As a mediæval rendering of a classical tale, the poem has many charms, because it so naïvely and so completely changes the setting and insists upon mediæval towers and dress and customs. Pluto's dark realm is transformed into a fairy kingdom, Thrace has become Winchester, and the wandering Greek is a Breton harper knocking at the door of a Gothic castle. As a version of one of the most beautiful of the world's stories, this lay has true imaginative distinction; it pictures the loyalty of love and love's power over time and fairy spells, but it willfully changes the outcome of the old story to suit the sentiment of high romance in an age when every tale must have a happy ending. Other lays, or brief tales, are described in W. H. Schofield's "English Literature from the Norman Conquest to Chaucer," p. 179. The Macmillan Company, New York, 1906. "Launfal," a lay of fairyland, is one of the most beautiful. The lays of Marie de France are accessible in the following translations: WESTON, J. Four Lais of Marie de France (including "Launfal"). Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1901. RICKERT, E. Seven Lais of Marie de France. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1901. Fairy lore is discussed by many students. The volumes named below will be found serviceable to the student of English literature: PATON, L. A. Studies in the Fairy Mythology of Arthurian Romance. Ginn and Company, Boston, 1903. NUTT, A. The Fairy Mythology of Shakespeare. David Nutt, London, 1900. HAZLITT, W. C. Fairy Tales, Lays, and Romances Illustrating Shakespeare. London, 1875. SIDGWICK, F. The Sources and Analogues of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Duffield & Company, New York, 1908. In translating the poem the student should pronounce all the unknown words aloud and he will speedily recognize resemblances to modern words. _Y_ is the pronoun "I," but sometimes it is part of the past participle,—_y-hold_ = "held." _Ich_ is "I," and also "each." Frequently a pronoun and a verb are combined, as _ichil_ = "I will"; _wiltow_ = "wilt thou"; sometimes the negative particle is combined with a verb, as in _nis_ = "is not"; _nil_ = "will not." _Owhen_ = "own"; _yif_ = "if." It is assumed that readers will recognize the words used in the ballads or in Spenser's works. If there are words which are not recognized they can be found in the New English Dictionary, or in the New International Dictionary, or in Bradley and Stratmann's Middle English Dictionary. FOOTNOTES: [1] Temple Classics, 3 vols. Dutton, New York, 1900. [2] B. Smythe, Trobador Poets. (Translations.) Duffield, New York, 1911. [3] See Notes. [4] See Notes. [5] varied. [6] equal. [7] disagreement. [8] love. [9] pleasure. [10] describe. [11] equal. [12] quickness. [13] breastplate. [14] comprehend. [15] Achilles. [16] together. [17] see. [18] interval of a fifth. [19] nightingale. [20] music. [21] color. [22] staggers. [23] in fief. [24] love. [25] See Notes. [26] See Notes.