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THE POETICAL WORKS OF SKELTON.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY LEVEY, ROBSON, AND FRANKLYN,
Great New Street, Fetter Lane.
THE
POETICAL WORKS
OF
JOHN SKELTON:
WITH NOTES,
AND
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE AUTHOR AND HIS WRITINGS,
BY THE
REV. ALEXANDER DYCE.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
THOMAS RODD, GREAT NEWPORT STREET.
MDCCCXLIII.
PREFACE.
The very incomplete and inaccurate volume of 1736, and the reprint of
it in Chalmers’s _English Poets_,[1] 1810, have hitherto been the only
editions of Skelton accessible to the general reader.
In 1814, the Quarterly Reviewer,—after censuring Chalmers for having
merely reprinted the volume of 1736, with all its errors, and without
the addition of those other pieces by Skelton which were known to be
extant,—observed, that “an editor who should be competent to the task
could not more worthily employ himself than by giving a good and
complete edition of his works.”[2] Prompted by this remark, I commenced
the present edition,—perhaps with too much self-confidence, and certainly
without having duly estimated the difficulties which awaited me. After
all the attention which I have given to the writings of Skelton, they
still contain corruptions which defy my power of emendation, and passages
which I am unable to illustrate; nor is it, therefore, without a feeling
of reluctance that I now offer these volumes to the very limited class
of readers for whom they are intended. In revising my Notes for press, I
struck out a considerable portion of conjectures and explanations which
I had originally hazarded, being unwilling to receive from any one that
equivocal commendation which Joseph Scaliger bestowed on a literary
labourer of old; “Laudo tamen studium tuum; quia in rebus obscuris ut
errare necesse est, ita fortuitum non errare.”[3]
Having heard that Ritson had made some collections for an edition of
our author, I requested the use of those papers from his nephew, the
late Joseph Frank, Esq., who most obligingly put them into my hands:
they proved, however, to be only a transcript of _Vox Populi, vox Dei_
(from the Harleian MS.), and a few memoranda concerning Skelton from very
obvious sources.
The individual to whom I have been the most indebted for assistance
and encouragement in this undertaking has not survived to receive
my acknowledgments; I mean the late Mr. Heber, who not only lent me
his whole collection of Skelton’s works, but also took a pleasure in
communicating to me from time to time whatever information he supposed
might be serviceable. Indeed, without such liberality on the part of Mr.
Heber, a complete edition of the poet’s extant writings could not have
been produced; for his incomparable library (now unfortunately dispersed)
contained some pieces by Skelton, of which copies were not elsewhere to
be found.
To Miss Richardson Currer; the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville; the Hon. and
Rev. G. N. Grenville, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge; Sir Harris
Nicolas; Sir Francis Palgrave; Rev. Dr. Bandinel; Rev. Dr. Bliss; Rev.
John Mitford; Rev. J. J. Smith of Caius College, Cambridge; Rev. Joseph
Hunter; Rev. Joseph Stevenson; W. H. Black, Esq.; Thomas Amyot, Esq.;
J. P. Collier, Esq.; Thomas Wright, Esq.; J. O. Halliwell, Esq.; Albert
Way, Esq.; and David Laing, Esq.;—I have to return my grateful thanks for
the important aid of various kinds which they so readily and courteously
afforded me.
ALEXANDER DYCE.
_London, Gray’s Inn, Nov. 1st, 1843._
[1] “Mr. A. Chalmers,” says Haslewood, “has since given place [_sic_] to
Skelton’s name among the English poets [vol. ii. p. 227]: and having had
an opportunity to compare the original edition [that of Marshe, 1568]
with Mr. Chalmers’s volume, I can pronounce the text verbally accurate,
although taken from the reprint of 1736.” _Brit. Bibliogr._ iv. 389.
As Haslewood was generally a careful collator, I am greatly surprised
at the above assertion: the truth is, that the reprint of 1736 (every
word of which I have compared with Marshe’s edition—itself replete with
errors) is in not a few places grossly inaccurate.—The said reprint is
without the editor’s name; but I have seen a copy of it in which Gifford
had written with a pencil, “Edited by J. Bowle, the stupidest of all
two-legged animals.”
[2] _Q. Rev._ xi. 485. The critique in question was written by Mr.
Southey,—who, let me add, took a kind interest in the progress of the
present edition.
[3] Joanni Isacio Pontano—_Epist._ p. 490. ed. 1627.
The preceding Preface was already in type, when Mr. W. H. Black
discovered, among the Public Records, an undoubted poem by Skelton
(hitherto unprinted), which I now subjoin.
A LAWDE AND PRAYSE MADE FOR OUR SOUEREIGNE LORD THE KYNG.[4]
[Sidenote: Candida, punica, &c.]
The Rose both White and Rede
In one Rose now dothe grow;
Thus thorow every stede[5]
Thereof the fame dothe blow:
Grace the sede did sow:
England, now gaddir flowris,
Exclude now all dolowrs.
[Sidenote: Nobilis Henricus, &c.]
Noble Henry the eight,
Thy loving souereine lorde,
Of kingis line moost streight,
His titille dothe recorde:
In whome dothe wele acorde
Alexis yonge of age,
Adrastus wise and sage.
[Sidenote: Sedibus ætheriis, &c.]
Astrea, Justice hight,
That from the starry sky
Shall now com and do right,
This hunderd yere scantly
A man kowd not aspy
That Right dwelt vs among,
And that was the more wrong:
[Sidenote: Arcebit vulpes, &c.]
Right shall the foxis chare,[6]
The wolvis, the beris also,
That wrowght have moche care,
And browght Englond in wo:
They shall wirry no mo,[7]
Nor wrote[8] the Rosary[9]
By extort trechery:
[Sidenote: Ne tanti regis, &c.]
Of this our noble king
The law they shall not breke;
They shall com to rekening;
No man for them wil speke:
The pepil durst not creke
Theire grevis to complaine,
They browght them in soche paine:
[Sidenote: Ecce Platonis secla, &c.]
Therfor no more they shall
The commouns ouerbace,
That wont wer ouer all
Both lorde and knight to face;[10]
For now the yeris of grace
And welthe ar com agayne,
That maketh England faine.[11]
[Sidenote: Rediit jam pulcher Adonis, &c.]
Adonis of freshe colour,
Of yowthe the godely flour,
Our prince of high honour,
Our paves,[12] our succour,
Our king, our emperour,
Our Priamus of Troy,
Our welth, our worldly joy;
[Sidenote: Anglorum radians, &c.]
Vpon vs he doth reigne,
That makith our hartis glad,
As king moost soueraine
That ever Englond had;
Demure, sober, and sad,[13]
And Martis lusty knight;
God save him in his right!
Amen.
_Bien men souient._[14]
_Per me laurigerum Britonum Skeltonida vatem._
[4] _A lawde and prayse made for our souereigne lord the kyng_] Such (in
a different handwriting from that of the poem) is the endorsement of the
MS., which consists of two leaves, bound up in the volume marked _B._
2. 8 (pp. 67-69), among the Records of the Treasury of the Receipt of
the Exchequer, now at the Rolls House.—Qy. is this poem the piece which,
in the catalogue of his own writings, Skelton calls “The Boke of the
Rosiar,” _Garlande of Laurell_, v. 1178, vol. i. 408?
[5] _stede_] i. e. place.
[6] _chare_] i. e. chase, drive away (see _Prompt. Parv._ i. 70. Camden
Soc. ed.).
[7] _mo_] i. e. more.
[8] _wrote_] i. e. root.
[9] _Rosary_] i. e. Rose-bush.
[10] _face_] See Notes, vol. ii. 216.
[11] _faine_] i. e. glad.
[12] _paves_] i. e. shield (properly, a large shield covering the body).
[13] _sad_] i. e. grave—discreet.
[14] _Bien men souient_] These words are followed in the MS. by a sort of
flourished device, which might perhaps be read—“_Deo (21ͦ) gratias_.”
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.
PAGE
SOME ACCOUNT OF SKELTON AND HIS WRITINGS v
APPENDIX I. Merie Tales of Skelton, and Notices of Skelton
from various sources liii
APPENDIX II. List of Editions, &c. lxxxix
APPENDIX III. Extracts from pieces which are written in, or
which contain examples of, the metre called Skeltonical cv
Of the death of the noble prince, Kynge Edwarde the Forth 1
_Poeta Skelton laureatus libellum suum metrice alloquitur_ 6
Vpon the doulourus dethe and muche lamentable chaunce of the
most honorable Erle of Northumberlande 6
_Tetrastichon ad Magistrum Rukshaw_ 14
Agaynste a comely coystrowne, that curyowsly chawntyd, and
curryshly cowntred, &c. 15
_Contra alium cantitantem et organisantem asinum_, &c. 17
Vppon a deedmans hed, that was sent to hym from an honorable
jentyllwoman for a token, &c. 18
“Womanhod, wanton, ye want,” &c. 20
Dyuers Balettys and Dyties solacyous:—
“My darlyng dere, my daysy floure,” &c. 22
“The auncient acquaintance, madam, betwen vs twayn,” &c. 23
“Knolege, aquayntance, resort, fauour with grace,” &c. 25
“_Cuncta licet cecidisse putas discrimina rerum_,” &c. 26
“Though ye suppose all jeperdys ar paste,” &c. 26
“Go, pytyous hart, rasyd with dedly wo,” &c. 27
Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale 28
The Bowge of Courte 30
Phyllyp Sparowe 51
The tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng 95
Poems against Garnesche 116
Against venemous tongues, &c. 132
How euery thing must haue a tyme 137
Prayer to the Father of Heauen 139
To the Seconde Parson 139
To the Holy Gooste 140
“Woffully araid,” &c. 141
“Now synge we, as we were wont,” &c. 144
“_I, liber, et propera, regem tu pronus adora_,” &c. 147
The maner of the world now a dayes 148
Ware the Hauke 155
_Epithaphe. A Deuoute Trentale for old John Clarke_, &c. 168
“_Diligo rustincum cum portant_,” &c. 174
_Lamentatio urbis Norvicen_ 174
_In Bedel_, &c. 175
“_Hanc volo transcribas_,” &c. 175
“_Igitur quia sunt qui mala cuncta fremunt_,” &c. 176
“_Salve plus decies quam sunt momenta dierum_,” &c. 177
_Henrici Septimi Epitaphium_ 178
_Eulogium pro suorum temporum conditione, tantis principibus
non indignum_ 179
_Tetrastichon veritatis_ 181
Against the Scottes 182
Vnto diuers people that remord this rymynge, &c. 188
_Chorus de Dis contra Scottos_, &c. 190
_Chorus de Dis_, &c. _super triumphali victoria contra Gallos_,
&c. 191
_Vilitissimus Scotus Dundas allegat caudas contra Angligenas_ 192
_Elegia in Margaretæ nuper comitissæ de Derby funebre
ministerium_ 195
Why were ye _Calliope_ embrawdred with letters of golde? 197
_Cur tibi contexta est aurea_ Calliope? 198
The Boke of Three Fooles 199
A replycacion agaynst certayne yong scolers abiured of late, &c. 206
Magnyfycence, a goodly interlude and a mery 225
Colyn Cloute 311
A ryght delectable tratyse vpon a goodly Garlande or Chapelet
of Laurell, &c. 361
_Admonet Skeltonis omnes arbores dare locum viridi lauro
juxta genus suum_ 425
_En Parlament a Paris_ 426
Out of Frenshe into Latyn 426
Owt of Latyne into Englysshe 426
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II.
PAGE
Speke, Parrot 1
Why come ye nat to Courte 26
Howe the douty Duke of Albany, lyke a cowarde knyght, ran awaye
shamfully, &c. 68
NOTES TO VOLUME I. 85
NOTES TO VOLUME II. 338
POEMS ATTRIBUTED TO SKELTON.
Verses presented to King Henry the Seventh at the feast of
St. George, &c. 387
The Epitaffe of the moste noble and valyaunt Jaspar late
Duke of Beddeforde 388
Elegy on King Henry the Seventh 399
_Vox populi, vox Dei_ 400
The Image of Ipocrysy 413
CORRIGENDA AND ADDENDA 449
INDEX TO THE NOTES 457
SOME ACCOUNT OF SKELTON AND HIS WRITINGS.
John Skelton[15] is generally said to have been descended from the
Skeltons of Cumberland;[16] but there is some reason to believe that
Norfolk was his native county. The time of his birth, which is left to
conjecture, cannot well be carried back to an earlier year than 1460.
The statement of his biographers, that he was educated at Oxford,[17] I
am not prepared to contradict: but if he studied there, it was at least
after he had gone through an academical course at the sister university;
for he has himself expressly declared,
“Alma parens O Cantabrigensis,
...
...tibi quondam carus alumnus eram;”
adding in a marginal note, “Cantabrigia Skeltonidi laureato primam mammam
eruditionis pientissime propinavit.”[18] Hence it is probable that the
poet was the “one Scheklton,” who, according to Cole, became M.A. at
Cambridge in 1484.[19]
Of almost all Skelton’s writings which have descended to our times,
the first editions[20] have perished; and it is impossible to determine
either at what period he commenced his career as a poet, or at what dates
his various pieces were originally printed. That he was the author of
many compositions which are no longer extant, we learn from the pompous
enumeration of their titles in the _Garlande of Laurell_[21]. The lines
_Of the death of the noble prince, ynge Edwarde the forth_[22], who
deceased in 1483, were probably among his earliest attempts in verse.
In 1489 Skelton produced an elegy _Vpon the doulourus dethe and muche
lamentable chaunce of the most honorable Erle of Northumberlande_,[23]
who was slain during a popular insurrection in Yorkshire. His son Henry
Algernon Percy, the fifth earl, who is there mentioned as the “yonge
lyon, but tender yet of age,”[24] appears to have afterwards extended
his patronage to the poet:[25] at a time when persons of the highest rank
were in general grossly illiterate, this nobleman was both a lover and a
liberal encourager of letters.
Skelton had acquired great reputation as a scholar, and had recently
been laureated at Oxford,[26] when Caxton, in 1490, published _The
boke of Eneydos compyled by Vyrgyle_,[27] in the Preface to which is
the following passage: “But I praye mayster John Skelton, late created
poete laureate in the vnyuersite of oxenforde, to ouersee and correcte
this sayd booke, And taddresse and expowne where as shalle be founde
faulte to theym that shall requyre it. For hym I knowe for suffycyent
to expowne and englysshe euery dyffyculte that is therin. For he hath
late translated the epystlys of Tulle,[28] and the boke of dyodorus
syculus,[29] and diuerse other werkes oute of latyn in to englysshe, not
in rude and olde langage, but in polysshed and ornate termes craftely, as
he that hath redde vyrgyle, ouyde, tullye, and all the other noble poetes
and oratours, to me vnknowen: And also he hath redde the ix. muses and
vnderstande theyr musicalle scyences, and to whom of theym eche scyence
is appropred. I suppose he hath dronken of Elycons well. Then I praye
hym & suche other to correcte adde or mynysshe where as he or they shall
fynde faulte,”[30] &c. The laureatship in question, however, was not the
office of poet laureat according to the modern acceptation of the term:
it was a degree in grammar, including rhetoric and versification, taken
at the university, on which occasion the graduate was presented with a
wreath of laurel.[31] To this academical honour Skelton proudly alludes
in his fourth poem _Against Garnesche_;
“A kyng to me myn habyte gaue:
At Oxforth, the vniversyte,
Auaunsid I was to that degre;
By hole consent of theyr senate,
I was made poete lawreate.”[32]
Our laureat, a few years after, was admitted _ad eundem_ at Cambridge:
“An. Dom. 1493, et Hen. 7 nono. Conceditur Johī Skelton Poete in partibus
transmarinis atque Oxon. Laurea ornato, ut apud nos eadem decoraretur;”
again, “An. 1504-5, Conceditur Johi Skelton, Poetæ Laureat. quod possit
stare eodem gradu hic, quo stetit Oxoniis, et quod possit uti habitu sibi
concesso a Principe.” Warton, who cites both these entries,[33] remarks,
“the latter clause, I believe, relates to some distinction of habit,
perhaps of fur or velvet, granted him by the king.” There can be no doubt
that Skelton speaks of this peculiar apparel in the lines just quoted, as
also in his third poem _Against Garnesche_, where he says,
“Your sworde ye swere, I wene,
So tranchaunt and so kene,
Xall kyt both _wyght and grene_:
Your foly ys to grett
_The kynges colours_ to threte;”[34]
from which we may infer that he wore, as laureat, a dress of white and
green, or, perhaps, a white dress with a wreath of laurel. It was most
probably on some part of the same habit that the word _Calliope_ was
embroidered in letters of silk and gold:
“Calliope,
As ye may se,
Regent is she
Of poetes al,
Whiche gaue to me
The high degre
Laureat to be
Of fame royall;
_Whose name enrolde_
_With silke and golde_
_I dare be bolde_
_Thus for to were_,”[35] &c.
In the following passage Barclay perhaps glances at Skelton, with whom
(as will afterwards be shewn) he was on unfriendly terms;
“But of their writing though I ensue the rate,
No name I chalenge of _Poete laureate_:
That name vnto them is mete and doth agree
Which writeth matters with curiositee.
Mine habite blacke accordeth not with _grene_,
Blacke betokeneth death as it is dayly sene;
The _grene_ is pleasour, freshe lust and iolite;
These two in nature hath great diuersitie.
Then who would ascribe, except he were a foole,
The pleasaunt _laurer_ vnto the mourning cowle?”[36]
Warton has remarked, that some of Skelton’s Latin verses, which are
subscribed—“Hæc laureatus Skeltonis, regius orator”—“Per Skeltonida
laureatum, oratorem regium,”—seem to have been written in the character
of _royal_ laureate;[37] and perhaps the expression “of fame royall”
in Skelton’s lines on _Calliope_ already cited, may be considered as
strengthening this supposition. There would, indeed, be no doubt that
Skelton was not only a poet laureated at the universities, but also
poet laureat or court poet to Henry the Eighth, if the authenticity
of the following statement were established; “la patente qui declare
Skelton poète laureat d’Henry viii. est datée de la cinquième année de
son règne, ce qui tombe en 1512 ou 1513:” so (after giving correctly
the second entry concerning Skelton’s laureation at Cambridge) writes
the Abbé du Resnel in an essay already mentioned; having received, it
would seem, both these statements concerning Skelton from Carte the
historian,[38] who, while he communicated to Du Resnel one real document,
was not likely to have forged another for the purpose of misleading the
learned Frenchman. On this subject I can only add, that no proof has been
discovered of Skelton’s having enjoyed an annual salary from the crown in
consequence of such an office.
The reader will have observed that in the first entry given above
from the Cambridge Univ. Regist., Skelton is described as having been
laureated not only at Oxford but also “transmarinis partibus.” That
the foreign seat of learning at which he received this honour was the
university of Louvaine,[39] may be inferred from the title of a poem
which I subjoin entire, not only because it occurs in a volume of the
greatest rarity, but because it evinces the celebrity which Skelton had
attained.
“IN CLARISSIMI SCHELTONIS _LOUANIENSIS_ POETÆ LAUDES EPIGRAMMA.
Quum terra omnifero lætissima risit amictu,
Plena novo fœtu quælibet arbor erat;
Vertice purpurei vultus incepit honores
Extensis valvis pandere pulchra rosa;
Et segetum tenero sub cortice grana tumescunt,
Flavescens curvat pendula spica caput.
Vix Cancri tropicos æstus lustravit anhelans
Pythius, et Nemeæ vertit ad ora feræ,
Vesper solis equos oriens dum clausit Olympo,
Agmina stellarum surgere cuncta jubet:
Hic primo aspiceres ut Cynthia vecta sereno
Extulerat surgens cornua clara polo;
Inde Hydram cernas, stravit quam clava trinodis
Alcidæ, nitidis emicuisse comis;
Tum[40] Procyon subiit, præpes Lepus, hinc Jovis ales,
Arctos, et Engonasus, sidus et Eridani;
Ignivomis retinet radiis quæ stellifer orbis
(Quid multis remorer?) sidera cuncta micant.
Nutat Atlanteum convexum pondus, ocellis
Dum lustro hæc ægris, vergit et oceano.
Tum furtim alma quies repens mihi membra soporat,
Curaque Lethæo flumine mersa jacet:
O mihi quam placidis Icelos tulit aurea somnis
Somnia, musiphilis non caritura fide!
Nuncia percelebris Polyhymnia blanda salutans
Me Clarii ut visam numina sacra citat.
Ut sequar hanc lætus, mihi visus amœna vireta
Et nemorum umbrosos præteriisse sinus:
Scilicet hæc montes monstraverat inter eundum
Et fontes Musæ quos coluere sacros;
Castalios latices, Aganippidos atque Medusei
Vidimus alipedis flumina rupta pede;
Antra hinc Libethri monstrat Pimpleidos undas,
Post vada Cephisi, Phocidos atque lacus;
Nubifer assurgit mons Pierus atque Cithæron,
Gryneumque nemus dehinc Heliconque sacer;
Inde et Parnasi bifidi secreta subimus,
Tota ubi Mnemosynes sancta propago manet.
Turba pudica novem dulce hic cecinere sororum;
Delius in medio plectra chelynque sonat:
Aurifluis laudat modulis monumenta suorum
Vatum, quos dignos censet honore poli:
De quo certarunt Salamin, Cumæ, vel Athenæ,
Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, primus Homerus erat;
Laudat et Orpheum, domuit qui voce leones,
Eurydicen Stygiis qui rapuitque rogis;
Antiquum meminit Musæum Eumolpide natum,
Te nec Aristophanes Euripidesque tacet;
Vel canit illustrem genuit quem Teia tellus,
Quemque fovit dulci Coa camena sinu;
Deinde cothurnatum celebrem dat laude Sophoclem,
Et quam Lesbides pavit amore Phaon;
Æschylus, Amphion, Thespis nec honore carebant,
Pindarus, Alcæus, quem tuleratque Paros;
Sunt alii plures genuit quos terra Pelasga,
Daphnæum cecinit quos meruisse decus:
Tersa Latinorum dehinc multa poemata texit,
Laude nec Argivis inferiora probat;
Insignem tollit ter vatem, cui dedit Andes
Cunas urbs, clarum Parthenopæa taphum;
Blanda Corinna, tui Ponto religatus amore,
Sulmoni natus Naso secundus erat;
Inde nitore fluens lyricus genere Appulus ille
Qui Latiis primus mordica metra tulit;
Statius Æacidem sequitur Thebaida pingens,
Emathio hinc scribens prælia gesta solo;
Cui Verona parens hinc mollis scriptor amorum,
Tu nec in obscuro, culte Tibulle, lates;
Haud reticendus erat cui patria Bilbilis, atque
Persius hinc mordax crimina spurca notans;
Eximius pollet vel Seneca luce tragœdus,
Comicus et Latii bellica præda ducis;
Laudat et hinc alios quos sæcula prisca fovebant;
Hos omnes longum jam meminisse foret.
Tum[41] Smintheus, paulo spirans, ait, ecce, sorores,
Quæ clausa oceano terra Britanna nitet!
Oxoniam claram Pataræa ut regna videtis,
Aut Tenedos, Delos, qua mea fama viret:
Nonne fluunt istic nitidæ ut Permessidos undæ,
Istic et Aoniæ sunt juga visa mihi?
Alma fovet vates nobis hæc terra ministros,
Inter quos Schelton jure canendus adest:
Numina nostra colit; canit hic vel carmina cedro
Digna, Palatinis et socianda sacris;
Grande decus nobis addunt sua scripta, linenda
Auratis, digna ut posteritate, notis;
Laudiflua excurrit serie sua culta poesis,
Certatim palmam lectaque verba petunt;
Ora lepore fluunt, sicuti dives fagus auro,
Aut pressa Hyblæis dulcia mella favis;
Rhetoricus sermo riguo fecundior horto,
Pulchrior est multo puniceisque rosis,
Unda limpidior, Parioque politior albo,
Splendidior vitro, candidiorque nive,
Mitior Alcinois pomis, fragrantior ipso
Thureque Pantheo, gratior et violis;
Vincit te, suavi Demosthene, vincit Ulyxim
Eloquio, atque senem quem tulit ipse Pylos;
Ad fera bella trahat verbis, nequiit quod Atrides
Aut Brisis, rigidum te licet, Æacides;
Tantum ejus verbis tribuit Suadela Venusque
Et Charites, animos quolibet ille ut agat,
Vel Lacedæmonios quo Tyrtæus pede claudo
Pieriis vincens martia tela modis,
Magnus Alexander quo belliger actus ab illa
Mæonii vatis grandisonante tuba;
Gratia tanta suis virtusque est diva camenis,
Ut revocet manes ex Acheronte citos;
Leniat hic plectro vel pectora sæva leonum,
Hic strepitu condat mœnia vasta lyræ;
Omnimodos animi possit depellere morbos,
Vel Niobes luctus Heliadumque truces;
Reprimat his rabidi Saulis sedetque furores,
Inter delphinas alter Arion erit;
Ire Cupidineos quovis hic cogat amores,
Atque diu assuetos hic abolere queat;
Auspice me tripodas sentit, me inflante calores
Concipit æthereos, mystica diva canit;
Stellarum cursus, naturam vasti et Olympi,
Aeris et vires hic aperire potest,
Vel quid cunctiparens gremio tellus fovet almo,
Gurgite quid teneat velivolumque mare;
Monstratur digito phœnice ut rarior uno,
Ecce virum de quo splendida fama volat!
Ergo decus nostrum quo fulget honorque, sorores,
Heroas laudes accumulate viro;
Laudes accumulent Satyri, juga densa Lycæi,
Pindi, vel Rhodopes, Mænala quique colunt;
Ingeminent plausus Dryades facilesque Napææ,
Oreadum celebris turba et Hamadryadum;
Blandisonum vatem, vos Oceanitidesque atque
Naiades, innumeris tollite præconiis;
Æterno vireat quo vos celebravit honore,
Illius ac astris fama perennis eat:
Nunc maduere satis vestro, nunc prata liquore
Flumina, Pierides, sistite, Phœbus ait.
Sat cecinisse tuum sit, mi Schelton, tibi laudi
Hæc Whitintonum: culte poeta, vale.
Ex capitalibus hexametrorum litteris solerter compositis emergit hoc
distichon;
Quæ Whitintonus canit ad laudes tibi, Schelton,
Anglorum vatum gloria, sume libens.”[42]
Another laudatory notice of Skelton by a contemporary writer will not
here be out of place;
“To all auncient poetes, litell boke, submytte the,
Whilom flouryng in eloquence facundious,
And to all other whiche present nowe be;
Fyrst to maister Chaucer and Ludgate sentencious,
Also to preignaunt Barkley nowe beying religious,
To _inuentiue Skelton and poet laureate_;
Praye them all of pardon both erly and late.”[43]
Skelton frequently styles himself “_orator regius_;”[44] but the nature
of the office from which he derived the title is not, I believe,
understood. The lines in which, as we have just seen, Whittington so
lavishly praises his “rhetoricus sermo,” allude most probably to his
performances in the capacity of royal orator.
In 1498 Skelton took holy orders. The days on which, during that year, he
was ordained successively subdeacon, deacon, and priest, are ascertained
by the following entries:
“[In ecclesia conuentuali domus siue hospitalis sancti Thome
martiris de Acon ciuitatis London. per Thomam Rothlucensem
episcopum vltimo die mensis Marcii]
M. Johannes Skelton London, dioc. ad titulum Mon. beate Marie
de Graciis iuxta Turrim London.”
“[In cathedra sancti Pauli London. apud summum altare eiusdem
per Thomam permissione diuina London, episcopum in sabbato
sancto viz. xiiii die mensis Aprilis]
Johannes Skelton poete [_sic_] laureatus Lond. dioc. ad titulum
Mon. de Graciis juxta turrim London.”
“[In ecclesia conuentuali hospitalis beate Marie de Elsyng per
Thomam Rothlucensem episcopum ix die mensis Iunii]
M. Johannes Skelton poeta lureatus [_sic_] London. dioc. ad
titulum Mon. de Graciis iuxta turrim London.”[45]
When Arthur, the eldest son of Henry the Seventh, was created Prince of
Wales and Earl of Chester, in 1489,[46] Skelton celebrated the event in
a composition (probably poetical) called _Prince Arturis Creacyoun_,[47]
of which the title alone remains; and when Prince Henry, afterwards Henry
the Eighth, was created Duke of York, in 1494,[48] he was hailed by our
author in some Latin verses—_Carmen ad principem, quando insignitus erat
ducis Ebor. titulo_,—a copy of which (not to be found at present) was
once among the MSS. in the Library of Lincoln Cathedral, having been seen
by Tanner, who cites the initial words,—“Si quid habes, mea Musa.”[49]
As at the last-mentioned date Prince Henry was a mere infant, there can
be no doubt that the care of his education had not yet been entrusted to
our poet. It must have been several years after 1494 that Skelton was
appointed tutor to that prince,—an appointment which affords a striking
proof of the high opinion entertained of his talents and learning, as
well as of the respectability of his character. He has himself recorded
that he held this important situation:
“The honor of Englond I lernyd to spelle,
In dygnyte roialle that doth excelle:
Note and marke wyl[50] thys parcele;
I yaue hym drynke of the sugryd welle
Of Eliconys waters crystallyne,
Aqueintyng hym with the Musys nyne.
Yt commyth thé wele me to remorde,
That creaunser[51] was to thy sofre[yne] lorde:
It plesyth that noble prince roialle
Me as hys master for to calle
In hys lernyng primordialle.”[52]
And in another poem he informs us that he composed a treatise for the
edification of his royal pupil:
“The Duke of Yorkis creauncer whan Skelton was,
Now Henry the viii. Kyng of Englonde,
A tratyse he deuysid and browght it to pas,
Callid _Speculum Principis_, to here in his honde,
Therin to rede, and to vnderstande
All the demenour of princely astate,
To be our Kyng, of God preordinate.”[53]
The _Speculum Principis_ has perished: we are unable to determine whether
it was the same work as that entitled _Methodos Skeltonidis laureati_,
sc. _Præcepta quædam moralia Henrico principi, postea Henr. viii, missa_.
Dat. apud Eltham A.D. MDI., which in Tanner’s days[54] was extant
(mutilated at the beginning) among the MSS. in the Lincoln-Cathedral
Library, but which (like the Latin verses mentioned in a preceding page)
has since been allowed to wander away from that ill-guarded collection.
When Prince Henry was a boy of nine years old, Erasmus dedicated to him
an ode _De Laudibus Britanniæ, Regisque Henrici Septimi ac Regiorum
Liberorum_. The Dedication contains the following memorable encomium on
Skelton; “Et hæc quidem interea tamquam ludicra munuscula tuæ pueritiæ
dicavimus, uberiora largituri ubi tua virtus una cum ætate accrescens
uberiorem carminum materiam suppeditabit. Ad quod equidem te adhortarer,
nisi et ipse jamdudum sponte tua velis remisque (ut aiunt) eo tenderes,
et _domi haberes Skeltonum, unum Britannicarum literarum lumen ac decus_,
qui tua studia possit, non solum accendere, sed etiam consummare;” and in
the Ode are these lines;
“Jam puer Henricus, genitoris nomine lætus,
_Monstrante fonteis vate Skeltono sacros_,
Palladias teneris meditatur ab unguibus arteis.”[55]
The circumstances which led to the production of this Ode are related
by Erasmus in the following curious passage: “Is erat labor tridui, et
tamen labor, quod jam annos aliquot nec legeram nec scripseram ullum
carmen. Id partim pudor a nobis extorsit, partim dolor. Pertraxerat me
Thomas Morus,[56] qui tum me in prædio Montjoii[57] agentem inviserat,
ut animi causa in proximum vicum[58] expatiaremur. Nam illic educabantur
omnes liberi regii, uno Arcturo excepto, qui tum erat natu maximus. Ubi
ventum est in aulam, convenit tota pompa, non solum domus illius, verum
etiam Montjoiicæ. Stabat in medio Henricus annos natus novem, jam tum
indolem quandam regiam præ se ferens, h. e. animi celsitudinem cum
singulari quadam humanitate conjunctam. A dextris erat Margareta, undecim
ferme annos nata, quæ post nupsit Jacobo Scotorum Regi. A sinistris,
Maria lusitans, annos nata quatuor. Nam Edmondus adhuc infans, in ulnis
gestabatur. Morus cum Arnoldo sodali salutato puero Henrico, quo rege
nunc floret Britannia, nescio quid scriptorum obtulit. Ego, quoniam
hujusmodi nihil expectabam, nihil habens quod exhiberem, pollicitus sum
aliquo pacto meum erga ipsum studium aliquando declaraturum. Interim
subirascebar Moro, quod non præmonuisset; et eo magis, quod puer
Epistolio inter prandendum ad me misso, meum calamum provocaret. Abii
domum, ac vel invitis Musis, cum quibus jam longum fuerat divortium,
Carmen intra triduum absolvi. Sic et ultus sum dolorem meum, et pudorem
sarsi.”[59]
The mother of Henry the Seventh, the Countess of Richmond and Derby,
is well known to have used her utmost exertions for the advancement of
literature: she herself translated some pieces from the French; and,
under her patronage, several works (chiefly works of piety) were rendered
into English by the most competent scholars of the time. It is to her, I
apprehend, that Skelton alludes in the following passage of the _Garlande
of Laurell_, where he mentions one of his lost performances;
“Of _my ladys grace_ at the contemplacyoun,
Owt of Frenshe into Englysshe prose,
Of Mannes Lyfe the Peregrynacioun,
He did translate, enterprete, and disclose.”[60]
According to Churchyard, Skelton was “seldom out of princis grace:”[61]
yet among the _Actes, Orders, and Decrees made by the King and his
Counsell, remaining amongst the Records of the Court, now commonly
called the Court of Requests_, we find, under _anno_ 17. _Henry_ vii.;
“10 Junii apud Westminster _Jo. Skelton_ commissus carceribus Janitoris
Domini Regis.”[62] What could have occasioned this restraint, I cannot
even conjecture: but in those days of extra-judicial imprisonments he
might have been incarcerated for a very slight offence. It is, however,
by no means certain that the “_Jo. Skelton_” of the above entry was the
individual who forms the subject of the present essay;[63] and it is
equally doubtful whether or not the following entry, dated the same year,
relates to the mother of the poet;
(Easter term, 17. Henry vii.) “_Johanne Skelton_ } iij. _li._ vj.
vidue de regard. Domini Regis[64] } _s._ viij. _d._”
It has been already shewn that Skelton took holy orders in 1498.[65] How
soon after that period he became rector of Diss in Norfolk, or what
portion of his life was spent there in the exercise of his duties, cannot
be ascertained. He certainly resided there in 1504 and 1511,[66] and, as
it would seem from some of his compositions,[67] in 1506, 1507, and 1513;
in the year of his decease he was, at least nominally, the rector of
Diss.[68]
We are told[69] that for keeping, under the title of a concubine, a
woman whom he had secretly married, Skelton was called to account,
and suspended from his ministerial functions by his diocesan, the
bloody-minded and impure Richard Nykke (or Nix),[70] at the instigation
of the friars, chiefly the Dominicans, whom the poet had severely
handled in his writings. It is said, too, that by this woman he
had several children, and that on his death-bed he declared that he
conscientiously regarded her as his wife, but that such had been his
cowardliness, that he chose rather to confess adultery (concubinage) than
what was then reckoned more criminal in an ecclesiastic,—marriage.
It has been supposed that Skelton was curate of Trumpington near
Cambridge[71] (celebrated as the scene of Chaucer’s _Milleres Tale_),
because at the end of one of his smaller poems are the following words:
“Auctore Skelton, rectore de Dis.
Finis, &c. Apud Trumpinton scriptum[72] per Curatum ejusdem,
quinto die Januarii Anno Domini, secundum computat. Angliæ,
MDVII.”[73]
But the meaning evidently is, that the curate of Trumpington had written
out the verses composed by the rector of Diss; and that the former had
borrowed them from the latter for the purpose of transcription, is
rendered probable by two lines which occur soon after among some minor
pieces of our author;
“Hanc volo transcribas, transcriptam moxque remittas
Pagellam; quia sunt qui mea scripta sciunt.”[74]
Anthony Wood affirms that “at Disse and in the diocese” Skelton “was
esteemed more fit for the stage than the pew or pulpit.”[75] It is at
least certain that anecdotes of the irregularity of his life, of his
buffoonery as a preacher, &c. &c. were current long after his decease,
and gave rise to that tissue of extravagant figments which was put
together for the amusement of the vulgar, and entitled the _Merie Tales
of Skelton_.[76]
Churchyard informs us that Skelton’s “talke was as he wraet [wrote];”[77]
and in this propensity to satire, as well in conversation as in writing,
originated perhaps those quarrels with Garnesche, Barclay, Gaguin, and
Lily, which I have now to notice.
As the four poems _Against Garnesche_ were composed “by the kynges most
noble commaundement,” we may conclude that the monarch found amusement
in the angry rhymes with which Skelton overwhelmed his opponent.
Garnesche, it appears, was the challenger in this contest;[78] and
it is to be regretted that his verses have perished, because in all
probability they would have thrown some light on the private history of
Skelton. _The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy_[79] bears a considerable
resemblance to the verses against Garnesche; but the two Scottish poets
are supposed to have carried on a sportive warfare of rude raillery,
while a real animosity seems to have existed between our author and his
adversary.[80] At the time of this quarrel (the exact date of which
cannot be determined) Christopher Garnesche was gentleman-usher to Henry
the Eighth, and dignified with knighthood;[81] and (if Skelton may be
credited) had risen from the performance of very menial offices to the
station which he then occupied. As he had no claims on the remembrance
of posterity, little is known concerning him; but since we have
evidence that his services were called for on more than one occasion of
importance, he must have been a person of considerable note. He is twice
incidentally mentioned in connexion with the royal sisters of Henry the
Eighth. In 1514, when the Princess Mary embarked for France, in order to
join her decrepit bridegroom Louis the Twelfth, Garnesche formed one of
the numerous retinue selected to attend her, and had an opportunity of
particularly distinguishing himself during that perilous voyage: “The
ii. daye of October at the hower of foure of the clocke in the morenynge
thys fayre ladye tooke her ship with all her noble compaignie: and when
they had sayled a quarter of the see, the wynde rose and seuered some
of the shyppes to Caleys, and some in Flaunders, and her shippe with
greate difficultie was brought to Bulleyn, and with great ieopardy at the
entryng of the hauen, for the master ran the ship hard on shore, but the
botes were redy and receyued this noble lady, and at the landyng _Sir
Christopher Garnyshe_ stode in the water, and toke her in his armes, and
so caryed her to land, where the Duke of Vandosme and a Cardynall with
many estates receyued her and her ladyes,”[82] &c. Again, in a letter,
dated Harbottle 18th Oct. 1515, from Lord Dacre of Gillesland and T.
Magnus to Henry the Eighth, concerning the confinement in childbed
of Margaret widow of James the Fourth, &c. we find; “_Sir Christofer
Garneis_ came to Morpeth immediatly vpon the queneis delyueraunce, and
by our aduice hath contynued there with suche stuff as your grace hath
sent to the said quene your suster till Sondaye laste paste, whiche daye
he delyuered your letter and disclosed your credence, gretely to the
quenes comforte. And for somiche as the quene lieth as yet in childe
bedde, and shall kepe her chambre these thre wookes at the leiste, we
haue aduised the said _sir Christofer Garneis_ to remaigne at Morpeth
till the queneis comyng thidder, and then her grace may order and prepare
euery parte of the said stuf after her pleasure and as her grace semeth
moste conuenient,” &c.[83] A few particulars concerning Garnesche may be
gleaned from the Books in the Public Record Office:
(Easter Term, 18 Hen. vii.) “_Cristofero Garneys_ de }
regardo de denariis per Johannem Crawford et }
al. per manuc. for.[84] } xl. _li._”
(i. e. in reward out of moneys forfeited by John Crawford and another
upon bail-bond.)
(1st Henry viii.) “Item to _Christofer Garnisshe_ for }
the kinges offring at S. Edwardes shiryne the } vj. _s._
next day after the Coronacion[85] } viij. _d._”
(Easter Term, 1-2 Henry viii.) “_Cristofero Garneys_ }
vni generosorum hostiariorum regis [one of the }
king’s gentlemen-ushers] de annuitate sua durante }
regis beneplacito per annum } x. _li._
_Eidem Cristofero_ de feodo suo ad xx. _li._ per annum }
pro termino vite sue[86] } xx. _li._”
and we find that afterwards by letters patent dated 21st May, 7th Henry
viii., in consideration of his services the king granted him an annuity
of thirty pounds for life, payable half-yearly at the Exchequer.[87]
(11th Henry viii.) “Item to _Sir Christofer Garnisshe }
knight_ opon a warraunt for the hyre of his howse }
at Grenewyche[88] at x. _li._ by the yere for one }
half a yere due at Ester last and so after half }
yerely during x yeres[89] } c. _s._”
(20th Henry viii.) “_Cristofero Garnyshe militi_ de }
annuitate sua ad xxx _l._ per annum per breve currens }
Rec. den. pro festo Michīs ult. pret. viz. pro vno }
anno integro per manus Ricardi Alen[90] } xxx. _li._”
see above: this entry is several times repeated, and occurs for the last
time in 26th Henry viii.[91]
Bale mentions among the writings of Alexander Barclay a piece “against
Skelton.”[92] It has not come down to us; but the extant works of
Barclay bear testimony to the hearty dislike with which he regarded our
author. At the conclusion of _The Ship of Fooles_ is this contemptuous
notice of one of Skelton’s most celebrated poems;
“Holde me excused, for why my will is good,
Men to induce vnto vertue and goodnes;
I write no ieste ne tale of Robin Hood,
Nor sowe no sparkles ne sede of viciousnes;
Wise men loue vertue, wilde people wantonnes;
It longeth not to my science nor cunning,
_For Philip the Sparow the Dirige to singe_:”[93]
a sneer to which Skelton most probably alludes, when, enumerating his own
productions in the _Garlande of Laurell_, he mentions,
“Of _Phillip Sparow_ the lamentable fate,
The dolefull desteny, and the carefull chaunce,
Dyuysed by Skelton after the funerall rate;
_Yet sum there be therewith that take greuaunce_,
_And grudge therat with frownyng countenaunce_;
But what of that? hard it is to please all men;
Who list amende it, let hym set to his penne.”[94]
That a portion of the following passage in Barclay’s _Fourth Egloge_ was
levelled at Skelton, appears highly probable;
“Another thing yet is greatly more damnable:
Of rascolde poetes yet is a shamfull rable,
Which voyde of wisedome presumeth to indite,
Though they haue scantly the cunning of a snite;[95]
And to what vices that princes moste intende,
Those dare these fooles solemnize and commende.
Then is he decked as _Poete laureate_,
When stinking Thais made him her graduate:
When Muses rested, she did her season note,
And she with Bacchus her camous[96] did promote.
Such rascolde drames, promoted by Thais,
Bacchus, Licoris, or yet by Testalis,
Or by suche other newe forged Muses nine,
Thinke in their mindes for to haue wit diuine;
They laude their verses, they boast, they vaunt and iet,
Though all their cunning be scantly worth a pet:
If they haue smelled the artes triuiall,
They count them Poetes hye and heroicall.
Such is their foly, so foolishly they dote,
Thinking that none can their playne errour note:
Yet be they foolishe, auoyde of honestie,
Nothing seasoned with spice of grauitie,
Auoyde of pleasure, auoyde of eloquence,
With many wordes, and fruitlesse of sentence;
Unapt to learne, disdayning to be taught,
Their priuate pleasure in snare hath them so caught;
And worst yet of all, they count them excellent,
Though they be fruitlesse, rashe and improuident.
To such ambages who doth their minde incline,
They count all other as priuate[97] of doctrine,
And that the faultes which be in them alone,
Also be common in other men eche one.”[98]
In the _Garlande of Laurell_ we are told by Skelton, that among the
famous writers of all ages and nations, whom he beheld in his vision, was
“a frere of Fraunce men call _sir Gagwyne_,
That frownyd on me full angerly and pale;”[99]
and in the catalogue of his own writings which is subsequently given in
the same poem, he mentions a piece which he had composed against this
personage,
“_The Recule ageinst Gaguyne_ of the Frenshe nacyoun.”[100]
Robert Gaguin was minister-general of the Maturines, and enjoyed great
reputation for abilities and learning.[101] He wrote various works; the
most important of which is his _Compendium supra Francorum gestis_ from
the time of Pharamond to the author’s age. In 1490 he was sent by Charles
the Eighth as ambassador to England, where he probably became personally
acquainted with Skelton.
That Skelton composed certain Latin verses against the celebrated
grammarian William Lily, we are informed by Bale,[102] who has preserved
the initial words, viz.
“Urgeor impulsus tibi, Lilli, retundere:”
and that Lily repaid our poet in kind, we have the following proof;
_“Lilii Hendecasyllabi in Scheltonum ejus carmina calumniantem._[103]
“Quid me, Scheltone, fronte sic aperta
Carpis, vipereo potens veneno?
Quid versus trutina meos iniqua
Libras? dicere vera num licebit?
Doctrinæ tibi dum parare famam
Et doctus fieri studes poeta,
Doctrinam nec habes, nec es poeta.”
It would seem that Skelton occasionally repented of the severity of
his compositions, and longed to recall them; for in the _Garlande of
Laurell_, after many of them have been enumerated, we meet with the
following curious passage;
“Item _Apollo that whirllid up his chare_,
That made sum to snurre and snuf in the wynde;
It made them to skip, to stampe, and to stare,
Whiche, if they be happy, haue cause to beware
In ryming and raylyng with hym for to mell,
For drede that he lerne them there A, B, C, to spell.
With that I stode vp, halfe sodenly afrayd;
Suppleyng to Fame, I besought her grace,
_And that it wolde please her, full tenderly I prayd_,
_Owt of her bokis Apollo to rase_.
Nay, sir, she sayd, what so in this place
Of our noble courte is ones spoken owte,
It must nedes after rin all the worlde aboute.
_God wote, theis wordes made me full sad_;
And when that I sawe it wolde no better be,
But that my peticyon wolde not be had,
What shulde I do but take it in gre?
For, by Juppiter and his high mageste,
_I did what I cowde to scrape out the scrollis_,
_Apollo to rase out of her ragman rollis_.”[104]
The piece which commenced with the words “Apollo that whirllid vp his
chare,” and which gave such high displeasure to some of Skelton’s
contemporaries, has long ago perished,—in spite of Fame’s refusal to
erase it from her books!
The title-page of the _Garlande of Laurell_,[105] ed. 1523, sets forth
that it was “studyously dyuysed _at Sheryfhotton Castell_,” in Yorkshire;
and there seems no reason to doubt that it was written by Skelton during
a residence at that mansion. The date of its composition is unknown;
but it was certainly produced at an advanced period of his life;[106]
and the Countess of Surrey, who figures in it so conspicuously as his
patroness, must have been Elizabeth Stafford, daughter of Edward Duke
of Buckingham, second wife of Thomas Howard Earl of Surrey, and mother
of that illustrious Surrey “whose fame for aye endures.” Sheriff-Hutton
Castle was then in the possession of her father-in-law, the Duke of
Norfolk,[107] the victor of Flodden Field; and she was probably there
as his guest, having brought Skelton in her train. Of this poem,
unparalleled for its egotism, the greater part is allegorical; but the
incident from which it derives its name,—the weaving of a garland for the
author by a party of ladies, at the desire of the Countess, seems to have
had some foundation in fact.
From a passage in the poem just mentioned, we may presume that Skelton
used sometimes to reside at the ancient college of the Bonhommes at
Ashridge;
“Of the Bonehoms of Ashrige besyde Barkamstede,
_That goodly place to Skelton moost kynde_,
Where the sank royall is, Crystes blode so rede,
Whervpon he metrefyde after his mynde;
A pleasaunter place than Ashrige is, harde were to fynde,” &c.[108]
That Skelton once enjoyed the patronage of Wolsey, at whose desire he
occasionally exercised his pen, and from whose powerful influence he
expected preferment in the church, we learn from the following passages
in his works:
“Honorificatissimo, amplissimo, longeque reverendissimo in
Christo patri, ac domino, domino Thomæ, &c. tituli sanctæ
Ceciliæ, sacrosanctæ Romanæ ecclesiæ presbytero, Cardinali
meritissimo, et apostolicæ sedis legato, a latereque legato
superillustri, &c. Skeltonis laureatus, ora. reg., humillimum
dicit obsequium cum omni debita reverentia, tanto tamque
magnifico digna principe sacerdotum, totiusque justitiæ
æquabilissimo moderatore, necnon præsentis opusculi fautore
excellentissimo, &c., ad cujus auspicatissimam contemplationem,
sub memorabili prelo gloriosæ immortalitatis, præsens pagella
felicitatur, &c.”[109]
“Ad serenissimam Majestatem Regiam, pariter cum Domino
Cardinali, Legato a latere honorificatissimo, &c.
_Lautre Enuoy._