These were powerful objections; nor did they lose force when they became the subject of anxious reflection, although they did not finally prevail. The arguments on the other side were, that though I had no hope of rivalling the contemporaries whom I have mentioned, yet it occurred to me as possible to acquit16 myself of the task I was engaged in without entering into competition with them.
The period relating more immediately to the Crusades which I at last fixed17 upon was that at which the warlike character of Richard I., wild and generous, a pattern of chivalry18, with all its extravagant19 virtues20, and its no less absurd errors, was opposed to that of Saladin, in which the Christian21 and English monarch22 showed all the cruelty and violence of an Eastern sultan, and Saladin, on the other hand, displayed the deep policy and prudence23 of a European sovereign, whilst each contended which should excel the other in the knightly25 qualities of bravery and generosity26. This singular contrast afforded, as the author conceived, materials for a work of fiction possessing peculiar27 interest. One of the inferior characters introduced was a supposed relation of Richard Coeur de Lion — a violation28 of the truth of history which gave offence to Mr. Mills, the author of the “History of Chivalry and the Crusades,” who was not, it may be presumed, aware that romantic fiction naturally includes the power of such invention, which is indeed one of the requisites29 of the art.
Prince David of Scotland, who was actually in the host, and was the hero of some very romantic adventures on his way home, was also pressed into my service, and constitutes one of my DRAMATIS PERSONAE.
It is true I had already brought upon the field him of the lion heart. But it was in a more private capacity than he was here to be exhibited in the Talisman30 — then as a disguised knight24, now in the avowed31 character of a conquering monarch; so that I doubted not a name so dear to Englishmen as that of King Richard I. might contribute to their amusement for more than once.
I had access to all which antiquity32 believed, whether of reality or fable33, on the subject of that magnificent warrior34, who was the proudest boast of Europe and their chivalry, and with whose dreadful name the Saracens, according to a historian of their own country, were wont35 to rebuke36 their startled horses. “Do you think,” said they, “that King Richard is on the track, that you stray so wildly from it?” The most curious register of the history of King Richard is an ancient romance, translated originally from the Norman; and at first certainly having a pretence37 to be termed a work of chivalry, but latterly becoming stuffed with the most astonishing and monstrous38 fables39. There is perhaps no metrical romance upon record where, along with curious and genuine history, are mingled40 more absurd and exaggerated incidents. We have placed in the Appendix to this Introduction the passage of the romance in which Richard figures as an ogre, or literal cannibal.
A principal incident in the story is that from which the title is derived41. Of all people who ever lived, the Persians were perhaps most remarkable42 for their unshaken credulity in amulets44, spells, periapts, and similar charms, framed, it was said, under the influence of particular planets, and bestowing45 high medical powers, as well as the means of advancing men’s fortunes in various manners. A story of this kind, relating to a Crusader of eminence46, is often told in the west of Scotland, and the relic47 alluded48 to is still in existence, and even yet held in veneration49.
Sir Simon Lockhart of Lee and Gartland made a considerable figure in the reigns50 of Robert the Bruce and of his son David. He was one of the chief of that band of Scottish chivalry who accompanied James, the Good Lord Douglas, on his expedition to the Holy Land with the heart of King Robert Bruce. Douglas, impatient to get at the Saracens, entered into war with those of Spain, and was killed there. Lockhart proceeded to the Holy Land with such Scottish knights51 as had escaped the fate of their leader and assisted for some time in the wars against the Saracens.
The following adventure is said by tradition to have befallen him:—
He made prisoner in battle an Emir of considerable wealth and consequence. The aged2 mother of the captive came to the Christian camp, to redeem52 her son from his state of captivity53. Lockhart is said to have fixed the price at which his prisoner should ransom54 himself; and the lady, pulling out a large embroidered55 purse, proceeded to tell down the ransom, like a mother who pays little respect to gold in comparison of her son’s liberty. In this operation, a pebble56 inserted in a coin, some say of the Lower Empire, fell out of the purse, and the Saracen matron testified so much haste to recover it as gave the Scottish knight a high idea of its value, when compared with gold or silver. “I will not consent,” he said, “to grant your son’s liberty, unless that amulet43 be added to his ransom.” The lady not only consented to this, but explained to Sir Simon Lockhart the mode in which the talisman was to be used, and the uses to which it might be put. The water in which it was dipped operated as a styptic, as a febrifuge, and possessed57 other properties as a medical talisman.
Sir Simon Lockhart, after much experience of the wonders which it wrought58, brought it to his own country, and left it to his heirs, by whom, and by Clydesdale in general, it was, and is still, distinguished59 by the name of the Lee-penny, from the name of his native seat of Lee.
The most remarkable part of its history, perhaps, was that it so especially escaped condemnation61 when the Church of Scotland chose to impeach62 many other cures which savoured of the miraculous63, as occasioned by sorcery, and censured64 the appeal to them, “excepting only that to the amulet, called the Lee-penny, to which it had pleased God to annex65 certain healing virtues which the Church did not presume to condemn60.” It still, as has been said, exists, and its powers are sometimes resorted to. Of late, they have been chiefly restricted to the cure of persons bitten by mad dogs; and as the illness in such cases frequently arises from imagination, there can be no reason for doubting that water which has been poured on the Lee-penny furnishes a congenial cure.
Such is the tradition concerning the talisman, which the author has taken the liberty to vary in applying it to his own purposes.
Considerable liberties have also been taken with the truth of history, both with respect to Conrade of Montserrat’s life, as well as his death. That Conrade, however, was reckoned the enemy of Richard is agreed both in history and romance. The general opinion of the terms upon which they stood may be guessed from the proposal of the Saracens that the Marquis of Montserrat should be invested with certain parts of Syria, which they were to yield to the Christians66. Richard, according to the romance which bears his name, “could no longer repress his fury. The Marquis he said, was a traitor67, who had robbed the Knights Hospitallers of sixty thousand pounds, the present of his father Henry; that he was a renegade, whose treachery had occasioned the loss of Acre; and he concluded by a solemn oath, that he would cause him to be drawn68 to pieces by wild horses, if he should ever venture to pollute the Christian camp by his presence. Philip attempted to intercede69 in favour of the Marquis, and throwing down his glove, offered to become a pledge for his fidelity to the Christians; but his offer was rejected, and he was obliged to give way to Richard’s impetuosity.”— HISTORY OF CHIVALRY.
Conrade of Montserrat makes a considerable figure in those wars, and was at length put to death by one of the followers70 of the Scheik, or Old Man of the Mountain; nor did Richard remain free of the suspicion of having instigated71 his death.
It may be said, in general, that most of the incidents introduced in the following tale are fictitious72, and that reality, where it exists, is only retained in the characters of the piece.
ABBOTSFORD, 1st July, 1832
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1 allusion | |
n.暗示,间接提示 | |
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2 aged | |
adj.年老的,陈年的 | |
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3 pervaded | |
v.遍及,弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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4 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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5 tyrant | |
n.暴君,专制的君主,残暴的人 | |
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6 inspection | |
n.检查,审查,检阅 | |
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7 chastise | |
vt.责骂,严惩 | |
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8 presumption | |
n.推测,可能性,冒昧,放肆,[法律]推定 | |
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9 lawful | |
adj.法律许可的,守法的,合法的 | |
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10 vices | |
缺陷( vice的名词复数 ); 恶习; 不道德行为; 台钳 | |
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11 fidelity | |
n.忠诚,忠实;精确 | |
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12 sage | |
n.圣人,哲人;adj.贤明的,明智的 | |
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13 dint | |
n.由于,靠;凹坑 | |
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14 investigation | |
n.调查,调查研究 | |
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15 doctrines | |
n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 );教义;学说;(政府政策的)正式声明 | |
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16 acquit | |
vt.宣判无罪;(oneself)使(自己)表现出 | |
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17 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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18 chivalry | |
n.骑士气概,侠义;(男人)对女人彬彬有礼,献殷勤 | |
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19 extravagant | |
adj.奢侈的;过分的;(言行等)放肆的 | |
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20 virtues | |
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处 | |
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21 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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22 monarch | |
n.帝王,君主,最高统治者 | |
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23 prudence | |
n.谨慎,精明,节俭 | |
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24 knight | |
n.骑士,武士;爵士 | |
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25 knightly | |
adj. 骑士般的 adv. 骑士般地 | |
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26 generosity | |
n.大度,慷慨,慷慨的行为 | |
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27 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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28 violation | |
n.违反(行为),违背(行为),侵犯 | |
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29 requisites | |
n.必要的事物( requisite的名词复数 ) | |
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30 talisman | |
n.避邪物,护身符 | |
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31 avowed | |
adj.公开声明的,承认的v.公开声明,承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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32 antiquity | |
n.古老;高龄;古物,古迹 | |
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33 fable | |
n.寓言;童话;神话 | |
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34 warrior | |
n.勇士,武士,斗士 | |
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35 wont | |
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯 | |
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36 rebuke | |
v.指责,非难,斥责 [反]praise | |
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37 pretence | |
n.假装,作假;借口,口实;虚伪;虚饰 | |
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38 monstrous | |
adj.巨大的;恐怖的;可耻的,丢脸的 | |
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39 fables | |
n.寓言( fable的名词复数 );神话,传说 | |
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40 mingled | |
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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41 derived | |
vi.起源;由来;衍生;导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 );(从…中)得到获得;源于;(从…中)提取 | |
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42 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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43 amulet | |
n.护身符 | |
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44 amulets | |
n.护身符( amulet的名词复数 ) | |
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45 bestowing | |
砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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46 eminence | |
n.卓越,显赫;高地,高处;名家 | |
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47 relic | |
n.神圣的遗物,遗迹,纪念物 | |
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48 alluded | |
提及,暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49 veneration | |
n.尊敬,崇拜 | |
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50 reigns | |
n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 );君主统治时期;任期;当政期 | |
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51 knights | |
骑士; (中古时代的)武士( knight的名词复数 ); 骑士; 爵士; (国际象棋中)马 | |
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52 redeem | |
v.买回,赎回,挽回,恢复,履行(诺言等) | |
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53 captivity | |
n.囚禁;被俘;束缚 | |
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54 ransom | |
n.赎金,赎身;v.赎回,解救 | |
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55 embroidered | |
adj.绣花的 | |
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56 pebble | |
n.卵石,小圆石 | |
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57 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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58 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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59 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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60 condemn | |
vt.谴责,指责;宣判(罪犯),判刑 | |
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61 condemnation | |
n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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62 impeach | |
v.弹劾;检举 | |
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63 miraculous | |
adj.像奇迹一样的,不可思议的 | |
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64 censured | |
v.指责,非难,谴责( censure的过去式 ) | |
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65 annex | |
vt.兼并,吞并;n.附属建筑物 | |
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66 Christians | |
n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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67 traitor | |
n.叛徒,卖国贼 | |
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68 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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69 intercede | |
vi.仲裁,说情 | |
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70 followers | |
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件 | |
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71 instigated | |
v.使(某事物)开始或发生,鼓动( instigate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72 fictitious | |
adj.虚构的,假设的;空头的 | |
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