time, and brought with them compositions which found favour and excited emulation, or at least imitation, in our vernacular genius. Hence came a great swarm of romances, all more or less derived from the French, even when Saxon in subject and style; such as 'Sir Tristrem,' (which Sir Walter Scott tried in vain to prove to be written by the famous Thomas the Rhymer, of Ercildoun, or Earlston, in Berwickshire, who died before 1299;) 'The Life of Alexander the Great,' said to be written by Adam Davie, Marshall of Stratford-le-Bow, who lived about 1312; 'King Horn,' which certainly belongs to the latter part of the thirteenth century; 'The Squire of Low Degree;' 'Sir Guy;' Sir Degore;' 'The King of Tars;''King Robert of Sicily;' 'La Mort d'Arthur;' 'Impodemon;' and, more lately, Sir Libius;' 'Sir Thopas;' 'Sir Isenbras;' 'Gawan and Gologras ;' and 'Sir Bevis.' Richard I. also formed the subject of a very popular romance. We give extracts from it:—
THE SOLDAN SALADIN SENDS KING RICHARD A HORSE.
'Thou sayst thy God is full of might : Wilt thou grant with spear and shield, To detryve the right in the field, With helm, hauberk, and brandës bright, On strongë steedës good and light, Whether be of more power, Thy God almight, or Jupiter? And he sent me to sayë this If thou wilt have an horse of his, In all the lands that thou hast gone Such ne thou sawest never none: Favel of Cyprus, ne Lyard of Prys,1 Be not at need as he is;
And if thou wilt, this same day, He shall be brought thee to assay.' Richard answered, 'Thou sayest well Such a horse, by Saint Michael, I would have to ride upon.- Bid him send that horse to me, And I shall assay what he be,
If he be trusty, withoutë fail,
I keep none other to me in battail.'
'Favel of Cyprus, ne Lyard of Prys:' Favel of Cyprus, and Lyard of Paris,
The messengers then home went,
And told the Soldan in present,
That Richard in the field would come him unto:
The rich Soldan bade to come him unto
A noble clerk that couldë well conjure, That was a master necromansour: He commanded, as I you tell, Thorough the fiendë's might of hell, Two strong fiendës of the air, In likeness of two steedës fair, Both like in hue and hair, As men said that there were: No man saw never none sich ; That one was a mare iliche, That other a colt, a noble steed, Where that he were in any mead, (Were the knight never so bold,) When the mare neigh wold,
(That him should hold against his will,)
But soon he would go her till,
And kneel down and suck his dame,
Therewith the Soldan with shame
Shoulde king Richard quell, All this an angel 'gan him tell, That to him came about midnight. 'Awake,' he said, ‘Goddis knight : My Lord doth thee to understand That thee shalt come an horse to land, Fair it is, of body ypight,
To betray thee if the Soldan might;
On him to ride have thou no drede For he thee helpë shall at need.'
The angel gives king Richard several directions about managing this infernal horse, and a general engagement ensuing, between the Christian and Saracen armies,
He leapt on horse when it was light;
Ere he in his saddle did leap
Of many thingës he took keep.- His men brought them that he bade,
A square tree of forty feet,
Before his saddle anon he it set, Fast that they should it brase, &c. Himself was richëly begone,
From the crest right to the tone,1
He was covered wondrously wele All with splentës of good steel, And there above an hauberk. A shaft he had of trusty werk, Upon his shoulders a shield of steel, With the libards1 painted wele; And helm he had of rich entaile, Trusty and true was his ventaile: Upon his crest a dove white, Significant of the Holy Sprite, Upon a cross the dove stood Of gold ywrought rich and good, God himself, Mary and John, As he was done the rood upon,3 In significance for whom he fought, The spear-head forgat he nought, Upon his shaft he would it have Goddis name thereon was grave; Now hearken what oath he sware, Ere they to the battaile went there: 'If it were so, that Richard might Slay the Soldan in field with fight, At our willë evereachone
He and his should gone Into the city of Babylon; And the king of Macedon
He should have under his hand; And if the Soldan of that land Might slay Richard in the field With sword or spearë under shield, That Christian men shouldë go Out of that land for evermo,
And the Saracens their will in wold.' Quoth king Richard, 'Thereto I hold, Thereto my glove, as I am knight.' They be armed and ready dight: King Richard to his saddle did leap, Certes, who that would takë keep To see that sight it werë sair; Their steedës rannë with great ayre,1 All so hard as they might dyre,5
After their feetë sprang out fire :
Tabors and trumpettës 'gan blow:
Libards: leopards.-2 'God:' our Saviour.-3 As he was done the rood upon:' as he died upon the cross.- 4 Ayre:' ire.-5 'Dyre:' dare.
There men might see in a throw How king Richard, that noble man, Encountered with the Soldan,
The chief was toldë of Damas, His trust upon his marë was, And therefor, as the book1 us tells, His crupper hungë full of bells, And his peytrel 2 and his arsowne 3 Three mile men might hear the soun. His mare neighed, his bells did ring, For greate pride, without lesing, A falcon brode 4 in hand he bare, For he thought he wouldë there Have slain Richard with treasoun When his colt should kneelë down, As a colt shouldë suck his dame, And he was 'ware of that shame, His ears with wax were stopped fast, Therefore Richard was not aghast,
He struck the steed that under him went, And gave the Soldan his death with a dent:
In his shieldë verament
Was painted a serpent,
With the spear that Richard held
He bare him thorough under his sheld,
None of his armour might him last,
Bridle and peytrel all to-brast,
His girthes and his stirrups also, His mare to groundë wentë tho; Maugre her head, he made her seech The ground, withoutë morë speech, His feet toward the firmament, Behindë him the spear outwent There he fell dead on the green,
Richard smote the fiend with spurrës keen, And in the name of the Holy Ghost He driveth into the heathen host, And as soon as he was come, Asunder he brake the sheltron,5 And all that ever afore him stode, Horse and man to the groundë yode, Twenty foot on either side.
1 'The book:' the French romance.-2 'Peytrel:' the breast-plate or breast-band
of a horse.-3'Arsowne:' saddle-bow.-4 'Falcon brode:' F. bird.-5 Sheltron:' schiltron:' soldiers drawn up in a circle.
When the king of France and his men wist That the mast'ry had the Christian,
They waxed bold, and good heart took, Steedës bestrode, and shaftës shook.
From Sir Degore' we quote the description of a dragon, which Warton thinks drawn by a master :
Degorë went forth his way, Through a forest half a day: He heard no man, nor sawë none, Till it past the high none, Then heard he great strokës fall, That it made greatë noise withal, Full soonë he thought that to see, To weete what the strokes might be: There was an earl, both stout and gay, He was come there that same day, For to hunt for a deer or a doe, But his houndës were gone him fro.
Then was there a dragon great and grim, Full of fire and also venim,
With a wide throat and tuskës great,
Upon that knight fast 'gan he beat.
And as a lion then was his feet, His tail was long, and full unmeet: Between his head and his tail Was twenty-two foot withouten fail; His body was like a wine tun,
He shone full bright against the sun : His eyes were bright as any glass,
His scales were hard as any brass;
And thereto he was necked like a horse,
He bare his head up with great force:
The breath of his mouth that did out blow
As it had been a fire on lowe.1
He was to look on, as I you tell,
As it had been a fiend of hell.
Many a man he had shent,
And many a horse he had rent.
From Davie's supposed Life of Alexander' we extract a description of a battle, which shews some energy of genius:
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