Page images
PDF
EPUB

We learn from the following paffage in Skelton, who wrote in the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII. what books and ftories were then the delight of english readers, and the fashion of the times.

I can rede and spell

Of the Tales of Canterbury,
Some fad ftories, fome merry;

As Palemon and Arcet,

Duke Thefeus and Partelet;
And of the Wife of Bath.....
And though that red have I
Of Gawen and Syr Guy,

And tell can a grete pece
Of the golden flese,

How Jafon it wan

Like a valiant man.

Of ARTUR's round table,

With his knights commendable;

How dame Gaynour his

queen,

Was fomewhat wanton, I ween;
How Syr Lancelot du Lake
Many a fpear brake,

For his ladies fake:

Of Trifton and King Marke,
And all the whole warke

Of Bel fold his wife.......

}

And

And of Syr Libius, [Libeaux]
Named Diofconius:

Of quater fils Aymund,

And how they were fommond
To Rome to Charlemagne,
Upon a greet payne;

And how they rode eche one,
On + Bayard Mountalbon.....
What though I can frame
The storyes by name,
Of Judas Machabæus,

And of Cafar Julius ;

And of the love between

*Paris and Viene‡:

And of duke Hanyball......

* The entire hiftory of Charlemagne was firft imported into England by Caxton, who printed the Hyftory and Lyf of the most noble and criften prince, Charles the Great, Kyng of Fraunce, and Emperor of Rome, &c. 1485. In this book, befides those of Charlemagne, we have the atchievements of Richard of Normandy, Rowland and Oliver, the Four Sons of Aymon, &c. It confifts of three parts; and was compiled by the tranflator, Caxton, from two french books, by the advice of Henry Bolounyer, canon of Laufanne. The firft and third part were drawn from a book which he calls Myrrour Hiftoryall; the fecond from an old french romance. Lewis, in his Life of Caxton, pag. 97. mentions a hiftory of Charlemagne, written in french, by Christiana of Pisa, 1404. † A horfe famous in romance, belonging to Reynaldos of Montauban. A romance printed by Caxton, viz. Thyftorye of the noble, right valyant, and worthy Knight Parys, and of the fayre Vyenne, the Daulphyns Doughter of Vyennoys; the which fuffered many adversyties, because of their true love, &c, fol. 1485. It is tranflated from the french.

[blocks in formation]

And though I can expound
Of Hector of Troye......

And of the love fo hote
That made Troylus to dote

Upon faire Crefeide*, &c. .....

In the account of queen Elizabeth's entertainment at Kenelworth Caftle, quoted above t, the curious reader may find a catalogue of feveral old pieces in the romantic and humourous kind. Hall, bishop of Norwich, in his Satires, published in 1597, mentions the following favorite ftories.

No man his threshold better knowes, than I
Brute's first arrival, and first victory :

St. George's forell, or his craffe of blood,

Arthur's round board, or Caledonian wood:

Or holie battles of bold Charlemayne,

What were his knights did Salem's fiege maintayne:

The dauphin is Sir Godfrey of Alaunfon, coufin to Charles, king of France, 1271.

*The story of Troilus and Creffida became very popular from Chaucer's poem on the subject. He took it from Lollius, an historiographer of Urbino in Italy.

As write mine auctour, callid Lollius.

Tr. and Cr. 1. 395.

Lollius is honoured with a niche in the House of Fame, 3. 380. as

one of the writers of the trojan ftory.

† Pag. 28. vol. I.

Jerufalem.

Godfrey of Bulloigne, the subject of Taffo's

How

How the mad rival § of faire Angelice,
Was phyfick'd for the new-found paradife ;
High ftories they, &c.

B. i. c. xii. f. xxxix.

Many an angels voice,

Singing before th' eternall majestie
In their trinall triplicities on hie.

Thus in An Hymne of heavenly Love; of angels,

There they, in their trinal triplicities,

About him wait.

The image of the angels waiting in their trinal triplicities, puts me in mind of a passage in Milton's Lycidas, where the pointing feems to be wrong.

There entertain him all the faints above,
In folemn troops, and sweet societies,
Who fing, and finging in their glory move.

According to the present punctuation, the sense is, "The faints who are in folemn troops, and sweet "focieties, entertain him;" or, entertain him in [among] their folemn troops, and fweet focieties: but if the comma was ftruck off after focieties, another and

§ Orlando, in Ariosto.

B. 6, fat. I,

more

more beautiful meaning would be introduced, viz. "The faints who SING IN folemn troops and fweet "focieties, entertain him, &c."

B. ii. c. iii. f. xxiv.

Of Belphæbe speaking,

And twixt the pearles and rubies foftly brake

A filver found.

Thus in Sonnet 81.

But faireft fhe, when so she doth display

The gate with pearles, and rubies richly dight,
Thro' which her words fo wife do make their way.

Ariofto gives us pearls and corall for the lips and

teeth.

Che da i coralli, e da le pretiofe

Perle ufcir fanno i dolci accenti mozzi *.

The corall and the perle by nature wrought.

This is common in the italian poets.

B. ii. c. iii. f. xxv.

Upon her eyelids many graces fate
Under the fhadow of her even browes.

* C. 12. f. ult.

Harrington.

« ՆախորդըՇարունակել »