Chapter 2

This, however, is a mere beginning; it is not till further on that plagiarisms begin to be frequent. At first, as at p.37, the author copies the sense rather than the words; but he gradually begins to copy words and phrases also. Thus, at p.43, l. 38, his 'chayresof domes' comes from Chaucer's 'heyechayres' in bk. i. met. 5. 27; and then, in the next line, we find 'vertue, shynende naturelly ... is hidunder cloude,' where Chaucer has 'vertu, cler-shyninge naturelly is hidin derke derknesses'; bk. i. met. 5. 28. At p.44, l. 66, we have: 'Whan nature brought thee forth, come thou notnaked out of thy moders wombe? Thou haddest no richesse'; where Chaucer has: 'Whanthatnature broughte thee forth out of thy moder wombe, I receyved theenaked, and nedy of alle thinges'; bk. ii. pr. 2. 10. Just a few linesbelow (ll. 71-76) we have the sense, but not the words, of the neighbouring passage in Chaucer (ll. 23-25). Further literal imitations are pointed out in the Notes to l. 85 in the same chapter, and elsewhere. See, for example, the Notes to Book ii. ch. iv. 4, 14, 20, 61; ch. v. 15, 57, 65, 67, 79; ch. vi. 11, 30, 74, 117, 123, 129, 132, 143; ch. vii. 8, 14, 20, 23, 30, 39, 50, 74, 95, 98, 105, 109, 114, 117, 130, 135, 139, 148; &c.

Those who require conviction on this point may take such an example as this.

'O! a noble thing and clere is power, that is not founden mighty to kepe himselfe'; (p.70, l. 20).

'O! a noble thing and a cleer thing is power, that is nat founden mighty to kepen it-self'; Ch. Boeth. bk. iii. pr. 5. 5-7.

The Latin text is: 'O praeclara potentia quae nec ad conseruationem quidem sui satis efficax inuenitur.' I see no reason for supposing that the author anywhere troubled himself to consult the Latin original. Indeed, it is possible to correct errors in the text by help of Chaucer's version; see the last note on p.461.

§ 12. We get the clearest idea of the author's method by observing his treatment of the House of Fame, 269-359. It is worth while to quote the whole passage:—

'Lo! how a woman doth amis270To lovehim that unknowen is!...Hitis notalgoldthat glareth;...Thermay be undergoodliheed275Keveredmanya shrewedvyce;Thereforebeno wightso nyce,To take a love only forchere,Forspeche, or for frendly manere;For this shal every woman finde280That somman, of his pure kinde,Wolshewen outwardthe fairesteTil he havecaught that what him leste;Andthanne wolhecauses finde,And swere how that she is unkinde,285Or fals, or prevy, or double was ...Therfor I wol seye a proverbe,290That "he that fully knoweth th'erbeMay saufly leye hit to his yë" ...Allas! is every man thus trewe,That every yere wolde have a newe, ...305As thus: ofoonhe woldehave fame,In magnifying of his name;Anotherfor frendship, seith he;And yet ther shal thethri debe,That shal be takenfor delyt...332Allas, that everhadde routheAny womanon any man!Now see I wel, and telle can,335We wrecchedwomen connenon art ...How sore thatye menconnegrone,Anoon, as we have yow receyved,340Certeinly weben deceyved;...For through you is my namelorn,And alle my actesred and songe348Over al this land on every tonge.O wikkeFame!...Eek, thogh I mighteduren ever,354ThatIhave doon, rekeverInever...And that I shal thus juged be—"Lo, right as she hath doon, now she359Wol do eftsones, hardily."'

'Lo! how a woman doth amis

270

To lovehim that unknowen is!...

Hitis notalgoldthat glareth;...

Thermay be undergoodliheed

275

Keveredmanya shrewedvyce;

Thereforebeno wightso nyce,

To take a love only forchere,

Forspeche, or for frendly manere;

For this shal every woman finde

280

That somman, of his pure kinde,

Wolshewen outwardthe faireste

Til he havecaught that what him leste;

Andthanne wolhecauses finde,

And swere how that she is unkinde,

285

Or fals, or prevy, or double was ...

Therfor I wol seye a proverbe,

290

That "he that fully knoweth th'erbe

May saufly leye hit to his yë" ...

Allas! is every man thus trewe,

That every yere wolde have a newe, ...

305

As thus: ofoonhe woldehave fame,

In magnifying of his name;

Anotherfor frendship, seith he;

And yet ther shal thethri debe,

That shal be takenfor delyt...

332

Allas, that everhadde routhe

Any womanon any man!

Now see I wel, and telle can,

335

We wrecchedwomen connenon art ...

How sore thatye menconnegrone,

Anoon, as we have yow receyved,

340

Certeinly weben deceyved;...

For through you is my namelorn,

And alle my actesred and songe

348

Over al this land on every tonge.

O wikkeFame!...

Eek, thogh I mighteduren ever,

354

ThatIhave doon, rekeverInever...

And that I shal thus juged be—

"Lo, right as she hath doon, now she

359

Wol do eftsones, hardily."'

If the reader will now turn to p.54, l. 45, and continue down to l. 81 on the next page, he will find the whole of this passage turned into prose, with numerous cunning alterations and a few insertions, yet including all such words as are printed above in italics! That is, he will find all except the proverb in ll. 290, 291; but this also is not far off; for it occurs over the leaf, on p.56, at l. 115, and again at p.22, ll. 44-45! Surely, this is nothing but book-making, and the art of it does not seem to be difficult.

§ 13. The author expressly acknowledges his admiration of Troilus (p.140, l. 292); and it is easy to see his indebtedness to that poem. He copies Chaucer's curious mistake as to Styx being a pit (p.3, l. 80, and the note). He adopts the wordslet-game(p.18, l. 124) andwiver(p.129, l. 27). He quotes a whole line from Troilus at p.27, l. 78 (see note); and spoils another one at p.34, ch. viii. l. 5, a third at p.80, l. 116, and a fourth at p.128, ch. vii. l. 2. We can see whence he took his allusion to 'playing raket,' and to the dock and nettle, at p.13, ll. 166, 167; and the phrase to 'pype with an yvè-lefe' at p.134, l. 50.

It is further observable that he had read a later text of Piers Plowman with some care, but he seems to quote it from memory, as at p.18, l. 153, and p.24, l. 118. A few other passages in which he seems to have taken ideas from this popular and remarkable poem are pointed out in the Notes. It isprobable that he thence adopted the wordslegistresandskleren; for which see the Glossary, and consult the Notes for the references which are there given.

§ 14. The author is frequently guilty of gross inaccuracies. He seems to confuse Cain with Ham (p.52, ll. 107, 109), butCayn, says Mr. Bradley, may be Thynne's misprint forCam, i.e. Ham. He certainly confuses Perdiccas with Arrhidæus (p.52, l. 116). He speaks of theeighthyear, instead of theseventh, as being a sabbatical year, and actually declares that the ordinary week containssevenworking-days (p.24, ll. 102-104)! He tells us that Sunday begins 'at the first hour after noon (!) on Saturday' (p.82, l. 163). Hence it is not to be wondered at that some of his arguments and illustrations are quite unintelligible.

§ 15. The title of the work, viz.The Testament of Love, readily reminds us of the passage in Gower already quoted in vol. iii. p. xliii., in which the goddess Venus proposes that Chaucer should write 'his testament of love,' in order 'to sette an ende of alle his werke.' I have already explained that the real reference in this passage is to the Legend of Good Women; but I am not prepared, at present, to discuss the connection between the expression in Gower and the treatise by Usk. The fact that our author adopted the above title may have led to the notion that Chaucer wrote the treatise here discussed; but it is quite clear that he had nothing to do with it.

Professor Morley well says that 'the writer of this piece uses the word Testament in the old Scriptural sense of a witnessing, and means by Love the Divine Love, the Christian spirit encouraging and directing the wish for the grace of God, called Margaret, the pearl beyond all price.' To which, however, it is highly essential to add that Margaret is not used in the sense of 'grace' alone, but is also employed, in several passages, to signify 'the visible Church of Christ.' The author is, in fact, careful to warn us of the varying, the almost Protean sense of the word at p.145, where he tells us that 'Margarite, a woman [i.e. properly a woman's name], betokenethgrace,lerning, orwisdom of god, or elsholy church.' His object seems to have been to extend the meaning of the word so as to give him greater scope for ingenuity in varying his modes of reference to it. He has certainly succeeded in adding to the obscurity of his subject. That by 'holy church' he meant the visible Church of Christ of hisown time, appears from the remarkable assertion that it is 'deedly,' i.e. mortal (p.94, l. 121). Such an epithet is inapplicable to the Church in its spiritual character. It may also be observed that, however much the sense implied by Margarite may vary, it never takes the meaning which we should most readily assign to it; i.e. it never means a live woman, nor represents even an imaginary object of natural human affection. The nearest approach to such an ideal is at p.94, l. 114, where we are told that the jewel which he hopes to attain is as precious a pearl as a woman is by nature.

§ 16. It hardly seems worth while to give a detailed analysis of the whole piece. An analysis of the First Book (which is, on the whole, the best) is given by Professor Morley; and the hints which I have already given as to the character and situation of the author will enable the reader to regard the treatise from a right point of view. But it is proper to observe that the author himself tells us how he came to divide the work into three books[10], and what are the ideas on which each book is founded. Each of the three books has an introductory chapter. That to the First Book I have called a Prologue; and perhaps it would have been strictly correct to have called the first chapters of the other books by the same name. In the introductory chapter to the Third Book, p.101, he declares that the First Book is descriptive of Error, or Deviation (which the editions print as Demacion!); the Second, of Grace; and the Third, of Joy. In other words, the First Book is particularly devoted to recounting the errors of his youth, especially how he was led by others into a conspiracy against the state and into deviation from orthodoxy. In the Prologue, he excuses himself for writing in English, and announces the title of the work. He then assures us that he is merely going to gather up the crumbs that have fallen from the table, and to glean handfuls of corn which Boethius has dropped. 'A sly servant in his own help is often much commended'; and this being understood, he proceeds to help himself accordingly, as has already been explained.

§ 17.Book I: Ch. I.In Chapter I, he describes his misery,and hopes that the dice will turn, and implores the help of Margaret, here used (apparently) to typify the grace of God. He represents himself as being in prison, in imitation of Boethius; but I suspect that,in the present passage, the prison was metaphorical. (He had been imprisoned in 1384, and in 1387 was imprisoned again; but that is another matter.)

Ch. II.Heavenly Love suddenly appears to him, as Philosophy appeared to Boethius, and is ready to console and reclaim him. She is aware of his losses, and he tries to vindicate his constancy of character.

Ch. III.He describes how he once wandered through the woods at the close of autumn, and was attacked by some animals who had suddenly turned wild. To save himself, he embarks on board a ship; but the reader is disappointed to find that the adventure is wholly unreal; the ship is the ship of Travail, peopled by Sight, Lust, Thought, and Will. He is driven on an island, where he catches a glimpse of Love, and finds a Margaret, a pearl of price. He appeals to Love to comfort him.

Ch. IV.Love first reproves and then consoles him. She enquires further into his complaints.

Ch. V.She advises him to contemn such as have spoken against him. He complains that he has served seven years for Rachel, and prays for comfort in his eighth year. She exhorts him to perseverance.

Ch. VI.He here goes into several details as to his previous conduct. The authorities threatened to keep him in prison, unless he would reveal a certain secret or plot. He was afraid that the peace of his native place, London, would suffer; and to procure its peace, he 'declared certain points.' Being charged upon oath to reveal certain secret dealings, he at once did so; for which he incurred much odium.

Ch. VII.To prove that he had only spoken the truth, he offered wager of battle; and was justified by the fact that no one accepted it. He had not perjured himself, because his oath in the law-court was superior to his former oath of secrecy. He only meant truth, but was sadly slandered. It is absurd to be 'a stinking martyr' in a false cause.

Ch. VIII.Love tells him he has greatly erred, and must expect much correction. Earthly fame should be despised, whilst he looks for the fame that comes after death.

Ch. IX.Love vindicates the greatness of God and the goodness of His providence.

Ch. X.The author complains of his hard fortune; he has lost his goods and has been deprived of his office. Love explains that adversity teaches salutary lessons, and that the true riches may still be his own.

§ 18.Book II.In the first chapter (or Prologue) of the Second Book, he again discusses the object of his work. In Chapter II, Love sings him a Latin song, introducing complaints against the clergy such as frequently occur in Piers the Plowman. In Chapter III, we find a discourse on womankind, largely borrowed from Chaucer's House of Fame. The next eight chapters are chiefly devoted to a discussion of the way by which the repentant sinner may come to 'the knot' of Heavenly bliss; and it is here, in particular, that a large portion of Chaucer's Boethius is freely imitated or copied. The last three chapters recount the excellences of Margaret, which in many passages refers rather to the visible Church than to divine Grace.

§ 19.Book III.The first chapter is again introductory, explaining why the number of Books is three. 'The Margaret in virtue is likened to Philosophy, with her three kinds.' It is remarkable that this Third Book, which is dedicated to Joy, is the dullest of the three, being largely taken up with the questions of predestination and free will, with more borrowings from Chaucer's Boethius. In Chapter V, Love explains how continuance in good will produces the fruit of Grace; and, in Chapters VI and VII, shews how such grace is to be attained. Chapter IX recurs to the subject of predestination; after which the work comes to a formal conclusion, with excuses for its various imperfections.

§ 20. II.The Plowmans Tale.

This piece does not appear in Thynne's first edition of 1532, but occurs, for the first time, in the second edition of 1542, where it is added at the end of the Canterbury Tales, after the Parson's Tale. In the next (undated) edition, probably printed about 1550, it is placedbeforethe Parson's Tale, as if it were really Chaucer's, and the same arrangement occurs in the fourth edition, that of 1561, by John Stowe. It is worth mentioning that some booksellers put forward a fable as to the true date of the undatededition being 1539, in order to enhance the value of their copies; but the pretence is obviously false, as is shewn by collation[11]; besides which, it is not likely that the Plowman's Tale would have beenat firstinserted before the Parson's Tale,thenplaced after it, and thenagainplaced before it. It is best to separate the first four editions by nearly equal intervals, their dates being, respectively, 1532, 1542, about 1550, and 1561.

Comparison of the black-letter editions shews that the first is the best; and the later ones, being mere reprints, grow gradually worse. Hence, in this case, the edition of 1542 is the sole authority, and the readings of the inferior copies may be safely neglected. It is remarkable that Mr. T. Wright, in his edition of this poem printed in his Political Poems and Songs, i. 304, should have founded his text upon a reprint of Speght in 1687, when he might have taken as his authority a text more than 140 years older. The result is, naturally, that his text is much worse than was at all necessary.

According to Speght, there was once a MS. copy of this piece in Stowe's library, but no one knows what became of it. According to Todd, in his Illustrations of Gower and Chaucer, p. xxxix, there was once a black-letter edition of it, entitled 'The Plouuman's tale compylled by syr Geffray Chaucer knyght.' Todd says: 'It is of the duodecimo size, in the black letter, without date, and imprinted at London in Paules churche-yarde at the sygne of the Hyll, by Wyllyam Hyll. I have compared with the poem as printed by Urry forty or fifty lines, and I found almost as many variations between them[12]. The colophon of this book is,Thus endeth the boke of Chaunterburye Tales. This rarity belongs to the Rev. Mr. Conybeare, the present Professor of the Saxon language in the University of Oxford.' This edition can no longer be traced. Hazlitt mentions a black-letter edition of this piece, printed separately by Thomas Godfray (about 1535), on twenty leaves; of which only one copy is known, viz. that at Britwell. There is also a late print of it in the Bodleian Library, dated 1606.

§ 21. It is needless to discuss the possibility that Chaucer wrote this Tale, as it is absent from all the MSS.; and it does notappear that the ascription of it to him was taken seriously. It is obvious, from the introductory Prologue (p.147), that the author never intended his work to be taken for Chaucer's; he purposely chooses a different metre from any that occurs in the Canterbury Tales, and he introduces his Ploughman as coming under the Host's notice quite suddenly, so that the Host is constrained to ask him—'what man art thou?' The whole manner of the Tale is conspicuously and intentionally different from that of Chaucer; and almost the only expression which at all resembles Chaucer occurs in ll. 51, 52:—

'I pray you that no man me reprocheWhyl that I am my tale telling.'

'I pray you that no man me reproche

Whyl that I am my tale telling.'

Chaucer himself, before reciting his Tale of Melibeus, said much the same thing:—

'And let me tellen al my tale, I preye.'

I do not know why Mr. Wright, when reprinting this piece, omitted the Prologue. It is a pity that half of the sixth stanza is missing.

§ 22. At l. 1065 we meet with a most important statement:—

'Of freres I have told beforeIn a making of a Crede.'

'Of freres I have told before

In a making of a Crede.'

It is generally agreed that the author here claims to have previously written the well-known piece entitled Pierce the Ploughman's Crede, which I edited for the Early English Text Society in 1867. I then took occasion to compare the language of these two pieces (which I shall shortly call the Crede and the Tale), and I found ample confirmation, from internal evidence, that the claim is certainly true. There are many similarities of expression, some of which I here lay before the reader.

The Crede is written in alliterative verse; and it will be observed that alliteration is employed in the Tale very freely. Another peculiarity in the Tale may here be noticed, viz. the use of the same rime,fallorbefall, throughout Part I, with the exception of ll. 205-228. Indeed, in the first line of Part II, the author apologizes for being unable to find any more rimes forfall, and proceeds to rime uponamendthroughout that Part. In Part III, he begins to rime upongracein the first two stanzas, but soon abandons it for the sake of freedom; however, at l. 1276, he recurs tograce, and continues to rime upon it till the end. It is clear that the author possessed considerable facility of expression. We can date these pieces approximately without much error. The proceedings against Walter Brute, expressly alluded to in the Crede, l. 657, lasted from Oct. 15, 1391, to Oct. 6, 1393, when he submitted himself to the bishop of Hereford. We may well date the Crede about 1394, and the Tale (which probably soon followed it, as the author repeats some of his expressions) about 1395[13].

Both these pieces are written in a spirited style, and are of considerable interest for the light which they throw upon manyof the corrupt practices of the monks, friars, and clergy. The Crede is directed against the friars in particular, and reflects many of the opinions of Wyclif, as will easily appear by comparing it with Wyclif's works. See, in particular, his Fifty Heresies and Errors of Friars (Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 366). It would have been easy to crowd the Notes with quotations from Wyclif; but it is sufficient to point out so obvious a source. I have not observed any passage in which the author copies the exact language of Langland. The dialect seems to be some form of Midland, and is somewhat archaic; many of the verbal forms are of some value to the philologist. Taken altogether, it is a piece of considerable interest and merit. Ten Brink alludes to it as 'that transparent, half-prophetic allegory of the Quarrel between the Griffin and the Pelican'; and adds—'The Griffin was the representative of the prelates and the monks, the Pelican that of real Christianity in Wyclif's sense. At a loss for arguments, the Griffin calls in at last all the birds of prey in order to destroy its rival. The Phoenix, however, comes to the help of the Pelican, and terribly destroys the robber-brood.'

Tyrwhitt observed, with great acuteness, that Spenser's allusion, in the Epilogue to his Shepheards Calender, to 'the Pilgrim that the Ploughman playde awhyle,' may well refer to the author of the Plowman's Tale rather than to Langland[14]. Cf. p.147, l. 12. It was natural that Spenser should mention him along with Chaucer, because their productions were bound up together in the same volume; a volume which was, to Spenser, a treasure-house of archaic words.

The discussion on points of religion between the Griffin and the Pelican clearly suggested to Dryden his discussion between the Hind and the Panther. His choice of quadrupeds in place of birds is certainly no improvement.

§ 23. III.Jack Upland.

Of this piece, no MS. copy is known. It is usually said to have been first printed by Speght, in his second edition of Chaucer's Works in 1602; but I have been so fortunate as to find a betterand earlier text in the library of Caius College, Cambridge, to which my attention was drawn by a note in Hazlitt's Bibliographer's Handbook. This copy, here taken as the basis of my text, and collated with Speght, is a small book consisting of only 16 leaves. The title-page contains the following words, within a square border. ¶ Jack vp Lande | Compyled by the | famous Geoffrey | Chaucer. | Ezechielis. xiii. | ¶ Wo be vnto you that | dishonour me to me (sic) peo | ple for an handful of bar | lye & for a pece of bread. | Cum priuilegio | Regali.

At the end of the treatise is the colophon: ¶ Prynted for Ihon Gough. Cum Priuilegio Regali.

Hazlitt conjectures that it was printed about 1540. I think we may safely date it in 1536; for it is bound up in a volume with several other tracts, and it so happens that the tract next following it is by Myles Coverdale, and is dated 1536, being printed in just the very same type and style. We can also tell that it must have been printed after 1535, because the verse from Ezekiel xiii, as quoted on the title-page (see above), exactly corresponds with Coverdale's version of the Bible, the first edition of which appeared in that year.

The text of Jack Upland, in the Caius College copy, has the following heading, in small type:—'¶ These bē the lewed questions of Freres rytes and obseruaunces the whych they chargen more than Goddes lawe, and therfore men shulden not gyue hem what so they beggen, tyll they hadden answered and clerely assoyled these questions.'

As this copy is, on the whole, considerably superior to Speght's both as regards sense and spelling, I have not given his inferior readings and errors. In a very few places, Speght furnishes some obvious corrections; and in such instances his readings are noted.

§ 24. A very convenient reprint of Speght's text is given in Wright's edition of Political Poems and Songs (Record Series), vol. ii. p. 16. In the same volume, p. 39, is printed a reply to Jack Upland's questions by a friar who facetiously calls himself Friar Daw Topias, though it appears (from a note printed at p. 114) that his real name was John Walsingham. Nor is this all; for Friar Daw's reply is further accompanied by Jack Upland's rejoinder, printed, for convenience, below Friar Daw's text. It is most likely, as Mr. Wright concludes, that all three pieces may bedated in the same year. It was necessary that Friar Daw (who gave himself this name in order to indicate that he is a comparatively unlearned man, yet easily able to refute his audacious questioner) should produce his reply at once; and we may be sure that Jack's rejoinder was not long delayed. Fortunately, the date can be determined with sufficient exactness; for Jack's rejoinder contains the allusion: 'and the kyng by his juges trwe [sholde] execute his lawe, as hedid now late, whan he hangid you traytours,' p. 86. This clearly refers to June, 1402[15], when eight Franciscan friars were hanged at Tyburn for being concerned in a plot against the life of Henry IV. We may, accordingly, safely refer all three pieces to the year 1402; shortly after Chaucer's death.

§ 25. It is also tolerably clear that there must have been two texts of 'Jack Upland,' an earlier and a later one. The earlier one, of which we have no copy, can easily be traced by help of Friar Daw's reply, as he quotes all that is material point by point. It only extended as far as the 54th question in the present edition (p.199); after which followed two more questions which do not here reappear. The later copy also contains a few questions, not far from the beginning, which Friar Daw ignores. It is clear that we only possess a later, and, on the whole, a fuller copy. One of the omitted questions relates to transubstantiation; and, as any discussion of it was extremely likely, at that date, to be ended by burning the disputant at the stake, it was certainly prudent to suppress it. Not perceiving this point, Mr. Wright too hastily concluded that our copy of Jack Upland is extremely corrupt, a conclusion quite unwarranted; inasmuch as Friar Daw, in spite of his affectation of alliterative verse, quotes his adversary's questions with reasonable correctness. On this unsound theory Mr. Wright has built up another, still less warranted, viz. that the original copy of Jack Upland must have been written in alliterative verse; for no other reason than because Friar Daw's reply is so written. It is obvious that alliteration is conspicuously absent, except in the case of the four lines (424-7), which are introduced, by way of flourish, at the end. My own belief is that our copy of Jack Upland is a second edition, i.e. an amended and extendedcopy, which has been reasonably well preserved. It is more correct than the Plowmans Tale, and very much more correct than the Testament of Love.

§ 26. Mr. Wright further imagines that Jack Upland's rejoinder to Friar Daw's reply, which he prints from 'a contemporary MS. in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, MS. Digby 41,' was also originally in alliterative verse. This supposition is almost as gratuitous as the former; for, although there are very frequent traces of alliteration as an occasional embellishment, it is otherwise written in ordinary prose. The mere chopping up of prose into bits of not very equal length, as in Mr. Wright's print, does not produce verse of any kind. Friar Daw's verses are bad enough, as he did not understand his model (obviously the Ploughman's Crede), but he usually succeeds in making a kind of jingle, with pauses, for the most part, in the right place. But there is no verse discoverable in Jack Upland; he preferred straightforward prose, for reasons that are perfectly obvious.

For further remarks, I beg leave to refer the reader to Mr. Wright's Introduction, pp. xii-xxiv, where he will find an excellent summary of the arguments adduced on both sides. There is a slight notice of Jack Upland in Morley's English Writers, vi. 234.

§ 27. IV.John Gower: The Praise of Peace.

In Morley's English Writers, iv. 157, this poem is entitled 'De Pacis Commendatione,' on MS. authority (see p.216). Mr. E. B. Nicholson, who has made a special study of Gower's poems, suggested 'The Praise of Peace,' which I have gladly adopted. I am much obliged to Mr. Nicholson for his assistance in various ways; and, in particular, for the generous loan of his own transcript of this poem.

§ 28. In Todd's Illustrations of Gower and Chaucer, p. 95, is a notice of a MS. 'in the present Marquis of Stafford's library at Trentham,' which had been previously described in Warton's Hist. of E. Poetry as being 'in Lord Gower's library.' Mr. Wright alludes to it as 'a contemporary MS. in the possession of his grace the duke of Sutherland.' It may be called 'the Trentham MS.' 'The Praise of Peace' was printed from it by Mr. Wright, in his Political Poems and Songs, ii. 4-15; and I have followed his text, which I denote by 'T.' At the same time, I havecollated it with the text of Thynne's edition of 1532, which is a very good one. The differences are slight.

Warton describes the MS. as 'a thin oblong MS. on vellum, containing some of Gower's poems in Latin, French, and English. By an entry in the first leaf, in the handwriting and under the signature of Thomas lord Fairfax, Cromwell's general, an antiquarian, and a lover and collector of curious manuscripts, it appears that this book was presented by the poet Gower, about 1400[16], to Henry IV; and that it was given by lord Fairfax to his friend and kinsman Sir Thomas Gower, knight and baronet, in the year 1656.' He goes on to say that Fairfax had it from Charles Gedde, Esq., of St. Andrews; and that it was at one time in the possession of King Henry VII, while earl of Richmond, who wrote in it his own name in the form 'Rychemond.'

The MS. contains (1) The Praise of Peace,preceded bythe seven Latin lines (386-392), which I have relegated to the end of the poem, as in Thynne. The title is given in the colophon (p. 216); after which follow the twelve Latin lines (393-404), printed on the same page. (2) Some complimentary verses in Latin, also addressed to Henry IV, printed in Wright's Political Poems, ii. 1-3. (3) Fifty Balades in French, which have been printed by Stengel (Warton printsfourof them), with the colophon—'Expliciunt carmina Johīs Gower que Gallice compositaBaladesdicuntur.' (4) Two short Latin poems in elegiacs; see Warton. (5) A French poem on the Dignity or Excellence of Marriage. (6) Seventeen Latin hexameters. (7) Gower's Latin verses on his blindness, beginning—

'Henrici quarti primus regni fuit annus,Quo michi defecit visus ad acta mea,' &c.

'Henrici quarti primus regni fuit annus,

Quo michi defecit visus ad acta mea,' &c.

See Todd and Warton for more minute particulars.

§ 29. The poem itself may safely be dated in the end of 1399, for reasons given in the note to l. 393. It is of some interest, as being Gower's last poem in English, and the spirit of it is excellent, though it contains no very striking lines. We have not much of Gower's work in the form of seven-line stanzas. The Confessio Amantis contains only twelve such stanzas; iii. 349-352. I draw attention to the earliest known reference (l. 295) to the game of 'tenetz'; the enumeration of the nine worthies (ll. 281-3);and the reference to a story about Constantine which, in the Confessio Amantis, is related at considerable length (l. 339).

We may compare with this poem the stanzas in praise of peace in Hoccleve's De Regimine Principum, quoted in Morley's English Writers (1890), vol. vi. pp. 131-2.

§ 30. V.Thomas Hoccleve: The Letter of Cupid.

This poem needs little discussion. It is known to be Hoccleve's; see Dr. Furnivall's edition of Hoccleve's Minor Poems, E. E. T. S., 1892, p. 72. As explained in the notes, it is rather closely imitated from the French poem entitled L'Epistre au Dieu d'Amours, written by Christine de Pisan. At the end of her poem, Christine gives the date of its composition, viz. 1399; and Hoccleve, in like manner, gives the date of his poem as 1402. The poem consists of sixty-eight stanzas, of which not more than eighteen are wholly independent of the original. The chief original passages are ll. 176-189, 316-329, and 374-434.

The poem is entirely occupied with a defence of women, such as a woman might well make. It takes the form of a reproof, addressed by Cupid to all male lovers; and is directed, in particular, against the sarcasms of Jean de Meun (l. 281) in the celebrated Roman de la Rose.

Of this poem there are several MS. copies; see footnotes at p. 217. The best is probably the Ashburnham MS., but it has not yet been printed. I chiefly follow MS. Fairfax 16, which Dr. Furnivall has taken as the basis of his text.

There is also a poor and late copy in the Bannatyne MS., at fol. 269; see the print of it for the Hunterian Club, 1879; p. 783.

§ 31. VI.The same: Two Balades.

These two Balades, also by Hoccleve, were composed at the same time. The former is addressed to King Henry V, and the latter to the Knights of the Garter. They are very closely connected with a much longer poem of 512 lines, which was addressed to Sir John Oldcastle in August, 1415; and must have been written at about that date. It was natural enough that, whilst addressing his appeal to Oldcastle to renounce his heresies, the poet should briefly address the king on the same subject at thesame time. I think we may safely date this piece, like the other, in August, 1415.

The remarkable likeness between the two pieces appears most in the references to Justinian and to Constantine. In fact, the reference to Justinian in l. 3 of the former of the Balades here printed would be unintelligible but for the full explanation which the companion poem affords. I have quoted, in the note to l. 3, the Latin note which is written in the margin of st. 24 of the address to Oldcastle; and I quote here the stanza itself:—

'The Cristen emperour Justinian,As it is writen, who-so list it see,Made a lawe deffending every man,Of what condicion or what degreeThat he were of, nat sholde hardy beFor to despute of the feith openly;And ther-upon sundry peynes sette he,That peril sholde eschuëd be therby.'Minor Poems, ed. Furnivall, p. 14.

'The Cristen emperour Justinian,

As it is writen, who-so list it see,

Made a lawe deffending every man,

Of what condicion or what degree

That he were of, nat sholde hardy be

For to despute of the feith openly;

And ther-upon sundry peynes sette he,

That peril sholde eschuëd be therby.'

Minor Poems, ed. Furnivall, p. 14.

Compare with this the fourth stanza of Balade I.

We may regret that Hoccleve's desire to make an example of heretics was so soon fulfilled. Only three years later, in Dec. 1418, Sir John Oldcastle was captured in Wales, brought up to London, and publicly burnt.

My text follows the sole good MS. (Phillipps 8151); which I have collated with the earliest printed text, that of 1542. There is, indeed, another MS. copy of the poem in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge (R. 3. 15); but it is only a late copy made from the printed book.

§ 32. VII.Henry Scogan: A Moral Balade.

The heading to this poem is from MS. Ashmole 59; it is, unfortunately, somewhat obscure. It is, of course, not contemporaneous with the poem, but was added, by way of note, by John Shirley, when transcribing it. In fact, the third son of Henry IV was not created duke of Bedford till 1415, after the accession of Henry V; whereas Henry V is here referred to as being still 'my lord the Prince.' Hence the poem was written in the reign of Henry IV (1399-1413); but we can easily come much nearer than this to the true date. We may note, first ofall, that Chaucer is referred to as being dead (l. 65); so that the date is after 1400. Again, the poem does not appear to have been recited by the author; it wassent, in the author's handwriting, to the assembled guests (l. 3). Further, Scogan says that he was 'called' the 'fader,' i.e. tutor, of the young princes (l. 2); and that he sent the letter to them out of fervent regard for their welfare, in order to warn them (l. 35). He regrets that sudden age has come upon him (l. 10), and wishes to impart to them the lessons which the approach of old age suggests. All this points to a time when Scogan was getting past his regular work as tutor, though he still retained the title; which suggests a rather late date. We find, however, from the Inquisitiones post Mortem (iii. 315), that Henry Scogan died in 1407, and I have seen it noted (I forget where) that he only attained the age of forty-six. This shews that he was only relatively old, owing, probably, to infirm health; and we may safely date the poem in 1406 or 1407, the latter being the more likely. In 1407, the ages of the young princes were nineteen, eighteen, seventeen, and sixteen respectively, and it is not likely that Scogan had been their tutor for more than twelve years at most. This provisional date of 1407 sufficiently satisfies all the conditions.

The four sons of Henry IV were Henry, prince of Wales, born at Monmouth in 1388; Thomas, born in 1389, and created duke of Clarence in 1412; John, born in 1390, created duke of Bedford in 1415; and Humphrey, born in 1391, created duke of Gloucester in 1414.

§ 33. The expressionat a souper of feorthe merchandeis difficult, and I can only guess at the sense.Feortheis Shirley's spelling offerthe, i.e. fourth.Merchandeis probably equivalent to O.F.marchandieormarchandise. Godefroy gives an example of the latter in the sense of 'merchant's company.' I suppose thatfeorthe merchandemeans 'fourth meeting of merchants,' or the fourth of the four quarterly meetings of a guild. Toulmin Smith, in his English Gilds, p. 32, says that quarterly meetings for business were common; though some guilds met only once, twice, or thrice in the course of a year.

The Vintry is described by Stow in his Survey of London (ed. Thoms, p. 90): 'Then next over against St. Martin's church, is a large house built of stone and timber, with vaults for the stowage of wines, and is called the Vintry.... In thishouse Henry Picard [lord mayor in 1356-7] feasted four kings in one day.'

I need not repeat here what I have already said about Scogan in vol. i. p. 83.

I may add to the note about Lewis John (vol. i. p. 84), that he was a person of some note. In 1423 (Feb. 8), 'Ludowicus Johan, armiger, constitutus est seneschall et receptor generalis ducatus Cornub.': see Ordinances of the Privy Council, iii. 24. He is further mentioned in the same, ii. 334, 342.

Chaucer's Balade on Gentilesse, quoted in full in ll. 105-125, is in seven-line stanzas; and is thus distinguished from the rest of the poem, which is written in eight-line stanzas. It may be noted that Scogan's rimes are extremely correct, if we compare them with Chaucer's as a standard.

Of this piece there are two early printed copies, one by Caxton, and one by Thynne (1532); and two MSS., Ashmole 59 and Harl. 2251. It is remarkable that the printed copies are better than the MSS. as regards readings.

§ 34. VIII.The Complaint of the Black Knight.

Such is the title in Thynne's edition (1532). In MS. F. (Fairfax 16), it is entitled—'Complaynte of a Loveres Lyfe'; and there is a printed edition with the title—'The Complaynte of a Louers Lyfe. Imprynted at London in the flete strete at the sygne of the Sonne, by Wynkyn de Worde'; no date, 4to. on twelve leaves. In MS. S. (Arch. Selden, B. 24), there is an erroneous colophon—'Here endith the Maying and disporte of Chaucere'; which gives the wrong title, and assigns it to the wrong author. In accordance with the last MS., it was printed, with the erroneous title—'Here begynnys the mayng or disport of chaucer'—in a volume 'Imprentit in the south gait of Edinburgh be Walter chepman and Androw myllar the fourth day of aperile the yhere of god .M.CCCCC.and viii yheris' [1508]; and this scarce copy was reprinted as piece no. 8 in The Knightly Tale of Golagrus and Gawane, &c., as reprinted by Laing in 1827.

But the fullest title is that in MS. Ad. (Addit. 16165), written out by John Shirley, who says: 'And here filowyng begynnethe a Right lusty amorous balade, made in wyse of a complaynt of a Right worshipfulleKnyght that truly euer serued his lady,enduryng grete disese by fals envye and malebouche; made by Lydegate' (fol. 190, back). Some of the pages have the heading, 'The compleynte of a Knight made by Lidegate[17].'

This attribution of the poem to Lydgate, by so good a judge as Shirley, renders the authorship certain; and the ascription is fully confirmed by strong internal evidence. Much of it is in Lydgate's best manner, and his imitation of Chaucer is, in places, very close; while, at the same time, it is easy to point out non-Chaucerian rimes, such aswhyte,brighte, 2;pitously,malady(Ch.maladyë), 137;felyngly,malady, 188;mente,diligent, 246;grace,alas, 529;seyn,payn(Ch.peynë), 568;diurnal,fal, (Ch.falle), 590;payn,agayn, 650;queen(Ch.quene),seen, 674. Besides which, there are two mere assonances in two consecutive stanzas, viz.forjuged,excused, 274; andwreke,clepe, 284. The occurrence of this pair of assonances is quite enough to settle the question. If we apply a more delicate test, we may observe that, in ll. 218-220, the wordsōre(with longo) rimes withtore, in which theowas originally short; on this point, see vol. vi. p. xxxii.

As to this poem, Ten Brink well remarks: 'His talent was fairly qualified for a popular form of the 'Complaint'—a sort of long monologue, interwoven with allegory and mythology, and introduced by a charming picture of nature. HisComplaint of the Black Knight, which contains reminiscences from the Romance of the Rose, the Book of the Duchesse, and the Parlement of Foules, was long considered a production of Chaucer's, and is still frequently included in editions of his works—although with reservations. The critic, however, will not be deceived by the excellent descriptive passages of this poem, but will easily detect the characteristic marks of the imitator in the management of verse and rhyme, and especially in the diffusiveness of the story and the monotony even of the most important parts.'

§ 35. Lydgate's reminiscences of Chaucer are often interesting. In particular, we should observe the passages suggested by the Roman de la Rose in ll. 36-112; for we are at once reminded of Chaucer'sown versionof it, as preserved in Fragment A of the Romaunt. After noticing that he usescostey(36) for the F.costoiant, where Chaucer hascosteying(134); andattempre(57)where Chaucer hasattempre(131), though one French text hasatrempee, it is startling to find him reproducing (80) Chaucer's very phraseAnd softe as veluët(R. R. 1420), where the French original has nothing corresponding either tosoftor tovelvet! This clearly shews that Lydgate was acquainted with Fragment A of the English version, and believed that version to be Chaucer's; for otherwise he would hardly have cared to imitate it at all.

The date of this poem is discussed in the Introduction to Schick's edition of the Temple of Glas, by the same author; pp. c, cxii. He dates it in Lydgate's early period, or aboutA.D.1402.

The text is based upon Thynne's edition, which is quite as good as the MSS., though the spellings are often too late in form. The late excellent edition by E. Krausser (Halle, 1896) reached me after my text was printed. His text (from MS. F.) has much the same readings, and is accompanied by a full Introduction and eleven pages of useful notes.

§ 36. IX.The Flour of Curtesye.

This piece has no author's name prefixed to it in the first three editions; but in the fourth edition by Stowe, printed in 1561, the title is: 'The Floure of Curtesie, made by Iohn lidgate.' Probably Stowe had seen it attributed to him in some MS., and made a note of it; but I know of no MS. copy now extant.

Few poems bear Lydgate's impress more clearly; there can be no doubt as to its authorship. Schick refers it to Lydgate's early period, and dates it about 1400-1402; see his edition of the Temple of Glas, p. cxii. As it was written after Chaucer's death (see l. 236), and probably when that sad loss was still recent, we cannot be far wrong if we date it about 1401; and the Black Knight, a somewhat more ambitious effort, about 1402.

The 'Flour of Curtesye' is intended as a portrait of one whom the poet honours as the best of womankind. The character is evidently founded on that of Alcestis as described in the Prologue to the Legend of Good Women; and throughout the piece we are frequently reminded of Chaucer; especially of the Legend, the Complaint of Mars, and the Parliament of Foules.

The Envoy presents a very early example of the four-line stanza, similar to that employed in Gray's famous Elegy.

§ 37. X.A Balade in Commendation of our Lady.

This piece is attributed to 'Lidegate of Bury' in the Ashmole MS. no. 59; and the ascription is obviously correct. It abounds with evident marks of his peculiar style of metre; for which see Schick's Introduction to the Temple of Glas, p. lvi. We note in it a few reminiscences of Chaucer, as pointed out in the Notes; in particular, it was probably suggested by Chaucer's A B C, which furnished hints for ll. 27, 60, and 129. It is perhaps worth while to add that we have thus an independent testimony for the genuineness of that poem.

As an illustration of Lydgate's verse, I may notice the additional syllable after the cæsura, which too often clogs his lines. Thus in l. 8 we must group the syllables thus:—

Wherefór : now pláynly : I wól : my stýlë : dréssë. Similarly, we findlícourin l. 13,pítè(18),líving(24),bémës(25),gínning(31),mércy(33),gárden(36), &c., all occupying places where a monosyllable would have been more acceptable.

The poem is strongly marked by alliteration, shewing that the poet (usually in a hurry) took more than usual pains with it. In the seventh stanza (43-49) this tendency is unmistakably apparent.

It is hardly possible to assign a date to a poem of this character. I can only guess it to belong to the middle period of his career; say, the reign of Henry V. We have not yet obtained sufficient data for the arrangement of Lydgate's poems.

§ 38. Lines 121-127 are here printed for the first time. In the old editions, l. 120 is succeeded by l. 128, with the result thatSion(120) would not rime withset afere(129); but the scribe of the Ashmole MS. was equal to the emergency, for he altered l. 129 so as to make it end withfuyrless thou sette vppon, which is mere nonsense. Thynne hasfyrelesse fyre set on, which is just a little better.

This addition of seven lines was due to my fortunate discovery of a new MS.; for which I was indebted to the excellent MS. 'Index of First Lines' in the British Museum. This told me that a poem (hitherto unrecognised) existed in MS. Sloane 1212, of which the first line is 'A thousand stories,' &c. On examining the MS., it turned out to be a copy, on paper, of Hoccleve's De Regimine Principum, with four leaves of vellum at the beginning,and two more at the end, covered with writing of an older character. The two vellum leaves at the end were then transposed, but have since been set right, at my suggestion. They contain a few lines of the conclusion of some other piece, followed by the uniquecompletecopy of the present Balade. This copy turned out to be much the best, and restored several of the readings. Indeed, the Ashmole MS. is very imperfect, having in it a lacuna of eight stanzas (ll. 64-119). I am thus able to give quite a presentable text.

The correction that most interested me was one in l. 134, where the Ashmole MS. and Thynne haveprobatyf piscyne. On June 5, 1896, I read a paper at the Philological Society, in which (among other things) I pointed out that the right reading must certainly beprobatik. The very next day I found the Sloane MS.; and behold, its reading wasprobatyk! It is not often that a 'conjectural emendation' is confirmed, on unimpeachable authority, within twenty-four hours.

Another remarkable correction is that ofdyamauntfordyametrein l. 87. It was all very well to compare Our Lady to a diamond; but to call her adiameter(as in all the editions) is a little too bad. Again, in l. 121 (now first printed) we have the remarkable expressionpunical pomefor a pomegranate, which is worthy of notice; and in l. 123 we find a new word,agnelet, which is not to be found in the New English Dictionary.

All the printed editions print the next piece as if itformed a partof the present one; but they have absolutely no point in common beyond the fact of having a common authorship.

§ 39. XI.To my Soverain Lady.

In all the old editions, this piece forms part of the preceding, though it is obviously distinct from it, when attention is once drawn to the fact. Instead of being addressed, like no. X, to the Virgin, it is addressed to a lady whose name the poet wishes to commend (l. 7); and from whom he is parted (51); whereas two lovers ought to be together, if they wish to live 'well merry' (64). Her goodly fresh face is a merry mirror (73); and he has chosen her as his Valentine (111).

It is evidently a conventional complimentary poem, written to please some lady of rank or of high renown (93), one, in fact,who is 'of women chief princesse' (70). It is prettily expressed, and does Lydgate some credit, being a favourable specimen of his more playful style; I wish we had more of the same kind. L. 68—'Let him go love, and see wher [whether] it be game'—is excellent.

I shall here submit to the reader a pure guess, for what it is worth. My impression is that this piece, being a complimentary Valentine, was suggested by queen Katherine's visit to England; the lover whose passion is here described being no other than king Henry V, who was parted from his queen for a week. The pair arrived at Dover on Feb. 2, 1421, and Henry went on to London, arriving on Feb. 14; the queen did not arrive till Feb. 21, just in time for her coronation on Feb. 23.

This hypothesis satisfies several conditions. It explains why the lover'sEnglishis not good enough to praise the lady; why so many French lines are quoted; the significant allusion to the lily, i.e. the lily of France, in l. 16; the lover's consolation found in English roundels (40); the expression 'cheef princesse' in l. 70; and the very remarkable exclamation ofSalve, regina, in l. 83, which doubtless made Thynne imagine that the poem was addressed to the Virgin Mary. The expression 'for your departing' in l. 105 does not necessarily mean 'on account of your departure from me'; it is equally in accordance with Middle-English usage to suppose that it means 'on account of your separation from me'; seeDepartandDepartingin the New English Dictionary.

It is well known that Lydgate provided the necessary poetry for the entry of Henry VI into London in Feb. 1432.

Some resemblances to Chaucer are pointed out in the Notes. The most interesting circumstance about this poem is that the author quotes, at the end of his third stanza, the first line of 'Merciles Beautè'; this is a strong point in favour of the attribution of that poem to his master.

This piece is distinguished from the preceding by the difference of its subject; by the difference in the character of the metre (there is here no alliteration); and, most significant of all, by its absence from MS. Ashmole 59 and MS. Sloane 1212, both of which contain the preceding piece. The two poems may have been brought together, in the MS. which Thynne followed, by the accident of being written about the same time.

§ 40. XII.Ballad of Good Counsel.

The title of this piece in Stowe's edition stands as follows: 'A balade of good counseile, translated out of Latin verses into Englishe, by dan Iohn lidgat cleped the monke of Buri.' What were the Latin verses here referred to, I have no means of ascertaining.

This Ballad is eminently characteristic of Lydgate's style, and by no means the worst of its kind. When he once gets hold of a refrain that pleases him, he canters merrily along till he has absolutely no more to say. I think he must have enjoyed writing it, and that he wrote it to please himself.

He transgresses one of Chaucer's canons in ll. 79-82; where he rimeshardywithfolyandflatery. The two latter words are, in Chaucer,foly-ëandflatery-ë, and never rime with a word likehardy, which has no final-e.

Lydgate is very fond of what may be calledcatalogues; he begins by enumerating every kind of possibility. You may be rich, or strong, or prudent, &c.; or fair (22) or ugly (24); you may have a wife (29), or you may not (36); you may be fat (43), or you may be lean (46); or staid (57), or holy (64); your dress may be presentable (71), or poor (72), or middling (73); you may speak much (78) or little (80); and so on; for it is hard to come to an end. At l. 106, he begins all over again with womankind; and the conclusion is, that you should govern your tongue, and never listen to slander.

Thynne's text is not very good; the MSS. are somewhat better. He makes the odd mistake of printingHolynesse beautieforEleynes beaute(115); but Helen had not much to do with holiness. Two of the stanzas (71-7 and 106-112) are now printed for the first time, as they occur in the MSS. only. Indeed, MS. H. (Harl. 2251) is the sole authority for the former of these two stanzas.

§ 41. XIII.Beware of Doubleness.

This is a favourable example of Lydgate's better style; and is written with unusual smoothness, owing to the shortness of the lines. It was first printed in 1561. There is a better copy in the Fairfax MS., which has been taken as the basis of the text. The copy in MS. Ashmole 59 is very poor. The title—'Balademade by Lydgate'—occurs in MS. Addit. 16165. Stowe, being unacquainted with the phraseambes as(l. 78), though it occurs in Chaucer, turnedambesintolombes, after which he wrongly inserted a comma; andlombesappears, accordingly, in all former editions, with a comma after it. What sense readers have hitherto made of this line, I am at a loss to conjecture.

§ 42. XIV.A Balade: Warning Men, etc.

First printed by Stowe in 1561, from the MS. in Trinity College Library, marked R. 3. 19, which I have used in preference to the printed edition.

There is another, and more complete copy in the same library, marked O. 9. 38, which has contributed some excellent corrections. Moreover, it gives a better arrangement of stanzas three and four, which the old editions transpose. More than this, it contains a unique stanza (36-42), which has not been printed before.

The poem also occurs in Shirley's MS. Harl. 2251, which contains a large number of poems by Lydgate; and is there followed by another poem of seven stanzas, attributed to Lydgate. That the present poem is Lydgate's, cannot well be doubted; it belongs to the same class of his poems as no. XII above. I find it attributed to him in the reprint of 'Chaucer's Poems' by Chalmers, in 1810.

The substitution of the contracted and idiomatic formetfor the later formetethis a great improvement. It is due to MS. O. 9. 38, where the scribe first wroteette, but was afterwards so weak as to 'correct' it toetyth. But this 'correction' just ruins the refrain.Etwas no doubt becoming archaic towards the middle of the fifteenth century.

Two variations upon the last stanza occur in the Bannatyne MS., fol. 258, back; see the print by the Hunterian Club, 1879, pp. 754, 755.

§ 43. XV.Three Sayings.

First printed by Stowe; I know of no MS. copy. The first two Sayings are attributed to Lydgate; so we may as well credit him with the third. The second expresses the same statements as the first, but varies somewhat in form; both are founded upon a Latin line which occurs in MS. Fairfax 16 (fol. 196) and in MS. Harl.7578 (fol. 20), and runs as follows:—'Quatuor infatuant, honor, etas, femina, uinum.'

Note that these Three Sayings constitute theonlyaddition made by Stowe to Thynne in 'Part I' of Stowe's edition. See nos. 28, 29, 30 in vol. i. p. 32. Stowe introduced themin order to fill a blank half-columnbetween nos. 27 and 31.

§ 44. XVI.La Belle Dame sans Mercy.

First printed in Thynne's Chaucer (1532). Tyrwhitt first pointed out that it could not possibly be his, seeing that Alan Chartier's poem with the same name, whence the English version was made, could not have been written in Chaucer's lifetime. Chartier was born in 1386, and was only fourteen years old at the time of Chaucer's death. Tyrwhitt further stated that the author's name, Sir Richard Ros, was plainly given in MS. Harl. 372, fol. 61, where the poem has this title:—'La Belle Dame Sanz Mercy. Translatid out of Frenche by Sir Richard Ros.' I have not been able to find the date of the French original, as there is no modern edition of Chartier's poems; but it can hardly have been written before 1410, when the poet was only twenty-four years old; and the date of the translation must be later still. But we are not wholly left to conjecture in this matter. A short notice of Sir Richard Ros appeared in Englische Studien, X. 206, written by H. Gröhler, who refers us to his dissertation 'Ueber Richard Ros' mittelenglische übersetzung des gedichtes von Alain Chartier La Belle Dame sans Mercy,' published at Breslau in 1886; of which Dr. Gröhler has most obligingly sent me a copy, whence several of my Notes have been derived. He tells us, in this article, that his dissertation was founded on the copy of the poem in MS. Harl. 372, which (in 1886) he believed to be unique; whereas he had since been informed that there are three other MSS., viz. Camb. Ff. 1. 6, Trin. Coll. Camb. R. 3. 19, and Fairfax 16; and further, that the Trinity MS. agrees with the Harleian as to misarrangement of the subject-matter[18]. He also proposed to give a new edition of the poem in Englische Studien, but I am unable to find it; and Dr. Kölbing courteously informs me that it never appeared.

Dr. Gröhler further tells us, that Mr. Joseph Hall, of Manchester, had sent him some account, extracted from the county history of Leicestershire by Nichols, of the family of Roos or Ros, who were lords of Hamlake and Belvoir in that county. According to Nichols, the Sir Richard Ros who was presumably the poet, was the second son of Sir Thomas Ros; and Sir Thomas was the second son of Sir W. Ros, who married Margaret, daughter of Sir John Arundel. If this be right, we gain the further information that Sir Richard was born in 1429[19], and is known to have been alive in 1450, when he was twenty-one years old.

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