The sense of which is to this effect: This gentleman, says the speaker, shall relate to us the celebrated stories recorded in the old romances, and in their very stile. Why he says from tawny Spain, is because these romances, being of the Spanish original, the heroes and the scene were generally of that country. He says, lost in the world's debate, because the subjects of those romances were the crusades of the European Christians against the Saracens of Asia and Africa.

Indeed, the wars of the Christians against the Pagans were the general subject of the romances' of chivalry. They all seem to have had their ground work in, two fabulous moukish historians: the one, who under the name of Turpin, Archbishop of Rheims, wrote the History and Atchievements of Charlemagne and his Twelve Peera; to whom, instead of his father, they assign ed the task of driving the Saracens out of France and the south parts of Spain: the other, our Geoffry of Monmouth.

egregiously mistaken in asserting that,,the heroes and the scene were generally of that country," which, in fact, (except in an instance or two nothing, at all to the present purpose) is never the case. If the words lost in the world's debate will bear the edi tor's construction, there are certainly many books of chivalry on the subject. I cannot, however, think that Shakspeare was particularly conversant in works of this description: But, indeed, the alternately rhyming parts, at least, of the present play are apparently by an inferior hand; the remains, no doubt, of the old platform. RITSON.

賣

Two of those Peers whom the old romances have rendered most famous, were Oliver and Rowland. Hence Shakspeare makes Alençon, in the first part of Henry VI. say; ,,Froyssard, a countryman of ours, records, England all Olivers and Rowlands bred, during the time Edward the third did reign." In the Spanish romance of Bernardo del Carpio, and in that of Koncesvalles, the feats of Roland are recorded under the name of Roldan el encantador; and in that of Palmerin de Oliva, *) or simply Oliva, those of Oliver: for Oliva is the same in Spanish as Olivier is in French. The account of their exploits is in the highest degree monstrous and extravagant, as appears from the judgement passed upon them by the priest in Don Quixote, when he delivers the knight's library to the secular arm of the housekeeper,,,Eccetuando à un Bernardo del Carpio que anda por ay, y à otro Ilamado Roncesvalles; que estos en llegando a mis manos, de estar en las de la ama, y dellas en las del fuego sin remission alguna." B. 1. c. 6. And of Oliver he

an

*) Dr. Warburton is quite mistaken in deriving Oliver from (Palmerin de) Oliva, which is utterly incompatible with the genius of the Spanish language. The old romance, of which Oliver was the hero, his entitled in Spanish, ,,Historias de los nobles Cavalleros Oliveros de Castilla, y Artus de Algarbe, in fol. en Valladolid, 1501, in fol. en Sevilla, 1507;,,and in French thus,,,Histoire d'Olivier de Castille, et Artus d'Algarbe son loyal compagnon, et de Heleine, Fille au Roy d'Angleterre, etc. translatée du Latin par Phil. Kamus, in fol. Cothique." It has also appeared in English. See Ames's Typograph. p. 94. 47. PERCY.

says,,,essa Oliva se haga luego raxas, y se queme, que anu no queden della las cenizas." B. 1. c. 6. The reasonableness of this sentence may be partly seen from one story in the Bernardo del Carpio, which tells us, that the cleft, called Roldan, to be seen in the summit of an high mountain in the kingdom of Valencia, near the town of Alicaut, was made with a singles back-stroke of that hero's broad sword. Hence came the proverbial expres sion of our plain and sensible ancestors, who were much cooler readers of these extravagancies than the Spaniards, of giving oné a Rowland for his Oliver, that is of matching one impossible lye with another: as, in French, faire le Roland means, to swagger. This driving the Saracens out of France and Spain, was, as we say, the subject of the elder romances. And the first that was. printed in Spain was the famous Amadis de Gaula, of which the inquisitor priest says: ,,segun he oydo dezir, este libro fue el primero de Cavallerias qui se imprimio en Espana, y todos los demás an tomado principio y origen deste;“ B. i. c. 6. and for which he humourously condemns it to the fire, coma à Dogmatazador de una secta tan mala. When this subject was well exhaust, ed, the affairs of Europe efforded them another of the same nature. For after that the western parts had pretty well cleared themselves of these inhospitable guests, by the excitements of the Popes, they carried their arms against them into Greece and Asia, to support the Byzantine empire, and recover the holy sepulchre. This gave birth to a new tribe of romances, which we may call of the second race or class. And as Amadis de Gaula was at the head of the first, so, correspondently to the subject, Amadis de Gracia was at the

head of the latter. Hence it is, we find, that
Trebizonde is as celebrated in these romances as
Roncesvalles is in the other. It may be worth
observing, that the two famous Italian epic poets,
Ariosto and Tasso, have borrowed, from each of
these classes of old romances, the scenes and sub-
jects of their several stories: Ariosto choosing the
first, the Saracens in France and Spain; and
Tasso, the latter, the Crusade against them in
Asia: Ariosto's hero being Olando, or the French
Roland: for as the Spaniards, by one way of
transposing the letters, had made it Roldan,
the Italians, by another, make it Orland.

SO

The main subject of these fooleries, as we have
said, had its original in Turpin's famous History
of Charlemagne and his Twelve Peers. Nor were
the monstrous embellishments of enchantments, etc.
the invention of the romancers, but formed upon
eastern tales, brought thence by travellers from
their
have

crusades and pilgrimages; which indeed
a cast peculiar to the wild imaginations.

of the eastern people. We have a proof of
this in the travels of Sir John Maundeville,
whose excessive superstition and credulity, to.
gether with an impudent monkish addition to
his genuine work, have made his veracity thought
much worse of than it deserved. This voyager
speaking of the isle of Cos in the Archipelago,
tells the following story of an enchanted dragon.
,,And also a zonge man, that wist not of the
dragoun, went out of the schipp, and went
through the ile, till that he cam to the castelle,
and cam into the cave; and went so longe till
that he fond a chambre, and there he saughe a
damyselle, that kembed hire hede, and lokede in a
mytour: aud sche hadde moche tresoure abouten

:

hire and he trowed that sche hadde ben a comoun woman, that dwelled there to receive men to folye. And he abode till the damyselle saughe the schadowe of him in the myrour. And sche turned hire toward him, and asked him what he wolde. And he seyde, he wolde ben hire limman or paramour. And sche asked him, if that he were a knyghte. And he sayde, nay. And then sche sayde, that he might not ben hire limman. But sche bad him gon azen unto his felowes, and make him knyghte, and come azen upon the morwe, and sche scholde come out of her cave before him; and thanne come and kysse hire on the mowth and have no drede. For I schalle do the no maner harm, alle be it that thou see me in lykeness of a dragoun. For thoghe thou see me hideouse and horrible to loken onne, I do the to wytene that it is made be enchauntement. For withouten doubre, I am none other than thou seest now, a woman; and therefore drede the noughte. And zyf: thou kysse me, thou schalt have all this tresoure, and be my lord, and lord also of all that isle. And he departed," etc. P. 29, 30, ed. 1725. Here we see the very spirit of a romance adventure. This honest traveller bes lieved it all, and so, it seems did the people of the isle.,,And some men seyne (says he) that in the isle of Lango is zit the doughtre of Ypocras in forme and lykenesse of a gret dragoun, that is an hundred fadme in lengthe, as men seyn: for I have not seen hire. And they of the isles callen, hire, lady of the land." We are, not to think then, these kind of stories, believed by pilgrims and travellers, would have less credit either with the writers or readers of romances: which hu mour of the times therefore may well account