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Ebook has 1387 lines and 182612 words, and 28 pages

From these criteria, which seem to be the best available, we may infer that Fl. and Bl. belongs further north than King Horn. Further, the inflections seem to point to the Eastern rather than to the Western Midland, so that we may feel fairly safe in attributing Fl. and Bl. to the East Midland.

? 5. DATE OF COMPOSITION.

? 6. VERSIFICATION.

? 7. MANUSCRIPTS.

Floris and Blauncheflur appears in four MSS., in each of the four with a greater or smaller part of the beginning lost.

Of our poem only 451 lines are preserved in this MS., and of these only 180 are completely legible. The first verse corresponds to about v. 508, and the last to about v. 2514 of the French. The writing is in a fine, apparently French, book hand.

This MS. has been printed by Lumby in the original to the present edition for the E.E.T.S., and has been used by Hausknecht in collation.

Fl. and Bl. has twice been reprinted from the Auchinleck MS.: C. H. Hartshorne, Ancient Metrical Tales, London, 1829, David Laing, A Penni Worth of Witte, etc., Abbotsford Club, Edinburgh, 1857.

We may borrow from Hausknecht the following diagram representing the interrelations.

THE ASSUMPTION OF OUR LADY.

? 1. INTRODUCTORY.

From the valorous atmosphere of King Horn and the sentimental atmosphere of Floris and Blauncheflur, to the devout atmosphere of the "Assumption," is a very appreciable change. At the same time the oriental romance of Floris and Blauncheflur and our legend, also, no doubt, of eastern origin, betray their common descent in a certain similarity of sentimental tone; and further, both romances, Germanic and oriental, share to some extent their romantic colour with the religious legend. It is perhaps the love of this romantic colour, which the three poems have in common, that has brought them together in the Cambridge MS. which forms the nucleus of the present volume, though the fact that the existing manuscript is but a fragment, forbids any certain conclusion as to the tastes and probable purpose of the collector.

? 2. SETTING.

In turning from the romances of King Horn and Floris and Blauncheflur to the legend of the Assumption we are entering the most productive field of early English literature. The religious element is the predominant element in Anglo-Saxon poetry. Christianity, from the very first, was received in England with an extraordinary warmth. In the year closely following the conversion of England there came into bloom a rich Christian poetry which soon took the place of, almost displaced, the earlier national epos.

The Norman Conquest was the means of introducing a flood of romances of every conceivable origin, and probably explains the slight revival of genuine English romantic traditions such as those of Horn, Havelok and Waldef, and possibly of Wade. But through the period, immediately following the Conquest, of the domination of the French and Latin languages in English literature, there had persisted a thread of the old English tradition in the homilies which continued for a long time to be industriously read and copied. With these in the 12th century were associated new homilies , the direct lineal descendants of those of Alfric and Wulfstan, and in the beginning of the 13th century, in the northern midlands the metrical Ormulum, which betrays some French influence in a somewhat scanty French element in its vocabulary and in its proper names , but which nevertheless is composed quite in the style and manner of the earlier time.

When, after two centuries, the English language had to some extent come back into use as a language of literature, Cynewulf also found successors, and the legend flourished once more. Indeed in this new period it came to flourish to an extent hitherto unparalleled. This revival was due in part, no doubt, to the story-telling spirit so manifest in this period, and in part to the fact that this period marks the highest point in the progress of saint worship.

The Assumption thus finds its setting among the very finest of the English legendary poems. According to Horstmann : 'Never again has legendary poetry reached the same height of pathos, the same purity and beauty of form as in these older legends. The period immediately following shows a decided falling off in poetic power and in talent for form. The tone loses in depth and warmth, the style in fullness and swing.' In the last quarter of the 13th century, as we shall see, the legendary poetry entered the service of the church, and was worked over by the monks into great collections for reading in the services. This no doubt explains the remarkable falling off in poetic style and quality.

? 3. THE RISE OF THE LEGEND.

? 4. PLACE OF OUR LEGEND OF THE ASSUMPTION.

We biseche ?ee for alle ?at here? ?is vie Off oure ladi seynt marie, That Ihu schelde hem fram gme Fro dedly synne fro schame, Ne mysauenture schal bi falle ?t man That ?is a vie here can. Ne no womman ?at ilke dai, That of oure ladi here? ?is lai, Dien ne schal of hure childe; For oure ladi hure schal be mylde. Ne noone mys-auenture schall be-falle, In felde, in strete, ne in halle, In stede ?er ?is vie is rad, For oure ladi hure sone it bad, And ?e archibisshop, seynt Edmoud, Ha? gunted xl. daies to pdou To alle ?at ?is vie wol here, Or with good wille wol lere. vv. 879-896.

? 5. ORIGIN.

In German we may mention the version by Conrad v. Heimesfurt, about 1200 .

Our story in its present form seems to have made its first appearance in England in the French version, above mentioned, by Wace, in the second quarter of the 12th century. Of an English version of the present form of the legend, for English hearers, we have no trace before the middle of the following century, from which it seems we are to infer that the legend remained the property of the French clericals about a century before coming into general circulation in the English-speaking world. This earliest English version of the story is the one of the present edition in short riming couplets.

? 6. OTHER ENGLISH VERSIONS.

Who so bere? palm, ?e tokne is ?is, ?at in clene lif he is; ?at is to vnderstonde: Hit is tokning of loue, ?at god him haue? wraththe for?oue, ?at bere? palm on honde.

Seinte marie godes moder : fm ?aposteles nas no?t ?o ?e holi gost a wit sonedai : among hem was ibro?t.

This same version appears in a later MS., Bodl. 779, of the 16th century. In this MS. the legend cycle is greatly extended by the addition of a whole new series of legends. The number of legends in this MS. reaches the number of 135, of which the version of the Assumption is number 57.

Of mari milde now will I mene ?at of all heuyns es corond quene And lady of all erth to tell And also Empise of hell.

Herkkenes alle gode men, ?if ?e ben wise and slye And I wole to ?ow rede ?e assumpcioun of Marie How she was from er?e taken into heuen on hegh And ?ere she shal euer wone and sitte Ihesu negh.

Another English version of our legend is that incorporated into the Cursor Mundi . This version is translated into a Northern dialect from a Southern English poem.

And sant edmund o ponteni Dais o pardun ?am gis tuenti In a writt ?is ilk i fand, He-self it wroght, ic understand. In sotherin englis was it draun And turnd it haue i till our aun Langage o northrin lede, ?at can nan o?er englis rede. vv. 20057-64.

The poet of Cursor Mundi follows the Southern author nearly line for line, so that there cannot be the slightest doubt that he refers to the Southern English version of the present volume. But now and then he has made additions, for some of which Haenisch finds no source.

The fact that the poet of Cursor Mundi "attributes his original to Edmund of Pontenay was caused by a misunderstanding of the lines 893-96 of the SE. Assumption" .

Cursor Mundi, vv. 20057-60.

And sant edmund o ponteni Dais o pardun ?am gis tuenti; In a writt ?is ilk i fand He self it wroght, ic understand.

Assumption, vv. 893-6.

And ?e archibisshop seynt Edmound Ha? graunted xl. daies to pardoun To alle ?at ?is vie wol here Or with good wille wol lere.

Still another version, which formed part of a work by Barbour, the author of the Scotch collection of legends, is mentioned in his prologue, but, along with the rest of this work referred to, is unfortunately lost.

The above enumeration of versions of our legend will demonstrate effectively its popularity in England, also its use in the service of the church. Further investigation is needed to determine more exactly the interrelations of the various versions, though it is doubtful if such an investigation would produce any very conclusive results, since, as suggested above, many versions of the legends were probably mixed versions .

? 7. MANUSCRIPTS.

The earliest English version, the one of the present volume, is known to exist in six manuscripts.

If for the sake of conformity with the German investigations, we designate Cambr. MS. Gg. 9. 27. 2. as #A#, Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 10036 as #B#, Harl. MS. 2382 as #C#, Cambr. MS. Dd. 1. 1. as #D#, Cambr. MS. Ff. 2. 38. as #E#, and Chetham MS. as #Ch.#, then the interrelations of the different texts of this version are about as follows . #A# and #B# form a special group as opposed to #C#, #D#, #E#, on the one hand, and to #Ch.# alone, on the other. No one of these versions is the direct source of any other. The different texts may be characterized somewhat as follows:

#A# offers the best text as far as it goes.

#B# introduces many important changes, and seems to be somewhat confused in the order of events, but in the passages preserved intact, preserves the text and the rime better than do #C#, #D#, or #E#.

#C# gives best the true course of the story, but often alters the rime, in particular, individual rime words.

#D# has many gaps, and is particularly defective after the entrance on the scene of Thomas.

#E# stands in closer relation to #D# than to #C#, and often takes an intermediate position between #C# and #D#. #Ch.# we must regard as a compilation of different MSS., and owes its origin perhaps to oral tradition. In the case of #Ch.#, as in the case of the other texts of this version, it will be safer not to set up any diagram representing the interrelations of MSS., since these MSS. are no doubt all of them influenced by written as well as by oral tradition, and, as has been pointed out above, there is at least a possibility, as in the case of #Ch.#, of mixed versions. In dealing with legend, even less than in dealing with romance, does one have to do with a purely epic growth.

? 8. TIME AND PLACE OF COMPOSITION.

? 9. VERSIFICATION.

KING HORN.

Alle beon he bli?e ?at to my song ly?e, A sang ihc schal ?ou singe Of Murry ?e kinge. 4

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