to see how the writer gradually raises his style, till he gives to prose almost the rhythm of poetry, I shall quote it at some length. No copy of the Chronicle, within reach, containing the passage, I have extracted it from Dr. Ingram's Edition. Gif hwa gewilniged to gewittane hu gedon man he was. oththe hwilcne wurthscipe he hæfde. oththe hu fela lande he wære hlaford. thonne wille we be him awritan swa swa we hine ageaton. the him onlocodon. and othre hwile on his hirede wunedon. Se cyng Willelm the we embe sprecath was swithe wis man. and swithe rice. and wurthfulre and strengere thone ænig his fore gengra wære. He was milde tham godum mannum the God lufedon. and ofer ealle gemet stearc tham mannum the withcwadon his willan. On tham ilcan steode the God him geuthe thet he moste Engleland gegan. he rærde mære mynster. &c. Eac he was swithe wurthful. thriwa he bær his cyne helm ælc geare. swa oft swa he was on Englelande. on eastron he hine bær on Winceastre. on pentecosten on Westmynstre. on mide winter on Gleawe ceastre. and thanne wæron mid him ealle tha rice menn ofer eall Engla land. arce bisceopas. and leod bisceopas abbodas and eorlas. thegnas and cnihtas. Swylce he was swithe stearc man and ræthe, swa thet man ne dorste nan thing ongean his willan don. He hælde eorlas in his bendum. the dydan ongean his wyllan. Biscopas he sætte of heora biscoprice. and abbodas of heora abbodrice. and thegnas on cweartern. and æt nextan he ne sparode his agenne brothor, &c. Betwyx othrum thingum nys na to forgytane thet gode frith the he macode on thisan lande. swa thet an man the himsylf aht wære mihte faran ofer his rice mid his bosom full goldes ungederad. and nan man ne dorste slean otherne man. næfde he næfre swa mycel yfel gedon with thone otherne. &c. He rixade ofer Englæ land. and hit mid his geapscipe swa thurh smeade. thet næs an hid landes innan Englæ lande. thet he nyste hwa heo hæfde. oththe hwæs heo wurth wæs. and siththan on his gewrit gesætt. Bryt land him was on gewealde. and he thær inne casteles geworhte. and thet Man cynn mid ealle ge 1 Some mention of his bounty to the church. ? Some account of Odo. The rhiming syllables are marked in Italics, and when two members of a sentence, or (if we may use the term) two sections seem closely knit together by the rhythm, their accents are defined in the same way as if they formed a verse. If any wish to know what manner of man he was, or what state he held, or of how many lands he was Lord-then will we of him write, as we him knew, we that upon him looked, and other whiles in his court abode. The king Willelm, of whom we speak, was a very wise man and very rich, and more stately and powerful than any of his predecessors were. He was mild to the good men, that loved God, and beyond all measure stern to the men that withsaid his will. In the same place, where God granted him that he might England gain, he rear'd a mighty minster, &c.1 Eke he was right stately. Thrice he bare his crown each year, as oft as he was in England; at Easter he bare it in Winchester, at pentecost in Westminster, at midwinter in Gloucester; and then were with him all the rich men over all England—archbishops and folk-bishops, abbots and earls, thanes and knights. So was he a right stern man and hot, so that anything against his will durst no man do; he kept earls in his custody, that did aught against his will. Bishops he put from their bishopric, and abbots from their abbacy, and thanes into prison, and at last he spared not his own brother, &c. 2 Amongst other things should not be forgotten the good peace that he made within this land, so that a man, that himself were aught,3 might pass through his kingdom, with his bosom full of gold, uninjured. And no man durst slay his fellow-man, had he done never so mickle evil against that other, &c. He ruled over England, and by his skill so thoroughly scrutinised it, that there was not a hide of land in England, that he wist not who had it, and what it was worth and then put it in his book. Britland was in his power, and he therein built castles, and the 3 The A.S. aht is opposed to the A.S. naht vile, naught. It is the O.E. oht and the modern owt of Lancashire-nowt that's owt, naught that's good. -Tim Bobbin, sc. 2. wealde. Swylce eac Scotland he him underthædde for his micele strengthe. Normandige thet land was his gecynde. and ofer corldome the Mans is gehaten he rixade. and gif he moste tha gyt twa gear lybban. he hæfde Irlande mid his werscipe gewunnon . and withuton ælcon wæpnon. Witodlice on his timan hæfdon men mycel geswinc. and swithe manige teonan. Casteles | he let wyrclean. and earme men swithle swenclean. se cyng was swa swithe stearc. and benam of his undertheoddan man manig marc goldes. and ma hundred punda seolfres. thet | he nam | be riht|e. and | mid mic|elan | I unrihte of his leodle. for littelre neode. he wæs on git sunge gefal lan. and græd ines se he luflode | mid cal|lan. He sætte mic el deor | frith. and | he læg|de lag|a thær | with .2 Thet swahwa swa slog|e heort | oththe hinde. Thet hin e man sceol de blend ian. He | forbead | tha heort|as. swylce eac | tha bar as swa swithle he luflode | tha hea | deor. swylce he wære heora fæder. Eac | he sætte be | tham har an. Thet | he mos ten freo far an. his rice men | hit mænd|on. and | tha earme men | hit beceor odon. ac | he wæs | swa stith| .3 thet | hene rohte heora eall|ra nith|. ac | hi mos ton mid eal|le thes cyngles wille folg|ian. gif | hi wol don libban. oth the land hab ban. land | oththe eah ta. oth the wel | his sehta. Wallawa. 3 thet ænig man sceol de mod] igan swa. hine self | up aheb ban and offer eal|le men tel|lan. Se æl|mihtig a God cythæ his saule mild heortnis se. and do | him his syn na forgif|enys|se . I cannot help thinking that this rhythmical prose was one of the instruments in breaking up the alliterative system of the Anglo-Saxons. Its influence may be traced in the rhythm of Layamon; and I think it must also, in some instances, have modified the metre, whose properties we are now investigating. The connexion between them may perhaps be made plainer, if we examine the 1 Werscipe may mean the reputation of one's manhood, as eorlscipe means the reputation of a great leader or earl; see p. 82, n. 10. But I rather think, in the present case, that it is merely a corruption of wærscipe. Man-people he ruled withal. So eke Scotland he subdued by his mickle strength. The land of Normandy was his by birth; and over the earldom, that is hight Mans, he reigned; and if he might yet have lived two years, he had won Ireland by his prudence,' and without any weapons. Assuredly, in his time, had the people much toil, and very many sufferings. Castles he let men build, and the poor people sorely harass. The king was so very stern! And he took from his liege-man many a mark of gold, and moreover many a hundred of pounds of silver. That he took, with right—and with mickle unright-from his people, with little need. He was fallen into covetousness, and greedyness he loved withal. He laid out a mickle dear-forest, and he laid down laws therewith-that whoso slew hart or hind, that him they should blind. He forbade to kill the harts, so also the boars. As strongly he lov'd the great game, as though he had been their father. Eke he made laws for the hares, that they should freely pass. His rich men bemoan'd it, and the poor men murmur'd at it; but he was so stern, that he reck'd not all their hate ; but they must, withal, the king's will follow, if they would live, or land haveland or possessions, or even his peace. Walawa! that any man should be so proud! himself uplift, and over all men vaunt! may the almighty God show to his soul mercy, and grant him of his sins forgiveness ! rhythm of certain verses, that were written in the early half of the twelfth century. The following hymn to the virgin is attributed to St. Godric, who died at Finchale near Durham in the year 1174, after living the life of a hermit, in that sheltered and leafy nook, some sixty years. 2 I think the proper accentuation would be ther with, but the writer clearly intended it to rhime with deor frith. 3 No metrical point. 4 I have taken my copy from the King's MS. 5 F. VII. Sainte Marie | virginle Modler Jhes u Cris❘tes Nazarene Onfo | schild | help | thin Godric Onfang | bring heg|elich with | the in Godes riche Sainte Marie cristes bur Maidenes clen had moderes flur] Dillie min sin ne rix | in min mod| Bring me to win ne with the | selfd god In the second of these staves (if we may so term them) each verse divides itself into two regular sections; but the rhythm of the first stave can hardly be distinguished from that of the prose we have just been noticing. In this kind of rhythm were also written the verses, which Merie sung|en the mun|eches binnen Ely] Rowleth kniht es noer | the lant And here we | thes mun[eches sang After all, the formation of this metre shows itself under such different aspects, when seen from different points of view, that a writer, who should exclusively adopt any one hypothesis, might give better proof of his courage, than of his prudence. Whatever be its origin-whether the stream has flowed from one source, and coloured its waters with the strata over which it passed-or resulted from the union of two or more independent streamlets, which, in blending their waters, have mixed their properties—it will be admitted, on all hands, that no license should be granted in any classical metre, which In the two last verses we should also notice the rhime between sinne and winne; if this be not accidental, it is the first instance, I have met with, of an interwoven rhime in our language. |