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36 ENGLISH MINSTRELSY.
And in many an othir pipe, That craftely began to pipe Bothe in Douced and eke in Jtede," That bin at feastes with the brede [bread] : "And many a Floite and litlyng Home And Pipes made qfgrend come. As have these little Herdegroomes That kepin Beastes [keep oxen] in the broomes." As to the songs of his time, see the Frankeleyne's Tale (line 11,254 to 60):— "He was dispeired, nothing dorst he seye Sauf [save] in his aong&s somewhat wolde he wreye [betray] His woo, as in a general compleyfling; He said he loved, and was beloved nothing. Of suche matier made he many Layes, Songes, Compleyntes, Roundelets, Virelayes: How that he dorste not his sorwe [sorrow] telle, But languisheth as doth a fuyr in helle." and he speaks elsewhere of Ditees, Rondils, Balades, &c.
The following passages relate to minstrelsy, and to the manner of playing the harp, pointing and performing with the nails, as the Spaniards do now with the guitar. The first is from the House of Fame (Urry, line 105 to 112):— . . . . " Stoden .... the castell all abontin Of all manir of Minstralis And gestours that tell en tales Both of wepyng and of game, And all that 'longeth unto fame; There herde I playin on an Harpe That ysmnid bothe well and sharper and. from Troylus, lib. 2, 1030 :—
" For though that the best harper upon live Would on the bestfe sounid jolly harpe That evir was, with all his fingers five
Touch aie o (one) string, or aie o warble harpe, Were his nailes poinded nevir so sharpe It ahoulde makin every wight to[o] doll To heare [h]is Glee, and of his strokes ful." Even the musical gamut is mentioned by Chaucer. In the supplementary tale he makes the host give " an hid[e]ouse cry in ge-sol-re-ut the haut/'' and there is scarcely a subject connected with the art as practised in his day, that may not be illustrated by quotation from his works;
" For, gif he have nought sayd hem, leeve [dear] brother, In o bo[o]k, he hath seyd hem in another."
• Tyrwrjitt thinks Douccte an Instrument, and quotes a reed), I infer by "douced" that flutes are intended; the
Lydgate tone of which, especially the large flute, is extremely soft.
"Therweretrumpes and trumpetes, I had a collection of English flutes, of which one was
Lowde shall[m]ys and doucetcs." nearly a yard and a half long. AH had mouth-pieces like
but it seems to me only to mean soft pipes in opposition the flageolet, and were blown in the same manner; the
to loud shalms. By the distinction Chaucer draws, " both tone very pleasing, but less powerful and brilliant than
in douced and in reed" (the shalm being played on by the modern or "German" flute. |
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