Chapter I (2)

Orfeo was a king,
In Inglond an heighe lording,
A stalworth man and hardi bo,[65]
Large and curteys, he was al so;
His fader was comen of king Pluto,
And his moder of king Juno,
That sum time were as godes y hold,
For aventours that thai dede and told.
This king sojurned in Traciens,
That was a cite of noble defens,
For Winchester was cleped[66] tho
Traciens, with outen no.
The king hadde a quen of priis,
That was y cleped dame Heurodis.
The fairest levedi[67] for the nones[68]
That might gon on bodi and bones,
Ful of love and godenisse
Ac no man may telle hir fairnise.
Bifel so in the comessing of May,
When miri and hot is the day,
And oway beth winter schours,
And everi feld is ful of flours,
And blosme breme[69] on everi bough,
Over al wexeth miri anough,
This ich[70] quen dame Heurodis,
Tok to maidens of priis,
And went in an undren tide[71]
To play bi an orchard side
To se the floures sprede and spring,
And to here the foules sing:
Thai sett hem doun al thre,
Under a fair ympe[72] tre,
And wel sone this fair quene,
Fel on slepe opon the grene.
The maidens durst hir nought awake,
Bot let hir ligge and rest take,
So sche slepe til after none,
That under tide was al y done;
Ac as sone as sche gan awake,
Sche crid and lothli bere gan make;
Sche froted[73] hir honden and hir fet,
And crached her visage, it blede wete,
Hir riche robe hye al to rett,[74]
And was reneyd[75] out of hir witt.
The two maidens hir biside
No durst with hir no leng abide,
But ourn[76] to the palays ful right,
And told bothe squier and knight,
That her quen awede[77] wold,
And bad hem go and hir at hold.
Knightes urn[76], and levedis al so,
Damisels sexti and mo,
In the orchard to the quen hye come,
And her up in her armes nome,[78]
And brought hir to bed attelast,
And held hir there fine fast;
Ac ever sche held in o cri
And wold up and owy.
When Orfeo herd that tiding
Never him nas wers for no thing;
He come with knightes tene
To chaumber right bifor the quene,
And biheld and seyd with grete pite:
O lef[79] liif, what is te,[80]
That ever yete hast ben so stille,
And now gredest[81] wonder schille[82];
Thi bodi, that was so white y core,[83]
With thine nailes is al to tore,
Allas! thi rode,[84] that was so red,
Is al wan as thou were ded;
And also thine fingres smale,
Beth al blodi and al pale;
Allas! thi lovesum eyghen[85] to
Loketh so man doth on his fo;
A dame, Ich biseche merci,
Let ben al this reweful cri,
And tel me what the is, and hou,
And what thing may the help now?
Tho lay sche stille attelast,
And gan to wepe swithe[86] fast,
And seyd thus the king to:
Allas! mi lord, sir Orfeo,
Seththen[87] we first to gider were,
Ones wroth never we nere,
Bot ever Ich have y loved the
As mi liif, and so thou me,
Ac now we mot[88] delen ato,
Do thi best, for y mot go.
Allas! quath he, forlorn Ich am,
Whider wiltow go and to wham?
Whider thou gost Ichil with the,
And whider Y go thou schalt with me.
Nay, nay, sir, that nought nis,
Ichil the telle al how it is:
As Ich lay this under tide,
And slepe under our orchard side,
Ther come to me to fair knightes
Wele y armed al to rightes,
And bad me comen an heighing,[89]
And speke with her lord the king;
And Ich answerd at wordes bold,
Y durst nought, no y nold.
Thai priked oghain[90] as thai might drive,
Tho com her king also blive,
With an hundred knightes and mo,
And damissels an hundred al so;
Al on snowe white stedes,
As white as milke were her wedes,
Y no seighe never yete bifore
So fair creatours y core!
The king hadde a croun on hed,
It nas of silver, no of gold red,
Ac it was of a precious ston;
As bright as the sonne it schon:
And as son as he to me cam,
Wold Ich, nold Ich, he me nam,
And made me with him ride,
Opon a palfray bi his side,
And brought me to his pallays,
Wele atird in ich ways;
And schewed me castels and tours,
Rivers, forestes, frith[91] with flours;
And his riche stedes[92] ichon,
And seththen me brought oghain hom,
In to our owhen orchard,
And said to me after ward:
Loke dame, to morwe thatow be
Right here under this ympe tre;
And than thou schalt with ous go
And live with ous ever mo,
And yif thou makest ous y let,
Where thou be, thou worst y fet[93]
And to tore thine limes al,
That nothing help the no schal,
And thei thou best so to torn
Yete thou worst with ous y born.
When king Orfeo herd this cas,
O we![94] quath he, allas! allas!
Lever me were to lete[95] mi liif,
Than thus to lese the quen mi wiif,
He asked conseyl at ich man,
Ac no man him help no can.
A morwe the under tide is come
And Orfeo hath his armes y nome,
And wele ten hundred knightes with him,
Ich y armed stout and grim;
And with the quen wenten he,
Right unto that ympe tre.
Thai made scheltrom[96] in ich aside,
And sayd thai wold ther abide,
And dye ther everichon,
Er the quen schuld fram hem gon:
Ac yete amiddes hem ful right,
The quen was oway y twight,[97]
With fairi forth y nome,
Men wist never wher sche was bicome.
Tho was ther criing, wepe and wo,
The king into his chamber is go,
And oft swoned opon the ston
And made swiche diol[98] and swiche mon,
That neighe his liif was y spent;
Ther was non amendement.
He cleped to gider his barouns,
Erls, lordes of renouns,
And when thai al y comen were:
Lordinges, he said, bifor you here
Ich ordainy min heigh steward
To wite[99] mi kingdom after ward,
In mi stede ben he schal,
To kepe mi londes over al,
For now Ichave mi quen y lore,[100]
The fairest levedi that ever was bore;
Never eft y nil no woman se,
Into wildernes Ichil te,[101]
And live ther ever more,
With wilde bestes in holtes[102] hore;
And when ye under stond that y be spent,
Make you than a parlement,
And chese you a newe king:
Now doth your best with al mi thing.
Tho was ther wepeing in the halle,
And grete cri among hem alle;
Unnethe[103] might old or yong
For wepeing speke a word with tong.
Thai kneled adoun al y fere,[104]
And praid him yif his wille were,
That he no schuld nought from hem go.
Do way! quath he, it schal be so:
All his kingdom he forsoke,
But a sclavin[105] on him he toke;
He no hadde kirtel, no hode,
Schert, no nother gode,
Bot his harp he toke algate,[106]
And dede him barfot out atte gate:
No man most with him go.
O way! what ther was wepe and wo,
When he that hadde ben king with croun,
Went so poverlich out of toun.
Thurch wode, and over heth,
Into the wildernes he geth,
Nothing he fint that him is ays,[107]
Bot ever he liveth in gret malais[108];
He that hadde y werd the fowe[109] and griis,[110]
And on bed the purper biis,[111]
Now on hard hethe he lith,
With leves and gresse he him writh[112]:
He that hadde castels, and tours,
River, forest, frith with flours;
Now, thei it commenci to snewe and frese,
This king mot make his bed in mese[113]:
He that had y had knightes of priis.
Bifor him kneland, and levedis,
Now seth he no thing that him liketh,
Bot wild wormes by him striketh:
He that had y had plente
Of mete and drink, of ich deynte,
Now may he al day digge and wrote,[114]
Er he finde his fille of rote;
In somer he liveth bi wild frut,
And berren, bot gode lite;
In winter may he no thing finde,
Bot rote, grases, and the rinde;
Al his bodi was oway dwine
For missays, and al to chine,[115]
Lord! who may telle the sore
This king sufferd ten yere and more:
His here of his berd, blac and rowe,[116]
To his girdel stede was growe;
His harp, where on was al his gle,
He hidde in an holwe tre;
And, when the weder was clere and bright,
He toke his harp to him wel right,
And harped at his owhen wille,
Into alle the wode the soun gan schille,
That alle the wilde bestes that ther beth,
For joie abouten him thai teth[117];
And all the foules that ther were,
Come and sete on ich a brere;
To here his harping a fine,[118]
So miche melody was ther in.
And when he his harping lete wold,
No best bi him abide nold.
He might se besides
Oft in hot under tides,
The king o fairy, with his rout,
Com to hunt him al about:
With dim cri and bloweing,
And houndes also with him berking;
Ac no best thai no nome,
No never he nist whider thai bi come.
And other while he might him se
As a gret ost bi him te,
Wele atourned[119] ten hundred knightes,
Ich y armed to his rightes;
Of cuntenaunce stout and fers,
With mani displaid baners;
And ich his swerd y drawe hold:
Ac never he nist whider thai wold.
And other while he seighe other thing:
Knightes and levedis com daunceing,
In queynt atire gisely,
Queyitt pas, and softly:
Tabours and trimpes yede him bi,
And al maner menstraci.
And on a day he seighe him biside
Sexti levdis on hors ride,
Gentil and jolif, as brid on ris[120];
Nought o man amonges hem ther nis;
And ich a faucoun on hond bere,
And riden on haukin bi o rivere,
Of game thai founde wel gode haunt,
Maulardes, hayroun, and cormeraunt;
The foules of the water ariseth,
The faucouns hem wele deviseth,
Ich faucoun his pray slough:
That seighe Orfeo, and lough.
Par fay, quath he, ther is fair game!
Thider Ichil bi Godes name,
Ich was y won[121] swiche werk to se.
He aros, and thider gan te;
To a levedi he was y come,
Biheld, and hath wele under nome,
And seth, bi al thing, that it is
His owhen quen dam Heurodis.
Yern he biheld hir, and sche him eke,
Ac noither to other a word no speke:
For messais that sche on him seighe,
That had ben so riche and so heighe,
The teres fel out of her eighe;
The other levedis this y seighe,
And maked hir oway to ride,
Sche most with him no lenger abide.
Allas! quath he, now me is wo!
Whi nil deth now me slo,
Allas! wroche, that Y no might
Dye now, after this sight!
Allas! to long last mi liif
When Y no dar nought with mi wiif,
No hye to me, o word speke,
Allas! whi nil min hert breke!
Parfay, quath he, tide what bitide,
Whider so this levedis ride,
The selve way Ichil streche,
Of liif, no deth, me no reche.
His sclavin he dede on, all so spac,[122]
And henge his harp upon his bac,
And had wel gode will to gon;
He no spard noither stub no ston.
In at a roche the levedis rideth,
And he after, and nought abideth;
When he was in the roche y go,
Wele thre mile, other mo,
He com in to a fair cuntray,
As bright so sonne on somers day,
Smothe, and plain, and al grene;
Hille, no dale nas ther non y sene;
Amidde the lond a castel he sighe,
Riche, and real,[123] and wonder heighe;
Al the ut mast wal,
Was cler and schine as cristal;
And hundred tours ther were about,
Degiselich[124] and bataild stout;
The butras com out of the diche,
Of rede gold y arched riche,
The bonsour[125] was avowed[126] al,
Of ich maner divers animal;
With in ther wer wide wones,[127]
Al of precious stones,
The werst piler on to biholde,
Was al of burnist gold;
Al that lond was ever light,
For when it schuld be therk[128] and night,
The riche stones[129] light gonne,
As bright as doth at none the sonne,
No man may telle, no thenche in thought,
The riche werk that ther was wrought,
Bi al thing, him think that it is
The proude court of paradis.
In this castel the levedis alight,
He wold in after, yif he might.
Orfeo knokketh atte gate,
The porter was redi ther ate,
And asked, what he wold have y do.
Parfay, quath he, Icham a minstrel lo,
To solas thi lord with my gle,
Yif his swete wille be.
The porter undede the gate anon,
And lete him in to the castel gon.
Than he gan bihold about al,
And seighe full liggeand[130] with in the wal,
Of folk that were thider y brought,
And thought dede and nare nought:
Sum stode with outen hade[131];
And sum on armes nade;[132]
And sum thurch the bodi hadde wounde;
And sum lay wode[133] y bounde;
And sum armed on hors sete;
And sum astrangled as thai ete;
And sum were in water adreynt[134];
And sum with fire al for schreynt[135];
Wives ther lay on child bedde;
Sum ded, and sum awedde[136];
And wonder fele ther lay bisides,
Right as thai slepe her under tides;
Eche was thus in this warld y nome,
With fairi thider y come.
Ther he seighe his owhen wiif,
Dame Heurodis his liif liif
Slepe under an ympe tre;
Bi her clothes he knewe that it was he.
And when he hadde bihold this mervails alle,
He went in to the kinges halle;
Then seighe he ther a semly sight,
A tabernacle blisseful and bright
Ther in her maister king sete,
And her quen fair and swete;
Her crounes, her clothes, schine so bright,
That unnethe bihold he hem might.
When he hadde biholden al that thing,
He kneled adoun bifor the king;
O Lord, he seyd, yif it thi wille were,
Mi menstraci thou schust y here.
The king answerd, what man artow,
That art hider y comen now?
Ich, no non that is with me,
No sent never after the.
Seththen that ich here regni gan,
Y no fond never so fole hardi man
That hider to ous durst wende,
Bot that Ichim walde of sende.
Lord, quath he, trowe ful wel,
Y nam bot a pover menstrel,
And, sir, it is the maner of us,
To seche mani a lordes hous,
Thei we nought welcom no be,
Yete we mot proferi forth our gle.
Bifor the king he sat adoun
And tok his harp so miri of soun,
And tempreth his harp as he wel can,
And blisseful notes he ther gan,
That al that in the paleys were,
Com to him for to here,
And liggeth adoun to his fete,
Hem thenketh his melody so swete.
The king herkneth, and sitt ful stille,
To here his gle he hath gode wille.
Gode bourde[137] he hadde of his gle,
The riche quen al so hadde he.
When he hadde stint[138] his harping,
Than seyd to him the king,
Menstrel, me liketh wele thi gle,
Now aske of me what it be,
Largelich Ichil the pay,
Now speke, and tow might asay.
Sir, he seyd, Ich beseche the,
Thatow woldest give me,
That ich levedi bright on ble,[139]
That slepeth under the ympe tre.
Nay, quath the king, that nought nere,
A sori couple of you it were,
For thou art lene, rowe, and blac,
And sche is lovesome with outen lac;
A lothlich thing it were forthi,[140]
To sen hir in thi compayni.
O sir, he seyd, gentil king,
Yete were it a wele fouler thing
To here a lesing[141] of thy mouthe,
So, sir, as ye seyd nouthe,[142]
What Ich wold aski have Y schold;
And nedes thou most thi word hold.
The king seyd, seththen it is so,
Take hir bi the hand, and go;
Of hir Ichil thatow be blithe.
He kneled adoun, and thonked him swithe.[143]
His wiif he tok bi the hond
And dede him swithe[144] out of that lond;
And went him out of that thede,[145]
Right as he came the way he yede.[146]
So long he hath the way y nome,
To Winchester he is y come,
That was his owhen cite,
Ac no man knewe that it was he,
No forther than the tounes ende,
For knoweleche no durst wende,
Bot with a begger y bilt ful narwe,
Ther he tok his herbarwe,[147]
To him, and to his owhen wiif,
As a minstrel of pover liif,
And asked tidings of that lond,
And who the kingdom held in hond.
The pover begger, in his cote,[148]
Told him everich a grot[149]
How her quen was stole owy,
Ten yer gon with fairy,
And how her king en exile yede,
Bot no man niste in wiche thede,
And how the steward the lond gan hold,
And other mani thinges him told.
A morwe ogain none tide
He maked his wiif ther abide,
The beggers clothes he borwed anon,
And heng his harp his rigg[150] opon,
And went him in to that cite,
That men might him bi hold and se.
Erls, and barouns bold,
Burjays, and levedis, him gun bi hold;
Lo! thai seyd, swiche a man,
Hou long the here hongeth him opan!
Lo! hou his berd hongeth to his kne,
He is y clongen[151] al so a tre.
And as he yede in the strete,
With his steward he gan mete,
And loude he sett on him a crie,
Sir steward, he seyd, merci,
Icham an harpour of hethenisse,
Helpe me now in this distresse!
The steward seyd, com with me, come,
Of that Ichave thou schalt have some;
Everich gode harpour is welcom me to,
For mi lordes love, sir Orfeo.
In the castel the steward sat atte mete,
And mani lording was bi him sete;
There were trompour and tabourers,
Harpours fele, and crouders,[152]
Miche melody thai maked alle,
And Orfeo sat stille in the halle,
And herkneth when thai ben al stille,
He toke his harp and tempred schille,
The blifulest notes he herped there,
That ever ani man y herd with ere,
Ich man liked wel his gle.
The steward biheld and gan y se,
And knewe the harp als blive;
Menstrel, he seyd, so mot thou thrive,
Where hadestow this harp, and hou?
Ypray that thou me telle now.
Lord, quath he, in uncouthe thede,
Thurch a wildernes as Y yede;
Ther Y founde in a dale,
With lyouns a man to torn smale,
And wolves him frete[153] with teth so scharp;
Bi him Y found this ich harp,
Wele ten yere it is y go.
O! quath the steward, now me is wo!
That was mi lord, sir Orfeo!
Allas! wreche what schall Y do,
That have swiche a lord y lore,[154]
A way, that Ich was y bore,
That him was so hard grace y yarked,[155]
And so vile deth y marked!
Adoun he fel aswon to grounde,
His barouns him tok up in that stounde,[156]
And telleth him hou it geth,
It is no bot[157] of mannes deth.
King Orfeo knewe wel bi than,
His steward was a trewe man,
And loved him as he aught to do,
And stont up, and seyt thus lo,
Steward, herkne now this thing,
Yif Ich were Orfeo the king,
And hadde y suffred ful yore,
In wildernisse miche sore;
And hadde y won mi quen owy,
Out of the lond of fairy;
And hadde y brought the levedi hende,[158]
Right here to the tounes ende,
And with a begger her in[159] y nome,
And were mi self hider y come,
Poverlich to the thus stille,
For to asay thi gode wille;
And Ich founde the thus trewe,
Thou no schust it never rewe,
Sikerlich for love, or ay,[160]
Thou schust be king after mi day,
And yif thou of my deth hadest ben blithe,
Thou schust have voided al so swithe.
Tho al tho that ther in sete,
That it was king Orfeo under gete,[161]
And the steward him wele knewe,
Over and over the bord[162] he threwe,
And fel adoun to his fet;
So dede everich lord that ther sete,
And al thai sayd at o criing,
Ye beth our lord, sir, and our king.
Glad thai were of his live,
To chaumber thai ladde him als bilive,[163]
And bathed him and schaved his berd,
And tired him as a king apert[164];
And seththen with gret processioun,
Thai brought the quen in to the toun,
With al maner menstraci;
Lord, ther was grete melody!
For joie thai wepe with her eighe;
That hem so sounde y comen seighe.
Now king Orfeo newe coround is,
And his quen dame Heurodis;
And lived long afterward;
And seththen was king the steward.
Harpours in Bretaine after than
Herd hou this mervaile bigan,
And made her of a lay of gode likeing,
And nempned[165] it after the king.
That lay Orfeo is y hote[166];
Gode is the lay, swete is the note.
Thus com sir Orfeo out of his care;
God graunt ous alle wele to fare! Amen.

NOTES

Frontispiece. "The Last Judgment" is an early work by Fra Angelico (1387-1455), who was a member of the Dominican order, and who spent his monastic leisure in painting visionary scenes. The picture represents Christ on the judgment seat, encircled by cherubim and seraphim, with saints and apostles seated on either side. Below are open graves. On His left devils are driving sinners into hideous torments; on His right angels are conducting the blessed across the flowery meadows of the earthly paradise toward the gleaming gates of the celestial city. The detail given here is sometimes called "The Dance of the Angels." The robes of the angelic beings who go singing and caroling are in the colors characteristic of Fra Angelico,—azure, green, and rose, irradiated by countless golden stars.

PROEM

Of Man's Body. Of Man's Soul

This introductory bit of mediæval lore is translated from "Cursor Mundi" (Over-runner of the World), a long poem, probably written in the early fourteenth century. The author says plainly at the beginning of his work that he is vying with romances and other secular tales which draw the thoughts of men away from spiritual matters. The poem, written in 24,000 verses in the short couplet, tells the history of the seven ages of the world, from the Creation to Doomsday, covering very much the same matter as that presented in the miracle plays. The "Cursor Mundi" has been edited by R. Morris for the Early English Text Society. Lines 511-584 are here translated.

DEBATE

The Amorous Contention of Phillis and Flora

"De Phillide et Flora," a Latin poem of the twelfth century, perhaps, was translated about 1595 by George Chapman. In 1598 a certain "R. S." republished this translation with a few minor changes, but the work is essentially Chapman's. The present reprint follows the text in Thomas Wright's "Latin Poems commonly attributed to Walter Mapes." Camden Society, Vol. XVI. London, 1841. The translation reproduces the stanza and rime form of the original. Although the Elizabethan language may present some difficulties, they are not very serious to any one who will read slowly enough to enjoy "the proud full sail of his great verse" who may have been the rival of Shakespeare, and who was certainly one of the inspirers of John Keats.

The poem itself is of significance because, as forerunner of poems of the order of "The Romance of the Rose," it illustrates significant mediæval traits. The attitude towards nature, classicism, love, war, and learning is of great interest, and so, too, is the position of women in that sophisticated world. The disputation gives a pretty picture of the seriousness of feminine thought. The account of the court of the god of love and the power ascribed to him are a good introduction to the conventions of love poetry.

Readers of Theocritus will recall how his shepherds contend in song over the charms of their beloved maidens, in Idyll V and elsewhere. (See Lang's translation, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1889.) A study of the evolution of the debate, or disputation, will prove a good introduction to the world of late classical and of mediæval literature. There are many examples of debate, such as those between "The Heart and the Eye," "The Body and the Soul," "The Water and the Wine," "The Owl and the Nightingale," "The Thrush and the Nightingale," "The Debate of the Carpenter's Tools," "The Dispute between Mary and the Cross," and many others. Birds, flowers, animals, inanimate objects, human beings, and even virtuous abstractions were turned into mediæval disputants.

For information regarding debates, and for bibliographies of edited debates, see

MERRILL, E. The Dialogue in English Literature. Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1911.

WELLS, J. E., Editor. The Owl and the Nightingale, p. liii. D. C. Heath & Co., Boston, 1907.

SCHOFIELD, W. H. English Literature from the Norman Conquest to Chaucer, p. 485. The Macmillan Company, New York, 1906.

The Pleading of the Rose and of the Violet

Jean Froissart (1338-1410) was a distinguished French author who is best known for the famous "Chronicles of England, France, and Spain," which picture with extraordinary vividness scenes which Froissart actually witnessed.

In 1392, probably, Froissart wrote his "Plaidorie de la Rose et de la Violette," which is here translated from his "Poésies," edited in three volumes, with an excellent introduction, by A. Scheler, Brussels, 1872. The value of his poetical works lies in their revelation of the literary taste of the court and of the fashionable world of the day, for he employed the artificial sentiment and the conventional forms of dream and allegory very pleasantly. The Plaidorie is not a famous poem, but it is chosen because it serves to illustrate a combination of various important traits. It is one of the many mediæval poems in which the flower _motif_ is preëminent. Here Froissart introduces rather charming personifications, especially significant in the case of the fleur-de-lys, the national flower of France. In spite of the trivial and sentimental attitude towards nature there are many passages of genuine feeling. The poem should be compared with Chaucer's "Prologue to the Legend of Good Women," where the cult of the daisy is represented. Valuable aids to this study will be found in the following articles:

LOWES, J. L. The Prologue to the Legend of Good Women as related to the French Marguerite Poems. _Publications of the Modern Language Association_, XIX, 593-683.

MARSH, G. P. The Sources of the Flower and the Leaf. _Modern Philology_, IV, 121-167, 281-327.

Furthermore, the jesting mockery of legal procedure should be noted. Chaucer's "Fortune" employs legal phraseology, and although Froissart's poem may never have been known to Chaucer, the use of the terms and the associations of law was frequent among poets. Readers of Shakespeare's "Sonnets" will recall his use of legal imagery, but of course he was uninfluenced by this poem.

VISION

The Purgatory of Saint Patrick

This translation is a free rendering of a poem found in the famous Auchinleck manuscript, a collection of popular poetry copied in the fourteenth century. A description of this manuscript will be found in Scott's edition of "Sir Tristem." The poem is in the six-line, tail-rime stanza which was much used in romances of the day. There are other versions of this legend in Latin, in French, and in English. Because of its detail, this version, of the late thirteenth century, edited by E. Koelbing in _Englische Studien_, I, 98, has been chosen, although in some respects it is inferior in style to the other English versions. Especially interesting is the picture of the earthly paradise, which is nowhere else described so fully as it is here by catalogues and other means. As an introduction to mediæval religious beliefs the poem is almost unequaled. Pilgrimages, even to this day, are made, by the faithful, to Lough Derg, in Ireland, where Saint Patrick's Purgatory is still continuing its saving grace.

Students of comparative literature recognize in the story a body of tradition reaching back into remote times and forward to the Renaissance, finding its most perfect expression in Dante's "Divine Comedy" (1321). Mediæval descriptions of hell and heaven were made more vivid by adopting the literary form known as the _vision_. The most familiar sort of vision is that which describes things seen in a dream, after the author has fallen asleep. "The Pilgrim's Progress" is an example of this type. Another sort of vision is that which relates what has been perceived by some one in a state of mystical exaltation, as in the Apocalypse of Saint John. The most realistic form of vision is that of "Saint Patrick's Purgatory," where the experiences are described as if actually undergone, and yet they so transcend human probability that the reader recognizes the apocalyptic element. The term "vision" is usually applied to poems describing mysteries of religious or moral truth, and "dream" is applied to secular works such as "The Romance of the Rose," and many other popular poems. Examples of visions from various epochs should be read in order to trace the history. Easily accessible texts in translation are

ST. JOHN. Revelation. (King James Version.)

HOMER. Odyssey, Book XI (translated by G. H. Palmer). Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1891.

VIRGIL. Æneid, Book VI (translated by J. Conington). The Macmillan Company, New York, 1910.

CICERO. Scipio's Dream (translated by C. R. Edmonds in the Bohn Library Cicero). The Macmillan Company, New York.

BEDE. The Vision of Dryhthelm (in Cook and Tinker's "Old English Prose," p. 58). Ginn and Company, Boston, 1908.

DANTE. The Divine Comedy (translated by C. E. Norton). Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1893.

The Pearl (translated by S. Jewett). Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York, 1908.

For critical studies of the vision and for exhaustive bibliographies of the subject, see

Apocalypse. Encyclopædia Britannica.

WRIGHT, T. Saint Patrick's Purgatory. London, 1844.

KRAPP, G. P. The Legend of Saint Patrick's Purgatory. John Murphy Company, Baltimore, 1900.

BECKER, E. Mediæval Visions of Heaven and Hell. John Murphy Company, Baltimore, 1899.

LANGLOIS, E. Origines et sources du Roman de la Rose, chap. v. Paris, 1890.

For information regarding the dream _motif_ in mediæval poems, see

OWEN, D. Piers Plowman, A Comparison with some Earlier and Contemporary French Allegories, pp. 134-167. Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1912.

NEILSON, W. A. The Origins and Sources of the Court of Love. (See "Dream-setting" in the index.) Ginn and Company, Boston, 1899.

Accounts of purgatory and of the terrestrial paradise will be found in "The Catholic Encyclopaedia." Further details regarding the earthly paradise are in Genesis ii, 8-17; Ezekiel xxviii, 13; "Phœnix," in Cook and Tinker's "Old English Poetry"; "Mandeville's Travels," XXXIII, and in Milton's "Paradise Lost," IV. Two critical studies of importance are

GOULD, S. B. Curious Myths of the Middle Ages. London, 1874.

COLI, E. Il Paradiso Terrestre. Florence, 1897

SAINTS' LIVES

The Life of Saint Brandon

Brandon, Brendon, or Brandan, was an Irish Odysseus whose journeyings in search of the Land of Behest have a lasting fascination for all lovers of romantic adventure. The atmosphere of sanctity which made this legend approved reading for the mediæval Christian gives a quaint irony to the accounts of fairies, demons, enchanted birds, and other marvels which betray a frankly superstitious spirit. Travelers' records have a distinct place in literature, as the names Ohthere, Marco Polo, Mandeville, Hakluyt, Robinson Crusoe, Stevenson, Hearn and many others prove, and when the voyage is undertaken because of mingled love of excitement, passion for the sea, zeal for discovery, and deep longing to find the ideal land, it has potent appeal to those who stay at home. In almost every language there are tales which picture an earthly paradise. The Fortunate Isles, the Garden of the Hesperides, Calypso's Isle, Avalon, Hy Brasail, Tir-na'n-Og, are names given in Greek and in Celtic story to the abode of those who have won release from earthly cares and hardship, and have entered the realm of perfect terrestrial peace and beauty.

The translation is William Caxton's version of the life of Brandon based upon some source not yet satisfactorily determined. Caxton's rather rambling but most charming rendering was included in "The Golden Legend," mentioned below.

An exhaustive study of the Irish story upon which this legend is based, and much other material relating to this theme, will be found in Meyer and Nutt's "The Voyage of Bran. Edited and translated by K. Meyer. With an Essay upon the Irish Version of the Happy Other-world and the Celtic Doctrine of Rebirth, by A. Nutt." 2 vols., David Nutt, London, 1895. Interesting also in connection with Brandon is the story of Sindbad, in "The Arabian Nights."

The Life of Saint Margaret

Jacobus de Voragine (1230-1298), Archbishop of Genoa, was the author of "Historia Lombardica seu Legenda Sanctorum," popularly known as "Legenda Aurea." When William Caxton set up his printing press and began to multiply copies of the English classics, he included among his publications an English rendering of the Latin text, "The Golden Legend," (1483), which he based upon a French translation. The present version is from Caxton's text, as printed in the Temple Classics.

The great popularity of lives of the saints is due partly to that trait, inherent in human nature, of genuine devotion to any one of proved courage, especially when that courage is of the spirit, an invincible religious faith and fortitude. Weak and unstable Christians found inspiration in these saintly lives, and by continued meditation learned many lessons of deep meaning. But, in addition to the ethical interest, there was sympathy for the human experiences and the strange and fearful adventures of these elect of the Lord. As the metrical romances ministered to popular delight in knightly deeds, so, too, these legends of the saints satisfied the world-old love of struggle and of victory. Saint Margaret, Saint Katherine, Saint Juliana, were the women saints whose lives were best known to the Middle Ages, but the many legendaries of the day gave ample record of scores of other saints.

For versions of the life of Saint Margaret, see Early English Text Society, No. 13. "The Golden Legend" in seven volumes (Temple Classics, E. P. Dutton and Company, New York) contains the fullest collection of lives of the saints. Middle English collections have been edited by Carl Horstmann. Fox's "Book of Martyrs" should be remembered, also.

PIOUS TALES

The superstitions of the Middle Ages reveal themselves very fully in the various accounts of miracles performed by God, Christ, the Virgin, the saints, or by the relics treasured in churches and religious houses. The study of mediæval religious life must include an examination of some of these fervent and naïve records of the supernatural power of holy objects and holy folk. The intense reverence accorded to sanctified things created, among mediæval Christians, a passionate disregard for the dictates of human reason. At first this blind faith and total abasement before sacred relics was a triumph of the spirit, but before long it became a triumph of the body, for physical well-being and material prosperity were sought rather than spiritual enlightenment. In Chaucer's Pardoner's "Prologue" and in Erasmus's account of his journeys to Walsingham and to Canterbury one finds pictured the credulous and wholly unlovely side of the subject. When idealism declines and becomes sheer bigotry, without the charm of imaginative power, it must have its Wiclif and its Luther.

A Miracle of God's Body

"A Miracle of God's Body" is translated from Robert Mannyng of Brunne's "Handlyng Synne" (Manual of Sins). Early English Text Society, No. 123, p. 333. See also p. 172 under Homily.

A Miracle of the Virgin

"A Miracle of the Virgin" is from a group of eight miracles, printed in Horstmann's edition of "The Minor Poems of the Vernon Manuscript." Early English Text Society, Part I, No. 98, pp. 138-166.

Other legends connected with the Virgin are to be found in the following volumes:

UNDERHILL, E. The Miracles of Our Lady. E. P. Dutton & Company, New York, 1906.

VINCENT, E. The Madonna of Legend and History. T. Whittaker, New York, 1899.

KEMP WELCH, A., Translator. The Miracles of Our Lady, by Gautier de Coincy. Duffield & Company, New York, 1911.

The Translation of Saint Thomas of Canterbury

"The Translation of Saint Thomas of Canterbury" comes from Caxton's "Golden Legend," which should be consulted for a long account of the life of Thomas. Dean Stanley's "Memorials of Canterbury," now published in Everyman's Library, is an indispensable volume for the student.

ALLEGORY

The popularity of allegory, in the Middle Ages, as a means of conveying religious and moral truth, led to the production of many very complex narratives and sermons. An acquaintance with "Piers Plowman" will reveal the character of these works where the reader is soon lost in the labyrinth of abstract names. "The Romance of the Rose," translated by F. S. Ellis (Temple Classics, 3 vols., E. P. Dutton & Company, New York), is the most important example of secular allegory in the Middle Ages. "The Order of Chivalry," a poem that defines the symbolism of the knightly habit, will be found in Miss Butler's "Tales from the Old French," Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1910, and also (as "Sir Hugh of Tabarie") in E. Mason's "Aucassin and Nicolette and Other Mediæval Romances" (Everyman's Library, E. P. Dutton & Company, New York, 1909).

For discussion of the origin and development of mediæval allegory, the reader should consult

NEILSON, W. A. Origins and Sources of the Court of Love. See "Allegory" in the index. Ginn and Company, Boston, 1899.

LANGLOIS, E. Origines et sources du Roman de la Rose, chap. iv. Paris, 1890.

OWEN, D. Piers Plowman, A Comparison with French Allegories. Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1912.

"The Castle of Love"

This extract from a long and very complex poem illustrates significant aspects of mediæval religious allegory. The poem itself was written in French by Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln (who died in 1253), and was translated into English several times because of its great popularity. Beginning with an account of the Creation and of the Fall of Man, the poet went on to tell a parable of a Being who had one Son, His equal in all ways, four daughters (named Mercy, Truth, Right, and Peace), and a thrall (named Adam), who was in prison. Mercy and Peace pleaded for the thrall's releases, but Truth and Right objected, so the thrall was punished. Mercy and Peace fled from the land, and the world (except Noah and his family) was drowned. Peace once more appealed for the ransom of the thrall, and the King's Son, hearing the dispute of the four sisters, said He would put on the garments of the thrall and force Peace and Right to be reconciled, and the world would be saved. So Christ entered into the Castle of Love, and was born on earth for the redemption of mankind. An account of the life and passion and resurrection of Christ is given, and the poem concludes with a prayer that we may all be led by Him to everlasting bliss.

The best edition of the English version is

HORSTMANN, C. "The Minor Poems of the Vernon Manuscript," Part I, Early English Text Society, No. 98. This edition contains a version made in the latter part of the thirteenth century, and also a version by a monk of Sawley, in Yorkshire. The present extract is taken from the Sawley monk's translation (ll. 361-452) because that version gives the allegory in more coherent and careful detail than do the other versions, which fail to explain some of the symbolism.

BESTIARY

Lion, Eagle, Whale, Siren

From earliest times animals have been employed as symbolic figures by teachers and preachers, and the interest of the present day in animal life and lore is evidence of the never-failing pleasure humanity finds in beast books. Æsop's "Fables," "The Little Flowers of Saint Francis," "Reynard the Fox," and "The Jungle Stories" illustrate various sides of the literature about the lesser folk. The mediæval bestiary was a book which sought to enunciate religious instruction by an appeal to the curiosity of credulous people. The didactic interest far exceeded the scientific in these allegories which, to us, are most diverting matter. The source of the bestiary is to be found in the Greek "Physiologus" (second century A.D.), which was translated into Latin by Theobaldus in the late Middle Ages, and then into other languages. In Old English literature "The Whale" and "The Panther" and a fragment of "The Partridge" are all that remain of the version in that language. The Middle English bestiary of the thirteenth century contains descriptions, followed by explication, of the lion, the eagle, the adder, the ant, the hart, the fox, the spider, the whale, the siren, the elephant, the turtle dove, the panther, and the culver. There is a French bestiary written in England by Philippe de Thaün, about 1120, which contains a portion of a lapidary also. A translation is in T. Wright's "Popular Treatises on Science written during the Middle Ages." London, 1841.

The text of the Middle English bestiary may be found in

MORRIS, R. An Old English Miscellany. Early English Text Society, No. 49.

MAETZNER, E. Altenglische Sprachproben, I, 55. Berlin, 1867.

WRIGHT, T., and HALLIWELL, J. O. Reliquiae Antiquae, I, 208. London, 1845.

Suggestive studies on the subject are

KITTREDGE, G. L. Beast Fables, in Johnson's Universal Cyclopædia.

LAND, J. P. N. Physiologos, in Encyclopædia Britannica.

LAUCHERT, F. Geschichte des Physiologus. Strassburg, 1889.

In the popular mediæval epic, "Reynard the Fox," animals, very realistically portrayed, yet with satirical symbolism, are the actors in a story full of interest to the modern reader. This is accessible in the following English versions:

CAXTON, W. Reynard the Fox. Percy Society, Vol. XII. London.

MORLEY, H. Early English Prose Romances. E. P. Dutton and Company, New York, 1912.

JACOBS, J. The Most Delectable History of Reynard the Fox. Macmillan and Company, London, 1895.

LAPIDARY

Selections from Lapidaries

Marbodus, Bishop of Rennes in the twelfth century, was the author of the lapidary which was best known during the Middle Ages. This book, called "De Gemmis," was written in Latin verse, and gives the strange superstitions about the virtues and efficacies of sixty stones. Many of these stones are now unknown to us. There was so much interest in this lapidary that it was frequently translated into French, both in verse form and in prose, and was popular in England as well as in France. The traditions about stones developed two sorts of treatise: one in which the purely pagan beliefs are represented, as they were handed down by Aristotle, Pliny, Marbodus, and others; and a second in which the pagan superstitions are inwrought with Christian teachings and associated with Scriptural passages. In translating Marbodus, a Christian clerk would add and alter material in such a way as to impress religious symbolisms upon his readers, through the popular interest in all the lore of stones.

Information regarding the lapidaries, as well as editions of various French and other lapidaries, will be found in the following books:

PANNIER, L. Les Lapidaires français du moyen-âge des XII^e, XIII^e, et XIV^e siècles. Paris, 1882.

MEYER, P. Les Plus Anciens Lapidaires français. _Romania_ (Jan., Avril, Oct.). Paris, 1909.

KING, C. W. Antique Gems. Contains a translation of the work of Marbodus. London, 1860.

STREETER, E. W. Precious Stones and Gems, their History, Sources, and Characteristics. Illustrated in color. London, 1898.

WRIGHT, T. Popular Treatises on Science written during the Middle Ages. London, 1841.

The accounts of diamond, sapphire, amethyst, geratite, chelidonius, coral, heliotrope, pearl, and pantheros are translated from a French prose version of the Latin of Marbodus. The French translation was made, perhaps, in England during the twelfth century. The text will be found in Meyer, pp. 271-285. The French prose lapidary has been chosen rather than that in verse form, because it has fewer tags and circumlocutions, and can be more faithfully rendered into English.

The diamond, or adamant, was a favorite stone. "The Travels of Sir John Mandeville," pp. 105-108, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1905, has an interesting account of this.

The pearl has been the subject of much discussion. The present translation omits several lines in the French version which do not appear in Marbodus and which seem to be due to confusion with another stone. Consult Kunz and Stevenson's "The Book of the Pearl," The Century Company, New York, 1908, and pp. 599-610 of Schofield's article "Symbolism, Allegory, and Autobiography in The Pearl." _Publications of the Modern Language Association_, Vol. XVII.

The extract describing the carbuncle is from Pannier, p. 295, where a prose fragment of a Christian lapidary is given. The carbuncle was frequently mentioned in mediæval romances, and was supposed to give success in battle, and also in lawsuits (see Meyer, p. 67).

The account of the symbolism of the twelve stones comes from Philippe de Thaün's "Bestiaire," verses 2977-3004. The Oxford Bible gives classified lists of stones mentioned in the Scriptures.

HOMILY

Concerning Miracle Plays, Games, and Minstrelsy

Homilies in prose and in verse were a common means of instruction. They were usually more popular than mere sermons and sought to hold the attention by the use of copious illustration. The following extract is from "Handlyng Synne" (Manual of Sins), translated in 1303 by Robert Mannyng of Brunne, from a French original, and edited by Dr. Furnivall, Early English Text Society, No. 119. "Handlyng Synne," a collection of homilies, denounces the seven deadly sins, citing many concrete instances of fact and of fable in order to enforce the moral lessons. The translation below interprets lines 4637-4774 (pp. 155-159), where the sin of sloth is under discussion.

For information about minstrelsy the student should consult

CHAMBERS, E. K. The Mediæval Stage, Vol. I, bk. i. Oxford University Press, 1903.

GALPIN, F. W. Old English Instruments of Music. A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1911.

DUNCAN, E. The Story of Minstrelsy. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1907.

CUTTS, E. Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages. Vertue and Company, London, 1886.

SATIRE

The most popular satire in the Middle Ages is found in the fabliaux, short tales which picture, with great zest, racy incidents in the lives of common people whose hidden sins or hypocrisies are suddenly exposed. The satire in these stories is exceedingly broad and attacks, by preference, women and the clergy, painting with vivid realism their immorality and intense selfishness. Readers will find information regarding these in "The English Fabliau," by H. S. Canby, _Publications of the Modern Language Association_, XXI, 200-214. Formal satire, which points out abuses and vices by means of exposition, is illustrated in the poems following. Satire against women is most agreeably found in "The Romance of the Rose," chaps. xlvi-lii (translated by F. S. Ellis, Temple Classics). In _Romania_, XV, 315, 339; XVI, 389; XXXVI, 1, will be found interesting matter relating to satires on women, in France.

The Song of the University of Paris

This is freely translated from the French poem of Rutebeuf, written in octosyllabic couplets, about the middle of the thirteenth century. Rutebeuf was a famous minstrel whose vivid wit gave him a distinguished place among mediæval writers. His works are full of autobiographical details; he pictured his unhappy domestic life, his poverty, all his failings, and his virtues with an engaging frankness. In allegory he was a master of the mannerisms of his day. In satire he was original and clever. The monastic orders aroused his fiercest resentment, and he made sharp epigrams at their expense, accusing them of committing the seven deadly sins and more. The dry incisiveness of his ridicule may have impressed Chaucer and also the author of "Piers Plowman," although we have no proof of this. A very good study of Rutebeuf has been published by L. Cledat, Paris, 1891. The description of the mediæval student gives a true picture of the day, but Chaucer's description of the Clerk of Oxford should be read as complement. For details regarding student life of the Middle Ages, consult

RASHDALL, H. The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, 3 vols. London, 1895.

HEWETT, W. T. University Life in the Middle Ages. _Harper's Magazine_, 1897.

SYMONDS, J. A. Wine, Women and Song (translations of many student songs of the Middle Ages). Chatto and Windus, London, 1907.

The Land of Cockaygne

The meaning of _Cockaygne_ is usually understood to be "cookery." This satire upon the mediæval monks was probably derived from a French original. It illustrates the contemptuous tolerance of that day for the greed, the gluttony, the slothfulness, and the immorality of the inmates of the monastery. The satire directed against literary conventions of the day is particularly amusing, if we notice how the various catalogues of animals, birds, spices, flowers, jewels, and food parody similar catalogues in the romances and in the poems describing paradise. The poem was written, in the short couplet, about the middle of the thirteenth century. It is printed in E. Maetzner's "Altenglische Sprachproben," I, 148. Berlin, 1867. Wright's "St. Patrick's Purgatory," London, 1844, contains an interesting chapter on this and similar burlesques.

The Complaint of the Husbandman

This "complaint," or "song," was written during the thirteenth century when the persecutions of the poor farmers by lords and their officers were most extreme. The poem explains very fully the various abuses which finally so incensed the poor that they rose in revolt and won certain rights from their oppressors. The Middle English text is found in K. Boeddeker's "Altenglische Dichtungen," p. 102, Berlin, 1878, and in T. Wright's "Political Songs," Camden Society, Vol. VI, p. 149.

The meter and rime of the original have been kept, in this translation, even at the risk of a few very slight changes in the order or in the phrasing of the original, because the versification is so illustrative of the transition from the old alliterative line to the elaborate stanza forms of the French period.

Sir Penny

This satire was evidently a popular one in the Middle Ages; it is found in various forms in Latin, in French, and in English. The following translation is made from a version, probably of about 1350, printed in Thomas Wright's "Latin Poems attributed to Walter Mapes," Camden Society, Vol. XVI, pp. 359-361. The poem is written in the six-line, tail-rime stanza of "Sir Thopas," and the translation seeks to preserve the cadences, movement, and structure of the original. It is interesting in connection with "Piers Plowman" and "The Pardoner's Tale," for it shows the great superiority of those satires, in imaginative appeal. The generalizations here are faithful, but they lack point and effectiveness because they do not drive home specific instances about individuals. We have a personal interest in Lady Meed and in the Pardoner, but we care little about classes and types.

LAY

Sir Orfeo

This Middle English version of a French lay seems to offer so few difficulties that it is given in its original form, as it appears in the Auchinleck manuscript. The text is copied from that edited by Laing in "Select Pieces of Ancient Popular Poetry of Scotland," reprinted in Edinburgh, 1884. A critical edition of the poem was published by O. Zielke, Breslau, 1880. A very charming free translation in stanza form has been made by E. E. Hunt, Cambridge, 1909.

"Sir Orfeo" is the mediæval interpretation of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice (Ovid's "Metamorphoses," bk. x, ll. 1-77), which was told in French, and then translated by some nameless but immortal English poet. The beauty of this Middle English version is undeniable. Despite its brevity and its occasionally laconic phrases, the poem shows real pathos in the account of the passionate grief of Orfeo, and his desolate wanderings in search of his lady. The concrete vividness of color and fragrance in nature, the dim stateliness of the retinue of the king of fairyland, the magic beauty of his strange abode, are described with true poetic sensitiveness. In choice of detail, in management of incident, in "discovery," and in conclusion the narrative is singularly well managed.

As a mediæval rendering of a classical tale, the poem has many charms, because it so naïvely and so completely changes the setting and insists upon mediæval towers and dress and customs. Pluto's dark realm is transformed into a fairy kingdom, Thrace has become Winchester, and the wandering Greek is a Breton harper knocking at the door of a Gothic castle. As a version of one of the most beautiful of the world's stories, this lay has true imaginative distinction; it pictures the loyalty of love and love's power over time and fairy spells, but it willfully changes the outcome of the old story to suit the sentiment of high romance in an age when every tale must have a happy ending.

Other lays, or brief tales, are described in W. H. Schofield's "English Literature from the Norman Conquest to Chaucer," p. 179. The Macmillan Company, New York, 1906. "Launfal," a lay of fairyland, is one of the most beautiful. The lays of Marie de France are accessible in the following translations:

WESTON, J. Four Lais of Marie de France (including "Launfal"). Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1901.

RICKERT, E. Seven Lais of Marie de France. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1901.