Part 9 (2/2)
”In the thyrdde korner, with gret honour, Was Florys and dame Blawncheflour, As love was hem betwene, For they loved wyth honour, Purtrayed they wer with trewe-love-flower, With stones bryght and shene.
Ther wer knyghtes and senatowres, Emerawdes of gret vertues, To wyte withouten wene, Deamondes and koralle, Perydotes and crystall, And G.o.de garnettes bytwene.
”In the fowrthe korner was oon Of Babylone the sowdan sonne, The amerayle's dowghter hym by, For hys sake the cloth was wrowght, She loved hym in hert and thowght, As testy-moyeth thys storye.
The fayr mayden her byforn Was purtrayed an unykorn, With hys horn so hye, Flowres and bryddes on ylke a syde, Wyth stones that wer sowght wyde, Stuffed wyth ymagerye.
”When the cloth to ende was wrought, To the sowdan sone hit was browght, That semely was of syghte: 'My fadyr was a n.o.byll man, Of the sowdan he hit wan, Wyth maystrye and myghth; For gret love he yaf hyt me, I brynge hit the in specyalte, Thys cloth ys rychely dyght.'
He yaf hit the Emperour, He receyved hit wyth gret honour, And thonkede hym fayr and ryght.”
We must not dismiss this subject without recording a species of mantle much celebrated in romance, and which must have tried the skill and patience of the fair votaries of the needle to the uttermost. We all have seen, perhaps we have some of us been foolish enough to manufacture, initials with hair, as tokens or souvenirs, or some other such fooleries. In our mothers' and grandmothers' days, when ”fine marking” was the _sine qua non_ of a good education, whole sets of linen were thus elaborately marked; and often have we marvelled when these tokens of grandmotherly skill and industry were displayed to our wondering and aching eyes. What then should we have thought of King Ryence's mantle, of rich scarlet, bordered round with the beards of kings, sewed thereon full craftily by accomplished female hands. Thus runs the anecdote in the 'Morte Arthur:'--
”Came a messenger hastely from King Ryence, of North Wales, saying, that King Ryence had discomfited and overcomen eleaven kings, and everiche of them did him homage, and that was thus: they gave him their beards cleane flayne off,--wherefore the messenger came for King Arthur's beard, for King Ryence had purfeled a mantell with king's beards, and there lacked for one a place of the mantell, wherefore he sent for his beard, or else he would enter into his lands, and brenn and slay, and never leave till he have thy head and thy beard. 'Well,'
said King Arther, 'thou hast said thy message, which is the most villainous and lewdest message that ever man heard sent to a king.
Also thou mayest see my beard is full young yet for to make a purfell of; but tell thou the king that--or it be long--he shall do to _me_ homage on both his knees, or else he shall leese his head.'”
In Queen Elizabeth's day, when they were beginning to skim the cream of the ponderous tomes of former times into those elaborate ditties from which the more modern ballad takes its rise, this incident was put into rhyme, and was sung before her majesty at the grand entertainment at Kenilworth Castle, 1575, thus:--
”As it fell out on a Pentecost day, King Arthur at Camelot kept his Court royall, With his faire queene dame Guenever the gay, And many bold barons sitting in hall; With ladies attired in purple and pall; And heraults in hewkes,[57] hooting on high, Cryed, _Largesse, largesse, Chevaliers tres hardie_.
”A doughty dwarfe to the uppermost deas Right pertlye gan p.r.i.c.ke, kneeling on knee; With steven[58] fulle stoute amids all the preas, Sayd, Nowe sir King Arthur, G.o.d save thee, and see!
Sir Ryence of Northgales greeteth well thee, And bids thee thy beard anon to him send, Or else from thy jaws he will it off rend.
”For his robe of state is a rich scarlet mantle, With eleven kings beards bordered about, And there is room lefte yet in a kantle,[59]
For thine to stande, to make the twelfth out: This must be done, be thou never so stout; This must be done, I tell thee no fable, Maugre the teethe of all thy rounde table.
”When this mortal message from his mouthe past, Great was the noyse bothe in hall and in bower, The king fum'd; the queen screecht; ladies were aghast; Princes puff'd; barons bl.u.s.tered; lords began lower; Knights stormed; squires startled, like steeds in a stower; Pages and yeomen yell'd out in the hall; Then in came Sir Kay, the king's seneschal.
”Silence, my soveraignes, quoth this courteous knight, And in that stound the stowre began still: Then the dwarfe's dinner full deerely was dight; Of wine and wa.s.sel he had his wille: And when he had eaten and drunken his fill, An hundred pieces of fine coyned gold Were given this dwarfe for his message bold.
”But say to Sir Ryence, thou dwarfe, quoth the king, That for his bold message I do him defye; And shortly with basins and pans will him ring Out of North Gales; where he and I With swords, and not razors, quickly shall trye Whether he or King Arthur will prove the best barbor: And therewith he shook his good sword Excalabor.”
Drayton thus alludes to the same circ.u.mstance:--
”Then told they, how himselfe great Arthur did advance, To meet (with his Allies) that puissant force in France, By Lucius thither led; those Armies that while ere Affrighted all the world, by him strooke dead with feare: Th' report of his great Acts that over Europe ran, In that most famous field he with the Emperor wan: As how great Rython's selfe hee slew in his repaire, Who ravisht Howell's Neece, young Helena the faire; And for a trophy brought the Giant's coat away, Made of the beards of kings.”[60]----
And Spenser is too uncourteous in his adoption of the incident; for he not only levels tolls on the gentlemen's beards, but even on the flowing and golden locks of the gentle s.e.x:--
”Not farre from hence, upon yond rocky hill, Hard by a streight there stands a castle strong, Which doth observe a custom lewd and ill, And it hath long mayntaind with mighty wrong: For may no knight nor lady pa.s.se along That way, (and yet they needs must pa.s.se that way, By reason of the streight, and rocks among,) But they that Ladies locks doe shave away, And that knight's berd for toll, which they for pa.s.sage pay.
”A shamefull use, as ever I did heare, Said Calidore, and to be overthrowne.
But by what means did they at first it reare, And for what cause, tell, if thou have it knowne.
Sayd then that Squire: The Lady which doth owne This Castle is by name Briana hight; Then which a prouder Lady liveth none; She long time hath deare lov'd a doughty knight, And sought to win his love by all the meanes she might.
”His name is Crudor, who through high disdaine And proud despight of his selfe-pleasing mynd, Refused hath to yeeld her love againe, Untill a Mantle she for him doe fynd, With beards of knights and locks of Ladies lynd, Which to provide, she hath this Castle dight, And therein hath a Seneschall a.s.synd, Cald Maleffort, a man of mickle might, Who executes her wicked will, with worse despight.”[61]
”To pluck the beard” of another has ever been held the highest possible sign of scorn and contumely; but it was certainly a refinement on the matter, for which we are indebted to the Morte Arthur, or rather probably, according to Bishop Percy, to Geoffrey of Monmouth's history originally, for the unique and ornamental purpose to which these despoiled locks were applied. So particularly anxious was Charlemagne to shew this despite to an enemy that, as we read in Huon de Bordeaux, he despatched no less than fifteen successive messengers from France to Babylon to pull the beard of Admiral Gaudisse. And this, by no means pleasant operation, was to be accompanied by one even still less inviting.
”Alors le duc Naymes, & tres tous les Barons, s'en retournerent au palais avec le Roy, lequel s'a.s.sist sur un banc dore de fin or, & les Barons tous autour de luy. Si commanda qu'on luy amenast Huon, lequel il vint, et se mist a genoux devant le roy, ou luy priant moult humblement que pitie & mercy voulsist avoir de luy. Alors le roy le voyant en sa presence luy dist: Huon puisque vers moy veux estre accorde, si convient que faciez ce que je vous or donneray. Sire, ce dist Huon, pour obeir a vous, il n'est aujourd'huy chose en ce monde mortel, que corps humain puisse porter, que hardiment n'osa.s.se entreprendre, ne ia pour peur de mort ne le laisseray a faire, & fust a aller jusques a l'arbre sec, voire jusques aux portaux d'enfer combattre aux infernaux, comme fist le fort Hercule: avant qu'a vous ne fusse accorde. Huon, ce dist Charles, je cuide qu'en pire lieu vous envoyeray, car, de quinze messages qui de par moy y ont este envoyez, n'en est par revenu un seul homme. Si te diray ou tu iras, puis que tu veux qui de toy aye mercy, m'a volonte est, qu'il te convient aller en la cite de Babylonne, par devers diray, & gardes que sur ta vie ne face faute, quand la seras venu tu monteras en son palais, la ou tu attendras l'heure de son disner & que tu le verras a.s.sis a table. Si convient que tu sois arme de toutes armes, l'espee nue au poing, par tel si que le premier & le plus grand baron que tu verras manger a sa table tu luy trencheras le chef quel qu'il soit, soit Roy, ou Admiral.
Et apres ce te convient tant faire que la belle Esclarmonde fille a l'Amiral Gaudisse tu fiances, & la baises trois fois en la presence de son pere, & de tous sous qui la seront presens, car je veux que tu scaches que c'est la plus belle pucelle qu'aujourd'huy soit en vie, puis apres diras de par moy a l'Admiral qu'il m'envoye mille espreuiers, mille ours, mille viautres, tous enchainez, & mille jeune valets, & mille des plus belles pucelles de son royaume, & avecques ce, convient _que tu me rapportes une poignee de sa barbe, et quatre de ses dents machoires_. Ha! Sire, dirent les Barons, bien desirez sa mort, quant de tel message faire luy enchargez, vous dites la verite ce dit le Roy, car si tant ne fait que j'aye la barbe & les dents machoires sans aucune tromperie ne mensonge, jamais ne retourne en France, ne devant moi ne se monstre. Car je le ferois pendre & trainer. Sire, ce dit Huon, m'avez vous dit & racompte tout ce que voulez que je face. Oui dist le Roy Charles ma volonte est telle, si vers moy veux avoir paix. Sire ce dit Huon, au plaisir de nostre Seigneur, je feray & fourniray vostre message.”
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