Edited by Stephen Basdeo and Mark Truesdale
The summer of 1791 was an unusually wet one. The young schoolboy, and future Poet Laureate, Robert Southey, therefore had a lot of time on his hands. It was probably the weather that induced him to stay inside longer than usual and write a romance entitled “Harold; or, The Castle of Morford” (Bodleian MS Misc. Eng. e.21. Summary Catalogue 31777).

Robert Southey
Mark Truesdale (the brilliant expert of medieval and early modern literature) and Stephen Basdeo (a lover of Romantic and eighteenth-century literary and book history) have recently transcribed Southey’s novel—the equivalent of the three volume novel—and it is due for publication with Routledge in early 2020. Southey had written a number of poems for his novel which never made it into subsequent collections of his works.
Curiously, although “Harold” is a Robin Hood novel, he never actually wrote a Robin Hood poem for this text but instead drew upon the Arthurian tradition. In the poem below, Southey adapts the Tristan and Isolde. All of his youthful, idiosyncratic spelling mistakes, grammatical peculiarities, and odd spelling mistakes have been retained.

“Harold; or, The Castle of Morford.” Bodleian MS Misc. Eng. e.21 (Summary Catalogue 31777)
“Harold; or The Castle of Morford.”
Bodleian MS Misc. Eng. e.21 (Summary Catalogue 31777) fols. 101–05:
The morn was fair & all around
No cloud obscurd the view
Soft oer the flowr enamelld plain
The gentle zephyr blew.
On every herb & every tree
Shot bright the sun his ray
All nature seemd to smile around
So cheering was the day.
Sir Tristram on his stately steed
Rode sad & slow along
Nor did he cast one look around
Nor heed the blackbirds song
For pensive was the warriors heart
And ever would he sigh
And ever would exclaim Would God
La Belle Isonde were by
(Who has not heard the minstrel song
Of bold Sir Tristram tell?
How journeying from Iernes[i] shore
He drank the fatal spell?)[ii]
Were my La Belle Isonde but here
How happy should I be
Then absent though all nature smile
She smiles in vain for me
But soon arose a different scene
Before the warriors eyes[iii]
No more in sweet progression now
Hills dales & woods arise
Around a vast & barren plain
He cast his searching eye
But all in vain – nor hill nor dale
Nor tree nor shrub were nigh
Save where aloft in sullen state
Appeard the baleful yew
And where the cypress mournful tree
In solemn verdure grew[iv]
At distance far a rock sublime
Upreard its stately head
So high it towred that lowring clouds
Upon its top were spread –
The Knight in silent wonder gazd
To view the wondrous height
The towring summit reachd beyond
Poor feeble mortals sight
I will ascend the warrior cried
Perchance it may afford
Some bright adventure unatchievd
And worthy Tristrams sword
Rough was the rock & steep the sides
And perilous the way
For oft across the path perplexed
Huge rocks unsettled lay
And ever & anon would fall
With [hideous?][v] clamour bound
And oft beneath the warriors feet
Deep groand the enchanted ground
Cautious before his steps he held
His iron pointed spear
For prudence was the warriors praise
& Tristram could not fear
And oft huge caverns would he find
Oppose his dangerous way
And many a tottring rock before
Terrifick dreadful lay
A furious lyon from the den
Rushd forth upon the knight
Sir Tristram forward held his lance
Confiding in his might
Against the tawny monsters skin
The spear in shivers broke
On rushd the beast the Knight steppd back
And seizd a loosend rock
Rough craggy pointed in his h&
He poised the pondrous stone
Not ten men now could lift the mass
He hurld with ease the stone
Harmless from him the pondrous stone
Rebounded back again
And rushing with a hideous crush
Swift rolling reacd[vi] the plain
The Knight advanced & seizd the brute
Than[vii] whirled him down a cave
The fall resounding from the vault
A dreary echoe gave
On he advanced beneath his feet
Gave way the faithless ground
Descending in some spirits arms
He heard a mingled sound
Up the tremendous steep ascent
The warriors[viii] cast his eyes
So deep the cave that seemd from thence
The stars illumd the skies
When lo a heavenly voice exclaimd
Exert your utmost might
Prove well your courage & your love
In every dangerous fight
Again the Lion rushing forth
Swift sprung upon the Knight
Sir Tristram caught him in his arms
And straind with all his might.
So long he held the beast at length
The vital spirit fled
Extended lay upon the earth
The enchanted monster dead
When lo a Knight in arms appeared
For in the cave profound
A carbuncle with brilliance sheen
Diffused a light around
Fell traitorous villain Traitor stay
Exclaimd the hostile Knight
Nor think nor touch La Belle Isond
Nor think to fly the fight
Sir Tristram saw the cruel Mark
La Belle Isonde be mine
He cried & all the meed[ix] deservd
Of villainy be thine
As when two bulls the fiercest two
Of all the herd wage war
They foam they roar they lash the air
The others stand afar
Sir Tristram & his daring foe
Together rushd with rage
Nor ever did two braver Knights
With direr force engage.
Hold Tristram thus the voice returned
The causeless battle end
Hold Launcelot du Lake thy hand
Nor harm thy dearest friend
Art thou Sir Tristram swift exclaimd
Amazed his valorous foe
If thou best thee excuse my rage
That sought to lay thee lay[x]
Methought that here the recriant Knight
Sir Breuse sans pittie[xi] stood
Preparing to imbue his hand
In beauteous Isonds blood
Forgive thou too my heedless rage
Sir Tristram made reply
For rather than have harmed my friend
How gladly would I die
NOTES
[i] Ireland.
[ii] In the medieval romance, Tristan is escorting Iseult across the sea to marry his uncle King Mark of Cornwall when the pair accidentally drink from a love potion and so begin their passionate and ultimately tragic affair.
[iii] Manuscript reads: “But soon arose a different scene / Before the warriors eyes / Arose a different scene.” Southey has written an additional squiggle (or possibly an “in”) over the first deleted line, seemingly indicating it should be restored. To maintain the flow of the poem the editors have chosen to retain the first deleted line.
[iv] Both yew and cypress trees are commonly associated with the dead, cemeteries, and rituals of mourning.
[v] The word “hideous” is struck through, but the replacement word or words above it are illegible.
[vi] For “reached”.
[vii] For “then”.
[viii] For “warrior”.
[ix] A person’s deserved share of praise or blame.
[x] For “low”.
[xi] Sir Brewnys Saunze Pité is a villainous knight in Thomas Malory’s tale of “Syr Tristrams de Lyones” in Le Morte Darthur.
1 reply »