[10] “During his last days verses of his own English tongue broke from time to time from the master’s lip—rude runes that told how before the ‘need-fare,’ Death’s stern ‘must go,’ none can enough bethink him what is to be his doom for good or ill. The tears of Beda’s scholars mingled with his song. So the days rolled on to Ascension tide,” etc.
[11] It is of record in Matthew of Westminster, a Benedictine monk of the fourteenth century—Flores Historiarum—first printed in 1567. “Nuda equum ascendens, crines capitis et tricas dissolvens, corpus suum totum, prater crura candidissima inde velavit.” The tradition is subject of crude mention in the Poly-olbion of Drayton; I also refer the reader to the charming Leofric and Godiva of Landor.
[12] Harold: the Last of the Saxon Kings; first published in 1848 and dedicated to the Hon. C. T. D’Eyncourt, M.P., whose valuable library—says Bulwer—supplied much of the material needed for the prosecution of the work.
[13] Geoffrey of Monmouth (Bishop of St. Asaph), d. 1154. His Cronicon, sive Historia Britonum first printed in 1508: translated into Eng., 1718. Vid. Wright’s Essays Arch. Sub., 1861.
[14] Such exception as the name warrants, must be made in favor of Nennius, § 50, A.D. 452.
[15] Other important Arthurian localities belong to the north and west of England; and whoso is curious in such matters, will read with interest Mr. Stuart Glennie’s ingenious argument to prove that Scotland was the great cradle of Arthurian Romance. Early English Text Society, Part iii., 1869.
[16] The fable is Scandinavian. The Anglo-Saxon version, dating probably from the seventh century, makes it a very important way-mark in the linguistic history of England. Eng. editions are numerous: among them—those of Kemble, 1833-7: Thorpe, 1855 and 1875: Arnold, 1876: also (Am. ed.) Harrison, 1883: Translations accompany the three first named: a more recent one has appeared (1883) by Dr. Garnett of Md.
[17] Walter Map, or Mapes, was born on the borders of Wales about 1143, and was living as Archdeacon at Oxford as late as 1196: possibly this was the Walter who supplied material to Geoffrey of Monmouth; there was however another Walter (Calienus) who was also Archdeacon at Oxford.
[18] Layamon’s work supposed to date (there being only internal evidence of its epoch) in the first decade of the thirteenth century. Vid. Marsh: English Language and Early Literature. Lecture IV. An edition, with translation, was published by Sir Frederic Madden in 1857.
[19] Among other direct Arthurian growths may be noted Morris’s Defence of Guinevere; Arnold’s Tristram and Issult; Quinet’s Merlin, Wagner’s Operatic Poems, and Smith’s Edwin of Deira.