A Metrical History of England Or, Recollections, in Rhyme, Of some of the most prominent Features in our National Chronology, from the Landing of Julius Caesar to the Commencement of the Regency, in 1812. In Two Volumes ... By Thomas Dibdin |
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 | A Metrical History of England |  |
Motto of the Garter.
“His Redcross Knights, and Barons bold.
“Whose vacant seats, by virtue bought,
“Ambitious Emperors have sought;
“Where Britain's foremost names are found,
“In peace beloved, in war renowned;
“Who made the hostile nations moan,
“Or brought a blessing on their own.”
Tickell.
Motto of the Black Prince.
“A sage in peace, a demi-god in war;
“Who stern in fight made echoing Cressey ring,
“And mild in conquest, served his captive King?”
Tickell.
EDWARD THE THIRD.
With mind, desert and talent to protect,
Edward presents a model to admire:
His subjects' hearts before their sov'reign bend;
The widow's guardian, and the orphan's sire;
Foe to the vicious, to the good a friend.
Link'd to his Queen by mutual regard;
Proud of a son, whose better scarce drew breath,
Through life beloved, lamented in his death.
Saw Mortimer ascendant o'er the Queen;
Indignant at their joint and lawless rule,
Scorning to be a mean, convenient, tool,
He boldly took the reins, well knowing, he
Who rules o'er Freemen should himself be free.
“To Nottingham, the north's imperious eye,
“Which as a pharos doth survey the soile,
“Armed by nature, danger to defie,
“Marche to repose him after all his toile.
“Where treason (least advantage might espie)
“Closely convey'd his past price valued spoyle;
“That there residing from the publique sight,
“He might with measure relish his delight.”
There with “ninescore of special worth and sort
“Marche and the Queen maintaine one equal port.”
“And the bright Queen rule all things by their might,
“The state wherein at Nottingham they be,
“The cost wherewith their pompeous court is dight,
“Envy'd by those their hateful pride that see:
“The King attempts the dreadful cave by night;
“Entering the castle, taketh him from thence,
“And Marche at London dyes for his offence.”
Ambition taught him to deceive the Scot;
With Caledonian blood his broad sword dyed;
At Hallidown too, mournful legends tell,
The Douglas with his thirty thousand fell.
With more of honour thins the ranks of France;
To where in naval fight 'tis Edward's boast
Their fleet to vanquish on the Flemish coast;
Two hundred ships destroyed, some tell us more,
With thirty thousand corses, fright the shore;
The King, with half their force, this vict'ry gains,
And England's flag most gallantly maintains;
With less success the warlike chief, on land,
Headed an Anglo-German-Flemish band,
Till quarrels, for the duchy of Bretagne,
“Cry havock! and let loose the war” again.
Edward to 'venge his friend, the slain Artois,
Joins Montfort's party against Charles de Blois:
While valiant Jane de Montfort leads the fight,
To vindicate a captive husband's right;
Sustaining 'gainst De Blois' superior powers,
A fierce blockade and siege in Hennebonne Towers,
Where, nearly forced by famine to give place,
Sir Walter Manny saves her from disgrace;
From conquest almost gain'd, her foes retreat,
Aw'd by the presence of an English Fleet!
The muse to aid with mingled power of pen,
Cou'd time, fame, vict'ry, furnish each a wing,
She might essay, but faintly even then,
The laurels won on Crecy's plains to sing.
With what success then shall her humble plume
Of goose-quill uninspired, the task asume?
Dare she attempt the praise of England's King,
Who like the lion cross'd in wish'd retreat,
Turn'd sudden on his hunters? dare she tell
Directed fortune as by magic spell,
And saw Bohemia's Monarch at his feet,
While round him Gallia's choicest leaders fell?
The King, who cared but for the Prince's fame,
And valued less his safety than his name.
(His age fifteen,) sought from his sire relief;
No, cried the father, with demeanour stern,
My aid would snatch the laurel he may earn,
More worthy he to grace a future throne,
Who can in danger make success his own,
And owe the glory to himself alone.
Bohemia's King, eleven leaders more,
Who regal ensigns on their armour bore,
With eighty bannerets, twelve hundred knights,
Of nobles, fifteen hundred—men of name;
Four thousand (so undoubted hist'ry writes),
With thirty thousand soldiers of less fame,
While Edward's loss was only, strange to say,
Three knights, one valiant squire, and few indeed
Of private station who were known to bleed.
Till “famine cling them,” and the King enraged,
Soon as the city at his mercy lies,
To punish those whom self-defence engaged
In patriot warfare, to their pray'r for peace,
Decrees from slaughter 'ere the sword shall cease,
Six of their noblest with disgrace shall die:
Six, self-devoted, to the threat reply;
But great and good Phillippa's suppliant breath,
Saves Edward from dishonour, them from death;
Phillippa who from England came,
With more of wreaths for Edward's name.
The Scottish King who vainly thought,
He, in the royal absence, might invade
And by Phillippa's arm was prisoner made
At Nevill's Cross, where, fatal to his reign,
Of valiant Scots are fifteen thousand slain.
For triumphs won in contest hard,
O'er Edward's oft defeated foes,
The Order of the Garter rose.
The story coupled with a lady's name,
Yet, with due rev'rence to the lovely dame,
(We delicately touch so soft a string)
Tho' great effect from little cause may spring,
'Twere better here to have it understood,
As royal guerdon for the great and good.
Glory, untired of decking Edward's helm,
(And with her beams his enemies to whelm)
Another day, unmatch'd in former reigns:
A second Crecy to the first succeeds,
At Poictiers, scene of more than mortal deeds;
With front unmoved, the Prince beholds advance,
To crush his little band, the power of France:
Attacked by Monarch, Princes, Nobles, all,
He sees their Princes, Nobles, Warriors, fall;
Hears their King own himself in grief's despite,
Surpass'd in courtsey as foil'd in fight;
While England views her sovereign mildly greet
Two captive Monarchs kneeling at his feet.
Young Edward, after deeds excelled by none,
'Mid dazzling career was snatch'd away,
And with him, for a while, set England's sun!
Scarcely a year his mourning sire survived
The darling son in whom his glory lived;
“The paths of glory lead but to a grave.”
To poesy and “lisp'd in numbers” still;
Chaucer gave birth to a prophetic hope,
Of what succeeding ages might fulfil.
From him and others, en passant, we chuse,
Some dozen lines, which occupy a place,
Not as fair samples, haply of the muse,
But the gradations of our tongue to trace
Since our last extract—and because their rhymes,
In some sort, sketch the manners of the times;
And, first from Chaucer, we are taught to guess
At style of living, cookery, and dress.
A labyrinth constructed under the castle, through which the King's guards made way to the apartment, where,
“Too soft a shield to beare their boys'trous blowes,
“Who least of all suspected such alarmes.”
Taking an ungenerous advantage of some border excursions, he declared the treaty of Northampton broken, and besieged Berwick; while Baliol (who had been intruded on the Scots as King by Edward, to the prejudice of David Bruce, and chased back to England by the indignant natives,) with an English army entered Scotland, and made Moray, the Regent, prisoner. Archibald Douglas, who succeeded to the Regency, attacking the English, with more courage than conduct, at Hallidown Hill, was slain with the principal nobility, and the army utterly destroyed, with hardly any loss on the side of Edward.— And says an old MS. in the Harleian Collection,
“With pipes, trompes and tabors therto,
“And loud clarionnes they blew also.”
Vide J. P. Andrews.
The French are said to have had four hundred vessels, out of which number they lost two hundred and thirty: while Edward's fleet only consisted of two hundred and forty. It is presumed these ships were principally transports, and those but of small dimensions; the disparity of numbers, however, serves to prove that the bravery and conduct of the British were always supereminent on the ocean.
Four thousand men at arms, which implies a distinction, are given in the list; besides thirty thousand common soldiers.
Phillippa on more than one occasion had the happiness to be successful in the amiable character of an intercessor. In the fourth year of this reign, a scaffold on which the Queen and many ladies were seated to see a tournament in Cheapside, fell down, and the royal and noble auditresses were precipitated from a considerable height; the carpenters would have inevitably suffered death, but the stern Edward was softened by the prayers and tears of the amiable Phillippa.
Though many give credit to what Andrews calls the picturesque story of this order, originating from the Countess of Salisbury's garter, yet he adds from Rastell's Chronicle, that “Some do affirme that this order beganne fyrst by King Richard Cœur de Lyon, at the siege of the citie of Acres, where in his greate necessy tie there were but twenty-five knights that firmlye and surelye abode by him, where he caused all them to wear thonges of blue leythere aboute their legges, and afterwards they were called knights.”
The number of French slain were, two Dukes, nineteen Earls, many Knights and Gentlemen, with several thousand men at arms. The prisoners were still more numerous, at the head of whom was their King John, who was treated with the most delicate respect by his conqueror, after his arrival in England. Henry Picard, Lord Mayor of London, had the honour to entertain the captive Kings of France and Scotland, and the King of Cyprus at one table, with most hospitable magnificence.
Chaucer, styled the first English poet, was page to Edward III. in 1359, married Phillippa, the sister of Catherine Swynford, (the future wife of John of Gaunt,) and is said to have had a large income, he was imprisoned as a Lollard, but ended his life in ease and plenty, at Donnington Castle, Berks, where he composed most of his best productions.
Eating.
“A coke thei hadde with them for the nonce,“To boil the chikens and the marie-bones,
“Well couth he knew a draught of London ale;
“He couth rostè, boilè, grillè, and frie,
“And makè mortries, and well bake a pie;
“For blank manger that made he with the best, &c.”
Drinking.
“We shall have Rumney and malespine,“Both Ypocras and Vernage wyne,
“Mountrese and wyne of Greke,
“Both Algrade and despice eke,
“Antioche and Bastarde,
“Pymont also and Garnarde, &c.
Spices.
“There was ike wexin many a spice,“As clowe, gilofre, and licorice,
“Gingiber, and grein de Paris,
“Canell at sette wale of prys,
“And many a spice delitable,
“To eten when men rise fro' table.”
Dress of an Archer.
“And he was cladde in cote, and hode of grene,“A shefe of pecockes arrwes bryghte and clene,
“Under his belt he bore full thriftily,
“And in his hand he bare a mighty bowe,
“A not hed haddè he, with browne visage,
“Of wood craft couth he wel al the usage;
“Upon his arme he had a gai bracèr,
“And by his side a sworde and à bokelèr;
“And on the other side a gai daggere,
“Harneised well, and sharp as point of spere;
“A christofre on his breste of silken shene,
“An horne he bare, the baudrike was of grene.”
Spring.
“This was in midst of month of May,“When birdis sing on ilka spray,
“Melland their notes with seemly soun,
“For softness of the sweet seasoun.
“And leaves of the branches spreeds,
“And bloomis bright, beside them, breeds,
“Well favouring of seir colours.”
Born at Aberdeen, but who, after he was an Archdeacon, obtained a licence from Edward III. to study at Oxford.
Hunger.
“Hunger, in heste, though, hent Wastour by the mawe,“And wronge him so by the wembe that both his eien water'd;
“He buffeted the Breton about the chekes,
“That he loked lyke a lanterne all his life after.”
[And as the new abashed nightingale]
And as the new abashed nightingale,That stinteth first when she beginneth sing,
When that the herith any hardis' tale,
And after, siker doth her voice outring;
Right so Cresseide (when that her drede stent,)
Open'd her herte, and told him her intent.
| A Metrical History of England | |