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First Edition -
Second hdition -
Third Edition
Fourth Edition -
Fifth Edition
Sixth Edition
Seventh Edition -
October 1907
October 1914
September 1920
Avgutt 1925
July 1927
October 1 929
January 19-51
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WELLS GARDNER, DARTON AND CO., LTD.
D
OGGEREL RHYME" and "drasty [worthless]
speech" were the terms applied by a critic of
great common-sense to the tale which Chaucer, with
singular artistic perception, put into his own mouth
on the way to Canterbury. The Host of the Tabard
Inn heard the story of "Sir Topaz" with infinite im-
patience. He imagined, perhaps, that he was listening
to one of those " romarjeeg ,'of 1
: 4* .j
' <
" Of Horn child ar:c~< -of; Yj.\qtys,
Of Bevis an'd sir <3y,- '
Of Sir Libeux-' #4 'Pltfyn-xUnjour ;"
and that kind of rambling entertainment afforded him
neither mirth nor doctrine. He perceived nothing of
the cleft parody in Chaucer's flowing lines. He saw
vii
THE NEW YORK PUBLfC
CIRCULATION DtPARTMBNT
NATHAN STRAUS QRANCH 34g EAST 32nd
Introduction
only that tales of this sort wasted time and seldom
came to a point. He gave voice, in fact, to the criti-
cism which would be made alike by the plain man and
by the awakening poetic spirit of the Renaissance.
The criticism was perfectly true, from a literary
point of view. The older romances were for the
most part of small poetic merit, while their construc-
tion was often ill-balanced and digressive. There is
hardly one of the features dwelt upon by Chaucer
which cannot be paralleled in them. Sir Topaz was a
knight " fair and gent " ; so were Sir Guy, Sir Bevis,
and the rest of them. He came to a wood where was
"many a wild beast, both buck and hare": those
ferocious creatures pastured there, apparently, because
the poet had to fill up a line somehow, much as the
author of "Sir Bevis," anticipating "King Lear," was
forced to help out his metre with " rats and mice and
such small deer." Sir Topaz wore " a breech and
eke a shirt"; his face was as white as the finest
bread ; " he had a seemly nose " : in like manner
every detail of clothing, figure, and armour, relevant
or irrelevant, is dwelt on in the old romances. He
"pricked over S'.ile and stone," in his quest for the
elf-queen, with ea.se > rapidity, and an absence of
adventure; so too Amys journeys many days to seek
Amylion, without, . s'fe far ss the poet tells us, any
accident or any ordinary occurrence of daily life
except a feeling of great fatigue.
But if the romances are as a whole lacking both
in poetical feeling and in the deeper sort of humour,
they are usually very good as stories. Moreover, they
viii
Introduction
reflect unconsciously the modes of thought and life
in the Middle Ages. Those of which a prose version
is given in this volume are selected mainly for these
qualities. It is possible that some day the readers
of them will be induced to study the originals ; but
meanwhile this collection is offered as a story-book
which incidentally contains traces of what our fore-
fathers thought and did in the days before printing
was invented. The majority of the tales have not
been put into modern narrative prose before ; but
the present text (taken from English versions of the
romances, in every instance) is not wholly a literal
rendering, for the reasons which Harry Bailly adduced
against Chaucer's tale of Topaz; "drasty speech"
and " doggerel rhyme " make the reader's ears ache
before long.
They fall naturally into several classes. "Guy
of Warwick " is a typical romance of chivalry ; im-
mensely long, rather rambling in plot, and filled with
little traits which reflect the curious, recondite sim-
plicity of the mediasval mind. Considerations of space
prevented the inclusion of the very similar romance of
" Sir Bevis." " Sir Cleges and the Cherries," " Sir Gawain
and the Green Knight," and "The Fair Unknown"
(the title is a mere translation of " Lebeaus Disconus"
"Sir Libeux ") are incidents from the mass of
Arthurian epic which most readers know through
Malory; they are not, however, included in " Morte
Darthur." " Havelok the Dane " and " King Horn " are
very English tales, and are probably the oldest in the
book; they show more self-consciousness, more sense
ix
Introduction
of literary effect, both in idea and in thought, than
most of their companions. "King Horn," in particular,
contains one of the few flashes of real poetic imagi-
nation in the whole cvcle of romances the farewell
j
of Horn to the boat which brought him from
Suddenne. " Amys and Amylion " and " Floris and
Blanchefieur " the one the mediaeval parallel to the
legend of Orestes and Pylades, the other the out-
standing love story of the period are each dominated
by a consistent idea ; so, to a slightly less extent, are
"King Robert of Sicily" and "Sir Degore and the
Broken Sword." " The Seven Wise Masters " is a
singular collection of moral stories and primeval
fables; a mixture of the "Arabian Nights," the Gesto
Romanorum, and such stories as were worked into
the Decameron. "William and the Werewolf," which
was translated from the French " in ease of English
men and English speech," contains many features
not very commonly seen in combination in these
romances something of the restlessness of chivalry,
the simplicity and directness of a romantic story, a sug-
gestion of folklore and magic in the omniscient, bene-
volent werewolf, and possibly, in some of the details,
a certain amount of actual history. "The Ash and the
Hazel" is the only romance which can be ascribed to
a known author ; it is taken from a vigorous English
version of Marie's " Lay le Frame " (" The Lay of the
Ash ").
In the tales with an English atmosphere there is
not so much mediaeval detail as in those in which
the hero fares abroad. A reflection of the difficulties
x
Introduction
of mediasval sieges occurs in the brief mention of
Fikenhild's impregnable sea-girt castle in " King
Horn": a fortress built of "lime and stone," as we
are always told when strength is indicated in a situa
tion like that of Mont St. Michel could, if properly
held, resist every enemy save hunger. The device
of gaining entrance in the guise of harpers illustrates
both this point and the customs of Middle Age enter-
tainment. I am not sure, however, that the more
fastidious knights, like Guy, Gawain, and Amylion,
would not have reprehended treachery of this kind,
even in a good cause ; though the use of weapons
with magical properties was not repugnant to them.
The rules of war were extraordinarily strict and con-
ventional; and honour, if it was blind in some respects,
was very keen-eyed in others. It was not so severe
and rigid in the treatment of women, for instance, as
one would like to think: "The Two Dreams," in
"The Seven Wise Masters," and the opening scene
of "Sir Degore and the Broken Sword," for instance,
do not reveal that high and noble regard for woman-
kind which is popularly supposed to be typical of
chivalry. But where other knights were concerned, the
code of honour was elaborately austere. A tournament
was ordered by innumerable rules. A pledge, or a
challenge to be upheld by combat, involved the giving
of safe securities for appearance, or imprisonment till
the appointed day, with heavy penalties for default ;
in "Amys and Amylion" those penalties were all but
inflicted on two self-sacrificing women. In actual
combat, the most punctilious courtesy was observed.
xi
Introduction
Guy allowed the black gi;-.nt Amoraunt to drink when
he was weary it would have been unbecoming to
kill one's foe in such a weak state ; and he was sur-
prised and enraged at the pagan's refusal of a similar
request. The same thing happened in one of "The
Fair Unknown's" encounters. Giants seem to have
been an untrustworthy and ill-conditioned race as a
rule ; but one of them was chivalrous enough to
alight from his horse to meet the unhorsed Sir Degore
on level terms. In fact, a fair fight and no favour,
under rules as numerous, minute, and binding as
those of a modern game, was what every good knight
expected and tried to secure. In the most original
and striking story in this collection, "Sir Gawain
and the Green Knight," the whole point is the im-
maculate Sir Gawain's momentary lapse from the high,
if artificial, standard of romantic chivalry.
Another noticeable feature is the underlying assump-
tion, in most of the stories, that European society is
feudal, and that it must sustain, at all costs, the faith
and customs of Christendom against the ever-present,
ruthless, and innumerable Saracen. The feudal over-
lord's relations with his vassals are constantly apparent.
In "Guy of Warwick" they are continually referred to.
In "Amys and Amylion '" we find a curious position
in which the Orestes of the story becomes, through a
fortunate marriage, the overlord of the Pylades. There
is little mention of any population outside the knightly
circles. The fighting and set battles in " William and
the Werewolf" are concentrated round the protagonists.
But kings, barons, earls, knights and squires are clearly
xii
Introduction
marked off from one another, and low birth, as many
heroes prove, is only likely to rise to eminence when
associated with exceptional valour. The Saracens seem
to have been no more fully differentiated. There is no
hint of any distinction between the invading hordes :
they are simply vile pagans bent on slaughter, rapine,
and a bloodthirsty system of making proselytes. The
magnificence of their dwellings, however, is often dwelt
on with appreciation. Carbuncle stones of prodigious
size were common among them, as Guy and Floris
discovered. The description of Babylon in " Floris and
Blanchefleur " is very full and sumptuous; it embodies
many traditional features, some of which appear even
so late as in the writings of Webbe, a stout-hearted
Elizabethan seaman who endured much at Turkish
hands.
On the personal and intellectual sides, the details
are somewhat meagre and unvarying. The test of
Prince Florentin's learning, in "The Seven Wise
Masters," is instructive ; and the tradition of the
Seven Sages themselves is very old. Guy's lady,
Felice, had most of the qualities of academic per-
fection, as well as a remarkable conception of the
proper attributes of a suitor. Dreams formed no small
part of life. They appear not only prophetically, but
as warnings of present danger ; and in most instances
notably in "Amys and Amylion " and "Guy of War-
wick" they lead to immediate and opportune action.
There is not much magic in the romances ; the most
striking examples are the appearance of the Green
Knight, which is attributed to the notorious Morgan
xiii
Introduction
Le Fay, the consultation of Merlin (in one of "The
Seven Wise Masters " stories), and the changing of
a man into a werewolf, in "William and the Were-
wolf." The two first instances are part and parcel
of the Arthurian cycle ; the last is remotely ancient,
as Mr. Baring-Gould's well-known work shows. Magic
rings, weapons, and garments also occur. In " King
Robert of Sicily" and "Sir Cleges and the Cherries,"
the wonderful events are ascribed, with much simple
power and sincerity, to the Creator.
It is neither necessary nor possible to discuss here
the dates of the original romances, or textual questions.
The majority of the English texts, in the form in
which we have them, probably belong to the early
fourteenth century ; one or two, possibly, almost touch
Chaucer's own lifetime. The serious investigation of
such matters can only be undertaken \vith the aid of
the whole-hearted and painstaking publications of the
Early English Text Society, and similar societies, to
whose notes, glossaries, and introductions every student
owes an incalculable debt. The pedigree of the stories
themselves, as stories, is also a matter of long research,
though of wide general interest. Many of the ideas
are almost as old as mankind ; they have their roots
deep in folk-lore and obscure history. "The Ash
and the Hazel," for instance, contains the elemental
parts of "Patient Griselda." "The Knight and the
Greyhound," in "The Seven Wise Masters," is but
the tale of Llewellyn and Gelert. "The Thief and
his Son" goes back at least as far as the days when
Herodotus learnt all about Egypt from his dragoman,
xiv
Introduction
though the mystery of Rhampsinitus' treasure-house has
lost some valuable details during the ages. " Havelok
the Dane " may contain a fair element of truth in the
account of the foundation of Grimsby. In the details
of "Guy of Warwick," "William and the Werewolf,"
and the tales into which Saracens enter, there is ob-
viously the remnant, dim and perverted, of genuine
tradition.
But if the stories have an immemorial past, they
have also, in many cases, a life extending far later
than the time when our present texts took shape. I
have before me as I write an old chap-book of about
1800, dirty, badly printed, written in execrable English.
It is "The History of Guy, Earl of Warwick," in prose,
as it was set before children and ignorant persons
for many generations. The chief incident in it is
Guy's return to Felice, of which a woodcut is given ;
the same block did duty for a dozen similar interviews
in other tales. Next in importance comes the slaying
of a " huge and monsterous boar," which is so irre-
levant and tedious in the original rhymed text that
in my version I have given it but passing mention.
To such a pass had the old "romance of price"
come : abridged, mutilated, shorn of all mediaeval
feeling, unreverenced, it had become in the eighteenth
century, like many of its fellows, the treasure of the
nursery. There was no longer in it "mirth and
solace " for a simple, rough, knightly court ; better
poetry had brought its doggerel rhyme into contempt,
better stories had caused it to be classed among the
meaner productions of that printer's art which had
xv
Introduction
grown up since its day. But it still lingered on
obscurely. It had become one of the traditions of
England, of Europe itself, and could not die alto-
gether. Even when there are no local associations,
as at Warwick and Grimsby and Arundel (where
Bevis's grave is still shown), to keep the legends fresh
in the memory of men, they have endured, passing,
perhaps, into other forms, or living, it may be, only
in the inspiration they have given to some chance
reader. They were not great poetry. They were but
the quarry from which greater poets extracted the
pure metal. But they still contain, with all their
imperfections, stories almost inherent in man's nature,
pictures of ideals long forgotten, and the record of
an age when romance, perhaps, was a thing of
greater "price" than now.
F. J. HARVEY DARTON.
xvi
WILLIAM AND THE WEREWOLF
i. WILLIAM THE COWHERD ....
n. THE EMPEROR'S DAUGHTER AND THE TAGE
in. THE Two BEARS
iv. THE HART AND THE Two HINDS
v. THE WOLF PRINCE
KING ROBERT OF SICILY ... .
SIR CLEGES AND THE CHERRIES ....
S;R GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT
i. THE GREEN KNIGHT'S CHALLENGE
n. SIR GAWAIN RIDES FORTH
in. THE THREE GIFTS
iv. THE GREEN CHAPEL . .
THE FAIR UNKNOWN
i
'3
22
37
49
56
67
81
89
94
100
no
XVI I
Contents
KING HORN
i. HORN is CAST AWAY . . . . 144
ii. HORN is DUBBED KNIGHT ...... 148
in. HORN THE KNIGHT ERRANT . . . . , 154
iv. HORN IN EXILE . 160
v. HORN'S RETURN ........ 163
vi. THE KING OF SUDDENNE .>. *6S
THE SEVEN WISE MASTERS . . . , . .175
THE VINE TREE . . 183
THE KNIGHT AND THE GREYHOUND . . . 186
THE TALE OF THE BOAR ....... 191
THE PHYSICIAN AND HIS COUSIN 195
THE THIEF AND HIS SON . . 198
THE HUSBAND SHUT OUT 202
THE MAN WHO TAMED HIS WIFE . .... 205
CRCESUS THE GOLD-LOVER .212
THE MAGPIE 217
HEROD AND THE BUBBLES . 221
THE WIDOW WHO WOULD BE COMFORTED . . . 227
MASTER GENEVER ........ 234
THE Two DREAMS .. ...... 236
THE RAVENS 247
SIR DEGORE AND THE BROKEN SWORD. .... 256
GUY OF WARWICK
i. GUY WINS HIS SPURS ....... 280
n. THE ENMITY OF OTHO 288
in. AMONG THE SARACENS ...... 296
iv. THE END OF OTHO 306
v. THE WANDERING PALMER 322
vi. THE LAST FIGHT ... .... 336
Contents
PAGE
THE ASH AND THE HAZEL ..... 345
FLORIS AND BLANCHEFLEUR
i. BLANCHEFLEUR is SOLD , . . .355
ii. THE QUEST OF FLORIS ...... 363
AMYS AND AMYLION ......... 379
HAVELOK. THE DANE. ........ 401
xix
: ' The werewolf would have sprung upon her, if
William had not caught him by the neck " . . Frontispiece
"The cowherd came towards William with friendly PAGE
looks and gentle words "...... 5
" ' This is my father, my lord,' said William " , .11
"She would fain have kissed him, but durst not" . 17
"Carrying in his mouth two flagons of fine wine" . . 25
"William set his spear in rest" ..... 43
"A deep sleep came upon King Robert" .... 59
" ' What are you ? ' asked the angel. ' Sire, I am your
fool,' answered King Robert " . . . . .65
" ' On a cherry tree in our garden I found this fruit ' 71
"The steward fell down like a log"
xxi
77
Illustrations
PACK
" The Green Knight turned and rode out, his head in his
hand" ......... 87
"She stooped over him, and with all courtesy kissed
him" 97
" He leaned his neck forward and bared it" . 105
" He found a knight lying slain " . . . . in
" ' Arise, young knight, arm yourself, there is danger " . 121
' ' Were I armed, even as you are, we would fight ' " . . 129
'"Sir knight,' she said, 'you are false of faith to King
Arthur'" 135
"A window opened in the wall, and a great dragon issued
therefrom" ........ 141
'" Yonder I spy land ' ' 149
" Horn took her in his arms and kissed her" . . 155
" He threw off the cloak and told her that he was Horn " . 169
"The Empress told her false tale once more" . . .181
" The faithful dog struggled to his feet " .... 189
<; He reached downwards and scratched the boar's hide " . 193
" 'You shall be cured of your sickness very speedily' : . 209
' ; ' Under your bed is a great cauldron of water, boiling day
and night'' : . . . . . . . .223
u She cast her eye upon the knight, and found him goodly
and well-liking " . . . . . . .231
" He caught his son suddenly by the waist, and cast him
into the sea" ........ 249
" She saw coming towards her a knight " .... 259
"The dragon blew and roared as if it would swallow
him" ....... 265
" The lady came down and greeted her knight " . . 277
<: Behind came a host of Saracens, eager to overtake Guy" 301
' ; ' Alas, dear lion, who has done this wrong?" . . 307
" ' Dear lady, my hour is come,' Guy said to her" , .
xxii
Illustrations
PAGE
" She went to the abbey door, and sank down on her
knees " 349
' ' Sir King, have pity, and do not kill Blanchefleur ' " . 359
" Floris sat up, the flowers falling off him " , , 371
"The false steward listened to their words "... 385
" ' Spare me, and I will give you all Denmark,' said
Havelok "... ...... 405
" Havelok lifted up the beam, and at one blow slew all
three" . . = = - 0419
XXI II
PROPERTY OF THE
CITY OF NEW YORK
Wonder Book of Old Romance
wife
pros-
William and the Werewolf
I. William the Cowherd
the old days there lived
in Apulia a King named
Embrons, with his
Felice. He ruled
perously and well, and
under him all men were
content.
Ernbrons and Felice had one son, whom they
christened William. This child would one day be
King of Apulia, for he was the King's sole heir ; and
great care was taken to keep him in health, and to
bring him up as became a young prince. But a
brother of Embrons, being next in succession to the
throne after William, plotted many times to take his
life, and perchance would have succeeded, but for
what came to pass when the child was four years old.
King Embrons and all his court at a certain season
of the year went to Palermo (for Sicily also was part
of his dominions), where they feasted and made merry.
Wonder Book of Old Romance
There was near the royal palace a large, fair orchard,
where often the King and his company took their
pleasure. As they walked there one day, William was
playing on the grass beside them, and gathering flowers,
when suddenly a huge wolf leapt among the folk.
His jaws were agape, his eyes glaring, and he sprang
forward like a whirlwind. Before any one could stop
him, he had seized William in his mouth, and sprang
away as silently and swiftly as he had come.
(Now this wolf, you must know, was a werewolf,
with a man's soul under his wolf's hide. He was of
noble birth, being no less than Alfonso, the King of
Spain's son. W T hen he was yet young, his mother
died, and the King his father before long married
again. His second wife was Braunden, daughter of
the King of Portugal. She was very skilled in magic
and the black art, and when she saw that her stepson
was so dear to his father that he would be King after
him, rather than her own son, she cast about to do
hurt to him. She made an ointment of great strength,
full of enchantments, and anointed her stepson there-
with. Immediately he was turned into a wolf, with
all his man's wits the same as before, but clad out-
wardly with shaggy hair. He knew that the change
came through his stepmother, and sprang at her, and
well nigh strangled her ; but help came speedily to
her, and the werewolf was driven forth. Fast away
he fled into far-off lands, and journeyed many days
till he came to Apulia, where on a sudden he was
moved to carry off William, as we have seen.)
Embrons made a great hue and cry after the were-
2
William and the Werewolf
wolf, and men pursued the beast for many leagues.
But he ran with exceeding swiftness, despite the
weight of the child in his mouth, and speedily out-
distanced them all. On and on he went, till he reached
the Straits of Messina ; he plunged boldly into the
sea, and swam across the Straits, and came safely to
the mainland. Still he ran on, without ceasing to
rest, on and on till he came to a great forest near
Rome. There he laid the child down, and made as
it were a burrow for it : in a little bank overhung by
trees he scraped away the earth with his paws, until
he had dug a long cave or passage, wherein he put
ferns and grass to make a soft bed for his captive.
On it he set the child, and there they tarried for
many days. The werewolf lay close to William, and
fondled him tenderly, and brought him food, doing
him no hurt.
In that forest w r here the werewolf had made his
den, there dwelt an old churl, a cowherd, who for
many winters had kept men's kine there. It chanced
that one day he led his herd to pasture close to the
den. With him came his hound, who was wont to
marshal the herd for him ; and while the kine fed
the cowherd sat contentedly on the green sward,
clouting his shoes, the dog beside him, scarce a fur-
long away from where William lay.
The werewolf had gone forth to seek prey, whereon
to feed himself and William. The child, already grown
stout and strong for his age, sat near the mouth of
the den. Outside all was green shade and sunlight ;
the trees were in full leaf, birds sang merrily, and
3
Wonder Book of Old Romance
many a fair flower shone in the grass. Presently
William came a little way out of the burrow, and
picked the flowers, and sat listening to the birds' song.
Suddenly he looked up and saw the cowherd's dog
close to him. At the same moment the dog saw him,
and began to bark and bay loudly. William set up a
great crying, and the noise of the two brought the cow-
herd running to the spot. There before him, as he came
up, he saw his hound barking furiously at a little child
clad only in a shirt of fine linen, sitting at the mouth of
what seemed the burrow of some wild animal.
The cowherd called his hound off angrily, and hold-
ing it in, came towards William with friendly looks and
gentle words. Soon he overcame the child's fears,
and took him in his arms and kissed him. Then he
set out straightway for his home with William, the dog
running beside them.
"Wife," said the cowherd when he came to his cot-
tage, " I have found this child in the forest, in a wild
beast's den. Let us take him in, and care for him as