STARN: Scots Teaching and Resource Network
Robert Henryson
The Thirteen Moral Fables of Robert Henryson
A Modernised Edition
by R. W. Smith
Prologue
It is not intended, in these introductory notes, that each poem should be discussed in detail ; the reader would soon become - needlessly - overloaded. Henryson avoided overloading. Concision, the art of conveying a great deal in as few words as possible, is one of his distinguishing features. However, the short Prologue displays so many of his techniques that some examination is worthwhile.
How he worked within the literary conventions of the Middle Ages is shown by observing that the Prologue is constructed according to the strict rules of Rhetoric as taught in the schools and Universities of that time. Stanza 1 sets out the writer's intention : the proemium. Stanzas 2,3, and 4 explain the reasons behind the intention : the argumentatio. Stanzas 5 and 6 provide the "affected modesty", the excusatio. Stanzas 7 and 8 sum up the general intention ; the peroratio. Stanza 9 is the very important crossing-over to the next topic, the transitio, which was considered to be the most difficult, and the real test of a writer's skill. Note here, and throughout the Fables, how neatly Henryson handles this one. In the "affected modesty" in stanza 6 there is, besides the observance of a literary convention, a trace of tongue-in-the-cheek irony, when he professes complete ignorance of Rhetoric. As may be clearly seen in many of the Fables, Henryson favoured irony, using it particularly for humour.
Then in stanza 6 there is a hint that Henryson was not completely tied to tradition ; he somewhat brusquely dismisses the need for aristocratic patronage. A nameless lord is conjured up, and there was no such lord. It was the practice of seeking patronage by flattery which he was dismissing. This might have been a somewhat radical attitude to adopt, for aristocratic -or Church - patronage for an artist was necessary for public success; a condition which took a long time to die out, and was still affecting authors in the mid-1700s. The Fables provide evidence that Robert Henryson's opinions on power-groups were not always what these groups would have liked.
Furthermore, there is his employment of Numerology. Nine stanzas in this poem; and nine, in Numerology, is the number of the mind. Now we are not going to deal with Henryson's deployment of the ancient "science" of Numerology in every Fable ; far too subtle and complex, and we advise consultation of the "Further Reading" section to anyone interested in the subject. And interested the reader should be, especially if he or she has never given much thought as to why we run our civilisation on a seven-day week, or why some of us are allergic to the number thirteen.
Vocabulary :
" gey " (frequently used) = "rather" or "somewhat", usually in a tone of sympathy, regret, or disapproval.
The Prolog
Thocht feinyeit fabils of ald poetre
Be not al grunded vpon truth, yit than ....
1.
Although these ancient tales are pure invention,
And hardly based on facts, yet, then,
Artful they're made, because their first intention
Is to be pleasing to the ears of men;
Forbye, the reason for their origin
Is to reproach our human aberration
By viewing something else - the brute creation.
2.
Just as a boggy, cold, and rush-grown plain,
If it be drained, and ploughed, and worked with care
Will offer up sweet fruits and flowers and grain,
All that life needs in way of wholesome fare;
By that same means we find good doctrine there
In Aesop's words; his subtle tales will bear it
To purpose good; if the cap fits, wear it!
3.
Although a nut's shell can be thick and tough,
The kernel can be nourishing and sweet;
And so we find a doctrine wise enough
Inside an unreal Fable, bearing fruit;
And scholars say, by far the best conceit
Is to mix earnestness with merry sport,
To cheer things up, and make the time seem short.
4.
As well we know, a bow that's aye kept bent
Loses its power, and hardly twangs the string;
So with the mind that's kept too diligent
With weighty matters, and with studying;
In heavy work it does no harm to bring
Some lightness in; Aesop himself has said
That solemn wares are best with smiles displayed.
5.
Now, Latin was our Aesop's mother tongue;
Correct translation, then, is what I've tried;
I hope you scholars will not want me hung.
All this is done for reasons not of pride
Or self-advancement; such things I avoid;
For I was asked to do this by a lord,
Whose name I need not bother to record.
6.
In homely language, and in accents rude,
I have to write, because this eloquence
And rhetoric, I never understood;
Therefore I humbly pray your reverence,
That, if you find that through my negligence,
I've made mistakes, or spoiled things by omission,
To set it right, you have my full permission.
7.
It's in these Fables, then, that we are told
That animals both spoke and understood;
And that they all could deep discussion hold,
And syllogisms set, and them conclude;
Proof by example and similitude
That mankind often, so our Aesop says,
Resembles beasts - in all too many ways.
8.
No wonder, whiles, that man is like a beast
That in all fleshly things takes his delight;
His conscience being that which moves him least,
When driven by pride, or lust, or appetite;
These things by habit are implanted quite
Deep in his mind, so that he seems deranged,
And into graceless bestial gey near changed.
9.
Aesop, my master, aye beyond compare,
In subtle images sets out his tale;
In pleasant rhyme, with words both fine and fair,
So that no man of any rank could fail
To find instruction. Let him now prevail
In his first Fable : how a farmyard bird
Great riches found - and thought them just absurd!