Note 20 — Chapter VI · OF THE ROUND TABLE AND KING ARTHUR’S BATTLES
Reading edition
Frere’s poem was caustic, but it had a certain value in showing the unromantic side of Arthurian times. The following verses, than which far less delicate ones could be found in the poem, may be taken as a specimen:—
“And certainly they say, for fine behaving King Arthur’s Court has never had its match; True point of honour, without pride or braving, Strict etiquette for ever on the watch; There manners were refined and perfect—saving Some modern graces which they could not catch, As spitting through the teeth, and driving stages, Accomplishments reserved for distant ages. They looked a manly, generous generation; Beards, shoulders, eyebrows, broad, and square, and thick; Their accents firm and loud in conversation, Their eyes and gestures eager, sharp, and quick, Showed them prepared on proper provocation, To give the lie, pull noses, stab, and kick; And for that very reason it is said, They were so very courteous and well bred.”
When we come to consider probabilities, aided by such unsparing lines as these, we may even accept as truth the old folk-song which tells that when King Arthur ruled the land he “ruled it like a swine.” The American poet, the late Mr. Eugene Field, in his “Lay of Camelot,” has also shown the humorous aspect of the Arthurian Court. While all this may be legitimate enough, and provide opportunities for the wit of the authors, it is not the aspect which we prefer to contemplate for any length of time, or one which has any continuous pleasure for the mind.