II.

Is chiefly taken from the fragment of an old ballad in the Editor's MS. which he has reason to believe more ancient than the time of Chaucer, and what furnished that bard with his Wife of Bath's Tale. The original was so extremely mutilated, half of every leaf being torn away, that without large supplements, &c. it was deemed improper for this collection: these it has therefore received, such as they are. They are not here particularly pointed out, because the "Fragment" itself will now be found printed at the end of this volume.

PART THE FIRST.

KING Arthur lives in merry Carleile,

And seemely is to see;

And there with him Queene Guenever, That bride soe bright of blee.

Benethe the castle walle :

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Forth then rush'd that carlish knight,

To him repaired many a knighte,

That came both farre and neare.

And when they were to dinner sette, And cups went freely round:

Nowe yield thee, yield thee, Kinge Arthure,

Before them came a faire damselle,

And knelt upon the ground.

A boone, a boone, O Kinge Arthure, I beg a boone of thee;

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Now yield thee, unto mee:

Or fighte with mee, or lose thy lande,

Noe better termes maye bee,

Avenge me of a carlish knighte,

Who hath shent my love and mee.

At Tearne-Wadling his castle stands,
Near to that lake so fair,

And proudlye rise the battlements,
And streamers deck the air,

Noe gentle knighte, nor ladye gay,
May pass that castle-walle :

But from that foule discurteous knighte,
Mishappe will them befalle.

Hee's twyce the size of common men,
Wi' thewes, and sinewes stronge,

And on his backe he bears a clubbe,
That is both thicke and longe.

This grimme baròne 'twas our harde happe,
But yester morne to see;

When to his bowre he bare my love,

And sore misused mee.

Ile have noe other hyre.

She witchd my brother to a carlish boore,
And made him stiffe and stronge;

And built him a bowre on magicke grounde, 155
To live by rapine and wronge.

But now the spelle is broken throughe, And wronge is turnde to righte; Henceforth I shall bee a faire ladyè, And hee be a gentle knighte.

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III.

This song is more modern than many of those which follow it, but is placed here for the sake of the subject. It was sung before Queen Elizabeth at the grand entertainment at Kenelworth castle in 1575, and was probably composed for that occasion. In a letter describing those festivities it is thus mentioned: A "Minstral came forth with a sollem song, warranted for story out of King Arthur's acts, whereof I gat a copy, and is this:

"So it fell out on a Pentecost, &c."

After the song the narrative proceeds: "At this the Minstrell made a pause and a curtezy for Primus Passus. More of the song is thear, but I gatt it not."

The story in Morte Arthur, whence it is taken, runs as follows: "Came a messenger hastely from King Ryence of North Wales, saying, that King Ryence had discomfited and overcomen eleaven kings, and everiche of them did him homage, and that was this: they gave him their beards cleane flayne off,-wherefore the messenger come for King Arthur's beard, for King Ryence had purfeled a mantell with kings beards, and there lacked for one a place of the mantell, wherefore he sent for his beard, or else he would enter into his lands, and brenn and slay, and never leave till he have thy head and thy beard. Well, said King Arthur, thou hast said thy message, which is the most villainous and lewdest message that ever man heard sent to a king. Also thou mayest see my beard is full young yet for to make a purfell of, but tell thou the king that—or it be long he shall do to me homage on both his knees, or else he shall leese his head." [B. 1. c. 24. See also the same Romance, B. I. c. 92.]

The thought seems to be originally taken from Jeff. Monmouth's Hist. B. X. c. 3. which is alluded to by Drayton in his Poly-Olb. Song 4. and by Spenser in Faer. Qu. 6. 1. 13. 15. See the Observations on Spenser, vol. II. p. 223.

The following text is composed of the best readings selected from three different copies. The first in Enderbie's Cambria Triumphans, p. 197. The second in the Letter above mentioned. And the third inserted in MS. in a copy of Morte Arthur, 1632, in the Bodl. Library.

Stow tells us, that King Arthur kept his round table at "diverse places, but especially at Carlion, Winchester, and Camalet in Somersetshire." This "Camalet," sometimes a famous towne or castle, is situate on a "very high tor or hill, &c." [See an exact description in Stow's Annals, Ed. 1631, p. 55.]

As it fell out on a Pentecost day,

King Arthur at Camelot kept his court royall, With his faire queene dame Guenever the gay; And many bold barons sitting in hall; With ladies attired in purple and pall; And heraults in hewkes hooting on high, Cryed, Largesse, Largesse, Chevaliers tres-hardie*.

A doughty dwarfe to the uppermost deas

Right pertlye gan pricke, kneeling on knee; With steven fulle stoute amids all the preas, Sayd, Nowe, sir King Arthur, God save thee, and

see

Sir Ryence of North-gales greeteth well thee, And bids thee thy beard anon to him send, Or else from thy jaws he will it off rend.

For his robe of state is a rich scarlet mantle,
With eleven kings beards bordered † about,
And there is room lefte yet in a kantle,
For thine to stande, to make the twelfth out :
This must be done, be thou never so stout;
This must be done, I tell thee no fable,
Maugre the teeth of all thy round table.

When this mortal message from his mouthe past, Great was the noyse bothe in hall and in bower: The king fum'd; the queene screecht; ladies were aghast;

Princes puff'd; barons blustred; lords began lower;

Knights stormed; squires startled, like steeds in a stower;

Pages and yeomen yell'd out in the ball,
Then in came Sir Kay, the 'king's' seneschal.

Silence, my soveraignes, quoth this courteous knight,
And in that stound the stowre began still :
Then' the dwarfe's dinner full deerely was dight;
Of wine and wassal he had his wille:
And, when he had eaten and drunken his fill,
An hundred pieces of fine coyned gold
Were given this dwarf for his message bold.

• Largesse, Largesse. The heralds resounded these words as oft as they received of the bounty of the knights. See "Memoires de la Chevalerie," tom. I. p. 99. The expression is still used in the form of installing knights of the garter i. e. set round the border, as furs are now round the gowns of Magistrates.

The subject of this ballad is evidently taken from the old romance "Morte Arthur," but with some variations, especially in the concluding stanzas; in which the author seems rather to follow the traditions of the old Welsh Bards, who "believed that King Arthur was not dead, but conveied awaie by the Fairies into some pleasant place, where he should remaine for a time, and then returne againe and reign in as great authority as ever." Holinshed, B. 5, c. 14; or, as it is expressed in an old Chronicle printed at Antwerp 1493, by Ger. de Leew, "The Bretons supposen, that he [King Arthur] shall come yet and conquere all Bretaigne, for certes this is the prophicye of Merlyn; He sayd, that his deth shall be doubteous; and sayd soth, for men thereof yet have doubte, and shullen for ever more,-for men wyt not whether that he lyveth or is dede." See more ancient testimonies in Selden's Notes on Polyolbion, song 3.

This fragment, being very incorrect and imperfect in the original MS. hath received some conjectural emendations, and even a supplement of 3 or 4 stanzas composed from the romance of "Morte Arthur."

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For Sir Launcelot is nowe in Fraunce, And with him many an hardye knighte: Who will within this moneth be backe, And will assiste yee in the fighte.

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Stunge one o' th' king's knightes on the knee : Alacke! it was a woefulle chance,

As ever was in Christentie.

When the knighte found him wounded sore,
And sawe the wild-worme hanginge there;
His sworde he from his scabberde drewe :
A piteous case, as ye shall heare.

For when the two hostes sawe the sworde,
They joyned battayle instantlye;

Till of so manye noble knightes,
On one side there were left but three.

Ver. 41, 42, the folio reads father..... sonne.

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