liar taste, and manner of writing or thinking from another, without borrowing at the same time any of their particular stories and fables, without appearing to know anything of their heroes, history, laws, and religion. When the Romans began to adopt and imitate the Grecian literature, they immediately naturalized all the Grecian fables, histories, and religious stories which became as familiar to the poets of Rome, as of Greece itself. Whereas all the old writers of chivalry, and of that species of romance, whether in prose or verse, whether of the Northern nations, or of Britain, France, and Italy; not excepting Spain itself; * appear utterly unacquainted with whatever relates to the Mahometan nations. Thus with regard to their religion, they constantly represent them as worshipping idols, as paying adoration to a golden image of Mahomet, or else they confound them with the ancient pagans, &c. And indeed in all other respects they are so grossly ignorant of the customs, manners, and opinions of every branch of that people, especially of their heroes, champions, and local stories, as almost amounts to a demonstration that they did not imitate them in their songs or romances: for as to dragons, serpents, necromancies, &c., why should these be thought only derived from the Moors in Spain so late as after the eighth century? since notions of this kind appear too familiar to the northern Scalds, and enter too deeply into all the northern mythology, to have been transmitted to the unlettered Scandinavians, from so distant a country, at so late a period. If they may not be allowed to have brought these opinions with

The little narrative songs on Morisco subjects, which the Spaniards have at present in great abundance, and which they call peculiarly Romances," (see vol. i. Book iii. No. xvi. &c.) have nothing in common with their proper Romances (or histories) of Chivalry; which they call "Historias de Cavallerias:" these are evidently imitations of the French, and show a great ignorance of Moorish manners and with regard to the Morisco, or SongRomances, they do not seem of very great antiquity: few of them appear, from their subjects, much earlier than the reduction of Granada, in the fifteenth century: from which period, I believe, may be plainly traced among the Spanish writers, a more perfect knowledge of Moorish customs, &c.

them in their original migrations from the north of Asia, they will be far more likely to have borrowed them from the Latin poets after the Roman conquests in Gaul, Britain, Germany, &c. For, I believe one may challenge the maintainers of this opinion, to produce any Arabian poem or history, that could possibly have been then known in Spain, which resembles the old Gothic romances of chivalry half so much as the Metamorphoses of Ovid.

But we well know that the Scythian nations situate in the countries about Pontus, Colchis, and the Euxine sea, were in all times infamous for their magic arts: and as Odin and his followers are said to have come precisely from those parts of Asia; we can readily account for the prevalence of fictions of this sort among the Gothic nations of the North, without fetching them from the Moors in Spain; who for many centuries after their irruption, lived in a state of such constant hostility with the unsubdued Spanish Christians, whom they chiefly pent up in the mountains, as gave them no chance of learning their music, poetry, or stories; and this, together with the religious hatred of the latter for their cruel invaders, will account for the utter ignorance of the old Spanish romancers in whatever relates to the Mahometan nations, although so nearly their own neighbours.

On the other hand, from the local customs and situations, from the known manners and opinions of the Gothic nations in the North, we can easily account for all the ideas of chivalry, and its peculiar fictions. For, not to mention their distinguished respect for the fair sex, so different from the manners of the Mahometan nations, † their national and domestic history so naturally assumes all the wonders of this species of fabling, that almost all their historical narratives appear regular romances. One might refer in proof of this to the old northern "Sagas" in general: but to give a particular instance, it will be sufficient to produce the history of King Regner Lodbrog, a celebrated warrior and pirate, who

*See Northern Antiquities," passim.

↑ Ibid.

A

reigned in Denmark about the year 800.* This hero signalized his youth by an exploit of gallantry. Swedish prince had a beautiful daughter, whom he intrusted (probably during some expedition) to the care of one of his officers, assigning a strong castle for their defence. The officer fell in love with his ward, and detained her in his castle, spite of all the efforts of her father. Upon this he published a proclamation through all the neighbouring countries, that whoever would conquer the ravisher and rescue the lady should have her in marriage. Of all that undertook the adventure, Regner alone was so happy as to atchieve it: he delivered the fair captive, and obtained her for his prize. It happened that the name of this discourteous officer was Orme, which in the Islandic language signifies Serpent: Wherefore the Scalds, to give the more poetical turn to the adventure, represent the lady as detained from her father by a dreadful dragon, and that Regner slew the monster to set her at liberty. This fabulous account of the exploit is given in a poem still extant, which is even ascribed to Regner himself, who was a celebrated poet; and which records all the valiant achievements of his life.†

With marvellous embellishments of this kind the Sealds early began to decorate their narratives: and they were the more lavish of these, in proportion as they departed from their original institution, but it was a long time before they thought of delivering a set of personages and adventures wholly feigned. Of the great multitude of romantic tales stilì preserved in the libraries of the North, most of them are supposed to have had some foundation in truth, and the more ancient they are, the more they are believed to be connected with true history.‡

It was not probably till after the Historian and the Bard had been long disunited, that the latter ventured

* Saxon Gram. p. 152, 153.-Mallet. "North. Antiq." vol. i. p. 321. + See a Translation of this poem, among "Five Pieces of Runic Poetry," printed for Dodsley, 1764, 8vo.

± Vid. Mallet. "Northern Antiquities," passim.

at pure fiction. At length when their business was no longer to instruct or inform, but merely to amuse, it was no longer needful for them to adhere to truth. Then succeeded fabulous Romances and Songs in verse, which for a long time prevailed in France and England before they had books of Chivalry in prose. Yet in both these countries the Minstrels still retained so much of their original institution, as frequently to make true events the subject of their Songs;* and indeed, as during the barbarous ages, the regular Histories were almost all written in Latin by the Monks, the memory of events was preserved and propagated among the ignorant laity by scarce any other means than the popular Songs of the Minstrels.

II. THE inhabitants of Sweden, Denmark, and Nor way, being the latest converts to Christianity, retained their original manners and opinions longer than the other nations of Gothic race: and therefore they have preserved more of the genuine compositions of their ancient poets, than their southern neighbours. Hence the progress, among them, from poetical history to poetical fiction is very discernible: they have some old pieces, that are in effect complete Romances of Chivalry. They have also (as hath been observed) a multitude of "Sagas" or Histories on romantic subjects, containing a mixture of prose and verse, of various dates, some of them written since the times of the Crusades, others long before but their narratives in verse only are esteemed the more ancient.

Now as the irruption of the Normans§ into France under Rollo did not take place till towards the begin

* The Editor's MS. contains a multitude of poems of this latter kind. It was probably from this custom of the Minstrels that some of our first Historians wrote their Chronicles in verse, as Rob. of Gloucester, Harding, &c.

+ See a specimen in 2d vol. of p. 248, &c.

Northern Antiquities," &c.

Eccardi Hist. Stud. Etym. 1711, p. 179, &c. Hickes's Thesaur. vol. ii. p. 314.

§ i. e., Northern Men: being chiefly Emigrants from Norway, Denmark, &c.

ning of the tenth century, at which time the Scaldic art was arrived to the highest perfection in Rollo's native country, we can easily trace the descent of the French and English Romances of Chivalry from the Northern Sagas. That conqueror doubtless carried many Scalds with him from the North, who transmitted their skill to their children and successors. These adopting the religion, opinions, and language of the new country, substituted the heroes of Christendom instead of those of their Pagan ancestors, and began to celebrate the feats of Charlemagne, Roland, and Oliver; whose true history they set off and embellished with the Scaldic figments of dwarfs, giants, dragons, and inchantments. The first mention we have in song of those heroes of chivalry is in the mouth of a Norman warrior at the conquest of England :* and this circumstance alone would sufficiently account for the propagation of this kind of romantic poems among the French and English.

But this is not all; it is very certain, that both the Anglo-Saxons and the Franks had brought with them, at their first emigrations into Britain and Gaul, the same fondness for the ancient songs of their ancestors, which prevailed among the other Gothic tribes,† and that all their first annals were transmitted in these popular oral poems. This fondness they even retained long after their conversion to Christianity, as we learn from the examples of Charlemagne and Alfred.‡ Now Poetry, being thus the transmitter of facts, would as easily learn to blend them with, fictions in France and England, as she is known to have done in the north,

* See the Account of Taillefer in vol i. "Essay," and Note. † Ipsa carmina memoriæ mandabant, et prælia inituri decantabant; qua memoria tam fortium gestorum a majoribus patratorum ad imitationem animus adderetur." Jornandes de Gothis.

Eginhartus de Carolo Magno, "Item barbara, et antiquissima carmina, quibus veterum regum actus et bella canebantur, scripsit." c. 29.

Asserius de Ælfredo Magno. "Rex inter bella, &c. . . . . Saxonicos libros recitare, et maxime carmina Saxonica memoriter discere, aliis imperare, et solus assidue pro viribus, studiosissime non desinebat," Ed. 1722, 8vo, p. 43.