Handbook of Universal Literature, From the Best and Latest Authorities

by Anne C. Lynch Botta

A series of fictions called the "Gesta Romanorum" attained great celebrity. It is composed of fables, traditions, and familiar pictures of society, varying with the different countries it passed through. The romance of Apollonius, in the Gesta, furnished the plot of two or three of Chaucer's tales, and of Gower's most celebrated poem, which again gave the ground-work of Pericles, Prince of Tyre. The Merchant of Venice, the Three Black Crows, and Parnell's Hermit, are indebted also to the Gesta Romanorum.

4. LITERATURE IN NORMAN-FRENCH.—From the preference of the Norman kings of England for the poets of their own country, the distinguished literary names of the first two centuries after the Conquest are those of Norman poets. One of the chief of these is Wace (fl. 1160), who composed in French his "Brut d'Angleterre" (Brutus of England), the mythical son of Aeneas and founder of Britain. The Britons settled in Cornwall, Wales, and Bretagne had long been distinguished for their traditionary legends, which were at length collected by Geoffrey of Monmouth (fl. 1138), and gravely related by him in Latin as serious history. This production, composed of incredible stories, furnished the ground-work for Wace's poem, and proved an unfailing resource for writers of romantic narration for two centuries; at a later period Shakspeare drew from it the story of Lear; Sackville that of Ferrex and Porrex; Drayton reproduced it in his Poly-Olbion, and Milton and other poets frequently draw allusions from it. The Romances of chivalry, drawn from the same source, were composed for the English court and nobles, and the translation of them was the most frequent use to which the infant English was applied. They imprinted on English poetry characteristics which it did not lose for centuries, if it can be said to have lost them at all.

A poetess known as Marie of France made copious use of British materials, and addressed herself to a king, supposed to have been Henry VI. Her twelve lays, which celebrate the marvels of the Round Table, are among the most beautiful relics of the Middle Ages, and were freely used by Chaucer and other English poets.

The romances are, many of them, in parts at least, delightfully imaginative, spirited, or pathetic, and their history is important as illustrating mediaeval manners and customs, and for their connection with early English literature. Among the oldest of these romances is "Havelok," relating to the early Norse settlement in England, the "Gest of King Horn," and "Guy of Warwick."

But of all the French romances, the most interesting by far are those that celebrate the glory and fall of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The order in which they were composed seems to have been the same with that of the events narrated.

First comes the romance of "The Saint Graal," relating the history of this sacred relic which was carried by Joseph of Arimathea or his descendants into Britain, where it vanished for ages from the eyes of sinful men.

Second, the romance of "Merlin," which derives its name from the fiend- born prophet and magician, celebrates the birth and exploits of Arthur, and the gathering round him of the Knights of the Round Table. The historic origin of this story is from Geoffrey of Monmouth, though it is disguised by its supernatural and chivalrous features.

In the third romance, that of Launcelot, the hero nurtured by the Lady of the Lake in her fairy realm beneath the waters, grows up the bravest champion of chivalry, admired for all its virtues, although guilty of treachery to Arthur, and from his guilt is to ensue the destruction of the land.

Fourth, the "Quest of the Saint Graal" relates the solitary wanderings of the knights in this search, and how the adventure is at last achieved by Sir Gallahad, who, while the vision passes before him, prays that he may no longer live, and is immediately taken away from a world of calamity and sin.

Fifth, "The Mort Artus," or Death of Arthur, winds up with supernatural horrors the tale into which the fall of the ancient Britons had been thus transformed. Arthur, wounded and dying, is carried by the fairy of the lake to the enchanted island of Avalon, there to dream away the ages that must elapse before his return to reign over the perfected world of chivalry.