Character Sketches of Romance Volume I Part 22

AR'TAMENES (3 _syl_.) or LE GRAND CYRUS, a "long-winded romance," by Mdlle. Scuderi (1607-1701).

ARTAXAM'INOUS, king of Utopia, married to Griskinissa, whom he wishes to divorce for Distaffi'na. But Distaffina is betrothed to general Bombastes, and when the general finds that his "fond one" prefers "half a crown" to himself, he hates all the world, and challenges the whole race of man by hanging his boots on a tree, and daring any one to displace them. The king, coming to the spot, reads the challenge, and cuts the boots down, whereupon Bombastes falls on his majesty, and "kills him," in a theatrical sense, for the dead monarch, at the close of the burletta, joins in the dance, and promises, if the audience likes, "to die again to-morrow."--W. B. Rhodes, _Bombastes Furioso_.

AR'TEGAL OR ARTHEGAL (_Sir_), son of Gorlos prince of Cornwall, stolen in infancy by the fairies, and brought up in Fairyland.

Brit'omart saw him in Venus's looking-gla.s.s, and fell in love with him. She married him, and became the mother of Aurelius Conan, from whom (through Cadwallader) the Tudor dynasty derives descent. The wanderings of Britomart, as a lady knight-errant and the impersonation of chast.i.ty, is the subject of bk. iii. of the _Faery Queen_; and the achievements of sir Artegal, as the impersonation of justice, is the subject of bk. v.

Sir Artegal's first exploit was to decide to which claimant a living woman belonged. This he decided according to Solomon's famous judgment respecting "the living and dead child" (canto 1). His next was to destroy the corrupt practice of bribery and toll (canto 2). His third was the exposing of Braggadoccio and his follower Trompart (canto 3).

He had then to decide to which brother a chest of money found at sea belonged, whether to Bracidas or Am'idas; he gave judgment in favor of the former (canto 4). He then fell into the hands of Rad'igund queen of the Amazons, and was released by Britomart (cantos 5 and 6), who killed Radigund (canto 7). His last and greatest achievement was the deliverance of Ire'na _(Ireland)_ from Grantorto _(rebellion)_, whom he slew (canto 12).

N.B.--This rebellion was that called the earl of Desmond's, in 1580.

Before bk. iv. 6, Artegal is spelled Arthegal, but never afterwards.

[Ill.u.s.tration] "Sir Artegal" is meant for lord Gray of Wilton, Spenser's friend. He was sent in 1580 into Ireland as lord-lieutenant, and the poet was his secretary. The marriage of Artegal with Britomart means that the justice of lord Gray was united to purity of mind or perfect integrity of conduct.--Spenser's _Faery Queen_, v. (1596).

ARTEMIS'IA, daughter of Lygdamis and queen of Carlia. With five s.h.i.+ps she accompanied Xerxes in his invasion of Greece, and greatly distinguished herself in the battle of Salamis by her prudence and courage. (This is _not_ the Artemisia who built the Mausoleum.)

Our statues ... she The foundress of the Babylonian wall _[Semirfa-mis]_; The Carian Artemisia strong in war.

Tennyson, _The Princess_, ii.

_Artemis'ia_, daughter of Hecatomnus and sister-wife of Mauso'lus.

Artemisia was queen of Caria, and at the death of her fraternal husband raised a monument to his memory (called a mausole'um), which was one of the "Seven Wonders of the World." It was built by four different architects: Scopas, Timotheus, Leochares, and Bruxis.

This made the four rare masters which began Fair Artemysia's husband's dainty tomb (When death took her before the work was done, And so bereft them of all hopes to come), That they would yet their own work perfect make E'en for their workes, and their self-glories sake.

Lord Brooke, _An Inquiry upon Fame, etc_. (1554-1628).

ARTEMUS WARD, travelling showman and philosopher, whose adventures and sayings as given by Charles Brown were a new departure in the history of American dialect literature (1862).

ARTFUL DODGER, the sobriquet of John Dawkins, a young thief, up to every sort of dodge, and a most marvellous adept in villainy.--d.i.c.kens, _Oliver Twist_ (1837).

ARTHGALLO, a mythical British king, brother of Gorbonian, his predecessor on the throne, and son of Mor'vidus, the tyrant who was swallowed by a sea-monster. Arthgallo was deposed, and his brother El'idure was advanced to the throne instead.--Geoffrey, _British History_, iii. 17 (1142).

ARTHUR (_King_), parentage of. His father was Uther the pendragon, and his mother Ygerne (3 _syl_.), widow of Gorlos duke of Cornwall. But Ygerne had been a widow only three hours, and knew not that the duke was dead (pt. i. 2), and her marriage with the pendragon was not consummated till thirteen days afterwards. When the boy was born Merlin took him, and he was brought up as the foster-son of sir Ector (Tennyson says "sir Anton"), till Merlin thought proper to announce him as the lawful successor of Uther, and had him crowned. Uther lived two years after his marriage with Ygerne.--Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, i. 2, 6 (1470).

Wherefore Merlin took the child And gave him to sir Anton, an old knight And ancient friend of Uther; and his wife Nursed the young prince, and reared him with her own.

Tennyson, _Coming of Arthur_.

_Coming of Arthur_. Leod'ogran, king of Cam'eliard (3 _syl._), appealed to Arthur to a.s.sist him in clearing his kingdom of robbers and wild beasts. This being done, Arthur sent three of his knights to Leodogran, to beg the hand of his daughter Guenever in marriage. To this Leodogran, after some little hesitation, agreed, and sir Lancelot was sent to escort the lady to Arthur's court.

_Arthur not dead_. According to tradition Arthur is not dead, but rests in Glas...o...b..ry, "till he shall come again full twice as fair, to rule over his people." (See BARBAROSSA.)

According to tradition, Arthur never died, but was converted into a raven by enchantment, and will, in the fulness of time, appear again in his original shape, to recover his throne and sceptre. For this reason there is never a raven killed in England.--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, I ii. 5 (1605).

_Arthur's Twelve Battles_ (or victories over the Saxons). I. The battle of the river Glem (_i.e._ the glen of Northumberland). 2 to 5.

The four battles of the Duglas (which falls into the estuary of the Ribble). 6. The battle of Ba.s.sa, said to be Bashall Brook, which joins the Ribble near c.l.i.thero. 7. The battle of Celidon, said to be Tweeddale. 8. The battle of Castle Gwenion (_i.e._ Caer Wen, in Wedale, Stow). 9. The battle of Caerleon, _i.e._ Carlisle; which Tennyson makes to be Caerleon-upon-Usk. 10. The battle of Trath Treroit, in Anglesey, some say the Solway Frith. 11. The battle of Agned Cathregonion (_i.e._ Edinburgh). 12. The battle of Badon Hill (_i.e._ the Hill of Bath, now Bannerdown).

Then bravely chanted they The several twelve pitched fields he [_Arthur_] with the Saxons fought. M. Drayton, _Polyolbion_, iv.

(1612).

_Arthur, one of the Nine Worthies_. Three were Gentiles: Hector, Alexander, and Julius Caesar; three were Jews: Joshua, David, and Judas Maccabaeus; three were Christians: Arthur, Charlemagne, and G.o.dfrey of Bouillon.

_Arthur's Foster-Father and Mother_, sir Ector and his lady. Their son, sir Key (his foster-brother), was his seneschal or steward.--Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, i. 3, 8 (1470).

N.B.--Tennyson makes sir Anton the foster-father of Arthur.

_Arthur's Butler_, sir Lucas or Lucan, son of duke Corneus; but sir Griflet, son of Cardol, a.s.sisted sir Key and sir Lucas "in the rule of the service."--_History of Prince Arthur_, i. 8 (1470).

_Arthur's Sisters_ [half-sisters], Morgause or Margawse (wife of king Lot); Elain (wife of king Nentres of Carlot); and Morgan le Fay, the "great clark of Nigromancy," who wedded king Vrience, of the land of Core, father of Ewayns le Blanchemayne. Only the last had the same mother (Ygraine or Ygerne) as the king.--Sir T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, i. 2.

_Arthur's Sons_--Urien, Llew, and Arawn. Borre was his son by Lyonors, daughter of the earl Sanam.--_History of Prince Arthur_, i. 15.

Mordred was his son by Elain, wife of king Nentres of Carlot. In some of the romances collated by sir T. Malory he is called the son of Morgause and Arthur; Morgause being called the wife of king Lot, and sister of Arthur. This incest is said to have been the cause of Mordred's hatred of Arthur.--Pt. i. 17, 36, etc.

_Arthur's Drinking-Horn_. No one could drink from this horn who was either unchaste or unfaithful.--_Lai du Corn_ and _Morte d'Arthur_.

(See CHASt.i.tY.)

_Arthur's s.h.i.+eld_, Pridwin. Geoffrey calls it Priwen, and says it was adorned with the picture of the Virgin Mary.--_British History_, ix. 4 (1142).

_Arthur's Spear_, Rone. Geoffrey calls it Ron. It was made of ebony.--_British History_, ix. 4 (1142).

His spere he nom an honde tha Ron wes ihaten.

Layamon. _Brut_, (twelfth century).

_Arthur's Sword_, Escal'ibur or Excal'ibur. Geoffrey calls it Caliburn, and says it was made in the isle of Avallon.--_British History_, ix. 4 (1142).

The temper of his sword, the tried Escalabour, The bigness and the length of Rone, his n.o.ble spear, With Pridwin, his great s.h.i.+eld.

Drayton, _Polyolbion_, iv. (1612).

_Arthur's Round Table_. It contained seats for 150 knights. Three were reserved, two for honor, and one (called the "siege perilous") for sir Galahad, destined to achieve the quest of the sangreal. If any one else attempted to sit in it, his death was the certain penalty.

[Ill.u.s.tration] There is a table so called at Winchester, and Henry VIII. showed it to Francois I. as the very table made by Merlin for Uther the pendragon.

And for great Arthur's seat, her Winchester prefers, Whose old round table yet she vaunteth to be hers.

M. Drayton, _Polyolbion_, ii. (1612).

_Arthur_ (_King_), in the burlesque opera of

_Tom Thumb_, has Dollallolla for his queen, and Huncamunca for his daughter. This dramatic piece, by Henry Fielding, the novelist, was produced in 1730, but was altered by Kane O'Hara, author of _Midas_, about half a century later.

ARTHURIAN ROMANCES.

_King Arthur and the Round Table_, a romance in verse (1096).

_The Holy Graal_ (in verse, 1100).