question of their authenticity to the determination of the impartial
Public. The Editor contented himself with intimating his opinion,
[Pref. p. xii, xiii.] that the external evidence on both sides was
so defective as to deserve but little attention, and that the final
decision of the question must depend upon the internal evidence. To
shew that this opinion was not thrown out in order to mislead the
enquiries and judgements of the readers, I have here drawn together
_some observations upon_ THE LANGUAGE[1] _of the poems attributed to
Rowley_, which, I think, will be sufficient to prove, 1st, that they
were not written in the XV Century; and 2dly, that they were written
entirely by Thomas Chatterton.
The proof of the second proposition would in effect carry with it that
of the first; but, notwithstanding. I choose to treat them separately
and to begin with the first.
I shall premise only one _postulatum_, which is, that Poets of the
same age and country use the same language, allowances being made for
certain varieties, which may arise from the local situation, the rank
in life, the learning, the affectation of the writers, and from the
different subjects and forms of their compositions [2].
This being granted, I have nothing to do but to prove, that the
language of the poems attributed to Rowley (when every proper
allowance has been made) is totally different from that of the other
English writers of the XV Century, in many material particulars. It
would be too tedious to go through them all; and therefore I shall
only take notice of such as can be referred to three general heads;
the _first_ consisting of words not used by any other writer; the
_second_, of words used by other writers, but in a different sense;
and the _third_, of words inflected in a manner contrary to grammar
and custom.
Under the _first_ head I would recommend the following words to the
reader's consideration.
1. ABESSIE. E. III. 89.
Whylest the congeon flowrette _abessie_ dyghte.
2. ABORNE. T. 45.
Snett oppe hys long strunge bowe and sheelde _aborne_.
3. ABREDYNGE. Æ 334.
Agylted Ælla, thie _abredynge_ blynge.
4. ACROOLE. El. 6.
Didde speke _acroole_, wythe languishment of eyne.
5. ADAVE. H. 2. 392.
The fynest dame the Sun or moon _adave_.
6. ADENTE. Æ 396. ADENTED. G. 32.
Ontoe thie veste the rodde sonne ys _adente_.
_Adented_ prowess to the gite of witte.
7. ADRAMES. Ep. 27.
Loughe loudlie dynneth from the dolte _adrames_.
8. ALATCHE. Æ 117.
Leave me swythe or I'lle _alatche_.
9. ALMER. Ch. 20.
Where from the hail-stone coulde the _almer_ flie?
10. ALUSTE. H. 1. 88.
That Alured coulde not hymself _aluste_.
11. ALYNE. T. 79.
Wythe murther tyred he flynges hys bowe _alyne_.
12. ALYSE. Le. 29.--G. 180.
Somme dryblette share you shoulde to that _alyse_.
Fulle twentie mancas I wylle thee _alise_.
13. ANERE. Æ 15.--Ep. 48.
And cann I lyve to see herr wythe _anere_?
----Adieu untylle _anere_.
14. ANETE. p. 281. 64.
Whych yn the blosom woulde such sins _anete_.
15. APPLINGS. E. I. 33.
Mie tendre _applynges_ and embodyde trees.
16. ARROW-LEDE. H. 1. 74.
Han by his soundynge _arrowe-lede_ bene sleyne.
17. ASENGLAVE. H. 1. 117.
But Harold's _asenglave_ stopp'd it as it flewe.
18. ASLEE. Æ 504.
That doest _aslee_ alonge ynn doled dystresse.
19. ASSWAIE. Æ 352.
Botte thos to leave thee, Birtha, dothe _asswaie_
Moe torturynge peynes, &c.
20. ASTENDE. G. 47.
Acheke the mokie aire and heaven _astende_.
I stop here, not because the other Letters of the alphabet would not
afford a proportionable number of words which might be referred to
this head, but because I think these sufficient for my purpose. I
proceed therefore to set down an equal number of words under the
_second_ general head.
1. ABOUNDE. H. 1. 55.
His cristede beaver dyd him smalle _abounde_.
The common sense of _Abound_, a verb, is well known; but what can be
the meaning of it here?
2. ALEDGE. G. 5.
Lette notte thie agreme blyn ne _aledge_ stonde.
_Aledge_, or _Alege_, v. Fr. in Chaucer signifies _to alleviate_.
It is here used either as an adjective or as an adverb. Chatterton
interprets it to mean _idly_; upon what ground I cannot guess.
3. ALL A BOON. E. III. 41.--p. 23. l. 4.
_All-a-boon_, fyr Priest, _all-a-boon_.
Thys ys the onelie _all-a-boone_ I crave.
Here are three English words, the sense of which, taken separately,
is clear. As joined together in this passage they are quite
unintelligible.
4. ALLEYN. E. I. 52.
Mie sonne, mie sonne _alleyn_ ystorven ys.
Granting _alleyn_ to be rightly put for alone, no ancient writer, I
apprehend, ever used such a phrase as this; any more than we should
now say--_my son alone_ for _my only son_. 5. ASCAUNCE. E. III. 52.
Lokeynge _ascaunce_ upon the naighboure greene.
The usual sense of _ascaunce_ in Chaucer, and other old writers, has
been explained in a note on ver. 7327. of the Canterbury Tales. It
is used in the same sense by Gascoigne. The more modern adverb
_ascaunce_, signifying _sideways, obliquely_, is derived from the
Italian _a schiancio_, and I doubt very much whether it had been
introduced into the English language in the time of the supposed
Rowley.
6. ASTERTE. G. 137.
----You have theyr worthe _asterte_.
I despair of finding any authorized sense of the word _asterte_, that
will suit this passage. It cannot, I think, signifie _neglected or
passed by_, as Chatterton has rendered it.
7. AUMERE. Æ. 398.--Ch. 7. AUMERES. E. III. 25.
Depycte wyth skylled honde upponn thie wyde _aumere_.
And eke the grounde was dighte in its mose deste _aumere_.
Wythe gelten _aumeres_ stronge ontolde.
The only place in which I remember to have met with this word is in
Chaucer's Romant of the Rose, ver. 2271. and there it undoubtedly
signifies _a purse_; probably from the Fr. _Aumoniere. Aumere of silk_
is Chaucer's translation of _Bourse de foye_. In another place of
the same poem, ver. 2087. he uses _aumener_ in the same sense. The
interpretations given of this word by Chatterton will be considered
below.
8. BARBED. Æ 27. 219.
Nott, whan from the _barbed_ horse, &c.
Mie lord fadre's _barbde_ halle han ne wynnynge.
Let it be allowed, that _barbed horse_ was a proper expression, in the
XV Century, for _a horse covered with armour_, can any one conceive
that _barbed hall_ signified _a hall in which armour was hung_? or
what other sense can _barbde_ have in this passage?
9. BLAKE. Æ 178. 407.
Whanne Autumpne _blake_ and sonne-brente doe appere.
_Blake_ stondeth future doome, and joie doth mee alyse.
_Blake_, in old English, may signifie either _black_, or _bleak_.
Chatterton, in both these passages, renders it _naked_; and, in the
latter, some such signification seems absolutely necessary to make any
sense.
10. BODYKIN. Æ 265.
And for a _bodykin_ a _swarthe_ obteyne.
_Bodekin_ is used by Chaucer more than once to signifie a _bodkin_ or
_dagger_. I know not that it had any other signification in his time.
_Swarthe_, used as a noun, has no sense that I am acquainted with.
11. BORDEL. E. III. 2.--Æ 147. BORDELIER. Æ 410.
Goe serche the logges and _bordels_ of the hynde.
We wylle in a _bordelle_ lyve.
Hailie the robber and the _bordelyer_.
Though _bordel_, in very old French, signifies a _cottage_, and
_bordelier_ a _cottager_, Chaucer uses the first word in no other
sense than that of _brothel_ or _bawdy-house_; and _bordeller_ with
him means the keeper of such a house. After this usage of these words
was so established, it is not easy to believe that any later writer
would hazard them in their primitive sense.
12. BYSMARE. M. 95.
Roaringe and rolleyng on yn course _bysmare_.
_Bismare_, in Chaucer, signifies _abusive speech_; nor do I believe
that it ever had any other signification.
13. CHAMPYON, V. PG. 12.
Wee better for to doe do _champyon_ anie onne.
I do not believe that _champion_ was used as a verb by any writer much
earlier than Shakespeare.
14. CONTAKE. T. 87. CONTEKE. E. II. 10.
----I _contake_ thie waie.
_Conteke_ the dynnynge ayre and reche the skies.
_Conteke_ is used by Chaucer, as a _noun_, for _Contention_. I know no
instance of its being used as a _verb_.
15. DERNE. Æ 582. DERNIE. E. I. 19. El. 8. M. 106.
Whan thou didst boaste soe moche of actyon _derne_.
Oh Raufe, comme lyste and hear mie _dernie_ tale.
O gentle Juga, beare mie _dernie_ plainte.
He wrythde arounde yn drearie _dernie_ payne.
_Derne_ is a Saxon adj. signifying _secret, private_, in which sense
it is used more than once by Chaucer, and in no other.
16. DROORIE. Ep. 47.
Botte lette ne wordes, whiche _droorie_ mote ne heare,
Bee placed in the same ----.
The only sense that I know of _druerie_ is _courtship, gallantry_,
which will not suit with this passage.
17. FONNES. E. II. 14. Æ 421. FONS. T. 4.
Decorn wyth _fonnes_ rare ----
On of the _fonnis_ whych the clerche have made.
Quayntyssed _fons_ depictedd on eche sheelde.
A _fonne_ in Chaucer signifies a _fool_, and _fonnes--fools_; and
Spenser uses _fon_ in the same sense; nor do I believe that it ever
had any other meaning.
18. KNOPPED. M. 14.
Theyre myghte ys _knopped_ ynne the froste of fere.
_Knopped_ is used by Chaucer to signifie _fastened_ with a button,
from _knoppe_, a button; but what poet, that knew the meaning of his
words, would say that any thing was buttoned with _frost_?
19. LECTURN. Le. 46.
An onlist _lecturn_ and a songe adygne.
I do not see that _lecturn_ can possibly signifie any thing but _a
reading-desk_, in which sense it is used by Chaucer.
20. LITHIE. Ep. 10.
Inne _lithie_ moncke apperes the barronnes pryde.
If there be any such word as this, we should naturally expect it to
follow the signification of _lithe_; soft, limber: which will not suit
with this passage.
* * * * *
I go on to the _third_ general head of words inflected contrary to
grammar and custom. In a language like ours, in which the inflections
are so few and so simple, it is not to be supposed that a writer, even
of the lowest class, would commit very frequent offences of this sort.
I shall take notice of some, which I think impossible to have fallen
from a genuine Rowley.
1. CLEVIS. H. 2. 46.
Fierce as a _clevis_ from a rocke ytorne.
_Clevis_ or _cleves_ is the plural number of _Cleve_, a cliff. It
is so used by Chaucer. I cannot believe that it was ever used as a
singular noun.
EYNE. E. II. 79. T. 169. See also Æ 681.
In everich _eyne_ aredynge nete of wyere.
Wythe syke an _eyne_ shee swotelie hymm dydd view.
_Eyne_, a contraction of _eyen_, is the plural number of _eye_. It
is not more probable that an ancient writer should have used the
expressions here quoted, than that any one now should say--In _every
eyes_;--_With such an eyes_.
HEIE. E. II. 15. T. 123. Le. 5. 9. Ent. 2. Æ 355.
_Heie_, the old plural of _He_, was obsolete, I apprehend, in the time
of the supposed Rowley. At least it is very improbable that the same
writer, at any time, should use _heie_ and _theie_ indifferently, as
in these poems.
THYSSEN. E. II. 87.
Lette _thyssen_ menne, who haveth sprite of love.
I cannot believe that _thyssen_ was ever in use as the plural number
of _this_. The termination seems to have been added, for the sake of
the metre, by one who knew that many words formerly ended in _en_,
but was quite ignorant of what particular sorts they were. In the same
manner _coyen_, Æ. 125. and _sothen_, Æ. 227. are put for _coy_ and
_sothe_, contrary to all usage or analogy.
And this leads me to the capital blunder, which runs through all these
poems, and would alone be sufficient to destroy their credit; I mean,
the termination of _verbs in the singular number_ in _n_[3]. I will
set down a number of instances, in which _han_ is used for the present
or past time _singular_ of the v. _Have_; only premising, that _han_,
being an abbreviation of _haven_, is never used by any ancient writer
except in the present time _plural_ and the infinitive mode.
P. 26. v. 9. The Brytish Merlyn oftenne _hanne_
The gyfte of inspyration.
Ba. 2. The featherd songster chaunticleer
_Han_ wounde hys bugle horne.
Æ. 685. Echone wylle wyssen hee _hanne_ seene the daie.
734. Bryghte sonne _han_ ynne hys roddie robes byn dyghte.
650. Whanne Englonde _han_ her foemenn.
1137. ----Mie stede _han_ notte mie love.
1184. _Hanne_ alle the fuirie of mysfortunes wylle
Fallen onne mie benned headde I _hanne_ been Ælla stylle.
G. 20. _Hane_ Englonde thenne a tongue butte notte a stynge?
M. 61. A tye of love a dawter faire she _hanne_.
H. 1. 74. Ne doubting but the bravest in the londe
_Han_ by his foundynge arrowe-lede bene sleyne.
182. Where he by chance _han_ slayne a noble's son.
184. And in the battel he much goode _han_ done.
188. He of his boddie _han_ kepte watch and ward.
207. His chaunce in warr he ne before _han_ tryde.
281. The erlie felt de Torcies trecherous knyfe
_Han_ made his crymson bloude and spirits floe.
319. O Hengist, _han_ thy cause bin good and true!
321. The erlie was a manne of hie degree.
And _han_ that daie full manie Normannes sleine.
337. But better _han_ it bin to lett alone.
If more instances should be wanted, see H. 1. 396. 429. 455. H. 2.
306. 703.--p. 275. ver. 4.--p. 281. ver. 63.--p. 288. ver. 1.
In the same irregular manner the following verbs are used
_singularly_.
E. I. 10. Then _fellen_ on the grounde and thus yspoke.
H. 2. 665. Bewopen Alfwoulde _fellen_ on his knee.
P. 287. ver. 17. For thee I _gotten_ or bie wiles or breme.
H. 1. 252. He turned aboute and vilely _souten_ flie.
H. 2. 339. Fallyng he _shooken_ out his smokyng braine.
H. 2. 334. His sprite--Ne _shoulden_ find a place in anie songe.
Æ. 172. So Adam _thoughtenne_ when ynn paradyse----
1136. Tys now fulle morne; I _thoughten_, bie laste nyghte--
Ch. 54. Full well it _shewn_, he _thoughten_ coste no sinne.
See also H. 2. 366. where _thoughten_, with the additional syllable,
not being quite long enough for the verse, has had another syllable
added at the beginning.
Ne onne abash'd _enthoughten_ for to flee.
And (what is still more curious) we have a participle of the present
tense formed from this fictitious past time, in Æ. 704.
_Enthoughteyng_ for to scape the _brondeynge_ foe--
Which would not have been a bit more intelligible in the XV Century
than it would be now. _Brondeynge_ will be taken notice of below.
Many other instances of the most unwarrantable anomalies might be
produced under this head; but I think I have said enough to prove,
that the language of these poems is totally different from that of the
other English writers of the XV Century; and consequently that they
were not written in that century; which was my first, proposition. I
shall now endeavour to prove, from the same internal evidence of the
language, that they were written entirely by Thomas Chatterton.
For this purpose it will only be necessary to have recourse to those
interpretations of words by way of Glossary, which were confessedly
written by him[4]. It will soon appear, if I am not much mistaken,
that the author of the Glossary was the author of the Poems.
Whoever will take the pains to examine these interpretations will
find, that they are almost all taken from SKINNER'S _Etymologicon
Linguæ Anglicanæ_[5]. In many cases, where the words are really
ancient, the interpretations are perfectly right; and so far
Chatterton can only be considered in the light of a commentator, who
avails himself of the best assistances to explane any genuine author.
But in many other instances, where the words are either not ancient
or not used in their ancient sense, the interpretations are totally
unfounded and fantastical; and at the same time the words cannot be
altered or amended consistently with any rules of criticism, nor can
the interpretations be varied without destroying the sense of
the passage. In these cases, I think, there is a just ground for
believing, that the words as well as their interpretations came from
the hand of Chatterton, especially as they may be proved very often to
have taken their rise either from blunders of Skinner himself, or from
such mistakes and misapprehensions of his meaning as Chatterton, from
haste and ignorance, was very likely to fall into.
I will state first some instances of words and interpretations which
have evidently been derived from blunders of Skinner.
ALL A BOON. E. III. 41. See before, p. 315. _A manner of asking a
favour_, says Chatterton.
Now let us hear Skinner.
"=All a bone=, exp. Preces, Supplex Libellus, Supplicatio, vel ut jam
loquimur Petitio viro Principi exhibita, ni fallor ab AS. Bene, unde
nostrum _Boon_ additis particulis Fr. G. A _la_. Ch. Fab. Mercatoris
fol. 30. p. i. Col. 2."
The passage of Chaucer which is referred to, as an authority for this
word, is the following, Canterb. Tales, ver. 9492.
"And alderfirst he bade them _all a bone_," i.e. he made a request to
them all. So that Skinner is entirely mistaken in making one phrase of
these three words; and it is surely more probable that the author of
the poems was misled by him, than that a really ancient writer mould
have been guilty of so egregious a blunder.
AUMERES. E. III. 25. is explained by Chatterton to mean _Borders of
gold and silver_, &c. And AUMERE in Æ. 398, and Ch. 7. seems to be
used in the same sense of _a border of a garment_. And so Skinner has
by mistake explained the word, in that passage of Chaucer which has
been mentioned above [See p. 316, where the true meaning of _Aumere_
is given].
"=Aumere= ex contextu videtur _Fimbria_ vel _Instita_, nescio an a
Teut. =Umbher=, Circum, Circa, q. d. Circuitus seu ambitus. _Ch_. f.
119. p. I.C. I."
BAWSIN. Æ. 57. _Large_. Chatterton. M. 101. _Huge, bulky_. Chatterton.
Without pretending to determine the precise meaning of Bawsin, I think
I may venture to say that there is no older or better authority for
rendering it large, than Skinner. "=Bawsin=, exp. _Magnus, Grandis_,
&c."
BRONDEOUS. E. II. 24. _Furious_. Chatterton. BRONDED. H. 2. 558.
BRONDEYNGE. Æ. 704. BURLIE BRONDE. G. 7. _Fury, anger_. Chatterton.
See also H. 2. 664. All these uses of _Bronde_, and its supposed
derivatives, are taken from Skinner. "Bronde, exp. _Furia_, &c."
though in another place he explains Burly brand (I believe, rightly)
to mean _Magnus ensis_. It should be observed, that the phrase _Burly
brand_, if used in its true sense, would still have been liable to
suspicion, as it does not appear in any work, that I am acquainted
with, prior to the _Testament of Creseide_, a Scottish composition,
written many years after the time of the supposed Rowley.
BURLED. M. 20. _Armed_. Chatterton. So Skinner, "Burled, exp.
_Armatus_, &c."
BYSMARE. M. 95. _Bewildered, curious_. Chatterton. BYSMARELIE. Le. 26.
_Curiously_. Chatterton. See also p. 285. ver. 141. BISMARDE.
It is evident, I think, that all these words are originally derived
from Skinner, who has very absurdly explained Bismare to mean
Curiosity. The true meaning has been stated above, p. 318.
CALKE. G. 25. _Cast_. Chatterton. CALKED. E. I. 49. _Cast out,
ejected_. Chatterton. This word appears to have been formed upon a
misapprehension of the following article in Skinner. "Calked, exp.
Cast, credo Cast up." Chatterton did not attend to the difference
between _casting out_ and _casting up_, i.e. _casting up figures in
calculation_. That the latter was Skinner's meaning may be collected
from his next article. "Calked for Calculated. Ch. the Frankeleynes
tale." It is probable too, I think, that in both articles Skinner
refers, by mistake, to a line of _the Frankelein's tale_, which in the
common editions stands thus:
"Ful subtelly he had _calked_ al this."
Where _calked_ is a mere misprint for _calculed_, the reading of the
MSS. See the late Edit. ver. 11596.
It would be easy to add many more instances of words, _either not
ancient or not used in their ancient sense_, which repeatedly occur
in these poems, and must be construed according to those fanciful
significations which Skinner has ascribed to them. How that should
have happened, unless either Skinner had read the Poems (which, I
presume, nobody can suppose,) or the author of the Poems had read
Skinner, I cannot see. It is against all odds, that two men, living
at the distance of two hundred years one from the other, should
accidentally agree in coining the same words, and in affixing to them
exactly the same meaning.
I proceed to state some instances of words and interpretations which
are evidently founded upon misapprehensions of passages in Skinner.
ALYSE. Le. 29. G. 180. _Allow_. Chatterton. See before, p. 314.
Till I meet with this word, in this sense, in some approved author, I
shall be of opinion that it has been formed from a mistaken reading
of the following article in Skinner. "Alised, Authori Dict. Angl. apud
quem folum occurrit, exp. Allowed, ab AS. Alised, &c." In the Gothic
types used by Skinner f might be easily mistaken for a long s.
BESTOIKER. Æ. 91. _Deceiver_. Chatterton. See also Æ. 1064.
This word also seems plainly to have originated from a mistake in
reading Skinner. "Bestwike, ab AS. Berpican, Spican, _Decipere_,
Fallere, Prodere, Spica, Proditor, _Deceptor_." Chatterton in his
hurry read this as Bestoike, and formed a noun from it accordingly.
BLAKE. Æ. 178. 407. _Naked_. Chatterton. BLAKIED. E. III. 4. _Naked,
original_. Chatterton. See before, p. 317.
Skinner has the following article. "Blake _and_ bare, videtur ex
contextu prorsus _Nuda_, sort. q. d. Bleak _and_ Bare, dum enim nudi
fumus eóque aeri expositi, præ frigore pallescimus. Ch. sol. 184. p.
i. Col. i."
Chatterton has caught hold of _Nuda_, which in Skinner is the
exposition of _Bare_, as if it belonged to _Blake_.
HANCELLED. G. 49. _Cut off, destroyed_. Chatterton. _Hancelled_ from
erthe these Normanne hyndes shalle bee.
Skinner has the same word, which he thus explains. "Hanceled, exp. Cut
off, credo dici proprie, vel primario faltem, tantum de prima portione
feu segmento quod ad tentandam feu explorandam rem abscindimus, ut ubi
dicimus, _to_ Hansell _a pasty or a gammon of bacon_." Chatterton, who
had neither inclination nor perhaps ability to make himself master of
so long a piece of Latin, appears to have looked no further than
the two English words at the beginning of this explanation; and
understanding _Cut off_ to mean _Destroyed_, he has used _Hancelled_
in the same sense.
SHAP. Æ. 34. G. 18. _Fate_. Chatterton. SHAP-SCURGED. Æ. 603.
_Fate-scourged_. Chatterton.
_Shap_ haveth nowe ymade hys woes for to emmate. Stylle mormorynge
atte yer _shap_.----There ys ne house athrow thys _shap-scurged_
isle.
I never was able to conceive how _Shap_ should have been used in the
English language to signifie _Fate_, till I observed the following
article in Skinner, "Shap, _now is my_ Shap, nunc mihi _Fato_
præstitutum est (i.e.) _now is it_ shapen _to me_, ab AS. Sceapan,
&c." I suppose that the word _Fato_, in the Latin, led Chatterton to
understand _now is my shap_ to mean _now is my fate_.
The passage, to which Skinner refers, is in the Knight's tale of
Chaucer, ver. 1227.
_Now is me shape_ eternally to dwelle
Not only in purgatorie but in helle.
But in the Edit. of 1602, which Skinner appears to have made use
of, it is written _Now is me shap_. The putting of _my_ for _me_ was
probably a mistake of the Printer, as Skinner's explanation shews that
he read _me_. I fancy the generality of readers will be satisfied by
the foregoing quotations, that the Author of these poems had not only
read Skinner, but has also misapprehended and misapplied what he found
in him. If more instances should be wanted, a comparison of the words
explained by Chatterton with the same or similar words as explained by
Skinner, will furnish them in abundance[6]. I shall therefore conclude
this Appendix with a short view of the preceding argument. It has been
proved, that the poems attributed to Rowley were not written in the
XV Century; and it follows of course, that they were written, at a
subsequent period, by some impostor, who endeavoured to counterfeit an
author of that century.
It has been proved, that this impostor lived since Skinner, and that
the same person wrote the interpretations of words by way of Glossary,
which are subjoined to most of the poems.
It has also been proved, that Chatterton wrote those interpretations
of words.