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And the childe dead, "Allas, she cried, allas,
"How may this be, god woot alle I note howe,
"I am not privy to hir hevy caas,

"The gilte is not myne, I the childe not flowe "."
To which spake the counteffe, "What saist thou ?
"Excufe the not, thou maist not saie nay,
"The knyfe all bloody in thin hand I say "."

This story, but with some variation of circumstances, is told in the HISTORICAL MIRROUR of Vincent of Beauvais .

But I haften to point out the writer of the GESTA ROMANORUM, who has hitherto remained unknown to the most diligent enquirers in Gothic literature. He is Petrus Berchorius, or Pierre Bercheur, a native of Poitou, and who died Prior of the Benedictine convent of faint Eloi at Paris, in the year 1362.

For the knowledge of this very curious circumstance, I am obliged to Salomon Glaffius, a celebrated theologist of SaxeGotha, in his PHILOLOGIA SACRA, written about the year 16238. In his chapter DE ALLEGORIIS FABULARUM, he cenfures those writers who affect to interpret allegorically, not only texts of scripture, but also poetical fables and profane histories, which they arbitrarily apply to the explication or confirmation of the mysteries of chriftianity. He adds, " Hoc in "ftudio excelluit quidam Petrus Berchorius, Pictavienfis, ordinis "divi Benedicti : qui, peculiari libro, GESTA ROMANORUM, "necnon Legendas Patrum, aliafque aniles fabulas, allegorice ac "myftice expofuit "." That is, "In this art excelled one "Peter Berchorius, a Benedictine; who, in a certain peculiar

b Slew.

c Saw.

Ut fupr. viz. MS. SELD. SUP. 45. Qu. iiii.

SPECUL. HISTOR. Lib. vii. c. 90. fol. 86. a.

f PHILOLOGIE SACRA, qua totius facrofanétæ veteris et novi teftamenti fcripturæ tum ftylus et literatura, tum fenfus et genuinæ interpretationis ratio expendi

tur, Libri quinque, &c. edit. tert. Francof. et Hamb. 1653.

From the date of the Dedication. For his other works, which are very nu'merous, fee the DIARIUM BIOGRAPHICUM of H. Witte, fub Ann. 1665. Gedani, 1688. 4to.

LIB. ii. Part. i. TRACTAT. ii. Sect. iii. Artic. viii. pag 312.

"book,

"book, has expounded, mystically and allegorically, the Roman "GESTS, legends of faints, and other idle tales." He then quotes for an example, the whole one hundred and feventieth chapter of the GESTA ROMANORUM, containing the story of faint Bernard and the Dice-player, together with its moralisation. Berchorius was one of the most learned divines of his country, and a voluminous writer. His three grand printed works are, I. REDUCTORIUM MORALE Super totam Bibliam, in twentyfour books. II. REPERTORIUM [or Reductorium] MORALE, in fourteen books. III. DICTIONARIUM MORALE. Whoever shall have the patience or the curiofity to turn over a few pages of this immenfe treasure of multifarious erudition, will foon fee this affertion of Glaffius abundantly verified; and will be convinced beyond a doubt, from a general coincidence of plan, manner, method, and execution, that the author of these volumes, and of the GESTA ROMANORUM, must be one and the fame. The REDUCTORIUM SUPER BIBLIAM' contains all the stories and incidents in the Bible, reduced into allegories". The REPERTORIUM MORALE is a dictionary of things, persons, and places; all which are supposed to be mystical, and which are therefore explained in their moral or practical sense. The DICTIONARIUM MORALE is in two parts, and seems principally defigned to be a moral repertory for students in theology.

i Salmeron, a profound school-divine, who flourished about 1560, cenfures the unwarrantable liberty of the GESTA ROMANORUM, in accommodating hiftories and fables to Chrift and the church. COMM. in EVANGEL. HIST. i. pag. 356. PROL. XIX. CAN. xxi.-Colon. Agrippin. 1602. fol.

I ufe a folio edition of all these three works, in three volumes, printed at Venice in 1583. These pieces were all printed very early.

This was firft printed, Argentorat. 1473. fol. There was a very curious book in lord Oxford's library, I am not fure whether the fame, entitled MORALI

ZATIONES BIBLIE, Ulmæ 1474. fol. With this colophon in the last page. Infinita dei clementia. Finitus eft liber Moralizationum Bibliarum in ejufdem laudem et gloriam compilatus. Ac per induftrium Joannem Zeiner de Reutlingen Artis imprefforiæ magiftrum non penna fed fcagneis characteribus in oppido Ulmenfi artificialiter effigiatus. Anno Incarnationis Domini millefimo quadrin gentefimo feptuagefimo quarto Aprilis nono. This book is not mentioned by Maittaire.

To this work Alanus de Lynne, a Carmelite of Lynne in Norfolk, wrote an Index or Tabula, about the year 1240. It is in MSS. REG. 3 D. 3, 1.

The

The moralisation, or moral explanation, which is added to every article, is commonly prefaced, as in the GESTA, with the introductory addrefs of CARISSIMI. In the colophon, the GESTA is called Ex geftis Romanorum RECOLLECTORIUM: a word much of a piece with his other titles of REPERTORIUM and REDUCTORIUM. Four of the ftories occurring in the GESTA, The Discovery of the gigantic body of Pallas", The fubterraneous golden palace, The adventures of the English knight in the bishoprick of Ely, and The miraculous horn, are related in the fourteenth book of the REPERTORIUM MORALE. For the two laft of these he quotes Gervafe of Tilbury, as in his GESTA'. As a further proof of his allegorifing genius I must add, that he moralised all the ftories in Ovid's Metamorphofis, in a work entitled, Commentarius MORALIS, five ALLEGORIE in Libros quindecim Ovidii Metamorphofeon', and now remaining in manuscript in the library of the monastery of saint Germains'. He seems to have been strongly impreffed with whatever related to the Roman affairs, and to have thought their history more interesting than that of any other people. This appears from the following paffage, which I tranflate from the article ROMA, in his DICTIONARIUM MORALE, and which will also contribute to throw fome other lights on this fubject. "How many “remarkable facts might be here collected concerning the vir"tues and vices of the Romans, did my defign permit me to drop Moralities, and to enter upon an historical detail! For

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n CAP. xlix. f. 643. He quotes CHRONICA, and fays, that this happened in the reign of the emperor Henry the fecond. [See GEST. ROM. c. clviii.]

CAP. Ixxii. f. 689. col. 1. 2. He quotes for this ftory [GEST. ROM.c.cvii.] William of Malmesbury, but tells it in the words of Beauvais, ut fupr.

P Fol. 610. col. 2. [GEST. Rom. c. clv.] Here alfo his author is Gervafe of Tilbury from whom, I think in the fame chapter, he quotes part of king Arthur's Romance. See OTIA IMPERIAL. Dec. ii.

C. 12.

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"that most excellent historian Livy, unequalled for the dignity, "brevity, and difficulty of his style, (whose eloquence is so highly "extolled by faint Jerome, and whom I, however unworthy, "have tranflated from Latin into French with great labour', "at the request of John the most famous king of France,) "records fo many wonderful things of the prudence, fortitude,

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fidelity, and friendship, of the Roman people; as also of "their quarrels, envy, pride, avarice, and other vices, which

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are indeed allied to virtues, and are fuch, to say the truth, " as I never remember to have heard of in any nation befides. "But because I do not mean to treat of hiftorical affairs in "the present work, the matter of which is entirely moral, I "refer the historical reader to Livy himself, to Trogus Pom"peius, Juftin, Florus, and Orofius, who have all written hif"tories of Rome; as alfo to Innocent, who in his book on the Miferies of human nature", speaks largely of the vices of the "Romans ". In the mean time we must remember, that at this particular period, the Roman history had become the grand -object of the public tafte in France. The king himself, as we have just seen, recommended a tranflation of Livy. French translations also of Salluft, Cefar, and Lucan, were now circulated. A Latin hiftorical compilation called ROMULEON was now just published by a gentleman of France, which was foon afterwards translated into French. A collection of the GESTA ROMANORUM Was therefore a popular fubject, at least it produced a popular title, and was dictated by the fashion of the times.

I have here mentioned all Berchorius's works, except his Comment on a Profody called Doctrinale metricum, which was

I have mentioned this work before, vol. ii. p. 114. It is remarkable, that a copy of this manufcript in the British Mufeum is entitled, "TITUS LIVIUS Des "FAIS DES ROMAINS tranflate par Pierre "Bertheure." MSS. REG. 15 D. vi.

" Pope Innocent the third, about the VOL. III.

year 1200, wrote three Books De Contemptu Mundi, five De Miferia humana Conditionis, printed, Colon. 1496.

DICTION. MORAL. P. iii. vol. ii. f. 274. col. 2. edit. 1583. See fupr. vol. ii. p. 114.

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ufed

used as a school-book in France, till Defpauterius's manual on that subject appeared. Some biographers mention his TROPOLOGIA, his COSMOGRAPHIA, and his BREVIARIUM. But the TROPOLOGIA' is nothing more than his REDUCTORIUM on the Bible; and probably the BREVIARIUM is the fame. The COSMOGRAPHIA feems to be the fourteenth book of his REPERTORIUM MORALE; which treats of the wonders of various countries, and is chiefly taken from Solinus and Gervafe of Tilbury. He is faid by the biographers to have written other fmaller pieces, which they have not named or defcribed. Among these perhaps is comprehended the GESTA: which we may conceive to have been thus undistinguished, either as having been neglected or profcribed by graver writers, or rather as having been probably disclaimed by its author, who saw it at length in the light of a juvenile juvenile performance, abounding in fantastic and unedifying narrations, which he judged unfuitable to his character, studies, and station". Bafilius Johannes Heroldus, however, mentions Berchorius as the author of a CHRONICON, a word which may imply, though not with exact propriety, his GESTA ROMANORUM. It is in the Epiftle dedicatory of his edition of the Chronicles of Marianus Scotus, and Martinus Polonus, addreffed to our queen Elifabeth; in which he promises to publish many Latin CHRONICA, that is, those of Godfrey of Viterbo, Hugo Floriacenfis, Conrade Engelhus, Hermannus Edituus, Lanfranc, Ivo, Robert of Saint Victor, PETER BERCHORIUS, and of many others, qui de TEMPORIBUS fcripferunt, who have written of times. Paulus Langius,

* Oudin, ubi fupr.

y I have seen a very old black-letter edition with the title," Tropologiarum "myfticarumque enarrationum, &c." Without date.

But fee Bibl. Sangerm. Cod. MS. 687. And G. Serpilii VIT. SCRIPTOR. BIBLIC. tom. vii. part. 2. pag. 44. Also Poffevin. APPARAT. SACR. ii. p. 241. Colon. 1608.

This is in fome measure hinted by

Oudin, ubi fupr. "Egreffus autem a PRO"FANIS et grammaticis Berchorius, ani"mum SOLIDIORIBUS applicuit, &c."

Gefner adds, reciting his works, that he wrote " alia multa." EPITOM. BIBL. f. 147. b. Tig. 1555. fol. And Trithemius, " parvos fed multos tractatus." De ILLUSTR. BENED. Lib. ii. c. 131.

Dat. 1559. Edit. Bafil. Oporin. No Date. fol.

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