A Literary History of the English People Part 37

[519]

What me is wo That day of us mot make desseveraunce!

(Book iii. st. 203, 204.)

[520] Book iv. st. 98 ff.

[521]

Yet preye I yow on yvel ye ne take, That it is short which that I to yow wryte; I dar not, ther I am, wel lettres make, Ne never yet ne coude I wel endyte.

Eek greet effect men wryte in place lyte.

Thentente is al, and nought the lettres s.p.a.ce And fareth now wel, G.o.d have you in his grace.

La vostre C.

Book v. st. 233. Troilus had written at great length, of course, "the papyr al y-pleynted." St. 229.

[522] Book v. st. 263.

[523] Pierre de Beauveau's translation of the pa.s.sage (in Moland and d'Hericault, "Nouvelles francoises en prose, du XIVe Siecle," 1858, p.

303) does not differ much from the original. Here is the Italian text:

Giovane donna e mobile, e vogliosa e negli amanti molti, e sua bellezza Estima piu ch'allo specchio, e pomposa Ha vanagloria di sua giovinezza; La qual quanto piaccevole e vezzosa e piu, cotanto piu seco l'apprezza; Virtu non sente ni conoscimento, Volubil sempre come foglia al vento.

("Opere Volgari," Florence, 1831, vol. xiii. p. 253.)

[524] "Return of the names of every member [of Parliament]," 1878, fol.

a Blue Book, p. 229.

[525] "Hous of Fame," l. 1189.

[526] "Complete Works," ed. Skeat, Oxford, 1894, 6 vols. 8vo, vol. iv.

[527] The "Tabard," a sleeveless overcoat, then in general use, was, like the "Bell," a frequent sign for inns. The Tabard Inn, famous in Chaucer's day, was situated in the Southwark High Street; often repaired and restored, rebaptised the "Talbot," it lasted till our century.

[528] Beginning of the "Shipmannes Tale."

[529] "Vie de Marianne," Paris, 1731-41.

[530] Book i. chap. 81, Luce's edition.

[531] The canonisation took place shortly after the death of the archbishop, 1170-73. There is nothing left to-day but an old marble mosaic, greatly restored, to indicate the place in the choir where the shrine used to be.

[532] A map of the road from London to Canterbury, drawn in the seventeenth century, but showing the line of the old highway, has been reproduced by Dr. Furnivall in his "Supplementary Canterbury Tales--I.

The Tale of Beryn," Chaucer Society, 1876, 8vo.

[533] "E forse a queste cose scrivere, quantunque sieno umilissime, si sono elle venute parecchi volte a starsi meco." Prologue of "Giornata Quarta."

[534] "Pardoner's Tale," ll. 904, 920, 931.

[535] The setting of the tales into their proper order is due to Bradshaw and Furnivall; see Furnivall's "Temporary Preface" for the "Six-text edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales," Chaucer Society, 1868.

The order, subject, and originals of the tales are follows:--

_1st Day._ London to Dartford, 15 miles.--Tale of the Knight, history of Palamon and Arcyte, derived from Boccaccio's "Teseide."--Tale of the Miller: story of Absolon, Nicholas and Alisoun the carpenter's wife, source unknown.--Reeve's tale, imitated from the French fabliau of Gombert and the two clerks (above, p. 155); same tale in Boccaccio, ix.

6, from whom La Fontaine took it: "le Berceau."--Cook's tale, unfinished; the tale of Gamelyn attributed by some MSS. to the Cook seems to be simply an old story which Chaucer intended to remodel; it would suit the Yeoman better than the Cook (in "Complete Works," as an appendix to vol. iv.).

_2nd Day._ Stopping at Rochester, 30 miles.--Tale of the Man of Law: history of the pious Constance, from the French of Trivet, an Englishman who wrote also Latin chronicles, &c., same story in Gower, who wrote it ab. 1393.--Shipman's tale: story of a merchant of St. Denys, his wife, and a wicked monk, from some French fabliau, or from "Decameron," viii.

1.--Tale of the Prioress: a child killed by Jews, from the French of Gautier de Coinci.--Tales by Chaucer: Sir Thopas, a caricature of the romances of chivalry; story of Melibeus, from a French version of the "Liber consolationis et consilii" of Albertano of Brescia, thirteenth century.--Monk's tale: "tragedies" of Lucifer, Adam, Sampson, Hercules, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Zen.o.bia, Pedro the Cruel, Pierre de Lusignan king of Cyprus, Barnabo Visconti (d. 1385), Hugolino, Nero, Holofernes, Antiochus, Alexander, Caesar, Croesus; from Boccaccio, Machault, Dante, the ancients, &c.--Tale of the Nun's Priest: Story of Chauntecleer, same story in "Roman de Renart" and in Marie de France.

_3rd Day._ Rest at Ospringe, 46 miles.--Tale of the Physician: Appius and Virginia, from t.i.tus Livius and the "Roman de la Rose;" same story in Gower.--Pardoner's tale: three young men find a treasure, quarrel over it and kill each other, an old legend, of which, however, we have no earlier version than the one in the "Cento Novelle antiche," nov.

82.--Tale of the Wife of Bath: story of the young knight saved by an old sorceress, whom he marries and who recovers her youth and beauty; the first original of this old legend is not known; same story in Gower (Story of Florent), and in Voltaire: "Ce qui plait aux Dames."--Friar's tale: a summoner taken away by the devil, from one of the old collections of _exempla_.--Tale of the Summoner (somnour, sompnour): a friar ill-received by a moribund; a coa.r.s.e, popular story, a version of which is in "Til Ulespiegel."--Clerk of Oxford's tale: story of Griselda from Petrarch's Latin version of the last tale in the "Decameron."--Merchant's tale: old January beguiled by his wife May and by Damian; there are several versions of this story, one in the "Decameron," vii. 9, which was made use of by La Fontaine, ii. 7.

_4th Day._ Reach Canterbury, 56 miles.--Squire's tale: unfinished story of Cambinscan, king of Tartary; origin unknown, in part from the French romance of "Cleomades."--Franklin's tale: Aurelius tries to obtain Dorigen's love by magic; same story in Boccaccio's "Filocopo," and in the "Decameron," x. 5.--Tale of the second nun: story of St. Cecilia, from the Golden Legend.--Tale of the Canon's Yeoman: frauds of an alchemist (from Chaucer's personal experience?).--Manciple's tale: a crow tells Phoebus of the faithlessness of the woman he loves; from Ovid, to be found also in Gower.--Parson's tale, from the French "Somme des Vices et des Vertus" of Friar Lorens, 1279.

[536] "Complete Works," vol. iv. p. 538. The canon and his man join the pilgrims during the fourth day's journey. Contrary to Chaucer's use, such a keen animosity appears in this satire of alchemists that it seems as if the poet, then rather hard up, had had himself a grudge against such quacks.

[537] l. 1963. Compare the mendicant friar in Diderot, who drew him from nature, centuries later; it is the same sort of nature. Friar John "venait dans notre village demander des oeufs, de la laine, du chanvre, des fruits a chaque saison." Friar John "ne pa.s.sait pas dans les rues que les peres, les meres et les enfants n'alla.s.sent a lui et ne lui cria.s.sent: Bonjour, frere Jean, comment vous portez vous, frere Jean? Il est sur que quand il entrait dans une maison, la benediction du ciel y entrait avec lui." "Jacques le Fataliste et son Maitre," ed.

a.s.seline, p. 46.

[538] "Complete Works," vol. iv. p. 285; on Geoffrey de Vinesauf and Richard, see above, p. 180.

[539] See for example his description of a young lady gathering flowers at dawn in a garden, at the foot of a "dongeoun," Knight's Tale, l. 190, "Complete Works," iv. p. 31.

[540] But very popular, derived from the "Liber Consolationis" of Albertano of Brescia, written ab. 1246, ed. Thor Sundby, Chaucer Society, 1873. It was translated into French (several times), Italian, German, Dutch. French text in MS. Reg. 19, C vii. in the British Museum: "Uns jouvenceauls appele Melibee, puissant et riches ot une femme nomme Prudence, et de celle femme ot une fille. Advint un jour...." "A young man," says Chaucer, whose tale is also in prose, "called Melibeus, mighty and riche, bigat up-on his wyf that called was Prudence, a doghter which that called was Sophie. Upon a day befel...." (iv. 119).

[541] Unlike most of the tales, this one is written in stanzas, Chaucer's favourite seven-line stanza, rhyming _a b a b b c c_.

[542] It is to be found in the "Menagier de Paris," ab. 1393, the author of which declares that he will "traire un exemple qui fut ja pieca translate par maistre Francois Petrarc qui a Romme fut couronne poete"

("Menagier," 1846, vol. i. p. 99). The same story finds place in "Melibeus," MS. Reg. 19 C vii. in the British Museum, fol. 140. Another French translation was printed ab. 1470: "La Patience Griselidis Marquise de Saluces." Under Louis XIV., Perrault wrote a metrical version of the same story: "La Marquise de Saluces ou la patience de Griselidis," Paris, 1691, 12mo. A number of ballads in all countries were dedicated to Griselda; the popularity of an English one is shown by the fact of other ballads being "to the tune of Patient Grissel." One of Miss Edgeworth's novels has for its t.i.tle and subject: "The Modern Griselda."

[543] One in French was performed at Paris in 1395 ("Estoire de Griselidis ... par personnages," MS. Fr. 2203 in the National Library, Paris), and was printed at the Renaissance, by Bonfons, ab. 1550: "Le Mystere de Griselidis"; one in German was written by Hans Sachs in 1550.

In Italy it was the subject of an opera by Apostolo Zeno, 1620. In England, Henslowe, on the 15th of December, 1599, lends three pounds to Dekker, Chettle and Haughton for their "Pleasant comodie of Patient Grissil," printed in 1603, reprinted by the Shakespeare Society, 1841.

The English authors drew several hints from the French play, but theirs is the best written on the subject (parts of Julia, the witty sister of the Marquis, of Laureo, the poor student, brother of Griselda, as proud as she is humble, &c.).

[544] Lady Bradshaigh to Richardson, January 11, 1749. "Correspondence of Samuel Richardson," ed. Barbauld, London, 1804, 6 vols. 12mo, vol.

iv. p. 240.

[545] "Complete Works," vol. iv. p. 568.

[546]

Listeth, lordes, in good entent, And I wol telle verrayment Of mirthe and of solas, &c.

The caricature of the popular heroic stories of the day is extremely close (see below, p. 347).

[547] Tale of the Canon's Yeoman, l. 995.

[548]