And how nowe, kempe, fayd the kyng of Spayne, And how what aileth thee? He fayes, Itt is written in his forhead All and in gramaryè, That for all the gold that is under heaven, I dare not neigh him nye. 220 Kyng Eftmere then pulled forth his harpe, 225 Nowe fell me thy harpe, fayd the kyng of Spayne, Thy harpe and ftryngs eche one, And as many gold nobles thou shalt have, As there be ftryngs thereon. F 4 * i. e. Entice. Vid. Gloss. For Gramary, see below. 240 And And what wold ye doe with my harpe, he fayd,. Iff I did fell it yee ? "To playe my wiffe and me a FITT When abed together we bee." Now fell me, quoth hee, thy bryde foe gay, As fhee fitts laced in pall, And as many gold nobles I will give, As there be rings in the hall. And what wold ye doe with my bryde foe gay, Iff I did fell her yee? More feemelye it is for her fayre bodye To lye by mee than thee. 245 250 Hee played agayne both loud and shrille, And Adler he did fyng, "O ladye, this is thy owne true love; 255 "Noe harper, but a kyng. "O ladye, this is thy owne true love, "As playnlye thou mayeft fee; "And Ile rid thee of that foule paynìm, "Who partes thy love and thee." The ladye looked, the ladye blushte, i, e, a tune, or firain of music. See Cliff. 260 While While Adler he hath drawne his brande, And hath the Sowdan flayne. Up then rofe the kemperye men, And loud they gan to crye: Ah! traytors, yee have flayne our kyng, Kyng Eftmere threwe the harpe afyde, And fwith he drew his brand; And Eftmere he, and Adler yonge And aye their fwordes foe fore can byte, Throughe help of Gramaryè 265 270 That foone they have flayne the kempery men, 275 Or forft them forth to flee. Kyng Eftmere tooke that fayre ladyè, And marryed her to his wyfe, And brought her home to merrye England With her to leade his lyfe. 280 The word GRAMAYKE occurs feveral times in the foregoing poem, and every where feems to fignify Magic or Some kind of fupernatural science. I know not whence to derive it, unless it be from the word GRAMMAR. -In thofe dark and ignorant ages, when it was thought a high degree of learning to be able to read and write; he who had made a little further progress in literature, might well pass for a conjurer or magician. ttt TER +++ TERMAGAUNT (mentioned above in p. 60.) is the name given in the old romances to the God of the Sarazens : in which he is conftantly linked with MAHOUND or Mahomet. Thus in the legend of SYR GUY the Soudan (Sultan) fwears, "So helpe me MAHOWNE of might, This word is derived by the very learned Editor of Junius from the Anglo-Saxon Tyn very, and Mazan mighty. -As this word had fo fublime a derivation, and was fo applicable to the true God, how shall we account for its being fo degraded? Perhaps Tyn-magan or Termagant had been a name originally given to fome Saxon idol, before our anceftors were converted to Chriftianity; or had been the peculiar attribute of one of their falfe deities; and therefore the firft Chriftian miffionaries rejected it as profane and improper to be applied to the true God. Afterwards when the irruptions of the Saracens into Europe, and the Crufades into the Eaft, had brought them acquainted with a new species of unbelievers; our ignorant ancestors, who thought all that did not receive the Chriftian law, were necessarily Pagans and Idolaters, fuppofed the Mahometan creed was in all respects the fame with that of their Pagan forefathers, and therefore made no fcruple to give the ancient name of Termagant to the God of the Saracens : juft in the fame manner as they afterwards used the name of Sarazen to express any kind of Pagan or Idolater. In the ancient romance of Merline (in the editor's folio MS.) the Saxons themselves that came over with Hengift, because they were not Chriftians, are confantly called Sarazens. However that be, it is certain that, after the times of the Crufades, both MAHOUND and TERMAGAUNT made 4 their their frequent appearance in the Pageants and religious Enterludes of the barbarous ages; in which they were exhibited with geftures fo furious and frantic, as to become proverbial. Thus Skelton Speaks of Wolfey, "Like MAHOUND in a play, Ed. 1736. p. 158. 66 And Bale, defcribing the threats ufed by fome Papift magiftrates to his wife, Jpeaks of them as grennyng upon her lyke TERMAGAUNTES in a playe." [Actes of Engl. Votaryes, pt. 2. fo. 83. Ed. 1550. 12mo.]-Hence we may conceive the force of Hamlet's expreffion in Shakespeare, where condemning a ranting player he says, "I could have "fuch a fellow whipt for ore-doing TERMAGANT: it "out-Herods Herod." A. 3. fc. 3.-By degrees the word came to be applied to an outrageous turbulent perfon, and efpecially to a violent brawling woman; to whom alone it is now confined: and this the rather as, I juppose, the character of TERMAGANT was anciently reprefented on the Stage after the eastern mode, with long robes or petticoats. Another frequent character in the old pageants or enterludes of our ancestors, was the SOWDAN or SOLDAN reprefenting a grim eaftern tyrant: This appears from a curious paffage in Stow's Annals [p. 458.]—In a ftage-play · "the people know right well that he that plaieth the sow"DAIN, is percafe a fowter [fhoe-maker], yet if one should "cal him by his owne name, while he flandeth in his majeftie, one of his tormentors might hap to break his "bead." The fowdain or foldan, was a name given to any Sarazen king, (being only a more rude pronunciation of the word fultan) as the foldan of Egypt, the foudan of Perfia, the fowdan of Babylon, &c. who were generally reprefented as accompanied with grim Sarazens, whofe bufinefs it was to punish and torment Christians. |