the latter's ardent attachment to books of all kinds, and the fingular avidity with which he pursued every species of literature ". A tract, entitled COMPARATIO STUDIORUM ET REI MILITARIS, written by Lapus de Caftellione, a Florentine civilian, and a great tranflator into Latin of the Greek claffics, is alfo infcribed to the duke, at the defire of Zeno archbishop of Bayeux. I must not forget, that our illuftrious duke invited into England the learned Italian, Tito Livio of Foro-Juli, whom he naturalised, and constituted his poet and orator". Humphrey also retained learned foreigners in his fervice, for the purpose of transcribing, and of translating from Greek into Latin. One of these was Antonio de Beccaria, a Veronese, a translator into Latin prose of the Greek poem of Dionyfius Afer DE SITU ORBIS: whom the duke employed to translate into Latin fix tracts of Athanafius. This tranflation, infcribed to the duke, is now among the royal manuscripts in the British Museum, and at the end, in his own hand-writing, is the following insertion: "C'est livre eft a moi Homphrey Duc le Glouceftre: le quel je fis translater de Grec en Latin par un de mes fecretaires Antoyne de Beccara, nè de Verone"."

TIONUM,

An aftronomical tract, entitled by Leland TABULA DIRECis falfely supposed to have been written by duke Humphrey. But it was compiled at the duke's inftance, and according to tables which himself had constructed, called by the anonymous author in his preface, Tabulas illuftriffimi principis et nobiliffimi domini mei Humfredi, &c'. In the library of Grefham college, however, there is a fcheme of calculations in

aftronomy, which bear his name. Aftronomy was then a favourite fcience: nor is to be doubted, that he was intimately acquainted with the politer branches of knowledge, which now began to acquire eftimation, and which his liberal and judicious attention greatly contributed to restore.

I close this fection with an apology for Chaucer, Gower, and Occleve; who are fuppofed, by the feverer etymologists, to have corrupted the purity of the English language, by affecting to introduce fo many foreign words and phrases. But if we attend only to the politics of the times, we shall find thefe poets, as alfo fome of their fucceffors, much less blameable in this refpect, than the critics imagine. Our wars with France, which began in the reign of Edward the third, were of long continuance. The principal nobility of England, at this period, refided in France, with their families, for many years. John king of France kept his court in England; to which, exclufive of these French lords who were his fellow-prifoners, or neceffary attendants, the chief nobles of his kingdom must have occafionally reforted. Edward the black prince made an expedition into Spain. John of Gaunt duke of Lancaster, and his brother the duke of York, were matched with the daughters of Don Pedro king of Caftile. All these circumstances must have concurred to produce a perceptible change in the language of the court., It is rational therefore, and it is equitable to fuppofe, that instead of coining new words, they only complied with the common and fashionable modes of fpeech. Would Chaucer's poems have been the delight of those courts in which he lived, had they been filled with unintelligible pedantries? The cotemporaries of these poets never complained of their obfcurity. But whether defenfible on thefe principles or not, they much improved the vernacular style by the use of this exotic phrafeology. It was thus that our primitive diction was enlarged and enriched. The English language owes its copiousness, elegance, and harmony, to these innovations.

MSS. Grefh. 66. See MSS. Afhmol. 856.

SECT.

I

Confider Chaucer as a genial day in an English spring. A brilliant fun enlivens the face of nature with an unusual luftre: the fudden appearance of cloudless skies, and the unexpected warmth of a tepid atmosphere, after the gloom and the inclemencies of a tedious winter, fill our hearts with the vifionary profpect of a speedy fummer: and we fondly' anticipate a long continuance of gentle gales and vernal ferenity. But winter returns with redoubled horrors: the clouds condense more formidably than before; and those tender buds, and early bloffoms, which were called forth by the tranfient gleam of a temporary fun-fhine, are nipped by frofts, and torn by tempefts.

Most of the poets that immediately fucceeded Chaucer, seem rather relapfing into barbarism, than availing themfelves of those ftriking ornaments which his judgment and imagination had disclosed. They appear to have been infenfible to his vigour of verfification, and his flights of fancy. It was not indeed likely that a poet should soon arise equal to Chaucer: and it must be remembered, that the national distractions which enfued, had no small share in obstructing the exercise of those studies which delight in peace and repofe. His fucceffors, however, approach him in no degree of proportion. Among thefe, John Lydgate is the poet who follows him at the shortest interval.

I have placed Lydgate in the reign of Henry the fixth, and he seems to have arrived at his highest point of eminence about the year 1430. Many of his poems, however,

In a copy of Lydgate's Chronicle of English Kings, there is a stanza of Edward the fourth. MSS. Harl. 2251. 3. In his poem Ab inimicis noftris, &c. Edward the fourth,

his Quene and Modir are remembered. MSS. Harl. ibid. 9. fol. 10. But these pieces could not well be written by Lydgate. For he was ordained a fubdeacon, 1389. DeaH &

con

He

appeared before. He was a monk of the Benedictine abbey of Bury in Suffolk, and an uncommon ornament of his profeffion. Yet his genius was fo lively, and his accomplishments fo numerous, that I fufpect the holy father faint Benedict would hardly have acknowledged him for a genuine difciple. After a fhort education at Oxford, he travelled into France and Italy "; and returned a complete master of the language and the literature of both countries. chiefly ftudied the Italian and French poets, particularly Dante, Boccacio, and Alain Chartier; and became fo diftinguished a proficient in polite learning, that he opened a school in his monaftery, for teaching the fons of the nobility the arts of verfification, and the elegancies of compofition. Yet although philology was his object, he was not unfamiliar with the fashionable philofophy: he was not only a poet and a rhetorician, but a geometrician, an aftronomer, a theologist, and a difputant. On the whole I am of opinion, that Lydgate made confiderable additions to those amplifications of our language, in which Chaucer, Gower, and Occleve led the way: and that he is the firft of our writers whose style is cloathed with that perfpicuity, in which the English phrafeology appears at this day to an English reader. To enumerate Lydgate's pieces, would be to write the catalogue of a little library. No poet seems to have poffeffed a greater versatility of talents. He moves with equal ease in every mode of compofition. His hymns, and his ballads, have the fame degree of merit: and whether his fubject be the life of a hermit or a hero, of faint Austin or Guy earl of Warwick, ludicrous or legendary, religious or romantic, a

con, 1393. And prieft, 1397. Regiftr. Gul. Cratfield, abbatis de Bury, MSS. Čott. TIBER. B. ix. fol. 1. 35. 52. Edward came to the crown, 1461. Pitts fays, that our author died, 1482. Lydgate, in his PHILOMELA, mentions the death of Henry

lord Warwick, who died in 1446. MSS. Harl. ibid. 120. fol. 255.

" See one of his DITTIES, MSS. Harl. 2255. 41. fol. 148.

I have been offte in dyvers londys, &c.

history

history or an allegory, he writes with facility. His tranfitions were rapid from works of the moft ferious and laborious kind to fallies of levity and pieces of popular entertainment. His mufe was of universal accefs; and he was not only the poet of his monaftery, but of the world. in general. If a difguifing was intended by the company of goldsmiths, a mask before his majesty at Eltham, a maygame for the fheriffs and aldermen of London, a mumming before the lord mayor, a proceffion of pageants from the creation for the festival of Corpus Chrifti, or a carol for the coronation, Lydgate was confulted and gave the poetry *.

About the year 1430, Whethamstede the learned and liberal abbot of faint Albans, being defirous of familiarifing the history of his patron faint to the monks of his convent, employed Lydgate, as it should seem, then a monk of Bury, to tranflate the Latin legend of his life in English rhymes. The chronicler who records a part of this anecdote feems to confider Lydgate's tranflation, as a matter of mere manual mechanism; for he adds, that Whethamstede paid for the translation, the writing, and illuminations, one hundred fhillings. It was placed before the altar of the faint, which Whethamftede afterwards adorned with much magnificence, in the abbey church'.

Our author's ftanzas, called the DANCE OF DEATH, which he tranflated from the French, at the request of the chapter of faint Paul's, to be infcribed under the representation of DEATH leading all ranks of men about the cloister of their

* See a variety of his pieces of this kind, MSS. Afhmol. 59. ii. Stowe fays, that at the reception of Margaret queen of Henry fixth, feveral pageaunts, the verses by Lydgate, were fhewn at Paul's gate, in 1445. Hift. p. 385. See alfo MSS. Harl. 2251. 118. fol. 250. b. The COVENTRY PLAY for Corpus Chrifti day, in the Cotton library, was very probably written by our author. VESPAS. D. viii. fol.

I GEST. Joh. Whethamft. ut fupr. p.