Richard the Second, the Morning before his Murder in Pomfret Castle (from his Civil Wars) Mercy dwelling in Heaven and pleading for the Guilty, 322 323 325 ib . 329 333 335 336 . 339 344 Distant View of the Roinan Army engaging the Britons (from the Tragedy of Bonduca, Scene V. Act III.) 361 Caratach, Prince of the Britons, with his Nephew Hengo asleep (from the same, Scene III. Act V.) 363 No Rivalship or Taint of Faith admissible in Love (from the Custom of the Country) THOMAS GOFFE Scene from his Tragedy of Amurath, or the cou- SIR FULKE GREVILLE Knowledge (from his Treatise on Human Learning). Reason Insufficiency of Philosophy CHAUCER. GEOFFREY CHAUCER, according to his own account, was born in London, and the year 1328 is generally assigned as the date of his birth. The name is Norman, and, according to Francis Thynne, the antiquarian, is one of those, on the roll of Battle Abbey, which came in with William the Conqueror'. It is uncertain at which of the ' Vide Thynne's animadversions on Speght's edition of Chaucer, in the Rev. H. Todd's Illustrations of Gower and Chaucer, p. 18. Thynne calls in question Speght's supposition of Chaucer being the son of a vintner, which Mr. Godwin, in his Life of Chaucer, has adopted. Respecting the arms of the poet, Thynne (who was a herald) farther remarks to Speght, "you set down that some heralds are of opinion that he did not descend from any great house, whiche they gather by his armes : it is a slender conjecture; for as honourable howses and of as great antiquytye have borne as mean armes as Chaucer, and yet Chaucer's armes are not so mean eyther for colour, chardge, or particion, as some will make them." If indeed the fact of Chaucer's residence in the Temple could be proved, instead of resting on mere rumour, it would be tolerable evidence of his high birth and fortune; for only young men of that description were anciently admitted to VOL. I. B 2 |