The Soudan neigh he hedde islawe, And broughten him ayeyn upon his stede, That no mon miht him dere". Whon he was brouht uppon his stede, Alle that he hutte he made hem blede, "Mahoun help," he gan crye. Men mihte se uppon the feld Moni a kniht ded under scheld, Of the Cristen cumpagnie. Whon the kyng of Taars saugh hem so ryde, Bote fleyh to his oune citè: The Sarazyns, that ilke tyde, Slough adoun bi vche syde Vr Cristene folk so fre. The Sarazyns that tyme, sauns fayle, That reuthe hit was to se; As the kyng of Tars sat in his halle, coal, fire-brand. as if he was mad. b helmet. e flew. For the folk that he hedde ilore His douhter com in riche palle, On kneos heoh gon biforen him falle, "Fader," heo seide, "let me beo his wyf, To prevent future bloodshed, the princess voluntarily declares she is willing to be married to the Soldan, although a Pagan: and notwithstanding the king her father peremptorily refuses his consent, and resolves to continue the war, with much difficulty she finds means to fly to the Soldan's court, in order to produce a speedy and lasting reconciliation by marrying him. To the Soudan heo is ifare; He com with mony an heigh lordyng, Ther heo com in hire chare*: Into chambre heo was led, Hethene as thaug heo were". Bi the Soudan heo was sette. Heo that was so bright of ble To habbe so foule a mette", &c. They are then married, and the wedding is solemnized with a grand tournament, which they both view from a high tower. She is afterwards delivered of a son, which is so deformed as to be almost a monster. But at length she persuades the Soldan to turn Christian; and the young prince is baptized, after which ceremony he suddenly becomes a child of most extraordinary beauty. The Soldan next proceeds to destroy his Saracen idols. He hente a staf with herte grete, On Astrot and sire Jovin On Tirmagaunt and Apollin, He brak hem scolle and croun; On Tirmagaunt, that was heore brother, Ne on his lord seynt Mahoun, &c. The Soldan then releases thirty thousand Christians, whom he had long detained prisoners. As an apostate from the pagan religion, he is powerfully attacked by several neighbouring Saracen nations: but he solicits the assistance of his father-inlaw the king of Tars; and they both joining their armies, in a pitched battle, defeat five Saracen kings, Kenedoch, Lesyas king of Taborie, Merkel, Cleomadas, and Membrok. There is a warmth of description in some passages of this poem, not unlike the manner of Chaucer. The reader must have already • [I know not if by sire Jovyn he means Jupiter, or the Roman emperour called Jovinian, against whom saint Jerom wrote, and whose history is in the GESTA ROMANORUM, C. 59. He is mentioned by Chaucer as an example of pride, luxury, and lust. SoMP. T. v. 7511. Verdier (in v.) recites a Moralité on Jovinian, with nineteen characters, printed at Lyons, from an antient copy in 1581, 8vo, with the title L'Orgueil et presomption de l'Empereur JOVINIAN. But Jovyn being mentioned here with Plotoun and Apollin, seems to mean Jove or Jupiter; and the appellation SIRE perhaps implies father, or chief, of the heathen gods.ADDITIONS.] observed, that the stanza resembles that of Chaucer's RIME OF SIR TOPAS". IPOMEDON is mentioned among the romances in the Prologue of RICHARD CUER DE LYON; which, in an antient copy of the British Museum, is called SYR IPOMYDON: a name borrowed from the Theban war, and transferred here to a tale of the feudal times'. This piece is evidently derived from a French original. Our hero Ippomedon is son of Ermones king of Apulia, and his mistress is the fair heiress of Calabria. About the year 1230, William Ferrabrass, and his brethren, sons of Tancred the Norman, and well known in the romantic history of the Paladins, acquired the signories of Apulia and Calabria. But our English romance seems to be immediately translated from the French; for Ermones is called king of Poyle, or Apulia, which in French is Pouille. I have transcribed some of the most interesting passages. Ippomedon, although the son of a king, is introduced waiting in his father's hall, at a grand festival. This servitude was so far from being dishonourable, that it was always required as a preparatory step to knighthood". Every yere the kyng wold At Whytsontyde a fest hold Off dukis, erlis, and barons, Many there come frome dyvers townes, Ladyes, maydens, gentill and fre, Come thedyr from ferre contrè: And grette lordis of ferre lond, Thedyr were prayd by fore the hond ". There was joy of mani a man; The romance of SIR LIBEAUX or Ly-" [Printed in Mr. Weber's collection of BIUS DISCONIUS, quoted by Chaucer, is in this stanza. MSS. Cott. CAL. A 2. f.40. MSS. Harl. 2252. 44. f. 54. And in the library of Lincoln cathedral (K. k. 3. 10.) is an antient imperfect printed copy, wanting the first sheet. Metrical Romances, whose text has been substituted for Warton's. It has also been analysed by Mr. Ellis.-EDIT.] Bras de fer. Iron arms. MSS. f. 55. "See vol. i. p. 43, note". w before-hand. Full riche I wote were hyr seruice, Some to chambre, and some to boure, And some in the halle stode And spake what hem thought gode: Enquered of men of other cuntrè, &c. Here a conversation commences concerning the heiress of Calabria: and the young Prince Ippomedon immediately forms a resolution to visit and to win her. He sets out in disguise. Now they go furth on her way, Ipomydon to hys men gan say, That ther be none of hem alle, So hardy by his name hym calle, Whereso thei wend ferre or nere, Or over the strange ryvere; "Ne man telle what I am, What I schall be, ne whens I cam." All they granted hys commandement, And forthe they went with one assent. * In the feudal castles, where many persons of both sexes were assembled, and who did not know how to spend the time, it is natural to suppose that different parties were formed, and different schemes of amusement invented. One |