Paulin Paris to be that of an industrious simple man, without method
or much judgment. “The haste with which he worked is too perceptible;
the adventures are told without connection; you find long stories of
Tristan followed by adventures of his father Meliadus.” For the latter
derangement of historical sequence we find a quaint and ingenuous
apology offered in Rustician’s epilogue to Giron le Courtois:—
“Cy fine le Maistre Rusticien de Pise son conte en louant et
regraciant le Père le Filz et le Saint Esperit, et ung mesme Dieu,
Filz de la Benoiste Vierge Marie, de ce qu’il m’a doné grace, sens,
force, et mémoire, temps et lieu, de me mener à fin de si haulte
et si noble matière come ceste-cy dont j’ay traicté les faiz et
proesses recitez et recordez à mon livre. Et se aucun me demandoit
pour quoy j’ay parlé de Tristan avant que de son père le Roy
Meliadus, je respons que ma matière n’estoist pas congneue. Car je
ne puis pas scavoir tout, ne mettre toutes mes paroles par ordre.
Et ainsi fine mon conte. Amen.”[9]
In a passage of these compilations the Emperor Charlemagne is asked
whether in his judgment King Meliadus or his son Tristan were the
better man? The Emperor’s answer is: “I should say that the King
Meliadus was the better man, and I will tell you why I say so. As far
as I can see, everything that Tristan did was done for Love, and his
great feats would never have been done but under the constraint of
Love, which was his spur and goad. Now that never can be said of King
Meliadus! For what deeds he did, he did them not by dint of Love, but
by dint of his strong right arm. Purely out of his own goodness he
did good, and not by constraint of Love.” “It will be seen,” remarks
on this Paulin Paris, “that we are here a long way removed from the
ordinary principles of Round Table Romances. And one thing besides will
be manifest, viz., that Rusticien de Pise was no Frenchman!”[10]
The same discretion is shown even more prominently in a passage of one
of his compilations, which contains the romances of Arthur, Gyron, and
Meliadus (No. 6975—see last note but one):—
“No doubt,” Rustician says, “other books tell the story of the
Queen Ginevra and Lancelot differently from this; and there were
certain passages between them of which the Master, in his concern
for the honour of both those personages, will say not a word.”
Alas, says the French Bibliographer, that the copy of Lancelot,
which fell into the hands of poor Francesca of Rimini, was not one
of those _expurgated_ by our worthy friend Rustician![11]
[Sidenote: Identity of the Romance Compiler with Polo’s
fellow-prisoner.]