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While these resources will remain accessible during the course of migration, they will be static, with reduced functionality. They will not be updated during this time. We anticipate the migration project to be complete by Summer 2025.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us directly at robbins@ur.rochester.edu. We appreciate your understanding and patience.
Dagonet, Arthur's Fool
Dagonet, Arthur's fool,
He shocked and crashed with the rest,
But they gave him his coup-de-grace,
When Arthur fought in the West.
Dagonet, Arthur's fool,
They smashed him, body and soul,
And they shoved him under a bush,
To die like a rat in a hole.
His poor little queer fool's body
Was twisted awry with pain:--
Dagonet, Arthur's fool,
Left to die in the rain.
He writhed and groaned in his torment,
But none heard his shameful cry:--
Dagonet, Arthur's fool,
Whom they left alone to die.
Mordred hated the fool,
And he passed the place where he lay,
"Ah-ha! my pleasant fool,
We'll see if you'll jest to-day!"
"We've silenced your bitter tongue,
We've stopped your quirks and pride!"
And Mordred, who ne'er forgot,
He kicked the fool aside.
Mordred was ever vile,
He scorned each knightly rule,
He swung a crashing blow
Right on the mouth of the fool.
He lifted his bleeding head,
Dazed for a moment's space;
Then Dagonet, Arthur's fool,
He laughed in Mordred's face.
--M. St. Clare Byrne
He shocked and crashed with the rest,
But they gave him his coup-de-grace,
When Arthur fought in the West.
Dagonet, Arthur's fool,
They smashed him, body and soul,
And they shoved him under a bush,
To die like a rat in a hole.
His poor little queer fool's body
Was twisted awry with pain:--
Dagonet, Arthur's fool,
Left to die in the rain.
He writhed and groaned in his torment,
But none heard his shameful cry:--
Dagonet, Arthur's fool,
Whom they left alone to die.
Mordred hated the fool,
And he passed the place where he lay,
"Ah-ha! my pleasant fool,
We'll see if you'll jest to-day!"
"We've silenced your bitter tongue,
We've stopped your quirks and pride!"
And Mordred, who ne'er forgot,
He kicked the fool aside.
Mordred was ever vile,
He scorned each knightly rule,
He swung a crashing blow
Right on the mouth of the fool.
He lifted his bleeding head,
Dazed for a moment's space;
Then Dagonet, Arthur's fool,
He laughed in Mordred's face.
--M. St. Clare Byrne
Additional Information:
Reprinted in 1921:
Byrne, Muriel St. Clare. "Dagonet, Arthur's Fool." In Modern Verse: British and American. Ed. Anita P. Forbes. New York: Henry Holt and
Company, 1921. Pp. 192-93.
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