Upon his bare knees ought al his lyf Thay ben so knyt, ther may noon harm bytyde, . Here is the celebrated prayer with which Chaucer concludes his Canterbury Tales : "Now pray I to yow alle that heren this litel tretis or reden it, that if ther be any thing in it that likes hem, that therof thay thanke oure Lord Jhesu Christ, of whom procedith alle wille and al goodnes; and if ther be eny thing that displesith hem, I pray hem that they arette it to the defaute of myn unconnyng, and not to my wille, that wolde fayn have sayd better if I hadde connyng; for the book saith, al that is writen for oure doctrine is writen. Wherfore I biseke yow mekely for the mercy of God that ye pray for me, that God have mercy on me and forgeve me my giltes, and nameliche my translaciouns and of endityng in worldly vanitees, whiche I revoke in my retracciouns, as is the 2 Advice. 1 Security. CHAUCER'S PRAYER. 49 book of Troyles, the book also of Fame, the book of twenty-five Ladies, the book of the Duchesses, the book of seint Valentines day, and of the Parliament of briddes, the Tales of Caunteirbury, alle thilke that sounen into synne, the book of the Leo, and many other bokes, if they were in mynde or remembraunce, and many a song and many a leccherous lay, of the which Crist for his grete mercy forgive me the synnes. But of the translacioun of Boce de consolacioun, and other bokes of consolacioun and of legend of lyves of seints, and Omelies, and moralitees, and devocioun, that thanke I oure Lord Jhesu Crist, and his moder, and alle the seintes in heven, bisekyng hem that thay fro hennysforth unto my lyves ende sende me grace to biwayle my gultes, and to studien to the savacioun of my soule, and graunte me grace and space of verray repentaunce, penitence, confessioun, and satisfaccioun, to don in this present lif, thurgh the benigne grace of him that is king of kynges and prest of alle prestis, that bought us with his precious blood of his hert, so that I moote be oon of hem at the day of doom that schal be saved; qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivis et regnas Deus per omnia secula. Amen." And here is a quaint little address TO HIS EMPTY PURSE. To you, my purse, and to none other wight I am sorry now that ye be light, For certes ye now make me heavy chere, Now vouchsafe this or it be night, E Or see your colour like the sunne bright, "Now purse that art to me my lives light, Be heavie again, or els mote I die. A most admirable hand-book for the study of the English tongue at this period is "Specimens of Early English, A.D. 1250-1400," with grammatical introduction, notes, and a glossary, edited by R. Morris, Esq., and issued by the Clarendon Press, Oxford. Many of the minor poets, contemporaneously with and immediately subsequent to Chaucer, may be read with advantage by those who desire to become acquainted with the early forms of our language; and a book which will help the reader to much that he may want in this portion of his studies, is the "Select Works of British Poets, from Chaucer to Ben Jonson," edited by Robert Southey. I will now proceed to notice, as briefly as possible, a few of the minor poets to whom I have previously referred the student. Gower (1325-1408), the "moral Gower," as Chaucer addressed him, and the epithet has stuck to him, is the author of a triad of celebrated poetical pieces: one in French, the "Speculum Amantis," said to be lost; another in Latin, the "Vox Clamantis;" and the third, and obviously the most familiar, in English, the "Confessio Amantis." As this latter is composed of a series of edifying tales, carried through some 30,000 verses, the reader will not be far wrong if he come to the conclusion that their perusal would require something more than an ordinary share of human endurance. John Barbour (birth unknown, died about 1395) was another well-known poet contemporary with Chaucer. He was a Scotchman, and the author of the poem entitled "The Bruce." Of his personal history there is little known. His poem is characterized by great narrative and descriptive powers, and some of his battle-pieces have an animation that might almost be called Homeric. The author (circa 1460-1529) of "The Boke of Philip Sparow" deserves something more than a passing notice; for there is little of the poetry of the reign of Henry VII. that has such an amount of originality and freshness about it as that of John Skelton. That the poet was largely appreciated in his day is evident from the fact that he was appointed tutor to the young prince, Henry VIII., and met with considerable patronage from Cardinal Wolsey. But Skelton, afflicted with a satirical temper, made some imprudent attacks upon the great cardinal-the "sank royal [blood royal] that was cast out of a butcher's stall," as he designated him-through which he had to fly for refuge to the sanctuary of Westminster Abbey, where he died in 1529. Besides his "Philip Sparow," Skelton was the author of another "litle boke," "Colyn Clout," and of a drama in rhyme, extending to over 2,500 verses. His works have been edited with great skill and acumen by the Rev. Alexander Dyce. The following is an extract from his "Philip Sparow," in praise of his mistress, Lady Jane Somerset : How shall I reporte Al the godly sort Of her fetures cleere That hath none earthly peere? Her eyen gray and stepe Or els Penolope : For thys moste goodly floure, This blossome of freshe coloure So Jupiter me succour She florisheth new and new In beauty and vertue ; Hac claritate gemina, O gloriosa fœmina, Memor esto verbi tui servo tuo, Servus tuus sum ego. The Indy saphyre blewe, The daisy delectable The columbine commendable |