Pucell was gloriously wrought'. The marshall of this castle is REASON, the sewer OBSERVANCE, the cook TEMPERANCE, the high-steward LIBERALITY, &c. He then explains to DocTRINE his name and intended adventure; and she entertains him at a solemn feast. He visits her seven daughters, who reside in the castle. First he is conducted to GRAMMAR, who delivers a learned harangue on the utility of her science: next to LOGIC, who dismisses him with a grave exhortation: then to RHETORIC, who crowned with laurel, and seated in a stately chamber, strewed with flowers, and adorned with the clear mirrours of speculation, explains her five parts in a laboured oration. Graunde Amoure resolves to pursue their lessons with vigour; and animates himself, in this difficult task, with the examples of Gower, Chaucer, and Lydgates, who are panegy In the eleventh book of Boccacio's THESEID, after Arcite is dead, Palamon builds a superb temple in honour of him, in which his whole history is painted. The description of this painting is a recapitulatory abridgement of the preceding part of the poem. Hawes's tapestry is less judiciously placed in the begin ning of the piece, because it precludes expectation by forestalling all the future incidents. * He recites some of the pieces of the two latter. Chaucer, he says, wrote the BOOK OF FAME on hys own invencion. The TRAGEDIES of the xix ladies, a translacyon. The CANTERBURY TALES, upon hys ymaginacyon, some of which are vertuous, others glad and merry. The pytous dolour of TROYLUS AND CRESSIDA, and many other bokes. Among Lydgate's works, he recites the LIFE OF OUR LADY. SAINT EDMUND'S LIFE. THE FALL OF PRINCES. The THREE REASONS. The CHORLE AND THE BIRD. The TROY BOOK. VIRTUE AND VICE, [MSS. Harl. 2251. 63. fol. 95.] The TEMPLE OF GLASS. The Book of GODS AND GODDESSES. This last, I suppose, is The BANKET OF GODS AND GODDESSES. The poem of the CHORLE AND THE BIRD our author calls a pamflete. Lydgate himself says, that he translated this tale from a pamflete in Frensche, st. 5. It was first printed by Caxton in his CHAucer. Afterwards by Wynkyn de Worde, before 1500, in quarto. And, I think, by Copland. Ashmole has printed it under the title of HERMES'S BIRD, and supposes it to have been written originally by Raymund Lully; or at least made English by Cremer, abbot of Westminster, Lully's scholar, THEATR. CHEM. p. 213. 467. 465. Lydgate, in the last stanza, again speaks of this piece as a "translacyon owte of the Frenshe." But the fable on which it is founded, is told by Petrus Alphonsus, a writer of the twelfth century, in his tract de Clericali Disciplina, never printed. See vol. ii. p. 449. Our author, in his recital of Chaucer's pieces, calls the LEGENDE OF GOOD WoMEN tragidyes. Antiently a serious narrative in verse was called a tragedy. And it is observable, that he mentions rir ladyes belonging to this legend. Only nine appear at present. Nineteen was the number intended, as we may collect from Lydgate's FALL PR. Prol. and ibid. 1. i. c. 6. Compare MAN of L. T. Prol. v. 60. Urr. Where eight more ladies than are in the present legende are mentioned. This piece is called the legendis of ix good women, MSS. Fairf. xvi. Chaucer himself says, "I sawe cominge of ladyes Nineteen in royall habit." v. 383. Urr. Compare Pars. T, rised with great propriety. He is afterwards admitted to ARITHMETIC, who wears a GOLDEN wede': and, last of all, is led to the Tower of MUSIC", which was composed of crystal, in eager expectation of obtaining a view of La Bell Pucell, according to FAME's prediction. MUSIC was playing on an organ, before a solemn assembly; in the midst of which, at length he discovers La Bell Pucell, is instantly captivated with her beauty, and almost as soon tells her his name, and discloses his passion ". She is more beautiful than Helen, Proserpine, Cressida, queen Hyppolita, Medea, Dido, Polyxena, Alcmena, Menalippa, or even fair Rosamund. The solemnity being finished, Music and La Bell Pucell go forth into a stately temple, whither they are followed by our hero. Here MUSIC seats herself amidst a concert of all kinds of instruments*, She explains the principles See also the note on v. 4481 of the The walls of her chamber are painted in gold with the three fundamental rules of arithmetic. "In the TRESOR of Pierre de Corbian, cited at large above, Music, according to Boethius and Guy Aretin, is one of the seven liberal sciences. At Oxford, the graduates in music, which still remains there as an academical science, are at this day required to shew their proficiency in Boethius DE MUSICA. In a pageant, at the coronation of king Edward the Sixth, Music personified appears among the seven sciences. Leland. Coll. ArPEND. iii. 317. edit. 1770. In the description of her person, which is very elegant, and consists of three stanzas, there is this circumstance, "She gartered wel her hose." ch. xxx. Chaucer has this circumstance in describing the Wife of Bath. Prol. v. 458. Hire hosen weren of fine scarlet rede * That is, tabours, trumpets, pipes, W sackbuts, organs, recorders, harps, lutes, That any man kan specifye: of harmony. A dance is plaid, and Graunde Amoure dances with La Bell Pucell. He retires, deeply in love. He is met by COUNSELL, who consoles and conducts him to his repose in a stately chamber of the castle. In the morning, COUNSELL and our hero both together visit La Bell Pucell. At the gate of the garden of the castle they are informed by the portress CURTESY, that the lady was sitting alone in an arbour, weaving a garland of various flowers. The garden is described as very delicious, and they find the lady in the arbour near a stately fountain, among the floures of aromatyke fume. After a long dialogue, in which for some time she seems to reject his suit, at last she resigns her heart; but withal acquaints her lover, that he has many monsters to encounter, and many dangers to conquer, before he can obtain her. He replies, that he is well acquainted with these difficulties; and declares, that, after having received instructions from ASTRONOMY, he will go to the Tower of CHIVALRY, in order to be more completely qualified to succeed in this hazardous enterprise. They take leave with tears; and the lady is received into a ship, which is to carry her into the island where her tower stood. COUNSELL consoles Amoure, and leaves him to attend other desponding lovers. Lutys, ribibles, and geternes, More for estatys than tavernes ; Orguys, cytolis, monacordys.. There were trumpes, and trumpettes, Lowde shallys, and doucettes. Here geterne is a guittar, which, with cytolis, has its origin in cithara. Fythales is fiddles. Shallys, I believe, should be shalmics, or shawms. Orguys is organs. See supr. vol. ii. p. 264. By estałys he means states, or solemn assemblies. Y MUSIC commands her mynstrelles to play the dance, which was called Mamours the swete. So at the royal marriage just mentioned, "The mynstrelles begonne to play a basse dance, &c. After this done, they plaid a rownde, the which was daunced by the lorde Grey ledyinge the said queene.-After the dinner incontynent the mynstrelles of the chammer [chamber] began to play and then daunced the quene," &c. Leland, APPEND. ubi supr. p. 284. seq. I COUNSELL mentions the examples of Troilus and Cressida, and of Ponthus Our hero bids adieu in pathetic terms to the Tower of Music, where he first saw Pucell. Next he proceeds to the Tower of GEOMETRY, which is wonderfully built and adorned. From thence he seeks ASTRONOMY, who resides in a gorgeous pavilion pitched in a fragrant and flowery meadow: she delivers a prolix lecture on the several operations of the mind, and parts of the body. He then, accompanied with his greyhounds, enters an extensive plain overspread with flowers; and looking forward, sees a flaming star over a tower. Going forward, he perceives that this tower stands on a rough precipice of steel, decorated with beasts of various figures. As he advances towards it, he comes to a mighty fortress, at the gate of which were hanging a shield and helmet, with a marvellous horn. He blows the horn with a blast that shook the tower, when a knight appears; who, asking his business, is answered, that his name is Graunde Amoure, and that he was just arrived from the tower of DOCTRINE. He is welcomed by the knight, and admitted. This is the castle of CHIVALRY. The next morning he is conducted by the porter STEDFASTNESS into the base court, where stood a tower of prodigious height, made of jasper: on its summit were four images of armed knights on horses of steel, which, on moving a secret spring, could represent a turney. Near this tower was an antient temple of Mars: within it was his statue, or picture, of gold, with the figure of FORTUNE on her wheel; and the walls were painted with the siege of Troy. He supplicates Mars, that he may be enabled to subdue the monsters which obstruct his passage to the Tower That to beholde it was grete joy; In our author's description of the palace of Pucell. Mars promises him assistance; but advises him first to invoke Venus in her temple. FORTUNE reproves Mars for presuming to promise assistance; and declares, that all human glory is in the power of herself alone. Amoure is then led by Minerva to king Melyzus, the inventor of tilts and tournaments, who dubs him a knight. He leaves the castle of CHIVALRY, and on the road meets a person, habited like a Fool, named Godfrey Gobilive, who enters into a long dis course on the falsehood of women. They both go together into Through the sumptuous hall of the castle, which is painted with the Siege of Thebes, and where many knights are playing at chess. A fabulous king of Thrace, who, I think, is mentioned in Caxton's RECUYAL OF THE HYSTORYES OF TROY, now just printed; that is, in the year 1471. Our author appeals to this romance, which he calls the Recule of Troye, as an authentic voucher for the truth of the labours of Hercules. ch. i. By the way, Boccacio's GENEalogy of the Gods is quoted in this romance of Troy, B. ii. ch. xix. * His father is Davy Drunken nole, Who never dranke but in a fayre blacke boule. Here he seems to allude to Lydgate's His mouth weel weet, his slevis riht thredbare; A turnebroche [turn-spit], a boy for Of new crystened, and called Jakke Whiche of a boll can plukke out the These two pieces of Lydgate appear to be the same. f He relates, how Aristotle, for all his clergy, was so infatuated with love, that he suffered the lady, who only laughed at his passion, to bridle and ride him about his chamber. This story is in Gower, CONF. AMANT. lib. viii. fol. clxxxix. b. edit. ut supr. [See supr. vol. ii. p. 325-6. I saw there Aristote also Whom that the quene of Grece also Then follows a long and ridiculous story mentioned this Virgil, supr. vol. ii. And eke Virgile of acqueintance |