Lady Charlotte Guest's translation of the Mabinogeon. Whoever desires a full knowledge of the Arthurian tales will read Malory, and those who wish a short sketch of the truth and fictions related of the king, will find a good article on the subject in the Harvard Magazine, (Vol. I,) which, however, displays too strong a belief in the statements of Gerald Barry, with regard to the discovery of the tomb and remains of Arthur and his Queen. It is, therefore, intended to give here, in a sketch of these stories, no more than is necessary for the explanation of a few considerations based upon them. Arthur was taken from his parents, Uther Pendragon and "the fair Igrayne," and in his childhood was placed, by the advice of Merlin, under the kind and watchful instruction of the "good Knight, Sir Ector." His foster brothers, as well as himself, were kept in ignorance of his greater nobility, and he was known only as Sir Ector's son. Some, however, have given him the character of foundling, and say that he was found on the shore of the lake where, in later times, he obtained his sword. This sort of tales was very popular among the northern nations and abounds in their poetry and legends. On his father's death there was great doubt concerning who should be king, and on one occasion the Archbishop prayed for a miraculous sign. Immediately before the door of the church was found a sword imbedded in a large stone. No one could draw it till one day Arthur, searching for a weapon for his foster-brother, seeing it by chance drew it out, whereupon his real parentage was disclosed, and he was made king, in accordance with the inscription on the stone, "Who so pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvile, is rightwise king borne of England." He also received another and more famous sword Excalibur or Caliburn, from the Lady of the Lake, for when he had lost his own, Merlin pointed out to him where an arm Rose up from out the bosom of the lake, He and Arthur "rowed across and took it, and wore it, like a king." did wonders of valor, slew many giants, and defeated the Saxons in twelve battles, of which the last and greatest was at Badon mount, at or near Bath, where he is reported by Nennius to have killed nine hundred and forty men with his own hand. He then wedded Guen *In the neighborhood of Bath there are still remains of ancient fortifications. evere, at Camelot, and established the Round Table, and soon commenced the conquests by which all civilized Europe was brought under his empire. The Queen, in the midst of this, by her guilty love for Lancelot made the King attack that famous knight, with whom, on the first discovery of her guilt, she was supposed to have taken refuge, and a war arising from this was transferred into Brittany by the departure of Lancelot to that country. Arthur, about to follow him, committed his kingdom to Modred, who, in his absence, seized the Queen and attempted to hold the kingdom, or, as Layamon says more simply, Modred seduced the Queen, and then took up arms against the King. Arthur returning, fought with the traitor, (who had procured aid from the Saxon Childeric,) first near the shore, then at Winchester, and thirdly at Camlan, or Camelford. This battle, brought on by an accident, he entered knowing his fate, and fell by his nephew's hand, mortally wounded, while Modred was killed outright. The numbers engaged in this battle are given at two hundred thousand, and only one knight survived to bear the king to the ship that awaited to bring him to the island of Avalon, where he should heal him of his wound. The descriptions of this event, as given by Malory and Tennyson, are almost if not quite unsurpassed by anything else of the kind. Of the death of Arthur the most varying reports prevailed. Some said he was not dead, but should come again, as Merlin prophesied; others, that he died, and was carried away so that his tomb was never found; and some assert that he was buried in Glastonbury, which, says Girald Barry, (Giraldus Cambrensis,) "was anciently called the Isle of Avalon; for the whole island, as it were, is beset with marshes." This author records the discovery of the tomb containing the remains of the king and queen, in the reign of Henry the Second, and he says he saw the inscription, which was on a leaden cross inserted into the coffin. This inscription is given in a variety of ways; the most common is,-"Hic jacet Arturus rex quondam, et rex futurus;" and another beautiful one is given by Rit"Hic jacet Arturus, flos regum, gloria regni, son, 66 Quem mores probitas commendant laude perenni." The Triads mention Guinevere as bad when little, worse when great," and her history is another Helen's, in beauty, in falseness, and the misfortunes brought thereby on all about her. The orthography of her name is peculiarly variable. We find Gwenhuyvar, Gwenhuyfar, in Welsh; Wenneria, Guanhumara, in Latin; in Layamon, Wenhaver; elsewhere, Genievre, Geneura, and almost a score of other ways, while we have in modern times the same name, Winifred. In this connection, it may be interesting to mention the places where the king held his court. These were chiefly three,-Carleon, Camelot, and Carlisle. Of the former, the "Brut" says that it was first called Kair-Uske, from the river on which it stood; then, from its occupation by the Roman Second Legion, Kaer-legion, (hence it is often mentioned as the city of Legions, for Kair, Kaer-Caer, means city,) and later, together with various Latin names, it is called Kairliun, and usually, at the present time, Caerleon. Although a place of this name remains, the city of Cardiff is supposed to be the one referred to. Camelot, said by some to retain the name, Camel, is thought by a few to be Winchester, but the former is more probable, and extensive "entrenchments of an ancient town or station are still seen," near it. Carlisle is, perhaps, the same as a place still bearing that name, near the boundaries of Scotland. Although Guenevere may have been a real person, and the crime that made hers "ever a name of scorn," was a fact, yet Lancelot was wholly a myth, and the "Brut" seems really truthful, in making Modred her paramour. Yet Lancelot is a fascinating character, and any one who reads the story of his deeds, cannot fail to admire him. His is "the firmer seat, the truer lance," and he has a desperate and dashing bravery, and, in many respects, a noble nature, but all marred by sin. He is the ideal of the purely chivalric writers, Galahad, of the romances of Crusade chivalry, and Arthur, of both the early Britons, and, with some modifications, of later times. Merlin was a mighty magician, who guarded and assisted both Uther and his son. He lived to a great age, and was destroyed by Vivien, during Arthur's reign. He originated the Round Table, and built Stonehenge, and, according to the story, commenced to build the place that certainly bears the name to this day, Caermarthen. Merdhin, or Merlin, is also given as the name of an old poet, whose works are asserted to have been written in Welsh, about the time which the romances assign to him. His prophecies, his might, and his worldly wisdom, were held in great repute. From the Brut we have, “whilom was a sage hight Merlin; he said with words,-his sayings were sooth, that an Arthur should yet come to help the English, (or Britons.)" Galahad, the son of Lancelot and Elaine, is the embodiment of purity, and his story is worthy of a more full relation than Tennyson has given, although that is unsurpassed, and after him no lesser writer should touch it, if he have any regard for his own reputation. Gawaine is another famous knight, and although his character is disputed in various authors, he is in the main true and brave. Many other less famous knights there are, "All brave, and many generous, and some chaste." Malory gives us, at a distance from Arthur's court, a parallel tale of the king of Cornwall, his subject. Marke, indeed, is not much like the "blameless king," except in position, but Tristram and Isoude are a reproduction of Lancelot and Guinevere, both in merits and faults, save that there is no story of their repentance. It seems as if they had been invented by the romancers, to please their readers merely, and the story was imitated from Arthur and his Queen, because, being like theirs, it might share their popularity, or, perhaps, the similarity was unintentionally produced by some one who was full of the older tale, and having been strongly impressed by it, naturally wrote like it as most unpractised authors would do. The influence of the Crusades is shown, in the story of Tristram, more intimately, if not more extensively, than in those relating strictly to Arthur, by the introduction of names which had become familiar through those great expeditions, and by extending the field of the king's conquests all over Europe. Thus Arthur is found marching to Rome, and in a certain battle," many lords and knights of Lomberdy and Sarasins were left dead on the field," and we find Alexandry, Affrike, Milan, Tuskaine, mentioned by a pleasant anachronism of only a few centuries, as places from whence came soldiers to fight with Britons, in the neighborhood of Rome. Yet the wildest and most monotonous romances are interesting. Some of us have heard that the Monkish legends were once the novels of Europe; these, also, at another time, were even more properly the novels of Chivalry, and there can be no difficulty in seeing how they could have had a great and fascinating interest. Both the romances, and, still more, the old ballads, like to bring in Arthur's name, as if it were an additional attraction. Some curious instances are to be found, where he is hardly mentioned, except in the title, as in the ballad called "The noble atchievements of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table." The ballads give always a somewhat original story, and those in Mr. Child's first volume are worth reading, on that account. Throughout the whole range of these stories it is so easy to convert them into allegory, that one can sometimes almost believe that such was their intention. There is often in Malory's book, a moralizing vein, that is very closely allied to it. Tennyson's "Idylls" may be interpreted as such, with very little difficulty; in fact, they can hardly be read without appearing to have that character underlying the story, just as if he unintentionally allowed it to creep into his verse, as it had been present in his mind; and the same seems frequently true of other writings on the King and his Knights. As was previously said, Arthur now belongs almost entirely to the heroic legends of England. His existence was already practically unreal, before the romances and poems celebrated him. Some one has said that a novel should not be written on historic incidents, within half a century of their occurrence, and they often wait longer for a poem. Homer did not write his Iliad until Troy had become an unremembered, though storied city of the past. May it not also be, that no great epic can be expected until the great events of a nation's life have faded from the ordinary thoughts of men, and the poet can have the opportunity of renewing them? If so, the abundance of printed histories is unfavorable to epics, and as few poets will choose other than a national topic for them, America will have long to wait. E. C. S. Our Choir. Do you call this music?-Common Saying. READER, were you ever the leader of a church choir? If you never were, let me, while grasping your hand, congratulate you with much warmth and not a little envy. If you have fallen so low, let us take one another by the arm and repair to some lonely grotto, there to discuss our mutual griefs. Secure from interruption, we may there uncork our vials of wrath. Let no one smile while perusing these lines. Let no unseemly levity be manifested, as the black funeral procession of my wrongs passes before the eyes of the "collegeworld." But let all carefully observe, and then walk away, excited with mingled feelings of wonder and alarm at the extraordinary spectacle which has been witnessed. You will notice that I am frank. Ah! there is no use in trying to dissemble. I am a chorister. I do not make this humiliating confession in order that I may bring the minions of charity-dispensers about my ears; but that, by honorably assuming my dishonor, my narrative may gain credence. |