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THE QIFT OP

WILLIAM C. MASON

It^aC HARVARD COLLEGE LIBFtARYJitj?!

,SIR TRISTRE%

\

g9etti(al Romance

of

Clie Ctitmentt Centuts i

BY .

*t

THOMAS OF ERCELDOUNE,

4 .

CALLED

THE RHYMER.

EDITED FROM THE AUCHINLECK MS.

BY

WALTER SCOTT, Esg.

Now, hold jour mouth, pour charitie» Both Knight and Lady Are,

And herkneth to mj speU ; Of battaille and of chivalry, Of Ladies* love and drucrie.

Anon I wol you teL CgAucBa.

THE THIRD EDITION.

EDINBURGH :

PRINTED FOB

ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND COMPANY ;

AND LONGMAN, HURST, REE8, ORMB, AND BROWN«

PATERN08TER-R0W« LONDON.

^ 1811.

\^

X

>*'

-' ry / 3c

v.!

'I

.4

INTRODUCTION.

I %

INTRODUCTION.

The Romance of Sir Tn.^ w». composed by Thomas of Ercjelpoune, called the RHTMEa, who flottrighed in the 18th century. TTie onty eop79 known to exist, is contained in a large and Tafaiabk collection of Metrical Romances, belong- ing to the Library of the Faculty of Advocates, and caDed, from its donor, the Auchinleck M& A correct ediUon of this ancient and curious poem is now submitted to the public This prefiitofy memoir is designed to contain,

L Some account of Thomas of Erceldoune I II. History of the romance of Sir Trvirtmi nL Observations on the copy now published.

iw SIR TRISTR£>L

L Thoscas of Erceldounx derived hii ter- ritorial appeDatkiQ finom tbe viBage of Ereddooney in the Merse, or county of Benack, shnated on the river Leader, about two miks above its jnnc- tion with the Tweed. It wppemn that this small ▼iDage was once a place of some iuipoftmce, and, at least occasioiiaDjy hoooiired widi the royal resi- dence. The foundation charter of MdroieAbbeyy granted by King David L, dated June 1136, issub- scribed at Ercheldon.* Tlie confinnatoiy diarter of the same abbey, granted in 1143 by Prince Henry, son to David, bdated at ErdiddUd-^Huiv CHiKBOK, tW. i. ^/jppnul. p. 3. TTieCunilyof Lind- aei appears anciently to have had an interest in Er-^ oddoune ; far, among the diaiters gnnted to die abbey of Coldingham, and preserved in the ar- chives at Durham, occurs Carla WUkgkmi limeimie Ecekma ik ErtheUoum^ dated in the time of Da- vid 1*9 pT Malcolm IV., his successon^^NfCHOID- aoK's SconUk HatoTMl IJbrmy, App. Na VIU.

•Sec a facsimile in AndcrMm^ Ihphmntu^ TaKXTV^ procaM fruQt Edwtn), £«ri of Oxibrd ami Mortuneiv and another iu Hutchinson's liVv c/ A\>f iAirw^/tf^d^ VdLLAp*

psnd. p. 9*

INTRODUCTION. v

He earl* of March were afterwards lords of £p- eeldoune, where they had astrong^hold, called the EarPs Tower. It stood at the east end of the vil« lage, but is now demolished. From this circwn« stance the original name of Ercheldony or Ercet donne, has been corrupted into the modem appet lotion of Earlstoun.

In a tower at the western extremity of this yil* lage, the rains of whidi are still shewn after the lapse of seven oenturieo, dwelt Thomas of Ercel- doime, the earliest Scottish poet. Of his history it IS rather surprising that we should know so much, than so little, considering that he seems only to have been distinguished for bis talents, and fiir that supposed prcqphetic skill, which all bai^ batons ages have judged an attribute of the poeti- cal character.

We stumble, however, at the very direshold of our inquiry. All later writers have aflirmed, that our author bore the family name of Learmont ; and it must be owned that an unvarying traditicxi corresponds to their assertion. Nevertheless, the ingenious Mr David Macphcrson, and other mo- dem antiquaries, have been led to doubt whether

SIR TRISTREM,

Thomas ever bore any odier appeUadon thaa h3 territorial tiesignation of Erceldoune, and the per- sonal epithet of Rhymer, acquired, probably, by his poetical fame. In a charter, presently to be quoted, he is called Thomas Rhymer de ErceU duin; in another, granted by his son, Thomas Rhymer de Erceldon. Rol>ert de Brunne, For* dun, Barbour, and Wintoun, term him simply Thomas of Erceldoun ; and Henry the Minstrel, Thomas the Rhymer. From tliia concurrence of the more ancient authorities, there seems no foun- dation for believing that Learmont was the family name of the prophetic bard. Mr Macpherson supposes, that ThomaH, or his predecessor, had married an heiress of the family of I«armont, and occasioned this error. It may also have arifiea from some family of that name tracing their do* scent from him by the female side. Surnames were not become hereditary and unnlienable in the days of Alexander III. Besides those which ai'ose from the place of abode, an individual might have a name derived from his person, his talents, or his office, and all these might be combined with the name of liis sept, or clan. Bui these

I

INTRODUCTION. vu

personal appeDations only descended to their poa* teri^ in so &r as they corresponded with thdr circumstances. Thus, in the charter granted by Thomas's son to the convent of Soltrg, he caQs his father Thomas Rymour de Erceldoun, but him- self only Thomas de Erceldoun* The reason of the difference is obvious— he had succeeded to the lands of Erceldoune, but not to the poetical ta* lents of the Rhymer. By alienating the lands to the convent, the son of our poet would cease to be even Thomas of Erceldoune ; and it seems no inn probable conjecture, that he might then, for some reason, adopt the surname of Learmont.* But we

* In ronoving and arnuigiog some ancient papers, lodged in the offices of the Clerks of Session^ the following genealogical memoir was discovered, among many writings belonging to the fiuuly of Learmonth of Balcoipy, which is now extinct. It is in a hand of the seventeenth century ; and, if the writer was comet in his reference to the contract of marriage, may be considered as throwing some light upon the Rhymer's name and lineage:

** The Genealogy of the honourable and ancient Simame of

Leirmont,

** Leirmont beares Or^ on a chevron S^ three masdes voided of the first ; the name is from France. The chief of the name was the Laird of Ersilmont in the Mcrs, whose predecessor, Tboaias Letrmonth (lived) in the reignc of K, Alexander III.

viii SIR TRISTREM.

may distinctly conclude the name of llie bard t have been Thomas, call«l, from his property, i ErccldounC) from his works, the Rhymer.*

The time in which the Rhymer flourished man be ascertained with some plausibility. Hew nesB to a charter granted by Petrus de Haga de Bemersyde, which unfortunately wants a date ; but Petrus de Haga was himself a witness to anothci charter, by which Richard de Moreviile, constabla of Scotland , granted certain ser& to Henry St Clai Moreviile waft eoiutable from 1162 to 1189, ;

He foretold liJa death. On or whose sons married Janet 4 Danic, and had the lands or Dorsie, in Pyfe, be thai mar the contract is yet extant, confirmed be the king. The hou of Darsiebear aroseinbase for diSbrencc. It is n onljrLdnnontofBalcomie, in Fyfc, is chief now; whoeeprei cessor was master of howshold to King James IV. His p ccssor was the eldest son of Dairsie, &Dd took to himselfe tl estate of Balcomie, leaving Dairsie to the second broth Dpon this account, Balcomie is holden of the king, and Daiftj of llic archbishop of St Andrews ; so Balcomie bears the si coat without the rose in base, since the distinction of Doira

" The; have btea fanioii!, learoed, good, and great ; Whicb Haronean >l;le could oeter rale."

* It must not, however, be suppressed, that Ryioer actually exiited as a proper name in the Merse at tliis time, for John Ryoiour, a freeholder of Berwicksliire, occurs among those wb» did homage to Edvi-ard I., in 1S9C.

INTRODUCTION. u:

potiflg the charter dated in the last year erf* More* yiUe'g con»tahnlary» t. e. 1189» de Haga must then probably have been twenty years old, in order to be awitnesB. If we sfq^pose de Haga attained the age of seventy, and that the charter, to which the Rhy- mer was a witness, was granted in the last year of his life, its date most be 12S9. Assuming, there- fore, the poet to have been twaity when he wit- nessed that charter, his birth will be fixed to I219. Thomas the Rhymer was certainly alive, and in the lenith of his prophetic reputation, at the death of Alexander III. in 1286. On the other hand, he must have been dead before 1299, the date of the charter, in which his son calls himself Filius et ha" ret Thoma Bjfmour dc Ercddon, and, in that capa- city, conveys to the Trinity House of Soltr6 all the lands which he held by inheritance {herediiarie te^ nuif) in the village of Ercddoune.* If the father had been alive, this fiimily property could not have

* The Rhymer sppears not to have possessed the whole of Eroeldoune ; for Adam Le Feurc de Ercddoune did homage to Edward in 1S96. Thomas the Rhymer himself does not appear in Ragmao-RoU, perhaps he was dead, and his son un- dent; or it may he that he held his estate of the Earl of Dunbar,

X SIR TRISTREM.

been duposed of by the son, without his ctmcaT" nonce. We may therefore, with some confidence^ place the death of Thomas the Rhymer betwixt 1286 and 1299 ; and, if we may bdiieye the testi- numy of Henry the Minstrel, he mnst have sur-^ vived 1296, in which year Wallace took arms, and died within three years after. According to the above calculation, he must then have been near eighty years old. Supposing him to have com- posed the romance of Sir Trittrem about the age of thirty, the date of the composition will be about 1250.

Such was the reasoning which the editor had founded upon the few facts which history and an- cient records afibrd concerning the Rhymer.— But another authority, pointed out by Mr Henry •Weber, seems scarcely reooncileable to the above hypothesis, and ^ves ground for assigning a date considerably more ancient to the Romance of Tho- mas of Erceldoune. There is a German romance of Sir Tristrem, written by Crotfiied of Strasburgh, who repeatedly quotes Thomas of Britannia as his authority. Now, Gotfiied of Strasbuigh is belie- ved to have flourished about 1232 j in which case^ if Thcmias of Britannia be the same with the Rhy-

INTRODUCTION. xi

mer, (which win hardly bear a doubt) his romance most have been cxnnposed as early at least as 1220^ for twelve years is but a very moderate space for its travelling to Germany. Under this supposi^ donr the Rhymer must have been bom about the end of the twelfth century $ and, as he certainty survived 1286, his life must have been extended to ninety years and upwards. • The anecdotes which have been trannoitted to ourtimet concerning Thomasthe Rhymer, are part- ly historical, and partly preserved by tradition. They relate principally to his prophetic character-; for it is only to Robert de Bronne that we owe the preservation of his poetic fiime. The most noted instance of prediction regards the death of Akx^ ander III., and is thus narrated by Fordun :

<< Annon recordaris quid ille vatearuralis, Tho- « mas videlicet de Erseldon, nocte praecedenti *' mortem regis Alexandri, in castro de Dunbar, '< obscure prophetando de occasu gus, dixerat co- <* miti Marchiarum interroganti ab eo, ut solitns, ** quasi jocando, quid altera dies futura novi esset f* paritnra I Qui Thomas attrahens de imo oordii >< singukoofum suspirium, sic fertur comid^ conuti

Sm TRISTREM.

" aiilicis polam protuUssc: ' Heu die! craatiiiasl " diei calamitads ct miseriiE ! qui ante horiim ex- ** plicite duodecimam audictur tarn vehemens ven- *' tus in Scotia, qutxl amagnis retroactis tcmpori- " bus consimilis mimme inveniebatur. Cujus qui- " dem flatus obatupescere faciei gentcs, stupidoi " reddet audientes, excelsa hmniliabit, et rigida " solo complanabit.' Propter rujus seria afiamina " comes cnm aidicia crastinuni observanles, et ho- '* ras dici usque ad nonnm considerantes, rt nul- " lum Tcstigium in nubibua vel signis ventosis coeli •^ auspicantes, Thomam tanquam insensatnm repu- " tantcs, ad prondium properarunt. Ubi dum co- ** miti vix men«e coUocato, et signo horologii ad " meridianam horam fere approximate, aHuit qui- " dam ad portam, importunis pulsibus aures comi- ** tis concutiens, aditum sibi ocius 6eri Ba^ta- " vit. Intromissus igitur advcna, et de novis im- " petitus, — ' Nova,' iuquit, * habco sod nosciva^ ** toto regno Scotix deflendo, quia iucUtus, heu ! " rex ejus finem prteiientis vitie hestema nocte " apud Kiugorn sortitus est, et htec veni nunciare *' tibi.' Ad banc narrationem, quasi de gravi som^ '* no excitatUB, cornea una cum familiaribus tutide-

INTRODUCTION. xr

Henry the Minstrel introduces^ as has aLready been noticed, the bard of Erceldoune into the history of Wallace. We are told by this romantic biographer, that the Scottish champion, having slain the Liord Percie's steward, was imprisoned in the town of Air by the English, then mast&s of the country. Here Wallace suffered every sort of hardship, till his health sunk under it. His jailor^ finding him in a swoon, concluded he was dead* and gave orders that the body should be dragged out of the prison, and thrown upon a dun^iilL Wallace's nurse removed him from thence, with an intention of doing the last honours to his body. She observed, however, a palpitation at the heart, and finding life not entirely extinguished, she caiv ried the champion of Scotland to her cottage, and took measures for his recovery and concealment :

Thomas Rimour into the Fafle * was then. With the mynjrstir, quhilk was a worth! man. He uset oft to that rdigioass place ; The peple deny t of wit mekOl he can ; And so he told, thocht at thai bless or ban. Quhilk hapnyt suth in many divem caoe, I can nocht say, be wnuig or ricfatwysnaSy In rewlle of wer, quhether thai tynt or wan, It may be demyt be divisions of grace.

* A relifioQi honie near Ayr.

xvi SIR TBISTREM.

The servant of the minister arrives with the heavy tidings, that he had seen Wallace's corpse thrown out of the prison :

Thomas answered, '* Thir tythingis are noucht gud»* And that be suth mysell sail never eit breid."

The servant still affirms that the death of Wal- lace is certain, and that a poor woman has taken away his body to be buried :

Yit Thomas said, ** Than sail I leiff na mar Glf that be trow, be God, that all has wroncht."

The servant is dispatched to the cottage to pro- cure farther intelligence, and, after taking a so- lemn oath of secrecy, the nurse shews him the knight of Ellerdee :

Scho had hym up to Wallace by the dess. He spake with hym, syne &st agayne can press, With glad bodword, thair myrthes till amend ; He tald to them the first tythingis was less. Than Thomas said, ^ Fonuth, or he decess, Mony thousand on feild sail roak thar end ; Off this r^oune he sail the Southron send. And Scotland thriss he sail biyng to the pess. So gud of hand agayne sail neuer be kend.

Waliace, B. IL eh. <j.

« Are nmuht gud. Are act true.

INTRODUCTION. z?a

These are the only anecdotes concerning Tho* mas of Erceldoime) which occur in the more an* cient authors. We may collect firom them^ that he was, in his own time, a distinguished person- age, and, as such, long afterwards remembered. His aoquaintance with the earl of Afarch argues some degree of rank and birth, which may be also inferred firora hb witnessing the diarter of Peter de Haga, a powerful baron, along with Oliver, abbot of Driburgfa, Wlllielm de Bumdum, Hugh de Peresby, shirref of Rokysburgh, and WilL de Hattely, aU whose names sufficiently indicate hi^ rank. Although, therefore, we may hesitate to affirm, with Dempster, that he was the chieftain ofa most illustrious jGunily, or, with l^^sbet, diat he aijoyed the honour of knighthood, it would be absurd to deny, that Thomas of Eroddoune was a man of c<msideraUe rank, and honoured with the aoquaintance of the great and gallant of the time in which he Mved.

We ave ignorant that he wrote any thing ex- cept die romance of Sir TnMirem. His renown- ed presckaooe occasioned many verses of prophe* tic impoct to be imputed to him. One cS these

b

SIH TBISTREM,

rImpBodies appears to Imve been written in the reign of Edward III., and during his Scottish wars. It is presen'ed in the Museiun, and bears this title : La Cotinlesie de Donbar dcmande a ITMmas de Eae- don quatid la gurrrt d' Escoceprcnderit ft/n, E yl r a repomidj/ et dyl. There foUows a metrical pro- phecy, tlie performance of some person in the Englisli interest, and presaging the total subjuga- tion of Scotland. The poem is printed at lengtli in Pihkcrton's Poems, from tlie Maitland M.Si vol. I., and in the Minstrel^ of the Scottish Border, ' vol. IL p. 282. A later bard has composed a string of prophecies, not Httere<I by Tliomas the Rhymer himself, but delivered to him by the queen of Faery. They are introduced by the fol-" lowing wild and fanciful tale : Thomas of Ercel- I doune, seated beneath Eildoun-tree, a spot, the veneration for which may perhaps be traced back to the days of Paganism, saw a most beautifid dam sef riding towards him upon a grey palfrey. The splendour of her dress and accoutrements coidd only be exceeded by her personal charms. The Rlij-mcr hastened to meet tliis t>eai)IJiid vi- sion, and, after some conversation, "prayed her

lOTRODUCTION. xix

fiw her lore." This boon she refuses fi>r some time, aUedging that ** it would undo all her beau- ty," and that he would himsetf sorely r^ent his rash request. The bard despites every warning, ardently presses his suit, and at length a mortal is clasped in the arms of the queen «f Faery. The change which ensues in her person is stri- kingly painted. Her bright eyes become dead ; her &ir locks drop from the naked scalp ; her rich raiment is diangcd into rags, and the astonished poet beholds an odious hag, instead of the lovely &y. But repentance and terror were alike una* vailing ; he was compelled to bid adieu '* to sun « and moon, to grass and every green tree," and to leave the earth with his supernatural conductor. He mounts behind her on her palfrey, and they jonmey, with amazing speed, through the realms of utter darkness, hearing only the roaring of waters, through which they sometimes seon to cross. They pass a fair garden full of flowers and singing birds, and the most delicious fruit. Thomas puts forth a rash hand, but is cautioned to beware how he touches the fiital Tree of Know* ledge of good and evil His conductrefls shews

SIR TRISTREM.

him, successively, the road to heaven, to hdl, and to Fairy Land. The last is their route : they ar- rive at a splendid castle, filled with lords and la- dies, who doncfd, sung, and feasted till midnight. Of all these festivities Tliomas partook with his &ir damsel, who had now recovered all her ori- ginal beauty. After a time, she told him to pre- pare to return to " middle eanh,'* since the fiend of hell would next day visit the castle to claim a tithe of its inhabitants, and he, being a fair and stately person, would probably be of the number, should he remain till the arrival of their infernal sovereign. She adda, that he has already remain- ed three years in Fairy Land, and that she loves him too well to permit him to incur the dreadful risk which is impending. Accordingly, she cod- Teys him back to the Eildon tree, and, before se- parating, tells dim, in dark and figurative lan- guage, the fate of the wars betwixt England and Scotland. This tale exists in M8. in the Cotton Library (Vitell. E. X.,) under this title, IncipU Prop/usia Thoma de AneldoWn. The book which contains it has unfortunately been damaged by fire, so that much is illrgible. I am intbrined thai

INTRODUCTION.

there exists another imperfect copy in of Linoohi cathedral, beginning thus :

Lygtyns lordjmgSt both g;ret and smalley And takis gade tent what I will 8aye» I tail jow tell as tfewe a tale As ever was herde by nyg^ or

A copy of this poem, modernized and bafladi- zed^ preserved by tradition in Scotland, may be fimnd in the Border Minstrelnft^ where b also published the bqpnning of the Cottcm MS. There is reason to think this poem was written by a na- tive of Enj^d. The Lincoln copy has this coajV' let:

But Jhu Christ that dyd on tr^

Save IngI jache men where so they &re.

Some metrical prophecies, vulgarfy ascribed to Thomas of Eroeldoune, seem to have been very current in the reign of James V., Queen Maiy^ and James VI. One copy in Latin, and another in Elnf^ish, were published, with other things of the same kind, by Andro Hart, at Edinburgh, 1615. Bishop l^x>ttiswoode firmly believed in

VoL II. edit. 180S, p. 269.

1 I

SIR TRISTREM.

the authenticity of " tlie proplireies, yet extant " in Scottish rhyme, whereupon Tliomas Lear* " mount was commotiJy called Thomaa the Rhy- *' merj" nnd gravely adds, " whence or how he ■ " hod this knowledge can hardly be affirmed j but " sure it is that he liid divine aiwl answer truly " of many tilings to come-" Dempster terms the same veraes De J'uturo Scotia statu, liber uaut ; Mackenzie i« at the paioa to reprint both the JLatin and English ; and Nisbel gravely laments, that the change of crests and bearings, by which the persons are pointed out in these vaticinations, has rendered them almost uninteUlgiblc. If any of these aulliors had looked at the verses in ques- tion widi moderate attention, they must have seen^ that the author does not assert that Uiey were com- posed by Thomas the Rhymer. He only says, that, walking " upon a land beside a ley," he saw certain emblematical visions. They were explain- ed to him by a person with whom he met. When these wonders had all disappeared, the author wa< left alone wiili the interpreter :

I fnuncd fast what was ha name f Where that he came, from wliat couatric i " At Ersliiigtoiin I dwell at luune, Thomas Rymour men calls loe."

I

INTRODUCTION. xl^

Thus, it is not even pretended that these venes ^

were the composition of Hiomas of Erceldoune, though the author professes to have drawn from that venerable bard the information contained in them. Nevertheless, they were not only received as the genuine productions of the Rhymer, but continued to animate, the adherents of the house of Stuart down to the lait unfortunate attempt, in 1745.

There are current, among the country peqple, many rhymes ascribed to Thomas of Ejrceldoune. The reader will find several of them in the second volume o£ the Mimtrdrnf cf the Scottish Border* Thus concludes the history, real and fiibuknis, of the Rhymer, and his supposed productions, ezdn- sive of the ^romance, now published for the first time.

II. The Tale of Tristrem was not invented by Thomas of Ercddoune. It lays claim to tL much higher antiqui^ ; and, if we may trust the Welch authorities, is founded upon authentic his- tory. The following is the account of Tristrem, ^ handed down by the bards.

Tr}^tan (t.e. the Tumultuous,) the son of TaDwz,

wiw II (^IfAiriiUHj diit;ftuim who flourlshetl in ihc Nixth ('(.'ntury. Iti thu historical triads, he is rank- ed with Urcidiol and Gwgoii) as tlie three heralds of Rrjtiuiit HiifM'Hor id tlic kuowlcdge of the Iaws of wai'. Trystao, witli Gwair aiid Cai, were caUed the three diadeiii'd princes of Britain ; with Coll and Prydcri, he contpose<l the toad of the three mighty swinelierds j wiiii Gwair and Eiddihg, that of the three stubborn chiefs, whom none coidd turn iron) their purpose ; with Caswallon (Cassi- raUuiniw,) Ihc son of Ik-i, and Cyuoii, the son of 'Cigiao% tliat of tliG three taitlifiil lovers. The but qiiUiei he acquired from his passion for Essylt, the wilt- of Mark Meinion, his uncle. He was rontMii)xiniry witfi Arthur. Upon some disgust* he withdrew himsdf fmra tfie court of that mo- lUtrdi, and Owalzmai with the golden tongoe (the OmwMn cdf ronance) w«s sent to request his re- turn. AdUoguepasaedbetwixt tbem, farscop^ , oT whidbi m -mA as tar the above natioes, 1 am indebted to the Wnted Mr Oven, author of a claaskal Welch Dicoociai; ; il A}ipva(lix, Nu, IL

INTRODUCTION.

TlcMe who may be inclined to doubt the hij^ antiquity claimed, for. the Triadsi by Wdsh anti« quariesy must admit, that, in this instance, proha- - bility seems to warrant their authority. Tristrem is uniformly rq>re8ented as a n^ve of ComwaDi in which, and in the countries of Wales, Ireland^ and Brittany, all inhabited by the Celtic race, the scene of his history is laid. Almost all the names of the persons in the romance are of genuine British origin ; as Morgan, Roland Riis, Urgan (Urieii«) Biengwain,Gbnhardin,Bdiagog, Mark, Tristremt and Isoude, Ysonde, or Yssylt. The few nameSf which are of Norman extraction, belong to persons of inferior in^wrtance, whose proper British iq:q>dk lations may have been unknown to Thcnnas, and on whom, therefore, he bestows names peculiar to the NomuunEnglish dialect, in which he composed. Such are Gouvemail, Blauncheflour, TriamouTf and Florentin. The little kingdcan of Cornwall was oi^of the last points c£ refuge to the abori- ginal witons/ bffond the limits of the modem Wales. It ykUji^ to the Saxon invaders betwixt 927 and Ml, nAen the British were driven, by

Athektan, beyond the Tamar, and a cgbny Beta*

11

8m TR18TRBM.

blished at Exeter by tlic conqoeror. Previous to this event, and probably for a considerable time t afterwnrds, the Cornish retained the niflnners and habits of the indigenous natives of Britain. In i these manners, an entliusiastic attachment to po^ 1 try and music was a predominating teature. The | bards, the surviving branch of the ancient druids, claimed and received a sacred homage from the i hearers ; and to their songs, celebrating the stru^ 4 gles of Uie Britons against the >iaxons, may be r ferred one princijial source of the tide of roman- tic 6ction wliiili overflowed Europe during the | middle ages ; I mean the tales, wliich, in exag- gerating^ have ditigtiised, and almost obhterated, the true exploits ol" King Arthur and his followers. | In the ninth century, (ieoffrey of Mnnnioutli com- I piled, partly from BritiRl) originals, communicated I to him by the learned Waller, Archdeacon of Ox- | ford, and partly from the stores of his own imag^ I nation, a splendid history of King Arthur. This \ enticing tale soon drew into its vortex whatever | remained of British history or tradition ; ajid all ' the heroes, whose memory had been preserved by song, wen represented as the associates and cbam-

INTRODUCTION. xx?a

pions of the renowned Arthur. Among this splen- did group we have seen that Sir Tristrem holds a distinguished place. Whether he really was a contemporary of Arthur, or whether that honour was ascribed to him on account of his high re- nown, and interesting adventures, it is now diffi- cult to determine. Hie Welsh authorities affirm the first ; but his historjic, by Thomas of Ercel- doune, and the ancient poems on the subject, in the romance language, give no countenance to this . supposiidon. That Tristrem actually flourish- ed during the stormy, independence of Cornwall, and experienced some of those adventures, which have been so long the subject of the bard and the mii»tt«I, may, I think, be admitted, without incmy ring the charge of. credulity.

There occurs here an interesting point of di»- cussicm. Thomas of Erceldoune, himself proba- bly of Saxon origin, wrote in the Ingiii, or En- glish language; yet the subject he chose to ode- brate was the history of a British chieftain. This, in a general point of view, h not surprising. The invaders have, in every country, adopted, sooner or later, the traditions, sometimes even the genei^

SIR TRI8TRGM.

logies, of the original inhsbitants; while th^y haVQl forgotten, afler a few generations, those of tl country of their forefathers. One reasi to be, that tradition depends upon locali scene of a celebrated battle, the ruins c cient tower, the " historic stone" over the grave of . a hero, the hill and the valley inhabited of old b a particular tribe, remind posterity of events whid are sometimes recorded in their very names, a race of strangers, when the lapse of years hal induced theni no longer to account themsclveri ■ocb, welcome any fiction by which they < sociate their ancestors with the scenes in they theinsdves live, as transplanted Iret fimh every fibre that may connect them with t soil to which they are transferred. Thus tradition failed, among the SaxonH, which r to their former habitations on the Elbe j the Noi nans forgot, not merely their ancient dwellings ifl Scandinavia, but even their Neustrian p>ossessioiil and Iratli adopted with greedy ardour, the fabi lous history of Arthur and his chivab-y, in pret rence to the liettcr authenticated and more sple did atchievementa of Hengist, or of Rolf Gai

INTRODUCTION.

the oonqueror of NonnaDtdy. But this natural dis* pontion of the ccmquerors to naturalize them- •elves^ by adopting the traditions of the nativea, led, in the particular rituation of the Ejoglish mo- narchs after the conquest, to some curious and al> most ancHnalous consequences.

Hiose who have investigated the history of the French poetry observe, with surprise, that the ^ear- liest romances, written in that language, refer to the history of King Arthur and his Round Table, a theme, one would nave thought, uncongenial to the feelings of the audience, and unconnected with the country of the minstrel. Mons. de Tressan^ first gave a hint of the real cause of this extmr ordinary preference, by* supposing that the Nor- man iroyveurs, or minstrels, by whom these tales of King Arthur were composed, wrote for the amuse- ment, not of the French, their countrym^i, but of the Anglo-Norman monafchs of England. This dynasty, with their martial nobility, down to the

* Ejfirmti de$ Bomans^ Tom. I. p. 1. Tressan is tresti^g of this very romance of Sir TVufrfw, but seems to be ^ aorant of the emtence of a metrical copy in the Romance hmguage.

^/

xxx SIR TRISTREM.

reign of Edward III., continued to use, almost eX-n clasirely, tlie Rwnmnce or ancient French I jiuoge; whiic the Sax<m, although spoken i-hicfly^ hy the vulgar, was gradually adopting, from the ri- J vol tongue, those iuiprovcments and changes, which 4 fittetl it for tlie use of Chaucer and Gower.* But A

* From the following iulroiluction to tfie metrical n of Jrl/iur and Merlin, writtcu during the minority ofEdwar III. it iqipean that the English language was then gaimi ground. The author saj-a, he has even seen many gentlemen 1 who could speai no French (though generally used by persom J of their rank,) wliile persons of every quality understood Fnga^ lish. He extols the advantages of children who are sent t^I

Avnuntaget Ibai baven (bare,

Fieyrahoud Lalinercrnje where j

or Freynsh do Laliii nil Y te\ more,

4c on tpgtiihe Ichil lei iherFare i

Rtthi U thai Ingliebc, Ingliihe BndenioDd,

Thai wa> born in laglond :

Freyaihe uk ihiigenlilmaR,

Ac everich Ingtblie can :

Mani nolile 1 have y-icighe,

That DO Freyube coultaKye;

BigiD Icbil for ber Iotc,

By Jcsiu loir, thai lid above.

On Ingliiche tel my tale,

God oiu Mud 9ou1c bale.

Tretisa tells us, that ia 1385, " m ^ tlie gramniar scolea ■TEngland, children leveth French, and cotutructh and ler-

.INTRODUCTION.

the veU has been more completely removed by the Abb^ de la Rue, in his curious essays upon what he aptly terms the Anglo-Norman poetry, those com-^ positions, namely, which were written in French,* but for the amusement of the kings and nobles o£ England.

One consequence of the popularity of the Bri- tish tales among the Anglo-Norman poets, was, that all those parts of modem France, in which the Romance language prevailed, obtained an ear- ly and extensive acquaintance with the supposed history of Arthur and the other heroes of Wales. The southern provinces, in which the dialect of Languedoc prevailed, were the seat of Proven9al poetry ; and it seems probable, that, at an early period, the Troubadours were more welcome at the court of France, than the Norman minstrels, who resided on the territories of the sovereigns of England, and tuned their harps to the fiunc of the ancient heroes of Britain. In process of time, when Normandy was acquired by the kings of France, the minstrels prudently changed their theme, from the praises of Arthur and his Round Table, to the more. acceptable subject of Charlemagne and hia

SIK TRISTREM.

PoUdina. Thk, at least, seems a fair conjecture, since the romances of tliis latter class, fuuiidcd upon the annuls of the Pseud o-Turpin, are allow- ed, by the French literati, to be inferior in anti- quity to those relating lo Britiiih story.

Among the tales imported into France from Bri- tain, and which obtained an early and extensive pojiularity, the history of Tristrem is early tlistin- guiahed. Chrestien de Troycs, who wrote many romances, is said to have composed one upon tliis subject, which he inscribed to Philip, count of Flanders, who died in 1191, As this poet also composed the liistory of Lt Chevalier iT Epee (prt>- bably the story of The Knight and the Sword, oc- curring in Way's Fabliaux,) Ijc Cheva/ier dc ia Chamtte (the history of Sir Lancelot^ and hi Checalitr a Lion {Ywain and Gawain,) it is per- haps to bim that we may ascribe the association «f Tristrem into the chivalry of the Round Table ; if so, he was not followed, in this respect, by later authors. It is difficidt.to ascertain whence Chre»< tien de Troyes procured his subjects. Tlic tales may have passed to blm from Armorica : but, as the union between Britain and Normandy was, J

INTRODUCTION. xxziii

his dayiy most intimate, it seems fiilly as probable, that he himself collected in England, or from Eng- lish authority, the ancient British traditions which he framed into Romances.* There is some mi- certainty as to his actually writing the history of Tristrem j but at any rate, in one of his songs, he alludes to the story, as generaUy known :

Ainques dou buvnige ne bui Dont Tristan fiit eoopoisoiier. Ctr plni ma fiut aimer qai lui Fob cuen et boo volupt6.t

I need not, I, the drink of force, Which drugged the valiant Triatrem^i bowl : Mj passion daims a nobler source, The fre^>will oflbing of my soul.

• La Combe obBerfas, ^ Le roman de Tristan Leonis, I'un de pins beaux et dcs mieux fiuts qui aient jamau M publics, panit en 1 19a Cest le plus aaden de nos tomans en prose. L'auteor etoit encore de la cour dcs due de Normandie, roi ifAn^cterTe.*' Preftce, p. xzvi. In this passage the learned yitlfman makes a mistake, in which he is followed by Mens* I'Efeque de hi Ravfllere. If Chresden de Troyes actually wrote a Ustoiy of Tristrem, it certainly was in ferM, like all his other compositions ; and it is morally impossible to point out a prose romance, upon that or any other sdiject, previous to 119a

f La Ravillcre^ Revoluiians de la Langue Francoi$e, P0nift 4hi Rtn de Ndwre, torn, it-pi 168.

c

f

xniv SIR TRISTREM.

Nor does the celebri^ of the tale rest solely upon the evidence of Chresden de Troyes. It is twice alluded to by the king of Nayarref who wrote in 1286, or yery near that period.

Douce dame* s'fl vos plaiaoit, un soir,

M'auriez plus de joie don^

C'onquez Tristanz, qui en fit son pooir, &c.

De mon penser^ aim miex la compaignie, Q'oncques Tristan ne fitt Yseul s'amie.*

The ingenious Mons. de la Rue informs us, that the 11th Lay of the celebrated Mademoiselle Ma- rie, called Cheorrfeuilkf is founded on an incident taken fix>m the amours of Tristrem with the wife of King Marc. Marie flourished about the middle of the 12th century. Arckaohg^aj vol. 13. p. 43. This lay, of which the reader will find an abstract in the Appendix, No. III., begins thus :

Aaez me plest, e bien le voily Du lai ge hum nume chevrefoO ; Q'la ^erite vous encunt,

* Pur quoi fl fu fete dunt: Plusun me le unt eunte e dit, £ jeo I'ai trov^ en escrit,

De Tristrem e de la reine, De lur amur, qui tant fu fine,

* Pocties du Roi de Navarre, pp. 7. 145.

INTRODUCTION. xxxr

Dant flz earent meinte dolor, munnent en im jour.

Tills celebrated lady avowedly drew her mate« riab from Armoiica, the scene of several of Tris* trem*8 exploits, and finally of his death.

Thus, the story of Tristrem appears to have been popular in France, at least thirty years before the probable date of Thomas of Erceldoune's work. A singular subject of inquiry is thus introduced. Did Thomas translate his poem fix>m some of those whidi were current in the Romance language ? Or did he refer to the original British authorities, from which his story had been versified by the French minstrels? The state of Scotland, at the period when he flourished, may probably throw some light on this curious point.

Although the Saxons, immediately on their land- ing on the eastern coast of Ejigland, obtained set- tlements, fix>m which they were never finally dis- lodged, yet the want of union among the inva- ders, the comparative smallncss of their numbers, and a variety of other circumstances, r^idered the progress of their omquest long and uncertain^ For ages after the arrival of Hengist and Horsa* the

SIR TRISTREM.

whole western coast of Britain was possessed \ the aboriginal inhabitants, engaged in constant wars witJi the Saxons ; tlie slow, but stiU increa- sing tide of whose victories still pressed < from the east- These western Britons were, i fortunately for tliemselvcs, split into innumerable petty sovereignties } but we can distinguish ibtir grand and general divisions. 1st, The county of Cornwall, and part of Devonshire, retained its in- dependence, in the south-west extremity of the island. 2dly, Modem Wales was odeit united under one king. Sdly, Lancashire and Cumber- land formed the kingdom of the Cumraig Britons, which extended northward to Solway Firth, whicb is now the borders of Scotland, ithty. Beyond the Scottish border lay the kingdom of Strath- clwyd, including, probably, all the western part of Scotland, betwixt the Solway Firth and Firth of Clyde. With the inhabitants of the Highlands, we have, at present, no concern. This western di- vision of the island being peopled by tribes of a kindred origin and language, it is natural to con- ceive, even were the fact dubious, that die same traditions and histories were current among t]

INTBODUCTION. xm'd

m

Cribes. Acoording^y fhe modern WdA are aa widl veraed ift tke poebry of the Cumraig and tbe Stfathdwyd BritonB, ai in that of thdr natrre bwdB ; and k is chiefly from them that we learn the obBcare contentfona which these nortfa-westcra Briteu maintained againat die Saxon hrraden. The di^mted frontier, inateid of extendii^ acroaa dke iifauid, as die more nuidern division of £i^ knd and Soodan^ qppeare to hare run longitodi-* aally, from Bordi to 80Dth« id an irrq^idar Ime, be* gi— fiig at die numntains of Cmidtierknd, ineh»» ding die high gronnds of Liddesdale and Teriot- dale, together with Ettrick forest wad TVeeddale; dius eonnectii^ a long tract of monntaiflons comi« tiy widi the head of Clydesdale, the district which gsffe name to the petty kingdom.* In this strci^ and defisnsible country, the natives were long able to maintain their ground* About 850, the unicm of

^ As i>asl%es of a Ih^ dilch rnqr be tiaesd fteai d» jaao- ef thsGala sod ths Tvsad, sod mnaiag thaaas south* hrauali tha oppar part ef Roafcufyisaira» and urte liililmhli ft is csDed ths Cst-Rad, or GaMail» aUd liaa oaminlsr base a kod-amk batwixt tbeCSotliic mvadcr^ who the lower ooaaCiy, sad ths Jad^eaoas Celts, who driven So ths BMMntaiBs. IVadftioBSBgFStthstitWHidqa to dWide the Pegbts and Bietts, t. e. Picts aad Britons.

SIR THI8TREM.

the Scots and Picts enabled Kenneth and bis s ccsRnrs to attack, and, by Hegrecs. totally to s due the hitlierto independent kingdoms of Strst clwyd and Cumbria. But, although they « thus made to constitute an inte^ai part of w has since been colled Scotland, it is reasonable II conclude, that their manners and customs confl nued, for a long time, to announce their Bnti4 descent. In tliesc districts had flourished s the most distiiigutslied British bards ; and tliey h H-ilnesstxl many of the memorable erent d«:i<led the fate of the island.* It must be si [tosctl ihai tlie Givotirite tniditions of Arthui his knights retained their gromid tor a length i time, among a people tlius descaiiled. Accord ingly, the !»ceiie of many of their exploits is li

' Of the (brotrwK Mefdwinn W^ or MoUa the Skw^b. wbo iahtbitml the woodi oTTaccddale, wd «m buried M DnnuMlnar (7^m/u JH(rCw,)BevPMbln;a)K» Ancatfa, vtM> ciiwhimi tbv blooJf ooiwH bccwixl cliv Borta^rcitaH MWBi, Mrilhi SMBWKrflWria. ThcxnofEdfaibwAB pMrticolH-, wen ill cut off; mm) ii b n«e tfaan pralNlil^ ih« Umhiwc ftnnn of tiM dtr Snt jieUiri todK Skmmi, tett oriMM h «■■ altannnb ttba bjriba Scm* aad Het^ wken

INTEODUCnON.

in this frontier ooimtiy; Bamboroagfa castle being pointed out as the Castle OrgeiQcos of romanoet and Berwick as the Joyeuse Garde, the strong- hdd of the renowned Sir Lancdot In the days of FrcHssarty the monntams of Cnmberland were still called Wala; and he mentions Carlisle (so fiuOAoUs in ronumtic s(»ig) as a ** city beloved of King Atthnr/' Even at this day, the Cehic tradi- tions of the Border are not entirety obliterated,* and we may therefore reasonably condude, that in the middle of the ISth century they flourished in fiill vigour.

If the reader casts his eye upcm the map, hewlD see that Eroeldoune is situated on the borders of

• See Eiesy prefixed to Pcpiufram Mdtkmd MS^by Mr FSakcrton, p. lnd»; Cdmpk^ni qf Seoilandt IntroducCioDy p^ 19e. The editar met with a curiout inifanre of whet is Mted in the text Being told of a tradition of a hunter who niied a m^^ity bear, and punned him, firom his lair on the Yanowy up to St May's Lekc^ where he was sUiy at a place caOed Mukkra, he had the curiosiQr to examine the deriva- tioD of this hst name. It sjgniftes, m Gaelic, The place of the Bo«r, and seems to attest the truth of the tradition. Indeed* most of the names of places in the south-west of Scotland are of British derivation, and are sometimes found to refer to po- pubr traditioas jet cunentt while the narrators are totally ignorant of the evidence thus aflhrded to the^ truth of their story.

SIR TRI8TREH.

(he ancienl British kingdmn of Strathdwyd ; and I think WG may be authonzed to coiicliidct that in that country Thomas the Rhymer cullected the materiids for his impressive tale of Sir Triitmn. The story, although it had already penetrated into France, must have been preserved in a more pure and authentic elate by a people, who, ]>erhai>«i had hardly ceased to speak the language of the hera There are some considerations which strongly teq|fl to confirm this supposition. -^H

In the first place, we have, by a very fortunate coincidence, satisfactory proof that tlic romance of Sir Tristrem, as comgiosed by Thomas of Ercel- dounc, was known upon the continent, and refer- red lo by the French minstrels, as the most au- thentic mode of t^ing the story. This is fortu- nately established by two metrical fragments of a French romance, preserved in the valuable Ubraij of Francis Douce, Esq. F.A.S., of which the reader will find a copious abstract, foUon-ing the Poem. The stoiy, told in those fragments, will be found to correspond most accnrately with the tale of Sir Tristrem, as narrated by lliomas of Erceldoune, wliile both dificr essentially from the French prose

INTRODUCTION. xK

nnumoe, aftenmidi pdUbbed. There teems Toom to believe that these fragments were part of a poem^ composed (as b believed) by Raoul de Beauvais, who flourished in 1257, about the same time of Thomas of Erceldoune ; and shortly after we 8iq>- pote the latter to bai^ composed Kb grmd work.

•

As many Normans had settled in Soothoid abcwt tUi period, it is probable that Thomas's tale was early transktedf or rather imitatedf m the Ronmce hngnage. The gnmnd far bcKeving that this tssk waa perfcrmed by Ramd de Beanvais, is his bring the Boppoied anthor of a ronanee osi the subject of Sir Pereetmlf preserved in the librarf of FcKMUik^ The writer announces himself as the author of se- veral other poemsy particularly upon the subject of King Mmrk and UhU h Blmde.

CO qui fit dibiee et fEnide, £t les CTimmandcmcns d^Of id^ Et r art vBUucf en RomsD mttty Del Roy Bfsft^ et d^idt la Bloody Et de la Hii8se» et ds nSvoiideb Et del Res^gnol la nmsnoet Un autre coote commence lynn vdlet qui en Oresse fb Del Unsge le Roj Artn.*

• The kle iqemiout MrRHsoawas led to sscribe the ro> maoce sbofe qooted, andy conaeqiieotly^ the poem Del Roy

The author professes to have found the original | of the hifitoty,

En un des livres de I'ftumaire MoDsigner S. Pierre a Biauvais.

This seems to be the prii)c!pnl reason for ascrl- i biog the romance of Perceval to RbouI de Beau> I Tais. But it is probable that the author of that I romance, whoever he was, also wrote Mr Douce*s>^ tragments. After narrating tlie adventiirea of Sir I Tristrem, down to his second retreat to Britanny, I there occurs the following most curious passage^ concenujig the different modes of telliug the story i

Jlforc *( d'Yseuit la Blonde, to Chreslien de Trojea, who lived 1 long before Tbooms of ErceMoune. Ancient Metrical Ro^l tnancci, Intrcxiuclorr DisBertation, p. xliii. But that indua trious antiquary was led into the error, by Chreatien being thai author of B yet more asuieDt romance upon the sume subject ■ of Perceval, but differcDt from that mentioned in the test..! This work is meDtioDcd by Faucbet, who seems never to lutva ■ cecn it, and is cjuoted in Gallanil'e Euay, as totally distinct J froiD that whidi is ascribed to Raoul de Beauvaia, and c( dcTHbly more andent. Mem. de CAcad del Intrripliom torn. a. tt 675, G80.

INTRODUCTION.

xliS

riy cctt cvote est imU diien €•9 nm psr nes asrfy ■ taoC cnni eit JBcttier* rplos Toil reicMer. 1 pai trop emnl dire* ene la matyae, «iit qui loleot contery cute TrittriB parier.

idepl«iorgeot| i que cheiciiii en diC, |B*il out mil en eicrit. ■ncequej^ai o^, Bt pas faliiD Breriy lei gettet et let canCa let reby de tn Ici eaatcty t itt6 en Bretagae, ■e tat de ceit onralagaa. de DOS gnuiter ae Toleat del naifli dire le loleot ae Kaberdla dat aiaien I redat Triftraa aaiicr, efc6 pas giaot eagia € afold Kaberdin. k plaie, e par cest mal, 1 Tristiaa Goreraal, Ictarre par YsolL Ico, graater ae Tolt s It, par ratsoai, BMStrer le pat pas either, t par tat la part coaeas, It lerffMifaMy 'aaar cft paijaaersi rs Ysalt aMSBigeiB. 'ca haiet bmOI fonacBt 1 lefeseitA sageat itpatUdaacYtidr ice k la cart ofHr, , albanniyalJe^JaaB, t estrange awrchint f

I LatdiagSytkistaleisTerydiifercatiytoldi Aad therefore I am * • • (uninUiHgliU) Aad tell as mach as is aecessary, And will lea? e the remaiader. I will Bot say too mach aboat it. 80 diTeise b the matter, AaMMig those who are ia habit of tellisg Aad relating the story of Tristru 1 They tell it very diifereatly 1 I have heanl it from many. I know well eaoogh how each tells It, And what they have pat in writing. Boti according to what I hate beard, Thay do sot tell it as Bierl does, Who knew the gcstes and the tales Of all the kii«p, and aB the carls. Who had beea la Brittany, And about the whole of this story (ouvrffgs.) llaay of m {tUnttrdi) will aot allow What othen tell of (Triitran the) dwarf, Who is said to haTO'beeB la lore with the wife of Ka. ThatdwarfcaasedTrist/aatobewonoded [herdea* And poisoned, by great artiflce, WhtB ha had occasioned Kahcrdea to grow mad. On accoont of this woaad aad this disease, Trtstraa sent Gaaremail lata England for Ysolt. Tkomai, howerer, will aot admit thb 1 Aad aadertakes to prove, by argaaMati, That thb coold aot be.

He (Osaacraai/) was ioiown all over those parts, Aad throqghaat the kiagda■^ As beiqg privy to the love (^Triftraa and FmU,) Aad often employed on mesMiges to YsolL The king bated him for it mortally 1 Aad caased him to be watched by hb people. How thta coald he coma To offer hb serrice to the coart. To the king, to the baroat, and se^eaots. As if he had beea a stranger mercluuit ?

Que Fiamc iui cooclui N'i fad mult tiM apcrcnu, Ne Mi comeni U tt gantait.

Edeli Ewc<

c talent frenlrr,

Ctngenl le luc, c jo tc nwo : La raboo li pnncra ben.

BUI lo kDowo llieie nt bare twca inmEdialely t do not kaow bov be coaid J Nor how be could carry ofcr Yiolt. The;T "^ inolved id ■ Tcry foslisb Ul(^^ And tu dntaul from Ihe tntb. ( <^^

And if Ihey will doI admit Iba, i^M

1 will not iteiTc »ith then. ^H

Let tbero keep their opiniao, and I wm^ The reauu of the thing wiU prore ittelt

I think that the reader will be disposed to admit ,. the Thomas, mcntifmed in this passage, to be onr^ bard of £rc«3)dounc. It is true, that the language^ of the fragment appears to be very ancient, and J might, were other evidence wanting, incline as ti refer it rather to the I2th than the IStb cento-J ry. But the French iHiiguag^, as spoken in Eng-^ land, seems lo have adt^ted few improvemcnta from the contineat. In ikct, it remained station- J aiy, or was retrograde; for words were adopted^ Irom the Elnglisli, and, consequ^tly, even at iti J latest period, the Anglo-Norman had an antt<]uap' j ted and barbarous east. Tlius it has become tliffi- cult tor tlie best judges to point out any very mark- ed difference betwixt the stile of Marie and some ports of Ware's inutslaiiun, thougl) a cetitury oo curs betwixt the date of their poems ; cousequent-

INTRODUCTION. xlv

IjTf the author <^ our firagmaits may have only written a rude aad unimproved, instead of an ob- solete dialect Chaucer seems to aUude to the dif- ference of the proper French and the Anglo-Nor- maUf when he tells us of his prioresse (a lady of rank)-^

And Frencbe die spake fbll fiijre and festfly. After the soole of Btndbfd atte Bow X For French of Pivis was to hire imkuowab

The reference to style being thus uncertain, the endenoe on the other side must be allowed to countervail it. For, that Thomas of EroeMoune wrote the romance of Sir Trkhrem^ a wori( of most extended reputation, is ascertained by Robert de Bnauie: That he flourished in the ISth century, is proved by written evidence: That the tale, as told in the Frotginoi^t, corresponds exactly with the edi- tion now published, while they both differ wid^ fipom eveiy other work upon the same subject, is indisputable. As the one, therefore, is affirmed to be the work of Thomas, and the other refers to E Thomas who composed such a work, the conneo* tion betwixt them is compktdy proved, and the ascertained period <tf Thomases existence may be

xlvi

SIR TRISTREM.

se&\y held as a landmark for fixing tfae date c the fragments, notwithstanding the obsolete las guage in which tliey are written.

Assuming, llierefore, that Thomas of Erceldoimri! is the person referred to by the contemporary French author, it will be dilGcult to give any otha reason for the high authority which the minstrd assigns to hiui) than his having had immediate sc cess to the Celtic traditions concerning Sir Trii trem, with which the Anglo-N'onnan roraanccn were unacquainted. The author of the fragments quotes the authority of Breri, apparently an J morican, to whom were known all tlie tales of tb kings and carls of Brittany ; and with equal pro priety be might refer to Thomas of Erccldoune, a living in the vicinity of what had been a British kingdom, where, perhaps, was still spoken the In guage in which the feats (rf Sir TrtHrem were tinU Bimg. But it is plain, that, had Thomas U ted from the French, tlie Anglo-Norman n would have had no occasion to refer to a transla tor, when the original was in hi:i on-n language and within his immediate reach. M'hat attached authenticity to Thomas's work seems, tlterelbre, t

i

INTRODUCTION- xWa

have been the parity of his British materiab, by wrhkik he brou^t bade, to its original simj^cify, a story, which had been altered and perverted in- to a thousand forms, by the diieurs of Normandjr. But what may be allowed to put our doubts at rest, is the eridence of Ootfiried von Strasburgfa, a German minstrel of the ISth century, who com- piled a prodigiously long metrical romance on the subject of Sir Tristrem. This author, like the French duewr^ affirms duit many of his profession told the celebrated tale of Sir Tristrem imperfect^ and incorrectly} but that he himself derived his authority from <* Tliomas of Britannia, master of the art of nmiance, who had read the history in British books, and knew the lives of all the lords <rfthe land, and made them known to us." Got- firied adds, that he sought Thomas's narrative di- ligentty both in French and Latin books, and at length fortunately discovered it. In another place he appeals to the authority of Thomas concerning the dominions of Revaline, (the Roland of Tho- mas) which he says consisted of Parmenie, ( Arme- nie) and of a separate territory hekl of Duke Mor- gan, to wh<»n the Scots were then subject. Hcin-

xlviii

SIE TEISTREM.

rich von Vribere, the continiiator of Gotfried's narrative, also quotes the autliority of Thomas of Britannia, whose work seems to hnve been known to hiin through the medium of b Lombard or Ita lian translation. An account of those German r mances, wliicli the editor owes to the friendship a Mr Henry Weber, is subjoined to the analysis of ■ the French fragments. Tlie references which thq contain to the autliority of Tliomas of Britannia^ serve to ascertain his original property in the poei of Sir Tristrem.

In the second place, if Thomas of Erceldoui did not translate from the French, but compi an original poem, founded upon Celtic traditiot it will foUow, that the first classical Engtiah i mance was written in part of what is now called Scotland ; and the attentive reader will find som reason to belie\-e that our language received 1 first rudiments of improvement in the very con: where it now exists in its most debased state- In England, it is now generally admitted, tha^ ailer the Norman conquest, while the Saxon L guagc was abandoned to the lowest of the people* \ and while the conquerors only deigned to employ ]

INTRODUCTION. xlix

their native French, the mixed language, now call- ed Enj^ish, only existed as a kind otUngua franca^ to conduct the necessary intercourse betweoi the victors and the vanquished. It was not till the reign of Henry III. that this dialect had assumed a shi^ fit for the purposes of the poet ;* and even then, it is most probable that English poe- try, if any such existed, was abandoned to the peasants and menials, while all, who aspired above the vulgar, listoied to the lau of Marie, the fx>^ wumca of Chretien de Troyes, or the interesting fabliaux of the Anglo-Norman trouveun. The on- ly persons who ventured to use the native language of the country in literary compositions, were cer- tain monkish annalists, who usually think it ne- cessaiy to inform us, that they condescended to so degrading a task out of pure charity, lowliness of spirit, and love to the *' lewd men" who could not understand the Latin of the cloister, or the Anglo- Norman of tlie court Evoi when the language waa gradually polished, and became fit for the pur- poses of the minstrels, the indolence or taste of

See Ellis's Sptamefo^ vol* i. disp. iii.

d

SIR TBISTREM.

that race of poets induced tlicm, oiid those wh4 wrote for their use, to prefer translating the i glo-Norman and French romances, which stood the test of years, to the more precarious a kborious task of original comiiosition. united opinion of Wharton, Tyrwhytt, and Ritso that there exists no Enghsh Romance, prior to tl days of Chaucer, which is not a translation of s( earlier French one.

Wliile these circumstances operated to the improvement of the English language ii land itself, there is great reason to believe, tliat )| the Lowlands of Scotland its adviuiccs were i rapid. The Saxon kingdom of Bcmiciu a limited by the Tweed, but extended, nt least c casionally, as fur northward as the Firth of Fori The fertile plains of Berwickshire, and the 1 thians, were inhabited by a race of Anglo-Si whose language resembled that of the Belgic tribi whom they had conquered, and this blended spec contained, as it were, the original materials of the English tongue. Bej'ond the Firtlis of Forth and, of Tay, was the principal seat of the Picts, n (

int;roduction. u

thic tribe,* if we can trust the best authorities, idio qpoke a dialect of the Teutonic, different fix>m the Anglo-Saxon, and apparently more allied to the Belgic* This people, felling under the domi- nion of the kings of Scots, the united forces of those nations wrenched from the Saxons, first, the province of the Lothians, finally, that of Berwick- shire, and even part of Northumberland itself. But, as the victors spoke a language similar to that of the vanquished, it is probable that no great alteration took place in that particular, the natives of the south-eastern border continuing to use the Anglo-Saxon, qualified by the Pictish dialect, and to bear the name of Angles. Hence, many of our Scottish monarchs' charters are addressed Fideti" bus iuk Scottis et Anglht the latter being the inha- bitants of Lothian and the Mcrse. See Macpher- ton's excellent No/ei on Wintoun^ vol. II. p. 474, Diplamata^ pp. 6, 8, Ittdepettdence^ Appendix 2d. The Scots, properly and rcstrictively, meant the

* Since the first publication of this romaDce, the Gothic dc- floent of the Pictish nation has been vei^ ably combated in the Caledonia of Mr Chalmers. So little of the editor's argument lesti upon this point, that he is fortunately not called upon to ditcuM a point of such obscurity against so able an opponent

Hi SIR TRISTREM.

northern Caledonians, who spoke Gaelic ; but ge- nerally used, as in these charters, that name in- cludes the Picts, with whom they were now united, and all inhabitants of Scotland north of the Firths of Clyde and Forth. In Strathclwyd, and in the ancient Reged, the Britons were gradually blended with the Scoto-Angles of Lothian an<l Berwick- shire, and adopted their langnnge. Here, there- fore, was a tract of country including all the south of Scotland, into which the French or Romance language was never so forcibly introduced. TTie oppression of the Norman monarchs, atid the fre- quency of civil wars, drove, it is true, many rf their nobility into exile in Scotland ; and, upcm Other occasions, the auxiliary aid of these warlike strangers was invoked by our Scottish kings, to aid their restoration, or secure their precarious dominions. Twice within three years, namely, in 1094 and 1097, the forces of the Anglo-Normans aided Duncan and Edgar, the sons of Malcolm, to expel from the Scottish throne the usurper Do- nald Bain. In the War of the Standard, most of David's men at arms arc expressly stated to have

INTRODUCTION. liu

been Normans ; and the royal charters,* as well as the names of our peerage and baronage, attest the Norman descent of most of our principal fiuni- lies. But these foreigners, though they brought with them tal^its, civil and military, which recom- mended them to the &vour and protection of the Scottish monarchs, though they obtained large possessions and extensive privileges, were neither so numerous nor so powerful as to produce a change in the language of the country, even among persons of their own eminent rank. Accordingly, although French was doubtless understood at the court of Scotland, it seems never to have been qx^en by her kings and nobles; the Inglis re- maining the ordinary language. But the suc- ceeding influx of Norman barons, although they could not change the language of Scothind, intro- duced into it a variety of words firom the romance, and gave it probably the same tinge of French which it acquired in Englaiad at a later period.

* The &Boat ditrtar of David L, addreited Omnihufid^ Ubu» mil totiut regni stci, Francis, et AngUds, et Scattit, et GoMmuftitf, attests the variety of tribes who inhabited hts dominioDs.

silt TUISTREM.

llius tlio language, now called English, was form- ed under very different circumsiaiices in England mid Scotland ; and, in the latler country, llie Tea-^ tonic, its principal component part, was in niched from court, or confinett to the use of thl vulgar, as woti unquestionably the case in the fop< mer.

It may be thought that the British, spoken, i we have seen, by the tribes of Cumbria and StratB CJwyd, as well as by the proper Scots, ought t have entereti into the composition of the new h guage. But, although possessing beauties of itn own, the Celtic ha« every where been found uics pablc of Ix'ing amalgamated with the Gothic d Iccts, from which it is radiciiUy and totally di» tinct. The Scottish kings appear soon to havH disused it, although, while the recollection of th^n original descent and language continued, a Celtii bard, or sennachie, was sometimes heard to dcliva' a rhapsody in honourof the royal descent, like the Duan composed by the court-bard of Malcobn III. But as their lun};unge became unintelligible, the re- ~ spect paid to them was dimiiii^^hed, and at length* ihough still adnn'iicd upon great festivals, (lidr

INTRODUCTION. Iv

Erse genealogies became the object rather of de- rision than admiration* Such a bard is well de- scribed in the Houlat^ a poem written during the reign of James IL, and contuning some curious traits of manners.* At length, by statute 1457, ch. 79, the wandering Celtic bards are ranked with somarti (perscms taking victuals by force,) master^ fid beggars (sturdy beggars,) and feigned fi)obf all to be imprisoned, or banished the country. Mean- while, the minstrds, who used the English lan- guage, and had, in fiM:t, founded many of dieir

• The nuke^ aUlet the Bard. Sa come the Ruke, with a rerde and a rane-roch,

A bard out of Ireland, with Banochadee, Said ** Glmmtow guk dynydrmch hala wiytchty doeh^

** Reke hir a rug of the rost, or echo sail ryve thee ; ** Bitich wrnkmory aeh maeh wtomiiir^ moch loch^

^ Set ber doun, gif her drink ; quhat deill ajfles ye ? •* (/Dermyn^ (yDonnai, &Dochardy Droch,

^ Thir ar the Ireland kingis of the ErechryCf ** (TKnemiyn, (yOmochar^ (TOregrt^ Mac Grane, <* The Chemaehy^ the Clartehaeh^ ** The Benetehene^ the Ballaeh, * The Krekrye^ the Caraeh^ ^ Scho.kennis them flk ane.^'

The bard, for tioubling the company with thii dtssonant jar- gon, ii at length rolled in the mire by two buflbont. PlKKXR- TOll'9 SeoiiiMk Poemf, vol. III.

y

hi

SIR TRISTREM.

■OUDlUI

tales upon the traditions of the neglected and op- pressed bards, were ranked with knights and he- ralds, and permitted to wear silk robes, a dress limit* , cd to persons who could spend a hundred poui of land rent.

From this short statement it follows, that, while tlic kings and nobles of England were amused by talcs of chivalry, composed in the Frencli or Ro- mance language, those which were ctiaunted in the court of Scotland must have been written ori< gioalty in Inglls. The English did not begin to translate these French poems till about 1300, nor to compose original romances in their own lan- guage until near a century later. But Thomas of Erceldoune, Kendal (whose name seems to infer a Cumbriaji descent,) Hutchcon of the Awie Royal, and probably many other poets, whose names and works have now perished, had already flourished in the court of Scotland. Besides Sir Tristrenit there still exist at least two Scottish romances, which, in all probabili^, were comjKtsed long be- fore the conclusion of the 13th century. These are entitled Gaaen and Gologras, and Galoraa of Gatoteay. Tliis opinion is not founded i

INTRODUCTION. Wd

upon their extreme rudeness and uninteQigibility | for that may be m some degree owing to the ftu« perabundant use of alliteration, which required many words to be used in a remote and oblique sense^ if indeed they were not invented ^^ for the nonce/' Bot the comparative absaK^ of French words, and French phraseology, so fashionable in Scotland after the time of Robert Bruce, when the intercourse of the countries became more inti- mate, and, above all, evident allusions to the pos- session of part of Scotland by the British tribes, seem to indicate suiBSciently their remote antiqui- ty. Even the aUiteration is a proof of the country in which they were composed. Qiaucer tells us, that the composition of gestes, or romances, and the use of alliteration, were, in his time, peculiar at- tributes of the northern poets. His Personne says,

But tniiteth wd, I am a aotherne msD, I cannot gestCf rem^ ram, ruf, by my letter. And, God wote, rime bold I but litd better.

In these romances there does not i^pear the least trace of a French original ; and it seems pro- babley that, fike Sir Tmtrem^ they were compiled by Scottish authors from the. Celtic traditions,

ivS SIR TRISTREM.

which still floated among (heir counlrymcn. T(» 1 this list, wc might pcrhiip^i be nulhori»ed in add-4 ing the Histoiy of Sir Edgar and Sir Grime ; ior'A although only a modernized copy is now known to 4 eitist, the language is unquestionably Scottish, and! the ecene is laid in Carrick, in Ayrshire.

The very early and well-known romance of /for»>fl child seems also to be of border origin ; nay, there^ is some room to conjecture, that it may have bceii'l the composition of Thomas of Erceldoune hinist'l£v The French MS. of ihe romance, in the Museum,! licgins thus :

Scignura oi avez le vers del parcbemiti. Cum le Ben AAlufest venuz a Ih (in ; Meslre Tlmmas ne voli qa'il seit niia a tlei'Iiii, K'il DC die dc Horn le vaillant orphalin.

And it ends with the following odd couplet :

Tomos n'en dirrat plus Tk aulem, domint, miu

* Id tlie conclusion, menlion 'a trade of a certain Gili a »on of the narrator, on whom he devolves tlie task to tell, in rhime, the adventures of Hodcremod, son of Hom and Reg- tncnil, wiio conquered Allnclie, and aveiigetl all lifs relationi upon the Pucnns.

INTRODUCTION. lix

A poet) named Thomas, being thus referred to as the author of a tale, the scene of which is laid in Northumberland, and in which every name, whe- ther of place or person, attests an origin purely Saxon, there seems no reason why he may not be identified with Thomas of Erceldoune, a celebrated border poet, to whom every tradition respecting Deiria and Bemicia must have been intimately fii- miliar. If the apparent antiquity of the language of the French King Horn be alledgcd against this opinion, we may oppose the difficulty and appa- reiit impossibility of ascertaining the chronology of French poetry, considering how widely it was ex- tended, and into how many dialects it must neces- sarily have been divided. Even in our own Uteris

Cam cil punt muttrer qui la ttorie saurat, Icett kit a mun fix Gilimot, ki 1 durrat, Ki la riine, apres mei, bieo oontroverit, Controvecui est ben et demeit.

It 18 uncertain whether this Gilimot be the ion of the au- thor Thomas, or of the French rimeur^ who, according to the hypothesb in the text, is only the transbtor of the story. I incline to the latter opinion, because these unnecessary conti- nuatioas were tddom composed by the author of the original work. If the Vert del Parchemn^ and the history of the J^a- Tfm Aahift be ever discovered, it may throw some light upon diembject.

SIR TRISTREM.

(lire, did we not know tlic age of Gawain Doii^as, we tihould ccrtaijily esteem his language older than iJiat of Chaucer, when, in fact, it is nearly two centuries later. It is impossible, where other evi- dence failsi to distinguish, from the circumstance of style alone, that which is provincial, from that which is really ancient. But whatever may be thought of Tliomas of Erceldoune's claim to be Jii'kl the author of iJiis romance,* it does not ap-

* Tfie editor's opinion h only staled hypothetically ; nor will he be lurpriacd at any one inclining to believe that the Tlionuu of the French Harn-Clutd i$, in fact, the rimnir bimself, and uot tlic bard or Erceldoune : but he cannot allow that such AnglD-Norman Thomas, tii[^K>Bing him to exist (which, afler all, is iLiattcr of supposition,} shall be identified with ihc To- mas in the Fra^euts of Sir Triitrem. la that point, the gRMiod taken in tliese rcnuvks seems much stronger ; for we know certainly the existence of Thomas of Erceldoune, who did write a romance of Sir Triilrem, highly esteemed by his rootcmporancs; we have also aeen reasons why his authority should be referred to by a Frendt rimear, who, at the some lime, and probably for the same reasons, quotes that of an Ar- ■norkan minstreL But, grantinfi the French rimevt, Thomas, lu have eiJKed, we can see no natural coanectiDu betwixt him and the tale of Sir TritlroH, and no reason why, supposing him to have wrinen such a lale (whicli, again, is a mailer of gra- tuitotu tuppoaitionj hk authority sliould have been referred to as iirafmpdile by posterioc narrators of the same liisiory. In the Ode view of the aae, we have indisputable (act ; in the Otlier, mere bypolhotis. Above all, the reference set elusive to the corraspondcucc betwixt the poems.

INTRODUCTION. 1x1

pear less certain, that it has originally been writ- ten in or near the country, which is described with so much accuracy. It is not sufficient to answer, with a late ingenious antiquary, that the names and references are all northern, because the story is predicted of the Saxons and Danes in England and Ireland.* We know how totally indifierent the minstrels and their hearers were to every thing allied to cottumef which their ignorance would have disabled them from preserving, luid their careless- ness permitted them to strive after such an excel- lence. When, therefore, we find a romance, like that of Harfif without the least allusion to Norman names and manners, we may, I think, safety con- dude, that, aldiough it exists in both languages, it must have been originally composed in that of the country where the scene is laid, and from which the actors are brought. See ReliqueB of Ancient Poetry, v. 1. p. Ixxviii. $ 2. It may finally be remarked, that although the more modem ro- mance of Hamchild in the Auchinleck MSS. has some phrases, as *^ in boke we read," *' in rime, as

* DutertatUm on Romance, prefixed to Ritson's Metrical Romaneet, p. xcix.

IxH SIR TRISTREM.

we are told,'' generally supposed to imply a trans- lation firom the French,* yet nothing of the kind occurs in the older tale, published by Mr Ritson^ which bears every mark of originality.

The romance otWadef twice alluded to by Chau- per, but now lost, was probably a border composi- tion. The castle of this hero stood near the Ro- man Wall, which he is supposed to have surmount- ed \ and it was long inhabited by his real or £m- ded descendants. It is absurd to suppose, that Gorman minstrels came into these remote comers of the kingdom to collect or celebrate the obscure traditions of their inhabitants ; although, finding them already versified, they might readily translate them into their own language.

These general observations on the progress of romantic fiction in the border counties, lead us to consider the evidence given by Robert de Brunne, concerning the poetry of Thomas of Erceldoune, which is thus expressed in the Introduction to his Annals:

* Even this drctimstance by no means decidedly infen refe- rence to a French origiaaL Barbour calls his own poem a n>- t/tance, though it never existed in French.

INTRODUCTION. biii

Ah thai* baf wryten and sajrd Haf I alle in myn Inglis lajrd. In symple spedie as I oouthey That it lightest in manne's mouthe. I made yoght for no disours, Ne for no seggours, no harpoun, Bot for the luf of symple men. That strange Inglis cannot ken; For manj it ere that strange Inglis, In lyme wate never what it is; And bot thai wist what it mente^ Ellis methought it were all schente. I made it not for to be praysed, Bot at the lewed men were aysed. If it were made in ryme oouwee» Or in strangere, or cnteriac^. That rede Inglis it ere inowe That couthe not have coppled a loowe. That outher' in oowee or in baston, Sum suld haf ben fordon; 80 that fole men that it herde Suld not witte how that it forde. I tee in umg^ in iedgeyng tale^ OfErceldoune and ofKendale, JVbji tkam tayii a$ thai tlMn wnroghi. And in ther saying it $eme$ nogki^ That may tkou here in Sir TYigtrem^ Over gestei it kat the steem^ Over all that u or mat, ymen it utyd oi SMuie Thoams ; Bot I here it no nuin to toy. That of%om€ copple torn it away. So there fayre saying here befome. Is thare travaile nere forlorne ;

* His Latin and French andiorities.

6

EM,

Thai SBjrd it for pride and nobleje, That were not suylke as thei. And allc that thai willed overwhere, Alle that illce will now forfare. Thai tayd it in so quaint IngVa, That many wote not what it n. Therefore heuyed wele the more In Btrange rymc to tnivayle sore ; And my wit was cure chynne So etrnnge spedic to travayle in ; And IbrHKith I couth noght So strange Inglis as thai wroglit, And men besoght me many a tymc To tume it bot in light ryme. Thai scyd if I in strange ryme it turn, To here it many on «uld sbome ; For in it ere names fulle eclcouthe. That ere not used now in moutlic. And thererore, for the commonultC, That blythely wild Ustcn to me. On light lange I it began, Vot lufof the lewed man.

This passage requires some commentary, as l! sense has been generally mistaken, llobert < Bruntie docs not mean, us has been supposed, thafrl the minstrels, who repeated Thomas's romance 0 Sir Triitrem, disguised the meaning, by putting n into " quainte Ingtis^' but, on the contrary, thttl Kendal and Thomas of £rccIdoune did thcmselvec^| use such " quainte Itiglis" that those who repeate

INTRODUCTION. Lev

the story were vnaUe to understand it, or to make it intelligiUe to their hearers. Aboire all, he com- plains, that, by writing an intricate and compli- cated stanza, as *' tymt cawee, $irangere, or cnire- bee,** it waa difficult for the diieurs to recdQect the poem ; and of Sir Trittrem^ in particular, he avers, that he nerer heard a perfect recital, because of some one ^^ cappU^** or stanza, a part was always omitted. Haice he argues, at great length, that he himsdf, writing not for the minstrel or harper, nor to acquire personal fiune, bilt soldy to instruct the ignorant in the history of their country, does wdl in chusing a simple structure of verse, which they can retain correctly on their m^nory, and a style which is popular, and easily understood. Besides which, he hints at the ridicule he mi^t draw on Us poem, should he introduce the uncouth names of his personages into a courtly or refined strain of verse. They were

Great names, but hard in verse to stand.

While he arrogates praise to himself for his choice, be excuses Thomas of ik'celdoune, and Kendale, for unng a more ambitious and ornate kind of poetry.

0

Ixvi SIR TRISTREM.

" They wrote for pride (fame) and for nobles, not such as these my ignorant hearers.*' ThiiSy the testimony of this ancient historian, who was a contemporary of Thomas of Erceldomie, esta- blishes at once the high reputation of his work, and the particular circumstances under Which it was written. While the English minstrels had hardly ventured on the drudgery of translating the French romances, or, if diey did so, were only lis- tened to by the lowest of the people, our northern poets were writing original gests ** for pride and nobleye,'* in a high style and complicated stanza, which the southern harpers marred in repeating, and which their plebeian audience were unable to comprehend. In one word, the early romances of England were written in French, those of Scot- land were written in English.

If the editor has been successful in his state- ment, two points have been established ; 1st, that the minstrels of the south of Scotland, living in or near the British tribes of Reged and Strathclwyd, became the natural depositaries of the treasures of Celtic tradition, esteemed so precious in the mid- dle ages ; 2dly, That, from the peculiar circum-

INTRODUCTION. Wm

iiiidpr which the Eiigliah language was SanDed in tlic Lowlands of Scotknd, and nortii of Esf^and, it probably was more early fitted for the me of the [>oet in that country, than in the more touthern parts of the sister kingdom, where it was 10 long confined to the use of t)ie populivcc. W'ho- CTer shall be tempted to pursue thin curious >itib- JKL, will find that this itystem, if confirmed upon norc minute investigation, may account for many uoninlous peculiarities in the luHtory of English romnnce and minstrelsy. In particuhtr, it will ihew why the Northumbrians cultivated a species of music not known to the rest of England,* and

• ' In borealibui quoquc majorit Britannia: p.irtlliLiE, trans Huinberum Eborxciquc finibiis, Angloruiii populi, qui partes iilu tntiabitant, EJmul caiienilD symphonutca uluntur liarnii>- nii : liinif lameo soluminudu (onorum diSerentJis, et vocum DindiiUnda vuieiatibus, uon inTeriiis, auboiurmumntc, altera tvra (Upcnic, ilemulcente pariter et ddectsnte. Nee arte aatum, Hii IKU longKVO, el quasi in nsluram rooradiulina ftiD atuvmo, bsec vel ilia sibi gens banc special ital cm conpa- luit. Qui adeo spud utrarnque invaluit, et altas jam radices posuit, ut nihil hie umpliciter, ulu multiplidter, ul apud pri- ma, vd (allem dupUcitcr, ut npud seqitentes, mcllitc profciri tDoaucicnt : paeris etiutn, quod magis admiiandiiin, ct fere Uuuibats [cuiD prJaum a fletitius in cantwoi enimpuDt) eso* iWwwodalationeiPobservBntibiis." Gsrald-Cambhek. Cmi^ ^ Dacripiie, cap. xiii. Tlie aothof adds, that, bccaiM lb«

bc^ silt TRISTREM.

why the hnrpers anit minstrels of the ** NorU* Countree" are universally celebrated, by our an- cient ballads, as of unrivalled excellence. If Eng- lish, or a mixture of Saxon, Pictish, and Norman, became early the language of the Scottish court, to which great part of Northumberland was sub- jected, the minstrels, who crowded their camps,* must have used it in tlicir songs. Thus, when the language began to gain ground in England, the northern minstrels, by whom it had already beeo long cultivated, were the best rehearsers of the poems already written, and the most apt and ready composers of new tales and songs. It is probably owing to tills circiun stance, that almost all the aa- cieiit English minstrel ballads f bear marks of & northern origin, and are, in general, common to

custom of flinging ia parts was peculiar to die noniiem Eng- lish, he supposes it to be denvett rrom the Danes or Scatidinn- vians. But it is casHy accounted for, if the border counties were in ThcE the cradle of English miastretej.

• Vide Alred * Btlh Standardl, ap. it. scrip, pp. 341, S4i.

t That o( John Dori/ (Ritjoa's Andcnl Sungt) is perhi^ * solitary exception to the general rule. Marlin Safari ami hU Men, if il could be recovered, alight be anoUicr. Most of the balluds of Rotin Hood arc very modem. The more an- cient, as the Lytelt Gate, seem to be written north of tl Hiinbcr.

INTRODUCTION. box

the borderers of both kiogdoms. By this qrstem we may also aocoimt for the superiority of the

early Scottish pvpr f|i#> early Fngliuh ju^a^ ^v^

cepting always the unrivalled Chaucer, And, final- ly, to this we may ascribe the flow of romantic and poetical tradition, which has distinguished the borders of Scotland almost down to the present day. See Percy's ReUqueSf vol. I. p. 118. Com" phjfnt of Scotland, p. 27 1. Border Mituirehf, pas* aim.

It is time to return from this digression to the particular history of the romance of Sir TriUran, which, as narrated by Thomas of Erccldoune, seems to have gained such distinguished cclebri^. In France, as appears fit>m the author of the French Fragments, and from the evidence of Gotfried of Strasburgh, it was in the mouth of every minstrel, and told by each, according to his own particular &ncy.^ But an often-told tale becomes disgust-

* There is a report, but highly improbable, that a metrical copy of the French Trutrem was printed at Paris, without a date. Very few Frencli rhiming romances have oome under the press; and the copies of all, but Lt Roman deia Rcte^ are of the hist degree of rarity. DUtertation prefijed io Ritum'i Hetrical Romancti, p. liii.

y

Izx SIR TRISTREM.

ing and tedious ; and, accordingly, the languor lyf Sir TriUrem became at length proverbial among the diseurs of France and Normandy.* In the mean time, a great change was operated on the shi^ of romantic fiction. The art of reading had become comparatively general towards the end €£ the thirteenth century -, the monks, also, had pur- sued the paths of literature opened by their earlier brethren. To them, chiefly, arc to be ascribed the voluminous prose romances, which began, about this period, to supersede the metrical tales of the minstrel. These works generally set out with dis- owning and discrediting the sources, from which, in reality, they drew their sole information. As every romance was supposed to be a real history, the compilers of those in prose would have forfeit- ed aU credit, had they announced themselves as mere copyists of the minstrels. On the contrary, they usually state, that, as the popular poems upon

* See the fabliau of Sir Haiti and Dame Anieusef where the following lines occur :

AnieuK, fet-il, bfl suer Tu esel paradii Bcrtran Or paes tn cbaoter de Tristan Ou de plus loogue, se to fez.

INTRODUCTION. Ixxi

the matter in question contain many ** lesings,'' they had been induced to translate the real and true history of such-or-such a knight from the ori- ginal Latin or Greek, or from the ancient British or Armorican authorities, which authorities exist- ed only in their own assertion.*

The favourite tale of TriUrem was soon tram- pjviedf and seemingly more than once. In the king's library is a large MS. folio, entituled, Le Romanaz de Tristran^ containing the adventures of our hero, in a long prose narrative. A work of

* Thus, in a French prose romance of CiuirUma^He^ the au- thor says* that he translated the work from the Latin, at the oomiiiand of Baldwin, count of Haluault, and adds, ** Maintes gens en ont ouy conter et chanter, luais n'est ce mensonge non oe qu'ils en discnt et chantent cil conteur ne cil jugleor. Nuz oontes ryinez n'en est vrai ; tot mensonge cc qu'iJs disent." Warton, vol. i. p. 135. 4to edit. In like manner, the author of La vrajfc Histoire de Tro^tj thus concludes, ** Tay ains men^ a fin la vraye histoire de Troye, en hi manierc qu'elle fut tromree escripie en la main de Saint Pierre, en Gregois Ian- guage, et du Gregois fut mise en Latin ; eC je I'ay translate en Francois, non pas par rimes ne par vers, ou il convient, par fine force, mliintes mensonge; comme font les menestrels, de leur langues pompus, plaire maintefois aux rois et aux contez.*' In the museum, there is a French version of Turpin, by a trans ktor, who throws the same opprobrious imputation upon the romances in rhime. ^ £t pour ces que estoire rimce sembla mensunge^ est ceste mis en prose.'*

SIR TRISTREM.

flmiilar labour, and whidi, Toluminous as it is, has never been eonchided, is in the library of the late J<^, duke of Roxburgh* But the most noted of these prose editions of Sir Tmirem (if, indeed, the others be an^t but various and enlarged cities of it,) is thus described by Montfaucon : ^^ Le Roman de IVisian et Iseult, traduitde Latin en Franfois, par Lucas Chevalier, steur du chastel de Gast pres de &• lisbiri, Anghm.** Cod. 6776. Another copy of the same romance is mentioned, cod. 6956 ; and some books of Gyron le Courtois occur, as trans- lated into French by *< Hue, seigneur du chateau de Gat." Cod. 6796. These MSS. are in the na- tional libraiy at Paris; but the book has been printed; and by a perusal of the printed copy the following remarks have been suggested.

The Luc, or Hue, lord of the castle of Gast, near Salisbury, who translated the romance of Sir Tristrtm from the Latin of Rusticien de Puise, seems to be as fabulous as his castle of Gast, or his Latin origmal. Why should a Latin history' of Sir Tristrem have been written during the thir- teenth century ? Or to whom was it calculated to convey either amusement or information? The

INTRODUCTION.

pretended author, as well as the pretended trans- lator, must rank with Robert de Borron, author of Lancelot du Lac; with Desrains, the lineal de- scendant of Joseph of Arimathea, author of the St Great; or, if the reader pleases, with the sage Cid Hamet Benengeli, who recorded the adventures cflhn Quixote de la Mancha. The merit of the prose TrisiaHf by whomsoever written, is very con- u^|^2le. Every French antiquary considers it as the best, as well as one of the most ancient )q)ecimens of their prose romance.^ The editor begs permission to use the words of the most in- teresting of their number. ** he roman de Tristan, *< et celui de Lancelot du LaCf eurent le plus grand *< reputation de leur naissance $ leur touche est ** fort, les sentiments en sont eleves, les heros sont

* In genera], they ascribe to it an absurd antiquity, because they confound it with the metrical tales on the same subject. *' Le roman de Tristan Leonis, Tun des plus beaux et des mieux fails qui aient jamais etd pubh'^, parut en 1 1 90. C'est le plus anctens de noe roroans en prose." La Combb, Dictionaire, preface, p. xxvi. M. de la Ravafllere also MU into this mis* take, misled by the quotations of Chretien de Troyes and the kiug of Navarre, which he took for granted alluded to the prose Tristran. Tressan has followed his predecessors into the same error. Eomant de ChevaUrie^ torn. i. f. I. Fauchet led tlie way in this blunder.

Ixxiv SIR TRISTREM.

** aussi galans qu'ils sont braves. Les heroines << soilt charmantes : nous n'osons trop reflechir sur << leurs aventures ; mais leurs foiblesses sont soute- '< nues par un si grand charactere de courage, ** d'amour, et de Constance ; le bon Rusticien a si ** bien I'art de leur preter des excuses recevables, ** qu*il faudroit etre bien severe, pour les leur re- << procher. La fidele Brangien, dans Tristan^ est ^^ le plus par&it modele des amies : on s'attendrira ** pour eUe, en voyant jusqu'a quel point elle porte ** I'heroisme, pour servir la belle Yseult. Personne '^ ne sera tente de plaindre le Roi Marc ; et peut- " etre meme quelques lecteurs s'interesseront-ils << au sort du brave Tristan et de la charmante << Yseult, en lisant Phistoire de leurs amours et de ** leurs malheurs." Extraits de Romans^ tom. 1. £4.

Such being the merits of the French prose work, it remains to notice the particulars in which it dif- fers from the metrical romance now published. Being changed from a short and simple tale into the subject of a large folio, the unity and simpli- city of the story has suffered very much. We of- ten lose sight both of Tristrem and Yseult, to as-

INTRODUCTION. Ixxv

«

sist at the exploits of the VarUt de la cotte mal taillee^ and other champions, whose deeds have little reference to the main story. The author, finding it difficult, perhaps, to invent an entire dramatis personae, or willing to avail himself of prejudices already deeply founded in the mind of his readers, has associated his champion with the chivalry of the Round Table ; so that the history of King Arthur, and aU his knights, became a le- gitimate and necessary accessory to that of Tris- trem.* The incidents narrated by Thomas of Er- celdoune, with all the dilation of which they have been found susceptible, occupy only in the pro-r portion of 60 folios to about 220 of the prose vo- lume. The discrepancies betwixt the poem, and

* lo this, as we have seen, he is supported by the Welch authorities. But oral tradition is always apt to lose sight of chronology, and to associate the distinguished personages whose memory it preserves. The tale of Thomas of Erceldoune, that of Raoul de Beauvais, if he was indeed the author of Mr Douce's fragments, and that of Mademoiselle Marie, are silent concerning the supposed connection betweeh Tristrem and Ar- thur. In the romance of Gawain and Goiogras^ however, Brengwain, the confidant of Ysonde, is mentioned as a person well known to Queen Guenever :

Queue was I somewhile, brighter of browes, Then Bereli or Brangwayn^ thes burdes so bold.

SIR TRISTREM.

even the relative part of the prose n occusionally pointed out in the Notes. What is lost in simplicity is, however, gained in art. The character of Palamedcis, the unfortunate and des- pairing adorer of Yseult, is admirably contrasted with that of Tristrciu, his successful rival; nor is there a truer picture of the human mind than in the struggles betwixt the hatred of rivalship, and the chivahroua dictates of knightly generosity, wliich alternately away both the warriors. The character! of Dinadam, brave and gallant, but weak in per- son, unfortunate in his undertakings, but supi>orU ing hia mischances with admirable humour, and often contriving a witty and well-managed retort on his persecutors, is imagined with considerable art. The Iriendship of Tristrem and Lancelot, and of their two mistresses, with a tliousand de- taih which display great knowledge of human ture, render Tristan interesting in the present in spite of tliosc eternal combats, to which, haps, the work owed its original popularity.

Iliia work was printed at Rouen so early as 1481 under the title of Le Roman da noble et vaillant Chevalier Triitan,JiU du noble Rut Meliadia de Le-

1 de-

INTRODUCTION. Ixxvii

wmofpi compUi par Luce, eheadUr, mgnewrde Cha* teau de Gastf one volume folio, black letter. The book was rq>riiited at Paris, by Antoine Verard, without date, in two volumes folio *, and a subae* quent.editi<Mi was published in two parts by Denys Janot, Paris, 15SS, also in black letter.

The same Denys JanoC had already published what seems to have been intended as a first part to the history of Sir Trittrem, being Le Roman de MeKadus de Leormoyt, Chevalier de la Table Ronde, au mmt amtenuet, avec lesfaitt d^armet, pbisieun prienet de chevalriejaiies par le bon Roi Artm Pa^ lamedet, etauira ckeoaUerty ettant au tenu dudit Roi MeKadta : translate du Latin dm RuUicen de Ptte, et remit depmt en nouoeau language^ Paris, 1532, in folio. Mack letter. This romance is by no meant void of merit ; indeed, from many circumstances, we may ocmjecture it to have been written by the author of the prose Tridrem^ The translator pre* tafids to have received two castles from King Henry (the first of the name seems to be intima- ted) for his labours in compiling the St Graelf and other books of chivalry, from original and authen- tic materials. The stories of the fiither and son

Ixxviii SIR TRISTREM.

have little connection with each other, and the Hiitory of Meliadus is oiUy one instance, among many, of the custom of the romancers to ayail themselves of the renown of any favourite work, by hooking upon it introductions and continuations without mercy or end.

Another instance of the same nature is the His^ tory of Ysaie le Trisie, a son whom Ysonde is sup- posed to have bom in secret to her lover. This work was published at Paris, by Gallyot de Pre, in 1522, and is entituled, Le Roman du vaiUarU Chtoalier Ysaie le l^riste,Jils de Tristan de Leonnoys, Chevalier de la Table Ronde, et de la Princesse IVe- ulte, Royne de Cornouaille ; avec le$ noble proutsses de FExille Jils dudit Ysaie ; reduit du vial languige au languige Franfoisj folio, black letter. This is a romance of faerie. Ysaie is under the protection of certain powerful fays, who have assigned him, for his attendant, Tronc le Nain^ a dwarf, whose deformity is only equaUed by his wit and fideUty. This page of Ysaie le Triste is subjected to a law of extreme, and, it would appear, very unjust se- verity. Whenever his master was fickle in his amours (and he by no means copied the fidelity

INTRODUCTION.

of his father Tristrem,) the dwarf was unmerciful- ly beaten by the fairies, his sovereigns. Upon the whole, the romance is very inferior to that of Tris^

In 1528, was published, at Seville, Ubro del es* for f ado Don Tristan de Leonysydesusgrandtshechoi in artnas, folio. At Venice, in 1552 and 1555, ap- peared DdU opere magnanime de i due Tristan^ Ca- valieri inoitti della Tavola Rotondoj two volumes, in 8vo.

The prose romance of Triiirem was modernized by Jean Maugin dit L' Angevin, and published, at Paris, in 1554, folio. It is far inferior to the ori- ginal work. Allegory was then the prevailing taste, and, though it seems hard to wring a moral mean- ing out of the illicit amours of Tristrem and Yseult, Jean Maugin has done his^best Sir Tristrem is the emblem of the Christian perfection of chivalry, and his &ir paramour of— heaven knows what I

The Hitioryl of TriUrem was not, so fiur as I know, translated into English as a separate work $ but his adventures make a part of the collection^

^ Metnings I suppose, the &ther and son.

IXKX

SIR TRISTREM.

called the Morle Arthir, containing great part a the history of the Round Table, extracted at lia zard, and without much art or combination, tram the variousi French prose folias on that favourite topic This work was compiled by Sir Thomas Malory, or Midcore, in the nintli year of therei^ of Edward IV., and printed by Caxton. It 1 once undergone several edition.^, and is hands of most antiquaries and collectors. Tha unaccustomed to the study of romance, should t ware of trusting to this work, which misrcprcscnta the adventures, and traduces the character, of S Gawaia, and other renowned Knights of the Rouni Table. It Is, however, a work of great intero and curiously written in excellent old English, an breathing a high tone of chivalry.

Of late years, the Romance of Sir Triiire been beautitidly abridged, from the prose folio, bv the late Monsieur le Comptc de Tressaii, and forms the first article in his Corp$ d'extraiii e/e Rinnam d Chnalerie. To this elegant and beautiful abridgi mcnt all readers are referred, who may still v for further information, and are too indolent, t

INTRODUCTION. Izzxi

fitttkiions, to neek it in the original romance. It is now time to speak of the present publication,

IIL The presxnt edition of the rtHnance of 5tr Tmlrffft is published from the Auchinleck M8.y « large and curious collection of such pieces, of i¥faich the reader will find an account in the Ap- poidix* to these observations* The date of the MS. cannot .possibly be eadiery and does not seem to be mudi later, thaPiiSW,' at least eighty.yeara aAcirthe romance of Str Tristram had been com* posed. The immediate narrator does not assume Ifae person of Thomas of Erceldoune^ but only pre* tends to tell the tale upon his authority. •

I was at Erceldoune,

With Thomas spsk T thare. There herd Y read in roime,

Who Tristrem gat and bare, &c

Thomas teUes in toun The aaentore as thai were.

A late eminent antiquaryf suggested, that Tho* /

man of Ercddoune might himself assume the duu HMrter of a third person, to add a greater appear-

♦ No. IV.

t The late Mr RitsMi.

f

Ixxxii

SIR TRISTREM.

ance of weight to his own authority : it mtut be owned, however, thsit this finesse is not suitable to the period in which he lived. It seems more roa- ttonable to conclude, that some minstrel, having access to the person of Thomas the Rhymer, had learned, as nearly as he could, the history of Sir Tristrern, and, from his recitation, or perhaps after it had passed through several hands, the compil of the Auchinleck MSS. cominitte<l it to writil As Tliomas certainly survived 1284, betwixt tliir^ and forty years will, in the supposed case, have elepE«d betwixt the time, when the minstrel mi^t

•bave learned the romance, and the date of its being committed to writing ; a long interval, doubt and in which many cori-uptionH roust have been troduced, as well as a material change in the si

'which, in poetry preserved by oral tradition, a^ ways HiictunteN, in some degree, with tlie altenu tions in language. Accordingly, those who cxa- mino attentiveJy tlie style of Sir Ttistrem, as now published, will not tind tlint it differs essential^ frotn that of Bsriiotir, who wrote s coitury ofier (he Rhymer, although some traces of andqui^ ; rpiuy mill be obiK-rved, particular!;

tlew.

INTRODUCTION.

rf words of Frendi derirattcm. On the other hand, if dik romance be really the productioii of Tho- mas of ErceHnmie» we must expect to dijitingninh the pecnliarhies poiiited out by Robert de Bruime ; ^t qnaipt Englidi, which waa difficult to com- poaei and that peculiarity of stanza, which no Biiiistrel could recite without omitting some part of the couplet : For, although we may allow for the inlioduction of more modem words, and for cor* raptioos introduced by frequent redtation, these general characteristics of the original composition of Thomas must still be irisiUe, or the romance iriiich we read is none of his. Accordii^y, the oonstruction o£ the poem, now giTen to the pub- lic, bean a Tery peculiar character. The wofds are chiefly those o( the fcurtecnth century, but the turn €£ jdurase is, either from antiquity or the atbttation of the time when it was originally writ- ten, dose, nenrous, and^cjogdse even to obscurity. • In every aunposition of the later age, but more especially in die popular romances, a tedious dr- cumlocutory style is perfagps jhe most general fisa- ture. Circumstantial to a degree of extreme mi- nuteness^ and difiuse bqrond the limits of padence,

SIR TRISTREM.

the minslreU never touch upon an incident wiA-

out introducing a prolix description.* This was a naliirnl consequence of the multiplication of ro- mantic fictions. It was impossible for the imagi- nation of the minstrels to introduce the variety demandcfl by their audience, by the invention of new facts, for every story turned on the same feat* of chivalry ; and the discomfiture of a gigantic champion, a lion, or a dragon, with the acquisition of his mistress's love, continued to be the ever- * recurring subject of romance, from the days at I Thomas the Rhymer till the metrical tales of chi- valry altogether lost groinid. The later minstrels, therefore, prolonged and varied the description of events, which were no longer new in themselvea ; and it is no small token of the antiquity and ori- ginality of the present work, that the author a to rely upon the simple and short narration of in^ \

• Even Chaucer was iiiruLted by the Tault of Lis age, and, with all hU imrivalled capacity or touchinf the real poiat of description, he does not always content himeeirwith etoppiog 'hen be has attained it. It has been long since remarirad) wben he gen into a wood, he uKually bewilders both faim- Iteir and his reader. But such a work as Sir Guy, or The 5;uiri! af Low Degree, will best illustrate the difTuse SQrlft 'bioli cliaracteriRct the later metrical romances.

INTRODUCTION. Uxxv

ddents, afterwards so hackneyed, as sufficient in y

his time to secure the attention of the hearers. We have only to compare this mode of narration with the circuitous and difiuse flourishes of the Anglo-Norman Rimeur, to decide the question al- ready agitated, which of these poems was the mo- ddof the other.

It is not alone in the brevity of the narrative, but also in the occasionij obscurity of Ihe con- stniction, that the style of an age, much older than that of Barbour, may be easily recognized. There is an elliptical mode of narration adopted, which rather hints at, than details the story, and which, to make my meaning plain by a modem oompari- •on, is the Gibbanism of romance. Whoever at- tempts to make a prose translation of this poem will find, that it is possible to paraphrase, but not literally to translate it. In this peculiar structure of style consisted, we may suppose, the quaint Ing^ Uif ccnnplained of by Robert de Brunne, which nobles and gentry alone could comprehend, and which had that annalist adopted, the poor and ig- norant, whom in charity he laboured to instruct) could not have comprehended his history.

SIR TRISTREM.

To answer the description of Robert de Bnitine ' in every respect, it is farther necessary, that the ro- mance of 6'tr Trntrem should be written in a strange and peculiar stanza. Accordingly, a stanza so j complicated, and requiring so many rhimes i that of the foUowing poem, is perhaps no whersf employed in a long narrative, at least it has not] been the fortune of the editor to meet a romance,! written in any which nearly approaches it in diffl cul^. The common romance) are either in shortl rhiming couplets, or in verse similar to that adopt>] ed in Sir ITiopas, both stanzas of a simple struo* I ture. But in Sir Trlitrem the 1st, 3d, 5th, andJ 7th lines of each stanza must rhimc together ; t must the 2d, ith, 6th, 8th, and 10th ; and, finailyJ the 9th and 11th must also correspond in sountL It may be impossible to determine whether thitfl be the rime ctm'ei or strangere, or batton, or cntrt- lacei, mentioned by Robert de Brunne ; but every dabbler in verses will agree, that the formation of the stanza is very intricate, and such as could on- ly be undertaken by one who held himself master t/ of the language, and who wrote for persons of rank) i capable of understanding the merits of the corny

INTRODUCTION. Izxxvii

plimttfd mks to which he had subjected himsdf. In trothy the present cc^y bean a closer resem* Utnee to those which Robert de Bruirne heaxd sedtedf than could have been desired by the edi* tor. For, as the historian says, he never heard it icpeated but what of some coppU (i. e. stanza) part was omitted i so there are at least twe instances of breaches in the following poem, flowing, in all pEobabili^, from the same cause.* To conclude, the rules which the poet has prescribed to himself are observed with strict accuracy, and his rhimes, though multiplied and complicated, correspond with rigid exactness.f Since, therefore, this more modem edition of Triitrem agrees in diction and structure to the detailed description of Robert de

* See Fytte 1. st 80, Fytte IIL st. 1, each of which stanas wsnts two linesy though there is do hiatut in the MS.

t It is worth while to remark, that a complicated ttmcture of itana and rhime contimied to be a characteristic of the Scottish poetiy from this remote period downward. The rei^ der may see specimens in King James Vlth's Remclti mni CauUki of Scoiiii Foede. Even in our day, the Bard of Ayrshire has injured some of his most beautiful productions by osing the jingling stana of the Cherry and the Siae, Tbe additional short verse thrown in towards the end of each stanJBy which occurs in Christ Kirk an the Green^ PeUet to the Play^ Ac sesns borrowed horn the stana of iSir Triiirem.

Isxxviii

SIR TRISTftEM.

Bnrnne, we may safely admit, that, though I luignagc may have been Botlened into that of ti fourteenth centurj', the general texture and fon of tlie poem must closely resemble that of Thom of Ercekloune.

It is proper (o say a few words npon the moc in which the editor has csecutetl his taak. action of tlie poem seemed naturally to point o the division into three Fyttes, or Cantos, which li now been adt^tcd. To each is prefixed a ^ full argument, referring to the sUinzas which i abridges, and fonning, se it were, a running pat phrase to the poetrj-. Tlic modem tk has I substituted uniformly for the Saxon chai which eKpresscs that sound ; in like maiine 2 baa usually been discarded for the modejii y, gA ; as retaining these ancient characters on^ throws unnecessary embarras.smGnt in the way o the modem reader. J', when used for the pro noun /, is printed with a capital, to flistinguish | from If, the usual corruption of ge, the Saxon pn position. In one respect the editor is still unu tain whether lie has followed his author, sons, conversant with ancient MSS., know the d

INTRODUCTION. Ixxxa

ficnlty of disdnguishing betwixt u and n* In the present case, the name of the heroine seems posi- tivety to be written Ysonde^ and is accordin^y so printed ; yet, nevertheless, every analogy goes to prove, that it ought to have been written and print* ed Ymnukf in order to correspond with the YaUt of the Welch, the Yioii of Mr Donee's Fragments, the l9olde of Oower, the Ysou of the Fabliaux^ the YkuII of the French folio, and, finally, the Iwtta of the Italians. In the Temple of Ghuj alone, we find Yumdt* If the editor shall be found in an error in this respect, his eye has misled his better judgment. The late Mr Ritscm, however, authori?* •ed the present reading by precept and example.* Excepting the above particulars, and a very fi?w errors of the pen, or press, it is hoped this edi» tion of Sir Tristrem will be found suflidently ac- curate.

The conclusion, necessary to complete the ro- mance, has been attempted by the editor, in the same stanaa and diction with the original. The Notes contain illustrations of the text, from the

* In printiog the word Renmild^ in prefeience to Riniaild.

y

SIR TRISTHEM.

romances and history of the middle ages, particular notices of the corresponilcnct;, oi crepancy, occurring betwixt Thomas's narr; and subsequent works on the same theme, reader will also find some miscellaneous observup tionB, naturally introduced by the subject, though not immediately connected with it. Of the GI0&- aary httle need be said. The labours of Macplie son " and Sibbald have greatly removed the culties of such a compilation. The editor has a dom attempted to trace any word to its root, 1 vinced that what wc suppose a radical, may be a ly A synonymous phrase, in a cognate dialect, I referring to some common original. The mei ing of the words is therefore given as they occ in the poem, without any pretence to compiUqf dictionary, f

" The editor of Wintoun's Chronicle, executed in a style of unequnllcd aocuracy and elegxice.

f The important nntional task afaDictioaaiTjorihe Scottiilt Isngun^ u in much better hands, Dr John Janueson of E£n- burgh luw been long toiling id that difficult and laboriout uo> dnrtaking : M)d surely it is only oeccisary to say thiit sucfa a work i» iu agitation, to lecure the patronage of every antjquarjr and philologist.— This wori^ has been published, and has fiilly raalind the expectauons geaersUy entertaiued from Dr Jaini^ •on*« laaraiu and iodottfy.

INTRODUCTION.

It only remains to adoundedge the

and liberality of those friends, by whose assistance the editor has been enabled to oomidete his underta* long. The library ci the late John dnke o£ Rok« borgh, containing an invaluable collection of books of diivafary, was open to the editor at all times, frfiile a short stay in London permitted him to consult its treasures. The modest and retired dia* position of the noble proprietor exacted a promise that this benefit should not be publicty acknow* ledged,— a prcmuse no longer binding, when, alas! the just d^ of gratitude can neither be constru- ed into flattery, nor give pain to him to whose memory it is rendered. To Francis Douce, Esq. the editor owes the communication of those in- valuable Fragments, without wlndk it would have been impossible to illustrate the text. Mr Heber, whose extensive and well-selected collection is de- dicated to the general service of literature, as wdl as to individual enjoyment, has, with his usual li- beral!^, indulged the editor with the use of the rare French prose folios of Tritian and Mdiaduif without which he could not have sadsfiu^torily pro- ceeded in his labours. Of Mr Ellis's kindness it

SIR TM8TREM.

Is better to say nothing than too httle ; the res- (Icr may judge, from the beaiitifijl Abstruct of the French Metrical Fragments of the Lay of Marie, communicated by that gentleman, a part (and it h but H small part) of the editor's obligation. To Mr Owen, as already mentioned, the editor owes much inturmation respecting the Welch traditions on the subject of Sir TrUtrem. To those friendii mentioned in former editions, I have now to add tite name of Mr Henry Weber, whose extensive acquaintance with ancient poetry has been diiiplay- itl ill ills late cxcolicnt edition of Metrical Roman- cc«. To his kindness I ovf^ the valuable notices, besides the Account of the German Romances ihe huhject of Sir Tristrem, for which I have at, ready expressed my gratitude. It remains to liun Dr Jolni Leyden, a name which will not M>on fitrgotlen in Scottish literature, although owner has been called to a far distant field bour. At the commeucement of this work, he gnxt' bia active and assiduous assistmce ( ai]<l had be renuuned in Britain till circumstances enabled the editor to resume bis ta^ after a long disconti- ■luutoOi it uTiuld have becu now offered with mote

I

INTRODUCTION. xciii

confidence to the public. Such as it is, the labour which it has cost has been dictated by no other motive, than the laudable, if ineffectual wish, of contributing to the history of early English litera- ture.

APPENDIX

TO

THE INTRODUCTION.

i t :

.1

, -i '

APPENDIX.— No. I.

CHARTER

ORANTBD BT

THE SON AND HEIR OF THOMAS OF ERCELDOUN

TO

THE CONVENT OF SOLTRA.

From the Chariulary of the Trinity Home qfSoUrOf Advocatei^ Library^ W. 4. 14. •

ERSYLTON.

Omwibos hts llterM viBoris vel audituris Thomas de Ercildoun filiut et harts Tbooue Rymour de Eldldoun salutem in Domi- no. KoffcriCis me per fustem et baculum in pleno judido re- lignasac ac per presentes quietcin clamasne pro me et heredi- bus mats Magistro domus Sanctae Trinitatia de Soltre et fratri- bus elusdflB domus totam terram meam com ommbus parti-

g

xcviii SIR TRISTREM.

nentibus suis quam in tenemento de Ercfldoim hereditarie te- niii renimdaiido de toto (>ro me et heredlbus mels omnl jure tt dameo qusB ego sea antecessores met in eadem terra alio- qoe tempore de perpetuo habuimus sive de futuro habere pos- sumus. In cujus rei testimonio presentibus his sigillum meum appoeui data apud ErcfldooB die Martii proxiaoo post festum Sanctorum Apostolorum Symonis et Jude Anno Domini Mil- lessimo cc. Nonagesimo Nooo.

la addition to Mrhat hn been vM ooncemkig Thflii»B*Ji It- sidence at Earlstoun, it may be noticed, that there is a stone in the wall of the church of that village, bearing this inscrip" tion:

Auld Rymer^s race Lies in this place.

According to tradition, this stone was transferred from the old church, which stood some yards distant from the more nfodem edifice. In 17B9, this andent inscription was defaced by an idle boor, in a drunken frolic The present Clergyman^ with great propriety, compellted htm to replace it at his own expcnce, in the same words as formerly. The new inscrqitioo isy of course, in modem chamcters; tfaoM which wete defteed •re said to have been very ancient. The spefling, abo^ ii fM>> bably modemiaed. A right of sepulture is still danied there by persons named Lbarmont; whkh seems to oonirm tkt popular tnulttion, that the Rhymer did either himself bear that name, or that it was adopted by laaie of his deaoendatfc

APPENDIX.

No. II.

■ Ill i i *i

ENGTLNION.

J «« rwag Trynan oal Toites a Gwmizmai tab Gwyar, gwedi bod Trytttm dmr kiymex mUoh o lyz Ar^ CAir «r Mrlonty m gyru o ArtkMr n M «i whtyr < f eifiow ei s«2, ac •i aqp «< ^ftAur ; ac e wrorictz Trf/Uam trwynt i Iwtr boh un yn ol

^ i^hftt ^ ^^ *^A ^ *^ ^"^ er Gwobmtd y Tauaod Aur,

VERSES.

WkUh poued between TryiMm, $§m ff T«flto^ oiul Gva/sfRol, ion of Gwyai^ tfi$r Trgekm hai be§n three yemrt 9ui of the cowrt rf AHkur tmitr ditpUature^ and ike sending rf ArUmr tS of ki$ varriare to attempt to lay hold of Mm, and bring him to Arthur ; and Tryttan threm tham all to fU ground^ one after the other ; and he came wolfn any b^dy^ but for the eake if Gwaigmai, the Geidm Tongued,

GwahataU

Gwakmau

^iwjtttjl vyi too aniaiAwl fti tm 7 mor ya el sanawl : Hy wyt Tilwr aoYeidnwl ?

Tnadlaoui b tke wave luUmlljr When the lea if its base : Wkoart thoo, warrior lacosj

Tryttan*

VHvjfMyl Tyi too a thaniD : Cyd boat brwjstyl co gwakaa, Ti ■ys trto mi y w Trystan.

Tryttan,

TuMltiiOQs be a wafe and a tlwwier stom Wkile tbey be tunudtaoM la tbeir cocrw, la tbe day of coaikt 1 an Tryttaa.

SIR TRISTREM.

GwcisMoi.

Gwabmmi,

Ti^Fiten barmbyl dWai, Yd Dyi trtn Did ymfiliai, Cjdyoialth yt ocz Gwalzmai.

Trystaoy of faultleM coo?eri«tioo»

In the day of conflict tliat would not teclnde lilm"

self, A companion of thine was GwalzmaL

TVyfCon.

If 1 4 woawn er Gwalzmai yn nys, O bak waitk cozwyz yn rhyz, Nm fwoai y brawd er ei fllyz.

TryiUm.

1 woald perfonn, for the sake of Gwmlzaai, in a day of action.

Should there be the work of reddening prcMiAly going on.

What would not be done by a brother Ibr hli fel- low !

Gwaiimau

Tryttan gynneiyaei eglur, Hyzellt baladyr o yth laynr. Mi y w Gwalzmai nai Arthur.

Owalzmai,

Trystan, of conspicuous talents,

Of aptly-shivering shaft from thy toll,

I am Gwalzmai, the nephew of Arthar.

TrtfUoKm

Tryitaiu

Ynogyut, Gwalzmai noc ymdrln,

O bai amat tl orthrio,

Mi a woawn waed hyd Mulin.

There formerly, Gwalzmai, if engaged ia cooibati If thou wert under excess of toil, I would cause blood to the koeei*

Gmi/smai.

Gvahmai*

Tryttan, obooot tl y pwyllwn i Oal ym gonezai yr arzwm, Minnan k wnawn goren ag allwn.

Trystan, from thee I would have cooidcace s Unless I should be reAncd by my wrltly I also would act as I could.

APPENDIX.

ci

Tryitun,

Ml ai fovjn er awen, Ac ■!• fOTjmay ar graoeo, Pwj y milwyr lyz 0*01 blaen ?

Tryttam.

I do ask, for the lake of intelligence^ And I will oot afk on the place of gore. Who the warrion that are before me ?

Ctcalznau

Tryitaa gynnezvau hynod, Kid yd yat I'th adnabod t Tc«Ib Arthur sy >n dy vod.

Gwalxmaim

Trystan, of remarkable talents, They be not to recognise thee : The family of Arthnr be they who come.

TVyttan,

Artbw al ynogela?, Haw owt rad ai tyngeday : O'b Ueslr minnaa k lazay.

Tryttan,

Arthur I will not avoid,

Mine hundred battles him I will pledge:

If I shall be slain, i too will slay«

CwalzwuU,

Tryttea gyfaill rhionez,

Cya aiyaed yn ngwaith gorwez,

Goreu dim y w tangnevex.

Trystan, the friend of damsels. Before going to the period of na^ Best of all is pacification.

Trystan.

O caT wj nghlei ar vy iigblun,

A*B Uaw leau i*m difyn,

Ai gwacth vinnau nog undyn ?

TryttMH*

If I shall have my sword on my thigh, And my right hand to defend me« Worse be 1 then than any persoa ?

Gwalzmmi,

Tryttaa gyaaesvau eghir, Cva cyaaaws ilbws llavur, Mm arrtbad yn gfcr Arthui

GwalzmaU

Tr>stan, of coaspicoous talents. Before the foretaste of many a toilf Do not refuse, as a friend, Arthur.

cu

SIR TRISTRGM.

Gwalzmai, ohoDOt ti j pwyllaT, Ac o*m pen y lUi^iiriaT : Vol ym carer y carav.

Tryiian*

Gwalzmai, from thee I will owe diicretfooy And from m head (ucuHhrefleeHon) I wISimU As I shall be loYcd, I will love.

Gtoabmai,

Tryitao gynoezraii blaengar, Gorwlyzid cawod can dAr : Dyred i ymweled a*lh g&r.

GwabrnaU

Trystaa, of talents to be foremost^

Be drenched by a shower a haodred oaksi

Come to an interview with thy friend*

Trytii

Gwalcmai attebion gwrthgryz, Gorwlyzid cawod can rhyz : Minnaa av i*r lie mynyz.

Tryslatu ^

Gwalzmai, with answers resisting tarinikiicef Be drenched by shower a hmidred fbrrowa s I then wiU go where thoa mayett <

AcynadaetkTrystangyiaCitalZ' And then came Trytian along with Gfoaismmi mai at Arthvr. Arthur,

Q$oalxmau

Arthur attebion cymmen, Gorwlyzid cawod can pen : Dlyma Dryitan, byz lawen.

GwaUmai.

Arthur, of answers dignified.

Be drenched by shower a hoadred

Behold Tr}-stan I be thou glad.

Arthur,

Gwalzmai attebion divai, Gorwlyzid cawod can tai : Croesaw wrth Dryitan vy

Arthur,

Gwalzmai, of answers without faolt.

Be drenched by shower a hundred hoiMi :

Welcome to Trystaui my nephew !

TrjrtUn wyn b«iide?lg Ua, Ckr dj feoedyl, cred k m^ k B^MMi jn bentdila*

APPENDIX.

Trystaoy fair leader of a kott,

LoYe thy nation, rely on wliat hai been»

And be I also the head of the tribe.

CUl

Tryftaa benderig cadao, Cjwumtr gyttal aV gora% Ae jn gy wir gad ▼innao*

Tryttan, the leader of battlet, Tklc6 thou equal with the best, And in right let me abo l>e.

TryHan bendetig mawr call, Tryitaa, the leader great and wiie,

CAr dy genedyi ni'th iwg gwall : Lote thy nation, harm will not taka hold of thee s

21 Id oera rwog cir a*ar llall. Work no coolneis between one fHend and anether.

Tryttan,

Afthv, ohonot y pwylla?, Ac i*th ben y cyvarzaY i Ac k Tynyi mi ai gwnav.

Tryfton*

Arthur, from thee I will be permaded.

And to thy head(i.e.digiii<y) I makeaialntttloDi

And what thou commandest I win execute.

L

civ SIR TRISTREM.

No. Ill,

TRANSLATION

OF THE

LAI DEE CHEVREFOIL,

BY

MADEMOISELLE MARIE.

I AM much pleased with the Lay which is called ChevrefoiL Let me relate to you truly on what occasion it was made, and by whom. Many persons have narrated the story to me ; and I have also found it in writing, in the work which treats of Tristran, and of the Queen ; and of their love, which was so constant, from which they suffered a thousand sorrows ; and then both expired on the same day.*

King Markes had been much ofiended with his nephew Tristran ; and had banished him on account of his attachment

* Marie, who drew all her materials from Bretagne, probably refers to some Armorican editioo of the history of these ill-fated lovers.

APPENDIX. cv

to the queen. The knight retired into his own country, into South-Wales, where he was bom ; spent there a whole yeai of affliction ; and, being still forbidden to return, became careless of life. Do not wonder at this ; for a true lover, when his wbhes are crossed by insuperable obstacles, can set no bounds to his grief. Tristran therefore, thus driven to despair, left his home ; passed into Cornwall, the abode of the queen ; and concealed himself in the thickest part of the forest ; from whence he issued only at the dose of the day, at which time he took up his lodging among the peasants and the poorest of iDankind. Afler frequent questions to these his hosts, con- cerning the pubh'c news of the court, he at length learned that the king had convoked his barons, and summoned them to at- tend hiro, at Pentecoste, at the castle of Tintagel. Tristran was rejoiced at this news ; because it was impossible that the queen could arrive at tlie meeting without giving him an op|)or- tunity of getting a sight of her during the journey. On the appointed day, therefore, be took liis station in that part of the wood through which the road passed, cut down a branch of codre (haseij) smoothed it, wrote his name on it with the point of his knife, together with other characters, which the queen would well know how to decyplier. He perceives her approaching ; he sees her examine with attention every object on her road. In former times they had recognised each other by means of a similar de\'ice;* and he trusts, that, should slie cast her eyes on the stick, she will suspect it to belong to hef bver. This was the puqwrt of the diaracters traced on it : ** That he liad long been waiting at a distance, in hopes of bc- " ing fiivoured with some expedient which might procure him * a meeting, without which he could no longer exist. It was

* Tkb teems to allude to their secret commauicatioo by mcaM •r ckips of wood ihrowB iato a river.

CVl

SIR TRISTRKM.

" with those two ns with tlie ehcvrefoil and the codrt. When " the hoae^uckle hoa caught hold of the eoilre, and endrdcd " It by its embraces, the two will live together nnd flouriih ; " but if any one resolve to sever them, the cadre ^uddenljF " ilies, and the honey-suckle with it. Sweet friend, so i( «,-| " with us ; I csnnot live without you, nor you withont rae." ^B

flighted

llosuMfl

heq^^H

The queen, slowly riding on, perceives the stick, and reoo|p' ■ nlse» the well-known cliBracters. She orden die knights who acvouipnny her to stop. She is liroi; she will get off her hone for a short time, and take come re|xi3e. She calla to her only her maid, her faithful Breuguein -, quita the rood ) plunges into tlie lliickest part of the forest ; and Gods him whom she loved more than all the world. Both arc delighted beyond measure at this meeting, which give^.them full Iw to concert their future projecti. She telU him, that he n now be easily reconciled to bia uncle : That tlie king has oAmCm^ regretted his absence, and attributes to the malicious accuss> tiona of tlicir commtHi enemies the severe measure of his b^ nishment. Afler a long convcnation, the queen tears her- self frota him ; and they separate with mutual grief. Tristran mumed to South-Walec, from whence he was soon recalled by bis uncle; but, in the mean time, he had repeated to hini- (elf, over and over again, every word of liis mistress's late coi^ versalton ; and, while full of the Joy be felt at having seen her, he composed (being a perfect master of tlic harp) a new lay, describing Ills stratagem, its success, his delight, and the very words uttered by the queen. I will tell j-ou the name of thr lay: It is called Goat-kaf in Enghsh, and Chnre-foil in French. 1 have now told j-ou the whole truth.

APPENDIX. crii

No. IV.

ACCOUNT

OF

THE AUCHINLECK MS.

Advocated Library ( W. 4. !•)

AND

A CATALOGUE OF ITS CONTENTS.

Xhis valiable record of ancient poetry forms a tbids quarto fohonet containing 333* leaves, and 49 different pieces of poet* tf% some mere fragments, and others, works of great length. The beginning of each poem has originally been adorned with Uk ikmiination ; for the sake of which, the first leaf has, in m^ ngr cusfij been torn out, and, in others, cut and mutilated. The MS. m written on parchment, in a distinct and beautiful hand^ wUcli the most able antiquaries are inclined to refer to the cariier part of the isth centur>'* The pages are divided into

SIR TRISTREM.

two cotuninfi, unless where the verses, being Alcxnndrine, 4 cu|iy the whole breadth of the quarto. In two or three ii stances there occurs a variation of the hand-writing ; but as the poems regularly fotluw each other, there is iio reason to Iwlieve that such alterations indicate an earlier or lati^ dUe than uiay be reasoiuibly ascribed to tiie rest of the work ; td- though the Satire ugaiti!:! Simonie, No. 43, seems rather in an older liand than the others, and may be an exception to the general rule.

The MS. was presented to the Faculty of Advocates, in llAi, by Alexander Boswell of Auchinleck, oLord ofSenioo, by the title of Lord Auchinleck, and father to tite late James Boswell, Esq. the biograplier of Dr Johnson. Of its farmer history nothing is known.

Many circiiuistances lead us to conclude, that tlic MS. has been written in an Anglo-Nonnan convent. — That it hai been compiled in England there can be little doubt. Every poem, wiiich has a particular local reference, concerns Soulh Britiun alone. Such arc the satirical verses. No. 31 in tlic fotlowiog catulogue ; the Liber Begum Angliir, No. 40 ; the Satire against Sinionle, No, 43. On the other hand, not a word is to be found in the collection relating particularly to Scotliah

No. 1. 37re Legend of Pope Gregory. — Six leaves. Imper- fect both at beginning and end. Tliis article is on the top of the page marked as No 6 ; frou whicli we fiod that five pre- ceding poems have been losL St Gregory's story is more horrible than lliiit of (Edipus. He is the offspring of an in- cestuous cannection betwixt a brother and a sister ; and it ifr

APPENDIX.

terwards unwittingly married to his own mother. The fra*;- ■lent begins.

The erl hira grmunted his will Y w'lS, That the knight hira had >told» The haroonis that were of miche priii. BiforD him theri weren yeald. All the lond that ever was bis, Biforo hem alle joofc and old, He made hissoster chef and priis. That many seying for him had sold.

No. 2. The King of Tari^^-Seven leaves, including two which have been misplaced by the binder, and may be found in the middle of the preceding legend. Imperfect, wanting the end*

Herkeneth to me, both eld and yioge, For Marie*s love, that swete thing,

All how a wer began, Betwenea trew cristen king. And an hethen heye lerdiag.

Of damet the Soudaio.

This romance is published by Mr Ritson*

No. 3. The Hiitory of Adam and hit Dftcendanti-^foXlomfi the misplaced leaves of the King of Tars, and concludes upon the page where No. 4 begins. The beginning is wanting. It it a work, according to the poet, of high antiqm'ty and autho- rity, being written by Seth.

Tho Soth had written Adame^s lllf. And hfe\ that was Adaaw*i wif,

SntTRISTREM.

iBtliilkeiel¥estcde» Utr Aiim was won to Hde kit bede*

Nfiui -Qik the MSb in Adam's oretory, where it remamed till .n^ :uiM ok^iSokmoOf who disooveredf but could not decypher c» ^iiikMit aupermitan] assistaiioe. It ends, *

Jen that was nomcn with wroof « And tkolfd mani paioei strong. Among the Jewet that were feUcy To bring Adam out of belle ; Gif OSS grace for to winne The joie that Adam now b in.

S<k 4i The Legend qfSeynt Margretey^^dm lemres and a half. Perfect, saving a few linea cut out with the iUumina- tion. It is a more modem version of the legend published by llickes, in the Thesaurus Linguarum SepUntnonaUMm^ and bcigins,

Al that hen in deadly linne^ And theoke with merci to mete, Leve to Crist that gave yon wit Yoar sinnes for to bete» Listen and ye schul here telle. With wordci foir and swete, The vie of on maiden Men clepeth Seyn Margrete*

Na 5» Legend ofSeynt Kaierine. — Three and a half leaies ; wants the end, and some leaves, where the illuininatioo been cut out.

He that aiade heaven aad crthe, And s« aai auiae for to ihiae.

APPENDIX. cxi

Bring ODi into his rldte. And icbdd ooi fram hellt pine I Herken, and Y yon wil teHe The liif of an holy virgine. That tndi trewed in Jem Criit ; HIr DanM wai hotM Katerio.

No. 7« The Legend or Romance of Oaain 3fi/ei,— -occupies Reven leaves. The beginning is wanting. It contains the ad* ventures of Sir Owain, a Northumbrian knight, in St Patrick's purgatory in Ireland, where he saw hell» purgatory, and the celestial regions. The last Yerses are.

When he deyed he went, I wb, Into the heighe jole of Paradis,

Thurcb help of Gode*i grace. Now God, for Seynt Owaiois lore, Grannt out bet en blis above.

Before his iwete fine.

No. a TK€ Detputi$(mn hetuen the Bodi rnnd the Souk^r^ Three leaves ; wants the concluding stanzas. This is a dispute betwixt the body and soul of a dead warrior, who continue to upbraid each other with their sinful life, until they arc both carried to the infernal regions:

As Y lay io a winter*i night. In a dronpcolng bifor the day, Meihonght 1 law a telli sight : A bodi opon a here lay. He had ben a modi knight. And littel served God to pay ; ForloTB ho had kb Uvct light. The gott Hoved o«t, and wmM oway.

cxu SIR TRISTREftf.

■

Na 9. The Detcent of our Saviour into Hell, — to redeem the soids of the prophets, supposed to have been confined there from the Fall to the Crucifixion. As this legend is in the shape of a dialogue, it is probably an edition of the fi^ vourite mystery, called the Harrowing €f HelL It wants be- ginning and end; and occupies one entire leaf, and a firag- ment of another.

DOMlirUS AIT,

Hard gates have Y gan, And suiTerd pioet mani on Thritti winter and tbrid half yere Have Y wonde in londe here, &c.

In Bibh'otheque Harl. 325S, is a poem on the harrowing of hell, banning,

Alle hcrkoeth to me now, A strip woll Y tellca ou, Of Jem ant of Sathan.

No. 10. il Miracle (f the Virgin^ — Wants the beginning. One leaf.

Fram heven into the clerke*s boor. Right doun bifom bis beddet fet. The angel alight with great honour. And wel fair he gan him gret.

No. It, A Moralization upon certain Latin texts.— Nine leaves ; wants the end. It is written in a different and larger hand than the preceding and following articles.

lierkneth alle to ny ipeche. And belle of soale may oo techc.

APPENDIX. cxiii

No. li. ilaitf ami Jmelkm^^A betntifiil romance of chi- valry ; of which, see an account in the Notes. The beginning and end are torn out. It occupies thirteen folios, and b^nsy

The ricke dook bis Cettgu hoM, If Itk erii and wMi banMiab bold,

Af ye may Ibtcn mud lithe* FaortCB-nif ht, ai m^ was told. With erlt, and with barounii bold.

To glad tho bemct blithe.

Nais. Lcfaid^litrteilfaMfeMiw^Four leaves; wants the beginning. The autbor oonchides,

Ich beieche yon alle than that han y-berd.

Of the Maudelaio hoa it ferd.

That ye bcicchf al Ut hioiy

That this ttori ia iBflbte ^i■^

Out of Latio hath y'-wrooght.

For aUe men latin no coooe nought ftc.

Na 14. Tke Legend qfJoachim^ our Leuedie^s Moder^-^oux leaves. Incompltle, not fnm mutilation, as usual, but because the author or tnuucriber had tired of his tasL

AD that the prophetes ihewcd whllome

la her prophecie,

Al it wa» of oar Lord,

And of hb moder Marie i

Both Moytet and Abrahaa,

JooM and Helye,

DavM and Daniel,

And the holy Genaala.

h

cxiv SIR TRISTREM.

Na 15. On the Seven deadly iSijWi>-*Coiiifileliei Two leafei^

Jeio, that for us wold die And was boren of Maiden Maiye, Forgife at, Lonetd, our raifldede^ And help of at onre motte niBde !

No. 16. The Fater^noeter^ undo on EngUick^-'^oe leaf; wants the end.

Alle thaterer gone and riden, Tliai wUlei Gode^i merci abiden { Ltwede men, tluU ne bes ne derkei, Tho that leven on Gode*! weraefy Listen and ye schollen here, i wis. What yoor pater*no8ter is.

No. 17. The Astua^tum qfthe Virgin^^Fm ktves; wantf the beginning ; oondudes thus :

Now habbe ye herd the Achesonn Of the swete assampeion

Of oar Leoedi hende. Jem, that is here swete sone. Give OS grece for to wene.

Id joie that never schal ende !

Na 18. SirDegari. — Six leaves; wants the end, andabo some leaves near the banning. This beautifid romance is analyzed by Warton, in the History qfPoetry^ voL 1. p. 180l

Ferli fele wolde foode

APPENDIX. cxv

And, lechai aTeatm by ni^ht and dai, Uote she nif ht here •treofftbe, aiai So drde a kni^bt. Sire Degairee. Icb wille you telle wat man wai he.

No. 19. The Seven Wise Af osiers.— Fourteen leaves; wants tbe beginning and end. This celebrated romance, or rather tissue of stories, seems to be derived from the Calilah u Dan^ nak of the Orientals. See Tyrrwhitt's notes on Chaucer's Car^^ tertury Tales. The first paragraph b^ins,

Diocletian, the malstrr*! berde, He itrok hb berd, and thoke hit yerde. And on bem made milde cbere. And ipak that hi all might Ibere.

No. 20. Fhrice and BUncheflour,-^lf\yt leaves ; beginning torn out. Tressan has analyied this beautiful tale in his Corps ttExiraiis des Ronnanu It concludes,

Non is thii tale browt to th* ende. Of Florice and of hb lemin a bende, How after bale bem com iMite, So wU oar Loacrde, that m mote. Amen tiggct al so. And Icb icbal belpe you thorto.

No. SI. A Satirical Pom,— apparently referring to the n%n cf Edwaid U. Perfect in one Icafl Tbe introductioo is in al* tsnate French and English, and begins thus :

Lm fmU ftre ti iefere^ camfaU U tfp ttmiMmt ;

It Bis Boather wd ne febe* tbaicfoie Bagdood b shcntt

cxn SIR TRISTREM.

Na$tre prine9 He EngUitn, ptir U emuail is $0 g9iUf

At Weitmioitre alter the ieirey made a gret parkment* &o.

At this parliament Seven Wise Men deliver their opinions caiuei of the national distresB, in the following jingling

The Ante leide, I undentonde. Ne may do king wel ben Id londe Under God Almlhte* Bot he kvmie himself rede Ha he ichal in londe lede Oar manwid rih^

For miht b riht,

LIht is niht.

And flht b fliht. For miht b riht, the fond b laweles 1 For night b liht, the lond b lore-les 1 For fiht b fliht, the lond b name-less.

No. SS. A List of Names of Norman fiarofis,— oocopjing three pages, beginning with Aumarle, Bertram, Brehuse, Bar- dolf, &C, Some are fiuniliar in history, as Percy, Audely, Warayne, and the like; others seem romantic epithets, as Oylle-de-buffe, Front^de4Nifie, Loqgespee, && There is no hint of the purpose of this list, wbicfa is perfect

Na S3. Gy of Warwike^ — twenty-nine folios ; wants the be- gimiing* and a leaf in the middle. It condudea with his shgr- ing a dragon in Northumberiandy previous to his amniagB with Felice.

To Warwike he b y-wcnt.

With that hMKd ha made the Unge prcsoH.

' APPENDIX. cxni

The king was blithe and of glad cllere, For that he teye Oy Imle ind fere, At Warwike thai iMBge the beaed anon : BlanI men woodred ther apon.

No. S4. Qmtmuation ofG^s .Bti ^ory,— in a diflerent stana, oontaining his marriage, his adventures in the Holy Land, his dud with Colbfond the Damsh champion, and his death. Complete^ twenty folios.

God graat hem henen bib to mede. That herken to ml romaance rede,

AlofagentllkBicbt. The belt bodi be wai at ncde. That cfer might beitridea itede.

And freest fonnd In ight»

No. 25. Remhrun*s O^t Saiu of Warmike^^Tbin may also be considered as a continuation of the foregoing popular n>- nanoe. It occupies nine folios^ and wants the end.

JcM that ert of migbte most. Father, and Sone, and Holy Goit,

leb bidde ye abofo. Ai tboo eit Lard of ov givlni» And madett heaene and alle thing, Se, and Mmie, and mone.

Ma «. iSEr Bern cf Hnmfeiiii,.— Twcn^-five fdlioi, oom-

Lordingei bearkneth to ml tale, D merrier than the nightli«ale, Tbatlichelflngei

cxvm SIK TMSTREM.

Of a kDight I wil yow nHiiie« Beres a^hight of Hamtoane, WithouteD Ifsiog.

Having used this stanza for about three leaves, the author exchanges it for rhiming couplets.

Saber, Bevli to bit bouse badde» Mecbe of thafrladye him dradde, &e»

No. 27. OfArthour and of Merlin. — This long and cnrions ronumce may be» perhaps, the Gret Gest of Arthour^ ascri- bed, by Wintoun, to Hutcheon of the Awie Royale. It oon* tains all the earlier history of King Arthur, and the chivaliy of the Round Table, but is left unconduded by the author, or transcriber. The MS. ia complete in fifty-aiz fijlios^ be- ginning,

Jem Chriit, heveD klqg,

Al om ipant gode eodiog.

And Seinte Marie, that swdte tU^fi,

To be at oar beginning.

After Art hour and Merlin^ occurs the beginning of a romance^ in half a column, but totally defaced.

No. 28. How a Merchant did his Wife betray. — ^Thig tale is published by Mr Ritson in his Ancient Pieces afPopnUr Po- etry. In our MS. it wants the beginning, occupies two ftlioi^ and concludes,

Yoough Uial hadde of warldes wele, Togeder thai levied yeres Ide,

APPENDIX. cxix

Tkai fefd nirl, and to mot we, Ameoy Amen, par charil^.

It 18 the flame stoiy with the Groats iroriA of Wit^ and with the Fabliau^ entitled. La Bourte plane du tens.

No.S9. How our Lemedi Saute (pialter) wa$ ferst founde, —A miracle of the WiTgak^ oompfete in about one leaf and a hal£

Leuedi iif ete and aiUde, For lo?e of thine chUde,

JcM All of night, lie, that am to wilde, From icliame thou me tchylde,

Bi day and bi night.

No. SO. Lai U fVatiM^— This lay pfofenes to be of Aimo- rican origin. The introductoiy verset are nearly the same with those of the romance of Sir Orpheo, printed ^by Mr Rit- Bon in his collection of metrical romancrs.

We redeth oft, and indeth y^write, And thii clerkes wele it wite, Layes that ben hi harpiqg, Boi y*foande of ferll thing.

Twolei¥et; wants the conclusion.

No. SI. Roland and Ferragui.'^Tlm account of the duel

betwixt these two celebrated champions, the Orlando and Fer-

iiuofBoiardo and Ariosto, is versified from a chapter in the

Ft€udo'Turpin i oo five leaves^ complete. From the condit-

9

cxx- SIR TRISTREM.

ding stanza, it would seem tfatfc the foNowug romaooe of Otuel was by the same author :

And al the folk of the Wod For hoaoer of Roolbod,

Thanked God old and yoong. And gede a processioun, With croice and golnfeynoan.

And iahf€ aiiri 90Dg/» Both widowe and w iif in place Thuk thonked Godes grace.

Al tbo that speke with tong ; To iltnd alM gem, That was a Sarasin itenn

Fol sooethls word eproag.

No. 39. Otuelf a Knight.^TlaB is the history of a SMlcen champion, who is converted to Christianity, and becoaies a follower of Charlemagne. It is a very spirited loaiaDoe^ oc- cupies e^bt foliosy and wants the end.

Herkneth both yinge and old, That wcUco herea of battaillct bold. And ye wolle a while dadle. Of bold battaiUet I wolle yoa telle.

Na 33. Two leaves, containing a firagment of the gnat Hoffiancc of Alexander. It concludes,

Thus it fertb in the midlerd, Aaioog the lewed and lerd. When that beaed is >-falle, Acombred beth tlie membres alle. Thus «ndeth Alisannder the fcii^, Gode oas gnat his Miiieiqg.

APPENDIX.

No. 8C The TkrotiU Cock tmi Nightmgder^A fragment, on half a page. Thgy depute upon the fiMnale chamoter.

With blosme and with briddct roan. The notei of the basel tpringeth. The dewi derfcen in the dniep The Mlei of the alghtiignl^ Thb foolet mirrl lengeth*

fiaginenj is printed in Leyden's Introduction to the Complayni of Scotland^ p. 159. It seems to be a translation of a hiy in the Oiglby MEL, hfgjnnii^ ' Ly oommence le cnm- tent par entre le Idavis et Rossigmle.'

,M

Na S5. One colum, containing a B^Ug^oiu Frogment, which condudes,

Jem Crist om abofe,

Thoa grtant out for thi moder lofe,

Atoornvesendc^ Whas we has rightcs of the picsCe, And the deth be at ear hicst.

The seale mot to heaea weodeb

Na 36. Dmoid the JTiiig^— A poedcal paraphrase of texts from the Ptaims, qoupplefe in • p%e and a

Jf ifsrcrt ad Deus^ Ac.

liord God, to thee we calle,

That thoa have sserci oa m afle, ftc.

No. 87. ne Rommnee sf TtiUrwm^ published in this fO« lanie» oocupiea twen^ leawciy and wanli the ooodniion.

SIR TRISTREM.

NaSS. iriii^Of/<Mi,--Thi8iBthe8toiyofOfpbeii8aiidEii- lydice oonveited into a lomanoe of Faeiy. .Mr Ritsoo hM published this romance in his collection, but from a copy widely different^ and, in some respects, Infmir to thk of which we are treating. Large extracts from the latter mif be found in the Mirutrcby qf the Scattith Border^ sd edki ▼ol. n. p. I38y et tequen. It is nearly complete in fife leam^ and begins,

Orfeo was a king In loglonde, an beigbe lordinge, Stalworth nun and hardi bo, Large and corteyB he was abof His fiuler wai comen of King Plnto^ And his moder of King Jono, That som time were as godes yhold. For aneatottii that thai dede and tolde.

It 11 avowed, in the conclusion, to be a lay of Bretagne :

Harpours In Bretaine after thaa Herd bow this mervalle bigan. And made ber of a lay of gode llkhig, And nempnMl it after tbe king. That lay Orfeo is y^bote, Gode is tbe lay, swete is tbe note : Thus comes Sir Orfeo out of his care, God grannt ous alle wele to fkre«

No. 39. A Moral Poem, — Complete in three columns.

Tbe siker sotbe wboso sayes. With diol dreye we oar dayes^ And walk manl wil wayes, As wandering wigbtes.

APPENDIX. cxxiu

No* 4a Liber Regum Anglut.^^K cfaroiiicle of the kings of England, from Brutus downward, complete in thirteen folios and a half. The rubric runs thus :

Here may men rede, who so can. How logloode first began, Men mow it fiode Knglische, As the Broat it telleth Y wis.

The wori[ begins,

Herkenetb hiderward lordinges, Ye that wil here of kioges, Ichil you lellen as Y can, How loglond first bigaa.

The author dwells upon the remote and fabulous parts of the English history, but glides swiftly over the hiter reigns* He appears to have concluded his history during the minority of Edward ID., and probably about the time when the Au- diinleck MS. was written. The concluding paragraph begins.

Now Jeto Crbt and seyn Richard, Save the yoog king Edward, And gif him grace bb lend to yeme. That it be Jeso Crbt to qoeme, &c.

ExpUcit Liber Regum Amglim.

Na 41. Hitm Child emd Maiden JtiainiYdL— Sh leaves and a half, wants the conclusion. This poem, as well as a more ancient edition, is published by Mr Ritson in hit Metrical Ro-

ll i leve frende dere, Herken and ye oMiy here,

cxxiv SIR TRISTREM.

And ye wil nodentoDdey Stories ye may lere Of our elders that were

Whilom in this lond.

No. 42. A Fragment in Praise of IFoincn*— Upon two fi>- lios transposed, wants the beginning.

Chosen thai be to manes tare,

0 night In armes for to wende, Gif ani man may It here.

Of a schrewe that wil women Bhende^

1 speak for hem, &c.

This is printed in the CompUtynt of Scotland, Introductioiv p. 61.

No. 43. The beginning of the Romance (f Richard Cmtr it Lion^ on two leaves, all the rest destroyed*

Lord Jesu king of glorie,

Swiche auentoors, and swiche fictorie,

Thou sentest king Richard* Miri it is to heren his storle. And of him to ban in memoriei

That never no was conard.

No. 44. A satire, entitled the Simonie, in six folios, want- ing the conclusion. It is a larger, and, apparency, somewhat an older hand than the Auchinleck MS. ; the head of the Saxon character, expressing th^ being prolonged sfbove the line, whereas, in the rest of the volume, it is on a level with it. From drcumstanoea of internal evidence^ the poem may

APPENDIX. cxxv

be ascifted to the reign of Edward IL It alludes to the de- graded state of the natkmal character, to the fiuDine and mur- imin among the cattle, all of which afflicted the rdgn of that miserable prince. The satire begins,

Whii war and wrake in loade, and aiaaitanight b icome, Whii banger and derthe on eorthe, the pore hath ondemome, Wbii bettes ben thai itorre, wbii com hath ben so dere« Ye that wolen abide, iisteneth and ye mowen here,

Theikile. I nelle Ijen for no man, herkne whoso wiio.

The author laments the oomiptkm of the chmrcby and the arts by which preferment was obtamed. He then mentions the degeneracy of the knig^tSy who had become " lions in hall^ ind bares in tl« fiddi? Of the squires be obaenres.

And no nil DO tqaier of pris in thii middei erd. Bat if thar be bear a babel and a long herd. And fweren Godet loale, and Towe to God alhote ; Bat shoold he for eoeri fals ath leie kirtel or kote,

Nene He sholde itonde start naked twyse a day or eoe.

Godes sonle is al day swerOf the kniif stand astroot. And thoah tiie botes be torn, wele he maken Imt stout. ■ The hod bangeth on his brcit, as be wolde spewe therinne, And shorteliche hb coatrefiiitoro b coloar of sinoe

And host. To wrath the God and paien the fend hit serreth ailer-most*

The beard and the hood will remind my readers of the rhune made by the Scottish during the reign of Edward II.

Long beards iKartkMe, Painted hoods witlcae. Gay coates graceless. Make BiwIaBde thrifU

cxxvi SIR TRISTREM.

The author alto alludes to the hardness of the seasons, and to the dreadful fiunine, which occurred in 1S15 ; to the dis- ease among the homed cattle, which followed in 1S16 ; to the mortality which took place about the same time ; and, finallj, to the bloody civil wars betwixt Edward II. and his bauions, in which was qulled the noblest blokxl of England*

Such are the contents of the Auchinleck MS. I onoe medi- tated to have given interest to the catalogue, by a more detail- ed account of some of the romances which it contains ; but the attempt is rendered unnecessary by the lately-published Collection of Specimens selected from the English Metrical Romances, by Mr Ellis, the elegant historian of our early poetry.

SIR TRISTREM

FYTTE FIRST.

SIR TRISTREM,

FYTTE FIRST.

ARGUMENT.

Sianxa 1. — ^The narrator announces, that he is about to relate the birth and adventures of Sir TaisTRBMy as they had been communicated to him by Tom as of £r- cekbune. 2» — He bewails the degeneracy of his age, which he likens to the change which the approach- ing winter must produce upon the appearance of the fields and groves. 2. S. 4. 5. — ^There is introduced* somewhat abruptly, an account of a war betwixt two feudal chiefs, the Duke Morgan, and Rouland Rise, Lord of Ermonie, in which the latter is victorious. 6«— A truce having taken place, for seven yean, Rou- land repairs to the court of Mark, king of Cornwall.

Sm TRISTREM,

7— -A touroainent in held at the court of CornwaU, j which Roulond gains the victory, and, at the san time, wins the heart of the princess Blaunche Flour, sbter to king Mark. 8. — The princess discovers her passion to her preceptors. 9. — The praise of Rouland Rise, with an obscure account of his being wounded io battle, and of the conBequent distress of Blaunche Flour. 10. — The priocesK repairs in private to the chamber of the wounded knight, and Sir Tribtrbm owes his birtli to this stolen interview. 1 1. 12, — Rou- lond is informed by a trusty vassal, called Rohaod^ that duke Morgan has invaded his dominions in breach of truce. 13. l*. 15. — The princess etopes with her lover, who returns to the defence of his country : they arrive safely at a castle, belonging to Rohand, wherei it would seem, they arc married. 16. — Duke MoryJ gan comes against Rouland with a great army. I

Stanzas 17.18. 19. — A dreadful battle, in which Ronland has at first tlie advantage ; but the duke, being reinfbr- ced, defeats and slays him by treachery, after he fats atchieved prodigies of valour 30. SI. 22.— Blaunche Flour, tlien in the pains of child-birth, learns the death of her hu^and. Under these distressing circumstances Tristrem is born ; and his mother, afler recommending him to the care of Rohand, and bequeathing him a ring, as a token of his propinquity to king Mark, ex- , pires amid the lamentations of her attendants- 23.— ■ Rbhand, to secure the safety of his ward, posaes hinit for hia own cliild, under the inverted iippellai

FYTTE HRST. 5

Tmntrift. 24w 25— -Morgan attains the absolute do- nunioQ of Ermonie, and Rohand pap him constrain- ed and dissembled homage* 26. 27. — The education of TVistrem, daring the first fifteen years of his life. His skill in minstrelsy^ in the mysteries of the chace, and in all knightly games. 28«-— A Norwegian vessel arrives, fireigfated with hawks and with treasure. Tris- trem learns that the captain had challenged any one to play at chess, for a stake of twenty shillings. 29. 90. 31— -Rohand and his sons, with Tristrem, go on board the Norwegian vessel. Tristrem plays with tbe master at chess, and wins firom him six hawks, and one hundred pounds. Rohand goes on shore, leaving Tristrem still engaged at chess, under the charge of his preceptor. 92. 93.— llie master, to avoid pqring what he had lost, puts to sea with Tris- trem, and gives the preceptor a boat to go on shore alone.

Skmxas 94. 95. 96.— >The vessel is sorely tempest-tost, which the mariners impute to the injustice of which they have been guil^; under this impression, they pay Tristrem his winnings, and put him on shore in an mknown country. Tristrem prays to heaven for pro- tection. 97-*The narrator again bespeaks the at- tention of his hearers, on account of the authenticity of the fiicts, as ascertained by the accurate research of his author, Tomas. 98. 9d. 40— Tristrem's dress is described— a robe of bUhani brown. Having re- freshed himself with some food, which was left him

b'

sin TRISTRHM.

by the Norwegians, lie traverses a forest, in wbidi ha meets two palmers ; who, in reply to his inquiriesi inform him that he is in England. He ofiers the pal- mers a reward uf ten shillings, if they will guide him to tJie court of the king of the country, which they willingly undertake to do. +1. 12. +3. — They meets party of hunters. Tristrem is scandalized at the awk- ward manner in which they break up the stags whidi they have slain, and expoatulates with them, A Ser- jeant replies, that they used the mode always practi- sed in their country, but that ttiey were willing to look on and be instructed, if he would be pleased to c^am a buck tor their information. 44. 45. 46. 47. — A mi- nute account of the scientific mode in which Trinrem broke up the stag, and how he blew the mort, or tokening, llie new science is communicated to Mark (ibr all this happens in Cornwall,) who is highly de*

I lighted with so important a discovery. 48. — More the science of hunting, with a moral reflection

^ duty of instructing the ignorant.

Sbuuu *9. — ^Tristrem is brought before Marie, to i he gives an account of his education; but, as the of Rohaiid, our hero's supposed father, w^ unknown tq the king of Cornwall, he does not discover his ne> phew in the young huntsman. 50.— Tristrem par- takes ofthe royal feast, the hberal abundance of which is described can omnrr. 51 . 52. — The introduction of a minstrel, alter the feast, gives Tristrem an Of^ior- tunity of displaying his skill on the harp, in which

I

FYTTE FIRST. 7

the Cofmuh muriciaii yktidg him the pakn. He be- comes a faTOurke of Mark, and is maintained at hia court in splendour. 5S9 54.— The tale returns to Ro- band, who, desperate at the loss of his foster-son, searches for him over various countries, without even renewing his tattered garments, untU he meets with one of the palmers, who conducted Tristrem to the court of Cornwall. 55. 56— -The palmer tells Rohand the fiivour which Tristrem had attained in the court of Cornwall, and, at Rohand's request, becomes his guide thither. 57. 58. 59 — ^When Rohand arrives at the court, he is refused entrance, first by the por- ter, and afterwards by the ui^er, on account of his mean dress* These obstacles he overcomes by liber- al bribes, and is at length introduced to Tristrem, who is unable to recognise him. 60. 61. 62. — An expla- nation takes place, and Tristrem, greatly shocked at his mistake, introduces Rohand to king Mark, as his firther, telling him, at the same time, the cause of their separation. 63.64.65. — Rohand, being refiresh- ed with the bath, and richly attired, by order of king Mark, the whole court is surprised at his majestic ap- pearance. He is placed by the king's side, to par- take of the royal banquet.

SUmxas 66. 67.— Rohand relates to the king the secret of Tristrem's birth, and produces the token of the ring, bequeathed by his mother on her death-bed. Mark receives Tristrem as his nephew* 68. — Tristrem ha- ving received the congratulations of the courtiers be-

SIR TRISTREM.

comes urgent to learn the particulars of hii father's death. 69.^Ruhand relates the tragical fate of botli his parents, through tht^ treachery of Uuke Morgan. 70. — Tristreni announces to the king his intention to go to Ennonie, ta avenge his father's death. 71>72. 73. — Mark dissuades his nepliew trom so dangerous an attempt, but at length gives his consent : he be- stows upon Tristrem the honour of knighthood, and s chosen band of a thousand men, n-ith whom the hero sets sail , and garrisons the castle of Rohaad. 7^- 75. —Sir Tristrem, tired of remaining inactive in the for- tress, resolves to go in disguise to tlie court of duke Morgan, where he arrives while they are at t^e, at the head of fifteen knights, each of whom carriesa boar's head as a present. 76. — Itohand, anxious for the safety of his foster-son, follows him, at the head of the Cornish forces, and his own vassals. 77. 78. 79. — An ambiguous salotation trom Sir Tristrem leads Morgan to demand his name and business. Sir THs- trem declares himself, and, at the conclusion of an angry parley, the duke strikes him with his Bst 80. — Tristrem draws his sword, and, at that instant, Ro- hand arrives with his army. 81. 82. 8:1. — An engage- ment ensues, in wliiuh Morgan is slain, and his U' lowere routed. Sir Tristrem recovers his paternal do- minions, which he confers upon Rohand, to be ' of himself as li^e lord. 84. — Our hero takes kaiyij of Sir Rohand, and returns to Cornwall.

FYTTE FIRST. 9

StefMo 85—- On IVktretn's arrival in Cornwall, he foda the bund in dismay, cm account of a tribute demand- ed from Mark by the long of ^^jj^and. 86.— The nature of the tribute is explained, being the yearly payment of three hundred pounds of gold, as many of ooined silver, and as many of tin, and, every fourth year, of three hundred children. 87. 88. 89.-^Mo- launty the Irish ambassador, a celebrated knight and dbampion, is engaged in demanding the tribute, when Tristrem arrives from Ermonie. Mark explains to his nephew the cause of his distress, and protestslhat the demand of tribute is utterly unjust. Tristrem re« solves to oppose the claim. 90. 91. — The matter is discussed in the council of the nation, where Tristrem undertakes, upon his knighthood, to defend the free- dom of Cornwall, which proposal is reluctantly as- sented to by the council. 92.— -Tristrem delivers in person to Moraunt, a declaration that no tribute was due. Moraunt retorts, by giving Tristrem the lie ; and they exchange gages of battle. 93.— They sail to a small island, to decide the combat* Tristrem turns his boat adrifl, saying, that one would be suf- ficient to bring back the victor.

Siaiuuu94f. 95. 96. — The encounter of the champions is described. Moraunt's horse is slain. 97. 98. — Tris- trem alights, and the battle is renewed on foot— Tris- trem is desperately wounded in the thigh. 99.— Tris- trem cleaves Moraunt's skull, and, his sword break- fog, a piece of the blade remains in the wound. 100.

10 SIR TRISTREM.

— Tristrem exults in having slain the mirrour of Ire- land. The attendants of Moraunt remove his body, and Tristrem returns to ComwaU. 101^ — ^Tristrem presents his sword at the altar. He is appointed heir of Cornwall, and successor of his unde. 102^-— Tris- trem's wound, having been inflicted by an envenom- ed wei^on, becomes worse and worse. All attempts to cure it are unavailing, and the stench of the gan- grene drives every one from his person, except his faitbfol servant, GouveraayL

\

SIR TRISTREM.

FYTTE FIRST.

L

I WAS at [Erceldoune :]

With Tomas spak Y thare ; Tber herd Y rede in roune.

Who Tristrem gat and bare. Who was king with croun ;

And who him fbrsterd yare ; And who was bokl baroun.

As thair elders ware, Bi yere : —

Tomas tells in toiuiy This anentours as thai ware.

\

12 SIR TRISTREM.

II.

This semly somers day

In winter it is nought sen ; This greves* wexen al gray,

Timt in her time were grene : So dos this world Y say,

Y wis and nought at wene ; The gode bene al oway^

That our elders have bene To abide : —

Of a knight nthait Y mene ;

His name is sprong wel wide.

III. Wald Morgan tbde no wrong,

Thd Morgan lord wes ; He brak hk casteb strong.

His bold borwes he ches : His men he slough amcmg.

And raped liim rnani a res ; The wer lasted so long.

Til Morgan asked pes Thurch pine j

For sothe, withouten les, £Qs liif he wende to tine#

'^ Either greuet or grena ; perhaps a mistake for grouef .

FYTTE FIRST. W

IV. Thus the batayl it bigao,

Witeth wele it was 8O9 Bitvene the Douk Morgan^

And Roulaud that was thro ; That never thai no Ian,

The pouer to wirche wo : Thai spilden mani a man,

Bitven hem selrai to. In prise ;

That on was Douk Morgan, That other Rouland Rise.

V.

The knightes that were wise

A forward fiist thai bond. That ich a man schul joien his.

And seuen yer to stcmd : The Douke and Rouland Riis,

Therto thai bed her hond. To heighe and hidden priis,

And foren till Inglond, To lende :

Markes king thai fond. With knightes mani and hende.

14 SIR TRISTREM.

VI.

To Marke the king thai irent,'

With knigfates proud in pres ; And teU him to^ Amende,

His auentoors as itwes : He preyd hem as his frende.

To duelle with him in pes : The knightes thai were hende,

And dede with outeii les. In lede:

A tumament they ches, With knightes sdthe on dtede.

VII. >i' Glad a man was he

The tumament did crie, That maidens might him se, And ouer the walls to lye : Thai asked who was fre, To win the maistrie ; Thai said that best was he, The child of Ermonie,

In tour : Forthi chosen was he. To maiden Blaunc^ Flour.

FYTTE FIRST. \S

VIII. The maiden of heighe Idnne

She caU her mabten thre ; *^ Bot yive it be thurch ginne,

A selly man is he ; Thurch min hert with inne,

Y wounded hath be me^ So sone:

Of bale bot he me blinne, Mine liif dajns ben al done/' — >

IX. He was gode and hende,

Stahrorth, wise and wi^t ; Into this kmdes aide,

Y wot non better kni^t i Trewer non to finende,

And Rouland Riis he hight ^ To batayl gan he wende.

Was wounded in that fight, FuUfeQe:

Blaunche Flour the bright. The tale than herd she telle.

lii SIR TRISTRBM.

X.

V Sche «eyd wayleway,

Wh^ hye hard it was so ; To her: maiatresse sche gta .say,

That hye was boim to gO| To the knight ther he lay,

Sche swooned. and hir was wo ^ So comfort he, that may,

A knaye child got thai tvo, So dere;

And seththen men cleped him so, Tristrem the trewe fere.

XL

^ The trewes that thai hadde tan,

And staUbd in her thought, Than brak the Douk Morgan,

He no wald held it nought : — Rohand trewe sostan,

A. letter he ther wrought, And send to Rouland onan.

As man of socour sought. In karej

To helpe what he mought. Or lessen aLthat ther ware.

fYTTE FIRST. 17

XII. Bovlfliid BiiB in teaief Tok laA at Marina kingv— *

H

XUL

<< Or thou wilt wende with mey

Mi duelling is hir ille;'*— — *' BihoU and tow may ie»

Mi rede u taken dier tiUe ; That fare Y wiDe with the, And finde

Thai fair folk and thi fre, O londe ther is thi kinde.''—

* Nine lines of the twdftJi, and two liiM of the thirtecath maw, are cut out of the MS.

li SIR TBISTREM.

XIV.

"" Thai buskedy and maked hem bomiy

Nas ther no kng abade ; Thai lefted goinfiunounj

And out of haTen thai rade. Till thai com til a toun,

A castel Rohant had made ; Her sailes thai leten domi,

And knight ouer bord thai strade, Al eladde :

The knightes that wer .&de» Thai ded as Rohant bade.

XV.

Rohant right he radde.

This maiden schal ben oure, Rouland Riis to wede,

At wekl in castel tour. To bring hir to his bedde.

That brightest is in bour : Nas never non iairer fedde,

Than maiden Blaunche Flour, Al blithe :

After that michel anour. Parting com ther swithe.

FYTTE FIRST. 19

XVI. In hird nas nought to hde^

Tliat Morgan teUes in toun ; Mekeliche he gan mde,

Among his moi to roun : He bad his knigfatei kle.

Come to his somomiy With hon and wepenet fele. And xered goin&ynooni That bold:

He rode so king with croon. To win all that he wokL

XVII. Of folk the feld was brade,

Tlier Morgan men gan Inde ; Tho Rouland to hem rade,

Oyain him gmi thai ride ; Swiche meting nas never made.

With aorwe, on ich aside ; Ther of was Rouland ^ade,

Ful fiist he fold her pride, Withpaine :

Morgan scaped that tide That he nas nought slain.

m SIR TRISTREM.

xvm.

MorganeB folk came newe

Of Rodland Riis the gode ; On helmes gun thai hewe,

Thurdi brinies brast the blood ; Sone to deth ther drewe,

Mani a firely ibde ; Of Rbuland was to rewe^

To groonde when he yode. That bold:

His sone him after stode. And dere his deth he sold*

Rewthe mow je here,

Of Rouland RJis the knight ; Thre hundred he slough there.

With his swerd bright 5 Of al tho that ther were.

Might none him felle in fight, But on with tresoun there,

Thnrch the bodi him pight. With gOe :

To deth he him dight, Alias that ich while.

FYTTE nRST. 21

His hone ofdd him barey

AUe ded hoia in fais way ; Gret wonder hadde' he thought tharei

That folk of forly plky -, The tiding com with care^

To BlauBche Flour that rtay ; For hir me reweth sare (

On child bed ther ache laye, Was bom

Of hir Tristrem, that day, Ac hye no bade nought that mom.

A ring of rich hewe,

Tlian hadde that lenedi fre ; Sche toke it Rouhant trewe %

Hir flone sche bad it be ; — << Mi brother wele it knewe*

Mi fider yaf it me ^ King Markes may rewe.

The ring than he it te^ And moun ;

As Roukmd loved tfae^ Thou kepe it to his sane.**— -

22 SIR TRISTREM.

XXII. The folk stode on fidiii Bifor that leuedi fre : — ** Rouland mi lord is slain^

He speketh no more with me !''- That leuedi, noufj^t to lain.

For sothe ded is sche ^ Who may be ogain. As god wil it flchal be UnbUthe; Sorwe it was to se, That leuedi swelted swithe.

XXIII. Geten and bom was so

The child, was fair and white ; Nas neuer Rohant so wo ;

He nist it whom to wite ; To child bed ded he go.

His owhen wiif al so tite ; And seyd he hadde children to,

On hem was his delite, Bi crist.

In court men deped him so Tho tram bifor the trist.

6

FYTTE FIRST. «8

XXIV. Douk Morgan was blithe^

Tho Rouland Riis was doun -, He sent his sond swithe.

And bad aD scbuld be boon, And to his lores lithe,

Redi to his somonn ; Durst non ayain him kithe,

Bot yalt him tour and tomi, So sone;

No was no king with croun, So richeliche hadde y done.

XXV.

V Who gaf brocfae and bei}^?

Who bot Douk Morgan ? — Cruwel was and heighe,

pyaines him stode no man : To conseil he calleth neighe,

Rohant trewe so stan \ And eoer he dede as the sleig^.

And held his hert in an, That wise :

It brast thurch bbd and ban, Yif hope no ware to rise.

n Sm TBISTKBM.

XXVL

Now hadi Bohftnt is ore

Trktraniy and ia fill hlitbe ;. The child he iet to«lore»

And lemd him al so swithe i In bok while he was thocey'

He stodieth eoer that stithe; Tho that hi him worey

Of him weren fill hUdie, . That bold:

His craftes gan he kithey Qjraines han when he wold

xxvn.

FiRaae yere he gan him fede^ Sir Rohant the trewe ^ '<'

^ He taught him ichaledey'' ^ Of ich maner of glewe;^ And eyerich plajing thedey Old lawes and newe ; . On hunting oft he yedey To swiche alawe he drewe,

Al thus; More he couthe of veneris Than Goulhe Manerions*

FYTTE FIRST. «5

XXVIII. Tber com a 8du)>of Norwbyf

To 3ir Rohantei iurioU With hankes while and grgy»

And £MMte fidr y fidd : Tristrem herd itsay^

On hiB playibg he w<dd Tventie schilling to hty,

Sir Rohant him told. And taught :

For haoke nher he ybid % The fiurest men him nmght

XXIX. A cheker be fond bi a cheire,

He asked who wold play i The mariner spac bonair^

— <« Chikl, what willow lay ?— ^^ Pyain an hauke of noble air»

Tventi schillinges to say i Whether so mates other fiur^

Bere hem bothe oway."->-> With wille,

The mariner swore his &yet For sotfae ich held ther tille.

^ SIR TRISTREM.

XXX.

Now bothe her wedde lys^

And play thai bi ginne ; And sett he hath the long asise^

And endred beth ther inne : The play biginneth to arise,

Triistrem deleth atvinne ^ He dede als so the wise,

He yaf has he gan winne

In raff Of playe ar he wald blinxie, Sex haukes he yat and yaf.

XXXI.

Rohant toke leue to ga.

His sones he cleped oway ; The fairest hauke he gan ta.

That Tristrem wan that day, With him he left ma

Pans for to play ; The mariner swore also,

That pans wold he lay. An stounde :

Tristrem wan that day, Of him an hundred poonde.

FYTTE FraST. 27

XXXII. Tristrem wan that ther was layd :

A tresoun ther was made. No lenger than the maister seyd,

Of gate nas ther no bade ; As thai best sat and pleyd,

Out of haven thai rade ; Upon the se so gray

Fram the brimes brade, Gun flete;

Of lod thai were wel glade, And Tristrem sore wepe.

XXXIII. His maister than thai fand,

A bot and an are ; Hye seyden, *< Yond is the land.

And here schaltow to bare, Chese on aither hand,

Whether the lever ware, Sink or stille stand ;

The child schal with ous fare On flod }"—

Tristrem wepe fill sare ; Thai lough and thouj^t it gode.

2$ SIR TRISTREM.

XXXIV,

Nighcn woukcs and marey

The mariners flet on fbd. Til anker hem brast and are»

And stormes him bbtode ; Her sorwen, and her care,

Tliai witt that firdy fi>de) Thai nisten hou to fiure.

The wBwes were so wode. With winde ;

Olond thai wtdd he gede, Yif thai wist ani to finde.

/ ^c

XXXV.

'i" A lond thai nei^ed neighe^

A forest as it ware. With hilles that were heighe,

And holtes that weren hare : Olond thai sett that skti^e.

With all his wining yare. With broche and rich bei^e ;

A lof of brede yete mare, That milde y

Weder thai hadde to fiure, A lond thai left that childe.

FYTTE FIRST. 39

XXXVI. Winde thai hadde as thai wolde,

A kmd bibfthe; His hert bigaD to ooldy

Tho he no might ham nou^^ se : To Critt his bodi he yald»

Hiat don was on the tre (— — << Lordy mi lii^ mi l» hold.

In world thoa wisse me, Atwilles

Astow art lord so fire, Tliou let me never qpille."— *

yi XXXVII. Tho Tomas asked ay

Of TristPem tiewe fere. To wite the right way.

The styes for to lere ; Of a prince prond in pky, ^>:'/i>i / «

Listneth lordinges dere; Who so better can say.

His owhen he may here. As hende.

Of thing that is him dere, Ich man preise at aide.

so SIR TRISTREM.

XXXVIII. In o robe Tmtrem was boim,

That he fram s/ddp hadde brought ; Was of a blihand broun,

The richest that was wrought ; As Tomas telleth in toun ; ^

He no wist what he mought, Bot semly set him doun.

And ete ay til him gode thought, Ful sone :

The forest forth he sought. When he so hadde done.

XXXIX.

He toke his lod unlight ;

His penis with him he bare ; The hilles were on hight.

He clomb tho holtes hare ^ Of o gate he hadde sight.

That he fond full yare : The path he toke ful right ;

To palmers mett he thare, On hand;

He asked hem whennes thai were ; Thai seyd of Yngland.

FYTTE FraST. 81

XL. For drede thai wald him do,

He temed him to the king ; He bede hem pens mo,

Aither ten schilling, Yif thai wald with him go,

Aild to the court him bring ; This thai sworen tho,

Bi the lord over al thing, Fulsone;

Fal wel bi set his thing. That rathe hath his bone.

XLL

The forest was &ir and wide.

With wild beste^^ ^prad ; The court was ner beside.

The palmers thider him lad } Tristrem hunters seigfae ride,

Les of boundes thai ledde ; Thai token in that tide.

Of fatte herteSvyXedde, Infeld:

In blehand was he dedde; The hunters him faiheld*

9

82

SIR TRISTREM.

XLU. Bestes thai brae and bare ;

In quarters 4ihai liem inK>u^t ; Martirs as it warey

That hu^lxmd men had bought ; Trisirem tho 8pac tharet

And neyd wonder him thought ; Ne seize y neuer ai^^

So wilde best 7 wrought* Atwille.

Other ke sejrd Y can nought^ Or folily ye hem qpille.

XLIIL Up stode « seriant bold,

And epac Tristrem oyain, — " We and our dders old,

Thus than have we sain i Otheat thou hast ous told ;

YcMid lith a best unflain ; Atire it as thou wold,

And we wil se fid fiJn, Infekl^

In lede is nought to Iain ;''— The hunters him tuheld.

^

FSTTE FraST. 83

XLIV. Tristrem schare the brest.

The tong sat next the pride ; The heminges swithe on ^t^ <-

He schar and layd beside ; The breche adoun he thresti

He ritti and gan to right, Boldliche ther nest,

Carf he of that hide, Bidene ;

The bestes he graithed that tide. As mani seththen has ben.

XLV.

The spande was the first brede,

The erber digfat he jare ; To the stifles he yede.

And even ato hem schare. He ri^t al the rede ;

The wombe oway he bare ; The noubles he yaf to mede ;

That seighen that ther ware, Ako;

The rigge he oraised mare i The chine be smot atro.

M SIR TRISTREM.

XLVI.

The forster for bit ri^^itaiy

The left schulder yaf he $ With hert, haer, and lightes,

And Mod tille his quimg : Hoimdes on hyde he dightea^

AUe he lete hem se; The rauen he yave hiB yiftesy

Sat on the fourched tre. On lowe:

— '** Hunteis whare be ye^ The tokening tchuld ye blowe.''-

XLVil. He tight the mawe on tinde*

And Ae t)ie gargiloun : Thai blewen the right kinder

And radde the right roun ; Thai wist the king to findey

And senten forth to toon ; And teld him under Unde^

The best hou it was boun^ And brought:

Mark the king with crouni Seyd that feir him thought

FYTTE FIRST. S5

XLVIIL The tokming when thai bkwe,

Her wondred man! a man ; The coeMm thai nought new^ ;

For thi fro bord thai ran i No wist thai nought hou newe ;

Thai hadde huntert than : It is a maner of glen^,

To teche heni> that nd can, Swfdie thing:

Alle blithe weren.thai than, That yede bifinr the kii^i;.

XLIX.

The king seyd — <^ Wher were thou bom.

What hatton bebmye ?**-- Tristrem spac bifem,

— ** Sir, in Hermonie : Mi fiuler me hath ferkm. Sir Rohant sikerly, / The best blower of horn, \ And king of venery.

For thought :"— The lasse yaf Mark for thi. For Rohant he no knewe nought.

S6 SIR TRISTREM.

L.

The king no seyd no morcy

Bot wesche and yede to mete ; Bred thai pard and schare^

Ynough thai hadde at ete ; Whether hem lever ware,

Win or ale to gete ; Aske and have it yare.

In coupes or homes grete» Was brought ;

Ther while thai wold thai sete. And risen when hem gode thought.

LL An harpour made a lay,

That Tristrem aresoond he ; The harpour yede oway,

— « Who better can lat se."— _« Bot Y the m^di may.

Wrong than wite Y the.**— The harpour gan to say,

— " The maistri yive Y the, Ful sket :"—

Bifor the kinges kne, Tristrem is cald to set

FYTTE FIRST. S7

LII.

Blithe weren thai alle.

And merkcs gun thai minne ^ Token leve in the halle,

Who might the childe winne ; Mark gan Tristrem caUe,

Was comen of riche kinne ; He gaf him robe of palle.

And pane of riche skinne, Fill sket :

His chaumber he lith inne, And harpeth notes swete.

LIII. Now Tristr^n lat we thare.

With Marke he is fid dere : Rohant reweth sare.

That he no might of him here ; Over londes he gan fare,

With sorwe and rewefid chere $ Seven kingriche and mare,

Tristrem to finde there. And sought :

His robes riven were. Therefore no leved he nought

38 SIR TRI8TBEM.

LIV.

Nought no seemed it so

Rohant that noUe knight ; He no wist whider to go.

So was he brought o' mi^ti To swinke m^i wold him to.

For mete and robes right ; With other werkmen mo.

He bikft al night. In knd;

Of the pahners he hadde a sig^t, That Tristrem first &nd.

LV.

His asking is ever newe

In travail and in pes ; The pahner seyd he him knewe,

And wiste wele what he wes ; — " His robe is of an hewe,

Blihand with outen les ; His name is Tristrem trewe,

Bifor him scheres the mes, The king;

Y brought him ther he ches. He gave me ten schilling.'^—

\

FTTTE FIRST.

LVL

— «• So michel wiD Y yive thee,''

Qnath Rohant, <« will ye ta. The court ye lat me se i'*—

The palmen iqrd ym i BHthe ther of was he,

And redily yaf him sa, Of wel gode mon^.

Ten flchillingei and ma, Qfgayn:

Rohant was ful thra, for tofirain.

Lvn.

In Tristrem is his delit,

And of him spd^eth he ay, The porter gan him wite.

And seyd, '* Cherl, go owqr. Other Y schal the smite.

What dostow here al day ?'*— > A ring he raught him tite,

The porter seyd nought nay. In hand:

He was fill wis Y say, ^ That first yave yift in land.

4

. I

40 SIR TRISTREM.

LVUI. Rohant tfao tok be,

And at the gate in lete : The ring was &ir to se. The yift was wel swete ; ^ The huscher bad him fle, — " Cherl, oway wel sket, Or broken thine heued schal be. And thou feU under fet. To grounde," — Rohant bad him lete, And help him at that stounde,

LIX- The pouer man of mold,

Tok forth another ring. The huscher he yaf the gold,

It semed to a king : Formest tho in fold,

He lete him in thring ; To Tristrem trewe ihold.

He hete he wold him bring. And brought ;

Tristrem knewe him no thing, And ferly Rohant thought.

FYTTE FIRST. 4-1

LX. Thei men Tiistrem had sworn,

He no trowed it never in lede, That Bohant robes were torn.

That he wered swiche a wede : He frained him bifom,

— << Child, so God the rede. How were thou fram Rohant lorn ?

Monestow never in lede. Nought lain ?"—

He kneled better spede. And kist Rohant fiili fain.

LXI.

— << Fader, no unretthe the nought,

Ful welcome er ye ; Bi God that man hath bought.

No thing no knewe Y the ; With sorwe thou hast me sought.

To wite it wo is me ;" — To Mark the word he brought, '

— •* Will ye mi fader se. With sight ;

Graithed Y wil be be. And seththen schewe him as knight''*—

42 SIR TRISTREM.

LXIL Tristrem to Mark it seyd,

HiB aventoun as it were i How he with sdiipmen pleyd^

Of lond hou thai him here ; How stormes hem bistayd,

Til anker hem brast and are ; — *< Thai yoklen me that Y lajrd,

With al mi wining there^ In hand;

Y dambe the holtes hare, Til Y thine hunters &nd.*'—

LXIII. A buith thai brought Rohant inne,

A harbour was redi thare } Al rowe it was his chinne, His heued was white of hare ; - A scarlet with riche skinne, Ybrought him was full yare ; Rohant of noble kinne. That robe ful fair he bare^

That boU : Who that had seyn him thare, A prince him might han told.

\Sf Akj

FYTTE HRST. 4S

LXIV.

Fair his tale bigan,

Rohant tlid he oom lat ; Trifltrem that honoar can.

To halle led him the gate; Ich man seyd than,

Nas non swiche as thai wate. As was this pouer man.

That thai betefram the gat. With care;

Nas none that wald him hate, But welcome was he thare.

LXV.

Water thai asked swithe.

Cloth and bord was drain ; With mete and drink lithe.

And Qfidiyuifiathat were bayn. To serve Tristrem swithe.

And Sir RcAant fill &yn ; Whasche when thai wald rise.

The king ros him oyain. That tide:

In lede is nought to layn. He set him bi his side*

M SIR TRISTREM.

LXVI.

Rohant that was thare,

To Mark his tale bi gan ; — " Wist ye what Tristrem ware,

Miche gode ye wold him an ; Your owhen soster him bare,'^ —

(The king Uthed him than y) — *< Y nam sibbe him na mare,

Ich aught to ben his man. Sir king:

Knowe it yive ye can, Sche taught me this ring.'' —

LXVIL << When Rouland Riis the bold,

Douke Morgan gan mete ;*' — The tale when Rohant told. For sorwe he gan grete ; The king beheld that old.

How his wonges were wete: To Mark the ring he yold. He knewe it al so skety

Gan loke ; He kist Tristrem ful skete, And for his nevou toke.

FYTTE FIRST. 45

LXVIII. Tho thai kisten him alle^

Bothe leuedi and knight^ And seriaunce in the halle.

And maidens that were bright ; Tristrem gan Rohant calle^

And iraned him with sig^t ; — ** Sir, how may this fafle,

How may Y prove it rights Nought lain ?

Tel me for Godes might, How was mi fader slain ?" —

LXIX.

Rohant told anon,

His aventours al bidene ; Hou the batayle bigan.

The werres hadden y b^i i His moder hon hye was tan,

And geten hon bitrene ; — '* Slawe was Ronland than,

And ded Blaunche the schene« Naught les j

For doubt of Morgan kene, Mi sone Y seyd tboa wes.''—'

4« SIR TRISTREM.

v'^

^

Tristrem al in hei(;^ -^^

Bifor the king earn he ;

*

— ** Into Eimonie,

Sir, BOW longeth me ; Thidcr fere wil Y,

Mi leue Y take <tf the ; To fight with Morgan inj^jf

To sle him other he me, With hand:

Ers achat no man me se, Pyain in Ingland."—

LXXI. Tho was Mark fill wo^

He sight sore at diat tide ; — << Tristrem, thi rede thou ta,

In Ingfend for to abide ; Morgan is wick to slo ;

Of knightes he hath gret pride ; Tristrem thei thou be thro,

Lat mo men with the ride, On rowe:

Take Rohant bi thi side.

He will thine firendes knawew'^^-^* 6

i^x

FYTTE FIRST. 47

LXXIL

To arms the king lete crie.

The folk c^ol his land ; To help Tristrem for thi.

He made knight with his hond ; He dede him han on heye.

The fiurest that be fimd. In place to riden him bjr.

To don him to wider stand. So swithe:

Sorwe so Tristrem band. Might no man make him blidie*

LXXIII.

No wold he duellai anight,

Ther of nas nought to say; Ten hundred that were wight,

Wenten with him oway ; Rohant the riche kniglit,

Redy was he ay, To his castel ftd right.

He sailed the Beaen day, On rade:

His maister he gan pay,

[is sones knightes he made.

4S SIR TRISTRRM.

LXXIV. His frendes glad were thai^

No Idame hem no man for thi^ Of his coming to say,

Al in to Ermonie : Till it was on a day, *

Morgan was &st by, Tristrem bi gan to say,

— " With Morgan speke wil Y, And spede ;

So long idel we ly

Miself mai do mi nede." —

•

LXXV.

Tristrem dede as he hight,

He busked and made him yare ; His fiftend som of knight.

With him yede na mare ; To court thai com full right.

As Morgan his brede schare, Thai teld tho bi sight,

Ten kinges sones thai ware. Unsought ;

Heuedes of wild bare, Ichon to presant brought

FYTTE FIRST. 49

LXXVI. Rohant bigan to 88301^

To hiB knig^tet than seyd he; — << As woman is triis for lain^

Y may say hi me ; Yif Tristrem be now sleyn^

Yoel yemers er we ; To armes knight and swayn,

And swiftly ride ye, And swithes

Tin Y Tristrem se. No worth Y never bHtbe.''

LXXVIL

Tristrem ipeke bigan^

-^<< Sir King, God feke the, As Y the love and an,

And thou hast served to me.''-— The Dooke answerd than ; —

— ** Y pray mi lord so ire, Whether thou bless or ban,

Thine owhen mot it be, Thoabold:

Thi nedes teDe thon me, Thine erand what thon wold.''*-^

50 SIR THISTREM.

LXXVin. — « Amendes ! mi fiider is slain.

Mine hirritage Hennonie ;" — The Doak answered ogain,

— <* Certes thi fiuler than slough Y ; SeChthen thoa so hast sayd,

Amendes ther ought to Ijr, Therefore, prout swayn.

So schal. Y the for thi ; Right than,

Artow oomen titly, Fram Marice thi kinsman.

LXXIX. ** Yongling, thou schalt abide,

Foles thou wendest to fimd ; Thi fader thi moder gan hide.

In horedom he hir band ; How comestow with pride i

Out, traitour, of mi land I''-— Tristrem upai^ that tide,

— ^* Thou lext ich understand. And wot ;" —

Moigan with his hand. With a lof Tristrem smot

FYTTE FIRST. SI

LXXX.

On his brcst adonn.

Of his nose ran the blod ; Tristrem swcrd was boun,

And near the Douke he stode ;f

With that, was comen to toun, R<Aant, with help fhl gode,

And gayn ; Al that oyain him stode,

Wightly were thai slayn.

LXXXL To prisoun thai gun take,

£rl, baroun, and knight. For Douke Morgan sake,

Mani on dyd doun right ; Schafies they gun schake.

And riyen scheldes bright ; Crounes thai gun crake,

Mani, ich wene, aplight, Saunfayl :

Bitu^ie the none, and the night. Last the batayle.

t Two lines are here wanting, as is evident from the diflfe- rence in the btanza, though there is no blank in the MS.

5S SIR TRISTREM,

LXXXII. Thus hath Tristrem the sw^, Y-sIawe the Douke Morgan ; No wold he never lete.

Till mo castlei were tan ; Tonnes thai yoM him skete.

And cites stithe of stan, The fok fel to his fet ; Ayaines him stod ther nan. Inland^ ^ He slough his fitder Ban^ Al bowed to his hand.

LXXXIII. Tto yeref he sett that landf

His lawes made he cri i AI com to his hand^ ^

Ahnain, and EmKmie» At his wil to standf

Bonn, and al redy : Rohant he yaf the wandy

And bed him sitt him bi, That fre ;

— << Rohant lord mak Y, To held this lond of me.'^ —

FYTTE FIRST. 53

LXXXIV. ** Thou, and thine Mmes five,

Schul held this loud of me, Ther while thoii art olive^

Thine owhen schal it be \ What halt it long to strive,

Mi kve Y take at te ; Tin Inglond wU Y rive,

Mark min em to se.

That stounde ;"

Now boskes Tristrem the fire, To Inglond for to firande.

LXXXV.

Blithe was his bosking.

And fidr was his schip fivei Rohant he left king,

Over all his wining thore : Schipmen him gun bring, ■''■•- \ ' ^

To Inglond fol yare^ He herde a newe tiding.

That he heard never are, On hand}

Mani man wepen sare, For ransoun to Yrhnd.

S4 SIR TRI»TREM.

LXXXVI.

Marke schuld yeld, luhold,

Thei he were king with croiin, Thre hundred pounde of gold,

Ich yer out of toun. Of silver fair^-foldiy

Three hundred pounde al boun,* Of mon^ of a mold,

Thre hundred pounde of a latoun, Schuld- he;

The ferth yere, a ferly roun ! Three hundred bames fire.

LXXXVII. The truage was com to to,

Moraunt the noble knight, Y-hoId he was so,

An eten in ich a %ht. The bames asked he thoy

Als it war londes right ; Tristrem gan stoutely go.

To lond, that ich night, Ofrade;

Of the schippe thai had a li^t. The dai thai dede obade.

FYTTE FIRST. 55

LXXXVIIL Marke was glad, and blithe,

Tho he might Triittreiii le j lie Idst him fele rithe,

Weloom to him was he i Marke gan tidinges lithe.

How he wan londes fire ; Tristrem seyd that dthe,

— ** Wat may this gadering be ? Thai grete !"—

— << Tristrem Y tell it the, A thing tha is me unswete.

LXXXIX. << The king of Yrkmd,

Tristreita, idiam his man^ To long ichave ben her bond.

With wrong the king it wan ; To kmg it hath ystond.

On him the wrong bigan, Therto ich held mine hond.''-—

Tristrem seyd than, AlstiDe,

— >*< Moraunt that michel can, &hal nought han his wiUe."—

56 SIR TRISTREM*

XC-

Marke to comayl jedCf .

And adce^ r«de of this I He seyd, — «f With vn^ug dedn.^

The ramoun ytak€ii.k*''-r-p/ Tristrem acyd,-?-** Y rede, . *

That he the bames mis ;''— * Tho seyd the Idngin ledof

— *<* No was it never his, With right ;•'—

Tristrem seydyt-f^-^* Y wis, Y wiU definde it as knight''

XCL

By al Markes haldt

The-truwage was tan, Tristrem gan it withhald,

As prince proude in JUQ ; Thai graimted that Tristrem wald,

Other no durst ther nan, Nis ther non so bald,

Y made of flesche, no ban. No knight i

Now hath Tristram y-tan, Oyain Moraunt to fi^^t

PYTTE FIEST. 57

XCII.

Tristrem himseif yedet

Morsimt word to briiig» And sdiordliche teyd in lede*

— « We no owe the nothing/* Moraunt oyain segrd,

— ** Thou kiLt a loule leiing) Mi body to batayl Y bede»

To prove bifiir the kmgf To loke."—

—-He waged him a ring i Tristrem die batayl toke.

xcin.

Thai seylden into the wide^

With her achippei tvo; Moraunt band hia biiidet

And Tristrem lete his go. Moraunt sejd that tides

-— << Tristrem» whi dostow so ? Our on schai here abide^

No be thou never so thrOf ywis."—

— ** Whether our to live go^ We have anoo^ of this.** —

/

8

£8 SIK TRISTREM.

m

XCIV.

The yland inu iul brade.

That thai gun in fight ; Ther of was Moraunt glade,

Of Tristrem he kte light ; Swiche meting nas never non made.

With worthU wepen wight, Aither to other rade.

And hewe on hdmes bright. With hand }

God help Tristrem the knight ! He fiuight fer Ingland.

xcv.

Morauct with his might.

Rode with gret randoun* Oyain Tristrem the knight.

And thought to here him doun ; With a launce unlight.

He smote him in the lyoun,; And Tristrem that was wight.

Bar him thurch the dragoun, In the scheld ;

That Moraunt bold, and boun. Smote him in the scheld.

FYTTE -FIRST. 59

XCVL Up he sdrt bidene.

And kpe opon hia stede. He fiiugfat withouten wene.

So wolf that wald wede s Tristrem in that tenCf

No spard him for no drede. He yaf him a wounde y-sene.

That hia bodi gan bkde^ Rig^ttho:

In Moraontes most nede. His stede bak brak on to.

XCVII.

Up he stirt in drede.

And seyd, — ** Tristrem, alight, For thon hast slayn mi stede,

Afot thou schalt fight ;" — Quath Tristrem, — <• So God me rede,

Tber to Icham al light :*'— Togider tho thai yede.

And hewen on helmes bright, Sami fayl :

Tristrem as a knight, Faught in that batayl.

GO SIR TRISTRBM.

XCVIII. Moraiint of Yrlond smot

Trifltrem in theflchdd. That hairfd firam his hond,

Ther adoun in the ^d s Tristrem ich imdenUmdy

Anon the ttzoke him yeld ; With his gode brond

Morannt neighe he qudd, Thatkni^t;

Marine the batayl biheld^ And wondered of that fight

XCIX.

Moraunt was nnfaynt

And fiuD^t with all his migfa That Tristrem were y-slayn.

He stird him as a knight : Tristrem smot with mayn,

His swerd brak in the fight. And in Morauntes brain,

Bileved a pece bright ; With care :

And in the hannche right, Tristrem was wounded sare.

PYTTE FIRST. (>!

C.

A sword that pended to pride^

Tristrem tho q>ac he^ — « Folk of Yrland side^

Your mirour ye may ae^ Mo that hider will ride»

ThuB gra3rthed fchid ye beu**— With 8orwe, thai drought that tide^

Morannt to the te* And care:

With joie Triftrem the fre To Marke his em gan fare.

cr.

His swerd he o£Ered than^

And to the auter it bare ; For Markes kinsman,

Tristrem was loved thare. A forward thai bigan,

Ther to thai alle sware. For that lond fire he wan.

That king he schuld be thare ; To say,

Yif he oUve were. After Sir Markes day.

62 SIR TRISTREM*

CII.

Thoi Tristrem light thenke.

He is wounded fill sare, Leches with salve and drink.

Him oometh wide whare ; Thai lorn al her swink,

His paines was ay the mare, No man no might for stink \ Com ther Tristrem ware, Als than:

Ich man forsok him thare, Bot Gouemayl his man.

SIR TRISTREM.

FYTTE SECOND.

SIR TRISTREM.

FYTTE SECOND.

ARGUMENT.

Siafusai 1« 2. Si^ — Tristrem, forsaken bj every one, asks from king Mark a ship, that he might leave the country of Cornwall. Mark reluctantly grants his request, and he embarks with Gouvemayl, his sole attendant, and his harp as his only splace. 4. S^^^ Tnstrem sets sail from Carlioun, and continues nine weeks at sea : the wind at length drives him to the baven of Dublin, in Ireland. To the sailors, who oome b boats frt)m the harbour, he says he has been wounded by pirates. 6— Tristrcm, kaming that he

66 SIR TRISTREM.

was in Ireland, and recollecting that Moraunt, whom he had slain, was brother to the queen of that coun- try, again assumes the name of Tramtris. ?• 8«— The wounded man's skill in minstrelsy is reported to the queen, a lady celebrated for her skill in medicine. 9. 10. 11. — The queen comes to visit Tristrem, who maintains his assumed name, and the character of a merchant, plundered and robbed by pirates. His skill in music, and at chess, and tables, astonishes the queen and the byestanders, who swear by Saint Fa- trick, that his like was never seen in Ireland* The queen undertakes his cure ; and, by a medicated bath, restores to him the use of his limbs. 12. IS. 14. — Tristrem's cure advances through the precious reme- dies of the queen. His skill in music, and in games, occasions his being frequently called to court; and he becomes the instructor of the princess Yaoiide, who was attached to the studies of minstrelqr and poetry. He instructs her in those arts, as well as in chess, and other games, till she has no equal in the kingdom, eiccepting her preceptor, the inventor of those elegant amusements.

Stanzas 15* 16. 17* — Sir Tristrem's health being resto- red, and the education of Ysonde completed, our hero becomes desirous of returning to Britain. The qaeen unwillingly grants his request, with some reflectioDS upon the ingratitude of foreigners. He is loaded with gifls, and sets sail, with Gouvemayl, for Carlioun, where he arrives in safety, to the joy and ^rtooisb-

y^

FYTTE SECOND. 67

ment of the Cornish. 1 8, 1 9. 20i— -Mar k receives his nephew joyfully, and inquires how his wound had been cured. Tristrem informs the king of the kind- ness of the sister of Moraunt, and is Uvish in encomi- um upon the beauty and accomplishments of Ysonde. The king, struck by this panegyric» offers to make ' Tristrem his heir, if he will bring Ysonde to CoruwaU. 21. 22. 23^-^The barons, jealous of Tristrem*s power, persuade the king that it would be an easy matter for his nephew to procure Ysonde for the royal bride. Tristrem points out the folly of such an enterprize ; but adds, that he would undertake it, as he knew the nobility ascribed the ofunkm^ which he had delivered, to the selfish view of keeping the king unmarried. He demands an attendance of fifteen knights. 24>. 25. 26^-^Tristrem sails to Dublm, with a select body of knights, in a vessel richly laden. Without announ- cing their errand, they send rich presents to the king, the queen, and the princess. The messengers return, fidl of the praises of Ysonde's beauty, and relate that the people of Dublin were in great alarm.

Sianxas 27. 28. 2%— The rftuse of the terror of the Irish is explained, being the approach of a monstrous dra- gon, which had done so much damage, that proclama^ tkm had been made, offisring the hand of the princess lo him who should slay the monster. Tristrem pro- poses the adventure to his knights, who decline to un- dertake it. He goes on shore himself^ well mounted and armed, and comes in sight of the fiery dragon.

68

SIR TniSTRRM.

Sa 31. S2. 33 Tristrem breaks his spear on the im-

penetrable hide of thcmonsler, loses hiB horse, and, after praying to God, renews the battle on fboL He ■mites off the dragon's jaw: the enraged anunal " throws fire" in such abundance as to consume all the knight's armout, but is at length slain. The vic- tw cutg out the dragon's tongue. 34. 35.— Having' put the tongue of the animal into " his hoeg," Tris- trem attempts to return ; but is deprived of his by the subtle operation of the poison. Meanwhili the king's steward, chancing to pass by, dragon's head, and, carrying