E-text prepared by Barbara Tozier, Janet Blenkinship, Bill Tozier, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net/) HISTORY OF ENGLISH HUMOUR With an Introduction upon Ancient Humour. by THE REV. A. G. L'ESTRANGE, Author of "The Life of the Rev. William Harness," "From the Thames to the Tamar," Etc. In Two Volumes. Vol. I. London: Hurst and Blackett, Publishers, 13, Great Marlborough Street. 1878. All rights reserved. CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. Subjective Character of the Ludicrous--The Subject little Studied--Obstacles to the Investigation--Evanescence--Mental Character of the Ludicrous--Distinction between Humour and the Ludicrous 1 INTRODUCTION. PART I. ORIGIN OF HUMOUR. Pleasure in Humour--What is Laughter?--Sympathy--First Phases--Gradual Development--Emotional Phase--Laughter of Pleasure--Hostile Laughter--Is there any sense of the Ludicrous in the Lower Animals?--Samson--David--Solomon--Proverbs--Fables 13 PART II. GREEK HUMOUR. Birth of Humour--Personalities--Story of Hippocleides--Origin of Comedy--Archilochus--Hipponax--Democritus, the Laughing Philosopher--Aristophanes--Humour of the Senses--Indelicacy--Enfeeblement of the Drama--Humorous Games--Parasites, their Position and Jests--Philoxenus--Diogenes--Court of Humour--Riddles--Silli 52 PART III. ROMAN HUMOUR. Roman Comedy--Plautus--Acerbity--Terence--Satire--Lucilius--Horace --Humour of the Caesar Family--Cicero--Augustus--Persius--Petronius --Juvenal--Martial--Epigrammatist--Lucian--Apuleius--Julian the Apostate--The Misopogon--Symposius' Enigmas--Macrobius--Hierocles and Philagrius 99 ENGLISH HUMOUR. CHAPTER I. MIDDLE AGES. Relapse of Civilization in the Middle Ages--Stagnation of Mind--Scarcity of Books--Character of reviving Literature--Religious Writings--Fantastic Legends--Influence of the Crusades--Romances--Sir Bevis of Hamptoun--Prominence of the Lower Animals--Allegories 161 CHAPTER II. Anglo-Saxon Humour--Rhyme--Satires against the Church--The Brunellus--Walter Mapes--Goliardi--Piers the Ploughman--Letters of Obscure Men--Erasmus--The Praise of Folly--Skelton--The Ship of Fools--Doctour Doubble Ale--The Sak full of Nuez--Church Ornamentation--Representations of the Devil 179 CHAPTER III. Origin of Modern Comedy--Ecclesiastical Buffoonery--Jougleurs and Minstrels--Court Fools--Monks' Stories--The "Tournament of Tottenham"--Chaucer--Heywood--Roister Doister--Gammer Gurton 211 CHAPTER IV.