dependent kingdoms of the east and west coast were, at an early period, thus denominated, according to the Saxon mode of naming districts from their relative positions, as Essex, Wessex, Sussex. But the geography of the metrical romances sets all system at defiance; and, in some of these, as Clariodus and Meliades, Estmureland undoubtedly signifies the land of the Easterlings, or the Flemish provinces at which vessels arrived in three days from England, and to which they are represented as exporting wool.-Vide Notes on Kempion, (p. 161, post.)

*Kevils-Lots. Both words originally meant only a portion, or share of any thing.-Leges Burgorum, cap. 59, de lot, cut, or kavil. Statuta Gilda, cap. 20. Nullus emat lanam, &c. nisi fuerit confrater Gilde, &c. Neque lot neque cavil habeat cum aliquo confratre nostro. In both these laws, lot and cavil sig-mediately accepted, in the name of his master, as a declaration nify a share in trade.

"O gin ye suld kill him, Fause Foodrage,
You would do but what was right;
For I wot he kill'd your father dear,
Or ever ye saw the light.

"And gin ye suld kill him, Fause Foodrage,
There is no man durst you blame;
For he keeps your mother a prisoner,
And she darna take ye hame."-

The boy stared wild like a gray goss-hawk;
Says "What may a' this mean?"-
My boy, ye are King Honour's son,
And your mother's our lawful Queen."-

"O gin I be King Honour's son,
By Our Ladye I swear,
This night I will that traitor slay,
And relieve my mother dear!"

He has set his bent bow to his breast,

And leaped the castell wa';

And soon he has seized on Fause Foodrage,
Wha loud for help 'gan ca'.

"O haud your tongue, now, Fause Foodrage,
Frae me ye shanna flee;".

Syne pierced him through the fause, fause heart,
And set his mother free.

And he has rewarded Wise William,
Wi' the best half of his land;
And sae has he the turtle dow,
Wi' the truth o' his right hand.

KEMPION.

NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.

THE tale of Kempion seems, from the names of the personages, and the nature of the adventure, to have been an old metrical romance, degraded into a ballad, by the lapse of time, and the corruption of reciters. The change in the structure of the last verses, from the common ballad stanzas, to that which is proper to the metrical romance, adds force to this conjecture.

* Poich' ebbe il verso Brandimarte letto,
La lapida pesante in aria alzava:
Eeco fuor una serpe insin' al petto,
La qual, forte stridendo, zufolava,
Di spaventoso, e terribil' aspetto,
Aprendo il muso gran denti mostrava,
De' quali il cavalier non si fidando.

Si trasee a dietro, et misse mano al brando.

Ma quella Donna gridava "non fate"
Col viso smorto, e grido tremebondo,
"Non far, che ci farai pericolare,
E cadrem' tutti quanti nel profondo:
A to convien quella serpe baciare,
O far pensier di non esser' al mondo,
Accostar la tua bocca con la sua,
O perduta tener la vita tua."

"Come! non vedi, che i denti degrigna,
Che pajon fatti a posta a spiccar' nasi,
E fammi un certo viso de matrigna,'

Disse il Guerrier, "ch'io me spavento quasi?"
"Anzi t' invita con faccia benigna,"
Disse la Donna, "e molti altri rimasi
Per vilta sono a questa sepoltura;
Or la t' accosta, e non aver paura."
Il cavalier s' accosta, me di passo,
Che troppo grato quel baciar non gli era,
Verso la serpe chinandosi basso,
Gli parvo tanto orrenda, e tanto fera,
Che venne in viso freddo, com' un sasso;
E disse "si fortuna vuol' ch'io pera,
Fia tanto un altra volta, quanto addesso
Ma cagion dar non me ne voglio io stesso..
Fuss' io certo d'andare in paradiso,
Come son' certo, chinandomi un poco,

U

Such transformations, as the song narrates, are common in the annals of chivalry. In the 25th and 26th cantos of the second book of the Orlando Inamorato, the Paladin, Brandimarte, after surmounting many obstacles, penetrates into the recesses of an enchanted palace. Here he finds a fair damsel, seated upon a tomb, who announces to him, that, in order to achieve her deliverance, he must raise the lid of the sepulchre, and kiss whatever being should issue forth. The knight, having pledged his faith, proceeds to open the tomb, out of which a monstrous snake issues forth, with a tremendous hiss. Brandimarte, with much reluctance, fulfils the bizarre conditions of the adventure; and the monster is instantly changed into a beautiful Fairy, who loads her deliverer with benefits. For the satisfaction of those who may wish to compare the tale of the Italian Poet with that of Kempion, a part of the original of Boiardo is given below.*

There is a ballad, somewhat resembling Kempion, called the Laidley Worm of Spindleston-heugh, which is very popular upon the Borders; but having been often published, it was thought unnecessary to insert it in this collection. The most common version was either entirely composed, or rewritten, by the Reverend Mr. Lamb, of Norham.

A similar tradition is, by Heywood and Deliro, said to have existed at Basil. A tailor, in an adventurous mood, chose to descend into an obscure cavern, in the vicinity of the city. After many windings he came to an iron door, through which he passed into a splendid chamber. Here he found, seated upon a stately throne, a lady, whose countenance was surprisingly beautiful, but whose shape terminated in a dragon's train, which warped around the chair on which she was placed. Before her stood a brazen chest, trebly barred and bolted; at each end of which lay couched a huge black ban-dog, who rose up, as if to tear the intruder in pieces. But the lady appeased them; and opening the chest, displayed an immense treasure, out of which she bestowed upon the visiter some small pieces of money, informing him, that she was enchanted by her stepdame; but should recover her natural shape on being kissed thrice by a mortal. The tailor essayed to fulfil the conditions of the adventure; but her face assumed such an altered, wild, and grim expression, that his courage failed, and he was fain to fly from the place. A kinsman of his, some years after, penetrated into the cavern, with the purpose of repairing a desperate fortune. But, finding nothing but dead men's bones, he ran mad and died. Sir John Mandeville tells a similar story of a Grecian island.

There are numerous traditions upon the Borders,
Che quella bestia mi s'avventa al viso,
E mi piglia nel naso, o altro loco:
Egli e proprio cosi, com' io m'avviso,
Ch' altri ch'io stato e colto a questo gioco,

talo.

E che costei mi da questo conforto

Per vindicarsi di colui, ch'ho morto."*

Cosi discendo, a rinculare attende,
Deliberato piu non s'accostare:
La donna si dispera, e lo reprende,
"Ah codardo," dicea, "che credi fare?
Perche tanta vilta l'alma t'offende,
Che ti fara alla fin mal capitare?
Infinita paura e poca fede,

La salute gli mostro, e non mi crede."

Punto il Guerrier de questi agre parole,
Torna di nuovo ver la sepoltura,
Tinsegli in rose il color di viole,

In vergogna mutata la paura:

Pur stando ancor' fra due, vuole, e non vuole

Un pensier lo spaventa, un l'assicura,

Al tin tra l'animoso, el disperato,

A lei s'accosta, ed bulle un bacio dato.

Un ghiaccio proprio gli parse a toccare
La bocca, che parea prima di foco:
La serpe se commincia a tramutare,
E diventa donzella a poco a poco:
Febosilla costei si fa chiamare,
Una fata, che fece quel bel loco,
E quel giardino, e quella sepoltura,

Ove gran tempo e stato in pena dura, &c

Un cavalier occiso per Brandimarte nel entrare del palazzo incan

concerning huge and destructive snakes, and also of a poisonous reptile called a man-keeper; although the common adder, and blind worm, are the only reptiles of that genus now known to haunt our wilds. Whether it be possible, that, at an early period, before the country was drained, and cleared of wood, serpents of a larger size may have existed, is a question which the editor leaves to the naturalist. But, not to mention the fabulous dragon, slain in Northumberland by Sir Bevis, the fame still survives of many a preux chevalier, supposed to have distinguished himself by similar achievements.

The manor of Sockburne, in the bishopric of Durham, anciently the seat of the family of Conyers, or Cogniers, is held of the bishop by the service of presenting, or showing to him, upon his first entrance into his diocese, an antique sword, or falchion. The origin of this peculiar service is thus stated in Beckwith's edition of BLOUNT's Ancient Tenures, p. 200. "Sir Edward Blackett (the proprietor of the manor) now represents the person of Sir John Conyers, who, as tradition says, in the fields of Sockburne, slew, with his falchion, a monstrous creature, a dragon, a worm, or flying serpent, that devoured men, women, and children. The then owner of Sockburne, as a reward for his bravery, gave him the manor, with its appurtenances, to hold for ever, on condition that he meets the Lord Bishop of Durham, with this falchion, on his first entrance into his diocese, after his election to that see.

And, in confirmation of this tradition, there is painted, in a window of Sockburne church, the falchion we just now spoke of: and it is also cut in marble, upon the tomb of the great ancestor of the Conyers, together with a dog, and the monstrous worm, or serpent, lying at his feet, of his own killing, of which the history of the family gives the above account.

"When the Bishop first comes into his diocese, he crosses the river Tees, either at the ford of Nesham, or Croft-Bridge, where the counties of York and Durham divide; at one of which places Sir Edward Blackett, either in person, or by his representative, if the Bishop comes by Nesham, rides into the middle of the river Tees, with the ancient falchion drawn in his hand, or upon the middle of Croft-Bridge; and then presents the falchion to the Bishop, addressing him in the ancient form of words: upon which the Bishop takes the falchion into his hand, looks at it, and returns it back again, wishing the lord of the manor his health, and the enjoyment of his estate." The falchion above alluded to has upon its hilt the arms of England, in the reign of King John, and an eagle, supposed to be the ensign of Morcar, Earl of Northumberland.-GOUGH's Camden's Britannia, vol. ii. p. 114. Mr. Gough, with great appearance of probability, conjectures the dragon, engraved on the tomb, to be an emblematical, or heraldic orna

ment.

worm, or snake. Tradition bears, that this animal inhabited a den or hollow, at some distance from the church, whence it was wont to issue forth, and ravage the country, or, by the fascination of its eyes and breath, draw its prey into its jaws. Large rewards were in vain offered for the destruction of this monster, which had grown to so huge a bulk, that it used to twist itself, in spiral folds, round a green hillock of considerable height, still called Wormeston, and marked by a clump of trees. When sleeping in this place, with its mouth open, popular credulity affirms, that it was slain by the Laird of Lariston, a man brave even to madness, who, coming upon the snake at full gallop, thrust down its throat a peat (a piece of turf dried for fuel) dipt in scalding pitch, and fixed to the point of his lance. The aromatic quality of the peat is said to have preserved the champion from the effects of the monster's poisonous breath, while, at the same time, it clogged its jaws. In dying, the serpent contracted its folds with so much violence, that their spiral impression is still discernible round the hillock where it lay. The noble family of Somerville are said to be descended from this adventurous knight, in memory of whose achievement they bear a dragon as their crest.

The sculpture itself gives no countenance to this fine story; for the animal, whom the knight appears to be in the act of slaying, has no resemblance to a serpent, but rather to a wolf, or boar, with which the neighbouring Cheviot mountains must in early times have abounded ;* and there remain vestiges of another monster of the same species, attacking the horse of the champion. An inscription, which might have thrown light upon this exploit, is now totally defaced. The vulgar, adapting it to their own tradition, tell us that it ran thus:

"The wode Laird of Lariestoun

Slew the wode worm of Wormiestoune,
And wan all Lintoun parochine.'

It is most probable, that the animal destroyed by the ancestor of Lord Somerville, was one of those beasts of prey by which Caledonia was formerly infested, but which, now,

"Razed out of all her woods, as trophies hung,

Grin high emblazon'd on her children's shields." Since publishing the first edition of this work, I have found the following account of Somerville's achievement, in a MS. of some antiquity :-

"John Somerville (son to Roger de Somerville, baron of Wichenever, in Staffordshire) was made, by King William, (the lion,) his principal falconer, and got from that King the lands and baronie of Linton, in Teviotdale, for an extraordinarie and valiant action, which, according to the manuscript of the family of Drum, was thus: In the parochen of Lintoun, within the sheriffdom of Roxburgh, there happened to breed a monster, in form of a serpent or worme; in length, three Scots yards, and The property, called Pollard's Lands, near Bishop somewhat bigger than an ordinary man's leg, with Auckland, is held by a similar tenure; and we are a head more proportionable to its length than greatinformed, in the work just quoted, that "Dr. John-nesse. It had its den in a hollow piece of ground, a son of Newcastle met the present Bishop, Dr. Eger-mile south-east from Lintoun church; it destroyed ton, in September, 1771, at his first arrival there, and both men and beasts that came in its way. Several presented a falchion upon his knee, and addressed attempts were made to destroy it, by shooting of him in the old form of words, saying, My lord, in arrows, and throwing of darts, none daring to apbehalf of myself, as well as of the several other ten-proach so near as to make use of a sword or lance. ants of Pollard's Lands, I do humbly present your John Somerville undertakes to kill it, and being well lordship with this falchion, at your first coming mounted, and attended with a stoute servant, he cam, here, wherewith, as the tradition goeth, Pollard slew before the sun-rising, before the dragon's den, having of old a great and venomous serpent, which did prepared some long, small, and hard peats, (bogmuch harm to man and beast: and by the perform- turf dried for fuel,) bedabbed with pitch, rosett, and ance of this service these lands are holden."-An- brimstone, fixed with a small wire upon a wheel, at cient Tenures, p. 201. the point of his lance; these, being touched with fire, would instantly break out into flames; and, there being a breath of air, that served to his purpose, about the sun-rising, the serpent, dragon, or worme, so called by tradition, appeared with her

Above the south entrance of the ancient parish church of Linton, in Roxburghshire, is a rude piece of sculpture, representing a knight, with a falcon on his arm, encountering with his lance, in full career, a sort of monster, which the common people call ahead, and some part of her body, without the den;

An altar, dedicated to Sylvan Mars, was found in a glen in Weardale, in the bishopric of Durham. From the following vofive inscription, it appears to have been erected by C. T. V. Micianus, a Roman general, upon taking an immense boar, which none of his predecessors could destroy:

"Silvano invicto sacrum, C. Tetius Veturius Micianus Præf. Alae Sebosina ob aprum eximiæ formæ captum, quem multi antecessores ejus prædari non potuerunt, Votum solvens lubenter posuti."-LAMB's Notes on Battle of Flodden, 1774, p. 67.

whereupon his servant set fire to the peats upon the wheel, at the top of the lance, and John Somerville, advancing with a full gallop, thrust the same with the wheel, and a great part of the lance, directly into the serpent's mouth, which wente down its throat into the belly, and was left there, the lance breaking by the rebounding of the horse, and giving a deadly wound to the dragon; for which action he was knighted by King William; and his effigies was cat in ston in the posture he performed this actione, and placed above the principal church door of Lintoun, where it is yet to be seen, with his name and sirname: and the place, where this monster was killed, is at this day called, by the common people, who have the foresaid story by tradition, the Wormes Glen. And further to perpetuate this actione, the barons of Lintoun, Cowthally, and Drum, did always carry for crest, a wheel, and thereon a dragon."-Extracted from a genealogical MS. in the Advocates' Library, written about 1680. The falcon on the champion's arm, in the monument, may be supposed to allude to his office of falconer to Willam of Scotland.

The Ballad of Kempion is given chiefly from Mrs. Brown's MS., with corrections from a recited frag

ment

KEMPION.

"CUM heir, cum heir, ye freely feed,
And lay your head low on my knee;
The heaviest weirdt I will you read,
That ever was read to gay ladye.

"O meikle dolour sall ye dree,

And aye the salt seas o'er ye'se swim; And far mair dolour sall ye dree

On Estmere crags,t when ye them climb.

"I weird ye to a fiery beast,§

And relieved sall ye never be, Till Kempion, the kingis son,

Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss thee."

O meikle dolour did she dree,

And aye the salt seas o'er she swam; And far mair dolour did she dree

On Estinere crags, when she them clamb.

And aye she cried for Kempion,

Gin he would but come to her hand:

Nor word has gane to Kempion,

That sicken a beast was in his land.

"Now, by my sooth," said Kempion,
'This fiery beast I'll gang and see.”—

"And by my sooth," said Segramour,,

My ae brother, I'll gang wi' thee.'
Then bigged hae they a bonny boat,

And they hae set her to the sea;
But a mile before they reach'd the shore,
Around them she gar'd the red fire flee.
"O Segramour, keep the boat afloat,
And let her na the land o'er near;
For this wicked beast will sure gae mad,
And set fire to a' the land and mair."-

Syne has he bent an arblast bow,
And aim'd an arrow at her head;
And swore if she didna quit the land,
Wi' that same shaft to shoot her dead.
"O out of my stythe I winna rise,
(And it is not for the awe o' thee,)
Till Kempion, the kingis son,

Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss me.".
He has louted him o'er the dizzy crag,
And gien the monster kisses ane;
Awa she gaed, and again she cam,
The fieryest beast that ever was seen.

"O out o' my stythe I winna rise,
(And not for a' thy bow nor thee,)
Till Kempion, the kingis son,

Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss me."

He's louted him o'er the Estmere crags,
And he has gi'en her kisses twa:
Awa she gaed, and again she cam,

The fieryest beast that ever you saw.!

"O out of my den I winna rise,

Nor flee it for the fear o' thee,
Till Kempion, that courteous knight,
Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss me."-
He's louted him o'er the lofty crag,

And he has gi'en her kisses three:
Awa she gaed, and again she cam,
The loveliest ladye e'er could be!
"And by my sooth," says Kempion,

My ain true love, (for this is she,)
They surely had a heart o' stane,
Could put thee to such misery.

"O was it warwolf in the wood ?
Or was it mermaid in the sea?

Or was it man or vile woman,

My ain true love, that mishaped thee?"

Mr. Motherwell has printed from recitation in the west of Scandinavians, who, in their fits of voluntary frenzy, were wont Scotland, a version of this ballad, in which, he thinks, the name to perform the most astonishing exploits of strength, and to perof the hero is given in greater purity than in any before pub-petrate the most horrible excesses, although, in their natural bel Kemp Owayne," he says, is no doubt the same Ew-state, they neither were capable of greater crimes nor exertions azor Owain ap Urien, King of Reged, (i, e. Strathclyde,) who than ordinary men. This quality they ascribed to Odin. "Odicelebrated by Taliessin and Llywarch-hen, and also in the nus efficere valuit ut hostes ipsius inter bellandum cæci vel Welsh Triads." Kemp means hero, or champion. The other surdi vel attoniti fierent armaque illorum instar baculorum Vous readings in Mr. Motherwell's copy are unimportant.- obtusa essent. Sui vero milites sine loricis incedebant, ac instar canum vel luporum furebant scuta suo arrodentes; et roWeird-From the German auxiliary verb werden, "to be-busti ut ursi vel tauri, adversarios trucidibant: ipsis vero neque ignis neque ferrum nocuit. Ea qualitas vocatur furor Berserkicus."-Snorro Sturleson, quoted by Bartholin. de causis contemptæ mortis, p. 344. For a fuller account of these frantic champions, see the Hervarar Saga, published by Suhm; also the Christni Saga, and most of the ancient Norwegian his tories and romances. Camden explains the tales of the Irish, concerning men transformed into wolves, upon nearly the same principle.-GOUGH's edition of Camden's Britannia, vol. iii. p. 520.

Came"

:If by Estmere Crags we are to understand the rocky cliffs of Northumberland, in opposition to Westmoreland, we may bring og stene of action near Bamborough, and thereby almost identify the tale of Kempion with that of the Laidley Worm of Spindleston, to which it bears so strong a resemblance.

Our less of dragons and serpents are probably derived from the Bean finavians. The legends of Regnar Lodbrog, and of the bare snake in the Edda, by whose folds the world is encireled, are well known. Griffins and dragons were fabled by the Danes, as watching over and defending hoards of gold.-Bartholis de caus. Cont. mortis, p. 490. Saxo Grammaticus, lib. 2. The Edda also mentions one Fafner, who, transformed into a serpeat, brooded over his hidden treasures. From these authorities, and that of Herodotus, our Milton draws his simile,

"As when a Gryphon, through the wilderness,
With winged course, o'er hill or moory dale,
Pursues the Arimaspian, who, by stealth,
Had from his wakeful custody purloin'd
The guarded gold."

1 Warwolf, or Lycanthropus, signifies a magician, possessing the power of transforming himself into a wolf, for the purpose of ravage and devastation. It is probable the word was first used symbolically, to distinguish those who, by means of intoxicating herbs, could work their passions into a frantic state, and throw themselves upon their enemies with the fury and temerity of ravenous wolves. Such were the noted Berserkar of the

WER

But, in process of time, the transformation into a wolf was believed to be real, and to affect the body as well as the mind: and to such transformations our faithful Gervase of Tilbury bears evidence, as an eye-witness. Vidimus frequenter in Anglia per lunationes homines in lupos mutari, quod hominum genus Oerulfos Galli vocunt, Angli vero WER-WLF dicunt. enim Anglice virum sonat, WLF lupum." Ot. Imp. De oculis apertis post peccatum. The learned commentators upon the art of sorcery differ widely concerning the manner in which the arch-fiend effects this change upon the persons of his vassals; whether by surrounding their bodies with a sort of pelisse of condensed air, having the form of a wolf; or whether by some delusion affecting the eyes of spectators; or, finally, by an actual cor poreal transformation. The curious reader may consult Delrii Disquisitiones Magica, p. 188; and (if he pleases) Evvichius de Natura Sagarum-Fincelius, lib. 2. de Mirac.-Remigius. lib. 2. de Damonola:.-Binsfield. de Confession. Maleficarum; not to mention Spondanus, Bodinus, Peucerus, Philopus Camerarius, Condronchus, Petrus Thyreous, Bartholomeus epineus,