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A COLLECTION
ANCIENT ROMANCE-POEMS,
SCOTISH AND ENGLISH AUTHORS,
RELATING TO THAT CELEBRATED
WITH
AN INTRODUCTION, NOTES, AND A GLOSSARY.
By SIR FREDERIC MADDEN, K.H.,
F.R.S., F.S.A., M.R.I.A., Corr. F.S.A.E., &c. KEEPER OF THE MSS. IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR.
M.DCCC. XXXIX.
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At a Meeting of the Committee of the Bannatyne Club, held at Edinburgh in the Hall of the Antiquarian Society, on Monday the 29th of August, 1836 :
Resolved, That a Volume intitled && (SarMptte, A Collection of Ancient Romance-Poems by Scotish and English Authors, relating to that Celebrated Knight of the Round Table, be printed at London, for the use of the Members, under the superintendence of Sir Frederic Madden, K.H.
DAVID LAING, Secretary.
' _ *
*
*
•
0
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THE BANNATYNE CLUB.
AUGUST, M.DCCC.XXXIX.
THOMAS THOMSON, ESQ.
PRESIDENT.
THE EARL OF ABERDEEN. THE EARL OF ASHBURNHAM. THE DUKE OF BEDFORD. LORD BELHAVEN AND HAMILTON. ROBERT BELL, ESQ. WILLIAM BELL, ESQ. WILLIAM BLAIR, ESQ. THE REV. PHILIP BLISS, D.C.L. in JOHN BORTHWICK, ESQ. BERIAH BOTFIELD, ESQ. THE MARQUIS OF BREADALBANE. GEORGE BRODIE, ESQ. CHARLES DASHWOOD BRUCE, ESQ. O. TYNDALL BRUCE, ESQ.
THE DUKE OF BUCCLEUGH AND QUEENSBERRY. JAMES CAMPBELL, ESQ. WILLIAM CLERK, ESQ.
HON. HENRY COCKBURN, LORD COCKBURN, VICE- PRESIDENT.
THE BANNATYNE CLUB.
20 DAVID CONSTABLE, ESQ.
ANDREW COVENTRY, ESQ.
JAMES T. GIBSON-CRAIG, ESQ., TREASURER.
WILLIAM GIBSON-CRAIG, ESQ.
GEORGE CRANSTOUN, ESQ.
JAMES DENNISTOUN, ESQ.
GEORGE DUNDAS, ESQ.
RIGHT HON. W. DUNDAS, LORD CLERK REGISTER.
LORD DUNFERMLINE.
LORD FRANCIS EGERTON. 30 SIR CHARLES DALRYMPLE FERGUSON, BART.
ROBERT FERGUSON, ESQ.
GENERAL SIR RONALD C. FERGUSON.
COUNT MERCER DE FLAHAULT.
HON. JOHN FULLERTON, LORD FULLERTON.
WILLIAM GOTT, ESQ.
ROBERT GRAHAM, ESQ.
LORD GRAY.
RIGHT HON. THOMAS GRENVILLE.
THE EARL OF HADDINGTON. 40 THE DUKE OF HAMILTON AND BRANDON.
ED. W. A. DRUMMOND HAY, ESQ.
SIR THOMAS BUCHAN HEPBURN, BART.
JAMES MAITLAND HOG, ESQ.
LORD HOLLAND.
JOHN HOPE, ESQ., DEAN OF FACULTY. COSMO INNES, ESQ. DAVID IRVING, LL.D.
%
m
THE BANNATYNE CLUB.
JAMES IVORY, ESQ., SOLICITOR-GENERAL.
SIR HENRY JARDINE, RT. 50 HON. FRANCIS JEFFREY, LORD JEFFREY.
JOHN GARDINER KINNEAR, ESQ.
THE EARL OF KINNOULL.
DAVID LAING, ESQ., SECRETARY.
THE EARL OF LAUDERDALE.
REV. JOHN LEE, D.D.
ALEXANDER WELLESLEY LEITH, ESQ.
LORD LINDSAY.
JAMES LOCH, ESQ.
LORD LOVAT. 60 THE MARQUIS OF LOTHIAN.
ALEXANDER MACDONALD, ESQ.
WILLIAM M'DOWALL, ESQ.
HON. J. H. MACKENZIE, LORD MACKENZIE.
JAMES MACKENZIE, ESQ.
JOHN WHITEFOORD MACKENZIE, ESQ.
WILLIAM FORBES MACKENZIE, ESQ.
JAMES MAIDMENT, ESQ.
THOMAS MAITLAND, ESQ.
VISCOUNT MELVILLE. 70 WILLIAM HENRY MILLER, ESQ.
THE EARL OF MINTO.
HON. SIR J. W. MONCRIEFF, LORD MONCRIEFF.
HON. SIR JOHN A. MURRAY, LORD MURRAY.
WILLIAM MURRAY, ESQ.
MACVEY NAPIER, ESQ.
THE BANNATYNE CLUB.
SIR FRANCIS PALGRAVE.
LORD PANMURE.
HENRY PETRIE, ESQ,
SIR THOMAS PHILLIPPS, BART. 80 EDWARD PIPER, ESQ.
ROBERT PITCAIRN, ESQ.
ALEXANDER PRINGLE, ESQ.
JOHN RICHARDSON, ESQ. THE EARL OF ROSEBERY.
RIGHT HON. A. RUTHERFURD, LORD ADVOCATE. THE EARL OF SELKIRK. JAMES SKENE, ESQ. WILLIAM SMYTHE, ESQ. THE EARL SPENCER. 90 JOHN SPOTTISWOODE, ESQ. EDWARD STANLEY, ESQ. MAJOR-GENERAL SIR JOSEPH STRATON. THE HON. CHARLES FRANCIS STUART THE DUKE OF SUTHERLAND. ALEXANDER THOMSON, ESQ. WALTER C. TREVELYAN, ESQ. DAWSON TURNER, ESQ. ADAM URQUHART, ESQ.
RIGHT HON. SIR GEORGE WARRENDER, BART. 100 THE YEN. ARCHDEACON WRANGHAM.
INTRODUCTION.
IN collecting for the first time the various Scotish and English poems relating to one of the most celebrated Knights of the Round Table, it might seem desirable to examine critically the sources whence the history of his exploits has been derived. But the subject is of such vast extent, is involved in so much obscu- rity, and, moreover, has been discussed with such conflicting theories and assertions, that the limits I here propose to myself will only allow me to state in succinct terms the conclusions which, after a long course of reading, I have arrived at.
The inquiry divides itself into two branches, closely connected together ; the first of which embraces the question of the antiquity of Welsh or Armorican traditions, and the share of Geoffrey of Monmouth in the compilation of the far-famed Brut ; the second includes the history of the ponderous French prose Romances of the Round Table, their authors, and the period of their composi- tion. With regard to the former, it is impossible, I think, for any one, who is not prejudiced, to read the arguments of Ellis, Price, De la Rue, and the Author of " Britannia after the Romans," with the testimonies produced, and not to admit, that previous to the time of Geoffrey a mass of popular traditions relating to Arthur and his chivalry must have existed, and was circulated first by the na- tive bards, and afterwards by the Anglo-Norman minstrels.
b
x INTRODUCTION.
On these traditions the earliest Prose Romances appear to have been subsequently based, the materials for which were arranged, embellished, and enlarged by the imagination and invention of the various compilers. It is true that these writers are unanimous in referring to a Latin original, from which they profess to translate; and although the existence of such a work is called in question by Ritson, Scott, and Southey, yet I am not prepared altogether to deny it*. But setting this aside, it appears to me, after a some- what laborious perusal of the printed editions of these works, compared with existing manuscripts, that they must have been compiled in the following order. — 1. The Roman du Saint Graal, sometimes intitled the Roman de Joseph d'Arimathie, composed by Robert de Borron. In the printed editions this is called the first part of the Saint Graal. 2. The Roman de Merlin, by the same.
3. The Roman de Lancelot du Lac, composed by Walter Mapf.
4. The Roman du Qudte du Saint Graal, by the same. In the editions this forms the second part. 5. The Roman de la Mort Artus, by the same, and originally distinct, but in the printed editions united to the Lancelot. 6. The first portion of the Ro- man de Tristan, by Luces, Seigneur de Gast. 7. The conclusion of Tristan, by Helie de Borron ; and 8. The Roman de Gyron le Courtois, by the same. Of these the first six were written in the
* Southey writes, " I do not believe that any of these Romances ever existed in Latin. — By whom or for whom could they have been written in that language ? " Pref. to Morte a" Arthur, p. xvi. I merely stop to reply, that it is not more unreasonable to suppose a Latin work should have existed on the exploits of Arthur than on those of Charlemagne. I may also add, for the information of those whom it may concern, that I have myself read no less thankee Latin romances still existing in manuscript, some of which are of considerable length. Three of these relate to Arthur, Meriadoe, Gau-ayne, and other British heroes ; the fourth is the original of Chaucer's Tale of Constance ; and the fifth is the Knight of the Swan.
t This is the mode in which his name is spelt in the ancient MSS. of the Romances, and it thus appears in an original charter preserved in the Cotton collection, by which he grants to Aunfelisa and her son John twelve acres of land in Wilesdune, part of his prebend of Mapesburv, co. Middlesex. Among the witnesses to this charter is " Filippo Map,nepote meo."
INTRODUCTION. xi
latter half of the twelfth century, and the remainder in the first half of the thirteenth. To these must be added the metrical ro- mances composed by Chrestien deTroyes, between the years 1170 and 1195, as also the later prose compilations of Rusticien de Pise and his followers, in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Having thus, I trust, successfully pointed out a clue to the labyrinth in which all our writers on early poetry have lost them- selves, I shall proceed to consider the history, character, and ex- ploits assigned to our Hero §j>J)C (SatOajNlP in this phalanx of romance authorities ; the utility of which in illustrating the Ar- thurian cycle of fiction will be admitted, perhaps, as a sufficient excuse for the space it may occupy.
Our attention is naturally directed in the first place to the re- mains of the Welsh bards, but from those at present extant we learn but little. In the Triads we find Gwalchmai, the son of Gwyar, (who is identified with the Walwainus or Galwanus of Geoffrey and the Gauvain of the Anglo-Norman romancers,) re- corded as one of the three golden-tongued or eloquent chiefs, whose persuasion none could resist ; and in another passage, he is named as one of the three chiefs most courteous to strangers and guests*. There is extant also a dialogue between Gwalchmai and Trystanf, and some of his adventures are preserved in the Red Book of Hergest, in Jesus College, Oxford, but I should ap- prehend that all of these have been borrowed from the Anglo-Nor- man romance-writers}. Certain it is, that the stories in the Ma-
* Thus also in the Roman de Meliadus, when Arthur and his knights are out riding, a stranger comes up, and inquires for the king. — " Et messire Gauvain, qui estoit nouvel chevalier a celluy temps, qui estoit si debonaire et si eourtois a toutes ehoses, que de sa courtoisie alloient parlant les estranges et les privez, respondit, ' Ouy, sire, veez le la;' et luy monstra le roy Artus." f. rvb, fol. ed. 1528.
t Printed at length in Lady C. Guest's edition of the Mabinogion, pt. i. p. 118, 8vo, 1839.
* Leland says in his Assertio Arthuri, " Melchinus, vates Britannicus, Gallovini celebrat nomen." Collectan., v. 24 ; and Bale adds, that this Melchin wrote De Arthuri mensa rotunda.
b2
Xli INTRODUCTION.
binogion referred to by Owen and others as proofs of the antiquity of the British traditions respecting Gawayne, are only translations of the Chevalier an Lion and the Perceval le Gallois. Turning there- fore to Geoffrey of Monmouth, whose history was finished about the year 1138*, and, consequently, at least twenty years earlier than the presumed date of any Anglo-Norman romance on the Round Table, we collect the following particulars.
Walwainus was the eldest son of Loth, sovereign of the province of Lothian and the adjacent territories, including the Orkneys, by Annaf, half-sister of Arthur. At the age of twelve years he was sent by his uncle to Rome, and delivered to the charge of Pope Sulpicius, from whom he received knighthoodj. The next mention of him occurs as one of the chiefs who accompanied Arthur to France, to encounter the Romans. He is sent§ with two others to treat with the emperor Lucius Tiberius, and pur- posely, to provoke a war, he cuts off the head of the emperor's nephew. In the decisive battle which shortly afterwards took place near Langres, he held with Hoel the joint command of the fourth division of Arthur's forces, and his prowess contributed
See what is said of his work on Glastonbury by the former, De Scriptt. Britannicis, vol. i. p. 41 ; and compare Collectanea, iv. 153, with the work of John of Glastonbury, published by Hearne, 8vo, 1726, vol. i. pp. 30, 55.
* See Dr. Lloyd's letter to Price, in Owen's British Remains, 8vo, 1777- The author of " Britannia after the Romans," never could have read this, although he refers to it, and he is much mistaken, p. 21, in asserting that Sigebert of Gemblou, who died in 1112, was ac- quainted with Geoffrey's History, and thus confounding Sigebert with his interpolator. For Sigebert's genuine text see the edition of Miraeus, 4to, Antv. 1608.
+ Ellis says, that according to the chronicles of Brittany, Anna was married to Budic, king of Armorica, and her sister united to Loth. Metr. Rom. i. 59,ed. 1811. In the English metrical Arthour and Merlin Gawayne's mother is named Belisent, p. 97, 4to, 1838, and in Malory's Morte d' Arthur, she is called Margawse, i. 4. 4to, 18 17.
X This passage is singularly misunderstood by Fordun, lib. 3, c. 25.
§ Wace, Lajamon, and Robert of Brunne add, that the cause of his being selected was that from his education at Rome he understood both the Latin and the British tongues.
INTRODUCTION. xiii
mainly to the victory. He fights with the emperor single-handed, but they are separated by the surrounding combatants, and in the melee the latter is slain. After this succeeds the history of Mordred's treason, the return of Arthur, and the destruction of his Round Table.
The translators and imitators of Geoffrey have altered and amplified the above outline, but the general features remain the same. Wace has mistaken one passage in Geoffrey, and says that Gawayne arrived from Rome to assist Arthur in his expedi- tion to Norway*; and this interpretation is followed by Lajamon and Robert of Brunne. The passage in the latter is hitherto in- edited, and may therefore be quoted here.
Loth sone, Syr Wawan, Had bene at Rome to lere Romayn, W* Suppliee the pape to wonne, Honour to lere, langage to konne. Ther was he dubbid knyght, And holden hardy, strong and wight. Syr Suppliee had don his ende, To Bretayn home Wawan gan wende. Noble he was and curteis, Honour of him men rede and sets ; He lufed mesure and fair beryng, Pride ne boste lufed he no thing ; Fals and fikele lesyng he hated, Auauntour alle suilk he bated ; More he gaf than he hette, More he did than terme of-sette.
MS. Liner Temple, No. 511, l.f. 63, c. 2.
Throughout the Brut, Gawayne is uniformly eulogised in simi- lar terms, and placed first on the list of the Round Table, — a su-
* Roman du Brut, ii. "9, 8vo, Rouen, 1839. Ellis also commits the same error, and in- creases it by saying, that Gawayne was invested with arms by Arthur. Metr. Rom. i. 65.
XIV INTRODUCTION.
periority indeed which in that work there were no Lancelots or Tristans to dispute. His adventures are, however, confined to the circle already described, and contain so small a share of the mar- vellous, that they might easily have been accepted as grave matter of history.
It is to the authors, therefore, of the prose legends of the Round Table we must look for the invention or preservation of those nu- merous romantic narratives which record the exploits of Gawayne and his fellows on a more ample canvass, and clothe them with a character purely imaginative.
In the earliest of these, the Roman du Saint Graal, sometimes called the Roman de Joseph d' Arimathie, the knights of the Round Table are not commemorated, since it relates more particularly to the history of the Holy Vessel, and to the fabulous descendants of Joseph, in whose hands the miraculous relique remained, until its arrival in Britain.
The second on the list is Merlin, which perhaps is the most cu- rious of the series, and best intitled to be considered a compila- tion founded on Armorican or Welsh traditions. In this we re- cognise the Gawayne of Geoffrey, but with such additions to his history, and such a marvellous character given to his exploits, as to render him the chief personage in the romance. The writer exhausts all his powers of language in praise of the valor, courtesy, and knightly bearing of the prince of Orkney: — " Car le compte dit, que ce fut le plus saige chevalier en toutes choses qui fust au siecle, et le mieulx aprins, et le plus courtois, et le moins mesdisant d' aultruy*." At the period of his birth Merlin pronounces his eulogium to Arthur, as destined to be one of the best and most loyal knights in the world. At an early age he comes with his three brothers to assist the British monarch in his war against the
* Vol. ii. f. 51h, ed. 1498, 4to.
INTRODUCTION. XV
Saxons, who were then ravaging the kingdom, and after a series of sanguinary battles succeeds in expelling them. On account of his prowess he is made a knight of the Round Table, and ap- pointed by Arthur constable* of his household, and the next of rank to himself. After this he is employed in an expedition against king Claudas of Gaul and his Roman allies, whom he defeats with immense slaughter. At a later period of the history he is em- ployed against the Roman emperor, and the narrative here is nearly similar to that of Geoffrey. In one MS. I have consulted, it is stated that Gawayne slew the emperor with his own handf, and it is singular, that Peter de Langtoft should preserve this tra- dition, as expressed by his translator, Robert of Brunne,
I kan not say who did him falle,
Bot Syr Wawayn said thei alle — f. 80bJ.
The most surprising adventure of our hero in this romance is related at the close, in which he goes in search of his friend Merlin to the forest of Broceliande, which is cited at length by Southey, in his Notes to the Preface of Morte d' Arthur, p. xlvi. It is in this work we also find the first mention of the supernatural strength of Gawayne, which augmented and diminished at differ- ent hours of the day. In the English metrical translation it is thus described :
For of his strengthe the maner Sumdel ye may lern and here. Bituen auen-song and night He no hadde bot o mannes might,
* MS. Add. 10, 292, f. 151b. The printed edd. for conneslablie read moictie.
t Ibid. f. 209. The printed ed. vol. ii. f. 154, follows the account of Geoffrey, but in a previous passage, vol. ii. f. 24, names the emperor Julius Ctesar, and says he was slain by Gawayne. This, however, is not in the MS., and seems to be an interpolation.
J See the original French text, MS. Cott. Jul. D. V. f. 39.
xvi INTRODUCTION.
And that strengthe him last
Fort arnemorwe, bi the last ;
And frani arnemorowe to the midday
He had strengthe of knightes tuay ;
Fram midday fort after-none
He nadde strengthe bot of one ;
Fram afternone to euensong
So to knightes he was strong*.
In the Lancelot du Lac, the next of the series, we are intro- duced to another race of heroes and a different set of adventures, connected only with the Merlin by the history of the war under- taken against King Claudas, and an incidental notice of the Saxons, as enemies of Arthur. Of course Lancelot is here the principal personage, and his intrigue with Queen Guenever the main-spring of the story, yet we find Sir Gawayne only inferior to Lancelot himself, and on some occasions the writer seems to have balanced between the two. Throughout the greater part of the romance they are represented as being the most intimate friends, and it is only after the blind fury of Lancelot has sacri- ficed three of Gawayne's brothers, that the latter entertains senti- ments of hostility against their destroyer. He vows vengeance, and the result is the war undertaken by Arthur against the
* Romance of Arthour and Merlin, 4to, 1838, p. 178, printed for the Maitland Club. I am sorry to perceive the text of this edition abound with so many errors. It is in general closely translated from the French romance, and concludes imperfectly at fol. cc. of vol. i. of the edition of 1498. In the original the above passage appears thus, " Quant il se levoit au matin, il avoit la force al millor chevalier del monde ; et quant vint a eure de prime, si li dou- bloit, et a eure de tierce ausi ; et quant ce vint a eure de midi, si revenoit a sa premiere force, ou il avoit este au matin ; et quant vint a eure de nonne, et a toutes les eures de la nuit, estoit il toudis en sa premiere force." MS. Add. 10,292, f. 113b. Compare this passage in the printed edition, vol. i. f. cxiv. and corresponding passages in the Roman de Lancelot, vol. i. f. xciiib., vol. ii. f. lxix., vol. iii. f. clxxxvii., ed. 1513., (where there is a fable introduced to account for the miraculous gift) ; Roman de Perceval, ff. liiib., lxb. ed. 1530 ; Malory's Morte a" Arthur, vol. i. p. 114, and the English metrical version, MS. Harl., 2252, f. 120''.
INTRODUCTION. xvii
knight of the Joyeuse Garde*, which ends in the discomfiture of Gawayne, and ultimately in his death. The quest of the Saint Graal by Arthur's knights forms a novel incident in the narra- tive, and connects the story with Robert du Borron's first work. Among those whose exploits are recorded in this quest, Sir Ga- wayne's name is one of the most prominent, and although, like Lancelot, he is not destined to achieve the adventure, yet he succeeds in reaching the magic castle of the guardian of the Holy Vessel, and witnesses the marvels which ensue on his rest- ing upon the lit adventureuxf. His deeds of valor against King Gallehault's forces and elsewhere are so extraordinary, that Ar- thur orders them first to be recorded by his four veracious chro- niclers, among whom Arrodian of Cologne is mentioned {. The estimation also in which he was held at the court is shewn by his being elected unanimously king in the place of Arthur, on the disappearance and supposed death of that monarch. Of the episodes relating to him, those of his adventure with his amie, the daughter of the king of North Wales, and the history of his captivity in the prison of the giant Karados, are perhaps the most interesting. In the former we are told that the lady's chamber was guarded by twenty armed knights. These however at night fall asleep very opportunely, and Gawayne is enabled without resistance to reach his mistress's apartment. He takes
• On the subject of this castle (placed by English poetical antiquaries at Berwick) see a curious paper in the Memoires de la Societe des Antiquaires de France, vol. x. p. 237, 8vo, 1834, intitled, "Mi-moire sur le Chateau de la Joyeuse Garde, sur la riviere d' Elorn, pres Landerneau, Department du Finisthre. Par le Chevalier de Freminville."
f In the Roman de Perceval, f. xxxixb, the incident of the enchanted bed is repeated, but under different circumstances. It forms the subject of an ivory carving engraved in the Man. de I'Acad. des Inscriptions, vol. xviii. p. 322, 4to, 1753, and in Ferrario, Analisi degli Romanzi di Cavalleria, vol. ii. p. 101, which is unintelligible to the writers.
I Vol. i. f. cxliiib. One might forgive the writer in the Bibliothique des Romans for be- lieving in the historical reality of these personages (See Dunlop's Hist, of Fiction, i. 295) ; but it is matter of sincere regret to find so gross a blunder sanctioned by the name of Daunou, in the Hist. Litt. de la France, tome xvi. p. 177.
C
xviii INTRODUCTION.
off his helmet and ventaille, and approaching the bed where the beauty lay asleep, begins to kiss her. She awakes, and exclaims, " Saincte Marie ! qui est ce?" He replies, " Taisez vous, belle doulce amye, c'est la chose au monde que vous aimez mieulx." The lovers speedily contrive to make themselves happy, but the old king and queen are on the watch, and by means of a window that faces the chamber, perceive Gawayne lying in their daugh- ter's arms. They determine to kill him, and call two chamber- lains, who arm themselves with a sword and mace, and come to the bed. The first makes a stab at the knight under the coun- terpane, but the cold steel only grazing his arm, he is aroused to a sense of his danger. The other intending to demolish him at once, strikes a blow with the mace so violently, that although it misses its object, it penetrates half a foot into the wall, and shivers in pieces ! Gawayne now loses no time, but jumping out of bed, rewards the two assailants by knocking out their brains, and then throwing their bodies out of the room, quietly locks the door, which he seems to have before forgotten to do. He then puts on his armour, and, encouraged by his mie, awaits the at- tack of the twenty guards, who come to the door and kick at it, whilst the old queen stands aloof, and cries out to them, " As- saillez, filz de putains, que f aides vous, que ne occiez le traystre qui leans est ! " Gawayne, however, escapes, leaving behind him many dead bodies as testimonies of his prowess ! In the course of this romance the author presents us with a portrait of Gawayne, which I quote from an early MS. in the Royal Library, 19 B. vn. f. 246, as being fuller than the edition. " Messire G. avoit la chere simple fy debonaire, et la regardure pitouse. E il fust voirs, que messire G. estoit li plus beus de tous ses freres en graundure de cors. — II est voirs, que mesire G. fuist li emplius* de tous ses freres, 8f fuist beu chevalier de son grant, 8f Men tattle's de totes
* The corresponding passage in MS. Add. 10, 293, f. 250, col. i. reads li mieldres.
INTRODUCTION. xix
membres ; ne se fu trop grant ne trop petis, mes de bele stature ; si fu liplus chevaleros de son age que nus de se[s] freres ; Sf nepur quant li estoire dit, que Galleries se[s] frere souffrit Men pres ausi grant fes des armes come il fist, mes il ne s'en mist oncques si grant cure com messire G. fist tous jours, 8f puree ne fuist pas si renomez. Et noepurquant la chose qu'il plus mist monseignor G. en remenbrauncs, sifu qu'il ama povre gent, Sf lor fu dolz fy pitous*."
We next come to the Quite du Saint Graal, often confounded with the History of the Graal. It is intended as a continuation of the Lancelot, and was certainly composed subsequently to that romance, as the internal evidence demonstrates. The persons here celebrated are Perceval, Gawayne, Lancelot, and his son Galaad, by the last of whom the adventure is finally brought to an end. The exploits of Gawayne in pursuing the grand object of their search are marked, as in the two preceding romances, by a singular love of peril, determined valor, generosity, and cour- tesy. He is on all occasions the most amiable personage of the Round Table. His adherence to the laws of knighthood is tried severely more than once, and particularly at a tournament against Nabigan de la Roche, where in consequence of a vow taken to grant the first request made of him, he is enjoined to act the part of a coward, and sustains unmoved the jeers of the assem- bly. The following day, however, makes amends for this act of self-abasement, for he then nobly sustains his own character, and carries off the prize of the golden circletf. The most chi-
* In a MS. compilation of the 15th century, I have read a similar description, with the addition : " II n'eust les chevaulx blancs ne rous, mats entredeux ; le visaige eust aucques brim ; les yeux eust vers et moult actrayens ; barbe eust a plant e ; les espaules belles et larges, et let bras et les poings gros et carrez, etfors a desmesure. Courtois et gratieux estoit plus que che- valier du monde." I have mislaid the reference, but believe it to have been a MS. in- Broadley's sale, 1832, intitled, *' Les noms, armes et blasons des Chevaliers de la Table Ronde, mi sont escripz les grans f ah de tous les Chevaliers."
t Vol. ii. f. 183, ed. 1516.
c2
xx INTRODUCTION.
valrous of his undertakings is the acquisition of the famous sword with which St. John was beheaded, in the course of which he slays a monstrous giant on the top of a hill ; much after the fashion in which Arthur killed the giant Dinabuc on the Mont St. Michel. We have also a narrative, as in the Lancelot, but differing much in the circumstances, of Gawayne's arrival in the palace of King Pescheur, and the marvels of the Graal.
Map's series of romances is closed by the Mort Artus, which is generally confounded with the Lancelot. The queen's amour with the latter here leads to the disunion and destruction of the Round Table. The war undertaken by Arthur against the vio- lator of his honor, proves his ruin. A furious battle takes place, in which Gawayne singly kills thirty knights, but his valor avails not, for in a second encounter Arthur's forces are wTorsted. The Pope interferes, and Lancelot gives up the queen, and retires to his paternal dominions. Arthur follows him, at the instigation of Gawayne, and a combat takes place between Gawayne and Lancelot. The victory is long doubtful, but at length is given to the more youthful opponent, and Gawayne is left on the field, severely wounded in the head. After this follows the conflict between the forces of Arthur and the Roman emperor, and the return of Arthur to Britain on account of Mordred's treason, all of which is founded on the narrative of Geoffrey, but told with the usual license of the romance-writers. The part which relates to Gawayne's death has some pathos and interest, and will bear an abridgment.
Arthur and his fleet arrive at Dover, where he is joyfully re- ceived at the castle. At vesper-time he is sent for by his nephew, and on coming to him, finds Gawayne so weak, as scarcely to be able to speak. On hearing the king's sorrow he opened his eyes, and said, " Sire, I am dying, and I pray you in God's name to refrain from a battle with Mordred, for I tell you truly he is
INTRODUCTION. xxi
the man who will cause your death." He then desires to be remembered to Lancelot, whose pardon he asks, and requests him to visit his tomb. — " And I pray you, Sire, that you cause me to be interred at Kamalot, with my brothers ; and I wish to be laid in the tomb wherein my brother Gaheriet lies, for him I loved most, and this inscription to be placed above, Cy gisent
LES DEUX FRERES GAHERIET ET GaUVAIN, QUE LANCELOT OCCIST
par l'oultraige de Gauvain." Arthur asks if he believes Lancelot to have been the cause of his death, which he answers in the affirmative, on account of the wound he had received in his head, which was renewed in the battle with the Romans. " Et a tant se teust messire G. que plus ne parla, fors au derrenier qu'il dist, Jesu Crist, pere debonnaire, ne me juge pas selon mes mes- faitz!" Arthur swoons several times with grief, and exclaims, " Ha ! Ha ! mort villaine, comment as tu este' si hardye d'assaillir ung tel homme comme estoit mon nepveu, qui de bonte passoit tout le monde ! " On the mournful news arriving at the castle, the lament- ation is so excessive, that you could not have heard God thunder*. They enveloped the corpse in silk, and surrounded it with so many lighted tapers, that the castle seemed on fire. In the morning Ar- thur caused a bierre chevaleresse to be brought, and Gawayne's body placed therein, which he gave in charge to one hundred men to convey .to Kamalot. Every eye is moistened, and the people cry out, " 0 preudhomme courtois, et bon chevalier sur tous aultres, mauldicte soit la morte qui de toy nous a oste' la compaignie !" The corpse is carried to the castle of Belloc, the lady of which, on hearing whose it is, loudly deplores his fate, and avows she had never loved any one but Gawayne. Her husband requites this declaration with a stroke of his sword, which cuts off her
* This phrase is found in Benoit de St. More and other French writers of the twelfth century. It passed thence into the English romance of Alexander. See Weber, Metr. Rom. Introd., p. xxxiv.
xxii INTRODUCTION.
shoulder, and penetrates deeply into the dead body of the knight. The lady expires, and requests to be buried by his side. Her death is revenged by the attendants, who then proceed with the body to Kamalot, and bury it in the tomb of Gaheriet, in the middle of the monastery. The remains of the lady of Belloc are also interred close by, with an inscription stating that she had been killed for her love of Gawayne*.
The substance of this romance, but much abridged, is to be found in Malory's Morte d' Arthur, books 18, 20, and 21, and the latter text was versified in the reign of Henry the Seventh by an anonymous English author, who follows it in some instances verbally f.
The account of Gawayne's death differs considerably in the va- rious versions of the story, nor is the place of his sepulture less a subject of disagreement. In Geoffrey, Arthur lands at the Partus Rutupi, rendered Richborough by Thompson, and Sandwich by Ellis { and others, where a battle takes place, in which Gawayne and his companions are slain. Wace, Lajamon^, and Robert of Brunne copy this narrative, but fix the spot at Romney. The Cotton MS. of Wace, Vitell. A. x., reads Toteneis (Totnes), while the Welsh (Tysilio) translation of Geoffrey and the alliterative poem in the Lincoln MS. place the locality at Southampton. Malory and
* Vol. iii. ff. 191b, 192b, ed. 1513.
t This metrical version is preserved in MS. Harl. 2252, and was printed in 1819 for the Roxburghe Club. Ellis is in error in stating that it was translated immediately from the French text, Metr. Rom. i. 324, (copied by Dunlop, Hist, of Fiction, i. 244.) Had he taken the trouble of comparing them together, he would not have hazarded such an assertion.
{ Ellis probably followed the general stream of the chroniclers who borrow from the En- glish prose Brut, subsequently known under the title of Caxton's Chronicle and Fructus Temporum. In this and in its French prose MS. original, the place of landing is called Sandwich. See also a ballad printed in Percy, vol. iii. p. 40, ed. 1794.
§ But in another passage Lasamon writes, that Gawayne was killed " suth in Cornwale." vol. ii. p. 546.
INTRODUCTION. xxiii
his metrical translator follow the romance of Lancelot, in assigning the locality to Dover*, but they vary in the detail. The latter says of our hero :
Syr Gawayne armyd hyme in that stounde, Alias ! to longe hys hede was bare, He -was seke, and sore vnsond, Hys woundis greuyd hym fulle sare. One hytte hym vpon the olde wounde, Wl a tronchon of an ore ; There is good Gawayne gone to grounde, That speche spake he neuyr more.
MS. Harl. 2252, fol. 123b.
Malory follows the French text more closely, but inserts a letter, supposed to be written by the dying knight to Sir Lancelot, and concludes, — " And so at the houre of none Syr Gawayn yelded up the spyryte ; and thenne the kynge lete entiere hym in a chappel within Douer Castel ; and there yet alle men maye see the senile of hym, and the same wound is sene that Syr Launcelot gaf hym in bataill." vol. ii. p. 435. Caxton, in his Preface, alleges the last mentioned circumstance as a proof of the reality of the fact ; and Leland quotes the authority of the Chronicon Dovarensis monasterii for the existence of Gawayne's bones in the same place, which were shewn to himself on his visit theref. Leland therefore rejects the statement of William of Malmesbury, who says, that in the reign of William the Conqueror, the sepulchre of Gawayne was discovered on the sea-shore of a province of Wales, named Ross, [in Pembrokeshire,] fourteen feet in length, " ubi, a quibusdam ut asseritur, ab hostibus vulneratus, et naufragio
* Ellis must have read the passage carelessly, or he would not have transferred the place of sepulture to the Cathedral of Canterbury. See Metr. Rom. i. 392.
t Collectanea, vol. iii. p. 50 ; also in his Codrus, ib. vol. v. p. 7 ; and in Assertio Arthuri, ifr.vol.v. p. 25.
xxiv INTRODUCTION.
ejectus, a quibusdam dicitur a civibus in publico epulo interfectus* ." Leland acknowledges, however, that the remains of a castle called by Gawayne's name were still extant in his time near the shore, and at the present day, on the southernmost point of Pembroke- shire, called St. Gowen's head, stands a small chapel formed out of the rock, named after the same personage, which the tradi- tionary voice of the neighbourhood assigns as the burial place of Arthur's nephewf. Wace was ignorant of these statements, for he expressly writes,
Grans fu li dols de son neveu, Le corsjist metre ne sai u, Ainc hom ne sot u il fu mis, Ne qui l'ocist, ce m'est avis.
Vol. ii. p. 225, ed. 1839 J.
La3amon says nothing of the sepulture, but tells us that Gawayne previous to his death made great slaughter, and killed the son of Childric with his own hand, but at length was slain " thurh an eorle Sexisce, — s&riiwurihe hissaule .'" Peter Langtoft and his translator add to the confusion, by stating that the body of Gawayne was interred at Wybre or Wibire, " en la Walescherye," — " that is, in Wales §," — by which I presume is intended Webbery,
* Scriptores post Bedam, lib. ii. p. 64, edit. 1596. Malmesbury adds, that Gawayne reigned in that part of Britain called Waluuithia (Galloway), but was expelled from his kingdom by the brother and nephew of Hengist. We here may, perhaps, trace the historical incident which gave rise to the account in the romance of Merlin and elsewhere of Gawayne's battles with the Saxons. The above passage in Malmesbury is copied by many succeeding chroniclers, down to the time of Stowe and Baker.
+ See a description in Fenton's Pembrokeshire, p. 414, 4to, 1811 : but he knows nothing of the legend, and talks of some Irish hermit being buried there.
♦ From MS. de la Bibl. du Roi, No. 7515*-3. The Royal MS. 13, A. xxi. Brit. Mus. and Cott. Vit. A. x. read the same, except that the latter has en sarcu, instead of ne sai u.
§ MS. Cott. Jul. A. v. f. 40., MS. Reg. 20, D. ii. f. 31 ; Robert of Brunne's MS, Chron. f. 81b, c. 2.
INTRODUCTION. xxv
not far from Bideford, in Devonshire. Lastly, in the prose French and English Brut, whether manuscript or printed, and in the romance of Arthur in the Red Book of Bath, Arthur is said to cause the hodies of Gawayne and Augusel to be taken to Scot- land, their native country.
The alliterative Scotish romance of Morte Arthure, in the li- brary of Lincoln Cathedral, marked A. 1. 17, is very much ampli- fied in its account of the destruction of the Round Table, and does not agree with any other authority I have consulted*. The British forces enter the harbour of Southampton, and Gawayne jumps into the water, " in alle his gylte wedys," attacks the Da- nish auxiliaries, and kills their leader, the king of Gothland. He then with a small band of followers advances against Mordred, and fights with his usual impetuosity.
In to J)e hale bataile hedlynges he rynnys,
And hurtes of ])e hardieste fat one the erthe lenges,
Letande alles a lyone, he lawnches theme thorowe,
Lordes and ledars that one the launde houes. —
And for wondsome and wille alle his wit failede,
That wode alles a wylde beste he wente at J>e gayneste,
Alle walewede one blode, thare he a-waye passede. — fol. 93.
At length he encounters the traitor chief, and wounds him severely, but in the act of finishing the contest with a " shorte knvfe," the weapon slips on the mail, and his adversary instantly takes advantage of the accident, and strikes him through the helm to the brain.
And thus Syr Gawayne es gone, the gude man of armes, Withe owttyne reschewe of renke, and rewghe es ]>e more I Thus Syr Gawayne es gone, that gyede many othire ; Fro Gowere to Gernesay, alle )>e gret lordys,
* It is a singular circumstance that it often coincides verbally with Malory's prose ver- sion, and the episode of Gawayne and Priamus is found in both, and no where else.
d
xxvi INTRODUCTION.
Of Glamour, of Galys londe, ]>is galyarde knyghtes,
For glent of gloppynguyng glade be they neuer ! — fol. 93b.
King " Froderike of Fres" conies up, and inquires of Mordred who the knight was that had felled so many of his men, and now lay deprived of life ? The reply is worthy of transcription, as a summary of the knightly qualities for which our Hero was di- stinguished.
Than Syr Modrede w' mouthe melis fulle faire : —
" He was makles one molde, mane, be my trowhe !
This was Syr Gawayne the gude, the gladdeste of othire,
And the graeiouseste gome that vndire God lyffede ;
Mane hardyeste of hande, happyeste in armes,
And the hendeste in hawle vndire heuene-riche ;
The lordelieste of ledynge, qwhylles he lyffe myghte,
Fore he was lyone allossede in londes inewe.
Had thou knawene hym, syr kynge, in kythe thare he lengede,
His konynge, his knyghthode, his kyndly werkes,
His doyng, his doughtynesse, his dedis of armes,
Thow wolde hafe dole for his dede the dayes of thy lyfe ! " — fol. 93''.
Mordred having thus borne testimony to the worth of his fallen foe and brother, sheds tears, and moves away, cursing the time his fate was shaped to work such unhappiness. Arthur after- wards causes the body of Gawayne to be honorably conveyed to Winchester, where it is received by a procession of the prior and monks, and they are charged by the king to observe every funereal solemnity, —
Lokis it be clanly kepyd, he said, and in the kirke holdene.
Done for dergese, as to the ded fallys ;
Menskede wl messes, for mede of the saule.
Loke it wante no waxe, ne no wirchipe elles,
And at the body be baarmede, and one erthe holdene. — fol. 95.
1 have now traced the history of Sir Gawayne from his birth to his burial-place, and might gladly have wished to let him rest
INTRODUCTION. xxvn
in peace, but this is forbidden. Subsequently to the completion of the romances by Robert de Borron and Map appeared a new work, the object of which was to introduce a knight of the Round Table, unknown and unnoticed by the preceding writers on the subject*. This was the famous Tristan, whose amour with the fan- Iseult and feats of arms, told as they were in the inimitable style of the boa vieux Francois, found subsequently such favor with the world, as completely to eclipse the earlier romance com- positions. The first portion of this work was written by Luces de Gastf, in the time of Henry the Second, and the con- cluding part by Helie de Borron, in the reign of Henry the Third. Both are animated by the same spirit, — that of vilifying the lineage of king Loth, and more particularly the fame and deeds of Gawayne. Among other fictions unknown to previous writers, they feign a hostility between the sons of king Pellinor and the children of Loth, and take every opportunity of praising the latter at the expense of the former |. Pellinor is said to have put king Loth to death, and is killed in return by Gawayne. Lamorat de Galles, the eldest son of Pellinor, and brother of
* The fact of the more recent composition of the Tristan is, I think, indisputable. It is perfectly incredible, had he been previously celebrated, that no mention should be made of him by Robert de Borron and Map. These were also the sentiments of my learned friend M. Paulin Paris, in the first volume of his interesting work, Les Manuscrits Francois de la Bibliotheque du Roi, pp. 194-198, but in his second volume, p. 352, he retracts this opinion, and says he founded his arguments on the second portion of Tristan, composed at a later epoch. But the same conclusions may equally be drawn from the first part, in which the direct allusions to the Roman de Lancelot are frequent. To give a single instance. In the Lancelot, vol. i. f. clxxvi., is an account of Gawayne being carried off by a giant named Ka- rados ; and in the Tristan the same event is noticed as having previously occurred, vol. i. f. xlv. (MS. Harl. 49, fol. 105b.)
t The Abbe de la Rue conjectures that he possessed the seignory of the territory of Gast, in the canton of St. Severe, department of Calvados. Essais sur les Bardes, ii. 23 1 . This re- quires confirmation, but merits inquiry.
I See the indignant remarks of Southey on the Tristan, in his Preface to Morte d' Arthur, p. xvi.
d2
xxviii INTRODUCTION.
Perceval, intrigues with the Lady of Orkney, the mother of our hero, and is slain by her sons, for which act of retributive justice Gawayne is severely censured. Indeed whenever Gawayne is mentioned, it is only to represent him under circumstances of defeat and disgrace, or to calumniate him. The manuscripts of this work are fuller, by one half, than the printed editions, and contain an additional quantity of misrepresentation*. To the same author who completed the Tristan we are indebted for a huge compilation intitled Gyron le Courtois, in which the exploits of Gyron, Meliadus, Branor le Brun, the Chevalier sans Peur, and a fresh race of worthies are commemorated, to whom even the Lancelots and Tristans are represented as inferior. Of course Sir Gawayne occupies here a very inferior grade, and is so changed from the all-conquering hero of the Merlin, as scarcely to be recognised. From this compilation, as well as from the prior works of Robert de Borron and Map, was formed the abridgment made by Rusticien de Pise in the reign of Edward the First ; and in the course of the succeeding two centuries other compilers arose, who selected what portions they pleased, and formed them into distinct bodies of romance. These more recent compilations must be regarded as the immediate originals of the romances printed under the titles of Gyron le Courtois and Meliadus de Le'onnois. The former of these first issued from the press of Verard, and represents with tolerable accuracy a portion of Rus- ticien's work. In this Sir Gawayne is only mentioned on two occasions, and in both passages as a vanquished knight. In the Meliadus f he is oftener introduced, but without a much greater
* MSS. of the prose Tristan are rare in the libraries of Great Britain. In the British Mu- seum are only three copies of portions of the first part, and two copies of the second part. The complete text, I believe, is in the collection of Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart.
f The author of this romance frequently refers to the Tristan, the Lancelot, the Perceval, and the Gyron. M. Paris is inclined to refer its compilation to the commencement of the
INTRODUCTION. xxix
degree of praise. His character for courtesy is indeed acknow- ledged, and an awkward fiction is alleged to account for his in- ferior powers, by stating that in the tournament of Galles, main- tained between Arthur and the Seigneur des Loingtains Isles, (Gallehault,) he received such hurts as to deprive him of his pre- vious force, so that afterwards he never recovered it. — " Et du grant dueil quil en eut, il fist depuis moult de felonies, que la Table Ronde achepta moult durement." From the work of Rusticien de Pise it is probable that Sir Thomas Malory compiled the English prose Morte d' Arthur in the year 1469, in which, as Scott and Southey have remarked, the character of Gawayne is traduced, and his history misrepresented. There are a few adventures of Gawayne in this work which I have not found elsewhere, but they were doubtless furnished by the French manuscript ori- ginals, which I have had no opportunity of consulting*.
The metrical romances composed by Chrestien de Troyes re- quire next to be noticed. They all appear to have been borrowed from the prose romances, but contain also incidents derived from other sources. The longest and best known of these is the Per- ceval le Gallois, so large a portion of which relates to the exploits of sir Gawayne, that, as a French writer has already observed, it
sixteenth century, shortly before it was printed, but in Sir Thomas Phillipps's possession is a MS. of the fourteenth century, agreeing generally with the printed text, and containing the preface of Helie de Borron to his Gyron le Courtois, which in the printed edition of Me- liadus is erroneously attributed to Rusticien, From this cause have sprung innumerable mis- statements on the subject of these works, and the age of the composers.
* There are no copies in the British Museum or Bodleian Library of the compilations of Helie de Borron and Rusticien. In Sir Thomas Phillipps's Library is a recension of Helie's work by Jehan le Vaillant, made in the year 1391, which was formerly in the La Valliere collection. I find also that a prose work intitled Roman du Roi Artus was printed at Paris in 1488, but is so scarce, that I do not know if a copy is to be found in England. It is evi- dently a late compilation, chiefly taken from the Merlin, but with variations. It is here stated, that at Loth's death Mordred disputes the right of Gawayne to his father's throne, and on Arthur taking the part of the latter, the catastrophe is brought on which ends in the monarch's destruction. This is quite a new version of the story.
XXX INTRODUCTION.
might with equal propriety have been named after both these heroes. I have already spoken of this romance in my Notes, (p. 305,) and its popularity in Scotland and England must have been great, since no less than three of the poems printed in the present volume are founded on episodes in it. Here, as in the second part of the Saint Graal, the adventures of Gawayne in search of the Mysterious Vessel and the palace of king Pescheur, occupy a prominent place. His character for valor and courtesy re-appears in its original lustre, and is praised with the same warmth as in the romance of Merlin. — " Sire," says an esquire to Arthur, after relating the feats of Gawayne at the enchanted castle of queen Yguerne, " en ma puissance Gauvain assez suffisau- ment louer n'est pas possible ; le propoz assez aorne ne la langue diserte ne ay-je elegante ne propice a ce faire, pource que, comme je croy, de toute chevalJerie est la perle ; c'est celluy qui de tout vice est nect, innocent, et immaculle ; c'est celluy qui ne pourroit endurer felonnie ne mechancete' ; c'est le consolateur des desollez, le pere des orphelins, Vabresse et la reconfort des femmes vefues." fol. xlvii. We are also in this romance introduced to Giglan, the son of Gawayne by the sister of Brandelis, of whom mention only pre- viously occurs in the first part of the prose Tristan.
The remaining romances by Chrestien, are the Tristan, appa- rently now lost ; the Chevalier au Lion, which is known as the original of the English Ywaine and Gawin ; the Roman d' Erec et Enide, in which Gawayne is assigned the first station among the knights of the Round Table* ; the Roman de Fregus, a narrative in many respects resembling that of Perceval, and the hero of which
* Devant toz les boas chevaliers Doit estre Gauvains li premiers, Li seconz Erec, li filz Lac, Et li tierz Lanceloz dou Lac.
MS. de la Bibl. du Rot, No. 74984,/. 13.
INTRODUCTION. xxxi
is a native of Scotland ; the Roman de la Charrette, which is an episode taken from Lancelot ; and the Roman de Cliges. The last four still remain in manuscript, in the Bibliotheque du Roi at Paris, hut analyses of them are given in the Bibliotheque des Ro- mans and the Histoire Litteraire de la France. In all of them we find Gawayne very honorably noticed.
Besides the longer romances several shorter poems of the same chivalrous character exist, in which Syr Gawayne's adventures are commemorated. One of these is the Chevalier a V Epe'e*, the author of which blames Chrestien de Troyes for omitting to cele- brate Gawayne in a distinct poem, and says he will narrate one out of his numerous exploits. The subject connects it with the English tale of Syr Gawene and the Carle of Carlyle, as I have pointed out in the Notes, (p. 345.) Here too we meet with the amusing incident of the greyhounds f , which seems to have been borrowed from the metrical Perceval. Another is the fabliau of La Mule sans Frein\; in which Gawayne undertakes for a lady the adventure of the bridle, and after many hazardous conflicts, succeeds in gaining it. A prosaical episode also is preserved, in- titled the Conte de V Atre Perilleux, containing an interesting ac- count of Gawayne's encounter with a formidable magician or semi-daemon, whom he destz'oys amidst flashes of lightning, and afterwards rescues a damsel from the power of a redoubtable knight named Ersanors de la Montagne§.
In all probability other narratives remain in manuscript relating to the same personage, and some may have been lost. In the
* Printed in Meon's Recueil de Fabliaux, vol. i. p. 127, and analysed by Le Grand.
t See Dunlop's Hist, of Fiction, i. 272.
t Printed, ib. vol. i. p. 1. See Notes, p. 30G.
§ Analysed in the Bibl. des Romans, Juillet, 1777, p- 70. It is mentioned in the Inven- taire des livres de I'ancienne Bibliothique rlu Louvre, fait en Vannie 1373, p. 75, 8vo, 1836; edited by M. Van Praet.
xxxii INTRODUCTION.
Reductorium Morale of Pierre Bercheur, Prior of St. Eloi, at Paris, better known by his Latin name of Berchorius, who is supposed by Warton to have been the author of the Gesta Romunorum* , at the end of his Prologue to book 14, De Naturce Mirabilibus, speak- ing of the wonderful relations extant of Britain, he writes, " What shall I say of the marvels which occur in the histories of Gawayne (Galvayni), and Arthur? Of which I will mention only one, namely, of the palace under the water, which Gawayne accident- ally discovered, where he found a table spread with eatables, and a chair placed ready for him, but was not able to find the door by which he might go out ; but being hungry, and about to eat, sud- denly the head of a dead man appeared in the dish, and a giant, who lay on a bier near the fire, rising up, and striking the roof with his head, and the head calling out and forbidding the repast, he never dared touch the viands, and after witnessing many wonders, got away he knew not howf!" Berchorius here evi- dently refers to the prodigies seen by Gawayne at the palace of the Graal, but the manuscripts used by him must have differed greatly from those now extant, or he must have quoted from memory, and much misrepresented the story j. The former con- jecture seems the most probable. So also in a copy of the Mer- lin, No. 6958 of the Bibliotheque du Roi, we meet with an episode not in the usual text of this romance. Gawayne rescues a lady by force of arms from Oriol, King of the Saxons, and to his great
* See my Preface to the Old English Versions of the Gesta Romanorum, printed for the Roxburghe Club, 4to, 1838. Bercheur died in 1362.
f Edit. fol. Col. Agr. 1631, torn. ii. p. 901. He adds, "Melius ergo arbitror de istis tacere, quam de ipsis aliqua narrative asserere, ne forte videar fabulas hominum vel etiam opera daemonum pro naturali veritate narrare. Ista ergo ad praesens omittam, nisi forte quando defabulis poetarvm tractabo, inseram aliquid de prsemissis." This work, which was to have formed the fifteenth book, is unfortunately lost, or was never completed.
J Compare the Roman de Perceval, ff. cxxi — cxxiii.
INTRODUCTION. xxxiii
delight recognises her as his mie, the Countess of Limos. — " Si saut jus du cheval, et l' embrace, et baise en la face, et ele lui, que onques dangier nul ne I'en fait ; et li dist, ' Certes, sire, Men me devez baisier et accoler, que onques mais baisier n'eustes, au mien escient, que vous autretant chierement eussiez achete'.' ' Dame,' fait il, ' de tant suis-je plus liez*.' "
Our hero seems to have been famed more for his various in- trigues than his constancy. At the trial of the ivory horn sent by Morgain to Arthur's court, he is the first to raise it to his lips, but no sooner does he touch the wine than it runs over the en- chanted rim, for " Ja nul chevallier n'y bevra qui aura triche' son amye, ou que sa mie I'ait triche', que le vin sur lui ne respandef." In the Jeaste of Gawayne we have one of his affairs of gallantry nar- rated, copied from the Perceval, and in the same romance we have a similar account of his amour with the daughter of the king of Escallon, with whom being surprised, he defends himself with a chess-board. A third affair of the same kind takes place with Taure'e, sister of the Little Knight of the Great Forest, and in the Lancelot and Malory 'sMorted' Arthur we have additional narratives of his influence with the fair sex ; so that we can readily under- stand why he is addressed by the lady in the Scotish romance of the Grene Knytf as a master and pattern not only of courtesy but of the art of love.
One more romantic composition relative to Gawayne remains to be noticed, which is the more remarkable from its being quite distinct from the established fictions of the Round Table. This composition may be assigned to the early part of the fourteenth century, and is written in Latin ; but whether derived from "floating Celtic traditions," or from an Anglo-Norman original, must be left
* P. Paris, Mamiscrits Francois, ii. 344.
f Roman de Perceval, f. cb. Comp. Rom. de Tristan, i. f. liii. In the similar fabliau of the Manteau mal taille it is Genelas, the mie of Gawayne, who fails in the trial.
e
xxxiv INTRODUCTION.
to conjecture. It is intitled De Ortu Waluuanii, nepotis Arturi, and is a strange tissue of romantic fiction, embellished with many rhe- torical flourishes. In it Gawayne is represented as the result of a secret intrigue between king Loth and Anna, the daughter of Uter Pendragon, and to conceal his birth his mother delivers him to some foreign merchants, who carry him to the coast of France, not far from Narbonne. They leave the ship and the infant in the care of a boy, who falls asleep j and in their absence a fisher- man carries the child off, together with a casket, containing testi- monials of his birth, and a vast quantity of treasure. He afterwards proceeds to Rome, where giving himself out to be a descendant of a noble Roman family, he is received most honorably by the emperor, and assigned as a residence the marble palace of Scipio Africanus. The boy grows up, and is beloved by all for his courteous demeanour and surprising boldness. At the age of twelve years his reputed father dies, but on his death-bed reveals the secret of Gawayne's birth to the emperor and the pope Sulpi- cius, but charges them not to reveal it until he should be restored to his parents. The youth is brought up under the emperor's protection, receives knighthood from his hands, and distinguishes himself by his prowess so greatly, that he is sent for by the christians living at Jerusalem to fight in single combat, as a champion in their behalf, against the champion of the king of Persia, who had made war on them. In his way to the east he lands on an island ruled by king Milocrates, an enemy of the Ro- mans, whom he kills, and afterwards encounters the hostile fleet of the king's brother, whose ships are sunk or captured. He at length reaches Jerusalem, and fights on foot with the pagan giant Gormundus, the Persian champion, for the space of three days, but at last cleaves him asunder with his sword from the head downwards, — "non optabile stomacho antidotum," — as thewriter oddly remarks. He afterwards returns triumphantly to Rome, and thence, hearing
INTRODUCTION. XXXV
of the fame of Arthur, to Britain, where he establishes his claim as nephew of the British monarch. Such is the brief outline of this singular story, in which we can clearly trace some few particulars referable to Geoffrey of Monmouth, but worked up in a manner that would bear comparison with the extravagant fictions of a much later era.
The popularity of Gawayne, in spite of the calumny contained in the Tristan and Gyron, must have been great, but was neces- sarily joined with that of other heroes of the Round Table. His adventures are referred to by several Provencal poets previous to the close of the twelfth century, and often subsequently*. In the poems of the Anglo-Norman trouveurs his name very frequently occurs, and always in terms of respect. It would occupy too much space to specify the passages, but I have indicated the prin- cipal in a note below f. The author of a manuscript Latin trans-
• See the Journal des Savans, p. 521, Sept., 1S33 ; and Raynouard's Choix des Poesies des Troubadours, vol. ii. pp. 2S8, 295, 296, 29S. By the author of the romance of Jaufre and Elias Cairel, his feats of arms are placed on the same scale with the wisdom of Merlin or the love-passion of Tristan.
f A poem is quoted by the Abbe de la Rue, and assigned to king Henry the First, intitled Le dictie d'Urbain, in which it is said, —
Plus estre corteis et sein Que ne fut Sire Gauvein,
but I should doubt both the authorship and antiquity claimed for it. See Essais sur les Bardes, vol. ii. p. 38, 8vo, 1834. In the same volume, p. 63, the Abbe1 states that Turold, the author of a romance on the battle of Roncevaux, places Gawayne among the paladins by the name of Gautier. This is a silly blunder, arising out of a passage in a more recent copy of the poem, analysed by M. Monin, in which the words li nies Arlus do not refer to Gautiers, but to Malarsus, and the name of Artus itself is a mischievous variation from the original text, which reads Droun. Compare M. Michel's valuable edition of the Chanson de Holland, 8vo, 1837, p. 79, and Monin's Dissertation, pp. 26, 32. Consult also the Lai de Lanval, by Marie de France, vol. i. p. 220, 8vo, 1820 ; Le Couronnement de Renart, vol. iv. pp. 3, 5, 8vo, 1826 ; Lai de V Ombre, p. 43, of Lais Inedits, par Fr. Michel, 8vo, 1836 ; Lai de ilelion, p. 57, 8vo, 1832 ; the metrical Livre de Oyer de Dannemarche, MS. Reg. 15 E. vi. f. 81b, col. 2 ; the Roman de la Rose, vol. iii. p. 211, 8vo, 1814 ; and the Roman da
e2
xxxvi INTRODUCTION.
lation of the celebrated Calilah u Dimnuh, made in the year 1313, complains in his preface of the avidity with which the romances of Gawayne and others were read*. But we are not hence to infer that there was originally any large distinct romance which passed by his name, but that allusion is made to one of those in which his exploits are prominently recorded. In this manner the ro- mance of Gawayne might mean either the Merlin or the Perceval or the Lancelot, as in similar cases we read of the romances of Gallehault, Agravain, and La Charrette, all of which are only por- tions or branches of the Lancelot. Thus too in the Inventory of
Guillaume d'Orange, quoted by M. Michel in the Glossary to the Chanson duRolland, p. 209. In the last of these passages Gawayne is placed in fairy-land with many other heroes of the cycles of Arthur and Charlemagne. The British sovereign thus addresses Renouart, —
Je sui Artus, dont Ten a tant parle,
Renouart, frere, ce sont la gent fae,
Qui sont du siecle venus et trespasse.
Vez-la Rollant, ce vermcill couloure,
Et c'est Gauvain, a ce poile rol,
Et puis Yvain, un sien compaing prive ;
Et cele bele au vis enlumine,
Icele est Morgue, ou tant a de biaute.
Hence may be explained the lines of Chaucer, —
That Syr Gawayne with his old curtesie.
Although he come agen out of Fairie,
He could him nought amendin in no worde.
Lydgate also, in his Fall of Princes, B. viii. ch. 25, speaks of Arthur's court in Fairie.
* " Vos igitur regalem curiam frequentes, qui tempus vestrum consumitis in narrationibu*, anbagicis, — verbi gracia, Lanceloti, Gahani, consimilibusque, — libros in quibus nulla con- sists sciencia vel modica viget utilitas, crebrius intendentes, abjecta vanitatis palea, librum istum regium virtutum perlegatis," etc. The writer was a physician, named Raymond de Biterris, and he translated the work from the Spanish at the request of Joan, queen of Na- varre. It is altogether different from the version of John of Capua, printed under the title of the Directorium Humance l*itce. A beautiful copy of the work is preserved in the Bill, du Roi at Paris, No. 8504.
INTRODUCTION. xxxvii
the Library in the Louvre, in 1373, we find notices of volumes described, as, " No. 287. De Merlin, et des fais de Lancelot du Lac et de Gauvin, em prose," aud again, " No. 302. Du Saint Graal, de Lancelot, de Gauvain, en grant volume plat, em prose." In the same manner must the passage of Caxton be understood, where he speaks of " the grete and many volumes of Seint Graal, Gha- lehot, and Launcelotte de Lake, Gawayne, Perceval, Lyonel, and Tristram*," which renders Southey's conjecture as to their sepa- rate form of no force.
If we now turn to our English writers, we shall find the fame of Gawayne in full vigor from the thirteenth to the sixteenth cen- tury. The stream of romance which brought down the name of Arthur, invariably joined to it that of his courteous and valiant nephew ; and his reputation in the popular estimation continued to retain its hold, in spite of the misrepresentations of the authors of the Tristan and the Gyron. John Hautville, author of the Archithrenius, written previous to the year 1207, places the follow- ing noble sentiments in our Hero's mouth, —
Et Walganus ego, qui nil reminiscor avara Illoculasse manu; non hajc uiea fulgurat auro Sed gladio rlextraf
In some prefatory lines to the collection of Metrical Legends of the Saints, written shortly before the year 1300|, we read, —
* Proheme to Godefrey of Boloyne, fol. 1481. Compare his Preface to the Book of the Ordre of Chyvalry, fol. no date, but about 1484.
t MS. Cott. Vesp. B. xxiii. f. 30, and MS. Harl. 4066, 2, f. 30. The knight previously says of himself, —
Et genus et gentem tribuit Lodanesia nutrix, Prebuit irriguam morum Coruubia manimam. } Warton, in Hist. Engl. Poetr. says 1200, vol. i. pp. 14, 126, and is incautiously fol- lowed by Ritson, Metr. Rom. p. civ. I am surprised to find the same error repeated in Mr. Guest's valuable work on English Rhythms, vol. ii. p. 220. The same writer persists, p.
xxxviii INTRODUCTION.
Men wilnethe more yhere of batayle of kyngis And of knyjtis hardy, that mochel is lesyngis, Of Roulond and of Olyuere, and Gy of Warwyk, Of Wawayne and Tristram, that ne founde here ylike.
MS. Bodl. 779, ap. Warton, vol. i. p. 126.
Again, in the romance of Richard Coeur de Lion, composed pro- bably within ten years of the same period,
Many romances men make newe,
Of good knyghtes, strong and trewe ;
Off theyr dedes men rede romance,
Bothe in Engeland and in France ;
Off Roweland and of Olyuer,
And of euery doseper ;
Of Alisandre and Charlemain,
Off kyng Arthour and off Gaivayn ;
How they were knyghtes good and curteys,
Off Turpyn, and of Ogier Daneys*.
In a curious poem in the Digby MS. No. 86, intitled " Le Cuntent parentre le Mauvis et la Russinole, written in the reign of Edward the First, is the following stanza :
Nijttingale, thou hauest wrong, Wolt thou me senden of this lond,
For ich holde with the rijtte ; I take witnesse of Sire Wawain, That Ihesu Crist ;af mijt and main,
And strengthe for to fijtte. — fol. 137f.
412, in assigning the year 1278 to Robert of Gloucester's Chronicle, although in my Preface to Havelok I have pointed out a passage in it which proves it not to have been completed till after 1297.
* Weber's Metr. Rom. ii. 4; see also ii. 261. He is greatly mistaken in supposing the romance of Ywaine and Gawin to be here alluded to.
t A fragment of the same poem, written thirty years later, is preserved in the Auchinleck MS., and is thence quoted by Leyden, in Comphynte of Scotland, p. 159.
INTRODUCTION. xxxix
Chaucer's lines in reference to our hero are well known*, and so are the passages in the romance of Ywaine and Gawin}', com- posed nearly at the same period. In a legendary MS. work, in- titled Cursor Mundi, of the same age, we read in the prologue, —
Man yhernes rimes for to here, And romans red on manere sere, — O kyng Arthour, that was so rike, Quam non in hys tim was like ; O ferlys that hys knythcs fell, That aunters sere I here of tell ; As Wawan, Cai, and other stabell, For to were the Ronde Tabell.
MS. Cott. Vesp. A. uufol. \\.
In the fifteenth century there are numerous allusions to Sir Gawayne, and the vernacular translations of the Saint Graal and Merlin^, Mort Artus\\, Perceval*^, Launfal** , the Squyr of Lowe Degreff, and other romances, united with the publication of Ma- lory's diffuse work towards the close of this period, must have powerfully operated in diffusing a knowledge of his romantic career. In a metrical version of Guido de Colonna's War of Troy, which has erroneously been attributed to Lydgate, the writer thus enumerates the popular fictions of the day, —
* Canterbury Tales, 1. 10,409, and Rom. of the Rose, 1. 2209. Tyrwhitt's Glossary, in v. Gawain. t L. 1419, ap. Ritson, Metr. Rom., vol. i.
I This copy of the poem is written in the northern dialect. See the same passage, with numerous variations, quoted from the Laud MSS., No. 416, Bodl. Library, in Warton. Hist. E. P., i. 127.
§ Preserved in Corpus Chr. Coll. Cambr., No. 80, and hitherto unpublished. The trans- lator names himself Hern- Lonelich : see Nasmyth's Catalogue, p. 55, 4to, 1777. || MS. Harl. 2252. Printed for the Roxburghe Club, 4to. 1819-
II MS. Eccles. Lincoln., A. 1. 17. ** Ritson's Metr. Rom., vol. i. tt Ibid., vol. iii.
xl INTRODUCTION.
Off Bevis, Gy, and of Gawayn, Off kyng Richard, and of Owayn, Off Tristram, and of Percyvale, Off Rouland Ris and Aglavale.
MS. Laud. 595, fol. 1. Bodl. Libr.
And in the inedited romance of Syr Degrevante, a composition of much merit, we are told, —
W kyng Arthure, I wene, And dame Gaynore, the quene, He was knawene for kene
This comly knyghte ; In haythynnes and in Spayne, In France and in Britayne, W Perceuelle and Gawayne,
For hardy and wyghte.
MS. Line. A. 1.17.
In the reign of Henry the Eighth we learn from a curious pas- sage in Skelton's Litle Boke of Phillip Sparow, what were the principal romance-stories then in vogue, and among them is " Gawen and Syr Guy," as well as Lancelot, Tristan, and Libius Diosconins, Gawayne'sson. The repeated editions of such romances in the course of the sixteenth century must have rendered the name of Gawayne familiar to all, and at length, by the natural course of all popular literature, the ballad-makers succeeded the minstrels in the commemoration of his exploits. Perhaps one of the latest passages in which his name is used as a bye-word occurs in Lane- ham's amusing account of the actors in the Coventry pageant be- fore Queen Elizabeth at Kenilworth : — " But aware ! keep bak, make room noow, heer they cum ! And fyrst captin Cox, — an od man, I promiz yoo, — by profession a mason, and that right skilfull ; very cunning in fens, and handy as Gawin, for hiz tonsword hangs
w
;^iyen y e Ce$< -rfeaiYant ^jat, CeCeoat trvye °,f e \ou bnttmeo *bvent tobroniV} t aft^ 0 f e titlh- pat pc trarneu of trefoil y ^rort i rfSsaft twi) fo?lns trtc^me ?e trc^cft oner the ;"0 htt ^a« (T-nmas- ft atW rhi8 tasty* y«* \,t -pat fn>cn 8epre<*6 jptudcea t fotrotks Income ' M&eluaje ofalye i^([t ffe %tft tie*;
f-rortcfyrrOTnulus -torome nab»*V fl*)Te Sfe* grrt tobbaitce fat bnrje fye ta^e? vpon fyrtt * ncitene* tat ht£ antic nome as >jit no^rjat tiftng to tutsan t tcUetf bxsym1^ lang atcnV T lubaran" lyftcs v$ bomes \\ N«y tl) ^jyne I* fev cm f e frencb flod fehf bwt? on motif bonW*e# fulbrofc bretayn befettej Wjere- <%rre ** ^raHe t^cmcer Ibtfyp^Jbat^ ^jontf mc 1 v oft bof e- blyfCe * bluter jfnlftete hatj ffcyrted Cvne J (bite dtim yia bretayn^atjbiggcobifts bum np cl) AsboUfe bread™ y er mc baret fat lof&n ? mmony turned tftne- ten* fat <ihO£teu mo ferlf e^on -pig fol& ty an fallen fjere oft pen m any op fat ^ot fynfat tlk tftne- bot of alle fat hjere bult of bretavgnc M?£es ay^at? ardntr pc benteft a$fiAt ^cv^ telle
M.S.Cott Nero Ax.fol.91.
•
INTRODUCTION. xli
at his tablz eend*." And a little further on, among the books which the same worthy had "at hiz fingers endz," he mentions " Syr Isenbras, Syr Gawyn, and Olyver of the Castl." Indeed there can be little doubt that Sir Gawayne was the prototype winch furnished to Spenser the character of his Sir Calidore,
In whom it seemes that gentleness of spright
And manners mylde were planted naturall,
To which he adding comely guize withall,
And gracious speach, did steale mens hearts away ;
Nathlesse thereto he was full stout and tall,
And well approv'd in batteilous affray,
That him did much renowme, and far his fame display.
Faerie Queene, B. vi. c. 1. st. 2.
Having dwelt so long on the subject of our Hero's fame in Eng- land, it is scarcely necessary to add, that in southern Scotland the popularity of his exploits could not have been less, since he there was claimed as one of their own chieftains, the Lord of Galloway. The Scotish poems published in the present volume will best show how he was regarded by the writers of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but they also prove, that these writers were indebted to Anglo-Norman romance-literature for nearly all that they knew of him. This is an important fact in the history of Scotish lite- rature, and hitherto has not received the attention it deserves. The same remark may extend to Wales, as proved by the publi- cation of the Mabinogion.
If we now look towards Germany, we shall find at an early pe- riod the romances of the Round Table received there, as borrowed from the French originals. Hartman von Owe translated the Che- valier au Lion at the commencement of the thirteenth centuryf ,
* Letter on the entertainment of the Queen at Kenilworth, p. 34, 1575. 12mo. Oliver of the Castle is a mistake for, or corruption of, Oliver of Castille. t Printed in Miiller's Sammlung, vol. ii. 4to, 1785.
f
xlii INTRODUCTION.
and at the same period Wolfram von Eschenbach composed his ro- mances of Parzival and Titurel from the authority of Kyot of Pro- vence*. The proper names in these are very much altered, and other liberties taken, but in the German Parzival, as in the French text, Sir Gawayne occupies the larger share of the poem. Goldast in his Paranetica, p. 377, quotes a distich from a German poem intitled by him Historia Gewani, but in all probability it is taken from the Parzivalf. In the " Altdeutsche Blatter" are also printed three fragments of old German romances from MSS. of the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, relating to Gawayne, but it is doubtful to what works they belong J. The same personage is mentioned in the romance of Lohengrin, which belongs to the same cycle §, as well as in the romance of Wigolais, by Wirnt von Gravenberg, of which I have spoken in my Notes, (p. 347.) To- wards the end of the fifteenth century a cyclic compilation from the Round Table narratives was made by Ulrich Fiirterer, a poet of Bavaria, and the work is still preserved in manuscript at Mu- nich and Vienna || .
Among the Flemish poets the adventures of Gawayne were equally well known, and at as early a period. They are referred to by Jacob von Maerlant, (who died about the year 1300,) in his Alexandreis, and also by Jan de Helu, who was his contemporary, and by Jan de Clerk, who died in 1350^[. Besides these inci-
* Printed in the edition of Eschenbach's works by Lachmann, 8vo, Berl. 1833. The Par- zival consists of 24,678 lines.
t See Vonder Hagen's Grundriss:ur Geschichte der Deutschen Poesie, p. 122, 8vo, Berl. 1812.
X Vol. ii. pp. 148—159, 8vo, Leipz. 1838.
§ Edited by J. Gorres, from a MS. in the Vatican, 8vo, Heidelb. 1813. In this, Sygelint, daughter of Gawayne, is noticed.
|| Vonder Hagen Grundr. etc., p. 153. See also Altdeutsche Gedichte mis den Zeiten der Tafelrunde, v. F. F. Hofstater, 2 Thl. 12mo, Wien, 1811.
51" See Hoffman's Horae Belgieae, pt. i. pp.48, 52, 8vo, 1830; and Mone's Ubersicht der Niederlandischen Volks-Literatur, p. 38, 8vo, Tub. 1838.
INTRODUCTION. xliii
dental passages, a poem consisting of 11,300 lines is extant, com- posed by Pennine and Peter Vostaert in the fourteenth century, in which the exploits of Gawayne are principally narrated, and which is, doubtless, a translation of the French Perceval*. Even in the remoter regions of the North, the romances of Perceval, Ywaine, Erec and Enide, Tristan, and many more of French origin, found their way, and Icelandic versions of them are still preserved in the libraries of Stockholm, Copenhagen, and the Bri- tish Museum. In the list given by Muller in his Sagabibliothek, vol. iii. p. 484, I find " Valvent, Artus Kappa, Saga," or Ro- mance of Gawayne, Arthur's knight, and in the Additional MSS. in the British Museum, No. 4859, is preserved a transcript, with the title, " Nu byriast Valvers [Valvens] \attur, sem var eirn af Artus Kauppum." It consists only of five chapters, and is evidently a short compilation from the Perceval.
In the southern countries of Europe the Round Table romances seem, comparatively speaking, to have been in far less repute. The Italians, indeed, had translations of the Merlin, the Lancelot, and the Tristan, but, with the exception of the last, they were never generally read, but gave way to the more popular romances of Charlemagne and his Douze Pairs-f. Ariosto, however, takes occasion to eulogise the chivalry of Britain : —
Gran cose in essa gia fece Tristano,
Lancilotto, Galasso [Galeotto,] Artii, e Galvano.
Orlando Furioso, Canto iv. st. 52.
And another writer of more recent date, Brusantino, in his Angelica Innamorata, also says, —
* Consult the last cited works. Vostaert seems to have completed the poem in the year 1350. t See Panizzi's Boiardo ed Ariosto, Essay, p. 151, 12mo, 1830.
f2
xliv INTRODUCTION.
E tra i pregiati Artu gia fu e Tristano, E Bando, e Lancilotto, e '1 bwn Galvano*.
But it was reserved for a native of Cremona, at the request of the Loredani family of Venice, to celebrate Arthur's courteous nephew in a distinct work. It is written in ottava rima, and was printed without date at Milan by Peter Martir and his associates, and intitled, " Libro novo de lo Inamoramento de Galvano, etc., composto da il laureato poeta Fossa da Cremona." By Ferrario it is assigned to Evangelista Fossa, but Count Melzi seems inclined to give it to Matteo Fossa, who died in 1516f. Both agree in stating that it is of extreme rarity, and extremely worthless.
Lastly, among the Greeks of the Eastern Empire we meet with the heroes of the Round Table, whose exploits must have been communicated to them in their intercourse with the Franks. This curious fact is proved by the fragment of a romance written in Greek political verses, a private impression of which was printed at Breslau in 1S21, by Von der Hagen, and subsequently reprinted at the end of M. Michel's edition of Tristan, in 1835. Neither of these editors was aware of the fact, that the poem in question is only a portion of a longer romance, translated closely from the Gyron le Courtois of Helie de Borron or Rusticien de Pise, and consequently its composition cannot be assigned to so early a period as the twelfth century, but to the latter half of the thirteenth.
I have now only to add a few words respecting the execution of the present volume. The Glossary has cost considerable labor, and will, I trust, be considered of value, but to those who know
* Cant. iii. st. 1, edit. 8vo, Vineg. 1553. No such personage as Bando occurs in the Arthurian romances.
f See Stoi-ia degli antichi Rornanzi di Cavalleria, vol. ii. p. 330, 8vo, 1828 ; and Melzi's Bibliografia de' Romanci, p. 320, 8vo, 1838.
~\
4
INTRODUCTION. xlv
the difficulties which attend the explanation of the Northern alliterative poems, its imperfections will not prove matter of sur- prise. I hope the time may arrive, when the whole of these poems still remaining in manuscript will be published, and I am confident, that until this preliminary step is accomplished, no complete Dictionary of the Northern English can be made. Jamieson's is, indeed, a work of great industry, and his col- lection of modern Scoticisms intitled to considerable praise ; but as a critical or etymological guide to the Scotish and Northern dialect of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, it is miserably imperfect and inaccurate. A vicious theory pervades it throughout, which a more extensive acquaintance with the mass of vernacular literature still remaining inedited would, I am convinced, have excluded.
The poems here taken from original manuscripts are printed with a scrupulous regard to accuracy, and the abbreviations left as written, but, for the convenience of the reader, a list of these is annexed, and the words are written at length in the Glossary and Notes. The truth is, that editors of our old poetry have, with few exceptions, paid too little attention to the system of writing used by the early scribes, and the consequence is, that but a small portion of all that has been published will bear colla- tion with the originals. I say this advisedly, having myself com- pared most of the poems edited by Ritson, Pinkerton, Weber, Percy, Ellis, Hartshorne, and others. It is time this were re- medied.
I have added to the present Introduction, according to the excellent plan adopted by recent French writers, a description of the Manuscripts used by me, which may not be altogether devoid of interest.
For three of the transcripts from the Percy MS., my thanks are due in an especial manner to George Baker, Esq., the Historian
•
Xivi INTRODUCTION.
of Northamptonshire, who most kindly undertook to make them for me, which he was enabled to do by the liberal permission of the present possessor of the Manuscript, Ambrose Isted, Esq., of Ecton Hall.
FREDERIC MADDEN.
British Museum, 9th August, ] 839.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MANUSCRIPTS USED IN THE PRESENT VOLUME.
I. Cotton MS. Nero A. x. A small quarto volume, consisting of three dif- ferent MSS. bound together, which originally had no connection with each other. Prefixed is an imperfect list of contents, in the hand-writing of James, the Bodley Librarian.
The first portion consists of a panegyrical oration in Latin by Justus de Justis, on John Chedworth, archdeacon of Lincoln, dated at Verona, 16 July, 1468. It occupies thirty-six folios, written on vellum, and is the original copy presented by the author.
The second portion is that we are more immediately concerned with. It is de- scribed by James as " Vetus poema Anglicanum, in quo sub insomnii figmento mulla ad religioiiem et mores spectantia explicantur," and this account with some slight changes is adopted by Smith and Planta, in their catalogues ; both of whom assign it to the fifteenth century. It will appear, by what follows, that no less than four distinct poems have been confounded together by these writers.
This portion of the volume extends from fol.37 to fol. 126, inclusive, and is written by one and the same hand, in a small, sharp, irregular character, which is often, from the paleness of the ink, and the contractions used, difficult to read. There are no titles or rubrics, but the divisions are marked by large initial letters of blue, florished with red, and several illuminations, coarsely executed, serve by way of illustration, each of which occupies a page.
1. Four of these are prefixed to the first poem. In the first the Author is represented slumbering in a meadow, by the side of a streamlet, clad in a long red gown, having falling sleeves, turned up with white, and a blue hood
xlviii
attached round the neck. In the second the same person appears, drawn on a larger scale, and standing by the stream. In the third he occurs nearly in the same position, with his hands raised, and on the opposite side a lady dressed in white, in the costume of Richard the Second's and Henry the Fourth's time, buttoned tight up to the neck, with long hanging sleeves. Her hair is plaited on each side, and on her head is a crown. In the fourth we see the author kneeling by the water, and beyond the stream is depicted a castle, or palace, on the imbattled wall of which appears the same lady, with her arm extended towards him. The poem commences on fol. 39, and consists of one hundred twelve-line stanzas, every five of which conclude with the same line, and are connected by the itera- tion of a leading expression. It commences thus : —
Perle plesaunte to prynces paye. To clanly clos in golde so clere, Oute of oryente I hardely saye Ne proued I neuer her precios pere ; So rounde, so reken in vche araye. So smal, so smothe her sydej were, Quere so euer I iugged gemraej gaye I sette hyr sengeley in synglure. Alias ! I lefte hyr in on erbere, purj gresse to grounde hit fro me got ; I dewyne for dowed of luf daungere, Of fat pryuy perle w'outen spot.
The writer represents himself as going in the month of August to seek his pearl or mistress, and falling asleep in a flowery arbour. He is carried in his vision to a stream near a forest, which flows over pebbles of emeralds and sapphires. On the other side he perceives a chrystal cliff, and " a mayden of menske" sitting beneath.
At the fote ther of ther sete a faunt, A mayden of menske ful debonere ; Blysnande whyt watj hyr bleaunt, I knew hyr wel, I had sene hyr ere. As glysnande golde )>at men con schere, So schon }iat schene an vnder schore j On lenghe I Ioked to hyr j>ere, pe lenger I knew hyr more & more.
The lady rises and approaches him, and in answer to his inquiries blames him for
xlix
supposing her lost. He wishes to pass the stream, but is told he may not till after death. The lady thence takes occasion to instruct him in religious doctrines, which are of a mystical tendency. The celestial Jerusalem is then pointed out to him, and he beholds a procession of virgins going to salute the Lamb. The lady leaves him to take her place among them; and on his attempting to jump into the stream to follow her, he awakes. The poem concludes on fol. 55b.
2. Then follow two more illuminations ; in the first of which Noah and his family are represented in the ark ; in the second the prophet Daniel ex- pounding the writing on the wall to the affrighted Belshazzar and his queen. These serve as illustrations to the second poem, which begins at fol. 57, and is written in long alliterative lines.
Clannesse who so kyndly cowfe commende, & rekken vp alle J>e resown; ]>' ho by ri3t askej, Fayre formej myjt he fynde in forering his speche, & in Jie contrare kark & combraunce huge.
The first part of this poem is occupied with the parable of the marriage-feast, as applicable to cleanness of life. In the second is related the fall of the angels, the creation, and principal events of scripture history to the destruction of Sodom, after which follows a long passage on the birth of Christ, and reflexions of a moral character. The third part embraces the history of Daniel ; and concludes on fol. 82.
3. Two illuminations precede, as before ; one of which represents the sailors throwing the prophet Jonas into the sea, the other depicts the prophet in the attitude of preaching to the people of Nineveh. The poem is Li the same metre as the last, and commences thus, fol. 83 : —
Pacience is a poynt, J>a; hit displese ofte ; When heuy herttes ben hurt wyth hejiyng, other elles, Suffraunce may aswagen hem, & }>e swelme lethe, For Ho quelles vche a qued, & quenches malyce.
It is occupied wholly with the story of Jonas, as applicable to the praise of meek- ness and patience ; and ends on fol. 90.
i. The Romance intitled by me Syr Gawayn and the Grene Kny)t follows, fol. 91. Prefixed is an illumination, of which an outline engraving is given at p. 18 of the present volume, and needs no further description, except that here and elsewhere the only colors used are green, red, blue, and yellow. A fac- simile of the first page of the poem itself is also annexed. It ends on fol. 124b, and at the conclusion, in a later hand is written " Hony foit q mal penc,"
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1
which may, perhaps, allude to the illumination on the opposite page, fol. 125, representing the stolen interview between the wife of the Grene KnyU and Syr Gawayne. (See p. 45.) Above the lady's head is written : Mi mind is mukul on on, J>' wil me nojt amende, Sum time was rrewe as fton, & fro fchame coupe hir defende.
It does not appear very clearly how these lines apply to the painting. Two ad- ditional illuminations follow ; in the first of which Gawayne is seen approaching the Grene Chapel, whilst his enemy appears above, wielding his huge axe (see p. 82.) ; and in the second Sir Gawayne, fully equipped in armour, is represented in the presence of king Arthur and queen Guenever, after his return to the court. (See p. 91.) The form of the helmet worn by the knight is here worthy of notice.
The third and concluding portion of the Cotton volume extends from fol. 127 to fol. 140h, inclusive, and consists of theological excerpts, in Latin, written in a hand of the end of the thirteenth century. At the conclusion is added Epitaphium de Ranulfo, ablate Ramesiensi, who was abbat from the year 1231 to 1253, and who is erroneously called Ralph in the Monasticon, vol. ii. p. 548, new ed.
II. The Thornton MS. preserved in the Library of Lincoln Cathedral, and marked A. 1. 17. It is a folio volume written on paper, in a small and occasionally negligent hand, consisting at present of 314 folios, but imperfect both at the be- ginning and end, and otherwise much injured by neglect1. It was apparently com- piled by one Robert de Thornton, between the years 1430-1440. The Contents are,
1. Life of Alexander; in prose, fol. 1.
Beg downe to pe dyke, and thare he felle, and was alle to-frusched.
At the conclusion we read, " Here ende} ]>e lyf of gret Alexander, conquerour of
1 This MS. was liberally lent to me in 1832, for a considerable period, by the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln. It was then in thick oaken boards, covered with white leather, and fastened by a clasp, but in so decayed a state, and the leaves in such loose disorder, as to make it absolutely necessary, for the sake of preserving it from destruction, to have it rebound. This I caused to be done, at my own expense, in a " good solid attire of Russia leather," and I prefixed to it a list of the contents, drawn up with considerable labor, to which I affixed my initials. It was therefore with some surprise I found, on looking into Dr. Dibdin's " Bibliographical Tour in the Northern Counties," 8vo, 1838, that in vol. i. pp. 110-116, the whole of this list was copied in my own words, (with some very trifling alterations, and some very glaring blunders,) without any proper acknowledgement to myself as the author, but on the contrary, at p. 1 1 7, the description is assigned to " Mr. Jl'illson's enlarged notice." Justice to myself requires me to state this. Either Dr. Dibdin or Mr. Willson has not treated me fairly in this matter.
alle ]>e icorlde." It is a literal translation of the Latin prose Life, printed at Stras- burg, in 1494, and from this or a similar version the alliterative Scotish Romance in MS. Ashmole 44, seems to have been versified.
On the verso of fol. 49 is written in a later hand than the usual text, " Isto die natits fuit, sancta Maria ante [Nativitatem?~\ Domini noslri Jhesu Christi, Ro- bertas Thornton in Ridaylle, anno Domini m°CCCCLIU."
2. Prognostications of the weather, etc., written in a different and more re- cent hand. fol. 50.
3. Lamentacio Peccatoris. fol. 51b.
Beg. Alle crystyn men ]>' wawkes me bye.
In twenty stanzas of four lines each, written in a later hand than Thornton's. On fol. 52b is a rude drawing in pen and ink of a combat between a knight and a giant, executed apparently by the same hand.
4. Here begynnes 3Iorte Arthure. fol. 53.
Beg. Now grett glorious godd | thurghe grace of hym seluene, And the precyous prayere | of hys prys modyr.
At the bottom of the page is written in red, rpf ** f ygV En espyrance
may .... On fol. 93b occurs also the name of " Robart Thornton," in a scroll at- tached to an initial letter, and at the end of the poem occurs, " Here endes Morte Arthure, writene by Robert of Thorntone." A later hand adds, " R. Thornton dic- iii.-. qui scripsit sit benedictus. Amen." Bishop Tanner, and after him Ritson and others, have considered Thornton here and elsewhere as the author, but he is evi- dently only the scribe. In all probability, this Romance is the "gret Geste of Ar- thure," ascribed by Wyntown to Hucheom (See Notes, p. 303.)
5. Here by-gynnes the Romance off Octavyane. fol. 98b.
Beg. Mekylle and littille, olde and jynge, Herkyns alle to my talkynge.
In six-line stanzas. Unfortunately one half of fol. 108 has been torn away. It differs from the Romance printed by Weber, from the Cotton MS. Calig. A. II., but agrees with the copy at Cambridge, among Bp. More's MSS. in the Public Library, No. 690. (Ff.ii.38.)
6. Here begynnes the Romance off Syr Ysambrace. fol. 109.
Beg. Jhesu Xp'c, Lorde of heuene kynge, Graunte vs alle his dere blyssynge.
In six-line stanzas. At the end is, " Explicit Syr Ysambrace." It differs much
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from Copland's edition, reprinted by Utterson in his Early Popular Poetry, vol. i. p. 77.
7. Here bygynnes ye Romance off Dyoclicyane y* Emperour 8f ye Erie Be- rade of Tliolous, and ofye Emprice Beaulilione. fol. 1 14b.
Beg. Jhesu Criste, God and Lorde in Trynyte, Onely god and persones thre.
In six-line stanzas. The close of this Romance has been torn away. It is printed by Ritson, Metr. Rom. vol. iii. p. 93, from Bp. More's MSS. in Publ. Libr. Cam- bridge, No. 690, and a third copy exists in the Ashmolean Museum, No. 45.
8. Vita Sancti Christofori. \_Her~\e bygynnes ye lyffe of ye Story of \_S~]aynte Cristofre. fol.l22b.
Beg. Lordynges, if it be jowre wille,
And je wille here, and holde jow still.
In six-line stanzas. At the end is, " Explicit Vita Sancti Christofori. Thorntone"
9. Syr Degreuance. fol. 130.
Beg. Jhesu, Lorde in Trynite
Graunte Jam heuene for to see.
In eight-line stanzas. At the close is, " Explicit Syr Degreuaunt." The name is printed erroneously Degrenante by Laing, (who conjectures it may be Sir Degore, which it is not,) and Dygamore by Dibdin. Ritson in his MS. Catalogue of Ro- mances, MS. Add. 10,285, Append., mentions another copy as existing among Bp. More's MSS. at Cambridge.
10. Jncipit Syr Eglamour of Artasse. fol. 138b.
Beg. Jhesu )>' is heuens kyng, Gyff vs alle his blyssyng.
In six-line stanzas. There are other copies in MS. Cott. Calig. A. II., and MS. More, 690. It was printed by Chepman and Myllar at Edinburgh, in 1508, and subsequently by Copland, and by Walley, at London.
11. De Miraculo beate Marie, fol. 147.
Beg. Jhesu, Lorde in Trinyte,
p' was, and es, and aye schalle be.
In six-line stanzas. The story relates to a wicked knight, who is converted from his sins by a friar.
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12. Lyarde. fol. 148.
Beg. Lyarde es ane olde horse, and may noght wele drawe. He salle be putt in to fe parke, holyne for to gnawe.
At the end is, " Here etulys Lyarde." The tale is of an indecent cast.
13. Tomas off Ersseldomte. fol. 149b.
Beg. Lystyns, lordynges, bothe grete and sraale.
In stanzas of four lines each. At the end, "Explicit Thomas of Erseledottmne." It is imperfect; part of fol. 152 and nearly the whole of fol. 153 having been torn away. It was printed from this copy by Laing in his Popular Poetry of Scotland, 4>to, 1822, and previously had appeared in Scott's Border Minstrelsy and Jamieson's Popular Ballads, from the Cotton MS. Vitell. E. \., and MS. More Ff. v. 48.
14. Here by-gynnes the Awntyrs of Arthure at the Terne-Wathelyne. fol. 154. Printed in the present Volume, p. 95. A fac-simile of the commencement is an- nexed, which will shew the general character of the MS.
15. Here bygynnes the Romance off Syr Perecyuelle of Gales, fol. 161.
Beg. Let, lythes to me.
Two wordes or thre.
In stanzas of eight lines. No other copy is at present known, but it is but of little merit as a composition.
16. 17, 18. Charms for the tooth-ache. fol. 176.
19. Epistola Sancti Salvatoris. fol. 176b.
20. Prayer in Latin, with a Proem in English, fol. 176b.
21. A Preyere off the Fyve Joyes of oure Lady [in] Ynglys, and of the Fyve Sorowes. fol. 177b.
22. Psalmus, Voce mea ad Dominion clamaui. fol. 178.
23. Here hygynnys Fyve Prayers to the wirchipe of the Fyve Wondys of oure Lorde Jliesu Cryste; in Latin, fol. 178.
24. Oracio in Ynglys. fol. 178b.
25. A Colett to oure lady Saynt 3Iarye; in Latin, fol. 178b.
26. Oracio in modo Collccte, pro amico. fol. 178b.
27. Antiphona Sancti Leonardi, cum Collecta. fol. 178b.
28. Here begynnes the Previte off the Passiomie of ' ourre lorde Jhesu. fol. 179.
Beg. Who so desyres to fynd comforthe and gostely gladnes.
At the end is written, " Explicit Bonaitenture de Misterijs Passionis Jliesu Christ i."
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29. Incipit tractatus Williehni Nassyngtone, quondam Aduocali Juris Ebo- raci, de Trinitate et Vnitale, cum deelaracione operum Dei, et de passione Domini nostri Jhesu Christi, etc. fol. 189.
Beg. A, Lord God of myghtes maste, Fadere and Sone, and Haly Gaste, Fader, for J>° ert almyghty, sone for thow ert alle wytty.
Tanner notices this poem from the present MS., and so does Warton, Hist. Engl. Poetry, vol. iii. p. 9, who with his usual inaccuracy confounds it with Nafsyngton's translation of John de Waldeby's Myrrour, and then assigns the author to the year 1480 ; although in the Royal Library, British Museum, there is a copy of Nafsyng- ton's version of the Myrrour, dated in 1418, MS. Reg. 17, C. viii. 30, 31, 32. Prayers in verse, fol. 191b.
33. Of the vertu^ of the haly name of Jhesu. fol. 192.
A translation from Richard Hampole's comment on the verse Oleum effusum nomen tuum, etc.
34. A tak\at Richerde Hermet {inade~\. fol. 193b.
Beg. When I hade takene my syngulere purpos, and Iefte Y seculere habyte.
35. A prayere \at y same Riclterde Hermet made, f' es beried at Hampidk : in Latin, fol. 193b.
36. Ympnus, quern composuit Sanctus Ambrosyus. fol. 193b.
37. De imperfecta contricione. fol. 194.
Beg. Rycherde hermyte reherces a dredfulle tale.
38. Moralia Richardi Iieremite, de natura apis. fol. 194.
Beg. The bee has thre kyndis.
At the foot of this folio is written " Edward Thornton," in a hand of Henry the Eighth's time.
39. De vita cujusdam puelle inehise propter amorem Christi. fol. 194b.
Beg. Alswa Heraclides, Y clerke, telles.
At the close is, " Richerd heremyte reherces pis tale in ensampille."
40. 41. Two Latin extracts from "Richardus Herymyta." fol. 195.
42. A notabille Trelys off the ten Comandemenlys, drawene by Richerde the hermyte off Hampulle. fol. 195b.
Beg. The fyrste comandement es. Thy Lorde God J>" salle loute.
43. Idem de septem donis Spiritus Sancti, Also of fe gyftes of the Haly Gaste. fol. 196.
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44. Idem de dilectacione in Deo. Also o/*]>e same, delyte and yemyng of Gode. fol. 196b.
45. Incipit Specidum Sancti Edmundi, Cantuar. Archiepiscopi, in Atiglicis. Here begynnys the Myrrour of Seynt Edmonde, ]>e Ersebechope of Canter- berye. ff. 197-209.
Beg. J'idete vocacionem vestram. This wordes sayse saynte Paule.
Edmund Rich, the author of the Latin original of this treatise, died in 1242.
46. Tractatus de dominica oracione. fol. 209b.
Beg. In alle the wordes J>at er stabilled.
47. Poetical address to Christ, fol. 211.
Beg. Jhesu Criste, saynte Marye sonne.
In stanzas of four lines. At the end is, Explicit. Amen. ThomtoJie. Amen.
48. Another metrical orison, in six-line stanzas, fol. 21 lb.
Beg. Fadir, and Sone, and Haly Gaste.
49. Another, to Christ, fol. 212.
Beg. Jhesu Criste, Goddes sune of heuene.
50. Incipit a Meditacione of ]>e Fyve Woundes of oure Lorde Jhesu Criste ; in Latin, fol. 212.
51. A Meditacione of the Crosse of Criste ; in Latin, fol. 21 2b.
At the end is added, " R. Thorntone dictus, qui scripsit sit benedictus. Amen."
52. Moral Poem, in stanzas of four lines, fol. 213.
Beg. When Adam dalfe and Eue spane | Go spire, if ]?" may spede, Whare was )>ane t>e pride of mane | fat nowe merres his mede.
53. Six lines of poetry ; perhaps composed by Thornton himself, fol. 21 3b.
Beg. Jhesu Criste, have mercy one me.
54. Here begynnes a Sermone pat Dane Joh'n Gaytryge made, }>e ivhilke teclies how scrifte es to be made, and wliare of, and in scrifte how many thynge$ solde be co/isederide. fol. 213b.
Beg. Als a grett doctour schewes in his buke.
55. Hymn to Christ ; in four-line stanzas, fol. 219.
Beg. Jhesu, thi swetnes wha moghte it se.
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56. Religious treatise, in prose, fol. 21 9b.
Beg. Dere frende, wit J>° wele, J>at j>e ende and j,e soueraynte of perfeccione.
57. Moral Poem. fol. 222.
Beg. pi joy be ilke a dele to serue thi Godd to paye.
Imperfect at the end, as is the next piece at the beginning, a folio having been here torn out.
58. Treatise on Active and Contemplative Life, fol. 223.
Beg menne J>at ware in prelacye, and ofer also J>at ware haly temporalle menne.
59. Prose religious treatise, fol. 229b.
Beg. Wit thou wele, dere frende, fat Jof J>ou had neuer done syne.
60. Of Sayne Joh'n J<e euaungelist. fol. 231.
Beg. Of alle mankynde J>at he made, fat maste es of myghte, And of J)e molde merkede and mesured that tyde.
An alliterative poem in stanzas of fourteen lines each, of which the third, fifth, and seventh rhyme, and the second, fourth, sixth and eighth. At the close are six shorter lines, of which the first, second, fourth and fifth rhyme, and the third and sixth.
61. Prose tract on Prayer. fol.233b.
Beg. Prayng es a gracyous gyfte of owre Lorde Godd.
62. Be gracia Dei. fol. 240.
Beg. Off Goddis grace stirrand and helpand.
63. Hie incipit quedam reuelacio. A Reuelacyone schewede to ane holy wo-
'•■m in now one late tyme. fol. 250.
Beg. Alle manere of thyng J>at es by-gunne.
This revelation is stated to have occurred on St. Lawrence's day, 1422, which may assist in determining the age of the Manuscript.
64. 65. Two hymns, in Latin, fol. 258.
66. Here bygynnys Sayne Jerome Spaltyre ; in Latin, fol. 258b. Adjoined are various Latin prayers. On the margin of fol. 266 is written in a hand of the sixteenth century, " Dorythy Thornton."
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67. Religio Sancti Spiritus religio manda. fol. 271-
Beg. Off the Abbaye of Saynte Spirite, that es in a place that es callede Conscyence. A, dere brothir and systirs.
This is the well-known treatise of the " Abbaye of the Holy Goste," generally ascribed by bibliographers to John Alcoek, bishop of Ely, who died about 1498. That this statement is erroneous, appears not only from the presumed date of the present MS., but by the fact, that there is a copy of the treatise in the Vernon MS. Bodleian Library, written in the reign of Richard the Second, before Alcoek was bom ! Among the MSS. preserved in the library at Lambeth, No. 432, art. 2, a copy of this treatise is attributed to Richard Hampole, and this statement is not unlikely to be the true one.
68. A religious Poem. fol. 276b.
Beg. The begynnyng es of thre.
69. Ista oracio que sequitur est de vii.gaudia (sic) beate Marie virginis, per sanctum Thomam et Martirem, Cantuariensem episcopum edita. fol. 277b.
70. Ano\er Salutacioune tille oure Lady, ofhirfyve Joyes ; in Latin, fol. 277b.
71. Ane Antyme to ]>e Fudir ofhetiene, ivl a Colett; in Latin, fol. 278.
72. Ano\ier anteme of Y passyoune of Crisle Jhesu ; in Latin, fol. 278.
73. A Colecte of grete pardone oon to Crist Jhesu; in Latin, fol. 278.
74. Latin hymn to Christ, fol. 278b.
At the top of the page is written, " Thorntone. Misereatur mei Deus ! " 15. A Preyere to j>e wounde in Crystis syde ; in Latin, fol. 278b.
76. Memento, homo, quod sinis (sic) es, a Poem in four-line stanzas, each of which rhymes with the same syllable, fol. 279.
Beg. Erthe owte of erth : es wondirly wroghte,
Erthe hase getyn one erthe : a dignyte of noghte.
77. Hie incipit liber de diuersis medicinis, et primo, pro capite, ff. 280-314b.
Beg. For werke and vanyte ine y hede.
This treatise is imperfect, the latter leaves having been wholly or partly torn away. The authority of the Rector of Oswaldkirk is often referred to by the com- piler, and the names of Magister Will, de Excestre and Syr Apiltone are also cited.
The scribe and compiler of this volume, Robert de Thornton, is stated by Mr. Laing to have held some situation in the cathedral of Lincoln, and afterwards to have become archdeacon of Bedford, and to have died in May, 1450. The internal
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evidence of the volume is altogether against such a supposition. From the general contents it appears evidently to have been compiled by a native of Yorkshire, and in all probability by a member of the family of Thornton, which was seated in the Wapontake of Rydale, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, in whose possession it remained till the close of the sixteenth century, as appears by the entries on if. 194 and 266. Compare the pedigree of Thornton in MS. Harl. 6070, fol. 11, in which the same family names occur. The mention of the Rector of Oswaldkirk and Syr Apilione concur to prove this conjecture, since Oswaldkirk and Appleton both lie in the same immediate district. Ritson's supposition {Bibl. Poet, p. 107.), that the compiler of the MS. was the same person as Robert de Thornton, Prior of Bardney, in Lincolnshire, is improbable, but it is possible that he may have been the same who was Vicar of Silkeston in the Deanery of Doncaster, in the year 1425. See MS. Add. 11,400, p. 55.
III. MS. Douce, now in the Bodleian Library. It consists of eleven folios of coarse paper, written in a large, inelegant, but very legible character, in the reign of Edward the Fourth. The guide-lines for the scribe have been ruled with a rough plummet, and at the bottom of each leaf is a series of signatures in red, beginning with a. i., and ending with b. Hi. The large initial letter at the commencement is coarsely colored with red. There are about thirty lines on a page, and no punctua- tion is used except in the middle of a line. On the inside of the cover appears the autograph of "J. Baynes, Greys Inn, 1781."
IV. Porkington MS. No. 10. A small quarto volume, written on vellum and paper, in the reign of Edward the Fourth, ff. 211. Its Contents are as follows:
1. Secundum Anticos Grecorum. fol. 1.
Beg. The man fat falle}> syke )>e fyrst day of eny mone}>. This tract consists of rules for sickness or health on certain days ; the lucky and unlucky days ; rules for the weather ; natures of the planets, etc. ; and concludes with a short chronology, from the beginning of the world to the battle of Agincourt, in 1415.
2. A Calendar of the days, hours, and minutes in each montn. fol. 4.
On fol. 4b occur the names of Griffyth Owen of the county of Carnarvon, and of John Williams, petty constable of the parish of Llanarmon.
3. A Table of the hours of day and night, fol. 5b.
4. Rules regarding Nativities ; in Latin, fol. 6.
5. Explanation of a Calendar made a.d. 1463 (which is missing) ; of the feast-days, hours of the day, altitude of the sun, etc. fol. 6b.
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6. Rules for venesection, etc., with a figure, fol. 7.
7. A Table of Eclipses, calculated for the years 1462-1481. fol. 7b.
8. For knowlege of the impressions concerning \e wedyr, fol. 8b.
Beg. Fyrst it ys to know y that the eyere ys deuyded.
9. For to know in what sygne and degre fe mone ys. fol. 1 1 .
10. Syre Gawene and the Carle of Carelyle. fol. 12.
Printed in the present volume, Append. No. I. There is no title to this ro- mance in the MS. A leaf is out of place between ff. 14 and 15, which ought to be fol. 66.
11. Here begynnylhe a schorte tretice for a manne to knowe wyche tyme of the yere hit is best to graffe or to plante treys, and also to make a fre to here a maner frute ofdiuerys colourys and odoivrys, w' many othere thyngys. fol. 27.
Beg. When the mone is in tauro, hit is good to plante treys of pepyns.
12. Some other receipts of the same nature, which may be part of the same treatise, fol. 32.
13. Here begynnythe thecrafte of lymnynge ofbokys, etc. fol. 33. Beg. To temper vermelone to wryte ther w', grynde vermelone one a stone.
At the end is added on a scroll the name of the scribe or compiler, " H. Hattun."
14. A Poem without title ; in six-line stanzas, fol. 53.
Beg. Louely lordynges, ladys lyke, Wyues and maydyns ryallyke.
15. The Tale of Ten Wives ; an amusing but indelicate Poem, in stanzas of six lines, fol. 56b.
Beg. Leve, lystynes to me, Two wordys or thre.
16. Complaint of a Lover, in four-line stanzas, fol. 59b.
Beg. Lord, how schalle I me complayne.
17. Moral Poem, in stanzas of four lines, fol. 61.
Beg. As I went one my playing.
18. Vision of St. Philibert, or Disputation between the Body and the Soul ; in stanzas of seven lines ; translated from the Latin, fol. 63b.
Beg. The fadyr of pytte and most of myserycorde.
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19. Moral Poem, in stanzas of five long lines and one short one. fol. 79b.
Beg. Erthe vppon erth is woundyrly wrojte.
A much enlarged copy of the poem in the Lincoln MS. A. 1. 17- fol. 279.
20. Mourning of the Hare. fol. 81b.
Beg. Bi a forrest as I gane fare.
A much better and fuller copy than that printed in Hartshorne's Metrical Tales, p. 165 ; from MS. More, Ff. v. 48.
21. The Rnylte his ivyfe, in couplets, fol. 83".
Beg. Ther was a knyjt in a eu[n]ttre, Y ryche man was wont to be.
22. The holly mane sente Marttayne. fol. 86b.
Beg. As he lay in his wesione.
23. Narracyone of sente Tantene. fol. 87.
Beg. Saynt Antony also manny a tyme.
24. Poetical address to the Virgin ; in four-line stanzas, fol. 87b.
Beg. Off alle j>e bryddus Y euer jeyt were.
25. For Y molde ]>' ys fallow doune ; a receipt in prose, fol. 89b.
26. Several more receipts of a similar description, fol. 90.
27. Her begynnethe fe lyfe of ]>e glorus uergyne seynt Katryne, ]>e wyche lyjf'e was wrytyne of Athanaysns, ]>e gret doctor ; in prose, fol. 91.
Beg. In ]>e grete cite of Alexandyr ther was a kynge.
28. A strange prosaical medley ; in the form of an epistle, fol. 129.
Beg. A, syre, A, je syr, and ;e, syr Johne.
29. Be trewe, and holde ]>l jc have hy^t ; in stanzas of eight lines, fol. 130.
Beg. Be trewe, and holde )>' je haue hy3te.
30. A similar poem, by the same author, fol. 130b.
Beg. A, dere God, haue I deservyd this.
31. Here bethe the Stacyons of Rome ; in prose, fol. 132.
Beg. In Rome bethe iic. paresche churchs.
lxi
At the end is written, " Exphjcyt tractus de indulgencia romana siue apostolica."
32. Tlie good wyfe wold a pylgremage ; in four-line stanzas, fol. 135b.
Beg. The good wyf wold a pylgremage Vnto )>e holly londe.
A similar poem to the present, intitled, " How the Goode Wif thought hir Doughter," was edited by me from a MS. in the possession of C. W. Loscombe, Esq., of Pickwick House, Wilts, 8vo. 1838.
33. The Friar and the Boy. fol. 139.
Beg. God J1 dyed for vs alle,
And dranke bo)>e eyselle andgalle.
A better and fuller copy than that printed by Ritson, in his Pieces of Ancient Popular Poetry, p. 35 ; but it omits all the lines after 1. 397, and concludes with twenty-one different lines instead.
34. A Poem without title; in stanzas of eight lines, fol. 150.
Beg. As I stod in a ryalle haulle.
35. A ludicrous Poem ; in couplets, fol. 152.
Beg. Herkons to my tale }>' I schalle here schow.
At the conclusion we read " Exphjcyt trutallys." A similar strange composition is printed by Hartshorne, p. 145.
36. Epistle to a lady ; in couplets, fol. 154.
Beg. Honowre w" alle mannere of heylle. 37- Have my hert; in eight-line stanzas, fol. 154b. Beg. Have alle my hert, and be in peys.
38. Poem without title ; in stanzas of four lines, fol. 153b.
Beg. As I cam by a forrest syde.
39. The Sege of Jerusalem ; in prose, fol 157b.
Beg. Al men y wylle here of }>e sege of Jerusaleme.
At the end, " Her enddyth }>e sege of Jerusaleme!'
40. Terms of Venery, etc., taken from Juliana Barnes, fol. 184.
41. Sentences in verse, fol. 187b.
Beg. Aryse erlly,
And serve god dewoutly.
Ixii
42. Extracts from Juliana Barnes' Treatise of Hawking, fol. 188b.
43. Prophecy of Merlin, fol. 192.
Beg. When J>e cocke in >e northe hathe byld his neste.
Printed among the Collection of Ancient Scottish Prophecies, pp. 6-9, reprinted for the Bannatyne Club from Waldegrave's edition, 1603.
44. Letter from Balteser, son of the King " of Sarsyn," to the Duke of "Borgeyne" [Burgundy], fol. 193b.
Beg. Baltesere, be Y grace of Mahounde, sone of fe kynge of Sarsyn.
45. This byne pe presentacyons J)' J)e lordus of )>e cetty of Vennes haue present to oure fader Y pope geneste \_agenste~\ fe Torke. fol. 194.
46. A Poem without title; in stanzas of twelve lines, fol. 195.
Beg. Timor mortis cotiturbat me,
Thys is my song in my old. i .
A different poem with the same burthen, composed 1" Lydgate, is in MS. Harl. fol. 128b. and Dunbar also adopted the same refrain in his Lament for the Makkaris. vol. i. p. 211, ed. Laing, 8vo, 1834.
This and the three following articles are written by a different hand.
47. Seven moral lines, fol. 198.
Beg. Dysseyte disseyvethe.
48. Carol, or song. fol. 198.
Beg. Mery hit ys in May mornyng.
49. Another, fol. 198b.
Beg. The ster he schynythe boJ>e nyjte and day.
50. Carol, or religious poem. fol. 200.
Beg. Why, why, what ys Jis, why hit ys.
51. A Christmas carol, in Latin and English, fol. 201.
Beg. Christe qui lux est, etc.
A baby ys borne, vs blys to brynge.
52. Carol, fol. 202.
Beg. Hey, hey, hey, hey, )>e borrys hede is armyd gay.
Probably imperfect. It differs much from the Boars-head Carols printed by Ritson and Sandys.
Ixiii
53. Moral Poem, in the form of a dialogue, fol. 203.
Beg. Be a forrest as I gane walke.
At the end is the colophon, " Erplycyt Marcy and Ry]ttus7iis."
54. The Marchand. fol. 207b.
Beg. Lystons, lordyngus, I yow pray.
It is imperfect, endingwith 1. 214 of Ritson's edition in Pieces of Popular Poetry, p. 77. It contains many various readings from the printed text.
V. MS. Douce. A small quarto volume, ff. 48, written on paper, in the year 1564, and illustrated with rude colored drawings. It contains transcripts of several Romances, apparently taken from editions earlier than Copland's.
1. Here begynneth the hystorye of the valyaunte hnyght, Syr Isenbras.
It contains several variations from Copland's edition, but is imperfect, ending with 1.411.
2. Syr Degore.
The MS. commences at 1. 415 of Copland's edition, as reprinted by Utterson, and is very imperfect. At the end is written, " Here endeth the Tretyse of Syr Degore." In Heber's sale, Lot 556, was an unique copy of an edition by Wynkyn de Worde, from which perhaps this transcript was made.
3. Jeaste of Syr Gawayne.
Printed in the present Volume, Append. No. II. It commences imperfectly, and at the end is drawn a device of a shield bearing three fleurs de lis, supported by two angels. Beneath are the initials E. B., which are probably those of the tran- scriber. See Notes, p. 348.
4. Syr Eglamoure.
This is also imperfect Dr. Bliss has in his possession some fragments of an edition earlier than that of Copland's, which perhaps may have served for the text of the present transcript. At the end of this MS. is a device of the letters IHS, and the date 1564, the period of its completion.
VI. The Percy MS. Now in the possession of Ambrose Isted, Esq., of Ecton Hall, Northamptonshire. A minute account of the volume, with a list of the first fifty-nine articles in it, is given in Dr. Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron, vol. iii. pp. 338-344. I had intended to have completed this list, when indulged with a sight of the volume in 1831, but I was unable to accomplish my wish. Four ro- mance-poems are printed from it in the present Volume for the first time.
bciv
VII. MS. Rawlinson, marked C. 86, in the Bodleian Library, and formerly belonging to Knox Ward, Esq., Clarenceux king of Arms. It is a small folio, and consists of two distinct portions.
The first, extending from fol. 1 to fol. 30 inclusive, is written on vellum and paper in a late hand of the fifteenth century. It contains a long English poem on the Passion of Christ. Prefixed is a rude illumination of the crucifixion. Beg. Off gostly maters I wylle meve.
At the end is : " Explicit Passio Domini nostri Jhesu Chrisli, composite a quo- dam sapientissimo in materna lingua, videlicet Anglicorum, hominibus non intelli- gentibus scripturarum sensus." And below we read : " Iste liber constat . . . (blot) . . . Wyllnius Aylysburrey, monachus Sa?icti Saluatmis de Bermudesay."
The second portion consists of 159 leaves, and is written on paper in a negligent hand towards the close of Henry the Seventh's reign. The principal contents are as follows.
1. Unconnected moral sentences, fol. 31.
Beg. Vtter thy langage wythe good avisement.
2. Policronica ; a prose geographical tract, fol. 31 b.
Beg. Josephus of Jewes J>' nobyl was the firste auctour of the booke of Policronica.
3. Tne tale of Jak and his Stepdame. fol. 52.
Beg. God that died for vs alle.
Printed by W. de Worde, and thence reprinted by Ritson in Pieces of Ancient Popular Poetry, 8vo. 1791. p. 35. Other manuscript copies, all of which differ much from each other, exist in MS. More, Ee. 4. 35. (which was printed by Mr. Wright, in 12mo. Pickering, 1836.) and MS. Porkington, No. 10, f. 139.
4. Four lines of doggerel poetry, in English and Latin, fol. 59.
Beg. Syng I wold, but alas ! discedant prospera grata.
5. Fabula ; a poem of eight stanzas of eight lines each. fol. 59 b.
Beg. Whenne men motythe of byrdys of gret gentree. The burden of each stanza is, " pulle of her bellys and let her flye." It is pro- bably composed by Lydgate, but is not found in Ritson's list of his writings.
6. A poem without title, by Lydgate; No. 61. of Ritson's list. fol. 61.
Beg. For helthe of body couere for colde thyne hede. 7- A poem by Lydgate ; No. 214. of Ritson. fol. 62b. Beg. Beholde, mane, lyfte vp thy eye and se.
lxv
8. A Poem consisting of fourteen eight-line stanzas. The subject is an ad- dress of Christ to man. fol. 65.
Beg. Late as I wente one myne pleyng.
9. A Poem on the same subject, in eleven stanzas of twelve lines each. fol.
67.
Beg. Thys is GoJdis owne compleynte.
Cf. MS. Lambeth. 853. p. 81.
10. A Poem by Lydgate, being a Lamentation of the Virgin on Christ's Passion ; No. 201 of Ritson. fol. 69b.
Beg. In a tabernacle of a towre.
1 1. A Poem in ten eight-line stanzas, the burden of which is " I wite my self myne owne wo." fol. 71.
Beg. In my youthe fulle wylde I was.
Cf. MS. Lamb. 853. p. 226.
12. A Poem containing the Lamentation of our Lady, in twelve eight-line stanzas, fol. 72b.
Beg. In a chirche as I gane knele.
13. A Poem in eleven twelve-line stanzas, of which the burden is, " Filius Regis mortuus est." fol 74-b.
Beg. As Jhesu rewlithe myne recheles mynde.
Cf. MS. Lamb. 853. p. 74-.
1 i. Fabula ; a Poem by Lydgate, on the mutability of human affairs, in twenty-two seven-line stanzas, fol. 77.
Beg. The wor'de so wyde, the ayre so remeveabille.
Other copies occur in MSS. Harl. 7333, f. 192, 2251, f. 23b, 2255, f. 14, and Trin. Coll., Cambr., R. 3, 21. On the authority of the first of these, Ritson attri- butes it to one " squiere Halsam."
15. A Poem by Lydgate, in commendation of virtue; No. 95 of Ritson.
fol. 79".
Beg. As of hony menne gadrene swetnesse.
16. A Poem by Lydgate, against self-love; No. 99 of Ritson. fol. 81 b.
Beg. Towarde thende of frosty January. Printed at the end of an edition of Lydgate's " Proverbes ;" by W. de Worde. See Collier's Catalogue of the Library at Bridgewater House, p. 179, 4to. 1837.
lxvi
17. A Poem by Lydgate against haste; No *41 of Ritson. fol. 84.
Beg. Alle hast is odious, wher as discrecione.
See another copy in MS. Harl. 2251. f. 77b.
18. Stans puer ad mensam, made in Engles by the monhe of Bery called Lydgate. fol. 86b.
Beg. My dere chyld, first thy selffe enable. No. 16 of Ritson. Printed by W. de Worde.
19. A Poem by Lydgate against the forked head-dresses of women, fol. 88.
Beg. Of God and kynde procedethe alle beaute.
Entered by Ritson twice in his list, under Nos. 63 and 157. It is printed by Sir H. Nicolas, at the end of the Chronicle of London, p. 270, 4to. 1827.
20. A Moral Poem, of four seven-line stanzas, fol. 89b.
Beg. Passe forthe, )>" pilgryme, and brydelle wele )>■ beste. In Shirley's MS. in the Ashmole Library, No. 59, f. IS, is another copy, intitled •• Balade moral of gode counsel, made by Gower."
21. A moralle tale of the horse, the goose and the shepe, written by Jhon Lid- gate, fol. 91.
Beg. Contrauersies, plees and alle discorde. Printed by Caxton, and also by W. de Worde. Reprinted from the former edi- tion for the Roxburghe Club, in 1822.
22. Piers of Fidlame. fol. 100.
Beg. A mane that louethe fisshyng and foulyng bothe.
Printed in Hartshorne's Ancient Metrical Talcs, pp. 117-133, 8vo. 1829, from a MS. in Trinity College, Cambridge. A third copy is in the Public Library, Cambridge, LI. 4, 14, and a fourth among James's MSS. in the Bodleian Library. It is entered among Lydgate's poems in Ritson's list, No. 48.
23. Here fohwethe Colyne Blowbols Testament, fol. 106b.
Beg. Whanne that Bachus, the myghti Iorde.
A ludicrous poem, written in a broad style of humour. I do not know of any other copy.
24. The Complant of Dido, fol. 113.
Beg. Glorie and honowre Virgille Mantuane.
It is falsely ascribed to Lydgate in the MS., and is, in reality, a portion of Chau- cer's Legende of Good Women; f. cci.b, edit. fol. 1561.
lxvii
25. Landavalle. fol. 119.
Beg. Sothely by Arthurys day
Was Bretayne yn grete nobyle. This is the Romance of Launfal, but varies very considerably from the copy in MS. Cott. Calig. A. II., printed by Ritson, Metr. Rom., vol. ii. p. 170; and in Way's Fabliaux, vol. iii. p. 233, 8vo. 1815. Another copy is in the Lambeth MS. 305. f. 73 ; and a modernised text is preserved in the Percy MS.
26. The Weddynge of S1 Gawene and Dame Ragnelle. fol. 128b. Printed in the present volume, Appendix, No. VIII. This is the identical poem
referred to erroneously by Warton as existing in one of the Tanner MSS. (See Notes, p. 358.) For its discovery, (after the greater part of the sheets of this work was printed off,) I am indebted to the Rev. Henry O. Coxe, Assistant Librarian of the Bodleian Library, who most kindly and promptly undertook a transcript, which was subsequently compared by myself with the Manuscript. It is, unquestionably, the original of the mutilated poem in the Percy folio, and is sufficiently curious to ren- der its insertion in the Appendix an object of interest, although, had I been earlier aware of its existence, some change would probably have been made in the arrange- ment. The title in the MS. is added by a later hand, and the poem itself is very carelessly written, so that several lines appear occasionally omitted. An entire page, containing lines, is, unfortunately, wanting.
27. Tabula; a Poem by Lydgate; No. 120, of Ritson. fol. 141.
Beg. Ther is fulle lytel sicurnesse. The burden of this poem, which consists of nine eight-line stanzas, is, " That now is hay summe tyme was grasse." Ritson inserts it in his list, No. 120, on Speght's authority, but gives no reference to any MS.
28. Gwyscard and Segismonde. fol. 142b.
Beg. Prol. O wofulle worlde, deceyver of mankynde.
Work. Whylome was ther an hyghe and myghty prynce.
It differs from the version of this story by Walter, of which a MS. copy exists in Trin. Coll. Cambr. R. 3.20, and which was printed by W. de Worde, See Ritson's Bill. Poet. p. 108.
29. Poem, consisting of six stanzas of seven lines each. fol. 155b.
Beg. Myne hert is set vppone a lusty pynne. At the end is, " Finis, quod Queue Ehjzabeth ;" by whom must be meant the queen of Henry the Seventh ; but she is not mentioned as an authoress by Walpole.
30. Grysille. fol. 156b.
Beg. Ther is ryghte atte west syde of Italic
lxviii
This is the Clerke of Oxenforde's Tale, in Chaucer, f. xlib, edit. Speght, 1602.
31. Latin verses, fol. 174.
Beg. Carmina qui letus cecini, cano tristia mestus.
32. Poem in seven-line stanzas, on the murder of a child by the Jews. fol.
174b.
Beg. O goode Lorde, thyne name how mervelous.
This is the Prioresses Tale, in Chaucer, f. lxv. edit. 1602. It is, however, in- cluded among Lydgate's writings in MSS. Harl. 2251 , f. 69b, and 2382, f. 97 ; whence Ritson has carelessly inserted it in his list, No. 239.
33. Poem on the Expedition of Henry the Fifth into France, fol. 178.
Beg. God that alle this world gane make.
Attributed to Lydgate in MS. Harl. 565, f. 502 ; and thence printed by Sir H. Nicolas, in the Chronicle of London, p. 216. A large portion was previously printed by Hearne, at the end of Tho. de Elmhain, p. 359, from MS. Cott. Vitell. D. XII. At the end of the present copy is written, " Explicit per Johannem Reve Free," who may be the transcriber.
34. Poem on the reigns of the English kings, from William I. to Henry VI.
fol. 187.
Beg. This myghti William, duke of Normandy.
Attributed to Lydgate id many MSS., and printed by W. de Worde, 4to- 1530; as also by Hearne, in Append, to Robert of Gloucester, vol. ii. p. 585. A copy in MS. Harl. 2251, f. 2b, has an additional stanza on the reign of Edward the Fourth.
lxix
MARKS OF ABBREVIATION.
d' de, as, knelyd', had', welcomyd', knelyde, hade, welcomyde. er, as J> , ou9, o}> , aut , m }>e, (her, ouer, aunter, merthe. After the letter
p it is expressed by re, as, p fed, p wey, presed, prewey. t es, as, kryftf, lyjtf, ftrikf, welterf, krystes, ly$tes, strikes, welter es. h he, as, high, I nogh, wygh, with, burlich, highe, in-noghe, wyghe, withe,
burliche. h1 hit. V, 11', tt fe, lie, as, hondel', hanfell', alt, wilt, fematts, hondele, hanselle, idle,
wille,femalles. In MSS. of the fifteenth century tt is used even with
the final e. m me, as, tyfh, )>am, hern, seldom, tyme, thame, heme, seldome. fi ne, as, arfi, myn, an, fythefi, arne, myne, arte, sythene ; it sometimes has
the power of nne, as, gun, ]>en, when, gunne, thenne, whenne. p per, as, paueture, f lep, pile, perauenture, sleper, perile. g pro, as, guinces, gfered, prouinces, profered. H, qd, quod.
" ra, as, g"y|)ed, g"cos, g"ce, p"yde, graythed, gracons, grace, prayed. r re, as, her , fair , sekor , fyr , here, f aire, sekore, syre. * ri, as, c'ftmaffe, t'fel, cristmasse, trifel. u ru, as, tue, true, f ser, syr. fpial, special. y, the.
y, thei ; sometimes thi. ]>s, this. b*, that. pu, thou.
" wr, as, to'nayed, cd"t, gou no , yo', tournayed, court, gouernour, your. r wr, as, Gaynor, yor, Gaynour, your. 5 us, as, Bruts, hos, ]>5, ded5, ell5, Brutus, hous, thus, dedus, ellus ; vs is
written for us. w', with.
A short stroke over a letter denotes the absence of m or n, as, trames, tresou, hy, I, etc., trammes, tresoun hym, in.
k
g>pr (S^atoapn anli
g>pt <0atoajm anti tfje <&xtm &n2$t»
S
[FYTTE THE FIRST.]
[fol. 91.] { — ^ IpEN be fege & be affaut watj fefed at Troye, pe bor3 brittened & brent to brondej & afkej, pe tulk tat be trames of trefou b9 \vr03t, Watj tried for his tricherie, be treweft on erthe ;
Hit wat3 Ennias be athel, & his high kynde, s
pat fiben depreced puinces, & patroues bicome
Welne3e of al be wele 1 be weft iles,
Fro riche Romulus to Rome ricchis hy fwybe,
Wl gret bobbauce bat bur3e he biges vpon fyrft,
& neuenes hit his anne nome, as hit now hat ; 10
Ticius to Tufkan [turnes,] & teldes bigynes ;
Langaberde I Lubardie lyftes vp homes ;
& fer ou9 be French flod FeUx Brut9
On mony bonkkes ful brode Bretayn he fette3, *
Where werre, & wrake, & wonder,
Bi fyj>e3 hat3 wont b9 ine,
& oft bobe blyffe & bluder
Ful fkete hat3 fkyfted fyne.
b 2
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
II.
Ande quen J>is Bretayn wat3 bigged bi bis burn rych, Bolde bredden ber Ine, baret bat lofden, In mony turned tyme tene bat \vr03ten ; Mo ferlyes on bis folde han fallen here oft pen in any ob9 bat I wot, fyn bat ilk tyme. Bot of alle bat here bult of Bretaygne kyges Ay wat3 Arthur be hendeft, as I haf herde telle ; [fol. 9ii'.] for bi an aut9 in erde I attle to fchawe, pat a felly in fi3t fume men hit holden, & an outtrage awenture of Arthure3 wond9e3 ; If 3e wyl lyften bis laye bot on littel quile, t I fchal telle hit as tit as I i tou herde, As hit is ftad & ftoken, In ftori ftif & ftronge, Wl lei lett'es loken, I londe fo hat3 ben longe.
III.
pis kyg lay at Camylot vpon kryft-maffe,
W mony lufiych lorde, lede3 of be beft,
Rekenly of be roiide table alle bo rich breb9,
Wl rych reuel ory3t, & rechles m9bes ;
p9 tdnayed tulkes bi tyme3 ful mony,
Iufted ful jolile bife gentyle kni3tes,
Syben kayred to be court, caroles to make.
For ber be feft wat3 ilyche ful fiften dayes,
With alle be mete & be mirbe bat me coube a-vyfe ;
Such glaumande gle glorio9 to here,
Dere dyn vp on day, daiifyg on ny3tes,
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNY^T.
Al \vat3 hap vpon he3e I hallej & chambre3,
With lorde3 & ladies, as leueft hi bo3t ;
With all be wele of re worlde bay woned b9 famen,
}?e moft kyd kny3te3 vnder kryftf feluen,
& be louelokkeft ladies rat eu9 lif haden, .
& he be comlokeft k\s bat he court haldes.
_ ' , . , ',, , , _ . on Idle;
ror al wat3 pis iayre folk 1 her nrlt age,
J?e hapneft vnder heuen,
Kyg hyeft rno of wylle,
Hit were ' now gret nye to neue
So hardy a here 6 hille.
IV.
Wyle nw 3er wat3 fo 3ep rat h* wat3 nwe cumen, pat day doubble on be dece wat3 re douth ferued, Fro be kyg wat3 ciimen w* kny3tf 1 to be halle, J?e chaiitre of be chapel cheued to an ende ; Loude crye wat3 per keft of clerke3 & ober, [fol. 92.] Nowel nayted o newe neuened ful ofte ;
& fyben riche forth ninen to reche honde-felle,
Je3ed 3eres 3iftes on liij, 3elde hem bi hond,
Debated bufyly aboute bo giftes ;
Ladies la3ed ful loude, bo3 bay loft haden,
& he bat wan wat3 not wrothe, b' may 3e wel trawe.
Alle bis mirbe bay maden to be mete tyme ;
When bay had walchen, worbyly bay wenten to fete,
pe beft burne ay abof, as hit heft femed ;
Whene Guenore ful gay, graybed 1 be myddes,
Dreffed on be dere des, dubbed al aboute,
1 werere, MS.
6 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
Smal fendal bifides, a felure hir ou9
Of tryed Toloufe, of Tars tapites I nogh,
bat were enbrawded & beten wyth he beft gemes, . ,
r , , II in daye ; so
bat myjt be preued of prys wytb penyes to bye,
be comlokeft to difcrye,
per glent w' y3en gray,
A femloker fcat eu9 he fyje,
Soth mo3t no mon fay.
Bot Arthure wolde not ete til al were ferued, at
He watj fo joly of his joyfnes, & fu quat child gered,
His lif liked hy lyjt, he louied pe laffe
Aup9 to lenge lye, or to longe fitte,
So bified him his 3onge blod & his brayn wylde ;
& alfo ano)>9 maner meued hi eke, uo
pat he hur3 nobelay had nomen, he wolde neu9 ete
Vpon fuch a dere day, er hy deuifed were
Of fii auentur9 tyg an vncouj'e tale,
Of fu mayn m9uayle, tat he my3t trawe,
Of alderes, of armes, of o)P auentur9, 94
OJr* fu fegg hy bi-fo3t of fu fiker kny3t,
To joyne wyth hy i iuftyg in joparde to lay,
Lede lif for lyf, leue vchon 0J?9,
As fortune wolde fulfil ho he fayrer to haue.
pis wat3 [the] ki^ges coutenauce where he i co"t were, , . , „ a. . / j *a - i- r inhalle;
At vch tarand felt amog his ire meny,
per fore of face fo fere,
[fol. 92h.] He fti3tle3 ftif i ftalle,
' Of of, MS.
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
Ful jcp I bat nw jere, Much mirthe he mas w' alle.
VI.
Thus b9 ftondes I ftale be ftif kyg his feluen,
Talkkande bifore be hy3e table of trifles ful hende ;
There gode Gawan wat3 g°ybed, Gwenore bifyde,
& Ag"uayn a la dure mayn on bat ob9 fyde fittes,
Bobe be kyges fift9 lues, & ful fiker kr^tes ;
Bifchop Bawdewyn abof bi-gine3 be table,
& Ywan, Vryn fon, ette wit hyfeluen ;
pife were di3t on be des, & derworbly ferued,
& fiben mony fiker fegge at be fidborde3.
pe be firft cors come with crakkyg of trupes,
Wyth mony baner ful bry3t, bat ber bi henged,
Nwe nakryn noyfe wl be noble pipes,
Wylde werbles & wy3t wakned lote,
pat mony hert ful hi3e hef at her towches ;
Dayntes dryuen her wyth of ful dere metes,
Foyfoii of he frefche, & on fo fele difches,
pat pine to fynde he place he peple bi-forne
For to fette be fyluen9, bat fere fewes halden,
Iche lede as he loued hy felue
per laght w' outen lobe,
Ay two had difches twelue,
Good ber, & bryjt wyn bobe.
VII.
Now wyl I of hor feruife fay yow no more, For vch wy3e may wel wit no wont hat b9 were ,
H on clothe ; r.-s
ful clene
8 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
An ob9 noyfe ful newe nejed biliue, pat be lude my3t haf leue liflode to each. For vnebe \vat3 be noyce not awhyle fefed, & be fyrft cd"ce 1 be cd°t kyndely ferued, per hales I at be halle dor an aghlich mayft9, On be moft on be molde on mefure hygh ; Fro be fwyre to be fwange fo fware & fo bik, & his lyndes & his lymes fo longe & fo grete, [fol. 93.] Half etayn 1 erde I hope bat he were.
Bot mon moft I algate nryn hy to bene, & bat be myrieft I his muckel bat my3t ride ; For of bak & of breft al were his bodi fturne, Bot his wombe & his waft were worthily fmale, & alle his fetures fohjande, I forme bat he hade, For wonder of his hwe me hade, Set 1 his femblaiit fene ; He ferde as freke were fade, & ou9 al enker grene.
VIII.
Ande al gray bed 1 grene bis gome & his wedes,
A ftrayt cote ful ftrejt, bat ftek on his fides,
A mere mantile abof, menfked w' Ine,
Wl pelure pured apert be pane ful clene,
W blybe blaun9 ful bry3t, & his hod bobe,
pat wat3 la3t fro his lokke3, & layde on his fchulderes ;
Heme wel haled hofe of bat fame grene,
pat fpenet on his fparlyr, & clene fpures vnder,
Of bry3t golde, vpon filk hordes, barred ful ryche,
& fcholes vnder fchankes, here be fchalk rides ;
& alle his vefture uerayly wat3 clene v'dure,
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
Bobe be barres of his belt & ob9 blybe ftones, pl were richely rayled I his aray clene, Aboutte by felf & his fadel, vpon filk werke3, pat were to tor for to telle of tryfles be halue, pat were enbrauded abof, wyth bryddes & fly3es, With gay gaudi of grene, be golde ay I myddes ; pe pendautes of his payttrure, be proude cropure, His molaynes, & alle be metail anamayld was bene, pe fteropes bat he ftod on, ftayned of be fame, & his arfou3 al after, & his abel fturtes, pat euer glemed & glent al of grene ftones. pe fole bat he ferkkes on, fyn of bat ilke, A grene hors gret & bikke, A ftede ful ftif to ftrayne, I brawden brydel quik, [fol. 93>>.] To be gome he wat3 ful gayn.
IX.
Wei gay wat3 bis gome gered I grene,
& be here of his bed of his hors fwete ;
Fayre fannand fax vmbe-foldes his fchulderes ;
A much berd as ' a bufk oup his breft henges,
pat wyth his hijlich here, bat of his hed reches,
Wat3 enefed al vmbe-torne, a-bof his elbowes,
pat half his armes ber vnder were halched I be wyfe
Of a kyge3 capados, bat clofes his fwyre.
pe mane of bat mayn hors much to hit lyke,
Wei crefped & cemed wyth knottes ful mony,
Folden I wyth fildore aboute be fayre grene,
1 as as, MS. c
10 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
Ay a herle of pe here, an op9 of golde ; pe tayl & his toppyg twynen of a fute, & bouden bote wyth a bande of a bryjt grene, Dubbed wyth ful dere ftone3, as pe dok lafted, Sypen prawen wyth a pwong a pwarle knot alofte, per mony belle3 ful bry3t of brende golde rungen. Such a fole vpon folde, ne freke pat hy rydes, Wat3 neu9 fene I pat fale wyth fy3t er pat tyme, He loked as layt fo ly3t, So fayd al pat hy fy3e, Hit femed as no mon my3t, Vnd9 his dyntte3 dry3e.
X.
Whep9 hade he no helme ne hawbrgh naup9, Ne no pyfan, ne no plate pat pented to armes, Ne no fchafte, ne no fchelde, to fchwne ne to fuiyte, Bot I his on honde he bade a holyn bobbe, pat is gratteft I grene, when greue3 ar bare, & an ax i his op9, a hoge & vn-mete, A lpetos fparpe to expoii i fpelle quo fo my3t ; pe hede of an elr^erde pe large lenkpe hade, pe grayn al of grene ftele & of golde hewen, pe bit burnyft bry3t, w' a brod egge, As wel fchapen to fchere as fcharp rafpres ; pe ftele of a ftif ftaf pe fturne hit bi-grypte, [fol. 94.] pat wat3 wauden wyth yrn to pe wande3 ende, & al bigrauen w' grene, i g"c6s werkes; A lace lapped aboute, pat louked at pe hede, & fo aft9 pe halme halched ful ofte, Wyth tryed taffele3 perto tacched i nogfte,
yse
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 1 1
On botoiy of be bry3t grene brayden ful ryche. 220
pis habel belde3 hy T, & be halle entres,
Driuande to be he3e dece, dut he no wobe,
Haylfed be neu9 ane, bot he3e he ou9 loketl.
pe fyrft word bat he warp, " wher is," he fayd,
" pe trou9no" of bis eye ? gladly I wolde , . ,, 225
raviou. Se bat fegg I fyjt, & w« by felf fpeke, " y
To kny3te3 he keft his y3e,
& reled hy vp & dou,
He ftemmed & con ftudie, 230
Quo wait ber moft renoii.
XI.
Ther wat3 lok)rg on lenbe, be lude to be-holde,
For vcb mo had meruayle quat hit mene my3t,
pat a habel & a horse my3t fueh a hwe lach,
As growe grene as be gres & grener hit femed,
pen grene aumayl on golde lowande bry3t9 ;
Al ftudied bat b9 ftod, & ftalked hy nerre,
Wyth al be wonder of be worlde, what he worth fchulde.
For fele fellyej had bay fen, bot fuch neu9 are,
For bi for fantou & fayry3e be folk bere hit denied ;
per fore to anfware wat3 ar3e mony abel freke,
& al ftouned at his fteuen, & fton-ftil feten,
In a fwogft fylence bur3 \e ^e riche,
As al were flypped vpon flepe fo flaked horlotej,
I deme hit not al for doute, Bot fu for cortayfye, Bot let hy bat al fchulde loute, Caft vnto bat wy3e.
c -J
12 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNY3T.
XII.
pen Arbo" bifore be hi3 dece bat auenture byholde3,
& rekenly hy reir'enced, for-rad was he neu9,
& fayde, " \vy3e, welcii iwys to bis place,
[fol. 94".] pe hede of bis oftel Arthd" I hat ;
Li3t luflych adou, & lenge, I be praye,
& quat fo by wylle is, we fchal wyt aft9."
" Nay as help me," q be habel, " he bat on hy3e fyttes,
To wone any quyle I bis won, hit wat3 not my ernde ;
Bot for be los of be lede is lyft vp fo hy3e,
& by bur3 & by burnes beft ar holden,
Stifeft vnder ftel-gere on ltedes to ryde,
pe wy3teft & be worbyeft of be worldes kynde,
Preue forto play wyth in ob9 pure layke3 ;
& here is kydde cortayfye, as I haf herd carp,
& bat hat3 wayned me hider, I wyis, at bis tyme.
3e may be feker hi bis brauch bat I bere here,
pat I paffe as i pes, & no ply3t feche ;
For had I fouded I fere, I fe3tyg wyfe,
I haue a haubergfi at home & a helme bobe,
A fchelde, & a fcharp fpere, fchinande bry3t,
Ande ob9 weppenes to welde, I wene wel als,
Bot for I wolde no were, my wede3 ar foft9.
Bot if bu be fo bold as alle burne3 tellen, „ . .
a bi ry3t.
p° wyl g°nt me godly be gomen bat I afk,
Arthd" con onfware,
& fayd, " f cortays kny3t,
If bu craue batayl bare,
Here fayle3 bu not to fyjt."
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 13
XIII.
" Nay, frayft I no fj^t, I fayth I pe telle, Hit arn aboute on pis bench bot berdle3 chykler ; If I were hafped i amies on a heje ftede, Here is no mon me to raach, for my3te3 fo wayke. For hy I craue I pis cd"t a cryftemas gome, For hit is 30I & nwe 3er, & here ar 3ep mony ; If any fo hardy I pis ho9 holde3 hy feluen, Be fo bolde I his blod, brayn I hys hede, pat dar ftifly ftrike a ftrok for an op9, I fchal gif hy of my gyft pys giferne ryche, pis ax, pat is heue 1 nogh, to hondel' as hy lykes, [fol. 95.] & I fchal bide pe fyrft bur, as bare as I fitte. If any freke be fo felle to fonde pat I telle, Lepe ly3tly me to, & lach pis weppen, I quit clayme hit for eu9, kepe hit as his auen, & I fchal ftonde hy a ftrok, ftif on pis net, Elle3 pu wyl di3t me pe dom to dele hy an op9, ' ^ '
& 3et gif hy refpite, A twelmonyth & a day ; Now hy3e, & let fe tite Dar any her Tne 03t fay."
XIV.
If he hem ftowned vpon fyrft, ftiller were pane Alle pe hered-men I halle, pe hy3 & pe lo3e ; pe renk on his roiice hy ruched I his fadel, & runilchly his rede y3en he reled aboute, Bende bis brefed bro3e3, blycande grene,
14 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYjf.
Wayued his berde for to wayte, quo fo wolde ryfe ? When non wolde kepe h}', w' carp he co3ed ful hy3e, And rimed hy ful richly, & ry$t hy to fpeke : " What, is pis Arbures ho9," q pe hapel pene, " pat al pe ro9 renes of, pur3 ryalmes fo mony ? Where is now yd" fd"quydrye & yo" coqueftes, Yd" gryndel-layk, & yd* greme, & yo" grete wordes ? Now is pe reuel & pe renou of pe roiide table Ou;-walt wyth a worde of on wy3es fpeche ; For al dares for drede, wl oute dynt fchewed ! " Wyth pis he la3es fo loude, pat pe lorde greued ; pe blod fchot for fcham I to his fchyre face, He wex as wroth as wynde, So did alle pat per were, pe kyg as kene bi kynde, pe ftod pat ftif mon nere.
XV.
Ande fayde, " hapel, by heuen py afkyg is nys; & as pu foly hat3 frayft, fynde pe be-houes ; I know no gome pat is gaft of py grete wordes. Gif me now py geferne, vpon gode3 halue, & I fchal bay pen py bone, pat pu boden habbes." [fol. 95b.] Ly3tly lepe3 he hy to, & la3t at his honde ; pen feerfly pat op9 freke vpon fote ly3tis. Now hat3 Arthure his axe, & pe halme grype3, & fturnely fture3 hit aboute, pat ftryke wyth hit P03L pe ftif mon hy bifore ftod vpon hyjt, Herre pen ani in pe ho9 by pe hede & more ; Wyth fturne fchere per he ftod, he ftroked his berde, & wyth a coutenafice dry3e he droj dou his cote,
& lere ;
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNY3T. 15
No more mate ne difmayd for hys may dintej,
pen any burne vpon bench hade brojt hy to drynk,
Gawan, bat fate bi be quene,
To be kyg he can enclyne, m
" I be-feche now w' la^e} fene,
pis melly mot be myne."
XVI.
" Wolde 5e worbilych, lorde," q Gawan to be kyg,
" Bid me bo3e fro bis benche, & i'tonde by yow bere,
pat I wyth oute vylanye my3t voyde bis table, 3+5
& bat my legge lady lyked nat ille,
I wolde com to yd" coufeyl, bifore yd" cort ryche.
For me bink hit not femly, as hit is fob knawen,
p'; fuch an afkyg is heuened fo hy3e I yd" fale,
pa3 3e 30" felf be talenttyf to take hit to yd" feluen, 350
Whil mony fo bolde yow aboute vpon bench fytten,
pat vnder heuen, I hope, non ha3er er of wylle,
Ne bett9 bodyes on bent, ber baret is rered ;
I am be wakkeft, I wot, & of wyt febleft,
& left lur of my lyf, quo laytes be fobe, ms
Bot for as much as 3e ar myn em, I am only to prayfe,
No boiite bot yd" blod I in my bode knowe,
& fyben bis note is fo nys, b' no3t hit yow falles,
& I haue frayned hit at yow fyrft, folde3 hit to me,
& if I carp not comlyly, let alle bis cort rych,
Rycbe to-geder con rou,
& fyben bay redden alle fame,
To ryd be kyg wyth crou,
& gif Gawan be game. ot
1G SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
XVII.
[fol. 96.] pen comaiided be kyg be kny3t for to ryfe ; & he ful radly vp ros, & ruchched hy fayre, Kneled dou bifore be kyg, & cache3 Vat weppen ; & he luflyly hit hy laft, & lyfte vp his honde, & gef hy godde3 bleffyg, & gladly hy biddes pat his hert & his honde fchulde hardi be bobe. " Kepe be cofyn," q be kjTg, " bat bu on kyrf fette, & if bu rede3 hy ry3t, redly I trowe, pat bu fchal byden be bur bat he fchal bede aft9." Gawan got3 to be gome, w' giferne I honde, & he baldly hy byde3, he bayft neu9 be hekler. pen carppe3 to ■£ Gawan be kny3t I be grene, " Refourme we oure forwardes, er we fyrre paffe. Fyrft I ebe be, habel, how bat bu hattes, pat bu me telle truly, as I tryft may ?" " In god fayth," q be goode knyjt, " Gawan I hatte, pat bede be bis buffet, quat fo bi-falle3 aft9, & at bis tyme twelmonyth take at be anob9, Wyth what weppen fo bu wylt, & wyth no wy3 elle^ , pat ob9 onfware3 agayn, " Sir Gawan, fo mot I hryue, As I am ferly fayn, pis dint bat bu fchal dryue."
XVIII.
" Bi gog," q be grene knyjt, " £ Gawan, me lykes, pat I fchal fange at by fuft bat I haf frayft here ; & bu hat3 redily rehersed, bi refou ful trwe,
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 17
Clanly al be couenaitt bat I be kyge afked,
Saf bat bu fchal fwer me, fegge, bi hi trawbe,
pat bu fchal feche me hi fell", where fo bn hopes 39s
I may be funde vpoa folde, & fych he fuch wages
As bu deles me to day, hifore his doube ryche."
" Where fchulde I wale he," q Gauan, " where is by place '?
I wot neu9 where bu wonyes, bi hy hat me wrojt,
Ne I know not he, kmr3t, hy cort, ne hi name. 400
Bot teche me truly her to, & telle me howe bu hattes,
& I fchal ware alle my wyt to wyne me beder ;
[foi. 06''.] & hat I fwere he for fobe, & by my feker traweh."
" pat is in nogh in nwe 3er, hit nedes no more,"
q he gome I he grene to Gawan he hende, 405
" Gif I he telle trwly, quen I he tape haue,
& hu me fmohely hat3 fmyten, fmartly I he teche
Of my ho9, & my home, & myn owen nome,
pen may hu frayft my fare, & forwarde3 hokle,
& if I fpende no fpeche, hene fpede3 hu J^e bett9, 410
_ 11101 r II uot llokes ;
tor ru may leng I hy londe, & layt no iyrre,
Ta now by gryme tole to he,
& let fe how hu cnoke3."
" Gladly f, for fohe," w
q Gawan ; his ax he ftrokes.
XIX.
The grene kny3t vpon groiide grayhely hy dreffes
A littel lut wl he hede he lere he difkoue93,
His lorjge louelych lokke3 he layd ou9 his croii,
Let he naked nee to he note fchewe. 420
Gauan gripped to his ax, & gederes hit on hy3t,
pe kay fote on he folde he be-fore fette,
18 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
Let hit dou ly3tly ly3t on be naked, pat be fcharp of be fchalk fchyndered be bones, & fchrak bur3 be fchyire grece, & fcade hit I twyne, t>at be bit of be brou ftel bot on be groude. pe fay re hede fro be halce hit [felle] to be erbe, J?at fele hit foyned wyth her fete, here hit forth roled ; J?e blod brayd fro be body, b' blykked on be grene ; & nawber falt9ed ne fel be freke neu9 be helder, Bot ftybly he ftart forth vpon ftyf fchonkes, & ruyfchly he ra3t out, here as renkke3 ftoden, La3t to his lufly hed, & lyft hit vp fone ; & fyben bo3e3 to his blonk, be brydel he cachehe3, Steppe3 i to ftel bawe, & ftryde3 alofte, & his hede by be here I his honde halde3 ; & as fadly be fegge hy i his fadel fette, . . , ,
As non vnhap had hy ayled, ba3 hedle3 ho we1, He brayde bis bluk s aboute, [foi. 97.] ]3at vgly bodi J-'at bledde, Moni on of hy had doute, Bi bat his refoirj were redde.
XX.
For be hede in his honde he halde3 vp euen,
To-ward be derreft on be dece he drelfe3 be face,
& hit lyfte vp be y3e-lydde3, & loked ful brode,
& meled b9 much w' his muthe, as 3e may now here.
" Loke, Gawan, bu be gray be to go as bu hette3,
& layte as lelly til pu me, lude, fynde,
As bu hat3 hette I bis halle, herande bife kny3tes ;
1 he were ? . - blunk ?
V i 59 ~-v "-*>w -'• • ■" y Vo* ,_:
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 19
To be grene chapel bu chofe, I charge he to fotte,
Such a dunt as bu hatj dalt differued bu habbe3,
To be jederly jolden oa nw 3eres morn ;
pe knyjt of he grene chapel men knowen me mony ;
For hi me for to fynde if bu frayfte3, fayle3 hu neu9, 4ss
J?er fore com, oh9 recreaut be calde, he be-houes."
With a runifch rout be raynej he torne3,
Hailed out at be hal-dor, his lied I his hande,
pat be fyr of be flynt fla3e fro fole houes.
To quat kyth he be-com, knwe non here,
x- y ui. n. £.« i. i 4. - [| what bene?
JNeuy more ben bay wyite fir m queren he wat3 wonen,
pe kyg & Gawen bare,
At bat grene }?ay la3e & grene,
jet breued wat3 hit ful bare, m
A m9uayl amog bo mene.
XXI.
J?a3 Arb9 be hende kyg at hert hade wonder, He let no femblaiit be fene, hot fayde ful hy3e To be comlych quene, w^,rth cortays fpeche,
" Dere dame, to clay demay yow neu9 ; 470
Wei by-comes fuch craft vpon c'ftmaffe, Laykyg of ent9lude3, to la3e & to fyng, Amog bife, kynde caroles of kny;te3 & ladye3 ; Neu9 be lece to my mete I may me wel dres, For I haf fen a felly, I may not for-fake." -r.
He glent vpon f Gawen, & gaynly he fayde, " Now f, heng vp byn ax, bat hat3 I nogh hewen." [foi. 97b.] & hit -\Yat3 don abof be dece, on dofer to henge, per alle men for m9uayl my3t on hit loke,
& bi trwe tytel b9 of to telle ^e wonder. m
d 2
20 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
pene bay bo3ed to a borde bile burnes to-geder,
pe kyg & be gode kny3t, & kene me he ferued
Of alle dayntye3 double, as derreft my3t falle,
Wyth alle maner of mete & mynftralcie bobe ; .
Wyth wele wait bay bat day, til worbed an ende,
Now benk wel, f Gawan,
For wobe bat ba ne wonde,
pis auenture forto frayn,
pat bu hat3 tan on honde.
[FYTTE THE SECOND.]
This hanfell' hat3 Arthur of auenturus on fyrft, In 3onge 3er, for he 3erned 3elpyg to here, Tha3 hym worde3 were wane, when bay to fete wenten ; Now ar bay ftoken of fturne werk ftaf-ful her hond. Gawan wat3 glad to be-gyne bofe gomne3 I halle, Bot ba3 be ende be heuy, haf 3e no wonder ; For ba3 man be mery in myde, quen bay ban mayn drynk, A 3ere 3ernes ful 3erne, & 3elde3 neu9 lyke, pe forme to be fynifment folde3 ful felden. For bi bis 30I ou9-3ede, & be 3ere aft9, & vche fefoii ferlepes fued after oV9 ; After cryften-maffe com be crabbed lentou, pat frayfte3 flefch wyth be fyfche & fode more fymple ; Bot bene be weder of be worlde wyth wynter hit brepe3,
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 21
bi bonk
Colde clenge3 adou, cloude3 vp lyften, Schyre fchede3 be rayn I fchowre3 ful war me, Falle3 vpon fayre flat, fiowre3 ]>ere fchewen, Bobe groude3 & be greue3 grene ar ber wede3, Brydde3 bufken to bylde, & bremlych fygen, For folace of be fofte fom9 bat lues ber aft9, & bloffue3 bolne to blowe, Bi rawe3 rycb & ronk, pe note3 noble I no3e, [fol. 98.] Ar herde in wod fo wlonk.
II.
After be fefou of fom9 wyth be foft wynde3,
Quen 3efer2 fyfle3 by feb' on fede3 & erbe3,
Wela wyne is ]>e wort )>at woxes )>er oute,
Wlien ~pe donkande dewe drope3 of be leue3,
To bide a blyfful blufch of he bry3t fune.
Bot be byr3es berueft, & hardenes hy fone,
"\Varne3 hy for be wynter to wax ful rype ;
He dryues wyth dro3t be duft for to ryfe,
Fro be face of be folde to fl)'3e ful hy5e ;
Wrobe w\rnde of be welkyn wraftele3 w' be fiine,
pe leue3 lancen fro be lynde, & lyften on be groiide,
& al grayes be gres, bat grene wat3 ere ;
pene al rype3 & rote3 bat ros vpon fyrft,
& b9 3irne3 be 3ere 1 3ifterdaye3 mony,
& wynter wynde3 a3ayn, as be worlde afke3,
Til me5el-mas mone,
Wat3 cuen wyth wynter wage ;
pen benkke3 Gawan ful fone,
Of bis amo9 uyage.
22 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
III.
Jet quyl al-hal-day w' Arb9 he lenges, & he made a fare on bl feft, for )>e freke3 fake, W much reuel & ryche of J^e roiide tahle ; Kny3te3 ful cortays & comlych ladies, Al for luf of bat lede I longyge bay were, Bot neu9 be lece ne be lat9 bay neuened hot m9be, Mony ioyle3 for bat ientyle iape3 ber maden. For aftter mete, w1 rncfnyg he melej to his eme, & fpeke3 of his paffage, & pertly he fayde, " Now, lege lorde of my lyf, leue I yow afk ; }e knowe be coft of bis cace, kepe I no more To telle yow tene3 ber of neu9 bot t'fel ; Bot I am bou to be bur barely to morne, To fech be gome of be grene, as god wyl me wylle. pene be heft of be bur3 bo3ed to-geder, Ay wan, & Errik, & ob9 ful mony, [foi. 98i>.] f Doddinaual de Sauage, be duk of Clarence, Launcelot, & Lyonel, & Lucan be gode, f Boos, & fir Byduer, bigme bobe, & mony ob9 menfkful, wl Mador de la Port. Alle bis compayny of court com be kyg nerre, For to coufeyl be kny3t, with care at her hert ; pere wat3 much derne doel driuen i be fale, pat fo worthe asWawan fchulde wende on bat ernde,
To dry3e a delful dynt, & dele no more,
pe knyjt mad ay god chere,
& fayde, " quat fchuld I wonde,
Of deftines derf & dere,
What may mon do bot fonde ! "
\vy th bronde ;
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 23
IV.
He dowelle3 her al bat day, and dreffe3 on be morn,
Afke3 erly hys arme3, & alle were bay bro3t ;
Fyrft a tule tapit, ty3t ou; be flet,
& miche \vat3 be gyld gere bat glent ber alofte ;
pe ftif mon fteppe3 beron, & be ftel hondele3,
Dubbed I a dublet of a dere tars,
& fyben a crafty capados, clofed aloft,
pat wyth a bry3t blauner was bouden w* Ine ;
pene fet bay be fabatou3 vpon be fegge fote3,
His lege3 lapped I ftel wc luflych greue3,
W polayne3 piched ber to, policed ful clene,
Aboute his kne3 knaged wyth knote3 of golde ;
Queme quyffewes be, bat coyntlych clofed
His thik brawen by3e3, wf bwonges to-tachched ;
& fyben be brawden bryne of bry3t ftel r)rge3,
Vmbe-weued bat wy3, vpon wlonk ftuffe ;
& wel bornyft brace vpon his bobe armes,
W' gode cowters & gay, & gloue3 of plate,
& alle be godlych gere bat hy gayn fchulde,
Wyth ryche cote armure, His gold fpore3 fpend w* pryde, Gurde wyth a bront fill fure, W filk fayn vmbe his fyde.
V.
[foi. 99.] When he wat3 hafped i armes, his harnays wat3 ryche, pe left lachet ou9 loupe lemed of golde ; So harnayft as he wat3 he herkne3 his maffe,
.24 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
Offred & honored at be he$e auter ;
Syben he come3 to be kjg, & to his cort ferej,
Lache3 lufly his leue at lorde3 & ladye3 ;
& bay hy kyft & conueyed, bikende hy to kryft.
Bi hat \vat3 Gryngolet grayth, & gurde w' a fadel,
pat glemed ful gayly w* mony golde frenges,
Ay quere naylet ful nwe for bat note ryched ;
pe brydel barred a-boute, w' bry3t golde boiiden ;
pe apparayl of be payttrure, & of be proude fkyrte3,
pe cropore, & be couertor, acorded wyth be arfoue3 ;
& al wat3 rayled on red ryche golde nayle3,
pat al glytered & glent as glem of be fune.
pene hentes he be belme, & haftily hit kyffes,
pat wat3 ftapled ftifly, & ftoffed wyth ine ;
Hit \iat} hy3e on his hede, hafped bihynde,
Wyth a ly3th vryfou ou9 be auentayle,
Enbrawden & boiiden wyth be beft geme3,
On brode fylkyn borde, & brydde3 on feme3,
As papiaye3 paynted pernyg bitwene,
Tortors & trulofe3 entayled fo byk, „ _ . _
, , , U i tone ;
As mony burde ber aboute had be leue wynr,
pe cercle wat3 more o prys,
pat vmbe-clypped hys croii,
Of diamaiite3 a deuys,
pat bobe were bry3t & broil.
VI.
Then bay fchewed hy be fchelde, bat was of fchyr goule3, Wyth be pentangel de-paynt of pure golde hwe3 ; He brayde3 hit by be bauderyk, a-boute be hals keftf , pat bifemed be fegge femlyly fayre.
I mote
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 25
& quy pe pentangel apendej to fiat prynce noble, I am I tent yow to telle, }>of tary hyt me fchulde ; Hit is a fygne pat Salamon fet fu quyle, 625
I bytoknyg of trawpe, bi tytle pat hit habbe3, [foi. 99'1.] For hit is a figure pat halde3 fyue poynte3, & vche lyne vmbe-lappej & louke3 i oper, & ay quere hit is emdele3, & Englych hit callen ou9 al, as I here, pe endeles knot. rao
For py hit acorde3 to pis kny3t, & to his cler arme3, For ay faythful I fyue & fere fyue fype3, Gawan \vat3 for gode knawen, & as golde pured, Voyded of vche vylany, wyth vertue3 endned, For J>y pe pentangel nwe He ber I fchelde & cote, As tulk of tale moft trwe, & gentyleft kriyjt of lote.
VII.
Fyrft he wat3 funden fautle3 T his fyue wytte3,
& efte fayled neu9 pe freke I his fyue fyngres,
& alle his afyauce vpon folde wat3 i pe fyue woudej
]?at cryft ka3t on pe croys, as pe crede tellej ;
& quere fo eu9 pys mon I melly wat3 ftad,
His pro po3t wat3 i pat pur3 alle op9 pyge3,
pat alle his formes he fong at pe fyue ioye3,
pat pe hende heuen quene had of hir chylde ;
At pis caufe pe kny3t comlyche hade
i pe more half of his fchelde hir ymage depaynted ,
pat quen he blufched perto, his belde neu9 payred.
pe fyft fyue pat I finde pat pe frek vfed,
\Vat3 frauchyfe, & fela3fchyp, for be al pyg
26 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
His clannes & his cortayfye croked were neu9,
& pite, pat paffe3 alle poynte3, J>yfe pure fyue
Were harder happed on J?at Impel pe on any oJ>9. ess
Now alle befe fyue type} forfobe were fetled on pis knyjt,
& vchone hatched in oj?, pat non ende hade,
& fyched vpon fyue poynte3, bat fayld neu9,
Ne famned neu9 I no fyde, ne fundred nouber,
W outen ende at any noke i quere ' fynde, mo
Where eu9 pe gomen bygan, or glod to an ende.
per fore on his fchene fchelde fchapen wat3 be knot,
p9 alle wyth red golde vpon rede gowle3, •, v. • i i II w' lore. 665
[fol. ioo.j pat is pe pure pentaungel wyth pe peple called,
Now gray^ed is Gawan gay,
& la3t his lauce ry3t tore,
& gef hem alle goud day,
He wende for eu9 more.
VIII.
He fperred pe fted w* pe fpure3, & fprong on his way,
So ftif pat pe fton fyr ftroke out per aft9;
Al pat fe3 pat femly fyked i hert,
& fayde foply al fame fegges til op9,
Carande for tat comly, " bi kiyft, hit is fcafe,
pat pu, leude, fchal be loft, bat art of lyf noble !
To fynde hys fere vpon folde, I fayth is not epe ;
Warloker to haf wro3t had more wyt bene,
& haf dy3t 3onder dere a duk to haue worbed ;
A lowande leder of lede3 I londe hy wel feme3,
& fo had bett9 haf ben pe britned to no3t,
1 ay quere ?
bad1 daye;
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 27
Hadet wytk an aluifch mon, for angardej pryde. Who knew eu9 any kyg fuck coufel to take, As knyjte} I cauelou3 on cryft-maffe gomne3 ! " Wei muck wat3 be warme water bl walt9ed of yjen, Wlien bat femly fyre fojt fro bo wonej, He made non abode, Bot wy3tly went hys way, Mony wylfu way he rode, pe bok as I herde fay.
IX.
Now ride3 his renk bui'3 he ryalme of Logres, f Gauan on gode3 halue, ba3 hy no gomen bo3t ; Oft leudle3 alone ke lenge3 on ny3tes, per he fonde no3t hy byfore he fare hat he lyked ; Hade ke no fere bot his fole, bi frythe3 & doiie3, Ne no gome bot god, bi gate wyth to karp, Til tat ke ne3ed ful nogh 2 1 to be Norbe Wale3 ; Alle be iles of Anglefay on lyft hak° ke kalde3, & fare3 ou9 be forde3 by be for-londej, Ou9 at he Holy-Hede til he hade eft bonk, I he w\ddreneffe of Wyrale ; wonde her bot lyte [foi.ioob.] pat auh9 god oh9 gome wyth goud hert louied.
& ay he frayned, as he ferde, at freke3 hat he met, If hay hade herde any karp of a kny3t grene, I any groude her aboute, of he grene chapel 3 ; & al nykked ky wytk nay, hat neu9 I her lyue pay fe3e neu9 no fegge bat watj of fuche hwe3, pe kny3t tok gates ftraunge,
of 2;rene.
pat ? 2 nygji p i dapel, MS.
E 2
28 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
I mony a bonk vn-bene, His cher ful oft con chauge, pat chapel er he my3t fene.
X.
Mony klyf he ou9 clambe I contraye3 ftrauge, Fer floten fro his frende3 fremedly he ryde3 ; At vche warbe ober wat9 ber be wy3e paffed, He fonde a foo hy byfore, hot ferly hit were, & Vat fo foule & fo felle, bat fe3t hjr by-hode ; So mony m9uayl bi mout b9 Ipe mon fynde3, Hit were to tore for to telle of be tenbe dole. Sumwhyle wyth worme3 he werre3, & w' wolues als, Suwhyle wyth wodwos, bat woned I be knarre3, Bobe wyth bulle3 & bere3, & bore3 ob9 quyle, & etayne3, tat hy a-nelede, of be he3e felle ; Nade he ben du;ty & drj^e, & drj^tyn had ferued, Douteles he hade ben ded, & dreped ful ofte. For werre wrathed hy not fo much, bat wyt9 was wors, When be colde cler wat9 fro be cloude3 fchadden, & fres er hit falle myjt to be fale erte ; Ner flayn wyth be flete he fleped I his yrnes, Mo ny3te3 be T nogb I naked rokke3, ]f as clat9ande fro be creft be colde borne rene3, & henged he3e ou9 his hede I hard iiffe ikkles. pus I peryl, & payne, & plytes ful harde, 1
Bi contray carye3 bis kny3t, tyl kryi't-maffe euen, pe kny3t wel bat tyde, To Maiy made his mone, pat ho hy red to ryde, [fol. 101.] & wyffe by to hi wone.
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYjT. 29
XI.
Bi a moute on be morne meryly he rydes, Into a foreft ful dep, )?at ferly wat3 wylde, Hi3e hillej on vche a halue, & holt wode3 vnder, Of hore oke3 ful hoge a hundreth to-geder ; pe hafel & J^e ha3-borne were harled al famen, W ro3e raged moffe rayled ayr where, W mony bryddej vnblybe vpon bare twyrges, pat pitofly ber piped for pyne of be colde. pe gome vpon Gryngolet glyde3 hem vnder, pur3 mony niify & myre, mo al hy one, Carande for his coftes, left he ne keu9 fchulde To fe be ferny of bat fyre, bat on bat felf ny3t Of a burde wat3 borne, oure baret to quelle ; & berfore fykyg he fayde, " I be-feche be, lorde, & Mary, bat is myldeft moder fo dere, Of fu herber, ber he3ly I myT3t here maffe, Ande by matynej to-morne, mekely I afk, & }>er to preftly I pray my pat9 & aue, He rode I his prayere, & cryed for his myfdede, He faj-ned hy I fybes fere, & fayde " cros kryft me fpede ! "
XII.
Nade he fayned hy felf fegge bot brye, Er he wat3 war I be wod of a won I a mote, Abof a laiide, on a lawe, loken vnder 00363, Of mony borelych bole, aboute bi be diches ;
& crede.
i hafte ;
30 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNY3T.
A caftel be comlokeft bat eu9 kny3t a3te, Pyched on a prayere, a park al aboute, W* a pyked palays, pyned ful bik, pat vmbe-te3e mony tre mo be two myle. pat holde on bat on fyde be habel auyfed, As hit fchemered & fchon bur3 be fcbyre oke3 ; pene hat3 he hendly of his helme, & he3ly he bonke3 Jefus & fay Gilyan, bat gentyle ar bobe, [foi.ioib.] pat cortayfly hade hy kydde, & his cry herkened.
" Now bone hoftel," cobe be burne, " I he-feche yow 3ette ! "
pene gedere3 he to Gryngolet w* be gilt hele3,
& he ful chaucely hat3 chofen to be chef gate,
pat bro3t bremly be burne to be bryge ende,
pe bryge wat3 breme vp brayde,
pe 3ate3 wer ftoken fafte,
pe walle3 were wel arayed,
Hit dut no wynde3 blafte.
XIII.
pe burne bode on bonk, bat on blonk houed, Of be depe double dich bat drof to be place, pe walle wod i be wat9 wonderly depe, Ande eft a ful huge he3t hit haled vpon lofte, Of harde he wen fton vp to be table3, Enbaned vnder be abataylmet, I be beft lawe ; & fyben garyte3 ful gaye gered bi-twene, Wyth mony luflych loupe, bat louked ful clene A bett9 barbican bat burne blufched vpon neu9 ; & Inermore he be-helde bat halle ful hy3e, Towre telded bytwene trochet ful bik, Fayre fylyole3 bat fy3ed, & ferlyly long,
amnant ;
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 31
With coruon coproues, craftyly fle3e ;
Chalk whyt chymnees ber ches he I no^e,
Vpon baftel roue3, bat blenked ful quyte ;
So mony pynakle payntet \vat3 poudred ay quere, soo
Aniog be caftel carnele3, clambred fo bik,
pat pared out of papure purely hit femed.
pe fre freke on be fole hit fayr I noghe ' bo3t,
If he my3t keu9 to com be cloyft9 wyth Ine,
To herber I bat hoftel, whyl halyday lefted,
He calde, & fone ber com
A porter pure plefaut,
On be wal his ernd he nome,
& haylfed be kny3t eryaiit.
XIV.
" Gode £," q Gawan, " wolde3 bu go my ernde, To be he3 lorde of bis ho9, herber to craue ?" [fol. 102.] " je, Pet9," q be port9, " & purely I trowe8,
pat 3e be, wy3e, welcu to won quyle yow lyke3." pe 3ede be wy3e a3ayn fwybe, & folke frely hy wyth, to fonge be kny3t ; pay let dou be grete dra3t, & derely out 3eden, & kneled dou on her knes vpon be colde erbe, To welcu bis ilk wy3, as worby horn bo3t ; pay 3olden hy be brode 3ate, 3arked vp wyde, & he hem rayfed rekenly, & rod ou9 be brygge ; Sere fegge3 lry fefed by'fadel, quel3 he lyjt, & fyben ftabeled his ftede ltif me I no3e. Kny3te3 & fnryere3 comen dou bene,
1 nghe, MS. - trowoe, MS. 3 quyle ?
32 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
For to brj'g )>is burne ' wyth blys i to balle ; a
Quen lie bef vp his helme, J?er hi3ed I nogh
For to bent hit at his honde, pe hende to feruen ;
His bronde & his blafou bote )>ay token.
pe haylfed he ful hendly po ha>ele3 vch one,
& mony proud mon J?er p9fed, tat pryce to hono" ; s
Alle hafped 1 his he3 wede to halle J?ay hy wonen,
per fay re fyre vpon flet ferfly brened.
pene pe lorde of pe lede loute3 fro his chambre,
For to mete wyth menfke pe mon on pe flor ;
He fayde, " 3e ar welcu to welde as yow lyke3,
pat here is al is yowre awen, to haue at yowre wylle,
" Graut mercy," q Gawayn,
" per kryft hit yow for-3elde,"
As freke3 }>at femed fayn, s
AyJ>9 o]P I arme3 co felde.
XV.
Gawayn glyjt on pe gome >at godly hy gret, & ))U3t hit a bolde burne J?at pe bur3 a3te, A hoge habel for pe none3, & of hygh elde * ; Brode bry3t wat3 his berde, & al beu9 hwed, i
Sturne ftif on he ftryfcbe on ftal worth fchonke3, Felle face as pe fyre, & fre of hys fpeche; & wel by femed for foj>e, as pe fegge Jm3t, To lede a lortfchyp I lee of leude3 ful gode. [fol.io2b.] pe lorde hy charred to a chambre, & chefly3 cuaiide3 i
To delyu9 hym a leude, hym lo3ly to ferue ; & J>ere were bou at his bode burne3 1 no3e,
' buurne, MS. 2 eldee, MS. ' clefly, MS.
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNY3T. 33
pat brojt by to a brj^t boure, b9 bedd_yg \vat3 noble,
Of cortynes of clene fylk, wyth cler golde heme3,
& cou9tore3 ful curious, w' comlych panej, 8.55
Of bry5t blaunn91 a-boue enbrawded bifydej,
Rudele3 renande on rope}, red golde rygej,
Tapyte3 t\*3t to be \v05e, of tuly & tars,
& vnder fete on be fiet of fohjande fute.
per he wat3 difpoyled, wyth fpeche3 of my9be, 860
pe burn of his bruny, & of his bry3t wede3 ;
Ryche robes ful rad renkke3 hem bitten,
For to charge, & to chaunge, & chofe of be beft.
Sone as he on hent, & happed b9 ine,
pat fete on hym8 feraly, wyth faylande fkyrte3, mi
pe ver by his uifage verayly hit femed
\Velne3 to vche babel alle on hwes,
Lowande & lufly, alle his lyme3 vnder, „ . ,
, , V 01 r , II hem J>°3t >
pat a comioker kny3t neu' krylt made,
Wheben I worlde he were,
Hit femed as he my3t
Be prynce w* outen pere,
1 felde b9 telle me fy3t.
XVI.
A cheyer by-fore be chemne, p9 charcole brened, Wat3 gray bed for f Gawan, graybely w' clope3, Whyffynes vpon queldepoyntf, ba koyt wer bote ; & bene a mere mantyle wat3 on bat mon caft, Of a brou bleeaut, enbrauded ful ryche, & fay re furred wyth Tne w* felle3 of be beft,
1 blaunm9, MS. °~ hyn, MS.
34 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNY3T.
Alle of ermyn 1 erde, his hode of pe fame ;
& be-fete I pat fettel femlych ryche,
& achaufed hy chefly1, & pene his cher mended.
Sone wat3 telded vp a tapit, on treftej fill fayre,
Clad wyth a clene elope, J>at cler quyt fchewed,
Sanap, & falure, & fylu9 I fpone3 ;
[foi. 103.] pe wy3e wefche at his wylle, & went to his mete.
Segge3 hym ferued femly I no3e,
Wyth fere fewes & fete, fefoiide of pe beft,
Double felde, as hit falle3, & fele kyn fifche3 ; sso
Sume baken i bred, fiime brad on pe glede3,
Siime fopen, fume 1 fewe, fau9ed w' fpyces,
& ayfawes fo fle3e3, pat pe fegge lyked.
pe freke calde hit a feft ful frelv & ofte, , .
|| as hencle ; rul hendely, quen alle pe hapeles re-haji;ed hy at one3,
" pis penauce now 3e take,
& eft hit fchal amende ; "
pat mon much m;pe con make,
For wy I liis hed pat wende. wo
XVII.
pene wat3 fpyed & fpured vpon fpare wyfe,
Bi preue poynte3 of pat prynce, put to hy feluen,
pat he be-knew cortayf ly of pe court pat he were,
pat apel Arthure pe hende halde3 hy one,
pat is pe ryche ryal kyg of pe roude table ; 905
& hit wat3 Wawen hy felf pat I pat won fytte3,
Comen to pat kryftmaffe, as cafe hy pen lymped.
When re lorde hade lerned pat he pe leude hade,
1 cefly, MS.
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 35
Loude lajed he J>9at, fo lef hit hy Jwjt,
& alle be men I bat mote maden much joye, oio
To apere I his prefenfe preftly hat tyme, pat alle prys, & prowes, & pured bewes Apendes to hys perfoii, & prayfed is eu9, By-fore alle men vpon molde, his menfk is be moft. Vch fegge ful foftly fayde to his fere, on
" Now fchal we femlych fe fle3te3 of bewe3, & be teccheles termes of talkyg noble, Wich fpede is I fpeche, vnfpurd may we lerne, Sy we haf fonged bat fyne fader of nurture ; God hat3 geuen v9 his g"ce godly for fobe, 920
pat fuch a gelt as Gawan graute3 v9 to haue, , „ .. When burne3 bly be of his burbe fchal fitte, } '
1 menyg of man9e3 mere, [ibl. io3i>.] pis burne now fchal v9 bryg, 925
I hope bat may hy here, Schal lerne of luf-talkyg."
XVIII.
Bi bat be diner wat3 done, & be dere vp,
Hit wat3 ne3 at be ny3t' ne3ed be tyme ;
Chaplayne3 to be chapeles chofen be gate, <,■,„
Rugen ful rychely, ry3t as bay fchulden,
To be herfu euenfong of be hyje tyde.
pe lorde loutes berto, & be lady als,
I to a comly clofet coyntly ho entre3 ;
Gawan glyde3 ful gay, & gos beder fone ; m
pe lorde laches hy by be lappe, & lede3 hy to fytte,
1 myjt, MS. f 2
36 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNY3T.
& coubly hy knowe3, & calle3 hy his nome, & fayde he \vat3 be welcomeft wy3e of be worlde ; & he hy bonkked broly, & ayb9 hatched ober, & feten foberly famen be feruiie-quyle ; pene lyft be lady to loke on be kny3t. pene com ho of hir clofet, wl mony cler burde3, Ho wat3 be fayreft 1 felle, of fleiche & of lyre, & of compas, & cold", & coftes of alle ob9, & wener ben Wenore, as be \vy3e bo3t. He ches bur3 be chaufel, to cheryche bat hende ; An ober lady hir lad bi be lyft honde, pat wat3 alder ben ho, an aucian hit femed, & he3ly honowred w' habeles aboute. Bot vn-lyke on to loke bo ladyes were, For if be 3onge \vat3 3ep, 3ol3e \vat3 b1 ob9 ; Riche red on bat on ray led ay quere, Rugh ronkled cheke3 bat ob9 on rolled ; Kerchofes of bat on wyth mony cler perle3 Hir breft & hir bry3t brote bare difplayed, Schon fchyrer be fnawe, bat fcheder on hille3 ; pat ob9 wyth a gorger wat3 gered ou9 be fwyre, Chymbled ou9 hir blake chyn w' mylk-quyte vayles, Hir frout folden 1 fylk, enfoubled ay quere, Toret & trejeted w' tryfie3 aboute, [fol.104.] pat no3t wat3 bare of bat burde bot be blake bro3es,. pe tweyne y3en, & be nafe, be naked lyppe3, & bofe were foure to fe, & fellyly blered ; f ,
A menfk lady on molde mo may hir calle, Hir body wat3 fchort & bik, Hir buttoke3 bay & brode, More lykker-wys on to lyk, Wat3 bat fcho hade on lode.
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 37
XIX.
When Gawayn glyjt on y gay, y g"cio9ly loked, 970
Wyth leue la3t of re lorde he went hem a3aynes ;
pe alder he hay lies, heldande ful lowe,
pe loueloker he lappe3 a lyttel 1 arrae3,
He kyffes hir comlyly, & kn^tly he mele3 ;
pay kallen hy of a quoytauce, & he hit quyk afke3 975
To be her feruaut fothly, if hem felf lyked.
pay tan hy bytwene hem, wyth talkyg hy leden
To chambre, to chemne, & chefly bay afken
Spyce3, pat vn-fparely me fpeded horn to bryg,
& re wyne-lych wyne py w* vche tyme. 9«o
pe lorde luflych aloft lepe3 ful ofte,
Myned m9the to be made vpon mony fyre3,
Hent he3ly of his hode, & on a fpere henged,
& wayned bom to wyne re worchip per of,
pat molt myrre my3t mene y cryftenmas whyle ;
" & I fchal fonde, bi my fayth, to fylt9 wyth ]>e beft,
Er me wont pe wede3, wl help of my frende3."
p9 wyth la3ande lote3 be lorde hit tayt1 make3,
For to glade f Gawayn w1 gomne3 I halle,
Til pat hit wat3 tyme,
pe kyg comaiidet ly3t,
f Gawen his leue con nyme,
& to his bed hy di5t.
layt i
38 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
XX.
On be morne, as vch mon myne^ bat tyme, pat dry3tyn for oure deftyne to de3e wat3 borne, Wele \vaxe3 I vche a won I worlde, for his fake ; So did hit bere on hat day, bur3 dayntes mony ; [foi.i04b.] Bobe at mes & at mele, meffes ful quaynt ; Derf men vpon dece, dreft of be beft. pe olde aucian wyf he3eft ho fytte3 ; pe lorde lufly herby lent, as I trowe ; Gawan & be gay burde to-geder bay feten, Euen I mydde3, as he meffe metely come ; & fyben bur3 al he fale, as hem beft femed, Bi vche grome at his degre g"yhely wat3 ferued. p9 wat3 mete, ber \vat3 myrbe, b9 wat3 much ioye, pat for to telle berof hit me tene were, & to poynte hit 3et I pyned me paueture ; Bot 3et I wot bat Wawen & be wale burde Such comfort of her compaynye ca3ten to-geder, pur3 her dere dalyauce of her derne worde3, Wyth clene cortays carp, clofed fro fylbe ; & hor play wat3 paffande vche prynce gomen, Triipe3 & nakerys, Much pypyg b9 repayres, Vche mo tented hys, & bay two teted rayres.
XXI.
Much dut wat3 her chyuen bat day & bat ob9, & be bryd as hro bronge 1 beraft9 ;
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNY?T. 39
pe ioye of fayn Jone3 day wat3 gentyle to here, & wat3 be lalt of be layk, leude3 ber bo3ten. per wer geftes to go vpon be gray morne,
For by wonderly bay woke, & be wyn dronken, 1025
Daufed ful di^ly wyth dere carole3 ; At be laft, when hit wat3 late, bay lachen her leue, Vchon to wende on his way, J?at wat3 wy3e ftronge. Gawan gef hy god-day, be god mo hy lachche3, Ledes hy to his awen chambre, be chyne byiyde, ioao
& here he dra3C3 hy on dry3e, & derely hy bonkke3, Of be wjrne worfchip & ! he hy wayned hade, As to hono" his ho9 on bat hy3e tyde, & enbelyfe his bur3 w' his bele chere. ' ' I wyffe £, quyl I leue, me worbe3 be better, [fol.ios.] pat Gawayn hat3 ben my geft, at godde3 awen felt."
" G°nt merer £," q, Gawayn, " I god fayth hit is yowre3,
Al be bond" is yd" awen, be he3e kyg yow 3elde ;
& I am wy3e at yd" wylle, to worch yde heft, .
As I am halden b9 to, I hy3e & I lo3e, iwo
pe lorde faft can hy payne,
To holde lenger be kny3t,
To hy anfwre3 Gawayn,
Bi non way bat he my3t. 1045
XXII.
Then frayned be freke ful fayre at him felue, Quat derne dede had hy dryuen, at bat dere tyme, So kenly fro be kyge3 kourt to kayre al his one, Er be halidaye3 holly were halet out of tou ?
1 fat ? 9 nerci, MS.
40 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNY3T.
" For fobe f," q. be fegge, " $e fayn bot be trawbe ; 105c
A heje ernde & a liafty me hade fro to wone3 ; For I am tuned my felfe to fech to a place, I wot ' 1 worlde wheder warde to wende, hit to fynde ; I nolde, bot if I hit negh my3t on nw3eres morne, For alle be londe I wyth Logres, fo me oure lorde help ! 100.5
For by, f, bis enqueft I require yow here, pat 3e me telle w' trawbe, if eu9 3e tale herde Of be grene chapel, quere hit on groude ftonde3, & of be kny3t bat hit kepes, of cold" of grene ? \f \vat3 ftabled bi ftatut a fteuen v9 by-twene, ioeo
To mete bat mon at b' mere, 3if I my3t laft ; & of bat ilk nw3ere bot neked now wonte3, & I wolde loke on bat lede, if god me let wolde, Gladloker, bi godde3 fu, be any god welde !
For bi I wyffe, bi 3owre wylle, wende me bi-houes, iom
Naf I now to bufy bot bare bre daye3, & me als fayn to falle feye as fayly of my2 ernde." pene la3ande q be lorde, " now leng be by-houes, For I fchal teche yow to ba terme bi be tyme3 ende, pe grene chapayle vpon groude, greue yow no more ; ioro
Bot 3e fchal be I yowre bed, burne, at by efe, Quyle forth daye3, & ferk on be fyrft of be 3ere, [foi. 105b.] & cum to bat merk at mydmorn, to make quat yow likej, "
Dowelle3 whyle new 3eres daye, io»
& rys, & rayke3 bene, Mo fchal yow fette I waye, Hit is not two myle hene."
1 not ? * myy, MS.
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 41
XXIII.
pene wat3 Gawan ful glad, & gomenly he la3ed, —
" Now I bonk yow bryuandely bui'3 alle ob9 byge, io»
Now acheued is my chaiice, I fchal at yo" wylle
Dowelle, & ellej do quat je denien."
pene fefed hy be fyre, & fet hy byfyde,
Let be ladie3 be fette, to lyke he be bett9 ;
per wat3 feme folace by hem felf ftille ; ioa
pe lorde let for luf lote3 fo myry,
As wy3 bat wolde of his wyte, ne wyft quat he my3t.
pene he carped to be kny3t, criande loude,
" 3e han demed to do be dede bat I bidde ;
Wyl 3e halde bis hes here at bys one3 ? " io»
" 3e £, for fobe," fayd be fegge trwe,
" Whyl I byde I yowre bor3e, be bayn to 3owe ' heft."
" For 3e haf trauayled," q be tulk, " towen fro ferre,
& fyben waked me wytk, 3e arn not wel waryft,
Naub9 of foftnauce ne of flepe, fobly I knowe ; 109
3e fchal lenge i yd" lofte, & lyje 1 yd" efe,
To morn quyle be meffe-quyle, & to mete wende,
When 3e wyl, wyth my wyf, bat wyth yow fchal fitte,
& comfort yow wl compayny, til I to cort tome,
& I fchal erly ryfe,
On hutyg wyTl I wende."
Gauayn g"nte3 alle byfe,
Hy heldande, as be hende.
1 jowre ?
42 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
XXIV.
" jet firre," q pe freke, " a forwarde we make ;
Quat fo euer I wyne I pe wod, hit wor)?e3 to yoq,
& quat chek fo ye acheue, chaiige me J?er forne ;
Swete, fwap we fo, fware w* trawpe,
Que]?9 leude fo lymp, lere oj?9 bett9."
" Bi god," q Gawayn be gode, " I g"nt p9 tylle,
[fol. 106.] & bat yow lyft forto layke, lef hit me J?ynkf ."
" Who bryge3 v9 bis beu9age, J>is bargayn is maked," —
So fayde be lorde of bat lede ; bay lajed vchone,
pay dronken, & daylyeden, & dalten vntyjtel,
pife lordej & ladyej, quyle pat hem lyked ;
& fyben w* frenkyfch fare & fele fayre lote3
pay ftoden, & ftemed, & ftylly fpeken,
Kyften ful comlyly, & ka3ten: her leue.
W mony leude ful lyjt, & lemande torches, „ , , . A ,-r , , , • ■. , i , ■. r ml fofte :
Vche burne to his bed wat3 bro3t at re lalte,
To bed 3et er bay 3ede,
Recorded couenaute3 ofte ;
pe olde lorde of bat leude l,
Cowbe wel halde layk a-lofte.
1 lede?
F
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 43
[FYTTE THE THIRD.]
ul erly bifoi'e be day be folk vp ryfen, Geftes bat go wolde, hor grome3 bay calden, & bay bufken vp bilyue, blonkke3 to fadel, TyfFen her1 takles, truffen her males,
Richen hem be rycheft, to ryde alle arayde, 1
Lepen vp ly3tly, lachen her brydeles, Vche w)T3e on his way, ber hy wel lyked. pe leue lorde of be londe wat3 not be laft, A-rayed for be rydj-g, w' renkke3 ful mony; Ete a fop haftyly, when he hade herde maffe, 1
Wl bugle to bent felde he bufke3 by-lyue ; By tat bat any day-ly3t lemed vpon erbe, He w' his habeles on hy3e hoi-ffes weren. pene bife cacheres bat coube, cowpled hor houde3, Vnclofed be kenel dore, & calde hem Jr'oute, 1
Blwe bygly I bugle3 bre bare mote ; Braches bayed before, & breme noyfe maked, & bay chaftyfed, & charred, on chafyg bat went ; , , , -
A hundreth of hunt9es, as I haf herde telle, To tryftors vewters 3od, Couples huntes of-keft, [foi.i06<>.] p9 ros for blafte3 gode, Gret rurd I bat foreft.
• he, MS.
G 2
44 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
II.
At be fyrft quethe of be queft quaked be wylde ;
Der drof i be dale, doted for drede,
Hi3ed to be hy^e, bot het9ly bay were
Reftayed w' be ftablye, bat ftoutly afcryed ;
pay let be hertte3 haf be gate, wl be hyje hedes,
pe breme bukke3 alfo, w* hor brode paume3 ;
For be fre lorde hade defende I fermyfoii tyme,
pf b9 fchulde no mon mene to be male dere.
pe hinde3 were halden I, w' hay & war,
pe does dryuen w1 gret dyn to be depe ilade3 ;
per my3t mon fe, as bay flypte, fleutyg of arwes,
At vche wende vnder wande wapped a none,
pat bigly bote on be brou, w' ful brode hede3,
What bay brayen, & bleden, bi bonkke3 bay de3en.
& ay rachches I a res radly hem fobjes,
Hutere3 wyth hy3e home halted hem aft9,
Wyth fuch a crakkande kry, as klyffes haden bruften ;
What wylde lb at-waped wy3es rat fchotten,
Wat3 al to-raced & rent, at be refayt.
Bi bay were tened at be hy5e, & tayfed to be wattre3,
pe lede3 were fo lerned at be lo3e tryfteres,
& be gre-houde3 fo grete, bat geten hem bylyue, 9
& hem to fylched, as faft as freke3 my3t loke,
pe lorde for blys abloy,
Ful oft con lauce & ly3t,
& drof bat day wyth joy,
Thus to be derk ny3t.
£Vim imc ^&£ trtftcds fan tfro (fame coup- ijirotetite'
Yuj*!^ iM .' ftf:&sVi#,J*4tnL-4,.
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 45
III.
p9 layke3 bis lorde by lynde wode3 eue3, & G. be god mon, i gay bed lyge3, Lurkke3 quyl be day-lyjt leraed on be wowes, Vnder couertd" ful clere, cortyned aboute ; & as I flom9yg he flode, flejly he herde A littel dyn at his dor, & derfly vpon ; & he heue3 vp his bed, out of pe clones, [fol. 10".] A corner of be cortyn he ca3t vp a lyttel, i
& \vayte3 warly bider warde, quat hit be my3t. Hit wat3 pe ladi, lonyeft to be-holde, pat dro3 be dor aft9 hir ful dernly & ftylle, & bo3ed to-warde be bed ; & be burne fchamed, & layde hy dou lyftyly, & let as he flepte. i
& ho ftepped ltilly, & ltel to his bedde, Keft vp be cortyn, & creped w* Ine, & fet hir ful foftly on be bed-fyde, & lenged pere felly longe, to loke que he wakened, pe lede lay lurked a ful longe quyle, i
Compaft i his concience to quat bat cace my3t Mene ob9 amout, to m9uayle hy bo3t ; Bot 3et he fayde I hy felf, " more femly hit were To afpye wyth my fpelle, fpace quat ho wolde." pen he wakenede, & wroth, & to hir warde torned, i
& vn-louked his y3e-lydde3, & let as hy wondered, t & fayned hy, as bi his fa3e be fau9 to worthe, Wyth chyne & cheke ful fwete,
Bofre quit & red I blande, i
Ful luily con ho lete, Wyth lyppe3 final lajande.
46 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
IV.
" God morou, £ Gawayn," fayde fat fayr lady, " 3e ar a flep vn-flyje, pat mo may flyde liider ; Now ar 3e tan aftyt, bot tue v9 may fchape, I fchal bynde yow I yd* bedde, p' be je trayft ; " — Al la3ande pe lady lanced po bourde3. " Goud morou g"e '," q, Gawayn pe blype, " Me fclial worpe at yo" wille, & pat me wel lyke3, For 1 3elde me 3ederly, & 3e3e aft9 g"ce, & pat is pe beft, be my dome, for me by-houe3 nede ;" — & pus he bourded a-3ayn w* mony a blype lajt9 ; — " Bot wolde 3e, lady louely, pe leue me gnte, & deprece yoA' pryfou, & pray hy to ryfe, I wolde bo3e of pis bed, & bufk me bett9, I fchulde keu9 pe more comfort to karp yow wyth." [fol.io7b.] " Nay, for fope, beau £," fayd pat fwete,
" 3e fchal not rife of yo" bedde, I rych yow bett9,
I fchal haue yow here pat op9 half als,
& fypen karp wyth my kny3t, pat I ka3t haue ;
For I wene wel, I wyffe, f Wawen 3e are,
pat alle pe worlde worchipe3, quere fo 3e ride ;
Yd" hond", yo" hendelayk is hendely prayfed
W* lorde3, wyth ladyes, w' alle pat lyf bere.
& now 3e ar here, I wyffe, & we bot oure one ;
My lorde & his lede3 ar on lenbe faren,
Op9 burne3 1 her bedde, & my burde3 als,
pe dor drawen, & dit w1 a derf hafpe ;
& fypen I haue i pis ho9 hy pat al lyke3, , .
I fchal ware my whyle wel, quyl hit lafte3,
1 This word is very doubtful in the MS.
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 47
je ar welcu to my cors, Yowre awen won to wale, Me be-houe3 of fyne force, Yd* feruaut be & fehale."
V.
" In god fayth," q. Gawayn, " gay hit me bynkke3, J?a3 I be not now he bat 3e of fpeken ; To reche to fuch reuerence as $e reherce here I am wy3e vn-worby, I wot wel my feluen ; Bi god, I were glad, & yow god Jwjt, i:
At fa3e ob9 at feruyce bat I fette my3t To be plefauce of yd" prys, hit were a pure ioye." " In god fayth, £ Gawayn," q. be gay lady, " J?e prys & be prowes bat plefe3 al ob9,
If I hit lakked, ob9 fet at ly3t, hit were littel daynte ; 1;
Bot hit ar ladyes I no3e, bat leu9 wer nowbe Haf be hende I hor holde, as I be habbe here, To daly w1 derely yo" daynte worde3, Keu9 hem comfort, & colen her care3,
J?e much of be garyfou ob9 golde bat ' bay hauen ; 12
Bot I louue2 bat ilk lorde, b1 be lyfte halde3, ,,
I haf hit holly 1 my honde, bat al defyres, Scho made hy fo gret chere, [W. 103.] pat wat3 fo fajT of face, 12,
J?e kny3t wl fpeches fkere, Afwared 3 to vche a cace.
1 fat )>', MS. °- louie ? 3 anfwared ?
48 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
VI.
" Madame," q be myry mon, " Mary vow jelde,
For I haf fouden, I god fayth, yowre frauchis nobele,
& ob9 ful much of ob9 folk fongen hor dede3 ; ums
Bot be daynte b' bay delen for my difert nyfen,
Hit is be worchyp of yo" felf, bat no3t bot wel cone3."
" Bi Mary," q be menfkful, " me bynk hit anob9 ;
For were I worth al be wone of wymen alyue,
& al be wele of be worlde were I my honde, 1270
& I fchulde chepen & chofe, to cheue me a lorde,
For be coftes J?at I haf knowen vpon be kny3t here,
Of bewte, & debonerte, & blybe femblaut,
& bat I haf er herkkened, & halde hit here trwe ',
p9 fchulde no freke vpon folde bifore yow be chofen." 1275
" I wyffe, worby," q be wy^e, " 3e haf waled wel bett9,
Bot I am proude of be prys bat 3e put on me,
& foberly yo™ feniaiit my fou9ayn I holde yow,
& yowre kny3t I be-com, & kryft yow for-3elde."
p9 bay meled of much quat, til myd-morn pafte, uso
& ay re lady let lyk, a2 hy loued mych ;
pe freke ferde w' defence, & feted ful fayre.
" pa3 1 were burdebrv3teft," be burdeimynde hade, , .
y ' i .' , r II boute hone ;
" pe laffe luf I his lode, for lur pat he fo3t,
pe dunte rat fchilde hy deue,
& nede3 hit moft be done ; "
pe lady ben fpek of leue,
He g°nted hir ful fone.
1 trwee, MS. * and ?
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 49
VII.
pene ho gef hy god-day, & wyth a glent lajed, 129
& as ho ftod, ho ftonyed hy wyth ful ftor wordej, — " Now he hat fpede} vche fpech, his difport 3elde yow ! Bot hat 3e be Gawan, hit gotj I myde." " Quer fore ? " q he fi'eke, & frefchly he afke3, Ferde left he hade fayled I fome of his caftes ; 129
Bot he burde hy bleffed, & bi his fkyl fayde, [fol.iosb] " So god as Gawayn gaynly is halden,
& cortayfye is clofed fo clene I hy feluen,
Couth not lyjtly haf lenged fo long wyth a lady,
Bot he had craued a coffe, bi his co"tayfye, 130
Bi fu towrch of fume tryfle, at fu talej ende."
J?e q. WowTen, " I wyffe, worbe as yow lyke3,
I fchal kyffe at yd" comaudement, as a knyjt fallej,
& fire ' left he difplefe yow, fo2 plede hit no more."
Ho comes nerre w' hat, & cache3 hy 1 armej, iao
Loute3 luflych adou, & he leude kyffe3 ;
pay comly bykenen to kryft ayh9 oh9 ;
Ho dos hir forth at he dore, w* outen dyn more.
& he ryches hy to ryfe, & rapes hy fone,
Clepes to his chamberlayn, chofes his wede, isk
Bo3e3 forth, quen he wat3 bou, blyhely to maffe,
& bene he meued to his mete, h' mefkly hy keped, t
& made myry al day til he mone ryfed,
Wt3 neu9 freke fayrer fonge, nu
Bitwene two fo dygne dame,
pe alder & he 3onge,
JNIuch folace fet hay fame.
1 fere? J fo? J Was? Nas ?
H
50 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
VIII.
And ay pe lorde of pe londe is lent on his gamnej, To hut I holte3 & hepe, at hyndej barayne, Such a fowme he b9 flowe bi bat be fune heldet, Of dos & of op9 dere, to deme were wonder, pene ferfly bay fiokked I folk at be lalte, & quykly of be quelled dere a querre bay maked ; pe beft bo;ed perto, w' burnej I nogh, Gedered be gratteft of gres pat per were, & didden hem derely vnclo, as be dede afke3 ; Serched hem at be afay, fume pat b9 were, Two fygeres pay fonde of be fowleft of alle : Sype pay flyt pe flot, fefed pe er'iev, Schaued wyth a fcharp knyf, & pe i'chyre knitten ; Sypen rytte pay pe foure lymes, & rent of pe hyde, pe brek pay pe bale, pe bale? out token, [foi. 109.] Lyftily forlancyg, & bere of pe knot ;
pay gryped to pe gargulii, & gypely departed
pe wei'aut fro pe wynt-hole, & wait oat pe gutte3 ;
pe fcher pay out pe fchulderej w' her fcharp knyuej,
Haled hem by a lyttel hole, to haue hole fydes ;
Sipen britned pay pe breft, & brayden hit 1 twyne,
& eft at pe gargulii bigyne3 on pene,
Ryue3 hit vp radly, ryjt to pe by3t
Voyde3 out pe a-vanters, & v9ayly p9aft9
Alle pe ryme3 by pe rybbe3 radly pay lance ;
So ryde pay of by refou bi pe rygge bone3,
Euenden to pe haunche, pat henged al'e famen,
& heuen hit vp al hole, & hwen hit of pere,
& pat pay neme for pe noubles, bi nome as I trowe,
bi kynde;
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 51
Bi be bj^t al of be by73es, pe lappe3 bay lance bi-hynde, To hewe hit I two bay hyjes, Bi be bak-bon to vnbynde.
IX.
Bobe be hede. & be hals bay hwen of bene,
& fyben funder bay be fyde3 fwyft fro be cbyne,
& be corbeles fee bay keft I a greue ;
pen burled bay ayber bik fide bur3, bi be rybbe,
& henged bene ab9 bi ho3es of be fourche3,
Vche freke for his fee, as falle3 forto haue.
Vpon a felle of be fayre beft fede bay bayr houdes,
Wyth be lyu9 & be Iy3te3, be leber of be paunchej,
& bred babed I blod, blende ber amoge3 ;
Baldely bay blw prys, bayed bayr rachche3,
Syben fonge bay her fiefche folden to home,
Strakande ful ftoutly mony ftif mote3.
Bi bat be dayljr3t wat3 done, be douthe \vat3 al wonen
I to be comly caftel, ber be kny3t bidej,
Wyth blys & bry3t fyr bette,
pe lord is comen b9 tylle,
When Gawayn wyth hy mette,
per wat3 bot wele at wylle.
X.
Lfol. 109b.] Thene comaiided be lorde 1 b' fale to lamen alle be meny, Bobe be ladyes on logh to ly3t, w' her burdes, Bi-fore alle be folk on be flette, freke3 he beddej V9ayly his venyfou to fech hy byforne ;
h 2
|| ml ftille ;
52 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNY3T.
& al godly I gomen Gawayn1 he called,
Techej hy to be tayles of ful tayt beftes,
Schewe} hy he fchyrer grete fchorne vpon rybbes.' —
" How payej yow his play ? haf I prys wonen ?
Haue I bryuandely bonk burj my craft ferued ? " 1-
" 3e, I wyffe," q tat ob9 wyje, " here is wayth fayreft
pat I fe3 bis feuen 3ere, i fefoii of wynt9."
" & al I gif yow, Gawayn," q he gome bene,
" For by a-corde of couenaut 3e craue hit as yo" awen."
" pis is foth," q be fegge, " I fay yow hat ilke, 1;
& I haf worthyly a bis wone3 wyth Ine,
I wyffe wc as god wylle hit worhe3 to 3oA'e3."
He hafppe3 his fayre hals his arme3 wyth ine,
& kyffes hy as comlyly as he 3 coube awyfe, —
" Tas yow bere my cheuicauce, I cheued no more,
I wowche hit faf fynly, ba3 feler hit were."
" Hit is god," q be god mon, " g"nt m9cy before,
Hit may be fuch, hit is he bett9, & 3e me breue wolde
Where 3e wan bis ilk wele, bi wytte of hor4 feluen ? "
" pat wat3 not forward," q he, " frayft me no more,
t, , r. , . A , ,0 I ?e mowe.
tor 3e hal tan pat yow tyde3, trawe 3e non oh9
pay la3ed, & made hem blybe,
Wyth lote3 bat were to lowe,
To foper bay 3ede affwybe, 14
Wyth dayntes nwe I nowe.
XL
And fyben by e chymne i chamber bay feten, Wy3e3 be walle wym we3ed to hem oft,
1 Gaway, MS. 2 A word seems here to be wanting.
3 ho, MS. ■> vour ?
to chace ;
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT. 53
& efte i her bourdyg bay bayben T be morn,
To fylle be fame forwardej bat bay by-foie maden, uos
pat chauce fo by-tyde3 hoi cheuyfaiice to chauge, What nwej fo bay norae, at najt quen bay mette. pay acorded of be couenaiite3 byfore be ccf't alle ; foi. no.] pe beuerage wat3 bro3t forth I bourde at bat tyme ;
pene bay louelych le3ten leue at be laft, 1410
Vche burne to his bedde bufked bylyue.
Bi bat. be coke hade crowe3l & cakled bot bryfe,
pe lorde wat3 lopen of his bedde, be leude3 vch one,
So bat be mete & be maffe \vat3 metely delyu9ed ;
pe douthe dreffed to be wod, er any day fprenged,
He3 w* hiite & horne3,
pur3 playne3 bay paffe I fpace,
Vn-coupled amog bo borne3,
Rache3 bat ran on race.
XII.
Sone bay calle of a queft I aker fyde,
pe hut re-hayted be houde3, bat hit fyrft m^'ged,
Wylde worde3 hy warp wyth a wraft noyce ;
pe hownde3 bat hit herde, haftid bider fwybe,
& fellen as faft to be fuyt, fourty at ones ;
pene fuch a glau9ande glam of gedered rachche3
Ros, bat be rochere3 rugen aboute ;
Hiitere3 hem hardened w* home & wyth muthe.
pe al 1 a femble fweyed to-geder,
Bitwene a flofche I bat fryth, & a foo cragge ;
In a knot, bi a clyffe, at be kerre fyde,
1 crowed ?
54 SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNYJT.
p9 as be rogh rocher vn-rydely wat3 fallen,
pay ferden to be fyndyg, & freke3 bem aft9 ;
pay vmbe-keften be knarre & be knot bote,
Wyjej, whyl J?ay wyften wel wyt Ine he hit were, 1
pe beft hat ber breued wat3 wyth be blod-houdej.
pene bay beten on be bufke3, & becle by vp ryle,
& he vnfoudyly out fo3t, fegge3 ou9 bwert,
On be fellokeft fwyn fwenged out bere,
Long fythen for be fofider bat \vi3t for olde,
For he \vat3 b . . . & bor alber gratteft,
1 ere quen be gronyed, bene greued mony,
For t be fyrft braft he bryjt to be erbe,
& fped . . . forth good fped, boute fpyt more, And ray halowed hygft ful hy3e, & hay ! hay ! cryed, [fol.nob.] Haden horne3 to nioube heterly recbated ;
Mony \vat3 be myry rnoutbe of men & of houde3, ..
pat bufkke3 aft9 bis bor, w' boft & wyth noyfe,
Ful oft he byde3 be baye, i
& mayme3 be mute in melle,
He hurte3 of be hoiide3, & bay
Ful 3omerly 3uule & 3elle.
XIII.
Schalke3 to fchote at hy fchowen to bene,
Haled to hym of her arewe3, hitten hym oft ;
Bot be poyte3 payred at be pyth b1 py3t I his fchelde3,
& re barbe3 of his browe bite non wolde,
pa3 be fchauen fchaft fchyndered I pece3,
pe hede hypped a3ayn, were fo eu9 hit hitte ;
1 The MS. is here in several lines illegible.
SYR GAWAYN AND THE GRENE KNY3T. 55
Bot quen be dyntej hy dered of her dryje arwej, i4co
pen brayn-wod for bate on burne3 he rafe3,
Hurtej hem ful heterly