Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Volume 2 - Consisting of Historical and Romantic Ballads, Collected in The - Southern Counties of Scotland; with a Few of Modern Date, Founded - Upon Local Tradition by Sir Walter Scott
page 95 of 342 (27%)
page 95 of 342 (27%)
![]() | ![]() |
|
obnoxious to the blows of a human foe. From the malignancy of their
nature, they not only wage war with mankind, but persecute the Peris with unremitting ferocity. Such are the brilliant and fanciful colours in which the imaginations of the Persian poets have depicted the charming race of the Peris; and, if we consider the romantic gallantry of the knights of chivalry, and of the crusaders, it will not appear improbable, that their charms might occasionally fascinate the fervid imagination of an amorous troubadour. But, further; the intercourse of France and Italy with the Moors of Spain, and the prevalence of the Arabic, as the language of science in the dark ages, facilitated the introduction of their mythology amongst the nations of the west. Hence, the romances of France, of Spain, and of Italy, unite in describing the Fairy as an inferior spirit, in a beautiful female form, possessing many of the amiable qualities of the eastern Peri. Nay, it seems sufficiently clear, that the romancers borrowed from the Arabs, not merely the general idea concerning those spirits, but even the names of individuals amongst them. The Peri, _Mergian Banou_ (see _Herbelot, ap. Peri_), celebrated in the ancient Persian poetry, figures in the European romances, under the various names of _Mourgue La Faye_, sister to _King Arthur; Urgande La Deconnue_, protectress of _Amadis de Gaul_; and the _Fata Morgana_ of Boiardo and Ariosto. The description of these nymphs, by the troubadours and minstrels, is in no respect inferior to those of the Peris. In the tale of _Sir Launfal_, in Way's _Fabliaux_, as well as in that of _Sir Gruelan_, in the same interesting collection, the reader will find the fairy of Normandy, or Bretagne, adorned with all the splendour of eastern description. The fairy _Melusina_, also, who married Guy de Lusignan, count of Poictou, under condition that he should never attempt to intrude upon her privacy, was of this latter class. She bore the count many children, and erected for him a magnificent castle by her magical art. Their harmony was uninterrupted, |
|