"Handlyng Synne" (Manual of Sins). Early English Text Society, No. 123,
p. 333. See also p. 172 under Homily.
A Miracle of the Virgin
"A Miracle of the Virgin" is from a group of eight miracles, printed
in Horstmann's edition of "The Minor Poems of the Vernon Manuscript."
Early English Text Society, Part I, No. 98, pp. 138-166.
Other legends connected with the Virgin are to be found in the
following volumes:
UNDERHILL, E. The Miracles of Our Lady. E. P. Dutton & Company, New
York, 1906.
VINCENT, E. The Madonna of Legend and History. T. Whittaker, New York,
1899.
KEMP WELCH, A., Translator. The Miracles of Our Lady, by Gautier de
Coincy. Duffield & Company, New York, 1911.
The Translation of Saint Thomas of Canterbury
"The Translation of Saint Thomas of Canterbury" comes from Caxton's
"Golden Legend," which should be consulted for a long account of the
life of Thomas. Dean Stanley's "Memorials of Canterbury," now published
in Everyman's Library, is an indispensable volume for the student.
ALLEGORY
The popularity of allegory, in the Middle Ages, as a means of conveying
religious and moral truth, led to the production of many very complex
narratives and sermons. An acquaintance with "Piers Plowman" will
reveal the character of these works where the reader is soon lost in
the labyrinth of abstract names. "The Romance of the Rose," translated
by F. S. Ellis (Temple Classics, 3 vols., E. P. Dutton & Company, New
York), is the most important example of secular allegory in the Middle
Ages. "The Order of Chivalry," a poem that defines the symbolism of
the knightly habit, will be found in Miss Butler's "Tales from the Old
French," Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1910, and also (as "Sir Hugh
of Tabarie") in E. Mason's "Aucassin and Nicolette and Other Mediæval
Romances" (Everyman's Library, E. P. Dutton & Company, New York, 1909).
For discussion of the origin and development of mediæval allegory, the
reader should consult
NEILSON, W. A. Origins and Sources of the Court of Love. See
"Allegory" in the index. Ginn and Company, Boston, 1899.
LANGLOIS, E. Origines et sources du Roman de la Rose, chap. iv. Paris,
1890.
OWEN, D. Piers Plowman, A Comparison with French Allegories. Hodder
and Stoughton, London, 1912.
"The Castle of Love"
This extract from a long and very complex poem illustrates significant
aspects of mediæval religious allegory. The poem itself was written in
French by Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln (who died in 1253),
and was translated into English several times because of its great
popularity. Beginning with an account of the Creation and of the Fall
of Man, the poet went on to tell a parable of a Being who had one Son,
His equal in all ways, four daughters (named Mercy, Truth, Right, and
Peace), and a thrall (named Adam), who was in prison. Mercy and Peace
pleaded for the thrall's releases, but Truth and Right objected, so the
thrall was punished. Mercy and Peace fled from the land, and the world
(except Noah and his family) was drowned. Peace once more appealed for
the ransom of the thrall, and the King's Son, hearing the dispute of
the four sisters, said He would put on the garments of the thrall and
force Peace and Right to be reconciled, and the world would be saved.
So Christ entered into the Castle of Love, and was born on earth for
the redemption of mankind. An account of the life and passion and
resurrection of Christ is given, and the poem concludes with a prayer
that we may all be led by Him to everlasting bliss.
The best edition of the English version is
HORSTMANN, C. "The Minor Poems of the Vernon Manuscript," Part I,
Early English Text Society, No. 98. This edition contains a version
made in the latter part of the thirteenth century, and also a version
by a monk of Sawley, in Yorkshire. The present extract is taken from
the Sawley monk's translation (ll. 361-452) because that version gives
the allegory in more coherent and careful detail than do the other
versions, which fail to explain some of the symbolism.
BESTIARY
Lion, Eagle, Whale, Siren
From earliest times animals have been employed as symbolic figures by
teachers and preachers, and the interest of the present day in animal
life and lore is evidence of the never-failing pleasure humanity finds
in beast books. Æsop's "Fables," "The Little Flowers of Saint Francis,"
"Reynard the Fox," and "The Jungle Stories" illustrate various sides
of the literature about the lesser folk. The mediæval bestiary was a
book which sought to enunciate religious instruction by an appeal to
the curiosity of credulous people. The didactic interest far exceeded
the scientific in these allegories which, to us, are most diverting
matter. The source of the bestiary is to be found in the Greek
"Physiologus" (second century A.D.), which was translated into Latin by
Theobaldus in the late Middle Ages, and then into other languages. In
Old English literature "The Whale" and "The Panther" and a fragment of
"The Partridge" are all that remain of the version in that language.
The Middle English bestiary of the thirteenth century contains
descriptions, followed by explication, of the lion, the eagle, the
adder, the ant, the hart, the fox, the spider, the whale, the siren,
the elephant, the turtle dove, the panther, and the culver. There is a
French bestiary written in England by Philippe de Thaün, about 1120,
which contains a portion of a lapidary also. A translation is in T.
Wright's "Popular Treatises on Science written during the Middle Ages."
London, 1841.
The text of the Middle English bestiary may be found in
MORRIS, R. An Old English Miscellany. Early English Text Society, No.
49.
MAETZNER, E. Altenglische Sprachproben, I, 55. Berlin, 1867.
WRIGHT, T., and HALLIWELL, J. O. Reliquiae Antiquae, I, 208. London,
1845.
Suggestive studies on the subject are
KITTREDGE, G. L. Beast Fables, in Johnson's Universal Cyclopædia.
LAND, J. P. N. Physiologos, in Encyclopædia Britannica.
LAUCHERT, F. Geschichte des Physiologus. Strassburg, 1889.
In the popular mediæval epic, "Reynard the Fox," animals, very
realistically portrayed, yet with satirical symbolism, are the actors
in a story full of interest to the modern reader. This is accessible in
the following English versions:
CAXTON, W. Reynard the Fox. Percy Society, Vol. XII. London.
MORLEY, H. Early English Prose Romances. E. P. Dutton and Company, New
York, 1912.
JACOBS, J. The Most Delectable History of Reynard the Fox. Macmillan
and Company, London, 1895.
LAPIDARY
Selections from Lapidaries
Marbodus, Bishop of Rennes in the twelfth century, was the author of
the lapidary which was best known during the Middle Ages. This book,
called "De Gemmis," was written in Latin verse, and gives the strange
superstitions about the virtues and efficacies of sixty stones. Many of
these stones are now unknown to us. There was so much interest in this
lapidary that it was frequently translated into French, both in verse
form and in prose, and was popular in England as well as in France. The
traditions about stones developed two sorts of treatise: one in which
the purely pagan beliefs are represented, as they were handed down by
Aristotle, Pliny, Marbodus, and others; and a second in which the pagan
superstitions are inwrought with Christian teachings and associated
with Scriptural passages. In translating Marbodus, a Christian clerk
would add and alter material in such a way as to impress religious
symbolisms upon his readers, through the popular interest in all the
lore of stones.
Information regarding the lapidaries, as well as editions of various
French and other lapidaries, will be found in the following books:
PANNIER, L. Les Lapidaires français du moyen-âge des XII^e, XIII^e, et
XIV^e siècles. Paris, 1882.
MEYER, P. Les Plus Anciens Lapidaires français. _Romania_ (Jan.,
Avril, Oct.). Paris, 1909.
KING, C. W. Antique Gems. Contains a translation of the work of
Marbodus. London, 1860.
STREETER, E. W. Precious Stones and Gems, their History, Sources, and
Characteristics. Illustrated in color. London, 1898.
WRIGHT, T. Popular Treatises on Science written during the Middle
Ages. London, 1841.
The accounts of diamond, sapphire, amethyst, geratite, chelidonius,
coral, heliotrope, pearl, and pantheros are translated from a French
prose version of the Latin of Marbodus. The French translation was
made, perhaps, in England during the twelfth century. The text will
be found in Meyer, pp. 271-285. The French prose lapidary has been
chosen rather than that in verse form, because it has fewer tags and
circumlocutions, and can be more faithfully rendered into English.
The diamond, or adamant, was a favorite stone. "The Travels of Sir John
Mandeville," pp. 105-108, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1905, has an
interesting account of this.
The pearl has been the subject of much discussion. The present
translation omits several lines in the French version which do not
appear in Marbodus and which seem to be due to confusion with another
stone. Consult Kunz and Stevenson's "The Book of the Pearl," The
Century Company, New York, 1908, and pp. 599-610 of Schofield's article
"Symbolism, Allegory, and Autobiography in The Pearl." _Publications of
the Modern Language Association_, Vol. XVII.
The extract describing the carbuncle is from Pannier, p. 295, where
a prose fragment of a Christian lapidary is given. The carbuncle was
frequently mentioned in mediæval romances, and was supposed to give
success in battle, and also in lawsuits (see Meyer, p. 67).
The account of the symbolism of the twelve stones comes from Philippe
de Thaün's "Bestiaire," verses 2977-3004. The Oxford Bible gives
classified lists of stones mentioned in the Scriptures.
HOMILY
Concerning Miracle Plays, Games, and Minstrelsy
Homilies in prose and in verse were a common means of instruction. They
were usually more popular than mere sermons and sought to hold the
attention by the use of copious illustration. The following extract is
from "Handlyng Synne" (Manual of Sins), translated in 1303 by Robert
Mannyng of Brunne, from a French original, and edited by Dr. Furnivall,
Early English Text Society, No. 119. "Handlyng Synne," a collection
of homilies, denounces the seven deadly sins, citing many concrete
instances of fact and of fable in order to enforce the moral lessons.
The translation below interprets lines 4637-4774 (pp. 155-159), where
the sin of sloth is under discussion.
For information about minstrelsy the student should consult
CHAMBERS, E. K. The Mediæval Stage, Vol. I, bk. i. Oxford University
Press, 1903.
GALPIN, F. W. Old English Instruments of Music. A. C. McClurg & Co.,
Chicago, 1911.
DUNCAN, E. The Story of Minstrelsy. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York,
1907.
CUTTS, E. Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages. Vertue and
Company, London, 1886.
SATIRE
The most popular satire in the Middle Ages is found in the fabliaux,
short tales which picture, with great zest, racy incidents in the
lives of common people whose hidden sins or hypocrisies are suddenly
exposed. The satire in these stories is exceedingly broad and attacks,
by preference, women and the clergy, painting with vivid realism their
immorality and intense selfishness. Readers will find information
regarding these in "The English Fabliau," by H. S. Canby, _Publications
of the Modern Language Association_, XXI, 200-214. Formal satire, which
points out abuses and vices by means of exposition, is illustrated in
the poems following. Satire against women is most agreeably found in
"The Romance of the Rose," chaps. xlvi-lii (translated by F. S. Ellis,
Temple Classics). In _Romania_, XV, 315, 339; XVI, 389; XXXVI, 1, will
be found interesting matter relating to satires on women, in France.
The Song of the University of Paris
This is freely translated from the French poem of Rutebeuf, written
in octosyllabic couplets, about the middle of the thirteenth century.
Rutebeuf was a famous minstrel whose vivid wit gave him a distinguished
place among mediæval writers. His works are full of autobiographical
details; he pictured his unhappy domestic life, his poverty, all his
failings, and his virtues with an engaging frankness. In allegory he
was a master of the mannerisms of his day. In satire he was original
and clever. The monastic orders aroused his fiercest resentment, and he
made sharp epigrams at their expense, accusing them of committing the
seven deadly sins and more. The dry incisiveness of his ridicule may
have impressed Chaucer and also the author of "Piers Plowman," although
we have no proof of this. A very good study of Rutebeuf has been
published by L. Cledat, Paris, 1891. The description of the mediæval
student gives a true picture of the day, but Chaucer's description of
the Clerk of Oxford should be read as complement. For details regarding
student life of the Middle Ages, consult
RASHDALL, H. The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, 3 vols.
London, 1895.
HEWETT, W. T. University Life in the Middle Ages. _Harper's Magazine_,
1897.
SYMONDS, J. A. Wine, Women and Song (translations of many student
songs of the Middle Ages). Chatto and Windus, London, 1907.
The Land of Cockaygne
The meaning of _Cockaygne_ is usually understood to be "cookery." This
satire upon the mediæval monks was probably derived from a French
original. It illustrates the contemptuous tolerance of that day for
the greed, the gluttony, the slothfulness, and the immorality of
the inmates of the monastery. The satire directed against literary
conventions of the day is particularly amusing, if we notice how the
various catalogues of animals, birds, spices, flowers, jewels, and food
parody similar catalogues in the romances and in the poems describing
paradise. The poem was written, in the short couplet, about the middle
of the thirteenth century. It is printed in E. Maetzner's "Altenglische
Sprachproben," I, 148. Berlin, 1867. Wright's "St. Patrick's
Purgatory," London, 1844, contains an interesting chapter on this and
similar burlesques.
The Complaint of the Husbandman
This "complaint," or "song," was written during the thirteenth century
when the persecutions of the poor farmers by lords and their officers
were most extreme. The poem explains very fully the various abuses
which finally so incensed the poor that they rose in revolt and won
certain rights from their oppressors. The Middle English text is found
in K. Boeddeker's "Altenglische Dichtungen," p. 102, Berlin, 1878, and
in T. Wright's "Political Songs," Camden Society, Vol. VI, p. 149.
The meter and rime of the original have been kept, in this translation,
even at the risk of a few very slight changes in the order or in the
phrasing of the original, because the versification is so illustrative
of the transition from the old alliterative line to the elaborate
stanza forms of the French period.
Sir Penny
This satire was evidently a popular one in the Middle Ages; it is
found in various forms in Latin, in French, and in English. The
following translation is made from a version, probably of about 1350,
printed in Thomas Wright's "Latin Poems attributed to Walter Mapes,"
Camden Society, Vol. XVI, pp. 359-361. The poem is written in the
six-line, tail-rime stanza of "Sir Thopas," and the translation seeks
to preserve the cadences, movement, and structure of the original. It
is interesting in connection with "Piers Plowman" and "The Pardoner's
Tale," for it shows the great superiority of those satires, in
imaginative appeal. The generalizations here are faithful, but they
lack point and effectiveness because they do not drive home specific
instances about individuals. We have a personal interest in Lady Meed
and in the Pardoner, but we care little about classes and types.
LAY
Sir Orfeo
This Middle English version of a French lay seems to offer so few
difficulties that it is given in its original form, as it appears in
the Auchinleck manuscript. The text is copied from that edited by Laing
in "Select Pieces of Ancient Popular Poetry of Scotland," reprinted in
Edinburgh, 1884. A critical edition of the poem was published by O.
Zielke, Breslau, 1880. A very charming free translation in stanza form
has been made by E. E. Hunt, Cambridge, 1909.
"Sir Orfeo" is the mediæval interpretation of the story of Orpheus
and Eurydice (Ovid's "Metamorphoses," bk. x, ll. 1-77), which was
told in French, and then translated by some nameless but immortal
English poet. The beauty of this Middle English version is undeniable.
Despite its brevity and its occasionally laconic phrases, the poem
shows real pathos in the account of the passionate grief of Orfeo, and
his desolate wanderings in search of his lady. The concrete vividness
of color and fragrance in nature, the dim stateliness of the retinue
of the king of fairyland, the magic beauty of his strange abode, are
described with true poetic sensitiveness. In choice of detail, in
management of incident, in "discovery," and in conclusion the narrative
is singularly well managed.
As a mediæval rendering of a classical tale, the poem has many charms,
because it so naïvely and so completely changes the setting and
insists upon mediæval towers and dress and customs. Pluto's dark realm
is transformed into a fairy kingdom, Thrace has become Winchester,
and the wandering Greek is a Breton harper knocking at the door of a
Gothic castle. As a version of one of the most beautiful of the world's
stories, this lay has true imaginative distinction; it pictures the
loyalty of love and love's power over time and fairy spells, but it
willfully changes the outcome of the old story to suit the sentiment of
high romance in an age when every tale must have a happy ending.
Other lays, or brief tales, are described in W. H. Schofield's "English
Literature from the Norman Conquest to Chaucer," p. 179. The Macmillan
Company, New York, 1906. "Launfal," a lay of fairyland, is one of the
most beautiful. The lays of Marie de France are accessible in the
following translations:
WESTON, J. Four Lais of Marie de France (including "Launfal"). Charles
Scribner's Sons, New York, 1901.
RICKERT, E. Seven Lais of Marie de France. Charles Scribner's Sons,
New York, 1901.
Fairy lore is discussed by many students. The volumes named below will
be found serviceable to the student of English literature:
PATON, L. A. Studies in the Fairy Mythology of Arthurian Romance. Ginn
and Company, Boston, 1903.
NUTT, A. The Fairy Mythology of Shakespeare. David Nutt, London, 1900.
HAZLITT, W. C. Fairy Tales, Lays, and Romances Illustrating
Shakespeare. London, 1875.
SIDGWICK, F. The Sources and Analogues of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
Duffield & Company, New York, 1908.
In translating the poem the student should pronounce all the unknown
words aloud and he will speedily recognize resemblances to modern
words. _Y_ is the pronoun "I," but sometimes it is part of the
past participle,—_y-hold_ = "held." _Ich_ is "I," and also "each."
Frequently a pronoun and a verb are combined, as _ichil_ = "I will";
_wiltow_ = "wilt thou"; sometimes the negative particle is combined
with a verb, as in _nis_ = "is not"; _nil_ = "will not." _Owhen_
= "own"; _yif_ = "if." It is assumed that readers will recognize
the words used in the ballads or in Spenser's works. If there are
words which are not recognized they can be found in the New English
Dictionary, or in the New International Dictionary, or in Bradley and
Stratmann's Middle English Dictionary.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Temple Classics, 3 vols. Dutton, New York, 1900.
[2] B. Smythe, Trobador Poets. (Translations.) Duffield, New York, 1911.
[3] See Notes.
[4] See Notes.
[5] varied.
[6] equal.
[7] disagreement.
[8] love.
[9] pleasure.
[10] describe.
[11] equal.
[12] quickness.
[13] breastplate.
[14] comprehend.
[15] Achilles.
[16] together.
[17] see.
[18] interval of a fifth.
[19] nightingale.
[20] music.
[21] color.
[22] staggers.
[23] in fief.
[24] love.
[25] See Notes.
[26] See Notes.
[27] Fifteen, in other versions.
[28] Other versions say that the bridge grew wider and wider as Owain
passed over it.
[29] A stringed instrument.
[30] Here is a gap of two stanzas and more, pursuing the theme of Adam.
[31] See Notes.
[32] scarcely.
[33] refectory.
[34] ordinary.
[35] hermits.
[36] Thursday before Easter.
[37] griffin.
[38] with hair.
[39] See Notes.
[40] See Notes.
[41] See Notes.
[42] See Notes.
[43] See Notes.
[44] The four cardinal virtues: Fortitude, Temperance, Justice, and
Prudence.
[45] See Notes.
[46] See Notes.
[47] See Notes.
[48] See Notes.
[49] See Notes.
[50] According to G. Paris he played on cymbals and exhibited a monkey.
[51] See Notes.
[52] See Notes.
[53] See Notes.
[54] hedge-warden, over-seer.
[55] under-steward.
[56] wood-warden.
[57] religious orders.
[58] peasant.
[59] over-seers.
[60] wax for king's seal.
[61] salmon.
[62] implement for pruning.
[63] See Notes.
[64] See Notes.
[65] both.
[66] called.
[67] lady.
[68] time.
[69] bright, vigorous.
[70] same.
[71] forenoon.
[72] grafted.
[73] rubbed, wrung.
[74] rent.
[75] removed.
[76] ran.
[77] away.
[78] took.
[79] dear.
[80] thee.
[81] criest.
[82] shrill.
[83] before.
[84] complexion.
[85] eyes.
[86] very.
[87] since.
[88] must.
[89] directly.
[90] again.
[91] forest.
[92] places.
[93] taken.
[94] woe.
[95] lose.
[96] defence.
[97] taken.
[98] dole.
[99] order.
[100] lost.
[101] roam.
[102] woods.
[103] scarcely.
[104] together.
[105] pilgrim's robe.
[106] however.
[107] ease.
[108] discomfort.
[109] fur (variegated).
[110] fur (gray).
[111] linen.
[112] wraps.
[113] moss (?).
[114] grub.
[115] shrunken.
[116] rough.
[117] gather.
[118] at last.
[119] about.
[120] branch.
[121] accustomed.
[122] speedily (?).
[123] royal.
[124] grandly.
[125] front.
[126] adorned.
[127] dwellings.
[128] dark (?).
[129] sapphires are mentioned in one version.
[130] lying.
[131] head.
[132] had no arms.
[133] mad.
[134] drowned.
[135] withered.
[136] mad (?).
[137] sport.
[138] ceased.
[139] hue.
[140] therefore.
[141] lie.
[142] just now.
[143] warmly.
[144] quickly.
[145] people, land.
[146] went.
[147] harbor.
[148] cottage.
[149] bit.
[150] back.
[151] withered.
[152] players on the _crowd_, a kind of violin.
[153] ate.
[154] lost.
[155] given.
[156] hour.
[157] remedy.
[158] gracious.
[159] inn.
[160] awe.
[161] understood.
[162] table.
[163] quickly.
[164] indeed.
[165] named.
[166] called.
* * * * *
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
Minor punctuation and printer errors repaired.
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal signs=.