cessors, especially the minstrel-pieces, has been often effaced by multiplication of copies, and other causes. In the mean time it should be remarked, that the capricious peculiarities and even ignorance of transcribers, often occasion an obscurity, which is not to be imputed either to the author or his age".

But Davie's capital poem is the LIFE OF ALEXANDER, which deserves to be published entire on many accounts. It seems to be founded chiefly on Simeon Seth's romance above mentioned; but many passages are also copied from the French ROMAN D'ALEXANDRE, a poem in our author's age perhaps equally popular both in England and France. It is a work of considerable length'. I will first give some extracts from the Prologue.

Divers is this myddel erde

To lewed men and to lerids, &c.
Notheles, ful feole and fille

Beoth y-founde in heorte and wille

That hadde levere a ribaudye

Than to here of God, other of seynte Marie;

Other to drynke a coppe ful of ale,
Than to here ony god tale:

Soche Y wolde were oute-bishett;
For sikerliche, hit weore nede.
For they no haveth no joye, y wot wele
Bote in the gutte and the barell.

4 Chaucer in TROILUS AND CRESSIDA mentions "the grete diversite in English, and in writing of our tongue." He therefore prays God, that no person would miswrite, or misse-metre his poem. lib. ult. v. 1792. seq.

[In attributing this romance to Davie, Warton has followed the authority of Tanner, who was probably led into the mistake by finding it bound up with the remaining works of this "poetic marshall." We are indebted to Mr. Ellis for detecting upon the force of internal evidence this misappropriation of a very spirited composition to the insipid author of the Legend of Saint Alexius.

It has since been published from a transcript of the Lincoln's-Inn MS. made by Mr. Park, and forms the first volume in Mr. Weber's collection. In deference to the opinions of these gentlemen-opinions sanctioned as it would seem by the approbation of Mr. Douce and Mr. Ellis-the text has been supplied from the printed copy, though the Editor's private judgment is decidedly in favour of the Bodleian version.➡ EDIT.]

Leg. lerd. learned.

The work begins thus.

Whilem clerkes wel ylerid
Faire y-dyght this myddel erde,

Adam Davie thus describes a splendid procession made by Olympias.

In this tyme faire and jolifu
Olimpias, that faire wif,
Wolde make a riche feste
Of knightis and ladies honeste,
Of burgeys and of jugoleris
And of men of eche mesteris",
For mon seith by north and south

Wimmen beth, ever selcouth;

Muche they desirith to schewe heore body

Heore faire heir, heore fair rody,

W

To have los and praisyng:

Al hit is folie by hevene kyng!
So dude dame Olimpias

To schewe hire gentil face.
Scheo hette marchal, and knyghtis
Greythen heom to ryde anon ryghtis.
And ladies and demoselis

Maken heom redy, a thousand delis,
In faire atire, in divers coyntise
Monye ther riden in riche wise.
A muyle, al so whit as mylk
With sadel of gold, semely of selk
Was y-brought to theo quene
With mony bellis of selver schene
Y-fastened on orfreys* of mounde
That hongen adoun to theo grounde.
Forth thei ferden with heore roite
A thousand ladies of o swte.

And clepid hit in here maistrie,
Europe, Affryke, and Asyghe:
At Asyghe al so muchul ys

As Europe, and Affryk, I wis, &c.
And ends with this distich.

Alisaunder! me reowith thyn endyng
That thou n'adest dyghed in cristenyng.

" jolly.

sort.

W

of each, or every, profession, trade,

praise.

embroidered work, cloth of gold. Aurifrigium, Lat.

y fared: went.

A speruer that was honeste

So was at theo ladies feste:
Four trumpes to-fore hire bleow
Mony man that day hire kneow:
An hundred and wel mo
Alle abowed hire to.

Al thes toun y-honged was b
Ageynes theo lady Olimpias.d
Orgles, tymbres, al maner gleo
Was dryuen ageyn that lady freo.
Withoute theo toun was mury:
Was reised ther al maner pley f;
There was knyghtis turnyng
There was maidenes carolying
There was champions skyrmyng,
Of heom and of other wrastlyng
Of liouns chas, of beore baityng
And bay of bor of bole slatyng'.
Al theo city was by-hong

Of riche baudekyns and pellis among
Dame Olimpias among this pres
Sengle rod", al mantul-les.

Hire yolowe heir" was fair atyred
With ryche strynges of gold wyred
And wryen hire abouten al°

To hire gentil myddel smal

sparrow-hawk; a hawk. a before. b "hung with tapestry." We find this ceremony practised at the entrance of lady Elisabeth, queen of Henry the Seventh, into the city of London." Al the strets ther whiche she shulde passe by wer clenly dressed and besene with cloth, of tappestrye and arras, and some streetes as Chepe, hanged with riche clothes of golde, velvettes and silkes." This was in the year 1481, Leland. Coll. iv. Opuscul. p. 220. edit. 1770.

"against her coming.'

See the description of the tournament in Chaucer, Knight's Tale, where

the city is hanged with cloth of gold. v. 2570. Urr.

e (

organs, timbrels, all manner of

music."

f "all sorts of sports."

8 skirmishing.

"baying or bayting of the boar." i slaying bulls, bull-feasts. Chaucer says that the chamber of Venus was painted with "white bolis grete." Compl. of Mars and Ven. v. 86.

* skins.

m rode single.

n

yellow hair.

1 croud; company.

。"covered her all over."

Bryght and fair was hire face P

Uche maner faired in hire was'.

Much in the same strain the marriage of Cleopatras is described.

Tho this message was hom y-come
Ther was mony blithe gome

With rose and swete flores
Was strawed halles and bouris ;
With samytes and baudekyns
Weore cortined the gardynes,
Alle the innes of the toun
Haddyn litel foisoun,

That day cam Clorpatras;

So mucle people with hire was.
Upon a mule, whyt so mylk;

Hire harneys gold beten with selk.
The prynce hire ladde of Sandas,
And of Cydoyne sire Jonatas,
Ten thousand barouns hire come myde,
And to chirche they ryden.
Spoused scheo is and set on deys:
Now ginnith the geste of noblés:

P line 155.

q

beauty.

John Gower, who lived an hundred years after our author, has described the same procession. Confess. Amant. lib. vi. fol. 137. a. b. edit. Berthel. 1554.

But in that citee then was
The quene, whiche Olimpias
Was hote, and with solempnitee
The feste of hir nativitee,
As it befell, was than hold:
And for hir lust to be behold,
And preised of the people about,
She shop hir for to ridenout,
Al aftir meet al opinly.
Anon al men were redie;

And that was in the month of Maie:
This lusty quene in gode araie
Was sette upon a mule white

To sene it was a grete delite

The joye that the citie made.
With fresh thinges and with glade
The noble towne was al behonged;
And everie wight was son alonged
To see this lustie ladie ryde.
There was great mirth on al syde,
When as she passed by the streate
There was ful many a tymbre beate,
And many a maide carolende.

And thus throughout the town plaiende
This quene unto the plaiene rode
Whar that she hoved and abode
To se divers games plaie,
The lustie folke just and tornaye.
An so couth every other man
Which play with, his play began,
To please with this noble queen.

Gower continues this story, from a ro

mance mentioned above, to fol. 140.

provision.

At theo feste was trumpyng,
Pipyng and eke taboryng,

Sytolyng and ek harpyng'.

We have frequent opportunities of observing, how the poets of these times engraft the manners of chivalry on antient classical history. In the following lines Alexander's education is like that of Sir Tristram. He is taught tilting, hunting, and hawking.

Now con Alisaundre of skyrmyng,
And of stedes disrayng,
And of sweordis turnyng,
Apon stede, apon justyng,
And 'sailyng, of defendyng
In grene wode of huntyng

And of reveryng and of haukyng":
Of batail and of al thyng.

In another place Alexander is mounted on a steed of Narbone*; and amid the solemnities of a great feast, rides through the hall to the high table. This was no uncommon practice in the ages of chivalry".

He leop up, and hadde soon doon,
Apon a stede of faire bon; (Narabone)
He rod forth upon the lond
Theo riche croune in his hond,
Of Nicholas that he wan:
Byside rideth a gentil man.