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chamber precious, perfumed with the richest odours. morning, guided by PERSEVERANCE and COMFORT, he goes forward, and fees a caftle, nobly fortified, and walled with jet. Before it was a giant with feven heads, and upon the trees about him were hanging many fhields of knights, whom he had conquered. On his feven heads were feven helmets crowned with seven streamers, on which were infcribed Diffimulation, Delay, Difcomfort, Variance, Envy, Detraction, Doubleness. After a bloody battle, he kills the giant, and is faluted by the five ladies STEDFASTNESS, AMOROUS PURVEYANCE, JOY AFTER SORROW, PLEASAUNCE, GOOD REPORT, AMITIE, CONTINUANCE, all riding from the castle on white palfries. These ladies inform Amoure, that they had been exiled from La Bell Pucell by DISDAINE, and befieged in this castle, for one whole year, by the giant whom he had just flain. They attend him on his journey, and travel through a dreary wilderness, full of wild beafts: at length they difcern, at a vast distance, a glorious region, where stood a stately palace beyond a tempestuous ocean. "is the palace of Pucelle."

That, fays PERSEVERANCE, They then discover, in the

island before them, an horrible fiend, roaring like thunder, and breathing flame, which my author strongly paints,

The fyre was greet, it made the ylande lyght.

PERSEVERANCE tells our hero, that this monfter was framed by the two witches STRANGENESS and DISDAINE, to punish La Bell Pucell for having banished them from her prefence. His body was compofed of the feven metals, and within it a demon was inclofed. They now enter a neighbouring temple of Pallas; who fhews Amoure, in a trance, the fecret formation of this monster, and gives him a box of wonderful ointment. They walk on the fea-fhore, and espy two ladies rowing towards them; who land, and having told Amoure that they are sent by PATIENCE to enquire his

name,

name, receive him and his company into the ship PERFECTNESS. They arrive in the island; and Amoure discovers the monster near a rock, whom he now examines more diftinctly. The face of the monster resembled a virgin's, and was of gold; his neck of filver; his breast of steel; his forelegs, armed with strong talons, of laten; his back of copper; his tail of lead, &c. Amoure, in imitation of Jason, anoints his fword and armour with the unguent of Pallas; which, at the first onset, preserves him from the voluminous torrent of fire and smoke iffuing from the monster's mouth. At length he is killed; and from his body flew out a foule ethiope, or black spirit, accompanied with fuch a smoke that all the island was darkened, and loud thunder-claps enfued. When this spirit was entirely vanished, the air grew serene; and our hero now plainly beheld the magnificent castle of La Pucell, walled with filver, and many a story upon the wall enameled royally'. He rejoins his company; and entering the gate of the castle, is folemnly received by PEAce, Mercy, JUSTICE, REASON, GRACE, and MEMORY. He is then led by the portress COUNTENAUNCE into the base court; where, into a conduit of gold, dragons fpouted water of the richest odour. The gravel of the court is like gold, and the hall and chambers are most superbly decorated. Amoure and La Pucell fit down and converfe together. Venus intervenes, attended by Cupid cloathed in a blue mantle embroidered. with golden hearts pierced with arrows, which he throws

See fupr. p. 217. and vol. i. p. 114. 303. I know not from what romantic hiftory of the crufades, Richard Johnfon took the description of the stately house of the courteous Jew at Damafcus, built for entertaining chriftian pilgrims, in which "the walls were painted with as many ftories as there were 66 years fince the creation of the world." SEC. P. ch. iv. The word enameled, in the text, is probably used in the fame fenfe as in Stowe, SURVEY LOND. P. 359. edit.

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Vol. II.

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The toure doth ftande
Made all of golde, enameled aboute
With noble ftoryes.-

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about the lovers, declaring that they fhould foon be joined in marriage. A fudden tranfition is here made from the pagan to the chriftian theology. The next morning they are married, according to the catholic ritual, by Lex ECCLESIÆ; and in the wooden print prefixed to this chapter, the lovers are reprefented as joining hands at the western portal of a great church, a part of the ceremonial of antient marriages". A folemn feast is then held in honour of the nuptials ".

Here the poem fhould have ended. But the poet has thought it necessary to extend his allegory to the death and burial of his hero. Graund Amoure having lived in confummate happiness with his amiable bride for many years, faw one morning an old man enter his chamber, carrying a staff, with which he strikes Amoure's breast, saying, Obey,. &c. His name is OLD AGE. Not long after came POLICY or Cunning, and AVARICE. Amoure now begins to abandon his triumphal fhows and fplendid carousals, and to be intent on amaffing riches. At laft arrived DEATH, who peremptorily denounces, that he muft prepare to quit his wealth and the world. After this fatal admonition, cameCONTRITION and CONSCIENCE, and he dies. His body is interred by MERCY and CHARITY; and while his epitaph is. written by REMEMBRANCE, FAME appears; promifing that the will enroll his name with those of Hector,, Joshua,

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Which is described thus, ch. xxix.. Why fhould I tary by long continuance, Of the feaft, &c.

In the fame manner Chaucer paffes over the particularities of Cambufcan's feaft, Squ. T. v. 83. Urr. And of Thefeus's feaft, KN. T. v. 2199. See alfo MAN OF L. T. v. 704. And Spenfer's FAIRY Qu. v. iii. 3.. [See fupr. vol. i. p. 333.] And. Matthew Paris, in defcribing the magnificent marriage and coronation of queen Eleanor in 1236, ufes exactly the

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Judas Maccabeus, king David ̊, Alexander the Great, Julius Cefar, Arthur', Charlemagne, and Godfrey of Bulloign'.

• The chief reafon for ranking king David among the knights of romance was, as I have already hinted, because he killed the giant Goliah: an achievement here mentioned by Hawes. See fupr. p. 217. and vol. i. p. 418.

P Of Arthur and his knights he says, that their exploits are recorded "in royall "bokes and jeftes hyftoryall." ch. xliii. Sir Thomas Maillorie had now just published his MORTE ARTHUR, a narrative digested from various French romances on Arthur's ftory. Caxton's printed copy of this favourite volume must have been known to our poet Hawes, which appeared in 1485. fol. By the way, in panegyrifing Chaucer, Hawes mentions it, as a circumftance of diftinction, that his works were printed. ch. xiiii.

Whose name

In PRINTED bokès doth remayne in fame. This was natural at the beginning of the typographic art. Many of Chaucer's poems were now recently printed by Caxton.

With regard to Maillorie's book, much, if not moft, of it, I believe, is taken from the great French_romance of LANCELOT, tranflated from Latin into French at the command of one of our Henrys, a metrical English verfion of which is now in Benet library at Cambridge. [See a fpecimen in Mr. Naafmith's curious catalogue, p. 54.] I have left it doubtful whether it was the third Henry who ordered this romance to be tranflated into Latin, vol. i. p. 115. But, befide the proofs there fuggefted, in favour of that hypothefis, it appears, that Henry the third paid great attention to thefe compofitions, from the following curious anecdote juft published, which throws new light on that monarch's character.

laid, and the rival bards were fhut up in separate chambers of the palace. The king, who appears to have much interested himfelf in the difpute, allowed them ten days. for compofing, and five more for learning to fing, their respective pieces: after which, each was to exhibit his performance in the prefence of his majefty. The third day, the English minstrel announced that he was ready. The troubadour declared he had not wrote a line; but that he had tried, and could not as yet put two words together. The following evening he overheard the minstrel practifing his chanfon to himself. The next day he had the good fortune to hear the fame again, and learned the air and words. At the day appointed they both appeared before the king. Arnaud defired to fing firft. The minstrel, in a fit of the greatest surprise and astonishment, fuddenly cried out, C'est ma chanson, This is MY SONG. The king faid it was impoffible. The minstrel ftill infifted upon it; and Arnaud, being closely preffed, ingenuously told the whole affair. king was much entertained with this adventure; and ordering the wager to be withdrawn, loaded them with rich presents. But he afterwards obliged Arnaud to give a chanfon of his own compofition. Millot, ut fupr. tom. ii. p. 491.

The

In the mean time I would not be underftood to deny, that Henry the second encouraged these pieces; for it partly appears, that Gualter Mapes, archdeacon of Oxford, tranflated, from Latin into French, the popular romance of SAINT GRAAL, at the inftance of Henry the fecond, to whom he was chaplain, about the year 1190. See MSS. Reg. 20 D. iii. a manufcript perhaps coeval with the translator; and, if fo, the original copy prefented to the king. Maister Benoit, or Benedict, a rhymer in French, was alfo patronised by this monarch: at whofe command he compiled a metrical Chronicle of the DUKES OF NORMANDY: in which are cited Ifidore Hifpalenfis, Pliny, and faint Auftin. MSS. Harl. 1717. 1. on vellum. Sce fol. 85. 192. 163. 236. This old French poem Hh 2

Arnaud Daniel, a troubadour, highly celebrated by Dante and Petrarch, about the year 1240 made a voyage into England, where, in the court of king Henry the third, he met a miuftrel, who challenged him at difficult rhymes. The challenge was accepted, a confiderable wager was

Aftewards TIME, and ETERNITIE clothed in a white vestment and crowned with a triple diadem of gold, enter the temple, and pronounce an exhortation. Laft follows an epilogue, in which the poet apologises for his hardinefs in attempting to feign and devife this fable.

The reader readily perceives, that this poetical apologue is intended to fhadow the education of a complete gentleman; or rather, to point out those accomplishments which conftitute the character of true gallantry, and most justly deserve the reward of beauty. It is not pretended, that the perfonifications display that force of colouring, and diftinctness of delineation, which animate the ideal portraits of John of Meun. But we must acknowledge, that Hawes has fhewn no inconfiderable fhare of imagination, if not in inventing romantic action, at least in applying and enriching the general incidents of the Gothic fable. In the creation of allegoric imagery he has exceeded Lydgate. That he is greatly superior to many of his immediate predeceffors and cotemporaries, in harmonious verfification, and clear expreffion, will appear from the following ftanza.

is full of fabulous and romantic matter; and feems to be partly tranflated from a Latin Chronicle, DE MORIBUS ET ACTIS PRIMORUM NORMANNIE DUCUM, written about the year 1000, by Dudo, dean of S. Quintin's, and printed among Du Chefne's SCRIPTOR. NORMAN. P. 49. edit. 1619. Maifter Benoit ends with our Henry the firft. Dudo with the year 996.

9 With his doufeperes, or twelve peers, among which he mentions Rowland and Oliver.

Thefe are the NINE WORTHIES: to whom Shakespeare alludes in Love's Lab. LOST. "Here is like to be a good presence "of WORTHIES. He prefents Hector of "Troy: The fwain, Pompey the Great: "The parish-curate, Alexander: Arma"do's page, Hercules: The pedant, Judas "Macchabeus, &c." ACT. v. Sc. i.

Elias Cairels, a troubadour of Perigord,
about the year 1240, wishes for the wif-
dom of Solomon, the courtesy of Roland,
the puiffance of Alexander, the strength of
Samfon, the friendly attachment of fir
Triftram, the chevalerie of fir Gawaine,
and the learning of Merlin. Though not
immediately connected with the prefent
purpose, I cannot refift the temptation of
tranfcribing the remainder of our trouba-
dour's idea of complete happiness in this
world. His ambition can be gratified by
nothing lefs than by poffeffing, "Une fi
"parfaite loyauté, que nul chevalier et nul
"jongleur n' aient rien à reprendre en lui;

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