'Twin-wifing and twin-manslagt,
Of his soule beð mikel hagt.[178]'
The author thinks that Christian men ought to be as glad as birds are of
dawn, to hear the story of man's bliss and sorrow.
'Seinte Marherete,'[179] is the first of a triad of saints' lives, to be
edited for the Society, the other two (St. Juliane and St. Katherine)
are still to come. The editor is Mr. Cockayne, whose observations are
always worth a hearing, although they are of a very pugnacious
character. In 'Hali Meidenhad,'[180] he expresses great offence at the
opinions of his author, whose attacks on wedlock he takes very much to
heart. We find in the side-notes such expressions as these--'highflying
notions,' 'this ranter.' The anonymous author of the treatise is
supposed by Mr. Cockayne to have been a bishop, and the same as he who
wrote the three saints' lives, and the 'Ancren Riwle.' Whoever he was,
he writes with considerable vigour, and describes the troubles of wives
with great goodwill. The maiden is to ask the queens, rich countesses,
and saucy ladies as to their mode of life. 'Truly, truly, if they
rightly bethink themselves and acknowlege the truth, I shall have them
witnesses that they are licking honey off thorns. They buy all the
sweetness with two proportions of bitter.' A husband is held up before
the maiden's eyes in these unfavourable colours:--'While he is at home,
thy wide walls seem too narrow for thee; his looking on thee makes thee
aghast; his loathesome voice and his rude grumbling fill thee with
horror. He chideth and jaweth thee, and he insults thee shamefully; he
maketh mock at thee; he beateth thee and mawleth thee as his bought
thrall and patrimonial slave. Thy bones ake, and thy flesh smarteth, thy
heart within thee swelleth of sore rage, and thy face externally burneth
with vexation.' It shows how much outspoken language has gone out of
fashion, that the author thinks it necessary to put into Latin certain
of the passages which a bishop addressed to some young nuns. Mr.
Furnivall has unearthed from the Vernon MS. a later essay on the same
subject, entitled 'Clene Maydenhood,' in which the author adjures young
women to bind Christ in their hearts, because man's love is never
constant.
'Havelok the Dane,[181] is one of the best--if not the very best--of
early romances, and we are indebted to the Society for bringing it
within the reach of the ordinary reader. It was first edited, in 1828,
by Sir Frederic Madden, for the Roxburghe Club, but since that time it
has been almost unattainable on account of its scarceness and consequent
high price. The story, like most of the romances, is a version taken
from an original, written in French. Two kings, of England and Denmark,
die, and each leaves his child to the care of a steward, who uses it
badly. Grim, the founder of Grimsby, saves the life of Havelok, the son
of the King of Denmark, and comes with him to England, where the boy
grows up stalwart, and becomes the strongest man alive, putting the
stone twelve feet beyond his companions. Havelok marries Goldborough,
'the fairest woman alive,' who was the daughter of the dead King of
England. The two go to Denmark and drive the usurper from the throne,
after which they return to England, and conquer the English usurper.
They reign for sixty years, and fifteen children are born to them, who
all become kings and queens. Havelok's first acts, on his return to
England, were to found a priory of black monks in Grimsby, for the good
of his old friend Grim's soul, and to marry Grim's daughters to two of
his courtiers. 'King Horn,'[182] another romance of the thirteenth
century, is of English origin. Horn, the son of the King of a place
called Suddene, who had been killed by the Saracens, reaches the country
of a neighbouring king with his companions, and is loved by that king's
daughter. The king finds out the attachment, and banishes Horn, who
travels to another kingdom, and conquers a formidable giant. After this,
he returns to Westernesse and claims his lady love. Various troubles
succeed; but, in the end, Horn returns to take possession of the
ancestral throne of Sudden.
We now pass to the fourteenth-century texts; and here we find the most
important work that the Society has attempted, which is a three-text
edition (under the able editorship of Mr. Skeat) of the most valuable
work in early English literature before Chaucer, viz., 'The Vision of
Piers Plowman.'[183] This great 'Puritan' poem was very popular for many
years, and a large number of MSS. of it have come down to us. These
differ very much, and it appears that the author, William Langland, was
induced by the popularity of this work to produce at various times what
may be called, for want of a better term, three editions. These are
represented by--1, the Vernon MS.; 2, the copy printed by Robert
Crowley, in 1550; and 3, that printed by Dr. Whitaker, in 1813; and all
the MSS. at present known can be ranged under one or other of these
types. Before commencing the great work of producing a worthy edition
of this great classic, the Society was anxious to have as much
information concerning the MSS. as it could obtain, and in 1866 issued
Parallel Extracts of twenty-nine MSS., asking, at the same time, that
librarians or possessors of libraries would communicate to the Society's
editor the discovery of other MSS. not noticed in these extracts, as the
committee believed that many valuable ones might have remained unknown.
In the following year Text A, from the Vernon MS., appeared. This only
extends to eleven passus, or less than half of the whole poem, as
subsequently written. The author is very severe upon the vices of his
day, and in scourging them he gives us a valuable insight into the
domestic life of the time.
The poem is divided into two parts, the 'Vision of Piers the Plowman,'
and the 'Vision of Do-well, Do-bet, and Do-best.' In the first, the
author describes how he fell asleep on the Malvern Hills, and saw, in a
dream, much to displease him. The world is represented by a field full
of folk, among whom are ploughmen, spendthrifts, hermits, minstrels,
beggars, pilgrims, friars, a pardoner with bulls, law-serjeants,
bishops, and all kinds of craftsmen. Holy Church comes to the author as
a lovely lady, and points out to him Falsehood, Bribery, Simony, and
Flattery. The King makes up his mind to punish Falsehood, if he can
catch him; but that delinquent flees, and takes refuge with the friars,
who pity him and take him under their protection. The king then appeals
to Reason, but he will not take pity on wrong until lords and ladies
love truth, rioters are holy clerks, knights are courteous, and priests
practise what they preach. The author awakes, but soon dreams again.
Conscience preaches, and is seconded by Repentance in his endeavours to
convert the deadly sins. The preaching has great effect, and all set out
on a pilgrimage to find Truth; but no one knows the way, and a Palmer
who has returned from the Holy Sepulchre, and met many saints, knows
nothing of Truth. They now meet Piers the Ploughman, who directs them to
the way, and promises to guide them when he has ploughed his half-acre;
meantime he sets them to work. At first, the people will not work till
hunger comes in, and then they agree to do whatever Piers wills. All the
names of persons introduced into the poem tell their own story, thus
Piers's wife is called _Work when time is_, his daughter, _Do as you are
bid_, and his son, _Obey your king_. In the second part, _Do-well_ is to
fear God, _Do-bet_ to suffer, _Do-best_ to be lowly of heart. All the
allegory of the poem is very palpable, and at times tedious; but the
incidental allusions to the state of the people are of the greatest
interest. The author appears to have felt strongly the responsibility of
his position as a preacher, and the contempt he evinces for the small
value of the Pope's pardon, shows us that in the middle ages a purer
Christianity was occasionally preached than we are often apt to imagine.
Langland lays great stress on the law of love, and shows the infinite
superiority of a life of righteousness over a mere trust in indulgences.
Mr. Skeat says of him: 'He shows himself to us a man of simple, noble,
and pure faith, the friend of the poor, the adviser of the rich, with
strong views on the duties of a king toward his subjects, together with
a feeling of deep reverence for the kingly character, fearless,
unprejudiced, and ever willing to be taught.'
'Pierce the Ploughman's Crede'[184] is not written by the same author as
the 'Vision,' but is an imitation of it by some one who was glad to
avail himself of the popularity of that work. It is thus analyzed by
Alexander Pope:--
'An ignorant plain man, having learned his Paternoster and
Ave Mary, wants to learn his creed. He asks several
religious men of the several orders to teach it him. First,
of a friar Minor, who bids him beware of the Carmelites,
and assures him that they can teach him nothing, describing
their faults, &c., but that the friars Minor shall save him
whether he learns his creed or not. He goes next to the
friars Preachers, whose magnificent monastery he describes;
there he meets a fat friar, who declaims against the
Augustines. He is shocked at his pride, and goes to the
Augustines. They rail at the Minorites. He goes to the
Carmelites; they abuse the Dominicans, but promise him
salvation without the creed for money. He leaves them with
indignation, and finds an honest poor _Plowman_ in the
field, and tells him how he was disappointed, by the four
orders. The ploughman answers with a long invective against
them.'
Mr. Skeat has followed manuscripts in his edition which had been
previously neglected. Dr. Whitaker and Mr. Wright printed from the first
edition of 1553, but the British Museum MS. is older than this, and
there can be little doubt that both the MSS. and the printed copy are
all copied from a MS. now lost or not forthcoming.
The next work we shall mention is a translation of a French treatise on
sins and virtues into the homely English of Kent. It is called the
'Ayenbite of Inwyt,'[185] two old and expressive words which are now
completely lost to us, and superseded by remorse and conscience. The
book was written for the benefit of laymen, in order that fathers and
mothers might keep their consciences undefiled. There is a very full
account of sins, and the morality preached is very strict, for
backgammon and chess are placed among foul and forbidden games. This
text had been previously edited by Mr. Stevenson for the Roxburghe Club,
but in a very careless manner, as is seen by the author's original
preface and table of contents being left out. Dr. Richard Morris has
remedied these deficiencies, and has prefixed a most valuable
grammatical introduction, in which the characteristics of the Southern
dialect during the early English period (1250-1340) are pointed out.
The late Mr. Toulmin Smith's collection of the statutes of 'English
Gilds,'[186] in the 14th and 15th centuries, is one of the most valuable
works issued by the Society, as its interest is so wide as to include
both the past and the present. The study of the societies of the olden
times gives us a deep insight into the domestic and municipal life that
has been so much neglected by historians, and throws a strong light upon
the present condition of the working classes as developed in the trades'
unions.
A life and coherency has been put into the dead bones of dry statutes by
the valuable essay on the subject by Dr. Lujo Brentano, which is the
first and only 'History of Gilds' in English, and comprises the
Continental Gilds as well as our own. Mr. Toulmin Smith unfortunately
died before the work was completed, but his daughter, with filial piety,
has worked at the completion of her father's design, and the result is a
book that forms a worthy monument to an able and good man.
The 'Early English Alliterative Poems'[187] consist of the 'Pearl,'
'Cleanness,' and 'Patience.' The first poem is an allegory of great
beauty, in which resignation to the will of God is enforced. The writer
has lost a daughter of two years old, and he dreams of gleaming rocks,
crystal cliffs, and silver trees, and sees his child in bliss on the
opposite side of a stream. The second poem is a collection of Biblical
stories tending to enforce purity of life, and the third is a paraphrase
of the Book of Jonah. All three show the author to have possessed much
poetic power.
'William and the Werwolf'[188] was edited by Sir Frederic Madden, in
1832, for the Roxburghe Club, but his edition had become very scarce
before the Early English Text Society undertook its publication as the
first text for their Extra Series. Mr. Skeat, who has edited this
edition, has wisely changed the name of the English romance to William
of Palerne, because it is a translation of the French 'Guillaume de
Palerne,' and has been able to fill up the missing parts of the English
version from the French MS., portions of which were supplied to him by
M. Michelant, of the Imperial Library at Paris. The story is as
follows:--William, the son of the King of Apulia, is about to be
murdered by his uncle, when he is carried off by a wolf, who is found
subsequently to be a werwolf or manwolf, enchanted by his stepmother.
William is adopted by a cowherd, and afterwards taken into his household
by the Emperor of Rome, whose daughter falls in love with the boy. To
save herself from being married to another prince, Melior leaves the
palace with William, both of them being disguised as bears. They are
taken care of by the werwolf, and afterwards re-disguise themselves as a
hart and hind. William performs marvels, taking the werwolf's
step-mother a prisoner, and only releasing her on condition that the
werwolf shall be disenchanted. All ends happily, with several marriages
as a climax.
We have not yet referred to the great cycle of Arthurian romances, which
have lately been brought so prominently before the reading public by the
charming poems of the Poet Laureate. Most of these romances were
introduced to an English public in the 15th century, but some are of an
earlier date. 'Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight'[189] is one of these
last, and appears to have been written by the author of the
'Alliterative Poems' previously mentioned. Sir Gawayne, the matchless
and faultless son of Loth, was one of the leading spirits in his uncle's
court, and the present text contains one of the most interesting
incidents in his career. While Arthur is holding a Christmas festival at
Camelot, a knight of gigantic stature, clothed entirely in green and
riding on a green foal, enters the hall. He carries an axe, sharp as a
razor, and asks that some one should strike him with it, on condition
that he may return the stroke at the end of a year. All are silent.
Arthur accepts the challenge, but Gawayne beseeches his uncle to allow
him to undertake the encounter, and the king consents. The Green Knight
adjusts himself, and after Gawayne has struck off his head, walks off
with it under his arm. The company feel more comfortable after his
departure, but the year soon comes to an end, when Gawayne must travel
to seek the Knight of the Green Chapel. After many adventures, Gawayne
comes to the loveliest castle ever beheld, where he is welcomed warmly.
The lord (who is the Green Knight in a more ordinary costume than that
he had before adopted) treats him nobly, and tells him that he will
direct him to the Green Chapel. The two make a covenant between them
that the lord shall go to the chase and Gawayne stay at home, and at the
end of the day give each other what they have got in the meantime. On
the first day the hostess tempts Gawayne, but he is proof against her
charms, and she leaves him with a kiss, which he gives the host at
night; on the second day she does the same and gives him two kisses,
which he gives to his host; the third time Gawayne is again tempted and
receives three kisses, and a girdle of green lace that will preserve
whoever wears it from wound or death. At night Gawayne gives the kisses
but keeps the girdle. On the morrow, after much trouble, he finds the
Green Chapel, from which the Green Knight comes out, and makes a feint
to strike him. The Knight pretends to strike again, and the third time
he brings blood, when he explains his conduct to Gawayne thus:--'Two
blows I aimed at thee, for twice thou kissedst my fair wife, but I
struck thee not, because thou restoredest them to me according to
agreement. At the third time thou failedst, and therefore I have given
thee that tap.' The Green Knight, who is Bernlak de Hautdesert, now
tells Gawayne that his aunt, Morgain la Fay, lives at his castle, and
presses his friend to return with him, but Gawayne will not, as he
wishes to return to Arthur's court. Here he is received with joy, and
all the knights wear a green belt in his honour. The author tells all
this, which we have been obliged to relate in the baldest manner, with
great spirit and vivacity; and in the midst of his story he gives
lively accounts of boar and fox hunts, which display a wonderful mastery
over language. Another of the prominent knights of Arthur's court was
Lancelot of the Laik.[190] His adventures are related in a short romance
paraphrased into the Scottish dialect from a part of the long French
'Lancelot.' The author is in love and dares not tell it, but dreams that
he should write a poem for his lady love to read. He does not know what
to write about until he thinks of the romance of 'Lancelot,' when he
runs over rapidly an enumeration of that knight's early deeds by way of
saying that he will not tell of them. He then commences in earnest with
the wars between Arthur and Galiot. A knight brings a message from King
Galiot, bidding Arthur to yield to him or he will invade his land and
not return until he has conquered and taken Queen Guinevere prisoner.
Arthur returns the defiance, but on asking Gawayne who Galiot is, he
learns that ten kings obey him. At this time Lancelot is imprisoned by
the lady of Melyhalt, and laments his fate, but as he hears of a battle
between Arthur and Galiot, he obtains leave from the lady to join Arthur
on condition that he returns to his prison at night. The lady provides
him with a red courser, and red shield and spear, and he goes to the
fight, where he performs wonders, and sees the queen, with whom he falls
in love. He returns to prison, where the lady visits him, and is smitten
with love. She goes to court, and returns after being sumptuously
entertained. She now promises to let Lancelot go on one of three
conditions--either he must tell whom he loves, or declare his name, or
say if he expects again to equal his former exploits. He refuses to tell
his lady's name, or his own, but declares his trust to do more than he
has done before.
The lady of Melyhalt asks Lancelot to remain with her till the next
battle, when she will provide him with black armour. Arthur's forces are
led in the fight by Gawayne, who is severely wounded. Lancelot joins in
the battle on the third day, and laments over Gawayne, but he does not
waste time in regrets; for on all the ladies, with the exception of the
queen, sending him a message, he overthrows several knights, and does
great damage to the enemy. At last, on Gawayne's instigation, the queen
sends him a message, the receipt of which affects him so much that he
seems to grow a foot in height, and nothing can withstand him, as he
goes into the thick of the fight. His foes leave the place in mortal
fear at the sight of him; for whilst his thoughts are of his lady's love
he achieves unheard-of-wonders. At last he is borne to the earth, and
Galiot, who has seen his powers, says he shall not die on his account,
and gives him his horse. Here the Scottish romance closes, and the rest
of the story is only to be learnt from the French original. Gawayne
swoons when he sees Lancelot with Galiot; but the latter is induced by
Lancelot, although he is conquering, to submit to Arthur. When all are
friends, Galiot and Arthur go to see the wounded Gawayne, and then they
speak of Lancelot. Gawayne says that he would wish to be a woman, if
Lancelot would love him all his life. The queen seems to approve of the
sentiment, for she admits that she can say no more. Now the serious part
of the story commences, for the queen, through the instrumentality of
Galiot, visits Lancelot, and promises to love him. She takes counsel
with the lady of Melyhalt, and after a general understanding they all
part, with hopes of soon meeting again.
Mr. Furnivall has printed a short and rapid sketch of the life and wars
of _Arthur_,[191] king of men, which occurs in an incomplete Latin
'Chronicle of the Kings of Britain,' belonging to the Marquis of Bath.
The author seems to have got excited, and found dull Latin prose unequal
to his feelings, so he breaks out into English verse. There are many
spirited and lively sketches in the Lincoln 'Morte Arthure,'[192] which
was first printed by Mr. Halliwell, in 1847. It opens with a general
statement of Arthur's conquests, and then proceeds with the account of
the summons from the Emperor Lucius. When Arthur hears it, his face is
so terrible that the Romans who bring the letter quail before him. The
king has a magnificent feast prepared, at which boars' heads are served
upon silver, and peacocks and plovers upon golden plates. There are also
sucking pigs, herons in sauce, huge swans, cranes, and curlews, tarts
and conserves, hams and brawn in slices, wild geese and ducks, young
hawks, stews, curries, and all kinds of made dishes. So much for the
food; and the drinks are on as grand a scale of magnificence. Wine of
various kinds is made to run in silver conduits, and the rare sorts are
served by the chief butler in goblets of gold, decked with precious
stones, in order to preserve the drinkers from the deadly effects of
poison. All this grandeur astonishes the Roman senator, who allows that
Rome itself could show nothing equal to this luxurious feast. Arthur
sends a grand message to the Roman emperor, in which he threatens to
throw down the walls of Milan, ravage Tuscany, and besiege Rome. All
these big words seem to have frightened the Roman senator, for he prays
to be protected on his homeward journey; and Arthur tells him that if
his coffers were crammed full of silver, he would be quite safe with a
passport from him. Nevertheless, the Romans were glad to get away, and
'Of alle þe glee undire Gode so glade ware þey nevere,
As of þe sounde of þe see and Sandwyche belles.'
In the great battle that follows, Lucius's army is preceded by sixty
giants, born of fiends and witches, riding on tower-bearing camels. In
spite of all this, Arthur is victorious, and sends the body of the
emperor, whom Lancelot had killed, to Rome, as his arrears of tribute.
Other battles[193] succeed this, till Arthur learns of the villany of
his bastard son, Mordred, when he at once sets out for Britain, and he
might well say with Edgar--
'The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices
Make instruments to plague us.'
Gawayne, always rash, fights Mordred like a madman, and is slain in the
deadly struggle. Thus dies the merriest, the kindliest, and the bravest
of knights--he who was the hardiest of hand, the happiest in arms, and
the most polished in hall. Now all grows dark, and the end begins to
close upon all. Arthur finds the dead body of his nephew, and his great
grief is beautifully exhibited in the following description:--
'Than gliftis[194] þe gud kynge, and glapyns[195] in herte,
Gronys fulle grisely with gretande teris;
Knelis downe to the cors, and kaught it in armes,
Kastys upe his umbrere,[196] and kysses hyme sone!
Lokes one his eye-liddis, þat lowkkide ware faire,
His lippis like to þe lede, and his lire[197] falowede!
Þan the corownde kyng cryes fulle lowde,--
"Dere kosyne o kynde, in kare am I levede!
Ffor nowe my wirchipe es wente, and my were endide!
Here es þe hope of my hele,[198] my happynge of armes!
My herte and my hardynes hale one hym lengede!
My concelle, my comforthe, þat kepide myne herte!
Of all knyghtes þe kynge þat undir Criste lifede!
Þou was worthy to be kynge, those I þe corowne bare!
My wele and my wirchipe of alle þis werlde riche
Was wonnene thourghe Syr Gawayne, and thourghe his witte one!
Allas," saide Syr Arthure, "nowe ekys my sorowe!
I am uttirly undone in myne awene landes!
A dowttouse derfe dede, þou duellis to longe!
Why drawes þou so one dreghe, thow drownnes myne herte!"'
Arthur now, with his 1,800 men, fights desperately against 60,000, and
is successful in conquering them, and killing Mordred; but what
signifies victory, when he has got his death wound, his wife has
deserted him, and his friends are dead around him. The great conqueror
and pattern of all knightly virtues dies a broken-hearted man, and the
grand old story comes to an end. The writer really felt what he was
writing about, and the consequence is, that his history stirs our very
blood. And not in vigour alone is the writer's power shown; the lines in
which he describes a bright morning in spring, and others in which he
tells of love, can hardly be beaten by any other early work.
'Merlin'[199] is one of the longest of the romances, and although the
whole of the text has been issued in three parts, the work still awaits
for its completion Mr. Wheatley's introduction, index, and glossary. It
has, however, two interesting essays prefixed--one by Mr. D. W. Nash,
who learnedly draws the distinction between Merlin the enchanter and
Merlin the bard; and another by Mr. J. S. Stuart Glennie, on the
Arthurian localities which he finds in Scotland. The story commences
with the miraculous birth of Merlin, and a description of King
Vortiger's tower. The various events occur very rapidly at first.
Pendragon and Uter defeat Vortiger, and Pendragon becomes king, but
soon after he is killed in a battle, and Uter succeeds him, taking his
brother's name at the same time as a surname. Uter Pendragon falls in
love with Ygerne, the wife of the Duke of Tintagel, and by the help of
Merlin he deceives her into receiving him as her husband while the duke
is away. This ill-used man is killed in a fight, and the king at once
marries Ygerne, who soon after bears him Arthur. Merlin is now very
busy, and by his help the child is carried away. When Uter Pendragon
dies, Merlin points Arthur out as the heir. He is made king, but the
barons revolt against him, and now a long series of battles commence,
which are graphically described by the old author. Gawein and the other
nephews of Arthur come to him to be knighted, and through their
instrumentality the rebel kings are gradually reconciled to their chief,
to whom they do homage.
Merlin is enchanted by Nimiane, in a hawthorn bush, in the forest of
Brochelond, and Arthur is heavy at heart on account of the long absence
of his adviser. Gawein and his fellows go to seek for Merlin, and with
the account of their adventures the book is brought to an end.
The 'Romance of the Chevelere Assigne'[200] is a translation of the
French poem, 'Chevalier au Signe,' and was formerly edited for the
Roxburghe Club by Mr. Utterson. The present editor, Mr. Henry Hucks
Gibbs, gives in his preface a description of a curious ivory casket of
14th century workmanship, belonging to Mr. William Gibbs, which
illustrates the story.
King Oryens and his queen Beatrice have no child to succeed them, and
when one day they see a woman with twins, the queen is unkind enough to
revile her. As a punishment, she herself soon afterwards bears six sons
and one daughter, each with a silver chain about its neck. The king's
mother, Matabryne, gets a man to drown the children, which she replaces
by seven whelps, and then bids the king to burn his wife. Marcus, the
man employed to take away the children, leaves them in a wood, wrapped
up in a blanket, a hind then suckles them, and a hermit takes them home.
The forester sees them, and tells Matabryne, who has the eyes of Marcus
put out, and employs Malkedras to kill the children, and take away their
chains. The man only finds six, as one is with the hermit; but he smites
the chains from off these, and the children are turned into swans. The
queen gives the chains to a goldsmith to make into a cup, but one chain
increases so that half of it does for a cup, and the workman keeps the
other five. The poor queen is to be burnt for her crime of bringing
forth seven whelps, and a day is fixed for the purpose; but in the
meantime, an angel comes to the hermit, and tells him the whole truth,
commanding him at the same time to take the child he has with him to
court, and have him christened Enyas. The angel counsels the child, who
is twelve years old, to say that he will fight for the queen. There is
then a great combat, in which right is victorious.
'Alle þe belles of þe close rongen at ones,
Witheoute ny mannes helpe while þe fyghte lasted.'
Enyas cuts off the head of Malkedras, and the old queen is burnt instead
of the young one, who is unbound. The goldsmith comes forward with the
five chains, which being given to the swans, bring them back to their
proper form. The unfortunate sixth one, however, is obliged to remain a
swan because its chain is irrevocably gone.
The 'Book of the Knight of La Tour Landry'[201] is a very entertaining
work, as it gives us a good insight into the condition of woman in the
fourteenth century, which cannot be considered as at all satisfactory.
The worthy knight set about instructing his three daughters on their
various duties, and all his directions are enforced by some tale from
the Bible or monkish legends. He employed two clerks and two priests to
look up examples and anecdotes for him, and a curious medley is the
result of their labours. He seems to have been a credulous man, and a
good friend to the priests, for he never fails to uphold their views. He
tells us that the Virgin saved the life of an evil woman when she fell
into a well, because she fasted on Fridays and Saturdays, and kept
herself from sin on those days; but a good woman was lost because she
did not confess one sin. He is very severe upon the dressiness of the
women, and says that young ladies _now_ often take so long to adorn
themselves that they are too late for service. Some ladies who washed
their hair in wine and other things, to change its colour, could not get
into the church of our Lady until they had cut off their hair. Besides
waste of valuable time, much money was thrown away by these ladies, and
the knight laments that one woman's dress would have clothed many poor.
The worthy man wrote a book for the benefit of his sons, on the same
plan as this one for his daughters; but, unfortunately, it has been
lost.
'The Wright's Chaste Wife'[202] is really, as it is here styled, 'a
merry tale.' A wright or carpenter marries a fair maiden, whose mother
can only give, as her portion, a garland of roses, that will keep its
colour while she is true to her husband, but will change if she is
faithless. The man makes a room in his house, with a trap-door, out of
which escape is impossible, and then goes to build a hall for a certain
lord. This lord asks the wright about his garland, and thinks he will go
to try its efficacy. He gives the wife forty marks, and she tells him to
go to the secret chamber, where he drops through the trap-door. He
threatens, but his passion is of no avail; and when he is hungry, the
woman will give him nothing to eat until he has earned his dinner by
work. The steward follows the lord, and gives the woman twenty marks,
when he also is sent upstairs, and tumbles through the trap-door. This
man won't work until he is very hungry. Next comes the proctor, who also
gives the woman twenty marks, and likewise tumbles through the hole
prepared for his reception. He very much objects to work, and stands out
for a longer time than the others; but at last he is obliged to give in
too, and spin for his meal. At last the wright comes home, and wonders
at the noise. When he finds out the cause, he asks his wife to let the
lord out, but she will not until his lady is sent for. At last all three
are set free, and the garland remains as fresh as ever.
'Here endyth the wryghtes processe trewe,
Wyth hys garlond feyre of hewe,
That neuer dyd fade the coloure.
It was made by the avyse
Of hys wywes moder, wytty and wyse,
Of flowrys most of honoure,
Of roses whyte þat wylle nott fade,
Whych floure alle ynglond doth glade,
Wyth trewloues medelyed in syght;
Unto the whych floure I wys,
The loue of God and of the comenys,
Subdued bene of ryght.'
This story is a reproduction and improvement of one of the 'Gesta
Romanorum,' in which the carpenter gets with his wife a shirt that will
never want washing as long as she is faithful to him. In the original
story the three lovers are fed on bread and water, and not made to work,
as in Adam de Cobsam's poem.
Mr. Furnivall seems to have a special gift for hunting interesting tales
and bringing them to earth. His 'Political, Religious, and Love
Poems'[203] are a miscellany of good things of various dates; but the
'Babees Book'[204] is a perfect treasure-house of curiosities, which
tend to illustrate the manners of the fifteenth century. It contains a
'lytyl reporte' of how young people should behave; 'how the good wijf
tauzte hir douztir;' 'how the wise man tauzt his son;' the 'Book of
Nurture, or schoole of good maners for men, servants, and children,' by
Hugh Rhodes; the 'Boke of Nurture, by John Russell;' the 'Boke of
Kerninge;' the 'Booke of Demeanor, and the allowance and disallowance of
certaine misdemeanors in companie, by Richard West;' the 'Boke of
Curtasye;' the 'Schoole of Vertue, by F. Seager,' and various other
pieces on the customs of the times. The authors of these pieces give
very good rules for behaviour, and some of them would be appropriate in
a book of etiquette of the present day; but others discover a state of
society now happily passed away. The subjects treated of rise from the
rules laid down for boys, which if they follow,
'Than men wylle say therafter
That a gentylleman was here,'
up to the difficulties that beset chamberlains, ushers, and marshals, in
ordering the precedence of the great men entertained by their lords.
Mr. Furnivall has prefixed to his book a valuable introduction on the
subject of Education in Early England.
'The Booke of Quinte Essence'[205] is a short text with a long title, on
a revelation delivered to Hermes, the prophet and king of Egypt. It is
here said that God's greatest secret for man's need is how to restore
old feeble men to the strength of youth. A walnut-shell full of the
wonderful liquid is sufficient to turn an old man young again, to cure
one given up by the doctors, and to make a coward bold and strong.
Besides all these advantages, it has the further one of driving away the
devil. As the price of the book that contains these wonderful secrets is
only one shilling, we should not be surprised to learn that the Society
had sold a very large number of copies.
We now pass to some of the purely religious texts of the fifteenth
century, commencing with the hermit of Hampole.
Richard Rolle, author of the 'Prick of Conscience,' was formerly held
in great estimation as a prolific writer, and his 'English Prose
Treatises'[206] are a real addition to our literature. The hermit was
not a priest, but a recognised, although an irregular sort of preacher.
One John de Dalton gave him a hermit's clothing and a cell, and provided
for his maintenance. His gaze was ever upwards, and he was so absorbed
in his work that his friends could take off his tattered coat and put it
on again when mended without his knowledge. He was an ascetic himself,
but saw that some men must lead an active life or the world would come
to an end; and although much of his teaching is gloomy, it is generally
Scriptural. Hampole died of the Black Death, in the year 1349, and his
shrine became a favourite resort of pilgrims, who believed that he
performed miracles of healing after his death. Mr. Perry has discovered
a very great curiosity in a Latin office, prepared for the time when the
hermit should be sainted. Whether this time did arrive, or whether the
office was actually used, does not appear.
The 'Religious Pieces in Prose and Verse'[207] contain Dan Jon
Gaytryge's sermon, 'the whilke teches how scrifte es to be made, and
whareof and in scrifte how many things solde be consideride' (this has
also been wrongly attributed to Wiclif); the 'Mirror of St. Edmund,'
which contains some good precepts, although gloomy and ascetic; the
'Abbey of the Holy Ghost,' and a few hymns and poems. The 'Abbey of the
Holy Ghost' is founded in the conscience, and the maidens that cleanse
the place are righteousness and purity. The abbey is built on the river
of tears, meekness and poverty prepare the ground, the walls are raised
by obedience and mercy, the love of God and right faith are the cement.
Patience and faith shall raise the pillars, shrift make the
chapter-house, preaching the hall, prayer the chapel, contemplation the
dormitory, sadness the infirmary, devotion the cellar, and meditation
the store-house. The Holy Ghost is the warden and visitor, charity the
lady abbess, wisdom the prioress, meekness the sub-prioress, discretion
the treasure, orison the chauntress, jubilation the helper of the
chauntress, devotion the cellaress, penance the cook, temperance the
waiter, soberness the reader, pity the answerer, mercy the almoner,
dread the porteress, honesty the mistress of the novices, courtesy and
simplicity the receivers of the guests, and reason the purveyor. But
with all these excellent virtues about, four evil damsels are introduced
into the abbey, and they are envy, pride, grumbling, and evil-thinking,
who do much mischief; but in answer to prayer the visitor expels the
evil damsels.
John Myrc, a canon of Lilleshall, in Shropshire, knowing how ignorant
many priests were, compiled his 'Instructions for Parish Priests,'[208]
for the purpose of 'coaching' them in their duties. He instructs them as
to the questions they should ask the penitent in confession, and gives
forms of absolution. He says that bad Latin does not spoil the
Sacrament, if the first syllable of each word be right. The author,
however, does not confine himself to priests, but adjures the laity to
be reverent in their behaviour at church; and not to jest or loll
against pillars and walls. This treatise affords, as may be supposed
from its subject, very valuable illustrations for the life of its time.
We have left to the last, one of the texts that we like best, and that
is, the 'Hymns to the Virgin and Christ.'[209] These poems are full of a
pure devotional feeling, and many of them exhibit their authors as true
poets. 'The Mirror of the Periods of Man's Life; or, Bids of the Virtues
and Vices for the Soul of Man,' is a striking and vigorous poem; but
there is a tender philosophy breathing throughout 'Revertere' (in
English tunge, turne aghen!) which is very charming:--
'In a noon tijd of a somers day,
Þe sunne schoon ful myrie þat tide,
I took myn hauk al for to play,
Mi spaynel rennyng bi my side.
A feisaunt hen soone gan y se,
Myn hound put up ful fair to flight,
I sente my faukun, y leet him flee:
It was to me a deinteouse sight.
'My faukun fligh faste to his pray,
I ran þo with a ful glad chere,
I spurned ful soone on my way,
Mi leg was hent all with a brere.
Þis brere forsoþe dide me grijf,
And soone it made me to turne aghe,
For he bare written in every leef,
Þis word in latyn, revertere.
'I knelid and pullid þe brere me fro,
And redde þis word ful hendeli;
Myn herte fil doun unto my too,
Þat was woont sitten ful likingly.
I leete myn hauke and feysaunt fare,
Mi spaynel fil doun to my knee,
Þanne took y me wiþ sighynge sare
Þis new lessoun, revertere.
'Revertere is as myche to say
In englisch tunge as, turne aghen:
Turne aghen, man, y þee pray,
And þinke hertili what þou hast ben;
Of þi livynge be-þinke þee rijfe,
In open and in privite.
Þat þou may come to everlastinge lijf,
Take to þi mynde, revertere.'
Besides the texts we have noticed, there are many of a later date than
the fifteenth century; but we cannot do more than mention the names of
Lauder's 'Poems,' Hume's 'Orthographie of the Britan Tongue,' Thynne's
'Animadversions of Chaucer,' Lyndesay's 'Works,' 'The Romance of
Partenay or Lusignen,' Levins's 'Manipulus Vocabulorum,' Awdeley's
'Fraternitye of Vacabondes,' &c., &c.
The list of books to be printed in the future is a very tempting one,
and we notice many works of great interest, which we trust the Society
will have money enough at its disposal to allow it to issue. This can be
done only by a large accession of members, and we are sorry to see that
the income has not increased as it ought to have done during the last
year. The following are the totals of the balance-sheets of the various
years from the formation of the Society in 1864, when the income was
only £152 2s.; 1865, £384 0_s_. 11_d_.; 1866, £681 0_s_. 1_d_.; 1867,
£941 6_s_. 10_d_.; 1868, £1,229 1_s_. 3_d_.; 1869, £1,227 19_s_. 4_d_.
The committee seem to feel the greatness of the work before them, and
calling for further assistance, write in their fourth report:--'Thus
reinforced, the Society can proceed with fresh vigour to the
accomplishment of its task, with the determination not to rest till
Englishmen shall be able to say of their early literature, what the
Germans can now say with pride of theirs, "Every word of it is printed,
every word of it is glossed."' And in their second report, they had
previously said, 'The Society will be ready to take on itself the burden
laid by the late J. M. Kemble on the Ælfric Society, to leave no word of
Anglo-Saxon unprinted.' In redemption of the latter pledge it has now in
the press, King Alfred's translation of Gregory's 'Pastoral Care,' the
'Homilies of 971 A.D.,' belonging to the Marquis of Lothian, and a fresh
set of Ælfric's 'Homilies,' most of which are in verse.
We ought never to lose sight of the urgent need there is for printing
our MS. treasures. A unique manuscript may be destroyed at any moment,
as has lately occurred in the total destruction of the Strasburg
library, to the irreparable loss of the whole literary world.
All tastes are catered for in the set of Early English Texts. Do you
wish for ballads and short poems? You have them here. Do you care only
to read romances? You have the tales of battles and gallantry that
delighted our grandfathers while they sat as open-mouthed listeners to
the reading of the great volume that lasted them for many a long winter
evening. Do you wish to study manners and customs, to find out how our
ancestors lived, worked, and played, what were their religious beliefs
and superstitions? Here are ample materials for your investigation. Or
is the old language the object of your examination? Then the great
object of the Society is to popularize the old works that illustrate the
history of our native speech.
There is everywhere evidence of a growing living interest in modern
languages, and of an attempt to study them with the thoroughness that
has heretofore been confined to the classical languages. At present,
although we are comparatively in the dark as to our grammatical forms,
we are gradually constructing a history; but we cannot build without
bricks, and the Early English Text Society proposes to supply them.
No pleasure is thoroughly enjoyed until it is imparted to another, so
that as we have had the satisfaction of conversing with, and studying
the mind and manners of our ancestors, we are anxious that others should
enjoy the same pleasure; and we cannot but feel that those who will only
read printed books are under great obligations to those gentlemen who
undertake the arduous task of reading and explaining the manuscripts for
their amusement and instruction. We have made a rapid sketch of the
literature of several centuries as illustrated by the publications of
the Society, and necessarily, from the extent of the subject, in a very
slight and cursory manner, but we shall be quite satisfied if its
imperfections lead our readers to consult the originals themselves.
We may add, for the benefit of those whom it may interest, that the
subscription to the Early English Text Society is one guinea a year
(with an additional guinea for those who subscribe to the Extra Series),
and the honorary secretary is Mr. Henry B. Wheatley, 53 Berners-street,
W.