The Portland daily press., 1876-03-03
The Original Story Of"King Lear,

Anong the curiosities of literature is a coll
iecuoh Oh tales which were current among the
people nom the twelfth to the fifteenth Gen.
tury Pierre Bercheure, a Frepchmap. was
the first compiler or translator of these s,orias
which, after collecting, he entitled "Ge,ta
Romanorum;" but the collection is more famil.
lar through the modern English translation Of
Mr.. Charles Swan, whose edition is entitled
'Gesta Romanorum; or Entertaining Stories.
Invented by the Monks as freside recrea-
tlon' and commonly applied in their discourses
from the pulpit" Embodied in this collection
Is the tale from which Shakespeare eyideptly
oDtaineo the plot of ''King Lear" slightly
changed and almost metamorphosed by his
Godlike genius. The tale is short. and ia
given entire as published in Mr. Swans
edition, and also in the twenty.first chapter OF
the edition of 164S. The story seems to be
nameless, and is as follows:
"Theodosus reigned wise Emperor, in the
CITY OF Rome, and mighty he was of power;
!he winch Emperor had three daughters. So
II lked this Emperor to know which of his
tbo asers a'S loved him best. Then be said to
tne q, eldest daushter, How much loves thou
IneE Forsooth, quoth she, more than L do
myself Therefore, quoth he thou shalt be-
hlghly advanced and married her to rich
GU nsuty Mug linen ne came to the Sec
ond, and said to her, Daughter, how much
lowest thou me?' As much, forsooth,' said
she, as do myself SO the Emperor married
her to Duke. And then he said 10 the third,
Daughter, how much lowest thou me? For
sooth,' quoth she, 'as much as We be worthy.
and no more Then said The Emperor,
Daughter, sith thou lowest NE no more, thou
shalt not be married so richly as thy sisters be-
Aud then he married her to an Earl After
this 1t happened that the Emperor held pattle
against the King of Egypt. And the King
drove the Emprror out of the Empire, inso-
much that the Emperor bad no place 10 ABIDE
in. 80 ne wrote letters, enseaied with his
ring, to bis first daughter, that said she loved
him more than herself, for to pray her to
succor him IL his great need, because be WIS
put out OF h's Empire. And when the daueh-
ter bad read these letters she told /. TO The
King her husband. Then quoth the King.
~ IS good that We succor him in this need
shall quoth he, gatheien an host and help
MN 10 all that can or may, and that will not
be done without great costage.' yea 'quoth she,
II were sufficient il that we would grant HIM
nye knights to be in fellowship with him
while he is out of his Empire And so il was
done indeed. And the daughter wrote agaiu
to the father, that other help might be not
have bpt five knights of the King 10 be in his
ieliowship, at the cost OF the King her hus-
band. And when the Emperor heard this,
he was heavy in his heart, and said, 'Alasi
Alas! all my trust was in ber, because she said
she loved me more than herself, and therefore,
L advanced her so high
Then he wrote the second, since she loved
him as much as herself, and when she had
read his letters, she showed his errand to her
h1sban !, and gave him in counsel that he
should ind him meat and clothing honestly. as
for the state of such a Lord during the time of
his need And when this was granted, she
wrote letters again to her father. The Emperor
was neavy with this answer, and said, 'Sith my
two daughters have thus treated me, soothly
shall prove the third And SO he wrote to the
~ haf Qcf6 6ohe Lore IL. \
was worthy, and prayed her of snceor in his
need, and told her the answer of her two sis
ters. So the third daughter, when she had
considered the mischief of her father, she told
her husband in this form: My Worshipful
Lord, do succor me now 10 this great need; my
father is out of his Empire and his heritage
Then srake he: What were thy will do there
| to?' That we gather great host quoth she,
and help him to fight against bis enemies I
shall fulfill thy will, and gathered great host
and went with the Emperor at his own costsge
to the battle, and had the victory, and set the
Emperor again in his heritage. And then said
the Emperor Blessed be the hour / got my
youngest daughterl loved her less than any
of the others, and now in my need she hath
succ0red me, and the others have failed me;
and therefore after my death she shall have
my Empire. And SO it was done indeed; for
after the death of the Emperor the youngest
| daughter reigned in his stead, and ended peaca.
bly,. D.. H...-e.. ..r .......t. - .I
The "Gesta Romanorum also embraces an
| other story from which Shakespeare is sup
| posed to have borrowed his idea of the three
| caskets, in the Third Act, Scene II of THE
| Merchant of Venice" A similar tale is con-
tanned in BoccaciOs Decameron, and also in
| the Grecan Fable. .f,...-
In closing quote few lines written about
the thirteenth century, and contained in the
above mentioned collection:
"In my distress religious aid sought;
But my distress relieved, held H. nought;
The wolf was sick a lamb he seemed to be;
as bearing a striking resemblance to the famil-
lar lines of Francis Rabelais'-
/ "The Devil was sick, the Devil a monk would be;
The Devil was well, the devil amonk was he"