Anglo-Saxon poetry. Anglo-Norman poetry. Chansons de geste, or historical romances of the Middle Ages. On proverbs and popular sayings. On the Anglo-Latin poets of the twelfth century. Abelard and the scholastic philosophy. On Dr. Grimm's German mythology. On the national fairy mythology of England. On the popular superstitions of modern GreeceJ.R. Smith, 1846 - English literature |
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Common terms and phrases
Abelard Anglo-Saxon appears Bayeux beautiful Begues Beowulf Bernard bien bishop Boethius Bretagne Cædmon called castle chansons de geste character Charlemagne Christianity chronicles church collection court curious dame devil duke edition elves England English fabliaux fairies forefathers France French Fromont Garin Gelô Geoffrey Geoffrey of Monmouth Giraldus give grendel Gudmod hero Horn Hrothgar instance king lady land language Latin latter legends literature Lorrains manuscript metrical middle ages monastery monks mythology Naisil night Norman original pagans Paris Pepin period person Pluquet poem poet poetry preserved printed proverbs reign rhymes Rigmel Rimenhild romance romance of Horn Roscelin Rutebeuf saints Saracens Saxon seems Socrates sometimes song spirits story sunt tell Teutonic things thirteenth century thou tion told translation twelfth century verse Victor Cousin villan William William of Champeaux witch word writer þæt καὶ
Popular passages
Page 195 - ... every powerful man made his castles, and held them against him ; and they filled the land full of castles. They cruelly oppressed the wretched men of the land with castle-works. When the castles were made, they filled them with devils and evil men.
Page 151 - A work which has met with great abuse among the reviewers, but those who are fond of philological pursuits will read it now it is to be had at so very moderate a price, and it really contains a good deal of gossiping matter. The author's attempt is...
Page 254 - this was the great event which occurred at the end of the eleventh and beginning of the twelfth centuries, at a time when the Church was under theocratic and monastic influence.
Page 156 - Jack Sprat Had a cat : It had but one ear ; It went to buy butter When butter was dear.
Page 208 - He moste winke, so loude he wolde cryen, And stonden on his tiptoon ther-with-al, And strecche forth his nekke long and smal. And eek he was of swich discrecioun, That ther nas no man in no regioun That him in song or wisdom mighte passe. I have wel rad in daun Burnel the Asse...
Page 244 - He who places his child on the roof or in a furnace for the recovery of his health, or for this purpose uses any charms, or characters, or magical figment, or any art, unless it be holy prayers, or the liberal art of medicine.
Page 285 - I heard long ago, concerning one of the Lord Duffus, (in the shire of Murray) his predicessors, of whom it is reported, that upon a time, when he was walking abroad in the fields near to his own house, he was suddenly carried away, and found the next day at Paris in the French King's cellar, with a silver cup in his hand...
Page 272 - The consideration of the underground residence of the fairies, as a part of the English mythology, would lead us into long and curious investigations for which now we have not room. The elves have always had a country and dwellings under ground as well as above ground ; and in several parts of England the belief that they descended to their subterraneous abodes through the barrows which cover the bones of our forefathers of ancient days is still preserved. There were other ways, however, of approaching...
Page 94 - It is by no means unlikely, however, that the circumstance of Taillefer singing in the battle was an invention of the chroniclers, after the battle of...
Page 93 - Theroulde, a poem preserved in a manuscript of the twelfth century in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, we have certainly the matter, perhaps even some of the words, of the chant which Taillefer sang.