bone, and killed him on the spot. The king, to revenge the death of his son, orders, by the advice of one Eldrede, that a lion, kept purposely from food, shall be turned loose upon Richard. But the king's daughter having fallen in love with him, tells him of her father's resolution, and at his request procures him forty ells of white silk "kerchers;" and here the description of the combat begins:

"The kever-chefes he toke on honde,
And aboute his arme he wonde;
And thought in that ylke while,
To slee the lyon with some gyle.
And syngle in a kyrtyll he stode,
And abode the lyon fyers and wode,
With that came the jaylere,
And other men that wyth him were,
And the lyon them amonge;
His pawes were stiffe and stronge.
The chambre dore they undone,
And the lyon to them is gone.
Rycharde sayd, Helpe, lorde Jesu,
The lyon made to hym venu,
And wolde hym have all to rente:
Kynge Rycharde besyde him glente;
The lyon on the breste hym spurned,

That aboute he tourned.

The lyon was hongry and megre,
And bette his tayle to be egre;
He loked aboute as he were madde;
Abrode he all his pawes spradde.
He cryed lowde, and yaned wyde.
Kynge Rycharde bethought hym that tyde
What hym was beste, and to him sterte,
In at the throte his honde he gerte,
And hente out the herte with his honde,
Lounge and all that he there fonde.
The lyon fell deed to the grounde:
Rycharde felte no wem 1, ne wounde.
He fell on his knees on that place,
And thanked Jesu of his grace."

What follows is not so well, and therefore I shall extract no more of this poem. For the above feat, the author tells us, the king was Geservedly called

"Stronge Rycharde Cure de Lyowne."

1i.e. handkerchiefs. Here we have the etymology of the word, viz. "Couvre le Chef."

i. e. slipt aside.

9 i. e. yawned.

1 i. e. hurt.

That distich which Shakspeare puts in the mouth of his madman in King Lear, act iii. sc. 4,

"Mice and rats and such small deere

Have been Tom's food for seven long yeare,"

bas excited the attention of the critics. Instead of deere, one of them would substitute geer, and another cheer.2 But the ancient reading is established by the old romance of Sir Bevis, which Shakspeare had doubtless often heard sung to the harp. This distich is part of a description there given of the hardships suffered by Bevis, when confined for seven years in a dungeon:

"Rattes and myse and such small dere

Was his meate that seven yere."-Sign. F. iii.

III. In different parts of this work, the reader will find various extracts from these old poetical legends; to which I refer him for further examples of their style and metre. To complete this subject, it will be proper at least to give one specimen of their skill in distributing and conducting their fable, by which it will be seen, that nature and common sense had supplied to these old simple bards the want of critical art, and taught them some of the most essential rules of epic poetry.-I shall select the romance of Libius Disconius,3: as being one of those mentioned by Chaucer, and either shorter or more intelligible than the others he has quoted.

If an epic poem may be defined + A fable related by a poet, to excite admiration, and inspire virtue, by representing the action of some one hero, favoured by Heaven, who executes a great design, in spite of all the obstacles that oppose him," I know not why we should withhold the name of epic poem from the piece which I am about to analyze.

My copy is divided into Ix Parts or Cantos, the several arguments of which are as follows.

PART I.

Opens with a short exordium to bespeak attention: the hero is described; a natural son of Sir Gawain, a celebrated knight of King Arthur's court, who, being brought up in a forest by his mother, is kept ignorant of his name and descent. He early exhibits marks of his courage, by killing a knight in single combat, who encountered him as he was hunting. This inspires him with a desire of seeking adventures: therefore clothing himself in his enemy's armour, he goes to King Arthur's court, to request the order of knighthood. His request granted, he obtains a promise of having the first adventure assigned him that shall offer.-A damsel named Ellen, attended by a dwarf,

2 Dr. Warburton.-Dr. Grey.

3 So it is entitled in the Editor's MS. But the true title is, Le beaux Disconus, or the Fair Unknown. See a note on the Canterbury Tales, vol. iv. p. 333.

Vid. "Discours sur la Poésie Epique," prefixed to TELEMAQUE,

comes to implore King Arthur's assistance to rescue a young princess, "the lady of Sinadone," their mistress, who is detained from her rights, and confined in prison. The adventure is claimed by the young knight Sir Lybius: the king assents; the messengers are dissatisfied and object to his youth; but are forced to acquiesce. And here the first book closes with a description of the ceremony of equipping h.m forth.

PART II.

Sir Lybius sets out on the adventure: he is derided by the dwarf and the damsel on account of his youth: they come to the bridge of Perill, which none can pass without encountering a knight called William de la Braunch. Sir Lybius is challenged: they just with their spears De la Braunch is dismounted: the battle is renewed on foot: Sir William's sword breaks: he yields. Sir Lybius makes hin swear to go and present himself to King Arthur, as the first fruits of his valour. The conquered knight sets out for King Arthur's court: is met by three knights, his kinsmen; who, informed of his disgrace, Vow revenge, and pursue the conqueror. The next day they overtake him the eldest of the three attacks Sir Lybius; but is overthrown to the ground. The two other brothers assault him: Sir Lybius is wounded; yet cuts off the second brother's arm; the third yields: Sir Lybius sends them all to King Arthur. In the third evening he is awakened by the dwarf, who has discovered a fire in the wood.

PART III.

Sir Lybius arms himself, and leaps on horseback: he finds two giants roasting a wild boar, who have a fair lady their captive. Sir Lybius, by favour of the night, runs one of them through with his spear: is assaulted by the other: a fierce battle ensues: he cuts off the giant's arm, and at length his head. The rescued lady (an earl's daughter) tells him her story, and leads him to her father's castle; who entertains him with a great feast; and presents him at parting with a suit of armour and a steed. He sends the giant's head to King Arthur.

PART IV.

Sir Lybius, maid Ellen, and the dwarf, renew their journey: they see a castle stuck round with human heads, and are informed it belongs to a knight called Sir Gefferon, who, in honour of his leman, or mistress, challenges all comers: he that can produce a fairer lady, is to be rewarded with a milk-white faulcon, but if overcome, to lose his head. Sir Lybius spends the night in the adjoining town in the morning goes to challenge the faulcon. The knights exchange their gloves: they agree to just in the market-place; the lady and maid Ellen are placed aloft in chairs: their dresses: the superior beauty of Sir Gefferon's mistress described: the ceremonies previous to the combat. They engage: the combat described at large; Sir Gefferon is incurably hurt, and carried home on his shield. Sir Lybius sends the faulcon to King Arthur, and receives back a large present in florins.

He stays forty days to be cured of his wounds, which he spends in feasting with the neighbouring lords.

PART V.

Sir Lybius proceeds for Sinadone: in a forest he meets a knight hunting, called Sir Otes de Lisle: maid Ellen, charmed with a very beautiful dog, begs Sir Lybius to bestow him upon her: Sir Otes meets them, and claims his dog is refused: being unarmed he rides to his castle and summons his followers: they go in quest of Sir Lybius: a battle ensues: he is still victorious, and forces Sir Otes to follow the other conquered knights to King Arthur.

PART VI.

Sir Lybius comes to a fair city and castle by a river side, beset round with pavilions or tents: he is informed, in the castle is a beautiful lady besieged by a giant named Maugys, who keeps the bridge, and will let none pass without doing him homage: this Lybius refuses: a batttle ensues; the giant described: the several incidents of the battle; which lasts a whole summer's day: the giant is wounded; put to flight; slain. The citizens come out in procession to meet their deliverer: the lady invites him into her castle: falls in love with him; and seduces him to her embraces. He forgets the princess of Sinadone, and stays with this bewitching lady a twelvemonth. This fair sorceress, like another Alcina, intoxicates him with all kinds of sensual pleasure; and detains him from the pursuit of honour.

PART VII.

Maid Ellen by chance gets an opportunity of speaking to him; and upbraids him with his vice and folly he is filled with remorse, and escapes the same evening. At length he arrives at the city and castle of Sinadone: is given to understand that he must challenge the constable of the castle to single combat, before he can be received as a guest. They just: the constable is worsted: Sir Lybius is feasted in the castle; he declares his intention of delivering their lady; and inquires the particulars of her history. "Two Necromancers have built a fine palace by sorcery, and there keep her enchanted, till she will surrender her duchy to them, and yield to such base conditions as they would impose."

PART VIII.

Early on the morrow Sir Lybius sets out for the enchanted palace. He alights in the court: enters the hall: the wonders of which are described in strong Gothic painting. He sits down at the high table: on a sudden all the lights are quenched: it thunders and lightens; the palace shakes; the walls fall into pieces about his ears. He is dismayed and confounded: but presently hears horses neigh, and is challenged to single combat by the sorcerers. He gets to his steed: a battle ensues, with various turns of fortune: he loses his weapon; but gets a sword from one of the necromancers, and wounds the other

with it: the edge of the sword being secretly poisoned, the wound proves mortal.

PART IX.

He goes up to the surviving sorcerer, who is carried away from him by enchantment: at length he finds him, and cuts off his head he returns to the palace to deliver the lady; but cannot find her: as he is lamenting, a window opens, through which enters a horrible serpent with wings and a woman's face: it coils round his neck and kisses him; then is suddenly converted into a very beautiful lady. She tells him she is the Lady of Sinadone, and was so enchanted, till she might kiss Sir Gawain, or some one of his blood: that he has dissolved the charm, and that herself and her dominions may be his reward. The knight (whose descent is by this means discovered) joyfully accepts the offer, makes her his bride, and then sets out with her for King Arthur's court.

Such is the fable of this ancient piece; which the reader may observe, is as regular in its conduct as any of the finest poems of classical antiquity. If the execution, particularly as to the diction and sentiments, were but equal to the plan, it would be a capital performance; but this is such as might be expected in rude and ignorant times, and in a barbarous, unpolished language.

IV. I shall conclude this prolix account, with a list of such old Metrical Romances as are still extant; beginning with those mentioned by Chaucer.

1. The Romance of Horne Childe is preserved in the British Museum, where it is entitled pe geste of kyng Horne. See Catalog. Harl. MSS. 2253, p. 70. The language is almost Saxon, yet from the mention in it of Sarazens, it appears to have been written after some of the Crusades. It begins thus:

Another copy of this poem, but greatly altered, and somewhat modernised, is preserved in the Advocates' library at Edinburgh, in a MS. quarto volume of old English poetry, [W. 4, 1.] number xxxiv. in 7 leaves or folios, entitled Horn-child and Maiden Rinivel, and beginning thus:

6

5. e. May all they be blithe, that to my song listen: A sing, Of Allof the good king, &c.

In each full page of this vol. are 44 lines, when the poem is in lorg metre and 88 when the metre is short, and the page in two columns.