second time to These centaurs In the account

with all manner of curious and precious wares, and drugged with opium till the ship has sailed. Solomon goes to bring her back with a great army of winged man-horses, who are told, rather contrary to their natural habits, one would suppose, the first time they hear his horn to saddle their horses, the mount, and the third time to hasten to his aid, evidently are developing into ordinary cavalry. of Solomon's arrest and imprisonment by the Queen different versions of the song vary. When he blows his horn the first time with his foot on the ladder, all the birds of the air come flying, and he explains that they all wish to be present at his execution. The horn also conveys to his men the tidings'Solomon is about to be put to death,'-and the earth shakes at the multitude of men simultaneously saddling their horses. 'What is the meaning of that?' Solomon is asked. Forty thousand swans,' he answers, ' are splashing the sea against the shore, telling each other that I am to be put to death.' On the second step of the ladder he blows another blast. All the trees of the wood shiver and the sea roars. The blast contains the words'O Emperor Vasilj Okuljevië, hasten the execution, for Solomon is wise and cunning.' His men mount, the earth shakes, and he explains this by saying that forty thousand horses have come together at Jerusalem to tell each other of his fate. The end of the story is as in the carlier forms of it.

In the Spielmann story the reader will see that much is the same as in these Russ stories of Solomon, but he will also notice many differences and additions. Solomon's brother has a new name, Morolf; another form of it is Markolf; and no complete account of the name can be given. The name occurs in Jewish literature as Marcolis, in Latin it is Marcolfus; Morcholon is also found; and the god Mercurius, to the Jews a demon, is probably not far off. Solomon's brother was his adversary, and any demon of influential position would do for the post. There is an Anglo-Saxon romance called Solomon and Saturn, in which Saturn is an oriental prince of demonic character, and Solomon carries on conversation with him as with Asmodeus, and addresses him as 'brother'! A 'Marcolf's land' is spoken of 'to the east of the Kingdom of Saul'; so that Marcolf has every qualification

6

for the post of Solomon's brother, who is also his adversary. In the poem now before us of Solomon und Morolf,' Morolf has ceased to be an adversary, and has become the devoted servant and helper of Solomon, but in the other Spielmann poem of Solomon und Markolf,* Markolf is the adversary, the disputative antagonist and rude jester, with whom Solomon for all his wisdom carries on an unequal contest. In Germany therefore the legendary matter has divided into two different stories. Solomon und Markolf' is a dialogue poem. Markolf, a personage representing all the wit and all the impudence of the Spielmann tribe, contends with Solomon in words, and plays him tricks. 'Salman und Morolf' is an epic. Morolf has laid aside the character of antagonist, and is all a brother should be. At the same time, Morolf allows himself great liberty of speech with Salman; and his proceedings among the heathens, which occupy a great part of the poem, are to say the least, much below the dignity of the brother of an Emperor, and much more in the character of one who has spent his life in the practice of jugglery and in the invention of tricks and deceptions. He is a maker of magic, he foresees the future with accuracy, he is master of all the mechanical wonders known or dreamed of in the middle ages; in the second part of the poem he is claimed by a mermaid as her near relative. He inherits the qualities of the many characters who have stood in close connection with Solomon.

The reader will notice in the poem many inconsistencies, and many suggestions and beginnings of themes which are not worked out. The means employed for the first abduction of Salme, to begin at the beginning, are far in excess of what is required. First there is a warlike expedition, then Salme becomes enamoured of the captive committed to her guardianship. But this does not end in an elopement as we should expect, though the coast is clear for it; the removal of Salme is deferred for six months, and is carried out by a Spielmann sent for that purpose by the heathen king. Here different traditions have evidently been at work. First there was the theme of a woman carried off by force;

Mr. Vogt's second volume, which is to deal with this other Solomon poem, has not yet appeared.

Salman himself had obtained his bride in this way. Then there is the tradition, common in the middle ages-(it is found, Mr. Vogt shews, in our own Walter Mapes, and in various quarters in Germany) of a wife to whom a distinguished captive is entrusted for safe custody, and who falls in love with him and runs off with him. And thirdly, there is the tradition found in Rother, of the abduction of a queen by the stratagem of a Spielmann, while the king himself does not appear. The fact that Morolf afterwards spends seven years going from one court to another in search of the lost queen, shews that the last of these three traditions at one time had a place in the opening of the story; why should he have done this if he was aware, as he is in this poem, from the first, that her abduction was due to the captive prince, whose name and kingdom are well known to every

Other inconsistencies are to be found in Morolf's recognition of the queen, which does not take place fully till he plays chess with her. If that was the case, he cannot have had an intimate acquaintance with her before, but must have been an envoy sent out to recognize her by the mark on her hand. The sections, too, where the sister of the heathen king enters into the action, all point to another issue of it than that here reached. In an appendix to the other Solomon-poem, Solomon and Morolf, the story is told much more simply; there the queen is recognized when she is buying gloves from the Spielmann, by the mark on her hand. Mr. Vogt judges that that version of the story represents in many points, but not in all, the tradition out of which Salman und Morolf' was built up.

From the history of old German rhyme and metre, this poem is judged to be a little later than Orendel and Rother, and is placed in the last decade of the twelfth century. It is written in a stanza of five lines, of which the first and second rhyme together, and the third and fifth, while the fourth is, to use the German phrase, an orphan.' At the beginning of my sketch of the poem, I have given a rough representation of the form. It was known before that the poem was in some such stanza. Mr. Vogt has the merit of having given it in this edition its proper form by printing it in stanzas. His critical labours in restoring the text have been very thorough, as may be seen at the foot of

every page, and in the notes printed after the text in the end of the volume. He might have done more than he has to enable the reader who is not a specialist in old High German, to understand difficult passages and obscure allusions.

As this poem contains a great mixture of legends drawn from various quarters, so it presents a very curious combination of ideas and sentiments. It is not a work illustrative of chivalry. The battles in it are fought on foot, the heroes kill each other with swords, not with lances. Nor are the feelings towards women those of 'Ivanhoe.' With a great show of outward politeness and etiquette, the men combine a boorish rudeness of speech, even towards women, and a coarse tone of sentiment. The forms of the intercourse of courts are beginning to penetrate to the lower orders, but the spirit of courtesy is absent. Nor is the sentiment of this poem ecclesiastical. It differs markedly in this particular from Orendel and Rother. In these poems the heroes appeal at every important juncture to heaven for aid, and miracles are frequently wrought for them, or messengers are sent from above to assist them. The heroes of both these poems, moreover, retire from the world or embrace the religious life, when their labours are ended. Here there is none of this. We have not even the baptism of vanquished heathens; Fore's sister is baptized, but that is necessary for the plot, as she could not otherwise become queen. The frequent processions to and from church, we may also notice, are not introduced from pious, but rather from scenic motives; they form a fine opportunity for showing off a beautiful woman or for securing the presence of a crowd at an important interview. The sentiment which dominates this poem is a thoroughly secular one. The poem in fact is a glorification of the Spielmann. That functionary is exhibited on a high stage, promoted to royal dignity and influence, but without losing any of his readiness of tongue or sleight of hand. This is par excellence the Spielmann poem; not only that the subordinate members of the profession who appear are always finely attired and richly rewarded, and succeed in all they take in hand, but that the central figure, the hero of the piece, is a player, an entertainer of the public, made royal himself and the

right hand of a king, and exhibiting his arts on a scale worthy

of his profession.

At Jerusalem a child was born,

Which since the royal crown hath worn,

Over all Christian folk;

That was the great King Salman,

Who many a wise word spoke.

He took a wife from India,

A heathen's daughter fair was she,

For her was many a knight forlorn :

It was an evil hour,

That she to the world was ever born.'

Her father's name was Cyprian, and Salman took her from him without his leave; he carried her across the wild sea, and kept her perforce in his good castle at Jerusalem.

'What I tell you that is true; he baptized her and taught her the Psalter a whole year, he taught her to play chess: dear to him was the queen, for all the harm she did him. Her throat was white as snow; never was there a fairer woman, her mouth burned like a ruby; her eyes sparkled as became her noble birth. Like yellow silk was her hair; beautiful was she and made for love; well-formed was her body, she was called Salme.'

Then comes a description of her dress which we will not inflict on the reader, further than that her under garments were of silk, and that her splendid robe and her crown shone with jewels. The occasions on which this lady is seen and described are generally connected with her going to church; the following is the most elaborate of them all :

'It fell on a day of Pentecost that the queen proceeded to the church. Beside her walked two rich princes, who escorted the illustrious queen. Before the noble lady many a spielmann walked that day. On her right hand went many a proud knight in knightly attire, as befitted the service of the queen. On her left hand went many a fair maid, and after her many an attendant in knightly dress. Four square they went, right fair When she entered the cathedral high mass began; they gave her a psalter in her hand, all written with letters of gold. When the Gospel was read hear what a gift the lady gave; a ring of red gold with precious stones, no better could there be.'

to see.

The sight of her turns the heads of all the knights, they forgot their food and drink for admiration of her beauty. Salman