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SECT. II.

NE of the reasons which rendered the claffic authors

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of the lower empire more popular than those of a purer age, was because they were chriftians. Among these, no Roman writer appears to have been more studied and efteemed, from the beginning to the clofe of the barbarous centuries, than Boethius. Yet it is certain, that his allegorical perfonifications and his vifionary philofophy, founded on the abstractions of the Platonic school, greatly concurred to make him a favourite. His CONSOLATION of PHILOSOPHY was tranflated into the Saxon tongue by king Alfred, the father of learning and civility in the midft of a rude and intractable people; and illustrated with a commentary by Affer bishop of Saint David's, a prelate patronised by Alfred for his fingular accomplishments in literature, about the year 890. Bishop Grofthead is faid to have left annotations on this admired fyftem of morality. There is a very ancient manufcript of it in the Laurentian library, with an inscription prefixed in Saxon characters. There are few of those distinguished ecclefiaftics, whose erudition illuminated the thickest gloom of ignorance and fuperftition with uncommon luftre, but who either have cited this performance,

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It is obfervable, that this SPIRIT OF PERSONIFICATION tinctures the writings of fome of the chriftian fathers, about, or rather before, this period. Most of the agents in the SHEPHERD of HERMAS are ideal beings. An ancient lady converfes with Hermas, and tells him that she is the CHURCH OF GOD. Afterwards feveral virgins appear and difcourfe with him; and when he defires to be informed who they are, he is told by the SHEPHERD-ANGEL,

that they are FAITH, ABSTINENCE, PATIENCE, CHASTITY, CONCORD, &C. Saint Cyprian relates, that the church appeared in a vifion, in vifione per noctem, to Colerinus; and commanded him to affume the office of Reader, which he in humility had declined. Cyprian. Epift. xxxix. edit. Oxon. The church appearing as a woman they perhaps had from the fcripture, REV. xii. 1. ESDRAS, &C.

Mabillon. Itin. Ital. P. 221.

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or honoured it with a panegyric. It has had many imitators. Eccard, a learned French Benedictine, wrote in imitation of this CONSOLATION OF PHILOSOPHY, a work in verse and profe containing five books, entitled the CONSOLATION OF THE MONKS, about the year 1120. John Gerson also, a doctor and chancellor of the university of Paris, wrote the CONSOLATION OF THEOLOGY in four books, about the year 1420. It was the model of Chaucer's TESTAMENT OF LOVE. It was tranflated into French and English before the year 1350". Dante was an attentive reader of Boethius. In the PURGATORIO, Dante gives THEOLOGY the name of Beatrix his mistress, the daughter of Fulco Portinari, who very gravely moralifes in that character. Being ambitious of following Virgil's fteps in the descent of Eneas into hell, he introduces her, as a daughter of the empyreal heavens, bringing Virgil to guide him through that dark and dangerous region". Leland, who lived when true literature began to be restored, fays that the writings of Boethius ftill continued to retain that high estimation, which they had acquired in the most early periods. I had almost forgot to observe, that the CONSOLATION was tranflated into Greek by Maximus Planudes, the most learned and ingenious of the Conftantinopolitan monks'.

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a translation of Virgil by Guillaume le Roy,
there is one by De Cis, or Thri, an old
French poet. Matt. Annal. Typogr. i.
p. 171. Francifc. a Cruce, Bibl. Gallic.
P. 216.
247. It was printed in Dutch at
Ghent, apud Arend de Keyfer, 1485. fol.
In Spanish at Valladolid, 1598, fol. See
fupr. vol. i. p. 458. Polycarpus Leyferus,
in that very fcarce book DE POESI MEDII
Evi, [printed HALE, 1721, 8vo.] enu-
merates many curious old editions of Boe-
thius, p. 95. 105.

h See PURGAT. Cant. xxx.

i Montfauc. Bibl. Coiflin. p. 140. Of a Hebrew verfion, fee Wolf. Bibl. Hebr. tom. i. p. 229. 1092. 243. 354. 369.

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I can affign only one poet to the reign of king Henry the fourth, and this a tranflator of Boethius. He is called Johannes Capellanus, or John the Chaplain, and he tranflated into English verse the treatise DE CONSOLATIONE PHILOSOPHIÆ in the year 1410. His name is John Walton. He was canon of Ofeney, and died fubdean of York. It appears probable, that he was patronised by Thomas Chaundler, among other preferments, dean of the king's chapel and of Hereford cathedral, chancellor of Wells, and fucceffively warden of Wykeham's two colleges at Winchester and Oxford; characterised by Antony Wood as an able critic in polite literature, and by Leland as a rare example of a doctor in theology who graced fcholaftic difputation with the flowers of a pure latinity'. In the British Museum there is a correct manufcript on parchment of Walton's tranflation of Boethius: and the margin is filled throughout with the Latin text, written by Chaundler above-mentioned ". There is another lefs elegant manufcript in the same collection. But at the end is this note; Explicit liber Boecij de Confolatione Philofophie de Latino in Anglicum tranflatus A. D. 1410. per Capellanum Joannem". This is the beginning of the prologue, "In fuffifaunce of cunnyng and witte." And of the translation, "Alas I wretch that whilom was in welth." I have feen a third copy in the library of Lincoln cathedral, and a fourth in Baliol college'. This is the tranflation of Boethius printed in the monaftery of Tavistoke, in the year 1525. "The BOKE of "COMFORT, called in Latin Boecius de Confolatione Philofopbie.

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"Emprented in the exempt monastery of Tavestock in Den"fhyre, by me Dan Thomas Rychard monke of the fayd "monaftry. To the inftant defyre of the right worshipfull efquyre magifter Robert Langdon. Anno Domini, MDXXV. "Deogracias." In octave rhyme". This tranflation was made at the request of Elifabeth Berkeley. I forbear to load these pages with specimens not original, and which appear to have contributed no degree of improvement to our poetry or our phrafeology. Henry the fourth died in the year 1399.

The coronation of king Henry the fifth, was celebrated in Westminster-hall with a folemnity proportioned to the luftre of those great atchievements which afterwards distinguished the annals of that victorious monarch. By way of preferving order, and to add to the fplendor of the fpectacle, many of the nobility were ranged along the fides of the tables on large war-horses, at this ftately feftival; which, fays my chronicle, was a fecond feast of Ahasuerus. But I mention this ceremony, to introduce a circumstance very pertinent to our purpose; which is, that the number of harpers in the hall was innumerable', who undoubtedly accompanied their inftruments with heroic rhymes. The king, however, was no great encourager of the popular minstrelsy, which feems at this time to have flourished in the highest degree of perfection. When he entered the city of London in triumph after the battle of Agincourt, the gates and streets were hung with tapestry, representing the hiftories of ancient heroes; and children were placed in artificial turrets, finging verfes'. But Henry, difgufted at these fecular vanities, commanded by a formal edict, that for the future no fongs

This is among Rawlinfon's Codd. impreff. Bibl. Bodl. There is an English tranflation of Boethius by one George Colvil, or Coldewell, bred at Oxford, with the Latin, "according to the 'boke "of the tranflatour, which was a very old "printe." Dedicated to queen Mary, and

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printed by John Cawood, 1556. 4to. Reprinted 1566. 4to.

Thomæ de Elmham Vit. et Geft. Henr. V. edit. Hearne, Oxon. 1727. cap. xii. p. 23. Compare Lel. Coll. APPEND. iii. 226. edit. 1770.

· Elmham, ubi fupr. p. 23.
Elmham, ubi fupr. cap. xxxi. p. 72.
fhould

should be recited by the harpers, or others, in praise of the recent victory'. This prohibition had no other effect than that of displaying Henry's humility, perhaps its principal and real defign. Among many others, a minstrel-piece foon appeared, evidently adapted to the harp, on the SEYGE of HARFLETT and the BATTALLYE of AGYNKOUrte. It was written about the year 1417. These are some of the most spirited lines.

Sent Jorge be fore our kyng they dyd fe,
They trompyd up full meryly,

The grete battell to gederes zed";
Our archorys" theiy schot ful hartely,

They made the Frenche men faste to blede,
Her arrowys they went with full good spede.
Oure enemyes with them they gan down throwe
Thorow brefte plats, habourgenys, and bafnets *.
Eleven thousand was flayne on a rew'.
Denters of dethe men myzt well deme,
So fercelly in ffelde theye gan fythe2.
The heve upon here helmyts fchene
With axes and with fwerdys bryzt.

When oure arowys were at a flyzt

Amon the Frenche men was a wel fory fchere.
Ther was to bryng of gold bokylyd "fo bryzt
That a man myzt holde a strong armoure.
Owre gracyus kyng men myzt knowe
That day fozt with hys owene hond,

The erlys was dys comwityd up on a rowe,

"CANTUS de fuo triumpho fieri, seu per CITHARI ST AS,vel alios quofcunque, "CANTARI, penitus prohibebat." Ibid. p. 72. And Hearnii Præfat. xxix. P. feq. §. viii.. See alfo Hollingfh. Chron. iii. p. 556. col. 1. 40.

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"The French faw the ftandard of Saint George before our king.' "This is Milton's "Together rush'd

both battles main."
w Archers.
x. Breaft-plates, habergeons and helmets.
▾ Row.
Fight.

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"They ftruck upon their bright hel-
Flying.
d Buckled.

mets.'
• Much diftrefs.

e I believe it is "The earls he had "flain were all thrown together on a heap, "or in a row."

That

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