[20] Frere’s poem was caustic, but it had a certain value in showing the unromantic side of Arthurian times. The following verses, than which far less delicate ones could be found in the poem, may be taken as a specimen:--
“And certainly they say, for fine behaving King Arthur’s Court has never had its match; True point of honour, without pride or braving, Strict etiquette for ever on the watch; There manners were refined and perfect--saving Some modern graces which they could not catch, As spitting through the teeth, and driving stages, Accomplishments reserved for distant ages.
They looked a manly, generous generation; Beards, shoulders, eyebrows, broad, and square, and thick; Their accents firm and loud in conversation, Their eyes and gestures eager, sharp, and quick, Showed them prepared on proper provocation, To give the lie, pull noses, stab, and kick; And for that very reason it is said, They were so very courteous and well bred.”
When we come to consider probabilities, aided by such unsparing lines as these, we may even accept as truth the old folk-song which tells that when King Arthur ruled the land he “ruled it like a swine.” The American poet, the late Mr. Eugene Field, in his “Lay of Camelot,” has also shown the humorous aspect of the Arthurian Court. While all this may be legitimate enough, and provide opportunities for the wit of the authors, it is not the aspect which we prefer to contemplate for any length of time, or one which has any continuous pleasure for the mind.
[21] The names of, and the leading incidents in, the twelve “glorious wars,” are enumerated with accuracy by Tennyson in _Lancelot and Elaine_, the recital coming from Lancelot’s lips, and having for its purpose the proof that at the time “there lived no greater leader.” Joseph Ritson’s curious little volume on King Arthur likewise treats this subject fully.
[22] Gildas Badonicus, as we have seen in the first chapter, is also a reputed native of Bath.
[23] Mr. E. W. B. Nicholson, in the _Academy_ (1896), advanced a number of very strong and learned arguments in favour of the original idea that Mons Badonicus was Bath.
[24] Sandwich is mentioned several times in the romance, but the references are unimportant. Ancient as the place is, there is no reason to connect it with British occupation. At the time the chronicles were written, however, it was too important a seaport to escape mention.