Book V. 1849-1855. The introduction of this stanza is quite irrelevant,
unless we remember that, in Guido, the story of Troy is completely mixed up
with invectives against idolatry. In Book X, there is a detailed account of
the heathen gods, the worship of which is attributed to the instigation of
fiends. See the long account in the allit. Troy-book, ll. 4257-4531,
concluding with the revelation by Apollo to Calchas of the coming fall of
Troy. Cf. Lydgate, Siege of Troye, fol. K 6. Of course, this notion of the
interference of the gods in the affairs of the Greeks and Trojans is
ultimately due to Homer.
§ 17. With regard to the statement in Guido, that Achilles slew Hector
_treacherously_, we must remember how much turns upon this assertion. His
object was to glorify the Trojans, the supposed ancestors of the Roman
race, and to depreciate the Greeks. The following passage from Guido, Book
XXV, is too characteristic to be omitted. 'Set o Homere, qui in libris tuis
Achillem tot laudibus, tot preconiis extulisti, _que probabilis racio_ te
induxit, vt Achillem tantis probitatis meritis vel titulis exultasses?'
Such was the general opinion about Homer in the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries.
§ 18. This is not the place for a full consideration of the further
question, as to the sources of information whence Boccaccio and Guido
respectively drew their stories. Nor is it profitable to search the
supposed works of Dares and Dictys for the passages to which Chaucer
appears to refer; since he merely knew those authors by name, owing to
Guido's frequent appeals to them. Nevertheless, it is interesting to find
that Guido was quite as innocent as were Chaucer and Lydgate of any
knowledge of Dares and Dictys at first hand. He acquired his great
reputation in the simplest possible way, by stealing the whole of his
'History' bodily, from a French romance by Benoît de Sainte-More, entitled
_Le Roman de Troie_, which has been well edited and discussed by Mons. A.
Joly. Mons. Joly has shewn that the _Roman de Troie_ first appeared between
the years 1175 and 1185; and that Guido's _Historia Troiana_ is little more
than an adaptation of it, which was completed in the year 1287, without any
acknowledgment as to its true source.
Benoît frequently cites Dares (or Daires), and at the end of his poem, ll.
30095-6, says:--
'Ce que dist Daires et Dithis
I avons si retreit et mis.'
In his Hist. of Eng. Literature (E. version, ii. 113), Ten Brink remarks
that, whilst Chaucer prefers to follow Guido rather than Benoît in his
Legend of Good Women, he 'does the exact opposite to what he did in
Troilus.' For this assertion I can find but little proof. It is hard to
find anything in Benoît's lengthy Romance which he may not have taken, much
more easily, from Guido. There are, however, just a few such points in Book
V. 1037-1078. Thus, in l. 1038, Criseyde gives Diomede Troilus' horse; cf.
Benoît, l. 15046--'lo cheval Vos presterai.' L. 1043 is from the same, ll.
15102-4:--
'La destre manche de son braz
Bone et fresche de ciclaton
Li done en leu de gonfanon.'
Ll. 1051-7 answer to the same, beginning at l. 20233; and l. 1074 is from
the same, l. 20308:--'Dex donge bien à Troylus!' I doubt if there is much
more.
For some further account of the works ascribed to Dares Phrygius and Dictys
Cretensis, both duly edited among the 'Delphin Classics,' I must refer the
reader to Smith's Classical Dictionary.
§ 19. The whole question of the various early romances that relate to Troy
is well considered in a work entitled 'Testi Inediti di Storia Trojana,
preceduti da uno studio sulla Leggenda Trojana in Italia, per Egidio Gorra;
Torino, 1887'; where various authorities are cited, and specimens of
several texts are given. At p. 136 are given the very lines of Benoît's
_Roman_ (ll. 795-6) where Guido found a reference to the columns of
Hercules:--
'Et les bonnes ilec ficha
Ou Alixandre les trova.'
This hint he has somewhat elaborated, probably because he took a personal
interest in 'columns,' on account of their reference to his own
name--'delle Colonne.' I believe that the notion of Alexander finding
Hercules' Pillars is due to a rather large blunder in geography. Hercules
set up his pillars 'at the end of the world,' viz. at the straits of
Gibraltar, whereas Alexander set up his at another 'end of the world,' viz.
at the furthest point of India which he succeeded in reaching. So says his
Romance; see Alexander and Dindimus, ed. Skeat, l. 1137; Wars of Alexander,
l. 5063. The setting up of pillars as boundary-marks seems to have been
common; cf. Vergil, Æn. xi. 262. Among the points noticed by Gorra, I may
mention the following:--
1. Some account (p. 7) of the Ephemeris Belli Troiani by Dictys Cretensis,
who, it was pretended, accompanied Idomeneus to the Trojan war. Achilles is
depicted in dark colours; he is treacherous towards Agamemnon; falls in
love with the Trojan princess, Polyxena; and slays Hector by a stratagem.
It appears to have been a work of invention, resting upon no Greek
original.
2. Some account (p. 17) of the Historia de Excidio Troiae of Dares
Phrygius, a work which (as was pretended) was discovered by Cornelius
Nepos. This also, in the opinion of most critics, was an original work. At
p. 115, there is a comparison of the lists of Greek leaders and the number
of their ships (cf. Homer, Il. ii.) as given by Dares, Benoît, and Guido.
3. At p. 123, there is an enumeration of points in which Guido varies from
Benoît.
4. At p. 152, is an account of some Italian prose versions of the story of
Troy. Such are: La Istorietta Trojana, with extracts from it at p. 371; a
romance by Binduccio dello Scelto, with extracts relating to 'Troilo e
Briseida' at p. 404; a version of Guido by Mazzeo Bellebuoni, with extracts
relating to 'Paride ed Elena' at p. 443; an anonymous version, with
extracts relating to 'Giasone e Medea' at p. 458; a version in the Venetian
dialect, with extracts relating to 'Ettore ed Ercole' at p. 481; another
anonymous version, with extracts at p. 493; and La 'Fiorita' of Armannino,
Giudice da Bologna, with extracts at p. 532.
5. At p. 265, is an account of Italian poetical versions, viz. Enfances
Hector, Poema d'Achille, Il Trojano di Domenico da Montechiello, Il Trojano
a stampa (i.e. a printed edition of Il Trojano), and L'Intelligenza. At p.
336, Boccaccio's Filostrato is discussed; followed by a brief notice of an
anonymous poem, also in ottava rima, called Il cantare di Insidoria. It
appears that Boccaccio followed some recension of the French text of
Benoît, but much of the work is his own invention. In particular, he
created the character of Pandaro, who resembles a Neapolitan courtier of
his own period.
The most interesting of the extracts given by Gorra are those from
Binduccio dello Scelto; at p. 411, we have the incident of Diomede
possessing himself of Briseida's glove, followed by the interview between
Briseida and her father Calcas. At p. 413, Diomede overthrows Troilus,
takes his horse from him and sends it to Briseida, who receives it
graciously; and at p. 417, Briseida gives Diomede her sleeve as a
love-token, after which a 'jousting' takes place between Diomede and
Troilus, in which the former is badly wounded.
For further remarks, we are referred, in particular, to H. Dunger's
Dictys-Septimius: über die ursprüngliche Abfassung und die Quellen der
Ephemeris belli Troiani; Dresden, 1878 (Programm des Vitzthumschen
Gymnasiums); to another essay by the same author on Die Sage vom
trojanischen Kriege, Leipzig, 1869; to Koerting's Dictys und Dares, &c.,
Halle, 1874; to A. Joly's Benoît de Sainte-More et le Roman de Troie,
Paris, 1871; and to an article by C. Wagener on Dares Phrygius, in
_Philologus_, vol. xxxviii. The student may also consult E. Meybrinck, Die
Auffassung der Antike bei Jacques Millet, Guido de Columna, und Benoît de
Ste-More, printed in Ausgaben und Abhandlungen aus dem Gebiete für
Romanischen Philologie, Marburg, 1886; where the author concludes that
Millet was the originator of the story in France. Also W. Greif, Die
mittelalterlichen Bearbeitungen der Trojanersage; Marburg, 1886.
§ 20. A few words may be said as to the names of the characters. Troilus is
only once mentioned in Homer, where he is said to be one of the sons of
Priam, who were slain in battle, Iliad, xxiv. 257; so that his story is of
medieval invention, except as to the circumstance of his slayer being
Achilles, as stated by Vergil, Æn. i. 474, 475; cf. Horace, Carm. ii. 9.
16. Pandarus occurs as the name of two distinct personages; (1) a Lycian
archer, who wounded Menelaus; see Homer, Il. iv. 88, Vergil, Æn. 5. 496;
and (2) a companion of Æneas, slain by Turnus; see Vergil, Æn. ix. 672, xi.
396. Diomede is a well-known hero in the Iliad, but his love-story is of
late invention. The heroine of Benoît's poem is Briseida, of whom Dares (c.
13) has merely the following brief account: 'Briseidam formosam, alta
statura, candidam, capillo flauo et molli, superciliis junctis[59], oculis
venustis, corpore aequali, blandam, affabilem, uerecundam, animo simplici,
piam'; but he records nothing more about her. The name is simply copied
from Homer's [Greek: Brisêida], Il. i. 184, the accusative being taken (as
often) as a new nominative case; this Briseis was the captive assigned to
Achilles. But Boccaccio substitutes for this the form Griseida, taken from
the accusative of Homer's Chryseis, mentioned just two lines above, Il. i.
182. For this Italian form Chaucer substituted Criseyde, a trisyllabic
form, with the _ey_ pronounced as the _ey_ in _prey_. He probably was led
to this correction by observing the form Chryseida in his favourite author,
Ovid; see Remed. Amoris, 469. Calchas, in Homer, Il. i. 69, is a Grecian
priest; but in the later story he becomes a Trojan soothsayer, who,
foreseeing the destruction of Troy, secedes to the Greek side, and is
looked upon as a traitor. Cf. Vergil, Æn. ii. 176; Ovid, Art. Amat. ii.
737.
§ 21. In Anglia, xiv. 241, there is a useful comparison, by Dr. E. Köppel,
of the parallel passages in Troilus and the French Roman de la Rose, ed.
Méon, Paris, 1814, which I shall denote by 'R.' These are mostly pointed
out in the Notes. Köppel's list is as follows:--
Troilus. I. 635 (cf. III. 328).--Rom. Rose, 8041. 637.--R. 21819. 747.--R.
7595. 810.--R. 21145. 969--R. 12964.
II. 167.--R. 5684. 193.--R. 8757. 716.--R. 5765. 754.--R. 6676. 784 (cf.
III. 1035).--R. 12844. 1564.--R. 18498.
III. 294.--R. 7085. 328; _see_ I. 635. 1035; _see_ II. 784. 1634.--R. 8301.
IV. 7.--R. 8076. 519.--R. 6406. 1398.--R. 6941.
V. 365.--R. 18709.
Some of the resemblances are but slight; but others are obvious. The
numbers refer to the beginning of a passage; sometimes the really
coincident lines are found a little further on.
The parallel passages common to Troilus and Boethius are noted above, pp.
xxviii-xxx.
An excellent and exhaustive treatise on the Language of Chaucer's Troilus,
by Prof. Kitteredge, is now (1893) being printed for the Chaucer Society. A
Ryme-Index to the same, compiled by myself, has been published for the same
society, dated 1891.
§ 22. I have frequently alluded above to the alliterative 'Troy-book,' or
'Gest Historiale,' edited for the Early English Text Society, in 1869-74,
by Panton and Donaldson. This is useful for reference, as being a tolerably
close translation of Guido, although a little imperfect, owing to the loss
of some leaves and some slight omissions (probably) on the part of the
scribe. It is divided into 36 Books, which agree, very nearly, with the
Books into which the original text is divided. The most important passages
for comparison with Troilus are lines 3922-34 (description of Troilus);
3794-3803 (Diomede); 7268-89 (fight between Troilus and Diomede); 7886-7905
(Briseida and her dismissal from Troy); 8026-8181 (sorrow of Troilus and
Briseida, her departure, and the interviews between Briseida and Diomede,
and between her and Calchas her father); 8296-8317 (Diomede captures
Troilus' horse, and presents it to Briseida); 8643-60 (death of Hector);
9671-7, 9864-82, 9926-9 (deeds of Troilus); 9942-59 (Briseida visits the
wounded Diomede); 10055-85, 10252-10311 (deeds of Troilus, and his death);
10312-62 (reproof of Homer for his false statements).
At l. 8053, we have this remarkable allusion; speaking of Briseida and
Troilus, the translator says:--
'Who-so wilnes to wit of thaire wo fir [futher],
Turne hym to TROILUS, and talke[60] there ynoughe!'
I.e. whoever wishes to know more about their wo, let him turn to TROILUS,
and there find enough. This is a clear allusion to Chaucer's work by its
name, and helps to date the translation as being later than 1380 or 1382.
And, as the translator makes no allusion to Lydgate's translation of Guido,
the date of which is 1412-20, we see that he probably wrote between 1382
and 1420[61]; so that the date 'about 1400,' adopted in the New Eng.
Dictionary (s. v. _Bercelet_, &c.) cannot be far wrong[62].
§ 23. Another useful book, frequently mentioned above, is Lydgate's Siege
of Troye[61], of which I possess a copy printed in 1555. This contains
several allusions to Chaucer's Troilus, and more than one passage in praise
of Chaucer's poetical powers, two of which are quoted in Mr. Rossetti's
remarks on MS. Harl. 3943 (Chaucer Soc. 1875), pp. x, xi. These passages
are not very helpful, though it is curious to observe that he speaks of
Chaucer not only as 'my maister Chaucer,' but as 'noble Galfride, chefe
Poete of Brytaine,' and 'my maister Galfride.' The most notable passages
occur in cap. xv, fol. K 2; cap. xxv, fol. R 2, back; and near the end,
fol. Ee 2. Lydgate's translation is much more free than the preceding one,
and he frequently interpolates long passages, besides borrowing a large
number of poetical expressions from his 'maister.'
§ 24. Finally, I must not omit to mention the remarkable poem by Robert
Henrysoun, called the Testament and Complaint of Criseyde, which forms a
sequel to Chaucer's story. Thynne actually printed this, in his edition of
1532, as one of Chaucer's poems, immediately after Troilus; and all the
black-letter editions follow suit. Yet the 9th and 10th stanzas contain
these words, according to the edition of 1532:--
'Of his distresse me nedeth nat reherse;
For worthy Chaucer, in that same boke,
In goodly termes, and in ioly verse,
Compyled hath his cares, who wyl loke.
To breke my slepe, another queare I toke,
In whiche I founde the fatal desteny
Of fayre Creseyde, whiche ended wretchedly.
Who wot if al that Chaucer wrate was trewe?
Nor I wotte nat if this narration
Be authorysed, or forged of the newe
Of some poete by his inuention,
Made to reporte the lamentation
And woful ende of this lusty Creseyde,
And what distresse she was in or she deyde.'
§ 25. THE MANUSCRIPTS.
1. MS. CL.--The Campsall MS., on vellum, written before 1413; prepared for
Henry, Prince of Wales, afterwards Henry V, as shewn by his arms on leaf 2.
The poem occupies leaves 2-120; each page usually contains five stanzas.
Two pages have been reproduced by the autotype process for the Chaucer
Society; viz. leaf 1, recto, containing stanzas 1-5, and leaf 42, verso,
containing stanzas 249-251 of Book II, and stanza 1 of Book III. This is a
beautifully written MS., and one of the best; but it is disappointing to
find that it might easily have been much better. The scribe had a still
better copy before him, which he has frequently treated with supreme
carelessness; but it is some consolation to find that his mistakes are so
obvious that they can easily be corrected. Thus, in Book I, l. 27, he
writes _dorst_ for _dorste_, though it ruins the grammar and the metre; in
l. 31, he actually has _hym_ for _hem_, to the destruction of the sense; in
l. 69, he has _high_ (!) for _highte_; and so on. It therefore requires
careful control. In particular, the scribe gives many examples of the fault
of 'anticipation,' i.e. the fault whereby the mind, swifter than the pen,
has induced him to write down letters that belong to a _later_ syllable or
word, or to omit one or more letters. Thus in Book I. l. 80, he omits _u_
in _pryuely_, writing _pryely_; in l. 126, he omits _and_ before _hoom_; in
l. 198, he omits _lewede_; in l. 275, he omits _gan_; &c. But the faults of
'anticipation' appear most clearly in such startling forms as _addermost_
for _aldermost_, I. 248, where the former _d_ is due to the one that is
coming; _assent_ for _absent_, IV. 1642, for a like reason; _estal_ for
_estat_, because the next word is _royal_, I. 432; _þyn_ for _þyng_,
because the next word is _myn_, I. 683; _nat_ for _nas_, because the next
word is _not_, I. 738; _seynt_ for _seyn_, because the next word is _that_,
V. 369; _shad_ for _shal_, because the next word is _drede_, V. 385;
_liten_ for _litel_, because _weten_ follows, IV. 198; _make_ for _may_,
because the line ends with _wake_, III. 341; _fleld_ for _feld_, II. 195.
Sometimes, however, the scribe's mind reverts to something already written,
so that we find _Delphebus_ for _Delphicus_, because _Phebus_ precedes, I.
70; _bothen_ for _bothe_, because _deden_ precedes, I. 82; _falles_ for
_fallen_, after _unhappes_, II. 456; _daunder_ for _daunger_, III. 1321;
_tolle_ for _tolde_, III 802; &c. Downright blunders are not uncommon; as
_incocent_ for _innocent_ (where again the former _c_ is due to the
latter), II. 1723; _agarst_ for _agast_, III. 737; _right_ for _rit_, V.
60. We even find startling variations in the reading, as in III. 1408:--
'Reson wil not that I speke of _shep_,
For it accordeth nough[t] to my matere.'
Certainly, _shep_ (sheep) is irrelevant enough; however, Chaucer refers to
_sleep_. And again, the line in II. 1554, which should run--
As for to bidde a wood man for to renne
appears in the startling form--
As for to bydde a womman for to renne.
As all the variations of 'Cl.' from the correct text are given in the
foot-notes, it is not necessary to say more about these peculiarities. I
must add, however, that, as in Boethius, I have silently corrected _yn_ to
_in_ in such words as _thing_; besides altering _ee_ and _oo_ to _e_ and
_o_ in open syllables, writing _v_ for _u_, and the like. See above.
The Campsall MS., now in the possession of Mr. Bacon Frank, has been
printed in full, as written, for the Chaucer Society; and I have relied
upon the accuracy of this well-edited print.
2. MS. CP.--MS. No. 61 in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, described in
Nasmith's Catalogue, p. 40, as 'a parchment book in folio neatly written,
and ornamented with a frontispiece richly illuminated, containing Chaucer's
Troilus, in four [_error for_ five] books.' It is a fine folio MS., 12
inches by 8½. This MS., noticed by Warton, has not as yet been printed,
though the Chaucer Society have undertaken to print it, upon my
recommendation. It contains many pages that are left wholly or partially
blank, obviously meant to be supplied with illuminations; which shews that
it was written for some wealthy person. On the left margin, near the 83rd
stanza of Book IV, is a note of ownership, in a hand of the fifteenth
century--'neu_er_ foryeteth: Anne neuyll.' This probably refers to Anne
Neville, wife of Humphrey, duke of Buckingham (who was killed at
Northampton in 1460), and daughter of Ralph Neville, earl of Westmoreland,
and of Joan Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt. That is, she was John of
Gaunt's granddaughter; and it seems reasonable to infer that the MS. was
actually written for one of John of Gaunt's family. This probability is a
very interesting one, when we consider how much Chaucer owed to John of
Gaunt's favour and protection.
The MS. is slightly deficient, owing to the omission of a few stanzas; but
not much is missing. It is of a type closely resembling the preceding, and
gives excellent readings. I have therefore taken the opportunity of
founding the text upon a close collation of Cl. and Cp., taking Cl. as the
foundation, but correcting it by Cp. throughout, without specifying more
than the rejected reading of Cl. in passages where these MSS. differ. In
this way the numerous absurdities of Cl. (as noted above) have been easily
corrected, and the resulting text is a great improvement upon all that have
hitherto appeared. In a few places, as shewn by the foot-notes, the
readings of other MSS. have been preferred.
3. MS. H.--MS. Harl. 2280, in the British Museum. An excellent MS., very
closely related to both the preceding. Printed in full for the Chaucer
Society, and collated throughout in the present edition. It was taken as
the basis of the text in Morris's Aldine edition, which in many passages
closely resembles the present text. It is certainly the third best MS. One
leaf is missing (Bk. V. 1345-1428; twelve stanzas).
4. MS. CM.--MS. Gg. 4. 27, in the Cambridge University Library; the same
MS. as that denoted by 'Cm.' in the foot-notes to the Canterbury Tales, and
by 'C.' in the foot-notes to the Legend of Good Women. A remarkable MS.,
printed in full for the Chaucer Society. It exhibits _a different type_ of
text from that found in Cl., Cp., and H. The most noteworthy differences
are as follows. In Bk. ii. 734, 5, this MS. has quite a different couplet,
viz.:
Men louyn women þ_our_ al þis tou_n_ aboute;
Be þey þe wers? whi, nay, w_i_t_h_-outyn doute.
Bk. ii. 792 runs thus:--
How ofte tyme may men rede and se.
Bk. iv. 309-15 (stanza 45) runs thus:--
What shulde ye don but, for myn disconfort,
Stondyn for nought, and wepyn out youre ye?
Syn sche is queynt that wont was yow disport[63],
In vayn from this forth have I seyn twye;
For[64] medycyn youre vertu is a-weye;
O crewel eyen, sythyn that youre dispyt
Was al to sen Crisseydes eyen bryght.
Bk. iv. 638 runs thus:--
Pandare answerde, of that be as be may.
After Bk. iv. 735, MS. Cm. introduces the following stanza, which, in the
present text, appears a little later (ll. 750-6) in a slightly altered
form.
The salte teris fro_m_ hyre ey[gh]yn tweyn
Out ran, as scho_ur_ of aprille, ful swythe;
Hyre white brest sche bet, and for the peyne,
Aftyr the deth cryede a thousent sithe,
Syn he that wonyt was hir wo for to lythe,
Sche mot forgon; for which disauenture
Sche held hire-selue a for-lost creature.
Bk. iv. 806-33 (four stanzas) are omitted; so also are the 18 stanzas
referring to Free-Will, viz. Bk. iv. 953-1078. Bk. v. 230-1 runs thus:--
To whom for eu_er_emor myn herte is holde:
And thus he pleynyd, and ferth_er_e-more he tolde.
We cannot believe that Bk. iv. 309-15, as here given, can be genuine[65];
but it seems possible that some of the other readings may be so. The
stanza, Bk. iv. 750-6, as here given, seems to represent the first draft of
these lines, which were afterwards altered to the form in which they appear
in the text, whilst at the same time the stanza was shifted down. However,
this is mere speculation; and it must be confessed that, in many places,
this MS. is strangely corrupted. Several stanzas have only six lines
instead of seven, and readings occur which set all ideas of rime at
defiance. Thus, in I. 1260, _paste_ (riming with _caste_) appears as
_passede_; in I. 1253, _ryde_ (riming with _aspyde_) appears as _rydende_;
in III. 351, _hayes_ (riming with _May is_) appears as _halis_; &c.
Yet the MS. is worth collating, as it gives, occasionally, some excellent
readings. For example, in Bk. i. 143, it preserves the word _here_, which
other MSS. wrongly omit; and, in the very next line, rightly has _to longe
dwelle_, not _to longe to dwelle_.
The MS. has been, at some time, shamefully maltreated by some one who has
cut out several leaves, no doubt for the sake of their illuminated
initials. Hence the following passages do not appear: I. 1-70; I. 1037--II.
84; III. 1-56; III. 1807--IV. 112; IV. 1667--V. 35; V. 1702--_end_
(_together with a piece at the beginning of the_ Canterbury Tales).
5. MS. H2.--Harleian MS. 3943, in the British Museum. Printed in full for
the Chaucer Society in 1875, together with a most valuable line by line
collation with Boccaccio's Filostrato, by Wm. Michael Rossetti. Referred to
in Prof. Lounsbury's Studies in Chaucer, i. 398, as 'much the worst that
has been printed,' where his object is to depreciate its authority. Yet it
is well worth a careful study, and it must be particularly borne in mind
that it consists of two parts, written at different dates, and of different
value. In Bell's Chaucer, we read of it:--'Unfortunately it is imperfect.
The first few leaves, and the whole of the latter part of the poem, appear
to have been destroyed, and the deficiency supplied by a later copyist.'
The late hand occurs in I. 1-70, 498-567, III. 1429-1638, IV. 197--_end_,
and Book V.; and thus occupies a large portion of the MS. Moreover, two
leaves are lost after leaf 59, comprising III. 1289-1428; these are
supplied in Dr. Furnivall's edition from Harl. 1239, which accounts for the
extraordinary disorder in which these stanzas are arranged. The MS. also
omits III. 1744-1771, and some other stanzas occasionally.
This is one of those curious MSS. which, although presenting innumerable
corrupt readings (the worst being _Commodious_ for _Commeveden_ in III.
17), nevertheless have some points of contact with an excellent source. All
editors must have observed a few such cases. Thus, in II. 615, it happily
restores the right reading _latis_, where the ordinary reading _gates_ is
ludicrously wrong. In III. 49, it supplies the missing word _gladnes_. In
V. 8, it has 'The Auricomus tressed Phebus hie on lofte,' instead of 'The
golden tressed'; and this reading, though false, lets us into the secret of
the origin of this epithet, viz. that it translates the Latin _auricomus_;
see note to the line. In the very next line, V. 9, it preserves the correct
reading _bemes shene_[66], riming with _grene_, _quene_, where other MSS.
have _bemes clere_, a reminiscence of the opening line of Book III. Hence I
have carefully collated this MS., and all readings of value are given in
the Notes. See, e. g. III. 28, 49, 136, 551, 1268, 1703, &c.
6. MS. Harl. 1239 (B. M.). 'It is an oblong folio, written from the
beginning in a small, clear character, which ceases at an earlier place
[III. 231] than the change occurs in MS. 3943 [IV. 197], leaving the
remainder comparatively useless as an authority.'--Bell. Dr. Furnivall has
printed the passages in III. 1289-1428, and III. 1744-1771, from this MS.
to supply the gaps in H 2 (see above); we thus see that it transposes
several of the stanzas, and is but a poor authority.
7. MS. Harl. 2392 (B. M.). A late MS. on paper, not very correct; once the
property of Sir H. Spelman. As an example of a strange reading, observe 'O
mortal Gower,' in V. 1856. Still, it has the correct reading _sheene_ in V.
9; and in III. 49, supplies the rare reading _gladnesse_, which is
necessary to the sense.
This MS. has a large number of notes and glosses. Some are of small
interest, but others are of value, and doubtless proceeded from the author
himself, as they furnish useful references and explanations. I here notice
the best of them.
II. 8. 'Cleo: domina eloquencie.' This view of Clio explains the context.
II. 784. Side-note: 'nota mendacium.' A remarkable comment.
II. 1238-9. 'Leuis impressio, leuis recessio.' Clearly, a proverb.
III. 933. 'Dulcarnon: i. fuga miserorum.' This proves that Chaucer confused
the 47th proposition of Euclid with the 5th; see note.
III. 1177. 'Beati misericordes'; from Matt. v. 7.
III. 1183. 'Petite et accipi[e]tis'; a remarkable comment.
III. 1415. 'Gallus vulgaris astrologus; Alanus, de Planctu Nature'; see
note.
III. 1417. 'Lucifera: Stella matutina.'
III. 1466. 'Aurora: amica solis'; shewing the confusion of _Tithonus_ with
_Titan_.
IV. 22. 'Herine (_sic_), furie infernales; unde Lucanus, me pronuba duxit
Herinis.' This proves that Chaucer really took the name from Lucan, Phars.
viii. 90, q. v.
IV. 32. 'Sol in Leone'; i. e. the sun was in Leo; see note.
IV. 600. 'Audaces fortuna iuuat'; error for 'Audentes'; see note.
IV. 790. 'Vmbra subit terras,' &c.; Ovid, Met. xi. 61.
IV. 836. 'Extrema gaudii luctus'; see note.
IV. 1138. 'Flet tamen, et tepide,' &c.; Ovid, Met. x. 500.
IV. 1504. 'Non est bonum perdere substantiam propter accidens.'
IV. 1540. 'Styx, puteus infernalis.' Chaucer's mistake.
V. 8. 'The gold-tressed Phebus,' glossed 'Auricomus Sol'; which is from
Valerius Flaccus; see note.
V. 319. Reference to Ovid's Metamorphoses; see note.
V. 655. 'Latona, i. luna'; shewing that 'Latona' is mis-written for
'Lucina.' Cf. IV. 1591.
V. 664. Reference to Ovid, Metam. ii. See note.
V. 1039. For 'she,' MS. has 'he,' correctly (see note); side-note, 'Nota,
de donis c. d.', i. e. of Criseyde to Diomede.
V. 1107. 'Laurigerus'; see note.
V. 1110. 'Nisus,' glossed 'rex'; 'douhter,' glossed 'alauda'; see note.
V. 1548. 'Parodye: duracio'; see note.
V. 1550. 'Vnbodye: decorporare.'
There are many more such glosses, of lesser interest.
8. MS. Harl. 4912 (B. M.). On vellum; rather large pages, with wide
margins; five stanzas on the page. Imperfect; ends at IV. 686. A poor copy.
In III. 49, it retains the rare reading 'gladnes,' but miswritten as
'glanes.'
9. MS. Addit. 12044 (B. M.). On vellum; five stanzas to the page. Last leaf
gone; ends at V. 1820. Not a good copy. In III. 17, it has 'Comeued hem,'
an obvious error for 'Comeueden,' which is the true reading. In V. 8, it
has 'golden dressed,' error for 'golden tressed.' Note this correct form
'golden'; for it is miswritten as 'gold' or 'golde' in nearly all other
copies.
The next four are in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
10. Arch. Seld. B. 24 is the Scottish MS., dated 1472, described in the
Introduction to the Minor Poems, where it is denoted by 'Ar.,' and fully
collated throughout the Legend of Good Women, where it appears in the
foot-notes as 'A.' It seems to be the best of the Oxford MSS., and has some
good readings. In III. 17, it has 'Co_m_meued tham' for Commeueden,' which
is near enough for a MS. that so freely drops inflexions; and the line ends
with 'and amoreux tham made.' In III. 49, it correctly preserves
'gladness.'
11. MS. Rawlinson, Poet. 163. Not a very good copy. It omits the Prologue
to Book III. At the end is the colophon:--
{ Heer endith the book of }
'Tregentyll { } Chaucer.'
{ Troylus and of Cresseyde}
I take 'Tregentyll' to be the scribe's name[67]. Besides the 'Troilus,' the
MS. contains, on a fly-leaf, the unique copy of the Balade to Rosemounde,
beneath which is written (as in the former case) 'tregentil' to the left of
the page, and 'chaucer' to the right; connected by a thin stroke. See my
'Twelve Facsimiles of Old English MSS.'; Plate XII.
12. MS. Arch. Seld. supra 56. Small quarto, 8 inches by 5½, on paper;
vellum binding; writing clear. A poor copy. The grammar shews a Northern
dialect.
13. MS. Digby 181. Incomplete; nearly half being lost. It ends at III.
532--'A certayn houre in which she come sholde.' A poor copy, closely
allied to the preceding. Thus, in III. 17, both have _moreux_ for
_amoreux_; in III. 2, both have _Adornes_; in III. 6, both absurdly have
_Off_ (_Of_) for _O_; and so on.
14. MS. L. 1, in St. John's College, Cambridge. A fair MS., perhaps earlier
than 1450. Subjoined to the Troilus is a sixteenth century copy of the
Testament of Creseide. Quarto; on vellum; 10 inches by 6½; in 10 sheets of
12 leaves each. Leaf g 12 is cut out, and g 11 is blank, but nothing seems
to be lost. It frequently agrees with Cp., as in I. 5, fro ye; 21, be this;
36, desespeyred; 45, fair ladys so; 70, Delphicus; 308, kan thus. In I.
272, it correctly has: p_er_cede; in 337, nou_n_c_er_teyne. In II. 734, it
agrees with H.; 735 runs--'And whan hem list no lenger, lat hem leue'; a
good line. In II. 894, it has 'mosten axe,' the very reading which I give;
and in II. 968, stalkes.
15. MS. Phillipps 8252; the same MS. as that described in my preface to the
C. text of Piers the Plowman, p. xix, where it is numbered XXVIII.
16. A MS. in the Library of Durham Cathedral, marked V. ii. 13. A single
stanza of Troilus, viz. I. 631-7, occurs in MS. R. 3. 20, in Trinity
College Library, Cambridge; and three stanzas, viz. III. 302-322, in MS.
Ff. 1. 6, leaf 150, in the Cambridge University Library; all printed in Odd
Texts of Chaucer's Minor Poems, ed. F. J. Furnivall, Chaucer Society, 1880,
pp. x-xii. In 1887, Dr. Stephens found two vellum strips in the cover of a
book, containing fragments of a MS. of Troilus (Book V. 1443-1498); see
Appendix to the Report of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, May 24, 1887;
pp. 331-5.
The MSS. fall, as far as I can tell, into two main families. The larger
family is that which resembles Cl., Cp., and H. Of the smaller, Cm. may be
taken as the type. The description of Cm. shews some of the chief
variations. Observe that many MSS. omit I. 890-6; in the John's MS., it is
inserted in a much later hand. The stanza is obviously genuine.
§ 26. THE EDITIONS. 'Troilus' was first printed by Caxton, about 1484; but
without printer's name, place, or date. See the description in Blades' Life
of Caxton, p. 297. There is no title-page. Each page contains five stanzas.
Two copies are in the British Museum; one at St. John's College, Oxford;
and one (till lately) was at Althorp. The second edition is by Wynkyn de
Worde, in 1517. The third, by Pynson, in 1526. These three editions present
Troilus as a separate work. After this, it was included in Thynne's edition
of 1532, and in all the subsequent editions of Chaucer's Works.
Of these, the only editions accessible to me have been Thynne's (1532), of
which there is a copy in the Cambridge University Library; also the
editions of 1550 (or thereabouts) and 1561, of both of which I possess
copies.
Thynne's edition was printed from so good a MS. as to render it an
excellent authority. In a few places, I fear he has altered the text for
the worse, and his errors have been carefully followed and preserved by
succeeding editors. Thus he is responsible for altering _io_ (= _jo_) into
_go_, III. 33; for creating the remarkable 'ghost-word' _gofysshe_, III.
584; and a few similar curiosities. But I found it worth while to collate
it throughout; and readings from it are marked 'Ed.' The later black-letter
copies are mere reproductions of it.
§ 27. THE PRESENT EDITION. The present edition has the great advantage of
being founded upon Cl. and Cp., neither of which have been previously made
use of, though they are the two best. Bell's text is founded upon the
Harleian MSS. numbered 1239, 2280, and 3943, in separate fragments; hence
the text is neither uniform nor very good. Morris's text is much better,
being founded upon H. (closely related to Cl. and Cp.), with a few
corrections from other unnamed sources.
Thanks to the prints provided by the Chaucer Society, I have been able to
produce a text which, I trust, leaves but little to be desired. I point out
some of the passages which now appear in a correct form for the first time,
as may be seen by comparison with the editions by Morris and Bell, which I
denote by M. and B.
I. 136; _derre_, dearer; M. B. dere (no rime). 285. _meninge_, i. e.
intention; _and so in_ l. 289; M. B. mevynge. 388. M. B. insert a semicolon
after _arten_. 465. _fownes_ (see note); M. B. fantasye (line too long).
470 _felle_, fell, pl. adj.; M. B. fille, i. e. fell (verb). 590. _no
comfort_; M. comfort; B. eny comfort. 786. _Ticius_ (see note); M.
Syciphus; B. Siciphus. 896. _Thee oughte_; M. To oght (no sense); B. The
oght (will not scan). 1026. See note; put as a question in M. B.; B. even
inserts _not_ before _to done_. 1050. _me asterte_; M. may sterte; B. me
stert (better).
II. 41. _seyde_, i. e. if that they seyde; M. B. seyinge (will not scan).
138. _were_ (would there be); M. B. is. 180. _wight_; M. B. knyght (but see
l. 177). 808. _looth_; M. B. leve. 834. _Ye_; M. B. The. 1596. _For for_;
M. B. For.
III. 17. _Comeveden_ (see note); M. Comeneden; B. Commodious. _him_; M. B.
hem. 33. _io_ (= _jo_); M. B. go. 49. M. B. omit _gladnes_. 572. _Yow
thurfte_; M. Thow thruste; B. Yow durst. 584. _goosish_; M. goofish; B.
gofisshe. 674. M. Thei voide [_present_], dronke [_past_], and traveres
drawe [_present_] anon; B. They voyded, and drunk, and travars drew anone.
Really, _dronke_ and _drawe_ are both past participles; see note. 725.
_Cipris_; M. Cyphes; B. Ciphis. 1231. _Bitrent and wryth_, i. e. winds
about and wreathes itself; M. Bytrent and writhe is; B. Bitrent and writhen
is. _Wryth_ is short for _writheth_; not a pp. 1453. _bore_, i. e. hole; M.
boure; B. bowre. 1764. _to-hepe_, i. e. together; M. B. to kepe.
IV. 538. _kyth_; M. B. right (no sense). 696. _thing is_; M. B. thynges is.
818. _martyre_; M. B. matere (neither sense nor rime).
V. 49. _helpen_; M. B. holpen. 469. _howve_; M. B. howen. 583. _in my_; M.
B. omit _my_. 927. _wight_; M. B. with. 1208. _trustinge_; M. B. trusten
(against grammar). 1266. _bet_; M. B. beste. 1335, 6. _wyte The teres_,
i. e. blame the tears; M. B. wite With teres. 1386. _Commeve_; M. Com in
to; B. Can meven. 1467. _She_; M. B. So. 1791. _pace_; M. B. space (see
note).
It is curious to find that such remarkable words as _commeveden_, _io_,
_voidee_, _goosish_, _to-hepe_, appear in no Chaucerian glossary; they are
only found in the MSS., being ignored in the editions.
A large number of lines are now, for the first time, spelt with forms that
comply with grammar and enable the lines to be scanned. For example, M. and
B. actually give _wente_ and _wonte_ in V. 546, instead of _went_ and
_wont_; _knotles_ for _knotteles_ in V. 769, &c.
I have also, for the first time, numbered the lines and stanzas correctly.
In M., Books III. and IV. are both misnumbered, causing much trouble in
reference. Dr. Furnivall's print of the Campsall MS. omits I. 890-6; and
his print of MS. Harl. 3943 counts in the Latin lines here printed at p.
404.
§ 28. It is worth notice that Troilus contains about fifty lines in which
the first foot consists of a single syllable. Examples in Book I are:--
That | the hot-e fyr of lov' him brende: 490.
Lov' | ayeins the which who-so defendeth: 603.
Twen | ty winter that his lady wiste: 811.
Wer' | it for my suster, al thy sorwe: 860.
Next | the foule netle, rough and thikke: 948.
Now | Pandar', I can no mor-e seye: 1051.
Al | derfirst his purpos for to winne: 1069.
So also II. 369, 677, 934, 1034, 1623 (and probably 1687); III. 412, 526,
662, 855 (perhaps 1552), 1570; IV. 176, 601, 716, 842, 1328, 1676; V. 67
(perhaps 311), 334, 402, 802, 823, 825, 831, 880, 887, 949, 950, 1083,
1094, 1151, 1379, 1446, 1454, 1468, 1524.
It thus appears that deficient lines of this character are by no means
confined to the poems in 'heroic verse,' but occur in stanzas as well.
Compare the Parlement of Foules, 445, 569.
§ 29. PROVERBS. Troilus contains a considerable number of proverbs and
proverbial phrases or similes. See, e. g., I. 257, 300, 631, 638, 694, 708,
731, 740, 946-952, 960, 964, 1002, 1024; II. 343, 398, 403, 585, 784, 804,
807, 861, 867, 1022, 1030, 1041, 1238, 1245, 1332, 1335, 1380, 1387, 1553,
1745; III. 35, 198, 294, 308, 329, 405, 526, 711, 764, 775, 859, 861, 931,
1625, 1633; IV. 184, 415, 421, 460, 588, 595, 622, 728, 836, 1098, 1105,
1374, 1456, 1584; V. 484, 505, 784, 899, 971, 1174, 1265, 1433.
§ 30. A translation of the first two books of Troilus into Latin verse, by
Sir Francis Kinaston, was printed at Oxford in 1635. The volume also
contains a few notes, but I do not find in them anything of value. The
author tries to reproduce the English stanza, as thus:--
'Dolorem Troili duplicem narrare,
Qui Priami Regis Trojae fuit gnatus,
Vt primùm illi contigit amare,
Vt miser, felix, et infortunatus
Erat, decessum ante sum conatus.
Tisiphone, fer opem recensere
Hos versus, qui, dum scribo, visi flere.'
For myself, I prefer the English.
§ 31. Hazlitt's Handbook to Popular Literature records the following
title:--'A Paraphrase vpon the 3 first bookes of Chaucer's Troilus and
Cressida. Translated into modern English ... by J[onathan] S[idnam]. About
1630. Folio; 70 leaves; in 7-line stanzas.'
ERRATA AND ADDENDA.
I. BOETHIUS.
P. 8, Book I, met. 4, l. 8. _For_ thonder-light _a better reading is_
thonder-leit; see p. xliii, and the note (p. 422).
P. 10; foot-notes, l. 10. _Read_: C. vnplitable; A. inplitable.
P. 26, Book II, met. 1, l. 11. _For_ proeueth _read_ proeveth.
P. 29, Book II, pr. 3, l. 3. _Delete the comma after_ wherwith.
P. 48, Book II, pr. 7, l. 86. _For_ thas _read_ that.
P. 50, Book II, pr. 8, l. 17. _For_ windinge _read_ windy. See pp. xlii,
434.
P. 58, Book III, pr. 3, l. 68. _For_ all _read_ al.
P. 62, l. 4. Counted as l. 10; it is really l. 9.
P. 63, Book III, pr. 5, l. 41. _For_ of _read_ _of_ (in italics).
P. 74, Book III, pr. 10, l. 6. _For_ has _read_ hast.
P. 111. The side-number 215 is one line too high.
P. 122, Book IV, met. 6, l. 24. Delete the square brackets; see pp. xlii,
xliii.
P. 124, Book IV, pr. 7, l. 61. MS. C. _has_ confirme; _and_ MS. A. _has_
conferme. _But the right reading must be_ conforme; _for the_ Latin _text
has_ conformandae.
II. TROILUS.
P. 159, Book I, 204. _For_ cast _read_ caste.
P. 160, Book I, 217. The alternative reading is better; see note, p. 463.
P. 160, Book I, 239. _For_ yet _read_ yit (for the rhyme).
P. 162, Book I, 284. _For_ neuer _read_ never.
P. 163, Book, I, 309. _For_ Troylus _read_ Troilus.
P. 163, Book I, 310. _For_ thyng _read_ thing.
P. 165, Book I, 401. _Alter_ ! _to_ ?
P. 166, Book I, 406. _For_ thurst _read_ thurste.
P. 166, Book I, 420. _For_ deye _read_ dye (for the rhyme).
P. 171, Book I, 570. _For_ euery _read_ every.
P. 172, Book I, 621. _For_ Troylus _read_ Troilus (as elsewhere).
P. 173, Book I, 626. Delete the comma after 'fare.'
P. 174, Book I, 656. _For_ y _read_ I.
P. 174, Book I, 657. _Insert_ ' _at the beginning_.
P. 181, Book I, 879. _For_ the _read_ thee.
P. 192, Book II, 113. _Delete_ ' _at the end_.
P. 194, Book II, 170. _Insert_ ' _at the beginning_.
P. 205, Book II, 529. _For_ penaunc _read_ penaunce.
P. 208, Book II, 628. _For_ swych _read_ swich.
P. 229, Book II, 1294. _Insert_ ' _at the beginning_.
P. 234, Book II, 1461. _For_ streyt _read_ streght, _as in_ MS. H.
P. 260, Book III, 522. _Delete the comma after_ laft.
P. 260, Book III, 535. _For_ made _read_ mad _or_ maad.
P. 261, Book III, 558. _For_ lengere _read_ lenger.
P. 264, Book III, 662. _For_ thondre _read_ thonder.
P. 271, Book III, 885. _For_ ringe _read_ ring.
P. 282, Book III, 1219. _For_ sweet _read_ swete.
P. 312, Book IV, 318. _For_ to the peyne _read_ to my peyne.
P. 390, Book V, 1039. _For_ she _read_ he. Cf. note, p. 499; and p. lx, l.
3.
P. 431, note to Prose 5, 35; l. 3. _Delete_ for which I find _no_
authority. (In fact, _postremo_ is the reading given by Peiper, from _one_
MS. only; most MSS. have _postremae_, the reading given by Obbarius, who
does not recognise the reading _postremo_).
P. 463. Note to I, 217. _Add_--So too in Barbour's Bruce, i. 582: 'Bot oft
failyeis the fulis thocht.'
P. 479, last line; and p. 480, first line. _For_ represents the Pers. and
Arab. _d[=u]'lkarnayn_, lit. two-horned; from Pers. _d[=u]_, two, and
_karn_, horn--_read_ represents the Arab, _z[=u]'lkarnayn_, lit.
two-horned; from Arab. _z[=u]_, lord of, _hence_, possessing, and the dual
form of _karn_, horn.
Notes to I. 948, 951; II. 36, 1335; III. 1219. Dr. Köppel has shewn (in
Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen, xc. 150, that Chaucer here
quotes from Alanus de Insulis, Liber Parabolarum (as printed in Migne,
Cursus Patrologicus, vol. ccx). The passages are:--
Fragrantes uicina rosas urtica perurit (col. 582).
Post noctem sperare diem, post nubila solem;
Post lacrimas risus laetitiamque potes (583).
Mille uiae ducunt homines per saecula Romam (591).
De nuce fit corylus, de glande fit ardua quercus (583).
Dulcius haerescunt humano mella palato,
Si malus hoc ipsum mordeat ante sapor (592).
P. 498, Note to V, 806. _Add_--L. 813 is due to Dares; see p. lxiv, note.
P. 499, Note to V, 1039, l. 6. _For_ the rest is Chaucer's addition _read_
the statement that she gave it to Diomede is due to Benoît; see p. lxii.
Again, just below, _read_ The incidents of the 'broche' and 'pensel' are
also due to the same; see p. lxii.
BOETHIUS DE CONSOLATIONE PHILOSOPHIE.