"Entour son col porta sonTabour,
Depeynt de Or, e riche Açour. "
--See also a passage in Menage'sDiction Etym. [v. MENESTRIERS], where
Taboursis used as synonymous toMenestriers.
Another frequent instrument with them was theViele. This, I am told, is the
name of an instrument at this day, which differs from a guitar, in that the player turns
round a handle at the top of the instrument, and with his other hand plays on some
keys that touch the chords and produce the sound.
See Dr. Burney 's account of the Vielle, vol. ii. p. 263, who thinks it the same
with theRote, or wheel. See p. 270 in the note.
"Il ot un Jougleor a Sens,
Qui navoit pas sovent robe entiere;
Sovent estoit sans saViele."
--Fabliaux et Cont. ii. 184, 185.- "Romanset Jutglar canta alt veux... devant lo senyor Rey."-- Chron. d'Aragon,
apud Du Cange, iv. 771. - It ought to have been observed in vol. ii, Metrical Romances no. 31, thatAmysand
Amylionwere no otherwise "brothers," than as being fast friends: as was suggested
by the learned Dr. Samuel Pegge, who was so obliging as to favour the Essayist
formerly with a curious transcript of this poem, accompanied with valuable
illustrations, &c.; and that it was his opinion, that both the fragment of theLady
Bellesent, mentioned in the same no. 31, and also the mutilated Tale, no. 37, were
only imperfect copies of the above romance ofAmys and Amylion, which contains the
two lines quoted in no. 37. - Wherever the wordRomanceoccurs in these metrical narratives, it hath been
thought to afford decisive proof of a translation from theRomanceor French
language. Accordingly it is so urged by T. Warton (i. 146, note), from two passages in
the pr. copy of Sir Eglamour, viz. sign. E. 1,
"In Romaunce as we rede."Again in fol. ult.
"In Romaunce this cronycle is."But in the Cotton MS. of the original, the first passage is
"As I herd a Clerke rede."And the other thus,
"In Rome this Gest cronycled ys."So that I believe references to "the Romaunce," or the like, were often mere expletive
phrases inserted by the oral Reciters; one of whom I conceive had altered or corrupted
the old Syr Eglamour in the manner that the copy was printed.
- The Harp (Lat.Cithara) differed from the Sautry, or Psaltry (Lat.Psalterium), in
that the former was a stringed instrument, and the latter was mounted with wire: there
was also some difference in the construction of the bellies, &c. See "Bartholomæus de
proprietatibus rerum," as Englished by Trevisa and Batman, ed. 1584, in Sir J.
Hawkins' Hist. ii. p. 285.