The Arte of English Poesie | Page 5

and Latines came
to be much corrupted and altered, in so much as there were times that
the very Greekes and Latines themselues tooke pleasure in Riming
verses, and vsed it as a rare and gallant thing: Yea their Oratours proses

nor the Doctors Sermons were acceptable to Princes nor yet to the
common people vnlesse it went in manner of tunable rime or metricall
sentences, as appeares by many of the auncient writers, about that time
and since. And the great Princes, and Popes, and Sultans would one
salute and greet an other sometime in frendship and sport, sometime in
earnest and enmitie by ryming verses, & nothing seemed clerkly done,
but must be done in ryme: Whereof we finde diuers examples from the
time of th'Emperours Gracian & Valentinian downwardes; For then
aboutes began the declination of the Romain Empire, by the notable
inundations of the Hunnes_ and _Vandalles in Europe, vnder the
conduict of Totila_ & _Atila and other their generalles. This brought
the ryming Poesie in grace, and made it preuaile in Italie and Greece
(their owne long time cast aside, and almost neglected) till after many
yeares that the peace of Italie and of th'Empire Occidentall reuiued new
clerkes, who recouering and perusing the bookes and studies of the
ciuiler ages, restored all maner of arts, and that of the Greeke and
Latine Poesie withall into their former puritie and netnes. Which
neuerthelesse did not so preuaile, but that the ryming Poesie of the
Barbarians remained still in his reputation, that one in the schole, this
other in Courts of Princes more ordinary and allowable.
CHAP VII.
_How in the time of Charlemaine and many yeares after him the Latine
Poetes wrote in ryme._
And this appeareth euidently by the workes of many learned men, who
wrote about the time of Charlemaines_ raigne in the Empire
_Occidentall, where the Christian Religion, became through the
excessive authoritie of Popes, and deepe deuotion of Princes strongly
fortified and established by erection of orders Monastical in which
many simple clerks for deuotion sake & sanctitie were receiued more
then for any learning, by which occasion & the solitarinesse of their life,
waxing studious without discipline or instruction by any good methode,
some of them grew to be historiographers, some Poets, and following
either the barbarous rudenes of the time, or els their own idle
inuentions, all that they wrote to the fauor or prayse of Princes, they did

it in such maner of minstrelsie, and thought themselues no small fooles,
when they could make their verses goe all in ryme as did the Schoole of
Salerno, dedicating their booke of medicinall rules vnto our king of
England, with this beginning. _Anglorum Regi scripsit tota schola
Salerni
Sivus incolumem, sivis te reddere sanicari
Curas tolle
graues, irasci crede prophanum
Necretine ventram nec stringas as
fortiter annum._
And all the rest that follow throughout the whole booke more curiously
than cleanely, neuerthelesse very well to the purpose of their arte. In
the same time king Edward the iij. him selfe quartering the Armes of
England and France, did discouer his pretence and clayme to the
Crowne of Fraunce, in these ryming verses.
_Rex sum regnorum bina
ratione duorum
Anglorum regnio sum rex ego iure paterno
Matris
iure quidem Francorum nuncupor idem
Hinc est armorum variatio
facta meorum._
Which verses Philip de Valois then possessing the Crowne as next
heire male by pretexte of the law Salique_, and holding our _Edward
the third, aunswered in these other of as good stuffe.
_Prædo
regnorum qui diceris esse duorum
Regno materno priuaberis atque
paterno
Prolis ius nullum ubi matris non fuit vllum
Hinc est
armorum variatio stulta tuorum._
It is found written of Pope Lucius, for his great auarice and tyranny
vsed ouer the Clergy thus in ryming verses.
_Lucius est piscis rex et
tyrannus aquarum
A quo discordat Lucius iste parum
Deuorat hic
hom homines, his piscibus insidiatur
Esurit hic semper hic aliquando
satur
Amborum vitam si laus aquata notaret
Plus rationis habet qui
ratione caret._
And as this was vsed in the greatest and gayest matters of Princes and
Popes by the idle inuention of Monasticall men then raigning al in their
superlative. So did every scholer & secular clerke or versifier, when he
wrote any short poeme or matter of good lesson put it in ryme, whereby
it came to passe that all your old Proverbes and common sayinges,

which they would have plausible to the reader and easy to remember
and beare away, were of that sorte as these.
_In mundo mira faciunt
duo nummias & ira
Molleficant dura peruertunt omnia iura._
And this verse in disprayse of the Courtiers life following the Court of
Rome.
Vita palatina dura est animaque ruina.
And these written by a noble learned man.
_Ire redire fequi regum
sublimia castra
Eximiius status est, sed non sic itur ad astra._
And this other which to the great injurie of