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NOTES TO ELAINE.

(The numbers refer to lines.)

KING ARTHUR was a Celtic hero, who fought against the early Saxon invaders. What his real character was, it is now impossible to discover. A cycle of legends has gathered about him, and hidden the actual facts. The Arthurian legends are widely extended. From England they crossed the Channel to France, and from that country passed into the literature of the leading nations of Europe. These legends were a favorite topic with the poets and storytellers of the Middle Ages. The scenes of Arthur's exploits are laid chiefly in the south-western part of England. Cærleon on the Usk is given as his principal place of residence. He established a magnificent court, gathered about him the bravest knights and fairest ladies of his realm, and sought to regenerate the world. Twelve of the noblest knights, who enjoyed the special confidence of the king, and sat with him at meat, constituted the famous "order of the Table Round." In "Guinevere Arthur is represented as saying:—

"But I was first of all the kings who drew

The knighthood errant of this realm, and all
The realms, together under me, their head,

In that fair order of my Table Round,
A glorious company, the flower of men,
To serve as model for the mighty world,

And be the fair beginning of a time.

I made them lay their hands in mine and swear

To reverence the King, as if he

were

Their conscience, and their conscience as their King,

To break the heathen and uphold the Christ,

To ride abroad redressing human wrongs,

To speak no slander, no, nor listen to it,
To lead sweet lives in purest chastity,
To love one maiden only, cleave to her,
And worship her by years of noble deeds
Until they won her; for, indeed, I knew
Of no more subtle master under heaven
Than is the maiden passion for a maid,
Not only to keep down the base in man,
But teach high thoughts and amiable words
And courtliness and the desire of fame
And love of truth and all that makes a man."

But alas for Arthur's beautiful hopes! Passion and sin invaded his court; and finally the unfaithfulness and treachery of his friends brought devastation and death.

Among the knights of the Round Table, Lancelot was pre-eminent for deeds of prowess. He stood highest in the favor of the king. His birthplace and possessions were in Brittany. In his infancy he was carried away and fostered by Vivien, the Lady of the Lake; and from this circumstance he is called sometimes "Lancelot du Lac." Unfortunately, he cherished a secret passion for the queen. This unholy attachment, which is referred to in Elaine," and still more fully in "Guinevere," brought unspeakable sorrow, not only to the guilty lovers, but also to the noble and unsuspecting king. It was this love for the queen that steeled his heart against the touching devotion of Elaine.

66

"Elaine" is justly regarded as one of the most beautiful "Idyls of the King." The story is as follows: "On his way to Camelot to joust, incognito, for the last and greatest of the nine diamonds offered as prizes by King Arthur, Lancelot spends the night at Astolat, the castle of Elaine's father. Here unwittingly he wins Elaine's love. At the joust, whither he is accompanied by Lavaine, Lancelot, wearing her sleeve of pearls on his helmet, is sorely wounded. Elaine learns of this, and, with her father's consent, goes to him and nurses him through his serious illness. Recovering, he returns with her and her brother to Astolat for his shield, left with her that he might not be recognized by it. Here she confesses to him her love. Unable to give his own in return, he tenderly, yet without farewell, departs. Elaine sickens and dies; but not till her father has promised her that, with the letter she has written to Lancelot and the queen in her dead hand, she shall be dressed in her richest white, placed on the deck of the barge, and rowed up the river to the palace. This is done; and the majestic poem concludes with the appearance of her body at court and the burial, with a painful interview between the king and Lancelot, and with Lancelot's sad reflections."

2. Lily maid, in reference to her complexion.

4. Sacred, that is, in the eyes of Elaine.

9. Blazoned to portray armorial bearings. From O. Fr. blazon, a coat of arms.

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35. Lyonnesse = a district in Cornwall.

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44. Lichen'd: covered with lichen - flowerless, parasitic plants.

46. Aside on each side.

53. Shingly scaur

==

-

steep rocky bank.

=

62. Proof trial, test.

65. Heathen

See introduction. 67. Still

= Saxons.

always.

Arthur is represented as a Christian king.

69. The Queen = Guinevere, between whom and himself there existed a guilty attachment.

71. Boon =

gift, present. From Fr. bon, Lat. bonus, good.

76. World's hugest London, on the Thames.

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94. Lets hinders. There are two lets in English; the one from A. S. lætan, to allow; and the other from A. S. lettan, to hinder.

104. That summer, etc. - Lancelot had been sent to conduct Guinevere to the court to become the wife of King Arthur. It was on this journey, when all their talk was on "love and sport and tilts and pleasure," that their attachment sprang up.

106. Cricket, here used as a collective noun. Cf. creak.

108. Nothing, that is, cannot be located.

110. Allow'd = approved, sanctioned.

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149. But knowing only knowing or simply knowing.
162. Downs = hills.

From A. S. dun, a hill.

167. Fired lighted up by the setting sun.

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263. Smaller time

269. Glanced

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time of less noble thought and feeling. referred or alluded to.

287. Glem, etc. - See introduction.

293. Lady's Head

294. Centred, etc.

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image of the Virgin Mary.

The emerald was set in the centre of a pictured sun.

297. White Horse

338. Rathe

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standard of the northern invaders.

early. It is the positive form, now little used, of rather.

356. Favor something worn as a sign of regard.

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411. Broke from underground =
= rose above the horizon.

416. Lancelot of the Lake. See introduction.

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422. Pendragon dragon's head, a title descending to Arthur from his reputed father, Uther.

431. Samite

= a rich silk stuff, usually adorned with gold.

442. Nameless king. —See line 40.

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456. Shock strike together, collide.

482. Smoke = are blown into mist by the wind.

489. Worshipfully honorably, worthily. From A. S. stem weorth, worthy, honorable.

502. Diamond me, etc. = do not speak to me of diamonds.

529. Marches

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borders, frontiers. From A. S. mearc, border.

545. Bring us bring us word.

552. Mid might = the might of vigorous manhood.

556. Sir Modred was Arthur's nephew, and finally became a traitor. See "Guinevere" and "The Passing of Arthur."

654. To all the winds

660. Ramp

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stand rampant; that is, upright on their hind legs. 681. One I may not name = Queen Guinevere.

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703. Liege sovereign. In the older sense, a liege lord was a free lord. Common meaning, faithful, loyal.

From A. S. wer

715. Twenty strokes, etc. = twenty beats of the pulse. 739. Wormwood a plant of bitter, nauseous taste. mod, ware-wood, mind-preserver. So called, says Skeat, from its curative properties in diseases of the mind. Thus it has no connection with either worm or wood.

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medicinal plants. "So called," says Webster, "because each vegetable is supposed to possess its particular virtue, and therefore

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the image of the Queen seen vaguely in fancy.

898. Burthen chorus or refrain of a song.

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995. Sallow-rifted = streaked or seamed with pale yellow, 1012. Scaled.

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1092. Ghostly man = priest. From A. S. gast, spirit; the h has been inserted.

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hearse; a vehicle on which dead bodies are borne.

1129. Dole: grief, sorrow.

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1131. With bent brows with heads bowed in sorrow.
1134. Full-summer
with light and beauty of mid-summer.
1176. Armlet = an ornament for the arm.

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