Chapter VI: Part 6

[Sidenote: Havelok meets them boldly, and kills
the foremost knight.]
+Hauelok, þat hauede spired wel 2620
Of here fare, eueril del,
With al his ferd cam hem a-geyn,
For-bar he noþer knith ne sweyn.
Þe firste knith þat he þer mette, 2624
With þe swerd so he him grette,
For his heued of he plette,
Wolde he nouth for sinne lette.
[Sidenote: Robert kills a second.]
Roberd saw þat dint so hende, 2628
Wolde he neuere þeþe[{n}] wende,
Til þat he hauede anoþer slawen,
With þe swerd he held ut-drawen.
[Sidenote: William disables a third.]
Willa{m} wendut his swerd vt-drow, 2632
And þe þredde so sore he slow,
Þat he made up-on the feld
His lift arm fleye, with the swerd.[122]

[Footnote 122: Cf. l. 1825. We should otherwise be tempted
to read _sheld_; especially as the _shield_ is more
appropriate to the _left_ arm.]

[Headnote: COMBAT BETWEEN UBBE AND GODRICH.]

[Sidenote: Hugh Raven seizes his sword, and cleaves
an earl's head in two.]
+Huwe raue{n} ne forgat nouth 2636
Þe swerd he hauede þider brouth,
He kipte it up, and smot ful sore
An erl, þat he saw priken þore,
Ful noblelike upon a stede, 2640
Þat with him wolde al quic wede.
He smot him on þe heued so,
Þat he þe heued clef a-two,
And þat bi þe shu[l]dre-blade 2644
Þe sharpe swerd let [he] wade,
Þorw the brest unto þe herte;
Þe dint bigan ful sore to smerte,
Þat þe erl fel dun a-non, 2648
Al so ded so ani ston.
[Sidenote: Ubbe attacks Godrich.]
Quoth ubbe, "nu dwelle ich to lo{n}ge,"
And leth his stede sone gonge
To godrich, with a god spere, 2652
Þat he saw a-noþer bere,
And smoth godrich, and G{odrich} him,
Hetelike with h{er}te grim,
[Sidenote: Both fall.]
So þat he boþe felle dune, 2656
To þe erþe first þe croune.
Þa{n}ne he wore{n} falle{n} dun boþen,
Grundlike here swerdes ut-drowe{n},
[Sidenote: [Fol. 217b, col. 2.]]
Þat were{n} swiþe sharp and gode, 2660
[Sidenote: They fight on foot.]
And fouhten so þei wore{n} wode,
Þat þe swot ran fro þe crune
[To the fet rith þere adune.][123]

[Headnote: GODRICH DISPLAYS GREAT PROWESS.]

Þer mouthe men se to knithes bete 2664
Ayþer on oþer dintes grete,
So þat with alþer-lest[e] dint
Were al to-shiuered a flint,
[Sidenote: The fight lasts from morn to night.]
So was bi-twene{n} he{m} a fiht, 2668
Fro þe morwen ner to þe niht,
So þat þei nouth ne bl[u]nne,[123*]
Til þat to sette bigan þe su{n}ne.
[Sidenote: Godrich wounds Ubbe sorely.]
Þo yaf godrich þorw þe side 2672
Vbbe a wunde ful un-ride,
So þat þorw þat ilke wounde
Hauede ben brouth to þe grunde,
And his heued al of-slawen, 2676
[Sidenote: Hugh Raven rescues him.]
Yif god ne were, and huwe rauen,
Þat drow him fro godrich awey,
And barw him so þat ilke day.
But er he were fro godrich drawe{n}, 2680
[Sidenote: A thousand knights slain.]
Þer were a þousind knihtes slawe{n}
Bi boþe halue, and mo y-nowe,
Þer þe ferdes to-gidere slowe.
Þer was swilk dreping of þe folk, 2684
[Sidenote: The pools are full of blood.]
Þat on þe feld was neu{er}e a polk
Þat it ne stod of blod so ful,
Þat þe strem ran i{n}til þe hul.
[Sidenote: Godrich attacks the Danes like lightning.]
Þo tarst[124] bigan godrich to go 2688
Vp-on þe danshe, and faste to slo,
And forth rith also leuin fares,
Þat neu{er}e kines best ne spares,
Þa{n}ne his [he] gon, for he garte alle 2692
Þe denshe men biforn him falle.
He felde browne, he felde blake,
Þat he mouthe ouer-take.
Was neuere non þat mouhte þaue 2696
Hise dintes, noyþer knith ne knaue,
[Sidenote: He mows them down like grass.]
Þat he felden so dos þe gres

[Headnote: COMBAT BETWEEN GODRICH AND HAVELOK.]

Bi-forn þe syþe þat ful sharp is.
Hwan hauelok saw his folk so brittene, 2700
And his ferd so swiþe littene,
He cam driuende up-on a stede,
And bigan til him to grede,
And seyde, "godrich, wat is þe 2704
Þat þou fare þus with me?
[Sidenote: [Fol. 218, col. 1.]]
And mine gode knihtes slos,
Siker-like þou mis-gos.
[Sidenote: Havelok reproves Godrich, and bids him perform
his oaths.]
Þou wost ful wel, yif þu wilt wite, 2708
Þat aþelwold þe dide site
On knes, and sweren on messe-bok,
On caliz, and on [pateyn][125] hok
Þat þou hise douhter sholdest yelde, 2712
Þan she were wi{n}na{n}[126] of elde,
Engelond eueril del:
Godrich þe erl, þou wost it wel.
Do nu wel with-uten fiht, 2716
Yeld hire þe lond, for þat is rith.
Wile ich forgiue þe þe lathe,
Al mi dede and al mi wrathe,
For y se þu art so with, 2720
And of þi bodi so god knith."
[Sidenote: Godrich refuses.]
"Þat ne wile ich neu{er}e mo,"
Quoth erl godrich, "for ich shal slo
Þe, and hire for-henge heye. 2724
I shal þrist ut þi rith eye
Þat þou lokes with on me,
But þu swiþe heþen fle."
He grop þe swerd ut sone anon, 2728
And hew on hauelok, ful god won,
[Sidenote: He cleaves Havelok's shield in two.]
So þat he clef his sheld on two:
Hwan hauelok saw þat shame do
His bodi þer bi-forn his ferd, 2732
He drow ut sone his gode swerd,
[Sidenote: Havelok smites him down.]
And smot him so up-on þe crune,
Þat godrich fel to þe erþe adune.
But godrich stirt up swiþe sket, 2736
Lay he nowth longe at hise fet,
[Sidenote: Godrich rises, and wounds Havelok in the shoulder.]
And smot him on þe sholdre so,
Þat he dide þare undo
Of his brinie ri{n}ges mo, 2740
Þan þat ich kan tellen fro;
And woundede hi{m} rith i{n} þe flesh,
Þat tendre was, and swiþe nesh,
So þat þe blod ran til his to: 2744
[Sidenote: Havelok is enraged, and cuts off his foe's hand.]
Þo was hauelok swiþe wo,
Þat he hauede of him drawen
Blod, and so sore him slawen.
Hertelike til him he wente, 2748
And godrich þer fulike shente;
For his swerd he hof up heye,
[Sidenote: [Fol. 218, col. 2.]]
And þe hand he dide of fleye,
Þat he smot him with so sore: 2752
Hw mithe he don him shame more?

[Footnote 123: Cf. l. 1904.]

[Footnote 123*: Changed by editor from "blinne": see
Emendations.]

[Footnote 124: So in MS. _Qu._ faste, as in next line.]

[Footnote 125: MS. _here repeats _messe_, by mistake. Read
_pateyn_._ Cf. l. 187.]

[Footnote 126: MS. w[-i]man, _i.e._ wi{n}man _or_ wi{m}man; _but
we are sure, from _l. 174_, that _wi{n}nan_ is meant._]

[Headnote: GODRICH IS BOUND AND FETTERED.]

+Hwan he hauede him so shamed,
His hand of plat, and yuele lamed,
He tok him sone bi þe necke 2756
Als a t{ra}ytour, daþeyt wo recke!
[Sidenote: He has him bound and fettered, and sends him
to the queen.]
And dide him binde and fet{er}e wel
With gode feteres al of stel,
And to þe quen he sende him, 2760
Þat birde wel to him ben grim;
And Bad she sholde don him gete,
And þat non ne sholde him bete,
Ne shame do, for he was knith, 2764
Til knithes hauede{n} demd him Rith.
[Sidenote: When the English find out that Goldborough
is the heiress, they submit to Havelok.]
Þan þe englishe men þat sawe,
Þat þei wisten, heye and lawe,
Þat Goldeboru, þat was so fayr, 2768
Was of engeland rith eyr,
And þat þe king hire hauede wedded,
And haueden ben samen bedded,
He comen alle to crie m{er}ci, 2772
Vnto þe king, at one cri,
And beden him sone manrede and oth,
Þat he ne sholde{n}, for lef ne loth,
Neuere more ageyn him go, 2776
Ne ride, for wel ne for wo.

[Headnote: THE ENGLISH SUBMIT TO GOLDBOROUGH.]

+Þe king ne wolde nouth for-sake,
Þat he ne shulde of hem take
Manrede þat he beden, and ok 2780
Hold oþes swere{n} on þe bok;
[Sidenote: Havelok wishes to show Goldborough to the English.]
But or bad he, þat þider were brouth
Þe quen, for hem, swilk was his þouth,
For to se, and forto shawe, 2784
Yif þat he hire wolde knawe.
Þoruth hem wite{n} wolde he,
Yif þat she aucte quen to be.

[Sidenote: Six earls fetch her in.]
+Sixe erles weren sone yare, 2788
After hire for to fare.
He nomen on-on, and come{n} sone,
And brouthe{n} hire, þat under mone
In al þe werd ne hauede per, 2792
Of hende-leik, fer ne ner.
Hwan she was come þider, alle
Þe englishe men bi-gu{n}ne to falle
[Sidenote: [Fol. 218b, col. 1.]]
O knes, and grete{n} swiþe sore, 2796
And seyden, "leuedi, k[r]istes ore,
[Sidenote: The English ask her pardon.]
And youres! we haue{n} misdo mikel,
Þat we ayen you haue be fikel,
For englond auhte forto ben youres, 2800
And we youre me{n} and youres.
Is non of us, yung ne old,
Þat we ne wot, þat aþelwold
Was king of þis kunerike, 2804
[Sidenote: They admit she is heiress.]
And ye his eyr, and þat þe swike
Haues it halden with mikel wro{n}ge:
God leue him sone to honge!"

[Headnote: GODRICH IS CONDEMNED TO BE BURNT.]

+Quot[127] hauelok, "hwan þat ye it wite. 2808
[Sidenote: Havelok says they must pass judgment on Godrich.]
Nu wile ich þat ye doun site,
And after godrich haues wrouht,
Þat haues in sorwe him-self brouth,
Lokes þat ye deme{n} him rith, 2812
For dom ne spared[128] clerk ne knith,
And siþen shal ich under-stonde
Of you, after lawe of londe,
Manrede, and holde oþes boþe, 2816
Yif ye it wilen, and ek rothe."
Anon þer dune he hem sette,
For non þe dom ne durste lette,
[Sidenote: They say he is to be bound on an ass's back,
taken to Lincoln, bound to a stake, and burnt.]
And demden him to binde{n} faste 2820
Vp-on an asse swiþe un-wraste,
Andelong, nouht ouer-þwert,
His nose went unto þe stert;
And so to lincolne lede, 2824
Shamelike in wicke wede,
And hwan he cam un-to þe borw,
Shamelike ben led þer-þoru,
Bisouþe þe borw, un-to a grene, 2828
Þat þare is yet, als[o] y wene,
And þere be bunde{n} til a stake,
Aboute{n} him ful gret fir make,
And al to dust be brend Rith þere; 2832
And yet demde{n} he þer more,
Oþer swikes for to warne,
Þat hise childre{n} sulde þarne
Euere more þat eritage, 2836
Þat his was, for hise utrage.

[Footnote 127: MS. Guot. Cf. l. 1954.]

[Footnote 128: _Qu._ spares.]

+Hwan þe dom was demd and seyd,
[Sidenote: So he is laid on the ass, and burnt.]
Sket was þe swike on þe asse leyd,
And [led vn-]til[129] þat ilke grene, 2840
[Sidenote: [Fol. 218b, col. 2.]]
And brend til asken al bidene.
Þo was Goldeboru ful bliþe,
She þa{n}ked god fele syþe,
Þat þe fule swike was brend, 2844
Þat wende wel hire bodi haue shend,
[Sidenote: Goldborough rejoices.]
And seyde, "nu is time to take
Manrede of brune and of blake,
Þat ich se ride[{n}] and go: 2848
Nu ich am wreke[{n}][130] of mi fo."

[Footnote 129: MS. "And him til," which is nonsense. See
l. 2827.]

[Footnote 130: See l. 2992.]

[Sidenote: Havelok makes the English swear fealty.]
+Hauelok anon ma{n}rede tok
Of alle englishe, on þe bok,
And dide hem grete oþes swere, 2852
Þat he sholde{n} him god feyth bere
Ageyn alle þat wore{n} liues,
And þat sholde ben born of wiues.

[Headnote: THE EARL OF CHESTER MARRIES GUNILD.]

+Þa{n}ne he hauede[131] sikernesse 2856
Taken of more and of lesse,
Al at hise wille, so dide he calle
[Sidenote: He proposes that Earl Reyner of Chester shall
marry Gunild, Grim's daughter; and he will then always
be his friend.]
Þe erl of cestre, and hise men alle,
Þat was yung knith wit-ute{n} wif, 2860
And seyde, "sire erl, bi mi lif,
And þou wile mi {con}seyl tro,
Ful wel shal ich with þe do,
For ich shal yeue þe to wiue 2864
Þe fairest þing that is oliue.

[Headnote: HAVELOK REMEMBERS BERTRAM'S KINDNESS.]

Þat is gu{n}nild of grimesby,
Grimes douther, bi seint dauy!
Þat me forth broute, and wel fedde, 2868
And ut of denemark with me fledde,
Me for to burwe fro mi ded:
Sikerlike, þoru his red
Haue ich liued in-to þis day, 2872
Blissed worþe his soule ay!
I rede þat þu hire take,
And spuse, and curteyse make,
For she is fayr, and she is fre, 2876
And al so hende so she may be.
Þertekene she is wel with me,
Þat shal ich ful wel shewe þe,
For ich giue þe a giue, 2880
Þat euere more hwil ich liue,
For hire shal-tu be with me dere,
Þat wile ich þat þis folc al here."
Þe erl ne wolde nouth ageyn 2884
Þe king[e] be, for knith ne sweyn,
[Sidenote: [Fol. 219, col. 1.]]
Ne of þe spusing seyen nay,
But spusede [hire] þat ilke day.
Þat spusinge was god time maked, 2888
[Sidenote: They are married, and have five sons.]
For it ne were neuere clad ne naked,
In a þede samened two
Þat cam to-gidere, liuede so,
So þey dide[{n}] al here liue: 2892
He geten same{n} sones fiue,
Þat were þe beste me{n} at nede,
Þat mouthe ride{n} on ani stede.
Hwan gu{n}nild was to cestre brouth, 2896
[Sidenote: Havelok remembers Bertram, the earl's cook,
and makes him Earl of Cornwall.]
Hauelok þe gode ne for-gat nouth
Bertra{m}, þat was the erles kok,
Þat he ne dide calle{n} ok,
And seyde, "frend, so god me rede! 2900
Nu shaltu haue riche mede,

[Headnote: BERTRAM MARRIES GRIM'S SECOND DAUGHTER.]

For wissing, and þi gode dede,
Þat tu me dides in ful gret nede.
For þa{n}ne y yede in mi cuuel, 2904
And ich ne haue[de] bred, ne sowel,
Ne y ne hauede no catel,
Þou feddes and claddes me ful wel.
Haue nu for-þi of cornwayle 2908
Þe erldom ildel, with-uten fayle,
And al þe lond þat godrich held,
Boþe in towne, and ek in feld;
And þerto wile ich, þat þu spuse, 2912
And fayre bring hire un-til huse,
[Sidenote: He is to marry Levive, Grim's daughter,
who is as fair as a rose.]
Grimes douther, leuiue þe hende,
For þider shal she with þe wende.
Hire semes curteys forto be, 2916
For she is fayr so flour on tre;
Þe heu is swilk in hire ler
So [is] þe rose in roser,
Hwan it is fayr sprad ut newe 2920
Ageyn þe su{n}ne, brith and lewe."
And girde him sone with þe swerd
Of þe erldom, bi-forn his ferd,
And with his hond he made hi{m} knith, 2924
And yaf him armes, for þat was rith,
[Sidenote: They are married.]
And dide him þere sone wedde
Hire þat was ful swete in bedde.

[Footnote 131: MS. hauede{n}.]

[Sidenote: Havelok and Goldborough lived 100 years,
and had many children.]
+After þat he spused wore, 2928
Wolde þe erl nouth dwelle þore,
But sone na{m} until his lond,
[Sidenote: [Fol. 219, col. 2.]]
And seysed it al in his hond,
And liuede þer-i{n}ne, he and his wif, 2932
An hundred winter in god lif,[132]
And gaten mani childre{n} samen,
And liueden ay in blisse and game{n}.
Hwa{n} þe maydens were spused boþe, 2936
Hauelok anon bigan ful rathe
[Sidenote: The Danes are enriched.]
His denshe men to feste wel
Wit riche landes and catel,
So þat he weren alle riche: 2940
For he was large and nouth chinche.

[Footnote 132: Between this line and the next are inserted
in the MS. the words: _For he saw þat he_, which have been
subsequently struck out by the same hand, and the word _vacat_
affixed.]

[Headnote: HAVELOK IS CROWNED KING OF ENGLAND.]

+Þer-after sone, with his here,
[Sidenote: Havelok is crowned at London.]
For he to lundone, forto bere
Corune, so þat [alle] it sawe, 2944
Henglishe ant denshe, heye and lowe,
Hwou he it bar with mikel pride,
For his barnage þat was un-ride.

[Sidenote: The feast lasts 40 days.]
+Þe feste of his coruni[{n}]g[133] 2948
Laste[de] with gret ioying
Fourti dawes, and sumdel mo;
Þo bigu{n}nen þe denshe to go
Vn-to þe king, to aske leue, 2952
And he ne wolde hem nouth g{re}ue,
[Sidenote: The Danes return home.]
For he saw þat he woren yare
In-to denemark for to fare,
But gaf hem leue sone anon, 2956
And bitauhte hem seint Johan;
[Sidenote: Ubbe is to rule Denmark.]
And bad ubbe, his iustise,
Þat he sholde on ilke wise
Denemark yeme and gete so, 2960
Þat no pleynte come him to.

[Footnote 133: MS. corunig.]

[Sidenote: Havelok remained in England for sixty years.]
+Hwan he wore parted alle samen,
Hauelok bi-lefte wit ioie and game{n}
In engelond, and was þer-i{n}ne 2964
Sixti winter king with winne,
And Goldeboru quen, þat I wene:
So mikel loue was hem bitwene,
Þat al þe werd spak of hem two: 2968
He louede hire, and she him so,
[Sidenote: He and Goldborough were never apart.]
Þat neyþer oþe[r] mithe be
For[134] oþer, ne no ioie se,
But yf he were to-gidere[135] boþe; 2972
Neuere yete ne were{n} he wroþe,
For here loue was ay newe,
[Sidenote: [Fol. 219b, col. 1.]]
Neuere yete wordes ne grewe
Bitwene hem, hwar-of ne lathe 2976
Mithe rise, ne no wrathe.

[Footnote 134: _Qu._ Fro.]

[Footnote 135: MS. togidede.]

[Headnote: SUCH IS THE "GESTE" OF HAVELOK.]

[Sidenote: They had 15 children, all kings and queens.]
+He geten childre{n} hem bi-twene
Sones and douthres rith fiuetene,
Hwar-of þe sones were kinges alle, 2980
So wolde god it sholde bifalle;
And þe douhtres alle q{ue}nes:
Him sto{n}des wel þat god child strenes.
[Sidenote: Such is the _geste_ of Havelok and Goldborough.]
Nu haue ye herd þe gest al þoru 2984
Of hauelok and of goldeborw.
Hw he were{n} born, and hw fedde,
And hwou he wore{n} with wro{n}ge ledde
In here youþe, with trecherie, 2988
With tresoun, and with felounye,
And hwou þe swikes hauede{n} thit
Reuen hem þat was here rith,
And hwou he were{n} wreken wel, 2992
Haue ich sey you eu{er}ildel;

[Headnote: SAY A PATERNOSTER FOR THE AUTHOR.]

And forþi ich wolde biseken you,
Þat haue{n} herd þe rim[e] nu,
[Sidenote: Each of you say a _pater-noster_ for the author.]
Þat ilke of you, with gode wille, 2996
Seye a pat{er}-nost{er} stille,
For him þat haueth þe rym[e] maked,
And þer-fore fele nihtes waked;
Þat ih{es}u c{ri}st his soule bringe 3000
Bi-forn his fader at his endinge.

+Amen.+

NOTES.

[The following notes are abridged from the notes in Sir F. Madden's excellent edition, the abridgement being effected almost entirely by occasional omissions, and with but very slight unimportant changes of a few words, chiefly in the case of references to later editions of various works than were existing in 1828. I have added one or two short notes upon difficult constructions, but these are distinguished by being enclosed within square brackets. --W. W. S.]

9.

_He was the wicteste man at nede
That thurte riden on ani stede._

This appears to have been a favourite expression of the poet, and to have comprehended, in his idea, the perfection of those qualifications required in a knight and hero. He repeats it, with some slight variation, no less than five times, viz. in ll. 25, 87, 345, 1757, and 1970. The lines, however, are by no means original, but the common property of all our early poetical writers. We find them in La[gh]amon:

þis wes þe feiruste mon
þe æuere æhte ær þusne kinedom,
þa he mihte beren wepnen,
& his hors wel awilden.

_La[gh]amon_, vol. i. p. 174.

So also in the Romance of _Guy of Warwick_:

He was the best knight at neede
That euer bestrode any stede.

Coll. Garrick, K. 9. sign. Ll. ii.

Again, in the _Continuation of Sir Gy_, in the Auchinleck MS., (ed. for the Abbotsford Club, 1840, 4to; p. 266),

The best bodi he was at nede
That ever might bistriden stede,
And freest founde in fight.

And again, in the _Chronicle of England_, published by Ritson from a copy in the British Museum, MS. Reg. 12. C. XII.

After him his sone Arthur
Hevede this lond thourh and thourh.
He was the beste kyng at nede
That ever mihte ride on stede,
Other wepne welde, other folk out-lede,
Of mon he hede he never drede. --l. 261.

The very close resemblance of these lines to those in Havelok, ll. 87-90, would induce a belief that the writer of the _Chronicle_ had certainly read, and perhaps copied from, the Romance. The MS. followed by Ritson was undoubtedly written soon after the death of Piers Gaveston, in 1313, with the mention of which event it concludes; but in the Auchinleck copy it is continued, by a later hand, to the minority of Edward III. It only remains to be observed, that the poem in MS. Reg. 12. C. XII. is written by the same identical hand as the MS. Harl. 2253 (containing _Kyng Horn_, &c.), whence some additional light is thrown on the real age of the latter, respecting which our antiquaries so long differed.

[15. "And I will drink ere I tell my tale." _Her_ = ere.

19. _And wite, &c._, i.e. And ordain that it may be so; cf. ll. 517, 1316. Both metre and grammar require the final _e_.]

31. _Erl and barun, _dreng_ and kayn._ The appellation of _Dreng_, and, in the plural, _Drenges_, which repeatedly occurs in the course of this poem, is uniformly bestowed on a class of men who hold a situation between the rank of _Baron_ and _Thayn_. We meet with the term more than once in Doomsday Book, as, for instance, in Tit. Cestresc: "Hujus manerii [Neuton] aliam terram xv. hom. quos _Drenches_ vocabant, pro xv. maneriis tenebant." And in a Charter of that period we read: "Alger Prior, et totus Conventus Ecclesiæ S. Cuthberti, Edwino, et omnibus Teignis et _Drengis_, &c." Hence Spelman infers, that the Drengs were military vassals, and held land by knight's service, which was called _Drengagium_. This is confirmed by a document from the Chartulary of Welbeck, printed in Dugdale, _Mon. Angl._ V. II. p. 598, and in Blount, _Jocular Tenures_, p. 177, where it is stated, "In eadem villa [Cukeney, co. Nottingh.] manebat quidam homo qui vocabatur Gamelbere, et fuit vetus _Dreyinghe_ ante Conquestum." It appears from the same document, that this person held two carucates of land of the King _in capite_, and was bound to perform military service for the same, whenever the army went into Wales. In the Epistle also from the Monks of Canterbury to Henry II. printed by Somner, in his Treatise on Gavelkind, p. 123, we find: "Quia vero non erant adhuc tempore Regis Willelmi Milites in Anglia, sed _Threnges_, præcepit Rex, ut de eis Milites fierent, ad terram defendendam." In La[gh]amon's translation of Wace the term is frequently used in the acceptation of thayn, and spelt either _dringches_, _drenches_, _dranches_, or _dringes_. [Cf. Sw. _dräng_, a man, servant; Dan. _dreng_, a boy.] In the Isl. and Su. Goth. _Dreng_ originally signified _vir fortis_, _miles strenuus_, and hence Olaf, King of Norway, received the epithet of _Goddreng_. See Wormii Lex. Run. p. 26. Ihre, Vet. Cat. Reg. p. 109. Langebek, Script. Rer. Danic. V. I. p. 156. The term subsequently was applied to persons in a servile condition, and is so instanced by Spelman, as used in Denmark. In this latter sense it may be found in Hickes, Diction. Isl., and in Sir David Lyndsay's Poems,

Quhilk is not ordanit for _dringis_
But for Duikis, Empriouris, and Kingis.

V. Pinkerton's Scotish Poems Reprinted, ii. 97.

V. Jamieson, Dict. _in voce_.

45.

_In that time a man that bore
(Wel fyfty pund, y woth, or more.)_

This insertion receives additional authority from a similar passage in the Romance of _Guy of Warwick_, where it is mentioned as a proof of the rigorous system of justice pursued by Earl Sigard,

Though a man bore an hundred pound,
Upon him of gold so round,
There n'as man in all this land
That durst him do shame no schonde.

Ellis, _Metr. Rom._ V. II. p. 9. Ed. 1811.

Many of the traits here attributed to Athelwold appear to be borrowed from the praises so universally bestowed by our ancient historians on the character of King Alfred, in whose time, as Otterbourne writes, p. 52, "armillas aureas in bivio stratas vel suspensas, nemo abripere est ausus." Cf. _Annal. Eccl. Roffens._ MS. Cott. Nero, D. II. The same anecdote is related of Rollo, Duke of Normandy, by Guillaume de Jumieges, and Dudon de Saint Quentin.

91. _Sprong forth so sparke of glede._ Cf. l. 870. It is a very common metaphor in early English poetry.

He sprong forð an stede,
swa sparc ded of fure,

_La[gh]amon_ v. ii. p. 565.

He sprange als any sparke one glede.

_Sir Isumbras_, st. 39 (Camd. Soc. 1844)

He spronge as sparkle doth of glede,

_K. of Tars_, l. 194.

And lepte out of the arsoun,
As sperk thogh out of glede.

_Ly Beaus Desconus_, l. 623.

Cf. Chaucer, Cant. Tales, l. 13833, and Tyrwhitt's note.

110. _Of his bodi_, &c. Compare the French text, l. 208.

Mes entre eus n'eurent enfant
Mes qe vne fille bele;
Argentille out non la pucele.
Rois Ekenbright fut enfermez,
Et de grant mal forment greuez;
Bien siet n'en poet garrir.

[Here _Argentille_ is _Goldborough_, and _Ekenbright_ answers to _Athelwold_. This quotation, and others below, shewing the passages of the French text which most nearly resemble the English poem, are from a MS. in the Herald's College, marked E. D. N. No. 14. See the Preface.]

[118. _Wat shal me to rede_, lit. what shall be for a counsel to me. See _Rede_ in the Glossary to _William of Palerne_.

130. _And don hem of þar hire were queme_, lit. and do them off where it should be agreeable to her; i.e. and keep men at a distance as she pleased. Such seems to me the meaning of this hitherto unexplained line.

132. For _me_ we ought probably to read _hit_.]

136. _He sende_ writes _sone onon._ We must here, and in l. 2275, simply understand _letters_, without any reference to the official summonses of parliament, which subsequently were so termed, #kat' exochên#. The word _briefs_ is used in the same sense by the old French writers, and in La[gh]amon we meet with some lines nearly corresponding with the present; see ll. 6669-6678.

[175. _þa_. Frequently written for _þat_. See _William of Palerne_.]

189-203. _Ther-on he garte_, &c. Compare the French Romance, ll. 215-228.

Sa fille li ad comandée,
Et sa terre tote liuerée.
Primerement li fet iurer,
Veiant sa gent & affier,
Qe leaument la nurrireit,
Et sa terre lui gardereit,
Tant q'ele fust de tiel age
Qe suffrir porroit mariage.
Quant la pucele seit granz,
Par le consail de ses tenanz,
Au plus fort home la dorroit
Qe el reaume troueroit;
Qu'il li baillast ses citez,
Ses chasteus & ses fermetez.

263.

_Justises dede he maken newe,
Al Engelond to faren thorw._

The earliest instance produced by Dugdale of the Justices Itinerant, is in 23 Hen. II. 1176, when by the advice of the Council held at Northampton, the realm was divided into six parts, and into each were sent three Justices. _Orig. Judic._ p. 51. This is stated on the authority of Hoveden. Dugdale admits however the custom to have been older, and in Gervasius Dorobernensis, we find, in 1170, certain persons, called _inquisitores_, appointed to perambulate England. Gervase of Tilbury, or whoever was the author of the _Dialogus de Scaccario_, calls them _deambulantes, vel perlustrantes judices_. See Spelman, _in voc_. The office continued to the time of Edward III., when it was superseded by that of the Justices of Assize.

280. _The kinges douther_, &c. Comp. the Fr. l. 283.

Argentille,
La meschine qu'ert sa fille,
Que ia estoit creue & grant,
Et bien poeit auoir enfant.

[338. _Sawe_, put for "Say we." Cf. _biddi_ for "bidde i," l. 484; _hauedet_ for "hauede it," 714; &c.

365. _His quiste_, &c. "His bequest made, and (things) distributed for him."]

433.

_Crist warie him with his mouth!
Waried wrthe he of north and suth!_

So, in the Romance of Merlin, Bishop Brice curses the enemies of Arthur,

Ac, for he is king, and king's son,
Y curse alle, and y dom
His enemies with Christes mouth,
By East, by West, by North, and South!

Ellis, _Metr. Rom._ V. I. p. 260.

[506. For _nouth_ we must read _mouth_ or _wolde_. The sense is-- "He thought that he would he were dead, except that he might not (_or_ would not) slay him with his (own) hand."

550. The sense is-- "When he had done that deed (i.e. gagged the child), _then_ the deceiver had commanded him," &c.

560. _with_ may mean _knowest_, but this hardly gives sense. Perhaps we should read _wilt_, i.e. "As thou wilt have (preserve) my life."

567. Mr Morris suggests that the riming words are _adoun_ and _croune_. We might then read--

"And caste þe knaue so harde adoun,
þat he crakede þer hise croune."]

591. _Of hise mouth_, &c. Comp. the Fr. l. 71. sq.

Totes les houres q'il dormoit,
Vne flambe de lui issoit.
Par la bouche li venoit fors,
Si grant chalur auoit el cors.
La flambe rendoit tiel odour,
Onc ne sentit nul home meillour.

676. _And with thi chartre make (me) fre._ Instances of the manumission of villains or slaves by charter may be found in Hickes, _Diss. Epistol._ p. 12, Lye's Dict. _ad calc._, and Madox's _Formulare Anglicanum_, p. 750. The practice was common in the Saxon times, and existed so late as the reign of Henry VIII.

[694. _Wite he him onliue_, if he knows him (to be) alive.

701. It is evident that the words _and gate_ = and goats, must be supplied. For the spelling _gate_, cf. _Pricke of Conscience_, ed. Morris, l. 6134, where _gayte_ is used collectively as a plural.]

706. _Hise ship_, &c. Comp. the Fr. l. 89.

Grim fet niefs apparailler,
Et de viande bien charger.

715-720. _Hauelok the yunge_, &c. Comp. the Fr. ll. 97-105.

Quant sa nief fut apparaillée,
Dedenz fist entrer sa meisnée,
Ses cheualers & ses serganz,
Sa femme demeine & ses enfanz:
La reyne mist el batel,
Haueloc tint souz son mantel.
Il meismes apres entra,
A Dieu del ciel se comanda,
Del hauene sont desancré,
Car il eurent bon orré.

Instead of the storm, in the French text Grim's ship is attacked by pirates, who kill the whole of the crew, with the exception of himself and family, whom they spare on the score of his being an old acquaintance.

733-749. _In Humber_, &c. So in the Fr. _Ceo fut el north_, &c. Cf. ll. 122-135.

Tant out nagé & tant siglé,
Q'en vne hauene out parvenu,
Et de la nief a terre issu.
Ceo fut el North, a Grimesbi;
A icel tens qe ieo vus di,
Ni out onques home habité,
Ne cele hauene n'ert pas haunté.
Il i adresca primes maison,
De lui ad Grimesbi a non.
Quant Grim primes i ariua,
En .ii. moitez sa nief trencha,
Les chiefs en ad amont drescé,
Iloec dedenz s'est herbergé.
Pescher aloit sicome il soloit,
Siel vendoit & achatoit.

753.

_He took the sturgiun and the qual,
And the turbut, and lax withal,
He tok the sele, and the hwel_, &c.

The list of fish here enumerated may be increased from l. 896, and presents us with a sufficiently accurate notion of the different species eaten in the 13th century. Each of the names will be considered separately in the Glossary, and it is only intended here to make a few remarks on those, which in the present day appear rather strangely to have found a place on the tables of our ancestors. The sturgeon is well known to have been esteemed a dainty, both in England and France, and specially appropriated to the King's service, but that the whale, the seal, and the porpoise should have been rendered palatable, excites our astonishment. Yet that the whale was caught for that purpose, appears not only from the present passage, but also from the Fabliau intitled _Bataille de Charnage et de Caresme_, written probably about the same period, and printed by Barbazan. It is confirmed, as we learn from Le Grand, by the French writers; and even Rabelais, near three centuries later, enumerates the whale among the dishes eaten by the Gastrolatres. In the list of fish also published by Le Grand from a MS. of the 13th century, and which corresponds remarkably with the names in the Romance, we meet with the _Baleigne_. See _Vie Privée des François_, T. II. sect. 8.

Among the articles at Archbishop Nevil's Feast, 6 Edw. IV., we find, _Porposes and Seales XII._ and at that of Archbishop Warham, held in 1504, is an item: _De Seales & Porposs. prec. in gross XXVI. s. VIII. d._ Champier asserts that the Seal was eaten at the Court of Francis I., so that the taste of the two nations seems at this period to have been nearly the same. For the courses of fish in England during the 14th and 15th centuries, see Pegge's _Form of Cury_, and Warner's _Antiquitates Culinariæ_, to which we may add MS. Sloane, 1986. [_Cf._ _Babees Book, &c._, ed. Furnivall, 1868, p. 153.]

[784. For _setes_ we should probably read _seten_ or _sette_, which would be as good a rime as many others. The scribe has probably made the rime more perfect than the sense. It must mean, "In the sea were they oft set." We cannot here suppose _setes_ = _set es_ = set them.]

839. _And seyde, Hauelok, dere sone._ In the French, Grim sends Havelok away for quite a different reason, viz. because he does not understand fishing.

903. _The kok stod_, &c. Comp. the Fr. l. 242.

Et vn keu le roi le retint,
Purceo qe fort le vist & grant,
Et mult le vist de bon semblant.
Merueillous fes poeit leuer,
Busche tailler, ewe porter.

The last line answers to l. 942 of the English version.

939. _He bar the turues, he bar the star._ The meaning of the latter term will be best illustrated by a passage in Moor's _Suffolk Words_, where, under the word _Bent_, he writes, "_Bent_ or _Starr_, on the N.W. coast of England, and especially in Lancashire, is a coarse reedy shrub--like ours perhaps--of some importance formerly, if not now, on the sandy blowing lands of those counties. Its fibrous roots give some cohesion to the silicious soil. By the 15 and 16 G. II. c. 33, plucking up and carrying away _Starr_ or Bent, or having it in possession within five miles of the sand hills, was punishable by fine, imprisonment, and whipping." The use stated in the Act to which the _Starr_ was applied, is, "making of Mats, Brushes, and Brooms or Besoms," therefore it might very well be adapted to the purposes of a kitchen, and from its being coupled with turves in the poem, was perhaps sometimes burnt for fuel. The origin of the word is Danish, and still exists in the Dan. _Stær_, Swed. _Starr_, Isl. _staer_, a species of sedge, or broom, called by Lightfoot, p. 560, _carex cespitosa_. Perhaps it is this shrub alluded to in the Romance of _Kyng Alisaunder_, and this circumstance will induce us to assign its author to the district in which the Starr is found.

The speris craketh swithe thikke,
So doth on hegge _sterre-stike_. --l. 4438.

945. _of alle men_, &c. Comp. the Fr. l. 254.

Tant estoit franc & deboneire,
Que tuz voloit lur pleisir fere,
Pur la franchise q'il out.

959. _Of him ful wide the word sprong._ A phrase which from the Saxon times occurs repeatedly in all our old writers. A few examples may suffice.

Beowulf wæs breme,
Blæd wíde sprang.

_Beowulf_, ed. Thorpe, p. 2.

Welle wide sprong þas eorles word.

_La[gh]amon_, l. 26242.

Of a knight is that y mene,
His name is sprong wel wide.

_Sir Tristrem_, st. 2, p. 12.

The word of Horn wide sprong,
How he was bothe michel and long.

_Horn Childe_, ap. Rits. _Metr. Rom._ V. iii. p. 291.

See also the _Kyng of Tars_, ll. 19, 1007, _Emare_, l. 256, _Roland and Ferragus_, as quoted by Ellis, _Ly beaus Desconus_, l. 172, and _Chronicle of England_, l. 71.

984.

_In armes him noman (ne) nam,
þat he doune sone ne caste._

The same praise is bestowed on Havelok in the French text, l. 265,--

Deuant eus liuter le fesoient
As plus forz homes q'il sauoient,
Et il trestouz les abatit--

and it was doubtless in imitation or ridicule of the qualities attributed to similar heroes, that Chaucer writes of Sir Thopas, "Of wrastling was ther non his per." Cant. Tales, l. 13670.

1006. _To ben þer at þe parlement._ Cf. l. 1178. If we examine our historical records, we shall find that the only parliament held at Lincoln was in the year 1300, 28 Edw. I., and the writs to the _Archbishop of York_, and other Nobles, both ecclesiastical and secular, are still extant. The proceedings are detailed at some length by Robert of Brunne, Vol. II. p. 312, who might have been in Lincoln at the time, or, at all events, was sufficiently informed of all that took place, from his residence in the county. If we could suppose that the author of the Romance alluded to this very parliament, it would reduce the period of the poem's composition to a later date, than either the style or the writing of the MS. will possibly admit of. It is therefore far more probable the writer here makes use of a poetical, and very pardonable licence, in transferring the parliament to the chief city of the county in which he was evidently born, or brought up, without any reference whatever to historical data.

1022.

_Biforn here fet þanne lay a tre,
And putten with a mikel ston_, &c.

This game of _putting the stone_, is of the highest antiquity, and seems to have been common at one period to the whole of England, although subsequently confined to the Northern counties, and to Scotland. Fitzstephen enumerates casting of stones among the amusements of the Londoners in the 12th century, and Dr Pegge, in a note on the passage, calls it "a Welch custom." The same sport is mentioned by Geoffrey of Monmouth, among the diversions pursued at King Arthur's feast, as will appear in a subsequent note (l. 2320). By an edict of Edward III. the practice of casting stones, wood, and iron, was forbidden, and the use of the bow substituted, yet this by no means superseded the former amusement, which was still in common use in the 16th century, as appears from Strutt's _Popular Pastimes_, Introd. pp. xvii, xxxix, and p. 56, sq. In the Highlands this sport appears to have been longer kept up than in any other part of Britain, and Pennant, describing their games, writes, "Those retained are, throwing the _putting-stone_, or stone of strength (_Cloch neart_) as they call it, which occasions an emulation who can throw a weighty one the farthest." _Tour in Scotl._ p. 214. 4to. 1769. See also _Statist. Account of Argyleshire_, xi. 287. In the French Romance of Horn, preserved in MS. Harl. 527, is almost a similar incident to the one in Havelok, and would nearly amount to a proof, that Tomas, the writer of the French text of Horn, was an Englishman.

In the Romance of _Octovian Imperator_ it is said of Florent,

At _wrestelyng_, and at _ston castynge_
He wan the prys, without lesynge;
Ther n'as nother old ne yynge
So mochell of strength,
That myght the ston to hys _but_ bryng,
Bi fedeme lengthe. --l. 895.

It is singular enough, that the circumstance of Havelok's throwing the stone, mentioned in the Romance, should have been founded on, or preserved in, a local tradition, as attested by Robert of Brunne, p. 26.

Men sais in Lyncoln castelle ligges [gh]it a stone,
That Hauelok kast wele forbi euerilkone.

1077-1088. _The king Athelwald_, &c. Comp. the Fr. text, ll. 354-370.

Quant Ekenbright le roi fini,
En ma garde sa fille mist;
Vn serement iurer me fist,
Q'au plus fort home le dorroie,
Qe el reaume trouer porroie.
Assez ai quis & demandé,
Tant q'en ai vn fort troué;
Vn valet ai en ma quisine,
A qui ieo dorrai la meschine; &c.

1103. _After Goldeborw_, &c. Comp. the Fr. l. 377.

Sa niece lur fet amener,
Et a Cuaran esposer;
Pur lui auiler & honir,
La fist la nuit lez lui gesir.

The French Romance differs here very considerably from the English, and in the latter, the dream of Argentille, her visit to the hermit, and the conversation relative to Havelok's parents, is entirely omitted.

[1174. This may mean-- "He (Havelok) is given to her, and she has taken (him)" --but this makes _yaf_ and _tok_ past participles, which they properly are not; or else we must translate it-- "He (Godard) gave them to her, and she took them," i.e. the pence. This alone is the grammatical construction, and it suits the context best; observe, that the words _ys_ and _as_ are equivalent to _es_ = them. Cf. l. 970. See Morris; _Gen. & Exod._, Pref. p. xviii.]

1203. _Thanne he komen there_, &c. Comp. the Fr. l. 556.

A Grimesby s'en alerent;
Mes li prodoms estoit finiz,
Et la Dame q'is out nurriz.
Kelloc sa fille i ont trouée,
Vn marchant l'out esposée.

The marriage of Kelloc, Grim's daughter, with a merchant is skilfully introduced in the French, and naturally leads to the mention of Denmark. The plot of the English story is wholly dissimilar in this respect.

1247. _On the nith_, &c. Comp. the Fr. l. 381.

Quant couché furent ambedui,
Cele out grant honte de lui,
Et il assez greindre de li.
As deuz se geut, si se dormi.
Ne voloit pas q'ele veist
La flambe qe de lui issist.

The voice of the angel is completely an invention of the English author, and the dream (which is transferred from Argentille to Havelok) is altogether different in its detail.

1260. _He beth heyman_, &c. Comp. the Fr. l. 521.

Il est né de real lignage,
Oncore auera grant heritage.
Grant gent fra vers li encline,
Il serra roi & tu reyne.

[1334. The words _euere-il del_ are corruptly repeated from line 1330 above. Perhaps we should read _wit-uten were_, i.e. without doubt.]

1430. _Hauede go for him gold ne fe._ Cf. l. 44. So in La[gh]amon:

Ne sculde him neoðer gon fore
Gold ne na gærsume, &c.; vol. ii. p. 537.

[1444. The French text helps but little to supply the blank. It shows that Havelok and his wife sailed to Denmark, and, on their arrival, sought out the castle belonging to Sigar, who answers to the Ubbe of the English version.]

1632. _A gold ring drow he forth anon_, &c. A similar incident, and in nearly the same words, occurs in Sir Tristrem.

A ring he raught him tite,
The porter seyd nought nay,
In hand:
He was ful wis, y say,
That first yave yift in land. --fytte i. st. 57, p. 39.

So also Wyntoun, who relates the subsidy of 40,000 moutons sent from France to Scotland in 1353, and adds,

Qwha gyvis swilk gyftyis he is wyse.

[See also _Piers Plowman_, Text A. iii. 202.]

1646. _Hw he was wel of bones_, &c. Comp. the Fr. l. 743.

Gent cors & bele feture,
Lungs braz & grant furcheure
Ententiuement l'esgarda.

[1678. This line has two syllables too little.]

1722. _Thanne he were set_, &c. This is an amplification of the Fr. l. 677, sq.

Quant fut houre del manger,
Et qe tuz alerent lauer,
Li prodoms a manger s'assist,
Les .iii. valez seeir i fist,
Argentille lez son seignur;
Serui furent a grant honur.

1726. _Kranes, swannes, veneysun_, &c. We have here the principal constituents of what formed the banquets of our ancestors. The old Romances abound with descriptions of this nature, which coincide exactly with the present. See _Richard C[oe]ur de Lion_, l. 4221; _Guy of Warwick; The Squyr of Lowe Degre_, l. 317; and _Morte Arthure_, ed. Perry, p. 7.

"Wine is common," says Dr Pegge, speaking of the entertainments of the 14th century, "both red and white. This article they partly had of their own growth, and partly by importation from France and Greece." A few examples will illustrate this:

He laid the cloth, and set forth bread,
And also wine, both _white and red_.

_Sir Degore_, ap. Ellis, _Metr. Rom._ V. 3, p. 375.

And dronke wyn, and eke pyment,
_Whyt and red_, al to talent.

_Kyng Alisaunder_, l. 4178.

[Cf. _Piers Plowman_, Text B, at the end of the _Prologue_.]

In the _Squyr of Lowe Degre_ is a long list of these wines, which has received considerable illustration in the curious work of Dr Henderson.

[1736. I print _kiwing_, as in Sir F. Madden's edition; but I quite give up the meaning of it, and doubt if it is put for _kirving_. The word is obscurely written, and looks like _kilþing_, and my impression is that it is miswritten for _ilk þing_, the word _þe_ being put for _þer_, as frequently elsewhere. We should thus get _hwan he haueden þer ilk þing deled_, when they had there distributed every thing. This is, at any rate, the sense of the passage.]

1749. _And sende him unto the greyues._ In the French, Havelok is simply sent to an _ostel_, and the _greyve_ does not appear in the story.

1806. _Hauelok lifte up_, &c. In the French, all the amusing details relative to Robert and Huwe Raven are omitted, and Havelok is made to retire to a monastery, where he defends himself by throwing down the stones on his assailants.

[1826. _wolde_, offered at, intended to hit, _would_ have hit.]

1838.

_And shoten on him, so don on bere
Dogges, that wolden him to-tere._

The same comparison is made use of in the Romance of Horn Childe:

The Yrise folk about him yode,
As hondes do to bare.

Rits. _Metr. Rom._ V. III. p. 289.

See Note on l. 2320.

[1914. "Cursed be he who cares! for they deserved it! What did they? There were they worried." A mark of interrogation seems required after _dide he_.]

1926-1930. _Sket cam tiding_, &c. Comp. the Fr. l. 719.

La nouele vint a chastel,
Au seneschal, qui n'est pas bel,
Qe cil qu'il auoit herbergé
Cinc de ses homes out tué.

[1932. Apparently corrupt. Perhaps _is_ should be _it_. "That this strife--as to what it meant."]

2045. _That weren of Kaym kin and Eues._ The odium affixed to the supposed progeny of Cain, and the fables engrafted on it, owe their origin to the theological opinions of the Middle Ages, which it is not worth while to trace to their authors. See _Beowulf_, ed. Thorpe, p. 8; and _Piers Plowman_, A. X. 135-156; answering to p. 177 of Whitaker's edition. See also the Romance of _Kyng Alisaunder_:

And of Sab the duk Mauryn,
He was of _Kaymes kunrede_. --l. 1932.

In _Ywaine and Gawaine_, l. 559, the Giant is called "the karl of _Kaymes kyn_," and so also in a poem printed by Percy, intitled _Little John Nobody_, written about the year 1550.

Such caitives count to be come of Cain's kind.

_Anc. Reliq._ V. II. p. 130. Ed. 1765.

2076.

_It ne shal no thing ben bitwene
Thi bour and min, also y wene,
But a fayr firrene wowe._

These lines will receive some illustration from a passage in Sir Tristrem, where it is said,

A borde he tok oway
Of her bour. --p. 114.

On which Sir W. Scott remarks, "The bed-chamber of the queen was constructed of wooden boards or shingles, of which one could easily be removed." This will explain the line which occurs below, 2106, "He stod, and totede in at a bord."

2092. _Aboute the middel_, &c. In the French, a person is placed by the Seneschal to watch, who first discovers the light.

2132. _Bi the pappes he leyen naked._ "From the latter end of the 13th to near the 16th century, all ranks, and both sexes, were universally in the habit of sleeping quite naked. This custom is often alluded to by Chaucer, Gower, Lydgate, and all our ancient writers." Ellis, SPEC. METR. ROM. V. I. p. 324, 4th Ed. In the _Squyr of Lowe Degre_ is a remarkable instance of this fact:

How she rose, that lady dere,
To take her leue of that squyer;
Al so naked as she was borne
She stod her chambre-dore beforne. --l. 671.

The custom subsisted both in England and France to a very recent period, and hence probably was derived the phrase _naked-bed_, illustrated so copiously by Archdeacon Nares in his Glossary.

2192. Cf. the French, l. 843.

Ses chapeleins fet demander,
Ses briefs escriure & enseeler;
Par ses messages les manda,
Et pur ses amis enuoia;
Pur ses homes, pur ses parenz;
Mult i assembla granz genz.

[2201. Read _ne neme_ = took not, sc. their way, just as in l. 1207.]

2240-2265. _Lokes, hware he stondes her_, &c. Comp. the Fr. ll. 913-921.

"Veez ci nostre dreit heir,
Bien en deuom grant ioie aueir."
Tut primerain se desafubla,
Par deuant lui s'agenuilla;
Sis homs deuint, si li iura
Qe leaument le seruira.
Li autre sont apres alé,
Chescuns de bone volenté;
Tuit si home sont deuenu.

2314.

_Vbbe dubbede him to knith,
With a swerd ful swithe brith._

So likewise in the Fr. l. 928, _A cheualier l'out adubbé_. The ceremony of knighthood is described with greater minuteness in the Romance of _Ly beaus Desconus_, l. 73; and see _Kyng Horn_, ed. Lumby, ll. 495-504.

2320. _Hwan he was king, ther mouthe men se_, &c. Ritson has justly remarked, Notes to _Ywaine and Gawaine_, l. 15, that the elaborate description of Arthur's feast at Carlisle, given by Geoffrey of Monmouth, l. ix. c. 12, has served as a model to all his successors. The original passage stands thus in a fine MS. of the 13th century, MS. Harl. 3773. fol. 33 _b_. "Refecti autem epulis diversos ludos acturi campos extra civitatem adeunt. Tunc milites simulachra belli scientes _equestrem ludum_ componunt, mulieribus ab edito murorum aspicientibus. Alii _cum cestibus_, alii _cum hastis_, alii _gravium lapidum jactu_, alii _cum facis_, [_saxis_, Edd.] alii _cum aleis_, diversisque alii alteriusmodi jocis contendentes." In the translation of this description by Wace we approach still nearer to the imitation of the Romance before us.

A plusurs iuis se departirent,
Li vns alerent _buhurder_,
E lur ignels cheuals mustrer,
Li altre alerent _eskermir_,
V _pere geter_, v _saillir_;
Tels i-aueit ki _darz lanconent_,
E tels i-aueit ki _lutouent_:
Chescon del gru [geu?] s'entremetait
Dunt entremettre se saueit. --MS. Reg. 13. A. xxi.

The parallel versions, from the French, of La[gh]amon, Robert of Gloucester, and Robert of Brunne, may be read in Mr Ellis's _Specimens of Early English Poets_. At the feast of Olimpias, described in the Romance of _Kyng Alisaunder_, we obtain an additional imitation.

Withoute theo toun was mury,
Was reised ther al maner pley;
There was knyghtis _turnyng_,
There was maidenes carolyng,
There was champions _skyrmyng_,
Of heom and of other _wrastlyng_,
Of liouns chas, of _beore baityng_,
And _bay of bor_, of _bole slatyng_. --l. 193. Cf. l. 1045.

Some additional illustrations on each of the amusements named in our text may not be unacceptable:

1. _Buttinge with sharpe speres._ This is tilting, or justing, expressed in Wace by _buhurder_. See Strutt's _Sports and Pastimes_, p. 96, sq. 108.

2. _Skirming with taleuaces._ This is described more at large by Wace, in his account of the feast of Cassibelaunus. Cf. _La[gh]amon_, v. i. p. 347; l. 8144. In Strutt's _Sports and Pastimes_ is a representation of this game, taken from MS. Bodl. 264, illuminated between 1338 and 1344, in which the form of the _talevas_ is accurately defined. It appears to have been pursued to such an excess, as to require the interference of the crown, for in 1286 an edict was issued by Edward I. prohibiting all persons _Eskirmer au bokeler_. This, however, had only a temporary effect in restraining it, and in later times, under the appellation of _sword and buckler play_, it again became universally popular.

3. _Wrastling with laddes, puttinge of ston._ See the notes on ll. 984 and 1022.

4. _Harping and piping._ This requires no illustration.

5. _Leyk of mine, of hasard ok._ Among the games mentioned at the marriage of Gawain, in the Fabliau of _Le Chevalier à l'Epée_, we have:

Cil Chevalier jeuent as tables,
Et as eschés de l'autre part,
O à la _mine_, o à _hazart_.

Le Grand, in his note on this passage, T. i. p. 57, Ed. 1779, writes: "Le Hasard était une sorte de jeu de dez. Je ne connais point la _Mine_; j'ai trouvé seulement ailleurs un passage qui prouve que ce jeu était tres-dangereux, et qu'on pouvait s'y ruiner en peu de tems." It appears however from the Fabliau of _Du Prestre et des deuz Ribaus_, to have been certainly a species of _Tables_, or _Backgammon_, and to have been played with dice, on a board called _Minete_. The only passage we recollect in which any further detail of this game is given, is that of Wace, in the account of Arthur's feast, Harl. MS. 6508, and MS. Cott. Vit. A. x., but it must be remarked, that the older copy 13 A. xxi. does not contain it, nor is it found in the translations of La[gh]amon, or Robert of Gloucester.