Of Guy, the bold baron of price,
And of the fair maid Felice,’
we will conclude our evening with some account of its applications, as intended by the monk. Sir Guido was symbolical of our Saviour, Felicia of the soul, and Tyrius of man in general. By the weasel was meant the prophets, and especially the Baptist, as prophesying the coming of the Saviour. The mountain is the world, the dead dragon the old law of Moses, and the gold within it the Ten Commandments. The sword represented authority, the seven deadly sins were symbolized in the sons of Plebeus, and the good fisherman was the representative of the Holy Spirit.”
“There remains one character yet unexplained—the king’s daughter,” remarked Herbert.
“The explanation of her duties is peculiar to the religion of the age in which the tale was written; the Roman Catholic easily recognized in the king’s daughter the Virgin Mary.”
“Come, Herbert, we are over our time; to work; goodnight.”
CHAPTER IX.
Illustrations of Early Manners—Sorcery—The Knight and the Necromancer—Waxen Figures—Degeneracy of Witches—The Clerk and the Image—Gerbert and Natural Magic—Elfin Chivalry—The Demon Knight of the Vandal Camp—Scott’s Marmion—Assumption of Human Forms by Spirits—The Seductions of the Evil One—Religious Origin of Charges of Witchcraft.