"In Tyberius Tyme. the Trewe emperour
Syr Sesar hymself. beSted in Rome
Whyll Pylat was Provoste. under that Prynce ryche
And Jewes Justice also. of Judeas londe
Herode under empere. as Herytage wolde
Kyng, &c."
The other is intitled Chevalere Assigne (or De Cigne), that is, The Knight of the Swan, being an ancient Romance, beginning thus:
"All-Weldynge God. Whene it is his Wylle
Wele he Wereth his Werke. With his owene honde
For ofte Harmes were Hente. that Helpe we ne myȝte
Nere the Hyȝnes of Hym. that lengeth in Hevene
For this, &c."
Among Mr. Garrick's collection of old plays[892] is a prose narrative of the adventures of this same Knight of the Swan, "newly translated out of Frenshe into Englyshe, at thinstigacion of the puyssaunt and illustryous prynce, lorde Edward duke of Buckynghame." This lord it seems had a peculiar interest in the book, for, in the preface, the translator tells us, that this "highe dygne and illustryous prynce my lorde Edwarde by the grace of god Duke of Buckyngham, erle of Hereforde, Stafforde, and Northampton, desyrynge cotydyally to encrease and augment the name and fame of such as were relucent in vertuous feates and triumphaunt actes of chyvalry, and to encourage and styre every lusty and gentell herte by the exemplyficacyon of the same, havyng a goodli booke of the highe and miraculous histori of a famous and puyssaunt kynge, named Oryant, sometime reynynge in the parties of beyonde the sea, havynge to his wife a noble lady; of whome she conceyved sixe sonnes and a daughter, and chylded of them at one only time; at whose byrthe echone of them had a chayne of sylver at their neckes, the whiche were all tourned by the provydence of god into whyte swannes, save one, of the whiche this present hystory is compyled, named Helyas, the knight of the swanne, of whome linially is dyscended my sayde lorde. The whiche ententifly to have the sayde hystory more amply and unyversally knowen in thys hys natif countrie, as it is in other, hath of hys hie bountie by some of his faithful and trusti servauntes cohorted mi mayster Wynkin de Worde[893] to put the said vertuous hystori in prynte ... at whose instigacion and stiring I (Roberte Copland) have me applied, moiening the helpe of god, to reduce and translate it into our maternal and vulgare english tonge after the capacitè and rudenesse of my weke entendement." A curious picture of the times! While in Italy literature and the fine arts were ready to burst forth with classical splendor under Leo X. the first peer of this realm was proud to derive his pedigree from a fabulous knight of the swan[894]!
To return to the metre of Pierce Plowman: In the folio MS. so often quoted in these volumes, are two poems written in that species of versification. One of these is an ancient allegorical poem intitled Death and Life, (in 2 fitts or parts, containing 458 distichs) which, for ought that appears, may have been written as early, if not before, the time of Langland. The first forty lines are broke as they should be into distichs, a distinction that is neglected in the remaining part of the transcript, in order, I suppose, to save room. It begins:
"Christ Christen king,
that on the Crosse tholed;
Hadd Paines and Passyons
to defend our soules;
Give us Grace on the Ground
the Greatlye to serve,
For that Royall Red blood
that Rann from thy side."
The subject of this piece is a vision, wherein the poet sees a contest for superiority between "our lady Dame Life," and the "ugly fiend Dame Death;" who with their several attributes and concomitants are personified in a fine vein of allegoric painting. Part of the description of Dame Life is:
"Shee was Brighter of her Blee,
then was the Bright sonn:
Her Rudd Redder then the Rose,
that on the Rise hangeth:
Meekely smiling with her Mouth,
And Merry in her lookes;
Ever Laughing for Love,
as shee Like would.
And as shee came by the Bankes,
the Boughes eche one
They Lowted to that Ladye,
and Layd forth their branches;
Blossomes, and Burgens
Breathed full sweete;
Flowers Flourished in the Frith,
where shee Forth stepped;
And the Grasse, that was Gray,
Greened belive."
Death is afterwards sketched out with a no less bold and original pencil.