Agincourt, Agincourt! Know ye not Agincourt Where the English slew and hurt All the French foemen? With our guns and bills brown, Oh, the French were beaten down, Morris pikes and bowmen! " 1. 41. Poitiers and Cressy. The battle of Poitiers was fought September 19, 1356, and that of Crecy August 26, 1346. The English were led in both battles by Edward the Black Prince, and in both were victorious. No. 2. THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE AT BALAKLAVA. This poem was written, as its author tells us, "after reading the first report of the Times correspondent, where only 607 sabres are mentioned as having taken part in the charge." It was first published in the London Examiner, December 9, 1854. The charge upon the Russian cavalry which the lines commemorate was the result of a misconceived order by Lord Raglan, and occurred October 25, 1854. Of the 607 British horsemen who rode into the "valley of Death," only 198 returned. The resemblance in versification between this poem and Drayton's ballad of Agincourt will be observed at once. No. 3. THE COMING OF CHARLEMAGNE. This poem is founded on a passage in the chronicle entitled Des Gestes de Charlemagne, written by a monk of St. Gaul about the end of the ninth century. King Didier of Pavia had asked Oggier to show him some sign of the coming of Charlemagne into Lombardy. "Then they saw Carl himself, the Iron King, crested with an iron helmet, his arms protected with iron bracelets, an iron hauberk sheltering his iron chest and his huge shoulders, in his left hand a lance of iron lifted upright. . . . Iron filled the fields and the streets; the sun's rays fell upon naught but iron; so that the people of Pavia, more glacé by terror than by the iron itself, fell down before the glacé iron. O iron! Alas, iron!' such was the confused clamor which filled the city. Oggier saw all these things at a glance, and said to Didier, 'Behold that which thou hast so much wished to see!'" ... No. 4. THE BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN. The battle of Bannockburn, in Stirling, Scotland, was fought June 24, 1314. The English army, led by Edward II., was totally defeated by the Scots under Robert Bruce, and Scotland regained its freedom. "Departed spirits of the mighty dead! Oh! once again to Freedom's cause return The patriot Tell, the Bruce of Bannockburn." In another version of this song, "to the tune of Hey, Tuttie Taitie," the fourth line of each stanza is shortened to five syllables, as follows: — (1) Or to victory! (2) Chains and slavery! (3) Let him turn and flee! (4) Let him follow me! (6) Let us do or die! No. 5. PIBROCH OF DONUIL DHU. The Gathering Song of Donuil Dhu, or Donald the Black, is founded on a very ancient pibroch belonging to Clan McDonald. "It is supposed," says Sir Walter Scott, "to refer to the expedition of Donald Balloch, who, in 1431, launched from the Isles with a considerable force, invaded Lochaber, and at Inverlochy defeated and put to flight the Earls of Mar and Caithness, though at the head of an army superior to his own." This song was published in 1816, in the romance of Guy Mannering. pibroch. The pipe-summons peculiar to any clan. "The connoisseurs in pipe-music affect to discover in a well-composed pibroch the imitative sounds of march, conflict, flight, pursuit, and all the current of a heady fight.'" No. 6. KILLI ECRANKIE. John Græme of Claverhouse, whose title of Viscount Dundee had been given him in reward for his cruelties to the Western Covenanters, was the instigator and leader of a revolt of the Highland clans against the government of William III. in Scotland. General Mackay, with his loyal Scotch regiments, was sent out to suppress the uprising. But as they climbed the pass of Killiecrankie, on the 27th of July, 1689, Dundee charged them at the head of three thousand clansmen, and swept them in headlong rout down the glen. His death in the moment of victory broke, however, the only bond which held the Highlanders together, and in a few weeks the host which had spread terror through the Lowlands melted helplessly away. The Græmes, or Grahams, were among the most noted of Scottish families, and included among them some of the most distinguished men of the country. Among them were Sir John the Græme, the faithful aid of Sir William Wallace, who fell in the battle of Falkirk, 1298, and the celebrated Marquis of Montrose, who died in 1650, and whose exploits are immortalized in Scott's Legend of Montrose. No. 7. LAMENT FOR FLODDEN. The battle of Flodden Field was fought September 9, 1513, between the English, under the Earl of Surrey, and the Scotch, led by King James the Fourth. The latter were defeated with great loss, and the king himself was slain. See Sir Walter Scott's description of the battle in the last canto of Marmion. This poem was for a long time supposed to be an ancient ballad, and it has in fact some portions of a much older song worked into it. Its original title was The Flowers of the Forest. 1. 1. lilting. Singing merrily. 1. 3. ilka. Every. loaning. Broad lane. 1. 4. wede. Gone, departed. 1. 5. scorning. Rallying. 1. 6. dowie and wae. Dreary and sad. 1. 8. leglin. Milk-pail. 1. 9. shearing. Reaping. 1. 10. bandsters. Binders. lyart. Grizzled. runkled. Wrinkled. 1. 11. fleeching. Coaxing. No. 8. BONNIE GEORGE CAMPBELL. This little Scottish song vividly describes an incident all too common in the romantic days of Border warfare. 1. 10. Greeting. Lamenting. 1. 12. Reaving. Tearing, rending. No. 9. THE BATTLE OF IVRY. At Ivry, in northwestern France, Henry IV., of Navarre, totally defeated the army of the League, March 14, 1590. This poem was written in 1842. No. 10. THE ARMADA. A fragment. The Invincible Armada, consisting of one hundred and thirty ships of war, and carrying over twenty thousand soldiers, under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, was sent out by Philip II. for the conquest of England. It arrived in the English Channel July 19, 1588, and was defeated next day by Drake and Howard with a far inferior fleet. A running fight continued for a week, and the Armada was obliged to sail around Scotland and Ireland in order to return to Spain. The English lost but one ship, while more than twothirds of the Armada was destroyed. 1. 7. Aurigny's isle. The island of Alderney. 1. 21. Lion of the sea. England as represented in the royal colors. 1. 23. Picard field. Crecy, in Picardy. No. II. YE MARINERS OF ENGLAND. Written at Altona, in 1800. Its original title was "Alteration of the Old Ballad, Ye Gentlemen of England, composed on the prospect of a Russian War." 1. 3. a thousand years. A good example of hyperbole. Although a small armed fleet was organized by King Alfred as early as 890, the English navy had no real existence until the reign of Henry VII., when the first war-ship, "The Great Harry," was launched. The "thousand years " of the poet, if reduced to a mere matter of fact, would, therefore, become three hundred years. 1. 15. Admiral Blake did not fall in battle, as would be inferred from this line. He died peacefully on shipboard as he was entering Plymouth Harbor, 1657. If the poem was written in 1800, this line must have been altered later, as Admiral Nelson's death in the battle of Trafalgar did not occur until October 21, 1805. No. 12. THE BATTLE OF Naseby. The battle of Naseby, between the Parliamentary forces, under Cromwell and Fairfax, and the Royalist army, under King Charles I., occurred June 14, 1645. The Royalists were defeated with great loss. The poem purports to have been written by a Puritan officer in the Parliamentary army. 1. 11. Man of blood. Charles I., so called by the Puritans because he made war on his parliament. See 2 Samuel, xvi. 7. Astley. Lord Jacob Astley, who commanded the infantry. Sir Marmaduke. Sir Marmaduke Langdale, the leader of the left wing of the King's army. Sir Rupert. Prince Rupert, third son of Frederick V., Elector Palatine, and Elizabeth, daughter of James I. During the war against Parliament he had command of the Royalist cavalry. 1. 14. The General. Lord Fairfax, the commander of the "New Model Army." 1. 57. She of the seven hills. Rome - but particularly the Roman Catholic Church, with which King Charles was accused of being in league. No, 13. THE BATTLE OF THE BALTIC. The battle here referred to is known in history as the battle of Copenhagen, and was fought off Copenhagen, April 2, 1801. The action was between a fleet of British war-ships, under Lord Nelson, and a Danish force of nineteen vessels, protected by both floating and land batteries. The result of the battle was the breaking up of the northern coalition against England, which had been one of Napoleon's most cherished schemes. The poem was written in 1809. The first stanza originally read : "Of Nelson and the North Sing the day, When, their haughty powers to vex, He engaged the Danish decks, Crowned the fray." I 1. 54. Elsinore. Shakespeare, in Hamlet, makes Elsinore the capital of Denmark. The name is here used for Copenhagen. 1. 58. Riou. Captain Riou was killed while directing a fierce attack upon the Crown batteries. The title of "the gallant and good" was bestowed upon him by Nelson in his despatches. No. 14. HOHENLINDEN. The battle of Hohenlinden was fought December 3, 1800, between the Austrians under Archduke John and the French and Bavarians, commanded by General Moreau. The former were defeated. This poem was written soon after the battle, and was published in 1802. No. 15. THE BATTLE. From Irish Melodies, written about 1820. No. 16. THE END OF THE SIEGE. Part of a longer poem, entitled The Rhyme of the Duchess May, published in 1844. No. 17. THE BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE. The battle of Corunna, Spain, between the English and French, was fought January 16, 1809. The English army, which was on a retreat from Madrid, gained a decided victory, and the embarkation of the troops was safely effected. The commander, Sir John Moore, was killed in the action, however, and his men buried him secretly while the embarkation was going on. No. 19. THE WAR-SONG OF DINAS VAWR. From a romance entitled The Misfortunes of Elphin, published in 1829. No. 20. THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB. See 2 Kings, xix. 35. Sennacherib is called King Moussal by the Orientals. This poem is one of the series of Hebrew Melodies which Lord Byron published in 1815. The series was written at the request of a friend for a selection of Hebrew melodies arranged by Braham and Nathan, and includes twenty-two pieces. No. 25. "I TRAVELLED AMONG UNKNOWN MEN." This poem was written in Germany, in 1799, and was published in 1807. Stanza 4. "A friend, a true poet himself, to whom I owe some new insight into the merits of Mr. Wordsworth's poetry, and who showed me, to my surprise, that there were nooks in that rich and varied region some of the shy treasures of which I was not perfectly acquainted with, first made me feel the great beauty of this stanza; in which the poet, as it were, spreads day and night over the object of his affections, and seems, under the influence of his passionate feeling, to think of England, whether in light or darkness, only as her play-place and verdant home." Coleridge. Sara |