Having
been wounded, he now appeared in the Greek library, with blood
## p.
been wounded, he now appeared in the Greek library, with blood
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Warner - World's Best Literature - v26 - Tur to Wat
He was wasting away from severe internal disease,
and by the beginning of April 1492 all hope of his recovery was
at an end.
As his last moments drew near, all his sins
rose before him in increasing magnitude, became more and more
threatening. The last offices of religion were powerless to con-
quer his terrors; for having lost all faith in mankind, he could
not believe in his confessor's sincerity. Accustomed to see his
slightest wish obeyed and all the world bow to his will, he could
not realize that any one would dare to deny him absolution.
Accordingly the blessing of the Church was powerless to lighten
the weight burdening his conscience, and he was more and more
cruelly tortured by remorse. “No one has ever dared to refuse.
me anything," he thought to himself; and thus the idea that had
once been his chief pride became his worst torment.
It was
.
## p. 15365 (#313) ##########################################
PASQUALE VILLARI
15365
Suddenly, however, he thought of Savonarola's stern face;
here, he remembered, was a man who had been equally unmoved
by his threats and his blandishments, and thereupon he exclaimed,
“I know no honest friar save this one;” and expressed his desire
to confess to Savonarola. A messenger was instantly dispatched
to St. Mark's. The prior was so astounded by the strange and
unexpected summons that he almost refused to believe it, and
answered that it seemed useless for him to go to Careggi, since
no words of his would be acceptable to Lorenzo. But on learn-
ing the sick man's desperate condition and earnest desire to con-
fess to him, he set forth without delay.
On that day Lorenzo had thoroughly realized that his end was
at hand. He had sent for his son Piero, and given him his final
counsels and last farewells. His friends were dismissed during
this interview: but when they were allowed to return to the
room, and had persuaded Piero to go back home, as his presence
agitated his father too much, Lorenzo expressed a wish to see
Pico della Mirandola once more; and the latter immediately came
to him. The sweet aspect of the kindly, gentle young man
seemed to have a soothing effect upon him; for he said, “I should
have been very sorry to die without first being cheered a little
by thy presence. ” And thereupon his face grew calm, his dis-
course almost cheerful; and he began to laugh and jest with his
friend. Pico had scarcely left the room before Savonarola en-
tered it, and respectfully approached the bed of the dying prince.
Lorenzo explained that there were three sins on his conscience
which he was specially anxious to confess, in order to be ab-
solved from them: the sack of Volterra; the robbery of the
Monte delle Fanciulle, whereby so many girls had been driven
to a life of shame; and the bloody reprisals following the con-
spiracy of the Pazzi. In speaking of these things, even before
beginning his private confession, the Magnificent again fell into
great agitation; and Savonarola sought to calm him by repeat-
ing, "God is good, God is merciful - » But,” he added, directly
Lorenzo had ceased speaking, "three things are needful. "
«What
things, Father? ” replied Lorenzo. Savonarola's face grew stern,
.
and extending the fingers of his right hand, he began thus:
« First, a great and living faith in God's mercy. ” — “I have the
fullest faith in it. ” — "Secondly, you must restore all your ill-
gotten wealth, or at least charge your sons to restore it in your
(C
»
»
## p. 15366 (#314) ##########################################
15366
PASQUALE VILLARI
name. ” At this the Magnificent seemed to be struck with sur-
prise and grief; nevertheless, making an effort, he gave a nod of
assent. Savonarola then stood up; and whereas the dying prince
lay cowering with fear in his bed, he seemed to soar above his
real stature as he said, “Lastly, you must restore liberty to the
people of Florence. ” His face was solemn; his voice almost ter-
rible; his eyes, as if seeking to divine the answer, were intently
fixed on those of Lorenzo, who, collecting all his remaining
strength, angrily turned his back on him without uttering a word.
Accordingly Savonarola left his presence without granting him
absolution, and without having received any actual and detalled
confession. The Magnificent remained torn by remorse, and soon
after breathed his last, on April 8th, 1492.
Through the influence of Savonarola the aspect of the city
was completely changed. The women threw aside their jewels
and finery, dressed plainly, bore themselves demurely; licentious
young Florentines were transformed, as by magic, into sober, reli-
gious men; pious hymns took the place of Lorenzo's carnival
songs. The townsfolk passed their leisure hours seated quietly
in their shops, reading either the Bible or Savonarola's works.
All prayed frequently, flocked to the churches, and gave largely
to the poor.
Most wonderful of all, bankers and tradesmen were
impelled by scruples of conscience to restore ill-gotten gains,
amounting to many thousand florins.
All men
were wonder-
struck by this singular and almost miraculous change.
Many new converts asked leave to join the Tuscan congregation;
and the number of brethren wearing the robe of St. Mark was
incredibly multiplied.
The mode of these men's conversion is likewise worthy of
special remark; since it proves that Savonarola, instead of en-
couraging sudden resolves and fits of enthusiasm, always pro-
ceeded with the utmost caution. We find an example of this in
the account given by the Florentine Bettuccio, more generally
known as Fra Benedetto, of his own conversion. He was the
son of a goldsmith, exercising the then profitable art of minia-
ture painting; was in the prime of youth, of a joyous tempera-
ment, full of dash and courage, prompt to quarrel, a singer,
musician, and poet, fond of good living, and entirely devoted to
pleasure. Consequently he was a favorite guest in the gayest
society, and led a life of frivolous gallantry.
## p. 15367 (#315) ##########################################
PASQUALE VILLARI
15367
Such was the life led by Bettuccio, the miniature-painter,
when Savonarola began to be renowned, and all Florence flocked
to his sermons. Bettuccio, however, refused to follow the herd;
for he was on the side of the Arrabbiati, and joined in their
scoffs against the Piagnoni. But one day when in the house of
a noble and beautiful matron, the latter spoke of Savonarola's
sermons in the warmest terms. He laughed at the time; but on
another day he was induced by the lady's persuasions to accom-
pany her to the Duomo. He describes his deep confusion on
entering the church, and finding himself among so great a com-
pany of believers, who stared at him with astonishment. ' At
first he longed to escape, but somewhat reluctantly decided to
remain. And as soon
as Savonarola mounted the pulpit, every-
thing seemed changed to him. Having once fixed his eyes on
the preacher, he was unable to withdraw them; his attention was
powerfully arrested, his mind impressed: and then he says, “At
last I knew myself to be as one dead rather than living. ” When
the sermon was over, he wandered forth into lonely places; “and
for the first time I turned my mind to my inner self. ” After
long meditation he went home, and became a changed man. He
threw aside his songs and musical instruments, forsook his com-
panions, and discarded his scented attire.
From that day he was one of the most assiduous of Savo-
narola's hearers, frequented the convent of St. Mark, repeated
prayers and litanies, and even beheld strange visions and heard
heavenly voices in the air. “I had a hard struggle with my
companions,” he tells us, who went about making mock of me;
and a still harder struggle with my own passions, which, break-
ing loose again from time to time, assailed me very fiercely. ”
At last, when he felt sure of himself, he sought the austere
prior of St. Mark's and cast himself at his feet. His voice trem-
bled, he could scarcely utter a word in the presence of him to
whom he owed his regeneration; nevertheless he stammered
forth his desire to join the brotherhood. Savonarola reasoned
with him on the danger of precipitate resolves, the difficulties of
the monastic life; and concluded by counseling him to make a
better trial of himself by leading a Christian life in the world,
before crossing the convent threshold. The advice proved to be
needed; for Bettuccio had again to fight against the violence of
his passions, and was not always victorious in the struggle.
## p. 15368 (#316) ##########################################
15368
PASQUALE VILLARI
After doing severe penance for these fresh lapses, and when
assured by long trial of having really mastered the flesh, he
returned to Savonarola in a calmer frame of mind. But the lat.
ter, who had kept him carefully in sight, would not yet allow
him to assume the monastic robe, sending him instead to minis-
ter to the sick and bury the dead.
From time to time he was summoned to the friar's cell, to
receive advice and hear lectures on the monastic life; finally,
on the 7th of November, 1495, he put on the robe, and on the
13th of November of the following year took the full vows, and
assumed the name of Fra Benedetto.
This was how Savonarola gained one of the most faithful of
his followers, one of the most steadfast in the hour of peril, and
who preserved to the last an increasing admiration and almost
worship for his master. The friar was equally cautious in his
advice to others, and never pressed any one to join the brother-
hood. His only concern was for the improvement of manners,
the diffusion of morality, and the regeneration of the true doc-
trines of Christ, to which men's souls appeared dead. It was
to this end that he now specially dedicated his whole time and
strength, his entire heart and soul. When preaching on the holy
life and Christian virtue, his soul almost seemed to shine forth
from his eyes, and his spiritual energy to be transfused by his
voice into the people, who daily and visibly improved under his
beneficent influence. Contemporary writers never cease express-
ing their wonder at this quasi-miracle: some are edified by the
triumph thus achieved by religion, others regret the days of joy-
ous ballads and carnival songs; but all are equally emphatic as
to the change in public manners, and acknowledge that it was
solely the work of Fra Girolamo Savonarola.
The Carnival of 1496 was now at hand; and the friar being
silenced, the Arrabbiati were preparing to celebrate it in the old
Medicean style, in order to vent the unbridled passions and filthy
lusts, which as they thought had too long been repressed. And
thereupon the friar determined to thwart them even in this
matter.
But it proved a harder task than might have been expected.
The Florentines had always been given to carnival festivities;
and under the Medici, had indulged in these pleasures to an un-
limited and almost incredible extent. During this holiday period
## p. 15369 (#317) ##########################################
PASQUALE VILLARI
15369
the whole city vas scene of wild revelry; drunkenness and
debauchery prevailed, and public decorum was cast to the winds.
Savonarola's sermons had undoubtedly wrought a great change;
but certain carnival customs were so deeply rooted that neither
new doctrines, altered laws, nor the severe prohibitions of the
magistrates had availed to extirpate them. And as was only
natural, the boys of Florence took special delight in these revels.
They were accustomed, during those days, to continually stop
people in the streets by barring the road with long poles, and
refusing to remove them until they had extorted enough money
to pay for their mad feastings by night. After these carousals
they made bonfires in the squares, round which they danced and
sang, and finally pelted one another with stones in so brutal a
fashion that no year passed without some of the combatants
being left dead on the ground. This “mad and bestial game of
stones," as the chroniclers style it, was frequently forbidden, and
the players threatened with the severest penalties; but none of
these measures had the slightest effect. All the leading citizens,
the Eight, even the Signory itself, had exhausted their efforts in
vain. By nightfall the boys were so excited with the revels
of the day that no penalty availed to keep them in check. At
last Savonarola undertook the task. After the brilliant results
achieved during the past years in the reformation of politics and
morals, and being prevented by the changed condition of affairs
from continuing those important crusades, he planned a third and
simpler reform, that he styled “the reform of the children. ”
Foreseeing that it would be extremely difficult to entirely
abolish the old customs, he decided to transform them by substi-
tuting religious for carnival gayeties. Accordingly, at the same
street corners where the children formerly assembled to demand
money for their banquets, he caused small altars to be erected,
before which they were to take their stand and beg contribu-
tions; not, however, for purposes of self-indulgence, but for alms
to the poor. Sing as much as ye will, he said to the boys, but
sing hymns and sacred lauds instead of indecent songs. He
wrote some hymns for them himself, - thus returning to the poet-
ical pursuits which he had so long forsaken,- and commissioned
the poet Girolamo Benivieni to compose other verses of the
same sort. Then, that all might be conducted with due decorum,
he charged Fra Domenico to collect all the children, and choose
some leaders from among them, and several of the latter waited
>
## p. 15370 (#318) ##########################################
15370
PASQUALE VILLARI
on the Signory to explain the proposed reform. Having obtained
the sanction of the government, the boys of Florence, exulting in
their novel importance, eagerly undertook their appointed work.
The city was by no means quiet even in this carnival, nor was
it possible to walk the streets without molestation; but although
the children were as importunate as of old, it was now for the
charitable aim prescribed by Savonarola. And thus, in the year
1496, the game of stones was suppressed for the first time; there
was no more gluttonous feasting, and three hundred ducats were
collected for the poor. Then, on the last day of carnival, a grand
procession was arranged, in which, attracted by the novelty of
the thing, the whole population took part. The children went
through the city singing hymns and entering all the principal
churches; after which they handed over the sums collected to the
“good men of St. Martin,” for distribution among the modest
poor” ( poveri vergognosi). Some objections were raised by those
who always murmured against every good work that proceeded
from Savonarola; but the greater part of the citizens, and all
worthy men, declared that the friar had again achieved a task in
which every one else in Florence had failed.
(c
It was one of those moments in which the popular aspect
seems to undergo a magical change. Savonarola's adherents had
either disappeared or were in hiding; all Florence now seemed
against him.
The morning of the 8th of April, Palm Sunday, 1498, passed
quietly; but it was easy for an observant eye to discern that this
tranquillity was only the sullen calm that precedes a storm, and
that it was a marvel no startling event had yet occurred. Savona-
rola preached in St. Mark's, but his sermon was very short and
sad; he offered his body as a sacrifice to God, and declared his
readiness to face death for the good of his flock. Mournfully,
but with much composure, he took leave of his people; and in
giving them his benediction, seemed to feel that he was address-
ing them for the last time.
The friar's adherents then
hurried to their homes to procure arms; while a portion of their
adversaries held the corners of the streets, and all the rest
marched through the city, crying “To St. Mark's, to St. Mark's,
fire in hand! ” They assembled on the Piazza of the Signory;
and when their numbers had sufficiently increased, moved in the
direction of the convent, brandishing their weapons and uttering
»
## p. 15371 (#319) ##########################################
PASQUALE VILLARI
1537 1
fierce cries. On the way they caught sight of a certain man,
named Pecori, who was quietly walking to the church of the
Santissima Annunziata, singing psalms as he went; and immedi-
ately some of them rushed after him, crying, “Does the hypocrite
still dare to mumble! ” And overtaking him on the steps of the
Innocenti, they slew him on the spot. A poor spectacles-maker,
hearing the great noise in the street, came out with his slippers
in his hand; and while trying to persuade the people to be quiet,
was killed by a sword-thrust in his head. Others shared the
same fate; and in th
way, infuriated by th taste of blood, the
mob poured into the Square of St. Mark. Finding
Finding the church
thronged with the people who had attended vespers, and were
still engaged in prayer, they hurled a dense shower of stones
through the door; whereat a general panic ensued, the women
shrieked loudly, and all took to fight. In a moment the church
was emptied; its doors, as well as those of the convent, were
locked and barred; and no one remained within save the citizens
who were bent on defending St. Mark's. .
Although barely thirty in number, these comprised some of
the most devoted of Savonarola's adherents; the men who had
escorted him to the pulpit, and were ever prepared to risk their
life in his service. For some days past they had known that the
convent was in danger; and accordingly eight or ten of them
had always come to guard it by night. Without the knowledge
of Savonarola or Fra Domenico, whom they knew to be averse
to all deeds of violence, they had, by the suggestion of Fra Sil-
vestro and Fra Francesco de' Medici, secretly deposited a store
of arms in a cell beneath the cloister. Here were some twelve
breastplates, and as many helmets; eighteen halberds, five or six
crossbows, shields of different kinds, four or five harquebusses, a
barrel of powder, and leaden bullets, and even, as it would seem,
two small mortars. Francesco Davanzati, who had furnished
almost all these weapons, and was then in the convent, brought
out and distributed them to those best able to use them. As-
sisted by Baldo Inghirlami, he directed the defense for some
time; placing guards at the weakest points, and giving the neces-
sary orders.
About sixteen of the friars took arms, and fore-
most among them were Fra Luca, son of Andrea della Robbia,
and our Fra Benedetto. It was a strange sight to see some of
these men, with breastplates over their Dominican robes and hel-
mets on their heads, brandishing enormous halberds, and speeding
## p. 15372 (#320) ##########################################
15372
PASQUALE VILLARI
(
through the cloister with shouts of “Viva Cristo! » to call their
companions to arms.
Savonarola was deeply grieved by this, and Fra Domenico
went about imploring all to cast aside their weapons. “They
must not stain their hands in blood; they must not disobey the
precepts of the gospel, nor their superior's commands. ” So he
cried, but all was in vain; for at that moment the furious yells
outside rose to a deafening pitch, and more determined attacks
were made on the gates. It was then that Savonarola resolved
to end the fruitless and painful struggle by the sacrifice of his
own safety; so, assuming his priest's vestments, and taking a
cross in his hand, he said to his companions, "Suffer me to
go forth, since through me orta est hæc tempestas” (this storm
has risen); and wished to surrender himself to his enemies at
once. But he was met by universal cries of despair; friars and
laymen pressed round him with tears and supplications. No!
do not leave us! you will be torn to pieces; and what would
become of us without you ? » When he saw his most trusted
friends barring the way before him, he turned about and bade
all follow him to the church. First of all he carried the Host
in procession through the cloisters; then led the way to the
choir, and reminded them that prayer was the only weapon to
be employed by ministers of religion: whereupon all fell on their
knees before the consecrated wafer, and intoned the chant-
(Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine' (O Lord, save thy people).
Some had rested their weapons against the wall, others still
grasped them, and only a few remained on guard at the main
entrances.
It was now about the twenty-second hour (i, e. , two hours
before sundown); the throng on the Piazza had increased, the
assailants were encouraged by meeting with no resistance, and
the Signory's guards were coming to their aid. At this moment
the mace-bearers appeared, to proclaim the Signory's decree that
all in the convent were to lay down their arms; and that Savo-
narola was sentenced to exile, and ordered to quit the Floren-
tine territory within twelve hours' time. Most of those who heard
this announcement regarded it as a device of the enemy. It
a
was difficult to credit that the Signory could order the attacked,
who were making scarcely any defense, to lay down their arms,
while the assailants, who were the sole authors of the disturb-
ance, and in far greater numbers, were not only left unmolested,
## p. 15373 (#321) ##########################################
PASQUALE VILLARI
15373
but supplied with reinforcements! Nevertheless, the proclamation
decided several to obtain safe conducts and hurry away.
Meanwhile night was falling, and the siege of the convent was
being carried on with desperate ferocity. Some fired the gates;
while others had successfully scaled the walls on the Sapienza
side, and made their way into the cloisters. After sacking the
infirmary and the cells, they all penetrated to the sacristy, sword
in hand, and broke open the door leading to the choir. When
the friars, who were kneeling there in prayer, found themselves
thus suddenly attacked, they were naturally stirred to self-defense.
Seizing the burning torches, and crucifixes of metal and wood,
they belabored their assailants with so much energy that the lat-
ter fled in dismay, believing for a moment that a band of angels
had come to the defense of the convent.
Then the other monks, who had laid down their arms at
Savonarola's behest, again resumed the defense; and there was
more skirmishing in the cloisters and corridors.
At the same
time the great bell of the convent, called the Piagnona, tolled
forth the alarm; both besiegers and besieged fought with greater
fury; all was clamor and confusion, cries of despair, and clash-
ing of steel. This was the moment when Baldo Inghirlami and
Francesco Davanzati dealt such vigorous blows, and that Fra
Luca d'Andrea della Robbia chased the foes through the clois-
ters, sword in hand. Fra Benedetto and a few others mounted
on the roof, and repeatedly drove back the enemy with a furi-
ous hail of stones and tiles. Several of the monks fired their
muskets with good effect inside the church; and a certain Fra
Enrico, a young, fair-haired, handsome German, particularly dis-
tinguished himself by his prowess. At the first beginning of the
struggle he had courageously sallied out into the midst of the
mob, and possessed himself of the weapon he wielded so valiantly;
accompanying each stroke with the cry, Salvum fac populum
tuum, Domine. '
At this juncture the victory was decidedly with St. Mark's,
and its defenders were exulting in their success; when a fresh
edict of the Signory was proclaimed, declaring all rebels who
did not forsake the convent within an hour. Thereupon several
more demanded safe-conducts and departed, thus further dimin-
ishing the too scanty garrison. And there being no longer any
doubt as to the Signory's intention of crushing St. Mark's, even
the remnant of the defenders lost hope and courage, and were
## p. 15374 (#322) ##########################################
15374
PASQUALE VILLARI
already beginning to give way. Savonarola and many of his
brethren still remained in the choir, offering up prayers, which
were interrupted from time to time by the cries of the injured
or the piteous wail of the dying. Among the latter was a youth
of the Panciatichi House, who was borne, fatally wounded, to the
steps of the high altar; and there, amid volleys of harquebuss
shots, received the communion from Fra Domenico, and joyfully
drew his last breath in the friar's arms, after kissing the cruci-
fix and exclaiming, Ecce quam bonum et quam jucundum habi-
tare fratres in unum! ” (Behold how good and how pleasant it is
for brethren to dwell together in unity! )
Night had now come; and the monks, exhausted with hunger
and agitation, devoured some dry figs one of their companions
had brought. Suddenly the defense was resumed; louder cries
were heard, and fresh volleys of shot. In the pulpit from which
Savonarola had so frequently inculcated the doctrine of peace,
Fra Enrico, the German, had now taken his stand, and was firing
his harquebuss with fatal effect. The smoke became so dense
that it was necessary to break the windows in order to escape
suffocation; and thereupon long tongues of flame poured into
the church from the burning doors. The German and another
defender retreated into the choir, and clambering upon the high
altar, planted their harquebusses beside the great crucifix, and
continued their fire.
Savonarola was overwhelmed with grief by this waste of life
in his cause, but was powerless to prevent it. No attention being
paid to his protests, he again raised the Host, and commanded
his friars to follow him. Traversing the dormitory, he had con-
ducted nearly all to the Greek library, when he caught sight of
Fra Benedetto rushing down-stairs, maddened with fury and fully
armed, to confront the assailants at close quarters. Laying his
hand on his disciple's shoulder, he gave him a severe glance, and
said in a tone of earnest reproof, “Fra Benedetto, throw down
those weapons and take up the cross: I never intended my
brethren to shed blood. ” And the monk humbled himself at his
master's feet, laid aside his arms, and followed him to the library
with the rest.
A final and still more threatening decree was now issued by
the Signory, against all who continued to resist; commanding
Savonarola, Fra Domenico, and Fra Silvestro to present them-
selves at the palace without delay, and giving their word that
## p. 15375 (#323) ##########################################
PASQUALE VILLARI
15375
»
no harm should be offered them. Fra Domenico insisted on see-
ing the order in writing; and the heralds, not having it with
them, went back to fetch it. Meanwhile Savonarola had depos-
ited the sacrament in the hall of the library beneath the noble
arches of Michelozzi's vault; and collecting the friars around
him, addressed them for the last time in these memorable words:
“My beloved children, in the presence of God, in the presence of
the consecrated wafer, with our enemies already in the convent,
I confirm the truth of my doctrines. All that I have said hath
come to me from God, and he is my witness in heaven that I
speak no lie. I had not foreseen' that all the city would so
quickly turn against me; nevertheless, may the Lord's will be
done. My last exhortation to ye is this: let faith, prayer, and
patience be your weapons.
I leave ye with anguish and grief, to
give myself into my enemies' hands. I know not whether they
will take my life; but certain am I that, once dead, I shall be
able to succor ye in heaven far better than it hath been granted
me to help ye on earth. Take comfort, embrace the cross, and
by it shall ye find the way of salvation. ”
The invaders were now masters of almost the whole of the
convent; and Gioacchino della Vecchia, captain of the palace
guard, threatened to knock down the walls with his guns unless
the orders of the Signory were obeyed. Fra Malatesta Sacra-
moro, the very man who a few days before had offered to walk
through the fire, now played the part of Judas. He treated with
the Compagnacci, and persuaded them to present a written order,
for which they sent an urgent request to the Signory; while Savo-
narola again confessed to Fra Domenico, and took the sacrament
from his hands, in preparation for their common surrender. As
for their companion, Fra Silvestro, he had hidden himself; and
in the confusion was nowhere to be found.
Just then a singular incident occurred. One of Savonarola's
disciples- a certain Girolamo Gini, who had long yearned to
assume the Dominican robe — had come to vespers that day, and
from the beginning of the riot energetically helped in the de-
fense of the convent. When Savonarola ordered all to lay down
their arms, this worthy artisan instantly obeyed; but nevertheless
could not refrain from rushing through the cloisters and showing
himself to the assailants, — in his desire, as he confessed at his
examination, to face death for the love of Jesus Christ.
Having
been wounded, he now appeared in the Greek library, with blood
## p. 15376 (#324) ##########################################
15376
PASQUALE VILLARI
1-
streaming from his head; and kneeling at his master's feet, hum-
bly prayed to be invested with the habit. And his request was
granted on the spot.
Savonarola was urged by some of his friends to consent to be
lowered from the walls and seek safety in fight; since, if he once
set foot in the palace, there was little chance of his ever leaving
it alive. He hesitated, and seemed on the point of adopting this
sole means of escape; when Fra Malatesta turned on him and
said, “Should not the shepherd lay down his life for his lambs? ”
These words appeared to touch him deeply; and he accordingly
made no reply, but after kissing his brethren and folding them
to his heart, - this very Malatesta first of all, — he deliberately
gave himself up, together with his trusty and inseparable Fra
Domenico, into the hands of the mace-bearers, who had returned
from the Signory at that instant.
Translation of Linda Villari.
## p. 15377 (#325) ##########################################
15377
HERSART DE LA VILLEMARQUÉ
THE HEROIC AND LEGENDARY LITERATURE OF
BRITTANY
BY WILLIAM SHARP
>
F ONE were asked what were the three immediate influences,
the open-sesames of literature, which revealed alike to
the dreaming and the critical mind of modern Europe the
beauty and extraordinary achievement of the Celtic genius, it would
not be difficult to name them. From Scotland came Macpherson's
reweaving of ancient Gaelic legendary lore under the collective title
of Ossian); from Wales came the “Mabinogion,' obtained and trans-
lated by Lady Charlotte Guest; and from Brittany came the now cel-
ebrated life work of the Vicomte Hersart de la Villemarqué, the
(Barzaz-Breiz,' or collection of the popular songs and heroic ballads
of old Brittany,—some mediæval, some with their roots in the heart
of ancient Armorica.
The history of the influence of these three books — Ossian,' the
Mabinogion, and the Barzaz Breiz'— has never yet been properly
estimated. When a competent critic shall give us this history, in
its exact and critical relation to literature itself, the deep and far-
reaching power of what may be distinguished as fundamentally
appealing books will be made apparent.
If these were the immediate influences in the awakening of the
mind of Europe to the beauty and mystery and high significance
of the old Celtic literature, legendary lore, and racial traditions, the
general attention was attracted rather by two famous pioneers of
critical thought. In France, Ernest Renan, himself of Celtic blood
and genius, and having indeed in his name one of the most ancient
and sacred of Armorican designations (Ronan), gained the notice of
all intellectual Europe by his acute, poignantly sympathetic, and
eloquent treatise on the Poetry of the Celtic Races. ' Later, in
England, Matthew Arnold convinced his reluctant fellow-countrymen
that a new and wide domain of literary beauty lay as it were just
beyond their home pastures.
Since Renan and Matthew Arnold, there have been many keen
and ever more and more thoroughly equipped students of Celtic lit-
erature; but while admitting the immense value of the philological
XXVI–962
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HERSART DE LA VILLEMARQUÉ
(
labors of men such as the German Windisch, the English Whitley
Stokes, the French Loth, the Scottish Dr. Cameron, the Welsh Profes-
sor Rhys, and the Irish Standish Hayes O'Grady, or of the more pop-
ular writings of collectors and exponents such as the late Campbell
of Islay, Mr. Alfred Nutt, Mr. Standish O'Grady, and others, it would
be at once unjust and uncritical to omit full recognition of the
labors of collectors and interpreters such as, say, Mr. Alexander Car-
michael in Scotland, and Hersart de la Villemarqué in France.
There can hardly be a student of Celtic literature who is unfamiliar
with the ‘Barzaz-Breiz,' that unique collection of Breton legendary
lore and heroic ballads so closely linked with the name of Hersart de
la Villemarqué. This celebrated man at once collector, folk-lorist,
philologist, poet, and impassioned patriot- was not only born a Bre-
ton of the Bretons, but began life among circumstances pre-eminently
conducive to his mental development along the lines where he has
made his name of world-wide repute. His great work* was not only
the outcome of his own genius and of his racial inheritance, but
was inspired by his mother, a remarkable woman of a very ancient
Armorican family. It is to her that the Barzaz-Breiz) was dedicated :
“À ma tendre et sainte mère, Marie-Ursule Feydeau du Plessix-Nizon,
Comtesse de la Villemarqué. ” So significant are the opening words
of his introduction to the new and definitive edition (1893) that they
may be given here:-
“A profound sentiment,” he says in effect, inspired the idea of this book
wherein my country stands forth self-portrayed, and in that revelation wins
our love. In sending forth this revised reprint of my work, doubtless for the
last time, and feeling myself to be as much as in my early days under the
spell of her love, I dedicate this work to her who really began it, and that
too before I was born,- to her who enthralled my childhood with old-world
ballads and legendary tales, and who herself was indeed for me one of those
good fairies who, as the old lore has it, stand by the side of happy cradles.
My mother, who was also the mother of all who were unhappy, once restored
to health a poor wandering singer of the parish of Melgren. Moved by the
sincere regrets of the poor woman at her inability to convey aright her grati-
tude to her benefactress, having indeed nothing in the world to offer but her
songs, my mother asked her to repeat one or two of her treasury of folk-
songs. So impressed was she by the original character of the Breton poetry,
that often thereafter she sought and obtained a like pleasure. At a later date,
*«< Barzaz-Breiz. Chants Populaires de la Bretagne, recueillis, traduits, et
annotés par le Vicomte Hersart de la Villemarqué, M. I. (work crowned by
the Academy of France). Among the same author's other published writings
in book form (he has written extensively in the Revue Celtique and else-
where) are - -(Merlin: Son Histoire, Ses Euvres, Son Influence,' and 'La
Légende Celtique, et la Poésie des Cloitres en Islande, en Cambrie, et en
Bretagne. ”
## p. 15379 (#327) ##########################################
HERSART DE LA VILLEMARQUÉ
15379
though this was not for herself, she made a special quest of this ancestral
country-side fugitive poetry. Such was the real origin - in a sense purely
domestic and private, and primarily the outcome of a sweet and pious nature
- of this collection of the Barzaz-Breiz); some of the finest pieces in which
I found written, in the first years of the century, on the blank leaves of an
old manuscript volume of recipes wherein my mother had her store of medical
science. ”
As for what M. de la Villemarqué himself did to qualify for his
lifelong labor of love, he writes as follows:-
« To render this collection at once more complete and worthy of the atten-
tion of literary critics, and of all students of literature and life, scrupulous
and conscientious care has been taken. I have gone hither and thither on
my quest through long years, and traversed every region of Basse-Bretagne
(Lower or Northern Brittany), the richest in old memories; taking part in
popular festivals and in private gatherings, at our national pardons (pil-
grimages], at the great fairs, at weddings, or the special fête-days of the
agricultural world and of the workers in all the national industries; ever by
preference seeking the professional beggars, the itinerant shoemakers, tail-
ors, weavers, and vagrant journeymen of all kinds,- in a word, in the whole
nomad song-loving, story-telling fraternity. Everywhere, too, I have inter-
rogated the old women, nurses, young girls, and old men; above all, those of
the hill regions, who in the last century formed part of the armed bands of
patriots, and whose recollections, when once they can be quickened, constitute
a national repertory as rich as any one could possibly consult. Even children
at their play have sometimes revealed to me unexpected old-world survivals.
Ever varying as was the degree of intelligence in all these people, they were
at one in this: that no one among them knew how to read. Naturally, there-
fore, the songs and legends and superstitions which I heard thus are not to
be found in books, and never at least as here given; for these came fresh
from the lips of an illiterate but passionately conservative, patriotic, and poetic
people. »
In a word, Brittany is, in common with Ireland or Gaelic Scotland,
the last home of the old-world Celt, of the old Celtic legendary and
mythological lore, of the passing and ever more and more fugitive
Celtic folk literature. Scotland has her Campbell of Islay, her Alex-
ander Carmichael; Brittany has Hersart de la Villemarqué.
The scientific value of M. de la Villemarqué’s ‘Barzaz-Breiz' has
been disparaged by some writers, to whom the pedantry of absolute
literality is more dear than the living spirit of which language is but
the veil; and this on the ground that his versions are often too elab-
orated, and are sometimes modern rather than archaic. The best
answer is in the words of the famous Breton himself, in the pref-
ace to the revised and definitive edition. After detailing the endless
care taken, and the comparative method pursued, he adds: “The
sole license I have permitted myself is the substitution, in place of
## p. 15380 (#328) ##########################################
15380
HERSART DE LA VILLEMARQUÉ
certain mutilated or vicious expressions, or of certain unpoetic or
less poetic verses, of corresponding but more adequate and harmo-
nious verses, or words from some other version or versions. This
was the method of Walter Scott (in his (Scottish Minstrelsy'], and I
could not follow a better guide. ”
The Barzaz-Breiz,' or Treasury of Breton Popular Chants, is a
storehouse of learned and most interesting and fascinating matter
concerning the origins and survival and inter-relations of the racial
and other legendary beliefs, and superstitions, and folk-lore generally,
of the Armorican people - Arvor, or Armorica, being the old name of
Brittany, the Wales of France. In the introductory and appendical
notes to each heroic ballad or legendary poem, Hersart de la Ville-
marqué has condensed the critical and specialistic knowledge of one
of the most indefatigable and enthusiastic of folk-lorists; and this
with the keenness of sympathy and of insight, and the new and con-
vincing charm of interpretation, of a man of genius.
It is amazing how little of his work has been translated or para-
phrased in English, especially when we consider the ever-growing
interest in literature of the kind, and particularly in Celtic literature.
It is pleasant, however, to know that an English "Barzaz-Breiz' is
promised us before long, and that from the pen of an author who
has a pre-eminent right to the task,— Mrs. Wingate Rinder; whose
volume entitled “The Shadow of Arvor (a re-telling of old Breton
tales and romances) is the most interesting and beautiful work of
its kind we have, and is, I may add, a book that won the high appro-
bation of M. de la Villemarqué himself. *
The three representative pieces which I have translated from
the ‘Barzaz-Breiz' are not only typical of the ancient and the mediæ-
val Breton romance or heroic ballad, but are given intact with their
prefatory and appendical notes.
(The Wine of the Gauls) is one of the earliest preserved utter-
ances of the ancient Armorican bards. 'The Tribute of Noménoë) is
still old, though not so ancient. “The Foster-Brother' is a type of
both the style and substance of the mediæval folk-tale.
[NOTE. — The three following citations from Villemarqué were translated,
and the notes accompanying them prepared, by William Sharp of London, for
A Library of the World's Best Literature. ) Mr. Sharp's article on Breton
Literature completes the survey of the literature. of the Celtic races embraced
in the articles on Celtic Literature (Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and Cornish) by
William Sharp and Ernest Rhys; Ossian, by the same authors; and on Cam-
pion, Sir Thomas Malory, and The Mabinogion, by Ernest Rhys. ]
* Two of the legendary romances, which appear after this article in their
crude original form, have been beautifully retold by Mrs. Wingate Rinder in
(The Shadow of Arvor): (Gwennolaik) and “The Tribute of Noménoë.
## p. 15381 (#329) ##########################################
HERSART DE LA VILLEMARQUÉ
15381
THE WINE OF THE GAULS AND THE DANCE OF THE SWORD-
DIALECT OF LÉON
ARGUMENT
One is not ignorant that in the sixth century the Bretons often
made excursions into the territory of their neighbors, subject to the
domination of the Franks, whom they called by the general name of
Gauls. These expeditions, undertaken oftenest under the necessity
of defending their independence, were also sometimes ventured through
the desire of providing themselves in the enemy's country with what
they lacked in Brittany, principally with wine. As soon as autumn
came, says Gregory of Tours, they departed, followed by chariots,
and supplied with instruments of war and of agriculture; armed for
the vintage. Were the grapes still hanging, they plucked them them-
selves; was the wine made, they carried it away. If they were too
hurried, or surprised by the Franks, they drank it on the spot; then
leading the vintagers captive, they joyously regained their woods and
their marshes. The piece here following was composed, according
to the illustrious author of the Merovingian Accounts,' on the return
from one of these expeditions. Some tavern habitués of the parish
of Coray intone it glass in hand, more for the melody than for the
words; the primitive spirit of which, thanks be to God, they have
ceased to seize.
I
ETTER is white wine of grapes than of mulberries; better is white
B.
grape wine.
- O fire! O fire! O steel! O steel! O fire! O fire! O
steel and fire! O oak! Ooak! O earth! O waves!
O waves! O earth! O earth and oak! -
Red blood and white wine, a river! red blood and white wine!
O fire! O fire! etc.
Better new wine than ale; better new wine.
- 0 fire !
O fire! etc.
Better sparkling wine than hydromel; better sparkling wine.
- O fire! O fire! etc.
Better wine of the Gauls than of apples; better wine of the Gauls.
O fire! O fire! etc.
## p. 15382 (#330) ##########################################
15382
HERSART DE LA VILLEMARQUÉ
Gaul, vines and leaf for thee, O dunghill! Gaul, vine and leaf to thee!
-O fire! O fire! etc.
White wine to thee, hearty Breton! White wine to thee, Breton !
- 0 fire! O fire! etc.
Wine and blood flow mixed; wine and blood flow.
O fire! O fire! etc.
White wine and red blood, and thick blood; white wine and red blood.
- 0 fire! O fire! etc.
'Tis blood of the Gauls that flows; the blood of the Gauls.
O fire! O fire! etc:
In the rough fray have I drunk wine and blood; I have drunk wine
and blood.
- O fire! O fire! etc.
Wine and blood nourish him who drinks; wine and blood nourish.
- 0 fire! O fire! etc.
II
Blood and wine and dance, Sun, to thee! blood and wine and dance,
-O fire! O fire! etc.
And dance and song, song and battle! and dance and song.
- 0 fire! O fire! etc.
Dance of the sword in rounds; dance of the sword.
- 0 fire! O fire! etc.
Song of the blue sword which murder loves; song of the blue sword.
-O fire! O fire! etc.
Battle where the savage sword is king; battle of the savage sword.
- O fire! O fire! etc.
O sword! O great king of the battle-field! O sword! O great king!
- O fire! O fire! etc.
## p. 15383 (#331) ##########################################
HERSART DE LA VILLEMARQUÉ
15383
May the rainbow shine on thy forehead! may the rainbow shine!
O fire! O fire! O steel! O steel! O fire! O fire! O
steel and fire! O oak! O oak! O earth! O earth!
O waves! O waves! O earth! O earth and oak!
NOTE
It is probable that the expedition to which this wild song alludes
took place on the territory of the Nantais; for their wine is white,
as is that of which the bard speaks. The different beverages he
attributes to the Bretons - mulberry wine, beer, hydromel, apple wine
or cider are also those which were used in the sixth century.
Without any doubt we have here. two distinct songs, welded to-
gether by the power of time. The second begins at the thirteenth
stanza, and is a warrior's hymn in honor of the sun, a fragment of
the Sword Round of the ancient Bretons.
Like the Gaels and the
Germans, they were in the habit of surrendering themselves to it
during their festivals; it was executed by young men who knew the
art of jumping circularly to music, at the same time throwing their
swords into the air and catching them again. This is represented on
three Celtic medallions in M. Hucher's collection: on one a warrior
jumps up and down, while brandishing his battle-axe in one hand,
and with the other throwing it up behind his long floating head-
dress; on a second one, a warrior dances before a suspended sword,
and, says M. Henri Martin, he is evidently repeating the invocation :-
“O sword, O great chief of the battle-field! O sword, O great
king!
This, it is obvious, would cast us back into plain paganism. At
least it is certain that the language of the last seven stanzas is still
older than that of the other twelve. As for its form, the entire piece
is regularly alliterated from one end to the other, like the songs
of the primitive bards; and like them, is subject to the law of ter-
nary rhythm. I have no need to draw notice to what a clashing of
meeting weapons it recalls to the ear, and what a strident blast the
melody breathes.
and by the beginning of April 1492 all hope of his recovery was
at an end.
As his last moments drew near, all his sins
rose before him in increasing magnitude, became more and more
threatening. The last offices of religion were powerless to con-
quer his terrors; for having lost all faith in mankind, he could
not believe in his confessor's sincerity. Accustomed to see his
slightest wish obeyed and all the world bow to his will, he could
not realize that any one would dare to deny him absolution.
Accordingly the blessing of the Church was powerless to lighten
the weight burdening his conscience, and he was more and more
cruelly tortured by remorse. “No one has ever dared to refuse.
me anything," he thought to himself; and thus the idea that had
once been his chief pride became his worst torment.
It was
.
## p. 15365 (#313) ##########################################
PASQUALE VILLARI
15365
Suddenly, however, he thought of Savonarola's stern face;
here, he remembered, was a man who had been equally unmoved
by his threats and his blandishments, and thereupon he exclaimed,
“I know no honest friar save this one;” and expressed his desire
to confess to Savonarola. A messenger was instantly dispatched
to St. Mark's. The prior was so astounded by the strange and
unexpected summons that he almost refused to believe it, and
answered that it seemed useless for him to go to Careggi, since
no words of his would be acceptable to Lorenzo. But on learn-
ing the sick man's desperate condition and earnest desire to con-
fess to him, he set forth without delay.
On that day Lorenzo had thoroughly realized that his end was
at hand. He had sent for his son Piero, and given him his final
counsels and last farewells. His friends were dismissed during
this interview: but when they were allowed to return to the
room, and had persuaded Piero to go back home, as his presence
agitated his father too much, Lorenzo expressed a wish to see
Pico della Mirandola once more; and the latter immediately came
to him. The sweet aspect of the kindly, gentle young man
seemed to have a soothing effect upon him; for he said, “I should
have been very sorry to die without first being cheered a little
by thy presence. ” And thereupon his face grew calm, his dis-
course almost cheerful; and he began to laugh and jest with his
friend. Pico had scarcely left the room before Savonarola en-
tered it, and respectfully approached the bed of the dying prince.
Lorenzo explained that there were three sins on his conscience
which he was specially anxious to confess, in order to be ab-
solved from them: the sack of Volterra; the robbery of the
Monte delle Fanciulle, whereby so many girls had been driven
to a life of shame; and the bloody reprisals following the con-
spiracy of the Pazzi. In speaking of these things, even before
beginning his private confession, the Magnificent again fell into
great agitation; and Savonarola sought to calm him by repeat-
ing, "God is good, God is merciful - » But,” he added, directly
Lorenzo had ceased speaking, "three things are needful. "
«What
things, Father? ” replied Lorenzo. Savonarola's face grew stern,
.
and extending the fingers of his right hand, he began thus:
« First, a great and living faith in God's mercy. ” — “I have the
fullest faith in it. ” — "Secondly, you must restore all your ill-
gotten wealth, or at least charge your sons to restore it in your
(C
»
»
## p. 15366 (#314) ##########################################
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PASQUALE VILLARI
name. ” At this the Magnificent seemed to be struck with sur-
prise and grief; nevertheless, making an effort, he gave a nod of
assent. Savonarola then stood up; and whereas the dying prince
lay cowering with fear in his bed, he seemed to soar above his
real stature as he said, “Lastly, you must restore liberty to the
people of Florence. ” His face was solemn; his voice almost ter-
rible; his eyes, as if seeking to divine the answer, were intently
fixed on those of Lorenzo, who, collecting all his remaining
strength, angrily turned his back on him without uttering a word.
Accordingly Savonarola left his presence without granting him
absolution, and without having received any actual and detalled
confession. The Magnificent remained torn by remorse, and soon
after breathed his last, on April 8th, 1492.
Through the influence of Savonarola the aspect of the city
was completely changed. The women threw aside their jewels
and finery, dressed plainly, bore themselves demurely; licentious
young Florentines were transformed, as by magic, into sober, reli-
gious men; pious hymns took the place of Lorenzo's carnival
songs. The townsfolk passed their leisure hours seated quietly
in their shops, reading either the Bible or Savonarola's works.
All prayed frequently, flocked to the churches, and gave largely
to the poor.
Most wonderful of all, bankers and tradesmen were
impelled by scruples of conscience to restore ill-gotten gains,
amounting to many thousand florins.
All men
were wonder-
struck by this singular and almost miraculous change.
Many new converts asked leave to join the Tuscan congregation;
and the number of brethren wearing the robe of St. Mark was
incredibly multiplied.
The mode of these men's conversion is likewise worthy of
special remark; since it proves that Savonarola, instead of en-
couraging sudden resolves and fits of enthusiasm, always pro-
ceeded with the utmost caution. We find an example of this in
the account given by the Florentine Bettuccio, more generally
known as Fra Benedetto, of his own conversion. He was the
son of a goldsmith, exercising the then profitable art of minia-
ture painting; was in the prime of youth, of a joyous tempera-
ment, full of dash and courage, prompt to quarrel, a singer,
musician, and poet, fond of good living, and entirely devoted to
pleasure. Consequently he was a favorite guest in the gayest
society, and led a life of frivolous gallantry.
## p. 15367 (#315) ##########################################
PASQUALE VILLARI
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Such was the life led by Bettuccio, the miniature-painter,
when Savonarola began to be renowned, and all Florence flocked
to his sermons. Bettuccio, however, refused to follow the herd;
for he was on the side of the Arrabbiati, and joined in their
scoffs against the Piagnoni. But one day when in the house of
a noble and beautiful matron, the latter spoke of Savonarola's
sermons in the warmest terms. He laughed at the time; but on
another day he was induced by the lady's persuasions to accom-
pany her to the Duomo. He describes his deep confusion on
entering the church, and finding himself among so great a com-
pany of believers, who stared at him with astonishment. ' At
first he longed to escape, but somewhat reluctantly decided to
remain. And as soon
as Savonarola mounted the pulpit, every-
thing seemed changed to him. Having once fixed his eyes on
the preacher, he was unable to withdraw them; his attention was
powerfully arrested, his mind impressed: and then he says, “At
last I knew myself to be as one dead rather than living. ” When
the sermon was over, he wandered forth into lonely places; “and
for the first time I turned my mind to my inner self. ” After
long meditation he went home, and became a changed man. He
threw aside his songs and musical instruments, forsook his com-
panions, and discarded his scented attire.
From that day he was one of the most assiduous of Savo-
narola's hearers, frequented the convent of St. Mark, repeated
prayers and litanies, and even beheld strange visions and heard
heavenly voices in the air. “I had a hard struggle with my
companions,” he tells us, who went about making mock of me;
and a still harder struggle with my own passions, which, break-
ing loose again from time to time, assailed me very fiercely. ”
At last, when he felt sure of himself, he sought the austere
prior of St. Mark's and cast himself at his feet. His voice trem-
bled, he could scarcely utter a word in the presence of him to
whom he owed his regeneration; nevertheless he stammered
forth his desire to join the brotherhood. Savonarola reasoned
with him on the danger of precipitate resolves, the difficulties of
the monastic life; and concluded by counseling him to make a
better trial of himself by leading a Christian life in the world,
before crossing the convent threshold. The advice proved to be
needed; for Bettuccio had again to fight against the violence of
his passions, and was not always victorious in the struggle.
## p. 15368 (#316) ##########################################
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PASQUALE VILLARI
After doing severe penance for these fresh lapses, and when
assured by long trial of having really mastered the flesh, he
returned to Savonarola in a calmer frame of mind. But the lat.
ter, who had kept him carefully in sight, would not yet allow
him to assume the monastic robe, sending him instead to minis-
ter to the sick and bury the dead.
From time to time he was summoned to the friar's cell, to
receive advice and hear lectures on the monastic life; finally,
on the 7th of November, 1495, he put on the robe, and on the
13th of November of the following year took the full vows, and
assumed the name of Fra Benedetto.
This was how Savonarola gained one of the most faithful of
his followers, one of the most steadfast in the hour of peril, and
who preserved to the last an increasing admiration and almost
worship for his master. The friar was equally cautious in his
advice to others, and never pressed any one to join the brother-
hood. His only concern was for the improvement of manners,
the diffusion of morality, and the regeneration of the true doc-
trines of Christ, to which men's souls appeared dead. It was
to this end that he now specially dedicated his whole time and
strength, his entire heart and soul. When preaching on the holy
life and Christian virtue, his soul almost seemed to shine forth
from his eyes, and his spiritual energy to be transfused by his
voice into the people, who daily and visibly improved under his
beneficent influence. Contemporary writers never cease express-
ing their wonder at this quasi-miracle: some are edified by the
triumph thus achieved by religion, others regret the days of joy-
ous ballads and carnival songs; but all are equally emphatic as
to the change in public manners, and acknowledge that it was
solely the work of Fra Girolamo Savonarola.
The Carnival of 1496 was now at hand; and the friar being
silenced, the Arrabbiati were preparing to celebrate it in the old
Medicean style, in order to vent the unbridled passions and filthy
lusts, which as they thought had too long been repressed. And
thereupon the friar determined to thwart them even in this
matter.
But it proved a harder task than might have been expected.
The Florentines had always been given to carnival festivities;
and under the Medici, had indulged in these pleasures to an un-
limited and almost incredible extent. During this holiday period
## p. 15369 (#317) ##########################################
PASQUALE VILLARI
15369
the whole city vas scene of wild revelry; drunkenness and
debauchery prevailed, and public decorum was cast to the winds.
Savonarola's sermons had undoubtedly wrought a great change;
but certain carnival customs were so deeply rooted that neither
new doctrines, altered laws, nor the severe prohibitions of the
magistrates had availed to extirpate them. And as was only
natural, the boys of Florence took special delight in these revels.
They were accustomed, during those days, to continually stop
people in the streets by barring the road with long poles, and
refusing to remove them until they had extorted enough money
to pay for their mad feastings by night. After these carousals
they made bonfires in the squares, round which they danced and
sang, and finally pelted one another with stones in so brutal a
fashion that no year passed without some of the combatants
being left dead on the ground. This “mad and bestial game of
stones," as the chroniclers style it, was frequently forbidden, and
the players threatened with the severest penalties; but none of
these measures had the slightest effect. All the leading citizens,
the Eight, even the Signory itself, had exhausted their efforts in
vain. By nightfall the boys were so excited with the revels
of the day that no penalty availed to keep them in check. At
last Savonarola undertook the task. After the brilliant results
achieved during the past years in the reformation of politics and
morals, and being prevented by the changed condition of affairs
from continuing those important crusades, he planned a third and
simpler reform, that he styled “the reform of the children. ”
Foreseeing that it would be extremely difficult to entirely
abolish the old customs, he decided to transform them by substi-
tuting religious for carnival gayeties. Accordingly, at the same
street corners where the children formerly assembled to demand
money for their banquets, he caused small altars to be erected,
before which they were to take their stand and beg contribu-
tions; not, however, for purposes of self-indulgence, but for alms
to the poor. Sing as much as ye will, he said to the boys, but
sing hymns and sacred lauds instead of indecent songs. He
wrote some hymns for them himself, - thus returning to the poet-
ical pursuits which he had so long forsaken,- and commissioned
the poet Girolamo Benivieni to compose other verses of the
same sort. Then, that all might be conducted with due decorum,
he charged Fra Domenico to collect all the children, and choose
some leaders from among them, and several of the latter waited
>
## p. 15370 (#318) ##########################################
15370
PASQUALE VILLARI
on the Signory to explain the proposed reform. Having obtained
the sanction of the government, the boys of Florence, exulting in
their novel importance, eagerly undertook their appointed work.
The city was by no means quiet even in this carnival, nor was
it possible to walk the streets without molestation; but although
the children were as importunate as of old, it was now for the
charitable aim prescribed by Savonarola. And thus, in the year
1496, the game of stones was suppressed for the first time; there
was no more gluttonous feasting, and three hundred ducats were
collected for the poor. Then, on the last day of carnival, a grand
procession was arranged, in which, attracted by the novelty of
the thing, the whole population took part. The children went
through the city singing hymns and entering all the principal
churches; after which they handed over the sums collected to the
“good men of St. Martin,” for distribution among the modest
poor” ( poveri vergognosi). Some objections were raised by those
who always murmured against every good work that proceeded
from Savonarola; but the greater part of the citizens, and all
worthy men, declared that the friar had again achieved a task in
which every one else in Florence had failed.
(c
It was one of those moments in which the popular aspect
seems to undergo a magical change. Savonarola's adherents had
either disappeared or were in hiding; all Florence now seemed
against him.
The morning of the 8th of April, Palm Sunday, 1498, passed
quietly; but it was easy for an observant eye to discern that this
tranquillity was only the sullen calm that precedes a storm, and
that it was a marvel no startling event had yet occurred. Savona-
rola preached in St. Mark's, but his sermon was very short and
sad; he offered his body as a sacrifice to God, and declared his
readiness to face death for the good of his flock. Mournfully,
but with much composure, he took leave of his people; and in
giving them his benediction, seemed to feel that he was address-
ing them for the last time.
The friar's adherents then
hurried to their homes to procure arms; while a portion of their
adversaries held the corners of the streets, and all the rest
marched through the city, crying “To St. Mark's, to St. Mark's,
fire in hand! ” They assembled on the Piazza of the Signory;
and when their numbers had sufficiently increased, moved in the
direction of the convent, brandishing their weapons and uttering
»
## p. 15371 (#319) ##########################################
PASQUALE VILLARI
1537 1
fierce cries. On the way they caught sight of a certain man,
named Pecori, who was quietly walking to the church of the
Santissima Annunziata, singing psalms as he went; and immedi-
ately some of them rushed after him, crying, “Does the hypocrite
still dare to mumble! ” And overtaking him on the steps of the
Innocenti, they slew him on the spot. A poor spectacles-maker,
hearing the great noise in the street, came out with his slippers
in his hand; and while trying to persuade the people to be quiet,
was killed by a sword-thrust in his head. Others shared the
same fate; and in th
way, infuriated by th taste of blood, the
mob poured into the Square of St. Mark. Finding
Finding the church
thronged with the people who had attended vespers, and were
still engaged in prayer, they hurled a dense shower of stones
through the door; whereat a general panic ensued, the women
shrieked loudly, and all took to fight. In a moment the church
was emptied; its doors, as well as those of the convent, were
locked and barred; and no one remained within save the citizens
who were bent on defending St. Mark's. .
Although barely thirty in number, these comprised some of
the most devoted of Savonarola's adherents; the men who had
escorted him to the pulpit, and were ever prepared to risk their
life in his service. For some days past they had known that the
convent was in danger; and accordingly eight or ten of them
had always come to guard it by night. Without the knowledge
of Savonarola or Fra Domenico, whom they knew to be averse
to all deeds of violence, they had, by the suggestion of Fra Sil-
vestro and Fra Francesco de' Medici, secretly deposited a store
of arms in a cell beneath the cloister. Here were some twelve
breastplates, and as many helmets; eighteen halberds, five or six
crossbows, shields of different kinds, four or five harquebusses, a
barrel of powder, and leaden bullets, and even, as it would seem,
two small mortars. Francesco Davanzati, who had furnished
almost all these weapons, and was then in the convent, brought
out and distributed them to those best able to use them. As-
sisted by Baldo Inghirlami, he directed the defense for some
time; placing guards at the weakest points, and giving the neces-
sary orders.
About sixteen of the friars took arms, and fore-
most among them were Fra Luca, son of Andrea della Robbia,
and our Fra Benedetto. It was a strange sight to see some of
these men, with breastplates over their Dominican robes and hel-
mets on their heads, brandishing enormous halberds, and speeding
## p. 15372 (#320) ##########################################
15372
PASQUALE VILLARI
(
through the cloister with shouts of “Viva Cristo! » to call their
companions to arms.
Savonarola was deeply grieved by this, and Fra Domenico
went about imploring all to cast aside their weapons. “They
must not stain their hands in blood; they must not disobey the
precepts of the gospel, nor their superior's commands. ” So he
cried, but all was in vain; for at that moment the furious yells
outside rose to a deafening pitch, and more determined attacks
were made on the gates. It was then that Savonarola resolved
to end the fruitless and painful struggle by the sacrifice of his
own safety; so, assuming his priest's vestments, and taking a
cross in his hand, he said to his companions, "Suffer me to
go forth, since through me orta est hæc tempestas” (this storm
has risen); and wished to surrender himself to his enemies at
once. But he was met by universal cries of despair; friars and
laymen pressed round him with tears and supplications. No!
do not leave us! you will be torn to pieces; and what would
become of us without you ? » When he saw his most trusted
friends barring the way before him, he turned about and bade
all follow him to the church. First of all he carried the Host
in procession through the cloisters; then led the way to the
choir, and reminded them that prayer was the only weapon to
be employed by ministers of religion: whereupon all fell on their
knees before the consecrated wafer, and intoned the chant-
(Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine' (O Lord, save thy people).
Some had rested their weapons against the wall, others still
grasped them, and only a few remained on guard at the main
entrances.
It was now about the twenty-second hour (i, e. , two hours
before sundown); the throng on the Piazza had increased, the
assailants were encouraged by meeting with no resistance, and
the Signory's guards were coming to their aid. At this moment
the mace-bearers appeared, to proclaim the Signory's decree that
all in the convent were to lay down their arms; and that Savo-
narola was sentenced to exile, and ordered to quit the Floren-
tine territory within twelve hours' time. Most of those who heard
this announcement regarded it as a device of the enemy. It
a
was difficult to credit that the Signory could order the attacked,
who were making scarcely any defense, to lay down their arms,
while the assailants, who were the sole authors of the disturb-
ance, and in far greater numbers, were not only left unmolested,
## p. 15373 (#321) ##########################################
PASQUALE VILLARI
15373
but supplied with reinforcements! Nevertheless, the proclamation
decided several to obtain safe conducts and hurry away.
Meanwhile night was falling, and the siege of the convent was
being carried on with desperate ferocity. Some fired the gates;
while others had successfully scaled the walls on the Sapienza
side, and made their way into the cloisters. After sacking the
infirmary and the cells, they all penetrated to the sacristy, sword
in hand, and broke open the door leading to the choir. When
the friars, who were kneeling there in prayer, found themselves
thus suddenly attacked, they were naturally stirred to self-defense.
Seizing the burning torches, and crucifixes of metal and wood,
they belabored their assailants with so much energy that the lat-
ter fled in dismay, believing for a moment that a band of angels
had come to the defense of the convent.
Then the other monks, who had laid down their arms at
Savonarola's behest, again resumed the defense; and there was
more skirmishing in the cloisters and corridors.
At the same
time the great bell of the convent, called the Piagnona, tolled
forth the alarm; both besiegers and besieged fought with greater
fury; all was clamor and confusion, cries of despair, and clash-
ing of steel. This was the moment when Baldo Inghirlami and
Francesco Davanzati dealt such vigorous blows, and that Fra
Luca d'Andrea della Robbia chased the foes through the clois-
ters, sword in hand. Fra Benedetto and a few others mounted
on the roof, and repeatedly drove back the enemy with a furi-
ous hail of stones and tiles. Several of the monks fired their
muskets with good effect inside the church; and a certain Fra
Enrico, a young, fair-haired, handsome German, particularly dis-
tinguished himself by his prowess. At the first beginning of the
struggle he had courageously sallied out into the midst of the
mob, and possessed himself of the weapon he wielded so valiantly;
accompanying each stroke with the cry, Salvum fac populum
tuum, Domine. '
At this juncture the victory was decidedly with St. Mark's,
and its defenders were exulting in their success; when a fresh
edict of the Signory was proclaimed, declaring all rebels who
did not forsake the convent within an hour. Thereupon several
more demanded safe-conducts and departed, thus further dimin-
ishing the too scanty garrison. And there being no longer any
doubt as to the Signory's intention of crushing St. Mark's, even
the remnant of the defenders lost hope and courage, and were
## p. 15374 (#322) ##########################################
15374
PASQUALE VILLARI
already beginning to give way. Savonarola and many of his
brethren still remained in the choir, offering up prayers, which
were interrupted from time to time by the cries of the injured
or the piteous wail of the dying. Among the latter was a youth
of the Panciatichi House, who was borne, fatally wounded, to the
steps of the high altar; and there, amid volleys of harquebuss
shots, received the communion from Fra Domenico, and joyfully
drew his last breath in the friar's arms, after kissing the cruci-
fix and exclaiming, Ecce quam bonum et quam jucundum habi-
tare fratres in unum! ” (Behold how good and how pleasant it is
for brethren to dwell together in unity! )
Night had now come; and the monks, exhausted with hunger
and agitation, devoured some dry figs one of their companions
had brought. Suddenly the defense was resumed; louder cries
were heard, and fresh volleys of shot. In the pulpit from which
Savonarola had so frequently inculcated the doctrine of peace,
Fra Enrico, the German, had now taken his stand, and was firing
his harquebuss with fatal effect. The smoke became so dense
that it was necessary to break the windows in order to escape
suffocation; and thereupon long tongues of flame poured into
the church from the burning doors. The German and another
defender retreated into the choir, and clambering upon the high
altar, planted their harquebusses beside the great crucifix, and
continued their fire.
Savonarola was overwhelmed with grief by this waste of life
in his cause, but was powerless to prevent it. No attention being
paid to his protests, he again raised the Host, and commanded
his friars to follow him. Traversing the dormitory, he had con-
ducted nearly all to the Greek library, when he caught sight of
Fra Benedetto rushing down-stairs, maddened with fury and fully
armed, to confront the assailants at close quarters. Laying his
hand on his disciple's shoulder, he gave him a severe glance, and
said in a tone of earnest reproof, “Fra Benedetto, throw down
those weapons and take up the cross: I never intended my
brethren to shed blood. ” And the monk humbled himself at his
master's feet, laid aside his arms, and followed him to the library
with the rest.
A final and still more threatening decree was now issued by
the Signory, against all who continued to resist; commanding
Savonarola, Fra Domenico, and Fra Silvestro to present them-
selves at the palace without delay, and giving their word that
## p. 15375 (#323) ##########################################
PASQUALE VILLARI
15375
»
no harm should be offered them. Fra Domenico insisted on see-
ing the order in writing; and the heralds, not having it with
them, went back to fetch it. Meanwhile Savonarola had depos-
ited the sacrament in the hall of the library beneath the noble
arches of Michelozzi's vault; and collecting the friars around
him, addressed them for the last time in these memorable words:
“My beloved children, in the presence of God, in the presence of
the consecrated wafer, with our enemies already in the convent,
I confirm the truth of my doctrines. All that I have said hath
come to me from God, and he is my witness in heaven that I
speak no lie. I had not foreseen' that all the city would so
quickly turn against me; nevertheless, may the Lord's will be
done. My last exhortation to ye is this: let faith, prayer, and
patience be your weapons.
I leave ye with anguish and grief, to
give myself into my enemies' hands. I know not whether they
will take my life; but certain am I that, once dead, I shall be
able to succor ye in heaven far better than it hath been granted
me to help ye on earth. Take comfort, embrace the cross, and
by it shall ye find the way of salvation. ”
The invaders were now masters of almost the whole of the
convent; and Gioacchino della Vecchia, captain of the palace
guard, threatened to knock down the walls with his guns unless
the orders of the Signory were obeyed. Fra Malatesta Sacra-
moro, the very man who a few days before had offered to walk
through the fire, now played the part of Judas. He treated with
the Compagnacci, and persuaded them to present a written order,
for which they sent an urgent request to the Signory; while Savo-
narola again confessed to Fra Domenico, and took the sacrament
from his hands, in preparation for their common surrender. As
for their companion, Fra Silvestro, he had hidden himself; and
in the confusion was nowhere to be found.
Just then a singular incident occurred. One of Savonarola's
disciples- a certain Girolamo Gini, who had long yearned to
assume the Dominican robe — had come to vespers that day, and
from the beginning of the riot energetically helped in the de-
fense of the convent. When Savonarola ordered all to lay down
their arms, this worthy artisan instantly obeyed; but nevertheless
could not refrain from rushing through the cloisters and showing
himself to the assailants, — in his desire, as he confessed at his
examination, to face death for the love of Jesus Christ.
Having
been wounded, he now appeared in the Greek library, with blood
## p. 15376 (#324) ##########################################
15376
PASQUALE VILLARI
1-
streaming from his head; and kneeling at his master's feet, hum-
bly prayed to be invested with the habit. And his request was
granted on the spot.
Savonarola was urged by some of his friends to consent to be
lowered from the walls and seek safety in fight; since, if he once
set foot in the palace, there was little chance of his ever leaving
it alive. He hesitated, and seemed on the point of adopting this
sole means of escape; when Fra Malatesta turned on him and
said, “Should not the shepherd lay down his life for his lambs? ”
These words appeared to touch him deeply; and he accordingly
made no reply, but after kissing his brethren and folding them
to his heart, - this very Malatesta first of all, — he deliberately
gave himself up, together with his trusty and inseparable Fra
Domenico, into the hands of the mace-bearers, who had returned
from the Signory at that instant.
Translation of Linda Villari.
## p. 15377 (#325) ##########################################
15377
HERSART DE LA VILLEMARQUÉ
THE HEROIC AND LEGENDARY LITERATURE OF
BRITTANY
BY WILLIAM SHARP
>
F ONE were asked what were the three immediate influences,
the open-sesames of literature, which revealed alike to
the dreaming and the critical mind of modern Europe the
beauty and extraordinary achievement of the Celtic genius, it would
not be difficult to name them. From Scotland came Macpherson's
reweaving of ancient Gaelic legendary lore under the collective title
of Ossian); from Wales came the “Mabinogion,' obtained and trans-
lated by Lady Charlotte Guest; and from Brittany came the now cel-
ebrated life work of the Vicomte Hersart de la Villemarqué, the
(Barzaz-Breiz,' or collection of the popular songs and heroic ballads
of old Brittany,—some mediæval, some with their roots in the heart
of ancient Armorica.
The history of the influence of these three books — Ossian,' the
Mabinogion, and the Barzaz Breiz'— has never yet been properly
estimated. When a competent critic shall give us this history, in
its exact and critical relation to literature itself, the deep and far-
reaching power of what may be distinguished as fundamentally
appealing books will be made apparent.
If these were the immediate influences in the awakening of the
mind of Europe to the beauty and mystery and high significance
of the old Celtic literature, legendary lore, and racial traditions, the
general attention was attracted rather by two famous pioneers of
critical thought. In France, Ernest Renan, himself of Celtic blood
and genius, and having indeed in his name one of the most ancient
and sacred of Armorican designations (Ronan), gained the notice of
all intellectual Europe by his acute, poignantly sympathetic, and
eloquent treatise on the Poetry of the Celtic Races. ' Later, in
England, Matthew Arnold convinced his reluctant fellow-countrymen
that a new and wide domain of literary beauty lay as it were just
beyond their home pastures.
Since Renan and Matthew Arnold, there have been many keen
and ever more and more thoroughly equipped students of Celtic lit-
erature; but while admitting the immense value of the philological
XXVI–962
## p. 15378 (#326) ##########################################
15378
HERSART DE LA VILLEMARQUÉ
(
labors of men such as the German Windisch, the English Whitley
Stokes, the French Loth, the Scottish Dr. Cameron, the Welsh Profes-
sor Rhys, and the Irish Standish Hayes O'Grady, or of the more pop-
ular writings of collectors and exponents such as the late Campbell
of Islay, Mr. Alfred Nutt, Mr. Standish O'Grady, and others, it would
be at once unjust and uncritical to omit full recognition of the
labors of collectors and interpreters such as, say, Mr. Alexander Car-
michael in Scotland, and Hersart de la Villemarqué in France.
There can hardly be a student of Celtic literature who is unfamiliar
with the ‘Barzaz-Breiz,' that unique collection of Breton legendary
lore and heroic ballads so closely linked with the name of Hersart de
la Villemarqué. This celebrated man at once collector, folk-lorist,
philologist, poet, and impassioned patriot- was not only born a Bre-
ton of the Bretons, but began life among circumstances pre-eminently
conducive to his mental development along the lines where he has
made his name of world-wide repute. His great work* was not only
the outcome of his own genius and of his racial inheritance, but
was inspired by his mother, a remarkable woman of a very ancient
Armorican family. It is to her that the Barzaz-Breiz) was dedicated :
“À ma tendre et sainte mère, Marie-Ursule Feydeau du Plessix-Nizon,
Comtesse de la Villemarqué. ” So significant are the opening words
of his introduction to the new and definitive edition (1893) that they
may be given here:-
“A profound sentiment,” he says in effect, inspired the idea of this book
wherein my country stands forth self-portrayed, and in that revelation wins
our love. In sending forth this revised reprint of my work, doubtless for the
last time, and feeling myself to be as much as in my early days under the
spell of her love, I dedicate this work to her who really began it, and that
too before I was born,- to her who enthralled my childhood with old-world
ballads and legendary tales, and who herself was indeed for me one of those
good fairies who, as the old lore has it, stand by the side of happy cradles.
My mother, who was also the mother of all who were unhappy, once restored
to health a poor wandering singer of the parish of Melgren. Moved by the
sincere regrets of the poor woman at her inability to convey aright her grati-
tude to her benefactress, having indeed nothing in the world to offer but her
songs, my mother asked her to repeat one or two of her treasury of folk-
songs. So impressed was she by the original character of the Breton poetry,
that often thereafter she sought and obtained a like pleasure. At a later date,
*«< Barzaz-Breiz. Chants Populaires de la Bretagne, recueillis, traduits, et
annotés par le Vicomte Hersart de la Villemarqué, M. I. (work crowned by
the Academy of France). Among the same author's other published writings
in book form (he has written extensively in the Revue Celtique and else-
where) are - -(Merlin: Son Histoire, Ses Euvres, Son Influence,' and 'La
Légende Celtique, et la Poésie des Cloitres en Islande, en Cambrie, et en
Bretagne. ”
## p. 15379 (#327) ##########################################
HERSART DE LA VILLEMARQUÉ
15379
though this was not for herself, she made a special quest of this ancestral
country-side fugitive poetry. Such was the real origin - in a sense purely
domestic and private, and primarily the outcome of a sweet and pious nature
- of this collection of the Barzaz-Breiz); some of the finest pieces in which
I found written, in the first years of the century, on the blank leaves of an
old manuscript volume of recipes wherein my mother had her store of medical
science. ”
As for what M. de la Villemarqué himself did to qualify for his
lifelong labor of love, he writes as follows:-
« To render this collection at once more complete and worthy of the atten-
tion of literary critics, and of all students of literature and life, scrupulous
and conscientious care has been taken. I have gone hither and thither on
my quest through long years, and traversed every region of Basse-Bretagne
(Lower or Northern Brittany), the richest in old memories; taking part in
popular festivals and in private gatherings, at our national pardons (pil-
grimages], at the great fairs, at weddings, or the special fête-days of the
agricultural world and of the workers in all the national industries; ever by
preference seeking the professional beggars, the itinerant shoemakers, tail-
ors, weavers, and vagrant journeymen of all kinds,- in a word, in the whole
nomad song-loving, story-telling fraternity. Everywhere, too, I have inter-
rogated the old women, nurses, young girls, and old men; above all, those of
the hill regions, who in the last century formed part of the armed bands of
patriots, and whose recollections, when once they can be quickened, constitute
a national repertory as rich as any one could possibly consult. Even children
at their play have sometimes revealed to me unexpected old-world survivals.
Ever varying as was the degree of intelligence in all these people, they were
at one in this: that no one among them knew how to read. Naturally, there-
fore, the songs and legends and superstitions which I heard thus are not to
be found in books, and never at least as here given; for these came fresh
from the lips of an illiterate but passionately conservative, patriotic, and poetic
people. »
In a word, Brittany is, in common with Ireland or Gaelic Scotland,
the last home of the old-world Celt, of the old Celtic legendary and
mythological lore, of the passing and ever more and more fugitive
Celtic folk literature. Scotland has her Campbell of Islay, her Alex-
ander Carmichael; Brittany has Hersart de la Villemarqué.
The scientific value of M. de la Villemarqué’s ‘Barzaz-Breiz' has
been disparaged by some writers, to whom the pedantry of absolute
literality is more dear than the living spirit of which language is but
the veil; and this on the ground that his versions are often too elab-
orated, and are sometimes modern rather than archaic. The best
answer is in the words of the famous Breton himself, in the pref-
ace to the revised and definitive edition. After detailing the endless
care taken, and the comparative method pursued, he adds: “The
sole license I have permitted myself is the substitution, in place of
## p. 15380 (#328) ##########################################
15380
HERSART DE LA VILLEMARQUÉ
certain mutilated or vicious expressions, or of certain unpoetic or
less poetic verses, of corresponding but more adequate and harmo-
nious verses, or words from some other version or versions. This
was the method of Walter Scott (in his (Scottish Minstrelsy'], and I
could not follow a better guide. ”
The Barzaz-Breiz,' or Treasury of Breton Popular Chants, is a
storehouse of learned and most interesting and fascinating matter
concerning the origins and survival and inter-relations of the racial
and other legendary beliefs, and superstitions, and folk-lore generally,
of the Armorican people - Arvor, or Armorica, being the old name of
Brittany, the Wales of France. In the introductory and appendical
notes to each heroic ballad or legendary poem, Hersart de la Ville-
marqué has condensed the critical and specialistic knowledge of one
of the most indefatigable and enthusiastic of folk-lorists; and this
with the keenness of sympathy and of insight, and the new and con-
vincing charm of interpretation, of a man of genius.
It is amazing how little of his work has been translated or para-
phrased in English, especially when we consider the ever-growing
interest in literature of the kind, and particularly in Celtic literature.
It is pleasant, however, to know that an English "Barzaz-Breiz' is
promised us before long, and that from the pen of an author who
has a pre-eminent right to the task,— Mrs. Wingate Rinder; whose
volume entitled “The Shadow of Arvor (a re-telling of old Breton
tales and romances) is the most interesting and beautiful work of
its kind we have, and is, I may add, a book that won the high appro-
bation of M. de la Villemarqué himself. *
The three representative pieces which I have translated from
the ‘Barzaz-Breiz' are not only typical of the ancient and the mediæ-
val Breton romance or heroic ballad, but are given intact with their
prefatory and appendical notes.
(The Wine of the Gauls) is one of the earliest preserved utter-
ances of the ancient Armorican bards. 'The Tribute of Noménoë) is
still old, though not so ancient. “The Foster-Brother' is a type of
both the style and substance of the mediæval folk-tale.
[NOTE. — The three following citations from Villemarqué were translated,
and the notes accompanying them prepared, by William Sharp of London, for
A Library of the World's Best Literature. ) Mr. Sharp's article on Breton
Literature completes the survey of the literature. of the Celtic races embraced
in the articles on Celtic Literature (Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and Cornish) by
William Sharp and Ernest Rhys; Ossian, by the same authors; and on Cam-
pion, Sir Thomas Malory, and The Mabinogion, by Ernest Rhys. ]
* Two of the legendary romances, which appear after this article in their
crude original form, have been beautifully retold by Mrs. Wingate Rinder in
(The Shadow of Arvor): (Gwennolaik) and “The Tribute of Noménoë.
## p. 15381 (#329) ##########################################
HERSART DE LA VILLEMARQUÉ
15381
THE WINE OF THE GAULS AND THE DANCE OF THE SWORD-
DIALECT OF LÉON
ARGUMENT
One is not ignorant that in the sixth century the Bretons often
made excursions into the territory of their neighbors, subject to the
domination of the Franks, whom they called by the general name of
Gauls. These expeditions, undertaken oftenest under the necessity
of defending their independence, were also sometimes ventured through
the desire of providing themselves in the enemy's country with what
they lacked in Brittany, principally with wine. As soon as autumn
came, says Gregory of Tours, they departed, followed by chariots,
and supplied with instruments of war and of agriculture; armed for
the vintage. Were the grapes still hanging, they plucked them them-
selves; was the wine made, they carried it away. If they were too
hurried, or surprised by the Franks, they drank it on the spot; then
leading the vintagers captive, they joyously regained their woods and
their marshes. The piece here following was composed, according
to the illustrious author of the Merovingian Accounts,' on the return
from one of these expeditions. Some tavern habitués of the parish
of Coray intone it glass in hand, more for the melody than for the
words; the primitive spirit of which, thanks be to God, they have
ceased to seize.
I
ETTER is white wine of grapes than of mulberries; better is white
B.
grape wine.
- O fire! O fire! O steel! O steel! O fire! O fire! O
steel and fire! O oak! Ooak! O earth! O waves!
O waves! O earth! O earth and oak! -
Red blood and white wine, a river! red blood and white wine!
O fire! O fire! etc.
Better new wine than ale; better new wine.
- 0 fire !
O fire! etc.
Better sparkling wine than hydromel; better sparkling wine.
- O fire! O fire! etc.
Better wine of the Gauls than of apples; better wine of the Gauls.
O fire! O fire! etc.
## p. 15382 (#330) ##########################################
15382
HERSART DE LA VILLEMARQUÉ
Gaul, vines and leaf for thee, O dunghill! Gaul, vine and leaf to thee!
-O fire! O fire! etc.
White wine to thee, hearty Breton! White wine to thee, Breton !
- 0 fire! O fire! etc.
Wine and blood flow mixed; wine and blood flow.
O fire! O fire! etc.
White wine and red blood, and thick blood; white wine and red blood.
- 0 fire! O fire! etc.
'Tis blood of the Gauls that flows; the blood of the Gauls.
O fire! O fire! etc:
In the rough fray have I drunk wine and blood; I have drunk wine
and blood.
- O fire! O fire! etc.
Wine and blood nourish him who drinks; wine and blood nourish.
- 0 fire! O fire! etc.
II
Blood and wine and dance, Sun, to thee! blood and wine and dance,
-O fire! O fire! etc.
And dance and song, song and battle! and dance and song.
- 0 fire! O fire! etc.
Dance of the sword in rounds; dance of the sword.
- 0 fire! O fire! etc.
Song of the blue sword which murder loves; song of the blue sword.
-O fire! O fire! etc.
Battle where the savage sword is king; battle of the savage sword.
- O fire! O fire! etc.
O sword! O great king of the battle-field! O sword! O great king!
- O fire! O fire! etc.
## p. 15383 (#331) ##########################################
HERSART DE LA VILLEMARQUÉ
15383
May the rainbow shine on thy forehead! may the rainbow shine!
O fire! O fire! O steel! O steel! O fire! O fire! O
steel and fire! O oak! O oak! O earth! O earth!
O waves! O waves! O earth! O earth and oak!
NOTE
It is probable that the expedition to which this wild song alludes
took place on the territory of the Nantais; for their wine is white,
as is that of which the bard speaks. The different beverages he
attributes to the Bretons - mulberry wine, beer, hydromel, apple wine
or cider are also those which were used in the sixth century.
Without any doubt we have here. two distinct songs, welded to-
gether by the power of time. The second begins at the thirteenth
stanza, and is a warrior's hymn in honor of the sun, a fragment of
the Sword Round of the ancient Bretons.
Like the Gaels and the
Germans, they were in the habit of surrendering themselves to it
during their festivals; it was executed by young men who knew the
art of jumping circularly to music, at the same time throwing their
swords into the air and catching them again. This is represented on
three Celtic medallions in M. Hucher's collection: on one a warrior
jumps up and down, while brandishing his battle-axe in one hand,
and with the other throwing it up behind his long floating head-
dress; on a second one, a warrior dances before a suspended sword,
and, says M. Henri Martin, he is evidently repeating the invocation :-
“O sword, O great chief of the battle-field! O sword, O great
king!
This, it is obvious, would cast us back into plain paganism. At
least it is certain that the language of the last seven stanzas is still
older than that of the other twelve. As for its form, the entire piece
is regularly alliterated from one end to the other, like the songs
of the primitive bards; and like them, is subject to the law of ter-
nary rhythm. I have no need to draw notice to what a clashing of
meeting weapons it recalls to the ear, and what a strident blast the
melody breathes.
