 The Age of Chivalry, Prefaces, from both inches, The Age of Chivalry This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org, recording by Marcos Lima. The Age of Chivalry by Thomas Pulfinch, Prefaces Publishers Preface No new edition of Pulfinch's classic work can be considered complete without some notice of the American scholar to whose wide erudition and painstaking care it stands as a perpetual monument. The Age of Fable has come to be ranked with older books like Pilgrims, Progress, Gulliver's Travels, The Arabian Nights, Robinson Crusoe, and five or six other productions of worldwide renown as a work with which everyone must claim some acquaintance before his education can be called really complete. Many readers of the present edition will probably recall coming in contact with the work as children and, it may be added, will no doubt discover from a fresh bruise the source of numerous bits of knowledge that have remained stored in their minds since those early years. Yet, to the majority of this great circle of readers and students, the name Pulfinch is in itself has no significance. Thomas Pulfinch was a native of Boston, Massachusetts, where he was born in 1796. His boyhood was spent in that city and he prepared for college in the Boston schools. He finished his scholastic training at Harvard College and, after taking his degree, was for a period a teacher in his home city. For a long time later in life he was employed as an accountant in the Boston Merchants Bank. His leisure time he used for further pursuit of the classical studies which he had begun at Harvard and his chief pleasure in life lay in writing out the results of his reading in simple condensed form for young or busy readers. The plan he followed in his work to give it the greatest possible usefulness is set forth in the author's preface. Age of Fable, 1st edition, 1855, The Age of Chivalry, 1858, The Boy Inventor, 1860, Legends of Charles Mung, or Romance of the Middle Ages, 1863, Poetry of the Age of Fable, 1863, Oregon and El Dorado, or Romance of the Rivers, 1860. In this complete edition of his mythological and legendary lore, The Age of Fable, The Age of Chivalry, and Legends of Charles Mung are included. Skruple's care has been taken to follow the original text of Bullfinch, but attention should be called to some additional sources which have been inserted to add to the rounded completeness of the work and which the publishers believed would meet with the sanction of the author himself, as in no way intruding upon his original plan, but simply carrying it out in more complete detail. The section of Northern mythology has been enlarged by a retelling of the epic of the Nimble Lungen Lied, together with the summary of Wagner's version of the legend in his series of music dramas. Under the head of hero myths of the British race have been included outlines of the stories of Beowulf, Cuck Chulun, Heward the Wake, and Robin Hood. Of the verse extracts which occur throughout the text, 30 or more have been added from literature which has appeared since Bullfinch's time, extracts that he would have been likely to quote had he personally supervised the new edition. Finally, the index has been thoroughly overhauled and indeed remade. All the proper names in the work have been entered with references to the pages where they occur and a concise explanation or definition of each has been given. Thus, what was a mere list of names in the original has been enlarged into a small classical and mythological dictionary which it is hoped will prove valuable for reference purposes not necessarily connected with the Age of Fable. Acknowledgements are due to the writings of Dr. Oliver Huckle for information on the point of Wagner's rendering of the Nimble Lungen legend and M.I. Ebbots, authoritative volume on hero myths and legends of the British race from which much of the information concerning the British heroes has been obtained. Authors' Preface If no other knowledge deserves to be called useful but that which helps to enlarge our possessions or to raise our station in society then mythology has no claim to the Appalachian. But if that which tends to make us happier and better can be called useful then we claim that epithet for our subject. For mythology is the handmade of literature and literature is one of the best allies of virtue and promoters of happiness. Without a knowledge of mythology much of the elegant literature of our own language cannot be understood and appreciated. When Byron calls Rome the Niob of nations or says of Venice she looks a sea cybele fresh from ocean. He calls up to the mind of one familiar with our subject illustrations more vivid and striking than the pencil could furnish but which are lost to the reader ignorant of mythology. Milton abounds in similar allusions. The short poem Comus contains more than 30 such and the ode on the morning of the nativity half as many. Through Paradise Lost they are scattered profusely. This is one reason why we often hear persons by no means illiterate say that they cannot enjoy Milton. But were these persons to add their more solid requirements to easy learning of this little volume much of the poetry of Milton which has appeared to them harsh and crab would be found musical as in Apollo's loot. What are citations taken from more than 25 poets from Spencer to Longfellow will show how general has been the practice of borrowing illustrations from mythology. The prose writers also avail themselves of the same source of elegant and suggested illustration. One can hardly take up a number of the Eddingburg or quarterly review without meeting with instances. In McCullis article on Milton there are 20 such but how is mythology to be taught to one who does not learn it through the medium of the languages of Greece and Rome. To devote study to a species of learning which relates wholly to false marvels and obsolete faiths is not to be expected of the general reader in a practical age like this. The time even of the young is claimed by so many sciences, effects and things that little can be spared for sad treatises or in science or mere fancy. But may not the requisite knowledge of the subject be acquired by reading the ancient poets in translations. We reply, the field is too extensive for a preparatory course and these very translations require some previous knowledge of the subject to make them intelligible. But anyone who doubts it read the first page of the anode and see what he can make of the hatred of Juno, the decree of Parque, the judgment of Paris and the honors of Ganymede without this knowledge. Shall we be told that answers to such queries may be found in notes or by reference to the classical dictionary? We reply, the interruption of one's reading by either process is so annoying that most readers prefer to let an illusion pass unapprehended rather than submit to it. Moreover, such sources give us only the dry facts without any of the charm of the original narrative and what is a poetical myth when stripped of its poetry. The story of Sykes and Halcyon, which fills a chapter in our book, occupies eight lines in the best Smith's classical dictionary and so of others. Our work is an attempt to solve this problem by telling the stories of mythology in such a manner as to make them a source of amusement. We have endeavored to tell them correctly according to the ancient authorities so that when the readers find them referred to, he may not be at a loss to recognize the reference. Thus, we hope to teach mythology not as a study but as a relaxation from study, to give our work the charm of a storybook, yet by means of it to impart a knowledge of an important branch of education. The index at the end will adapt it to the purpose of reference and make it a classical dictionary for the parlor. Most of the classical legends and stories of gods and heroes are derived from Ovid and Virgil. They are not literally translated for, in the author's opinion, poetry translated into literal prose is very unattractive reading. Neither are they inverse as well for other reasons as from a conviction that to translate faithfully under all the embarrassments of rhyme and measure is impossible. The attempt has been made to tell the stories in prose, preserving so much of the poetry as resides in the thoughts and is inserparable from the language itself and admitting those amplifications which are not suited to them altered for. The northern mythological stories are copied with some abridgment from Malat's northern antiquities. These chapters, with those of an oriental and Egyptian mythology, seem necessary to complete the subject, though it is believed these topics have not usually been presented in the same volume with the classical fables. The poetical citations so freely introduced are expected to answer several valuable purposes. They will tend to fix in memory the leading fact of each story. They will help to the attainment of a correct pronunciation of the proper names, and they will enrich the memory with many gems of poetry, some of them such are most frequently quoted or alluded to in reading and conversation. Having chosen mythology as connected with literature for our province, we have endeavored to omit nothing which the reader of elegant literature is likely to find occasion for. Such stories and parts of stories as are offensive to pure taste and good morals are not given. But such stories are not often referred to, and if they occasionally should be, the English reader needn't feel no modification in confessing his ignorance of them. Our work is not for the learned, nor for the theologian, nor for the philosopher, but for the reader of English literature of either sex who wishes to comprehend the allusions so frequently made by public speakers, lecturers, essayists, and poets, and those which occur in politic polite conversation. In the stories of gods and heroes, the compiler has endeavored to impart the pleasures of classical learning to the English reader by presenting the stories of pagan mythology in a form adapted to modern taste. In King Arthur and his knights and the Mabinodian, the attempt has been made to treat in the same way the stories of the Second Age of Fable, the age of which witnessed the dawn of the several states of modern Europe. It is believed that this presentation of literature which held unrivaled sway over the imaginations of our ancestors for many centuries will not be without benefit to the reader, in addition to the amusement in May 4. The tales, though not to be trusted for their facts, are worthy of all credit as pictures of manners, and it's beginning to be held that the manners and modes of thinking of an age are a more important part of its history than the conflicts of its peoples, generally leading to no result. Besides this, the literature of romance is a treasured house of poetical materials to which modern poets frequently resort. The Italian poets Dante and Ariosto, the English Spencers Scott and Tennyson, and our own long fellow in Lowell are examples of this. These legends are so connected with each other, so consistently adapted to a group of characters strongly individualized in Arthur, Lancelot, and their peers, and so lightened up by the fires of imagination and invention that they seem as well adapted to the poet's purpose as the legends of the Greek and Roman mythology. And if every well educated young person is expected to know the story of the Golden Feast, why is the quest of the Sangrio less worthy of its acquaintance? Or if an allusion to the shield of Achilles ought not to pass unapprehended, why should one to Excalibur, the famous sword of Arthur? Of Arthur who to upper light restored with the terrific sword which yet he brandishes for future war shall lift his country's fame above the polar star. It is an additional recommendation of our subject that it tends to cherish in our minds the idea of the source from which we sprung. We are entitled to our full share in the glories and recollections of the land of our forefathers down to the time of colonization dance. The associations which spring from this source must be fruitful of good influences, among which not the least valuable is the increased enjoyment which such associations afford to the American traveler when he visits England and sets his foot upon any of her renowned localities. The legends of Charles Mung and his peers are necessary to complete the subject. In an age when intellectual darkness enveloped Western Europe, a constellation of built writers arose in Italy. These polci, born in 1432, Boyardo, 1434, and Ariosto, 1474, took for their subjects the romantic fables which had for many ages been transmitted in the laze of parts and the legends of monkish chroniclers. These fables, they arranged in order, adorned with the embellishments of fancy amplified from their own invention and stamped with immortality. It may safely be asserted that as long as civilization shall endure, these predictions will retain their place among the most cherished creations of human genius. In stories of gods and heroes, King Arthur and his knights and the Mabinogen, the aim has been to supply to the modern readers such knowledge of the fables of classical and medieval literature, as it is needed to render intelligible the allusions which occur in reading and conversation. The legends of Charles Mung is intended to carry out the same design. Like the earlier portions of the work, it aspires to a higher character than that of a piece of mere amusement. It claims to be useful in acquainting its readers with the subjects of the productions of the great poets of Italy. Some knowledge of these is expected of every well educated young person. In reading these romances, we cannot fail to observe how the primitive inventions have been used, again and again, by successive generations of fabulists. The siren of Ulysses is the prototype of the siren of Orlando, and the character of Cersei reappears in Alsina. The fountains of love on the Hague trade may be traced to the story of Cupid and Siki, and similar effects produced by a magic drought appear in the tale of Tristam and Isolde, and substituting a flower for the drought in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. There are many other instances of the same kind which the reader will recognize without our assistance. The sources once we derive these stories are first the Italian poets named above, next the Romans, the Chevaleri, on the count of Tressin, lastly certain German collections of popular tales. Some chapters have been borrowed from Lehan's translations from the Italian poets. It seemed unnecessary to do over again what he had already done so well, yet, on the other hand, those stories could not be omitted from the series without leaving it incomplete. Thomas Bolfinch. End of Prefaces. Recording by Marcos Lima, Nice, France, Inter 2009. The Age of Chivalry by Thomas Bolfinch. King Arthur and His Knights, Chapter 1, Introduction. On the decline of the Roman power about five centuries after Christ, the countries of northern Europe were left almost destitute of a national government. Numerous chiefs, more or less powerful, held local sway, as far as each could enforce his dominion, and occasionally those chiefs would unite for a common object, but in ordinary times they were much more likely to be found in hostility to one another. In such a state of things the rites of the humbler classes of society were at the mercy of every assailant, and it is plain that, without some check upon the lawless power of the chiefs, society must have relapsed into barbarism. Such checks were found, first in the rivalry of the chiefs themselves, whose mutual jealousy made them restraints upon one another. Secondly, in the influence of the church, which by every motive, pure or selfish, was pledged to interpose for the protection of the weak. And lastly, in the generosity and sense of right which, however, crushed under the weight of passion and selfishness, dwell naturally in the heart of man. From this last source sprang chivalry, which framed an ideal of the heroic character, combining invincible strength and valor, justice, modesty, loyalty to superiors, courtesy to equals, compassion to weakness, and devotedness to the church, an ideal which, if never met with in real life, was acknowledged by all as the highest model for emulation. The word chivalry is derived from the French chival, a horse. The word night, which originally meant boy or servant, was particularly applied to a young man after he was admitted to the privilege of bearing arms. This privilege was conferred on use of family and fortune only, for the mass of the people were not furnished with arms. The night, then, was a mounted warrior, a man of rank, or in the service and maintenance of some man of rank, generally possessing some independent means of support, but often relying mainly on the gratitude of those whom he served for the supply of his wants, and often, no doubt, resorting to the means which power confers on its possessor. In time of war, the night was, with his followers, in the camp of his sovereign, or commanding in the field, or holding some castle for him. In time of peace, he was often in attendance at his sovereign's court, gracing with his presence the banquets and tournaments with which princes cheered their leisure. Or he was traversing the country in quest of adventure, professedly bent on redressing wrongs and enforcing rights, sometimes in fulfillment of some vow of religion or of love. These wandering knights were called knights' errands. They were welcome guests in the castles of the nobility for their presence enlivened the dullness of those secluded abodes, and they were received with honor at the abbeys, which often owed the best part of their revenues to the patronage of the knights. But if no castle or abbey or hermitage were at hand, their hearty habits made it not intolerable for them to lie down, supperless, at the foot of some wayside cross, and pass the night. It is evident that the justice administered by such an instrumentality must have been of the rudest description, the force whose legitimate purpose was to redress wrongs might easily be perverted to inflict them. Accordingly we find in the romances which, however fabulous in facts, are true as pictures of manners, that a nightly castle was often a terror to the surrounding country, that is, dungeons were full of oppressed knights and ladies waiting for some champion to appear to set them free or to be ransomed with money, but hosts of idle retainers were ever at hand to enforce their lord's behests regardless of law and justice, and that the rites of the unarmed multitude were of no account. This contrarity of fact and theory in regard to chivalry will account for the opposite impressions which exist in men's minds respecting it. While it has been the theme of the most fervid eulogy among the one part, it has been as eagerly denounced on the other. On a cool estimate we cannot but see reason to congratulate ourselves that it has given way in modern times to the reign of law and that the civil magistrate, if less picturesque, has taken the place of the mailed champion. The Training of a Night The preparatory education of candidates for knighthood was long and arduous. At seven years of age the noble children were usually removed from their father's house under the court or castle of their future patron and placed under the care of a governor who taught them the first articles of religion and respect and reverence for their lords and superiors and initiated them in the ceremonies of a court. They were called pages, valets, or varlets, and their office was to carve, to wait at table, and to perform other menial services which were not then considered humiliating. During their leisure hours they learned to dance and play on the harp, were instructed in the mysteries of woods and rivers, that is, in hunting, falconry, and fishing, and in wrestling, tilting with spears, and performing other military exercises on horseback. At fourteen the page became an esquire and began a course of severer and more laborious exercises, to vault on a horse in heavy armor, run to scale walls and spring over ditches under the same encumbrance, to wrestle, to wield the battle-axe for a length of time without raising the visor or taking breath. To perform with grace all the evolutions of horsemanship were necessary preliminaries to the reception of knighthood which was usually conferred at twenty-one years of age when the young man's education was supposed to be completed. In the meantime the esquires were no less assiduously engaged in acquiring all those refinements of civility which formed what was in that age called courtesy. The same castle in which they received their education was usually thronged with young persons of the other sex and the page was encouraged at a very early age to select some lady of the court as the mistress of his heart to whom he was taught to refer all his sentiments, words, and actions. The service of his mistress was the glory and occupation of a knight and her smiles, bestowed at once by affection and gratitude, were held out as the recompense of his well-directed valor. Religion united its influence with those of loyalty and love and the order of knighthood endowed with all the sanctity and religious awe that attended the priesthood became an object of ambition to the greatest sovereigns. The ceremonies of initiation were peculiarly solemn After undergoing a severe fast and spending whole nights in prayer the candidate confessed and received the sacrament. He then clothed himself in snow-white garments and repaired to the church or the hall where the ceremony was to take place bearing a knightly sword suspended from his neck which the officiating priest took and blessed and then returned to him. The candidate then with folded arms knelt before the presiding knight who, after some questions about his motives and purposes in requesting admission, administered to him the oaths and granted his request. Some of the knights present, sometimes even ladies and damsels handed to him in succession the spurs, the coat of mail, the hobber, the armlet and gauntlet and lastly he girded on the sword. He then knelt again before the president who, rising from his seat, gave him the accolade which consisted of three strokes with the flat of a sword on the shoulder or neck of the candidate accompanied by the words, In the name of God of St. Michael and St. George I make thee a knight, be valiant, courteous and loyal. Then he received his helmet, his shield and spear and thus the investiture ended. Free men, villains, serfs and clerks The other classes of which society was composed were first free men, owners of small portions of land independent though they sometimes voluntarily became the vassals of their more opulent neighbors whose power was necessary for their protection. The other two classes which were much the most numerous were either serfs or villains both of which were slaves. The serfs were in the lowest state of slavery. All the fruits of their labor belonged to the master whose land they tilled than by whom they were fed in cloth. The villains were less degraded. Their situation seems to have resembled that of the Russian peasants at this day. Like the serfs they were attached to the soil and were transferred with it by purchase. But they paid only a fixed rent to the landlord and had a right to dispose of any surplus that might arise from their industry. The term clerk was a very extensive import. It comprehended originally such persons only as belonged to the clergy or clerical order among whom however might be found a multitude of married persons artisans or others. But in process of time a much wider rule was established everyone that could read being accounted a clerk or clericus and allowed the quote benefit of clergy and quote that is exemption from capital and some other forms of punishment in case of crime. Tournaments. The splendid pageant of a tournament between knights its gaudy accessories and trappings and its chivalrous regulations originated in France. Tournaments were repeatedly condemned by the church probably on account of the quarrels they led to and the often fatal results. The joust or just was different from the tournament. In these knights fought with their lances and their object was to unhorsed their antagonists. While the tournaments were intended for a display of skill and address in evolutions and with various weapons and greater courtesy was observed in the regulations. By these it was forbidden to wound the horse or to use the point of the sword or to strike a knight after he had raised his visor or unlaced his helmet. The ladies encouraged their knights in these exercises. They bestowed prizes and the conqueror's feats were the theme of romance and song. The stands overlooking the ground, of course, were varied in the shapes of towers, terraces, galleries and pencil gardens, magnificently decorated with tapestry, pavilions and banners. Every combatant proclaimed the name of the lady whose servant D'Amour he was. He was want to look up to the stand and strengthen his courage by the sight of the bright eyes or raining their influence on him from above. The knights also carried favors consisting of scarves, veils, sleeves, bracelets, clasps. In short, some piece of female habiliment attached to their helmets, shields or armor. If during the combat any of these appendages were dropped or lost, the fair donor would at times send her knight new ones especially if pleased with his exertions. Male armor. Male armor, of which the hobbock is a species and which derived its name from mylay, a French word for mesh, was of two kinds, plate or scale mail and chain mail. It was originally used for the protection of the body only, reaching no lower than the knees. It was shaped like a Carter's frock and bound around the waist by a girdle. Gloves and hose of mail were afterwards added to the hood which when necessary was drawn over the head, leaving the face alone uncovered. To protect the skin from the impression of the iron network of the chain mail, a quilted lining was employed, which however was insufficient and the bath was used to efface the marks of the armor. The hobbock was a complete covering of double chain mail. Some hobbocks opened before like a modern coat, others were closed like a shirt. The chain mail of which they were composed was formed by a number of iron links, each link having others inserted into it, the hole exhibiting a kind of network, of which, in some instances at least, the meshes were circular and each link separately riveted. The hobbock was proof against the most violent blow of a sword, but the point of a lance might pass through the meshes or drive the iron into the flesh. To guard against this, thick and well-stuffed doublet was worn underneath, under which was commonly added an iron breastplate, hence the expression to pierce both plate and mail so common in the earlier poets. Mail armor continued in general use till about the year 1300 when it was gradually supplanted by plate armor for suits consisting of pieces or plates of solid iron adapted to the different parts of the body. Shields were generally made of wood covered with leather or some similar substance. To secure them in some sort from being cut through by the sword, they were surrounded with a hoop of metal. Helmets The helmet was composed of two parts, the headpiece, which was strengthened within by several circles of iron, and the visor, which as the name implies was a sort of grating to see through, so contrived as by sliding in a groove on a pivot to be raised or lowered at pleasure. Some helmets had a further improvement called a beaver from the Italian bevere to drink. The ventail or air passage is another name for this. To secure the helmet from the possibility of falling or of being struck off, it was tied by several laces to the meshes of the hobber. Consequently, when a knight was overthrown, it was necessary to undo these laces before he could be put to death, though this was sometimes affected by lifting up the skirt of the hobber and stabbing him in the belly. The instrument of death was a small dagger worn on the right side. Romances In ages when there were no books, when noblemen and princes themselves could not read, history or tradition was monopolized by the storytellers. They inherited, generation after generation, the wondrous tales of their predecessors, which they retailed to the public with such additions of their own as their acquired information supplied them with. Anachronisms became, of course, very common and errors of geography, of locality, of manners, equally so. Spurious genealogies were invented in which Arthur and his knights and Charlemagne and his paladins were made to derive their descent from Aeneas, Hector, or some other of the Trojan heroes. With regard to the derivation of the word Romance, we trace it to the fact that the dialects which were formed in western Europe from the admixture of Latin with the native languages took the name of Longue Romain. The French language was divided into two dialects. The river Loire was their common boundary. In the provinces to the south of that river, the affirmative, yes, was expressed by the word Auc. In the north it was called oil, we, and hence Dante has named the southern language Longue d'Oc and the northern language Longue d'Oil. The latter, which was carried into England by the Normans and is the origin of the present French, may be called the French Romain, and the former the Provençal or Provincial Romain because it was spoken by the people of Provence and Langue d'Oc, southern provinces of France. These dialects were soon distinguished by very opposite characters. A soft and innervating climate, a spirit of commerce encouraged by an easy communication with other maritime nations, the influx of wealth and a more settled government may have tended to polish and soften the diction of the Provencials, whose poets under the name of troubadours were the masters of the Italians and particularly of Petrarch. Their favorite pieces were Cervantes, Satirical pieces, Love Songs and Tencentes, which last were a sort of dialogue in verse between two poets who questioned each other on some refined points of love's causistry. It seems the Provencials were so completely absorbed in these delicate questions as to neglect and despise the composition of fabulous histories of adventure and knighthood, which they left in a great measure to the poets of the northern part of the kingdom called troubadours. At a time when chivalry excited universal admiration and when all the efforts of that chivalry were directed against the enemies of religion, it was natural that literature should receive the same impulse and that history and fable should be ransacked to furnish examples of courage and piety that might excite increased emulation. Arthur and Charlemagne were the two heroes selected for this purpose. Arthur's pretensions were that he was a brave, though not always a successful warrior. He had withstood with great resolution the arms of the infidels, that is to say of the Saxons, and his memory was held in the highest estimation by his countrymen, the Britons, who carried with them into Wales and into the kindred country of Amoraca, or Brittany, the memory of his exploits, which their national vanity insensibly exaggerated till the little prince of the Salures, South Wales, was magnified into the conqueror of England, of Gaul, and of the greater part of Europe. His genealogy was gradually carried up to an imaginary Brutus and to the period of the Trojan War and a sort of chronicle was composed in the Welsh, or Amorican language, which, under the pompous title of The History of the Kings of Britain, was translated into Latin by Geoffrey of Monmouth about the year 1550. The Welsh critics consider the material of the work to have been an older history written by St. Talion, Bishop of St. Asaf, in the 7th century. As to Charlemagne, though his real merits were sufficient to secure his immortality, it is impossible that his holy wars against the Saracens should not become a favorite topic for fiction. Accordingly, the fabulous history of these wars was written probably towards the close of the 11th century by a monk who, thinking it would add dignity to his work to embellish it with a contemporary name, boldly ascribed it to Turpin, who was Archbishop of Reims about the year 773. These fabulous chronicles were for a while imprisoned in languages of local only or of professional access. Both Turpin and Geoffrey might indeed be read by ecclesiastics, the sole Latin scholars of those times, and Geoffrey's British original would contribute to the gratification of Welshmen, but neither could become extensively popular until translated into some language of general and familiar use. The Anglo-Saxon was at that time used only by a conquered and enslaved nation. The Spanish and Italian languages were not yet formed. The Norman French alone was spoken and understood by the nobility in the greater part of Europe, and therefore was a proper vehicle for a new mode of composition. That language was fashionable in England before the conquest and became, after that event, the only language used at the Court of London. As the various conquests of the Normans and the enthusiastic baller of that extraordinary people had familiarized the minds of men with the most marvelous events, their poets eagerly seized the fabulous legends of Arthur and Charlemagne, translated them into the language of the day, and soon produced a variety of imitations. The adventures attributed to these monarchs and to their distinguished warriors, together with those of many other traditionary or imaginary heroes, composed by degrees that formidable body of marvelous histories which, from the dialect in which the most ancient of them were written, were called romances. Metrical romances The earliest form in which romances appear is that of a rude kind of verse. In this form it is supposed they were sung or recited by the princes and knights in their baronial halls. The following specimen of the language in style of Robert de Beauvais, who flourished in 1257, is from Sir Walter Scott's introduction to the romance of Sir Tristram. Nevois pas amidire d'ici divers les matières entrées sous cuis solents coutères et de les coutes Tristram parles. I will not say too much about it so diverse is the matter among those who are in the habit of telling and relating the story of Tristram. This is a specimen of the language which was in use among the nobility of England in the ages immediately after the Norman conquest. The following is a specimen of the English that existed at the same time among the common people. Robert de Bruin, speaking of his Latin and French authorities, says, All for the love of simple men that strange English cannot can. The strange English being the language of the previous specimen. It was not till toward the end of the 13th century that the prose romances began to appear. These works generally began with disowning and discredit the language of the language of the language of the language of the language of the language generally began with disowning and discrediting the sources from which in reality they drew their soul information. As every romance was supposed to be a real history the compilers of those in prose would have forfeited all credit if they had announced themselves as mere copyists of the minstrels. On the contrary, they usually state that, as the popular poems upon the matter in question contain many lessings, they had been induced to translate the real and true history of such and such a knight from the original Latin or Greek or from the ancient British or Amorican authorities which authorities existed only in their own assertion. A specimen of the style of the prose romances may be found in the following extract from one of the most celebrated and latest of them the Mort de Arthur of Sir Thomas Mallory of the date 1485. From this work much of the contents of the volume has been drawn with as close an adherence to the original style as was thought consistent with our plan of adapting our narrative to the taste of modern readers. It is notoriously known through the universal world that there been exworthy and the best that ever were that is to what their panem's three Jews and three Christian men as for the panems they were to for the incarnation of Christ which were named the first Hector of Troy the second Ali Sander the Great and the third Julius Caesar Emperor of Rome for whom thy stories been well know and had. And as for the three Jews which were also to for the incarnation of our Lord of whom the first was Duke Josue which brought the children of Israel into the launt of behest the second David and the third Judas Maccabeus of these three the Bible rehearseth all their noble histories and acts and sight the said Incarnation have been the noble Christian men stalled and admitted through the universal world to the Nombre of the ex-best day and worthy of whom was first the noble Arthur whose noble acts I purpose to write in this person book here following the second was Charlemagne the Great of whom the story is had in many places both in French and English and the third and last was Godfrey of Boloin. End of Chapter 1 Chapter 2 of Bullfinch's Age of Chivalry This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Age of Chivalry by Thomas Bullfinch Chapter 2 The Mythical History of England The illustrious poet Milton in his history of England is the author whom we chiefly follow in this chapter According to the earliest accounts Albion, a giant, and son of Neptune, a contemporary of Hercules ruled over the island to which he gave his name presuming to oppose the progress of Hercules in his western march he was slain by him. Another story is that Histian the son of Noah had four sons Frankus, Romanus, Alamanus and Brito from whom descended the French, Roman, German and British people. Rejecting these and other like stories Milton gives more regard to the story of Britos, the Trojan which he says is supported by descents of ancestry long continued laws and exploits not plainly seeming to be borrowed or devised which on the common belief have wrought no small impression defended by many, denied utterly by few. The principal authority is Geoffrey of Monmouth whose history, written in the 12th century, purports to be a translation of a history of Britain brought over from the opposite shore of France which under the name of Brittany was chiefly peopled by natives of Britain who from time to time emigrated thither driven from their own country by the inroads of the Picks and Scots. According to this authority Brutus was the son of Sylveus and he of Ascanius the son of Aeneas whose flight from Troy and settlement in Italy are narrated in stories of gods and heroes. Brutus, at the age of fifteen attending his father to the chase unfortunately killed him with an arrow. Banished therefore by his kindred he sought refuge in the part of Greece where Hellenus with a band of Trojan exiles had become established. But Hellenus was now dead and the descendants of the Trojans were established by Pendranus the king of the country. Brutus, being kindly received among them so throve in virtue and in arms as to win the regard of all the eminent of the land above all others of his age. In consequence of this the Trojans not only began to hope but secretly to persuade them to lead them the way to liberty. To encourage them they had the promise of help from Asacaris a noble Greek youth whose mother was a Trojan. He had suffered wrong at the hands of the king and for that reason the more willingly cast in his lot with the Trojan exiles. Choosing a fit opportunity Brutus, with his countrymen withdrew to the woods and hills as the safest place from which to expostulate and sent this message to Pendrasus that the Trojans holding it unworthy of their ancestors to serve in a foreign land had retreated to the woods choosing rather a savage life than a slavish one. With his leave they would depart to some other country. Pendrasus not expecting so bold a message from the sons of captives went in pursuit of them with such forces as he could gather and met them on the banks of the Achalos where Brutus got the advantage and took the king captive. The result was that the terms demanded by the Trojans were granted. The king gave his daughter Imogen in marriage to Brutus and furnished shipping, money and money on the land. The marriage being solemnized and shipping from all parts got together the Trojans in a fleet of no less than three hundred and twenty sail but took themselves to the sea. On the third day they arrived at a certain island which they found destitute of inhabitants though there were appearances of former habitation and among the ruins a temple of Diana. Brutus, here performing sacrifice at the shrine of the goddess invoked an oracle for his guidance goddess of shades and huntress who at will walks on the rolling sphere and through the deep on thy third realm the earth look now and tell what land what seat of rest thou bidest me seek what certain seat where I may worship thee for I with temples vowed and virgin choirs to whom sleeping before the altar Diana in a vision thus answered Brutus, far to the west in the ocean wide beyond the realm of Gaul a land there lies seagirt it lies where giants dwelt of old now void it fits thy people thither bend thy course there shout thou find a lasting seat there to thy sons another Troy shall rise and kings be born of thee whose dreaded might shall all the world and conquer nations bold Brutus, guided now as he thought by divine direction sped his course towards the west and arriving at a place in the green sea found there the descendants of certain Trojans who with Antonor came into Italy of whom Corianus was the chief these joined company and the ships pursued their way till they arrived at the mouth of the river Loire in France where the expedition landed with a view to settlement but were so rudely assaulted by the inhabitants that they put to sea again and arrived at a part of the coast of Britain now called Devonshire where Brutus felt convinced that he had found the end of his voyage landed his colony and took possession the island, not yet Britain but Albion, was in a manner desert and unhospitable occupied only by a remnant of the giant race whose excessive force and tyranny had destroyed the others the Trojans encountered these and extirpated them Corinius in particular signalizing himself by his exploits against them from whom Cornwall takes its name for that region fell to his lot and there the hugest giants dwelt lurking in rocks and caves till Corinius read the land of them Brutus built his capital city and called it Trojanova New Troy changed in time to Ternovantus now London and having governed the isle 24 years died leaving three sons Lachrin, Albanact and Camber Lachrin had the middle part Camber the West called Cambria from him and Albanact Albania now Scotland Lachrin was married to Gwendolyn the daughter of Corinius but having seen a fair main named Astralis who had been brought captive from Germany he became enamored of her and had by her a daughter whose name was Sabra this matter was kept secret while Corinius lived but after his death Lachrin divorced Gwendolyn and made Astralis his queen Gwendolyn all enraged departed to Cornwall where Madden her son lived who had been brought up by Corinius gathering an army of her father's friends and subjects she gave battle to her husband's forces and Lachrin was slain Gwendolyn caused her rival Astralis with her daughter Sabra to be thrown into the river from which caused the river then sporth bore the Madden's name which by length of time is now changed into Sabrina or Severn Milton alludes to this in his address to the whivers Severn swift guilty of Madden's death and in his commas tells the story with a slight variation thus there is a gentle nymph not far from hence that with moist curbs sways the smooth Severn stream Sabrina is her name a virgin pure Willom she was the daughter of Lachrin that had the scepter from his father Bruta she, guiltless damsel flying the mad pursuit of her enraged stepdame Gwendolyn commended her fair innocence to the flood that stayed her night with his cross-flowing course the water nymphs that in the bottom played held up their purled wrists and took her in bearing her straight to aged Nerys's hall who, piteous of her woes reared her lank head and gave her to his daughters to embathe in nectared labours strewed with asphodel and through the porch and inlet of each sense dropped in ambrosial oils till she revived and underwent a quick immortal change made goddess of the river et cetera if our readers ask when all this took place we must ask in the first place that mythology is not careful of dates and next, that as Brutus was the great grandson of Aeneas it must have been not far from a century subsequent to the Trojan War or about eleven hundred years before the invasion of the island by Julius Caesar this long interval is filled with the names of princes whose chief occupation was in warring with one another some few whose names remained connected with places and bombed in literature we will mention Blotted Blotted built the city of Bath and dedicated the medicinal waters to Minerva he was a man of great invention and practiced the arts of magic till having made him wings to fly he fell down upon the temple of Apollo in Trinivant and so died after twenty years reign Lear Lear, who next reigned, built Leicester and called it after his name he had no male issue but only three daughters when grown old he determined to divide his kingdom amongst his daughters and bestow them in marriage but first, to try which of them loved him best, he determined to ask them solemnly in order and judge of the warmth of their affection by their answers Gunnaril, the eldest knowing well her father's weakness made answer that she loved him above her soul since thou so honourest my declining age said the old man to thee and to thy husband I give the third part of my realm such good success for a few words soon uttered was ample instruction to Regan the second daughter what to say she therefore to the same question replied that she loved him more than all the world beside and so received an equal reward with her sister but Cordelia, the youngest and hitherto the best beloved though having before her eyes the reward of it little easy soothing and the loss likely to attend plain dealing yet was not moved from the solid purpose of a sincere and virtuous answer and replied, father my love towards you is as my duty bids they who pretend beyond this is flatter when the old man sorry to hear this and wishing her to recall these words persisted in asking she still restrained her expressions so as to say rather less than more than the truth then Lear, all in a passion burst forth since thou hast not reverenced thy aged father like thy sisters and my kingdom or what else I have and without delay giving in marriage his other daughters goneral to the Duke of Albany and Regan to the Duke of Cornwall he divides his kingdom between them and goes to reside with his eldest daughter attended only by a hundred knights but in a short time his attendance being complained of as too numerous and disorderly are reduced to thirty resenting that affront the old king betakes him to his second daughter but she, instead of soothing his wounded pride, takes part with her sister and refuses to admit a retinue of more than five then back he returns to the other who now will not receive him with more than one attendant then the remembrance of Cordelia comes to his thoughts and he takes his journey into France to seek her with little hope of kind consideration from one whom he had so injured but to pay her the last recompense he can render confession of his injustice when Cordelia is informed of his approach and of his sad condition she pours forth true filial tears and not willing that her own or others eyes should see him in that forlorn condition she sends one of her trusted servants to meet him and convey him privately to some comfortable abode and to furnish him with such a state as befitted his dignity after which Cordelia with the king her husband went in state to meet him and after an honorable reception the king permitted his wife Cordelia and her father again upon his throne they prospered subdued the wicked sisters in their consorts and Lear obtained the crown and held it three years Cordelia succeeded him and reigned five years but the sons of her sisters after that rebelled against her and she lost both her crown and her life Shakespeare has chosen this story as the subject of his tragedy of king Lear varying its details in some respects the madness of Lear and the ill success of Cordelia's attempt to reinstate her father are the principal variations and those in the names will also be noticed our narrative is drawn from Milton's history and thus the reader will perceive that the story of Lear has had the distinguished honor of being told by the two acknowledged chiefs of British literature Farex and Porrex Farex and Porrex were brothers who held the kingdom after Lear they quarreled about the supremacy and Porrex expelled his brother who, having obtained aid from Suard king of the Franks, returned and made war upon Porrex Farex was slain in battle and his forces dispersed when their mother came to hear of her son's death, who was her favorite she fell into a great rage and conceived a mortal hatred against the survivor she took therefore her opportunity when he was asleep fell upon him and with the assistance of her women tore him in pieces this horrid story would not be worth relating where it not for the fact that it was furnished the plot for the first tragedy which was written in the English language it was entitled Gorbo-Duke but in the second edition Farex and Porrex and was the production of Thomas Sackville, afterwards Earl of Dorset and Thomas Norton a barrister its date was 1561 Dunwallo Mulmutius this is the next name of note Mulmutius established the mummultine laws which bestowed the privilege of sanctuary on temples, cities, and the roads leading to them and gave the same protection to plows extending a religious sanction to the labors of the field Shakespeare alludes to him in Cymbaleen Act 3, Scene 1 Mulmutius made our laws who was the first of Britain which did put his brows within a golden crown and called himself a king Brenus and Balinus the sons of Mulmutius succeeded him they quarreled and Brenus was driven out of the island and took refuge in Gaul where he met with such favour from the king of the Albrogies that he gave him his daughter in marriage and made him his partner on the throne Brenus is the name which the Roman historians give to the famous leader of the Gauls who took Rome in the time of Camillus Geoffrey of Munmouth claims the glory of the conquest for the British Prince after he had become king of the Albrogies Eliger After Balinus and Brenus there reigned several kings of little note and then came Eliger Arthgalo his brother being king gave great offence to his powerful nobles who rose against him deposed him and advanced Elidore to the throne Arthgalo fled and endeavored to find assistance in the neighboring kingdoms to reinstate him but found none Elidore reigned prosperously and wisely after five years possession of the kingdom one day when hunting he met in the forest his brother Arthgalo who had been deposed after long wandering unable longer to bear the poverty to which he was reduced he had returned to Britain with only ten followers designing to repair to those who had formerly been his friends Elidore at the side of his brother in distress forgetting all animosities ran to him and embraced him he took Arthgalo home with him and concealed him in the palace after this he feigned himself sick and calling his nobles about him induced them partly by persuasion partly by force to consent to his abdicating the kingdom and reinstating his brother on the throne the agreement being ratified Elidore took the crown from his own head and put it on his brother's head Arthgalo after this reigned ten years well and wisely exercising strict justice towards all men he died and left the kingdom to his sons who reigned with various fortunes but were not long lived left no offspring so that Elidore was again advanced to the throne and finished the course of his life in just and virtuous actions receiving the name of the pious from the love and admiration of his subjects Wordsworth has taken the story of Arthgal and Elidore for the subject of a poem which is number two of poems founded on the affections LUD after Elidore the chronicle names many kings but none of special note till we come to LUD who greatly cherished Trinnovant his capital and surrounded it with a wall he changed its name bestowing upon it his own so that henceforth it was called LUD's town afterwards London LUD was buried by the gate of the city called after him LUD gate he had two sons but they were not old enough at the time of their father's death to sustain the cares of government and therefore their uncle Casualan or Casabalanus succeeded to the kingdom as a magnificent prince so that his fame reached to distant countries Casabalanus about this time it happened as is found in the Roman histories that Julius Caesar having subdued Gaul came to the shore opposite Britain and having resolved to add this island also to his conquests he prepared ships and transported his army across the sea to the mouth of the river Thames here he was met by Casabalan with all his forces and a battle ensued in which Neneus the brother of Casabalan engaged in single combat with Caesar after several furious blows given and received the sword of Caesar stuck so fast in the shield of Neneus that it could not be pulled out and the combatants being separated by the intervention of the troops Neneus remained possessed of this trophy at last after the greater part of the day was spent the Britons poured in so fast that Caesar was forced to retire to his camp and fleet and finding it useless to continue the war any longer at that time he returned to Gaul Shakespeare alludes to Casabalanus in Cymbaline the famed Casabalan who was once at point O'Giglat fortune to master Caesar's sword made Ludd's town with rejoicing fires bright and Britons strut with courage Kimbalinus or Cymbaline Caesar on a second invasion of the island was more fortunate and compelled the Britons to pay tribute Cymbaline the nephew of the king was delivered to the Romans as a hostage for the faithful fulfillment of the treaty and being carried to Rome by Caesar he was there brought up in the Roman arts and accomplishments being afterwards restored to his country and placed on the throne he was attached to the Romans and continued through all his reign at peace with them his sons Guderius and Avaragus who made their appearance in Shakespeare's play of Cymbaline succeeded their father and refusing to pay tribute to the Romans brought on another invasion Guderius was slain but Avaragus afterward made terms with the Romans and reigned prosperously many years Armorica The next event of note is the conquest and colonization of Armorica by Maximus a Roman general and Conan Lord of Miniadoc or Denevaland in Wales the name of the country was changed to Brittany or lesser Britain so completely was it possessed by the British colonists that the language became assimilated to that spoken in Wales and it is said that to this day the peasantry of the two countries can understand each other when speaking their native language the Romans eventually succeeded in establishing themselves in the island and after the lapse of several generations they became blended with the natives so that no distinction existed between the two races when at length the Roman armies were withdrawn from Britain their departure was a matter of a threat to the inhabitants as it left them without protection against the barbarous tribes Scots, Picts, and Norwegians who harassed the country incessantly this was the state of things when the era of King Arthur began the adventure of Albion the giant with Hercules is alluded to by Spencer Fairy Queen Book Four Canto XI for Albion the son of Neptune was who for the proof of his great pussence his dry foot passed into Old Gaul that is now clubbed France to fight with Hercules that did advance to vanquish all the world with matchless might and there his mortal part by great mischance was slain End of Chapter 2 The Age of Chivalry Chapter 3 from Bullfinches The Age of Chivalry This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by B.G. Oxford The Age of Chivalry by Thomas Bullfinch Chapter 3 Merlin Merlin was the son of no mortal father but of an incubus one of a class of beings not absolutely wicked but far from good who inhabit the regions of the air Merlin's mother was a virtuous young woman who on the birth of her son entrusted him to a priest who hurried him to the baptismal font and so saved him from sharing the lot of his father though he retained many marks of his unearthly origin At this time Vortigaern reigned in Britain he was a usurper who had caused the death of his sovereign Moines and driven the two brothers of the late king who were Uther and Pendragon into banishment Vortigaern who lived in constant fear of the return of the rightful heirs of the kingdom began to erect a strong tower for defense The edifice, when brought by the workmen to a certain height three times fell to the ground without any apparent cause The king consulted his astrologers on this wonderful event and learned from them necessary to bathe the cornerstone of the foundation with the blood of a child born without a mortal father In search of such an infant Vortigaern sent his messengers all over the kingdom and they by accident discovered Merlin whose lineage seemed to point him out as the individual wanted They took him to the king but Merlin young as he was explained to the king the absurdity attempting to rescue the fabric by such means for he told him the true cause of the instability of the tower was its being placed over the den of two immense dragons whose combats shook the earth above them The king ordered his workmen to dig beneath the tower and when they had done so they discovered two enormous serpents the one white as milk the other red as fire and the one white on with amazement till the serpents slowly rising from their den and expanding their enormous folds began the combat when everyone fled in terror except Merlin who stood by clapping his hands and cheering on the conflict The red dragon was slain and the white one gliding through a cleft in the rock disappeared These animals typified the invasion of Uther and Pendragon the rightful princes who soon after landed with a great army Vortigaern was defeated and afterwards burned alive in the castle he had taken such pains to construct On the death of Vortigaern Pendragon ascended the throne Merlin became his chief advisor and often assisted the king by his magical arts Merlin who knew the range of all their arts had built the king his havens ships and hulls Vivian among other endowments he had the power of transforming himself into any shape he pleased at one time he appeared as a dwarf at others as a damsel a page or even a greyhound or a stag this faculty he often employed for the service of the king and sometimes also the version of the court and the sovereign Merlin continued to be a favorite counselor through the range of Pendragon, Uther and Arthur and at last disappeared from view and was no more found among men through the treachery of his mistress Vivian the fairy which happened in this wise Merlin having become enamored of the fair Vivian the lady of the lake was weak enough to impart to her the secrets of his art being impelled by fatal destiny of which he was at the same time fully aware the lady however was not content with his devotion unbounded as it seems to have been but cast about the romance tells us how she might detain him forever more and one day addressed him in these terms Sir, I would that we should make a fair place and a suitable so contrived by art and by cunning that it might never be undone and that you and I should be there in joy and solace my lady said Merlin I will do all this Sir, she said I would not have you do it but you shall teach me and I will do it and then it will be more to my mind I grant you this said Merlin to devise and the damsel put it all in writing and when he had devised the whole then had the damsel full great joy and showed him greater semblance of love than she had ever before made and they sojourned together a long while at length it fell out that as they were going one day hand in hand through the forest of Bresiliande they found a bush of white thorn with flowers and they seated themselves under the shade of this white thorn upon the green grass and Merlin laid his head upon the damsel slap and fell asleep then the damsel rose and made a ring with her wimple round the bush and round Merlin and began her enchantments such as he himself had taught her and nine times she made the ring and nine times she made the enchantment and then she went and sat down by him and placed his head again upon her lap and asleep fell upon Merlin more like death so deep her fingers on her lips then Viviane rose and from her brown locked head the wimple throws and takes it in her hand and waves it over the blossomed thorn tree and her sleeping lover nine times she waved the fluttering wimple round and made a little plot of magic ground Matthew Arnold when he awoke and looked around him it seemed to him that he was enclosed in the strongest tower in the world and laid upon a fair bed then he said to the dame my lady you have deceived me unless you abide with me for no one hath power to unmake this tower but you alone she then promised she would often be there and in this she held her covenant with him and Merlin never went out of that tower where his mistress Viviane had enclosed him but she entered and went out again when she listed after this event Merlin was never more known to hold converse with any mortal but Viviane except on one occasion Arthur having for some time missed him from his court sent several of his knights in search of him and among the number Sir Gawain who met with a very unpleasant adventure while engaged in this quest happening to pass a damsel on the road and neglecting to salute her she revenged herself for his incivility by transforming him into a hideous dwarf he was bewailing aloud his evil fortune as he went through the forest of Preselyande when suddenly he heard the voice of one groaning on his right hand and looking that way he could see nothing save a kind of smoke which seemed like air and through which he could not pass Merlin then addressed him from out of the smoke and told him by what misadventure he was imprisoned there ah Sir he added you will never see me more and that grieves me but I cannot remedy it I shall never more speak to you save only my mistress but do thou hasten to King Arthur and charge him from me to undertake without delay the quest of the sacred grail the knight is already born and has received knighthood at his hands who is destined to accomplish this quest after this he comforted Gawain under his transformation assuring him that he should speedily be disenchanted and he predicted to him to find the king at Cardwell in Wales on his return and that all the other knights who had been on light quest would arrive there the same day as himself and all this came to pass as Merlin had said Merlin is frequently introduced in the tales of chivalry but it is chiefly on great occasions and at a period subsequent to his death or magical disappearance in the romantic poems of Italy and in Spencer Merlin is chiefly represented as a magical artist Spencer represents him as the artificer of the impenetrable shield and other armor of Prince Arthur Fairy Queen Book 1 Canto 7 and of a mirror in which a damsel viewed her lover's shade The Fountain of Love in the Orlando in Amorata is described as his work In the poem of Ariosto we are told of a hall adorned with prophetic paintings which demons had executed in a single night under the direction of Merlin The following legend is from Spencer's Fairy Queen Book 3, Canto 3 Caer Murden or Caer Marthen in Wales Merlin's Tower and the Imprisoned Fiends forthwith themselves disguising both in strange and base attire that none might them beret to Maridunum that is now by change of name Caer Murden called they took their way There the wise Merlin to make his one low underneath the ground in a deep delve of far from the view of day that of no living white he might be found when so he counseled and if thou ever happened that same way to travel go to see that dreadful place it is a hideous hollow cave they say under a rock that lies a little space from the swift berry tumbling down a pace amongst the woody hills of Dinovore but dare not thou I charge in any case to enter into that same bale full bower for fear the cruel fiends should thee unawares devour but standing high aloft lo lay thine ear and there such ghastly noise of iron chains and brazen cauldrons thou shalt rumbling here which thousand sprites with long enduring pains do toss that it will stun nifeable brains and often times great groans and grievous sounds when too large toil and labour them constraints and often times loud strokes from under that deep rock most horribly rebounds the cause some say is this a little while before that Merlin died he did intend a brazen wall encompassed to compile about Kermyrden and did it commend unto thee sprites to bring to perfect end during which worked the lady of the lake whom long he loved for him in haste did send who thereby forced his workmen to take them bound till his return their labour not to slake in the meantime through that false ladies train he was surprised and buried under a beer he ever to his work returned again nevertheless those fiends may not their work forbear so greatly his commandment they fear but there do toil and travail day and night until that brazen wall they up do rear magic more in sight than ever him before or after living white footnote buried under beer buried under something which enclosed him like a coffin or beer end of footnote end of chapter 3 recording by B.G. Oxford Augsburg January 2009 the age of chivalry chapter 4 from bullfinches the age of chivalry the age of chivalry the age of chivalry chapter 4 Arthur we shall begin our history of King Arthur by giving those particulars of his life which appear to rest on historical evidence and then proceed to record those legends can be found in the book of the book of the book of the book of the book of the book of the book of the book of the book of the book of the book of the book then proceed to record those legends concerning him which formed the earliest portion of British literature Arthur was a prince of the tribe of Britons called Salures whose country was South Wales the son of Uther named Pindragon a title given to an elective sovereign paramount over the many kings of Britain he appears to have commenced his martial career about the year 500 and was raised to the same dragonship about 10 years later he is said to have gained 12 victories over the Saxons the most important of them was that of Badden by some supposed to be Bath by others Berkshire this was the last of his battles with the Saxons and checked their progress so effectually that Arthur experienced no more annoyance from them and reigned in peace until the revolt of his nephew Maudred later which led to the fatal battle of Camelan in Cornwall in 542 Maudred was slain and Arthur mortally wounded was conveyed by sea to Glastonbury where he died and was buried tradition preserved the memory of the place of his interment within the Abbey as we are told by Geraldos Cambrensis who was present when the grave was opened by command of Henry II about 1150 and saw the bones and sword of the monarch and a leaden cross led into his tombstone with the inscription in rude Roman letters here lies buried the famous King Arthur in the island Avalonia this story has been elegantly versified by Wharton a popular traditional belief was long entertained among the Britons that Arthur was not dead but had been carried off to be healed of his wounds in fairyland and that he would reappear to avenge his countrymen and reinstate them in the sovereignty of Britain in Wharton's Ode a bard relates to King Henry the traditional story of Arthur's death and closes with these lines yet in vain a pay him foe armed with fate the mighty blow for when he fell the elfin queen all in secret and unseen or the fainting hero through her mantle of ambrosial blue and bade her spirits bare him far in Merlin's agate axelt car to her green aisles enameled steep far in the navel of the deep or his wounds she sprinkled dew from flowers that in Arabia grew there he reigns a mighty king thence to Britain shall return if right prophetic roles I learn born on victory spreading plume his ancient scepter to resume his nightly table to restore and brave the tournaments of your after this narration another bard came forward who recited a different story when Arthur bowed his haughty crest no princess veiled in azure vest snatched him by Merlin's powerful spell in groves of golden bliss to dwell but when he fell with winged speed his champions on a milk white steed from the battle's hurricane bore him to Joseph's towered fame in the fair veil of Avalon there with chanted orison and the long blaze of tapers clear the stolen fathers met the beer through the dim aisles in order dread of marshal woe the chief they led and deep in tuned in holy ground before the Alters solemn bound footnote Glastonbury Abbey said to be founded by Joseph of Arimathea in a spot anciently called the island or valley of Avalonia Tennyson in his palace of art alludes to the legend of Arthur's rescue by the fairy queen thus or mythic Uther's deeply wounded son in some fair space of sloping greens lay dozing in the veil of Avalon and watched by weeping queens in the footnote must not be concealed that the very existence of Arthur has been denied by some Milton says of him as to Arthur more renowned in songs and romance than in true stories who he was and whether ever any such reigned in Britain have been doubted here to for and may again with good reason modern critics however admit that there was a prince of this name and find proof of it in the mention of him in the writings of the Welsh Bards but the Arthur of romance according to Mr Owen a Welsh scholar and antiquarian is a mythological person Arthur he says is the great bear as the name literally implies Arctos Arcturus and perhaps this constellation being so near the pole and visibly describing a circle in a small space is the symbol of the famous round table King Arthur Constance king of Britain had three sons Moines Ambrosius otherwise called Uther and Pindragan Moines soon after his accession to the crown was vanquished by the Saxons in consequence of the treachery of his Cynishal and growing unpopular through misfortune he was killed by his subjects and the traitor chosen in his place Vortigaern was soon after defeated in a great battle by Uther and Pindragan the surviving brothers of Moines and Pindragan ascended the throne this prince had great confidence in the wisdom of Merlin and made him his chief advisor about this time a dreadful war arose between the Saxons and Britons Merlin obliged the royal brothers of Pindragan and Pindragan to take the responsibility to each other but predicted that one of them must fall in the first battle the Saxons were routed and Pindragan being slain was succeeded by Uther who now assumed in addition to his own name the Appalachian of Pindragan Merlin still continued a favorite counselor at the request of Uther these stones constitute the monument now called Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain Merlin next proceeded to Carlisle to prepare the round table at which he seated an assemblage of the great nobles of the country the companions admitted to this high order were bound by Oath to assist each other at the hazard of their own lives to attempt singly the most perilous adventures a life of monastic solitude to fly to arms at the first summons and never to retire from battle till they had defeated the enemy unless night intervened and separated the combatants soon after this institution the king invited all his barons to the celebration of a great festival which he proposed holding annually at Carlisle as the knights had obtained the sovereign's permission to bring the beautiful Igerne accompanied her husband Gorlois Duke of Tintado to one of these anniversaries the king became deeply enamored of the Duchess and disclosed his passion but Igerne repelled his advances and revealed his solicitations to her husband on hearing this the Duke instantly removed from court with Igerne and without taking leave of Uther the king complained to his council of this want of duty and they decided that the Duke should be summoned to court and if refractory should be treated as a rebel as he refused to obey the citation the king carried war into the estates of his vassal and besieged him in the strong castle of Tintado Merlin transformed the king into the likeness of Gorlois and enabled him to have many stolen interviews with Igerne Duke was killed in battle and the king espoused Igerne from this union sprang Arthur who succeeded his father Uther upon the throne Arthur chosen king Arthur though only 15 years old at his father's death was elected king at a general meeting of the nobles it was not done without opposition for there were many ambitious competitors for while he lingered there a doubt that ever in the hearts of those great lords and barons of his realm flashed forth and into war for most of these made head against him crying who is he that he should rule us who hath proven him king Uther's son for lo we look at him and find nor face nor bearing limbs nor voice are like to those of Uther whom we knew coming of Arthur but Bishop Bryce a person of great sanctity on Christmas Eve addressed the assembly and represented that it would well become them at that solemn season to put up their prayers for some token which should manifest the intentions of providence respecting their future sovereign this was done and with such success that the service was scarcely ended when a miraculous stone was discovered before the church door and in the stone was firmly fixed a sword with the following words engraven on its hill I am height escalabore unto a king fair tresore Bishop Bryce after exhorting the assembly to offer up their thanksgiving for this signal miracle proposed a law that whoever should be able to draw out the sword from the stone should be acknowledged as sovereign of the Britons and his proposal was decreed by general acclamation the tributary kings of Uther and the most famous knights successively put their strength to the proof but the miraculous sword resisted all their efforts it stood till candle mass it stood till Easter and till pentecost when the best knights in the kingdom usually assembled for the annual tournament Arthur who was at that time serving in the capacity of squire to his foster brother Sir Kay attended his master to the lists Sir Kay fought with great valor and success but had the misfortune to break his sword and sent Arthur to his mother for a new one Arthur hastened home but did not find the lady but having observed near the church a sword sticking in a stone he galloped to the place drew out the sword with great ease and delivered it to his master Sir Kay would willingly have assumed to himself the distinction conferred by the possession of the sword when to confirm the doubters the sword was replaced in the stone he was utterly unable to withdraw it and it would yield a second time to no hand but Arthur's thus decisively pointed out by heaven as their king Arthur was by general consent proclaimed as such and an early day appointed for his solemn coronation immediately after his election to the crown Arthur found himself opposed by eleven kings and one Duke who with a vast army were actually encamped in the forest of Rockingham by Merlin's advice Arthur sent an embassy to Brittany to solicit the aid of King Van and King Bort two of the best knights in the world they accepted the call and with a powerful army crossed the sea landing at Portsmouth where they were received with great rejoicing the rebel kings were still superior in numbers but Merlin by a powerful enchantment caused all their tents to fall down at once and in the confusion Arthur with his allies fell upon them and totally routed them after defeating the rebels Arthur took the field against the Saxons as they were too strong for him unaided he sent an embassy to Armorica beseeching the assistance of Hoyle who soon after brought over an army the two kings joined their forces and sought the enemy whom they met and both sides prepared for a decisive engagement Arthur himself as Joffrey from Monmouth relates dressed in a breastplate worthy of so great a king places on his head a golden helmet engraved with the semblance of a dragon over his shoulders he throws his shield called Prewin on which a picture of the Holy Virgin constantly appeared to his memory Gert with Caliburn a most excellent sword and fabricated in the Isle of Avalon he graces his right hand with the lance named Ron this was a long and broad spear well contrived for slaughter after a severe conflict Arthur calling on the name of the Virgin rushes into the midst of his enemies and destroys multitudes of them with the formidable Caliburn Hoel being detained by sickness took no part in this battle this is called the victory of Mount Badden and however disguised by Fable it is regarded by historians as a real event the feats performed by Arthur at the battle of Badden Mount are thus celebrated in Drayton's verse they sung how he himself at Badden bore that day when at the glorious goal his British scepter lay two days together how the battle strongly stood Pendragon's worthy son who waited there in blood three hundred Saxons slew with his own valiant hand song four Guinevere Merlin had planned for Arthur a marriage with the daughter of King Laudigan of Carmelide by his advice Arthur paid a visit to the court of that sovereign attended only by Merlin and by thirty-nine nights whom the magician had selected for that service on their arrival they found Laudigan and his peers sitting in council endeavoring but with small prospect of success to devise means of resisting the impending attack of Reince King of Ireland who with fifteen tributary kings and an almost innumerable army had nearly surrounded the city Merlin who acted as leader of the band of British knights and announced them as strangers who came to offer the king their service in his wars but under the express condition that they should be at liberty to conceal their names and quality until they should think proper to divulge them these terms were thought very strange but were thankfully accepted and the strangers after taking the usual oath to the king retired to the lodging which Merlin had prepared for them thus the enemy regardless of a truce into which they had entered with King Laudigan suddenly issued from their camp and made an attempt to surprise the city Cleodalis the king's general assembled the royal forces with all possible dispatch Arthur and his companions also flew to arms and Merlin appeared at their head bearing a standard on which was emblazoned a terrific dragon Merlin advanced to the gate which the porter refused to do without the king's order Merlin thereupon took up the gate with all its appurtenances of locks, bars, bolts, etc and directed his troops to pass through after which he replaced it in perfect order then he set spurs to his horse and dashed at the head of his little troop into a body of 2,000 pagans the disparity of numbers being so enormous Merlin cast a spell upon the enemy so as to prevent their seeing the small number of their assailants not withstanding which the British knights were hard press but the people of the city who saw from the walls this unequal contest were ashamed of leaving the small body of strangers to their fate so they opened the gate and sallied forth the numbers were now more nearly equal and Merlin revoked his spell so that the two armies encountered some fair terms where Arthur, Ban, Bohort and the rest fought the king's army had the advantage but in another part of the field the king himself was surrounded and carried off by the enemy the sad sight was seen by Gwynevere the fair daughter of the king who stood on the city wall and looked at the battle she was in dreadful distress tore her hair and swooned away but Merlin aware of what passed in every part of the field suddenly collected his knights led them out of the battle intercepted the passage of the party who were carrying away the king charged them with irresistible impetuousity cutting pieces or dispersed the whole escort and rescued the king in the fight Arthur encountered Kaulang a giant 15 feet high and the fair Gwynevere who had already begun to feel a strong interest in the handsome young stranger trembled for the issue of the contest but Arthur dealing a dreadful blow on the shoulder of the monster cut through his neck so that his head hung over on one side and in this condition his horse carried him about the field to the great horror and dismay of the pagans Gwynevere could not refrain from expressing aloud her wish that the gentle knight who dealt with giants so dexterously were destined to become her husband and the wish was echoed by her attendance the enemy soon turned their backs and fled with precipitation closely pursued by Lodigan and his allies after the battle Arthur was disarmed and conducted to the bath by the princess Gwynevere while his friends were attended by the other ladies of the court after the bath the knights were conducted to a magnificent entertainment at which they were diligently served by the same fair attendants Lodigan more and more anxious to know the name and quality of his generous deliverers and occasionally forming a secret wish that the chief of his guests might be captivated by the charms of his daughter appeared silent and pensive and was scarcely roused from his reverie by the banters of his courtiers Arthur having had an opportunity of explaining to Gwynevere his great esteem for her merit was in favor of his heart and was still further delighted by hearing from Merlin the late exploits of Gawain at London by means of which his immediate return to his dominions was rendered unnecessary and he was left at liberty to protract his stay at the court of Lodigan every day contributed to increase the admiration of the whole court for the gallant strangers and the passion of Gwynevere for their chief last Merlin announced to the king that the object of the visit of the party was to procure a bride for their leader Lodigan at once presented Gwynevere to Arthur telling him that whatever might be his rank his merit was sufficient to entitle him to the possession of the heiress of Carmelide and could he find a woman in her womanhood as great as he was in his manhood the twain together might change there Arthur accepted the lady with the utmost gratitude and Merlin then proceeded to satisfy the king of the rank of his son-in-law upon which Lodigan with all his barons hastened to do homage to their lawful sovereign the successor of Uther Pendragon the fair Gwynevere was then solemnly betrothed to Arthur and a magnificent festival was proclaimed which lasted for at the end of that time the enemy appearing again with renewed force it became necessary to resume military operations footnote Gwynevere the name of Arthur's Queen also written Ginevere and Genura is familiar to all who are conversant with the chivalric lore it is to her adventures and those of her true knight Sir Lancelot that Dante alludes in the beautiful episode of end of footnote we must now relate what took place at and near London while Arthur was absent from his capital at this very time a band of young heroes were on their way to Arthur's court for the purpose of receiving knighthood from him they were Gwyne and his three brothers nephews of Arthur sons of King Lott and Galakene another nephew son of King Nantes King Lott had been one of the rebel chiefs whom Arthur had defeated but he now hoped by means of young men to be reconciled to his brother-in-law he equipped his sons and his nephew with the utmost magnificence giving them a splendid retinue of young men sons of earls and barons all mounted on the best horses with complete suits of choice armor they numbered in all seven hundred but only nine had yet received the order of knighthood the rest were candidates for that honour and anxious to earn it by an early encounter with the enemy Gwyne the leader was a knight of wonderful strength but what was most remarkable about him was that his strength was greater at certain hours of the day than at others from nine o'clock till noon his strength was doubled and so it was from three to even song for the rest of the time was less remarkable though at all times surpassing that of ordinary men after a march of three days they arrived in the vicinity of London where they expected to find Arthur and his court and very unexpectedly fell in with a large convoy belonging to the enemy consisting of numerous carts and wagons all loaded with provisions and escorted by three thousand men who had been collecting spoil from all every round a single charge from Gwyne's impetuous cavalry was sufficient to disperse the escort and recover the convoy which was instantly dispatched to London but before long a body of seven thousand fresh soldiers advanced to the attack of the five princes and their little army Gwyne singling out a chief named Kaos of gigantic size began the battle by splitting him from the crown to the breast Gala King encountered King Sanagran who was also very huge and cut off his head Agravain and Gaharit also performed prodigies of valor thus they kept the great army of assailants at bay though hard pressed till of a sudden they perceived a strong body of the citizens advancing from London where the convoy which had been recovered by Gwyne had arrived and informed the mayor and the citizens of the danger of their deliverer the arrival of the Londoners soon decided the contest the enemy fled in all directions and Gwane and his friends escorted by the grateful citizens entered London and were received with acclamations End of Chapter 4 Recording by B.G. Oxford Oxford, January 2009