SECTION XXIV.

Two more poets remain to be mentioned under the reign of Henry the Sixth, if mere translation merit that appellation. These are Hugh Campeden and Thomas Chester.

The first was a great traveller, and translated into English verse the French romance of SIDRACE. This translation, a book of uncommon rarity, was printed with the following title, at the expence of Robert Saltwood, a monk of saint Austin's convent at Canterbury, in the year 1510. "The Historie of king BocCUS and SYDRACKE how he confoundyd his lerned men, and in the sight of them dronke stronge venyme in the name of the trinite and dyd him no hurt. Also his divynite that he lerned of the boke of Noe. Also his profesyes that he had by revelation of the angel. Also his aunsweris to the questyons of wysdom both morall and naturall with muche wysdom contayned in [the] noumber CCCLXV. Translated by Hugo of Caumpeden out of French into Englisshe," &c. There is no sort of elegance in the diction, nor harmony in the versification. It is in the minstrel-metre.i

See supr. vol. i. p. 147.

With a wooden cut of Bocchus, and
Sidracke. There is a fine manuscript of
this translation, Bibl. Bodl. MSS. Laud.
G. 57. pergam.

iMS. Laud. G. 57. Princip.
Men may fynde in olde bookes
Who soo yat in them lookes
That men may mooche here
And yerefore yff yat yee wolle lere
I shall teche yoowe a lytill jeste
That befell oonys in the este
There was a kynge that Boctus hyght
And was a man of mooche myght
His londe lay be grete Inde
Bectorye hight hit as we fynde
After the tyme of Noce even

VIIJte hundred yere fourty and seven

The kynge Bochus hym be thought
That he would have a citee wrought
The rede Jewes fro hym spere
And for to mayntene his were
A yenst a kyng that was hys foo
And hath moste of Inde longyng bym too
His name was Garaab the kyng
Bocchus tho proved all this thing
And smartly a towre begenne he
There he wolde make his citee
And it was right at the incomyng
Of Garabys londe the kyng
The masons with grete laboure
Beganne to worke uppon the toure
And all that they wroghten on day
On night was hit done away
On morn when Bochus hit berde
Hee was wroth that hit so ferde

Thomas Chestre appears also to have been a writer for the minstrels. No anecdote of his life is preserved. He has left a poem entitled Sir LAUNFAL, one of Arthur's knights: who is celebrated with other champions in a set of French metrical tales or romances, written by some Armorican bard, under the name of LANVAL. They are in the British Museum. 1

And dyd hyt all new begynne
At even whan they shuld blynne
Off worke when they went to reste
In the night was all downe heste
Well vii monthes this thei wrought
And in the night avaylid yt nought
Boccus was wroth wonderly

And callid his folke that was hym by
Councellith me lordinges seyde hee
Howe I may beste make this citee
They sayde sir sendith à noon
Aftir your philosophers everychon
And the astronomers of your londe
Of hem shall yee counseill fonde.

And knyghtes that wer profitable,
With Artour of the rounde table,
Never noon better ther was.
Sere Persevall, and syr Gawayn,
Syr Gyheryes, and syr Agrafrayn,
And Launcelot du Lake,
Syr Kay, and syr Ewayn,
That well couthe fyghte yn plain,
Bateles for to take.

Kyng Ban Booght, and kyng Bos,
Of ham ther was a greet los,
Men sawe tho no wher3 her make',
Syr Galafre, and syr LAUNFALE,
Whereof a noble tale

Afterwards king Tractabare is requested Among us schall a-wake.

to send

With Artour ther was a bacheler
And hadde y-be well many a yer,
LAUNFAL for soht he hyght,
He gaf gyftys largelyche
Gold and sylver and clodes ryche,
To squyer and to knyght.

For hys largesse and hys bountè
The kynges stuward made was he
Ten yer y you plyght,

Of alle the knyghtes of the table rounde
Be dayes ne be nyght.
So large ther was noyn y-founde,

So hyt befyll yn the tenthe yer
He radde hym for to wende
Marlyn was Artours counsalere,
To kyng Ryon of Irlond ryght,
And fette him ther a lady bryght
Gwennere hys doughtyr hende, &c.
In the conclusion.

THOMAS CHESTRE made thys tale
Of the noble knyght syr Launfale
Good of chyvalrye:

Jhesus that ys hevene kyng
Yeve us alle hys blessyng
And hys modyr Marye.

EXPLICIT LAUNFALE.

Never printed. MSS. Cotton. CALIG. A. 2. f. 33. I am obliged to doctor

liege, [lay.] 2 or, Kerdevyle. f. Caerlisle.

ther.

' match.

⚫ soth.

I think I have seen some evidence to prove, that Chestre was also the author of the metrical romance called the ERLE OF THOLOUSE". This is one of the romances called LAIS by the poets of Britany, or Armorica: as appears from these lines, In romance this gest

A LEY" of BRITAYN callyd I wys, &c.

And that it is a translation, appears from the reference to an original, "The Romans telleth so." I will however give the outlines of the story, which is not uninteresting, nor inartificially constructed.

Dioclesian, a powerful emperour in Germany, has a rupture with Barnard earl of Tholouse, concerning boundaries of territory. Contrary to the repeated persuasions of the empress, who is extremely beautiful, and famous for her conjugal fidelity, he meets the earl, with a numerous army, in a pitched battle, to decide the quarrel. The earl is victorious, and carries home a great multitude of prisoners, the most respectable of which is sir Tralabas of Turky, whom he treats as his companion. In the midst of their festivities they talk of the beauties of the empress; the earl's curiosity is inflamed to see so matchless a lady, and he promises liberty to sir Tralabas, if he can be conducted unknown to the emperour's court, and obtain a sight of her without discovery. They both set forward, the earl disguised like a hermit. When they arrive at the emperour's court, sir Tralabas proves false: treacherously imparts the secret

Percy for this transcript. It was afterwards altered into the romance of sir LAMBWELL. [This Romance forms a part of Mr. Ritson's collection, from whose transcript the text has been corrected. Under the title of Sir Lambwell it occurs in bishop Percy's folio MS.-EDIT.]

1 MSS. Harl. 978. 112. fol. i. 154. "En Bretains l'apelent LAUNVAL.” See a note at the beginning of Diss. i.

m Never printed. MSS. Ashmol. Oxon. 45. 4to. [6926. ] And MSS. More. Camb. 27. Princip.

Jesu Crist in trinite,
Only god in persons thre, &c.

to the empress that he has brought with him the earl of Tholouse in disguise, who is enamoured of her celebrated beauty; and proposes to take advantage of so fair an opportunity of killing the emperour's great and avowed enemy. She rejects the proposal with indignation, injoyns the knight not to communicate the secret any farther, and desires to see the earl next day in the chapel at mass. The next day the earl in his hermit's weeds is conveniently placed at mass. At leaving the chapel, he asks an alms of the empress; and she gives him forty florins and a ring. He receives the present of the ring with the highest satisfaction, and although obliged to return home, in point of prudence, and to avoid detection, comforts himself with this reflection.

He then returns home. The emperour is called into some distant country; and leaves his consort in the custody of two knights, who attempting to gain her love without success, contrive a stratagem to defame her chastity. She is thrown into prison, and the emperour returns unexpectedly, in consequence of a vision. The tale of the two treacherous knights is believed, and she is sentenced to the flames: yet under the restriction, that if a champion can be found who shall foil the two knights in battle, her honour shall be cleared, and her life saved. A challenge is published in all parts of the world; and the earl of Tholouse, notwithstanding the animosities which still subsist between him and the emperour, privately undertakes her quarrel. He appears at the emperour's court in the habit of

The emperour's disappointment is thus described.

Anon to the chamber went he,
He longyd sore his wyf to se,
That was so swete a wyght:

He callyd theym that shulde her kepe,
Where is my wif is she on slepe?

How farys that byrd so bryght?
The traytors answeryd anon,

And ye wist how she had done, &c.-
The yonge knyght sir Artour,
That was her hervour, &c.

For bale his armys abrode he sprede,
And fell in swoone on his bed.

a monk, and obtains permission to act as confessor to the empress, in her present critical situation. In the course of the confession, she protests that she was always true to the emperour; yet owns that once she gave a ring to the earl of Tholouse. The supposed confessor pronounces her innocent of the charge brought against her; on which one of the traiterous knights affirms, that the monk was suborned to publish this confession, and that he deserved to be consumed in the same fire which was prepared for the lady. The monk pretending that the honour of his religion and character was affected by this insinuation, challenges both the knights to combat: they are conquered; and the empress, after this trial, is declared innocent. He then openly discovers himself to be the earl of Tholouse, the emperour's antient enemy. A solemn reconciliation ensues. The earl is appointed seneschal of the emperour's domain. The emperour lives only three years, and the earl is married to the empress.

In the execution of this performance, our author was obliged to be concise, as the poem was intended to be sung to the harp. Yet, when he breaks through this restraint, instead of dwelling on some of the beautiful situations which the story affords, he is diffuse in displaying trivial and unimportant circumstances. These popular poets are never so happy, as when they are describing a battle or a feast.

It will not perhaps be deemed impertinent to observe that about this period the minstrels were often more amply paid than the clergy. In this age, as in more enlightened times, the people loved better to be pleased than instructed. During many of the years of the reign of Henry the Sixth, particularly in the year 1430, at the annual feast of the fraternity of the HOLIE CROSSE at Abingdon, a town in Berkshire, twelve priests each received four pence for singing a dirge: and the same number of minstrels were rewarded each with two shillings and four pence, beside diet and horse-meat. Some of these minstrels came only from Maydenhithe, or Maidenhead, a town at no great distance in the same county". In the year 1441, eight P Hearne's Lib. Nig. Scacc. APPEND. p. 598.