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The same accidents have occurred to the British poetry. The Druids had, as Cæsar attests, a great quantity of verses, and of course had poets, whose names and productions have perished for ever. Of all those who were afterwards distinguished, during the Roman residence, little else than a few names remain. In the sixth century, some poets of eminent genius shone, whose works have come down to us. Of those who flourished in the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries, we know little, and have very few remains; yet, we can ascertain that bards then both lived and sang. At last, in the twelfth century, the genius of Welsh poetry broke out in new lustre, which increased through the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. But for the last two ages, what has become of it? Another chasm has taken place, like that between the sixth and the twelfth, of which we are living witnesses.

To complete the argument in behalf of these poems; there remains only to show, that the forgery could not have been practised without the detection: that there is nothing extraordinary in these poems being genuine; that they are attested by a stream of national belief, and that any scepticism about them has been of recent origin.

Of these four points, the two last are so notorious, that I shall only assert them without the fear of contradiction; very little need be added on the others. Whoever considers the nature of the bardic system; that no one was admitted to be a bard but after a regular initation and tuition, and that so many bards, in every age, existed competitors for fame and distinction, must perceive that so much poetry, as to occupy 580 pages of double columns, could not be forged without speedy detection.

We have proved by undeniable evidence and reasoning, that the Welsh had bards in the sixth century, and in particular these individual bards. Is it then any thing extraordinary that poets should write poetry; and if poetry was written, is it a miracle that part of it should descend to us? Let us recollect, that the insignificant tract of Gildas has survived, and let us cease to be surprised that a nation, fond of its bards, should preserve some of their compositions.

END OF THE VINDICATION.

ESSAY

ON THE

ANTIQUITY OF RHYME IN EUROPE.

IT has been lately asserted, that " the only opinions which now divide the learned on this subject, are, whether the use of rhyme originated from the Saracens, who took possession of Sicily in the year 828, or arose among the Italian monks in the eighth century."

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Both these opinions may be shown to be incorrect; a few facts will prove that rhyme was much earlier in existence. It is also declared to be "certain that it was totally unknown to the ancient languages of Europe." This opinion is as erroneous as the others.

The most important specimen of rhyme, between the years 800 and 900, is Otfrid's Paraphrase on the Gospels, written in the Franco-theotisc language. The author lived in the middle of the century. It occupies 380 folio pages, and is all in rhyme, generally very exact. The work will be found in the first volume of Schilter's Thesaurus. It was originally printed by Flacius, Basil, 1571, 8vo.

There is extant a letter of Otfrid to Leutbert, archbishop of Mentz, prefixed to his paraphrase, in which he explains his reasons for undertaking this work. He says, that some worthy persons, offended at the obscene songs of the laics, had particularly requested him to write part of the Gospels in the vernacular Theotisc language, that the singing of this might supersede the others. They told him that many heathen poets, as Virgil, Lucan, and

a Critical Review, Jan. 1800, p. 22.

b Ib.

others, had written much in their native language, while the Frankish nation had been very tardy in expressing the divine word in its own tongue. Otfrid adds, that, impelled by this importunity, he had composed a part of the Gospels in the Frankish language, that they, who had dreaded the difficulty of a foreign tongue, might read the sacred word in their own.

If these were the motives of Otfrid in this composition, is it not most probable that it was not only written in the vernacular language, but in the popular form of his nation? If rhyme had not been a great companion of Frankish poetry, is it likely that he who wrote a poetical work to supersede the use of their popular songs, would have composed it in rhyme? If rhyme had been then a novelty in France, would he not in this letter have apologized for introducing it into the Franco-theotisc language? Would he not have given his reasons for departing from its popular style? On the contrary, he expresses himself as if he had composed his work in the usual poetical form of his countrymen.

Indeed, that rhyme was the usual companion of their poetry seems to be clearly deducible from another of his phrases. In describing the peculiarities of the Franco-theotisc language, he says, "it perpetually seeks rhyme." "Schæma omoeteleuton assidue quærit." This remarkable expression, seems to me to have the force that rhyme was much in use in its poetry; for certainly the Franco-theotisc language is not so peculiarly musical, as to seek or tend to rhyme more than any other.

Otfrid's aim was popularity. But if the Francs had not used rhyme, he could have reached his aim more certainly by using the ancient metres of his country, than by the difficult labour of writing so large a work in rhyme. I should also conceive, that if rhyme had then been a novelty in the Frankish language, Otfrid could have scarcely used it with so much ease and perfection. Yet, though his work has no fewer than 380 pages, it exhibits the use of Frankish rhyme in a remarkably easy, fluent, and harmo

nious manner.

There is another proof that rhyme was an appurtenance of ancient Frankish poetry. In the life of St. Faron, bishop of Meaux, which was written by Hildegarius, another bishop, who lived in the same century with Otfrid, the successes of Chlotarius the Second, against the Saxons in the year 622, are mentioned. The author adds, " on this victory a public song (juxta rusticitatem,) in the rustic manner, was in every one's mouth, the women joining in the chorus."

He then gives this extract from the song which we shall find to be rhyme:

See it in Bouquet's Recueil, vol. iii. p. 505.

"De Chlotario est canere rege Franconum,
Qui ivit pugnare in gentem Saxonum,
Quam graviter provenisset missis Saxonum

Si non fuisset inclytus Faro de gente Burgundionum."

He adds, that at the end of the song was,

"Quando veniunt missi Saxonum in terra Francorum,
Faro ubi erat princeps-

Instinctu Dei transeunt per urbem Meldorum

Ne interficiantur a rege Francorum."

After these quotations he says: "We choose to show (rustico carmine), in rustic verse, how famous he was deemed."

This rustic verse we see was rhymed verse. Does not this confirm the inference I have made from Otfrid, that rhyme was an appendage of the popular poetry of this people? This song was made in the year 622.

Another instance tempts me to suspect that rhyme was not unknown to the ancient languages of Europe. The ancient song, once so popular in Gothland, which narrates the emigration of the Lombards, and which ends with their humiliation by Charlemagne, is thus mentioned by Stephanius: "Among the inhabitants of Gothland, a very ancient song was formerly sung in rhyme in their vernacular language, in which the circumstances concerning the emigration of the Lango-bardi are celebrated more truly and accurately than by Paulus Diaconus." He afterwards says, "from the last verse it may be understood that this song was made after the close of the Lombard empire, while Charlemagne was reigning so extensively in Germany and Italy." Charlemagne died in 814. This poem is in exact rhyming couplets, of which the first may be adduced as a specimen:

"Ebbe oc Aage de Hellede fro

Siden de for hunger aff skaane dro."e

If this song was written at the close of the eighth century, as Stephanius intimates, I presume it was in the customary style of the national poetry The vernacular poetry of every country more commonly follows ancient rules and forms than it adopts new unusual, and difficult modes.

That rhyme arose among the Italian monks of the eighth century, will be found an untenable opinion, if we inspect the works of those who wrote poetry in that and the succeeding

centuries.

VOL. II.

d It was remarked by Pellontier in his history of the Celts.
e Stephanius in Saxonem, 181.

52

The first that may be mentioned is Boniface, the Anglo-Saxon missionary, who went to convert the uncivilized Germans, and who perished about the year 755. He closes a letter to Nithard with fourteen rhyming couplets. I will cite the two first as a specimen:

"Vale fratres florentibus
Juventutis cum viribus
Ut floreas cum domino
In sempiterno solio."

One of his correspondents, Leobgytha, also uses them. She ends a letter to Boniface with four rhyming lines. She says she learnt the art from Eadburga his pupil. Cona, another of his correspondents, adds to a letter to Lullus, six hexameters, which rhyme in the middle.

Before Boniface lived Aldhelm, one of the bishops of the West Saxons. He was most highly esteemed by his countrymen as a poet. His death is placed in 709, and therefore his works properly belong to the preceding century, because in that he must have principally lived. Lullus, the contemporary of Boniface, says to a friend, "I pray you to direct to me some little works of Bishop Aldhelm, either of prose, metre, or rhyme." (Seu prosarum, seu metrorum, seu rythmicorum.)i

Whether either of the long rhyming poems annexed to Boniface's letters, and which have at the end the words "finit carmen Aldhelmi," were written by Aldhelm, I will not determine; but the three lines, which Simon of Durham quotes from him, rhyme in the middle. The two lines which Ducange cites from his treatise De octo Vitiis, are a rhymed couplet. The verses which he made at Rome, and which are given by Malmsbury," contain several rhymes, as well as some lines which do not rhyme. I can only speak of his poems by these fragments, because I have not seen any of his whole poems, of which some are yet extant.

But we have Aldhelm's own evidence that rhyme was used in his time. On looking into his prose treatise on Virginity, I perceived that he had two rhyming couplets, which he expressly calls rhyme. His words are, "ut non inconvenientur CARMINE RYTHMICO dici queat," as may be expressed, not unsuitably, in rhymed verse." The verses are:

16 Magna Bib. Pat. d. 49.

Ib. p. 91.

i Ib. p. 75, Edit. Paris, 1654.

11 Gloss. Med. Lat. p. 923.

6

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P. 297. Wharton's Edition. This use of rhyme by Aldhelm had not been re

marked before.

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