nd his name, so that Cynewulf, the religious poet
of early England, wrote the poem of "Elene" mainly on the subject of
his conversion. The story of the Vision of the Holy Cross with the
inscription _In hoc signo vinces_ was inspiring to a poet to whom the
heathen were a living reality, not a distant abstraction; and
Constantine's generosity to the Church of Rome and its bishop
Sylvester added another element of attraction to his character in the
mediaeval mind. It is hardly surprising that other legends of his
conversion and generosity should have sprung up, which differ entirely
from the earlier and more authentic record. Thus "the moral Gower" has
preserved for us an alternative legend of the cause of Constantine's
conversion, which forms a good illustration of the virtue of pity in
the "Confessio Amantis." Whence this later legend sprang we have no
knowledge, for nothing in the known history of Constantine warrants
our regarding him as a disciple of mercy, but its existence shows that
the mediaeval mind was busied with his personality. Another most
interesting proof of his importance to Britain is given in the
following legend of "The Dream of Maxen Wledig," preserved in the
"Mabinogion." This belongs to the Welsh patriotic legends, and tends
to glorify the marriage of the British Princess Helena with the Roman
emperor, by representing it as preordained by Fate. The fact that the
hero of the Welsh saga is the Emperor Maxentius instead of
Constantius detracts little from the interest of the legend, which is
only one instance of the well-known theme of the lover led by dream,
or vision, or magic glass to the home and heart of the beloved.

The Emperor Maxen Wledig

The Emperor Maxen Wledig was the most powerful occupant of the throne
of the Caesars who had ever ruled Europe from the City of the Seven
Hills. He was the most handsome man in his dominions, tall and strong
and skilled in all manly exercises; withal he was gracious and
friendly to all his vassals and tributary kings, so that he was
universally beloved. One day he announced his wish to go hunting, and
was accompanied on his expedition down the Tiber valley by thirty-two
vassal kings, with whom he enjoyed the sport heartily. At noon the
heat was intense, they were far from Rome, and all were weary. The
emperor proposed a halt, and they dismounted to take rest. Maxen lay
down to sleep with his head on a shield, and soldiers and attendants
stood around maki