The scene of the tale was laid in the reign of Henry VI, and the
work was written to illustrate the manners, customs, and language of the
people of England during that period. The extensive acquaintance which
Mr. Strutt had acquired with such subjects in compiling his laborious
Horda Angel-Cynnan, his Regal and Ecclesiastical Antiquities, and his
Essay on the Sports and Pastimes of the People of England had rendered
him familiar with all the antiquarian lore necessary for the purpose of
composing the projected romance; and although the manuscript bore the
marks of hurry and incoherence natural to the first rough draught of the
author, it evinced (in my opinion) considerable powers of imagination.
As the work was unfinished, I deemed it my duty, as editor, to supply
such a hasty and inartificial conclusion as could be shaped out from the
story, of which Mr. Strutt had laid the foundation. This concluding
chapter [Footnote: See Appendix No. II.] is also added to the present
Introduction, for the reason already mentioned regarding the preceding
fragment. It was a step in my advance towards romantic composition; and
to preserve the traces of these is in a great measure the object of this
Essay.
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