Example for the reign of Henry V,--from 1422 back to 1413.
"I wolle that the Duc of Orliance be kept stille withyn the Castil of Pontefret, with owte goyng to Robertis place, or to any other disport, it is better he lak his disport then we were disceyved. Of all the remanant dothe as ye thenketh."--Letter of HENRY V.
Example for the reign of Henry IV,--from 1413 back to 1400.
"Right heigh and myghty Prynce, my goode and gracious Lorde,-- I recommaund me to you as lowly as I kan or may with all my pouer hert, desiryng to hier goode and gracious tydynges of your worshipful astate and welfare."--LORD GREY: Letter to the Prince of Wales: Bucke's Classical Gram., p. 145.
Reign of Richard II, 1400 back to 1377.--Example written in 1391. "Lytel Lowys my sonne, I perceve well by certaine evidences thyne abylyte to lerne scyences, touching nombres and proporcions, and also well consydre I thy besye prayer in especyal to lerne the tretyse of the astrolabye. Than for as moche as a philosopher saithe, he wrapeth hym in his frende, that condiscendeth to the ryghtfull prayers of his frende: therefore I have given the a sufficient astrolabye for oure orizont, compowned after the latitude of Oxenforde: vpon the whiche by meditacion of this lytell tretise, I purpose to teche the a certame nombre of conclusions, pertainynge to this same instrument."--GEOFFREY CHAUCER: Of the Astrolabe.
Example written about 1385--to be compared with that of 1555, on p. 87.
"And thus this companie of muses iblamed casten wrothly the chere dounward to the yerth, and shewing by rednesse their shame, thei passeden sorowfully the thresholde. And I of whom the sight plounged in teres was darked, so that I ne might not know what that woman was, of so Imperial aucthoritie, I woxe all abashed and stonied, and cast my sight doune to the yerth, and began still for to abide what she would doen afterward."--CHAUCER: Version from Boethius: Johnson's Hist. of E. L., p. 29.
Poetical Example--probably written before 1380.
"O Socrates, thou stedfast champion; She ne might nevir be thy turmentour, Thou nevir dreddist her oppression, Ne in her chere foundin thou no favour, Thou knewe wele the disceipt of her colour, And that her moste worship is for to lie, I knowe her eke a false dissimulour, For finally Fortune I doe defie."--CHAUCER.
Reign of Edward III, 1377 to 1327.--Example written about 1360.
"And eke full ofte a littell skare Vpon a banke, er men be ware, Let in the streme, whiche with gret peine, If any man it shall restreine. Where lawe failleth, errour groweth; He is not wise, who that ne troweth."--SIR
JOHN GOWER.
Example from Mandeville, the English traveller-written in 1356.
"And this sterre that is toward the Northe, that wee clepen the lode sterre, ne apperethe not to hem. For whiche cause, men may wel perceyve, that the lond and the see ben of rownde schapp and forme. For the partie of the firmament schewethe in o contree, that schewethe not in another contree. And men may well preven be experience and sotyle compassement of wytt, that zif a man fond passages be schippes, that wolde go to serchen the world, men mighte go be schippe all aboute the world, and aboven and benethen. The whiche thing I prove thus, aftre that I have seyn. * * * Be the whiche I seye zou certeynly, that men may envirowne alle the erthe of alle the world, as wel undre as aboven, and turnen azen to his contree, that hadde companye and schippynge and conduyt: and alle weyes he scholde fynde men, londes, and yles, als wel as in this contree."--SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE; Johnson's Hist. of E. L., p. 26.
Example from Rob. Langland's "Vision of Pierce Ploughman," 1350.
"In the somer season, When hot was the Sun, I shope me into shroubs, As I a shepe were; In habit as an harmet, Vnholy of werkes, Went wyde in this world Wonders to heare."
Description of a Ship-referred to the reign of Edward II: 1327-1307.
"Such ne saw they never none, For it was so gay begone, Every nayle with gold ygrave, Of pure gold was his sklave, Her mast was of ivory, Of samyte her sayle wytly, Her robes all of whyte sylk, As whyte as ever was ony mylke. The noble ship was without With clothes of gold spread about And her loft and her wyndlace All of gold depaynted was." ANONYMOUS: Bucke's Gram., p. 143.
From an Elegy on Edward I, who reigned till 1307 from 1272.
"Thah mi tonge were made of stel, Ant min herte yzote of bras, The goodness myht y never telle, That with kyng Edward was: Kyng, as thou art cleped conquerour, In uch battaille thou hadest prys; God bringe thi soule to the honour, That ever wes ant ever ys. Now is Edward of Carnavan Kyng of Engelond al aplyght; God lete him never be worse man Then his fader, ne lasse myht, To holden his pore men to ryht, Ant understonde good counsail, Al Engelond for to wysse and dyht; Of gode knyhtes darh him nout fail." ANON.: Percy's Reliques, Vol. ii, p. 10.
Reign of Henry III, 1272 to 1216.--Example from an old ballad entitled Richard of Almaigne; which Percy says was "made by one of the adherents of Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, soon after the battle of Lewes, which was fought, May 14, 1264."--Percy's Reliques, Vol. ii.
"Sitteth alle stille, and herkneth to me; The kyng of Almaigne, bi mi leaute, Thritti thousent pound askede he For te make the pees in the countre, Ant so he dude more. Richard, thah thou be ever trichard, Trichten shalt thou never more."
In the following examples, I substitute Roman letters for the Saxon. At this period, we find the characters mixed. The style here is that which Johnson calls "a kind of intermediate diction, neither Saxon nor English."
Of these historical rhymes, by Robert of Gloucester, the Doctor gives us more than two hundred lines; but he dates them no further than to say, that the author "is placed by the criticks in the thirteenth century."--Hist. of Eng. Lang., p. 24.
"Alfred thys noble man, as in the ger of grace he nom Eygte hondred and syxty and tuelue the kyndom. Arst he adde at Rome ybe, and, vor ys grete wysdom, The pope Leo hym blessede, tho he thuder com, And the kynges croune of hys lond, that in this lond gut ys: And he led hym to be kyng, ar he kyng were y wys. An he was kyng of Engelond, of alle that ther come, That vorst thus ylad was of the pope of Rome, An suththe other after hym of the erchebyssopes echon."
"Clere he was god ynou, and gut, as me telleth me, He was more than ten ger old, ar he couthe ys abece. Ac ys gode moder ofte smale gyftes hym tok, Vor to byleue other pie, and loky on ys boke. So that by por clergye ys rygt lawes he wonde, That neuere er nere y mad to gouerny ys lond." ROBERT OF GLOUCESTER: Johnson's Hist. of E. L., p. 25.
Reign of John, 1216 back to 1199.--Subject of Christ's Crucifixion.
"I syke when y singe for sorewe that y se When y with wypinge bihold upon the tre, Ant se Jhesu the suete ys hert blod for-lete For the love of me; Ys woundes waxen wete, thei wepen, still and mete, Marie reweth me." ANON.: Bucke's Gram., p. 142.
Reign of Richard I, 1199 back to 1189.--Owl and Nightingale.
"Ich was in one sumere dale, In one snive digele pale, I herde ich hold grete tale, An hule and one nightingale. That plait was stif I stare and strong, Sum wile softe I lud among. An other again other sval I let that wole mod ut al. I either seide of otheres custe, That alere worste that hi wuste I hure and I hure of others songe Hi hold plaidung futhe stronge." ANON.: Bucke's Gram., p. 142.
Reign of Henry II, 1189 back to 1154.--Example dated 1180.
"And of alle than folke The wuneden ther on folde, Wes thisses landes folke Leodene hendest itald; And alswa the wimmen Wunliche on heowen." GODRIC: Bucke's Gram., p. 141.
Example from the Saxon Chronicle, written about 1160.
"Micel hadde Henri king gadered gold & syluer, and na god ne dide me for his saule thar of. Tha the king Stephne to Engla-land com, tha macod he his gadering set Oxene-ford, & thar he nam the biscop Roger of Seres-beri, and Alexander biscop of Lincoln, & te Canceler Roger hife neues, & dide aelle in prisun, til hi jafen up here castles. Tha the suikes undergaeton that he milde man was & softe & god, & na justise ne dide; tha diden hi alle wunder." See Johnson's Hist. of the Eng. Language, p. 22.
Reign of Stephen, 1154 to 1135.--Example written about this time.
"Fur in see bi west Spaygne. Is a lond ihone Cokaygne. There nis lond under heuenriche. Of wel of godnis hit iliche. Thoy paradis be miri and briyt. Cokaygne is of fairer siyt. What is ther in paradis. Bot grasse and flure and greneris. Thoy ther be ioi and gret dute. Ther nis met bot anlic frute. Ther nis halle bure no bench. Bot watir manis thurst to quench." ANON.: Johnson's Hist. Eng. Lang., p. 23.
Reign of Henry I, 1135 to 1100.--Part of an Anglo-Saxon Hymn.
"Heuene & erthe & all that is, Biloken is on his honde. He deth al that his wille is, On sea and ec on londe.
He is orde albuten orde. And ende albuten ende. He one is eure on eche stede, Wende wer thu wende.
He is buuen us and binethen, Biuoren and ec bihind. Se man that Godes wille deth, He mai hine aihwar uinde.
Eche rune he iherth, And wot eche dede. He durh sighth eches ithanc, Wai hwat sel us to rede.
Se man neure nele don god, Ne neure god lif leden, Er deth & dom come to his dure, He mai him sore adreden.
Hunger & thurst, hete & chele, Ecthe and all unhelthe, Durh deth com on this midelard, And other uniselthe.
Ne mai non herte hit ithenche, Ne no tunge telle, Hu muchele pinum and hu uele, Bieth inne helle.
Louie God mid ure hierte, And mid all ure mihte, And ure emcristene swo us self, Swo us lereth drihte." ANON.: Johnson's Hist. Eng. Lang., p. 21.
Saxon,--11th Century.[50] LUCE, CAP. I.
" On Herodes dagum Iudea cynincges, was sum sacred on naman Zacharias, of Abian tune: and his wif was of Aarones dohtrum, and hyre nama waas Elizabeth.
Sothlice hig waron butu rihtwise beforan Gode, gangende on eallum his bebodum and rihtwisnessum, butan wrohte.
And hig nafdon nan bearn, fortham the Elizabeth was unberende; and hy on hyra dagum butu forth-eodun.
Sothlice was geworden tha Zacharias hys sacerdhades breac on his gewrixles endebyrdnesse beforan Gode,
Efter gewunan thas sacerdhades hlotes, he eode that he his offrunge sette, tha he on Godes tempel eode.
Eall werod thas folces was ute gebiddende on thare offrunge timan.
Tha atywde him Drihtnes engel standende on thas weofodes swithran healfe.
Tha weard Zacharias gedrefed that geseonde, and him ege onhreas.
Tha cwath se engel him to, Ne ondrad thu the Zacharias; fortham thin ben is gehyred, and thin wif Elizabeth the sunu centh, and thu nemst hys naman Johannes."--Saxon Gospels.
"In the dayes of Eroude kyng of Judee ther was a prest Zacarye by name, of the sort of Abia: and his wyf was of the doughtris of Aaron, and hir name was Elizabeth.
And bothe weren juste bifore God, goynge in alle the maundementis and justifyingis of the Lord, withouten playnt.
And thei hadden no child, for Elizabeth was bareyn; and bothe weren of greet age in her dayes.
And it befel that whanne Zacarye schould do the office of presthod in the ordir of his course to fore God,
Aftir the custom of the presthood, he wente forth by lot, and entride into the temple to encensen.
And al the multitude of the puple was without forth and preyede in the our of encensying.
And an aungel of the Lord apperide to him, and stood on the right half of the auter of encense. 12. And Zacarye seyinge was afrayed, and drede fel upon him.
And the aungel sayde to him, Zacarye, drede thou not; for thy preier is herd, and Elizabeth thi wif schal bere to thee a sone, and his name schal be clepid Jon."
Wickliffe's Bible, 1380.
English.--17th Century.
LUKE, CHAP. I.
" There was in the days of Herod the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless.
And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren; and they both were now well stricken in years.
And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias; for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shall call his name John."
Common Bible, 1610.
See Dr. Johnson's History of the English Language, in his Quarto Dictionary.
Alfred the Great, who was the youngest son of Ethelwolf, king of the West Saxons, succeeded to the crown on the death of his brother Ethelred, in the year 871, being then twenty-two years old. He had scarcely time to attend the funeral of his brother, before he was called to the field to defend his country against the Danes. After a reign of more than twenty-eight years, rendered singularly glorious by great achievements under difficult circumstances, he died universally lamented, on the 28th of October, A. D. 900. By this prince the university of Oxford was founded, and provided with able teachers from the continent. His own great proficiency in learning, and his earnest efforts for its promotion, form a striking contrast with the ignorance which prevailed before. "In the ninth century, throughout the whole kingdom of the West Saxons, no man could be found who was scholar enough to instruct the young king Alfred, then a child, even in the first elements of reading: so that he was in his twelfth year before he could name the letters of the alphabet. When that renowned prince ascended the throne, he made it his study to draw his people out of the sloth and stupidity in which they lay; and became, as much by his own example as by the encouragement he gave to learned men, the great restorer of arts in his dominions."--Life of Bacon.
The language of eulogy must often be taken with some abatement: it does not usually present things in their due proportions. How far the foregoing quotation is true, I will not pretend to say; but what is called "the revival of learning," must not be supposed to have begun at so early a period as that of Alfred. The following is a brief specimen of the language in which that great man wrote; but, printed in Saxon characters, it would appear still less like English.
"On thare tide the Gotan of Siththiu magthe with Romana rice gewin upahofon. and mith heora cyningum. Radgota and Eallerica waron hatne. Romane burig abracon. and eall Italia rice that is betwux tham muntum and Sicilia tham ealonde in anwald gerehton. and tha agter tham foresprecenan cyningum Theodric feng to tham ilcan rice se Theodric was Amulinga. he wass Cristen. theah he on tham Arrianiscan gedwolan durhwunode. He gehet Romanum his freondscype. swa that hi mostan heora ealdrichta wyrthe beon."--KING ALFRED: Johnson's Hist. of E. L., 4to Dict., p. 17.
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