Note 408 — How King Bladvd,[408] taking on him to fly, fell vpon the Temple of Apollo, and brake his necke, The yeare before Christ, 844.
Reading edition
Bladud is represented as a prince eager in the pursuit of learning, and of unusual mental acquirements. Having travelled to Athens he had sufficient address to obtain a visit to his native land of four of the most eminent scholars, or philosophers; for whom he founded an University at Stamford with many liberal endowments, and which flourished until the time of St. Augustine, who got the same suppressed on a presumption of heresy among the scholars, He also reputedly discovered the medicinal virtues of the hot-baths at Bath, a circumstance alone sufficient in that remote age to add a fabulous portion in the emblazonment of his character, and a belief, as the Chronicle of St. Albans hath it, that “thrugh his craft of nygromancy he made a meruaylous hote bathe, as the geste telleth.” This same “geste” seems the foundation of the tale in all the Chronicles, which, though often repeated, was early disbelieved. It is best descanted on by the enlightened Treuisa in the Polychronicon. “Bladud, Leyles sone, a nygromancer was the IX kyng of Brytons, he buylded Bathe and called it Caerbadum. Englysshmen called it after Athamannes cyte, but atte last men called it Bathonia that is Bathe.—W[illelmus Malmel.] de pontificum. li. ii. In this cyte welleth vp and spryngeth hote bathes and men wene that Julius Cezar made there suche bathes.—R[anulphus of Chestre]. But Ganfr. Monemutensis in his Brytons book sayth that Bladud made thylkes Bathes: by cause that William [of Malm.] had not seen that brytons book, wrote so, by telling of other men, or by his owne ghessing; as he wrote other thynges, not best aduisedly. Therfore it semeth more sothly that Bladud made not the hote bathes, ne Julius Cezar dyde suche a deede, though Bladud buylded and made the cyte. But it acordeth better to kendly reason that the water renneth in the erthe by veynes of brymstone and sulphure and so is kendely made hote in that cours and spryngeth vp in dyuerse places of the cyte. And so there ben hote bathes that washeth of tetres, soores and skabbes.—Treuisa. Though men myght by crafte make hoote bathes for to dure longe ynough this acordeth well to reason and phylosophye and treateth of hoote welles and bathes that ben in dyuerse londes, though the water of this bathe be more troubly, and heuyer of sauour and of smelle than other hote bathes ben that I haue seen at Akon in Almayne and at Egges in Sauoye, whiche ben as fayre and clere as ony colde welle streme. I haue ben bathed therin and assayed them.”
Higgins, in his account of the learning of Bladud, has closely copied Bale, whose character was then generally known through the medium of Grafton’s chronicle. Perhaps to form the measure on a general model this life was re-written, being first composed in quatrains. It stands thus in the first edition.
Bladud recyteth haw he practyzing by curious artes to flye, fell and brake his necke. The yeare before Christe 844.
Shall I rehearse, likewyse my name? And eke a place amongst them fill, Which at their endes to mischiefe came? Sith Morpheus bids me so, I will. And that because I see thee minde, To write my storie fate and fall, Such curious heads it reade and finde: May flee to flye, and shunne my thrall. If daunger teach them liue take heede: If leesers harme, make lookers wyse: If warines do safetie breede, Or wracke make saylers shelues dispise Then may my hurt giue sample sure: My losse of life may lokers learne: My warning may beware procure, To such as daunger scarce discerne. I am that Bladud Britaine king. Rudhudebras his eldest sonne, Did learning first to England bring: And other wonders more were done. Now giue me eare, and after wryte: Marke well my life, example take: Eschue the euill that I recite, And of my death a myrour make. In youth I gaue my minde to lore, For I in learning tooke repaste: No earthly pleasure likte me more, I went to Athens at the last. A towne in Greece, whose fame went foorth Through all the world hir name was spred: I counted knowledge so much woorth, Hir only loue to Greece me led. There first of all the artes of seuen, Wherein before I had small skill: I Grammer gate declares the steuen, By rule to speake, and wryte at will. Next after that in Rhetorike fine, Which teacheth how he talke to fyle: I gate some knowledge in short time, And coulde perswade within a whyle. I thirdly learned Logicke well, An arte that teacheth to dispute: To aunswere wisely or refell, Distinguishe, proue, disproue, confute. Then after that, of number, I The skilfull arte likewyse attainde: Wherin of Mathematickes lie, Full many pointes I after gainde. And Musicke milde I lernde, that telles Tune, tyme, and measure of the song: A science swete the reste excelles, For melody hir notes among. But sixtly I the dame of artes, Geometrie of great engine Employde, with all hir skilfull partes, Therby some greater giftes to winne. So laste I lernde Astronomie, A lofty arte that paste them all: To knowe by motions of the skye, And fixed starres, what chaunce might fall. This pleasaunt arte allured me, To many fonde inuentions then: For iudgements of Astrologie, Delites the mindes of wisest men. So doth the arte Phisiognomie, Dependes on iudgment of the face: And that of Metoposcopie, Which of the forehead telles the grace. And Chiromancie by the hande, Coniecures of the inward minde: Eke Geomancie by the lande, Doth diuers many farlies finde. Augurium eke was vsde of olde By byrdes of future things presagde: And many thinges therby they tolde, Were skilfull, learned, wyse and agde. But Magicke, for it seemid sweete, And full of wonders made me muse: For many feates I thought it meete, And pleasaunt for a Prince to vse. Three kindes there are for nature’s skill, The first they Naturall do name: In which by herbes and stones they will, Worke wonders thinges, are worthy fame. The next is Mathematicall, Where Magike workes by nature so: That brasen heads make speake it shall, Of woode birdes, bodies flye, and go. The thirde Veneficall by right, Is named for by it they make: The shapes of bodies chaunge in sight, And other formes on them to take. What nede I tell what Theurgie is, Or Necromancie you despise: A diuelishe arte, the feendes by this Seeme calde, and coniurde to arise. Of these too much I learned then, By those such secrete artes profest: For of the wise and skilfull men, Whome Fame had praisde I gate the best. They promist for to teach me so, The secretes of dame nature’s skill: That I nede neuer taste of woe, But alwayes might forsee it still. Wherfore enflamed with their loue, I brought away the best I could: From Greece to Britayne lande to proue, What feates for me deuise they would. Of which were foure Philosophers, For passing skill excelde the rest: Phisitions and Astronomers, In Athens all they were the best. My father harde of my retourne, Of my successe in learning there: And how the Grecians did adourne, My wittes with artes that worthy were. He herde likewyse what store I brought, Of learned Greekes from Atticke soyle: And of my laboure learning sought, With study, trauayle, payne and toyle. I likewyse heard he buylded here, Three townes while absent thence was I: By South he foundid Winchester, By East he built Cantorbury. By West full highe he built the last, On hill from waters deepe belowe: Calde Shaftesbury on rockes full fast, It standes and giue to Seas a showe. These causde we both might well reioyce He for because I gate such fame: And I, for that by all mennes voyce, His factes deseru’de immortall name. What nedes much talke, the peres and all The commons eke with one assent: Extold my name especiall, Which had my youth in learning spent. I was receau’de with triumphes great, With pageauntes in eache towne I past: And at the court my princely seate, Was by my fathers ioyned fast. The nobles then desir’de to haue, On me their children wayte and tende: And royall giftes with them me gaue, As might their powres therto extende. But here began my cause of care, As all delightes at length haue ende: Be mixte with woes our pleasures are, Amidste my ioyes, I lost a frende. My father, nyne and twenty yeares, This time had raignde and held the crowne: As by your Chronicles appeares, Whan fates, on vs began to frowne. For euen amidste his most of ioye, As youth, and strength and honours fade: Sore sickenes did him long anoye, At laste, of life an ende it made. Then was I chose king of this lande, And had the crowne as had the rest: I bare the scepter in my hande, And sworde that all our foes opprest. Eke for because the Greekes did vse, Me well in Grece at Athens late: I bad those foure I brought to chuse: A place that I might dedicate To all the Muses and their artes, To learnings vse for euermore: Which when they sought in diuers partes, At last they found a place therfore. Amidst the realme it lies welnighe, As they by art and skill did proue: An healthfull place not lowe nor highe, An holsome soyle for their behoue. With water streames, and springs for welles: And medowes sweete, and valeyes grene: And woods, groaues, quarries, al thing else For studentes weale, or pleasure bene. When they reported this to me, They prayde my grace that I would builde, Them there an Vniuersitie, The fruites of learning for to yelde. I buylte the scholes, like Attikes then, And gaue them landes to maintayne those: Which were accounted learned men, And could the groundes of artes disclose. The towne is called Stamford yet, There stande the walles vntill this daye: Foundations eke of scholes I set, Bide yet (not maintainde) in decaye. Whereby the lande receauid store, Of learned clarkes long after that: But nowe giue eare I tell thee more, And then my fall, and great mishap. Because that time Apollo was, Surmisde the God that gaue vs wit: I builte his temple braue did passe, At Troynouant the place is yet. Some saye I made the batthes at Bathe: And made therefore two tunnes of brasse: And other twayne seuen saltes that haue In them, but these be made of glasse With sulphur filde, and other things, Wylde fire, saltgem, salte peter eke: Salte armoniake, salte Alchime, Salte commune, and salte Arabecke. Salte niter mixid with the rest, In these fowre tunnes by portions right: Fowre welles to laye them in were dreste, Wherin they boyle both daye and night. The water springes them round about, Doth ryse for aye and boyleth stil: The tunnes within and eke without, Do all the welles with vapours fill. So that the heate and clensing powre, Of Sulphur and of salts and fyre: Doth make the bathes eche pointed houre To helpe the sickly health desyre. These bathes to soften sinewes haue Great vertue and to scoure the skin: From Morphew white and black to saue, The bodies faint are bathde therein. For lepry, scabs, and sores are olde, For scurfes, and botch, and humors fall: The bathes haue vertues manyfolde, If God giue grace to cure them all. The ioyntes are swelde, and hardned milte: And hardned liuer, palseis paine, The poxe and itche, if worke thou wilt, By helpe of God it heales againe. Shall I renege I made them then? Shall I denye my cunning founde? By helpe I had of learned men, Those worthy welles in gratefull grounde? I will do so: for God gaue grace, Whereby I knew what nature wrought: And lent me lore to finde the place, By wisedome where those wells I sought. Which once confest lo here my harme, Eschewe the like if thou be wyse: Let neuer will thy wits becharme, Or make the chaunge of kinde deuise. For if the fishe would learne to goe, And leaue to swim against his vre: When he were quite the waters fro, He could not swim you may be sure. Or if the beast would learne to flie, That had no plumes by nature lent: And get him wynges as earst did I, Would not thinke you it him repent? Though Magike Mathematicall, Make wooden birdes to flye and soare: Eke brasen heads that speake they shall, And promise many marueiles more. Yet sith it swarues from Nature’s will, As much as these that I recite: Refuse the fondnes of such skill, Doth ay with death the proufe requite. I deemde I could more soner frame, My selfe to flye then birdes of wood: And ment to get eternall fame, Which I esteemde the greatest good. I deckt my selfe with plumes and wynges, As here thou seest in skilfull wise: And many equall poysing thinges To ayde my flight, to fall or rise. Thou thinkste an arte that seldome vsde, In hand I tooke, and so it was: But we no daunger then refusde, So we might bring our feates to passe. By practise at the length I could, Gainst store of wynde with ease arise: And then which way to light I should, And mount, and turne I did deuise. Which learned but not perfectly, Before I had therof the sleight: I flew aloft but downe fell I, For want of skill againe to light. Upon the temple earst I built, To God Apollo, downe I fell: In fiters broisde for such a guilt, A iust reuenge requited well. For what should I presume so highe, Against the course of nature quite To take me wynges and saye to flye, A foole no fowle in fethers dight. As learning founds and cunning finds, To such haue wit the same to vse: So she confounds, and marres the minds, Of those her secrets seeme t’abuse. Well then deserts requirde my fall, Presumption proude, depriu’de my breath: Renowne bereft my life and all, Desire of prayse, procurde my death: Do let allureing arts alone, They pleasaunt seeme yet are they vayne: Amongst an hundreth scarce is one, Doth ought thereby but labour gayne. Their cunning castes are crafty cares, Deuices vayne deuisde by men: Such witched wiles are Sathans snares, To traine in fooles, despise them then. Their wisdome is but wily wit, Their sagenes is but subtiltie: Darke dreames deuisde for fooles are fit, And such as practise pampestry. Thou seest my fall and eke the cause, Vnwisely I good giftes abusde: Lo here the hurt of learned lawes, If they be wrested or misusde. Then wryte my story with the rest, May pleasure when it comes to vewe: Take heede of counsayles all is best, Beware, take heede farewell adieu. Farewell, will students keepe in minde, οὐκ αρετᾳ κακὰ ἔργα: Els may they chaunce like fate to finde, For why, Τοῖς κακοῖς τρὶς κακα. Τελος.