the position of a standard text. Our extracts are taken from the modernised edition of Mr. A. W. Pollard. THE KHAN OF TARTARY ESCAPES BY HELP OF AN OWL. Afterward it befell upon a day that the Can rode with a few meinie for to behold the strength of the country that he had won. And so befell that a great multitude of his enemies met with him, and for to give good example of hardiness to his people, he was the first that fought, and in the midst of his enemies encountered, and there he was cast from his horse, and his horse slain, and when his folk saw him at the earth, they were all abashed and weened that he had been dead, and flew every one, and their enemies after them and chased them, but they wist not that the emperor was there. And when the enemies were far pursuing the chase, the emperor hid him in a thick wood. And when they were come again from the chase they went and sought the woods if any of them had been hid in the thick of the woods; and many they found and slew them anon. So it happened that as they went marching towards the place that the emperor was, they saw an owl sitting upon a tree above him; and then they said amongst them that there was no man because they saw that bird there, and so they went their way; and thus escaped the emperor from death. And then he went privily all by night till he came to his folk that were glad of his coming, and made great thankings to God Immortal, and to that bird by whom their lord was saved. And therefore principally above all fowls of the world they worship the owl; and when they have any of their feathers they keep them full preciously instead of relics, and bear them upon their heads with great reverence; and they hold themselves blessed and safe from all perils while that they have them together, and therefore they bear their feathers upon their heads. Every one will be reminded of the story of Mahomet and the spider. This was most likely the invention of a romancer; but it may be suspected that the Tartar tale was framed to account for the veneration paid by some tribe to the owl, a relic of animal worship of which they had become ashamed. THE IMPRISONED JEWS OF THE TEN TRIBES. In the same region be the mountains of Caspian that men clepe Uber in the country. Between those mountains the Jews of ten lineages be enclosed, that men clepe Goth and Magoth, and they may not go out on no side. There were enclosed twenty-two kings with their people, that dwelled between the mountains of Scythia. There King Alexander chased them between these mountains, and then he thought for to enclose them through work of his men. But when he saw that he might not do it, ne bring it to an end, he prayed to God of Nature that He would perform that that he had begun. And all were it so that he was a Paynim and not worthy to be heard, yet God of his grace closed the mountains together, so that they dwell there all fast locked and enclosed with high mountains all about, save only on one side, and on that side is the sea of Caspian. And yet, nathless, men say that they shall go out in the time of Anti-Christ, and that they shall make great slaughter of Christian men. And therefore all the Jews that dwell in all lands learn always to speak Hebrew, in hope that when the other Jews shall go out that they may understand their speech, and to lead them into Christendom for to destroy the Christian people. For the Jews say that they know full well by their prophecies that they of Caspia shall go out, and spread throughout all the world, and that the Christian men shall be under their subjection as long as they have been in subjection of them. And if that ye wit how that they shall find their way, after that I have heard say I shall tell you. In the time of Anti-Christ a fox shall make there his train, and mine an hole where King Alexander let make the gates; and so long shall he mine and pierce the earth, till that he shall pass through toward that folk. And when they see the fox they shall have great marvel of him, because that they saw never such a beast. For of all other beasts MANDEVILLE'S STYLE 201 they have enclosed amongst them save only the fox. And then they shall chase him and pursue him so strait till that he come to the same place that he came from. And then they shall dig and mine so strongly, till that they find the gates that King Alexander let make of great stones, and paving huge, well cemented and strong for the mastery. And those gates they shall break, and so go out by finding that issue. This is substantially the adventure in the Arabian Nights of Sindbad's deliverance from the charnel-house by following a fox or jackal. seen. MANDEVILLE'S APOLOGY FOR RELATING NO MORE MARVELS. There be many other divers countries and many other marvels beyond, that I have not Wherefore of them I cannot speak properly to tell you the manner of them. And also in the countries where I have been be many more diversities of many wonderful things than I make mention of; for it were too long thing to devise you the manner. And therefore that that I have devised you of certain countries, that I have spoken of before, I beseech your worthy and excellent noblesse, that it suffice to you at this time. For if that I devised you all that is beyond the sea, another man, peradventure, that would pain him and travail his body for to go into those marches for to ensearch these countries, might be blamed by my words in rehearsing many strange things; for he might not say nothing of new, in the which the hearer might have either solace or disport, or lust, or liking in the hearing. For men say always that new things and new tidings be always pleasant to hear. Wherefore I will hold me still without any more rehearsing of diversities or of marvels that be beyond, to that intent and end that whoso will go into those countries he shall find enough to speak of that I have not touched of in no wise. Mandeville's conduct in leaving a crop of marvels for his successors to gather after him is indeed most considerate and Christian! In the English version this passage is followed by the statement that he had submitted his narrative to the Pope at Rome, and, more successful than Foote when he sought to beguile Archbishop Secker into revising his farce, obtained his Holiness's authentication of its contents all and sundry. "And so my book (albeit that many men ne list to give credence to nothing but to that that they see with their eye, ne be the author ne the person never so true) is affirmed and proved by our Holy Father in manner and form as I have said.” This assertion is not in the original, and proves that the English version could not have been made before 1377, when the Pope returned to Rome from "the Babylonish captivity" at Avignon. No existing manuscript of this transcript is older than the fifteenth century, but it is not certain that those now extant were the earliest. style The above extracts will convey an idea of Mandeville's habitual style, and Merits of of the charm of his marvellous tales and quaint reflections, not unmingled Mandeville's with information of real value, generally derived from more serious travellers than himself, respecting the condition of the Oriental world. As Mr. Pollard observes, his pre-eminence among the prose writers of his day arises not so much from actual superiority of talent as from the application of his talent to themes of more human and practical interest than prose had hitherto essayed, and admitting of treatment in a more agreeable style. It may be added that if he had really been an English writer his prose would probably not have been so decidedly in advance of his contemporaries, but that his translators were able to progress by emulating a degree of refinement not lycheth the blood of the beelt that he lle eth and rentyth & baleth the other deas le lême meele:ana deuourpth and (wos lowyth it. CDe Leope200.Lapl'm no whay che leoperde knowyth thats lyon is lo lette and holde in the Atreyght place:he goth out of the denne forwar de: and comyth ayeŋ in to the denne in the other lyde behynde the lyoy :and res lech on hym behyndeforth wyth bytyng & with clawes:And lo che leoperde bath ofte in that wyle the maputip of the lp? on by crafte and not by Útrengthe/ Ano lo che lelle beelt hath ofte the may tip of the tonge beelt by dylcepte & gyle in ý denne:and dare not rele on hymy openly in the felde as Homerus lapth in it:/de pugnis & haltucijs beltian! CLibro din Arutocle (pekyth of a beel † hygh te ferculio/And Auicen callyth that be te feopezdus/ Abeelt lapch Aristotle that hyghte ferculio etyth lomtyme ve nemous chynge and leketh thenne man .lxvýj Eoperdus is moolt cruel beelt/e is gendered in (powlebreche of a peide of a Lyennelle as Jly derlapth.libro.xÿ:/¶for as Plinius la pch the lyon genorych wyth the perdus other che perde wyth the ipennelle/ of lu the gendrynge compth vnkynde pezdes as of an holle & of a the alle/ other of a maale e a male alle is gendryd a mule As Juder layth.the leoperous is a ful relynge beelt & heedltzonge: and thurls tyth blood/And the female is more cruel than the male as Ariftocle laych/and ha the opues colours as the parde hath: enys dyrte and eteth it/And the:foze hū? purlewyth his prope fertlynge & leppn ge and not rennpnge/And yf hecakith not his prope in the thyrde lepe other in the fourth thenne he Oyntyth for Indig nacpon and gooth bakwarde as though he were ouezcome:And is lyke to a lyon in body:taylle & fete:but in shape of the heed he is iphe to the parde/ And he is lelle in body chan the lyon,and therfore be dreapth the lyon:and maketh a caue under eiche wyth dowble entrynge & ou tegoynge:and compth out at a nother / And that caue is ful wyde & large in ep ther entiynge and moze narough & Azer ighte in the myopli:And lo whan the ly op compch he fleech & fallith lodenly in to the caue: and the lpon purlewyth he wyth a guete rele and ettech allo in p ca ue and weneth thez to haue the mayatzy of the leopezde/But for gretnelle of hys body he maye not palle freely by ý my, dyll of the denne whyche is ful freygbe tes hangyth luche dyrte in lome veйlell on a tree/And whay ý leoperde cometh to that tree and lepyth up to take ý dýrt thenne the hunters fleeth hym in the me ane tyme whyle he is there abowte/and the pantera dooth the lame the pezd9 allo as it is lapd there. Allo plini us (pekpth of the leoperde @"Capth/ that fomtyme the leoperde is leke and dryns hyth wylde gotys blood and (capych by it the lpknelle in that wyle. De Lepore-Lapim •Ixviÿj. He Hare hyght Lepus as it wes Leuipes:lyghtfote/foz it❜rényth wpftly/And hyghte Lagos in grewe foz lwyftnelle in tennynge. And libro.ry lyder lapth that the haare is alwyfte beelt ferfull and fyghtych.not And hath noo maneze kynde of armou ee nother offwepey:but oonlp lyghtnelle of mébres goflgmes:@ is feble of lyzte ee th From Trevisa's translation of Bartholomæus' " De Proprietatibus Rerum.” |