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

vi ANCIENT SONGS
flew the monfter to fet her at liberty. Even Regner
himfelf, who was a celebrated poet, gives this fabulous
account of the exploit in a poem of his own writing
that is ftill extant, and which records all the valiant
atchievements of his life (r).
With marvelous embellifhments of this kind the
Scalds early began to decorate their narratives : and
they were the more lavifh of thefe, in proportion as
they departed from their original inftitution, but it
was a long time before they thought of delivering a fet
of perfonages and adventures wholly feigned. Of the
great multitude of romantic tales ftill preferved in the
libraries of the North, moft of them are fuppofed to
have had fome foundation in truth, and the more ancient
they are the more they are believed to be connected
with true hiftory (f).
It was not probably till after the hiftorian and the
bard had been long difunited, that the latter ventured
at pure fidlion. At length when their bufinefs was no
longer to inftruft or inform, but merely to amufe, it
was no longer needful for them to adhere to truth.
Then began fabulous and romantic fongs which for a
long time prevailed in France and England before
they had books of Chivalry in prcfe. Yet in both
thefe countries the Minftrels ftill retained fo much of
their original inftitution, as frequently to make true
events the fubject, of their Songs (t) ; and indeed, as
during the barbarous ages, the regular hiftories were
almoft all written in Latin by the Monks, the memory
of events was preferved and propagated among the ignorant
(r) %ec a Tranflaticn of this poem, among the " Five pieces of
" Runic Poetry," &c.
(f)
Vid. Mallet. Defcript. of the Manners, &c. of the Danes, pafiim.
(t) The Editor's MS. contains a multitude of poems of this latter
kind. It was from this cuftom of the Minftrels that fome of our flrft
Hirkrians wrote their Chronicles in verfe, as Rob. pf Gloucefter.,
Harding, &e.