15. The brood of false Lorraine. There were three brothers of the house of Lorraine: the Duke of Guise; the Cardinal of Lorraine, who was especially fierce against the Huguenots; and the Duke of Mayenne, the leader in the present battle. 17. Seine's empurpled flood: An allusion to the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, which began in Paris, August 24, 1572, and spread through the provinces. The total number of Protestants killed is estimated from 30,000 to 70,000. The outrage was instigated by Catherine de Medici. 18. Coligny: Admiral Coligny, leader of the Protestants, was killed in the massacre. 34. Guelders was the Netherlands. line 14 of the Flemish spears. "Allemagne." We have already heard in Almayne is Germany. Cf. French 36. The golden lilies, the fleur de lys of France, mentioned also in the Armada, line 22. 48. 54. noble. How do you admire this sentiment of "gentle Henry"? Rosny: Maximilian, Lord of Rosny, an important Huguenot 63. Philip, King of Spain and chief of the Catholic powers. Spain at this time had large possessions in the New World. 66. Burghers of St. Genevieve: Genevieve was the patron saint of Paris. Paris was Catholic, and opposed to Henry. THE ARMADA. NOTES. The subject of the poem is the approach of the great Spanish fleet which Philip II of Spain sent against England in 1588, and which was disastrously overcome and wrecked. See for other treatments of the theme in English literature, Kingsley's Westward Ho! and Masefield's poetic drama, Philip. Line 4. The richest spoils of Mexico: Mexico had been since 1519 a dependency of Spain, which drew thence much treasure. Cf. Ivry, line 63. 7. Aurigny's Isle: The Island of Alderney in the Channel. 10. The tall Pinta: One of the Spanish ships. 23. The allusion is to the Battle of Crecy, fought in 1346, in which Edward III defeated Philip VI of France. The Genoese bowmen in this battle were mercenaries. The blind King of Bohemia had joined Philip's army. Since the great French wars of the 14th century, England had had no such dramatic encounter with a foreign foe as that which she was now to have with Spain. 25. Agincourt: Scene of the famous battle in 1415, in which Henry V conquered the French. 30. Our glorious semper eadem. This was the motto of Queen Elizabeth. 35. Eddystone lighthouse is in the English Channel, on the west coast of England, off Cornwall, south of Plymouth. To Berwick bounds: Berwick was a border town on the extreme northeast coast of England, between Northumberland and Scotland. Lynn is a seaport of Norfolk. Milford Bay is on the southwest coast of Wales, in the county of Pembroke. Macaulay follows his blazing beacons first around the seacoast, mentioning the headlands. Then he takes us inland past Stonehenge, and then to London and the Tower. Then all around in different directions the messengers fly, till the great beacons are finally lighted, the Welsh hills, Malvern, Skiddaw, etc. Most of the places he mentions can be found in the geography. 48. Richmond Hill. Now the messenger approaches London. 67. Twelve fair counties. The view from Malvern Hills is one of the widest in England. The counties may have been Worcester, Hereford, Gloucester, Monmouth, Stafford, Salop, Warwick, Oxford, Radnor, Brecknock, Berks, and Wilts. THE BATTLE OF NASEBY. NOTES. The Battle of Naseby was fought on June 14, 1642, between the Parliamentary army under Cromwell and the Royalist forces under King Charles. The success of Cromwell marked the wreck of the Royal cause. "The two armies met near Naseby, to the northwest of Northampton. The King was eager to fight. 'Never have my affairs been in as good a state,' he cried; and Prince Rupert was as impatient as his uncle. On the other side, even Cromwell doubted the success of the new experiment. 'I can say this of Naseby,' he wrote soon after, 'that when I saw the enemy draw up and march in gallant order toward us, and we, a company of poor ignorant men, to seek to order our battle, the general having commanded me to order all the horse, I could not, riding alone about my business, but smile out to God in praises, in assurance of victory, because God would by things that are not bring to naught things that are. Of which I had great assurance, and God did it.' The battle began with a furious charge of Rupert uphill, which routed the wing opposed to him under Ireton; while the Royalist foot, after a single discharge, clubbed their muskets and fell on the centre under Fairfax so hotly that it slowly and stubbornly A single gave way, but the Ironsides were conquerors on the left. charge broke the northern horse under Langdale, who had already fled before them at Marston Moor; and, holding his troops firmly in hand, Cromwell fell with them on the flank of the Royalist foot in the very crisis of its success. A panic of the Royal reserve, and its flight from the field, aided his efforts; it was in vain that Rupert returned with forces exhausted by pursuit, that Charles, in a passion of despair, called on his troopers for 'one charge more.' The battle was over: artillery, baggage, even the Royal papers, fell into the conqueror's hands. Five thousand men were surrendered; only 2,000 followed the King in his headlong flight upon the west. The war was ended at a blow."-Green's Short History of the English People, Ch. VIII, Sec. 7. Compare with this poem a famous passage in Macaulay's Essay on Milton, contrasting the Puritan and the Cavalier, The prose reads like a commentary on the verse. Title. Obadiah, etc.: This weird name is no stranger than many of the Scriptural names which devotion to the Bible and a feeble sense of humor caused our Puritan forefathers to give their children. Ireton's regiment: Ireton was a prominent figure in the Civil War. He was an Independent in religion, who started his military career as captain of a troop of horse raised in Nottingham, where his estates were situated. He signed the warrant for the execution of the King, and served his party well as Cromwell's lieutenant in Ireland. 11. The man of blood: Charles I, so called by the Puritans because he made war on his Parliament. The reference is to II Samuel, 16:7. 12. Rupert of the Rhine. Rupert was the nephew of Charles, and Elector Palatine. His reckless audacity here at Naseby and at Marston Moor commanded admiration, but was disastrous to his cause. 14. The General is, of course, Cromwell. The Scriptural allusion and phrases of the poem, the Bible in Cromwell's hand, and the whole stern religious spirit are true to history. The account of the battle by Green, quoted above, makes the action of the poem clear. 22. Troops from Alsace followed Rupert. Pages of Whitehall were, of course, youths attached to the English Court. 38. Temple Bar: A famous gateway of London, dividing Fleet Street from the Strand. Above it were exposed the heads of traitors. 43. 55. Broad-pieces: Coins. The University of Oxford remained to the end faithful to the King. Durham was the seat of the Archbishop of York. 57. She of the Seven Hills: The Church of Rome. A favorite Puritan attribution. 60. The Houses are the Houses of Parliament. |