Reliques of ancient English poetry: consisting of old heroic ballads ...

*A N D B A L L A D S. ior
*' His neck is great as any fummere ;
*' He renneth asfwifte as any difirere,
" Pawes he hath as a lyon ;
* ( All that he toucheth he Jleath dead downe.
" Great winges he hath toflight,
" That is no ?nan that bare him might.
" There may no man fight him agayne,
** But that he Jleath him certay fie :
'- For a fowler heajl then is he,
" Ywis of none never heardye "
The accurate Dugdale is of opinion that the fiory of Guy is
not wholly apocryphal, tkd* he acknowledges the monks have
founded out his praifes too hyperbolically. In particular, he
gives the duelfought with the Danijk champion as a real
hiflorical truth, and fixes the date of it in the year 929,
^Etat. Guy, 70. See his Warwickjhire.
The following is written upon the fame plan, as ballad
V. Book I. but which is the original and which the copy,
cannot be decided. This fong is ancient, as may be inferred
from the idiom preferred in the margin, ver. 94. 102 : and
was oncepopular, as appears from Fletcher's Knight of the
burning pejlle, acl. 2. fc. ult.
Printedfrom an ancient MS copy in the Editor's oldfolio
volume, collated with two printed ones, one of which is in
black letter in theJPepys colleclion.
WAS
ever knight for ladyes fake
Soe toft in love, as I fir Guy
For Phelis fayre, that lady bright
As ever man beheld with eye ?
Shee gave me leave myfelf to try,
The valiant knight with flieeld and fpeare,
Ere that her love fhee wold grant me;
Which made mee venture far and neare.
H 3
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