520, there was such a Prince or King, and it is not incredible that hee or his Knightes might contend about this castle when he was in this countie; and (as Minius sayeth) hee put the Saxons to flight in a memorable battle near Wigan, about twelve miles off."
Mr Roby, also, in the first series of his "Traditions," included a prose version of "Sir Tarquin," but this was suppressed in the later editions, and a short notice only was added to his tale of the "Goblin Builders." His first essay was evidently based upon the "Morte d'Arthur," and the extended metrical version of which he quotes the opening stanza.
"Within this ancient British land,
In Lancashire I understand,
Near Manchester, there lived a knight of fame,
Of a prodigious strength and might,
Who vanquished many a worthy knight,
A giant great—and Tarquin was his name."
