This ballad and the two which follow it are clearly not of the same rise, and not meant for the same ears, as those which go before. They would come down by professional rather than by domestic tradition, through minstrels rather than knitters and weavers. They suit the hall better than the bower, the tavern or public square better than the cottage, and would not go to the spinning-wheel at all. 'The Boy and the Mantle' is an exceedingly good piece of minstrelsy; much livelier than most of the numerous variations on the somewhat overhandled theme. Its nearest relative is the fabliau or "romance" of 'Le Mantel Mautaillie', 'Cort Mantel' (Montaiglon et Raynaud, Reeueil General des Fabliaux, ni, 1), of which there are manuscripts of the thirteenth century. The outline of a similar tale is preserved in the Lanzelet of Ulrieh von Zatzikhoven.
The probation by the Horn runs parallel with that of the Mantle, with which it is combined in the English ballad. Whether this or that is the anterior creation it is not possible to say, though the 'Lai du Corn' is of a more original stamp, fresher and more in the popular vein than the fabliau of the Mantle, as we have it. The 'Lai du Corn.' by Robert Bikez, is ascribed to the middle of the twelfth century. Like the ballad, it makes Caradoc (Garadue) the hero. This is also the case in the 'Livre de Caradoc,' inserted in the verse romance of Percival li Gallois (ed. Potvin, vv. 15,640 ff.). There are several other versions.
Besides the stories of probation by the Mantle and by the Horn or cup there are a number of others in which other objects have the same testing power; — viz.: a crown; a bridge; a girdle; an arch; a glove; a garland; a cup of congealed tears; bedclothes and bed (as in No. 5); a stepping-stone by the bed-side; a chair; flowers; a shirt, a sword, a picture; a wax image; a ring (as in the romance of Horn Child); a mirror; a harp; a crystal brook; a stone; a magnet; a statue; a shield; a chess-board, etc.
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