were probably all erected 2000 B. C. And since the sepulchres of the royal Egyptians were in later times hewn out of the rock, which mode of burial never prevailed in Ethiopia, although a more natural and more effectual method of preserving the bodies of the dead, therefore we may justly infer, that the pyramidal sepulchre originated in Ethiopia, and was in consequence retained there; but that, being only borrowed by the Egyptians, it in process of time gave way among them to a more simple and more rational form of tomb. As the pyramids of the lower valley of the Nile are about 20, and those still remaining in the upper valley are known to be more than 130 in number, we may hence with reason infer, that such a form of tomb arose in the region of ancient Meroe. For, if the sepulchral mounds which are found at Nouri and other places, are the works of Egyptian kings, what could induce them thus to adorn so profusely a distant province, the possession of which was very precarious, to the comparative neglect of their permanent dominions? And if they are erections of the natives in imitation of the works of a neighbouring people, it is highly improbable that their imitators should cultivate such a style of building much more extensively than the inventors themselves. The Reviewer says, that the magnitude and even the perfection of architectural monuments offer but an imperfect test of the condition of the people who erected them: for he adds, that "among the most beautiful edifices in Europe, and those most difficult of execution, are the Gothic churches erected during the dark ages.' But he must be aware, that the more barbarous period of the middle age preceded the year 1200; that all the splendid Gothic buildings in Europe were erected after that time, in a much more enlightened period, and that the three centuries preceding the reformation, and in which the human mind made an unequalled progress in the arts and sciences, are by many justly styled the academic ages. The pyramids of Meroe and Nouri, 115 in number, are incontrovertibly the cemeteries of cities now entirely destroyed. Several of the 17 pyramids at el Birkel have the appearance of being more ancient than the temples, which cannot have been constructed at a later period than from 1500 to 2000 B. C., and yet the sepulchres of Gibel el Birkel are evidently the most modern in Ethiopia. The names of Thothmes, Amunneith, and Rameses are merely evidence of the success of the Egyptian arms; as the remains of the pyramids and of various temples, of which only a few vestiges now exist, evince even at Birkel, the greater antiquity of Ethiopian art. The Reviewer says, "In his preface we find Mr. Hoskins to our surprize averring that according to Heeren, Champollion, Rosselini, and other eminent enquirers, this (Ethiopia) Iwas the land whence the arts and learn Such ing of Egypt, and ultimately of Greece and Rome, derived their origin. an opinion is certainly entertained by Heeren, from whom however it comes with very little weight; but we can scarcely credit that it is to be found any where in the writings of Champollion and Rosselini." The Reviewer admits that the opinion of Ethiopia being the cradle of the arts, was entertained by Heeren. Why then does he afterwards endeavour to distort into a contrary opinion those errors, which were the result of his never having been in the country, and of the imperfection of the drawings upon which he in part founded his judgment. Heeren is one of the most celebrated of German scholars : and although he does fall into various errors, from not being acquainted with the exact topography of the upper valley of the Nile, the republic of letters is deeply indebted to him for his historical researches; and yet he has not made so many antiquarian and other mistakes, as those into which the Reviewer has been continually falling.* As to Champollion and Rosellini, the Reviewer knows perfectly well, that neither of them has published any work in which they have had an opportunity of discussing the question of the origin of the arts. *The derivation of the word Bishareen or Bishary (as that tribe is sometimes called) from the Coptic article Pl. and the word Shari, is proved to be correct by the very objection of the Reviewer; for, according to La Croze, and as he himself states, But it is not to be supposed that individuals, who rank the highest for their advancement in every study connected with Egypt, could have failed to have formed an opinion on such an important subject. I ought not perhaps in the first instance to have mentioned the names of these celebrated travellers, but as the Reviewer now challenges me to the proof, I shall take the liberty of informing him that I have been assured of Champollion's belief of the rise of the arts in Ethiopia, and that Signor Rosselini himself distinctly intimated to me that such was also his opinion; and had the Reviewer perused the text of Rosselini, he would have found (in his 4th vol. p. 400) that I have undoubtedly the authority of that distinguished scholar and antiquary. Examining the passage of Isaiah, people terrible,"-" dal tempo che fu, ed anche innanzi.” Signor R. says, a "It signifies that they (the Egyptians) were dreaded by their neighbours, not only from the time that they began to inhabit Egypt and became an Egyptian people, but also before, when they inhabited the regions above Egypt, that is Ethiopia, from whence they descended into the lower valley of the Nile, and there founded an empire. Which indication (he continues) agrees admirably with the traditions of profane history and with facts recently observed, which prove the Egyptians to be descended very anciently from Ethiopia, where they had already made great progress towards civilization." But, adds the Reviewer, "Mr. Hoskins omits to state that those travellers who have actually visited and closely examined the ruins at Meroe, Cailliaud, Ruppell, and Lord Prudhoe, who is an authority of great value, all agree in declaring them to be comparatively modern; that is to say, to be corrupt imitations of Egyptian art in the later periods of its decline."- "This weight of authority is sufficient to decide the question against the Ethiopians." Cailliaud * indeed says, when speaking of Meroe, that "these pyramids and their porticoes are but the miniature copies of the pyramids of Memphis and of the fine porticoes of Edfou." He judiciously enough perceives, that one must be taken from the other; but he erroneously inferred that the smaller must necessarily be types of the larger. Besides, as the sculptures at Edfou are nearly as fresh as at the time of their execution, the porticoes at Meroe, containing sculptures so defaced that this traveller could not distinguish them, cannot be a copy of the propylons of that Ptolemaic temple. Ruppell is indeed a very able naturalist, but does not profess to be either a draftsman or an antiquary: besides, both he and Cailliaud travelled in Ethiopia at a time when the different styles were but imperfectly understood. The Reviewer, however, quotes the authority of Lord Prudhoe. That noble Lord has not published his observations. I confess indeed that he has stated to me the diversity of his opinion, and I acknowledge that he is an authority of great weight on Egyptian and Ethiopian subjects. But while I am anxious to do justice to the high merits of an individual who, notwithstanding his important legislative duties, is at the same time such a distinguished cultivator of literature and science, I must not bow implicitly to his opinions, until I know upon what grounds they are formed, and by what authority they are confirmed. The reviewer, in his endeavour to isolate me entirely as the champion of the Ethiopian cause, has, throughout Shari means the Red Sea, and is therefore not incorrectly applied to a people whose territory (according to their tradition) has always extended to that sea. The Reviewer strangely supposes that the pyramids of Meroe face the east, in order that they may not suffer from the drifting sand of the western desert, which is separated from them by the broad river and two plains, each a league wide. Shendy was not razed to the ground as he states-a very few houses were destroyed, and not a tenth part of the population suffered from the Pasha's vengeance. No one could imagine that I found the Greek name of Mesopotamia on a temple built 1600 B. C. Because Mogran in Arabic means junction, he says that Bruce and I are wrong in stating that the natives now call the ancient Artaboras the Mogrum. Dongolah Agous he writes Dongolah Ajousa. The natives call it Agous ; &c. &c. &c. * Mons. C.'s remarks on my illustrations will soon be answered. his critique, been very careful never to mention the opinion of Mr. Waddington, the only Englishman who had previously published his observations upon any portion of the antiquities of Ethiopia. This able scholar and agreeable writer did not reach the pyramids of Meroe; his opinions however of the pyramids of Nouri confirm mine. "Now (says Mr. W.) the utter destruction and shapelessness of many of the pyramids of Nouri and el Birkel attest their antiquity: while those of Egypt do not appear to have been erected above eleven or twelve hundred years before Christ, when that country had (according to Herodotus) been frequently overrun by the Ethiopians ; and afterwards he says, "It follows then, from these observations on the antiquities of Ethiopia, with the conclusions derived from historical evidence, that the origin of the Egyptian divinities, as well as that of their temples and their tombs, and of the sculptures, figures, and symbols, may be traced to Ethiopia." I shall, for the present, only use one more argument in confirmation of my opinion. The colouring in ancient paintings of the human figure, which is a brownish red, and which is manifestly conventional, is the same along the whole valley of the Nile. This is by no means unlike the colour of the present inhabitants of Nubia; whereas the colour of the natives of lower Egypt is (and must always have been) pale yellow. Signor Rossellini maintains that the present Barabra (Nubians) are the descendants of the ancient Egyptians, and states that their brown complexion, under the influence of a tropical sun, assumes almost the red tint depicted on the walls. This latter very correct remark must satisfy those who suppose that if the Egyptians studied nature in the colour of their figures, that they would have painted them brown. I may also observe that the brown is only found on monuments erected long after the conventional colouring had been established. I say then, without the fear of contradiction even from the Reviewer, that this style of painting must have originated in Ethiopia; and I can say with equal confidence that the rise of any one of the fine arts has invariably been attended by the successful cultivation of all the rest, and that they are not the cause but the indications of wealth, civilization, and refinement. The Reviewer gives a quotation from my volume, which concludes with the following sentence, "but Meroe is before me, the probable birthplace of the arts and sciences." On which he remarks, "it is greatly to be lamented, that Mr. Hoskins set out to investigate the antiquities of the Upper Nile with his mind fully pre-occupied by theories respecting them." I simply say here that Meroe is the probable birthplace of the arts and sciences: and elsewhere in discussing the question I state, "that I had expressed no opinion upon the subject before going into the country, and therefore without prejudice examined the evidence afforded by the monuments." Such a distinct declaration must have satisfied every unprejudiced mind that I visited the country resolved to investigate the truth, and to embrace the conclusions of an unfettered and unbiassed judgment. The accurate drawings of the remains of art in the higher valley of the Nile, which I have presented to the public, will, I hope, induce other travellers, who are competent antiquaries, to visit that interesting although baneful climate; and thus to carry on the investigation of that subject which I acknowledged in my preface, "I would gladly have seen in more able hands." I feel obliged to the Reviewer for his concluding compliments, while I regret that it has not been in my power to convince him of the superior claims of Ethiopia to a precedence in the arts. He however will admit that, convinced as I am of the truth of my opinions, I am justified in thus coming forward to defend them, confirmed as they are by such accumulated testimony, ancient and modern, sacred and profane. It is, then, for the reader to judge whether the present state of the country, the authority of the historians, and the testimony of the existing monuments, are in support of the Reviewer's theory, that Ethiopia has always been the same: or whether this chain of evidence confirms my opinion, that Ethiopia was once a great nation, and that Egypt thence derived her knowledge and refinement. ON NORMAN AND EARLY FRENCH POETRY. No. I. The Romances of Tristan, and the Norman Metrical Chronicles.* THE publication of the early Norman and French Literature is in France proceeding with great spirit, and as it is at present becoming peculiarly interesting to us, we intend from time to time to devote a series of papers to the review of the works which are constantly appearing from the presses of Paris and Rouen. In the present instance, however, we shall commence with a specimen of home production, just ushered into the world by the hands of our old friend William Pickering. Whilst in England, M. Francisque Michel formed an intimate friendship with the late Mr. Douce, and the latter one day, in a fit of more than usual generosity, presented to the French scholar the well-known manuscript in his possession, containing two poems (the one a fragment) on the romantic history of Tristan, so well known to English readers by the edition of the English Metrical Romance of Sir Tristrem, which was published from the Auchinlech Manuscript by Sir Walter Scott, and of which in several of our former numbers we have had occasion to speak. But this gift was not made without a condition; which condition was, that the aforesaid poems of MS. Douce' should be forthwith printed under the care of M. Michel; and Mr. Pickering immediately undertook the publication in London, in conjunction with a Parisian bookseller, M. Techener, well known here as the publisher of Berte and Garin le Loherraine, so tastefully edited by M. Paulin, Paris, of the former of which a second edition has just appeared. M. Michel's work increased in his hands; from the simple intention of publishing the poems of Douce's MS. he proceeded to the design of publishing a collection of every thing which could be found in Anglo-Norman or in French relating to his hero; he then determined to add an introductory dissertation on the subject, notes on the poems, and a glossary of all the words and forms of words which were not to be found in the general glossary of Roquefort; and, lastly, he conceived the design of adding to it the curious fragment of a Greek poem on the heroes of the Round Table, in which Tristan is mentioned, and which was first privately printed from a manuscript of the Vatican, by the learned Von der Hagen. After having been two years in the press, this important collection has at length appeared in two volumes small octavo. As a collection it is complete-its introduction is full of information, its notes are full of learning, and its glossary is eminently useful, and it is, we honestly think, the best edited collection of French and Norman poems we have ever seen. The first article in this collection is a Romance of Tristan, in Anglo-Norman verse, printed from a manuscript of the Royal Library at Paris, but very imperfect both at the beginning and end. It commences with the interview of Tristan and Isolt in the garden, where King Mark had concealed himself in a tree, to be a secret spectator of what passed between them, but had been discovered by his shadow. It terminates in the midst of the plots of the three Barons to betray Tristan's intercourse with Isolt to the king. Thus a very large portion of the romance is wanting. This fragment consists of between four and five thousand lines. The other piece contained in the first volume, and one of those in the second (namely, the second poem from the MS. Douce) are appa The Poetical Romances of Tristan, in French, in Anglo-Norman, and in Greek, composed in the xii. and xiii. centuries, edited by Francisque Michel. 2 vols. crown 8vo. London, W. Pickering, 1836. Chroniques Anglo-Normandes.. · publiées, pour la première fois, d'après les Manuscrits de Londres, de Cambridge, de Douai, de Bruxelles, et de Paris, par Francisque Michel. Rouen, Ed. Frère. London, W. Pickering. 8vo. 1836. vol. 1. Histoire de Normandie, depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à la conquête de l'Angleterre en 1066; par Th. Licquet. 2 vols. 8vo. 1835. Histoire de la Normandie sous le règne de Guillaume-le-Conquérant et de ses successeurs; par G. B. Depping. 2 vols. 8vo. 1835. rently complete, and are on the same subject, though entirely different poems. They relate to us the assumed folly and disguise of Tristan, his admission to the court of king Mark, where he gives ridiculous answers to the questions of the king, to the infinite delight of the latter, and he talks of his love for and intercourse with the Queen to her great surprise and alarm. These are both very amusing poems. That of MS. Douce is the longest, and gives the questions and answers more in detail. From this we give, as a fair specimen, the first reception of Tristan, in his disguise, at the court : "Li portiers, quant il le ad véu, "Li fols respunt: As noces fui Le abé de Munt, ki ben cunui. The porter, when he saw him, He took him to be a very silly fool; He said to him, Come forward- The fool answers: 'I was at the nuptials Of the abbot of Mont, whom I knew well. He has married an abbess, A great dame with a veil. From Besançon to the Mont, Who will not be invited to the nuptials; There they jump and play in the shade; To serve the king to-day at meat.' The valets run to meet him. By the valets our fool is treated with great contempt-they cry against him— "Veez le fol! hu! hu! hu! hu!' Li valet e li esquier De buis le cuilent arocher; (vol. ii. p. 100.) 'See the fool! hu! hu! hu! hu!' Begin to shower wood upon him; And strikes him who throws at pleasure. He turns and strikes toward left; The king orders him to be brought before him, and questions him as the porter had done before : "Marces dit: Ben vengez, amis. En une roche, ù ele me truvat. Mark said, Welcome, friend. She haunted the sea like a mermaid; In a rock, where she found me. |