OF HOPPUM HANS. The History of Charlemagne, of his champions, and captains. Containing all his actions in several parts. 1. Of his birth and coronation: and the combat of Carvetus king of Babylon, with Oddegir the Dane'. 2. Of Aglandus king of Africa, and of his son Jatmund, and their wars in Spain with Charlemagne. 3. Of Roland, and his combat with Villaline king of Spain. 4. Of Ottuel's conversion to christianity, and his marriage with Charlemagne's daughter. 5. Of Hugh king of Constantinople, and the memorable exploits of his champions. 6. Of the wars of Ferracute king of Spain. 7. Of Charlemagne's atchievements in Rouncevalles, and of his death"." In another of the Sagas, Jarl, a magician of Saxland, exhibits his feats of necromancy before Charlemagne. We learn from Olaus Magnus, that Roland's magical horn, of which archbishop Turpin relates such wonders, and among others that it might be heard at the distance of twenty miles, was frequently celebrated in the songs of the Islandic bards". It is not likely that these pieces, to say no more, were not composed till the Scandinavian tribes had been converted to christianity; that is, as I have before observed, about the close of the tenth century. These barbarians had an infinite and a national contempt for the christians, whose religion inculcated a spirit of peace, gentleness, and civility; qualities so dissimilar to those of their land. The history of the destruction of the monasteries in England, by William Rufus. Wanl. ibid. [It will perhaps be superfluous to remark, that all the Sagas mentioned in the text, are the production of an age long subsequent to the reign of William Rufus.-EDIT.] In the history of the library at Upsal, I find the following articles, which are left to the conjectures of the curious enquirer. Historia Biblioth. Upsaliens. per Celsium. Ups. 1745. 8vo. pag. 88. Artic. vii. Variæ Britannorum fabulæ, quas in carmine conversas olim, atque in conviviis ad citharam decantari solitas fuisse, perhibent. Sunt autem relationes de GUIAMARO equite Britanniæ meridionalis Eskeliod Britannis veteribus dictæ. De Nobilium duorum conjugi bus gemellos enixis; et id genus alia. -pag. 87. Artic. v. Drama sewTINOV fol. in membran. Res continet amatorias, olim, ad jocum concitandum Islandica lingua scriptum.-ibid. Artic. vii. The history of Duke Julianus, son of S. Giles. Containing many things of Earl William and Rosamund. In the antient Islandic. See OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAIRY QUEEN, i. p. 203. 204. §. vi. Mabillon thinks, that Turpin first called this hero a Dane. But this notion is refuted by Bartholinus, Antiq. Danic. ii. 13. p. 578. His old Gothic sword, SPATHA, and iron shield, are still preserved and shewn in a monastery of the north. Bartholin. ibid. p. 579. m Wanley, ut supr. p. 314. " See infr. SECT. iii. p. 136. own ferocious and warlike disposition, and which they naturally interpreted to be the marks of cowardice and pusillanimity". It has, however, been urged, that as the irruption of the Normans into France, under their leader Rollo, did not take place till towards the beginning of the tenth century, at which period the scaldic art was arrived to the highest perfection in Rollo's native country, we can easily trace the descent of the French and English romances of chivalry from the Northern Sagas. It is supposed, that Rollo carried with him many scalds from the north, who transmitted their skill to their children and successors: and that these, adopting the religion, opinions, and language, of the new country, substituted the heroes of christendom, instead of those of their pagan ancestors, and began to celebrate the feats of Charlemagne, Roland, and Oliver, whose true history they set off and embellished with the scaldic figments of dwarfs, giants, dragons, and inchantments P. There is, however, some reason to believe, that these fictions were current among the French long before; and, if the principles advanced in the former part of this dissertation be true, the fables adhering to Charlemagne's real history must be referred to another source. Let me add, that the inchantments of the Runic poetry are very different from those in our romances of chivalry. The former chiefly deal in spells and charms, such as would preserve from poison, blunt the weapons of an enemy, procure victory, allay a tempest, cure bodily diseases, or call the dead from their tombs: in uttering a form of mysterious words, or inscribing Runic characters. The magicians of romance are • Regner Lodbrog, in his DYING ODE, speaking of a battle fought against the christians, says, in ridicule of the eucharist, "There we celebrated a MASS [Missu, Island.] of weapons." [As the narrative of this ode is couched in the first person, it was for a long time considered to be Regner's own production. A more sober spirit of criticism afterwards referred it to Bragi hinn gamall, who was said to have written it at the request of Aslaug, Lodbrog's widow. But Mr. Erichsen, the learned and judicious editor of the Royal Mirror and Gunlaug Ormstunga Saga, selected this very expression (odda messu) as a proof of its later origin, and of the author being a Christian. It is now usually assigned to the close of the eleventh or beginning of the twelfth century.-EDIT.] P Percy's Ess. Metr. Rom. p. viii. chiefly employed in forming and conducting a train of deceptions. There is an air of barbaric horror in the incantations of the scaldic fablers: the magicians of romance often present visions of pleasure and delight; and, although not without their alarming terrors, sometimes lead us through flowery forests, and raise up palaces glittering with gold and precious stones. The Runic magic is more like that of Canidia in Horace, the romantic resembles that of Armida in Tasso. The operations of the one are frequently but mere tricks, in comparison of that sublime solemnity of necromantic machinery which the other so awefully displays. It is also remarkable, that in the earlier scaldic odes, we find but few dragons, giants, and fairies*. These were introduced afterwards, and are the progeny of Arabian fancy. Nor indeed do these imaginary beings often occur in any of the compositions which preceded the introduction of that species of fabling. On this reasoning, the Irish tale-teller mentioned above, could not be a lineal descendant of the elder Irish bards. The absence of giants and dragons, and let me add, of many other traces of that fantastic and brilliant imagery which composes the system of Arabian imagination, from the poems of Ossian, are a striking proof of their antiquity. It has already been suggested, at what period, and from what origin, those fancies got footing in the Welsh poetry: 'we do not find them in the odes of Taliessin or Aneurin. This reasoning explains an [With the exception of the "fairies," this is strikingly incorrect. The Edda and Beowulf, the earliest remains of Northern poetry, make frequent mention of giants (Jotna-kyn, Eotena-cyn, the Etens-kin) and dragons. The latter speaks of both land and sea dragons, (eord-draca, sæ-draca, earth-drake, seadrake.) 4 Who flourished about the year 570. He has left a long spirited poem called GODODIN, often alluded to by the later Welsh bards, which celebrates a battle fought against the Saxons near Cattraeth, under the conduct of Mynnydawe Eiddin, in which all the Britons, three only excepted, among which was the bard Aneurin himself, were slain. I will give a specimen. "The men whose drink was mead, comely in shape, hastened to Cattraeth. These impetuous warriors in ranks, armed with red spears, long and bending, began the battle. Might I speak my revenge against the people of the Deiri, would overwhelm them, like a deluge, in one slaughter: for unheeding I have lost a friend, who was brave in resisting his enemies. I drank of the wine and metheglin of Mordai, whose spear was of huge size. In the shock of the battle, he prepared food for the eagle. When Cydwal hastened forward, a shout observation of an ingenious critic in this species of literature, and who has studied the works of the Welsh bards with much attention. "There are not such extravagant FLIGHTS in any poetic compositions, except it be in the EASTERN; to which, as far as I can judge by the few translated specimens I have seen, they bear a near resemblance." I will venture to say he does not meet with these flights in the elder Welsh bards. The beautiful romantic fiction, that king Arthur, after being wounded in the fatal battle of Camlan, was conveyed by an Elfin princess into the land of Faery, or spirits, to be healed of his wounds, that he reigns there still as a mighty potentate in all his pristine splendour, and will one day return to resume his throne in Britain, and restore the solemnities of his champions, often occurs in the antient Welsh bards. But not in the most an arose before the yellow morning, when he gave the signal, he broke the shield into small splinters. The men hastened to Cattraeth, noble in birth: their drink was wine and mead out of golden cups. There were three hundred and sixtythree adorned with chains of gold; but of those who, filled with wine, rushed on to the fight, only three escaped, who hewed their way with the sword, the warrior of Acron, Conan Dacarawd, and I the bard Aneurin, red with blood, otherwise I should not have survived to compose this song. When Caradoc hastened to the war, he was the son of a wild boar, in hewing down the Saxons; a bull in the conflict of fight, he twisted the wood [spear] from their hands. Gurien saw not his father after he had lifted the glistening mead in his hand. I praise all the warriors who thus met in the battle, and attacked the foe with one mind. Their life was short, but they have left a long regret to their friends. Yet of the Saxons they slew more than seven. There was many a mother shedding tears. The song is due to thee who hast attained the highest glory: thou who wast like fire, thunder and storm: 0 Rudd Fedell, warlike champion, excellent in might, you still think of the war. The noble chiefs deserve to be celebrated in verse, who after the fight made the rivers to overflow their banks This with blood. Their hands glutted the r Evans, ubi supr. Pref. p. iv. The Arabians call the Fairies Ginn, and the Persians Peri. The former call Fairy-land, Ginnistian, many beautiful cities of which they have described in their fabulous histories. See Herbelot. Bibl. Orient. GIAN. p. 306. a. GENn. p. 375. a. PERI. p. 701. b. They pretend that the fairies built the city of Esthekar, or Persepolis. Id. in V. p. 327. a. One of the most eminent of the Oriental fairies was MERGIAN PERI, or Mergian the Fairy. Herbel. ut supr. V. PERI, P. 702. a. THAHAMURATH, p. 1017. This was a good fairy, and imprisoned for ages in a cavern by the giant Demrusch, from which she was delivered by Thahamurath, whom she afterwards assisted in conquering another giant, his enemy. Id. ibid. And this is the fairy or elfin queen, called in the French romances MORGAIN LE FAY, a. as, tient. It is found in the compositions of the Welsh bards only, who flourished after the native vein of British fabling had been tinctured by these FAIRY TALES, which the Arabians had propagated in Armorica, and which the Welsh had received from their connexion with that province of Gaul. Such a fiction as this is entirely different from the cast and complexion of the ideas of the original Welsh poets. It is easy to collect from the Welsh odes, written after the tenth century, many signatures of this EXOTIC imagery. Such “Their assault was like strong lions. He is valourous as a lion, who can resist his lance? The dragon of Mona's sons were so brave in fight, that there was horrible consternation, and upon Tal Moelvre a thousand banners. Our lion has brought to Trallwng three armies. A dragon he was from the beginning, unterrified in battle. A dragon of Ovain. Thou art a prince firm in battle, like an elephant. Their assault was as of strong lions. The lion of Cemais fierce in the onset, when the army rusheth to be covered with red. He saw Llewellyn like a burning dragon in the strife of Arson. He is furious in fight like an outrageous dragon. Like the roaring of a furious lion, in the search of prey, is thy thirst of praise." Instead of producing more proofs from the multitude that might be mentioned, for the sake of illustration of our argument, I will contrast these with some of their natural unadulterated thoughts. "Fetch the drinking-horn, whose gloss is like the wave of the sea. Tudor is like a wolf rushing on his prey. They were all covered with blood when they returned, and the high hills and the dales enjoyed the sun equally'. O thou virgin, that shinest like the snow on the brows of Aran": like the fine spiders webs on the grass on a summer's day. The army at Offa's dike panted for glory, the soldiers of Venedotia, and the men of London, were as the alternate motion of the waves on Morgain the fairy, who preserved king A beautiful periphrasis for noonday, and extremely natural in so moun tainous a country as Wales. This circumstance of time added to the merit of the action. "The high mountains in Merioneth shire. |