The Poets' Hall Called ApolloAuthor(s): John BuxtonSource: The Modern Language Review, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Jan., 1953), pp. 52-54Published by: Modern Humanities Research AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3719169 .

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52 Miscellaneous Notes

would never finally have agreed.' Even J. M. Manly and F. N. Robinson, who accept the Ellesmere ordering, treat the Sittingbourne-Rochester references among the 'many small discrepancies' which appear throughout The Canterbury Tales.2

My contention is, however, that the Summoner's remarks in no way indicate that the Pilgrims have arrived at Sittingbourne at the conclusion of his tale. His two comments are:

'Now elles, Frere, I bishrewe thy face,' Quod this Somonour, 'and I bishrewe me, But if 1 telle tales two or thre Of freres, er I come to Sidyngborne,. ..' (II, D, 844-7)

and: And Jankyn hath ywonne a newe gowne,- My tale is doon; we been almoost at towne.

(III, D, 2293-4) The Summoner promises to tell two or three tales about friars before he reaches Sittingbourne; but by the end of this tale he has told only one.3 Why then must 'at towne' be, as Robinson phrases it, 'i.e. at Sittingbourne' 4 In the last couplet the 'gown' is the important thing; it is what has been promised to Jankyn for his remarkable scheme of division. 'Town' is the tag-word and not a deliberate reference to the particular town, Sittingbourne, of 1. 847. Since it is the rhyme word, 'town' may not have a real place as a referent. If, however, the Summoner does have an actual town in mind, there are several small places before Rochester on the Canterbury route to which he could be referring.5 In either case the Host's plan for each traveller to tell two stories going and two returning would still give the Summoner ample time to get in another dig or two at the Friar before the group's arrival at Sittingbourne.

I submit, therefore, that on this point there is no difficulty in accepting the order of the tales in the Ellesmere MS. The hitherto supposed inverted references to Sittingbourne and Rochester need not be a discrepancy. The Summoner's first remark is about a future destination; his second in no way indicates that the Pilgrims have arrived there as yet.

STANLEY B. GREENFIELD

MADISON, WISCONSIN

THE POETS' HALL CALLED APOLLO

It has hitherto been supposed that the Apollo room at the Devil and St Dunstan tavern, near Temple Bar, was first named and consecrated to the service of the Muses by Ben Jonson in 1624. The letter of John Chamberlain to Sir Dudley

1 The Six-Text order of the tales, which has Geoffrey Chaucer (Boston, New York, etc., 1933), the sanction of only the poor Selden MS., is that p. 1005. most widely adopted. The latest criticism, by 3 I cannot accept the theory that three tales C. A. Owen, Jr, 'The Plan of the Canterbury are involved here: e.g. 'one about friars in hell, Pilgrimage', PMLA, LXVI (Sept. 1951), 820-6, the one about the Friar's disappointment and takes even more liberty with the MS. order in anger, and the mechanically connected one of the interest of aesthetic unity, going so far as to the way to divide a "gift" among friars' (Owen, separate Fragments (e.g. ix and x) whose order p. 824). These are all part of the one 'Summoner's is the same in all MSS. For a concise summary of Tale'. the various theories and practices, excluding 4 Robinson, p. 813. Mr Owen's, see W. W. Lawrence, Chaucer and 5 The critic may take his pick. See Francis The Canterbury Tales (New York, 1950), pp. 90 if. Watt, Canterbury Pilgrims and their Ways

2 F. N. Robinson, The Complete Works of (London, 1917), pp. 98-111, for suggestions.

52 Miscellaneous Notes

would never finally have agreed.' Even J. M. Manly and F. N. Robinson, who accept the Ellesmere ordering, treat the Sittingbourne-Rochester references among the 'many small discrepancies' which appear throughout The Canterbury Tales.2

My contention is, however, that the Summoner's remarks in no way indicate that the Pilgrims have arrived at Sittingbourne at the conclusion of his tale. His two comments are:

'Now elles, Frere, I bishrewe thy face,' Quod this Somonour, 'and I bishrewe me, But if 1 telle tales two or thre Of freres, er I come to Sidyngborne,. ..' (II, D, 844-7)

and: And Jankyn hath ywonne a newe gowne,- My tale is doon; we been almoost at towne.

(III, D, 2293-4) The Summoner promises to tell two or three tales about friars before he reaches Sittingbourne; but by the end of this tale he has told only one.3 Why then must 'at towne' be, as Robinson phrases it, 'i.e. at Sittingbourne' 4 In the last couplet the 'gown' is the important thing; it is what has been promised to Jankyn for his remarkable scheme of division. 'Town' is the tag-word and not a deliberate reference to the particular town, Sittingbourne, of 1. 847. Since it is the rhyme word, 'town' may not have a real place as a referent. If, however, the Summoner does have an actual town in mind, there are several small places before Rochester on the Canterbury route to which he could be referring.5 In either case the Host's plan for each traveller to tell two stories going and two returning would still give the Summoner ample time to get in another dig or two at the Friar before the group's arrival at Sittingbourne.

I submit, therefore, that on this point there is no difficulty in accepting the order of the tales in the Ellesmere MS. The hitherto supposed inverted references to Sittingbourne and Rochester need not be a discrepancy. The Summoner's first remark is about a future destination; his second in no way indicates that the Pilgrims have arrived there as yet.

STANLEY B. GREENFIELD

MADISON, WISCONSIN

THE POETS' HALL CALLED APOLLO

It has hitherto been supposed that the Apollo room at the Devil and St Dunstan tavern, near Temple Bar, was first named and consecrated to the service of the Muses by Ben Jonson in 1624. The letter of John Chamberlain to Sir Dudley

1 The Six-Text order of the tales, which has Geoffrey Chaucer (Boston, New York, etc., 1933), the sanction of only the poor Selden MS., is that p. 1005. most widely adopted. The latest criticism, by 3 I cannot accept the theory that three tales C. A. Owen, Jr, 'The Plan of the Canterbury are involved here: e.g. 'one about friars in hell, Pilgrimage', PMLA, LXVI (Sept. 1951), 820-6, the one about the Friar's disappointment and takes even more liberty with the MS. order in anger, and the mechanically connected one of the interest of aesthetic unity, going so far as to the way to divide a "gift" among friars' (Owen, separate Fragments (e.g. ix and x) whose order p. 824). These are all part of the one 'Summoner's is the same in all MSS. For a concise summary of Tale'. the various theories and practices, excluding 4 Robinson, p. 813. Mr Owen's, see W. W. Lawrence, Chaucer and 5 The critic may take his pick. See Francis The Canterbury Tales (New York, 1950), pp. 90 if. Watt, Canterbury Pilgrims and their Ways

2 F. N. Robinson, The Complete Works of (London, 1917), pp. 98-111, for suggestions.

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Miscellaneous Notes 53

Carleton of 19 June 1624 (Cal. S.P. Jas. 1, 14, 415), in which Jonson's Leges Convivales are for the first time quoted, describes the room as 'lately built', and from this Dr Percy Simpsonl very reasonably concluded that these Leges 'were composed for it in that year'. But now some new evidence shows that Chamberlain's use of the word 'lately' is misleading, and that the room was already named and dedicated nearly four years earlier.

This evidence is in an inscription written by Richard Butcher-presumably the antiquary of that namle-in a copy of Michael Drayton's Poems, 1619, which he had as a gift from the author. This book is now in the collection of Dr B. E. Juel- Jensen who has most kindly allowed me to transcribe the inscription, the last part of which is as follows. (It is preceded by ten lines of doggerel on 'The Meaninge of the Frontespeece'.)

'This booke was given me by the authors liadle But first tenne shillinges spent at his comnmaunde In sack & smoke to cheare his merry muse Which non but clownes anld misers would refuse Much lesse my selfe who faite his fame would utter As once his sonne adopted Richard Butcher.

'Written at the Devell & St Dunston in the

poets lall called Apollo the 30th of November in the yeare of grace

1620 by Richard Butcher

gent:

It slould be noted that there is no hint here that the poets' hall called Apollo was 'lately built' even in November 1620. Drayton's Ode, The Sacrifice to Apollo, which was first printed in this volume, is, as Charles Lamb observed, 'a kind of poetical paraphrase of the Leges Convivales'. It seems much more probable that Jonson's Leges preceded Drayton's Ode than the reverse; also, that they were composed for the occasion on which the room was named and dedicated rather than later. The only reason for thinking that they date from 1624 is Chamberlain's misleading, or mistaken, 'lately built'. But if he could use the phrase of a room that had been in existence for at least four, and very probably five, years, he might have used it of a room built still earlier. It is clear that his letter can no longer be used as evidence of the date of the first meetings in the Apollo at all.

The name of this room in a London tavern was later transported to the country by that engaging, neglected, but very informative poet Sir Aston Cokayne. He knew Drayton and many other poets of the time, had seen Jonson, and was a cousin of Charles Cotton's. In his A Chain of Golden Poems Embellish'd with Wit, Mirth and Eloquence, 1658, are verses Of a Room in an Ale-House that we call the Apollo and from the opening lines of another poem addressed to Tom Mullins we learn that this was the name of the inn-keeper:

Tom sell good Ale; and since we do thee grace To call thy Room Apollo etc.

1 Dr Simpson's article, 'Ben Jonson and the Devil Tavern', in M.L.R. xxxiv, 368-73, assembled all the evidence then known.

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54 54 Miscellaneous Notes Miscellaneous Notes

Where Tom Mullins kept his inn I have not yet discovered. Perhaps it was at Polesworth in Warwickshire (where Drayton no doubt met Cokayne through the Gooderes), or perhaps it was at Ashbourne in Derbyshire. Sir Aston Cokayne had estates in both places, and wrote verses to inn-keepers in both: to Isabel Manifold of the Black Swan at Ashbourne, and to John Young (who kept the Bear) and Henry Right (who kept the Cock) at Polesworth. He also knew an inn at Wincott where he invited Clement Fisher to drink with him

such Ale as Shakespeare fancies.

On the evidence of a toper of such ubiquity it may be hazardous to guess in what town or village this other Apollo discovered verities to poets.

JOHN BUXTON OXFORD

THE DENOUEMENT OF 'LE CID': A FURTHER NOTE

We have earlier put forward the suggestion' that the real tragedy of le Cid, at least to modern eyes, lies in the fact that, in spite of Corneille's ambiguous ending, Chimene and Rodrigue are for ever separated, that for ever between them lies the sword,

Du sang de mon pere encor toute trempee.

Yet for over three hundred years the play has been presented as concluding with the union, delayed only for a year, of the two lovers: a conclusion which is entirely consistent with Corneille's portrayal of Rodrigue,2 but not, we would again insist, with his portrayal of Chimene.

This traditional interpretation of the part, which we believe to be false, has been

strengthened by the ready acceptance of the King's understanding of a line spoken by her in Iv, 7; although the King's interpretation is demonstrably wrong, if the line be considered in its full context.

Towards the end of Iv, 7, the King declares that once the outcome of the duel between Rodrigue and Chimene's champion (Don Sanche) is known, he will unite Chimene and the victor. Thereupon Chimene exclaims:

Quoi! Sire, m'imposer une si dure loi !

which the King would seem to interpret as meaning that she would be willing to accept Rodrigue, should he prove victorious, but not Don Sanche; that to force her into marriage with Don Sanche would be unnecessarily harsh. The King's actual words are:

Tu t'en plains; mais ton feu, loin d'avouer ta plainte, Si Rodrigue est vainqueur, l'accepte sans contrainte. Cesse de murmurer contre un arret si doux: Qui que ce soit des deux, j'en ferai ton epoux.

It is true that Chimene's words, as they stand, are susceptible of two interpreta- tions, of which the King, who would seem a sentimentalist at heart, supplies that

Where Tom Mullins kept his inn I have not yet discovered. Perhaps it was at Polesworth in Warwickshire (where Drayton no doubt met Cokayne through the Gooderes), or perhaps it was at Ashbourne in Derbyshire. Sir Aston Cokayne had estates in both places, and wrote verses to inn-keepers in both: to Isabel Manifold of the Black Swan at Ashbourne, and to John Young (who kept the Bear) and Henry Right (who kept the Cock) at Polesworth. He also knew an inn at Wincott where he invited Clement Fisher to drink with him

such Ale as Shakespeare fancies.

On the evidence of a toper of such ubiquity it may be hazardous to guess in what town or village this other Apollo discovered verities to poets.

JOHN BUXTON OXFORD

THE DENOUEMENT OF 'LE CID': A FURTHER NOTE

We have earlier put forward the suggestion' that the real tragedy of le Cid, at least to modern eyes, lies in the fact that, in spite of Corneille's ambiguous ending, Chimene and Rodrigue are for ever separated, that for ever between them lies the sword,

Du sang de mon pere encor toute trempee.

Yet for over three hundred years the play has been presented as concluding with the union, delayed only for a year, of the two lovers: a conclusion which is entirely consistent with Corneille's portrayal of Rodrigue,2 but not, we would again insist, with his portrayal of Chimene.

This traditional interpretation of the part, which we believe to be false, has been

strengthened by the ready acceptance of the King's understanding of a line spoken by her in Iv, 7; although the King's interpretation is demonstrably wrong, if the line be considered in its full context.

Towards the end of Iv, 7, the King declares that once the outcome of the duel between Rodrigue and Chimene's champion (Don Sanche) is known, he will unite Chimene and the victor. Thereupon Chimene exclaims:

Quoi! Sire, m'imposer une si dure loi !

which the King would seem to interpret as meaning that she would be willing to accept Rodrigue, should he prove victorious, but not Don Sanche; that to force her into marriage with Don Sanche would be unnecessarily harsh. The King's actual words are:

Tu t'en plains; mais ton feu, loin d'avouer ta plainte, Si Rodrigue est vainqueur, l'accepte sans contrainte. Cesse de murmurer contre un arret si doux: Qui que ce soit des deux, j'en ferai ton epoux.

It is true that Chimene's words, as they stand, are susceptible of two interpreta- tions, of which the King, who would seem a sentimentalist at heart, supplies that

1 See our article, 'The Tragic Genius of Corneille', M.L.R. xiv (1950), 164-76. 2 See M.L.R. ibid. 1 See our article, 'The Tragic Genius of Corneille', M.L.R. xiv (1950), 164-76. 2 See M.L.R. ibid.

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