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of the British speech into the Latine by Gildas Priscus,1 and long time after translated out of latine into english by Alfred king englished by of England, and mingled in his statutes.

Alfred].

that was

crowned with

a golden

crowne.

After he had established his land, and set his Britains in good The first king and conuenient order, he ordeined him by the aduise of his lords a crowne of gold, & caused himselfe with great solemnitie to be crowned, according to the custom of the pagan lawes then in vse : & bicause he was the first that bare a crowne heere in Britaine, after the opinion of some writers, he is named the first king of Britaine, and all the other before rehearsed are named rulers, dukes, or gouernors.

V. iii.-Another part of Cymbeline for which Holinshed furnished matter is the description given by Posthumus (V. iii. 3—58) of the means whereby victory was transferred from the Romans to the Britons. The prowess of Belarius, and his adopted children, Guiderius and Arviragus, has a parallel in an exploit attributed to a Scottish husbandman named Hay, who, with his two sons' help, routed the Danes at the battle of Loncart, fought A.D. 976. Before quoting the passages of Holinshed which relate to this event, I must premise that, while the issue of the battle was doubtful, the Scots embarrassed themselves by beheading those Danes who had fallen.2

[Hol. ii. H. S. 155/1/48.] Which maner being noted of the Danes, and perceiuing that there was no hope of life but in victorie, they rushed foorth with such violence vpon their aduersaries, that first the right, and then after the left wing of the Scots, was constreined to retire and flee backe, the middle-ward stoutly yet keeping their ground: but the same stood in such danger, being now left naked on the sides, that the victorie must

1 Generally known as Gildas Sapiens, born about A.D. 516.

Two more possible traces of Shakspere's Holinshed-reading may be noticed. a In Cymb. III. v. 23, the king speaks of chariots as a British arm. Shakspere would find their use in warfare described by Hol. (i. H. E. 26/2/11), who took his account from Caesar (De Bello Gallico, IV. 33). ß When Aulus Plautius was sailing to invade Britain, "the marriners and men of warre" were encouraged by seeing “a fierie leame [light] to shoot out of the east toward the west, which way their course lay," (Hol. i. H. E. 34/2/9). Cp. Philarmonus's answer to Caius Lucius, who asked for the soothsayer's dream "of this warres purpose" (Cymb. IV. ii. 348-352):

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"I saw Ioues Bird, the Roman Eagle, wing'd
From the spungy South to this part of the West,
Then vanish'd in the Sun-beames: which portends
(Vnlesse my sinnes abuse my diuination)
Successe to th' Roman hoast."

The two
Scots d

wings of the

[Cp. Cymb. IV. iii. 5.]

Haie with his

two sonnes

needes haue remained with the Danes, had not a renewer of the battell come in time, by the appointment (as is to be thought) of almightie God.

For as it chanced, there was in the next field at the same time an husbandman, with two of his sons busie about his worke, named Haie, a man strong and stiffe in making and shape of bodie, but indued with a valiant courage. This Haie beholding the king with the most part of the nobles, fighting with great the middle- valiancie in the middle ward, now destitute of the wings, and in

[hasted to

aid the King, who was fighting in

ward].

[Near the battle-field was a long lane, where the Danes slew the Scots in heaps (cp. Cymb. IV. iii. 6-14).] Haie staied

running

away

reach,'

great danger to be oppressed by the great violence of his enimies, caught a plow-beame in his hand, and with the same exhorting his sonnes to doo the like, hasted towards the battell, there to die rather amongest other in defense of his countrie, than to remaine aliue after the discomfiture in miserable thraldome and bondage of the cruell and most vnmercifull enimies. There was neere to the place of the battell, a long lane fensed on the sides with ditches and walles made of turfe, through the which the Scots which fled were beaten downe by the enimies on heapes. Here Haie with his sonnes, supposing they might best staie the Scots fro the flight, placed themselues ouerthwart the lane, beat them backe and spared whome they met fleeing, and spared neither friend nor fo: but downe they went all such as came within their reach, wherewith diuerse hardie personages cried vnto their fellowes to returne backe vnto the battell, for there was a new power of Scotishmen come to their succours, by whose aid the victorie might be easilie obteined of their most cruell aduersaries the Danes: therefore might they choose whether they would be slaine of their owne fellowes comming to their aid, or to returne againe to fight with the enimies. The Danes being here staied in the lane by the great valiancie of the father and the sonnes, thought verely there had beene some great succors of Scots come to the aid of their king, and therevpon ceassing from further pursute, fled backe in great disorder vnto the other of their fellowes fighting with the middle ward of the Scots.

Cp. Cymb. IV. iii. 2528].

The Scots

were driuen to their battell againe.

The Danes fled towards

their fellowes

order.

The Scots also that before was chased, being incouraged herewith, pursued the Danes vnto the place of the battell right fiercelie. Wherevpon Kenneth perceiuing his people to be thus

K. Kenneth

called vpo

his men to

remember their duties.

The Danes

forsake the

elds.

recomforted, and his enimies partlie abashed, called vpon his men to remember their duties, and now sith their aduersaries hearts began (as they might perceiue) to faint, he willed them to follow vpon them manfully, which if they did, he assured them that the victorie vndoubtedlie should be theirs. The Scots incouraged with the kings words, laid about them so earnestlie, that in the end the Danes were constreined to forsake the field, and the Scots egerlie pursuing in the chase, made great slaughter of them as they fled. This victorie turned highlie to the praise of the Scotish nobilitie, the which fighting in the middle ward, bare still the brunt of the battell, continuing manfullie therein euen to the end. But Haie, who in such wise (as is before mentioned) staied them that fled, causing them to returne againe to the field, deserued immortall fame and commendation: for by his meanes chieflie Heyns was the victorie atchiued.

I conclude with a list of personal names found in Cymbeline, which Shakspere may have picked up here and there from the pages of Holinshed's Chronicles.

CADWALL, pseudonym of Arviragus (Cymb. III. iii. 95). CADWALLO King of Britain; began to reign A.D. 635 (Hol. i. H. E. 112/1/65).

CLOTEN (Cymb. I. ii.). CLOTON, a king of Cornwall, father of Mulmucius Dunwallon (Hol. i. H. E. 15/2/21).

CORNELIUS, a physician (Cymb. I. v.). The name of CORNELIUS Tacitus, the historian, occurs in Hol. i. H. E. 51/1/60, et passim.

HELENE OF HELEN, Imogen's woman (Cymb. II. ii. 1). HELEN, daughter of Coell King of Britain, and mother of Constantine the Great (Hol. i. H. E. 62/1/57).

IMOGEN (Cymb. I. i.). INNOGEN,2 wife of Brute, first ruler of Britain (Hol. i. H. E. 8/2/48).

LUCIUS, ambassador from Augustus (Cymb. III. i.). LUCIUS King of Britain, who began to reign A.D. 124 (Hol. i. H. E. 51/2/40). Also LUCIUS, a Roman "capteine" in Gaul, vanquished by Arthur King of Britain (Hol. i. H. E. 91/1/39).

MORGAN OF MERGAN, pseudonym of Belarius (Cymb. III. iii. 106; V. v. 332). MARGAN, joint king of Britain, son of Henninus Duke of Cornwall, and Gonorilla eldest daughter of King Leir (Hol. i. H. E. 13/2/56).

POLIDORE OF PALADOUR (the latter spelling in Cymb. III. iii. 86),

1 On the same page his name appears as "Clotenus." As "Clotyn Duke of Cornewall" he is a character in Gorboduc (1st ed., 1565).

"Innogen," the wife of Leonatus, is in the first Entry of Much Ado (Q1, 1600). Cymbeline was probably written about 1610.

Spelt "Morgan" in Holinshed's "second table for the historie of Britaine and England." In the old Leir, Ragan's husband is Morgan King of Cambria.

[The victory chiefly

was won

through

means.]

pseudonym of Guiderius. The name of POLYDOR Virgil, the historian, occurs in Hol. i. H. E. 85/1/34, et passim.

POSTHUMUS (Cymb. I. i.). POSTHUMUS, a son of Aeneas and Lavinia, born after his father's death (Hol. i. H. E. 7/1/40).

SICILLIUS, father of Posthumus (Cymb. I. i. 29). SICILIUS King of Britain, began to reign B.C. 430 (Hol. i. H. E. 19/2/46).

Duncane.
Duncan king

III. MACBETH.

THE historic time embraced by The Tragedie of Macbeth begins in 1040, when Duncan was slain, and ends with Macbeth's defeat by Siward on July 27, 1054. The historic Macbeth, however, escaped from the battle, and was killed in August, 1057.

Act I. sc. ii.-The following excerpts contain the materials for this scene. Shakspere was perhaps induced to make "the Norweyan lord" an ally of Macdonwald because Holinshed says that Sueno invaded Scotland 1 "immediately" after the suppression of the rebellion. Steevens conjectured that the mere official title ("sergeant at armes ") of the messenger, who was sent to command the rebels' presence at Court, gave Shakspere a hint for introducing a sergeant, from whom Duncan learns the latest news of the revolt (I. ii. 2, 3).

[Hol. ii. H. S. 168/2/12.] After Malcolme succeeded his of Scotland nephue Duncane the sonne of his daughter Beatrice: for Malcome had two daughters, the one which was this Beatrice, being giuen in mariage vnto one Abbanath Crinen, a man of great nobilitie, and thane of the Iles and west parts of Scotland, bare of that mariage the foresaid Duncane; the other called Doada, was maried vnto Sinell 2 the thane of Glammis, by whom she had issue one Makbeth a valiant gentleman, and one that if he had not beene somewhat cruell of nature, might haue beene thought most woorthie the gouernement of a realme. On the other part, Duncane was so soft and gentle of nature, that the people wished the inclinations and maners of these two cousins to haue beene so tempered and interchangeablie bestowed betwixt them, that where

[cousin to
Macbeth].
Makbeth
[valiant, but
somewhat
cruel].

Duncan of too soft a nature.

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1 These fictitious invasions of Sueno and Canute are, I believe, mentioned by no writer earlier than Boece, 247/55 b, &c.

2 This name is variously spelt. Fordun's spelling is "Finele" (IV. xlix. 233), whence perhaps came Boece's "Synel" (246/64 b).

With this description compare Macbeth's epithet, "the gracious Duncan " (III. i. 66).

the one had too much of clemencie, and the other of crueltie, the
meane vertue betwixt these two extremities might haue reigned
by indifferent partition in them both, so should Duncane haue
proued a woorthie king, and Makbeth an excellent capteine. The
beginning of Duncans reigne was verie quiet and peaceable,
without anie notable trouble; but after it was perceiued how
negligent he was in punishing offendors, manie misruled persons negligent in
tooke occasion thereof to trouble the peace and quiet state of the punishing
common-wealth, by seditious commotions which first had their
beginnings in this wise.

[Duncan was

offenders.]

thane of

Lochquhaber.

The house of

the Stewards.

Banquho the thane of Lochquhaber, of whom the house of the Banquho Stewards is descended, the which by order of linage hath now for a long time inioied the crowne of Scotland, euen till these our daies, as he gathered the finances due to the king, and further punished somewhat sharpelie such as were notorious offendors, being assailed by a number of rebels inhabiting in that countrie, mutinie amongst the and spoiled of the monie and all other things, had much a doo pea Lochquhaber. to get awaie with life, after he had receiued sundrie grieuous wounds amongst them. Yet escaping their hands, after hee was somewhat recouered of his hurts, and was able to ride, he repaired to the court, where making his complaint to the king in most earnest wise, he purchased at length that the offendors were sent for by a sergeant at armes, to appeare to make answer vnto such matters as should be laid to their charge: but they augmenting their mischiefous act with a more wicked deed, after they had misused the messenger with sundrie kinds of reproches, they sergeant at finallie slue him also.

Then doubting not but for such contemptuous demeanor against the kings regall authoritie, they should be inuaded with all the power the king could make, Makdowald one of great estimation among them, making first a confederacie with his neerest friends and kinsmen, tooke vpon him to be chiefe capteine of all such rebels as would stand against the king, in maintenance of their grieuous offenses latelie committed against him. Manie slanderous words also, and railing tants this Makdowald vttered against his prince, calling him a faint-hearted milkesop, more meet to gouerne a sort of idle moonks in some cloister, than to haue the

armes slaine
by the rebels.

Makdonald
selfe to be

offereth him

capteine of
the rebels.

[He calls
faint-hearted

Duncan a

milksop.]

njoyed

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