Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Polyolbion and the British Empire

Here our author cites from Song V of Polyolbion by Michael Drayton:
"the ancient British race Shall come again to sit upon the sovereign place. . . . By Tudor, with fair winds from little Britaine driven, To whom the goodly bay of Milford shall be given; As thy wise prophets, Wales, foretold his wish'd arrive And how Lewellin's line in him should doubly thrive. For from his issue sent to Albany before, Where his neglected blood his virtue did restore He first unto himself in fair succession gained The Stewards nobler name; and afterwards attained The royal Scottish wreath, upholding it in state. This stem, to Tudors, joined . . . Suppressing every Plant, shall spread itself so wide As in his arms shall clip the Isle on every side, By whom three severed realms in one shall firmly stand As Britain-founding Brute first monarchised the Land."
``Selden's note on the above passage is: `About our Confessor's time, Macbeth, King of Scotland (moved by prediction, affirming that his line extinct, the posterity of Banquho, a noble thane of Loqhuabre, should attain and continue the Scottish reign) and, jealous of others, hoped—for greatness, murdered Banquho, but missed his design; for one of the same posterity, Fleanch son to Banquho, privily fled to Gryffith ap Llewelin (Drayton Polyolbion, Song V.), then Prince of Wales, and was there kindly received. To him and Nesta, the Prince's daughter, was issue one Walter. . . . The rest alludes to that: Cambria shall be glad, Cornwall shall flourish, and the Isle shall be styled with Brute's name and the name of strangers shall perish: as it is in Merlin's prophecies.'"
(Wikipedia notes that The Poly-Olbion is a topographical poem describing England and Wales. Written by Michael Drayton and published in 1612, it was reprinted with a second part in 1622. Drayton had been working on the project since at least 1598.

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