Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/elizabethantransOOscot \ ^iasfiar ^emi-Centenmal Series ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ITAL- IAN. By Mary Augusta Scott, Ph.D. (A.B. Vas- sar, 1876), Professor of English Literature in Smith College. SOCIAL STUDIES IN ENGLISH LITERATURE. By Laura J. Wylxe, Ph.D. (A.B. Vassar, 1877), Pro- fessor of English in Vassar College. THE LEARNED LADY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. By Myra Reynolds, Ph.D. (A.B. Vas- sar, 1880), Professor of English Literature in Chicago University. [/« preparatwn.'] THE CUSTOM OF DRAMATIC ENTERTAINMENT IN SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS. By Orih J. Hatcher, Ph.D. (A.B. Vassar, 1888), Formerly Associate Pro- fessor of Comparative Literature in Bryn Mawr Col- lege. \_In preparation.'] INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF VARIABLE STARS. By Caroline E. Furness, Ph.D. (A.B. Vas- sar, 1 891), Professor of Astronomy in Vassar College. MOVEMENT AND MENTAL IMAGERY. By Mar- garet Floy Washburn, Ph.D. (A.B. Vassar, 1891), Professor of Psychology in Vassar College. BRISSOT DE WARVILLE : A STUDY IN THE HIS- TORY OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. By Eloise Ellery, Ph.D. (A.B. Vassar, 1897), Associate Profes- sor of History in Vassar College. HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY Boston and New York ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ITALIAN "tBa^^at J^emi-Centennial ^mt$ ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ITALIAN MARY AUGUSTA SCOTT, Ph.D. Professor of the English Language and Literature In Smith College The story is extant, and writ in choice Italian Hamlet, iii, 2. In che i gravi labor gli sono grati IL Fabadiso, xziii, 6. BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY <^l)t Ritoet^ibe jDtes? Cambridge 1916 BY COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY MARY AUGUSTA SCOTT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published ^uly ZQib PUBLISHED IN HONOR OF THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OPENING OF VASSAR COLLEGE 1865-1915 TO J. J. JUSSERAND French Ambassador to the United States WHOSE SCHOLARSHIP IN ENGLISH HAS RENEWED THE ANCIENT BONDS BETWEEN FRANCE AND ENGLAND WHOSE DIPLOMACY HAS STRENGTHENED THE HISTORIC FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN FRANCE AND THE UNITED STATES I DEDICATE THIS BOOK PREFACE During the winter of 1891-92, I made a list of all English dramas produced between the accession of Edward VI, in 1549, and the closing of the theatres by the Parliamentarians, in 1642. My list showed that some fifteen hundred plays belong to the period of the great drama of the reigns of Elizabeth and James I, of which about one-half are extant. Of extant Eliza- bethan dramas it set apart about one-third as Italianate; they are Italian in source, or plot, or scene, or general tone. Much has been written about Italian influences in Elizabethan litera- ture, and lies scattered throughout English criticism of the last three hundred years. The subject from the Italian side is not so well known. In the spring of 1892, I was preparing to go to Europe to study for the doctor's degree. At that time, the University of Zurich was the only European university that admitted women to the degree of doctor of philosophy. Nor did the wise liber- ality of the Swiss university require that candidates should study in Zurich; a woman could work wherever she could carry on her studies to the best advantage, and the University of Zurich would admit her to the degree, provided she passed the required examinations. I had just arranged to study the Romance languages and literatures in France and Italy, and to be examined by the University of Zurich, when Yale opened its doors to graduate women. That enlargement of opportu- nity in the higher education of women was of great interest to me as a college woman, and my own problem was simplified when I was appointed the first woman fellow of Yale University. At Yale I was fortunate in being able to study under the direction of Professor Thomas R. Lounsbury. I have always regarded Professor Lounsbury *s attitude towards graduate work as a model. He accepted my proposal to write a thesis on PREFACE the Italianization of the Elizabethan drama, and was interested in what I thought I could do with it during the two years of required residence for the degree. He borrowed my list of Elizabethan plays, and kept it during the greater part of the first year. When the bibliography came back, I found that he had increased its value by adding many details from the re^ sources of his great scholarship in English. But after establish- ing friendly relations, Professor Lounsbury left me to my own devices. We met now and then at his house or mine and ex- changed ideas, plentifully seasoned in true Elizabethan fashion with jest and repartee. When my thesis was completed. Pro- fessor Lounsbury read it and saw to it that it met all university regulations. In 1894, 1 was admitted to the degree of doctor of philosophy, on examination and the presentation of a thesis, on The Elizabethan Drama, especially in Its Relation to the Italians of the Renaissance, Between 1895 and 1899, I published four studies on Eliza- bethan Translations from the Italian. The monographs were a development of my Yale thesis, and were published in the Publications of the Modern Language Association of America^ Part I, on Romances in Prose, was printed in the Publications, Vol. X, No. 2, April, 1895; Part II, on Translations of Poetry, Plays, and Metrical Romances, was published in Vol. xi. No. 4, December, 1896; Part III, Miscellaneous Translations on Reli- gion and Theology, Science and the Arts, Grammars and Diction- aries, and Proverbs, was published in Vol. xiii, No. 1, January, 1898; and Part IV, Miscellaneous Translations on Voyages and Discovery, History and Politics, Manners and Morals, and Italian and Latin Publications in England, was published in Vol. XIV, No. 4, December, 1899. Altogether the four preliminary studies made a collection of 342 Elizabethan Translations from the Italian and 53 Italian and Latin Publications in England. The value of the work in the history of English literature was at once recognized, and the four studies brought to me much suggestive and useful criticism from Elizabethan scholars, both American and for- PREFACE xi eign. I began to revise in 1895, before the first study was actu- ally in print, and I have been revising the whole work ever since in the intervals of a busy academic life. Into that life, other literary activities have come to claim my interest and my leisure, — what there has been of that, — but my Elizabethan Translations from the Italian have been always with me. In this book they are published, revised up to date. The revision brings together into the convenient space of one volume 394 Elizabethan Translations from the Italiany together with 72 Italian and Latin Publications in England. In combining the four studies, I have retained the original classification of the translations into groups, according to sub- ject, and the original order of presenting the groups. The anno- tated translations begin with Romances in Prose and end with books on Manners and Morals, followed by the Italian and Latin Publications. Constructed on this more compact plan, the Elizabethan Translations from the Italian divide themselves by kind into twelve sections. In each section, the translations are arranged in chronological order, except that different Elizabethan translations of the same original are grouped together. Finally, adopting the suggestion of Charles Eliot Norton, I have numbered consecutively the 466 titles of the twelve sections. As to titles, I have printed verbatim the title of the first edi- tion, wherever possible; where the first edition is unknown, I have used the earliest accessible title. There may be, and prob- ably are, some inaccurate titles, but no inaccuracy is due to conjecture or alteration. Many of these Elizabethan books, both English and Italian, are owned by the British Government. I verified the titles of all these from the Catalogue of the British Museum, which I consulted both in the library of the Peabody Institute of Balti- more, and in the New York Public Library. The great library formed by Henry Huth contained a goodly number of these rare books. I verified the titles of all Huth translations and originals from the excellent Huth Library Catalogue. I found xii PREFACE some exemplars in the Peabody Institute Library, and I have myself picked up a few of my translations. When the studies came out in preliminary form I indicated the present ownership of the books wherever I knew it. In this book I mention the whereabouts of an Elizabethan translation only in the case of public libraries, and of my own exemplars that will, I hope, ultimately pass from private to public owner- ship. My reason for this change is the surprising uncertainty of private ownership, even over comparatively few years. When I brought out the article on translations of Italian poetry in 1896, the 1591 edition of Spenser's Complaints was owned by the British Museum, the Bodleian, the Rowfant, Huth, Britwell, and Chatsworth libraries. Of the four private libra- ries named, the Huth and Rowfant books are now dispersed, and the Britwell and Chatsworth libraries have been depleted. In this connection, I may illustrate the market value of some Elizabethan translations. Henry Huth bought the rare first edition (1567) of Geoffrey Fen ton's Certaine Tragicall Dis- courses y in 1864, for twelve pounds; at the Huth sale, June 3, 1913, it fetched sixty pounds, an increase of five hundred per cent. After the first, or the earliest known edition of a transla- tion, I have noted as far as I knew them all succeeding editions, in order to give the life history of the Elizabethan editio prin- cess. To save space, modern English titles are given only where the Italian original, like the Decameron, has gone on in litera- ture and art and become a world book. It is of more than pass- ing interest that the really great Elizabethan translation of II CortegianOy by Sir Thomas Hoby, was twice reprinted in 1900, while the 1576 translation of Galateo, a mediocre per- formance, crossed the Atlantic in 1914 and was reprinted in Boston. With the Elizabethan translation I have paired its Italian original in all cases where I could trace it. But as there may be several Italian editions, besides contemporary translations into Latin, French, or Spanish, without actual examination of books PREFACE xiii now widely scattered and often inaccessible together, it is not possible in many cases to say just what version was the basis of the translation. The Italian Renaissance travelled into England through France largely, as the French origin of some of these translations shows. There are Spanish originals, but the French versions between the Italian and English are far and away the most important. This subject has been ably treated in English by Sir Sidney Lee, in his The French Renais^ same in England (1910). Because it lies outside the scope of these Italian studies, I have not permitted myself to follow its leading, either very far or with thoroughness. M. Jusserand suggested that I mention the French sources, and wherever I could indicate the French medium briefly and with certainty I have done so. It would be a pleasure, which I must here deny myself, to thank by name the many friends who have helped me with criticism and suggestion. For the use of many English books I am indebted to the courtesy of the librarians of Yale Univer- sity and of the Johns Hopkins University. Miss Josephine A. Clark, librarian of Smith College, has been generous in adding to the Elizabethan books in the Smith College Library, as far as funds were available, and the large collection of books of the Forbes Library, of Northampton, has always been freely open to me. When the studies were in preparation for publication by the Modern Language Association of America, Provost Uhler kindly permitted me to use the great collection of books in the Romance languages owned by the Peabody Institute, of Baltimore. He loaned me many rare books on his own recog- nizance. Mr. G. W. Harris, librarian of Cornell University, let me use the very fine Italian and French collections at Cornell, in the final revision that I was making during the sum- mer of 1914. Harvard University loaned me its 1892 edition of Galateo, I received much valuable criticism from my friend and corre- spondent, the late Dr. Richard Garnett, whose admirable little History of Italian LiteraturCy I have had at my elbow. Another XIV PREFACE helpful English correspondent was my fellow Dantean, the late Arthur John Butler, professor of Italian language and literature in the University of London. M. Jusserand, the French Ambassador to the United States, and greatest French scholar in English, illumined with wit and wisdom not a few obscure points on the French side of my subject. Among American scholars I am most indebted to my Yale mentor, the late Professor Thomas R. Lounsbury; and to Professor Thomas F. Crane, of Cornell University, who kindly shared with me some studies he had made on the Italian cour- tesy books of the sixteenth century. Most of all I owe to that prince of Elizabethan scholars, Horace Howard Furness. He took a lively interest in my work and early let me know that I could command any of the books in his great Shaksperean library that he was not actually using himself. From time to time, various of his priceless exemplars journeyed to and fro between Wallingford and Northampton. In 1899, he delayed the publication of the Variorum Much Ado About Nothing y in order to include in it, as the very last note, my suggestion that Shakspere may have found his fascinating lovers. Benedick and Beatrice, in Sir Thomas Hoby's transla- tion of II Cortegiano, I sent my second study, on Translations of Poetry, Plays, and Metrical Romances, to the Reverend Alexander B. Grosart, whose edition of Robert Chester's Loues Martyr: or Rosalins Complaint, for The New Shakspere Society, in 1878, had been of use to me in my notes on that curious and interesting poem. A considerable time afterwards there came to me the Shakspere edition of Loues Martyr, bearing with it a pungent tang of the sea, and a letter making some inquiries about Northampton, where Dr. Grosart had made a pleasant visit as a young man just out of college. I delayed acknowledging the receipt of the book, until I could answer the inquiries, which proved to be difficult for one not a native of the town. Before my letter to Dr. Grosart got written, news came of his death, in March, 1899. And so it happened that to the Elizabethan political and PREFACE XV social mystery of Loues Martyr there has been added, for me, the insoluble pathos of my possession of its Victorian reprint. But the friendly spirit of scholarship transcends the person- ality of individuals and the accidents of time. I make this acknowledgment to scholars of 1916 in memory of one of us whose torch was extinguished in 1899. The Italianization of Elizabethan literature is a large field, and all Elizabethan books are rare, only to be found in the British Museum or at Bodley's, or in unique private collections, like the Ellesmere. In all cases where it was possible, I have personally verified my statements, from exemplars, from re- prints, and from historical and critical literature. I have tried to avoid errors, but the circumstances make it practically im- possible that I have succeeded wholly. I do not list the many authorities that have helped me to annotate these Elizabethan Translations from the Italian. All sources of information are given in the notes, and the notes are carefully indexed. It is intended that the index should serve as a bibliography of sources. In course of time, I hope to publish my researches on the Italianate English plays. That was my original quest, and it has gone on 'pari passu with this study which now sees the light. Mary Augusta Scott. Smith College, June 1, 1916. CONTENTS Index of Titles, with Translators .... xxi The Italian Renaissance in England .... xxxvii I. Romances in Prose 1 II. Poetry 109 III. Plats 195 IV. Metrical Romances 221 V. Religion and Theology 243 VI. Science and the Arts 299 VII. Grammars and Dictionaries .... 343 VIII. Collections of Proverbs 359 IX. Voyages and Discovery 369 X. History and Politics 391 XI. Manners and Morals 443 XII. Italian and Latin Publications in England . 483 Index 517 INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS I. ROMANCES IN PROSE 1 [1525] A C. mery Talys [1549] Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and QuickC Answers 3 1550 Lucres and Eurialus 4 1596 Euryalus and Lucresia William Braunche 5 1639 Eurialus and Lucretia Charles Aleyn 6 1556 Aurelio and Isabell 7 1557 Circes Henry Iden 8 1566 The Palace of Pleasure William Painter 9 1566 Philocopo H. C. 10 1567 Certaine Tragicall Discourses Geoffrey Fenton 11 1568 The Flower of Friendshippe Edmund Tilney 12 1571 The Foreste Thomas Fortescue 13 1613-19 The Treasurie of ancient and mod- erne Times 14 1572 A hundreth Sundrie Flowres George Gascoigne 15 1572 Sir Meliado 16 1573 The Garden of Pleasure James Sandford 17 1574 A Right Exelent and pleasaunt Dialogue Barnabe Rich 18 1575 Arnalte and Lucenda Claudius Holyband 19 [1576] A Petite Palace of Pettie his Pleasure George Pettie 20 1576 The Rock of Regard George Whetstone 21 1577 Foure Straunge and Lamentable Tragi- call Histories Robert Smyth 22 1578 A Courtlie Controversie of Cupids Cautels Henry Wotton 23 1578 Tarltons Tragical Treatises Richard Tarlton 24 1579 The Forrest of Fancy H. C. 25 1580 A Posie of Gilloflowers Humfrey Gifford 26 1580 Bandello's Novelle 27 1581 Rich his Farewell to Militarie Profes- sion Bamabe Rich 28 1581 Don Simonides a Gentilman Spaniarde Barnabe Rich 29 1582 An Heptameron of Civill Discourses George Whetstone 30 1583 Philotimus Brian Melbancke XX INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS 81 1587 The Tragical! historic of Romeus and JuHet 32 1587 Amorous Fiammetta * Bartholomew Young 33 1587 Banishment of Cupid Thomas Hedley 34 1588 Palmerin d' Oliva Anthony Munday 35 1588 Perimedes the Blaeke-Smith Robert Greene 36 1590 The Cobler of Caunterburie 37 [1590] Tarltons Newes Out of Purgatone 38 1592 Philomela Robert Greene 39 1593 The Defence of Contraries Anthony Munday 40 1593 The Life and Death of William Long- beard Thomas Lodge 41 1595 Primaleon of Greece Anthony Munday 42 1596 Cent Histoires Tragiques Frangois de Belleforest 43 1596 A Margarite of America Thomas Lodge 44 1597 The Queen of Navarres Tales 45 1654 Heptameron Robert Codrington 46 1597 Affrican and Mensola Jo. Goubourne 47 1597 The Theatre of Gods Judgements Thomas Beard 48 1598 Diana of George of Montemayor Bartholomew Young 49 1596-1617 Diana de Montemayor Thomas Wilson 50 1598 Don Bellianis L. A. 51 1599 The Fountaine of Ancient Fiction Richard Lynche 62 1600 The Strange Fortunes of Two Excellent Princes Nicholas Breton 53 1604 Pasquils Jests 54 1604 Jack of Dover 55 1607 The Ancient, True and Admirable His- tory of Patient Grissel 56 1607 Admirable and memorable Histories Ed. Grimeston 57 1607 A World of Wonders R. C. 58 1607 The Pleasant Conceites of Old Hobson Richard Johnson 59 1608 The Hystorie of Hamblet 60 1609 Certaine Conceyts and Jeasts 61 1617 Merry Tales concerning Popes, Monkes, and Friers R. W. 62 1620 Decameron 63 1620 Westward for Smelts Kinde Kit of Kingston 64 1628 Hipolito and Isabella 65 1628 The Powerfull Favorite 66 1632 Unhappy Prosperitie Sir Thomas Hawkins 67 1630 The Merry Tales of the Mad Men of Gottam INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS xxi 68 1630 Wit and Mirth John Taylor, the Water Foe\ 69 1632 The Fortunate, the Deceived, and the Unfortunate Lovers 70 1632 Eromena James Hayward 71 1635 Donzella desterrada James Hayward 72 1655 Coralbo A. G. 73 1635 The Arcadian Princesse Richard Brathwaite 74 1640 The Sack-Full of News 75 1647 The Divell a married man 76 1652 Choice Novels and Amorous Tales 77 1653 Nissena 78 1654 Dianea Sir Aston Cokayne 79 1660 Arnaldo, or the Injur'd Lover T. S. 11. POETRY 80 1560 The Zodyake of Lyfe Barnabe Googe 81 [1565?] The Tryumphes of Petrarch Henry Parker, Lord Morley and Mount-Eagic 82 1567 The Eglogs [of Baptist Mantuan] George TurbervUle 83 1576 The Schoolemaster Thomas Twyne 84 [1581] The Hecatompathia or Passionate Cen- turie of Love Thomas Watson 85 1585 Amyntas Thomas Watson 86 1586 Albion's England William Warner 87 1587 The Lamentations of Amyntas Abraham Fraunce 88 1588 Musica Transalpina Nicholas Yonge 89 1590 Italian Madrigalls Thomas Watson 90 1591 Orlando Furioso Sir John Harington 91 1591 The Countess of Pembroke's Ivychurch Abraham Fraunce 92 1591 Complaints Edmund Spenser 93 1592 Amintae Gaudia Thomas Watson 94 1594 Godfrey of Bulloigne Richard Carew 95 1594 Madrigalles to four Voyces Thomas Morley 96 1595 The First Booke of Balletts Thomas Morley 97 1595 The First Booke of Canzonets Thomas Morley 98 1596 Diella Richard Lynche 99 1597 Canzonets Thomas Morley 100 1597 Laura. The Toyes of a Traueller Robert Tofte 101 1597 Madrigals to three, four, five or six Voyces Thomas Weelkes 102 1597 Two Tales Robert Tofte 103 1597 Certaine Worthye Manuscript Poems J. S. xxii INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS 104 1598 Orlando Inamorato Robert Tofte 105 1598 Madrigals to Five Voices Thomas Morley 106 1598 The Courtiers Academic John Kepers 107 1598 The First Set of English Madrigals John Wilbye 108 1599 Mariage and Wiving Robert Tofte 109 1600 Godfrey of Bulloigne Edward Fairfax 110 1600 Second Book of Songs or Airs John Dowland 111 1601 Madrigales. The Triumphes of Oriana Thomas Morley 112 1601 Loues Martyr Robert Chester 113 1602 A Poetical Rapsody Francis Davison 114 1607 Rodomonths Infernal] Gervase Markham 115 1607 The Englishmans Doctor Sir John Harington 116 1608 Ariosto's Satires Robert Tofte 117 1608 Musica Sacra R. H. 118 1608 Ayres or Phantasticke Spirites Thomas Weelkes 119 1609 The Famous Whore Gervase Markham 120 1609 The Second Set of Madrigales John Wilbye 121 1609 A Musical Dreame Robert Jones 122 1610 A Musical Banquet Robert Dowland 123 1611 The Tragicall Death of Sophonisba Sir David Murray, of Gorthy 124 1612 Petrarch's Seven Penitential Psalms George Chapman 125 1613 The First Set of English Madrigals John Ward 126 1615 The Blazon of Jealousie Robert Tofte 127 1616 Poems William Drummond 128 1620 The Maidens Blush Joshua Sylvester 129 1623 The Whole Workes of Samuel Daniel 130 1638 The Tragedie of Alceste and Eliza Fr. Br. Gent. 131 1644 The Triumphs of Petrarch Anna Hume 132 1646 Steps to the Temple Richard Crashaw 133 1647 Poems and Translations Thomas Stanley 134 1652 Catch that Catch Can John Hilton 135 1658 A Prospective of the Naval Triumph, etc. Thomas Higgoris 136 1661 A Survey of the World Barten Holyday m. PLAYS 137 [1572] Supposes 138 [1572] Jocasta 139 1578 Promos and Cassandra 140 [1584?] Fidele and Fortuna George Gascoigne ( George Gascoigne ( Francis Kinwelmarsh George Whetstone Anthony Munday INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS xxiii 141 [1589?] Freewyl Henry Cheke 142 1602 11 Pastor Fido ' Dymock 143 1610 Honours Academic Robert Tofte 144 1615 Albumazar Thomas Tomkis, or Tomkys 145 1628 Aminta Henry Reynolds 146 1630 Ignoramus George Ruggle 147 1632 Roxana William Alabaster 148 1636 Labyrinthus Walter Hawkesworth 149 1637 Pleasant Dialogues Thomas Heywood 150 1647-48 Tl Pastor Fido Oil XVlCUaru J^UDSHaWc 151 1655 Filli di Sciro J. s. 152 1658 Trappolin Suppos'd a Prince Sir Aston Cokayne 153 1658 La Fida Pastora Sir Richard Fanshawe 154 1660 Aminta John Dancer 155 1897-98 The Buggbears Johannes JeflFere 156 1906 Victoria Abraham Fraunce 157 1909 Hymenaeus 158 1910 Laelia IV. IMETRICAL ROMANCES 159 1555 Dares John Lydgate 160 1562 Romeus and Juliet Arthur Broke 161 1562 Titus and Gisippus Edward Lewicke 162 1565 The Historic of John Lord Mandozze Thomas de la Peend 163 [1565-66?] Ariodanto and Jeneura Peter Beverley 164 1569 Nastagio and Traversari Christopher Tye 165 [1570?] The Crueltie of a Wydowe John Goubourne 166 [1570?] Cymon and Iphigenia T. C. 167 1570 Gaulfrido and Bamardo John Drout 168 1576 Violenta and Didaco Thomas Achelley 169 1576 Tragical Tales George Turberville 170 1609 The Italian Taylor and his Boy Robert Armin 171 1639 Amalte and Lucenda Leonard Lawrence 172 1640 Patient Grisel V. RELIGION AND THEOLOGY 173 1547 Five Sermons by Bernardino Ochino 174 1548 Sermons of the ryght famous Master Bernardine Ochine 175 1549 A Tragedie or Dialoge of the Primacie of the Bishop of Rome John Ponet (Poynet) xxiv INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS 176 [1550?] A discourse or traictise of Peter Martyr Vermill Nicholas Udall 177 [1550?] Certayne Sermons by Bernardino Ochino 178 [1550?] Fouretene Sermons by Bernardino Ochino Anne Cooke 179 1550 The Alcaron of the Barefote Friers 180 1550 An Epistle [from Peter Martyr to the Duke of Somerset] Thomas Norton 181 1550 An Epistle of the famous Doctour Ma- thewe Gribalde Edward Aglionby 182 1564 Most fruitfull and learned Commenta- ries [on the Book of Judges] 183 [1566] Pasquine in a Traunce William Phiston (Fiston) 184 1568 The Fearfull Fansies of the Florentine Couper William Barker (Bercher) 185 1568 Most learned and fruitfull Commenta- ries [on the Romans] Henri Bullinger 186 1569 Most Godly Prayers Charles Glemhan 187 1576 The Droomme of Doomes Day George Gascoigne 188 1576 The Mirror of Mans Lyfe Henry Kerton 189 1576 An Epistle for the godly Bringing up of Children W. L. P. 190 1576 A brief Exposition of the XH Articles of our Fayth T. P. 191 [1580?] A brief Treatise concernmg the use and abuse of Dauncing I. K. or T. K. 192 1580 Certaine Godly and very profitable ser- mons William Phiston (Fiston) 193 1583 The Common Places of Doctor Peter Martyr Anthony Martin 194 1584 The contempte of the world and the vanitie thereof G. C. 195 ^ 1585 A Letter lately written from Rome, etc. John Florio 196 [1600?] How to meditate the Misteries of the Rosarie John Fenn 197 1606 A full and satisfactorie answer [to Pope Paul V] 198 1606 A Declaration of the Variance [between Pope Paul V and the Venetians] 199 1606 Meditations uppon the Passion 200 1608 A true copie of the Sentence of the high Councell of tenne 201 1608 Newes from Italy of a second Moses William Crashaw INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS xxv 202 1608 The History of our B. Lady of Loreto Thomas Price 203 [1608?] The Life of the blessed Virgin St. Cath- erine of Sienna John Fenn 204 [1609] Flos Sanctorum. The Lives of the Saints Edward Kinsman 205 [1615?] Certaine devout considerations of fre- quenting the Blessed Sacrament J. G. 206 [Before 1615] A Treatise of Tribulation John Fenn 207 1616 A manifestation of the motives [of IVI. A. de Dominis] 208 1617 A Sermon preached the first Sunday in Advent [by M. A. de Dominis] 209 1618 The rockes of Christian Shipwracke 210 1619 The life of the Holy Mother Suor Maria Maddalena de Patsi G. B. 211 1620 The Historic of the Councel of Trent Sir Nathaniel Brent 212 1620 A Relation of the Death of the most illustrious Lord Sig' Troilo Sauelli 213 1620 Good News to Christendome 214 1621 The Treasure of Vowed Chastity J. W. 215 1623 M!. A. de Dominis declares the cause of ni«! TJptiiTTiP nut nf T^.Ticrlnnrl 216 1624 The Psalter of Jesus John Heigham 217 1625 The Prpp Sphnnl nf Wnrr<» W. B. 218 1626 The History of the quarrels of Pope Paul V. with the State of Venice Christopher Potter 219 1626 The Seaven Trumpets of Brother B. Saluthius [of the Order of St. Francis] G. P. 220 1627 The Life of B. Aloysius Gonzaga R. S. 221 1628 A discourse upon the Reasons of the Resolution, etc. Sir Thomas Roe 222 1632 Fuga Saeculi, or the Holy Hatred of the World Henry Hawkins 223 1632 The Admirable Life of S. Francis Xavier Thomas Fitzherbert 224 1635 Paraphrase upon the seaven Penitentiall Psalms John Hawkins 225 1638 The Hundred and Ten Considerations of Signior J. Valdesso Nicholas Ferrar 226 1644 St. Paul's Late Progress upon Earth James Howell 227 1648 Satan's Stratagems 228 1651 The Life of the most Learned Father Paul 229 1657 A Dialogue of Polygamy 230 1855 [1548, MS.] The Benefit of Christ's Death Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devonshire xxvi INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS VI. SCIENCE AND THE ARTS 5631 t SAO 154J The most excellent workes of chirurgerye [of Giovanni da Vigo] Bartholomew Traheron acta 1548 Ihe Secretes of the reverende maister Alexis of Piemount Wimam Wards 233 [1560; J The arte of rydmg and of breakmge greate Horses Thomas Blundeville 234 1560 The Arte of Warre Peter Whitehorne acts 1 saa Ine Castel of Memorie WlUiam Fullwood 236 1562 The pleasamit and wittie playe of the Cneasts [LnessJ James Kowbothum Xoi Ludus Scacchise: Chesse-play G. B. XOO lODO Onosandro Platonico, of the General! Captaine and of his oflSce Peter Whitehorne XOif lODO Chirurgia parua Lanfranci John HaU (HaUe) 1574 A Direction for the Health of Magis- trates Thomas Newton 10/4! Most briefe tables H. G. 242 1575 The Book of Fatdconrie George Turberville 364o [157yj A Joyfull Jewell. Contayning . . . pre- servatives ... for the Plague Thomas Hill 244 1580 A short discours uppon chirm-gerie John Hester 245 1582 A Compendium of the rational! Secretes John Hester OA a XW 1584 The Art of Riding ["out of Xenophon and Gryson," i.e., Federico Grisone] John Astley 247 1584 The Art of Riding [by Claudio Corte] Thomas Bedingfield 248 1586 Naturall and Artificial! Conclusions Thomas Hill 249 1588 Three Bookes of Colloquies concerning the Arte of Shooting Cyprian Lucar 250 1588 [11 Padre di Famiglia] The Householders Philosophic * Thomas Kyd 251 1592 Hypnerotomachia. The Strife of Love in a Dreame 252 1594 G. de Grassi his true Arte of Defence I. G. 253 1594 Examen de Ingenios. The Examina- tion of Mens Wits Richard Carew 254 1595 A most strange and wonderful! prophesie Anthony Holloway 255 1596 A Booke of Secrets WilHam Philip 256 1598 Epulario, or the Italian Banquet 257 1598 A Tracte containing the Artes of curious Paintinge, Carvinge, & Buildinge Richard Haydocke INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS xxvii 1 R()9 J. lit; xiicuxii^uco Ul LJ-ic ocvcii X idiicta XilUlLLcla JJilUIllcVJXlC XOif [lUUUj i^cWciS ilUILl rvUIIlC Ol two IIllgllLj' dlllllca w w 260 1611 The first ( — thp fift'i honlcp of Arrhi- X lie lil o L ^ tllC LilLJ UkJKJJSSZ Ul Ai.1 Clll* tccture 9^1 XOl V^piUlUgid, Ol a XlcdLlSC COIICci lllXlg LllC lldLLllC dllO. UoC Ol Vy^Jllllll 1622 X 11^ X LdilXdjlX X X L/ll^^^l^l XiVO XVCVcldLlOil Ol tllC iSCClCl- opillL [dl" chemy] Robert Napier 264 1624 A Strange and Wonderful! Prognosti- cation 265 1634 Hygiasticon: or the right course of pre- serving Life and Health Timothy Smith 266 1638 A Learned Treatise of Globes John Chilmead 267 1658 Natural Magick VII. GRAMMARS AND DICTIONARIES z>uo lOOKf Principal Rules of the Italian Grammer William Thomas OfiCk lODo The Enimie of Idlenesse William Fullwood iOiO An Italian Grammer Henry Granthan X/ 1 1 ^;7ft Florio his first Frutes John Florio 9'7<9 1 f;7ft lO to A comfortable ayde for Schollers David Rowland XIO 1 fift^ Campo di Fior, or else The Flourie Field of Foore Languages Claudius Hollyband- Xt'Jl 1 fiftft The Arcadian Rhetorike Xl 0 loyi Florios Second Frutes John Florio 276 1597 The Italian Schoole-maister Claudius Hollyband 277 1598 A Worlde of Wordes John Florio 278 1612 The Passenger Benvenuto 279 1639 New and Easie Directions for Attaining the Thuscan Italian Tongue Giovanni Torriano 280 1640 The Italian Tutor Giovanni Torriano 281 1660 Lexicon Tetraglotton James Howell Vm. COLLECTIONS OF PROVERBS 282 [1584?] The booke of prittie conceites 283 1584 The Welspring of wittie Conceites William Phiston (Fiston) 284 1590 The Quintessence of Wit Robert Hitchcock 285 1590 The Royal Exchange Robert Greene 286 1613 Civill and Militarie Aphorismes Sir Robert Dallington 287 1633 Bibliotheca scholastica instructissima, Or, Treasurie of Ancient Adagies Thomas Draxe xxviii INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS 288 1642 Select Italian Proverbs Giovanni Torriano 289 1659 Proverbs English, French, Dutch, Ital- ian, and Spanish N. R. 290 1660 Choice Proverbs and Dialogues in Ital- ian and English P. P. 291 1666 Piazza Universale di Proverbi Italiani: Or a Common Place of Italian Pro- verbs Giovanni Torriano IX. VOYAGES AND DISCOVERY 292 1555 The [three] Decades of the newe worlde or west India 293 1577 History of Trauayle in the West and East Indies xvicnara vv iiies 294 1577 Of theViagesof . . . S[ebastian] C.[abot] 295 1577 Certaine reportes of the province of China 296 1577 The Travels of Lewes Vertomannus XViCllcllU il/U.CJLl 297 1612 De Nouo Orbe, or The Historic of the west Indies iviicnaei IjOK 298 1580 A Shorte and briefe narration of the Two Navigations John rlorio 299 1582 Divers voyages touching the discoverie of America Richard xiakluyt 300 1582 Discoverie of the isles of Frisland 301 1582 Relation of J. Verrazano of the land discovered by him 302 1588 The Voyage and Travaile of M. C. Frederick Thomas Hickock 303 1589 Principall Navigations, Voiages and Dis- coveries of the English nation Richard Hakluyt 304 1597 A Reporte of the Kingdome of Congo Abraham Hartwell 305 1600 A Geographical Historic of Africa John Pory 306 1601 The Travellers Breviat Robert Johnson 307 1603 The Ottoman of Lazaro Soranzo Abraham Hartwell 308 1608 Relations of the most famous Kingdoms and Commonweales Robert Johnson 309 1625 Purchas his Pilgrimes Samuel Purchas 310 1625 Indian Observations gathered out of the letters of N. P. [Nicol6 Pimenta] 311 1625 The first Booke of ... M. P. [Marco Polo] ... his Voyages INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS xxix 312 1625 A discourse of the Kingdome of China 313 1633 Cochinchina Robert Ashley 314 1873 Travels to Tana and Persia by Josafa Barbaro and Ambrogio Contarini William Thomas X. HISTORY AND POLITICS 315 [1550?] History of Herodian Nicholas Smyth 316 1562 Two very notable Commentaries John Shute 317 1563 The Historic of Leonard Aretine Arthur Golding 318 [1570] A very briefe and prolStable Treatise Thomas Blundeville 319 1572 The True Report of all the Successe of Famagosta William Malim (Malin) 320 1574 The True order and Methode of wryting and reading Hystories Thomas Blundeville 321 1575 A Notable Historye of the Saracens Thomas Newton 322 1576 A Moral Methode of civile Policie Richard Robinson 323 1579 The Historic of Guicciardin Sir Geoffrey Fenton 324 1579 The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans Sir Thomas North 325 1582 The Revelation of S. John James Sandford 326 [1584] The Preface of J. Brocard upon the Revelation James Sandford 327 1590 A Discourse conceminge the Spanishe fleete invadinge Englande Robert Adams 328 1593 The Description of the Low countreys Thomas Danett 329 1595 The Florentine Historic Thomas Bedingfield 330 1595 Two Discourses of Master Frances Guic- ciardin W. I. 331 1595 The History of the Warres betweene the Turks and the Persians Abraham Hartwell 332 1595 The Estate of the Germaine Empire William Phiston 333 1599 The Commonwealth and Government of Venice Sir Lewis Lewkenor 334 1600 The Historic of the uniting of the King- dom of Portugall to the Crowne of Castill Edward Blount 335 1600 The Mahumetane or Turkish Hystorye Ralph Carr 336 1601 CiviU Considerations W. T. 337 1604 The Historic of all the Roman Emperors W. Traheron 338 1606 A Treatise concerning the Magnificencie and Greatness of Cities Robert Peterson 339 1623 The Pope's Letter (20 April, 1623) to the Prince [Charles] XXX INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS 340 1626 The New-Found Politick Sir William Vaughan 341 1636 Machiavel's Discourses upon the first decade of T. Livius Edward Dacres 342 1637 Romulus and Tarquin Henry Carey, Earl of Monmouth 343 1639 The History of the Inquisition Robert Gentilis 344 1640 Nicholas Machiavel's Prince Edward Dacres 345 1641 An History of the Ciuill Warres of Eng- land Henry Carey, Earl of Monmouth 346 1642 Discourses upon Cornelius Tacitus Sir Richard Baker 347 1647 The Pourtract of the Politicke Christian- Favourite 348 1647 II Dauide Perseguitato: David Perse- cuted Robert Ashley 349 1647 The Chief e Events of the Monarchic of Spaine Robert Gentilis 350 1647 The Historic of the Civil Warres of France William Aylesbury 351 1648 A Venice Looking-Glass James Howell 352 1650 Considerations upon the lives of Alei- biades and Corialanus [sic] Robert Gentilis 353 1650-52 An Exact Historic of the late Revolu- tions in Naples James Howell 354 1650 The History of the rites, customes and manner of life of the present Jews Edmund Chilmead 355 1650 De Bello Belgico. The History of the Low-Countrey Warres Sir Robert Stapleton (Stapylton) 356 1651 Stoa Triumphans Thomas Powell 357 1652 Historicall Relations of the United Pro- vinces Henry Carey, Earl of Monmouth 358 1653 The Scarlet Gown Henry Cogan 359 1654 The Court of Rome Henry Cogan 360 1654 The Compleat History of the Warrs of Flanders Henry Carey, Earl of Monmouth 361 1654 A Discourse touching the Spanish Mon- archy Edmund Chilmead 362 1654 Parthenopoeia or the history of the . . . Kingdom of Naples James Howell 363 1656 I Ragguagli di Pamaso: or Advertise- ments from Parnassus Henry Carey, Earl of Monmouth 364 1656 The Siege of Antwerp Thomas Lancaster 365 1657 Political Discourses Henry Carey, Earl of Monmouth 366 1658 The History of Venice Henry Carey, Earl of Monmouth 367 [1660?] Campanella's Universal Monarchy of the World Edmund Chilmead i INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS xxxi 368 1663 History of the Wars of Italy > Henry Carey, Earl of Monmouth 1664 A new Relation of Rome Giovanni Torriano 370 1664 Rome exactly described Giovanni Torriano 371 1676 The History of France William Brent XI. IMANNERS AND MORALS 372 1561 The Courtyer of Count Baldessar Cas- tillo Sir Thomas Hoby 373 [1565] The boke of Wisdome John Larke 374 1570 The Morall Philosophic of Doni Sir Thomas North 375 1573 Cardanus Comforte Thomas Bedingfield 376 1575 Golden Epistles Sir Geoffrey Fenton 377 1576 Galateo of Maister John della Casa Robert Peterson 378 1616 The Rich Cabinet 379 1663 The Refin'd Courtier N. W. 380 1577 The Court of Civill Courtesie S. R. 381 1579 Physicke against Fortune Thomas Twyne 382 1585 The Worthy Tract of Paulus lovius Samuel Daniel 383 1586 The ciuile Conversation of M. Stephen Guazzo Bartholomew Young 384 1586 A choice of Emblemes Geffrey Whitney 385 1595 Nennio, Or A Treatise of Nobility William Jones 386 1598 Hecatonphila. The Arte of Loue 387 1600 The Hospitall of Incurable Fooles Edward Blount 388 1603 A Dialogue full of pithe and pleasure Nicholas Breton 389 1605 The Dumbe Divine Speaker A. M. 390 1606 A discourse of Civill Life Lodowick Bryskett 391 [1606] Problemes of Beautie Samson Lennard 392 1607 Ars Aulica or the Courtiers Arte Edward Blount 393 1637 Curiosities: or the Cabinet of Nature R. Basset 394 1904-05 The Nobility of Women William Barker (Bercher) XII. ITALIAN AND LATIN PUBLICATIONS IN ENGLAND Italian (1552-1645) 395 1552 II Pellegrino Inglese William Thomas 396 [1553?] Cathechismo Michael Angelo Florio 397 1566 Espositione . . . sopra un libro intitolato Apocalypsis, etc. Giovanni Battista Agnello 398 [1580?] Una essortazione al Timor di Dio Jacopo Aconcio (Concio) xxxii INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS 399 1S81 La Vita di Carlo Magno Imperadore Petruccio Ubaldini 400 1581 Proverbi vulgari, raccolti in diversi luoghi d' Italia Charles Merbury 401 1584 La Cena de le Ceneri Giordano Bruno 402 1584 Dell' Infinito Universo e Mondi Giordano Bruno 403 1584 De la Causa, Principio, et Uno Giordano Bruno 404 1584 Spaccia de le Bestia Trionfante Giordano Bruno 405 1584 Atto della Guistitia d' Inghilterra William Cecil 406 1585 De Gl' Heroici Furore Giordano Bruno 407 1585 Cabala del Cavallo Pegaseo Giordano Bruno 408 1585 - Dichiaratione della Caggioni, etc. William Cecil 409 1585 La Vita di Giulio Agrieola Giovanni Maria Manelli 410 1587 Examine di varii Giudicii . . . de i Pro- testanti veri e de i Cattolici Romani 411 1591 11 Pastor Fido, and Aminta G. B. Guarini and Torquato Tasso 412 1591 ? Le Vite delle Donne Illustri Petruccio Ubaldini 413 1591 Giardino di Ricreatione Giovanni Florio 414 1592 Parte prima delle brevi Dimonstrationi et Precetti Petruccio Ubaldini 415 1594 Lo Stato delle Tre Corti Petruccio Ubaldini 416 1595 Di Tomaso Morlei 11 prime libro delle Ballete a Cinque Voci 417 1595 Scelte di Alcime Attioni e di Varii Acci- denti Petruccio Ubaldini 418 1596 Rime Petruccio Ubaldini 419 1596 Dichiaratione delle Cause che hanno indotta la . . . Reina d' Inghilterra 420 1597 Militia del Gran Duca di Thoscana Petruccio Ubaldini 421 1607 Historia de la Vita e de la Morte de 1' il- lustrissima Signora Giovanna Graia M. A. Florio 422 1609 Rime di Antonio Galli All' lUustrissima Signora Elizabetta Talbot Grey 423 1613 Raccolta d' alcune Rime del Cavaliere Lodovico Petrucci 424 1617 Scala Politica dell' Abominatione e Ti- rannia Papale di Benvenuto Italiano 425 1617 Predica . . . fatta la prima Domenica deir Avvento quest anno 1617 M. A. de Dominis 426 1618 Saggi Morali del Signore Francesco Bacono Sir Tobie Matthew 427 1619 La Caccia Alessandro Gatti 428 1645 Poems by Mr. John Milton INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS xxxiii 429 1545 430 [1549] 431 1565 432 1566 433 1571 434 1573 435 1574 436 1580 437 1581 438 1581 439 1581 440 1584 441 1582 442 [1583?] 443 1583-87 444 1584 445 1584 446 1585 447 1585 443 1585 449 1587 450 1587 451 1588 452 1590 453 1591 454 1594 455 1604 456 1605 457 1605 458 1605 Latin (1545-1637) Opusculum plane divinum de mortuonim resurrectione [John Cheke] Tractatio de Sacramento Eucharistise Pietro Martire d' Anghiera De Vita Monachorum ^ Lelio Capilupi Epitaphia et Inscriptiones Lugubres William Barker Balthasaris Castilionis comitis de Curi- ale sive Aulico B. Mantuani . . . adolescentia seu bu- colica Giovanni Battista Spagnuoli Zodiacus Vitse Pietro Angelo Manzolli Jo. Casse Galateo Nathan Chytraeus Epistolarum P. Manutii libri X Paolo Manuzio Phrases Linguae Latinae ab A. Manutio A. Manuzio, junior Paraphrasis aliquot Psalmorum Davidis Scipio Gentili S. Gentilis in XXV Davidis Psalmos Epicae Paraphrases A. Gentilis de Juris Interpretibus Dia- logi sex Alberico Gentili Philothei J. Bruni Giordano Bruno Lectiones et Epistolae quae ad Jus Civile pertinent Alberico Gentili Hugonis Platti armig. Manuele, etc. Sir Hugh Plat (Piatt) Torquato Tasso Solymeidos Scipio Gentili J. C. Stellae Nob. Rom. Columbeidos Giulio Cesare Stella A. Gentilis de Legationibus Alberico Gentili Legalium Comitiorum Oxoniensium Actio Alberico Gentili Disputationum Decas prima Alberico Gentili Conditionum Liber Singularis Alberico Gentili De Jure Belli Commentatio Prima Alberico Gentili De Injustitia Bellica Romanorum Actio Alberico Gentili De Furtivis Literarum Notis, Vulgo de Ziferis libri IV Giovanni Battista della Porta Tractatus de Globis et eorum Usu Robertus Hues Ad I. Maccabaeorum Disp. et de Lingu- arum Mistura Alberico Gentili A. Gentilis . . . Regales Disputationes Alberico Gentili De Unione Angliae et Scotiae Discursus Alberico Gentili De Libro Pyano ad Jo. Howsonum Epis- tola Alberico Gentili xxxiv INDEX OF TITLES, WITH TRANSLATORS 459 1616 M. A. de Dominis . . . suae Profectionis Consilium exponit. 460 1617-58 Re Republica Ecclesiastica Marco Antonio de Dominis 461 1619 Apologia Equitis Lodovico Petrucci contra Calumniatores suos Petruccio Ubaldini 462 1620 Historiae Concilii Tridentini libri octo Sir Adam Newton William BedeU 463 1626 Interdicti Veneti Historia Pietro Sarpi 464 1629 De Ludis Scenicis Epistolae Duae Alberico Gentili 465 1631 F. Stradae Romani . . . Prolusiones Academicae Famiano Strada 466 1637 R. P. E. Thesauri . . . Caesares Emmanuele Tesauro THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND I In 1569, Edmund Spenser, just leaving the Merchant Taylors' school, published anonymously Petrarches Visions. It is a significant illustration of the general interest in Italian literature during the reign of Queen Elizabeth that a schoolboy in his seventeenth year should try his * prentice hand' by trans- lating an Italian poet. A little more than a score of years before, Elizabeth herself, a studious girl of twelve years, trans- lated from English into Latin, French, and Italian, a collection of Prayers and Meditations, and dedicated them to her royal father, Henry VIII. The young princess's Italian exercise- book, neatly written on fine vellum, and an Italian letter to Queen Catherine Parr, dated 31 July, 1544, confirm the state- ment of Pietro Bizari, the historian and poet, that she was well taught, — " She is a perfect mistress of our Italian tongue, in the learning of which signior Castiglioni was her principal master." Various anecdotes show that Queen Elizabeth retained the * perfect readiness in Italian as well as Latin, French, and Spanish ' to which Roger Ascham testifies in The Seholemaster, Allinga, envoy of the Duke of Wiirttemberg, sent to negotiate a marriage between Elizabeth and the Archduke Charles, reports a conversation he had with the coveted bride. The Queen demurred to the marriage on account of difference of manners. The envoy sought to minimize her objection by asserting that * the Archduke could not be other than the pink of courtesy, because the Wilrttembergers modelled themselves somewhat on Italy'! "That," said Elizabeth, "is charming. I love the manners and ways of Italy; I am half Italian myself {me semble que je xxxviii ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND suis demie Italienne)" for oddly enough this negotiation with an English queen on behalf of a German archduke was con- ducted in French. It is really wonderful how familiar Italy and things Italian were in England in Tudor times. Considering its far-reaching and profound effect upon English letters, no foreign vogue before or since ever took such hold upon English society. There had been more or less commercial and scholarly intercourse between Italy and England for two centuries, but the Italian invasion of Elizabeth's reign began in earnest under the encouragement of her grandfather about the turn of the fif- teenth century. At that time the great Italian seaports com- manded the freedom of the seas, and Italian merchants carried on the business of the world. Under the enlightened foreign policy of Henry VII, England entered into this world trade by concluding conmiercial treaties with Florence and Genoa. The Italian merchants imported wool and woollens and exported general merchandise and manufactured wares of various sorts then unknown in England. In the wake of trade followed banking, for the enterprising Italian traders carried with them into England their ideas of exchange and money lending. Early Italian bankers in London were called collectively 'Lombards,' whence Lombard street, but as a matter of fact banking arose among the money dealers of Florence, chiefly the Bardi and Peruzzi families, who were in the highest repute during the fourteenth century as receivers on deposit and lenders of money. The Medici family established their political ascend- ency in Florence on the basis of trade and banking. Two Italian banks in London during the fifteenth century were financed, the one by Cosimo de' Medici, the Elder, the other by his son Piero I de' Medici. Etienne Perlin, a French eccle- siast who wrote A Description of England and Scotland, in 1558, explained the presence of Italians in Great Britain by the remark, "The Italians frequent this coimtry much on account of the bank." With the increase of trade, a sound currency, and peace. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND xxxix articles of luxury were increasingly imported from Italy, silks, cloth of gold, damask and jewels from the orient, for Venice was the door from Asia into Europe. From Murano, near Venice, came beads, glass vessels of all kinds, and looking- glasses; one of these translations, a political tract addressed to a great lady, is called A Venice Looking-Glass. Stow says that Venice glasses were made in London by one Jacob Vessaline about the beginning of Elizabeth*s reign. Admiral Sir Robert Mansell took out a patent of monopoly for glass-making, imported materials and workmen from Venice and manufac- tured glass in Broad street, London. Henry VIII continued his father's friendliness to the Italians who could do so many things and do them well. At the begin- ning of his reign he repaired the London docks, built new ships on improved designs, and brought in Italians to cast new types of cannon. He employed many Italian artists and craftsmen in his various building operations. They worked on Nonsuch Palace and Hampton Court. The beautiful chapel of Henry VII in Westminster Abbey is of Italian workmanship. Girolamo da Treviso, a pleasing colorist in the manner of Raphael, is mentioned in the royal accounts as the king's "architect." He seems to have been employed by Henry VIII chiefly as a mili- tary engineer, and he may have designed such military Tudor castles as Camber. The diplomatic service of Italians, initiated by Henry VII, his son found extremely useful in his tortuous dealings with the Roman curia. Giovanni and Silvestro Gigli, uncle and nephew, were bishops of Worcester in succession, in 1497 and 1498, but the elder Gigli never saw his diocese and the younger bishop spent very little time in it. The Italians were the first nation to regard diplomacy as a career and to educate young men of parts to follow it. A better school of diplomacy than Italian politics at the beginning of modern history it is difficult to con- ceive, that great and troubled drama, in which pope, emperor. King of France, Venice, Florence, Naples and the smaller Italian states in turn occupy the stage. Silvestro Gigli was a xl ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND trained diplomat, and Henry VII found his Italian bishop of Worcester of most value as ambassador to Rome. Henry VIII continued to employ him as English ambassador to the Lateran council, and he became Wolsey's chief diplomatic agent in Rome. By the time Elizabeth ascended the throne Tudor-Italianiza- tion had been going on for upwards of three score years and ten. The young Queen had been educated by the Italian method, she spoke Italian like a native, her well-known bold signature, * Elizabeth R,' is in Italian script. For in her time the running Italian hand now universal in all English-speaking countries finally replaced the old English character familiar to us in the crabbed signature of Shakspere. Elizabeth's interest in things Italian political and personal was lifelong. Among the State Papers of the period Italian letters are not uncommon. Bizari, who was an Italian Protestant educated in England but resi- dent on the continent, corresponded with Burghley in Italian. The Portuguese ambassador habitually wrote to Sir Francis Walsingham in Italian, and baddish Italian at that. In politics Elizabeth was deliberately Machiavellian when it suited her, and both Burghley and Walsingham died in her service. We get a glimpse of Elizabethan Italianization more far-reaching in its influence than that of any individual Italian, when we read how in her last illness the great queen turned wearily away from matters of state, "yet delighted to hear some of the Hundred Merry Tales,'* II The Italian literary conquest of England during the sixteenth century was led by the story-tellers and poets, first made known to the Elizabethans mainly through William Painter's The Palace of Pleasure (1566-67) and Thomas Watson's Passionate Centurie of Love (1582). The short story in prose, which was one of the earliest literary forms to develop in Romance liter- ature, had never been really acclimatized in England during ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND xH the middle ages. Painter introduced to Englishmen, Boccaccio, still the best teller of short stories the world has ever known, together with Boccaccio's greatest imitators, Queen Margaret and Bandello. The novelle of Ser Giovanni, Masuccio, and Straparola were almost as well known. Indeed, just as in Italy the Decameron was followed by imitations from every impor- tant Italian press, so from the Englishmen of Elizabeth's day, alive to new impressions of all sorts, and eager for stories like children, the demand for novels was excessive. Translations of stories from the Italian and French poured forth from the busy printers. Ascham says they were "sold in every shop in Lon- don," and deplores their effect in the marring of manners. A flourishing trade in "best sellers" naturally produced imitators, of whom the most successful were Robert Greene and Emmanuel Ford. Greene's novels were all modelled on the Italian, and they were so popular that Thomas Nash says of them, "glad was that printer that might bee so blest to pay him deare for the very dregs of his wit." Boccaccio, by Greene's time, had become so familiar to the Elizabethans that in 1587 Archbishop Whitgift authorized an Italian edition of // Decamerone, and the bishop of London a translation of UAmorosa Fiam metta. Watson's Passionate Centurie of Love is interesting as a con- scious study of Petrarch and the Petrarchists by a clever poet, but the century of sonnets are not sonnets at all, and of Petrarch, excepting these and other individual sonnets, it is only the Septem Psalmi Poenitentiales and the Trionfi that get translated. Sannazaro was much better liked by the trans- lators than Petrarch. Sannazaro's Arcadia^ the prototype of Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia, Greene's Perimides the Blacke- Smithy and like collective romances, was reprinted more than sixty times during the sixteenth century. It is a cantefablcy or prose-poetical romance, a literary form that appealed at once to the almost unerring instinct of the Elizabethans in recognizing a story wherever found, and to their extraordinary lyrical gift, which Shakspere shared with more than three . hundred lesser poets. xlii ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Petrarch sheds a glowing light upon the Renaissance, but as a poet he belongs to the company of Dante. When the Italian Renaissance reached Elizabeth's England, it was Boccaccio who led the way and Ariosto who was its poet. To put it in another way, although the sixteenth century in English litera- ture corresponds in a sense to the thirteenth of the Italian, yet it is the Italian writers from Boccaccio to Tasso who produced the most profound impression on the Elizabethans. Italian novelle, rich in story and song, precede the Elizabethan drama and are embedded in it. Some of the playwrights, like Greene and Munday, were men of travel, " Italianated " Englishmen, who returned home with their heads full of the ideas and culture of the south. Ford and Marston do not hesitate to introduce Italian dialogue into their plays, for many of the dramatists were university men, and the Italian language was studied at Oxford and Cambridge along with Latin and Greek. The scholarly Ascham, inveighing against the Italian leanings of his countr3anen, in The Scholemaster, yet confesses, — "not be- cause I do contemne either the knowledge of strange and diverse tonges, and namelie the Italian tonge, which nexte the Greeke and Latin tonge I like and love above all others.*' Spenser, in his dedicatory epistle to Sir Walter Ralegh pre- fixed to The Faerie Queene, ranks Ariosto and Tasso with Homer and Vergil. Marlowe was remembered, even by Shaks- pere, not as the author of The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus and Edward II, but of Hero and Leander, a poem written in the most perfervid Italian manner. Shakspere's own Venus and Adonis was more popular in its day and generation than Hamlet, if we may judge by the evidence of editions. Protests against Italianization were frequent and were penned both by the Italianate travellers, who may be supposed to have written from experience, and by the stay-at-homes who were yet unable to escape the infection they tried to avoid. Stephen Gosson, moved to write a Puritan tract against the stage, entitled it, with wholly unconscious hirnior, Plays Con- futed in Five Actions, Gosspn's opinion of plays is roundly put, ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND xliii — "Therefore, the devil not contented with the number he hath corrupted with reading Italian baudery, because all cannot read, presenteth us comedies cut by the same pattern." In an address "To the Gentlemen Students of both Universi- ties" prefixed to Greene's cantefable Menaphon, Thomas Nash wrote: — "Tush, say our English Italians, the finest wits our climate sends forth, are but drie-brained dolts in comparison of other countries: whom if you interrupt with redde rationemy they will tell you of Petrarch, Tasso, Celiano, with an infinite num- ber of others, to whom if I should oppose Chaucer, Lydgate, Gower, with such like, that lived under the tyrannic of igno- rance, I doe think their best lovers would bee much discontented with the collation of contraries, if I should write over all their heads, haile fellow, well met. One thing I am sure of," he adds stoutly, "that each of these three have vented their meeters with as much admiration in English as ever the proudest Ariosto did his verse in Italian." But Nash, for his bitter tongue was called by his contemporaries, " the English Aretine," a nickname that undoubtedly originated among these same "Gentlemen Students of both Universities." It became the fashion in Elizabeth's time for young men of family, after a few years at college, to travel abroad, and espe- cially to Italy, to complete their education. The travellers were of two sorts, men who visited foreign countries in the spirit of Bacon's essay, 0} Travel^ really to study and to observe, like John Evelyn, and the dilettante traveller, like the Earl of Oxford. Bacon says that Queen Elizabeth was personally interested in sending "forth into the parts beyond the seas some young men of whom good hopes were conceived of their towardliness, to be trained up and made fit for such public employments and to learn the languages. This was at the charge of the Queen, which was not much, for they travelled but as private gentlemen." That the prudent Queen at least tried to get the worth of her money is confirmed by Sir John Da vies: — "She hath had many Secretaries that have been xliv ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND great travaylers." It was against the idle travellers, those who travelled, as Sidney said, only from "a certain tickling humour to do as other men had done," that the protest against Italiani- zation is most insistent. It was the theory that Englishmen left their native shores in a state of innocence and returned from Italy with wide-open eyes and dubious morals. Roger Ascham's description of the *Italianated Englishman' is a classic Elizabethan pen-portrait, and I quote from The Schole- master the well-known proverb, — Englese Italianato e un diabolo incarnato. Fifty years later Bishop Hall still protested against the demoralization of travel in Quo Vadis? A Just Censure of Travell as it is commonly undertaken by the Gentlemen of our Nation (1617). Shakspere's raillery is directed against the dilettante traveller. Jacques asserts that his melancholy is of no ordinary kind, because it is due to 'the sundry contemplation of his travels.' Rosalind makes a mock of him, — "A traveller! By my faith, you have great reason to be sad. I fear you have sold your own lands to see other men's; . . . "Farewell, Monsieur Traveller: look you lisp and wear strange suits, disable all the benefits of your own country, be out of love with your nativity, and almost chide God for making you that countenance you are, or I will scaree think you have swam in a gondola." ^ Michael Drayton, dedicating Ideas Mirrour: Amours in Quatorzains (1594) to Anthony Cooke, protests Yet there mine owne, I wrong not other men. Nor trafique further then thys happy clyme; Nor fylch from Fortes nor from Petrarch's pen, A fault too common in thys latter tyme. Drayton's manly word cannot be doubted, yet it comes down to us clothed in the Petrarchian fashion of the sonnet-cycle, an Italian form which has given us some of the noblest sonnets in English. It was Edward Guilpin who anticipated the judgment of time on Elizabethan Italianization, — Drayton's condemn'd of some for imitation. But others say 't was the best Poets' fashion.^ * As You Like It, iv, 1. 2 Skialetheia, Satyre vi. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND xlv III The seventeenth century was the great age of translations into English, for the Italian Renaissance represented, not Italy alone, but the whole movement of European culture, Greek, Latin, Spanish, and French. Education and travel were both aristocratic, not to be had except by the fortunate few. The only way the ideas and manners of foreigners could be made known to all sorts and conditions of men was by translating their books. These translations were eagerly welcomed by men, who, if they had not the poise and mental reach of the Italians of the Renaissance, or the gaiety and sense of form of their French contemporaries, had yet more daring and more intel- lectual curiosity. There never has been a time when English- men were more curious to know what the world of mind and matter was like. The same spirit of adventure that carried Sir Francis Drake around the globe induced the Elizabethans to try new forms in literature, and most of the new literary forms came to them through translations from the Italian and French. A study of the English translations of the sixteenth century will show that they were adequate, both in quantity, or range of intellectual content, and in the quality of individual trans- lations. No work of genius in any language was overlooked, and while many Elizabethan translations, having served their purpose of enlarging English thought, have now become obso- lete, still there remain a considerable number of masterpieces of translation. It is an open question whether modern accu- racy and faithfulness in detail produce a great translation. At all events, the Elizabethans were not particularly interested in accuracy, and they one and all exhibit a fine carelessness in matters of detail. The Elizabethan translator enjoyed his for- eign author, found him * delightful,' to use a favorite word, and his supreme effort was to pass this 'delight' on to his readefs. He makes every stroke of interpretation tell, and whether he is translating a scholarly or a popular book, his idiomatic English is at once racy and vigorous, picturesque and dignified. xlvi ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND The effect of the translations was two-fold, on language and in literature, both of which were influenced for all time. Just how the translations of Elizabeth's lifetime affected the Eng- lish language that produced Shakspere's greatest plays, Bacon's Essays, and the Authorized Version of the Bible during the reign of her successor, cannot be entered upon here. That they did affect it profoundly no one can doubt who is familiar with Elizabethan English, its fluency and fluidity, its interest in words, in comparison of ways of saying things in different great languages, its trying out of expression, its turn for phraseology, its phrasing, which in Shakspere's case no one has ever been able to imitate. From the point of view of language, Richard Hakluyt's The Principall Navigations, Voiages and Discoveries of the English Nation, has been aptly described as "the great Elizabethan bible of adventure." The language of the trans- lators is the English the Elizabethan navigators carried around the world. English as a world language began with Drake and Ralegh. Again, the number and the general average of excellence of the Elizabethan translations had the happy effect of fixing English prose and English poetry. Much of the prose of the translators is uncertain in touch and rugged in quality, but some of it is of the very highest quality the English language is capable of. This was written by Thomas North, Thomas Danett, Philemon Holland, William Adlington, and Thomas Underdown, who established a tradition of distinguished prose. They are the forerunners in English of the simplicity and dig- nity and august severity of the prose of the Authorized Version of the Bible. So far as poetry fulfils the definition of Keats, — The great end Of poesy, that it should be a friend. To soothe the cares and lift the thoughts of man, the translations more than satisfy the test. In English poetry, they stretch away out before the Elizabethans and long after them. They recall Chaucer and Gower and Gascoigne and ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND xlvii Turberville and Watson and Fairfax and Fletcher and Spenser and Shakspere and Dryden and Pope and Goldsmith and Byron and Keats and Tennyson, most of them seated with the immortals and all of them poets who have 'lifted the thoughts of man.' The translators are a characteristic Elizabethan group. Some of them were gentlemen of birth who were educated at Oxford or Cambridge. A considerable number, which includes Crashaw, Daniel, Greene, Drummond, Gascoigne, How^ell, and Milton, were * Italianated ' travellers, whose literary work re- flects a personal knowledge of foreign lands. Queen Elizabeth's liking for men in her service, who had 'learned the languages' and knew at first hand the foreign countries she had to deal with, and never herself saw, is well-known. William Painter held the important post of clerk of the ordinance and armory; John Astley was master and treasurer of the Queen's jewels and plate; Edward Hello wes, translator of Guevara, was groom of the leash; Anthony Martin, long in service, was successively, gentleman sewer of the Queen's chamber, keeper of the royal library, and cupbearer; Thomas Bedingfield, an industrious translator, had privilege but not much money, as a gentleman pensioner of the Queen. Other translators were employed in diplomatic service. Spenser was in exile and unhappy in Ire- land, but Sir Geoffrey Fenton spent all his life in the turbulent island, and, next to Sir Henry Sidney, was the best Irish admin- istrator Elizabeth had. Sir Thomas Hoby was ambassador to France, while Sir Henry Wotton was probably the ablest diplomat of the Elizabethan age. IV Nathan Drake, in Shakespeare and His Times, gives a list of two hundred and thirty-three English poets who were Shak- spere's contemporaries, dividing them into forty major and one hundred and ninety-three minor poets. The list, large as it is, may be extended from the song-books, ballads, and prose- xlviii ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND poetical romances, while Sir Philip Sidney, in The Defense of Poesie mentions another remarkable aspect of Elizabethan poetry, — " It is already said, and as I think truly said, it is not riming and versing that maketh poesy. One may be a poet without versing, and a versifier without poetry." Elizabethan song began with TotteVs Miscellany ^ which first saw the light in 1557 and contributed to literature the Songes and Sonettes of Surrey. The anthology was immediately suc- cessful and reached eight editions in twenty years. An early successor. The Paradyse of Daynty Devises (1576), whose editor and largest contributor was Richard Edwards, master of the children of the chapel, came to eight editions in twenty-four years. A series of capital miscellanies follow, down to England's Helicon, in 1600, many bearing fascinating prose-poetical names, — A Gorgeous Gallery of Gallant Inventions (1578), A Handefull of Pleasant Delites (1584), A Banquet of Daintie Conceyts (1588), and the like. The verse of the anthologies is nearly all lyrical, and harks back to Italian hallate and madri- gali. However it came about, whether out of the courtly idea of education, or by the study of Italian poetic forms, whether the Elizabethans * wrote in numbers because the numbers came,' certain it is that practically all writers of note were poets, and all poets were lyrists. Naturally their lyric quality differs, both from Italian forms and among themselves. Some poets, like Nicholas Breton and John Donne, the noblest lyrist of all, were lyrists pure and simple. Others were dramatic lyrists; all the great dramatists wrote beautiful lyrics, as if it were a matter of course for a character to sing, personage or page. Thomas Dekker wrote dull plays and scattered diamonds of lyrics through them. Still others were musical lyrists, men who were at once musicians and poets, a rare union of gifts that was characteristic of the Renaissance both in Italy and England. If music and sweet poetry agree. As needs they must, believed and sang Richard Barnfield in The Passionate Pilgrim, ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND xlix The madrigals in Greene's novels are imitated from Boccaccio and Ser Giovanni and Sacchetti. Of these three Franco Sacchetti was the most spontaneous lyrist. He wrote charming songs and sometimes set them to music himself. One of his canzonets, — 0 vaghe montanine pasturelle, — was so popular among all classes that it was transmitted orally for many generations. The poetry of Robert Greene and Nicholas Breton and such anthologies as England's Helicon show how the Elizabethans were captivated by the gaiety and sweetness of just such songs of spring-time and ring-time as Sacchetti and Ser Giovanni wrote. An even more fruitful source of lyric form must have devel- oped out of the cultivation of music at the court, especially of the canzonet and the madrigal. William Byrd and Thomas Morley, both organists to the chapel royal, were prolific com- posers of madrigals, and the numerous song-books and books of airs of the period attest the popularity and the excellence of this form of musical composition. The Triumphes of Oriana (1601) celebrates the glories of Elizabeth two years before her death, in a collection of madrigals contributed by twenty-nine English madrigalists. Henry Peacham's A Compleat Gentleman gives a good idea of how the Elizabethans cultivated music as a part of a gentleman's education. Peacham had studied music at Modena under Orazio Vecchi, and his comment on some of the famous Italian madrigalists, the intelligent judgment of a contemporary, is the best that has come down to us. It is a truism that the noblest English poetry bears the mark of high Italian descent. The romantic drama without Italian story would be a real case of Hamlet with the part of Hamlet left out. And Italian story is not confined in English to the romantic drama, or to the Elizabethans. Dryden versifies Boccaccio's story of the spectre huntsman of Ravenna, and Byron in Don Juan writes of "Ravenna's immemorial wood,'* — Ever-green forest! which Boccaccio's lore And Dryden's lay made haunted ground to me. 1 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Other familiar stories from the Decameron are Keats's Isabella or The Pot of Easily and The Falcon, of both Barry Cornwall and Tennyson. The fine little play of Tennyson's, The Cup, is the sinister story of Synorix and Camma of A Petite Pallace of Pettie his Pleasure, The influence of the pastoral drama on singing lyric measm*es in English has undoubtedly been great. The one form of dra- matic art that the Italians have cultivated with the most suc- cess is the pastoral drama, and its outcome, the opera. By the time of Elizabeth, the Italians in Aminta and II Pastor Fido had nothing more to learn in the art of pastoral poetry; of their kind, these two dramas are perfect. By this time also they had accumulated considerable dramatic furniture in both tragedy and comedy. The great names of Trissino and Ariosto and Machiavelli are stamped on it, and a good deal of talent and some genius went into its manufacture. But it was, and is, a purely artificial drama, smacking everywhere of Plautus and Terence and Seneca. The English playwrights of Elizabeth's time had no need to go to the Italians for models of plays, for they were themselves conscious of having developed a greater drama than had been produced in Italy. Thomas Heywood, an intelligent and sound critic of the dramatic art, in the Pro- logue to his A Challenge for Beauiie, says, — Those (i.e., plays) that frequent are In Italy or France, even in these days. Compared with ours, are rather jigs than plays. By * jigs' he means the love of pageantry of the ItaKans, their mixing of comedy and music and the ballet. When Lucrezia Borgia went to Ferrara, in 1502, as the bride of Alfonso d'Este, Duke Ercole I gave a marriage entertainment of extraordinary splendor to the young couple. It was spread out over five days, and each night a different comedy of Plautus was pre- sented, embellished with musical interludes and ballets on classical and allegorical subjects. Plautus with a ballet was a species of comedy that could have had no place at the Globe or the Blackfriars, and the tragedy of Gorhoduc fortunately had no successor. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND U Sir Philip Sidney raises the point in The Defense of Poesie that the philosophers of Greece were poets. Empedocles sang his natural philosophy in verse, and Pythagoras his moral counsels. Solon told the fable of Atlantis in verse. "And truly even Plato, whosoever well considereth, shall find that in the body of his work though the inside and strength were philoso- phy, the skin as it were and beauty depended upon poetry. For all standeth upon dialogues.'' The poetical possibilities of dialogue the Italians of the Renaissance learned from the classics. They found it convenient and lively, and used it widely, even extravagantly, as a form of literary expression. Tasso wrote three personal dialogues, of which his conversa- tion with his familiar spirit is best known. One of the three, II Padre di Famiglia was translated, probably by Thomas Kyd, as The Householders Philosophiey a charming picture of old- time home. Bishop Ponet translated Ochino's dialogue on polygamy, and Samuel Daniel's first work was a translation of Giovio's Imprese, a dialogue on mottoes and badges. It seems a bit odd that Renaissance science should have trod the boards in dialogue, and the great Italian scientific dialogues raise the question whether modern scientific writing, predomi- nantly styleless and clumsy, might not still learn something from men who were scientists in thought and stylists in speech. The dialogue form compels the author to consider the other person, interlocutor or reader. He cannot barricade himself behind a heavy wall of speech; there must be some chinks at least to see through. Machiavelli's The Arte of Warre is a dia- logue; Niccolo Tartaglia*s Quesiti ed invenzioni diver siy a book of gunnery, is a collection of replies to questions put to the author by persons of the most varied conditions. Bruno's Cena de la Ceneri, or Ash Wednesday conversation, is an expo- sition of the Copernican theory. Galileo's astronomy is set forth in his two works, Dialogo ai due massimi Sistemi (Dia- logue on the Two Chief Systems), and Dialoghi delle Nuove Scienze (Dialogues of the New Science). An amusing misuse of this Renaissance form are the early lii ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Puritan dialogues against the stage and all its works. In 1581, Thomas Lovel, a Puritan who objected to the word Christmas as "savouring of popery," published A Dialogue between Custom and Verity concerning the Use and Abuse of Dauncinge and Minstrelsye. That Puritan anathema of the corruption coming out of Italy, The Anatomic of Abuses (1583) was "made dia- logue-wise by Phillip Stubs." William Prynne called his dia- tribe against plays and players, Histriomastix or The Players Scourge or Actors Tragedy (1632). How much the popular dialogue form may have had to do with the development of the great dramatic cycle of the Elizabethan period can be a matter of conjecture only; there is hardly a doubt but that it acted as a sort of bed of Procrustes for the poets of the time. It throws light on the non-dramatic Elizabethan dramatists. It explains the dull, ponderous plays, like Locrine and Covent Garden, which move across the stage, whether as tragedy or comedy, with elephantine tread. It makes clear why the sweet, bright fancy of John Day soars but lamely, with clipped wings, in the dramatic form. Neither Day, nor Nabbes, nor Munday, nor various other Elizabethan play- wrights should have written plays. What the Elizabethan poets took from the Italians then was not directly, either their lyric forms or their dramatic feeling. It was ideas, passion, grace, and gusto, those spiritual qualities whose union in the romantic drama is so picturesque, so fine, so indescribable. Together with the political sagacity of the English people, developing the state as a unit and creating a single standard of taste, together with their clearer moral in- sight, these qualities produced Shakspere. V " I pray you with my children and your household, be merry in God J' So wrote Sir Thomas More to his careful wife after the burning of his barns. If English letters can furnish a pret- tier phrase than be merry in God, it must be in Elizabethan ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND liii English, the most imaginative age of the English people. All over Elizabethan society — in dress, speech, manners, amuse- ments, pageants, masques, and plays, imagination played and glowed. Poetry to the Elizabethans was simply the transfer- ence into language of the common facts of life. Charles Lamb called it "visible poetry." In Elizabethan phraseology color and melody and distinc- tion flash out in the most unexpected places. The flash is not directly due to imagery, although it may be influenced by it. The distinctiveness of Elizabethan phrase looks simple, it is in fact perfect art in putting words together. Sir Thomas More's domestic consolation, put in words so unexpected and so fine, may be matched by many a jewel of speech in Bacon's Essays, great thought, faultlessly expressed, like God Almighty first planted a garden. Bacon's imagination rarely soars; it hovers near earth, well within the range of practical experience. Even the obscure Elizabethan does not use words as counters, one as good as another. Rather, as he would say, he writes our Eng- lish speech "with a difference." When Claudius Holyband dedicates The Italian Schoole-maister "To the most vertuous and well given Gentleman Maister Jhon Smith," the very spelling * Jhon,' with the displaced *h' struggling for life, seems to confer distinction on plain John Smith. Another characteristic of Elizabethan phraseology is its turn for sweet names. A romance is called A Posie of Gilloflowers; an anonymous sermon appeals to the unwary as, A Divine Herb- ally or The Prayse of Fertility. A grammar is correctly said to be The Enemie of Idlenesse, and chess is described as The pleas- aunt and wittie playe of the Cheasts, which it just is. The English love of gardens is reflected by Robert Jones, who calls a song-book, The Muses* Garden of Delights. Ayres or Phantasticke Spirites arrests attention, but hardly suggests a collection of madrigals. Alliteration, more or less musical, was often employed in fetching titles, sometimes with startling effect. Dyets Dry Dinner is a good name for a temperance cookery-book, but Fioravanti's II Reggimento delta Peste, * regi- liv ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND men against the plague/ suffered a sea-change indeed, when John Hester, a distinguished EUzabethan chemist, gave it the merry title of A Joy full Jewell. One musical title, "linked sweetness long drawn out" in alliteration and assonance occu- pies a distinguished niche by itself. William Hunnis was one of the minor poets, who had twelve pieces of verse in The Paradyse of Daynty Devises and two in England's Helicon. About 1583, he made a metrical version of the penitential Psalms, and named it Seven Sobs of a Sorrowfull Soulefor Sinne. The Seven Sohs became a classic, and went through numerous editions. The book sold so well throughout three generations that a century after its first appearance the stationers pre- served the copyright by wiiming a lawsuit against the Univer- sity of Oxford. Shakspere's phrasing baffles imitation, but it is not inexplica- ble. Felicity in the choice of words was a literary gift he shared with his fellow-poets, the difference, the immense difference, was that with Shakspere felicity of expression and range of thought were one whole, and that whole transcendent genius. The Elizabethan way of saying things was the inheritance of Italy, and in Italy it goes back to the word pictures of Dante. Dante's style leaves an indelible impress on the mind by its union of two Dantean qualities, observation so keen and so intense that it seems to see the very heart of things, and austere economy in the use of words, every word contributing its just proportion to the artistic effect intended. Compare for a moment Dante's beautiful description of eve- ning which opens the second canto of the Inferno, with the Elizabethan touch of Shakspere, — Lo giorno se riandava, e Vaer hruno Toglieva gli animai, che sono in terra. Dalle fatiche loro; ed io sol uno} Macbeth says, — Light thickens, and the crow Makes wing to the rooky wood.^ * V Inferno, ii, 1-3. * Macbeth, m, 2. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Iv In the eighteenth century, so finished a poet as Gray re- quired four Hnes to express the idea of gathering darkness and the home-coming of man and beast, — The curfew tolls the knell of parting day. The lo-oing herd wind slowly o'er the lea, The ploughman homeward plods his weary way, And leaves the world to darkness and to me.^ Gray*s thought is precisely Dante's, only set in an English landscape and charged with brooding reflection. Compare also Dante's frosty February morning, — In quella 'parte del giovinetto anno, Che 1 Sole; crin sotto VAquario tempra,^ with Shakspere's It is a nipping and an eager air • of the ghost scene on the platform at Elsinore. Embedded in Dante's bitter thought of the Holy Land neglected by worldly popes and cardinals, we come across an exquisite description of the annunciation at Nazzarett€t La dove Gabriello aperse Fali,* which touches the heartstrings like Hamlet's Absent thee from felicity awhile, And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain. To tell my story. ^ Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Ariosto, Tasso, all the great Itahan poets are full of scenes whose artistic effect depend not only upon choice of words, but also upon rhythm, assonance, subtle modulation of sound. Hear the pounding of hoofs in Qual esce alcnna voUa di galoppo Lo cavalier di schiera che catakhi^ The Elizabethan poets were fond of such onomatopoetic effects. Describing the tossings of sleeplessness, Shakspere pours out * Elegy uritten in a Country Churchyard, 1-4. 2 r Inferno, xxiv, 1-2. • Hamlet, i, 4. 4 II Paradiso, ix, 137-38. 6 Hamlet, v, 2. * II Purgatorio, xxiv, 94-95. Ivi ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND words, now noisy and nerve-racking, like a storm at sea, now suggestive of "the calmest and most stillest night" {II King Henry IV, iii, 1). A description of sleep that is all sleepy is Fletcher's Care-charming Sleep in Valentinian, v, 2, which is imitated from Marini's sonnet, 0 del Silentio figlio. Another favorite subject for onomatopoeia was the sound of falling water in green places, like Dante's Li ruscelletti, che de* verdi colli Del casentin discendon giuso in Arno, Facendo i lor canali efreddi e molli ^ Two Elizabethan examples of this word effect are Spenser's description of the House of Morpheus, in The Faerie Queene (i, 1, 41) and Ben Jonson's Echo's Dirge for Narcissus, in Cynthia's Revels, i, 2. It would be difficult to decide which is the greater triumph of poetic art, the delicacy of touch in Spenser's drowsy lines, or Jonson's masterful use of the compensating pause to keep eleven lines in twos, fours, fives, and sixes, perfectly rhythmical. English poets from Lyly to Shelley have celebrated the * blithe spirit' of the lark, singing *at heaven's gate.' Long before all of them Dante in II Paradiso had etched a lovely picture of the lark, — Qual lodoletta, che in acre si spazta Prima cantando, e poi face contenta DeW uUima dolcezza che la sazia; ^ VI One of the most novel and striking aspects of the Italian translations of Elizabeth's reign is the light they throw upon Italian Protestantism in England. It will be observed that the religious influence, with few exceptions, is at first exclusively Protestant, while after 1600 the Roman Catholic faith is ac- corded a hearing. About 1550, Archbishop Cranmer and Sir WiUiam Cecil estabhshed an Italian church in London. One » L' Inferno, xxx, 64-66. 2 II Paradiso, xx, 73-75. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Ivii account says "the Italians and Genoese'* had their congrega- tion in the Mercers' church of St. Thomas of Aeon. Strype describes the Itahan church as consisting of "divers Itahan nations, as Florentines, Genoezes, Milanois, Venetians, and others: though several of them joined themselves with this congregation more out of worldly ends than conscience." ^ The Italian travellers fell into the habit of going to St. Thomas of Aeon to keep up their Italian, and it was charged that they also went to church "more out of worldly ends than conscience." "The Italian church in London, which began in the time of King Edward VI was continued under Queen Elizabeth, and had the favor of the state, for the liberty of religious worship for such Italians as embraced the reformed religion. Whereof there were many residing in that city, both merchants and others, that had fled thither from some parts of Italy where the gospel had been preached, but now persecuted. Which church was thought profitable also for the use of such English gentlemen as had travelled abroad in Italy. That by their resorting thither, they might both serve God and keep their knowledge of the Italian language : which by disuse they might otherwise have soon forgotten. But it was an observa- tion now made, of the evil consequence of young men's travel- ling from hence into those parts, viz. that they lost all the good and sober principles they carried out of England with them, and became negligent of religion, and little better than atheists." ^ Roger Ascham did not think much of the influence of the Italian church upon the Italian travellers, — i ^ "Thies men, thus Italianated abroad, can not abide our Godlie Italian chirch at home : they be not of that Parish, they be not of that felowshyp : they like not the preacher: they heare not his sermons: Excepte somtyme for companie, they cum thither to heare the Italian tonge naturally spoken, not to heare God's doctrine trewly preached."^ * Memorials of Archbishop Cranmer, i, p. 343. * Strype, Annals of the Reformation, Vol. ii, Part I, p. 41. 3 The Scholemaster, p. 85, ed. 1570. Iviii ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND The Italian church does not seem to have been particularly fortunate in its choice of some of its preachers. Certainly two of them were more notorious than useful in England. John Florio's father, Michael Angelo Florio, was the first minister. He was a Florentine, originally from Siena, who fled to Eng- land from the persecution of the Waldenses in the Valtelline shortly before the accession of Edward VI. Florio was patron- ized both by Archbishop Cranmer and by Sir William Cecil, in whose house he lived for some time. The Protestant leaders soon found that Florio could not hold his people together. Many of them fell out with him, refused to pay tithes, and went again to mass. Florio sent the names of fourteen of them to Cecil, and quoted Deuteronomy to the effect that those who rebel against God, the laws, and the judges, ought to be slain without mercy. But Cecil discovered that Florio was a " wicked man" and turned him out of his house for "an act of unclean- ness.*' While he was in favor Florio translated into Italian Archbishop Cranmer's Protestant catechism for children, which had originated in Germany. After his disgrace, Florio taught Italian in London and wrote an Italian grammar, still in manuscript. His Italian life of Lady Jane Grey, supposed to be of Dutch imprint (1607), is a valuable contemporary account of that lady's tragical history. Another Italian preacher at the Mercers' Chapel is pilloried in these translations on both sides of the great religious ques- tion of the sixteenth century. In 1617, John Bill published, in both Italian and English, a Predica . . . fatta la prima Domenica deir Avvento quest anno 1617 in Londra nella cappella detta delli Merciari. The sermon was a vigorous attack upon the abuses of the Roman Church, and the preacher was Marco Antonio de Dominis, a Jesuit, bishop of Segni and archbishop of Spalatro. Upon going to England about 1616, De Dominis took with him a copy of the manuscript of the Historia del Concilio TridentinOy of Paolo Sarpi (Father Paul), which he had got hold of surrepti- tiously. In London De Dominis professed Protestantism, and was made dean of Windsor and master of the Savoy by King ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND lix James I. Under royal favor, and without the consent of Father Paul, he published the Historia del Concilio Tridentino (London, 1619), with editorial notes of his own. In 1622, De Dominis retracted in London all that he had written against the old religion, and in November of the same year he recanted Protestantism in Rome. The recantation was Englished, ap- parently at Douay, in 1623, and was retranslated as late as 1827, with the title. My Motives for renouncing the Protestant Religion. Contemporary English opinion of De Dominis is expressed in Bishop Neile's book of 1624 called, M. A. De Dominis y Archbishop of Spalatro, his Shifting s in Religion. A Man for Many Masters. Thomas Middleton ridiculed him in his allegorical play of the same year, A Game at Chess, as the "Fat Bishop," the "balloon ball of the churches." The most distinguished Italian Protestant was Pietro Martire Vermigli who had been an Augustine friar. Peter Martyr occupies a large space in the early history of the Eng- lish Church. He wrote commentaries on some of the principal books of the Bible, and several treatises on dogmatic theology, and at one time ranked next to Calvin as an expounder of Protestant doctrine. Archbishop Cranmer made him professor of ecclesiastical law at Oxford, and some of the ablest Anglican divines learned theology at his feet, among them Archbishop Grindal, Bishops Jewel and Ponet, and Dean Nowell. Like Vermigli, Alberico Gentili came of an ancient and noble Italian family. Having become a Protestant, Gentili went to England, and was entered at New Inn Hall, Oxford, in 1580. He seems to have been a man whose social qualities were as brilliant as his learning was profound. He was the friend of Sir Francis Walsingham, Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Henry Wotton, Sir Thomas Bodley, and other great Elizabethans, and was patronized by both the Earl of Leicester and the Earl of Essex. In 1587, Queen Elizabeth made him professor of civil law at Oxford. His writings, which are in Latin, constitute the earli- est systematic digest of international law that exists. Two Italian sceptics, Giulio Cesare Vanini, who had been a Ix ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Carmelite friar, and Giordano Bruno, took refuge in England from religious bigotry, and leaving there both became martyrs to the cause of freedom of belief and speech. Among the Italian works published in London are seven books, which were writ- ten by Bruno between 1583 and 1585, while he was living in the household of Michel de Castelnau de la Mauvissiere, French ambassador to England. They are all philosophical books, for Bruno, who had been a Dominican friar, had at last found at Elizabeth's court what he had sought for in vain at Geneva, philosophical liberty, * libertas philosophica,' to use his own words. Bruno was the greatest Italian thinker of the Renaissance, and as such he had attracted Sir Philip Sidney, who met him during his travels in Italy, probably in Milan. In the house of the cultivated French ambassador, Bruno re- newed the acquaintance, and came to know the group of famous Englishmen who moved in Sidney's scholarly circle, Fulke Greville, Sir Edward Dyer, Spenser, Gabriel Harvey. La Cena de le Ceneri is an Ash Wednesday conversation, dedicated to the French ambassador. It is an account of the evening of 13 February, 1584, when Bruno was invited by Fulke Greville to meet Sidney and other friends in order that they might hear * the reasons of his belief that the earth moves.' The discussion was followed by others, for the company seems to have resolved itself into a philosophical club. **We met," Bruno says, "in a chamber in the house of Mr. Fulke Greville, to discuss moral, metaphysical, and natural speculations." VII In science, the Italians led in medicine, especially in anatomy, as is shown in these translations by George Baker's edition of Giovanni da Vigo's Practica in arte chirurgica and John Hall's Chirurgia parva Lanfranci, Lanfranke of Mylayne his brief e. Nicholas Ferrar's Hygiasticon: or, the right course of preserving Life and Health unto extream old Age, translates Luigi Cornaro's ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Ixi Discorsi delta vita sohriay a work in preventive medicine that has survived into the twentieth century. The greatest medical discovery of the seventeenth century, the circulation of the blood, was claimed for Paolo Sarpi by his secretary, Fra Fulgenzio Micanzio, in his Vita del Padre Paolo delV Ordine de* Servi (1646), *' Translated out of Italian by a Person of Qual- ity," in 1651. From Fra Fulgenzio's story of the circumstances, which is independently confirmed by Pietro Gassendi in his life of Claude Peiresc, it is clear that the original idea of the circulation of the blood was one of Sarpi's sublime glimpses into things, that after trying out the idea by actual dissection Sarpi communicated it to his friend d' Aquapendente, and that d' Aquapendente was Harvey's instructor in anatomy at Padua. What Harvey did was to make the discovery available to sci- ence by tracing it to its consequences. William Harvey was a student at the University of Padua from 1597 to 1602, when he was given the degree of doctor of physic. At that time the reputation of the University of Padua was so great that twenty-three different nationalities were represented among its students. Between September, 1591, and October, 1594, twenty-five English students were matricu- lated at Padua. In Harvey's time the medical school of Padua was the best in the world. His diploma was signed by Fabrizio d' Aquapendente, the greatest anatomist in Europe, then pro- fessor of anatomy and surgery in the University of Padua, and by the medical humanist, Giovanni Tommaso Minadoi, pro- fessor of medicine, whose Historia delta Guerra fra Turchi et Persiani was translated by Abraham Hartwell, secretary to Archbishop Whitgift. Physicians who had studied medicine in Italy, whether Eng- lish or Italian, easily acquired practice and influence in Eng- land, especially at the court and among the nobility. Two of Henry VIII's physicians were the medical humanist, Thomas Linacre, and John Chambre, both doctors of medicine of Padua. Through the influence of Linacre and Chambre the College of Physicians was founded, in 1518; the plan followed that of Ixii ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND similar institutions in Italy and was drawn up by Linacre, who became first president and held that oflSce until his death. Chambre became censor of the College of Physicians in 1523. A medical adviser of both Queens Mary and Elizabeth was Cesare Adelmare, father of Sir Julius Caesar, judge of the admiralty court, long a faithful, ill-paid servant of the crown. Like Linacre, Adelmare was a graduate both in arts and in medicine of Padua. He became naturalized, and after five years* practice in London was elected censor of the College of Physi- cians. Giulio Borgarucci, one of Elizabeth's court physicians, was brother to Prospero Borgarucci, professor of anatomy in the University of Padua. He is first heard of as a member of the Italian branch of the "Strangers' church" in London under the ministry of Girolamo Jerlito. In 1563, Borgarucci treated the plague by bleeding, it is said successfully. A device of his against the plague was the porno, or ball compounded of balsamic substances to be carried in the hand and squeezed to ward off the effects of foul air. In 1572, Borgarucci was incor- porated M.D. in the University of Cambridge, and in the fol- lowing year he was made physician to the royal household for life. Borgarucci was also physician to the Earl of Leicester, who was accused of using his physician's knowledge of poisons on persons who obstructed his way. Dr. Jasper Despotine was a Venetian physician, who, be- coming a Protestant, was encouraged to go to England by William Bedell, chaplain to Sir Henry Wotton. Bedell helped to settle Dr. Despotine in Bury St. Edmunds, where he prac- tised medicine. A distinguished Italian physician who visited England dur- ing the reign of Edward VI was Girolamo Cardano, whose De Consolatione was translated by Thomas Bedingfield as Carda- nus Comfortey "And published by Commaundement of the Right Hon. the Earl of Oxford." Cardano is most celebrated for his discoveries in algebra, and especially by "Cardan's formula" for solving equations of the third degree (which it ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Ixiii was charged he filched from Tartaglia) . He was a graduate in medicine of Padua, and dabbled in astrology. In 1550, Cardano was in London as the guest of the great Greek scholar, Sir John Cheke. From there he went to Scotland to treat Archbishop Hamilton of St. Andrews, whom he cured. While in London Cardano saw the young king, Edward VI, in a medical capacity, and cast his horoscope, predicting long life. In his Dialog o sulla Morte, Cardano gave an account of his visit to England, and of his impressions of King and people, which is all the more valu- able because it is the judgment of a competent and disinter- ested observer. < A deservedly popular book in physical science was Giovanni della Porta's Magiae Naturalise translated as Natural Magick: wherein are set forth all the riches and delights of the Naturall Sciences. As the English title shows, Porta's Magiae Naturalis is the forerunner in Italy of Bacon's last work, the Sylva Sylva- rum. Both books consist of a miscellaneous collection of obser- vations and experiments in natural history, some of them sound science, others as fanciful as are the names 'Natural Magic' and *Wood of Woods' to describe scientific work in physics and biology. Blundeville's The Theoriques of the seven Planets (1602) makes the first application of the Copernican theory of the solar system, which Bruno discussed with Sir Philip Sidney and Fulke Greville. Apart from the great Italian anatomists and physicists of the sixteenth century, Elizabethan science in translation is considerably mixed with alchemy and magic and sheer credu- lity. Translators of this sort were wont to speak of their pseudo- scientific facts as * secrets.' The Secretes of . . . Alexis of Pie- mount, a kind of dispensatory of formulae for medicines, cos- metics, perfumes, and soaps, was a household book for upwards of a century. In A Booke of Secrets William Philip told the Elizabethans how the Italians made ink and ordered wines. A Revelation of the Secret Spirit declares **the most concealed secret of Alchymie," a bare dozen years after Ben Jonson's Ixiv ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND The Alchemist had once for all satirized that Elizabethan rogue out of court. Military tactics the Elizabethans called an art, and they learned it from Machiavelli, Tartaglia, and Cataneo. Federico Grisone and Claudio Corte taught them horsemanship, an important part of a gentleman's education. Vincentio Saviolo, who suggested to Shakspere the immortal Touchstone, con- ducted a fencing-school in London, "which he called his col- ledge, for he thought it great disgrace for him to keep a fence- * schoole, he being then thought to be the only famous maister of the arte of armes in the whole world." Epulario or The Italian Banquet is a Venetian cookery-book. Epulario contains a diverting recipe that illustrates the nursery- rime of "Sing a song of sixpence." Fancy the romantic Eliza- bethans being instructed from Venice how "to make Pies that the Birds may be alive in them, and fly out when it is cut up!" Fynes Moryson in his Itinerary (1617) agrees with Montaigne in praise of Italian abstinence in eating and of the daintiness with which the Italians served food. Coryat picked up the information that the Guelf laid his plate with the knife, fork, and spoon to right, while the Ghibelline wished to find his spoon at the top of his plate. Ben Jonson on Italian table manners is satirical, — Then you must learn the use And handling of your silver fork at meals. The metal of your glass; (these are main matters with your Italian.) ^ The Jerusalem artichoke is an Italian vegetable that was distributed over Europe, after 1617, from the Farnese garden in Rome. It has nothing to do with Jerusalem, but is the arti- choke that * turns with the sun,' girasole articiocco. Many Ital- ian gardens served as receiving stations for foreign plants and flowers in the process of European acclimatization. The coin- cidences between passages in The Winter's Tale and Bacon's essay Of Gardens may be explained by the fact that both Shak- 1 Volpone, or The Fox, iv, 1. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Ixv spere and Bacon could have known some flowers then newly imported, such as the crown imperial, only in the Strand gar- dens of the great nobles of Elizabethan London. VIII The English had everything to learn from the Italians in the fine arts, and during the long peace brought about and main- tained by three able Tudor sovereigns, architecture, sculpture, and painting flourished. Sir Henry Wotton, twice English ambassador to Venice, was an early lover and collector of works of art; in his will, he bequeathed pictures, his viola da gamba, and Italian locks and screws. But the "Father of Vertu in England," as Horace Walpole named him, was Thomas Howard, second Earl of Arundel, in whose house at Highgate Bacon died. Howard began his career as an art collector on his first visit to Italy in 1609. He is credited with having first dis- covered the talent of Inigo Jones, who had been sent to travel "over Italy and the politer parts of Europe" at the expense of William Herbert, third Earl of Pembroke. Both Herbert and Howard employed Jones to buy works of art for them, and Howard's collection of pictures, marbles, gems, and other art objects, brought together at Arundel House, London, was the first large art gallery in England. Inigo Jones had gone to Italy to study architecture, and while there he became interested in the elaborate Italian dramatic performances, which demanded the skill of painter and sculptor as well as of playwright and musician. This form of entertainment passed into France, where it was called le ballet d' action. In London, Jones associ- ated himself with Ben Jonson, and in the hands of these two masters the ballet d' action developed into the masque with shifting scenery. In so far as the masque was pageantry, more or less loosely supplied with words, it did not survive the Elizabethan age, but the use of shifting scenery has become so great that a modern play as mere spectacle is likely to be more pleasing to the eye than satisfactory to the intelligence. Ixvi ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND The first Italian of note to carry his art into England was Pietro Torregiano, the sculptor who broke Michelangelo's nose. "Peter Torresany" went to England with some Florentine merchants and entered the service of Henry VII. His English masterpiece is the beautiful tomb of Henry VII in Westminster Abbey, which Bacon described as "one of the stateliest and daintiest monuments of Europe." Other Italian artists who were employed by Henry VIII, and whose taste exerted great influence upon architecture and upon the application of sculp- ture and painting to architecture were Trevisano and Antonio To to. • Girolamo di Pier Maria Pennacchi, called Girolamo da Treviso, or Trevisano, was an architect and engineer who is said to have introduced terra-cotta or moulded brick-work for ornaments. Antonio Toto, son of Toto del Nunziata, and Barto- lommeo Penni were painters, and all three of these artists were pupils or of the school of Raphael. Vasari says that Toto del Nunziata worked on the King's "principal palace," probably Nonsuch Palace, near Cheam, in Surrey. Benedetto da Rovez- zano, an able Florentine sculptor, began a tomb for Cardinal Wolsey in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, which Henry VIII quietly appropriated for himself after the fall of Wolsey, and then employed Rovezzano and Giovanni da Majano to finish it. The famous terra-cotta medallions of the Caesars at Hampton Court were made by Giovanni da Majano. The old manor-house of Sutton Place, Guildford, and Layer Marney Hall, Essex, built by Sir Henry Marney, captain of the guard to Henry VIII, are fine examples of Italian Tudor architecture. Its characteristics are decorative details in terra- cotta or moulded brick-work, bass-reliefs fixed upon walls, plasterwork laid over brick walls (sometimes painted), and square bricks of two colors, highly glazed and placed in diagonal lines as at Layer Marney. The Italian artists employed Englishmen to work out their designs, and Elizabethan architecture shows that while English craftsmen never acquired skill in the Italian arts of design, they were very clever in adapting Italian ideas to English building ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Ixvli conditions. Plastering, which was then a new art, furnishes a good illustration. Even stately English houses were smaller than Italian palaces and the English climate is colder than that of Italy. Italian artists never had to deal with the question of covering the flat ceiling of a room of moderate height with a suitable plastered decoration. Charles Williams is the first English plasterer whose practice of his art is recorded. He had travelled in Italy and had probably been employed at Nonsuch Palace. Between 1567 and 1579 Sir John Thynne built Long- leat House, Wilts. Longleat cost eight thousand pounds (about forty thousand pounds in twentieth-century money), and has the reputation of being the first well-built house in England. While Sir John Thynne vras building Longleat, Charles Williams wrote to him offering his services in supply- ing internal decorations after "the ItaHan fashion." Among the Elizabethan records preserved at Longleat are two letters from Sir William Cavendish and his wife to Sir John Thynne asking him for the use of this "cunning playsterer." The Cavendishes wrote that they had heard how Williams had made "dyvers pendants and other pretty things and had flow- ered the hall at Longleat," and they wished to get him to do similar work for them at Hardwick Hall, Devon. Sir WilUam Cavendish's wife was Elizabeth Hardwick, "Bess of Hard- wick," who took for a fourth husband, George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury. Edmund Lodge describes the Countess of Shrewsbury as "a builder, a buyer and seller of estates, a money-lender, a farmer, and a merchant of lead, coals, and timber; when disengaged from these employments she intrigued alternately with Elizabeth and Mary, always to the prejudice and terror of her husband."^ Bess of Hardwick was the great- est Elizabethan builder. Horace W^alpole's epitaph for her records the names of "five stately mansions" she erected, — When Hardwicke's tow'rs shall bow yr head, Nor masse be more in Worksop said, * Illustrations of British History, Biography, and Manners in the Reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary, Elizabeth, and James I, Ixviii ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND When Bolsover's fair frame shall tend Like Oldcoates to its destined end. When Chatsworth knows no Candish bounties. Let fame forget this costly countess. Walpole attributes Bess of Hardwick's zeal in building to a prediction that she should not die so long as she was building. She hved to be ninety, and died 13 February, 1607/08, "in a hard frost while her builders could not work." Her estates were estimated at sixty thousand pounds a year, an income she herself acquired, partly by her business ability and partly by her skill in match-making. Sir William Cavendish, her second husband, was the father of her children. Her second son founded the dukedom of Devonshire, and her third son, the dukedom of Newcastle, while she married her daughter, Elizabeth Cavendish, to Charles Darnley. Through this match Bess of Hardv/ick became grandmother to Arabella Stuart. It is one of the tragedies of art that there is no great portrait of any great Elizabethan. Paolo Veronese painted a portrait of Sir Philip Sidney, in 1574, for Hubert Languet, and we know that Languet thought the expression of the young man of twenty "too sad and thoughtful." Veronese's portrait of Sid- ney is unfortunately lost, and of extant pictorial art all the portraiture of Elizabeth's time falls below the fine work done by Holbein for Henry VIII and the beautiful pictures in which Van Dyck makes us see again the people of "the Warres," cavaliers with dark careworn faces and the delicate proud ladies who mated with them. The best known portrait painter of the period was Federigo Zuccaro, an Italian refugee, who went to England in 1574 and remained four years. Zuccaro painted historical and decorative subjects in the facile Italian style that followed the great tradi- tions of Raphael and Michelangelo. He was not a portrait painter by profession, nor was he attached to the court, nor did he stay in England long enough to paint all the portraits that are attributed to him. Zuccaro painted several portraits of Queen Elizabeth. The 'Rainbow' portrait of Elizabeth at ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Ixix Hatfield is attributed to him. The full-length portrait of Sir Walter Ralegh at the age of thirty-four now in the National Portrait Gallery is by Zuccaro. The Marquis of Bath owns a Zuccaro portrait of the Earl of Leicester, and a portrait of Sir Francis Walsingham by Zuccaro was at Strawberry Hill until its sale in 1842. The Zuccaro portrait of Sir Philip Sidney is dated 1577. Twenty-one portraits, said to be by Zuccaro, were brought together in 1866, but in the Illustrated Catalogue of a Loan Collection of Portraits of English Historical Personages who died prior to the year 1625, exhibited at Oxford in 1904, Zuccaro was represented by three portraits only, a portrait of the Earl of Leicester, owned by University College, and two of Queen Elizabeth, the one the property of Bodley's Library and the other belonging to Jesus College. Elizabethan portraits are not distinguished. They are dis- tinguishable by their wooden faces, stiff figures, and rich cos- tumes. The wooden faces are explained by the painters' prac- tice of the time. It was the custom for the painter to make a drawing from the subject, probably at one sitting only, to- gether with notes of the costume and accessories. Then the portrait was completed on panel in the painter's studio; when done it could be repeated as often as desired, or even varied by the painter or his assistants. Elizabethan artists were largely Netherlandish, and it is clear that they were much more interested in painting the elab- orate costumes of the personages they portrayed, than in get- ting at the soul of "the spacious times," which must have been reflected in their faces. Dress is always more or less indicative of mental states, and there never has been a time before or since when there was such sympathy between clothes and the lives of the people wearing them as during the forty-five years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The picturesque dress of the Elizabethans is the outward and visible symbol of the romance in which they lived. This is particularly true of the dress of men, which was even gayer than that of women. Brightness of color and smartness in cut came out of Italy, and were criti- Ixx ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND cized even there by the more sober sort. "Time hath brought pride to such perfection in ItaUe, that we are almost as fantas- tike as the Enghsh Gentleman that is painted naked, with a pair of sheeres in his hande [Andrew Borde's sign], as not being resolved after what fashion to have his coat cut. In truth, quoth Farnese, I have scene an English Gentleman so diffused in his sutes, his doublet being for the weare of Castile, his hose for Venice, his hat for France, his cloake for Germanic, that he seemed no way to be an Englishman but by his face." {Greenes farewell to Folly.) In 1572, Viscount Montacute married his son and daughter to daughter and son of Sir William Dormer. Gascoigne tells us naively that eight gentlemen, all related to Lord Montacute, decided to present a masque in celebration of the double wed- ding. The first thing they did was to buy "furniture of Silkes," then they "caused their garments to bee cut in the Venetian fashion," and last, as a kind of afterthought, they employed George Gascoigne to write the masque — around the Venetian costumes. The dress of the cavaliers was still a pageant of color and form, but the whimsical and fantastic had gone. The cut was more graceful, and purple velvet and cloth of silver were more subdued color effects. Human dress has never been more beautiful than it is seen in the Black armor, falling lace, and altar-lights at mom, that Van Dyck painted. IX "When Learning first came up, men fansied that every thing could be done by it, and they were charm'd with the Eloquence of its Professors, who did not fail to set forth all its Ad^^antages in the most engaging Dress. It was so very modish, that the Fair Sex seemed to believe that Greek and Latin added to their Charms; and Plato and Aristotle untranslated were frequent ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Ixxi Ornaments of their Closets. One would think by the Effects, that it was a proper Way of Educating them, since there are no Accounts in History of so many truly great Women in any one Age, as are to be found between the Years 1500 and 1600." This judgment of the education of women during the Renais- sance is that of William Wotton, in his Reflections upon Ancient and Modern Learning (1694). It voices the soundest and the most far-reaching idea of the sixteenth century, one whose end is by no means yet, that the new birth was the enlighten- ment of the human spirit. The great men of the Renaissance recognized the human spirit in girls as well as boys; they gave to their sons and daughters the same intellectual training. What the Renaissance idea of the education of women was, in theory, we see in the third book of II Cortegiano, where Giuliano de' Medici undertakes to fashion the gentlewoman of the court. He does it so liberally, imagining such a bright, sweet, brave creature, possessing *'the knowledge of all things in the world," together with "the virtues that so seldom times are seen in men," that one of the interlocutors, Gaspare Pallavicino, won- ders why he will not have women to rule cities, to make laws, and to lead armies, while men stand spinning in the kitchen. Giuliano answers smiling, — "Perhaps this too were not amiss. Do you not know that Plato, which was not very friendly to women, giveth them the overseeing of cities?" In practice, organized education of the sixteenth century was aristocratic and masculine, accessible to the few only and to men only. Still Elizabethan schools — the universities and the colleges within them — by massing teaching and reducing its cost, did enable some commoners, in favorable circumstances, to get an education. But all institutions, both of secondary and higher education, barred their doors to women. That made the education of women even more aristocratic than that of men, for only noblemen and families of considerable means could afford to employ tutors for girls. The learned ladies of Elizabeth's time, without exception, were the daughters of great nobles or of gentlemen of distinguished social position. Ixxii ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Sir Thomas More's daughters, Margaret More Roper, Eliza- beth More Daunce, CeciUa More Heron, and their kinswoman, Margaret Giggs Clement, all took eagerly the classical educa- tion he gave them by tutors. Erasmus dedicated his commen- taries on Prudentius's hymns to his friend and correspondent, Margaret More Roper, and called her "the fiower of all learned matrons in England." Sir Anthony Cooke, tutor to King Edward VI, himself taught his five daughters and four sons, the children all coming under the same mental discipline. The daughters all made great mar- riages, three of them very great marriages. Mildred Cooke, the eldest, was the second wife of William Cecil, Lord Burghley ; Anne Cooke, the second daughter, became the second wife of Sir Nicholas Bacon and the mother of Sir Francis Bacon. She read Latin, Greek, Italian, and French, "as her native tongue," and has the reputation of being the most learned woman of her time; Elizabeth Cooke married, first. Sir Thomas Hoby, ambassador to France and translator of II Cortegiano, and second, John, Lord Russell, second son of Francis Russell, second Earl of Bedford. Some of the families whose educated daughters became dis- tinguished women were the noble houses of Sackville, Seymour, Sidney, Spencer, and Talbot. Many of these women were not only generous but discerning patrons of men of letters. Dedi- cations of books to noble ladies are full of tributes to their intelligence and their virtues and make known how great their influence was on Elizabethan literature. Queen Elizabeth natu- rally leads the patrons of literature, and many books were dedicated to her, both by English authors and by foreigners who wished to commend themselves to her notice. Next to Elizabeth, in generous friendliness to the literary art, stand three Sidney women. To Lady Mary Sidney, mother of Philip and Mary Sidney, Geoffrey Fenton dedicated Certaine Tragicall Discourses, in 1567. To another lady of the Sidney family, Dorothy Sidney Spencer Smythe, Countess of Sunderland, granddaughter of Robert Sidney, brother of Philip and Mary ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Ixxiii Sidney, James Howell dedicated, in 1648, A Venice Looking- Glass. Dorothy Sidney was Edmund Waller's "Saeharissa," and the inspiration of his lyrics. Go, Lovely Rose, and On a Girdle. After Queen Elizabeth, more books were dedicated to Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, than to any other Elizabethan lady. Mary Sidney was carefully educated by private tutors, and shared her brother Philip's love of study and turn for literature. Her marriage to the Earl of Pembroke did not break off their intellectual comradeship, for Philip Sidney often stayed with his sister at Wilton. There she col- lected a library which contained a large number of Italian books. Sidney began his Arcadia at her desire and suggestion while he was spending the summer of 1580 with her at Ivy Church, a small house of hers near Wilton. After Sir Philip Sidney's death his sister completed and edited the romance, which he had named for her. The Countess of Pembrokes Arcadia. Mary Sidney was "Urania sister unto Astrophel" in Colin Clouts Come Home Againe, but in Astrophel Spenser named her elegiac poem, The Dolefull Lay of Clorinda. Spenser dedicated to her The Ruines of Time and one of the sonnets prefixed to The Faerie Queene. Abraham Fraunce inscribed two transla- tions from the Italian to her. Daniel, who was tutor to her son, William Herbert, third Earl of Pembroke, said she "first en- couraged and framed " him to the pursuit of literature. Court- hope conjectures that Mary Sidney paid the expenses of Daniel's Italian journey, in order to fit him for the position she expected him to hold in her household on his return, and thinks that when Daniel dedicated his sonnet-cycle Delia to the Countess of Pembroke, he was merely inscribing the name of his benefactor on a work of which she was the real inspiration. Mary Sidney succored Nicholas Breton in distress, and he expresses passionate devotion to her in The Pilgrimage to Para- dise coyned with the Countess of Pembrokes Loue. She was Pandora of Drayton's Idea: The Shepheards Garland, while a crowd of lesser poets sing her praises, Thomas Watson, Thomas Ixxiv ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Churchyard, Thomas Nash, Barnabe Barnes, Thomas Morley, John Davies of Hereford, and others. Mary Sidney has no monument in Sahsbury Cathedral; she needs none, for the Spenserian lyrist, William Browne, has enshrined her memory in imperishable verse, — Underneath this sable hearse Lies the subject of all verse, Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother: Death, ere thou hast slain another. Fair, and learned, and good as she. Time shall throw a dart at thee. There were four learned ladies of the Spencer family of Althorp; Anne Spencer Stanley Sackville, Countess of Dorset, Alice Spencer Stanley Egerton, Countess of Derby, Elizabeth Spencer, Lady Carey, and Lady Carey's daughter, Elizabeth Carey, Lady Berkeley. Anne, Elizabeth, and Alice Spencer were daughters of Sir John Spencer of Althorp. To each of these ladies, his kinswomen, Spenser dedicated a poem of his Complaints; to Anne Spencer, Mother Hubberds Tale, to Eliza- beth Spencer, The Fate of the Butterfliey and to Alice Spencer, The Teares of the Muses. WTiatever the relationship was, the dedication of this poem shows that the Althorp Spencers acknowledged it. Spenser wrote to Alice Spencer, then Lady Strange, that she deserved to be honored by him, both for her "particular bounties," and for "some private bands of affin- itie, which it hath pleased your Ladiship to acknowledge." It is Alice Spencer, Countess of Derby, of whom Thomas Warton wrote, "The peerage-book of this countess is the poetry of her time." Warton was thinking of the unique distinction of a lady to whom Spenser dedicated in her youth The Teares of the Muses (1591), and who lived to have Milton write Arcades for an Entertainment to her at her house at Harefield (about 1635). Warton might well have said 'the peerage-book of this countess is the literature of her time,' for Elizabethan litera- ture is studded all over with dedications, epistles, and poetical laudations, which the Countess of Derby shared with her two husbands, with her three daughters, and with her grandchildren. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Ixxv In her literary and social influence, the career of the Countess of Derby in Elizabethan England most nearly reflects that of Isabella d' Este, Marchioness of Mantua, in Renaissance Italy. A series of most interesting dedications and literary memora- bilia attest the interest in letters of the Countess of Derby and her daughters and grandchildren. They also make it clear that Alice Spencer was a discerning patron of literature, attract- ing to her men of real genius and holding their allegiance as long as she lived. In her train, we find Spenser, Milton, Lyly, Ben Jonson, Marston, John Davies of Hereford, Carew, Henry Lawes, Inigo Jones, Jeremy Taylor, and Lord Herbert of Cherbury. Comus was written for the inauguration of her son- in-law, the Earl of Bridgewater, as President of Wales, and the original actors were her grandchildren. The foundations of the great library of Bridgewater House were laid by her second husband. Lord Chancellor Ellesmere. This library is still in existence and some of its choicest treasures are the books personally presented to the Countess of Derby by the Eliza- bethan men of letters she befriended. In art, one of the most famous portraits of Shakspere, the Chandos portrait, was finally preserved for posterity by the family of Alice Spencer. After a checkered career, this celebrated portrait came into the hands of James Brydges, third Duke of Chandos, through whose daughter it passed to her husband, the Duke of Bucking- ham; the Earl of Ellesmere bought it of the estate of the Duke of Buckingham, and presented it to the English nation, in 1848. The Duke of Chandos was a descendant of the Countess of Derby's third daughter, and the Earl of Ellesmere, of her second daughter. Curiously enough, the Countess of Derby's estate of Hare- field Manor is indissolubly connected with English literature through the Newdigate Prize for poetry at Oxford University. Harefield Manor had been in possession of the Newdigate family or their forebears from time immemorial, when, in 1585, John Newdigate sold it to Sir Edmund Anderson. In 1601, Sir Edmund Anderson conveyed Harefield to the Lord Keeper, Ixxvi ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Sir Thomas Egerton, to his wife, AKce, Countess of Derby, and to her daughters after her. The Newdigates bought the manor back from the estate of the Countess of Derby's grandson, Lord Chandos, in 1675. In 1805, Sir Roger Newdigate, fifth Baronet of Harefield, left a thousand pounds by will to Oxford University to establish an annual prize for poetry. The Newdi- gate Prize has been awarded more than a hundred times, and many of the prizemen have achieved distinction in English let- ters, John Wilson (" Christopher North "), Dean Milman, Dean Stanley, John Ruskin, Sir Edwin Arnold. Two of the Newdi- gates have filled the chair of poetry at Oxford — Matthew Arnold and John Campbell Shairp. In 1912, the Newdigate Prize crossed the Atlantic ocean and was won by a Rhodes scholar from Massachusetts, for a poem on King Richard the First before Jerusalem. Indirectly the American Newdigate links the prosaic world we live in to the great poetry of the Elizabethan age. The most learned lady of the Russell family was Lucy Harington, first cousin once removed to Sir John Harington, and wife of Edward Russell, third Earl of Bedford. Lucy Harington's patronage of literature began in her girlhood, when, in 1583, Claudius Holyband, probably her tutor in lan- guages, dedicated to her his polyglot grammar, Campo di Fior: or else The Flowrie Field of Foore Languages (Latin, French, Italian, and English) . Ten years later as Countess of Bedford, she was * Idea,' — Great Lady, essence of my chiefest good. Of the most pm"e and finest tempred spirit, who inspired Michael Drayton's Idea: The Shepheards Garland (1593) and Ideas Mirrour (1594). Drayton was but one of the many poets, wits, and courtiers who met in her salon at Twickenham. At the court of James I the Countess of Bedford was the "cynosure of courtly eyes," her popularity and her good offices to men of letters continuing unabated during two reigns. The best writers of her day vie with one another in singing her praises. Apart from conventional flattery, their ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Ixxvii judgments of her character present Lucy Harington to us as a brilliant woman, meeting life adequately in many different aspects, quite in the manner of the great ladies of the Italian Renaissance. Lodge dedicated A Marguerite of America, "To the noble, learned and vertuous Ladie, the Ladie Russell," "our English Sappho.'* One of the sonnets prefixed to Chapman's transla- tion of the Iliad is addressed, "To the right noble patroness and grace of virtue, the Countess of Bedford." Among the sonnets "in Honor of many noble and worthy Persons," of John Davies of Hereford, is one "To honor, wit, and beauties excellency, Lucy, Countesse of Bedford." Sir Thomas Roe, ambassador to India, bears witness that the Countess of Bed- ford was wonderfully informed on "ancient medals," while Sir William Temple extols her for having "projected the most perfect figure of a garden he ever saw." John Donne is distinguished among Elizabethan poets by subtlety of thought and refinement of manner. It may be that it is because of these two qualities that he rises above them also in appreciation of good women. Donne's lyrics to his wife, Anne More, are genuine love poems. Izaac Walton describes Donne's lifelong friendship for Magdalen Herbert, George Herbert's mother, as an " amity made up of a chain of suitable inclinations and virtues"; Magdalen Herbert was the subject of Donne's beautiful elegy. The Autumnal^ beginning No Spring, nor Summer's beauty has such grace. As I have seen in one autumnal face. To the Countess of Bedford Donne wrote seven characteristic and interesting poems. One, describing conventional sighs and tears in Twickenham Garden, is in the artificial Elizabethan style. The other six are all fine and sincere; their spirit is expressed in the noble lines, — Madam, You have refined me; and to worthiest things. Virtue, art, beauty, fortune, now I see Rareness or use, not nature, value brings. Ixxviii ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND The thought anticipates Steele's tribute to Lady Elizabeth Hastings, — *'to love her is a liberal education." ^ Ben Jonson's tribute to the Countess of Bedford is a model of good feeling, good-breeding, and respect. It ends, — Only a learned and a manly soul I purposed her, that should, with even powers. The rock, the spindle, and the shears control Of Destiny, and spin her own free hours. Such when I meant to feign, and wished to see. My Muse bade Bedford write, and that was she. Another great lady of the Russell family was Anne Clifford, granddaughter of the second Earl of Bedford, and wife, first, of Richard Sackville, second Earl of Dorset, and second, of Philip Herbert, fourth Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery. Anne Clifford's education was directed by her mother, Margaret Russell, Countess of Cumberland, who employed Samuel Daniel to tutor her little girl of nine or ten at Skipton Castle. This was in 1599; in 1603, Daniel, still teaching Lady Anne Clifford, wrote a poetical epistle to Lord Chancellor Ellesmere, bewailing his "misery, that whilst I should have written the actions of men, I have been constrained to live with children." Beside Daniel's complaint should stand Lady Anne's apprecia- tion of her tutor. A large family picture of the Cliffords at Appleby Castle preserves Daniel's portrait next that of Lady Anne Chfford, while a detail of the painting shows a shelf on which Daniel's poetical works stand beside Spenser's. After Daniel's death, Anne Clifford, then Countess of Dorset, built a monument to him in Beckington church, Somerset. John Donne paid tribute to Daniel's teaching when he said of Anne Clifford, "she knew well how to discourse of all subjects, from predestination to slea-silk." Anne Clifford was a great heiress, and like Bess of Hardwick, she was one of the busiest builders in Elizabethan England. Besides the memorial to Daniel, she erected Spenser's monument in Westminster Abbey. She re- built or restored her six castles of Skipton, Appleby, Brougham, Brough, Pendragon, and Bardon Tower; in ecclesiastical archi- 1 The Tatler, No. 49. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Ixxix lecture the churches of Appleby, Skipton, and Bongate and the chapels of Brougham, Ninekirks, Mallerstang, and Barden are of her construction. Horace Walpole contributed to the World, 5 April, 1753, an anecdote of Anne Clifford of right Elizabethan ring, ^^^len Sir Joseph Williamson, secretary of state to Charles II, wrote to her naming a candidate for her pocket borough of Appleby, Anne Clifford replied, — " I have been bullied by an usurper, I have been neglected by a court, I will not be dictated to by a subject; your man shan't stand. "Anne Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery." A remarkable Elizabethan lady was Dorothy Wadham, founder of Wadham College, Oxford. She was born Dorothy Petre, eldest daughter of Sir William Petre, whose able diplo- macy, "smooth, reserved, resolved, yet obliging," served the English crown through the four reigns of Henry, Edward, Mary and Elizabeth. After the death of her husband, Nicholas Wadham, in 1609, Dorothy Wadham, at the age of seventy- five, determined to found a college in Oxford as a joint memorial of her husband and herself. By 1613, when Dorothy Wadham was seventy-nine years old, Wadham College was built and opened. Dorothy Wadham herself never saw Wadham College, but from its foundation until her death, in 1618, at the ripe age of eighty-four, she most effectually controlled the col- lege. She retained all power and patronage in her own hands. Once a year she re-appointed the college oflficers, causing all posts, except that of sub-warden, to rotate. The sub-warden was a permanent officer, but he was a man of her own choosing and acted merely as her steward. Through him she distributed scholarships to her friends and retainers, engaged servants, and managed Wadham College precisely as if it were a piece of her personal property, as in fact it was. The letters of Ixxx ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Dorothy Wadham, from 1609 to 1618, are of unusual inter- est, from the insight they give into EKzabethan domestic economy.^ X The ItaKan Renaissance was made known to the Elizabe- thans by more than two hundred and forty English translators, including directly or indirectly, every considerable writer of the period. Bacon is not here in English, but his friend. Sir Tobie Matthew, the most ' Italianated ' Englishman of his time, translates the Moral Essays into Italian, and dedicates them to Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, eulogizing his lifelong friend for "having all the thoughts of that large heart of his set upon adorning the age in which he lived, and benefitting as far as possible the whole human race." Shak- spere is not here, but Shakspere is the soul of the romantic drama, and the English romantic drama not only went to Italian literature for subjects and ideas, but it borrowed from the Italian drama much of its machinery, — the chorus, the echo, the play within the play, the dumb show, the ghosts of great men as prologue, apparatus in general, and physical hor- rors ad terrorem. The stories of fourteen Shaksperean dramas are found in Italian fiction, and several other plays contain suggestions from it. The Italian authors translated were practically every nota- ble Italian author of the Renaissance, on all sorts of subjects. In discovery and commerce, Columbus was merely the last of a long line of Italian navigators, who, in the service of the western nations, sailed into distant and unknown seas. In history, translations of the great vernacular Italian historians, Machiavelli, Guicciardini, and Cardinal Bentivoglio, prepared the way for the English Hall, Grafton, Stow, and Holinshed. In politics. Sir Geoffrey Fenton, the Earl of Monmouth, and 1 The Letters of Dorothy Wadham. 1609-1618. Edited by Rev, Robert Barlow Gardiner, with Notes and Appendices, 1904. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND Ixxxi James Hov/ell follow in the footsteps of Pietro Sarpi, Malvezzi, Botero, and Paruta. Philosophy, through the intrepid spirit of Bruno, cast off forever the shackles of scholasticism to enter upon its inheritance from Italy, and it was the England of Elizabeth that gave freedom of speech to Bruno. The Italian astronomers reveal the secrets of the skies, and Milton travel- ling in Italy, seeks out and visits, at Arcetri, the greatest of them, "the famous Galileo, grown old, a prisoner to the Inqui- sition, for thinking in astronomy otherwise than the Franciscan and Dominican licensers thought." Teofilo Folengo, Trajano Boccalini, Paolo Giovio, and Poggio-Bracciolini helped at least to make known to the more sombre English the sunny smile of humor and the rapier thrust of wit. In manners, the Italians of the sixteenth century had all Europe for their pupils. Delia Casa*s Galateo is a graceful and intelligent guide to good be- havior to this day, and // Cortegiano is a classic, the best book on manners that has ever been written. Of the foreign influences that contributed to English thought - during The spacious times of great Elizabeth, unquestionably the Italian was the strongest, the keenest, and the most far-reaching. ELIZABETHAN TEANSLATIONS FROM THE ITALIAN I ROMANCES IN PROSE ELIZABETHAN TKANSLATIONS FKOM THE ITALIAN I ROMANCES IN PROSE 1 [1525.] A C, mery Talys. [Colophon:] [Thus endeth the] booke of A C. mery [Talys. Emprynted at] London at the Sygne of [the Mere-mayde at] powlys gate next [to Chepe-syde]. FoHo, black letter, with John Rastell's device and name on the last page, and underneath: Cum priuilegio Regali. £4 leaves. "A translation of Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles, printed at Paris before the year 1500, and said to have been written by some of the royal family of France, but a compilation from the Italians, was licensed to be printed by John Waly (Walley), in 1557, under the title ^A Hundreth mery Tayles' together with * The freer e and the boye, stans puer ad mensam, and youthe^ charitey and humylite.' It was frequently reprinted, is men- tioned as popular in Fletcher's Nice Valour (v, 3) ; and in The London Chaunticleers, so late as 1659, is cried for sale by a bal- lad-vender, with the Seven Wise Men of Gotham and Scogan's Jests.'* (Warton, History of English Poetry , lx.) Warton and the early Shakspere commentators supposed that the Hundred Merry Tales, to which Beatrice alludes. Much Ado About Nothing (ii, 1), was a translation of Les Cent Nou- velles Nouvelles. But a large fragment of A Hundreth mery Tayles was discovered, in 1815, by the Rev. J. J. Conybeare, Professor of Poetry in Oxford University, and it proved to be a jest-book. It is without date, but was first printed by John Rastell, about 1525, folio, 24 leaves. 4 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Edited, in 1815, by Mr. Samuel Weller Singer. Conybeare discovered it in the covers of another book, where it had served as a binder to form the boards. A perfect copy, 28 leaves, folio, black letter, and dated Nov. 22, 1526, has been found in the Royal Library, Gottingen, and was reprinted in 1866, by Dr. Oesterley. The allusion in Fletcher is plainly to a jest-book, and Bea- trice's words are, — *'that I had my good wit out of the 'Hun- dred Merry Tales.* Well, this was Signior Benedict that said so.'* 3. La Fontaine's Le cocu, battu et content. Decameron, vii, 7. See The Decameron (1620). No. 5, of A C. Mery Talys, the story of the husband who gained a ring by his judgment, is found in the Ducento Novelle of Celio Malespini, Part i, Novella 2, printed at Venice, 1609, 4to. It was used by Webster and Dekker in Northward Hoe (i, 1). A C. mery Talys is the earliest, and the best, jest-book in English. See Certaine Conceyts and leasts, and The merry Tales of the Mad Men of Gottam. 2 [1549.] Tales and quiche answer es, very mery, and pleasant to rede. [Colophon.] Imprinted at London in Flete-strete, in the house of Thomas Berthelet, nere to the Cundite, at the sygne of Lucrece. Cum priuilegio. [About 1549.] 4to. Black letter. 44 leaves. Henry Huth owned the only copy known. Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quicke Answeres. Very -pleasant to he Readde. Imprinted at London in Fleete street by H. Wykes. 1567. 12mo. Harleian Catalogue. 140 anecdotes. Reprinted in the Shakespeare Jest-Books. Vol. i. London. 1864. 8vo. Ed. W. Carew Hazlitt. The original was printed by Thomas Berthelet, without date (about 1535), 4to and contained 114 anecdotes. ROMANCES IN PROSE 5 These anecdotes are English, classical, and Italian or French. I give a list of those manifestly of Italian origin. 23. 0/ Kynge Lowes of France and the hushandmany which is taken from Domenichi, ''Facezie, Motti, e Burhy di Diuersi Signori, of Lodovico undecimo re di Francia. Giraldi. Gli Hecatommithi, vi, 9, tells the story of Fran- cesco Valesiy primo re di Francia di tal nome. "Lewis the eleventh (of that name) King of France took notice, and bountifully rewarded a decayed gar- dener, who presented him with a bunch of carrats." (John Day, Introduction to The Parliament of Bees, printed 1641.) 32. The oration of the amhassadour sent to Pope Urban. 37. Of the friere that gave scrowes (scrolls) agaynst the pesti- lence. Scene, Tivoli. Poggio, Facetiae, ccxxxiii. De ''BrevV contra pestem ad collum suspendendo. 38. Of the phisition that used to write hylles over eve. An Italian physician wrote out his prescriptions before- hand, and kept a supply by him in a bag. When a patient came, he would draw one out, and say, — Prega Dio te la mandi bona, " Pray God to send thee a good one." Poggio, Facetiae, cciii. Facetum medici qui sorte mede- las dabat. 40. Of the hermite of Padowe. Poggio, Facetiae, cxlii. De eremita qui multas mulieres in concubitu habuit. 51. Of the inholders wife and her ii lovers. Scene, Florence. Poggio, Facetiae, cclxvii. Callida consilia Floren- tinae foeminae in fadnore deprehensae. Decameron, VII, 6. 52. Of hym that healed franticke men. Scene, Italy. Girolamo Morlino, Novella lxxvii. De Medico qui curabat mente captos. 6 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Poggio, Facetiae^ ii. De Medico qui dementes et insanos curabat. Straparola, xiii, 1. Maestro Gasparino medico con la sua virtii sanaua i pazzi. 58. Of the foole that thought hym self deed. Scene, Florence. Poggio, Facetiae y cclxviii. De mortuo vivo ad sepul- chram deducto, loquente et risum movente. Also, Grazzini (II Lasca), Cena Seconday Novella ii. 60. Of him that sought his asse and rode on his bach. Scene, Florence. Poggio, Facetiae^ lx. Fabula Mancini. This anecdote is also the twelfth tale of Les Cent Nou- velles NouvelleSy and has been imitated by La Fontaine in the fable of Le Villageois qui cherche son veau. 87. Of Dante's answere to the jester. Poggio, Facetiae, lvii. Responsio elegans Dantis, poetae Florentini. An anecdote of Dante while living with Cane della Scala, Lord of Verona. The jester is clothed in purple and fine linen, while the poet is proving, come sa di sale Lo pane altrui, e com' e duro calle Lo scendere e 7 salir per V altrui scale. II Paradiso, Canto xvii, 58-60. 91. Of the excellent paynter that had foule children. Scene, Rome. 93. Of the marchaunt of Florence called Charles. Scene, Rome. 100. Of the fryer that confessed the woman. "A favorite tale with the early Italian novelists." (Dunlop, History of Fiction, ii, 364-365.) Poggio has four variations of the theme. Facetiae, XLVi, cxv, cxLii, and clv. 103. Of the olde man that put him selfe in his sonnes handes. The original of this tale is the Fabliau of La Honce Partie, in Barbazan's collection. It is told by Ortensio ROMANCES IN PROSE 7 Landi, also, in his Varii Componimenti, Venice. 1552. 8vo. It is a sort of Lear story. 122. Of the Italian friar that should preach before the B. of Rome and his cardinals. The witty friar was Roberto Caraccioli-Caraccioli, Bishop of Aquino, called Robert Liciens, born 1425. 140. What an Italyan fryer dyd in his preachyng. Another anecdote of Robert Liciens. 3 [1550.] The goodli history of the . . . Ladye Lucres of Scene in Tuskane, and of her lover EurialuSy etc. [Translated from the Latin of Pope Pius IL] [London. W.Copland? 1550 ?] 4to. Black letter. British Museum. The goodly History of the moste noble and beautyful Ladye Lucres of Siene in Tuskan, & of her lover Eurialus, verye pleas- ant and delectable unto the reder. Impr. by John Kynge. 1560. 8vo. Black letter. Also, 1547. 12mo. 1669. 1741. The goodli history of the moste noble and beautifull Ladye Lucres of Siene in Tuskan, and of her lover EurialuSy verye pleas- aunt and delectable unto the reder. Anno Domini m.d. lxvii. Imprynted at London in Louthbury by me Wyllyam Cop- land. 12mo. Black letter. 62 leaves. Pepysian. A boke of ij lovers Euryalus and Lucressie pleasaunte and Dilectable. Entered to T. Norton. 1569. Stationers* Register, A. 4 The m[ost] excellle]n[t] Historic of Euryalus and Lucresia. [Translated from the Latin of Pope Pius II, by William Braunche.] T. Creede . . . solde by W. Barley, London, 1596. 4to. British Museum, 8 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS 5 The Historie of Eurialus and Lucretia. Written in Latine by Eneas Sylvius; And translated into English by Charles Allen, Gent. Printed at London by Tho. Cotes, for William Cooke, and are to be sold at his shop neere Furnivalls Inne Gate in Holborne. 1639. 8vo. 60 leaves. British Museum. Charles Aleyn, or Allen, was of Sidney Sussex College, Cam- bridge. De duobus amantibus, Eurialo et Lucretia, et de remedio amorisy cum epistola retractoria. 4to. n.d. n.p. Venice. 1531. 8vo. The Hystorie of the most noble Jcnyght Plasidas [by J. Part- ridge] and other rare pieces; collected {into one book) by Samuel Pepys {and forming part of the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge.) [Edited by H. H. Gibbs. With colored illustrations.] [London.] 1873. 4to. Roxburghe Club. One of these six pieces collected by Pepys, the third one, occupying the greater part of the book, and prefaced with an important introduction, is the "goodli history" of Lady Lucres and her lover Eurialus. The colored illustrations of the Rox- burghe edition are facsimiles of the illustrations of the early German version of Lucres and Eurialus, a large illuminated miniature from a French version, and of the binding and orna- ments of the Pepysian volume. Lucrece and Eurialus was an extremely popular romance, originally written in Latin, about 1440, by ^Eneas Sylvius Pic- colomini, then imperial poet and secretary, afterwards Pope Pius 11. "It went through twenty-three editions in the 15th century, and was eight times translated, one of the French translations being made *k la pri^re et requeste des dames.' A German translation by Nicolaus von Wyle [Augsburg, 1473. 4to] is embellished with coloured woodcuts of the most naive and ROMANCES IN PROSE 9 amusing description. Three English translations were pub- lished, one before 1550. "It is a tale of unlawful love, and tells how Lucrece, a mar- ried lady of Sienna, fell in love with Eurialus, a knight of the court of the Emperor Sigismond. It is, we are told, a story of real life, under fictitious names." (Jusserand, The English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare, p. 81.) The novel is said to be founded on a love adventure at Siena, of Kaspar Schlick, chan- cellor of the Emperor Frederick III. In Robert Laneham's quaint account of the Kenilworth fes- tivities, 1575, he tells how an acquaintance of his, one Captain Cox, a mason by trade, had in his possession " Kyng Arthurz book, Huon of Burdeaus, The foour suns of Aymon, Bevis of Hampton, and" — mason as he was, this same Italian novel — "Lucres and Eurialus." Captain Cox, Laneham observes, had "great oversight in matters of storie." 6 1556. The Historic of Aurelio and of Isahell, doughter of the hinge of Schotlande, nyewley translatede In foure langagies, Frenche, Italien, Spanishe, and Inglishe. Cum gratia & priui- legio. [Colophon.] Impressa en la muy noble villa de Anuers, en casa de Juan SteelsiOf Ano de m.d.lvi. Sm. 8vo. British Museum. Bru- xelles. 1608. 8vo, also in four languages. British Museum. Dedicated to Margaret Volschaten, of whom a woodcut por- trait is on the back of the title. Historia diA.et Isabella figliuola del re di Scotia. Histoire d*A. &d^ Isabel Translated into Italian from the Spanish of J. deFlores by Lelio Aletifilo, and into French by Gilles Corrozet. Ital. and Fr, G. Corrozet. Paris. 1546. 16mo. British Museum. Historia di A.et Isabella, nella quale si disputa : che piii dia occasione di peccare, Vhuomo alia donna, o la donna a V huomo. Di lingua Spagnola [of J. de Flores] tradotta da Lelio Aletiphilo. Gabriel Giolito de* Ferrari. Vinegia. 1548. 8vo. British Museum, 10 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS The Biographie Universelle gives the title of the first edition of Flores's romance, as, Le Historia de Cericel y Mirabella con la disputa de Torrellas y Bragayda. Seville. 1524. Juan de Flores certainly wrote a novelette with a similar plot — La Historia de grisely Mirabella [Grisel and Mirabella] CO la disputa d' Torrellas y Bracyda La qual copuso Juan de Flores asu amiga [Sevilla.] 1524. 4to. British Museum. Warton {History of English Poetry^ Lx) gives L'Historie d^Aurelia et Isabella en Italien et Frangoise, printed at Lyons by G. Rouille, in 1555, 16mo, and says that the romance was printed in 1556, in one volume, in Italian, French, and English, and again in 1588, in Italian, Spanish, French, and English. I have not met with the 1588 edition, but I find the following entries in the Stationers' Register , B : — Histoire de Aurelio et Isabella fille de Roy d'Escoce French, Italian and Englishe. Entered to Edward White. Aug. 8, 1586. The Historye of Aurelio and of Isabell, Doughter of the Kinge of Scottes, &c. This booke is in foure languages , viz., Italy an, Spanishe, Ffrenche and Englishe, Entered to Edward Aggas. Nov. 20, 1588. The polyglot editions show that Aurelio and Isabell was a favorite romance. According to Warton, Shakspere's The Tempest was once thought to be founded on it. Fleay's note on the anonymous comedy, Swetnam the Woman-hater Arraigned by Women, 1620, 4to, is, "The plot is from a Spanish book, Historia daAurelia y Isabella hija del Rey de Escotia, &c.'* Chronicle of the English Drama, Vol. ii, p. 332. Fletcher used the same plot in his Women Pleased, c. 1620. 7 1557. Circes. Of John Baptista Gello, Florentyne. Translated out of Italyon into Englysche, by Henry Iden. Anno Domini M.D.L.vii. Cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum. [Colophon.] Imprinted in Poules Church-yarde, at the sygne of the holye ROMANCES IN PROSE 11 Ghoste, by John Cawoode, Printer to the Kinge and Quenes Maiesties. 1557. 8vo. Black letter. British Museum. A second edition in the same year, 1557. 8vo. British Museum. 1599. 8vo. Dedicated to Lord Herbert of Cardiff, and his two brothers, Edward and Henry, to whom Iden was tutor. La Circe. Giovanni Battista Gelli. Florence. 1549. Svo. But one above the rest in speciall That had an hog been late, hight Grill by name, Repined greatly, and did him miscall. That had from human shape him brought to naturall. Spenser. The Faerie Queeney Bk. ii. Can. xii. Stanza 81. " Mr. Jortin observes {Remarks on Spenser , etc., 1734) that this is taken from a dialogue in Plutarch, inscrib'd Ucpl tov TOL aAoya Xoyio XRW^^^- > where Gryllus, one of the companions of Ulysses, transform'd into a hog by Circe, holds a discourse with Ulysses, and refuses to be restor'd to his human shape. " Not many years before the Faerie Queene was written, viz. 1548, Gelli published his Circe, which is declar'd in the Preface to be founded upon the Dialogue of Plutarch, mention'd by Mr. Jortin. Circe soon became a very popular book, and was translated into English (as likewise into other languages) in the Year 1557, by one Henry Iden; so that, probably, Spenser had red it; and might be induc'd to consult that Dialogue, from its mention in the preface." (Warton, Observations on The Faerie Queene, 1754, p. 258.) See The Fearfull Fansies of the Florentine Couper. 1568. 8 1566. The Palace of Pleasure, Beautified, adorned and well furnished, with Pleasaunt Histories and excellent Nouells, selected out of diuers good and commendable authors. By William Painter Clarke of the Ordinaunce and Armarie. 1566. Imprinted at London, by Henry Denham, for Richard Tot- tell and William Jones. 4to. Also, 1569. 4to. 1575. 4to. Black letter. n ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Sixty novels, dedicated to Ambrose Dudley, Earl of War- wick, a woodcut of whose crest, a bear and ragged staff, is on the reverse of the title-page. The second Tome of the Palace of Pleasure y conteyning mani- folde store of goodly Histories, Tragicall matters and other Morall argument, very requisite for delight & profit. Chosen and selected out of diuers good and commendable Authors. By William Painter, Clarke of the Ordinance and Armarie. Anno. 1567. Imprinted at London, in Pater Noster Howe, by Henrie Bynneman, for Nicholas England. 4to. Black letter. A second edition of Vol. ii has no date on the title-page. [1575.] 4to. Thirty-four novels, dedicated to Sir George Howard. In the last edition. Vol. i contains sixty-six novels, and Vol. ii, thirty-five, making one hundred and one tales in all. Both vol- umes. London. 1813. 4to (Haslewood). 1890. 3 vols. (Jacobs). Painter's sources in Romance literature were Boccaccio, Bandello, Belleforest, Ser Giovanni Fiorentino, Straparola, Masuccio, and the Queen of Navarre. I find forty-three Elizabethan plays whose plots are in The Palace of Pleasure ; these are here numbered 1-43. The First Tome. 1. 3. Mucius Scaevola. Livy, n, 12, 13. 1. A play called Mucius Scevola was played at Windsor, Jan. 6, 1577. Fleay. History of the Stage, p. 380. 1. 4. Coriolanus. Livy, ii, 35, seq. 2. Shakespeare may have got the idea of the dramatic possibilities of the story of Coriolanus from Painter, though he filled in the details from North's Plutarch. 1. 5. Appius and Virginia. Livy, iii, 44, 47-57. Ser Gio- vanni. II Pecorone, xx, 2. 3. a. A new tragical comedy of Apius and Virginia. 1575. By R. B. 4. b. Appius and Virginia. 1654. John Webster. 1. 7. Croesus and Solon, Herodotus, i, 50, seq. Plutarch, Solon, ROMANCES IN PROSE 13 5. Croesus. 1604. William Alexander, of Menstrie, Earl of Stirling. 1. 11. Cyrus and Panthea. Xenophon given as source by Painter, but more likely Bandello. iii, 9. 6. Warres of Cyrus, King of Persia, against Antiochus, King of Assyria, with the tragical end of Panthea. 1594. 1. 28. Timon of Athens. Plutarch. Marc Antonius (prob- ably through Amyot). 7. a. There is a play of Timon before Shakespeare's, and printed by Hazlitt. Also, by Dyce, for the Shakespeare Society. 1842. 8. b. Timon of Athens. Shakspere. c. 1607 (Dowden.) (c. 1606. Fleay.) 1. 33. Rinaldo of Este. Pantschatantra {Fables of Bidyai), II, IV. Tr. Theodor Benfey, 183. Boccaccio, Deca- merone, ii, 2. 9. The Widow. Ben Jonson. John Fletcher. Thomas Middleton. 1652. 4to. 1. 38. Giletta of Narbonne. Boccaccio, Decamerone, iii, 9. 10. Airs Well that Ends Well. Shakspere. 1. 39. Tancred and Gismonda. Boccaccio, Decamerone, iv, 1, Certaine Worthy e Manuscript Poems. 1597. 11. a. Tancred. Written 1586-7. Sir Henry Wotton. 12. b. Tancred and Gismund. 1592. 4to. Robert Wilmot. 13. c. The Cruel Gift, or The Royal Resentment. 1717. 12mo. Susannah Centlivre. 14. d. Tancred and Sigismunda. 1745. 8vo. James Thomson. 1. 40. Mahomet and Irene. Bandello, i, 10. Boaistuau (1559), 2. 15. a. The Turkish Mahomet and Hiren the Fair Greek. A lost play by George Peele, supposed to be the Mahomet of Henslowe's Diary, Aug. 14, 1594. 16. b. Osmund the Great Turk or The Noble Servant. 1657. 8vo. Lodowick Carlell. 17. c. The Unhappy Fair Irene. 1658. 4to. Gilbert Swinhoe. 14 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS 1. 42. Didaco and Violenta. Bandello, i, 42. Boaistuau (1559), 4. 18. Triumph of Death. Folio. 1647. Beaumont and Fletcher's Four Plays in One. 1. 46. The Countess of Salisbury. Bandello, ii, 37, through Boaistuau (1559), i. 19. Edward III. 1596, 4to. Anonymous. 1. 48. Bindo and Ricciardo. Herodotus, ii, 121, 1-6. Ser Giovanni, II Pecoroney ix, 1. Bandello, i, 23. 20. Bendo and Ricardo. Acted, March 4, 1592. Hens- lowe. 1. 49. Filenio Sisterno. Straparola, Tredici Notte Piacevoli, II, 2. 21. Merry Wives of Windsor. 1. 57. Wife Punished. Bandello, iii, 18. Machiavelli, Is- torie Fiorentine^ lihro i. Queen Margaret, Heytameron, 32. Belief orest, iv, 19. Whetstone, Heptameron, 3d Day. 22. Alhovine, King of the Lombards. 1629. 4to. Sir Wil- liam Davenant. 23. The Witch. 1788. 8vo. Thomas Middleton. 1. 58. President of Grenoble. Bandello, i, 35. Queen Mar- garet, Heptameron, 36. 24. Love's Cruelty. 1640. 4to. James Shirley. 1. 66. Doctor of Laws. Masuccio, II Novellino, ii, 17. "Out of a little Frenche book called Comptes du Monde Avantureux.'^ 25. a. The Dutch Courtesan. 1605 . 4to. John Marston. 26. b. The Cuck-queanes and Cuckolds Errants, or The Bearing-Down the Inn. Printed by the Roxburghe Club. 1824. William Percy. The Second Tome 9>. 1. The Amazons. Herodotus, iv, 110. 27. A Masque of Amazons and Knights was presented Jan. 11, 1579. tit ROMANCES IN PROSE 15 2. 3. Timoclia of Thebes. Plutarch, Alexander, through Amyot. 28. Timocleay at the Siege of Thebes (by Alexander). Revels Accounts. Feb. 2, 1574. 2. 7. Sophonisba. Livy, Dec. 3, lib. 10. Nepos, Hannibal. Polybius. Appian. Orosius. Petrarch, Trionfi. Bandello, i, 41. Trissino, La Sofonisba. 1515. Belleforest, iii, 356. Nicolas de Montreux (Olenix du Mont Sacre), La Sophonisbe, 1601. Ralegh, History of the World, v, iii, 8. - 29. a. The Wonder of Women, or Sophonisba her Tragedy. 1606. 4to. John Marston. 30. b. Sophonisba, or HannibaVs Overthrow. 1676. Na- thaniel Lee. 31. e. Sophonisba. Acted Feb. 28, 1730. James Thom- son. Thomson's Sophonisba contained originally a feeble line, *'0, Sophonisba, Sophonisba, O!" which made the town merry one whole season, for some wag parodied it into *'0 Jemmy Thomson! Jemmy Thomson, O!" 2. 14. Zenobia Queen of Palmyra. Tacitus, Annates, xii, 51. 32. Zenobia was played at the Rose, March 9, 1592. 2. 17. Ansaldo and Dianora. Cukasaptati. Cf. The Forty Ve- zirs, c. 14. Boccaccio, Decamerone, x, 5. Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: Franklin's Tale. 33. a. Four Plays in One. Triumph of Honour. 1647. Folio. Beaumont and Fletcher. 34. b. The Two Merry Milkmaids, or the Best Words Wear the Garland. 1620. 4to. J. C. 2. 22. Alexander de Medice and the Miller's Daughter. Ban- dello, II, 15. Belleforest, i, 12. 35. The Maid of the Mill. 1647. Foho. John Fletcher. 2. 23. The Duchess of Malfy. Bandello, i, 26. Belleforest, II, 19. 1569. 16 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Goulart, Histoires Admirahles. 1600. Beard, The- atre of God's J udgementsy ch. 22. 1597. The romance is mentioned in The Forrest of Fancy (1579) ; in Whet- stone's Heptameron of Civill Discourses. Thefift Daies Exercise (1582) ; and in Greene's Gwydonius the Carde of Fancie (1584). It is also the subject of a Spanish play, Lope de Vega's Comedia famosa del mayordomo de la duguesa de Amalfi. 36. The Duchess of Malji. 1623. 4to. John Webster. 2. 24. The Countess of Celant. Bandello, i, 4. Belleforest. 1565. No. 20. Fenton, Certaine Tragicall Discourses, vii. Whet- stone. Roche of Regard {Castle of Delight). 37. The Insatiate Countess (Barksted's Tragedy). 1613. 4to. John Marston. 2. 25. Romeo and Juliet. Masuccio. II Novellinoy 33. Luigi da Porto. Bandello, ii, 9. 38. Romeo and Juliet. 1597. 4to. Shakspere. 2. 26. Two Ladies of Venice. Bandello, i, 15. Belleforest, III, 58. 39. The Insatiate Countess (Barksted's Tragedy). 1613. 4to. John Marston (miderplot). 2.27. TheLordofVirle. Bandello, iii, 17. Belleforest, i, 13 (f. 289, in Jacobs). Fenton, Certaine Tragicall Discourses, xi. 39. a. The Dumb Knight. 1608. 4to. Gervase Mark- ham and Lewis Machin. 40. b. The Queen, or The Excellency of her Sex, 1653. Anonymous. 2. 28. Lady of Bohemia. Bandello, i, 21. Whetstone. Rocke of Regard (Arbour of Vertue). 41. The Picture. 1630. 4to. Philip Massinger. 2. 30. Salimbene and Angelica. Ilicino. Bandello, I, 49. Fenton, Certaine Tragicall Discourses, i. (Angelica Montanini and Anselmo Salimbeni.) ROMANCES IN PROSE 17 42. A Woman Killed with Kindness. 1607. 4to. Thomas Hey wood (underplot). 2. 34. Sultan Solyman. 43. A Latin tragedy called Solyman was acted at one of the Universities in 1581. Fleay, History of the Stage, 421. See Virgidemiarum Sixe Bookesy 1597, and The De- cameron, 1620. 9 [1567.] A Pleasant disport of diners Noble Personages: Writ- ten in Italian by M. John Bocace Florentine and Poet Laureate: in his Boke which is entituled Philocopo. And nowe Englished by E, G, Imprinted at London, in Pater Noster Rowe, at the signe of the Marmayd [by H. Bynneman for Richard Smith and Nicho- las England. Anno Domini. 1567]. 4to. 58 leaves. Black letter. British Museum (title-page mutilated). Dedicated to the "right worshipful! M. William Rice Es- quire." Thirteene most pleasaunt and delectable questions, entituled A disport of diuers noble personages written in Italian by M. John Bocace, Florentine and Poet Laureate, in his Booke named Philo- copo. Englished by H. G. These bookes are to be solde at the Corner shoppe, at the North- weast dore of Paules. [Colophon.] Imprinted at Lon- don, by Henry Bynneman for Rycharde Smyth. Anno. 1571. 8vo. Black letter. 88 leaves. Bodleian. Also, 1587. 8vo. 88 leaves. Capell Collection. British Museum. The Huth Library Catalogue states that there were four edi- tions of Philocopo between 1567 (1566.^) and 1587. H. G. is commonly supposed to be Humphrey Gifford, author of A Posie of Gillojlowers, 1580, but it has been suggested that the initials may stand for Henry Granthan, translator of Scipio Lentulo's Italian Grammer, 1575. Philocopo (Filocopo) is a remodelKng, in prose, of the old 18 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS chivalric metrical romance, Floire et Blancheflore, a favorite with the minstrels of France, Italy, and Germany. It is ex- tremely interesting historically, because in it we see the great- est of story-tellers actually turning a metrical romance into a novel. Boccaccio says that he was incited to write the book by Maria d* Aquino, "Fiammetta," a supposed natural daughter of King Robert of Naples. She is the queen of the Court of Love, 4th Book, which is held in a garden near Naples upon the road lead- ing to the tomb of Vergil. Two of the * questions' of the fifth book of Philocopo were retold by Boccaccio in the Decameron; Quistione xiii, discusses the generosity of Messer Gentil de' Carisendi, x, 4, and Quistione IV, is the romance of Dianora and Ansaldoy or the Enchanted Garden, x, 5. Chaucer made use of the story of Dianora and Ansaldo, with a variation, in the Franklin's Tale (Canterbury Tales). It also furnished the theme of Beaumont and Fletcher's moral representation. Triumph of Honour, or Diana (Four Plays in One, 1647, folio), which Fleay judges to be the work of Beaumont only. See, for Quistione xiii, Turberville's Tragicall Tales, 1576; for Quistioni iv and xiii, Philotimus, 1583, and Orlando inamo- rato, 1598. 10 1567. Certaine Tragicall Discourses written oute of Frenche and Latin, by Geffraie Fenton, no lesse profitable than pleasaunt, and of like necessitye to al degrees that take pleasure in antiqui- ty es or forreine reapportes. Mon heur viendra. Imprinted at London in Flete-strete nere to Sainct Dunstons Churche by Thomas Marshe. Anno Domini. 1567. 4to. Black letter. 317 leaves. British Museum (2 copies). Also, 1576. 4to (Lowndes), and 1579. 4to. Black letter. Bodleian (2 copies) . British Museum, Dedicated to Lady Mary Sydney. Certain Tragicall Discourses of Bandello. Translated into ROMANCES IN PROSE 19 English by Geffraie Fenton, anno 1567. With an Introduction by Robert Langton Douglas. The Tudor Translations, xix and xx. 1898. A "passing-pleasant booke," Turberville says, in some intro- ductory verses. There are also verses prefixed by Peter Bever- ley, author of the metrical romance, The Historic of Ariodanto and leneura. [1565-6.^] Warton characterizes Fenton's Discourses as "the most capi- tal miscellany of its kind." There are in all thirteen well selected, well-told stories, whose short titles it is quite worth while to note. 1. A wonderful Vertue in a gentleman of Syenna. This is a translation of Ilicino's celebrated novella^ The Courteous Salimbeni. Bandello tells the same story, i, 49. Belief orest, 21. Painter, ii, 30. The tale records an actual occurrence in the history of the two noble Sienese families of Salimbeni and Mon- tanini. Muratori published it in his Rerum Italicarum Scriptores. (1723-1751.) The underplot of Heywood's comedy, A Womaji Killed with Kindness^ 1607, 4to, has been traced to this novel. 2. Lyvyo and Camylla. Bandello, i, 33. Belief orest, 22. 3. A yong Lady in Mylan. Bandello, iii, 52. Bellefor- est, 9. 4. An Albanoyse Capteine. Bandello, i, 51. Belief orest, 10. 5. A yonge Gentleman of Myllan. Bandello, i, 28. Belle- forest, 26. 6. The Villennie of an Abbot. Bandello, n, 7. Belleforest, 28. 7. The Disordered Lyf of the Countesse of Celant. Bandello, I, 4. Belleforest, 20. Painter, ii, 24. It is the source of Marston's tragedy, The Insatiate Coun- tess (Barksted's Tragedy). 1613. 4to. 8. Julya Drowneth herself e. Giulia da Gazuolo. Bandello, I, 8. Belleforest, 25. 20 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS 9. The Lady of Chabrye. Bandello, ii, 33. Belleforest, 16. 10. Luchyn is Longe in Love wyth a Simple Mayde. Bandello, II, 26. Belleforest, 34. 11. The Crueltie of a Wydowe. Bandello, iii, 17. Bellefor- est, 13. Painter, ii, 27. The incident of the lady swearing her lover to be dumb for three years, in Fenton's story, occurs in two Eliza- bethan dramas; — The Dumb Knight, 1613, 4to, by Ger- vase Markham and Lewis Machin, and the anonymous tragi-comedy. The Queen, or The Excellency of her Sex, which Alexander Gough edited in 1653, as discovered by a "person of Honor." 12. Perillo and Carmosyna. Bandello, i, 14. Belleforest, 27. 13. Dom Diego and Genivera La Blonde. Bandello, i, 27. Belleforest, 18. Painter, ii, 29. This tale was versified by Richard Lynche in Diella, Certain Sonnets, adioyned to the amorous Poeme of Dom Diego and Gineura. By R. L. Gentleman. Benhalla, a chi fortuna suona. (London, 1596.) The poem entitled The Loue of Dom Diego and Gyneura is re- printed, edited by A. B. Grosart, in Occasional Issues y Vol. III. 1877. Fenton translated the tales from Boaistuau-Belleforest's Histoires Tragiques, which is a French translation of Bandello. The work was finished in Paris, and was pub- lished by the author as the first fruits of his travels. 11 1568. A brief e and pleasant Discourse of Duties in Mariage, called the Flower of Friendshippe, Imprinted at London by Henrie Denham, dwelling in Pater noster Rowe at the Signe of the Starre. Anno 1568. 8vo. 40 leaves. Two editions within a year, one in British Museum, Also, 1571. 8vo. Black letter. Bodleian, 1577. 16mo. Bod- leian. w The dedication to Queen Elizabeth is signed, "Your Maisties ROMANCES IN PROSE ^1 most humble Subject, Edmonde Tilnay." Edmund Tilney was Master of the Revels for nearly thirty years from 1579 to 1608; John Lyly was his rival and waited in vain for the succession. During this long tenure of office the greatest productions of the Elizabethan drama, including most of Shakspere's plays, were submitted to him in manuscript, for criticism. This book is a discussion of marriage after the manner of the Italian Platonists. A house party is assembled at Lady Julia's and some of the gentlemen propose outdoor sports: "But M[aster] Pedro nothing at all lyking of such deuises, wherein the Ladies should be left out, said that he well remembered how Boccace and Countie Baltisar with others recounted many proper deuises for exercise, both pleasant, and profitable, which, quoth he, were used in the courts of Italic, and some much like to them are practised at this day in the Enghsh court, wherein is not only delectable, [sic] but pleasure ioyned wyth profite, and exercyse of the witte." Pedro's proposal of the * question ' prevails, and the company meet every day in the garden, where, under the rule of a queen, they discuss marriage. On the first day, Pedro defends mar- riage against "a mery gentleman, called Maister Gualter of Cawne," relating a tale of a faithful husband, entitled, De Con- jug ali Charitate: De Neapolitani regni quodam accola, Lib. iv, Cap. VI, from Baptista Campofulgosus (Fregoso), Exemploruniy Hoc est, Dictorum Factorumque Memorabilium, ex certae fidei ueterihus et recentiorihus historiarum probatis AutorihuSy Lib. ix. The subject of the second day's discussion is "The office, or duetie of the married woman," and Pedro tells a story of a wife's prudence in reclaiming her husband from evil courses, which is found in Queen Margaret's Heptameron, Novella 38, Memorable charite d'une femme de Tours, enuers son mary putier. It is one of the novels of Painter's Palace of Pleasure, i, 64. The allusion to Boccaccio doubtless refers to Filocolo which had just been translated, 1567. The Courtyer of Count Bal- dessar Castilio (Castiglione) was translated in 1561 by Sir Thomas Hoby, and was by far the most popular EHzabethan 22 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS translation from the Italian, judging by the number of editions it went through. 12 157L The Foreste; or Collection of Histories, no lesse profitable^ then pleasant and necessarie, dooen out of Frenche into Englische by Thomas Fortescue. Aut utiles aut jucundum, aut utrumque. Imprinted at London by Jhon Kyngston, for Willy am lones. 1571. 4to. British Museum. 1476 [1576]. 4to. British Mu- seum. 1619. Folio. British Museum. The Forest or collection of Historyes no lesse profitable then pleasant and necessary, doone out of Frenche into English by Thomas Fortescue. Aut utile, aut iucundum, aut utrumq; Scene and allowed. Imprinted at London by John Day dwelling over Aldersgate. 1576. 4to. Black letter. Dedicated to John Fortescue, Esquire, Master of the Queen's Wardrobe. The first license of this collection of tales, to W. Jones, in 1570, is said to be with the authority of the Bishop of London. I find another license in Register, C, Nov. 8, 1596, to John Danter, — "Entred for his copie, saluo iure Cuiuscunque The forest or collection of histories printed by John Day 1576 provyded that this entrance shalbe voyd yf any have right to it by a former entrance." Drake, Shakespeare and His Times, i, p. 543, says there was a third edition in 1596. Silva de varia leccion. Pedro Mexia. Seville. 1543. Translated into French by Claude Gruget. 1552. Trans- lated into Italian by Francesco Sansovino. 1564. 8vo. Silva de varia lection . . . Anadido. enella la quarta parte, etc. Valladohd. 1550-51. Folio. Gothic letter. British Museum. On the verso of the last leaf is written an Italian proverb, most probably in the handwriting of King Edward VI, to whom the volume belonged. ROMANCES IN PROSE 23 Marlowe got his hero, Tamburlainey out of The Foresty al- though Perondinus's Magni Tamerlanisy Scytharum impera- toris vita, Florence, 1553, gave suggestions as to the descrip- tion of Tamburlaine's person. "The genius of these tales may be discerned from their his- tory. The book is said to have been written in Spanish, by Petro de Messia, thence translated into ItaKan, thence into French, by Claude Gruget, a citizen of Paris, and lastly from French into English, by Fortescue. But many of the stories seem to have originally migrated from Italy into Spain." (Warton, History of English Poetry , lx.) 13 1613-19. The Treasurie of auncient and moderne Times. Con- taining . . . collections, . . . Readings and . . . Observations . . . translated out of . . . P.[edro] Mexia, . . . F.[rancesco] Sansovino, . . . A.[ntoine\ Du Verdier Seigneur de Vauprivaz, etc. [by Thomas Milles]. Apxato-TrXovTo^, containing ten following bookes to the former Treasurie, etc.) 2 vols. W. Jaggard, London, 1613-19. FoHo. British Museum (an- other copy of Vol. II only). Pedro Mexia's book was his Silva de varia leccion. Seville. 1543. It was translated into ItaHan by Mambrino da Fabriano, in 1547, 8vo, by L. Manio, in 1556, and by Francesco Sanso- vino, in 1564, — Selva di varia lettione . . . divisa in tre parti: alle quali s*S aggionta la quarta di F. Sansovino . . . dopo questa haveranno in brevi i lettori una nuova seconda selva non piu data in luce. [Edited by P. Ochieri, with marginal notes by C. Passi.] Vinetia. 1564. 4to. British Museum. The Silva was translated into English, from the French, by Thomas Fortescue, as The Foreste, 1571. 4to. The work is a medley in the style of the Nodes Atticae, of Aulus Gellius, and is wholly without sequence or arrangement. The title of Du Verdier's collection reads, Les diverses Legons d'Antoine Du Verdier, suiuans celles de Pierre Massie; contenani 24 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS plusieurs histoires, discours et fails memorablesy recueillis des auteurs grecs, latins^ et italiens. Lyons. 1577. 8vo. 1592. 8vo. British Museum. The Treasurie of Auncient and Modeme Timesy 1619, contains the story of Romeo and Juliet. See The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet (1562) and The Tragicall Historie of Romeus and Juliet (1587). Painter, Palace of Pleasurey i, 29, relates The marriage of a man and woman, hee being the husband of xx wives : and she the wife of xxii husbandes. He tells the story on the authority of St. Jerome's Epistle Ad Gerontiam viduam de monogamia, and goes on to say, " It is also pretely set forth by Pietro Messia de Seviglia, an excellent authour, a gentleman of Spaine, in the 34 chapter of the first parte of his worke, called La Selva di varie Lezzioni.^' 14 1572. A Hundreth sundrie Flowres bounde up in one small Poesie. Gathered partely (by translation) in the fyne outlandish Gardins of Euripides, Quid, Petrarke, Ariosto, and others: and partly by inuention, out of our owne fruitefull orchardes in Eng- lande: Yelding sundrie sweete sauours of Tragical, Comical, and Morall Discourses, both pleasaunt and profitable to the well smellyng noses of learned Readers. Meritum petere, grave. [George Gascoigne.] At London. Imprinted [by Henry Bynneman] for Richarde Smith [1572]. 4to. Black letter. British Museum {4i copies) . Bodleian. Emmanuel College, Cambridge. This work was published during Gascoigne's military adven- tures in Holland, and without his authority, by H.[enry?] W.[otton?], who had obtained the manuscript from G.[eorge.'^] T.[urberville.?^]. It contains Supposes, Jocasta, and A discourse of the adven- tures passed by Master F.[erdinando] /.[eronimi], a prose tale from the Italian, interspersed with a few lyrics. The edition of 1572 contains a poem entitled, A Translation ROMANCES IN PROSE 25 of Ariosto Allegorized (Canto xxxiii, 59-64 stanzas). See The Life and Writings of George Gascoigney by F. E. Schelling, in the Publications of the University of Pennsylvania^ Philology ^ Liter- ature and Archaeology^ Vol. ii, No. 4. A second edition was published by Gascoigne himself, in 1575, with a new title. The Posies of George Gascoigne, Esquire. Corrected , perfected^ and augmented by the authour. [1575.] Tarn Marti quam Mer- curio. Printed at London for Richard Smith, and are to be solde at the Northweast doore of Paules Church. 4 to. Black letter. 502 pp. British Museum. Bodleian (Gabriel Harvey's copy). 1587. 4to. British Museum (3 copies). The Complete Poems of George Gascoigne. Edited by W. C. Hazlitt. Two volumes. Roxburghe Club. 1869. Gascoigne divided the Posies into three parts, Flowres, Hearbes, and Weedes. One of the 'Hearbes' is the comedy Supposes, and the * Weedes' is chiefly occupied with a revised version of, — The pleasant fable of Ferdinando Jeronimi and Leonora de VelascOy translated out of the riding tales of Bartello (i.e., Ban- dello. Dictionary of National Biography) . The volume concludes with a critical essay, in prose, entitled, Certayne notes of Instruction concerning the making of verse or ryme in English, written at the request of Master Edouardo Donati. I do not find the tale of Ferdinando Jeronimi and Leonora de Velasco in Bandello. Fleay {Chronicle of the English Drama, Vol. I, under Gascoigne) takes Bartello to be a fictitious author, and says that the story relates Gascoigne's own 'adventures' with EHnor Manners Bourchier, Countess of Bath. The tale is a pasquil, in the title it is called *a fable,' and it is an histori- cal fact that Gascoigne was before the Privy Council, in 1572, as *'a deviser of slanderous pasquils against divers persons of great calling." 26 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS 15 "Among Mr. Oldys's books was the Life of Sir Meliado a British Knight, translated from the Itahan, in 1572. "MeHadus del Espinoy, and Meliadus le noir Oeil, are the thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth Knights of the Round Table, in E.. Robinson's Auncient Order, &c. London. 1583. 4to. Black letter. Chiefly a French translation." (Warton, History of English Poetry, lx.) Hazlitt prints the note from Warton under the name Sir Meliadus de Leonnois. The sixty-third novella of Le Cento Novelle Antiche is, Del huon re Meliadus e del cavaliere sanza paura. Meliadus de Leonnoys: du ^present volume sont contenus le nobles f aids d'armes du vaillant Roy Meliadus de Leonnoys: en- semble plusieurs autres nobles proesses de chevalerie f aides tant par le Roy Artus, Palamedes, le Morhoult d'Irlande le bon Cheva- lier sans paour, Galehault le Brun, Segurades, Galaad que autres hons chevaliers estans au temps du dit Roy Meliadus. Histoire singuliere et Recreative nouvellement imprimee a Paris — chez Galliot du PrS. 1528. Rusticien de Pise, the original author of this romance, tells us in his prologue that he was ordered to write it by King Henry III, of England, who had given him two castles as a re- ward. The French redadeur professes to have labored by order of King Edward I, of England, whose book of Round Table romances he used. Rusticien seems to have been a member of Prince Edward's suite, at the time he went beyond seas to re- cover the Holy Sepulchre, 1270-73. The first part of the romance is occupied with the adventures of Pharamond, King of the Franks, Morhoult of Ireland, and the Knight without Fear. Meliadus makes only a temporary appearance before the forty-third of the one hundred and sev- enty-three chapters. At this point, Meliadus, having fallen in love with the Queen of Scotland and carried her off to Leon- noys, becomes the hero. Pharamond assists Meliadus and ROMANCES IN PROSE Arthur makes war upon them both. Finally, Meliadus is taken prisoner and the war concludes, in the one hundred and sixth chapter, with the surrender of his capital and the restoration of the Scottish Queen to her husband. Meliadus amuses himself in prison by composing songs to the harp, particularly a lay, called Dueil sur DueiU which the romance states was the second ever written. Arthur eventually sets him free in order to avail himself of his help. Rusticien's Meliadus, Chevalier de la Croix, was translated into Italian, and pubHshed at Venice, in 155^60, in two vol- umes. 8vo. 16 1573. The Garden of Pleasure: Contayninge most pleasante Tales, worthy deeds and witty sayings of noble Princes & learned Philosophers, moralized. No lesse delectable, than profitable. Done out of Italian into English, by lames Sanforde, Gent. Wherein are also set forth diuers Verses and Sentences in Italian, with the Englishe to the same, for the benefit of students in both tongs. Imprinted at London, by Henry Bynneman. Anno 1573. 8vo. 116 leaves. Black letter. Capell Collection (imperfect). British Museum. Dedicated to "Lord Robert Dudley, Earle of Leycester." Houres of Recreation or After dinners, which may aptly be called the Garden of Pleasure: Containing most pleasant Tales, worthy deeds & witty sayings of noble Princes & learned Philoso- phers, with their Morals, &c. Done first out of Italian into Eng- lishe, by J. S. Gent., and now by him newly perused, corrected, and enlarged. Imprinted at London by Henry Bynneman, &c. 1576. 16mo. 128 leaves. Black letter. British Museum. At the end of Houres of Recreation are "Certayne Poems dedicated to the Queenes moste excellent Maiestie, by James Sanforde Gent." In the dedication of Houres of Recreation, to Sir Christopher 28 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Hatton, Sandford repeats some prognostications of disaster for 1588. 17 1574. A right exelent and pleasaunt Dialogue hetweene Mer- curie and an English Souldier, contayning his Supplication to Mars: beautified with sundry Worthy Histories, rare Inventions and politike Devises. [By Barnabe Rich.] London. 1574. 8vo. Black letter. Dedicated to Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick, Master of the Ordinance. The second part supplies, quite inappropriately, a fanciful account of the Court of Venus, and rehearses the story of the lady of Chabry, which Rich says he derived from Bandello (Infortunato et infausto Amore di Madama di Cahrio Prouenzale con un suo procuratore, e morte di molti. ii, 33). Geoffrey Fenton had already translated the tale, in Certaine Tragicall Discourses. 1567. No. 9. The Lady of Chabrye. 18 1575. The Pretie and wittie Historie of Arnalt & Lucenda: With certen Rules and Dialogues set foorth for the learner of tK Italian tong: And Dedicated unto the Worshipfull, Sir Hierom Bowes Knight. By Claudius Hollyband Scholemaster, teaching in Poules Churchyarde at the Signe of the Lucrece. Dum spiro, spero. Imprinted at London by Thomas Purfoote. 1575. 12mo. pp. 366. Black letter. British Museum. Also, appended to The Italian Schoole-maister, 1597, 8vo, and 1608, 8vo; I find also, in Register C, a license to the two Purfootes, dated Aug. 19, 1598. In verse, A Small Treatise betwixt Arnalte and Lucenda, by Leonard Lawrence. 1639. 4to. Translated from Bartolommeo MaraflB's Italian version of the Greek original, and including this ItaHan version. The British Museum copy has the autograph of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford, on the flyleaf. ROMANCES IN PROSE 29 The Argument of this present Work A noble Grecian, who riding to doe his business being oute of his way, came to a soHtarie place, where a most valiant Knight of Thebes, named Arnalt, having buylded a darke and sadde palace, with many his servantes, as an Heremite did dwell in continuall sighes, lamentations, and mourning. Of whom he being courteously receaved and feasted, was fully informed of all his wof ull and pitiful mishappe : and instantly prayed, that for the honor of gracious, mercifull, and honest women, and the profite of unwearie and too bolde youth, he should write it, and make it come foorth into the cleare lighte and Knowledge of the worlde. The which spedelie without delay was by him done in the Greeke tong, without his proper name unto it. It was after translated into the Spanish tong: and by the excellent Master Nicholas Herberai a Frenchman was turned into the French tongue : and as a thing worthy to be read in every tongue, was by Bartholomew Marraffi Florentine, translated into the Thus- can tong: and no we out of the same tongue by Claudius Holly- bande translated into Englishe. Harken therefore diligently to this author, whiche doubtlesse shall make your harts to mollifie and weepe. 19 [1576.] A Petite Pallace of Pettie his pleasure: Contayning many pretie Hy stories by him set foorth in comely colours, and most de- lightfully discoursed. [Edited by R. B.] Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci. [Colophon.] Printed at London by R.[ichard] W.[atkins.] n. d. [1576]. 4to. Black letter. 88 leaves. British Museum. Bodleian. Also, n. d. [1576]. 4to. Black letter. 88 leaves; another edition, n. d. by R.[ichard] W.[atkins] [1586.?]. 4to. Black letter. 116 leaves. British Museum. R. S. Turner, Esq.; R.[ichard] W.[atkins] [1590.?]. 4to. Black letter. British Museum; by James Roberts, 1598. 4to. Black letter; by George Eld, 1608. 4to. Black letter. 95 leaves. Bodleian. Brit- ish Museum; by George Eld, 1613. 4to. 95 leaves. Bodleian, 30 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS W. C. Hazlitt, in his edition of Warton's History of English Poetry y 1871, says that three editions came out in or about 1576; while the Dictionary of National Biography mentions an earHer edition, 1580, by James Roberts. Anthony a Wood says that Pettie "was as much commended for his neat stile as any of his time," but of the Petite Palace he observes severely "and for the respect I bear to the name of the author (he having been uncle to my mother Maria la Petite) I will keep it; but 't is so far now from being excellent or fine, that it is more fit to be read by a schoolboy, or rustical amoratto, than by a gent, of mode or language." (Athenae Oxonienses.) Pettie's twelve "pretie Histories" are all classical, and have the following titles, — 1. Sinorix and Gamma. 2. Tereus and Progne. 3. Germanicus and Agrippina. 4. Amphiaraus and Eriphile. 5. Icilius and Virginia. 6. Admetus and Alcest. 7. Scilla and Minos. 8. Guriatius and Horatia. 9. Gephalus and Procris (both of the Duke of Venice's court). 10. Minos and Pasiphae. 11. Pigmalions freinde and his Image. 12. Alexius. Joseph Jacobs, Introduction to Painter's The Palace of Pleas- ure, enumerates ten tales only, omitting the 4th and 10th. Synorix and Gamma is a story from Plutarch's treatise De Glaris Mulieribus. Tennyson dramatized it in his two-act tragedy The Gup (1884), his son explaining how the poet's atten- tion was attracted to the subject by a paragraph in W. E. H. Lecky's History of European Morals (Vol. ii, Chap, v, pp. 341-42). Synorix, chief Governor of Siena, "solicited the hand of a Galatian lady named Gamma, who, faithful to her husband. ROMANCES IN PROSE SI resisted all his entreaties. Resolved at any hazard to succeed, he caused her husband to be assassinated, and when she took refuge in the temple of Diana, and enrolled herself among the priestesses, he sent noble after noble to induce her to relent. After a time he ventured himself into her presence. She feigned a willingness to yield, but told him it was first necessary to make a libation to the goddess. She appeared as a priestess be- fore the altar bearing in her hand a cup of wine, which she had poisoned. She drank half of it herself, handed the remainder to her guilty lover, and when he had drained the cup to the dregs, burst into a fierce thanksgiving that she had been permitted to avenge, and was so soon to rejoin, her murdered husband." Tennyson's The Cup was produced at the Lyceum Theatre, London, Jan. 3, 1881, and ran for over one hundred and thirty nights. Ellen Terry, who called it a great httle play," acted finely the noble part of Camma, while Henry Irving set the drama magnificently and played Synorix. ' Irving,' my father said, 'has not hit off my Synorix, who is a subtle blend of Roman refinement and intellectuality, and barbarian, self-satisfied sensuality.* " And again, later, ^ Irving did not represent the character of Synorix rightly. Irving made him a villain, not an epicurean. Fanny Kemble's criticism was that he could not play an epicurean and so he played a villain.* " {Alfred, Lord Tennyson. A Memoir. Vol. ii, pp. 256-58, 385.) Imogen, Cymbeline, ii, 2, went to sleep reading "the tale of Tereus [and Progne]." For an account of Pettie's A Petite Pallace, see British Bibliographer, Vol. ii, p. 392. 20 1576. The Roche of Regard: diuided intofoure parts. The first, the Castle of Delight: wherein is reported, the wretched end of wan- ton and dissolute living. The second, the Garden of Unthriftinesse; wherein are many sweete flowers {or rather fancies) of honest love. The thirde, the Arbour of Vertue; wherein slaunder is highly pun- 32 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS ished and virtuous ladies and gentlewomen worthily commended. The fourth, the Ortchard of Repentance; wherein are discoursed the miseries that follow dicing , the mischief es of quareling, the fall of prodigalitie, and the souden ouerthrowe of four e notable cousnersy with divers other morally natural, and tragical discourses; docu- ments and admonitions: being all the inuention, collection and translation of George Whetstons Gent. Formae nulla fides. [Colophon.] Imprinted at London for Robert Waley. Anno 1576. 4to. Black letter. 132 leaves. Bodleian. Capell Col- lection. N. 191. British Museum (imperfect). Reprinted by J. P. Collier. 1870. The Rocke of Regard, Whetstone's first publication, consists of sixty-eight pieces, in prose and verse, mostly verse. Many of them are drawn from the Italian, while others are occasional poems addressed to friends. Number 20, of the Ortchard of Repentance, the Inventions of P. Plasmos, tells the story of Whetstone's "hap and hard fortune" at the hands of his ene- mies. Part I. The Castle of Delight, contains four pieces. 1. The disordered life of Bianca Maria, Countesse of Celaunt, in forme of her Complainte, supposed at the hour of her beheading, for procuring the murder of Ardissimo Val- perga, earl of Massino. Ten pages, in seven-line stanzas. This novel from Bandello, i, 4, had already been trans- lated by Painter, 1567, The Palace of Pleasure, ii, 24, and by Fen ton, 1567, Certaine Tragicall Discourses. Whetstone relates the story again, in prose, in his Heptameron, 1582. Marston's The Insatiate Countess {Barksted^s Tragedy), 1613, 4to, is founded on it. 2. An Invective written by Roberto San Severino, earle of Giazzo, against Bianca Maria, Countesse of Celant. Six pages. 3. Cressid's Complaint. Five pages. 4. The Discourse of Rinaldo and Giletta. This is a love-tale, forty pages long, composed in prose and verse much on the plan of Gascoigne's Fable of Ferdinando Jeronimi. ROMANCES IN PROSE 33 Part II. The Garden of Unthriftinesse, wherein is reported the dolorous Discourse of Dom Diego^ a Spaniard, together with his Triumphe. Wherein are divers other flowers (or fancies) of honest love. Being the inventions and collection of George Whetstone, Gent. Formae nulla fides. The "dolorous discourse of Dom Diego is Fenton's thir- teenth tale, Painter, ii, 29, from Bandello, i, 27; it occupies seven pages, and is followed by thirty-two ''fancies," or ama- tory poems. Part III. The Arbour of Vertue. A Worke conteining the chaste and honourable life of a Bohemian Ladie: to the which is adjoyned, the complaint of two Hungarian Barons, that wagerd the spoile of her Chastitie. Wherein are the severall prayses of certaine English Ladies and Gentlewomen; being the translation, collection, and invention of George Whetstons, Gent. Formae nulla fides. 128 pp. Dedicated " to the right honourable and vertuous Lady, Jana Sibilla Greye, now of Wilton," second wife of Lord Grey de Wilton. 1. The Discourse of Lady Barbara's vertuous behaviours. Thirteen pages of Alexandrine verse. 2. The Complaint of the Lorde Alberto and Udissas [Uladis- lao], the two Hungarian barons that unadvisedly wagered their land, to winne the ladie Barbara to wantonnesse : who having the foyle {besides the losse of their livings) for their slaunderous opinions, were condemned to perpetuall exile. In thirteen seven-line stanzas. This tale is The Lady of Boeme, Painter, ii, 28, from Ban- dello, I, 21. It is the subject of Massinger's tragi-comedy. The Picture, acted in 1629, printed 1630. 4to. Numbers three to ten are the "severall prayses." The Ortchard of Repentance. Wherein is reported, the miseries of dice, the mischief es of quarreling, and the fall of prodigalitie; wherein is discovered, the deceits of all sorts of people; wherein is reported, the souden endes of foure notable cousiners. With divers other discourses i necessarie for all sortes of men. The whole worke 34 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS the invention and collection of George Whetstons, Gent. Formae nulla fides. 121 pp. This concluding part is inscribed to the " Right Worshipfull Sir Thomas Cicill, Knt." The Ortchard of Repentance consists of twenty pieces in prose and verse, including five epitaphs. 21 1577. Foure Straunge, lamentable, and Tragicall Hystories. Translated out of French into Englishe by R. S. Anno 1577. Imprinted at London, in Fleete-streate, beneath the Con- duite, at the Signe of S. John Euangehst, by Hugh Jackson. 4to. Black letter. 59 leaves. Bodleian. Dedicated "To the right Worshipfull, Mayster Henry Ver- non of Stoke, in the Countye of Salop, & Mayster lohn Vernon of Sudbury, in the Countye of Darby, Esquyer," by T.[homas] N.[ewton], who dates his inscription "At Butley, this xxx. of October, 1577." The dedication is followed by Newton's Ad- dress to the Reader: "T. N. to the curteous, friendlye, and in- different Reader.'* No. 1 is Bandello, iii, 25. Gian Maria Vesconte, secondo duca di Milano, fa interrare un parrocchiano vivo, che non voleva sep- pelire un suo popolano, se non era de la moglie di quello pagato. No. 3 is Bandello, i, 52. Bellissima vendetta che fece un Schiavo de la morte del suo Soldono contra un malvaggio figliuolo di quello. No. 4 is Bandello, i, 44. // Marquese Niccolo Terzo da Esie, trovato il figliuolo con la matrigna in adulterio, a tutti dui in un medesimo giorno fa tagliar il capo in Ferrara. 22 1578. A Courtlie Controuersie of Cupid's Cautels: Contayn- ing fiue Tragicall Histories, very pithie, pleasant, pitifull, and profitable: discoursed uppon wyth Argumentes of Loue, by three Gentlemen and two Gentlewomen, entermedled with divers delicate Sonets and Rithmes, exceeding delightfull to refresh the yrkesom- ROMANCES IN PROSE 35 nesse of tedious Tyme. Translated out of French, as neare as our English Phrase will permit y by H.[enry] W.[otton] Gentleman. At London. Imprinted by Francis Coldocke and Henry Bynneman. 1578. 4to. Black letter. 176 leaves. British Museum (imperfect copy). Bodleian. Dedicated to the translator's sister-in-law, Mary (or Anne.'^) Neville, daughter of George Neville, Lord Abergavenny, widow of Thomas Fiennes, Lord Dacre of the South, and 2d wife to one Wooton, of Tudenham, Norfolk, son of John Wooton, of North Tudenham. A Courtlie Controversie is a translation of Le Printemps d' Yver, contenant cinq histoires discourues par cinq journees en une noble compagnie au chateau du Printemps. By Jacques d'Yver. Paris. 1572. 16mo. •A widow, with her daughter, Marie, and her niece. Margue- rite, receives at her chateau in Poitou, the Castell de Printemps, built by the fairy, Melusina, three noble gentlemen, Sire Bel- Accueil, Sire Fleur d'Amour and Sire de Ferme-Foi. She enter- tains them with five tales, related on five days, one history a day. The tales are original, but show Italian influences, in form, style, and thought. The first day's history is that of Soliman and Perseda, and of "the play within the play," in The Spanish Tragedy. Ernst Sieper, Die Geschichte von Soliman und Perseda in der neueren Literatur. 1. Die franzdsischen Bearbeitungen (i-iv); 2. Die deutschen Bearbeitungen (v). Zeitschrift fiir vergleichende Literatur geschichte. Neue Folge. Bd. rx, 1896, pp. 33-60. 3. Die englischen Bearbeitung (vi). Characteristik von Wotton's Ubersetzung des * Printemps* (vii). Das Drama Soliman und Perseda und Kyds Zwischenspiel (Spanish Tragedy). Zeitschrift fur vergleichende Literaturgeschichte. Neue Folge. Bd. x, 1896, pp. 151-174. The third day's history, by Sire Bel-Accueil, tells the story of Clarinda, daughter of Francesco Gonzaga, of Mantua, and her two suitors, Adilon, Prince of Umbria, and Alegre, a French knight. On the fourth day, the Lady Marguerite relates a 36 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS story about William the Conqueror. It seems that after the Conquest, William fell in love with a Danish princess, Amira, whose image he saw on a knight's shield at a tourney. The ro- mance runs on through love potions, sonnet writing, and mis- chance, to the tragical death of both lovers, king and princess. One of William's sonnets is a clever and pretty echo song, one of the earliest songs in EngHsh in this form. The fifth day's his- tory, a disagreeable story, of two students of the university of Padua, suggests both the Decameron, viii, 8, and Bandello, i, 17. 23 1578. Tarletons Tragical Treatises, contaynyng sundrie dis- courses and prety Conceytes, both in Prose and Verse. Imprinted at London by Henry Bynneman. An. 1578. 4to. Black letter. "To the right honourable and vertous Lady, the Lady Fraunces Mildmay, Richard Tarleton wisheth long life, and prosperous health, with happy encrease of Honor," signed, " Your honors most humble at commandment, Richard Tarle- ton, Seruaunt to the right Honourable the Lorde Chamberlaene Earle of Sussex." The only known copy of this work was found at Lamport Hall, by Mr. C. Edmonds, who says: — "In the Dedication the author expresses his fear of getting *the name and note of a Thrasonicall Clawback,' which curious expression [thrason- ical] is used by Shakespeare in Love's Labour* s Lost " [v, 1, printed 1598]. The next year, in As You Like It, v, 2, acted 1599, Shakspere wrote, — " Caesar's * thrasonical ' brag of * I came, saw, and overcame.' " Before Shakspere, the only use of the word * thrasonical ' is by Coverdale, in 1564. * Clawback ' is good Elizabethan for one who pats on the back. 24: 1579. The Forrest of Fancy. Wherein is conteined very prety Apothegmes and pleasant histories, both in meeter and prose, ROMANCES IN PROSE 37 Songes, Sonets, Epigrams, and Epistles, of diuerse matter and in diuerse manner. With sundry other diuises, no lesse pithye then pleasaunt and pr of y table. Reade with regard, peruse each paint well. And then give thy judgement as reason shall move thee; For eare thou conceive it, twere hard for to tell. If cause be or no, wherefore to reprove me. Imprinted at London by Thomas Purfoote, dwelling in New- gate Market, within the New Rents, at the signe of the Lucrece. 1579. 4to. 58 leaves. A second edition, considerably aug- mented, came out in the same year, 1579. 4to. Black letter. 80 leaves. British Museum. The words *'L'acquis Abonde, Finis, H. C," occur on the verso of the last leaf. H. C. has been conjectured to be Henry Chettle, by Ritson, Henry Cheke, by Malone, and Henry Constable, by War ton. Of the "pleasant histories," which are in prose, I note two from Boccaccio; — No. 1 is Decameron, iii, 5, Seigneor Fran- cisco Vergelis, for a fayr ambling gelding, suffered one Seigneor Richardo Magnifflco to talk with his wife, who gave him no aun- swere at all, but he aunswering for her in such sort as if she herself had spoken it, according to the effect of his wordes it came after- wards to passe. (7 pages.) Ben Jonson makes use of this bargain in Act i, scene 3, of The Devil is an Ass, acted 1616, pubHshed 1631. In Jonson's comedy, Wittipol gives Fitzdottrel a cloak for leave to pay his addresses to Mrs. Fitzdottrel for a quarter of an hour. Theodore enamoured of Maister Emeries daughter, Decameron, V, 7, is the source of Beaumont and Fletcher's Triumph of Love, the second and best of their Four Plays in One. 1608. See Thomas Achelley's A Most Lamentable and Tragicall His- toric, 1576. Another prose romance, No. 3, is taken from Straparola, Le tredici Piacevoli Notti, i, 1. One named Salard, departing from Genes, came to Montferat, where he transgressed three commaunde- mentes that his father gave him by his last will and testamente, and 38 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS being condemned to dye, was delivered, and retourned againe into his owne countrey. (13 pages.) The romance of Salardo is the sixty-ninth and last piece in the book. Number 34 is a charming poem of thirty-two stanzas, entitled, A commendacion of the robin redde brest. It was so sweete a melody, that sure I thought some Muse, Or else some other heavenly wight did there frequent and use. But as I cast mine eye asyde on braunche of willow tree, A little robin redbreast then there sitting did I see. And he it was, and none but he that did so sweetely sing; But sure in all my life before I never harde the thing, That did so much delight my hart, or causde me so to joye, As did that little robin's song that there I heard that day. The Forrest of Fancy also mentions, — from Boccaccio, II conte d' Anguersa, Decameron, ii, 8. Nastagio and Tr aver sari, Decameron, v, 8. See A Notable History e of Nastagio and Trauersari, 1569, and Tragical Tales Translated by Turbervile, 1576. From Bandello, Aleran and Adelasia, ii, 917. The Duchess of Malfy, i, 26, naming the majordomo Ulrico, instead of Antonio Bologna, as in Bandello, Belleforest, and Painter. From Giraldi Cintio, Eufimia and Acaristo, viii, 10. This allusion occurs in one of the prose letters of the collection, of which there are not a few, mostly love-letters. (Brydges, Restituta, Vol. iii, pp. 456-76.) ROMANCES IN PROSE 39 25 1580. A Posie of Gilloflowersy eche differing from other in col- our and odour, yet all sweete. By Humfrey Gifford, Gent. Imprinted at London for lohn Perin, and are to be solde at his shop in Paules Churchyard, at the signe of the Angell. 1580. 4to. Black letter. 82 leaves. British Museum (King's books). 1875. 4to. Edited by A. B. Grosart. Occasional Is- sues, Vol. I. The book is divided into two parts, with separate dedica- tions; the first consists of prose translations from the Italian and French, dedicated, "To the Worshipfull his very good Maister Edward Cope of Edon, Esquier;" and the second, with a few exceptions, of original poems, dedicated *'To the Worshipfull John Stafford of Bletherwicke, Esquier." The first prose piece is, '^An Epistle written in Italian, by Maister Claudius Ptholomoeus, for the comforting of his very louing and learned friend, Maister Dionysius, beeing fallen into poverty, and englished by H. G." The second * posie' is '^An answere of Maister Clodious Ptho- lomoeus, to a Letter sente him by afriende, that meruelled wherefore hee hauing such learning, remayned in so meane and base an estate of calling.'* Claudio Tolommei was a Sienese poet whose letters were held in high repute; some of them were published, in 1544, in a book entitled, De le Lettre di Tredici Huomini Illustri Libri Tre- dici, and edited by Dionigi Atanagi,Tolommei's friend. Dionigi Atanagi is the "Maister Dionysius" to whom the letter on poverty, written in September, 1542, is addressed. An enlarged edition of the Thirteen Italian Letter-writers was translated into French, in 1572, by Pierre Vidal of Toulouse. In his dialogue, II Cesano (1554), Claudio Tolommei introduces Baldessare Castiglione as the acknowledged protagonist for the lingua cortegiana. The fourth ' posie,' "Translated out of Italian," is a story upon this theme, — Two sworne Brothers, being souldiers, married 40 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS twoo sisters: the one of them made much of his wife, entreating her with all lenitie that might he, yet would she not obey his will and pleasure: The other threatned his wife, and kept her in obedience, and she alwayes did, what he commanded her. The one requesteth the other to teach him how to make her obediente, which he did, where upon hee threatning and using her as the other did, shee laught him to scorne. The scene is laid in a garrison near Rome. *Posie' five, Maister Gasparinus a Phisition, by his cunning, healeth fooles. This is the well-known * merry tale,' Of hym that healed f ran- ticke men. Compare, Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quicke Answer es, 52, where it is referred to Poggio, Facetiae, ii, and to Morlino, Novella lxxvii. *Posie' six is another Italian story, — The Florentines and the Citizens of Bergamaske, bring all their Doctors to a disputation, and they of the citie of Bergamaske, with a prety pollicie confuted, and had the victorie of the Florentines. *Posie ' seven. Of one that hyred a foolish seruaunt and was serued accordingly. The long-suffering master was a certain " Pandolf us a Gentle- man of Padua." * Posie ' eight, a second story of a foolish servant, is located "in the Citie of Ferrara." At the end of the poetical pieces there are eighteen rimed rid- dles, of which the eighteenth, with its solution, is as follows, — Of thee (O my friend) a thing I doe craue. Which thou neuer hadst, nor neuer shalt haue. If that for thy selfe thou purpose to gayne it. Thy labour is lost, thou mayst not obtayne it. Although thou shouldst Hue a whole thousand yeere. And seeke it, yet should'st thou be nothing the neere. Now if thou doe loue me, euen so as thou sayest, Doe geue it. For truely, I know that thou mayst. Solution. A mayde being in loue with a young man, desires him to geue her a husbande, which in marrying with her hee might doo." ROMANCES IN PROSE 41 The plot of Randolph's pastoral, AmyntaSy or The Impossible Dowry, turns on this riddle. That which thou hast not, may'st not, can'st not haue, Amyntas, is the dowry that I craue, which in the denouement turns out to be a husband. 26 "Bishop Tanner, I think, in his correspondence with the learned and accurate Thomas Baker of Cambridge, mentions a prose English version of the Novelle of Bandello, ... in 1580, by W. W. Had I seen this performance, for which I have searched Tanner's library in vain, I would have informed the inquisitive reader how far it accommodated Shakespeare in the conduct of the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. As to the trans- lator, I make no doubt that the initials W. W. imply William Warner the author of Albion's England, who was esteemed by his CO temporaries as one of the refiners of our language, and is said in Meres's Wit's Treasury, to be one of those by whom * the English tongue is mightily enriched, and gorgeously invested in rare ornaments and resplendent habiliments."* (Warton, His- tory of English Poetry, lx.) It may be that Warton here mentions the first literary ven- ture of William Warner, but no such work is now known. Warton adds a footnote that W. W. may mean William Webbe, author of A Discourse of English Poetrie. 1586. Besides Arthur Broke's Romeus and Juliet, I have found no translations from Bandello, except Thomas Achelley's metrical romance, Violenta and Didaco, and such separate novels as occur in Painter and other translators. I add twenty-seven Elizabethan plays upon subjects taken from Bandello's Novelle. Of these, however, it will be noticed, that nineteen are already grouped under Painter's Palace of Pleasure, and that the other eight all date from the year 1600 on. There would seem to be little doubt but that the dramatists came to know Bandello through Painter's collection. 42 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS I, 23. (1) Bendo and Ricardo. Acted March 4, 1592. Hens- lowe. I, 10. (2) The Turkish Mahomet and Hiren the Fair Greek. George Peele. This lost play is supposed to be the Mahomet of Henslowe's Diary, Aug. 14, 1594. Compare also, (3) Osmund the Great Turk. 1657. Svo. Lodowick Carlell. (4) The Unhappy Fair Irene. 1658. 4to. Gilbert Swinhoe. II, 37. (5) Edward III. 1596. 4to. Anonymous. II, 9. (6) Romeo and Juliet. 1597. 4to. Shakspere. I, 20. (7) Much Ado About Nothing. 1600. 4to. Shakspere. I, 3. (8) The Merry Wives of Windsor. 1602. 4to. Shak- spere. II, 34. (9) The Life and Death of Thomas Lord Cromwell. 1602. W. S. I, 41. (10) The Wonder of Women, or Sophonisba her Tragedy. 1606. 4to. Marston. 1,49.(11) A Woman Killed vnth Kindness. 1607. 4to. Hey- wood. Ill, 17. (12) The Dumb Knight. 1608. 4to. Markham and Machin. (13) The Queen, or The Excellency of her Sex. 1653. Anonymous. II, 11. (14) The Atheist's Tragedy. 1611. 4to. Cyril Tour- neur. I, 4.(15) The Insatiate Countess {Barksted' s Tragedy) . 1613. 4to. Marston. Also, i, 15, for the comic underplot. I, 26. (16) The Duchess of Malji. 1623. 4to. Webster. II, 36. (17) Twelfth Night. 1623. Folio. Shakspere. III, 18. (18) Albovine, King of the Lombards. 1629. 4to. Sir William Davenant. I, 21. (19) The Picture. 1630. 4to. Massinger. IV, 1. (20) The Broken Heart. 1633. 4to. Ford. I, 35. (21) Love's Cruelty. 1640. 4to. Shirley. ROMANCES IN PROSE 43 II, 15. (22) The Maid in the Mill 1647. Folio. Fletcher. I, 42. (23) Four Plays in One. 1647. Folio. Beaumont and Fletcher. Triumph of Death (Story of the Buondelmonte and the Amidei. Dante. II Paradiso, Canto xvi, 66- 140; also Machiavelli, Istorie Fiorentine, Lib, ii, and Ser Giovanni Fiorentino, // Pecorone, viii, 1). I, 26. (24) Gripus and Hegio. 1647. Folio. Robert Baron. This play is made out of The Duchess of Malfi. Ill, 19. (25) The Mad Lover. 1647. Foho. Fletcher. I, 20. (26) The Law Against Lovers. 1673. Folio. Sir Wil- liam Davenant. This play is simply a mixture of the two plots of Much Ado About Nothing and Measure for Meas- ure. Ill, 18. (27) The Witch. 1788. 8vo. Middleton. Again, the story of Rosamunda, told by Machia- velli, in his Istorie Fiorentine, and after him by Bandello, Belleforest, and Queen Margaret. Compare Albovine, King of the Lombards. The Novels of Matteo Bandello Bishop of Agen now first done into English Prose and Verse by John Payne Author of The Masque of Shadows Intaglios Songs of Life and Death Lautrec New Poems etc. and Translator of The Poems of Master Francis Villon of Paris The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night Tales from the Arabic The Decameron of Giovanni Boccacci {II Boccaccio) and Alaeddin, etc. London : mdcccxc : Printed for the Villon Society by Private Subscription and for Private Circulation Only. 27 1581. Rich his Farewell to Militarie Profession; conteining very pleasant Discourses , in 8 Novels, fit for a peaceable Time. Gath- ered to-g ether for the onely Delight of the courteous Gentlewomen both of England and Ireland, for whose onely Pleasure they were collected to-gether, and unto whom they are directed and dedicated. 44 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Newly augmented. By Barnaby Riche, Gentleman. Malui me divitem esse qua vocari. Imprinted at London by Robert Walley. 1581. 4to. Bod- leian. Also, newly augmented. 1606. 4to. Bodleian. 1846. 8vo. Shakespeare Society. J. P. Collier (reprint of the Bod- leian copy of 1581). There are two dedications, one addressed to "the right cour- teous gentlewomen, both of England and Ireland," and the other "to the noble souldiers both of England and Ireland," besides an interesting address "to the readers in general." Rich found a warm encourager of his literary ambition in Sir Christopher Hatton, whose house at Holdenby he has minutely described in this work. There are nine novels in this collection, four of them Italian, the other five, "forged only for delight." The popular tale of Belphegor was apparently added as an afterthought to give wind to the author's sail. Rich tells the story of a King of Scot- land, which caused so much displeasure to James VI. when he read the book in 1595 that the attention of Bowes, the English agent, was called to the matter. {Calendar State Papers, Scot- land, II, 683.) The titles read, — 1. Sappho, Duke of Mantona. 2. Apolonius and Silla. Bandello, ii, 36. 3. Nicander and Lucilla. Giraldi, Gli Hecatommithi, vi, 3. 4. Fineo and Fiamma. Giraldi, Gli Hecatommithi, ii, 6. 5. Two Brethren and their Wives. 6. Gonzales and his virtuous wife Agatha. Giraldi, Gli Heca- tommithi, III, 5. 7. Arimanthus home a leper, 8. Philotus and Emilia. 9. Belphegor. Machiavelli. Belfagor Arcidiavolo. Rich says that his third, fourth, and sixth tales are drawn from the Italian of 'Maister L. B.' Sidney Lee takes this to be an inaccurate reference to Matteo Bandello. Very likely Rich confused Giraldi and Bandello. Four of these romances were dramatized on the Elizabethan st^ge. ROMANCES IN PROSE 45 1. Sapphoy Duke of Mantona, is the source of the play, The Weakest Goeth to the Wall, 1600, 4to, attributed, for no particular reason, to Webster. 2. The history of Apolonius and Silla is the story of Twelfth Night. 1623. Folio. Shakspere also used Rich's story for The Two Gentlemen of Verona. 1623. Folio. There is a re- print of the story in Collier's and Hazlitt's Shakespeare's Library. Part i. Vol. i. It is found in Bandello, ii, 36, the tale of Nicuola; in Belief orest, torn, iv, hist. 7; in Cin- thio's Gli Hecatommithiy and in three Italian Inganni com- edies. The same theme furnishes the plot of a French play, Les Abuses, 1543, translated from the Italian, and of Lope de Rueda's Comedia de los Enganos. 6. Gonzales and his virtuous wife Agatha, which is a transla- tion of Giraldi's romance of Consalvo and Agata, Gli Heca- tommithi, v, 3, is the source of the anonymous comedy, HowaManmayChuseaGoodWifefromaBad. 1602. 4to. In the Garrick Collection this comedy is ascribed to Joshua Cooke, but Fleay thinks Thomas Heywood wrote it. 8. Philotus and Emilia found dramatic expression in Sir David Lyndsay's comedy, Philotus. 1603. 4to. 9. Belphegor, founded on Machiavelli's Novella di Belfagor Arcidiavolo, is the subject of four English plays, — a. Grim the Collier of Croydon, or The Devil and his Dame. Licensed 1600. Printed in 1662. 12mo. William Haugh- ton. h. If it be not good, the Devil is in it. 1612. 4to. Thomas Dekker. c. The Devil is An Ass. 1641. Folio. Ben Jonson. d. Belphegor. 1690. John Wilson. Belphegor is the devil married to a shrewish wife. 28 1581. The straunge and wonderfull Aduentures of Don Simon- ides, a Gentilman Spaniarde. London, by Robert Walley. 1581. 4to. Black letter. Bodleian, 46 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Dedicated, by the author, Barnabe Rich, to Sir Christopher Hatton. This is a prose romance, interspersed with poetry. It is in- fluenced by Lyly's Euphues, and was corrected by Thomas Lodge. Warton beheved he had seen an Italian original. The Second Tome of the Trauailes and Aduentures of Don Simonides. London, for Robert Walley. 1584. 4to. Black letter. Brit- ish Museum. Bodleian. Dedicated to Sir Christopher Hatton. One of the metrical pieces is 170 lines of very monotonous blank verse. A chapter detailing the hero's visit to Philautus in London results in a panegyric on Queen Elizabeth. 29 1582. An Heptameron of Ciuill Discourses. Containing: The Christmasse Exercise of sundrie well Courted Gentlemen and Gentlewomen. In whose hehauiours, the better sort, may see, a represetation of their own Vertues: And the Inferiour, may learne such Rules of Ciuil Gouernmet, as wil rase out the Blemish of their hasenesse: Wherin is Renowned, the Vertues, of a most Honour- able and braue mynded Gentleman [Phyloxenus]. And herein, also, [as it were in a Mirrour] the Unmaried may see the Defectes whiche Eclipse the Glorie of Mariage: and the wel Maried, as in a Table of Housholde Lawes, may cull out needefull Preceptes to establysh their good Fortune. A Worke, intercoursed with Ciuyll Pleasure, to reaue tediousnesse from the Reader: and garnished with M or all Noates to make it profitable, to the Regarder. The Re- porte of George Whetstone. Gent, Formae nulla fides. At London. Printed by Richard Jones, at the signe of the Rose and the Crowne, neare Holburne Bridge, 3 Feb. 1582. 4to. Black letter. 94 leaves. British Museum (2 copies). Dedicated "To the Right Hon. Sir Christopher Hatton, Knt. Captaine of the Queene's Majesties garde, viz. Chamberlaine to her Highnesse.'* An Heptameron of Ciuill Discourses. Containing: The Christ- ROMANCES IN PROSE 47 masse Exercise of sundrie well Courted Gentlemen and Gentle- women. A Workey inter coursed with Ciuyll Pleasure, to reaue tediousnesse from the Reader: and garnished with Morall Noates to make it profitahlcy to the Regarder. The Reporte of George Whetstone, Gent. At London, printed by Richard lones, at the Sign of the Rose and Crowne, near Holburne Bridge. 3 Feb. 1582. 4to. Black letter. 94 leaves. An edition of the Heptameron of the same date as the preced- ing, but with a very different title. Aurelia. The Paragon of pleasure and Princely delights; Contayning the seuen dayes Solace (in Christmas holy dayes) of Madona Aurelia, Queene of the Christmas Pastimes, & sundry other well-courted Gentlemen & Gentlewomen, in a noble Gentle- mans Pallace. By G. W. Gent. London, printed by R. lohnes, at the Rose & Crowne, neere Holburne Bridge. 1593. 4to. Black letter. British Museum, Aurelia is the second edition of the Heptameron. The earliest English verses of Thomas Watson are prefixed to the Hep- tameron, of 1582. They are entitled, r.[homas] ^F.[atson] Esquier, In the commendation of the Aucthor, and his needeful Booke. Euen as the fniictfull Bee, doth from a thousand Flowers, Sweet Honie draine, and layes it up, to make the profit ours: So, Morall Whetstone, to his Countrey doth impart, A Worke of worth, culd from ye wise, with ludgement, wit and art. etc. The Heptameron of Civill Discourses is a collection of tales in prose, interspersed with poetry, and divided after the man- ner of the Italian novelists into seven 'days' and one * night.* The first Dayes exercise. Chiefly contayning: A ciuill Conten- tion, whyther the maryed or single lyfe is the more worthy. One of Whetstone's tales of the first day is the Soixante Onziesme Nouvelle, of L' Heptameron des Nouvelles of Marguerite d'Angouleme, Queen of Navarre, La femme d'un scellier, grievement malade, se guerir et recouvra la parole, qu^elle avoit 48 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS perdue Vespace de deux jours, voyant que son mary retenoit sur un lid trop privement sa chamheriere, pendant qu^elle tiroit a sa fin. In The Thyrd Dayes Exercise. Contayning ... a large Dis- couerie of the inconueniences of Rash Mariages, Whetstone bor- rows the Trente Deuxieme Nouvelle of UHeptameron des Nou- velles. It is Painter's Wife Punished, i, 57, with * une peyne plus desagreahle que la mort.' Davenant's Albovine, King of the Lom- bards, 1629, 4to, and Middleton's The Witch, 1788, 8vo, are founded on this tale. The fourth Daies exercise. Containing: varietie of necessarie Discourses, and yet withall, the greater part appertaining to the generall argument of Marriage, relates The adventure of Fryer Inganno. This story mixes two of Boccaccio's tales against monks and friars, Decameron, iv, 2, Frate Alberto masquerad- ing as the Angel Gabriel, and vni, 4, Madonna Piccarda's trick exposing the immoral Provost of Fiesole. To overcome the girl's virtue Fryer Inganno used the priest's argument in Queen Margaret's Soixante Douziesme Nouvelle, *'que ung peche secret n'estoit point impute devant Dieu.^^ Another 'exercise' of the Fourth Day is The rare Historic of Promos and Cassandra, reported by Madam Isabella, which Whetstone had already published, in 1578, as a play. It is the story of Shakspere's Measure for Measure, and Whetstone found it in Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi. Decade 8. Novel 5. Cinthio dramatized his own story as Epitia. Promos and Cassandra is reprinted in Hazlitt's Shakespeare^ s Library, i, iii, 153-166. The two parts of the play, with some scenes omitted, will be found in the appendix to Measure for Measure, in Cassell's National Library. No. 205. 1891. Thefift Daies Exercise. Containing a breefe discourse, touching the excellencie of Man: and a large discouerie of the inconuen- iences of ouer lofty, and too base Loue: with other Morall notes, needefull to be regarded. Among examples of "the inconven- iences of over lofty, and too base love," Whetstone mentions two well-known stories from Bandello, i, 26, The Duchess ROMANCES IN PROSE 49 of Malfy (Painter, ii, 23), and i, 4, The Countess of Celani (Painter, ii, 24, and Fenton, vii). Maria Bianca, "unworthily raised to bee Countesse of Zelande, wickedly and wilfully fel to be a Courtesan." "If you covet more authorities [he adds] to approve so common a mischiefe, read Ovid's Metamor- phoses in Latine, Segnior Lodovicus Regester in Italian, Amadis de Gaule in French, and the Pallace of Pleasure in English.*' A marginal note in the Heptameron reads, "the fall of Maria Bianca, is written by the author in his booke, intitul'd The Rocke of Regarde'' (1576). The tale is there in verse. Maria Bianca's story is the theme of Marston's The Insatiate Coun- tess, 1613, 4to, sometimes called Barksted*s Tragedy, 30 1583. Philotimus. The Warre betwixt Nature and Fortune. Compiled by Brian Melbancke Student in Graies Inne. Palladi virtutis famula. Imprinted at London by Roger Warde, dwelling neere unto Holborne Conduite at the Signe of the Talbot. 1583. 4to. 117 leaves. Black letter. Bodleian. British Museum. ' Dedicated to "Phillip Earle of Arundell." Philotimus is an imitation of Lyly's Euphues, quaint and interesting from the many old proverbs and scraps of verse it contains. Two of Melbancke's tales are to be found in Boc- caccio's Filocopo, namely, Quistione iv, The Enchanted Garden^ again, and Quistione xiii. The Enforced Choice. Melbancke also relates a popular anecdote associated with the name of three different French kings. In PasquiVs Jests it is ascribed to Charles V, and is called, A deceyt of the hope of the couetous with a Turnep. Giraldi Cintio, Gli Hecatommithi, Deca Sesta, Novella Nona, tells the story of Francesco Valesi, primo re di Francia di tal nome, and Domenichi, Facezie, Motti, et Burle, di Diner si Signori, of Lodouico undecimo re di Francia. Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche Answeres, xxiii, Of Kynge Lowes of France and the husbandman, follows Dome- nichi. The germ of the story is said to be Arabian. 50 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Philotimus contains an allusion to Titus and Gisippus, and, on page 53, the story of Romeo and Juliet is referred to as well known and popular at that time, — "Nowe Priams sone giue place, thy Helen's hew is stainde. O Troylus, weepe no more, faire Cressed thyne is lothlye fowle. Nor Hercules thou haste cause to vaunt for thy swete Omphale : nor Romeo thou hast cause to weepe for Juliets losse," etc. 31 1587. The Tragicall historie of Romeus and luliet, Contayn- ing in it a rare example of true constancie: with the Suhtill Coun- sels and practises of an old Fryer, and their ill euent. Res est sollidti plena timoris amor. At London. Imprinted by R. Robinson. 1587. 8vo. 103 leaves. Capell Collection. See The Tragicall History e of Romeus and Juliet, by Arthur Brooke, 1562, 32 1587. Amorous Fiammetta; wherein is sette downe a catalogue of all and singuler passions of Loue and jealosie, incident to an enamored yong Gentlewoman with a notable caueat for all women to eschewe deceitfull and wicked Loue, hy an apparant example of a Neapolitan Lady; her approued and long miseries, and wyth many sound dehortations from the same. First wrytten in Italian hy Master John Boccace, the learned Florentine and Poet Laureat. And now done into English hy B. Giouano del M. Temp. [Bar- tholomew Young, of the Middle Temple.] With Notes in the margine, and with a table in the end of the chief est matters con- tayned in it. Bel fine fa, chi hen amando muore. Petrarch: Sonetto 109 (of Sonetti e Canzoni in vita di Madonna Laura). At London. Printed by J.[ohn] C.[harlewood] for Thomas Gubbin and Thomas Newman. Anno. 1587. 4to. Black let- ter. 131 leaves. British Museum. Bodleian. Capell Collec- tion, ROMANCES IN PROSE 51 Dedicated to Sir William Hatton, Knight. A translation of Boccaccio's romance, L'Amorosa Fiammetta. The heroine is the Princess Maria, natural daughter of King Robert, of Naples, with whom Boccaccio formed a Platonic friendship during his life in Naples. Licensed to Thomas Gubbyn and Thomas Newman, Sept. 18, 1587, as follows, — Amorous fiammetta, translated out of Italian. Aucthorised under the bishop of Londons hand." Stationers* Register B. 33 1587. Banishment of Cupid. London. Imprinted for T. Marshe. No date. Small 8vo. Also, 1587. 12mo. An Italian romance, translated by Thomas Hedley. In Stationers' Register, B, Fol. 186 a, among Sampson Awde- ley's copies, the Banishment of Cupid appears as a former grant. 1581. The story of Erona, Princess of Lycia, in Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia, Book ii, is a tale of the banishment of Cupid, and of the god's revenge for the spoliation of his pictures and statues. Erona's story is the subject of two Elizabethan plays, — Beau- mont and Fletcher's Cupid's Revenge, first acted in 1612, and Andromana, or The Merchant's Wife, printed in 1640, by J. S., who may have been James Shirley. 34 1588. Palmerin d'Oliva, the Mirrour of Nohilitie, turned into English. By Anthony Munday, Printed by John Charlwood. 1588. 4to. Black letter. The First Part. The Seconde Part. London. 1597. 4to. Palmerin D'Oliva. The First Part: Shewing the Mirrour of Nohilitie, the Map of Honour, Anatomic of rare Fortunes, Heroicall presidents of Loue, wonder of Chivalrie, and the most 52 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS accomplished Knight in all perfection. Presenting to noble minds, their courtly desire, to Gentiles their expectations, and to the in- feriour sort, how to imitate their vertues: handled with modestie to shun offence yet delightfull for Recreation. Written in Spanish, Italian, and French: and from them turned into English, by yl.[nthony] M.[unday], one of the Messengers of his Majesties Chamber. Patere aut abstine. London: Printed for B. Alsop and T. Fawcet, dwelling in Grub street neere the lower Pumpe. 1637. 4to. Black letter. 399 leaves. British Museum. Palmerin D*oliva. The Second Part: of the Honourable His- toric of Palmerin D'Oliva. Continuing his rare fortunes, Knightly deeds of Chiualrie, happy successe in hue, and how he was crowned Emperour of Constantinople. Herein is likewise concluded the variable troubles of the Prince Trineus, and faire Agriola the King*s daughter of England: with their fortunate Marriage. Translated by ^.[nthony] M.[unday]. London. Printed for B. Alsop and T. Fawcet, dwelling in Grub street neere the lower Pumpe. 1637. 4to. Black letter. 399 leaves. Part I is dedicated, "To the worshipfull, Mr. Francis Yong, of Brent-Pellam, in the County of Hertford Esquire, and to Mistresse Susan Yong his wife, and my most kind Mis- tresse.'* Part II is dedicated to Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford. Pal- merin d'Oliva, with other chivalric romances, is satirized by Beaumont and Fletcher, in The Knight of the Burning Pestle, I, 3. 1613. Compare, "before he took his journey wherein no creature returneth agaie," Part ii. Chap. 3, with Hamlet's, The undiscovered country from whose bourn No traveller returns, (in, 1.) Libro del famoso Cavallero Palmerin de Oliva y de sus grandes Hechos. Seville. 1525. Folio. Venice. 1526. Spanish edition dedicated to Cesare Triulsci. Venice. 1533. 12mo (in Spanish). ROMANCES IN PROSE 53 From some Latin verses at the end it is conjectured that the romance was written by a woman. VHistoire de Palmerin d' Olive fils du Roy Florendos de Mace- doine, et la belle Griane fille de Remicius EmperJ de Constan- tinople; trad, du Castillan par Jean Maugin. Paris, GrouUeau. 1553. Folio. 1573. 8vo. 2 vols. Also Lion. Rigaud. 1619. 16mo. 2 vols. Palmerin d'Oliva has been considered the best of the Pal- merin series, but Cervantes condemned it to the flames. — " Let Oliva bee presently rent in pieces, and burned in such sort, that even the very ashes thereof may not bee found." Book I, Chapter vi, "Of the pleasant and curious search and inquisition made by the Curate and Barber of Don Quix- otes Librarie." The History of Don Quixote of the Mancha. Translated from the Spanish of Miguel de Cervantes by Thomas Shelton. Annis 1612, 1620. With Introduction by James Fitzmaurice-Kelly. London. D. Nutt. 1896. Tudor Translations, xiii. Emmanuel Ford's Parismus, of which Sir Sidney L. Lee records twenty-four editions, between 1598 and 1704, was modelled on Palmerin d'Oliva. M. Jusserand observes that Ford's romances, he also wrote Ornatus and Artesia, were far more popular than any play of Shakspere. The number of edi- tions of them, even up into the eighteenth century, is extraor- dinary. 35 1588. Perimides the Blacke-Smith: A golden methode how to use the minde in pleasant and profitable exercise. Wherein is contained speciall principles fit for the highest to imitate, and the meanest to put in practise, how best to spend the wearie winters nights, or the longest summers Evenings, in honest and delightfull recreation. Wherein we may learne to avoide idlenesse and wanton scurrilitie, which divers appoint as the end of their pastimes. Heerein are interlaced three merrie and necessarie discourses fit for our time: with certaine pleasant Histories and tragicall tales, which may 54 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS breed delight to all, and offence to none. Omne tulit punctum, qui miscuit utile dulci. Robert Greene. London. Printed by John Wolfe, for Edward White. 1588. 4to. 31 leaves. British Museum. Bodleian. Dedicated, "To the right worship. Geruis Clifton Esquire.'* This is a collection of love-stories told in the Italian manner, and largely borrowed from Boccaccio. The Memphian black- smith, Perimides, and his wife, Delia, relate them to each other after their day's work is done. As in Greene's Menaphon, some charming poetry is scattered here and there throughout. Perimides's tale of the first night, Mariana's story, is a close copy of the story of Madonna Beritola Caracciola. Decameron, II, 6. For the second night's discourse, Delia tells the story of Constance of Lipari. Decameron, v, 2. A prefatory "Address to the Gentlemen Readers" contains a satirical notice of Marlowe's Tamhurlaine. Madrigal Fair is my love, for April *s in her face. And lordly July in her eyes hath place; Her lovely breast September claims his part. But cold December dwells within her heart. This madrigal occurs in a slightly different form in Thomas Morley's Madrigals to four voices. 1594. April is in my mistress* face. And July in her eyes hath place: Within her bosom is September, But in her heart a cold December. Unless Morley has plagiarized Greene, both madrigals would seem to be translated from the same original, probably Italian. 36 1590. The Cobler of Caunterhurie, Or An Inuectiue Against Tarltons Newes out of Purgatorie. A jnerrier lest then a Clownes ligge, and fitter for Gentlemens humors. Published with the cost of a dickar of Cowe hides. ROMANCES IN PROSE 55 With these persons At London. Printed by Robert Robinson. 1590. 4to. Black letter. 40 leaves. Bodleian. Also, 1608. 4to. British Museum (reprinted, 1862, by Mr. Frederick Ouvry), and 1614. In 1630, The Cohler was issued with alterations and a new title, — The Tincker of Turvey, his merry Pastime in his passing from Billingsgate to Graues-End. The Barge being Freighted with Mirth, and Manned Trotter the Tincker Yerker, a Cohler Thumper, a Smith Sir Rowland, a Scholler ^ Bluster, a Sea-man And other Mad-merry fellowes, euery-One of them Telling his Tale: All which Tales are full of Delight to Reade ouer, and full of laughter to he heard. Euery Tale-teller heing Descrihed in a Neate Character. The Eight seuerall Orders of Cuckolds, march- ing here likewise in theyr Horned Rankes. London. Printed for Nath. Butter, dwelling at St. Austins Gate. 1630. 4to. Black letter. Bodleian. 1859. 4to. (J. O. Halliwell.) The Cohler of Caunterhurie was attributed to Robert Greene, but he denied the authorship, in his Vision, 1592-3, calling it "incerti authoris,** and speaking of it as "a merrie worke, and made by some madde fellow, conteining plesant tales, a little tainted with scurilitie." The Catalogue of Early English Books enters The Cohler under the name "Richard Tarlton." The first story of the Cohler, The Smith* s Tale, is found both in the Decameron, vii, 7, and in the Pecorone, iii, 2, of Ser Gio- vanni Fiorentino. It is Le Cocu, hattu, et content, of La Fon- taine, Contes et Nouvelles Poemes, m, an extremely popular mediaeval story turning up repeatedly in nearly every modern language. In Elizabethan dramatic literature, it furnishes the underplot of Robert Davenport's tragi-comedy, The City Night- cap, or Crede quod hahes et hahes, licensed 1624, printed 1661. The intrigue is also made use of in two comedies of the Restora- tion, — Love in the Darke: or. The Man of Business, "acted at 56 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS the theatre royal by his Majestie's servants" — written by Sir Francis Fane, Jr., Knight of the Bath, 1675, and The London Cuckolds, 1682, 4to, by Edward Ravenscroft. For an account of the whole matter, see W. H. Schofield, The Source and History of the Seventh Novel of the Seventh Day in the Decameron^ in Studies and Notes in Philology and Litera- ture, Harvard University, 1892. Koeppel calls attention to the fact that The Old Wiues Tale, No. 2, mixes Decameron, vii, 1, and vii, 8, Monna Tessa and the phantom and Monna Sismonda with the string around her toe. {Studien zur Geschichte der Italienischen Novelle, xiii.) See The Merry Tales of the Mad Men of Gottam, 1630. 37 [Before 1590.] Tarltons Newes out of Purgatorie. Onelye such a Jest as his Jigge, fit for Gentlemen to laugh at an home. Pub- lished by an old companion of his, Robin Goodfellow. At London. Printed for Edward White, n. d. [before 1590]. 4to. Black letter. 28 leaves. Bodleian. Also, London, G.[eorge] Purslowe, . . . sold by F. Grove. 1630. 4to. Black letter. 26 leaves. Bodleian. British Museum. Reprinted by the Shakes- peare Society. J. O. Halliwell. 1844. 8vo. At the end of this book, we are told that as a punishment for his sins on earth Tarlton had been appointed "to sit and play Jigs all day on his taber to the ghosts." Richard Tarlton was the best clown actor of his time, and was so celebrated for his wit that many jests pass under his name. It was such a nimble wit that people used to toss him jests from the pit just to bring out his ready repartee. He was in no way responsible for this book, which has been attributed to Thomas Nash. Whether Nash was the author or not, the jests provoked a reply in the same year. The Cobler of Caunterburie. "Our Tarlton was master of his faculty. When Queen Eliza- beth was serious (I dare not say sullen) and out of good humour, he could un-dumpish her at his will." (Dr. T. Fuller, Worthies of England, ed. 1840, iii, 140.) ROMANCES IN PROSE 57 No. 1. The Tale of Friar Onyon: why in Purgatory he was tormented with waspes. This story is iv, 2, of the Decameron, Boccaccio's Frate Alberto da a vedere ad una donna che VAgnolo Gabriello e di lei innamorato. Tarlton confuses Frate Alberto with Frate Cipolla, one of whose deceptions, of another sort, he relates in No. 5, The Tale of the Vickar of Bergamo and why he sits with a coale in his mouthe in Purgatory. Friar Onion, De- cameron, VI, 10, promised to show to the devout a feather of the Angel Gabriel. His waggish servant substituted coals for the feather. Friar Onion, equal to the occasion, showed the coals, and declared them to be the very coals that had roasted St. Lawrence. No. 4. The Tale of the Cooke, and why he sat in Purgatory with a Cranes Leg in his Mouth, is Boccaccio's amusing story of the crane with one leg, Messer Currado Gianfiliazzi and his cook, Chichibio, Decameron, vi, 4. No. 7. Why the Gentlewoman of Lyons sat with her Haire dipt off in Purgatory, is Decameron, vii, 6, Madonna Isabella and her two lovers, Lionetto and Lambertuccio, the old jest Of the in- holders wife and her ii lovers, Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quicke Answer es. 51. No. 8. The Tale of the two Lovers of Pisa, and why they were whipped in Purgatory with nettles, is an adaptation of the story of Bucciolo and Pietro Paulo, of II Pecorone, 1, 2, Ser Giovanni Fiorentino; copied as the story of Filenio Sisterna of Bologna, in Le Tredici piacevole notte, 4, 4, Ser Giovan Francesco Stra- parola. It is the source of The Merry Wives of Windsor. 38 1592. Philomela, The Lady Fitzwaters Nightingale. By Robert Greene. Utriusque Academiae in Artibus Magister. Sero sed serio. II vostro Malignare non Giova Nulla. Imprinted at London by R. B. for Edward White, and are to be sold at the litle North dore of Paules. 1592. 4to. Black letter. 1607. 1615. 4to. 1631. 4to. 1814. 4to, in Archaica, Part I, by Sir S. E. Brydges. Reprinted from the edition of 1615. Forbes Library, 58 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Dedicated "To the right honourable the Lady Bridget Rat- diffe, Lady Fitzwaters." Philomela is the wife of a Venetian nobleman. Count Filippo Medici, who in the first part of the story employs his intimate friend, Giovanni Lutesio, to *make experience of his wife's hon- esty.' The same episode occurs in the story of the Curioso Im- pertinente in Don Quixote, Part i, Chap. 33, though it is unlikely that Greene and Cervantes copied from each other. They prob- ably had a common source in some old Italian novella. Professor Schelling (Elizabethan Lyrics, p. 54) reprints, — PhilomeWs Ode that She Sung in her Arber, Sitting by a river side, etc. The concluding episode of Philomela is taken from Boc- caccio's tale of Titus and Gisippus. Decameron, x, 8. "Might not Greene be slightly indebted to Boccaccio for the fundamen- tal idea of Philomela {Decameron, ii, 9) from which Shakspere borrowed the plot of his Cymbeline?'^ (A. B. Grosart.) Cymbeline is founded on Boccaccio's story of Zinevra. De- cameron, II, 9. Robert Davenport's tragi-comedy, The City Nightcap, or Crede quod habes et habes, licensed 1624, printed 1661 is based on Greene's Philomela in its main plot, that of Lorenzo, Philippo, and Abstemia. Davenport's style is euphuistic, too, and he adopts Greene's very language occasionally; e.g., — O when the Elisander-leaf looks green. The sap is then most bitter. An approv'd appearance Is no authentic instance: she that is lip-holy Is many times heart-hollow. (l, l). See The most wonderfull and pleasant history of Titus and Gisippus, 15Q2. 39 1593. Certen Tragicall cases conteyningeL V histories with their severall Declamations both accusatorie and Defensive, written in ffrenshe by Alexander Vandenbushe alias Sylven, translated by E. A. ROMANCES IN PROSE 59 Licensed to E. Aggas and J. WoK, 25 Aug., 1590. Station- ers* Register y B. Anthony Munday based his Defence of Contraries on Sil- vain: — The Defence of Contraries. Paradoxes against common Opin- ion, debated in Forme of Declamations in Place of public censure: onlie to exercise yong Wittes in difficult Matters, tres-illustre et tres-virtuense princesse Jeanne [de Foix (d 'Al- bert)], royne de Nauarre, par Claude Gruget, Parisien. Paris. Benoit Prevost. 1559. L'Heptameron des Nouvelles de tres-haute et tres-illustre prin- cesse Marguerite d*Angouleme, reine de Navarre, soeur unique de Frangois 1*^ . 1853. 3 vols. 8vo. ROMANCES IN PROSE 69 Edited, from MSS. in the National Library of France, for the Societe des Bibliophiles Frangais, by their secretary, M. Le Roux de Lincy. This is the first complete edition of UHeptameron, M. Le Roux de Lincy having restored the suppressed novels, XI, XLiv, and xlvi, and all those passages which had fallen under the ban of the Index Expurgatorius. The Heptameron: or Tales and Novels of Marguerite, Queen of Navarre. Now first completely done into English prose and verse from the original French, by Arthur Machen. London, privately printed (about 1880), 8vo; also, London, George Routledge & Sons, 1905, 8vo. Mr. Machen has translated the text of the Bibliophiles Fran- gaisy except that he gives Novels xliv and xlvi in duplicate. Here he follows M. Paul Lacroix's edition of 1858, which in- cluded the three Novels, xi, xliv, and xlvi, which Claude Gruget substituted for those he suppressed in UHeptameron of 1559. For the first time in English Mr. Machen has translated the whole of the Heptameron^ including the poetical pieces in- terspersed and the curious arguments by way of epilogue to each tale. The Fortunate Lovers. Twenty Seven Novels of the Queen of Navarre. Translated from the original French by Ar- thur Machen, with etched frontispiece. 1887. 8vo. 312 pp. Edited and selected from the Heptameron with Note, Pedi- grees, and Introductions, by Mary F. Robinson. Heptameron {The) of the Tales of Margaret, Queen of Navarre. Newly translated into English from the authentic text of M. Le Roux de Lincy. With an essay upon the Heptameron by George Saintsbury, M. A. Also the original 73 full-page en- gravings designed by S. Freudenberg, and 150 head and tail pieces by Dunker. London, printed for the Society of English Bibliophilists, 1894. 5 vols. 8vo. Queen Marguerite intended her collection to be a * Decam- eron,' or ten days' entertainment, as the title of the MSS. show, but she lived to complete seven decades only with two tales of 70 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS the eighth. Gruget first pubhshed all the tales, made the divi- sion into days, and called the work as far as it went the Hep- tameron. But in place of Novels xi, xliv, and xlvi, Gruget substituted three others, written it has been conjectured by himself. Codrington followed Gruget's text, which was the authorita- tive one for the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The fact that he omits all the poetical pieces and all the arguments to each day's entertainment may mean that these had dropped out of the particular French version he used. The Heptameron is a collection of tales told by a company of five ladies and five gentlemen, who, being stopped on their way home from the baths of Cauterets by the rising of the river Gave in Bearn, take refuge in the abbey of Our Lady of Ser- rance. Of the ten story-tellers, Hircan and Parlamente are hus- band and wife; Simontault is Parlamente's lover; Geburon is a friend of Hircan; Dagoucin and Saffredent are two gallants; Ennasuitte and Nomerfide are two young ladies; Longarine is a young widow; Oisille is an elderly widow who chaperons the party. The French editors made some interesting and curious conjectures in the effort to identify these personages among the friends and in the household of Queen Marguerite. Of the Heptameron, or the History of the Fortunate LoverSy 1654, twenty-five tales had already been translated in The Pal- ace of Pleasure, Besides the fifteen of The Queene of Navarres Tales, — Day I, Novel x, is Painter, i, 53, Amadour and Florida. Day II, Novel vii, is Painter, i, 55, Francis I and Count Wil- liam. Day II, Novel ix. La Parfaicte Amour, is Boccaccio's story of Girolamo and Salvestra, Decameron, iv, 2. Straparola treated the theme in his Rodolino and Violante. Notti, ix, 2. Day III, Novel i, is Painter, i, 62, Rolandine the Chaste. Rolandine was Anne de Rohan, who, in 1517, at the age of 36, married her cousin, Sieur de Rohan, Siegneur de Fon- tenay. ROMANCES IN PROSE 71 Day III, Novel vi, is Painter, i, 56, The Lady of Pampeluna, This tale is historic, of the time of Louis XII. Day IV, Novel ii, Punition plus rigoreuse que la mort d*un mary enuers sa femme adulter e^ is Painter, i, 57. Part of the wife's punishment is historic in the tragical story of Rosamund, Queen of the Gepidae. (Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. iv, Chap, xlv, pp. 390-399. Milman's ed.) Machiavelli. Istorie Fiorentine, Libro i. Bandello, iii, 18. Belleforest, iv, 19. After Painter, two other Elizabethan story- tellers translated the tale, — Turberville, in his Tragicall Tales, No. 5 (1576), and Whetstone, in An Heptameron of Civil Dis- courses. Third Day (1582). Rosamund's story has been dramatized three times in Eng- lish:— Albovine, King of the Lombards. 1629. 4to. Sir William Davenant. The Witch. Printed. 1788. 8vo. Thomas Middleton. Rosamund, Queen of the Lombards: A Tragedy. 1899. Alger- non Charles Swinburne. Day IV, Novel vi, is Painter, i, 58, The President of Grenoble. Bandello tells this story. It furnished the plot for the trag- edy, — Love's Cruelty. 1640. 4to. James Shirley. Day IV, Novel vii, is Painter, i, 63. The Prudent Lady. Day IV, Novel viii, is Painter, i, 64. The Lady of Tours. This is UHistoire de la dame de Langalier, of the Chevalier de La Tour-Landry. Day VI, Novel viii, is Painter, i, 61. A Lady of the French Court. Queen Margaret is supposed to be the lady who played the practical joke here related. Day VII, Novel v, is Painter, i, 65. The Miracle at Lyons. Day VIII, Novel i, was translated by Whetstone in his An Heptameron of Civil Discourses. First Day. Day VIII, Novel ii. The motive of this story, the betrayal of women under cloak of religion, was a common theme with the 72 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Italian novelists. Compare, the Decameron^ iv, 2, and viii, 4, and Bandello, iii, 19. 46 1597. A Famous tmgicall discourse of two lovers, African and Mensola, their lives, unfortunate loves, and lamentable deaths, to-gether with the of-spring of the Florentines. A History no lesse pleasant then full of recreation and delight. Newly translated out of Tuscan into French, by Anthony Guerin, domino Creste. And out of French into English by Jo. Goubourne. At London. Printed by Ja. R. for William Blackman, dwell- ing neere the great North doore of Paules. 1597. 4to. Black letter. 44 leaves. At the end of this romance is printed, "Thus endeth Maister John Bocace to his Flossolan. Data fata secutus.'' This romance is a translation, first into French prose, and from that into English prose, of Boccaccio's beautiful love- story in verse, Ninfale Fiesolano ossia Vinnamoramento di Af- frico e Mensola; Affrico is a shepherd and Mensola a nymph. " On either side of [the parish] of Majano were laid the two scenes of \he Decameron of Boccaccio; the little streams that embrace it, the Affrico and the Mensola, were the metamor- phosed lovers in his Ninphale Fiesolano; within view was his Villa Gherardi, before the village the hills of Fiesole, and at its feet the Valley of the Ladies. Every spot around was an illus- trious memory. To the left, the house of Machiavelli; still fur- ther in that direction, nestling amid the blue hills, the white village of Settignano, where Michelangelo was born; on the banks of the neighboring Mugnone, the house of Dante; and in the background, Galileo's villa of Arcetri and the palaces and cathedral of Florence. In the centre of this noble landscape, forming part of the village of S. Domenica di Fiesole, stood the villa which had now become Landor's. The Valley of the Ladies was in his grounds; the Affrico and Mensola ran through them; above was the ivy-clad convent of the Doccia overhung with cypress; and from his entrance gate might be seen Val- ROMANCES IN PROSE 73 darno and Vallombrosa.'* (John Forster, Walter Savage Lan- dor, A Biography. 1869. 223-24 pp.) 47 1597. The Theatre of Gods Judgements: Or, A Collection of Histories out of Sacred, Ecclesiastically and Prophane Authours, concerning the admirable Judgements of God upon the transgres- sours of his commandements. Translated out of French, and augmented by more than three hundred Examples, by T. Beard. London. Printed by Adam Islip. 1597. 8vo. British Mu- seum. 472 pp. Dedicated to Sir Edward Wingfield. Also, 1612. 8vo. British Museum. 1631. 4to. British Museum. Revised and augmented, from p. 542 to end. Dedicated to the Mayor and Corporation of Huntingdon. 1648. Folio. With additions. 2 pts. Part ii, by T. Taylor, is dated 1642. This collection of histories is noteworthy, because it con- tains {Lib. I, Chap, xxiii) * An account of Christopher Marlowe and his tragical end,' written by a man who was Cromwell's schoolmaster. The edition of 1612 contains the story of Measure for Measure. In Chapter xxii there is a short translation, the fourth one that is known, of Bandello's Duchess of Malfi, i, 26. The plot of Sir Ralph Freeman's tragedy Imperiale, 1640, 12mo, is one of Beard's * histories.' 48 1598. Diana of George of Montemayor, translated out of Span- ish into English by Bartholomew Yong, of the Middle Temple, Gentleman. [With a second Part by Alonzo Perez, and also a continuation entitled. Enamoured Diana, by Caspar Gil Polo, both included in Young's translation.] At London. Printed by Edw. Bollifant. Impensis G. B. 1598. Folio. 248 leaves. British Museum (2 copies). 74 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Diantty translated from Jorge de Montemor's Diana {Val- encia. 1542. 4to). Dedicated, "To the right honourable and my very good Lady, the Lady Rich." Lady Rich was Penelope Devereux, sister to the Earl of Essex. She was Sir Philip Sidney's * Stella.' After being divorced from Lord Rich, she married Charles Blount, Earl of Devonshire. One romance of this Spanish collection (1542), the tale of the shepherdess, Felismena, is the probable source of Shakspere's The Two Gentlemen of Verona. The History of Felix and Philomena (Felismena) was played before the Court at Greenwich, January 3, 1585. Shakspere is supposed to have taken the story from the old play. For proof that Shakspere used the Diana, either in Young's manuscript, or in some other form, see especially p. 55 of Young's printed translation. Dictionary of National Biog- raphy. The Story of the Shepherdess Felismena . . . from Book ii, of the Diana of G. de Montemayor, translated by B. Young. J. P. Collier. Shakepeare^s Library. [1843.] 8vo. Vol. ii. Diana is interspersed with poetry, a good deal of which, twenty-four pieces, is reprinted in England's Helicon, 1600. Portions of this work were rendered into English verse by Sir Philip Sidney, and are included among his poems at the end of the Arcadia. Numbers xxi and xxii of Pansies from Penshurst and Wilton (Grosart's title) are translations of the second and third pieces of verse in it. Grosart took them from The Lady of the May — A Masque. 1578. 49 Diana de Montemayor done out of Spanish by Thomas Wilson Esquire, In the yeare 1596 and dedicated to the Erie of Southamp- ton who was then uppon the Spanish voiage with my lord of Essex: Wherein under the names and vailes of Sheppards and theire Lon- ers are couertly discoursed manie noble actions and affections of ROMANCES IN PROSE 75 the Spanish nation, as is of the English of that admirable and never enough praised booke of Sir Phil: Sidney es Arcadia. The prefatory letter is headed, *'To the right honorable Sir Fulke Grevyll Knight Privie Councellor to his Maiesty and Chancellor of the Exchequer [afterwards Lord Brooke] my most honorable and truly worthy to be honored frend." Wilson remarks that Brooke's friend, Sir Philip Sidney, "did much affect and imitate Diana.'* This is a translation, in manuscript, by Thomas Wilson, of the first Book of the Diana of Jorge de Montemor. It belongs to a more complete translation of the romance, which had been made by him in 1596, and had been dedicated to Henry Wriothesly, 3d Earl of Southampton, "then upon the Span- ish voiage with my Lord of Essex." It was copied out by the translator himself, and presented, together with the pref- atory letter, to Sir Fulke Greville, Chancellor of the Exchequer (created Lord Brooke in 1621), about the year 1617. Additional MS. British Museum. 18638. Catalogue of Romances in the Department of Manuscripts of the British Museum. By H. L. D. Ward. 1883. 50 1598. The Honour of Chiualrie, Set downe in the most Famous Historie of the Magnanimious and Heroike Prince Don Bellianis: Sonne unto the Emperour Don Bellaneo of Greece. Wherein are described, the straunge and dangerous Adventures that him befell. With his hue towards the Princesse Florisbella: Daughter unto the Souldan of Babylon. Englished out of Italian by L. A. Sed tamen est tristissima ianua nostrae, Et labor est unus tempora prima pati. London. Printed by Thomas Creede. 1598. 4to. Black letter. 1650. 4to. Black letter. Also, 1673, 4to, black letter (Kirkman), and 1683, 4to, black letter, and 1703, 4to (J. Shur- ley or Shirley). Dedicated, "To the right Worshipful, his speciall Patron, 76 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Maister John Rotherham, Esquire, one of the sixe Clarkes of her Maiesties most Honourable Court of Chauncery." Henry Huth owned the only copy known. Don Belianis de Grecia was one of the continuations of the famous romance Amadis of Gaul. It appeared first in Spanish, in 1547, and was written by Jeronimo Fernandez. In 1586 an Italian version was made; in 1598 it was translated into English, and in 1625 into French. Don Belianis, according to his veracious historian, Cid Hamet Benengeli, was one of the books of knight-errantry for which Don Quixote sold his acres of arable land. "In the divels name do not so, gentle gossip (reply ed the Barber), for this which I hold now in my hand, is the famous Don Bellianis. What, he? quoth the Curate, the second, third, and fourth part thereof have great neede of some Ruybarbe to purge his excessive choler, and we must moreover take out of him all that of the Castell of Fame, and other impertinencies of more consequence. Therefore wee give them a terminus Ul- tramarinus, and as they shall be corrected, so will we use mercy or justice towards them: and in the meane space, gossip, you may keepe them at your house, but permit no man to read them." The History of Don Quixote of the Mancha. Translated from the Spanish of Miguel de Cervantes by Thomas Shelton. Annis 1612, 1620. With Introduction by James Fitzmaurice-Kelly. London. D. Nutt. 1896. Tudor Translations, xiii, Book i. Chapter vi. 51 1599. The Fountaine of Ancient Fiction. Wherein is lively depictured the Images and Statues of the Gods of the Ancients; with their proper and perticular expositions. Done out of Ital- ian [of Vincenzo Cartari] into Englishe, by Richard Linche, Gent. Tempo e figliuola di verita. London. Printed by Adam Islip. 1599. 4to. 100 leaves. British Museum (2 copies). ROMANCES IN PROSE 77 Dedicated, "to the right vertuous and well-disposed gentle- man, M. Peter Davison, Esquiere, Richard Linche wisheth all affluence of worldly prosperities, and the fruition of all celes- tiall graces hereafter." "This book, or one of the same sort, is censured in a puri- tanical pamphlet, written in the same year, by one H. G., * a painful minister of God*s word in Kent,' as the *Spawne of Italian Gallimaufry,' as 'tending to corrupt the pure and un- idolatrous worship of the one God, and as one of the deadly snares of popish deception.'" (Warton, History of English Poetry, lx.) "The images, statues, and pictures of the gods of the aun- cients, with their severall expositions" gives an account of the estimation of images in different classical countries, and some of the authors cited are Tacitus, Pliny, Homer, Ovid, and Claudian. First comes a description of eternity, in eight octave stanzas, "not much unlike that reported by Claudianus, which wee will endeavour (though not in his right colours) thus to compose." Then follow the four seasons from Ovid, in eight lines, and Neptune's speech from Homer, in seven. Three ten-line stanzas tell the story of Apollo and his sisters, "which Claudianus reporteth to bee so curiously wrought in an upper garment which belonged to Proserpina. And although in the Italian it carrieth a f arre more pleasing grace than in the English, yet finding it there set downe in verse, I thought it not irrequisite so to discover it." Diana's Nymphs are described in eight six-line stanzas, of which I quote one: — Some have their haire dishevel'd hanging downe, Like to the sun's small streames, or new gold wires; Some on their heade doe weare a jflowry crowne, Gracing the same with many curious tires; But in their hot pursute they loose such graces. Which makes more beau tie beautifie their faces. A similar stanza describes Diana's chariot, "drawn by two 78 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS white hinds, as Claudianus likewise affirmeth," another gives Ovid's description of Hecate, while it takes three six-line stanzas to describe Pan, "whose shape Silvius Italicus setteth forth"; finally, in one of Linche's six-line stanzas, "Statins depictureth the floud Inachus, which passeth through the con- tinent of Greece." Echo, "oftentimes disuaded and reprehended him whosoever will undertake to depicture her, and Ausonius repeats it in an epigram, whose sence is thus reduced to a sonnet." Surcease, thou medling artist, thy endevour, Who for thy skill hast reapt such long-liv'd fame. Strive not to paint my bodie's shape, for never Did any human eies behold the same: In concave cavernes of ike earth I dwell, Daughter of th' aire, and of ech tatling voice; In woods and hollow dales I build my cell. Joying to re-report the least heard noice, To greefe-opprest, and men disconsolate. That tell ech groue their soule's vexation. Their dying agonies I aggravate By their plaints accents iteration, And he that will describe my forme aright. Must shape a formlesse sound or airie spright. " Auster or Natus, predominating the southerne region of the aire, and because commonly proceed from his blasts darke showers and stormy tempests, is thus or to the like effect de- scribed." Tibullus's description of Peace gets ten lines, but it takes four poetical selections to do justice to Fortune, for "shee is humorous, and must be pleased by submission and acknowl- edgment of her power and superioritie, as certaine verses, much to the same effect, doe demonstrate and testify; which Englished are these, or much agreeing with the true meaning of the authour." Three sonnets tell what, "in another place a discontented person railing against her crueltie sayth," and seventeen six- line stanzas describe how a "discontented lover unbo welled (as it were) and anatomized his heart's oppressions." ROMANCES IN PROSE 79 In conclusion, "the same lover in another place further com- plaineth of the overmuch rigour of his ladie, preserving and con- tinuing in hate and scorn of his love : which words reduced to a sonnet, are these, or to the like effect." {Censura Literaria, Vol. VI, p. 135, edition of 1808.) The Fountain of Ancient Fiction was translated from Le Imaginiy con la Spositione de i Dei degli Antichi. Raccolte per V. C. [Vincenzo Cartari.] Venetia. 1556. 4to. British Museum. It was a very popular work. The British Museum lists record eight, out of twelve, Italian editions, a French translation, by Antoine Du Verdier {Lion^ 1581, 8vo), a German one (Franck- furty 1692, 4to), and three Latin versions. 52 1600. The Strange Fortunes of Two Excellent Princes: In their Hues and loues, to their equall Ladies in all the titles of true honour. [Nicholas Breton.] Imprinted at London by P. Short, for Nicholas Ling. 1600. Sm. 4to. Black letter. Bodleian, only copy known. 1878. Sm. 4to. A. B. Grosart, in The Complete Works in Prose and Verse of Nicholas Breton. The Chertsey Worthies^ Library. 100 copies only. Peabody InstitutCy Baltimore. Dedicated to ' John Linewray, Esquire, clerk of the deliuer- ies and deliuerance of all her Maiesties ordenance.' A story from the Italian. In the Bodleian Library. Jusserand describes this tale as, " a little masterpiece," " a bright and characteristic little book." {The English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare, p. 199 of Elizabeth Lee's trans- lation.) 53 1604. Pasquils Jests, mixed with Mother Bunches Merriments. Whereunto is added a doozen of Guiles, Very Prettie and pleasant, to drive away the tediousnesse of a Winters evening. 80 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Imprinted at London for John Browne, and are to be sold at his shop in Saint Dunstones Church yard in Fleet Street. 1604. 4to. Black letter. 24 leaves. British Museum. 1609. 4to. 26 leaves. 1629. 4to. Black letter. 31 leaves. Bodleian. n. d. 4to. Black letter. 32 leaves. 1635. 4to. 30 leaves. Cap- ell Collection, [c. 1650.] 4to. Black letter. 31 leaves. British Museum. 1669. 4to. Black letter. 31 leaves. Bodleian. Re- printed in Old English Jest-Boohs. W. Carew Hazlitt. London. 1866. 12mo. Collier says there were editions in 1608, 1612, 1625, and 1637, none of which were known to Hazlitt, who says, however, that Dr. Rimbault seems to have seen that of 1608. How one at Kingston J ay ned himself e dead, to trye what his wife would doe. Poggio, Facetiae, cxvi. De vivo qui suae uxori mortuum se ostendit. How madde CoomeSy when his wife was droumed, sought her against the streame. Poggio, Facetiae, lx. De eo qui uxorem in flumine peremptam quaerebat. No. 55, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche Answeres. The original is the fabliau, Le Vilain et sa Femme. Le Grand, Fabliaux ou Contes, iii (ed. 1829, n. 181). Of an Her met by Paris. Poggio, Facetiae, cxlii. De eremita qui multas mulieres in concubitu habuit. No. 40, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche Answeres. A deceyt of the hope of the couetous with a Turnep. A popular anecdote related here of "The King of Fraunce, Charles the fift." Giraldi, Gli Hecatommithi, vi, 9, tells the story of Francesco Valesi, primo re di Francia di tal nome; and Domenichi, Facezie, Motti, et Burle, di Diuersi Signori, of Lodonico undecimo re di Francia. Compare Mery Tales, Wittie Questions^ and Quiche Answeres, No. 23. ROMANCES IN PROSE 81 54 1604. Jack of Dover, His Quest of Inquirie, or His Privy Search for the Veriest Foole in England. London. Printed for William Ferbrand, and are to be sold in Pope's Head Ally, over against the Taverne doore, neare the Exchange. 1604. 4to. Bodleian. London. 1615. 4to. Bod- leian. Edited, 1842, for the Percy Society. Reprinted in Old English Jest-Books, by W. Carew Hazlitt. London. 1866. 12mo. The Foole of Lincolne. This is the old story of Socrates and Xanthippe, made fa- miliar to English readers in Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quicke Answer es (c. 1535), of which it is No. 49. The Foole of Lancaster. No. 22, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quicke Answeres (c. 1535). No. 21, of The Pleasant Conceites of Old Hobson, The Foole of Hampshire. No. 6, of A C. Mery Talys. Jacke of Dover, at the instance of a "jury of pennilesse poets," sets out in quest of the Foole of all Fooles; failing to find him in thirty of the principal places in England, it is adjudged that one of the poets must be the fool, for "there cannot be a verier foole in the world then is a poet." 55 1607. The Antient, True, and admirable History of Patient Grisel, a Poore Mans Daughter in France. Written in French, and now translated into English. [At London.] Printed by Edward All-de. 1607. 4to. 16 leaves. The Ancient, True and Admirable History of Patient Grisel, a Poore Mans Daughter in France: shewing how M aides, by her example, in their good behaviour may marrie rich Hosbands; 82 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS And likewise Wives by their patience and obedience may gaine much glorie. Written in French, and Therefore to French I speake and give direction, For, English Dames will live in no subjection. But, now Translated into English, and Therefore, say not so, for English maids and wives Surpasse the French in goodnesse of their lives. At London. Printed by H. L. for William Lugger; and are to be sold at his shop in Bedlem, neere Moore-Fields. 1619. 4to. Black letter. 16 leaves. British Museum. 1674. 4to. Bodleian. Printed for the Percy Society. 1842. J. P. Collier. A quarto tract, in ten chapters, prose. Decameron, x, 10. Licensed to T. Colwell, in 1565, as The History of meke and pacyent Gresell, but the impression of 1607 is the earliest one now known. A ballet intituled the songe of pacyent Gressell unto her make. Licensed to Owen Rogers in 1565. An Excellent Ballad of Patient Grissel, to the Tune of The Brides Good Morrow. The Second Part to the same Tune. London. Printed for F. Coles, T. Vere, and W. Gilbertson. A sheet with two cuts. Printed by and for Alex. Milbourn, in Green-Arbor-Court in the Little-Old-Baily. J. P. Collier, Esq. The Ancient True and Admirable History of Patient Grisel was one of the books in Shakspere's library. In the tract, after the Marquis of Salus has told Grisel that his new marriage is all make-believe, he goes on, — "only sit downe till the dinner is done, and bid the company welcome in this poore attire; for the sun will break through slender clouds, and vertue shine in base array." ROMANCES IN PROSE 83 Shakspere puts this thought, And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds, So honour peereth in the meanest habit. The Taming of the Shrew, iv, 3. Shakspere refers to Patient Grisel's story in The Taming of the Shrew, II, 1. See The Pleasant and sweet History of patient GrisselL 1640. 56 1607. Admirable and Memorable Histories, containing the wonders of our time. Collected into French out of the best Au- thors. By I. [or rather S.] Goulart. And out of French into Eng- lish. By Ed. Grimeston. The Contents of this booke followe tJie Authors Aduertisement to the reader. Imprinted at London by George Eld. 1607. 4to. 323 num- bered leaves. Only the first volume was pubHshed. British Museum. Histoires admirables et memorables de nostre temps. Recueillies de plusieurs Autheurs. Memoires, & Avis de divers endroicts . . . mises en lumiere par S. Goulart . . . Corrigi et augments de moitie en ceste seconde edition. T. Dare. Rouen. 1606. 12mo. British Museum. Lowndes gives the French name "John" Goulart, and the earliest French edition in Brunet is dated 1610; there was, how- ever, a Paris edition of 1600, 12mo, 2 vols., which may have been Grimeston's original. See Anglia. November, 1894. Band XVII. Zweites Heft. The plots of the following dramas are found in Goulart: — (1) Duchess of Malfi. 1623. 4to. Webster. (2) Measure for Measure. 1623. Folio. Shakspere. Two stories on the subject. Vol. i, pp. 300-04. (3) Imperiale. 1640. 12mo. Sir Ralph Freeman. 1. 212. (4) The Maid in the Mill. 1647. Folio. Fletcher. The Biographia Dramatica says the plot of Webster's tragi- comedy. The DeviVs Law-Case, 1623, 4to, is found in Goulart, but Hazlitt could not find it there. 84 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS The story of the Induction to The Taming of the Shrew, Vanity of the World as Represented in State, is related of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in Goulart's Admirable and Mem- orable Histories y 1607, p. 587-89. It is another version of The Waking Mans Dreame. The Fifth Event {Shakespeare Society Publications y Vol. ii, 1845), which Mr. H. G. Norton takes to be a fragment of the collection of short comic stories by Richard Edwardes, date 1570, mentioned by Warton who says he had examined the book. History of English Poetry, lii. The same story occurs in Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy, Part II, Section 2. See Hazlitt, Shakespeare's Library, Part i. Vol. IV, p. 403. Hazlitt reprints {Shakespeare^ s Library, Part, i. Vol. i) The Story of the Two Brothers of Avignon, from Goulart. Compare The Comedy of Errors. 57 1607. A World of Wonders: or an Introduction to a Treatise touching the Conformitie of ancient and modeme Wonders: or a preparative treatise to the Apologie for Herodotus. The Argu- ment whereof is taken from the Apologie for Herodotus, written in Latine by Henry Stephen, and continued here by the Author himself e. Translated [by R. C] out of the best corrected French Copie. Imprinted for J. Norton. London. 1607. Folio. British Museum. A. Hart and R. Lawson. Edinburgh. 1608. Folio. British Museum. Dedicated by R. C. to WiUiam Herbert, 3d Earl of Pem- broke. Translated from the French of Henri Estienne, ii, — L' introduction au traite de la conformity des Merveilles An- ciennes avec les modernes: ou, traitS preparatif a V apologie poure Herodote. 1566. Oct. L^ Introduction went through 13 editions between 1566 and 1735. "The phraseology of Shakspere is better illustrated in this ROMANCES IN PROSE 85 work than in any other book extant." (Thomas Caldecott, Shaksperean student and book collector.) Beloe, in his Anecdotes of Literature and Scarce Boohs, 1812, Vol. VI, p. 232, quotes a whimsical French poem from A World of Wonders, with the English translation immediately following. It is on the evil life of monks and friars, and is written in six- line stanzas, each quatrain bringing forward some arraignment, and the refrain answering for the monks, — Monsieur nousfaisons le seruiccy An't please you (Sir) we serve the Quire. Beloe adds, "I am not acquainted with many books which are more replete with curious anecdote and entertaining inform- ation, than the above translation of the Apology for Herodotus, The following epigram, which is prefixed, appUes very happily to its contents : — Non juvat assidue lihros tradare severos, Bartole sine tuos, sine Galena tms, Sed lihet ad dulces etiam descendere lusus Atque animum doctis exhilarare jocis. Another cynical poem runs as follows, — Trois choses sont tout d'un accord, L'Eglise, la Cour, et la Mart, VEglise prend du vif, du mart. La Cour prend le droit et le tort. La Mort prend le foible et lefort, Englished There be three things do well agree, The Church, the Court, and Destinie, For none will ought to other leave. The Church from live and dead doth reeve. The Court takes both the right and wrong, And Death takes both the weak and strong. Beloe, VI, 207. In Chapter xv, 30, Estienne relates the story of the Decam- eron, III, 3. Otway's comedy of The Soldier^s Fortune, in which Lady Dunce employs her husband to deliver the ring and letter to her admirer, Captain Belguard, is founded on this tale, as 86 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS also Moliere's UEcole des Maris. Compare Masuccio, Novella 50, and Marston's The Parasitaster. Chapter xvii contains the story of Measure for Measure, the crime being attributed to the Provost de la Vouste. In the 38th chapter, we are told that a priest of Genoa, re- turning from the Levant, boasted that he had brought from Bethlehem the breath of Jesus Christ in a vial, and from Sinai the horns which Moses wore when he descended from that mountain. A World of Wonders contains a detective story from Herodo- tus (ii, 121, 1-6) which came into English through the Italian (Bandello, i, 25; Ser Giovanni, II Pecorone, ix, 1) as Bindo and Ricciardo, It was translated by Painter, Palace of Pleasure, i, 48. Henslowe records an old anonymous play on the theme, Bendo and Ricardo, acted March 4, 1592. 58 1607. The Pleasant Conceites of Old Hobson the Merry Lon- doner. Full of Humourous Discourses and Witty Merriments. Whereat the Quickest Wittes may laugh, the wiser sort take plea- sure. [By Richard Johnson.] Printed at London for John Wright, and are to be sold at his Shoppe neere Christ-Church gate. 1607. 4to. 24 leaves. Brit- ish Museum. Bodleian. Also, 1634. 12mo. Bagford Papers. 1640. 12mo. The edition of 1607 was reprinted in 1843, by the Percy Society, and that of 1640, by W. Carew Hazlitt, in Old English Jest-Books. 1866. Dedicated, by Richard Johnson, "To the right worshippfuU, Sir William Stone, Knight, Mercer to the Queenes Most Excel- lent Maiesty." William Hobson was a haberdasher of small wares in the Poultry during the reigns of Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth; he died at an advanced age in 1581, and was buried in St. Mil- dred's Church in the Poultry. Thomas Heywood introduces him as a well-known personage in the City^ in the second part of his play, // you Know not me you Know Nobody, or The Troubles of ROMANCES IN PROSE 87 Queen Elizabethy 1605; a passage in Act i, Sc. 1, contains the title, — Hobson. God bless thy grace, Queen Bess! Queen. Friend, what are you? Hobson. Knowest thou not me. Queen? then, thou knowest nobody. Bones a me, Queen, I am Hobson, old Hobson; By the stocks ! I am sure you know me. Very likely The Pleasant Conceites of Old Hobson was sug- gested to Richard Johnson by Heywood's play. A collection of thirty-five jests, mostly *' ancient tales new told." 12. How Maister Hobson got a Patient for the Sale of his Matches. No. 139, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche Answeres, ed. 1567. 13. Master Hobson lest of Ringing of Bells upon Queene^s Day. No. 12, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche An- sweres (ed. Berthelet, c. 1535). 14. Of a Begers Answear to Maister Hobson. In Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche Answeres (ed. Berthelet, c. 1535). This anecdote is related of the poet Skelton and a beggar. 15. How long Maister Hobsons Daughter mourned her Hus- bands Death. No. 10 of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche An- sweres (ed. Berthelet, c. 1535). Pasquils Jests, Of a young woman at Bamet, that sorrowed for her husbands death. 18. How one of Maister Hobsons men quited him with a merry lest. Poggio, Facetiae, clxxv. De paupere qui navicula victum quaerebat. No. 54, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche An- sweres (c. 1535), where it is related of Mr. Justice Vava- sour and his man Turpin. 88 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS 19. Of Maister Hobsons riding to Sturbrige Faire, Poggio, Facetiaey xc. Jocatio cujusdam Veneti qui equum suum non cognoverat. No. 72, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche An- sweres (c. 1535), where it is entitled. Of the Two Yong men that rode to Walsingham. 20. How Maister Hobson found a Farmers purse. An anecdote of Old Hobson and William Fleetwood, Recorder of London. No. 16, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche An- sweres (c. 1535), where it is related of Mr. Justice Vava- sour and his man Turpin. 21. How Maister Hobson was a iudge betwixt two women. No. 22, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche An- sweres (c. 1535). A variant is the tale of The Foole of Lancaster in Jach of Dover s Quest of Inquirie. 1604. 22. Of the pride of Maister Hobsons wife. The Foole of Bedford's tale in J ach of Dover s Quest of In- quirie. 23. Of Maister Hobsons rewarding a poet for a boohes dedica- tion. No. 23, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche An- sweres (c. 1535), where it is told of Louis XI of France and a husbandman of Burgundy. 24. How Maister Hobson gave one of his servants the halfe of a blind mans benefit, Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche Answeres (c. 1535). 25. How Maister Hobson found out the pye stealer. No. 85, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche An- sweres. 26. Of Maister Hobson and a doctor of physiche. No. 48, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche An- sweres (c. 1535). 27. How Maister Hobson answered a popish fryer. ROMANCES m PROSE 89 No. 119, of Mery Tales , Wittie Questions y and QuickeAn- sweres (ed. 1567), where it is told of a friar who preached on St. Francis. 28. How Maister Hohson answered Musitions. No. 77, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche An- swer es, where it is related "of the covetous ambassador who would hear no music." 29. 0/ Master Hohson teaching his man to use money. No. 79, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche An- sweres (c. 1535). 30. Of Maister Hobsons sore eyes and his answer to Phisitions, Partly copied from No. 88, of Mery Tales, Wittie Ques- tions, and Quiche Answeres (c. 1535). 31. 0/ Maister Hobsons iest of the signe of Saint Christopher, Compare No. 2 and No. 8, of Mery Tales, Wittie Ques- tions, and Quiche Answeres (c. 1535). S3. How Maister Hohson hid an alderman to diner. In part. No. 35, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche Answeres, where it is told "of the wise man Piso, and his Servant." 34. How Maister Hohson grew out of love with an image. No. 75, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche An- sweres (c. 1535) ; also, No. 13, of Wit and Mirth, by John Taylor, the water poet. 35. How Maister Hohson said he was not at home (to William Fleetwood, Recorder of London) . No. 112, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche Answeres (c. 1535), where it is told of Scipio Nasica and Ennius the poet. 59 1608. The Hystorie of Hamhlet. London. Imprinted by Richard Bradocke for Thomas Pavier, and are to be sold at his shop in Corne-hill, neere to the Royall Exchange. 1608. 4to. 32 leaves. Capell Collection. . Although this translation is dated five years after the first 90 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS quarto edition of The Tragical History of Hamlety Prince of Denmark, 1603, it is generally admitted to be the old story that Shakspere used. It was Englished from the French of Belle- forest, — Histoires tragiques, extraites des oeuvres italiennes de Bandel et mises en noire langue frangoise par Pierre Boaistuau, sur- nomme Launay. Six nouvelles seulement. Paris. 1559. Ben. Prevost ou Gilles Robineau. Continuation . . . trad, (ou imitS) par Fr. de Belief oresty Comingeois. Douze nouvelles, Paris. Prevost. 1559. In-8. These eighteen novels make up Vol. i of the Histoires Tra- giques; there are seven volumes in all: Vol. i, 1559, 1564, 1568, 1570; Vol. II and Vol. iii, 1569; Vol. iv and Vol. v, 1570; Vol VI, 1582; Vol. VII, 1583. The Hystorie of Hamhlet is in Vol. v, Troisieme Histoire. 60 1609. Heereafter follow certaine Conceyts & leasts; as well to laugh downe our harder undigested Morsells, as breake up with myrth our Booke and Banquet, Collected out of Scotus Poggius, and others. The title here given occurs at p. 239 of a scarce volume en- titled The Philosophers Banquet. London. Printed by T. C. for Leonard Becket, 1614. 8vo. Second edition. The first edition appeared in 1609 (8vo), with a much less ample title, and a third was published in 1633. Reprinted, in Old English Jest-Books, by W. Carew Hazlitt. London. 1866. 12mo. This is a string of thirty-seven jests, many of them well known in earlier collections. No. 1. Of King Philip and the poor man descended from Adam, is No. 86, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quicke Answers. 1567. " One begg'd of Queene Elizabeth, and pretended kin- dred and alliance, but there was no such relation. * Friend,* says she, 'grant it be so, do*st thinke I am bound to keepe all my kindred? Why, that's the way ROMANCES IN PROSE 91 to make me a beggar.' " {Merry Passages and Jests, collected by Sir Nicholas L*Estrange [W. J. Thoms's Anecdotes and Traditions, p. 16].) No. 3. Of a thief who had stolen the goose of a poor woman, is No. 85, ibid. No. 13. Of an old woman almost blind and her thieving physician, is No. 89, ibid. No. 31. Of the excellent painter who had deformed children, is No. 91, ibid. No. 14. Of a large man married to a small woman, is No. 61 of A C. Mery Talys; c. 1525. No. 24. Of a ''Ladie of Florence,'' is quoted from "Guicch." No. 36 is an anecdote of "Pope Boniface 8, B. of Rome." 61 1617. Merry Jests concerning Popes, Monkes, and Friers. Whereby is discovered their abuses and Errors &c. Written first in Italian by N. S. and thence translated into French by G. I. and now out of French into English by R. W. Bac. of Arts of ^^.[arts] fl^.[all] in Oxon. Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci. Printed by G. Eld, 1617. 8vo. Black letter. 68 leaves. Sev- eral later editions. There is a copy in the Library of Worcester College, Oxford. R. W. is supposed to be Rowland Willet. 62 1620. II decamerone di Boccacio in Italian and the historie of China both in Italian and English Aucthorized by Thle] arch- bishop of Canterbury as is reported by master Cosin. Licensed to John Wolf, September 13, 1587. Stationers* Register, B. Whether this book ever came to print, I do not know, but it is not a little remarkable that Archbishop Whitgift should have authorized an Italian edition of the Decameron in the same year that a translation of the Amorosa Fiammetta was pub- lished under the authority of the Bishop of London. 92 ' ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Franco Sacchetti, one of Boccaccio's personal friends, in the preface to his Three Hundred TaleSy mentions an EngUsh trans- lation of Boccaccio, — " e riguardando in fine alio eccellente poeta fiorentino messer Giovanni Boccacciy it quale descrivendo il libro delle cento Novelle per una materiale cosa, quanto al nobil suo ingegno . . . quello e divulgato e richie . . . che insino in Franciay e in Inghilterra Vhanno ridotto alia loro lingua^ e grand ..." Proemio del trecento novelle, about 1399. The Decameron of Master John Bocace, Florentine, was licensed to Master William Jaggard, March 22, 1620, with the accom- panying note, "recalled by my lord of Canterburyes comand." "So this edition of Boccacio was licensed by the Bishop of London through his secretary, and that license afterwards revoked by the Primate." {Stationers' Register, C. Arber's Transcript.) The Decameron containing An hundred pleasant Nouels. Wittily discoursed, betweene seaven Honorable Ladies, and three noble Gentlemen. London. Printed by Isaac Jaggard. 1620. 2 volumes in one. Folio. With woodcuts. British Museum (2 copies). This is the first, and anonymous, edition of the first English translation of the Decameron. In the second edition of Vol. i, 1625, the title is changed to, — The Modell of Wit, Mirth, Eloquence and Conversation. Framed in ten dayes, of an hundred curious pieces, by seven Honourable Ladies, and three Noble Gentlemen. Preserved to posterity by the renowned John Boccacio, the first refiner of Italian prose, and now translated into English. London. Printed by Isaac Jaggard for Matthew Lownes. 1625. Folio. The Modell of Wit, Mirth, Eloquence and Conversation, framed in Ten Dayes, of One Hundred curious Peeces, by seven Honour- able Ladies and three Noble Gentlemen. London. Printed by Thomas Cotes, &c. 1634. 8vo. Third edition. Vol. i only. ROMANCES IN PROSE 93 Modell of Wit, Mirth, Eloquence, and Conversation framed in ten days. 1657-55. Two volumes in one, fourth edition, woodcuts, with double title to Vol. i. MS. Notes by J. P. Collier. Quar- itcKs Catalogue. B*s Tales; or, the Quintessence of Wit. . . . Fourth edition. 2 pt. E. Cotes. London, 1657-55. 12mo. [8vo. Hazlitt.] Vol. I only is of the fourth edition, and has a second title-page, which reads. The Model of Wit, etc. The title-page of Part 2 reads, The Decameron containing, etc. British Museum Cata- logue. The Decameron Preserved to Posterity hy Giovanni Boccaccio, and Translated into English, Anno 1620. With an Introduction by Edward Hutton. London. David Nutt. 1909. 4 vols. sq. 8vo. Tudor Translations, xli, xlii, xliii, xliv. Reprint of first translation. The Decameron of Giovanni Boccacci (II Boccaccio) now first completely done into English Prose and Verse by John Payne Author of The Masque of Shadows Intaglios Songs of Life and Death Lautrec New Poems etc. and Translator of The Poems of Master Francis Villon of Paris The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night and Tales from the Arabic. London. 1886. Printed by private subscription and for private circulation only. Second English translation. The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio faithfully translated by James Macmullen Rigg. With Illustrations by Louis Chalon. 2 vols. Royal 8vo. London. A. H. BuUen. 1903. Third English translation. The Decameron furnishes plots for thirty-three Elizabethan dramas, and for fifty-four English plays in all. II. 2. (1) The Widow. 1652. 4to. T. Middleton, John Fletcher, Ben Jonson. II. 5. (2) The Rover, or The Banished Cavaliers. 1677. Aphra Behn. 94 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS (3) Victoria. Materialen zur Kunde, 1906. Abra- ham Fraunce. II. 6. (4) Blurt, Master Constable. 1602. 4to. Thomas Middleton. The Rover. 1677. Aphra Behn. (5) Love in Many Masks. 1790. J. P. Kemble's version of The Rover. II. 8. (6) Violentay or The Rewards of Virtue, turn'd from Bocacce into Verse. 1704. Mary Griffith Pix. II. 9. (7) Cymheline. 1623. Foho. Shakspere. (8) A Challenge for Beauty. 1636. Thomas Hey- wood. (9) The Injured Princess, or The Fatal Wager. 1682. Thomas D'Urfey. III. 3. (10) The Parasitaster, or The Fawne. 1606. John Marston. {11) The Fleire. 1607. 4to. Edward Sharpham. (12) The Devil is an Ass. Acted, 1616. Ben Jonson. (13) Flora's Vagaries. 1677. 4to. Richard Rhodes. (14) Love in the Darke: or The Man of Business. 1677. Sir Francis Fane, Jr. (15) The Soldier's Fortune. 1681. Thomas Otway. (16) The Busy Body. Act iii. Susannah CentUvre. III. 5. The Devil is an Ass. 1616. Ben Jonson. The Busy Body. Act ii. Susannah CentHvre. III. 8. The Fleire. 1607. 4to. Edward Sharpham. (17) The Night Walker, or The Little Thief. 1640. 4to. John Fletcher. III. 9. (18) All 's Well that Ends Well. 1623. FoHo. Shak- spere. IV. 1. (19) Tancred and Gismund. 1592. 4to. Robert Wil- mot. (20) Tancred. Written, 1586-87. Not extant. Sir Henry Wotton. (21) The Cruel Gift, or the Royal Resentment. 1717. 12mo. Susannah CentHvre. ROMANCES IN PROSE 95 (22) Tancred and Sigismunda. 1745. 8vo. James Thomson. IV. 8. (23) The Broken Heart Dramatic Scenes and Other Poems. 1819. Barry Cornwall. IV. 10. (24) Hymenaeus. 1909. 16mo. V. 5. (25) The Florentine Party. Dramatic Scenes and Other Poems. 1820. Barry Cornwall. V. 7. (26) Triumph of Love, or Cupid. (Four Plays in One.) 1647. Folio. Beaumont and Fletcher. V. S. (^7) A Contention for Honour and Riches. 1633. 4to. James Shirley. (28) Honoria and Mammon. 1659. 8vo. James Shirley. V. 9. (29) The Falcon. Dramatic Scenes and Other Poems. 1819. Barry Cornwall. (30) The Falcon. 1879. St. James's Theatre, Lon- don. Tennyson. VII. 6. (31) Cupid's Whirligig. 1607. 4to. Edward Sharp- ham. (32) The Atheist's Tragedy, or The Honest Man's Re- venge. 1611. 4to. Cyril Tourneur. (33) Women Pleased. 1647. Folio. John Fletcher. (34) The London Cuckolds. 1682. 4to. Edward Ravenscroft. VII. 7. (35) The City Nightcap, or Crede quod habes et habes. 1661. 4to. Robert Davenport. Love in the Darke ; or The Man of Business. 1675. Sir Francis Fane, Jr. The London Cuckolds. 1682. 4to. Edward Ravenscroft. (36) The Amorous Prince. 1671. Aphra Behn. VII. 8. (37) The Guardian. 1655. Folio. Philip Massinger. Women Pleased. 1647. Folio. John Fletcher. VII. 9. (38) The Antiquary. 1641. Foho. Shackerley Mar- mion. VIII. 7. The Guardian. 1655. 8vo. Philip Massinger. 96 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS VIII. 8. (39) Adrasta: or The Woman*s Spleen and Love's Con- quest 1635. John Jones. Women Pleased. 1647. Folio. John Fletcher. (40) Rule a Wife and Have a Wife. 1640. 4to. John Fletcher. IX. 1. (41) The Siege, or Love's Convert. 1651. 8vo. Wil- liam Cartwright. X. 1. (42) The Merchant of Venice. Act ii, Sc. 6 (casket scene). 1600. 4to. Shakspere. X. 4. (43) The Lover's Tale. The Golden Supper. 1879. Tennyson. X. 5. (44) The Two Merry Milkmaids, or The Best Words Wear the Garland. 1620. 4to. J. C. (45) Triumph of Honour, or Diana. {Four Plays in One.) 1647. Folio. Beaumont and Fletcher. X. 8. (46) De Titi et Gisippi amicitia. c. 1547-59. Ralph Radcliffe. (47) Titus and Gisippus. Acted February 17, 1577. (48) Monsieur Thomas, or Father's Own Son. 1639. 4to. John Fletcher. (49) Gisippus, or The Forgotten Friend. 1842. Gerald Griffin. The City Nightcap. 1661. 4to. Robert Daven- port. X. 10. (50) De patientia Griselidis. c. 1547-59. Ralph Rad- cliffe. (51) The Pleasant Comodie of Patient GrisselL 1603. 4to. Wm. Haughton, H. Chettle, Thomas Dekker. (52) Patient Grizill (* puppet play'), Pepys's Diary, August 30, 1667. (53) Griselda. A Tragedy. 1856. Edwin Arnold. (54) Griselda. 1873. Princess Theatre. M. E. Braddon. ROMANCES IN PROSE 97 63 1620. Westward for Smelts. Or, The Water-man's Fare of mad-merry Western wenches, whose tongues, albeit like Bell- clappers, they neuer leaue Ringing, yet their Tales are sweet, and will much content you. Written by Kinde Kit of Kingstone. London. Printed for John Trundle, and are to be sold at his shop in Barbican, at the signe of the No-boby. 1620. 4to. Black letter. Capell Collection. Reprinted in J. P. Collier's Shakespeare's Library, no date (preface dated July 14, 1843), Vol. ii; also in 1848, edited by J. O. Halliwell, for the Percy Society. The Fishwife's Tale of Brainford, No. 1, whose scene is laid at Windsor, is mentioned by Malone as a possible source of The Merry Wives of Windsor. Its Italian original, *ia sventurata col naso mozzo,' is a com- mon motive with the novellieri; it is found in Firenzuola, Dis- corsi degli animali; in Doni, La moral Jilosophia, i, 2; in Males- pini, Ducento Novelle, ii, 40. Massinger used the device of the supposed saving miracle in The Guardian, iii, 6. The Fishwife's Tale of Standon on the Greene, No. 2, is the story of Zinevra, Decameron, n, 9, Imogen's story, in Cym- beline. The Fishwife's Tale of Richmond, No. 3, is the old story of the locked-out husband, Decameron, v, 4. Boccaccio found it in Puteus, of the Seven Wise Masters. The Fishwife's Tale of Hampton, No. 6, is Filiberto's pledge to Zilia, Bandello, iii, 17. It was translated by Fenton as The Crueltie of a Wydowe, and by Painter, as The Lord of Virle, and is the theme of two plays — The Dumb Knight, 1613, 4to, by Gervase Markham and Lewis Machin; and The Queen, or The Excellency of her Sex, edited by Alexander Gough, 1653. 98 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS 64 1628. The True History of the tragicke loves of Hipolito and Isabella, Neapolitans. Englished. [Preceded by verses ad- dressed "To the volume" signed G. C] London. T. Harper and N. Feild. 1628. 8vo. British Museum. The second edition. T. Harper; sold by R. Meighen. Lon- don. 1633. 8vo. "Some verses signed *G. C.,' prefixed to The True History of the Tragicke loves of Hipolito and Isabella (1628), are probably to be assigned to Chapman." {Dictionary of National Biogra- phy.) The romance is the source of Middleton's tragedy, Women Beware Women, printed in 1657. (Langbaine, Account of English Dramatic Poets, p. 374.) The second plot, in its beginnings, is the life of Bianca Ca- pello, wife of Francesco dei Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. One of the mysterious crimes of Italian history is the sudden and almost simultaneous death of Francesco and Bianca at Poggio a Cajano in 1587. 65 1628. The Powerfull Favorite, or The Life of Aelius Sejanus, By P.[ierre] if.[atthieu]. Paris. 1628. 4to. Pp. 154. British Museum (2 copies). Also, an abridged translation. Paris. 1628. 4to. Pp. 62. British Museum. This translation was published as a satire on the Duke of Buckingham. It was taken from Matthieu's Aelius Sejanus. Histoire Romaine, recueillie de divers au- theurs. Seconde edition. {Histoire des prosperitez malheureuses d^une femme Cathenoise, grande seneschalle de Naples. En suite de Aelius Sejanus.) 2 pt. Rouen. 1618. 12mo. Histoire Prosperitez Malheureuses, D'une femme Cathenoise, ROMANCES IN PROSE 99 grande Senechalle de Naples, En suite de Aelius Seianus. Par P, Matthieu. A Rouen, chez Jean Berthelin, dans la cour du Palais, MDCXXVi. 12mo. 4th edition. Avertissement Boccace Florentin est I'Autheur de ceste Histoire, la derni- ere de son liure, De casibus virorum Illustrium, et le rapporte sur sa foy de ses propres yeux, et de deux vieux Capitaines, Marin de Bulgare, et Constantin de la Roque, qu'il auoit cog- neu a la Cour de Robert Roy de Naples. Je I'ay conferee a un ancien manuscript, a la premiere Impression faite en France, et a ce qu*en escrit J. Ant. Summoto. C'est un tragique effect de I'inconstance de la fortune, qui n'est moins ingenieuse en ses tromperies, qu'estour die en ses faueurs. EUe ne pouuoit esleuer ceste femme de plus bas, n*y la renuerser de plus haut, pour montrer que la montee aux grandes prosperitez est de verre, la cime tremhlement, la descente en precipice. E d voli troppo alti e repentini Soglino i precipitii esser vicini, Torq. Tasso. The tale comes from Boccaccio's De Casibus Virorum et Foeminarum lUustrium, Sir Thomas Hawkins translated it again, from Matthieu, in 1632, as Unhappie Prosperitie. 66 Unhappy Prosperities expressed in the histories of Aelius Seianus and Philippa the Catanian, with observations on the fall of Seianus. Written in French by P. Matthieu. And translated into English by S^' Th. Hawkins. London. Printed by lo. Haviland for Godfrey Emondson. 1632. 4to. British Museum. Second edition, "with . . . cer- tain considerations upon the life and services of M. Villeroy." London. 1639. 12mo. British Museum (2 copies). Dedicated to William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury. Ben Jonson wrote a tragedy on Sejanus's history, Sejanus,^ his Fall. 1605. 4to. 100 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS 67 1630. The Merry Tales of the Mad Men of Gottam. Gathered together by A.B. of Phisicke, Doctor. [Woodcut of the hedging- in of the cuckoo.] Printed at London by B.[ernard] A.[lsop] and T.[homas] F.[awcet] for Michael Sparke, dwelling in Greene A[r]bor at the signe of the Blue-Bible. 1630. 12mo. Black letter. 12 leaves, including title. Bodleian. This chap-book, the earli- est extant version, was reprinted in Old English Jest-Boohs, W. Carew Hazlitt. London. 1866. Hazlitt's edition was reproduced, in popular form, by Alfred Stapleton, in All About the Merry Tales of Gotham. Nottingham. 1900. Numerous chap-books. A. B. is supposed to be Dr. Andrew Borde, said to be physician to King Henry VIII. Anthony a Wood says that Borde was "esteemed a noted poet, a witty and ingenious person, and an excellent physician." His ready wit and jocose language are said to have given rise to the name * Merry Andrew' for the fool on the mountebank's stage. 2. A man of Gotham riding to market carried his corn on his own neck to save his horse. Poggio, Facetiae, lvi. De illo qui aratrum super humerum fortavit. 12. There was a man of Gottam, and he did not hue his wife. This story is No. 38 of Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles (ed. Wright, I, 238). Compare also Decamerone, iii, 2, and VII, 8. Another variation of the adventure will be found in The Old Wiues Tale, of The Cobler of Caunterburie (1590). See A C. Mery Talys, and The Cobler of Caun- terburie, A "merriment," by William Kemp, forms Scene 12 of the anonymous comedy, A Knacke to Knowe a Knave, with Kemp*s applauded merriments of the men of Gotcham, in receiving the King into Gotcham (printed, 1594). It was played by "Ed- ward Allen and his company," at the Rose, June 10, 1592. ROMANCES IN PROSE 101 Kemp went abroad with the Earl of Leicester's company of players, in 1586, visiting the Netherlands, Denmark, and Saxony. Between February 11 and March 11, 1600, he danced his celebrated Morris to Norwich, having put out money at three to one that he could accomplish this feat. He wrote nu- merous jigs, and is the * jesting Will' of The Travels of Three English Brothers, Scene 9 (1607), by John Day, and others. In The Returne from Parnassus (1606), Kemp and Richard Burbage, as the acknowledged heads of their profession, in- struct the University students in their art. "He is not counted a gentleman [says the author of The Returne from Parnassus] that knows not Will Kempe." William Kemp was the original Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, and Peter in Romeo and Juliet, Madrigal Since Robin Hood, Maid Marian, And Little John are gone a; The Hobby-horse was quite forgot, When Kempe did dance alone a. He did labour after the Tabor For to dance, then into France He took pains To skip it. In hope of gains He will trip it, On the toe Diddle do. Thomas Weelkes. Ayres or Phantasticke Spirited for three voices. 1608. (Twenty-six pieces, mostly comic.) 68 1630. Wit and Mirth. Chargeably Collected Out of Taverns, Ordinaries, Innes, Bowling-Greenes and AUyes, Ale-houses, Tobacco-shops, Highwayes, and Water-passages. Made up, and fashioned into Clinches, Bulls, Quirkes, Yerhes, Quips, and Jerkes. Apothegmatically bundled up and garbled at the request of old John Garretts Ghost. [By John Taylor, the Water Poet.] [London?] 1630. Folio. 102 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Wit and Mirths being 113 pleasant Tales and witty Jests. London. 1635. 8vo. Reprinted in Old English Jest-Boohs, by W. Carew Hazlitt. London. 1866. 12mo. In his dedication, "To the truely Loyall harted, learned, well accomplished Gentleman, Master Archibold Rankin," Taylor says he was "enioyned by the Ghost or Genious of old John Garret (a man well known and beloved) to collect, gleane, or gather, a bundle or trusse of mirth, and for his sake to be- strow the stage of the melanchoUy world with it." John Garret was a well-known jester of the period. Taylor's Wit and Mirth is a string of 137 jests (in the first edition), with a concluding "Ribble-rabble of Gossips,'* and is on the whole one of the best collections of this kind ever pub- lished. The stories are racy and droll, bearing the peculiar tang of the eccentric Water Poet. They are not, except in a few instances, offensively gross, and many of them concern well-known persons of Taylor's London. But while the presen- tation of the jests is distinctively original and Taylorian, Tay- lor expressly disclaims originality of matter, — "Because I had many of them by relation and heare-say, I am in doubt that some of them may be in print in some other Authors, which I doe assure you is more then I doe know." 13. A poore Country man, praying deuoutly superstitious before an old Image of S. Loy. No. 75, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quicke An- sweres (c. 1535). No. 34, of The Pleasant Conceites of Old Hobson. 25. There was a Scottish Gentleman that had sore eyes. No. 88, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche An- sweres (c. 1535). No. 30, of The Pleasant Conceites of Old Hobson. 55. There was a Lusty Miller. No. 73, of Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, and Quiche Au' sweres (c. 1535). 92. A Fellow, hauing beene married butjiue weehes. ROMANCES m PROSE 103 A variation of No. 29, Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles. Ed. Wright. 103. An Ideot, who dwelt with a rich uncle he had, etc. "There came unto this Citty an ItaKan Earle, of the house of Anguilora, called Emilio who, desiring to haue a Foole with him, promised a great Almes unto their house, if they would giue him a mad-man, who, hauing lost his fury, might entertaine him with sport." {The Pilgrime of Casteele, 1621, p. 73.) 107. A Doctor of Physicke in Italy asked a waterman, if hee might goe well by water ouer the River Po. 135. A trauailer was talking what a goodly City Rome was, to whom one of the company said, that all Rome was not in Italy, for wee had too much Rome in England. 69 1632. The Fortunate, the Deceived, and the Unfortunate Lovers, 1632. 4to. I find four dramas whose plots are in this collection of tales. (1) The Merry Wives of Windsor. 1602. 4to. Shakspere. (2) Four Plays in One. 1647. Folio. Beaumont and Fletcher, Triumph of Death. (3) The Cunning Lovers. 1654. 4to. Alexander Brome. (4) All 's Lost by Lust. 1633. William Rowley. See Painter, Palace of Pleasure, 1566, and A Most Lamen- table and Tragicall Historic [of Violenta and Didaco], by Thomas Achelley, 1576. 70 1632. Eromena, or Love and Revenge. . . . now faithfully Englished by J. Hayward, etc. R. Badger for R. Allot. London. 1632. Folio. British Museum. Dedicated to James Stuart, Duke of Richmond and Lennox, and having prefixed commendatory verses by James Howell. This is a translation of Giovanni Francesco (Sir John Francis) 104 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Biondi's romance entitled Z' Eromena divisa in sei libri. Venice. 1624. 4to. Also, 1640. 4to. 71 Donzella Desterrada, Or, The BanisKd Virgin. Written originally in Italian by Cavalier Gio. Francesco Biondi, Gentle- man Extraordinary of his Majesties Privy Chamber, Divided into three Bookes: And Englished by I. H. of Graies Inne, Gent. Printed at London by T. Cotes for Humphrey Mosley. 1635. Folio. British Museum. Dedicated to "the Right Noble and most excellent Princesse the Lady Katherine [Manners Villiers], Dutchesse of Bucking- ham," etc. A translation of Biondi's La Donzella Desterrada: divisa in due volumi . . . seguita V Eromena. 2 vols. Venice. 1627-28. 4to. Also, 1640. 4to. Dedicated to the Duke of Savoy. 72 CoralbOf a New Romance, in three Bookes, Rendered into English. London. 1655. Folio. Dedicated to William Wentworth, second Earl of Strafford. A translation of Biondi's third romance, // Coralbo. Segue la Donzella Desterrada. Venice. 1635. 4to. 1641. 4to. The translator, A. G., states that Biondi regarded Coralbo as "the most perfect of his romances." The three romances are chival- ric, and tell a continuous story, as the Italian titles indicate. How long the trilogy is in English I do not know, but in Italian it took twelve books to relate all the adventures of the banished lady. 73 1635. The Arcadian Princesse; or, the Triumph of Justice: Prescribing excellent rules of Physicke, for a sick Justice. Di- gested into Fowre Bookes, and Faithfully rendered to the original! ROMANCES IN PROSE 105 Italian Copy, by Ri. Brathwaitey Esq. (With "the life of Mari- ano Silesio the approved Author of this worke.") Th. Harper for Robert Bostocke. London. 1635. 8vo. 269 leaves. British Museum (2 copies). Argument. Themista reproves such, as being wedded to their own opinion, will not incline to Reason, but prefer a precipitate Will before a de- liberate Judgment. Like to a top, which runneth round And never winneth any ground. Or th' dying scion of a vine That rather breaks than it will twine; Or th' sightless mole whose life is spent Divided from her element; Or plants removed from Tagus' shore. Who never bloom nor blossom more; Or dark Cimmerians who delight In shady shroud of pitchy night; Or mopping apes who are possest Their cubs are ever prettiest: So he who makes his own opinion To be his one and only minion. Nor will incline in any season To th' weight of proof or strength of reason. But prefers Will precipitate 'Fore Judgment that's deliberate; He ne'er shall lodge within my roof Till, rectified by due reproof. He labour to reform this ill By giving way to others' will. (Taken from Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, from Romances and Prose- Tracts of the Elizabethan Age. A. H. Bullen. 1890.) 74 1640. The Sack-Full of Newes some Lyes and some Truths, Printed at London by T. Cotes for F. Grove, and are to be sold at his Shop on Snow Hill, neare the Saracins head. 1640. 8vo. Black letter. , 1673. 12mo. Black letter. British Museum. 1861. Halliwell. 106 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Reprinted in Old English Jest-Boohs, by W. Carew Hazlitt. London. 1866. 12mo. The Sack-Full of Newes was first printed before 1575, for Robert Laneham, in his Letter from Kenilworth, of that year, tells us that it was in the library of his friend, the celebrated Captain Cox. It is a * sackf uU ' of twenty-two jests. One story is from Boccaccio, the popular Seventh Novel of the Seventh Day, of the Decameron. Compare A C. Mery Talys, No. 3. Another story is of "an Italian which loved Coleworts well." It may be that this collection is alluded to in Westward Hoe (1607), Act V, Scene 3, by Webster and Dekker. Mabel. Your flesh and blood is very well recovered now, mouse. Wafer. I know 't is; the collier has a sack-full of news to empty. 75 1647. The Divell a married man: or the Divell hath met with his match. [London, September 24, 1647.] 4to. A translation of Machiavelli's novel, Belfagor Arcidiavolo. Florence. 1549. Belfagor is a good-humored satire on marriage, the devil taking the ground that hell is preferable to his wife's company. The comic idea, which is Slavonic and mediaeval, was treated almost simultaneously in Italian by Machiavelli, Straparola, and Giovanni Brevio. Thackeray revived it for the Victori- ans. A comedy, The Devil and His Dame, by William Haughton, is recorded in Henslowe's Diary, under date, 6 March, 1600, and was acted in that year. It was published in 1662, with the title. Grim the Collier of Croydon; or. The Devil and His Dame. See Rich his Farewell to Militarie Profession. 1581. ROMANCES IN PROSE 107 76 1652. Choice Novels and Amorous TaleSy written by the most refined Wits of Italy. 1652. 8vo. 77 1653. Nissena, an excellent new Romance, Englished from the Italian, by an honourable Anti-Socordist. London. 1653. [1652.] 8vo. British Museum, From the Italian of Francesco Carmeni, who lived during the first half of the seventeenth century. Carmeni was secretary of the Accademia degli Incogniti, at Venice, and wrote Novelle amorose de* signori academici incogniti. Cremona. 1642. 8vo. Venice. 1651. 4to. 78 1654. Dianea: an excellent new Romance. Written in Italian by Geo. Francisco Loredano a noble Venetian. In foure Books. Translated into English by Sir Aston Cokaine. London. Printed for Humphrey Moseley, at the Sign of the Princes Arms in St. Pauls Churchyard. 1654. Svo. British Museum. Dedicated to Lady Mary Cokayne, Viscountess Cullen. This is a translation of La Dianea, by Giovanni Francesco Loredano, the Younger, to whom "The Author's Epistle" is inscribed. This Epistle is dated "from Venice, 25 Oct., 1635," nineteen years before the London edition, but a note in An- thony a Wood's Athenae Oxonienses reads, "Oldys in his MS. Notes to Langbaine says there was an edition of Dianea in Svo, 1643." La Dianea is a collection of romances, published at Venice, in 1636, in four volumes, quarto. A French translation. La Dianee, was made by Jean Lavernhe, and was printed at Paris, in 1642, in two volumes, octavo. There is also a Latin transla- tion by Michel Benuccio, and the collection is said to have been so popular that it was often reprinted. 108 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Sir Aston Cokayne writes, **My best of friends colonell Ed- ward Stamford, gave me the author, and intreated me to teach him om* language." 79 1660. Arnaldo, or the Injured Lover, An excellent new Ro- mance . . . made English hy T, S, [from Girolamo Brusoni.] London [June]. 1660. 8vo. Girolamo Brusoni, 1610-1679(?), wrote, Le curiosissime novelle amorose del Cav, B. libri quattro. Con nuaoa aggiunta, 251 pp. Venetid. 1663. 12mo. British Museum (2 copies). n POETRY n POETRY 80 1560. The first thre Bokes of the most christid Poet Marcellus Palingenius [Pietro Angelo ManzoUi] called the Zodyake of Lyfe; newly translated out of latin into English by Barnabe Googe. Imprinted at London, by John Tisdale, for Rafe Newberye. An. Do. 1560. 8vo. Black letter. 64 leaves. Dedicated to the grandmother of the translator, Lady Hales, and to William Cromer, Thomas Honywood, and Ralph Hei- mund. Esquires. Second edition. 1561. 8vo. Black letter. 170 leaves. Six books. British Museum {'2, copies) . Dedicated to Sir William Cecil, kinsman of the translator. Third edition. 1565. 8vo. Black letter. Twelve books. British Museum. Also: 1576. 4to. British Museum. 1588. 4to. Black letter. 135 leaves. British Museum. A translation of — Marcelli Palengenii Stellati Poetae Doctissimi, Zodiacus vi- tae, hoc est, de hominis vita, studio, ac moribus optime instituen- dis, libri XII . Venice. 8vo. Without date, but about 1534. Dedicated to Ercole d' Este II, who was fourth Duke of Fer- rara and Modena between 1 November, 1534, and 3 October, 1559. "This poem is a general satire on life, yet without peevish- ness or malevolence; and with more of the solemnity of the censor than the petulance of the satirist." (Warton, History of English Poetry , Section lix.) Palingenius, probably through Googe's translation, sug- gested to Pope the well-known lines, — 112 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Superior beings, when of late they saw A mortal man unfold all nature's law. Admired such wisdom in an earthly shape. And show'd a Newton as we show an ape. Essay on Man, Epistle ii, 11. 31-34. The Latin of Palingenius reads : — Simla caelicolum risusque jocusque deorum est. Tunc Homo, cum temere ingenio confidit, et audet Abdita naturae scrutari, arcanaque rerum; Cum revera ejus crassa imbecillaque sit mens. Zodiacus Vitae, Book vi, v, 186. The Zodiacus Vitae was a popular poem in England during the first century of Protestantism. Besides the five editions of Googe's translation, there were five London editions of the Latin original between 1574 and 1639. Marcellus Palingenius is an anagram of Pietro Angelo ManzoUi. See M. Palingenii . . . Zodiacus Vitae. 81 [1565?] The tryumphes of Fraunces Petrarcke, translated out of Italian into Englishe by Henry Parker Knyght, Lord Morley. ( of Loue \ of Chastitie Thetryumphe /^^f^^ \ of Tyme ( of Diuinity. [Colophon.] Printed at London in Powles churchyarde at the sygne of the holy Ghost, by John Cawood, Prynter to the Queues hyghnes. Cura priuilegio Regiae Maiestatis. n. d. [1565?] 4to. Black letter. 52 leaves. British Museum cop- ies). Bodleian. Reprinted by Stafford Henry, Earl of Iddesleigh. 1887. 4to. Roxburghe Club. The dedication, "Unto the mooste towardely yonge gentle Lorde Maltrauers, sonne and heyre apparant to the worthy and noble Earle of Arundel," is subscribed, "Dixi Henry Morelye." POETRY 113 At the end the translator furnishes an original poem, Vyrgyll in his Epigrames of Cupide and DronJcenesse, in 8-line stanzas, and his own Epitaph in Latin, with an English version. The Dictionary of National Biography says that John Cawood was printer to Queen Mary, which might date the Tryumphes for- ward to at least 1553. Morley's translation is in irregular and uncouth verse, and is not very faithful to the original. Lord Morley left a number of manuscript translations, among them, from Italian literature: — Life of TheseuSy from the Latin of Lapo di Castiglionchio, ded- icated to Henry VIII. {British Museum. Royal MS. 17, D. ii.) Sdpio and Hannibaly from the Latin of Donato Acciajuoli. (lb. 17, D. xi.) St. Athanasius his Prologue to the Psalter^ from the Latin of Angelo Pohziano. (76. 17, C. 12.) John de Turre Cremata's (Cardinal Juan de Torquemada) Exposition of the 36th Psalm, with sonnets from the humanist poet, Maffeo Vegio, dedicated to the Princess Mary. {lb. 18, A. XV.) Masuccio's Novella, xlix, Frederick Barbarossa, the Pope, and the Sultan. Dedicated to Henry VIII and Queen Cather- ine Parr. {lb. 18, A. Ixii.) Paolo Giovio's Commentaries on the Turks, dedicated to Henry VIII. {Arundel MS. 8.) Petrarch's Trionfi is an apotheosis of Laura. The six * tri- umphs' are Trionfo d*Amore, Trionfo delta Castita, Trionfo delta Morte, Trionfo delta Fama, Trionfo del Tempo, and Trionfo delta Divinita (Eternity). It was the last work of Petrarch, and was completed about three months before his death, July 20, 1374. See The Triumphs of Love, etc. 1644. 82 1567. The Eglogs of the Poet B. Mantuan Carmelitan, Turned into English Verse, & set forth with the Argument to euery Egloge by George Turbervile Gent. Anno 1567. 114 ELIZABETHAN TRANSLATIONS Imprinted at London in Pater noster Rowe, at the signe of the Marmayde, by Henrie Bynneman. 8vo. Black letter. 98 leaves, including a leaf of * Faultes ' at the end. British Muse- um. Also: 1572. Svo. Black letter. 90 leaves. 1594. Bvo. Black letter. 90 leaves. 1597. John Danter. Dedicated to *Maister Hugh Bamfield Esquier,' uncle of the translator. Nine of the ten Eclogues translated into English fourteeners. The Bucolics of Baptist Mantuan in ten eclogues. Translated hy T. Harvey. 1656. Svo. British Museum. The original of these two translations is Mantuan's Bucolica seu adolescentia in decem eclogas divisa. Mantua. 1498. Giovanni Battista Spagnuoli, called Mantuanus, 1448-1516, who was a Carmelite monk and general of his order, was highly thought of as a poet in his own day, and was praised by Gi- raldi, Pontano, Pico della Mirandola, and even by Erasmus. He was often compared with Vergil and even before his death a portrait bust of him was set up in Mantua by the side of one of the greater Mantuan. Shakspere quotes the beginning of the first Eclogue, in Love's Labour's Lost, iv, 2, putting the Latin in the mouth of the schoolmaster, Holof ernes. "FaustCy precor, gelidd quando pecus omne sub umbra Rumi- nat, — and so forth. Ah, good old Mantuan ! I may speak of thee as the traveller doth of Venice : — Venegia, Venegia, Chi non te vede, ei non te pregia. Old Mantuan, old Mantuan! who understandeth thee not, loves thee not." Drake, in ShaJcspeare and his Times (p. 27 of vol. i), says that the Eclogues of Mantuan were translated before Shak- spere's time, with the Latin printed on the opposite page, for use in schools. In 1518, Mantuan was prescribed by statute for use in St. PauFs School, London, and Dr. Samuel Johnson says that POETRY 115 "Mantuan was read, at least in some of the inferior schools of this Kingdom, to the beginning of the present century." {Ani' brose Philips^ Lives of the Poets.) A popular school edition of Mantuan during the two hundred years of his vogue was the commentary of Josse Bade, known as Jodocus Badius Ascen- tius. For Mantuan's influence on Spenser, consult C. H. Her- ford's edition of The Shepheardes Calender (1895). The best account of Mantuan is that of W. P. Mustard, in the Introduc- tion to his The Eclogues of Baptista Mantuanus (1911). 83 1576. The Schoolemaster, or Teacher of Table Philosophic. A most pleasant and merry companion^ wet worthy to be welcomed (for a dayly Gheest) not onely to all mens boorde^ to guyde them with moderate