_Laden with presents and with praise_.--p. 57. l. 9.
In the ancient metrical romance of Sir Tristrem, an Irish earl arrives
at the court of Cornwall, in the disguise of a minstrel, and bearing a
harp of curious workmanship. He excites the curiosity of King Mark, by
refusing to play upon it till he shall grant him a boon. The king having
pledged his knighthood to satisfy his request, he sings to the harp a
lay, in which he demands the queen as his promised gift--
"Y prove the for fals man,
Or Y shall have thi quen."
He accordingly carries her off; but her lover Tristrem, who had been
absent at the time,
"chidde with the king,
Gifstow glewemen thy quen,
Hastow no other thing?"
The usual gifts to minstrels when they sung were often profuse; rich
clothes, &c. They were, by rank, classed with knights and heralds, and
permitted to wear silk robes, a dress limited to persons who could spend
a hundred pounds of land rent.--_Sir Tristrem, edited by Walter Scott,
Esq_.
Generosity to minstrels is perpetually recommended in the lays, of
fabliaux and romances.