New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-07-07

A HISTORY OF ENGLISH POETRY. BY w
nuence Of the Roman Empire the En n.,yio,
paedic Education OF the Church tne r'"'"
System. Up. x2Aia.. az Macmillan ~ ~
When w Carew HaziItt completed his edition
OF Warton's History Of English Poetry IN
1871. he evidently ala not anticipate the advent
OF an original work on the subject ie' "e
prophesed such a phenomenon after his iash'o''
when ne said OF his own work. but until me
historian Of English poetry shan arise" mummy
trust that my very long advance on All price, ''"s
editions Of the standard work on the subject may
be accepted In the spirit In which II Is offered
His edition has hello the Held down !" 'h' present
day and the question whether or not ne" ""'h
can supplant II will only be determined by time.
Warrior with all the shortcomings of which his
critics complained. lent himself admirably 10 the
,reatmen, % which Mr. Hazllu as editor sub
iccted him. This was exactly the KIND 81 treat
ment accorded t. Blackstone by successive COM
mentators In order TO keep the "Commchtarics
m 10 the times. wartons errors were largely such
az he could hardly have avoided In the state OF
knowledge when he wrote. without an Industry
and a sleeplesa vigilance OF which he was inca
pable. The vast amount Of material now In
print was In his time unknown or known only
IN manuscript. yet his skill and taste In quota
views. especially those which most angrily
disputed In his own time. are still tenhble'
though they are usually replaced by theories
which are Of broader application On the aues-
tlon of the origin OF romance. which was passion
atelv debated after the publication OF his prcllm-
mary essays. the principle that the Imagination
OF medieval Europe was indebted to more
polished society for the hints which II elaborated
pnnr n en-
than by Mr.. Courthopc.
II is true that this discussion has not only
broadened. but become more minuteiy accurate
I'm its details For Warrior II was enough 10
suppose that the Arabians were the sole teachers
Of Europe In romance. For Mr. Courthope II Is
INDISPENSABLE to show that there never was
complete break between classical antiquity and
the reawakened Europe Of the fifteenth century
He shows that the term Renaissance" Is mislead-
ing. that the encyclopaedia education Of the
middle ages was the lineal successor 81 the edu-
cative methods which prevailed during the period
Of the Roman Empire and that these were the
natural outcome Of the political changes which
converted the city-states Of antiquity into one
uniform all-embracing organism. The classical
tradition. obscure II was. involved a remn-
iscence Of all the literary activities Of antiquity.
and romance OF these. Rltson's as
sumption that ictions Ike those found In the
medieval romanccs were common 10 all nations
in their infancy IL called by Mr.. Courthope
"a piece Of arrogant lnsolencc.' lie reverses
a common theory about the Celtic tales. main
tanning that those In "Mabnog.on' are more
likely to be the offspring than the parents u
the French romances. while he quotes spec
alist In Welsh literature to show that the most
remarkable early characteristic Of that litcra-
ture Ia the absence Of anything like n tale Not
single poem or ballad. we are told. exists that
Is founded on an incident adventure. or can
be said to have a hero or heroine. II those be
excepted which descriptive Of actual COM
persons.
Far-reach.ng conclusions can be drawn from
such facts as these. For example. the wholesale
use OF the RouAd Table Romances as so much
Celtic folklore in organized form is henceforth
| impossible They are full Of touches rejecting
nothing to show that these do not rather proceed
, from the invention Of poets OF scandinavian or
| Teutonc descent than from the Indigenous tradi-
lions Of Celtic minstrelsy." As against ths re-
| mark, however, must be considered the fact that
| Mr.. Courthope admits the existence Of real
| British book at the foundation Of Godfrey OF
Monmouth's history. Thus In spite Of a very
the whole question as to the origin Of the Arthu-
rian stories open to renewed controversy.
This matter Of Geoffreys original illustrates