Specimens of English literature from the 'Ploughmans crede' to the ...

—'—402 NOTES.stone in \\'1iich it had been miraculously inserted, and from which noother man could draw it. This was the sign that he was the rightfulking, and he was accordingly so proclaimed. The golden letters on thesword shone so brightly as to dazzle all his enemies. According to theEnglish metrical romance of ' Merlin,' the inscription on it was'Ich am y-hote [called] Escalibore,Unto a king a faire tresore,'And it is added, in explanation'On Inglis [in English'] is this writing" Kerue steel and yren and al thing."See Wheeler's Noted Names of Fiction.But the English prose romancegives the inscription thus,—' ^^'ho taketh this swerde out of this stonsholde be kynge by the eleccion of Ihe.-u criste ;' Merlin, ed. Wheatley,p. 98. It was also named Brown Steel, possibly from reading the nameas Stalihurn ; for c is hardly distinguishable from t in old MSS. Roquefortgives the forms Escalibor, Escalibourne, and adds—' Ce mot est tire deTHebreu, et veut dire tranchefer.'This reminds us of Taillefer (i. e. cutiron), the name of the Norman minstrel who is said to have struck thefirst blow at the Battle of Hastings. Other famous swords are likewisekiiuvvn by name; Charlemagne's v.as called Joyeuse, Roland'sDurindana, Oliver's Alta Clara, and St. George's Ascalon.41. E/te, again, a second time.45. Wappe, beat ; warms, probably for wane, to ebb. It probably refersto the breaking of a wave followed by the usual reflux.'I heard the ripple washing in the reeds,And the wild water lapping on the crag.'Tennyson has47. Wente, weened, believed, thought ; from O. E. wenen, to ween.82. Aiiylyon, Avilion, Avalon, or Avelon. ' This fair Avalon is theKle of the Blessed of the Kelts.Tzetze and Procopius attempt to localizeit, and suppose that the Land of Souls is Britain ; but in this theyare mistaken ; as also are those who think to find Avalon at Glastonbury.Avalon is the Isle of Apples—a name reminding one of theGardens of the Hesperides, in the far western seas, w^ith its tree ofgolden apples in the midst;' The Fortunate Isles, in Baring- Gould'sCurious Myths of the Middle Ages. In Welsh, a/al is an apple, andnfallwyn is an orchard. The name is spelt Aualun in Layamon, vol. iii,]). 144. Avalon is fully described, says Wheeler, in the old Frenchromance of Ogier le Danois.88. Holies bore, hoary woods, gray groves.Cap. VI. 3.Was newe grauen, which was lately dug.8. But by demyng, except by judging or guessing.31. Morgan le fay, Morgaine la Fee, i.e. the fairy. Arthur's sister, wh