Alain Chartier, because his Editors have falsely ascribed to him a translation of one of Alain's poems. likewise in a Ballad, beginning, In the season of Feverier." The Ballad is among the additions made by John Stowe to Chaucer's works in 1561, and, like the greatest part of those additions, is of very dubious authority, to use the gentlest terms. But supposing it genuine, there is nothing in it to make us believe that it had any reference to the Countess of Pembroke. That its commendations of the Daysie ought not to weigh with us is very plain from the other piece cited by Mr. Speght: for the Legende of good Women, in which he imagines "the Lady Margaret to be honoured under the name of the Daysie," was certainly not written till at least twelve years after that Lady's death. See the Discourse, &c. n. 3. for the date of the Legende. The Countess Margaret must have died not later than 1370, as the Farl's son, by his second wife Anne, was about nineteen years of age, when he was killed in a tournament in 1391. Hollinshed, p. 471. It is possible that le dit de la fleur de lis et de la Marguerite by Guillaume de Machaut [Acad. des Insc. t. xx. p. 381.] and the Dittié de la flour de la Margherite by Froissart [Ibid. t. x. p. 669. t. xiv. hist. p. 223.), (neither of which had the least relation to the Countess of Pembroke,) might furnish us with the true key to those mystical compliments, which our poet has paid to the Daysie-flower. • Leland was the first author of this story, which is totally inconsistent with Chronology. The time of Alain's birth has not been settled with precision; but he was certainly living near 50 years after Chaucer's death; which makes it morally impossible that the latter should have followed him, in his attempts to polish his native language. La Balade de Fongieres [Œuvres d'Alain Chartier, p. 717.] was written upon the taking of that place by the English in 1448. There is another piece attributed to Alain [Ibid. p. 779.], which is thus entitled, Complainte faite à Paris et présentée à sa dame l'an mil quatre cents cinquante deux. Instead therefore of supposing from the translation of La belle dame sans mercie that Chaucer imitated Alain Chartier, we should rather conclude, that he was not the author of that translation; which indeed in MS. Harl. 372, is expressly attributed to a Sir Richard Ros. I will just take notice of another opinion, (which has been propagated upon as little foundation,) that Chaucer imitated the Provençal poets. Mr. Rymer, who, I believe, first made the discovery, speaks only of his having borrowed from their language [View of Trag. p. 78.], but Mr. Dryden found out, that he composed after their manner, particularly his tale of the Flower and the Leaf. Pref. to Fables. Mr. Warton also thinks, that the House of Fame "was originally a Provencial composition." Hist. of Eng. Po. p. 389. 458. How far Chaucer's language was borrowed, has been considered already, in the Essay, &c. Part i. I will only add here, that I have not observed in any of his writings a single phrase or word, which has the least appearance of having been fetched by him from the South of the Loire. With respect to the manner and matter of his compositions, till some clear instance of imitation be produced, I shall be slow to believe that in either he ever copied the poets of Provence, with whose works, I apprehend, he had very little, if any, acquaintance. [The following deposition was made by Chaucer Oct. 15, 1386, in the celebrated Scrope and Grosvenor controversy. It was first printed in Godwin's Life of Chaucer (Appendix i.), and has more recently appeared as a portion of Sir H. Nicolas's valuable publication, The Scrope and Grosvenor Roll (vol. i. 178): Geffray Chaucere Esquier del age de xl ans et plus armeez par xxvii ans product pur la partie de mens. Richard Lescrope, jurrez et examinez: “Demandez, si lez armeez dazure ove un bende dor apperteignent ou deyvent apperteigner au dit mons. Richard du droit et de heritage, dist, Que oil; qar il lez ad ve estre armeez en Fraunce devant la ville de Retters, et mons. Henry Lescrope armez en mesmes lez armeez ove un label blanc et a baner et le dit mons. Richard armeez en les entiers armez dazure ove un bende dor, et issint il lez vist armer par tout le dit viage, tanque le dit Geffrey estoit pris: "Demandez, par qei il sciet que lez ditz armez apperteignent au dit mons. Richard, dist, "Que par oy dire dez veux chivalers et esquiers, et qils ount toutdys continuez lour possession en les ditz armez, et par tout son temps pur lour armeez reputeez com commune fame et publike vois laboure et ad labouree; et auxi il dist que quant il ad veu lez ditz armes en baneres, en verrures, en peyntures, en vestementz, communement appellez Jes armez de Lescrope: "Demandez, sil oiast unques parler quele estoit le primer auncestre du dit mons. Richard, qi portast primerment lez ditz armez, dist, «Que noun; ne qil ne oiast unques autre mes qils estoient venuz de veille auncestre et de dez veulz gentils hommes et occupiez lez ditz armes : “Demandez, sil oiast unques parler com long temps que lez auncestres du dit mons. Richard ount usez lez ditz armes, dist, "Que noun; mes com il ad oy dire qil passe la memoir de homme : "Demandez, sil oiast unques dascun interrupcion ou chalange fait par mons. Robert Grovenour, ou par cez auncestres, ou par ascun en son noun, al dit mons. Richard, ou a ascun de cez auncestres, dist, "Que noun; mes il dist qil estoit une foitz en Fridaystrete en Loundres, com il alast en la rewe il vist pendant hors un novell signe fait dez ditz armez, et demandast quele herbergerie ceo estoit que avoit pendu hors cestez armes du Scrope, et un autre luy respondist et dit, Neuyl, seigneur, ils ne sount mye penduz hors pour lez armez de Scrope, ne depeyntez la pour cez armeez, mes il sount depeyntez et mye la pour une chivaler del counte de Chestre, que homme appelle mons. Robert Grovenour; et ceo fuist le primer foitz que oonques il oiast parler de mons. Robert Grovenour, ou de cez auncestres, ou de ascun autre portant le noun de Grovenour." "The time of Chaucer's birth," observes Sir H. Nicolas, "has lately been much discussed in consequence of the statement in his deposition in the Scrope and Grosvenor controversy, that he was in October 1386 of the age of forty and upwards,' and 'had been armed twenty-seven years,' which, if strictly correct, would make him to have been born about 1345, and to have served for the first time in the field in 1359; whereas the birth of the poet has been always hitherto assigned, though without any positive evidence, to the year 1328. There are, however, strong reasons, derived from many passages in his own works and in the writings of Gower, for believing that he was born long before 1345; and the many instances which have been adduced of the mistakes that occur respecting the ages of the deponents, of whom some are stated to have been ten, and others even twenty years younger than they actually were, prevents Chaucer's deposition being conclusive on the point. It is therefore possible that he was ten or even fifteen years above forty in 1386. He had, he said, borne arms for twenty-seven years, on which subject the deponents were generally more correct, so that assuming that he was about fifty-five when examined at Westminster, he did not commence his military career until 1359, at which time he was above twenty-eight." Vol. ii. p. 404. The following entries are from the Issue Roll of Thomas de Brantingham, &c. (edited by Mr. Devon) : 44 Edward iii, Thursday, the 25th day of April. 66 Geoffry Chaucer. (To Geoffry Chaucer, the King's valet, to whom the Lord the King, by his letters patent, lately granted 20 marks annually, to be received at the Exchequer during his life, for the good service rendered by him to the same Lord the King. In money delivered to him, by the hands of Walter Walssh, in discharge of the 10 marks payable to him for this his allowance,-to wit, at Easter Term last past, by his writ of Liberate, amongst the mandates of this Term 44 Edward iii., Wednesday, the 7th day of November. . £6 13 4." p. 19, (see also p. 289.) Philippa Chaucer. ( To Philippa Chaucer, to whom the Lord the King, by his letters patent, lately granted 10 marks yearly, to be received at the Exchequer during her life, (for the good service) rendered by her to the same Lord the King. In money delivered to her by the hands of John de Hermesthorp, in discharge of the 10 marks for this her allowance. The following entries occur in Issues of the Exchequer, &c. (edited by Mr. Devon): Michaelmas, 51 Edward iii. Easter, 2 Richard ii. £6 13 4." p. 359. "27th November.-To Philippa Chaucer, one of the maids of honour of the chamber of Philippa, late Queen of England, to whom the Lord the King granted 10 marks yearly, to be received at the Exchequer during her life, or until otherwise he should provide for her estate. In money delivered to her by the hands of Geoffrey Chaucer, in discharge of the 5 marks payable to her for this her allowance,-to wit, at Michaelmas term last past. By writ of liberate amongst the mandates of this term,-37. 6s. 8d." p. 203. "24th May.-To Geoffrey Chaucer, to whom the present Lord the King, on the 18th day of April in the first year of his reign, by his letters patent, granted 20 marks yearly, to be received at the Exchequer at the feasts of Saint Michael and Easter by equal portions, for the good services performed and hereafter to be performed by him to the same Lord the King, and in recom pense of a pitcher of wine charged by the Lord King Edward, grandfather of the present King, upon the port of the city of London, by the hands of the butler of the same King Edward and his heirs, also lately granted by letters patent to be received daily during the life of the said Geoffrey. In money paid to him by assignment made this day in discharge of 121. 4s., paid to him for this his allowance,-to wit, as well rateably from the aforesaid 18th day of April unto the feast of Saint Michael next following, as for the term of Easter last past By writ, c.,-12 13s." p. 210. Michaelmas, 4 Richard ii. Michaelmas, 13 Richard ii. “28th November.-To Geoffrey Chaucer, in money paid to his own hands in discharge of 147. due upon an account made with him at the Exchequer of account, for receipt of his wages and expenses in going upon the King's message to Lombardy, in the 1st year of the reign of King Richard ii. By writ of privy seal, &c.,-147." p. 214 "6th March.-To Geoffrey Chaucer, an esquire of the King. In money paid to his own hands, by assignment made to him this day, in discharge of 221., which the Lord the King commanded to be paid him of his gift in recompense of his wages, and the charges by him incurred in going as well in the time of King Edward, grandfather of the present King, as a messenger of the same grandfather, to Mounstrell and Paris, in France, on account of a treaty of peace pending between the aforesaid grandfather and his adversary of France; as in the time of the present Lord the King, to make a communication respecting a marriage to be had between the same Lord the King and the daughter of his said enemy of France. By writ of privy seal, &c.,-221." manors. p. 215 "7th October.-To Geoffrey Chaucer, clerk of the works of the Lord the King within the palace of Westminster, Tower of London, and divers others the King's castles and In money paid to him by assignment made this day,-to wit, by the hands of John Hermesthorp, clerk of the works near the Tower. By writ of liberate amongst the mandates of Easter term last past,-667. 13s. 4d. [Note.-This Roll contains several other payments to Geoffrey Chaucer, as clerk of the King's works.]” p. 239.] ΑΝ ESSAY ON THE LANGUAGE AND VERSIFICATION OF CHAUCER. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. The different judgements of the Language and Versification of Chaucer stated. Plan of this Essay, in three parts. 1. To vindicate Chaucer from the charge of having corrupted the English Language by too great a mixture of French with it. 2. To make some observations upon the real state of our language in his time. 3. To apply those observations and others towards illustrating the real nature of his Versification. PART THE FIRST. §1. The French Language introduced into England before the Conquest; § II. confirmed and propagated by the new establishments at the Conquest; §. was the ordinary language of the Court; § IV. was carried into the Provinces by the great Barons and military Commanders; § v. and especially by the Clergy; § vi. who, both Secular and Regular, were chiefly foreigners. § VII. The French Language continued to be much used as late as the reign of Edward III. § VIII. Conclusion, that the mixture of French in Chaucer's writings was not owing to any affectation of his, but to the causes above-mentioned, which in his time had generally introduced the Norman-Saxon instead of the Saxon Dialect; the same mixture being observable in other contemporary authors. PART THE SECOND. §1. The proposed observations upon the English language confined to the actual state of it in the time of Chaucer, §. and divided, so as to consider separately the Saxon and Norman parts of it. §. The Saxon part considered in grammatical order. 1. The Prepositive Article. 2. Nouns substantive and adjective. 3. Pronouns. 4. Verbs and Participles. 5. The indeclinable parts of speech. § 1v. The Norman part considered generally, § v. and more particularly with respect to Nouns, substantive and adjective, Verbs, and Participles. § vi. Additional causes of the introduction of a great number of French terms into the English Language. PART THE THIRD. § 1. Preliminary observations upon English Poetry. The form of English Poetry probably borrowed from the Normans, there being no traces of Rime, or Metre, among the Saxons before the Conquest. The Metres and Rime of modern Poetry derived from the Latin. § II. Progress of English Poetry to the reign of Henry II. Early attempts at riming. § 1. Few English Poets known between the reign of Henry II. and that of Henry III. § iv. The Ormulum written in verses of fifteen syllables without rime. v. The number of Rimers increased between the last mentioned period and the time when Chaucer began to write. § v. State of our Poetry at that time. § VII. Account of the Metres then in use; § VII of those used by Chaucer. §IX. The Heroic Metre probably introduced by him, either from France or Italy. §x. A knowledge of the ancient pronunciation of our language necessary in order to form a judgement of the Versification of Chaucer. § XI. How a critic in the age of Augustus would have proceeded in judging of the Metre of Ennius. § XII. The same method recommended with respect to Chaucer. General reasons for believing that he understood and practised the ordinary rules of Metre. § XII. The offences against Metre, in an English verse, enumerated, as arising from 1. a superfluity, 2. a deficiency, of syllables; and 3. a misplacing of Accents. § XIV. No superfluity of syllables in Chaucer's verses. § xv. The seeeming deficiencies in his Metre may generally be supplied by restoring the antient pronunciation of certain syllables, § xvi. and especially of the e feminine. Reasons for believing that the final e in our antient language was pronounced like the e feminine of the French. § XVII. The third kind of irregularity, arising from a misplacing of accents, may be rectified, in many instances, by accenting certain words in a manner different from that now in use, and more agreeable to the French practice. Proofs that such a mode of accentuation was used by Chaucer, in words of Saxon, as well as of French original. The early poets in France and Italy not exact in the disposition of their accents. § XVIII. Illustration of the foregoing Theory by a Grammatical and Metrical Analysis of the first eighteen lines of the Canterbury Tales. THE Language of Chaucer has undergone two very different judgements. According to one', he is the “well of English undefiled;" according to the other2, he has corrupted and 1 Spenser, F. Q. b. IV. c. ii. st. 32. Verstegan, c. 7. Some few ages ages after [the Conquest] came the Poet Geffery Chaucer, who writing his ESSAY ON THE LANGUAGE AND VERSIFICATION OF CHAUCER. xvii deformed the English idiom by an immoderate mixture of French words. Nor do the opinions with respect to his versification seem to have been less discordant. His contemporaries 3, and they who lived nearest to his time, universally extoll him as the "chief Poete of Britaine," "the flour of Poetes," &c. titles, which must be supposed to imply their admiration of his metrical skill, as well as of his other poetical talents; but the later critics, though they leave him in possession of the same sounding titles, yet they are almost unanimously agreed, that he was either totally ignorant or negligent of metrical rules, and that his verses, if they may be so called, are frequently deficient, by a syllable or two, of their just measure. It is the purpose of the following Essay to throw some light upon both these questions. Admitting the fact, that the English of Chaucer has a great mixture of French in it, I hope to shew, that this mixture, if a crime, cannot fairly be laid to his charge. I shall then proceed to state some observations upon the most material peculiarities of the Norman-Saxon, or English Language, as it appears to have been in general use in the age of Chaucer; and lastly, applying these observations to the poetical parts of the Canterbury Tales, as they are faithfully printed in this edition from the best MSS. which I coud procure, I shall leave it to the intelligent Reader to determine, whether Chaucer was really ignorant of the laws, or even of the graces, of Versification, and whether he was more negligent of either than the very early Poets in almost all languages are found to have been. PART THE FIRST. § 1. In order to judge, in the first place, how far Chaucer ought to be charged as the importer of the many French words and phrases, which are so visible in all his writings, it will be necessary to take a short view of the early introduction and long prevalency of the French language in this country before his time. It might be sufficient, perhaps, for our purpose to begin this view at the Conquest: but I cannot help observing, from a contemporary Historian, that, several years before that great event, the language of France had been introduced into the court of England, and from thence among the people. The account which Ingulphus gives of this matter is 3, that Edward, commonly called the Confessor, having been educated at the poesies in English is of some called the first illuminator of the English tongue. Of their opinion I am not, though I reverence Chaucer as an excellent Poet for his time. He was indeed a great mingler of English with FRENCH, unto which language (by like for that he was descended of French, or rather Wallon race) he carried a great affection." Skinner, Etymol. L. A. Præf. "Ex hoc malesano novitatis pruritu, Belga Gallicas voces passim civitate sua donando patrii sermonis puritatem nuper non leviter inquinârunt, et CHAUCERUS poeta, pessimo exemplo, integris Docum plaustris ex eadem GALLIA in nostram linguam invectis, eam, nimis antea a Normannorum victoria adulteratam, omni fere nativa gratia et nitore spoliavit." 3 Lydgate, Occleve, et al. See the Testimonies prefixed to Urry's Edit. I shall only quote Dryden, Pref. to his Fables. "The verse of Chaucer, I confess. is not harmonious to us;They who lived with him, and some time after him, thought it musical; and it continues so even in our judgment, if compared with the numbers of Lidgate and Gower, his contemporaries;-"Tis true, I cannot go so far as he, who published the last edition of him [Mr. Speght]; for he would make us believe the fault is in our ears, and that there were really ten syllables in a verse where we find but nine. But this opinion is not worth confuting; 'tis so gross and obvious an error, that common sense (which is a rule in every thing but matters of Faith and Revelation) must convince the Reader, that equality of numbers in every verse which we call Heroick, was either not known, or not always practised, in Chaucer's age. It were an easy matter to produce some thousands of his verses, which are lame for want of half a foot, and sometimes a whole one, and which no pronunciation can make otherwise." This peremptory decision has never since, that I know, been controverted, except by Mr. Urry, whose design of restoring the metre of Chaucer by a Collation of MSS. was as laudable, as his execution of it has certainly been unsuccessful. Ingulph. Hist. Croyl. p. 62. ed. Gale. "Rex autem Edwardus natus in Anglia, sed nutritus in Normannia et с |