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author of a valuable work, 'De Regibus Anglorum,' a general history of England from the period of the Saxon invasion to the 26th Henry I. in 1126, and a continuation to 1143, with a history of the church, and other works (this monk of Malmesbury is the most able and original of the early historians); HENRY OF HUNTINGDON (died after 1154) wrote a history of England to the period of Stephen; GIRALDUS CAMBRENSIS, OF GERALDDE BARRI (circa 1146-1222), preached the crusade to the Welsh in 1188, and wrote 'Itinerarium Cambriæ and Topographia Hibernia;' ROGERDE HOVEDEN (died after 1202) wrote Annales Rerum Anglicarum,' 732 to 1202; MATTHEW OF PARIS (died about 1259) wrote Historia Angliæ ad ultimum annum Henrici III.;' and MATTHEW OF WESTMINSTER, a Benedictine monk who flourished in the fourteenth century, author of 'Flores Historiarum ab exord io Mundi usque ad 1307.'

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Wace's legendary poem was expanded into 32,250 lines by a monk, LAYAMON, who describes himself as a priest of Ernley, near Redstone, on the Severn. His additions to the work of Wace were made partly from Bede, but chiefly from Welsh and other traditional sources, with passages by Layamon himself. The date of the poem, when completed, is about the year 1205. Sir Frederick Madden, who published an edition of it (1847), says, that in many passages of the poem the spirit and style of the Anglo-Saxon writers have been preserved. It embodied the current language of the time, and has very few Norman words. The versification combines the alliteration characteristic of Anglo-Saxon poetry with the rhyming couplets of the French. The structure of the verse, however, is by no means regular. Two manuscripts of the poem exist, one twenty or thirty years later than the other, and there is a considerable difference in the text. We subjoin a specimen, with Sir Frederick Madden's translation of the earlier text:

Early Text.

An preost wes on leoden,
Layamon wes ihoten;
he wes Leonenadhes sone;
lidhe him beo drihten :
he wonede at Ernleye,
at ædhelen are chirechen,
uppen Seuarne stathe
sel thar him thuhte:
on fest Radestone
ther he bock radde.
Hit com him on mode,

and on his mern thouke,
thet he wolde of Engie
tha ædhelæn tellen,
wat heo ihoten weoren.
and wonene heo comen,
tha Englene londe
ærest ahten

æfter than flode

the from driltene com,
the al her a-quelde
quic that he funde.

Later Text.

A prest was in londe,
Laweman was [i] hote:
he was Leucais sone;
lef him beo drihte :
he wonede at Ernleie,
wid than gode crithte,
uppen Seuarne:

merie ther him thohte:
fastebi Radestone

ther he bokes radde.
Hit com him on mode,
and on his thonke,

that he wolde of Engelond
the rihtnesse tell,
wat the men hi-hot weren,
and wanene hi comen,
the Englene lond
ærest afden
after than flode
that fram god com,
that al ere acwelde
cwic that hit funde.

There was a priest on earth (or in the land), who was named Layamon; he was son of Leovenath, may the Lord be gracious to him!-he dwelt at Ernley, at a noble church upon Severn's bank-good it there seemed to him-near Radestone, where he books read. It came to him in mind, and in his chief thought, that he would tell the noble deeds of the English, what they were named, and whence they came, who first possessed the English land, after the flood that came from the Lord, that destroyed here all that it found alive.

About the same time was produced a metrical work, the ORMULUM, so called after the name of its author, Orm or Ormin. This poem, or rather series of poems, for it consists of homilies and lessons from the New Testament-is also of great length, extending to nearly 10,000 lines, or couplets of fifteen syllables. It has one mark of progress in the language-the alliterative system is abandoned, though this did not become general, and Ormin's English has a more modern air than that of Layamon. He dedicates his work to his brother:

Nu, brotherr Wallterr, brotherr min
Affterr the fishes kinde;

Annd brotherr min i Crisstenddom
Thurrh fulluhht and thurrh trowwthe;
Aund brotherr min i Godess hus.

Now, brother Walter, brother mine
After the flesh's kind [or nature];
And brother mine in Christendom
Through baptism and through truth:
And brother mine in God's house.

A treatise termed 'The Ancren Riwle,' or Female Anchorite s Rule, is referred to the same period-not later than 1205. It is in eight parts, written by an ecclesiastic, on the duties of a monastic life. The work was edited by the Rev. James Morton in 1853, and is attributed by him to a Bishop Poor, who died in 1237. One peculiarity of the work is the great number of the Norman-French words it contains. The writer tells the anchorite: Ye ne schulen eten vleschs ne seim, buten ine muchele secnesse; other hwoso is ever feble eteth potage blitheliche; and wunieth ou to lutel drunch.' (Ye shall not eat flesh nor lard, except in much sickness; but the feeble may eat pottage blithely, and accustom themselves to a little drink.) An English version of Genesis and Exodus,' extending to above 4,000 lines, is about the same date; and an original poem, 'The Owl and the Nightingale' (1250–1260) is ascribed to NICHOLAS DE GUILDFORD. It opens thus:

Ich was in one sumere dale,
In one suthe dithele hale;

I herd ich holde grete tale

Au hule and one nihtingale

[strong,

That plait was stiff, and starc, and

Sum wile soft and lude among.

1 was in one summer dale,

In a very secret hollow;

I heard each hold great tale

An owl and one nightingale

[strong,

That plain was stiff, and stark, and
Somewhile soft and loud among.

Of about the same antiquity is the following descriptive little

song:

Sumer is i-cumen in,

Lhude sing cuccu;

Groweth sed and bloweth mede,
And springth the wde uu.
Sing cuccu, cuccu.

Summer is coming in,

Loud sing, cuckoo !

Groweth seed and bloweth mead,
And springeth the wood now.
Sing cuckoo, cuckoo.

Awe bleteth after lomb,

Lhouth after calve cu;
Bullock sterteth, bucke verteth,
Murie sing, cuccu.

Wel singes thu cuccu,

Ne swik thou nauer nu.
Sing cuccu, cuccu.

Among the old 'romances of pris'

Ewe bleateth after lamb,

Loweth after calf cow,
Bullock starteth, buck verteth,*
Merry sing, cuckoo !
Well sing thou, cuckoo,
Nor cease to sing now,
Sing cuckoo, cuckoo.

(price or praise) referred to by Chaucer, is supposed to be the Squire of Low Degree.' The daughter of the King of Hungary had fallen into a state of melancholy from the supposed loss of the squire, her lover, and the king comforts his daughter by promising her many presents and luxuries:

To-morrow ye shall in hunting fare; (1)
And yede, (-) my doughter, in a chair;
It shall be covered with velvet red,
And cloths of fine gold all about your
head,

With damask white and azure blue,
Well diapered (3) with lilies new.
Your pommels shall be ended with gold,
Your chains enamelled many a fold,
Your mantle of rich degree,
Purple pall and ermine free.
Jennets of Spain, that ben so wight,
Trapped to the ground with velvet bright.
Ye shall have harp, sautry, and song,
And other mirths you among.
Ye shall have Rumney and Malespine,
Both Hippocras and Vernage wine;
Montrese and wine of Greek,
Both Algrade and despice (4) eke,
Antioch and Bastard,

Pyment (5) also and garnard;
Wine of Greek and Muscadel,
Both claré, pyment, and Rochelle,
The reed your stomach to defy,
And pots of Osy set you by.
You shall have venison y-bake,

The best wild fowl that may be take;
A leish of harehound with you

to

And hart, and hind, and other like.
Ye shall be set at such a tryst,

streek, (6)

With gosshawk and with gentle falcón,
With bugle-horn and merlión.

When you come home your menzie
among, (7)

Ye shall have revel, dances, and song;
Little children, great and sinall,
Shall sing as does the nightingale.
Then shall ye go to your even song,
With tenors and trebles among.
Threescore of copes of damask bright,
Full of pearls they shall be pight. (8)
Your censers shall be of gold,
Indent with azure many a fold.
Your quire nor organ song shall want,
With contre-note and descant.
The other half on organs playing,
With young children full fain singing.
Then shall ye go to your supper,
And sit in tents in green arber,

With cloth of arras pight to the ground,
With sapphires set of diamond...
A hundred knights, truly told,
Shall play with bowls in alleys cold,
Your disease to drive away;

To see the fishes in pools play,
To a drawbridge then shall ye,

Th' one half of stone, th' other of tree;
A barge shall meet you full right,
With twenty-four oars full bright,
With trumpets and with clarion,
The fresh water to row up and down..

That hart and hind shall come to you Forty torches burning bright,

first.

Your disease to drive you fro,
To hear the bugles there y-blow.
Homeward thus shall ye ride,
On-hawking by the river's side,

At your bridges to bring you light.
Into your chamber they shall you bring,
With much mirth and more liking.
Your blankets shall be of fustian,

Your sheets shall be of cloth of Rennes.

EARLY ENGLISH WRITERS.

The century and a half from 1250 to 1400 has been designated the Early or Old English period of our language. A division into dia

* Verteth, goes to harbour among the fern.-WARTON.

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lects also became more marked. There were the Northern (including the Lowlands of Scotland), the Midland, and the Southern; or as they have been historically termed, the Northumbrian, Mercian, and West Saxon dialects.

THOMAS OF ERCILDOUN.

The military spirit then abroad, and the chivalrous enthusiasm of the Normans, were displayed in the literature of the day no less than in tournaments or in war and crusades. The mixed English language became a vehicle for romantic metrical tales, derived from the French. The name of one minstrel, THOMAS THE RHYMER, or THOMAS OF ERCILDOUN, is great in traditional story. He was a person of some consideration, owner of an estate, which he transmitted to his son, and he died shortly before 1299. Thomas, besides being a seer or prophet, is supposed to have been the author of our first metrical romance. An English rhyming chronicler, Robert de Brunne, refers to 'Sir Tristrem,' a 'sedgeing tale,' or story for recitation, by Thomas of Ercildoun, which was esteemed above all other tales, if recited as written by the author. Few of the minstrels, however, gave it as it was made, in quaint or difficult English, but corrupted and lowered it in the course of recitation. It was a matter of regret that this genuine version of 'Sir Tristrem' had been lost, and great satisfaction was expressed when Mr. (afterwards Sir) Walter Scott, in 1804, published what he conceived to be a faithful copy of it, though modified in language in passing orally through different generations. This copy is contained in an old collection in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh, called, from the name of its donor, the Auchinleck Manuscript, being presented by Lord Auchinleck, father of James Boswell, the biographer of Johnson. The story of Sir Tristrem was familiar to poetical antiquaries. It was one of the ancient British legends taken up by the Norman minstrels. The style of the poem is elliptical and concise. It is divided into three 'fyttes' or cantos, and the following stanza will shew the style and orthography of the Auchinleck Manuscript:

Glad a man was he

The turnament dede crie,
That maidens might him se
And over the walles to lye;
Thai asked who was fre

To win the maistrie;

Thai seyd that best was he
The child of Ermonie
In Tour:

Forthi chosen was he
To maiden Blaunche Flour.

Sir Walter's theory as to the originality and Scottish Origin of the poem has not been generally accepted. It is believed to be the production of some minstrel who had heard Thomas of Ercildoun recite his romance. Mr. Garnet, a high authority on early English dialects, concludes that the present Sir Tristrem' is a modernised copy of an old Northumbrian romance, which was probably written between 1260 and 1300, and derived from a Norman or Anglo-Norman source,

but the author may have availed himself of the previous labours of Ercildoun on the same theme.

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An elaborate work of about 20,000 lines, 'The Romance of King Alexander,' appears to have been written previous to 1300. It has been ascribed, but erroneously, to ADAM DAVIE, marshal of Stratford-leBow, near London. Davie, however, was a voluminous versifier, and wrote Visions,' 'The Battle of Jerusalem,' &c. Two romances, 'Havelok the Dane,' and 'William and the Werwolf,' have been edited (1828 and 1832) by an able antiquary, Sir Frederick Madden. The story of Havelok relates the adventures of an orphan child, son of a Danish king; the author is unknown.

Extract from Havelok.

Hwan he was hosled (1) and shriuen,
His quiste maked and for him gyuen,
His knictes dede he alle site,
For throw them he wolde wife
How micte yem hise children yunge
Till that he couthen speken wit tunge;
Speken, and gangen, ou horse riden,
Knictes and sweynes bi here siden.
He spoken there offe, and chosen sone
A riche man was, that, under mone
Was the trewest that he wende-
Godard, the kinges oune frende;
And seyden, he moucthe hem best loke
Yif that he hem undertoke,
Till hise sone mouthe bere
Helm on heued, and leden ut here
(In his hand a spear stark),

And king ben maked of Denmark.

When he was housled and shriven,

His bequests made and for him given,
His knights he made all sit,

For from them he would wit.
Who should keep his children young
Till they knew how to speak with tongue;
To speak, and walk, and on horse ride,
Knights and servants by their side.
They spoke thereof, and chosen soon
Was a rich man, that, under moon,
Was the truest that they kenned-
Godard, the king's own friend;
And saying he might best o'erlook
If their charge he undertook,
Till his son might [himself] bear
Helm on head, and lead out there
(In his hand a spear stark),

And king be made of Denmark.

The 'Geste of King Horn,' the romantic bistory of 'Guy of Warwick' (supposed to have been written about 1292 by a Cornish friar, WALTER OF EXETER), 'Sir Bevis of Southampton,' 'Richard Cœur de Lion,' 'The King of Tars,' 'La Morte Arthur,' 'Sir Eglamour,' and a host of other metrical romances, belong to this period, and most of them were subsequently modernised when the art of printing was introduced. Chaucer, in his Rhime of Sire Thopas,' has parodied the style of these compositions, and made 'mine host' in the Canterbury Tales' abuse all such drafty rhyming' as destitute of mirth or doctrine.

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The principal metrical chroniclers were two ecclesiastics-ROBERT OF GLOUCESTER and ROBERT DE BRUNNE. The former was a monk of Gloucester, who lived in the reigns of Henry III. and Edward I. His chief work is a rhymed chronicle of England from the legendary age of Brutus to the close of Henry III.'s reign, partly taken from the fabulous history of Geoffrey of Monmouth, and written in the long line (or couplet) of fourteen syllables. This monk also wrote poems on the Martyrdom of Thomas á Becket,' and the Life of

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1 When he had the sacrament administered to him, and been shriven or confessed.

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