneddigyon and the eilltyon, and jesters, croesanyeit, probably entertained the inmates. It is likely that the noswaith lawen of later times was a traditional practice of long standing, and that story-telling and contentions were customary—it is, indeed, extremely probable that the early elements forming the basis of tales like the Four Branches of the Mabinogi and Kulhwch ac Olwen were preserved among the alli class of Goidelic origin. There were two chief meals, one in the morning, borevwyd, the other probably in the evening, cwynos. The evening meal, at least in the King’s Hall, included a variety of courses. ‘The animals mentioned as being slaughtered for the use of the kitchen are cattle, stags, hinds, sheep, swine and certain small animals not specified. The number and value of lawful or 126 SOCIAL LIFE AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS customary joints or pieces of meat was standardised—a stag in season was divided into twelve pieces. Geese and hens are mentioned, also the bittern, crane, heron, and of course the hawk, but all of these were not for the table. Grayling and salmon are the only fish named. ‘There is a reference to vegetables, but no detail beyond the mention of the leek. Wheat, barley and rye bread seems to have been made, as well as bread of mixed meal, bara amyd (a term still employed in North Wales), and oatcake. Of fruit-bearing trees there are references to the apple-tree, the crab-tree, the hazel and the oak. Drinks mentioned are bragawd, kwryf (beer), llyn glas (possibly newly made mead) and medd (mead). It would appear that mead was the favourite drink, for the mead-brewer was an officer of the Household, and the strength of the mead seems to have been above that of the others—‘ the lawful measure of liquor is the fill of the customary vessels of ale, their half of bragot and their third of mead.’ Mead does not seem to have been served at all feasts. The first draught of liquor brought into the Hall is called ceinion. The metals mentioned are gold, silver, brassandiron. Articles of value in gold and silver are referred to, but gold was evidently scarce, for it is stated that it was payable only to the King of Aberffraw, but his sarhaed is said to have included ‘a rod of gold equal in length to the King himself and as thick as his little finger, and a plate of gold as broad as the King’s face and as thick as the nail of a ploughman who has been a ploughman for seven years.’1 Among the King’s treasures were rings and other ornaments, bowls and horns, a harp and tuning key. The Queen’s treasures are also referred to. Throw-boards or chess-boards are mentioned, which might be made of askwrn morvil (a kind of ivory), of the horn of a hart or an ox, or of wood. Other valuables were breichrwy, armlet ; crib, comb ; drych, mirror. Gilt, silvered and lacquered bridles, and spurs are named, blue-enamelled and — gold-enamelled shields, gold-enamelled saddles (calchlassar, eurgalch), cuirasses, llurygeu, and helmets, penffestin; swords with white and dark-enamelled hafts, guynseit, gurmseit, bows and arrows, battle-axes and lances. Implements and utensils necessary for the pursuit of agri- culture were numerous, made mostly of wood, but also of iron and brass. The value of each implement and utensil was fixed 1 Ane. Laws, 11,c. 41, p: 35 Leg. Well., ec. 11. emu SOCIAL LIFE AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS 127 by law, and the names of articles included in the text number about 250. Pails, crucks and other vessels were made of yew and willow, some of staves, some of single pieces ; ropes of horse- hair or of the bark of the elm. The great importance of smith- crait is certainly striking, when we consider that the art of the carpenter must have been equally necessary for the labours of the community. Cloth and linen for the making of garments were given to each officer by the King and Queen. Other materials are not mentioned. The value of the following garments and articles was fixed by law :—crys, a shift, shirt ; pais, coat, tunic ; llawdr, trousers; hosaneu, hose; mantell, mantle; brychan, plaid, blanket; a gold-embroidered robe, leather gauntlets, shoes, buskins, and capaneu glaw, ‘cappa pluvie.’ Town-made caps and mantles are mentioned, but it is certain that clothes were mostly home-made, though the text affords no information of the makers. Men evidently wore trousers, some kind of coats and mantles, and the ezlltyon and taeogyon used rugs. Skins probably were extensively used as coverings. Although foot- gear of more than one type seem to have been worn, a statement concerning ‘conspicuous scars’ for the causing of which fines were fixed, suggests that most persons generally went bare- footed—the scars are defined as being on the face, the foot and the hand, other scars being referred to as ‘ unexposed scars.’ It is, of course, very probable that in such matters the texts contain additions later than the time of Hywel, although Giraldus Cambrensis mentions the habit of going barefooted as being common in his time. From a statement of the protection privilege of the Page of the Chamber,! we gather that the King’s bed was made of fresh straw, probably covered with a sheet, Jlenlliein, and then a blanket, brychan. This reminds one of the description given by Giraldus of the beds in his time. It has been pointed out that the importance of the three principal festivals in the texts is evidence of ecclesiastical influence. On the other hand, the difference between the law of Hywel and ecclesiastical law with regard to the rights of illegitimate sons is certainly notable. The importance of the Household Priest is indicated by the statement that a bishop could not present 1Y naud eu or pan hel un ykeysyau beye guelt adan ebrenyn, etc.— Anc. Laws, I, c. XIII, p. 15. 128 SOCIAL LIFE AS REFLECTED IN THE LAWS anyone to the King’s chapels without his consent.1 On the other hand, the bishop is said to have been the King’s confessor (periglawr), to whom the King was to rise and after whom he was to sit, also holding his sleeves whilst he washed himself. Under certain circumstances, right of sanctuary by the Church was denied,” but there were fines for trespasses against a metropolitan church, any other church, an abbot and other clergy. The House- hold Priest seems to have been the King’s scribe, and to have received payment for records of grants of land and other matters of import.* Oaths were sworn on relics in the presence of priests. Information against a person whom the informant dared not mention, either on account of his rank or property, was given on oath to a priest, who reported the matter to the lord. In the land courts, the priest prayed to God that he might show the right way, and chanted the pater. Vestments and ornaments of the Church did not go to the King on the death of a bishop. ® The judgment of a rhaith was, in some cases at least, to be delivered in church, and the time of delivery is said to have been ‘between the Benedicamus and the distribution of the sacramental bread.’ ® Oaths were sworn at the church door, in the chancel and at the altar. Monks, hermits, a clerk or a stranger could not become sureties.’ All owners of church lands were to attend before a new King to declare their status and duties, and if he found them satisfactory, he was to grant them their right of sanctuary.® The study of Law seems to have been organised, for we are told that a student upon completing his course of study was to be commended by his teacher to a judge of the Court, who was to test his knowledge, and if he found him competent, to commend him in turn to the lord, who invested him with authority to undertake judicial functions. | T. GWYNN JONES. DP Ane. Wows ce. Vile p. 9: * Ibid., II, ec. X, pp. 66-7. 3 Ibid., II, c. VILL, p. 9. 4 Ibid., II, c. XI, p. 72. 2 bid 3, We. XU p82. C1btd.. Wl, ie. War ape oo: ? Ibid., II, c. VI, p. 62. 3 Jbid., ID e. Xap. 67m THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS OF HYWEL DDA [Abbreviations at end. |] Ow1ne to the limits imposed, and in view of the mass of material available, the scattered nature of sources of evidence and the consequent difficulty of adequately co-ordinating various views and theories, this paper cannot pretend to be a complete survey of the field. It will have to be largely citatory and referential, especially in the sections dealing generally with texts and dates, and unavoidably scrappy and sketchy in dealing especially with grammatical features. A. GENERAL A brief general account of the Latin and Welsh versions found in MSS. will not be out of place. There are extant several Latin and Welsh versions or texts of the Laws of Howell. (i) Latin versions: Three Latin versions, one of which is incomplete, have been published in A.L. II, pp. 749-926, with notes on the transcripts in I, pp. xx—xxi. Other Latin versions are referred to in I, pp. xxxiii-xxxiv. According to Rep. W. MSS., the three texts ! used by A. O. were,—Lat. 1 = Pen. MS. 28, ‘last quarter of the XIIth century’; Latin 2 = B.M. MS. 12 (Vesp. E xi), ‘cerca 1250’; Latin 3 = B.M. MS. 28, (Harl. 1796), ‘first half of XI1Ith century.’ Latin 1 of A.L., i.e. Pen. MS. 28, is ‘the oldest known copy of Howel’s Laws either in Latin or Welsh’ (Rep. W. MSS. I, ii, p. 359). As this was ‘written in Latin, with many Welsh terms, phrases and short passages left untranslated ’ (W.M.L. p. vii), it is of special in- terest because of the antiquity of the Welsh forms preserved riety 1. Pen. MS. 28, now in the National Library of Wales, is a small, unbound, insignificant looking manuscript. It is bicolumnar, 1 See further, Lloyd, Hist., I, pp. 355-6 and W. People, p. 181. 129 130 THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS with the headings of the various sections written in red ink, with coloured capitals throughout and interesting contemporary coloured drawings. ‘These drawings have been reproduced in black and white in A.L. II, pp. 749-813. Uhuyd in his Arch. Brit., p. 258, col. 2, is apparently describing this MS.: ‘Idem Lat. Vaugh. Membr. Codex antig. in quo effigies omnium tum personarum tum rerum de quibus latae sunt leges rudi stylo de- lineantur.’ (ii) Welsh versions: Of these there is a large number. The earliest edition of a Welsh version is to be found in Cyfrerthjeu Hywel Dda ac Eraill seu Leges Wallicae . . . by Wotton (1666— 1726), with the collaboration of Moses Williams, published post- humously in 1730. The text (called Cott. 3) selected as the basis of this work appears to have been B.M. MS. 6, which, according to Rep. W. MSS. II, iv, p. 946, was ‘ written circa 1282,’ and = MS. B (Titus D II) of A.L. It is a ‘ later recension (‘‘ Venedo- tian ’’) of the E and C’ of A. L. (Rep. W. MSS. zbid.), but this manuscript C (= B.M. MS. 5) is also ‘ extensively quoted by Wotton’ (A.L., I, p. xxvu). In the Notitia Codd. MSS. at the beginning of Wotton’s edition, the MS. ‘ Cott. 3’ is described thus (with the reason for selecting it): Codex Legg. Wallicus Dabhine annis saltem, aut eo amplius, membrana exaratus, omnium quos vidimus absolutissimus ; wdeoque prelo commisimus una cum —variantibus Lectionibus & Additamentis omnibus quae in aliis Codd. observatu digna existumavimus. Constat foliis 73, & imscri- bitur Titus D. Lf. In this work there is a Latin translation later with footnotes, and, at the end, pp. 553-586, a glossary— ‘Glossarvum vocum forensium quae in Legibus Hoelianis occurrunt, ahiarumque quas Lexicographt Wallict aut male intellexerunt aut pemtus omiserunt.’ Wotton’s translation and glossary ‘ were valuable pioneer work,’ but ‘by selecting this text .. . and representing all departures from it in the form of various read- ings, he introduced a confusion upon which learning spent itself in vain. ... However, ‘ Leges Wallicae preserves for us some readings not elsewhere to be found in print, notably from the lost Wynnstay MS. which Wotton styles Ll.’ (Lloyd, Hist., I, p. 354). During the intervening period between the year of the pub- lication of Wotton’s Leges Wallicae (1730) and A. Owen’s A.L. (1841), portions of the Laws were published in the Cambrian Register and the Myvyrian Archaiology (see W. People, footnote p. 180, for reference). ‘A fruitful study of the Laws only be- THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS 131 came possible on the appearance of this edition undertaken by A. Owen (1792-1851) for the Record Commission,’ and it was Owen that first discovered that the various versions could be classified, as he recognised ‘ that the Welsh MSS. fall into three distinct groups, representing three recensions of the original law of Howel’ (Lloyd, AHist., I, 354). Owen called these three recensions, I, the Venedotian (or North Wales) Code; II, the Dimetian (or West Wales) Code; and III, the Gwentian Code. In his edition he made use of all the available MS. versions of the Laws. Group I. The MS. which he used for his basic text of the ‘ Venedotian ’ code was Pen. MS. 29, the so-called ‘ Black Book - of Chirk,’ which Owen dated ‘ early part of the twelfth century,’ but Rep. W. MSS, s. Pen. MS. 29, gives the date ‘ about 1200,’ and Lloyd, Hist. I, p. 354, gives reasons ‘ for thinking an earlier date to be unlikely on other than palaeographical grounds,’ and quotes from the transcript (EH. of A.L.) a reference to Geoftrey’s Historia and another to the order of Knight Hospitallers, ‘ which show that the compilation cannot have been made before the middle of the twelfth century.’! This MS. is unfortunately incomplete, but B.M. MS. 4 (Add. 14931), ‘ middle of XIIIth century,’ is ‘a direct transcript, in Dimetian orthography, of it’ (Rep. W. MSS. s. B.M. MS. 4). Owen, in his A.L. I, pp. xxv— XXvVi, has a long note on this Pen. MS. 29, in which he says : ‘ It is difficult to affix a certain date to this transcript, more par- ticularly as the part which recites amendments to have been made in the laws by Bleddyn ab Cynvyn, about 1080, is unfortunately lost. There can be little doubt, however, that it was contained in it, as 1 {that is, B.M. MS. 4 = Add. MS. 14931], which has every appearance of being a copy of this Manuscript, has the passage. It may probably have been transcribed in the monastic establishment at Bangor, as it contains laws peculiar to the district of Arvon, or Caernarvonshire, in which Bangor was situated, and alleges the affirmation of them, if impeached, to belong to the communities of Bangor and of Clynog. These local privileges occur in no other Venedotian copies but in this and in E. A is in the Hengwrt collection, and may be attributed to the early part of the twelfth century. It is endorsed by Rt. Vaughan, Llyvr du o Waen, the ‘ Black Book of Chirk,’ probably from its 1 He adds further, on p. 355, ‘It may well be the case that the code was compiled at the bidding of Llywelyn, who desired to emphasise the supremacy of Gwynedd by the issue of the laws in a distinctively Venedo- tian form.’’ But see below for a further and more recent discussion of the date. 132 THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS being procured from thence ; it was transcribed by Wm. Morris, of Llansilin, in 1680. Upon blank spaces in some of the folios of this manuscript an elegy upon Llywelyn ab Jorwerth, the composition of the poet Bleddyn, has been introduced. From the orthography and the appearance of the manuscript it appears to have been inserted contemporaneously with the occurrence, in 1241.’ On the outside of the MS., now in the National Library ot Wales, on a slip of paper pasted on a sheet of vellum containing English writing, is written ‘26 Llyfr Ddu (sic) 0 Waen’ (the Black Book of Chirk) in a late hand (? W. W. E. Wynne’s), and inside on a clean white sheet of vellum (quite different from the dark brown vellum of the MS. itself) are inscribed the words— y llyfr du or w—, with most of the last word torn off, but, judging by the bases of the strokes left, it was probably wauwn. Underneath and on top left-hand corner are the initials //J d w. The other MSS. (B to H) used by Owen for the Venodotian Code have been identified as follows in the volumes of the Rep. W. MSS., from which the quoted remarks have been taken :— B = BM. MS: 6; “written cyrca 1282. © — BOE Ms. on “written, apparently, at two different times by two different hands of the same type, about the middle of the XIIIth cen- tury’; D = Pen. MS. 32, called ‘ Lib. Teg, vel Teg,’ the portion of it containing the laws (pp. 1-224) dated ‘circa 1380’; EH, a _ transcript of A, for which see above and also the notes in the - Preface to Rep. W. MSS. Vol. I, Part IIT (Peniarth) and A.L. I, p. xxvii; F — Pen. MS. 34,° ? XVith century 3G — Pen. Ms: 35, “last quarter of the XIIIth century’; H = Pen. MS. 278, ‘written by R. Vaughan of Hengwrt.’ | Group II. Dimetian Code. The MSS. I to T of A.L. have been identified as follows :—I = Pen. MS. 38, ‘ X Vth century ’ ; J = Jesus Coll. MS. 4, ‘ circa 1400’; K = Pen. MS. 40, ‘ carca 1469’; L = BM. MS. 7, ‘ written in the second quarter of the XIVth century ’; M = Pen. MS. 33, ‘ early X Vth century ’; N= Pen. MS. 36 B, ‘late XIIIth century’; O = Pen. MS. 36 A, ‘after 1282, but not much later’ (see note on this version in Lloyd, Hist. I, p. 355 ; it appears to be the oldest Dimetian Code, and has special references to S.W. Wales) ; P = Pen. MS. 259 A, ‘last quarter of the XVth century’; Q = the lost Wynnstay MS., which perished in a fire (see Rep. W. MSS., s. B.M. MS. 9; see also Wotton’s long note on this MS., which he designates Ll 1 For a further description of this MS. and its contents, see below. THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS 133 in Leges Wallicae in the Codd. MSS. Notitia,—‘* Codex Wallicus, perantiquus, membrana pulchre quidem scriptus, sed quo seculo non ausim determinare,’ etc.); R = Pen. MS. 31, ‘first half of the XIVth century’; S = B.M. MS. 9, ‘late XVth century,’ (cp. Owen’s description of this with that of Llanstephan MS. 116 in the Rep. W. MSS., and with the account given of Llan. MS. 116 in the Introduction to the printed text, p. viii, by T. Lewis, for which see below); T = B.M. MS. 8. Group III. Gwentian Code. The MSS. U to Z of A.L. have been identified as follows:—U = Pen. MS. 37, ‘late XIIIth century, edited, with translation, by A. W. Wade-Evans in Cymmrodor XVII (1904), p. 129—, (Owen states that this ‘ has been adopted as the text of the class of Gwentian forms, not from any superiority, but as being the simplest’); V = B.M. MS. 10, ‘ ? written at Neath about 1285,’ ‘ the oldest and most important MS. of the ‘“‘ Gwentian ”’ version of the Laws’; W = B.M. MS. 11, ‘first quarter of the XIVth Century,’ apparently a direct transcript of B.M. MS. 10; X = B.M. MS. 15, ‘? not finished before 1461’; Y —a lost MS., ‘ middle of the fourteenth cen- tury ’ according to Owen in A.L., but see W. M. L. (Wade-Evans), pp. xv-xvi; Z = Pen. MS. 259 B, ‘first half of the sixteenth century ’ (see W.M.L., pp xvi-xvii).} For what he calls the ‘ Anomalous Laws,’ Owen used, among other MSS., Pen. MS. 36 C, ‘late XVth and XVIth centuries,’ and Pen. MS. 258, ‘ second half of X Vth century.’ Among the versions not seen or not used by Owen, according to Rep. W. MSS., are Llan. MS. 116 (see on E above) ; Pen. MS. 30, ‘ XIIIth century’ (‘ apparently the scribe of this MS. used MS. 29 [i.e., the Black Book of Chirk] and a Latin text, and edited and arranged the contents afresh. The rubric initials, cols. 147-304, of this MS. seem to be modelled on those of MS. 29’); Pen. MSS. 39, 270, 271, 314, as well as other later trans- cripts in the Llanstephan collection. On Owen’s method in A.L., the following note from a paper on ‘ Foreign Elements in Welsh Medieval Law’ (D. Brynmor Jones) published in Tr. Cym. 1916-17, pp. 4-5, may be of interest : _* Aneurin Owen erred in not reproducing any MS. as written. Seem- ingly with a view to convenience of reference he divided each of them 18ee W.M.L. also, p. 288, Appendix, for “‘ General Relation of Four Earliest Texts’? (viz. V, W, X and U). 134 THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS into books, chapters and sections. The reproduction in this manner gives, especially to the Codes prefaced with a statement about Howel Dda’s assembly and the promulgation of the book of law they pro- duced, a false air of legislative authority and precision which tends to. hide their really composite, fortuitously selective, and private character.” The justifiability of the territorial designations (“ Venedo- tian,’ “ Dimetian’ and ‘ Gwentian’) adopted by A. Owen has been disputed, especially by Wade-Evans (in W.M.L., pp. xi, xii), who suggests that it would be more appropriate ‘to style them [the different codes] after the names of the ‘‘ jurists ’’ preferred in their respective prefaces,’ and proposes tentatively the following substitutes,—Book of Gwynedd for Venedotian Code, Book of Cyvnerth for Gwentian Code, and Book of Blegywryd for Dime- tian Code. But Lloyd (Mist., I, p. 355) sees no objection to the terms ‘ Venedotian’ and ‘ Demetian,’ although he remarks, in reference to the ‘ Gwentian ’ Code, that ‘ as to its local connec- tions, there is nothing to connect it with Gwent.’ LATIN OR WELSH ORIGINAL. It is generally agreed that no Latin or Welsh MS. has pre- served the code of Hywel as originally compiled. ‘The Latin, no less than the Welsh, MSS. speak of the time of the great legislator as a bygone age. ... ‘The nearest approach to evi- dence of what was contained in the first law-book is the consensus of all codes and versions, and there is, in point of fact, so much in common between them as to make this criterion not unservice- able’ (Lloyd, Hist. I, p. 356). ‘ No copy of the original code of Hywel has survived in any form, for not only are all extant MSS. of the laws of later date than 1150, but they represent improved and enlarged editions of the law book of Whitland, compiled from time to time by distinguished lawyers for the use of particular districts or communities’ (Hist. I, p. 341). A footnote in Rep. W. MSS., s. Pen. MS. 30, refers to a paragraph in the version of the laws contained in this MS. which seems to suggest ‘ that the compiler of MS. 30 had seen a codex (? original) at Whitland.’ The question of the language of the original is dealt with at. some length in W. People, Appendix D, where a reference is made to the fifteenth report of the Royal Commission of Historical MSS. (1899), which states that ‘an unedited thirteenth-century manuscript at Peniarth . . . declares. that the Laws were drawn up in Latin, in order that the Church and. THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS 135 Pope might be able to judge of them, and that the common people might hold them in greater respect from the inability to understand them. Linguistic tests, too, tend to support this assertion of a Latin original, and probability enforces it. We should in this way get inde- pendent translations into Welsh, which would naturally give rise to what came later to be regarded as different “ codes ”’.’ The authors of the W. People, however, for reasons set forth in this Appendix D, draw an inference—‘ not a certain, but a probable one—that the Latin text is a translation.’ Lloyd (Mist. I, p. 356) appears to agree with this view, although he recognises the difficulty of finally deciding the question, but adds that ‘ so far as the extant Latin texts are concerned, they may safely be regarded as adaptations from Welsh originals,’ for the ‘ versions would appear to have been made for the benefit of ecclesiastical landowners and judges who did not know Welsh.’ In a note in Rep. W. MSS., on Pen. MS. 50, a statement from the version contained in this MS. is quoted—Odamheuyr bot pob un or llessoet a ducpuyt uchot eu bot e kefreyth hewel edrecher elleureu lladyn ac eno y keffyr (col. 141)—with the remark that this ‘ confirms our hypothesis that the Welsh Laws were originally written in Latin, but with the technical terms left mostly un- translated.’ In the Introduction to GI.M.L., p. ix, the author confesses to a ‘ growing conviction that the Latin Laws as we have them are a patchwork, and in parts demonstrably trans- lations from the Welsh.’ After discussing some instances quoted in support of this, he adds (p. x), ‘ several others will be found in the Glossary showing that the Latin Laws are in part, at any rate, a translation and a mosaic.’ SomME WELSH TEXTS PUBLISHED SINCE A.L. These are more convenient for the study of the language than Owen’s amalgam, as they are faithful reproductions of the actual MS. texts. | (i) A ‘ Gwentian ’ code from Pen. MS. 37, ‘late XIIIth cen- tury,’ denominated U in A.L., published by A. W. Wade-Evans in Cym. XVII (1904), pp. 132-147, with an English translation pp. 148-163. (ii) Welsh Medieval Law (Wade-Evans: Oxford, 1909), with an introduction, text and short glossary. The text chosen = V of A.L., with missing folios supplied from W. Both these texts (V and W) belong to the ‘Gwentian’ class or the ‘ Book of -Cyvnerth’ type as the author prefers to call it, although he sug- 136 THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS gests in this case that the two codices could be distinguished by some such name as the ‘Composite Book of Cyvnerth and Blegywryd.’ (iii) The Laws of Howel Dda, a facsimile reprint of Lla- stephan MS. 116 (T. Lewis: 1912). This is a reproduction of MS. written in the ‘ second half of the X Vth century,’ with an intro- duction and a very useful classification of contents. This text does not seem to have been used for A.L. (see footnote Tr. Cym., 1916-17, p. 4, by Brynmor-Jones). (iv) Welsh Laws. Facsimile of the Chirk Codex of the Welsh Laws (J. Gwenogvryn Evans: Llanbedrog, 1909). This is A of A.L. (for some account of which see above), Pen. MS. 29, now in the National Library of Wales. DESCRIPTION AND AccouNT oF PEN. MS. 29. This MS8., Y Llyfr Du o'r Waun, is one of thegarliest and most important Welsh MSS. It may be a transcript of an earlier one. ‘The Chirk Codex represents Welsh prose of any extent in its most primitive form, and the MS. must be regarded as a tran- script of an earlier one’ (W. People, p. 646, quoting from the report of the Royal Commission on Historical MSS.) Rep. W. MSS., s. Pen. 29, describes it thus : ‘104 pages, imperfect and deranged in the sewing !; pages 33-58 _[% 59] are in a smaller hand than the rest of the MS. which seems to have been written about 1200. ... Forms like dressou, troith, din, neildu, hur, ecchen, bucc, hycc, ryc, pet, pedh, peht, peth, pue, lloe, testify that this MS. must be a copy of one considerably older, and that Welsh can hardly have been the native tongue of the scribe,2 whose notion of the value and use of the aspirate in particular is decidedly original even among the few MSS. in the North-Walian dialects.’ According to Rep. W. MSS., B.M. MS. 4, “middle of XIIIth century,’ is a ‘direct transcript in Dimetian orthography ’ of Pen. MS. 29. In the published text (Welsh Laws . . . Evans) we have Pen. MS. 29 up to page 57 (p. 58 is not given in fac., but has been transcribed and printed at the beginning ; the first two pages, not clear in fac., also transcribed). For p. 58 of Pen. MS. 29, the B.Mus. MS. 43 version is given, and the lacunae after 1 One leaf (pp. 59, 60) missing. 2 But ef. Tr. Cym., 1918-19, pp. 213, 214. 3 See footnote in Rep. W. MSS., I, ii, p. vii, where there is a reference to this (their forthcoming) edition and to the source of ‘the missing parts.’ THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS S37 this are also filled from the same source. The text of Pen. MS. 29 is resumed on p. 85 (the actual lacuna here ends on p. 83, |. 7, so that both the B.M. and Pen. versions are given for about a page), and continues as far as p. 128, the remainder being supplied from B.M. MS. 4. Page 84 is an odd one from another (bicolumnar) MS., but the text contained in it deals with naw affeith tan etc., as do the neighbouring sections. Although the transcript (B.M. MS. 4) is in the main in a later orthography, we find at the very end (second half of p. 135 of the published text) an interesting series of questions and answers in an orthography that appears to be more like that of Pen MS. 29. Owen, in A.L. I, p. xxviii, refers to this: ‘ The orthography of E [i.e. B.M. MS. 4] has been adapted to the mode in use at the time; but at the conclusion there occurs what appears to be a fac-simile and literatim extract from the manuscript copied, which from the style appears to have been of considerable antiquity.’ 1 This section has been transcribed in Rep. W. MSS. II, iv, pp. 944-945 (s. B.M. MS. 4), with a note stating that the * orthography is more eccentric than in Pen. MS. 29.’ In addition to the legal matter, this Pen. MS. 29 contains, at the bottom of p. 31, in small handwriting, a poem described. in Rep. W. MSS. as ‘ an elegy to Llewelyn ap Griffith.’ In the Rev. Celi., Vol. 32 (1911), pp. 203, Loth, in a paper entitled ‘L’élegie du Black Book of Chirk,’ showed that this is really a poem by Dafydd Benfras on Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (0). 1240), and that what is found at the bottom of p. 42, is really a fragment of the same elegy, printed in Myv. Arch. (2nd ed.), pp. 219-220. See also A.L., I, p. xxvi (referred to above) and more especially pe @-5., TET. 1, p.: 7. Another interesting tract found in Pen. MS. 27, pp. 41-42, is ‘Breinniau Arvon’ (‘ The Privileges of Arvon,’ as it is called by Owen in A.L., pp. 104-107, see above in quotation from Owen’s description of his MS. A), also found in the transcript (EK ? of A.L.). Itis not ‘in the same hand as the text before and after ’ 1 Owen in A.L., II, p. 37 (note) adds: ‘This is written in a rounder hand, and more antient orthography, than the rest of the book, and appears to be intended as a fac-simile of the part of the MS. from which E was transcribed.’ 2 Is this the MS. referred to as containing ‘ Breinie Guyr Avron’ in, Lhuyd’s Arch. Brit., p. 258, col. 2 (bottom) ? 138). | THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS (Rep. W. MSS. I, ii, p. viii, footnote). (The two preceding lines, written in reddish ink, do not seem to be in the same hand as what comes before, although the handwriting is the same as that of ‘Breinniau Arvon’). This tract commences with the words Eman ellas. ... On this and the part which it plays in the ‘ Taliesin Controversy,’ see Cym. xxviii (Taliesin, by J. Morris- Jones), pp. 46-49, where a translation is given and the statement is made that ‘it is the record of a tradition concerning the origin of certain privileges enjoyed by the men of Arvon’; see also The Book of Tahesin, Facsimile and Teat (J. G. Evans, 1910), pp. Xvii-xviii, and Cym. xxxix (1924), Taliesin, or the Critic Criticised, pp. 76-80, where a transcription and a translation are given. In the latter we find a further interesting discussion of the date of Pen. MS. 29. The Rep. W. MSS. (1899), I, ii. p. 359, had the remark ‘seems to have been written about 1200,’ in reference to this MS. We have already seen (above) how Lloyd ‘ on other than palaeographical grounds believes that an earlier date seems unlikely.’ In view of this, the following words from the Appen- dix (pp. 76-77) to Taliesin, or the Critic Criticised are worth citing at some length: ‘TI assigned the date of \*‘ circa 1200” to the older, bolder hand in the Chirk Codex ; the old plural “ dryssow ’’ seemed to argue for twelfth century, while the writing was thirteenth century. So I took refuge in Safety Castle, named “ Circa.”’ If Ll were to define “ circa ” I would say that 1200 was the earliest possible date, and that probably the writing was twenty years or more later. The smaller hand is still later—how much later can only be gathered from internal evidence. I do not remember another script with which to compare it. But the most considered opinion based on the character of the writing must always bow to internal evidence. A scribe may write for forty years, and his formal hand remains practically the same all that time, so that one requires something beside the style of writing to fix a date. The use of ¢ for 6 in the Welsh part of Hariey MS. 3859 is a case in point. Bradshaw assigned that MS. to the end of the eleventh century, Maunde Thompson to the beginning of the twelfth century, and Warner when discussing it with me gave it as his opinion “that 1120 would not be far out.”” The occasional use of ¢ for 6 brings the additional matter down to 1128-30. So that the following entry by Yorwerth ap Madog ap Rahawt [i.e. Hman ellas, etc.] brings the date of the Strathclyde references to 1230-48, when the Geoffrey Mythology had reached its height.’ In this MS., the Black Book of Chirk, we have also other matter that is not legal in character, namely a series of proverbs THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS 139 (on page 32), which may have an indirect bearing on the question of dating the MS. The matter has been dealt with by Prof. Ifor Williams in B.B.C.8., III, i. p. 8 (Jan. 1926). These proverbs, written in a different hand from the main part of the MS., appear on the page aiter that on the bottom of which the elegy to Lly- welyn (mentioned above) is written. Prof. Williams contends that, if the elegy was inserted in 1240 or soon afterwards, in such a small space at the bottom of p. 31, it is difficult to believe that p. 32 was free of writing at the time. He assumes, then, that the proverbs were there already, that this copy of them is to be dated “before 1240,’ say the first quarter of the thirteenth century. He also calls attention to the similarity of the orthography to that of the rest of the MS. [On the triadic material and significance of the fewness of examples of this grouping in the earlier text, see W. People, p. 646 (‘the older the manuscript the fewer the triads it contains. The two oldest do not contain a single triad between them.’ 4 —quoted from the fifteenth report of the Royal Commission on Historical MSS., 1899) ; also T'r. Cym., 1916-17, pp. 24, 25 :— ‘In the next place a great obstacle to the acceptance of the view that the enneads and triads of the Welsh Laws are of ancient origin is created by their language. The Welsh in which the MSS. of the Venedotian and other codes are written is according to the best philo- logical authorities Medizeval Welsh, though Old Welsh forms are pre- served therein. . . . If these triads were really composed at an early date, it is reasonable to infer that they would be couched in Early or Old Welsh. ... If the triads were a legacy from a far distant past, not only would they have been in all probability transmitted in an earlier kind of Welsh, but when written down would have been treated. as a collective authority. . . . There is no reference in the 22) §) Venedotian Code or the earliest Latin version to a ‘** Book of Triads ”’. —D. Brynmor-Jones in his paper ‘ Foreign Elements in Welsh Medie- val Laws.’ See further Lloyd, Hist., I, pp. 122, 318-319; W. People, p. 184; and Welsh Tribal Law and Custom (T. P. Ellis), I, p. v, and pp. 47, 49, etc.] B. PARTICULAR In the main, the general linguistic features of the earlier Welsh versions of the Laws are similar to those which characterise 1 A fewin B.B.Ch. (in the part transcribed from B.M. MS. 4), pp. 134, 135 (= A.L., II, p. 36). A.S.—VOL. X K 140 THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS Middle Welsh prose. In compositions of this kind the syntax tends to become rather monotonous, the style paragraphic and the language full of stereotyped phrases and constructions. Since the publication of complete, continuous texts from various manuscripts (referred to above), it has become easier to examine in detail the features of some of the different versions. In this paper, we can only refer to a few interesting, and in some cases rare, characteristics occurring in the published texts. I. THe ORTHOGRAPHY OF THE BLACK Book oF CHIRK. This orthography preserves some of the characteristics of the orthography of the Old Welsh fragments, e.g. gu 1 medially for some kind of consonantal w, bysgueyl 24.17, anguar 29.28, dina- guet 36.8, diguethaf 38.17, enguy 40.26, neguyt 40.9, deguysso 12.15, dyguedhaf 107.24, geylguat 107.13; the -ow plural suffix for the later -ew, -au, dressou 3.27; the occasional absence of the pros- thetic vowel,” speit 46.31 (cf. scolheic) escol 48.28. Some such ‘Old Welsh ’ orthographical features are discernible in the Welsh forms preserved in the oldest Latin version (Pen. MS. 28 = A.L. Il, pp. 769-814), which is said to be older than Pen. MS. 29 (B.B.Ch.), e.g. tygdyn A.L. II, p. 780, |. 35, gwas stauell, p. 749, last line. Apart from these older features, the orthography is ‘eccentric,’ ‘ peculiar’ (Cym. xxviii, p. 46), ‘irregular’ (GI.M.L. p. xv). Attention has been called to some of these ‘ irregularities ’ from time to time.* In W.M., p. xii, we read, ‘ Welsh ortho- graphy for centuries moved steadily along well-defined lines, every school and generation following recognised rules,’ but (in footnote) ‘the orthography of the Black Book of Chirk is a notable exception to the rules.’ | : A most novel hypothesis regarding the peculiar orthograhpical features of the Black Book of Chirk (and of the Black Book of Carmarthen and other early Middle Welsh MSS.) was advanced 1 See W.G., p. 188, for this. 2 See W.G., p. 26, and cp. stlys, stryw in the fragment from Pen. MS. 7 published in W.M. (p. 280). 3 E.g. in the Appendix (by Anwyl) to Welshmen (Stephens. London and Cardiff, 1901); Grammar of Early Welsh (Jos. Baudis. Oxford, 1924) ; and W.G., pp. 7, 15, 16, 17, 22, 38, 39, 188, 189, etc., the note on pp. 38-39 being significant : ‘In Mn. lit. W.i generally appears after syllables having ei, ... In these cases the i is omitted in S.W. dialects and most MI. MSS., . . . but the oldest Ml. prose MSS. (the early MSS. of the laws) and Mn. lit. W. follow the practice of the N.W. dialects and insert the i, as keynyauc, A.L., 1, 24 MS. A.’ THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS 141 by Professor M. Watkin, in his paper on ! ‘ The French Linguistic Influence in Medizval Wales’ published in T'r. Cym. 1918-19, pp. 182-184, where the writer deals with the inorganic vowel in early Middle Welsh (especially those examples of it occurring in initial consonantal groups in B.B.Ch.), and concludes (p. 184)— ‘The fact that inorganic vowels appear in positions 2 in which they are never attested in Old Welsh, coupled with the fact that their occurrence in these positions is a salient feature of Anglo-Norman spelling, makes it clear, I think, that we are once more face to face with a phenomenon taken over from Anglo-Norman script.’ The details are discussed on pp. 194-210, and there follows a long and interesting note on ‘ Provection and the Nationality of the Scribe,’ pp. 211-216. In the Book of Aneirin (ed. Evans, Pwllheli, 1908,—issued in 1925), pp. xliv—xlvi of the Introduction, there are comments on the above theory and some criticism of it. The writer admits that © Prof. M. Watkin has contributed stimulating suggestions with some original application. But inaccuracy, discursiveness, and chanticleering go far to mar the meritorious kernel of the contributions ’ (footnote p. xlv, where Y Cymmrodor is to be eorrected to T'r. Cym). There is also a detailed and careful review and criticism of Prot. Watkin’s paper by Prof. Loth in the Rev. Celt. 39 (1922), pp. 227-240, and in reference to the section dealing with the French influence on Welsh orthography the reviewer says, ‘ Toute la partie concernant lVinfluence frangaise sur l’orthographie gal- loise au xiie siecle a besoin d’étre soumise a un nouvel examen.’ Attention may be here called to some forms that are of phonological interest, such as macht 43.22, yaunt 54.27, 55.2 (ct. O. Bret. gloss. Eut. ewnt, and Loth Mab. II, p. 209), cornt 93.16, guer (for guerth) 89.6, bluyn 93.11 (for which see GI.M.L.), guyll (for guyllt) 88.14 et passim (for which see Prof. [for Williams’s note in B.B.C.S8. I, iii, pp. 228-234), guall (for guallt) 106.17. 1 A further ‘ long article ’ on the subject of the French influence on the Black Book of Chirk is promised on p. 195. This has appeared under the title ‘ L’influence francaise sur Vorthographie du Livre Noir de Chirk (c. 1200)’ in Mélanges bretons et celtiques offerts d M. J. Loth. Rennes— Paris, 1927, pp. 408-417. ? He is referring to such forms as the following from B.B.Ch., balaut 91.24; keledren 99.9, koloren 89.3, kereir 72.6. Such forms occur occa- sionally in the Welsh terms found in the Latin texts, e.g. deressaur, A.L., Il, p. 753. Cf. berenhin in Llan., 116, p. 19, 1. 23 (but brenhin 1. 25), o peleid, p. 15, 1. 9, barabdle 73.34, talodi 62.1. 142 THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS Il. THE VOCABULARY OF THE LAWS. In addition to the strictly legal and technical terms 1 which naturally abound in texts of this nature, we find in the laws a large selection of names of animals, trees, implements and uten- sils, arms and accoutrements, parts and members of the body, measurements, family relationships, etc. Much has already been done to elucidate the more difficult technical terms and to inter- pret and explain some of the obscure words and forms. Besides the explanations given in the earlier dictionaries, we have, of course, the translations of the texts,.—Wotton’s into Latin, A. Owen’s and Wade-Evans’s into English. These works have glossaries also, the short one at the end of Wade-Evans’s W.M.L. being very useful. Such works as The Ancient Laws of Wales (H. Lewis ; ed. by J. E. Lloyd. London, 1889), Seebohm’s T'ribal System in Wales (London, 1904), and T. P. Ellis’s Welsh Tribal Law and Custom in the Middle Ages? (Oxford. 1926) contain attempts to throw light on the meaning of some technical terms. There is, however, one complete lexicographical work based on the B.B.Ch., A Glossary of Medieval Welsh Law (T. Lewis. Man- chester Univ. Press, 1913). For the portions of the original missing in B.B.Ch., the author has used the transcript (BM. MS. 4). It contains also a very helpful index to the pages in A.L. that correspond to the pages in B.B.Ch. This work, however, is something more than a mere glossary of the B.B.Ch., and, although that was the original intention, “it was decided to extend the scope of [the work] very considerably and to treat the text as a part of Medieval Welsh literature—seeking to explain some of its many enigmas by means of other texts in prose and poetry ’ (Introd. p. vii).2 The Glossary, therefore, includes a large store of examples and quotations from other Welsh texts, and valuable references. : Isolated words have been discussed in journals from time to time, by Loth in his Notes étymologiques et lexicographiques in the Rev. Celt. (e.g. Vol. 41, pp. 223, 381, 394; Vol. 42, pp. 64, 76, 80, 1 ‘These various codes . . . disclose a fairly complete system of legal terminology in the Cymric language.’—W. People, p. 186. 2 See review of this work, with remarks on some of the Welsh terms dealt with by the author, in Y Llenor VI, i, pp. 24-25. 3The occurrence in the Laws and in the M1. W. prose tales of such words as penffestin, pengu(w)ch, gwynseit, grwnseit, agweddi, amobr, eillt and annwfn adds interest to the study of the vocabulary of the Laws. THE LAN GUAGE OF THE LAWS 143 etc.), by others (esp. Ifor Williams) in the B.B.C.S. (e.g. I, ii, pp. 116-118; I1,-i, pp. 1, 5, 14, 39, 44, 45; TI, wi, p. 134). Note tachuuet (tachwedd) B.B.Ch. 43.17 as a common noun (amser t, = ‘ prime season’ A. Owen), and see Davies’s Dic. and Richards’ s.v. In his paper on ‘“‘ The French Literary Influence in Medieval Wales ” (7'r. Cym. 1919-20), p. 71, Professor M. Watkin states that “The vocabulary of the Law codices is . . . interspersed with © borrowings from Old French,’ and on pp. 71, 72, traces the follow- ing words to a French source,—eillt, estywos, crybdeyl, dymey, ryghyll, breyr, adding that ‘there are, of course, very many others, some of which are of much interest ; e.g. tyglys, dayret, gelef, olre in olreat, estaluen, hoseoaus ; etc., ete.’ The following words, taken from B.B.Ch. only, are evidently and admittedly of foreign (English certainly in some cases, possibly or probably French directly or indirectly in others) : kofres 4.2, 22.13, berua 102.2, burth 68.6, capan 25.10, costrel 102.4, cussan 74.16, cumpas 51.20, disteyn 9.9 (et passim), edlyg 3.21, ferem 23.4, firdlyc 94.11, (g)ehol 24.25, guychet 12.12, harneys 8.11, (h)urlys 30.13, hebauc 11.13, hermidur 48.27, hossaneu 26.23, panel 103.4, plas 134.22, puteyn 41.18, palfrey 88.12, punt 69.13, runcy 88.12, sapel 9.2, taryan 102.21, ymp 98.1. It is not possible to refer here to the peculiar glossarial features of W.M.L. and Llan. 116. Another interesting feature of these texts of the laws is the occurrence of a considerable number of proper names (place and personal). Those that occur in B.B.Ch. are given in GI.M.L. There is, e.g., a reference to penryn blathaon and penryn penwaed in B.B.Ch. 64.26.27, with which compare the form penn pengwaed in R.M. 104.1 and Loth’s note on it in his Mab. I, p. 253. {It. Some GramMaticaL FEATURES OF THE VaRiouS TESTS. On the general question we may quote the following state- ment from W.M. Introd., p. xi: * Unfortunately examples of the youth of Welsh prose are prac- tically unknown. Except for the description of the boundaries in the 1 Some of the words discussed,—afrllad, sarhaed, casnar, cadw, daered, cyfar(w)ys, drud, adlo, kenordy, amhinogeu, pennill, ete. Some legal terms are explained in old glossaries like those published in B.B.C.8., I, iv, pp. 315-353; II, uu, pp. 135-148. 144 THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS charters in the Book of Llan Dav, and sundry other short paragraphs, nothing has survived earlier than the Black Book of Chirk, where the style is primitive in comparison with the above fragments ! of the Mabinogion, though the age of their respective manuscripts is removed by a generation only. But the date of a manuscript is no index to the time of composition, except that no composition can be later than the earliest manuscript in which it occurs. Internal evidence is more helpful. Though we cannot compare narrative with the technical parts of legislative prose, yet the Chirk codex contains sufficient examples of ordinary prose to institute a comparison, and it exhibits a syntax which is singularly pure: it is simple and direct in expression, and illustrates an earlier stage in the growth of Welsh prose than the fragments. Now if we examine the expanded versions of the ‘‘ Venedotian ’’ Code we find that they exemplify a later stage than these fragments of the Pedeir Kainc. Much, therefore, depends on the scribes. As no manuscript has survived, of which it can be said that the composition and the writing are a twin-birth, fixed data to test our theories are wanting. In the case of the Welsh of the aforesaid boundaries and Laws, the original compositions are reputed to be centuries older than their respective manuscripts. Inasmuch as scribes, in the act of copying, modernised, altered, edited their originals,” we are left to build largely on deductions drawn from their blunders.’ Further, in the Introd. (p. viii) to GI.M.L., we have the author’s remark: ‘ If the scribe [of B.B.Ch.] was a foreigner, as suggested, it is not clear to me how an alien could be such a master of faultless syntax, but on the other hand, how a native could be such a bungler in orthography is beyond my power to explain... On this Prof. Watkin, in Tr. Cym. 1918-19, p. 216, comments thus : ‘Mr. Lewis’s statement respecting the purity of the syntax [of B.B.Ch.] is incontrovertible. Still the syntax exhibits here and there traits that are anything but Welsh. I would in particular mention the employment made of a redundant article with the genitive case. Other cases of the same French turn of phrase are met with in other texts. The construction I allude to is exemplified in the following 6 phrase taken from Ystorya Bown de Hamtwn: yny tarllaeth gion “in i) 9) Giwn earldom ”’’. 1 Printed in W.M., pp. 279-282, ‘dating, in point of writing, from about 1235.’ 2 Cf. Rep. W. MSS., I, ii, p. viii, ‘Even manuscript A [of A.L.] con- fessedly departs from the original text, though its language and syntax prove that it is much more of a mere copy than any of the other versions.’ THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS 145 A few of the rarer and more outstanding grammatical features found in some of the texts are subjoined. (a) The disjunctive construction: the use of na(c) . . . na(c) for “whether ... or,either . . . or,’ with the verb in subjunctive. From B.B.Ch. (with Owen’s trans. from A.L.) : 56.6 nac ef a uo ene lle ac [? nac] ef ny vo * whether he be present or not.’ 56.23 nac kaedic uo er amser nac ef nv vo “ whether it (the court) be closed or not.’ 128.6 nac alldud uo na treftadauc ‘ whether he be an alltud or 3 a proprietor.’ 128.16.17 nac o erchy nac o kauarus neythaur ‘ either as a boon or as a nuptial gift.’ 129.26 nay grogy nay losgy a uynno * (at the option of the lord) either by hanging or by burning.’ From W.M.L.: 117.8.9 mynho y coet6r na vynho “whether the woodsman be willing or unwilling.’ From Llan. MS. 116: 2.19 mynho y coet6r na mynho. 3.25 nac vn auo na lhabs ybbynt. 53.21 na g6yr o grefzd voynt nac egl6yss6yr erell. 55.23.34 na dyn dyrgeledic .. . nac estrabn a herbyno. 80.14 na dr6c na da vai y tad. 121.24 ll6ydo na l6ydo. With the above compare the following : R.M. 49.3.4 tra geffit ganta6 ef nac esgit na hossan. R.M. 52.14.15 a@ thra geffit y ganta6 nac eskit na hossan. R.M. 55.6 ac neut oed seith mlyned kyn no hynny yr pan welser ef na dyn na mil. R.M. 109.19 Pan dycko beich na ma6br na bychan uo. R.M. 194.20 a weleist di varchabc yn mynet heibab. na hediw na doe (White Book text has ay . ay). R.B.B. 132.29.30 kanys amser reat ym agiyour y doethabch na du6 ach dycko na pheth arall (= San Marte, p. 82, quia in congruo tempore vos necessitati meae sive Deus, sive alius obtulit ; ‘for either God or some other hath brought ye hither to succour me in mine hour of need.’—Sebastian Evans’s trans. in Everyman Lib.). L.A. 17 A allet ef dy6edut pann anet na cherdet (Lat. Potwit ambulare vel loqui, mox ut natus est ?) 146 THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS L1.A. 32 Ygann du6 ymae pob teilyngda6t. A phob meddyant. na dr6c na da voent (Lat. Deo sunt utique omnes dignitates et potestates malorum seu bonorum.) Ll.A. 157 A ph6ybynnac a dadleuho yn dyd sul. nac @ vrattao. nac abnel amryssonev neu pynckev anghyfuleus. .. . Cf. LLA. 171... na 6elher or disg6ylua honno yn aml6c ac eu hadnabot pby vont na pheth a 6nelhont. The other disjunctive particle new is compared with the Old Irish n6, no, nu ‘or’ by Thurneysen in his Handbuch des Alt- arischen, p. 500, and he suggests that, like Irish nech, Welsh neb, it is negative in origin, and that the change in the meaning arose originally in negative sentences. W.G., p. 441, suggests another origin. See also Strachan’s Introd. to Early W., p. 133, and Elem. W. Gr. (J. Morris-Jones), p. 192. (6) The indefinite construction with py- and - (in com- pounds) followed by bynnag : B.B.Ch. 96.23.24 pyeufo benac echun * to whomsoever the dogs may belong.’ B.B.Ch. 104.4.5 corn canu pyeufo bénac ‘a blowing horn, who- ever may be the owner.’ | W.M.C. 49.6 Pydi6” y barnher’” bynhac datanhud ‘ whoever shall have dadanhudd adjudged to him’ (? the tr. marks ”” not required). Cf. R.B.B. 185.19 py di6 bynhac y bo haelder anyana6l, and, more remotely, R.M. 104.7.8 Pa diaspettych di bynnac am gyfreitheu Ilys arthur. (c) The use of the preverbal particle ry (re), especially in B.B.Ch. For the examples, see GI.M.L. s.v. ry. See also the examples in Llan. 116, p. 93, ll. 20, 21, 27, ete. 3 (d) 'The use of keuoe¢t in B.B.Ch., usually kyt boet in M1. W., that is, the concessive conjunction attached to a form of the verb ‘to be.’ Cf. the few cases of kevei (kyffer) mentioned in W.G. p. 447. B.B.Ch. 86.4 has kewoet kan arall ellosko. See also 70.25, 89.14, 108.21, 124.11, and GI.M.L. s.v. ked. There is at least one example in W.M.L. 64.16 kyffoet mar6 * although he die.’ (¢) The use of the ‘ accusative of motion to’ without a pre- position. B.B.Ch. 41.30 ac edoetant aruon. (f) The use of the plural verb in a relative sentence (non- negative) when the subject (the rel. pron.) is plural. B.B.Ch. 86.21.22 guedhessew akemerhoent gueew ‘ weaving- women who shall take webs.’ * THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS 147 On this see Cym. xxviii (Taliesin), p. 5, and Cerdd Dafod (J. Morris-Jones, Oxford, 1925), p. 91, and ZfcP, XVII (J. Lloyd- Jones). | (g) Archaic verbal forms like telitor W.M.L. 84.24, preserved in an old formula ‘telitor g6edy halabc 16’ (= Llan. MS. 116, p. 34, ll. 31, 32, ar gyfreith honno a el6ir telhitor g6edy hala6c 16. On -2tor, see W.G. 334. (h) Forms like pahar B.B.Ch. 30.32, paherwyt 134.14, pa dyu 31.4; see W.G. 63, 293, and GI.M.L. for other examples. ITV. Posstsue DIALECTAL PECULIARITIES OR VARIATIONS IN TEXTS. We have already seen how B.B.Ch. appears to exhibit certain orthographical (and ? phonological) features peculiar to North Welsh dialects, as do ‘ the oldest M.L. prose MSS.’ (W.G. 39). It is difficult, however, to indicate any special dialectal peculiarities in the different texts, although several writers refer vaguely to such characteristics. For example, Owen describes his MS. V (= B.M. MS. 10, edited by Wade-Evans, W.M.L.) as one ‘written in the Dimetian dialect.’ In the Rep. W. MSS. II. iv, p. 944, B.M. MS. 4 [the E of A.L.] is said to be ‘ a transcript, in Dimetian orthography, of Pen. MS. 29 [i.e. B.B.Ch.]. In the Introd. to Llan. MS. 116, p. ix, we are told that this version of the laws ‘ preserves interesting dialectal peculiarities,’ and (on p- Xili) ‘ we find on every page evidence of dialectal differences,’ ‘our text [i.e. Lian. 116] gives us a variant in the dialect of Cardigan.’ Similarly in Rep. W. MSS. II. ii, p. 568, this MS. is said to ‘ furnish an interesting specimen of the Dialectal pecu- liarities of South Cardiganshire.’ One would like to have a complete list of these dialectal forms, and it is to be hoped that some investigator will undertake the task of classifying these features. ! | Lian. 116 is certainly a most interesting MS. In addition to the peculiarities quoted above, the following forms, etc., un- classified and chosen at random, may be mentioned : o vy6n 60.12, 0 veb6n 9.9, yme6n 9.21, gauaf 13.15, bileined (plur.) 12.34, but bileineid 13.20, wheigeint 14.1, gida 15.5, bore 1Cf. W.G., p. 8: ‘ Dialectal forms, chiefly Demetian and Powysian —e, begin to appear in MSS. of the 15th century; but the rhymes of the bards of the 15th and 16th centuries, with the exception of some poetasters, always imply the literary form.’ 148 THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS 26.24, boreu 14.35, 15.6, tr6ed 16.35, doy 16.35, yr het 17.30, boyd (voyd) 18.24, boell (voell) 19.31, dechroyer 26.37, -a6d (-od) aor. 3rd sing. suffix on p. 59, but -6ys on p. 72 (as in B.M. MS. 4, to which this part corresponds), dadle 74.22, anifeiled 56.35.36, dosparthe 57.14, verbal adjectives in -edic and -adwy from dywed- used on pp. 42, 57, asin LI. A. 118, 62 34.23, taw 70.16 (= B.B.Ch. 48.11 emay), and many others. The following rough and incomplete list of general corre- spondences may be found useful : 1Llan. MS. 116, p. 1: A.L. I, pp. 446, 448 Wy. & 452, 454 10: 480 i 482, 484 P43 486 iho} 5 488 14: 492 16: 496 lety: 502 19: 508, 512 20: 514 Dor: 522 24: H24 29°: 526, 532 26: 534 Delis 538 28% 540 Oi 542 30 546 Sil 550, 552 oe 552, 554 33538 556 (W.M.L. 121) 34: 558 30): 562 36: 566 ahs 568 39: 576 Haw He = © Ce er CO =I SCO 1 The text in Llan. 116, pp. 1-3A is from B.M. MS. 7. THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS 149 Llan. MS. 116, p. 42: A.L. I, pp. 586, 588 43: Il, pp. 360, 362 44; 362 45: I, p. 588 47: 592 48: 614 49: 616 67: 118 (Ven.) 68 : 120 (Ven.) 69 : 124, 126 70: 128 (= B.B.Ch. 48) fs ene 130 U2 182, 184 (= B.B.Ch. 64) 78: 170 (= B.B.Ch. 60) 86-88 : II, pp. 28-34 (= B.B.Ch. 132- 135) 89 : 30 (= B.B.Ch. 132) Bil 3 53, 54 927; 56 93 : 58 L205 2 le I, pp. 172, 174 (= B.B.Ch. 60, 61) ABBREVIATIONS. ese Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales... . 2 vols. 1841. A.O.: Aneurin Owen, the author of A.L. Arch. ae : Archeologia Britannica. ... By E. Lhuyd. Oxford, 1707. B.B.Ch.: The Chirk Codex of the Welsh Laws. J. Gwenogvryn Evans. Llanbedrog, 1909. B.B.C.S.: The Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies. B.M. MS.: British Museum MS. ‘Cams > Cn GI.M.L.: A Glossary of Medieval Welsh Law. T. Lewis. Manchester, HIS E Lian. 116, and Llan. MS. 116: The Laws of Howel Dda from Llanstephan MS. 116. Ed. T. Lewis. 1912. LLA.: Llyfr yr Ancr. The Hlucidarium and Other Tracts in Welsh. Hd. J. Morris Jones and J. Rhys. Oxford, 1894. Pen. MSS.: Peniarth Manuscripts. Lloyd Hist. : A History on Wales. ... 2 vols. J. E. Lloyd. London, 1912. Rep.W. MSS. : Report on Manuscripts in the Welsh Language. J. Gweno- gvryn Evans. 150 THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAWS R.B.B.: The Red Book Bruts. The Text of the Bruts from the Red Book of Hergest. Ed. Rhys and Evans. Oxford, 1890. Rev. Celt.: Revue Celtique.... Paris. R.M.: The Red Book Mabinagion. The Text of the Mabinagion . . from The Red Book oh Hergest. Ed. Rhys and Evans. Oxford, 1887. Tr. Cym.; The Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. London. : W.G.: A Welsh Grammar. ... J. Morris Jones. Oxford, 1913. W.M.: The White Book Mabinogion. Ed. J. G. Evans. Pwllheli, 1907. W.M.L.: Welsh Medieval Law. ... A. W. Wade-Hvans. Oxford, 1909. W. People: The Welsh People. ... Rhys and Brynmor-Jones. 4th ed. London, 1906. ZicP.: Zeitschrift fur celtische Philologie. T. H. PARRY-WILLIAMS. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS OF HYWEL DDA INTRODUCTORY THE modern study of the Laws of Hywel Dda begins with a remarkable article in the sixth number of the Bibliotheca Literaria —a shilling periodical of which ten numbers were published in London 1722-24. The Bibliotheca began bravely with an article on Syrian Inscriptions by Mandrell, but collapsed under the ‘Emperor Justinian’ of no. x. In no. vi (pp. 15-28) there appeared an article called ‘An Account of a Book lately pub- lished by Roger Gale, Esq., Entituled Registrum Honoris de Richmond ; and also of the Record of Carnarvon, a MS. in the Harleyan Library by William Wotton, D.D.’ In this article Dr. Wotton treats of such technical terms as Tref gyfrif, Maerdref, etc., and bases his remarks on the Laws of Hywel Dda. Wotton’s edition of Hywel’s Laws was published by his son-in-law in 1730, but according to the Babliotheca (p. 19) they were already in the press in 1723. The number and variety of Law MSS. embarrassed Wotton. The Celt had long been interested in Law, and it is possibly not an accident that the libraries of the old Celtic foundations on the Continent contain titles of so many legal tracts as is shown by Becker’s Catalog: Bibl. Antiqui. Edward Lhuyd had interested himself in Welsh Law MSS. according to p. 258 of his 1707 Archaeologia, and we are told that the * accurat and ingenious Mr. Wanley ’ of Lhuyd’s Archaeologia had ferreted out many MSS. of Welsh Laws for Wotton. Scholars like D’Ewes and Robert Vaughan had collected materials and had discussed publishing the Laws, and Anthony a Wood says that William Salesbury wrote a book on Welsh Laws, though his dictionary contains very few law words, but Wotton’s article in the Bibliotheca Literaria must be regarded as the herald. This English clerical polymath lisped in Hebrew and later : 151 152 A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS preached in Welsh to the British Society, St. David’s Day, 1722, on the very appropriate text—‘Canys pa bethau bynnag a ysgrifennwyd or blaen, er addysg i ni yr ysgrifennwyd hwynt’ (Rom. xv. 4). Adversity drove him to Gwynedd for shelter, the great Bentley handled him severely and Swift in the Battle of the Books metaphorically ‘slew ’ him for championing the moderns ; but the lessons he had learnt in St. Catherine’s Hall, Cambridge, never left him, and St. Catherine’s Hall was then as later a powerful nursery of Celtic scholars. Wotton died in 1727 and his son-in-law, William Clarke, saw Wotton’s work through the press in 1730. It was a great pioneer work based upon some 25 MSS., mostly of the British Museum. Wotton himself realised that it was impossible to make one satisfactory text out of such material, but he has been con- demned for it as if he was not aware of it. Yet his work is well worth reading after two centuries, and the 68 folio columns of glossary by his scholarly assistant Moses Williams is quite indispensable to-day. Next comes the Cambrian Register, edited by W. Owain Pughe with a Welsh text, and an English translation, reprinted a few years later in the Myvyrian Archeology. Much has been said of the orthography of Pughe’s text in the first edit. of the Myvyrian Arch. (1808, III, 361-437), but much of that is based on the misleading note on p. xix of the second edition of the Myvyrian. That note says that its text was written by Pughe in an ortho- graphy of his own device. Pughe, like Lhuyd and others, de- vised an orthography for the first edition with a large number of diacritical marks—all these marks were dropped in the second edition and the letters left unmodified ! Most students use the second edition of the Myvyrian, accept the note as true, and use it to provide Pughe with a testimonial and the readers with a homily on human frailty or vanity. William Probert is the next of note in the legal succession with his Ancient Laws of Cambria in 1823. This was a transla- tion of the Legal Triads and the Laws from the Myv. Arch. text. Probert was a Breconshire Wesleyan who turned Unitarian and did remarkable work as a minister of the Gospel in Bolton for over 40 years. His book was much used by Jacob Grimm in his Deutsche Rechtsaltertiimer, and the older English and Con- tinental writers, when they refer to the Laws of Hywel Dda, A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS 153 usually mean those found in Probert, though Ferdinand Walter protested vigorously against this. In 1841 the Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales, edited by Aneurin Owen, were issued by the Commissioners of Public Records. In 1818-19 several meetings were held in Spencer House, for considering the publication of a National Collection of materials for the History of Britain, and on Dec. 19, 1822, the House of Commons authorised the carrying out of the plan, which included the publication of the Laws of Wales. Much happened between 1822 and 1841, but though workers failed, and a common plan for English and Welsh Laws nearly ruined a great project, nevertheless the utilisation for the first time of the fine collections of Hengwrt and Wynnstay Law MSS. handled by a very conscientious scholar achieved a fine piece of work. Very few can realise how fine a piece of work it is without working at the difficult task Aneurin Owen was called upon to. undertake. Theauthors of Welsh People often reject his help, but there can be little doubt that they were not well advised in doing so. Interest in Hywel’s Laws was not confined to Britain. Long notices of Probert’s had been published abroad, and Du Chatelier published an interesting book of 107 pp. in Paris, 1840, upon Hywel’s Laws based upon Wotton’s and giving a précis of the laws. In 1859 Prof. F. Walter of Bonn published an important study called Das alte Wales, described as a contribution to the history of Wales, its people, laws. and church. Much of this is based upon the Laws of Hywel and is still well worth reading. Walter was better equipped than any of the others to deal with the com- parative value of the Welsh Laws. He had come under the spell of Niebuhr in 1823, and began to work at Roman Law, and, as he says, by sheer accident he became interested in Welsh Law the same year. In 1837 he made some aspects of Welsh Law known in his University Program for that year, and worked seriously at the subject till 1859, when his book was published. After Walter a great deal of attention has been given to the Laws of Hywel, but comparatively little headway has been made. Foremost are Mr. Hubert Lewis and Sir D. Brynmor-Jones, who were barristers and trained men of law. Sir David wrote in 1911 that, as he knew little Welsh and no Irish, what he had written on the Welsh Laws could have very little value, for 154 A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS a thorough knowledge of both was essential before a student could hope to attack the subject with any success. Of Hubert Lewis’s book Prof. T. F. Tout speaks with great restraint when he described it as ‘a disappointing book.’ Seebohm and Vinogradoff made much and very effective use of the Welsh Law texts and realised their first-class value, but Prof. F. W. Maitland [Collected Papers III, p. 3] put his finger on the weak spot of all these writings when he said : ‘ Until the day comes (whether it ever will, or ever can come I do not know) when those who are skilled in Celtic Philology will have sorted that miscellaneous mass which we know as the Ancient Laws of Wales, the materials which will be at the service of investi- gators will be of an extremely dangerous and unsatisfactory kind.’ The same was true of Irish Law. Sir H. 8. Maine made much use of the Irish Brehon Laws in his great work on Harly Institu- tions. He depended for his Celtic upon his distinguished fellow- official, Whitley Stokes, to whom he dedicated his Karly History of Institutions in 1874. Stokes was one of the most gifted men who ever studied Celtic, but he was dependent upon unsifted texts and his incisive opinion of the Roll’s Edition of the Brehon Laws is on record in a series of letters written to the Academy, Sept. 26, 1855 (pp. 204-5), July 24, November 13, 1886, pp. 58-9, 328-9. _ His opinion may be biassed against Atkinson (one of the Editors), but there are now very few who use those Irish Laws with any confi- dence. Mr. A. W. Wade-Evans and Dr. Gwenogvryn Evans have published two of the most important Welsh texts separately, and a glossary to Dr. Evans’ text was published, and a full index to Mr. Wade-Evans’ text. A complete Index-Verborum was compiled to Llanstephan MS. 116, but the cost of printing was prohibitive and it remains unpublished. A new start has been made in Ireland also. Prof. J. Mac- Neill has published a translation of that very important Law of Status. Prof. R. Thurneysen has published the ‘Coic Conara ’ text and German translation, besides some texts in the Zeit. f. celt. Philologie; and the late Dr. C. Plummer published some invaluable studies on Ir. Law texts in Eriu. These show very clearly that the older essays on Welsh Law are now of merely historical interest and are of no value for Welsh history—literary or social. The lineage of the Manuscripts of the Laws of Hywel Dda is A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS 155 difficult to trace, yet the lineage of the Laws themselves is much more difficult, but as interesting as it is complicated ; the lineage of what publicists often call “Welsh Laws’ passes all under- standing insomuch as it includes even late recensions of Hywel’s Laws as well as the legal triads and the Triads of Dyfnwal Moelmud. 3 The oldest known manuscript of the Laws is Peniarth MS. 28—a Latin MS. of the xij century. This MS. is furnished with a series of rude but interesting drawings. On p. 2 Hywel Dda himself—or at least a king—is shown in sepia and sea-green. It looks. as if the artist had one of the ‘ bearded ’ series of Charle- magne as model for it. On p. 7 there is a Judge, also in sea- green, and if this drawing had been consulted some very recent and dubious discoveries might not have seen light at all. On p. 11 there is a smith with a sea-green blouse and trousers, wear- ing a Phrygian cap in black, piped with red and his red-hot iron on his miniature anvil, but the artist could draw a black pig much better than a smith or a king. The oldest Welsh MS. is Pen. MS. 29 and is only a couple of decades younger than the Latin 28. It has been discussed whether the Clerk Blegywryd wrote down the Laws at the mem- orable convocation called by Hywel Dda to Whitland in Latin or Welsh, but our ignorance of Welsh Law is abysmal enough to encourage speculation but to make dogmatism useless. If the oldest Latin MS. suggests foreign influence, the oldest Welsh MS. is declared to point definitely to Norman-French influence. Both these MSS.—Peniarth 28 and 29—are separated by over two and a half centuries from the original code of the Whitland Convention—what happened in the meantime ? When Aneurin Owen came to examine the Law MSS. for his edition of 1841, he saw that they fell naturally into three groups, which he called Venedotian, Gwentian and Dimetian from the territorial divisions of Wales. These vary sometimes as much as positive statement can from its corresponding negative. We find references to Cyfnerth son of Morgeneu, Gwair son of Rhu- fawn, Goronwy son of Moryddig, Gruffudd ap Cynan and others modifying the laws from time to time, but the general assumption about the meaning of the three groups of Law Codices appears to be well put in Haddan and Stubbs (I, 211), ‘In course of time the (seemingly) at first single Code (of Hywel) became distinguished into three varying with the three great divisions of Wales, L.e. A.S.—VOL. X. L 156 A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS Gwynedd, Dyfed and Gwent.’ (For the inappropriateness of these names see A. W. Wade-Evans, Med. Law, Introduction.) This discovery of Aneurin Owen is said to have brought order out of chaos, and it may well be so; nevertheless, some of its results have been most unfortunate. The discovery led students to assume that, when an institution was known in different codes by different names, this was due to dialectal differences. It led great students like Seebohm and Vinogradoff to much unnecessary trouble and in some cases to serious error over such dual expressions as gwely and gafael. It led Rh¥s astray over the equation tyddyn and syddyn, etc. The discovery obscured difficulties and discouraged curiosity, but did not solve any problems. How many of these differences were due to dialects, how many to Cyfnerth, Gwair and the other innovators, and how many to old native Law Schools, is past saying now. ‘There are sugges- tions in the Codes that there were Schools of Law, though we know next to nothing of them yet—schools not like those of Pavia or Bologna, but rather like the early Irish Law School of Tuam Drecain or those later schools described so well in the Introduction to the Memoirs of the Marquis of Clanricarde or in Corkery’s Hidden Ireland—where the native rather than the Latin tradition prevailed. These differences of the three Codes _ face every beginner, but there are other differences more subtle and of greater interest and possibly of greater historical im- portance. A very limited acquaintance with Welsh and Irish Law Texts soon convinces the student that even the oldest written code shows very definite stratification. I. There is a Welsh basis where one finds old technical and semi-technical terms clearly akin to Irish terms and reaching back to very primitive and elementary society. They are so elementary and non-technical in appearance that they greatly misled Rh¥s and Sir J. Morris Jones in his Welsh Grammar. If ach ac edryd, amgyffred, cyffredin, cynydd, gweilydd, gwynwyr, mabinogi, tadcu and such legal terms are explained according to the rules laid down or assumed by Rhys and his school, a student will find himself in a land where no self-respecting Celt of any age would feel at home among its institutions—where his own mother would be married to an ‘ abstract’ father who in turn would be his own great-grandfather. Or he might be induced to regard a law-word with such a long ancestry as mabinogi as a late A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS 157 creation of some unscrupulous forger and so let historic, social and literary institutions become the playthings of a wayward philology. IJ. Side by side with these there are Roman borrowings— but so assimilated to Welsh that they are invariably treated as native. Words like e:ddig, gobaith (and paith), gweryd, gyr, pwyll, ystum, etc., are only a few of many such which are of Roman origin though they have all been furnished with Celtic pedigrees. Jil. There are Latin borrowings of another stratum, and most of these are easily recognisable. It is not clear whether cyfraith (law) itself is one of these borrowings. Rhys (Col. Cal. p. 0-6) equated it with Cobrexiio of the Coligny calendar (the ref. given in W.G. 148 is wrong), but as the history of the latter is unknown and that of the former obscure, the equation is less than convincing. What appears to be an older and native word for law is used in the Liber Landavensis, etc.; I mean gwir. It may be the same word as gwur (true) but is used definitely there and elsewhere as a technical term, just as the Iv. fir flatha is used for ordeal (lit. = W. gwir gwlad, i.e. truth of kingdom). Who can say whether it was pressed to service to translate the Lat. verdict (vere dictum) or whether it is akin to those old Irish law words urradus, uraicecht * Dyled and deddf are also used for law but seldom in this sense. IV. Four centuries of contact between Briton and Roman, and four more of Latin Christianity, make many of these borrow- ings inevitable. But there is a new difficulty. Some of the most fundamental and oldest law words of Hywel’s Laws are of Teutonic origin. ‘ Sarhaed’ (Ir. sarugud) (wergild), one of the most character- istic law words on both sides of the Irish Sea, is probably of Teutonic origin. Arddel appears to be another. The abstract arddeliad as frequently used in Mod. Welsh, i.e. ‘ God’s favourable judgement upon or approval of ’ corresponds so nearly to the old technical meaning of Ger. Urtheil and Eng. Ordeal (not the process but the result) that it is impossible to dissociate them. Whether the series is Celtic or Teutonic the problem is no whit easier to solve. Words like boneddig, diadlam, dofod (dyfod), tu a thal, mab maeth, etc., etc., belong to this stratum. They have been treated philologically and stamped as Celtic one and all—but no heed - 158 A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS was taken of their history. When the oldest Welsh Code dubs legal help like the English * barrister’ a ‘ bannister’ (canllaw) who can say what is their mutual relation and whether English dictionaries tell all there is to tell of ‘ barrister’? Dr. Leo published the German Malberg glosses in 1842-5 as Celtic, and a MS. of the Salic Law was treated as Celtic Law, and Wotton treated a series of Welsh terms like brawdwr, etc., as English, but how many old Teutonic terms there are in Welsh Law and what they are or when introduced nobody can say yet. Probert pleaded for the publication of the Codes in 1823. Maitland said seventy years later that until this was done scien- tifically, all comparison with Teutonic and Roman Law would be ‘extremely dangerous.’ Some Law Manuscripts are known to have perished, but from the meagre details given in the old lists it is very difficult to identify them, but still nearly 80 remain. Wotton used a copy of a ‘Cod. Leid,’ but this is not given in 1912 Cat. of Lat. MSS. at Leiden, and Dr. Buchner, Keeper of the MSS., tells me that not only the MS. is no longer known there, but that it is not mentioned in the older catalogues and nothing is known of its fate. Edward Lhuyd reports a Law MS. in the collection of Hum- phrey, Bishop of Hereford. The Cathedral Library at Hereford possesses a very valuable collection of MSS., but the Sub-Lib- rarian informs me that there is no MS. of the Laws of Hywel Dda there and nothing appears to be known of the library of Lhuyd’s episcopal friend. On the other hand, some of these MSS. may be still in exist- ence unknown to students. It is a pleasure to report one at Bishop Marsh’s library in Dublin, and I am indebted to Dr. White the librarian for bringing it to my notice. True, it is a late MS., but that does not of necessity make it uninteresting, for a late MS. like Lianstephan 116 may contain sections in- valuable for the study of Welsh social history and not found elsewhere. 3 The bibliography is meant for the student rather than the bibliographer. A considerable number of articles on Hywel Dda in biographical dictionaries and periodicals have been left out, as they were obviously only copies without any claim to- originality. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS 159 CATALOGUE OF THE MSS. OF THE LAWS OF HYWEL DDA (1) CoLtections oF MSS: bo (2) (3) (4) MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. ABERYSTWYTH: Llanstephan, Mostyn, M.L.W. Add. MSS. Panton, Peniarth. CAMBRIDGE: Corpus Christi College, Trinity College. CARDIFF: Free Library. Dustin: Archbishop Marsh’s Library. Lonpon: British Musrum. Additional MSS., Cotton MSS. | (Caligula, Cleopatra, Titus, Vespasian), Harleian MSS. OxFoRD: Bodleian (Rawlinson), Corpus Christi, Jesus College, Merton College. PUBLISHED TEXTS. INDEX TO CATALOGUES ETC. REFERRED TO. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BooKS, ETC. RELATING TO Hywet DDa. (1) COLLECTIONS OF MSS. ABERYSTWYTH NATIONAL LIBRARY LLANSTEPHAN COLLECTION 26. Latin; paper; 94 x62 in., 17 ff., xvij cent. transcript of the Corp. Christi Coll. (Cambr.) MS. Q xj. 2; v. Rep. I, 455 ; Cambridge Corp. Chr. Coll. onfra. 29. Welsh; paper; 846 in.; 138 pp., defective, inter- leaved ; circa 1500; half bound. The Dimetian text of Anc. Laws I, pp. 408-590, corresponds pretty closely to this text; vu. Rep. Il, 465. 67. Latin; paper; 8x64 in.; 47 pp.; half bound; apparently a transcript of Peniarth MS. 28 by Moses Williams, A.D. 1722; v. Rep. II, 557, and Pen. MS. 28 infra. 68. Latin; paper; 7354 in.; 148 pp.; circa a.D. 1613; half bound, pp. 1-107 are a transcript of Bodl. Rawl. MS. C.821 (q.v. infra). It contains also some excerpts from an old Welsh Law Codex and an exposition of some legal terms ; v. Rep. I, 557. 69. Welsh; paper; 74 x54 in.; 175 pp.; calf. Copy of Cott. Titus MS. D.IX (q.v.), supposed to have been lost in the fire of a.p. 1731; v. Rep. II, 557. 70. Welsh ; paper ; 74 x54 in. ; 361 pp. ; copied by P. W., A.D. 1663; leather bound; v. Rep. UI, 557. - 160 MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS 71. Composite MS. Welsh and Latin; paper; 392 pp. Excerpts from various Law MSS. transcribed by Moses Williams. 1. Transcript of a MS. communicated by Wm. Baxter 1714 (pp. 1-60) ; v. Wotton, Pref. p. xxx, MS. H.3 (Welsh). 2. Transcript from B. Mus. Harl. 63 B. 20 (pp. 69-199) ; v. Wotton, Pref. p. xxx (Welsh). 6. Transcript from B. Mus. Cott. Cleop. A. XIV (q.v.) (pp. 269-349) (Welsh). 7. Transcript from B. Mus. Cott. Calig. A.uj (q¢.v.) (pp. 356-392); v. Rep. Il, 558 (Welsh). 72. Welsh; paper; 745% in.; pp. 128; half bound; xviij cent. This claims to be a copy of Owain Meurig of Bodorgan’s Law MS. That MS. is described by Wotton. Pref. p. 31 MS. M; v. Rep. II, 558. 7 74. Welsh; paper; 84x6i in.; pp. 44; half bound ; xviij cent. This claims to be variant readings and addita- menta from “‘ MSS. Gul. Williams Baronetti”?; v. Rep. II, 558. For the Williams MSS., v. Wotton, Pref. p. xxx]. MS. LI. (Llanforda MSS.). Many of the Law MSS. were from Wm. Maurice’s Collection (v. Cambr. Jour. II, 122). They later passed into the Wynne Collection (v. Anc. Law, i, Xxxyv): 75. Welsh; paper; 735g in.; pp. 186; xviij cent. ; half bound. This claims to be a copy of Wm. Philip of Aber- hodni’s Law MS. v. Rep. II, 558. For Philips MSS. v. Lhuyd Arch. Preface and p. 258 col. b, also Wotton, Pref. xxx], codex P. 77. Welsh and Latin ; paper; 735% in.; 180 pp.; half bound. Legal Additamenta by Moses Williams, v. Rep. II, 558. 79. Welsh; paper; 8x6 in.; half bound. ‘Transcript partly in the hand of Dr. J. Dafydd Rhys; v. Rep. II, 559. v. further Pen. MS. 118; Wrexham MS. I, p. 461 (Rep. II, 359). ! , 116. Welsh; vellum; 1238 in.; 124 pp.; sec. half of xv cent. ; half bound ; v. Rep. II, 567. The text of MS. 116 was published for the Guild of Graduates of the University of Wales by Henry Sotheran 1912; v. Lewis, T. in Biblio- graphy infra. For collation with Anc. Laws, v. Vendryes, Rev. Celt. 1913, pp. 330-3. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS 161 121. Welsh; paper; 112x773} in.;: pp. 552; leather bound. Welsh Laws and Elucidations written by John Jones, Gelli Lyvdy before Sept. 25, 1619; v. Rep. II, 609. 130. Short extract from the beginning of the Laws, v. Rep. Il, 664, § 77. Eon Latin; paper; 138 im; 136 pp. ; - xvHyj cent. ; half-bound. Given by Wotton to Moses Williams, 4.D. 1724. 151. Welsh; paper; 12374 in., half-bound. Copy of B. Mus. Cott. Cleop. B.V. 2 (qg.v. infra) ; v. Rep. II, 727. 152. Welsh; paper; 123 x74 in. ; half-bound ; a.p. 1721. Copy of B. Mus. Cott. Titus D. ii (q.v. infra) ; v. Rep. II, 727. 153. Latin; paper; 114 74in.; half-bound. Copy from B. Mus. Cott. Vesp. E. XI (q¢.v. infra). Collated by Moses Williams, v. Rep. II, 728. 174. Welsh; paper; 8x6 in.; 174 pp.; first half of xvq cent., vellum bound. Copied from B. Mus. Cott. Titus D. ii (g.v. wnfra), v. Rep. II, 767. 197. Latin; paper; 124x745 in.; 89 pp. unfinished ; leather bound. ‘Transcript of Pen.. MS. 28 by William Maurice, Tynybraich. A.D. 1662; v. Rep. II, 781 and Index mfra. : MOSTYN COLLECTION 211. Fragment of Welsh Laws of Hywel. Pp. 319-28 of a composite MS. written czrca 1685 and formerly in the Gloddaeth Library ; v. Rep. I, 278-9. NATIONAL LIBRARY ADDITIONAL MSS. 146, pp. 123-5, contains a transl. of the poem about Elidyr Mwynvawr found in law MSS. but no Law Text. 345, pp. 103-5. Some extracts by Dafydd Ddu Eryri con- cerning Bardd Teulu and Pencerdd. PANTON COLLECTION 17. Welsh Excerpts from ‘Llyfr Gwyn o Hergest’ ; v. Rep. II, 824-5. For the history of the White Bk. of Hergest from the Lhuyd-Sebright Library, said to have been destroyed by fire in a Covent Garden bindery; v. Trans. Cymmrod., 1822, p. 175; Cambro Brit., II, 203; Cambr. Register, III, 286; Cambr. Journal, III, 127; Rep. I, 1049 [Pen. MS. 225]; II, 558 [LI.M.S. 74]; Rep. II, 1058 [B. Mus. Welsh MS. 32; Anc. Laws, I, p. xxxij. MS. D. 162 MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS PENIARTH COLLECTION 28. Latin; Vellum; 72x6 in.; 52 pp., last. qr. of xij cent.; oak boards. This is the oldest known copy of the Laws of Hywel. It is the first MS. of Aneurin Owen’s Leges Wallicae [v. Anc. Laws, I, p. xxxij] and the text is printed in Anc. Laws, II, pp. 749-814; v. Rep. I, 359. Transcripts by Moses Williams, Llanst. MS. 67 ; by Wm. Maurice, Llanst. MS. 197; v. also Lhuyd Arch., p. 258b; Rep. I, 359. For Lat. Prologue with transl., v. Wade-Evans, Med. Law, pp. Lh. Photographed by Dr. Gwenogvryn Evans for inclusion in his Old Welsh Texts. : 29. Welsh; vellum; 745 in.; 104 pp.; imperfect ; circa 1200; known as Y Llyvyr Du or Weun or The Black Book of Chirk. This is MS. A of Anc. Laws [for Collation, v. Lewis, Glossary, p. xxij] qg.v. I. xxij-iij, xxv—vj. For Pro- logue and Collation, v. Rep. I, 359, Wade-Evans, Med. Law, lni—ii. B. Mus. Add. MS. 14931 is a transcript made when it was complete v. Rep. II, 944; Anc. Laws, 1, p. xxviij. Collotype Facs. of Pen. MS. 29 published as vol. vj of Dr. J. G. Evans’ Old Welsh Texts. For Glossary, v. Lewis, Glossary of Med. W. Law. For orthography, v. Watkin, Trans. Cymmrodor,1918-19, pp. 194-216 ; Annales de Bretagne, 1927, pp. 408-17; and Loth, Rev. Celtique, XX XIX (1922), pp. 226—40. 30. Welsh; vellum; 735% in.; 82 ff.; bi-columnar ; incomplete ; xiij cent. ; leather bound. For collation with Anc. Laws and possible relation to MS. F and Pen. MS. 29, v. Rep. I, 361. This MS. contains a ref. to Lleuyr y Ty Guyn (The Whitland Book). | 31. Welsh; vellum; 745 in.; 64 pp.; end wanting ; first half of xiv cent. ; coloured sectional initials and a few floriated ; illegible in parts; vellum bound. For Collation with text of Anc. Laws and Prologue, v. Rep. I, 362. It is MS. R. of Anc. Laws, Dimetian Code, v. p. xxx. 32. [Composite volume.| Welsh; vellum; 8x53 in.; Law Text occupies pp. 1-224; circa 1380; vellum bound ; in same hand as Mabinogion of Red Book of Hergest. For Prologue, Collation with MS. D and relation to MSS. B.C.G. of Anc. Laws and to Peniarth MS. 30; v. Rep. I, 363; Ane. Laws, I, xxvij. Formerly in Wm. Maurice’s Deddfgrawn (v. Lhwyd Angh. Index infra). MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS 163 33. Welsh; vellum; 63 32in.; 186 pp.; early xv cent. ; coloured sectional initials; gall-stained; vellum bound. For Prologue, Collation with MS. M of Anc. Laws, v. Rep. i660). (Ane. Laws, T, xxx. 34. Welsh; vellum; 7X53 in.; 132 pp. incomplete ; gall-stained ; xvj. cent., in hand of Roger Morys (?) (v. Pen. MS. 224); vellum bound. Formerly in Wm. Maurice’s ‘Deddfgrawn.’ For Prologue, Collation with MS. F. of Ane. Laws, v. Rep. I, 367; Anc. Laws, I, xxviij. 35 [Laws and Pleadings]. Welsh; vellum; 52 x4 in.; 119 ff. ; last qr. of xiij cent., in two hands ; sectional initials in black and red; incomplete; leather bound. Called ‘Llyfyr Cynawe’ in Wm. Maurice’s ‘ Deddfgrawn.’ For Collation with MS. B of Anc. Laws, and relation to B. Mus. Cott. Titus, D. ii (g.v.), v. Rep. I, 368; Anc. Laws, I, xxviij. 364. Welsh; vellum; 6x4? in.; pp. ix+158 (many blanks) ; written after 1282; vellum bound. For Prologue and Collation with MS. O of Anc. Laws v. Rep. I, 369. Anc. Laws, I, xxx. Oldest MS. of Dimetian Code. 36B. Welsh; vellum; 5x3 in.; 80 pp.; late xiij. cent. ; red initials ; incomplete ; bound with 36 c. in white vellum. For Prologue and Collation with MS. N of Anc. Laws, v. Rep. Peso: Anc. Laws, |. xxx. 36c [Fragments]. Welsh; vellum and paper; 54 x41 in. ; 88 pp.; late xv and xvj cents., bound with 36B. For colla- tion wth MS. C) of Anc. Laws, v. Rep. I, 370. For relation to MS. A, v. Anc. Laws, I, xxxij. 37. Welsh; vellum; 53x43; 156 pp.; late xiij cent. ; sectional initials and rubrics ; gall-stained ; pigskin bound. For Prologue and Collation with MS. U of Anc. Laws, v. Rep. I, 371. It is the Gwentian Code of Anc. Laws, v. I, xxxi. The text of ff. 614-768 with Engl. trans. was published by A. W. Wade-Evans in Y Cymmrodor xvii (1904), pp. 129- 163, v. Wade-Evans, Welsh Med. Law, p. xvij. 38. Welsh ; vellum ; 52 x43in.; pp. iv.+138 ; incomplete ; xv cent. (?); vellum bound. For Prologue and Collation with MS. I of Anc. Laws and MS. 364 above, v. Rep. I, 372. 39. Welsh; vellum; 42x38 in.; ff. iv.+78; circa 1500 ; formerly in Wm. Maurice’s ‘ Deddfgrawn.’ For relation - to B. Mus. Cott. Titus D. ii, to Pen. MSS. 32, 35 and colla- tion with Anc. Laws, v. Rep. I, 378. 164 MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. MS. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS 40 (Composite MS.). Welsh; vellum; 6}x4? in.; circa 1469 ; gall stained ; initials and titles in red ; leather bound. The Laws occupy pp. 21-234. For Prologue, Collation with MS. K of Anc. Laws and relation to B. Mus. Cott. Caligula A iii (q.v. infra) and Pen. MS. 32, v. Rep. I, 373; Anc. Laws, I, xxx, MS. K: 118. Short excerpts from the Welsh Laws in hand of Dr. J. Dafydd Rhys, v. Rep. 1, p. 725, s.p. 909, and some illustra- tive material for a Glossary of the Laws, p. 721. 163. Welsh fragments ; xvj cent., v. Rep. I, 954-6. 164. Welsh (glosses); vellum; 625 in.; pp. 162; in- complete ; early xv cent. ‘This MS. is H of Anc. Laws and the text is professedly printed in vol. II, 568-742, which is in reality taken from a copy in Pen. MS. 278,’ v. Rep. I, 956-7; Anc. Laws, I, xxix. 165 (Composite MS). Welsh; paper; 735% in. ;- ff. 187; written between 1586-1622. The Law text occupies ff. 7-96. Transcript of B. Mus. Harl. 4353 (q¢.v.) and Cleop. B.V. (g.v.); v. Rep. I, 957. | 166 [Extracts and Pleadings]. Welsh; paper; 825% in. ; pp. 3-114; xvj cent.; half-bound; imperfect. For relat. to Anc. Laws, II, 306, etc., v. Rep. I, 959. 167. Latin; paper; 726 in.; ff. 11-61; in hand of R. Vaughan. ‘Transcript of Bodl. Rawl. MS. C. 821; v. Rep. I, 959-60. 175 [Laws and Pleadings]. Welsh; vellum; 625 in. ; 88 pp.; gall-stained ; late xv cent.; leather bound. For- merly owned by Sir T. Wiliems and Bishop Morgan. For Collation with MS. A of Anc. Laws, v. Rep. I, 970; Anc. Laws, 1, xxxij. 224 [Composite MS.] Welsh; paper; 7352 in.; in hand of John Jones, Gelli Lyvdy, a.p. 1604—6; leather boards. Laws occupy pp. 1-751. For Prologue, Collation with MS. B of Anc. Laws and relat. to B. Mus. Cott. Titus D. ii (q¢.v.) ; to Caligula A, iii, and Pen. MS. 163, v. Rep. I, 1046-7. 225. Latin; Extracts, etc. in the hand of Sir T. Wiliems (1594-1610), v. Rep. I, 1049. 252. Welsh ; Fragments in the hand of Dr. J. Dafydd Rhys, - v. Rep. I, 1070. 256. Latin; paper; 12183 in.; 65ff.; imperfect; sec. half of xvi cent.; sewn. Used by W. Salesbury and A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS 165 Wm. Maurice. For relat. to B. Mus. Cott. Vesp. E. xi (gv.), v0. Rep. 1, 1072. MS. 258. Welsh; paper; 103 x84in.; pp. 282; end wanting ; 2nd half xv cent.; leather bound. For collation with Anc. Laws MS. € and relation to Wotton’s MS. 8.3, v. Rep. I, 1073. MS. 2594. Welsh; vellum; 117% in.; ff. 46; bicolumnar ; end wanting; last qr. xv cent.; bound with MS. 2598; leather bound. For Prologue, relation to MS. P. of Ane. Laws and to Pen. MS. 258, v. Rep. I, 1074. Formerly in Wm. Maurice’s ‘ Deddfgrawn.’ MS. 2598. Welsh; paper; 118 in.; ff. 108; imperfect ; | bicolumnar ; in two hands; first half of xvj cent. ; bound with MS. 259a, leather bound. This is MS. Z of Anc. Laws (v. I, xxxij). For Prologue, relation to B. Mus. Harl. 4353 (g.v.) v. Rep. I, 1074-5, Wade-Evans, Welsh Med. Law, p- xvi. Once in possession of Constable of Pontefract, v. note, Rep. I, 1075. MS. 270. Extracts from Welsh Laws in hand of Dr. J. Dafydd Rhys, v. Rep. I, 1094, § 309. MS. 271. Fragment of Gwentian Code, in hand of R. Vaughan, v. Rep. I, 1095-6. MS. 278. Transcript by R. Vaughan of Pen. MSS. 29 and 164. For Prologue and relat. to MS. H. of Anc. Laws, v. Rep. I, 1098. For relat. to Llanst. MS. 121, v. Rep. II, 609. CAMBRIDGE CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE (usually referred to St. BENED or ST. BENEDICT in Welsh writings). MS. 454=Q. xj. 2. Latin and Welsh; vellum and paper; 6°; 7 in.; fol. 66; xv cent.; paper wrapper; formerly in Archbp. M. Parker’s Library. MS. CCCC of Wotton (Preface p. xxix). Llanst. MS. 26is a xvij cent. transcript of this, v. Rep. 1], 455; I, 733 (Pen. MS. 120, § 442); James, Corpus Christi MSS., II, 376-7. TRINITY COLLEGE MS. 1303. Latin; paper; 144.9} in.; ff. 31; 42 ll. toa page ; ' Xvij cent. transcript of an Hengwrt MS. v. James, Western MSS. in Trin. Coll., III, p. 324. 166 MS. MS. MS. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS 1329. Welsh; vellum; 6344 in.; ff. 68; 24 ll. toa page. Early xiv cent.; front page discoloured ; rude pen drawings of peacock, dragon, etc., v. James, Western MSS. in Trin. Coll., ITI, 345. CARDIFF FREE LIBRARY 2. Welsh; vellum; 72x52 in.; ff. 2-73: (?) early xvj cent. ; rubricated initials; leather boards. Direct tran- script of B. Mus. Cott. Titus D. ix, cannot be earlier than circa 1475. Rep. I, 92, but v. Powel et Ballinger, p. 24, where it is attributed to the xiij cent. Formerly in Philips’ Collection. , 26. Composite vol. of 3 versions, 2 Welsh and 1 Latin ; paper; 8x64 in.; cerca 1714; pp. 214. (a) Transcript of Harl. 4353, formerly owned by W. Bax- ter and Moses Williams, pp. 214 sqq. (qg.v. wmfra). (6) Transcript of Harl. 958, pp. 277 sqq. (q¢.v. mfra). (c) Transcript of Harl. 1796, pp. 377 sqq. (q.v. mfra). DUBLIN ARCHBISHOP MARSH’S LIBRARY Leges Howelli . . . Principis totius Cambriae ... a.D. 922; MS. paper; 21-5x15-8. ‘‘ The owner’s note shows it is not later than 1616.” Press Mk. Z4.4.12. Loftus MSS. White Catal., p. 84. | LONDON: BRITISH MUSEUM — ADDITIONAL MSS. 14931 [=B. Mus. Welsh MS. 4]. Welsh; vellum; 725} in.; ff. 104; mid. xiij cent. ; rubricated sectional initials ; leather boards. This is MS. E of Anc. Laws (v. I, xxvij, for description) formerly belonging to the Welsh School. Modified transcript of Pen. MS. 29, but contains parts — missing in original (v. Rep. I, pt. i, pp. vij—viij; I1., pt. iv, p. iv) used by Dr. J. G. Evans to fill up lacunae in the Faces. Ed. of Black Book of Chirk. For Prologue and Colla- MS. MS. MS. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAWS 167 tion v. Rep. II, 944; v. also Trans. Cymmrod, 1822, p. 178; Myv. Arch. 753, col. b. 22.356[—=B. Mus. Welsh MS. 9]. Welsh; vellum; 92 x 62in. ; ff. 149; late xv cent.; leather boards. This is MS. S2 of Wotton (v. pref. p. xxxj); MS. S. of Anc. Laws (v. I, xxxi). For Collation with Anc. Laws MS. S., v. Rep. II, 948-9. COTTON MSS. CALIGULA A. iii [=B. Mus. Welsh MS. 5]. Welsh; vellum ; 83 x62 in.; ff. 149-198 b. ; imperfect ; bi-columnar ; circa mid. xiij cent.; rubricated sectional initials. Transcript of Pen. MS. 29. For relation to MS. C. of, and collation with text of Anc. Laws and variation from Pen. MS. 29, v. Rep. Il, 945; II, pt.iv, p.4. This is Cott. 2 of Wotton, who used it extensively ; v. Leg. Wall. (pref. p. xxix). Llans. MS. 71 is a transc. by Moses Williams.