Page:A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England During the Middle Ages.djvu/306

 286 Hijlory of Domejiic Manners There myghtijl thou fe thefe Jloivtours, Mynjirales and eke jogelours, That ivel to fynge d'lde her peyne^ Somme fonge fonges of Loreyne ; For in Loreyn her notes bee Fulle fiuetter than in this centre'. There nvas many a tymhejier. And faillouris (jumpers, or tumblers), that I dar lucl jzucre Couthe (knew) her craft ful par fitly, The tymbris up ful Jotilly They cafte and hente fulle ofte Upon a fynger faire and fofte^ That they ne failide never mo. Ful fetys damyjeles tivo, Ryght yonge, and fulle of femelybede., In kirtles and noon other ivede, And faire treffed e-very trefje, Hadde My r the doon for his noblej/e Amydde the karole for to daunce. But herof lieth no remembraunce Hoiv that they daunced queyntly. That con ivolde come alle pryvyly Agayn that other ^ and iv/ian they ivere Togidre almofi, they threive yfere (in comiiaiiy) Her mouthis fo^ that thorough her play Itjemed as they kifie alivay. To dauncen ivelle koude they the gife. What Jhulde I more to you devyjc? Thefe lines fhow us that our forefathers in the middle ages had their dancing girls, juft as they had and ftill have them in the Eaft j it was one trait of the mixture of Oriental manners with thofe of Europe which had taken place lince the crufades. In thefe extrafts, indeed, we have allufions to the pra6tices of dancing and finging, of playing at chefs and tables, of drinking, and even of dining, in the gardens. Our engraving No. 194, taken from the romance of "Alexander," in the Bodleian Library, reprefents a garden fcene, in which two royal perfonages are playing at chefs. Dancing in the open air was a very common recreation, and is not unfrequently alluded to. In the Roman de Gefte, known by the title of " La Mort de Garin," a large dinner party is given in a garden — Les napes metcnt pardean% un jardin. — Mort de Garin, p. 28. And,