40 Dtffertatton on the Life and Writings of.

En le honur de vos nobles reis, Ki tant eftes preux et curteis, M'entremis de Lais afTembler, Par rime faire et reconter ; En mon quoer penfoe et difeie, Sire, ke vos prefentereie, Si vos les plaifr. a rerr.ve.ir, Mult me ferez grant joie aveir A tuz jurs mais en ferrai lie, &c. [e] But who is this monarch to whom Mary addrefTes her dedica- tion ? This was well known in her time, but in ours we can only conjecture. Let us endeavour, then, in the beft manner we are able, to difcover him. . i . Firft, then, we may perceive in Mary's prologue her apprehen- fion of the envy which her fuccefs might excite againft her in a ftrange country : for this reafon fhe could not have written in France. 2,^ When at a lofs for fome fingle fyllable fhe fometimes intermixes in her verfes words that are pure Englifh, when, the French word would not have fuited the meafure. Fire et chaundeles alumez. It mould feem, therefore, that me wrote more particularly for the Englifh, fince her lines contain words that efTentially belong to their language, and not at all to the Romance. 3. She dedi- cates her Lays to a king who underftood Englifh, becaufe fhe takes care to tranflate into that tongue all the Welfh and Armoric pro- per names that fhe was obliged to introduce. Thus in the Lay of Btfclaveret , fhe fays the Englifh tranflate this name by that of Gar- waf, (Werewolf) ; in that of Laiiftic, that they call it Nihtgale, (Nightingale) ; and in that of Chevrefeu'tlk, Gotekf, (Goatleaf ), &c. [<r] Prolog, des Lais de Marie. It