Specimens with Memoirs of the Less-known British Poets Part 4

[8] 'The book:' the French romance.

[9] 'Peytrel:' the breast-plate or breast-band of a horse.

[10] 'Arsowne:' saddle-bow.

[11] 'falcon brode:' F. bird.

[12] 'Sheltrou:' 'schiltron:' soldiers drawn up in a circle.

From 'Sir Degore' we quote the description of a dragon, which Warton thinks drawn by a master:--

DEGORE AND THE DRAGON.

Degore went forth his way, Through a forest half a day: He heard no man, nor sawe none, Till it past the high none, Then heard he great strokes fall, That it made greate noise withal, Full soone he thought that to see, To weete what the strokes might be: There was an earl, both stout and gay, He was come there that same day, For to hunt for a deer or a doe, But his houndes were gone him fro.

Then was there a dragon great and grim, Full of fire and also venim, With a wide throat and tuskes great, Upon that knight fast 'gan he beat.

And as a lion then was his feet, His tail was long, and full unmeet: Between his head and his tail Was twenty-two foot withouten fail; His body was like a wine tun, He shone full bright against the sun: His eyes were bright as any gla.s.s, His scales were hard as any bra.s.s; And thereto he was necked like a horse, He bare his head up with great force: The breath of his mouth that did out blow As it had been a fire on lowe[1].

He was to look on, as I you tell, As it had been a fiend of h.e.l.l.

Many a man he had shent, And many a horse he had rent.

[1] 'On lowe:' in flame.

From Davie's supposed 'Life of Alexander' we extract a description of a battle, which shews some energy of genius:--

A BATTLE

Alisander before is ryde, And many gentle a knight him myde;[1]

As for to gather his meinie free, He abideth under a tree: Forty thousand of chivalry He taketh in his company, He dasheth him then fast forthward, And the other cometh afterward.

He seeth his knightes in mischief, He taketh it greatly a grief, He takes Bultyphal[2] by the side, So as a swallow he 'ginneth forth glide.

A duke of Persia soon he met, And with his lance he him grett.

He pierceth his breny, cleaveth his s.h.i.+elde, The hearte tokeneth the yrne; The duke fell downe to the ground, And starf[3] quickly in that stound: Alisander aloud then said, Other toll never I ne paid, Yet ye shallen of mine pay, Ere I go more a.s.say.

Another lance in hand he hent, Against the prince of Tyre he went He ... him thorough the breast and thare And out of saddle and crouthe him bare, And I say for soothe thing He brake his neck in the falling.

... with muchel wonder, Antiochus hadde him under, And with sword would his heved[4]

From his body have yreaved: He saw Alisander the goode gome, Towards him swithe come, He lete[5] his prey, and flew on horse, For to save his owen corse: Antiochus on steed leap, Of none woundes ne took he keep, And eke he had foure forde All ymade with speares' ord.[6]

Tholomeus and all his felawen[7]

Of this succour so weren welfawen, Alysander made a cry hardy, 'Ore tost aby aby.'

Then the knightes of Acha Jousted with them of Araby, They of Rome with them of Mede, Many land....

Egypt jousted with them of Tyre, Simple knights with riche sire: There n'as foregift ne forbearing Betweene vavasour[8] ne king; Before men mighten and behind c.u.n.teck[9] seek and c.u.n.teck find.

With Persians foughten the Gregeys,[10]

There was cry and great honteys.[11]

They kidden[12] that they weren mice, They broken speares all to slice.

There might knight find his pere, There lost many his distrere:[13]

There was quick in little thraw,[14]

Many gentle knight yslaw: Many arme, many heved[15]

Some from the body reaved: Many gentle lavedy[16]

There lost quick her amy.[17]

There was many maim yled,[18]

Many fair pensel bebled:[19]

There was swordes liklaking,[20]

There was speares bathing, Both kinges there sans doute Be in dash'd with all their route, &c.

[1] 'Myde:' with.

[2] 'Bultyphal:' Bucephalus.

[3] 'Starf:' died.

[4] 'Heved: head.

[5] 'Lete:' left.

[6] 'Ord:' point.

[7] 'Felawen;' fellows.

[7] 'Vavasour:' subject.

[8] 'c.u.n.teck:' strife.

[9] 'Gregeys:' Greeks.

[10] 'Honteys:' shame.

[11] 'Kidden:' thought.

[12] 'Distrere:' horse.

[13] 'Little thraw:' short time.

[14] 'Heved:' head.

[15] 'Lavedy:' lady.

[16] 'Amy:' paramour.

[17] 'Yled:' led along, maimed.

[18] 'Many fair pensel bebled:' many a banner sprinkled with blood.

[19] 'Liklaking:' clas.h.i.+ng.

Davie was also the author of an original poem, ent.i.tled, 'Visions in Verse,' and of the 'Battle of Jerusalem,' in which he versifies a French romance. In this production Pilate is represented as challenging our Lord to single combat!

In 1349, died Richard Rollo, a hermit, and a verse-writer. He lived a secluded life near the nunnery of Hampole in Yorks.h.i.+re, and wrote a number of devotional pieces, most of them very dull. In 1350, Lawrence Minot produced some short narrative ballads on the victories of Edward III., beginning with Halidon Hill, and ending with the siege of Guisnes Castle. His works lay till the end of the last century obscure in a MS.

of the Cotton Collection, which was supposed to be a transcript of the Works of Chaucer. On a spare leaf of the MS. there had been accidentally written a name, probably that of its original possessor, 'Richard Chawsir.' This the getter-up of the Cotton catalogue imagined to be the name of Geoffrey Chaucer. Mr Tyrwhitt, while foraging for materials to his edition of 'The Canterbury Tales,' accidentally found out who the real writer was; and Ritson afterwards published Minot's ballads, which are ten in number, written in the northern dialect, and in an alliterative style, and with considerable spirit and liveliness. He has been called the Tyrtaeus of his age.

We come now to the immediate predecessor of Chaucer--Robert Langlande.

He was a secular priest, born at Mortimer's Cleobury, in Shrops.h.i.+re, and educated at Oriel College, Oxford. He wrote, towards the end of the fourteenth century, a very remarkable work, ent.i.tled, 'Visions of William concerning Piers Plowman.' The general object of this poem is to denounce the abuses of society, and to inculcate, upon both clergy and laity, their respective duties. One William is represented as falling asleep among the Malvern Hills, and sees in his dream a succession of visions, in which great ingenuity, great boldness, and here and there a powerful vein of poetry, are displayed. Truth is described as a magnificent tower, and Falsehood as a deep dungeon. In one canto Religion descends, and gives a long harangue about what should be the conduct of society and of individuals. Bribery and Falsehood, in another part of the poem, seek a marriage with each other, and make their way to the courts of justice, where they find many friends. Some very whimsical pa.s.sages are introduced.

The Power of Grace confers upon Piers Plowman, who stands for the Christian Life, four stout oxen, to cultivate the field of Truth. These are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the last of whom is described as the gentlest of the team. She afterwards a.s.signs him the like number of stots or bullocks, to harrow what the evangelists had ploughed, and this new horned team consists of Saint or Stot Ambrose, Stot Austin, Stot Gregory, and Stot Jerome.

Apart from its fantastic structure, 'Piers Plowman' was not only a sign of the times, but did great service in its day. His voice rings like that of Israel's minor prophets--like Nahum or Hosea--in a dark and corrupt age. He proclaims liberal and independent sentiments, he attacks slavery and superst.i.tion, and he predicts the doom of the Papacy as with a thunder-knell. Chaucer must have felt roused to his share of the reformatory work by the success of 'Piers Plowman;' Spenser is suspected to have read and borrowed from him; and even Milton, in his description of a lazar-house in 'Paradise Lost,' had him probably in his eye. (See our last extract from 'Piers.')

On account of the great merit and peculiarity of this work we proceed to make rather copious extracts.

HUMAN LIFE.

Then 'gan I to meten[1] a marvellous sweven,[2]

That I was in wilderness, I wist never where: As I beheld into the east, on high to the sun, I saw a tower on a loft, richly ymaked, A deep dale beneath, a dungeon therein, With deep ditches and dark, and dreadful of sight: A fair field full of folk found I there between, Of all manner men, the mean and the rich, Working and wand'ring, as the world asketh; Some put them to the plough, playeden full seld, In setting and sowing swonken[3] full hard: And some put them to pride, &c.

[1] 'Meten:' dream.

[2] 'Sweven:' dream.

[3] 'Swonken:' toiled.

ALLEGORICAL PICTURES.

Thus robed in russet, I roamed about All a summer season, for to seek Dowell And freyned[1] full oft, of folk that I met If any wight wist where Dowell was at inn, And what man he might be, of many man I asked; Was never wight as I went, that me wysh[2] could Where this lad lenged,[3] lesse or more, Till it befell on a Friday, two friars I met Masters of the Minors,[4] men of greate wit.

I halsed them hendely,[5] as I had learned, And prayed them for charity, ere they pa.s.sed further, If they knew any court or country as they went Where that Dowell dwelleth, do me to wit,[6]

For they be men on this mould, that most wide walk And know countries and courts, and many kinnes[7] places, Both princes' palaces, and poor menne's cotes, And Dowell, and Doevil, where they dwell both.

'Amongst us,' quoth the Minors, 'that man is dwelling And ever hath as I hope, and ever shall hereafter.'