The Life of Merlin / Vita Merlini 0708305202, 9780708305201

Table of contents :
Contents
Preface
Introduction: Proem
1 Celtic origins of Vita Merlini
2 The twelfth century and Geoffrey’s
non-Celtic sources
3 Prophecy in Vita Merlini
4 Stories of the Celtic wild men (Summaries)
5 Geoffrey of Monmouth’s life
6 Authorship
7 Date of Vita Merlini
8 Manuscripts and editions of Vita Merlini
Life of Merlin
Textual Commentary
Names Notes Index
Lailoken A
Lailoken B
Appendix II: Afallennau: three narrative stanzas
Abbreviations
References
General Index

Citation preview

LIFE OF MERLIN Geoffrey of Monmouth VITA M E R L im Edited with Introduction, facing translation, textual commentary, name notes index and translations o f the Lailoken tales by

BASIL CLARKE

Published on behalf o f the Language and Literature Committee o f the Board o f Celtic Studies

CARDIFF UNIVERSITY OF WALES PRESS *973

University o f Wales Press Merthyr House, James Street, Cardiff

© B. Clarke, 1973 o 7083 0520 2

Printed in Great Britain University Printing House, Cambridge

CONTENTS

Preface

page v

I N T R O D U C T I O N : Proem

vii

1

Celtic origins o f Vita M erlini

i

2

T he twelfth century and Geoffrey’s non-Celtic sources

6

3

Prophecy in Vita M erlini

i6

4

Stories o f the C eltic wild men (Summaries)

22

5

Geoffrey o f M onmouth’s life

26

6

Authorship

36

7

D ate o f Vita M erlini

40

8

M anuscripts and editions o f Vita M erlini

43

V IT A M E R L IN I: L IF E O F M E R L IN Latin text facing English translation Textual commentary

51 52 136

N A M E N O T E S IN D E X

156

Appendix I : LA ILO K E N A and B tales: translations

227

Appendix I I: Afallennau: three narrative stanzas translated by Professor A . O . H . Jarm an

235

Abbreviations

236

References

237

General Index

249

[iii]

To J.

PREFACE

Vita M erlini is a poem written in the m iddle o f the twelfth century b y G eoffrey o f M onmouth. Its m atter derives from ancient British history, as known at the time, from W elsh poetic and prophetic tradition and from legends native and exotic. It also reflects its own day— the intellectual speculation, the interest in the past, the civil w ar o f Stephen’s reign, the unfinished struggle between W elsh and Normans and the special moment o f the establishment o f a new bishopric in an area where these two clashed. These and other threads, including w hat seems a personal message b y the author, can be distinguished in the poem. Since the poem has never been w idely available in Latin and hardly at all in English, the intention is to present it in Latin and English with enough in the w ay o f general exposi­ tion and detailed commentary to help clarify at least some o f the m any problems it raises. Topics intertwine a good deal, and convenience o f reference justifies some overlap o f inform ation; further explanation o f this edition is given at the end o f the Introduction. It would be a pity if the poem itself, as a literary creation, were less considered than the elucidation o f its problems, im portant though some o f these are. Its age, form and circumstances do not make its qualities easy to grasp im m ediately and without explanations ; but those who have perse­ vered have found more than the oddities (as they seem) o f its surface. In particular, there is the creation o f characters with enough vitality to make one wonder what Geoffrey would have m ade o f the novel, in another age. In France, for exam ple, Lot spoke o f Geoffrey's *facetious bizarrerie (in the spirit o f the time) ', but finally came round to seeing Vita M erlini as ‘ here and there one o f the most truly poetic poems o f the M iddle A ges’ . Sim ilarly, Tatlock in Am erica spent much time with the poem. A t first reading he described it as incoherent, unaccountable and uncertain in mood. But later, he thought, ‘ the scales fall from one's eyes’ and ‘ one sees something in three dimensions and related to its surroundings’ . This sort o f progress is more rewarding than an attem pt to place the poem in a literary hierarchy o f values, and the attem pt is not made here. I am grateful for the permission o f the Clarendon Press and o f Professor A . O . H . Jarm an to reprint Professor Jarm an’s version o f three stanzas o f

[vj

VI

PREFACE

Afallennau from Arthurian literature in the middle ages (edited by R . S. Loomis, Clarendon Press, 1959; chapter 3, p. 21), and for die practical suggestions made by the readers in M edieval Latin and M edieval W elsh o f the University o f W ales Press. M rs Rachel Bromwich gave early encouragement and I owe a special debt for her comments on a draft. I should like to thank also D r James Bulloch o f Stobo, M r J . H . Burn o f Glasgow University, M rs Janet Caird o f Inverness, Professor W . H . Davies o f Aberystwyth, Messrs W atney M ann L td, and others, for help on particular points. B. C L A R K E

INTRODUCTION

PROEM

Vita Merlim was a poem for a lim ited audience o f friends. T he author presents it initially as a relaxed literary exercise, but it develops serious themes by the end. It shows signs o f belonging to the m iddle o f the twelfth century and to Stephen's troubled reign, but its contem porary references and its quasi-predictions about British history are accretions on a variant o f an old tale adapted b y Geoffrey in a w ay which appears to allude to a stage o f his own career. His earlier and m ain work was his History, generally known as Historia Regum Britanniae (HRB) ; but he says in Vita Merlim ( VM ) that it was called Gesta Britonum in his day. This was published in 1136-8; VM appeared c. 1150. There are connections between the two, but their purpose and form were different. H RB was an attem pt to find coherence and a sequence in available miscellaneous histories, patriotic traditions and rom antic ideas about the far past and the early post-Roman centuries in the island. VM makes use o f HRB but founds itself upon a m uch more lim ited set o f tales and traditions from the same era, partly to entertain, partly to convey some current preoccupations o f the author through the story o f M erlin as a grief-stricken fugitive in the forest o f Calidon who eventually recovers sanity and decides to end his days in spiritual exercises and contem plation in the woods. This fugitive M erlin is presented as one with M erlin Ambrosius, who appeared to V ortigem in the History as a prophetic boy prodigy and subsequendy performed such feats as shifting Stonehenge from Ireland to W iltshire and changing U ther's personality by drugs. Later Arthurian compositions associated M erlin with A rthur’s reign; but in Geoffrey's History this first M erlin ceases to play a part by the tim e o f A rthur’s accession, and in Vita Merlim A rthur is dead and M erlin old. T h e explanation is that the elderly second character, 'M erlin Calidonius' or 'M erlin Silvester', shows the effect o f contributions from other literary sources. Both M erlin Ambrosius and M erlin Calidonius owe their pro­ phetic aspect in great part to the prophetic element in the W elsh M yrddin. But the narrative alluded to in the M yrddin poems and in the North British-Scotic Lailoken m aterial takes both M yrddin and Lailoken back b y [vii]

••• vin

IN T R O D U CT IO N

different routes to the probably historical tradition o f a sixth-century fugitive; and the story o f M erlin Calidonius in VM refers to this, parti­ cularly the beginning o f the poem. T he other ingredient in M erlin Ambrosius (besides M yrddin the prophet) was Ambrosius (or, Emreis W ledig, Aurelius, Aurelianus, etc.), a shadowy British political leader in the post-Roman fifth century. This composite boy-prophet character was in existence in Nennius’s history and represents a growth o f legend out o f Gildas’s account o f the period. M erlin, as a name, is Geoffrey’s own variation on M yrddin, made, it is surmised, in order to avoid the sound-similarity to merde; a large part o f his readership would be French-speaking. M yrddin, as a name and perhaps as a prophet, m ay— it is only a hint— derive ultim ately from a figure in an origin m yth superseded b y the legend o f Brutus and the Trojans. 'M erlin Calidonius’, in any case, does demonstrate a new element in Geoffrey’s information since the w riting o f the History. This was almost certainly a consequence o f his involvem ent (in w hat capacity is not fully clear) in the establishment o f the authority o f the new see o f St Asaph, o f which he became the second bishop. T he traditions o f St Asaph were linked substantially— so it then appeared— to those o f K entigem , the sixth century founder o f the see o f Strathclyde. T he growth o f Glasgow in the twelfth century had already resulted in the w riting o f Lives o f K entigem and the collection o f relevant traditions; and Bishop John, claim ing all Cum bria on the ground that it was part o f the original see, was a m ain force in this. Geoffrey must have had access to some o f this m aterial, and it included the northern versions o f the w ild fugitive story. These origins are elaborated in the following sections.

1

CELTIC ORIGINS OF VITA M E R U M

T h e m ain Celtic origins o f VM and its characters can be given with fair assurance, though the conventional exercise o f looking for them Says nothing, o f course, about the merits o f the poem. It is necessary to keep G eoffrey’s intentions in m ind: these have been mentioned and w ill be discussed in the section on his life. O ne should also have a historical sense o f the attitudes by which the m aking o f books by derivative com pilation was accepted more as a m atter o f course and judged on the result than tended to be the case later. T h e M yrddin poems in the W elsh culture into which Geoffrey was born and at least in part brought up were the im m ediately available sources. Such poems fvere largely political predictions and exhortations relating to situations before and during the Norman period (see * Intro. 5), but they preserved hints o f earlier W elsh history, in this case the wild-fugitive story relating to the batde o f Arfderydd and featuring M yrddin in the role o f the fugitive. T he im portant allusions (Jarm an, 1959) are in Afallennau (Sweet-apple trees), particularly, and Hoianau (Greetings, litde pig); and in Cyfoesi Myrddin a Gwenddydd a*i chwaer (The conversation o f M yrddin and his sister Gwenddydd), in Peirian Faban (Com m anding Youth) and in Gwasgargerdd Fyrddin yn y bedd (Song uttered by M yrddin in the grave). Tmddiddan Myrddin a Thaliesin (Dialogue o f M yrddin and Taliesin) is also relevant, though it is not in the prophetic style. T he three narrative stanzas o f Afallennau were translated by Jarm an (1959, with related quotations) and this translation is reproduced as Appendix n. Skene (FAB W, 1868) gave full translations and texts o f all but Peirian Faban. W elsh texts o f Afallennau by Evans (1906), o f Tmddiddan by Jarm an (1951) and o f Peirian Faban by Jarm an (19 51a); o f Cyfoesi (partial) by W illiam s (1928); o f Gwasgargerdd by Phillim ore (1886). These poems now exist in versions dated to the twelfth to fifteenth century. But the three Afallennau narrative or descriptive stanzas were considered by Jarm an to be its nucleus and the oldest m aterial in W elsh about M yrddin: a date in the period 850-1050 is suggested for its original composition. There is no complete story, but a considerable part o f the core o f one emerges from the allusions. (See * Intro. 4 for a fuller outline.) CLM i [> ]

2

L I F E O F M E R L IN

M yrddin is in urgent flight from Rhydderch H ael’s m en: he has been hiding in distress in the forest o f Celyddon for so m any years that the reality o f the pursuit and M yrddin’s sanity are in doubt. (Derangement is a common prerequisite for credibility in prophets, religious and political.) T he cause o f his flight is his responsibility for the death o f his sister’s son. This uncle-nephew kinship tie has been o f special sanctity in numerous societies, including Celtic ones;1 and there is little objection to believing that such a m anslaughter m ay in fact have been the cause o f the original flight. (No such theme seems to attach to any level o f the Irish Suibhne legend.) Hum an grief at the death o f intimates is still the precipitating cause o f M erlin’s madness and flight in VM . In this respect Geoffrey kept quite close to the original line. M yrddin’s sister Gwenddydd transfers to VM , too, but is compounded w ith a queen from the oriental tale attached to the northern version (Lailoken B ) o f the wild-fugitive tradition, in becom ing M erlin's sister Ganieda. T h e Lailoken A and B tales (W ard, 1893; and Appendix 1) were derived from the same battle, but remained inside a North British/Scotic context instead o f transferring to W ales, though the name appears repeatedly as llallogan in Cyfoesi. These tales provide (1), in A , a statement, com parable to that in the M yrddin poems but vaguer on the causes, o f the theme o f the guilt-ridden ex-soldier wandering in a wilderness after a breakdown in battle, and (2) the saintly resolution o f the fugitive’s story, which appears in a considerably transmuted form in Geoffrey’s poem. This ‘ saintly resolution’ is a hagiographical device which was probably grafted on to the Arfderydd tale through its later association with K entigern. It is not peculiar to K entigem , But part o f an older Christian tradi­ tion which derives from the legends o f the desert wanderers and recluses, particularly in Egypt and Syria. It was often related to a Neoplatonic idea o f beatific translation at death, as it is in the language used in Lailoken A (feliciter transibo). Examples and analogues o f this type o f resolu­ tion can be traced back into the third millennium b . c ., as can the w ild m an himself.2 This is too far to follow in the present context. T he saintly 1 For general accounts, see Homans, 1951 (chs. 9 and 10) and 1942,190-2; cf. RadcliffeBrown, 1924. Bromwich {TYP, 371) discusses Celtic examples. There is an Arthurnephew relation in traditions before Geoffrey’s use o f it in connection with Modred. Gawain was Arthur’s nephew at least ten years before HRB (W ill. Malmesb. Bk. 3: 287), but this example has not the dramatic significance o f those o f Myrddin and M odred; the date may need scrutiny. Hodges (1927), on the Celtic blood-covenant, has a general relevance. * See especially Apophthegmata Patrum Aegyptiorum (Verba Seniorum) in Migne, PL 73, cols. 851-1024, particularly 1004-14, and the references in Williams’s reviews o f die legends of the Hairy Anchorite (Williams, 1925, 1926, 1935). The topic is a wide one in regard to its content and the early routes o f its transmission into Europe, including Ireland and Britain. Cf. also Chadwick, O ., 1959, and Chadwick, N. K ., 1961.

C E L T I C O R IG IN S O F *V IT A M E R L I N l ’

3

resolution occurs in the case o f Suibhne, who dies in M oling’s church. It is thus part o f a common background for these Celtic wild-m an tales. But, though borne on this basic ‘ carrier m yth ', these are apparently two largely separate legends springing from different events in Ireland and Britain, not m erely variants o f one legend, as has often been assumed because o f similarities o f shape like this saintly ending. It does not occur in the M yrddin m aterial, though there are hints in AfalUnnau and at the end o f Cyfoesi in pious prayers about relief. T h e Lailoken B tale also provides (3) the earlier narrative sequence o f V M which centres on M erlin’s capture, conveyance to, conversation at and escape from the king’s court. T h e Lailoken sequence is in VM transferred from the fort o f a Lothian regulus, or local ruler, to Rodarch's cou rt;1 this aligns it with the A rfderydd-M yrddin story. In VM Rodarch's court is not precisely located, but is in ‘ C um bria’, o f which Rodarch is said to be king: see N N . Lailoken A has K entigem and the w ild man in Glasgow in Strathclyde, so that alignm ent o f the scene from the Lailoken B story with the W elsh tradition about Rhydderch H ael and M yrddin was made easier. T h e triple-death m otif in the Lailoken stories and in VM is commented on below. A n im portant early scene o f VM , the first finding and capture o f M erlin in the hills after a distracted flight from society, is very close to a scene in Vita Gurthiemi,2 on the life o f St G urthiem o f Quim perlé, and apparently to no other source. This part o f the legend o f G urthiem relates to a period o f his life when he was wandering w ild in either North W ales or North Britain, and the Life m ight link up independently with the Arfderydd tradition along a lost line. There is another feature— a decapitated-head m iracle— which m ay be a further hint o f North British origin, since this not common m iracle is attached to K entigem , who was closely associated with Lailoken b y the eleventh-twelfth century. T h e other aspect o f Breton G urthiem , who seems to belong to the fifth sixth century, is that he m ay convey some traditions, or even historical inform ation, about W elsh G w rtheym or V ortigem (NN). Geoffrey was interested in the traditions o f the district o f Gwent (the Geunssi) and o f Erging (Archenfield, by Monmouth) in particular, with which V ortigem had some traditional-legendary links. T h e scene o f the finding o f G ur­ thiem by a spring recalls both VM and the passage in H RB 8. 10 where M erlin (Ambrosius) is searched for by messengers o f Aurelius (Ambrosius) after the death o f V ortigem and found by a favourite spring called Galabes, in Gwent. Geoffrey published H RB in the mideleven-thirties; Vita Gurthiemi is c. 1120-30. (This is also relevant to 1 See end o f * Intro. 8 on forms o f names used in VM translation, as well as NN. * M aître & Berthou, 1904.

4

L I F E OF M E R L IN

the question whether Geoffrey him self was in Brittany during student years.) Another suggestion o f the use o f Breton sources comes from considera­ tion o f the character Guennolous in VM . His name appears to derive from Guennolé o f Landévennec (NN G W E N D D O L A U ). In this case there is a special link w ith the founder o f M onmouth priory itself, and this m aterial could well have been available there. T he immediate source o f the name-form M odred m ay have been Breton or Cornish, the latter being more likely. T he name antedates Geoffrey’s time, but there is a possibility that name and character as presented by Geoffrey were not unconnected with a more recent historical personality in the north, where the original M edraut o f Arthurian times had probably belonged also. Taliesin's visit to Brittany to see Gildas, in VM , has been compared w ith a reference in the Ruys Life o f Gildas to visits from British monks. This is supported by and supports the probability that— although the poem’s ending is through the ’ saintly resolution' already mentioned— the w ay this is achieved was suggested by the retirement o f Gildas's brothers and sister to a forest retreat, in the same Life (NN G IL D A S ). Taliesin him self was o f course available directly in the literary tradition o f W ales, though with northern links. He plays a special role in the VM story (see NN) ; but the learned information he incidentally imparts has a post-classical Latin source (in Isidore), and if contem porary encyclo­ paedias were also consulted, these would not be particularly W elsh. J. J . Parry (edition o f VM ) printed com parable W elsh poems o f learned discourse on the universe: Song to the Great World (B T 79 = F A B W 2. 214 and I. 539) and another, attributed to Taliesin, from Myvyrian Archaiol. (Owen, 1870, 76; see also Nash, 1858, 293 ff.). Neither is in the same precise vein as the verses in VM or as sustained. Hanes Taliesin has the like. T hey do not seem specifically C eltic in their informational and theoretical content, only in style. T he Arthurian m aterial was still mostly oral in Britain and Brittany, and Geoffrey’s öWn H RB is a m 'am 'poiilt orcrystallisatiôn. T here'is no evidence 6T new m aterial in VM , except for M orgen and a discrepancy over the beginning o f A rthur’s reign, which m ay or m ay not be significant. T he Arthurian theme in VM is only a sketched background. " Irish sources can onïyTje séênw îfh any" Confidence, and that qualified, in the case o f the origins o f M orgen and, more tenuously, those o f her sisters. (See N N on both.) T h e exact nature o f the link here is obscure. Geoffrey gives no hint o f knowing Irish, and the possibility o f a personal interm ediary is raised in the N N . T he triple-death m otif is in the early Suibhne stories (Jackson, 1940).

C E L T I C O R IG IN S O F *V IT A M E R L I N l ’

5

B u t in spite o f the parallel m ain themes, it is doubtful that there was a sim ple or short chain o f connections between these earlier Irish uses and V M . (The extant Buile Skuibkne post-dates VM.) T he Lailoken stories refer to the triple-death m otif in two ways, as a prophecy o f a triple death for Lailoken him self and (in A) also as a prophecy o f the imminent deaths o f three others. T h e later Life o f Kentigem (Jocelin) has the second form, though somewhat differently from Lailoken A . T he B tale has the first form , the perfunctory end-couplet perhaps added from knowledge o f A . N either o f the Lailoken stories nor Jocelin includes the death by burning as m et among the Irish examples. VM follows essentially the Lailoken form ; but in putting the triple death in a hunting context and attached to a boy Geoffrey m ay have been influenced by two near-contemporary poem s about triple-deaths by H ildebert o f L avardin.1 1 See * Intro. 2 for detail.

2

THE TWELFTH CENTURY AND GEOFFREY’S NON-CELTIC SOURCES

THE TW ELFTH CENTURY

D uring the half-century in which Geoffrey lived, the main political process was the transformation o f second and third generation immigrants o f Norm an extraction into islanders. O n top o f this, Stephen’s reign (i 135-54) was occupied with the dynastic quarrel with M atilda and her son Henry, finally accepted as heir to the throne in 1 153.1 T he lining up o f the supporters o f Stephen and M atilda was relatively stable over long periods, despite defections and manoeuvres, the desire to retain or w in back land-grants being a m ajor cause o f loyalty. Supporters were scattered rather than aligned geographically; towns and castles, with their essential local countryside, were fortified islands, and, in D avis’s im age, the armies moved across the em pty spaces between them as though on the high seas. Estimates vary, but economic dam age and disruption were considerable: the neglect o f farming during the fighting season was noted in W ales from the beginning o f the reign. There were extra complications like the invasion o f D avid I o f Scotland (Battle o f the Standard, 1138) and the rise o f adventurers after 1140, such as Robert FitzH ubert round Devizes and Geoffrey de M andeville in the Fens. T h e worst famine year was 1143,2 and in the m iddle o f that decade weariness setded on the country. There was some turning inwards, and several o f the partisan leaders were am ong those who went o ff on the second crusade.3 Vita M erlini was occasioned by special circumstances and was not a public work, but its late theme o f quietist withdrawal fitted a current mood. These preoccupations— annexation and civil w ar— kept the country even more apart from Europe than usual in some ways. O nly a very sm all contingent, under French leadership, had gone on the first crusade (109699). T he second (1147-9) met disaster with equally little help from Britain; this time the crusaders were part o f a minor Frisian-Flem ing expedition. 1 For a succinct survey o f the reign, Davis, 1968; for the wars, Slocombe, i960. Potter, 1955, published Gesta Stephani, with its recent additions. For charters, etc., Cronne & Davis, vol. 3, 1968. * Cf. VM 1474fr., esp. 1505. 3 Hopes o f gaining land in the east were also high among crusaders* motives. [6]

THE TW EL FTH CENTURY

7

Crusades and Moorish confrontation in Spain, however, brought fresh ideas westwards, not only oriental philosophies and science but Aristotle an d the Greek m edicine which had been preserved by Islam .1 T h e actu­ alities o f life in the eastern lands cam e back through crusades and m erchants. A pilgrim called Saew ulf wrote o f his trip in 1 102-3,2 and such as he would also have brought back more legendary m aterial, like the cycle o f Alexander tales or Indian stories; the Indian element in VM , however, m ay have arrived m uch earlier. T h e fuller im pact o f new ideas cam e after Geoffrey's day; but men like Adelard o f Bath, who travelled in Spain and published A rabic astronomical w ork,3 already had an effect. T h e emphasis was on natural science, and O xford, Geoffrey’s home for long, was known as preferring scientific subjects to logic and metaphysics, thought it was not a university like Paris.4 T h e term ‘ A rabs’, in the context o f this cultural contact, covers a great diversity o f outlooks and people, including unpersecuted Christian communities. M any centuries o f pilgrim age to Arab-held Christian places, through the M editerranean and overland from northern Europe by w ay o f ‘ M icklegarth ’ (Constantinople), preceded this newer twelfth-century awareness. Earlier chapters o f R uncim an (1951, vol. 1) convey a general picture.

P O S T -C L A S S IC A L SOURCES

A fter the C eltic poems and tales, and Geoffrey’s debt to his own H istory, V M owes most, quantitatively at least, to the works which gave it the m aterial for the learned exchanges between Taliesin and M erlin. M any o f the scientific ideas and examples come from the post-classical heritage, affected by but not yet overturned by new winds from the east. This inform ation was available through various channels, including the schools, teaching in monastic establishments and the encyclopaedias which helped to feed the others. Encyclopaedias were being produced, especially in the early twelfth century, for the general-reader market. W right (1926) called their lore ‘ an im portant part o f the cargo o f the m ediaeval m ind’, and the informa­ tion lists, at least, are at such a level o f popular learning in VM . T heir 1 See Text. Comm, on VM 1147-53, Merlin’s recovery, and the currency o f Arabic medical ideas. Riley-Smith, 1967, mentions the pilgrims’ hospital in Muslim-held Jerusalem towards the end o f the 1 ith century, run on Arab principles by the Knights o f St John. * De situ Ierusalem (ed., Brownlow, 1897). * T he Khorazmian Tables, 1126. This work included the Indo-Arabic concept o f a hypo­ thetical d ty, Ann, without latitude or longitude and on the equator halfway between east and west, as a terrestrial reference point: a precursor o f the Fortunate Isles and Greenwich. 4 Wieruszowski, 1966.

8

L I F E O F M E R L IN

sources were antique, as often with encyclopaedias, and they drew much from such writers as Solinus, Isidore (himself a transm itter o f Solinus’s work), Bede and the lesser geographers. T h e De imagine mundi (c. i ioo, by ? Honorius Indusus)1 had a high place. Its origins included Isidore and Solinus, in particular, and also Orosius and Augustine. Another o f the early twelfth century which acquired a reputation was the Liber Floridus (by Lam bert, St Om er). It used Isidore, Bede, M artianus Capella and R aban M aur,* and it had maps. Geoffrey was on the whole faithful in presenting such conventional m aterial, turning it into pleasant verse without transforming it altogether. His skill, not an unpoetic one, was in selecting the sort o f passage which was relevant to his story or his characters and then, more editorially, shaping the passage to avoid an obscurer exam ple or an awkward name or a discrepant detail. But there are instances where he has turned a list entry to emphasise a point in his own narrative— e.g., over the Fortunate Isles, the woodpecker, the diomeds. (These are annotated in their places.) Because this type o f m aterial was well known, it is the harder to attach to a particular source. Isidore was apparently consulted at first hand, to judge by the closeness o f correspondence o f most o f the examples listed in VM ,12 3 especially the islands and springs, in the order and content o f the items, provided one accepts some simple assumptions about minor altera­ tions. For exam ple, the Fortunate Isles are displaced because, one says, Geoffrey wanted them at the end to lead into the passage about M orgen's island and Arthur. There is also a general omission o f the flat prelim inary descriptions o f the islands. Otherwise, there are only two order changes (o f adjoining items) in this list and only one contradiction between the versified information in VM and that in Isidore.4 There is also the suggestive point that one o f the books at Lincoln cathedral about 1 150 was a copy o f Isidore;5 Geoffrey was very close to Lincoln just then, but nothing firm can be said about this point. T he lists o f VM refer to m aterial in Books 12-14 only o f Isidore. This m ight suggest direct consultation o f a partial copy, but could be merely a consequence o f 1 Migne, PL 9 172, attrib. to Honorius o f Autun. 2 A ninth-century German polymath, who added theological and historical overtones to Isidore’s material. (Raby, 1953, 179-83*) 3 The correspondences o f the lists are as follows. Fish, VM 827-54, laid., 12. 6; Islands, VM 875-909, Isid., 14. 6; Springs, etc., VM 1179-1242, Isid., 13. 13; Birds, VM 1301-86, Isid., 12. 7. See Text. Comm, on detail. Geoffrey handled the information cautiously, even for a poetic exercise; item after item is qualified by ‘ They say’ or the like. Isidore also used many qualifiers. 4 Whether Ireland was bigger or smaller than Britain. 3 Giraldus (Rolls), vol. 7, Appx C : (1recepit) . . . Isidontm Etfumologiarum. Hamo’s chancellor­ ship is not closely dated. The collection contained few non-religious works, but Solinus’s Collectanea and a Mappamundi were acquired in this period.

TH E TW ELFTH CENTURY

9

the subjects he was looking for to fit the occasion and the two savants. It also is inconclusive. There are disagreements with the available text o f Isidore1 which seem m ore than editorially occasioned. T h e order o f the fish, unlike the others, bears no relation to Isidore’s order. M ost o f the information coincides, but Geoffrey's sea-dragon has its poison under its wings, Isidore’s in its gills; and V M *s muraenas are tempted out by the hissing o f snakes, with which they mate, whereas in Isidore it is the fishermen who hiss to draw them out to be caught. V M ’s account o f the thym allus has additional detail.i23 M ore im portant, in Isidore the fish are classified as reptiles and follow the chapter on worms. In VM they are related as a class to birds. So Isidore does not have the contrast o f birds with fish— how the sea's wetness drives the fish beneath the waves, because their constitution is different from that o f birds, and how the purpose o f fish is to be curative. A variation over the account o f the parrot in the bird list, however, can be explained by a simple misunderstanding o f a possibly soiled text, or by unfam iliarity with parrots. So V M *s likeness to Isidore’s work is not so com plete and exact as first impressions suggest. But this only leaves a real doubt over the proxim ate source for Geoffrey’s fish list. Isidore's Etymologiae (Origines) is still evi­ dently the prim e one for the lists. There remains o f the scientific conversation o f the two men Taliesin’s in itial discourse on cosmogony, cosmography, geography, hell and the w eather (V M 737-824). This general science leads into the lists o f fishes and islands o f the world, and so to A rthur on M orgen's isle. M ost o f the concepts expounded are to be found, in em bryo at least, in Bede’s De natura rervun? and this has been thought to be the source. Parry stated that this treatise was in use in W elsh schools, and James4 said that 'th e works o f Bede were a regular constituent o f monastic libraries, perhaps especially in the twelfth century'. G eoffrey m ight have been taught from it in early life ; but the considera­ tion that the intellectual clim ate was still basically conservative m ay blunt i Lindsay, 1911. According to Calder, 1917, Isidore died just before Magh Rath (637), and quotations were taken from him by Cennfacladh, supposed author o f the primer Auraicept m nEces. The quotations do not parallel Geoffrey's borrowings. * T hat the scent o f the thymallus betrays it to its enemies, who eat it, and then - betrayed by the scent themselves - are eaten in turn, until the river is empty. A form o f this idea occurs before VM in the O ld English poem The Whale. The whale, when hungry, opens its mouth to emit a sweet scent; other fish are 'betrayed' by the scent and swim in. The process could hardly be made serial here. The date o f the Exeter Book in which the poem occurs is not later than 107a, according to M itchell, 1965. 3 M igne, PL, 90. 4 In Thompson, 1935: The MSS o f Bede. The only works o f Bede in the Lincoln cathedral list are religious.

IO

L I F E O F M E R L IN

us to differences which were sharper at the time than they seem now. T he ideas are not identically clothed in Bede and VM , which has sophisti­ cations and variations. There are four elements in VM , as in Bede; but the VM elements are both 'p rior causes’ and the m aterial to be shaped by them. In Bede there is the distinction between aether (a region o f light) and sublunar space. Taliesin's exposition has a triple space— a starred firmament (with the sun) enclosing all like the shell o f a nut, then the heavens where the moon is, and lastly the sublunar atmosphere.1 There are also three corresponding orders o f spirits: angels in the firmament, spirits interm ediary between God and men in the m iddle heavens, and demons between earth and m oon.12 T h e five habitable and uninhabitable zones are the same.34There is an explanation o f rainfall as a cyclic process (water picked up by wind and precipitated from cloud). T h e wind types and their effects are differently explained, but this was always a subject for great diversity o f views. In VM the three types o f sea (burning, freezing, temperate) m ay echo the five land zones. But the burning sea leads down— the im age is un­ certain— to a fiery hell where the dead are judged. A hell in the centre o f the earth was another current idea, not unconnected with the existence o f volcanoes. T he note on the freezing sea and gem-formation actually contains a direct reference to A rabic work {perhibent Arabes).* T he remarks on the temperate sea include platitudes but also a non-Isidorean notion o f the sea generating sea-birds, and their relation to fish, as discussed above. (There are some incidental references to the movement o f celestial bodies (e.g., Venus, VM 436 f.) which should be considered under this scientific heading rather than under the classical influences.) This general-science passage has not received a detailed com parative study, but it clearly shows the presence o f some contem porary ideas, 1 Cf. De imagine mundi i. 5. The universe is compared to an egg. The shell is the upper firmament, the white the middle heaven, the yolk the lower air; and the ‘ drop o f grease’ in the centre is the earth. A spherical and concentric universe was a fam iliar idea in Europe; Al-Farghani, translated in 1135 by John o f Seville, is said to have reported similarly for Arabic writers. See Lewis, 1964, ch. 5, on the outline o f the mediaeval universe. 2 The demons are the class to which Merlin’s father belonged, in HRB 6. 18: Apuleius, God o f Socrates, is there mentioned. See also Plutarch, Moralia (The decline o f oracles, 10) for an account of 6af|ioves related in space to the moon and midway between gods and men. 3 De natura rerum, 9. But elsewhere in the work there are eight earth zones. Zoning was not always understood. William de Conches, a leader o f thought at Chartres and a contemporary o f Geoffrey, imposed a confusing cast-to-west factor o f cold-dry/warmdamp on the ordinary system. There are references to the zones in the Welsh poems in Parry’s Appendix to his edition o f VM. 4 VM 803. No precise reference has been suggested : see NN ARABS.

THE TW ELFTH CENTURY

II

including A rabic ones, and it is not in fact a hack re-working o f antique local British school books.

C L A S S IC A L A LLU SIO N S

T h e classical allusions in VM are such as would easily have been en­ countered in an ordinary advanced latinate education. There are few o f them , and they do not support Faral's view that the origins o f the poem are essentially classical.1 T h e Augustan epic poets in the dedication (V M 14-16) are from a passage in O vid’s Pontus poems which could have been a stock list.2 The three examples o f grieving women at the end o f the messenger’s song (V M 191-5) are from O vid's Heroides. Orpheus and Eurydice appear (V M 371-3), though in a textually doubtful passage and not in a recognis­ able version: it does not suggest a knowledge o f Greek. Orpheus is m entioned with the Augustan poets as a bard. M inerva is used (V M 736) to symbolise learning, as the Muses are used for the arts in the dedication, and Boreas for winter and Bootes for the north. Daedalus (V M 923) is brought in to illustrate M orgen's skill in devising wings for flying. A stray reference to northern European legend in an association with a Rom an m ilitary station is W ayland (V M 235: see N N ), who had some currency in twelfth-century Britain.

E X O T IC SOURCES

T h e rem aining type o f m aterial to consider is that in the few tales o f exotic origin; one is im portant to the scheme o f the poem, the others anecdotal. Tales like these tend to have a long history and to wander between oral and written forms through more than one culture, and the beginnings and lines o f transmission must usually be uncertain.3 In the case o f VM we cannot say that Geoffrey saw the anecdotes in a particular place, but the im m ediate source o f the most im portant story is clear. I f there is a conclusion, it is that none o f them is a casual literary gleaning arbitrarily inserted. T h e stories in VM which have such an exotic character include (1) that o f the triple-death prophecy, (2) the im portant laugh, lea f and adultery section o f the narrative, and (3) and (4), the two m arket-place incidents* * Fand, 1929, 2, 340-401. * It looks, in fact, as if Geoffrey was quoting from memory, and slipped; but see Text. Comm. > For a discussion o f the international popular tale, see Jackson, 1961, lectures 1 and n.

12

L I F E OF M E R L IN

o f the poor begging doorkeeper sitting over buried money, and o f the man buying new shoes and patches for them in ignorance o f the imminence o f -his death. T h e triple-death m otif was known in the early Irish versions o f a w ild m an legend, and was discussed earlier: where it originated is obscure. In VM it is no longer part o f the essential plot o f the story, as it was in the Lailoken tales where Geoffrey is likely to have seen it. It does bring out M erlin’s prophetic powers, certainly, but his own fate is not bound up w ith its fulfilment. T he features o f the VM presentation1 o f this m otif which had not been obviously paralleled in its other appearances in Ireland and Scotland are the youth with his sequence o f disguises and the fulfilm ent o f the prophecy during a hunting expedition. There are two short poems on the theme by H ildebert which are suggestive.12 In the first a pregnant wom an was told by three gods that her child would be a boy, a girl, a boy-girl. A fter the birth they predicted three deaths— by a snare, by a weapon, b y water. It happened so. In the second poem a man, a pig, a snake died b y a triple (circular) accident: the situation was a hunt in a wood. H ildebert was w idely known for his verse, and it is more probable than not that Geoffrey, a younger contem porary, had read him. This does not mean that Geoffrey did not meet the death prophecy in the Lailoken m aterial. T he laugh, leaf and adultery story had its im m ediate or all but immedi­ ate origin in the Lailoken tale connected w ith M eldred, where it was, as in VM , associated with a death prophecy: its further home is oriental, but not in a simple fashion. Jocelin's Life o f Kentigem gives the salmon-and-lostring version o f the queen’s adultery, and this goes back to the ancient tale o f Polycrates’s ring.3 But the laugh is connected with another fish story in an Indian collection. A n adulterous queen, refusing fish, made the plain Freudian slip o f referring to them as ‘ men ’ ; the fish laughed. T h e king's minister (aliter, a soothsayer), persuaded to interpret, struck the queen with a flowerspray, and she fainted. T he minister/soothsayer laughed; he explained that she had not fainted the night before when her lover had struck her. Queen and lovers were drowned. Both the fish and the interpreter laugh in this story. The minister/soothsayer had been silent for about three days : 1 VM 254-415. * Hildebert o f Lavardin (1056-1133), bishop o f Tours 1125: see R aby, 1953, 265-73. He wrote syllabic verse in addition to much in classical metres. The texts o f these two poems, apparently adjacent in the Tours M S, are in Migne, PL, 171, 1445-6. A trans­ lation o f the first is in Gleadow, 1968. 3 See Jackson, 1961 and SEBC, 322 n, on the trail o f this theme from the M iddle and perhaps Far East through Irish hagiography (St Bridget) and the Tim Bö Frdieh (also gth century and with monastic connections).

THE TW ELFTH CENTURY

IS

it was explained that he had found that his own wife was in love with someone else. H e was persuaded by the king to speak: rich gifts are m entioned. T he essence and much o f the detail o f the story o f Lailoken and M eldred’s queen and o f that o f M erlin, Rodarch and Ganieda are in this story, which Schm idt believed to have existed by the sixth century. Carriers and routes are open to speculation.1 Schm idt's translation explains much. In his textus simplicior the minister uses a flower-spray, Blüthenbüscheln, and when he laughs, it is as if a mass o f blossoms appeared, wobei eine Menge Blumen zum Vorschein kamen. Paton's sum m ary spoke o f a /*a/-spray, and the difference turns out to matter. W ortham ’s translation (original not specified) made the soothsayer m erely touch the queen. But Schm idt explained that the minister’s name {Puspahäsa: W ortham had Pushpakâra) means ’ Flower-laugher’, Blumenlacher. Perhaps in the very first version the minister m erely laughed at the queen. T h is, then, is the origin o f the lea f in G anieda’s hair in VM 259; we do not know how m any intermediaries there were. Dasgupta and D e (1947) put the textus ornatior o f this Éukasaptati (Seventy tales o f a parrot) as not before the twelfth century. T hey did not date the textus simpliciort but evidendy put it a good deal earlier and thought that even so it was a secondary text. B ut there is also another eastern laugh story which parallels the VM narrative. This is the story o f the capture o f the demon Ashm edai (Asmodeus, etc.) by Benajah, who took him to Solomon to help with the building o f the temple. O n the w ay the bound Ashmedai laughed twice in the m arket-place— at a wizard promising riches in ignorance o f treasure buried beneath him, and at a man, soon to die, buying shoes to last seven years, and he wept on seeing a bride (or, bridegroom) who was also soon to die.* G aster (1905) translated ’ an old Roum anian m anuscript’ . T he angel G avril served an abbot, to collect his soul after thirty years. D uring this tim e G avril never laughed. W hen at length he did, the first two occasions were (1) at the abbot (soon to die) sending for new shoes, and (2) at an old m an seeking alms sitting over treasure.3 T h e second case is closer to the VM form : the Solomon story had a wizard. t Schm idt, 1894; and see Paton, 1907, and Wortham, 1911. * T h e story has a Talm udic origin. Summary in Vogt, 1880, 213fr. ; and see Ginzberg, 1913, vol. 4, ch. 5. See also the Testament o f Solomon (McCown, 1922). It is clearly relevant as a theme to Vortigem and Merlin Ambrosius and the building of the castle at the end o f HRB Bk. 6. * T he other occasions were: seeing a bishop and a governor pass in a carriage (they were twin sons o f a certain poor widow), and a man taking a pot. These are of a different order and possible accretions, though the second could be seen as prophetic ('d a y stealing d a y ’). Unfortunatdy, the provenance and date o f Gaster’s manuscript are obscure, and he associated the Merlin o f HRB with the market-place tales o f VM.

*4

L I F E OF M E R L IN

T w o other stories are o f interest in being o f G reek and Rom an origin, and so possibly on the route taken by the oriental tales at some unknown but early period. Both are stories o f wild men captured by kings on account o f their powers. M idas had Silenos, a forest m an indeed, captured: he offered Silenos freedom in return for the secret o f the universe. In other versions M idas him self was related to the satyrs.1 Faunus and Picus were caught by Num a Pompilius, the second king, to whom the Romans ascribed their basic religious practices. Both captives were o f the forest and had a numinous character, Faunus as a probable local nature god, Picus (the woodpecker) as a woodland prophet: both were regarded as (prehistoric) kings.2 Parry thought that Geoffrey m ight have seen the two m arket-place anecdotes in a collection o f exem pla, i.e. that they were literary decora­ tions in VM . But it seems fairly plain that these anecdotes were not floating independently. T hey had some previous association with themes o f the VM narrative. A last exam ple apparently adds another link.3 Solomon had difficulty with another powerful demon. Sakhr, the only demon unsubdued by the influence o f Solomon’s ring, lived on a desert island. Solomon gave his ring to one o f his queens, from whom Sakhr obtained it and with it Solomon’s power. Solomon wandered as an outcast. A fter m any years, the ring was recovered from the m aw o f a fish, and Solomon ruled agaiq. H ere the king-and-wild-man legend combines with the m otif o f the unfaithful queen, as it does in the Life o f Kentigem and in VM . T he fish-ring m otif is in VM replaced by the equally oriental lea f m otif. But that, too, we have seen, had been associated (in the Indian Parrot tale) not only with a fish but with a portentous laugh, such as went with t^ie disclosure o f adultery and elsewhere with the m arket-place anecdotes a lso ). . 1 See Pauly-Wissowa for references. Paton pointed to Aelian, Vor. Hist. 3. 18, for this capture. But Aelian only described the conversation, with Silenos delivering an im­ probable (for him) scientific disquisition in the Taliesin vein. But he ascribed the story to Theopompus in the 3rd century b.c . It could be a useful fact about the movement o f the wild-man myth if the story o f the capture also belonged there: for Midas had connections with Macedonia and Phrygia and Silenos with Lydia. But the extant fragments o f Theopompus do not mention Silenos or Midas. * For references, including Plutarch, Numa 15. 3, see Smith, 1894. As noted elsewhere, Geoffrey after an initial straight run jumped to the middle of Isidore’s bird-list, to end with picus, the woodpecker (VM 1384-6). There is no direct reference to prophecy, but Geoffrey, if anyone in the period, would have been familiar with the connection. It was the picus which sat on the branch on which grew the acorn which became the oak which Merlin used to explain his own great age (V M 1275). Faunus and Picus are in the Nennian genealogy (ch. 10) of Aeneas’s wife, and so part o f the Brutus legend o f the origins o f the British race: Laviniam filiam TurnifiU i Faunifilii Picifilii Saturni. T he equivalent passage in HRB 1 .3 is in summary form without Lavinia's forebears, but this is dictated by the narrative, anyway. * Clouston, 1889, 163 n.

TH E TW EL FTH CENTURY

*5

A part from questions o f dating, these complexities are a reminder o f the largeness o f the number o f individual variants to be envisaged in this sort o f transmission, and the inadequacy o f notions o f lim ited stemmata such as ap p ly to surviving manuscripts. Structuralist theories m ay prove essential tools; but, less form ally, one needs some im age like that o f long chains o f m any-hooked burrs to meet the case.

3

PROPHECY IN VITA MERLINI

Vita M erlini contains three passages o f obscurely phrased ‘ prophecy’ . They occupy just under a quarter o f the whole poem (348 lines, or 23 per cent), and to a m odem reader— not personally anxious for hints on how to survive through Stephen’s reign— they can be tedious, apart from the interest o f the form itself. There is a cryptographic attraction in trying to identify references to current and earlier personalities and events.1 This is lim ited by the facts that self-protective am biguity is an essential part o f the genre, that an ambiguous prophet’s hidden views m ay w ell be vague, too, that Geoffrey was not writing as a committed prophet in his own right and that some issues and events which seemed significant at the time m ay be in oblivion now and allusions to them ungraspable. It seems that there are certainly identifiable references to the contem porary scene; but, for exam ple, San M arte in his edition could apply the VM prophecies as alluding to events in John’s reign some sixty years later: this affected his views on the poem’s date. T he form is that o f the W elsh nationalistic exhortation put into the mouth o f one o f the standard earlier prophets or bards. Taliesin and M yrddin were particularly popular masks, and the earlier poetry owes some o f its partial survivals to the quotations which were incorporated in new bardic prophecies to enhance their apparent authority.12 This applies to the W elsh poems from which much o f the basic VM narrative was derived. Afallennau, Hoianau and Cyfoesi (but not Ymddiddan) were ‘ pro­ phecies ’ o f this kind. T h e prophet (Taliesin, M yrddin) would be made to describe, as part o f the future, the history o f the period between him self and the actual w riter. This also established the authority o f the later writer by the demon­ stration o f his knowledge o f the past and by the suggestion that he was associated with a source o f correct prediction. O n these bases he went on to speak o f the future o f his own times ‘ in a w ay ambiguous enough to be safe’ ;3 one m ay add, safe in his intellectual standing and in his person. V ague though the style was, the m aterial would be expected to be useful to individuals in suggesting a frame o f reference for contem porary politics 1 There are almost certainly some interpolations in VM. See, for example, the variations o f order between M SS in the couplets in VM 612-21, and Text. Comm, on VM 624. * Griffiths, 1937. Cf. references to prophecy in G . Williams (1962), and also 1967-8. 3 Parry, T ., 1955. [16 )

17

P R O P H E C Y IN *V IT A M E R L I N l ’

at a tim e when most people depended on distant rumours passed by word o f m outh.1 T h e special clim ax o f the W elsh form was the promise o f the return o f a national deliverer, now in suspended anim ation.2 Cynan, Cadw aladr and O w ain am ong the early leaders were common choices.3 In Arnus Prydein Cynan and Cadw aladr are mentioned. Cyfoesi ends with gloom and collapse o f the realm after Cadw aladr dies; but he had earlier arrived to save it and had reigned three hundred and three years: obviously, if there were any hope, that is where one would look. In HRB there are Conan and Cadw alader; it is Conan and Cadw alader in VM A Y et in both o f these last there is the ambiguous passing o f Arthur, last heard o f as taken to the Isle o f A vallon or M orgen’s isle for the healing o f a m ortal wound. But A rthur was then an unestablished newcomer as a future deliverer. G eoffrey’s presentation o f A rthur was doubtless a great influence in causing his acceptance in that role, but it did not develop until after G eoffrey’s own tim e.3 Com m on to much forecasting o f the sort are vague adumbrations o f the breakdown o f the social order as shown by bizarre fashions, especially am ong women, by sexual licence and by the failure o f trust. H R B's prophecy has much o f this, F M ’s a touch. It is not specially W elsh or C eltic. T . Parry traced this type o f hortatory W elsh prediction from the ninth to the fifteenth century. Later it became a largely literary form without the urgency o f the earlier patriotic propaganda and with only a perfunc­ tory use o f the ancient prophet.6 G eoffrey’s contributiona were^^i) to write proph^î^« f1? to elaborate greatly th» « y syn hfîlrr* fr>r r a tW fh ^ 2 fr>r races^for which Nennius had used dragons),7 and, according to Griffiths, 1 C f. HRB 8 .1. After Merlin Ambrosius’s long prophecy to Vortigem (= Bk. 7), ‘ M erlin’s audience was astounded at his words and their uncertain meaning.’ It is made clear that the astonishment was admiring, though they did not understand what he meant. In Lailoken A the clergy and others remained interested in Lailoken’s pre­ dictions and noted down some o f them, though his remarks were muddled and he contradicted himself. C f. Giraldus, Descr. Kambr., 1, ch. 16, on the confused inspira­ tional prophets of his own day, which was just after Geoffrey’s. 2 Such as sleeping in a cave or hollow hill, as Arthur did (e.g. Chambers, 1927, 188 f., 221 f.). See NN A R TH U R on the apparent currency o f the sleeping hero/god story in the area o f Britain in the ist century a .d. 2 See Griffiths, 1937, 146 ff., on these and later deliverers.

♦ VM 967-8. 3 See NN A R TH U R . 6 A very late example is the brief anonymous Prophecies o f Myrddin put out by I. Harris in 1815, with its references to ‘ D ublin’ and to ‘ Highlanders’ (sic). ? Griffiths, 1937, 80; Taylor, 1911. There is hardly any such symbolism before Geoffrey. The animal« chosen did not necessarily typify the man personally, unless it is that we misconstrue contemporary views o f either, but more his political role. How far any

2

cm

i8

L I F E O F M E R L IN

to em ploy bolder metaphors and (c) to transfer the theme o f nationalism from the W elsh to a wider concept o f the British. So in V M ’s allusion to Conan and Cadw alader they are to unite Scots, W elsh,1 Cornish and Bretons.2 This is still an un-English patriotism ; but further inclusiveness is im plied by the invitation in Ganieda’s ‘ contem porary prophecy’ to the Normans to go home with their troops and leave our country alone. These Normans are the supporters from France o f Empress M atilda and/or Prince Henry, not the settled descendants o f the Conquest generation, whose acceptance as Britons is im plied. M any W elsh, still fighting annexation, would have included the latter as invading Normans, too, but this is not w hat Geoffrey him self seems to mean here. A fter all, he was one o f them. There is no doubt about the existence o f a mass o f m aterial on w hich prophecy-writers like Geoffrey drew. His repetition o f symbolisms and motifs is itself one indication. Even Geoffrey’s contem porary, the historian W illiam o f Newburgh, accepted Geoffrey’s claim to have translated his prophecies, jv h ile asserting that he had added a good deal o f his own in the processjjGeoffrey ‘ translated those prophetic jerem iads from British and, it is thought with justification, added much to them from his own im agination. In addition, he accommodated his own im aginings (as he easily could) to events which occurred before or during his own day, so that they could be given a suitable interpretation.’3 W illiam ’s intention was sharply critical, but in fact he could not more clearly say that G eoffrey was right inside the W elsh tradition in this m atter. In VM 1161-8 Geoffrey makes M erlin describe his state o f mind during his prophetic madness or possession— how he was taken out o f him self and as a spirit knew the history o f peoples long past, and could foretell the future, and had an esoteric knowledge o f the stars and o f nature, and how w earying this state was. This and the description o f Ganieda’s light trance (V M 1472) show an awareness o f the condition o f dissociation which goes with this tradition o f oraculàr declamation.* W hether Geoffrey had ever personally felt so transported has to be left open at present. Geoffrey’s Prophecies o f Merlin, which we now know as Book 7 o f H RB, interpolated at the request o f Bishop Alexander, seem to have existed

1

* 1 4

armorial or quasi-totemistic motifs occur has not apparently been studied closely. For an earlier prophetic dream including two belligerent dragons (and a spring), see Book o f Esther (Apocr.), 11. VM 969 : Cambros. Welsh (only) should be meant here, as Cadwalader is Cambrorum dux venerandus in the line before: cf. VM 32 similarly, where Cumbrians are meant. (M SS vary in both places.) It has been pointed out that the phraseology echoes Armes Piydein, which had a Breton relevance. Hist. rer. Anglic., Intro., Bk. 1. See Text. Comm, on VM 1161-8 and 1472.

P R O P H E C Y IN ‘ V IT A M E R L I N l ’

19

before the publication o f H RB, or in some w ay separately, but it is hard to be positive. T he historian Ordericus V italis has been said to have used them in 1135,1 one to three years before the usual dates for H RB. T he Prophecies do appear by themselves in the M SS Peniarth 14 and 16, according to Griffiths, but as W elsh translations; and as the earlier o f these manuscripts is only m id-thirteenth century, this does not settle the issue. There was, however, an Icelandic version o f the Prophecies at or before the beginning o f the thirteenth century.2 This gave the story o f V ortigern’s tower, but it was not the HRB version prepared for Alexander. Ambrosius, also known as M erlinûs, was a noble and belonged to the court, and there was no fatherless boy as in H RB. This would be consistent with the Latin Prophecies having come out in more than one form. (There is also a possi­ b ility that the main work, H RB, appeared in more than one form in the sense that some variation m ay be contemporary. )3 There was a Liber prognostics among the Lincoln cathedral books listed at or after 1150, w hich could conceivably have been such a version o f the Prophecies, if (as it sounds) it was a separate work. There was also an Icelandic bishop, T hu rlac o f Skalholt, studying at Lincoln about 1160.4 Conclusive evidence is lacking. T h e three prophetic passages in VM are as follows: r ''( i) Lines 580-688. M erlin, wandering about his institute o f astrology and divination after dinner, delivers his prophecy to his sister Ganieda. (2) Lines 9 41-1135. This, the longest passage, is M erlin’s response to the news about A rthur which Taliesin gave at the end o f his general /science discourse. (3) Lines 1474-1517. Ganieda, having returned to the forest after R odarch’s death to live a pious life with M erlin, Taliesin and M aeldin, acquired the ability to prophesy about the future o f the country. The poem ends with this passage as an example. It is not necessary to treat the detail o f these passages as part o f a serious and coherent if cryptic message which Geoffrey was trying to convey. The m ain purpose was literary, as the beginning o f the poem indicates. T he prophecies o f VM are not all arbitrary pastiche, however. Some cautious and probably sincere headshaking b y the author comes through the plainer allusions to the recent history o f his own day. There are also parts w hich m ay raise com parative critical interest— the altered reflections o f sections o f HRB or the apparent use o f a W elsh poem. 1 Leach, 1911. But the composition o f Ordericus's work is said to have spread over many years, with revisions. His quotation is a large part o f a chapter (Hist. eccl. Bk. 12. 32). It does not appear necessary to believe it was composed in the year where it is set. * By a historian, Gunnlaugr (;. 1138-1218) : Merlinûs Spd, in verse. 3 See Text. Comm, on the siege o f Cirencester, lines 590-5. 4 Leach, 1911.

L I F E O F M E R L IN

20

For guidance, résumés o f the three prophecies follow. Prophecy 1 (a) 580-595. T h e Britons are scolded for civil wars resulting from excessive affluence. T h e reigns after A rthur are touched on. Caretic is to be routed by Gormund and his Africans. (This is the substance o f H RB 1 1. 9 (the scolding) followed by the rest o f H RB 11. 3-10. T he burning o f Cirencester raises a point about variant editions o f HRB.) (b) 596-626. T he death o f Rodarch is to be followed by northern civil w ar. W ales and the Gewissi w ill fight. (This section refers m ostly to northern (or W elsh) matters, but disconnectedly. T h ey suggest that the w riter’s basic notions o f the early northern sequence lacked firmness. A note on the W elsh archbishopric recalls HRB 7. 3.) (c) 627-688. A dark m edley about Saxon, Danish (sc. Viking) and Norm an aggression, leading to apparent remarks about the part played b y bishops turned general in the Stephen-M atilda conflict. A note on the number (two hundred) o f monks murdered at Leicester (Chester) recalls the HRB version (one thousand two hundred) and that in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (two hundred). The prophecy is asserted to be a summary o f that made to V ortigem in HRB 7. T he announcement by M erlin o f Rodarch's death and Taliesin’s arrival closes it. (Its fogginess and dis­ jointedness support the idea that it holds contem porary allusions, as in the remarks on bishops. T he listing o f kings (672 ff.) by number is particularly obscure when considered interpretatively; Parry suggested that G eoffrey really had in mind something like the poem B .T . 35: part o f it can be plausibly applied to the first Norm an kings, but it is not early.) Prophecy 2 (a) 941-981. This picks up the theme o f Saxon domination after A rthur, leading to the abandonment o f the kingdom, and its ultim ate recovery through Conan and Cadw alader and the return to a state o f pristine unity as when Brutus lived. (This is the central theme o f H RB, which ends with the actual abandonment, the deliverance having been predicted earlier.) (b) 892-1070. ‘ Rem iniscence’ by M erlin, starting with Constans, who preceded V ortigem , Aurelius Ambrosius and UtherJ as king in HRB (Books 6-8), and including the story o f Hengist and Horsa. (c) 10 71-1135. T he ‘ rem iniscence’ continues through Arthur’s reign (cf. HRB 9 - 1 1. 2) and that o f his successor Constantine to the current weak king Conan.1 So this m ain passage o f ‘ rem iniscence’ joins up with the 1 This is Aurelius Conan, nephew o f Constantine, in HRB 11.5. The 'deliverer* in the prophecies is an earlier character, Conan Meiriadoc, first king o f Brittany in HRB

5 - 9- > 2.

P R O P H E C Y IN ‘ V IT A M E R L I N ! ’

21

beginning o f the ‘ prophecy* proper o f the first prophetic passage above, w hich starts w ith the reigns just after Arthur. There is overlap, since the first reference there is to ‘ the nephews o f the Boar o f C ornw all’, ap­ parently the (grand-) nephews o f Arthur, M odred’s sons, who rebelled in Constantine’s reign. A t this point M erlin seems in Prophecy i to be pro­ phesying his own past or at least talking o f several reigns ago as the present. It is one w ay in which the joining o f the M erlins Ambrosius and Calidonius into one character shows. Prophecy 3 This is offered as typical o f G anieda’s prophetic outpourings. It is in the language o f the other prophecies but there is only reference (apparendy) to events o f Stephen’s reign. T h ey do not form a connected story and cannot be summarised easily. M erlin’s approbation and handing over o f his prophedc role at the end can be taken as a variation on the form ula o f quoting an old bardic authority. Parry considered that the passage about the two stars fighting w ild beasts spoke o f the battle at Coleshill, Flint, in 1 150. I f so, it is significant evidence about the date o f VM . M erlin's valedictory rem ark is to the effect that the spirit has closed up 'm y m outh and m y book'. A possible personal explanation o f this is that as M erlin refers to his resolution for a life o f pious Christian devotion and an end to pagan prophecy, so Geoffrey is by analogy celebrating his own election as bishop-elect and saying goodbye, in a literary or a real sense, to the Geoffrey o f the early Prophecies which helped to make his nam e.1 1 A t the time o f writing Geoffrey had never held a church appointment and was not yet even ordained priest. An approaching career as a bishop would certainly look a new life.

4

STORIES OF THE CELTIC WILD MEN (SUMMARIES)

It is probable that the British and Irish wild-m an traditions spring from different bases, but there is much that is common in the legend-forms and conventions available for handling such a theme. T h e m aterial for com­ parison is o f course very incom plete, but summaries o f the m ain C eltic wild-m an stories follow for reference. T he Buile Shuibhne tale is related to the earlier Battle o f Mag Rath and Banquet o f Dun na nGedh (edited together by O 'D onovan, 1842), and Mag Rath also treats o f Suibhne's moment o f breakdown.

'v it a m e r l in i’ : th e n a r r a t iv e

Merlinus was king and prophet to the Demetae (S. W elsh; Dyfed). He and Rodarchus (Riderch; Rhydderch), king o f the Cwribri, supported Peredurust king o f the Venedoti (N. W elsh; Gwynedd), in an unnamed battle against Guennolous, king o f Scoria (Scotia). Three brothers, M erlin's close com­ panions, were killed. M erlin, overcome with grief, disappeared and became a wood-wild fugitive in the forest o f Calidon. H e com plained bitterly when winter came. A n agent o f his sister Gameday Rodarch’s wife, found him near a spring, calm ed him by music and persuaded him back to Rodarch’s court. M erlin panicked at the city crowds and went w ild again. Rodarch had him bound: M erlin became silent. Rodarch offered him freedom if he would explain a sudden laugh he gave. This led to the accusation o f the queen for adultery, on the evidence o f the lea f in her hair. She discredited M erlin by getting three apparently contradictory prophecies about the death o f a disguised boy. (The boy met a triple death when grown up.) M erlin gave his wife Guendoloena permission to re-m arry, and went back to Calidon. He returned riding on a stag, with a herd o f deer as a wedding present for Guendoloena; but on an impulse he killed her new husband. He was re-captured, and remained mute. Taken round the market, he m ade prophetic assertions, proved true. Rodarch released him, and he went once more to the forest, still disturbed but more rational and no longer wood-wild (living like an anim al). H e asked his sister to build him a forest house for the winter, with a large staff, for scientific-prophetic [a*]

S T O R IE S O P T H E C E L T IC W I L D MEN

23

observation o f the heavens. He uttered a long prophecy about the fate o f Britain. T h e death o f Rodarch and arrival o f Taliesin from Brittany were announced. M erlin and Taliesin had a learned conversation. Taliesin told o f the taking o f A rthur to M orgen's island for treatment. M erlin spoke further o f Britain at the period o f the Saxon invasions. A new spring was reported. M erlin washed and drank at it and was fully restored to sanity. H e gave thanks to G od, and he and Taliesin discussed springs and lakes. T he leaders o f M erlin’s country cam e to ask him to return. H e refused, stressing his age and his intention to prepare for the life everlasting. T h e conversation turned to birds, and was sim ilar in form to the previous exchanges. A wandering madman, Maeldinus, appeared and was cured by the spring water. M erlin recognised him as a friend o f youth and told the story o f his accidental poisoning by apples left by a discarded mistress o f M erlin’s. M erlin, Taliesin, M aeldin and Ganieda decided to spend the rest o f their lives in spiritual exercises in the forest. T h e civil leaders were dis­ missed. Ganieda delivered a final prophecy, and M erlin indicated that his pow er o f prophecy had passed to her. T h e last five lines assert that G eoffrey o f M onmouth, writer o f the British history Gesta Britonumt was the author. O f the stories o f the other w ild men concerned, only that o f Suibhne has a com parably com plete form. ( i) B uilt Shuibhnt: Frenzy o f Suibhne (c. 1200. O ’K eeffe, 1913) Suibhne was king o f D al Araidhe, Northern Ireland. H e supported the rebel Congal Claen against the H igh K in g at M agh R ath. Before the battle he interfered with Ronan, who was taking some o f his land for a church. Ronan cursed him and predicted his death by a spear. In the battle Suibhne was seized with panic and madness and flew, literally, from the field into the trees. T h e rest o f the tale describes in prose and verse his distracted wanderings round Ireland for m any years, living on water-cress, brook-lim e and water. A ll through he complains o f his hardships. A relative, the m iller Loingseachan, caught Suibhne several times to care for him. Suibhne's wife, Eorann, was visited twice. She was sym pathetic at first, though dwelling with G uaire, one o f the successors to Suibhne's sovereignty. A fter a second capture, the nobles o f D al Araidhe cared for him and he recovered his senses, only to lose them again under the provocation o f an old m ill woman. T h e pair went off: he caused her death and was in fear o f Loingseachan’s revenge. H e went to the Hebrides (Eigg) to visit St Donnan; thence to Strath­

24

L I F E O F M E R L IN

clyde, where he lived with the British wild man Ealadhan for a year. Returning to Ireland after Ealadhan’s death, he saw Eorann again and was rejected. He set o ff to live in D al Araidhe, his madness rem itting, but Ronan re-applied the curse. H e m et M oling, who mentioned Suibhne’s predicted death and m ain­ tained a light contact with him for a year, his cook M uirghil leaving out evening m ilk for Suibhne. T he herd M ungàn, husband o f the cook, speared Suibhne as he drank, suspecting him o f adultery. M oling gave the sacra­ ment and promised heaven. Suibhne staggered to the church and died there. (2) Ealadhan: B S 46-50 Suibhne met Ealadhan near Dum barton in a great wood. Ealadhan was called Fer Cailli, M an o f the W ood. He said he lived in fear o f capture b y the king's household. His story was that he was the son o f a land-owner and had supported K in g Eochaidh Aincheas (son o f G uaire M athra) for the sovereignty against Cugua (son o f G uaire). H e had put a geasa (tabu) on his lord’s people that they should not appear at the battle except in silk. For this the hosts gave 'three shouts o f m alediction’, and he went wandering. A t the end o f a year o f living together in the wood, Ealadhan said that his time had come, that he must go to the waterfall o f Eas D ubhthaigh ('Blackhouse F alls'), where he would be blown over into the water and drown, but afterwards be buried in a saint’s churchyard and attain heaven. Suibhne gave an account o f his own end-to-be. Ealadhan went to Eas Dubhthaigh and was drowned. (3) Lailoken: Lailoken A and B Translations are given o f both tales from Cotton Titus A xix in Appendix 1. Outlines are: A : K entigem m et a w ild m an in a desert and prayed for him. T he w ild man had been driven m ad by an accusatory vision in the sky during a battle. Later he used to appear (apparently unrecognised) at K entigem 's church by Glasgow, where he was a nuisance with his wild prophecies. A t length he demanded the last sacrament from K entigem , who tested his sanity by asking three times about his death and received conflicting answers (that he would be stoned and clubbed, that he would be pierced by a stake, that he would be drowned). Under pressure from his clerics, K entigem gave the sacrament. Lailoken then predicted the death o f a king, a bishop and a lord within the year. T h e same day Lailoken was killed in the triple w ay he had predicted, being set upon by shepherds near Dunm eller. T h e clerics grasped the point, and the story ends w ith their distress.

S T O R IE S O F T H E C E L T I C W I L D M EN

25

B : Petty-king M eldred o f Dunm eller captured Lailoken to hear him prophecy: Lailoken stayed mute for three days. W hen the queen entered the court, he laughed. T he disclosure o f the queen's adultery, through the le a f in her hair, followed. But before disclosing this Lailoken predicted his ow n death in a few days, obtained a promise that his body should be buried where Pausail Bum meets Tw eed and prophesied about the re­ integration o f the British nation. T h e queen failed to discredit Lailoken, and plotted his death. A few years later he was set upon by shepherds at the instigation o f the queen while he was passing Dunm eller at sunset on the same day that he had received the last sacrament, was killed as pre­ dicted, and was buried by the king, as he had been promised. (The time discrepancy— a few days, a few years— is not cleared up.) (4) M yrddin This does not exist as a connected account, and the relations o f the characters in the scattered allusions are not folly explained anywhere. See * Intro, i on the poems. M yrddin had been o f high rank; his king had been Gwenddolau, a generous king o f the north, now dead. M yrddin had been wandering for m any years in the Forest o f Celyddon (Coed Celyddon), in distress and m ad after the battle o f Arfderydd. H e had been responsible for the death o f the son and daughter o f Gwenddydd. Rhydderch H ael’s men were pursuing him— Gwasawg in particular hated him— and he was hiding from Rhydderch’s steward in an apple tree. (He had a pet pig; he regretted his mistress.) H e prayed to die and be received by the Lord o f Hosts.

5

GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH’S LIFE

T he chronology o f Geoffrey’s life is unclear at more than one im portant stage, but it is not a total fog and there are some relatively fixed points which lim it the amount o f conjecture necessary. Several signatures as witness to documents are accepted as his and one or two others are possible.1 T he official record o f his admission to the priesthood and the episcopacy survives; there are annalistic entries about his death; and there are references by contemporaries, which perhaps do not help in a detailed w ay. There is a scrap o f alleged 'b iograp h y' in the Gwentian Brut, which is not accepted as authentic and must be ignored as evidence.12 T h e two sources which note his death seem to go back to a common origin in calling him bishop o f Llandaff, though there is no doubt that he was bishop o f St Asaph.3 It is the most disputed period o f his life which is most relevant to the understanding o f VM , nam ely, his location and activities between the publication o f H RB and o f VM . There is no evidence about his birth, but *circa 1100' is a convention which must be approxim ately right: this would put him in his fifties at death. O f his parentage it is known that his father was an Arthur, and the name is recorded in G eoffrey's signature o f 1129. So 'son o f A rth u r' is not a joke name relating to the appearance o f HRB (c. 1136-8), as has been suggested. A junior would not, anyway, have witnessed a m ajor church document (Godstow) with a com ic nickname, even though Rahere, who had a reputation as a joker, was presiding. A rthur was not a common name in W ales, according to Cham bers: G eoffrey (Galfridus) was Norm an. M onmouth came under Breton influence early. W illiam FitzO sbem , seneschal o f Norm andy, was Earl o f Hereford (1067). H e took over Archenfield (Erging) and Gwent and built M onmouth casde, one o f a chain. This castle protected a privileged com m unity o f Norman settlers; and Geoffrey’s fam ily was almost certainly part o f it. W hat interm arrying w ith the W elsh had occurred in his fam ily is not known. Pro-Breton and 1 'Signature* means naming as witness to official document, not autograph. * In Myvyrian Archmol. (Owen, 1870, 711). See Lloyd, 1942, 462 f., on the history o f the relevant material. 3 The bishop o f Llandaff from 1148 to 1163 was Nicholas ap Gwrgant. Geoffrey’s appointment to St Asaph’s is recorded.

[2 6 ]

G E O F F R E Y OF M O N M O U T H ’S L I F E

27

anti-W elsh sentiments can be cited from the end o f H RB, and sentiments in favour o f all the island-British against Saxons and others can be cited from other parts o f his work. Biographical deductions from these passages are hazardous. M onm outh was a more or less independent lordship by Geoffrey’s time. In 1071 W illiam FitzO sbem died. His son Roger succeeded, but lost the earldom and lands to the Crown in 1075. M onmouth passed to W ihenoc (Guihenoc), who cam e from the D ol district o f Brittany. M onmouth was in Herefordshire at Domesday (1086), and remained in the Hereford diocese until 1843-4.1 &ut Archenfield had previously kept a close W elsh character under English domination, and Geoffrey knew some o f its local traditions, o f which there is evidence in H RB, especially in relation to Vortigern. Archenfield's survival as a district with a distinct character o f its own seems in fact to go back to the time when it was a well-roaded and cultivated Romano-British area. (The Rom an post o f Ariconium was near Ross-on-W ye. ) W ihenoc him self seems to have retired to a religious life, the castle being held by his nephew W illiam FitzBaderon at Domesday. A chapel existed by 1081. W ihenoc’s priory was confirmed by the king by 1086; and the connection with D ol led to the gift o f M onmouth church (dedicated c. 1 101) to the abbey o f St Florent de Saum ur. It remained a poor priory, and was semi-ruinous when suppressed in 1536. There are no remains o f the 1 101 building, but parts built in the later tw elfth century were at the west end o f the present church until recent times. T h e Norm an monks’ choir was cleared in the eighteenth century. A story that a window in the priory was ‘ Geoffrey’s w indow ’ w ill be o f interest when there is reason to believe that there had been such a tradition before the window was built in the m iddle or later fifteenth century. There was a parallel story— they m ay be m erely variants one o f the other— that there was a room called ‘ Geoffrey’s lib rary’ .2 This is a more tantalising nam e, but a similar comment would apply. A Breton or Breton-Welsh fam ily background and a connection with the priory seem probable for Geoffrey. Variants o f Geoffrey are not infrequent in priory charters from the beginning.3 W hile this local fashion increases the likelihood o f a connection, it makes identification harder, 1 O n the early history of Monmouth: Taylor (1951) and Lloyd (1942). On the history o f the priory: Rose Graham (1929). On the priory architecture: pp. 20-5 in BagnalOakeley (1886), and Lloyd, Taylor, as above. See also B. F. L. Clarke (1968), based largely on St Mary's Church, Monmouth (pub., S .P .C .K ., 1936). 2 Coxe (1801). 3 M archegay (1879). The dates are o f the documents. Marchegay put the charter in 1069 (W illiam ’s approval being without a year, merely 4th February). The charter was presumably in fact granted between 1081 and 1086. See Monmouth references, above, however.

28

L I F E OF M E R L IN

and very possibly none o f the witnesses to priory documents is G eoffrey o f M onmouth. Those who cannot reasonably be included: Gosfridus (deacon, c. 1070), Gaufridus filius Tehaeli (c. 1080), Gunfridus (c. 1090), Gofredus Monemutensis (prior, c. 1120), Godfredus d’Espiniac (ante 1140), Gaufredus capellanus (ante 1140), Galfridus de Cliffordia (c. 1148-63). This leaves a possibility in *Galfridus scriba’ (c. 1120) : the status fits the probable age, im plied upbringing and future career o f Geoffrey. His next appearance is at O xford1 in 1129, when he signed the founda­ tion charter o f Oseney A bbey together with W alter the archdeacon, who becam e an intim ate in the following years. There is a space o f a decade before the next witnessing in January 1139 in connection with the dedi­ cation o f Godstow Abbey, as ‘ m ag. G alf. A rturos’, together with R o lf (Radulfus) o f M onmouth, who, like W alter, appears with Geoffrey on most later occasions. A gift to the secular canons o f St George’s is dated ‘ not later than 114 2 '. There is then another gap to 1150 (a Godstow docum ent), when he was again ‘ magistro Galfrido A rtou r’ . T he Godstow cartulary recorded early in 1151 W alter’s last appearance— he died that year— and Geoffrey signed as ‘ Gaufridus episcopus Sancti A saphi’. L ater in 1 151 he signed a charter o f Robert de Chesney, Bishop o f Lincoln and the recipient o f the VM dedication, as ‘ Gaufridus electus Sancti A saph i'. T he latter was more correct, but use o f the full title b y bishops-elect is said to have occurred. T he conclusions drawn about Geoffrey at O xford are that he was a secular canon o f St George's, that he joined it by 1129, that he was either ‘ m agister’ on joining or received the title about 1136,2 and that he m ay have taught at St George’s, lectures at O xford being known from at least the fourth decade o f the century. H e was closely connected there w ith archdeacon W alter, the provost o f St George’s, and w ith R o lf o f M on­ mouth and Robert de Chesney, another canon o f St George’s. R o lf becam e a canon at Lincoln, and he m ay have been the link with Bishop Alexander.13 * 1 Salter (1919) collected his Oxford signatures. * A degree from Paris has been suggested: there were few such opportunities available. (See Nigellus, Speculum Stultorum (W right, 1872, p. 68) for a harrowing but comic account of student life there somewhat later in the 12th century.) An alternative to Paris might have been a period spent at a monastic institution in Brittany. It would be one explanation, not the only one, for a knowledge o f some Breton material having a close relevance to VM. Taliesin’s visit in VM to Gildas for a course o f science and philosophy in Brittany could be another hint, in view o f other probable personal references in VM. The other simple view is that HRB brought him a master’s title after its presentation to Stephen in April 1136 or between then and M ay 1138 (Griscom, 1929, p. 59). 3 Book 7, Prophecies o f Merlin, o f HRB was dedicated to Alexander. The VM dedication records Geoffrey’s subsequent disappointment. But Alexander undoubtedly had many Oxford connections besides Rolf. He was concerned in the founding o f Godstow, for example.

G E O F F R E Y O F M O N M O U TH ’S L I F E

29

In 1148 Robert de Ghesney followed Alexander, who died early in that year, at Lincoln and probably furthered Geoffrey's personal interests. In terms o f the firmer evidence o f accepted signatures, the decade 1 129-39 seems undocumented, as well as most o f the period 1 140-50. In the earlier time the w riting o f HRB presum ably took up a great deal o f the m iddle o f the period and there is no need to think o f alternative places. O xford, a scholarly centre though not a university, is an inherently probable home. T h e introduction to HRB refers not only to receipt o f W alter's book on British history but also to W alter’s own stock o f informa­ tion: this suggests regular personal consultation.1 T h e im portance o f the second period, c. 1140-50, is that it must contain the explanation o f the extra dimension o f awareness o f native British (pri­ m arily W elsh or W elsh-carried) tradition which is evidenced in VM when com pared with H RB. It m ight be explained as m erely the distinction be­ tween literary and historical composition ; but the central dilemma o f the two M erlins, which Geoffrey accepted in VM and tried to resolve, implies more. T h e intentions o f HRB have often been sought through the dedications in terms o f Geoffrey’s commitment to the national politics o f some m ajor figure like Robert o f Gloucester. Flattery to Empress M atilda has been read into the account o f some o f the more imperious queens o f H RB. This probably oversimplifies the position, and the politics, and makes too little allow ance for the conditions under which m anuscript books appeared. Literature in the early twelfth century was a de-centralised affair, produced b y clerks for the sollar classes, that is, the aristocratic families living in a round o f constantly re-forming house-parties in their cram ped peel-tower country houses. T h e promotion o f a book was a personal m atter, unless one had the ear of, say, a queen, as Benedeit had for his Voyage o f St Brendan.* Hand-copying protracted initial publication, and distribution was through a tangle o f visiting relatives and borrowing friends o f the patron.3 I t was a clannish network and m ay occasionally have put the author almost 1 How much o f the country Geoffrey knew at first hand is an interesting side-issue relevant to knowing about the base o f private experience from which he wrote. Conclusions are largely subjective, on hints in HRB: more might be done. Apart from Oxford, he visited London for consecration at least. Personal connections must have taken him into Monmouthshire and South Wales, especially Caerleon and Llandaff, whether or not he lived at the latter. Gloucester and Lincoln can be presumed known; and perhaps he shows sufficient interest in Hamo’s Port, Southampton, for that to be included. It would be natural, if he did go to Paris or to a Breton centre. But references to territory north o f the Dee-Humber line are vague. His grasp o f Scottish geography is quite indefinite, except perhaps for Glasgow-Dumbarton, and it is largely a distant wonder-land. ‘ From Caithness to the Humber’ is the kind o f inclusive phrase found. 2 M aud, Henry I’s first queen. 3 See Legge (1963, 28) for an account o f how the baron W alter L ’Espec’s copy o f HRB reached the hands o f Geoffrey’s early plagiariser, Gaimar, who wrote a no longer extant Brut or *Estorie des Bretons before his Estorie des Engles.

30

L I F E O F M E R L IN

in the position o f the older tribal or court bard, but the compulsions w ere less. H RB has not been shown to have been exceptionally distorted by these (normal) conditions o f publication, except for the interpolation o f the obviously separate book o f Prophecies. Otherwise, H RB was an attem pt to construct a synoptic historical narrative by arranging standard authorities, native accounts and genea­ logies which had no dating and oral productions into an order o f best-fit without the guidance o f an existing tradition o f critical historical appraisal, certainly not one which had much to say on this sort o f broad problem . There seems little reason to assert an intent to deceive, or, in the straighter narrative books, to rom ance; and the result was a framework which was useful and unrivalled for a very long time. Reiss (1968), studying 76 M SS o f W elsh versions, remarked, *Although Geoffrey o f M onmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae is without doubt one o f the most significant works o f the entire M iddle Ages, neither the work nor its place in the history o f W estern culture has yet been fully understood.’ 1 W here Geoffrey’s story undoubtedly floated highest over its sources was in the account o f A rthur and Caerleon. Even there the common hypo­ theses o f fraud or unchecked fantasy have to take into consideration, as they norm ally do not, that the Arthurian account involved, more than the rest o f the work, the redaction o f currently luxuriant oral m aterial,12 and that Geoffrey was open to the influence o f personal, fam ily and local loyalties in a w ay that would have been w ell understood.3 He retained his father’s name, A rthur, in his signature until he was about in his fifties and becam e a bishop-elect. Personal associations w ith Caerleon or L landaff are not documented directly, but the im plication o f their existence is strong. T he assignment (mistaken) to Geoffrey o f the bishopric o f L landaff by two manuscripts, and his obvious involvem ent with the standing o f Caerleon, could be used to suggest that he had an early reputation o f being closely linked to W ales south o f M onmouth and especially to Llandaff. (It is accepted that the m ock-biographical fragm ent in the Gwentian Brut is false.) There was a fam ily connection between Caerleon and L landaff in Geoffrey’s time. U chtryd o f L landaff is said to have had a daughter Angharad, who m arried Iorwerth. H e succeeded his father O w en ap Caradoc as lord o f Caerleon.4 H e served under Robert o f Gloucester at Lincoln in 1141, when Stephen was captured. He lost and 1 Cf. Jarman (1966, h i ) on the European relevance o f HRB and its importance to Wales as a link with other literatures. 2 See HRB 1, ad init. 3 Historia is an ambiguous word, conveying both 'historical account’ and 'story* ; so also Norman-French Estorie. The distinction is now more commonly but not universally noticed. See final note o f Text. Comm., however, on early titles o f HRB. 4 He did not succeed, however, till 1156-8. See T . Jones (1955) for the references to Iorwerth and Angharad.

G E O F F R E Y O F M O N M O U T H ’S L I F E

31

regained Caerleon more than once before it was confirmed in his old age by H enry II. A n uncertain tradition made Geoffrey a younger relative o f U chtryd. G eoffrey was undoubtedly fam iliar at the time o f HRB with U rban o f L landaff’s vigorous ecclesiastical nationalism and the claim that Llandaff had been a former archbishopric.1 T h e fictitious archbishopric o f Caerleon2 grew out o f such cam paigns, like the annexation o f Dubricius (Dyfrig) by rem oval o f his (claimed) remains from Bardsey to Llandaff. How far Geoffrey believed in the Caerleon archbishopric or promoted it coldly in H RB can be disputed.3 N earer to his origins in M onmouth is the knowledge o f Archenfield versions o f V ortigern’s end distinct from those in Nennius. (Dubricius m ay have had Archenfield associations, too.)4 T h e biographical conclusions from the various links mentioned in this digression are that Geoffrey’s attachments to the M onm outh-Glam organ area continued to be deep, and that residence in South W ales— in Llandaff, in Caerleon, or in M onmouth but in contact with L landaff— in his later m aturity is prima facie at least as reasonable a view as that he was at Oxford. This is putting it conservatively. T w o other matters have a bearing on Geoffrey's associations in this critical decade o f his life before VM : the composition o f the Book o f L lan d aff {Liber Landavensis: ‘ L L ’) and the establishment o f the bishopric o f S t Asaph. Authorship o f L L is still undecided, but only one view o f the bishopric now seems tenable. I t is considered certain that m any o f the charters o f L L are not authentic as they stand, the form ulae used being too static over too long a period to be plausible, for exam ple; and the probability that it was an instrument o f legitim isation in the church politics o f the day is high. Evans,5 who produced the diplom atic edition, was too warm for his view that Geoffrey w as the author and that on calligraphic grounds the m ain part, including th e Life o f Teilo, patron o f Llandaff, was an autograph. Jones6 denounced Evans's theory, referring to Lloyd's7 doubts whether Geoffrey had any* th in g to do with L landaff and arguing that the m ain hand which Evans p laced before 1154 (as Geoffrey’s date o f death) could and should be 1 It was not a separatist claim. Canterbury was accepted as against the pretensions o f S t D avid’s. 2 H RB 4. 19; 7. 3; 8 .10 ,1259. I>4 > i i . 3. Cf. other mentions o f Caerleon in 3. 10,12; 5. 5; ï3 Brooke (1958) thought he was being funny in the Arthurian section. But the theme o f Caerleon runs through HRB. As the previous note shows, it is mentioned in Books 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 11. Five of the eight references to the archbishopric fall outside Arthur’s reign, or, eight o f the total twelve references to the place. 4 See E. D. Jones, 1946, 154 f. 5 Evans, 1893. 6 E. D. Jones, 1946. 7 J. E. Lloyd, 1942.

3*

L I F E O F M E R L IN

placed later, and the others likewise.1 Jones also argued from the dis­ crepancies between H RB and L L where on common grounds. But this is in only three instances; and H RB was a named personal work, L L anonymously institutional, later, and in a different m ilieu. A ll three discrepancies concern details o f the unstable legendary m aterial. T w o are about Dubricius, the other about K in g Lucius and the introduction o f Christianity. Lack o f discrepancies would be more surprising, and L L cannot be described as a book ‘ entirely at variance with his earlier work* on this narrow base. Brooke12 in fact argued that the detailed comparison o f L L with H R B suggested that Geoffrey knew L L or its m aterial. Brooke put forw ard Caradoc o f Llancarvan as possible author o f L L . H e did so tentatively; and perhaps his last suggestion that Geoffrey’s reference3 to Caradoc as his contem porary means, in effect, ‘ speaking conspiratorially as a senior forger to a promising junior ’ puts a heavy strain on the allusive signifi­ cance o f an unusual word. H e in fact concludes that if it was not w ritten b y Caradoc, ‘ then I should feel tempted to resuscitate the old and m uch abused theory that it was the work o f Geoffrey o f M onmouth him self’. T h e authorship is still, to be settled, then, but the probability th at Geoffrey knew L L or its im m ediate sources strengthens the likelihood o f his having links with L lan daff at a relevant period.4 I f Geoffrey were the actual com piler,5 then the later sequence o f Geoffrey’s life would be some­ thing like this, (i) A t O xford from c. 1 129 to 1139 or later, but not after 1 142 : H RB published c. 1136-8. (2) In South W ales, either at M onm outh or at or in contact with L landaff (editing LL?) from 1 139-426 to 115 0 -1.7 (3) Sim ilarly in 1152-5, but as bishop o f St Asaph’s. 1 But he did not establish a firm alternative scheme; and non-palaeographical factors keep the main composition earlier rather than later than 1150 (see Brooke, n. 2 below). 3 C . Brooke, ch. iv in Chadwick, 1958. "The study o f Vitae Sanctorum Wallensium, K . Hughes, ch. m, has relevance to broader problems o f LL. 3 HRB, epilogue. Geoffrey leaves the theme o f the subsequent kings o f Britain to his contemporary (1contemporaneo meo), Caradoc o f Llancarvan. 4 Brooke put the later stages of LL proper as probably 1134-8 on the assumption that Urban's staff would have completed die compilation as soon as possible after his death (the see was unfilled 1134-40); but he setded for 1135-50 as the period within which the bulk o f the book was written. The latter but not the former would be consistent with Geoffrey being actively involved at Llandaff. s Some o f Brooke’s arguments seem to involve the editorial compiler bring the actual forger, but he also appears to hold that the dubious charters o f LL, which was un­ finished, were Urban’s forgeries. The distinction ‘ editor/forger’ deserves to be kept in view for clarity. 6 I f Geoffrey had family or other private connections with Uchtryd, directly or through Caerleon, it is relevant that Uchtryd became bishop in 1140 and could have helped Geoffrey to move. 7 Geoffrey signed a document at Godstow, Oxford, in 1150. It would have been on a visit, probably, at that date. St George’s came to an end in 1149.

G E O F F R E Y OF M O N M O U TH ’S L I F E

33

Since L L was unfinished, it could be argued on this scheme that editing went on till Geoffrey’s death in 1155, as Evans assumed originally.1 His standing would be senior but not in a church appointm ent: he was not ordained.2 T he m ock-biography's reference to him as 'instructor o f m any scholars and chieftains' fits his qualifications, probable experience at Oxford and lay status. It could be a shrewd guess, though not in itself evidence. Some intercourse o f the kind would be probable, anyway, if Geoffrey were at a centre in South W ales; and it would offer a simple answer to the question o f w hat were Geoffrey’s channels o f communication to the W elsh traditions with which he evidendy, from VM , became more closely fam iliar. The case o f the bishopric o f St Asaph is much less equivocal. It was a deliberate new creation, and its traditions and documents o f ancient authority were as new.3 T h e church in Britain in the century after the Norman invasion was a scene o f vigorous rivalry, and not least in W ales and its borderlands. T w o prelates were particularly effective there, Bernard at St D avid’s (M enevia), trying to become an archbishop and (apocryphally) succeeding for a time, and U rban at Llandaff, while Canterbury was seeking to control these as well as prevent York from acquiring prim acy. Theobald re-established Canterbury's position after 1138, and he exacted formal obedience from the first bishops o f new St A saph: G ilbert in 1143, Geoffrey in 1152 and Richard c. 1155. A new bishopric to cover the war-tom area between Bangor and Chester was put forward in 1125: it was then unnamed. G ilbert was described as Laneluensis ecclesie electum, and the term had some currency for several decades. Canterbury recorded the new title Ecclesia Sancti Asaphi when Geoffrey succeeded.4 In other words, the legend cam e in with Geoffrey. Harris, t Evans used the date 1154. It is worth a note that there is a Gulfridus among the ancient bishops of Llandaff in LL. Evans had difficulty in fitting him into the tentative order o f succession. Gulfridus accepted an estate and a villa in atonement for a murder, and in a sim ilar case graciously pardoned a man repenting o f having raided a neighbour. Two names o f VM interest are the witness Maildun (NN M AELDIN ) and Morgen, so spelt. LL opens with Elgar the Hermit, who after a difficult life retired as a solitary on Bardsey. His teeth were brought to Llandaff with the bones of Dubricius. He followed a strict regime - vitam sanctam, vitam gloriosam, vitam castam et eum raro pane, tenui veste, maceratafane. (The story is in the second M S hand.) The Life o f Teilo was once attri­ buted to Geoffrey: it is thought to be of Urban’s day. s L landaff lost its monastery through secularization 30 years before VM. But, though the establishment o f 24 canons had been cut drastically, two canons were allowed for from i tig . 3 H arris (1956) on the ecclesiastical documentation, and Jackson (1958) on linguistic peculiarities in the names in Jocelin’s chapters (23-31) on Kentigem ’s exile in Wales and on Asaph, seem to leave little room for argument on the main situation. 4 His signature in 1151, when bishop-elect, as episcopus Sancti Asaphi was probably the first-ever appearance o f the title. Asaoensis came in towards the end of the 13th century. Laneluensis refers to the river Elwy, not to a founder.

3

CLH

34

L I F E O F M E R L IN

detailing the evidence for the newness o f St Asaph, was uncertain whether the K entigem connection1 was taken over from Scotland12 or invented (and repeated by Jocelin later). O f these two perhaps the former is more likely. But in view o f the early connections between North W ales and N orth Britain, and story parallelisms such as those discussed elsewhere between Taliesin and K entigem and between W inefride and K entigem , not to mention V ortigem and his fam ily, an additional possibility is that there was an older tradition, true or not, o f a K entigem connection in N orth W ales, but too decayed as it stood to be o f practical use as a basis for a m odem twelfth-century cam paign o f justification for the new diocese. Picking up and elaborating a genuinely existing trace, or a trace believed to exist, is a classical w ay o f asserting new authority.3 There can be no stronger evidence than the mere fact that G eoffrey wrote VM for believing that he was im plicated in this cam paign. VM , against the background o f newer information, is an afterbirth o f m ore serious compositions. Brooke thought it ironical that Geoffrey received the shadowy reward o f St Asaph's, where he was likely never to have been in residence. But he would have known exacdy where he stood, and doubdess never had any urgent intention o f transferring him self from civilisation4* to the mountainous front-line territory where Normans were pushing their frontier out against violent W elsh resistance.3 T h e Canterbury registers show Geoffrey ordained as priest at W est­ minster on 16 February, and consecrated as bishop o f ÖTSiaph a week and a day later by archbishop Theobald at Lam beth on 24 February 1152. T h e speed o f the operation makes clear that it was a political appointm ent.6 He was present as a witness to the final agreement between Stephen and 1 This was that Kentigem , driven from Scotland by the tyrant Morken, founded a monastery during his exile in Wales. Asaf, a local lad, became a pupil and eventually took over the monastery when Kentigem went north again. Asaf performed one stock miracle while he was still a boy: this was Kentigem ’s creative period for miracles, too. * Perhaps through Furness, if the link with Glasgow was firm before Jocelin’s day. Furness was in an expansive phase in the Celtic areas. O laf I o f M an in 1134 granted it the right to choose the bishops o f Man and the Western Isles. Another centre with a (probably) twelfth century colony in Man was Whithorn, which held the barony o f St Trinian’s (Megaw, 1950). 1 M ediaeval Welsh bards wrote to the bishops as successors of A saf but never referred to Kentigem , according to Harris. But more than one explanation for this is possible. 4 Besides, he may have had the Book o f Llandaff to finish. 3 A generation later Giraldus Cambrensis referred (Iter. Kambr. s. 10; Rolls edn. 6. 137) to visiting Rhuddlan (Rudhelan in provincia de Tegengel) and going over to 'the miserable church’ o f St Asaph (ad pauperculam sedis Laneluensis ecclesiam.. .transivimus). T he adjective recurs in Descript. Kambr. 1. 4 (Rolls edn. 6. 170): in eadem paupercula cathedra. 6 The suggestion that Geoffrey’s own attitudes to his appointment are conveyed by the form o f VM , especially at the end, is made at the end o f a previous section, *Intro. 3 .

G E O F F R E Y OF M O N M O U T H ’S L I F E

35

Henry, which confirmed H enry’s succession, in Novem ber-Decem ber "5 3 -1 Geoffrey died in 1155; his death is recorded in the Brut y Tywysogyon. Jones (1955) noted that he was called bishop o f L landaff in the Red Book of Hergest and Peniarth 20 versions, and in Brenhineddy Saesson. He m ay well have died there.2 1 O n the consecration: Haddan and Stubbs, 1869, 1, 360. On the compact between Stephen and Henry: Cronne and Davis, 1968, 3, 97-99, No. 272 (from John Rylands library, Latin MS 420, f. 40). It was also given by Johannes Brompton, in Twysden (>552, cob. 1037-9). Geoffrey signed last o f the bishops. 2 Jones’s critical text runs: Tny ulwydyn honnoy bu uarw Jeffrei, escob Llan Daf> a Rosser jarll Henffor[d]. ‘ In that year died Geoffrey, bishop o f Llandaff, and Roger earl o f Hereford.’ Jesus Coll. cxi and Pen. 19 read or offeren (at mass) for a Rosser, and this apparent scribal slip led to this detail being included in accounts o f Geoffrey. The possibility that the original reading was . . . or offeren a Rosser. • • does not appear to be entirely excluded.

3-2

6

AUTHORSHIP

T he poem itself directly attributes authorship to Geoffrey o f M onmouth in a coda (lines 1525-29), and adds that he was the author o f the history known as the Gesta Britonum. T he coda is in the only complete M S (‘ G V ’) and in the same hand as the rest.1 A later hand added at the bottom o f the last page, ‘ Here ends the Life o f M erlin Calidonius by Geoffrey o f M onm outh’ (Explicit vita Merlim Calidonii per Galfridum Monemutensem). This m ay derive from the coda, o f course, though the spelling o f the placeadjective is different and this could mean independence. Leland2 quoted passages from VM which vary noticeably in two or three details from the m ain M S; and he referred elsewhere3 to having read a copy at Glaston­ bury, attributing the poem to Geoffrey. I f his quotations were from that copy, then there was probably at least one separate M S w ith the attributive coda. But Leland could have known the authorship otherwise, and the form o f the name (Galfredo Arturio Monaemuthensi) differs much from that in the extant coda and is not intrinsically early. Leland m ay have copied his attracts from the m anuscript he had seen; he need not have copied the fam iliar name. T he extracts o f VM in Cotton Titus A xix, ‘ T ’, are annotated at the top with Galfridus Monumetense (?): Parry thought this m ight be the ‘ later hand’ mentioned above, but, again, the spelling is not the same. W hile it is right to look at such a coda with caution, no direct evidence has been brought against it, and it was part o f the text by 1300. H erbert4 observed that to lengthen the second syllable o f date, before the caesura in line 1526, was bad Latin. But apart from the fact that it was not a country or a period for purist classical verse, H erbert, quoting line 749 {media) for another instance, nullified his own objection, though there is a doubt about the correct reading in line 749. T h e secondary evidence from the dedication supports the usual attribu­ tion to Geoffrey. T he dedication is to Robert, the well-born and learned bishop o f Lincoln— a new appointm ent popular with clergy and laity— who followed a bishop less favourable to the author. Robert de Ghesney was appointed bishop in 1148 while fairly young. 1 See Parry, Intro., 9-15, on this and the other questions o f authorship.

2 John Leland: Assertio (1544; ed. Mead, 1925). The quotations are o f lines 908-13 and 929-40 (not to 949, as in Parry). 3 Leland: Commentarii (ed. H all, 1709). See W ard, Catalogue, 1, 191. 4 A . Herbert, Additional notes, p. xxxiv, in Todd, 1848 (Irish Nennius).

[ 36 ]

A U T H O R SH IP

37

T h e choice was popular, and H enry o f Huntingdon soon afterwards used sim ilar language to V M ’s clems populusque petebant and unde modo fe lix Lincolnia fertur ad astra. H enry wrote, rege et clero et populo cum summo gaudio annuente and a clero et a populo devotione susceptus est. (Another contem porary at Lincoln, Diceto, supported the tradition.)1 R o b o t de Chesney was o f good fam ily also. H e succeeded Alexander, one o f the more arrogant episcopal princes o f the time, who died in 1 148. A lexander had commissioned the Prophecies o f Merlin, as acknowledged by G eoffrey in HRB 7, ad init. W e do not know details, but Geoffrey did not advance until after Alexander’s death: the critical comment in VM 8-9 is in agreement w ith w hat we know o f Geoffrey’s experience. Robert had been a canon o f St George’s in Geoffrey’s time. T he charter w hich Geoffrey signed in the second h a lf o f 1151 as bishop-elect o f S t Asaph was one granted by Robert. Acquaintance o f the two men must be assumed; friendship is very likely. Geoffrey had other friends at Lincoln: R o lf o f M onmouth had gone there from St George’s. Parry listed and answered twelve objections to the attribution, culled from the nineteenth-century editions b y San M arte (A. Schulz) and by M ichel (with W right) and from Brugger2 and Morris-Jones.3 O ne point is the caesura o f line 1526 already mentioned. Another is that there are allusions to H enry II and the conquest o f Ireland (after Geoffrey’s death). In fact, such apparent allusions were present in H RB. San M arte took the last prophecy o f VM (1474 ft.) as referring to the years 1213-17, in John’s reign. This was a testing o f the guess that the date o f VM was somewhat after 1217: he adm itted it was difficult. T he alternative expla­ nations applying to Stephen's reign are simpler. T h e double character o f M erlin Ambrosius o f H RB with M erlin Calidonius o f VM is a difficulty for some, as m aking different authors probable. But it is as plausible to take the open effort to unite them as showing continuity o f authorship; and there is reason to believe that Geoffrey m et other traditions c. 1140-50. W right,4 like San M arte, considered putting the composition o f VM in the thirteenth century. H e tried to see Robert Grosseteste, bishop o f Lincoln from 1235 to 1253, in the Robert o f the dedication, on the ground that the description o f his learning fits Grosseteste better than de Chesney. This depends on treating the dedicatory language in a literal w ay not known to be the convention o f that age, or o f m any others. T he reputation for learning described in the dedication would fit any bishop not con­ spicuous for lack o f it. Grosseteste was not well-born, either: he him self said the opposite. (W ard doubted the late date on the ground that the 1 NN R O BER T. * Brugger (1906). 3 Morris-Jones (1918, 49). ‘ The poem is not by Geoffrey.* No reason was given. 4 W right (1836) ; the substance o f the article is in M ichel’s edition o f VM.

38

L I F E O F M E R L IN

supposed praise o f K in g John would be tactless if Grosseteste were the dedicatee; but John had been dead for nearly twenty years when Grosse­ teste became bishop at Lincoln.) T he absence o f signs o f influence on VM by early thirteenth-century French romances about M erlin has also been adduced as an argum ent against the later date. W right observed that there is only one com plete manuscript and that this is surprising. A poem by Geoffrey should have attracted more atten­ tion; yet such a contem porary as W illiam o f Newburgh, who attacked Geoffrey, did not mention VM . These are reasonable comments. But W illiam was prim arily interested in history and his attack was chiefly on the Prophecies o f M erlin; for *serious' prophecy only H RB 7 counts, and that o f VM is not much more than a repetitive résumé o f the equivalent H RB m aterial, apart from the references to Stephen's reign. Giraldus Cambrensis does not mention VM either; yet he was a M erlin enthusiast and started to write a ‘ Prophecies o f M erlin' on his own account. He was also the first to make a reference to Celidomus.1 T he negative point is that one cannot argue against Geoffrey’s author­ ship from the small number o f surviving M SS or the lack o f mention by contemporaries. M anuscripts do not perish in a predictable order o f their later importance. Additionally, the circumstances in which VM was produced make it unlikely that wide publication was attem pted or intended: a lim ited edition is a first presumption. O ther objections are matters o f opinion, such as an impressionistic comparison o f the prose style o f H RB with the hexameter verse o f VM : this has led to judgm ents in both directions. O r they are misconceptions, such as that the author was arrogant, unlike the author o f H RB, and com pared him self to the great poets o f antiquity,2 or that the contra­ dictory views o f Bishop Alexander expressed in H RB and VM (separated by a dozen years and a disappointment and a new hope) and addressed to different people, prove that the authors were not identical. It does not seem necessary to pursue all the weaker points that have been raised. W ard, Paris3 and Parry went into such points in some detail. T h e 1 It. Kambr., 2 .8. ‘ The other M erlin’ is called both Celidottius from the Cdidonian wood and Sylvester because of his flight to the wood after seeing aerial monsters in battle. Celidomus, so spelt, might indicate only knowledge o f Myrddin and Afalletmau; the sky vision suggests awareness o f an account o f Lailoken. Neither proves direct knowledge o f VM; but Giraldus seems to tread very closely on its heels. * He did not. He suggested that his powers were well below those o f several non­ surviving Augustan epic poets. Even that was a purely literary trope, repeating a list. W right wanted these poets, Camerinus et al., to mean Horace and V irgil: there is no reason to take this seriously. 3 Paris, 1868, i. 71-89 (ch. 3). This discussion dealt succinctly with most o f the relevant issues. Paris put VM in the Welsh tradidon o f the prophet, and saw it as a help to understanding developments o f Breton legend in the Arthurian romances. His ju dg­ ments and perspectives on the poem were ahead o f his day.

A U T H O R SH IP

39

probability that Geoffrey was the writer continues to build up from close acquaintance with the work, apart from the evidence already adduced. It should be accepted as at least reasonably certain that Geoffrey o f M onmouth wrote Vita Merlim. For all the attempts to establish objections, no one else has even been put forward nor have other explanations o f its production been offered.

7

DATE OF VITA MERLINI

T h e outer bracketing dates for the com pletion o f VM are 114-8, when the dedicatee Robert de Chesney becam e bishop o f Lincoln, and 1155, when Geoffrey died. Parry moved these lim its inwards, but was not entirely convinced that VM could be dated more closely than between the outer bracketing dates. Parry’s reason for m oving the earlier date forward was his identification o f the battle referred to in VM 1498-1504 as the battle o f Coleshill (Consyllt), Flint, which took place in 1150.1 O wein Gwynedd defeated Ranulf, earl o f Chester, and M adoc ap M aredudd, king o f Powys. T h e district o f Argoed, Flint, contained Coed Llwyfein, with which was associated an earlier battle. This earlier battle had in fact taken place in the sixth century at Argoed Llwyfein in the north, when the British o f Goddeu and Rheged under O wein, Ceneu and U rien defeated Theodoric the Flam ebearer and the Bernician Angles. Parry considered that the VM lines constituted a reference (‘ a confused recollection’) to Taliesin’s poem on the battle which named the leaders and the place.2 G anieda’s prophecy was clearly dealing with the fairly recent past: W ard3 took the preceding three predictions as concerned with events leading up to the rout o f the empress at W inchester in 1141. Geoffrey would have had a special interest in this battle because O w ein Gwynedd's victory halted the establishment o f a Norman-backed ad­ m inistration; and Geoffrey would be prevented from taking up an appoint­ ment in St Asaph. H e m ay not have been going to live there, but would have at least visited the see.4 In the event, the situation was prolonged, for O wein repeated his success in 1157 by defeating Henry I I ; Geoffrey was dead by then. Parry took Geoffrey’s signature as bishop-elect in 1151 as a possible forward lim it, on the ground that he would no longer be asking for help over an appointment (as in the dedication) after he had received one. O n this argument the suggested inner bracketing period could be narrowed a little more because Geoffrey signed as bishop o f St Asaph earlier in 1151 than he signed as electus. The most probable period would then be between 1 Parry, 1925a. * B T 35 in FABW 1. 365. 3 Catalogue, 1, 281 f. See Text. Comm, on passage. * Was the outburst against the Welsh in VM 601-2 due to irritation over the consequences o f Coleshill? Concern with ecclesiastical-political consequences as much as personal ones should be presumed, if so.

[40]

D A T E O F ( V IT A M E R L I N ! ’

41

the summer o f 1150 and the very beginning o f 1151» i.e. effectively the latter h a lf o f 1150. Another reason for not going far forward is the reference to the jo y at Robert’s appointm ent to Lincoln. Robert was not found to be inadequate and a disappointment until a good deal later; but even so the reference to the happy excitem ent at his com ing to Lincoln m ight begin to seem tired after more than three or four years, say, from 1148. T his is not a precise point. T h e arguments for the narrower lim its are not directive, as Parry acknowledged. Those concerning the 1151 lim it depend on reading the dedicatory lines as a specific request for help over an appointm ent, and the reference to Bishop Alexander could support this. But the request is general and could also be taken as a request relating m erely to the literary enterprise: the remark about Alexander could fit that interpretation, too. M oreover, if Robert and Geoffrey were already on good terms, as is likely, a n application for help would not w ait until Geoffrey had written 1500 lines o f verse. In view o f the construction which can be put on the end o f th e poem, as a personal statement by Geoffrey about a new life, the poem could be seen alternatively as more a celebration o f appointm ent or o f a prom ise o f appointm ent than as a request, and the terms o f the dedication as conventional, not urgent, or concerned only w ith the literary project. A time just before Geoffrey's form al appearance as a churchman, when h e w ould probably abandon altogether 'G aufridus de M onem uta’ (line 1526), still seems likely for the com pletion date. But discussions o f the d ate o f VM have so far been m ainly directed to deciding its period rather than its year. This was necessary while the thirteenth century was a possibility. Parry’s work was a distinct advance here. But the question has alw ays been brought forward in a w ay that assumes that the poem was w ritten all at once, and distinctions have not been m ade between composi­ tion and completion. T h e text has not been m odem ly studied in detail for long enough for conclusions; even so, there are indications that the poem m ay have had m ore than one stage. T h e first part is narrative, keeping close to the received traditions o f the Welsh/North British w ild man, though assem­ bling the pieces from various quarters. Then the prophecies and the introduction o f Arthur lead to the dilemma o f the two M erlins, though the present w riter’s view is that this was a planned joining, not a m uddle into w hich the author got himself: the dilemma exists chiefly for a too-scholarly reader. Taliesin’s appearance slows the narrative and gives the poem a different cast. T h e traditional northern conclusion under the blessing o f a Kentigem -figure does not materialise, though the resolution is through a turning to Christian piety, and M erlin ends as the central figure, as has been noted earlier.

42

L I F E O F M E R L IN

O ne explanation worth exploring, for exam ple, would be that G eoffrey had already started a poem which followed the line o f the M yrddinLailoken story. H e would have been interested partly because o f his own work on M erlin’s prophecies in his history and partly because he had m et the K entigem -Lailoken tradition through doing work as an editor on St Asaph m aterial or knowing o f it. A t some point the possibility arose o f his being the next bishop. (It does not seem to be known exactly when G ilbert, the first bishop, died.) H e finished the poem quickly, turning the original story-line to exclude K entigem ’s direct appearance (though he m ight have done that anyw ay), and applied to Robert for help in securing the appointm ent, using the poem as a medium for the request or to back up a separate request. (He could hardly be thought to have used the hint in the dedication as the sole reference to his desire for a bishopric.) M uch o f the self-contained scientific dialogue could have been in existence already, versified from Isidore and his other sources in another connection or as a hobby. Alternatively, he could have been offered the appointm ent indepen­ dently o f Robert, and the latter part o f VM — its shape, its turning to a Christian theme, etc.— could have been both celebration and sober reflection. Still more would K entigem then have stayed out o f the compo­ sition. None o f these explanations m ay turn out to be true, but they illustrate the type o f question which needs to be asked now. T h e extended nature o f contem porary book production is commented on elsewhere and has to be kept in mind in relation to date o f com pletion; but probably few original copies o f VM were made, and this m ay not be an im portant factor. For general purposes, then, the evidence now available suggests that the completed Vita M erlini first appeared between 1148 and 1155, and that one likely time within that period is the latter h alf o f 1150.

8

MANUSCRIPTS AND EDITIONS OF VITA M ERLim

T h e manuscripts and editions o f Vita M erlini are listed before the T extual Com m entary, with abbreviations used. T he present notes in the m ain follow Parry, who was the only editor to collate all the manuscripts; and Parry took his general information largely from W ard’s Catalogue o f Romances, 1883 (vol. 1). Faral's text is the only one since Parry.

M AN U SCR IPTS

T h e manuscripts in which Vita M erlini is extant consist o f one (virtually) full text, four collections o f extracts covering altogether about h alf the text o f the full m anuscript, and two manuscripts which have shorter extracts from the prophetic parts o f VM . A ll these are in the British M useum . M ain M S: ‘ C V ’ : late thirteenth century T h e only com plete M S is Cotton Vespasian E iv, fo l. n a b -ifB b . This is P arry's ‘ C ’, ‘ C V ’ in this edition. W ard assigned it to the latter part o f the thirteenth century. It is described as carefully written, without an excessive number o f abbreviations; but there are difficulties over letters w ith vertical strokes like m, n, u, t, r. T h e lines begin with blue capitals decorated in red, and there are paragraphing signs without indentation. N ear the ends o f m any lines a long-flourished letter evens up the linelength on the page, a form o f justification. T he punctuation is later and irregular, and no modern editor has been guided by it. T h e Polychronicon extracts: H , R , J and T H , R , and J are inserted in M SS o f the Polychronicon (Higden) between the years 525 and 533. T is separate but apparently copied from some Poly~ ckronicon M S - secundum historiam polycronicam — but not any o f those m entioned. These four run roughly from the beginning o f VM to about line 692 without large gaps and go on, with some very large gaps, to 1291, when all stop: there are m any minor line omissions, especially in T .

44

L IF E OF M E R L IN

‘ H ’ : Harley 633: late fourteenth century Carefully written by a writer whose reading o f proper names suggested knowledge o f W elsh. It is in double columns with initials in red and blue. *R ’ : Royal 13 E i: c. 1380 (W ard) M uch abbreviation; numerous mistakes; not carefully written. ‘J ’ : Cotton Julius Emit: end fourteenth/beginning fifteenth century W ritten as prose but divided, fairly regularly, by m etric stops. Appears careless but has not m any serious mistakes. * T ’ : Cotton Titus A xix: fifteenth century M ore careless than the others and often difficult to make out. This M S also contains the two wild-m an tales, Lailoken A and Lailoken B , printed b y W ard and given here in translation as an Appendix. O ther manuscripts with extracts: ‘ C l’ : Cotton Cleopatra C io : late fifteenth century; and ‘ H a ’ : Harley 6148: early seventeenth century These two run from line 580 and end at 981 and 975 respectively. Both have a gap o f about 250 lines in the m iddle o f this passage, and H a has m any other omissions.

R E L A T I O N S O F T H E MSS

None o f these M SS is directly derived from another, but there appear to be groupings which suggest the relations between the M SS from w hich they were copied. C V and C l are in general agreement against the others. But C l agrees with the Polychronicon M SS against C V in the arrangem ent o f VM 612-20 and adds two lines. (H a omits the passage.) So it is not a copy o f C V , but a common source is implied and it is probably C V which has moved aw ay from the m ain line there. T he Polychronicon M SS are in general agreement, but J and T tend to agree together against the others: so these two probably had a common source which was derived from a M S giving rise to H and R . H a appears to be from some Polychronicon source; Parry put it with H and R . Parry’s view was that ‘ C ’ (C V ) and C l derived from a non-extant original (‘ b ’). This, from the evidence o f non-intelligible passages in * C ' and C l, was put at several removes from the very first M S (‘ a ’) o f the poem. A non-extant M S (‘ d ’) was the direct source o f H and R (and

M A N U S C R IP T S AND E D IT IO N S Original MS

45

a: mid- 12 inter­ mediate MSS p

b

1

bx

? inter­ mediate MS

i

C V : late 13 (The lull text)

H: 14

R : 14

Cl: 15

r

J: 14-15

± T : 15

?Ha: 17

perhaps o f Ha) and, through non-extant ‘ e ’ , o f J and T . Parry presented this diagram m atically. Perhaps it has not been shown that ‘ d ’ did derive from ‘ b ’ , and some other M S (say, ‘ b x ’) should be posited, with the qualification that possibly bx = b, or is a direct copy. H a is not really placed. A slightly modified presentation o f Parry’s stemma would be as above: the figures indicate the century. This is an interim solution.

E A R L Y Q U O TA T IO N S

T h ere are quotations o f short passages in Leland, Assertio inclytissimi Arturii, 1544, one o f which is im portant for the M orgen section o f VM , w here Sir John Price {Historiae Biytannicae Defensio: W ard, Catalogue) is relevant, too. Leland had seen a m anuscript o f VM at Glastonbury.

E D I T IO N S O F ‘ V I T A M E R L I N l ’

T h e first full m odem text was that o f W illiam H enry Black, London, 1830. It was privately and well printed for the Roxburghe Club. The title ran: Gaufiidi Arthurii Archidiaconi, postea vero episcopi Asaphensis, de vita et vaticiniis M erlini Calidonii carmen heroicum. His M S was C V , with references to T (‘ a lter’) and to C l. He replaced C V ’s (later) punctuation with his own, and he altered the orthography towards a classical convention, w ith j and v for consonants and i and u for vowels, expanded diphthongs and joined enclitics {-que prim arily). There were numerous suggested emendations, including alternatives, but M SS readings were not obscured. There was an introductory summary reprinted from the edition o f Early English Metrical Romances by George Ellis but no other annotation.

46

L I F E OF M E R L IN

T he reputation o f Black’s work has suffered unfairly. Though he w as lim ited by the M SS available to him , his suggestions were always intelli­ gent and m any have become established. But his Latin introduction w as destroyed by the sponsor and general editor, G . N . G renville, who printed Ellis’s non-critical summary instead. M ichel followed Black a great deal but without acknowledgment and with denigration o f Black’s work; and this Roxburghe Club edition was o f only 42 copies. Francisque M ichel published Gaufridi de Monemuta Vita Merlim at Paris in 1837 (edition o f 200 copies). H e had apparently known o f all the M SS except J , but in fact relied very heavily on Black. Parry (1925, p. 24) gave reasons for believing that M ichel’s text owed more to Black than to his own reading o f the M SS. The introduction consisted o f discussions o f authorship and the place o f M erlin in later literature (rather than in VM ) and a version o f Thom as W right’s article o f January 1836. This had been in the form o f a review o f M ichel's work, am ong others. So M ichel’s edition o f 1837 has the distinction o f including in itself a translation o f a warm welcome for itself published in English a year before it appeared. W right's article was probably honest: it was mostly a general discussion. M ichel had been in correspondence with him , and W right's commendation was probably based on having seen a draft o f M ichel’s work. T h e punctuation and spelling o f M ichel's text are similar to Black's, with closer adherence to a classical convention (-ti for -ci). A . F. Gfroerer re-published M ichel’s text with a very few alterations which Parry considered m ight w ell have been due to the printer substi­ tuting more fam iliar for abstruse words rather than to considered sug­ gestions by the editor. T he poem is on pp. 363-412 o f Gfroerer’s Prophetae Veteres pseudepigraphi partim ex abyssinico vel hebraico sermonibus Udine versi, Stuttgart, 1840. There is no annotation. T he poem’s title was Gaufridi de Monumeta Vita Merlim. It was followed by the Prophecies o f HRB Book 7. San M arte (= A lbert Schulz) published D ie Sagen von Merlin, H alle 1853 >a Germ an edition of* Old-W elsh, Breton, Scottish, Italian and L atin poems and prophesyings o f M erlin’, including Geoffrey's ‘ Prophetia M erlini' (= HRB Bk. 7), as w ell as VM , which is on pp. 268-339 w ith introduction and notes. There is also discussion o f W elsh m aterial. T h e text is a version o f M ichel’s, modified further towards classical spelling. Parry commented: ‘ He has, furthermore, been rather careless in copying the text from M ichel; a number o f the latter’s variant readings have dropped out, while a number o f his conjectures are now given as readings o f the manuscripts.’ H . de la Villem arqué, Myrdhinn ou Venchanteur Merlin, Paris, 1862, gave quotations from VM , and is included here because he put forward some emendations. H e did not set out to edit the poem, however.

M A N U S C R IP T S AND E D IT IO N S

47

John J a y Parry produced the most rounded edition o f VM in The Vita Merlini, U rbana, 1925. H e printed the text o f G V w ith the first full apparatus criticus based on a collation o f all the M SS (though from rotographs), and the first English translation. T he text o f C V (‘ C ’ in his usage) was presented exactly except for the expansion o f abbreviations, indicated by small type. H e noted that his rigour led to occasional ab* surdity, as in the frequent primi, etc., where patrie was undoubtedly the word intended by the abbreviations. W here other M SS agreed, he did not distinguish among their abbreviated/unabbreviated readings. H e generally noted under his facing-page translation which readings and emendations he was accepting for translation (J J P tr) as w ell as his own suggestions (J J P in this edition, E. in Parry). It is not clear in every case w hat his decision had been, however, and there are slips. T he intro­ ductory m atter gave the first informed discussion o f the C eltic m aterial, especially in seeing V M ’s W elsh affinities as com ing out o f an existing tradition rather than as starting o ff one. (The chronology o f the M yrddin m aterial was much vaguer at the time.) There is a section o f notes and references on the interpretation o f the text in detail. H e weighed the evidence for authorship and first set the V M firm ly in its period instead o f h alf a century later. T he Appendix has translations, all out o f Skene’s FABW , from the W elsh m aterial: Ymddiddan (M yrddin-Taliesin), Afallermau, Cyfoesi (M yrddin-G wenddydd), Armes Prydein. There are two poems related to Taliesin’s scientific discourse: ‘ Song o f the G reat W orld* (FA B W 1. 539) and *A poem o f Taliesin* (Myvyr. Archaiol., text; trans. Nash, 1858). Distribution o f this edition, too, was lim ited: it appeared only as a monograph among others in a learned jou rn al and was probably more compressed than it would otherwise have been. Edm ond Faral published the last text o f VM in part III o f La Légende artkurierme, Paris, 1929; it was accompanied b y texts o f Historia Brittonum and H RB. Faral said he was presenting the m ain M S with a minimum o f em endation. H e did this, in classical spelling, b y printing his emendations in the text, with C V ’s reading below. Numerous minor variations were ignored, and it is not always clear in difficult passages w hat sense Faral w ould m ake o f C V ’s reading where he retained it. There are unspecific references to the Polychromem and M ichel and Parry are mentioned. But in general other M SS are ignored, and in the m any places where he follows the emendations o f earlier editors there is no acknowledgment. But there are one or two footnote suggestions o f his own which are o f interest. As a text, it is much less advanced than Parry’s. T he com m entary is in 2. 341-401, as part o f the general discussion on Arthurian legend rather than as analytical annotation o f VM itself.

48

L I F E OF M E R L IN

P R E SE N T ED ITIO N

T h e present intention is to help make the poem again accessible b y a text with facing-page translation and by assembling round these, in the form o f exegesis, analysis and annotation, enough o f the relevant and available information and ideas on at least some o f the poem’s m any facets to help further study o f the varied questions which it raises about itself, about Geoffrey and the twelfth century and about the British tradition and historical attitudes. T he text is based on Parry's collation o f M SS and editions. There are m any places where the emendations o f Black have been endorsed b y subsequent editors up to Parry and are clearly sound, though in one or tw o it seems possible to construe the original reading as naturally. Black’s suggestions, both those incorporated and those in footnotes, are im portant as being in the first printed edition o f the text and are fairly fully recorded. T he same is done for later editors, though most o f their work before Parry is derivative. It is sometimes difficult to decide which suggestions o f M ichel's were taken seriously by him ; he has a range o f phrases— lege, Sic M S pro, M S mendose, fortasse legendum, forte, ut videtur. Faral's readings, being in a version subsequent to Parry’s, are somewhat over-recorded. Since no new collation o f the M SS has been made, the apparatus criticus is selective and reference is back to Parry's recension, though readings accepted do not always coincide with his. A ll name variations have been included, it is hoped, and all matters o f substance, as well as m any m inor ones. A ll published editions have been consulted. Though the text is substantially sound b y now, there is room for further study o f the M SS because Parry used only reproductions. In addition to the relations between M SS, there are the problems o f the probably corrupt passages and dif­ ferences o f readings between editors. A particular query, related to the sim ilarity o f ‘ c ’ and ‘ t ’ in some later m edieval scripts, affects several words like ethinus; a more substantial point is the name form Rodartkus reported from the Polyckronicon manuscripts. T h e thirteenth-century spelling o f C V has been left as far as possible rather than changed to a classical style. T he Latin looks forward as m uch as it looks back to Rom e, and the form is not difficult for long if at all. It is also relevant to prosody and whether in some places the use o f stress instead o f quantity affects the verse. T he diphthongs ae, oe appear as i, but joining the enclitic que to the previous word distinguishes it from que = quae (apart from the m etre), which would be the m ain likely con­ fusion otherwise. There are one or two forms like michi (mild) and nichil (nihil) which are distinctive and are repeated. But it seemed necessary to use the m odem convention on i, j , u, v, since C V 's usage is to write J , V

M A N U S C R IP T S ANO E D I T IO N S

49

for the capitals and i, u for the lower-case letters o f both vowel and consonant, and this not quite consistently. So J, * and U, u are employed as vowels and J , j and V, v as consonants. But where lines are marked by square brackets as corrupt, Parry’s rendering o f C V is left, and the readings in the apparatus are also left so. T he various orthographies which have been used by editors have m eant that there are minor discrepancies even in Parry over the reporting o f their readings, especially over v and u, and no special point has been made o f this. A punctuation has been added to give the apparently intended shape o f sentences. (Alternatives are possible, since the syntax is not always tidy.) It is restricted to full-stops and a conservative number o f commas, with quotation, exclam ation and question marks. Capitals are kept for sentence beginnings and for names. But the m arginal ‘ paragraph’ signs o f C V have been left, since they presum ably convey an early (&. thirteenth century) view o f the articulation o f the text. T h e translation is ad sensum rather than ad litteram, but the intention is to be plain rather than to re-create b y freer handling. Some o f the Latin structures tend to wander and require rendering by shorter or varied English constructions, so that text and translation do not always coincide in this respect. English idioms for Latin ones with little literal im pact m ay be noticed in the commentary, e.g. VM 12. T h e apparatus criticus is at the foot o f the text. T he Nam e Notes Index gives references and cross-references under the names used in the translation, and includes some separate discussions which did not fit into the sections o f the Introduction. It was also convenient to include some names which do not occur in the poem, e.g., Arfderydd, Drum elzier, Essich, Lailoken: such names are given in square brackets. M any o f the names from the Isidorean lists are o f little or no im portance in themselves, and most such entries have only been briefly annotated from general inform ation easily available. But there are places where Geoffrey’s own hand shows in the process o f shaping Isidore’s prose. A lso because o f Geoffrey’s intervention, the rendering o f the m ain personal names in VM has no simple rational solution. T he characters were com positely derived and the name forms are variations on originals attached to people who had been historical or traditional or literary or legendary or combinations o f these. Allow ing for the language, the dif­ ferences tend in VM to be relatively small but positive, in a manner perhaps personal to Geoffrey (though apparent name shifts in H RB w ill not necessarily be on the same basis). T h e table below shows probable equivalents, with com m ent: the respective Nam e Notes m ay also be helpful. 4

CLII

L I F E OF M E R L IN

Relevant Welsh name

Latin o f VM

Gwenddydd —

Gwenddolau —

M yrddin5 — Peredur Rhydderch7 8 Taliesin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

G anieda1 Guendoloena12 Guennolous3 M aeldinus2 M erlinus68 7 Morgen* Peredurus Rodarc(h)nsI T(h)elgesinus

English translation Ganieda Guendoloena Gwenddolau4 M aeldin M erlin M orgen4 Peredur Rodarch4 Taliesin

Latin name not apparently known earlier. New name for substantially new character. Probably from Latin form o f Guennolé. See Name Note. Earlier, Merdin. As in HRB. Riderch in early Welsh. Roderem in 7th century (Adamnân’s Latin).

VITA MERLIN I

LIFE OF MERLIN

T ext

F acin g T ran slation

Gaufridi de Monemuta VITA MERLINI

5

io

15

Fatidici vatis rabiem musamque jocosam M erlini cantare paro. T u corrige carm en, gloria pontificum calamos moderando Roberte. Scimus enim quia te perfudit nectare sacro Philosophia suo fecitque per omnia doctum ut documenta dares dux et preceptor in orbe. Ergo meis ceptis faveas vatem que tueri auspicio m eliore velis quam fecerit alter cui modo succedis merito promotus honori, Sic etenim mores sic vita probata genusque utilitasque loci clerus populusque petebant, unde modo felix Lincolnia fertur ad astra. Ergo te cuperem com plecti carm ine digno, sed non sufficio, licet Orpheus et Camerinus et M acer et M arius m agnique Rabirius oris ore meo canerent Musis com itantibus omnes. A t vos consuete mecum cantare Cam ene propositum cantemus opus cytharam que sonate.

Ergo peragratis sub multis regibus annis clarus habebatur M erlinus in orbe Britannus. R ex erat et vates Demetarumque superbis ju ra dabat populis ducibusque futura canebat. Contigit interea plures certam en habere inter se regni proceres belloque feroci 25 insontes populos devastavisse per urbes. D ux Venedotorum Peredurus bella gerebat contra Guennoloum Scocie qui regna regebat, jam que dies aderat bello préfixa ducesque astabant campo decertabantque caterve

20

(N.B. A bar over a letter or letters denotes expanded abbreviation.)

1

Headings H : Circa bec tempdfa: floruit merlinüs siluestris. siue calidonûS. qui pföphetauit in hunc moduffi. No heading in R and J. T (not in a M S o f the Polychromem) has: fiata MSFlini Siluestre SttündüA histori&fi policronicaA que contigebant anno grade. 525.

[ 52 ]

Geoffrey of Monmouth LIFE OF MERLIN

I set m yself to sing o f the madness o f the bard o f prophecy, an entertaining tale o f M erlin. Guide m y pen, Robert, glory o f the bishops; for we know that Philosophy has filled you with its holy nectar and m ade you universally learned, so that you m ight prove yourself the fore­ most teacher in the world. Approve, then, m y project, and be ready to be more indul­ gent to this poet than was that other whom you have just succeeded, attaining an honour well-deserved. Everything conspired to win that honour for you— your principles, your upright w ay o f life, your birth, your fitness for the place: clergy and people alike supported you. T h at is w hy lucky Lincoln is now in the seventh heaven. Indeed, it m ight well have been yourself whom I would wish to em brace in a noble poem. But I am not the man for it: no, not even if Orpheus and Camerinus and M acer and M arius and Rabirius o f the great voice were all to sing through m y mouth and the Muses were m y accompanists. But, Sisters, you are used to singing with m e; so let us to the song before us. Sound the lyre! Now, m any years and m any kings had come and gone. M erlin the Briton was famous throughout the world as king and prophet. H e ' was law-giver to the proud South W elsh, and he foretold the future ^ to their leaders. A time came when it happened that a quarrel arose am ong several o f the princes o f the realm . In a savage w ar they had ravaged the unoffending populace in city after city. Peredur, prince o f the North W elsh, was cam paigning against Gwenddolau, who ruled the kingdom o f Scotland. T h e day fixed for battle had arrived, and the commanders had taken the field. Their 1 fastidid R , uatidid T . 2 Merlini cantare paro s H, which then stops until line 19. 14 Camerinus SM . 15 rabiruis C V , Rabirius R , J, T , B> M i, J J P tr, F; orbis R , J, T . 17 Ad C V , A t R , J, T , B , M i, SM , J J P tr, F.

V IT A M E R L IN I

54

30

amborum pariter miseranda cede ruentes. V enerat ad bellum M erlinus cum Pereduro rex quoque Cumbrorum Rodarcus sevus uterque. Cedunt obstantes invisis ensibus hostes, tresque ducis fratres fratrem per bella secuti 35 usque rebellantes cedunt perimuntquc phalanges. Inde per infestas cum tali munere turmas acriter irruerant subito cecidere perempti. H oc viso, M erline, doles tristesque per agmen commisces planctus tali quoque voce remugis. 40 ‘ Ergo ne sic potuit sors im portuna nocere ut m ichi surriperet tantos talesque sodales quos modo tot reges tot regna remota tim ebant? O dubios hominum casus mortemque propinquam que penes est illos semper stimuloque latenti 45 percutit et miseram pellit de corpore vitam ! O juvenile decus, quis nunc astabit in armis nunc michi pone latus mecumque repellet euntes in mea dam pna duces incumbentesque catervas? Audaces juvenes, vobis audacia vestra 50 eripuit dulces annos dulcemque juventam . Q ui modo per cuneos discurrebatis in armis obstantesque viros prosternebatis ubique nunc pulsatis humum rubeoque cruore rubetis!* Sic inter turmas lacrim is plangebat obortis 55 deflebatque viros. Nec cessant prelia dira, concurrunt acies, sternuntur ab hostibus hostes. Sanguis ubique fluit, populi m oriuntur utrinque. A t tandem Britones revocatis undique turmis conveniunt pariter pariterque per arma ruentes 60 invadunt Scotos prosternunt vulnera dantes, nec requieverunt donec sua terga dederunt hostiles türme per devia diffugientes. Evocat e bello socios M erlinus et illis precipit in varia fratres sepelire capella, 65 deplangitque viros nec cessat fundere fletus. Pulveribus crines spargit vestesque rescindit 32 PP. 46 47 50 54

quorüA T ; cambrorum C V , cuAbroru A H , J , T , B , M i, J J P tr, F ; rodarthus qui G V, quis PP, B , M i, J J P tr, F . metuAqûS C V , mecuAqüë PP, B , M i, J J P tr, F. annos, C V , F , animos B , M i. abortis C V , obortis M i, J J P tr, F.

L I F E O F M E R L IN

30

40

43

50

60

55

troops had begun the struggle, and on both sides alike men fell in the tragic slaughter. M erlin had come to the w ar with Peredur, and so, too, had Rodarch, king o f the Cum brians, fierce fighters both. T hey killed the enemy before them with their dread swords; and three brothers o f the prince, who had followed him to the wars, were everywhere in the fight, killing, and destroying the battle lines. So fiercely and impetuously did they rush through the dense ranks that they were soon struck down and killed. M erlin, you grieved at that sight, and your sad lam ent was heard throughout the arm y, as you lifted up your voice in these words: *Surely a m alignant fate cannot have been so vindictive as to take from me all these m y companions, men such that m any a king and m any a distant kingdom have stood in fear o f them till now? __ ‘ O man’s uncertain fate, death ever near, ever with power to strike him w ith its hidden lance and drive the poor life from his body! ..— i *O glory o f youth, who w ill now stand by m y side in battle to turn back the princes who come to do me ill and their hordes that press upon me? ‘ Brave youths, your very bravery has taken from you your sweet years, your sweet youth itself. A moment back, and you were tearing through the formations in battle array, striking down all opposition. N ow you lie heavy on the earth, red w ith fresh blood.’ So with fast-running tears he mourned am id the strife and wept for his heroes. T he terrible fighting ceased not, the lines o f battle clashed, foe fell to foe. Blood flowed on every side, and the people o f both nations died. A t last the Britons rallied their scattered forces and drew together. Together they m ade an armed rush across the field, attacked the Scots, dealt wounds and laid them low. T h ey did not slacken until the enemy battalions turned aw ay and fled am ong the by-ways. M erlin called his companions from the battle-field and instructed them to bury the brothers in a richly decorated chapel. /He mourned for his heroes; his flooding tears had no end. He / (/ V

57

plurimi C V , F , populi PP, B , M i, J J P tr. Parry: ‘ plurimi o f C . fits the sense but not the metre*. Perhaps it did fit the metre as Geoffrey spoke it. 66 comas T ; sparsit C V , spargit PP, B , M i, J J P tr, F; rescidit C V , resdndit R , J J P tr, resdndit (or) recidit M i, recidit F.

56

V IT A M E R L IN I

et prostratus humi nunc hac illacque volutat. Solatur Peredurus eum proceresque ducesque, nec vult solari nec verba precantia ferre. 70 Jam tribus emensis defleverat ille diebus respueratque cibos, tantus dolor usserat illum . Inde novas furias cum tot tantisque querelis aera complesset cepit furtimque recedit et fugit ad silvas nec vult fugiendo videri, 75 ingrediturque nemus gaudetque latere sub ornis m iraturque feras pascentes gram ina saltus. Nunc has insequitur, nunc cursu preterit illas. U titur herbarum radicibus, utitur herbis, U titur arboreo fructu morisque rubeti. 80 Fit silvester homo quasi silvis deditus esset. Inde per estatem totam nullique repertus oblitusque sui cognatorumque suorum delituit silvis obductus more ferino. A t cum venit yems herbasque tulisset et omnes 85 arboreos fructus nec quo frueretur haberet, diffudit tales miseranda voce querelas. 1 ‘ C eli Christe deus, quid agam ? Q ua parte morari terrarum potero cum nil quo vescar adesse inspicio, nec gramen humi nec in arbore glandes. 90 Tres quater et juges septene poma ferentes hic steterant m ali, nunc non stant. Ergo quis illas quis michi surripuit, quo devenere repente? N unc illas video, nunc non. Sic fata repugnant sic quoque concordant cum dant prohibentque videre. 95 Deficiunt nunc poma michi nunc cetera queque. Stat sine fronde nemus sine fructu, plector utroque cum neque fronde tegi valeo neque fructibus uti. Singula brum a tulit pluviisque cadentibus auster. Invenio si forte napes tellure sub im a, 100 concurrunt avideque sues aprique voraces eripiuntque napes michi quas de cespite vello. 93 nec non C V , T , Pnec/Pnunc non H , R , J, nunc non B , M i, J J P tr, F . 99 napes G V , F , vapes R , T , napos B , M i, J J P tr. 101 napes C V , F , uapes R , T , ?J, napos B , M i, J J P tr. In lin e 101 Black suggested napos and he and Michel printed napos.. .quas; Parry also accepted napos and did not alter quas. The objections to näpos are the long first syllable and gender; to napes, its being apparently a nonce-word. In view o f quas and the MSS readings, it is simpler to retain napes and assume it is a slightly variant word for turnips. Faral leaves napes.. .quas, rejecting napos for the metre, but adds with little regard

L IF E OF M ERLIN

70

73

80

90

100

57

threw dust upon his hair, tore his clothes and lay prostrate on the ground, rolling to and fro. Peredur and the other princes and commanders offered comfort. H e would not take their comfort and rejected their entreaties. So for three long days he wept, refusing food, so great the grief that consumed him. Then, when the air was full with these repeated loud com plain­ ings, a strange madness came upon him. He crept aw ay and fled to the woods, unwilling that any should see his going. Into the forest he went, glad to lie hidden beneath the ash trees. H e watched the w ild creatures grazing on the pasture o f the glades. Sometimes he would follow them, sometimes pass them in his course. H e made use o f the roots o f plants and o f grasses, o f fruit from trees and o f the blackberries in the thicket. He became a M an o f the W oods, as if dedicated to the woods. So for a whole summer he stayed hidden in the woods, discovered by none, forget­ ful o f him self and o f his own, lurking like a w ild thing. But when winter cam e and took all the plants and the fruit on the trees, and left him nothing to live upon, he poured out these com­ plaints in a pitiful voice: *O Christ, God o f heaven, w hat shall I do? W hat place is there on earth where I can live? I see there is nothing here to eat— no grass on the ground, no acorns on the tree. 'N ineteen were the apple trees which once stood here with their fruit: they stand so no longer. W ho, who has stolen them from me? W here have they gone so suddenly? Now I see them, now not. So Fate both supports and opposes me, letting me see and preventing me from seeing. ‘ Now the apples fail me, and all else besides. T he forest stands leafless, fruitless. It is a double affliction: I can get no cover from the leaves or nourishment from the fruit. W inter and the rain­ storms borne on the south wind have taken them, every one. I f I happen to find turnips deep in the ground, hungry swine and greedy boars rush up and snatch the turnips from me as I pull them up out o f the soil.

for the context, 'II faut sans doute lire dipis'. (ndpaeus (‘ woodland’, adj.) can be mentioned for its form at least. Napaeae were woodland deities (Virgil, Georgies, 4.535, etc.) and occur in the twelfth century in the De planctu Naturae o f Alanus de Insulis, commentator on Geoffrey (W right, 1872, 2,447; Napae in the M igne text o f De planctu may be a misprint). Nape as a name occurred c. 1181 in the archives o f the church at Dol, which had Monmouth connections. Probably none o f this is relevant, though they were woodland roots.)

58

VITA MERLINI

f

T u lupe care comes, nemorum qui devia mecum et saltus peragrare soles vix preteris arva, et te dura fames et me languere coegit. 105 T u prior has silvas coluisti, te prior etas protulit in canos, nec habes nec scis quid in ore projicias, quod m iror ego cum saltus habundet tot capreis aliisque feris quas prendere posses. Forsitan ipsa tibi tua detestanda senectus 1 10 eripuit nervos cursumque negavit habendum. Q uod solum superest, comples ululatibus auras at resupinus humi consumptos deicis artus.' Hec inter frutices coriletaque densa canebat cum sonus ad quemdam pervenit pretereuntem, 1 15 qui direxit iter quo sermo loquentis in auras exierat reperitque locum reperitque loquentem. Q uo viso M erlinus abit sequiturque viator nec retinere virum potuit sic diffugientem. Inde viator iter repetit quo ceperat ire 120 propositumque tenet casu commotus euntis. Ecce viatori venit obvius alter ab aula Rodarchi regis Cum brorum qui Ganiedam duxerat uxorem formosa conjuge felix. M erlini soror ista fuit casumque dolebat 125 fratris et ad silvas at ad arva rem ota clientes miserat ut fratrem revocarent, ex quibus unus obvius huic ibat set et hic sibi protinus ergo. Convenere simul commiscent m utua verba, at qui missus erat M erlinum querere querit 130 si vidisset eum silvis aut saltibus alter. Ille virum talem se conspexisse fatetur inter dumosos saltus nemoris Calidonis dum que loqui vellet secum secumque sedere diffugisse virum celeri per robora cursu. 135 H ec ait, alter abit silvasque subintrat et imas scrutatur valles montes quoque preterit altos, querit ubique virum gradiens per opaca locorum. H Fons erat in summo cuiusdam vertice montis undique precinctus corulis densisque frutectis. 140 Illic M erlinus consederat, inde per omnes spectabat silvas cursusque jocosque ferarum. 1 12 dehids T , dejicis B, M i; arctus C V , artus PP (T, corrected from artos), B, M i, J J P tr, F. 139 densisqûê C V (Parry: densaqüë).

L I P S OF M E R L I N

59

; *W olf, dear companion, you used to wander along the byways o f ■ the forest and through the glades with m e: you scarcely get across 105 j the field. Harsh hunger has weakened both you and me. You lived ' in these woods before me, and age has turned you grey first. Y ou have nothing, know not your next m eal. I wonder at it, for the forest pastures abound in goats and other creatures you m ight take. 1 10 Perhaps it is just that your hateful burden o f years has deprived you o f strength and prevented you hunting. A ll that is left to you is to fill the air with howling, your wasted frame sprawled flat on earth.’ So he continued aloud as he went about am ong the undergrowth and dense hazels. T he sound reached a passer-by, who tinned aside towards the source o f the speech he heard. He found the place and he found the speaker. But M erlin saw him , and was off. T he traveller followed, but could not keep up with the fugitive. So he returned to 120 his route and continued on his business; but he was touched by the plight o f the man who had fled. 12 1 Then this traveller fell in with another man, who was from the court o f Rodarch, king o f Cum bria. Rodarch's wife was Ganieda, a beautiful woman w ith whom he lived most happily: she was M erlin's sister. Distressed by what had happened to her brother, she had sent retainers to the woods and the depths o f the countryside to bring him back. It was one o f these who came upon the traveller. T he traveller at once went up to him, and as soon as they m et they began 130 to talk. The man sent to look for M erlin asked if the other had seen him in the woodlands and valleys. T h e traveller said, yes, he had seen such a man am ong the dense-wooded valleys o f the Forest o f Calidon; but when he had tried to sit and talk with him , he had rushed o ff am ong the oak trees. As the traveller finished this tale, the messenger set o ff into the woods. He searched the deepest valleys, he crossed high mountains, he penetrated the most secluded places, seeking his man everywhere. There was a spring on the very top o f a certain m ountain, 140 surrounded on all sides by hazels and dense thorns. M erlin had settled there, and from that place he could watch the whole wood­ land and the running and gam bolling o f the creatures o f the wild.

6o

145 1f

150

155

160

165H

170H

175

180

VITA MERLINI

Nuntius hunc scandit tacitoque per ardua gressu incedit querendo virum , tum denique fontem M erlinum que videt super herbas pone sedentem dicentemque suas tali sermone querelas. ‘ O qui cuncta regis, quid est cur contigit ut non tempora sint eadem numeris distincta quaternis? Nunc ver ju re suo flores frondesque m inistrat, dat fruges estas autumpnus m icia poma. Consequitur glacialis yemps et cetera queque devorat et vastat pluviasque nivesque reportat. Singula queque suis arcet leditque procellis nec perm ittit humum varios producere flores aut quercus glandes aut malos punica m ala. O utinam non esset hiems aut cana pruina! V er foret aut estas, cuculusque canendo rediret et Philomela pio que tristia pectora cantu m itigat et turtur conservans fédéra casta frondibus inque novis concordi voce volucres cantarent alie que me modulando foverent, dum nova flore novo tellus spiraret odorem gram ine sub viridi levi quoque murmure fontes diffluerent juxtaque daret sub fronde colum ba sompniferos gemitus irritaretque soporem.' Nuntius audierat vatem rupitque querelas cum modulis cithare quam secum gesserat ultro ut sic deciperet demulceretque furentem. Ergo movens querulas digitis et in ordine cordas talia pone latens dimissa voce canebat. 'O diros gemitus lugubris Guendoloene, O miseras lacrimas lacrim antis Guendoloene! M e miseret misere morientis Guendoloene! Non erat in W aliis m ulier formosior illa. V incebat candore deas folium que ligustri vemantesque rosas et olentia lilia prati. G loria vernalis sola radiebat in illa sidereumque decus geminis gestabat ocellis insignesque comas auri fulgore nitentes. Hoc totum periit, periit decor omnis in illa et color et facies nivee quoque gloria carnis. Non est quod fuerat multis meroribus acta, 157 philomena C V , F, Philomela J J P tr. 168 monens C V , mouens PP, B, M i, J J P tr, F.

L IF E OF M ERLIN

150

160

170

180

6l

H ie messenger clim bed up and quiedy reached the summit, in search o f his man. A t length he saw the spring and M erlin sitting on the grass beyond it, com plaining in this m anner: ‘ O ruler o f all, how happens it that all the seasons are not the same, distinguished only by their four numbers? As things are, the spring is bound by its own laws to provide the leaves and flowers; summer gives us the crops and autum n the ripe fin it. Then follows icy winter, which devours and lays waste all the others and brings again the rain and snow. It suppresses everything and causes dam age with its storms. It w ill not let the earth produce its m ulti-coloured flowers, nor the oaks their acorns, nor the apple trees their russet apples. W ould there were no winter, no white frost! W ould it were spring or summer— and the cuckoo back in song, and the night­ ingale, who softens sadness with her tender air, and the turtle dove keeping her chaste devotion. W ould that the other birds, too, were singing their harmonies in the fresh foliage to delight me with their warbling, while the earth refreshed, w ith flowers fresh, breathed out its scent from under the green turf, and springs ran babbling all around, and the pigeon among the leaves nearby kept up its drowsy cooing and brought sleep.’ T h e messenger, who had been listening to the prophet, here interrupted his lam ent by strumming on the guitar he had thought to bring with him in order to catch the m adman’s attention and calm him . So his fingers sounded a plaintive strain, plucking out the measure on the strings, while he lay hidden behind the prophet and sang softly: ‘ O the deep moan o f m ourning Guendoloena, the piteous tears o f weeping Guendoloena! I grieve for Guendoloena dying in despair. No woman in W ales more beautiful— beyond goddesses in fairness, beyond the privet petal, the rose in bloom , beyond the lilies o f the field! T he splendour o f spring shone in her alone, the beauty o f the stars was held in her two eyes, gold glittered in her glorious hair. ‘ A ll this has gone: gone the grace, the delicate bloom , the snowy splendour o f her flesh. She is not w hat once she was, but worn w ith weeping. She knows not where the prince has gone, whether living

62

VITA MERLINI

nescit enim quo dux abiit vita ne fruatur an sit defunctus. Languet miserabilis inde totaque deperiit longo liquefacta dolore. 185 Collacrim atur ei paribus Ganieda querelis amissumque dolet sine consolamine fratrem. H ec fratrem flet et illa virum . Com muniter am be fletibus incum bunt et tristia tempora ducunt. Non cibus ullus eis nec sompnus nocte vagantes 190 sub virgulta fovet, tantus dolor arcet utramque. Non secus indoluit Sidonia D ido solutis classibus Enee tunc cum properaret abire. Cum non Demophoon per tempora pacta rediret taliter ingem uit flevitque miserrima Phillis. 195 Briseis absentem sic deploravit Achillem . Sic soror et conjux collam entantur et ardent funditus internis cruiciatibus usque dolendo.’ In fidibus querulis dicebat talia cantans nuntius et modulo vatis demulserat aures 200 m icior ut fieret congauderetque canenti. Ocius assurgit vates juvenem que jocosis affatur verbis iterumque movere precatur cum digitis cordas elegosque sonare priores. Adm ovet ille lire digitos jussumque reformat 205 carmen item cogitque virum modulando furorem ponere paulatim cithare dulcedine captum. Fit memor ergo sui recolitque quod esse solebat M erlinus furiasque suas m iratur et odit. Pristina mens rediit, rediit quoque sensus in illo 210 et gem it ad nomen motus pietate sororis uxorisque simul mentis ratione recepta conducique petit Rodarchi regis ad aulam. Paruit alter ei silvasque subinde relinqunt et veniunt pariter letantes regis in urbem. 215U Ergo fratre suo gaudet regina recepto proque sui reditu fit conjunx leta m ariti. O scula certatim gem inant et brachia circum colla viri flectunt tanta pietate moventur. R ex quoque quo decuit reducem suscepit honore, 220 totaque turba domus proceres letantur in urbe. 190 arcet C V , ardet T , J J P tr, F. 193 demophon C V , F, demofoon H, T , demephoon R , demophoon J , B , M i, J J P tr. 198 gfâuibûs C V , fidibus PP, B, M i, J J P tr, F.

L I F E OF M E R L I N

190

198 200

210

220

63

still or dead. She lies sick with sorrow, faded utterly in the dissolu­ tion o f long grief. ‘ Ganieda is in tears by her side, com plaining no less, m ourning her lost brother, comfortless. O ne for a brother, one for a husband weeps. Their tears together flow, and time in sadness passes. T hey eat not, sleep not, wander unrefreshed by night through thorny ways, so great is the grief which grips them. ‘ So once Sidonian D ido mourned, when the fleet weighed anchor and Aeneas hastened on his w ay. So once poor Phyllis sighed and wept when Demophoon failed his appointed hour. So Briseis cried, Achilles lost. ‘ Now wife’s and sister's tears together fall, and grief burns ever deep within their tortured hearts.' This was the song the messenger sang to his plaintive strings; and with his air he soothed the listening prophet to calmness and to sym pathy with the singer. Suddenly the prophet sprang up, accosted the young man with a lively greeting and begged him to sound his instrument once more and play again the lam ent he had ju st played. So the singer plucked at the strings o f his instrument and picked out the song, as he was asked, a second time. L ittle by little, as he played, he coaxed the madman to put by his w ild mood under the sweet spell o f the guitar. So M erlin cam e to himself, recollected what he had been, and thought o f his madness with astonishment and loathing. His normal state o f mind returned, and his power o f feeling, too. His reason thus restored, he could sigh aloud at the names o f his sister and his wife and be moved by their devotion. H e begged to be taken back to the court o f K in g Rodarch. His companion agreed. T h ey set o ff at once from the woods and cam e in cheerful com pany together to the city o f the king. Then the queen was glad to have her brother again, and his wife oveijoyed at her husband’s home-coming. T h ey vied in kissing him, flinging their arms about his neck in deep affection. T he king, too, welcomed the returned wanderer with every due honour; and all the nobles who thronged the palace celebrated in the city.

200 fleret C V , fieret PP, B, M i, J J P tr, F. 205 ita T , idem (or) iterum M i. 212 rodarthi R , J, T . 217 geminans C V , geffiinant PP, B, M i, J J P tr.

64 1

225

230

235

240

245

250

255

260

VITA MERLINI

A t postquam tantas hominum M erlinus adesse inspexit turmas, nec eas perferre valeret. Cepit enim furias iterum que furore repletus ad nemus ire cupit furtimque recedere querit. Tim e precepit eum posito custode teneri Rodarchus citharaque suos mulcere furores, astabatque dolens verbisque precantibus illum orabat ratione fin i secumque manere nec captare nemus nec vivere more ferino velle sub arboribus dum regia sceptra tenere posset et in populos jus exercere feroces. Hinc prom ittit ei se plurim a dona daturum , afferique ju bet vestes volucresque canesque quadrupedesque citos aurum gemmasque micantes pocula que sculpsit Guielandus in urbe Sigeni. Singula prétendit vati Rodarchus et offert et monet ut maneat secum silvasque relinquat. T alia respondens spernebat mimera vates. 'Ista duces habeant sua quos confundit egestas nec sunt contenti modico set m axim a captant. Hiis nemus et patulas Calidonis prefero quercus et montes celsos subtus virentia prata. Illa michi non ista placent. T u talia tecum rex Rodarche feras. M ea me Calidonis habebit silva ferax nucibus quam cunctis prefero rebus. Denique cum nullo potuisset munere tristem rex retinere virum , forti vincire cathena jussit ne petent nemorum deserta solutus. Ergo cum sensit circum se vincula vates nec liber poterat silvas Calidonis adire, protinus indoluit tristisque tacensque remansit leticiam que suis subtraxit vultibus omnem ut non proferret verbum risumque moveret. Interea visura ducem regina per aulam ibat, et ut decuit rex applaudebat eunti perque manum suscepit eam jussitque sedere et dabat amplexus et ad oscula labra prem ebat, convertensque suos in eam per talia vultus vidit in illius folium pendere capellis. Ergo suos digitos adm ovit et abstulit illud 236 Rodarthus PP; cytheraqüë R . 234 quadrupedes multos PP.

235

om. PP.

65

L IF E OF M ER LIN

221 „

230

240

250

But when M erlin saw such crowds o f people there, he could no^ bear them. H e went mad ; and once more his derangement filled hink with a desire to go o ff to the forest, and he longed to slip away. A t that, Rodarch ordered him to be held under guard and music to be played on the guitar to calm his madness. H e went sadly to him and •’ begged and prayed him to be reasonable, to stay with him and not hanker after the forest and an anim al life under the trees, when hé m ight wield a royal sceptre and rule a nation o f warriors. The king promised, besides, that he would make him m any gifts. He ordered clothes to be brought, and hunting birds, and dogs and fast horses; gold, glittering gems and cups wrought by W ayland in the city o f Segontium. A ll this Rodarch brought to the prophet, urging him to stay and forget the woods. But the prophet rejected the presents in these words: 'L e t these things go to lords hard-pressed by poverty, such as are not content with modest living but covet everything. But I put above these things the woodland and spreading oaks o f Calidon, the high hills, the green meadows at their foot— those are for me, not these things. Take back such goods, K in g Rodarch. M y nut-rich forest o f Calidon shall have m e: I desire it above all eke.* . ' A t last, finding that no gift would detain this sullen man, the king ordered him to be stoutly chained to prevent him setting o ff for the forest wilderness, if freed. T he prophet felt the chains about him, and saw no w ay to be free to get to the woods o f Calidon. H e im m ediately fell into a gloom and stayed silent. His face lost its liveliness: not a word, not a smile would he vouchsafe. Just then the queen was walking through the hall looking for the king. He greeted her graciously as she approached, took her by the hand and begged her to sit down. H e put his arm about her and kissed her; and in doing so he turned his head and saw a lea f hanging

236 rodarthus R , J, T . 237 relinquet C V , relinquat PP, B, M i, J J P tr, F. 244 rodarthe R , J, T . 260 suos passus R ; abstfäit C V , admouit êt abstulit H , B , amouit êt abstulit R , J, affimouit 8 obtulit T , abstrahit GJr, F, ('took (it) ', J J P tr).

5

cm

66

VIT A M ER LIN I

265

270 1

275

280

285t

290

295

300

et projecit humi letusque jocatur am anti. Flexit ad hoc oculos vates risumque resolvit astantesque viros fecit convertere vultus in se mirantes quoniam ridere negarat. R ex quoque m iratur percunctaturque furentem tam subito facti causas edicere risus adjecitque suis donaria plurim a verbis. Ille tacet differtque suos exponere risus. A t magis atque magis precio precibusque movere instabat Rodarchus eum. Tum denique vates indignatus ei pro munere talia fatur. *M unus avarus am at cupidusque laborat habere. H ii faciles animos flectunt quocunque jubentur. M unere corrupti quod habent non sufficit illis. A t michi sufficiunt glandes Calidonis amene et nitidi fontes per olentia prata fluentes. M unere non capior, sua munera tollat avarus, et nisi libertas detur repetamque virentes silvarum valles, risus aperire negabo.’ Ergo cum nullo potuisset munere vatem flectere Rodarchus nec cur risisset haberet, confestim sua vincla viro dissolvere jussit datque potestatem nemorum deserta petendi ut velit optatam risus expromere causam. Tim e M erlinus ait, gaudens quia possit abire, ‘ Iccirco risi quoniam Rodarche fuisti facto culpandus simul et laudandus eodem, dum traheres folium modo quod regina capillis nescia gestabat fieresque fidelior illi quam fuit illa tibi quando virgulta subivit quo suus occurrit secumque coivit adulter, dumque supina foret sparsis in crinibus hesit forte jacens folium quod nescius eripuisti.' Ergo super tali Rodarchus crimine tristis fit subito vultum que suum divertit ab illa dam pnabatque diem qua se conjunxerat illi. M ota set illa nichil vultu ridente pudorem celat et alloquitur tali sermone maritum. ‘ C ur tristaris, amans? C ur sic irasceris ab re meque nec ex merito dampnas, credisque furenti 267-8 om. J. 270 rodarthus R , J, T . 281 rodarthus R , J, T ; recessit T ; hereret C V , haberet PP, B, M i, JfjfP tr, F .

67

L IF E OF M ER LIN

260

2 70

280

290

300

caught in her hair. So he reached up, pulled it out and threw it on the ground, with a cheerful joking word to his wife. H ie prophet turned his eyes on this scene, and laughed. It made the men standing nearby turn to look at him in surprise, since he had been refusing to laugh. T he king was also surprised, and pressed the madman to account for his unexpected laughter; and he reinforced his words w ith m any gifts. M erlin stayed silent, and avoided an explanation o f his laughter. Rodarch continued to press him more and more, adding presents to prayers. A t length the prophet grew angry at his generosity and said : ‘ A gift is w hat a miser loves and a grasping man works hard to get. Such men are corruptible by presents and w ill turn their shallow minds whichever w ay they are told, because what they have is not enough for them. But for me the acorns o f pleasant Calidon are enough, and the sparkling streams that run through fragrant meadows. Let the miser take his gifts: gifts do not buy me. Unless I get m y freedom and m ay go back to the green woodland valleys, I shall refuse to explain m y laughter.* So, since Rodarch had failed to change the prophet’s mind by any gift or discover w hy he had laughed, he ordered the chains to be struck o ff at once and gave him permission to leave for the forest wilderness, so as to make him w illing to give the explanation for which the king was eager. M erlin, his spirits rising because he could now leave, then said: ‘ T h e reason I laughed, Rodarch, was that in one and the same act you earned both approval and disapproval. W hen just now you pulled out the lea f the queen unknowingly had in her hair, you were more faithful to her than she had been to you when she crept into the undergrowth, where her lover m et her and lay w ith her. As she lay there, a lea f fallen by chance caught in her loosened hair. You plucked it out, unknowing.’ T he moment Rodarch heard this grave charge, he was filled w ith gloom y anger. H e turned his face from her and cursed the day he had married her. But she, unperturbed, hid her shame behind a smile and addressed her husband thus: ‘ W hy so gloom y, m y love? W hy so angry over this, and so unjust in your blam e o f me, and w hy do you believe a lunatic who muddles

286 rodarthe R , J , T . 294 rodarthus R , J, T . 296 que se C V , qua se PP, M i, J J P tr, F. 5*2

68

305

31 o f

315

320

325

330

335

340

VITA M ERLINl

qui ratione carens miscet m endacia veris? M ultociens qui credit ei fit stulcior illo. Excipe nunc igitur ne sim decepta, probabo quod sit delirus, quod non sit vera locutus.* U t plures alii fuerat puer unus in aula. Hunc cum prospiceret convolvit protinus artem ingeniosa novam qua vult convincere fratrem. Inde venire ju bet puerum, fratremque precatur qua moriturus erit pueri predicere mortem. Ergo frater ei, 'Soror o carissim a’, dixit, ‘ hic m orietur homo de celsa rupe ruendo.' Illa sub hec ridens puero precepit abire et quibus indutus fuerat deponere vestes et vestire novas longosque recidere crines, sicque redire ju bet ut eis appareat alter. Paruit ergo puer, rediit nam talis ad illos qualis erat jussus m utata veste redire. M ox iterum fratrem regina precatur et infit, ‘ Q ue mors huius erit narra, dilecte, sorori.’ Tunc M erlinus ait, ‘ Puer hic cum venerit etas mente vagans forti succumbet in arbore m orti.' D ixerat illa suum sic est affata maritum, ‘ Siccine te potuit falsus pervertere vates ut crimen tantum me commisisse putares? A c si scire velis qua sit ratione locutus, hoc nunc de puero censebis ficta fuisse que de me dixit dum silvas possit adire. Absit ut hoc faciam ! Castum servabo cubile castaque semper ero dum flabit spiritus in me. Illum convici pueri de morte rogatum . Nunc quoque convincam , tu sedulus arbiter esto.’ Hec ait et tacite puerum secedere jussit vesteque feminea vestire sicque redire. M ox puer abcessit jussumque subinde peregit, et sub feminea rediit quasi femina veste et stetit ante virum , cui sic regina jocando, 'E y a , frater,' ait, 'd ic mortem virginis huius'. 'H ec virgo nec ne,' dixit, 'm orietur in ampne’ , frater ei, movitque sua ratione cachinnum regi Rodarcho, quoniam de morte rogatus 319 uaria G V, n ana PP, B, M i, J J P tr, F. 340 rodartho R , J , T .

L IF E OF M ERLIN

69

lies and truth together because he is out o f his wits? Anyone who believes him becomes m any times more fool than he. N ow watch, and, if I am not mistaken, I shall prove that he is talking nonsense and has not told the truth.' Am ong m any others in the hall there was one particular boy. This clever wom an noticed him and then and there thought o f an in­ genious trick to show up her brother. She called the boy over and asked her brother to predict the death the boy would die. 310 So her brother said to her: ‘ Dearest sister, when he is a man, this lad w ill die by falling from a high rock.' T he queen smiled at this, and then told the boy to go aw ay, take o ff the clothes he was wearing and put on others, and cut o ff his long hair. She_ told him that he was then to come in again, looking like another person. T he boy did w hat he was told, for he returned to them in different clothes, as instructed. A fter a little while, the queen once more appealed to her brother, saying, ‘ M y dear, tell your sister w hat the death o f this one w ill be.’ 320 M erlin said, ‘ W hen this boy grows up, he w ill meet a violent death in a tree though misjudgment.’ So he spoke. The queen, addressing her husband, said, ‘ Has this false prophet been able to deceive you so far that you could think I had committed such a great crime as this? I f you consider how much sense there is in what he has ju st said about this boy, you w ill realise that w hat he has said about me has been made up so that he can be o ff to the woods. As if I would do such a thing! I shall keep m y bed chaste, and chaste shall I ever be while there is breath in me. 330 I showed him up in questioning him about the boy’s death. I shall now show him up again: you must watch and ju d ge.' So saying, she whispered to the boy to go out, dress him self in woman’s clothes and then come back. He soon after slipped aw ay and quickly carried out her instructions. He returned dressed in woman’s clothing, looking like a girl. He came and stood in front o f M erlin, to whom the queen said jokingly, ‘ W ell, brother, tell me o f the death o f this girl.' ‘ G irl or not,’ said her brother to her, ‘ she w ill die in a river.’ This made Rodarch laugh loudly at his powers o f reasoning. For 340

70

345 H

350

355

360

365

370

375^[

VITA MERLINI

unius pueri tres dixerat esse futuras. Ergo putabat eum de conjuge falsa locutum , nec credebat ei sed contristatur et odit quod sibi crediderat quod condem pnarat amantem. Id regina videns veniam dat et oscula jungit, et blanditur ei letum quoque reddidit illum . Cogitat interea silvas M erlinus adire egressusque domum portas aperire jubebat. Set soror obstabat lacrim isque rogabat obortis ut secum remaneret adhuc tollatque furorem. Improbus ille suis non vult desistere ceptis, set perstat reserare fores et abire laborat, et frem it et pugnat famulosque fremendo coartat. Denique cum nullus posset retinere volentem ire virum , jussit cicius regina venire eius ad abcessum absentem Guendoloenam. Illa venit suplexque virum remanere precatur. Spernit at ille preces nec vult remanere nec illam sicut erat solitus gaudenti cernere vultu. Illa dolet fletuque fluit laniatque capillos, et secat ungue genas et humi moriendo volutat. Id regina videns affatur taliter illum . ‘ H ec tua que m oritur sic pro te Guendoloena, quid faciet? D abiturve viro viduam ve manere precipis, aut tecum quocumque recesseris ire? Ibit enim tecumque nemus nemorisque virentes leta colet saltus, dum te potiatur am ante.' Vocibus hiis igitur respondit talia vates, ‘ [Nolo soror pecudem patulo que fontis hiatu D iffundit latices ut uirginis urna sub estus Nec curam m utabo meam uelut orpheûS olim Q uando suos calathos pueris commisit habendos Euridice stigias plus quam tränsnauit harenas] M undus ab alterutro veneris sine labe manebo. H uic igitur detur nubendi justa facultas arbitrioque suo quem gestit ducere ducat. Precaveat tamen ipse sibi qui duxerit illam obvius u t numquam michi sit nec cominus astet, 34g Sët dolor T ; abortis C V , F, ab ortis PP, obortis M i, J J P tr. 356 absessum R , J, cius ët abscessum T ; deflente® PP, B. 366-7 om. PP. 369-73 om. PP.

LIFE OF MERLIN

350

360

370

?!

to a question about the death o f a single boy he had given three predictions. Consequently, he thought M erlin had spoken falsely about his wife, and would not believe him. H e bitterly regretted having believed him earlier and having condemned his wife. Seeing this, the queen forgave him. She kissed and caressed him and made him happy again. M eanwhile M erlin was thinking o f his journey to the woods: he left the house and ordered the gates to be opened. But his sister cam e and stood in the w ay. H er eyes brimmed with tears as she begged him to rem ain with her and put aside his w ild ideas. But he was determined and would not give up his plans. H e continued to try to open the doors and strove to leave. H e raged, he fought, and his raging forced the servants to open. A t last, when all had failed to turn him from his resolution to leave, the queen sent for Guendoloena, who was elsewhere, to come as quickly as possible to see him depart. She came, she went on her knees to beg her husband to remain. But he rejected her pleas— he would not stay, and he would not look at her in his usual cheerful w ay. She was hurt; she dissolved into tears, tore her hair, scratched her cheeks and collapsed on the ground as though dying. A t the sight o f this the queen said to h im ,*See, it is Guendoloena, dying for you here— w hat shall she do? Is she to re-m arry? D o you tell her to rem ain as a widow?— or to go with you wherever you travel? She w ill go with you to the forest and w ill be happy to live in the green forest clearings, if only she can keep your love.' T o this speech the prophet replied, ‘ [Sister, I do not want a cow that pours water in as broad a stream as the V irgin’s U m in flood. Nor shall I change m y care as Orpheus once did when Eurydice gave her baskets to the boys to hold before she swam across the sandy Styx.] I shall remain clear o f both o f you and undestroyed by love. So let her have her due chance o f m arriage and choose o f her own accord whom she shall wed. But let the man who weds her take care

373 prius quam J J P (‘ in early Latin and apparently in the Middle Ages this is metrically admissible’), post quam F, who otherwise prints the passage without comment. 374 sine labe PP, B, M i, J J P tr.

72

380

385

390

395

400

405

410

415

VITA MERLINI

set se divertat ne si michi congrediendi copia prestetur vibratum sentiat ensem. Cum que dies aderit sollempni lege ju gali divcrseque dapes convivis distribuentur, ipsemet interero donis munitus honestis ditaboque datam profuse Guendoloenam \ D ixerat atque vale gradiens subjunxit utrique et peciit silvas nullo prohibente cupitas. Guendoloena m anet spectans in lim ine tristis et regina simul casuque moventur am ici. M iranturque nimis rerum secreta furentem nosse virum veneremque sue scivisse sororis. M entitum que tamen pueri de morte putebant quam dixit ternam cum dicere debuit unam. Inde diu sua visa fuit vox vana per annos donec ad etatem venit puer ille virilem . Tum cunctis patefacta fuit multisque probata. Nam dum venatum canibus com itantibus iret, aspexit cervum nemoris sub fronde latentem dissolvitque canes, qui cervo devia viso transcendunt com plentque suis latratibus auras. Ipsemet urget equum calcaribus insequiturque nunc cornu nunc ore monens operisque ministros increpat, atque ju bet cursu ciciore venire. Mons ibi celsus erat circumdatus undique saxis, ju xta quem fluvius subtus per plana fluebat. Hunc fera transcendit fugiens dum venit in amnem exegitque suas solito de more latebras. Instigat juvenis montem quoque tram ite recto preterit et cervum per saxa jacentia querit. Contigit interea dum duceret impetus ipsum labi quadrupedem celsa de rupe virum que forte per abruptum montis cecidisse sub amnem, ut tamen hereret pes eius in arbore quadam et submersa forent sub flumine cetera membra. Sicque ruit mersusque fuit lignoque pependit, et fecit vatem per terna pericula verum. Q ui nemus ingressus fuerat rituque ferino vivebat, paciens concrete frigoris alge sub nive sub pluvia sub iniquo flam ine venti, 388 om. C V . J J P added from H , R , J, T (movetur T ). F prints also, with general ref. to the Polychromem. 392 tfïnaffi PP.

L I F E OF M E R L I N

73

he never gets in m y path or comes near me. L et him tread another 380 road. For should it chance he meets me, he m ay feel m y flashing sword. Y e t when the day comes for the solemn joining in m arriage and the elaborate banquet is set before the guests, I m yself shall be there, provided with fine gifts, and shall endow Guendoloena handsomely when she is given aw ay in m arriage.’ H e finished speaking, and, saying farewell to each o f them as he went, set out for the woods he loved: no-one stopped him. Guendoloena stayed sadly watching in the doorway, the queen beside her. Both were moved by the fate o f their dear one. T hey thought how rem arkable it was that a man deranged should have 390 so much secret knowledge and that he had been aware o f his own sister's love affair. Still, they thought he had lied about the boy's death, in speaking o f three deaths when he ought to have spoken o f only one. So for m any long years his pronouncement seemed an em pty one, until the boy him self reached manhood. Then its force became universally apparent, and m any were convinced. W hile hunting with a pack o f dogs, the youth saw a stag hiding in the forest undergrowth. H e unleashed the dogs : at the sight o f the stag they tore upwards along the rough tracks, filling the air with 400 their baying. H e spurred his horse in pursuit, directing the huntsmen by sounding his horn and by shouting, and urged them to come on with greater speed. There was a high hill, ringed with rocks, with a river running across the plain at its foot. T he quarry crossed the hill and fled towards the river in search o f its usual type o f cover. T he young man pressed on and took a straight course over the mountain, looking for the stag among the scattered rocks. But, in his headlong course, 410 his horse happened to slip and went over a high precipice, and its rider plunged down the steep cliff slope into the river. But he fell in such a w ay that one foot caught in a tree and the rest o f his body was submerged in the flowing stream. So then, he fell— he was drowned— he hung from a tree; and by his triple death he proved the prophet a true one. M erlin had entered the forest and was living an anim al life, existing on frozen moss in the snow, in the rain, in the angry blast.

395 Tunc demum patefacta PP; prolata J. 400-3 om. PP. 417 alge C V , aquae F.

74

VITA MERLINI

idque placebat ei pocius quam ju ra per urbes exercere suas gentesque domare feroces. Interea ducente viro labentibus annis cum grege silvestri talem per tempora vitam , Guendoloena datur nubendi lege m arito. N ox erat et nitide radiabant cornua lune 425 cunctaque convexi splendebant lum ina celi. Purior aer erat solito, nam frigidus atrox expulerat nubes Boreas celum que serenum reddiderat sicco detergens nubila flatu. Sidereum cursum vates spectabat ab alto 430 monte, loquens tacite sub divo talia dicens. ‘ Q uid sibi vult radius M artis, regemne peremptum portendit noviter rutilans alium que futurum? Sic equidem video, nam Constantinus obivit ipsiusque nepos scelerata sorte Conanus 435 Per Patrui jugulum sumpto diadem ate rex est. A t tu, summa Venus, que certo lim ite labens infra zodiacum solem comitaris euntem, quid tibi cum radio qui duplex ethera findit? Discidiumne mei sectus portendit amoris? 440 Talis enim radius divisos signat amores. Forsitan absentem me Guendoloena reliquit alteriusque viri gaudens complexibus heret. Sic igitur vincor, sic alter fungitur illa, sic mea ju ra michi dum demoror eripiuntur. 445 Sic equidem, nam segnis amans superatur ab illo qui non est segnis nec abest set cominus instat. A t non invideo, nubat nunc omine dextro utaturque novo me permittente m arito, crastina cumque dies illuxerit, ibo feramque 450 mecum munus ei promissum quando recessi.’ D ixerat, et silvas et saltus circuit omnes cervorumque greges agmen collegit in unum et damas capreasque simul cervoque resedit, et veniente die compellens agm ina pre se 455 festinans vadit quo nubit Guendoloena. Postquam venit eo pacienter stare coegit

420

424 radiebant C V radiabant PP, B, M i, J J P tr, F. 426-8 om. PP. 436 tramite B, M i. 456“ 7 om. T .

LIF E OF M ER LIN

420

430

440

450

75

Y e t that satisfied him more than adm inistering the law in cities and ruling over a warrior people. M eanwhile, as the years were slipping past and her husband was still leading this sort o f life am ong his woodland flock, Guendoloena becam e legally promised in m arriage. It was night, and the hom ed moon was shining brightly; all the lights o f the vault o f heaven were glittering. H ie air had an extra clarity, for a bitterly cold north wind had blown aw ay the clouds, absorbed the mists on its drying breath and left the sky serene again. T he prophet was w atching the stars in their courses from a high hill. H e was out in the open, talking to him self and saying: ‘ W hat means this ray from M ars? Does its new ruddy glow mean a king dead and another king to be? I see it so. Constantine has died and by an evil chance his nephew Conan has seized the crown through the m urder o f an uncle and is king. Highest Venus, you sail along within your prescribed bounds in com pany with the sun in his path beneath the zodiac : w hat now o f your twin ray cutting through the ether? Does its division foretell the parting o f m y love? Such is the ray that speaks o f love divided. Perhaps Guendoloena has abandoned me, now that I am away. Perhaps she is happy in the close em brace o f another man. So I lose, another wins her. M y rights are taken from me while I linger here. Indeed, a laggard lover loses to the lover who is not a laggard nor absent but near and urgent. Y et I bear no grudge. She m ay m arry now the tim e is right, and with m y permission enjoy a new husband. W hen tomorrow dawns, I w ill go and take w ith me the present I promised her when I left.* So saying, he set o ff round all the woods and clearings, and organized a herd o f stags into a single line; so, too, with does and w ith she-goats. He seated him self on a stag, and at the com ing o f the day he set off, driving his lines before him. So he came with speed to the place o f Guendoloena’s wedding. A rriving there, he made the

76

460

TI 465

470

475

480

485

490^

VITA MBRLINI

cervos ante fores proclamans, ‘ Guendoloena, Guendoloena veni ! T e talia munera spectant.* Ocius ergo venit subridens Guendoloena, gestarique virum cervo m iratur et illum sic parere viro, tantum quoque posse ferarum uniri numerum, quas pre se solus agebat sicut pastor oves quas ducere suevit ad herbas. Stabat ab excelsa sponsus spectando fenestra in solio mirans equitem risumque m ovebat. Ast ubi vidit eum vates animoque quis esset calluit, extem plo divulsit cornua cervo quo gestabatur vibrataque jecit in illum , et caput illius penitus contrivit eumque reddidit exanimem vitam que fugavit in auras. O cius inde suum talorum verbere cervum diffugiens egit silvasque redire paravit. Egrediuntur ad hec ex omni parte clientes et celeri cursu vatem per rura sequuntur. Ille quidem velox sic precurrebat ut isset ad nemus intactus nisi previus amnis obesset. Nam dum torrentem fera prosiliendo m earet, elapsus rapida cecidit M erlinus in unda. Circueunt ripas fam uli capiuntque natantem adducuntque domum vinctum que dedere sorori. Captus item vates fit tristis et optat obire ad silvas pugnatque suos dissolvere nexus, et ridere negat potumque cibum que refutat tristiciaque sua tristem facit esse sororem. Ergo videns illum Rodarchus pellere cunctam leticiam nec velle dapes libare paratas, educi precepit eum miseratus in urbem per fora per populos ut letior esset eundo resque videndo novas que vendebantur ibidem. Ergo vir eductus dum progrederetur ab aula, inspicit ante fores famulem sub paupere cultu qui servabat eas poscentem pretereuntes ore tremente viros ad vestes munus emendas.

458-8 om. J. 458 Gendoloena C V , Guendoloena H, R , T , B, M i, J J P tr, F. 485 rodarthus R , J, T . 490 om. T .

L I F E OF M E R L I N

460

470

480

490

77

stags stand quietly outside the gates, then shouted, ‘ Guendoloena, Guendoloena, come out! W hat presents are looking for y o u !’ Guendoloena cam e quickly, all smiles, and was astonished to see a man riding a stag and it obeying him, astonished that so m any animals o f the w ild could be brought together and that he alone was driving them before him like a shepherd accustomed to taking his sheep to pasture. T he bridegroom was standing at a high window, looking in amazement at the rider on his seat; and he broke into a laugh. W hen the prophet saw him and realised who he was, he prom ptly wrenched o ff the horns o f the stag he rode. H e whirled the horns round and threw them at the bridegroom. H e crushed the bridegroom 's head right in, knocking him lifeless, and drove his spirit to the winds. In a moment the prophet dug his heels into his stag and set it flying and was on his w ay back to the woods. H ie incident brought out retainers from every corner, and they followed the bard in hot pursuit across country. But he went at such a pace that he would have reached the forest unscathed had it not been for a river in his path. W hile his beast was bounding across the torrent, M erlin slipped and fell into the fast current. T he servants ranged them­ selves along the bank and captured him as he swam. T h ey brought him home, bound him and handed him over to his sister. T he captured prophet turned surly, wanted to go o ff to the woods and fought to get loose. He would not smile or take food or drink; his gloom made his sister gloom y, too. Rodarch saw him losing all cheerfulness and refusing to taste the fine meals prepared for him. So in pity he ordered him to be taken out into the city among the people in the market place, hoping that he would be cheered up by the visit and by the sight o f the various novelties on sale there. H e was taken out, and on the w ay from the palace he saw a badly dressed servant in front o f the gates. H e was the doorman, and he was asking the passers-by in a quavering voice for money to buy

78

VITA M ERLINI

M ox stetit et risit vates miratus egentem. 495 Illinc progressus nova calciam enta tenentem spectabat juvenem commercantemque tacones. Tunc iterum risit renuitque diutius ire per fora spectandus populis quos inspiciebat. A t nemus optabat quod crebro respiciebat 500 quo nitebatur vetitos divertere gressus. H Inde domum fam uli redeunt ipsumque cachinnum bis movisse ferunt, silvas quoque velle redire. O cius ergo volens Rodarchus scire quid esset quod portendisset risu, dissolvere nexus 505 ilico jussit ei concedens posse reverti ad solitas silvas si risus exposuisset. Letior assistens respondit talia vates. 'Janitor ante fores tenui sub veste sedebat et velut esset inops rogitabat pretereuntes 510 ut largirentur sibi quo vestes emerentur. Ipsemet interea subter se denariorum occultos cumulos occultus dives habebat. Illud ego risi, tu terram verte sub ipso, nummos invenies servatos tempore longo. 515 Illinc ulterius versus fora ductus ementem calciam enta virum vidi pariterque tacones, ut postquam dissuta forent usuque forata illa resarciret primosque pararet ad usus. Illud item risi, quoniam nec calciam entis 520 nec [superaddet eis] miser ille taconibus uti postmodo compos erit, quia jam submersus in undis fluctuat ad ripas. T u vade videre, videbis.’ D icta probare viri cupiens Rodarchus ad ampnem circum quaque suos ju bet ocius ire clientes, 525 u t si forte virum per proxim a littora talem demersum videant festina voce renarrent. Jussa ducis peragunt, nam flum ina circumeuntes 496 Spectauit PP. M i read ‘ spectavi* in some M SS; Parry denied this was so. 503 rodarthus R , J , T . 504 & 506 om. T . 5 11 in të fr a T . 513 Jllud ergo C V , Ulus ergo R , IUud ego BC. The second syllable of'ergo* can be short (VM 7), not usually the first, and a stress principle, as in the lighter verse o f the day, would have to be assumed. It is possible, but substituting ‘ ego* may be better; it would also sharpen ‘ tu ’ in the same line. 518 resartiret C V , F, resarciret T , B, M i, J J P tr.

L I F E OF M E R L I N

79

clothes. T he prophet stopped and laughed in astonishment at the poor man. He went on further and saw a young man w ith new shoes in his hand purchasing leather patches. The prophet laughed again; but he would go no further through the market place to be a spectacle for the people he was looking at. He longed for the forest, often 500 looked back towards it, and tried in spite o f refusals to go in that direction. O n reaching home, the servants told the story o f his two laughs and o f his attem pt to return to the woods. Rodarch wanted to know w hat his laughter had m eant and prom ptly issued orders for his release, and gave him permission to go back to his fam iliar woods if he would explain his laughs. M erlin, recovering his spirits, answered, ‘ T he doorman in front o f the gates was sitting in shabby clothes and was begging passers-by 510 to give him money for buying clothes. Y et all the time he was secretly rich, for he had a secret hoard o f coins under him. So I laughed. Turn up the earth beneath him ; you w ill find coins which have been hidden there a long time. From there they took me further on to the m arket place, and I saw a man buying shoes and with them the patches to repair and renew them when worn and holed by use. I laughed again: the poor fellow w ill be in no position to use his 520 shoes, or fix the [extra] patches on them later. He is already drowned and floating in to shore. G o and look for yourself: you w ill see.' T o check his words Rodarch ordered his men to make an immediate search all along the river and to hurry back and tell him at once if they saw such a drowned man by the shore. T h ey carried

520 superaddet C V , superaddit B, M i, J J P , superadditis F. Parry says, 'I follow Black's arrangement o f this passage; it does not satisfy me but I cannot suggest a better interpretation.' He translates, '...u s e the shoe nor', he added, 'th e patches.. . but this construction is not easy to accept. Faral's superadditis gives a good sense (which has been followed in the present version), but it does not scan on normal quantity. 521 om. T . 523 rodarthus R , J , T . 327 flûuia C V , F, flumina PP, later hand in margin of C V , M i, J J P tr.

8o

VITA MERLINI

submersum juvenem squalentes inter harenas inveniunt redeuntque domum regique renarrant. 530 A t rex interea forium custode remoto suffodit et vertit terram reperitque sub ipsa thesaurum positum vatem que jocosus adorat. His igitur gestis vates properabat abire ad solitas silvas populos exosus in urbe. 535 Precipiebat ei secum regina manere optatumque nemus postponere donec abirent que nunc instabant candentis frigora brume atque rediret item teneris cum fructibus estas, unde frui posset dum tempora sole calerent. 540 Ille repugnabat, verbis et talibus illam alloquitur cupiens secedere frigore spreto. 1T ‘ O dilecta soror, quid me retinere laboras? Non me brum a suis poterit terrere procellis, non gelidus Boreas cum flatu sevit iniquo 545 balantum que greges subita cum grandine ledit, non cum turbat aquas diffusis imbribus Auster, quin nemorum deserta petam saltusque virentes. Contentus m odico potero perferre pruinam. Illic arboreis sub frondibus inter olentes 550 herbarum flores estate jacere juvabit. N e tamen esca m ichi brum ali tempore desit, in silvis compone domos adhibeque clientes obsequiumque m ichi facient escasque parabunt cum tellus gram en fructumque negaverit arbor. 555 A nte domos alias unam compone remotam cui sex dena decem dabis hostia totque fenestras, per quas ignivomum videam cum Venere Phebum inspiciamque polo labentia sydera noctu, que me de populo regni ventura docebunt, 560 totque notatores que dicam scribere docti assint et studeant carmen m andare tabellis. T u quoque sepe veni, soror o dilecta, meamque tunc poteris relevare famem potuque ciboque.’ D ixit et ad silvas festinis gressibus ivit. 565 Paruit ergo soror nam jussam condidit aulam 534 and 536-9 om. H , R , J. om. T . 544-551 om. PP. 546 conturbat C V , and all except F, cum turbat F. 5 3 4 -539

8l

L I F E OF M E R L I N

530

540

550

560

out the prince's instructions, and on their tour o f the rivers they found the drowned youth on a desolate strand. T h ey returned home and told the king. M eanwhile the king had had the doorman moved and had dug and turned up the earth and found a hoard secreted beneath the surface. In high spirits he congratulated the prophet. A fter this incident the prophet was anxious to be o ff to his fam iliar woods: he hated the people in the city. T he queen advised him to stay with her and delay his return to his beloved forest until the white winter frosts, now not far ahead, had abated. W hen summer returned once more with its delicate fruit, he could live on them in a season o f warmth. He rejected this: he cared little about the cold in his eagerness to be aw ay, and told her: 'W h y, m y dear sister, do you strive so hard to hold me back? Neither winter with its storms, nor the chill north wind when it rages with savage blast and lashes the flocks o f bleating sheep with sudden hail-shower, nor the south wind when it stirs the waters w ith falling rain w ill be able to deter me from seeking the forest wilder­ nesses and the green glades. I need little: I shall be able to endure the frost, and in summer it w ill be bliss to lie under leafy trees among the fragrant flowers. Still, food m ight fail me in winter. So raise me a house, send me retainers to serve me and prepare meals in the time when the earth refuses its grain and the tree its fruit. Before the other buildings build me a remote one to which you w ill give seventy doors and as m any windows, through which I m ay see fire­ breathing Phoebus with Venus, and watch by night the stars wheeling in the firm am ent; and they w ill teach me about the future o f the nation. 'L e t there be as m any secretaries trained to record w hat I say, and let them concentrate on com m itting m y prophetic song to paper. Com e here often yourself, dear sister, and you w ill be able to stay m y hunger with food and drink.' W ith these words he hurried o ff to the woods. His sister obeyed him, for she built the hall as prescribed and the other houses and

557 igninouum R , C V , igniuomum H , T , B, M i, J J P tr, F, ignoninuffi (?) R , ignim ouuA J ; febum J. 558 inspitiam que C V , inspidamque PP, B, M i, J J P tr, F. 6

CLM

82

VITA MERLINI

atque domos alias et quicquid jusserat illi. Ille quidem dum poma m anent Phebusque per astra altius ascendit gaudet sub fronde manere ac peragrare nemus zephiris mulcentibus ornos. 570 Tim e veniebat yems rigidis hirsuta procellis que nemus et terras fructu spoliabat ab omni deficeretque sibi pluviis instantibus esca. Tristis et esuriens dictam veniebat ad aulam . Illic multociens aderat regina dapesque 575 e* potum pariter fratri gavisa ferebat, qui postquam variis sese recreaverat escis m ox assurgebat com plaudebatque sorori. Deinde domum peragrans ad sidera respiciebat talia dum caneret que tunc ventura sciebat. 580H ‘ O rabiem Britonum, quos copia dividarum usque superveniens ultra quam debeat effert! N olunt pace frui, stimulis agitantur Herinis. Civiles acies cognataque prelia miscent. Ecclesias Dom ini paciuntur habere ruinam 585 pontificesque sacros ad regna remota repellunt. Com ubiensis apri conturbant queque nepotes. Insidias sibimet ponentes ense nephando, interim unt sese, nec regno ju re potiri expectare volunt regni diadem ate rapto. 590 Illis quartus erit crudelior asperiorque. H unc lupus equoreus debellans vincet et ultra Sabrinam victum per barbara regna fugabit. Idem Kaerkeri circum dabit obsidione passeribusque domos et m enia trudet ad imum. 595 Classe petet Gallos set telo regis obibit. Rodarchus m oritur, post quem discordia longa Scotos et Cumbros per longum tempus habebit donec crescenti tribuatur Cum bria denti. 567 pcPacta C V , per astra B, M i (both reading 'pacta*), J J P tr, per alta F (whose footnote gives his suggestion as 'p er olta’ and C V 's reading as ‘ peraeta ’ : possibly both are misprints). 567-9 om. PP. 570 cumque veniret B, M i, F; hyemps miseris R . Parry translates 'T u n c veniebat* and 'deficeretque* as straight indicatives. The present version takes 'deficeret* to be part of an incompletely expressed conditional phrase. 578 Inde PP. 580 Brittonum Ha. 582 Faral prints 'herinis*, but the footnote has, 'herinus à corrigerprobablement en Erinis, considéré comme un génitif*.

L IF E OF M ER LIN

83

all else he had commanded her. But while there were still apples and the sun rose higher in the heaven, he was happy to live under the leafy trees and wander in the forest where breezes caressed the rowans. 570 Then winter, harsh tempestuous winter, came to strip forest and earth o f all their produce, and w ith the com ing o f the rains food m ight have failed him . H ungry and heavy o f heart he used to come to his hall. There the queen would often come to visit him , happy to serve him both food and drink. He would dine from the varied dishes, and soon after rise, w ith a compliment to his sister; then he would wander through the house gazing at the stars, and sing in this manner o f the future that he knew would be: 580 ‘ O the madness o f the Britons! Their universal affluence leads them to excess. T h ey are not satisfied with peace. A Fury goads them on. T h ey engage in civil w ar and fam ily feuds. T h ey allow the churches o f the Lord to go to ruin, and drive the holy bishops out into distant lands. T he nephews o f the Cornish boar disrupt every­ thing. T hey lay ambushes for each other and put one another to death with their evil swords : they cannot w ait to succeed law fully, 590 but seize the crown. T h e fourth after them w ill be crueller and harsher. A sea-wolf w ill engage him and defeat him and drive him in defeat across the Severn into wilder realms. This w olf w ill lay siege to Cirencester and by means o f sparrows raze its walls and houses to the ground. H e w ill then set o ff for France w ith a fleet, but w ill die by a king’s spear. ‘ Rodarch is dying. A fter his death Scotland and Cum bria w ill quarrel long, until Cum bria is given over to a growing tooth.

585 om. J. 586-95 om. Ha. 590 Illic G V , F, Illis PP, O , B, M i, J J P tr. 591 Hinc G V, F, Hune H , J, B, M i, J J P tr; om. T . 593 Inde PP; kaerkeii G V, kaerkey J, T , Kaerkeri J J P , F. 595 petit C l; sed C l; obiuit G V, obibit R , B, M i, J J P tr (but no note), F, obibunt Cl. 596 rodarthus R , J , T , rodartus C l, régi darchus H a; postqûâm C V , post queffi H , R , J , Ha. 597 scocios C l; cambros Ha. 598 Cambria H a; genti R , F.

6-2

84

VITA MERLINI

C am bii Gewissos post illos Cornubienses 600 afficient bello nec eos lex ulla dom abit. K am bria gaudebit suffuso sanguine semper. Gens inim ica deo, quid gaudes sanguine fuso? K am bria com pellet fratres committere pugnas et dampnare suos scelerata morte nepotes. 6 o 5 f Scotorum cunei trans Hum brum sepius ibunt obstantesque viros periment pietate remota, non impune tam en, nam cesus ductor obibit. Nomen habebit equi qui fiet sevus in illo. Finibus ex nostris heres expulsus abibit. 610 Scote, reconde tuos quos nudas ocius enses, vis tibi dispar erit nostra cum gente feroci, f Corruet urbs A ld u d nec eam reparabit in evum rex aliquis donec subdatur Scottus apello. f Urbs Loel spoliata suo pastore vacabit 615 donec reddat ei cam bucam virga Leonis. Urbs Sigeni et turres et m agna palatia plangent diruta donec eant ad pristina predia Cam bri. H Kaerperis in portu sua menia rupta videbit donec eam locuples cum vulpis dente reformet. 620^ Urbs R utupi portus in litore strata jacebit. Restaurabit eam galeata nave Ruthenus. M enia M enevie reparabit quintus ab illo per quem palla sibi reddetur dem pta per annos, inque tuo, Sabrina, sinu cadet Urbs Legionum 625 am ittetque suos cives per tempora longa. Hos sibi reddet item cum venerit Ursus in Agno. Saxonici reges expulsis civibus urbes rura domosque simul per tempora longa tenebunt. E x hiis gestabunt ter tres diadem a dracones. 599 Cambrigei missos C V , cambri gemussos gemussi cornubienses H , R , J , cambri gemussos gemussi comubientes T , cambrigei missos gennissent CI, Cambri gewissos J J P , F. (Gambrigei read by B.) 599-604 om. Ha. 601 & 603 Cambria PP, C l. 601 diffuso R , J , T , diffliso H. 605 huôbriam (i underdotted) R , vmbrie T . 608-9 om- Ha. 610 Scotte Cl. 615 (C V 619) cambucam C V , B, M i, cambutam F. 612-621 The line-order used is that accepted by J J P tr, following C l, which is largely supported by PP. Correspondences between C l (= present text order) and C V are: 612/612, 613/613 (om. PP), 614/618 (om. PP), 615/619, 616/614, 617/615, 618/616, 619/617, 620-1/620-1. F keeps C V ’s order.

L I F E OF. M E R L I N

600

610

620

85

‘ The W elsh w ill make w ar on Gwent, and afterwards on Cornwall, nor shall any law constrain them. (Wales w ill always enjoy spilling blood. N ation abom inable to G od, w hy do you enjoy spilt blood?) W ales w ill force brothers into fighting and condemning their own nephews to a foul death. ‘ Scottish forces w ill often cross the Hum ber, putting all opposition pitilessly to death: not w ith im punity, however, for their leader w ill be killed, he o f the horse name and savage w ith it. His heir w ill be driven headlong from our frontiers. Scots, sheath the swords you bare too ofien. Y our power w ill not prove a m atch for our fierce nation. 'D um barton w ill fall, w ith no king to re-build it for an age, until the Scot is defeated by a boar. Carlisle w ill be deprived o f its pastor and stand vacant until the Lion’s authority restores the staff o f office to it. T he towers and great palaces o f Segontium w ill be tom down, and they w ill weep there until the W elsh go to their old domain. ' Porchester w ill see its walls lying broken in its harbour till a rich man w ith a fox’s tooth re-builds them. T he city o f Richborough w ill also lie strewn along the harbour shore. It w ill be a man from Flanders in a crested ship who w ill restore them. The fifth from him w ill repair the walls o f St D avid’s, and through him, too, the pall lost for m any years w ill be recovered. The C ity o f the Legions w ill fall into your bosom, Sabrina. It w ill lose its citizens for a long age. W hen the Bear-in-Lam b comes, he w ill bring them back. 'Saxon kings w ill turn out citizens and hold their cities, lands and homes for a long time. Am ong these kings three dragons w ill three

612-636 om. Ha. 612 acelud C V , Acelud B , F, Alcluid H, J J P tr, acliud R , J, aliud T , ascelud C l. Alchid BC, after HRB (Trin. 1125). 613 scotcus C V , scotus C l, Scottus B, M i, F ; duello J J P , F. Parry translated the end of the line as ‘ by w ar’ ; but duello, an old form o f bello, does not fit the metre. I have taken afiello to be intended as a diminutive from aper, a boar, assuming it to be an animal symbol for a person, as not infrequently in prophecies a boar is used. The line may be unauthentic. 616 (C V 614) sigius R , sigein J, T , C l; plangunt C V , F, plangent PP, M i. 618 (C V 616) Kaeptis C V , Parry records the readings o f H, R , J in his apparatus criticus, p. 66, as Caerperis, and in a footnote to the translation, p. 67, as Kaerperis, Carperis T , Kaeperis F. 620 rutipi R , J , ruoupi C l; littora C V , F, litore PP, C l, M i, J J P tr. 621 rutenus C V , ruthenus H , R , T .

86

VITA M ERLINI

630

D ucenti monachi perimentur in U rbe Leyri, et duce depulso vacuabit m enia Saxo. Q u i prior ex Anglis erit in diadem ate Bruti restaurabit item vacuatam cedibus urbem. Gens fera per patriam prohibebit erisma sacrare 635 inque D ei domibus ponet sim ulachra deorum. Postmodo Rom a Deum reddet m ediante cuculla rorabitque domos sacro sacer imbre sacerdos, quas renovabit item pastoribus intro locatis. Legis divine servabunt jussa subinde, 640 plures ex illis et celo ju re fruentur. Id violabit item gens im pia plena veneno m iscebitque simul violenter fasque nephasque. Vendet in extremos fines trans equora natos cognatosque suos iram que Tonantis inibit. 645 O scelus infandum, quem conditor orbis honore celi dignatus cum libertate creavit, illum more bovis vendi ducique ligatum ! Cessabis miserande Deo qui proditor olim in dominum fueras cum primum regna subisti. 650 Classe supervenient D aci populoque subacto regnabunt breviter propulsatique redibunt. His duo ju ra dabunt quos ledet acumine caude federis oblitus pro sceptri stemate Serpens. Indeque Neustrenses ligno trans equora vecti 655 vultus ante suos et vultus retro ferentes ferratis tunicis et acutis ensibus Anglos acriter invadent, periment campoque fruentur. Plurim a regna sibi subm ittent atque dom abunt externas gentes per tempora donec Erinus 660 circum quaque volans virus diffundet in ipsos. Tum pax atque fides et virtus omnis abibit, undique per patrias committent prelia cives virque virum prodet, non invenietur amicus. Conjuge despecta meretrices sponsus adibit 665 sponsaque cui cupiet despecto conjuge nubet. Non honor ecclesiis servabitur, ordo peribit. 630 lo ri H , lyeri R . 630-49 om. Ha. 631 uacuabunt PP. 633 sedibus PP. 637 Rorabit C V , rorabit PP, B, M i, J J P tr, F. 648 Cessabit C V , Cessabis C l, B, J J P tr, F, Cessabis miserande draco PP.

L IF E OF M ERLIN

630

87

times wear the crown. T w o hundred monks w ill perish in Leicester: the Saxon w ill overthrow the city’s leader and leave the city em pty within its walls. T he first A ngle to wear the crown o f Brutus w ill restore the city which was em ptied by that massacre. *A savage nation w ill forbid the rite o f anointing throughout the land and set up images o f gods in the shrines o f God. Later,Rom e w ill restore G od, with a monk's aid; and a holy priest w ill sprinkle G od’s shrines with holy water. H e w ill rebuild the shrines, and their pastors w ill be set once more within them. M any o f them w ill thereafter be 640 obedient to the commands o f divine law and earn their right to heaven. But an irreligious people full o f venom w ill break that peace, w ill violently confound right and wrong, w ill sell their sons and relatives into slavery in the far corners o f the earth across the sea and incur the anger o f the Thunderer. ‘ W hat an unutterable crim e that man, whom the Creator o f the universe made worthy o f heaven in honourable liberty, should be roped and led to the sale like a cow! ‘ You wretch, who turned traitor to your lord when you came into 650 the kingdom, you w ill attend to God. T he Danes w ill come with a fleet, defeat our people and reign for a short w hile: they w ill be driven out and return home. T w o men will administer them. A snake w ill forget its pact and strike them with its stinging tail instead o f its garlanded sceptre. ‘ Then the Normans w ill come over the sea in wooden ships, bearing a face in front o f them and a face at their back. C lad in their iron arm our, they w ill make a violent attack with sharp swords on the Angles, kill them and win the field. T hey w ill bring m any kingdoms under them and rule foreign nations for a time, till a Fury 660 flying all around w ill infoct them with its poison. Peace, faith and all honour w ill depart, and there w ill be civil w ar throughout the land. M an w ill betray his fellow, and friendship w ill not be found. Husbands w ill have no regard for their wives and w ill turn to whores: wives, regardless o f their husbands, w ill m ate with whom they wish. Respect for the church will dwindle, and the order w il

653-3

om. Ha.

654 veustrcnscs R. 659 665

erineus C l, Herius Ha. om. Ha.

88

670

675

680

685

690

H 695

VITA MERLINI

Pontifices tunc arm a ferent, tunc castra sequentur, in tellure sacra turres et menia ponent m ilitibusque dabunt quod deberetur egenis. D ividis rapti mundano tram ite current eripientque Deo quod sacra tyara vetabit. Tres diadem a ferent post quos favor ille novorum. Q uartus erit sceptris pietas cui leva nocebit donec sit genitore suo vestitus ut apri dentibus accinctus galeati transeat umbram. Q uatuor ungentur vice versa summa petentes, et duo succedent qui sic diadem a rotabunt ut m oveant Gallos in se fera bella movere. Sextus Hibemenses et eorum m enia vertet, qui pius et prudens populos renovabit et urbes. H ec Vortigem o cecini prolixius olim exponendo duum sibi mistica bella draconum in ripa stagni quando consedimus hausti. A t tu vade domum morientem visere regem, o dilecta soror, The^gesinoque venire precipe namque loqui desidero plurim a secum. V enit enim noviter de partibus Arm oricanis dulcia quo didicit sapientis dogm ata G ilde.’ It Ganieda domum Thelgesinum que reversum defunctumque ducem repent tristesque clientes. Ergo fluens lacrim is collabitur inter amicos et laniat crines et profert talia dicens. ‘ Funera Rodarchi, mulieres, plangite mecum ac deflete virum qualem non protulit orbis hactenus in nostro quantum discernimus evo. Pacis am ator erat, populo nam ju ra feroci sic dabat ut nulli vis inferretur ab ullo. Tractabat sanctum justo moderamine clerum , ju re regi populos summos humilesque sinebat. 667 sequentur C V , F, struentur H , R , J, J J P tr, seruantur T , fruent Ha. H , R , J*s reading, accepted by Parry, is un-metrical, and castra sequentur is a reasonable phrase. 670 capti H. 67a per quos C V , post quos PP, H a, J J P tr, F. 673 quintus Ha. 674-5 ° m- Ha. 676 unguentur T , véfsa vice C l. 677 quia sic C V qui sic PP, Ha, J J P tr, F. 678 moneant C V , moueant, H , Ha, B, J J P tr, F; bella monere T . 679 hibemensis C l; nomina C V , menia PP, Ha, C l, J J P tr, F (moenia).

L IP E OF M ER LIN

670

680

690

89

perish. Bishops w ill then bear arms, w ill then follow the m ilitary life, w ill set up towers and walls on sacred ground and give to soldiers w hat should go to the poor. T h ey w ill be swept along by riches and follow the w orldly path, and take from God w hat their holy office forbids them to take. ‘ Three w ill w ear the crown, after whom w ill be that desire for new men. T h e fourth in power w ill be harm ed by his clumsy piety until he puts on his father’s clothes and so, girt with boar's teeth, crosses the shadow o f the Helmeted M an. Four o f those anointed w ill strive in turn for the supreme power; and two who win it w ill alternate on the throne in such a w ay as to tempt the French to start a fierce cam paign against them. T h e sixth w ill overthrow the Irish and pull down their walls. B y his piety and foresight he w ill re-establish our people and cities. 'A ll this I once predicted at greater length to Vortigern when I was explaining to him the mystic battle o f the two dragons as we sat on the bank o f the drained pool. But now, dear sister, go home and attend to the dying king. Bid Taliesin come. I have much I wish to discuss w ith him , since he has only recently returned from Brittany, where he has been enjoying the sweets o f learning under the wise G ildas.’ Home went Ganieda and found Taliesin returned, the prince dead and the court in mourning. She collapsed in tears into the arms o f her friends, tearing her hair and crying out: ‘ W eep w ith me, women, the death o f Rodarch. M ourn for a m an whose like earth has not been known to produce before in our age. He was a lover o f peace, for he so administered a warrior people that there was no violence between man and man. H e treated the holy priest with due consideration and m ade the rule o f law avail-

681-3 om. PP. 681-950 om. Ha. 681 De Vordgerno Vmq. 685 telgesino H , R , C l, tdgesimo J, Ttlyesino Vmq. 689 A t media domuffl thelgesinuA qüë reu&fsto T , telgesinufft H, R , J, Cl. 692 Et clamat crines T ; pfôfert plüriraa plangens C l. 693-733 om. PP. 693-940 ora. Cl. 697 ius C V , F , vis B, M i, J J P tr. 699 populo C V , F , populos B , M i, J J P tr.

90

700

705

710

715

720

725

730

735

VITA MERLINI

Largus erat nam m ulta dabat, vix quid retinebat. Om nibus omnis erat faciens quodcum que decebat, flos equitum regumque decor regnique columpna. Heu michi qui fueras, inopinis vermibus esca nunc datus es corpusque tuum putrescit in urna. Sicne cubile tibi post serica pulcra paratur? Siccine sub gelido caro candida regia membra condentur saxo nec eris nisi pulvis et ossa? Sic equidem, nam sors hominum miseranda per evum ducitur ut nequeant ad pristina ju ra reduci. Ergo nichil prodest pereuntis gloria mundi que fugit atque redit fallit leditque potentes. M elie suo delinit apes quod postmodo pungit. Sic quos demulsit divertens gloria mundi fallit et ingrate collidit verbere caude. Fit breve quod prestat, quod habet durabile non est, more fluentis aque transit quodcumque m inistrat. Q uid rosa si rutilet, si candida lilia vernent, si sit pulcher homo vel equus vel cetera plura? Ista Creatori non mundo sunt referenda. Felices igitur qui perstant corde piato obsequiumque Deo faciunt mundumque relinquunt. Illis perpetuo fungi concedet honore qui sine fine regit Christus qui cuncta creavit. Vos igitur proceres vos m enia celsa laresque vos nati dulces mundanaque cuncta relinquo, et cum fratre meo silvas habitabo Deumque leta mente colam nigri sub tegmine pepli.’ H ec ait atque suo persolvit justa m arito signavitque suam cum tali carm ine tumbam. ‘ Rodarchus Largus, quo largior alter in orbe non erat, hic m odica magnus requiescit in urna.* V enerat interea M erlinum visere vatem tunc Telgesinus qui discere missus ab illo quid ventus nimbusve foret, nam mixtus uterque tunc simul instabant et nubila conficiebant. Hec docum enta dabat socia dictante M inerva. 705 Set ne C V , Sicne M i, Siccine SM , F , Tale J J P . The sense requires Sîccbti, the metre requires a trochee. The next line shows that the final e could be short when needed; and the least disturbance is caused by accepting a spelling o f the word as a dissyllable, Sicnl. 791 reliflquflt C V relinquunt B , M i.

L IF E OF M ERLIN

700

710

720

730

91

able to high and low alike. He was generous, gave much aw ay, kept but very little. H e was all things to all men, doing all that was right and proper: flower o f knights, glory o f kings, pillar o f the kingdom ! ‘ W oe is me, alas, for w hat you were, now given untim ely to the gnawing worm ; and your body moulders in the grave. A fter fine silken sheets, is this the bed made ready for you? W ill the fair flesh and royal limbs indeed be hidden under the cold stone, and you become but dusty bones? ‘ Y et so it is. So runs the sad lot o f man throughout the ages: there is no returning to the earlier prime. There is no profit in the inter* m ittent glory o f the passing world, a painful deception even for the great. T he bee smears its honey where it later stings; so the world’s glory turns again and deceives those it has caressed, piercing hard with its unwelcome sting. ‘ Excellence is a brief thing, transient in its nature. A ll advantage passes aw ay like running water. W hat if the rose blushes? W hat if white lilies bloom ? W hat if a m an, a horse, or all the rest be fair? These are questions for the Creator, not for the world. ‘ H appy, then, are those who are resolute in piety and service to God and take leave o f the world. Christ, who created all, whose reign is endless, w ill grant them everlasting glory. Therefore I take leave o f you— you noble chiefs, you high walls and household gods, you m y sweet children, and all that is o f this world. I shall live in the woods by the side o f m y brother and w ith m y black cloak around me worship God with a happy heart.’ In these words she paid due tribute to her husband, and she inscribed this verse on his tom b: ‘ Rodarch the Generous, none in the world more generous, A great man lies quiet in this little urn.’ In the meantime Taliesin had come to visit the prophet M erlin, who had sent for him to learn w hat winds and rain-storms were. For both these were blowing up at the time, and the clouds were gathering. Taliesin, w ith the aid and direction o f M inerva, gave the following explanation.

730 rodarthus R, J, T . 732 merlmuA vincCfe. 733 Tunc telgesinüs cui Merlinus cito dixit PP, thdgesinus T . 734 - 9 4 * om. PP.

92

f

740

745 H

750

1f 755

760

H 765

770 1f

775

VITA MERLINI

‘ Q uatuor ex nichilo produxit Conditor orbis ut fierent rebus precedens causa creandis materiesque simul concordi pace ju gata. Celum , quod stellis depinxit et altius « t a t et quasi testa nucem circumdans omnia claudit. A era deinde dedit formandis vocibus aptum , quo mediante dies et noctes sidera prèstant, et m are, quod terras cingit validoque recursu quatuor amfractus faciens sic aera pulsat ut generet ventos qui quatuor esse feruntur. V ique sua stantem nec se levitate moventem supposuit terram partes in quinque resectam, quarum que m edia est non est habitanda calore extremeque due pre frigore diffugiuntur. Tem periem reliquis permisit habere duabus. Has homines habitant volucresque gregesque ferarum. U tque darent subitas pluvias quo crescere fructus arboris et terre facerent aspergine m iti adjecit celo nubes que sole ministro sicut utres fluvii occulta lege replentur. Inde per excelsum scandentes ethera sumptos diffundunt latices ventorum viribus acte. H inc fiunt imbres hinc nix hinc grando rotunda cum gelidus madidus m ovet sua flam ina ventus, qui nubes penetrans quales facit egerit amnes. Naturam que suam zonarum proxim itate ventorum sibi quisque trahit dum nascitur illuc. Post firmamentum quo lucida sidera fixit ethereum celum posuit, tribuitque colendum cetibus angelicis quos contem platio digna ac dulcedo D ei reficit m iranda per evum. H oc quoque depinxit stellis et sole chorusco indicens legem qua certo lim ite stella per sibi commissum posset discurrere celum. Postmodo supposuit lunari corpore fulgens aerium celum , quod per loca celsa redundat spirituum cuneis qui nobis com paciuntur et colletantur dum sic aliterve movemur. Suntque preces hominum soliti perferre per auras atque rogare Deum quod sit placabilis illis 749 media est non est habitanda M i. C V s reading does not scan, unless the author lengthened media in speech. M ichel’s suggestion is a simple solution, though

L IF E OF M ER LIN

>-'*! S I I 740 \ '

93

'

‘ The Creator produced out o f nothing four elements to be the causative principle in the m aking o f things and at the same time to be the m aterial for them, when conjoined in a concordant manner. There was the H eaven, which he embellished with stars. It is set above and envelops everything in the w ay a nutshell encloses a nut. Then he gave the A ir, fitted for the production o f sounds. By means o f it day and night make the heavenly bodies visible.— Then, the Sea, which encompasses the earth, and, m aking four circuits, so stirs up the a ir with its m ighty recoil as to generate the winds, which are held to be four in number. He established the earth, which stands by its own strength and is not easily moved. It is divided into five zones. 750 T h e m iddle zone is uninhabitable because o f the heat, and the two outer zones are avoided because o f the cold. He allowed the other two to have a tem perate clim ate. These are the zones where men, birds and the herds o f w ild beasts live. ‘ He added clouds to the sky to give the sudden rains whose gentle showers cause the fruits o f the trees and o f the earth to grow. W ith the help o f the sun, the clouds are filled like water-skins by the rivers through the operation o f a mysterious law. Then, when driven by the force o f the winds, they rise on high into the upper atmosphere and discharge the water they have taken up. This is the origin o f rain760 storms, the origin o f snow and o f round hailstones, when a cold moist wind begins to blow, penetrating the clouds and forcing out the water into whichever type o f shower it is forming. Each o f the winds takes its nature from its relation to the zones at its birth. ‘ After the firmament, where he fixed firm the bright stars, he established the ethereal heaven. He designated it as the place for the assemblies o f angels whom the noble contem plation and wonderful sweetness o f G od refresh down the ages. H e also embellished it w ith the stars and the dazzling sun, appointing the law whereby a star 770 could move on an exact course through the part o f the heaven assigned to it. ‘ Afterwards he placed beneath these the airy heaven, glowing with the lunar body. T he high spaces o f this heaven are thronged with bands o f spirits who are considerate towards us or cheerful with us, according to our moods. It is their practice to carry men’s prayers up through the air, to beg God to deal sym pathetically with

the phrase is not elegant; an est can drop out easily in copying, as Parry showed by reporting M ichel’s suggestion without the second est. 769 que C V , qua J J P tr, F .

94

VITA MERLINI

f 780

785

f 790

795

8oot

805

810K

affectum que D ei sompno vel voce referre vel signis aliis ut fiant inde scientes, A t cacodemonibus post lunam subtus habundat, qui nos decipiunt et tem ptant fallere docti, et sibi multociens ex aere corpore sumpto nobis apparent et plurim a sepe sequuntur. Q uin etiam coitu mulieres agrediuntur et faciunt gravidas generantes more prophano. Sic igitur celos habitatos ordine terno spirituum fecit, foveant ut singula queque ac renovent mundum renovato germine rerum, E t mare per species varias distinxit ut ex se proferret rerum formas generando per evum. Pars etenim fervet, pars friget et una duabus temperiem sumens nobis alim enta ministrat. A st ea que fervet baratrum cum gentibus acris circuit et T etri diversis fluctibus orbem secernit refluens ignes ex ignibus augens. Illic descendunt qui leges transgrediuntur postpositoque Deo quo vult perversa voluntas incedunt avidi corrumpere quod prohibentur. T ru x ibi stat judex equali lance rependens cuique suum meritum condignaque debita solvit. A ltera que friget pretonsas volvit harenas quas secum gignit vicino prim a vapore quando suos radios inmiscet stella Diones. H anc perhibent Arabes gemmas generare micantes, dum peragrat Pisces dum respicit equora flammis. H ec virtute sua populis gestantibus ipsas prosunt et multos reddunt servantque salubres. Has quoque per species distinxit ut omnia factor ut discernamus per formas perque colores cuius sint generis cuius virtutis aperte. T ercia forma maris que nostram circuit orbem proxim itate sua nobis bona m ulta ministrat. N utrit enim pisces et sal producit habunde, fertque refertque rates commercia nostra ferentes, 779 caco demonibus C V , cacodaemonibus B , M i, F. 782 loquuntur F. 787 renouet C V retument BC. Parry took renovet as referring to the spirits but left it singular: if the Conditor orbis is meant, this is an awkward change. 793 tetri C V , terrae B , M i, J J P tr, F; orbent C V , orbem B , M i, J J P tr, F . Black’s terrae. . .orbem was accepted by M ichel, J J P tr (with reservation) and Faral, but

L IF E OF M ER LIN

780

790

800

810

95

them, and to convey G od’s w ill through a dream or a voice or through other signs by which they m ay acquire understanding. ‘ But the space down below the moon is full o f evil demons skilled in deception, who tem pt and cheat us. T h ey frequendy make them­ selves a body out o f air and appear to us: the consequences are m any and various. Indeed, they even have intercourse with women and make them pregnant, an immoral fatherhood. ‘ In this w ay he populated the heavens with a three-part order o f spirits, intending that they should look after every individual thing and renew the world by renewing the seed o f things. ‘ He divided the sea into different types, to facilitate the develop­ m ent o f natural forms from out o f it by production over a long period. So one part o f the sea is hot, another cold, and the other, which takes its m oderate temperature from the other two, provides us with food. ‘ The hot sea goes round a gu lf where live vicious races o f people. As it swirls on, the currents divide and it separates o ff the zone o f hell, getting hotter and hotter. Crim inals go down there, those who have neglected G od and rush on where their perverse w ill leads them, eager to ruin w hat they are forbidden to harm . A stem judge stands there balancing his scales, and to each one he allots his due and ju st deserts. ‘ T he other sea, which is freezing, rolls along its trimmed beaches, which it first produces from the nearby mist, when the beams o f D ione’s star m ix w ith it. T he Arabs believe that this star creates sparkling jewels when it passes through the sign o f the Fishes and flickers down on the sea. These gems do good to their wearers by their intrinsic power, curing m any and keeping them healthy. T heir M aker has, as with all things, divided them into different types, to enable us to decide their kind and their known powers from form and colour. ‘ T he proxim ity o f the third type o f sea which encircles our globe brings us m any benefits. It feeds fish, produces a great deal o f salt and bears to and fro the vessels which carry our trade and allow a

does not much clarify the image. Since Utrum could be a substantive (Cicero, De natur, dear.), Tetri orbem is a not improbable though not separately authenticated phrase for hell. (Isidore, Etjm ., 10. 270, cf. 194, discussed teter,— ob obscura tenebrosaque vita, etc.) 799 cumqüé C V , cuique B , M i, J J P tr, F. 812 habunda C V , abunde B , M i, F, habunde J J P tr.

96

VITA MERLINI

815

820I

825H

830^

835 H

840*1

845 H

850^

unde suo lucro subito fit dives egenus. V icinam fecundat humum pascitque volucres, quas perhibent ortas illinc cum piscibus esse, dissimilique tamen nature ju re moventur. Plus etenim dom inatur eis quam piscibus equor unde leves excelsa petunt per inane volantes. A t pisces suus humor agit reprim itque sub undis, nec sinit ut vivant dum sicca luce finiuntur. Hos quoque per species distinxit factor eorum naturamque dedit distinctis, unde per evum m irandi fierent egrotantique salubres. Nempe ferunt mullum cohibere libidinis estum, set reddit cecos ju giter vescentis ocellos. A t qui nomen habet timeos de flore timallus sic quoniam redolet vescentem sepius illo protrahit ut tales oleant per flum ina pisces. Femineo sexu subtracto ju re murenas esse ferunt cunctas, coeunt tamen ac renovantur m ultiplicantque suos alieno germine fetus. Conveniunt etenim per littora sepius angues quo degunt faciuntque sonos ac sibila grata, et sic eductis coeunt ex more murenis. Est quoque mirandum quod semipedalis echinus herens cui fuerit fixam quasi litore navem detinet in ponto nec eam perm ittet abire donec discedat tali virtute timendus. Quem que vocant gladium , quia rostro ledit acuto, sepius hunc nantem m etuunt accedere navi, nam si sumptus erit confestim perforat illam et m ergit sectam subito cum gurgite navem. Fitque suis cristis metuendus serra carinis quas infigit eis dum subnatat atque secatas deicit in fluctus crista velut ense timendus. Equoreusque draco qui fertur habere venenum sub pennis metuendus erit capientibus illum , et quociens pungit ledit fundendo venenum. Ast alias clades torpedo fertur habere, 820 piscis C V , pisces B , M i, J J P tr, F . 821 sunt C V , F, sinit M i, J J P tr. 825 nulluifi C V , B , M i, mullus J J P (se. a slip for mullum, from translation), mullum F . 829 olent C V , oleant J J P , F.

L IF E OF M ERLIN

820

830

840

850

97

poor man to become rich by quick profit-making. It makes the adjacent land fertile and produces food for the birds which, it is said, derive from it as do fish, though the laws o f their functioning are not the same. T he birds can transcend the ocean more than can the fish, and fly easily up from it into space. 'B u t its moisture affects fish and keeps them below the surface and does not perm it them to live in the dryness o f the open air. T heir M aker has divided up fish also into types, assigning a specific nature to each different type; and because o f this they have long been a source o f wonder as well as an aid in sickness. ‘ For exam ple, it is said that the mullet inhibits die sexual urge, but leads to blindness if eaten constantly. T he one called thymallus after the herb thym e has such a scent that it betrays any fish that regularly feeds on it; and so all the fish in the river become sim ilarly scented. ' Murenas are said to be all o f the female sex and lack seminal fluid. Y et they reproduce by copulation and m ultiply through fertilization by the seed o f a different creature. Snakes often gather along the shore which they frequent. These snakes make a seductive hissing sound to tempt out the murenas, and intercourse then takes place normally. 'A nother rem arkable fish is the echinus. It is only six inches long, but when it attaches itself to a ship, it holds the ship as fast on the high seas as if it were aground, and prevents it proceeding until it lets go: a power for which it is feared. *M en are also often afraid to steer a ship close to the fish known as the sword-fish when they see it swimming near, because it causes dam age w ith its sharp beak. I f it is taken, it prom pdy holes the ship and, by cutting into it, causes it to sink as the water suddenly swirls in. ‘ T he serra is a danger to hulls because o f its crests. It sticks these into the hull while swimming beneath the ship. It causes the damaged hulls to sink into the waves, and it is to be feared for its crest as if it were a sword. 'T h ere is a sea-dragon which is said to have poison beneath its fins, and puts any who catch it in great peril. Every time it strikes it makes the wound serious by injecting its poison. ‘ The torpedo is said to be another type o f m ortal peril. Anyone who 833 M ultiplicat C V , Multiplicant B , M i, J J P tr, F. 834 ac sibila grati C V , F, et sibila B , M i, grata J J P . 836 ethinus C V , echinus B , M i, F , echauns J J P . 840 gladum C V , gladium B , M i, J J P tr, F. 841 nautae metuunt B .

7

cm

98

855H

860

865

870

875^

880 K

885

VITA MERLINI

nam qui tangit eam viventem protinus illi brachia cum pedibus torpent et cetera membra officioque suo quasi m ortua destituuntur, sic solet esse nocens illius corporis aura. Hiis Deus ac aliis ditavit piscibus equor, adjecitque suis plures in fluctibus orbes quos habitant homines pro fertilitate reperta quam producit ib i fecundo cespite tellus. Quarum prim a quidem m eliorque Britannia fertur, ubertate sua producens singula rerum. Fert etenim segetes que nobile mimus adoris usibus humanis tribuunt reddendo per annum ; silvas et saltus et ab hiis stillantia m ella, aerios montes lateque virentia prata, fontes et fluvios, pisces pecudesque ferasque, arboreos fructus, gemmas, preciosa m etalla, et quicquit prestare solet natura creatrix; preterea fontes unda fervente salubres que fovet egrotos et balnea grata ministrat, at subito sanos pellit languore repulso. Sic Bladudus eos regni dum sceptra teneret constituit nomenque sue consortis Alaron. U tilis ad plures laticis medicamine morbos set mage femineos ut sepius unda probavit. A djacet huic Thanatos que multis rebus habundat. M ortifero serpente caret tollitque venenum si sua cum vino tellus com m ixta bibatur. Orchades a nobis nostrum quoque dividit equor. Hae tres ter dene sejuncto flumine fiunt, bis dene cultore carent alieque coluntur. U ltim a que Thule nomen de sole recepit propter solsticium quod sol estivus ibidem dum facit avertit radium ne luceat ultra abducitque dies ut semper nocte perhenni aer agat tenebras, faciat quoque frigore pontum concretum pigrum que simul ratibusque negatum. Insula post nostram prestantior omnibus esse fertur Hibemensis felici fertilitate. Est etenim major, nec apes nec aves nisi raras 856 fructibus C V , fluctibus B , J J P tr, F. 861 odoris C V , F, J J P tr, adoris B . 871 Sic ac blandus C V , Sic Bladudus B , M i, J J P tr, Sicut Bladud eos F .

L IF E OF M ERLIN

99

touches it while it is still alive is at once afflicted w ith a torpidity o f the arms, the feet and the rest o f the body. His limbs lose their normal function and feel dead, so virulent its secretion norm ally is. 'G o d allotted the sea to these and to the other fishes. H e also created further worlds am ong his waves which men inhabit because o f their reputation for fertility, the earth producing abundantly from the rich soil there. ‘ Britain is considered first and best am ong these. It offers o f its 860 bounty every m anner o f thing. It yields crops which year by year contribute their noble gifts o f grain for m an's use; woodlands and pastures where honey drips; airy mountains and broad green m eadowlands; springs and rivers; fish, cattle and w ild creatures; fruit trees; jewels and precious m etals; and a ll else that creative N ature can supply. ' In particular, there are health-giving springs whose hot waters do 870 the sick good and provide welcome baths for them— after which, their illness subsiding, they are soon sent aw ay w ell. Bladud so established these baths during his reign, and he named them after his consort Alaron. Because o f the m edical properties o f the water, they are useful in most kinds o f disease, but especially for women’s disorders, as the w ater has frequently demonstrated. ' Close to this island lies Thanet, which is rich in m any things— but lacks dangerous snakes; and it is an antidote to poison to drink wine in which Thanet earth has been mixed. ‘ O ur ocean also divides the Orkneys from us. These islands, separated by the flowing tides, number thirty-three. Tw enty o f 880 them are unworked, the rest cultivated. * Thule gets its name, "Furthest T h u le ", through the sun, on account o f the solstice or stop which the summer sun makes there. A t that point the sun’s rays turn aw ay so as to provide no illum i­ nation beyond. T he sun thus takes aw ay the daylight, so that ever through the endless night the air begets shadows, and in addition its coldness makes the sea hard and sluggishly unnavigable by ships. ‘ T he island which after ours is held to be superior to all is Ireland, ' for its happy fertility. It is larger; it possesses no bees, no birds (save a very few), and is entirely unsuitable for snakes to breed in. In fact,

879 Hec C V , F (Haec), Hae B , M i, J J P tr, se iuncto C V , sejuncto B , M i, J J P tr, F . 881 ytilie C V , Thule B , M i, J J P tr, F . 889, 890, 891 C V had the order 889 ( .a . in margin), 891 (.b . in margin), 7-2

IOO

VITA MERLINI

890

educit penitusque negat generare colubres. Unde fit ut tellus illinc avecta lapisve, si superaddatur, serpentes tollat apesque. Gadibus Herculeis adjungitur insula Gades. Nascitur hic arbor cuius de cortice gumini 895 stillat, quo gemme fiunt superillita vitra. 1 Hesperides vigilem perhibentur habere draconem, quem servare ferunt sub frondibus aurea poma. 1f Gorgades habitant mulieres corporis hirci, que celeri cursu lepores superare feruntur. 9 0 0 A rgire Crisseque gerunt ut dicitur aurum argentum que simul ceu vilia saxa Corinthus. 1f Taprobana viret fecundo cespite grata. Bis etenim segetes anno producit in uno, bis gerit estatem, bis ver, bis colligit uvas 905 et fructus alios nitidis gratissima gemis. K Tiles etem o producit vere virentes flores et frondes per tempora cuncta virendo. Insula pomorum que Fortunata vocatur ex re nomen habet quia per se singula profert. 910 Non opus est illi sulcantibus arva colonis, omnis abest cultus nisi quem natura ministrat. U ltro fecundas segetes producit et uvas nataque poma suis pretonso gram ine silvis. O m nia gignit humus vice graminis ultro redundans, 915 annis centenis aut ultra vivitur illic. Illic ju ra novem geniali lege sorores dant his qui veniunt nostris ex partibus ad se, quarum que prior est fit doctior arte medendi exceditque suas forma prestante sorores. 920 M orgen ei nomen didicitque quid utilitatis gram ina cuncta ferant ut languida corpora curet. Ars quoque nota sibi qua scit m utare figuram et resecare novis quasi Dedalus aera pennis. Cum vult, est Bristi Cam oti sive Papie, 925 cum vult, in vestris ex aere labitur horis. Hancque m athematicam dicunt didicisse sorores M oronoe, M azoe, Güten, Glitonea, G liton, 890 ( .c . in margin). B and M i and F printed in the order used in the present text; J J P tr concurred. 895 gemine C V , gemmae B , M i, J J P tr, F; super illita C V , ilUsa SM , J J P tr («.) ; iura C V , F : ‘ à corriger peut-être en jure*', quo gemme fiunt superillita uitra BC. 905 gemmis B , SM , F.

L I F E OF M E R L I N

I OI

890

if some earth or a stone from there is taken to another place and added to the soil, it destroys serpents and bees as well. ‘ T he island o f Gades lies adjacent to Herculean Gades. A tree native to this place has a bark from which a gum drips. Pieces o f glass become gems when smeared with it. ‘ T he Hesperides are said to have a watchful dragon which (the story goes) guards golden apples am ong trees. ‘ T h e Gorgades are inhabited by goat-bodied women, and these women are said to run faster than hares. 900 *Argyre and Ckryse are reported as bearing gold and silver as easily as Corinth does ordinary rocks. ‘ Ceylon blooms happily[on its fertile soil. It has two crops a year— two springs, two summers : twice do men gather the grapes and other fruit. It is also most attractive on account o f its shining jewels. ' Tiles produces flowers and foliage which flourish in an eternal spring. ‘ T he Island o f Apples gets its name “ T he Fortunate Island*' from the fact that it produces all manner o f plants spontaneously. 910 It needs no farmers to plough the fields. There is no cultivation o f the land at all beyond that which is N ature’s work. It produces crops in abundance and grapes without help; and apple trees spring up from the short grass in its woods. A ll plants, not m erely grass alone, grows spontaneously; and men live a hundred years or more. ‘ T h at is the place where nine sisters exercise a kindly rule over those who com e to them from our land. T he one who is first am ong them has greater skill in healing, as her beauty surpasses that o f her 920 Ysisters. H er name is M orgen, and she has learned die uses o f all plants in curing the ills o f the body. She knows, too, the art o f changing her shape, o f flying through the air, like Daedalus, on strange wings. A t w ill, she is now at Brest, now at Chartres, now at Pavia; and at w ill she glides down from the sky on to your shores. ‘ T hey say she had taught astrology to her sisters— M oronoe,

906 Atilis C V , Tiles J J P , At Tylos F. 913 germine C V , F, gramme J J P ; praetenso F . 915 viuiter C V , vivitur F (and, sc., J J P tr., though not noted). 925 nostris B , M i, F ; labitur terris Lot. Black printed horis in his text, with the footnote, 'Id est oris’, which was explanatory not emendatory.

102

930

935

940

VITA M ERLINI

Tyronoe, Thiten cithara notissima Thiten. Illuc post bellum Cam blani vulnere lesum duximus Arcturum nos conducente Barintho, equora cui fuerant et celi sydera nota. Hoc rectore ratis cum principe venimus illuc, et nos quo decuit M orgen suscepit honore, inque suis talamis posuit super aurea regem fulcra m anuque sibi detexit vulnus honesta inspexitque diu, tandemque redire salutem posse sibi dixit, si secum tempore longo esset et ipsius vellet medicamine fungi. Gaudentes igitur regem commisimus illi et dedimus ventis redeundo vela secundis.*

H Tunc M erlinus ad hec ait, ‘ O dilecte sodalis, postmodo quanta tulit violato federe regnum ut modo quod fuerat non sit. Nam sorte sinistra subducti proceres ac in sua viscera versi 945 omnia turbarunt ut copia dividarum fugerit ex patria bonitasque recesserit omnis, et desolati vacuent sua m enia cives. Insuper incum bit gens Saxona m arte feroci, que nos et nostras iterum crudeliter urbes 950 subvertit legemque D ei violabit et edes. Nempe Deus nobis ut corrigat insipientes has patitur clades ob crim ina nostra venire.’ T[ Nondum desierat cum talia protulit alter. ‘ Ergo necesse foret populo transmittere quemdam 955 et mandare duci festina nave redire, si jam convaluit, solitis ut viribus hostes arceat et cives antiqua pace reformet.* H ‘ N on,’ M erlinus ait, 'n on sic gens illa recedet u t semel in nostris ungues infixerit ortis. 960 Regnum namque prius populosque ju gabit et urbes 928 Tirone Vmq. 930 Arturum Leland, Vmq, F; Baritui» Leland, Bcayntho Vmq. 933 Morgan Leland, Morgan Price. 935 Stulta CVffidcra Leland, Fulckra Price, Strata B , M i, Vmq, J J P tr, F; honestum J J P . Parry (p. 9 n) later thought Price quite probably had the right reading. H e reported Leland’s reading (EETS edition) wrongly as Fulckra. 941 C l. begins again. 942 PP begins again; PostinQs T ; regna tulit T ; federe reguA H , R , J. 946 om. T ; ex priA a C V , ex patria H , C l, B , M i, J J P tr, F. 947 desolari u acu an tj.

L I F E OF M E R L I N

930

940

IO 3

M azoe, Güten, G litonea, G liton, Tyronoe, and Thiten,— Thiten, famous for her lyre.. " < ‘ It was there we took A rthur after the battle o f Cam lan, where he had been wounded. Barinthus was the steersman because o f his knowledge o f the seas and the stars o f heaven. W ith him at the tiller o f the ship, we arrived there w ith the prince; and M orgen received us with due honour. She put the king in her cham ber on a golden bed, uncovered his wound with her noble hand and looked long at it. A t length she said he could be cured if only he stayed w ith her a long while and accepted her treatment. W e therefore happily committed the king to her care and spread our sails to favourable winds on our return journey.*

T o this M erlinrepUed: ‘ M y dearest friend— how great a burden has the kingdom borne since then, with the pact broken, so that it is not w hat it once was. Through unhappy circumstances the nobles have been led aw ay and turned to rend each other’s vitals. They upset everything, and so prosperity has left the country: all goodness has gone. Those who Uve in the cities w ill abandon their walls in despair. For the Saxon, warlike and ferocious, descends on us, 950 savagely overthrows our cities and ourselves once more, and w ill violate G od’s law and his house. Indeed, God suffers this disaster to come upon us because o f our crimes, as a punishment for our f^lly.’ / H e had not finished speaking before TaHesin broke in: ‘ Then ( the people must send someone to call on our leader to return in a >fast ship. I f he has recovered, he can exercise his old vigour to fend o ff the enemy and re-establish the nation in its old state o f peace.’ ‘ N o,’ M erlin replied. ‘ This is not the w ay the invader w ill leave, 960 once he has fixed his talons in our land. Before that time comes, he

948 incufnbunt PP; saxona marte nephando PP, saxona marce C l, Saxona marie B , M i, F . Parry: ‘ Saxon people, fierce in w ar’. 94g Q ui R , J , T ; vos ët vëstras R , nos ci vëstras T . 950 Subuertet H, R ; uiolauit J, T . 951 Ha begins again; cerissat Ha. 953-7 om. PP, Ha. 959 in uëstris C V , F , in nfistris H, J, T , C l, semell nostris H a; in ortis vngues R , B , footnote, ‘ Leg. hortis vel oris' (but he printed ortis), oris Gfr, J J P tr. The last, attributing oris to B , added, ‘ or possibly ortis, a word used in a similar sense in the Historia’. 960-6 om. Ha.

104

VIT A M ER LIN I

viribus atque suis multis dom inabitur annis. Tres tamen ex nostris m agna virtute resistent, et multos periment et eos in fine domabunt. Set non perficient quia sic sententia summi 965 judicis existit, Britones ut nobile regnum temporibus multis am ittant debilitate, donec ab Arm orica veniet temone Conanus et Cadualadrus Cam brorum dux venerandus, qui pariter Scotos Cam bras et Comubienses 970 Armoricosque viros sociabunt federe firmo amissumque suis reddent diadem a colonis, hostibus expulsis renovato tempore Bruti, tractabuntque suas sacratis legibus turbes. Incipient reges iterum superare remotos 975 et sua regna sibi certam ine subdere forti.* f ‘ Nemo superstes erit tunc ex hiis qui modo vivunt,’ Telgesinus ait, ‘ nec tot fera prelia quemquam inter concives quot te vidisse putamus.* 'S ic equidem ,’ M erlinus ait, ‘ nam tempore m ulto 980 vixi m ulta videns et de nostratibus in se et de barbarica turbanti singula gente. Crim en quod memini cum Constans proditus esset et defugissent parvi trans equora fratres U ter et Ambrosius. Ceperunt ilico bella 985 per regnum fieri, quod tunc rectore carebat. Vortigernus enim consul Gewissus in omnes agm ina ducebat patrias ut duceret illas, ledens innocuos miseranda clade colonos. Denique vi subita rapuit diadem a peremptis 990 nobilibus multis et regni cuncta subegit. Ast hii qui fuerant cognato sanguine juncti fratibus id graviter tolerantes, igne crem are ceperunt cunctas infausti principis urbes 964 pföfident PP. 965 dracones yt C l; ëï nobile T . 966 amittent C l. 967 annonico T , armonice H a, Armorica Vmq; ueniat PP, H a; themone J ; conamûs J. 968 om. T ; cadwaldrus J, H a; Cadvaladrus F; kambrorûA C l; dum C V , dux B , S M ,3 J P tr ,F . 969 cufibros PP, M i. 970 sociabit C l. 972 bruti om. T . 974 Indpient PP, Ha, B , M i, J J P tr, F; qüë greges T .

L IF E OF M ERLIN

970

977

980

990

IO 5

w ill have conquered our kingdom and our people and our cities, and kept them under by force o f arms for m any years. Three o f our men w ill resist w ith great bravery, however; they w ill kill m any o f the invaders and in the end overcome them. But they w ill not complete their task. It is the w ill o f the most high Judge that the British shall be without their kingdom for m any years and rem ain weak, until Conan in his chariot arrive from Brittany, and that revered leader o f the W elsh, Cadwalader. ‘ T h ey w ill create an alliance, a firm league o f the Scots, the W elsh, the Cornish and the men o f Brittany. Then they w ill restore to the natives the crown that had been lost. H ie enemy w ill be driven out and the time o f Brutus w ill be back once more. T he natives w ill administer their own cities by the tim e-hallowed laws. T h ey w ill once again undertake the subjection o f distant kings and make a vigorous effort to bring these kingdoms under their sw ay.’ ‘ None w ill then be left o f those who are now alive,’ said Taliesin, 'an d I think there is no-one who has seen more savage civil wars than you.’ M erlin said, ‘ Indeed, that is the truth. For I have lived long and seen m uch - our own folk turning on one another, and the chaos the barbarian brings. ‘ The greatest crim e I remember is the betraying o f Constans and the flight o f his two small brothers, U ther and Ambrosius. A t once the kingdon was enveloped in w ar for lack o f a leader. V ortigern, governor o f Gwent, began leading out his forces against all regions in an effort to win the leadership over them, and he inflicted misery and destruction on the innocent population. A t length he seized the crown in a sudden attack, killed m any o f the nobility and forced the submission o f the whole o f the kingdom. ‘ But the blood-relatives o f the brothers began, in high resentment at this, to put all the cities o f this ill-omened prince to the flame and

975

The fragment o f Ha ends here, but has three lines not in other M SS: ‘ falsi pfôdent viri capti tunc redimentur Actus nec fari valet homo pfêmeditari Occumbet deno lustro Cursu quoqüé sexto’ 976-1135 om. PP. 981 The fragment o f CS ends, followed by

‘ Expliciunt vêfsus M êflini’. 987 priAas C V , patrias B , M i, Vmq, J J P tr, F; subderet illas B , F . ‘ duceret’ may be suspicious on general grounds, and ‘ subderet’ a likely alternative, but there is no positive reason for change.

I06

VITA MERLINI

et turbare suum crudeli m ilite regnum, 995 nec permiserunt illum cum pace potiri. Anxius ergo manens cum non obstare rebelli quivisset populo, parat invitare remotos ad sua bella viros quibus obvius iret in hostes. M ox ex diversis venerunt partibus orbis iooo pugnaces turme, quas excipiebat honore. Saxona gens etiam curvis advecta carinis ejus ad obsequium galeato m ilite venit. H uic duo prefuerant audaci pectore fratres Horsus et Hengistus qui prodicione nefanda 1005 postmodo leserunt populos lesereque urbes. Postquam namque ducem famulatus sedulitate attraxere sibi, cives quoque lite propinqua viderunt motos leviter quo subdere regem possent, in populos verterunt arm a feroces, 1010 ruperuntque fidem proceres quoque prem editata fraude necaverunt sedentes ferme vocatos insimul ut pacem secum fedusque jugarent, truseruntque ducem nivei trans ardua montis. Q ue sibi de regno cepi cantare futura. 1015 Inde domos patrie peragrantes igne crem abant et nitebantur sibimet submittere cuncta. A t Vortim erus, cum tanta pericula regni expulsumque patrem Bruti vidisset ab aula, assensu populi sumpsit diadem a feramque 1020 invasit gentem concives dilaniantem , atque coegit eam per plurim a bella redire in Thanatum , qua classis erat que vexerat illam . Set dum diffugerent bellator corruit Horsus et plures alii nostris perimentibus illos. 1025 Inde secutus eos circum dedit obsidione ilico rex Thanatum terraque m arique resistens.

996 abstare M i. 1000 Pugnatos C V , pugnaces B , M i, J J P tr, F. 1003 Hinc C V , Huic B , M i, J J P tr, F. 1004 prodicioe or prodicone C V , proditione B , M i, J J P tr, F . 1005 lesere quod C V , laesereque B , M i, J J P tr, F . Black’s emendation produces sense and a hiatus. 1006 famûlatüs C V , famulantes or famulatum B , (famulantes J J P tr, F ), famulati (?) BC. Black and Parry took famulare as an active verb meaning ‘ to serve’ (Parry: ‘ serving the king’) instead o f ‘ to use as a servant’ ; the following sedulitate would

L IF E OF M ER LIN

10 7

to harry his kingdom with their fierce armies: they allowed him no chance o f peaceable possession. Disturbed by his inability to deal w ith die rebellion, he arranged to bring men from afar into his fighting force to enable him to emerge to meet his enemies. ‘ Soon bands o f fighting men arrived from all over the world and 1000 he welcomed them. In particular, the Saxons sailed in in curved ships and brought their helmeted troops to his service. ‘ Their leaders were two aggressive brothers, Horsa and Hengist, who later did great dam age to the nation and its cities by their black treachery. For they won over the prince by obsequious service; and so, when the nation was next stirred up over a quarrel, they were easily able to overpower the king, and they then viciously turned their 1010 forces against the people. T h ey broke their word when they killed by calculated deceit the nobles as they sat assembled together to make a peace treaty w ith them. T h ey drove the prince across the snowy m ountain heights. This was the future o f the kingdom as I had begun to prophesy it to him. ‘ A fter this the Saxons went about firing the homes o f the people and attem pting the com plete subjugation o f the country. But Vortim er saw the great danger the kingdom was in and the expulsion o f his father from the palace o f Brutus. H e took the crown with the 1020 people's approval, and attacked the savage tribe which was crushing them. A fter m any clashes he forced the Saxons to retreat into Thanet, where the fleet that had brought them was lying. But in their flight the war-lord Horsa and m any others m et their deaths at the hands o f our men. T he king pursued them and besieged them in

block the latter meaning, apart from the context, famulati would give the likely sense and remain close to the M S, where the ending is abbreviated; but C V ’s reading has been left and famulatus taken as a genitive. 1010 prêmeditatos C V , praemeditata B , J J P tr, F . 1015 prüfte C V , patriae B , M i, F , patrie J J P . 1017 causa pericula C V , tanta pericula B , M i, J J P tr, F . 1022 vexarat C V , vexerat B , M i, J J P tr, F . 1026 tanathum C V , F , Thematum J J P ', tëfra qüS C V , ‘ que* om. B , M i.

io 8

VITA MERLINI

Set non prevaluit, subito nam classe potiti vi m agna fecere viam , ductique per equor exegere suam festino remige terram. 1030^ Ergo trium phato bellis victricibus hoste fit Vortim erus rector venerandus in orbe attrectando suum justo moderamine regnum. Set soror Hengisd successus Renua tales indignando ferens protectaque fraude venenum 1035 miscuit, existens pro fratre m aligna noverca, et dedit ut biberet fecitque perire bibentem. Confestimque suo m andavit trans freta fratri ut remearet item cum tot tantisque catervis quot sibi pugnaces posset submittere cives. 1040 Sic igitur fecit, nam tantus in agm ina nostra venit ut eriperet cunctis sua predia pregnans, et loca per patrias penitus com bureret igne. Hec ita dum fierent, in finibus Arm oricanis U ter et Ambrosius fuerant cum rege Budico. 1045 Jam gladio fiunt cincti belloque probati, et sibi diversas sociabant undique turmas ut peterent natale solum gentesque fugarent quae tunc instabant patriam vastare paternam. Ergo dedere suas ventoque marique carinas 1050 presidioque suis concivibus applicuerunt. Nam Vortigernum per Cam brica regna fugatum inclusumque sua pariter cum turre cremarunt. Enses inde suos vertere recenter in Anglos congressique simul vincebant sepius illos 1055 et vice transversa devincebantur ab illis. Denique consertis magno conamine dextris instant nostrates, et ledunt acriter hostes Hengistumque necant Christoque volente trium phant, f Hiis igitur gestis cleri populique favore 1060 Ambrosio regnumque datur regnique corona, postmodo quam gessit tractando singula juste. Emensis autem per lustra quaterna diebus, proditur a m edico m oriturque bibendo venenum. M ox germanus ei successit junior U ter, 1065 nec primum potuit regnum cum pace tueri. 1041 pugnans F . 1044 Biduco C V , Budico F . 1045 cuncti C V , cincti B , J J P tr, F.

L IF E OF M ERLIN

1030

1040

1050

1060

IO 9

Thanet by land and from the sea. H e was unsuccessful, however, because the Saxons suddenly seized possession o f their fleet, broke out in a violent sortie and m ade their w ay across the ocean and very quickly regained their own land. ‘ Vortim er gained a world-wide reputation for him self as a ruler after his defeat o f the enemy in this victorious cam paign; and he ran the adm inistration o f his own kingdom with measured restraint. ‘ But Hengist’s sister Renua could not accept his success and burned w ith indignation. Concern for her brother turned her into a vindictive stepmother. She concocted a poison under cover o f deceit, gave it to Vortim er to drink and so caused his death. She prom ptly sent word overseas to her brother to come back with sufficiently large forces to overcome our warrior people. This, then, he did; and so great were his forces that he was able to grow fat on the loot he took from all and sundry; and he went about burning throughout the land. ‘ Through all this U ther and Ambrosius were in Brittany with K in g Budic: they had now taken to arms and were proved in war. T h ey had gathered round them troops o f varied origins for an expedition to their native land, to put to flight the hordes now intent on wasting the country o f their father. ‘ So they committed their ships to wind and tide and landed to protect their fellow-citizens. T h ey drove V ortigem in flight through the kingdom o f W ales, cornered him and burned him and his tower together. 'T h e y at once turned their swords on the Angles: they met them m any times in battle and beat them often, but on the other hand they often suffered defeat b y them. Finally, during a hand-to-hand encounter, our men m ade a great effort in an attack which inflicted severe losses on the enemy. T hey killed Hengist, and by Christ's w ill they triumphed. 'A fter these events, clergy and people approved the presentation o f the kingdom and its crown to Ambrosius. His reign was marked by consistent fairness o f administration, but after four lustrums had passed he became the victim o f his doctor’s treachery and died through drinking poison. ‘ His younger brother U ther succeeded him. A t first he was un­ able to m aintain the peace o f the realm ; for the unscrupulous tribe

1048 Quod G V, quae B , M i, J J P tr, F; priiîiam C V , patriam B , M i, J J P tr, F . 1049 uento qüê C V , 'q u e ’ om. B , M i. 1056 consortis G V, consertis GJr, SM , J J P tr, F .

IIO

1070

1075

1080

1085

1090

1095

1100

VITA MERLINI

Perfida gens etenim demum consueta redire venerat et solita vastabat cuncta phalange. O ppugnavit eam sevis congressibus U ter, et pepulit victam trans equora rem ige verso. M ox reform avit posito certam ine pacem progenuitque sibi natum qui postmodo talis extitit ut nulli fieret probitate secundus. Arturus sibi nomen erat regnumque per annos optinuit multos postquam pater U ter obivit, idque dolore gravi gestum fuit atque labore et nece multorum per plurim a bella virorum . Nam dum predictus princeps langueret, ab A ngla venerat infidus populus cunctasque per enses trans Humbrum patrias submiserat ac regiones. E t puer Arturus fuerat nec debilitate e tatis poterat tantas compescere turmas. Ergo consilio cleri populique recepto Arm orico regi mittens m andavit Hoelo ut sibi presidio festina classe rediret. Sanguis enim communis eos sociabat amorque alter ut alterius deberet dam pna levare. M ox igitur collegit Hoel ad bella feroces circum quaque viros et multis milibus ad nos venit, et A rturo sociatus perculit hostes sepius agrediens, et stragem fecit acerbam . H oc socio securus erat fortisque per omnes Arturus turmas dum progrederetur in hostes, quos tandem vicit patriam que redire coegit, composuitque suum legum moderamine regnum. M ox quoque submisit post hec certam ina Scotos ac Hibemenses, convertens bella, feroces. Supposuit patrias illatis viribus omnes, et.Norwegenses trans equora lata remotos subdidit et Dacos invisa classe petitos. Gallorum populos ceso Frollone subegit, cui curam patrie dederat Rom ana potestas. Romanos etiam bello sua regna petentes obpugnans vicit, procuratore perempto 1075 gestum om. B . 1078 populos G V (misprint?), populus B, F . J J P tr translates as if the reading were populus but makes no note. 1079 periones C V , repones J J P , F . 1083 Hoeli G V, Hœlo Vmq, J J P tr, F.

L IF E OF M ERLIN

1070

1080

1090

1100

III

o f Saxons, who were now always likely to return, came in their usual hordes and caused general devastation. U ther fought them in a number o f savage encounters, beat them and drove them out : their ships took them back across the ocean. Soon the cam paign was over and he had established peace. H e had a son born to him who later became a great man and second to none in worth. His name was Arthur, and he held the kingdom for m any years after his father U ther had died. This cost much toil and great distress and the death o f m any men in numerous campaigns. For a pagan people came from A ngla at a time when the prince U ther lay ill; and they conquered by the sword all the territories o f our native land that lie beyond the Humber. 'A rth u r was a boy, and in his youthful inexperience he was un­ able to check these great forces. He took the advice he had from both the clergy and the people and sent word to H oel, king o f Brittany, with a request that he would come to his support in a fast fleet. Common blood and affection were the ties between them, which put each under an obligation to support the other in trouble. 'H oel soon gathered fighting men from all parts for the cam paign and brought m any thousands with him over to us. He joined forces with A rthur, broke the enemy by continual attack and inflicted terrible losses on them. His help gave A rthur confidence and power in handling all his troops when he took the offensive against the enemy. A t last he defeated them and forced them back to their own country. Then he settled his own kingdom through the moderation o f his laws. 'Soon after this struggle he subdued the Scots and, changing die direction o f his cam paign, the war-like Irish. H e overcam e all nations in the expeditions he led. He brought into subjection both the Norwegians who lived far across the broad seas and the Danes whom he sought out with his dreaded fleet. 'H e brought the people o f France under his rule after killing Frollo, to whose care the country had been committed by those in power at Rom e. He even fought and defeated the Romans them­ selves when they were preparing a cam paign against his kingdom.

1089 pertulit C V , perculit B , M i, J J P tr, F. 1096 Ac C V , Atque F . 1 101 prüfte CSV, patriae B , M i, patrie J J P .

1 12

1105 f

1 1 10

1 1 15

1120

1125

1 130

1135 f

1140

VITA M ERLINI

Hyberio Lucio, qui tunc collega Leonis induperatoris fuerat jussuque senatus venerat ut fines Gallorum demeret illi, Ceperat interea nostrum sibi subdere regnum infidus custos M odredus desipiensque illicitam venerem cum conjuge regis agebat. R ex etenim transire volens, ut fertur, in hostes, reginam regnumque suum commiserat illi. Ast ut fam a m ali tanti sibi venit ad aures, distulit hanc belli curam patriam que revertens applicuit multis cum milibus atque nepotem obpugnans pepulit trans equora diffugientem. Illic collectis vir plenus prodicione undique Saxonibus cepit committere pugnam cum duce, set cecidit deceptus gente prophana in qua confisus tantos inceperat actus. O quantas hominum strages matrumque dolores quarum conciderant illic per prelia nati! Illic rex etiam letali vulnere lesus deseruit regnum, tecum que per equora vectus, ut predixisti, nimpharum venit ad aulam. Ilico M odredi duo nati regna volentes subdere quisque ceperunt bella movere altem aque suos prosternere cede propinquos. Deinde nepos regis dux Constantinus in illos acriter insurgens populos laniavit et urbes, prostratisque simul crudeli morte duobus ju ra dedit populo regni diadem ate sumpto. Nec cum pace fuit quoniam cognatus in illum prelia dira movens violavit cuncta Conanus proripuitque sibi regiones rege perempto, quas nunc debiliter nec cum ratione gubernat.’ H ec illo dicente cito venere clientes et dixere sibi fontem sub montibus illis erupisse novum laticesque refundere puros, qui jam manantes longe per concava vallis girabant saltus refluo cum murmure lapsu. M ox igitur spectare novum consurgit uterque festinus fontem visoque resedit in herba 1104 Hybero C V , Tiberio B , SM , Tyberio M i, H iberioJJP, F , Hyberio B C ; collega­ que Legnis C V , collega Leonis F. Black and San M arte referred to texts o f the Historia as then known. But Lucius Hiberius is the name in respectable M SS such as

L IF E OF M ER LIN

M3

H e killed the procurator Lucius Hiberius, who had become the colleague o f Em peror Leo and had come on the Senate’s orders to bring the French territories back under its authority. ^ - ‘.During this time the faithless and foolhardy guardian o f our / realm , M odred, had begun to take over the kingdom and to carry on an unlawful love affair with the king’s wife. T he king, it is said, m o : had entrusted the kingdom and the queen to M odred’s care when J about to leave on a cam paign against his enemies overseas. W hen the report o f this great crim e reached his ears, he gave up his intended cam paign and returned home, landing w ith m any thousands o f men. H e attacked his nephew and drove him abroad in flight. There this m an o f treachery gathered Saxon troops from all quarters and began a battle against his prince. But he was tricked by the evil race on whom he had relied in his large enterprise, and he was killed. 1120 *How great was the slaughter o f men and the sorrowing o f mothers whose sons had feilen in battle there! ‘ O n that field also the king was m ortally wounded and left the kingdom. As you have described, he sailed with you over the water and cam e to the palace o f the nymphs. ‘ Each o f the two sons o f M odred intended to seize the kingdom for himself: so they fought, and each in turn murdered his near kin. Then the king’s nephew, Prince Constantine, rebelled violently against them, and harried their supporters and their cities ; and when 1130 they were brought low and had both m et a harsh death, he assumed the crown and took over the management o f the nation. His peace did not last; for his kinsman Conan organised a form idable cam ­ paign against him. Conan caused general destruction, killed the king and seized the territories over which he now exercises a weak and witless control.’ 1136

1 140

As he was speaking, retainers rushed up and told him that a new spring had broken out at the foot o f the nearby m ountain and that streams o f pure water were already gushing out, running far down the hollow o f the valley and swirling noisily as they rippled on their w ay across the pastures. T h ey both rose im m ediately to go and see this new spring as soon Faral's. Parry quoted Nicholson (1906) to the effect that the weight o f M S evidence supported Hiberius as the proper HRB form: see Text. Comm., 590-5. Faral’s emendation o f the end of the line to collega Lamis not only makes a smoother sentence but refers back to the emperor Leo who is associated with Lucius Hiberius in the French campaign of 10 .6 (cf. 9 .1 1 , 10 .11 -d e a th o f L e o -a n d 1 1 .1 ). 1 108 iustos C V , custos M i, J J P tr, F . 1 113 priihamqüê C V , patriamque B , M i, J J P tr, F . 1136 PP begins again. Hoc illo C V , F , Hec iüo PP, B , M i, J J P tr. 1142 om. T .

8

CLX

114

VITA MERLINI

M erlinus laudatque locum limphasque fluentes, et m iratur eas de cespite taliter ortas. 1145 M oxque siti captus se proclinavit in amnes potavitque libens et tem pora proluit unda, utque per internos alvi stomachique meatus humor iit laticis subsedavitque vaporem corporis interni, confestim mente recepta 1150 sese cognovit, rabiem quoque perdidit omnem, et qui torpuerat per longum tempus in illo sensus item rediit mansitque quod ante m anebat, sanus et incolumis rursus ratione recepta, f Ergo deum laudans vultus ad sidera tollit 1 155 edidit et voces devoto fam ine tales. *O rex siderei quo constat m achina celi, quo mare quo tellus leto cum germine fetus dantque foventque suos crebroque juvam ine prosunt humano generi profusa fertilitate, 1160 quo sensus rediit mentisque revanuit error! Raptus eram m ichimet quasi spiritus acta sciebam preteriti populi predicebam que futura. Tunc rerum secreta sciens volucrum que volatus stellarumque vagos motus lapsusque natantum , 1165 id me vexabat naturalem que negabat humane menti districta lege quietem. Nunc in me redii videorque vigore moveri quo vegetare meos animus consueverat artus. Ergo, summe pater, tibi sic obnoxius esse 1170 debeo, condignas ut digno pectore laudes dicam semper agens letus libam ina leta. Bis etenim tua larga manus michi profuit uni munere dando novum viridi de cespite fontem. Nam modo possideo latices quibus ante carebam 1175 et reducem capitis sumpsi potando salutem. U Ista set unde venit vis, o dilecte sodalis, ut fons iste novus sic effluit atque reformet me m ichi qui fueram quasi vecors hactenus ex m e?’ K Telgesinus ait, *Rerum m oderator opimus 1145 sui raptus H , siti raptus R , situ raptus J, T ; ad ampnes T . 1 146 timpora H , tympana R . 1 148 om. T . 1 155 famine laudis PP. 1 156 siderea C V , F , siderei J J P . 1157 germine C V , F , gramine B , M i, J J P tr.

LIF E OF M ERLIN

1 150

1 160

1170

!,5

as possible. M erlin sat down again on the grass when he had seen it and admired the place with its flow o f clear water, much taken with the w ay it rose from out o f the soil. A fter a while he felt thirsty and bent over the stream: he drank freely and bathed his temples in the water. As the liquid passed through the internal passages o f stomach and bowels and settled the humours o f his system, he suddenly recovered his m ental balance and cam e to himself, losing all trace o f madness. Feeling long dorm ant in him returned also; he became and remained the same man as he had been before— healthy and whole once more, now that his reason was restored. H e lifted his face towards the heavens in praise o f God and pro­ claim ed his praise aloud in this devout address: ‘ O king, by whom the frame o f the starry sky stands established; through whom the earth with happy seed and the sea give forth and cherish their children and provide for man repeatedly out o f their abundant fertility; by whose aid feeling has returned to me and the error o f m y mind has vanished! *I was taken out o f m y true self, 1 was as a spirit and knew the history o f people long past and could foretell the future. I knew then the secrets o f nature, bird flight, star wanderings and the w ay fish glide. This distressed me and, by a hard law , deprived me o f the rest that is natural to the human mind. Now I am m yself again, and I feel strong in me that life with which m y spirit had always filled m y limbs. ‘ So, father on high, for this I should be gratefully obedient to you, to proclaim your full praises from a full heart, happily bringing m y happy offerings. D oubly has your generous hand brought aid to me especially, in giving me a new spring from out o f the green earth. Now I have the waters that I needed, and by m y drinking o f them m y brain has regained its health once more. ‘ But, m y dear friend, whence comes the power that causes this new spring to break out and bring me, insane and deranged as I have been till now, back to m y own self?’ Said Taliesin: *The bountiful D irector o f the universe divided

1 157-9 om. PP. 1162 concinnabaA PP, praedicebam quae Vmq. 1 166 om. PP. 1168 arctus C V , artus H , R , J , B , M i, J J P tr, F. 1168- 1286 om. T . 1 169- 1286 om. H , R , J. 1176 inde GV , unde F (and, J J P tr) ; bis C V , vis B , M i, J J P tr, F.

8-a

Il6

VITA M E R L IN I

1 180

flum ina per species divisit et addidit ultro cuique suas vires ut prosint sepius egris. Sunt etenim fontes fluviique lacusque per orbem qui virtute sua multis et sepe medentur. A lbula namque rapax Rom e fluit amne salubri, 1 185 quem sanare ferunt certo m edicamine vulnus, f M anat in Italia fons alter qui Ciceronis dicitur. H ic oculos ex omni vulnere curat. 1 Ethiopes etiam stagnum perhibentur habere quo velut ex oleo facies perfusa nitescit. 1 1 9 0 Affrica fert fontem qui vulgo Zem a vocatur. Potus dat voces subita virtute canoras. U D at lacus Italie [dictonus] tedia vini. Q u i de fonte Chios potant perhibentur hebere, f Fertur habere duos tellus Beotica fontes. 1195 H ic facit inmemores, memores facit ille bibentes. Continet ipsa lacum tam dira peste nocivum ut generet furias nimieque libidinis estum. f Fons Cyzicus venerem venerisque repellit amorem, f Cam pana regione fluunt, ut dicitur, amnes 1200 qui faciunt steriles fecundas flumine poto. Idem dicuntur furias abolere virorum . Ethiopum tellus fert rubro flum ine fontem. Q ui bibit ex illo lim phaticus inde redibit. 1f Fons Leinus fieri numquam perm ittit abortum. 1205 Sunt duo Sycilie fontes, steriles facit alter, alter fecundans geniali lege puellas. Flum ina Thessalie duo sunt virtutis opime. H oc potans nigrescit ovis, candescit ab illo, ast ab utroque bibens variato vellere degit. 1 2 10 I Clitum nus lacus est quem continet U m brica tellus. H ic aliquando boves fertur producere magnos, inque R eatina fit equorum dura palude ungula confestim dum progrediuntur arenas. 1 Asphaltite lacu Judee corpora mergi 1 181 Cumqüë C V , Cuique B , M i, J J P tor, F . 1 190 Africa Gfr; zema C V , F , Zama J J P . 1 192 dictonus C V , Clitorius J J P . The emendation does not scan; the name was Clitörlus in Ovid, and the last syllable here is lengthened by tedia. Perhaps Geoffrey made the name a trisyllable by lengthening the middle (Clitöriüs), which would serve. 1193 habere C V , hebere J J P , F . Black and M ichel accepted C V ’s habere and thought a verse or more was missing. Parry’s correction is confirmed by Isidore’s

L IF E OF M ER LIN

1 180

1 190

1200

1210

II7

flowing waters into types and then allotted to each type its particular powers as a regular benefit for the sick. ‘ There are springs, rivers and lakes all over the world which constantly provide relief for m any through their special properties. T he health-giving waters o f the fast-flowing Tiber run through Rom e: men say they are a sure treatm ent to heal a wound. Another Italian source is called Cicero's Spring. This heals all kinds o f dam age to the eye. ‘ T he Ethiopians also are believed to have a pool which glistens like oil when poured over the face. A frica has a spring usually known as Zenur. drinking from it gives the voice an immediate sweetness o f tone. ‘ Lake Clitorius in Italy makes one tired o f wine. Those who drink from the spring Chios are said to grow dull. T he land o f Boeotia is said to have two springs, drinking from one o f which makes people forgetful : the other makes them remember. This same country contains a lake o f such terrible potency that it produces mad rage and an excessive lust. T he spring o f Cyzicus suppresses sexual activity and the desire for it. ‘ In the country o f Campania, it is said, flow rivers which make barren women fertile on their drinking from the stream. These rivers are also said to abate mad rages in men. T he land o f the Ethiopians has a spring w ith red waters. W hoever drinks o f it w ill come back raving. T h e spring Leinus always prevents miscarriages. Sicily has two springs, the first o f which induces sterility; but the other has the happy effect o f m aking girls fertile. ‘ T w o streams o f Thessaly have profound effects. A sheep drinking from one o f them turns black: if it drinks from the other, white. I f it drinks from both, it spends the rest o f its life with a m ottled fleece. ‘ T he lake Clitumnus is one found in the land o f U m bria: it is said that it sometimes produces great oxen; and in the Reatine Marshes horses’ hooves become suddenly hard as they make their w ay across the sands. In the Asphalt Lake o f Judaea bodies cannot sink at all as

hebetesfiant', the Boeotian springs follow in Isidore as here, and there is no lacuna. C f.N N C H IO S. 1 194 boetica C V , Beotica F . 1 195 immemores B , M i. 1 196 uotiuum C V , nocivum B , M i, J J P tr, F . 1198 syticus C V , Cyzicus J J P , F. (Emended after Isidore.) 1204 lentus C V , F , Leinus J J P . 1205 Sycilia SM , Siciliae F . 1214 A la id qüë C V , Asphaltite B , M i, J J P tr, F.

Il8

VITA MERLINI

1215 nequaquam possunt vegetat dum spiritus illa. IT A t contra stagnum Syden fert Indica tellus quo res nulla natat set m ergitur ilico fundo. H Et lacus est A loe quo res non m ergitur ulla, omnia set fluitant quamvis sint plum bea saxa. 1220H Fons quoque M arside com pellit saxa natare. Stix fluvius de rupe fuit perimetque bibentes. Has clades ejus testatur [achadia] tellus, f Fons Ydum eus quater inmutando diebus m ira lege suos fertur variare colores. 1225 Pulverulentus enim viridisque fit ordine verso. F it quoque sanguineus, fit limpidus amne decoro. E x hiis per ternos unum retinere colorem asseritur menses semper volventibus annis, f Trogoditis lacus est, ejus quoque profluit unda, 1230 ter fit am ara die, ter dulci grata sapore. H Epiri de fonte faces ardere feruntur extincte rursusque suum deponere lumen. 1f Sic algere die perhibetur fons Garam antum et vice transversa tota fervescere nocte, 1235 ut neget accessum pre frigore preque calore. Sunt et aque calide multos fervore minantes fervoremque trahunt dum perlabuntur alumen aut sulphur quibus est vis ignea grata medendi. His aliisque deus ditavit viribus amnes 1240 ut fierent egris subite m edicina salutis et manifestarent quanta virtute creator prem ineat rebus dum sic operatur in illis. Hos etiam latices summa ratione salubres esse reor subitamque reor conferre medelam 1245 nunc potuere novo sic erumpendo liquore. H ii modo sub terra per concava ceca fluebant, ut plures alii qui submanare feruntur. Forsitan excursus illorum prepediente obice vel saxi vel terre pondere lapse. 1250 Retrogradum cursum facientes arbitror illos 1216 sygen C V , F, Syden J J P . (Siden in Isidore.) 1220 maraidie C V , F (-iae), Marside J J P . (Isidore: Marsidaefons.) 1221 Styx Gfr; bidentes C V , bibentes SM , J J P tr, F . 1222 Hac M i; achadia C V , B , M i, F , Arcadia J J P . (See N N A C H A EA on this line, ‘ achadia’ and all variants present difficulty.) 1223 Idumea J J P . 1225 Pulverilentus C V , Pulverulentus B , M i.

L I F E OF M E R L I N

"9

long as life remains in them. O n the other hand, there is the pool Syden in the land o f India where things w ill not keep afloat but sink at once into the depths. It is the Aloe lake where no thing sinks and everything floats, even lumps o f lead. T he spring Marside also 1220 forces stones to swim. (T h e river Styx flows out o f a rock and kills those who drink o f it: Achaea is the witness o f such deaths. 'T h e spring o f Idumaea is said to change the colour o f its water four times over a period, by a rem arkable arrangem ent. It has a sequence o f m urky— then green— then blood-red; and it then turns into a beautifully lim pid flow. Each o f these phases is said to keep its colour for three months, year in year out. 'T h e Trogodytic lake is the one whose water comes out bitter 1230 three times a day, and three times w ith a pleasantly sweet taste. ‘ Torches which have gone out are said to catch light in the spring o f Epirus and, conversely, to give up their light. 'T h e springs o f the Garamantes are said to be so cold by day, but so hot all night by contrast, that it is not possible to get near on account o f the cold or the heat. There are also warm waters whose heat is a danger to m any people. These waters acquire their heat as they pass through alum or sulphur: these two contain a principle o f fire, a welcome property in treatment. ' God assigned to waters these and other properties to bring quick 1240 relief to the sick and to demonstrate the power and greatness o f the Creator in nature, in working thus within it. ‘ I consider these waters here to be health-giving in the highest degree, also, and, I consider, they were able to effect that sudden cure ju st now because the new stream broke out in the following w ay. Previously these waters were flowing underground through lightless caverns, like very m any others which are said to run there below. Perhaps their emergence is due to the presence o f an obstruc­ 1250 tion, or a fall o f stones or earth; and I expect that they were finding

1229 Rogotis C V , F (‘ Déformation de Tröglödytis, métriquement impossible’), Trogdytus J J P , Trogodiiis BC. (Isidore’s MSS have trogoditis, -ytis, and trocoditis.) 1232 componere J J P . 1233 Sic C V , Sed F . 1236 multaefervore manantes F. 1245 potuisse F .

120

1255

1260

1265

2 70 !

1275

1280

1285

VITA MERLINI

paulatim penetrasse solum fontemque dedisse. Sic plures m anare vides iterum que redire sub terram rursusque suas tenuisse cavernas.’ Hec ita dum gererent, rumor discurrit ubique in Calidone novum silvis erumpere fontem sanatumque virum , postquam potavit ab illo, tempore qui m ulto rabie corruptus et isdem extiterat silvis ritu vivendo ferarum. M ox igitur venere duces proceresque videre et colletari curato flumine vati. Cum que statum patrie per singula notificassent atque rogaretur sua sceptra resumere rursus et tractare suam solito moderamine gentem, sic ait, ‘ O juvenes, mea non hoc exigit etas in senium vergens que sic m ichi corripit artus ut vix preteream laxatis viribus arva. Jam satis exegi longevo tempore letos glorificando dies, michi dum rideret habundans copia magnarum profuse dividarum . Roboris annosi silva stat quercus in ista quam sic exegit consumens cuncta vetustas ut sibi deficiat succus penitusque putrescat. H anc ego cum primum cepisset crescere vidi et glandem de qua processit forte cadentem, dum super astaret picus ramumque videret. H ic illam crevisse sua jam sponte videbam singula prospiciens, tunc et verebar in istis saltibus atque locum memori cum mente notavi. Ergo diu vixi, mea me gravitate senectus detinuit dudum. Rursus regnare recuso. M e Calidonis opes viridi sub fronde manentem delectant pocius quam quas fert India gemme, quam quod habere Tagus per littora dicitur aurum , quam segetes Sicule, quam dulcis M ethidis uve, aut celse turres, aut cincte menibus urbes aut fraglascentes T irio m edicamine vestes. Res m ichi nulla placet que me divellere possit ex Calidone mea me judice semper amena. 1251 1261 1264 1276 que je

degisse M i. prime C V , patriae B , M i, patrie J J P . exigat B . suo iam pene sedebam C V , F (suo jam paene: 'T exte sans doute altéré, ne sais comment rétablir.’), sua iam sponte videbam J J P . Parry's suggestion is

L I F E OF M E R L I N

121

their w ay back to their proper course when they gradually seeped through the soil and provided the spring. Y ou see m any which flow out like that, to return underground and keep within their own caverns once m ore.' W hile they were thus engaged, the story was spreading every­ where about the new spring which had broken out in the woods o f Calidon and about the man who had been cured after drinking from it, though he had been deranged for a very long time and had been living in these same woods like a w ild anim al. Consequendy, chieftains and other leaders soon cam e to see and 1260 also to congratulate the prophet on being cured by the water. T hey told him in detail how matters stood in the country; and he was asked to resume his kingly position and continue his previous fair adm inistration o f his people. But he said, ‘ Young men, at m y time o f life this cannot be demanded o f me. I am now reaching old age, and it so enfeebles m y limbs that with m y slackened strength I can scarcely get across the fields. I have by now enjoyed a sufficiently long and happy period during which exceptional prosperity, with a liberal endowment o f wealth, has smiled on me. 1270 ‘ There stands in that wood an oak, rugged and full o f years, now so worn by the passing o f all-devouring tim e that its sap is failing and it is rotting through. I saw this tree when it had just begun to grow, and I saw the acorn from which it sprang as it chanced to fall, while a woodpecker perched above it and watched the branch. Here I have seen that acorn grow unaided, observing every detail. I felt a deep respect for it standing there in the clearing, and I marked the spot in m y memory. ‘ I have lived long, then, and by now the weight o f m y years has 1280 told on me. 1 w ill not reign again. W hile I rem ain under the green leaves o f Calidon, its riches shall be m y delight— a greater delight than the gems that India produces, or all the gold men say is found along the banks o f the Tagus, or the corn o f Sicily, or the grapes o f pleasant M ethis— more pleasing than high towers or w all-girt cities or clothes redolent o f T yrian scents. Nothing can please me so, nothing can tear me from m y Calidon, ever dear to me, I feel. Here

accepted here, but without strong conviction. He translates: 'I have seen it grow o f its own acco rd .. Black thought lines 1275-6 quite corrupt. 1284 situle C V , Siculae B , M i, F , sicule J J P . 1287 PP begins again, me que diuellere H , J , me que deuellere R , T . 1288 A calidone PP, B .

122

VITA M ER LIN I

H ic ero dum vivam pomis contentus et herbis, et mundabo meam pia per jejunia carnem ut valeam fungi vita sine fine perhenni.’ f H ec dum dicebat proceres super ethera cernunt agm ina longa gruum flexo per inane volatu [ordine girantes per littora certa videre 1295 posset in exstructa liquido super aere turma.] H ec adm irantes M erlinum dicere poscunt quid certe fuerat quod tali more volarent. 1 M ox M erlinus eis, V o lu cres, ut cetera plura, natura propria ditavit conditor orbis. 1300 Sic didici multis silvis habitando diebus. U Est igitur natura gruum dum celsa pererrant, si plures assint, ut earum sepe volatu aut hanc aut aliam videamus inesse figuram. U na modo clam ando monet servare volando, 1305 turbatus solitis ne discrepet ordo figuris, cui dum raucescit subit altera deficienti. Excubias noctis faciunt custosque lapillum sustinet in digitis dum vult expellere sompnos, cum que vident aliquos subito clam ore citantur. 1310 Penne nigrescunt cunctarum quando senescunt. H Ast aquile, que nomen habent ab acumine visus, obtuitus tanti pre cunctis esse feruntur ut perferre queant non flexo lumine solem. A d radium pullos suspendunt, scire volentes 1315 illo vitato ne degener exstet in illis. In montis sublime manent super equora pennis aspiciuntque suas im o sub gurgite predas. Ilico descendunt rapido per inane volatu et rapiunt pisces ut poscit origo natantis.

1290

1289 Hic heroduA uiuaA J. • 1291 H, R , J, T end here, and C V is the only M S for the rest o f the poem. T has the words, ‘ Am en.ffinis.Explicit.’ H, R , J continue with the Polychrom em text. pSf enni J . [ 1294-5] videri/possunt ex tructa J J P , videri /possunt, instructa F . Parry translates the passage, ‘ . . .the chiefs caught sight o f long lines o f cranes in the air, circling through space in a curved line in the shape of certain letters; they could be seen in marshalled squadron in the limpid air.* He comments, ‘ The “ ordine litterato” o f the corresponding passage in Isidore seems to require this meaning, although how Geoffrey expressed it I cannot see.* Faral’s suggestion does not touch the essential point about ‘ littera/littora’ . (He puts a colon before ordine and a comma after possunt.) A similar solution with a break before ordine would be a construction like, ‘ Ordine girant per quem littera certa videri / possit in exstructa, etc* A further possibility is that littora occurred in 1294 and the copyist slipped to the word after

L IF E OF M ERLIN

1290

1300

1310

12 3

I w ill be while I live, happy w ith fruit and herbs: and I w ill purify m y flesh w ith pious fasting, to enable me to enjoy endless ever­ lasting life.' W hile he was speaking, the chieftains caught sight o f long lines o f cranes passing in a curving flight across the sky. [They circled in an order by which a certain letter could be seen in the arrangem ent o f the flock in the liquid air above.] In astonishment the chieftains asked M erlin to tell them ju st w hy it was that the birds flew in this manner. A fter a moment M erlin said to them, ‘ T h e Creator o f the uni­ verse assigned to birds, as to m any other things, their own special nature: this I have learnt during the m any days o f m y life in the woods. So, then, the nature o f cranes is such that if large numbers are present during their flight, they dispose themselves, as we often see, in one or another arrangem ent. T h e call o f one among them serves to w arn them to keep the order o f flight and not to let the form ation break up and disrupt the traditional figure. W hen that bird grows hoarse and gives up, another one takes its place. T h ey keep watch at night; and the sentinel bird holds a pebble in its claw to make sure o f not falling asleep. W hen they see anybody, they rouse up with a sudden clam our. In all o f them the feathers turn black as they age. *Eagles, who get their name from their acute sight, are said to have vision so much more powerful than all other birds that they are capable o f staring at the sun without flinching. T h ey dangle their young in its rays in order to find out (by the avoidance o f the sunlight) whether there is one o f inferior constitution am ong them. T h ey hover over water at m ountain-top height and spot their prey in the deep under the surface. Then they im m ediately dive fast through space and seize the fish, as accords w ith the nature o f fish. littera in the next line, so dropping the end o f 1294 and the beginning o f the unknown line. 1300 sylvas B . 1304 modum.. .volandi B . 1306 Aut dum C V , cui dum B , J J P tr (?), F. 1316 in montis sullime C V , sublimi B , sublime SM , immotis sublime F . B noted on ‘ sullime’ : ‘ sic pro sublimi: dicimus Anglicè “ mountain-high’V J J P tr (no note o f which reading preferred) : ‘ over waters as high as the top o f a mountain’. F ’s immotis takes sublimé as the adverb. 1317 Aspirant que C V , Aspiciuntque B , J J P tr, F; uno sub C V , imo sub B , M i, J J P tr ,F . 1319 natantis C V (reported by F as ‘ patantis’), natantes M i, J J P tr, F . The meaning is that being eaten by birds is part o f the natural order o f things for the fish. M ichel’s emendation would mean that the natural law demands that fish be caught while swimming, an improbable emphasis. The participle o f nato was used from the time o f Virgil as a noun meaning fish: cf. VM 1164.

I 24

VIT A M ER LIN I

1320IÏ

Postposito coitu, sine semine sepe m ariti concipit et generat, dictu m irabile, vultur. H ec per celsa volans aquilarum more cadaver naribus elatis longe trans equora sentit, quod quamvis tardo non horret adire volatu 1325 ut sese valeat preda saciare cupita. Idem centenis robustus vivit in annis, f N untia veris avis crepitante ciconia rostro dicta fovere suos in tantum sedula natos exuat ut proprias nudato pectore plumas. 1330 H ec cum brum a venit fertur vitare procellas et fines Asie ductu com icis adire. Pascit eam pullus senio cum deficit etas quod depavit eum cum debuit ipsa diebus. Excedit volucres dulci modulamine cunctas 1335 cum m oritur cignus nautis gratissimus ales. H unc in Hiperboreo perhibent accedere tractu ad cantum cithare per littora forte sonantis, f Strucio que ponit sub pulvere deserit ova u t foveantur ibi dum negligat ipsa fovere. 1340 Inde creantur aves radio pro m atre cubante. Tf A rdea cum pluvias tempestatesque perhorret evolat ad nubes ut tanta pericula vitet. H inc illam subitos dicunt portendere nimbos sublimem quociens spectant super ethera naute. 13 4 5 I U nica semper avis divino munere phénix in terris Arabum redivivo corpore surgit. Cum que senescit, adit loca fervidiora calore solis et ingentes ab aromate jungit acervos componitque rogum quem crebris motibus ale 1350 succendit, ferturque super penitusque crem atur. Producit volucrem pulvis de corpore facta, et fit item phénix hac lege novata per evum. N idificare volens fert cinnomon cinomolgus edificatque suum procero robore nidum. 1355 Illinc pennatis homines abducere telis moverunt cumulum soliti transmittere venum. Alcion avis est que stagna m arina frequentat 1333 Quod CV, Quot F ; iam CV , cum J J P . 1338 Strucio CV , F , struthio B , Gjfr, J J P tr. 1339 negligit B , F . 1351 facto C V , fo eta B , M i, J J P tr, F .

L IF E OF M ERLIN

1320

1330

1340

1350

I 25

‘ T h e female vulture avoids intercourse and often (strange to tell) conceives and produces young without fertilization by a mate. She flies high, like the eagle, and with nostrils distended senses a corpse far o ff across the sea. H er flight is slow, but not through revulsion, as she goes over to it to fill herself on the prey that satisfies her. This same bird lives to a hundred years in full vigour. ‘ T he stork's croaking voice is a messenger o f spring. This bird is said to look after its young with such extrem e devotion that it strips its breast bare by pulling out the feathers. W hen winter comes, these birds are said to avoid the storms by flying o ff to the shores o f Asia, with a crow as guide. Its chick feeds it when it grows weak in age, because it fed the chick at the period when it needed that care. ‘ T he swan surpasses all other birds in the sweetness o f its song when it is dying. It is a bird much welcomed by sailors. M en say that in the H yperborean region this bird w ill approach close, at the sound o f a guitar happening to be played along the shore. ‘ T he ostrich deserts her eggs, but lays them under the sand so that they m ay be looked after when she herself is no longer looking after them. So it happens that these birds are hatched b y the sun instead o f by their mother. ‘ W hen the heron is afraid o f rains and tempests, it flies up into the clouds to avoid such dangers. So when sailors see it flying high into the sky they say it is a warning o f imminent rain-storms. ‘ In A rab lands the ever-unique phoenix rises with a renewed body, by a divine dispensation. W hen it is growing old, it goes to a place which has been heated up by the sun. There it makes a great heap o f spices and builds a pyre which it kindles into flam e by rapidly fluttering its wings. It settles itself on top and is com pletely con­ sumed. T h e ash from its body creates a bird, and in this fashion the phoenix is renewed for ever. ‘ T he cirmamolgus fetches cinnamon when it wants to nest, and it builds its nest on a high trunk. M en set themselves to knock the heap down from there w ith feathered projectiles, their custom being to send it for sale. ‘ The halcyon is a bird which haunts sea-shore pools and builds its

1353 cinom cinomolgus CV , emnamum cinnamologus B , cinnamon M i, J J P tr, cinnamon cinomolgus F . 1354 pro cero CV, procero B , Gfr, F , pro certo J J P . 1357 Aldon C V (Aleion, according to B , M i), Halcyon B , Alcion M i, F.

126

VIT A M E R L IN I

edificatque suos hiem ali tempore nidos. Dum cubat, equora sunt septem tranquilla diebus 1360 et venti cessant tempestatesque remisse inpendunt placidam volucri fam ulando quietem . H Psitacus humanam proprio modulamine vocem dum non spectatur prorsus proferre putatur. Intermiscet ‘ a ve’ verbis et ‘ chere’ jocosis. 1365 H Est pelicanus avis pullos consueta necare et confusa tribus lugere dolore diebus. Denique supposito laniat sua corpora rostro et scindens venas educit sanguinis undas, et vite reduces reddit rorando volucres. 1370 Dum Diomedee lacrim osa voce resultant et faciunt planctus subitam portendere mortem dicuntur regum vel m agna pericula regni. Cum que vident aliquem discernunt ilico quid sit, barbarus an Grecus, nam Grecum plausibus ale 1375 et blandimentis adeunt leteque resultant. Circueunt alios pennisque feruntur iniquis horrentique sono velut hostes agrediuntur. Memnonides quinto semper dicuntur in anno Memnonis ad tumulum longo remeare volatu 1380 et deflere ducem Troiano M arte peremptum. Fert quoque m irandam splendens hircinea pennam nocte sub obscura que fulget ut ignea lampas, atque m inistrat iter si preportetur eunti. Quando nidificat devellit ab arbore picus 1385 clavos et cuneos quos non divelleret ullus, cujus ab impulsu vicinia tota resultant.’ 1f

1390

His igitur dictis, quidam vesanus ad illos accessit subito, seu sors conduxerat illum . Terrifico clam ore nemus com plebat et auras et quasi sevus aper spum abat bella minando. O cius ergo virum capiunt secumque sedere cogunt ut m oveat risusque jocosque loquendo. Inspiciens igitur vates attentius illum , 1367 1372 1373 1378 1379 1381

M i printed this line after 1389; apparently a printing error. D icentur M i. quis sit M i. Mennonides C V , F , M em nonides B , J J P tr. Mennonis C V , F , M em nonis B , J J P tr. drcinea C V , eircanea B , Hercynia J J P , hircinea F .

LIFE

1360

1370

1380

1390

OF M ER LIN

12 7

nests during the winter. W hile it is hatching, the sea is calm for seven days, the wind falls and storms die and hold off, to provide peace and quiet for the bird. ‘ T h e parrot is thought to produce human speech in its own tones, when not looked at directly: it mixes “ H allo’* and “ H ow d’you d o ?” w ith funny remarks. ‘ T h e pelican is a bird which usually kills its brood and laments for three days in a confusion o f grief. Finally it pecks at its own body w ith its beak, cutting into the veins and letting out streams o f blood with which it sprinkles the young birds and brings them to life. ‘ W hen the diomeds em it their mournful cry o f lam entation, they are said to be foretelling the sudden death o f kings or great dangers to the kingdom. W hen they see anyone, they can tell at once what kind he is— a barbarian or a Greek. T h ey approach a Greek play­ fully, flapping their wings and chirruping happily. T h ey circle the others and make hostile dives, going at them with a fierce cry as at enemies. ‘ The memnonids are said to undertake a long flight every fifth year to the tomb o f M emnon, to mourn for the prince who was killed in the Trojan war. ‘ T he splendid hercynia grows a wonderful feather which on a dark night burns like a lamp-flame and lights the w ay if carried in front o f a traveller. ‘ W hen the woodpecker is nesting, it pulls out o f the tree nails and wedges that no-one has been able to dislodge, and the place around resounds w ith its blows.* As he finished speaking, a madman cam e up to them un­ expectedly— or perhaps fate had brought him. H e filled the forest air with a terrible noise, made threatening gestures and foamed at the mouth like a wild boar. T h ey quickly caught this man and m ade him sit down, to get some laughter and jokes out o f w hat he would say. T he bard looked at him more attentively, realized who he was, and gave a deep sigh which cam e right from his heart, saying:

1384 dioellit B , M i. B and M i may be right, but divelleret in 1385 is not directive. It is less rare, but less precise for what the woodpecker is doing, viz., plucking(de-) rather than tearing (rfi-). (Cf. readings in line 1287.) 1385 Claveos M i. 1388 ceufors B .

128

VIT A M E R L IN I

quis fuerit recolit gemitumque reducit ad imo 1395 pectore, sic dicens, 'N on hec fuit ejus ym ago olim , dum nobis juvenilis floruit etas. Pulcher enim fortis fuerat tunc tempore miles et quem nobilitas regumque ferebat origo. Hunc mecum pluresque simul tunc dives habebam , 1400 totque bonis sociis felix censebar eramque. A ccidit interea dum venarem ur in altis montibus Argustli nos devenisse sub una que patulis ramis surgebat in aera quercu. Fons ibi m anabat viridi circum datus herba, 1405 cujus erant latices humanis haustibus apti. Ergo siti pariter correpti sedimus illic et fontis puros avide libavim us amnes. Deinde super teneras solito conspeximus herbas in rivo fontis redolentia poma jacere. 1410 M ox ea collegit qui primus adiverat iste porrexitque michi subito pro munere ridens. Ergo distribui data pom a sodalibus et me expertem feci quia non suffecit acervus. Riserunt alii quibus im pertita fuerunt 1415 meque vocant largum cupidis quoque faucibus illa agrediendo vorant et pauca fuisse queruntur. N ec m ora, corripuit rabies miserabilis istum et cunctos alios qui m ox ratione carentes more canum sese lacerant mordendo vicissim. 1420 Stridunt et spumant et humi sine mente volutant. Denique digressi sunt illinc, more lupino complentes vacuas miseris ululatibus auras. H ec m ichi non illis velut estimo poma dabantur, postmodo seu didici, nam tunc in partibus illis 1425 una fuit m ulier que me dilexerat ante et mecum multis venerem saciaverat annis. H anc, post quam sprevi secumque coire negavi, u t me dam pnaret rapuit mox leva voluntas, cum que movens aditus alios reperire nequiret, 1430 apposuit fonti superillita dona veneni 1403 surgebant C V , surgebat B , M i, J J P tr, F . 1410 adheserat C V , F {-aes-), adspexerat J J P , adiverat (?) BC. Parry’s emendation does not scan. I do not know how Faral would render C V ’s reading. I f adiverat were right, the MS reading could have been due to a mis-hearing in dictation to a copyist. 1424 tea B , Gfr.

I29

L IF E OF M ER LIN

1400

1410

1420

1430

"This was not how he once looked when we were in the flower o f our youth. A t that time he was a strong handsome soldier, in whom the nobility o f royal descent was patent. I had him and m any others as the companions o f m y prosperity: I was considered to be lucky, and I was, to have such good friends. ‘ O ne day we happened to be hunting in the high mountains o f Arwystli and cam e to a spot under an oak whose spreading branches stretched towards the sky. A spring was flowing there in a circle o f green grass: its w ater was good for drinking. A ll o f us were parched; so we sat and drank greedily o f the pure spring stream. Then we saw fragrant apples lying on the soft grass o f the fam iliar bank o f the spring. T h e man who had first com e upon them quickly gathered them and gave them to me, laughing over our unexpected present. I handed the gift o f apples round m y friends but left m yself without any, because the pile was not large enough. Those who had received apples laughed and called me generous. Then they eagerly fell to and ate them up, com plaining that there were so few. ' In a moment a pitiable madness seized this man here and all the others. Soon they were out o f their minds, bit and scratched each other like dogs, screamed, foamed at die m outh and rolled demented on the ground. Then they dispersed and went off, filling the air with their pidftd howlings, like wolves. ‘ I think that these apples had been a gift intended for me, not for them ; and I later learnt that this was so. A t that time there was living in those parts a wom an who had previously been attached to me and had fulfilled her love w ith me for m any years. A fter I had discarded her and refused to cohabit with her, she soon developed a vicious determ ination to harm m e; and when her scheming had failed to discover any other approach, she placed the poisonsmeared gift at the spring by which I was to return, intending by

1428 dampanaret C V , dampnaret BC. Editors have not changed C V ’s reading. As the ending is normally -âret, and as elsewhere in V M dampn- is usual, it is changed here. 1429 monens C V , movens B , M i, J J P hr, F . 1430 super illita C V , superillita BC. Cf. VM 895 n. L it., 'smeared gifts o f poison'; veneno is a possible correction.

9

CLM

I 30

1435

1440 f

1445

1450 H

1455

1460 K

1465

VITA MERLINI

quo rediturus eram, meditans hac arte nocere si fruerer pomis in gramine forte repertis. A t me sors m elior sic conservavit ab illis, ut modo predixi. Set eum compellere queso hoc de fonte novo limphas potare salubres, ut si forte suam possit rehabere salutem se cognoscat item mecumque laboret in istis saltibus in domino dum postera vita m anebit.' Sic igitur fecere duces, sumptoque liquore redditur ille sibi qui vecors venerat illuc cognovitque suos subito curatus amicos, Tunc M erlinus ait, ‘ T ib i nunc constanter eundum est in agone Dei qui te tibi reddidit ut nunc ipsemet inspectas, qui per deserta tot annis ut fera vixisti sine sensu turpis eundo. Ne modo diffugias frutices ratione recepta aut virides saltus quos jam lim phando colebas, set mecum maneas ut quos tibi surripiebat vis verunca dies iterum reparare labores obsequio domini. Q uod erit per singula mecum, ex hoc nunc commune tibi dum vivit uterque.’ Ergo sub hoc M aeldinus ait, nam nomine tali dictus erat, ‘ Non hoc, pater o venerande, recuso. Letus enim tecum silvas habitabo deumque tota mente colam tremulos dum rexerit artus spiritus iste meos quem te doctore piabo.' ‘ Sic et ego faciam vobiscum tercius auctus,’ Telgesinus ait, ‘ despecto them ate mundi. Jam satis exegi vivendo tempore vane et nunc tempus adest quo me michi te duce reddam. Vos set abite, duces, urbes defendere vestras. Non decet ut nostram vestro sermone quietem a modo turbetis. Satis applausistis am ico.’ Discedunt proceres. Rem anent tres et Ganieda quarta soror vatis, sumpta quoque denique vita. D ucebat vitam regis post fata pudicam . Q ue modo tot populos indicto ju re regebat, nunc cum fratre sibi silvis nil dulcius exstat. H anc etiam quandoque suus rapiebat ad alta 1449 uerunca C V , F,fitriosa J J P , mimica Oldfather ap. J J P . B annotates ‘ id est v iro sa without further comment: virosa means foul in a slimy way. Verrunco is a verb with a religious use meaning ‘ to turn’ ; with bene, it indicates turning out well.

L IF E OF M ERLIN

1440

1450

1460

*3*

this trick to cause me distress, should I happen to find the apples in the grass and eat them. A happier chance preserved me from them, as I have ju st explained. But now, I beg you, get this man to drink the clear healing water from this spring so that, if he is capable o f recovering his sanity, he m ay do so and come to himself. Then he can work with me in the Lord among these groves for the rem ainder o f his life.’ So the nobles did this, and, when he had taken the water, the man who had arrived mad recovered; and the moment he was cured, he recognised his friends. Then M erlin said, ‘ You who have for m any years lived and gone about the w ild places like a beast, without a sense o f shame, you must now continue steadfastly in the service o f G od, who has restored you to being the man you now see you are. And now that you have your reason back, do not flee from the green groves you haunted in your derangement, but stay with m e: then you m ay make up for all the tim e stolen from you by the distorting m ania, in the service o f the Lord. AU I have I shall share with you from now on as long as each o f us m ay live.’ T o this M aeldin— that was his name— replied, ‘ Venerable father, this is not a thing I refuse. I w ill gladly stay w ith you in the woods and serve God with m y whole mind as long as m y trem bling limbs are governed by that vital spirit for which I shall give thanks under your guidance.' ‘ I too shall stay with you and make the third,' said Taliesin, ‘ turning aw ay from the traffic o f the world. I have spent long enough in em pty living; now the time has come to recover myself, and you shall lead me. ‘ But you, m y lords, aw ay to defend your cities! It is wrong that you should disturb our quiet w ith your talk. Y ou have acclaim ed our friend enough.’ T he chieftains departed. T he three rem ained, and w ith them a fourth— Ganieda, the prophet’s sister, who had finally taken to their w ay o f life also. She had been leading a retired life since the death o f the king. She who till now had been the queen o f a large nation under the appointed law , now found nothing pleasanter than living in the woods w ith her brother. She, too, was from time to time

I f it is connected with C V ’s 0erunca, this (unqualified) might convey *distorting* when applied to vis. M i and F print vis oerunca without comment. 1461 defendite B . 1465 vitta F.

9-2

I 32

VIT A M ER LIN I

1470 spiritus u t caneret de regno sepe futura. IT Ergo die quadam cum fratris staret in aula inspiceretque domus radiantes sole fenestras, edidit has dubias dubio de pectore voces, f ‘ Cerno Ridichenam galeatis gentibus urbem 1475 im pletam sacrosque viros sacrasque tyaras nexibus addictos, sic consiliante juventa. [Pastor in excelsa m irabitur edita turris et reserare sui cogetur futile dam pni.] f Cerno K aerloytcoyt vallatam m ilite sevo 1480 inclusosque duos quorum divellitur alter ut redeat cum gente fera cum principe vallis et vincat rapto sevam rectore catervam . Heu, quantum scelus est capiant ut sidera solem cui stillabuntur nec vi nec m arte coacta. 1485 Inspicio binas prope Kaerwen in aere lunas gestarique duos nim ia feritate leones inque duos homines unus m iratur et alter in totidem pugnam que parant et cominus astant. Insurgunt alii quartum que ferocibus armis 1490 acriter obpugnant nec prevalet ullus eorum. Perstat enim clipeum que movet telisque repugnat et victor ternos confestim proterit hostes im pellitque duos trans frigida regna Boote, dans alii veniam qui postulat. Ergo per omnes 1495 diffugiunt partes tocius sidera cam pi. Arm oricanus aper, quercu protectus avita, abducit lunam gladiis post terga rotatis. Sidera bina feris video committere pugnam colle sub Urgenio quo convenere D eyri 1500 Gewissique simul magno regnante Cohelo. O quanto sudore viri tellusque cruore 1469 suis C V , suus Vmq, F . Parry apparently retained ‘ suis’, translating ‘ so that she often prophesied to her friends’. The Latin order is difficult for this. 147a domos C V , domus J J P tr, B C ; fenestfä C V , F , fenestras J J F . Parry: ‘ the windows o f the house shining with the sun’, which requires domus, an emendation not apparently put forward; domos as a genitive is recorded, but as an affectation o f Augustus. Cf. V M 578 (singular), and V M 555 where the forest observatory is unam (sc., domum) remotam. 1477 Pastoris excelse J J P . This suggestion would make miro an active verb, which is pre- rather than post-classical usage. 1478 fic tile B , M i. Parry: ‘ possibly the reading o f the manuscript also’.

L I F E OF M E R L I N

*33

1470

exalted in spirit to sing often o f the future o f the kingdom. So, one day when she stood in her brother’s hall and gazed at the house and at its windows glittering in the sun, she uttered these dark sayings out o f a dark heart: *I see die city o f O xford filled with helmeted men, and holy men and holy bishops bound on the decision o f the Council. [The shepherd w ill look at the high batdements o f his casde and he w ill be forced to unlock it without advantage and to his own hurt.] I see 1480 Lincoln walled in by a fierce arm y and two men shut within. O ne o f them escapes, to return to the siege w ith a wild people and their chief to defeat the fierce host after capturing their commander. ‘ O w hat a terrible thing it is for stars to capture the sun, under which they sink down without the compulsion o f m ilitary force. I see two moons in the air near W inchester, and two lions acting with excessive ferocity; a man looking at two men, and another man at as m any again, and standing face to face in readiness for battle. T he others arise and make furious and bitter attacks on the fourth 1490 m an; but none o f them prevails. For he stands firm, holds out his shield while fighting back with his weapons, and suddenly emerges as the victor over his triple foes. H e drives two o f them across the frozen wastes o f the north, while granting the other one the pardon he begs. So the stars flee throughout the field. ‘ T he Boar o f Brittany, under the protection o f an antique oak, takes aw ay the moon, swords brandished behind backs. I see two stars battling with w ild beasts under the hill o f U rien, where the 1500 men o f D eira and the men o f Gwent came together in the reign o f • the great Coel. How the men drip with sweat and the ground flows

1479 kaerloyctoyc C V , F , Katrloytcqyt B C . Cf. H R B , Trin. M S 1125 §58, C oir L iâ t Coyt, and R B H has Caerlwytcoet. 1480 diueUiter C V , divellitur B , M i, J J P tr, F . 1484 nec arte B . Parry wished to accept Black’s suggestion, ’ but the metre forbids’. The change is not necessary. 1485 caerwent J J P , F (JT-). Caenvent is unacceptable metrically, though this (= Winchester, now Caer-wjm t) is the place meant. Since C V ’s ’ Kaerwen’ would sound like ‘ W hitecastle’ and this is a ’ prophetic’ passage anyway, it creates little difficulty. 1493 boetes C V , F , Boote B C . 1499 conuenire C V , convenere B , M i, J J P tr, F . 1501 qûinta C V , quanto B , M i, J J P tr, F .

I34

1505 f

1510

1515

f 1520

1525

VITA M ERLINl

m anat, in externas dum dantur vulnera gentes! Concidit in latebras collisum sydere sidus absconditque suum renovato lumine lumen. H eu, quam dira fames incum bit ut arceat alvos evacuatque suos populorum viribus artus. Incipit a Kam bris peragratque cacum ina regni, et miseras gentes equor transire cohercet. D iffugiunt vituli consueti vivere lacte vaccarum Scotie morientum clade nephanda. Iteque Neustrenses, cessate diutius arm a ferre per ingenuum violento m ilite regnum! Non est unde gulam valeatis pascere vestram. Consumpsistis enim quicquid natura creatrix fertilitate bona dudum produxit in illa. Christe, tuo populo fer opem, compesce leones, da regno placidam bello cessante quietem!* Non super hoc tacuit com m iranturque sodales germanusque suus, qui m ox accessit ad illam hocque modo verbis applaudens fertur amicis. ‘ Tene, soror, voluit res precantare futuras spiritus osque meum compescuit atque libellum ? Ergo tibi labor iste datur. Leteris in illo auspiciisque meis devote singula dicas.’ Duximus ad metam carmen. Vos ergo, Britanni, laurea serta date G aufrido de M onem uta. Est etenim vester, nam quondam prelia vestra vestrorumque ducum cecinit scripsitque libellum quem nunc Gesta vocant Britonum celebrata per orbem. 1502 gente C V , gentes M i, Ward, J J P tr, F. Black suggested that either externa. . . gente or externas.. .gentes should be read. 1505 ardeat J J P , arcuat F . Cf. VM 190 n. on ardeofarceo. 1506 suis B , F; arctus C V , artus B , J J P tr. 1512 ingenium C V , ingenuum B , M i, Ward, J J P tr, F.

L IF E OF M ERLIN

1510

1520

»35

w ith blood, as wounds are inflicted on foreigners! A star collides w ith another and falls into the shadow, hiding her own light when light is renewed. ‘ Alas for the terrible famine which falls on the people and grips their bellies and drains their limbs o f strength. It starts from W ales, goes out to the furthest parts o f the kingdom and forces the unhappy population to go overseas. T he calves flee that used to live on the m ilk o f Scottish cows now dying in the dread pestilence. ‘ Normans— go! No longer take your armies o f violent soldiery through our native kingdom. There is nothing left to fill your m aw: you have eaten up everything that creative nature has till now produced out o f her fertile bounty. 'C h rist, succour your people! Curb the lions, put a stop to war, and give the kingdom peace and quiet.' She did not end with this, and her friends listened in amazement. So also did her brother, who after a while went up to her and congratulated her in kindly words, saying, ‘ Sister, is it you the spirit has willed to foretell the future? H e has curbed m y tongue and closed m y book. Then this task is given to you. Be glad o f it, and under m y authority declare everything faithfully.' W e have brought the song to an end. So, Britons, give a laurel wreath to Geoffrey o f M onmouth. He is indeed your Geoffrey, for he once sang o f your battles and those o f your princes, and he wrote a book which is now known as the ' Deeds o f the Britons ’— and they are celebrated throughout the world.

1521 T e ne C V , tene M i, F. 1522 On 'libellum ’ (CV) F notes: *A corriger peut-être en labellum ’. 1524 deuota J J P . F as C V . 1526 monumeta C V , Monemuta M i, J J P tr, F. 1529 After VM 1529 in C V , in a later hand, ‘ Explicit vita Merlini Calidonii per Galfridum Monemutensem’.

TEXTUAL COMMENTARY

M A N U SCR IPTS AN D E D IT O R S : A B B R E V IA T IO N S Present

usage

M anuscripts

In other editions

CV

Cotton Vespasian E iv. (The full text)

H

Harley 655. (Partial: in copy o f Polychrom em )

R

Royal 13 E i. (As H)

J

Cotton Julius E viii. (As H)

T

Cotton Titus A xix. (Partial; secundum historiam policronicam , but not in a Polychrom em copy. Contains also the texts o f Lailokcn A and B )

PP

Agreements o f the readings o f H , R , J , T .

a

Cotton Cleopatra C iv. (Extracts, especially prophecies)

Parry: C Michel: C 1 Black: codex Parry:H Michel: H, a lter Parry: R Parry: J Parry: T Michel: C 3 Black: alter Parry: PP Parry: Cl Black: tertius

Ha

Harley 6148. (Extracts, prophecies)

Parry: Ha

Editors B

W . H . Black, 1830. (C V , T , C l; suggestions)

Parry: B

Mi

F. Michel and T . W right, 1837. (After B )

Parry: M Parry: G

G fi

A . F. Gfroerer, 1840. (Variations from Aft)

SM

San M arte (A. Schulz), 1853. (As G fi)

Parry: S

Vmq

H. de la Villem arqué: M yrdhism , 1863. (Quotations with amendments)

Parry: V

JJP

J. J. Parry, 1935. (Collation o f all M SS.) J J P tr = readings adopted by him for translation; J J P = Party’s own textual suggestions.

F

É . Faral, 1939. (C V text with own amendments)

BC

B. Clarke, 1973. (Present edition)

Parry: £

3 Robert de Chesney, bishop o f Lincoln 1148-63, once an Oxford colleague o f Geoffrey. See NN R O BER T. 4 'filled you w ith’. T he normal transferred sense o f perjundo; 'poured over’ { J J P tr) was a literal meaning. 8-9 'th at o th er.. .succeeded*. Bishop Alexander o f Lincoln, a leading prelatepolitician o f Stephen’s reign, died in 1148. The allusion is to a presumed disappointment o f patronage. The Prophecies o f M erlin, H U B Bk 7, were dedicated to him {H R B 7 .1 ) . NN, * Intro. 5 & 7 . 10-13 'clergy and people alike supported you’ . This echoes contemporary phrases on Robert’s appointment: see NN and * Intro. 7 .

13

'in the seventh heaven’. Lit., 'is carried to the stars’.

[>36]

T E X T U A L COMMENTARY

I37

14-15 Orpheus is mentioned also in V M 371. Little is known about the four poets: see N N . They were all contemporaries o f Ovid and are mentioned within a few lines of one another in O vid’s letters from Pontus, E x Panto, 4« 16, lines 5-6, 19, 24. (i) cum fo ret et M arsus magmque R abirius oris Iliacusque M acer; (ii) quique canit domitam Camerinus ab H ercule Troiam ; (iii) M arius scripti dexter in omne genus. This passage may have been used as a student’s mnemonic list; there are other poets included. Because he puts Rabirius, Macer and M arius together, Geoffrey was perhaps recalling it and slipped, since it is Marsus who goes with the other two. On the other hand, Marius is noted by O vid for his versatility, which fits the point in the dedication o f V M . magnique R abirius oris is o f course an exact quotation. This group o f poets tended to have an epic interest in the Trojan war and its preliminaries and consequences, which may have kept them in Geoffrey’s mind. 18 ‘ lyre*, cytharam. In connection with Muses, poetic diction calls for ‘ lute’ or ‘ lyre’. Evidently no precise instrument is meant by cythara; but as it is the word in V M 166 for the instrument, portable on mountains, used to accompany a popular style o f song, ‘ guitar’ is there a closer current equivalent, despite lire in V M 204. Geoffrey may have been thinking o f a zither or a type o f small Welsh harp— and the phrase in V M 168 might be an argument if the reading were firmer— but the guitar (from the Moors via Spain) is early, too. In V M 928 ‘ lyre’ is again appropriate for the cithara o f Morgen’s sister. See also V M 226, 1337 for the popular instrument. 21

On M erlin as king, see NN W ALES.

23-5 Parry thought this might be an allusion to a pillaging expedition by Aeddan (Aidan) shortly before the battle o f Arfderydd; but (p. 18) he took Aeddan to have been a participant in the batde, which is unlikely. The line may be poetic, not a pointer. Reference to a raid by Maelgwn in the previous generation precedes the description o f Arfderydd in stanza 6 ff. o f Tm ddiddan. 26-7 28

NN on these names. ‘ battle’ : see NN AR FD ER YD D .

34 ‘ three brothers o f the prince’. Sc., brothers o f Peredur, the only leader called dux (line 26), though, as Merlin is a king, the reference could just be to him. The point is relevant to the explanation o f the violence o f Merlin’s grief as presented. On this as a possible displacement, see * Intro. 1 (Celtic origins) on the sister’s son whom the M erlinM yrddin-Lailoken original may have killed at the time o f Arfderydd. Merlin’s grief speech does not refer to the dead men as brothers but as intimate friends {sodales). Peredur son of Eliffer (see NN) is normally credited with a brother Gwrgi. But in the reference to Arfderydd in Tmddiddan it is said, ‘ The seven sons o f Eliffer, seven heroes when put to proof, / They will not avoid seven spears in their seven divisions.’ This appears to mean that seven brothers o f Peredur fell at Arfderydd. The number cannot be taken as a serious tradition here because the writer is repeating ‘ seven’ and ’seven score’ in an incantatory way (‘ seven thrusting spears, seven rivers-ful.. .seven score generous ones’, etc.). In Triad 44 (see NN AR FD ERYD D ) the horse o f the sons o f Eliffer took Gwrgi and Peredur and Dunawd V w r and Cynfelyn Drwsgyl. The last two are considered cousins; this might lead to them being loosely listed as brothers in a poem; and the next stanza in Tmddiddan to that quoted mentions ‘ the seventh Cynvelyn’. The three brothers in V M seem most likely to be related to and drawn from these traditions o f the sons o f Eliffer. But there is also a hint o f a tradition about M yrddin’s brothers. Robert Vaughan’s notes on the Arfderydd Triad 84 ( T T P 9 209) give Rhydderch and Aeddan o f Dalriada as involved at Arfderydd, but they also mention the death o f Gwenddolau and the deaths with him o f the sons o f Morfryn, Merlin Caledonius’s brothers, named as Llywelyn, Gwgawn, Einiawn, Rhiwallawn. This a late commentator’s note ; but the names are also in lines 50-1 o f the poem PeirianFaban (Jarman, 1951).There is uncertainty whether there is any connection, real or verbal, between this Rhiwallawn and Aidan mac Gabrain’s alleged grandson Rigullôn: see T T P f 2 6 4 a . 65 ff.

Merlin’s initial grief: see note to V M 34.

138 78 ff.

LIF E OF MERLIN Forest food: see NN CALID O N .

80 Man of the Woods, silvester homo. The only occurrence o f silvester in V M . Classically it meant both ‘ woodland’, ‘ growing or living wild* (bulls in Pliny) and ‘ rural, pastoral’ (Virgil, E clogues). C f. Ealadhan’s title Fer C a illi, Man o f the Wood, in B S 46. 84 Winter complaint. Distress through exposure is common in the earliest wild-man stories and among ascetics. Complaints about it are a feature o f ascetic poetry in the Celtic province. See Williams, 1925, 1926; E C N P , including xn, xvm (Irish, twelfth century); Meyer, 1901. 87 C eli Christe deus. Parry said that ‘ Celi D uw’ became a common Welsh title for the Deity, coeli losing its meaning and being considered equivalent to ‘ G od’. 90 Apple trees. Apple trees are a main feature o f the chief Myrddin poem, A fallennau , but they are not said to provide Myrddin with food. See NN CA LID O N , M AELD IN , M O RGEN , FO R TU N A T E ISLE. No significance has been attached to the number nineteen. 102 ff. Wolf. Desert ascetics had animal familiars round their cell sometimes, but not usually in the wild. Cf. Hoianau for O ian a parchellan, Myrddin’s address to his pig. Liban had an otter which followed her on her sea wanderings before she became M uirgein: NN M ORGEN . C f. E C N P x x x (Irish). 1 14 ff. The finding o f Merlin by a royal messenger at a spring is parallelled in the L ife o f the Breton saint Gurthiem, written by 1130: see NN V O R T IG E R N and *In tro. 1 . 122 Ganieda. See NN, * Intro. 1 (Celtic origins) and • Intro. 2 (twelfth century/Exotic sources). 132 nemoris Calidom s. NN CA LID O N . Coed Celyddon was Myrddin’s hiding-place in the Welsh tradition. 134

‘ oak trees’, robora usually meant hard oaks, but could be any stout-trunked trees.

154 punka m ala. These would be pomegranates in Pliny, but the adjective was a common colour adjective, like punkeus, in classical poetry, and it here means the russet colour o f apples. 170-97 The messenger’s song. See NN G U EN D O LO EN A, and cf. the funeral oration for Rodarch, 693-727 and Text. Comm. 174 Privet petal, fo lium lig u stri. Parry noted that ligustrum seemed to have come to mean ‘ primrose’ in the Middle Ages. But he translated here as ‘ privet’, correctly since the flowers are illustrating whiteness (candor; cf. nivee quoque gloria cam is in line 180). Some coloured roses from southern Europe and further east perhaps came through the crusades (the rose in V M 717 blushes) ; but Ausonius had red roses in Gaul in the fourth century. The common natives in Britain would be Rosa arvensis (the field or white dog-rose) and Rosa alba (the origin o f ‘ Isle o f Albion’ according to Pliny; later, the York rose). Lilies, too, are native. Possibly lilia p rati here refers to the lily of the valley (C onvallaria). L ilium candidum was an East Mediterranean import and would always have been a garden flower. The biblical ‘ lilies of the field* were by definition coloured, and perhaps another plant altogether. Alexander Neckam (D e naturis rerum) noted the rose and lily, with paeony, heliotrope, violet, as garden-cultivated flowers in the late twelfth century, among many herbs. Neckam knew the religious symbolism o f the red rose and used it in his poetic work, D e laudibus. 190 ‘ grips them’, arcet conveys inhibition, and it fits the tone o f this description o f grief well. Cf. V M 1505, arceat alvos, ‘ grips their bellies’, and V M 957, where it is used o f Arthur stopping Saxon incursions. T ’s ardet (Parry and Faral) is less satisfactory here, but ardent seems right for V M 196. 191-5 These examples o f womanly sorrow are in fact all different from Guendoloena’s case and from one another, but it does not matter. The allusions are to O vid’s H eroidesy Letters 7 (Dido), 2 (Phyllis) and 3 (Briseis). Dido, a widow, writes not without thought for

T E X T U A L COMMENTARY

I39

the practical advantages Aeneas has left, before she dies. ‘ Sidonian’ : Sidon was con­ sidered the mother city o f the Phoenicians, who built Carthage. The adjective survives in a Spanish ducal tide: Medina Sidonia. Phyllis was queen of Thrace, Demophoon son o f Theseus. Her tone is o f distressed grief for Demophoon’s failure to come. She dies. Briseis is Hippodamia, daughter of Brises and captive o f Achilles, taken by Agamemnon, and cause o f Achilles' wrath. Her letter is reproachful, urging Achilles to action, and, though distressed, she is hopeful. 212-54

The king’s court. See * Intro. 1 on the relation to the court o f Meldred in

Lailoken B .

235 Wayland. See NN W AYLAN D , SEG O N TIU M . The line could be an interpola­ tion: the Polychromeon MSS left it out, and their reading for the beginning o f line 234 is different. 254fr. The adultery o f the queen, Ganieda: s e e 0Intro. 2 (twelfth century/Exotic sources). Lailoken B (in Appendix I) is the more immediate source, or its parallel. In Jocelin’s L ife o f Kentigem , a generation later, there is a variant involving the loss o f a ring and its recovery from a salmon. 287 Approval and disapproval’, culpandus sim ul et laudandus. Compare the antitheses in the Lailoken B riddles. 305fr. The triple-death prophecy. See *Intro. 1, Jackson (1940) and Text. Comm., 684. Forms o f the m otif occur in the Lailoken stories and in Jocelin’s K entigem . Lailoken A refers to Lailoken’s death as by a fall, piercing by a stake and drowning. Lailoken B refers in the final couplet to Merlin suffering by a stone (sc., the fall), being pierced by a stake and suffering by water. Ealadhan (B S 44-50) predicts for himself and suffers a double death; he cam be seen as sharing an Irish-type triple death with Suibhne. O n the probable influence on VM of Hildebert’s poems, see * Intro. 2 (twelfth century/ Exotic) ; in the early period the snake-bite seems known only in Hildebert. Parry (pp. 119ft) quoted Turn Gelwydd Teg (Tom o f the Fine Lies) as a fifteenth century Glamorgan example o f the triple-death prophecy; the deaths were by adder bite, falling and breaking the neck, and drowning. He also mentioned his paper (Parry, 1924) on how a m otif can become attached to a minor character later; his example is about Excalibur. 345ft The queen’s attempt to hoodwink Rodarch is paralleled in Lailoken B . There, however, Meldred rejects his wife’s arguments, and she then plots Lailoken’s death. 356 abcessum = (rr.) abscessum, but Parry:* ordered Guendoloena.. .to come to make him desist’ . 365-75 Both omissions in PP (lines 366-7 and 369-73) may be interpolations in C V . T he latter, 369-73, certainly changes the tone (n o lo .. . pecudem , etc., in reference to his wife), and line 374’s mundus ab alterutro is a curious remark. Parry: ‘ probably corrupt’ . T he main manuscript has paragraphing signs before 368 and 375, as often at the beginning o f speeches. The original may have run: 365, 368, 375 ff. This would give paragraphing signs by adjacent lines: it does occur once elsewhere, but not against a speech. But these signs may well not precede this copying. The translation given is speculative. Virgin9s U m (370). Perhaps a reference to Aqua Virgo, a spring discovered by a girl and brought to Rom e by aqueduct : later the Trevi Fountain. M . Vipsanius Agrippa, the naval commander at Actium and an intimate o f Augustus, did much reconstruction at Rome and built Aqua Virgo. Orpheus and Eurydice (371-3). The detail about the boys and baskets does not seem known. In the telling of the Orpheus-Eurydice story in Georgies 4 . 453-547 there is a line (506) illa quidem Stygia nabat iam frigida cumba; it , too, may be an interpolation (O. Ribbeck, ed., 1895). 424-8 This precise description o f a particular type o f night sky is not known to be other than original. The Polychronicon writers omit the second part of it, however, whether from desire for brevity in quotation or because it is an interpolation in the main M S.

I4O

L I F E OF M E R L I N

431 ff. This is not part o f the prophecies but a reading o f the present from star-study. The end o f M erlin’s second prophetic speech (1128-35) » reminiscence ending with the same two kings. See NN CO N STA N TIN E (= Custennin Gomeu) and NN (Aurelius) CO N AN . The latter is to be distinguished from the traditional deliverer-to-come, Conan Meiriadoc. Aurelius Conan lasted two years in the H R B (11.5 ) scheme and was succeeded by Vortipor. Geoffrey (H R B 11. 2) dated Arthur’s death to 542, and gave Constantine a reign o f three years after his subjugation of Modred’s sons. So if Geoffrey had believed rigidly in his H R B dating framework and kept it sharply in mind while writing a rom anticspiritual poem fourteen years later, he would be placing Merlin’s present, as he divined and prophesied here, circa 547 or a little later. Neither assumption is a sound one; and the post-Arfderydd references and the description o f the building o f Merlin’s houses ( V M 565-6) and his next period in the forest place this present part of the poem somewhere between 574 (a year after Arfderydd) and 611 (a year before Rhydderch’s death). It is unnecessary to be interested in this dilemma. It merely shows the irrelevance o f dates to the context, apart from the unsurprising sidelight it throws on Geoffrey’s information that he felt vaguer about later sixth-century North British history than he did about Arthur. It is of interest that the MSS o f V M which are found in Polychronicon M SS are there placed between the years 525 and 533. This may reflect only the influence on chroniclers of Geoffrey’s stitching together o f the eras o f the two Merlins, p o in d (435) is another uncle, not Constantine but his heir (H R B 11.5 ). 451-70 (1) Stag-riding. There are Celtic parallels o f power over stags, etc., but the origin is unclear. Muirgein (NN M ORGEN) had ridden behind two wild stags, and there was a beastlike herd in T he voyage o f M aeldtdn . Suibhne rode on antler-points (B S 40) : this, however, was not part o f the story but in the verse elaboration. The stags are un­ connected with his wife; and antler-point riding is a verbal play in the Gaelic (fe r benn = man o f the peaks/antier-points). This example may well be directly derivative from V M . The Lady o f the Fountain (M abinogion , Jones and Jones, 1948) has a one-eyed giant black herd with a power over stags, but he does not ride them. There is a giant herd in Chrétien’s Yvaw, and Paton (1907) noted later parallels: a fifteenth-century giant herd (German) actually rode a stag to battle. (2) Guendoloena’s wedding. Her new bridegroom is unknown. The comparable situation in A ? is Suibhne’s visit to his wife Eorann when she is dwelling with Guaire mac Congail, one o f the two said to have an equal claim to Suibhne’s abandoned kingdom (B S 31). M arriage is not mentioned, but in the verse (B S 32) there is a reference by Suibhne to her lover and wooer. She then expresses continuing affection for Suibhne. On a second visit (B S 55, after the Scottish trip) he refuses her invitation to enter and she dismisses him. There is no reference to new husband or lover, only to the attitude o f the neighbours. The correspondences are not close, but there is an essential parallel in this case. Either the two authors drew on a common source or the author o f B S saw V M . This last possibility has not been considered. But the writer o f B S evidently knew Strathclyde and the Glasgow area, and he probably made use o f Lailoken for the character o f the wild man Ealadhan. There are no clues to the bridegroom in V M that have been noticed; but it can be remarked that Gwasawg in Afallennau is a spare character whom Geoffrey, with his style o f editorial economy, might have found suggestive. The killing of the bridegroom could have been prompted by the anecdote o f Maelgwn’s son Rhun and Cedig Draws. There the blow was by an ox-hom. It seems the nearest to a clue that is available. See NN M AELD IN . 49Ï-532 The market-place tales. See * Intro. 2 (twelfth century/Exotic) on the oriental origins o f these tales and their apparent previous connection with other themes in the Celtic wild-man complex. 552-65 The forest house(s). The details— the numbers o f windows and doors and staff—are not known to be other than Geoffrey’s. There are hints o f antecedents to the idea, however. There is no parallel in B S itself, though Tech M oling, Moling’s establish-

TEX T U A L COMMENTARY

14 1

ment where Suibhne stopped at last may be an equivalent. O ’Keeffe (BS, p. xvii) quotes a riddling poem in four stanzas assigned to the eighth or ninth century and attributed to Suibhne in an Irish MS in the monastery o f St Paul in Carinthia (Stokes and Strachan, 1903, n, 294, and Thumeysen, 1949, n, 39-40). ‘ M y little oratory in Tûaim Inbir, / it is not a full house that i s .. • / with its stars last night, / with its sun, with its moon. // Gobban hath built that— . . etc. One of the other poems is attributed to Moling, and there are appreciative descriptions of Moling's monastery in the second and third o f the five Anecdota poems discussed by Jackson, 1940, pp. 537 ff. None o f this is very close to the VM forest house, which was a centre for (non-christian) W elsh star-prophecy. There is, however, a sort of connection between the oratory built by Gobban (sc. ‘ Sm ith’) in the Carinthian poem and the fact that it was a woman, Ganieda, who built Merlin’s forest house after the episode of the triple-death prophecy about the boy. This is that the second form o f the Grâg story in the Irish Life of Moling (Jackson, loc. cit. p. 541) concerns Ruadsech; for she was the wife o f Gobban who built M oling’s oratory. Grâg, an outlaw, had stolen her two cows. Ruadsech suspected that Moling had incited Grâg to steal them. Moling, to pacify her, offered to send men in pursuit o f Grâg and to bum and to drown him. Ruadsech treated these offers with cynicism. St Moling did send a party in pursuit, and Grâg was wounded, burned and drowned. So the triple­ death prophecy here took the form o f a conversation between prophet (Moling) and the wife o f the builder o f the oratory. In VM also the prophecy was unfolded in conversation, between the prophet (Merlin) and Ganieda who built the forest house. (It is not the same triple death: the burning is an Irish feature.) Parry noted that in ‘ the Irish version’ (je., BS) the prophecies were taken down by M oling, in ‘ the Scotch version’ (sc., Lailoken) by Kentigem , while Myrddin related them to his sister (i.e., in Cyfoesi). O nly the last is true. Moling (BS 76) asked Suibhne to come each evening ‘ so that I might write your story’ (do sgéla), not prophecy. In Laihken A K entigera’s clerics remembered some o f his apparently idle sayings and committed them to writing; the triple-death forecast was not among these. Rhys (1888) mentioned an undated Anglesey tale about Merlin living in a wood, while his sister kept house. 580-688 First prophecy. See résumé, +Intro. 3. (i) 580-595 recapitulates HRB 11. 9 and HRB 11. 3-10. ‘ The nephews o f the Cornish boar’ are probably Modred’s sons, Arthur’s grand-nephews in the HRB scheme: HRB 11. 3, 4 and NN CO N STAN TIN E. (ii) 596-626: the period after Rhydderch’s death. (iii) 627-688 : from the Saxons to Geoffrey’s twelfth-century present. 590-5 Gormund and the siege o f Cirencester. In HRB 11.8 , 10 Gormund and his Africans ravaged Britain during Caretic’s reign, with Saxon connivance. Caretic was besieged in Cirencester and driven out when it was burned. Details o f the burning are not given. Finally, Gormund ceded Loegria (sc. Midlands) to the Saxons. Geoffrey says he w ill tell the rest when he writes of the churchmen exiled in these disasters. Mention is made o f an alliance o f Gormund with Isembard, nephew o f Frankish king Lodewicus, Isembard giving up Christianity for help in seizing Lodewicus’s kingdom. Isembard plays no active part. The KAf summary refers obliquely to the king as the fourth (illis quartos) and to Gormund as a sea-wolf: Alanus de Insulis explains the lupus equoreus as Gormund. VM adds detail to the siege o f Cirencester (Kaerkeri : Parry), that the firing was by sparrows, and that Gormund went to France and died by the king’s spear. This outline is the same as the plot o f the epic Isembard and Gormund (Zenker, 1896) ; in that work swallows were employed to carry the combustible material. The Cirencester sparrows appear in early followers o f Geoffrey - Wace, Layamon, Gaim ar. Griscom’s Welsh M S mentions them in the passage on the burning o f‘ ssyssedr’ or Caer Vyddau. This suggested the existence of forms o f HRB not represented in extant available M SS. (F. Lot, 1898; Krappe, 1925. Parry also thought Alan’s commentary was referring to different M SS.) But Griscom decided for a common older source for all. It

142

L I F E OF M E R L I N

has even been thought that there was an actual tradition belonging to Cirencester itself. Geoffrey perhaps just edited out the detail o f a received account in H R B , and may have contemplated more for his projected account of the exiled churchmen. Nicholson (1906) related the ‘ African invasion9 to the accession to their strength received by the West Saxons in the sixth century and to the battle of Dyrham (Glos.) in 577 (A S Ckron). Gloucester, Cirencester and Bath were taken; Welsh communications with the south-west were4disrupted. Nicholson’s argument was that the ‘ Africans9 were Vandals who had come from N. Africa when their empire collapsed and had reached Britain through Spain (H iberia). This is relevant to Arthur’s ‘ continental cam paign9 (H R B 10 and V M 1100 ff.) and his Roman opponents ‘ Lucius Hiberius9 and Leo (V M 1104). Isembard in H R B was plotting against his fellow Frank, Lodcw icus. The Franks were then neighbours o f the Bretons. Perhaps, then, the ‘ continental campaign9 was a memory o f Breton resistance to ‘ some Aquitanian Visigoth9claiming to represent Rom an authority— rather as the Bretons were resisting the Angevins in the period o f V M . (In regard to relations between Isembard and the ‘ V andal9 Gormund, the detail about Isembard having to give up Christianity is o f interest in that the Vandals were Arians.) Nicholson supported his thesis as touching Britain by place-names with elements related to Vandals (Wendlesclif, etc.) or incorporating Godmund (as a form o f Gormund). The distribution o f Wendel names from the Cotswolds through the south Midlands to East Anglia and London might be significantly connected with the H R B assertion that the ‘ Africans9finally came to an agreement with the Saxons over land in Loegria. Later work did not confirm all Nicholson’s speculations, e.g., about the Slaughters in the Cirencester region. The status o f Godmund-Gormund names is confused by traditions about Alfred’s adversary Guthrum, the Danish king of East Anglia (A S Chron 875-90). Mawer and Stenton (1926), discussing Godmund-GuSmund and Godmanchester, etc., decided that the Gurm- forms resulted from a pseudo-historical tradition. (William o f Malmesbury, G est. R eg. ch. 121, said that Danish Guthram was Gumumdus according to ‘ our9 authori­ ties - nostri vocant.) But although Mawer and Stenton leant towards individual-name solutions for ‘ W endel9 places, they noted a mythological origin and the likelihood of the Vandals somehow acquiring their name from this myth source. So it remains possible that this distribution o f place-names is to be taken as indicating a population settlement at a particular period. 596-624 The death o f Rhydderch is predicted in C jfo esi, stanza 8; in the FABW version, ‘ The day after tomorrow Rydderch Hael will not be9, the prediction being made, as here, to the prophet’s sister. The prophecy of Rederech’s death is in Jocelin’s L ife o f KenXigenty ch. 45, but the occasion is not another parallel. It is in Lailoken Ay but the king is not named. Parry said that for this section he could find no specific explanations. It is probable from the nature o f the prophecy that there are few that are intended to be precise— only veiled allusions to obscure traditions made in a literary context. Special studies m ay reveal more, but there is already a weight o f loose conjecture in editions. See N N PO R CH ESTER for a suggestion about 612-21. 608 ‘ he of the horse name9. This Scottish leader is unknown. ‘ Horse-names9 such as Horsa and March can be mentioned but are not obviously relevant. 614-15 Carlisle. Destroyed by the Norse. The town was re-built under W illiam Rufus; the bishopric was restored by Henry I in 1133 (cambuca = a bishop’s staff). The ‘ wand o f the Lion9is also an emblem o f office. Virga could mean ‘ scion o f9, but in the Prophecies, H R B 7. 3, Leo ju stitia e seems to be Henry I. 624 Caerleon was and is on the Usk, two main rivers away from the Severn. Given Geoffrey’s intimate concern with Caerleon, I do not see— without a special explanation— how he could have written this line.

T E X T U A L COMMENTARY

I43

626 San M arte, 1853, thought the ‘ Bear in Lam b9referred to Augustine, i.c. before the Saxons mentioned in lines 627 ff. 631 Massacre of monks. The number is two hundred here and in A S Chron. In H R B i i . 13 the number is twelve hundred and the place is also Leicester. A massacre at Chester (84, >93 - 5 . 202, 213-14, 222, Appdx I Landévennec 4, 188 laugh, leaf, adultery story >2-14, 22, 25 Lavinia 14 Lear 196, 209 Leicester NN, 20, 143, 212 Leland 36,45 Leo, emperor NN, 142, 214 Liban 138, 204-5 Liber Landavensis (LL) 31-4, 198 Liber prognosticon 19, 157 Life o f David 165 Life o f Gildas (Ruys) 4, 143, 185 Life o f Kentigem (Jocelin) 5, 12, 14, 139, 184, 187, 192-5, 198, 219, 221 LifeofTeilo 31, 33 Lincoln NN, 8-9, 19, 28-9, 30, 36-8, 40->, >54 . >57 » 2,2 llallogan 2, 195 Llandaff *Lntro. 5, 198, 208, 214 Llantwit Major, Glam. 185, 208 Lodewicus 141-2

Loingseachan 23, 187 Lollius Urbicus 195 Lothian 3, 163, 193, 194, 202-3 Lucius Hiberius NN, 142, 196, 214

252

G E NE R AL I N DE X

Lucius, king 32 madness vii, 2, 18, * Intro. 4, 150, 153, 160 ,164,181,194-5, «97-9» 200-2, 213, Appdx I, II Madoc ap Maredudd, king 40 Maddin NN, 19, 23, 50, 153, 164, 185, 186 Maelduin 197, 206 Maelgwn 137, 140, 177, 186, 193, 198 Magh Rath, 9, 23, 197 Magnus Maximus (Maximian; Macsen) 175, 216 Maildun (LL) 33, 198 Maldred, of Lothian 202-3 Man, Isle of 34, 165 Mandeville, Geoffrey de 6 Map, Walter 201, 221 market-place tales 11-12, 14, 22, 140 Matilda, empress 6, 18, 20, 29, 40, 143,

*54» «57. 208

Maud, wife of Henry I 29, 154 medicine, Greek 7, 150 Meldred 12-13, 24-5, 139, 179-80, 184, 194, 202, 214, Appdx I Merlin Ambrosius (HRB) NN AM BR O ­ SIUS, vii-viii, 3, 13, 17, 19, 21, 29, 37, 41, 158, 164, 200, 203, 221-3 Merlin Calidonius (VM) NN M ERLIN , vii-viii, 2, 3, 7, 12-14, 18-21, 22-3, 38, 4«. 50, 151, 162-4, «79-8o» 185, 186-7, 188, 203, 209, 214, 217, 221-3, 225; brothers 22, 137; grave 179-80; king «37» «5«» 224; old 151; silvester homo 138; Merlinûs 19 Merlùtûs Spd 19 Midas 14 Minerva NN, 11 Modred NN, 2, 4, 21, 149, 190, 191 Moling 3, 24, 140-1 Monmouth 4, 26-7, 31, 165, 188, 189 Moralia'. Plutarch Morgen NN, 4, 8, 9, 11, 17, 23, 45, 50, 146, 162, 163, 166, 167, 178; cf. 33,

fil i Muirgein 138, 140, 204-6 Muirghil 24, 205 Mung&n 24 Muses i i , 137, 206 Myrddin vii-viii, 1-3, 16, 25, 38, 42, 47, 50, 141, 181, 184, 186, 194-5, 200-2, 213, 222, 224; Merdin 200 Neckham, Alexander 138

Nennius viii, 14, 17, 158-9, 164, 167, 178, 193, 2 11, 213, 222; Irish 159, 164 Neoplatonism 2; cf. daemons Nicholas ap Gwrgant, bishop of Llandaff 26 Nigel, bishop of Ely 143, 153, 157 Normans NN, 6, 18, 20, * Intro. 5, 143, «54 . *9 2»202-3 North Britain 3, 34, 219-20 Northumbria 159, 164, 191, 202-3, 219 Numa Pompilius : Plutarch oaks 151, 171, 212 Ordericus Vitalis (Hist, eeeles.) 19 Orosius (Hist, advers. paganos) 8, 176 Orpheus NN, 11, 137, 139 Ovid (Ex Ponto, Fasti, Heroides, Metamorph.) ««» «37» »38-9, «56, «67, 172, 179, 197, 199, 207, 210, 217 Owain 17, 219 Owein Gwynedd 40 Owen ap Garadoc, of Caerleon 30 Oxford NN, 7, 28-9, 31-3, 150, 153-4,

212 Paris 7, 28-9, 147, 183, 193-4, 209 Paris, P. 38 Parry, J .J . 4, 9, 10, 20, 21 *Intro. 6, 7, 8, «38 , «39 , *54 Pausail Bum 25, 179-80 Peirian Faban 1, 137 Percival 209 Peredur NN, 22, 50, 137, 187, 224 Picus 14, 153 Plato (Apology, Symposium) 144 Plutarch (Moralia, Numa) 10, 14, 163 Polycrates 12 possession 18, 150, 153 Price, Sir John 45 Prophecies o f Merlin (Prophetiae M erlini; HRB 7) 18-19, 21, 28, 30, 37, 38, 42, 46, 136, 145, 157 prophecy 14, *Intro. 3, 23-5, 140-1, 142, «5 «, «53 Quimperlé 3, 157, 222 Rahere 26 Ranulf, earl of Chester 40, 154 Red Book o f Hergest 35 Renua NN, 148, 190, 223 Rheged 40 Rhuddlan 34, 151 Rhun, son of Maelgwn 140,198

G E NE R A L I N D E X Rhydderch H ad a, 3, aa, 35, 50, 137, 14a, 14 4 ,16 0 -1,16 4 ,18 0 ,18 4 ,19 0 ,19a, 194, ao4, 313-14, aaa, Appdx II Richard I 143 Richard, bishop of St Asaph's 33 Robert de Chesney NN, 38-9,36-7,40-2,

136, 15'. >96

Robert of Gloucester 29, 30 Rodarch, king of Cumbria (VM) NN, 3, »3» >9» 20, 23-3, 50, 143, 151, 184, 187, »95* 209, a is , aai, 335 Roger, bishop of Salisbury 143, 153, 157 R o lf (Radulphus) of Monmouth a8, 37 Ronan 33-4 Ronnwen: Renua Saewulf 7 St Asaph's viii, *Intro. 5, 37, 40-2, 149, «54 . «76» «87, *93 » *98 , 233, 225 St David’s 31, 33 St Florent de Saumur 37 St George’s, Oxford 28, 33, 37, 3 13 saint, resolution through 3, 3, 194, 195 St Trinian's 34 Sakhr 14 Saxons NN, 20 ,3 3 ,27,14 1-2,159,16 2-4, 169,189,191,210-11,216,217-18,221-3 Scotland NN, 12, aa, 34, 143, 191, 309 Segontium NN, 139, 325 Silenos 14 sister's son bond 2, 194 sleeping hero 17, 163, 223 Solinus 8, 145, 147, 166 Solomon 13, 14 Southampton 29 Spain 7, 137, 142 springs 149-51, 197, 335 stag-riding 140 Standard, battle of the 6 Stephen vii, 6, 16, 20, 21, 28, 30, 34-5, 37» 38, *43» *53» *54» *57» *68, 196, 224 Stonehenge vii, 177 Strathclyde viii, 3, 23-4, 140, 151, 161, 180, 187, 192-3, 203, 213 Suibhne 3-5, 23-4, 139, 140, 141, 171, 181, 186-7, 205 Sukasaptati 12-13, 191 Syria 2 Tdin B i Frdich 12 Taliesin NN, 4, 7, 9, 10, 14, 16, 19, 20, 23» 28, 34, 40, 41, 47, 50, 143, 150, 158, 162, 168, 185, 193, 220, 223 Theobald, archb. of Canterbury 33, 34

253

Theodoric the Flamebearer 40, 219 Theopompus 14 Thuriae of Skalholt 19 Triads, Welsh {TYP) passim triple-death motif 3, 4-5, 11-12, 22, 24, *39 » *4 *. *43 » *95 Trojans viii, 156, 168, 179, 200 Tweed, river 25, 179-80, Appdx I Turn Gelwydd Teg 139 Uchtryd, bishop of Llandaff 30-2 Urban, bishop of Llandaff 31-3 Urien NN, 40 Uther NN, 20, 148-9, 158, 168, 177 Vandals 141-2, 196 Vaughan, Robert 137 Venedoti: Wales Venus NN, 10 Vita S. Gwrthierm 3, 188, 222 Vita S. Cadoci 163 Vortigem NN, vii, 3, 13, 17, 19, 20, 27, 3 *. 34 » *48, *49 » *58» *64, *76, *88, *89» *93» 204, 210-11, 223, 225 Vortimer NN, 148, 190, 210, 217, 223 Voyage o f Maeliuin 140, 197 Voyage o f St Brendan 29, 165-6 Wales NN, 2, 3, 4, 20, 22, * Intro. 5, 148, 163, 165, 193 Walter, archdeacon 28-9 Walter L ’Espec 29 Wayland NN, 11, 139, 215-16 Westminster 34 Whale, The 9, 145 Whithorn 34 Wihenoc (Guihenoc) 27, 188-9 wild-man theme 2-3, 12, 14, * Intro. 4, 4*, 138, 194-5, 200-1 William I 171, 202, 208 William de Conches 10 William of Malmesbury 2, 142, 163 William of Newburgh {Hist. rer. Anglic.) 18, 38, 150 Wiltshire vii Winchester NN, 40, 149, 154 Winefride NN, 34, 149, 193, 223 Wolfdietrich 199 Wonastow 188 Yarrow Stone 144, 213 Ymddiddan Myrddin a Thaliesin 1,16 ,4 7, *37 York 33, 145, 166, 209-10 Yvain 140