SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE. 21 royal pensions, and died in 1396. His great poem is the Bruce, which describes the adventures of Scotland's most heroic king. It is written in English, and in lines of eight syllables. It is full of life, intensely interesting, and has the additional advantage of being on the whole a faithful history. FROM "THE BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN." The Scottismen commonally That yon men will all win or die; They gart trump till the assembly. SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE (b. 1300, d. 1372) is notable as having been the first important writer of English prose. He left England when he was twenty-two years of age, and travelled in distant lands for upwards of thirty years. When he came home, he wrote a book of Travels, which ↑ Exchanged. * For fear of death. he dedicated to the King (Edward III.) He wrote it first in Latin, that the learned might read it; next in French, that fashionable people might peruse it; and, lastly, in English, that the common class might also enjoy it. The book is very amusing, for Sir John seems to have believed all the ridiculous stories he had ever heard or read, and to have put them in his book. Thus, he tells us of the Ethiopians who had only one foot, and that so large they could use it as a parasol when they were sitting. He mentions having conversed with people twenty-eight feet long; and of having heard of women who wore precious stones in their eyes, and who could kill a man by merely looking at him. The latter portion of this statement, however, is not so incredible as the former. Mandeville died in 1372. JOHN WYCLIFFE (b. in Yorkshire, 1324) was the first to translate the whole Bible into English. He was educated at Oxford, and ere long became Master of Baliol. Being a man of observation, he noticed many things about his Church which needed to be changed; and he did what he could to effect these changes. He lectured to the Oxford students, and told them what things he considered wrong; but, because he spoke against the doctrine of transubstantiation, he was removed from his office. He then retired to Lutterworth, in Leicestershirea living he had received from the King (Edward III.) because of some State business he had satisfactorily performed. Here, with the help of several of his followers, he translated the Latin Bible into English. The work is valuable because it helped to improve the English language, and as having formed the basis or ground-work of following translations. WYCLIFFE'S VERSION OF THE LORD'S PRAYER. "Oure fadir that art in hevenes, Halowid be thi name, Thi kyngdom come to. Be thi wille don in erthe, as in hevene. Geve to us this day our breed ovir other substaunce. And forgeve us our dettes as we forgiven our dettouris, and lede us not into temptacion. But delyver us from yvel. Amen." FROM THE DEATH OF CHAUCER TO THE ACCESSION OF ELIZABETH. 1400-1558. Progress of Literature and Introduction of the Printing Press. SCOTTISH POETS.-James I.-William Dunbar-other Scottish Poets. ENGLISH POETS.-John Skelton-Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey-other English Poets. PROSE AUTHORS. -Sir Thomas More-Roger Ascham-other Prose Authors. MIDDLE ENGLISH. DURING the early part of the period we have now to consider the progress of English Literature was but slow. This was chiefly owing to the Wars of the Roses, during the continuance of which men were busier with their spears than with their pens. There were but few great authors, and even these were mostly Scotsmen. But, as a set off to this barrenness, in 1474, the art of printing was introduced into England by WILLIAM CAXTON, who set up a press at Westminster, from which issued the first book ever printed in England. It was called The Game and Playe of the Chesse. The works printed in Caxton's press were sixty-four, and the beneficial effects of the invention became speedily manifest. The number of authors increased; each one tried to excel his neighbour in his style of writing; the number of readers was multiplied; and the desire for a better education became general. Nor ought it to be forgotten that, towards the close of this period, there was a revival of the study of Greek, Latin, and Italian authors, which had a most refining influence on the literature of the time. SCOTTISH POETS. JAMES I. (b. 1394).-This Scottish king was the son of Robert III. While on his way to France-partly to receive his education, and partly to escape from the clutches of his ambitious uncle, Albany-he was captured by Henry IV. of England, and detained as a prisoner for eighteen years. He was nevertheless most carefully educated by the very best masters, and so, when he was released, he was one of the most accomplished princes of his time. He married Lady Joan Beaufort, daughter of the Duke of Somerset, returned to Scotland, and reigned so wisely that peace, order, and security were restored to his country; while his good example led to greater refinement in the life and manners of his people. Through the ill will of certain members of the nobility, he was assassinated at Perth in 1437. His great poem is The King's Quhair (or Book). In it he describes how, one night, he lay sleepless in his prison in Windsor Castle. He tells how he took a book to help to while away the time; how, after a little, he laid it down again, and began to think of all the strange things that had happened to him since he left his father's palace. At length, as morning dawned, he rose, and looking from his tower window, saw the lovely garden below, heard the singing of the birds, and the breath of the morning wind whispering among the green foliage of the trees. Suddenly, a lovely lady made her appearance in the garden; and James, who had never seen any woman half so beautiful, was so delighted that his heart beat fast as he looked, and he could scarcely believe that one so pretty could be a creature of this world. This lady, however, is the Joan Beaufort whom he afterwards married, and made queen of Scotland. James was a great admirer, and to some extent an imitator, of Chaucer and Gower. His poems are written in the best English of the time, and are both graceful and musical. THE KING'S FIRST SIGHT OF LADY JOAN. "Cast I down mine eyes again, Where as I saw, walking under the Tower, That ever I saw, methought, before that hour, WILLIAM DUNBAR. "And though I stood abasit tho a lite, That suddenly my heart became her thrall, "And in my head I drew right hastily, 25 WILLIAM DUNBAR (b. ab. 1450).-This poet was educated at St. Andrews, and on leaving college became a gray friar of the order of St. Francis. Afterwards he seems to have given up this kind of life, and to have lived at the court of James IV., waiting for rewards which he deserved but never received. He was thus, towards the close of his life, both discontented and unhappy. The date of his death is uncertain, but it is supposed to have taken place about 1520. One of his principal works was The Thistle and the Rose, which refers to the marriage of James IV. of Scotland to Margaret Tudor of England. The poem is allegorical. Spring coaxes the poet to write a poem; he consents, and is led into a beautiful garden where Dame Nature is calling all the beasts about her to do her reverence. She singles out the lion (which represents Scotland), and proclaims him king of beasts. The flowers, in like manner, are called before her, and the Thistle (James) receives a crown of rubies, and is commanded to be particularly attentive to the Rose (Margaret), to defend her from vicious nettles, and from malicious weeds that would tell him to prefer the Lily (France). Dunbar was a very powerful writer, and could teach very important lessons by means of his allegories. |