22   EARLY THEORIES OF TRANSLATION

THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD   23

the equivalent of the more ordinary phrases "in tale as it is told" and "in romance as we read," 1 the second of which is scarcely compatible with the theory of an oral source.

One cannot always, however, dispose of the reference to hearing so easily. Contemporary testimony shows that literature was often transmitted by word of mouth. Thomas de Cabham mentions the "ioculatores, qui cantant gesta principum et vitam sanctorum" ; 2 Robert of Brunne complains that those who sing or say the geste of Sir Tristram do not repeat the story exactly as Thomas made it.' Even though one must recognize the probability that sometimes the immediate oral source of the minstrel's tale may have been English, one cannot ignore the possibility that occasionally a "translated" saint's life or romance may have been the result of hearing a French or Latin narrative read or recited. A convincing example of reproduction from memory appears in the legend of St. Etheldred of Ely, whose author recounts certain facts,

The whiche y founde in the abbey of Godstow y-wis, In hure legent as y dude there that tyme rede,

and later presents other material,

The whiche y say at Hely y-write.4

Such evidence makes us regard with more attention the remark in Capgrave's St. Katherine,

— right soo dede I lere

Of cronycles whiche (that) I saugh last,'

or the lines at the end of Roberd of Cisyle,

1 E. E. T. S., 11. 319, 405, 216.

2 See Chambers, The Medieval Stage, Appendix G.

3 Chronicle of England, ed. Furnivall, 11. 93-104.

4 Altenglische Legenden, Vita St. Etheldredae Eliensis, 11. 978-9, 1112.

5 Bk. 4, 11. 129-130.

Al this is write withoute lyghe At Rome, to ben in memorye,

At seint Petres cherche, I knowe.1

It is possible also that sometimes a vague phrase like "as the story says," or "in tale as it is told," may signify hearing instead of reading. But in general one turns from consideration of the references to hearing with little more than an increased respect for the superior definiteness which belongs to the mention of the "black letters," the "parchment," "the French book," or "the Latin book."

Leaving the general situation and examining individual types of literature, one finds it possible to draw conclusions which are somewhat more definite. The metrical romance —to choose one of the most popular literary forms of the period — is nearly always garnished with references to source scattered throughout its course in a manner that awakens curiosity. Sometimes they do not appear at the beginning of the romance, but are introduced in large numbers towards the end; sometimes, after a long series of pages containing nothing of the sort, we begin to come upon them frequently, perhaps in groups, one appearing every few lines, so that their presence constitutes something like a quality of style. For example, in Bevis of Hamtoun2 and The Earl of Toulouse' the first references to source come between 11. 800 and 900; in Ywain and Gawin the references appear at 11. 9, 3209, and 3669; a in The Wars of Alexander 5 there is a perpetual harping on source, one phrase seeming to produce another.

Occasionally one can find a reason for the insertion of the phrase in a given place. Sometimes its presence suggests that the translator has come upon an unfamiliar word. In Sir Eglamour of Artois, speaking of a bird that has carried off a child, the author remarks, "a griffin, saith the book,

1 Sammlung Altenglischer Legenden, 11. 435-7.   B E. E. T. S.

3 Ed. Ritson.   4 Ibid.   5 E. E. T. S.