On the other hand the Norman clergy3, many of whom obtained bishoprics and abbeys in England, were much more learned than they of England; and Lanfranc, the Conqueror's Archbishop of Canterbury, threatened to depose5 Wulfstan, the English Bishop4 of Worcester, for his ignorance of philosophy and literature. Yet Wulfstan excelled "in miracles and the gift of prophecy". Many new monasteries6 were founded by the Norman kings, homes of learning, each with its scriptorium (writers' room), in which new books were written, and old books were copied, almost all of them in Latin. St. Albans became a specially7 learned monastery8 and home of historians, while Roman law, medicine, and theology were closely studied, and books were lent out to students from the monastic libraries, a pledge of value being deposited by the borrower.
Latin Literature.
The books of the age which most interest us are the histories written in Latin, by various authors of known names, who often were not cloistered9 monks10, but clergymen who lived much at court, and knew the men who were making history, kings and great nobles.
[Pg 36]
Of all of these authors the most important in the interests of literature, not of history, is Geoffrey of Monmouth, a Welshman, whose "History of the Kings of Britain" is really no veracious11 chronicle, but a romance pretending to be a history of Britain, especially of King Arthur. The name of Arthur spells romance, and Geoffrey's book is almost the first written source of all the poems and tales of Arthur which fill the literature of England and the Continent. But it is more convenient to discuss Geoffrey when we reach the age of the Arthurian romance.
It is not necessary to speak here of all the writers of Latin histories in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In the North were Simeon of Durham, and Richard, Prior of Hexham, who wrote "The Deeds of King Stephen," and Ailred, whose account of the defeat of David I of Scotland at the Battle of the Standard (1138) is very well told and full of spirit. In reading Ailred we find ourselves, as it were, among modern men: he speaks as a good English patriot12, yet as a friend and admirer, in private life, of the invading Scottish king and prince. Florence of Worcester attempted a history of the world, compiled out of other books, called "Chronicon ex chronicis". The habit of "beginning at the beginning," namely with the creation, took hold of some of these historians, whose books are of little use till they reach their own times (if they live to do so), and speak of men and events known to themselves.
Eadmer, on the other hand, wrote of what he himself knew, a "History of Recent Times in England," down to 1122, and especially about the Archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm, and his dealings with William Rufus and Henry I (Henry Fairclerk, a patron of learning).
William of Malmesbury (1095?-1143?) like Geoffrey of Monmouth, was patronized by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, to whom they dedicated13 books. William understood, and said that there were two Arthurs, one a warrior14 of about 500-516 (?) the other a hero of fairy-land; but, as time went on, people began to confuse them, and to believe as historical the stories of Arthur which Geoffrey had written as a romance. William wrote the "History of the Kings of England," with several lives of saints and books[Pg 37] on theology. The "History of the Kings" begins with the coming of the Anglo-Saxons, and ends in 1127, the reign15 of Henry; towards the close of its sequel, the "Historia Novella," his patron, Robert of Gloucester, an enemy of Stephen, is his hero. The book contains a history of the First Crusade.
William sometimes treats history in almost a modern way, he quotes his sources of information, chiefly Bede and the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle". He refuses to vouch16 for the exact truth of events before his own time: he throws the responsibility on earlier authors, his authorities. Later, he speaks of what he has seen, or learned from trustworthy witnesses. When he reaches the time of the British resistance to the Anglo-Saxons, he mentions "warlike Arthur, of whom the Bretons fondly tell so many fables18, even to the present day, a man worthy17 to be celebrated19, not by idle tales, but by authentic20 history".
Happily for his readers, William is not above telling anecdotes21 like the romance of the statue at Rome, with an inscription22 on the head, "Strike here". How this was misunderstood, how at last a wise man marked the place where the shadow of the fore-finger of the statue fell at noon, and what wonderful adventures followed when men dug there, and found a golden palace lighted up by a blazing carbuncle stone, is narrated23 in a captivating way, but is not scientific history. (Bk. II, Ch. X.) William mingles24 real letters and other documents with miracles and ghost stories: indeed, he is determined25 to amuse as well as to instruct, and he succeeds. In describing the enthusiasm stirred by the preaching of the First Crusade, he falls into the very manner of Macaulay. "The Welshman left his hunting, the Scot his fellowship with lice, the Dane his drinking-party, the Norwegian his raw fish."
Certainly William was not a wholly scientific historian. He is never uninteresting. If he finds any set of events tedious, he says so plainly, and passes onwards. He is very fair, is learned in the manner of his age, and his love of digressions and good stories reminds us of the Greek Herodotus, "the Father of History," and the most entertaining of historians.
Among the names of other Latin chroniclers is that of Henry[Pg 38] of Huntingdon (writing in 1125-1154). The author of the "Deeds of King Stephen" is unknown: the work of William of Newburgh in the reigns26 of Henry II and Richard C?ur de Lion, is well remembered for his attack on the "lies" of Geoffrey of Monmouth. The assault on Geoffrey's truthfulness27 was not so superfluous28 as it seems, because his romance won the belief of many generations.
Richard Fitz Neale, who was Treasurer29 of England and for nine years Bishop of London (1189-1198), wrote the Dialogue "De Scaccario," "concerning the Exchequer," which is still studied as the best authority on mediaeval national finance in England, and on our early constitutional history.
Jocelin de Brakelond left a "Chronicle" (1173-1202) much concerned with life in his own monastery at St. Edmundsbury, and with the wise rule of Abbot Sampson. This book forms the text on which Carlyle preaches in his "Past and Present": it proves sufficiently30 that the monks were not the lazy drones of popular tradition and abounds31 in vivid pictures of men and of society.
Gerald of Wales (Girald de Barri, called Cambrensis, "the Welshman," 1147-1217?) was of royal Welsh and noble Norman birth, his family, the de Barris, were among the foremost Norman knights32 who took part in the invasion (it can hardly be called the conquest) of Ireland, under Strongbow; and he himself was a great fighter in the disputes of churchmen. There was not much schooling33 to be had in wild Wales, then very rebellious34, but he probably learned Latin from the chaplains of his uncle, a Bishop, before he went to the University of Paris, to study law and science. Gerald was more like a modern literary man than a mediaeval chronicler. He never ceased from travelling, now following the Court, now rushing to Paris, now to Rome. When Archdeacon of St. David's, which the Welsh wanted to make a Canterbury of their own, with their own Archbishop, he stood up against the Bishop of St. Asaph; when the Bishop threatened to excommunicate him, he had bell, book, and candle ready to excommunicate the Bishop, whom he frightened away.
But Henry II would not permit Gerald to be Bishop of St. David's, thinking him certain to stand up for Wales against England.[Pg 39] In 1184, Gerald went to Ireland with Henry's son, Prince John, who cannot be better described, as an insolent35 ribald young man, than he is in Scott's "Ivanhoe".
Gerald wrote a "Topography of Ireland," which is really "A Little Tour in Ireland". His chapters on the "Marvels36 of Ireland" lead us to suppose that the natives hoaxed37 him with strange stories, for example the tale of a church bell that wandered about the country of its own will: the innumerable fleas38 at St. Nannan's in Connaught is more credible39, but the tale of the wolves who asked to receive the Holy Communion was not believed in England. One miracle was only a beautifully illuminated40 manuscript of the kind decorated by Irish artists 400 years earlier. The art had been lost, and the artist was supposed to have copied the designs of an angel.
Gerald found the Irish very ignorant, lazy, dirty, and ferocious41. Every man used a battle-axe in place of a walking stick, and man-slayings were frequent. The Irish clergy were devout42 and chaste43, but drank too much. On the wild beasts and birds of Ireland Gerald wrote like a naturalist44 and a sportsman, though he supposed that salmon45, before leaping a fall, put their tails in their mouths, and letting go, fly upward by the spring thus obtained.
His "History of the Invasion of Ireland" is valuable, but he introduced, in the manner of some Greek and many Roman historians, long speeches which were never made. He also, after an energetic wandering life, always fighting to be made Bishop of St. David's, wrote his own autobiography46, an amusing conceited47 book, full of adventures of travel. He wrote, too, on the natural history and the inhabitants of Wales, a book very valuable to this day. He died after reaching the age of 70.
Walter Map.
Among his friends was a native of the Welsh border, Walter Map, Archdeacon of Oxford48. "You write much, Master Gerald," said Map to him, "and you will write more; and I deliver many discourses49. Your books are better than my speeches, and will be remembered longer; but I am much more popular, for you write in Latin, and I speak in the vulgar tongue," meaning French.[Pg 40] Poor Gerald confesses that he made nothing by his books, and looked for his reward, not in vain, to the applause of future ages.
But Map has had his own share of praise, more than he should get, if, as he said, he wrote little. He was born about 1137, studied at Paris, was one of the king's judges who rode on circuit, and, in 1197, was made Archdeacon of Oxford. One book which he certainly wrote, "On Courtly Trifles" ("De Nugis Curialium," in Latin) is a collection of anecdotes clumsily told, and of reflections, with stories of the Welsh, historical jottings, folk-lore, tales, and attacks on the clergy of the Cistercian Order. As a judge he said that he was fair, except to Jews and Cistercians, "who did not deserve justice, for they gave none". Satirical Latin poems against Golias, a type of a noisy licentious50 Bishop, are also attributed to him. In the confession51 of this Bishop occur the famous lines, thus translated by Leigh Hunt,
I devise to end my days—in a tavern52 drinking;
May some Christian53 hold for me—the glass when I am shrinking;
That the Cherubim may cry—when they see me sinking,
God be merciful to a soul—of this gentleman's way of thinking.
The lines, in rhyming Latin, became a drinking catch, conceivably they were that before, and were merely put into the Bishop's mouth as a proof of his bad character. The word "Golias" as a nickname for a ribald "Philistine54" priest was hundreds of years older than Map's time. A long romance in French, on Launcelot, the Holy Grail, and the death of Arthur, is attributed to Map in some manuscripts, and as a contemporary romancer says that Map "could lie as well as himself"—that is, like himself wrote romances of love and tournaments—he may possibly have been the author of "the great book in Latin which treats openly of the history of the Holy Grail". But no copy of that Latin book is known to exist, nor is it certain that it ever existed, while Map, as we know, said that he did not write much of any sort, especially not in Latin.
Changes Since the Conquest.
It is plain that, within a century from the battle of Hastings, new influences of many kinds were working in England, and[Pg 41] changing the national character and intellect. There was the learning from Paris University, and from the Continent in general; there was the clearer intellect and energy of the Normans; the vivacity55 of such Welshmen or men from the Welsh marches as Geoffrey of Monmouth, Gerald, and Map. Anglo-Saxon literature had never been vivacious56.
There were the new topics, "the matter of Britain," the Celtic legends of Arthur, whether derived57 from Wales or from Brittany—matter most romantic, and suited to the coming poets who, unlike the Anglo-Saxons, were to glorify58 love. There was, too, the constant excitement and variety that came from travel, whether in the Crusades, in pilgrimages, or to France and Rome on public or private business, or in search of books and teachers. In various ways knowledge of Saracen science and learning, translations of Aristotle from the Arabic into the Latin, and romantic ideas derived from the fables and tales of far-off India, filtered into England.
These things were for priests and book-loving lords and courtiers. Their wits were sharpened by knowledge of several tongues. All educated men knew Latin; "all men of this land," said Robert of Gloucester (about 1270) "who are of Norman blood, hold to French, and low men hold to English," but high men of English blood would talk in English to their farmers and servants. All who learned Latin learned it through French books, but country priests would preach in English.
The Anglo-Saxon language and grammar were slowly changing, though very few new words from French or Latin had yet come into common use. Cow, sheep, calf59, and swine were Anglo-Saxon words, as Gurth the swineherd says in "Ivanhoe". Englishmen herded60 the animals, but the meat of them was called by French names derived from Latin, like beef, mutton, veal61, and pork. From the Conquest (1066) to 1200, learning, Latin, and knowledge of French books would filter slowly into the native English mind, partly through sermons; and rich Franklins, and Englishmen in the service of the conquering race, and English priests would be Anglicizing French words.
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1
invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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depose
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| vt.免职；宣誓作证 | |
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monasteries
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| 修道院( monastery的名词复数 ) | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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cloistered
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| adj.隐居的，躲开尘世纷争的v.隐退，使与世隔绝( cloister的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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veracious
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| adj.诚实可靠的 | |
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patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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vouch
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| v.担保；断定；n.被担保者 | |
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17
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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fables
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| n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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anecdotes
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| n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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narrated
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| v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mingles
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| 混合，混入( mingle的第三人称单数 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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reigns
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| 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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truthfulness
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| n. 符合实际 | |
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superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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treasurer
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| n.司库，财务主管 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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abounds
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的第三人称单数 ) | |
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knights
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| 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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schooling
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| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
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rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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hoaxed
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| v.开玩笑骗某人，戏弄某人( hoax的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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fleas
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| n.跳蚤( flea的名词复数 )；爱财如命；没好气地（拒绝某人的要求） | |
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credible
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| adj.可信任的，可靠的 | |
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illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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chaste
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| adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的 | |
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naturalist
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| n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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salmon
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| n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的 | |
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autobiography
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| n.自传 | |
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conceited
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| adj.自负的，骄傲自满的 | |
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Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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49
discourses
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| 论文( discourse的名词复数 )； 演说； 讲道； 话语 | |
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50
licentious
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| adj.放纵的，淫乱的 | |
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51
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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52
tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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53
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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54
philistine
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| n.庸俗的人；adj.市侩的，庸俗的 | |
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55
vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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56
vivacious
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| adj.活泼的，快活的 | |
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57
derived
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| 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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58
glorify
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| vt.颂扬，赞美，使增光，美化 | |
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59
calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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60
herded
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| 群集，纠结( herd的过去式和过去分词 )； 放牧； （使）向…移动 | |
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veal
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| n.小牛肉 | |
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